Work Text:
Their table was loud and fun; the chatter distracted Nina from looking for her date—well, supposed date—for too long when he had vanished. The champagne was steadily filling glasses, everyones’ features cheerful and smiling, the plates in front of her piled with delightful goods; so really, who cared where Matthias went.
It shouldn’t even have bothered her. Yes, they came there together but yes, it was kind of rude on his part to leave his date and go flirt with God-Knows-Who god-knows-where.
Then again, they weren’t really together-together.
Well, they were, but not in that sense; so really if anything, she should have been happy that he found someone to spend time with.
Perhaps Matthias and that girl were in one of the bathrooms. The venue boasted very large bathrooms, mind you, beautiful as well, with mosaic decorated mirrors.
Or maybe they were in one of the rooms down the hallway. Nina had heard something about rooms early that day. Jesper had his own room to get ready, same as Wylan. There must have been more rooms around, just in case something happened or someone had a need for one.
That conversation must have been exhilarating. Yes, hello, they must have said to the lady or gentleman at the front desk, is there a spare key, oh no, I’m sure Mr. Fahey arranged something, I know the guy—yes, well, my bad, I still have to get used to it, Fahey-Van Eck, it’s a bit long, isn’t it? I kept telling them but they wouldn’t listen—anyway, a key? Can we? Oh, what for? The miss here—ah—um—she—tore my dress! Just a ripple in the underskirt, Right tore her dress, so, please, would you be so kind as to—
The sound of the chair next to her being dragged on the floor made her turn with a start. She suppressed an eye-roll when Matthias himself sat down next to her, a hand pressed flat on his tie to straighten it as he settled on his seat, his hair just a bit out of place, his lips a little too pink.
“Having fun?” he asked when she didn’t acknowledge him.
“Not as much as you, apparently,” Nina retorted with a smile, attacking her new course with a bit too much vigour than etiquette required.
He chuckled, the sound deep like rolling thunder. “Having second thoughts on the formality of it all, are you?”
It should have been just a formality.
No, pause. It was just a formality.
-
Nina had really wanted a plus one for the wedding. Stupid and counterproductive, okay, she could agree with that, but this ceremony was the fourth wedding in a row that she would have attended as the single one. She was simply too tired of it. Exhausted. Exasperated.
Genya and David had gotten married, and she stood by cheering as Zoya caught the bouquet; then Zoya and Nikolai got married and she still stood by cheering as Inej caught the bouquet; then Inej and fucking Kaz Brekker got married and she still stood by cheering as Jesper elbowed his way through the bridesmaides and used every last inch of his ridiculous height to catch that damned bouquet. Now Jesper and Wylan were getting married and she still would have to stand by while someone else caught the bouquet to put a dreadful ring over their finger for the rest of their life.
Nina wasn’t even sure she wanted to get married in the first place—it wasn’t about that. She just wanted to be a part of it all, play some games, and trick other people into thinking that she was thinking of settling down for good.
And to be honest, she was pretty much fed up with the side glances everyone kept casting at her when she appeared companionless at the entrance of each event.
It hadn’t been her proudest moment when the Fahey-Van Eck wedding invitation didn’t even contemplate a plus one for her. Her tantrum was pointless and she knew it, and Wylan was actually a bit shocked at her reaction. Nevertheless, Nina ignored everything and demanded a plus one; the invitations were sent in November, and the wedding was in May, and from November to May, she had all the time in the world to find her soulmate and bring them along to the wedding. No one was going to deny her that chance.
Obviously she did not find her soulmate, but that was hardly the point. Dating apps existed for a reason after all, and she was committed to her search. Nina began scheduling dates left and right in the hopes to find, if not her twin flame, at least someone pleasant enough to have by her side in wedding pictures everafter.
Weeks passed by in that manner, and her only consolation when all potential partners seemed either too shallow or too serious, was a glass of wine with her neighbor.
Matthias Helvar of Apartment 41B—tall, blond, and surly—had been the biggest pain in the ass ever since he’d moved in a year ago, with his never-ending renovations and his husky barking and jumping around at every ungodly hour, day and night. But then one day he’d appeared at her front door with a homemade pie in hand and an apologetic smile. Nina had suddenly decided that maybe she could tolerate him. It was all about the pie, really.
