#anyways think pride flag is gonna go where the rainbow lights are and maybe I’ll put art between it bc I don’t think I have any flags or

[milo-is-rambling]

Have to dig more flags out of my closet but this is where we’re at rn,,, finally got my typewriter ads hung up :)

[fruitcoops]

hey! i love your work so much and i had an idea. what about the whole team going to pride? or maybe just the cubs or coops, but i would love to see the whole team supporting and maybe breaking out flags of their own. :)))

Happy Pride, everyone!!! It has been such a wild year, but I hope you all find comfort and joy during this month <3 I'm sending you all love and hugs (or high-fives, if you prefer), as well as positive vibes for the summer. SW credit belongs to @lumosinlove as always!

Credit to @queercanoe for the the rainbow bracelet idea <3

“This is…this is really nice,” Sirius said as they stood in line for popsicles. His face glowed with happiness and Remus squeezed his hand where it laid over his shoulder.

“Better than last year?”

He hummed in thought. “I like being here without the Cup and all the cameras. It’s just us.”

“And half the team,” Remus added.

“True,” Sirius laughed, bending down to kiss his forehead. Some of the glitter Lily had managed to sprinkle over his head and smear on his cheeks fell onto Remus’ shirt, and he brushed it off with a laugh. “Love you.”

“Love you, too. The kids are still arguing.”

Sirius glanced behind them and snorted; on the other end of the block, Leo hitched Logan higher on his back as he held Finn’s baseball cap out of reach. Talker and James had started an impromptu game of volleyball with a stray balloon, and the sight of Regulus playing peekaboo with Harry using his pride flag cape sent a burst of happy butterflies through Remus’ stomach.

“D’you think they’ve even noticed we’re gone?”

“Doubt it.”

They tapped their popsicles together in a toast and meandered back to the group—the afternoon heat toned down some of the manic energy of the morning parade, and Remus was content to just wander hand-in-hand with his fiancé for a while.

Not your fiancé for long, he reminded himself as the ice cooled his mouth. Just five more days, and then you’ll have a ring, too.

He stood on his toes, still a little sore from dancing earlier in the day, and kissed Sirius’ cheek. “What was that for?”

“Nothing. Just ‘cause I love you.”

Sirius let out a slow breath and squeezed him a little tighter around the shoulders, catching a drip of syrupy red before it slid down to his elbow. “This is the perfect day.”

“It is, isn’t it? Ooo, blue raspberry.”

“Can I have a taste?”

“Of c—” Remus was cut off by warm lips against his own, shorting out every braincell in one fell swoop. You sly little shit, he thought, smiling into the kiss as Sirius dipped him back.

They straightened up after a moment and Sirius raised his eyebrows thoughtfully. “Yeah, that’s pretty good.”

“Your lips are purple.”

He licked his own half-melted popsicle before dragging Remus in for one more kiss, though both of them were almost laughing too hard for his plan to work. “There. Now we match.”

“Thanks, babes.”

“Hey!” Finn cupped his hands around his mouth, clearly giving up on retrieving his hat. “Are you done yet? I was promised popsicles!”

Remus flipped him off and pulled Sirius down by the collar of his shirt, suddenly uncaring of the stickiness making its chilly way down his forearm. It was their day to do that, after all; their day to be flamboyantly affectionate to anyone in sight, regardless of contracts and media and expectations. It was a day drenched in popsicle sugar where he could turn his soon-to-be-husband’s lips more purple than the dahlias he loved so much.

“You could’ve just said ‘no’,” Finn remarked as they rejoined the group, both a little flushed.

“As if you’ve kept your hands to yourself,” Remus teased, gesturing to the various smudges in Finn’s face paint.

He hesitated, then shrugged. “Good point.”

“I have them on occasion.” A burst of giggling caught both their attention and softness bloomed in Remus’ chest as Sirius tossed Harry a few inches into the air, making rocket ship noises. Next to him, Leo had set Logan down so he could lift Katie up and tickle her until she shrieked with joy.

“God, they’re cute,” Finn said around a mouthful of syrup-soaked ice. The look in his eyes was unmistakably fond, and Remus knew it was reflected on his own face.

“They are. The boyfriends aren’t bad, either.”

Finn snorted, then spluttered as he nearly spat out his popsicle, sending Remus into peals of laughter. “Stop it!” he complained, though the didn’t sound very upset at all. “I’m gonna get a brain freeze!”

“A brain freeze?” Sirius turned to Harry with exaggerated shock.

“Oh, no!” Harry gasped. Behind them, James stifled his smile in the side of Lily’s neck.

“It’s not lookin’ good, buddy,” Finn said with false gravity. “Popsicles are a dangerous food.”

Harry made grabby hands until Finn settled him on his hip, then took his face between two chubby hands and looked deep into his eyes. “Your lips are blue,” he proclaimed after a long moment.

“Are they?”

“Uh-huh. Tremzy’s got red lips, an’ Knutty’s got red lips, and Mama has pink lips, and Uncle Pads has purple lips.” Harry poked the side of his mouth. “You’ve gotta have purple lips, too.”

Finn raised his eyebrows at Remus over Harry’s shoulder. “Not a chance, Harzy.”

“We’re better kissers anyway,” Leo said with a grin as he sidled up and gave Finn a light peck. “Better, Pocket Pots?”

Harry stuck his tongue between his teeth in a comical imitation of Sirius’ concentration face; Remus shoulders shook as he held back his amusement. “Almonds.”

“What?”

“Almost,” Sirius corrected gently. “Not almonds. Close, though.”

“Tremzy!” Harry called. Logan looked up from Katie, who was quite happily upside down as he swung her like a clock pendulum. “You’ve gotta make Harzy’s lips purple!”

“Do I?” Logan glanced back down. “Can I set you down, ma princesse?”

“No!”

“Okay,” he laughed, hauling her over with careful steps. Finn leaned down to kiss him; over his shoulder, Leo and Harry made faces at each other.

“This is perfect,” Sirius murmured, resting his forehead against Remus’ (admittedly sweaty) hair. Remus closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let the stress of wedding planning roll off his back. He could be surrounded by their family in a sea of color for just a little longer—they could be there together.

“I’m proud to be with you,” he said as Regulus clambered onto Leo’s back for ‘a better view’.

It was a cheesy sentiment, but they had never shied away from romcom moments before. He felt Sirius’ soft huff of breath on his temple. “Re…”

I’ll never get tired of the way you say my name. “That’s me.”

The sigh turned to quiet laughter and a kiss. “We are such a cliché.”

“But you love it.”

“Damn right I do.” His lips were sweet and a little sticky, still; Remus wanted to drown in the feeling. “I will always be proud to be with you.”

“Uncle Pads!”

“Yes?” Sirius lifted him out of Finn’s arms with a dramatic groan. “You’re growing up too fast!”

Harry squished his cheeks, then poked the tip of his nose. “Why don’t you wear rainbows?”

Sirius frowned slightly. “I’m wearing rainbows right now.”

“But you only wear them now.”

“You want me to wear rainbows every day?” He cast a look at Remus, who half-shrugged.

“You do look good.”

“Everybody should wear rainbows all the time,” Harry declared. Down the street, a series of party poppers went off, followed by loud cheering from another group.

“Excuse me?” a timid voice asked. Remus startled slightly and turned around; a small group of teenagers was huddled by the massive balloon arch. One young man held his phone up. “Could we—uh, could we get a picture with you guys?”

“Do you want me to take it for you?” Leo offered as Finn took Harry again.

The kid’s eyes went wide, and he nodded enthusiastically. “Sure, thanks!”

“Alright, on three!” Leo squinted in the sunshine as they gathered in a semicircle. “One, two, three, smile!”

“Could we get one with you, too?” one of the girls asked when he lowered the camera.

Sirius took the camera as they shuffled around and swapped positions, crowding close to the rainbow balloons while Harry played with Remus’ colorful suspenders. “Ready? Say cheese!”

“Cheese!” they chorused.

“I got a couple, just in case.” He handed the phone back to the first boy with a smile. “Are you guys having a good time?”

“Yeah, this is amazing,” he answered, a little breathless. “It’s—this is so cool. Thanks again.”

“Pas de problem.”

Remus glanced over just in time to see the girl bump her own rainbow bracelet with Leo’s; both of them were grinning broadly. “Have fun today, okay?” he said, giving the shortest of the group a high five. A jumble of goodbyes answered before they hurried back into the crowd, whispering among themselves while their pins flashed in the sun.

“They were cute,” Sirius said, watching them go with an indecipherable look. “Feels good to know it meant something, y’know?”

“It always does,” Remus agreed, snuggling against his side despite the heat. “I wish—”

Sirius looked down at him when he faltered; Harry yawned so wide his eyes closed. “What?”

“I wish we had this when we were kids.”

Regulus and Leo tumbled out of the rapidly-growing crowd, bickering over who got which part of the cotton candy, while Kasey stood as still as he could so Natalie could finish the small bi flag on his cheek. Sirius’ whole face lit up as he watched them. “It’s even better now.”

Remus watched the second wave of the parade build around them—people of every shape and size were decked out in a whole spectrum of colors, turning the street into a living rainbow in the afternoon sun. He tucked his hand into Sirius’ back pocket and laced their free hands together, listening to his heartbeat under his cheek. “This is the best thing we’ve ever done.”

“Coming to Pride?”

“No.” He held their hands up, and Sirius’ ring caught the light. “This.”

[yeehawpartner1]

My orange side theory (part 1?)

This isn’t my normal kind of post, normally I just do fanart lol, but I’ve been working on theories for a little while now and I wanted to share them.

I’m almost convinced the next side is wrath/anger. The other option I’m considering is procrastination/sloth/laziness, but I’ll make another post for that later when I have more evidence.

In the episode Learning New Things About Ourselves, Roman calls Logan’s being very clear stupid. This causes Logan to ball up one of his flashcards, scream, and chuck it at Roman’s head in anger. Afterward, Logan looks shocked and he says “I’m sorry, I don’t know what that was.” This implies that he didn’t really have control over what he just did.

That ties into my theory of Logan turning into the orange side. Blue, Logan’s main color, is across from orange on the color wheel. In the duration of the series so far, Logan has gradually become less cheerful and more serious. In the most recent episode, Putting Others First, Logan is also isolating himself by not appearing in person, and I think that Janus excluding him from the courtroom scene in Selfishness v. Selflessness didn’t help with his situation. Most people would probably notice that Logan’s overall mood has changed throughout the series. In the beginning, he was just as happy as Patton, smiling and laughing a lot. However, more recently, we can see that he has become very worried about not being taken seriously, and we hardly see him smile. Alternatively, the orange side may not be Logan. In Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts, Logan brings up some of the seven deadly sins. He mentions greed, pride, envy, lust, and wrath. This is hard to notice, but right after he mentions wrath, it cuts to Virgil making a face, but I’m not quite sure what emotion he is showing. It’s possibly a pained expression? Again, it’s hard to tell. Anyway, I think that since Virgil used to be a dark side, he would be familiar with the other dark sides Janus has hidden from Thomas. Maybe that’s just me overthinking, but it only shows Virgil’s reaction. That has to mean something.

In Putting Others First, I feel like there’s a good amount of foreshadowing for an anger/wrath side. Firstly, Thomas enters his house with a lot of cursing, which is typically associated with negative emotions such as anger. Most people also may have noticed that there’s a little easter egg hidden in this episode for an orange side. There, we can see an orange number at the top of the screen, “07734”. On a calculator, that would spell “hello” upside down. Also, right next to that it says “Thomas = 8,” which I really want to believe would mean that there are 8 sides to him. 

For that to happen, we would need another side after the orange one. I’m gonna guess Thomas would make him be pink to add to the rainbow. With the pink and light blue (Patton), the sides would represent an older version of the pride flag (below). The placement in the video of the orange side easter egg may or may not be strategic, as it’s in the middle of a fight scene, again, implying emotions like anger. 

In SvS, Janus uses an analogy that compares Thomas’s decision-making having a blindfold on. I’m not entirely sure where I’m going with this one, but I feel like it would be really cool if the orange side was blind (at least partially). That would also connect with one of the photos shown in Moving On, part 2, where Thomas is shown as the see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil symbols.

 I think that those might be connected to the “dark sides”. Janus would be “speak no evil,” for obvious reasons. I feel like Remus might be “hear no evil?” I’m not sure-- but for the sake of this theory I’m going to use the part in Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts where Remus takes off his ears as evidence that he is “hear no evil.” That would then leave the orange side to be “see no evil.” Again, I think it would be awesome if the orange side was blind. Thinking about it, it would make some sense because sometimes people call being very angry “blinding rage;” they’re so angry that it’s hard for them to see. I think that’s right. Not to mention, all of the “dark sides” have something on their face (and eyes), while the others don’t. Virgil has his eyeshadow, Janus has his snake side, Remus has his mustache and eyeshadow. Using that logic, I wouldn’t be surprised if the orange side would have something changed about his face too.

That’s all I have for now! Hope you guys liked it lol

[adamarks]

If one more person says simon snow should lose his wings i’m gonna lose my goddamn mind: a meta

Alright you guys, I’ve had ENOUGH. Simon cannot lose his wings unless you want him to break up with Baz, and this is why.

Let’s start with Baz.

This analysis is obviously Simon-based, and yes i’ll get there, but first we need to look at the biggest key we’ve been given to what Simon’s wings could possibly mean subtextually and metaphorically for the story at large. That key is: Baz’s vampirism. 

Baz being a vampire is constantly compared to/mentioned in tandem with his queerness in Carry On. In his first chapters, what are the three most important traits that we learn about him? 

he’s a drama queen

he’s a vampire

he’s hopelessly in love with simon snow

If you boil his character down until he’s basically just a stick figure, that’s what he is: an over dramatic vampire in love with Simon Snow.

We’ve all read the books, we all know this, and we all know he’s much more than that. What of it?

What’s important is that Baz’s vampirism is treated almost the exact same as his homosexuality. 

Hiding it from everyone, being ashamed of it, knowing what you are but being terrified of it. His dad being “definitely more disappointed in my queerness than my undeadness.” 

I mean, holy shit, let’s look at this bit in Carry on from Chapter 51:

“I think if I got married, to a girl from a good family, my father wouldn’t even care that I’m queer. “

This scene really hits, because how many times have you wondered “What if I was straight? Maybe this thing wouldn’t be as bad?” “What if i was just a straight poc?” “What if I was only gay and not trans?” “What if I was only disabled and not gay on top of it?” What if, what if, what if. Would my life be easier? you wonder. Would I get hurt less? Would people treat me better?

If Carry On is about self-realization, then Wayward Son is about the struggle of self-acceptance. 

Baz going to Las Vegas and meeting Lamb probably seemed familiar for some of you people that are LGBT+. It’s how you feel when you’re from a small town and you go to a big city like New York or Orlando or LA for the first time and you see gay people all around you. Flamboyantly gay! Gay people holding hands! Gay people kissing! Trans people that don’t fit the gender norms! Older trans ladies just walking down the street!

