Coming Out

   The three friends and their friendships were going at their best. The day of their meeting was fun, relaxing, and calm. Joseph enjoyed every moment of it after clearing all the misunderstandings between the three of them.

   But the words Joshua said that day was always roaming around his thoughts. Did Joseph like Theodore in that way? Did he have those types of feelings for Theodore? He was unable to find answers to those questions. He was confused about many things.

   It was the day when Joseph was with Yuki studying books about humans in Yuki's library. Joseph was having fun while reading about humans and their realm when he came across a page about LGBTQ+. That topic seemed a little more interesting than anything else to Joseph. So, he read further about it. LGBTQ+ was lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other. Joseph was confused. What did it even mean that people have different types of gender? Weren't there supposed to be only males and females? It was written that, in the human realm, it was legal for a boy to marry a boy and a girl to marry a girl. Also, a human could be bisexual. That is, they could like both men and women as well. Also, some humans were asexual, pansexual, and whatnot. All this information was hard to digest for Joseph. Then he suddenly remembered when Joshua asked if he liked Theodore or not. Did Joshua already know about all these? Maybe. Joshua might have read it, or someone must have told him.

   It was hard for Joseph to understand anything so, he asked Yuki, "Umm. Yuki? What is all this about sexuality? I don't understand it. Why does a human have so many genders? Isn't it only male and female?"

   Yuki smiled at his question, "Maybe it's finally the time for you to realize everything. Humans are weird. We could say that. But as the changes in the world came, humans became advanced with it. Before, it used to be all about males and females. But, things have changed. Changes are necessary. Feelings can change as well. Sometimes being a boy, you tend to fall in love with another boy. It is not your fault. It is just how you were born. You can't decide your sexuality. You happen to know about yourself more as you grow up. You start to know your likes and dislikes. And before human society didn't accept these types of feelings. These were regarded as unnecessary feelings. But more people came out about their sexuality and started fighting for themselves. After many years of fighting, people finally started to accept people as they were. There's no problem in liking a boy. Instead of hiding your feelings or being ashamed of them, you should try to embrace them. So you can live fully as yourself. Do you understand?"

   Joseph was dumbfounded by the information. After the explanation, everything became crystal clear to him. His feelings and his sexuality were finally clear to him.

   "So, did you finally realize yourself now?" Yuki smirked.

   Joseph was shocked, "H-How did you know about it when I realized it just now?"

   "Kid, I'm a God, remember? Also, your feelings were very obvious to everyone. Everyone around you could see it except for you," Yuki laughed at him.

   "Was I too obvious? Could Theo see my feelings for him as well?" Joseph was embarrassed.

   "I can't tell that. To know that, you should go and ask Theodore yourself," Yuki was mischievous.

   "No, I can't tell him. What if he doesn't like me like that? What if he breaks our friendship because of it? I don't want to lose him because of how I feel about him," Joseph was terrified at the thought of Theodore hating him.

   "Trust me at this kid. You should talk to Theodore about your feelings once. Remember when you expressed your feelings to Joshua, and everything finally turned into normal? So try doing that again with Theodore. It will surely work out," Yuki assured him.

   Joseph thought about it for some time and said, "Maybe you are right. I will talk to Theo about it tomorrow," Joseph was nervous.

   Yuki patted his head in response, "Good luck with that kid."

   The next day, Joseph waited for Theodore and Joshua, but only Joshua came. Theodore must have had some work with the king. Joseph was sad. He finally had realized his feelings, and now that he was about to express his feelings, Theodore didn't come.

   That day Joshua seemed a little off as well. He was zoning out. Joseph noticed and asked, "Are you alright? You seem a little off today. You are even zoning out. Is everything okay?"

   Joshua forced a smile and said, "Yes, I'm fine. Nothing is going on."

   "That's good then. Do you remember that once asked me if I liked Theo or not? I've finally realized it now. Joshua, I think I am in love with Theo. I realized it just the day before," Joseph confessed.

   "Are you serious? I knew you had feelings for him. I'm happy that you finally realized it. But what made you realize it?" Curiosity was heard in Joshua's voice.

   "Oh, the other day, I was reading some books about humans and came across LGBTQ+, and Yuki explained it to me," Joseph explained.

   "That's good. At least you were able to know about yourself. I'm happy for you," Joshua hugged him.

   Though Joshua said he was happy for Joseph, his eyes were sad. He wasn't sad because Joseph had feelings for Theodore. He was sad because Joseph was unknown about what was awaiting him. Joshua couldn't even look Joseph in the eyes.

   They were still hugging each other when a tear slipped from Joshua's eyes.

   "I hope we could stay together for a longer time. I am so sorry, Joseph. I wanted to spend more time with you. But, we have to go. Please forgive us," Joshua thought to himself.

   Joshua quickly wiped his tears and kissed Joseph's forehead, "Just remember I am always going to be there for you."

   Joseph felt assured. He smiled after hearing Joshua say that.