Work Text:
They were at Anchor Beach for summer school when they found out, several classrooms away from each other.
Connor was looking down at the algebra problems on his desk, trying to understand why there were even letters in math in the first place when he heard Ms. Ginsburg gasp from her desk.
Jude was listening to Mr. Timothy’s riveting lecture about Catcher in the Rye, somehow his teacher made the book actual worth reading by romanticizing Holden’s need for escape and alienation as a form of self-preservation. Jude actually sympathized with Holden for he was in a similar position not too long ago.
He heard a ding! and he looked over to see Taylor next to him with a hand clamped over her mouth as she stared down at her cellphone, eyes wide and twinkling, and feet stomping in excitement.
“Miss Taylor?” asked Mr. Timothy, sternly. “What is so important that prompted such an interruption? Do you have an insight on any of Holden’s motivations?”
“Screw Holden’s motivations!” Taylor responded unabashedly. “Gay marriage has just been legalized!”
Mr. Timothy lunged for his bag on his desk and pulled out his cellphone. As expected, there was the NBC News alert, blinking brightly on the front screen of his cellphone.
“This calls for some celebration!” Mr. Timothy exclaimed, tossing the book onto his desk and clapping his hands together.
Jude and Taylor both got up and hugged one another tightly. When they pulled apart, Taylor still held onto Jude’s shoulders and said, “I’m so happy for you!”
Jude couldn’t help but smile and blush a little, thinking of Connor immediately
Mr. Taylor left the room to inform Lena of the news, in case she hadn’t already heard it. But she did. Currently, Lena was on the phone with Stef, tears of happiness rolling down both of their faces as they both rejoiced in the wonderful news.
Mr. Taylor leaving the classroom was interpreted as a silent dismissal to the other students so Jude, Taylor, and the rest of their English class piled outside into the main quad to celebrate or for the less informed/news-savvy student, to question what the heck was going on.
When Ms. Ginsburg announced the landmark decision, a surge of emotion went through Connor’s body. He felt nauseous and giddy at the same time, but that didn’t compare to the one thought that was running through his mind, Jude.
They heard a commotion from the quad outside, and soon students from his algebra class were piling out of the door. Connor looked around to see Jude standing next to Taylor, who was talking animatedly while Jude was craning his neck looking around the quad, presumably for him, Connor guessed.
Connor hobbled as fast as he could, silently cursing his crutches and crippled foot. He called out, “Jude!” and Jude swiveled around, his face breaking into a huge grin the moment he locked eyes with Connor's.
Jude practically sprinted over to him, with Taylor following closely behind, not wanting to miss a single second of this. Jude semi-jumped onto him in a hug and Connor let his crutches fall to ground with a thud as he wrapped both of his arms around Jude’s small frame, both burying their heads into each other’s shoulders and necks, a million words silently screaming between them.
A glowing, warm feeling settled deep into Connor’s stomach as he breathed Jude’s familiar scent of apples and fresh cotton. This was the smell he now had the opportunity to imagine waking up to every morning for the rest of his life. Mornings where they would lie in bed, and their little adopted kids would race into their room and jump on their beds as a morning greeting.
The feeling of Connor’s strong arms around him set Jude’s heart aflutter a mile a minute. This was the beautiful, strong, and courageous boy that was going to be donned in a tuxedo, standing across from him at an altar, a ring in his hand and a goofy smile on his face. The idea of this dream becoming a possible reality nearly caused Jude to loose his breath.
Both boys were very much aware that dozens of eyes were on them, despite the fact that Taylor was simultaneously cooing at her two friends and glaring at the staring students.
But the boys couldn’t have cared less, because whether or not they were going to get married in the future, the Court's decision was so much more than just about gay marriage. It was the government’s, and hopefully society’s, acceptance and recognition that love comes in all forms. Love wasn’t designated to one man and one woman, or a nuclear family where all the children were the genetic offspring of their parents. No, love was very much alive among two men and two women, and among a household where different skin tones and ethnic cultures intertwined to make a beautifully caring family.
Love, like hope, was a universal truth that was found in everyone. And even two teenage boys, holding onto each other during summer school under the California sunshine, understood… no, cherished that.