Fun with My Dad's Co-Worker

Chapter 1 - Getting Ready

*Knock, knock*

I jump up from my spot on the sofa and run over to the door, excited for who it might be. I look through our peephole and see my blond-haired friend, swaying his body back and forth while waiting for me to answer. I swing the door open and engulf him in a hug.

"Armin! Fucking finally, I thought that you had forgotten." I let him go and stand aside, for him to enter. I close the door behind him and we talk while making our way to my bedroom.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Just had to deal with my Grandpa." His answer is filled with gloominess.

"Oh, is he still not fully there?" I rub his back, as we enter my room.

Armin sits down on my bed, letting out a dejected sigh. He looks down at his legs and I lean against my door, waiting for his answer. After a few seconds of silence, he says, "Not really. I mean, he doesn't plan to disown me like some of my other family members would have and while I was getting the surgery and such, my parents explained it to him. It's just...he still has a bit of an old mindset."

"I'm sorry, dude." I make my way over to my bed and sit next to him.

"Hey, it's not totally bad. He called me his grandson in public, and even at home, he's started used my pronouns, so we're making progress. Just really, really SLOW progress. I still get weird looks, he doesn't understand that I'm gay AND trans, and it's just a mess sometimes. He's getting better, but there's still a lot of work to do. I don't feel comfortable getting ready like this at his house or telling him that we're going to a gay bar. So, sorry for the inconvenience but thanks, Eren."

I give him a side-hug, "Hey, man. What are friends for?"

Armin had gotten female-to-male surgery a while ago and is basically done with his transition. His parents were alive when it was happening and were fully accepting. They paid for everything, got him therapy for his dysphoria, and talked to his other family members, trying to explain to them why they now have a son and love him. Honestly, they were great parents. This is why when we heard about their unexpected deaths, many of us were heartbroken. They went for a hot-air balloon ride on their anniversary, but not enough checks were made, and...well...you can tell what happened.

The nearest family member to him was his grandfather. He was skeptical about Armin being transgender and for a while, even referred to him as "it", which made me want to hit him square in the face. And when Armin came out as gay, I was ready to take Armin in with me and hide his granddad's body. But when he did, he kind of just brushed it off. Not really rejecting him, but not fully accepting him either. Luckily, as time went on, Armin's grandfather started learning more, and now, I guess he's finally started using his pronouns and calling him his grandson. It must be very recent since this is the first I'm hearing of it and we tend to tell each other everything.

"Anyway!" Armin claps his hands and smiles, "We gotta get ready! We can't be sad for my first time to a gay bar."

"You're right!" I jump up from my bed and skip over to my closet, "Now, let's see. It's your first gay bar, my millionth, and my first gay bar of Spring Break during our senior year. It's gotta be special!"

Armin laughs, "Good thing you don't live in a dorm, otherwise, you probably wouldn't have these many clothes and this amount of space."

Both Armin and I live off-campus, in family houses. I live with my dad and he lives with his grandfather. Armin decided to do so to save money, but also, he needed to be around family and even though he's fine now since it's been a year after the accident, he continues to live with him. As for me, money is far from an issue so my reason is that dorms can be the worst and as Armin said, I need my space for my shit. My dad is hardly home due to being a workaholic so it's practically like I like alone, which makes this a complete win.