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The first date jitters were hitting Lucas full force as he stood outside the Tripp house. He was giddy at the thought of them having their first date, and although the nervousness had rapidly overtaken, he was still excited for what Nick had in store for them.
Knocking on the door, he waited with bated breath for Nick to open it, and as soon as his eyes landed on Nick, he couldn't contain his grin. "Hey."
"Hey, yourself," Nick replied with a grin just as wide and a redness in his cheeks that he knew was because of him. "Do you, uh, wanna head inside?" He asked awkwardly, shifting out of the way to make room for Lucas.
Lucas's cheeks were starting to hurt as his grin remained in place. "Of course."
Once he went inside and Nick closed the door behind him, he noticed Nick glancing away. "So... first date."
"First date," Lucas confirmed with a nod. "What did you have in mind?"
"I was thinking we could go to the park?" Nick asked more than stated. "I-I mean, since the weather is good and all, I thought it would be the ideal time to go and spend some time with each other as a —" he cleared his throat "— you know, as a... couple. If you want to, that is. It doesn't have to be a date or anything if you're not ready for that just yet, we can go out some other time and —"
"Nick," Lucas spoke fondly, interrupting Nick's nervous rambling. "I'd love to go to the park with you for our first date. I already told you I was looking forward to our date when you first asked me out. Nothing's changed in the five minutes since you called me."
"Sorry," Nick apologised. "Still new to this stuff."
Lucas gave a reassuring smile. "Don't sweat it. I don't mind you needing to make sure, I don't want you not saying anything and end up worrying about it even more."
Nick grew visibly relieved, and smiled back. "Since you're still okay with going out with me," he began. "Do you want to head to the park now?"
"I'm ready whenever you are," Lucas confirmed.
"That's good," Nick replied before reaching out to hold his hand. "If you're ready, then let's go."
Although he was surprised by the sudden contact, holding Nick's hand felt really nice, and it wasn't something he was going to complain about. It was also good to know that Nick was getting used to this stuff and growing more comfortable with being affectionate, too, since he'd love nothing more than to continue doing these things with Nick.
Before they could leave, Lucas's eyes widened as he got an idea. "Wait, we forgot something."
Nick turned to him, confused. "What is it?"
Lucas immediately leaned in and kissed him for a few seconds. "Been wanting to do that again since yesterday. I can't get over the fact I'm able to do that now."
Nick was taken aback at first, before he gave a wide grin and repeated the gesture. "You better believe it, because there's a lot more where that came from."
Lucas's eyes widened innocently. "Maybe I need another reminder."
Nick chuckled before kissing him again. "There. You've been reminded enough. Time to go."
Lucas pouted. "You're no fun."
"Pouting isn't gonna make me kiss you again, you know," Nick teased without any sympathy.
Lucas shrugged. "It was worth a try."
A laughing Nick chose that moment to open the door, and the two of them headed out while still holding hands. Although Lucas was used to going to the park with Nick, they'd never went together while holding hands before, and he was practically skipping with excitement at what they were doing.
Arriving at their usual spot, they sat down on the grass with their joined hands resting in between them. With all the nature around them, Lucas felt right at home, and experiencing the beauty of nature with Nick by his side never got old.
It was an amazing choice for their first date, and just like Nick to come up with something like this.
"This is nice," Lucas spoke. "Going to the park was a great suggestion. I already love going to the park with you, but going here as our first date makes it even better."
Nick smiled at him. "I'm glad you think that. But there's actually a reason why I wanted us to go here today aside from it being something we're used to."
Lucas looked at him curiously. "What reason is that?"
"Well, apart from the romantic nature of seeing everything around us..." Nick began before his attention shifted to the sky above them. "Look," he said, pointing up to it.
Doing what Nick instructed, he looked up at the blue sky and the clouds that occupied the space. The clouds in the sky resembled a bunch of different shapes — he was sure he saw one that looked like a flower, another that looked like a rabbit, and one that made him smile because it looked like a heart and it made him think of Nick — and despite the extreme nervousness he still felt, the sight of the clouds as they gently moved across the sky made him feel a little calmer.
As he was mesmerised with the sight above him, Nick continued his explanation while his thumb slowly rubbed circles on Lucas's hand. "I thought we could go cloud watching because it's a pretty chill activity with no stress involved and we can just... be." A moment later, his expression became unsure. "Is this okay?"
