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"Reece, d'you think you might be- y'know, a girl?"
"No." He spits, too quick - too defensive - and then curls in on himself under the covers, unwilling to look Steve in the eye. Steve can just make out the tips of his ears flushing red. He sighs and wraps an arm around the smaller man(?), pressing his chest close against Reece’s bare back and squeezing tight, providing the grounding pressure he knows is sought after.
"It's fine if you are. We can-"
"I know it's fine."
"Well, forgive me for saying, but you don't really seem like you believe that, Reece."
Silence. Then a huff and Reece rolls over, looking up through his long lashes, pouting all pretty, and once again Steve is struck by how gorgeous his best friend is.
"You're gorgeous." He echoes the thought out loud.
"And you're not helping." Grumpy. But he's blushing, a small smile tugging at the edges of his mouth. Then he sighs, his body curls tighter briefly, bracing himself. "I'm not a girl. I'm just- I don't think I'm a man either. Not all the time."
His voice is so soft by the end that Steve almost struggles to make out the words.
"I'm not- I've never been a man. Not like you, you're so-" He gestures with his hands, presumably trying to signal broad, wide, sturdy. It comes off a little like he's just calling Steve fat.
"I dunno, pretty sure I've got bigger tits than you." Steve jokes and it earns him a little scrunch of Reece's nose. Success.
"I've just always been, y'know, small and pretty. Petite." While Steve had never thought to use that word to describe Reece before, he had to admit it was apt. Reece had an uncanny daintiness to him for a man of his age. Soft, and even at his fittest, the muscle could never take away from the plush planes of his body.
As if to prove his own internal point, Steve's hand trails down Reece's side to cup his ass, kneading the soft flesh and grinning at the way Reece squirms under the touch before swatting his hand away.
"Knock it off." He grumbles. "I'm trying to be vulnerable here."
"Sorry, sorry. I can't help it, you're too pretty." He moves his hand anyway, resting more modestly on Reece's hip. "So, do you want to... change anything?"
"Change what?"
"I dunno, be more feminine? Grow your hair out? Wear makeup? Skirts? Whatever it is that women do." Steve's lightly taking the piss now mostly due to his own acknoledged ignorance, but the question itself is sincere. Reece takes a moment to think then presses his mouth into a thin line, frowning.
"I don't know. I like how I am now. And I like that you like me as I am."
"Understatement." Steve interrupts.
"Shut up. Anyway, I don't think I want to change much. You get women that look like me, more masculine even." Steve nods, remembering Reece sitting on The One Show next to Sue Perkins and feeling quietly amused by the parallels between them. "At the end of the day, I am just a little old man. But, I guess, a bit of me is a little old lady as well."
His voice is quiet again, embarrassed. Steve's heart breaks and he grabs Reece's face, squishing his cheeks just slightly as he gazes deep into his friends eyes.
"My good boy and my good girl. God, I'm so lucky." He revels in the small gasp that escapes Reece before kissing her deeply. He mutters into Reece's mouth. "You're so perfect, every bit of you. I love all of you."
Reece sighs into the kiss, hands clutching at Steve's broad shoulders and as they break apart, she nuzzles under Steve’s chin where she kisses lightly at the warm skin of his collarbone.
"I love you." Then, quietly, "Thank you."
The two cuddle until they fall asleep, legs entangled and Steve's hand playing with Reece's grey curls as he thinks about the wonderful, nebulous being that is his best friend, wrapped up in his arms.