A/N This is just a hastily written one-shot based of this tumblr post. Please be kind: this is my first proper fanfic on here. I hope you enjoy, please review!
"Come to Pride with me tomorrow!"
Patsy Mount stared at her girlfriend in shock. Had she heard correctly? London Pride. She'd seen it once, on her way to a difficult delivery. At the time it had simply been a nuisance, a noisy throng to fight through. But now… Surely they were her people? Surely it was a place where her and Delia could be themselves, for one glorious afternoon of freedom?
"Deels, I…"
Delia Busby raised an eyebrow, and stared at Patsy challengingly.
"You what?"
"I…"
I'm scared I won't belong, because you're the only one who knows and who has ever known.
I'm scared of not fitting in, of the crowds, the noise, the people so confident and happy in their identity.
I'm scared of being found out.
I'm scared that everyone at Nonnatus won't want me there anymore.
She swallowed, fighting back these thoughts. "I don't know what to say. Isn't it dangerous? The crowds? Your injury?"
Delia ran a hand through her shining chocolate coloured hair, and sighed. They both knew her head had healed a long, long time ago. They both knew why Patsy was really afraid to go.
"Its 2016, Pats." Delia spoke gently, her words falling from her lilting lips like honey. "They can't fire you for being gay. They can't force you to come out, either. But… I want to do this. As us. For us "
Pats swallowed. She didn't want to, couldn't…and yet, Delia wanted to. Her Delia. She met her girlfriends questioning eyes, and sighed : she knew the battle was lost. How weak she was in the face of her love. And yet, as Delia pulled her in for a kiss, somehow she didn't mind.
And now here she was, a lost midwife in a twisting and turning sea of rainbows. London Pride. Her stomach turned as she gazed at all the people, and considered running, back to Nonnatus House, to safety, to anywhere away from the noise and the smell and the crowd. And then Delia was there.
Her eyes shone, sparkling in the bright sunlight. She had about seven pride flags sticking out from her backpack, and two more stuck into her messy plaits (she had let Patsy do her hair that day, as a conciliation for being dragged along). She had rainbows in face paint streaking across her cheeks, already half melted in the heat, and had somehow managed to get glitter everywhere. She looked like a small, bouncy rainbow, and Patsy was suddenly reminded of all the reasons why she fell in love with her, plus three more. At least.
"How on earth did you manage to get like this? You were gone for five minutes, if that!"
Delia grinned, reaching up on tiptoe to kiss Patsy's cheek lightly. "That's for me to know and for you to find out."
Patsy rolled her eyes, but had to laugh, taking Delia's hand and smiling. This was Pride. She was doing this for Delia, and she was resigned to her fate. That was, until, her girlfriend giggled and brandished the rainbow face paint…
Trixie Franklin was lonely. She listened to the music, the cheering and the chattering floating from the roads to her left, and sighed. It was Pride today, and she longed with all her heart to be there, to join in with the glitter, the parading, the fun , most of all, the sense of unity. Suddenly her eyes lit up, as she examined her watch, then the turning to the left ahead of her. Half an hour. It would be nice to take a longer route home. You know, to enjoy the sunshine… Naturally.
Patsy weaved in and out of smiling strangers, breathless more from laughter than from running; Delia kept on getting distracted by talking to/dancing with/helping random Pride goers, and while this was a race, she was not letting her girlfriend out of her sight. Delia twirled towards her, breathless and sparkling.
"You have nowhere to run, Patsy Mount. I have cornered you at last!" Delia leaned in, swiping her face with cold rainbow face paint. Patsy grinned, placing her hands on Delia's waist.
"I'm not so sure I'm the loser here Feels," she whispered, pulling Delia close and kissing her. So Pride was turning out better than she had thought after all.
"Patsy!"
The couple broke apart, Delia smiling softly and Patsy going bright red at the sound of the familiar voice. She stood ramrod straight, glancing from Trixie to Delia like a deer in headlights.
"T-Trixie…Hi! I…we…um, we weren't…. You won't-"
Trixie leant her bike against a nearby wall, taking in the smudged face paint, the messy hair, and the crumpled Pride flags. She grinned. "Darling, what on earth are you on about? You were kissing your girlfriend. That's okay."
Patsy's mouth dropped open, and both Delia and Trixie laughed. How on earth did she know?
"Patsy, everyone knows. It's okay, I promise." Delia shot Patsy a knowing look, before grabbing Trixie's arm and waving the face paint.
"C'mon, Nurse Franklin. Lets get you ready for this parade!"
Everyone knows. Everyone knows. Trixie' words flew around and around in Patsy's head until she thought her head would burst. They knew. They still liked her. She still had her job.
Shrieks of laughter broke her thoughts, and she looked up to see Trixie covered in face paint, posing for Delia's Snapchat with pride flags in her pocket, her hair, her shoes… Oh dear God. Patsy put her head in her hands, before deciding to make a retreat to the wall with the bike. Perhaps she could pretend not to know them?
"So, you knew?" Delia managed to murmur so that Patsy could not see as she deftly applied face paint and ruined Trixie's makeup at the same time. Trixie nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Almost everyone guessed. I don't know why Patsy was so shocked. We just guessed you guys needed time to, you know, make it official?"
Delia sighed. "Pats is scared she'll lose her job."
Trixie raised an eyebrow, and Delia nodded in agreement. "Its stupid, I know."
"Extremely" Trixie replied, gazing at Patsy standing on her own. "I think you should go and talk to her. I'll go and enjoy this beautiful thing!" She swayed off, somehow managing to still look wonderful despite Delia's less than wonderful paint job, and blew the pair of them a kiss over her shoulder.
Delia moved back to Patsy's side, and laid her head on her shoulder. They didn't need any words. They each knew what the other was thinking, clear as if they were in each other's minds.
"I love you Deels" Her whisper carried so much more than love. A relief at acceptance, a joy at freedom, and an overwhelming sense of belonging. Delia understood . She took her hand gently, and they stayed like that for a long time.
"Do you think she needs help? That girl is so obviously chatting her up, and Trixie is so straight its unbelievable" Patsy pointed to a glowing Trixie talking to a beautiful pink haired girl, whose body language highly indicated flirting.
Delia giggled, grateful for the break in the long silence. "Lets go and see" The pair moved through the crowd, holding hands tightly. They were more unified somehow, Patsy more confident in her surroundings. She finally felt like she belonged.
"We're too late!" Patsy hissed, as they moved closer and overheard the pink haired girl asking Trixie for her number, and coffee. She waited with baited breath for the realisation in Trixie's eyes, the awkward refusal. What she was not expecting was Trixie's acceptance of the offer, or for her to kiss the girl in question.
What. Trixie just…. Oh gosh.
Trixie turned, flushed and grinning, and for the first time Patsy saw the purple, pink and blue striped on her cheeks.
"You're….you…." Patsy stammered. Trixie met her eye, grinning sheepishly.
"Bi? Kissed a girl? You and your adorable romance kind of steal the gay show in Nonnatus; no one notices me. Besides, you never told me about you and Delia anyway." Patsy sighed. "I cannot believe this! "
Trixie grinned, taking her hand and pulling her and Delia further into the parade.
"Show a little Pride, ladies!"