Summer surrounds two young children as they roll around in the long grass laughing at whatever random thing they found funny just seconds before. After a minute or so, the duo get exhausted and calm down to just stare up into the cool blue cloudy sky. A sigh leaves the red haired mouth which slowly brings the two into peacefulness and fulfillness.
"Hey Kip?" The one of them asks.
"What's up Ash?" Kip responds. Although Ash wasn't the red hairs legal name, it had always felt better then what their parents gave them at birth. Along with Kip's voice saying it brings a soothing feeling of safety and love.
Kip and Ash had been friends since the first time they met, at a mothers group which was only a few years ago since they were 8. They did everything together, to the point where they had sleepovers at each other's homes every two days. They were literally inseparable. Kip was the most supportive person Ash had ever known, making Ash want to return that support to him exactly the same way, if not even more.
"Can girls be boys?"
There was a long pause after that which left Ash thinking that they said something weird or rude, but really Kip was just in deep thought about the recently emerged subject.
Ash was really just curious at this point, seeing what you can and can't do in this judgemental world. They previously asked their mother about the exact same topic, but as the opinionated kind of person Ash's mother was, she immediately started talking about how wrong it is to change your gender. Saying how she put her into the body fit for them and to not be an 'ungrateful brat.'
Which obviously meant no. Well atleast from Ash's mother's perspective. And as from former experience, their mother was rarely correct. So, they asked Kip. Kip's family wasn't religious at all and had beliefs that were mainly based on facts.
"Well, yeah Ash, I'm pretty sure you can. I mean no one is stopping you, right?"
A wave of relief flooded through Ash's veins, you can be who you truly are. Of course Ash was just finding this out, but they still wanted to see if things would lead them that way. See if this would be the right decision. They knew their mother would be furious if they found out, so they were just going to keep it a secret for now. After all, they still weren't really sure.
"Cool! Do you think I could be a boy?" Ash asks with a hopeful response and a look of validation in their eyes teetering on the verge of tears that could lead to happiness or disappointment all relying on a simple yes or no question.
"Most definitely dude, plus it doesn't matter about what other people think but about what you do!" Kip said with a massive smile.
"I'm so happy you told me Ash if you wanna tell me anything else, I'm all ears."
