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The parade was loud.
The music was loud.
The costumes were loud.
It was everything policing a pride parade should be.
Daichi marched in rank formation, following the orders of his sargent. The ear piece in his right ear crackling to life as his colleague confirmed we have a visual on him. One hundred yards ahead and to your left.
His colleagues really didn't need to be so invested with his love life, but he guessed that was a part of Sugawara's charm.
He pulled people in no matter who they were.
He welcomed people into his whirlwind world and made it so they never wanted to leave.
He'd captured Daichi's heart in the same way, drawn in by his fun loving, happy go lucky nature, his furious sense of justice and conviction, his indominable will.
The fact he was cute was also a bonus.
Daichi was realising exactly why he was doing this; policing pride, taking part in the parade with his squadron and friends. Because Sugawara deserved somewhere he could feel safe, and Daichi wanted to give him the world.
He couldn't change how Sugawara's parents had reacted to the news their son wasn't straight, he couldn't change how people would stop and stare whenever he held Sugawara's hand in public. But after eight years with the silver haired man, the best eight years of his life, he knew what he wanted to do and that was plain and simple.
He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Sugawara. With Koushi.
And if spending the rest of his life with Sugawara was his end goal, then it was worth baring himself to everyone at the parade.
He couldn't change how people had reacted in the past, but he could be a part of the movement that changed how they looked in the future.
Because Sugawara was his pride. His pride, his love, and hopefully his future.
"A-teeeen-tion!" The sargent called, Daichi and his squad coming to attention.
Daichi noticed Sugawara in the crowd, only two or three metres ahead, and suddenly his heart was in his throat and his nerves were trying to get the better of him.
Because Sugawara was there, looking adorable with the little pride flag painted on his right cheek, his left side of his face adorned by multicoloured rainbow splatters that were artistically genius and aesthetically pleasing, his hair tied up in two tiny messy buns on the top of his head, and a thin rainbow choker necklace around his throat.
His outfit looked like a 90s rave had met pride, glow sticks around his arms and neck in the middle of the day when nobody would see them glow, sweat bands decorated with every colour at his wrists, and tie dye everything else.
And, of course, he was holding several mini pride flags in his hands as he animatedly spoke to Kuroo beside him.
He was meant to be on the job too, but of course he’d get swept up in the vibrancy of pride.
How could he expect Sugawara to live his life with an officer?
The associated risk of being injured on duty, and the fact that Sugawara had a pechant for doing things just a little more than illegal sometimes when he got caught up in the moment.
Would he want to be tied down to that life?
“Left turn!”
Daichi could see Sugawara’s confusion as the officers carried out the drill, of course after years of dating a police officer he would know that this wasn’t a standard drill command.
“Forward salute!” The sargent called. “Exception Sawamura!”
Here it was.
The rest of his squad carried out the command, meanwhile he had seconds to compose himself, remind himself to breathe.
He broke formation, walking over to Sugawara and their group of friends. He removed his hat and ran his free hand through his hair, sending parts affected by the sticky summer heat askew as he did so.
“Dai?” Sugawara asked, his face twisted in confusion, his brow raised inquisitively and mouth opened with a silent question.
“Suga—Koushi,” Daichi approached the guard rail, tucking his hat under his arm and taking Sugawara’s hands in his own, “Koushi, I love you.”
He could see Sugawara was just as nervous, the look in his eyes like a deer caught in headlights, and when Sugawara got nervous he rambled. A lot. So of course when Daichi paused for a breath, or what Oikawa would call a dramatic effect, Sugawara filled it up.
“I—I love you too, Dai,” a nervous flutter of a laugh, “Did you have to break formation to tell me that—?” Why are all these people looking at us?
“Koushi,” Daichi addressed in a tenderly firm manner, “I love you, Koushi, God I love you so much.” Daichi could feel the eyes of everyone on them as he realised that he wasn’t just baring himself to this crowd of people, he was baring both of them to these people and these cameras that would inevitably record this moment for the whole world to see.
