Content Warning:

  SpoilerMentions of sex. Don't worry, nothing is depicted. I can write some pretty amazing sex scene if I do say so myself, but I REFUSE to do that when minor characters are involved. Hope you all enjoy.

  [colpse]I step out of the car and onto the sidewalk in front of Holly’s house. She’s waiting for me, as she always does, by the front door. I waste no time in running to her and throwing my arms around her.

  “I missed you so much…” I say, my voice naturally rising into its feminine intonation.

  “I missed you too.” She murmurs. “It’s only been four days, but it feels like a lifetime.”

  I pull away from her, but she doesn’t let me get far as she pushes forwards to pnt her lips on mine. I can’t help but smile. I’m so happy Holly is my girlfriend. My mom drives off, and Holly pulls me inside to her room.

  The moment we are alone, I start stripping my clothes. Holly chuckles before heading into the bathroom. This routine over the past few weeks has actually been nice. I show up, and immediately get into girl's clothes before doing my makeup. Then we spend the day doing normal datey things.

  I pull the small bck denim shorts up my freshly shaved legs, and then cuff them to make them even smaller. They don’t quite hit my mid thigh, but I like them. They fit well. After that I hold up the bck tank top, and reveal the blue star printed right beneath where my breasts would be, if I was a girl.

  The final piece of the outfit she put together is a cropped white long sleeve shirt that looks like it was thrown through a paper shredder. There are holes everywhere along the body, and even some along the lower parts of the sleeves. After untangling it, I throw it on, and head into the bathroom.

  Holly grins at me as I walk in. “You look adorable, babe.”

  “Thank you.” I say, my voice light and bubbly.

  The long sleeve, now that I’m looking at it in the mirror, almost looks like an external rib cage made of cloth. It’s so cool. I need this shirt. As is routine, now that she’s taught me, I prime my face, and start applying the cosmetics. My makeup comes together rather well, although I’m still not as good as she is at applying it.

  Once I’ve put on the foundation, concealer, contour, blush, and highlights, I get started on my eyes. It may have taken me a while to get down the smokey eyeshadow look that Holly likes, but it is so worth it.

  With my shadow done, I start working on the liner, giving myself a sharp wing, and a mostly identical one on my other eye. With everything said and done, I sit and admire myself in the mirror for a moment. I do look really good like this. If I met a girl like this on the street, I’d think she was hot.

  “Beautiful as always, baby.” Holly says, and takes my hand. “Come on, I want to paint your nails.”

  I happily follow her out to her bed, and sit cross legged while she pulls out the polish. I agreed to this st night, and I think I’m still okay with it. I can’t just remove the polish while I’m at home, but a lot of guys paint their nails, and since Holly is doing them bck, my parents probably won’t even care.

  “So,” Holly says while she starts painting. “I was thinking about our pns for today.”

  “Yeah, babe?” I prompt. “We can do whatever you want.”

  “I was hoping for another walk in the park, if you’re okay with it.” She says, and pauses painting to look up at me. “We won’t go on the pond walk, just around the rest of the park. There’s a garden I want to check out.”

  “Sure.” I say, and give her a smile. “Thank you.”

  “I don’t want what happened st time to happen again.” She says, and continues working on my nails.

  Her tongue sticks out slightly as she focuses, and I cannot help but admire her beauty. She’s so cute… I’m so, so lucky I met her. After a few more minutes, she finally pulls away and screws the lid onto the bottle of polish.

  “Okay, be careful with your fingers for a bit.” She says, and gives me a once over. “Let’s take some photos, then maybe have a snack, and then we can head to the park?”

  “Sounds great.” I say with a smile.

  She pulls out her phone and takes multiple photos of me from varying angles. I keep my fingers spyed and ft so as not to ruin the polish, so I can’t pose very well. After a few moments she kneels on the bed, so that she is almost towering over me, and takes a picture.

  “Oh my god.” She says as she looks at her phone. “I think this might be my absolute favorite photo I’ve ever taken of you.”

  “Let me see!” I shout, and she turns her phone towards me.

  Wow… I’m looking up at her, but not quite smiling. I’m not exactly sure what the look on my face is, but it’s hot. I’m hot. Holly starts giggling, and I look up at her, confused.

  “What?” I ask.

  “You’re just so wonderful.” She says with a smile. “I swear, it’s almost like you’re seeing yourself for the first time, every time.”

  “I mean…” I say, and trail away. “Not really. It’s more like seeing your creation. You did this. I’m just admiring your art.”

  She falters when I say this, but quickly regains composure. “Yeah… I suppose so.” She sighs, and looks at my nails. “I think the polish is dry, and honestly I’m not really that hungry. Can we just go to the park?”

  “Sure.” I say, ignoring the slight pang in my stomach. “I’m not that hungry either.”

  The walk to the park is nice. I really like being out and about dressed like this. I feel normal. No one is staring at me, or whispering things to their friends as I walk by. The few people who do look at me, I can tell, are checking me out, which does make me feel more than a little gross. I belong to Holly. My looks are not for anyone else.