It’s exciting, it’s exhilarating. Your baby-gay brain is so confused because no one’s giving them dirty looks. They don’t look nervous or ashamed. Is this allowed?

The party in the penthouse is glamorous and beautiful and alluring and none of the humans there are scared or look like they’re in real danger. It’s because they aren’t. None of those vampires are there to kill people. 

This is where Baz’s fear of his own nature comes in. Let’s hear it for all you homosexuals in the crowd that are/have been terrified of being predatory. Of turning the gender you’ve been told all of your life you’re not supposed to want into pieces of meat. You feel ashamed for wanting physical intimacy. You feel wrong for wanting emotional intimacy. 

Lamb is the older gay that you meet/learn about/watch on youtube or whatever that makes you learn that no, you’re not inherently evil. Lamb is the queer history, the queer movies, the queer people that you discover that make you learn that “no, i’m not bad. I’m not broken. I’m beautiful. I’m beautiful.” 

Baz thinking the sight of Lamb drinking that guy’s blood being alluring and beautiful is crucial to his arc. Baz needs to see that all of him is beautiful. 

So homosexuality = Baz being a vampire? How in the flying fuck does this have anything to do with Simon?

Remember, Baz is our key. His struggles have been happening since book one. Simon just gained his “creature” status at the end of Carry On. He’s new to this. Which means we’re new to the subtext. Which means: let’s dive on into the next big point.

Our Big Bisexual Boy

Whatever label you choose to use for Simon is up to you. As long as we all agree he likes more than one gender then it’s whatevs. I’m going to be using the word bisexual for this meta, though. 

We’re all well aware that Simon is Struggling with his bisexuality in this book. 

“I still haven’t sorted out whether I’m still attracted to women or whether I ever was, or whether I’m some kind of Baz-only-sexual. But the cleavage at this place is abundant, and I’m not mad about it.”

(taken from chapter 21) 

Like....... y’know. We know. It’s... we get it. 

The important part of that quote is that it’s at the Ren Faire. The Ren Faire is the first time Simon’s had his wings out in public since god-knows-when, if ever. This is also the first time he really considers kissing Baz in the book. Kissing Baz in Public.

Any of you that have been to Pride probably got a little bit of the warm fuzzies during this scene. The faire brought back such deep memories of my first pride it was a little bit emotional. I talked to random people, people ran around in rainbow outfits. There was body paint! Stupid hats! Weird dye jobs! The classic pride-flag-as-a-cape look! I talked to so many people and 

“Everyone here is so friendly.”

(also taken from chapter 21)

Everyone was so nice to me.

Baz feels right at home; Simon is all smiles. The only one not having a blast is Penny and she’s (I’m sorry, Penny) the token straight friend in these books. 

I don’t know how Rainbow did it, but she made me relive my first pride through Simon, and I’ll never not be grateful for that. 

“Today I’m someone else entirely. Today I’m just a bloke with fake red wings.”

The Pride/Ren Faire parallels were pretty obvious, but I wanna get a little further into the whole “wings = being bisexual” thing. 

We’ve established with Baz that being a magical creature or whatnot is Gay, but while Baz is fully magical, Simon’s “half-normal.” Kind of. It’s a weird situation there but half-normal works for the argument. 

“’Smells like dragon... but also smells like iron. Another abomination!’” 

(chapter 35)

Now the word “abomination” is really fucking unfortunate in this context, but biphobia exists so idk man. I’m gonna start talking in gay/straight terms and I absolutely know bisexuality isn’t half-gay half-straight but we’re talking in metaphors and i’ll tie it together at the end so just stick with me, okay?

He’s part dragon, part Normal (kind of). Simon’s not like Baz where he’s absolutely, 100% a vampire. He has traits of dragons and humans. This is why it’s so bad that he hates his wings half the time. They are part of him. They may not be “normal” and he may have to hide them, but he can’t just cut off the gay part. Our queerness doesn’t define us, but it’s a defining feature. 

Penny says she wouldn’t be her if she wasn’t a mage. Simon wouldn’t be Simon if he wasn’t bi. 

The mistake Simon and almost everyone else makes during this book is that they think of his wings as these separate entities. There is no gay part and straight part of Simon Snow. All of him is Simon. From the tips of his toes to the tops of his wings, all of him is Simon. He might’ve discovered this part of himself during a tragic point in his life, but that doesn’t mean it has to be something bad. It doesn’t have to be something tainted. 

Sometimes you discover things about yourself during the hardest moments of your life. When you’re already down in the dirt, beaten and bruised, sometimes a mirror is put in front of you and you realize something. You realize you’re trans. You realize you’re gay. And sometimes you resent those realizations because they came to you at the worst possible time. “This is just one more thing on my plate,” you think. 

This series is about reclaiming the things that where taken from you by the ones that hurt you. 

Simon’s going to have to learn to love his wings, because even though they remind him of something that hurts-- hurts more than anything-- they’re part of him. They are him, as much as the rest of his body is. Simon’s going to have to forgive himself, and learn to love himself for all that he is. 

Because all that he is is beautiful. 

We all know it; it’s time for him to understand that.

All right, bitches. Let’s get to the bit we all REALLY care about. this is the one that really fucks me up my dudes. Because it’s Brutal. But anyways here we go.

His wings are the Big Baz Love 

What are the two things that Simon’s  considering cutting off in this book?

“That’s what I’m going to say when I break up with Baz.”

“Dr. Wellbelove said he could remove the wings. And the tail. Whenever I’m ready.”

(Chapter 2, Epilogue)

Yikes!

My guys..... Simon and Baz don’t kiss unless Simon’s wings are out.

I truly do not understand how some of you are out here saying Simon’s gonna lose his wings I really don’t. It’s stressful. I’m stressed. Ms. Rainbow Rowell, you have me stressed. 

His Wings! Are! His Love!

On Love’s Light Wings!

Goatman dances his nasty little fingers all over the bridge that is Baz’s ass? Wings out, uses his tail to help kill the guy. Lamb is hitting on Baz too much? 

“’Spell my wings off.’”

(Chapter 45)

In the airport, when a lady is giving them the “don’t be gay” stink eye he immediately checks to make sure his tail is hidden. 

Baz can’t spell his wings off, guys. 

Baz can’t spell his wings away.

“’Snow needs you to cast your angel spell on him. I hid his wings for breakfast, but they’re still there.’“

(Chapter 19)

In Chapter 41, the biggest kiss scene we get, Simon wraps his wings around Baz to hold him. He’s embracing him in his love guys. Guys. 

Have you people noticed how i’m suddenly less articulate? It’s because i’m in crisis. Set me on fire I wouldn’t notice. I’ve been living with this terrible knowledge.

The first scene we finally see them kiss is after the scene at the Ren Faire when Simon’s wings are finally out and he finally got to fly.

“Simon catches up with me and traps me against the car. He’s kissing me before I see it coming.” 

Simon is so dtf in this scene Penny throws a water bottle at them, and it hits him in the wing. 

“’So hot,’ Simon Says. ‘Got to see you fight without picking a fight with you myself.’

Bunce throws a plastic bottle over my shoulder, and it smacks Simon in the wing.”

(Chapter 22)

She had to smack him right in the love for him to calm down, my dudes, my guys. Do you realize how hard it was for me to annotate this goddamn book with this knowledge? Every. Single. Time. Simon stretches a wing or flaps them around it’s about Baz. It gets to the point where you have to put the book down or you’re gonna explode. 

Simon’s wings are always out around Lamb. He’s jealous as hell and he hates that motherfucker’s guts. The only real injuries Simon sustains in this book are to his wings and they’re almost always when Baz gets hurt too. 

When did Simon get his wings? Only a day after he first kissed Baz.

Simon’s love for Baz is so big and so obnoxious he can’t hide it. His wings and tail have spikes, because that’s all Simon knows. He’s rough around the edges, he’s been hurt, he’s been used.

He’s never been in love before.

His love is spiky; it’s loud. It’s hotrod red and you can’t miss it when it’s out. Baz can’t see it, because Simon’s tucked it away. He hasn’t flown with it. He hasn’t wrapped it around Baz in so long. He doesn’t know how to handle a love this big, where to put it, when to unfurl it. 

Simon gets jealous. He gets scared. He’s insecure. He wants so dearly to finally give to someone instead of feeling like he’s just giving in. Like he’s still just taking from Baz.

What do you do with wings? 

How do you find somewhere safe to fly?

The Resolution.

I said earlier that if Carry On is a story of self-discovery, Wayward Son is a story of self-acceptance.

Simon has to love himself, and learn that his love for Baz is a good thing. As he accepts himself (and his dragon powers evolve go read my dragon simon meta it’s good.) he’s going to start to shine. 

This is a story being told to us with nothing but love. This is a story about a boy that’s his own worst enemy-- as all of us often are. It’s so scary to accept our wings. It’s so scary to accept our fangs. Especially when they’ve come out of such a hideous occurrence. 

We need to accept these dark times and acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, we were made more beautiful because of them. Maybe the light we give after we’ve been in darkness is more vibrant, because we know how scary the dark is. The things that happened to us were horrible, and hideous, and terrifying, but we aren’t. We’re different from how we were before, but we’re still beautiful. 

Simon Snow is going to accept himself.

Simon Snow is going to accept his past.

Simon Snow is going to finally, finally tell Baz he loves him.

And for the first time, Simon Snow is going to see that he’s beautiful.

If you’ve liked this meta you should also check out this one where i explain how they’re finally gonna get their relationship together. Also the one about the scarf

Special thank you to @singerofsimplesongs for listening to me howl and screech about this damn thing. 

Tagging some people that might be interested!

@neck-mole @watfordwallflower @carrybits @theflyingpeach @fight-surrender @shitty-posty-times @wisest-girl @slaying-fictional-dragons @gucciglitzy

[dear-felony]

