Chapter Text
Rajan had prepared himself for a parade. He'd studied videos of it on YouTube, both from San Francisco and Lito's famous São Paulo parade. He'd looked through all of Nomi and Amanita's pictures and videos they'd taken themselves over the years. What he wasn't prepared for was Amanita hijacking their itinerary and filling every second of their visit to the brim with rainbows.
Jet lag and culture shock both be damned, they'd arrived in San Francisco and were immediately whisked to the Castro in Bug's van for Drag Queen Brunch. Then onto an afternoon spent shopping, still buzzed on multi-colored mimosas. Somewhere along the way they lost Felix to the fairies from Nomi and Amanita's wedding, but he was returned safe and sound wearing a jeweled tiara in time for dinner at Grace's.
Amanita's dads were even in the city for the event, the three of them eager to see the "baby polycule" again in person. They'd been instrumental in adjusting to life outside of monogamy, and there was nothing Rajan couldn't ask any of Amanita's parents. Except her dads' names, since at this point it was just embarrassing not to know. But they introduced themselves as a unit and answered each other's phones so often Rajan really couldn't be sure who was who.
Felix—also instrumental in adjusting to life with Wolfgang—and high on fairy brownies that had him taste-testing every condiment in Grace's fridge, nearly came to Rajan's rescue. "Which one are you again?" he asked Dad #1.
"We're Amanita's dads. We met at the wedding."
He opened his mouth to ask a second time, then just kept eating from a jar of something with his finger. "You want some of this?"
"No thank you, baby. That's all you."
Grace had long since stopped offering him spoons, but she didn't seem to mind him decimating her kitchen. She was more interested in flipping through her own photos of celebrations long past, reminiscing with the dads. "We are so excited to be part of your first Pride!"
"We are," Dad #2 confirmed.
"Thank you." Rajan wasn't technically closeted at home; their families knew about his and Kala's relationship with Wolfgang. Mumbai even had its own Pride month. But with Rajan and his father both being in the public eye—and his father's disapproval of Wolfgang in general—attending a parade locally as a polyamorous bisexual was not an option.
Here in the Castro, that sort of thing had gone entirely unnoticed. The three of them freely held hands and kissed each other just like they would in the privacy of their apartment. There were no bigots to harass them for how they looked or who they loved—much to Wolfgang's dismay since he'd been eagerly anticipating an opportunity for violence.
Rajan smiled as Wolfgang and Kala both rejected Felix's offering. This wasn't their first Pride. Wolfgang and Felix had gone to several parades in Berlin, because it was a good place to score drugs and punch homophobes. And of course he and Kala were present in São Paulo for Lito's big speech. But that was before Rajan's bisexual awakening. This trip would be all about the four of them and their not-quite-so-complicated relationship.
"Oh, here's Amanita's first Pride!" Grace cooed and pressed both palms to her heart, then handed over the photo album. Amanita was maybe a year old in the picture, but that wasn't what made Wolfgang huff out a breath. Her parents were ridiculously attractive.
Kala shot him a look and directed the focus back to Amanita. "You were adorable."
"Still am." She preened at the attention. "And I am a certified expert at Pride."
"You're in good hands," Dad #3 said to Rajan.
"Speaking of…" Nomi stood. "We've got a little surprise for you, Raj."
"Me?" Rajan was endlessly blessed. He had two partners who loved him, a loyal friend in Felix, and extended family around the world. What more could he want? But whatever the surprise was, Kala seemed less enthusiastic about it than anyone in the room. And Wolfgang had that mischievous glint in his eye that usually meant something expensive was getting broken.
Grace and the dads walked everyone to the door to get their coats. Summer in California was much chillier than expected and even the Germans had brought jackets, although Kala wore Wolfgang's most of the day. "You kids have fun! We'll see you tomorrow at the parade."
Felix handed her back what was left of her jar. "What's the surprise again, Wolfie?" he loudly whispered to his friend.
