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Chapter Text

“Did you hear that Ben was fired?” The sudden sound of Elle’s voice mixed with her setting her to-go red and white coffee cup on the table they shared had Charlie jumping slightly, especially with the mention of he-who-shall-not-be-named.

But then his brain caught up with her words. “Wait, what? Ben was fired? Why?”

“He was,” she sat on her chair, taking a sip from her drink. “It seems like he sold all the pictures he took for the August cover shoot to another mag, then managed to convince the fashion designer to work with them instead, so now we’re out of a photoshoot and a subject.”

“Oh God, I knew he was a dicknozzle, but that’s a new low even to him.”

“Tell me about it. Singh was super pissed when she found out but of course he didn’t care. Looks like he’s working with them now.”

“Of course, he is,” Charlie rolled his eyes. “I’d be surprised if he’d cared, especially because he never actually liked Singh. And knowing him, he got a shit ton of money out of that too.”

And the thing was, Charlie did know Ben Hope well. Or used to, at least. Back when he first started working at Pose Mag, Ben was already a photographer on the team and he took an interest in Charlie almost immediately. Elle, who had started at the mag a few months prior to her friend, had even tried to warn him off the older man, but Charlie just could not be persuaded and they had started a situationship that was basically only beneficial to Ben himself. He had played the card of office romance not being very encouraged, so they had kept their… fling as down low as possible. Meaning, no one in the magazine knew they were even together in the first place, apart from Elle and Tara. And Charlie wouldn’t have minded the secrecy… if he hadn’t found out months later that there wasn’t any type of policy against workplace relationships and the only reason Ben wanted to keep them a secret was because he was, in fact, dating one of the regular models the mag used in some of the editorial shoots.

Suffice to say, Charlie ended things soon after, but the damage was done. Upon evaluation during many, many crying nights over romcom rewatches with Elle and their roommate Isaac, Charlie had realized how fucking toxic his “relationship” with Ben was, to the point that he had almost relapsed on his eating disorder in many different occasions, and that was something he absolutely did not want to happen, especially because of a fucking scumbag. He decided then to go back to weekly appointments with his therapist, and that surprised even the therapist himself, seeing as Charlie had a habit of, quoting Geoff, “denying everything was wrong until the very last minute.”

Now, a few years later, Charlie was completely over the fact and he barely even thought about Ben Hope any longer, apart from when he had to see him or work with him at the mag. Which thankfully wasn’t going to be happening anymore, even if that came with the expense of having to come up with a new article and shoot fast.

“At least we won’t have to listen to his whining about his talent not being recognized anymore,” Elle commented and Charlie snorted.

“Good fucking riddance, finally,” but then a thought crossed his mind and his eyes widened. “Wait, who’s gonna be shooting the cover then?”

“Probably Nick, of course.”

And of course, it would. Fuck.

Nick Nelson was another pain in Charlie’s arse, but for a whole other reason. He was the magazine’s golden boy, the one person everyone seemed to love… except Charlie. Nick had been hired just a few months after Charlie and he worked as a photographer just like Ben. And as much as it pained Charlie to admit, he was an even better professional than Ben, but Ben used to get the more important shoots over Nick since he had seniority over the other man. Also, as Nick was an ex-rugby player, he was assigned to cover mostly sport events for the magazine website, which seemed to be a task no one enjoyed as much as he did.

But now that Ben had been fired, it was probably Nick who would be taking his place. Which meant Charlie would have to work alongside him, since Charlie was finally having a chance to write a cover feature article. Well, between Ben and Nick, Charlie had to admit Nick was the far lesser of an evil, but still.

“Oh no, don’t go making that face now,” Elle laughed at him, still sipping on her coffee. “I honestly don’t understand why you dislike Nick this much, the guy is a literal golden retriever.”

“Yeah, well, maybe that’s exactly why I don’t like him. He’s too much of a people pleaser,” Charlie mumbled, even though he knew that wasn’t the real reason. Sure, Nick’s people pleasing personality was a bit annoying, but more in that way when you already don’t like someone therefore you dislike any single thing they do. But add this to his habit of flirting with anyone, and well…

And recently Charlie had found himself in the receiving end of that flirting way too often for his personal liking. The worst part was that he couldn’t even talk about that with his friends because not only did they really, really liked Nick but also… he couldn’t break the promise he made a while ago.

“Oh please, not even you believe that,” Elle scoffed at him. “But that is unfortunate, because it seems like he fancies you.”

“Excuse me?” Charlie snorted. Nick Nelson actually interested in someone and that someone being him, Charlie Spring? Yeah, right. “I know you are a romantic at heart, Elle, but I didn’t peg you for delusional.”

Elle sighed. “For someone so observant, you truly are a bit daft sometimes, did you know? I’m not sure why I even bother.”

“I’m not sure either, to be honest,” he said quietly, but Elle heard it anyways and threw a pen at him, making him giggle.

And so, they both started their morning work. Charlie used to work as a staff writer for the magazine, recently being promoted to fashion editor, meaning that he now would work in more important articles and projects. And on top of that, he was also a content creator for the website, which was something he didn’t think he would enjoy doing as much as he did. On the printed magazine he would write about fashion and new trends, usually talking about some up and coming new fashionistas or designers for the queer community, but on the website he would write about anything interesting that his editor would approve, which meant he would mostly talk about music.

Working on a magazine with so much queer representation was actually a dream, and the fact that Pose was a relatively young company, but one that had taken off so quickly, meant that they actually had a lot of work to do. They were no Vogue, of course, but they were getting popular with the younger crowd.

