Modern college sumhowe aus (and occasionally other aus).
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Addendum~~
Wow. Itâs been two whole years since my dad went for heart surgery and I needed a project so big it could distract me for months, no matter the outcome. (Everything turned out fine, btw, no worries.) This story got me through that--and itâs gotten me through so much since then. Thank you (all three of you) for being so patient with me as I muddled my way through this. I hope you enjoyed reading this mess as much as I enjoyed writing it.
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Some things that I headcanon here that just never made their way into the fics:
*When Charles got back from Europe and they started being more open about their relationship, literally no one was surprised. Everyone knew.Â
*At some point Sam gets a motorcycle licence and buys a huge black motorcycle and names it âBreezeâ. He rides it like every morning. Probably drives it to work.
*Eventually they adopt a little blind/deaf/mute girl named Laura. Sheâs Samâs pride and joy. They probably adopt a couple other differently abled kids too. They're A++ parents.
*For Halloween at some point Charles dresses in asexual pride colors and carries around a shovel. Nobody gets that he's an ace of spades.
*They definitely do vintage engagement photos. Sam just wants to dress like Byron, and Charles is happy to go along with it. This may or may not lead to Sam discovering a new kink
*When Charles gets his first attorney position, there's a summer intern there named Ben, and Charles occasionally sends him on "little errands" around the city...but is terrible with directions and Ben usually ends up wandering around for hours just trying to do one thing.
*Oliver Holmes may or may not have been Samâs best man. He was definitely at the wedding reception though--he and Sam Ward had a hell of a time there.
*They go on honeymoon in Santo Domingo because fuck me I'm the worst
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Vows
Sam couldnât remember the last time heâd felt both so tense and so happy at once. In fact, he may never have felt either to quite the same extreme as he felt them now. God, what a strange morning it had been so far. Heâd woken up alone for the first time in months. Charles had spent the night at his familyâs house because, well, tradition or âbad luckâ or whatever. In a way, it was a good thing. To be reminded on this of all mornings of how much he ached for Charles when his soon-to-be husband wasnât there. He never wanted to take that for granted.   Charles hadnât slept. True, this wasnât exactly unusual for him, but how in the world could anyone be expected to get a good nightâs sleep the evening before they got married? He had tried calling Henry again, but he had sternly scolded Charles for not resting and then hung up. Heâd tried reading, but his heart had been racing and his mind galloping along with it and he simply couldnât focus on the words in front of him. Heâd even tried Nyquilânot something he usually resorted toâbut even that had failed to help. Instead, heâd ended up pacing his old room in his motherâs house until nearly three in the morning when sheâd come upstairs to ask him to sit down. He apologized for waking her. She smiled and sat at his old desk, looking around the room. âHave I ever told you about the day I married your father?â She stayed and spoke with him until it was time for both of them to go.    âSam says all the decorations will be done in ten minutes,â Henry declared as he came into the room where Charles was fiddling with his bowtie. âAnd the place settings? Are theyââ âTaken care of.â âHenry, I should be out there helping set up. It doesnât feel right to just wait back here.â âItâs just one of those social norms. This is your day, youâre not supposed to do any of the work. Besides, he lives for this kind of thing.â Charles grinned at that. He could, occasionally, hear Sam Ward shouting orders out in the main hall. He could practically see him, flitting about the room with a touch here, a slight correction there, magically transforming it into a stunning, tasteful masterpiece. Well, mostly tasteful. The conversation theyâd had about life-size golden statues had been concerning, but given that it had been two in the morning, heâd decided to overlook it. Since Henry and Sam had come over to his place a couple weeks ago, Sam had appointed himself Charlesâs wedding plannerâa role Charlieâs own Sam had been delighted to let someone else take up (although their arguments over the budget had been pretty severe)âand Charles hardly knew what to expect at this point.   Now that it was so close, now that they were here, Samâs nerves were starting to take over. He took the beautiful blue coat off before he could sweat through it. There was so much that could go wrong. What if he forgot the order of all the different ceremonial things? What if he forgot his vows? What if he threw up? That last one seemed like a very real possibility right now. Samâthe other Sam, god this was ridiculousâcame in to warn him about the time. âNearly everyoneâs here and seated, yourâyouâre not dressed.â He sounded genuinely horrified. âIâm trying not to ruin the coat.â Sam snapped back. âItâs just lying there! There least you could have done is hang it up.â âItâs fine,â Sam nearly yelled as he snatched the coat up again. âAre you alright?â âDo I look alright?â âSilly me, trying to ask a friendly question.â A twinge of guilty prevented Sam from yelling at him again. Instead, he sighed. âTen minutes, you said?â âEight by now.â  âOkay, Charlie. Ready?â âYes,â Charles said firmly, still trying to convince himself this wasnât going to be a disaster. He turned towards Henryâand frowned when Henry burst out laughing. âWhat? Whatâs wrong? Oh god, donât tell me thereâs a stain on myââ âNo, no, nothing like that. Here, sit down.â Charles sat, bewildered. Henry came over and, to Charlieâs chagrin, undid his bowtie. âHey!â âSorry, Charles, but it was a mess. You canât get married looking like your tie is trying to escape.â âIt wasnât that bad.â âYeah, it was. Just let meâŠâ Henry trailed off, concentrating as he worked the fabric into the right shape. âHenry?â âYeah?â âThank you. For everything.â Henry laughed and leaned in for a hug. âOkay. Letâs go.