“As I was saying, I think The Crimson Blood Rose needs to be animated. It features some lovely yuri undertones…” Autumn said, sipping her tea. She fixed her hair lightly and kept her composure, focusing all her thoughts on the conversation.

“Nah, if you’re going to have an adaptation, it has to be a straight up, no holds barred explicit yuri like The Sunflower Girl right? Come now!” Edelweiss replied, passionately getting into the conversation. As she spoke, she noticed an adorable fidgeting creature in the corner of her eye. She smirked and turned to Dove. “What about you, Dove? What manga do you want to be animated?”

Dove snapped out of his daze and deployed his well-trained smile. He heightened his voice and churned his parfait slightly before answering. “I-I’m not really sure… I th-think new seasons of classics would be nice….” He then looked at what seemed from the outside like another cute girl beside him scarfing down a cake and hot chocolate, his mind filled with one single sound;

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” He screamed internally.

“Okay, snap out of it, get it together Dove! What you did was extremely idiotic, like extremely so, but you can cry about it for 5 hours straight later, right now you need to survive undetected in this dangerously female environment! Stay strong!!” He thought, looking left and right, assessing his situation.

At that moment, Edel looked at him intently before saying “Oh, by the way, Dove! You ordered the complete package parfait huh? That’s a pretty unique order if I do say so myself. It’s so… you know?“

“Eh? So what?” Dove thought while looking at her awkwardly.

“Ah I know what you mean. Your clothes as well, Dove. They’re…How should I say it…” Autumn piped up.

“They’re what?! Too masculine? Too obvious? Too tryhard??” He glanced at Autumn with concern.

“Aha! Y’all noticed it too! She’s so… so…!” Matsuri joined in.

“Matsuri with respect, shut up please!” Dove looked at Matsuri with a flustered grimace before glancing back down at his parfait, dreading what they would say next. “Ah… it’s over… they definitely know… I better come clean… well, it was impossible to match them anyways, they’re actual girls (and a gorgeous crossdresser), I had no chance.”

“Cute!!” all three of his friends proclaimed in unison.

Dove blinked. “…Come again?”

“Your mannerisms and stuff are so cute Dove! I love it! It’s like I’m looking at a pure maiden!” Matsuri commented.

“Huh?”

Autumn nodded and smiled. “In addition, your choice of clothes… adorable, sensible, functional, yet unquestionably feminine. I approve. It fits such a pretty girl.”

“Huuh-wait-“

A delicate finger touched Dove’s cheek as he remained paralyzed. Edel leaned over to have a taste of the parfait residue on her finger. “Choosing the complete parfait too. Pfft, even I’m a bit too embarrassed to do that first time meeting strangers. Guess that’s just your taste. It’s quite adorable, as are you.” She smirked.

“Dove.exe has stopped responding” Dove thought as his shellshocked state of mind was supercharged by his rapidly beating heart and reddening face. “T-Thank you…” he muttered. “I-I think I need to go to the bathroom… excuse me…”

As he, now flustered, attempted to stumble himself to the bathroom, Edel nervously let out a chuckle. “Too much?” She said, looking at the other two. Autumn simply sighed a bit while Matsuri laughed playfully.

Dove reached the restroom, glad that it was unisex. He made sure nobody was around and rested his elbows on the bathroom counter. Taking a deep breath, he let out a flustered squeal as his brain overheated, his face turning bright red, covered by his shaking hands. He felt shudders and couldn’t help but wiggle his toes as he felt tingles all over. His heart was racing. His uncontrollable smile, never-ending. “Am I…” he thought. “Am I… really cute? They think I’m cute? They-“ he said to himself, uncovering his face and looking at himself, in awe and teary eyed, still beet red, in the mirror. “They think that-“ an odd, unfamiliar feeling of serenity and excitement blossomed gently within his heart. “I’m… a girl.”

Before he could process it further, the bathroom door slammed open as a concerned Edel rushed in, clearly worried about Dove. “Hey, Dove? Are you alright?” She frantically said as she found Dove in front of her, teary eyed and red.