i’m gonna put my notes for you here, just in case i’m not here when you are. i’m so sorry i only was able to do them for the first three weeks. ilysm, i’m gonna miss you with everything. @lovely-demon-loved-by-knight​

~~~

I realized that you wouldn’t have hugs from me while you’re gone. So I’m gonna leave some hugs right here and whenever you need one, you just use it then, okay?

>> *wraps u in a soft blanket and sits down next to you. puts both my arms around you and holds you close for as long as you need*

>> *holds u very tight to me n rubs your back*

>> *soft, long and safe hug*

5/25

Dear Felony,

I know today is probably so hard for you. I don’t want to add to your anxiety or your pain about leaving, so I’m just gonna make you a little calm place instead. Imagine we’re sitting together on a picnic blanket in the grass under a big tree. The picnic blanket is light blue and soft, and we’re both cross legged and leaning against each other. I’m laying out lemonade and cucumber cream cheese sandwiches I made before you woke up. (You slept in today, because there was no need to get up, and the sounds of me in the kitchen and the birds in the trees kept you so calm.) You’re telling me a story and I’m giggling. A squirrel runs past us. Everything is calm and safe. You’ve got this, Covi. I love you so much.

5/26

Dear Covi,

Since this is a road trip, I’m guessing you’ll be in a car at some point today. If you are, would you do me a favour and look out at the trees as they pass? Looking out of car windows is so universal. You’re looking at the trees and ground rushing past there, and however many miles away, I will too. We’re together in that moment. And since I’m with you, know that I’m squeezing your hand and telling you I’m proud of you.

5/27

Dear Covi, 

Today I’m gonna tell you some of my favourite colours. Maybe when you get back, you can tell me yours. Or you can write them down somewhere now and send them when you get wifi. I’d like to hear them. My collection of colours: passion tea, the sunset, sunlight shining through leaves, the farthest water away from the shore, wet moss, male mallard ducks’ feathers, theatre popcorn, fox fur, honey, brick, and rose quartz. I hope you’re doing okay my Felony, and I hope you find a new colour for your own collection today.

5/28

Dear Felony,

Today I’m gonna tell you about a stuffed animal. I have a buffalo named Bull-Bull from when I was very little. (I couldn’t figure out if he was a buffalo or a bull so I called him a buffalo and named him Bull-Bull.) I remember the first time I went to the orthodontist I had him with me, and I was crying cuz I had to get an appliance and tonsil surgery and I was scared, and my orthodontist told me I could get a special case for my appliance with a buffalo on it. I never did get it, but at the time it helped calm me down. I like telling you stories. I wanna tell you all the stories of me. The little memories that maybe don’t matter but maybe do, you know? And I want to hear all of yours.

5/29

Dear Covi,

I think I will draw you lots of pictures while you are gone. Then when you get back you will have them all. Or maybe I’ll make another sideblog and post them on there each day, so I can feel closer to you. Maybe you can draw a picture for me if you want to, just to remind you that you’ll get back to me, and everything’s okay. I’m very very proud of you, Covi. I love you so much. You’ve got this.

5/30

Dear Felony,

At the dollar store near my house you can get a big bag of theatre popcorn. I really want to get that and maybe apple slices and cheese and just have a movie night with you. Or maybe you could show me Julie and the Phantoms. I would love to watch it with you. Not only am I sure I’ll love it, I’d adore just seeing you happy and being able to lean into when I want. It just sounds very soft. When you get back, if you’re still into JATP, I am definitely going to watch it. It’ll be summer, so I’ll be able to. I love you.

5/31

Dear Felony,

I hope you see a dandelion today. I don’t know if it’ll be the season for them yet, but if it’s one of the fluffy ones that’s even better. I used to hate dandelions, but it’s tiring hating things. They’re bright and pretty and I like them. I hope you see one. It will be my little forehead kiss for you.

6/1

Dear Felony, 

You’ve made it through the first week!! I’m so proud of you. You can make it through the rest. I’ll give you some things to help you keep going: my soft blue blanket you can wrap around your shoulders, an aero chocolate bar (my favourite), a woven bracelet that I made you with the help of a ton of youtube tutorials, and a few of my favourite gel pens to colour with. I’m sorry they can only be imaginary, but I hope they help a little anyway.

6/2

Dear Covi,

Today I am going to give you some song lyrics. I am pretty sure I have sent you this song before, but it’s important to me you hear them now.

/ Sweetheart, you look a little tired

When did you last eat?

Come in and make yourself right at home

Stay as long as you need

Tell me, is something wrong?

If something's wrong, you can count on me

You know I'll take my heart clean apart if it helps yours beat \

6/3

Dear Covi, 

I’m going to be honest, I’m really sad as I’m writing this. I’m thinking of how hard it’s going to be without you. I’ve tried to make these positive as much as I can, because I know you don’t deserve more worry. But it’s hard. Just know that if you miss me, I am over here missing you too. But as long as you get through, so will I. I love you so much.

6/4

Dear Felony,

It’s really late here. I wonder what time it is where you are, whether you’re cuddled in a hotel bed or in the back of your car or sneaking peeks at your phone during a long walk. I hope wherever you are I can bring you some comfort. Just imagine me under a blanket in the middle of the night, blinking away sleepiness so I can write to you. The light is on outside my door and it’s shining through the pride flag, which is pretty cool. I bet it’d make you happy. I hope you’ve seen lots of things that made you happy this trip. I want to hear all of them when you get back.

6/5

Dear Covi,

I’m proud of you, you know that? I hope you know that. I’m so, so proud of you. You have dealt with a lot, you are dealing with a lot, and you somehow still light up the world. You really do. And you don’t have to always be in touch, or always be ready to help people, to light up the world. Your existence is enough, your perseverance is enough. You deserve to take care of yourself, and to be taken care of. I’m so proud of you.

6/6

Dear Covi,

I have this really big amethyst and sometimes tiny pieces of it will break off on the edges. I save the pieces in this small box I have and they mean a lot to me. I wish I could put them in a locket and give them to you. So whenever I was holding my amethyst I knew wherever you are you’d have part of it right there too. 

6/7

Dear Felony,

I wanna walk in the rain with you. I wanna run through it shielding each other with our hoodies and laughing, or walk slowly under an umbrella together watching the little streams that gather on the sides of the road. I wanna twirl you around in the soaking wet grass and then make hot chocolate with you to warm up when we get inside. I just think that’d be nice.

6/8

Dear Felony,

Two weeks!! I don’t know how you’re doing right now. I really really hope it’s alright. I’m proud of you for this, I know it’s hard. You’ve got this, I love you so much, and you know I’m thinking of you.

6/9

Dear Felony,

I wanna build a little cottage in minecraft with you and have a bunch of dogs and sheep and cats and parrots and a lil cute farm and a windmill because it’d be adorable. And I would go collect a bunch of flowers for you because I can. Ily :>

6/10

Dear Covi,

I have a little rainbow pin and it is very very cute. This is important for you to know. I wish I could get you a little one to match it.

6/11

Dear Covi,

Your daily I love you, m’person *tips hat* you are wonderful and perfect and amazing and I love you. Thank you for lighting up my world every day, even when you’re not here.

6/12

Dear Felony,

I wish you could play with my hair. That’d be… so soft. I would even let you braid it if you wanted to, even though I don’t usually let anyone braid my hair. But I just trust you. So much. And I know I’d feel so safe.

6/13

Dear Felony,

I want to memorize your handwriting. I want to read enough little notes from you that I could recognize each letter anywhere. And I want you to be able to know mine. If I could write you little notes in paper airplanes and send them to fly to your lap I’d run out of origami paper in a week.

6/14

Dear Covi,

I want to bring you little gifts every day. Like a little rock I found or a flower for you to tuck behind your ear or a little origami animal or your favourite candy that I walked to get from the store. I just love you so much and I want to show it.

6/15

Dear Felony,

You’ve made it through three weeks! I’m so frikin proud of you. You can make it through the rest, okay? And soon you’ll be back, and I will require many many long cuddles after your absence.

I’m so sorry that I didn’t have time to write a note for every day you’re gone. I hope these at least help a little, and that you can reread them if you need me. I’ll miss you so, so much. I love you with all of my heart, my knight, always.

[frostskader]

A Prideful Kiss {Dodger & Peri)

In which after a kiss in front of a bonfire a new couple just talks. Just a continuation of a Pride Opening Event.

@streetsavoir-faire

PERI

There was no point to PERI staying at the bonfire anymore. People had seen the mess she had made and she was a mess. Her shoes squished, her makeup ran and mud streaked the edge of her dress and her legs. She couldn't even transform into to a fairy her wings would be too wet to fly. So a walk of shame it was. Making eye contact with Dodger, Peri blushed and wanted to run. "Oh hey. How are you?"

DODGER

Dodger had been going to Swynlake's Pride ever since he'd moved here. It... well, it reminded him of home when at the time he'd not had much of a home to remember. Though in reality it was nothing close to the parade they used to have back home there was still something a little more... intimate and authentic with the month's activities that were planned around celebrating pride. He'd been stepping away from the bonfire a bit to get some air, a smoke hanging from his lips and lighter halfway to it when his gaze lifted in time to spot the blonde walking towards him looking... - well, beautiful, of course but... Also a tad less put together than usual, he guessed. Letting the lighter slip back to his side, Dodger tilted his head with a little huff of a laugh, pulling the cigarette back to hold it between his fingers as he raised a brow. '...m'alright, Blondie. Bit better with all the festivities ain't... I uh... - Are yous alright?'

PERI

PERI grinned pushing the wet hair back behind her ears grinning up at Dodger. She was sure she looked like a wet fairy and wet fairies usually weren't very happy. She didn't want to look miserable at something like Pride though. "I'd say great but I think it's obvious I look like a mess." Peri mused with a shrug. "I might have well fell into the lake."

DODGER 

'A hot mess though.' Dodger teased with a smile, glancing over the woman and wincing slightly at the fact that... yeah she just about looked like she fell into a lake. '...You know this is a bonfire right? Yous supposed t'be making s'mores not swimmin'...' The man continued lightly, his smile turning up a touch more as he tried not to laugh. '...I mean I know yous like t'be a trend setter n'stuff but..'

PERI

Peri rolled her eyes shaking her head at Dodger. It was appreciated though. "A frosty mess in fairy standards." Peri quipped rubbing at the make up under her eyes a little. "There's a late night swim at the end of this too. So I'm just ahead of the curve." Peri stated shoving her hands into her dress.

DODGER

Dodger couldn't help but glance at her with an amused little smile, his head shaking slightly before he tucked the cigarette he'd never gotten the chance to start behind his ear. '...Yous right. Who am I kiddin' always knew yous was a trend setter.' In one way or another at least. 'Listen uh -...' He started, glancing down at her. '...Do yous want somethin' to clean up a little?' Dodger asked with a raise of his brow, tugging lightly at his shirt. 'Promise i won't miss this... and - well shit, it's Pride so a shirtless guy ain't gonna offend nobody.'

PERI

PERI's eyes widened going to refuse the shirt. She couldn't just take it from him. "I couldn't- Are you sure?" It would stop her from having to actually go home now. "It might get a little muddy by the end of the night."

DODGER

'Eh - I'm used t'it.' Dodger waved off with a little shrug of his shoulders, easily pulling the shirt off (black, of course but... it had a faded rainbow on it at least?) and offering it towards her. He didn't mind if he got dirty, he was practically always in some state of disarray anyways.

'It wouldn't be a problem. Seriously - go ahead.'

PERI

PERI took the shirt and slipped it over her head and she tried to ring out the water so she didn't soak his shirt too much either. "I hope you know you're not excused from wearing fun colours at Pixies at the end of Pride event. I will glitter canon you too." Peri warned with a smile glancing down at Dodger's chest and some of the tattoos before you know making eye contact again.

DODGER

'Think I can live with that.' Dodger said with a smile, hands slipping idly into his pockets before he glanced down at himself (dark jeans, converse, a now missing black shirt). Perhaps she was right - considering just about the only color on him came from his tattoos. He could've taken the pansexual pride flag he had on his wall and worn it. Or he could have stolen the flag he got for Fagin and Stein too but... He'd just come as he was instead. 'Maybe I'll try a little harder by then... But I'd still expect to be pickin' glitter outta my hair for the next five years by the end of it so... yous better not leave me disappointed.'

PERI

"I don't think anyone was disappointed by the end of it last year. O'Malley complained for weeks he was finding it everywhere." PERI mused with a grin trying very VERY hard to just focus on his face. "You better try harder though. If anything you can just go shirtless again and I'll throw paint on you."

DODGER

'Oh good.' Dodger spoke with a laugh, shaking his head. 'Would it really be a good Pride if yous wasn't finding glitter in every crevice of your body for years t'come?' Hair, neck, corner of the eyes... ass probably. Glitter gets fucking everywhere it's incredible.

'That's an option too though.. But that option kinda just sounds like yous want me t'be shirtless. Which - is totally fine but yous can just say that.' Dodger teased with a wink, slipping his cigarette from behind his ear and gesturing towards her. '...d'yous smoke?'

PERI

PERI laughed and nodded, see the glitter canon was a great idea and Peri was proud of it. She loved it and she wanted to keep it going. If anything it just added to the fun. "I had glitter everywhere in Pixies too. But I loved it. I really did." Blushing Peri covered her cheeks. "I mean I've seen you shirtless how many times. I think it's more you that wants me to see you shirtless." Peri teased shaking her head. "Those things mess with us a lot more than you guys. Usually it's better to avoid human made drugs and cigarettes and what not."

DODGER

Dodger might've blushed a bit himself if he wasn't used to such comments or situations - though a chuckle still slipped from his lips as he shrugged his shoulders idly. 'I mean - I think everyone deserves t'have a nice sight, ain't? If I can help with that why not.' He certainly wasn't embarrassed by his physique, anyways. In fact, if there was one thing he wasn't self-conscious about it was his chest. The tattoos seemed to frame his body nicely, after all. 'Ah - right shit. Got it.' The man said, innocently putting his hands up. 'I came over here t'smoke originally but..' He trailed off, pulling out the pack and tucking the lone stick back inside before slipping it back into his front pocket. '...did I uh - where were yous headed before yous stopped?'

PERI

PERI couldn't help the laughter that spilled from her lips. "It is a nice site. Especially that New York piece." Peri grinned still laughing, she loved how light hearted it was. How sweet Dodger, How confident he was. "It's fine if you want to, as long as I'm not smoking it, I mean it also smells mechanical. I will ever get how people smoke them to be honest." Peri shrugged.

DODGER

'...Yeah? S'the best one I think.' Dodger agreed, glancing down and tapping against the little skyline against his chest and smiling. It meant a lot to him - both because of the person he shared it with, the meaning behind it and the person who inked it. All in all, it was one of his favorite tattoos. When he glanced up however he shrugged again with a bit of a grimace. 'I mean... I guess when yous start chain-smokin' 'em when yous like fourteen yous get used to it. I can't really see the appeal in 'em either but... it's also just a habit by now. If it ain't that it's the other y'know?' Dodger hinted with a little knowing look and a nod. Because honestly he switched between the two like it was nothing. 'But nah... I can hold out. S'probably better that way, ain't?'

PERI

"Oh yeah you asked where I was going too didn't you? I guess I got distracted by the site." PERI teased. "I was going home but you came to my rescue and I think smores are the next course of action. If you want to join?" "Really you were that young? What made you start?" Peri questioned carefully. "See all our stuff is all natural. I'd turn you onto that but I don't know if it would have the same effect."

