“Some point today would be good,” Luke yelled through the closed door, growing increasingly exasperated by his sister's procrastination.

“Just a sec, I’m nearly there,” Lucy replied as she looked at her reflection in her mirror.

Staring back at the twenty-year-old woman was the image of a woman with a strong chin, a masculine brow, broad shoulders and an Adam’s Apple — but it was nonetheless the image of a woman. She had a styled dark brown bob, two sparkly gold studs in each earlobe and an immaculately made-up face with mascara, eyeliner, eyeshadow and subtle dark pink lipstick, which she reapplied one more time before stepping back from her mirror and admiring her outfit.

Covering her torso was her ubiquitous unisex university hoodie, but underneath it was a warm sleeveless black bodysuit, under which was a black t-shirt bra, a pair of black tights and a comfortable pair of panties. Rather than the plain denim skirts and shorts she wore during her first year of university, Lucy had instead opted for a clingy black miniskirt that showed off her fledgling curves, and on her feet were a pair of cute black ballerina flats rather than her usual Converse trainers. The sparkly silver clip in her hair and the matching bracelet and ring on her right hand broadcast one very simple message to the world: ‘this is a woman, and damn anyone who says otherwise.’ It was a message Lucy was eager to say to the world — but it was also one she needed to hear for herself.

Settling back into life as ‘Lucy’ had been easier for the young woman than she’d expected. With the full support of her parents, her friends and especially her brother, Lucy had rediscovered the simple joy of being a woman that she thought she’d lost forever after her assault, and with it also came her self-confidence. In August, alongside her brother and her parents, she had been present to witness her two assailants each be sentenced to two years in prison, and had allowed herself a smug smile as the two criminals had been taken down. The fact that she was wearing a suit with a short skirt and high heeled shoes that showed off her fully healed legs had been the icing on the cake as far as Lucy had been concerned, but she hadn’t seen it as the end of one part of her life — rather, a beginning.

A beginning of an existence where she didn’t need to be constrained by fear, self-doubt or the sneers of others. An existence where she didn’t even need to be constrained by the physicality of her own body. While Dr Adams had yet to restart her HRT, stating that she wanted Lucy to live as a woman again for six months before she did so, it hadn’t stopped Lucy from exploring what her new life had to offer — in particular, the extended friend group she had been welcomed back into with open arms.

Lucy had spoken with Priya's London-based friend (and fellow trans woman) Laura multiple times throughout the summer holiday, exchanging fashion and beauty tips and simply gossiping about their lives. With both girls being tall — Laura stood 5’ 9” to Lucy’s 5’ 11” — and slender, Lucy found that many of her newest friend’s styles worked equally well for her, including the miniskirted style she sported on her first day of her final year of studies and was eager to show off to her fellow students. Lucy had a particularly wide smile as she opened her dorm room door and showed off her look for her brother.

“…Wasting no time in looking for a boyfriend, then?” Luke asked, smirking as his sister gave him a gentle shove.

“I’m wasting no time in expressing the REAL me,” Lucy replied. “Got three whole months to make up for, after all. Heh, not to mention eighteen and a half years before that too.”

“Well — aye, I of all people can’t argue with that, I suppose,” Luke replied with a chuckle. “Being in our third year has to help the confidence levels though, right?”

“Hugely,” Lucy replied. “Even if it is a bit sad that this’ll be our last Freshers’ Week, heh.”

“Gotta make the most of it then, haven’t we?” Luke asked with a chuckle that disguised the conflict he felt on the inside.

While Luke was genuinely happy for his sister, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for himself. It had been two years since he had started living as a man at university, but as he had been out to his family for less time than that and taking HRT for even less, he was still months away from being able to apply for the Gender Recognition Certificate he so badly craved — and with Covid causing delays in all public services in the UK, that delay would inevitably be even longer.

Despite his short hair, deepening voice, growing muscles and the thin, wispy strands of hair growing on his face and his body, every piece of legal documentation that Luke owned had the letter ‘F’ in the ‘gender’ box. He still had fully functional female ‘equipment’ that 'troubled' him every month like clockwork. He still had to wear a vest to flatten his chest that left him in discomfort virtually every day. And he still knew that if he entered into a physical relationship with anyone, male or female, his ‘alternative equipment’ would raise too many awkward questions.

At first, this hadn’t bothered Luke. He’d been too busy with his studies to think about relationships, and anytime he needed to talk to someone in confidence, his sister had only ever been a text message away. But for a large chunk of the previous year, he hadn’t even been able to talk to his sister, and as the testosterone continued to change his body, it also changed his brain, increasing his libido and his anxiety over his single status. Luke reasoned that if he had still been ‘Lucy,’ finding a casual fling at a university as large as Durham would’ve been as trivial as putting on a short skirt and some make-up and heading in the direction of the nearest party, but that was a price Luke could never pay. He wanted any potential partner, male or female, to want him for HIM. And in Luke’s eyes, that was a much, much more difficult task.

Luke’s one consolation was that at university, among people of his age group, he was more likely to find open-minded people than ‘out in the wild.’ And with his leg still not 100% healed from his football injury the previous year, he needed a new focus, a new distraction from his studies and his other anxieties, and he had made up his mind that the other university society he was a member of would fit the bill just nicely. And as if fate had ordained it, as the twins entered the lobby of their dorm building, they found themselves looking directly at the chairperson of said society, whose fingers were interlinked with those of the twins' best and oldest friend.

“Ah, if it ain’t the happy couple!” Luke teased the two women, who blushed and giggled as they unlinked their fingers and walked with the twins. “Joking aside, it is good to see the two of you.”

“Especially you, Liv,” Lucy said, smiling as the blonde woman blushed. “Kinda surprised you agreed to stay on as chair of the LGBT society, that can’t be easy to fit around your Masters?’ ”

“Not even slightly,” Livvy replied, earning a group giggle. “Fortunately, Susie’s agreed to give me a ‘behind the scenes’ helping hand.”