Wolfgang said something in German and Felix's eyes widened, which was almost as worrying as the predatory look on Wolfgang's face. Bug and Amanita shared a knowing glance, the anticipation increasing between the group while Rajan only grew more nervous. It was six against one and he had the distinct feeling he was in grave peril.
As they walked past where Bug's van was parked at the curb, it occurred to Rajan that Nomi and Amanita's shopping bags looked a bit fuller than they'd been when they arrived at Grace's. His attention that evening had mostly been on Amanita's family since they didn't get to see each other often, and Felix since he was on drugs. Something must've been placed in those bags when he wasn't looking.
"I am going on the record to state that this is dangerous and I am very much opposed to it," Kala said with a discontented sigh as Wolfgang roughly pulled Rajan's jacket off.
"Um…okay…" Rajan wasn't one to complain about anything his partners chose to do to him—especially when it involved tearing his clothes off—but he was really starting to worry about this situation.
Wolfgang tossed the jacket to Felix, who failed to catch it.
"Um…what are we…?"
"No offense, Neets," Kala added.
Amanita pulled a helmet from her bag and straddled a motorcycle parked diagonally down the street from Bug's van. "None taken." She playfully glanced over her shoulder at them and put on her helmet.
If Wolfgang had moved on to steal Rajan's pants next, he wouldn't have noticed. He'd wanted to ride a motorcycle since he was a little boy. The general consensus among everyone who knew him was that he was too rich and too important to get himself killed in such a silly way—and it was unbecoming of a man in his position. Rajan couldn't even drive a car. The motorcycle he'd been so excited to ride during his wedding wasn't actually running while he rode it, at the behest of his mother. It was probably safer for everyone involved considering the size of the guest list, and they hadn't let him keep it. Now his dream was about to come true, one more distant fantasy granted at the hands of his partners, who seemed to know him as well as they knew each other.
Rajan turned to his disapproving spouse, unable to keep the smile off his face. "May I, my wife?"
She heaved another sigh. Without a word, Wolfgang shrugged off his leather jacket and slipped it onto Rajan's shoulders. It smelled like both of them, warm and well lived-in.
"Is this why you brought it?" There wasn't much opportunity in Mumbai and it had spent most of Wolfgang's residency in the closet. How appropriate for it to see the light of day during Pride.
He smirked and raised his eyebrows, then aggressively zipped him up. Rajan swallowed hard and desperately placed his hand on Wolfgang's, still gripping the zipper, to keep himself from tipping over. Despite Kala's vocal opposition, even she was smiling at Rajan's growing excitement. Wolfgang tugged him closer by the zipper and Kala pushed a helmet onto his head. Hard.
The lack of homophobes to beat up might've been responsible for Wolfgang's even greater than usual erotic intensity, but Kala was the one who'd take out her frustrations on Rajan tonight. And if he was going to upset his wife, he may as well make it count. "Can I drive?"
"No," said everyone but Felix.
"Please be careful," Kala said as Wolfgang handed him off to his chariot with a proud grin.
"Have fun!" Bug said.
"Don't die," Felix added. Kala smacked him.
Amanita revved the engine, sending a rush of vibration between his legs. "Hold on tight, honey."
He wrapped his arms around her, certain she could feel his heart pounding through both of their leather jackets. "Oh God!"
Felix cheered and slapped the bike like the hindquarters of a horse in a movie and then they were off!
It was exhilarating and terrifying and loud. The engine rumbled through his entire body, his thighs already feeling the strain. He was too breathless to scream with the thrill of it as she turned onto a main road and accelerated.
Wolfgang's jacket shielded him from wind that threatened to blow them sideways as they flew through green light after green light. He clung to Amanita, fearlessly driving up nearly vertical hills like they were running on rocket fuel, blind faith that the road would be waiting for them as they crested. Back down, speed increasing, so fast he had to close his eyes and hang on.
Rajan never saw what hit them.