Work Text:
March 2022
RugbyArms
👋 Hi! I’m so happy I found this server. I discovered Henry Maddox by accident three weeks ago, and since then… let’s just say I’ve fallen down a bit of a rabbit hole. My friends do not understand my new obsession at all. Really looking forward to flailing about him and his upcoming release with people who get it!
Mad4Maddox
Welcome, Rugby!
DroolingMad
Welcome to the fun! My friends don’t get it either!
BetaOmega
Perfect timing to find Henry — only 121 days until Between Men: Queer Desire in Roman Times is released!!!
BowlingForCereal
Hi, RugbyArms… You can’t tease us with that username and not share pics 👀 Also, yeah… Henry Maddox is 🫦
RomanRomantic
Ignore Bowling — we’re not all horndogs 😜 Welcome to the server, RA!
SpringMad(dox)
Hi, RugbyArms! Welcome! This is such a great space — there’s always someone ready to flail with you over all things Maddox. Have a look around, and if you’ve got any questions, feel free to DM me.
RugbyArms
OMG, hi! I’ve watched all your videos — you’re amazing! Actually, I found this server through your review of Romans in Roman Times: Queer Society! Anyway… hi!!
SpringMad(dox)
😊 haha, thank you! I’m really glad you enjoyed them.
JellyWelly67
Hi Rugby!
April 2022
RugbyArms
Hey, I feel a bit weird DMing you, but I wanted to say happy birthday!
Also… I just wanted to say how grateful I am that I found this server. I tend to go a little OTT when I get into something new, and joining here has made me feel a bit less… extra. So, thank you.
RugbyArms
And happy birthday again! Hope you’re having a great day.
RugbyArms
Please don’t feel like you have to reply!
RugbyArms
I know we’re not really ‘friends’, but I enjoy chatting with you on here and just wanted to— okay, I’m rambling now. Ignore me!
SpringMad(dox)
Hey!
Thank you!
SpringMad(dox)
Haha, you’re totally welcome to DM me anytime! I like you, RA 😀 i’m glad you found the server too.
SpringMad(dox)
Birthday’s been meh, so your message actually made me smile.
RugbyArms
Sorry to hear that. Any particular reason?
SpringMad(dox)
Trust me, you don’t want to know. Let’s just say: exes are exes for a reason, family means well but they’re exhausting, and work has been… well, work.
Nick’s heart did something he refused to examine as he read Spring’s message.
It had been just over a month since he’d stumbled upon the Henry Maddox Appreciation Discord, and if he’d thought his obsession with the hot classics scholar would ease after finding like-minded fans, he’d been very wrong. If anything, it had only grown stronger.
Part of it, of course, was Henry himself. He wasn’t just good-looking — that smile did things to Nick’s insides — but he was brilliant, too. Somehow, he managed to make complex history feel alive and accessible without ever sounding condescending.
But the other reason was the community. The server wasn’t huge, maybe just under two hundred members, but even that many people sounded daunting to Nick. Yet it felt intimate and welcoming — even for someone like Nick, who was new to both Discord and Maddox fandom. He quickly found himself chatting daily with the same few people, and if he didn’t know them, he’d started to think of them as… well, as sort of friends, he supposed.
And then there was Spring. Spring was witty, self-deprecating, and clearly knew Maddox’s work inside out. Conversations involving him had become the highlight of Nick’s evenings.
The server didn’t just talk about Henry Maddox, either. Nick often found himself staying up late in the general chat, laughing about the most random things. Just last week there’d been a three-hour debate over the correct TV volume settings — even numbers or multiples of five only, obviously — and Spring had been firmly on Nick’s side.
Nick spent his spare time grinning at his phone more than he probably should admit. But he didn’t care. He lived alone, his last long-term relationship had ended almost three years ago, and while he liked his job and his fellow teachers, this small community he’d become part of made him feel seen.
It had taken him a long time to fully embrace his sexual identity, and whilst all his friends and family had been more than supportive when he’d finally come out to them at the age of twenty four, joining the server felt less like being accepted and more like being welcomed home.
