Rick and Nathaniel Nesmith had always been together — from the very first day when their parents carried them, barely wrapped in blankets, across the threshold of the maternity hospital. And since then, it seemed that fate itself had stubbornly kept them together, no matter how different they grew up to be.
Since childhood, Rick had not stood out from the other boys in any particular way — at least, that's how it appeared from the outside. He rode his bike, ran around the yards, fearlessly climbed onto the roofs of sheds, played soccer until late in the evening, and, of course, fought to defend his boyish honor, sometimes even too zealously.
He grew up to be the kind of guy who made girls hold their breath.
His popularity came almost imperceptibly, as if by itself.
However, he was loved not only for his appearance — everyone knew that Rick, despite his sometimes cheeky behavior, was a true knight. Or, to put it more simply, without embellishment — a "real man."
Nathaniel, or simply Nat, had been the complete opposite of his brother since childhood.
If Rick was loud and straightforward, Nat seemed much calmer — as if he were born not for battle, but for gentler things.
He was fragile, thin, and unmanly graceful; instead of climbing trees or competing in slingshot shooting, he spent his time in front of the mirror, trying on new shirts, tying bows, or trying out another hairstyle that seemed beautiful to him on that particular day.
Nat avoided fights, but if fate still brought him into rough boyish altercations, the outcome was always the same — defeat. And then, almost inevitably, tears. He didn't know how to defend himself, didn't know how to fight back, and didn't want to.
His world was built on completely different things.
He never found common ground with other boys, as if he spoke a completely different language. But girls accepted him immediately — without judgment and without unnecessary questions. With them, he could discuss anything, as if he finally felt like he belonged.
It wasn't that Nat was strange or "different" — he just lived a little differently than most people.
His unusual hobby was that he liked to dress like a girl.
For him, it was neither a challenge to society nor an attempt to attract attention. It was something deeply personal, familiar, almost natural.
Perhaps it all started with the fact that at birth, Nat was so cute that many people, seeing him for the first time, automatically mistook him for a girl.
Or perhaps it was his mother, who enjoyed dressing him in girls' dresses during his early childhood. She thought it was charming and harmless, just a cute game. No one thought at the time that these carefree childhood experiments would one day grow into something more.
But when the time came to dress like "all the other boys," Nat couldn't bring himself to do it.
For him, it was like trying to put on someone else's skin — uncomfortable, restrictive, completely unsuitable. He continued to choose what was familiar to him, what gave him a sense of comfort and integrity.
Of course, Nat didn't always wear dresses. As he grew older, men's clothing gradually appeared in his wardrobe — formal shirts, trousers, even a few coats that his brother helped him choose. But he didn't wear them often, more out of necessity than inner desire.
A childhood habit, ingrained when he was barely able to speak, proved too strong to simply give up.
And yet, contrary to the expectations of those around him, his passion did not prevent him from building relationships with the opposite sex.
The girls who appeared in his life noticed something completely different in him — gentleness, thoughtfulness, and a kind heart that had nothing to do with clothing. They liked Nat for who he was, not for who society wanted him to be.
For four years now, Nathaniel had been dating Ashlyn Nockfell, a kind and surprisingly bright girl who seemed to see more in him than he saw in himself.
She loved Nat not for his appearance, but for his gentle and vulnerable soul. For his big, attentive heart, which was inclined to care even for those who did not deserve it.
Nat responded to her in kind — perhaps even more strongly than he realized. For her sake, he once decided to give up his long-standing passion and began dressing like a boy for a while. It wasn't easy, but Nat sincerely believed he was doing it for their future together.
However, it was Ashlyn who was the first to tell him that none of this was necessary. That it didn't matter to her what he wore. That she loved him completely, with all his habits and quirks.
Their relationship was so trusting, so sincere, that even Rick sometimes caught himself feeling a little envious. He never admitted it out loud, but sometimes he thought that maybe he would never be able to build something as pure and strong as what his brother and his girlfriend had.
However, no matter how much one wanted to believe otherwise, everything comes to an end sooner or later. And even such a strong union, seemingly unshakable, as that between Nathaniel and Ashlyn, was no exception.
And one day it happened to them too.
Nathaniel and Ashlyn broke up after four years of relationship.