Fix You ~Completed~

Act Sixty-One

"What's new pussycat?" Gale called, waving his arms around in the air like a complete loon. What was I saying? He was a complete loon. No point sugar-coating it. "Okay, so first on our agenda for crap to do in San Francisco is to visit Fisherman's Wharf. You guys up for that?"

Our trio was currently standing in the middle of a very busy sidewalk somewhere in San Francisco. I couldn't tell you where we were exactly and I wasn't quite sure my friends knew either. If we hopped into a taxi, I bet they could have told us, but Gale wanted to walk everywhere. Eddie wasn't so into that idea. I was indifferent.

"Sure!" Eddie agreed, quickly reaching out to pull me closer to him when a group of shady looking guys smoking cigarettes staggered past us. The tallest one with the raven black hair and the holey jeans reminded me so much of Kyla. I actually had to do a double take when I saw him. "Come on, dorks. Let's start walking."

Over time, Eddie's hand slid down my arm and tangled itself in mine. That gave me such a heart attack; I'd never held hands with someone in public before casually. Kyla only allowed it when he wanted to make a point, specifically at Eddie or Gale. I was his and that was that. Eddie, on the other hand (pun intended), simply slid our fingers together because he wanted to. He felt it was needed, it was appropriate. Like he always said, he wanted to keep me close, protect me.

Eventually, Gale found the right path to Fisherman's Wharf on the map he'd been toting around. Eddie and I spent most of our walk gawking at the exotic sights and admiring some of the very colorful people we spotted along the way. There were a beautiful amount of hippies in that town and I absolutely loved it. Also, the high number of same-sex couples didn't hurt. Nobody even batted an eye at Eddie and me holding hands.

"Guys, let's go look at some of the gift shops! I promised Dame I'd get her something with a crab on it," Gale exclaimed, breaking in between Eddie and I while we stared in shock at the nauseating amount of people milling about. He stole my hand right out from Eddie's and started rushing by.

Quickly, Ed followed, muttering for us to be careful. "Yes, Mom!" I called back with a giggle. Normally, Eddie would have rolled his eyes or stuck his tongue out at me. That day, all he did was look at me worriedly, as though my response scared him. "Eddie, come here!" I said, sticking my free hand out for him. Eddie snatched it protectively and followed us into a little shop that wasn't bursting at the seams with people.

While Gale scoped the area for souvenirs with crabs on them, I stuck by Eddie, eyeing the contents on the shelves with hesitation. Ed didn't let go of my hand. "Are you doing okay?" he worried quietly. "I know you aren't a fan of big crowds like this."

"I-I just don't like it when people get too close to me. It puts me on edge," I admitted, taking a step towards Eddie as a woman with two teenagers came our way. He took my silent sign and moved us down to the next aisle, where Ale was currently looking. I held on so tight to Ed as we walked up to our ginger friend. "Finding anything nice, Ale?"

"Lots of crab stuff! And that woman over there- her name is Muriel, like the lady from Courage the Cowardly Dog- told me that we've gotta try Alioto's Restaurant! Apparently, they've got some epic seafood," Gale trilled, showing me the snow globe and tiny keychain he'd found for his beloved. Him and Dame had gotten pretty serious over the course of half a year and Ed and I were so happy for him. Them dating gave us more of a chance for some alone time, which was a little hard to come by on a normal basis with Gale. He preferred to be in the thick of things. "You game?"

"Sure," I agreed, although I'd never been much of a seafood guy. The restaurant probably had other stuff to try, right?

Eddie also gave his approval and we went up to pay for Gale's trinkets. He was a little bummed we didn't pick anything out, but got over it. The building was too packed for me too look and Eddie wouldn't leave me alone here. We promised to pick something up in another store.

The map had to be addressed for us to find Alioto's. Gale lead the way, buzzing about the location of the place. "It has a great view of the bay, apparently!" he explained, tugging me along excitedly. I gave him a huge grin. What can I say? His happiness was so infectious. "Isn't that romantic, Eddie?"

"Dude, we're going to a seafood place. I find nothing romantic about seafood," Eddie responded, right behind us and still clutching my hand. I gave him a quick squeeze, assuring him that I was fine. His face was a map of pure worry.

"Okay, Eddie-Bear is not usually such a party-pooper on our trips. Normally, he is totally crazy and not such a soccer mom," Gale promised, giving his lifelong friend a pointed look. Ed shook his head irritably. "Come on, man. You gotta admit, you're not usually so uptight."

"I'm not being uptight. I just want to make sure..." Eddie stopped before he finished his sentence, pretending to be caught off guard by the man with a rainbow Mohawk that was strutting past us. "Nice."

"I love these people," I agreed with a hearty laugh.

"I love this place!" Gale sighed, bringing us to a stop in front of a chocolate brown building with an aqua sign built over its head proclaiming ALIOTO'S in black lettering. Eddie nearly ran into us due to his lack of attention. "It is exactly what I imagined. Are you ready for this, Lem?"

"I was born ready," I teased back. "Are you ready, Ed?"

"As I'll ever be, Clemmy," he responded, ruffling my hair playfully.

Per usual, Gale lead while Eddie stood at my side, firmly grasping my hand as though I'd disappear if he let go.