Brick by brick

The way Seiko's heart beat a little harder in their chest was annoying. Quiet and still as they waited for their father to arrive, they willed it to slow, but the child found they couldn't quite control it the way they might their breathing. When he finally did arrive, they wished they felt much calmer than they did, but their dark eyes didn't betray the nervousness that overwhelmed them.

"There's something I wanted to talk to you about," Seiko started, but immediately found themselves wishing they hadn't started off like that. They'd never been one for small talk - why now? "But I'm not quite sure how to say it." Or even what I'm trying to say, they thought. Brows furrowed, a moment of weakness showing through, but Seiko made an effort to life their head a little higher. This had been something weighing on their mind lately, but they couldn't shake the feeling that it was trivial, that maybe they shouldn't bother telling anyone at all.

"You know how you have sons, and you have daughters," Seiko started carefully. Explaining this felt hard, but important. They tried to shake away the worry that maybe it wasn't so important after all. "I don't really feel like either. I feel like maybe something else. Neither son nor daughter." Their eyes were expectant, though clearly a bit worried too as they looked from Hanzo to a stray patch of flowers and back again. Would he understand? Would their siblings?