"Soon's it's legal, I'm gonna drag him down to that courthouse and hitch him to my wagon so fast, he won't know his 'I do, too's from his 'do me now's." Daryl proudly proclaimed as his toast to the announcement the Supreme Court would be coming to a decision on gay marriage a little over a week's time. The crowd he was with laughed their encouragement and raised their beer bottles with him. They were a good bunch of people, his co-workers and the local Sheriff's Deputy. Ones he could relax with for Sunday football games and trust none of the details of his and Glenn's private lives would reach the school board while they could still get fired for their 'unnatural lifestyle choice'.
It had taken a long time for him and Glenn to feel that way with all of them. But five years in to their relationship and their lives in Eaton, they'd made some close friendships with a handful of the roughly thousand people that lived there. Having Rick, the Sheriff's Deputy, and his wife Lori on their side made things that might otherwise look funny go a lot smoother. More so, having Eugene, the Principal of the small county high school quietly fudge certain records for them, made it much easier to slip certain 'proclivities' under the radar of the local population. He and Glenn didn't exactly like to hide what they were to each other, but it happened out of necessity.
"You still planning on making a big announcement when it does?" Michonne, local artist and Art Teacher, asked as she got herself comfortable on the couch next to him, hands laden with the pre-game treats.
"Hell yeah," Daryl answered, then checked over his shoulder to make sure Glenn wasn't in hearing range before he added in a hasty whisper, "Keep it down, though. He don't know about it."
Eugene frowned and looked like he was about to say something when he was elbowed in the side by Tara, his best friend and the Vice-Principal, who spoke for the two of them more often than not, "Just choose your words carefully. As long as it's legal, it won't be a fire-able offense, but with your mouth, some parents could make a case for a pink slip over what you say."
"She has the right of it," Eugene murmured with a nod, "Officially you are currently being reprimanded for calling Mister Rhee 'faggot ass rice ball' in earshot of a student of a racial minority. I forgot to tell you that on Friday. You have my apologies."
Daryl rolled his eyes and sagged in his seat, "It was the Jones' kid, wasn't it? Shit. I thought since he was hanging out with Carl..."
"Indeed it was," Eugene agreed. "Duane felt concerned that your rivalry with Mister Rhee has gone too far and his parents were very offended to hear it. You will have to issue a formal and heartfelt apology."
"Rivalry," Carol snickered, her hand finding its way into Daryl's hair to muss it playfully as she passed behind the couch. "I don't know how you two are able to keep your hands off each other long enough to convince all the students you hate each other."
"Oh, has it risen to hate now?" Glenn chimed in, rejoining the group from the back of the house.
Abraham snorted loudly, "It's been hate for a few months. Ever since you dressed Daryl down in his classroom over keeping your third baseman for detention all week and interfering with his practice time. Five of the students in his fourth period class came up to me and asked me to protect you because of the glares he was shooting you."
Glenn gasped dramatically and clutched his chest as he leaned over the back of the couch to stare down at his boyfriend, "You were glaring at me?"
"Mmm... might have been, you got me angry," Daryl said thoughtfully, leaning his head back and pursing his lips. "Walking in dressed in that uniform, all tiny shorts and knee socks, cap on your head... It was enough to leave a man frustrated. Couldn't exactly do nothin' about what I wanted to do to you right then."
"Awww," Glenn mocked, "Guess I'll just have to keep letting the head coach protect me from the big bad history teacher any time I walk around in my regulation uniform. Otherwise he might jump me from behind and do terrible things to me."
"You'd like that too much," Daryl snorted and lifted a hand to flick Glenn on the nose before grabbing him by the hair and pulling him into a quick kiss. When he was released, Glenn moved around the side of the couch to join Tara. The group was used to the two of them being stupidly affectionate in private. It was something Daryl had taken years to be comfortable doing around any of them, but now he didn't want it any other way. He liked being able to relax that much. Even if it was only in the relative privacy of his own home.
