Work Text:
[Albert]
The sun was slipping under the horizon, but the smell of fresh coffee was still in the air. Due to finals approaching, the coffee shop was insanely busy.
"Hey Romeo, I'm out for today," Albert called as he clocked out.
"Okay, good luck on your finals tomorrow!" Romeo gave him a cheery grin as he balanced a tray of scones.
"You too bro," Albert waved and headed out the door. The apartment was within walking distance of the coffee shop that he picked up shifts at for his work-study program. He smiled and shoved his hands into his pockets, whistling 'I've Got A Dream' from Tangled as he walked.
Albert loved the freedom that an apartment provided. He was no longer forced to live with someone he couldn't stand, and stay in extremely close quarters with them. He could sleep in the same bed as his boyfriend if he wanted to. He could cook actual meals, and take showers in a bathroom only two to four people used. Best of all, he could keep his cat.
He unlocked the door, tossing his keys onto the table and toeing off his shoes. The house was seemingly empty, but the yellow Converse by the door indicated Race was home.
"Oh Anthony," Albert called in a singsong voice. "Come out come out wherever you are!" He grinned and made his way towards Race's (basically their) bedroom.
There was no answer, and Albert soon saw the closed bathroom door. His pulse sped up and he rushed to it. "Racer, hey are you in there?" There was no answer. "Tony, I'm coming in," he turned the handle and began to push the door open.
There was a shriek from the other side. "No!" Race pushed against the door.
"Hey, what is it, is something wrong?" Albert's worry was understandable, considering his boyfriend's history.
"Don't come in yet." Albert's concern level dropped a bit due to the absence of a distressed tone, but he still heard uncertainty in Race's voice.
"So, um, I might have done something," Race stated from the other side if the door. "It's nothing bad, but..." There was a sigh and Race opened the door.
His normally blonde curls were now a pretty pale pink colour. He wore a pastel yellow crop top and a baby blue skirt coming down to his mid thighs.
Albert gasped softly, and his mouth fell slightly open. "Baby," he moved forward and reached out to touch Race's cheek. "I love it."
He looked up and grinned, "really? I think this is what I'm gonna wear to pride, ya know?" He got an excited look in his eyes and grinned from ear to ear. "I had the day off classes since my exams are basically over and I was thinking like what would say 'hey gender norms, fuck you,' and I came up with this!"
He twirled once, "and it's the pan pride colours, which is a major bonus."
Albert grinned and placed his hands on Race's hips, "it looks great, and you look great in it." He trailed teasing kisses up his boyfriend's jaw to his ear. "And, it's a major turn on." He moved to kiss Race's lips but he just pulled away.
"Wait, what specifically is the turn on, because I will not stand for you objectifying my ass." His tone was mostly playful, but had a serious undertone. "Is it the skirt? It better not be the skirt."
Albert leaned in to whisper. "You wanna know why I'm turned on?" He kissed the skin just below Race's ear. "Because you're being comfortable in your own skin." He grinned to himself.
"Because you're sending a big 'fuck you' to society." Albert kissed his neck next, an especially sensitive spot that made Race whine a little.
"Because you're being true to yourself." He moved his head up so he could kiss the tip of Race's nose.
"Because you're showing your fiery spirit." Albert left feather light kisses along his cheekbones.
"Because this reminds me of why I fell in love with you in the first place, and because all of that is incredibly hot." He stopped to press a kiss to the very corner of Race's mouth. "And maybe just a tiny bit because of the skirt."
Race smacked his arm playfully before leaning in and kissing him. For a moment it was soft and slow, and that was enough. Race threaded his fingers through Albert's hair and held him close, treasuring every moment.
Then Race nipped at his boyfriend's lip, and the heat was instantly on. Albert allowed entrance into his mouth as Race pulled at the hem of his shirt. He broke the kiss long enough to pull the it over his head before reconnecting their lips.
He backed Race up against the counter and hooked his hands under the boy's thighs. Race whined into Albert's mouth, wrapping his legs around Albert's waist as he was jerked up and sat on the counter. With Race's hands in his hair and tongue in his mouth, Albert couldn't help but start to push Race's skirt up his thighs.
"Bed. Now."
Albert didn't have to he told twice. He picked his boyfriend up off the counter and carried him across the hall to the bedroom they usually shared. As soon as the door was closed, (and locked just in case,) he dumped Race onto the bed and crawled over him, straddling his hips.
This was going to be great fun.
~~~~~
They fell back into the bed panting, the sheets bundled around their waists. Albert rolled onto his side and admired his boyfriend. He reached out to trace the nearly faded scars on Race's chest before moving to skim over the newly formed bruises that littered his neck.
