[A/N]: Hi, I'm a bi here to say that just because it's July does NOT MEAN that Pride is over :0 Pride is every day for the LGBT+ community! I'm 99% sure that this is a dead fandom but like, the idea just came to me and WOWP was one of my favorite shows and I just always wanted some kind of rep in it so... I wrote this extra long one shot :D hope you guys enjoy!
(Note: this takes place in 2012, after Zeke Finds Out, and more notes on the AU in the end note)
"Ahem."
One brow strained downward and the other tilted ever so slightly up, Justin peered up from the New Magic Times to see what his sister wanted. She appeared to be bouncing with utter glee whilst holding the hand of her less obviously ecstatic but possibly even more so on the inside girlfriend, Stevie; though, Alex seemed to want something more than to show off her happiness.
"What do you want? To rub your girlfriend in my face?" Justin groaned, readjusting his newspaper. "I have things to do, you know." He folded the paper on his lap. "For example, I have classes to plan. That's the only reason Stevie is back, anyway. To make up for everything?" He pursed his lips, waiting for a reaction from Alex and/or Stevie. When he didn't get one, he sighed and leaned on the arm of his chair. His hand covered his face. "Okay, seriously, what do you want?"
"Stevie and I are going to Pride!" Alex burst out. She was grinning from ear to ear as her grip on Stevie's hand tightened, and vice versa. Stevie was better at hiding her clearly requited affection in order to keep her laid-back persona.
Justin's fingers slipped down over his nose to reveal his coldly blazing viridian eyes. "And? I don't think you need an escort. Mom and Dad aren't going to be back for a week from SanfranSandwichCon, so who am I going to tell?"
Seeing his unamused expression, Alex suddenly got cold feet and bit her lip. Stevie noticed this and sighed.
"Of course not. We just wanted to know if you'd like to come with us," she said.
Upon hearing this, Justin's eyes widened. He removed his hand from his face to his chest, clearly taken aback and somewhat offended. "What makes you think I'm gay?"
Feeling the statement was pointed at her, Stevie held up her hands in protest. "Hey, I don't know, man! That's just what Alex says."
Alex rolled her eyes. "Come on, everyone knows your first kiss was Zeke!"
"We were twelve! That absolutely does not count!"
"Also, you stare at Mason weirdly," Alex pointed out.
"Because he is a very weird English man," Justin quickly brushed the statement off. "I still can't believe you two broke it off so easily."
"He's an understanding guy," Alex explained. "He was a little jealous at first, I think, but he realized that I just really love Stevie." Alex now put her arm around her girlfriend.
"Whatever, I'm not going to Pride. Sorry," Justin said, picking his newspaper back up. He stood from his seat and sidled past the happy couple, out of the lair.
Making sure he was out of their sight, he crumpled up the paper and pitched it into the trashcan. He never was a good throw, but he didn't feel like picking it up for once. He did anyway. He made sure to stomp off and as far away from the freezer as he could.
Only stomping until when he encountered Mason sitting at the bar, Justin froze completely. His face flushed red, staring with heart-eyes at the werewolf and remembering what Alex said. There was just something that he couldn't explain and—Oh god, he actually did look at him weirdly. It was hard to stare away from the fluffy brunette hair. Mason just always smelled so nice—like a love potion. Thus, a bit like floss, pumpkin pie, and parchment. His sweet quirks were adorable and Justin found that they often enjoyed the same books and series. It was all too enticing. But, he couldn't like Mason. Even though he always did. Juliet was still ever present in his mind, and the two had dated in the past. Plus, Mason just broke up with Alex not two months ago. It would be too weird, and much too awkward. Besides, he'd be taking a big chance if he didn't finish the wizarding competition in first else be stripped of his wizardry altogether. At least Alex and Stevie had the choice to give their powers up for the other and go live in Paris or something. Justin wasn't about to jump into a romance with a magical being headfirst. Again.
Drawing him away from his inner monologue, Mason returned the stare, though it wasn't as poignant or fixed. His lids were more lax, and his eyes wavered from boredom. By the way his knuckles rested on his cheeks, he seemed to be waiting on someone.
He perked up when Justin waved to him. "Justin, have you seen the girls? We're going to the pride parade on Main Street." He gestured to a rubber bracelet that had the colors of pink, yellow, and blue on it. The flag-like bracelet had Harper's markings all over it. It was really cute. Mason reached into his sweater jacket and produced a couple other bracelets. One was like his and the other was pink, purple, and blue. They seemed to be for Justin, which made him smile. Mason grinned, seeing Justin's excitement. "Alex wasn't sure which one you were, so Harper and I made both. Are you bi or pan?"