That morning though, as he worked on giving the final touches on the article that had to go live on the website later that day, he kept going back to what Elle had told him about the Ben situation. It almost felt like he was in the 13 Going 30 movie, except things wouldn’t be magically solved and he was worried seeing as that was his first big project.

Just as he was starting to spiral thinking he would never be able to work things out, his company extention rang with a call from his boss’ office. He picked it up fast.

“Hi Tara.”

“Hey Charlie!” Tara’s chirpy voice greeted him and he smiled. She was Singh’s assistant and probably the person their editor in chief trusted the most in the whole company. “Singh is requesting your presence for a meeting in about twenty minutes. Does that work for you?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll be there.”

“Okay, great. See you then.”

Not long after, Charlie found himself waiting for the lift to take him up to Singh’s office. Pose Magazine was located in the heart of Hanover Square in London and it occupied three whole floors near the top of the building it was on. Charlie and Elle worked on the first of those floors while Singh, along with a few other higher ups, was in the third.

The lift dinged signaling its arrival and Charlie got into it, pressing the number 13. Before the doors could fully close, though, someone stuck their arm between them to open them back up, stepping into the small space along with Charlie. And that was when he noticed who had just joined him.

Nick Nelson. Ugh, even his name was stupid.

For a few seconds, both men stared at each other, Charlie with a blank expression while a smile slowly took over Nick’s face. Then Charlie let out an exasperated sigh.

“Nicholas.”

“Charles.”

As the doors closed, Charlie was silently hoping that Nick was destined somewhere else, but Nick looked at the lift buttons and just went to stand by the other man. Hopefully they could stay in silence.

“Are you also headed to see Singh?” Nick asked and Charlie sighed once again. Maybe not, then.

“Yep.”

“Do you think it’s about the Ben situation?”

“It has to be, hasn’t it?” Charlie was intensely watching the numbers on the panel above the doors and he saw with relief when they finally reached the thirteenth floor. The doors opened and Nick motioned for Charlie to leave first, following right after. “I mean, we wouldn’t both be called up here if it wasn’t.”

Nick gave him a satisfied smile. “That means we’ll probably be working together.”

“Unfortunately.”

“Aw come on, there’s no way you’d prefer to still be working with Ben!” He sounded offended, which made Charlie’s lips twitch, but he kept his face closed.

“Well, no. But you’re not much of a step up now, are you?”

“Excuse you, I’ll let you know I’m a delight to work with.”

“Eh, we’ll see, I guess.”

They had reached the end of the hallway, which opened up to a small waiting area with a few sofas and a big corner table where Tara was seated. Upon seeing them, she smiled.

“Hey babes! You’re right on time, Singh just got back from another meeting so she’ll be calling you in shortly.”

Nick rested one of his arms on Tara’s table, leaning on it and smiling at the woman. “Anything we should know about before heading in, Jonesy?”

“Nothing but the amazing fact that Ben Hope is no longer with us,” Tara smiled angelically, sending a wink towards Charlie. “You’re probably gonna take his place now, which was about time, to be honest.”

“See, Charlie,” Nick turned back to Charlie, a teasing smile on his face. “At least someone here thinks I’m a better option.”

“Doesn’t count when they are your friends, Nick.”

Oh yeah. Another thing about Nick Nelson. He was, unfortunately, also friends with basically all of Charlie’s friends. Which meant Charlie had to put up with Nick even outside of work. Really, a joyful situation.

Before Nick could respond, the speaker phone in Tara’s desk made a beeping sound and Singh's stern voice came out of it. “You can send them in, Tara. Thank you.”

“Well, you heard the boss lady.”

Once again, when they reached the door and Nick opened it after getting permission to do so, he motioned for Charlie to go in first. And when Charlie passed through him, he murmured. “As opposed to you, I’m looking very forward to working with you.”

“Nick, Charlie, take a seat,” Singh’s voice brought Charlie back from his momentarily spacing out as he tried to understand what the fuck Nick meant with that.

Their boss’s office was quite large and bright, with a massive window overlooking the London skyline. Right in front of that window there was her desk, with a computer, many, many papers and past editions of Pose and also a few photos of Singh and her wife. The office was elegantly decorated in light neutral colours, which also helped it look super bright and welcoming. It fit the woman’s personality very well, since even though she took no bullshit and expected the best out of her team, she was also an amazing boss.

When both of them were seated in the chairs in front of her desk, Singh leaned back in her chair.

“I’m pretty sure the both of you have already heard the news.”

“If you meant the news of the devil spawn being finally fired then yes, we did,” it was Nick’s cheeky reply and Charlie could swear Singh almost smiled. Because of course she also liked Nick Nelson.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m talking about,” all amusement left her face as she sighed. “We were supposed to be in the final stages of closing our issue for August, as you’re well aware, but due to the circumstances, we’re going to have to redo at least the cover feature. Thankfully Hope was not much involved in that issue so any additional change can be easily done. Our biggest concern here is the main photoshoot and article.”

“Do you already have another designer in mind for it?” Charlie asked. He honestly hoped she had, because he would need all the time he could get to do his research.

“Yes, in fact I do. However, I was expecting you to have a bit more… freedom in that regard.”

Charlie frowned. “What do you mean by freedom?”

“Well, since the theme was already established when I assigned you to take care of it, I’ll have Tara send you a list of possible fashion designers that Pose has an interest in working with, for you to look into. But you can also give suggestions, in case you have any. Just be sure to do it by the end of the week, since we are on a tight schedule after all,” she turned to Nick then, and even though Charlie’s mind was reeling, he still managed to continue listening to her. “As for you, Nick, it’s basically the same thing. I want to give you some creative freedom, especially to see what you can come up with. You can choose any model you want, just try and pick one that fits the designer’s views and can work with what both you and Charlie decide. Again, I’ll need everything by the end of the week, so we can set a meeting and discuss your ideas and go from there. Does that sound good for the both of you?”

