Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I do not own any of these characters- they were created by the incredible Alice Oseman who is our Queen! I apologize for any grammar errors- I do have a learning disability that makes it hard for me to remember more than the most basic grammar rules. I really hope you love the story I am creating for you!

His Dream Come True

Charlie Spring smiled as he submitted the online questionnaire for the next series of The Great British Bake Off. It was the 5^th year he was submitting the questionnaire and he would do it again and again until the dream came true.

Not his dream. He couldn’t bake to save his life.

No, it was the dream of the love of his life, Nicholas Luke Nelson.

Charlie had been dating Nick Nelson since just before his 15^th birthday. He loved Rugby and Formula 1, Animals (especially dogs), the Marvel Universe, the sound felt tips made on paper, rain, drawing on shoes, and Disneyland. He also liked Charlie. And baking.

Okay, he loved Charlie. In fact, his friends often joked that Nick was utterly obsessed with Charlie. It was only fair though, because Charlie was just as obsessed with Nick… which was why Charlie had started submitting Nick for the show every year.

They never missed an episode. Every night it was on they would curl up on their couch together (or apart when they were at Uni and Facetimed for those nights) and they would enjoy watching the chaos unfold. Nick loved to watch the way bakes went, sometimes commenting on when he thought someone was making a particularly bad choice or good choice, and every episode would end with Nick saying that someday he would get the courage together to try out for it.

The first year that Charlie had done it was when he was in his first year at Uni and they’d been watching it over facetime together. He’d been a little annoyed that day, one of his classmates had made a comment about someone’s body and it had pissed him off, so when Nick started his usual round of ‘I wish I could be on the show but I’m afraid I’m not good enough’ Charlie decided that clearly he needed to take the reigns on this and had submitted the questionnaire impulsively.

When nothing happened, he decided he would do it again, and again, and again until the people at the competition saw just how amazing Nick was at baking. When they moved in together (Charlie was 21 and Nick was nearly 22), he started getting really good pictures of Nick’s bakes and made sure to send the best pictures in.

And still, they didn’t call. It annoyed Charlie if he was honest with himself. Plenty of times Nick’s bakes were better looking than what he saw on Bake Off, plus Nick was always trying different flavor combinations to find new safe foods for Charlie. He was incredible and amazing and Bake Off would be damn lucky to have him!

He closed his laptop and looked to his left, smiling at Nick’s sleeping form. God, he loved that man. He’d loved him since the moment he saw him, when they’re eyes met across form. Nick often told him the same and most of the time, when his brain wasn’t spiraling, Charlie believed it.

He slipped out of bed to put away his laptop and looking out the window, smiling at the moon. They called her La Luna, the men in his family, because she was a wishing star for them. Whatever they wished on her, as long as it was a true and deep wish, came true. Charlie had wished to find someone who would care about him and not even two weeks later he’d met Nick. His dad had wished he could see that English Girl he’d met and feel in love with in Mojacar and two days later, she was on at his doorstep. La Luna always gave the Springs what they wanted.

He smiled as he looked at her. “La Luna,” he whispered under his breath. “Let Nick’s dream come true.”

~

Nick was stumbling through the door, Daisy trying to jump into his arms, when his phone rang. He frowned as he looked at it, not recognizing the number but then wondered if it could be one of his professors or even one of the parents of the kids that he coached. Besides, it wasn’t in his nature to ignore a call.

“Hello?” he said, as he tried to get his coat hung up and calm Daisy down who seemed happy that one of her dads was home. She was always a bundle of energy!

“Hello, Is this Nicholas Nelson?”

“Um, yes?”

“Hi! I’m Madeline Brown from Great British Bake Off! You’ve been selected to move forward in the process so I was hoping I could do a phone interview with you. Are you busy right now?”

Nick looked at Daisy who looked up at him with soulful brown eyes that were begging him tot take her out but… it was Bake Off! Had he applied when he was drunk or something? “I have time,” he said giving Daisy a kiss and silently promising to take her out in a little bit.

“Wonderful, Okay, so first question…”

~

Charlie got home a few hours later and found Nick sitting at their kitchen table looking a little shocked… happy/shocked but still shocked. “You okay?” he asked, giving him a kiss on the cheek to get his attention.

Nick blinked at Charlie. After talking to Madeline for nearly an hour he was able to take Daisy out, but he still hadn’t completely understood what was going on. Luckily, he’d done so much baking since he was 14 that all the questions was pretty easy for him, though he did struggle with the meringue question since he’d never baked those before.

“I got a call… from Bake Off,” he finally said.

Charlie blinked. “Oh my god! That’s incredible! You got in?”

“I-I don’t know yet,” Nick laughed a little. “It was a phone interview. They said if I’m selected for the next step I’ll get a call next week.”

“You definitely will,” Charlie said as he straddled his boyfriend lap and kissed him deeply, loving the way Nick immediately wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him in tighter. “I knew they’d figure out that you’re meant to be on the show,” Charlie told him.

“Wait… were you the one who applied for me?”

“I was, and I have zero regrets,” Charlie told him with a laugh. “Honestly, I was getting a little pissed off that they kept ignoring you.”

Nick smiled, his fingers slowly stroking up Charlie’s spine. “Kept ignoring me?” he asked, bringing Charlie in for another kiss. “How long as they have been ignoring me, Mon Amour?” he asked softly.

“Hmmm… 5 years?” Charlie said, feeling completely distracted by the feel of Nick’s hands on him.

“You evil little Minx,” Nick laughed. “How could you not tell me?”

“Because I didn’t want you to be disappointed,” Charlie said softly. “I know it’s your dream.”

“It’s one of them,” Nick whispered then kissed Charlie softly. “Okay,” he said standing up and practically tossing Charlie over his shoulder.

“Nick! Put me down!”

“Nope, because I’m going to have my way with you.”

“You can’t just drag me around like some giant, rugby caveman,” Charlie laughed as Nick took him to their bedroom then gently tossed Charlie onto their bed.

Nick leaned down, his arms caging Charlie in on their bed. “Really? Do you really want me to stop?” he asked, his lips just the barest of breathes away. He would if Charlie told him to, of course.

“No,” Charlie whispered with a chuckle. “I never want you to stop,” he said pulling Nick completely on top of him as he kissed him hungrily, not even caring if Nick’s weight was crushing him. He actually quite liked that.

~

Nick was just putting his laptop away after class when his phone rang the next week. This time he recognized the number, having saved it from last time. “Hello?”

“Nick! It’s Madeline Brown! Are you busy this weekend?”

Nick knew he was supposed to go visit his mum that weekend for some mother/son time but he also knew that she would understand if he pushed it back. She’d been talking about him being on Bake Off since he was 14 and made that first cake for her. “I’m free,” he said.

“Great! I’m going to text you an address on Friday night and we’ll have you come in to show off off camera so we can see you can actually do what you claim,” she said with a laugh. “I’m going to e-mail you over an NDA as well, it needs to be signed before Friday or I won’t be texting you. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Nick told her. “Um, my partner does know, is that…”

“Your partner will also need to sign the NDA but you won’t be allowed to tell anyone else unless they’re under an NDA as well. Understood?”

“Yes, Ma’am. I’ll be there on Saturday.”

“Good, I’ll be there too and I look forward to putting a face to the name! Goodbye!”

He smiled as he clicked off the phone and a giggle escaped his lips. He made it to the next step!

~

On Saturday he arrived at the address he was given and was surprised to see so many people. It looked like there was over 200 people there. It made him feel woefully unprepared. Still, he got into line and checked in. He was told he would be in group 13 and was directed to the left of the of the table that he’d checked in at.

He walked over to the sign that said ‘Group 13’. He smiled when he saw a few other people there. “Hi,” he said, feeling nervous.

The two girls there were there just rolled their eyes at him, but the guy who was standing there smiled at Nick. “Hi,” he said, his eyes running over Nick in an appearing fashion. “I’m Sebastian.”

“I’m Nick,” Nick said as he held out his hand. A few years ago he wouldn’t have recognized the way Sebastian was looking at him or the fact that his hand lingered on his own, but Charlie had been more then happy to point those things out to him (he’d gotten in trouble a couple of times by inadvertently flirting with people because he thought he was being friendly). “God, there’s so many people here,” he said as he looked around. “I can’t wait to tell Charlie.”

“Charlie?”

“My partner,” Nick said with a smile, glad he was able to very easily slip Charlie into the conversation immediately. “He signed the NDA so I can talk to him at least.”

“That’s a good thing,” Sebastian said, though he looked slightly disappointed. “Have you been with him for long?”

“Since I was 16, childhood sweethearts,” Nick said brightly. He pulled out his phone and showed Sebastian a picture. “That was us at our friend’s wedding a couple months ago.”

“Fuck, he’s fit,” Sebastian said softly. “I mean, no offense but he’s sexy…”

“Why would I be offended?” Nick laughed. “I know exactly how fit his is.”

“Have you been baking long?” Sebastian asked.

“Since I was 14. It was actually Bake Off that inspired me. I saw them making a cake and I remember thinking ‘I can do that’, so I did. Made my Mum’s birthday cake and couldn’t stop since. What about you?”

“Just in the last year or two. I’m a mixologist so I like finding cool flavor combinations, so baking was something that really helped me find good pairings.”

“Hello everyone!” Nick immediately recognized the voice and smiled at the small, perky woman in front of him. “I’m Melanie Brown and I am your guide through this process. Now, I don’t know if any of you will actually make it to the Tent but today is very, very important. You will be baking sweet and savory items and our food technicians will be judging them. If they like your items, then you’ll come back tomorrow to bake more complex items for them and if that goes well, then you’ll move forward with the screen test.”

“How long until we know if we get to that part?” One of the girl standing there, one of the ones who’d given Nick a dirty look, asked Melanie.

“It depends. Sometimes our Food technicians are so impressed that people are approved right away but for others they will debate it,” she told them. “So... I am just waiting for the rest of our group to arrive. Just like in the tent each group starts off with 12 and we’ll see if any of you can make it to the tent,” she responded, keeping a bright smile on her face.

Nick smiled at Sebastian and smiled at the new people who joined them not long after. At least he only needed to ‘compete’ against 12 people today.

~

The following night, Nick threw himself on the hotel bed and groaned. He’d made it through both days of baking but he was also exhausted. It had been far more grueling than he thought it would be. He’d also been a little uncomfortable when one of the women in the group had come up and groped his ass. He hadn’t said anything but she was asked to leave almost within minutes so he was sure that Melanie had seen.

Of their group, four of them had gotten through Day 1, by the end of Day 2 it was only he and Sebastian. He’d been impressed with his bakes, but the Food technicians seemed more impressed with Nick’s and he was the only one that was moved to the next stage immediately. He was told that he would get a new address next Friday to go for his on-screen test. Melanie had looked delighted that he made it though and had commented that she’d seen the pictures of his bakes and hoped he made it all the way through.

He clicked his phone on and saw that Charlie had sent a picture of him and Daisy visiting his mum and Henry. He felt so bad missing the weekend, but his mum had assured him that she didn’t mind though he hadn't been able to give her a reason. He tapped Charlie’s name and felt relief surge through him when he heard his voice. “Char…”

“You sound exhausted, sweetheart.”

“I am,” Nick laughed. “But I’m going to be doing the on-screen test next weekend so…”

“Nick! I knew it! You’re too hot not to put you on TV,” Charlie insisted.

“Well, this weekend wasn’t about my looks, Char,” Nick laughed. “The Food techs really liked what I made though, so that makes me feel pretty good.”

“Well you’re amazing, so…”

Nick laughed. “You have to say that, you’re my boyfriend.”

“Oh, I’ll criticize you if you deserve it,” Charlie teased. “Remember when you tried making Albondigas? Abuelo says you’re never allowed near Spanish food again.”

“Hey!” Nick laughed. “I tried!”

“I know… and you’re usually amazing… but not at Spanish dishes.”

“Fair, fair. How was everything with Mum?”

“It was good, I love seeing her. She says I’m officially her favorite,” Charlie teased.

“I’ve been replaced again, I see how it is,” Nick laughed. He knew Charlie was teasing, but his grandparents also had claimed Charlie as their favorite as well so… “Did you see your parents?”

“Yeah,” Charlie said. “They’re getting ready to go on a Holiday together so I helped them look for some shows they might want to see.”

“No tension?” Nick asked. Charlie and his mum had a struggled with their relationship when he was a teen but it had gotten much better since Charlie had went to Uni and Jane had started getting therapy. Still, there had been tension the last time they visited, but Nick hadn’t been sure why.

“Nope, not this time. Dad finally told me why Mum was stressed but…”

“Not your grandma again?”

“Yeah,” Charlie sighed. “I wish she would just cut them off.”

“Maybe she’s afraid if she does that to them, then you or Tori might do that to her?”

“Maybe. I wouldn’t though. Mum’s loads better than before.” Charlie sighed. “She did ask if we were still planning on moving back to Kent.”

“And what did you say?”

“That you’re still going to Uni and doing the semi-pro stuff so we can’t discuss it until you're done. Mum started to say something about settling down and starting a family, but dad cut her off.”

“You never should have told her we wanted kids,” Nick teased.

“Oh please, you were the one who was drunk and going on and on about us having kids with my hair,” Charlie laughed.

“Fine, be all logical,” Nick laughed. “I’ll be on the first train tomorrow, but I have class and then practice for both teams so…”

“I won’t see you until late. Don’t worry, Nick… this is going to be worth it.”

Nick smiled as he remembered the dream he’d had since eh was 18. “Yeah… it’s definitely going to be worth it.”

~

The next Saturday, the remainder of the people, now down about 70-75 people, were once again group into 12. Nick was glad that Melanie was still their ‘Guide’. He liked her and the way she was both relaxed yet on alert and organized.

Sebastian was in his group again and Nick also met Fatema, a woman in her early 50’s, and Arvid, a 75-year-old widower. Nick immediately connected to Arvid because they started talking about teaching and he found out that Arvid had been a teacher, then Headmaster of a primary school before he retired. Fatema reminded Nick of his mum and was showing them pictures of her five children, including her eldest son who was expecting his first child with his new wife.

When it was time for their in-screen testing to begin, Nick felt a surge of nervousness again. What if he couldn’t handle this? What if he disappointed Charlie by not making it through to the next phase? No, he couldn’t think like that. He had a dream and it was going to come true. He had to believe in that.

His experiences as captain of the rugby team and of coaching the Youth teams came in handy and Nick found that despite the cameras, he was able to muti-task really well. He could answer their questions while staying mostly focused on the tasks at hand. They did 4 different rounds of baking ‘technicals’ and he was glad that his weren’t too horrible. After each round, people in the group were let go.

At the end of the day it was he, Sebastian, Fatema, and Arvid and they decided to get dinner together.

“To tomorrow,” Sebastian said, raising his class. “Hopefully all four of us will make it through the interviews with the psychologist.”

“It’s unlikely,” Fatema said. “But it would be nice. I heard Melanie saying that only 28 people make it through this far this year, sometimes there’s as many as 40.”

“Then that means we might all make it,” Nick said. “Honestly, I think it’s going to be really exciting.”

“It will definitely take my mind off things,” Arvid sighed. “With Gwyn passing a few months ago, I feel lost,” he admitted. “I hope I can do this just to keep my mind off everything even for just a few weeks.”

“Well, I’m making it to the end,” Sebastian said firmly.

“Oh stop that, you don’t know,” Fatema laughed. “I just want to do this so I don’t feel so alone,” she admitted. “Only my youngest is still home and I miss it.”

“My mum’s missed us too,” Nick admitted. “Charlie went to see her last weekend though, so that lifted her spirits a bit.”

“Are you and Charlie going to get married?” Arvid asked curiously.

“Yeah,” Nick said blushing. “I actually have a ring, I’m… just waiting for the right moment.”

“How long as you two been together?” Fatema asked.

“Almost 9 years,” Nick said. “We met in form when I was 16 because they moved us to vertical and we got sat next to each other. It was love at first sight.”

“That was me and Laith,” Fatema said. “The moment our eyes met… I knew I could never love another.”

“Gwyn hated me at first,” Arvid laughed. “She thought I was only flirting with her to get with her cousin because she thought she was prettier, but… My Gwyn was such a beauty.”

“You guys are making me feel really single,” Sebastian said.

“You’ve never been in love? Even for a little bit?” Nick asked.

“No, I mean there was once or Twice I thought it could become that but… no, I haven’t met the right guy or girl yet.”

“It’ll happen,” Arvid said. “Keep faith.”

~

“Charlie! Charlie, I’m home!” Nick called as he rushed into their flat on Sunday evening.

“Bedroom, just finishing some edits,” Charlie called.

Nick rushed to the room and beamed at Charlie. “I got it!”

It took Charlie a moment to register was Nick was saying and then he jumped off the bed. “You’re sure!?”

“Yeah, they don’t normally tell you right away but the psychologist said I was perfect for the show and Melanie said I am definitely one of the 12. They’re going to email the briefs tomorrow and I need to start planning and…” He couldn’t talk anymore because Charlie’s lips were against his and he was giggling as he gripped Charlie tight to him. When they broke the kiss he laughed. “I did it! I’m going to be on Bake Off!”

Chapter Text

I do not own any of these characters- they were created by the incredible Alice Oseman who is our Queen! I apologize for any grammar errors- I do have a learning disability that makes it hard for me to remember more than the most basic grammar rules. I really hope you love the story I am creating for you!

His Dream Come True

Chapter 2- Cake Week

~April~

{Noel Feilding} ‘Thousands of Amateur bakers from across Britain applied. Twelve have made it to the baking show tent. Over the next 10 weeks they’ll take on 30 brand-new challenges. Every aspect of their Baking skill will be tested. And everything they bake will be judged by Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood.’

{Allison Hammond} ‘Each week, those that rise, we crown Star Baker. Those that crumble will leave the tent. But who will go on to win The Great British Baking Show?’

One thing that Nick was relieved about when it came to competing on Bake Off was that he could practice the recipes that he’d chosen for his briefs. For Cake week they were told the signature needed to be their take on a Bakewell cake, with three layers, and a jam filling. Their showstopper needed to be an Indulgence cake- a cake that would would make your mouth water and you not care that it was full of calories you don't need.

For his Signature he had decided that he wanted to make a slight twist on the classic, but still keep close to its core classive. He was making a Spiced Cherry Bakewell cake with Almond buttercream and cheery jam made from scratch. Charlie had told him he might be doing too much but Nick was determined that everything would be perfect.

He was situated at the back of the tent, which he was glad about because it felt like he had more room. To his right was a girl named Niamh, the youngest person in the Tent, who seemed extremely shy to Nick when they first met.

In front of him was Fatema, who’d gotten onto the show along with Arvid and Sebastian, who were closer to the front, and to the the left of him, ahead one space was a women in her late 20’s named Camilla. She’d seemed nice enough when they all met each other, until he showed her a picture of Charlie and then she seemed to avoid him.

Jules, a guy in his late 40’s had been more than happy to see pictures though and had shown Nick pictures of his own husband whom he’d been ‘married’ to for 20 years. It made Nick feel better, seeing a queer couple so happy and in love for so long. It gave him what he felt was a little glimpse into future with Charlie.

The other people in the tent were Oliver, a guy about his age who was a single father to triplet girls, Prisha, who was also close to his age and was a Fashion Journalist like his friend Imogen (Nick thought about asking if they knew each other but then worried it would violate the NDA in some way), Stella, a single woman in his mid-40’s who seemed like she was born grumpy, Enzo, a Uni kid who was studying to be a solicitor, and Isadora, a woman in her early 30’s who talked about her cats constantly.

He was grinding the almonds for his sponge when Prue, Paul, and Noel came up to him. They had told him before that they would be there at a specific time and for a specific amount of time, which meant he had to talk to them as he got his sponges made and into the oven, no matter how he felt.

“Hello Nick,” Paul said, looking at everything that was on his bench. “What are you making for us today?”

For a moment Nick felt a little starstruck, he really needed to get over this obsession he had with light eyes, then he pulled himself together. “I’m making a Spiced Cherry Bakewell cake.”

“Spiced?” Prue asked. “What spices will you be using?”

“Cardamom, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg.”

“No cinnamon?”

“No, no I never bake with Cinnamon,” Nick said with an awkward laugh as he added the ground almonds to his flour.

“Why not?” Paul asked, his eyes narrowing a bit.

“Um, Charlie, that’s my boyfriend, he’s allergic to cinnamon. If he smells it he gets awful migraines for like a week and if he eats it, then he’s sick for days. I don’t like cooking with things that will make him sick. It’s why I’m using the allspice- it pretty similar to Cinnamon.”

“But do you know how to use it properly?” Prue asked, her voice curious.

“You mean because it’s stronger than cinnamon? Yeah, I use it quite a bit so I know,” Nick said with a smile.

“Are you making your jam from scratch?” Paul asked, frowning.

“I am,” Nick said. “It’s a spiced cherry jam I’ve already got it cooking down with the brown sugar.”

“Brown sugar?” Prue asked in surprise.

“I find that the molasses in the brown sugar helps the spices meld better with the cherries,” Nick said, feeling a little frazzled with all the questions. It felt like they were asking even more than when they did the on-screen testing. It was a little annoying, to be honest. He could just answer their questions when they tasted it, right?

“Well, I’m very interested in seeing how it tastes,” Prue said while Paul just grunted and moved off, clearly not feeling very impressed with Nick’s work. Paul’s response didn’t make Nick feel very well, but he put it out of his mind as he worked on getting his sponges into the oven and made sure that his jam was cooking down. Both the jam and the sponges needed to cool before he could start decorating and he was worried about time.

He was also starting to stress about his flavor, especially since Paul seemed almost insulted when Nick said he didn’t cook with cinnamon. He was honest though, unless it was a technical in the tent, he had no intention of cooking with it and Paul ‘gorgeous eyes’ Hollywood would just have to live with it.

He added some lemon to his jam and smiled as he saw it cooking down the way he wanted then checked on his sponges. So far… things were going well.

~

Once the jam was cooked down and strained, Nick popped it into the fridge, then took his sponges when he took them out. He smiled when he saw them, knowing they were perfect. If there was one thing he knew how to make it was a lovely sponge. He carefully set them aside, knowing it was best to let them cool in the pan for 20-30 minutes before putting them on a rack and he moved onto his almond buttercream as well as toasting the sliced almonds that would help decorate the top of the cake.

There was a shattering sound next to him and he looked over and saw that Niamh’s class mixing bowl at just broken and she was holding her hand. His immediate response, born from years of playing rugby and of coaching the youth team the last few years, was to rush over and check on her. “Are you alright?” he asked, not even thinking about the fact that his almonds were about to burn.

“Fine,” she said, hiding her tears as the medics came over and they saw she’d cut her hand. “We have it,” they told him. Nick looked at Niamh and she nodded.

He got back to his station and groaned when he saw the almonds had definitely burned. Luckily, he had some more, but it meant starting over. One of the cameramen zoomed in a little. “Why did you rush over like that?” he asked.

“I…” Nick frowned a moment and then shrugged. “I coach youth rugby and I’m used to doing something when someone is hurt,” he said.

“No one else moved to help her…”

“They were probably in shock,” Nick said. “Not everyone will instantly go to assist someone, especially if they’re unsure of how they’ll respond,” Nick told him. “I don’t care though. If someone looks hurt, I check it out.”

~

Finishing his signature was 100x more stressful then when he’d watched it on the telly. When Noel started the countdown Nick was sure he was going to have a panic attack even though his cake was looking really nice. His hands shook as he sprinkled the last of the toasted almonds on top and added a little cherry drizzle just as time was called.

They left the Tent so pictures could be  taken and so the cleaning crew could make everything look nice for the next shot and Nick just sagged into a seat.

“Tired?” Fatema teased.

“Exhausted. I did not think it would be this stressful.”

“Me neither,” Niamh said as she sat with them. “I’m definitely going home today. My cake wasn’t anywhere near finished.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Nick said gently. “Things happen. I think right now it’s going to come down to taste. As long as none of us screwed up too badly…”

“Did anyone do a Lemon? Everyone knows that Paul is into Lemon.”

“Clearly he has a thing for cinnamon too,” Nick laughed. “Did you see the evils he gave me when I said I don’t cook with it.”

“I did,” Niamh said. “You better watch your back, Nick,” she teased.

“Yes, he’ll sneak cinnamon into your bag,” Fatema teased as they laughed.

Nick liked this. It reminded him of when he got with Charlie and his friend group started expanding and evolving. The way he so easily connected with every single person in Charlie’s orbit, as if they belonged together, they were meant to be friends.

It felt the same here, with the exception of Camilla. He just fit here, with all these other home bakers who were doing other things with their lives but they were all connected with baking. Just like he’d been connected to his friends through their queerness and ally-ship.

They kept talking and chatting, Sebastian, Arvid, and Enzo wandered over and gave them waters before joining them. Nick missed Charlie, he always did when they weren’t together and especially on weekends since they were both mostly homebodies who preferred each others company over anyone else's, but he was also okay. This was a good experience for him.

Finally, after about 40 minutes, they were called back into the Tent. They started going from to back, starting with the left (Or Nick’s right), which meant Nick would be the sixth person they saw.

Prue and Paul did not seem very impressed with Camilla’s Cheddar and Pumpkin Bakewell, Enzo’s Sage and Strawberry was a hit though (Nick noted that Enzo mentioned a little loudly that there was cinnamon in the sponge). Arvid was next with his Thyme, Rosemary, and Apple Bakewell, though it was a little herby for their liking. Then there was Jules with his Orange and Ginger Bakewell (Once again, Prue and Paul didn’t seem to be fans, they felt that Jules sponge was overcooked).

Then it was Fatema’s turn. Her Bakewell cake was Honey, Cardamon, Pistachio, and Plums. Paul looked nearly speechless when he tasted it and seemed to debate giving her a handshake… then he did and everyone clapped. Nick was really excited for Fatema. He wasn't sure he'd seen anyone get a handshake the first week before.

Then it was Nick’s turn and he was petrified. Paul’s unbelievably gorgeous eyes (seriously, second most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen, Charlie’s always being number one for Nick). “So, Nick, tell us what you have,” Paul said, his eyes zeroing in on Nick.

“Um, I tried to keep it mostly classic. I have a Spiced Cherry Bakewell cake. It has a spiced Almond sponge, Spiced cherry jam filling, and an almond buttercream.”

“And the spices you used?” Prue asked.

“Cardamom, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg. I did add some lemon juice to the jam while it was cooking down but you shouldn’t be able to taste that.”

“And you used brown sugar for the Jam?” Paul asked.

“Yes.”

“This sponge is just fabulous," Prue said, clearly enjoying what she was eating. “And frankly I think this may be one of the best homemade jams I’ve ever tasted on this show.”

“Yes, the combination is good,” Paul said. “Did you use extract for the buttercream?”

“Uh yes.”

“But not in the sponge?”

“No, sir.”

Paul chuckled a little at that before continuing. “You used too much extract in the buttercream, It’s not terrible but it definitely overpowers my tongue a bit, especially when I want to eat more of this jam,” he said. “Not too bad,” he added before they walked over to Niahm’s station.

Nick closed his eyes, unable to focus on anymore of the bakes. That was one bake down.

~

Nick wasn’t feeling too nervous for the technical, he was pretty sure he’d watched enough Bake Off to feel confident enough in his abilities to figure things out.

Of course, that was until Noel announced the challenge.

“Paul would like you to make a Christmas Chocolate Brownie Cake.”

“That’s right,” Alison continued. “Paul wants a perfect Chocolate Brownie Cake that is festive even though it’s not anywhere near Christmas.”

Everyone laughed at that.

“You have an hour and 15 minutes. On your marks…”

“Get set…”

“Bake!”

Nick pulled the gingham off the supplies and tried not to internally panic. He’d made a lot of things since he was 14 but he’d never made brownies. Why? Well, because Charlie told him once that he didn’t like them. Nick was pretty sure it was around on the snow day they spend together and his mum had offered to make them some and that was when Nick found out that Charlie hated brownies. Charlie, who normally adored chocolate, hated the texture of brownies and the way it felt in his mouth. He’d said they were too heavy and dense so… Nick never bothered to learn how to make them.

Maybe that was a mistake, catering to only things Charlie might like, but he also never regretted it for a moment, even now with this damn technical. Charlie was his entire world, his reason for breathing, so of course his baking explorations would be very Charlie-centered.

He took a deep breath and decided he would just go on instinct. He wasn’t sure if he was making it right, especially since he also hadn’t eaten a brownie in years, but he hoped they would come out well enough that he wouldn’t get kicked out of the tent for shit brownie-making skills.

While the brownies (which he put some of the cranberries and walnuts into) were cooking he made chocolate leaves and sugared the cranberries to use a decorations since Alison had said they should be decorated.

His hands were shaking when he took out the Brownie Cake. It looked okay. It looked like a brownie… maybe.

“Are you alright?” Niamh asked from beside him.

“I’ve never made brownies before,” Nick admitted.

Fatema turned around and stared at him in shock. “Never?”

“Charlie doesn’t like them,” he said, hating how defensive he sounded.

Fatema smiled and snuck a look at his pan and nodded. “It looks like a brownie to me,” she told him.

“Really? Niamh, yeah?”

Niamh looked over for a moment from her own work and nodded. “Definitely looks like a brownie. Keep going,” she said giving him an encouraging smile.

Feeling a little better after their encouragement, Nick kept going, cooling down the brownies as much as he could before placing it on a plate and beginning to decorate it. He tried to make it as Christmas-y looking as possible, trying to make the cranberries and chocolate leaves look like Holly was wrapping around the top.

Then he heard Alison call time.

They put their brownies behind their pictures and Nick took the moment to look at everyone elses work. Most looked similar to his and it made him feel better. Unless they tasted horrible, then he would be okay.

Pure and Paul came in then and once again Nick was struck on how beautiful his eyes were… and he knew Charlie was going to take the piss out of him for it. He knew it was okay though, because Charlie knew that he was the only person for him and Nick knew the same with Charlie.

His brownie cake was the 5^th they tried and the only complaint he heard was that it was a bit sunk in the middle- but it was still cooked through and they liked that.

His hands were shaking a bit as Prue and Paul talked quietly and then they started to tell them who got what place.

“In 12^th place, we have this one.” Stella raised her hand, flushing at the fact that she was in the bottom. “Unfortunately it was underbaked in the middle and there were no cranberries in the Cake itself,” Prue explained.

“In 11^th place we have this one.” Camilla raised her hand. And so it went. Oliver got 10^th, Enzo got 9^th, Isadora got 8^th, Arvid got 7^th, Prisha got 6^th, Sebastian got 5^th, and Jules got 4^th.

With each person raising their hands, Nick felt his heart flutter more and more nervously. It felt insane that he was actually going to be in the top three when he’d never made a brownie before in his entire life.

“In 3^rd place, we have this one,” Paul said, standing in front of and pointing at Nick’s brownie cake. Nick raised his hand, a blush on his cheeks. “It was sunken in just a little bit, but still cooked through. The decoration is just slightly messier compared to the next two. Well done.”

Fatema took second and Niamh took first, but Nick was still mentally flying. He’d made it through his first technical and had placed third for something he’d never made before. He couldn’t wait to tell Charlie.

~

The next day they were there to work on their showstoppers.

“Good Morning Bakers! Welcome to your first showstopper challenge! Prue and Paul would like each of you to make an Indulgence Cake, something that will make the judges mouths water.”

“Each cake needs to consist of 4 perfectly baked sponge layers and equal layers of filling or curds.”

“You will have 4 hours to complete your cakes and make our judges swoon from all the indulgence you will be giving them. On your Mark…”

“Get Set…”

“Bake!”

Despite practicing this several times at home, and managing to finish it on time the last 4 times, Nick was once again set about with his nerves. Still, he was determined to remain focused. He was going to make it all the way to the end. He had a dream and it was going to come true, he was sure of it.