“And don’t you two even think about using ‘behind the scenes’ as a euphemism,” Susie playfully threatened the twins, who both giggled in response.

“But yeah, it’s work I enjoyed doing last year, so I’m happy to keep doing it,” Livvy said with a smile. “Of course, if anyone else had stepped up….”

“No one else from the committee wanted the role?” Luke asked.

“If anyone else had stepped up to be on the committee in the first place…” Livvy replied, making the twins both roll their eyes. “Okay, maybe I am being a little bit unfair, heh, I know the two of you had more than your fair share of shit last year. And with this year being your final year — well, yeah, heh. I mean, I don’t want to pressure you guys, but you — you really would be the ideal candidates. I can’t think of any two people who can speak of the transgender experience as well as you two.”

“Thanks,” Lucy mumbled, blushing as she stared at her shoes. “Though I’d say that Anthony is just as, well, ‘ideal’ as the two of us.”

“Definitely,” Luke concurred. “Okay, no one ever broke his legs for daring to be his real self, but in a way that probably makes him even better, like, rose-tinted glasses or whatever.”

“He has a more optimistic view of life as a transgender person?” Livvy asked, smiling sadly as the twins both nodded. “That just means he has less experience and would be less ideal to help other LGBT people through the hard times, then.”

“But maybe, then, he has more experience and is better at helping LGBT people through the easy times,” Lucy retorted. “Sometimes, that can be just as important.”

“Might’ve made a difference when we started uni,” Luke mused. “Might’ve helped us come out to our parents earlier, or start hormones earlier, I dunno.”

“Or helped me realise that this is who I’m meant to be,” Lucy whispered. “And not to let any random scumbag on the Metro try to tell me otherwise.”

“What doesn’t kill you doesn’t always make you stronger,” Luke said in a dark, quiet voice. “Just ‘cause we came out the other end of our ‘encounters’ last year, doesn’t mean we’re completely unscathed. I’m not gonna be doing football again this year, for one thing.”

“I’ve never been a big fan of that ‘what doesn’t kill you’ phrase either,” Livvy mused. “It kinda implies that there’s something virtuous about enduring bigotry, you know? Fuck that.”

“Agreed 100%,” Lucy snorted. “Which is why I will be going back to the street dance society, who’ve only ever been 100% positive and supportive of me. Even when I had my ‘wobble’ earlier this year, heh.”

“Only the street dance society?” Susie teased her friend. “Priya hasn’t persuaded you to pull on a pair of pink tights and pirouette around a ballet class yet, then?”

“…Not yet,” Lucy replied with a giggle. “Need to save SOME free time for being on the LGBT society committee, after all…” The tall transgender woman paused and grinned smugly as her brother and their friends looked at her, their jaws collectively dropping.

“Wh- seriously?” Livvy asked. “You’re not, like, just having me on, are you?”

“Well… assuming the committee will have me, of course?” Lucy asked. “If they don’t, that’s also okay.”

“If they don’t, that’s NOT okay, and they’ll have me to answer to!” Luke interjected.

“Me too,” Susie said firmly as she squeezed her girlfriend’s hand.

“…And me three,” Livvy chuckled. “Okay, I’ll have to run it by them, but I doubt it’ll be a problem, and not just ‘cause we need to fill up our numbers. We could also use some more guys on the committee….”

“I’ll ask Anthony about that when I see him, then,” Luke replied with a tired chuckle. “Honestly, I — I want to do more for the society this year, but, like, not in a 'making decisions' kind of way, if that makes sense? And there's also my studies, between my leg and Covid I lost a lot of good lab time last year, so — yeah. Want to make up for it this year, heh.”

“Well — can’t argue with that,” Livvy said with a warm smile.

“Just because what we do, we do together,” Lucy explained, “it doesn’t mean that we always have to do the same thing the whole time.”

“Wise words,” Livvy chuckled. “Though I hope you’re able to find at least SOMETHING to take your mind off of uni work this year.”

“Well — we’ll see,” Luke said with a smirk as he, his sisters and their friends headed to the university’s main entrance.

Even though the assembled students continued to be careful regarding Covid, with mask wearing remaining ubiquitous and elbow bumps being preferred to handshakes or hugs, the relative relaxation of lockdown regulations meant that there were considerably more students milling around than there had been twelve months earlier, including several faces that neither of the twins recognised. However, even the masks didn’t mean that they had any difficulty locating the faces that they did recognise — nor did they disguise the wide grins that all of the students wore on their faces.

“Hey girlies and guy!” Priya giggled excitedly as she and Claudia exchanged elbow bumps with the four newcomers. “Made it back for one more year, then?”

“You’re asking us that?” Susie teased the Bengali girl. “You travelled further than the four of us combined!”

“My sister did say ‘send my love to the Eskimos’ when she saw me off on the train, heh,” Priya chuckled, giggling as the playful booing she received as a result from the four north easterners.

“When we visit London — WHEN — we are totally packing extra strength sun cream, even if we go in winter!” Lucy giggled. “Hopefully Covid will let us go again soon, the last time, believe it or not, was AngelCon two years ago!”

“Online ‘conventions’ really aren’t the same thing,” Susie sighed sadly, to the agreement of all her friends. “Even if the two new Angels look cool.”

“I still can’t believe the three of you were there in 2019 and I never saw you,” Priya exclaimed.

“Four of us,” Livvy said, raising her hand with a smug grin on her face. “I went down with my then-girlfriend, we really wanted to get our photos taken with Steph and Kayla from out of Heaven. Of course, at the time, I didn’t realise that I’d be what, four degrees of separation away from her?”

“Well, me, then Laura, then Steph and Kayla themselves makes it only three,” Priya replied, grinning as her friends squeaked excitedly.

“Or me, Laura, then Steph,” Lucy said with a smug grin, triggering another excited squeak. “But enough of my celebrity contacts, hehe! Claudia, how are you, how’s home?”

