C'est La Vie
"Deels, you did book this weekend off didn't you?"
Delia looked up from her book and frowned at her girlfriend who had been trying and failing to feign interest in a book for the best part of the last hour when the pair had crawled into bed.
"Yes. Why?" Delia asked placing her book down on her lap, "What are you up to Patience Mount?"
"Nothing. I just think we ought to celebrate your birthday!"
The Welsh nurse eyed the red-head with curiosity and a look that told Patsy she didn't quite believe her. Never before had they made such a fuss over one another's birthday - usually the day off was more than enough for the usual dinner and drinks - but this time Patsy had been insistent that Delia take Friday to Wednesday off. Delia was convinced that the taller woman had something planned but in typical Patsy style she was denying everything, insisting every time that the death of her Father had made her realise how important it was they celebrated the milestones in life. Although she wasn't convinced, Delia had booked the time off, it would be nice at any rate to just spend a bit of time with her girlfriend without the interruption of babies.
"I don't believe you for one minute, just so you know." Delia retorted, lifting her book once more and losing herself in it's world.
Patsy smirked slightly, placing her own book on the bedside table. Delia was right, she did have a surprise for her but that's exactly what she wanted it to remain a surprise. Delia's birthday falling on the bank holiday weekend of August was perfect timing and Patsy couldn't wait to whisk her girlfriend away. She'd thought long and hard about what to get Delia for her 25th birthday for months. At first it had seemed impossible but then at the start of August it had hit her square in the face - along with her guilt.
"Patsy, I think we should go to Pride this year."
"Why?"
"Because we can be with people like us."
"But I only want to be with you, besides, I'm working and so are you."
"We could book it off. Come on Pats!"
Usually the Welsh woman could get her reserved girlfriend to do anything she wanted, however this time, the battle was lost before it had even begun as Patsy retreated further into herself.
"I'm sorry Deels but no - I don't want to spend my weekend surrounded by drunk people getting off with randomners."
Three weeks later when Patsy returned home from a gruelling shift she'd noticed Delia (who looked absolutely shattered having also just returned) flicking through Facebook on the iPad. Since their conversation, Delia hadn't mentioned Pride and Patsy had assumed it had just been a whim. However watching her girlfriend sigh and flick through the photos of their friends covered head to toe in rainbow with a sad smile had made Patsy feel immediately guilty. It obviously meant a lot to Delia - more than she'd realised, and that's when she made a decision.
Patsy shook the memory away and leaned over the bed to Delia, gently taking her book and placing it on the nightstand, much to the younger woman's dismay.
"Pats! You didn't even put the bookmark in."
"You dogear all the pages anyway." Patsy murmured kissing her girlfriend's cheek warmly, "Besides you're right."
"Right about what?" Delia asked as Patsy nuzzled her neck.
"I am up to something." Patsy whispered. "We're going away. Tomorrow."
"What? Patsy-"
"And no I'm not telling you where." Patsy grinned with another kiss to Delia's cheek before trailing more feather-light kisses to down the corner of her lip.
"How long are we going for?" Delia asked pushing Patsy back slightly to look at her. "And if you don't tell me where we're going, how will I know what to pack?"
"Because I'm going to pack for us."
"No you're not."
"And to answer your other question, all weekend. We'll come back on Tuesday." Patsy was positively beaming with excitement, "Trust me Deels."
"I do… it's just all this spontaneity isn't very you Pats… well not planned spontaneity anyway."
Patsy winced slightly at the slight dig. Patsy would often act long before she thought about the consequences of her actions as was proved when she drove to Scotland once with a patient so that the baby could be born in her Mother's hometown. Patsy had left without so much as sending Delia a text and when the red-head hadn't returned home after three hours after her shift ended, the younger woman had been worried out of her mind. Patsy hadn't told a soul what she was up to and so everyone had been worried. It was only at midnight when Patsy rang her to explain that the Welsh woman's heart had stopped racing. It about three weeks later before Patsy's ear stopped hurting from the way in which Delia had berated her.