His heart pounded in his chest as he recomposed himself to carry on.
“These last eight years have been the best years of my life,” Daichi’s thumbs rubbed along the backs of Sugawara’s hands, finding novelty in the fact that they were still fisted with the flags buried in his grasp, “I want these last eight years to be our future too.”
“Ohmigawd,” Sugawa gaped, floundering his words, “you’re not dying are you?"
Daichi couldn’t fight the small bark of laughter that escaped his lips.
Of course Sugawara would catastrophise, of course he’d somehow break the ice and Daichi’s nerves along with it, serve it in a cocktail of embarrassment for feeling that way in the first place.
"No, if you let me get a word in edgeways I would’ve asked you by now.” Daichi smiled, finally maneuvering onto his right knee, Sugawara’s hands still in his as his hat fell to the ground with an all too loud tap, “Koushi, I love you—”
“Y—You said that already...”
“It’s so true I’m saying it again,” Daichi still smiled, because how could he have ever thought a proposal would go off completely how he planned with Sugawara? They were holding up the parade, they were being stupidly embarrassing, but he didn’t want it any other way, “I love you—”
“A—Again—"
Daichi huffed affectionately, figuring he wasn’t going to win this battle.
“Koushi, these eight years have been a dream, and I don’t want it to end. Would you make me the happiest man alive, a man who can live a dream forever, will you marry me?”
“Oh my God,” Sugawara gasped as he pulled his hands free from Daichi’s and shakily brought them to his face, “ohmigawdohmigawdohmigawdohmigawd.”
“Uh, Suga?” Daichi stood, taking his hat in his hand and reaching for the other man.
“Man, Sawamura, I think you broke him.” Kuroo snickered.
“D—Daichi? Pleasepleasepleaseplease tell me I’m not dre—ow!”
Daichi scowled at Kuroo as the latter pinched Sugawara’s bicep.
“I mean it, Suga,” Daichi smiled, taking his hands in his again, furiously blinking away the moisture in his eyes, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“Yes, ohmigawd, yes!” Sugawara pulled Daichi as close as he could with the guard rail in the way. “Stupid fucking railings getting in the way of me getting to my future husband!”
Daichi laughed, lifting Sugawara over the metal fencing and kissing him adoringly, Sugawara’s arms looping around Daichi’s neck and fingers teasing the hair at his nape as he slanted his lips into Daichi’s.
When they pulled away and Sugawara safely back on terra firma Daichi was met with tear streaked cheeks and watery eyes, Sugawara’s arm came up to his face.
“Suga, don’t—”
Too late, his make up was smudged across his face.
“Oh my God, you made me smudge my makeup,” Sugawara dabbed at his eyes more carefully this time, a small sniffle as he clutched his left eye, “now there’s makeup in my eye! I can’t believe this is gonna be on TV!” A watery laugh. “Now you gotta kiss it better—ah! But don’t smudge my makeup!”
Daichi couldn’t contain his laugh, smiling affectionately at the other man.
“Gladly.” He took Sugawara’s face in his hands, peppering his rainbow and glitter filled features with kisses and tickling caresses of his lips.
“Sawamura.” Daichi turned to look at his sargent.
“Yessir?”
“You’re dismissed,” the usually stoic man smiled, “go and enjoy the parade with your fiancé. Take tomorrow off too.”
“Th—Thank you, sir.” Daichi responded, barely finishing his thanks before he heard Oikawa from the formation.
“Get it Sawa-chan!!”
Daichi couldn’t fight the warmth from his cheeks as he smiled, looking at Sugawara and where no amount of face paint or makeup could hide the colour in his cheeks.
He then became aware of how many cameras were trained on them, how Sugawara’s parents would undoubtedly see their proposal. But he didn’t care; they were happy together.
“Ah, crap, the ring,” Daichi realised, fumbling into his uniform pockets for the velvet ring box, nearly dropping his hat in the process. Sugawara took the item from him and donned it himself, “Koushi,” he took the ring from the box, waiting for Sugawara’s hand to settle in his before slipping it on, “I—”
“I love you! Ha! Beat you to it!”
