no worries if you are not taking any prompts atm (hope your hand gets better!) but if you ever fancied writing some supportive dad crozier & his son tom in ftagh I would love you forever ❤❤❤
Tom's hands won't stop bloody shaking.
He's been so intent on making sure everything's perfect, getting the day organised and ensuring things are ship-shape, that he's been too busy to get nervous until the final hour. Now he's standing in front of a mirror, wearing the most expensive suit he's ever owned, and he can't tie his bloody tie with how hard he's trembling.
God knows where David's got to, not that his feckless little brother knows how to correctly knot a tie, but he could use a bit of support here. Just when Tom almost ruins his hair by running an anxious hand through it while debating whether or not to call David, though, a knock comes at the door.
"I've just walked past your bother with his tongue halfway down a young lady's throat," Crozier announces without ceremony, stepping into the hotel room and shutting the door quietly behind him. Something loosens in Tom's chest to see the closest thing he's got to a dad arrive, cavalry appearing just when it's most needed. "The trouble with having younger brothers for best men is that they're not terribly reliable with the best man part of the day."
"Bloody Davey," Tom mutters, giving up on the tie in frustration and shaking his hands out to try and eliminate some of the nerves. Crozier crosses the room and takes the dark blue silk from Tom without a word, looping it around his own neck so he can tie it properly. "I suppose you managed to avoid having such a useless best man on your big day."
"It wasn't really a big day for us. We didn't know how long it would be legal for, so we ducked down to the registry office as quickly as possible," he finishes the knot, dexterous in spite of the arthritis that swells his knuckles these days, and carefully puts the tie around Tom's neck. "Blanky was hardly more reliable than your David, although he did agree to comb his hair for the occasion. He didn't, in the end, but he did agree to."
Tom laughs at that, a half-breathless, nervous little huff, and Crozier quirks a smile as he gently tidies Tom up. They've been in this position countless times reversed - Tom straightening a tie and brushing fluff off a shoulder, adjusting a pocket square before an interview or photo shoot - but never this way around. Something about it makes Tom feel almost teary, like he's getting to have something rare and precious that he was meant to be denied.
"Now, then. You're sure you want to marry this boy?" Crozier puts a hand on his shoulder, twinkle in his eye saying he's only half-joking, that he'd find a way to spirit Tom out of here in an instant if he got cold feet. It settles Tom's churning stomach, and makes it the easiest thing in the world to nod. "Good. Now I'm going to be awfully condescending, considering the fact I'm quite sure you know more than me about almost everything, and tell you what I wish someone had told me on my wedding day."
"Please," Tom's voice isn't any steadier than his hands were, but he feels less like he's going to shake himself to atoms with Crozier's hand on his shoulder. "I could use some fatherly advice."
He realises what he's said only after it comes out of his mouth, but there's a shine to Crozier's gaze that confirms they're on the same page here. It makes Tom feel like sobbing, but in a good way - as though the cracked and fractured pieces of his life are finally coming together into something whole.
"Just love each other, that's the most important thing. Everything else can be worked on, decisions can be made and fights can be fought, but you've got to love each other before it all. Never forget that you're a team, son, and your most important role is to be on each others' side." He squeezes Tom's shoulder and looks away, voice a little rough with emotion. Good to know it's mutual. "And piss before the ceremony, Jopson. Trust me."
Tom laughs properly then, and chucks self-control out of the window for once in his life to throw his arms around Crozier in a hug. The elder man clings back just as hard, squeezing Tom tightly in the way he'd always secretly hoped a dad's hug would feel. Hopefully the shoulder of his boss's jacket will dry before the ceremony.
