A/N: This was written for a 'Firsts' Prompt Meme.

Rating: PG
Warning: N/A.
Word Count: 600+
Characters: Sam Evans/Cooper Anderson

"Coop, come on. It'll be so much fun, I promise!"

"I've already told you, it's not my scene."

Sam sighs and crosses his arms, raising an eyebrow at Cooper, who has his face buried in the book he's been pretending to read for the past half an hour.

"You mean because it's the gay scene?" Sam asks, and Cooper finally glances up at Sam, hesitating.

"Well ... yeah."

"I don't know if you've noticed, Cooper, but you're dating a guy," Sam deadpans, looking seriously unimpressed and slightly put-out.

"I'm not gay, though," Cooper replies, like that explains everything.

"Yeah, neither am I, but it's a pride parade. We're not committing to date guys for the rest of our lives or whatever, we're just gonna walk down a street covered in rainbows and get drunk on cheap beer. It's just fun."

"I don't know, Sam ..."

The streets of Ohio are alive and bursting with energy, music blaring and people everywhere, screaming and laughing and singing. There's no end to the outrageous costumes and blinding array of lights, and Sam couldn't be happier. He's shirtless, his body covered with every colour on the rainbow and his face streaked with even more paint, his eyes wide and excited as he holds onto Cooper's hand tight.

He couldn't convince Cooper to go shirtless with him, but he did manage to get him into a shirt with I LOVE COCK written across it in a bright pink font, so he considers that a success in itself.

The fact that he talked Cooper into coming at all, actually, is a feat to be proud of. It hadn't been easy, but after serenading him with Justin Bieber and getting down on one knee to beg, Cooper had given in with a roll of his eyes and agreed to go, if only to shut him up.

So here they are, hand-in-hand at the pride parade and having the time of their lives. Even if Cooper keeps trying to play it cool, acting as though he's only doing this to please Sam, Sam definitely doesn't miss the moments where Cooper can't fight his grin, bouncing on his toes as he looks around and soaks in the environment.

Those moments are the ones where Sam pulls Cooper in for a kiss, his smile playful and mocking when he eventually pulls back, and Cooper gives him a look every time before going back to acting bored, as if Sam hadn't just called his bluff.

They spend all day at the parade, walking and dancing and drinking and eating, talking with the people around them as if they've known them for years. Even as the streets start emptying out and getting quiet, they don't go home, simply wandering through Ohio and eventually making their way towards an empty park, sitting on the grass with beers in their hands and relaxing in comfortable silence.

Sam leans back against Cooper's chest and sighs happily as he snuggles close, tilting his head back to look up at Cooper.

"So?" he asks, and Cooper glances down at him with a confused frown.

"So what?"

"Is the pride parade still not your scene?"

Cooper's lips curl into a small smile and he looks across the park, where he can still see all the streamers and lights of the parade in the distance, and Sam smiles knowingly before Cooper even replies.

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it was be," Cooper says eventually, trying to feign nonchalance, but Sam laughs and gives Cooper a smug grin. He lifts his head off Cooper's shoulder and turns around, pulling Cooper in for a lingering kiss, and he only pulls back when he feels Cooper sigh in defeat.

"You know you loved it."

"I guess I might have, a little bit."

FIN.
Feedback is appreciated.