Chapter Text
“Hey, Will! Got back from that festival sooner than we expected, Gromit won first-” Wallace halted in the doorway of his living room, Gromit only slightly behind him. “Will?”
His supposed boyfriend was standing before the looking glass dressed in… well, a dress. “He” wore a wig and lipstick on top of that, and a string of pearls. “Willard” Tweedy froze and turned to “his” boyfriend and adopted son with the look of a deer in the headlights.
“Wallace! Gromit! I-I didn’t think you’d be ‘ome so soon!”
“Neither… neither did we,” Wallace said slowly.
Papa? little Gromit typed. Why are you in a dress?
“Willard” blurted out the first thing “he” could think of. “I’m… I’m goin’ to… to be in a play! It’s old-fashioned Shakespeare… V-very t-traditional!”
“Will-”
“I’m… I’m not… I’m just… I… I… Please don’t be-”
“You look beautiful.”
“W-what?!”
“You look beautiful,” Wallace said again.
“You… you aren’t angry?”
“I don’t see… Why should I be angry? It’s none of me business what you wear.”
Wilhelmina froze. “You aren’t angry…” She doubled over. “Oh… oh thank God!”
Now Wallace looked confused. “Why…?” He trailed off and shook his head. “Are you okay? Did you really think I’d be mad about this?”
“I… Maybe…?”
“Will, I love you. I’m not going to be angry about something like this.”
“You…” She trailed off.
“Why did you think I’d be?”
“Um…”
“Will.”
“I… I’m… I’m not Will,” she told him.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not a crossdresser.”
She waited for him to get her meaning.
And then he did.
“You… you’re-”
“Wally, I’m not really a man. I’m sorry if I-”
“What?! Why are you sorry?”
“For… for lying to you…” she said. “For not telling you the truth.”
“You… I… I’m the one who should be sorry!”
“What for?”
“For makin’ you feel like you couldn’t tell me about this! I should've-”
“It’s nothing you did! I… didn’t want anyone to know.”
“Why not?”
“People ‘ave been… less than acceptin’ in the past,” she said quietly. “I was scared of… of anyone finding out.”
“What do you mean, ‘less than accepting’? Who-”
“It’s nothing,” she said quickly. “You… you’re really not upset?”
He shook his head. “Of course not.” He paused. “You said you didn’t want me to call you… that you’re not… Will. Is there sommat else you want me to call you?”
She looked at him with watery brown eyes. “Wilhelmina,” she told him. “Call me that. Call me Wilhelmina.”
“Wilhelmina, then,” he said aloud. “Wilhelmina. Beautiful name for a beautiful lady.”
She kissed him on the mouth.