He was just getting his batter into the pans when Prue and Paul came over with Alison. “Hello Nick,” Prue said with a smile.

“Good morning,” Nick said, taking a moment to stop so that he could answer any questions they had.

“So tell us about your cake.”

“Um, well it’s going to be a Lavender cake with alternating layers of Lemon curb and Pistachio custard, and it’ll have an Earl Gray infused buttercream and a limoncello drizzle.”

“That sounds delicious,” Prue said.

“And risky. Lavender is very hard to work with, too much and your cake will taste soapy,” Paul pointed out.

“Yeah, I learned that during my practices at home,” Nick laughed. “But I think I found the right balance. Charlie liked it and he even took some into the office when he was dropping off a manuscript and they liked it too so…” Nick trailed off, realizing he was babbling with the way Prue was smiling at him.

“Well, I look forward to trying it,” Paul said.

“Thank you,” Nick said before getting back to putting his cakes in.

He was working on both his custard and his curb a little later when Alison was back at his station. “So, you’ve mentioned Charlie a few times already, that’s your partner?”

“Yeah,” Nick said with a smile. “We’ve been together for nine years now.”

“Childhood sweethearts! How sweet!”

“Yeah, Charlie’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” Nick said honestly. “It’s why I started looking into baking more and more. Like I loved it before I met him but then… well, Charlie struggles with food sometimes, so finding things that are safe for him is important.” He and Charlie had talked beforehand and Charlie said that it was fine for Nick to talk about his struggles with food, feeling like that might give people a little bit of an education when it came to eating disorders.

“That sounds lovely, the way you take care of him.”

“He takes care of me too,” Nick said. “That’s how love works.”

“Very true. Well, keep going,” she said with a smile before making her way over to Niamh.

The four hours felt like it passed much quicker than it did when he was baking at the flat and Charlie was timing him. When Noel called the 30 minutes remaining mark, he felt a little frazzled.

Still, when time was called, his cake was four layers, there was equal buttercream layers to the cake and two layers of Lemon curd and two layers of pistachio custard, plus it was decorated with both the buttercream and candied lemon peel and the limoncello drizzle on the top of the cake. Nick felt proud of it. He felt he had done a good job.

Nick was the second to last to present his cake to the judges. He carefully brought it up and set it down in front of them.

“It’s a Lavender cake with alternating layers of Lemon Curd and Pistachio custard, with a Earl Grey Italian buttercream and Limoncello drizzle."

“Well, it looks good,” Paul said. He sliced the cake and took out a large slice so they could properly see the layers.

“Oh, that is lovely,” Prue said with a nod.

“All the layers are even and uniform, it looks professional.”

Then they tried it.

“I’m not sure I taste very much lavender,” Paul said.

“Oh, stop, I taste it,” Prue laughed. “This is heavenly to me,” she said. “And this custard…”

“The curd and custard are incredible,” Paul agreed with a nodded. “The buttercream isn’t overpowering either, you can taste the earl gray but it doesn’t fight with the other flavors.”

“Hmmm,” was all Prue said as she nodded, clearly enjoying what she was tasting.

“All the flavors work very well together, Nick. Well Done.”

Nick smiled at that and took his cake back to his station and waiting for Camilla to present her cake (since she was the last).

~

“How do you think we all did,” Sebastian asked as the group sat together eating some snacks. It seemed like the five of them, Nick, Arvid, Sebastian, Fatema, and Niamh, had come together as a group and sat together more then any of the others. Camilla preferred to be alone and the other bakers seemed too exhausted to really want to engage with anyone at the moment,. Nick figured that might change later.

“Well, I clearly won,” Arvid teased.

“Yours was really good,” Nick said. He loved that they all got to try each other's bakes. “I’ve never had an Orange Indulgence cake before.”

“It was my Gwyn’s favorite,” Arvid said, a blush on his leathery cheeks. “And you’re one to talk.”

“Yeah, how did you come up with that flavor combination?” Fatema asked. “I never would have put Earl Grey and Lavender together.”

Nick shrugged. “Charlie.”

“You’re a bit obsessed with him, aren’t you?” Niamh teased.

Nick laughed. “Oh yes, definitely. All of our friends say that we make them feel single even though they’re married or have been together as long as we have.”

“Isn’t that strange? Like your entire friend group from grammar school all found their soul mates already or something?” Sebastian asked.

“I think it’s romantic,” Fatema said.

“I say it’s because Charlie is magic,” Nick told them.

“What do you mean?” Niamh asked curiously.

“Charlie just draw people to him, love and stuff. It’s hard to explain but… he’s like a… lighthouse for love.”

“Okay… now that is romantic,” Niamh said, saying a little bit.

“And now I feel depressively single,” Sebastian laughed.

They continued chatting until they were called back to find out how the day would end. Nick was sitting between Niahm and Arvid. Niahm grabbed his hand nervously when Prue, Paul, Alison, and Noel walked in and he was reminded for a moment that she was the youngest baker in the tent, only 19, and she looked so young and scared right then. He squeezed her hand back and gave her an encouraging smile. She would be fine.

“Congratulations Bakers,” Noel said, giving them a warm smile. “You’re made it to the end of the first week and you haven’t died yet,” he said causing everyone to laugh. “Now I get the best job this week and get to announce our Star Baker. Our First Star Baker is… Niamh!”

Niamh gasped and Nick beamed at her. “Well done,” he whispered as she almost bounced off her stool in excitement.

Everyone took a breath as Alison spoke next. “That meant I have the worst job this week. It breaks my heart because it’s just the first week but… unfortunately someone has to go. The baker leaving us this week is… Camilla. I’m so sorry…”

~

~Late September~

“Good! Her stuff wasn’t that good anyway!”

“Tao!”

“No, I agree,” Elle chimed in. “She got second to last in the technical and she didn’t do well in the signature or the showstopper. She needed to go.”

“You still need to be nice,” Charlie chided gently. “She worked hard to get on as well.”

“Well, we need to go,” Elle said, not wanting to argue with Charlie. “I have an early morning at the gallery.”

“Okay, thanks for watching with us… even if it was just through Facetime,” Nick said.

“Bye!”

Charlie laughed and turned off his phone then pulled Nick in for a kiss. “What did you think?”

“I think I look terrible.”

“Oh stop it,” Charlie laughed. “I think you did an amazing job and I’ve had that custard… I want more.”

Nick pulled Charlie tight to him. “Yeah? Well, whatever my husband wants, my husband gets,” he said, sealing his promise with a deep and passionate kiss.

Chapter Text

I do not own any of these characters- they were created by the incredible Alice Oseman who is our Queen! I apologize for any grammar errors- I do have a learning disability that makes it hard for me to remember more than the most basic grammar rules. I really hope you love the story I am creating for you!

His Dream Come True

Chapter 3- Biscuits Week

~Mid-April~

Going into the Tent for the second week, Nick felt a little calmer. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because he’d already gotten through one week?

His biggest stress right the was outside of the competition. He had a couple of big exams coming up and if everything went well he should be getting his QTS- which was almost as important to him as his future with Charlie.

That was another stress he was dealing with- not Charlie himself but Charlie-adjacent. Charlie’s mum had called him about bringing Charlie down the next weekend for a get together and he’d had to say no. He explained he was taking extra classes for school (that was the lie they’d given to their friends and family for why Nick wasn’t around on the weekends for those 10 weeks), but she’d been very unhappy with him about it.

He tried not to be too frustrated with Jane, he knew she missed Charlie and Tori and rarely got to see them. She’d probably done all the planning and sorting in her head before calling and now her plans were useless. Jane had been diagnosed with OCD like Charlie around the time Charlie was 19. It had explained a lot of the way she pushed Charlie and her frustration with understanding the right way to deal with Charlie's mental Health struggles. He’d talked to Charlie about if he wanted to go up by himself but Charlie definitely did not. He was worried that Jane would try to bring up the ‘future’ again if it was just him and it was much easier to deflect that question when both of them were there.

Because a future with Charlie was very, very important to Nick. In fact, though Charlie didn’t know it, he already had a ring. He’d had it for months, since before he got the call about Bake Off, but he’d been nervous about finding the right moment to ask him. After he got on the show, it felt like everything just seemed to slide into place. Even if he didn’t make it to the finals, Nick now knew when and how he was going to propose to his gorgeous boyfriend.

However, right now he needed to work on his signature for Biscuits Week. The brief had been simple, he was required to make two dozen sandwich biscuits, one dozen of one type, and one dozen of another, which all needed to be uniform in shape and color.

Nick chose a cookie to represent his mother, Rhubarb and Cream, and a cookie to represent Charlie, Bourbon and Chocolate Caramel.

He was working on his first shortbread mix when Prue and Paul came over, Alison with them.

“Hi Nick,” Prue said brightly.

“Hey,” he said giving them a smile.

“What are you making for us today?” Paul asked.

“Um, well my first biscuits are a Rhubarb and Cream ones, I’m making a Rhubarb curd to go in the center and a simple vanilla cream to go with it.”

“And the biscuits themselves?”

“Lemon shortbread,” Nick said. “My mum loves how Rhubarb and Lemon taste together, so that’s what I’m going for.”

Paul’s lips twitched a little, clearly happy to hear that there would be something lemon. “And your other biscuit sandwich?”

“Bourbon and Chocolate Caramel. The biscuits are a Bourbon and brown butter shortbread with just a touch of rosemary, and the filling will be a chocolate caramel with some cayenne for a little bit of a kick.”

“And the biscuits need a kick?” Paul asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Well, go big or go home, right,” Nick said, staring him dead in the eye. Charlie told him to not show fear because he was sure that Paul thrived on it, but it was very hard. Paul had a way of making him feel like it was his first time in the kitchen.

“Right,” Paul finally said with a smirk. Nick wasn’t sure if the smirk was a good or bad thing though.

“We’ll see you later Nick,” Prue said kindly as they walked away.

Nick tried not to roll his eyes in frustration. It was barely week two, he couldn’t be getting annoyed over all of this. He got both of his shortbreads baking as quick as he could, but he was worried about his Rhubarb curd because it didn’t seem to be cooking as quickly as he wanted.

His vision started to blur a little and buzzing started to fill his ears. He tried to slow his breathing, tried to think of random numbers, but it was hard. He wasn’t sure why he was panicking, nothing was going majorly wrong, but he still felt it.

Nick closed his eyes for a moment. He couldn’t panic, he needed to focus. It took him far longer then he wanted to but finally, he was able to refocus on the task at hand. His chocolate caramel ended up burning the first time because of his panic, but he was able to make it a second time and this time, it was perfect. Well… he hoped it was perfect. In the end, it would come down to if Prue and Paul liked them.

Nick was able to finish about 5 minutes earlier and saw that Fatema was struggling to finish her biscuits, so he immediately went to her. “Do you need help?”

“Can you put them on the board as I’m finishing them?” she asked almost desperately.

“Of course,” he said, helping to get the biscuits that were done on the board. The last cookie was put on just as Noel got to 5 seconds left. Fatema gave him a hug and thanked him for his help. “No problem,” he promised.

~

“Okay,” Enzo said as he drank some water and ate a power bar. “How is it that the second week feels more stressful than the first?”

“Maybe because it’s more real?” Oliver suggested. “I mean, last week everyone was here but then Camilla got sent home so…”

“Oh God,” Niamh said, shuddering a bit. “Do this mean the anxiety will get worse each week?”

“I hope not,” Nick murmured. “I’m not sure I can handle that.”

“Yeah, you looked like you were close to having a panic attack at one point,” Jules said sympathetically.

“I was,” Nick admitted. “I had them all the time when I was little. I learned to hide them by the time I was a teen, but after meeting Charlie it was a lot easier to get them under control. Except when he’s been ill, I don’t think I’ve had one since I was taking my GCSEs.”

“I get Panic attacks,” Stella admitted. Nick was surprised, it was the first time he’d heard her speak outside of their challenges since he’d met her. “It’s one of the reason I wanted to do this, to push myself out of my comfort zone. Do you have any animals, Nick? I have a cat that helps me, her names Lucipurr.”

“That's an adorable name! Charlie and I have a dog named Daisy, she's our golden retriever,” Nick said with a smile. “I used to have a border collie named Nellie but she passed a couple of years ago. Honestly, before I met Charlie she was who helped me manage my panic attacks the best.”

“Animals have a way of doing that,” Stella agreed. “I think every home should have some type of animal.”

Nick grinned. “Me too! Even Charlie agrees. His parents didn’t have animals when he was growing up. He thought they didn’t like them, but there was actually some trauma there. Now they have a cat… it’s weird when we visit to actually see his mum cuddled up with a purring fluffball.”

“We have rabbits,” Fatema said. “4 of them all girls. Pets bring so much comfort and joy.”

“Great- now I need to get a pet,” Sebastian pretended to complain, but he was laughing so everyone understood he was joking.

“You can get a fish,” Isadora quipped with a wink.

“Fish are hard,” Prisha said. “I have three tanks and it is a huge amount of work. Worth it, but definitely not as easy as people think.”

“I still say dogs are the best starter pet,” Nick said with a shrug.

“Nope, cats are,” Stella said, pretending to narrow her eyes at him and everyone cracked up laughing. The tension that had been in the air before the signature completely gone now.

~

It was hard for Nick not to see how the judges reacted to other peoples biscuits and he tried to keep calm as they made their way down the stations. When they finally got to him, Paul gave him a half smile. “Tell us about your biscuit sandwiches,” he said.

“Uh, yeah, so the first one is a rhubarb and custard biscuit. The biscuit itself is a Lemon shortbread. Inside is a rhubarb curd and a simple vanilla and lemon buttercream. The second one is a Bourbon and Chocolate biscuit. The biscuit is bourbon and brown butter flavored with a touch of rosemary. The filling is a chocolate caramel that had some cayenne which give you a light kick at the end but shouldn’t burn out your taste buds.”

Prue and Paul each looked at the biscuits and examined them before taking a bite out of each. They tried the Rhubarb and Cream one first.

“Oh…” Pure said, her voice going very soft. Her eyes met Paul’s and he nodded. “Yeah,” he agreed. Nick wondered what they were silently communicating. It was making him very nervous. Next they each took a bite of the Bourbon and Chocolate. Once again there was silence between the two and Nick was reminded a little of the way he and Charlie would sometimes ‘talk’ to each other.

After a few beats, Paul looked straight at Nick and then held his hand out. Nick felt like he couldn’t breathe as he took Paul’s hand. He was getting a handshake? “Those are just… Perfect.”

“Absolutely,” Prue agreed. “You used just the right of rosemary and cayenne without it being overwhelming. It’s very impressive.”

“I want you to bake 100 more of these so I can take them home,” Paul admitted reluctantly.

“Thank you,” Nick managed to say, flushing deeply.

~

Nick was much more nervous for the technical this time because of the fact that he had to make a Brownie cake the week before. When he told Charlie about it, Charlie had teased him about it mercilessly, only stopping when Nick had playfully threatened to make him brownies for a month. Of course then Charlie had kissed him and… He flushed a little as he remembered the fun they had afterwards. He wasn’t ashamed of his very active sex life with Charlie, but he felt it wasn’t the thing he should be thinking about when he was about to go into a technical challenge.

“Alright everyone,” Alison was saying. “Our Judges would like for you to make 12 perfect Tiramisu Sandwich Biscuits.”

“They should be identical in length and appearance, filled with a delicious buttercream, dipped in chocolate with a coffee bean.”

“On your marks…”

“Get Set…

“Bake!”

Nick smiled as he pulled off the gingham. This was actually something he knew how to make. It fact he’d made it with Prue's recipe several times at home because Charlie liked it so much. Unlike the week before, Nick was almost immediately in his element.

He immediately set his oven to 190 and sorted out his parchment paper, making sure to mark it for 10 cm long so that each biscuit would be the exact same size. Then he started on the batter for the biscuit itself.

Once everything was mixed together and he ran it through a sieve, he carefully piped out 24 lines of his mixture before putting in the oven and setting his time for 13 minutes.

“I don’t know how long to put it for,” he heard Fatema saying to herself as she also put her biscuits into he oven.

“13-15 minutes,” Nick whispered, loud enough for her to hear, not sure if he was really allowed to help on technicals, but wanting to help anyway. She looked back at him then nodded. They understood each other and she knew he wouldn't lie to her.

While they were baking, he cut his butter cut up and into the mixer for the buttercream and started beating it, knowing it needed to be smooth before he added the other ingredients.

He took out his biscuits at just 14 minutes because they were the perfect golden-brown color, let them sit for five minutes, then placed them on a cooling rack before turning back to his buttercream. At the same time he’d begun melting down the chocolate and was constantly keeping an eye on both to make sure nothing was over-whipped or overdone.

He could hear Alison call the five-minute mark and knew he needed to hurry. He’d already dipped the tip of half of his cookies and while they weren’t completely set to his satisfaction, he figured they would be alright as he finished piping the buttercream onto the cookies and turning them into sandwiches. He’d just placed the last chocolate-covered coffee bean when Noel called time.

~

Despite his confidence at the beginning of the technical, Nick felt unsure by the end of it. By now he guessed that was just going to be a feeling that was going to live in his stomach until he was asked to leave the Tent or until he made it to the finals.

His technical was the second to tasted and both Prue and Paul immediately commented on how professional and well-done it looked. Nick had thought some of his piping was messy at the end, but maybe he was over thinking it.

“In 11^th place we have this one,” Prue said. Stella sighed and held up her hand, clearly not being happy that she was last in the technical again. “You didn’t have the chocolate-covered coffee bean and there wasn’t any piping on the top of the biscuit, plus the chocolate was very clunky,” she explained.

“In 10^th place, we have this one,” Paul said, standing in front of Enzo’s biscuits. Jules got 9^th Place, Prisha got  8^th, Isadora got 7^th,  Arvid got 6^th, Oliver got 5^th, Fatema got 4^th, Niamh got 3^rd.

As Prue and Paul took turns pointing to each picture, the butterflies in Nick’s stomach increased. When Niamh got third Nick felt like he was close to passing out. That meant that he was going to place first or second in the technical?

“2^nd Place is this one,” Paul said standing in front of Sebastian's Biscuits. He nodded at him. “These were really good and we had a hard time choosing but the others were just a tiny bit better.” Everyone laughed at that.

“Which means these are the winner,” Prue said going to Nick’s plate and Nick blushed as he raised his hand. “Nick, these were perfectly done. Have you ever made them before?”

“Yeah, it’s one of Charlie’s favorites so I make them a few times a month,” he admitted, still flushed really red.

“It certainly shows,” Prue told him. “Well done.”

~

That night Nick called Charlie. “Hey, how’s everything at home?”

“Mum has convinced me to come down for my birthday,” Charlie told him with a laugh. “She said I could bring Daisy.”

“What? Your mum never wants that,” Nick laughed.

“I know,” Charlie laughed. “But Dad did say we’ll steer clear of certain topics.”

“Good.”

“How was your day? Did you do well?”

“Um… I got a handshake…”

“NICK!” Charlie’s excited shout was so loud that Nick had to pull his phone away from his ear with a laugh. “I knew it, I knew it! It was the Bourbon and Chocolate Caramel biscuits, wasn’t it?”

“It was both,” Nick told him. “Oh, and I got first in Technical,” he said, trying to keep his voice casual.

“Nicholas Luke Nelson! I am so proud of you! I seriously cannot wait until I get to brag about you to everyone. My boyfriend got a handshake and first in a technical. Now you just need Star Baker.”

“Don’t get your hopes up, there’s a few others who are really good, Char.”

“When you get to the finals who do you think will be with you?” Charlie asked, not believing for a second that Nick wouldn’t get there.

“If I get there, Fatema is definitely going to be there too. Seriously Char, she’s amazing! Her biscuits were insane plus she got a handshake too and last week…” Nick sighed. “I don’t know how she comes up with her bakes.”

“I bet she says the same about you,” Charlie told him.

“If you say so,” Nick said. It was funny how he struggled to take compliments just as much as Charlie but no one even thought about it. “I think Niamh or Sebastian or Oliver could be in the finals too- they’re on another level too.”

“It sounds like you’re bonding really well with them,” Charlie said.

“I am. It’s really nice to feel this connection with other bakers, you know.”

“I get it, I’m the same way when I meet people who like books as much as I do,” Charlie told him. “Did you want to invite any of them to our watch parties when the time comes?”

“Yeah. You know I was talking to Stella today and we were talking about the healing powers of animals. I think you’d like her. She has a black cat.”

“God, I love black cats,” Charlie laughed. “They speak to the color of my soul.”

“Oh please, you are the biggest softie in the universe. Try to deny it all you want Char, but I’ve loved you for nine years and I know you better than I know myself sometimes.”

~

The next day Nick was still feeling very giddy over the day before though he tried to tamp down his ‘golden retriever energy’ since he didn’t want to annoy anyone. His friends might be happy to put up with him, but most people seemed to get annoyed with him after awhile.

Their signature was supposed to be a biscuit sculpture, something that captured an important moment in their lives. For Nick was it was easy, the day he and Charlie had officially declared themselves boyfriends.

He kept his cookies simple, just an orange, honey, and mint shortbread because he didn’t want something like fruit or chocolate weighing it down. The base of the sculpture would be decorated like the ocean, with two cookies standing in the water, and the sculpture part of it was that he was making an actual rainbow that he wanted to go over the entire base. He’d only been successful with it once at home (and only for 10 minutes) but he was still hopeful it would work.

Getting the first part of the cookie done was easy, it wasn’t hard to make ‘paint’ the ocean floor and make it look pretty. Making the ‘humans’ was different because Nick wanted to make it look like his cookie was holding Charlie's just like he did on that day so many years ago.

He spent so much time on those cookies that he forgot about starting his royal icing early enough and that was when everything started going to shit for him. When it was time for him to start structuring his Rainbow (since it was a standing structure), the icing wasn’t setting correctly, the biscuits that he’d baked so carefully for the rainbow port began to sag. Unfortunately, Nick didn’t notice this until there was only five minutes left.

He tried to fix it, he was desperately adding more royal icing and trying to get it all together, but it didn’t work and less then 45 seconds after time was called his rainbow that he'd worked so hard on collapsed into the ‘ocean’.

Everyone gathered for their rest while pictures were taken and everything was reset but Nick was trying to hold back tears. That day had been special and now he felt like he’d messed everything up and that he wouldn’t be able to remember that day again without feeling like shit.

Niamh sat next to him and patted his shoulder. “It’s okay. Not everything was going to go right,” she told him softly. “I mean look what happened with me last week.”

“Yeah but… it was important.”

“Tell me about that day then, why was it so special?”

Nick smiled. “It was the day Charlie and I finally became official boyfriends. Like, with the label.” He chuckled. “I thought he was my boyfriend from the start but he had this awful ex who fucked with his head and… well, he was afraid I wouldn’t want to label it.”

“Miscommunication at it’s best,” Niamh teased.

“Yeah,” he whispered. “He almost broke up with me just before that but we figured it out and I took him to the beach for a date and then he asked if we were boyfriends, so I carried him out into the ocean and screamed out that we were boyfriends for the entire universe to hear.”

“Oh my God, really?” Niamh asked. “God, that’s so romantic!”

“I also almost dropped him in for not realizing we were already boyfriends,” Nick laughed, then he grew serious as he wiped his eyes. “I just wanted everyone to see it the way I did,” he whispered.

“Well, things happen and I thought it was really cute, plus you know your flavors will be spot on,” she told him. “Don’t give up, okay?”

“Yeah…”

~

When it was time to bring up his showstopper, it took everything inside of Nick to keep himself from crying again.

“So…” Prue said, a look of compassion on her face. “Tell us about your sculpture.”

“Um… well it was supposed to be a day Charlie and I had at the beach,” he said softly. “It was supposed to have a rainbow. The shortbread is um… orange, honey, and mint.”

“The flavor is good," Paul said as he took a bite but looked closer at the collapsed remains of the rainbow. “It looks like your royal icing didn’t set. Have you done that before?”

“I was able to do it at home, yeah… I think I was rushing and put too much water in the royal icing.”

“That would definitely cause it to collapse the way it did,” Paul agreed. “Your flavor were good though.”

“Thank you, Nick,” Prue added.

Nick nodded and went back to his station, still feeling ashamed of himself for not getting it right.

~

It was a couple hours later when they were all called back into the tent to find out their fate.

“Bakers,” Alison said. “Well done, it’s been a fabulous week and you all works so incredibly hard. I get the best job this week and get to announce Star Baker! So this week’s Star baker is… Fatema!” Everyone clapped and Nick smiled at her, she’d also gotten a handshake like him in the signature and her showstopper had been fabulous, she definitely deserved Star Baker.

“Unfortunately, that leaves me with the terrible job,” Noel said. “I wish we didn’t have to do this because it’s so wonderful getting to know each of you, but sadly the baker leaving us this week will be… Stella. I’m so sorry…”

~

~Last Day of September~

“Awww," Charlie said. “I liked her, she was growing on me,” Charlie said. “I mean, I know I’ve seen her like a dozen times since the garden party but it still makes me sad.”

“Agreed,” Imogen said. She and Sahar had joined Nick and Charlie for their ‘watch’ party that evening. “I loved how she talked about her cat all the time.”

“Well, Nick talks about Charlie all the time,” Sahar teased.

“Why shouldn’t I?” Nick asked, an amused smile on his face. “Charlie is perfection.” His phone buzzed a moment later and he saw a new story had been posted on Instagram and his eyes bugged out. “Charlie!”

Charlie looked at the picture and almost laughed. It was of Sebastian and Christian, arms around each other and Christian was holding up a hand that had a ring on it. It was Captioned ‘Met the love of my life because of Bake Off- He Said Yes!’

“Oh my god! And I had to wait 9 years for you to propose,” Charlie teased.

“Hey, you waited 9 years too,” Nick laughed. “God… they’re so fucking adorable.”

“Well, we better get an invite to their wedding since they came to ours,” Charlie told him.

“I’ll make sure Seb and Christian know,” Nick laughed as he typed in a comment congratulating his two friends. It was all because of Charlie… Charlie had introduced them at the garden party and had been the only one to realize that Christian was not straight for years. After typing his response, he pulled Charlie back into his arms and kissed him deeply. Bake Off gave Seb Christian, but it had given Nick his dream.

Chapter Text

I do not own any of these characters- they were created by the incredible Alice Oseman who is our Queen! I apologize for any grammar errors- I do have a learning disability that makes it hard for me to remember more than the most basic grammar rules. I really hope you love the story I am creating for you!

His Dream Come True

Chapter 4- Bread Week

~Latel April~

“URGH!”

Charlie would have laughed at the sound his boyfriend was making if it wasn’t for the look on his face when he walked into the kitchen and saw him practically covered in flour. “Oh Honey…”

“Don’t laugh,” Nick warned.

“I would never…” Charlie said really trying not to laugh now. “Maybe you should take a break?”

“I can’t! This had to be perfect. It’s bread week. If I have any hope of making it into the finals then I need to do well,” Nick said almost sounding panicked.

Charlie walked over to him and wrapped his arms around Nick’s neck and pulled him into a kiss, feeling a little surge of triumph as he felt Nick start to relax, just like he had when he kissed him at sports day almost 9 years earlier. “All your bread practices had gone perfect, sweetheart,” he murmured gently. “You’re just panicking because it’s this weekend.”

“It’s my dream…”

“I know,” Charlie whispered, kissing him again. “And you’re working really hard,” he said, giving him another kiss. “But I’m starting to think you need a break,” Charlie murmured, kissing him for a third time.

Nick was weakening and he knew it, but how could he resist with the way Charlie was touching and kissing him. It was impossible not to resist the gorgeous man that was kissing him. “But the dough is proofing…”

“How long does it need?” Charlie asked, his fingers lightly brushing the back of Nick’s neck as he slid his lips to Nick’s neck. Yes, he knew exactly what he was doing but it one of the only things that got Nick out of his baking-induced panic spirals.

“Um… an hour and a half or so…” Nick murmured, melting under Charlie’s soft touches and kisses.

“Hmm, not the best time, but I’ve worked with less…” Charlie whispered and smiled when Nick let out a little giggle, his entire body completely relaxing. Nick would do far better this weekend once he was completely relaxed… beside it was his birthday and he deserved an extra treat…

~

Nick smiled when he saw everyone getting ready to walk into the tent. “Hey Seb,” he said brightly, feeling really good and relaxed that morning despite it being bread week.

“You look very happy,” Sebastian teased.

“Well it was Charlie’s birthday a couple days ago,” Nick said with a shrug.

“Oh, so that that explains the hickey on your neck,” He teased him. “You know that’s going to shine on TV, right.”

Nick flushed bright red, but also shrugged casually. “I once sent my mum a selfie of me and Charlie with a bright hickey on his neck while in Paris... if I can live with the embarrassment of my mother teasing me, I think I can live with everyone in England knowing that I adore my boyfriend.”

“God, you’re making feel so single…”

“You mentioned that last week,” Nick laughed as they walked and went to their stations, though Nick also noticed there were only 10 stations now. It hit even more that they were going into their third week.

He drew a deep breath and kept himself calm, remembering Charlie’s word that his breads had all come out perfectly in every single practice. He needed to focus on that.

“Hello Bakers, welcome back to the tent,” Alison said warmly. “It’s bread week and for your signature challenge, the judges would like for you to make a twisted, savory loaf.”

“Paul and Prue are looking for a perfect loaf that had savory flavors that sing,” Noel said causing everyone to chuckle.

“You can use any style of dough and any savory flavors that you like! You’ve got Four hours…”

“On your Marks…”

“Get set…”

“Bake!”

Nick immediately started working on his dough, knowing that he needed to stay completely on task if he was going to get it done. It was also the longest time they’d been given for a signature, so he hoped that it would all work out for him.

He was starting to knead his dough when Prue and Paul came over. “Morning Nick,” Paul said, looking much happier than he had in the past two weeks. Nick put that down to the fact that it was bread week. Everyone knew that Paul loved bread week.

“Good Morning,” Nick said with a smile. While he was starting to feel the stress a little, Charlie really had helped him relax over the last few days and he was feeling better then he had in the last few weeks.

“Tell us about your twisted loaf,” Paul said.

“Well, it’s two types,” Nick said, hoping he wasn’t over-extending himself. “One twist will have Rosemary, Sage, and Thyme with Manchego and Gouda cheese, and the other will be have Onion and fennel with Parmesan, mozzarella, and Romano cheese,” Nick said.

“That sounds complicated,” Prue said.

“It’s not really,” Nick said. “I’ve been practicing it at least once a week until this last week and then I made it several times. My mother-in-law loves onion and fennel and had been absolutely nuts for the bread,” Nick said honestly. It had surprised him with how much Jane liked it, but she’d basically begged that he send extra with Charlie while he was visiting that weekend and Nick didn’t have the heart to turn her down when she asked that nicely. Charlie had teased him that Nick was becoming his mum’s favorite and Nick had teased back that it was only fair since Charlie was now his mum’s favorite.

“Will the spices be mixed through the dough?” Paul asked.

“Yeah, so I start off with just the plain dough and then once it mixed enough I divide it and add in the different spices before fully finishing the kneading process,” Nick said.

“What flour are you using?” Prue asked.

“Mostly regular, but I’m using about 15% buckwheat to give it a little bit of an nuttier flavor.”

“You really appear confident here,” Paul commented

“I’m trying not be,” Nick laughed. “I mean, if it all goes wrong, you’ll be the first to tell me,” he added.

“That is very true,” Paul said. “We’ll see you later,” he added before moving on.

Once Nick had the two doughs kneaded well enough he set them aside to prove while he started preparing his herbs and cheesed to fill his doughs. After the doughs had risen enough he rolled them each out, being careful to make sure they didn’t overlap and added the cheeses and herbs to the center before carefully pinching them closed. Then he placed it in a pan, taking his time to twist the two doughs into a gentle a braid so nothing would spill out and let it proof for about another 40 minutes before adding an eggwash and then finally putting it into the oven.