Justin sighed, exasperated with this questioning. "I'm not either! I loved Juliet, isn't that obvious? I've only ever dated girls," he said, staring away from Mason.
Mason didn't seem to recognize his anger, too caught up in happiness. "That doesn't mean you can't also like others. You should come as an ally at least."
Hearing Mason try to convince him to go to the parade made his heart flutter. Surely there was some chance he might have requited these strange feelings? Even so, Justin still didn't feel right about it yet. "I really just don't want to go. Pride parades are so big, loud, and raucous. Even if I was gay, I'd much prefer to stay here and read a book." Justin crossed his arms. He noticed Alex and Stevie peeking out of the freezer and gazing at him and Mason with interest.
"You need to get out more. Pride month isn't just once a year, but June's just about the only time it's recognized. We should take advantage of that," Mason shrugged. "They legalized gay marriage last year today. It's right special, I'd think."
"What are you? Bi or pan?" Justin asked.
"Pansexual. I guess they're the same... ish. But, the difference matters to some people and that's okay." Mason smiled. "I just think everyone deserves love, love."
Justin's face scrunched up. His use of British slang was too affectionate. He held a clenched fist and sighed. "I just don't think I want to go."
"Harper and Zeke are going to the parade as allies," Mason said, trying to convince him.
Hearing Zeke's name in conjunction with "Pride" made Justin's heart pang. He swallowed. "That's nice. Nice of them to support you guys."
A clutter and clanging of steps coming down the subshop stairs alerted the two to the presence of three people. Harper, dressed in a black and white sweater with a rainbow triangle on it, purple-tinted mirror shades, high-waisted skinny jeans, and knee-high red go-go boots with matching lipstick led the way. Zeke followed her, preferring to just wear a bracelet in the same design as her sweater rather than go all out with his attire. His lips were the same shade as Harper's, but the hue was obviously not kissed on. Then, pushing them out of the way was Max, donning two capes; one blue, pink, and white cape; the other, rainbow. She also wore black sunglasses and Heely's. She slipped a little, coming down the flight of stairs. Justin gasped at her, shocked at the revelation that his littlest sibling wasn't just an ally. Mason stood up to get a better look at Harper and Max's standout appearances.
"Wow! I figured there was a reason you guys were taking so long... but wow," Mason said, breathless.
Examining the clothing more closely, Justin walked around the counter to scrutinize the design choices. They were really nice-looking. For whatever reason, they made his chest stir. They were like prideful butterflies.
"Actually, we were running late because Zeke couldn't pick a lipstick shade. I just made him take mine," Harper explained. "I've had this outfit prepared since the beginning of January."
Max did a couple of spins with her heeled shoes, managing to get her balance perfected. Her large smile dropped when she noticed Justin gaping at her. She skated up to him, putting her hand over his mouth.
"Don't tell Mom and Dad I'm trans! I'm not ready for them to know yet!" Max said hurriedly. Justin pushed her hand away from his face.
"Why couldn't you have told me sooner?" Justin asked, hurt that he couldn't be trusted with this.
Max skated backward, ashamed of concealing herself and nearly tripping over a chair. She clung to the back of it to steady herself. "It's just that... you're such a stickler for rules. I didn't know how you'd take it. I came out once, but I got shoved back in the closet."
Justin inhaled sharply as he realized what Max was talking about. She had been talking to him and Alex, and Alex had taken her teasing too far. Max had gotten angry, and Alex told her to "be a big boy", to which Max protested that she wasn't a boy. Alex and Justin had just brushed the statement off. This moment was what had inspired Justin to turn Max physically into a little girl just a couple months ago. She had been back to her previous physical state for a while now.
"I'm sorry that I—"
"Don't apologize. It's okay. It just kind of affirmed things for me," Max chuckled nervously. "Just don't be mad that I came out to Harper first."
"Figured it'd be Alex..." Justin mused.
"It was before Stevie, and I thought Harper was queer, so..." Max shrugged.
"So... you're a lesbian," Justin observed.
"Yes! I am," Max smiled brightly, skating around the subshop in a spritely manner.
"Cool," Justin commented with affection, watching his little sister live her best life.