“The doorman told me you complained about the noise,” he’d said, a blush tinting his cheeks the prettiest red.
“He said it was me?”
“No, he didn’t say a name but I can put two and two together,” he’d laughed before proffering the baking pan to her. “Can I make it up to you?”
The pie was delicious, and Nina soon discovered the man was not only a great cook and built like a wardrobe, but was actually able to build wardrobes. He informed her that he was assembling most of the furniture in his apartment on his own. “I’d invite you in but it really is a mess—I’ve only just finished the kitchen, hence the pie.”
Point is, the pie led to a lunch, which led to a dinner, which led to more pies and desserts, until eventually Nina didn’t even have to ring the bell anymore. Matthias’ dog Trassel always started barking gleefully whenever she approached the boy’s front door.
Matthias always had a cabinet full of red wine, and his couch was really comfortable, so... there was that. The bottles uncorked happily, and the liquid swirled easily in their glasses as Nina complained about each and every one of her dates. There was always something about them that prickled too much under her skin for her to be ready to ask the semi-stranger to be her plus one at her friends’ wedding.
“You’re too picky,” Matthias had told her one March night. The window was open, a nice spring breeze caressing Trassel’s white fur. “It’s not like it has to be a partner for life.”
“They’re going to be in pictures.”
“Then don’t take pictures with them,” he’d shrugged, pouring her more wine. That bottle was Italian. Somewhere in Tuscany, he’d said.
“That would be extremely rude,” she’d pointed out.
“Nina, you’ve barely got two months. You’re not going to find the love of your life in two months.”
Nina had scoffed loudly. “Yes, I am.”
“Okay, so you are trying to find your partner for life.”
“Oh, fuck you, okay?” she’d laughed, washing away her smile with a large sip.
Matthias had laughed, and Nina realized—maybe not for the first time—that she really liked that sound. That precise inflection of his tone, the very guttural melody of it, and how he kind of snorted in the middle of his breath.
“What am I going to do if I don’t find anyone?” she’d sighed, defeated.
“Just go alone?”
“Absolutely not,” she’d grumbled, sinking into the couch. “It took Wylan three months to actually give me a plus one, I’m going to use it.”
“Bring your mom, then.”
“Fuck you.”
“That’s the second one, tonight.”
“And if you’re not careful, you’re going to get a third,” she’d very maturely stuck her tongue out.
Trassel had stood up then, trotting to Matthias for a few cuddles. And just like that, without planning it, without even being sure whether or not she’d really meant it, Nina had said, “Why don’t you come with me?”
She hadn’t caught the initial expression on his face, immediately hiding her face in her glass, but when she had looked back at him, he was smirking. His ridiculously blue eyes were twinkling, a hand still buried deep into the dog’s fur. “Would you want me to?”
“I mean,” she’d said with a fake cough, “I wouldn’t regret taking pictures with you, I guess.”
“What if we fight next month?”
“Are you planning on installing some shelves at 2 in the morning?”
“What if?”
“You make great make-up pies,” she’d shrugged. Matthias had chuckled, his gaze trained on her. “Besides, you already know Jes and Wy. I’m sure they would be happy if I found a loophole to have you there.”
“Ah, so you’re doing it out of the goodness of your heart.”
“That is always the sole reason why I do things, Helvar,” she’d told him, making him laugh with a shake of his head. “Come on, it’s just a formality, isn’t it?” Maybe it was the wine, but she wasn’t quite sure whether the question was for him or herself. “We’re going as friends.”
“No, I’m going as your plus one.”
“Who is a friend of mine. Aren’t you my friend?”
Something odd had crossed his face then, but it was gone at her next blink, replaced with an easy smile in place, his lip teased by teeth. “The things we do for pictures, right?”
Come April, Nina repeated her proposal, and Matthias officially accepted. She’d helped him choose a tux and he was the first one to see how her dress looked: a long rose skirt with a matching light sweater, coupled with a simple hair updo.
On the wedding day, he rented a car, a nice black one with beige leather seats, and opened the door for her as she climbed in. They had fun, they made jokes about the officiant during the ceremony, and she introduced him to all the people he didn’t know. Some eyes did widen when she walked into the venue with her arm looped around his. Nina made sure Matthias noticed that, whilst he avoided saying out loud that they were there as friends.