There was a brief stunned silence, where Nick seemed to be in the same incredulous haze as Charlie found himself in. He always knew Singh to be an amazing editor in chief to work with and she was also very known to be fair amongst the company, but to be actually given such autonomy in such short notice? Even though Charlie was absolutely fucking scared to mess everything up, he was also pretty proud to have her trust. 

They got out of their stupor quickly though, both of them thanking Singh and agreeing with her terms before leaving the office. In the waiting room, Tara was nowhere to be found, so both men just stood there for a few seconds in complete silence.

“Did she just…?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you already have someone in mind? To be the model?” Charlie couldn’t resist asking as they started to make their way back to the lifts. Nick hummed.

“I might have someone in mind, yeah. But I also have backup plans,” Charlie sent him a meaningful look, but Nick just smiled lazily. “What? Do you think I’m just gonna spill my plans like that? Unless you want to give me something in return.”

“You are insufferable.”

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

When Charlie got back to his desk, Elle had already gone out for her lunch break, which made him frown. Lately, she had been going out a bit earlier than normal and usually without him while also saying she just needed a few minutes alone outside of their crazy work space. And he wouldn’t mind really, not when he’d also needed time alone more times than he could count. The thing was that he knew Elle like the back of his hand after being friends for so long, so he knew there was more to that than she was letting on. But as he waited for her to be comfortable enough to tell him what it was, he also hoped it wasn’t anything serious.

Upon checking his email inbox, he noticed the list of fashion designers had already been sent by Tara, so he decided to stay in instead of going somewhere else and eat his sandwich and do his research on some of the names.

Charlie had already found some possible candidates half an hour later and was about to retrieve the props he had just printed, when Elle came back from her lunch. She had another coffee cup in her hands, from the same Café as earlier in the morning, and he rolled his eyes.

“I don’t understand why the hell you go out of your way to go to that Café seeing as we have a way cheaper one in the building.”

“Because, dear Charles, I like to support small business,” she replied as she took off her light coat before sitting in her chair. Even it being late May, the weather was still a bit chilly, in a way that made Charlie yearn even more for the summer days ahead. And it also didn’t escape Charlie’s notice that she didn’t look him in the eye while explaining. Interesting. “Also, their coffee is way better than the one we have here and their place is also way nicer. You should come with me sometime.”

“Yeah, sure. If you think so.”

He was near the printers in the communal area when he spotted Nick coming out of the lift. Their department was set up in a way that the staff writers and beauty and fashion assistants would stay in the centre of the room, surrounded by a few glass offices, such as the one Charlie and Elle shared. It wasn’t a big department, since the magazine in itself wasn’t very big, so thankfully everyone had a decent sized work space. And that was why Nick was so easy to spot. It seemed like he was coming back from his break, a red and white coffee cup in one hand and his mobile in the other.

Charlie was not in the mood to engage in a conversation with Nick again, so he just decided to collect his printed papers and leave, but as Nick got closer, something else got his attention. The stripped red and white coffee cup he was holding was from the same place Elle was so fond of lately.

Huh.

Interesting.

Okay, maybe he was seeing a bit too much into it. The Café was just two blocks down the street, so it was completely possible for anyone from their building to also know the place and be clients. But if Elle had spent her lunch break with Nick, why wouldn’t she tell Charlie? Yes, he strongly disliked the older man, but he was also very aware that Nick was friends with his friends.

One way or the other, Charlie went about his day the best he could. Elle had a few meetings with her beauty assistants so for the rest of the afternoon Charlie was pretty much alone in their office. He took his time checking each one of the four fashion designers he had narrowed the list down to, looking at their websites and social media profiles, until he had looked at so many pictures of clothes, he was starting to mix them all up.

By the end of the day, Charlie was ready to go home, get some light dinner and relax in front of the telly with a hot cuppa. He had every intention of forgetting for the night about all the work he still had to do until it was time to show it to Singh.

So, when Charlie stepped inside the flat he shared with Elle and Isaac, he was pleasantly surprised to see that Isaac was already halfway in getting their dinner ready.

“Hey, what do I owe the pleasure of an Isaac meal today?”

Isaac chuckled. “I was just in the mood to cook.”

“Alright, fair enough. I'll freshen up and then I’ll be back to help you finish it.”

Charlie made quick work of showering and it didn’t take long for him to be back in the kitchen with his friend. Elle was still not home, which wasn’t unusual, since even though they worked in the same place, they had some pretty different schedules and more often than not they would head home at different times.

As he helped Isaac with the cooking, he started filling his friend in what had gone down at work. And of course, Isaac was having the biggest fun with the news.

“Okay, okay, let me get this straight,” Isaac said, trying to control his giggles while Charlie looked at him pretty unamused. “You finally got rid of Ben and got a bit more freedom at work but at the same time you basically got paired with the love of your life Nick Nelson?”

Charlie rolled his eyes as he threw his head back, sighing. “That’s correct.”

Cue in more giggles from Isaac. “Oh, this is going to be way too much fun.”

Yeah, Charlie thought, so much fun.

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

Chapter Text

When Friday rolled around, Charlie was actually feeling a bit excited. He had spent the last few days contacting the fashion designers he had felt would be the most suitable and after a disappointing talk with one of them, a straightforward ‘no’ from another and not really clicking with the remaining one, he had finally decided on a name.

