Chapter Text
Nick
The green room turned out to be very green. The carpet matched the drapes, so to speak. There was an overstuffed sofa under the front window, also green.
Nick looked around the room for Otis and Christian, but they hadn’t arrived yet.
A server walked by with some sort of pink concoction. “Is there alcohol in this?” Nick asked.
“Sorry, no. It’s a mocktail. Pink grapefruit with pink lemonade and a splash of fizzy water. It’s tasty though.” She said.
“Thanks.” Said Nick as he took a glass.
“One day at a time, Nelson.” Nick heard from behind.
“More like one second at a…” he said, turning around and stopping as soon as he saw the source of the voice.
He was handsome, not really Nick’s type, but one would call him conventionally attractive. He wore a flowy pink skirt, light pink silk button up shirt, and a hot pink bomber jacket. He looked surprisingly masculine in the bride-mandated bridesmaid uniform. Charlie had quipped that the bridesmaids looked like Mary Kay saleswomen. Nick was too starstruck to chuckle at the memory.
“Always a bridesmaid, never the bride.” The man said as he held his hand out for Nick to shake. “List…” He began to introduce himself before Nick interrupted…
“I know who you are!” Shouted Nick. He looked around him to see if he had created a scene. Nobody so much as glanced in their direction.
Nick shook his hand vigorously. “So you’re the mystery missing Bridesman?! My boyfriend and I are huge fans.” Tone it down Nelson. “Ugh, sorry. I bet you get that a lot.”
“Is Charlie here with you?! God, Jimmy’s probably fangirling so hard right now in the blue room.”
“Yeah, he’s here. Wait, how do you know Charlie?”
“The interwebs? Jimmy and I have followed you since Imogen basically outed your relationship.” Said Lister.
“Oh! Wow!” Nick was stunned.
“Ya! Sorry that all happened to you. Your blog was a good idea. Basically shut up the haters.”
“Blog?” Asked Nick.
“Ya. Your writing is so good and telling your own narrative really…” Lister gave a chefs kiss.
“I didn’t post anything.”
Lister produced his phone from his pocket and pulled up the Universe City blog site. “You didn’t write this?”
I met Charlie Spring on the first day of school after the Christmas holiday. Nick read.
“Ya, I mean, I did write that. But I didn’t post it. What site is that?”
“Universe City?” Said Lister.
“Fucking Aled.” Nick mumbled. “What I wouldn’t do for just one drink right now.”
“Well that’d be awful. It’s like a tease, ya know?”
“A hundred’s not enough and one’s too many.” They said in unison.
“So you’re, um… A friend of Bill then?” Nick asked.
“Ya, sort of. I know all the cliches anyway.”
“My sponsor calls them bumper stickers.” Nick chuckled. “He thinks he’s hilarious.”
Lister laughed. “That’s actually a good one. My sponsor just pokes his boney finger in my chest and tells me to ‘buck up and deal’ a lot.”
“Then why is he your sponsor?” Nick asked. He often wondered why so many of his AA friends chose mean sponsors. Like they deserved to be punished for having a disease and they want someone to be their drill sergeant or something.
“Jimmy.” Offered Lister in explanation. “His grandfather was the only person I could trust that I knew in the program. He’s really not that tough. He offers me tea, lets me whine for about ten minutes, then tells me to get over myself and reminds me of rule 62.”
“Rule 62? Like, an AA rule?”
“Naw. ‘Don’t take yourself so damned seriously!’ Another bumper sticker.” chuckled Lister, then his face turned serious. “I don’t know too many sober people, so I’m glad you’re here. I need sober mates!”
“Well you’ve got me now.” Said Nick earnestly as he spotted Cormac coming into the room. “Oh, and that wanker there as well.”
———————————————
Charlie
Being exiled in the Blue room with the other plus-one’s wasn’t nearly as bad as Charlie expected. After the fangirling between him and boy band heartthrob Jimmy Kaga-Ricci, the two of them found some seats and sat in a surprisingly unawkward silence. After the initial shock of who Jimmy was had subsided, Charlie felt quite comfortable with him.
Jimmy squirmed a little in his seat after a few moments, opened his mouth as if he was about to speak, then closed it, seeming to think better of it.
