Merlin couldn't help but be nervous walking into the salon that morning.
He also couldn't believe just how accepting and helpful his parents had been about the whole thing. After spending many late night hours reading horror stories about coming out, his sense of relief at his parents' acceptance and respect couldn't be overstated.
The stylist had decided that his hair would look best if he kept his bangs, and cut it so that it was shorter in the back and flopped over his face. If it weren't to the distinctive lack of pigtails, he could almost look the same.
There was still the problem of getting a binder, of course.
Something that he was blatantly reminded of as he walked up the steps to school, constantly pulling his shirt away from his chest. While his shortened hair gave him a great boost of confidence (and a rather cold scalp), he was still walking into school with a sports bra and not a binder and his face was about as feminine as they come.
God, screw dysphoria, honestly. Why the hell couldn't he just be a normal guy. Or hell, even a normal girl. Why had the universe stuck him in this uncomfortable middle ground, neither a girl nor truly a guy.
Alya's reaction was, of course, to run up and ruffle his hair completely out of its neatness. "You cut your hair?!" She was beaming with excitement and secondhand joy, seeming to get even more pleasure out of his new hair cut than he himself.
Nino and Adrien sidled up behind Alya as they made their way to the classroom. While Adrien merely nodded at Marinette's new haircut, Nino also decided to ruffle his hair. "Dude! You look sick!"
"Why'd you cut it? I like it just fine, but I was wondering." While Merlin had been expecting the question from one of them, hearing Adrien speak directly to him sent little shivers of fear and adrenaline down his spine.
Especially since he knew this was the perfect segway into what he had promised he would tell his friends.
"I uh... I'm more comfortable this way. I... yeah." He could almost hear Tikki telling him to finish explaining. And a large part of himself calling him a chicken.
"Dude, if you have something to tell us, it's fine." Merlin was beginning to understand just why Alya loved Nino so much. He was honestly the most chill, supportive friend anyone could ask for.
And he was conveniently best friends with Adrien Agreste. Which meant they all hung out together now. Which meant he got to see and talk to Adrien every day. Not that Adrien would talk to him after what he had to say.
Alya would, because they were best friends. Nino probably would because he was a. Alya's boyfriend and b. super chill. But Adrien? He would never look at him the same again. Merlin knew it.
"No.. It's just. ... hey, could I use a different name?"
"Do you not like us calling you Mari?" Alya was such a journalist, always there to question everything. Sometimes, Merlin loved her for it. But not now.
"Yeah... um, could you call me Merlin?"
Nino laughed a little at this, causing Merlin's face to flame red. He had really screwed up this time. Better to just keep the secret and suffer in silence. He wasn't sure he could handle being ridiculed.
"What, like the wizard?" Nino snorted one more time and then fell silent at the look of mortification on Merlin's face. "Yeah, sure. Any particular reason?"
"Um.. I think I might be uhhhhh... I like it better." Chicken.
Oddly enough, it was Adrien that spoke up next. "Okay. Hey, you should go talk to Kagami. They might be able to help you out with stuff."