However, just like that home, this was when he started over thinking and worrying about his choices. Had he really made the right choice in doing two different fillings? Of course he wasn’t the only one, but it was still started to stress him out. He paced in front of his oven as he waited for the time to tell him it was time to reduce his heat.

He glanced around and saw that most of the other bakers had their loaves in the ovens or were about to put them in, but Sebastian seemed to really be struggling with his- his still hadn’t gone for it second prove. Nick felt his heart seize up a little. That meant it might not be done in time. If he was home or something he would have offered to help but he was afraid to leave his bread. Plus, what could he do- clearly Sebastian had run into some type of issue and he couldn't magically made the bread prove faster

The timer beeped, letting him know that it was time to reduce the temperature and looking through the window the oven, making sure that it wasn’t browning too quickly. He had to stay focused. He was good at making bread, he hadn’t messed this one up before and he just needed to stay focused on the task at hand.

After lowering the temperature, Nick baked it for another 19 minutes, feeling that the bread looked perfect enough to come out, then he removed it from its pan and set it aside, knowing he shouldn’t touch it again.

He’d finished with 3 minutes to spare, but each second felt like an eternity as he watched his fellow bakers finishing their breads… and poor Sebastian’s looked only halfway done.

~

“You know, when people said Bread Week was brutal, I didn’t think it would be this bad,” Sebastian said as they all settled down together. “I mean, I knew it would be rough but…”

“I wasn’t sure I was going to finish in time,” Enzo admitted. “I’m still not sure I did.”

“It’ll be fine,” Niamh said. “Even if you mess up your signature, if you do well on the technical and showstopper it’ll be okay.”

“Yes, but that’s only for now,” Sebastian. “Later on the signature could break you too,” he pointed out.

“Lets not get too worked up over it,” Nick said. “Remember, we take this one challenge at a time. That’s how you win.”

“Spoken like a sporty lad,” Jules said with a laugh.

“And one who got some action,” Sebastian teased. “Come on Nick, spill about the hickey.”

“Nope,” Nick said instantly with a laugh. “What Charlie and I do is no one's business but ours.”

~

Nick’s bread was the first to get judged and he immediately wished it hadn’t. It was nicer when he could see what everyone else had done first. Still there was no going back now.

Paul looked at the loaf in front of them. “It looks good,” he said honestly. “The twist is very nice and it’s got a perfect color… but that means nothing if it’s not baked correctly, right?”

Nick chuckled weakly. “Yeah.”

“Stop torturing the poor boy and cut it,” Prue chided him with a laugh.

Paul cut the bread and immediately checkeds the proving. He nodded as Pure smiled. “This smell delicious Nick,” she told him.

“It does,” Paul agreed as he took a bite. Once again, Nick felt frozen as he waited for their judgement, especially Paul’s. He was, after all the King of Bread.

“Oh this is heavenly,” Pure was murmuring but Nick was staring at Paul, willing him to like what he’d made. God, he thought it was hard enough to get Jane's approval!

Finally Paul looked at him and nodded before clearing his throat and holding out his hand. Nick was absolutely sure he was dreaming. A second handshake? It had to be a dream. “That is the best bread I’ve ever had on this show,” Paul said bluntly. “You should be very proud of yourself.”

“Thank you, sir,” Nick said, his cheeks bright red and tears glittering in his eyes, though he held them back. Once Prue, Paul, and Noel left to go to the next station, Nick wiped his eyes, feeling completely overwhelmed. He’d only hoped that Paul would like it, but it hear that it was the best bread he’d ever had on the show hit different.

~

Going into the technical, Nick felt like he was in a bit of a daze. No one else had gotten handshakes and both Sebastian and Isadora's breads had been unberbaked while Prishas had been underproved. The only two bakers that seemed to come out unscathed besides Nick was Fatema and Niamh.  For a moment, Nick wondered if it would be the three of them in the final but then put that out of his mind because he didn’t want to jinx it.

The technical was simple but harder then anyone would have expected. Paul had set the challenge (as he always did with bread) and wanted them to make 4 uniform baguettes and they had an hour and 45 minutes to get it done.

While Nick had never done Paul recipes for it, he had made them a couple of times for holidays and focused on remembering each of the steps. He knew the dough needed to prove for an hour, then an hour or so again… and he was pretty sure it needed to be baked for around 20 minutes, maybe longer if the oven temperature wasn’t right. It didn’t leave a lot of time to make the dough, but he was determined it would be properly done.

When time was called, Nick had four almost perfect baguettes ready for the judges. However, he immediately saw that Sebastian’s were overcooked and he felt a pang. Unless Sebastian did perfect in the show stopper or unless someone else screwed up worse, it was possible he would be the one going home today.

“In 10^th place we have this one,” Prue said. Sebastian raised his hand. “Sebastien, these were underproved and very overbaked.”

“Yeah, I know,” Sebastian said, looking a little bit down though he was trying to smile.

“In 9^th place we have this one.” Enzo raised his hand. Oliver got 8^th, Isadora got 7^th, Niamh got 6^th, Arvid got 5^th, Jules got 4^th, and Prisha got 3^rd.

“In second place we have this one,” Prue said, standing in front of Fatema’s picture. Fatema raised her hand. “Almost perfect, the color was just slightly off,” she told her.

“And in first place we have this one,” Paul said, a slight chuckle escaping him as Nick raised his hand and blushed red again. “They’re perfect. I really can’t say anything bad about them. Well done, Nick.”

~

“Okay Bakers,” Noel said a couple of hours later. “I know that we usually don’t do this, but your dought needs to prove over night, so we’re starting our challenge now.”

“The judges would like you each to make two types of breakfast rolled buns.”

“Think Cinnamon buns but without the cinnamon,” Noel teased as everyone laughed. “The judges want them to be uniform and consistent in shape and size.”

“And, of course, they need to taste delicious,” Alison added. “You’ll have two and a half hours tonight to get your dough prepared and ready to prove for tomorrow. On your marks…”

“Get set…”

“Prove!”

~

The next day they all had to get up earlier than usual so they could get started on their fillings for their buns. Nick was also the only one doing something different.

While everyone else was doing two different typed of sweet breakfast buns, including a few who were making actual cinnamon rolls, Nick decided he wanted to make one savory and one sweet. Tao hated sweet things in the morning and he made Tao some savory breakfast breakfast buns during the time that Charlie was in the hospital and they had been spending a lot of time together. Those weeks had sealed their friendship for life.

“Good morning Nick,” Prue said as they came to his station. “Do I smell bacon?”

“You do,” Nick said with a smile.

“Please tell us about it,” she said looking delighted.

“I’m doing a savory one and a sweet one,” Nick explained. “The savory one is mushroom, bacon, spinach and white cheddar, and it’ll be topped with a butter that has chives and Parmesan.”

“It’s risky to do a savory one, don’t you think?” Paul asked.

“Well, I have some friends who don’t like sweet things in the morning so… I figured why not,” Nick said with a shrug. He might have looked relaxed but Paul's words made him start second-guessing himself.

“What about your sweet ones?”

“Oh,” Nick smiled. “Um apple and pecan,” he said. “It’s kind of classic, but I figured since I’m going outside of the box for the other one, I might stick closer to the box for that one without being inside of it.”

Alison laughed at that. “It’s a good idea. I know I love savory breakfast buns.”

“Really?”

“Oh yes, sweet is lovely but you can’t live on that.”

Paul grunted a little on that but just nodded before leaving with the two women. Nick finally took a deep breath before continuing with his buns. He needed to get them in.

He got his savory ones in first because he didn’t want the sweet ones to overpower the savory, but eventually they both needed to bake at the same time. His hands were shaking as he added the topping to the buns and silently prayed that they came out okay. For some reason he wanted to really impress Paul with these, especially with the way he seemed to not be impressed with the idea of savory ones.

It hit Nick as he was waiting for them to reset after time was called that was how he often had been with his dad, always trying to find a way to please him when he thought he was disappointing him. That made him wonder a little about why he was pushing himself so much, but he decided that he would just let it go for now. Associating Paul with his dad wasn’t the best idea.

“You know Nick,” Niamh was saying, which caught his attention. “I never asked, you said that you chose your flavors yesterday because of your mother-in-law. You call her your mother-in-law even though you’re not married?”

“I mean, she’s been in my life for 9 years, so yeah.”

“Do you two get along well?” Fatema asked.

“Most of the time,” Nick admitted. “The truth is she didn’t like me very much at first because she thought I was a bad influence on Charlie.”

“You? You’re a marshmallow,” Sebastian laughed.

“Well, I was the laddish boy who was taking him away from his studies,” Nick laughed. “At least that’s what she thought. Charlie got ill about a few months after we started dating and after that she decided she liked me. I heard her telling my father-in-law once that she knew I could take care of Charlie if anything happened to them. Kinda scary to hear at 17 but I also really liked it because it made me realize that even if Jane got snippy with me or Charlie, she did care.”

“How long did it take him to get better?”

“Um… well, Charlie has an eating disorder,” Nick explained softly. “You never fully recover from it, you can manage it but it’s a lifelong thing. He’s doing much better than he was back then.”

“Is that why you got into baking?” Isadora asked.

“No, I was baking before,” Nick told her. “It definitely changed the way I baked though. If it was something I could get Charlie to eat then I became an expert at it.”

“That’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself,” Fatema said gently.

“Yeah, it was but… it was also worth it to me,” Nick said. “Charlie is my soul mate, there’s nothing that would be too much for me when it comes to him.”

~

“Nick, bring your showstopper to the front,” Alison said. Nick was the fourth person to bring his buns to the front and felt nervous doing it. He carefully placed the plates of buns in front of them and really hoped that everything looked and tasted good.

Prue smiled. “These look perfect to me… and they smell divine.”

“They do look good,” Paul admitted reluctantly. “Lets see how they are on the inside.”

Everything was eerily quiet as they tried it and Prue was nodded. “You definitely have a gift when it comes to bread,” she told him.

Nick smiled at that.

“Breakfast buns should never be savory,” Paul said. “I’ve never liked Savory ones… but this is different,” he admitted. “The flavors work really well and even though it’s savory, it still feels like a nice bite. And Your apple and pecan is perfect. I think you have a instinct when it comes to flavor combinations and what will work… well done, Nick.”

“Great job,” Alison told him as he picked up his plates and took them back to his station, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders. Paul had liked them, even the savory one! It made him happier than he could have admitted.

~

It had begun raining when the bakers went back inside the tent. Nick found it comforting. He always had loved the rain, had since he was a small boy. It could calm his worst panic attacks. Charlie had kissed him in the rain… more than once. Rain was wonderful.

He was sitting between Fatema and Sebastian. He knew that Sebastian was sure he was going to go. Though his buns were good, Paul had also said they were too simple. Sebastian said that was the death knell for bread week.

“Bakers, another week!” Noel said when they were ready. “I get to tell you all this weeks Star Baker and honestly, it wasn’t much of a surprise. This weeks Star Baker is… Nick!”

Nick felt the air leave his chest when he heard his name, tears filled his eyes but he tried to hold them back as Fatema squeezed his hand and Sebatian hugged him, truly delighted for him, and everyone clapped.

Star Baker. He’s gotten Star Baker… He could barely believe it.

“That means I have the worst job this week of announcing the person who’s leaving us,” Alison said. “And the person leaving the tent this week is… Sebastian. I’m so sorry, Sebastian…”

~

Nick’s hands were shaking as he called Charlie, he knew he was on camera but he couldn’t help the tears that were on his face.

“Nick?”

“Char… I…”

“Is everything okay?” Charlie asked, his voice worried.

“I got Star Baker, Char,” Nick managed to say. “I got… Star Baker.”

“Nick! Oh God I am so proud of you, sweetheart.”

Nick laughed. “Well, it’s all because of you.”

“Nick…”

“I mean it, you put my name in, you got me here… you just keep making my life better and better.”

~

~Early October~

“I can’t believe they left that in,” Charlie said, blushing deeply. “Like seriously?”

“Nick is being seen as the romantic one,” Sebastian said, his arm around Christian. “I’ve noticed it in the last couple episodes. Of course they’re going to keep the conversation with you in, it's too romantic.”

“I wish you could’ve stayed longer,” Nick said as he glanced over at his friends. “It was weird without you.”

“It was a bad week,” Sebastian said. “I don’t mind though, I got to be one the show and I got to meet Chris so… it all worked out perfectly.”

Nick felt his phone buzzing and laughed. “Looks like our friends had seen the episode,” he teased

“You’re insta is blowing up too,” Charlie said. “Maybe you should mute it for the night.”

“Might be a good idea, or for a week.”

“Tell us about the wedding,” Charlie said looking at Sebastian and Christian.

“We’re thinking spring,” Christian said. “I’ll have a few weeks off from the airline so it’ll work perfect for us.”

“God that is so far away,” Nick said dramatically.

“Says the guy that took nine years to propose,” Christian shot back.

“Well, he might have taken a long time to propose but they got married in like two months or so, so I mean…”

Charlie shook his head at the other two men. “Stop judging us.”

“Judge you? Never,” Sebastian laughed.

“Oh, I’m judging so hard,” Christian snickered.

“Judge all you want,” Nick laughed. “Charlie’s my husband now and that’s all that matters.”

“And that is our cue to leave this newly wedded bliss,” Sebastian said as Christian pulled him to his feet. “Besides, we have our own wedding to plan.”

Chapter Text

I do not own any of these characters- they were created by the incredible Alice Oseman who is our Queen! I apologize for any grammar errors- I do have a learning disability that makes it hard for me to remember more than the most basic grammar rules. I really hope you love the story I am creating for you!

His Dream Come True

Chapter 5- Desserts Week

~Early May~

“Daisy no! You can’t eat that,” Nick gasped as Daisy tried to put her paws up on the counter to steal part of his showstopper that he was working on. "You already stole too many raspberries,” he chided her.

“Really, Nick, talking to our baby like that?” Charlie teased as he kissed Daisy’s furry head but pulled her away from the counter. “It’s looking really good.”

“I hope it tastes as good,” Nick sighed.

“And you already know it does, my silly boyfriend,” Charlie said kissing his cheek. “You’re over thinking again.”

“I’m just wondering what the line is between not enough and too much. I swear Paul just…”

“He’s already given you two handshakes Nick, I think you’re going to be okay.”

“Maybe I want to get more handshakes then anyone else,” Nick teased.

“Really?” Charlie asked, a smile playing on his lips. “You don’t want to beat Richard Burr and get more than 5 Star Bakers?”

Nick laughed. “I’m happy just getting one,” he admitted. “I just… Paul makes me feel like I’m trying to get my dad’s attention again.”

“Oh Nick,” Charlie whispered before pulling him into a tight hug. “Paul isn’t— DAISY!” At that moment Daisy jumped up on the counter and dragged the entire container of Raspberries with her and ran for their bedroom, leading her dads on a merry chase.

~

“Welcome Back Bakers,” Noel said once everyone was situated. “Welcome to Desserts week. For your signature Challenge, Paul and Prue would like you to make a Waldorf Pudding.”

“These are steamed puddings that are normally made with apples and raisins and topped with a delicious sauce that will compliment the flavors of your Waldorf. Now no one is exactly sure when it was created or the original recipe for it,” Alison said. “But it was served aboard the Titanic just before it sank.”

“Is that why…”

“No, Noel,” Alison said, everyone laughed a little at that.

“You should have 9 perfectly steamed puddings for our judges that are uniform in shape and size.”

“You can choose the flavors you want but the Waldorf Pudding must have apples just like the original. You have one hour and 15 minutes.”

“On Your Mark…”

“Get Set…”

“Bake!”

“It’s cruel to set this at one hour and fifteen,” Niamh said from her station as Nick chuckled a little. He actually understood what she was saying though. The steaming process would take 45 minutes which means they had to be very fast to get everything in and finished in time.

Luckily, he’d had Charlie time him several times and he always managed to finish in time. He immediately got his apples onto the stovetop and then got his batter quickly started. He was adding his dry ingredients when Paul, Prue, and Noel came over. “Good Morning Nick,” Prue said.

“Morning,” Nick said, focusing on adding in the peanut butter powder to his batter.

“Tell us about your Waldorf.”

“Well, I decided to make this in a way that I thought the kids on my Youth Rugby team would like. They really love apples and peanut butter so I’m doing an apple and peanut butter Waldorf with maple-soaked dates instead of raisins.”

“Are you adding any spices?”

“Cardamon, star anise, and Ginger.”

“And your sauce?”

“A simple maple custard sauce,” Nick said. “Charlie and the kids have tried it and they liked it so…”

“So you’re confident?”

“Yeah, I think I am today,” Nick said, though internally he was screaming.

“Well, I look forward to trying it,” Prue told him. “Thank you, Nick.”

Nick nodded and continued mixing his Waldorfs. He lined the tins with parchment paper and buttered them as well. Once his apples and dates were ready, he added them to the mixture before dividing it into the 9 tins, covering them and placing them in the oven, then adding the water to the bottom pan to create the steam needed to cook them up. Then he set his time for 43 minutes.

After that he started on his maple custard sauce, being careful to make sure it didn’t get too custardy since it needed to be poured over his Waldorfs.

The five minute mark was called just as Nick was talking his Waldorfs out of the over. He careful turned out each one and placed it on the plate, then filled small ramekins with the custard sauce, his hands shaking the entire time. Time was called just as he set his last ramekin of sauce down. He was gasping a little from the stress and had to turn and away and grip the back counter for several minutes before he could move, feeling utterly overwhelmed for a little bit. He really thought he wasn’t going to finish in time because the apples had taken longer to cook then it had at home

One of the production crew came over to check on him and gave him a bottle of water, and stood with him until he could catch his breath and Nick was grateful for it.

~

“It’s definitely getting harder,” Isadora said as she sat next to Nick.

Niamh nodded. “I know, I’m not sure that my apples cooked down enough,” she admitted.

“It’s kind of the point,” Enzo said with a shrug. “But it was stressful. It would’ve been easier of they’d given us an extra 15 minutes.”

“But the point is that we’re supposed to be stressed,” Isadora said. “Honestly, I think Paul just likes to watch everyone sweat.”

“He might not set the time,” Arvid pointed out reasonably.

“Well my apples felt raw when I was putting them in,” Prisha said with a sigh. “Plus they completely collapsed when I was taking them out.”

“I’m sure your sauce will be fine,” Nick offered.

“He speaks,” Enzo laughed. “I was starting to think you’d gone mute since your bestie was gone.”

“It is weird to not have Sebastian here,” Nick admitted. “But that’s how Bake off goes, one of us goes each week.”

“Very true, but we’ll see everyone at The Garden Party.”

“Also, Charlie and I invited Seb to come to dinner next week, so we’re still hanging out,” Nick added.

“That’s so sweet!” Niamh said.

“Once thing I realized with this is how great it is to be around other bakers. I mean, I adore Charlie and would give all of you up for him, but it’s also nice to be able to hang out with other people who like baking as much as me.”

“Here, here,” Enzo said holding up his bottle of water causing everyone to laugh.

~

Enzo got a handshake for his Apple and Sherry Waldorf with the Maderia sauce which surprised Nick a little since Paul always said he hated boozy desserts. Maybe it wasn’t too boozy?

Niamh also got a hand shake for her Apple and Rhubarb Waldorf with roasted walnut sauce.

Isadora’s Apple and Peach Waldorf was underbaked and her apples were too hard, peaches too soft, and her lemon sauce was too bitter.

For some reason, only those three registered for Nick as Prue and Paul walked over to him, his station being the last today.

“Nick, tell us about your Waldorfs,” Paul said.

“So I have a Peanut butter, Apple, and Date Waldorf with a Maple custard sauce. There’s also Cardamom, Ginger, and Star Anise.”

“Well they all look lovely,” Prue said as she Paul cut through one and place half on a plate for her.

“The apples and dates are cooked perfectly,” Paul said said once he took a bite. “and your sauce is great but that peanut butter flavor overpowers everything.”

“I disagree,” Prue said. “I think the peanut butter flavor is perfect. It is a tricky flavor to work with though,” she conceded.

“Plus Paul hates peanut butter,” Noel teased.

“I don’t hate it,” Paul laughed. “It just doesn’t belong in a dessert.”

~

Nick was a little annoyed going into the technical, because everyone else seemed to love his Waldorf except for Paul. Seriously, who didn’t like peanut butter?

“Prue and Paul would like for you to make 12 identical Meringue shells with Orange curd.”

Nick’s stomach dropped. When he’d been going through the interview process he’d told them he didn’t know how to make meringue and now it was in the technical. The universe was teasing him after giving him a good last week, he was sure of it.

Still, he had made it once since his interviews… it hadn’t been that successful, but he had to try.

The were given two hours for he challenge but Nick felt like it wasn’t really enough time, if he remembered correctly at home he had to bake the meringue for about 45 minutes and then he had to turn off the oven but not remove them for an hour.

The buzzing started in his ear again as he let his mixer beat the egg whites with vanilla, vinegar, salt and cream of tartar. He added the sugar to it slowly, trying to remember the steps he needed to take.

He felt like he was moving through mud. If he didn’t do halfway decent in the technical, considering that Paul hadn’t liked his Waldorf then he would go home. He needed to make it to the finals. He had to. Everything depended on him getting through to the final.

Once his meringues were in the oven he started on his curd, working almost on autopilot. He felt even more stressed when he did when he had to make that damn brownie cake (which he made again at home and Charlie tried it even though Nick said he didn’t have to, but the texture still bothered him. Nick ended up giving the brownie cake to his youth rugby team, all of whom adored it).

By some miracle, Nick managed to get everything together and on the plates for presentation in time, though he did pull his meringues out a couple minutes early because he was running out of time. On his plate were 12 meringue shells with orange curd and a dusting of shaved chocolate.

His was the first to be tried this round and he held his breath and Paul and Prue each took a bite. “Little chewy, but not bad,” Prue said with a nod and Nick breathed in a sigh of relief, feeling like maybe it would be okay.

“In 9^th place we have this one,” Paul said looking at the Bakers. Arvid raised his hand. “They were rock hard. I mean I almost broke a tooth,” he said bluntly.

“In 8^th place we have this one,” Prue said. Oliver raised his hand then. Prisha got 7^th place, Niamh got 6^th place, Fatema got 5^th place, and Jules got 4^th place.

“Next is this one,” Paul said standing in front of Nick’s plate. 3^rd Place. He’d gotten third. “It was a little too chewy- it could’ve done with another minute or two in the oven, but it was still pretty good.”

Isadora got second and Enzo got first and everyone clapped for them. Nick was sure that Enzo was going to get Star Baker with the weekend he was having so far. Nick was glad to get third though, as long as Paul liked his Showstopper, then everything would be fine.

~

Before he headed out to the tent the next morning, Nick was stopped by Madeline. It surprised him because he hadn’t seen her since he was going through the interview process.

“Nick, how are you feeling this morning?” she asked kindly.

“Um… fine,” he said, feeling a little confused about why she was there.

“I was told you had two separate panic attacks yesterday. I know you mentioned that you had them in your interview, but I wanted to make sure you’re still feeling okay going forward. The last thing we want is for you to struggle with your mental health,” she explained gently.

“I’m fine,” he promised her. “I… it’s like my GCSEs, you know, I would get really stressed out and had some panic attacks but I made it through and did well. I can do this. I can’t give up.”

Madeline nodded. “Alright, but you need to let us know if you’re struggling. We do have a psychologist that you can talk to if you feel the stress starting to get to you. It’s very important to us that every single one of you is doing okay.”

“I understand and I really appreciate it,” Nick said honestly. “I really am okay though, it helps when I talk to Charlie,” he admitted. “He has a… calming presence.”

“Okay, then good luck today. Oh, I tried one of your Waldorfs yesterday… it was delicious,” she told him before heading off.

Nick smiled as he watched her go, feeling much better now. Only Paul hadn’t liked it but everyone else had. That meant more to him.

~

“Bakers, for your showstopper our Judges want you to make a trifle!”

“This is a dessert that had layers of sponge or cake, a fruit or jelly, custard, and is topped with whipped cream.”

“Our judges want to see each layer and all of them must taste delicious separately and together.”

“You have three hours. On your Marks…”

“Get Set…”

“Bake!”

Nick immediately started moving, determined that he would keep his mind laser-focused. He immediately started on his pound cake, choosing to go with a sturdier cake then a sponge for his show stopper. He knew that it was a risk, but he had loved the flavor combination he had come up with. So had Charlie, who had demanded it several times, including on his birthday. Charlie’s adoration of it had made Nick absolutely sure in his ability to make this dessert.

“Nick, tell us what you’re making for us today,” Paul said, startling Nick a little. He’d been so focused that he hadn’t seen them coming. He smiled and took a moment to pause to explain his trifle. “I’m making a Blackberry and Lemon trifle. It’ll have a Lemon poundcake that is brushed with blackberry liquor, a Blackberry and mint compote, Lemon Brandy custard, a Lemon whipped cream and will be topped with fresh blackberries, raspberries, and plum slices.”

“Plums?” Prue asked.

“I find that Plums go really well with Blackberries and raspberries, it cuts some of the sharpness.”

“Why pound cake and not a sponge?” Paul asked.

“Timing,” Nick said. “I feel like the sponge would get too soggy with the time it might take for everyone to enjoy it, but pound cake holds up a little better. It’s really delicious.”

“Is that you opinion?” Paul asked.

“No, it’s Charlie’s opinion,” Nick said bluntly, once again looking Paul straight in the eyes, practically staring him down like he did in his second week. “What Charlie likes, Charlie gets.”

Paul’s lips twitched a little at Nick's words and he nodded. “We’ll see, won’t we,” he said before they walked away.

“Yes we will,” Nick muttered softly as he continued. He wouldn’t stand for slander against Charlie’s new favorite dessert.

~

“Paul really pissed you off, didn’t he?” Enzo asked with a laugh once the challenge was over and they were waiting for the reset.

“Yeah, he was lurking,” Nick said, then laughed at how annoyed he sounded. “He just… I feel like he’d needling me on purpose sometimes.”

“Maybe he is,” Niamh said. “He tends do that with his favorites.”

Nick let out a bark of laughter at that. “Favorite? He hates me!”

“He adores you,” Fatema said. “He’d harder on you than anyone else in the tent. He’s pushing you, Nick, because he wants you to be the best.”

“As long as you don’t screw up, you’re going to be in the finals,” Prisha agreed.

“You’re all crazy,” Nick said. “I think he’s looking for the first chance to get rid of me.” Everyone laughed and he looked exasperated. “I’m serious!”

“We know,” Jules said patting his shoulder. “That’s why we’re laughing. You’re adorably dense.”

Nick shook his head at them and took a bite of his power bar. Charlie would laugh his ass off when he told him about this conversation tonight.

~

Prisha’s Pineapple and Mango trifle did well, but Paul mentioned how soggy the sponge was and Nick felt a flash of guilt, wondering if it was his fault because he’d mentioned the possibility earlier.

Enzo got a second handshake for his Dragonfuit and Guava trifle, with Paul actually looking speechless after he tried it.

Fatema’s Fig and Date Trifle was also a hit, but Arvids Jackfruit and Grapefruit trifle fell flat.

Then it was Nick’s turn.

“So my trifle is Lemon pound cake that had been brushed with Blackberry liquer, Blackberry and Mint compote, Lemon Brandy custard, and a Lemon whipped cream, with Blackberries, raspberries, and sliced plums on top.”

“I’m glad you glazed the fruit,” Paul said. “So many people forget to do that,” he said bluntly. He pushed the long spoon all the way to the bottom of the trifle and took out a good amount for him and Prue to try.

“Oh that is heavenly,” Prue murmured, her eyes closing in pleasure as she tasted the flavors.

“It’s pretty good,” Paul reluctantly admitted. “I feel like there’s too much brandy in the custard through.”

“Oh stop, it’s perfect,” Prue said pretending to swat at him. “Nick, I want this recipe. It is divine.”

“Thank you,” Nick said, blushing proudly.

“Yes, well done, Nick,” Paul said.

~

“Maybe Paul doesn’t like you,” Enzo teased. “I mean, your trifle was way better than mine.”

“Agreed,” Prisha said.

“Yours was insanely good,” Nick argued.

“Taste is subjective,” Fatema said. “Just because we all loved Nick trifle the best doesn’t mean Paul does.”

“I still say that Nick is his favorite,” Niamh said with a giggle.

“Stop it, all of you,” Nick told them. “We’re not the judges so our opinions really don’t matter when ti comes down to it… at least in the Tent.”

~

“Bakers, I am the best job this week,” Alison said with a bright smile as they all waited. Nick was seated between Niamh and Fatema today. “And that is because I get to announce Star Baker. There was some back and forth between Paul and Prue over it but this weeks Star baker is… Enzo!”

Enzo beamed and Nick grinned and clapped for him. Enzo definitely deserved it.

“Unfortunately that means I get the horrible job this week,” Noel said. “This week the baker that will be leaving the tent is… Prisha, I’m so sorry, Darling…”

~

~Early-Mid October~

“I remember being so shocked when it was told in the group chat,” Stella said, shaking her head. Nick and Charlie were visiting her and Lucipurr at her home this week. “I mean I know she struggled but I still thought she’d get farther.”

“It only takes a bad week,” Nick said softly. “Like with Seb. He’s fantastic but got kicked off last week.”

“Stella, I’m stealing your cat,” Charlie said, paying zero attention to Stella and Nick while nuzzling Lucipurr and giggling as she kneaded his shoulders and purred loudly.

“Nick, tell your husband that he is not taking my cat. Get your own cat,” she laughed.

“Maybe I will,” Charlie said. “What do you think Lucipurr, should I get a cat friend for Daisy?” Lucipurr just nuzzled Charlie even more. Nick smiled, loving how happy Charlie looked right then. They had talked about getting a cat eventually, maybe it was time.

Chapter Text

I do not own any of these characters- they were created by the incredible Alice Oseman who is our Queen! I apologize for any grammar errors- I do have a learning disability that makes it hard for me to remember more than the most basic grammar rules. I really hope you love the story I am creating for you!

His Dream Come True

Chapter 6- Savory Week

~May~

“Hmmmm,” Tao moaned. “I have no idea why you made these but they are amazing!”

“I’m just trying new things,” Nick said as his lips twitched and he glanced at Charlie who managed to keep a straight face. “Considering how I know you hate sweet breakfast items and you’re crashing with us for a week, I figured…”

“Yeah, I’m still mad that you’re skipping our film night on Saturday. Your special course can’t stop for one night?”

“Tao, I told you, Nick needs this for his future. Stop hassling him. We’ll have a lovely weekend just me and you.”

“Hmph… I still don’t know why Elle had to send me away.”

“You mean besides the fact that the last time she went to a fashion show you made a director cry?” Nick asked, snickering a little bit.

“It was justified,” Tao protested. “His short film was a monstrosity! You all agreed with me!”

“Yes, but we don’t make them cry,” Nick protested as Charlie just laughed and grabbed another scone.

“Make more of these… please…”

Nick smiled and slid right up to Charlie, kissing  the side of his neck softly. “And um… what do I get if I make you more of these?” he asked, his voice low and husky.

“I’m still here,” Tao said, sounding like he was annoyed but Nick saw the smile on his face.

“Okay, okay, but the bacon jam, it’s good? Not too sweet?”

“Maybe a tad but it’s workable for me,” Tao said with a shrug. “Look, make these scones for me again and I might have to move back to England.”

“How about I’ll make them if you stay in Paris?”

“Ack! Rude,” Tao laughed. “Seriously though, Elle will want me to bring some back.”

“Well, for Elle,” Nick teased with a smirk as he started another round of jam… it couldn’t be too sweet, not even just a tad.

~

“Welcome back to the Tent bakers! This week is Savory Week!”

“For your signature Challenge, our judges would like for you to make a dozen perfect baked scones.”

“Now this is Savory week. The judges do not want sweets at all, so make them delicious but savory.”

“They also want a compliment to your scones- like jam or a savory cream… just not sweet.”

