A/N: This is something I felt I had to write. As you may or may not know, I live in Australia. We are one of the last English speaking countries to not have marriage equality, and currently, the issue has reached a very frustrating stalemate. I don't normally like to write things based on such political issues, but this particular issue has become mor important to me recently than I myself have realised.

I recently attended two rallies for marriage equality in Perth, my hometown. They were vastly different. The first one I went to had approximately five thousand people attend, and (at the time) was the said to be the biggest held in the country. The second was a week and a half ago, and had only a fraction of that number attend, I think there were barely 1000 people there, and I think even that is a high estimate. This I think, was due to it being so close to the last rally, and also the freezing cold wind didn't help. Plus, it was lousy planning, venue wise.

However all that aside, I give you this little one shot. It has our favourite two, on holiday, joining in with the rally. I based it on the first one I went to, I would have preferred to base it on the one this past weekend in Melbourne, where thousands more turned up, however, I'm not a Melbournian/Melbournite and it was much easier to base it on the one I went to. Write what you know, and all...

On with it, then...

Disclaimer: I do not own skins. This is based on real events, and some of the characters are real people, and I hope they don't mind I name checked them. Any and all typos are due to frustration...

"Wake up." The husky voice murmured, right next to her ear.

"Mmpff."

A soft sigh, and then a gentle nudge. "Babe...wake up."

"Mmpff! Fi mo mintz." Came the grumbled, slightly whiny reply.

"Naomi, we don't HAVE five more minutes. We're going to miss the rally if you don't get your arse out of bed, right now." The voice was gentle, but pleading, and was met with another mutter of protest, thus one unintelligible. Another right. "Right, then."

The duvet was whisked off Naomi so quickly, that the sudden cold temperature of the room caused goosebumps on her naked skin. She pulled a pillow over her head to block out the light, which was doing a serious number on her aching head, even if her eyes were still shut. "Ems, I feel fucking horrible. Can't we just-"

"It's not my fault you drank so much last night. And no, we can't just skip it. You promised. Strength in numbers, and all." Emily pointed out.

Another grumble, this one more resigned. "Need coffee. And aspirin." She mumbled.

"And also a shower. Get up and take one, get dressed, and I'll get the rest for you."

Naomi rolled over and looked at Emily, who was already dressed, in a rainbow tie-dyed t-shirt, with a rainbow beanie on her head, the red edge of which seemed to blend into her bright red hair. "You're cute." She said, bite her bottom lip. "Sure you won't come back to bed?"

"Naoms!" Emily grinned, blushing. "You promised we would go. You know how important it is."

"Babe, we don't even live here. I thought we were on holiday." Naomi said.

Emily crawled onto the bed and straddled Naomi's naked hips. "We are on holiday." She said. "But wasn't it you last night, who said it wasn't fair that there's so much support for marriage equality here, but the politicians are too stubborn?"

"Stuck in the fucking past is what I said." The blonde replied.

"Besides...you love a good protest. I know you do." Emily said, stroking her fingers down Naomi's cheek, and giving her puppy dog eyes. "You are the one who was telling me last night - at great length - how unjust it is that Australia is one of the last English speaking countries to not legislate for it, and-"

Naomi sighed. "Alright, alright...I'm getting up." She said, holding her hands up. "Can't resist it when you give me eyes like that..." She muttered. "You're lucky you're so damn cute."

"And that you love me..." Emily grinned, getting up off the bed.

"And that I love you, yes..." Naomi replied, as she crawled off the bed and made her way to the ensuite.

They had been on holiday to Australia for three weeks, now. It was still technically winter, but it felt to them more like an English summer than anything. When they had arrived in Perth a few days before, it was while walking through Northbridge that Emily had seen a poster advertising the rally, but it had been forgotten in the midst of getting to their hotel and settling in for a week of seeing what Perth had to offer in the way of sights. It had been the night before, when they had been in the middle of a night at the Court Hotel that Naomi had seen a poster for the event, and pointed it out to Emily.

"We should go, babe."

"You think so?" Emily said, over the loud throb of the music.

"Yeah!" Naomi replied. "Although, I've no idea where Russell Square is..."

"I guess it's a place to have a rally." Emily said. "But yeah, might be fun."

"Of course it will." Naomi said, draining her glass of beer. "You want another drink?"