â   The hardest part was over. They had both come up to the altar from either side, given away by their mothers; not the usual approach, but the only etiquette compromise they could agree on. Charles was already crying by the time he kissed his motherâs cheek and let go of her hand. Reserved she may have been, but anyone looking at her that day could see how much she loved her son, how happy she was for him. Any other day, Sam might have envied that. But today his heart didnât have room for that. Today, he looked his own mother in the eye for the first time in years, felt her squeeze his hand as she smiled at him. When she whispered âIâm so proud of you,â before going to sit down, he could feel his eyes stinging. He watched her take her place beside Charlieâs own mother, tried to imagine for a moment how many holidays they might have together now, a whole lifetime intertwined ahead of them⊠The priest cleared his throat softly. Charles and Sam stepped closer, reaching for each otherâs hands, and the rest of the world fell away. Charles wasnât actively cryingânot at the momentâbut his eyes were so soft and shining and happy. It was all Sam could do to listen for his cues and not simply kiss Charles now.  Charles knew he was crying. Or had been crying. And that he would be crying again, very soon. When they got to the vows he was going to absolutely lose it.   And then it was time.  âCharles Sumner, I have never met anyone like you. You are the kindest, most loving, most patient person to ever walk this earth. I have so much to say, so many promises to make, that I canât fit them all into one little speech. Instead, I want to spend the rest of my life showing you my love, spelling out my vows in every quiet moment. For now, all I can say is what I said to you a few months ago. I want you to let me be all yours, now and always.â  Charles was almost glad to see the tears rolling quietly down Samâs cheeks as he finished reciting his vows. Charles took a deep breath, hoping he wouldnât choke, hoping his words didnât come out completely incomprehensible.  âSamuel Howe, I love you. I have loved you from the moment we met. You have inspired me, over and over, in a thousand ways. You have helped me become the person I wanted to be. And you help me see that thatâs not enough; that I can be so much more than I ever imagined before I met you. You make life an adventure. And I canât wait to spend the rest of my life at your side, growing and learning and loving you.â  He had messed up his vows. The version heâd written had been longer, more eloquent, but in this moment he hardly knew what he was saying. The only thing in his mind right now was how immeasurably he loved the man in front of him. He had a lifetime to tell him so; whatever he said today ultimately wouldnât matter. All that mattered wasâ âI now pronounce you husband and husband. You may kiss yourââ The last word was drowned out as Sam pulled Charles to him for their first kiss as a married couple and crowd applauded and cheered.
~~Fin~~
#I've rewritten this so many times and I'm still not satisfied with it#but here you are#the very last chapter#(I know it's super cliche to end the story with the wedding kiss but I'm an absolute sucker for sappy romantic tropes so this is what you ge#t)#charles sumner#sam howe#Henry Longfellow#also fun fact Henry helping Charles with his tie was one of the first things I pictured when I decided to write this#it may or may not have been the image that mattered enough to get me to write this entire thing
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Help
It was strange, how time slipped by so quickly even though it seemed to be standing still. Their wedding was hardly two weeks away when it really hit Charles that it was real. It was happening. God, he felt so unprepared. Sam was at the hospital, his shift had hardly started, and Charles couldnât sleep; instead, he had sat down to make a list of all the wedding preparations that still needed his attention. He had expected a few relatively minor thingsâheâd ended up with three pages of them. Before the panic could grip him too firmly, he called Henry, trying to calm down before he spiraled. âLongo, I donât know how Iâm going to pull this off,â he said the moment Henry answered the phone. âWhat?â âThe wedding. I donâtâI canât do this. Thereâs so much and I justââ âYou can do this. Also, you donât have to take care of everything by yourself. What can I help with?â After some debate, Henry simply announced that he was coming over. âBut itâs almost midnightââ âSo? Iâll sleep on your couch. But first weâre going to get some things figured out. Itâll be okay, Charlie.â  Charles, resigning himself to his friendâs good-natured intrusion, got out the extra blankets and pillows while he waited for Henryâs knock at his door. It didnât come as soon as heâd expected. He tried to take advantage of the extra time by scrounging out some snacks. But before long he started to worry Henry hadnât just been caught in trafficâwhat if heâd gotten into an accident? Or someone had mugged him? What ifâ Before his train of thought had gone too far, the knock derailed it. âAh, my dear Don Carlos!â the unexpected enthusiasm from the unexpected guest left Charles momentarily speechless. Then, seeing Henry just behind him and suddenly understanding the delay, Charles grinned and reached for Sam Wardâs hand. âSambolini, to what do I owe the pleasure?â âAs with all pleasures, to our dear Longbardicus. I happened to run into him while he was on his way here, and he persuaded me to join him.â âDid he tell you what heâs here for? Iâm afraid itâs going to be boringââ âBoring? Perish the thought! Don Carlos, I adore weddings. Please, can I see your plans so far?â âIf you really want to, but theyâreââ âYes, Charles, I assure you, I want to. Where are they?â âOn the table.â Bewildered, or perhaps merely bemused, Charles and Henry followed Sam into the kitchen, and listened as he exclaimed over the detailed diagrams and charts spread out over the table. Then his eyes lighted upon the dreaded To-Do list; he snatched it up and began poring over it. âIs this all?â âThatâs what I still have left to work on. Henry was going to help me with some of it.â âMay I?â âWhat?â âDo you have a laptop hereabouts?â âIâyes?â Charles fetched his computer obligingly, feeling as though he had missed something. Sam thanked him, then shooed him and Henry to the living room while he began typing frenziedly. Charles tried to stay onâit was his wedding after all, he ought to be helpfulâbut Sam wouldnât have it. âI appreciate the offer, dear, but quite frankly I plan better sans aide. I know itâs rude of me, butâŠâ he shrugged. Charles found himself apologizing and leaving his guest to plan his wedding decorations undisturbed. In the living room, Henry was settling onto the couch. âWe should be helping, right? Iâm not crazy?â âTrust me, Charlie, itâs easier to just let him have his way. Come on, relax. Iâll bet he has everything on your list crossed off by morning.â âThatâs impossible.â âOkay, that might be a slight exaggeration. But you needed the help, and heâs happy to do it. Donât worry over it.â âI feel bad though. He was going to visit you and nowââ âI think he was just in town. I happened to bump into him outside a bar a few blocks from my apartment.â âJust happened to?â âYeah. Weird, right?â Charles tried to hide his grin. Poor Henry. He really had no idea. If anyone needed help here, maybe it was him.