“I-” Dove couldn’t answer before she felt Edel grab his hand and hold it tight, her face looking exceedingly guilty and panicked. “I’m sorry! Gosh, I didn’t think it would make you cry… I promise… even though I teased you in the end there, everyone was complimenting you, honest…”

Dove’s face reddened even more as he got increasingly flustered and started frantically wiping his eyes before smiling again, this time, much more genuinely. “No… it’s okay… I’m just a bit… um… overwhelmed is all… I’m not used to erm... g-getting complimented like that… You did nothing wrong…”

Edelweiss still looked concerned for a moment. “Honest? We didn’t trigger a panic attack or something right?”

Dove continued to smile while shaking his head vigorously. “Honest… I’m fine… t-thank you for worrying about me.”

Edel sighed in relief and let go of Dove’s hand, to his relief. “That’s good… I was really worried there… I’m sorry that I teased you so much, even though we just met… I didn’t know you had… err… sensitivities.”

Dove shook his head once more. “I-It’s fine… you’re just having fun with everyone… and… I’m happy that you all complimented me… it’s just… It’s my first time getting complimented like tha-erm, that much… and especially by people I just met… so I was just a bit overwhelmed is all… hehe…”

Edel nodded. “I understand, especially if you put it like that.” She started walking back to the door, before stopping and looking back at Dove, grinning. “Though… maybe you should get used to it, because clearly you like it, pfft.”

“What do you mean?” Dove said, tilting his head, puzzled.

“Well,” she smiled a bit more softly. “That smile you have on right now is the cutest one I’ve seen from you yet.”

Dove’s cheeks reddened once more, and his eyelids fluttered as he could only whimper a “huh?”

Edel chuckled at his reaction and opened the door. “Don’t think about it too much. Wanna go back to the group?”

Dove closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming his heart. As his face’s coloration normalized, he nodded and followed Edel back to the table. He greeted the others, seeing as they seemed concerned as well. As soon as they saw his smile though, their worries seemed to be eased immediately. Dove noticed this and decided to keep himself relaxed and tried to enjoy the meeting as naturally as possible.

Time flew by as the 4 yuri fans passionately conversed at the table. Dove felt an odd sensation. It was the first time he felt comfortable and natural towards others. His heart was light as a feather and his smiles were much more organic. It was a mysterious, almost ephemeral feeling, like he was in a dream. It was a feeling he thought he’d never forget. As the conversations came to a close, he looked down at his empty parfait glass and felt a bit melancholic.

“Same time next week?” Edel piped up, packing her handbag.

“Of course. That sounds lovely.” Autumn replied.

“Yeah! Let’s go!” Matsuri continued.

“Mhm… Well… I’ll help out with scheduling l-like last time.” Dove added, looking back up at the others as they all packed their things. They nodded in approval. They paid for the food and drinks and stopped right outside the café as they prepared to separate.

“Thanks for today cutie. I owe you. Credit to you for the idea. See ya later!” Edel said as she winked at Dove playfully and then walked towards her taxi, waving at the others, who dully reciprocated.

“I should be going too. My bus is coming soon. Good bye you two. May we meet again next time.” Autumn politely made her exit, walking down the road and turning a corner.

“Thank goooood!!” Matsuri piped up suddenly, startling Dove. “That was nervewracking, haha. Seriously. I thought I’d definitely get found out. I’m so glad I was able to just talk naturally to the other girls about yuri stuff.” He snickered. “Ah, but of course, you found out! Thanks a lot for that by the way! I would have been soooo toast without you.”

“O-Oh, it’s fine” Dove stammered. “I enjoyed it too. And um, your secret’s safe with me!”

Matsuri smiled brightly. “Thank you! A lot! Seriously!” He reached into his bag and took out a cookie, putting it in Dove’s hands.

“E-Eh?”

“This is a treat from me. You don’t know how nerve-wracking it is to crossdress among such pretty girls. At the end of the day, even though I’m pretty femme normally too, I’m still a guy, so I was really scared that y’all girls would notice, you know? The little details and stuff!”

Dove accepted it slowly, the irony of the situation not lost on him as he slowly said “Not at all… you’re very cute. Nobody would notice.”

Matsuri grinned again and then looked at his watch. “Well, that’s all the time I have for today. Thanks for the great idea and all the help Dove! Seeya next time we meet!”

He waved at Dove as he ran and turned the corner. His words oddly still echoing in Dove’s head. “He was that afraid… of being found out. Honestly, me too.” He thought.