"Sure." Emily said, and Naomi kissed her temple before she made her way back to the bar.

"Hey babe, what can I get you?" The barman said.

"Two more pints." Naomi said. The young man smiled and set about pouring the drinks. He placed them on the bar and Naomi handed over a bright orangeplastic bill. "Hey, do you have a flyer or something for that marriage equality rally?"

"Sure, hun. They're on the end of the bar." He said, indicating to his left, as he handed over Naomi's change. "You're from England?"

"Yeah. That obvious?" Naomi smirked.

"Accent is a bit of a giveaway, love." He said. "Welcome to Perth."

Naomi gave him a smile. "I'm only in town for a few days, with my girlfriend on holiday." She felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned around to see Emily beaming at her. "Hey, you."

"Thought you got lost." Emily said.

"No..." Naomi said, passing her one of the full glasses. "I was just asking the barman about the rally tomorrow."

"Oh!" Emily turned to the barman. "Are you going?" She asked him.

"Can't, gotta work, babe." He said, with a polite smile. "But, I would if I could. This backward government needs to get with the rest of the world and stop delaying the inevitable."

"Naomi was saying we should go." Emily said.

"You're tourists, though...why would you?" The barman said.

"Because..." Naomi peered at his name tag. "Grant... It's unjust. There's literally no reason why...for example, if I lived here and wanted to marry my girlfriend, I shouldn't be able to."

"Are you both...?" Grant asked.

The two girls looked at each other for a moment. "Not yet..." Naomi said.

"We haven't really..." Emily said. The two of them blushed and began to laugh.

Grant smiled. "You two make a really cute couple, anyway. I've gotta get back to work... Enjoy your night."

"Thanks." Naomi said, taking one of the flyers and nodding to the area outside. Emily followed her, and they both sat down at one of the vacant tables. The blond studied the flyer in the semi-bright lighting. "What do you think, Ems... Should we?"

Emily slipped her arm around Naomi's waist and studied the flyer with her. "So it's tomorrow, 1pm at Russell Square...on James street..."

"Jesus, they overdid the male names, didn't they?" Naomi scoffed. "Where is that, anyway...?"

Naomi emerged from the bathroom sometime later, during which time Emily had gone to get her a coffee and some aspirin from the nearest 7-11, and had looked up exactly where they were headed.

"Your coffee, and aspirin, babe." Emily said, once Naomi was dressed, her damp hair hanging down her back.

"Ah, you're a lifesaver. I've got a splitting headache...why did you let me drink so much last night?" Naomi said, popping two of the white pills into her mouth and washing them down with a mouthful of coffee. "Oh, that's good..."

"Because you were giving me big, blue, sexy puppy dog eyes. And besides, you bribed me with sex." Emily smirked.

"I did nothing of the-"

"Oh please, Emsy...I'll shag you twice when we get in...and make you come all over my-"

"Alright!" Naomi said, holding her hand up. "I get it." She sipped more of her coffee. "Have you found out where we are going?"

"Yeah, it's fairly straight forward, actually. Once we get close we shouldn't miss it, anyway." Emily explained. "And it's close enough to walk there, so it should be simple."

"Jesus, I thought we were running late!" Naomi said.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Mmm, and I know how hard you are to get out of bed when you are hungover, babe." She said. "Plus...I thought we could get some breakfast on the way?"

Naomi looked at Emily, who was smirking at her. "You...are just too damn cute." She said, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's shoulders and kissing her forehead.

They'd had breakfast at a small café not far from where the rally was to be held, and by the time Naomi had finished her plate of pancakes, she could see more and more people wearing rainbow walking past the café. She finished her coffee, and stood up.

"Come on, Ems." She said, holding out her hand. "Don't want to miss the start, do we?"

"You've perked up, then." Emily smiled.

"Always do after more coffee and a meal to recharge the batteries, you know that." Naomi grinned back.

The two left the café, and started down the street, following the filing column of people clad in all manner of rainbow wear. They noticed that some were carrying signs, one of which proudly stated "LOVE IS LOVE", in white over a paint splattered raise background. Another was black, with "FUCK TONY ABBOTT" in white text. And another reading "MARRIAGE EQUALITY NOW", in rainbow coloured text on a white background.

"Do you think many people will show up?" Emily asked.

