holding

“she could wear heels. if she wanted.”

“she’d still only come up to your chest.”

“oh. is there anything i can do?”

“don’t be a dick.”

“how do we make it so they don’t have to put up with as much?”

“exposure and education, mostly.”

“that’s a trap. i’m not answering that.”

“answer or i’ll fight you.”

“that’s sucky…..poor demi.”

“they’ve put up with a bunch of shit.”

“i’m glad she got her third chance at least”

“let’s hope this one lasts.”

“you think you’re real cute, don’t you.”

“are you saying i’m not?”

“i would never!”

“it’s a fair warning, because a lot of people are.”

“i didn’t even know this was a thing.”

“well, you do now, so don’t be a dick.”

“well, still. i’m sorry.”

“i dunno if i accept it just yet. i have to think about it.”

“what’s that mean?”

“they’re not a boy or a girl. they don’t conform to either. they don’t fit the binary.”

he sighed, blushing. “too long. way too long. i’ve apologized for that, right?”

“no, but it’s fine. it was implied.”

“it’s a different skill.”

“you’re just jealous.”

“more like frustrating. reading body language has never been a forte of mine.”

“clearly. how long did it take you to figure out i was hitting on you?”

“you’ve improved a lot. now we don’t even have to play charades to understand what the other is saying,” he laughed.

“too bad. you gotta admit-- that was kind of fun sometimes.”