“You’ll have an hour and fifteen minutes. On your Mark…”

“Get set…”

“Bake!”

Nick immediately put his butter into the fridge then started thinly slicing his apples and onions while also starting to cook up his bacon. Once his apples and onion were sliced, he added them to the bacon to simmer while he started on his batter.

Around this time, Prue, Paul, and Alison came over. “Nick, How are you today.”

“I am thrilled,” Nick said. “I’m in my element.”

“Very confident today,” Paul said with a slightly raised eyebrow. “What are you making?”

“Bacon, Onion, Apple, and Gouda scones with a bacon jam.”

“You know this is a savory challenge, right?” Paul asked.

“Yes, I’m aware.”

“And apples are savory to you?”

Nick laughed a little at that. At this point he was getting used to Paul saying things that could needle him. What Paul didn’t know was that Tao was his secret weapon. If Tao liked his scones then he would win and he knew it. “They can be if they’re made right. Do you know how to make them savory?”

Alison and Prue both gasped and chuckled at that.

“You do know I am one of the judges right?”

“Yeah, but you’re not the only one.”

“Fair,” Paul said, his lips twitching once again. “I guess we’ll see how you do.”

“You certainly will,” Nick said giving him a winning smile before going back to his bake.

~

Noel came over later on to check on Nick’s progress. At that point Nick had just put the scones into the fridge to chill for 15 minutes. “How is everything going?” Noel asked curiously.

“Everything is going perfect for now,” Nick said as he started on his jam.

“I see Paul lurking about again, is that because of you? I heard you got a bit cheeky?”

“Me? Cheeky? I’m all sunshine and rainbows,” Nick deadpanned as Noel laughed. “Actually my friends call me the Golden retriever of our friend group.”

“I can see that,” Noel laughed. “Do you chase frisbees for them?”

“Nah, just the rugby balls,” Nick laughed. “Although if that was what my boyfriend wanted…” he added with a wink.

“Good for our viewers to know,” Noel laughed. “Well I’ll let you get on with it.”

“Have fun trying to distract everyone,” Nick called out in a sing-song voice causing Noel to laugh again.

After they’d been chilling for about 20 minutes, Nick pulled out the scones and put them into the oven, setting his time for 23 minutes while he continued working on his jam. Once he was sure it was at the right taste and consistency, he set it aside and watching his scones like hawk. At 23 minutes he turned off the heat and continued to watch them before pulling that at 26 minutes. He allowed them to sit for another 5 minutes before transferring them to the plates. He knew he was cutting it close, his hands were shaking as Alison started the countdown and he got the last scone onto his plate and the jam into the ramekin.

“Bakers your time is up!”

He smiled at he looked at his Scones and Jam. He was sure they would be perfect. They had to be with how ‘cheeky’ he’d been.

~

“I can’t believe you talked to Paul like that,” Isadora said. “I thought he’d skewer you with those eyes when you asked if he knew how to make apples savory.”

“Well, it’s a valid question. There are lots of recipes that have savory apples,” Nick said, feeling unrepentant. Maybe he’d carried too much of Tao’s attitude into this week?

“That is true,” Arvid agreed.

“Did anyone else do apples?” Nick almost laughed at the silence that seemed to permeate the group. “Wow, leave me out on a limb,” he teased.

“I’m sure it will taste savory,” Fatema said patting his hand.

“Oh, I had an expert tasting them this week,” Nick said a little smuggling. “Remember I said I have a friend who didn’t like sweet breakfasts? Well, he’s visiting this week so he doesn’t frighten people at fashion show his wife is going to, so…”

“And he gave his approval?”

“Oh he did,” Nick said, a wide smile on his face. “If Tao approves of something Savory, you’re in.”

“Maybe he should be a judge instead of Paul,” Jules suggested playfully.

Nick laughed. “Maybe he should…”

~

Jules made Cheddar and Chive scones with a Marmite jam. His scones were over-baked and dry. His Marmite jam was… terrible. Prue and Paul both needed water and about 15 minutes before they could go to the next station.

Arvid made Parmesan and Rosemary scones with an Onion Chutney. The scones were cooked well, but the rosemary was overpowering.

Fatema made Brie and Poppy scones that had salmon, the accompaniment was a dill cream cheese. Prue and Paul were both impressed with her, though it didn’t earn her a handshake.

Niamh made Mediterranean scones with sundried tomatoes and feta cheese, she also made an olive chutney to go with it. They liked her scones but felt her chutney was a ‘salt bomb’

Isadora made Ham and cheese scones but her accompaniment was never finished.

Now it was Nick’s turn. “I have for you Scones that have bacon, onion, apple, and gouda cheese, accompanied by a bacon Jam that had a hint of chipotle to give it a bit of a smoky heat.”

“And you’re confident it’s going to be Savory?” Prue asked, though there was a smile on her lips.

“If it’s not, then you won’t have to worry about picking a baker to leave,” Nick said before he could stop himself.

“You’re that confident?” Paul asked in surprise.

“I am.”

Paul and Prue looked at each other and inspected the scones first then each took a bite. Prue’s eyes widened but she didn’t say anything as she tried the jam and them the jam and scone together. “Oh Nick… no, you’re not leaving today,” she finally told him softly.

Paul was silent then looked at Nick and shook his head. “Why do you do this?”

“Sir?”

Paul closed his eyes and it looked like he was warring with himself, then he held his hand out. Nick took it and felt his cheeks get bright. “You just… How do you make these combinations?”

“I’ve said it before, my boyfriend has an eating disorder. When someone you love struggles with food, you find a way to help them. This is how I could help, making things that he can eat even on the bad days.”

Paul nodded. “Well done, Nick,” he said honestly as they moved on to Enzo’s station.

Nick counted it in his mind. He’d gotten three handshakes so far, three! He felt like he was flying.

~

When it was time for the technical, Nick wasn’t feeling as confident. Truthfully, he never felt very confident in the technical, but he had been doing well so far, so he just had to keep hoping he would do well in them.

Once Prue and Paul left, Alison spoke. “Bakers, Paul would like for you all to make Salmon and Poppy Seed Palmiers.”

“Now these are normally a sweet cookie made with puff pastry, but this is savory week. Palmiers are known for having two distinct ‘elephant ears’.”

“There needs to be 6 uniform palmiers for our judges. You have 2 hours and 15 minutes.”

“On your marks…

“Get set…

“Bake!”

“Puff pastry in less than two hours? Are they insane?” Fatema asked as she started trying to get her ingredients together.

“I’ve done it in an hour and a half,” Nick said admitted. “It’s not always perfect though.”

“Rough puff recipe?” Niamh asked.

“Yeah,” Nick said as he immediately started cutting his butter for his pastry. He wasn’t very confident that he could get these done, but he was going to try regardless.

~

Everyone was struggling as the 15 minutes left was called and Nick was sure his stomach was going to drop into his stomach. His Palmiers didn’t look done enough to him so he was waiting until the last second. When Noel started the one-minute countdown, Nick pulled out his sheet pan and quickly got his palmiers onto the plate, burning his fingers a little in the process but ignoring it so that he could get everything plated.

Paul and Prue did not look overly impressed with they walked in. “Well, about half of these are a disaster,” Paul laughed.

“Be nice,” Prue chided.

“Never,” Paul said. “Let start with this one.”

Nick’s was the third one they tried and Paul nodded. “It’s cooked really well.”

“And it still has lamination, first so far,” Pure added.

“That ones not bad,” Paul said before they moved on to the next plate.

Once they were done tasting and talking they went back and forth about who was best and who was worst. Prue went and stood in from of a plate. “In 8^th Place we have this one.” Julies raised his hand. “There was no laminations in the pastry and the salmon was very, very dry,” she explained.

Arvid was 7^th. Niamh was 6^th. Enzo was 5^th. Fatema was 4^th. Oliver was 3^rd.

“And this one?” Nick raised his hand and Prue smiled. “It was really well done, just a bit too heavy on the poppy seeds.”

“And that means this is the winner,” Paul said, smiling as Isadora raised her hand. “They were perfect. Well Done, Isadora.”

~

“I’m so tired,” Nick whined on the phone. “I just want to sleeeeep.”

“I know, just a few more weeks though.”

“If I get through.”

“Stop that, you know you will,” Charlie laughed.

“Did I tell you yet that I gave Paul attitude for saying apples couldn’t be savory?”

“Nick! You didn’t! Did he really say that?”

“No, but he implied it and I took offense to that,” Nick said with a tired chuckle.

“Oh my God, did you channel Tao? Did you make him cry?” He couldn’t say Pauls name since Tao wasn’t too far from him and he didn’t want to accidentally reveal what Nick was really doing.

“No… I think he liked it.”

“Masochist,” Charlie giggled.

“Maybe he is. I just want to sleep for a week.”

“I know sweetheart, soon. You can make it through this.”

“I know. God, I love you, Char.”

“I love you too, Nick.”

~

The Signature was for them to make three different types of savory pies. This was something Nick had struggled with finishing on time at home. They only had four hours to get everything made and done and he felt like it just wasn’t enough time.

The first thing he did was make his dough. To save time he did the same basic butter crust for all three, then divided it into three parts. He added Thyme to one dough, Rosemary to the second, but left the third plain, then he put them into the fridge to chill so he could get started on his fillings.

He was starting on his second filling when Prue, Paul, and Noel came over. “Hello Nick…” Paul said, punctuating the 'ck' in Nick’s name. “Tell us what your making us today.”

“You mean you don’t want to be a surprise,” Nick asked with a little bit of a smirk. Then he shook his head. “I’m making a mushroom and potato pie with Thyme, a Veal and Game based Tourtiere, and a Beef Bourguignon Pie.”

“Why did you choose those pies,” Prue asked.

“Well both the Tourtiere and Beef Bourguignon are French dishes and my dad’s French so…”

“Can you speak French?” Noel asked.

“Je parle très bien français. C'est dans mon sang. Tu parles français Noel?”

“I don’t think I’m allowed to answer that question,” Noel said with a laugh.

“And why the mushroom and potato, it feels simple,” Paul said.

“It is simple… but Charlie likes it.”

Prue smiled. “Charlie again?”

“You only meet your soul mate once,” Nick said. “You need to keep ‘em fed when you do.”

“I’ll give you that one, Nick,” Paul said. “I look forward to seeing how this comes out.”

~

Nick got the Beef Bourguignon Pie into the oven first, then his Tourtiere, and lastly his Mushroom and potato pie. Paul was right, it was simple, but it was also delicious. One thing he wanted to show the judges was just because something was simple didn’t mean it couldn’t be a showstopper. It wasn’t always about the flavors being unique. If something was simple but perfect… then that was exactly what it was supposed to be.

The Mushroom and Potato Pie and the Tourtiere were both double crusted, but the Beef Bourguignon was not. Still, when time was called, with Nick pulling out his Beef Bourguignon 5 minutes earlier than he wanted, they all looked like beautiful, delicious pies.

When it was time for judging Nick once again felt like he was starting to Zone out. His head was aching and it had been for the last hour. It wasn’t just him either. He’d noticed a couple of the other bakers plus some of the crew seemed a bit off, but he figured they were all just stressed from the bakes.

Nick was 4^th to be called up and Alison helped him bring up the pies. “So I have for you as Mushroom and potato pie that had thyme and paprika in the crust, Next I have a Veal and Game Tourtiere which also has allspice, nutmeg, and cloves. Rosemary is also in the crust to help with the flavor. My last Savory pie a a Beef Bourguignon pie, I didn’t add anything to the crust because I felt a nice buttery crust worked really well without adding anything else to it. For the wine in the sauce I went with a Bourdeux Sauvignon because I feel that it paired better with the deeper flavor profiles in the pie.”

“And are they double-crusted or single?”

“The Mushroom and potato and the Tourtiere are double-crusted but the Beef Bourguignon only has a top crust.”

Paul cut a slice from each pie and put them on three plates so he and Prue could try them.

“You know, when you do a simple pie, you need to get it just right or it feels like you didn’t try at all,” Prue said. “Your Mushroom and Potato pie is delicious. Did you use more than one type of mushroom?”

“Yes, I used King Oysters, Hen of the Woods, Shitake, and Black Trumpets. I like the mix of those when I make this pie.”

“The flavor is stunning, and your crust is cooked perfectly,” Paul said. “I think there might be just a touch too much Bourdux Sauvignon in your Beef Bourguignon though.”

“I disagree, I like the taste,” Prue said. “And you’re right about keeping the crust simple. This is so rich that adding spices to the crust would have overwhelmed it. My least favorite is your Turetiere, it tastes a little too gamey for me.”

“I agree, I think it would have been perfect if you’d stuck just with the Veal,” Paul said. “But the crust is perfect on all three pies, you’re spices were spot on for all of them and two of them were absolutely delicious. Well done, Nick.”

“Thank you,” Nick said a little faintly. When he got back to his station he drank some water, feeling very much overheated. He really hoped that the reset didn’t take too long today.

~

“God, my head is aching,” Niamh said as they drank water and sat in the shade.

“It was so hot,” Jules agreed as he fanned himself. “Way, way too hot.”

“Day’s almost over though,” Nick said softly. “When we’re done, we can head home to our nice, cool flats or houses and just relax.”

“That sounds good,” Niamh said, sounding completely out of breathe.

~

“Bakers, another week in the tent and another three challenges gone,” Noel said. I get the Fabulous job this week and get the pleasure of announcing our Star Baker. This Baker has shown us that sometimes, Simple is better and it’s good to talk back to Paul. This weeks star Baker is… Nick!”

Nick smiled at that, feeling relieved despite his pounding head.

“That means I have the terrible job and letting who you who is leaving us this week,” Alison said. “The baker leaving us this week is… Jules. I’m so sorry…”

~

Nick was driving home later but his head was aching so much, and eventually his vision started blurring. He did the smart thing and pulled over on the motorway, not willing to get into a car accident. He checked his phone, trying to figure out where he was and was surprised to see that he was only about 20 minutes from his mum’s house. He’d driven nearly three hours without realizing it. Had he really been so out of it?

He tapped his mum’s contact and closed his eyes as he waited for her to answer. His head was just hurting so bad…

~

When Nick opened his eyes. He felt like he was being blinded by lights. He moaned a little.

“Oh Good, you’re waking up,” came a female voice that he didn’t recognize.

“Ch-Charlie,” Nick managed to mumble.

“If that is who you have listed as your medical proxy, we already called her,” the woman said.

Nick opened his eyes and saw that it was nurse talking to him. “What happened?” he asked.

“Heat Exhaustion and Dehydration. Someone saw your car stopped on the motor way and called an ambulance.”

“Charlie’s coming?”

“Yes, and your mother is in the waiting room. She said Charlie was a few hours away but the doctor said she can make decisions for you over the phone,” the nurse said. “So sad that she’s so far away though. I certainly wouldn’t leave my hot boyfriend hours away from me.”

It took Nick far longer than he should have to realize what she was saying and he wanted to laugh. “Charlie’s my future husband…”

“Oh… how lovely,” she said, before checking his vital signs one more time and then leaving. Nick smiled a little, Charlie would find that funny when he finally got there.

~

Charlie got there about three hours after Nick woke up, which made sense since it was a five hour drive for him. It struck Nick that maybe they should start talking more about moving closer to Kent They didn’t need to live in the same town or anything, but it would be nice to be closer to their parents again… or at least his mum.

Charlie rushed into the area where Nick was. “Nick…” he whispered, squeezing his hand.

“I’m fine, they’re just fussing,” he assured him.

“They’re not just fussing,” his mum said, she’d gotten to come back two hours earlier. “They want to keep you for at least two days.”

“It was just a little hot,” Nick tried to protest.

Charlie nodded, understanding what Nick meant. “Regardless, I’m going to call Madeline.”

“What? Charlie, no! What if I get kicked out because of this…”

“And what if some of the others got ill too?” Charlie sighed and kissed Nick softly. “I understand what you’re saying but it’s part of the contract you signed, remember?” he whispered.

Nick nodded, still not feeling well and wishing that Charlie wasn’t so damn logical. Charlie disappeared for about 15 minutes before coming back and taking his hand again. “Now… I want to know everything the doctors said,” Charlie said firmly.

~

~October~

“It was so hot,” Nick moaned. “Seriously, it was insane.”

“Is that the weekend you ended up in the hospital?” Tara asked.

“Yes it was and he scared me to death,” Charlie said pretending to chide him.

“It wasn’t a big deal!”

“Four days they kept you, it was a big deal!”

“Did anyone else get ill?” Darcy asked.

“Three other bakers and several of the crew,” Nick admitted. “Jules, Arvid, and Niamh all ended up needing to be in the hospital too. Luckily, we were all out in time for the next week so…”

“Well, for Jules it didn’t matter though,” Darcy said, pointing to the TV where Jules was saying his final words. “I mean since he ended up leaving.”

“True, but I still recovered in time and everything was fine." He looked at Charlie and smiled softly. "You worry too much, Char.”

“Yeah, well, there was something about in sickness and in health, you know.”

Nick laughed. “So true,” he murmured as he pulled Charlie tight to him and kissed him deeply. “So, so true…”

Chapter Text

I do not own any of these characters- they were created by the incredible Alice Oseman who is our Queen! I apologize for any grammar errors- I do have a learning disability that makes it hard for me to remember more than the most basic grammar rules. I really hope you love the story I am creating for you!

His Dream Come True

Chapter 7- Pastry Week

~Mid-May~

“Charlie, I am fine, you can stop fussing,” Nick said, hating how cranky his voice sounded but also hating the way Charlie was fussing over him.

“You just got released from the hospital so no, I’m not going to stop fussing,” Charlie said, well away of the fact that Nick was a terrible patient and always had been. He always got incredibly grumpy when he was ill, especially if he thought he should be better by then.

Nick sighed as Charlie got him settled into his old bed at his mum’s house. Usually they were only there for Holidays now so it felt weird. Though, sometimes he wished it was still his home. “I told you I’d be fine going home.”

“Yeah, well I don’t want you traveling that far for the next few days. It’s bad enough you’re insisting on going this weekend.”

Nick sighed and pulled Charlie into his arms. “I can’t give up.”

“I know, Nick. I know it’s your dream,” Charlie said softly. “I know all of this is a dream come true for you, but… I was really scared on Sunday night when they called me. I couldn’t take it if anything happened to you.”

“I feel the same with you,” Nick told him as he kissed him softly. He was quiet for a little bit, thinking again over the last couple of days. “Charlie… we do need to talk about something,” he finally said quietly.

“I’ve told you it sounds ominous when you say things like that, Nick,” Charlie teased softly.

“It’s not bad. I mean, I don’t think it’s bad…”

“And that makes it sound worse,” Charlie chuckled as he sat up and looked at him. “What’s going on?”

“I… well, I’m finishing my last exams soon and should have my QTS,” he said softly. “And I need to start applying to different schools because… I don’t want to renew everything with the team so I don’t know where you want me to apply,” he finally said.

“Do you have place in mind?” Charlie asked softly. “I mean… I really don’t want to be further up north b-but if it’s what you wanted…”

“No,” Nick said quickly. “No. I…” He sighed. “I know when I started the team and you were going to Durham we agreed that we didn’t want to move back to Truham, but… I-I kinda miss home,” he admitted. “I miss Mum and I miss our stupid little town where nothing happens and… I know you don’t want to come back.”

Charlie was quiet for a long time, his hand intertwined with Nick’s, his thumb stroking his hand softly. Finally he spoke. “I’ve missed too,” he admitted.

Nick looked at him in surprise. “You never said anything.”

“Well,” Charlie said with a soft chuckle. “I made such a big deal about not wanting to come back and I called it a shitty town once, remember?” Nick chuckled humorlessly at that. He hated remembering that fight. “I miss Truham too,” Charlie said softly. “I even miss my parents, and I definitely miss your mum.”

“Yeah, well Mum is amazing,” Nick chuckled. He looked at Charlie. “You really wouldn’t mind? I mean, you’re not just saying that because I—”

“Nick, a few years ago I might not have said anything,” Charlie admitted. “But after nine years together, I think I can be honest with you about how I’m feeling. Have you looked into teaching jobs out here?”

“Yeah, there’s a couple at Truham Primary and um, one at St. Mary’s.”

“I went to Truham primary, it was terrible,” Charlie murmured. “It could use some good teachers.”

“I went to St. Mary’s and I really don’t want to go back there, not even as a teacher,” Nick admitted with a laugh. “There are others that aren’t too far but… are you really sure about this? I mean, I thought you wanted us to live in London or something.”

“Yeah, but I’ve been to London for work events and…” Charlie shook his head. “I think it’s just too much for me,” he admitted. “Out here’s actually easier to mange my anxiety and my OCD,” Charlie admitted. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Of course not,” Nick assured him. “But… this means we’ll need to sell the flat and find a new place out here and... what about a job for you?”

“Oh… well,” Charlie blushed. “I got an email on Monday from Maddox Publishing…”

Nick frowned for a moment. “Maddox Pub… do you mean Henry Maddox’s new publishing company? You applied?” he asked, with a surprised but proud expression on his face.

“Well I didn’t think I’d get it,” Charlie admitted with a blush. “But they sent me a mock chapter on Monday and I got it back to them on Wednesday—”

“Because that’s how fast you are,” Nick teased.

“And they emailed me a contract this morning,” Charlie continued, ignoring his comment. “The pay is a little less, so we’d have to deal with that, but the office is based in London and I’d only have to go there twice a month unless there was a problem with a manuscript and... well, the rest is virtual so…”

“Truham is a lot closer to London than Durham,” Nick said gently.

“I was thinking that too,” Charlie admitted. “So… you think I should accept it? I mean, moving and taking a lower paying job could be a bit much.”

“Accept it, Charlie, absolutely,” Nick said, kissing him deeply. “This is your dream job and you get to work at the publishing company that is run by one of your hero’s. It’s insane to not take it. We have a good amount in savings from our jobs and the fact that we own our flat so… lets see what we can get for it and find a place down here.”

“Okay… and as much as I love your mum, my parents will need rules and boundaries and we might want to at least pretend to have the same for your mum.”

“Pretend is correct since she’d follow them,” Nick laughed. “What are you thinking though?”

“Um… no showing up when we’re not home? Things like that? Maybe call first? With my mum I think the call first rule should be strict.”

“Agreed,” Nick said. He relaxed against the pillows and pulled Charlie back into his arms. “So… we’re moving back to Truham?”

Charlie looked at him and smiled for a moment before nodding. “We’re moving back to Truham,” he agreed.

~

“Bakers, welcome back to the tent for Pastry Week!” Noel said as he smiled at everyone. “This week for your Signature challenge, our judges would like for you to bake 12 Filled Mini Kouign Amanns.”

“These are french pastries that had layers upon layers of butter and sugar.”

“You have three hours to make these beautiful pieces of pastry. On your Marks…

“Get set…”

“Bake…"

Nick immediately started moving when they said to bake. He was still feeling a little sluggish from the previous week but he’d managed to practice the night before at his mum’s house (and she found out which meant he had to get an NDA for her but she was over the moon excited for him).

He immediately started working on his pastry dough, knowing that the biggest amount of time would be getting it chilled and done correctly. Bread flour was the best when it came to Kouign Amann pastry, but he also knew the recommended chill time was 3.5 hours for, in his opinion, proper Kougin Amann’s. Still, they could work with 2 hours of chilling even if it wasn’t his preference.

He had just finishing his first fold of the pastry and was wrapping it up when Prue, Paul, and Noel came up to his station.

“Good Morning Nick,” Prue said.

“Good Morning,” Nick said, quickly putting his dough into the fridge. He knew he was supposed to give them 100% attention but really he couldn’t if these were going to come out alright.

“We heard you were ill over the week,” she said, her voice kind as usual.

“Yeah, heat exhaustion,” Nick said with a shrug though he knew he was still feeling the effects a little.

“But your feeling better now?”

“Of course. Charlie wouldn’t have let me come if I wasn’t,” Nick said with a chuckle. In fact, Charlie almost hadn’t let him come but he wasn’t going to mention that.

“Well what are you making for us today?”

“Kouign Amman’s,” Nick said cheekily then smiled. “They’re going to be filled with a raspberry lemon curd and an almond whipped cream.”

“You struggled with the almond whipped cream before,” Paul pointed out.

“Yes, but that’s all the more reason to try to make it again. You don’t give up just because you mess up. You keep working at it until it’s right so…”

“And did you pick these flavors for anyone in particular,” Prue asked with a smile.

“My mum,” Nick said. “My dad isn’t around or anything so she raised me and my brother on her own and is completely amazing. She loves Kouign Amann’s and rasberries and lemons so I thought it was a nice little mix."

“Does your mum know you’re here?” Noel asked.

“She does now. She wasn’t accepting my previous excuse after I got sick so…” Nick shrugged. “She’s my mum. I got permission to tell her and now she completely beside herself.”

“Good, we’ll see you soon,” Paul said before they proceeded to the next station as Nick continued his work.

~

“So is your mum really nice?” Niamh asked curiously as they all relaxed for the reset before judging.

“Yeah. I mean, she’s pretty much a Saint in my opinion, although my brother might not agree. He’s a homophobic asshole who thinks I’m her favorite.”

“Is he right though?”

“No,” Nick said. “Our dad mostly ignored us after he moved back to Paris so it was just Mum raising us and… well, anything we asked for, she’d find a way to make it work. I think the only thing I ever asked for was Nellie.”

“Nellie?” Fatema asked.

“My first dog,” Nick said. “She was the best dog you’d ever meet and as much as I love Daisy, that includes her and Henry. Nellie was there for me through everything,” he said softly. “We lost her just after I finished Uni. I think Charlie actually took his harder then me, we were both wrecks for months. You know, she had a weakness for raspberries too, just like my mum.”

“She sounds sweet.”

“Yeah,” Nick said, his eyes growing distant as he thought about her. He adored Henry and Daisy but… there was just something about your first dog that never faded. Nellie had been his lifeline before he met Charlie, and then she’d been both of their lifelines when they needed her. Nellie had been there for all of his firsts, comforting him or sharing in his excitement. She given him a reproachful doggy look when he told her about running away after he and Charlie’s first kiss. She’d been the one he whispered to that he wanted to marry Charlie someday, before he ever admitted it to anyone else. She had been there through his panic attacks and through that awful fight with Charlie when he thought that Charlie wanted to break up with him. She’d been there every single night that Charlie was in the hospital, snuggling close to him, giving him her comfort while he was terrified for the boy he was in love with.

Nellie had been an angel in doggie form and he wasn’t sure he’d ever find another dog like her again.

“Earth to Nick,” Oliver said with a grin. Nick blinked. “There calling us back in.”

~

The Kouign Amann’s were different from night and day.

Arvid had chosen to do a Cucumber, Pineapple and rosemary chutney filling. The judges thought his Kouign Amann’s were decent but hated the chutney.

Oliver had Dragon Fruit and Lychee filling that had been soaked in Orange Liqueur. The judges liked them.

Fatema went with a Savory Kouign Amann, filling hers with unique baba ganoush that had. She got a handshake for hers.

Isadora had Fig and Pear combination that was mixed with black pepper cream cheese. Nick thought it shouldn’t have worked, but she got a handshake as well, so they must’ve tasted really good. He was looking forward to trying it later.

Niamh had baked bananas and passion fruit with a  mint crème fraiche. Prue and Paul though it was decent but the mint was overwhelming. Paul did like the banana baked with passion fruit though and was pleased with that.

Enzo made Yuzu and a sesame Tahini caramel for his bake. Once again the judges liked it, but no handshake.

Lastly was Nick. Nick smiled a little nervously when they got to him. “So I have for you today a Raspberry and lemon curd filled Kouign Amann with an almond whipper cream. There is also chopped toasted almonds, candied lemon peel, and a glazed raspberry on top.”

Paul put on of the Kouign Amann’s on a plate and sliced through it. “The curd looks good,” he said, as he checked the lamination in the dough.

“Good lamination,” Prue said, with a nod at Nick.

They finally tasted and Paul nodded. “You’re almond whipped cream is much better but I think the curd might be a tad too tart for me. The Pastry tastes different too. What type of flour did you use?”

“Bread flour. I prefer that.”

Prue nodded. “It tastes like a real Kouign Amann,” she told him. “Well, done Nick.”

Paul nodded. “Well done,” he said before they walked away.

~

“For your technical today the judges would like for you to make 8 Perfect Puff Pastry Apple Donuts with a cream cheese filling.”

“These are sliced apples that are wrapped in puff pastry, covered in cinnamon and sugar and baked to the perfect temperature.”

“You’ll have three hours and because our judges want to challenge you, they are asking for full puff pastry only.”

“That means no rushing through this.”

“Bakers, on your marks…”

“Get Set…”

“Bake!”

A soon as Nick heard that he needed to use cinnamon in this challenge he knew he was going to be in trouble. Still, he immediately started on his full puff pastry dough, wondering why they gave them 3 hours when it really should chill for 3-4 hours after the folds were completed.

The three hours seemed to fly by and Nick felt extremely frazzled as he tried to get his apples wrapped and then the cinnamon sugar mixture on. When he was putting his cinnamon mixture together, he spilled too much cinnamon, he knew he should redo it but he was so stressed he put it out of his mind and continued on. He was late getting his donuts into the oven and his cream cheese filling was not whipping up right for him.

Nothing was going right.

When time was called, Nick still hadn’t finished his filling so there was no filling to go in the center of his donuts, they also looked criminally pale to him. These donuts were going to send him home. He was sure of it.

When they tasted Nick’s donuts he knew it wasn’t good. The apples were under-baked, the pastry wasn’t done, there wasn’t enough sugar, there was too much cinnamon, and there was no filling.

Basically whatever could go wrong for Nick during the technical had.

He wished he could blame it on still feeling a little off because of the heat exhaustion but the truth was he panicked when he heard about the cinnamon and his mind just went blank. He knew he could do better.

“In 7^th place we have this one,” Paul was saying, standing behind Nick’s picture. Nick raised his hand, feeling his face flush with embarrassment.

“Nick, well, I don’t think I need to tell you why you’re in the bottom, do I?”

“No, sir,” Nick said softly.

“In 6^th place we have this one…” Arvid raised his hand. Oliver got 5^th, Niamh got 4^th, Enzo got 3^rd, Fatema got 2^nd, and Isadora got 1^st.

~

“So going into the showstopper today,” Alison asked. “Who’s in trouble?”

“Nick,” Paul said with zero hesitation. “Anytime you’re in the bottom of the technical, you are automatically in trouble.”

“Those donuts were terrible,” Prue agreed.

“He’s going to have to fight to stay in here, but I’m not sure he’s got that in him this weekend. He’s not baking the way he usually is.”

“Well, the same could be said for Arvid and Niamh, they both had heat exhaustion as well.”

“They’re still doing slightly better,” Paul said.

“Arvid has to be in trouble too,” Prue said. “He was also in the bottom of the technical and his signature wasn’t that good compared to Nick’s.”

Paul nodded. “It really will depend on how they do in the showstopper. Unless something terrible happens, one of them is going home today.”

“And what about for Star Baker?”

“Either Isadora or Fatema,” Prue said.

“They both go handshakes and were first and second in the technical. I think for Star Baker, it’s going to come right down to the wire for those two.”

~

“Bakers, welcome to your Showstopper Challenge,” Alison said. “This week the judges would like for each of you to make three types of decorated turnovers with a dipping compliment for each flavor.”

“Two must be sweet and one must be savory and there should be eight of each flavor,” Noel continued “And of course they must be decorated. How you want to decorate them and the flavors you choose are completely up to you.”

“However, the judges want you to make your turnovers with shortcrust pastry to showcase your skills.”

“You have 2.5 hours.”

“On Your Marks…”

“Get set…”

“Bake!”

Nick immediately got to work on his shortcrust pastry, knowing that would be the easiest and quickest thing to get done for him today. He was more focused then the day before, the disastrous technical still weighing in his mind, and he was determined that all 24 of his turnovers would be perfect for the judged.

