Work Text:
The flag floating out of the window opposite their room refused to go unnoticed. It seemed like an unpleasant reminder of everything they were too scared to open up about, but as Dan held Phil’s hand and looked at the bright flash of rainbow, they both felt pride.
“Happy pride month,” Dan murmured, turning into Phil’s body and drawing his eyes away from their hotel window. Phil indulged the embrace for a moment before stepping forward to draw the curtains, detaching himself from Dan.
The past year had been full of more pride than any other previously. Dan was finally starting to feel more at home in himself, and with his audience, and Phil had been less private at times, enjoying the feeling of liberation that came with their newfound openness. Dan had thought about making a video on his sexuality, or even sexuality in general but it seemed unnecessary. In his eyes, the only way he could be more explicitly open would be to physically shoot down the glass closet doors. Those who still couldn’t see that he was queer were probably not paying attention.
Phil found it harder than Dan (though Dan’s struggles were more public), being a more private person, to indulge in his pride. The word itself seemed like a contradiction sometimes - how could he be proud of his sexuality if he refused to share it? Deep down he knew that pride did not necessarily correlate with candidness and he could be both private and proud (just sometimes he had to remind himself of this fact).
“Do you think we could try to attend a pride event this year? If there’s one in a state we’re in on a day we have off, I think I’d like to go,” Phil said, both men beginning to unpack.
Dan paused for a moment and looked at Phil, before a small smile crossed his face. “Of course. I think that’s a great idea, as long as there are gaps in our schedule.”
They fell into a comfortable silence then, with Phil busy daydreaming about a world in which he and his boyfriend could get rainbow face paint and glitter, hold hands walking down the street and kiss while wrapped up in a rainbow flag. It was a far fetched dream, which was a dream in the loosest sense since it wasn’t really something Phil wanted. The two men were happy with their lives, both privately and professionally, and neither was in a hurry to make drastic changes, although there was no harm in picturing a different life occasionally.
“One day,” Phil whispered, “We’ll get all that one day.”