Here, conversations about sexuality and gender flowed easily. People shared experiences, identities and labels Nick had never even heard of before. It was eye-opening. Refreshing. His small town in Kent was great, but known for diversity it was not.
Nick’s fingers flew across his screen, a smile firmly in place, as he and Spring spent the next hour messaging back and forth.
Apparently, Spring’s ex had decided to reach out that day and “win him back”.
SpringMad(dox)
He’s even thicker than i thought if he thinks there’s any chance in hell i’d go back there!
Nick laughed out loud, then found himself opening up in return, sharing the story of his own last disastrous relationship.
One day he’d looked around his tiny one-bedroom house and realised that the woman he’d been dating for three months… basically lived there. The twelve pairs of shoes lined up by the front door had been the giveaway. Panic had followed quickly, along with the sinking certainty that while he liked her, he didn’t want to live with her and he wasn’t sure he ever would. When he’d finally, hesitantly, brought it up a few weeks later, Rachel had not taken it well, accusing him of leading her on.
They’d broken up, but it had been a long, painful process lasting almost as long as their actual relationship.
Nick had been wary of dating ever since.
SpringMad(dox)
She moved into your place without asking… and then demanded you move out because you were the one ending it?!?! FML! Makes my ex sound sane, and he once accused me of having a threesome with the ubereats driver and the amazon man, just because they both turned up at once!
Nick had suspected Spring was queer, of course he had. Not many people on the server were straight, it seemed. But the confirmation made something in Nick’s chest flutter.
Three hours later when Nick climbed into bed, his phone was still glued to his hand. They hadn’t stopped talking all night, and Nick’s face ached from how much he’d smiled and laughed.
May 2022
SpringMad(dox)
{voicenote: 3:27 long}
RugbyArms
SPRING!!!
RugbyArms
I started listening to that at work!!
{I’m dying GIF}
SpringMad(dox)
Well that was stupid of you 😉
SpringMad(dox)
Seriously… oops, sorry!
SpringMad(dox)
If you want to shout at me properly… i could let you first name me?
SpringMad(dox)
You don’t have to tell me your name back, if you don’t want
Nick stared at his phone screen, a feeling like hope blossoming in him.
It was a rare day now that he and SpringMad(dox) didn’t chat in DMs. Last week Spring had started sending voice messages, which Nick had… well, he’d loved it. He’d watched all of Spring’s YouTube videos, his channel where he reviewed Henry Maddox’s books and talked about other queer literature. He already knew what he sounded like, what he looked like, so Nick had already known he had a gorgeous voice. But hearing him talk to Nick specifically… It was oddly thrilling.
He’d been hesitant to respond back, worrying what Spring would think of his bumbling voice. But after a few days of typing back long, slow replies, he’d caved.
Now, during the evening, they chatted back and forth like this for hours, laughing into their microphones or quietly sharing things Nick had never told anyone.
Nick had to admit it was easier. But it also felt more… intimate.
He knew shouldn’t be developing a crush on an internet stranger. He taught about online safety to his Year 4’s for goodness sake. But… well, Spring didn’t feel like a stranger, not anymore.
RugbyArms
You can call me Nick. If you want.
Nick held his breath, his sandwich long forgotten. A few seconds later he could see Spring typing at the bottom of their — rather substantial — chat.
SpringMad(dox)
Hi Nick. You can call me Charlie 😘
He stared at his screen, a slow smiling spreading across his face, his heart somersaulting behind his ribs.
Charlie.
The name suited him.
RugbyArms
Hi Charlie
15th June 2022
SpringMad(dox)
OMFG
SpringMad(dox)
OMFG
SpringMad(dox)
OMFG
SpringMad(dox)
NICK NICK NICK NICK
SpringMad(dox)
HENRY’S IN LONDON NEXT WEEKEND!!!!
SpringMad(dox)
FFS NICK
SpringMad(dox)
Yes I know… you’re working and not all of us can use our phones at work… blah blah
SpringMad(dox)
HENRY IS SIGNING HIS NEW BOOK NEXT SATURDAY!!!