"Next week's the decision," Daryl said, looking over at his partner. Glenn raised his arm and held his fist out for Daryl to bump it with his own.
…
The day of the decision came around and the entirety of the student body was on edge. There was a school assembly scheduled the same day. Part of the anti-bullying campaign and usually it would have been boring to them all. Just the same old same old about who to talk to and not to bully and all the usual BS that most of the students treated as garbage in-garbage out.
This one was different because they knew about the supreme court announcement that was coming. And because of Duane Jones, the students now knew - or thought they knew - that Mister Dixon, American History teacher, was both racist and homophobic. Despite never having said a single insult or shamed any of his students in such a manner, he had issued a formal apology for speaking in derogatory language to and about Mister Rhee. It was in the papers.
Most of the students grudgingly respected Mister Dixon. Some of them outright liked him. But the majority were scared of him. He was gruff, ill-spoken much of the time, and didn't take any shit in his classes. On top of that, he'd been seen hunting regularly during the season across the last five years he'd been teaching. And no one wanted to mess with anyone that could single-handedly haul a buck over his shoulders for a mile after tracking it for five and killing it with two well placed arrows. The fact that he didn't use a gun like every other hunter in the area made his legend and aura of fear grow. At least for those who'd never gotten to know him. Most students didn't have a reason to try.
In contrast, Asst. Coach Rhee was well loved. He was always friendly and had an easy smile and more than a few students across the years had found him willing to stick around and talk to them when they had nowhere to go and nothing to do. Even when it was obvious it was eating into his time. He joked and talked video games with them and was generally a cool guy. One that most of the student body now suspected was gay (largely because Mister Dixon had called him a faggot in earshot of Carl Grimes and Duane Jones). If he was, he hid it well. But being that he was already the only Korean (and only Asian-American) in the larger county that the high school serviced, it did make the students nervous.
They were all filed into the gym, teachers heading to the center of the basketball court once their classes were settled in the bleachers. The Coach and Asst. Coach hung at the other side of the room, watching the students to make sure none of them snuck off. The rest of the faculty settled in to sit and wait for the assembly to start.
The last teacher through the doors was Mister Dixon. When he entered, the student body quieted down. He jogged the length of the gym, ignoring the tension in the room that came from him going straight for the microphone. When he cleared his throat, he glanced around pointedly to shut up the last of the whispers that could still be heard. Then he spoke, his rough voice very loud in the silence, "As you know, you are all here today for the anti-bullying rally we are required to have for your protection and safety."
He let that sit for moment before continuing, "However, today is also the day the Supreme Court of the United States decides if denying homosexuals the right to marry is constitutional or not. That decision has been made."
More silence and more than a few worried glances towards Coach Rhee.
"I'd like to take a second now," Daryl said, his accent heavy as he stuffed the paper he had been reading from into his suit pocket, then pulled at his tie, loosening it. "To ask Mister Glenn Rhee, who many of you may not know is a homosexual, to move to the center of the gym."
Glenn's reaction was confusion as he stared at Daryl. The other man waved his hand in expectation and the students were deadly silent, in fear for their dear coach. After several seconds of staring each other down, Glenn finally did as asked.
Daryl stripped his suit coat off and handed it to Tara, who stood just behind him trying very unsuccessfully to hide her grin. His tie came next. Then he was rolling his sleeves up and it wasn't exactly surprising that the student body fully expected their History teacher to walk up to their coach and punch him. But he didn't.
He took the microphone out of its stand and walked over to meet Glenn in the middle of the room. Glenn crossed his arms and looked at him expectantly. Daryl grinned.
"I have a question for you, shortround," Daryl drawled into the microphone (Tara cringed and Michonne put her head into her hands). "Now that it's legal for you to hitch your faggot ass to any other faggot ass you want..."
Daryl dropped to one knee and pulled a box out, "Would you hitch it mine?"
Glenn pushed the offered microphone to the side and answered with the first of many kisses he wanted to make as publicly indecent and politically incorrect as Daryl's proposal had just been.