"Apparently ten thousand said they would come, according to Facebook." A young man wearing a rainbow scarf said.

"Ten thousand? Really?" Naomi said.

"Yeah...but I reckon about half will show."

"Five thousand?" Emily said. "Is that good or bad?"

The man laughed. "Believe it or not, that's good. This isn't exactly the biggest city in the country. There was one while I was in Brisbane a few months back."

"Did you go to that one, too?"

"I couldn't, I was working at the time." He said. "You're from England, then?"

"Yeah, we're on holiday." Naomi said.

"And you're protesting too? Why?"

"It's not fair, is it?" The blonde replied. "I mean... It took the UK forever to legislate for it, the U.S. have done it...hell, even New Zealand is beating you guys."

"Hey, don't say that too loud...the rivalry is strong in some states here!" The man laughed. "Are you two together, then?"

"Have been for a couple of years, now." Emily said.

"Married?"

"No, not yet." Emily said. "One day, though...maybe." She felt Naomi squeeze her hand. "But, just because we're not yet, doesn't mean we disagree or anything."

"Obviously not...you're here, aren't you?"

"That we are." Naomi said. She looked across the road and saw the crowd that had gathered at the park. "Jesus." She said.

Emily and Naomi crossed the road, entering the park with several other people, and Naomi noticed there was a stand set up with some tables. They both went over, and as soon as they got closer, they noticed a banner with a website address.

"Socialist alliance?" Emily said.

"That's right." The girl behind the table said, with a polite smile. "We also have a member from The Greens and the Labor party speaking, today."

"Seems like my kind of rally." Naomi said.

"Can I interest you in a membership? Or maybe a copy of the Green Left Weekly?"

"I'll take a copy of the paper, but we're from England, so..." Naomi said. "I mean, I'll take a card, though, and have a look at the website."

"Can I get one of those badges?" Emily said, pointing to the brightly coloured array of badges on the table.

"Sure. That'll be $3." The girl said, and Emily handed over the money. "You guys already have same sex marriage in England, right?" Emily nodded. "Do you live here?"

"No, we're on holiday." Naomi said. "But we support equality, and came to show that support, even though we don't live here. It's not fair that you guys are lagging behind."

"Yeah, tell that to our politicians." A boy behind the counter said. "They're too worried about what their Christian fundie and Catholic lobbyists will think, rather than having full equality for all."

"Can't that change, though?" Emily asked.

"Not if Abbott has anything to say about it." A man standing next to Emily said. "As far as he's concerned marriage is between a man and a woman. Hypocritical bastard is stuck in the past."

"Hypocritical?" Naomi said.

"His sister is gay." The girl behind the counter said. "But he's too conservative and stubborn to budge."

"Hang on... Isn't he with the Liberal Party?" Emily said.

Both Naomi and the girl behind the table scoffed. "That's Liberal in name only." She said.

"Tory wankers, like in the UK, babe." Naomi said, kissing the side of Emily's head.

"Oh, fuck." Emily muttered. "Good thing we came too, then." She said, attaching the badge to her beanie and placing it back on her head. "Come on, babe... We'd better go and get a good spot."

About half an hour later, the group of people at the front of the crowd had been singing and dancing in a party-like atmosphere to Lady Gaga's Born This Way, and press photographers and cameramen had jostled to get photos and footage of the crowd, and then once the song ended, the speaking began.

"Hi everyone, thanks for turning out today!" A tall girl said, to a round of applause and cheers. "My name is Sally, and I'm one of the organisers of this rally today, I'm from GetUp! and I'm PROUD to be a lesbian!" Another round of applause and cheering. "It's really fantastic to see you all here today, I know the weather isn't perfect, it's a bit rainy, but you're so great for sticking it out. We're here today because in the next couple of weeks, a bill is going to be introduced into federal parliament for marriage equality." More applause. "We have some people who are going to speak to you today. But before they do, I have to tell you that there is a cross party bill being introduced into parliament in August. This bill is being co-sponsored by a government MP, Warren Entsch, and an opposition MP, Terri Butler." More cheering.

"Before we have our speakers, we need to send these guys a message. The government currently does not allow their MP's to vote freely with their conscience, and on this issue, it is important they do so that this bill has a fighting chance." Sally said. "What do we want...a free vote. And when do we want it? August! Let's try that out, shall we? I want to hear it loud and proud! WHAT DO WE WANT?"