Nathan Ajayi was a Kent based artist, which was why he stood out to Charlie, since he was also from the same place. Nathan had been a fashion designer for a few years already, getting recognition for his colourful yet tasteful creations. Since he was very openly part of the queer community, Nathan also liked to work with a few Drag Queens, which allowed him to create a few more over the top pieces that otherwise wouldn’t fit his personal style.

Overall, Charlie had a good feeling about Nathan and when they had both talked on the mobile, the older man had been pretty receptive and open to the idea of working with the magazine for a cover feature article. Now Charlie just hoped that Nick had done his part in choosing a model, seeing as Nathan would probably have to alter the chosen outfits to fit the model’s body.

And it seemed like just thinking about Nick was enough to summon the man, because as soon as Charlie swiped his company badge in the designated place in the lobby to be granted access to the lift area, he felt another person siding up with him and by the way his own body reacted, he just knew it was Nick Nelson.

“Morning, Charlie,” Nick’s chirpy voice reached his ears and he mentally rolled his eyes, sighing.

“Morning.”

They reached the lifts, managing to follow a few other employees into one of them. After pressing the button to their floor number, Charlie went to stand in the back of the enclosed space, not feeling surprised when Nick followed him. The other man had another one of those red and white coffee cups in hand, a large one, and he was sipping on it distractedly. Charlie had every intention of staying silent, but his curiosity got the best of him.

“Did you manage to find a model for the shooting?”

Nick smiled as if he had something up his sleeve. “I might have.”

“What do you mean ‘might’?”

“I had an idea, but I need to run it with Singh first before actually talking to the person.”

Oh no, Charlie was not liking the sound of that. “Nick, please, try not to mess this up.”

“Don’t worry, Charlie,” Nick rolled his eyes, taking another sip of his coffee (or whatever it was he was drinking because Charlie had a feeling he wasn’t very fond of coffee). “I know you don’t like me very much, but this is also my job. I’m not gonna mess it up just because.”

Great, now he was feeling bad. “I know that. I just can’t help but think things will go to shit.”

“They won’t, trust me.”

Charlie looked at him with a raised eyebrow but chose not to comment on that. The doors to their considerably less crowded lift opened and Charlie was the first one to move. “Fine. See you later then, I guess.”

He didn’t wait for a response, heading straight to his office. Since Elle had a meeting first thing in the morning, once again he found himself alone in the room, so he started to set up his work for the day as well as everything he’d need for his meeting with Singh later on the day.

The day went by slow. Other than the meeting with his boss, Charlie also had a few other meetings with his fashion assistants and staff writers, so he was in and out of his office most of the day, barely having time to eat his sandwich for lunch. He saw Elle once or twice before they both went on a joint meeting but then they got separated again.

When the time came, Charlie went up to the 13^th floor with a few minutes to spare, and this time he rode alone on the lift, seeing as Nick was nowhere to be seen. He didn’t mind it, although he hoped Nick wouldn’t be late.

“Hey, Tara,” he greeted the woman when he met her by her station.

“Hey, babe. Nick isn’t with you?” Tara asked, wiggling her brows and smiling teasingly. He rolled his eyes affectionately.

“No, he’s not, and why would he be?”

“He seems to be wherever you are lately, doesn’t he?” She said a bit casually, way too casually in his opinion.

He narrowed his eyes at her. “You have been talking to Elle about this, haven’t you?”

“Not really… should I?” Another innocent smile from Tara.

“The two of you are terrible.”

“Make that the three of us, then. Darcy is a bit invested as well.”

“Of fucking course she is.”

Tara laughed delightfully at Charlie’s tone, but then Singh came out of her room and spotted him there. “Charlie! Great that you’re already here. Where’s Nick?”

It took everything in him not to roll his eyes at his boss. “Um, he’s not..”

“Hi, I’m here. Sorry, I got held up at another meeting,” Nick arrived near them, tablet in hand and slightly out of breath as if he had run a bit to get there.

“Okay, great. Let’s start then.”

Both men followed the older woman into her office, but instead of sitting on her usual desk, Singh led them to the small conference table in the right corner of the room. They all took their places; Singh in the head seat, Charlie to her left and Nick to her right, facing Charlie.

“Alright. Let’s start from the beginning. Charlie, you can go first.”

So, Charlie told them about Nathan Ajayi’s work, showing pictures and videos from past runway events the artist had participated in and also mentioning the brief contact he’d had with the man, which Singh approved of. Both Nick and Singh seemed to be a bit impressed with the extent of his research, and he honestly found it funny, seeing as it was mostly because his overthinker brain needed to have all the information about whatever he was concentrating on.

And then it was Nick’s turn.

“Okay, so. While I was thinking about how to go about this I kind of had an idea that could be a bit… different than what you had in mind, Singh.”

Charlie was not sure where Nick was going with that, but he seemed to have piqued Singh's interest. “I’m listening.”

“We work with a few already known models, right? So how about we get someone unknown, a new face to go with maybe a new era, without, you know, the negativity that some people used to bring here.”

Fine then, now Charlie was interested as well, but there was only one problem. “Where are we gonna find a new face this fast, though?”

“It’s quite good you particularly asked, Charlie,” Nick’s lopsided smile made an appearance. “Because you happen to be directly linked to who I’m thinking of.”

“Me?” Charlie frowned, before widening his eyes. “Are you talking about…?”

“Elle, yes.”

“Elle Argent?” Singh asked, musingly. “My beauty editor?”

