CW: contains questioning gender issues

JJ the pandacat comes by his friend Kelsey's place asking for help with his 'sister's' makeup but the border collie suspects there might be more to the story.

Another thing I was inspired to write recently involving gender stuff, this time more based around the idea of someone trying to discover what their identity is.

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"Hmmm?" Kelsey Downton looked over her shoulder as she heard a knock on her door. She stood up from the desk in her study and walked over to her door and checked who was outside, seeing that it was her friend JJ. She walked over to the door and cracked it open, seeing him standing outside with a sheepish smile and his hands behind his back.

"Hi." He said with a little wave.

"Hey, JJ." Kelsey smiled as she stepped aside, "What brings you here?" JJ took the gesture and walked inside.

"Just wanted to come by and visit a friend. Did you want to get some tea or something like that?" He asked, the same smile still across his face.

"Yeah, I could put a pot on. What kind do-"

"And could you also help me with something too?" He asked, talking an object out of his backpack and holding it up to her before she could finish her inquiry. While slightly annoyed at the interruption, Kelsey became a bit more confused when she noticed what JJ had in his paws. It was a large cosmetic collection the size of a small laptop featuring hues and shades of all different kinds. It seemed a bit random for him to have it, but the border collie figured there was probably a good reason for it.

"Um, sure. What do you need help with?" She asked him.

"My sister has a date and she wanted me to pick up a few things for her, starting with the makeup." JJ quickly replied with a confident nod, "Do you think this looks good?"

"It's got a good selection." Kelsey replied, "Lots of different options and the like."

"Cool!" The pandacat replied, "Do you think that you could put some of it in me?"

"...huh?" She tilted her head.

"We're twins and she wants to use me as a dress up doll basically to see how it'll look on her." JJ's reply was quick and concise in the phrasing.

"Almost like it was rehearsed." Kelsey thought, but decided to go along with it before questioning further.

"Yeah, could do." She nodded, "Here, let's go up to my room." She said, leading him upstairs.

"Thanks! Is, um, Glaceo home?"

"Glace? No, he's at the gym. Why?"

"Just…just curious." He was trying to hide a blush now, but what about Kelsey wasn't sure. Nonetheless, she nodded and led him into her study, filled to the brim with a ton of different books, a desk and a large wardrobe where she kept a few different outfits (many of them black to go along with her gothy visage.) JJ took a seat in front of a large mirror as she pulled up a stool in front of him.

"Alright, now just sit still and I'll get you all done up." Kelsey got the tablet up and looked at the myriad of colors on it, "Now, what color is your sis thinking of going with?"

"Umm…whatever you think would look good. She'll go with your recommendation." He said, looking over at the wardrobe. The canine nodded and started with a little bit of green eyeshadow around his eyes, gently placing it on. As she went on, Kelsey couldn't help but notice JJ's happiness at what she was doing but didn't question it too much even as she started with a little bit of eyeliner and then a bit of blush on his cheeks (which heavily stood out against his fairly white face.)

"Hmmm…looking good so far. Need me to grab some pictures for her with your phone?" The collie mage asked. JJ's eyes widened at the suggestion before he quickly glanced around the room.

"Hey, so, we're the same size, you me and my sister, I mean, so do you think I might be able to, uh, try on a dress or two?" JJ quickly asked. At this point, Kelsey knew something was up and simply looked at him.

"JJ." She started.

"I kinda remember there was this pretty blue sundress you wore once when we were hanging out last summer and then I'm thinking maybe some jewelry and other stuff."

"JJ."

"If that's okay, anyway…I think my sister might even like if we tested out some lipstick and maybe a little hair decoration or two-"

"JJ." Kelsey put enough emphasis on his name that he ceased his stalling as the pandacat went completely silent and looked away from her, fidgeting with his hands and curling his tail up next to his waist. After a short few seconds, the dog moved her head in front of him to get his attention, "JJ, be honest with me. This all isn't for your sis, is it?" The shy hybrid glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and then shook his head.

"I…I've been kinda feeling stuff a lot recently. Like…I dunno…I see you and Ana and Fantine and everyone wearing all these pretty clothes and makeup and stuff and it just kinda…I dunno. It makes me feel a little jealous." He said.

