Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

(graphic by Artemis Adore)

The following day, Edwin was practically buzzing to get over to Charles, Crystal and Niko's place. There was no way that he would be able to keep his first date to himself for any real length of time. He usually didn't like sharing too much about his private life, but he couldn't deny that he was excited to share everything with Niko when he got there.

He had texted Thomas the moment he had gotten back to his flat the night before and they had texted back and forth for several hours before Edwin could no longer keep his eyes open and had fallen asleep. He could very safely say that he had never felt this way before. Perhaps he should have been scared by that, but he wasn't, he was excited by it. A marvel. He had even texted him good morning when he had woken up, and had gotten an almost instant reply.

When he arrived at his friends' shared flat, they quickly buzzed him up and it only took a few minutes to get to their place. The door was, of course, immediately opened before he even had the opportunity to knock.

“Well hello to you as well.” He stifled a chuckle when he was greeted with Niko's overexcited expression.

“Edwin, you have to tell us everything!” she said, practically vibrating where she stood. “Charles and Crystal are getting the snacks, but we can talk on the sofa!”

“Tell us everything about what?” Crystal asked, poking her head around the corner from the kitchen.

“His first date yesterday, silly!” Niko exclaimed, turning to Crystal.

Edwin stepped inside and closed the door behind him, endeared as always by his friend's bright personality. He quickly removed his shoes and made his way into the living room with the girls.

“Oh shit, that's right.” Crystal smirked at him as they all sat. “So~ How did it go?” he had been expecting the teasing, but he didn't mind it as much as he expected. “Did he sweep you off your feet? Was it magical ?”

“It was very nice,” Edwin replied, smiling as he recalled it. “We went to several book stores and each picked a book for the other to read, and then we went for ice cream.”

“Oh my goodness! That's so cute!” Niko all but squealed. “Did you kiss?”

Edwin felt himself blushing and already knew that neither Niko nor Crystal would be letting him live it down.

“Holy shit, you actually did it! Come on, spill the details! Was it good?” Crystal teased him, lowering her voice into a suggestive tone at the end.

“It… was perfect.” Edwin felt shy all of a sudden. “I walked him back to his flat and he kissed me goodbye.”

“Kissed you on the first date, did he?” Charles entered the room with a platter of snacks and placed it down on the coffee table before perching on the arm of the sofa, next to Crystal. “The bloke can't keep his hands to himself.”

“I'll have you know, it was perfectly chaste. He asked me beforehand and I said yes. I wouldn't change a single thing about the day; it was lovely.” Edwin could feel himself blushing again and quickly realised that he may have to get used to it as things continued with Thomas.

“Charles, you kissed me on the first date.” Crystal pointed out, giving Charles an odd look.

“Yeah, well, that's different, innit?” Charles didn't seem to see a single flaw in his line of thinking. “I'm not… like that. ” he certainly seemed to think that he was elaborating.

“Like what?” Edwin asked, and the three of them waited.

“You know, like that .” He repeated, looking between them all a little helplessly as they gave him blank expressions. “Like, he's got a bad reputation, doesn't he? He's always sleeping around with anything that moves, hooking up at parties, making out with random people… he's just not the kind of guy you date .”

“Clearly he is or I wouldn't be dating him.” Edwin arched an eyebrow. “Besides, I really think that as long as I am the only person that he is dating currently, there is no need for me to hold his past against him.”

“He was single all those times though!” Niko pitched in, wanting to help Edwin to defend his new romantic interest. “from what I've seen.”

“That's true.” Crystal nodded. “Who cares if he had sex with a hundred people or whatever, as long as he's serious about Edwin.” she shrugged.

Charles held his hands up in surrender. “I was just looking out for you, that's all, mate.” he directed at Edwin.

“Really Charles, I do appreciate it, but there is no need in this instance.” Edwin replied with a sigh. He loved his best friend, but he could be a little overprotective sometimes. “We have only been on one date, and it went exceedingly well. I like him and I enjoy his company, therefore, I shall be opting to continue seeing him.”

“I know you can handle yourself, mate, but… just promise you'll tell us if something happens, yeah?” Charles asked, looking imploringly at Edwin. If he couldn't convince Edwin to do what he considered to be the right thing and dump Thomas, then he could at least be the first one to offer up his bat when things inevitably went down the toilet.