"Dammit, I'm covered in hickeys, aren't I?" Race sighed and looked over at Albert, who nodded. Race groaned, "I have my dance piece tomorrow, it's for a huge grade, basically like an exam."
"It's fine babe, you have makeup, I'll help you cover them." He kissed Race's cheek and pulled him close, curling into his heat and letting his eyes flutter closed.
"No way," Race untangled himself from Albert and the sheets. "I'm taking a shower first, care to join me?"
Albert wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive way, and Race smacked the back of his head. "Not like that, we just had sex calm the fuck down bro."
Race turned and walked away, Albert following him. "Don't you dare bro me, bro!"
*****
[Race]
Race had decided that June was his new favourite month. School was over, and pride was here. What could be better than that? He had passes his exams with flying colours and now all that was left was to Gay It Up with all his closest friends.
"Sophia I swear to god if you want your makeup done right you have to stay still!" Race sighed as he attempted to give Smalls just enough eyeliner to complete her 'kickass asexual' look.
"Sorry Race, I'm just so excited!"
He smiled at her, "me too. There, you're all done."
She grinned broadly and bounced off to go find a mirror. Race sat the eyeliner down and wiped his fingers off, "next!"
Spot flopped down on the couch in front of Race, wearing a Straight Outta Hate tank top. He was followed by Elmer who jumped over the back of the couch, nearly kicking Crutchie in the head. Elmer grinned widely, "we're giving Spot sparkles!"
Race smirked, punching his friend in the shoulder. "Tough guy Conlon with sparkles? Better not let the papers know."
"Yeah yeah, well I lost a bet so this isn't by choice," Spot said gruffly.
"Suuuurree you did," Race grabbed his bottle of finishing spray from the table he was sitting on and turned to Elmer. "Now this isn't exactly glitter, but it will make him shiny."
Elmer shook his head firmly, "no, the deal was glitter. I know you have some Higgins, break it out."
Race laughed, "okay okay." He pulled Vaseline and a pouch of glitter out of the makeup bag at his feet. "Look way up."
Spot did as he was told, and stayed that way until Race was finished. Elmer looked at him and giggled. "You look great Spotty," he leaned in and kissed him softly.
"Gross you two," Race swatted them with the towel he had in his lap. They simultaneously flipped him off.
Race spent the next half hour making sure everyone had all the makeup they wanted, (a bi pride flag on the cheek for Jack, flawless highlight for Kath, a little bird made if eyeliner on Finch's cheek, rainbow eyeshadow and lips for Sarah and some weird melted rainbow thing for Mush,) before it was finally time to head out.
Race straightened his skirt and hooked his arm into Albert's, leaning over to kiss his cheek.
*****
[Crutchie]
Crutchie held up his camera, snapping a picture of Race and Albert, arms linked, Race leaning in to kiss his boyfriend's cheek. He smiled at the picture, turning to take one of Jack as he laughed at something Romeo had said.
"Guys," Crutchie tried to get everyone's attention but failed. "Hey guys," he tried a few more times before Sarah finally noticed.
She put two fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly. Everyone quieted down and looked at her. "Stick boy wants to say something," she grinned at Crutchie, and he hit her in the leg with his crutch.
"Okay guys, could we like, gather in the kitchen? I want to take a group photo before we go."There was some grumbling, but eventually everyone was in the frame. Crutchie set the timer and scrambled to get in the picture. Once it took, he checked to see if it was good. "Okay, nobody blinked, you are free to go."
Everyone headed towards the door as Crutchie gathered up the stuff for his camera bag. Finch bounded up to him, grabbing his hand and tugging. "C'mon Crutch, let's go!"
Crutchie smiled apologetically, "sorry." He put the last thing in his bag and leaned over to kiss Finch. "Okay let's go."
~~~~~
The walk to the festival was short, and no one expected there to be any trouble as long as they didn't draw too much attention. But who were they kidding, Race alone was drawing enough attention with the way he skipped and spun down the street. Crutchie laughed and snapped a picture right as he leapt into the air.
Unfortunately, when Race landed he bumped into someone. "I'm so so sorry," Race apologised profusely.
"Get away from me, fag." The man shoved Race, "you're just a gross little fairy."
Race was immediately ticked off. "Fairy? Bitch please, I'm a dragon." And with that, he kicked the man in the face. Crutchie grinned, getting a picture just as it happened.
*****
[David]
"Dave look!" Smalls was pulling him in every direction, pointing at everything she saw. "Look there's rainbow ice cream! Woah look at that dude he's like seven feet tall! Look Davey, face painting!"
