Chapter Text
The holiday season had finally come to an end. It had been complete with all the usual trimmings – a single curt text message from Stephane, a little boy overstimulated and high on too much sugar, watching Sarah hover by the door in case David bothered to make an appearance, and then spending all night holding her together when he didn’t.
Nick felt like he could finally draw a full breath for the first time in what felt like a month. He’d put the Christmas tree away at the first feasible opportunity – in the wee hours of the morning on January 1st – somewhere between cuddling Finn to sleep as he trembled in fear from the fireworks and convincing a slightly drunk and weeping Sarah over the phone that she didn’t fail as a mother.
It wasn’t that Nick hated the Christmas season by any means – it was just always exhausting holding everything together when all he wanted to do was eat some pie and watch his son open gifts. Instead, he was reminded over and over again of all the missing pieces in his life. He was more than ready to move on and embrace what the new year had to offer.
It was now a week into January. The café’s menu had been refreshed, and Nick was ready to get back to business as usual.
The day had been slow. The sky was gray and misty, in true January fashion, and the air outside was cold enough to make your joints creak. It was nearing closing time; the sun was sinking lower in the sky and the last of the customers were taking their drinks to go. Nick’s newest member of his two-person staff, Michael, was busy packing up a box of leftover pastries to be picked up by the director of the homeless shelter on the other side of town.
Nick liked Michael. He was bouncy and friendly and a little clumsy at times. He had exactly zero experience working in the food service industry prior to Nick hiring him, but Nick didn’t let that deter him. Michael caught on quickly – learning how to operate the coffee and tea machines, navigating turbulent customer interactions, and even coming up with ideas for new recipes.
The familiar jingle of the front door and a rush of cold air announced the arrival of another customer. Nick looked up from where he’d been wiping the counters to see the same straight black hair and piercing blue eyes that he saw every day when Michael’s partner arrived to pick him up from work. He was just about to greet Tori when two little hands – complete with chipped red nail polish and a bandage around one pointer finger – slapped the counter in front of him, making him jump slightly.
“Mister, do you have chocolate cake?” Nick peered over the edge of the counter and met the gaze of a little girl with honey brown curls that had probably started the day in two braids and a pair of eager gray-blue eyes. Her cheeks and nose were flushed red from the cold, and her coat buttons were fastened crooked, like she’d refused help from a grown-up.
“Manners, Eleanor,” Tori directed.
“Sorry,” the child grumbled with an eyeroll that made Nick stifle a laugh. To Nick, she asked, only a little more politely, “Can I please have some chocolate cake?”
Nick chuckled warmly, always happy to entertain the chaos of a small child. “I’m afraid you’ve caught us a little late in the day for chocolate cake, but I think we have some double chocolate muffins left.” Nick raised an eyebrow to Tori, silently confirming that it was okay to offer the little girl a sweet treat. Tori nodded and reached for her handbag. “Don’t worry about it, Tori. On the house.” Nick turned around to grab a muffin from the box behind him and wrap it in a napkin.
“Nick, you have to let me pay you for something at some point,” Tori sighed.
“It was literally about to be donated. I’m not making you pay.” Nick reached down to hand the muffin to the little hands grabbing in its direction.
“Thanks, Mister!” The girl squealed happily.
“My pleasure,” Nick replied. “Let me go grab Michael and let him know you’re here.” Nick walked back to the kitchen where Michael was finishing up and announced, “Michael, your family is here!”
“Family?” Michael questioned with a cartoonish tilt of his head. “I mean, I do consider Victoria my family, but you probably shouldn’t say something so sentimental in front of her if you value your face.” Nick would never not be afraid of Michael’s partner. What she lacked in stature, she more than made up for in wit and sharp stares. Nick wasn’t fully convinced she didn’t have some kind of dark magic.
“Well, yes, Tori is here, but she’s got company. Eleanor, I think?” Nick explained with a questioning tone. “You never mentioned having a kid.” Michael barked out a surprised laugh at Nick’s assumption.
“Oh, Lennie’s not ours,” he clarified. “She’s our niece. Her dad is Victoria’s brother. They just moved to town and have been staying with us while they look for a place to live. I forgot Charlie started his new job today.”
Nick immediately thought of the vacant apartment upstairs that he needed to rent out. He knew he shouldn’t let it sit empty much longer, but he needed to find just the right tenants. He’d put his heart and soul into the renovations of the whole building. Plus, they would be living directly above him and Finn. He couldn’t just rent the unit to anyone.