“Yes, herself,” Nick continued, taking his tablet and turning it to face the other two in the table. On the screen, Charlie saw some old posts from Elle’s Instagram. “Well, first of all, Elle is objectively gorgeous. She has a natural talent for pictures and she once told me she used to model when she was in university, which helps in our favour. We would have someone who isn’t being showcased in many mags but who’s also experienced.”

Singh hummed as she swiped through the pictures Nick had chosen, and Charlie had to admit Nick had found some pretty good shots from Elle. Her career had been brief, but she was really good and the camera loved her.

“How have I never known about this?” Their boss asked, sounding surprised. Charlie opened his mouth to answer, but he was beaten to it.

“It wasn’t something she did for long, so by the time she started here, she had already stopped modelling for a couple of years. She said she liked doing photoshoots and all, but something rather… personal happened and she decided it wasn’t for her anymore.”

Huh. Charlie leaned back on his chair, frowning once again after hearing Nick. He found it curious that the other man seemed to know a bit too much about Elle’s life, even a few personal bits like the reason she quit modelling since that was something she usually avoided talking about with basically anyone.

And Nick being overly adamant about getting Elle on the job was also interesting to him.

Singh hummed again. “Have you talked to her yet?”

“No, I wanted to know your opinion first.”

“Okay,” she took the extension phone that was on the table near her. “Tara, yes. Can you call Elle and get her to come over? Please, and tell her to be fast. Thank you.”

Not even ten minutes later, Tara was letting them know Elle had arrived and she was ushered in. She looked around at each of them and smiled in confusion.

“Did you want to see me, Singh?”

“Yes, dear. Please, take a seat.”

Since Charlie’s side of the table was closer to her, she hurried to his side, sitting down on the chair by his side. As she was doing so, she noticed the tablet in front of Singh, still with her pictures open. Her eyes widened.

“Um, what’s going on?” Elle asked, her eyes still glued to her pictures. By the way she was noticeably swallowing over and over, Charlie knew she was nervous and possibly remembering the bad memories. Singh signaled for Nick to take over since it was his idea.

“Here’s the thing, Elle. We need a model for the August cover, as you well know, so I was wondering… Well, I was kinda wanting you for this.”

“Me?” Her eyes were now trained on Nick, and so was Charlie’s, so he noticed right away when Nick gave her a smirk.

“Yes, Elle, you. I mean, I know you don’t model anymore, but you were really good,” his grinned, sparing a glance at Charlie before looking at Elle again. “Like remember that day you helped me test the lighting in the studio? It was super casual and your pictures still turned out good.”

“C’mon, Nick, we were just joking around that day,” Elle chuckled, a bit embarrassed.

“Yeah, but it still proves my point. And my point is, you are an amazing model.”

“I have to admit, Elle, that the pictures I’ve seen here,” Singh pointed at the tablet in front of her. “Are really, really good. Like better than some I’ve seen from a few more experienced models.”

“Oh. Really?” Singh nodded and Elle fiddled with her braids. “I just… It’s been a while. I’m not sure if I’d still know what to do.”

“That’s totally okay and I’d help you with that. I just think you’d do a great job and you’d fit very well with the intended cover. And I’m gonna be honest, you’re gorgeous and I’d absolutely love to photograph you.”

Charlie watched as Nick and Elle seemed to have a wordless conversation, and then Nick smiled. An earnest smile, actually, and…

Oh?

What in the ever living hell?

Charlie was still watching Nick when the other man blushed. Well, it wasn’t really a full-on blush, but his cheeks got a bit of colour, then brown eyes met blue ones and whatever Nick saw on Charlie’s face made his blush intensify.

And just like that, Charlie felt like banging his head on the table.

Nick always going to the same Café as Elle. Nick and Elle apparently spending their lunch breaks together. Nick getting Elle’s help on some of his photoshoots. Nick knowing a lot about Elle’s life.

Oh for fuck’s sake.

Nick was interested in Elle.

How the fuck had he missed it?

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

Elle had ended up agreeing to be the model for their August issue, especially after Singh joined in saying she would be the first black trans woman to be featured in a cover for the magazine. And the thing was, Charlie knew Elle missed modelling. She used to thrive during photoshoots, which she always favoured over the runway, but ever since she had a terrible experience with a transphobic photographer, she had wilted away from that scene and just focused back on her studies. But Charlie had to agree with Nick, Elle was a natural and he already knew Nathan Ajayi’s collection would look absolutely amazing on her. That paired up with Nick’s talent, he was sure they could get a really good cover feature. Maybe the best of the year so far.

And then they all went home early, since Singh let them go out right after the meeting, saying they had done a good job and deserved a short rest before starting to work on the project. Which meant Charlie now had way too much time on that Friday night to dwell on his new findings. He had been tempted to ask his friend group if anyone was interested in going out, but he also didn’t want to end up having to spend a whole night with Nick, so he gave up on that idea.

Instead, he just lied in bed, his thoughts running wide. And honestly, the more Charlie thought about Nick fancying Elle, the more it made sense. Granted, all he had were assumptions and coincidences, but still. The coincidences were falling a bit too much into place.

The only thing that didn’t make sense, though, was that Nick kept flirting with him and he couldn’t think of a good enough explanation for that. Wouldn’t it be counterproductive to flirt with the best friend of the girl you might be into?

Charlie sighed. Meddling was something he strongly disliked doing as it was way more Darcy’s vibe to go into people’s business, but there was just something urging him in that direction. He kept thinking about all the things we knew about Nick and… was he really about to watch the guy he didn’t like go on to break his best friend’s heart?

Yeah, of course not. So he started scheming.

He was going to get closer to Nick Nelson to assess the situation and see if the other man really had good intentions with Elle.