#hey wow so I've literally been too busy to even turn my computer on for the last three weeks#but I finally got to sit down and write this last night#only two more ficlets to go before this is wrapped up#charles sumner#Henry Longfellow#Sam Ward
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Not Settled
âCharlie, are you busy tomorrow night?â âNo, why?â âI want you to meet my mother.â âOkay,â Charles grinned. âShe asked if she could come to the wedding and IâŠwell, I couldnât exactly say no. But I want you to meet her before thatâbefore the rehearsal dinner. Just the three of us.â âIâd love that.â âWhy?â Sam knew the question came out more sharply than heâd intended, but he really could not understand. âWell, I donât know really. I guess because youâve always been so secretive about your family. Iâm excited to hear about who you were before I met you.â âYou want to know about my childhood?â âYeah,â Charles shrugged, sincerely confused about Samâs barely repressed hostility. âYou want to know my best childhood memory?â âOf course I do.â âI fell in the harbor one winterâdonât ask me how. I got out, I was fine. My father was pissed. But we were in public and he had things to do, so he told me to go home and tell my mom to beat me. So I did. But she didnât hit me, just made me change and get in bed.â âSamâŠâ He already wished he hadnât spoken. That look in Charlieâs face was too much like pity for him to bear. He knew it wouldnât help him to get angry at Charles right nowâknew it wasnât Charles he wanted to be angry at. He took a deep breath, told Charles to be ready by six-thirty, and went to walk the restless emotion away.  He was ready long before six-thirty, but Sam was not. He kept loitering in the bathroom, changing his mind about his shirt, remembering little things he had to do before they could go. It took a while for Charles to realize he was simply putting it off. He understood why. Not as well as he might like too, but from the story Sam had told last night and from Samâs attitude towards his family in general the entire time heâd known him, he understood enough. Eventually, seriously concerned about the impression that being this late would make, Charles half-led, half-dragged Sam from the apartment. Sam was trying valiantly to pretend that everything was alright. Perhaps to make up for his anger last night, or perhaps in an effort to convince himself, Charles couldnât tell. Either way, the attempt was not at all successful. Charles knew him well enough to recognize the little ticks that betrayed his agitation, the restlessness and anxiety no amount of careful control could disguise. He wondered if Samâs mother would recognize the signs as well. When they made it to the restaurant, Samâs mother was already there waiting for them. Even though he had never met her, never even seen a picture, Charlie recognized her at once. She was a tall woman, though that was not clear til she rose to greet them. Her hair was the exact same shade of black as her sonâs, and in spite of the all-too-visible nerves displayed in every line of her face, there was an unmistakable stubbornness there as well. He was so struck by the family resemblance that he stopped in his tracks for just a moment. As he did, Sam stepped boldly forward, as if he hadnât spent all day worrying about this meeting, and sat down at the table. Charles joined him just a moment later, reaching for Mrs. Howeâs hand as Sam introduced them. As they shook, he noted that Sam had sat without really greeting her. He knewâor at least strongly suspectedâthat it had been more than a year since heâd seen her, and yet he had not so much as shaken her hand before sitting down. If Charles had gone more than, say, a week without seeing his mother or siblings he could be sure of a warm hug the moment they met again. How bad must things be between them that after all that time apart Sam could be content to simply say hello? âSo, Charles. Sam hasnât told me much about you. To be perfectly honest, he hasnât told me anything. Youâll have to make up for it and tell me all about yourself.â âIâd be happy to,â he said, not entirely sure that he meant it. âWhere would you like me to start?â âOh, I donât know. Tell me how you met my little boy.â Two feet away he could hear Sam grinding his teeth. Not wanting her to notice, he hastened to tell the story as briefly as he could. When he finished, she smiled. âYes, thatâs just like him. He always did have a knack for finding trouble. Would you believe that in school he got in fights nearly every day?â âKids fight, mother.â âYes, yes, kids do, but you. You had a positive mania for it.â âI didnât pick any of those fights. I was just defending myself.â âWhat happened?â âSome kids heard that my father was a republican.â Charles winced. For such a simple phrase, in a place like this it carried a lot of meaning. âDonât let him fool you,â his mother laughed. âIt might have started out as self-defense, but Sammy loved those fights. He thought the black-eyes made the girls fall in love with himâthat is, uh, he liked to look dangerous.â There was an awkward moment while she tried to pretend she hadnât thought her son was straight and while Sam was too busy fuming to move things along with his usual tact, and while Charles tried to think of something, anything, to say. He suddenly doubted that he wanted to hear more about Samâs childhood from her. âCharlieâcan I call you that?âwill you tell me more about yourself? What are you studyingâart? Fashion?â âLaw.â âOh! A lawyer! That must be so exciting! Tell meââ And as she probed him on his studies and his interests, the conversation fell into a more natural rhythm. Sam took part occasionally, though he never quite relaxed. Now and then she would say something a little off, or make an assumption he could only guess stemmed from online articles about how to be an ally, but they got better at moving past those moments smoothly and quietly. He couldnât tell if she actually liked him, or if her sustained enthusiasm was merely a façade meant to keep herself in her sonâs good graces. In any event, on the ride back home, he pronounced the evening, more or less, a success. âYou liked her?â Sam sounded incredulous. âSheâs trying. I respect her for that.â âBut sheâsââ Sam bit his tongue. Clearly whatever she was, he did not want to tell the stories that would explain it. âSam? Sheâs trying. Maybe you should start trying to forgive her, too.â The intensity of the glare that followed astounded him. It was not anger, not really, that was only a thin layer on the surface. He didnât know what lay in the depths of that look, only that there was more pain than he could comprehend. âCharles you have no idea⊠Look. You dealt with your family drama your way, I dealt with mine my way. Itâs too late to change whatâs settled and done.â Reaching for his hand, hoping Sam could hear both the apology and the encouragement, Charles said, âNothing is settled which is not right.â Sam rolled his eyes, but he took Charlieâs hand all the same.