This was worse than babysitting Les. But it was okay, because pride was fun, and no one asked his age when he asked for alcohol. He was going to need some if he were to corral Smalls all day. She was the youngest by two years, and still in high school, and David had made it his job to keep her safe. (Despite the fact that all three if her foster brothers were here too.)
She darted off to a booth that was selling cotton candy, and David finally got a chance to look around for himself. This wasn't your normal Pride festival. This was more like a carnival. A big rainbow gender non-conforming carnival. Games had been set up everywhere, including a dunk tank which David figured he'd be sitting on sooner or later.
He saw Jack dragging Katherine around, laughing wildly. He was happy for them, despite his long term super secret big gay crush on Jack. He was over that now (mostly) and was just glad his best friend had finally gotten the girl he'd been pining after since middle school.
Smalls returned with cotton candy, and waved it at Davey. "Want some?"
He picked a piece off and let it melt in his mouth. Smalls ranted on and on about something she had seen and David grinned, ruffling her hair.
"What was that for?"
David laughed, "you remind me of Les."
"Um okay... Ooh!" She perked up, "look David kittens!" She rushed off towards a lesbian couple that had five kittens with them. David rolled his eyes and trotted after her.
When he caught up, Smalls was already chatting with the girls, and holding a kitten in her lap. She beckoned David to sit down and he did. "Hi, I'm David," he shook hands with both the girls. They introduced themselves as Claire and Hannah.
They chatted for a while, and David smiled as a little grey kitten stumbled over and climbed into his lap. He instinctively held the cat and petted it. Half an hour later, Smalls had wondered off and the kitten was asleep in David's arms.
"You know," Hannah said, "we're trying to find homes for these kittens." She looked over at Claire.
"You can have her if you want," Claire suggested.
David thought for a moment. "I'd love that, thank you so much."
*****
[Spot]
Spot's brain was fuzzy as Elmer kissed him senseless. They were behind a little brick building where no one could see them. Elmer was already basically drunk from the alcohol he'd had on an empty stomach. But Spot didn't mind. He just kissed him back with the same amount of passion.
Elmer pulled away abruptly, "you're pretty Spotty," he giggled.
Spot smiled fondly, "and you're drunk."
Elmer gave him a stubborn look "'m not drunk, just... jazzed." He gave weak jazz hands and giggled again.
"You're lucky you're cute," Spot said. He scooped Elmer up and carried him in the direction of the picnic tables. "Let's get some food in you, shall we?"
They met up with Mush and Blink, and ate ate cheese pizza, fresh strawberries, and rainbow sherbet for dessert.
Elmer grinned, "heyyyy Spotty." He poked his boyfriend's side.
"Yeah El?"
"Le's go play a game!" Elmer stood up and stumbled towards the carnival games.
Spot turned to Mush and Blink, "I swear it's like he's getting drunker," he said quickly before chasing after Elmer.
They played a few rounds of 'knock down the milk jugs' which Spot was fairly good at. He won Elmer a stuffed unicorn and Elmer's face lit up.
"Seanie, you really are the best!" He jumped once before leaning in to kiss Spot.
Spot smiled as he pulled away and laced their fingers together. "Where to now El," he asked, rubbing his thumb over the back or Elmer's hand.
Elmer thought for a moment, "let's do that!" He pointed to another carnival game, the one that was basically beer pong, and pulled Spot off towards it. They played a few rounds if that, winning nothing.
Spot complained that it was rigged, but Elmer said nothing. In fact, he had been quiet the whole time. "Hey Elm, you okay?"
Elmer stared at the ground for a second before leaning heavily on his boyfriend. "I don't feel so good." He looked queasy and had his eyes squeezed shut.
Spot knew that look. He got Elmer to a trash can just in time. "It"s okay, I'm here," Spot murmured as Elmer threw up. This was a common occurrence, Elmer could hold his alcohol for a while, but it always came back up sooner or later. When he was done, Spot grabbed some napkins off a nearby table. He wiped Elmer's face off, letting Elmer lean on him as he did so.
"There ya go baby," Spot said softly. "Let's get you home, yeah?"
Elmer nodded sleepily and let Spot pick him up once again. He looped his arms around Spot's neck gently, and nestled into his neck. "Thank you," he whispered.
Despite all the noise, Elmer was asleep before Spot could track down Jack. The sun was starting to set, and it framed Elmer's face in a golden light.
He finally found Jack in the cotton candy line. "Hey Jack, Elmer had a little too much to drink, I'm gonna get him back to the apartment for the night."
