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"Well, I have to go anyways, I told Jim and Oluwande I would be their designated driver." Stede said, very matter of factly, taking a clean shirt out of his closet and turning back around to face Ed, who was sitting at the edge of the bed glancing up at Stede.
There was a nervousness in his eyes that Stede recognized, and he stood in front of his partner, holding his face in his hands.
"What's wrong. Talk to me." Stede said, running a thumb across Ed's cheek.
"We just...how long have we been together." Ed replied. Stede thought for a moment.
"Almost three years, I think. Three very happy years."
"See that's the thing. I just don't think...I don't think it.." he trailed off frowning, unable to find the right words. Stede waited patiently, digging around for his favorite pair of jeans he was treating himself to wearing to the parade.
Ed's thought's wandered elsewhere, wondering if it was silly that him and Stede were even together. They were grown adult men, for Christ's sake, being proud of your partner was for, well, kids. Right? Besides, there wasn't really anything to be proud of. There were together, no need to make a big deal out of it, and no need to contribute to public opinion. If no one saw them together, no one could comment on them together.
Stede made a triumphant noise, finding a pair of worn pants in his drawer, snapping Ed out of his daze. The attention was back on him.
"Don't think it what, love." Stede asked,
"I don't think it matters." he admitted, albeit a bit sheepish. He knew it wasn't like that, deep down, not anymore, but stubborn people were difficult to persuade. Stede frowned, and sat next to Ed, realizing the matter was a lot more difficult that he thought.
Gently, he took Ed's hand and looked at him.
"It does matter." he started, quiet. "You're allowed to be okay with this, Ed."
"I know but-"
"Let me finish. You're allowed to be okay with this. And you're also allowed to struggle a little bit. But you need to know that you're not alone in that, and I think going to this would really help you see that." Stede explained, rubbing circles with his thumb on the back of Ed's hand. Ed sighed long and pensive, pressing a kiss to Stede's forehead.
"Okay."
~~~
Everyone was there, scattered in several places around the town, though only within a few kilometers of each other, so they could meet back up with enough ease.
Jim was decked out in drag, looking like something out of a fashion magazine, glamorous and handing out pins with little "he/him's", "she/her's", "they/them's" and blank spaces so you could write your own if you needed to. Oluwande chuckled, remembering how unglamorously Jim had sat on the carpet all afternoon in sweatpants and Oluwande's hoodie the previous day making button after button with trashy reality tv on in the background, cussing in Spanish when they'd almost jammed their fingers multiple times. Kids walked up to them in awe, carefully taking a pin before scurrying off to their group of friends giggling and talking about how cool the guy with pink and blue hair looked.
-
Lucius and Pete pulled up late as always, blaming it on the traffic, though it was really Lucius' inability to park properly. It was almost a record time before he found himself, with a pride flag tied around him like a cape, in front of a group of plainly dressed people carrying bright yellow signs with red marker that said garbage like "jesus saves sinners", and "gays go to hell". It was even quicker before he was talking back to an elderly white woman with curled hair so tight it looked like it was pulling on her scalp. His remarks were biting and he he kissed Pete, breaking it off early because he couldn't stop laughing at the woman's face.
-
Roach found himself inside at a volunteer table somewhere, handing out pamphlets to local queer resources, a little ally ribbon pinned on his shirt, offering cupcakes with rainbow icing to the people who were able to get them before they were gone.
"I don't understand what all the fuss is about." an man groaned, coming up to the table and looking at the flyers and pamphlets skeptically.
"Well have you done any research?" Roach asked, a little sarcastically, not willing to deal with any blatant disrespect.
"Nah. Too complicated."
"Ok, well, maybe I can help?" he offered, swallowing the aggravation and instead attempting to help the man instead of get upset with him.
They spoke for a while, and to Roach's pleasant surprise, he found the man willing to listen, and learn, with him even taking a handful of flyers as he left for the door, leaving Roach particularly optimistic.