"FREE VOTE!" The crowd called back.

"WHEN DO WE WANT IT?"

"AUGUST!" Came the reply.

"C'mon guys, LOUDER!" Sally cried. "WHAT DO WE WANT?!"

"FREE VOTE!"

"WHEN DO WE WANT IT?!"

"AUGUST!"

"That's better! You guys need to remember that, ok? We'll revisit that late, but for now, we have some speakers, so please make them welcome!"

By the end of the rally, the crowd had made their intentions well heard, and the speakers had spoken their impassioned speeches, including a mother in her fifties who came to terms with having gay kids, and wanted them to have the same opportunity to marry as straight couples. There was also a lesbian who spoke about raising her children with her partner, and the face that their children were not neglected, were planned for, and loved, and that they were really no different from any other family. There were representatives from equal marriage groups who called on those present to call or email the current sitting members who had not formalised their position on marriage equality. There was also, of course, that rousing chant from thousands of people, wet and cold in the rain, all under the ever present eye of the media. When Sally again took the microphone, Emily and Naomi were soaked to the skin, but neither of them cared.

"You guys are awesome, in spite of the weather, you all came out here to show your support, those of you who are gay, straight, single, partnered, or even married... Thank you SO much for being here... I've just got one last thing to say, you're all welcome to come to The Court for a beer, and they've got jug and pizza deals going for $20 for us today, and I think there's a sausage sizzle, too. You guys have been really great, and thanks for coming down!"

There was one last round of applause, and the crowd finally began to disperse. Naomi and Emily left the park hand in hand, making their way back wi the crowd of people.

"Do you think it'll happen, Naoms?" Emily asked.

"I certainly hope so." Naomi replied. "Every argument against it is just...ridiculous."

"Mmm." They walked a few metres more. "Shall we go for a drink?"

"Are all these people going to that little bar?" Emily said, raising an eyebrow. "It'd be sardine time, getting a pint. Why don't we just go back to our hotel and drink there?"

"I've got a better idea..." Naomi said, leaning close. "Why don't we get a bottle of vodka and just go back to our room?" She murmured low.

Emily smiled, and leaned into her. "Sounds good to me, babe."

They walked a while longer, deviating into the first liquor store they found and buying a big bottle of Smirnoff. As they were leaving, Naomi looked pensive. "You alright, Naoms?"

"Hmm?" She replied. "Yeah...I was just wondering..." She paused, as they crossed the road. "Erm... Would you want to get married? Like, you know...if I asked you." She said, biting her bottom lip.

"Are you asking?"

"Well...no, not really. I just...wondered." Naomi replied. "Haven't even got a ring, have I? Bit silly, asking you a question like that without doing it...properly."

Emily looked at her with curiosity. "Ok...if you were to ask me... Then, yes. I would." She said, as Naomi held the hotel door open for her.

"Really?"

They entered the lift. "Yeah." Emily said. "Babe... You're the love of my life. Of course I would."

Naomi took Emily's hand and kissed it, giving her a shy smile. "Then... I'll have to ask you...when we get back to London..."

A/N#2: Thanks for reading and please review if you wish. I know it's not entirely perfectly written, and it might seem like it ended a bit short. I was going to include more of what was was said at the rally by the speakers, but it wouldn't have done justice to the actual day, as most of it would be paraphrased, so instead I just put the gist of it in.

The cross-party bill was introduced to the house of reps yesterday, and, unfortunately, for all our chanting that day, pleading with the government to let their MP's have a free vote on the issue, they instead voted in their party room to stick with the binding vote against marriage equality for the time being. This unfortunately means that the bill won't go past the house of reps, unless the 30 odd members cross the floor to vote with their conscience, which is unlikely, because no matter their views on marriage equality, some of them are frontbenchers, and they would have to lose their portfolios (and overpriced pay packets) and sit on the back bench. The only government me,bees who have stated they will cross the floor are backbenchers, but the bill itself is unlikely to ever come to debate or a vote.

Sorry for all the politics, please know that I don't intend to make a habit of writing things based on it. But this was in my head, and you know what I'm like...if I think it, I write it.

Thanks for reading.

*steps off soapbox*

~GN~ xo