Charlie Bone Oneshots

Music Practice (Gabriel/Fidelio)

Since I haven't run across any fanfiction for my favorite Charlie Bone pairing, Gabriel/Fidelio, I decided to write a oneshot. It takes place when Charlie and his friends (with the exception of Lysander and Tancred as they are a year ahead and thus older, and Billy who is four ish years younger) are all about 16 years old. Enjoy!

"Sorry!" Gabriel cried for the umpteenth time that hour as he once again played a collection of wrong notes. Fidelio was surprised, his friend normally commanded the ivory keys of his piano with a skill to rival the famous pianist, Albert Tunnici. Something kept breaking the boy's concentration.

"It's fine. Perhaps you need a drink of water?" Fidelio decided to put his devious plan into action. He ran to the kitchen to get a glass.

"Thanks Fido!" Gabriel called, thankful to be free of the distraction of his friend's face for a minute. He wasn't quite sure when he realized he had a colossal crush on the violinist, but he knew in his heart that his feelings would never be returned. 

Fidelio walked back into the room, and just as he extended his blue hoodie-encased arm to hand over the tall glass of water he "tripped", although Gabriel couldn't know it was on purpose, drenching the other boy's shirt. 

"Oh my gosh, sorry Gabe!" he apologized. His friend nodded in acceptance, scattering droplets of water from his mousy brown bangs onto the floor. "Do you need to borrow one of my shirts while I throw that one in the dryer? I promise I haven't been maimed in any of them so it won't hurt!"

"I guess." Gabriel shifted uncomfortably as he followed Fidelio upstairs to fetch a dry shirt. He was hesitant about wearing other people's clothes, even if only for a few minutes, because his endowment caused him to feel what the previous owner felt while wearing it.

He accepted a black t-shirt with a white decal of Mozart's face on the front and switched it for his own. Had he been able to see, he would've been confused by Fidelio's faint blush reaching from his chin to his brown hair. By the time he'd turned around, however, the slightly shorter boy's complexion had returned to normal.

Back downstairs Fidelio threw Gabriel's wet shirt into the clothes' dryer and set the timer for five minutes. The two boys waited by eating muffins Fidelio's mother set out for them when she herded the family out of the house for a day out so her son and his friend could practice their songs for the spring musical in peace. Suddenly, Gabriel choked on his muffin. He thought his endowment wasn't working properly when he'd first donned the shirt, but he realized the emotions he was currently experiencing were actually Fidelio's. He'd just assumed they were his own.

"You okay?" Fidelio asked, pounding his friend (and long time crush) on the back to clear his windpipe. Gabe wasn't supposed to be choking! His plan didn't seem to be working very well.

"Yeah, throat's a bit dry," Gabriel lied. The timer alerted them to the fact that his shirt was dry. He ran to the dryer and switched back into his own plain purple layered tee. This time Fidelio was unable to hide his blush in time, and his friend noticed.

"Hey Fido, your shirt had some funny emotions."

"Really?" Fidelio was really very close. Gabriel could see the flecks of gold in his brown eyes.

"Yeah. It almost seemed like you had a crush on me."

"What a silly idea," Fidelio said quietly, and then he was kissing him. Gabriel's soft grey eyes widened in confusion. Fido was kissing him! Then he realised what an opportunity this presented and followed Fidelio's lead by shutting his eyes. It was even better than he imagined. Fidelio's lips were soft but slightly chapped, and they tasted faintly of artificial mint flavoring due to the cheap chapstick he was always using. 

When Fidelio noticed that his kiss was being returned, he carefully wrapped his arms around Gabriel's waist to pull him closer. In response, the other boy hesitantly placed his arms around Fidelio's neck. It was a new sensation for both of them, the understanding that their crush felt the same way and was currently acting upon those feelings.

All too soon, they broke apart so they could breathe. Both boys were rather pink in the face. Fidelio bit his lip nervously.

"Does this mean... are we... what?" Gabriel panted as he sent his grateful lungs more oxygen, but his brain was still confused.

"Gabriel Silk, will you go out with me?" Fidelio asked, trying to be serious. It was quite difficult, his heart was doing somersaults in his chest. Gabe's reply was to close the small space between them and gently touch his lips back to Fidelio's. 

"I'll take that as a yes," Fido grinned into the kiss. His boyfriend chuckled, bringing his hands up to explore Fidelio's satiny brown hair. He put his arms around Gabe's waist and hugged him closer, until he could feel the other boy's heartbeat through their clothes. 

After that trying to resume practice was almost impossible. Even Fidelio, the prodigy, couldn't get his violin to play more than a handful of correct notes at a time. Gabriel wasn't helping, having abandoned all pretense at trying to play, he kept making faces at his boyfriend. 

"Stop looking at me like that!" Fidelio laughed.

"Or what, you'll kiss me?" Gabriel pulled another face. Fidelio sighed and put away his precious violin. 

"I'm getting a drink," he declared, marching out of the living room. 

When he returned, Gabriel had transferred himself from the piano bench to the old couch in the middle of the room. Fidelio joined him. He carefully took Gabe's warm hand and held it. Long pianist's fingers intertwined with his own calloused ones. 

"So, who do we tell?" Gabe asked after a minute of slightly awkward silence.

"If we tell our parents they probably won't leave us alone for music practice any more," Fidelio reasoned. 

"What about our friends? Charlie and the rest of them?"

"Obviously we'd better tell them, unless we want to make them figure it out themselves!" 

"What if they hate us, Fido?" Fidelio couldn't bear the pain written on his boyfriend's face. He leaned over and kissed him gently.

"They won't. Dagbert is dating Benjamin and neither of them are being ostracized," Fidelio reassured him. 

"Okay. So do we tell them or make them guess?"

"I'd say we just make it really obvious. Hold hands on the bus and at meals or something. Charlie's so unobservant I bet he'll take until someone spells it out for him!" This made Gabriel laugh, and Fidelio joined in. Gabe's laugh was the best sound he could think of, and Fidelio was a very talented musician!

Gabriel leaned in and kissed Fidelio again. He could feel it when Fido tangled his hands in his hair, it felt fantastic! He pulled him closer by putting his hands around his waist. Fidelio decided to try something he'd read in a book. He darted his tongue out and cautiously licked Gabriel's bottom lip, making him open his mouth. He slowly allowed his tongue to explore his boyfriend's mouth. Their tongues danced and Gabe pulled him even closer. The movement caused both of them to fall over and next thing Fidelio knew he was lying on top of Gabriel.

They had to stop because Gabe was laughing too hard. Eventually they resumed kissing each other, still in the same position. Fidelio was almost straddling Gabriel when the latter's cell phone rang. They sat up sheepishly and Gabe answered the phone.

"Dad just left the house," he informed Fidelio, snapping the phone shut. "He'll be here in about 20 minutes." The two shared another chaste kiss, then they moved back to their instruments. They could at least pretend to have been practicing the entire time. 

When Gabriel's dad pulled up he signaled to his dad that he'd be just one minute. He grabbed his coat, put on his tattered sneakers, and out of sight he kissed Fidelio.

"Same time tomorrow, Fido?" he inquired.

"That's the plan! Mom's taking everyone else to one of Dad's concerts so we can practice in peace again," his boyfriend grinned.

"Perfect! Bye Fido!" he called, stepping out into the chilly March air to greet his father.