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A Secret Visit
As the bus drew near his destination, Sam began to wonder if he ought to have brought flowers. Not so much because there was any affection or respect in the matter, but purely as a matter of form. By the time he was off the bus, he had decided it was better he hadnât. Flowers would have seemed hypocritical somehow. He could have driven here. In fact, he almost wondered why he hadnât. He almost wondered why he was here. He had a simple answer to that: there was an itch that needed scratching. For weeks now he had had a nagging sense that he ought to make this visit; now he was finally making it just to make that feeling stop. What he didnât know was why it felt so important to make this visit in the first place.
As he wandered through the rows of tombstones, he pondered that. He had no love for the man whose grave heâd come to see. He did not owe him anything, and it was far too late to ask his blessing. He pondered, too, why he had felt the need to keep this visit a secret. He knew why he hadnât mentioned it to Charles: Charlie still had so many mixed feelings about his father, and Sam didnât want to drag any painful memories back to the surface. Especially not this close to the wedding. But it would have been so much simpler if he had let himself ask Henry where exactly the grave was.
Eventually, he went to the cemeteryâs office and asked for help. They were polite enough and before long he was staring at a stone that had his fiancĂ©âs name on it. He hated that Charles had been named after his father. But after the initial shock of it, the name on the stone didnât bother him. It was so coldly real and solid and dullâŠthere was nothing at all to connect it to the bright, fiery man he loved except for the letters. He tried to connect it instead to Charlieâs father, but, he realized, he could not even remember that manâs face. Heâd only met him once, and that had been a brief enough meeting.
Or perhaps not quite brief enough. Mr. Sumner had been there long enough to reduce Charles to a sobbing wreck (though heâd held himself together at least until the door had closed behind his father). Sam still seethed about that sometimes.
âDidnât you know how incredible your son is? Didnât you ever bother to notice that?â
The stone was silent.
âHe still thinks about you. Sometimes heâll get sad for no reasonâdisappear into himself, you knowâand I can tell. I can tell heâs remembering some time when you said something that never stopped hurting, or let him down, or made it obvious you didnât really love him. He deserved better than you.â
If stones could glare, Sam imagined this one was glaring at him. Or maybe it was just that he could almost see his own glare reflected in the mirror-bright polish of the still fresh rock. He tried again to recall the exact way self-righteous rage had shown in Mr. Sumnerâs eyes. Instead, he could only recall the stories Charles had told him that night when heâd come back to Samâs apartment for the first time. He could still feel how warm Charles had been as he held him that first time, trying to comfort him for a lifetimeâs worth of invisible wounds. He could still feel the way he had trembled.
That had been the moment, he realized now, when heâd first lost his heart to him. Heâd always had a soft spot for people who needed help, and that man, shaking in his arms because heâd never been given the love he craved, god, how could Sam have resisted that? That first twinge of love had grown deeper and stronger in a thousand ways since then, but where would they have been if Charlesâs dad hadnât dropped in that day? He gave the silent stone another sullen glare.
âThank you,â he said grudgingly. Then he turned his back on the rock and walked away.
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An Unexpected Call
He was so caught up in the book when the phone rang that he didnât bother to look at the caller id before answering it. Which is why the voice that hesitantly asked âHello?â took him so completely by surprise. âMom?â âSammy, oh Iâm so glad you answered. Your sister thought youâd changed your numberâI wasnât sure Iâd be able to get ahold of you.â âIs something wrong?â âNo! NoâŠwell, I donât know.â An expectant pause. âSam?â âYes?â âIs something wrong?â âIâm fine.â âI havenât seen you in so long.â âIâve been busy.â âI know. I know. I hear youâre a real doctor now.â He began to explain that he was almost able to make that claim, that he still had a few steps left, but she cut him off: âSam, Iâm so proud of you.â He grit his teeth, stood, and started pacing the room, wishing she would either get to the point or just hang up. There was a long pause in which neither of those things seemed likely to happen. Finally, he asked bluntly, âWas there something you wanted?â âAs a matter of fact⊠I wanted to askâŠâ âYes?â âWill I be invited to the wedding?â âWhat?â âBecause if I am, I need to find something to wear. Do you have a color scheme yet?â âMom, IâŠhow did you know?â âOh, I heard it through the grapevine.â He tried not to notice the reproach in her voice. âI donâtâŠIâm not sureâŠâ âIâm not asking you to invite your father, or anyone else, Sam; I just want to know if Iâm allowed to see my boy get married.â âMom,â he was struggling to find a safe way to phrase the question, to broach a topic heâd never mentioned to her, âDo you knowâwhoâIâm marrying?â âThe grapevine didnât have a lot of details Sam. I expect you preferred it that way.â âI donât think you would actually want to be there.â âSamuel Gridley Howe donât you dare say that to me. I am your mother and when I say I want to see you get married and be happy you can damn well believe that I mean it.â âCharles.â âWhat?â âCharles. Thatâs his name. My fiancĂ©âs name is Charles.â âOh.â Another lengthy pause. Even through the phone Sam could practically hear the gears of her mind whirring at top speed as she tried to take this in. âAndâŠyou love him?â âI do.â âYouâre happy?â âYes.â âAre you ever going to tell me if Iâm invited to the wedding?âÂ
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Just Ceremony
