I'm sorry it took so long for this to be published. I have a very important note at the end so if you could PLEASE read it, it would help a lot.

"Are you ready to do this?"

"I'm scared."

"I know you are, Ai. But everything will be okay, right?"

"Yeah." Nitori Aiichirou, whose new name was Ai, held her sweater tightly to her chest. It was rather warm out, but she felt more content at heart with the wool sweater that Rin gave her. They stood outside her house, a small two story house on the outskirts of town. She had asked Rin to take her there, as she wanted to come out to her family, in case the people at school discovered her dresses. Now that they were actually there, she was hesitant. Rin was assuring her that everything would be okay, but she didn't know if they would accept her. She had her parents and her two siblings to tell. Her parents were rather accepting, but she wasn't sure if her siblings would react well.

She wasn't wearing a skirt or dress like she usually does, but she was wearing a bow in her hair. Nitori was nervous, so nervous she thought she was going to pass out. Her boyfriend grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "You'll be fine. Come on." He tugged her towards the front door.

Nitori shakily sighed and knocked on the door. Usually her parents didn't care about people coming in and out, since her siblings' friends do it a lot. "I'm home!" She slid the door open and looked down at the step. Her family's shoes were sitting there. "They're all home."

She heard her mom before anyone else. "Aiichirou!" Her mom, wearing a yellow apron covered in dog hair, ran towards her. Her short grey bob cut matched Nitori's. "Oh I love your hair and bow! It's so cute!" She kissed her on the cheek and hugged her tightly. Rin wondered why she didn't ask her about the bow, but he figured her older sister dressed her up a lot. "I've been wondering when you'd come back here to see us! Why are you wearing a bow; it's really cute but why are you wearing one?"

Ai blushed. Rin looked at her, amused. "T-that's what I'd like to talk to you and dad about. And maybe Miki and Katashi too." She took a step into the hallway, taking her shoes off. Rin did the same. Rin admired her mother's handiwork; she had a lot of hand-embroidered pillows and hand-sewn quilts. He even saw how well she kept the place clean; which he found very impressive considering it is Aiichirou's family.

"Miki! Katashi! Your brother is home!" Ai winced at the term. She didn't know how well her family would take it. Two pairs of footsteps came down the stairs loudly. Two older teens, who were probably in university, ran up to Ai.

The sister, Miki, hugged her sister tightly and played with her hair. "I love what you did with your hair! Especially that bow; it looks like one I used to put in your hair when you were little!" Ai remembered her older sister 'kidnapping' her and forcing her into dresses and makeup when she was a small child. Ai didn't like it when she was a little girl, but now that she's older she wouldn't mind.

Katashi flicked her head, to get an angry glare from Rin. He didn't want to hold her hand yet, not until she came out and talked to her parents. "You look weird." He pulled the bow out.

"Oh. Okay." Ai let him take it out. Her brother looked at the bow and handed it back to her.

"It's cute but boys shouldn't wear bows."

Ai looked to her parents and asked them, "May I speak to all of you?" Her voice shook. "It's important." Her small dog was running around the house; she could hear him running into walls. She noticed her dad glaring at Rin. "This is my," she hesitated. "My friend. Rin Matsouka."

Her mom looked at her husband and children. "Sure. Meet in the dining room."

Ai took Rin by the wrist and led him to the room. He was being abnormally quiet; he probably wasn't used to being around a family like her's or dealing with a crucial situation. The two sat side by side, sipping the tea that Ai's mom brought. Her siblings were fighting over something; the two were arguing about their grades and athleticism. Ai stared at her lap. Rin figured she compared herself to her siblings a lot. "I-I needed to talk to you all about something." Ai spoke up suddenly. Her siblings stopped bickering and stared at her. Rin saw her hands shaking. "I've been feeling weird lately. It's been tugging at my heart since I was little. It's been making me sick." Her voice shook, along with her entire body.

"Are you sick, Aiichirou?" Her sister asked, concerned.

"N-No. What I'm trying to say is that I've been feeling very different lately and its making me feel awful. I don't feel like myself." Rin didn't want to grab her hand. She might react a lot differently than he would have wanted. "I don't feel like a boy." She choked out. It hurt her to say it and confess her feelings to everyone. "I feel like a girl." Ai shook her head. "No. I want to be a girl. I don't want to be a boy."