Jack nodded, seeming a little tipsy himself, "bye-bye brother." Okay yeah Jack was definitely tipsy. Spot smiled and started the long walk to the car.
*****
[Katherine]
Katherine watched the festivities surrounding her with wide eyes. Her notebook was tucked safely under her arm and a pencil was pushed into her ponytail, along with a miniature Straight Ally flag. She couldn't even begin to describe everything that was going on, how on earth was she going to write an article on 'Queer Voices on the College Scene' or really, how was she going to narrow down her choices?
She decided to start by interviewing people. Her first targets were a pretty girl with dark skin and a pretty flowered dress and her girlfriend. They sat at a picnic table sharing rainbow coloured ice cream.
"Excuse me, may I sit here?" The girls nodded and she sat down. "Hi, my name is Katherine Pulitzer, and I'm working on an article for Buzzfeed about queer college students-"
"Buzzfeed? That's so cool," the girl in the dress said.
Katherine smiled, "yeah, it is. I'm just an intern but the guy that was going to cover this is getting married today, so when they found out I was coming they gave me the job instead. It's my first real assignment so I'm actually a little nervous." She fiddled with the collar of her shirt.
The other girl smiled, more from her warm brown eyes than from her teeth. "Don't be! Everyone here is really nice, that's why we love it." She stuck her hand out across the table, "I'm Miranda and this is Allison."
Katherine had soon filled half a page with notes from her conversation with the girls. She looked up to see Jack attempting to ring the bell on one of those mallet games. "This was great thanks for answering all my questions, but I have to go stop my boyfriend from making bad life choices."
The girls smiled, "bye!"
Katherine stood, straightening her skirt and walking over to Jack. "Aaannd that's enough of that," she pulled him away from the game knowing he's never leave if she didn't.
"Kathy!" Jack grinned and kissed her. She could taste the alcohol on his lips. She sighed and pulled back.
"If you could just go sit at that picnic table while I do few more interviews, then I'll be yours for the rest of the night, okay?"
Jack nodded, and stumbled off towards the tables. Katherine looked around for her next target.
Eventually, she had almost three full pages. She picked one final person, a stocky blond man wearing rainbow swim trunks.
"Excuse me sir, could I ask you a few questions for an article I'm doing about queer college life?"
The man eyed her flag and crossed his arms. "You don't belong here, you're just here for your assignment so you can say how gays are ruining the world, aren't you?"
Katherine was taken aback, and the man continued speaking. "You shouldn't be here, get out of m-"
"Hey!"
Katherine felt an arm around her shoulder and smelled the familiar scent if paint and alcohol. Jack.
"This here 's my girlfriend, and 'm bi, and she's here supporting me and my endeavours as a LGBT human. You should respect her, 'cause she's the kindest smartest prettiest girl you'll ever meet. She's a fucking delight man! I mean just look at 'er!" Jack tended to ramble when he was drunk.
The man backed away, "sorry."
Katherine smiled at Jack, "thanks honey, you didn't have to do that."
"Yes I fucking did!" Jack looked at her with wide eyes, "he needed to know that's you're a delight! A treasure! A gift to this world! A precious fucking cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too p-"
"Okay Jackie," Katherine laughed, "I think I get it." She smiled and kissed him. "Ready to go back to Race and Al's?"
Jack nodded and pulled her in the direction of the apartment.
*****
[Specs]
Specs woke up the next morning on the floor of Race and Al's apartment with a massive headache. He untangled himself from Romeo, pressing a kiss to his cheek before heading into the kitchen where Crutchie was making pancakes.
"Dude, where do you keep the aspirin?"
Crutchie sighed, "in Race's room." Specs turned to go but Crutchie stopped him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, they're in there making passionate love. It's fucking gross."
Specs laugh, and winced at his own loud outburst. He sat down in a bar stool and watched as everyone slowly woke up.
Finch was first, wrapping his arms around Crutchie's waist and stealing pancake batter from the bowl.
David was next, carrying a kitten with him. No one asked how or why, they just took turns holding the little fuzz ball whom David had named Strikhedonia, which was defined as 'the joy of being able to say to hell with it.' Everyone just called her Strike.
Spot and Elmer emerged from Crutchie and Finch's room that they'd taken over seeing as they were the first to return. Smalls followed them, coming out of the room that was technically Albert's but basically a just spare.
Romeo woke up after Smalls accidentally kicked him on her way in, and he woke up Jack when he tripped over him on his way to the kitchen.
Race and Albert appeared with messy hair and devilish grins soon after, and brought the relief of aspirin with them.