His station was the first one they visited that morning so he was kneading when they came over to him. “Good Morning, Nick,” Paul said.

“Good morning, Paul, Prue,” Nick said pleasantly though he wished he could just focus.

“What are you making for us today?”

“Well, my Savory turnover is based on Palak Paneer so it’s going to have Spinach and Paneer cheese, the accompaniment for it will be a Ginger and tamarind chutney. My first sweet turnover will be filled with coffee custard and blackcurrant jam, with a white chocolate mint sauce, and my last turnover will be strawberry peach turnover with a rosemary caramel sauce.”

Paul seemed a little stunned for a moment. “Well... I look forward to trying those,” he said as he walked away.

Alison smiled nervously at Nick. “I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or not,” she teased as she left with them.

“So why these flavors?” Noel was asking Nick later.

“Well, the savory one is inspired a bit by dinners I had with the lads. One of them, Sai, we usually ate at his house and his mum would make Palak Paneer curry for us all the time. It was amazing so… this is for the lads.”

“And the other two?”

"Flavor pairings that Charlie likes,” Nick said with a  shrug. “What can I say? I love my boyfriend.”

“Then why haven’t you married him?" Noel teased. “You said you’ve been together nine years.”

“I am going to marry him,” Nick said. “I am proposing to him at the Garden Party. It doesn’t matter if I get to the finals or not, I’m proposing to Charlie at the Garden Party. It’s always been my dream.”

~

“Nick, please bring your showstopper up and tell us about it.”

Nick brought up the tray that had all three types of his turnovers and their sauces (with some help from Noel) and placed them in front of the judges. “So my first turnover is a play on a Palak Paneer Curry with spinach and paneer cheese inside. It had a ginger and tamarind chutney to dip and it’s decorated for the ‘Lads’ as we call them.”

“The lads?”

“My rugby mates from grammar and uni,” Nick said. “I know I’m an awful artist, but I tried to make it work,” he said with a laugh.

“And the next one?”

“A coffee custard and blackcurrant jam turnover with a white chocolate and mint sauce. They’re decorated for the ‘Paris Squad’, they’re my queer friends from grammar school and we’re all still really close even now. And the last ones are Strawberry and peach with a rosemary caramel that is decorated for my dogs… um, Nellie, she’s passed now, but there’s also Henry and Daisy, plus their favorite toys like Nellie loved her penguin toy...” he said with a nervous chuckle.

“You’re very family and friend-oriented, aren’t you?” Prue asked.

“I mean, isn’t that obvious with how much I talk about Charlie?” he asked causing everyone, including Paul and Prue, to chuckle.

The judges tasted each of his turnovers then. Nick winced a little when Paul ruthlesslessly sliced a knife through the portrait of Nellie for the Strawberry and Peach turnover, and held his breath as they tasted each one. They had to be perfect. If they weren’t perfect then he was going to be sent home. Yes, he could still propose to Charlie had the Garden Party but he really wanted to do it as a finalist if possible.

Prue seemed to be really enjoying the turnovers but Paul said nothing at first, then he silently held out his hand and Nick thought he might pass out. “These are incredible. Every single one of them and their sauces are just… very well done, Nick.”

~

“Today is going to be painful, isn’t it.”

“Well, we’ve been getting to know them and they really are all lovely,” Prue said. “But Arvids turnovers…”

“They were absolutely inedible,” Paul said bluntly. “So was his chutney in the signature, but Nick in the technical…”

“Yes, but he got a handshake,” Alison pointed out. “Have you ever sent someone out when you’re given them a handshake?”

“I don’t remember doing that,” Paul said. “But I’m not sure I can forgive the technical.”

“Oliver’s sauces were not good.”

“No, “ Paul agreed. “They just didn’t complement what he made but the turnovers themselves were good, and he did do better in the technical than Nick.”

“Star Baker? Are you still thinking Isadora or Fatema?”

“Absolutely,” Prue said. “Their flavor profiles were stunning.”

“Agreed. Honestly, today feels like the hardest choices we’re going to be making.”

~

“Bakers, you have survived Pastry week,” Noel said with a bright smiled. “Now I get the fabulous job this week in getting to announce this weeks Star Baker. Honestly, this wasn’t easy because two of you did so amazingly well that they had to pick apart your bakes to choose which of you got it. This weeks Star Baker is… Isadora!”

Everyone clapped for her and Nick was genuinely happy for her. She’d worked really hard in the tent and deserved it.

“Now that means I have to terrible job this week of sending someone home. It’s hard when we’ve gotten to know each of you but the Baker going home this week is… Arvid. I’m so sorry.”

Nick felt relief rush through him but also felt guilty for feeling that way. Arvid was such a wonderful old man and he loved hearing him talk about his Gwyn. It always reminded Nick of the way he talked about Charlie. He hugged Arvid and tried to Hold back tears.

Paul came up to Nick and spoke quietly to him. “It was almost you, Nick. Don’t mess up your second chance, okay.”

Nick nodded. “I won’t,” he promised softly.

~

A cheer went up in the pub where Nick was out with the lads, both from Truham and from uni. Charlie was swamped with a manuscript and promised to watch the episode later but had to keep working because he had a deadline and encouraged Nick to go out with his friends.

“I’m surprised he didn’t send you home,” Lance was saying. He’d been the right Winger when Nick was at Uni. “Seriously, bad techy, Mate.”

“Don’t I know it,” Nick laughed. “I thought I was going to have a heart attack while we waited to find out who was going home.”

“How’s Arvid been doing?” Laurence asked, though he wasn’t technically a ‘lad’ he and Jace were included in the group. “He seemed really sweet at your wedding.”

“He passed away about a month ago,” Nick admitted, the pointed out the ‘In Loving Memory’ that popped up on the screen. “They say he had a stroke in his sleep. His oldest daughter said that doing Bake Off and making one of the cakes for our wedding were two of the highlights of his life.”

“Here’s to Arvid then,” Otis said raising his beer. “May his spirit keep baking wherever it chose to rest!”

“To Arvid!” They said before they all took a drink of beer.

“Hows the the househunt going?” Jace asked.

“Well, we might have something,” Nick admitted. “Um… Mum found a cottage that she liked and had offered to ‘swap houses’ with us if we buy it, so we’d just give each other the house I guess. Apparently that’s what my grandparents did for her too.”

“Wait, so you and Charlie might just be moving into your old house? Won’t that be weird?”

“No, it wasn’t weird for my mum, and honestly Charlie loves the house. It perfect for… you know, a family.”

“Talking about that now, are you?” Otis teased.

“We might be,” Nick laughed. “It still might be a couple years but yeah… we’re both ready for that next step.”

“Then here’s to the next step,” Sai said holding up his beer again.

“To the next step!” Everyone agreed.

Chapter Text

I do not own any of these characters- they were created by the incredible Alice Oseman who is our Queen! I apologize for any grammar errors- I do have a learning disability that makes it hard for me to remember more than the most basic grammar rules. I really hope you love the story I am creating for you!

His Dream Come True

Chapter 8- Winter Holidays Week

~Late May~

“Bakers! Welcome back to the Tent. This Week is Winter Holidays Week,” Alison said.

“That means that you’ll be making treats that you would normally eat during the winter holidays.”

“For your signature, the judges would like each of you to make a Figgy Pudding…”

“Oh Bring me some Figgy pudding,” Noel sang.

“Now everyone should know what a figgy pudding is so I don’t think I need to describe it. The judges would like for you to make your own flavors and twists but it must have figs!”

“Bakers, you have 2.5 hours to make this delicious Winter Holiday desert! On Yours Marks…”

“Get set…”

“Bake!”

Oliver, Enzo, and Isadora immediately got started on their batter, but Nick, Fatema, and Niamh started on their fig mixture first.

Nick had just finished cooking his mixture down and was starting to add Flour to his mixing bowl when Prue, Paul, and Noel arrived at his station. “Good Morning,” he said to greet them.

“Good Morning Nick,” Prue said. “You certainly look more chipper this week.”

“Well, I got my arse kicked last week and need to prove myself,” Nick chuckled.

“That is very true,” Paula agreed. “What are you making for us today?”

“I’m doing a twist on the original, using cranberries instead of dates and I’m folding in Pork lard instead of butter, the glaze will be a bourbon maple bacon and it’ll be topped with candied bacon and dried cranberries.”

“That sounds interesting,” Prue said. “Have you practiced this?”

“I have. The lard was an accident because when I came up with this I had no butter but it ended up really enhancing the flavors.”

“Will there be any cinnamon in this?”

“After last week I would think you’d want to keep me far away from Cinnamon, Paul,” Nick said with a slight laugh.

“Fair.”

“We look forward to trying your pudding Nick,” Prue said before they continued on.

Despite how easy it sounded to most people, Nick found that making a proper figgy pudding was trickier then people realized. It was more than just mixing together the batter and popping into the oven. It was about the balance of flavors and spices.

Because he didn’t cook with cinnamon (unless he had to in the technical challenges) that made his flavors just a little different then a tradition Figgy pudding and he knew it. But he was also confident in the pudding that he was making, having practiced it at home between studying for his exams that were in the next week. The exams had him more nervous than the tent to be honest, because it was his entire future on the line.

He slowly added his fig and cranberry mixture to the eggs that had been beating along with pork lard, breadcrumbs (because his recipe called for them), and orange peel. Then he slowly added his flour mixture that had his spices, sugar, and salt. Once everything was well mixed, he greased his bundt pan, which was a Nordic Brand one of his from home that had Christmas tree’s on it, poured his batter in and then got into the oven. He set his time for 1 hour and 50 minutes and set to work on his glaze and the candied components for on top.

He glanced over at Niamh, who looked stressed. “You okay?” he asked.

“Just starting it over, the batter wasn’t right,” she admitted.

“Let me know if you need any help,” Nick offered without thinking and she laughed at that.

“Mind your own bake Nick- remember what happened last week when you got distracted,” she teased.

“Oh God, yeah, you’re right,” Nick said as he refocused on his glaze/sauce.

~

“My gran said she never wants to eat another figgy pudding in her life,” Niamh said as they all relaxed for the reset.

“You’ve been having her be your guinea pig?” Fatema asked.

“I have. I tried with some of my uni flatmates but they got suspicious so now it’s just gran.”

“I’m surprised no one on my rugby team has cottoned on,” Nick admitted. “I’m always bringing stuff in for them now. I tried bringing some to class but my professors asked if I was trying bribe them so I stopped.”

“Ouch,” Enzo said. “My teachers have all been glad to be my guinea pigs, although I did get to tell them,” he admitted. “When you don’t have any family nearby, you need someone to confide in so…”

“I get that,” Oliver said. “All I have are my girls,” he said.

“I have my dogs,” Isadora said, “But they can’t really eat all the sweets I’ve been making so…”

They all laughed at that.

“Is Charlie your main taste taster, Nick?”

“He is and he never gets sick of my bakes,” Nick said proudly.

“It’s because you’re both clearly simps for each other.”

“All I hear is ‘Jealousy, Jealousy’,” Nick said, singing the words from Olivia Rodrigo’s song when made everyone laugh again.

~

Fatema was first with her classic Fig and date pairing, but chose to go with her own Chai Masala mix of ground cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, black pepper, and fennel. She made a Chai Masala caramel sauce to go on the top instead of a glaze, making it very sticky. Paul and Prue were both impressed with it, though Prue said that it might be a tad sticky for her tastes.

Nick was the second one to be judged. He smiled gamely at them when they came up and asked him to describe it. “So I have a Fig and Cranberry figgy pudding. The spices I have are Cardamon, Nutmeg and a touch of blackpepper. It is topped with a Bourbon Maple glaze and candied bacon and dried sugared cranberries.”

“You said earlier that you chose to put Pork Lard instead of butter for your pudding?” Prue asked.

“Yes, I did.”

“Excellent choice,” she told him.

“I agree, it really helps to bring through the bacon flavor without making it overwhelming,” Paul said. “This is an almost perfect pudding… but it could have used some cinnamon.”

Nick almost laughed. “You’re never going to let me off about the cinnamon, are you?”

“No, probably not,” Paul agreed. “Well done,” he added before they left for Niamh’s station.

Niamh’s combination of Figs and Cherry with a cherry liqueur glaze was liked very much by the judges.

Oliver’s Fig and Apple Pudding was good, but his star anise glaze was overwhelming.

Isadora’s Fig and Guava pudding was a miss for the judge, plus it was really underbaked.

Enzo also did Fig and Date but paired it with a coffee glaze that the judges though was too bitter- disappointing since the rest of his pudding was lovely.

~

“Bakers, for your technical today the judges would like you to made a dozen Pfeffernüsse.”

“These are a German winter holiday cookie who’s name roughly translates to Peppernuts. It’s considered to be similar to a gingerbread cookie.”

“You have 3 hours to make a dozen of these beauties for our judges.”

“On Your marks…

“Get set…”

“Bake!”

Nick looked at the ingredients and giggled a little hysterically. There was cinnamon. Of course there was cinnamon after the previous week.

Still, he took a deep breath and focused. These were similar to gingerbread cookies but there was black pepper… peppernuts. He took another deep breath and started making the paired down recipe- which didn’t give any indication of how many spices to use of each. However, after his disastrous week before, he’d done a little research and made a decision about how much to use. He tried a tiny bit of the dough but wasn’t sure if it was right so he asked Fatema who took a taste and then told him she thought it was perfect. He decided since she worked with cinnamon far more than he did, he would listen to her.

The paired down recipe told him that the dough needed to chill but he didn’t know how long for. Based on the amount of time they were being given, Nick decided that two hours sounded about right.

When his dough was chilled, he pulled it out, rolled it, and then cut out a dozen squares before rolling them into balls and putting them on a parchment-lined sheet. Once they were in the oven, he double checked the directions. He was told that they needed to be rolled in icing sugar but that was it.

He kept them in for 19 minutes, unsure about how long they needed but afraid he’d over cook them, then he rolled his cookies in the sugar. The first time the sugar almost melted into the cookie so he did it a second time and they looked like the were covered with snow then.

He ended up finishing a few minutes early and had some extra cookies and tried them. They tasted okay (he wasn’t a fan of the cinnamon, having gotten used to not eating it) but he still wasn’t sure they were right. He just had to hope he wasn’t in the bottom again.

Prue and Paul walked in when it was time and Nick was sure that he’d met his doom. He was silent as he watched them try the different cookies.

First was Fatema’s and they nodded. “Baked well, but the black pepper flavor is definitely lost,” Paul said.

Next was Olivers. His was underbaked and doughy.

Nick’s came after and they had zero criticism. Prue pointed out that it looked like they’d been properly double-rolled in the icing sugar.

Enzo’s was next and his were considered tastey as well.

Isadora’s were overbaked to the point where Paul and Prue couldn’t even bite into the cookie.

Niamh’s were almost perfect just like Fatema’s, though they were just a touch underdone and the black pepper taste wasn't there.

“In 6^th place, we have this one,” Prue said standing behind Isadora’s picture. She raised her hand. “Isadora. They were simply inedible. I’m sorry.”

“Next we have this one,” Paul said standing in front of Oliver’s. Oliver raised his hand. “They needed another 5 or 6 minutes in the oven,” Paul explained.

“In 4^th place we have this one.” Niamh raised her hand. “They were delicious Niamh but just a touch underbaked.”

“In 3^rd is this one.” Fatema raised her hand. “Well baked but we did lose the black pepper flavor which is important.”

“Second place is… this one.” Nick felt his breath catch as Enzo raised his hand. “Very, very good, but just not as good as our first place.”

“And in first we have…” Paul stood in front of Nick’s and Nick raised his hand. “Nick, after last week I have to say I’m very impressed. They were well baked, all the flavors were perfect, and you were the only one who rolled your cookies in the icing sugar twice to give it that snowy appearance. Well done.”

Nick beamed and blushed like crazy as everyone clapped. He felt like he was going to cry.

💔💔💔

That evening Charlie was doing some work on the new manuscript that was sent to him when he heard a knock on the the door. He opened it and blinked in surprise when he saw Imogen, though he immediately noted that her eyes were rimmed with red.

“Imogen!”

“Charlie! I brought cake-flavored vodka!”

‘Shit,’ he thought. When Imogen brought out the cake-flavored vodka, it was serious. “Well, I hope you brought the good stuff,” he said as he let her in.

“Course I did,” Imogen said showing him the bag that clinked with more then a few bottles. “Tonight, we get shit-faced!"

‘Okay, she’s already been drinking.’ “I’m fine with that, but why are we getting shit-faced tonight?”

She leaned close to him and loudly whispered. “Because I’m the Spawn of Satan.”

And then Charlie knew and understood. “Let me got the shot glasses,” he said going to the cupboard. He put most of the bottles in his freezer, then poured them each a shot. “Your mum showed up?”

Imogen downed her shot and nodded. “I swear… I swear…” she shook her head as she started crying. Charlie immediately went and wrapped his arms around her. He knew she would have normally gone to Sahar, but Sahar was doing a show in Edinburgh that weekend since Queer Intentions was starting to get bigger.

“Okay, Immy, looks like it’s bed drinking for us,” Charlie teased.

“Trying to get me into bed will not work, Charlie Spring, I am a married woman.”

“And we’re both gay,” Charlie laughed.

“Fair point! To bed!”

He laughed again as they settled into the guest room that they had for their friends and Imogen drank directly from the bottle, more of what happened pouring out of her. Her mother, a demonic entity that somehow had birthed the amazingly sweet Imogen and then tried to destroy her soul and spirit in every way possible, had found out where her and Sahar’s flat was in London and had come banging on the door, berating Imogen to the point of almost a breakdown for marrying a woman and disrespecting her father for her lifestyle choices. She’d told Imogen that her father, sisters, and brother, all of whom passed in a horrific accident on her 10^th birthday, would be ashamed of her and would haunt her.

These were the words that had sent Imogen into a spiral. She had been in the accident with them and had watched every person she loved slowly fade away in front of her. Charlie still remembered the first time she’d told him about it, the way she’d broken down as she remembered the way her dad was gone almost instantly, that Lyra wouldn’t wake up, Stella kept telling her it would be okay, and Jude begging his twin sister not to let him go because he was scared. She’d told Charlie before she told Nick, before she told anyone, and Nick had been her friends for years at that point.

“Your dad, and your brother, and your sisters would be so proud of you, Immy,” Charlie told her, stroking her hair gently. “I don’t think they would have given a rats ass that you married a woman. Your mother is just a bitter wreck of a person who has no soul and try to dim the beautiful light that is you.”

“But… Sometimes I wonder if she's right.”

“No, she’s not… but about which part?”

Imogen sat up shakily and looked at him. “We don’t want to have kids,” she admitted. “Like, we love kids and we want to be aunties to everyone elses kids but… Sahar and I don’t want kids. Well… Sahar said she wouldn’t care either way but I don’t want kids.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I just never wanted to be a mum, even when I was little I never wanted it, and then when everyone died…” she shook her head. “Its bad enough that I let myself love Sahar and you and Nick... I don’t know that I could take loving a child as mum and lose them. I don’t want that.”

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Charlie. “I mean, Tori made it clear by the time she was 6 or 7 that she didn’t want kids. Honestly, when they found out I had a boyfriend that was one of things Tori said to my parents ‘Well, at least you’ll get grandkids now’,” Imogen laughed a little at that. “You’re not a bad person or a bad sister or a bad daughter because you don’t want those things. It would be worse for you and a kid if you forced yourself into that.”

Imogen nodded then snuggled back into Charlie’s arms. “I really love you,” she whispered. “Not as much as Sahar but maybe a tiny bit more than Nick.”

Charlie chuckled at that. “I love you too, Immy. You’re one of my best friends.”

“I wouldn’t have gotten Sahar back if it wasn’t for you and Nick,” Imogen whispered. “I know it. Everything good in my life is because of you two.”

“Im, thats not—”

“Don’t argue with me, just because I’m drunk doesn’t mean it’s not true. You’re an amazing person, Charlie. Like you make everyone feel safe and loved and you bring everyone together. I don’t think we tell you that enough.”

“Nick does,” Charlie said with a laugh. “He tells me too much sometimes.”

“There’s never too much when someone tells you how wonderful you are.” Imogen sat up again and took his face into her hands. “You are amazing and Nick is amazing and you two are perfect for each other and I would do anything for the two of you.”

“Even murder?”

“Unless it’s Sahar, yes, even murder,” Imogen said, looking completely serious. “I mean it Charlie, I would do anything for you two. I promise.”

He took her hands off his face and squeezed them gently. “I know. Now… the bottle is gone. Why don’t we watch a movie together?”

“Can we watch ‘Everyone’s Talking about Jamie?’” Imogen asked. It was one of their guilty pleasures that they liked to watch together. Sahar and Nick liked it, but not like Imogen and Charlie.

“Yeah, lets watch Jamie take over the world,” he teased as  Imogen smiled and laid her head on his shoulders, feeling almost as safe with him as she did with Sahar. If someone had come up to her 10 years earlier and told her that someday one of the her most treasured friends would be Charlie Spring, she wouldn’t have believed them or understood why, but knowing Charlie, knowing how wonderful and kind he was, the way he cared for Nick and everyone else. Well… if they’d both been straight, he definitely would have been the type of person she would have gone for.

💔💔💔

The next morning, Nick walked into the tent feeling nervous. He’d talked to Charlie about an hour earlier and heard about Imogen showing up and was worried about her, but Charlie assured him that Imogen was fine with him and promised him that she wouldn’t drink anymore cake-flavored vodka. Charlie told him to focus on his bake today.

Next week would be the quarter-finals and Nick was feeling more and more nervous as the weeks went on. The time for the garden party was creeping nearer and it was both coming too slowly and going too fast. The thought of proposing to Charlie was everything to him.

“Bakers, for your Showstopper, the judges would like you to make beautiful, perfect Buche Noel’s, otherwise know as a Yule Log.”

“This is a French bake that has perfectly baked sponge and is rolled with a beautiful and delicious filling and is decorated to look like a log.”

“Not only will you be making a Buche Noel, but our judges would like for you to make some extras to go with them, cookies, cake pops, truffles- which ever you want. But they must compliment your flavors and there must be a dozen of them.”

“Your cakes should also be made to represent a special memory, so please keep that in mind.”

“Lastly, the judges want a warm drink to go with your Buche Noels! Something that will pair perfectly with your bakes.”

“You have 2.5 Hours. On your Marks…”

“Get Set…”

“Bake!”

Nick had a plan and knew he had to do everything in order to get everything done and cools and decorated in time. He was doing a lot, he knew it, but this bake meant a lot to him.

He was just getting his sponge into the oven when Prue, Paul, and Alison came over. “Hello Nick,” Paul said.

“Hello.”

“Tell us about your Buche Noel.”

“It’s going to be eggnog and orange flavored… and I’d like to keep the rest a surprise.”

“Really?” Paul asked. “Why’s that?”

“Because this is really special to me and I want you to experience hearing about it once.”

“What about your extra bits?” Prue asked, a smile on her face.

“Meringue cookies and decorated shortbread cookies.”

“That’s a lot to do in this time frame,” Paul said.

“Then I guess you better let me get to it,” Nick said with a chuckle.

“Well played,” Prue said with an amused smile before they left.

Nick was aware he was doing a lot, but it meant more to him than anything else he’d done before, because this bake would represent one of the most special days of his life.

His meringue cookies were in and he was cooking his orange marmalade when Alison came over to him. “So what memory is this bake for you.”

“I call it snow day,” Nick said, as he cooked the marmalade. “I met Charlie when we changed to vertical and the truth is I didn’t know I liked boys then. I always thought my feelings for them were those of admiration and wanting to be their friends. It… we grow up in a society that doesn’t really acknowledge bisexuality very much so when you’re a kid and you see the most beautiful boy in the world being sat next to you… well, it can be really confusing. It took me about a month a half to get him to my house and it was snowing that day and we played out in the snow, we made snow angels and had a snowball fight and I got to run my fingers through his hair, which was crazy because we were just friends but… and we danced in the snow.”

“Is that when you knew how you felt?”

“Now, I was dense and didn’t figure it out until almost a month later when Charlie was trying to show me how to play the drums. But I did want to kiss him that day. I reasoned it away, you know, telling myself that snow makes anyone want to kiss, no matter what gender you are but… it was my real feelings trying to explain themselves. It’s… It’s still one of my favorite days ever,” Nick admitted.

“Do you still dance in the snow with Charlie?”

“We dance in the snow and kiss in the rain and… It’s a beautiful life we get to have together. I can’t imagine it with anyone else.”

~

“Nick, why don’t you bring up your showstopper,” Noel said.

He took a deep breath and carefully brought up his show stopped and set it in front of them.

“Nick, tell us what we have today.”

“It’s an Eggnog and Orange Buche Noel. The sponge is an Orange Genoise that was brushed with orange liqueur, It had a dual filling of Orange marmalade that I made and an Eggnog Mousse. It is frosted with an Italian Meringue Eggnog buttercream. My extras are Eggnog meringue cookies with a touch of nutmeg and Eggnog Sugar cookies with an orange flavored royal icing that is decorated to mostly look like Snowflakes but as you can see there is one of Charlie and Nellie and me… playing in the snow. The warm drink is a spiced eggnog with a splash of bourbon to make you all feel a little tipsy.”

Everyone laughed at that.

“This represents one of the best days of my life, the first day I got to spend with Charlie outside of school. The day that led to all our other days to our first kiss to… our life together. It was perfect.”

“That is really sweet,” Prue said, actually looking near tears.

“Right, well lets see how it tastes,” Paul said, seemingly unmoved by the story, though Nick was sure he had been.

He sliced into the Buche Noel first and Prue nodded. “That is a beautiful roll,” she said.

“Yes, well defined. And the Marmalade isn’t seeping into the mousse,” Paul said. He cut a slice for each of them and they tried it. He shook his head before cutting one the shortbread cookies in half and and placing one of Prue plate before trying it, then trying to the meringues before lasting taking a drink of the warm eggnog.

“Eggnog has no right to be this delicious,” Paul finally said as Prue chuckled.

“He doesn’t like eggnog,” she said.

“I don’t, I think it should be illegal but… somehow you made me like this,” Paul said, staring at the showstopper in obvious confusion.

“Nick, this was absolutely divine. Thank you.”

“Thank you,” Nick said as he took his showstopper back to his station.

~

“So who do you think is in danger this week?” Alison asked.

“Without a doubt it’s Isadora and Oliver. They were both in the bottom of the technical and neither of their Buche Noels were very good,” Prue said.

“But Isadora’s flavors were there in the showstopper. I think that had to be considered.”

“What about Star Baker?”

“I think that choice is easy,” Prue said with a shrug. “Nick’s Showstopper was one of the best I’ve ever tasted on the show. Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t give him a handshake, Paul.”

“I couldn’t, it was eggnog,” Paul laughed. “I won’t give a handshake for eggnog. It’s a matter of principle.”

“Wow…” Noel laughed.

~

“Bakers another week gone. I get the wonderful job this week of announcing Star Baker. This week our Star Baker has shown us that sometimes… eggnog can be a good thing. Our Star Baker is Nick!”

Everyone clapped and Nick laughed a little in relief. He wanted to get through but winning Star Baker when he’d made the showstopper in honor of he and Charlie’s relationship meant a lot.

“Of course that means I have the awful job of sending one of you home. It kills me because I really do adore all of you. Unfortunately the baker going home this week is… Isadora. I’m so sorry…”

~

~Late October~

“I cannot believe that you told everyone about that day,” Charlie giggled as he was snuggled into Nick’s arms on the couch.

“Yeah? Well it’s still one of the best days of my life. Why wouldn’t I want to make it when they said to chose a special memory?” Nick asked, kissing Charlie softly. “You know I saw on Twitter that some people are having drinking games to see how much I mention you.”

“Oh god! They’re making you out to be such a simp.”

“Yeah… but they’re not lying,” Nick said softly.

Charlie giggled and kissed him deeply. “I also heard there is a rumor going around that we’re already married,” Charlie teased.

“Seriously?” Nick laughed. “Well, I mean… it’s not a lie.”

“You really wanted to kiss me that day?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah… you were on the ground making the snow angel and I was taking pictures and it hit me that you looked just like an angel and that it would be so nice to kiss a real-life angel.”

“Oh my god, Nick!”

“You asked,” Nick pretending to growl as he tickled Charlie who squealed and tried to get away but was soon pinned by Nick on the couch.

Charlie looked up into his husbands face and smiled. “We’re not in the snow but if you wa—” He couldn’t even finish his sentence before Nick’s lips were on his in a searing and mind-shattering kiss. How lucky was he that he got to have this for the rest of his life?

Chapter Text

I do not own any of these characters- they were created by the incredible Alice Oseman who is our Queen! I apologize for any grammar errors- I do have a learning disability that makes it hard for me to remember more than the most basic grammar rules. I really hope you love the story I am creating for you!

His Dream Come True

Chapter 9- Custards Week

~Early June~

“Nick, you home?” Charlie called as he walked into the house. He took set down his bags from his shopping, and frowned. It was eerily quiet, he didn’t even hear Daisy which was odd since she usually would come bounding out as soon as someone opened the door.

He walked to his and Nick’s bedroom and thought he heard Daisy whimper and opened the door. He found Nick lying in bed, his arms wrapped around Dairy, his face buried in her fur. Charlie immediately went to the bed and climbed in beside his boyfriend, saying nothing as he wrapped his arms around him and just willed him to catch his breath.

Nick had hid hid panic attacks from Charlie for a long time. He hadn’t wanted Charlie to worry when he had enough to deal with when it came to his own mental health struggles. But the day came during Nick’s final year at Truham where he couldn’t hide it anymore.

It had been because of a cruel prank by Ben Hope (which they were able to prove later). A fake news recording saying that ‘Charlie Spring had been found dead at Truham Grammar’ was sent to Nick and Nick had completely freaked out. He’d run to Charlie’s house, desperate to find Charlie, but Charlie had been out that day, visiting his grandma with his parents and sister (and completely miserable for it), and had unfortunately left his phone at home.

That was how they found Nick, curled up next to the door of their house, soaked from the rain that had been pouring down for hours, struggling to breath. It had taken them hours to soothe Nick and calm him down. Charlie’s mum even let him bring Nellie into the house to help bring Nick out of his panic. Nick had ended up with pneumonia from it too and had to miss two weeks of school.

He found out later from his mum that Nick had a similar panic attack the hospital the morning after he’d tried to hurt himself and Nick had heard he couldn’t see him. She admitted to him that she thought Charlie knew that he had them since Sarah was open with her about it but never mentioned it because she thought Nick wanted privacy about them.

Finding out that his boyfriend had struggled with them his entire life had shaken Charlie’s world more than a little bit, but it didn’t scare him off. Just like his mental health struggles didn’t scare off Nick. Somehow, they never had a spiral at the same time, though they did have a plan just in case it ever did happen. Geoff and Rosalind (Nick’s Therapist) had helped them come up with it together.

He just laid next to Nick, spooning him until Nick finally let go of Daisy and turned over, burying his face in Charlie’s chest and drawing in a shuddering breath. He still couldn’t speak, but Charlie knew could feel that his breathing had eased and that was all the mattered. He just held Nick and stroked his back with gentle fingers and kissed his head, silently assuring Nick that everyone was okay. Charlie had found this seemed to comfort Nick the most since sounds would sometimes make the panic attacks worse. Silent comfort was what Nick needed in these moments.

“I’m sorry,” Nick finally whispered, though Charlie had no idea how much time had passed. Charlie almost laughed at his words though. Even after 9 years they would apologize over silly things like their spirals despite them ‘banning the s-word’.

“No apologizing, Love,” Charlie said gently. “You never have to apologize.” He was quiet for a little bit before speaking again. “Do you know what brought this one on?” Sometimes Nick didn’t know and Both Geoff and Rosalind had assured them that was okay. Sometime, things just became too much.

“I’m ruining our future,” Nick mumbled against Charlie’s shirt.

