Work Text:
WEMMBU:
Flowers used to glow and bloom in the dark when he was there, now they only wilt and rot in his direction. It didn’t hurt to think about that, though the thought of it made his stomach hurt and make him feel bad for existing.
The flowers would be perfectly fine when he wasn’t there, how come when he’s there..the flowers wilt? It didn’t feel nice. As much as he wanted them to bloom, they’d only stay rotting. The imagery of a flower blooming once he’s there made his sad and droopy expression turn happy. Sometimes, he wishes he’d be happy. Atleast one day, soon.
A single word of praise from his parents without them telling him what gender he should be haunted his mind rent free. He had tried everything to make them proud, and nothing happened. But that doesn’t mean he’d stop.
Everyone thought he was too ‘boyish’ for a girl. Sure, he was biologically a girl, but that statement will never leave him alone. Ever since he realised he wanted to be a guy this young, he felt like flowers would wilt when he’s there. It felt like he wasted something so precious and worth so much this early.
Maybe his parents wont accept his feelings, since he’s only 9 and they say he’s too young to be thinking about that. But a single spark inside him wishes they’d finally understand what he’s felt all the time.
Always, ‘You’re just childish, you’ll get over it once you’re older.” And his feelings never mattered to them, it never ever did in the first place. He’s just being silly. He’s sure.
But why can’t he get over it? If he’s supposed to grow out of it? Is he overthinking again? He hoped. Because he didn’t want to be around his mind, for too long.
He never wanted to feel like this, maybe if he was just born as another person, none of this mess would have happened. Everything just feels so sickening and loneliness is the only thing that ever stayed with him.
At this point, even teachers are calling him a guy. That made him happy, but whenever his parents were there they’d always correct the teachers. And that made the spark die. Sure, he had a girly appearance, long hair, a really skinny girlish body, but that didn’t stop him from making himself quite intimidating in his old school.
Whenever recess came, ‘she’ would head to the only place where no kid ever came. The flower garden near the back of the school. Most kids thought the place was really lonely and scary there, but he sort of felt nice there. No one else, and the only thing accompanying him was his shallow breath and the sound of leaves and flowers rustling when the wind blew.
And if other kids told him he can’t be a boy, they’d get a face full of glitter and small critters from the garden. Wanting to be a boy and liking glitter is possible. And it was quite satisfying hearing them scream. Maybe that was the reason he never had friends except his cousin Egg. He was older, alot nicer and less intimidating. ‘She’ liked his company and he fully accepted him. It felt, nice.
Most of the time, he’d spend his day getting perfect test scores. The teachers didn’t announce highest or lowest scores, so he’d always stay anonymous in the class, in some way. He’s always kept a straight face and barely ever talked unless he was needed. And he had other important tendencies to do instead of talking. Like violin practice.
Some kids called him weird and sort of emotionless. And he would take that as a well complement because getting a name for himself, and atleast he sort of felt included atleast in some way, of course.
The sturdy walls of his structered life was perfect, until he had to switch schools because lf his father’s work. Not that he didn’t want this in the first place, a small part of him wished he’d leave the school. But he was still happy there. Alone, silent, and glad he was an outcast in the school.
And the satisfying remarks of his teachers when they say he’s “efficient” or “smart” felt like a reward for everything. It’s small, but it makes him feel appreciated, and possibly even feel acknowledged for the things he does everyday. Even if those complements only happen every once in a while.
大丈夫です感？(*^_^*)
FLAME:
The halls of the elementary school was bustling, and it was much louder this morning than any other. One of the kids said that there was gonna be a new transfer student from another country. France, to be specific. Not that he really cared if there was gonna be something new for once, but another country is sort of interesting.
Some other kids were arguing if the transfer student was already here or if they weren’t. And maybe if the arguing was pretty pointless, it was really entertaining and quite funny to watch until they stop arguing.
A small squeaky sound came from his uniform’s shoes, while he walked across the halls with his brother, ManePear and his brother’s friend, Zam. According to Mane, Zam is his close friend. Not that he cares if Zam if with them, maybe having a small amount of company is nice. And she was pretty cool.
Before class started, he parted ways with Mane and Zam, and he moved to outside the school, where most of the kids played at until they were called whenever class was gonna start soon. Maybe a small part of him was curious to find where the new kid was, so he went around the school to find them.
One of the other kids heard that they called the student a ‘she’, so he sticked with that. Sure, he was popular, and everyone wanted to be friends with him or stuff, because he was pretty strong or something whatever but he was a gentlemen of course. And he liked pleasing girls, he was a ladies man.
He moved around the school, until his search lead to the auditorium. He put his ear near the door, and heard someone playing an instrument? He didn’t know, but he was pretty sure no kid in the school besides a small few could play an instrument like that. His curiosity got ahead of him, and he peeked at the door.
