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“Aw, but you always loved the Glitter Bugs,” Charlie tried desperately.
“Uncle, I am six now. They are for babies.”
“But…”
Tori sighed and rolled her eyes before giving Charlie a sympathetic smile. “Poor Charlie will have no one to go with, Fox.”
“Can’t you go then, Aunty?” Fox deadpanned.
Tori stared down her nibling for an uncomfortable (mostly for Charlie) number of seconds before responding, “He’ll buy you a lemonade if you go.”
“Fiiine,” Fox capitulated. “But I won't enjoy it.”
“What’s all this?” Olly asked as he stepped into the kitchen. He looked from his pouting child to his beaming brother to his smirking sister.
“Fox has agreed to take Charlie to the Glitter Bugs concert,” Tori informed her youngest brother with a smirk.
“Aw, Fox, that’s so nice of you. You know how much your uncle loves them.” Olly gave Fox a pat on the head and his brother a cheeky wink.
Charlie scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I thought Fox would be excited to go. They always loved the Glitter Bugs’ TV show when I was babysitting them.”
“Maybe when I was three.”
Olly and Tori laughed; even Fox couldn’t help smirking. Charlie’s frown melted away. “Well, the tickets are non-refundable. I’m sure we will have a great time, even if you’re too cool for school now that you're six, kiddo.”
“Yeah, well I’ve already agreed, haven’t I?” Fox sassed.
Their piblings and father burst into laughter, Fox rolled their eyes and left them to it.
Fox, Olly’s one and only child, the only kid in the family at this point in time, came into the world resembling their aunty Tori far more than their father or their blonde-haired sunshine mother. Rejecting their assigned gender at birth at the age of four, developing a dry sense of humour (and apparently too old for children’s bands), Fox was possibly the coolest kid Charlie had ever come across. Of course, he was slightly biased, being the kid’s uncle and all. But truth be told, Charlie was a tad scared of the child as well.
There had been a time when Charlie’s world had revolved around Fox. When they were still a tiny baby and their parents were having a hard time, Charlie would come help out. Olly’s partner, Melody, had suffered from postpartum depression, and Charlie could see his little brother was not coping too well either, so he took leave from work and moved in with them for a few weeks.
Charlie was proud of his nibling. A child that had always just been themself, never painted on a smile to please others, never afraid to speak their mind. And as their name might suggest, they were as clever and cunning as can be.
Charlie’s intentions with the concert tickets may have been an attempt to reclaim the fun times he’d had with his nibling when they were a goofy little toddler, dancing around the living room to the catchy children’s songs. But Charlie might have been ever so slightly influenced by a particular member of the Glitter Bugs as well.
…
Nick Nelson was over this shit. Perhaps he was getting too old for it. Perhaps he was getting too old for a lot of things. He sighed and closed the dating app, deciding to call his mother instead.
“Hey Nicky, how’s it doing?” Her gentle canter already put him at ease.
“Hi Mum, I was just feeling a bit down.”
“Yeah? Everything okay? They’re not working you too hard on the road, are they? It’s a lot of shows in a short period.”
“No, I mean yeah it’s a lot, but I’m used to it, and I’m looking forward to my break at the end of the tour. But I-I guess I’m just kinda lonely, you know?”
“Oh, baby, I’m sorry. Did you want me to come out and meet you? What city are you in at the moment?”
“No, no, it’s really okay. I probably wouldn’t have time to see you anyway. We will have plenty of time to catch up in a couple of weeks. I don’t mean lonely as in on the road, I have lots of friends here in the production, and the rest of the band are great. What I mean is…”
“Oh, you mean your love life?” Nick could practically see the knowing expression on his mother’s face.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Oh Nicky, it’s okay. I’m sure the right woman will come along when you least expect it. You’ll see.”
Nick sighed. He hoped his mother was right, but something about the way she phrased it didn’t sit right, and Nick wasn’t sure why.
…
Bright lights, far too cheerful music, clutching an adult-sized lemonade, Fox eyed their far too enthusiastic uncle suspiciously. Sure, Fox was too old for this, but they conceded that the music was pretty catchy, and yeah, they did have good memories of dancing around the living room with their parents and uncle to the silly songs about wearing odd socks or learning the colours of the rainbow or whatever other silly baby stuff the Glitter Bugs sang about.
But something about the look in Charlie’s eye made — the far too perceptive for their age — Fox curious. And when their eyes traced their Uncle’s line of sight, they saw it.
“OH MY GOD!”
“Yeah, this song is great, isn’t it?”
“Sure…”
“What?”
“Now I know why you wanted to come.”
“Sorry?”
“Him!” Fox pointed.
Charlie’s face told Fox everything he needed to know before he even spoke.
“I-I, what do you mean? I mean yeah, sure, I just think he’s a really good role model for kids, especially little boys…”
Fox crossed their arms and scowled.
“No-no I mean…” Charlie stammered. “I mean, I wish I had that sort of role model as a kid. You know, he defies toxic masculinity, is all, like he’s this big buff manly…” Fox was sure Charlie was starting to drool, “...but he’s covered in purple polkadots and glitter and singing about flowers and rainbows while dancing like a ballerina… just saying.”
Fox couldn’t help smirking.
Charlie rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah… he’s straight though. I mean, even if he wasn’t, it’s not like I’d have a…”
Just then, the band started moving into the crowd as they sang a song about loving their fans. And Nick, in all his purple-y glory, was walking right towards them.
Fox made a split-second decision to swallow down their pride and do something that would inevitably (though they couldn’t possibly know this at the time) change their uncle's life forever.
“Nick! Nick! Oh my god! I LOVE YOU!” They squealed at the top of their lungs. Nick’s eyes met Fox’s, and he smiled kindly before his eyes travelled to who was sitting beside Fox and…
He blushed.
He stopped singing, just for a second, his smile shifting from friendly to something more coy. Nick moved towards them, his eyes not leaving Charlie’s. Fox looked from the entertainers awestruck face to their uncle’s mesmerised one.
Once he was standing right before them, it was as if the spell broke. Nick’s eyes left Charlie’s and focused on Fox. “Hello there, little man, what’s your name?” Nick said away from the microphone.
Fox didn’t speak — just glaired.
“They aren’t a boy,” Charlie said matter-of-factly.
“OH sh- I mean so so sorry, erm kiddo. I, gosh. I shouldn’t have assumed.”
Fox rolled their eyes, “It’s okay. Everyone does it.”
Nick frowned. “No, it’s not okay. Listen, um… we usually do a meet and greet with fans who bought premium tickets, did you and your Dad want…”
“He’s not my Dad, he’s my uncle! And he’s single! And gay!” Fox burst.
“Oh!” Nick’s face turned crimson. “I am making all sorts of assumptions I shouldn’t be.”
“We’d love to come to the meet and greet. Thanks, we’re really big fans,” Fox responded slyly.
Nick didn’t get a chance to respond before the music changed, and he was being summoned back to the stage with the rest of the band.
…
Penny and George think their older cousin, Fox, is the coolest. Sure, they always seem kinda aloof and unapproachable, but they always make time for their little cousins.
“Kids, stop annoying your cousin, they’re studying for exams!” Nick calls.
“Nah, it’s alright. I need a break anyway,” Fox sighs before smiling at their wide eyed little cousins. “How about you go get me a lemonade, and then I’ll tell you the story of how your parents met.”