“Everyone’s fine, thanks!” The petite blonde woman replied with a grin. “Except that my boyfriend kinda isn’t my boyfriend anymore….” Livvy, Susie and the twins all frowned and prepared to comfort their friend, only to frown with confusion as the grin appeared to stay on Claudia’s face — though their confusion was instantly eased when they saw the sparkly ring on her left hand.

“Oh my god, Claudia!” Lucy squeaked, giving the petite girl a hug despite herself. “I want to hear ALL about the proposal, literally everything!”

“And when the others get here, Gav, Kieran and Phoebe, you will,” Claudia replied with a wide grin. “But I really couldn’t keep this a secret, hehe!”

“Damn right you couldn’t and shouldn’t!” Livvy giggled. “Okay, sure, it IS a heterosexual wedding, heh. But in all seriousness, I am SO happy for you.”

“Thanks,” Claudia whispered. “We’re not planning on getting married until after we both graduate, though, and hopefully by then Covid will have gone away enough that you can all attend. And you are invited, obviously, all of you.”

“Invited where, exactly?” Kieran asked in his soft Manchester accent as he approached the group, blushing as he and Lucy exchanged knowing glances.

“Invited to this,” Lucy said, giggling as she gently grabbed Claudia wrist and showed her friend the ring.

“Aww, congratulations!” Kieran gushed, squeaking excitedly. “Kinda puts my own news to shame, hehe! But I am really, REALLY happy for you, and I’m hoping that when I interrupted you all, we were all being invited to the wedding of the century?”

“Well, of course!” Claudia replied, giggling as she exchanged a gentle hug with the tall, slender man. “But — but don’t let me keep you from telling your news too, you said — well, implied — that you had something to celebrate?”

“…Me and Aaron MIGHT have moved in together last week,” Kieran replied, giggling as his news earned the same squeaks of excitement that Claudia’s had.

“Really?” Lucy asked, the grin not vanishing from her face despite her surprise. “Al- already?”

“Okay, it IS a bit quick,” Kieran conceded. “But I… I don’t know of anyone else who can, well, ‘understand’ me as well as Aaron does.” Or rather, understands ‘Kiera’ as well, Lucy thought to herself as she and her friend’s eyes locked again.

“Well, we — we’re definitely all happy for you, right?” Lucy asked, smiling as her friends all cheered in agreement.

“Everyone really is getting very ‘grown-up’ very quickly,” Livvy mused. “I mean, I get it, final year and uni of all, I’ve totally been there, but — hopefully you’ll all remember to have SOME fun this year, too?”

“Did I hear someone say ‘fun?’ ” The familiar Geordie accent of Gavin asked as he approached the group and was greeted with the same warm welcome as the others.

“If you didn’t before, you definitely will now!” Lucy giggled, before giving her friend a gentle hug. “How are things? I know summer was tough for you?”

“ ‘Tough’ is maybe putting it mildly,” Gavin snorted. “But if I was never going to miss this, even if I had to be wheeled here in a hospital bed, heh. I’ve put too much effort into this degree already. Heh, and too much student debt. But yes, I very much plan on enjoying myself this year as well as working hard, hehe!”

“Assuming Covid lets us,” the Seattle accent of Phoebe Adams — the final member of the group of final year students — said as she approached the group and was greeted as warmly as any of the other students. “How is everyone, anyway? Weird talking to you all without an eight-hour time difference, heh.”

“We’re all great, thanks,” Lucy replied. “And both happy that you were able to travel to America and that you’re back here with us, too. Though some of us have more to celebrate…” Lucy giggled as she again held up Claudia’s left hand for Gavin and Phoebe, who let out the same excited gasp as all of the other friends.

Eventually, though, the students dispersed and went to their respective classes, though the energy levels in the group as a whole remained high as they went about the business of registering for their third year of study.

After a brief break for lunch (and to allow Livvy time to gather what she needed for her more advanced course), the group headed toward the university’s vast library, splitting into smaller groups based on the courses they were studying, with Livvy joining the twins, Susie and Phoebe as they pored through piles of chemistry journals.

“I sometimes forget I’m friends with and dating the next generation of Heisenbergs,” Livvy teased, giggling as the four students rolled their eyes at her.

“That show took a LOT of artistic licence when it comes to chemistry,” Susie replied. “Or scientific licence, or whatever.”

“Yeah, still a great show, though,” Livvy giggled, before sliding her chair around the table to where Lucy was sitting, the tall trans girl so engrossed in her work that she didn’t even notice the blonde girl’s presence until she tapped her on the shoulder.

“Who- wha- Livvy?” Lucy asked, startled by her friend’s sudden appearance. “What’s up?”

“Got a sec?” Livvy asked, suppressing her chuckles at Lucy’s reaction. “Just want to talk about, you know, society stuff.”

“Umm, sure, what’s up?” Lucy asked.

“Not here,” Livvy said with a wink, leading Lucy away from the table and toward the ladies’ toilets.

Lucy felt her anxiety rise as she followed her friend — Livvy was Susie’s girlfriend, after all, and while both girls had publicly stated they were fine with polyamory, Lucy had no intention of sneaking around behind his oldest friend’s back. To say nothing of the fact that Lucy didn’t feel particularly attracted to Livvy, or to any other girls for that matter. Though with all the talk that morning of Livvy and Susie’s relationship, not to mention Kieran and Aaron’s and Claudia’s recent engagement, Lucy began to wonder if she would ever experience the same intimacy that her friends were enjoying.

One thing Lucy was sure of, though, was that that intimacy would not come from Livvy. Lucy knew her friend well enough to know that if she politely declined, Livvy would accept her reasoning and not hold any grudge, nor would there be any damage to their friendship, which was the most important thing to Lucy. However, when they entered the ladies’ room, Lucy discovered that what Livvy had in mind was something completely different.

“Sorry for the subterfuge,” Livvy said softly as she washed her hands and checked her make-up. “I — I kinda didn’t want to say this in front of the others, heh.”

“Okay…” Lucy said, confused by her friend’s demeanour. “Have I — have I done something wrong?”