"Yes well, I wanted to do something special for you." Patsy murmured pushing a lock of hair behind Delia's ear, "I just hope you like it. Now come on, sleep. We need to be up and out the house at eight."
"Eight?! Pats it's our day off!"
"And we have somewhere to be at 10!"
—
Delia was getting increasingly irritated. Patsy had packed them a suitcase but refused to allow the Welsh woman so much as a peek inside, she'd then led her on to the Tube without word, simply taking her hand and leading her through the many tunnels. As they exited at Euston, Delia turned to Patsy who, once on the platform, led her girlfriend over to the departure board.
"Patsy, for the love of God, where are we going?"
"You'll see."
"Pats!"
"Delia, just be patient." Patsy chuckled throughly enjoying seeing her girlfriend get wound up.
"You might as well just tell me, I'll know the minute we get on the train."
"Come on." Patsy beamed taking her hand once more and dragging her to the right of the station, "Our train leaves in about ten minutes."
Delia tried to crane her head back to look at the board and try and work out which train they were boarding but Patsy was having none of it and set a fast pace as she led her girlfriend to their platform. Delia smirked as she noticed the Virgin train sat there. So it was a City break. She frowned as Patsy led her past all the standard class carriages and onto a First Class carriage.
"We travelling a long way?"
"What?"
"First Class. Barely seems worth it if we aren't going to be on the train for a while… as in all the way to Manchester."
"First Class train for a First Class girl." Patsy murmured, "Seats One and Two darling. You find them, I'll put the luggage on the rack."
"But are we going Manchester?"
"You'll see!" Patsy chuckled.
Soon the train was on it's way whizzing through the English countryside. Delia sighed and leant into Patsy who was reading the newspaper, her arms wrapped around the taller woman's waist as she gazed out of the window, watching the world blur around them. Patsy had one lazy arm slung over her as the other flipped the pages. Delia found herself about to doze off when a shout called through the carriage.
"Tickets!"
Patsy fiddled in her pocket as Delia kept perfectly still. She wondered if Patsy had any inclination that she was awake but as her girlfriend placed the tickets on the table in front of them, Delia had the feeling that Patsy had assumed she'd drifted off.
"Hello, thank you… Off to Pride?"
Delia's ear perked up.
"Yes."
"You'll love it. Ever been to Manchester before?"
"Not for a long time."
"Well, enjoy. It's the best City in the world." Delia noted the conductor's broad Mancunian accent.
"Not that you'd be bias."
"Never. Enjoy your trip."
Delia cracked one eye open and smirked as she noticed Patsy engrossed in an article about the NHS. She smirked slightly.
"So we are going to Manchester?"
"What? Delia!" Patsy whined. "Fine, yes, we're going to Manchester. For Pride. It's Manchester Pride weekend."
"But Patsy you were so set against London Pride…"
"And I was wrong. Look, I didn't realise how much it meant to you and when I saw you looking through the photos on Facebook I felt so guilty."
"Pats-"
"And then I remembered that Manchester Pride is always on the last weekend in August and it was your birthday on Saturday and I was planning to take you away and then I thought why not and-"
"Patsy stop rambling. It's perfect and I love you, and I can't wait to spend the entire weekend with you celebrating our love."
Patsy simply grinned, kissing Delia's forehead gently as the Welshwoman resumed her previous position. Suddenly, Patsy couldn't wait to be off the train and in their apartment.
—
Patsy had booked them an apartment just on the edge of the Northern Quarter. Close enough for them to walk into town and to the gay village but far enough away that they didn't hear the late night revellers and ever ending music that accompanied the Pride weekend. The apartment was gorgeous and Delia had left Patsy to go and explore it.
"Patsy! Look at this bathroom, it's huge and oh my god, there's a balcony!"
