Oliver was stunned, they stood in their heels and Oliver clung to him like a drowning man clutching his last breath. It slowly filtered through until Oliver realised with a start that he wasn’t dreaming or wishing, that this was actually happening and happening to him. He pulled away slowly, their lips stuck together even as their bodies parted, Oliver put his head to Chris’s throat and tears ran down his cheeks unchecked. Chris held his shaking friend to his chest and said nothing though his heart was hammering against his ribs so violently he was sure it must be visible. Chris gently kissed Oliver’s head and ears as they were the only places he could reach. He wanted to turn his face and lay kisses against his eyelids, his cheekbones, his freshly scrubbed eyebrows and his lips. He felt Oliver start to get his shaking under control until just the occasional shudder ran through him. Chris murmured against him, reassuring him, thanking him, loving him. Saying whatever love addled nonsense his brain was providing him with. It was soothing somehow. Oliver could barely hear a word over the pounding of his heart in his head but the muttering and murmuring soothed his rattled soul until he barely shook at all. 

The pair separated both keeping a hand on the other, not ready to part just yet. Silence fell as Chris stopped his stream of reassurance. They stared at each other, Chris with eyes as big as dinner plates and Oliver’s huge eyes filled with unshed tears. Oliver and Chris opened their mouths to speak at the same time and both closed it again to allow the other to go first. The tension made Oliver giggle nervously which set Chris off too. They both laughs until tears ran down their faces, until Oliver started crying again in earnest. He was pouring tears in constant streams now, uncontrolled and messy. 

Chris reached out gently and thumbed them away, he leaned in and kissed each of Oliver’s cheeks, kissing the tears away the taste of salt thick on his lips. Oliver cried harder. He reached out for Chris again and they fell against each other, their kiss more aggressive and fervent this time, they grabbed at each other and kissed furiously and like they could never get enough of each other. The split seconds they weren’t kissing or grabbing or touching felt painful. They had to have more. Suddenly they wrenched apart again. They stared at each other wide eyed and stunned. Chris opened his mouth and this time the words came out, “I’ve wanted this for so long”, he croaked. “I’ve thought about this everyday..” Oliver blinked back even more tears as Chris spoke. “I’ve loved you since I knew you” Oliver said slowly “you knew me, you really knew me and I knew I’d never love anyone else” now it was Chris’s turn to cry. The tears flowed down his cheeks into his beard making the glitter sparkle even more. He hiccuped slightly. Not trusting himself to speak. He held one hand over his heart and nodded quickly. “Oh my sweetheart” he managed “it’s always been you”. He cried even more and repeated it again “it’s always been you.” He reached out to Oliver and jumped like he’d been electrocuted when the door to their dressing room opened. They’d been in their own world this whole time and had both managed to forget everyone else existed and that there was the entire club behind that door. A young queen, Gina Cologist stuck her head around the door and saw them both standing there breathing hard. Whether she saw signs of Chris’s beard shimmer on Oliver’s chin and mouth or not she didn’t comment but she said instead “This guy said he was here for you?” And shoved Marcus into the room. Chris and Oliver just stared at him in complete disbelief, they hadn’t come close to remembering his existence and they didn’t know what to say now that he was here. 

He clapped his hands frantically and said all in a rush “you both were amazing!!! I thought I was falling for you both while you were on stage, you absolutely killed it!!!” He strolled over, ignoring the deer in headlights look on both their faces. He walked over and said “honestly babe! You were fantastic!!” And then, he kissed Chris. Long and hard on the mouth. Oliver watched and said nothing.