Work Text:
The door slammed closed and Nick looked up from his lesson plans. It was nearing the end of the summer holidays and he was preparing for the next school year. He frowned and planted his hands on the table, just as he saw Daisy leap up, barking excitedly, and zoom into the hallway. Nick smiled and ran his fingers through his hair; the only person the dog was that enthusiastic about was Alex, his brother’s child. On weekdays, they would crash at the Nelson-Spring’s after school because their parents were working late, but they hadn’t seen them for a while as they had been on a family holiday to Menorca; Nick thought back fondly on the holidays he had spent there as a kid and was still surprised that David, of all people, had chosen that place to return to with his own wife and kids, as he had always been the one complaining about going there. Well, David had come a long way, also in accepting the fact that his kid was genderqueer. It had been a bumpy road, but in the end, he had acknowledged that his love for the kid had nothing to do with gender or binary characteristics.
“Hi Uncle Nick!” Alex exclaimed as they walked into the kitchen with Daisy jumping around them. “I missed you,” the teen cooed to the dog.
“I see how it is,” Nick retorted. “Only eyes for the dog, totally forgetting your uncle, the one who feeds you every school day, the owner of the dog that you missed so much.”
Alex laughed and came over to hug Nick. The kid was almost as tall as him, their long blonde hair nearly white – bleached by the Spanish sun – kept from their eyes by a small braid, and their face freckled like a true Nelson.
“Would you like something to drink?” Nick asked his nibling.
“Maybe later. I was actually wondering if I could take Daisy out for a walk? I’ve been gaming all morning and I want to get outside for a while.”
“I think she would love that. She only got the quick round this morning as I was so busy.” Nick took the leash from the coat rack and handed it to Alex, with Daisy not wavering from their side. “And she has a new toy she loves.” He took a ball covered in cylindrical protrusions out of the drawer of a small table. Alex put it in their tote bag painted in colourful leaves that travelled with them all the time. “Have fun!” Nick opened the door and watched the two barrelling out.
🐕
Alex was happy to be reunited with their favourite Nelson-Spring. They loved the dog and were looking forward to spending some quality time with her after missing her for three whole weeks.
“Come on, girl!” they encouraged the dog and unclipped the leash as they suddenly sprinted into the park. Daisy immediately reacted and woofed cheerfully, overtaking Alex and dashing forward. Alex fished out the ball and threw it away. They understood straight away why the pup liked the ball so much; it bounced randomly in all directions and Daisy slid from one side to another almost tripping over her own paws.
Oh, no! Fuck. Alex had just thrown the ball again when Daisy changed directions all of a sudden as a person appeared from behind some bushes, almost tripping over the dog that only had eyes for the ball. Alex ran to them and took Daisy by her collar.
“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” Alex looked up at the person and was met with a pair of sparkling eyes belonging to someone who must be around their age.
“Of course, don’t get your knickers in a twist. Nothing happened. You have the cutest dog.”
Alex assessed the person and found an open and welcoming demeanour.
“It’s actually not my dog. She’s my uncles’, but I love her.” Alex scratched the dog between her ears. “I’m Alex.”
“Hi, Alex. I’m Bowie.”
They fell into an easy conversation that meandered smoothly whilst they were playing with Daisy, who had promptly embraced her new play buddy. There was never an awkward silence, only sincere interest; just two kindred souls connecting. Alex felt so deeply at ease, yet their whole body seemed to tingle with delight.
That was until they heard a harsh comment somewhere behind them.
“There’s that “ it” kid from school.”
Alex’s face fell and the tears stung their eyes. Bowie clocked at once, laying a hand gently on their arm and putting their long hair behind their ear.
“I’m genderqueer,” Alex blurted out. Why did they say that? They must have ruined everything now. It was like a hand grabbed their heart and tried to squeeze all the joy out; tears were streaming down their cheeks. But Bowie didn’t bat an eye and quietly moved closer.
“One of my parents is non-binary. I think it’s beautiful that you already know yourself that well.” With that she softly wiped away the tears with her thumb. “Don’t let anyone make you disappear, Alex.”
Those words hit them deeply and their heart slowly grew whole again. They muttered a “thank you” around a sob.
It was only when Daisy lost patience and started to whine that Alex became aware of the time and realised that they should head back home. They didn’t want to say goodbye now, they felt so happy around the girl. Reluctantly they explained that they had to go and tried to stall the parting by asking if they could head home together. Unfortunately Bowie needed to go into a different direction, but they swapped numbers and promised to meet again the next day.
As soon as Nick saw his nibling come in, he noticed something about them. He couldn’t quite place it, but it seemed like a positive thing. Their skin was glowing and their presence exuded confidence.
“Uncle Nick, it was so much fun. I met a girl and she is so sweet and cool and Daisy loved her!”
Ah, that’s it , Nick thought, Seems like they met someone special . His face lit up and he was filled with mirth. Alex really deserved someone like that in their life. They weren’t having an easy time at school. He thought back to his own friends in secondary school – how welcoming they had been and how fervently they had supported him. From the observant and secretly meddling Isaac, the sweet and lovely Tara, the chaos goblin Darcy, to the cautious Tao, balanced by creative Elle.