DODGER

Dodger felt himself nod at her offer, tilting his head back towards the bonfire before he gestured her forward '...Sure - lead the way, blondie.' The man started, slipping beside her as they began walking back towards the bonfire (where hopefully she'd also be able to dry off a bit). '..Yeah I think I was. Got my first tattoo when I was fourteen and I was already smokin' and dabbling with drugs a bit by then.' The musician admitted with a little shrug of his shoulders. He wasn't exactly proud of it but... it was a part of him (and still was to this day). '...I dunno why I started. Tito - yous know Tito, right? He and I got int'a it and... we's were shit heads and trouble makers.' That was probably the only reason. 'But yeah I dunno. Maybe not. I mean... weed ain't exactly unnatural right?'

PERI

"What if I dye my hair what then hm?" PERI grinned running her hand through the damp locks. "Yeah, well no weed is pretty natural. Better than the one chemically made." Peri shrugged. "I just like to think you're not killing yourself with it."

DODGER

'Once a blondie always a blondie. I'll just get weirder looks for callin' yous it - but... I can deal with that.' Dodger reasoned with a smirk, gently resting an arm across the woman's shoulders and gently tugging her close. 'But if yous want t'dye your hair, yous should go right ahead. Maybe somethin' fun like blue?' Tito would probably be a good person to talk about that with given the fact the man was always dyeing his hair. '...well - not as quickly I guess. Still smokin' it. Probably not the best for yous either but... I'm sure there's ways I'm riskin' my life more or doin' it quicker.' Like...all the other drugs. Or...jumping across buildings. Or instigating violence with DeSoto and Roscoe.

 PERI

PERI grinned but she had no problem moving closer to Dodger. He was warm and she was cold. "Sorry I'm usually chilly. It comes with the territory." Peri admitted glancing at her hands even though it wasn't like she hadn't touch him while tattooing him. "My sister's back in town and she changes her hair all the time. So I might do it, Oh a rainbow for Pride would be fun." "You jump across buildings?" Peri questioned looking up at Dodger with a raised eyebrow and a shake of her head.

DODGER

'... S' okay, m'used to it. Besides I usually run warm.' Dodger dismissed, pulling the woman a little closer at her words as if she had just admitted that perhaps she was cold. Gently, his fingers ran up and down her arm in a friendly attempt to warm her.' I didn't know yous had a sister.' He commented idly with a raise of his brow before he shrugged. 'uh -.... Yeah for the most part. It's uh...it's what I do.’

 PERI

PERI really didn't mind being this close to Dodger. One it was Dodger. Two. She really liked being warm. Which yes she knew was weird for a frost fairy. She couldn't tan or she would get headaches but she liked the warmth. "Half sister. She's the reason I run Pixies. She created it and she left for this big adventure awhile ago and now she's back." It worried Peri admittedly. She wanted her sister to be okay and happy and she thought she had been with Sophie. "Yes. but why? Do you carry pixie dust when you go?"

DODGER

Brow raised slowly at Peri's words but he could only nod with a quiet 'right...' at the comment about the sister. Or... Half sister. He wondered what their relationship was like - or if she was back to take over again (less important, if maybe he'd lose his job). 'I see. Guess I'll have t' meet her some day.' He continued casually, before he scoffed lightly. ' Pixie dust? No. Course not. I do it for the fun. The thrill yknow? The rush'a adrenaline?...'

 PERI

"It's not a bad thing!" Peri was quick to correct leaning her head into his shoulder. "I love her dearly. I just worry about her. She's the only family I have left that I get along with." Peri never actually reconciled with her Father nor did she plan to. "I'm throwing a big party at Pixies for her Birthday. I could introduce you two then?" "But you don't have wings so if you fall you go splat."

DODGER

'...well s' what we do about family right...? We's worry about em. ' Which was true no matter what kind of family it was. Dodger's family wasn't blood at all but he worried about all of them - worried one day they'd get hurt or... Leave him or worse... Hate him. 'That sounds good though - can definitely do that.' He agreed - though a moment later he turned his head slightly to try and look at Peri, a soft chuckle slipping from his lips.

'If I fall.... Yeah I guess I would but... I ain't gonna fall. Been doing it for years and -....well I've fallen a few times but... Nothin major'

 PERI

PERI nodded thinking more about her sister with a frown. She had been happy here so far. And that's all that mattered to Peri. She would have to make sure to be there if Tink needed her. For whatever. "Just remember to like me more okay?" Peri teased glancing up at Dodger with a grin. "Do you want some Pixie dust just in case?"

DODGER

'...always.' Dodger responded easily, smiling back at Peri for a few moments before he shook his head and glanced away. '...what - don't have faith in my abilities?' He teased lightly, knowing she.... Would probably be smart not to even though he was as good at free running as he was at playing music.

PERI

PERI smiled pursing her lips when she looked away and back to the fire. The warmth it gave both of them. "Well I've never seen you do it so how can I have faith in it?" Peri teased back. "Still I'd give you some just in case. You just have to promise not to give it to a sorcerer. It's for you and only you."

DODGER

'...Well - I don't know any sorcerers so... I think I'd be able to handle that.' Dodger agreed, watching the flame of the bonfire dance before he gently squeezed the woman's arm. 'But.. I mean I'd offer t'let yous watch me n'everything but... Swynlake ain't really a good scene for that y'know?.. Not enough building's and skyscrapers. Ain't like the city.'

PERI

"Good. Pixie Dust can be very powerful in the wrong hands." But PERI trusted Dodger and she wanted him to be safe if he was running over a bunch of buildings. And she hadn't gone into the Hollow for awhile so she wasn't even using it herself. "Do you miss it?"

DODGER

'I promise to be responsible with this one thing.' Dodger spoke truthfully since... he really wasn't all that responsible with anything but.. for her? He could promise to be careful with this one. '...New York?... Yeah.. 'course. I uh... I'm always waitin' for the day wes can go back.'

PERI

That was all PERI needed. There were a few things that needed to be serious. Pixie Dust was one of them. Her heart broke just a little though at the thought of him leaving one day. Everyone did. "That would be exciting. Going back home."

DODGER

'Yeah... God knows when we's can but... I always think about it. Think about if shit woulda changed much since we's been gone, or... if maybe they finally condemned the rickety ass shack of a home we's was living in.' Dodger spoke softly, frowning slightly as he stared at the fire before he just shook his head. 'Probably still got a lifetime t'spend here though. And... I dunno. I've gotten used t'it over the years. It ain't home but... it's... a home away from home I guess.'

PERI

Peri's hand slipped around Dodger's waist giving him a small half hug. "I hope you'll get to go back one day. One day sooner than you think it might happen." Peri grinned. She would love to be given the opportunity to return home too.

 DODGER

'...Yeah, maybe.' Dodger agreed quietly, bringing the woman closer and giving her arm a soft squeeze. Though he wasn't so sure it would be any sooner than he'd think, since... it all depending on Bill Sykes and - ... well the idiot brothers couldn't even take care of their own father, who was to say that anyone could. 'I hope so too though.' He finished, turning his head to look at Peri with a soft smile, watching her carefully before he cleared his throat. '...Do you uh - ... d'yous want to make some s'mores?'

PERI

"Yes S'Mores!" PERI grinned. "Wait here one second." Peri stated running off before Dodger could say anything coming back only when she had everything that they needed and plopping right back down as close to Dodger as she could. "Are you someone who uses more than one marshmallow? I heard that was a thing."

DODGER

Dodger's brows shot up as quickly as Peri did - watching the woman run off with an amused chuckle as he settled onto the ground near the fire to wait for her return. When she did, he simply leaned a bit to make room as he picked up one of the sticks with a little shrug. '...Is there a debate on the right number t'use?' He teased with a furrow of his brows, glancing towards the blonde. 'I thought we's was gonna have to debate on how toasty it gets, not the amount'

PERI

"Wait there's a debate on how toasty to make it?" PERI questioned. "Wait do you burn them? You're not one of those guys are you?" Peri continued to questioned taking a marshmallow waving it at Dodger's face.

DODGER

Dodger felt his smile turn immediately a little guilty at her accusation, a laugh slipping from his lips before he could stop it - playfully batting at the marshmallow she was so enthusiastically swinging. 'So what if I am - There's somethin' different about a completely burnt crust and the perfect melt on the inside. Plus - weirdly enough it don't melt the chocolate as much that way and... I like a little crunch t'the chocolate still. Makes the whole thing better.'

PERI

PERI laughed, and she couldn't believe she was actually right about that. "Does it not fall into the fire more often than not with that goal?" Peri questioned just taking a bite of the Marshmallow. "Is the cookie not crunchy enough for you?"

DODGER

'Naw, c'mon yous just gotta get it perfect.' Dodger explained, stealing a marshmallow and stabbing it onto the end of the holder before he held directly in the flame. 'Yous let it burn - blow it out, let it burn, blow it out. If yous leave it sit in the flame - yeah it'll fall off but not if yous do it carefully.' A controlled burn, so to speak... at least that's what Dodger called it. 'And the cookie's fine - but... I dunno I like the chocolate too. S'a... a different crunch. I dunno.'

 PERI

PERI popped the rest of the marshmallow in her mouth before sitting another on the stick following Dodger's lead. "You're doing something carefully? What happened to the Dodger I know. All reckless, act first think later?" Peri teased.

DODGER

'I can't be reckless with a delicious dessert.' Dodger pointed out with a glance towards the tattoo-artist, pulling his marshmallow out of the flame and blowing it out as if to prove his point. 'This? This is an art and if there's one thing I do diligently? It's master the arts.'

PERI

PERI Grinned raising an eyebrow at him but she pulled hers out but instead of blowing it out she held up one hand so a little frost coated the flames putting them out and not getting any on the marshmallow. "What now then?" 

DODGER

'...now yous just showing off.' Dodger teased as he watched Peri 'ice' her marshmallow out, a laugh slipping from his lips as he stuck his back into the flame. 'Rinse and repeat, babe. I think the last time I made s'mores I thought the magic number -... pun...not intended - was about three or four.' He continued, using his free hand to grab the graham crackers and lay them out on his thigh before grabbing some chocolate. 'And I get this shit ready in the meantime - so when it's done, I slide it right on and bam.' A pause to make a sarcastic chef's kiss gesture. 'Perfection.'

PERI

"I can cool yours off too if you want." PERI grinned moving her fingers so the frost touched Dodger's nose and then she put hers back into the fire. "This requires so much patience. I might just go for it after the second burn."

DODGER

Dodger wrinkled his nose a bit as the cold nipped at him, another laugh slipping from his lips as he shook his head and wiped his face against his shoulder (might've been more affective with a shirt but alas) out of habit. '..Naw s'fine - I can handle it. And I mean yous can but... Patience'll pay off. Probably.' A pause to blow his out again. '...or yous can just go after two n'then steal a bite of mine when it's done to compare. Probably the best scenario, ain't?'

PERI

PERI sighed dramatically frosting her marshmallow before letting it go back into the fire. "I think that would be the best option. I win both ways." Peri pulled up her knees setting everything out that she needed to make her smore.

DODGER

'Exactly.' Dodger said, watching Peri with a small smile upon his features, returning the sweet back to the flame for another round. It was funny honestly, how pretty a person could be even after taking a premature dip in a lake and sporting an old t-shirt. How bright someone's smile could be. Peri was a good person - and yanno, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he didn't get to go home for a while... because at least he'd be able to spend time with her.... Fuck his marshmallow was still on fire. Glancing away, Dodger quickly blew it out, chuckling quietly to himself as he glanced back to the side. '...just uh - remember t'be unbiased in the tastin'. Gonna have to be a fair assessment.'

PERI

"You know what then we should experiment. Mine will be done at 3 turns, you do yours at 4 and we can see if that fourth really makes a difference." With her's out of the fire Peri cooled it off and started to put it all together. "You can get the first bite so you get the chocolate while it still has a little crunch." Peri offered the treat to Dodger after squishing it all together.

 DODGER

'Sounds fine with me.' Dodger spoke with a smile, letting his return to the fire one last time as his gaze turned back to Peri. For a moment he glanced at the treat with a little huff of a laugh, eyes meeting her own for a second before he took it to take a tentative bite, offering it back to her as he kept an eye on his marshmallow and made quite the big deal out of pretending to analyze every bit of it. '... well - The chocolate definitely still had a crunch. The marshmallow also didn't burn me terribly like usual but... might've had something t'do with the cooling technique.' He teased, glancing to Peri before he nodded. 'Overall - definitely a solid contender.'

PERI

PERI couldn't stop grinning. She wanted to, but she couldn't. A day that had started off so utterly awkward and would have ended early turned into one of the best nights she had out in awhile. And she knew that was all because of the person she was with. Taking the treat back Peri took a bite nodding her head. "Nice and gooey. Doesn't taste burnt or anything. I bet better than only two times in the fire. That's for sure."

DODGER

Dodger nodded thoughtfully with her words, bringing his marshmallow back in and blowing it out for the final time. 'Well - that's a good thing - means there's an improvement, but.. also might mean three is the perfect number and four's overkill.' He commented with a little faux wince, glancing at his marshmallow before he placed it on the chocolate covered graham cracker and pulled the stick out. Assembling the s'more, Dodger glanced at it with a little content smile before he offered it to Peri. 'Care t'do the honors?'

PERI

PERI took the s'more and took a bite glancing up at Dodger when she handed it back. "You know what its warmer and just a touch meltier I'm starting to think you're onto something." Of course Peri didnt really taste much of a difference but that smile on his face made it all worth it.

DODGER

Dodger couldn't help but light up almost immediately at her words - a soft laugh slipping from him as he took the treat back. 'So maybe it is four then.' He spoke, trying it for himself as he placed the stick down on the ground beside him. '...Definitely better than just letting it burn completely or just doing it once n'done though... That's for sure.' Since... there really was no difference between three and four, except maybe there was an added melt to the marshmallow. Almost like the 'fluff' people seemed to love putting on bread.

PERI

When people smiled. Truly smiled. It lit up their face and Peri couldnt help but return the smile on Dodger's face before taking a bite of her own lesser at only 3 s'more. I can agree with that I think I can see the poor remains of marshmallows where people just let them fall to the fire." Peri explained glancing into said fire. "Its a good thing you found me then."

DODGER

Dodger followed her gaze to the bonfire, snorting slightly at the sight of so many marshmallows gone to perish to people who let them catch fire and burn right off of their sticks. A tragic - but rookie mistake, he'd say. Still,... his gaze turned back to Peri at her words, his smile turning a touch softer. 'Yeah... yeah it is.' He agreed easily, watching her for a moment and honestly very glad he'd chosen to need a smoke at the moment he did. Something....he didn't even need any more. '....hey Peri...?'

PERI

PERI focused on the fire if only because she could feel Dodger's eyes on her and for someone who didnt get embarrassed she felt like if she did look up she would be. At her name she did turn to look up at him. "Hm?"

DODGER

Dodger hesitated slightly when she turned to him, knowing it was exactly why he'd called her name in the first place but... He almost felt a little frozen as his gaze stayed on hers for a few moments - a small sigh slipping from him instead of any words. Still, despite the little unnatural flutter of nerves tickling his chest, Dodger leaned forward easily, finally stealing Peri's lips in a gentle kiss as he let his s'more go forgotten for the moment upon the grass, just hoping he wasn't grossly overstepping.

PERI