“No, definitely the opposite in fact!” Livvy giggled. “Don’t think I didn’t notice, Miss Miller!”

“…Notice what?” Lucy asked, her confusion deepening and her frown widening. “Have I become untucked or something? That’s not supposed to happen when you’re wearing a bodysuit….”

“No, nothing like THAT,” Livvy interrupted with a giggle. “When we were saying hi to everyone, outside the registration area? Anyone else looking on would only need five seconds to suss out that you’re the ‘boss’ of our little group.”

“ ‘Boss?’ ” Lucy said with a snort. “Hardly, I was just — just eager to see everyone again, that’s all, I guess, maybe, I dunno. I mean, you’re meant to be the boss, right?”

“Chairperson, not ‘boss,’ ” Livvy replied. “Hardly the same thing, heh. But ever since you, well, retransitioned, you’ve — you’ve had a confidence about you, you know?”

“Well, I — I guess,” Lucy replied with a shrug. “I just feel more like, well, more of a woman, not a ‘leader.’ ”

“You say that like those two words don’t mean the same thing,” Livvy said with a confident yet supportive smile. “I think the society’s gonna be in good hands, heh.”

“Wh- gimme a chance, I’m not even on the committee yet!” Lucy snorted. “There’s no guarantee even that that’ll happen, let alone me being accepted as some kind of leader….”

“Nah, I can pretty much guarantee the committee will accept you,” Livvy retorted, her grin widening. “As for leadership… come and sit with me tomorrow in the booth at the society fair. I think you’ll be surprised by how many people you’ll bring into our ranks.”

“Sure I won’t scare anyone away instead?” Lucy asked, earning a sigh and a chuckle from her friend.

“If you get rid of TERFs, I consider that a positive,” Livvy replied. “If pride isn’t for all of us, it’s not for any of us. But don’t think that I’m using you as a gargoyle or anything, quite the opposite. Heh, you really are our ‘Angel of the North.’ Maybe you should enter the next season of ‘So You Want to Be an Angel?’ They’d be lucky to have you….”

“I will if you will,” Lucy replied, earning a snort of laughter from her friend.

“…You’re on,” Livvy said, laughing as she and Lucy returned to their friends. “As long as you’re in the booth tomorrow.”

“Would be my pleasure to, honestly,” Lucy replied, sharing a smirk with her brother as she sat back down next to him.

“You’re not even on the committee yet, and already she’s putting you to work?” Luke teased, grinning wider as Lucy gave him a playful shove. “Seriously, Luce, I am proud of you.”

“Thanks,” Lucy whispered.

“And I hope you’re proud of yourself,” Luke continued. “We both deserve to be. All the shit thrown at us in the last year and we’ve bounced back higher than ever, right?”

“Hmm… I don’t think we’ve peaked just yet,” Lucy replied with a giggle.

“Hell no we haven’t!” Luke replied, sharing a giggle with his sister even as the young woman struggled to shake the thought from her mind that Livvy had been interested in her for more than ‘professional’ reasons — and whether or not she’d have reciprocated those feelings….

After finishing their reading, the group of friends headed toward the cafeteria for lunch, before taking the opportunity presented by a free period to relax. After saying a temporary farewell to their friends, the twins headed back to Luke’s room, where the young man dramatically flopped down on his bed, while his sister sat down at his desk.

“…Okay, today’s been a bit fast paced, heh,” Luke chuckled as he stretched out his legs.

“It’s the first day of the year, it’s always a bit manic,” Lucy retorted. “Is your leg okay?”

“It’s a bit sore,” Luke replied with a sigh. “Actually think it’d make more sense for me to sit with Livvy at the LGBT society booth tomorrow, it’s not like I’m gonna be in any other societies this year. Heh, or even up for walking around all the other booths.”

“From the way Livvy was talking, it sounds like they have plenty of spaces on the committee,” Lucy said, smirking as her brother snorted and rolled his eyes. "You did say you wanted to be more active in the society, didn't you?"

“Yeah, you can just imagine me trying to debate people and casting ballots, can’t you?” Luke asked with a snort of laughter. “What we do, we do together… but, like, generally speaking.”

“Always, generally speaking,” Lucy chuckled, before biting her lip — she’d wanted to ask her brother something since they were at the library, but had wanted to wait until they were alone, and even then, she was anxious about how to word her question. “Luke, wh- when me and Liv were at the loo, did — did anyone, like, notice? I mean, did, like, Susie or anyone wonder where we’d gone?”

“Wh- why?” Luke asked in reply. “I mean, I didn’t think anything of it, I don’t think anyone else did either, I mean, two girls going to the loo — like, whatever, right? Did y- are you telling me that, like, you and Livvy, the two of you — you — you, like, ‘did’ something?”

“What? God no,” Lucy replied, before sighing. “Though I — I thought that’s what she was asking. Turns out she just wanted me to do the booth with her tomorrow, and, like, she — she sees me as some kind of ‘leader,’ I dunno.”

“…Told you you deserve to be proud of yourself,” Luke said with a proud smile that made his sister blush. “Seriously, Luce. Leadership? I can kinda see that, you know? Who better than someone who’s risen above all the shit they’ve taken over the years?”

“Umm… you, for starters?” Lucy asked, smirking as her brother rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, like I said, not happening,” Luke snorted. “Doesn’t mean I won’t, like, support you, though. Be the man behind the woman, or whatever.”

“Whereas I’m the face of the society?” Lucy asked.

“Livvy obviously thinks so,” Luke replied with a grin. “I think if we do take one lesson into our third year, it should be ‘stop thinking about the worst-case scenario for every situation.’ Like, things can’t get any worse than they did last year, right? And now Barnes is hated by everyone in the uni, those twats from the Metro are behind bars where they belong… it’s our turn to win, right? It’s our turn to get something good, something we deserve instead of never-ending shit.”