“ If something happens, which I am certain it will not, then I will not keep it from any of you.” Edwin confirmed, though he didn't bother to hide his exasperation.

“Alright! Now that's covered, we should get our movies sorted out for the marathon!” Niko clapped her hands together and then bounced over to the TV to sift through their options.

Edwin was thankful for the diversion.

-----

It did not take long for Thomas to get in touch with Edwin about organising their second date. In fact, it only took him two days. It was a rather spontaneous turn of events, Thomas having simply texted him to ask if he was currently busy before springing the idea on him.

You busy?

- Thomas

Not particularly… why?

-Edwin

Wanna go skating?

-Thomas

Skating? On the ice? I'll be honest, I hadn't even realised that there was a rink in the area.

-Edwin

I just found one on google and now I really wanna go with you.

- Thomas

…

Well, I suppose that it could be fun.

-Edwin

I'll pick you up in ten and text you when I'm outside. Wear something cute ;)

-Thomas

Please know that I am rolling my eyes.

See you soon

- Edwin

Edwin plugged his phone in to charge and went over to his wardrobe. He was certainly tempted to just wear what he had on already, but Thomas' request had him throwing on a dark blue knit faux-neck jumper, dark jeans and his usual pair of lace-up boots (there was no point in wearing nice shoes when he would spend the majority of the time in rented skates).

Those ten minutes passed by quicker than expected and soon enough Thomas was texting him that he was outside. Edwin grabbed his wallet, keys and phone, and if he happened to check himself out one last time before he left, then that was between him and the mirror on the back of his wardrobe door.

When he got outside, he was greeted with Thomas waiting right outside of the entrance. He was wearing a pair of light-wash jeans and a pale grey hoodie, and a well-looked-after pair of trainers. It was significantly dressed down in comparison to what he usually wore around their campus, but it suited him (as Edwin imagined that pretty much anything would suit him). He was leaning against the door of a dark teal Fiat 500 with a white interior. It was a typical first car for a lot of people their age, but something about Thomas King, specifically being the one to drive one, was kind of novel.

“Don't you dare laugh, this is my first car and I bought it with my own money.” Thomas said, presumably having read Edwin's expression.

“I am not laughing. It may be a more typical choice than I had expected of you, but it is perfectly acceptable.” Edwin defended himself, primly.

“That is the most British way you could have possibly said that.” Thomas could scarcely hold back his smile as he circled around to the driver's seat and opened the door. “Come on, let's go!”

Edwin huffed with a smile of his own and got in. Thomas started up the engine and with belts buckled, they headed for the ice rink.

-----

Upon their arrival, that car park was mostly empty, save for a few cars dotted around and a stray bicycle or two. It was mid-afternoon and the middle of the week, likely meaning that the majority of families that may have otherwise been there were at work and their kids were in school. The perfect time for an ice skating date.

When they headed inside, Thomas managed to pay for the rental skates before Edwin had the chance and simply grinned as he took them from the till assistant who handed them over the counter.

“What?” he asked. “Don't look at me like that. I was the one who asked you out, so I'm the one who's paying.” he reasoned.

“While I do respect that method, I personally prefer to pay my own way where I can.” Edwin replied, taking his own pair of skates from Thomas.

“Fine, fine, then you better ask me out for the next one and then you can pay if you want.” Thomas had not stopped smiling the whole time and Edwin was almost tempted to warn him of that, should the wind change direction, his face would be stuck like that forever.

Instead, they just headed over to the entrance to the rink where there were benches lining the outside and exchanged their boots for the skates. Thomas found himself staring as Edwin did up the laces of the skates tightly, methodically, as though he had definitely done so before. Thomas looked down at his own skates, half done-up and did his best to copy the way that Edwin had done it.

“You'll find it harder if they're not tight enough.” Edwin said.

“What?” Thomas looked up from his task only to find that Edwin was done and was watching him.

“Here,” Edwin shuffled towards Thomas on the bench. “Let me.”

Without another word, he took over the job, loosening the laces at the bottom and tightening them up where they needed to be. Thomas watched silently as Edwin tied his laces for him and then looked at him as though he hadn't just been doing something straight out of a rom-com.

“Thanks.” Thomas said in a small voice, feeling the tell-tale heat in his cheeks that meant that he was blushing.

“You are most welcome.” Edwin stood and offered Thomas his hand.