Katherine was up next, stumbling over Blink and Mush, who had been awake for a while, just laying there and refusing to get up.
Sarah woke up last as always, just in time for the bacon to be ready.
Everyone was content to sit in silence as eat their breakfast, staying in this perfect world where everyone was queer and homophobes didn't exist.
*****
[Albert]
Eventually, one by one, everyone including Finch and Crutchie had to leave, until it was just him and Race left. They sprawled out on the couch and traded soft slow kisses in the morning light.
Albert started thinking, about how much he truly loved Race, and how he absolutely loved living with him. They were only sophomores in college, but Albert knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Race.
He laid there for a few more minutes, petting through Race's pink hair as he laid on Albert's chest. This was perfection. A domestic dream. This was what he wanted.
He remembered 9th grade. Albert was the only freshman on the baseball team. Romeo, Race's foster brother who was still in 8th grade at the time, was a manager for the team. That's when he met Race. The beautiful blonde boy who would come to every game and cheer louder than anyone else in the stands. They became aquaintences, and would talk sometimes.
A year later, Romeo who was now in the team snuck a ride home, and Race was left alone with Albert. Albert walked him home seeing as Race lived half a mile away, and Albert only just farther than that. At the door, he worked up the courage to write his number on Race's arm.
"Call me," he said. And then he leaned up and kissed Race's cheek. Race went inside, and that night they called and talked for hours.
And the rest was history. Here they were, living together, being together. It was everything Albert had ever wanted and more.
He loved sharing a bed with Race, and not just in a sex way. He loved waking up to Race's soft breaths against his collarbone. He loved having someone to comfort him when he woke up with a nightmare. He loved holding him close and falling asleep tangled together, breaths mixing and fingers intertwined.
He loved the time they could spend together. Watching movies, playing video games, the stupid little things like that.
He loved the domesticity of it all. He loved coming home to a house he shared with his boyfriend. Now, granted he shared the house with Finch and Crutchie too, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that he could get home before Race and make dinner to have when he came home. What mattered was sitting on opposite ends of the couch, legs tangled in the middle, each reading different books but still somehow being together.
What mattered was that he was in love. What mattered was that he wanted Race to be his, truly completely his. Forever.
His thoughts drifted to the box under the bed in 'his' room. He looked down at Race, who was now sleeping on his chest. Now was the perfect time, if he could just say what he was thinking... He decided to go for it.
"Race," he nudged his boyfriend. "Racer, wake up." Race breathed deeply and snuggled farther into Albert's arms. "Tony, baby wake up, I want to say something."
Race lifted his head groggily and Albert detached himself from Race. "Stay here," he whispered, "I'll be right back."
Albert headed to the spare bedroom and reached under the bed, feeling around for the black velvet box he knew was under there. He had seen the rings about a month ago for an insanely good price and had bought them on an impulse. He certainly didn't think he'd be using them this soon.
Soon. This was kind if soon. They were still in college, they were still young. What if Race said no?
He pushed those thoughts out of his mind and shoved the box into his pocket.
When he came back Race was snuggled up in a blanket, his eyes closed, his lips slightly parted. Albert felt a rush if love and admiration, and became absolutely sure of what he was about to do.
He cleared his throat and Race looked up. He sat down on his knees in front of Race, taking his hands.
"Anthony Higgins," he began. "Where do I even start. I've known you since freshman year of high school and I've loved you since then too. I've been thinking, about how much I love this. Seeing you, being with you, every second of every day." He paused. "I know we're young, and I know it's soon..." his voice trailed off and he suddenly lost his courage.
A gentle squeeze of his hand from Race was enough to get him back up again. "So this may seem crazy but, I'll just say it anyway." He took a deep breath.
"Marry me. Marry me Anthony, and we can live like this for the rest of our lives." He pulled the box out of his pocket and looked away, too scared to open it.
There was only silence, and Albert began to panic.
He didn't dare to look at Race, but if he had he would have seen happy tears and fervent nodding.
"Yes. Yes yes yes, a million times over! I will marry the crap out of you Albert DaSilva, now give me the ring!"
Albert looked up and grinned, flipping open the box and sliding a ring onto Race's left ring finger. The instant he had, Race tackled him in a passionate kiss. Thankfully, the coffee table had been moved and the ground was covered in blankets. Race kissed all over Albert's face, grinning wildly.
"I love you," he whispered between each kiss.
Albert said it back, a million times over, and eventually the dissolved into laughter.
"We're getting married," Albert gushed.
It may have been early, but they were totally in love, and what they had was meant to last.