"I still can't believe it," Newt said for what felt like the fiftieth time, tying the flag around Hermann's shoulders. "You're over thirty years old, Hermann, you have doctorates- multiple doctorates- and you've never been to a Pride parade."

Hermann rolled his eyes, for what felt like at least the hundredth time. "Need I remind you, Newton, there was a war which I, unlike some, decided to devote my entire attention to."

"My poor, ill-used queer brethren," Newt shook his head sadly. "I mean, look at you, dude. You're wearing a suit. A suit, Hermann, to Pride, and it doesn't even have any sequins on. You're breaking my heart, here, man." He took on a tortured expression, holding a hand to his chest. "Breaking it into little pieces."

"Perhaps if you die, I'll be allowed to leave."

"Nope, I'm pretty sure my queer ghost would come back, just to haunt you." He linked his arm with Hermann's, and they made their way through the crowd. "Seriously, though, how is this your first time here? I know I say you're allergic to fun, but I'm seriously tempted to pick up some antihistamines right now."

"I can't imagine why you'd think I would enjoy this… rigmarole." Hermann wrinkled his nose in distaste. "A large group of people wearing very little, thrusting their sexual preferences under the world's nose. I would hardly consider it my scene. That's without even mentioning the sheer amount of glitter." He held back a shudder.

Newt snorted. "I'm just gonna skip over the fact you used the words rigmarole and thrusting in the same breath- trust me, I'm going to review that in so much detail later, you don't even know- but like, there's not just thrusting, there's music and art and they do these really cool cake pop things? It's basically Carnival, just with, you know, a lot more gay sex."

"Newton, I have something to break to you about Carnival."

"Yeah, okay, fine, but Hermann-" He stopped, putting his hands on Hermann's shoulders. "Just trust me, okay? It'll be fun."

"Fine," Hermann sighed. "I trust you. But no glitter, Newton, I'm begging you."

Newt leaned up to quickly press his lips against Hermann's. "I make no promises," he smirked, taking Hermann's hand.

"I thoroughly dislike you."

"Love you too, babe."

"I'm gonna buy the rainbow Kaiju."

"Newton, do not buy the rainbow Kaiju."

The little wooden Reckoner figurine stared up with innocent painted eyes, the multicoloured (and highly inaccurate, not that Newt cared) candy-cane stripes on its back gleaming in the sunlight.

"But it's so cute! And festive!" Newt hesitated a second longer, then handed over a few notes to the woman running the stall. "I bought the rainbow Kaiju."

Hermann rolled his eyes. "You're a man-child. God help me, I'm dating a man-child."

"Yeah, but you knew that when you met me," Newt smirked, trying to balance the Kaiju on his shoulder. "Guess you're not as much of a genius as you say you are."

Hermann pretended to consider for a moment. "Yes, I am."

"Yeah, you are." Newt stood on tip toes to give Hermann a quick kiss on the cheek. "Hey, so if I'm juvenile for buying a totally awesome colourful replica, then you won't be interested in all the star-themed things over there, will you?"

"Of course I wouldn't- star themed things?" Hermann paused, then shook himself. "I mean, no, of course not, I prefer to conduct myself with some decorum."

"Well I'm gonna look, so you'll just have to deal with it." Newt took Hermann by the wrist, leading him over to another stand. "Wow, would you look at all these things, aren't they neat, Mr Decorum?"

Hermann's mouth remained in a firm line. "Frivolous and unnecessary, more like."

"Oh, that's a shame, because you sure would like this frivolous star necklace. Or this unnecessary star paperweight. Or this- Hermann, are you even listening to me?" He glanced up to see Hermann staring straight ahead, enraptured by something on the stall. Following his line of sight, Newt grinned.

It wasn't quite a tiara, as such, more of a circlet- almost elfin, made up of a dozen thin strands of silver metal designed to fit snugly over the head. Tiny glass beads were threaded onto the strands, in the statement rainbow colours of pride; on closer inspection, the beads turned out to be star-shaped, glittering as they caught the sun. A tiny, beautiful Technicolor galaxy.

"It's gorgeous, isn't it?" Newt smiled, startling Hermann from his reverie. "It'd suit you, too. You should get it."

The tips of Hermann's ears turned red. "Yes- I mean, no, no, I don't need it. As I say… frivolous… it's just so…" he trailed off, staring wistfully at the circlet. Newt nudged his shoulder, voice gentle.