Patsy couldn't help but bask in Delia's excitement, a smirk planted across her face as a warm feeling engulfed her. She sauntered casually over to where Delia was stood, looking out over Manchester. She carefully wrapped her arms around her waist, resting her chin on the brunette's shoulder and pressing a kiss to her cheek before returning her attention to the view in front of them. Delia sighed and leant back into Patsy, her hands holding Patsy's. Neither spoke for an untold number of minutes, happy to simply bask in one another's company and hold. It was Delia who eventually broke the silence.
"Have I ever told you I love you?"
"Once or twice." Patsy whispered, "But you can tell me whenever you like." She paused for a moment before adding, "I love you too."
"Right. Come on." Delia announced withdrawing from her girlfriend's arms and spinning round much to Patsy's dismay, "Turn around, we need a selfie."
"Do we?"
"Yes. I need to tell the world how wonderful you are."
Patsy grumbled jokingly before obliging posing for no less than five selfies. She rolled her eyes as Delia requested one more "just for safety, Pats!" and decided to plant her lips on Delia's cheek much to the younger woman's delight who giggled delightedly as she flicked through the photos.
"That is so my new profile picture." She murmured as she gazed at the last photo before selecting that and another one to add to her status. Patsy watched with mild amusement as Delia crafted the perfect accompanying message. Patsy had little interest in social media - she'd reluctantly joined Facebook and Instagram at her best friend, Trixie's, insistence and had eventually succumbed to Snapchat at Delia's. Delia however had every social media account possible and regularly posted photos that in Delia's own words, "Keep Mam from visiting us every five seconds." Patsy wasn't quite convinced that was the entire reason why but she was happy to go with it.
"So Miss Busby, what would you like to do this evening?"
"Honestly?" Delia asked, "I don't mind as long as I spend it with you."
Patsy was almost certain her heart skipped a beat.
"Well we need to get our wristbands. We could wander and get those and then well, it's up to you, we could go for dinner or we could go out or both or-"
"Dinner sounds great Pats." Delia smiled. "I think I'd quite like to just talk to you this evening - something tells me there'll be plenty of time for dancing and drinking over the next couple of days."
"Something tells me you're right. Come on then, let's go."
—
Patsy yawned as she stretched her arms languidly upwards. She felt a smile bloom across her face as her eyes fell upon Delia who was stretched out, still sleeping and still very much naked. A quick glance at the clock told Patsy it was ten-thirty (she wasn't sure she'd ever slept in that long) and so she leant over and began to place kisses across Delia's neck in the hope of waking her up.
"Hmph." Delia grumbled rolling over and wrapping her arms around Patsy's neck, eyes still closed, she pulled the taller woman down to her, kissing her firmly and passionately on the lips. As they pulled away her eyes opened, "Morning Pats."
"Good Morning birthday girl." Patsy murmured dropping another kiss onto Delia's waiting lips, "Happy Birthday." She added as a whisper as she reached behind her and pulled out three immaculately wrapped gifts and a card. Delia sat up grinning as she took them.
"Pats you didn't need to buy me anything else. This weekend away was more than enough."
"I wanted to." Patsy blushed. "Now, open them."
The first present was a Fitbit. Delia raised an eyebrow and both began to giggle. Delia had been eyeing the fitness trackers for the past month but Patsy had kept putting her off, declaring it a waste of money and reminding Delia, in varying ways, that she was indeed already fit.
"So this is why you wouldn't let me get one?" Delia chuckled.
"Yes. It was the first present I bought for you as I knew you wanted one for all your bloody fitness things."
"It's very thoughtful, I love it."
The next present caused Delia to gasp.
"Pats."
It was a Tiffany & Co necklace with two hearts weaved onto the chain. Patsy gently took it from Delia's hands before placing it tenderly around her neck.
"There. Perfect."
"You're spoiling me."
"I am."
The last gift was the strangest shape. Delia ripped the paper off after shaking it no less than three times to reveal a jar filled with Post-It Notes. She frowned slightly at Patsy who's complexion was almost matching her hair.
"Open it and take one out."