âHey, what are you guys up to?â Fanny asked, shrugging out of her jacket and joining them at the kitchen table. âWedding planning.â âOh. Sounds fun?â âIt is,â Charles asserted as Henry and Sam tried not to meet his gaze. âItâs definitely more involved than Iâd expected,â Sam added. âBut Charlie likes details, and weddings, and, well, all of this,â Henry said, gesturing at the binders and catalogues sprawling across the table. âIt sounds like a lot of work for something that is, after all, pretty pointless.â âSorry?â Sam frowned. âI mean,â she said, almost apologetically, âdonât get me wrong, weddings are great. Theyâre beautiful and they can be a lot of funâI just donât feel like theyâre really necessary.â âWhat do you mean?â âItâs all ceremony. The actual marriage takes place at someoneâs desk when they approve the paperwork, the relationship begins well before the weddingâone would hope. What does a wedding really mark? What does it signify?â âThe beginning of your lives together.â âUnless youâve already moved in together, which is the case more and more often.â âThatâs true,â Charles conceded. âBut donât you want the wedding for the public recognition of your love?â âIâm sure lotâs of people do, but I think Iâd be happy skipping the ceremony altogether.â âWait, really?â Henry asked suddenly. âYeah. I mean, itâs not like we need a ceremony to announce that weâre in love. If our friends donât know it by now, they never will.â âYou would be happy to just go to the county clerkâs officeâŠto just walk in and get married?â Henry had a slightly dazed, but excited look, as he asked this. Fanny only looked bemused as she affirmed again that she would. âFanny,â Henry asked suddenly, dropping to one knee and taking her by the hand, âwill you marry me?â âRight now?â âRight now.â âSure, Iâm game.â Henry got to his feet so quickly Charles barely saw him move. He and Fanny were halfway to the door before either of them thought to turn back and ask Sam and Charles to be their witnesses. âWait,â Charles protested, âwhat aboutâyour families?â âTheyâll forgive us.â âAnd theâthe cake?â âThatâs just part of the ceremony.â âWhat about the rings?â âWeâhmm. I do want a ring, Henry.â Henry looked around the kitchen, spotted a bread tie, and quickly twisted it into a loop. Dropping to his knee again, he looked lovingly up at Fanny, who was already saying âyesâ before he could repeat his proposal. Flabbergasted, Charles looked to Samâwho simply shrugged and grabbed his keys as he followed Henry and Fanny to the door.
#fanny appleton#Henry Longfellow#charles sumner#sam howe#when they get to the place picture Charles as Lesley Knope in that one scene when Ron gets married
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Natureâs Warblers
Charles wasnât quite sure how heâd ended up playing host when Oliver came all the way from New York to see Sam, but somehow it had happened. Theyâd chosen the weekend in advance to fit Samâs schedule, but apparently shifts had been re-arranged at the last minute. Charles was disappointed, but didnât really mind. Oliver hardly seemed to notice. He was entirely too preoccupied with complaining about the public transportation. Charles agreed with him readily enough in principle, but the sheer length at which he was able to talk about it seemed unnecessary. Â As was the length at which he talked about, well, pretty much everything. Charles was an enthusiastic talker, to be sure, but even he couldnât be that bad, right? They were only half-way through the second day of Oliverâs visit when he couldnât take it anymore.
âOliver, are youââ he tried to interject. Oliver didnât seem to hear him. âOliver, can I askââ he tried again; Oliver simply went on about the trees in the Common.
âTime, glorious, unfathomable Time! Tracked so easily, so imperceptibly, by something so common and overlooked! Why, those very trees may have been there as far back asââ
âOliver!â
âHmm? Did you say something?â
âAre you always thisâŠprolix?â
âYou know, I really believe some people save their bright thoughts as being too precious for conversation. Iâd hate to be so stingy.â
âConversation is supposed to be a two-way street, is it not?â
âWhat does this cankering over-civilization know about two-way streets?â
âBoston is flawed, but you have to admit, itâs better than New York.â
âI donât have to do anything of the kind. In factââ he launched into an entirely different line of thought, but here at least Charles was able to force his way into the argument and have his own share. He may not have had much to say about measuring trees, but he could certainly defend his city. The argument, or debate perhaps, turned out to be a lot of fun. Oliver didnât really seem to have anything against Boston, he was just enjoying the opposition. It was a very different style of debate than Charles had grown so used to in his classes and in courtrooms; there were no precedents to draw on, nothing at stake (except, perhaps, the honor of their respective cities), and no reason why his opponent shouldnât suddenly wax poetic and begin composing an impromptu ode to the smog over his streets.
By the time Sam got home, the debate had nearly run its course. They were able to switch to a different topic as they headed out for dinner together. Sam joined the conversation very little, though whether this was because he was too tired or simply didnât have the opportunity it was hard to tell.
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Henry could tell that Charles had something on his mind, but he was in no rush to find out what. Charles would tell him eventuallyâhe could wait. Sure, it put a slight strain on their conversation (though he was certain Charles did not notice it), but that hardly mattered. Theyâd been friends long enough that it didnât bother him if Charles was too distracted to catch his jokes, or if he sometimes had to repeat himself.
âHenry, I donât tell you how grateful I am to know you often enough.â Ah. Here it was.
âYou donât have to. But thank you. Iâm grateful to be your friend too.â It was strange how an exchange that had such potential to be horrendously awkward seemed not only sincere but natural when it was with Charles. Charles was just like that. Sometimes he just said things so honest and so obvious that it wouldnât occur to anyone else to say them. But it was oddly comforting to hear them.
âWhen I get marriedââ this was still recent news and Henryâs head swam at the phrase. It was so bizarre to think of anyone he knew getting marriedââI want you to be in my wedding party.â
Oh. Oh.