Peri tried to figure out what Dodger was trying to say. Her eyes traveled between his. The smile slipping off her lips in her confusion as she admired and waited- And oh he was kissing her. And Peri's heart fluttered and twisted all in one motion. Her own s'more joining the ground forgotten. And she returned the kiss. Reaching out to set her hand gently against his cheek. She was kissing Dodger.

DODGER

For a minute - Dodger felt the fear that maybe he shouldn't have done that. That...he'd misread the entire situation and that... well Peri didn't have an interest in him at all. Which was fine! Would be totally fine but... christ he was kissing her and that would be awkward. Thankfully before he could dream up any nightmare situation though, he felt her press back against him and the soft (and slightly chilly) weight against his cheek. He smiled easily against her lips, slipping a hand up to cup the back of her neck as he pressed a little closer, saving the moment between them.

PERI

PERI could feel his smile and it only made her smile more. It was easy to kiss Dodger. Easy to smile with him. Easy to joke with him. Peri liked those things to be easy. Because those things meant she was happy. This wasnt a kiss asking for more. This was a kiss that was everything it needed to be and Peri didnt realize how much she had craved that. How much Dodger fit into all these little things she was craving and she hadnt quite put it all together. Eventually she had to pull away and Peri looked up at him against scanning his face. "This doesnt get you out of the glitter canon I hope you know."

DODGER

Dodger was... more than happy with this response. Sure - he'd kissed a lot of people pretty often but... it was different when it was something you felt a... well a certain kind of way for. Different when it was someone you had a connection with and could call yourself a friend to. 

And even though he needed the breather too, Dodger couldn't help but trail after Peri's lips as she pulled away, his thumb brushing the back of her neck gently as a small laugh followed her words. Of course it came back to that glitter cannon. '...That's... That's okay. Like I said... I uh.. I mean I'm lookin' forward t'that...'

PERI

Peri let out a laugh shaking her head of course she had to say something silly like that. She doubted for a moment everything she had just felt. Perhaps this was just Pride. It was just them having fun. It wouldn’t have any lasting impact on them.

But she was melting at the little touch on her neck.

She was fluttering at the very memory. She could almost feel where her wings would have been fluttering at the way her heart raced,

Peri’s eyes scanning Dodger’s face looking for something. She was scared. Terrified.

“I’m scared, Dodger. I’m scared of messing whatever this is up.” Peri didn’t make it easy to care for her.

DODGER

Dodger could feel his brows furrow lightly at the change in the woman’s expression - the flutter of nerves behind her gaze before she spoke. When she did it did nothing to help his concern or his confusion and for a moment his thumb stilled against her skin. ‘...scared?’ The man repeated gently, his lips turning up in a gentle smile as a small breath of a laugh escaped him. It was hard not to, even if he swore he wasn’t laughing at her, but.. Perhaps just the fact it seemed like her messing anything up was… well, just kind of humorous?

‘...Yous...yous ain’t gotta be scared.’ The musician continued softly, his hand moving to brush through damp hair before it settled against her neck once more - Dodger leaning forward to kiss her forehead gently. ‘...Yous ain’t gonna mess this up. Whatever it is…’ Because he wasn’t sure what it was either - and Dodger Jones wasn’t good with putting labels on things - especially not when it came to his thoughts and feelings. ‘Yous won’t mess it up.’ I will went unsaid...because if there was anyone here who would mess things up? It was him.

PERI

The thing was Peri was terrified. She didn’t want to be. She wanted to fall head first into something and not look back. She wanted to love and be loved back.

Peri moved her hand from Dodger’s cheek moving to set it on his neck if only hoping it wouldn’t shake as much there then it would on his cheek. “I’m not easy to care about. I’m not-” Peri was a mess. She was the one people gave up on. She was the one that was self destructive and didn’t take the time needed for others. Maybe not the same way a relationship would.

Maybe he didn’t want a relationship and she was getting ahead of herself.

“I don’t have a good track record with these types of things.”

DODGER

Dodger again, wasn’t too sure what ‘these types of things’ were. Was it people she kissed? People she hooked up with - or relationships in general? Because… well Dodger had a list over miles long of the latter but didn’t have a single actual relationship on his resume. Unless one counted the skeevy drug dealer he fooled around with for a while. They might’ve been something close to a relationship… or at least the closest Dodger ever had.

‘...I dunno. I think you’re pretty easy to care about, ain’t?’ He teased lightly, trying not to make light of her obvious fears but… trying to lighten the mood nevertheless. ‘I mean… I feel like I’ve cared about yous ever since we’ve met. It’s… actually rather easy t’care ‘bout yous when I think about it.’ But… that probably wasn’t what that meant. He wasn’t sure what part she was referring to or - how she could have a bad record anyways. He didn’t know what Lou’s fucking deal was, after all. He never got the full story but… christ the guy was stupid for not keeping a girl like her, wasn’t he?

‘I...This uh - I mean it… it ain’t...gotta mean anything if… that’s what yous worried about or… It..it can mean whatever yous want it t’ y’know…?’

PERI

The words were sweet. Reassuring. Gentle and Kind. She hadn’t had the worry prior to Lou but maybe that’s why people kept leaving. That’s why her boyfriend’s kissed other people while they had her.

It could only happen so many times before it had to do something with her. It couldn’t just be the people she chose.

She was just bad at relationships.

Her nerves were settling slowly. “I don’t like to share the people I kiss when I actually like them.” Was this rushing something? She had only been single a few months. “And I actually like you.”

DODGER

Dodger felt his smile tug a little bit larger at her words - amusement clear on his features as he nodded lightly. ‘...I auh - I mean I ain’t sure. I … I don’t know nothin’ about anything but… I have a feeling I ain’t really gonna like to share the people I kiss when I actually like ‘em either.’ He continued softly, knowing that despite the fact he’d never actually had a solid thing he could call a relationship it… didn’t mean he still didn’t experience the ping of jealousy before.

The way sometimes he’d feel his heart clench when he saw Rita with Roscoe - or when Tito would go off with his ‘friends’. He’d felt that emotion before - and it never felt good.

He was almost positive he might’ve felt it with Peri when she was with Lou for the brief time he knew of it. ‘...And I uh… I definitely like yous too. I-... Look I uhm. I’m really not good at all this? You know words and shit or… you know.’ Relationships is what he wanted to say. ‘But I uh - ... I do really like yous, Peri. I know that for sure..’

PERI

Peri’s smile grew slowly, for someone who seemed to know their way around people it was just nice to see that Peri wasn’t the only one that was nervous. The only one that didn’t really know what they were doing.

Her heart settled into a steady flutter.

It was okay if they didn’t know what they were doing, as long as they figured it out together. Peri could handle that. She just needed to be able to trust him.

And knowing he liked her. Peri blushed looking away for a second before looking up at him again.

Leaning up Peri moved her hand back to his cheek. “Then no more kissing anyone else but me.” Peri whispered before she moved to kiss him this time. Placing her lips gently against his.

DODGER

He could feel his smile growing (albeit a much softer version than his usual cocky grin) on his expression, thumb brushing gently over her skin as he nodded. It was an easy request to agree to, after all. The people he’d been kissing before didn’t really matter anyways. They were just...  warm bodies to make him feel less lonely after a night out partying. ‘Adoring’ fans that wanted to hook up after a quick performance.

But they weren’t friends. They weren’t people he felt a connection with and they certainly weren’t people he needed to keep in touch with. Peri? Peri was different. She was someone he felt was a close friend despite only really knowing each other a short time. Someone he often found himself thinking of, or growing concerned over.

Someone he’d keep looking at during a show or at an event. He always found himself gravitating towards her.

So it was easily to lean back into her touch, pressing his lips against hers and slipping his hand back up into her hair to tangle his fingers into damp locks. A silent, but… much more telling agreement than any words he could ever say in return.

PERI

Peri grinned brightly, it was a funny sight to look so happy when it looked like she had been crying. (Could you really tell if make up ran due to falling in a lake vs crying). But she was happy, scared and nervous and concerned but she was happy too.

It was a weird thought now that when Peri found her eyes meeting his during his shows that maybe he was just looking for her. (And trust her she liked enjoyed watching him during his shows.) That they would and could be seeking out each other while they enjoyed their night. It didn’t matter if Peri worked a late night because he would be right there.

Kissing someone who you knew you would be kissing again and again just made Peri happy. He was just making her happy.

“Do you want to come to Prom with me?”

DODGER

The question brought a soft chuckle from him, the musician pulling back slightly to look Peri over with an amused little shake of his head. Not that he was saying no, of course, but the question had just come in such a way that he couldn’t help but laugh at. Gently, Dodger ran his fingers through the woman’s hair, pulling away only after he teasingly pinched at her chin.

‘...Yous want to go to Prom?... With me?’ He asked with another little laugh and a raise of his brow. Prom was… - well it wasn’t something he avoided by any means, but.. He’d never had real proms so… Swynlake’s prom was a weird experience for him - especially when it tended to get a little.. Wild, so to speak.

But to share a Prom with Peri?

Well… that wasn’t too terrible of an idea to him. ‘..I mean… I uh.. I’m gonna have to find myself a tux or something. Pretend I know how t’be even… remotely presentable but... ‘ A pause to trail off before he shrugged his shoulders lightly and reached out to gently intertwine their fingers with a soft squeeze. ‘...Yeah. I uh… I would. I..I think we’s should.’

PERI

Peri scrunched up her nose booping Dodger’s nose when he pinched at her chin. Two could play at this game and she was in the perfect position to offer pokes and boops.

“Yeah I want to go to prom with you.” Peri grinned raising an eyebrow right back as if to her it was perfectly obvious that that’s what she would want. It was normally a good party as long as nothing went wrong. Which it was Swynlake so there was a good chance that something could go wrong.

A really good chance. But still Peri was planning on going.

“Just be yourself that’s all I care about.” Peri glanced down at their hands and gave it a small squeeze. Never would she imagine this was how today was going to go. “Good you might get to dance with a Prom Queen.” Peri wasn’t actually holding her breath about it though.

DODGER

You know - a week over he would have considered going to Prom just for the party. Maybe to go with Tito, dabble in a few party favors and ditch before the night was even young to go find a party more their speed. Never would he have thought about the idea to actually go with someone - to have a date.

A date. 

That concept alone was weird, but.. Glancing back up at Peri it only made him smile. Every day was about to be a date, wasn’t it? ‘...I mean...I think I can take at least one step up from myself.’ He suggested, knowing that himself was just about as he was now. While there might not have been a rule about showing up to Prom in ripped jeans and a t-shirt (though again, something he lacked now - and shit, maybe there was) he was sure that Peri was going to look absolutely fuckin’ stunning and he’d be damned if he didn’t try at least a little to look good for her too.

‘I’ll figure something out. Especially if there’s a chance I’m dancing with royalty. Though… I’m pretty sure a little plastic crown don’t mean much. I want to dance with… yous regardless.’

PERI

“Are you going to get fancy and get a tie.” Peri teased moving to set her head against Dodger’s shoulder. Maybe it was a good thing Greg had rejected her offer even if this was the furthest thing from her mind. She was planning on going for the party. Convincing Minnie to come out. Maybe even ask Lottie to join them.

“You’ll get to dance with me all you want. Other than Minnie I’m all yours for the night. Even if I’m royalty with a plastic crown. I might even give it to you for a moment. I’m sure you’d look spiffy.”

DODGER

Dodger couldn’t help but groan slightly at the mere suggestion of a tie. How very… formal and restrictive. At the same time though… that was kind of the point of Prom, wasn’t it? To wear dumb restrictive and fancy ass clothing? Still, it brought him back to the point that he didn’t exactly own a single item that would be considered formal in the slightest but…. Maybe Fagin or Einstein could help. Better yet - Frankie. He was a… classy individual. He’d know what the hell he was supposed to wear.

‘...I guess if the occasion calls for it, I’d have to, wouldn’t I?’ Dodger relented with a little sigh, resting his head gently against her own and slipping an arm around her waist to softly hold her close. ‘That’s fair enough though… S’better than havin’ to box all of your admirers out the whole night. I think I can deal with sharing yous with Minnie for the night…. And… I’d sure as shit look spiffy in a little crown. Probably match m’eyes and everything.’

PERI

Peri rolled her eyes. “Do not wear a tie if you don’t want to. I’m teasing.” She would have pulled away and fixed him with a look that said something along the lines of I like you not your clothes. But she was way too comfy cuddling into his side. Wrapping her arm around his waist.

“I think it would.” (What was with Peri putting crowns on her boyfriends really??) “Now I just want to win to see that happen. I’m not sure how I even ended up on the ballot two years in a row.”

DODGER:

‘Look...if I can find a tie… I’ll try to wear one. My uncle Frankie - he’ll set me up. I doubt he’d let me walk outta the house lookin’ like absolute garbage once he finds out I got myself a pretty date so.. You’ll have to thank him.’ Dodger clarified with a smile, squeezing the woman softly before he ran his fingers against the soft skin of her arm once more.

It was nice, just having Peri tucked against him, sat nicely before the fire. Though their s’mores were long since abandoned, Dodger knew there were far more important things that mattered now compared to how many burns was the perfect amount.

‘But I mean...I wouldn’t be that surprised if yous did. Yous nice and beautiful. People would vote for yous. I mean clearly they do if yous been on the ballot before. You probably leave a good impression on people.’

PERI

“I’ll make him cupcakes then, with little ties on it as thanks. I don’t promise the ties will look like ties but that will be the intention.” Peri grinned each small touch making her want to curl into him more.

“Depends on how others feel about the others on the ballot. Last year I lost to Belle. Which is cool. She’s a really cool person.” Peri was actually happy she got to know her more thanks to dating Lou. Which might be a weird takeaway. And yes she was aware of that too.

DODGER

Dodger couldn't help the laugh that fell from his lips at the woman's comment of making Frankie cupcakes. Proper little cupcakes at that. More so - it was the thought of her even meeting Francis that amused him. The thought of any of his little rag tag family meeting her - which…. Was very well what was going to happen sooner or later.

They were 'dating', after all.

Still a completely foreign concept to someone like Dodge but… With Peri? He was willing to try. 'Well - I felt the answer was obvious. And m' sure plenty of other people did too. I mean hell - what's not to like. Again, I can't really picture anyone hatin' yous around here so. Yous got it in the bag, blondie. It's a bet I'd put money on.'

[team-free-will-oneshots]

Better Than Love

Title: Better Than Love Request: Yo could you write a reader x Charlie at pride pretty please with a cherry on top? - anon Pairing: Charlie x Reader Warnings: just fluff my dudes !! Word Count: 1,346

note; i sure as heck can !! this might just be the gayest thing i’ve ever written, ur welcome. also i was listening to better than love by lesbian jesus (hayley kiyoko) on repeat while i was writing this so some of that might bleed thru but who knows. anyways enjoy!!

“Here, these too!” Charlie declared, tossing a rainbow set of suspenders into the shopping cart, which was already piled high with a multitude of multi-coloured apparel. You picked them up, turning them over in your hand once and smiling idly.

“We already have a set - the pink and orange ones for the lesbian flag, remember?” you reminded her, and she swore quietly before shrugging.

“That’s okay - I’ll wear those, you wear the rainbow ones,” she said firmly, and a laugh bubbled from your lips.

