Legends of Tomorrow One Shots

Ben Heywood: Coming Out part two

Amaya sat in the Waverider Library. She and Ben were talking about odd and in things, when the conversation took an unexpected turn towards Ben's GSA group.

"So...what exactly does that stand for?" Amaya asked.

"Gay Straight Alliance," Ben told her. "Or Gender Sexuality Alliance."

"Ah," Amaya nodded. "We don't have anything like that in the 1940s. What does it do?"

"Uh...it's basically just a group of people talking and making friends," Ben explained. "It's a safe place for people in the LGBT+ community. A place they can relax and be who they are without having to worry about people judging them or threatening them."

"I see..."

Ben was kind of worried what she'd say. Normally, they wouldn't give two shits, but Amaya was, evidentally, their dad's girlfriend, so Ben really wanted her to like them....But she was also from the 1940s. Not the most accepting time period.

"How do you fit into the group?" Amaya wondered. "If you don't mind my asking."

"I'm genderfluid," Ben told her.

Amaya gave them a confused look, having never heard of the term before. In the 1940s people had even less chances to educate themselves about the LGBT +community.

"It means I'm not exactly a boy," Ben tried explaining. "But I'm not exactly a girl, either."

Amaya still looked a bit confused, so they went on. "People like me don't feel...right being forced into one gender. Being just male or just female isn't enough to describe how we feel. So, we're both. Or some can be neither, depending on the individual."

Ben was half expecting her to burst into laughter, tell them that was stupid. Maybe she'd even try to convince them there were only two genders. They expected her to make a scene, attack them or something. At the very least, they assumed she would call them delusional, mentally ill.

Instead, she just nodded slowly. "I think I'm starting to understand," she said. "So that's why Nate says 'they' instead of he or she?"

"Yeah," Ben said, feeling relieved.  "Those are my preferred pronouns. But, depending on the day you could also use he or she pronouns."

"Is that a hard and fast rule?"

Ben shrugged. "It depends on the person, really. Some people hate he and she pronouns. I don't mind them, because I tend to fluctuate from female to male on any given day and sometimes it feels nice to hear those pronouns directed at me; but I usually prefer they pronouns, since they're gender neutral and most of the time I feel neutral.
"Some people change their names. Something that feels more fitting for them. Usually it's a gender neutral name like Alex or Riley. But some people, like me, like to have two names. One for their male days, one for their female days. I kept Ben for my male days...still looking for a female name that fits me."

"Hm. Interesting," Amaya said. She didn't seem like she was judging them. It was as if she actually found it interesting, learning more about the LGBT + community. Ben was surprised. She actually seemed pretty cool with it.

"You don't think it's...weird?" Ben asked, just to make sure. "Or wrong?"

"Well...it certainly is different," Amaya admited. "But I don't think it's weird. Or wrong. You're seventeen. That's plenty old enough to know who you are."

Ben sighed in relief. "Well...that's good to know. I've been kind of worrying about this for a while now..."

"Why's that?" Amaya asked.

"Well, if your my dad's girlfriend, I want you to like me, but you're from the 1940s, so...."

"Oh," Amaya said. "I've never really cared much for the people's beliefs in the 1940s. One of my team members in the JSA was gay. Half the Legends are gay or bi. If I can accept them, I can accept you."

Ben grinned. They never would have thought in a million years they'd be surrounded by so many loving people who supported them. (Especially not people from the 1940s.)

"Of course, it'll take some adjusting, as this is very new to me," Amaya added. "But I'll definitely do my best to use the right pronouns and make you feel as comfortable as possible."

Ben grinned even wider. They thought they might even cry happy tears. "Thank you," they said.

Amaya nodded in response. Ben wondered if they should hug her or suggest getting Chinese food in the kitchen. They settled for both. So, after a short, tight hug, the two of them walked to the kitchen together to get food.

~

A/N: So, that was a little shorter than the last part, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway.

I really hope Ben is a good representation for genderfluid people. I'm really trying my best with them, but I myself am not genderfluid, so I don't know exactly what it's like.

I'm basically just taking my experience as a lesbian and trying to transfer that into a genderfluid character. I really, really hope it helps make them a believable and good character to represent the genderfluid people. If there are any genderfluid readers out there, please comment. I'd love to hear feedback on what I could be doing better with Ben.