“I’m a bit nervous about the reception, to be honest.” Charlie said after a moment. Jimmy looked at him with surprise. “I don’t really like cameras, and… um… like, the crowd?”
“I have Anxiety and OCD!” Jimmy blurted out, causing a few heads to turn and startling Charlie a little.
Jimmy squirmed some more, his face red with embarrassment. “Girl, same.” Charlie said, tentatively placing his hand on Jimmys. “And, like, eating in that huge reception, all eyes on the head table?… um… so… yeah. My OCD is food related, so…”
Jimmy smiled sympathetically, patting Charlie's hand on top of his. “Good… er… I mean, not good but like, we can help each other? I’m sure Lister and Nick won’t mind us hiding out for a bit.”
“So, you’re not here with Rowen then?” Charlie asked with a cheeky smirk, hoping the quip would lighten the mood.
Jimmy visibly relaxed. “Not you too?! Ugh. And here I was thinking I’d made a friend who can be normal around me and you had to go ruin it.”
“Nah. Jowen is SO Twenty Seventeen.” Said Charlie, rolling his eyes, causing Jimmy to chuckle.
After another few comfortable silent minutes, Harry strode into the room, tapping his glass with a cufflink from his pink tux. “Hello plus ones!” he announced as he made his way to the middle of the room. “Thank you all for coming today. Im and I are chuffed to have all of you here to celebrate with us. Sorry about the weird separate reception spaces. We just wanted you all to get a chance to get to know each other a little bit. Imogen insisted on having a massive bridal party so our head table will be a bit large. We’ve sat you all together instead of with your dates. So mingle, chat, and have some mocktails and snacks before the ceremony! Cheers!”
“Guess we won’t be on display then.” said Jimmy, exhaling deeply.
“Thank god.” Said Charlie. “I’m glad you’ll be with me. We can be the mean girl table and critique the bridesmaid dresses.”
Charlie saw two pink loafers approach him on the floor, “Oi Charlie! You’re not going to throw shade at my brides choices, now, are you?”
“It’s my duty as a gay man to be the harbinger of all that is tasteful and to comment appropriately.” Charlie quipped.
“You’ll have plenty of material, mate.” Chuckled Harry. “It’s all a bit ostentatious, even for me.”
“Then why, pray tell, did you agree to it?” Charlie was non-plussed.
“What, and not let my bride have everything she wants? I don’t care about any of this, you know. As long as she says ‘I Do’ and she leaves with me, I’m good.” and with that, Harry patted Charlie on the shoulder and strolled up to a nearby group of plus ones.
“That was… um… nice? And kind of romantic?” Said Jimmy. “Hard to believe that guy bullied you in school.”
“Wot?” Asked Charlie, still stunned from Harry’s rather sweet statement.
“Wasn’t he the one Nick wrote about in his blog? The one that bullied you when you were in school?”
“Wot?” Charlie repeated. “What blog? Nick didn’t post a blog?”
Jimmy pulled out his phone and handed it to Charlie.
Fucking Aled…
———————————————
Nick
After introducing Lister to Cormac, who was completely oblivious to the boy band thing, Nick excused himself to the loo. Aled had some serious explaining to do, though Nick had to have a good cry in the stall first. It was all just too overwhelming and he could feel the panic attack coming on.
He and Geoff had talked about the warning signs of a panic attack in his sessions. His homework after the A&E incident was to form a gameplan when he felt one approaching. First, he was to get somewhere he felt safe. Second he was to contact someone in his support network who could talk him through it, Charlie being at the top of that list.
Nick made his way to the front hall just as Charlie marched out of the Blue room with his phone to his ear. “Answer your damn phone, Aled!” He shouted into what was apparently Aled’s voicemail.
“Char…” Nick choked out to get Charlie’s attention.
Charlie looked up, put his phone in his pocket, strode quickly to Nick and immediately took Nick's hands into his.
“Come on, let's have a seat.” Said Charlie, guiding him to a nearby sofa in the now vacant front hall.