Alex and Stevie chose that moment to exit the deep freeze and put their arms around his shoulders. They clasped each other's arms behind his neck. He now noticed that Alex was wearing a bisexuality bracelet on her left hand, and while he didn't recognize the lesbian flag, he figured that Stevie was wearing one on her left as well.
"Well, Justin? Are you going to come with us?" Stevie prodded at his last nerve.
"I told you I—"
"You're literally surrounded by the community. The least you could do is support us," Alex argued, putting her hands on her hips.
Stevie put her hands in her jean jacket and looked off to the side. "If you want to keep that stick up your ass, then you can stay here, but we're leaving. With or without you." She ignored the newly furrowed brow of Alex.
Justin's face reddened at her statement, hating to be pushed into the square box of rule-follower. "Fine! I'll go! I'm just going to watch. I'm not getting in it."
"He's a little confused, but he's got the spirit," Harper laughed with Zeke. She walked over to Justin, getting a straight ally bracelet out of her pocket. "I saved it just in case we were wrong about you."
Receiving the bracelet made him lock up. He stared around the room which seemed to be frozen in time. That was because it was frozen in time. He had subconsciously stalled everything. Just to make sure this was what he had done, he strode over to Mason who was frozen with an expression which was not comprehending the turn of events. Justin pushed him gently, to see if he would change positions or just bob back to his original. He did the latter. Justin sighed. This hadn't been the first time this happened, but in all actuality, he had shrunken himself into his own subconscious, subconsciously.
The first time this happened was when he had kissed Zeke. It was also the moment when he found out he was a wizard. There was nothing much to that first time, other than the revelation that there were some things that he wanted to keep hidden within himself. Everything hidden had a lock on it in his subconscious. It was typically the same way for all wizards. At the time, the lock was on Zeke's lips. It was a particularly scarring image.
Now, the lock was around the freezer due to the secret of wizardry and for whatever reason, a canister of cinnamon. Probably because of his allergy. More importantly, it was around the bracelets, still around Zeke's lips, and Mason's entirety. Justin felt something in his pockets. He pulled out a key and grimaced. It was there that time, too. He stared long and hard at all the locks. The freezer was extra locked and had locks bigger than the key. There was no way to open that one. The other ones were able to be opened. He was a horrible secret-keeper. Once these locks were open, he would be completely open about himself.
But, in truth, he really wasn't afraid of being gay, or bisexual, or whatever place he fit in on the spectrum. He was more afraid of thinking that he was betraying himself.
"Man, this place has really changed."
Justin gawked at an old man walking down the steps of the subshop, not affected by the freezing of time. He looked like a mixture of himself and Professor Crumbs, but wearing a flamboyant pineapple jacket, board shorts, shutter shades, and flip flops. He only had one eye, much like Justin always thought he would. His beard was pretty rocking and much cooler, longer, and less crumby compared to Crumbs'. He figured he was right to assume this was an older version of himself. Old man Justin had appeared that first time he had come into subconscious, but only in the disapproving shadows.
"What's up?" the older man asked Justin once he noticed him.
Justin bit the inside of his cheeks and looked down at the floor. "Nothing much."
"Nothing much!" the old man exclaimed. "Come on, man, you've gotta see all this, too. There's been like fifteen hundred locks created since last time. My subconscious is literally lockless, it's great." Older Justin chuckled, leaning against the bar. He examined his nails. "So, like, what's bugging you now?"
"How do you even know to come here every time I do?" Justin asked, frustrated with himself.
Older Justin sighed. "You've only been here like, twice. So, you can't really say I've been here 'every time'. But, just to keep things short, when you get my age, you lock yourself in your subconscious for the rest of your life because some very important people die in the Third Wizarding War. I'm not going to spoil you, don't worry." He smirked at Justin's still worried face. "You're gonna be here a lot. One instance is gonna come up a little bit before the wizarding competition and another one's right afterward. This wasn't really that bad of a decision, but I do kind of wish I could escape. At least, I do in the future. I don't know, it's a weird loop, ugh."
Justin crossed his arms and looked inward. "Be honest. Am I really gay?"
"Uh, yeah babe. It's pretty flippin' obvious. Like, that's not anything to be ashamed about though."
"But does that mean I didn't really love Juliet? Or any other girl I dated?" Justin asked, on the verge of tears. "I loved Juliet. Every second we kissed was heaven."