“Okay - do you think we have enough?” you asked as she tossed another packet of glitter into the cart. She frowned, staring at your haul critically before nodding.

“It’ll do,” she said eventually. “I ordered a bunch of stuff on etsy as well - I think we’ll just scrape by.” She shot you an exhilarated grin that you excitedly returned.

Both of you checked out, ignoring the cashier’s wide, overwhelmed eyes as the two of you split the pricey total of the miscellaneous rainbow items. It seemed like you’d found every single rainbow item in the entire store, from buttons to clothing, and had loaded at least two of each into your cart. With your wallets considerably lighter, the two of you left the store and found Dean waiting by the Impala.

“Took you both long enough,” he muttered, though he couldn’t stop the small smile that crept over his face as he saw how happy the two of you looked, fingers intertwined as you both hauled heavy bags.

“Can’t rush the gay agenda, Dean,” Charlie teased as he helped you both load the bags into the trunk. He chuckled.

“Right.”

“Thanks for being our chauffeur, by the way,” you said, shooting him a wink. He rolled his eyes fondly.

“Yeah, whatever,” he muttered, though you could see smile crinkling the corners of his eyes. You and Charlie slipped into the backseat together, and you pulled out your phone as you connected to the Impala’s bluetooth that you had forced Dean to install. Hayley Kiyoko started blasting, and Dean spared an irritated glance over his shoulder.

“Hey, driver picks the music!” he scolded, and you shrugged as you grinned.

“Sorry, Dean. Pride means we’re legally obligated to only listen to lgbtq+ artists, I don’t make the rules. If it’s really bothering you we can throw on some Queen instead,” you suggested, and he shook his head, scoffing playfully as a smug smile crossed your face and you leaned back into Charlie’s side. Her lips found your temple as her hands slunk around your waist, and you closed your eyes contentedly. The ride passed quickly, and when the two of you jumped from the car you were quick to run inside.

The two of you quickly changed until you both resembled a mismatched patchwork of rainbows, draped in your respective flags. You couldn’t help but beam as your girlfriend caught your eye and struck a dramatic pose.

“Amazing. Beautiful. A gay icon,” you applauded, and she laughed, taking a bow and pausing as you stepped closer, reaching out to adjust the rainbow bow she’d placed in her hair. You frowned, lips puckering in concentration as you tried to straighten it, only for it to fall crooked again.

“It won’t stay straight,” you muttered, and Charlie’s face split into a shit-eating grin.

“We have something in common, then,” she teased, and you rolled your eyes, unable to keep the amusement off your face.

“Good one,” you said sarcastically, and she giggled, cutting off your half-hearted complaints at her bad puns by sealing her lips to yours. The sweet taste of her mouth on your own and the feeling of her hands sneaking around your waist to pull you closer quickly sucked any thoughts from your mind that didn’t revolve around her. In those few seconds, Charlie Bradbury became your whole world. The softness of her skin beneath your fingertips, the silky tresses of her hair that your hands moved to tangle in, the fresh, floral scent of her perfume…

You found yourself dazed when you pulled away, blinking and swallowing a few times as Charlie beamed at your flushed cheeks, placing a chaste kiss to one.

“Come on, let’s break out the glitter!” she said enthusiastically, and you let her hand find yours as she dragged you to the bunker’s library, where the rest of your bags awaited. Sam sat nearby at a desk, laptop in front of him as he scanned news articles for potential cases. When the two of you came out (pun intended), he raised a surprised eyebrow.

“You two look great. And… bright,” he remarked, and Charlie shrugged, sharing a smile with you before walking to plop herself in the seat across from the tall Winchester. You fell into the seat next to her.

“We’re about to be even brighter,” you told him. The plastic bag rustled as you pulled out a packet of glitter and shot him a wink. Light scattered off the tiny, shining specks, and Sam couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Glitter in the bunker? You realise Dean is gonna kill you, right?”

You shrugged, tearing open the packet with your teeth but jerking back in surprise as glitter exploded from the tiny plastic sachet, cascading over the present company and covering the three of you in flecks of rainbow glitter. You blinked in shock as Charlie’s laughter drew you back to reality.

“Good work, Y/N,” she teased, planting a kiss on your cheek and stealing the packet from you. “Maybe I’ll do the glitter stuff, yeah?”

Smiling sheepishly, you nodded. “Okay, yeah. Maybe that’s for the best.”

A mere half an hour later, not only were you and Charlie adorned with glitter on your faces and in your hair, but the bunker was certainly a lot more… rainbow and sparkly than when you’d found it. Sam snickered as he shook glitter from his hair.

“Dean is so gonna kill you,” he informed you, and you poked your tongue out at him.

“He’ll live.” You glanced at the clock, turning back to Charlie with an eager expression. “Come on, let’s get going!”

---

By the time you arrived, the pride parade was in full swing. People were marching, shouting gleefully and kissing, and the street was lined with vendors selling flags and other rainbow bits and bobs. You felt excitement knotting in your stomach at the sense of belonging and acceptance that buzzed through the air. The sun shone a little brighter, the sky seemed a little bluer, and you felt Charlie’s hand slide into yours.

“How cool is this?” she breathed, and you could hear the awe and anticipation in her tone as her wide eyes drank in every sight surrounding you. No matter how many years you’d come here, you could never get used to it - there was nowhere else you felt so celebrated, so… accepted, and that feeling could never grow old.

You squeezed Charlie’s hand as you turned to look at her, heart stammering with pure elation. As beautiful as the parade was, in your eyes, she outshone any other person there, gleamed brighter than any shimmering decoration. The glitter twinkling high on her cheekbones reflected the glaring sunlight, almost as bright as the sparkle in her eyes - the glowing joy and cheekiness that had first drawn you to her.

Your hands sought her waist, and she smirked as you pulled her close, brushing her hair back from her face as you leaned in to kiss her. The world seemed to fall away, the cheers and clapping and music fading into nothing as her lips moved against yours, soft and sure, familiar and warm. She hummed into the kiss, smiling as her arms wound around your neck and threaded through your hair.

She pulled back just enough to rest her forehead on yours, cheeks flushed. Her lips, slightly swollen from your act, curved into a radiant smile that made butterflies turn in your stomach. As the music and festivities swam into focus, you could say one thing for certain;

Nothing was better than love.

__________

Forever tags: @babygirloreo @calaofnoldor @lmpala97 @sebastianshoe @81mysteriouslyme @castieliswatchingoverme @spnlovr73 @kina666 @liviaolivia @simplyxparker @helpmeluci @demonsofhunting

[humansunshineao3]

hey rudy since you're accepting prompts for pride month, yay!!, how about our gang from ftgf going to pride together? (also if saia is there i will send you virtual fruit baskets, i miss them)

Of course! Here you go!

“Which one do you think I should wear as a cape?” Alec asked, holding the trans flag in one hand and the gay flag in the other.

Magnus hummed, tapping his chin. “The trans flag goes with your outfit. And…” He wiggled his fingers, conjuring a rainbow headband. “You can wear this.”

“But does it go with my outfit? I am not changing these pants.”

“Pride flags are exempt from colour co-ordinating rules in a pride march, that’s like the second rule of being queer.”

Alec shrugged, putting the headband on. “What’s the first rule?”

“You have to do karaoke at least one time.” Magnus replied, making Alec snort.

Magnus smirked, looping his belt through his tailored pants. They were a deep royal blue, paired with a purple tank top. Alec had helped him put the pink streaks in his hair last night, and so when he looked in the mirror he looked like a very stylish bi pride flag. Alec hadn’t gone fully themed, mostly because he was still excited about the pastel green shorts he’d found that fit him perfectly straight off the rack. He’d put a pastel blue tank top on with it with some white loafers and a white overshirt with little palm trees on them. He looked absolutely adorable, softer than usual, and Magnus couldn’t stop cuddling him. Once he’d done up his belt, slipping the buckle around to his hip as was his habit, he pulled Alec in for yet another cuddle, burying his face in the other man’s shoulder.

“You really like this outfit, huh?” Alec was smiling into Magnus’ neck, nuzzling up behind his ear.

“I do. Pale colours suit you. I just want to buy you frappes and take you to the beach.”

“Maybe later,” Alec laughed, pulling away. “I said we’d meet Maia and Simon at Fresh and…” He checked his watch, “happy hour just started so you know they’re already there.”

Magnus tucked his wallet into his back pocket and nodded, conjuring a portal. “Fresh is the one around the corner from Raw, right?”

“Yeah, the one with the silver streamers hanging down.”

“Got it,” Magnus hummed, tugging Alec through the portal and into the alleyway behind Fresh. “You think we’ll be warm enough without jackets?”

Alec shrugged. “The booze will keep us warm.”

Magnus sighed melodramatically, and cupped Alec’s face in his hands. “I love you.”

“Shut up,” Alec laughed, squirming out of his hold. “You turned me into a lush.”

“That’s untrue, I offered to make you virgin cocktails from day one but no, you had to have ‘em dirty.”

Alec grinned, smacking Magnus’ ass. “I like a lot of things dirty.”

“Pride is a good look on you,” Magnus purred, “perhaps we’ll have to do a world tour of them. One every weekend all summer.”

“Not all of us have indestructible livers, babe.” Alec teased, taking Magnus’ hand as they wandered around the corner to meet their friends. “Not yet, anyway.”

Magnus hummed in agreement, butterflies in his stomach. Recently he and Alec had decided to look for ways to immortalise Alec. They were getting married in the autumn and Alec had insisted that he wanted their life together to go on as long as possible, whether or not that meant him outliving his family and friends. After long, emotionally intense discussions, Magnus had agreed to help make Alec’s life last as long as his. He couldn’t wait until they found a solution and they could start their endless married life together.

Maia and Simon were sat outside in the sun, Maia’s bare feet up on a chair opposite her with Simon rubbing her thigh, looking at her like she’d hung the stars, as always. Alec almost felt bad for interrupting them, but then Maia spotted him and waved him over, taking her feet off the chair and slipping them back into her sneakers.

“We’ve been saving you guys seats!” She said, standing up to give Magnus a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Alec, you look so cute, I could eat you up like a marshmallow.”

“Figured I’d save the leather for later,” Alec teased, winking at Simon when his jaw dropped.

“Really?”

“No, Simon, I promise I’m not gonna come back in chaps and a harness for the night party.” Alec assured him, patting him on the shoulder.

Simon almost looked disappointed, which made Magnus cackle. “Is it really pride if no-one’s wearing a leather waistcoat, though?”

“You’ve got the abs to pull it off, you should wear one.” Magnus suggested, handing Alec a cocktail menu.

“Shit, you’re right. I should.”

“Don’t give him ideas,” Maia groaned, sitting herself in Simon’s lap. “I let you wear your pantastic t-shirt but I am not walking around with a leather daddy.”

“You think I could be a leather daddy?” Simon gasped, his eyes lighting up. “Baby, that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“If anyone’s the leather daddy here, it’s Magnus.” Alec insisted, putting his arm around his fiance’s shoulder.

“And on that note, I’m getting drinks,” Magnus snorted, ducking out from under Alec’s arm and pulling his wallet from his pocket. “Strawberry daiquiri?” He asked, pointing at Alec, who nodded. “Refills?”

“We’re good,” Simon assured him. Magnus hummed and headed for the bar, stretching his arms over his head. “For the record, I totally agree with you on the leather daddy thing. You need to make him wear tank tops more often, because holy shit, those arms!”

“I know, right?” Alec groaned, scooting his chair closer. “He doesn’t even work out, I hate him.”

“That’s all magic?” Maia gasped, craning her head to look at Magnus at the bar.

Alec shrugged. “Well, I mean… He does push-ups and Tai Chi, but come on. There’s no way he got those results just from that.”

“Bastard,” Simon hissed, sipping his cocktail, “who gave him the right to be that good looking, anyway?”

Maia laughed, winding their fingers together. “Babe, your crush is showing.”

“It’s not like I can blame him,” Alec looked over his shoulder, watching Magnus talking animatedly with the bartender. He smiled as he saw Magnus throw his head back laughing, his heart squeezing. “I am the luckiest.”

“Uhhh, that’s fake news, I think you’ll find I am the luckiest.” Simon insisted, making Maia roll her eyes.

“I swear if you two get drunk and start fighting over who’s luckier I am going to abandon you.” She warned, twisting to boop Simon’s nose. “Where are Clary and Izzy, anyway?”

“Clary had patrol until 4, and Izzy wanted to wait for her. She’s super on edge since that incident with those douchebags outside the institute last month.” Alec sighed, resting his elbows on the table.

Simon frowned, tightening his arms around Maia’s waist. “Did you manage to ID them off the security cameras?”

“No, they were wearing hoods.” Alec shrugged, running his nail along the line of the wood.

“It’s scary when that shit happens, but Izzy will regain her confidence.” Maia assured him, reaching over to pat his hand. “Hopefully today will help a little.”

Clary and Izzy had been coming home from a date a few weeks ago, when they got harassed and threatened by four mundane men. They couldn’t use their shadowhunter skills to fight back because of the Accords, and the two women had only just managed to reach the institute before the men could catch up to them. Izzy had been very shaken by the whole thing, and hadn’t held Clary’s hand in public since.

“If today goes well and there are no assholes, I think it could.” Alec nodded, smiling up at Magnus as he came back with their drinks.

“How’s Clary doing?” Simon asked, “I’m honestly surprised she didn’t take them all on herself.”

“If Izzy hadn’t been there she probably would have,” Maia smiled, shaking her head. “Swear Izzy’s like 80% of her impulse control.”

“More like 95%,” Magnus corrected her, giving Alec a kiss on the cheek. “But she’s doing fine. She came out as a lesbian in an inner city high school, so…”

“She’s heard it all before,” Maia sighed, nodding. “I know the feeling. Nothing surprises me anymore.”

“Baby, could you get off my lap for a bit? My leg’s starting to go numb,” Simon requested, his hands on Maia’s hips. Maia shifted back into her seat, reaching for her beer. “Yeah, I swear I’m more scared out there at night than you are.”

Maia shrugged. “Any transphobe starts on me and I’ll rip their throat out. No sweat.”

Alec rolled his eyes when Maia grinned cheekily at him.

“I can say that shit around you now, since you’re ‘retired’.” She used quotation marks, and Alec couldn’t help but smile.

“Now I’m not working for the Clave anymore I can say I heartily approve of you tearing the throats out of any transphobe that gives you grief.” Alec raised his glass to her, and they clinked them together.

“We’ve been looking at office space,” Magnus enthused, eyes lighting up. “There’s an amazing little place near the Hotel DuMort, it’s exactly the right size and there are these gorgeous floor-to-ceiling windows.”

“All that matters is that I can have a desk and an internet connection,” Alec laughed, “but we all know how Magnus gets about real estate.” He patted his fiance’s thigh, who stuck his tongue out at him.

“I won’t have my future husband working out of a hole. No. Lightwood Investigations will have only the best.” Magnus insisted.

“I am so excited to have a real job, you have no idea.” Simon groaned. “There are only so many gooey love songs you can write, I’m running out of things to do.”

“My Mom said the same thing. Well, not the gooey love song thing, but the being excited to get to work thing. I think she misses the shadow world.” Alec sighed, scratching behind his ear. “Still don’t know how I feel about her working the field, though.”

Magnus ran his fingers through Alec’s hair. “Alexander, runes or no runes, Maryse has decades of experience hunting demons. She’ll be absolutely fine.”

“Besides, Luke’s looking out for her,” Maia shrugged, “he’s so whipped, he’d never let anything bad happen to her. Like, ever.”

“True,” Alec allowed, glancing up and smiling when he saw Izzy and Clary heading for them, holding hands. Izzy looked as happy as ever, her dark eyes bright with joy as she looked around at all the pride decorations and queer couples hanging around drinking and laughing. She spotted Alec and started jogging, dragging Clary along with her.

“Hey!”

“Hey, you look great.” Alec told her, standing to give her a hug. “Having fun?”

“Thank you!” Izzy beamed, doing a little twirl in her summer dress, Magnus and Maia giving her impressed looks. “It’s Clary’s.”

