Present Day
I stared at Max as he paced around our living room. Half eaten Chinese was laid messily on the coffee table, still piping hot. He told me yesterday he wanted to tell me something, but only got around to it today.
"Baby, what's wrong?" I asked anxiously. He looked at me, biting his lip. Oh God, what if he was sick? Or what if there was another person? Or what if this entire thing was a lie? A cruel prank on me. The Max I knew wouldn't do that but what if the Max I knew wasn't really Max? Hell, his name could be Charlie, or Marvin, or Joe or anything but Max.
" I... argh why is this so hard?" He trailed off, leaving me even more anxious.
I walked up to him and reached for his hand. I gave it a squeeze then guided him back to the couch, sitting him down. "It's okay, you can tell me."
"I'm not a guy," he blurted out so fast I almost missed it. I said nothing, confused. He waited for me to say something but continued when I didn't.
"I'm not a girl either. I'm agender," he told me, exhaling deeply.
"Okay. What does that mean? Agender," I asked.
He smiled, and he looked so relieved. As if he had wanted to tell me for so long but he felt like he couldn't. "I'm gender neutral," he explained. "And I know this might be confusing, but I don't like when people use male pronouns for me."
"Like he and him?" I asked.
"Yeah, I use they or them."
I looked at them, a smile growing on my face. I leaned forward and rested my forehead against theirs before I gently kissed them. "I love you."
