(Prompt: Growth)
"Happy anniversary, Ali."
"Happy anniversary, Liam."
"Our years together have been full of so many adventures and so much growth."
"Too true. I didn't even know my gender when we first met. In some ways I am a completely different person than I was back then."
"I'm pretty different too, though not as much as you I guess. Not that being different is a bad thing. Growth and change are good. Anyone who doesn't grow is holding themselves back."
"Yes. My life is certainly better now that I have grown into being who I truly am. Trying to be the cis-gender person I thought I had to be was rough. No more feeling lost and broken. I just get to be me and I love me."
"I love you too. I also love that I got to go through so much of your growth journey with you. It was cool, inspiring, and informative to watch you go through the process of finding yourself. It was painful at times, of course, but you came through with flying colors."
"Partly thanks to you. You are always so kind and supportive. You encouraged me to be myself and not be afraid to explore my identity."
"You have always been amazing and you just keep getting more and more amazing. The more you grow, the more beautiful you become."
"I hope we never stop growing as individuals and as a couple."
"I agree. Growth for life."
(Prompt: Together)
[Setting: Liam's highschool reunion]
"I can't believe you are still with her," John said to Liam after Allen had left to use the restroom, "I know you two have been friends since senior year but still. If my wife started to pretend to be a man I would devorce her until she stopped."
"I could never do that. I vowed that we would be together forever and I'm not going to go back on that promise."
"But you promised that to Alina, not this Allen character. She broke the promise first by pretending to be someone else."
"He's not pretending to be someone else. He's simply being himself. Allen and Alina are together the person I married. They are different representations of the same person."
"Whatever, it's still super wierd."
"To you maybe. You couldn't pay me to go back to the way things were before. Allen is so much happier as a genderfluid person than he was as a cisgender woman. I continue to fall more in love with him and am so glad that I get to go through life together with him. If you can't respect that then you are welcome to cut ties with me."
"That's not what I meant, man. I don't have any problem with you."
"But you have a problem with my husband?"
"..."
"That's what I thought. Allen and I are together, we are a package deal, so I'll just leave and save you the discomfort of being around us."
"Wow, way to be rude!"
"You essentially told me that I should devorce my husband because you think he is weird, but I am the rude one here? Sorry but I'm not in the mood to degrade myself or my partner in order to play nice with people who insult us. I wish you all the best but I'm going to go find my best elsewhere."
(Prompt: Healing)
[back before they were engaged and before Alina realized she is genderfluid]
"You seem to be in a good mood today," Liam said.
"I guess so."
"Any particular reason?"
"I guess I just feel comfortable in my body for once."
"That's great. That's been happening more often hasn't it?"
"Yeah, though not usually to this extent."
"What do you mean?"
"I've started to be able to look at my body. Just glimpses but it's still better than having to close my eyes when I change or take a shower."
"That's great. Progress is progress, no matter how small the steps forward are."
"I guess I'm finally starting to heal from my Purity Culture wounds. I'm still shocked by how stunted my acceptance of my own body was, and generally still is. I didn't notice it happening but somehow it got to the point where, often subconsciously, I was repulsed by my body. My body seemed like a dirty thing that should never be seen or thought about and must always be bound and hidden away. How messed up is that? I can't even pinpoint when it happened, so Purity Culture probably started warping my mind as a child. The hurt lay dormant for years until I grew old enough to no longer be able to avoid it. It has hurt so much. You know how much of an uphill battle it is. Thank you for being so patient and supportive through all my frustrations."
"I'm always happy to help, Ali. Healing can be hard and painful. If there is any way I can help make the healing process easier for you then of course I am going to do it."
"Thank you, Liam. You really are the best."
"No, you are the best. And congratulations again on the healing progress and having a good day."
(Prompt: Discovery)
"Alina, are you almost done getting dressed?" Liam asked as he walked into their bathroom. "Alina? Are you alright?"
"It's wonderful. I have a flat chest."
"So you do. I guess that means your binder arrived?"
"Yep."
"It looks nice. How does it feel?"
"It feels amazing. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it is amazing. It's so comfortable and I love the way it makes me feel and look. I'm kind of blown away by how incredible it feels. I wish I had tried them sooner."
"Better late than never. I'm glad you are so happy with it."
"What do you think about it? Do I look ok?"
"I like it. You look wonderful."
"I might need to get more of these soon. It is so comfortable."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Binders really are the best discovery I've made in a while."
"Shall we get going now and take it out for a spin?"
"Just give me a moment to finish getting ready and then we can go."
(Prompt: Learning)
"Hey Alina, do you know which Pride flag that is?"
"Which one?"
"The blue, brown, and lavender one."
"Not sure, I'll Google it. ... Looks like it is the androsexual flag."
"Huh, never heard of that one."
"It means being sexually attracted to men or masculinity."
"So it's like a gender-neutral equivalent to homo or heterosexual?"
"Looks like it."
"That's cool. I bet that makes things easier for non-binary and genderqueer people. I guess you could identify as androsexual if you wanted to."
"Yeah but I think I will stick with straight and gay. The gendered terms help support whatever gender I'm identifying as at the time. But it is good to know there is a gender-neutral option if I decide I want it."
(Prompt: Exploration)
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing," Alina said as she quickly closed the web browser.
"Alina? Is something wrong? You know you can talk to me about anything."
"... I was learning about things we could do in the bedroom..."
"No need to be ashamed of that. I'm more than happy to explore things with you."
"Really? Even things that are a little... out there?..."
"We can consider anything. You know that I like exploration and exploration with you is no different. Just let me know what you want to try."
"... I don't think I am ready yet. I still feel awkward just considering such things myself. The thought of telling anyone, even you, kind of freaks me out."
"No worries. Take as much time as you need. I'll be here whenever you are ready. Do you mind if I do some research too? I'm curious now about what ideas are out there."
"Sure, if you want."
"Exploration on our own and together, I'm excited to see what we discover."
"Yeah, I guess I am too."
(Prompt: Self-expression)
[Setting: early on in Alina's genderfluid journey. She hasn't come out as genderfluid yet but is starting to try out presenting herself as a man.]
"Are you sure it is alright for me to dress like a guy?"
"Of course it is. If you want to dress like a guy then you should dress like a guy. Self-expression is about expressing yourself and your truth. If that truth is that you are a guy then express that however you want."
"For a cis-man you are on top of understanding and encouraging gender expression."
"I try. You've taught me a lot. Having a wife on a gender journey helps you learn and understand things by proximity and for her sake."
"Self-expression is definitely a journey. For me at least. I spent so long hiding who I am and pretending to be someone else that it can be hard to express myself properly. But I am getting better at it and it does feel nice to be myself on the inside and outside."
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