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I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT believe that this was honestly your first, best idea for a disguise," Janus hissed through the teeth of his bright, crowd-pleasing showman's smile as he waved to the people lining the streets. "And that it's working."
"Of course it's working!" Roman hummed back, twisting around to wave at the crowds clustered around the other side of the street and blowing a kiss to a cluster of squealing teens of varying gender presentations who all at least pretended to swoon in response. "No better way to avoid detection than hiding in plain sight!"
The frustrating part was that Roman wasn't wrong. Janus was well versed enough in how humans tended to think to recognize that anyone trying to hide and avoid attracting attention to escape pursuit would be most likely to try blending into the crowd. Dark colors, concealing or baggy clothing, even something as basic as a hat and sunglasses would pass for a quick and desperate disguise. Subtle. Discreet. Covert.
This was the exact opposite of all of that, and that was precisely why it was working.... and only partially because the parade his frustratingly brilliant boyfriend had inserted them into was for Pride. Another reason was that Roman had an in with the local chapter of "mermaid" performers, all of whom had gladly welcomed them into their crew and aboard their parade float without question, even helping them apply the makeup and loaning them props to help sell the "illusion".
Because to the people lining the streets waving and cheering and catching the beads and little bottles of bubbles being thrown, that's exactly what this was: an illusion, a fantasy. The fake tail buckled around Janus's waist with a belt of shells that rested on the blanket-covered "foam rock" obviously concealed human legs and not the massive coils of a naga tail, the scales on his bare chest and shoulders and face were just more elaborate theatrical makeup, huge fanning fins and a crown of shells hiding normal human ears instead of curving horns.
Beside him, decked out in a similar costume with his legs actually tucked inside the elaborately painted silicone fake tail and his bare chest dotted with iridescent plastic to mimic the same scale pattern as Janus, Roman laughed airly and waved to the crowd, reveling in the attention, and Janus spared a moment to check the water tank of the float for their third. It was almost jarring to see Virgil's massive purple and black tail swishing and splashing in the clear water beside other, equally elaborate but entirely fake tails of the three human women who made their living pretending to be just like him, swimming in circles and "dancing", and occasionally miming the use of the breathing hoses the women used to stay underwater for so long, his gills hidden beneath a glittery fishing net poncho.
It was stupidly, eye-catchingly brilliant, and it was working better than Janus would have ever thought possible. He had already seen more than a couple of people whose outfits and bearing screamed "security goon" moving through the crowds and peering under hats into people's faces, but not a one of them had looked in the direction of the float.
"Come on," Roman coaxed, leaning back against Janus and batting his eyelashes like a royal consort to his king. "Admit that I'm brilliant and you're having fun."
And really, what else could Janus do but grab his boyfriend's face and kiss him to the enthusiastic cheering of the watching crowds? Because Roman might - might - be correct, just a bit, and such brilliance definitely deserved a reward.