And Charlie Spring would be damned if he allowed someone to mess with Elle’s heart just for fun.

Chapter Text

“Wait, so Elle is back at modelling then?”

“Yes. Or at least for this shoot she is,” Charlie cut into his egg and toast, eating the bite right after. Tori hummed, taking a sip of her iced tea.

It was Sunday, which meant it was Charlie and Victoria’s monthly brunch. Both siblings had started this tradition when they were both living in different cities while attending university; Charlie in London and Tori in York. Back then, they wouldn’t meet every month, of course, since living with a student income wouldn’t allow them to spend so much on train tickets, but they would still try to meet as often as they could. After graduating, Tori just decided to move to London and be closer to not only Charlie, but their younger brother as well, who was still a teenager and living in Kent. That was also when she met her boyfriend Michael Holden, with whom she currently lived with.

“Well, I personally think it’s amazing,” Tori said, after taking a bite of her croissant. “And maybe she’ll fully go back into it after this project is done. She always liked being a model.”

“That’s true. I don’t know if she would go full on model, though, because she does seem to like a bit more to work at the magazine, but there’s always the possibility of her doing both things.”

They talked a bit more about some other amenities, Tori telling him about a few ridiculous situations she had gone through lately, as she was a solicitor in a law firm. Quite frankly, Charlie had never imagined his sister working in the legal system, but somehow it actually ended up being quite fitting, especially because Tori had an emotional detachment that just made her perfect for dealing with it. But then their conversation circled back to Charlie’s job.

“By the way, is Olly back home for the summer already?” Charlie asked his sister a few moments later. He talked quite a lot with their younger brother, but lately he had been a bit too busy so he hadn’t been paying much attention to their group chat.

“I guess so, yeah. He said he would visit his girlfriend’s family for a while, but it would be probably later in the summer,” Tori raised her eyebrows. “Why? Are you thinking about visiting?”

“Well, I was thinking about inviting Nick to go to Kent so we can visit the fashion designer’s workplace, but I’d also like to see Olly, and if he wasn’t home, I just wouldn’t let mum and dad know.”

“Okay, fair enough I suppose,” Tori was still staring at him, which made him a bit uneasy. “So you and Nick are getting close now? What happened to you hating him?”

Charlie rolled his eyes. “I don’t hate him, I just dislike him a bit.”

“A bit, he says. Sure, of course,” Tori gave him a condescending smile. “But you know what they say about hate and love, don’t you?”

“Oh my fucking God, just shut up,” another eyeroll, even though he did laughed a bit. “Doesn’t matter anyway, Nick is into Elle.”

“Into Elle?” Even with her bangs, Charlie could still notice her eyebrows raising once again. “Why do you think that?”

“Seems like they have been spending their lunch breaks together, and I don’t know, the way Nick was really trying to get Elle as the model was a bit… suspicious,” he sipped his drink. “I just have this feeling he likes her.”

“And does she like him back? I’m not gonna lie, Charlie, I’ve always thought he might like you.”

Charlie scoffed. Why the hell did everyone seem to think that?

“He definitely does not like me. And I don’t know about Elle yet, but I’ll find that out soon enough,” he said. “And I’m also planning on finding out for sure if Nick likes Elle.”

Tori chuckled. “Oh God, Charlie. You know you’re not good at meddling, this is gonna come back to bite you in the arse in the end.”

“There’s literally nothing that could go wrong with this, Tori,” Charlie said resolutely.

“Famous last words, but you do you.”

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

It was honestly ridiculous how Charlie hadn’t noticed it before.

It was Monday and he was in one of the conference rooms along with Nick and Elle, planning how the shoot would go. There was no reason for Charlie to actually be there, since it was not pertaining to his job, but Elle had requested his presence and Nick didn’t seem put off by that so there he was.

And now that he knew what was going on with Nick, every evidence was just so glaring to him he was actually baffled he had been so stupid.

Like when Nick had met them at their office earlier that morning, the first thing Charlie noticed was that he had three coffee cups on a carrying tray, all red and white. Nick handed one of the cups to Elle, then another to Charlie, keeping the last one to himself.

Elle had taken a sip of her drink, sighing right after. “Oh my God, Nick, you are such a dear.”

“Thought I would soften you up with your favourite so I could ask for your input in planning the shoot and you’d feel compelled to say yes.”

And Charlie had almost choked on his drink, because not even Charlie knew Elle’s favourite coffee order. She had a very specific one that she would get no matter where they went, sometimes having to adapt one ingredient or other, but still never changing it all that much. She would change the milk, add vanilla extract and whatever other things she wanted… But there Nick was, knowing her order by heart.

(He was so focused on that he didn’t register the fact that Nick also knew his favourite order.)

So now, Nick had his laptop opened and connected to the projector on the wall, showing a few pictures he had taken before so they could get inspired. Charlie had also gotten pictures from a few of the looks Nathan had chosen for it, so they could also plan the environment so as to not clash with the outfits.

All in all, they were actually being productive. Well, whenever Charlie wasn’t focused on watching Nick and Elle’s interaction, of course.

“I think you should keep your braids for the shoot, yeah,” Nick was saying when Charlie’s attention went back to the conversation. “You look good with them and we can play with them a bit.”

“You could also wear some of your laces, Elle,” Charlie piped in from his seat. “The pink one will look great with one of the black dresses.”

“Yeah, that too,” Nick agreed. “And we can always get props from the costume department. We’ll need at least two days to get it all done anyways.”

