Thread by @staticsighs

connor and hank meet cute at pride send tweet

listen connor is a regular because he’s a young trans twink who grew up in a slightly kinder time with an accepting family and hank...just kinda never talked about it or acknowledged it, and this is his first pride and it’s Too Damn Loud and he feels out of place and awkward

and he’s so wrapped up in how out of place he feels that he doesn’t notice how every fucking twink in a ten block radius is setting their sights on this grizzled old daddy with his barely-buttoned shirt and his chest tat/body hair

connor came with nines who dragged his bratty bastard boyfriend along and connor KNOWS he should like him because like. trans solidarity? but gavin’s not his type and he hates being a third wheel sooo much, so he’s the first twink to work up the courage to saunter up to hank

and connor’s already three sheets to the wind and “express yourself” is blaring from somebody’s boombox so madonna says it’s okay for him to do what he does next, which is bat his lashes and tug on hank’s collar a little, asking for a closer look at his tattoo, lip pouting

and mind you hank’s going into five separate cardiac arrests because he’s gone from awkwardly wandering the throngs of people to being practically chest-to-face with this lithe little pretty boy, and he’s absolutely sure he’s being made fun of

so he tries to extricate himself as politely as possible, but connor’s big brown eyes are welling up with tears and hank’s finally just like listen i’m sorry but you’ve gotta be fucking with me and connor’s like ....excuse i???

hank throws his hands up and connor’s panicking like oh no i’m sorry did i make you uncomfortable i just thought and hank’s ALSO panicking like no i just thought and in the middle of apologizing over each other connor finally asks, “i mean, you ARE gay, right?”

hank nods. “bi, yeah. came out a couple years back.” he’s not sure why he feels compelled to tell this perky little twink that last part, but his eyes are warm and honest as he winks at hank, acknowledging it with a nod.
“oh, my mistake! first time at pride, then?”

“uh. yeah.” hank looks away and shrugs. connor’s whole demeanor changes, softening up as he grabs hank by the arm.
“listen, i’ve been doing this every year since i was 14–“
“you’re not 14 now?” hank says, half-joking. connor rolls his eyes.

“-anyway, i know all the good hangout spots to get a drink and people watch. let me buy you a drink? it’s the least i can do.”
hank’s gut twists.
“uh, thanks kid. but i don’t drink. anymore.”
connor nods, but he doesn’t let go of hank’s hand.
“ice cream, then.”

which is how hank finds himself gently herded into a boutique ice cream bar and tenderly bullied into buying a cone of earl grey and strawberry, and standing outside with the lithe little twink hanging off his arm, honeycomb ice cream in hand as he points out people he knows

but it’s nice to see these people, who wave and acknowledge the twink—connor, hank reminds himself, the kid’s name is connor—and shout hellos at him as well. he feels...welcomed back somewhere he’d never been before. but the feeling was of home nonetheless.

“see, this is good! this is what today is for.” connor leans his head on hank’s shoulder. “that, and bear baiting.”
“jesus fuck, connor,” hank says, but he’s grinning. “that’s seriously a thing? don’t you want to date someone...y’know. your age? and attractive?”

“everyone my age wants to date a guy your age, hank,” connor says. “besides, who says you’re not handsome?”
hank glances aside and shrugs, taking a bite of ice cream to keep quiet.
“love your new daddy, connor!” someone yells from across the street.
“thank you!” connor beams.

“see?” he says, turning back to hank. “everyone i know goes wild for guys like you. me included.”
“my condolences,” hank says, his voice dry. connor snorts.
“listen, deny it all you want, but facts are facts.”
hank’s face is flushed, and he lets the topic drop.

connor nudges him a minute later. “i do get it, though. it’s hard to feel handsome if you don’t pass certain...standards. if you know what i mean.”
hank glances down at the pink-white-blue bracelet wrapped around his wrist and hooks a finger in it, tugging gently. “yeah, i do.”

connor presses a honeycomb-cold kiss into hank’s shoulder and sighs, eyes half closed. “thank you.”
“thank you, con. would’ve gone home hours ago if i didn’t have you with me. and it’s good to be here.”

“it is, isn’t it?” connor smiles, his lips plump and inviting. “which is such a shame, because i was going to suggest we go back to my place. i still want an up close and personal look at that tattoo of yours, if you catch my drift.”
hank winds his hand in connor’s and squeezes.

“you’re gonna have to work for it,” he teases, his voice rough and inviting, and it’s the hottest he’s felt in literally years. connor leaning up against him and laying his cheek against the warm expanse of his chest stokes the fires even higher.
“oh, i intend to.”

nines goes home that night after pride without a word from his brother, only getting a text from him the next morning of a massive st bernard and a stack of breakfast plates.
“my new daddy has a dog and a belgian waffle maker. wedding’s in two weeks”

the wedding is not in two weeks, unfortunately, BUT. when connor pops the question two years later, it’s outside the same ice cream parlor during pride, and hank almost chokes on his ice cream in his haste to say yes.