“I’m not gonna argue with that,” Lucy said with a smile, even as an earlier thought floated back into her mind. “Luke, d’you — umm, do you wonder at all, like, if we — if we’ll ever meet anyone? Like, as more than just a friend?”

“What’s brought this on?” Luke asked, confused by the sudden change in the topic of conversation. “That thing with Livvy today? Not that I particularly relish the thought of discussing my sister’s sex life, or worse yet, my sex life with my sister, but — yeah. Some things we DON’T do together. Like, never.”

“That — that’s a very detailed way to not answer my question,” Lucy said, biting her lip as her brother rolled his eyes. “Seriously, Luke. First Kieran and Aaron, and now Claudia getting engaged, I kinda — kinda worry that we’re getting left behind, you know? Okay, so Covid kinda put a crimp in things, but-”

“Nowhere near as big a ‘crimp’ as the ‘big reason’ we’re both still single,” Luke interrupted, trying not to fidget as an awkward silence filled the room.

“Does — does it have to completely stop us, though?” Lucy asked. “Stop us from simply looking, I mean? There’s a massive student body at this university, they can’t all be TERFs, right?”

“It only takes one,” Luke whispered. “If you pick the wrong one — yeah. You’d be lucky if all you went away with was a broken leg.”

“So… what?” Lucy asked with a shrug. “We stop looking, we take a vow of celibacy or whatever?”

“No, I — I’m just saying that we need to be careful, that’s all,” Luke replied. “You don’t want to risk everything we’ve gained — everything we’ve EARNED for the sake of a quick fling. I know it’s hardly the manliest thing to say, but some things ARE more important than sex, you know?”

“Well — I guess,” Lucy sighed. “Ugh, I dunno. Maybe I’m just getting a little too anxious, heh. Are you coming gonna come to Claudia’s ‘I can’t believe it’s not an engagement party’ party?“

“Try and stop me!” Luke replied with a chuckle. “Want to grab some dinner first, change into something a little less ‘studenty’ then I’ll be there.”

“Yep, me too,” Lucy replied with a smirk. “Dinner is still something we do 100% together, right?”

“Of course,” Luke chuckled. “Just need to rest my leg for a bit, then I’ll see you down there.”

“See you there, then” Lucy said with a smile, giving her twin a gentle hug before leaving him alone in his room.

As his sister left, though, Luke couldn’t help but ponder on what she had said, just as he had done multiple times in the weeks before they’d returned to university. He hadn’t been ignorant of the romantic and sexual relationships between his friends, and at times he had felt envious of their happiness and wondered if he would ever have the same — or even if he deserved the same.

He was, however, forced to concede that his sister was right about one thing — that there would be men and women at the university who would have no issue with his ‘alternative equipment.’ He knew that trying to find such a person would involve navigating a metaphorical minefield, but he had allies in the shape of his sister, his friends and the entire LGBT society. He also knew for certain that when he found a partner, it would be worth all the effort he’d inevitably have had to put in to finding them. What he wasn’t sure of, though, was whether it was a case of ‘when’ he found a partner, or ‘if’ he found one….

After resting up, Luke reunited with Lucy and their friends for a quick dinner, before the twins returned to their rooms to get ready for that evening’s party. As always, for Luke this involved liberally dousing himself with Lynx Africa before changing into a pair of smart trousers and a stylish short-sleeved shirt.

Lucy, however, was determined to show off her new-found confidence to all those at the party. Instead of a dress or one of her favoured fashionable jumpsuits, Lucy instead opted for a short legged, short sleeved playsuit with thin black and white stripes, having developed a fondness for monochrome outfits after receiving her new favourite dress from Laura during the summer break. Lucy allowed herself a smug grin as she stared at her cinched-in waist in the mirror, even though she knew that her 'shape' was very much 'enhanced' by shapewear. A pair of shiny nude-coloured tights enhanced her legs, as well as the black pumps on her feet — or rather, their three-inch stiletto heel. A dainty silver necklace and a small clutch of bracelets complemented her look, as did the clear polish on her tapered fingernails and the expensive make-up on her face, especially her dark burgundy lipstick.

“Never mind ‘Miss Congeniality,’ ” Lucy purred to herself as she grinned at her reflection. “ ‘Miss Confidence’ has arrived! Sorry Claudia, but I may be upstaging the bride-to-be a bit tonight!” Lucy giggled as she grabbed the six pack of beer she’d bought to bring the party, before heading out of her door, feeling a new sense of power as she effortlessly strode on her heels.

“Hey Lucy!” Priya said, giving the much taller girl an elbow bump as she arrived at the party. “And — wow. It’s a good job that my boyfriend isn’t here today. Or Claudia’s fiancé, hehe!”

“Thanks!” Lucy giggled as she posed to show off her playsuit. “I felt I was long overdue some ‘positive attention,’ heh.”

“Oh, trust me, you’ll be getting that tonight!” Priya chuckled as she gestured to her own comparatively plain silvery blouse and black pencil mini skirt. “Kinda feel underdressed, heh.”

“Nah,” Lucy said with a smirk. “We are both — or rather, we are ALL extra-hot women who deserve attention, aren’t we?”

“Hell yeah, we are!” Priya squeaked excitedly as she placed Lucy’s beer on the refreshment table and opened a can for herself.

“Maybe not from your sibling, though?” Luke asked, greeting his sister with a gentle hug. “And heels, really? You’re not already taller than me by enough?” Lucy smirked as she exchanged a glance and a nod with her Bengali friend.

“BOY,” Lucy and Priya replied simultaneously, giggling as Luke smirked.

“Thanks for the compliment,” Luke said with a smug grin as he also helped himself to a can of beer. “Where’s the guest of honour?”

“Showing off her ring to everyone,” Priya replied. “By which I mean engagement ring, not- let’s not go there, hehe!”

“Cheeky,” Luke teased. “Not sure I’d want to go to THAT type of party, heh.” Luke bit his lip as he exchanged a glance with his sister, correctly suspecting that she was also remembering the conversation they’d just had.