Since they were doing it a bit short notice, they had decided to make a more minimalist photoshoot and focus more on the outfits and the model, rather than on big decorated scenarios. So far they were having good ideas, and Charlie was enjoying that aspect of the briefing, because it was something he had never taken part in before.

“We can get Sahar to do your makeup and Aled will be assisting me with the equipment, like he did that day you helped me,” Nick told Elle before turning to Charlie, his lopsided smile on his face. “You are welcome to join us too, Charlie. But let me tell you that it’s a bit boring just to watch.”

“I might do that, actually. Elle wearing the clothes might help me see how they look in a person.”

Nick had already tried to book the studio for that same week, but it turned out it didn’t have any opening. So instead, they decided on the other week, allowing Elle to have a little more time to work with Sahar on the makeup style they thought would be most suitable for the looks, since that was literally her job. Satisfied with their plans, Elle left to resume her other tasks, and Charlie found himself alone with Nick, who was still taking a few notes, apparently in no hurry to leave.

“So,” he got Nick’s attention, making the other man look up a bit surprised that Charlie was actually talking to him unprompted. “I wanted to meet Nathan before the shoot so I could see his atelier and maybe get a feeling of how he works, and I was wondering if you’d like to tag along? You could maybe take a few shots around the place, maybe of him working and all.”

Nick nodded, thoughtfully. “Yeah, that actually sounds like a good idea. When are you thinking of going?”

“Well, he’s in Rochester, Kent, so instead of losing a whole day for that, I thought about getting the train after work on Friday and just renting out a cheap hotel for a night or something.”

“Oh, Rochester you say?” Nick smiled, leaning back on his chair. “We won’t need a hotel, then. We could stay at my mum’s house.”

Charlie blinked in surprise. “Your mum’s? You’re also from Rochester? How did I not know that? I’m from there too!”

“Really? Which school did you go to?”

“Truham School for Boys.”

“Oh my God, are you serious? I was gonna go to Truham as well, like my brother did, but I got a spot at St. John’s since I played rugby and my mum thought it would be the best option for me.”

“Oh wow,” Charlie was too surprised to say anything else. What were the odds of Nick fucking Nelson almost going to school with him?

“Can you believe we could’ve met way sooner? Wow, that’s crazy.”

“Yeah, really crazy,” was his weak reply, because his brain was actually thinking about that scenario. He and Nick meeting as teenagers, maybe having form together and becoming friends? Or maybe even something more, his brain insisted on adding. What the… He blinked a few times to get back into focus. “Anyway, you honestly think your mum wouldn’t mind me staying over as well?”

“No at all, she would be excited, actually,” Nick chuckled, a fond look on his face at the thought of his mum. Yeah, Charlie could not relate. “But wouldn’t you prefer staying with your own family, though?"

Charlie snorted. “Absolutely not. It’s either your mum’s or getting a hotel room.”

The other man frowned. “O-kay. Do I wanna know?”

“Probably not. I might have to go see them sometime, though. Just so you know.”

“Noted,” Nick was still frowning a bit but then changed the subject. “Also, we don’t really need to get the train, I can borrow my flatmate’s car. He wouldn’t mind it.”

“Oh, okay then. Great,” Charlie opened his calendar on his mobile and added a reminder. “So, I’ll let Nathan know of our plans and see if it works for him. Then if it does, we travel to Kent on Friday after work.”

“Sounds good.”

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

are you gonna be home this weekend?

coolest spring
it depends what for

🙄
i might be going to kent for work, so I thought about visiting
but if you don’t want to
i won’t

coolest spring
NO NO WAIT
CHARLIE
COME BACK
I WANT TO

thought so
i don’t know when that will be though
but its more likely to be on sunday before i come back home

coolest spring
you’re not staying with us then?

olly
whatever do you think

coolest spring
yeah, that was a dumb question
okay, let me know when then!
see you! ❤️

see ya ❤️

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

A few days later everything was set up.

Nick had double booked the studio for the middle of the following week and Charlie had arranged their meeting with Nathan for Saturday morning, so he did let Oliver know he would be visiting on Sunday.

Unfortunately, things started to go a little downhill when he got a text from his brother after he had just gotten home from work on Thursday.

coolest spring
CHARLIE IM SO SORRY
i was in a call with tori talking about you coming and mum heard me
now she’s pissed you’re not staying with us
i’m so sorry :(

Not even two minutes after he read the messages, his mobile rang. He sighed, mentally preparing to deal with Jane Spring.

“Hello, mum.”

“Is that true?” Jane’s voice was sharp as it always was. “You’re coming home over the weekend?”

“Yes, I need to go to Kent for work so I’ll stop by on Sunday.”

“Why in the name of God aren’t you staying here, Charles?” Oh there comes the full name, the best way to notice that Jane was mad. Then again, she was always a bit mad whenever talking to Charlie so…

“I’m staying with the friend I’m going with, mum,” Charlie ran his hand through his hair, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice. He hated that his mum always brought back the teenage boy in him that felt the need to justify his actions. “He’s also from Kent so we’re staying at his mum’s.”

“And why are you staying with a literal stranger and not with your own family?” Jane’s voice raised in outrage, and that was the exact thing Charlie was trying to avoid happening when he decided to not tell his parents he would be in Kent until the moment he stepped foot into their living room. Jane then let out a gasp, her voice becoming suggestive. “Is there a reason you want to stay with this… man instead of here, Charlie?”

And that was when everything went to shit.

See, one of Charlie’s worst traits was being petty. Whenever he had the smallest inkling that he was being antagonized on purpose, instead of being the bigger person, he just couldn’t help but rise to the occasion. And that usually happened, in its majority, whenever he spoke to his mum.

