Work Text:
"Hey― god, I'm so sorry for being late. I got held up at Chelsea by some heiress needing some adjustments to a recording, and I lost my oyster card, so I was supposed to get one again but I was rushing so I took a taxi instead because― uhm, you know, I'm already late for our date." Charlie says in one go, catching his breath as the other man watches him from the other side of the table with a curious expression and a half-smile.
"It's fine. I just had to convince the wait staff I wasn't loitering for not ordering and just sitting here for eighteen minutes, you know?"
Charlie looks up, horrified, from where he was folding his sleeve up to his elbows. "Oh― uh. I'm really so so so sorr― why are you laughing?!" he stammers as he watches his date chuckle quietly with mirth in his light brown eyes.
"That was a joke." light brown eyes with freckles say. "You should've seen your face."
Charlie huffs with annoyance but is smiling a little bit too. "Well, it wasn't funny."
"It wasn't, but I really had to do that. I think that waitress with the eyebrow piercing is convinced that I was loony with all the cursing I was doing―" Charlie chuckles a little. "And you said I wasn't funny."
Charlie rolls his eyes with a smile. "It's probably just the adrenaline."
"You'd think that going on a date with me in the most clichéd of all hotel restaurants in London would account for just another boring night." light brown eyes say as he looks around the hotel restaurant with all its quilted seats and silver and cream decor.
"Oh, I didn't make myself clear― it's adrenaline from the run, so don't flatter yourself," Charlie says with a chuckle as light brown eyes quirks an eyebrow with another smile. "And this is a blind date, don't sell yourself short― Palm Court is a cliché for a reason."
"I'm glad we're just putting it out there before everything started. Acknowledge the elephant in the room, you know? Aside from you being half an hour late, thank you for that."
"You're very welcome," Charlie smirks back.
"You're ready to order?"
"I'll most probably just have the fanciest salad," Charlie says with an air of finality.
"You're a vegetarian?"
"Uh― yes? Is that a deal-breaker? I'm also a picky eater."
"No, because I'm a vegetarian too." his date just looks so pleased with that piece of information Charlie couldn't help but smile back.
"It's a nice change. You wouldn't believe the judgmental pity eyes and the weird 'don't you miss meat' question aimed at me whenever I admit to the fact."
"Right? Me too. And lucky you, you won't have to settle for a salad because I chose this restaurant specifically for me because of the extensive vegetarian options. Tried and tested." his date says with a wink before volunteering to order for the both of them.
Charlie couldn't believe the confidence and the lack of filter this guy had, which was a surprisingly endearing change. He just chuckled with an eye roll when the other man suggested they order a bottle instead of glasses of both their favorite fruit in its liquid fermented form since it's a Friday night.
"So, Sebastian, aside from your past affinity for rugby shirts and enthusiasm for the search for the best vegan burger in London, anything you want me to know? Maybe a weird hobby? Do you have any pets aside from Nellie?" Charlie asks as he picks a dessert on the vegan dessert tray they ordered for the heck of it, giddy with wine and conversations.
"Well. I do have three dogs at the moment and― excuse me, what do you mean 'Sebastian'?"
Charlie chuckles with wide eyes as he bites into an almond macaron. "That's your name, right?"
"No. My name's Nicholas. Nick." Seba— no, Nick says with equally wide eyes as they both put two and two together. "Wait. Your name is Joe, right?"
"No. I'm Charlie."
"Did we just ditch our suppo―" Nick mutters after a beat before he starts laughing when Charlie nods his head vigorously. "How did we forget to introduce ourselves?"
Charlie was laughing with him as he leaned forward on the table, reaching for Nick's trembling wine glass in his shaking hands as the guy continued laughing. For some weird reason, Charlie thought as he watched Nick continue to laugh with his chestnut hair bouncing adorably and muttering a quiet 'why are we like this' under his breath. He looked more like a Nick than a Sebastian.
"Uhm, hey. Excuse me, but is there any way your name might be Charles?"
Now, this is Sebastian. Charlie almost said yes because looking up at this man with the green eyes, his colorful blazer, his thick debonair hair, and his really easy albeit hesitant smile― and the fact that it's almost an hour and a half and, god, Sebastian is still here waiting for a date he got stood up on. He looks charming, so handsome, a saint, and everything Charlie expected.
Then he looked at the man he had been getting to know for almost two hours now. Sharp-tongued but endearingly shy, witty, and so funny, Charlie is sure he hadn't laughed this much since graduating college. Light brown eyes were looking at him warily, contradicting that smile on his lips Charlie is now getting used to. He is dynamic, so gorgeous, refreshing, and unexpected.
"Oh no," Charlie said after a beat, smiling at him. "My name's Joe."