Work Text:
Louis Bonnet had a problem.
It wasn’t like a life changing, terrible, awful problem, more just like a little one. But it was a problem nonetheless and he was getting a tad stressed about it.
Mr Smith, his music teacher at school, had said to him a few days ago after choir rehearsal that Louis “should consider doing something at the showcase”. Louis had said yes, he loved playing music and he wasn’t so scared of the idea of performing in front of people. It was a fun kind of scary he figured.
The problem was he had no idea what to do. He loves singing, but he couldn’t pinpoint what to sing – does he go pop? Musical theatre? Something ancient like from the 80s that his parents listen too?
But also, it would be a bit boring for the audience to just sit there and watch him sing to a backing track so maybe he had to do something extra.
He was pulled out of his musical wonderings as the doorbell rang downstairs, and he heard Ed move eagerly from the living room to answer it.
“Hey mate, thank you. Yeah, Ed Teach, that’s me” he could hear his soon-to-be-official-but-basically-already stepfather say.
Ed and his Dad had been dating officially for about just under two years and they were getting married in a couple of months. He knew that some people had said they’d moved very quickly between them and Louis could maybe see that but if you knew Dad and Ed, you’d see they make complete sense.
Louis noticed from the moment he first met Ed, just how much his Dad cared about him and Ed clearly felt the same back. They just worked together and Ed fitted into their lives like he’d always been there. Louis felt very grateful to have four parents – including his Mum’s new husband Doug – who looked after him. It was nice for his Dad to have somebody who got him and it was now a common sight for Louis to come back from school to find his Dad and Ed gleefully spending time together, laughing and smiling – and even kissing sometimes which Louis did find a little gross to witness.
Memorably the other day, Louis ran in from school eager to tell them about a test he’d done well on to find them dancing round the kitchen together to a song he vaguely recognised, some early 2000s song.
You make my life worthwhile, it’s all about you
The song crooned out and Ed had spun his Dad into his arms with a fond smile that crinkled his eyes and made him look gloriously happy. Louis remembered thinking how glad he was his Dad was happy again. He’d been lonely after he moved out when he and Mum got divorced, he and Alma had spent as much time with him as they could but it didn’t make up for the fact his home was maybe… a little broken.
It seemed now the arrival and inclusion of Ed into their family had fixed that.
There was a lot of commotion, boxes being moved into the hallway and the sound of idle chatter between Ed and the delivery man.
Ed was receiving a bunch of packages from his Mum today. She was shipping him over the majority of the remaining stuff he had left at her house in NZ.
“Now you’re moving into your forever home Edward you can stop clogging up my attic with your stuff” Ed had done an impression of his mum Anne when Ed mentioned she would be sending his stuff over.
Louis liked Anne, they’d met for the first time when she came over a couple of months ago to meet Stede and the family and quite often she asked to speak to him and Alma on her weekly video calls with Ed. She was nice and always listened to Louis’s chatter endlessly.
“Thanks mate, bye!” Ed called out and he heard Ed let out a tiny, excited squeal at looking through his stuff.
Curiosity got the better of him and he wasn’t getting anywhere with this song malarkey, so he figured he would venture out to see what Ed had got.
Louis made his way downstairs to see Ed stood in the hallway, surrounded by cardboard boxes and a rather large black case of some kind.
“Ed? Do you need any help?” Louis asked.
“Oh hey Lou, if you don’t mind actually please kiddo, I should move some of these out of the way before they become a trip hazard”
“Sure, where shall we put them?”
“I need to sort them out a bit to be honest, some of this stuff probably won’t be worth hanging onto but bless my mother for keeping it” Ed laughed.
Ed bent down to pick up a box close to him. “Shall we put them in the conservatory for now?”
Louis nodded, selecting a smaller box. (He is 11, he can’t exactly pick up the bigger boxes he reasoned)
They moved a few of the boxes, he left Ed to grab the larger ones – although when Ed winced picking up a particularly heavy one, Louis remembered his Dad saying Ed sometimes had a lot of pain in his knee, so Louis jumped to help him saying they could carry it together.
“Thanks Lou” Ed smiled as they placed it down. “Just one more” he said. “It’s not that heavy, I’ll go. You can open any of these up if you like” Ed gestured to the boxes as he headed back to the hallway.
Louis proceeded to pull the brown packing tape off a box close to him, opening to see a bunch of old sweatshirts and jumpers.
Ed walked in, the black fabric case in his arms and he propped it up against the door.
“What’s in that one?” Ed said curiously coming over to see what Louis had been rifling through. Louis pulled out an old sweatshirt, black in colour but faded a little greyer with time, it had clearly been well loved, and it had the silver-fern emblem of the All Blacks, the NZ rugby team on it.
