"I don't know about this, Chlo…"
"I actually agree with Beca for once. This isn't really our kind of place."
Chloe rolled her eyes at her girlfriends' hesitance. "Seriously, you guys? It's a gay pride parade. It's practically the definition of our kind of place." She grabbed Beca's left hand and Aubrey's right and tugged both women toward the large crowd. "Now come on, I want to get closer to the front so Beca can see."
They pushed through the seemingly endless throngs of people in various (and some strange) states of dress and undress until they finally broke the front line. Beca and Aubrey exchanged uncomfortable glances as they clung to the redhead, who was eagerly awaiting the beginning of the parade.
"The first time I came to a pride parade was when I was little," Chloe explained, voice just barely rising about the excited chatter of the massive crowd. "My uncle Vince and his husband Jordan took me to Miami Pride when I was six and I've gone every year since. All these people who tend to be cast out by family or friends or society as a whole just gather to celebrate and love themselves and each other in spite of all the hate they may face and it's just such a beautiful thing, y'know?" The blonde and the brunette nodded. "I wanted you guys to experience it at least once because it's such a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by people who love and accept you for who you are. We can be out here, we can all three be together here, and no one cares. No one will glare at us or tell us we're disgusting or going to hell or whatever. We can just be us."
Aubrey broke first, smiling softly at her redheaded girlfriend before wrapping her arms around the other woman's neck. "I love you, Bug."
The shorter girl kissed her cheek with a grin and replied, "I love you too, baby."
The two older women stared expectantly at their shorter girlfriend until a smile finally broke out on the brunette's face. "I guess I love you guys, too."
Chloe grabbed the smaller girl's hand and pulled her into a three-way hug, laughing at the groan she received in response. "Hey, Mister Grumpy Gills."
"Oh, not this again. I'm not grumpy. I'm just not a hugger."
"Mister," the redhead teased.
"Grumpy," Aubrey added, enjoying picking on the younger girl. They may be dating, but that desire to agitate the brunette never quite went away.
"Gills," the two older girls chorused, sporting matching smirks.
"God, I hate you guys," Beca grumbled, pulling away and crossing her arms in mock anger.
"Psh, you love us. Don't even lie."
"No I don't!" Beca cried, lips quirking upward. The blonde and the redhead each wrapped an arm around the brunette's waist and planted sloppy kisses on her cheeks. "Ugh, you're people, not dogs; you don't have to slobber all over my face."
"Admit that we're your favorite people and you love us more than anything or we'll keep doing it," Chloe instructed.
The brunette shook her head and chuckled. "You two are my favorite people in the world and I love you more than anything."
The redhead beamed. "See, that wasn't so hard," she replied. "Ooh, look, it's starting!" She pointed off in the distance where a multitude of people could be seen making their way down the empty street with signs and balloons and other things that they couldn't quite make out just yet. Beca and Aubrey followed the other woman's gaze and their eyes widened. Although neither would admit it, they were both getting increasingly excited with every passing moment.
After the third or fourth group of people passed them, the blonde and brunette had loosened up almost completely and were cheering and beaming along with everyone else.
When Chloe got bored with the parade, they made their way to the park where various stalls had been set up. The trio perused each and every stall, buying a few t-shirts and picking up multiple pamphlets, stickers, pens, and any other free items that were available. They stuffed all of their goodies in Beca's backpack before finding a hotdog stand and purchasing food.
Aubrey pulled a blanket out of her bag and spread it out on a patch of grass. The three women plopped down on top of it and ate, enthusiastically chattering about their experience.
"I can't believe you asked that guy if you could touch his abs!" Beca chuckled with a shake of her head.
Chloe shrugged good-naturedly, laughing along with her girlfriend. "He was hot and his abs were fantastic!"
The brunette made a face and faked a gagging noise. "Ew. No. He had a dick. And it was attached to his body. That immediately ruins any possible attractiveness."
"Oh, hush. Just because you don't like dicks, doesn't mean we don't. And besides you got your picture taken with a girl dressed as Catwoman because, and I quote, 'She has the third best T&A I've ever seen.' I don't think you're allowed to say anything here," Aubrey pointed out with a smirk.
"I'm not gonna deny it," the shorter woman replied. "She was so hot. I thought I was gonna pass out. That suit was so tight, I just wanted to-"
"Alright, lovergirl, calm down before you bust a nut." At the raised eyebrow she received in response, Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Metaphorically speaking, smartass. I am fully aware that you don't have any actual nuts to bust."
The three women giggled at the blonde's comment and Beca stood, telling the other two that she'll return momentarily before grabbing their discarded hotdog wrappers and walking away. She dropped the wrappers in a nearby trashcan and turned to go back to her girlfriends but stopped short when she saw them snuggled up on the blanket. Her lips curled into a soft smile and she remained where she was in order to take in the scene before her.
"I know that look," a voice beside her startled her. She snapped her head to the left to see two older women standing next to her smiling.
"Huh?"
"That look on your face," the woman closest to her explained, "I know that look. That's how I look at my wife here." She kissed her wife's cheek. "So which one are you looking at?"
"Oh, uh," Beca stuttered, "Those two girls over there." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.
"Those two cuddling on the blanket over there?"
"Uh, yeah." The brunette studied the two women's faces for any sign of contempt, but was surprised when they grinned at her.
"They're adorable. You're a lucky girl."
Beca nodded. "Yeah, I know."
"They obviously make you very happy so do me a favor and hang onto them, alright? Don't listen to anything anybody says about you three. Be proud of who you are and the fact that you have two incredible women who you love and who love you in return. Not everyone thinks our love or your love is acceptable, but honestly, anyone who thinks that can kiss my ass."
"Will do."
"Good. Well, you should get back to them. I'm sure they miss you. Have a good time today and remember what I said!" The woman reminded as she wandered off, hand in hand with her wife.
She watched them disappear for a few moments before returning to the spot where her girlfriends were snuggled up next to each other. Aubrey noticed her and rolled onto her back, allowing Chloe to curl into her right side and Beca to cuddle up to her left.
"What took you so long, Becs?" Chloe questioned tiredly.
"Just making friends."
"Oh yeah?" Aubrey asked, disbelief evident in her voice.
"Yeah," the brunette answered. "By the way, I think we should do this every year. It's incredible."
The redhead perked up. "Really?"
"Yeah. I mean, the people here are so fantastic and I feel safe to be open about our relationship here. And it's a lot of fun."
"Bree? How do you feel?"
"I agree with Beca. You were right about how amazing it is," Aubrey answered with a smile.
"That's great! I'm so excited! Maybe next year we can dress up!" Chloe babbled excitedly, all traces of exhaustion gone. The blonde groaned quietly.
"Yeah, sure we can, Bug."
Both older women were stunned by the brunette's consent to something she was usually adamantly against (it took them a week to convince her to dress up for Halloween).
Finally, the blonde's shock wore off and she cried, "Don't encourage her, Beca!" But it was too late. The redhead was already planning their outfits for Atlanta Pride 2014. "You suck," she whispered in the brunette's ear.
"I know. But look how happy she is. Isn't it worth it just to see her so excited?" Beca murmured.
Aubrey's lips quirked upward when she whispered back, "You're right. But you still suck. You're usually the bad guy on stuff like this, what changed?"
The brunette remembered the two women she had talked to earlier and smiled. Shrugging nonchalantly, she replied, "Just like seeing my girls happy, that's all."