Daichi ducked his head to kiss Sugawara once more.
“I love you too...”
“Suga! How do you feel after the proposal?” A reporter asked, holding a small recording device in their hand.
“I’ll tell you on Monday!” Sugawara snickered, grabbing Daichi’s hand and pulling him into the crowd as the parade continued.
Later that night the pair stumbled into their apartment.
There was only a few minutes left until midnight and they piled onto the couch together, on the more drunk side of tipsy and riding their shared high from the day.
Daichi felt his phone buzz in his pocket for what felt like the thousandth time that day.
“Answer it, Dai.” Sugawara mumbled drunkenly, reaching under himself for the television remote, mumbling expletives with each failed attempt.
“Tomorra’,” Daichi placed his phone precariously on the arm of the couch as the telelvision set blared into life, burying his face into Sugawara’s ribs instead, “wanna—”
The news was the first program to come on, the top story being titled Officer Down at Pride.
Sugawara snorted when he heard the report begin, replaying their proposal on the television.
“It’s still weird watching myself on the telly.” Sugawara stated, slouching back into the couch cushions and wrapping his arms around Daichi.
“Ehhh...I got use to it.”
“Now some people may call it cliché, but when an officer was down today at pride, it was on one knee. The only weapon used in the take down: love.” The female news reader spoke, a wide smile on her face as she recounted the day’s events. “Police officer Daichi Sawamura—”
“You’re on TV instead of me,” Sugawara snorted, pausing before carrying on, “today was the best day ever!” Sugawara shouted to the ceiling, Daichi raising his head to look at the other man. “Oh, apart from the day I met you—and the day that big dog ate all the ice cream in the park at the summer fayre.”
“That was the same day.”
Sugawara gasped loudly.
“Even better."
“That was also my dog.”
"Sssh,” Sugawara pressed his finger to Daichi’s lips, “she’s ours now.”
“She’s also at Oikawa’s for the night.”
“I hope she pukes in his slippers.”
Daichi laughed at the statement, turning back to the television with Sugawara.
“And what did Sugawara have to say when we asked him for an interview?”
“He’d tell us on Monday!” The male reader grinned, his smile infectious and his body practically vibrating with the excitement of the day’s events.
“Hey, Daichi?”
“Yeah?"
“I love you...” Sugawara sounded oddly sobered.
“I love you too,” Daichi returned, wrapping his arms around his new fiancé, “and I always will.”
They fell asleep together on the couch, a tangle of limbs and with their excitement being broadcast and shared across the world.
Sure, there’d be people who’d pass negative comments, the next morning he saw plenty, but Daichi felt humbled when he saw the social media update from his police force’s official account.
Remember that hate speech is a crime, as the police we’ll be doing something about it. Congratulations officer Sawamura #lovewins #lovenothate #pride
The Monday came and Sugawara walked into the news room to cheers and congratulatory comments, gifts such as wines and flowers being strewn in his direction.
He sat down at his desk between Kiyoko and Nishinoya, the three preparing to go on air.
“You better spill the deets, Suga.” Nishinoya smirked.
“When have I ever let you down, Noya?” Sugawara responded with a grin as the cameraman began his countdown.
“On air in five.”
Sugawara straightened the papers on his desk.
“Four.”
The three readers shared glances to decide who should introduce their slot.
“Three.”
Of course Kiyoko and Nishinoya handed the honours to Sugawara.
“Two.”
Sugawara turned to the camera, a dazzling smile on his face as the cameraman nodded in his direction.
“Good morning from Channel Three News and what a weekend that was! As promised in Kiyoko’s earlier report—”
Sugawara spoke without his script, years in front of the camera combined with his passion for Daichi enabling him to thrill the audience without missing a beat or cue.
And knowing Daichi was in his office, likely watching the report from his desk and surrounded by his friends and colleagues made him feel even prouder.