Nick looked at Charlie through damp eyes, trying to talk though nothing would come out through the lump in his throat. Charlie breathed deeply for four beats, held it for four, and exhaled slowly, prompting Nick to do the same. After a few rounds of breathing, Nick felt calm enough to speak.
“Why… would… he… do… that… Char?” Nick breathed quietly.
“I have no idea, Love. Maybe he thought we were dragging our feet and that he was doing us a favor. We’ll shout at him in due time.” Said Charlie soothingly.
They sat in silence for a few moments, each in their own heads, re-reading in their minds everything that Nick had written.
“You know,” Charlie began, “You didn’t write anything you didn’t intend for public consumption. I mean. Jimmy seemed to think very positively about it. Maybe this is a good thing?”
“But that was my choice to make, Char. Not Aled’s!" Said Nick bitterly.
“I completely agree. So let’s just try to have a lovely time tonight and take notes of what not to do at our wedding, which Aled is most definitely uninvited to.” Said Charlie. “Tomorrow we’ll inform him of the un-invitation and send him some very strongly worded DMs.”
“I might just send Keegan Hirst and Noel dressed up as Mickey to break his kneecaps.”
“That’s the spirit.” Chuckled Charlie.
“How are you so calm about this? You hate attention.” Nick asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe being told about it by a super famous member of a boy band softened the blow. You know, they went through so much worse. People made up relationships they weren’t even in and they managed to get through it.” Said Charlie.
“You’ve overthought this sufficiently, haven't you?” Nick asked, drying his eyes with his ever present handkerchief.
“Very much so. Now come ‘ere you.” Charlie said, pulling Nick into the safest place he’d ever known, in the lithe, protective arms of Charlie Spring.
———————————————
Nick & Charlie
The rest of the day was lovely, just as Charlie suggested it would be. Nick managed to put the blog incident on the back burner, allowing it to stew and simmer until it could be served hot to Aled the next day.
The ceremony was held in the top floor ballroom, mere feet away from where Nick and Charlie had their first kiss. Nick looked out among the seated guests to catch Charlie’s eye and giggle.
“Nick and I had our first kiss under that window to the left.” Charlie whispered to Jimmy who was seated next to him, causing the other man to gasp and cover his mouth to muffle the squeal that followed.
After the ceremony, the bridal party were taken outside for photos in the garden while the plus ones were escorted back into their hiding place. Charlie didn’t mind it though. He and Jimmy chatted with the other plus ones, and Charlie got an opportunity to meet Emilie, Christians girlfriend and Ndita, Otis’s wife, both of whom were lovely. Emilie was particularly star struck at Jimmy’s presence. Ndita was peculiarly interested in getting to know Charlie, about whom she had heard “so many wonderful things”.
The reception supper was rather nice, and held in the main ballroom where Harry’s birthday party dancefloor had been. Charlie noted that Nick eyed Charlie’s plate from his vantage point at the head table, giving Charlie a crooked smile and a thumbs up when the server picked up his half eaten meal. Charlie had promised himself half and that's exactly what he had.
After the main course had been cleared, Nick tapped his “champagne” flute with his dinner knife to begin his speech. Charlie proudly observed the several slow, calming breaths Nick took before speaking.
“Hello everybody. Um… for those who don’t know me, I’m Harry’s mate and for some reason also the best man. It’s an honor, really, to have been asked by this man. I planned on making a lot of jokes about how he’s clearly marrying up but Imogen is so obviously out of his league, there’s really no point. I’m not going to do that.” The audience laughed a polite few seconds. “Having seen them together, and knowing what I know now about them both, I’d say they are perfect for each other. They’re both so animated and love so loudly and fully. They’re also two of the most loyal and devoted friends anyone could ask for. So let’s raise our sparkling apple juice to the couple of the hour. May their loyalty and devotion for each other enrich their lives and their hearts, overflowing into ours. To Harry and Imogen!” Nick raised his glass to a chorus from the other tables “To Harry and Imogen!”
“Charlie wrote that, didn’t he?” Harry whispered as Nick sat.
Nick gasped dramatically and clutched his non-existent pearls. “How dare you…” He began to say as he watched Harry smile and raise his glass. He was looking directly at Charlie who returned the gesture with a grin.
God, he loved his boyfriend!