Rin grabbed her hand as soon as he saw her start to cry.

Her family was shocked. Her mom sighed and looked down. "I should have known." She shook her head and rested it onto her folded hands. "You were always different as a child. I thought it was just a phase…"

Ai's lip quivered. She tried to stop crying, but she was terrified. "I'm sorry, mom."

"Don't be." Her dad spoke up. She looked over at him, afraid he would disapprove. "It's you. It's okay to change yourself to how you want to be."

Ai smiled. It was a small smile, but everyone was happy to see it. "Now that that's out of the way," She brought her hand up and showed her parents her holding Rin's hand. "This is my boyfriend."

"That's a little more than a friend." Her sister rolled her eyes. "Damn I was hoping he wouldn't be gay. He's kinda hot."

Rin quickly butted in. "I'm not gay I'm bisexual."

"Oh, sorry."

Ai was waiting for someone to say something. She looked at her brother, who stared at her. "Disgusting." He muttered, standing up.

Her family and Rin could feel her heart break. "W-what did you say?" Ai managed to say. He said it so quietly, but Ai managed to pick up on it.

"Nothing." Her older brother hissed. He opened the dining room door and went to step out.

Ai's father demanded to know what he said. "What did you say to your," He hesitated. "Sister?" The relief washed over Ai like a relaxing bath.

"I said he's disgusting. Why'd you have to have such a freak as a son?" Katashi glared at her. He didn't care about her feelings anymore. "If you're going to be one of those people, then just go ahead and get rid of the family name. You don't deserve it." He slammed the door behind him, making Ai flinch in fear.

The smaller girl broke into tears almost immediately after her older brother's cruel words. "I'll handle him." The father said quietly, rising up and he left to scold Katashi.

Rin rubbed her thumb on Ai's hand. "It's okay." He leaned on her and whispered into her ear. "It'll all be okay." He felt her shaking calm down. "That's good. That's good, Ai. Just calm down it'll all be okay." He kissed her cheek to make sure she was okay.

Ai stood suddenly and looked at her mom and sister. "Mom, Miki. T-thank you two for being so understanding. We have to go now." She grabbed Rin and started to walk.

"I don't want to be here anymore." Rin didn't know why she wanted to leave so suddenly, until he heard her brother and dad yelling.

"I refuse to have such a freak as a brother! If he wants to be a girl so badly, I will make him one!" Her brother screamed.

Rin looked at Ai walk quickly in front of her, grabbing their shoes and opening the door, she turned to Rin. Her eyes were red and puffy, voice breaking and head turned down. "L-let's go." She put her shoes on and started walking.

"Ai…"

"Don't talk about it. Please Rin." She thought of her relationship with her family. Her mom, dad, and sister were so understanding and accepting. Her brother rejecting her hurt more than those boys attacking her one day. Ai remembered how he would pick her up and "fly" her around the room and would play and tease her. She remembered her first day of highschool; he would try to hide the uniform from her and would laugh at her attempt to find it. Miki would scold the two for breaking into her room, grabbing them and kicking them out. Now he wouldn't even look at her.

It hurt more than any sort of physical pain in the world. Ai couldn't handle the pain of her broken relationships. Ai wanted her family to be normal again, but because of her it would never be the same.

"You're not a freak." Rin spoke softly. The two were walking quietly down the road and back into town. "He's just confused."

"I know." Ai answered. She didn't want to accept the fact that she was different and an outcast in her family now.

Rin woke up in the middle of the night to hear Nitori talking to herself. "I'm so sorry…I'm sorry…" She was mumbling quietly. "Please don't hate me." She was whimpering.

She was having a nightmare, Rin figured. It would take a while for her to get over the nightmares and fear of rejection, but Rin didn't know how to help her. He wasn't like her, wanting to be another gender. He wasn't afraid of being attacked or killed. He was afraid that Ai would hate herself for being her.

He couldn't go to sleep again; the soft repeats of "Don't hate me." kept him up all night.

Again, I'm so sorry it took so long for me to write this. I've been having severe medical problems happening; weakness, sickness, migraines 24/7, and depression. Until I get treatment for my medical problems, this fic will be on a mini hiatus. I will try to write as much as possible, but I don't know how much I will be able to. I've had to go between school and the hospital a lot, so there's not a lot of time for writing. I'm so sorry.