âHenry, will you be my best man?â
âIâthank you.â
âThatâs a yes then?â
âOf course it is.â
âGreat,â Charlie grinned, âThatâs a relief.â
âYou didnât really think Iâd say no, did you?â
âWell, itâsâŠa lot. I wouldnât blame you if you didnâtâŠâ
âCharlie, I love you, but youâre an idiot sometimes.â
âYeah. WellâŠâ Henry was actually surprised that Charles let it rest there. More often than not heâd have an entire speech (maybe two) prepared in defense of his doubt. Not today, it seemed. Today, he just grinned again and turned to look out the window of the cafĂ©. He may have been trying to hide the mixed expression on his faceâexcitement and joy and more than a little anxietyâbut if that were the case, he was not doing a very good job of it. Either way, Henry decided to let it be. He was having a hard enough time taking in the situation himself. In just a few months, his best friend would be getting married. And he would be there at his sideâŠholding the rings? Giving a speech. Oh god.
âCharlie?â
âYeah?â
âIâlisten, this is not me changing my mind, I promiseâjust, so I know, what exactly does a best man do?â
#my hiatus apparently made me even worse at titles than I already was#I didn't forget about this or stop writing I just literally haven't had time in the last two weeks to post it#I will try to do better#charles sumner#Henry Longfellow
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A Wedding Day
The sun was simply glorious that day. Charles couldnât help thinking it was exactly the sort of day he hoped to be married onâalthough he didnât think he would have that luxury. Still, at least someone was taking advantage of it. Much to his chagrin, they were almost late. Heâd planned to have plenty of time to get there and claim a good seat, but heâd been helping Sam with his outfit and heâd simply lookedâŠirresistible. Of course he looked good in anything, but that suit did wonders for him. They had still gotten there at a reasonable time, not visibly disheveled, and that had to count for something.
The ceremony was a simple one. Ann wanted to get through it on her own, which meant it had to be short. Charles beamed at her as she started up the aisle; she was stunning. Heâd always known she would be. In the end, he hadnât been able to help her choose her gown, but he whole-heartedly approved her choice. Wendy look wonderful too, though they didnât hold a candle in comparison. As Ann joined them at the altar, the look of unbounded love and joy on their face nearly had Charles in tears. He felt Sam reach for his hand, and gratefully reciprocated, trying to convey everything he was feeling through the pressure he applied to the fingers now intertwined with his own. By the time theyâd finished reading their vows, Charles really was crying. Heâd known each of them for so long, since before theyâd metâheâd watched them fall in like and then in love and now⊠Now they had their whole life together ahead of them and he couldnât possibly be happier for his friends.
The reception that followed the ceremony was in a building just down the street the church. As the crowd of guests migrated, Sam put an arm round Charlieâs waist, drawing him a little closer.
âThat was beautiful.â
âItâs not too late for us to have a summer wedding,â Charles prompted.
âWe picked the date, Charlie, my love.â
âBut we couldââ
âPlease, letâs not talk about it right now? I just want to enjoy this day with you.â
It wasnât like Sam to be so openly sentimental, and Charlie certainly wasnât going to pick a fight now.
âIâm going to expect your vows to be even better than that,â he teased instead.
âAh Don Carlos, thatâs just not fair,â Sam whined.
âIt wonât be that hard to think of nice things to say about me, will it?â
âBut things I can say in front of everyone? They donât need to hear about how nimble yourââ
Charles elbowed himâmaybe a little harder than heâd intended toâand allowed Sam to change the subject as they arrived at the reception. The decorations were simple and elegant, everything sensibly arranged. The food was good: not great, catering was never really great, but certainly a cut above his expectations. Everything went off without a hitch. Wendy and Ann spent most of their time sitting at the head table, thanking people. They did get up to cut the cake and to have their first dance. They fit together so perfectly and moved so gracefully on the dance floor that Charles almost felt a twinge of jealousy. He hoped he and Sam would look even half that good on their own wedding day.
Just as he was thinking this, Sam leaned closer and asked if he could have the next dance. Charles blinked at him, surprised, then grinned and eagerly accepted the invitation. The next dance turned out to be a faster one, and, not wanting to waste what would likely be Samâs only trip to the dance floor, they agreed to wait for the next slow dance. They mingled as they waited, catching up with mutual friends they hadnât seen in a while. But no matter how genuine the conversation, how happy the group, Charles felt like he and Sam were somehow separate from the rest of the crowd, floating in their own little bubble. The moment the next slow dance began, they abruptly excused themselves and Sam led Charles onto the dancefloor. Being in his arms, swaying gently to the soft melody, knowing that they were there because happiness and love existed in this world and everyone got a shot at themâit was more happiness than he could hold. He hid his face against Samâs neck so no one would see him crying again.
#wendy phillips#ann#I can't even remember enough about these two to use her last name#which is why their wedding is more about Charles/Sam than them#sorry about that
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Almosts
The evening had started in the same sort of quiet comfort that so many evenings had before their senior year. Since then, they had all been too busy for board games, for one reason and another. But after all the stress they had all been through lately, they had decided they definitely needed one relaxing evening, just the three of them, just like old times. They had already gone through a game of Settlers of Catan and a few hands of Uno, simply enjoying themselves. Then they had started a game of Scrabble, and thatâs when things went wrong. There were only a handful of words on the board when Charles put down âalmostââand a few moments later he and Fanny noticed Henryâs face streaming with tears.
âHenry whatâs wrong?â
âIâm sorry,â Henry said quickly, shaking his head, âIâm sorry.â
âBabe, itâs okay, itâs okay. Whatâs the matter?â
âIâalmost. All of the almosts.â
Charles and Fanny shot each other puzzled glances. Henry was trying to wipe the tears away and move on, but when he looked at them again, the silent tears became outright sobbing. Fanny moved her chair closer to put an arm around him. Charles tried again to ask what had happened.
