Seriously Though, Are You? - tags Hart

The confusion on his face made Sloane feel bad for even asking. But it was already out so there was no turning back. She pulled herself up, tucking her legs under her as she positioned herself so that she was looking at Hart.

She chewed her bottom lip, trying to figure out what to say next. "Well. Yes." She tilted her head a little before breathing out raggedly. "But..." Sloane scratched the back of her head and forced out a laughter. "Well, you live with Josef." She started, like that answered everything, before clearing her throat a little. "And...we've been together for half a year but we've never done anything below the belt."

Hearing herself, she thought she sounded like a hormonal teenage boy. "I thought the first time you pushed me away was because I was going too fast and I was like yeah, I'll back off. But, if you're celibate, you should just tell me now. And if you're gay, and that I'm your beard, then...you should tell me. I'm...I'll try to be fine with that."

As Hart struggled to answer her, Sloane was already starting to think up of worst case scenarios. The thought of them breaking up was even at the precipice of her mind. She really, really needed to work on her paranoia. She did, also, feel bad that she was forcing the man to admitting to something he probably struggled with himself.

God, what if Hart had been struggling with that his whole life and now here she is basically ripping it out of him? Some friend she was.

But Hart finally answered and though Sloane thought, "That would be what everyone would say when put under pressure." she gave him the benefit of the doubt. She wanted him to explain why though.

And then it came. So there was something Hart was keeping from her. She scooted closer, showing him that she was ready for anything he wanted to say. She took his hand and gave him an encouraging smile.

Sloane braced herself for what was to come and when it did, a mixture of feelings cropped up and for that brief moment, she was glad Hart had his eyes closed.

The word was foreign to her ears. She hadn't ever met transgendered people, which was why she didn't have much of a prior opinion on them. And it confused her as well. "You used to be female?" She asked, immediately regretting it as well. That was probably not the reaction Hart was expecting.

Sloane had been worried that it was something she couldn't forgive Hart for but now, she had so many questions that were probably very inappropriate to ask.

"I'm sorry." She apologised and pulled his hand to rest on her knee. "I don't think I know the appropriate reaction to that. I wish I did." She admitted before scooting even closer to Hart. "Can you explain why you thought you couldn't tell me this before?" She asked gently. She didn't want Hart to think she was rushing him into telling her anything right away but she was just very weirded out.

The technical term Hart used was stored away in Sloane's memory bank and she realised right then how much like a dick she must have sounded to Hart. She wanted to find reprieve in the fact that she had no prior experience with dealing with this sort of thing but she could have chosen better words, she concluded.

What Hart continued to say made Sloane realise that as much as she was new to all of this, the fact that she wasn't scared of it or thought it was disgusting was on the forefront of her mind. The movie title sounded familiar but Sloane doubted she had ever watched it. She probably should. If it was something that could make her understand what this is for even a little bit.

Another thing that surprised Sloane was that she didn't feel like Hart had betrayed her by not telling her any of this earlier on. She felt a little saddened by the fact that Hart had had to go through this more than once. It actually damn near broke her heart. Her face probably showed that more than words could ever do.

Her eyes were drawn down to their linked hands and she realised she had gripped Hart's rather tightly in all the time he spoke. She gulped inaudibly as she thought of what to say. A tear dropped down her cheek as she thought of how horrible people could be if you were different. She had had to suffer that when she first came out as meta to her colleagues. It was different than how Hart probably had to go through but she knew just how damaging words could ultimately be when it came to reacting to differences.

She wiped away the tear, laughing more out of embarrassment than anything else. The power mimic had not cried ever since her ex dumped her. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to..." another tear fell before she spoke again. "I'm sorry that you had to um," her voice was breaking as she tried to choke down the tears. She didn't even know if the tears were for Hart having to go through what he had to go through with his girlfriends or for her memories of harsh acts towards her being different. It was probably a mixture of both but she was having a hard time choking it down.

Clearing her throat, she pulled up Hart's hand and placed a kiss against his knuckle. "Thank you for telling me. I'm, I honestly don't know what else to say but I don't...it doesn't matter to me really." She used her shirt to dab at her eyes. "I like you. Very much. And I honestly hope that's enough for you." She looked up at Hart with a watery smile. "You're the one pouring your heart out and here I am blubbering like an idiot."

Even Sloane couldn't have fathomed such a reaction. It clearly wasn't something she thought she would ever do, really. Suppose it was long overdue. She did manage to contain it as Hart responded positively. At least he didn't think it was a mistake telling her. That was a good thing.

She looked up at the man in front of her and gave him a close mouthed smile, as wide as she could. She really should try to calm herself. Hart was the one sharing what couldn't have been an easy secret. He should be the one blubbering, not her.

Nodding at his offer, Sloane wanted to start with her questions. Like when did he realise the change. How did he go about with it. And how did his family take it. But she was a little afraid of the answers. Especially that last one. She had it easy, her family accepted her fully. But Sloane knew that what Hart had gone through could not be easy. Not if he had to keep it a secret from her for so long.

"I won't. I promise." Sloane nodded in response. There was nobody to tell. Even if there was, Sloane knew this was Hart's secret to tell, not hers. The dark-haired meta pulled Hart close and pressed her lips on his. Though it felt weird knowing that Hart was...assigned female at birth, she couldn't help the fact that this didn't bother her. Not in the least.

"Thank you." She breathed out as she rested her forehead against Hart's. "And...I'm sorry I thought you were gay."

Sloane couldn't help but snort at Hart's attempt at reassuring her. It was ridiculous mostly because it should have been the other way around. She was definitely not winning any awards for girlfriend of the year, that's for sure.

She leaned back on the couch as Hart spoke. Wiping a stray tear off her cheek, Sloane adjusted her head on the back of the couch and looked up at Hart, trying to see anything that indicated he was a woman before but all she could think of was that he looked flawless.

One hand reached out to cup the man's cheek as her thumb grazed his cheekbone. "I'm glad." She blurted out before breathing out and scuttling into Hart's embrace once more. She reached her arm around his torso and closed her eyes. "So now that I know, I have to ask. It's probably very insensitive but I don't actually know how to rephrase it but haven't you had any urges at all around me?" She asked.