Thomas took it and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, wobbling a bit as he attempted to walk across the textured floor to the entrance of the rink. One step at a time. He wondered to himself why he was starting to feel so nervous when he had been the one to invite Edwin out on this spontaneous date.

Edwin smiled at him reassuringly as they stepped out onto the ice and he even let out a little chuckle when Thomas immediately flailed and clung onto the side barrier. His unfairly charming date glared at him with betrayal as he skated around a bit – without leaving their bubble of personal space – and then settled back in front of Thomas with a smug expression.

“You know how to skate!” Thomas exclaimed in an accusatory tone.

“I never claimed anything to the contrary.” Edwin shrugged with a playful little smirk. So he was showing off a little, so what? It was nice to be able to just be good at something unexpected and not have the other person get weird about it.

“This sucks!” Thomas lamented.

“Why does it suck?” Edwin was trying not to find his dramatics too amusing, but was failing rather spectacularly.

“Because!” Thomas started, letting go of the barrier in order to gesticulate before sorely regretting it as he flailed again and was forced to grab a hold of the barrier once more. “You're gliding around like a swan and I'm gracelessly wobbling about like a baby deer.” he complained, just as soon as he had righted himself.

“Why on earth did you suggest skating if you didn't know how?” Edwin was fully smiling at that point and even snickering under his breath.

“I don't know! I just thought it would be fun!” Thomas replied, though he was starting to laugh through his protestations.

“Take my hands.” Edwin said, keeping himself steady as he held both of his arms out in front of him.

Thomas seemed dubious about it for a moment, as though maybe he expected Edwin to drop him on purpose the moment that he let go of the barrier, but then he looked at him a second longer and his expression changed to resolution. He took a breath and let go, propelling himself forwards slightly and fumbling before grabbing a hold of Edwin's arms. The impact of them colliding sent Edwin backwards, though he didn't fall, even as they spun a couple of times on the ice.

Thomas had his eyes screwed shut the entire time and Edwin couldn't help but find it entirely charming. He watched as they slowly stopped spinning and moving back and Thomas slowly opened his eyes, still clutching on to Edwin for dear life. And then he started laughing, well more like giggling.

“You didn't let go!” He said, through mounting giggles.

“Of course I didn't!” Edwin responded indignantly. “Why would I ever let go?”

“I thought for sure I'd end up on my ass.” Thomas looked up at Edwin, drawing himself closer as he did so and in that exact moment, Edwin was struck.

Thomas really was beautiful when he was laughing. It was that genuine look of joy, of mirth, the way the laughter made his eyes shine. Even if everything else in the day had been horrible up that point, this moment would have made it all worth it. Edwin wasn't usually someone who was spontaneous with his plans. He liked to be prepared and to know what to expect, even if it was also true that he was good at thinking of things on the fly, but he was so incredibly glad that he had gone outside of his comfort zone and said yes to Thomas' invitation.

Without over-thinking it, he leaned down and pressed a soft, fleeting kiss to Thomas' lips. Thomas blinked up at him in surprise, and the only regret that Edwin felt in that moment was that it had caused him to stop laughing.

“What was that for?” Thomas asked quietly.

Edwin decided to be honest. “You are extremely beautiful when you laugh.”

In response, Thomas considered him for any sign that he might have been untruthful, but when he found only sincerity, he moved one hand up to bring Edwin back in so that he could kiss him again. Edwin used his free arm to wrap around Thomas' waist, so that neither of them would lose their balance.

When they eventually pulled back, Edwin took a steadying breath, fully taking in the way that he felt, letting it wash through him and settle into his heart. Then, he took Thomas' hands properly in his own, linking their fingers together and started skating backwards again, guiding Thomas along with him.

There was a brief moment where Thomas looked like he thought he would fall, but with Edwin's steady hands leading him, he quickly found his footing. Before long, he was skating rather comfortably around the rink, with Edwin at his side rather than skating backwards ahead of him (though at no point did either of them choose to let go of the other's hand).

“I'm really glad that I asked you out today.” Thomas said, several hours later as they were leaving the rink.

Edwin, who had just held the door open for him on their way out, smiled and said; “I am really glad that I said yes.”

The drive back to Edwin's flat was spent listening to one of Thomas' many curated playlists as he sang along to them slightly out of key. It was so endearing that it might have been the only time that Edwin could say with his whole chest that he had enjoyed pop music. He had simply watched Thomas as he drove and committed the journey to memory. As far as second dates went, this one was pretty perfect.