“No danger of THAT happening here,” Priya giggled. “Need to keep some ‘social distancing’ in place, heh.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Luke chuckled, exchanging another knowing glance with his sister. “Had enough ‘closeness’ for one year already.” Priya and Lucy smiled sympathetically as the young man gestured to his still sore leg. “Which is also why I am once again declining your inevitable request to join any dance class, heh. Had enough of THEM for a lifetime too.”

“Meh, your loss,” Priya said with a giggle. “I do of course mean with regard to not wanting to join the society, not the whole leg thing, which really sucks. Still, one of my friends from school once broke her ankle IN a dance class, and now she teaches there….”

“Yeah, my knowledge of dance extends as far as ‘you move your feet in time with the music’ and that’s about it,” Luke snorted.

“Good thing I wasn’t suggesting you teach a dance class, then!” Priya teased the young man. “Isn’t it a saying: ‘those who can’t, coach?’ ”

“…What, coach the football team?” Luke asked.

“Why not?” Priya asked. “You were good at it, weren’t you? Good enough to make the first team?”

“Mainly ‘cause hardly anyone came back to the team last year ‘cause of Covid,” Luke replied. “And besides, I study chemistry, not sport or PE or whatever. Bound to be people who are better suited to the job than me.”

“Who is coaching the team this year, anyway?” Lucy asked.

“Lucy asks, mentally adding ‘and is he fit?’ onto the end of her sentence,” Priya teased, giggling as the tall girl rolled her eyes. “Fit AND here!”

“Just for your information, I’m happy being single for now,” Lucy retorted, biting her lip as her eyes once again met her brother’s. Lucy knew instinctively that he saw straight through her lie, her only consolation being the knowledge that he'd never call her out in public over it.

“Good for you,” Gavin said as he approached the group with a wide grin on his face. “Leaves more fit guys for the rest of us!”

“Hey Gav!” Luke said, exchanging a fist bump with his friend before handing him a drink. “Glad you could make it tonight.”

“Like I was ever not going to celebrate Claudia’s news?” Gavin replied. “After the last eighteen months, we’re overdue something to celebrate. While we’re allowed to celebrate it, of course.”

“Okay, I think we need a new rule,” Lucy chuckled. “Anyone who mentions Covid or relationships other than Claudia’s for the rest of the night has to take a drink. Agreed?”

“You’re the boss!” Luke replied with a giggle.

“Or me being on the LGBT society committee!” Lucy said with an exasperated laugh.

“And why not?” Claudia said as she approached and greeted the tall trans woman with a hug. “It’s my party, sure, but that means I get to say who and what we celebrate, and I want to celebrate ALL of my friends tonight!”

“D’aww,” Priya giggled as she exchanged a hug with Claudia. “And we all have lots to celebrate, right?”

“Too right we do!” Kieran replied, giggling excitedly as he approached the small group. “The fact that I can rock up here wearing this, for starters!” The group all cooed as the young, slender man did a playful twirl to show off the light blue camisole and dark velvet trousers he was wearing, as well as the daisy-shaped clip in his hair and the lilac polish on his fingernails.

“Looking great, Kiera!” Lucy teased her friend, who let out another girlish giggle.

“Is it- is it ‘Kiera’ tonight?” Priya asked hesitantly, only relaxing when the young man smiled warmly at her.

“ ‘Kiera’ or ‘Kieran,’ I don’t mind,” Kieran replied. “No preference on pronouns either, hehe! I’m here to have fun, not lecture everyone!”

“Have fun AND look cute doing it!” Lucy said, giggling as Kieran playfully posed for his friends.

“I have got a LONG way to go to beat you in cuteness stakes, though!” Kieran teased, letting out another giggle as Lucy started to blush. “Seriously, that playsuit is just TOO cute. A playcute. Cutesuit. Whatever. All I know is you’re making heterosexuality look more appealing, hehe! Just — maybe don’t tell Aaron I said that, okay?”

“I was about to say,” Luke chuckled. “Should we also not tell him that you’re here bringing the cute too?”

“Seeing as he personally approved of this outfit before I left my dorm, I’d say I’m okay,” Kieran replied. “And has said that next summer, Covid permitting, you’re all invited to a day out in Blackpool where he lives… and a night out in Canal Street, where I live — or close enough, hehe! Assuming we’re not treading on the toes of the wedding of the century, of course….”

“We’re not planning on tying the knot until 2023 at the earliest, so you’re fine,” Claudia giggled. “Assuming you’re okay with straight people coming on your night out to Britain’s Mecca of LGBT clubs?”

“Straight ALLIES, sure,” Kieran replied. “And I’m not sure ‘Mecca of LGBT clubs’ is the most politically correct way of wording it, but I won’t tell if you don’t, hehe!”

“So much for ‘no lectures,’ ” Luke teased his friend, who replied with an overdramatic eye roll.

“The lectures end here,” Kieran retorted. “And the party starts now!” The young men and women all cheered as the music was turned up and the group gathered along the corridor partied long into the night.

Despite the discomfort in her feet thanks to her heels, Lucy felt no pain as she allowed herself to be immersed in the euphoria of the party and the love and acceptance of her friends. She was a woman. She was Lucy, not Luke, Lucas or even ‘Lucy’ with any clauses attached. She was Lucy, plain and simple. It had taken months, even years, but she was finally able to love herself as the person she was, just like she knew her friends loved her.

Lucy’s euphoria was dulled the following morning when she woke up with a painful throbbing in her head, a foul taste in her mouth and the sight of her make-up staining her pillow case, but even the feel of faint stubble growing on her face couldn’t eliminate her good mood — or her determination to start the day with a smile on her face.

After showering and ensuring her face and body were free of any hairs, Lucy dressed for the day in the university hoodie, denim skirt and dark tights that had effectively been her uniform throughout the first year and a half of her studies. Unlike then, though, Lucy wasn’t finished with her look. After applying her make-up and brushing out her hair, she reached into her drawer for two accessories she had recently bought from an Etsy store that she reasoned would be perfect for the day ahead.

