Umi sighed. It had been a long day. At least now she was home and could relax. But, that did nothing to ease the feeling in her stomach. It was a feeling of guilt.

Umi hated this feeling. It was very common for her to feel this way, unfortunately. She felt guilty about a lot of things. The main one? Making her friends deal with her.

Umi was genderfluid. Today she was feeling more feminine. But, yesterday she hadn't. Yesterday she felt extremely masculine. With these changes came more change. Umi had one day requested for pronouns changes depending on the day.

That was the reason she felt guilty. She was making her friends put up with the constant changes. Umi felt bad. They had to constantly check with her to make sure they weren't going to misgender her and make her feel uncomfortable.

Umi couldn't help but wonder if they felt frustrated with her. In her opinion, they had every right to be frustrated. She was demanding so much from them and not giving them anything in return.

Umi sighed. Maybe she should talk to them? It was always her way. She openly spoke about what made her uncomfortable. Why should she hesitate now?

So, Umi found herself texting Honoka and Kotori to come over. She had to hear from them how they truly felt about this whole thing. She shouldn't keep making assumptions about their feelings.

It didn't take long before the two girls had arrived. They were one sitting in Umi's bedroom. Umi wasn't sure what to say now. Before she had been certain, but now it was harder. She was struggling to find the right words to say.

"Am I bothersome?"

"Huh?"

"Whatcha mean?"

Umi stared at the ground, "Isn't it frustrating? Having to constantly change pronouns for me?"

"Of course not!" Honoka protested, "We'll do whatever it takes to make you happy."

"Yeah. It's no problem at all." Kotori nodded.

Umi said nothing. She folded her hands into fists. She still had the guilty feeling inside. Even hearing them say those things did nothing to change that feeling.

"It's okay, Umi-chan. I promise you don't annoy us with this stuff." Kotori took one of her hands in her own.

Umi looked up at her. Kotori smiled. Umi tried to smile back, but failed. She couldn't find the strength to hide her feelings.

"Don't worry, Umi-chan! It's okay." Honoka hugged her.

"Why? Why do you still put up with me?" Umi whispered.

"Don't be like that..." Kotori frowned, "You're our friend. We aren't going to just abandon you."

"Yeah. You'll always be our friend no matter what." Honoka nodded.

Umi stared down again. She didn't know how to respond. She had wanted to hear those words. But, part of her couldn't believe those words held any truth. It told her they were just lying to her.

"What will make you feel better?" Kotori asked, "I don't like seeing you sad."

"I don't know..." Umi mumbled, "Just... I can't believe you..."

"Hmm..." Honoka frowned, "Well, we'll just have to find a way to prove that we mean it."

"Yeah." Kotori nodded, "Um... though I'm not too sure what exactly to do..."

"Eh... yeah..." Honoka sighed, "That's where I'm stumped too."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just give up?"

"No! We aren't just going to leave you!" Honoka stated.

Umi sighed. This wasn't going very well. It wasn't supposed to have been this complicated. They were supposed to just say how they felt and that would've been it. Why? Why was it so much more complicated?

"Just... leave me alone... I need some time." Umi whispered.

"Eh? You sure?" Kotori asked, "I don't mind staying if you need me."

"Yeah. If you want us to stay, we'll gladly stay with you." Honoka agreed.

Umi pondered the offer. Maybe it would be better to have them stay? Could that be a way for them to prove they truly meant those words? Or would it be better to have them leave? Give her time to reflect on what they said?

"I... I guess you can stay..." Umi eventually decided.

"Yay!"

"So... what do you want to do?" Kotori asked.

"Can I be alone for a little?" Umi asked quietly.

"Sure. Five minutes." They agreed.

DIVIDER--

It was now night. The three of them were in the living room. The time spent together hadn't been very eventful. They barely spoke. Umi refused to do much. She was starting to regret agreeing to then staying. She didn't feel like asking them to leave now would go in her favor.

"Umi? Are you alright? You're very stiff." Honoka asked.

"I'm fine." Umi replied blandly.

"This isn't really working... is it?" Kotori sighed.

"I'm going to bed. Do as you please." Umi stood up and walked away.

"Umi-chan!" Honoka ran after her.

"What?"

"Why won't you believe us? We just want you to be happy." Honoka said, "Please... can't you tell that we just want what's going to help you?"

"I want to... but my mind just tells me I can't..." Umi sighed.

"Then listen to your heart. What does that tell you to do?" Honoka said.

Umi wasn't sure how to take the response. Her heart? Should she trust her heart?

"I want to believe you guys." Was all Umi said.

"Then believe it! Stop letting your mind tell you otherwise." Honoka stated firmly.

"I... I'll try..."

"Remember. We'll always be right here if you need us."

"Yeah. You have us." Kotori came over to them.

"Yeah..." Umi smiled, "Thank you..."