“God, I haven’t seen that since I was 16” Ed laughed, taking it from Louis and holding it up against his body. “Used to live in this”
“There’s quite a lot of jumpers and clothes in this one” Louis said, noting a couple of shirts and even a rather cool leather jacket, clearly the pre-cursor to Ed’s current beloved one.
“Tell you what, I doubt any of this is going to fit me anymore but you and your sister can have your pick of any of the things in there”
“Really?” Louis brightened, having already noticed a rather cool emerald green jumper with a tiger on it in there that he liked the look of. Alma had already stolen at least two of their Dad’s old jumpers so he figured since he was the one helping now he got first pick of Ed’s.
“Yeah sure thing kiddo. Anything you guys don’t want or I don’t want to keep for nostalgia’s sake, we’ll give to a charity. Most of it could be considered vintage now right?” he grinned, grabbing a box close to him and beginning to rip the tape off.
“What’s in that?” Louis asked, nodding towards the black fabric case.
“Go look if you like” Ed said, a strange look on his face. Maybe a little sad, Louis reckoned.
Louis went over to it and undid the zip.
“Woaaah” he exclaimed as the fabric fell open revealing a sleek black guitar.
“Was this yours?” Louis said, turning back to Ed, who nodded.
“Yeah” Ed cleared his throat a little. “Yeah it was mine. I haven’t played it for a long time. I didn’t actually know Mum still had it until she said she was going to send it over”
Louis plucked a string on it, grimacing at the dull out of tune twang it made.
“What happened?”
“My dad said he was fed up of the noise. Me practicing in my room. Normally I played to …” Ed seemed to hesitate for a moment. “To stop hearing other things”
Louis nodded but didn’t press this – he had a broad understanding of Ed’s childhood. His Dad had sat him and Alma down a few weeks into them knowing Ed to explain that Ed’s own father had been very cruel to him and his mum. That Ed didn’t mind talking about it but just to be mindful of what he could be feeling sometimes. That being in a family unit like theirs could sometimes bring up some odd feelings for him.
Louis was very grateful that he couldn’t imagine what that could have been like, to be frightened at home. He knows that his Mum and Dad weren’t exactly happy together before they got divorced but they never ever had made him or Alma feel scared or not supported.
“Do you want to keep it?” Louis asked.
Ed’s head tilted a little, staring at the guitar. “I haven’t played in a long while but… maybe”
An idea sprang into Louis’s head.
“Could…could I have it? At least for a little bit. We’ve been doing different musical instruments at school and it might be cool to have an actual guitar to practice on at home”
Ed smiled as he started to pull out some books from another box. “Sure bud” he nodded. “You just keep it safe for me”
“I will, I promise. Let me just go put it in my room”
Ed nodded as Louis scampered off with the guitar and its case in his hands. He placed it carefully down on his bed and his brain whirred with an idea.
Suddenly he knew what to do for the showcase.
The next day at school, Louis went in search of Mr Smith at lunchtime, knocking on his classroom door.
His teacher was sat at his desk, feet propped up on it, sandwich in hand. “Louis! Hey” the man said in surprise, rushing to sit up properly. He was a tall man, wearing thick framed glasses, black trousers and a floaty linen lilac shirt.
“What can I do for you?” he said kindly.
“I wanted to ask if you could help me with something?” Louis asked.
“Sure, everything alright?” Mr Smith started to frown for a moment, maybe wondering if there was something bad going on.
“Everything’s fine! It’s about the showcase”
“Oh yes, you still want to be involved?” The teacher relaxed and spoke with a smile.
“I do! It’s just, my almost-stepdad has said I can have his guitar, but he hasn’t played for a long while and it’s really out of tune. I want to perform something at the showcase with it for him, but I don’t know how to tune it. And also… I could maybe use some help with the guitar chords” Louis said hopefully.
“Of course! I’d be happy to help” Mr Smith said beaming. “Can you bring the guitar next time we have a lesson, and I’ll take a look for you? And if you’re willing to come see me at breaks or lunch, we can work on your piece. Do you know what song you want to sing?”
“I think so. It’s this” Louis pulled his phone out, asking for permission with a look – technically the kids weren’t meant to have their phones at school, but they all did and some teachers were far more likely to let it slide, Mr Smith being one of them. His teacher nodded so he could look at the screen.
“An excellent choice! Makes me feel old though, that came out when I was about your age” Mr Smith laughed.
“I was trying to find lyrics that remind me of Ed and my Dad” Louis said a little bashfully.