"This is Pride, Hermann. This is about wearing what you're comfortable in, what makes you happy. And you'd look pretty damn awesome in it. Get it, dude."

"You really think so?" Hermann, if possible, looked even more flustered. His hand brushed against Newt's, who took it, squeezing it reassuringly.

"I know so."

Hermann cleared his throat. "I, ah- well, if you insist…" He dug into his pocket, finding the right change. In thirty seconds, they were walking away from the stall, a dizzied Hermann staring at the circlet in his hands as though he couldn't quite believe it.

"Here, come on, let me put it on you," Newt bounced excitedly next to him. "Also, since you have a tiara-"

"It's a circlet," Hermann interrupted indignantly.

"Fine, circlet, whatever- now you're wearing that, surely taking your jacket off isn't a big deal?" Newt squinted at the sun. "That's not even for aesthetic reasons, dude, I'd just generally prefer it if my date didn't get heatstroke while we were out together."

"I suppose I am a little warm," Hermann mused, and slipped off the thick jacket, pushing up his shirtsleeves. He grudgingly passed the circlet to Newt, and dipped his head down, letting the metal sit there neatly- it fit perfectly, as though he had always been meant to wear it (which was an idea Hermann liked, incidentally).

"There we go," Newt smiled, pulling away. "My beautiful queer prince." He was about to turn away when Hermann leaned down and kissed him, pressing their lips together and tangling a hand in Newt's hair, and he tasted of summer and oranges and holy crap why did Newt still have some kind of cardiac phenomenon every time this happened? He knew that breathing was going to be a struggle for a moment, let alone walking, especially when Hermann pulled away and was smiling so damn huge, his eyes crinkled with laughter lines around the edges.

"Newton," he said softly. "Thank you."

Newt gaped like a fish for a moment. "Dude, your eyes totally have layers."

"What? Hermann snorted, pulling away a little and adjusting his flag-cape.

"No, wait that sounded weird. Not like, onions or anything," Hermann pulled away a little more, and Newt swore inwardly. "I mean, like, people might think you just have brown eyes, but they've got layers of copper and gold and dusky brown and like- they're just really cool, man, I've noticed them before but I don't think I ever told you." He scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry. Intense?"

Hermann's blush had spread across his cheeks. "I- I'm afraid I have no response to that."

"You could kiss me again?" Newt shrugged hopefully, and Hermann elected to do just that- and Newt would have put money down that he heard a murmured I love you just before they made contact.

"Hermann, if you paint a dick on my face I swear to God-"

Hermann laughed, dipping the paintbrush in the blue paint. "Are you saying you don't trust me? You say it as though I'm not an experienced artist, Newton, as though I would ever possibly hide a phallic outline in something you'd put on your body. Now hold still."

Newt froze, partly from the instruction, partly from the realisation that he'd have to check every single one of his post-Hermann tattoos the minute he got home. "Dude, Hermann, no. You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't I? I'm glad to hear it." Hermann smirked, applying the finishing touches to Newt's face paint. "Alright, you can look." Newt held the mirror up to his face, examining the rainbow flag Hermann had put there- this time, though, with the addition of the K-science logo, the eagle stark black against the colours. "Oh, man, that's the coolest thing. And no dicks. That's becoming the default position for our relationship, now I think of it."

"Yes, well," Hermann said, rolling his eyes. "You're enough of a dick as it is, why would I possibly want to include the genuine article?" He turned his head to the side nervously, the flag on his cheek a twin to Newt's, if a little more crudely drawn. The black eagle was replaced with metallic silver and black, grey and purple contrasted Newt's ROY G BIV affair. "Are you sure you don't mind this? Even for a more accepting community, I know people can be… less than gracious, about my orientation."

"Hermann," Newt said seriously, taking his hands. "Babe. I'm not ashamed of this, okay? I won't hesitate kick anyone's butt who says that I should be- and yes, that includes yours, before you ask," he smiled. "It's a part of you, man, it's a part of us, so I love the heck out of your asexuality." He paused. "Also, it might stop weird men trying to feel you up, so that's a plus right there."

Hermann took on a rabbit-in-headlights look. "Is that going to be a possibility?"

"Nah, don't worry," Newt nudged him, grinning. "I'll protect you, queerio."

"What kind of name even is that."

"The final frontqueer."

"Stop."