With a wide grin, Lucy tied her shoulder-length hair into short pigtails, before affixing clips to the ends of the pigtails that sported tassels in the blue, white and pink colours of the transgender pride flag. After allowing herself a quiet giggle at how childish, but also how proud she looked, she headed out of her dorm door, grinning as she walked down the corridor to discover her brother emerging from his room.

“…Have you done something with your hair?” Luke asked, smirking as his sister rolled her eyes and gave him a playful shove.

“What, I’m not allowed to look pretty, now?” Lucy asked in reply.

“Very appropriate question to ask your brother,” Luke replied with a snort of laughter. “But it is a bit, you know, ‘in your face,’ isn’t it?”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Lucy retorted. “I’m done hiding who I really am. I’m going to show this university that I am a proud trans woman, and hopefully-”

“They’ll finally get the message?” Luke interrupted.

“…Hopefully any other students who are afraid to be out and proud will see me and gain the confidence that I’ve found,” Lucy replied quietly, smiling as her brother frowned and blushed. “We’ve fought for long enough. It’s high time we started focussing on other trans boys and girls — not to mention non-binary folks — instead of pushing back against Barnes and the other morons like him.”

“…Couldn’t agree more,” Luke said, giving his sister a gentle hug before heading together toward breakfast.

After breakfast — where Lucy’s hair accessories were the talk (and in some cases, envy) of the table — the twins headed together to the place where they both felt that their university lives, and by extension, their lives as their true selves, really began. Luke and Lucy felt a warm glow in their bodies as they entered the hall where they’d both signed up for the university’s LGBT society two years earlier. This time, though, they would be sat on the opposite side of the desk from where they were in 2019 — but as always, they wouldn’t be alone.

“Hey guys!” Susie said with an excited grin as she rendezvoused with the twins outside the hall. “One more time, hehe!”

“God, yeah,” Luke replied with a sad chuckle. “Weird to think that this time next year, we’ll have graduated, we’ll probably be working… heh. Covid permitting, of course. Just our luck to have our time at uni be ruined by the biggest global event in 75 years, right?”

“Not completely ruined,” Lucy said. “I wouldn’t call last night ‘ruined,’ for one thing.”

“Oh, my head definitely did first thing this morning,” Susie retorted with a tired chuckle. “Totally worth it, though.”

“Absolutely,” Luke said with a grin. “Though despite what I just said… maybe pace ourselves when it comes to the parties?”

“Once we start studying, for sure,” Lucy replied.

“But in Freshers’ Week? No chance,” Susie said with a devilish chuckle as she led her best friends into the hall, where they quickly located the young woman they were looking for.

“Hey guys!” Livvy said, grinning as she saw the twins approach, before smiling sultrily at their companion. “And hey, Sparkler….”

“Hey, Strawberry,” Susie said, rolling her eyes before giving her girlfriend a deep kiss. “I brought your backup for the day, hehe!”

“Cool!” Livvy giggled. “Are you volunteering as well, Luke?”

“Why not?” The young man replied with a smile and a shrug. “Can’t let my sister have all the fun, can I? Though before you ask, no, this doesn’t mean I’m up for being on the committee, heh. Like I said, I just want to, you know, help out where I can.”

“Well, it’s always appreciated,” Livvy said with a grin. “As are the both of you. The more friendly faces we can get behind this booth, the more LGBT folk will think — sorry, know — that this is a safe place for them.”

“We were literally just saying the same thing before breakfast,” Lucy chuckled as she gestured to herself and her brother. “Well, not EXACTLY the same thing, but near enough.”

“Basically, someone sees Luce’s new pigtails, they know they’re safe here,” Luke explained.

“I was about to say, I need to get a rainbow-coloured version of those,” Livvy giggled. “And you are both right, of course. Hell, it worked last year with the masks, didn’t it? Your — sorry, OUR friend Anthony?”

“How is he, anyway?” Susie asked. “Still self-isolating?”

“For three more days, aye,” Luke replied with a sigh. “He is a bit miserable, but at least he hasn’t got the virus himself.”

“And when Luke says ‘miserable’ he means ‘Anthony has somehow watched everything Star Wars related on Disney Plus twice already,’ ” Lucy said with a giggle.

“He’s a total nerd, but that just makes him even cooler,” Livvy giggled. “But on the subject of the virus, we still need to maintain some social distancing, so I’m afraid there’s only space for one of you behind the booth with me. Well, except for when I take a comfort break, heh!”

“Charming,” Luke snorted. “Luce? I don’t mind if you want to go first or second.”

“…I’ll go first,” Lucy said with a confident smirk as she played with her hair tassels. “Before these things fall out, heh!”

“I’ll go grab us a couple of coffees,” Luke said, nodding as Livvy and Lucy sat down behind the elaborately decorated booth. “Maybe a couple of Red Bulls as well, heh.”

“Make mine a double,” Lucy said, sharing a chuckle with her brother as he walked away.

After returning with the promised drinks for himself, Lucy and their two friends, Luke allowed himself a moment to look around the hall at the vast number of societies and extra-curricular activities the university had to offer, but he felt a pang in his chest when he passed the booth for the university’s football team. The previous two years, he hadn’t hesitated to sign himself up for the team, and with one obvious exception, he had made several friends among the other players.

Luke briefly pondered Priya’s suggestion from the previous day about offering his services to the team as a coach — many of his friends from his year would still be on the team, he got on well with them, and more importantly, Barnes was still banned from the team. However, as Luke was forced to concede, Barnes wasn’t the only one who took fun from making his life miserable, even if he was the only one to translate the abuse into an actual physical assault. And while some of his friends remained on the team, the vast majority — including James Thorn, easily his best friend on the team — had graduated and moved on with their lives.

With a sad sigh, Luke turned his back on the team that had brought him so much happiness over the previous two years and headed further into the hall, admiring the effort that the various societies had put into decorating their booths. He reassured himself with one simple fact — he didn’t need to play football in order to call himself a man.

