Chapters: 16/16
Fandom: Dead Boy Detectives (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne/Charles Rowland
“Ah, there’s the man who continues to knock me off my feet,” Charles jokes as he straightens up, draping one arm over Edwin’s shoulder like a swooning maiden, and remembering with fondness their first meeting in a hallway at the ballet school seven years. God, if he had known back then what they would become…
Edwin’s eye roll at his corny comment is massive, but he’s smiling that charming, lopsided smile of his that says he’s pleased with Charles’s flirting. “Hello there, my gorgeous, dark-eyed crush with the dangly earring,” he says sweetly, and now Charles really does feel like swooning. Before he can say anything even cornier, Edwin cups his cheek and guides him into a kiss. It’s soft and tender, just a warm press of lips, but Charles is all but melting, sighing when Edwin gently coaxes his lips open to deepen it.
He’s harshly pulled from the moment by Clementine’s exasperated voice ringing out behind him. “Oi,” she calls, “doesn’t that get old at some point?”
Edwin, who had briefly pulled back to utter a haughty, “No,” is pressing their mouths back together, while skillfully keeping a grip on Charles’s hand so he can’t flip his sister the finger like he intended.
“Blergh,” Clementine moans, frustration and contempt in her voice, “you two are so disgusting. Can’t you get bored of each other, like normal people?”
Against his lips, Charles feels the curve of Edwin’s smile, and with a last press of his lips, Edwin pulls back. “I’ll never get bored of your brother, you should know that by now,” he says arrogantly, chiding her as if she’s a bad student who hasn’t understood the lesson yet.
With a shit-eating grin Charles turns to face his sister, delighted when he finds her scowling, her dark eyebrows furrowed and her hair tousled wildly. She’s standing in the hallway in leggings and scuffed boots and with an oversized jumper hanging off one shoulder, looking less like the elegant ballerina she is and more like a little brat. She’s slipped in her septum piercing again, the one she’s got so much flack for from both her teachers and Mum. He can’t believe she’s heading to Hamburg at the end of the summer, where she’s joining John Neumeier’s ballet company. Edwin had danced the role of Puck in a visually stunning Neumeier ballet in Paris, and it’s been one of Charles’s favourite parts of his so far. Edwin’s Puck had been impish and athletic, prancing around the stage in a leotard, showing surprising comedic talent.
“Why did I even ask?” Clementine mutters and rolls her eyes in a way that rivals Edwin, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Do you still need help with the flowers, dearest brother-in-law?” Her words are said in jest, but there’s fondness in her tone.
“Not married,” Charles reminds her dryly, but Edwin just says, “Yet,” and smirks when Charles barks out a surprised laugh.
“But yes, Sprout, I’d appreciate your help with the flowers,” Edwin says almost gently, and Clementine’s mouth curls into a smile at the familiar nickname.
“Bloody hell, how many people did you enlist for flower carrying duty?” Charles snorts, arching an eyebrow at his boyfriend with a fake-pout. “I thought I was special.”
“Just the best people, of course, for the most difficult job,” Edwin grins, and steps aside to push the door to his dressing room open with a somewhat sheepish grin, which is understandable when the inside of his dressing room is revealed.
*-*
Charles has an epiphany during his sister’s end of term performance, falling head over heels for ballet dancer Edwin.