“That’s very sweet Louis. I’m sure they’ll both really appreciate it”
Over the next couple of weeks, Louis visited Mr Smith at break and lunch times to practice the simple chords diligently until he could get through the song. He snuck the guitar out of the house on a day his Mum took him to school, and he told her his plan. She had smiled at him happily, ruffling his hair affectionately. “That’s so nice sweetheart; Ed will love it”
Louis was actually beginning to be a bit worried Ed wouldn’t love it. After all, Ed had bad memories attached to the guitar, it was something he’d loved that his own dad had taken away from him and Louis was worried he was overstepping maybe.
But, if there was a chance he could make Ed feel better about the guitar again, then he figured he should try it. His Dad had once said to him you have to turn poison into positivity. Maybe this would do that.
[The Showcase]
“Babe am I dressed okay?” Ed called out, assessing himself in the mirror. He’d put on black jeans and a violet t-shirt, opting for his black brogues rather than his boot just to add a little more sophistication.
Stede popped his head round the en-suite door where he was finishing his hair. “Yes darling you look lovely. It’s only a school showcase, you don’t need to go the whole nine yards as such” Stede grinned fondly at his fiancée.
“Well I don’t know, I’ve never been to one of these things before. I don’t know what the etiquette is!” Ed replied in indignation.
Stede made his way over to Ed, slipping his arms around his middle to give him a hug. “I can’t promise it’ll be the height of excitement, but Louis is really excited about his performance. He’s made me promise to make sure I video it at least three times today alone”
“Don’t get me wrong, I'm looking forward to it. Imagine if you’d told young Ed if this is how he’d be spending a Friday night in the future, going to a school showcase to watch his fiancées’ kid, he’d be very surprised”
“What, at how boring and domestic you’ve become?” Stede laughed, squeezing his arms a little tighter into their embrace, perching his chin on Ed’s shoulder. Ed’s arms rested on Stede’s firmly in response.
“No, at how much he’s got everything he ever wanted” Ed said with a wry smile. Stede blushed a little.
“You’re a sap” he whispered, leaning down to place a kiss on Ed’s shoulder affectionately. “Come on, we better go, we’ll be late”
They made their way over to the school, it was thankfully a short walk away, their hands intertwined as they did so.
“Hey Dad, Hey Ed!” they heard Alma’s voice call out from a row about three back from the front of the stage. She was sat with Mary and Doug, their jackets resting on two seats clearly reserved for them.
“Hello sweetheart” Stede said happily as his daughter ran to meet them halfway, his arms already outstretched for a hug.
“Hi kiddo” Ed said with a grin as Alma gave him a quick hug too. She scowled half-heartedly at the nickname before dragging them towards their seats.
Mary had stood up to greet them as well, stretching up on her tiptoes to give them both a kiss on the cheek while Doug waved cheerfully from his seat.
“Have you seen Louis?” Stede asked, as they settled down.
“He came out a little while ago to say hi but said he couldn’t stay long” Mary replied. “He didn’t seem too nervous though”
“Do you have any idea what he’s actually doing?” Stede asked. “He wouldn’t tell us”
“Yeah, he said he wanted it to be a surprise” Ed added.
Mary and Alma shared a quick knowing glance between them, and Stede narrowed his eyes at them. “What is it?” he proffered carefully.
“You’ll have to wait and see” Alma said with a smile.
The show started shortly after and they sat through the performances, clapping heartily when the kids made it through. Some were singing, some were playing instruments, some were dancing. Some were… perhaps better than others Ed thought to himself, but good on them for getting up there in the first place. He certainly wouldn’t have done it at the age of 11.
Mr Smith, Louis’s music teacher, was the compere. He was a charming host and clearly very proud of his kids. He had been announcing each act and saying a little about the child and what they would be doing, their reasoning for whatever it was they were performing.
“And now, from year 7, we have Louis Bonnet. Louis is a keen musician and singer, and he is performing All About You. He picked this song as it reminded him of his Dad and his partner, who are due to be married soon so he would like to dedicate it to them” Mr Smith stated.
Ed and Stede looked at each other in surprise, giving each other a shy grin. “Bless him that’s so sweet” Stede whispered, reaching over to grab Ed’s hand, intertwining their fingers together.
“Give me your phone Dad, I’ll film it for Lou. You just listen and enjoy it” Alma whispered, reaching out to take her father’s phone from where it had been laying in his lap.
Louis walked out on stage, his little shoulders heaving a deep calming breath as he sat down on the stool placed on the stage.
“Oh my god that’s my guitar” Ed said quietly in astonishment, his eyes widening and threatening to tear up.
Louis looked out to the crowd, briefly catching Ed’s eye and offering him a small smile.
He started to play, strumming out a simple tune on the guitar, now perfectly in tune thanks to Mr Smith.
Yesterday, you asked me something I thought you knew.
