Trans LuPat

Oh... That... (Kairi)

Synopsis: Kairi is out walking around when Keiichiro notices them and asks about a new pin they put on their bag

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Kairi had a bad habit of going out to avoid having to work. This time they at least decided to go grab some things they were running low on while they were out. Maybe now they wouldn't get yelled at for ditching work again? Probably not, but they could hope.

They were just rounding a bend, when someone called out their name. Kairi sighed. Somehow no matter what they did, Keiichiro always seemed to show up. What did he want now?

"Kei-chan." Kairi turned around to face him.

"Running errands?" Keiichiro nodded to the bag in their hands.

"Yep."

"Um, this is probably very random but um... I noticed this pin on your bag and... what is it?" Keiichiro asked.

Kairi tensed at the question. Right... They had taken this bag. The one that they collected pins to put on. And one new pin happened to be the nonbinary flag. They hadn't expected anyone to really notice and ask about it. They figured if people knew what it was then so be it but no one close to them beside Umika and Tooma (and Noel, they guessed) knew this fact.

"It's just a flag." Kairi tried to get out of the conversation.

The thought of telling Keiichiro about this was not something they liked. It wasn't that they thought Keiichiro wouldn't accept them. It was just they knew if he found out it would give him even more of a reason to never leave them alone.

"But what is it standing for? I've never seen a flag like that before. It's pretty." Keiichiro persisted.

"Just a flag I liked." Kairi shrugged and started walking away.

"Kairi-kun!" Keiichiro followed them for a few steps, but then seemed to realize it was better to stop.

Kairi let out a sigh once they were alone. That had been close. They might need to not bring this bag anywhere for a while. Hopefully Keiichiro would forget about it before long and they could go back to how things were.

...

"Kairi-kun!"

It was only two days later that Kairi ran into Keiichiro again. They tried not to let on how annoyed they were and just nodded in greeting.

"How are you?" Keiichiro asked.

"Fine."

"Running errands again?"

"Ditching work." Kairi shrugged. "And you?"

"Just coming back from some business."

"Don't you have places to be?" Kairi tried to push him along.

"I wanted to talk to you."

Kairi was not liking this. They hoped this had nothing to do about the last run-in they had. Please let Keiichiro have forgotten about the flag...

"You... are nonbinary?"

Kairi froze and stared at Keiichiro with wide eyes. He had found out. He had looked into what the flag was.

"How...?"

"I uh... looked it up. Typed in the colors and eventually found what I was looking for." Keiichiro replied. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Can't I have my secrets?"

"But I don't want to misgender you."

Kairi pushed past him. "I don't care what you call me."

"Really? Noel has been using they/them when mentioning you for a while now."

Curse Noel. Kairi let out a frustrated sigh. Go figure that was how Keiichiro put it together. They were so laying into Noel for this when they saw him alone again.

"Fine. I prefer they/them. We're done here." Kairi continued on their way.

"Kairi-kun..." Keiichiro reached out and grabbed their arm before they could leave.

"What?" Kairi snapped.

"I just... um... why are you so defensive over this? Don't you trust me? You told Noel about it but not me?"

"He found out against my will." Kairi retorted.

"Oh."

"Look. I'm sorry I didn't say anything. Most people don't get it so I get defensive over telling anyone. Even if I know they won't care." Kairi said, hoping that was enough to get Keiichiro to leave them alone.

But when did that ever work? Keiichiro was always too stubborn. Too insistent on becoming close to them.

"No one's harassing you over this, are they? If anyone is I'll-"

Kairi cut him off. "I'm fine, Kei-chan. You don't need to go to war for me."

It felt weird knowing Keiichiro was down to throw hands if someone was upsetting them. He wasn't one for violence against people.

"If you ever need someone to help, you know where to find me." Keiichiro left it at that.

"I'll keep it in mind." Kairi promised.

"So... um, is there anything else I can do to help you feel more comfortable?" Keiichiro asked.

"Keep this a secret. I don't need people finding out until I want to tell them." Kairi stated.

"Sorry for digging into this. I was just worried." Keiichiro apologized.

"What's done is done." Kairi shrugged it off.

"Can I ask you some questions about this or is that not something you want to talk about?"

"Depends on the question." Kairi wasn't thrilled about answering anything, but figured it would just be worse to say no.

"When did you find out you were nonbinary?"

Kairi figured that was going to be one of the questions.

"Maybe two or three years ago." Kairi replied. "Found the term and it just fit."

"I see..." Keiichiro nodded. "Is your family supportive or..."

"They don't know and I don't want them to." Kairi replied firmly.

"Right..."

"Is that all? I should get going." Kairi said. They wanted this to end.

"I guess so. See you around?"

"Yeah. See you around, Kei-chan."

Kairi started the walk back, unsure what to make of everything that had just happened. They had guessed Keiichiro would be supportive. Hadn't expected him to put it together on his own. He was willing to stand up for them if it came to that.

There was definitely going to be more Keiichiro did because of this. Kairi knew this was only the beginning. Keiichiro was going to try and show his support to make them trust him more.

Though... Kairi didn't know how much they would mind. It was weird being supported without any fight. Normally people had things to say before they accepted it. Even Tooma and Umika had been confused when they first had been told they were nonbinary. And yet... Keiichiro hadn't doubted their identity for even a moment.

"You're strange... Kei-chan." Kairi whispered under their breath. "Maybe... you'd have been a better brother to have..."