It wasn’t long, though, before he came across a booth that caught his attention — though it was the identity of the woman stood behind the booth, rather than the activity itself, that drew his eye.

“Hey Priya!” Luke said, earning a giggle from the Bengali girl as she leaned on the booth between its decorations of scrunchies and pointe shoes. “Didn’t realise you were gonna be a ‘boss’ today as well?”

“Well, ‘deputy boss,’ maybe,” Priya replied with a giggle. “Figured anything that showed leadership skills would look good when it comes to job applications, heh.”

“Good thinking,” Luke chuckled.

“Though I’m guessing it’d take a miracle to get you to don a pair of tights and a pair of pointe shoes?” Priya asked, smiling sympathetically as her friend groaned and rolled his eyes.

“I had years of ballet classes growing up whether I liked it or not,” Luke scoffed. “Which I didn’t. Dunno if I told you that I once got Lucy to ruin my leotard to try to get out of it?”

“No, but now I’m definitely going to try to pester your sister into signing up for the beginner ballet society now that I know THAT story, hehe!” Priya replied, her sympathetic smile turning into a devilish grin.

“Honestly?” Luke replied. “If it wasn’t for how busy we’re gonna be this year, I don’t think she’d take much persuading. Compared with how she was last year, she seems to be going out of her way to be as in-your-face as possible about being a girl.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing?” Priya asked.

“Trust me, I know it ain’t,” Luke chuckled. “Seeing her confident and happy really is the best thing in the world, heh. But I’d better leave you to it, no doubt you’re gonna be inundated soon with freshers looking to sign up. Even though I know that pointe is really advanced, so they’ll have had to be dancing for years, meaning you’ll be surrounded by eighteen-year-old girls with slender bodies and are really flexible who don’t mind spending all day wearing skimpy lycra….”

“Yes, yes, okay,” Priya interrupted with a snort of laughter. “God, Lucy isn’t the only one being overt about her gender, BOY.”

“Thank you,” Luke said smugly, chuckling as his Bengali friend rolled her eyes.

“Just for the record, it’s not just the eighteen-year-olds, the twenty-year-olds are also really flexible,” Priya said, smiling smugly as she stretched one of her pink tights-encased legs high above her head. “And that’s all you’re going to get, hehe!”

“Fair enough,” Luke chuckled. Plenty more fish in the sea, the young man thought to himself as he bade farewell to Priya before continuing his stroll among the booths.

It wasn’t long before Luke’s tour of the vast hall brought him back to where his sister and their blonde friend were sat, both of whom greeted the young man with warm smiles.

“Hey Luke!” Livvy said with a giggle. “Find anything in the hall that takes your fancy?” Not yet, Luke thought to himself as he considered his response.

“Nah, not this year,” Luke replied. “I saw Priya at one of the dance society booths, though. Signed Lucy up for beginner ballet, heh.”

“Don’t you dare,” Lucy scoffed, before giggling and rolling her eyes. “Though actually, come to think about it….”

“Called it,” Luke said smugly as the twins’ friend sat back and laughed at their bickering. “Anyway, you two had any success here so far?”

“Yep!” Livvy replied. “Already got six freshers signed up with a few more saying they’ll circle back around after checking out the rest of the societies first.”

“Cool!” Luke chuckled, before biting his lip as his sister frowned. “…What’s up?”

“We- we did have one idiot,” Lucy sighed. “Some uptight bastard who looked like someone threw Jacob Rees-Mogg in a tumble dryer. Took one look at us, snorted, said ‘wokery gone mad’ then scarpered before we could say anything back to him.”

“But like I said to Lucy, that dinosaur’s already extinct, he just doesn’t know it yet,” Livvy said with a proud grin. “ ‘Cause we are going nowhere and we are gonna be as visible as possible for as long as possible!”

“Now THAT is what I like to hear!” A fourth voice said, surprising the trio but immediately putting them at ease with his friendly demeanour. “Hi, I’m Ryan, I’m eighteen, I'm from Bradford, I'm studying sociology and I'm interested in girls AND guys, hehe! And am also as anti-TERF as it gets.”

“Well, then you’re gonna be right at home here, Ryan!” Lucy said, giggling as she couldn’t help but notice his athletic 6’ 2” frame and his short, soft-looking hair — or especially the fact that his handsome face was smiling directly at her. “We — we’ve got loads of events throughout the year, especially now that, y’know, Covid seems to be going away, heh.”

“Ugh, yep,” Ryan said with a tired snort of laughter. “I would say it’s just my luck being born in 2003 but I’m guessing 2000, 2001 and 2002 weren’t that much more fun either?”

“Well on the plus side, studying sociology, you’re not going to be short of case studies,” Lucy said, giggling as the tall young man finished filling in his details and winked at her.

“My parents honestly said, ‘when are you going to use sociology?’ ” Ryan chuckled. “Well — duh? Look at the mess left by Covid, the mess left by Brexit and Trump, I mean, when am I NOT going to use it? And also look at the mess that’s being left by idiots like JK Rowling and the Father Ted guy. As far as I’m concerned, trans women are women and trans men are men. Today, tomorrow and forever.”

“I knew you’d be a good guy from the moment I saw you,” Lucy giggled. “I’ll see you at the first meeting of the society, right?”

“Just try and stop me,” Ryan said, exchanging another wink with the young trans women as he headed to check out the other booths.

As she sat back down and entered Ryan’s details onto the LGBT society’s system, Lucy couldn’t help but daydream about the opportunity that had all but dropped itself — or rather, himself — in her lap. Like her, Ryan was living away from home, meaning he was almost certainly looking to make new friends, and maybe even a girlfriend too. Ryan had all but explicitly said he had no problem with trans women, and Lucy allowed herself to dream that maybe, just maybe he’d have no problem with dating one either.

Unbeknownst to Lucy, though, Luke was also looking at Ryan as he walked away, and imagined what it would be like if he was his boyfriend too….