Clary looked a little out of it, tired from her patrol, but she also looked cute in her shorts and t-shirt, which read ‘no-one knows I’m a lesbian.’ Simon and her bumped hips and started excitedly complimenting each other’s t-shirts, and Maia started asking Izzy how work was, and Alec and Magnus looked at each for a moment, feeling warm and content with their little chosen family.

“Oh, Clary,” Alec remembered, poking her in the ribs to get her attention, “did you see Ben and Raj on your way here?”

“No, I thought they’d already left,” Clary answered, “haven’t seen either of them all day.”

Humming, Alec checked his phone, and saw that he had a missed call from Raj. He stood up from the table and put his finger in his other ear, squinting to try and hear over the chattering around him. Raj picked up after a couple of rings, and it sounded like he was somewhere busy, too.

“Where are you guys?” Alec asked, “everyone’s here hanging out at Fresh.”

“We came straight to the fair. They’re giving out loads of free shit, you should get down here. You got that map Ben emailed you, right?”

“Yeah, we’ll finish up our drinks and meet you in a bit. Alright, see you.”

“Where are they?” Magnus asked, holding up his hand to shield his face from the sun.

“Raj is grabbed handfuls of free condoms at the fair,” Alec smirked, “as he does.”

Magnus laughed, sipping his drink. “Ben’s probably just as excited about the free pens.”

“The man does love his pens,” Alec chuckled, sitting back down only for Clary to pop herself in his lap, taking a sip of his drink.

“How’s life?” She asked, and Alec shrugged.

“Can’t complain. How’s work?”

Clary groaned, tipping her head back, and Alec laughed. “I just had to write up a bunch of Seelies who were trying to sell mundanes some weird magical MDMA.”

“Is that the one called, uh… Oh what was it? Lax!?” Magnus snapped his fingers.

“Yeah…”

“Ouch,” Magnus tutted, “yeah, no, that stuff is not fun. That was Amsterdam pride in the ‘90s. Not a highlight of that decade, I can tell you that.”

“You did Seelie drugs in the ‘90s?!” Maia clapped her hands. “Why have I never heard this story when I’ve heard the Marie Antoinette one six times?!”

Magnus side-eyed Alec, who was looking at him with raised eyebrows. “I haven’t heard this story either.”

“Well, there’s a reason for that,” Magnus downed the last inch of his drink. “The entire story is I took it, threw up in a trashcan and cried in the hotel room for two days. And that is why I don’t do drugs anymore.”

“That sounds hellish,” Izzy grimaced, “and you would know.”

“Yes, I would. And yes, it was.” Magnus mused, putting his empty glass down on the table. “How are you doing, Iz?”

Izzy shrugged as everyone looked at her, uncharacteristically shy, and Alec reached over to squeeze her knee. “I’m okay. This is amazing, I’m so glad we came. Thank God you finally decided to join us, it’s never as fun without you, Mags.” She pouted, making Magnus shrug.

“I just hate how it’s all cops and capitalism these days,” Magnus explained, running his fingers around the rim of his glass, “turns my stomach. But it’s nice to spend time with everyone like this.”

“We’ll celebrate pride for real later tonight by throwing bricks at cops, I got you.” Clary assured him, patting his chest.

“I will second that.” Maia agreed, raising her bottle.

Simon shook his head. “I’m not bailing you assholes out if you get arrested.”

“I’d like to see them try and arrest three shadowhunters, a werewolf,a warlock and a vampire.” Alec huffed.

“I’m not a vampire this month, it’s pride.” Simon insisted, giving Alec finger guns. “I’m a CAMP-ire.”

Everyone groaned except Clary, who cracked up laughing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How’s the pack adjusting to the new place?” Izzy asked Maia as they strolled towards the fair in Central Park.

“You know what they’re like,” Maia sighed, “Russell’s whining as usual, but the pack was getting too big to stay in the Jade Wolf. He’s just mad that he has to cook his own meals now.”

Izzy laughed, imagining the burly wolf with an apron on. “I’m sure everyone will get used to the house soon.”

“You and Clary should come and check it out. Bat’s got it all organised, I have no idea how he managed to assign rooms where everyone’s happy, I swear he’s got a little warlock magic in him.”

“Is it weird living away from them?” Izzy asked, ducking out of the way of a balloon vendor, narrowly avoiding a penis-shaped balloon in the face. Alec cackled from behind them, and Izzy put her middle finger up at him.

“Kinda,” Maia shrugged, “honestly I’m just relieved. Simon and I finally have our own space, and we’re only a couple of doors down. It’s nice.”

“I think it’d be nice to move out of the institute and get our own place, but I have no idea how we’d ever afford it.” Izzy shrugged, squeezing Clary’s hand, who’d been distracted talking to Magnus.

Maia nodded, “it’s tough. Rent’s ridiculous. We’re just about managing from the profits that the Jade Wolf’s generating now that it’s actually making money serving mundanes. I can’t imagine the Clave pays you guys particularly well…”

“I do okay now that I’m running the place, but Clary’s pay is tragic. I wanted to promote her to a desk job, but-”

“I would go crazy sitting behind a desk,” Clary supplied, and Izzy smiled at her.

“Gotta be right in the middle of the action, haven’t you, doll?”

Clary shrugged. “It’s in my blood to cause trouble.”

Maia and Izzy laughed, knowing all too well how much of a troublemaker Clary really was.

“Can anyone see Raj and Ben?” Alec asked, poking his head over Maia’s shoulder, squinting.

They spotted Raj first, holding two denim jackets and scrolling through his phone in front of the sexual health tent. Clary, Izzy, Magnus and Maia went to get flags painted on their faces, and Alec and Simon headed over to the tent. As they approached, Raj glanced up, shoulders slumping.

“Thank God you guys are here. Ben’s been talking to some mundane forever. I’m bored out of my brain.”

“Raj, it’s pride. Look at this place.” Alec pointed out, “there’s so much to look at!”

“I didn’t want to disappear just in case he came out looking for me,” Raj admitted, and Alec smiled at him.

“You are so whipped.”

“Says you,” Raj snorted, glancing into the tent to check on his boyfriend. “Where’s Magnus, anyway?”

“He’s looking around, because we’re capable of being more than ten foot away from each other at any given moment,” Alec teased, but Simon tutted.

“Nah, dude, you and Magnus are way more co-dependent than Ben and Raj are.” Simon insisted, “they’re still in the honeymoon phase. You and Magnus have been together for like a million years at this point.”

Raj pointed at Simon in agreement, high-fiving him. “You’re whipped too, though.”

“Fuck yeah I am, Maia’s my Queen. I make no apologies,” Simon shrugged, making Alec and Raj roll their eyes at each other with a chuckle.

“Guys, you made it!” Benjamin grinned, eyes alight with happiness. “Is Magnus here?”

Alec nodded, pointing to where Izzy was getting a bisexual flag painted on her face, Magnus and Maia hyping her up. “Yep, and he has yet to get arrested, so no doubt he’s having an awful time.”

“Feel sorry for the poor bastard who tries to arrest him. Been there, done that, got the trauma.” Raj quipped, handing his boyfriend his jacket.

“From what I hear you had that coming,” Benjamin teased, rubbing Raj’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you some face paint.”

“No way, that shit is probably terrible for your skin.”

“Don’t you guys have runes to like, get rid of imperfections, anyway?” Simon asked, falling into step next to Raj as they headed back over to the others.

“No… What are you talking about?” Alec asked, eyebrows furrowing.

Simon’s eyes widened. “So you all just look like that? Naturally?” He shook his head, looking at Alec, then Raj, then Benjamin. “Damn.”

“It’s the angel blood,” Ben winked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“She just bumped into me once. Literally. I was coming out of a portal, and like, there she was. I’d seen paintings of her after Stonewall, but…” Magnus smiled, shaking his head. “She was amazing, totally unafraid. Totally unrepentant in the space she took up, it was wonderful. I opened my mouth to say something, but she had absolutely no time for me. Told me to get the fuck out of her way.” Magnus shrugged, his smile so wide his teeth were showing. “And I swear that story is true.”

“I can’t believe you met Marsha P. Johnson.” Maia marvelled. “Do you think she had any idea of the impact she had?”

Magnus shrugged. “I hope so.”

Raj and Izzy looked at each other, a little lost.

“Marsha is credited with throwing the first brick at the Stonewall protest, which sparked a conversation about LGBT rights in the US.” Alec explained to them, “she founded the first pride parade, right here in New York.”

“They really need to start teaching mundane history at the Academy,” Benjamin shifted to lean against Raj, his legs stretched out in front of him.

“They don’t teach queer history in mundane schools either,” Clary sighed, her head in Izzy’s lap. “It’s bad. I only know this stuff because I had Tumblr growing up.”

“Of course you did,” Maia laughed, taking a sip of her punch.

“What the fuck is a Tumblr?” Raj demanded.

“Oh, Madzie told me this one. She said it was a place on the internet where losers hung out.” Magnus volunteered.

“Hey!”

They’d found a spot on the green in front of the bar, and bought a few pitchers of punch to share. Each couple was nestled together, enjoying the sunshine and each other’s company. Magnus was sitting with his legs open, Alec nestled between them and leaning against him, holding Magnus’ cup of punch so Magnus could tell his stories with all the grand gestures needed and no punch spillages. Simon was sitting more or less in Maia’s lap, their pinkie fingers curled together, content to listen as the others bantered.

“I’m just telling you what Madzie said!” Magnus smirked, “she’s fifteen now, she doesn’t have time to mince words.”

“Are you kidding? She never did.” Alec huffed, “told me I was useless cus I couldn’t do magic when she was like nine.”

“Aw, Cat and Dot should’ve brought her, that would have been so cute.” Izzy cooed, running her fingers through Clary’s hair.

“I thought they were on holiday,” Ben pointed out. “Dot wasn’t at pottery this week.”

Raj stretched his arms over his head, clicking out his back. “Yeah, Jem mentioned they were all going to London to visit Madzie’s Uncle. Madz cancelled her lessons with him this week.”

“Wait,” Alec sat up a little straighter. “Do you mean Ragnor?”

Raj shrugged.

“Oooooh, he didn’t invite you guys to London in months,” Maia smirked, “what did you do this time?”

Alec craned his neck to look at Magnus, frowning. “What did we do?”

“Hmmm... “ Magnus squinted up at the sky. “His birthday’s in December, and we didn’t forget that.”

“He sent me a fire message for the anniversary of Mom’s death a few weeks ago, so it must be just you guys he’s mad at.” Clary giggled, “Magnus is in trouble…”

Magnus sighed, resting his chin on Alec’s shoulder. “Whatever, I’ll go and see him tomorrow.”

“How’s Madzie doing with Jem, anyway?” Simon asked, “I don’t know how she spends so much time with him, the whole no mouth moving thing freaks me out.”

“Nah, it’s like those old martial arts movies, it’s cool.” Maia insisted, shouldering him gently.

“From what I can gather, Madzie’s really naturally gifted,” Ben nodded. She’d been learning how to do non-verbal spells for the last few months, since she wasn’t the greatest fan of talking in stressful situations.

“Well, we already knew that. Little sweet pea’s going to be a real force when she matures.” Magnus puffed out his chest proudly. “And she’s planning to go to mundane college. She’s so smart.”

“Your broodiness is showing, Magnus,” Izzy teased.

Magnus tightened his arms around Alec’s waist. “I don’t make any secret of loving children.”

“You guys talked about kids yet?” Simon asked, his eyes flicking to Alec, whose shoulders were rising to his jaw.

“Briefly,” Alec mumbled.

“I think I’d want kids,” Clary offered, nodding at the grateful smile Alec gave her as everyone turned their attention to her instead. She smiled up at Izzy, reaching to boop her nose. “Well, a kid. I’d want them to be an only child for sure.”

“Yeah, only child is probably the best way to go.” Maia agreed, taking a big gulp of her punch.

“But siblings are amazing,” Izzy pouted, looking at Alec. “They’re like ready made best friends.”

“Yeah, I would not have managed without Rebecca.” Simon hummed. “But you know, I’m not that bothered about kids.”

Maia smiled, pushing her face into his neck. “And this is why I love you. Fuck kids, man. I can barely keep my own shit together, and I have a whole pack to look out for, I don’t want to be responsible for anybody else.”

Benjamin and Raj were avoiding each other’s eyes, sipping their punch. They’d been dating for less than three months, and had yet to have any serious conversations about their future. At Ben’s count, this was only their tenth date, not including ‘bedroom dates’. There was no way he was volunteering that he wanted a huge family and scaring Raj off.

Of course, Raj was having the exact same worries.

“Hey, look, everyone’s heading for the parade,” Raj pointed out, nudging Ben. “You wanted to do that, right?”

“There’s no discussion, we’re marching in the parade,” Alec announced, getting to his feet and holding up his hand to help Magnus up.

“Look at you, still barking out orders like the good old days,” Clary teased.

Alec shrugged, picking the trans flag up from where he’d been sitting on it and tying it around his neck. “I’ll always be bossy.”

They managed to squeeze in between a mental health charity and a group of college kids. Maia pulled a trans flag out of her bag once she’d handed Simon his pansexual flag, and Magnus magicked a bi flag with a long pole into his hands. Everyone rolled their eyes at him as he grinned at them. He could never do anything by half, after all. Clary and Izzy both wore their respective lesbian and bisexual flags around their necks like Alec, and only Ben and Raj were left without.

“You want me to conjure you some?” Magnus offered, and the two of them looked at each other.

“I have this,” Raj tugged a rainbow handkerchief out of his back pocket and handed it to his boyfriend. “Saw it in a tourist shop a couple of weeks ago, figured you’d like it.”

Benjamin looked at Raj with surprise and fondness, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “You went into a tacky mundane tourist shop to make me happy?”

“Course I did.” Raj mumbled, a little embarrassed now that everyone was looking at him.

“Well, I’ll be sure to thank you quite thoroughly later,” Ben promised, a naughty sparkle in his eyes, which made Raj relax and smirk a little.

“Remember the first year we came and we ended up walking with the furries?” Izzy laughed, falling into step next to Alec.

Alec groaned. “God, don’t remind me.”

“I’m sure Alexander fitted right in,” Magnus said lightly, and Clary and Simon stopped in their tracks.

“Wait, Alec’s a furry?!”

“No!” Alec yelped, glaring at his fiance.

“No, he’s not, not really. But I like to tease him ‘cause he likes my cat eyes.” Magnus gave Alec a kiss on the cheek, making his grumpy facade drop a little.

“That’s stage one of furry-ism.” Simon warned him, his voice fake-grave. “Next it’ll be tail buttplugs.”

“Alright, you can talk, I’ve seen your hentai collection, you can shut your mouth.” Alec argued, which made Maia cackle.

“Yeah, babe, you’re dating a literal alpha werewolf. You cannot point fingers at Alec.” Maia reminded him, which made Simon shrug.

Ben leaned in to whisper to Raj, “what the hell is a furry?”

“I have no idea, but whatever it is doesn’t sound good.” Raj muttered back, taking his hand.

After they were all done pointing fingers about questionable fetishes, they all settled down to enjoy the experience of being surrounded by people totally like yourself. Every now and again, someone would point out an amazing costume, or a mundane celebrity, or a Seelie snuck in from the Seelie realm to enjoy the party. Izzy felt like she was on the verge of tears for most of it; after feeling so much fear in the last few weeks, she felt safe and accepted in her city again, and kissed Clary’s face at every opportunity. She felt silly, now, for being so scared of mundane bigots, but at the time it had been scarier than she’d been willing to admit. She admired the mundanes around her, the people who didn’t possess any supernatural power and were still brave enough to live their lives openly and without apology. They could barely protect themselves from the darkness of bigotry, but here and now they danced and kissed and laughed without fear, happiness and light emanating from the huge, pulsing crowd as they marched through the city.

It was beautiful.

She met Alec’s eyes at one point as he laughed at something Magnus was saying, and her tears spilled over. There was an immense feeling of relief and love welling up in her that she couldn’t control. She’d never worried too much about what the angel thought of her, but now she knew without doubt that he was blessing them, her and Alec. They’d found a family.

They’d found themselves, too.

[asgardian-light]

If You Insist (Part 1)

Pride Month mini fic under the cut. Part 1 because they will only let me post so much. *Ugh.* Enjoy! :)

If You Insist (Part 1)

"Candyboy! What IS all this fuss about again?" groans Robbie Rotten while he stares at the busy citizens of LazyTown running around and working at the great meeting place "Why does it look like a unicorn puked rainbow-colored toffee all over town???"

