Chapter Text
It was the first time in years they were going to Pride alone, just them. They had taken the girls every year since they were little, but Alice and Lynn were grown now, wanting to be off with their friends instead. Usually they’d go with Tara and Darcy or Tao and Elle, or all four of them, Isaac often coming too, but this year everyone was out of town visiting family or other friends.
So it’s just Nick and Charlie this time. They hold hands and smile at each other as they arrive, taking in all the rainbows and colorful flags and joy everywhere. Attending Pride every year together as a family had become such an important tradition and as much as they enjoy doing things just the two of them, it’s a little bittersweet to be on their own this time.
“Do you remember the year Alice insisted on wearing every single one of the Pride flags?” Charlie asks, smiling at Nick. “How old was she then, six?”
“Oh god, yes,” Nick laughs. “I think she even outdid Darcy’s outfit that year with how colorful she was!”
They walk on, soft smiles on their faces as they remember past Prides and take in the celebration around them.
Nick pulls them to a stop under a tree where they have a good view of the parade going by, snaking an arm around Charlie’s waist to pull him in close. Charlie gives Nick a fond smile and kisses him on the cheek, wrapping his arms around Nick’s soft torso.
“It feels strange to be here by ourselves, doesn’t it?” Nick muses after a moment.
“Makes me feel old,” Charlie grumbles. “We’re going to be permanent empty nesters before we know it.”
“Don’t remind me…”
“At least I’m not as old as you!”
“You are never going to get tired of that joke, are you?” Nick asks, rolling his eyes and kissing Charlie’s hair.
“Nope!”
Nick brings his hand up to brush a stray, graying curl out of Charlie’s eyes and leans down press a soft kiss to his lips.
“At least my hair hasn’t gone gray,” he whispers, smirking.
“Um, excuse me!” Charlie exclaims in mock outrage. “I thought you said my salt and pepper hair was sexy, Mr. Dad Bod!”
Nick throws his head back and laughs. “You think my dad bod is hot and you know it.”
“Shut up.” Charlie blushes and turns away, trying to hide his smile.
“You know your salt and pepper hair drives me wild,” Nick whispers, running his nose up the side of Charlie’s neck.
Charlie looks back at Nick then and pulls him into a lingering kiss. “I love that we’re still like this, after all these years.”
“Me too.”
They watch the joyful commotion around them in comfortable silence for a while, eventually deciding to walk around some more.
Just as they are about to cross the street, a voice calls out, “Hey Mr. Nelson!”
Nick turns around to see one of his former students, now a teenager, bounding towards him. “Hey Jenny!” he says, catching her in a warm hug.
“This is my husband Charlie,” he introduces when they pull apart, wrapping his arm around Charlie’s shoulders, “And this is Jenny, one of my Year 3s from…what, like, 10 years ago?”
“Yeah, that sounds about right!” Jenny says brightly, brushing her rainbow-colored hair behind her shoulders.
“I love your hair,” Charlie tells her smiling.
“Thank you!! I got it done just for Pride!”
Nick and Jenny catch up on her life while Charlie looks on fondly. He’s always loved seeing Nick with his students, current and former. He’s just so good with kids and teenagers, immediately putting them at ease.
“Did you know that Mr. Nelson was the first person I came out to besides my parents?” Jenny asks suddenly, pulling Charlie into the conversation.
“Is that true?” Nick asks. “I don’t think I knew that!”
“Yeah, part way through year 3, I told my parents I was a girl and refused to wear anything but dresses. And so they set up a meeting with you so we could discuss it and what it would be like at school,” Jenny explains.
“Oh yeah, I definitely remember that,” Nick nods. “I guess I didn’t realize nobody else knew besides your parents at that point.”
“Nope,” Jenny shakes her head, her rainbow hair vibrant and luminous in the bright sun. “But he was so great from the very start,” Jenny says, turning to Charlie.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Charlie smiles, looking up at Nick.
“I remember you called me Jenny right away,” she continues, addressing Nick, “and immediately switched to she/her pronouns. And the next day, when I wore a dress to school for the first time, like, nothing felt weird. I don’t know if you said anything to the other kids or what, but nobody ever really made fun of me or anything like that. Like, they had questions and stuff, but nobody was mean.”
“No, the other kids were just really great, I remember,” Nick confirms.
“They weren’t ‘just’ really great,” Charlie says, giving Nick a look. “You read them trans-affirming books and inclusive stories all the time. You had so many books on your shelves that celebrated gender expression in all its wonderful variety. Half the time, you wore glittery nail polish to school yourself! You intentionally created an environment in which kids would be accepting.”
“I remember that,” Jenny says softly when Charlie is finished. “I remember the nail polish and the books. I haven’t thought about that in years.”
She steps forward and gives Nick another hug, this time for longer. “Thank you,” she says when she steps away, her eyes glistening with tears. “I don’t think I really realized until right now everything you did to make it easy for me to be me, to be Jenny back then.” She laughs a bit and wipes her eyes. “I have so many trans friends who have horror stories about how much they were bullied by their classmates when they came out. But I wasn’t, at least not back when I was a kid. Sure, it hasn’t always been easy since then, but not having to go through that as a kid, I think that made such a difference for me.”
Nick’s eyes fill with tears, too, and he pulls Jenny into another hug, at a loss for words.
“Thank you, Mr. Nelson. I’m so glad I had you as my teacher,” Jenny says when they part again. “I’ll have to tell my parents I ran into you today! They’ll be thrilled!”
“Yes, please…please tell them I say hi,” Nick replies, his voice unsteady.
And then she’s gone, disappearing back into the crowd.
“You alright sweetheart?” Charlie asks gently, placing a hand on Nick’s cheek.
“Um…I…” Nick chews on his lip, blinking down at Charlie, clearly trying to keep himself under control.
“C’mon, let’s sit over here, love,” Charlie suggests, guiding them to a nearby bench.
They sit down, Charlie taking Nick’s hand and intertwining their fingers.
“It’s just…I went into teaching because I really cared about kids, y’know? Because I wanted to create a safe space for kids like Jenny. For all the rainbow kids,” Nick tells Charlie earnestly.
“And you did that sweetheart,” Charlie confirms, squeezing his hand.
“I…yeah, I guess I did,” Nick muses. “It’s just…it just makes me so emotional to know I was able to have such a positive impact on a kid’s life, especially for a kid like Jenny when it easily could’ve turned out differently. Y’know?”
“My darling, sweet husband,” Charlie murmurs, kissing Nick’s forehead softly. “You’ve had an enormous, positive impact on every single kid you’ve taught just by being you. Every kid who has come through your classroom is better off because they had you as a teacher.”
That proves to be too much for poor Nick, and he bursts into tears, falling into Charlie’s arms. “Oh Char,” he breathes out.
Charlie strokes his hair gently. “Surely this can’t be a surprise to you, sweetheart,” he chuckles softly.
“I mean, I guess not,” Nick shrugs, his voice muffled by Charlie’s shirt. “It just makes me feel so grateful that I could be that person for kids like Jenny. That I could impact her life like that.”
“You have made a profound difference in so many lives, sweetheart, including mine,” Charlie tells him, rubbing his back.
They sit there for a few moments, holding each other.
When Nick calms down, he sits up and smiles at Charlie. “I love you so much, Char.”
“I love you, too, you beautiful man.”
“Even with my old man dad bod?” Nick teases.
“Especially with your old man dad bod,” Charlie confirms, kissing him on the nose.