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Title:  Human Rights
Author:  Jules
Part: 1/1
Rating:  PG
Pairing: Nick/Kevin
Warning:  AU Warning. Slash Warning
Disclaimer:  This is fiction for entertainment purposes.
Notes:  It is actually legal to be married here now.  Ottawa passed it a few weeks ago, so that is truth.  And the two men mentioned here, Michael and Michael, they were in fact the first same sex couple to be married, I just don‚t remember their last names.  It is something I wanted to write as soon as it passed, but decided to wait on it and write it when the time was right.  This is something that is special to me just in the fact that it is about time that it happened.  I personally do not see the difference between homosexual couples and heterosexual couples when it comes to legalities.  If the love is there, it's there.  It is not bound by sexual orientation, preference, practice or gender.  So if people are wondering if that part is made up, it's not.
~~~~~~~
Human Rights
by Jules
 

It was as if they'd been liberated.  Given rights and freedom that should have been theirs since birth but was so cruelly withheld from them.  It was amazing how subjective laws and basic civil rights were when you got right down to it.  Definitions were grotesquely outdated and conditional, not to mention specific to the point where it was blurry as to whether or not ANYONE fit into them.  But now, in the year 2003 it appeared that change was on the rise.  They were at the precipice of something big, only needing that gentle shove to be thrust out into a justified world.  One where they could be who they were and love who they loved, without prejudice or restriction.


Somewhat.
 

Granted, it was a long way from a world without prejudice, one changed law wouldn't achieve that.  But it was a start.  If they could make Parliament see it, their own government, it was possible that maybe other governing states would realize that things were different.  That their lifestyle was not only acceptable, but free of the stigma that had been attached to it in the past.  Wrongfully so, might be added.  And in this one small victory it could pave the way for world acceptance.  All they had wanted was what was rightfully theirs.
 

The spot ended on Gobal news with two men, Michael and Michael, kissing and being congratulated.  It was their wedding night.  The first same sex couple to be married in Canada.  Legally.
 

It had been passed in Ontario that individuals engaged in a same sex relationship could rightfully be married, all they had been waiting for was for Ottawa to approve it.  Thankfully, they had.  There was cause for celebration all over Toronto.  Ontario.  Canada.  The world.  There was the expected opposition to the ruling, people saying that it went against what the definition of a family was. That it was a disgrace.  That it was an injustice to Canadians.  He had to wonder which Canadians those people were talking about because what he'd been forced to live with prior to the ruling was an injustice, and it was finally being corrected.


Kevin shut off the television and sauntered into the kitchen where his lover was making dinner.  „So, what do you think about that huh?"  

The blonde at the stove looked over his shoulders, shrugging.  „It's about time.  I mean, it's sad that people are against it, especially when in reality, it doesn't affect them.  They're not gay, they're not losing any rights.  What should it matter to them?  If it affected them personally, I could see there being opposition, but what is the big deal?  We just want to be considered as real people.  Not monsters."
 

Kevin sighed and approached his lover, wrapping his arms around his waist.  „Nick I know.  I know baby."  It was a touchy subject between the two of them, one that Kevin tried at every possible chance to smooth over for the younger man.  When Nick had come out to his parents a few years prior, they hadn't been as welcoming of their son's sexual practices as he might have hoped.  They yelled and screamed so loudly, so brutally that he'd gone right back into the closet for a year until he couldn't handle living the lie any longer.  He was hurting himself physically and emotionally by hiding who he truly was and for his own mental health, had left the house he'd grown up in, walking away from that life entirely.
 

The two men hadn't been together at that time, merely friends.  Nick had asked if he could room with Kevin until he got his bearings, which ended up being indefinitely.  After a few months of living together, the two realized there was a deeper connection and once Nick allowed himself to indulge in his homosexual desires, they slowly began to fall in love.  It had been a hard road for the two of them, but one that both were determined to work on.  
 

„I didn't think that Ottawa would approve it.  I figured that it would have been overturned and we'd have been put back to square one."  Kevin kissed Nick's jaw softly before sitting himself down on a stool at the island in the center of the kitchen.  „It's like..."
 

„A dream.  Like tomorrow we're going to be watching the news and find out it never happened."  Nick nodded, tasting the sauce before putting the lid back on the pot.  He dried his hands on a dish towel and turned to face Kevin.  Kevin could only agree.