Left alone, Dove sighed and started moving towards the direction of his apartment. Walking aimlessly, he didn’t even notice that he was passing by a bus stop and was being smiled at by one of the girls he just met up with.

“…Dove? Hello? Earth to Dove?” Autumn said a bit louder.

Dove stopped for a moment, his head coming back from the clouds as he looked back at the girl calling out to him. “Oh… Autumn… erm… sorry… I didn’t notice you there…”

Autumn shook her head gently and smiled. “May I ask for you to sit beside me if you don’t mind? I have some time before my bus comes and I’d love to have a little chat before we part again.”

“What kind of chat…? Don’t tell me I got found out after all…” he thought as he gulped and nodded carefully, not wanting to be impolite and refuse. “S-sure…” he mustered words out of his mouth as he nervously sat beside her.

Autumn fixed her hair slightly before speaking in a soothing tone. “I just wanted to thank you for today… and to apologize if you felt uncomfortable in any way.”

“W-What do you mean?”

“Well… you did go into the bathroom in a hurry… and I sensed that you weren’t incredibly comfortable since the beginning. Is that right?”

Dove looked down and took a deep breath. “…Well, yeah… but like I told Edel… it’s nothing really… I’m just not used to these kinds of things… especially in these circumstances…”

Autumn tilted her head softly. “These kinds of things? Circumstances? I apologize… but could you elaborate?”

“I-Is she really onto me…?!” Dove thought in a slight panic as he stammered a response. “N-no… w-well… you see… I’m n-not a v-very social person… and… today was the first t-time… I’ve met up with just gi-erm, other girls, so…”

“Ah, I see.” Autumn nodded and smiled. Dove froze for a moment, before feeling relief as she continued speaking. “So you tried your best to be as presentable and sociable as possible, which you are not used to. Is that right?”

Dove sighed in relief before nodding. “Y-Yeah… something like that.”

“Understandable. I tried my best to look as presentable as I could today too. It’s our precious little group’s first meetup, after all.” She gave Dove a friendly smile.

“Yes… you were… erm, are very beautiful Autumn… everyone was, really…”

“I agree. Including you, of course.”

“…pardon?” Dove blinked in bewilderment once more.

Autumn gently looked him in the eyes. “I’m saying… that our praises were sincere. Your efforts today were not in vain. You really are cute, Dove.”

Dove started blushing again as he tried but couldn’t muster a response.

Autumn giggled slightly. “Oh my… I really am sorry… I guess this is what Edel saw in the bathroom? Quite a sight indeed.”

Dove opened his mouth to reply, but he was stopped by the sound of the bus arriving.

“Oh, that’s my cue. Goodbye for now, Dove. Thank you for the meetup and see you next time.” Autumn gave Dove one last sincere smile before getting on the bus, which promptly continued its route, leaving Dove frozen at the bus stop bench, still processing the conversation he just had. He took a few moments to calm himself before looking up at the late afternoon sky and sighing as he slowly rose and resumed his journey home.

“Was I… really… c-cute?” He thought to himself as he walked down the cloud-shaded roads. “I don’t know about me… but the others were so pretty. I mean, obviously… they’re girls after all. Really pretty girls. And someone who is… really femme and cute even if he’s really a boy. Someone with that much confidence… I could never.” He finally arrived at his doorstep. “They were so mesmerizing… Even down to…” Matsuri’s parting words echoed in his head as he opened the door home, taking off his shoes and passing by a mirror. “The little… details…”

He looked in the mirror, his face decorated with his usual dull frown, the excitement having subsided from his system. “the little…” he held his lips as he heard his own normal deeper voice, having relaxed his vocal chords after separating from the group. As he saw his reflection, he slowly noticed his height, his shoulders, what remains of his facial hair, his face’s shape, his limbs, his veins, his figure, everything. His heart sank. He was once more the normal, timid boy he was before he met up with those girls. “…details…”. He sighed and looked away from the mirror, closing his eyes for a bit. He took a deep breath and calmed down. Putting on a bit of a bittersweet smile, he then sat down in front of his computer, slowly typing away.

 

Dove:                    I really enjoyed meeting everyone. It really was like

Dove paused and looked at the cookie that Matsuri gave him at the end of the day. He smiled a little bit more, then continued to type.

Dove:                    a dream.