"Okay, yeah. That's true. You did. You like everyone. And yes, that includes yourself. I would know," Older Justin smirked, watching his younger self come to the realization of what that meant. "I mean, you're gonna call yourself bisexual for a while, and that is honestly so embarrassing looking back at it, but you'll eventually come out as pan." Older Justin looked out at the blank space of subconsciousness. He rolled his eye and lolled his head toward his younger self. "Remember that girl you dated that you found out was cheating on you?"
"Yes. Also, why would I come out as bisexual now knowing I'm pansexual?"
"Because you're still too scared of getting out of your box, but you're not going to admit that to me for a while. Anyway, do you remember when you asked if you could still be with her even if you had to be with him too?"
"Yeah, that was just a knee-jerk reaction."
Older Justin raised a brow. "Was it? You mulled over that for weeks, Justin. You didn't care as long as you could be with her, and you knew he was a bad boy, and that was pretty exciting. Too bad she wasn't into you." He tugged at his flowing beard. "To be polysexual, or not to be polysexual... that is the question."
"I'm fine with my being bisexual, but polysexual just doesn't seem right for me," Justin cringed. "That's like everyone cheating, isn't it?"
"Not at all! You'll change your mind very soon," Older Justin guffawed.
Just then, a wolf padded out of the white space, a broken chain around its foot. Older Justin knelt down and hugged it around the neck. At first, it seemed like Mason's feral wolf version, but its pelt was grey as opposed to Mason's tawny.
"Oh, and if you were wondering why you like Mason more than Zeke—"
"I'm not crushing on either of them!" Justin interjected.
"You've had a crush on Zeke since middle school, sweetie. You've never snapped at Harper, but when she told you she was over you, you didn't know how to feel. You know that took guts for her to do, even if it was after midnight on the balcony. But, instead of supporting her, you told her that you never cared about her and left her in the cold. Alex was right to be mad at you for weeks afterward. And you know there's something very strong drawing you toward Mason. This is it." Older Justin patted the wolf on the back a few times and stood, letting it roam freely. "You can take the man out of the wolf but not the wolf out of the man. Or whatever. We've never been good with metaphors. I'm not like, saying we're a furry. But, you both like to bark sometimes and I just think that's neat. You just can't get rid of lycanthropy all the way. Don't know why anyone ever thought you could. Wizarding science gets so much better in the future."
Justin drew more inward, pressing his legs together. "So what if I do become open about this? Will I be accepted? Or will they think I'm just trying to feel included? I feel weird knowing that they guessed my sexuality before I could even accept myself, and in a way it makes me feel like they've got my back even if society doesn't. Max was already seen as the weird one, and Alex never cared about what anyone thought. I couldn't come out like them without being looked at weird. But I don't want to hide anymore. Yet, I took so many precautions to avoid the subject. I felt like I didn't have to express the other side of myself. That... that the straight side was fine."
"But that led you to quite a bit of misery. You were happy with Juliet. You found a great girl. You're letting a great guy slip away because you're not comfortable with yourself. You don't have to stand out like Max, or rebel against society like Alex. All you need to do is be true to and proud of..." Older Justin shrugged. "... you," he said warmly.
Justin relaxed his shoulders and smiled at the outside of his subconscious. "It feels really good to be validated by myself. I'm grateful for my family and friends, but that was kind of like the second step," Justin chuckled. "Getting this validation was the first, I guess."
Older Justin stood straight and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Wow, we really are bad at metaphors. Buddy, it only gets worse."
"So is this it, then?" Justin toyed with the key in his hand.
"Yeah, for now. You don't need that key though," Older Justin said, pointing at Mason who became lockless as the other objects had with the exceptions of the freezer and cinnamon.
"Oh. Cool." Justin gave a sigh of relief, clutching the key in a tight fist. "Can I leave now?"
Older Justin shook his head with a smile. "Honey, you could've left anytime you wanted."
Justin blinked and the old man was gone. He looked around to see that motion had been restored to the others. He still felt something in his hand. He opened his previously clutched fist to reveal a bisexuality bracelet in his hand. He couldn't hide his smile at seeing it. Surprise waved around the crowd of family and friends.
"Man, that's kind of boring magic," Zeke chuckled, leaning on the bar. "It'd be so dope if you could like, turn the bracelet into like a cape or something."
Feeling his heart catch, Justin pondered over the action. He decided to go for it and, waving the bracelet like a wand, he allowed it to snap into one long strip of rubber. Then, he stretched it out until it became a cloth cape. Proud of his accomplishment, he tied the pink, purple, and blue cape around his neck as his peers applauded him. He blushed when he noticed Zeke clapping especially hard seeing as it was his request. A part of him felt awkward now for being bisexual in light of Zeke's being straight, but another part didn't care.