-
Frenchie was never one to be exactly loud when it came to the way he presented himself. He liked the quiet, and that shone through in his clothes. And yet upon closer inspection, you noticed his eyeshadow, a beautiful gradient of black to purple to white to green, his earrings and even his clothes, colour coordinated to perfection. Wee John was a bit more flamboyant, indulging in glitters and colours over a black outfit, proud to get back in touch with his goth side.
Frenchie watched the parade of light and sounds and shades and pride pass by on Wee John's back, his legs wrapped around his mate's abdomen, arm's over his shoulders, pressing his cheek against Wee John's, appreciative and full of love, in the same way a cat might show affection to its best friend.
-
The Swede didn't particularly like crowds, and wanted to be there to support but didn't quite know how. Unfortunately, he didn't look particularly approachable either. Looking like an ex-hippie who went to Woodstock, had a bad acid trip and never came down from it. At one point, Roach had given him a basket of queer buttons he'd bought offline for a nominal fee and told him to "just...give them to anyone who'll take one", and so shyly, he'd left.
He found a route to circle, and turned out to be more help that he'd initially set out to be. He helped some kids find their parents again and told a group of friends leaving a theatre which way the coffee shop they wanted to go to was. It helped get rid of the pins, though every time Roach saw him circling back around through the window of the building he was in, Swede somehow had about ten more pins stuck on his shirt than the last time he came around.
-
The ruckus Lucius and Pete were making somehow summoned a short man who was balding on top but had about the longest blonde hair on every other part of his head, like a rejected Rocky Horror Riff Raff. He had a seagull his head and both of their presences alone were enough to make the angry group of religious extremists back down.
Oluwande had gone to get coffee and there was big, stocky man following Jim down an empty street, and it certainly wasn't Fang. The man turned glanced down the other street to see if anyone was watching, suddenly making direct eye contact with the man and his bird. He turned heel and walked the other way, leaving Jim untouched.
Buttons sat on a bench in the town square watching the parade continue happily in the distance, feeding some bagel crumbs to Karl, and he was peaceful.
-
And then there was Ed and Stede.
They'd arrived a ways through the parade, festivities and colour already winding down, though they still found a nice spot to watch everything go by.
Unlike their friends, they wore nothing to indicate they were really part of the festival at all. They were just there, in comfortable clothes and brown boots. Ed had his hair tied back in a bun and the cool air felt nice on his ears, which were hotter than he remembered.
Edward was enamored with it all.
Stede had been right. It wasn't just kids, it was everyone. There was music playing somewhere, cars with flags and people dressed flamboyantly and brightly slowly driving down the street, all on display for Ed to see.
He was lost in a crowd of people but Edward had never felt more seen in his life.
Tentatively, he took Stede's hand.
Suddenly he understood what he was supposed to be proud of, and his chest felt warm at the thought that he was, indeed, for a shining moment proud of who he was.
"I get it now." he said, staring at the colour and light.
Stede looked at him, and when Edward turned his head, they shared a kiss under the orange light of a street lamp that had turned on as a the sun went down in the West.
-
The last few cars were driving by and people had started to trickle out, and Stede and Ed had sat down on a bench a few feet away from where they were standing.
A kid with a school bag came up to them, no older than 15, with big eyes and a hopeful, smiley face.
Stede looked up at them and smiled expectantly.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Are you two together?" the kid asked, and Ed glanced down at the pavement.
"I do suppose so." Stede said, a little unsurely of where this was going.
Ed didn't make any eye contact. This was it. He'd been right all along, they should never have come, and now they were going to be humiliated by this 13 year old.
The kid broke out into a grin.
"You're really cute together." they said, before scurrying back over to the bus stop.
Ed felt his heart skip a beat. Instinctively, he took Stede's hand for support. They both sat there in silence for a moment, taking in the compliment before bursting into a fit of giggles like a pair of teenage girls.
Together, they watched the city go to bed.
-
It was almost 11 and Roach texted Stede informing them that everyone had grouped back up where Roach's volunteer table was located.
"Well, we should get going." he yawned, standing.
"Yeah, it's getting late." Ed said.
"Gosh you know I love you right?" Stede said, pressing a kiss to Ed's temple.
"Mhm." he nodded, giving Stede a kiss on the cheek before beginning the walk that started their journey home.