 

„I can imagine how busy city hall is right now.  The place must be crawling with people registering."
 

„Josh said that he and Lance are heading down first thing in the morning,"  Nick raised an eyebrow and nodded when Kevin flashed him a surprised look.  „Yep, they're going through with it."
 

Kevin was honestly surprised.  He'd known that Josh had always wanted to get married someday, but Lance was never as certain.  Whenever Josh brought it up for discussion, wanting to at least plan a pretend wedding for the two of them, Lance would only dismiss the idea as nonsense.  That there was no point in thinking about it and wishing for something that could never happen.  If it wasn't going to be legal then it wasn't worth even dreaming about.  Kevin had always thought maybe Lance was reacting so harshly to cover up the fact that he too desperately wanted to get married, but just didn't want to get his hopes up.  „Wow."
 

„Yeah.  Lance phoned me this morning freaking out.  I think it was the first time he actually let himself think about the possibility of getting married.  That it was actually a reality now.  He wants it just as bad as Josh I think."
 

„They gonna do a quickie..."
 

Nick shook his head.  „No.  They're doing it right, all the luxuries.  They're going to hold it at Lance's parents estate, up in the Bridal Path.  They're having flowers, a gazebo, a minister ..or whoever will perform it.  There will be ushers and ..ushers.."  Both men laughed.  „It's the real deal."  Nick took a deep breath and focused his attention on the pot simmering on the stove.  A multitude of emotions were running through his body at the moment and he didn't know what he was feeling.  He didn't even know what he was thinking right now.  It was all too much to think about.
 

He had always, since he was a little child, wanted to get married.  He had always been told it was the happiest day of your life, committing yourself to the person you love more than anyone else in the world.  Of course, when his parents would say 'girl', he would substitute it with 'person'.  It was never exactly an issue with Nick.  He loved who he loved, not caring what package it came in.  But the bottom line was that he wanted to get married.  He wanted that bond between them and to have them know that he loved them more than anyone  in the world.  That he was so dedicated to them, that he was willing to give them a piece of him.  A piece of his heart.  His name.  His soul.
 

When he had sat down with his parents the first time, they told him a lot of things.  Mean things.  Harsh things.  Downright disgusting things.  But the thing that had hurt him the most was when they told him he would never find someone who loved him enough to marry him.  Never find someone who would want to spend their life with him, because men didn't do that with other men.  Men wanted to find a wife and start a family, and if he 'chose' to go down the path of sin and engage in homosexual, deviant behaviour, he wouldn't have any of that.  He would be alone for his life like he deserved to be.  The  monster that he was.
 

That was what had hit Nick the hardest that day, that his parents thought no one would ever want to marry him.  That he would never be able to have a family of his own.  Even sitting in that kitchen, three years later the words rang out loud and clear in his head.  Stabbing him ever so roughly in the heart.  
 

They had discussed marriage.  Every couple does, especially every gay couple.  The only difference was that their discussions always began with, 'would you want to get married?  You know, if you could?"
 

Now they could.


The whole ball game changed.
 

Nick's opinions were the same that day as they were when he was old enough to understand the concept of marriage.  He wanted to do it.  Kevin on the other hand had never really committed to an answer either way.  He wasn't pro marriage, but he wasn't anti marriage.  If Nick really thought back, he could honestly say the older man was downright vague when it came to the topic.  But then again, it wasn't as if they had seriously discussed it.
 

„So when is it?"  Kevin asked, picking at the towel on the counter.  There was an uncomfortable gap between them, one they were both aware of.
 

„When is what?"
 

„The wedding?"

 

Nick gave a small smile. „They're not sure.  They're thinking an October wedding.  Josh wants June but Lance doesn't want to wait that long, and it's too soon to get one thrown together before the end of June.  So probably then, October.  I expect us to both be in the wedding party."
 

Kevin suspected that too, as both of them were pretty close to the two lovers.  „That's great, I'm happy for them."
 

The silence grew and both men were unsure of what the other was thinking.  There was so much that Nick wanted to say to Kevin but didn't know how to.  Didn't want to push the subject but needed some sort of closure.  And Kevin, he had a lot weighing on his mind, especially the past few days and he didn't want to appear too overbearing.  It was a sensitive subject for his lover.