Delia did as she was instructed and pulled out a pink note. She carefully unfolded it and inhaled, tears threatening her eyes as she read it. She turned to Patsy and simply kissed her. Her hand resting on her cheek as she pulled away.
"This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me." Delia said lovingly. "Seriously, you've given me a jar of reasons why you love me?"
"Yes. There's an awful lot." Patsy said coyly.
"Including, I love how you always have to sit in the bath as it fills?"
"Yes."
"You're an actual angel."
—
They didn't get out of bed for another two hours. However, eventually, Patsy had insisted they leave the confines of their apartment in order to make it on time for the Parade. After a few moment trying to decipher Google Maps, the pair had found themselves near the Town Hall, stood on the kerb watching the many floats pass by. Patsy had bought Delia and herself Garlands and both had an ever growing collection of stickers, flags and wristbands off various floats. Delia also had a Fireman's helmet perched on her head, given to her by a firefighter who'd passed by who'd evidently quite liked what she'd seen. Patsy had been very quick to press a kiss to Delia's now rainbow covered cheek.
"Look at all these people!" Delia exclaimed casting an eye over the street that was lined both sides for as far the eye could see. A glance upwards saw people in the buildings at windows, some leaning out of them, others on balconies. "I feel very proud right now."
"Me too." Patsy murmured. To her surprise she did feel a sense of Pride and, for first time in a long time, safety. She felt safe to hold Delia close to her, press kisses to her cheek and cheer and wave her small flag. "Although my feet are absolutely killing from standing here for two and a half hours."
—
The weekend passed by far too quickly for either of their likings. They dined, danced and drank the days and nights away returning to their apartment only to nap, make sweet, unhurried love or in most cases both. They'd been in both the dance arena where they'd danced in the dark, strobe-lit converted car park and in the main arena, where they'd seen a number of acts that had caused Delia to squeal and Patsy to grumble good-naturedly. They'd been in what felt like every club in the village and now, on Monday night the pair were stood in Sackville Gardens, arms wrapped around one another, candles lit and silent at the vigil that always ended Pride. Suddenly the partying of the weekend had given way to something much more important, reflection and solidarity and Patsy realised just how important Pride was. She sighed as she pressed a kiss to Delia's hair, moving behind her to hold her more fully.
"I love you." She whispered for what felt like the millionth time this weekend - however this time the words felt different, heavier, more loaded, more important as they remembered those they'd lost.
"I love you too."
Candles left by the Beacon of Hope, Delia declared the time had come to party the final night away. Patsy was in a sombre mood, the emotion of the vigil catching up with her, but her girlfriend was having none of it.
"Come on!"
Delia dragged them into what looked a lively bar and after pushing with brute strength through the crowd to the bar, bought the pair a drink, which both downed quickly. The next thing Patsy knew she was on the dance floor, Delia in her arms, dancing joyfully in time to the music. Bodies bumped into them, people squeezed past, drinks spilt, but neither noticed their only focus upon one another. As the song ended Patsy moved in to kiss Delia but was cut short as Delia, jumped up and down and clapped her hands.
"Oh my god! Patsy!"
If it wasn't bad enough she hadn't got to kiss her girl, Patsy was now being forced to dance to 'C'est La Vie' by B*witched by her. If it wasn't for the fact that the song had played at every bar they'd been in to over the weekend almost like it was looking out for them and that watching Delia's hips sway was quite fetching, Patsy would have walked out right there and then. Instead she found herself dancing like an idiot and to her utter embarrassment, singing along perfectly word-for-word for Delia's crazy snapchat story. But later, at 5.30am on Tuesday morning, just in and munching on take-away rewatching the whole Snapchat Story, Patsy couldn't help but grin. She'd had the best weekend of her life with the person she loved the most in life and she couldn't be happier.
A/N - This got really long… sorry and this is the edited version. Too much happens at Pride so I tried to edit it down to snapshots!
If anyone has any requests for songs feel free to send them and I'll do my best. Not all of these one shots will be modern AU's, some will be set in the 60s and canon.
Thanks for reading :)