In the midst of their charade and in-between courses, someone with not-so-good intentions approached them. A young lady Nina had never seen before made her way to their table. They all started chatting together as one thing led to another, until suddenly the admittedly beautiful girl was dragging Matthias to the dance floor as he gave a slightly apologetic look over his shoulder.
Nina didn’t mind. Really, she didn’t.
If she had to be a hundred percent honest, she would have liked to have a dance, maybe, with him possibly, but simply in the spirit of the formality. As she said, they were not together. Let him wander off with a pretty girl if he wanted to—who was she to stop him? He shouldn’t ask inappropriate questions though.
-
“I’m not having second thoughts, it’s just a fact. Did you two find a room?” she asked coolly, ignoring his sly smile.
“My my, Zenik, you jump quickly to conclusions.”
“Let me guess, you’re not a one-night-stand kind of man.”
“I actually prefer wooing my dates a bit before that,” Matthias shrugged, eating some of his fish. “You know, with presents. Pies, wine, those kinds of things. Hey, guys!”
Nina’s fork clattered onto her plate as she turned with her mouth agape to Matthias, who, on his part, was greeting Jesper and Wylan, both approaching their table to know if everything was proceeding smoothly.
The grooms were enthusiastically telling Matthias how happy they were that he could be there, and they also said something to Nina that she didn’t fully register.
Pies, wine, those kinds of things.
Her mind was still reeling when a few minutes later the newlyweds left and Matthias cleared his throat. Silence lingered for a minute before she shook her head and remembered he had actually left her not ten minutes ago.
“Do you make a habit of kissing other girls while you’re after a specific one, too?” she asked, tilting her head towards him.
His tongue clicked against his teeth. “I do when that specific one only ever says she wants to be my friend, yes. Is that a crime?”
“No,” Nina said, totally confused as to where the conversation would take them. “A bit out of character though. I would have pegged you for the type of man completely devoted to your lover.”
Matthias chuckled, casting a side-glance to her that made her heart skip a beat. “Oh, I am.”
The festivities went on pleasantly, and Nina did her very best to forget about that figment of conversation but it was pretty much impossible, especially once the so-feared moment of pictures was upon them. When the time came, she squeezed herself against Matthias, a hand gently on his chest; his arm went to the curve of her waist, the scent of his cologne almost violent in her nose, and when his fingertips brushed a rebellious strand of hair from her forehead to tuck it back in place, Nina thought that she wouldn’t mind having more pictures of the two of them together.
They cut the cake, a big, white and delicious confection, and they danced some more, her friends having fun all together, and then fireworks happened outside. Jesper and Wylan kissed under the colorful lights amongst a thunderous applause. There, Nina saw the girl Matthias had disappeared with, but was happy to notice that he decidedly averted his gaze now, even though he didn’t turn it on her. Instead, he took Inej to the dance floor and focused his attention on her. A gracious friend, since Inej earnestly wanted to dance, but Kaz’s knee had been paining him that evening, confining him to a chair at the table.
Around midnight, older people began approaching the spouses to bid them goodbyes. Nina grabbed a fresh glass of champagne from a tray, downed it in a single gulp, and marched towards Matthias Quickly apologizing to whoever he was talking with, she slipped her hand in his and dragged him back out into the night.
“Calm down or you’ll break my arm,” he said as he tried to keep up with her pace behind her, clearly making an effort to hang back, given how his long legs could have easily doubled her steps.
“Pies and wine? Seriously? You’ve the audacity to say shit like that and then move on as if nothing happened?” she exclaimed when she stopped, turning to face him furiously.
“I don’t,” he shrugged, a smile tugging at his lips.
“This isn’t how it works,” Nina said, moving a finger between the two of them. “This isn’t—I should be the one putting people in uncomfortable situations, not the other way around.”
“I guess there’s a first time for everything.”
“You didn’t—you—never—”
Matthias kept silent, leaning against a column behind him. “Never what?”
Nina scoffed. “You never said anything,” she accused him loudly.