Nick was pulled back to the present by the sound of the front door again. He looked at his watch and sighed. It was four minutes until closing. Michael brushed past him with the box of bread and Nick straightened his shoulders and followed.
“Daddy! That man gave me chocolate!” Was the first thing Nick heard as he exited the kitchen, followed immediately by a deep, but sweet-sounding giggle.
Following the beautiful sound, Nick locked eyes with quite possibly the most beautiful human he’d ever seen. Deep blue eyes he could get lost in, raven-black curls that shone brighter than the sun despite the dreary January weather, olive skin that held a slight tan regardless of the season, and twin dimples punctuating a mesmerizing smile.
“Nick, this is Charlie, Victoria’s brother,” said Michael, oblivious to the inner turmoil Nick was experiencing as he attempted to formulate a single thought that didn’t result in him verbalizing how attractive he found this man. “Charlie, this is my boss, Nick.”
Nick exhaled, his breath a little shaky. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Charlie replied, his beaming smile slipping into something softer as his eyes met Nick’s.
Michael continued, “I think you already met Charlie’s daughter, Lennie.”
“That’s me!” Shouted Lennie with a hand in the air, muffin crumbs tumbling down the front of her coat.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Lennie,” Nick said genuinely. “You too, Charlie.” If Nick wasn’t mistaken, he thought he could see the apples of Charlie’s cheeks turning ever so slightly pink.
“Nice to meet you too, Nick,” Charlie replied. The sound of his own name said in Charlie’s rich voice turned Nick’s insides molten. “Thanks for supplying my little goblin here with extra sugar.”
“Oh my god! I’m so sorry if I shouldn’t have. She asked for chocolate and I always have so many leftovers to donate and I was trying to be kind, but I can see how maybe I shouldn’t have –”
“Nick!” Charlie interrupted Nick’s anxious ramble with a laugh. “Please don’t apologize. It’s really okay. She’s feral regardless of what she eats.” Nick rubbed his hands on his jeans anxiously, wondering how he always managed to make himself look like the biggest bumbling idiot on the planet.
“Well, as fun as this is, I would like to leave now,” said Tori bluntly.
“Actually, I was hoping for a coffee if you’re still open?” Charlie said shyly in Nick’s direction.
“Of course! Take all the time you need.” Nick rushed to his place behind the register, pointedly ignoring the fact that he’d already cleaned the machines and the fact that it was now definitely past closing time.
Charlie stepped up to the counter and ordered a medium black coffee. As Nick nervously ground the beans like it was the first drink he’d ever made, he wracked his brain for any way to make conversation with this gorgeous man.
“So, Michael mentioned you just moved to town,” is what he settled with, hoping he didn’t sound as nervous as he felt.
“Uh, yeah,” Charlie answered awkwardly. “It was kind of last-minute, so we’re still working on getting settled somewhere.”
Before Nick could even consider the words his brain was forming, his mouth had already set them free. “Well, I actually have an apartment upstairs for rent if you’re interested.” He turned at that moment to hand off Charlie’s drink and met the man’s curious gaze.
“You mean you own the whole building?”
Nick nodded. “It was kind of an impulse decision, but I wanted to start the café, and the whole building was up for sale. The top two floors are both apartments, so my son and I moved into the second floor, and I’ve spent the last year renovating the top floor.”
“You have a son?” Charlie blurted, looking almost…disappointed?
“Yeah, Finn. He’s five.”
Charlie nodded in understanding. “Same age as Lennie,” he said with a crooked grin. “And does your – uhm – wife – or girlfriend – or whatever – work in the café as well?”
Nick felt his eyes widen. Why was Charlie asking about a wife? Unless… He stood a little straighter, angling his body so that his name tag – complete with a bi pride pin – was right in Charlie’s line of sight. “No wife, or girlfriend, or husband, or boyfriend,” he said confidently, hoping against all hope that he was reading this situation correctly.
Charlie’s eyes went comically wide and his face flushed red. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to assume!”
“No, no, don’t worry about it. Happens all the time.” Nick paused for a moment to breathe. “And…what about you? Does Lennie have another parent that would be living in the apartment?”
Charlie bit back a grin and shook his head, curls bouncing against his forehead. “No. No husband for me either.” At that moment, Tori cleared her throat loud enough to rattle the windows. “Duty calls,” Charlie joked with an eyeroll.
“Of course,” Nick replied. “Feel free to stop by to take a look at the apartment if you’re interested.” He was quite certain that he wouldn’t mind Charlie living above him. Maybe Finn and Lennie could be friends.
“Yeah, maybe I will. Nice to meet you, Nick.”
“You too, Charlie. Come back soon.”