tw: for what could be slight transphobia, just in case
~~~~~
“Society doesn’t care what you want. You have to decide what you want and what you’re willing to do for it.” Kon tells him. "Society doesn't care about you, so don't let it dictate your life."
“That’s great, when it comes to things like world peace or whatever. But sometimes it’s hard to muster up that much fight just for yourself. Just little you against all of society’s expectations. Against the fear of judgment cast down by family and friends. I grew up knowing that I couldn’t tell my parents. At this point, I guess I’m just resigned. I’m used to living this way, It’s fine now.” He waves him off, turning away, but Kon flies around so he’s in front of him again.
“Tim, you know you deserve to fight for yourself too. We’ll fight with you.”
“This would be me going against everything I’ve been told since I was a child. I know what I was born into, what expectations people have of me. I’ve lived through society yelling and shoving me into a box. Telling me their constant opinions through tabloids and press. My parents telling me what I am, how to be, what I should be doing, how I should be dressing. They told me exactly how to appear to the world and they expected it. This is not something to be public with, it's private. I’ve long since learned, how you act in public and how you are in private are two separate things. It’s not a battle that needs to be fought, especially not one I need to force anyone else into.”
“Your parents shouldn’t have done that. But they’re not even here anymore, and you know that we don’t care! I mean, half of us are gay anyways. None of us would care how you identify. They would care that you’re keeping things from us, hiding such a big part of yourself for no reason!”
“Even those accepting of otherness sometimes don’t understand the answer ‘I don’t know’ or, even worse, ‘multiple of these things’. The world is binary, black and white. People don’t understand when they tell you to choose and not only do you not ‘choose’ but the answer is somehow ‘all of the above’. Even you, now, telling me it’s fine to ‘come out’. Come out as what? Unsure? Some secret third option, but not even I know what that is?”
“Sure, if that’s how you feel.” Kon is too calm about this, Tim feels. But he has run his anger and frustration dry and now just feels like crying. Or sleeping. Or crying himself to sleep. “Start with me. What pronouns do you want? Do you have a term or a label that you feel fits you, or do you prefer to go without labels?”
Tim huffs. Falls to the ground cross-legged. Kon comes over and sits down next to him. “Non-binary, I guess. Can’t really get more specific than that.”
“Pronouns?” Kon encouraged after a moment of silence.
Tim just shrugs. “None of them, all of them. Honestly, they annoy me because the whole point of pronouns is to talk about someone while they’re not there. Just use my name.”
“Name it is then.” Kon nudged Tim with his shoulder, and Tim slumped against him.