SpringMad(dox)
It’s a ticketed event they’re releasing places at midday.
SpringMad(dox)
Shall i try and get you one??
SpringMad(dox)
Fuck it… if I get through i’m getting you one too
SpringMad(dox)
I’ve no idea where you live. How do I not know where you live???
SpringMad(dox)
You don’t sound scottish so i’m just going to assume you absolutely can get to london next saturday
SpringMad(dox)
And no i won’t be answering any questions on the logic behind the above statement
SpringMad(dox)
NICK WHERE ARE YOU!
SpringMad(dox)
AFSFSQOGTDQDGVQLDGQILDGGDF
SpringMad(dox)
HIS NEW BOOK!!! 3 WHOLE DAYS EARLY AND SIGNED AND HE’S GIVING A TALK AND HOLDING A Q&A SESSION AWWQDFCSGVKHSGQQHDPDGD
SpringMad(dox)
I’M NOT OK
RugbyArms
What’s going on???
RugbyArms
18 new messages hang on
SpringMad(dox)
NICK!!!!!
RugbyArms
CHARLIE!!!!
SpringMad(dox)
Read quicker
RugbyArms
Stop messaging me then!
Nick laughed as his phone screen was suddenly filled with GIF after GIF of people screaming and hyperventilating.
Finally, he made it to the top of Charlie’s messages. He was glad he was alone in his classroom, the kids outside for break, because the noise he let out he’d never admit to making.
RugbyArms
OMG
SpringMad(dox)
RIGHT!!
SpringMad(dox)
I’ve had the webpage open since 8am!
SpringMad(dox)
I’m getting tickets if it’s the last thing i do
RugbyArms
I can see you’re totally chill about this
SpringMad(dox)
{voicenote: :08 long}
Nick quickly checked no one was walking down the corridor, turned his sound right down, and then pressed play.
What followed was simply Charlie, giddily, shouting his name. Nick burst out laughing. He’d been having a bit of a rough morning — it was 29 degrees, his classroom was wall to ceiling windows, and his kids were feral. Just seeing Charlie’s name on his phone had cheered him up, reading there was a chance to meet Henry Maddox next weekend was also exciting, but the thing that really made Nick happy was Charlie’s excitement, Charlie sharing it with him… Charlie asking if Nick wanted to go with him. It made his heart do silly things, the thought that Charlie wanted to meet him.
His little crush on SpringMad(dox) had grown wings over the last few weeks of late night chats and early morning messages, but now it was shooting straight for the stratosphere.
SpringMad(dox)
So??? Shall I get you a ticket??
SpringMad(dox)
Please don’t tell me you actually do live in scotland???
SpringMad(dox)
No offence to scotland i love scotland i fucking love the accent but… london??? Next weekend???
RugbyArms
Haha no I don’t live in Scotland. And yes please, if you get through 🙏
RugbyArms
I’ll be teaching at midday 😭
SpringMad(dox)
Of course!!! omg this is exciting
RugbyArms
If you’re sure you don’t mind?
SpringMad(dox)
Does it seem like I mind???
SpringMad(dox)
I’m almost as excited about potentially meeting you as i am about HENRY MADDOX!
SpringMad(dox)
HENRY FUCKING MADDOX NICK AWSQWFQFWQKEED
Nick groaned as he heard the telltale sound of Jimmy Cutteridge’s high pitched whine from the hallway, signaling the return of his class.
RugbyArms
Gtg
RugbyArms
Kids back. Yes please thank you thank you thank you
RugbyArms
♥️
25th June 2022
Nick wasn’t sure he’d ever been so excited yet nervous in his life.
He was standing outside the train station, eyes sweeping the stream of people spilling onto the pavement, waiting for Charlie to appear.
His heart was racing so hard he half-expected to keel over. Three minutes ago, Charlie had messaged to say his train was pulling in. Any second now, after months of late-night chats and shared jokes and quiet confessions, he was finally going to meet SpringMad(dox), Charlie Spring, in person.