That reminded him to put out invitations for his upcoming birthday. This year their friend group would be complete again as Tara and Darcy had moved back to Rochester recently after spending quite some time up north, where Tara had worked at Dance Horizons in Edinburgh. He wished for Alex to build such a family-friends group of their own; maybe this girl was the start.
Lost in thought, he walked into the kitchen and put the kettle on. Alex was sitting on the ground cuddling with Daisy.
“I’m home!” Nick heard Charlie call from the hallway. He took another mug out of the cupboard and felt the arms of his other half encircle him from behind, followed by a tender kiss on his cheek. Charlie turned around.
“Hi Alex, so nice to see you here. Everything alright?”
Alex got up and hugged Charlie. They both went through to the living room whilst Nick was waiting for the kettle to boil. He loved the warm connection the two had. When Alex was a baby, they had bonded instantly and it had only deepened over the years.
Over the next week, Alex was often at the Nelson-Spring residence to pick up Daisy for a walk in the park to meet their new friend. Charlie was highly invested in the pair and Nick often found him and Alex talking about friendships and relationships during an afternoon, Daisy lying comfortably at their feet. Nick provided the necessary snacks; he found himself baking chocolate and lime biscuits at the end of the week when Charlie entered the kitchen for another cup of tea and confided in him.
“I think they’re slowly falling for the girl, love. The way they talk about her makes me think back on us. They were just wondering if she would kiss anybody who wasn’t a boy or girl.” Charlie giggled and Nick’s whole body was flooded with warm surges. He put the whisk down and pulled the love of his life into a searing kiss.
They both knew where that kind of question could lead to.
That evening, Nick sent out the invitations for his birthday to his family and all the friends he had found after Char had asked him that question.
🐕
The sun was shining warmly, and Nick had just put the last cupcakes on the étagère when he heard the door being opened and David’s grumbling voice saying Alex shouldn’t use his key when they are there for a birthday visit. He took off his apron, hung it over a chair, and welcomed them. They handed Nick his presents and Alex gave him a little package and made him open it right away. There was a bi-coloured lanyard in it.
They had been joking about the one he always wore to school and the fact it was merely shreds kept together by the badge. Nick adored the thoughtful gift and thanked his nibling profusely.
Before they got outside, Nick took Alex aside. “You know almost all the people here, but today two of my oldest friends are also coming over. They recently moved back here – Tara and Darcy – you might have heard about them. You will love them, I’m sure. You're going to have a blast with Darcy; they are the most tumultuous person you’ve ever met. But that’s not what this is about – I actually want to ask you a favour. They have been fostering a girl for quite some time now and she moved back with them. She’ll attend your school next week and I wanted to ask if you could show her around a bit.”
“Of course, Uncle Nick. That’s pretty cool that they took her in.”
And with that, Alex nicked a cupcake from the étagère, and headed into the garden. Nick shook his head. Teens, right.
The rest of the guests came trickling in and soon the garden was buzzing. Nick and Charlie had wrapped their arms around each other and were overlooking the bustle as the bell rang. Nick gave Charlie a quick peck and went to open the door; in front of him were Tara and Darcy who he immediately pulled into a bear hug, but he made sure to let go quickly so the girl also standing there didn’t feel too left out. He reached out his hand to her.
“Welcome! I’m Nick. So nice to meet you. Come on in.”
The girl introduced herself and he guided them all to the garden where Nick tried to spot Alex, but they had already noticed them. Well… not them exactly. Like a whirlwind they came dashing over.
“Oh my god, Bowie! What are you doing here?” Bowie snickered and took their hand. The four observed the interaction, confused. Alex was oblivious to this and happily dragged her to the other people.
Charlie looked at them affectionately. “Is that the girl from the park, by any chance?”
“You mean that’s Alex?” Tara asked, surprised. “Bowie can’t talk about anything else apart from their dates that we can’t call dates.” They followed the two joyfully as Alex introduced her to everyone. “What are the odds?”
Nick didn’t want to believe it was just a coincidence; he liked to think that the universe somehow had ways to bring soulmates together and he was happy to be involved in this attempt.
It was nearing dinner time and Nick was in the kitchen preparing some last bits and pieces and, as per usual, Charlie, Tao, Elle, Isaac, and now also Tara and Darcy had joined him to help out and catch up. They were laughing and reminiscing about their shared history. Elle was retelling a story about Darcy who had been meddling with two people in their class who clearly had feelings for each other, and the chaos it had evoked when they tried to make it work by bringing their rat into school as both people had said they liked them as pets.
“Oh wait, I have a great idea,” Darcy interrupted Elle. “Maybe we should nudge fate a little with Alex and Bowie.”
A choir of “No, Darcy” and “Keep your rat out of this” echoed through the kitchen. Tao threw a tea towel at them and urged them to do some dishes. The rest carried on with the food prep, but then Isaac suddenly spoke.
“I don’t think they need our help.”
They all glanced at the man who had put away his book and nodded towards the conservatory, where they saw the door closing behind the two teens.
Nick walked up to Charlie, embraced his soulmate, and whispered giddily, “I guess Alex is getting their answer.”