âI justâI love you both so muchâand I almost lost you both. I came so closeâŠI donât know what I would have doneâŠâ he explained between sobs. Charles pulled his chair closer now too. It became an awkward sort of group hug, each of them trying to hold Henry and reassure him that everything was fine. They exchanged looks of deep discomfort and guilt over Henryâs back. It was true. Of course they had both suffered a lot, they had both come uncomfortably close to losing a dear friend, but neither of them could imagine how Henry must have felt through it all. Charles wished more than anything that he could take back that word, or better still that he could undo everything that had hurt any of them in recent months. But all he could do was keep his arm around Henry as he cried and remind him that they were still here.
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Iâm Compromising
I wanted to write this story in full, but at this point all I want to do is finish it. When I started writing this AU as a coping mechanism almost two years ago, I had three scenes clearly in mind that I built the whole thing around. The rally where Sam and Charles met, the last scene (which I will still do), and this one. But these ficlet outlines have been sitting in my draft for months and I just canât make myself write them. Iâve written several of the stories that come after them, but I canât just skip over these. So, hereâs what happens, plotwise, before the next fics I actually post:
*** Sam and Wendy show up, Wendy asks where Fanny is, Henry/Charles tells them sheâs out saving the world one burning building at a time. While theyâre hanging out, Henry gets a call from Mr. Appleton, walks away to take it, sprints from the building. Sam catches up outsideâoffers to drive himâtexts everyone else from the hospital to tell them whatâs going on. [all this in Charlesâ perspective]. Her parents are her emergency contacts, but theyâre in Maine? NY? Idk. They know henry can get there faster and let them know whatâs up. Sheâs in pretty bad condition.***
 ***they go to visit Fanny in the hospital. Sheâs not great. Henry is distraught.***
***Fanny is out of the hospital. Still not great, but sheâs getting there. Itâs clear there will be scars, and somehow this makes her depressed. Henry reassures her he will always love her, no matter what.***
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Looking at the crowd of men surrounding her, she couldnât help but wonder if any of them knew. The men carrying the casketâhad they known that dark secret about the man inside? Had they suspected? Did they suspect her secret?
She rather doubted it. When they looked at her, they only saw a beautiful young woman with a will of her own. But heâd known better. Heâd known so much.
She could still remember every detail of the story heâd told her that day. She couldnât remember why sheâd been alone in the house, or exactly why she was crying when âMistah Sumnahâ had found her there. She could almost remember, more or less, how she had climbed into his lap and told him she was broken. She didnât know how she explained her rudimentary childâs understanding that she was destined to love women, but she clearly remembered using the word broken. And she remembered how he listened. Intently, seriously, as though her woes were as important as any of the national policies he had a hand in each day.
And when she had cried herself to exhaustion, when her tide of speech had ebbed, he had told her a story. How once, long ago, there was a little boy whoâd thought he was broken. How the boy had grown up feeling terribly lonely; always searching for someone like himself, always disappointed. Until one magical day, the boy had met a knight. The knight was brave, and generous, and bold, and kind, and everything a man should be. And the boyâbarely a man himselfâfell in love with the knight. The knight told the young man about his daring adventures in a distant land; and in return the young man talked about his travels through other countries, and the things he had learned there. And they became friends. Â And, sooner or later, the knight fell in love with the man. So the two men, who had each felt broken for so long, both got a happy ending.
She would never forget the way the Senator had lifted her chin so their eyes could meet as he told her that everyone, everyone could have a happy ending.
It had always been so easy to believe him. About that; about everything.
She couldnât say when she realized that the knight in the story was her father. The Chevalier. Brave, generous, bold, kind. Once the thought was in her mind she never doubted it. And from there, it was only a small leap of the imagination to realize that the boy in the story had been the Senator.
After that, all sorts of small details began making sense. The way her father, so stubborn, could be so pliant in arguments with him. The glances exchanged. Her motherâs stiff smile when the Senator came by.
Funny. There hadnât been a princess in the story. Did the princess get a happy ending, too?
But the story had served its purpose. She had cheered up. She had stopped thinking of herself as broken. She practiced kissing girls with the statue on the stairs and flirted with herself in mirrors. And eventually, sheâd learned to flirt for real. To really tell another woman how she felt. To take her in her arms.
Happy endings.
Except, this wasnât the end. The story had hardly started. The end wasâŠ
The end was this coffin she was escorting through the streets of Washington. The only woman in a sea of men. The only man who mattered a thousand miles away; the knight hadnât spoken to his lover in two years. So, she thought, This is how happy endings end.
#I'm trying to get back in the writing habit#this isn't part of the modern au obviously it's just ... an exercise?#basically I remembered Maud writing that she was the only woman allowed in Sumner's funeral procession and I thought it was interesting#please forgive all the errors it's hard to fact check when you're writing without internet access#and I'm too lazy to rewrite it now#maud howe elliott#charles sumner
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((just for the record, I haven't had the time or motivation to write anything for this in a couple months (pretty much all of this lately was written before I went to Boston in June). I've run out of the ones I had ready to go and I'm not sure when I'll get back to it.))