“What should have I said, Nina? Oh maybe, in between all those dates you’re planning to go on, squeeze in one for me? Do you have room in your packed schedule? You do hear how that sounds, right?”
“You—”
“I just thought, well, I’ll have an open door and a bottle ready, and if she wants to do this, then we’ll try. Otherwise…” he trailed off, squeezing himself in his shoulders.
Nina blinked at him, unsure what to say. In all fairness, she did spare him some thoughts every now and then. She couldn’t be blamed, could she? The man was clearly handsome, funny too, and a great neighbor. But that was all he’d ever been: her neighbor. Her friend. Her neighbor friend. They’d share a glass of wine, he’d listen to her gossip about her life, she’d laugh at his dumb jokes. That was it.
She had actually convinced herself of the it-ness of the situation very early on: Matthias was too nice for her to jeopardize their dynamic. If she had to be honest with herself, she kind of had a tendency to do that. Ruin things. Not that she’d ever admit it out loud—it was just a terrible self-awareness resting in the back of her head.
And he was nice. So nice. She didn’t want to lose him as her neighbor friend, so she made herself not do it.
Besides, Nina was pretty sure Matthias didn’t think about her either—not in that way, anyway. She’d seen the way he acted with enough strangers to know that he wasn’t just playing nice, he was actually a genuinely good man. Cute and everything. He wasn’t trying to get his way with her, he was just being himself. She liked that, wanted so much to keep it that way. Was she mistaken? Apparently.
“Why are you telling me now?”
Matthias sighed, rubbing a hand on the back of his head. It made his hair look perfectly disheveled. Maybe she was going crazy, but Nina thought she could see the moon rays glisten through his blond eyelashes.
“Well, if you must know, I was about to find a room with… And then I didn’t want to find it anymore.”
“And you came back to the table.”
A beat.
“And I came back to the table.”
Another beat.
“Listen, there’s no need to blow this out of proportion. You can go find your room, and I’ll forget this conversation ever happened,” Nina said, trying to swallow her disappointment at her own words.
His nostrils flared and his tongue slipped out to wet his lips, eyes turning a darker shade of blue. “I think you’ll remember when you look at pictures.”
“I have a very strong willpower.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
Nina paused. Inside the venue, someone shouted for the bouquet to be thrown. She should have returned..
“What if I did find a date? A plus one?”
“I would have wished you an amazing day and brought Trassel to the park for a walk.”
She snorted. “Way to win the woman of your heart.”
“Oh, so now you’re the woman of my heart?” Matthias smirked. A last call for the bouquet shouted across the hall, and the smirk fell from his face. “You should probably go.”
“And what if I grab it?”
“Well, tradition says you have to marry within a year.”
“I know that.”
“So…?”
They heard booming laughter ringing from inside but they both ignored it, too focused on each other to care. Nina took a step forward. Matthias pushed away from the column behind him.
“I’m telling you right now, this business of kissing other people stops this second,” she murmured as her eyes slowly moved over his figure. She had the distinct feeling that she would enjoy how he was about to hold her.
“Your dating app goes too,” he replied, his voice dropping delightfully.
Nina scoffed, shaking her head. “Maybe you’ve had too much champagne.”
“Maybe,” he conceded as he took a last step to hover in front of her. His hand went to her cheek, cupping it gently to tilt her gaze at him. “Want to give me your opinion?”
“Fuck you,” Nina smiled, and then closed the distance separating them.
Matthias grinned against her lips. She melted in his arms as his hands curled around her back to keep her close, fitted against his body. His touch was a bit shy on her curves, but became sure and determined when she brought her hand to the nape of his neck and threaded her fingers in his hair, pushing herself against him.
His lips were soft, sweet, tasting like whipped cream and sparkling liquor. His tongue in her mouth was searching, a tad hungry, but still gentle and tender. Nina caressed his cheek, and he exhaled from his nose. Matthias tugged at her lip, making her sigh deep in her throat.
When they parted, he leaned in for another press of lips, and then another, his eyes still closed, almost unconsciously.
“By the way, I like to be wooed after the deed, too. Just so you know.”
He laughed, a beautiful rich sound that swelled Nina’s heart. He wrapped her in his arms, and the crescent moon of the May sky shone brightly over them, casting its blessing over changes and new beginnings.