  We enter the park, and Holly leads me along the same path we took before. Eventually, at the bottom of a rge hill, the path forks. Before, we went right, now we go left. We walk zily up the hill, and come to a stop at the top.

  Ahead of us is a decently sized garden full of all sorts of pnts. I take the lead, and pull Holly along into the walls of flowers. She happily listens while I tell her random facts about some of the flowers as they pop into my brain.

  I turn to Holly, to make sure she’s listening, and see her phone out. She giggles at me and turns it around to show a photo of me leaning over a red flower, a focused look on my face. Cute…

  “Sorry, I just had to take a photo.” She says with a grin. “You’re so adorable.”

  “Thank you, babe.” I say, and continue along the winding path through the garden.

  Near the end is a rge group of roses, and I immediately gravitate towards a section of blood red ones. “You like those?” Holly asks, as she leans against the garden wall next to me.

  “I love them.” I say with a grin. “Roses are my favorite flower. This red specifically,” I point to the rose in front of me. “Is my favorite color of rose.”

  “They’re really pretty.” She says, and moves closer to me. “But not as pretty as you.”

  My face heats at this, but I quickly forget the feeling as Holly touches my chin and turns my head towards her. Soft lips press against mine, and I stand there happily, inhaling the mixture of flowers and Holly into my lungs. She smells amazing… Everything here does.

  Just as we are about to leave the garden, Holly stops and points at something. “Look.”

  I lean forwards to see a strikingly red butterfly cruising happily around the flowers. “Whoa…”

  The butterfly, after having apparently noticed our attention, flies up towards us. I lean back so as to give it space to fly, but it seems to not like that as it crowds against my face. I freeze as I feel a tickle against my nose, and watch the wings appear and disappear from view.

  “Uh, Holly…” I whisper.

  “Shhhh.” She shushes. “Don’t move.”

  I do my best impersonation of a statue as Holly paces slowly around me, taking multiple photos. After a few moments, the butterfly takes off, and goes back to soaring around the veritable feast of nectar in the garden.

  “That was beautiful.” She says as she takes my hand. “I’m so going to win an award for that photo.” I start to panic slightly at the thought of people who might know me seeing me like this, but calm quickly as Holly continues speaking. “Only if you’re okay with it, that is.”

  I think for a moment. I guess, at the end of the day it doesn’t matter. I doubt anyone would recognize me, and if they do… Why would I care? “Do it.”

  “Yay!” She says, and pulls me along towards the exit.

  As we’re walking out of the garden, a boy I recognize all too well approaches us. I shift my position slightly, trying to hide behind Holly, without looking like I’m doing so. Holly however, doesn’t seem to realize my discomfort, and waves at him.

  “Hey, Aiden!” She calls out.

  Aiden, Alice’s best friend, the reason I broke up with Alice, walks over to us. “Hey, Holly!” He says with a smile. “Who’s your friend?”

  I squeeze Holly’s hand twice as she speaks up. “Oh, this is my g-” She pauses, before continuing. “My partner. We’ve been dating for a few weeks now. We’re actually on a date right now, do you mind if we get back to it?”

  “Oh, yeah.” He says, while rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry to bother you.”

  He walks away, and I breathe a sigh of relief once he’s out of earshot. “Sorry…” I whimper to Holly.

  “It’s fine.” She says, looking straight into my eyes. “I’m gd you signaled that you were uncomfortable.”

  I give her a smile. The squeeze code was something we came up with when I first went non-verbal in front of her. One squeeze for I’m fine. Two, I’m uncomfortable. Three, for help. I’ve only had to use it a few times, but I’m gd it’s in pce.

  “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you uncomfortable around Aiden?” She gives me a look that I don’t quite understand. “It’s not because he’s…”

  “No.” I respond quickly. “It’s not because he’s trans. It’s um… Kind of a long story.”

  “You don’t have to share if you don’t want to.” She says, and squeezes my hand once.

  I sigh deeply. “I…” I don’t think I can tell her everything. I want to. I know she’d believe me, but… I’m scared that she, like most other people, will just assume I’m lying. “I had a crush on Aiden for a while. I um… I was dating his best friend, and broke up with her, because I realized I was only interested in him.”

  “I see.” She says thoughtfully. “Do you still have a crush on him?”

  “No.” I say quickly, and look at her. “I only have eyes for you.” She presses a kiss to my lips, then pulls back expectantly. “But um… Alice kinda tried to ruin my life after. I shouldn’t have broken up with her like I did, but I didn’t deserve that. Aiden’s always hated me since. I’m gd he didn’t recognize me.”

  “Hey, look at me.” Holly says, and gently cups my cheeks. “We both know Alice isn’t one for good decisions. I told you about what she did to me.” I nod, and fight back the tears that threaten to ruin my makeup. “Whatever she did to you, you did not deserve it. I know it.”

  “Thanks, Holly.” I say, my voice barely a whisper. “Can we go home now?” I pause, and correct myself. “I mean… back to your pce?”