“And how’s that?”

“I screwed up my exam today,” Nick whispered. “I could barely read the words and I don’t even know what I wrote down but I know I must’ve failed it.” A sob caught in his throat. “I’m a terrible boyfriend,” he whispered.

“You are a perfect boyfriend and you haven’t messed up anything,” Charlie said firmly. “I know from researching that you can resit for the exam if you need to,” he added. “It’s going to be okay, Nick, I promise,” Charlie said, kissing his forehead. “I have faith in you.”

Nick shook his head. “Sometimes I think it’s misplaced,” Nick whispered.

“You are the love of my life, Nick. My faith in you has never been misplaced. It’s going to be okay, sweetheart, I promise.”

~

“Welcome Bakers to the Quarter-Finals and Custards Week!” Noel said. “For your signature Challenge the judges would like each of you to make 12 decorated custard-filled donuts.”

“They can be any type of flavors and fillings but they must be baked and they must have a custard inside of them.”

“Each must be uniform in shape and size and be beautiful enough to eat. You have 2 Hours. On Your Marks…”

“Get Set…”

“Bake!”

Nick took a moment to sort his thoughts before he started on his doughnut dough. It was essential to get his dough done and rising as quickly as possible.

“Nick, how are you this morning?” Paul asked.

“I’m good.

“What are you making today?”

“Well, we did winter holidays last week so I thought I’d lean back into fall,” Nick said. “I’m making pumpkin apple cider donuts with a white pepper and molasses custard filling.”

“White pepper,” Prue asked. “That’s interesting.”

“I’ve found that it brings something to the flavors, and it pairs really well with the nutmeg that will be in the donuts.”

“And your decorations?” Paul asked.

“Rainbows,” Nicki said. “Since it’s Pride month right now, I wanted to represent my queer culture. I would have done the different flags but since they all have to be matching, I went with just rainbows.”

“Well, we look forward to trying your rainbow donuts, Nick.”

“Thank you,” Nick said as he continued his work.

~

The clock seemed to want to work against him once again and Nick was feeling frustrated. His rainbows were not coming out as nice as he had imagined they’d be. The donuts tasted good (He'd made extra's to be sure) and he really liked the custard, but he was also now nervous because he chose the white pepper. Who puts white pepper in desserts? Well, he did apparently. Why though? Had he lost his mind.

He remembered when he received the briefs and was looking over the custards week. He’d wanted to push himself, to try to make something that no one else might consider. That was why he’d made this decision. Just like he wanted to push himself with the rainbows. Darcy would be ashamed when she saw the state of them when the show aired.

Despite his stress over time, he had two minutes left when he finished. He knew his rainbows wouldn’t be any better so he left it. Enzo looked to be a right mess so Nick went over and offered to help, which relieved the younger man. They got all of Enzo’s donuts, mostly decorated, on his plate just in time and Enzo looked relieved.

“Thank you, Nick.”

“Any time. I know you would have don the same if I’d needed it.”

“True,” Enzo laughed.

~

Oliver’s donuts were the first to be tried. “I’ve made for you Matcha Donuts with a Jasmine Tea Custard filling and they’re decorated like Cherry Blossoms in honor of my daughters heritage from their mum’s side.”

“Well they look beautiful,” Prue said as Paul cut open one of the donuts.

“They’re slightly under-proved, but it still workable,” Paul said. "The Custard is really good.”

“But the donut itself is very grassy,” Prue said apologetically.

“Agreed,” Paul said. “Thank you Oliver.”

Oliver smiled tightly and looked down at his donuts sadly. He’d liked the matcha flavoring.

“Fatema, tell us you’ve made for us today,” Prue said.

“I made Vegan donuts today. They are banana donuts with a vegan coconut and pistachio custard and decorated to look like cats because we have many friendly cats roaming our neighborhood.”

Paul cut the donut and nodded. “Very well proved,” he said. “And this custard is delicious.”

“It’s absolute perfection,” Prue agreed.

“Vegan donuts aren’t usually my favorite, but these are very well done, Fatema. Good job.”

Enzo smiled when they got to his station. “I have for you Brownie donuts with a toffee custard and they are decorated to look like our beautiful flag.”

“The decoration in decent,” Paul said as he cut a donut open. He frowned a bit, seeing almost no custard. He cut open a second one and it was the same. “So they are massively under-proved and were your donuts just out of the oven when you filled them?”

“Yes.”

“The custard had completely melted away,” Paul said.

“The flavors are there though,” Prue said gently.

Paul just nodded and they moved on. Next they were at Nick’s station. “Nick, tell me what you have for us.”

“I have Pumpkin and Apple Cider donuts that are filled with a White pepper and Molasses custard. They are decorated with rainbows that look like a disaster, which I think works because all my friends call their favorite bisexual disaster.”

Prue laughed and even Paul cracked a smile at that. Nick had a feeling he was still annoyed about Enzo’s donuts. A donut was cut open and Prue smiled. “Very well proved.”

“I think the best so far,” Paul agreed. He tasted the custard first and shook his head. “Wow…” he murmured.

Prue took a bite of the donut and custard together and actually moaned. “Oh, this is divine.”

Paul nodded and then held out his hand. Nick took his hand, trying to hold back the giddiness he felt. “Your rainbows are a mess but your flavors are not. And that custard should be bottled and sold,” he said honestly.

“Agreed.”

“Thank you sir, Thank you, Ma’am.”

Lastly they moved on to Niamh’s station. She smiled and shrugged a little bit. “I’m made for you Peanut butter and Jelly donuts. Donuts are Peanut butter flavored with a raspberry custard filling, they’re decorated to look like suns.”

“They look very well done,” Paul said. “They’re proved really well too.”

“This is delicious, Niamh.”

“I agreed, but I did get a couple bits from the raspberries. Did you doubt sieve it?”

“No, just the one time.”

“Doing it a second time would make your custard perfect,” Paul said. “Well done.”

“Thank you.”

~

“Just so you know, that is four handshakes that you’ve gotten,” Niamh said as they ate lunch before the next challenge.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Nick said, blushing a little

“Sure you don’t,” Enzo laughed. “How did you come up with that combination though? Like it feels insane?”

“I don’t know,” Nick said. “I just really wanted to push myself and try new flavors.”

“And you do that a lot, right? Because of Charlie?”

“Honestly, Charlie makes me a far better cook and baker. I mean, I would never had even thought about putting white pepper and molasses together if I didn’t know him. He pushes me to be better without even trying to. He does that with everyone. I mean, you are going to understand when you meet him. He is literally the best person I’ve ever known and that includes my mum. Even our friends agree that he’s the best person they’ve every known.”

“Sounds like you punched up,” Oliver said teasingly.

“Oh don’t I know it,” Nick laughed. “Charlie is so far out of my league it’s insane. I know exactly how lucky I am to have him.”

~

“Bakers for your technical challenge today, the judges would like for you to make 6 Coffee crème brulee’s.”

“The judges already said you should know what to do so you have two hours.”

“On your marks…”

“Get Set…”

“Bake…”

Nick pulled off the gingham and immediately started on his custard. The directions were the most paired down thing he’d every seen.

‘Make the Crème Brulees.’

“Nice,” he muttered to himself but he just focused on the task at hand. Luckily, he knew exactly how to make a coffee custard since he’d done it during pastry week, so that would be the easy part for him. The hardest part would be getting the crunchy sugary top, which he’d never managed to get right at home. But… if there was a day to get it right…

He got his custards baking in what he felt was record time but he also knew they were made correctly. He kept repeating it in his head, if there was one thing he’d get right in this challenge it would be the custard. However, there were only five of them left now, which meant if his topping didn’t come out right at the end, then he could be in the bottom if everyone was really close together.

He was too close to the finals.

Broiling the tops of the crème brulee’s was one of the most nerve-wracking challenges he’d every had in his life. He kept wanting to open the oven door but had to stop himself because he knew he couldn’t screw it up. He stared at them and finally pulled them out when it looked right but was also worried. How many times had he thought they looked right at home only to either be under caramelized or over.

Oh God, what if he’d screwed up again?

He got his ramekins onto his plate just as time was called but felt like his vision was getting slightly blurry. He was starting to panic and he could feel it. He took a slow breath, trying to center himself and not remember the disastrous technical from two weeks earlier.

It would be okay. They would be okay.

Nick was so busy trying to calm himself down that he missed most of what was being said about the crème brulees as the judges tried them.

Finally, Paul stood in front of Enzo’s picture. “In 5^th place we have this one.” Enzo raised his hand. “It was very well done, but your custard was just underset.”

“Next we have this one…” Oliver raised his hand. “A touch too much coffee flavor.”

“In 3^rd we have this one.” Niamh raised her hand then. “Honestly, it was very hard to choose between these three. These could have used another minute in the broiler and they would have been perfect.”

“So for 2^nd we have this one,” Prue said. Fatema raised her hand and Nick felt like he couldn’t breathe. “There was barely any difference, Fatema, I’d say maybe 30 seconds less in the broiler and you would be in first.”

“And in first place,” Paul stood in front of Nick’s picture and Nick raised his hand. “It was perfect. No notes.”

Nick nodded, feeling completely overwhelmed and unable to speak and Oliver squeezed his shoulder and congratulated him. He got first in the technical again. Wow.

~

That evening Nick was checking his emails, which he’d forgotten to do on Friday and he saw an email from Truham primary school. He opened it immediately and smiled a little. They wanted him to come into interview for the the position of being a Year 3 teachers. He almost laughed at that. He immediately clicked to facetime Charlie.

“Hey,” Charlie said, answering almost immediately. “Everything going good today?” he asked. Nick had said he would try not to call since Charlie was working on the new manuscript but Charlie also loved it when he called anyway.

“I’m being asked to do an interview at Truham Primary.”

“What?” Charlie beamed. “When did you…”

“I didn’t check my emails yesterday and it was sent out then. I’m replying right now. I think I’ll need to stay at Mum’s tomorrow night though because they want me to come in on Monday morning.”

“That’s perfect Nick!”

“I’m just… I just sent my CV in a few weeks ago.”

“Well, you’re scores have been great, makes sense that you’d get a response back fast.”

Suddenly Nick’s stomach dropped. “But my exam…”

“You can sit for it again if you did badly so do not stress about this,” Charlie assured him. “What Year?”

“Year 3,” Nick told him, unable to stop the smile on his face. “I mean, when I started going for this I really wanted to do Year 2 or 3… but I wasn’t sure I’d get the chance.”

“Nick, you get everything you set your mind too and always have,” Charlie told him. “You’re going to be an amazing teacher.”

“Yeah, but what if we can’t sell the flat in time? What if—”

“Nick, we can figure all of that out,” Charlie promised. “We can rent if we need to, we can stay with one of our parents, although maybe not mine, but no matter what we can make it work.”

“You’re okay with me going to my mum’s tomorrow?”

“Of course, as long as you call me. I need to hear that you got star baker again,” Charlie teased.

“You don’t know that I’m going to get star baker again.”

“Uh-Huh… how did today go?”

“Um… really well. Handshake and first in the technical,” Nick said, blushing a little.

“Exactly. It was the white pepper custard that did it, wasn’t it?”

“Charlie—”

“I knew it! God, that thing is so sinful,” Charlie laughed. “You know you’re going to be making those for me so I can eat them while we watch the episode, right?”

“Maybe I’ll make something else,” Nick teased.

“Well… I already know whatever you make I’m going to love so…”

“God, and you call me a simp,” Nick teased.

“We’re simps for each other,” Charlie laughed. “Would you want it any other way?”

“Not for a second,” Nick said as he stared at Charlie through his phone. “Not for a single second.”

~

“Bakers, welcome to your showstopper for Custards Week! For your showstopper, the judges would like for you to make 12 mini fruit and custard Galette’s.”

“A galette is similar to a pie or a tart but is free formed and usually very rustic looking, but always delicious.”

“You have an hour and a half. On your marks…”

“Get Set…”

“Bake!”

Nick already had his shortcrust pastry chilling in the fridge and was slicing his pears thinly when Prue, Paul, and Noel came up to him. “How is everything going, Nick?” Prue asked.

“So far it’s going well,” Nick said as he continued his slicing. He wasn’t going to stop just because they were talking.

“What are you making for us today?”

“An Asian Pear and Apple with Miso Caramel Custard Galette.”

“Interesting flavors. Because we know you so well, who are they for?” Prue asked.

Nick laughed. “Well, I made this as a tart for two of my friends wedding a couple years ago. Tao Xu and Elle Argent. They live in Paris now, but we’ve been friends since a little after I started dating Charlie.”

“After?” Noel asked.

“Oh, Tao was convinced I was straight so it took him about 5 or 6 months to warm up to me,” Nick laughed. “I love him though. He’s majorly protective of his friends so… this is for him and Elle.”

“Lets hope you don’t disappoint them then,” Paul said and Nick laughed.

“Oh, if I screw this up Tao will never let me live it down,” he assured them.

~

Nick’s Mini Galettes was the first to be judges and sometimes he wished it wasn’t. Still. There was no getting around it.

“I have for you Asian Pear and Apple Galettes with a Miso Caramel Custarted. I also added some sparkling sanding sugar to the crush to give it a touch of sweetness.”

“They’re definitely baked well,” Paul said as he cut one them in half.

“Hmmm,” Prue said as she tried it. “Did you use honey in the shortcrust?”

“I used honey butter instead of regular,” Nick said.

“It’s fantastic,” Paul said. “Little messy, but the flavor is perfect. Well done.”

“Thank you,” Nick said as he took his Galette’s back to the table.

Next up was Enzo. “I made Cherry Fig and Apricot Galette with a plum custard,” he said. “I thought the summer fruits paired nicely together.”

Paul nodded after they tasted it. “This is good. The flavors do work well together. Well done.”

Niamh was next. “This is are peach, apricot, and blackberry Galettes with a maple custard.”

“It’s slighty pale,” Prue said.

“But it’s cooked well regardless,” Paul said, sounding surprised.

“Agreed. Good Job, Niamh.”

Fatema brought up her berry galettes. “There are Blackberries, Raspberries, and blueberries and it has a lavender custard.”

“The lavender is just a touch strong,” Paul said.

“I disagree,” Prue said. “I love the lavender. It’s so hard to balance.”

Last was Oliver, his hands trembled a little as he brought up his Galettes. “I made Mango, Papaya, and Pomegranate Galettes with a Coconut custard,” he said softly, not looking very sure about his choices.

“The bake looks just about perfect,” Prue said.

“Good combination of flavors. Very smart of you to go with a coconut custard, it marries into the mango and Papaya really well. Well done Oliver.”

~

“This weekend was interesting.”

“It was,” Paul agreed. “Everyone did fairly well in the showstopper and the technical was almost impossible to choose from.”

“That mean’s you’ll need to look at the signature?” Noel asked

“Exactly,” Prue said.

“So who’s in trouble.”

“Enzo and Oliver,” Paul said with a sigh. “I would not want to eat either of their donuts again.”

“Unlike Nicks?” Alison teased.

“Oh that custard,” Prue said, her hand fluttering over her heart a little. “He really is an amazing baker.”

“He had that wobble in pastry week but I really think he’s proving himself again and again with the flavor combinations he comes up with.”

“It sounds like you have a lot to think about.”

“We do.”

~

“Bakers! We’re once again here and I get the best job of announcing who is Star baker this week. This weeks Star Baker is… Nick! Congratulations.” For a moment Nick thought he was going to pass out. 4 Star Bakers? How did that happen?”

“That means I have the terrible job of sending someone home,” Alison said. “This week, the baker that will be leaving the tent is… Enzo. I’m sorry, darling…”

~

“I still feel slighted that I didn’t get to try the donuts,” Tori said. She and Michael were visiting Nick and Charlie and had joined them for their viewing of Nick on Bake off.

“Yeah, but he made that custard into a crème brulee so I mean…” Michael tried to protest.

“I was promised donuts…”

Charlie laughed. “Deal with your disappointment Victoria,” he said. “I personally am loving this crème brulee.”

“Yeah,” Nick asked, kissing him softly. “I did promise you the white pepper and molasses custard, I just didn’t promise how I’d made it,” he teased.

“This really shouldn’t be this good,” Tori said.

“They should have just declared you as the winner after you made this,” Micheal added.

“Hey! Everyone worked really hard.”

“Are you students excited that you’ve been on TV?”

“They are,” Nick said. “They love having a ‘famous’ teacher,” he added.

“And I love having a ‘famous' husband,” Charlie told him.

“Ugh, we better finish these quick. I’m not sure I can’t stand the sappiness,” Tori told Michael but she was also smiling, clearly happy for Nick and Charlie. It was impossible to not be happy for them.

Chapter Text

I do not own any of these characters- they were created by the incredible Alice Oseman who is our Queen! I apologize for any grammar errors- I do have a learning disability that makes it hard for me to remember more than the most basic grammar rules. I really hope you love the story I am creating for you!

His Dream Come True

Chapter 10- Dairy Week

~Early Mid-June~

“Okay, do you have everything? The two sets of clothes, your recipes?”

“Charlie, I have everything,” Nick promised.

“Sorry, just nervous. I mean it’s semi-finals,” Charlie whispered.

Nick laughed. “If you’re nervous think about how I’m feeling! And… if I get through, next week is the finals… an-and the Garden Party.”

Charlie smiled at him, his breath catching a little. In 9 Days he would be proposing to Nick. In 9 days they were going to be fiancés. They’d waited 9 years for this and in 9 days… He pulled Nick to him and kissed him fiercely. “You know how much I love you, right?” he said once they needed to breathe.

Nick nodded, his arms having wrapped around Charlie immediately when he kissed him, now holding him tightly. “Yeah, almost as much as I love you.”

“That’s debatable,” Charlie told him with a giggle.

“Okay… we both love each other equally, which is already insanely more than anyone else in the entire world.” He kissed Charlie again, melting a little at the way Charlie was pressing against him. After ending up in the hospital, Charlie wouldn’t let him drive for bake off so he knew he needed to get on the train but he also didn’t want to. He wanted to stay here kissing his boyfriend… for a another week or so anyway.

He broke the kiss and smiled. “I’m thinking, day after the party… lets go to the beach? Just me and you… Like our first real date.”

“Yeah,” Charlie said. “I was thinking the exact same thing."

“Good. Okay… they’re calling it and I have to go,” Nick said kissing Charlie one more time. “I’ll see you Sunday night and I’ll call you when I get to the hotel, okay.”

“Okay. I love you, Nick Nelson.”

“And I love you, Charlie Spring,” Nick said with a soft chuckle before finally tearing himself away from Charlie and getting on the train.

Just nine more days…

~

“Bakers, you’re here,” Alison said. “And it’s time for the semi-final. How are you all feeling?”

“They don’t care about that,” Noel loudly whispered as everyone laughed.

“Right, well Bakers it is Dairy week which means everything is coming up Dairy!”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Noel said. “So the judges would like for each of you to may a dozen mini-cheesecakes. The Flavors and types of crust you use are entirely up to you, but they must be uniform in size and appearance.”

“You have 2 hours. On Your marks…

“Get set…

“Bake!”

Nick started with his crust, using the food processor to blend down his chocolate graham crackers before blending it with melted butter, making a nice chocolatey crust. He used a muffin tin for his back, lining each space then pressing the crust mixture to the bottom before getting to work on his filling.

“Hello Nick,” Paul asked as they came up to his station.

Hello,” Nick replied.

“So tell us about your Mini-cheesecakes this morning.”

“Well, I’m going with a German chocolate cheesecake.”

“No extra flavors to make it pop?” Prue asked, a little surprised.

“Oh, I’m making my signature simple but perfect,” Nick said.

“That makes me wonder what you have planned for the showstopper,” Paul said, a ghost of a smirk on his lips.

“Oh… you wouldn’t want me to ruin the surprise, would you,” Nick asked giving them a wink. “I am adding a Salted Caramel drizzle to each one though,” he added so they didn’t think he was was phoning in his signature. He liked German chocolate cake and really liked it as a cheesecake too.

“Well, I suppose we’ll have to see if these do come out as little bites of perfection.”

Nick smiled and watched them go before continuing with his mixture, then adding it to the tin and putting it in the oven to back. He started making his coconut and pean mixture for the top of the cheesecakes, humming to himself as he continued his work.

“What you singing?” Niamh asked curiously as she put her cheesecakes in the oven.

“'Better when I’m dancing' by Meghan Trainor,” Nick said. “It’s on me and Charlie’s dream wedding playlist.”

“Oh I know that one,” Niamh said. She started to sing. “Show the world you've got that fire, Feel the rhythm getting louder, Show the world what you can do, Prove to them you've got the moves, I don't know about you.”

Nick joined in singing as he continued working on his mixture. “But I feel better when I'm dancing, yeah, yeah, Better when I'm dancing, yeah, yeah, Oh, we can do this together, I bet you feel better when you're dancing? Yeah, yeah…”

“What is happening?” Noel asked with a soft laugh.

“I don’t know. Has this happened before?” Alison asked.

“No, never.” Then Noel went and got a phone and put on the song, causing Nick to whoop and laugh and soon all four bakers were dancing a little to the music as they worked their bakes.

“So very strange,” Noel laughed but was also clearly enjoying watching the bakers actually relax and have fun.

~

Despite having fun, all four bakers knew they had to finish their bakes on time. Nick was a little pressed for time, but he managed to get all of his cheesecakes unwrapped and topped with their pecan coconut mixture then added the salted caramel drizzle onto each one- just as time was called.

Fatema was the first station that was visited when it was time for judging. “Fatema, tell us what you’ve made for us today,” Paul said.

“White Chocolate Cranberry cheesecakes,” Fatema said with a smile.

“Well they look very lovely,” Prue said.

“They do,” Paul agreed. They cut one of her cheesecakes in half and Paul nodded when he tasted it. “Great balance of flavors.”

“I think you could have gone in more on the cranberry but I still like them,” Prue said with a smile.

“Good Job. Thank you, Fatema.”

Nick was next. “I have German Chocolate cheesecakes with a salted caramel drizzle.”

“They look perfect,” Paul admitted a little reluctantly.

Prue took a bite and smiled. “Nick… once again you’ve proven that simple bakes are also a joy,” she said.

“Beautiful flavors,” Paul said. “And that Salted Caramel paired perfectly with the sweetness of your cheesecake. Well done, Nick.”

Next they were with Niahm. “Niamh, these really look lovely too,” Prue said, sounding genuinely delighted.

“Thank you,” Niamh said. “I have Hot Chocolate Cheesecakes with toasted marshmallows on top.”

Paul nodded when he tasted them. “The flavors are spot on, it tasted like a cold hot chocolate,” he told her.

“Yes, they are very, very good,” Prue said. “Well done,” she told Niamh.

Last they stopped at Oliver's station. “I have browned butter pecan cheesecakes with a caramel drizzle.”

“The look lovely,” Prue said.

“Yes, but they are slightly sunk in the center,” Paul said once he’d cut on in half. “The flavor is good though.”

“Agreed.”

~

“God…. No more technicals,” Niamh moaned. “It’s exhausting.”

“Just today and next week,” Fatema said, patting her arm.

“You think we’ll get into next week?” Niamh asked, perking up a bit at the thought.

“Well you and Nick will,” Fatema said without any hesitation.

“Definitely Nick will,” Oliver laughed. “4 Handshakes and 4 Star Bakers, honestly if I didn’t know that he played with Blaydon I would have thought he was a ringer they brought in to mess with all of us.”

“Wait, you know Blaydon? Are you a fan?”

“The girls and I never miss a game,” Oliver said. “We live in Swalwell, so…”

“That’s cool. Why didn’t you mention it before?” Nick asked.

“Didn’t want you to feel weird, to be honest,” Oliver said. “I mean, you’ve seen some of the people at the games.”

“Don’t know it,” Nick groaned. “At I remember when I first joined. Took forever for some of the regulars to understand that I was taken.”

“Well, I think people will get the message when this airs,” Fatema said with a laugh. “The way you talk about your boy…”

“A week from tomorrow I’m going to ask him to marry me,” Nick whispered with an awed giggle. “God, I can’t wait.”

~

“Bakers, for your technical the judges would like for you to make a Tres Leches Cake.”

“Also known as the Three Milks cake, this is a delicious sponge that is soaked with a mixture of three different milks and topped with whipped cream and little bit of cinnamon.”

“You have three hours. On your Marks…”

“Get Set…”

“Bake!”

Nick pulled off thew Gingham and then looked at his paired down instructions. ‘Make a Vanilla Sponge.’ He sighed, wishing that they could give him more then just instructions like that, but he did know how to make a vanilla sponge at least.

The hardest part of making the tres leches cake, in Nick’s opinion, was the waiting time. The cake needed to soak in it’s three milks, but he wasn’t sure how long it would need. While it was soaking he made the whipped cream for it and grated some cinnamon (the bane of his existence).

He watched the time carefully like the rest of the bakers as it ticked down, wanting for the right moment to take out the cake from the fridge.

Oliver was the first, wanting to get his cake completely done without panicking. Then Fatema. But Nick and Niahm kept waiting and waiting until it was only five minutes left and they both moved at the same time for their cakes.

Nick had never frosted a cake or pipped so quickly in his entire life before. Noel was counting down the last seconds as he sprinkled the cinnamon on top and hoped that this was completely right.

“Bakers your time is up! Please put your cakes behind your photo,” Alison said.

Nick felt supremely nervous when Prue and Paul walked in. He still wasn’t completely sure that his cake had soaked enough in the mixture but he hoped it would at least be enough to keep him out of the bottom of the technical. Of course, at this point, it might not matter.

“Lets start from this side,” Paul said, starting at Oliver’s cake.

“Hmmm, a little dry for a Tres Leches,” Prue said.

“Agreed.”

Niamh’s was next. “The soak is much better,” Paul said.

“Good amount of cinnamon too,” Prue agreed.

Nicks was the third to be tasted. “I like the soak on this one too,” Prue said softly.

“Yes, but there isn’t very much cinnamon.”

Last, they tried Fatema’s. “Little dry again,” Paul said.

After discussing it between them, the judges finally looked at the bakers. Paul walked over to Olivers picture. “In 4^th place, we have this one.” Oliver raised his hand. “It needed more time to soak. We barely tasted any of the three milks.”

“In third place we have this one,” Prue said going to the next plate. Fatema raised her hand. “Same issue as Olivers, it was dry, but it was also not as dry.”

“In second place we have this one,” Paul said. Nick raised his hand. “Light on the cinnamon, but the soak was good for the time you had.”

“And in first we have this one.” Niahm blushed and raised her hand. “Good Soak and the right amount of cinnamon. Well done, Niamh.”

~

The next morning, Fatema found them before it was time to head to the tent and she was beaming. “She’s here,” she told them excitedly.

“She?” Niamh asked.

“My granddaughter,” Fatema told them showing them the picture her son had texted her. “They decided to name her Azmah.”

“She’s gorgeous, Fatema,” Nick said giving her a hug. “Are you going to see her tonight?”

“I am, as soon as the judging is done. I can not wait.”

"Make sure you let your son know that we’re happy for him too,” Oliver said giving her a hug as well, then Niamh hugged her.

“Okay Bakers, are you ready to head for the tent?” Madeline asked, she was now there every weekend to make sure everything was running smoothly behind the scenes.

“Yes, we’re ready,” Fatema said.

“Great,” Madeline said leading them out. “Oh and Fatema? Congratulations.”

~

“Bakers, welcome to the Showstopper round for Dairy Week. At the end of judging today we will know who are finalists are!”

“Today, for your showstopper, the judges would like you to make a Bombe Glacee.”

“This is an ice cream desert that is shaped like half of a cannon ball. There should be at least a layer of ice cream and a baked component included, plus the judges would like for you to include a surprise in your Glacee’s.”

“Your Bombe Glacee’s should also be covered with a mirror glaze and look beautiful enough to have in an ice cream shop window.”

“You have three hours. On your Marks…

“Get Set…”

“Bake!”

The first thing Nick started on was his ice cream, wanting to get into the machine as quickly as possible. At the same time he started cooking down his raspberries. Once his base was done, he poured it into to a glass bowl that was sitting in a wider bowl that had ice, helping to cool his mixture down quickly so he could immediately get it into the ice cream machine instead of waiting for it to cool in the fridge.

Once his ice cream base was in the machine, he started working on his ‘surprise component’ by blooming his gelatin sheets in cold water as he finished his raspberries, then put them through a sieve and pout them into the fridge to cool.

It was about this time that Prue, Paul, and Noel walked up to his station. “Welcome to the madhouse,” Nick said.

“What are the flavors your working with today?” Prue asked.

“I am making a White Chocolate Raspberry Bombe Glasee,” Nick said.

“And your baked component?”

“White chocolate raspberry blondies,” Nick said. “And that’s all I’m telling you,” he added cheekily.

“I’m expecting a lot from you, Nick," Paul said. "I believe you promised that.”

“Oh… you’ll get it,” Nick chuckled as he focused on his recipe.

A soon as the Ice cream was ready, Nick added in the raspberries, then put his ice cream into a metal bowl that had already been chilled in the freezer and was lined with plastic wrap. Not long after that he got his Gelee into the fridge, then his blondies into the oven, and started working on his mousse.

Yes, he was pushing himself, but he was determined that this would be perfect. The top of the Bombe glasses would be white chocolate and raspberry ice cream, the next layer was a thin layer of Yuzu Liqueur gelee. He loved the combination of Yuzu with raspberries and white chocolate. There would be a layer of Yuku white chocolate mousse next, then the last layer would be the blondies.

Getting the components together was easy for Nick, making his mirror glaze that he had chosen for this was not. He messed it up three times before he finally got it right. He was doing it in two colors, one white, the other a red to give it a marbling effect.

He glanced around and saw that everyone else had glazes theirs before him, but he just shook his head and focused on the task at him and carefully pouring his glazes until it had the look he wanted, then he put it back into the freezer, needing it to not melt and for the glaze to set.

The decorations were simplistic he supposed, just shaved white chocolate and blitzed dried raspberries, but he also was sure that it would be something that could ‘Go in an Ice Cream shop window’.

He pulled out his Bombe only minutes before time was called, taking his last few second to carefully place the dried raspberry powder and the white chocolate on in a way that looked pretty.

When time was called, he stepped back and smiled, feeling confident in his work.

After the reset, Fatema was the first to be called up. Her Bombe Glasee was Ginger and Pistachio with Ginger and pistachio ice cream and two layers of Ginger sponge that had the ice cream between them. Her ‘surprise component' was pistachio flavored ‘Cake Bombes’ that were hidden within the dome part of the Glasee. It had a pistachio flavored Mirror glaze

Oliver was next. His Bombe Glasee had a rose sorbet and an orange and Lemon sponge, with his surprise component being lemon curd. His mirror glaze was lemon vodka flavored and Nick had a feeling that Paul wasn’t a fan of the taste, plus they said the rose was too strong.

Niamh channeled Christmas and make a fruitcake ice cream with Gingerbread Bars. Her surprise component was a second baked sponge, a Pandan Cake that was layered in the Bombe Glasse so when you cut into it, it looked like there was a Christmas inside. It was covered in a cream cheese flavored mirror glaze, but it did have a few lumpy parts.

Last was Nick. He took a deep breath when he brought his bombe up to the judges.

“Nick, please tell us about your Bombe Glasee,” Prue said.

“Well it has a white chocolate and raspberry ice cream, then I have a Yuzu liqueur geleee, followed by a white chocolate and Yuzu mousse, with the bottom being white chocolate and raspberry blondies. It is covered in a white chocolate mirror glaze and topped with blitzed dried raspberries and white chocolate shavings.

“So the gelee was your secret component?” Paul asked.

“No, the Yuzu was, that’s why its in both the mousse and the gelee.”

“Well the outside certainly looks lovely,” Prue said. “I could definitely see this in a shop window.”

“Thank you.”