"Toffee?!" Ziggy looks at him with big eyes and then back to the place, his face soon growing slightly disappointed again "Oh... You mean the flags and banners? Why does it look like toffee to you? And did you see a unicorn somewhere around here or..."

"CANDYBOY!" snaps the town villain now annoyed "Forget what I said! Just tell me WHAT is ALL THIS ABOUT!?"

The kid winces a little at Robbie's yell and tilts his head "Why, Robbie... Is everything okay? You seem to be...upset?"

"Well, what do you EXPECT?! All this noise woke me up from my nap and I STILL GOT NO ANSWER WHAT IS GOING ON H-"

"Hi, Robbie! Ziggy."

Robbie does such a jump, the next second he's sitting on the small wall he's been hiding behind until a few minutes ago and doesn't really understand how he got there out of a sudden. His heart is still hammering violently and he stares at the cause for his shock. "Sorry!" Sportacus laughs apologizing "I didn't mean to scare you, Robbie. I just wanted to check why you're yelling at Ziggy like that." The villain needs a moment to regain his composure then he crosses his arms in front of his chest and glares at the hero while still sitting on the wall "I didn't YELL at him!"

"I heard you from over there," Sportacus points in the distance and gives the other a slightly scolding look "You DID yell."

"Well, maybe I'm already DEAF from all that NOISE these kids are making all the time! And today I don't even know WHAT stupid game they're playing! All I see are COLORS!"

"You're yelling again, Robbie..." remarks the boy with a light grin. "Ziggy," murmurs the hero lowly before smiling lightly and taking a look at the business himself. Not just the kids are running around with colorful things, even Bessie and the mayor are. Robbie on the other hand looks quite tired and almost more exhausted than annoyed... "Now, Ziggy," Sportacus nods over to the meeting place "Tell us, what are you playing, hm?"

"Oh, don't act as if all this...MOVING isn't YOUR doing again, Sportaflop!" growls the villain now accusing. "It is not. I am just as clueless as you, Robbie," assures the hero friendly before focusing on the boy again. Ziggy looks back and forth between them, his eyes growing huge "You don't know what month it is?!"

"June. Stupid b-"

"Robbie."

"...question," finishes the inventor his sentence and averts eye contact with the hero to avoid meeting his warning glare. Ziggy laughs "Yeah! And June is PRIDE MONTH!"

"June is WHAT now again?!?" Robbie stares at him utterly confused now and is kind of relieved to see the same expression on the hero's face after taking a quick glance at him. "Pride month. Don't you know what that is? We learned it at school," announces Ziggy proudly "It's the month for LGBT people! You know... Men that like men and women that like women and... Uhm..."

"People who like both and men that rather want to be women and women who rather want to be men. Of course!" Sportacus laughs softly, happily "I've read about that! But I didn't know it's in June!"

"It is!" Ziggy grows even more proud and a little excited "And we're gonna celebrate it with a huge party! Everybody is invited and that's why we're working so hard!"

"...and loud..." murmurs Robbie more to himself. Ziggy and Sportacus both look at him now. They noticed that the usual edge and the annoyance in the villain's voice was missing, and now they realize it's the same with his eyes. They look dull and even more tired than before. "Well... I'm sorry about that..." remarks Ziggy now carefully "It's not intentionally. We're just..." But Robbie weakly, dismissing waves his hand and slowly lets himself slide down from the wall "I'm just gonna search another place for my nap as long as all this lasts..."

"You're...not gonna try to...manipulate our work?" asks the boy now carefully. Robbie who's already slowly heading away just shakes his head in negation and walks on, leaving behind a quite puzzled hero and Ziggy. "Is he...okay?"

"I don't know, Ziggy... I don't think so..." replies Sportacus with a worried frown and then looks at the kid "You don't need my help with the preparations at the moment, do you?"

"No, we're fine."

"Good. Then I think...I'll make sure that our beloved troublemaker finds a good place to rest..."

"Good idea," Ziggy nods approving "We need to know where to find him, anyway so we can call him when the party starts!"

Sportacus smiles and nods then he flips away and after Robbie. Ziggy meanwhile leaves to pick up helping his friends again...

"Robbie! Wait up!"

The villain groans "What do you want, Sportaflop? I said I wouldn't cause any trouble and I was serious this time! I just want to... Just leave me be, okay?! You won't see anything of me during June."

"But that's the opposite of what we want!" with another flip the hero jumps over the other and lands right in front of him, smiling brightly at him. Robbie winces back and just looks at him for a second before he tries his best to sound annoyed "What's that supposed to mean again?"

"Well, you're invited to the party as well, of course!" Sportacus smiles even more and reaches out to gently nudge the inventor's arm like he does it with the kids sometimes to cheer them up. But Robbie quickly takes a step back, his expression growing alert and even scared for a moment. The hero furrows his brows now even more concerned but before he can open his mouth to ask something Robbie snaps weakly "Anyway! I'm not coming!"

"But..."

"I'm not interested in any loud parties and...and...whatever!" Robbie flails with his arms and then attempts to walk around the other in a great circle. But Sportacus blocks his way "Robbie. What is wrong?"

"Wrong?!" Robbie tries to laugh but he realizes that it fails miserably and he quickly clears his throat and defensively crosses his arms in front of his chest again "How do you get the idea that anything is wrong?!?"

"You're behaving...strange."

"Well, maybe it's because I'm tired! I didn't sleep all night again and I... I... I've been...working on a...uhm...plan to drive you out of town and... I..." Robbie realizes too late how bad he's stammering and he starts to panic so he clenches his hands into fists and growls "And this is none of your business!"

Sportacus softly shakes his head "You're a very bad liar, Robbie."

"EXCUSE me!?" the inventor turns a dark shade of red and opens his mouth but then he quickly turns away instead to head back into the direction he came from. Anywhere, just away from this horrible hero...who's so horrible correct... But of course he won't let him get away like this. "Robbie," a single jump and he's right in front of the villain again, eyeing him with growing concern "I'm sorry if I upset you. I just want to help you..."

"I don't NEED your help, Sportaflop!" Robbie stomps his foot and feels his face growing even hotter in embarrassment. He feels like a stubborn child...again... "I... I just...need some...sleep..." he mumbles after a while of silence and looks at the ground, wishing for it to open up and swallow him whole. Sportacus knows that's not all. But he just witnessed how bad the other reacts on any kind of help or advice attempts. "Okay. Then please...let me show you a good place where you can sleep a little in peace."

"As if YOU'd know where such a place could be..." mumbles the other still without raising his gaze. "Oh, but I DO! After all, a healthy, peaceful sleep is just as important as enough moving if not more!" the hero's soft smile is audible and he carefully takes another step closer to the other "So... Do you allow me to show it to you?"

Robbie wants to negate especially after feeling this strange tingle in his stomach and chest at hearing the hero's gentle words directed at him. But for his own shock he hears his own reply "If it makes you leave me be then!"

"Yes. If...you insist. Then yes..." Sportacus doesn't manage to hide his disappointment completely. Robbie feels even more tingling but finally manages to look at the other again, his voice not even half as powerful and annoyed as he wants it to be "Then what are we waiting for?!" Robbie pushes past the hero and walks a few meters before he stops, and, blushing even worse, does an annoyed but mostly helpless gesture with his hand "Then YOU should probably take the lead..."

Sportacus manages to suppress a soft smile and nods instead, walking over to the other and gently nudges the wincing villain towards the woods.

"WHAT?!"

"It's absolutely quiet in there. And it even has a bed. That would be much better for you than sleeping on a bench or..."

"Do you think I'm THAT stupid!?" Robbie immediately turns around and wants to dash off. Just away from here. Away from this cheap trick. Away from this AIRSHIP!

"Robbie, wait!" once again this day Sportacus blocks the villain's way, his expression hurt "I would never trick you! I want you to REST!"

"You're gonna lock me up in there! Or even fly off! You KNOW that I hate heights!" Robbie starts to shake at the mere thought of being stuck up there in the hero's airship...AGAIN. "Yes, I know. That's why I'd never do that to you," states Sportacus now gently and reaches out to touch the villain's arm once more. Again, the other winces back. The fear has returned to his eyes and body language and Sportacus quickly takes a step back, signalling that he doesn't want to grab and force the inventor to enter the ship in any way. Robbie blinks slowly when he notices that. Then it slowly dawns on him that, if Sportacus REALLY wanted to lock him up in any way this would've already happened by now because not even the town villain is so bold to believe that he'd stand a chance against the hero's strength. "It... It's too...bright in there, anyway..." murmurs Robbie finally and glances at the airship, shuffling with his feet in a nervous manner "...I couldn't sleep there like that..."

"Oh, it has blinds! I can turn it completely dark inside, don't worry!" Sportacus can't hide his happiness over the inventor's voluntary talking now. Robbie gives him a shy but also slightly disbelieving look "Why...does it even bother you if I can sleep? Do you...want me out of the way for..." he doesn't finish his sentence, he just looks questioning at the hero. "No. That truly got nothing to do with that. More...on the contrary. I..." Sportacus hesitates and tries to consider how much open talk might scare Robbie off again, but then he decides to risk it "I'm worried about you."

Robbie blinks once. Slowly. Then he blinks again before asking barely audible "You're what?"

"Worried."

"Worried?" echoes the villain still as lowly and then he sighs softly, turns away very slowly and murmurs "Should've thought that you're just making fun of me with this whole thing..."

"Robbie?" Sportacus becomes even more concerned at hearing this "What are you talking about?! I'm not making fun of you! I'd never..."

"Yeah, okay. Joke's over now, okay? I got it..." Robbie weakly waves his hand again and his shoulders drop even more "I understand..."

"No, obviously you DON'T!" now Sportacus jumps over him again, blocks his way and tries to look into Robbie's eyes "This is no joke! Robbie, I REALLY am worried about you! Since Ziggy said what they're doing...you look...so..." he searches for the right word "...sad... Ziggy noticed, too! We agreed that I should follow you to make sure..."

"...that I don't cause any trouble?"

"...that you'll be OKAY! And now I know for certain that you are NOT! Robbie..." carefully, Sportacus reaches out with one hand but this time he doesn't touch the other but offers him his bare palm "Please. Come inside and tell me what is wrong out of a sudden. You're not your usual self..."

Robbie stares down at the offered hand and feels that he's close to either sobbing or breaking into a cold sweat...maybe both... But then he blinks in utter confusion when he watches his own shaking hand rise and then lower again very slowly into the offered, strong hand of the hero. Sportacus is just as surprised by his action but he manages to push this feeling aside and instead focuses on closing his hand very, very lightly and softly around the villain's, locking his own eyes with Robbie's still scared ones and gently pulling him over to the airship, whispering softly "Come. Let's take a seat..."

Why did he let this happen? How could he allow himself getting dragged her by the town hero? Although...admittedly 'dragged' doesn't do the gentle treatment of the hero any justice. Robbie groans lowly and wraps his arms tighter around himself. "Are you cold, Robbie?"

He winces at Sportacus' low question and blinks his eyes open again. Strange. When did he even close them?...

"No... I'm... I'm good..." his voice sounds strange even to his own ears. Sportacus swallows his comment that he looks just like the opposite is the case and walks over to him instead, but keeping a certain distance so the other won't have to shrink back again. "I put a glass and a bottle of water next to the bed in case you are thirsty when you wake up. And there are more blankets in the closet over there…"

"...Thanks..." Robbie doesn't know what else to do or say but then he asks again "And it's...really okay for you if I...sleep in your bed? I mean..." his voice trails off. Sportacus suppresses a sigh and smiles softly instead. They just had a five minute discussion about this topic because Robbie's first instinct was to yell in audible but surprising panic "I'm NOT sleeping in your bed, Sportaflop!!!"

But Sportacus has managed to talk him into it after a while.

So now he smiles even more encouragingly and nods "It's perfectly fine for me, really. Don't worry about it! Just try to get some sleep... You...need it..."

The inventor is too exhausted to argue with that and so he just nods, mutters once more "Thanks..." and then almost stumbles over to the bed, drops down on it and then fixes his eyes on the hero. Sportacus understands at once "I'll be gone then. But if you need anything..."

Robbie weakly shakes his head no. "Okay... See you later then. Sleep well!" with a small, soft smile, the hero leaves the airship and the villain alone in it to get some urgently needed sleep...

"Robbie!?" Sportacus dashes into the airship "Lights!"

"Ah!" Robbie sits up with a jerk and shut squeezed eyes at the bright light, trembling violently and clutching to the blanket. "Robbie!" the hero is next to the shaking man at once "Robbie, are you okay???" The other is panting heavily but he finally manages to open his eyes again and blinks repeatedly, staring at the hero...and at his hand that he put on Robbie's shoulder right away when he arrived at the bed. Then he stammers lowly "Y-Yes..."

"Are you sure?!" Sportacus can't help himself, he reaches out to cup Robbie's cheek to hold his head steady. But the villain winces back again reflexively and nearly falls off the bed during this. "Robbie!" the hero quickly catches him and pulls him into a proper position, then he once again gets into a distance that will calm the other and tries to talk softly "Easy. It's okay."

"Y-You tell me... You came in here screaming, S-Sportaf-flop!" stammers the other and swallows hard and starts to rub his shoulder in an attempt to get rid of the feeling of the hero's hand there. Not because it's unpleasant! The opposite is the case. But that only scares him more... "I'm sorry," Sportacus frowns, disappointed in himself "I... I just reacted like this because...my crystal went off and showed me that you were in distress so I hurried here and wanted to help you..."

"Well then you... Your crystal...was mistaken!" snaps Robbie suddenly and looks away. He doesn't want to be this mean to the hero who obviously just wanted to help. But his instincts...his panic tells him to shut any attempt of the other off because he's simply afraid...to get hurt...

"Robbie," Sportacus' gentle voice rids him out off his dark, confused thoughts "My crystal never is mistaken. Come on. Tell me what is wrong..."

"Nothing!"

"Robbie."

The villain looks away and then tries to focus on the white wall, telling himself to breathe and to ignore everything he's feeling right now...

Sportacus sighs mutely. Why is the other refusing to tell him what is upsetting him? His eyes move over the bed and finally reach the pillow. He furrows his brows and then carefully, unnoticed by the inventor reaches out to touch it. It's soaked. Soaked with tears. So his crystal WAS right.

"...You didn't sleep at all...did you, Robbie?..." asks the hero finally softly. The villain closes his eyes and a shuddering breath escapes him. He feels called out. He feels horrible for ranting at the hero like that. He feels...sad...

"...No... I didn't..." his voice breaks. Suddenly everything becomes unimportant. "I was busy crying my eyes out," he states emotionlessly and glances at the hero's hand at the pillow "...As you probably already figured..."

Sportacus notices his change of voice at once and grows even more concerned "Why did you cry, Robbie? Why didn't you talk to me when I asked you..."

"Because it doesn't matter."

"How can you say that? You cried about it. This..."

"I should go. I can't sleep here either so it doesn't matter where I am, anyway. But thanks for trying," he gives him an as well emotionless smile and stands up from the bed, swaying slightly but without noticing it as it seems. "Robbie," Sportacus jumps up and follows him outside, softly calling his name again and again until he finally calls a little louder "Why does Pride Month upset you so much?"

Robbie freezes. He feels something inside his chest shattering, gasps and clenches his hands into fists. "Robbie?" Sportacus approaches him carefully, seeing how bad he starts to shake out of a sudden "Robbie, you should..." At this moment the villain breaks down crying and sobbing. "Oh, Robbie..." Sportacus sighs lowly, then he kneels down behind the other and carefully wraps his arms around him, ignoring his low cry and wincing this time and softly murmurs "Come. Let's sit down over there..."