"That's right lovely. We should get going, then. You are coming, Justin?" Mason asked.
Justin barely teared at the corners of his eyes. He looked around the room with a dopey smile. Alex and Stevie had their arms around each other's waists, Harper and Zeke were flamboyant as ever, Max was finally able to be herself, and Mason was just so positive and encouraging of everyone. Justin exhaled deeply.
"Yes, definitely. I wouldn't miss it for the world."
[A/N]: fr tho some people don't want to go to Pride and that's okay! Some people don't feel comfortable coming out and that's also okay! You are valid! Just know that there is a whole community out here waiting to support you! I've never been to Pride bc I'm a minor and I don't think my parents would approve lol but it's a great event and I love seeing the pics they never fail to make me smile :)
But enough about my gays, let's talk about these gays
So my future AU notes
-Stevie is back, yes :) technically, she was never dead? According to the writers lol so I figured it'd make sense for her to be back for Justin's wizarding classes. aaaaaand Alex is super gay for her bc lISTEN dID yOU sEe hOW tHeY lOoKeD aT eacH oTHer oml
-Max was feeling pretty dysphoric for a while, and then the whole Maxine dealio just confirmed things for them. I personally see Max as mtf, but ftm is just as valid! :D either way, they're trans babe!
-Also I forgot about Rosie who is a big lesbian in this AU. She realized she was repressing herself after breaking up w Justin and getting w other angels. She acts as a distant big sister figure to him. They meet up later when he's about to lock himself in his subconscious.
-Subconscious Traveling is a really rare thing for wizards to be able to do. The most powerful can do it at will. I figure wizards like, get their first hint that they're wizards? So I hc that Alex and Max got their sparks of power first and then Justin Subconscious Traveled and everyone was like OK that's the family wizard boys.
-and I'm not trying to imply an a/b/o thing w Mason/Justin bc that is such a Bad and Harmful cliche in fanfiction. Justin just has a thing for werewolves bc they're just really nice and happy all the time and sometimes they BorK and he can relate, having been there at some point.
-Pretty much everything still happens except Justin and Mason get together(bc tbh? Mason is way to much of a pushover for Alex and Mastin would be overtly cutesy) and they move out together. Juliet still comes back(which, that was the wORST way to bring her back like fr. It was just real random) and they all poly date. And ofc they get married why would they not.
-Then, eventually, someone reveals that wizards exist. There has to be someONE that's like brUh. So there's a wizarding war. Then another. And in the last one, p much everyone dies. Justin's one of the only one's left out of his family so he's just like fuck society I'm going into my Subconscious bUt let's not talk about that lmao bc I really don't like angst surprise surprise
-Also, if Crumbs is JKR!Dumbledore, then Justin is very much AVPM!Dumbledore.
-"What the heck is a Hufflepuff"
-he's not allowed to swear
-bOrK
-b0rk.
-hissssssss
-that's Mason/Justin/Juliet in a nutshell
-and I love you if you get why I typed it like that
-mason and Alex broke up after Alex Gives Up
-and stevie was like "Wonk ;0. Also I am Lesbian Jesus." (and anyone who disagrees is not w the times)
-Alex gets her full wizard powers and transfers them to Max so that she can be w Stevie(I think that's how it would go? But she's technically still a wizard? I don't get it Oof) and they just live out on an island and paint each other. Stevie just draws landscapes and then paints a dot and says it's Alex. Alex is proud of her wife even if she can't draw the human figure for shit.
-Also no more family comps after the Russo generation. There was a small wizarding civil war over the comps.
-Max gets a siren or a cucuy girlfriend after a while bc she deserves a monster s/o too
-Zeke and Harper get into drag for a pretty good while but eventually retire from doing it professionally and just settle somewhere off the coast of California.
-during their professional days, they realize they're kind of gender fluid and probably pan
-pride parade anywhere and everywhere they can go, they all go
-They all get together for fam reunions, birthdays, and important holidays
-does anyone have kids? idk maybe Zeke and Harper bc they're the only ones I can see really wanting kids from the get go? I think Juliet and Mason might? But i think Justin would just find kids too annoying. Max would probably have a couple kids.
-that's all I got for now sorry it reads like a bad tumblr post
-if anyone wants me to write another one shot in this AU i def could try