“Just because something is pretty doesn’t mean it’ll taste good,” Paul said as he cut into the Bombe. He nodded after a moment. “All the layers are very nice and well-defined,” he said. “Impressive.”

“Now can we try it?” Prue teased. Once again they tried all the layers separately and then together. “Once again...” Prue said with a chuckle.

Paul nodded and then, almost reluctantly, he held out his hand, which Nick took. “You really have a rare talent here, Nick,” he told him honestly, though it looked like it pained him a bit to say it.

“Thank you, Sir,” Nick said honestly.

~

“So it’s the semi-finals,” Noel said. “And someone has to leave.”

“It’s getting harder and harder, but especially this week. Everyone was so close.”

“It feels impossible to chose who should go home.”

“It feels that way,” Paul agreed. “But it has to be done.”

~

"Bakers… you all did incredible this week and you should all be very proud of yourselves. I get the amazing job this week and get to tell you who is Star Baker. Our Star Baker, and the first person who is in the Finals is… Nick! Your Showstopper blew everyone away.”

Nick smiled and nodded, feeling his face blush bright red. His mind felt a little twisted right then. Five? Five Star Bakers and Five Handshakes? He was equal to Richard Burr? It felt impossible.

“This, of course, means I have the terrible job of sending one of you home,” Noel said. “It was very, very hard for the judge to choose but the rules are clear and even though they wanted to keep all of you, the baker leaving the tent this week is… Oliver. Oliver, I’m so sorry…”

~

Charlie was walking Daisy when his phone rang. “Nick?”

“Char… I…”

“Nick, what happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m in the finals,” Nick finally managed to say.

“NICK! Oh my god, why are… Nick, don’t cry sweetheart.”

“I just didn’t… I didn’t think it would happen,” he finally admitted.

“I knew it would. You are Amazing! I can’t wait until the show airs and I can brag about you to every single person in the world!”

Nick laughed at that. “How did I get so lucky to have you?”

“I ask myself that about you every single day. We’re just lucked out I think. The stars aligned.”

~

~Early November~

“I, for one, am not surprised that you made it to the finals,” Sebastian said. He was hanging out with Nick and Charlie since Christian was flying for the next few days. “I know after that first day in the tent that it was all going to come down to you.”

“I wasn’t that good,” Nick protested.

“You got third place in a technical for something you never made before, plus I tasted your indulgence cake, it was to die for. Anyone that can make Lavender taste good deserves to be in the finals.”

“Well I knew he would get it long before he every got on the show,” Charlie said a little smugly. “Inside knowledge from years of him baking for me.”

“Well, I am now using my baking skills to keep Chris,” Sebastian teased.

“Ha! Christian adores you,” Nick said. “You could be the worst baker in the world and you wouldn’t lose him. I’ve never seen him like this before.”

“Well, there is something freeing about being able to be with who you want,” Charlie said gently.

“True,” Nick said kissing Charlie softly. “Just knowing you made my life infinitely better.”

“That’s how I feel about Chris,” Sebastian admitted. “When we met and you talked about Charlie, I thought it was like a fairy tale, like... impossible... and then I met Chris and…”

“Everything made sense, right?” Nick asked. When Sebastian nodded, Nick chuckled. “I completely get that,” he said as he smiled at Charlie.

Chapter Text

I do not own any of these characters- they were created by the incredible Alice Oseman who is our Queen! I apologize for any grammar errors- I do have a learning disability that makes it hard for me to remember more than the most basic grammar rules. I really hope you love the story I am creating for you!

His Dream Come True

Chapter 11- Three final Challenges and an Engagement

~Mid-Late June~

The invites were sent out to the all the people that Nick and Charlie wanted for the Garden party. Nick’s Mum Sarah, his grandparents, his aunt Diane and cousins (Uncle Richard couldn’t come because of work), Davids ex-wife Dana and his twin 2.5 year old nephews, the entire Paris Squad, The Lads and his closet friends from Uni. He’d invited his dad, but his said he didn’t have time to come out even thought Nick had tried to explain how important it was that he come. He was told Martine had them going to a concert that night and they really couldn’t miss it.

Nick was disappointed again by his dad.

He’d had even invited David, but he hadn’t been interested in the slightest…

Bit it would be okay. He would have Charlie by his side for the rest of his life. He didn’t need to worry about his Dad or David.

While Charlie was sleeping, in the middle of the night hours before he would need to head out to start his final challenges, Nick pulled out the ring that he’d had hidden for him. He’d special ordered it from an Etsy shop. It was silver tungsten that had a band in the middle of what looked like pale, white sand but also glowed when it was dark- Nick knew this was actually moon dust mixed with moonstone crystals. He had chosen it because Charlie always wished on the moon and now… he could have a piece of the moon with him for always.

It was probably silly to most people, but Nick knew that Charlie would understand and love it. That was how they were, two strange people who understood each other in a way that no one else could.

Hours later he was standing at the train station and hugging Charlie like his life depended on it. He hated when they had to be apart, even if it was just for a day or two. They were meant to be together.

“Tomorrows going to be amazing,” Nick whispered to Charlie. “No matter how it goes, everything is going to be amazing.”

“It is,” Charlie agreed. “I think tomorrow could change you life.”

“Our life,” Nick whispered kissing him. “If anything changes my life, it changes yours too because you are my life, Char.”

“You’re my life too, Nick,” Charlie whispered, kissing him again. “Now get on that train and go win. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

Nick nodded, kissed Charlie one more time then walked to the train. “Everything changes tomorrow, Char, I know it,” he called out before stepping inside.

Charlie laughed a little and shook his head. If only Nick knew.

~

{Noel Feilding} “Just three challenge stand between the finalists and the coveted Baking Show crown.”

“While Niamh's youth might have seemed like she would be at a disadvantage, but in spite of that she got Star Baker in the first Week with her Blackberry and Cream Cheese indulgence cakes that made the judges mouths water.”

“Oh this is absolutely stunning, Niamh,” Prue said.

{Alison Hammond} “Fatema has often stuck to her middle eastern roots and brought powerhouse flavors in every single one of her bakes. Like Niamh, Fatema had managed to stay in the top three with her consistency and her ability to do well in the technical no matter what.”

“Don’t give up… I’m not giving up…” Fatema said.

{Noel Feilding} “Nick has been a powerhouse from the started, wowing the judges over and over with his unique flavor combinations that always tie back to his love of family and friends, particularly that of his boyfriend who has struggled with an eating disorder. Though he nearly left the tent in pastry week, he come back strong and has won Star Baker 5 times and Received a Hollywood handshake five time as well. None of that matter to him though, he only has one goal this week, to propose to his long time boyfriend, Charlie, at the garden party.”

“I’m proposing to Charlie at the Garden Party. It’s always been my dream,” Nick said.

~

“Welcome Bakers,” Noel said. “To your final signature challenge in this tent! Today judges would like for you each to make 8 souffles.”

“They sound easy,” Allison said. “But they are not, just the wrong move and they won’t rise or they fall flat.”

“You should have a sauce to pair with your Souffles and they can be any flavors you want, sweet or savory.”

“You have 45 Minutes. On your Marks…”

“Get set…”

“Bake!”

Nick knew just how hard it was to make souffles. It took him more than a little bit of time to get them right and even now, years later, he would still mess up sometimes. Not that Charlie minded of course, he still enjoyed the taste of them.

“Hi Nick,” Prue said as everyone arrived at his station. “How are you feeling today?”

“Nervous,” Nick admitted as he continued working.

“What are you working with today?”

“Well I’m doing a sweet souffle today,” Nick said. “It’s going to be a Hazelnut Chocolate souffle with a coffee curd mixed in.”

“Won’t adding a curd make it more delicate.”

“It does,” Nick agreed. “But I like this recipe.”

“Are you making the curd yourself?” Prue asked.

“Normally I would, but there isn’t enough time for it today, so I have a store-bought coffee curd,” he said holding up the jar. “Not as good as my homemade stuff, but it’s still good and works.”

“And is this for Charlie?” Noel asked.

Nick laughed. “Everything this weekend is for Charlie,” he said with a blush.

“Do you have a ring?” Prue asked curiously.

Nick nodded and pulled the box out for a moment, showing it to them before putting it back in his pocket. “It stays with me until it’s on Charlie’s hand,” he said.

~

Once his souffles were in the oven and the timer was on, Nick started on his caramel sauce and thought back to the first time he had made souffles, the first time he actually felt like he was apart of Charlie’s family the way his mum always made Charlie feel like he was part of his.

~8.5 Years Earlier – Winter~

Nick was woken up by sunlight that was streaming through the crack of the curtains that covered Charlie’s window. He lifted his head for a moment, confused about what he was doing there but also marveling at how beautiful Charlie looked in the glow of the mornings first rays, when he remembered why he was there. When he remembered what happened.

The day before had been awful. Charlie’s parents had to go to some work event for Julio in London so Nick had offered to stay with Charlie for the day. Tori was going to be going out in the evening but it would be both of them for most of the day so it would be okay. Except it wasn’t. Charlie had woken up in one of his ‘moods’ as Jane called them. They were used to them by now. They weren’t as frequent as they had been before Charlie went into the hospital, but they still happened. The entire day Charlie had been short and a little cold with Nick, something he usually wasn’t so Nick tried to not take it personally, but everything came to a head at dinner.

Nick had worked hard to make Charlie a vegetarian Lasagna, something that Charlie had always liked because his recipe used mushrooms to give it a ‘meaty’ flavor without having meat. Sometimes, Charlie didn’t like meat and Nick worked with that. This time, Charlie was refusing to eat. Nick had finished his plate and spent three hours trying to be calm, trying to be gentle about it, but the snipping from Charlie got to be too much and they started yelling at each other which ended when Charlie accused Nick of trying to control him like someone else and screamed at him to get out… which Nick did.

Nick had gone home actually wondered if that meant Charlie was breaking up with him but fought the urge to run back to his house because he was still so angry that Charlie accused him of being like HIM. Then Tori called about an hour later and the way she spoke had terrified Nick. He’d run to Charlie’s house faster then ever before, absolutely terrified that there would be a repeat of Charlie needing to go to the hospital.

And that was how he ended up staying the night. Charlie had relapsed when Nick left and Nick felt terrible. He blamed himself for it because he never should have left and Tori definitely blamed him for it too.

Now, in the early morning light, staring at Charlie, at the plasters on his arm, at the way his hands were curled into balls and was clinging to Kitty in his sleep while also being as cuddled close to Nick as possible, the guilt rushed back.

Nick wanted to find a way to make Charlie feel better after abandoning him the night before. It didn’t matter that Charlie had screamed at him, he shouldn’t have left and he knew it. He thought about a recipe he’d been wanting to try and decided he would make that for breakfast.

Still, he didn’t want Charlie to wake up and find him gone, to think that Nick had abandoned him again. He closed the tiny distance between them and brushed his lips against Charlie. “Char, wake up, Darling.”

Charlie moaned for a moment, clearly not wanting to be disturbed but Nick smiled as his hands unfurled and then slid around his own neck. “Wanna sleep.” Charlie murmured.

“I know, I just didn’t want you to wake up to find me gone,” Nick said gently.

“You’re going home?” Charlie asked, finally blinking his eyes opened. Once again, Nick was struck by just how beautiful they were, especially when Charlie was just waking up, all pale and dark at the same time, stormy grey irises with a ring of dark blue and flecks of amber and green scattered in them like beckoning stars. How had he been this lucky to have caught the attention of Charlie Spring? He didn’t deserve someone as pure as him, but he also wasn’t willing to give him up. He loved him too much for that.

“No, I’m going to make us all some breakfast. Might take half hour or more though, okay?”

“I don’t know if I’m very hungry,” Charlie whispered, his voice very, very small as he looked down.

Nick lifted Charlie’s chin so he could see those beautiful eyes again and kissed his lips softly. “It’s fine. I just want to try something new, okay?”

Charlie nodded and Nick kissed him once more time, melting a little as Charlie pressed closer to him. He wished he could explain to Charlie how much he loved him, wished he could make him believe it. Maybe someday he would, but for now, he would just try to make breakfast.

Downstairs, while he was in the kitchen, Jane walked in looking every inch of an exhausted parent. Her entire aura reminded Nick of the times that his mum had fought with David about something, and his mother had come into the kitchen often looking the same way. It made him feel bad for her. “Good Morning, Nick,” Jane said, sitting down and resting her head in her palms.

“Good morning,” Nick said as he put his bake into he oven. “Did you want some tea, or coffee?” he asked unable to ignore how tired and drawn she looked, just like Charlie had looked the night before and on the days where Charlie would struggle to get out of bed. It hit Nick, not for the first time, that Charlie was so much like his mother in so many ways.

“Coffee would be lovely,” Jane murmured.

Nick had already brewed a pot so it was easy enough to get her one quickly. Jane liked coffee like Charlie did. In the mornings Charlie needed coffee but in the afternoon or evenings it was tea, though evenings could be replaced with cocoa. He brought her over the cup and sat it in front of her. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, of course,” she told him softly. “Thank you for the coffee, Nick,” she added with a tired, strained smile.

“Does Charlie need to go back to the doctor?”

“We have an appointment with Dr. Sparks and another with Geoff but Geoff said relapses happen so…” Her voice caught a bit and it about sounded like she was holding herself back from crying, though her face was like an unreadable mask of exhaustion. “Charlie should be able to come back home…”

“I’m sorry,” Nick whispered. “I shouldn’t have left, you trusted me and…”

“Nick, it wasn’t your fault,” Jane said. “I don’t know what happened last night, but I know how you treat Charlie, and it wasn’t your fault.” She sighed. “You’re only 17… don’t take that responsibility onto yourself, okay.”

“We had a fight and I left. I shouldn’t have left.”

“We’re all doing the best we can, and none of us are perfect. I have fights with Charlie too. It doesn’t make you a bad person, Nick, and it doesn’t mean that you did anything wrong. Okay? Geoff says these things can happen. They warned us when Charlie was released back home that this could happen, so… we just take it as it comes.”

“You really love him, don’t you?” Nick wasn’t sure why he asked it, he knew Charlie’s mum loved him but seeing her then, so worn-weary and exhausted over worry for her child and still trying to reassure him, it really hit him that while Jane might not be very good at showing it, she did love him.

She smiled at his question but didn’t look surprised at it either. “Yes. I really do love Charlie.”

20 minutes later then entire family, including Nick, were sitting at the table, a coffee souffle in front of each of them. They hadn’t risen as much as Nick thought they would but he thought they were nice nonetheless.

Amazingly, it was Charlie who tried it first, taking that first, tiny, hesitant bite. He smiled at Nick sheepishly. “Bit dry,” he teased, just like when they were in Paris and Nick had realized fully for the first time that he was in love with him.

“You are not rejecting the souffle that I have lovingly baked for you,” he teased him. Charlie’s parents chuckled a little and even Tori smiled. For a moment, everything was fine. “Do you want me to get you something to drink? Coffee, Milk?”

“Milk sounds nice actually,” Charlie said.

Nick nodded and kissed his cheek before getting up and pouring a glass. He was putting the milk back into the refrigerator when he glanced back at the table. Tori was teasing Charlie about something, Charlie was shaking his head and rolling his eyes but taking another bite of the souffle seemingly unable to resist, Julio reached out and squeezed Jane’s hand and she smiled at him and Nick could swear for a moment there was a ghost of tears in her eyes.

This was his family.

Yes, he had his mum and Nellie and Henry and his extended family but… it hit Nick then that he had another family now too. For the first time since he’d stepped foot into the Spring House he felt like this was actually his home too, just like Charlie knew the Nelson house was his. He had a second home. Somehow he knew in that moment that the Springs would be there for him, Jane would likely be overbearing at times and Tori would be threatening, and Julio would be passive but… they were his family now too. He had his birth family, His found family in his friends, and now another family with the Springs. Nick smiled for a moment before walking back to Charlie and sitting down, feeling safe and at home.

~Present Day~

Nick almost burned his caramel because he was lost in his thoughts, but luckily the beeping of the time brought him back to where he was at. He was in the Baking Tent and competing in the finals. His head needed to be in the game because he wanted to win. He wanted to go home with a fiancée and as the winner. Of course if he had to choose, he’d go with the fiancé but he secretly hoped it would be both. That meant paying attention and getting things done.

~

Fatema was the first to be judged for her souffles. She smiled when the Judges came to her station. “Today I made for you Savory souffles. They are Mushroom and Spinach souffles with a Mushroom Gouda Cheese Sauce,” Fatema explained.

“They didn’t rise very much,” Paul said.

“But there is a rise,” Prue argued gently.

“Hmmm,” Paul said pouring the sauce on and each of them too a bite. “The flavors not bad, did you put tarragon in this?”

“Yes.”

“It’s a bit strong.”

“Thank you, Fatema,” Prue said.

Nick bravely smiled when they came to his station, feeling slightly panicked. He knew his flavors were there but he’d also seen Fatema’s and Niamh’s and his hadn’t risen as much as theirs had. He suspected he folded the eggs whites just a little too much and knocked some air out of it. “Today I have for you a Hazelnut Coffee Souffle with a Coffee Curd and a Coffee Liqueur and Caramel sauce.”

“That is a minimal rise,” Nick,” Paul said bluntly.

“Yeah, I know,” Nick said. “I think I mixed it a little too much, to be honest.”

“Well, at least you know what happened,” Prue said.

“Lets see how it tastes,” Paul said as he poured the sauce on it and they each took a bite. He nodded. “Your flavors are there,” he said. “But the rise barely qualifies this as a souffle.”

“I do agree,” Prue said. “Well done on your flavors though.”

Nick nodded and drew a shaky breathe as they went to talk to Niamh. He knew he’d gotten distracted with the caramel but was surprised and frustrated with himself for getting distracted with the actual souffle. He hadn’t had a souffle look that flat in years and he made them all the time. They were one of Charlie’s safe foods. No matter how bad things got if Nick made Charlie a souffle with things from his safe list, he could eat it and he’d messed up this time.

He closed his eyes for a moment, drawing in a steady breath. He couldn’t let the anxiety get to him, not now. He couldn’t have a panic attack this weekend. There was too much on the line.

“My Souffles are Banana and Passion Fruit,” Niamh was saying. “With a Guava Caramel sauce.”

“Decent rise, but still not what I would have expect,” Paul said.

“But this caramel is absolutely delicious,” Prue said. “Good job, Niamh.”

Nick smiled at Niamh, proud for her that she’d gotten that praise, but there was also a little voice in his mind that told him this meant he would have to do perfectly in the technical and in the Showstopper to win. His previous Star Bakers didn’t matter, his previous weeks didn’t matter. This week was what he would be judged on alone.

~

“Show me the ring,” Niamh practically demanded as they ate a quick snack.

Nick chuckled and pulled it out. “There, that’s what I got for Charlie.

“It’s very unique, Is that sand inlaid?” Fatema asked.

“Moondust and moonstone crystals,” Nick said.

“Oh, there is a story there,” Niamh said, clearly wanting to know.

He chuckled a little bit. “Well, there is this old legend in Charlie’s family. Whatever they wish will come true, as long as they wish on the moon, La Luna. Charlie and his dad insist that ever single time a Spring has made a true wish on the moon it has come true. I actually like to tease Charlie that he loves La Luna more than me.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet,” Niamh said.

“So now he’ll have a piece of the moon with him?” Fatema asked, a smile on her face.

“Exactly,” Nick said. “When I heard about this one… I know it was exactly the right ring for Charlie. He deserves the moon.”

~

“Bakers, for your final technical challenge, the judges would like for you each to make six large Sakura Strawberry Cream puffs.”

“Now these are delicious treats that are made from perfectly puffed Choux, A delicious pastry cream, and perfectly sliced strawberries.”

“You have 1 hours and 45 minutes to make your cream puffs! On your Marks…”

“Get Set…”

“Bake!”

~

“Now Paul, why did you choose cream puffs for the final challenge?” Prue asked.

“In the entire competition so far we haven’t see any of our bakers work with pate de choux,” Paul said. "I think it’s a fundamental basic skill of any baker and I want to make sure our winner can actually do it.”

“That makes sense. Why this recipe though?”

“Because of the pastry cream,” Paul said, looking a little devious. “It’s not just about getting a good choux, they have to work with Cherry blossom extract for their pastry cream and it must be perfect. Too much and it drowns out the flavor of the strawberry and leaves you tasting it for hours, not enough and you don’t taste it at all.”

“So This is not as easy as they might think?” Prue asked with a laugh.”

“Not at all.”

~

Getting the Choux made and into the oven was something that Nick found easy enough. He’d made choux before- (many, many times) so he knew how to get it down and in the oven quickly. He also had a secret method that he used which most people thought was crazy but he found worked and it was brushing the parchment paper with water before he pipped his choux on.

It had been a accident the first time it happen, when he was about 19, but it ended up making the choux perfectly light and crisp without burning them. He did that every single time now, confident in the way he baked them.

He started on his pastry cream next and sighed at the paired down instructions- ‘Make a Cherry Blossom Pastry cream’.

“Do you think we need vanilla for the pastry cream with the cherry blossom,” he heard Fatema saying softly to herself.

Nick had been wondering the same thing. He tasted the extract and frowned; he wasn’t sure he should use the vanilla. He decided he would skip the vanilla and hoped that he was making the right choice. He was careful about how much of the extract to add, remembering his issue in Week one with the almond buttercream he did, when it tasted right he stopped adding it in.

All thee of them seemed to be doing well on time and no one was overly rushing as time was being counted down. Nick figured this was because they all know how to make choux and were now comfortable in the tent, even if it was a technical.

The judging was crucial and they all knew it. With only three of them left, it could go any which way. However, of the three of them, Nick was the only one that had been in the bottom of a technical, and it had been with pastry, so he was very, very nervous.

After trying all three of their Sakura Strawberry Cream Puffs and discussing which one they thought was best. Paul walked up to a photo. “In 3^rd place we have this one.” Fatema raised her hand. “Your Choux was great but we couldn’t taste any cherry blossom at all.” She nodded in response and Nick squeezed her hand gently.

“In second place we have this one,” Prue said. Niamh raised her hand. “They were lovely Niamh, just a touch too much extract.”

“Which means in first place we have this one.” Nick raised his hand, blushing brightly. “Nick, they were literal perfection. We have no notes.”

~

Nick was laying in the hotel bed later that night and looking at the ring in it’s box. By this time tomorrow, Charlie would be his fiancé. He put the ring under his pillow and called Charlie then on Facetime, needing to seem him.

Charlie answered after only a 15 second delay and smiled at Nick. “Hello Bake-Off finalist, and my handsome boyfriend… I was wondering when you were going to call.”

“Well you took forever to answer, Boyfriend of mine,” Nick teased. “Just get out of the shower?”

“No, was talking to Tori about something. Oh, I’m catching a ride with Christian tomorrow because Mum and Dad’s car finally decided to die, so your mum is driving them and Tori and Michael.”

“At least you have Christian then,” Nick said. “I need you at the Garden Party though, no one else.”

“Careful, Nelson,” Charlie teased. “I might start to think you have a crush on me or something.”

“Maybe I do,” Nick said. “I mean… You are the sexiest man I’ve ever seen.”

“Oh God, not that again,” Charlie laughed. “Yet you are just about the hottest thing in existence and you know it.”

“Are we really going to argue who’s hotter?” Nick asked. “Because I’ll never lose this argument.”

“Fine, we’ll just agree to disagree,” Charlie said, pretending to be dramatic. “How did it go today?”

“My souffles didn’t really rise but I got first in technical so I think everything comes down to tomorrow.”

“Do you feel ready?”

Nick smiled. “I do. Know it’s going to be a lot, but… God, I wait for tomorrow. I can’t wait to have you in my arms again.”

“I was in your arms this morning, Nicholas,” Charlie laughed.

“And it’s been too long already Charles,” Nick replied. “I think tomorrow is going to be one of the best days of our lives.”

“You know what? I think you’re absolutely right.”

~

“Bakers welcome to your final Showstopper,” Alison said, smiling at Fatema, Nick, and Niamh. “In just a few hours your family and friends are going to be here and one of you will be our Champion.”

“But first you have to work for it,” Noel said. “Today the judges would like for you all to make the Ultimate Celebration Dessert Bar.”

“Your Bars must have a cake and 12 items that are Caramel, 12 Items that are Biscuits, 12 Items that Are Chocolate, and 12 Items that are stuffed.”

“Just in case you're lost, that’s 49 treats you all are making,” Noel teased.

“At least 2 of your items, not including your cake, must be baked in the oven.”

“Lastly, your Dessert Bar must have a theme and be beautifully decorated. Remember, this your Final Showstopper. You will have 5 hours. Bakers… On your Marks...”

“Get Set…”

“And Bake!”

Nick immediately set to work on his sponges, knowing that he needed to make 9 of them and that the best thing to do was to get them cooling immediately. He was getting his first set of sponges in the oven when Prue, Paul, and Alison came up. “Nick, what are you making for us today?” Prue asked.

“Well, I am making a 9 layer Prinzregententorte Cake, Macarons for my biscuit element, Bars for my caramel element, Chocolate chess tarts for my chocolate element, and stuffed meringue bites for my stuffed.”

“9 layers?” Paul asked. “They’re normally made with 6-8 layers.”

“I’m aware,” Nick said. “But I told you, everything is about Charlie this weekend and I’ve been with Charlie for 9 years so, 9 layers.”

“And you don’t want to expand on your flavors or anything?” Prue asked.

“No, because I really want this to be a surprise,” Nick said with a smile. “I know it’s not the norm, but… sometimes I think you all need to be surprised."

“And I think we already know,” Alison said. “But what are you celebrating with your dessert bar?”

“It’s for an engagement party,” Nick said.

“Well, we look forward to trying your items,” Prue said.

~

Niamh’s Dessert bar was judged first and Both Alison and Noel helped her bring everything up “Niamh, what are we looking at today?” Paul asked.

“Well, my theme is Graduation Party,” Niamh said. “When I finished sixth form my gran threw a huge party to celebrate and invited the entire neighborhood. For my Cake I have a Irish Potato Cake with walnuts, pecans, and chocolate chips. It’s frosted in a chocolate Italian meringue buttercream even though it’s not normally frosted. For my Carmel element, I made brown sugar bread puddings that have been soaked in a whiskey caramel sauce. For my Stuffed Element, I made Chocolate and Caramel-filled sweet Brioches. For my chocolate element, I made brownies that are topped with an Irish cream cream cheese. And for my Biscuit element I made Chocolate Chunk Honeycomb biscuits which also has sesame seed in them.”

“Well it certainly looks delightful,” Prue said. “It very much feels like a celebration.”

“Right, lets try this.” Paul said as he cut the cake first. “What spices did you use?”

“Cinnamon, Cloves, and nutmeg,” Niamh said.

“The cloves are very strong,” Prue said. “It almost takes over your cake.”

“It is baked well and I like the chocolate and nuts,” Paul said. “But I agree with Prue. Okay, lets try the bread pudding,” Paul said.

“Oh… now this is delicious,” Prue said with a nod.

“Bread pudding can end up dry a lot of the times but you’ve soaked it really well.”

“Now I need to try these brioches,” Prue said as Paul chuckled and cut one apart.

“They’re a good size and well baked,” Paul said. He tried one and nodded. “It’s very good,” he said. “Next we’re try the biscuits.”

Prue frowned when she tried it. “The flavor is there, but I think you overbaked them, they’re very dry.”

“Okay, now for the brownies,” Paul said, making no comment about the biscuits though he did look disappointed. He nodded when he tasted the brownie. “Now that is a proper brownie,” he said.

“Agreed. Thank you for your Dessert Bar, Niamh,” Prue said. Niamh took everything back to her station with help once again but Nick could tell she looked a little deflated at some of the comments. He understood that to be honest. He’d felt the same when it came to his souffle.

“Fatema, can you bring up your dessert bar,” Prue asked.

Fatema smiled at them though she did look nervous. “For my theme I chose Family reunion, because we try to have them once a year. I also chose my bakes on what my family enjoys during them. My cake is an Orange and Saffron Syrup Cake in which I used ground Pistachios instead of hazelnuts for the sponge. For my stuffed treat, I made Sweet Cheese Qatayef Asafiris which are pancakes that are stuffed with a sweet ricotta and rose water cheese and is garnished with pistachios. For my chocolate, I have Chocolate Babousa slices with a rosewater-soaked date instead of almonds. For my Caramel treat, I may a twist on a Millionaire Shortbread- it has a shortbread with a halva Nougat and is topped with a tahini caramel and dusted with sea salt. My Biscuit treat is Ghraybeh which are shortbread biscuits with a pistachio in the center.”

“That sound very tasty,” Prue said. “Shall we have some cake,” she asked Paul.

Paul nodded and cut a slice of cake for each of them. “This is very good,” Paul said. “The balance of the orange and the saffron is perfect.”

“Agreed.”

“Okay, lets try the Qatayef Asafiris,” Paul said pulling one out and cutting in it half so they could each taste.

“Oh Fatema, these are delicious,” Prue said.

“Agreed, you used just the right amount of rosewater too. It doesn’t taste soapy and it’s a fantastic bite.”

“Now for the Ghraybehs,” Prue said. She took a bite and nodded. “Well done, they’re baked perfectly."

“Now for the Millionaire shortbread,” Paul said. He took a bite and raised an eyebrow. “Surprising. I think I like these better then regular ones.”

“Me too. I find that most Millionaire shortbread are just too rich, but this is lovely,” Prue agreed.

“And last we have your Chocolate Babousa Slices,” Paul said cutting one in half for he and Prue to taste. Paul coughed after a moment and Prue looked like she was wincing. “You soaked the dates in rose-water, you said?”

“Yes,” Fatema said.

“That wasn’t a good idea. Your Babousa itself is delicious but these dates completely take over the flavor and completely ruin your slices.”

“Yes, it’s like soap.”

“A little disappointing since we know that you used the rose-water correctly in the Qatayef Asafiris.”

“Thank you, Fatema,” Prue said. She nodded and took her desserts back while someone handed Prue and Paul some water.

They waited about 10 minutes, then Nick was called up. “Nick, tell us about your Celebration Dessert Bar,” Paul said.

“Well, this is to celebrate my engagement to Charlie, because I’m asking him to marry me in a little bit. For the cake I did a 9 Layer Prinzregententorte. It has Orange sponge, Caramel Crème Mousseline for the layers, For the outer frosting I kept it tradition with a dark chocolate Crème Mousseline. Also, instead of Little crowns on top of decoration I made cake balls with the leftover sponge and Mousseline and colored it to make it look like little moons because Charlie loves the moon.” He took a break, he knew he was rambling. “For my biscuits I chose a macaron because I am half French and needed to bring that in. The shells are coffee flavored and filled with an orange blossom chocolate ganache. I piped them too look like little galaxies. For my Caramel, I did Boozy Espresso Oatmeal Caramel bars that used both coffee liqueur and Caramel Liquor. For my Chocolate element I made Chocolate and Chestnut Chess tarts topped with a Chestnut Chantilly cream. And my stuffed item for you today are Surprise Meringues, which are stuffed with chopped pecans and toffee chips.”

“It all certainly sounds delicious,” Prue said. “It all looks delicious too.”

“Yes, but looks can be deceiving,” Paul said as he sliced through the cake.

“The layers are a little uneven,” Prue said.

“At this point in the competition we do expect perfection,” Paul said, only half teasing. He took a bite and nodded after a moment. “Did you soak the sponges?”

“Yes, with the caramel liqueur.”

“That was smart. It’s very moist.”

“Very light and airy, both Mousselines are perfect,” Prue added.

“The cake balls taste good as well. Alright, now for the Macarons.”

“You know if you get these wrong you have to hand in your French Citizenship, right,” Noel teased. Nick shook his head and laughed a little at that.

“Good feet, and a very good chew,” Prue said.

“Well, I guess you can still be French,” Paul said with a slight smile as he tasted them. “Prue, what do you want to try next.”

“The Chess Tarts,” she said.