"It's perfect for our first date," Lucas breathed, moving his gaze from the beautiful sky to a sight equally as beautiful. "You're really clever. I never really paid attention to the sky here until now. Way to change my perspective," he finished with a chuckle. Seeing Nick blushing with a shy smile because of his words, he found the sight irresistibly cute, and he found himself admitting something that had been on his mind since yesterday. "I still can't believe this is actually happening. I'm not used to actually being with you like this."
"You mentioned something like that before we left," Nick replied. "It feels great, doesn't it?"
Lucas blinked, and as he thought back on it, he let out another chuckle. "Oh yeah. I did, didn't I?"
"But I don't mind," Nick reassured. "It is a pretty unbelievable thing. It's understandable we're still wrapping our heads around it. I was thinking so much about it I could barely get to sleep last night."
"Dude, tell me about it!" Lucas exclaimed, feeling seen. "I struggled so much. I just kept on thinking about yesterday and smiling and I was too happy to fall asleep. I thought it was just me!"
Nick chuckled. "Nope, it wasn't just you. My mind kept on replaying everything over and over. In fact, that's how I got the idea to ask you out on a date today in the first place, and I called you today before I could chicken out at the last second."
"I'm proud of you," Lucas spoke. "I'm sure you were nervous, but you pushed through your nerves anyway. And your efforts paid off, because look at us now. We wouldn't be here if you didn't call me earlier."
"I was very nervous," Nick admitted. "But sometimes you just gotta push through them to get anywhere. If you don't, then what kinds of things will you miss out on because you didn't want to leave your comfort zone?"
Lucas grinned. "And it's that kind of attitude that made us finally talk about our feelings in the first place. How long has it been?"
Nick groaned. "Too long. Don't get me started on the amount of times I almost said something but didn't because of one reason or another. Yesterday was almost the same."
Lucas laughed. "If it makes you feel any better, I was the same. I figured one of us would say something eventually, and eventually happened to be yesterday."
"Yeah, it was bound to happen at some point," Nick agreed, before drawing his attention to the sky again.
Lucas did the same, and after looking at the sky again for a short time, he had a thought. "Hey, since stargazing is a thing when looking at the night sky, why isn't this called 'cloudgazing'? I mean, we're looking at clouds, so it makes sense to call it that. We don't call stargazing 'star watching' when looking at the stars, so naming them differently doesn't make any sense. It's pretty strange."
When he looked over at Nick to see his reaction to his observation, Nick was chuckling and looking at him with such undisguised fondness that it made his breath hitch. "Never change, Lucas," he said, voice equally as fond as his look. "Never change."
Lucas felt his face heat up, and he couldn't hold back his wide smile. "I'm really glad we talked about our feelings and that we don't have to hold anything back anymore," he replied fondly before glancing away shyly. "It's... nice, when you look at me like that."
"Not holding anything back is definitely a nice bonus," Nick agreed. "Now we can be as romantic with each other as we want."
Lucas gazed at Nick fondly. "And I definitely want to be romantic with you a lot. I can't get enough of it — of you."
The fond look was doing something to Nick, because he suddenly averted his gaze and laughed with his blush returning. "Why am I so nervous? It's just you. We've spent time alone before, so why...?" He trailed off, but Lucas understood what he meant.
After all, he was experiencing the exact same thing.
"I know, right?" Lucas laughed back. "It feels like there's a million butterflies in my stomach. I thought knowing you returned my feelings instead of suspecting them would make me less nervous, not more."
"At least we know we're both as nervous as each other and that we have zero idea what we're doing," Nick acknowledged. "We're in the same boat here."
"It's a new thing for both of us," Lucas agreed before his look turned serious. "But we shouldn't put too much pressure on ourselves to get everything right. We're still learning how to navigate all... this," he gestured vaguely between the two of them with his free hand, and he smiled when he remembered they were still holding hands. He'd gotten so used to it that he had completely forgotten about it, but now that he was aware of the sensation again, he squeezed Nick's hand just a little bit tighter.
If Nick noticed, he didn't say anything. "Communication will be even more important now," he added seriously. "Especially with Gorm still involved. We can't bring any relationship conflicts into it."
"We knew what we signed up for when we first agreed to be together yesterday," Lucas replied before a sudden thought made him worried. "Are you having second thoughts about us?"
Nick shook his head. "I'm not," he promised. "I love how our friendship has turned into something more. I wouldn't trade that for anything."
Lucas gave a relieved smile. "That's good, because I'm not having any second thoughts, either. We just need to get used to the idea of being together, and going on our first date should help with that."
"Since we're on the same page," Nick added. "That means dates will become a regular thing in the future since this is the first one."
Lucas grinned. "I'm happy with that arrangement. Where do I sign on the contract?"
