This is a short chapter, but I wanted to do something in honor of Pride Month. This was a chapter requested by ash-the-sparrow-queen over on tumblr!
In this chapter, I headcanon Donnie as bi, Leo as trans, and April as lesbian.
Hope you guys enjoy!
Coolkat :3
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He wasn't supposed to have feelings.
He had a bad-boy image to obtain; he had to act cool and suave as if nothing would ever faze him.
(Though apparently if you were a "bad boy", you had to understand the social construct and the overall point of society to fit that description. What he couldn't understand was why a "bad boy" image was the complete opposite of what it was set out to be. The overall definition was just deceptive.)
But here he was in April's apartment trying to tell her his secret, the feelings just flowing over him.
He didn't exactly know how to put it in words, which was weird for him to admit. He always had speeches ready and the words could always just flow out of him (both scientific or just plain witty insults), but at the moment he just couldn't speak.
April would understand him, and he knew that. Heck, even Leo would understand him, but every time he tried to talk to his twin he'd get nervous. He knew that Leo would never make fun of him or tease him, but he just couldn't talk about it when he was near him.
Why did feelings have to be so tough?
By the amount of silence in the room, Donnie was beginning to get uncomfortable. If anything April should be the uncomfortable one, but by the way she looked at the softshell and waited for him to talk it seemed like she could sit there all day.
Taking a deep breath, he told her what he was thinking.
"I'm bi..."
He turned the other direction, not wanting to see April's face whenever she responded. What he was startled by was when April rested her hand on his shoulder.
"Donnie, that's ok," she said with a small smile. "Have you told the others yet?"
"Not yet," he replied. "I just don't know how they'll react."
"They won't think of you in any other way," April told him. "You should know that Leo wouldn't think of you differently. He came out and said that he was trans, like what, a couple of weeks ago? He'd understand, and so would everyone else."
"That doesn't make me feel any better," Donnie sighed. "I just have a feeling that something is gonna go wrong."
Silence filled the room, April's hand still placed on the genius' shoulder. She held his shoulder and her grip got tighter as he talked.
"There's a lot of stories out there, April," Donnie said quietly. "And most of them end up badly. Some people don't even accept them when they do come out... I know that my brothers wouldn't do that, but something inside of me just doesn't want to tell them."
"You don't have to tell them now," April replied. "It took Leo a while for him to come out and tell everyone as well."
For the first time in that conversation, Donnie looked up at April and raised his eyebrow.
"How do you know that?"
"He came to me first," she smiled. "You guys kinda have a thing of coming to me before you talk to everyone else."
Donnie looked at her for a little longer before staring at the ground.
"But give it time, whenever you feel ready you can tell them," she continued. "Leo was a nervous wreck too. He kept saying that he didn't know how to feel about you guys, he eventually said that he felt like you guys were gonna disown him..."
Donnie's head shot up in shock as he looked at his best friend.
"But we'd never do that," he countered.
"That's what I told him," April replied. "He doesn't feel the same way now that he's told you, but he was an emotional mess that day."
She could remember the interaction with the red slider like it had happened yesterday. Leo had come into her room in tears, no knowing how to tell his family about his gender. That night resulted with a movie and a lot of hugs, and the slider felt better now that April had given him advice.
April smiled again as she carried on.
"You two are similar in many ways, you know."
Donnie chuckled a little as he looked back at her.
"Thanks, April," he said with a smile.
"No problem," she grinned. "Just give it time. If you don't feel comfortable telling everyone else, then you can tell them later."
She hugged Donnie, laughing when the softshell let out a grunt. Donnie leaned into the hug after a couple of seconds, and they stayed like that for a while. It was nice for him to have someone that would listen, and in time he would soon come out to his family.
... Maybe in a couple of weeks, but he would soon know the right time.