So I told you with a smile 'It's all about you'
Then you whispered in my ear and you told me too,
Said, 'You make my life worthwhile, it's all about you'
The guitar strumming continued as Louis sang, his voice clear and bright and melodic. Ed watched in awe, the sound coming out of his once beloved guitar being played by his soon-to-be-official stepson made his heart swell. He gripped Stede’s hand tightly.
And I would answer all your wishes, if you asked me to.
But if you deny me one of your kisses, don't know what I'd do.
So hold me close and say three words, like you used to do.
Dancing on the kitchen tiles, it's all about you.
The tears that were threatening finally spilt over as Louis went into the small instrumental break, his little face concentrating hard at getting the chords right. Ed was so proud of this kid. He’d learnt this all by himself and on top of that, he WANTED to play Ed’s guitar, he made it better again. He wanted to sing a song that made sure Ed knew how accepted he was into their family and that reminded him of Ed and Stede.
Ed remembered fondly a few weeks ago when this song had been on the radio, Louis had caught he and Stede quite literally dancing on the kitchen tiles and that Louis had teased them for liking ‘old’ songs now and Ed had jokingly remarked that McFly were not that old thank you very much!
But he didn’t think it would lead to this.
And I would answer all your wishes, if you asked me to.
But if you deny me one of your kisses, don't know what I'd do.
So hold me close and say three words, like you used to do.
Dancing on the kitchen tiles,
Yes you make my life worthwhile,
So I told you with a smile...
It's all about you.
It's all about you
It's all about you, baby
It's all about you
It's all about you
Louis ended the song with a flourish and a little riff in his voice on the last ‘you’ with a small grin on his face, pleased he got through the song.
Ed wiped his face of tears and jumped up, applauding loudly, Stede, Alma, Mary and Doug all following suit, cheering and whooping happily.
Louis blushed red with embarrassment as he left the stage, but Ed knew he was probably secretly a little bit thrilled his family were the ones that had cheered the most.
Ed wanted to go give that boy a hug more than anything at that moment but he knew he had to wait so he sat back in his seat, letting out a long breath in an attempt to not cry anymore.
“Are you alright?” Stede whispered, brushing away a tear from his own face.
Ed nodded. “I just… the last time I played that guitar I was so sad. My dad went off on one about the noise and he really yelled at my mum when she tried to defend me so I .. just never picked it back up. But Louis? He’s made the newest memory happy. I’m so proud”
Ed looked at Stede fondly, a slightly bewildered smile on his face. Stede reached his hand up to wipe tears from Ed’s cheek and Ed felt another smaller hand on him. Alma had reached around her Dad to pat Ed lovingly on the shoulder. He gave them both a soft smile.
He felt so loved right now and he felt like he could burst.
The rest of the show passed by in a little bit of a blur for Ed. Finally when the finale came, he stood up and applauded with the rest of the audience and he cheered loudly when Louis’s name was read out as one of the performers.
The kids started to disperse into the crowd, finding their people. Louis made his way towards them. Ed hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should let Stede or Mary go first but they both smiled at him, Stede pushing Ed to stand in front of him a little.
“Come here kiddo” Ed shouted when Louis was close enough, stepping forward with his arms stretched wide. Louis smiled happily and threw himself into Ed’s waiting arms.
“Was it okay?” Louis asked shyly, asking almost into Ed’s chest where he was still stuck in an embrace.
Ed pulled back from the hug, placing his hand on Louis’s shoulders, bending down a little to meet his eyes. “It was perfect. Thank you so much mate. I loved it”
“Really?” Louis asked a bit nervously.
“Really. Seriously thank you for making my guitar sound amazing again Lou”
“You did so well Lou” Stede echoed from close behind Ed, beaming at his son with pride. Similar exclamations of praise erupted from the rest of his family.
“You’ll have to teach me how to play that song” Ed said with a smile.
Louis’s eyes widened in excitement. “Yeah! I can” he paused for a moment. “Do you want your guitar back?” He asked Ed, looking up at him.
Ed shook his head. “It’s yours now. I’m sure Fang has an old one he never plays that I can get from him”
“Thanks Ed” Louis replied happily. He leant in for another quick hug.
“Come on then you lot. Shall we all go get some dinner maybe?” Mary said sweetly, leaning forward to ruffle her son’s hair affectionately.
“Sounds good to me” Stede responded with a smile.
They started to head out but Ed found he had to hang back a moment, he watched his new family go and he couldn’t help but feel so damn lucky.
Stede caught his eye a moment, turning back to face Ed and gave him that radiant loving smile, that Ed knew was only ever reserved for him.
The song’s sentiment rattled in his head. For Ed, it really was all about Stede. Not only was his future husband his best friend in the world but he’d brought him all of these wonderful other people, including a sweet kid who would play Ed’s guitar to make the memory joyful. They completed his family and he couldn’t be more grateful.