"I see." Kelsey nodded as she listened, watching his facial expressions. She knew that she was clearly not the person he necessarily needed to be talking to about this but right now she was bound and determined to do whatever she could to try and support her friend, "Do you think that you might not be a man?"

"No." He shook his head, "At least not all the time, anyway. Some days I don't mind going out and wearing all the stuff that I normally wear and all that but then there's other days where I just…I just kinda don't. I feel more like a girl than a boy." He went, looking down at the floor.

"Hmmm…" She tapped her chin, "From what you're telling me, it sounds like you might be more gender fluid, not really fitting into either one."

"Kinda like what Izumi is?" JJ glanced up at her.

"Sort of? They're more in the realm of not being in either binary which is why they, well, like being called 'they.' How do you feel about being called either gender? Does one feel better than the other?"

"Kinda." JJ repeated,."Well…depends. I have some people mistake me for a girl from the back but it doesn't really bother me and I always feel bad when they all apologize since I…I dunno." He wrapped his arms around himself, "There's nothing wrong with me, is there?"

"No no, of course not." She moved the steel next to the chair and patted him on the shoulder, "You need to feel comfortable and there's nothing wrong with that one little bit." She then moved in and gave him a hug, "Do you have someone you could talk to that specializes in this? Like a therapist?"

"Y-yeah."

"You should ask them about that then." She then stood up and walked over to her room. JJ looked up and watched her leave, tilting his head toward her direction. Kelsey then shortly returned with some more items including a hairbrush and hair products and more makeup, "But for now…if you want to feel like a lady today, then let's do a makeover." A bright grin came across her face as JJ smiled with his eyes lighting up.

***

"Can I open my eyes now?" JJ asked.

"Just a sec, love. Need to fix a little botch up on my part." Kelsey replied, moving a brush over the top of his eyes, "Alright, there we go. Take a peek." The pandacat slowly opened those amber eyes and was totally struck by what was in the mirror in front of him.

Or rather in front of her.

JJ's eyes were marked with a beautiful flourish of metallic green eyeshadow that brought out her eyes in a beautiful fashion while her eyelashes had been done to look curly and styled. Some blush around her cheeks just like before made them stand out while Kelsey had even put some shiny glitter on them to add more color to the pandacat's otherwise monochrome color palette.

Her blonde hair had been freshly washed and styled into a comfortable French braid while some jet black lipstick coated her mouth. She looked down at her hands and feet seeing that her claws had been painted a lime green color and fully stood out.

The best part, though, was her outfit. The same sundress that she'd talked about earlier was now on her body, a beautiful purple one decorated with some white lilies. She even noticed that she'd had some accessories placed on her with a necklace, some bangles and an anklet on.

"Wow…" JJ went as she looked into the mirror, Kelsey standing behind her and resting her hands on the pandacat's shoulders.

"So? What do you think?" The collie asked, looking between her friend and the reflection in the mirror.

"I…I look so pretty." She smiled as she held her hands up and placed them on her face, her eyes tearing up slightly before she stood up and tightly clung to Kelsey, "Thank you so much, Kels. Thank you." She said, squeezing her in a hug that made her wince slightly.

“Hey hey, not too close, you’ll smudge your makeup.” She chuckled before giving her friend some headpats and then returning the hug, "And you're welcome." Shortly afterwards, a knock on the door came as Glaceo poked his head in.

"I'm home, Kels. How are you doing?" The pair of ladies looked over at him in surprise as they both waved.

"Doing good, babe." She nodded.

"Awesome, good to hear." The arctic fox nodded and gave a thumbs-up, "Also, looking good, JJ." He added as he moved his head out and walked off.

"Wow…uhh…umm…I guess he's okay with me like this." The pandacat said, relaxing as she sat back down in the chair.

"You've got friends that care about you and want to help you out." Kelsey said, "Man, woman, whatever you want to be, we'll be here for you as you discover more things about yourself."

"Thank you, Kels." JJ giggled.

"Although in the future, maybe consider coming to me before you get another makeup kit." The collie crossed her arms and looked at the large collection.

"Um…yeah. I kinda got choice paralysis and just got that big one." She chuckled.

"How much was that, by the way?"

"...$68."

"Yeah. Definitely come get me next time."