Darling

Baby Boy

Luna had never realized until they were referred to in public how wrong 'they' felt referring to themself. 'She' had always felt so bad to them, and 'they' was a bit better, but still didn't fit. They hadn't thought much on it until they had come into contact with Vanessa and Freddy, or rather, strangers in general. They made a decision. They weren't a 'they' and they knew it. He was a boy.

Luna came to this conclusion when he was looking up at the ceiling when he was meant to be napping. He had been uncomfortable whilst at the daycare for completely different reasons than anyone had thought. He sighed, closing his eyes. He could deal with this when he woke up, that was, if he could get to sleep.

Mary must have noticed something was wrong, as she had knocked gently on his door. 

"Come in," he responded. Mary obeyed, opening the door to find her little one laying on his back when he was meant to be napping.

"Hey love, I noticed that I didn' hear anything, so I decided to check in," Mary said. 

"Hear... Anything?" Luna asked.

"You move a lot and squeak in your sleep. That's usually how I can tell you're nappin'," Mary explained. Luna nodded. "Alright dearie, what's the matter? You're not as Little as you should be."

Luna took a deep breathe. "W-When I was at the daycare... Well... I realized something. You've known that I wasn't a girl since you adopted me... But... Momma... I-I think I'm a boy," he explained, tears springing to his eyes. 

"Oh darlin' that's wonderful! I knew that you were a little lad since I saw ya, but didn' wanna make you uncomfy," Mary explained, picking him up. "Aw... My sweet baby boy." Luna smiled, feeling a huge weight fall from his shoulders. "Is there anythin' I can do to help you feel more like a lad?"

"I-I need a haircut... It's grown out a lot since I came here... And the dye's faded," Luna explained. He then blushed. "C-Could I... Get a binder?"

"Of course, laddie. But we'll have to have some rules for it. Mainly, time restrictions. Bindin' for too long can hurt your back," Mary explained.

"W-Will I still be able to wear... Cutesy things? Like my dresses and my bows?" Luna asked, fidgeting.

"Of course love, your gender isn't defined by the clothes you wear. If your dysphoria is real bad on certain days, I can help you pick out something that makes you feel both masculine and adorable," Mary reassured. He smiled, hiding his face in her neck and crying silent, happy tears. "Oh love... How long have you known?"

"I-I haven't been sure for-for a long time... It wasn't till I turned 18 that I-I was in an environment where I could test they/them pronouns, so I just assumed that it was right for me... And then when you referred to me as 'they' to Vanessa and Freddy... I just couldn't take it anymore. I didn't want to be viewed as a girl, but I didn't like being in between either," Luna explained. 

"I'm so sorry you felt that way for so long. Honestly, Nattie had the same issues, only for different circumstances," Mary explained.

"Can I... Can I ask her?" Luna asked. 

"Of course love... Shall we go tell her?" Mary asked. Luna nodded.

The two walked into Natalie's room, where she was sitting upright, seeming to have heard Mary's footsteps.

"Hewwo Mummy, hi Woona," Natalie greeted. 

"Hey Nattie. Can we talk to big Nat for a moment?" Mary asked gently. Natalie nodded and her expression sobered.

"What is is?" Natalie asked.

"Well, Luna has somethin' to tell ya," Mary explained, setting him down on his feet. Luna fidgeted a bit, before taking a deep breath. 

"Nat... Ya know how you uh... Used to be a boy?" Luna asked. Natalie nodded. "I uh... Used to be a girl... And now... I'm a boy..."

"Oh! I'm so happy to have a little brother!" Natalie squealed excitedly, but not too loudly. She squeezed Luna's hand through the bars of the crib, causing him to smile. "When did you find out?" 

Luna told her mostly the same story he told Mary, Natalie nodding along. 

"I see. I had a lot of the same experiences. Well, I talked to... To Renee about it... And for a long time, everyone just called me 'they'. I wanted to scream, until I finally told everyone... If only Papa had been around to hear... He always knew. Everyone told me so after I came out," Natalie explained. Luna nodded, giving her hand a squeeze. Natalie smiled. "Welcome to the family, again. Is there any new name you'd like to try?"

"N-No... Luna feels right," Luna explained. 

"Of course. Well, it'll be nice having someone else like me around... It felt so lonely, ya know?" Natalie asked. He nodded, and they both giggled. Mary smiled, quickly noting the day was the same day that Natalie had come out 7 years ago. She had been only 19 then, 3 years before she'd been classified. She took out her phone and typed down the day that Luna became her little baby boy.