"Queerman Gottlieb."

"That doesn't even rhyme-"

It wasn't often Hermann played the disability card, but one look at the crowds separating him from the barrier and another at Newt's crestfallen face had him leaning a little more heavily on his cane than absolutely necessary, a few pointed coughs getting them to the roadside, with a clear view of the parade's path.

"Aw, Hermann, dude, the parade is the best part," Newt grinned, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Dad and Illia used to take me to the Munich one when I was a kid, apparently I made it over the barrier once and was about to climb up the leg of a giant frog float before they could get to- ah, there they are!" He tried to point into the distance whilst making sure nobody knocked Hermann over, and nearly going over himself.

Hermann winced as too-loud brass music filled the air. "Yes, they do like to make themselves heard, don't they." He glowered at Newt's grin. "I still can't believe you think I'll enjoy this."

"You have so far, right?" Newt shouted over the music, and Hermann grudgingly nodded. "Then trust me a bit longer."

Hermann narrowed his eyes. "If we stay, you have to play Skyrim with me tomorrow. I'd appreciate a day without your inane zombie bashing."

Newt elbowed him. "Hey, I like narrative games as much as the next guy. Stop insulting Dead Island and watch the damn parade."

The damn parade, as it turned out, was pretty awesome. Not all of the floats had gone all out, exactly- the local bank had decided to make an appearance for some reason, the rainbow-painted token slogans making Newt and Hermann sigh enough to power a wind farm for a year. The disappointment was replaced when the youth group rolled out a dinosaur-shaped float, though (namely, replaced by Newt hopping up and down and making incoherent excited noises).

Newt grinned as the BDSM and Bear group went past. "I'm definitely feeling us in one of those outfits," he said, nodding to a man clad in full shiny leather, complete with collar and leash. Hermann snorted, right up until one of the men- this one shirtless, with some kind of sprayed-on PVC pants- came up to them, dancing along with the beat, and winked at Hermann. He flushed red immediately, discreetly turning his head so the asexual flag was on display, as Newt dissolved into silent laughter. PVC-dude blew him a kiss, dancing away, leaving a flustered but somewhat flattered-looking Hermann in his wake. He glanced over at Newt, who was still trying to get his breath back from laughing. "Oh, shut up," he said brusquely, the blush still not gone from his cheeks.

There were a couple of science-themed floats (Newt was especially fond of one with test tubes in alternating rainbow colours), but somehow the actual floats didn't matter anymore, not compared to this feeling. The warmth of Hermann pressed close against his side. The deep bass rhythm rolling across the concrete and up through the soles of his shoes. The sugary scent of food stalls in the air. It wasn't overwhelming or sensational, but it was nice. He hadn't known what dating Hermann would be like but… he hadn't expected it to be this comfortable, this natural, because dating Hermann was definitely a Nice Thing.

He looked up, intending to tell Hermann what a Nice Thing he was, but was faltered as he saw Hermann's lined face tight with emotion, staring at the parade with misting-over eyes. "Herms, babe? What's wrong?"

Hermann cleared his throat, his eyes never leaving the parade and his hand holding tightly to the barrier. "There's an asexuality float."

Newt looked back at the road, and saw that he was right; it was nothing flashy, just a truck and a few signs and flags, but the colour scheme matched Hermann's flag for certain. "Well, that's okay, right?" he asked, confused.

"I-" Hermann's voice stuttered before he could finish the sentence, and he nodded slowly. "Yes. More than okay. It's just- I have been taught my entire life that it isn't legitimate, for want of a better world. First my father, then my partners, even members of the LGBT community- they make it out to be a joke, or an excuse, or something to be fixed." Newt shuddered. Looked like Lars was set to receive another Kaiju spleen through the mail. "Apart from with you, I've never been permitted to be proud of it. But now- with the float-" he trailed off, and Newt pressed closer against his side, trying to send comfort without words.

"I gotchu, Hermann," he said quietly. "I gotchu."

"I know," Hermann smiled, his answer equally muted. "I just didn't know until now that they did, too."

The rest of the parade passed without much incident (if you ignored Newt almost knocking over a five-year-old trying to grab a whistle thrown into the spectators), until almost the end; the stream had thinned out into the odd poodle and left over nightclub flyers. Hermann fidgeted as the crowd didn't dissipate from around him. "Isn't it over? Why are we all still standing here?"