#we're in the homestretch#I have it all mapped out to the end#there are less than twenty fics left to post#and some of the later ones I already have written#it's just the ones that come next I can't do
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Excited
Charles had gone out to walk Frisky quite early that morning; heâd had trouble sleeping and didnât want to bother Sam, whoâd gotten back in the small hours after an unexpected late shift. When he came back he stopped to check the mail. There was the usual batch of magazines and credit card offers, and he flicked quickly through. When he saw the large square envelope in the middle of the stack, it was only natural for him to pull it out and examine it first. He was surprised to see that it was from Wendy Phillips. As he realized what it was, he almost dropped all the junk mail in his excitement. âSam!â he cried as he burst back into the room, utterly forgetting that his fiancĂ© might still be asleep. Luckily, he was not. âWhat?â he grumbled blearily over his coffee mug. In lieu of answering, Charles handed him the envelope. âSo?â âOpen it.â He did. He barely glances at the invitation within before handing it back and raising an eyebrow. âIsnât it too early in the morning to be this excited about a wedding thatâs still months away?â âIf you canât at least pretend to be excited about weddings, I might have to call oursââ âOkay, okay, Iâm excited. Thrilled. Canât wait. Also, Iâm still half-asleep.â âFine,â Charles smiled, finding his ready acquiescence so endearing he had to bend over to kiss him gently. âIâll let it slide this once.â âHow magnanimous of you.â  Later that afternoon, as Charles was reviewing old lecture notes, Sam walked in holding the invitation to Wendy and Annâs wedding. Charles smiled up at him, and Sam sat down on the couch beside him. âI am excited.â âIâm glad to hear it.â âBut it took me sort of by surprise. Wedding invitations. I forgot that theyâre a thing.â âWhat?â âThe whole time I was planning how I wanted to propose to you, the whole time I was thinking of how great it would be to be married to you, somehow I never actually thought about a wedding.â âToo late to back out now.â âI know. Weâre going to do this right. Itâs justâŠthereâs so much involved.â âProbably even more than you realize.â âGreat.â âDo either of us even have the time to organize it?â âWell, I guess that depends on when we set the date. We can give ourselves time, thereâs no deadline.â âAs soon as possible. Howâs next week sound?â âHa ha.â âNo good? How about June? I hear summer weddings are beautiful, if you like that sort of thing.â âI do like that sort of thing. And until weâre actually married, youâd better pretend that you do too.â âSo June it is? That gives us about two months, do you think thatâs enough time?â âI think next June would be better.â âI donât want to wait that long. I meant it when I said âas soon as possible.ââ âYouâre going to have to wait a few months at least,â Charles frowned. âI want to graduate before the wedding.â âWhy?â âI donât know. I just do.â âThatâs ridiculous. Seriously, whatâs wrong with this June? If we need more time for all the formalities we can do July, but you know I donât have the patience to wait any longer than that.â Charles regarded him for a moment, considering. Then he launched into an explanation of why he wanted to wait, ranging from not wanting to be distracted during his final semester to making Sam test himself, covering nearly everything in between. By the end of it Sam was not so much persuaded as simply convinced that Charlesâs stubbornness exceeded his own. But next June was still much too far away. Charles loved the idea of a summer wedding, but Sam did not want to wait a moment longer than he had to. He couldnât have said why it mattered so much, not when they had already been living together and as intimate as possible for so long. Maybe simply because he had set his mind on a goal and could not rest until it was accomplished. In any case, they eventually reached a compromise. Charles would graduate before they were marriedâbut wouldnât get a summer wedding. He was due to graduate in December, thanks to the medical delay in his studies, and they would be married in January. That would give Charles a little time to breathe between the two major events. Once that was settled, they both lapsed briefly into silence. Then Sam mused, âAnd setting the date is just the first thing we have to do.â Charles chuckled. âJust wait until we get around to picking a color scheme.â
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Any Excuse
I have a surprise for you ? Youâll see Sam did what he always did when faced with the prospect of a surprise: he began trying to guess what it would be. In this case, he knew he would like itâhe had never not liked something Charles had gotten for him. Unfortunately, he thought, he had to eliminate the first several possibilities that came to mind. Though Charles was comfortable, if not quite enthusiastic, in their sex life, he was not and never would be the kind to offer that kind of surprise. It was highly likely that it would be a book. It might even be a stargazer lily if he was very lucky (he had talked about his new favorite flower too often lately for Charles not to know he wanted one). All day as he worked it bothered him. When the end of his shift finally came around, he couldnât wait to get home. Often he would stop to pick up dinner or ice cream, or just drive around for a while before going back to his apartment. But the persistent itch of what is it? what is it? running through his mind since heâd seen that text at lunch time simply had to be satisfied. He went straight to his apartmentâtheir apartment, since Charles had unofficially moved in recentlyâand unexpectedly found Charles waiting outside for him. âOkay, before you see it, I just want you to know that I checked and itâs fine.â âWhat the hell does that mean?â âYouâll see.â And see he wouldâbut he heard it first. âIs thatâŠbarking?â Charlieâs grin was infectious. He did not wait for any further explanation, simply yanked the door openâand was immediately set upon by an over-enthusiastic ball of fur. In moments, they were both sitting on the floor just inside the door, a shaggy puppy yapping eagerly and jumping from one man to the other, licking at their faces. âCharlie you know weâblegh not the beard you little beastâwe canât haveââ âPets? Like I said, I checked. Itâs fine.â âNot withoutââ âI already talked to the landlord and paid the extra security deposit. Sam, seriously, itâs fine. And you know you want to keep him, so stop arguing.â âHow long have you been planning this?â âWell, engagement presents are a thing, right?â âNo?â âToo bad, they are now.â Sam laughed. âDonât pretend this is just because I finally proposed to you; you would take any excuse to get a dog.â He looked down at the hairy face that was looking right back at him, eyes sparkling with curiosity and affection and tongue hanging out in a goofy grin. Charles was right. He loved dogs, and this one was especially cute. âItâs going to need a name.â âAn astute observation.â âHa ha. Any suggestions?â âHeâs your dog, you pick.â âHmmm,â he mused. He had never been much good at naming things. Maybe he could pick something so outlandish that Charles would overrule him and name the puppy himself? âWhat about Fang? Or Beelzebub? Mephistopheles? Something suitably terrifyingâŠâ âYeah, just looking at those fierce eyes makes me tremble.â Damn. Apparently this tactic would not work. Just then, the puppy jumped out of his lap and went to bark at a pigeon that had flown past the window. When it got bored with that just a moment later, it began rapidly exploring the room, jumping at everything and trying to engage various furniture legs in play. âSure is a frisky fellow.â âHmmm. I like that.â âWhat?â âFrisky. It suits him.â âYeah. Yeah, I guess it does.â
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