Nick grinned back as he brought Lucas's hand onto his heart. "Right here."
It was so cheesy but so good, and he found his grin growing wider. Nick's heart was beating slightly quicker than normal, which was to be expected since Nick said he was nervous, but the relaxing atmosphere — even if it was also romantic — was doing its job at easing Nick's nerves, even if it was only slightly. His, too. He'd be even more nervous at something that wasn't cloud watching in the park, since something else would probably make him feel one trillion butterflies flying in his stomach instead of just one million.
"I wasn't lying when I said I was nervous," Nick spoke, saying exactly what Lucas was thinking. "But as nervous as I am now, I'd be way more nervous at something more high-stakes like going out for dinner to a restaurant or something."
"I wasn't lying, either," Lucas replied, returning the favour by bringing Nick's hand onto his heart. "See? We're both nervous wrecks." He brought their joined hands to rest in between them again. "And I one hundred percent agree with you on the restaurant thing. It feels too much just yet if that makes sense?"
"Being nervous just shows that we care," Nick reasoned. "And what you said makes total sense. A restaurant date feels like going from zero to one hundred, especially if we have to dress up for the occasion, whereas this feels more like a... twenty. More manageable, and a lot less intense despite what our nerves are currently telling us. First date jitters are a very real scientific phenomenon, after all, and it would be wise for us to minimise them as much as possible."
Lucas chuckled. "Tell me about it. It feels like the nerves are never gonna stop, there should be nothing else to be nervous about anymore so it doesn't make sense why they're still here. And about us caring about each other, I don't need nerves to figure that one out. We've already confessed our feelings, after all. It's kinda obvious we care about each other in a more-than-best-friends way."
"I don't know..." Nick teased. "You can be pretty oblivious. It wouldn't surprise me if I asked you on a date and you thought it was just two guy best friends hanging out if we hadn't confessed our feelings by that point."
Lucas chuckled again. "Come on, I'm not that oblivious."
Nick only raised a brow at him in response, and after some thinking Lucas decided that maybe Nick was right. After all, if they hadn't confessed their feelings yet, if Nick asked him to go cloud watching out of the blue, he had to admit that he would think that. But he'd also think there was something special about the hangout if he suspected Nick had feelings for him, so he confidently met Nick's gaze to explain himself.
"You're right that if we didn't confess our feelings I'd think going cloud watching would be just us hanging out as best friends," Lucas conceded before grinning. "However, if I suspected you felt the same, I'd notice there was something different about hanging out with you just like all the other times we hung out recently."
"To be honest, I'd probably think the same," Nick replied. "If you asked me to spend some time alone together and I suspected you had feelings for me, I'd also think there was more to it than just guy best friends hanging out, which I have been thinking the other recent times we've hung out one-on-one. But I'm glad this isn't just a regular hangout," he added. "The concept of dating is still terrifying, don't get me wrong, but it isn't as scary when I think of it as us spending time together like we usually do. It just has the added bonus of talking about our romantic feelings and doing something about them."
"It does help," Lucas agreed. "And it also helps that I'm doing these things with you. There's no one else I'd rather do these things with, because I wouldn't wanna do them with anyone other than you. It makes them feel more special."
Nick gave him a fond smile. "I feel the same."
A sudden gust of wind brought their attention back to the sky, where the once-peaceful clouds above them were forming the shape of a swirling vortex as the sky rapidly darkened, and the wind around them was only getting stronger with each second.
"You think it's —" Lucas gasped.
"Gorm? Absolutely," Nick replied seriously, trying to speak over the wind. "It looks too similar to those slip rifts to dismiss it. We should meet up with the others and check in with Razzle."
On cue, Nick's phone rang, and he answered the call. Lucas couldn't make out what was being said on the other line, but Nick was nodding. A few seconds later, he said "Yeah, I'll tell him," before putting his phone away. "That was Toby. It was a bit hard to hear him over the wind, but he apologised for interrupting us when we're on our date because Razzle just told him there's trouble in Gorm and we need to return right away. He's also about to phone Jess." He frowned. "It's a shame we couldn't finish our date, though. I know we have to rescue Gorm, but the timing of it could be a lot better."
Lucas smiled. "No biggie. When Gorm needs rescued, it needs rescued. We can always resume our date after."
Nick smiled back. "Couldn't have said it better myself. Whoever's causing this won't know what hit them after messing with our date!"
Giving determined nods, the two of them raced back to the Tripp house, ready to face whatever challenge came their way.
But one thing was certain.
Whatever the future had in store for them in both worlds, they would face it together. As best friends, and as something more.