A girl wearing a boy’s uniform? Stood in the middle of the auditorium. She played the instrument he couldn’t name with ease, experience and visible confidence. Her expression was emotionless the entire time she was playing. She seemed really good, and kinda pretty cool.
The ‘girl’ had long luscious purple hair, pale skin, and purple eyes. If she’s French, why does she look Japanese? Maybe a small few Russian features that wouldn’t be noticeable unless you were observant, but he really didn’t believe she was French. It seemed weird. Not in a rude way, but in a pretty cool way.
Once the ‘girl’ stopped playing, ‘she’ saw a strange figure on the very back row of the seats. ‘She’ didn’t care that the boy was there, but seemed oddly curious on why would someone be in the auditorium this early? Except ‘her’, though.
The boy walked closer to the front of the auditorium. He didn’t seem like he was gonna tell him ‘she’s’ weird. Atleast as far as ‘she’ knew, though. “What instrument are you playing?” The boy questioned, he just asked. With nothing else in the sound of his voice except pure curiosity.
“It’s..a violin.” ‘Her’ voice seemed unsure on what to say. Most of the time ‘she’ never spoke to anyone in or outside class at all. It was strange he had gotten the courage to ask ‘her’ that, even with the strange intimidating face ‘she’ put on all the time.
“What’s your name?” He asked, suddenly, maybe he was sort of slightly interested in the new student. She seemed nice. Atleast.
“I’m Wemmbu..wh-whats yours?” Wemmbu stuttered when ‘she’ spoke, not that it was a big deal, but stuttering was really annoying, especially for someone who struggles to make out a sentence that isn’t quiet.
“I’m Flame. Nice to meet you.” Flame’s expression stayed the same, he wasn’t the most interested in getting to know Wemmbu, so he left after the conversation and began heading to the first class of the day. It was still kind of early, but going to class early is something he finds very convenient for him.
The door creaked as he opened the door, and he sat on his seat. He was the only one that didn’t have a seatmate yet. Weird seating arrangement or the teachers just let him sit alone since he didn’t really like the kids in the classroom one bit except Mane, that got held back in kindergarten so he’s with him now, and Zam, because he’s just used to her. Not that they were annoying or weird, but he didn’t like the company for some reason.
Once class started, the teacher announced the new student. Her? Name was Wemmbu. Like she said to him in the auditorium.
“Now settle down, kids. Our newest student is here. But be nice! She’s quite shy.” The teacher told them, trying to make it feel not terrible for her. Wemmbu waved slightly and wrote her name on the chalkboard. Mistakenly, she wrote it on Japanese. (True story) But quickly erased it in slight embarrassment, and wrote it in English properly instead.
Her expression remained empty, and her emotions couldn’t be cleared. Like it showed mixed signs for some reason. The other kids asked her questions like why she was wearing a boys uniform as a girl, and it visibly started to overwhelm her and get her slightly annoyed. Not that she hated attention, but she disliked it this time.
“Why’re you wearing the boys uniform? Your a girl!”
“My parents accidentally bought the wrong uniform. Nothing else.” Wemmbu responded, like she didn’t mess up the papers intentionally.
“Why are you French but you look Japanese?”
“My mother is Japanese, and my father is Russian and French. I got my mom’s face, though.” She answered clearly, and started to get annoyed when questions started to arise even more from the other kids.
“You can go sit next to Flame’s seat, near the front row.” The teacher told her, Wemmbu nodded. She sat next to him in awkward silence. He looked at her for a slight moment, to analyse her abit more. She definitely reacted alot less than the others, like she knew something they didn’t.
He didn’t mind a seatmate, and she did seem pretty.
The rest of the class went smoothly, and the next thing he knew, the bell rang and recess had let out. Kids ran across all directions outside, the school felt lively and nice in a hot sunny day. He didn’t see the new transfer student, though. Not that he cared, but he was observant enough to notice it.
Zam tugged at his wrist and led him to the cafeteria, where a small exception of the class stayed at, which were mostly the others that didn’t like playing outside, where Mane was at. They sat in the small table, and they began taking out their lunch boxes. Every few minutes, the would talk about something and end the conversation with a small argument. He did find it funny.
“Soo, what do you guys think at the late transfer student?” She asked.
“I think she’s fine. But not really interesting.” Mane answered, not actually finding her any different from the others. (Maybe something Wemmbu wanted).
“She’s..pret- I mean fine bro. Just whatever Mane said.”
The two glanced at him at him with an unimpressed expression that slowly turned into a smug grin. They didn’t say something, because he would ultimately objectify it being a crush. Maybe it isn’t?
But still, his main objective to find Wemmbu was still there. Once he was able to leave, he parted ways and began to search for ‘her.’ And that led to him in the flower garden at the back of the school. He took a small peek from the tall fenced gate outside it. He saw Wemmbu and maybe an older guy. A seraphim? He seemed atleast three years older than ‘her’, though.