  “Sure.” She says, a mischievous grin on her face. “There’s something I wanted to do today, anyways.”

  The walk back to Holly’s house is nice and peaceful. No one I recognize appears from thin air, and no one talks to us. I listen happily while Holly hums what she said was her favorite song of mine. We make it back with a solid hour and a half before the time my mom usually comes to pick me up.

  “May!” Holly calls out as we enter, causing me to flinch. “Mom! Anyone home?!”

  Only silence responds. “I guess not.” I tease. “Just you and me.”

  “Good.” Holly says as she drags me into her bedroom. “That’s exactly what I was hoping for.”

  “Oh?” I ask, as she gestures for me to get on her bed. “Why is that?”

  “Because.” She says, before pulling off her shirt to reveal gorgeous skin underneath. “I want to take our retionship to the next level.”

  ?????????????

  “Oh, Emmy!”

  Holly’s shout reverberates in my mind as I push her off me and sit up, tucking my legs into my chest. Tears well up in my eyes, and spill down onto my cheeks. Holly’s face is full of panic, and she immediately tries to wrap her arms around me, but I stop her, pushing her away.

  “Who’s Emmy?” I ask, terrified for her response.

  “Fuck…” She says softly, and looks at me pleadingly, tears leaking down her face. “I… I’m so sorry…”

  “Who. Is. Emmy?!” I shout at her.

  “You are.” She says simply.

  “I… What?” I say, more confused than I have been in a very long time. “I don’t understand.”

  Holly takes in a deep breath, and lets it out slowly. “You’re Emmy. I… It’s the name I’ve been using for you in my head… I’m so sorry.”

  “Why?” I ask, already kind of knowing the answer. It’s because she needs me to be a girl.

  She sighs again, and looks at me apologetically. “I thought it was cute, and that it fit you… I’m… Fuck, I’m so sorry.”

  “I want to believe you.” I say, feeling my heart threatening implosion. “I really do…”

  “What do you mean?” She asks, giving me a confused expression.

  “Holly… If that’s all it is, then that’s fine. I figured you’d want to give me a girl’s name eventually.” I sigh deeply. “How do I know you’re telling the truth? That Emmy isn’t a girl you’re seeing on the side.”

  She immediately lunges for her phone. “Here.” She says, shoving it into my hands. “Look through my calls, my texts, anything you want to. I promise, there is no one else for me, than you.”

  I take her phone in my hands, and consider looking through it, before handing it back to her. “No…” She looks terrified as I look back up at her. “I believe you, Holly. I trust you.”

  “I…” She splutters, still looking at me fearfully. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure.” I say with a smile, and am surprised as a soft giggle escapes my lips.

  “Why are you ughing?” She asks, her own face cracking into a smile.

  “Because,” I say, as I take her hand in mine. “Out of all the names you could’ve chosen for me, you just happened to choose one I’ve used before.”

  She looks at me, shock on her face. “I don’t understand.”

  I shake my head slightly. “There’s a game I py, Nightfall.” I expin. “The character I main, is named Emmy.” She tilts her head, and I wave my hand to tell her to let me finish. “In ranked, you can’t see anyone else’s username during the match, so you just call people by the name of the character they’re pying. So whenever I py, everyone calls me Emmy.”

  “I…” She says, her voice trailing away.

  “It doesn’t help that I use this voice in the game too.” I say with a smile.

  She leans forwards, and tentatively kisses me on the lips. “So… does this mean that everything is okay? I can call you Emmy?”

  “Yes.” I say, and pull her back into me for another kiss. “Everything is okay, although I do wish my first time hadn’t ended that way.”

  “Wait…” She says, faltering as she says the word. “First time?”

  “Yeah…” I say, a tiny bit embarrassed. “I’ve never had sex before…”

  “Oh…” She says, and looks a bit sad. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not.” I say, and give her a kiss. “I’m gd my first time was with you.”

  “Good.” She says as she smiles back at me. “You didn’t answer my question earlier.” I look at her, confused. “I asked if I could call you Emmy.”

  I let out another soft giggle. “Yes, you can call me Emmy.”

  She breathes a sigh of relief and falls into my arms. “I was really worried.” She says into my chest. “At the park earlier when we met Aiden, I almost called you my girlfriend, but I wasn’t sure if you’d be okay with it, so I panicked and said partner.”

  “I noticed.” I say, as I tug at the strands of golden hair in front of me. “I’m okay with you calling me your girlfriend. I’ve got the clothes, the makeup, and the name. May as well take the title and pronouns too.”

  “Pronouns?” She asks, staring up at me.

  “Yeah.” I say with a ugh. “You can’t exactly go around introducing me to people like ‘Hi everyone, this is Emmy. He’s my girlfriend.’”

  Holly lets out a loud and bright ugh, which quickly turns into an adorable snort. “Oh god, Emmy… I love you so much.”

  My heart freezes in my chest, but only for a moment. That’s the first time she’s ever said that… “I love you too, Holly.”