"Well, then I identify as an attack helicopter!"

Jeremy flinched. He and Michael were at a gaming event, and a speaker was talking about inclusivity in games and the gaming community in general. Jeremy found it rather interesting and was enjoying it, until someone in a nearby seat made that comment.

Michael glanced over at Jeremy, noticing the other flinch, but Jeremy kept his eyes trained on the speaker.

He'd, on a whim, come out to Christine two weeks ago. She was trying to help Jeremy find a way to come out to Michael, but the main issue was Jeremy's confidence. He was mainly worried Michael wouldn't be accepting to something like this. They had been friends for over a decade and Jeremy didn't want to lose him over it.

Maybe it would be easier to just not say anything to Michael, Jeremy hoped.

The speaker continued to speak, and the two boys in the nearby seats kept making comments. Jeremy's hands curled, fingernails digging into his palms. He started chewing at his thumbnail in annoyance and anxiety.

Evidently, the rest of the audience was getting tired of the speaker getting interrupted, and started murmuring.

"You know there are only two genders, right?" one of the two boys called out to the speaker.

Jeremy sank lower in his seat. The speaker told the hecklers they could leave if they wanted, and started wrapping up their dialogue.

"Dude, shut up and let them speak," Michael said when the troublemakers tried to start again. He was called a name but he only rolled his eyes. Jeremy felt somewhat hopeful. The speaker at the beginning had given their pronouns, and was feminine presenting, so it meant something to Jeremy for Michael to use the correct pronoun when referring to the speaker, even if Michael was unaware of his current predicament.

Jeremy almost sighed in relief when the boys finally quieted down, and the speaker finished talking. They answered any questions others might have had, and left the podium.

The security came by and gave the boys a warning about continuously interrupting.

Next, the event people split the audience into groups. There were going to be teams, and some sort of competition. Jeremy was relieved when he was allowed to stay with Michael, but a low whine started in his throat when he noticed their opponents were the troublemakers.

"Dude, are you okay?" Michael asked, glancing at Jeremy again.

"Yeah… I'm… fine," Jeremy lied. He grabbed his assigned controller and sat with him. He tried tuning the others out, but it was difficult. They kept making similar jokes, and Jeremy tightened his grip on the controller.

Michael clearly didn't believe him, and when Jeremy gave a shaky sigh, he asked what was wrong. Jeremy said, casually as he could, that he just didn't really care for the jokes their opponents were making. Michael waited for a time that his participation wasn't as important, and kept an eye on his friend, trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

Eventually, there was a break, and the moment it was announced, Jeremy dropped his controller (making sure he didn't drop it too hard, of course) and stood, making his way towards the hall. It was so quick that Michael was surprised, because he'd expected that they'd have fun on this event, and Jeremy only quickly left when he was having a bad time.

Michael set his controller down and went to find his friend. "Jer?" he asked when he found him.

Jeremy was standing, leaning against the opposite wall of the hallway. His shaking hands were curled tightly into fists, and Michael swore he saw unshed tears in his eyes. Jeremy's lips were pressed into a thin line.

"Dude," Michael said, still confused as to why Jeremy was upset.

Jeremy again flinched. He usually didn't care or mind too much the word 'dude,' seeing as people used it for everything: guys, girls, objects; but his exposure to the hecklers heightened his sensitivity for the time being.

Michael noticed his flinched and changed his wording. "Jeremy." He thought for a moment. "Is… there a reason you're not particularly enjoying their 'humor'?" Calling it humor seemed almost like a joke itself, honestly. Jeremy only shrugged, so Michael continued. "Is the subject of their jokes something to someone close to you?" he tried.

"I guess you could say that," Jeremy said quietly, and Michael almost had to strain to hear him.

"You wanna explain?"

Jeremy's eyes quickly returned to the ground; he'd been staring at the wall behind Michael. "I'm—" He hesitated, then decided to just get it over with. "People like me are the subject of those jokes."

"People like you?" Michael echoed, and Jeremy looked up to meet his eyes.

"Yeah," Jeremy muttered. "They're making fun of people's… identity. And that's… important to some people. It's not cool to make fun of that."

Michael nodded slowly, piecing things together. "So… you're one of those people that… say they're not a specific gender?"

"It's—it's more complicated than that," Jeremy tried to explain. "It's not a matter of 'saying they're not a specific gender'. I don't… I don't know how to explain." He took a deep breath. "Point is, their 'jokes' are insults and they directly affect me."

"You're probably going to have to explain this later for me to better understand," Michael said, "but should I… call you something else?'

"Jeremy's still fine… 'he' is still fine… I don't mind 'they', though. I've been thinking about it." Christine had offered to try to use 'they' for Jeremy, to see if he liked it, and it was something he was open to.

"Want me to get security to do something about those guys?"

"Please do."