“Hey, Egg. Can you..do you think of me- as like, a guy?” Wemmbu questioned, putting a small flower crown ontop of the unnamed seraphim’s head gently while still talking. The seraphim looked at ‘her’ with a soft expression. ‘Her’ voice seemed much more geniune than the questions ‘she’ had during answered class.
“Well, why not bro?” Egg chuckled. His voice soft and his expression calm. He pat Wemmbu’s head in a teasing motion nicely. His wings twitched and relaxed every few minutes of sitting on the ground.
“I just—mom doesn’t like me being one, and I don’t feel like I should be a guy. E-even if i wanted to. And-and she forces me be a girl.” Truth spilled from ‘her’ words, as ‘she’ didn’t know how to feel about being biologically a gender ‘she’ didn’t want to pick in the first place. Maybe a small part of ‘her’ mind thought that telling Egg wouldn’t be good, but he was trustable enough to tell him ‘her’ feelings.
“Can you call me- a..he? I’m fine if you don’t I just hope you do.” Wemmbu didn’t know how to say it in a non embarrassing manner, but he wished maybe Egg would understand, like always. Even if he didn’t, atleast he was able to tell it to someone and finally let what he feels outside of his mind.
“Of course, bro. If you have something that you want to say or talk about, just go to me first.” Egg’s voice was calm, steady. And somewhat comforting whenever he felt upset about something most of the time.
The two of them chatted along, seemingly oblivious to the fact that someone was watching them talk to eachother.
The sound of grass when he made a step was slightly loud, when he walked back and began heading to his next class. Winds blew as if it slashed his ears, the cool breeze and the sunny sky was a delightful scene. Maybe that’s why Wemmbu stayed here instead of the playground area of the school.
“Where have you been? Me and Zam have been looking for you.” Mane asked, having a suspicious expression on his face as he talked to his brother with a confused glance replacing his expression.
“I was just- at the garden at the back of the school, bro. Stop worrying so much about me all the time.” He spoke, sounding defensive once Mane asked a simple question.
Mane sighed. “Are you stalking her again?” A smug grin formed on Mane’s face as he kept talking and teasing him. Seemingly satisfied about what he’s doing to his brother. He was quite easy to ragebait all the time.
“It’s a he, actually.” He talked back, correcting Mane.
“Oh well, how did you know that?” Mane’s expression turned into a malicious stupid face. He knew what was going on with him.
“You don’t need to know.”
“Whatever, bro. You just like him, don’t you?” Mane walked past him, and began to head to his classes.
“I DON’T!” He yelled at him loudly as Mane was already far away, so there wasn’t any actual point in correcting him. Mane won’t listen to him anyways.
“WE ALREADY KNOW WHAT YOUR THINKING!” Mane yelled, looking back at him with a funny expression.
大丈夫ですか？_:(´ཀ`」 ∠):
Third person POV:
The longer Wemmbu somehow lasted in his new school, the more he feels like he’s about to fall apart. Everyone noticed him for atleast an entire week and all the girls kept taking him to their cafeteria tables. For the first time, it felt slightly nice. Even if he didn’t like interacting with them. But after a while, everything really got annoying.
Until, he was in a month into his new school once he felt much more comfortable and less spoken to.
Also, the other kids and even teachers kept saying they looked cute together. They got paired more frequently and it felt weird. Sure, maybe they’ve gotten kind of used together and maybe Wemmbu finally had someone he considered as a friend besides Egg, but he couldn’t understand the intention why.
The more, they spend time together, the more he gets grouped with Flame in projects, teased, and annoyed. It wasn’t a bad problem, since it was entertaining to see Flame get pissed off. After all, he didn’t care about his image, only Flame’s for fun and annoying him.
Flame’s face always got redder when he heard those remarks from the others, and he didn’t know why. But Wemmbu’s face always stayed the same, maybe a small unnoticeable red tint on his cheeks. His reaction always stayed the same, neutral and unbothered. Very unlike the Flame who only said they were just friends.
The company from Flame was nice, he didn’t push things onto him, and he seemed considerate and nice all the time, even if he’s just a cocky arrogant kid according to the elementary school popularity chain. They played together at school, just near the flower garden as Wemmbu liked it. He didn’t understand if he had feelings for him or he’s just in denial again over stupid things that happened in the past.
Did Wemmbu like him? Maybe, but it’s clear Flame really likes him. He won’t talk about that topic until they get alot older, but the signs are way too clear to just ignore as ‘were just friends!’.
Maybe he was wrong, but something kind of growing in him whenever it comes to Flame. Just- something so unexplainable and strange.
Fuck, maybe Wemmbu did quite like him. But no one would know that, for sure. Probably..no one.