"Not yet," Newt grinned impishly. "They have the showstopper right at the end, sort of a bonus float, or whatever. I happen to know what it is this year, and we're most definitely not leaving. Just keep looking down the road, okay?"

Hermann sighed. "Fine," he groaned, and they stood for a few agonisingly long minutes as the parade fell into a slow trickle. Newt almost thought he'd been wrong, that they'd had to cancel the last float, and he was looking down at his watch when he heard Hermann's whispered "oh" from behind him.

The last float was a near-perfect, scaled down replica of Gypsy Danger.

It wasn't colourful or gaudy and barely fit the parade's theme, it might not even have been thought of if Newt hadn't had Tendo send a few terse emails, and when they hadn't worked, a little hacking virus. Two girls dressed as Jaeger pilots followed the float, carrying a sign between them that read "THE LGBT+ COMMUNITY THANKS THE PPDC", and the look on Hermann's face was bright enough to rival the stars.

"You're glad we came?" Newt asked, and Hermann nodded, still speechless, staring up at the mock Jaeger in wonder. That wasn't just a Jaeger he was looking at, and Newt knew it. That was an homage to something that Hermann had programmed, something he'd helped to create, the most important piece of work he'd ever done, and this was his first time in a crowd that he liked, hearing it praised and lauded as loudly as the people could manage.

"I'm- we're part of this." Hermann spoke so quietly the words almost disappeared on the breeze.

"Aw, Herms," Newt smiled, taking his hand. "Didn't you know? You always were."

"So, not a complete rigmarole then?"

Hermann smiled, taking another bite of the cake pop in his hand ("But why is it on a stick?" "It's chocolate, dude, just go with it"). "Not completely, no. I must admit there were… certain enjoyable aspects."

Newt snorted. "You were looking at the hot guys, weren't you."

"You seem to be confusing me with yourself." Hermann smiled as he stared up at the sky, tiny pinpricks of stars shining against a field of inky black. The circlet lay crooked on his head, the cape lopsided around his shoulders, and Newt had never felt luckier to have him.

"You know I only have eyes for you," Newt winked, squeezing the hand he held loosely in his own. They reached their apartment door, and Newt unlocked it, but led Hermann by the hand straight to the tiny balcony instead of the lounge. "I wanna show you something really quick."

"We're in a relationship, Newton, you don't need to use your mediocre chat-up lines on me anymore," Hermann rolled his eyes, but sat down beside him, still holding his hand. "Thank you, for today. It was… enlightening."

"Really?" Newt laughed. "On a day where you get a neat-ass tiara-"

"It's a circlet."

"A neat-ass circlet, and see a float-version of something you made, and eat a freaking cake pop, and you still only describe it as enlightening?"

"Oh, hush," Hermann nudged Newt's shoulder. "I had a wonderful time, and you know it."

Newt raised his hands in mock-celebration. "And it was all down to my wonderful presence! I'm still regretting not attacking you with glitter, though."

"Believe me, I'm not. But go ahead, stroke your ego a little more, I find it endearing and not at all ridiculous." Hermann teased, tilting his head sideways until Newt had to kiss him, like he was pretty sure there was some kind of federal law that said it was illegal to not kiss Hermann when he looked this happy.

"I love you, queer prince."

"I love you too, imbecile." Hermann shivered against the night air. "Did you bring me out here for the ambience, or can we go inside now?"

"Nah," Newt nodded at the sky. "I brought you out here for this." As if on cue, the sky filled with coloured sparks, the sound of explosions echoing around the atmosphere. Fireworks. As they stared at the sky, enraptured as each new colour announced itself, Newt smiled. Because he couldn't think of a better thing than the feeling in his chest, or a sky full of colour and starlight, or holding Hermann's hand as if they were never going to let go.

Yeah, the future was shaping up to be pretty damn nice.

I went to a pride parade in my town (which wasn't as good as this let's be real) and all the time I was like "fic plot fic plot fic plot" so there we go

Please talk to me about the headcanons in this (artist hermann !) My tumblrs are juniperpunk and uhnonniemiss and my twitter is otxchi you should hit me up xxx

Can I still say I'm a newbie writer to get the sympathy vote? Idk but like I am a sad lonely writer who really really appreciates any kudos/comments/prompts you wanna give me so please do that maybe cool

yes the onions thing was a shrek reference

ok ily guys a lot peace out n00bs