#it'd be nice if bigotry weren't still alive and writhing by the time the kaiju war ended

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Happy Pride!! Do you think Chuck and Raleigh would celebrate? If so, how? -Kai

Oh, man!

Because Raleigh has no intention of “celebrating” at all, at least not in public. Everyone who needs to know at the shatterdome knows, and that’s enough for him. Most of the outside world thinks he’s straight, and he’s not exactly thrilled with that, but it’s none of anyone’s business that Raleigh Becket, golden boy and savior of the world, is bisexual. He’s done far too many post-Pitfall interviews and press tours as it is, and he just wants to keep this one thing to himself.

Chuck has no patience for that shit.

He’s been stuck in battle mode for more than half his life, and he wasn’t even really aware that Pride was a thing until Mako brought it to his attention by wearing a rainbow scarf into a planning meeting one morning. Once she explained, he was on fire to Do The Thing.

Needless to say, he was a bit put out when Raleigh said no and meant it.

“Oi, there’s a parade tomorrow and everything. I wanna go be in it. I’ve never had a parade that wasn’t for the goddamn war before, and I fucking want to go.”

“So go.”

“With. You.”

“I’m not going.”

Grumbling, Chuck crossed his arms and pouted. “You don’t wanna be seen with me? ‘M I suddenly not good enough for Raleigh Fucking Becket?”

Rolling his eyes, Raleigh stood up from where he’d been lounging on his bunk and moved to stand right in Chuck’s face. “If you want to announce that we’re together from the mountaintops, that’s fine. Herc can put together a press release in an hour.” He shrugged. “But if you want me to lead a parade, the great Raleigh Becket in a trademarked rainbow shirt with a pithy slogan on it so the news can have a soundbite to replay over and over… no.”

“But mate, think how many people out there would feel strong enough to come out knowing a hero like you is–”

“No.”

“Raleigh–”

“Chuck. I said no.” His jaw clenched. “You don’t… I can’t….”

Surprised by the vehemence of the response – Raleigh hadn’t so much as quibbled at Chuck’s initial, awkward overtures and freely admitted he was bi, so where was the problem? – Chuck backed down, though not without feeling a bit hurt.

And Raleigh saw that hurt and sagged, his head lowering.

“You don’t get how it was, okay?”

Chuck didn’t know what had happened, but it had clearly been enough to cause this much ruffle in a man who’d looked into another dimension without flinching. If it was bad enough to make Raleigh Becket balk….

So, instead of getting petulant or, worse, angry, Chuck softened his tone. “Tell me?”

Sighing, the bloke sat back down on the bed. “You weren’t really in the program for the glory years, were you? When we were all rock stars?”

Wary of a misstep but wanting to help now that he realized there was a problem, Chuck slowly sat down beside the poor sod. “I was in the academy. Reckon I knew how it was, but yeah, by the time I was able to pilot, jaegers were already falling on the regular.”

Raleigh nodded without looking at him. “Yance and I were the golden boys. All-American beef, not too bright but very photogenic. The PPDC trotted us out into the limelight every chance they got. Showed us off like prize pigs at a county fair.”

Chuck cleared his throat. “I might remember a bit of that. Might still have some publicity stills, if I’m honest.”

That got a glance from blue eyes that finally held a hint of warmth and just the tiniest quirk of a grin.

“Good to know. Anyway, Yance was straight as an arrow, but I’ve always had an eye for both. Once word of that got to the brass….” The hint of amusement faded, and the bloke looked away again. “They clamped down on it like a vice. No word of any scandal, or we were out on our asses. No hint of anything but good ol’ heterosexual boys being heterosexual boys. We could bang all the female jaeger flies in the world, but if I so much as kissed a man….”

Chuck wanted to storm from the room and find someone to beat up. Preferably whatever homophobic fuckshit had come up with such a bullshit policy. Since that fucker was likely dead or holed up in the so-called safe zone where all the rich wankers had migrated inland, he made himself stay put.

“Anyway.” Raleigh shrugged like it didn’t mean anything, but his shoulders were too stiff to pull it off. “Just… you can see why I don’t want to be the PPDC’s poster gay now when they refused to acknowledge me when it could’ve done the most good.”

No one had ever told Chuck to hide who he was. Hell, he was actively encouraged to be as big an insufferable ass as possible because, by the time he was comfortable enough in the spotlight to spout off, the PPDC needed all the press it could get, good or bad. To find out that Raleigh had been threatened, had been bullied into cutting off that part of himself, into hiding it away until the end of the fucking world had made such things moot….

He forced his fists to unclench, then put an arm around the bloke’s broad shoulders. “Listen, mate. Maybe… maybe now is when it would do the most good.”

Blue eyes shot him an annoyed, narrow-eyed glance.

“I’m serious.” Sighing, he leaned his forehead against the bloke’s temple, plastering himself up against Raleigh’s side. “All that shit is done, yeah? The whole world is starting over. Mate, I’m not asking you to be the poster child, eh?”

Raleigh stayed silent and still. Unmoved.

“Raleigh, love… you saved the whole damn world. That means you get to tell it to go to hell and be who the fuck you want to be, yeah?” He huffed softly, giving the rigid bloke a gentle squeeze. “Who the fuck would dare to tell you different?”

After a long, long moment, that hard, resisting body relaxed a bit. Relaxed a bit more. Gave in and actually leaned against him in return.

“You really, really wanna be in a non-military parade, don’t you?”

He grinned against the silly wanker’s cheek. “In the worst way, mate.”

Lo and behold, Raleigh actually chuckled and turned his head until they leaned forehead to forehead. “Such a jerk.”

Smirking softly, he opened his eyes and looked at the pretty bloke he’d been lost on since the moment he strode into the jaeger bay looking like a homeless person. Beautiful, really, even with those knock-out baby blues closed.

“I’m not asking you to lead the parade, Raleigh. Not even asking you to wave at the cameras or make nice with the press or be a role model for baby gays in need of a hero to emulate.” Another gentle squeeze. “Just wanna walk down the street with thousands of people like us, holding your hand with one hand and flipping off the homophobes with the other.”

Another chuckle, and the bloke opened his eyes. Jesus, that blue. Went right to Chuck’s heart every goddamn time.

“Okay, okay. That, I think I can do.”

Elated, he gave the bloke an impulsive kiss, then smiled against those pretty lips. “Too right, mate.”

“But I’m not wearing a slogan.”

“You don’t have to.”

“…I might wear a rainbow.”

“That can be arranged.”

Grinning, they separated enough to actually plan their strategy. They had a Pride parade to attend, and Chuck intended to do it fucking right.

Herc decided to go along for solidarity. Mako, of course, had already planned to attend. Pentecost had to resort to a wheelchair most days, thanks to the more aggressive chemotherapies sapping his strength, but if Mako was going, he was going. She had supported him all those years, and it was his turn to support her.

In the end, almost the entire shatterdome ended up marching, some as allies and some as active participants, and the ones that didn’t go watched on their viewscreens and cheered their fellow ‘dome mates on.

And when it was all over and Raleigh swore he’d be washing glitter out of every fold and crevice of his body until Christmas, even he had to admit that it had been a damn good day.

The next year, Chuck didn’t even have to ask.