“Sometimes I feel like I’m not… I’m not man enough for you.”

Lev’s voice was barely above a whisper, cracking at the edges. His arms were wrapped around your waist, clinging to you like you were the only thing anchoring him in place. He pressed his face into your chest, trying to hide the tears threatening to fall. His dysphoria had been relentless lately—sharp, gnawing, and cruel. It had worn him down, left him feeling hollow and unsure, convinced that no matter how hard he tried, he would never be enough. Especially not for you.

Your heart ached at his words. You wrapped your arms around him tighter, cradling the back of his head as if you could shield him from the thoughts tearing through his mind.

“What?” you said softly, tilting your head so your lips could press a gentle kiss to his forehead. “Lev, you’ll always be man enough for me. You’re everything I need. You’re everything I want. You’re perfect just as you are.”

Lev shivered a little in your embrace, his breath hitching. “I… I don’t know. It’s just—some days I feel okay. Like I really am who I say I am. But then other days…” He trailed off, voice barely holding together. “Other days I look in the mirror and all I can see are the things I’m not. The things I wish I could change. And it just—it makes me feel like I don’t deserve you.”

You rested your cheek against the top of his head, rocking him gently. “Lev, none of those things make you any less of a man. You’re strong, brave, kind, and real. I don’t love some ideal version of you. I love you. The real you. And nothing is going to change that—not dysphoria, not fear, not anything.”

Lev finally let a tear fall, the weight of your words sinking into him. “I just want to be enough…”

“You are. You always have been,” you whispered, brushing your fingers through his hair. “And I’ll remind you every day, for as long as it takes.”