Chapter Text
Nath would never let him live it down. The fact that he was practically ‘parent trapped’ by his son and his friend would follow him for the rest of his life. Nath had befriended the new boy at his school instantly - whenever Gaz would take Nath to practice footie, Bailey wouldn’t be far behind. Gaz didn’t mind - Mandy had informed him that the boy’s father had passed a few years ago. Bailey was a good kid.
It was when he noticed the boys whispering suspiciously that the trouble started.
And frankly, Gaz hadn’t even realized they were plotting.
Gaz was distracted to suddenly find himself being Bailey’s go-to source for information. Nathan barely came to him for serious advice, but Bailey always seemed to be asking questions on… well, anything. Lately it had been little fix-it jobs Bailey was taking on at home. Saying the house hadn’t been lived in since his father was a boy so it needed a lot of repair. Bailey and his mum had been working on it since they moved in.
It finally got to the point where Gaz found himself offering help.
He didn’t notice how smug the boys looked at that.
Bailey quickly took him up on the offer, asking if Gaz would be able to fix a squeaky door that was starting to drive his mother mad. Nathan concurred and that was how Gaz found himself, rusty toolbox in hand, standing on the patio of an old Viction home, preparing to finally meet the mysterious Mrs. Gold.
He wasn’t sure what he had expected Bailey’s step-mother to look like, but the petite woman with striking blue eyes wasn’t it. Introducing herself as Belle, she kept him company while he fiddled with the squeaky door, amusing him with her quick wit.
Belle thanked him for all the time he had been spending with Bailey. The boy had been quite despondent for a long time, and Belle hadn’t able to pull him out of it like Gaz and Nath had. “I’m so grateful that you’ve been watching out for him.”
“He’s a good kid,” Gaz muttered, feeling rather at sea, he hadn’t been a good influence in… well, ever. Not for his own kid, much less another.
She smiled at him, hand on his arm. “Would you like to join me for tea?”
Well, how could he say no to that smile?
It had taken a few trips, and some help from Dave, but Gaz eventually had the squeaky door fixed. And then it wasn’t Bailey requesting him over for asking advice, but Belle herself. Always rewarding him with warm smiles and sweet tea. And the occasional peck on the cheek.
It took him about three months before he asked her out, one evening while Bae and Nath were spending the night at Mandy’s.
He found himself recounting tales of Hot Metal, charmed by her mischievous giggles and how she would bite her lip as she failed to hold back a smile.
It wasn’t until they were officially going steady that Belle revealed how involved the boys had been. Apparently whenever Nath was over he would, not subtly at all, mention that his dad was single. Often followed by an equally unsubtle Bae assuring Belle that she should meet new people. She even suspected them of making some of the projects Gaz had been called over to fix.
Gaz was embarrassed that he hadn’t noticed, but when Belle pressed a smiling kiss to his lips he found he didn’t much mind at all.
But yeah, they’d never let him live it down.