Future Holds || Bob's Burgers

1- Coming Out

Cassidy

"Hey sweetheart!" Grammy Lin says cheerfully, embracing me in a way too tight hug.

"Hi Grammy Lin." I reply, feeling a bit nervous. They think this is just a visit, but Mom told the whole family to come support us because something big is happening and they need support.

I'm wearing my lemon colored hoodie and jeans, looking down shyly.

"Good to see you three." Grandpa Bob smiles. "How're you doing, Hawk?"

I cringe. Oh Jeez. This is going to be awkward. Mom and Mimi cringe too. Mimi being Louise, Grandpa and Grammy Lin's daughter.

"Hi. Can we sit?" Mimi asks, arm around my shoulders.

Grandpa Bob sees the seriousness in her eyes and nods. "Of course. Should we wait for everyone to arrive?"

I shake my head. "I can tell you guys now. It might be easier if it's just us first."

We sit on the couch upstairs, but I stand up and begin pacing. "Okay I'm just going to come out and say it."

"Did you get someone pregnant?!" Grammy Lin blurts out. Grandpa Bob shushes her.

"I'm...here because...we're looking at the local hospital here for treatment." I say.

They gasp. "Are...are you sick?" Grandpa Bob asks fearfully.

"Some might say that." I chuckle bitterly.

They look at me in confusion.

"I'm...a girl." I reveal. "Treatment as in...hormone therapy."

They both audibly gasp. "Oh sweetie!" Grammy Lin bolts to her feet and hugs me.

Grandpa blinks for a second. "I uhhh...I don't know what hormone therapy is."

"Bobby, she's transgender." Grammy Lin explains.

"Oh. Well, we love you. Whoever you are. Your gender identity doesn't matter to us. You matter." Grandpa Bob joins the hug.

"Aww! Honey I'm so proud of you!" Grammy Lin cheers. "I know that can't be easy."

"Now that you're identifying as a girl, what do you want to be called? Still Hawk?" Grandpa Bob asks.

"Umm, no...C-Cassidy." I answer.

"That's a great name. We're so proud of you." He replies brightly. His enthusiasm means a lot to me, considering he's not often that expressive.

Once everyone else gets here, their reactions are the same. They love me the same. And it means the world.

The younger cousins don't understand, but I tell them that I'm a girl and that my name is Cassidy now.

They don't really get it, but I know they are trying to be supportive. They are still young.

Presley is a good friend of mine. And being related to her is just a bonus. The first thing she does is hug me and offer to do my hair.

My hair is medium length, so not much can be done with it. But Presley still puts it in two pigtails. It makes me happy.

I guess I knew I'd be supported by my family, but not this much. And my anxiety kept me from truly believing in myself and my family's love for me.

Amelia is the quietest of the three fifteen year olds. The three oldest cousins.

Usually she'll come out of her shell more as we talk, but she doesn't this time.

"You okay, Amelia?" I ask.

"Oh, yeah I'm just...thinking about school." She replies.

"School? Boring." I tease.

She giggles. "Just...about Dakota. I told you about her, right?"

"Oh yeah. Your best friend's twin sister. That's so bizarre. The evil twin." I reply.

"Yeah. She's just been so mean lately." Amelia frowns.

"Have you told Colette? That is her sister after all." I say.

"No...it's really not a big deal." She shrugs.

"Well let me know if my Mimi needs to knock some sense into her. She's good at that." I laugh.

"Yeah. Aunt Louise sure is good at...beating people up." Presley chuckles.

Amelia seems to cheer up after this, joking with us as usual. And opening up the joke book Uncle Gene got her.

"Okay okay this is a good one... This graveyard looks overcrowded. People must be dying to get in there." Amelia busts out laughing.

I love my cousins. They make everything so...worth it. Sure, I've got Wendy back home. But family is something really special to me.

By the end of the night, they don't even slip up and call me Hawk. They call me Cassidy. And they use the right pronouns!

We sleep together at Aunt Tina's house, since she doesn't live far from Grandma and Grandpa.

The younger boys share a room, and so do the older boys. I have Robbie, Adrian, Thomas, and Mitchell as my boy cousins, and Delilah stays in Amelia's room with us because she felt left out.

I missed them. My whole family. They rock. And they've always got my back. No matter what.

To them, I'm not the trans kid. I'm not the weirdo. I'm not a freak of nature. I'm important. I'm valued.

I'm Cassidy.

A/N: I know this one was also short but I wanted to get at least one chapter out tonight.