 

The timer on the stove sounded and Nick climbed off of his stool.  He drained the pasta and set it in the serving bowl before topping it with the home made sauce he'd been working on.  The table was already set and everything was ready to go.  They sat down and began eating dinner.  Kevin was the first to break the silence.  „What are you doing tomorrow?"
 

Nick wiped his mouth with a napkin and shook his head.  „Nothing I know of.  I work the late shift at the restaurant so I don't have to be in until just before the dinner rush."  Nick worked at an upscale restaurant as a chef.  He saw Kevin smile and felt himself grin.  „Why?"
 

„I just... will you have time to come down to meet me for lunch?"
 

„Yeah, of course.  Why?"
 

Kevin stood up and walked out of the room, returning minutes later with his bag.  He reached inside and withdrew a small box, his hands shaking slightly.  Nick felt butterflies in his stomach and his head began to swim.  

 
„I just thought.  If you had time, we'd head over to city hall."  Kevin presented Nick with the box, urging him to take it.  Nick was frozen in his spot, unable to move, except to shake his head in disbelief.  With a shy smile, Kevin realized he was going to have to do this himself and placed the box in Nick's hand.  He lowered himself down on one knee beside Nick's chair and wiped the blonde locks out of his lover's eyes.  „I love  you Nick, more than I have ever loved anyone in my life.  I didn't want to talk about it before because the thought scared me too much.  Wanting something so bad but not being able to have it, I guess I'm as bad as Lance."  
 

Nick gave a strangled giggle and blinked a few times, allowing for tears to fall down his cheeks.

 
„But I want more than anything to make you happy.  I want to make myself happy.  Please, marry me."
 

He never thought he would ever hear those words said to him in this lifetime.  Not by someone he wanted to marry as much as he did Kevin.  Nick couldn't react, in fact, he could barely even breathe.  His eyes moved down to the box which Kevin had since opened and extracted a beautiful gold band from, slipping it onto his ring finger.  

 
„Please Nicky,"  Kevin pleaded.  Nick realized he hadn't even answered.
 

„Are you sure?"


„I know how much this means to you.  We've talked about how important it is to you and I want to marry you."
 

„But... you ...."
 

Kevin leaned in to cover Nick's mouth with his own, kissing him passionately.  The blonde whimpered as they pulled apart.  

 
„You're not doing this just because we can are you?  If you don't..."
 

„I do.  Baby, god I do.  I want to more than you could even know.  So please, say you'll marry me."


Nick nodded, tears streaming down his cheeks.  Dinner was long forgotten and he pulled Kevin up to sit on his lap, wrapping his arms around the other man.  „Yes.  Yes.  Yes."
 

Kevin was laughing and crying at the same time, both men holding onto each other for dear life.  They were alternating between kissing and whispering words of love to each other.  When they broke the kiss Nick took Kevin's face in his hands, a serious look on his face.
 

„Are you only proposing now because it's legal?  Like if..."


Kevin laughed, cutting Nick's line of questioning off.  He knew that the blonde would ask this and thus was prepared.  „Nick, I had the ring.  I was with you all afternoon, so you know I didn't buy it today.  This isn't some quickie ring I bought last minute since it passed.  It's been a long time in the making.  I've had the ring for about two months, I've just been waiting for the right time to do it.  Plus, I've just been so scared and ...well ...  I decided to wait until today for two reasons.  If it went through Parliament, I was going to ask you to marry me legally.  If it didn't, I was going to ask you to marry me anyways, and we'd have done it illegally.  But either way, I was planning on asking you today babe."
 

A few more tears squeezed their way from the corners of Nick's eyes and his hands were trembling as he looked at the ring.  It was then that he really noticed it, the fine detail, the design.  It was a ring that he'd pretty much described to Kevin months earlier when they'd talked about marriage.  It was his perfect ring.  And Kevin had gotten it made for him.   „I can't believe it... that this is really happening."
 

Kevin kissed Nick's lips softly, stroking his scalp.  „Believe it baby.  It's our turn now."


There was so much to talk about now, so much to plan.  Details needed to be figured out and Nick's mind was already starting to whirl.  Kevin saw the excitement his fiancés eyes and chuckled.  „Baby, lets just enjoy it right now.  We'll go to city hall tomorrow and get the license and take it from there."
 

„But..."


„No buts Nick.  We've got all the time in the world."
 

Finis.

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