He didn’t know how to name the way he felt about Charlie. It felt too deep, too real for something that had only existed through a screen. He worried that when they met, that spark would vanish.That things would be stilted, awkward.
“Nick!”
Nick whipped his head around, turning towards that voice he knew so well by now.
And there he was.
Nick exhaled shakily, his body thrumming with energy.
Charlie weaved his way through the crowd, dimples deepening with every step, curls bouncing as he dodged passers-by with a spring in his step.
Nick’s heart was galloping in his chest and he had to swallow hard to stop from drooling as Charlie came to a stop in front of him.
“Hi,” Nick croaked, his throat suddenly dry.
“Hi,” Charlie said, grinning wide.
Something warm and comforting settled in Nick’s chest, a feeling like something clicking into place.
///
Charlie had had the best day, one of those rare magical days that he knew he’d replay over and over. He couldn’t stop smiling.
Obviously, Henry Maddox had been amazing. Charlie was still buzzing from that experience alone. During the Q&A he’d even managed to ask a question, and he was impressed at himself that he managed to keep his voice steady long enough to get words out without making a fool of himself.
But the highlight of the day had to be, without a doubt, Nick.
Other people from the server had been there, some he’d met before, some newbies. It was always great to be part of these meet-ups. There was something special about an online community that forged friendships strong enough to spill out into the real world.
Charlie had been excited to meet Nick, of course. But he’d also been nervous — because he’d developed a crush on RugbyArms long before he knew his real name. And that crush had only deepened as he got to know Nick. By the time they’d finally video-called a few days ago, he’d been hopeless. And when Nick’s sweet, shy smile filled his screen… well. There’d been no going back.
And today had only made it worse
Talking with Nick was like slipping into a rhythm he already knew by heart. Teasing him and watching him blush, then feeling himself blush when Nick teased him back.
The casual touches. The lingering glances. And later, flirting that felt like sparks dancing along his skin.
Charlie’s whole body was alight with want and possibilities. He was sure he wasn’t imagining the way Nick looked at him..
“So, uh.” Nick’s confidence had grown throughout the day, but he seemed adorably flustered as they walked side by side, arms brushing every few steps, towards the train station. “I really enjoyed today,” he said quietly, softly, hopefully.
Charlie’s heart sung, the expression on Nick’s face sparking something in him. “Yeah, me too.”
“We could… I don’t live far from London, if you ever…” Nick trailed off, coming to a stop outside the tube entrance.
Charlie inhaled, his heart rate increasing.
Fuck it. Life was too short.
“I was thinking,” he said, stepping a little closer, his eyes locked on Nick's, “if you’re not in a rush home… I’ve got a great bottle of red sitting on my counter. And no one to share it with.”
Nick’s eyes went wide, flicking to Charlie’s mouth before darting back. “Yeah?”
Charlie nodded, smile tugging at the edges of his lips as he stepped closer again. When Nick didn’t move away, Charlie lifted a hand to brush an imaginary speck of fluff from his hoodie.
“I really like you, Nick. I loved spending time with you today. And I’m not ready to say goodbye yet. If… if that’s something you’d want too?”
Nick swallowed visibly. “I really like you too. And I don’t… I don’t want today to be the only time I see you.”
Something in Charlie melted. He hadn’t been angling for a hook-up, a one time thing, not even close. But the way Nick seemed to be checking, gently, that Charlie wanted more…
oh, Charlie was so screwed.
Happily so.
He lifted a hand to Nick’s cheek. “I want more than one night with you,” he whispered.
Nick’s answering smile was so soft and certain, it told Charlie everything he needed to know.
Charlie let his hand fall, lacing their fingers instead, and tugged Nick gently back the way they’d come.
“My place is this way.”
“So, why did you…” Nick started, gaze flitting back to the tube entrance.
“I thought it was obvious,” Charlie laughed. “I wanted more time with you.”
“Oh,” Nick said, his smile growing. He squeezed Charlie’s hand. “I want a lot more time with you too.”
///
Dear reader, they got a whole life together.
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