Once again, he felt reluctant to let the date end, felt the need to try and prolong it for as long as he could. But, alas, the drive back to the flat was fairly short and it would likely be impractical for him to invite Thomas upstairs given that they both had university to worry about the following morning. It wasn't all that late, granted, but he knew that if he spent any more time alone with Thomas then he would be able to focus on nothing else for the rest of the evening.

He would be lucky if his mind wasn't already completely preoccupied when he got inside.

So, he simply leaned over the centre console of the car and kissed Thomas on the cheek. “You're such a tease~” Thomas had murmured to him, just as he had pulled back and climbed out to walk back up to the front entrance.

Edwin watched as Thomas blew him a kiss and winked in a most exaggerated manner before finally pulling away.

Edwin sighed happily and went back up to his flat.

-----

The next week saw them both frustratingly busy with university work. It was getting closer and closer to the time when they would have to think about submitting their dissertations and wrapping up their final major projects. Summer was right on the horizon.

However, that didn't mean that they hadn't made the time to meet up. They had taken to sharing their lunch breaks whenever they could, 'cute little lunch dates', Niko had called them when Edwin had told her about them.

That day, a Thursday, was one of the times when Niko was able to take her lunch break at the same time as well, and she had all but begged for Edwin to finally introduce her to his new boyfriend. Edwin had blushed a brilliant shade of red when she had referred to them as such. He hadn't thought about it, but he supposed that that was exactly what they were. It was nice, having someone that he could call a boyfriend, and he was glad that that person was Thomas.

Niko had met him outside of his class with a gleeful look on her face. She was wearing all pink – one of her many meticulously planned outfits – and that surely meant that she was in the mood for a little romance (read: happily accompanying Edwin as he met up with his boyfriend). He was actually very much looking forward to the two of them meeting officially for the first time.

Sure, they had seen each other in passing at house parties and while clubbing, but this would be their first introduction with the context of their respective relationships to Edwin. It was sort of exciting. His dear friend and the person that he was now seeing romantically. If he had a certain pep in his step on the way down to the cafeteria, then Niko definitely noticed, though she opted not to say anything, just smiled at him knowingly.

When they walked in, Thomas had already grabbed them a table by the window. They all tended to bring their own lunch, though Edwin had stopped – as he did nearly every lunch break – to order himself an Earl Grey tea from the counter before walking over. Thomas had waved enthusiastically as they approached and the moment that Edwin had placed his takeaway cup safely on the table, Thomas had leant up and kissed him on the cheek before sinking back down in his seat with a cheeky grin.

Niko did a little squeal and sat down next to Edwin at the end of the table. “You guys are so cute!” she exclaimed.

“Thomas, this is one of my closest friends, Niko. Niko, this is Thomas… my boyfriend.” it was as the words left his mouth that he abruptly realised that they had never talked about labels. They had never actually made it official during any of the times that they had met up, but Edwin had just assumed.

His eyes darted to Thomas in a mild panic and saw that his whole face was blushing from the tips of his ears, all the way down his neck. But most importantly, he was smiling, biting his lower lip in a way that was unfairly tantalising.

“Nice to meet you, Niko.” Thomas said, unable to keep the grin off of his face.

“So~ what's it like being Edwin's boyfriend?” she asked, leaning her elbows on the table and her chin against the top of her folded hands.

“Being Edwin's boyfriend , is pretty fucking great, thanks.” Thomas was still grinning, his tone dripping with how pleased he was at this little development.

Edwin took a sip of his tea to hide the blush that he was sure that he was also sporting at this point. He could not believe that he had just done that, but he was hugely relieved that it had gone over well. Thomas was his boyfriend, officially. He took another sip of his tea, this time to hide his smile.

“Edwin told me all about how you guys met!” Niko said excitedly, “It was so romantic, like something straight out of a rom-com!”

“No kidding!” Thomas agreed, causing Edwin's cheeks to warm even more than they already had. “I really feel like I've been living in a rom-com. Always knew I was a main character.” he added the last part in jest.

Niko giggled, “You guys should give it a year and then totally pitch your relationship to Netflix or something.”

“No way,” Thomas laughed. “If we did that, it'd never get a second season and I'd like it to last a little longer than that.”

“More than a little, I'd hope.” Edwin said, placing his cup back down on the table.

