"Hey, I just wanted to thank you for coming with me," he said, practically buzzing with excitement. "I mean, it's my first pride, you know? And I didn't wanna be alone. So it means a lot that you'd come with me, especially since uh, that one article came out, and stuff."

The Batfamily had attended in force, all in costume with pride flag colors, but the plan had been to ditch the costumes partway and enjoy the rest of the day incognito. Therein lay the problem.

Having to fill in Bruce's shoes hadn't been easy for him. It was a hefty legacy, after all. And one of the things he'd been trying to do was throw people off his trail by having an outrageous public persona, just like his late mentor. When he'd first given an interview to the Gotham Elite, acting like a golden retriever, as Babs had called it, he'd thought it painfully funny. And well, since he'd basically called everyone and their mother "beautiful," the result had been more painful than funny.

He just kept getting hit on. Now that he'd publicly revealed his preferences consisted of "literally anything that moves," the number of people who approached him wanting to get in his pants had quadrupled. And that number had already been pretty high, so now he basically couldn't take two steps outside without being accosted by a stranger.

And he'd really, really wanted to go to pride this year. So he'd asked his best friend to be his "date." And his bestie had absolutely delivered, wearing a shirt saying "f*ck you, I'm queer" and everything. Though he didn't actually know if that was true. Was it? Maybe he'd ask after the parade.

His hand tightened around his friend's every time someone tried to approach, but thankfully, the crowd was so large it was fairly easy to dodge the suitors. Plus, his friend had a glare that could freeze over hell.

"You're a lifesaver," he said, letting out a breath of relief as another lovestruck fan turned tail. "I need to hang out with you more often. Like, all the time. Oh, but then the press will be all over that. Damn it."