Paul nodded and pulled one to them and cut it in half. “The bake is well done on this,” he said as he examined the crust. “Good Balance of flavors.”

“It tastes almost like Christmas with the chestnuts,” Prue said with a smile.

“Hmmm, Okay, not for the caramel bars,” Paul said cutting on in several piece for them to try. His eyes widened a little. “I think the booze is a little strong,” he said.

“I think the booze is absolutely perfect,” Prue said with a chuckle. “Of course I do love a good boozy dessert.”

“We’re aware, Prue,” Paul said with a dry chuckle. “Okay, lastly the meringue cookies with… what was in them again?”

“Chopped pecans and Toffee Chips,” Nick said.

“Not bad,” Prue said. “But I do think they are slightly over.”

“Agreed. All in all though, a very nice dessert bar,” Paul said. “Thank you, Nick.”

~

Nick, Niamh, and Fatema, all came out with their ‘dessert bars’ with he help of several people and he beamed when he saw his friends family… and Charlie. Charlie looked amazing, as usual. He was wearing Black jeans that were ripped at the knees (even 9 years later he still wore his jeans like that and Nick loved it) and a button down burgundy colored shirt. It hit Nick right then that was very similar to the outfit that Charlie had worn for Harry's birthday party where they had shared their first kiss. He’d almost forgotten just how good his boyfriend looked in that color.

After getting everything set on tables, he grabbed Charlie into his arms, burying his face in his neck and breathing him in. They wouldn't have to spend anymore nights apart now, not if he had anything to say about it.

When he finally let go of him, Charlie giggled. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Nick said, his eyes running up and down over Charlie. “You look like you belong on the Dessert Bar,” he teased.

“Shut up,” Charlie laughed then pulled Nick in for a kiss. “Are you glad it’s all done?” he asked, his voice soft so only Nick could hear him.

“Yes,” Nick groaned as he leaned his face into Charlie’s shoulder again. “I’m so tired,” he half pretended to whine.

“Well you can rest when we get back to the hotel tonight,” Charlie told him, rubbing his back. “Now, I've only met Stella, Arvid, and Sebastian before this so you need to introduce me to your new friends.”

“Yes, my love,” Nick said kissing Charlie hand and winking at him before taking Charlie by the hand to go meet Fatema and Niamh, plus the other bakers that had come back.

It was about 15 minutes later, when he was watching Charlie chat with Fatema about the cats in her neighborhood, that Nick knew it was time. He could feel it in his bones. He wasn’t sure how long the judges would be but he didn’t care. This was it. He knew. “Come with me,” he said softly, his hand gently pulling Charlie to a spot of trees that was far enough from the party where no one could hear them but not too far where their families and friends couldn’t see what was happening. He’d picked it out hours early when he saw how the party would be set up, because he wanted it to be the perfect spot.

“Nick,” Charlie laughed, going with him. “Are you okay?”

“I am,” Nick said then kissed Charlie, needing to kiss him before he could find the words. “I just… God, I love you so much,” he whispered. He slid his fingers through Charlie’s hair, completely forgetting the speech he’d written and memorized for today. He kissed Charlie again, unable to stop himself. “God, you’re my world.”

“You’re mine too, Nick,” Charlie told him softly. “You’re mine too.”

“I…” Nick closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head. “I don’t know how to say this,” he whispered, tears started to pick at his eyes.

“Sweetheart… remember when we talked about you saying things that sound bad?”

Nick laughed and shook his head. “No, it’s not bad, I promise. I mean, it’s not bad to me and I don’t think you would think it’s bad and—”

“Nick,” Charlie said, cutting nick off and cradling his boyfriends cheeks in his hands. “Breathe, sweetheart.”

Nick nodded and took a deep breath. “Do you remember the Louvre?”

Charlie had to fight to roll his eyes at that. “It was hard to forget it. Why?”

“It when I knew I loved you,” Nick said. “It’s when I knew… I loved you from the moment ours eyes met in form…”

“Nick…”

“Its when I knew I couldn’t live without you.” A tear escaped from Nick’s eyes. “And do you r-remember when I was leaving for Leeds? You came over and helped me pack things up in the car and you were looking out the window and I knew… I knew I wanted to marry you.”

A soft gasp escaped Charlie’s lips and Nick was sure that Charlie might be realizing where this was going, but he couldn’t stop.

“We kept talking about our future. We talked about having a home and getting a dog and a cat and… getting married and having kids,” the words were coming out in a trembling whisper. “But I was so afraid that it was the wrong time. I was so afraid to push you… and then I got the call about the show and it reminded me of the first night we watched Bake Off when I was in Leeds. Do you remember that?”

“I do…”

Nick could see tears in Charlie’s eyes too then. “That night… I dreamed of today… of you and me…” He pulled the black box out of his pocket and knelt in front of Charlie, opening it so Charlie could see the ring. “Charles Francis Spring… there’s never been anyone else for me. There never could be because you own every piece of my heart and my soul.” His voice caught for a moment, why was it hard to breathe? He needed to ask, because this was the love of his life. “I don’t want to be your boyfriend anymore. I want to spend the rest of my life telling everyone that you’re my husband, the father of our future children… So… Will you Marry me?”

Charlie couldn’t speak for a moment as he stared at the silver and white ring that Nick was holding out. He was completely overwhelmed, but he felt more too. Pure, unbridled joy filled him, then a soft, happy laugh escaped him and smile broke out on his face as tears slid down his cheeks. “Yes,” he said, launching himself at Nick and practically tackling him to the ground. “Yes,” he whispered again, kissing Nick like it was their last day on each.

“Yeah?” Nick asked with a laugh once they were able to breathe. He needed to be sure that he wasn’t just imagining Charlie saying yes.

“Well,” Charlie said, sitting up from the ground and letting Nick sit up too. “On one condition.” Before Nick could even asked what it was, Charlie pulled out the ring box from his pocket. “Will you marry me too?”

“Charlie!” Nick laughed pulling him tightly to him and kissing him deeply. “Yes… a million times yes and in every universe yes,” he whispered.

“The multi-verse again, Nick?”

“My dreams mean something, I know it,” Nick protested with a laugh. “So… can I put this on your finger now?” When Charlie nodded, Nick slid on his finger, trying not to break down in tears about how perfect it looked on him. “It has Moondust and Moonstone crystals in it,” He told him. “I know how much you love La Luna and I wanted you to have a piece of her with you all the time.”

“It’s perfect,” Charlie said, staring at the ring for a moment, before sliding the ring onto Nick’s finger. “I couldn’t actually bring the ocean to you but…”

Nick smiled, he loved the blue band with the ocean waves on it. “Charlie, I love this,” he said kissing him again. It took him longer than he should have for him to remember that everyone was waiting on them. “Um… I think our family and friends are waiting…”

“Did they know what you planned?” Charlie asked. Nick nodded and he laughed. “Yeah, well they knew my plan too, the tossers,” he teased.

“Well, they kept both of us in the dark,” Nick said, standing and pulling Charlie to his feet. “You ready to meet our doom?” he murmured teasingly.

“As long as it’s with you,” Charlie told him. They walked back together and everyone was watching them in silence and Charlie just smiled. “Everyone having fun?” he asked, his voice carrying a teasing lilt. There was a soft outcry of ‘CHARLIE!’ at his words and he laugh. “Oh don’t act like you don’t know what just happened. Obviously, Nick said yes.”

“Oi,” Nick pretended to protest as everyone started laughing. Soon they were surrounded by their friends and family. Nick noticed Charlie telling his mum and dad about the ring and what Nick had said about it and Nick saw tears in both of their eyes.

People were already asking them questions about the wedding (which they only knew would definitely take place on a beach because they’d agreed on that 7 years earlier) when the Producers let Nick knew the judges were going to be coming out so they could set up the shot. Nick kissed Charlie one more time before heading to where they wanted him, though he kept glancing back to his fiancé.

His fiancé. He could barely believe it. Charlie had said yes! In his heart, Nick had been sure that Charlie would say yes but he also knew that sometimes Charlie would overthink and he had worried just the tiniest bit that Charlie would try to argue about not being good enough for Nick or some ridiculous nonsense like that. He hadn’t though because Charlie was ready for this too. Everything had been perfect. Even if he didn’t win, it wouldn’t matter because today was already a dream come true for him. Today Charlie had become his Fiancé.

Everyone started clapping as Alison, Noel, Prue, and Paul came out. They smiled and waves at everyone before Alison started speaking.

“First, everything thank you so much for coming today. I’d like to invite up our three finalist today. Please give a round of applause for Fatema!”

A Cheer went up for Fatema.

“Niamh!”

More Cheers and Clapping.

“And Nick!”

Nick blushed as he got up to standing with Fatema and Niamh, feeling a bit overwhelmed with how loud his friends were cheering and clapping. He wondered if Fatema and Niamh were feeling the same way, if they felt that intense nervousness.

“Now clearly,” Noel said. “The best outcome would be for all three of you to in and lets be honest you were all phenomenal. But, this is a competition and there can only be one winner.” Everyone was quiet as Noel smiled at them. “So it is my proud duty to announce that the winner for the 2030 is… NICK!”

A cheer went up from everyone and Nick just laughed in disbelief as Fatema and Niamh hugged him and congratulated him. Before he even understood what was happening, Noel, Alison, Paul and Prue were there and Noel was handing him the cake tray that said ‘The Great British Bake Off’ and they were all hugging him. Paul was saying he definitely deserved to win and that he had a gift. Then Charlie was there and he was hugging him tightly and he couldn’t stop himself from crying. He didn’t actually think he could win. He’d just wanted to propose to Charlie. The longer he competed the more he wanted it but he still never really thought it would truly happen to him.

Soon, everyone hugging him was beginning to get overwhelming and he felt a little light headed, and Charlie recognized that and pulled him away with gentle hands, Nick wasn’t sure what Charlie was saying, but people seemed to part and let Nick had that breather with his boy-fiancé… Charlie was his fiancé.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Charlie whispered, holding him tightly, knowing that Nick was just overwhelmed in the moment. “I’m so proud of you Nick. I would be proud even if you hadn’t won. I’m just so proud of you for trying.”

“I love you,” Nick whispered as he held Charlie tightly, one hand also clutching the base of the glass Cake stand. “I love you so much.”

~

Even with the Garden Party Nick still had to do a few other things before they could go, he had to do a final interview where he had a very hard time not breaking down crying again, and they also did pictures of him with the cake stand and flowers and the judges and Noel and Alison. He also spent some time talking to Madeline and even the psychologist to make sure he was doing all right.

Then, he got to leave with Charlie. They were staying in a hotel that night, his mum took the cake stand home and promised it would be safe and he trusted her, and then tomorrow they would take the train to Herne Bay and they would spend the day today just like they did on their first official date. It felt poetic, like it was all meant to be.

He was laying in the bed, just staring at Charlie while Charlie stared at him. Nick was too exhausted to do any type of physical celebrating tonight and he knew that Charlie knew it too. He just wanted to drink in Charlie’s appearance, just to revel in the fact that soon this man who he’d loved for Nine Years would be his husband. They were close, their chests only inches apart, their fingers laced together, their legs a tangled mess under the blanket, but this was them. This had always been them.

“Hi Fiancé,” he finally whispered after he felt like he might have stared at Charlie just a bit too long.

“Hi Fiancé,” Charlie said. “Do you know what this reminds me of?” he asked.

“What?”

“Paris, the last night. Me and you in the hotel bed after we talked.” His thumb stroke the side of Nick’s hand. “I was so scared that I’d accidentally pushed you too far but… you just stared at me like this.”

“Because I loved you, and I was so afraid to tell you,” Nick said. “I meant what I said Charlie, it might have taken me awhile to understand but… I loved you the moment my eyes locked with yours. I’d seen you around and thought you were cute but the moment I stared into your eyes I was done for.”

“So was I,” Charlie said. “I loved you from the moment too.”

“Well, aren’t we a couple of saps.”

Charlie chuckled. “Just you, I still have my sass.”

Nick laughed and leaned forward, giving Charlie a soft, sweet kiss, just like he had in Paris. “I’m going to be your husband, Charlie Spring.”

“I’m going to be your husband too, Nick Nelson.”

“It wasn’t too long to wait?”

“Not in this universe. In this universe… it was perfect.”

~

Since the Great British Baking show…

Enzo completed his exams, finishing with top grades.

Niamh and Fatema spend lots of time together, with Niamh and her grandmother being ‘adopted' into Fatema’s family

Nick, Sebastian, Oliver, and Stella get together often and have minor baking competitions when they are together - Charlie says they all hyper competitive.

Isadora added a third dog to her family. A Black Lab named Blackberry.

Camilla still bakes and teaches her children.

Prisha has become engaged to her girlfriend.

Sebastian also got engaged after meeting the love of his life at the Bake Off Garden Party

Isadora, Prisha, Niamh, and Fatema recently had a girls night out and try to see each other every few months.

Nick is a teacher now and is considered a favorite among staff, students, and parents.

Nick Married Charlie on the beach in August and their reception had 11 Wedding Cakes, The only baker not able to attend being Camilla.

Arvid passed away shortly after Nick and Charlie's wedding, but his eldest daughter said Bake Off of the highlights of his life and she hopes everyone will remember him fondly.

A/N- Charlie's Engagement Ring

A/N- Nick's Engagement Ring

Chapter Text

I do not own any of these characters- they were created by the incredible Alice Oseman who is our Queen! I apologize for any grammar errors- I do have a learning disability that makes it hard for me to remember more than the most basic grammar rules. I really hope you love the story I am creating for you!

His Dream Come True

Chapter 12- Wedding Plans

As usual, Nick was the first to wake up in the morning. Charlie never liked waking up early and it was always Nick’s job to get him up and going once they’d moved in together. Nick wasn’t sure why that had changed since they started living together (Charlie had clearly been handling adulting on his own just fine before that), but he also didn’t mind. He liked seeing Charlie wake up, had ever since they first shared a bed together in Paris so many years before.

This morning was different though and Nick knew that, because this time it wasn’t his boyfriend that he woke up to see sleeping in his bed, it was his fiancé. He just stared at him for a little bit, loving the way his hand was curled up against his cheek, the ring that Nick had picked out for him, catching Nick’s eye like a beacon.

He glanced to his own ring, the blue with the waves, and smiled. The truth was, he’d almost picked out a similar ring for Charlie because of their dual love of the beach. Then he saw the ring with actual moondust and was knew that was right choice.

It also felt matching it a way, because the moon affected the tides, which can affect the waves. Maybe the moon really was a spirit and so was the ocean and they loved each other but were forever parted by the planet, so they chose to bring them together. It was both a sad and romantic thought and Nick decided that he rather liked it.

After placing a soft kiss on Charlie’s head, careful to not wake him, he got up and started the coffee machine, knowing Charlie needed his coffee, and also started the electric kettle because he also needed his tea. The smell of the coffee wafted over to Charlie he started to stir. “Come back,” he murmured.

“I’m making your coffee,” Nick chuckled. A few minutes later he sat next to Charlie and handed him his hot drink. “Sleep well?”

“I did,” Charlie told him with a giggle. “I slept very well next to my fiancé.”

“So did I,” Nick chuckled. “I love hearing you say fiancé.”

“Well, I love saying it,” Charlie told him. “Did you still want to go to Herne Bay today?”

“Yes,” Nick said with zero hesitation. “I have to tell the ocean that you said you’d marry me,” he half teased.

Charlie laughed. “We could get new photobooth pictures.”

“Will those be our engagement pictures?” Nick teased.

“Oh Tao will kill us if that’s all we do since he’s taking them,” Charlie said, setting his coffee down. “So… I have been doing some research on venues.”

“Oh have you now?” Nick chuckled as he sat his tea down and pulled Charlie into his lap. “And have you seen anything you liked?” he asked kissing Charlie softly as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“I might have,” Charlie said, feeling completely distracted now. “I n-needed something to fill my time while you were gone on the weekends,” he managed to say as Nick kissed his neck. “What time do we have to check out?” Charlie asked as Nick twisted them so he was pressing Charlie into the bed and kissing his lips again.

“Noon…”

“Three hours is that’s that long, sweetheart.”

Nick chuckled. “We’ve had less time before,” he murmured as he pulled Charlie’s shirt off, wanting to celebrate their engagement properly. Charlie's answering laugh told him that he felt the same.

~

Later that afternoon, they were laying the beach on the exact same towels that Nick had brought with them during their first date. Charlie was in his arms and they were listening to some music from Charlie’s phone. It felt right, being like this with him. “So Char… what did you think of the venue out here?” he asked. They'd checked out Beach Hut Weddings since it was right there, but he wasn't sold on it even though everything looked nice.

“It was okay…”

“I didn’t like that I couldn’t marry you on the beach," Nick admitted. "I want to feel the sand in my toes when I marry you.”

“So we’re not wearing shoes at our wedding?” Charlie asked with a laugh.

“I mean, unless you want to get sand in them,” Nick said tickling him a little, grinning at the way Charlie squealed and tried to escape but Nick held him fast and kissed him, grinning as Charlie relaxed into his arms again.

“What about sandals,” Charlie managed to say. “I bet Elle or Imogen knows someone who could help us design something for our wedding.”

“I like that,” Nick said. “You said before you’d been researching… did you have a place in mind?”

“Maybe, but it could be expensive,” Charlie told him. “I mean, I don’t know how much our budget will be.”

“Neither do I, but I do remember my grand-mere telling me when I was little that Grand-Pere set up wedding funds for each of the grandchildren, so that might have something to help us.”

“Good,” Charlie said softly. He knew that Nick’s grandparents passed before they met so if something had been set up it was probably in a trust or something, but it also meant the money was Nicks for their wedding. Charlie knew his parents would offer to cover a few things for the wedding but he didn’t want to put that pressure on them. He wanted him and Nick to try to cover things themselves.

“Tell me about this place,” Nick said.

“Um, it’s called Lusty Glaze Beach. It’s in Cornwall though, so I wasn’t sure if you’d want to go all that way for our wedding.”

Nick pulled up the distance on the phone and shrugged. “I mean, 5 hours for a wedding might be okay if it’s the right spot. I mean, we traveled to Paris for Tao and Elle’s wedding, plus when we went to India for Sai’s second wedding.”

“What do you think of the pictures?” Charlie asked, trying not to sound anxious.

“I mean… I like it,” Nick admitted. “It doesn’t look like a shit beach,” he said. “Plus, look at this picture, in the caves? I’d love a picture of us like that,” he admitted.

“It might be a year or two for our wedding though based on how booked they are…”

“Char… be honest with me. Is this the place you want?”

“I…” Charlie was afraid to answer but finally he nodded. “I just kinda fell in love with it,” he admitted. “Like, I kept going back to the website and all the different pictures and I just… It felt perfect.”

“Then it is perfect,” Nick said. “Look, text Darcy and ask them to call about it.”

“Just assuming Darcy will be our wedding planner, Nicholas?” Charlie teased.

“Darcy would kill us if we went with someone else,” Nick laughed. “Just like Tao and the pictures.”

“God, you’re so right,” Charlie laughed. “Okay, I’ll text them,” Charlie said, sending a quick text to Darcy. “You know Tao’s going to be my best man, right?”

“Imogen’s my best woman. I get Tara too.”

“Oh! Thief!”

Nick laughed. “What did you expect, my sweet, beautiful fiancé, that one of my best girl friends would stand on your side?”

“Well, I have Tao, Elle, Isaac and Sahar and I’m taking Darcy since you’re taking Tara!”

“Deal, plus I want the lads with me too so…”

“Wait… that’s five each…”

Nick laughed. “See, perfect.” He thought about it for a moment. “How many people should we invite?”

“I mean, I don’t want it to be super big,” Charlie said thinking back that conversation they had years earlier in Nick’s Uni bedroom. “70 or 80? If we can think of that many people to invite.”

Nick nodded. “That’s a good number. Though as long as I have you and our friends and our families I think the day will be perfect.”

“Me too,” Charlie agreed.

Nick stared at Charlie for a moment, then leaned forward, capturing Charlie’s lips against his again. “I love you so much,” he whispered.

“I love you too,” Charlie said wrapping his arms around Nick’s neck. “I’m so glad we came here today.”

“Me too,” Nick said softly. “Instead of going home tomorrow, why don’t we take the train to Paris?” he suggested. “I just… I wanna tell my dad in person, plus we could talk to Tao about the pictures and find out when he has time do them.”

“Okay, we can do that,” Charlie said. “Do you want to invite him to the wedding?”

“I mean, I doubt he’ll come but…”

“I know, sweetheart, he’s your dad.”

“At least I know Mum and your parents will come,” Nick said. He smiled a little devilishly at Charlie, suddenly remembering the biggest reason he wanted to come to the beach. “Char… do you remember what we did the first time we came here?”

“Um… rode the carousel?”

“No, right here on the beach… you asked me if we were boyfriends.”

Charlie laughed. “I was so nervous you would think I was crazy.”

“I did think you were crazy. My diary literally says you’re my boyfriend after we first kissed!”

“Okay, okay, don’t remind me of how crazy I was,” Charlie laughed. “Wh-what are you doing,” Charlie gasped as Nick stood up and swept him into his arms.

“We have a tradition,” Nick told him before turning and racing towards the water, Charlie still in his arms.

“Nicholas Luke Nelson!”

“I’m in love with Charlie Spring,” Nick shouted as he reached the water, gripping Charlie tighter as he walked into the waves. He looked at Charlie and kissed him. “You’re my fiancé,” he whispered.

“If you drop me…”

“I’d never!” Nick laughed. “You’re my fiancé,” He shouted, not caring that people were definitely staring. “I’m Your fiancé!”

“Nick!”

“We’re Fiancé’s!”

“Okay! I think the ocean hear you, Nick!” Charlie laughed, leaning forward and kissing Nick while still gripping into him. “But you are going to drop me!”

“I’m not going to drop you,” Nick said. “I’ll never drop you, Char.”

~

By sheer luck, Nick’s cousin Apolline was able to get him an appointment with his dad the next day for later afternoon. She booked him under a different name just in case Stephane would try to avoid it and Nick was glad about that. It was important for Nick to tell him in person that he and Charlie were getting married.

They’d also talked to Tao who actually had a few days off from work since they had finished post-production of the show he was working on. It was based on a comic-book about a pair of queer girls who fall in love at school. Tao had told them the story reminded him so much of Nick and Charlie’s story that he’d felt honored to be a part of it. Still, he was free and Nick and Charlie decided they would stay a couple extra days (since Nick was all done with his exams and had passed everything, despite his worries, and Charlie could work remotely, it make sense. Sarah was more than happy to keep Daisy for a few extra days as well). Everything was falling into place.

Stephane's office is where they found themselves late the next afternoon, which Stephane staring at them in shock for several moments when they walked inside. “Nicholas! I didn’t know you were in Paris.”

“Just for a few days,” Nick said. “You didn’t come on Sunday…”

“I’m sorry, Nicholas, but I just couldn’t—”

“Charlie and I got engaged on Sunday, Dad. It was why I wanted you there. Because I’m going to marry Charlie,” Nick was holding Charlie’s hand during this, it was trembling a little but feeling the comfort of Charlie’s hand in his and the way Charlie squeezed it gently helped keep him calm.

Stephane looked stunned for a moment, his mouth dropped open like carp that was gasping for oxygen after being taken out of the water, then he seemed to catch himself and pasted a smile on his face. “Engaged! That is wonderful,” he said, sounding enthusiastic, though Nick actually doubted this. “You will be getting married in Paris? Yes?” Before either of them could answer, he called for Apolline who arrived within second. “Apolline, Nicholas is getting married. Can you get him the information and passcodes he needs to access his trust for that.”

“Of course,” Apolline said before walking back out of the office, though she did give Nick and Charlie a smile, indicating she was actually thrilled for them.

“I know the perfect wedding planner for you two are well, his name is Aloïs Dorau and he did David and Dana’s wedding,” Stephane continued.

Nick's head felt like it was spinning. “Dad, we have a wedding planner already,” Nick finally said. “And we’re getting married in Cornwall, not Paris.”

Once again, Stephane looked struck dumb for a few moments. “But th-that’s so… English.”

“Yeah, well I’m half English and Charlie’s English so…”

“But his father is from Spain,” Stephane protested.

“His dad is only half Spanish, Dad,” Nick said, feeling exhausted by this conversation. “Charlie and I already decided that we want to get married in Cornwall. We have our Venue selected and everything."

“It isn’t going to be a peasant wedding, right? With 85,000 Euros in your wedding trust, you don’t need to have a peasant wedding in England.”

Now it was Nick’s turn to blink at his father in shock. He knew that David and Dana’s wedding had been expensive but he hadn’t thought… He looked at Charlie who looked just as shocked as he did.

“D-Does that have to be used only for the wedding,” Nick finally asked.

“Of course not. You are free do with whatever is left as long as you do legally get married,” Stephane said. “A French wedding would be beautiful Nick. Your mother and I married in Paris.”

‘Yes and that ended so well,’ Nick thought a little bitterly. He also knew from talking to his grandparents that his mother hadn’t wanted to marry in Paris. She’d wanted a simpler wedding closer to home.

“We’ll think about it,” Charlie said, trying to give Nick a little bit of breathing room. Nick looked at him and he could almost hear Charlie telling him ‘Don’t worry, nothing changes.’

“Wonderful, I’ll have Apolline also get you the information for Aloïs Dorau as well,” Stephane said, clearly thinking he was going to get what he wanted.

“Did you want to get dinner with us tonight?” Nick asked. He didn’t really want to have dinner with his dad but he figured he might as well ask.

“Oh I wish I could. Martine has us going to a musical tonight,” Stephane said, waving his hand dismissively. “We really cannot miss it.”

“Right,” Nick said softly. “Well, we better go. I wanted to take Charlie back to the Eiffel Tower.”

“Always doing tourist things,” Stephane said with a chuckle as he shook his head. “Don’t forget to get everything from Apolline before you go,” he said before looking back to his computer on his desk. There was no hug goodbye or anything but Nick wasn’t that surprised. That was how things usually went with his dad.

He sighed and walked out of the office with Charlie, feeling a little drained. “You okay?” Charlie asked gently, squeezing Nick’s hand when they reached the ground floor lobby of the building.

“Yeah, I mean… I honestly didn’t expect that much,” Nick admitted.

“Nick, Charlie!” They looked up Apolline caught up with them. “You can’t leave without your fund information, and what about a hug goodbye for your favorite cousin?”

Nick laughed and gave her a hug then handed her phone when she held her hand out for it. “I was wondering, why are the wedding funds so much?” Nick asked.

“Oh, your grand-pere loved big flashy things,” Apolline said. “So he put a large amount into each account and then it built more over time,” she said. “Weddings can be very expensive, especially if you do a Paris one.”

“We’re getting married in Cornwall,” Nick said, needing someone to believe him.

“That sounds lovely,” Apolline said as she gave him his phone back. “Do you have a date or a venue chosen?”

“We have a ven—”

“Apolline!” A voice interrupted them. Nick looked up to a woman in her mid-late thirties coming up. She was quite pretty with dark, chestnut brown hair that was pulled back into a half-braid that reached half-way down her back, Dark brown eyes, and a smile that actually reminded him of his own mother. She gave Apolline a hug and smiled.

“Martine! You’re early,” Apolline said, looking startled.

“I know, but Etienne and Marie-Ange said they perfected a new dance and needed to climb the tower again,” Martine said with a smile. “I thought if there was time I could see Stephane earlier then our appointment.”

“You need appointments with him too,” Nick asked, unable to stop himself. He saw her look at him curious and he smiled. “I’m Nick… his younger son,” he added, just in case she’d forgotten like his own dad did sometimes.

Shock passed over Martine’s face for a split-second, she glanced at Apolline for a moment as if she was trying to confirm something, then she smiled at Nick. “Of course, Nick… and what are you doing in Paris, Mon Cher?”

“Well, Charlie and I got engaged and we wanted to tell him in person,” Nick said. “This is my fiancé, Charlie.”

“Charlie, wonderful to meet you,” Martine said, shaking his hand. “Are you here for long?”

“Just a couple of days,” Nick said.

“Then we must get dinner,” Martine said. “I think it’s time I get to know Stephane’s son. Have you every been to Le Chateaubriand? The chef is wonderful and he has a new menu every day.”

“Oh,” Nick looked surprised. He certainly hadn’t expected Martine to want to have dinner with him after rejecting to see him for 15 years but… “Um, we really need to see menu’s first,” he said softly. “I don’t know if Dad told you much about Charlie but…”

“No, no, what was I thinking,” Martine said, though Charlie noted confusion in her voice. “Why don’t you pick the restaurant? Did you want to do tonight?”

“Um… I thought dad said there was a musical tonight.”

“Is there?” Martine said, temper flashing on her face. “Apolline, who is his guest tonight, Lisette or Jacqueline?”

Apolline looked very much like she did not want to be a part of this and also looked very guilty. Nick wondered why. “Uh, Lisette.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry Nick, your father will have a fun time with Lisette, I am sure,” Martine said, a hard note in her voice, but it softened a moment later. “Could I have your contact information, Nick? Clearly, we haven’t gotten to know each other and I would very much like to change that.”

“Um, sure,” Nick said, his mind is a whirlwind right then. “And we’re planning on eating at Assanabel for dinner around 7 if you really wanted to join us,” he said as she handed him her phone.

“I will definitely be there,” Martine said. Once she had her phone back, she nodded at the two young men. “I really do need to get to my appointment with Stephane, I’m sure you know how busy he is.”

Nick chuckled humorously. “Yeah, I know. We’ll see you tonight then.”

~

He didn’t bring up the interaction until they were back at their hotel. They weren’t actually going to the Eiffel Tower that night, though they would be going before they left, and they were just relaxing and looking at pictures of the Venue they wanted when Nick finally spoke.

“Did it feel weird? The meeting Martine thing?” He couldn’t put his finger on it, couldn’t figure out why it had felt so strange.

“Yeah,” Charlie agreed. “Maybe she’s just awkward?”

“Maybe,” Nick said as he settled next to Charlie. “Do you think she’ll show or be like dad?”

“I don’t know. I had a hard time reading her, to be honest,” Charlie said softly.

Nick nodded then looked at Charlie for a moment and smiled weakly. “Do you want a Paris wedding like my dad was suggesting?”

“God no,” Charlie, shuddering a little. “I want the beach wedding of our dreams. I’ve never wanted to get married in Paris.”

Relief flooded Nick. He really didn't want a Paris Wedding even if David's had been beautiful. “Thank God! Beach wedding it is.”

As if on cue, Nick’s phone rang and they saw it was Darcy’s number so Nick put them on speaker. “Hey Darc.”

“Nick! Charlie are you there too?”

“Of course, we’re in Paris!” Charlie laughed.

“Good, so I just got off with one of the wedding coordinators at Lusty Glaze and I was wondering if you two are busy August 28^th.”

Nick and Charlie both sat up at the same time. “August 28^th?” Charlie asked. “This year? Like in 2 months?”

“Yes. There was a cancellation just yesterday, apparently the grooms mother was sleeping with the brides father so they’ve put their wedding on hold and that date is available. Did you two still want to do the exclusive wedding package so the beach it is private for you two and the guests? Because they can also do that one.”

Nick looked at Charlie, as always with them, they both knew what the other wanted and were in agreement. “We want it. How long do we have to set it up?”

“I asked them to give me two hours to talk with you and they agreed. So should I call them back? Once we confirm everything there will need to be a deposit and then we’re going to be in whirlwind of planning. Are you two ready for that?”

“Yes!” They both said at the same time, practically laughing.

“Okay, well I will call Patrick back and get it all set up.” They squealed a moment later, the old Darcy bursting through the professional. “Honestly I am so excited!”

“So are we,” Charlie laughed. “Let us know what everything is completely confirmed, okay?”

“I will,” they said before hanging up.

Charlie looked at Nick. “August 28th?"

Nick nodded and kissed Charlie, laughing against his lips. “August 28^th,” he agreed.