Thomas just looked at him fondly for a prolonged moment.

“So cute!” Niko half-whispered before ducking to the side and pulling out a meticulously prepared bento from her backpack. It was in a three-tiered box, the top filled with egg rolls, and three small onigiri, the second containing mixed vegetables and some little sausages in a separate compartment that had been cut to look like little octopi, and the third contained a small selection of mochi. She pulled them apart neatly and brandished her Hello Kitty chopsticks with a click, click .

“Alright, leave us to our peasant lunches.” Thomas chuckled, impressed, as he presented a regular chicken salad sub, a packet of tropical skittles and a capri-sun.

“Speak for yourself.” Edwin said, taking out another well-prepared lunch, this time of two kinds of miniature sandwiches that were cut neatly into perfect triangles, a selection of chopped veggies and a little pot of strawberries and apple slices.

Thomas looked between them, forlorn. “You guys are gonna live so much longer than me...Edwin, give me a strawberry?” he asked the question in a fake cutesy voice that made Edwin proud of himself for not cringing.

“No.” he replied.

“Pretty please? I'll let you have a sip of my capri-sun~” Thomas tried again, batting his lashes.

“...give me all your pineapple skittles.” Edwin countered.

“ All of them?” Thomas looked at him aghast, but as silence stretched between them, he eventually relented. “Alright, I'll give them to you, but you have to feed me the strawberry.”

Edwin sighed and rolled his eyes, but he took out a strawberry from the pot and held it out across the table, the back of it caught between his thumb and forefinger. Thomas looked like the cat that got the cream as he leaned over and took it in his mouth, making a show of quickly licking Edwin's fingers as he did so.

At Edwin's shocked gasp, Thomas sat back in his seat and gleefully savoured his strawberry while his boyfriend wiped his hand with a napkin and rummaged around in his bag for hand sanitizer.

“Well I never...” Edwin muttered, causing Thomas' grin to widen.

When Edwin was done, he was met with Thomas' outstretched palm, containing six pineapple skittles. Edwin took them with a grumble, the terms of their barter having been fulfilled.

They chatted and joked around together as they ate their lunch and Edwin felt an immense happiness at the sight of his boyfriend and one of his best friends getting along so swimmingly. It was almost like they had been friends for years, the way they instantly got along and it filled him with hope that it would go even half as well with Crystal and Charles later down the line.

He was excited by the prospect of them getting to know Thomas and the prospect of Thomas becoming a permanent part of their group. Things were still relatively new, of course, but Edwin didn't do things half-heartedly, least of all relationships and especially not this one.

“Oh, Thomas, you must make yourself free this coming Saturday.” Edwin said, just as they were finishing up. They only had a few more minutes left of their respective lunch breaks.

“I must make myself free? Oh~ What for? Is it sexy ?” Thomas drawled in a way that was blatantly exaggerated, but caused Edwin's stomach to flip nonetheless.

“That depends,” he replied, “How sexy do you find the Natural History Museum?”

 “Are you kidding? That's like the third sexiest place I've ever been.” Thomas joked, very much enjoying the way that Edwin affectionately rolled his eyes.

“Excellent.” He replied. “I will meet you outside of your flat at eleven AM if that is amenable to you?”

“Can't wait.” Thomas smiled sweetly, “You can tell me all about your favourite bits and then we can spend way too much time in the dinosaur section looking at bones.”

“That is the best part, after all.” Edwin smiled back.

“You guys are seriously so cute!” Niko commented, causing both of them to remember her presence. She had been watching them make their plans with a sappy, highly entertained expression.

“Maybe next time we can all go together.” Edwin suggested.

“I'd say I don't wanna be a third wheel, but that would be a lie! You guys are like, living a total rom-com plot right now and I would so love to be a fly on the wall.” she said with a giggle.

“It'd be fun. First one's a date, second one's a group outing.” Thomas agreed, “Besides, you need more than a day to see the entire Natural History Museum.”

“Right you are, Thomas.” Edwin nodded “Perhaps with a group, we will be more inclined to look beyond the Mesozoic era.”

“No guarantees.” Niko grinned. “I gotta get myself one of those little stone diplodocuses from the gift shop.”

Before they could talk much longer, it was time for them to go their separate ways. The lunch period always seemed to go so much faster when Edwin spent it with Thomas, and faster still when Niko was there too. He supposed the old adage was true; time really did fly when you were having fun.