Pride {l.s.}

78- Allies

"Please get the Minnie ones," I beg Harry. I pull on his arm to lead him across the store. I grab Minnie's headband with the classic Mickey Mouse ears plus the pink bow in the middle. I plop it on his head and stand back to admire. "They look so cute, Harold."

Harry rolls his eyes. "Fine, I'll get these as long as you get a funny hat too so that I don't feel so alone."

Harry's eyes scan the store that is filled with stuffed animals, costumes, and hats from a variety of Disney movies. He walks over to the next display and takes a green hat down from the rack that has a red feather on it. He places it on my head.

"Peter Pan?" I ask him.

"Well, yeah. Zayn and I always joke that you do look so much like him. Same nose, similar hair, and similar height."

I jokingly punch him in the arm for that last comment. "I suppose I do look somewhat like Peter Pan except I am much taller than him."

I walk over to the nearby mirror on the wall to look at the hat on my head. Harry steps in behind me and wraps his arms around my waist from behind. We make eye contact in the mirror, and I am so thankful to have him in my life. I will hopefully be thankful for that forever.

"If you're Peter Pan, can I be your lost boy?" Harry asks quietly. There's something simple about this seemingly joking question, but it sounds like something bigger than what it sounds like.

"Of course, but I will admit that I would rather have the Mickey Mouse ears. I want to match you," I reply with a small blush on my cheeks. I divert his more serious sounding question back to the humorous mood we had going before.

Harry lets out a laugh. He leans down and briefly kisses my cheek. "Of course, love."

After purchases the two sets of ears, we set off into Disney with no real destination planned. We walk hand in hand aimlessly. We got on the rides as we find them and greet any characters we run into. When I find a spare moment, I text a picture of Harry and me with Peter Pan and Wendy to my mother and Harry's. I'm trying to keep them both updated on this trip because they both know what it is going to mean to both of us.

Harry pauses when he sees something in the distant and then randomly begins sprinting towards it while he drags me along with him. He's pretty fast because of his long legs, and I have a hard time following so closely behind. The hilarity of the situation of a tall giraffe pulling me through Disney while we both wear ears of children's cartoon characters leaves me laughing as I follow him.

When he comes to a halt, I get why he was running. We are standing in front of the Pirates of the Carribean ride. We go into the line, and Harry can see how excited I start to get. I was always a fan of the movies, and the ride was always something I wanted to go on since I saw the first one.

"I've been keeping an eye out for this ride, and I couldn't help but get excited. I know how much you love Jack Sparrow," Harry comments as he slips his hand in mine as we stand in line together. Being affectionate in public is not something either of us think too hard about anymore.

"Captain Jack Sparrow," I correct him. Harry lets out another laugh at the reference.

He pulls me closer to him, and I notice that it's getting close to our turn to get on the ride. I look back up at Harry to tell him this, but he seems frozen as he looks at me with a loving look.

"Harry? What are you thinking about?" I lower the volume of my voice. Something about this seems not as hilarious as talking about Johnny Depp.

"I love you."

"I love you, too," I reply without skipping a beat. He pulls me closer and gives me a quick kiss. It's short and sweet because we are both fully aware that we are in a family theme park.

"Don't look, John," I hear a voice say in line behind us. "It's not natural."

I make eye contact with Harry, and it's weird. I see the hurt in his eyes. I see a slight glistening on them that wasn't there before. A part of me wants to hold him close and protect him, and a part of me wants to turn around and yell.

I make a compromise between the two.

I turn around to face a middle-aged woman who is all skin and bones. Her hand is on the boy she called John who I assume is her son. He looks about six years old and might as well be a deer in headlights. He does not look comfortable with this topic.

"Excuse me?" I ask this mother as I step beside my boyfriend and slip my hand into his. I hold his hand firmly as Harry looks over to me in surprise at this confrontation.

"I said," the woman clarifies, "that what you two are doing is completely unnatural. I'm surprised your mother hasn't disowned you."

Harry's hand tightens around me at that comment. He knows how close that hits to home.

"Would you disown John if he came home with a Harry instead of a Harriet?" I ask her as I gesture directly to her son that is present for this entire conversation.

John looks up at his mom, but she won't make eye contact him.

I hear the overhead speaker ask the riders to board the ride, and I know that this is our group. I also know that this also includes the homophonic woman coming on also.

I turn away from her and lead Harry to an open cart in the ride. We sit down next to each other with our hands still connected.

I look up to see the woman walking past our seats to sit behind us, but a female Disney employee places her hand on the woman's shoulder to stop her.

"Excuse me ma'am," the employee says. The mother turns around along with her son.

"Can I help you?" the woman replies very rudely.

"Disney World has a no tolerant policy on harassment such as the words you said to those two men," the younger employee clearly states to the mother. I see her strength and determination as she confronts on behalf of us. "I am going to have to ask you to either exit the ride altogether or wait for the next ride."

"You can't do this-"

"Yes, I can, and I am."

The mom lets out a tone of disapproval before she takes her son's hand and drags him through the seats they were going to sit in to the other side platform.

They walk straight towards the exit sign as the employee yells after them, "My name is Zara if you need to submit a complaint about our service!"

"Oh, I will!" The mother calls back over her shoulder.

"LeFou is gay for Gaston!" Zara tells one last thing before she looks down at Harry and I with a big smile on her face. "Sorry about that, you guys. I did my best."

"Thank you so much," Harry says genuinely to her. He lifts up our connected hands and places a kiss at the top of my hand.

"Do you have a girlfriend or...?" I ask her as I search for a reason for her to help defend a gay couple.

"I'm straight, but don't be too surprised. You have allies everywhere. Enjoy the rest of your stay at Disney," Zara replies with a wink before she heads back to her post. Some employees working the ride glare at her, but most have a sense of pride in what their fellow worker just did.

I look over at Harry, and he seems lost in his thoughts looking at me.

"What is it now, Harry?" I ask him.

"You wouldn't have done that a year ago," Harry puts it out blatantly. I know that he's right. "I'm proud of you."

"I'm proud of us."

A/N
Merry late Christmas to those who celebrate. My date with the girl from art class might be tonight! I shall keep you all updated in my author's notes.

Love you all,

raindropkiss1