Meaning, Charlie really didn’t even think. He just opened his mouth and went for the kill.

“Yes, mum, there is. Nick is actually my boyfriend.”

Well then.

That trip just became a lot more complicated.

Chapter Text

“Nick is actually my boyfriend.”

It was Friday and as Charlie went through his work day, his own words kept replaying over and over in his mind. He had absolutely no idea how to get out of this situation, but if he was being quite honest, he didn’t even think there was a way out of it.

Jane, after recovering from the shock of his statement, had demanded Nick’s presence over their Sunday roast, which now meant Charlie had to tell Nick about what he’d done and why he’d done it in the first place. It also meant Charlie would have to sit through an entire meal with his family, and that was something he avoided doing as much as he could, seeing as Jane had the terribly annoying habit of complaining about his eating and undermining his struggles. Being in front of a stranger would placate her a bit, but not for long, and there was nothing else Charlie hated more then being put on the spot by his own fucking mum.

He considered saying the trip was unfortunately cancelled and he wasn’t going to Kent anymore, but he wouldn’t put it past Jane to find out the address of Nick’s childhood home and just stop by out of the blue. And honestly, if he got that visit out of the way, he would probably only have to deal with visiting again during Christmas, which was many months away and a problem for future Charlie to solve. So he’d try and work with the current problem at hand.

Which was telling Nick and getting his help…

Ugh. Fucking hell, that was going to be absolutely dreadful.

So when Charlie’s work day finished and he got into the car Nick would be driving to find the other man behind the wheel, he could already feel the beginning of a stress headache forming in the back of his head. And that was why he was immensely grateful when Nick handed him a coffee cup.

“Oh my God, thank you for that.”

“Of course. You ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

For the first few minutes of their almost an hour long trip, Charlie fiddled with his mobile while drinking his coffee, trying to find a playlist for them to listen to. For someone who breathed music, he was finding it quite hard to choose something suitable, especially because he had no idea what type of music Nick was into.

So he just gave up, deciding on just pressing shuffle on his favourite playlist and the opening sounds for Fake Happy came up on the speakers.

“Absolutely not,” Nick had barely even registered Hayley William’s voice and he was vehemently shaking his head. “If you wanna listen to Paramore, at least pick something less sad, like Brand New Eyes or something.”

“First of all, rude. Fake Happy is not sad, it’s a realistic portrayal of mental illness.”

“Okay, fair. I can agree with that, but still.”

“Second of all, you like Paramore?”

“Um… yes? Have liked them for quite some time, actually.”

Charlie, who had been opening another playlist, looked at Nick with his eyebrows raised. “You do? Oh, they are one of my favourite bands.”

“I thought so, you came into work wearing a Paramore shirt once.”

“Oh,” the speakers started playing That’s What you Get while Charlie thought over Nick’s words, frowning a bit at the fact that he remembered something as small as that. “I used to play some of their songs on the drums as practice when I was in school.”

“You play the drums??” Nick asked, surprised. “That’s so cool!”

“Um, thanks.”

Nick threw a lopsided smile over to him and Charlie was feeling a bit weird that they were having such normal conversations lately, and that was the only way he could explain why he decided then and there to broach the touchy subject that had been stressing him out.

“So, um,” Charlie played with the curls in the back of his neck. “If you don’t mind it, would you wanna come to my family’s Sunday roast?”

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t mind it, but I thought you would want to spend time with your family by yourself?”

“Yeah, that. Um… I might have told my mum you’re my… boyfriend,” Charlie’s voice was low in the enclosed space, almost drowned out by the radio. And he actually thought Nick hadn’t heard him, because the other man was silent for way longer than necessary.

But then Nick burst out laughing. “And why would you do that?!”

“Because my mum is always trying to push me over the edge and she never takes no for an answer. And apparently, I can never let her have the last word, so when she started being annoying and suggestive about me staying at your mum’s, I just said you were my boyfriend to shut her up.”

Charlie’s word vomit was met with another silence from Nick, who then promptly let out a gush of air. “That was– okay, I might need a bit more context here.”

Charlie sighed. “I don’t have a very good relationship with my mum. Or my dad, for that matter, but the worst really is with mum. She’s always had a problem with boundaries, and when I got diagnosed with anorexia and OCD as a teen, she just… took it very badly. It’s almost as if it was the biggest inconvenience to her, having a mentally ill son, as if I’d decided to be ill out of spite for her. So she never fully understood it, never actually tried to, to be honest. And nowadays she just thinks I’m being overly dramatic whenever I have a bad day, which often happens during big family gatherings because of the amount of stress I get under.”

“Wow,” Nick glanced at him for a few seconds, a commiserating look on his face. “Your mum sounds absolutely fucking terrible, I’m so sorry.”

Charlie let out a surprised snort at Nick’s blunt words. “It’s okay. Well, it’s not, but I’m used to it now. I just try to deal with her the best way possible, which is usually avoidance.”

“Or making up boyfriends out of the blue.”

“Or making up boyfriends, yeah,” Charlie rolled his eyes, but they both shared a laugh at that.

“Okay then, count me in on that ruse.”

“You really don’t have to,” Charlie was quick to add. “I can totally come up with an explanation as to why you need to miss it.”

“Nah, I’m invested now, and honestly curious to see how you’re gonna play this out,” without a warning, Nick reached out and took Charlie’s right hand in his. Surprised, Charlie let out a yelp and pulled his hand out of Nick’s grasp. The other man laughed. “See? I can barely touch you without you jumping back. How are we gonna play boyfriends?”

Charlie rolled his eyes, getting annoyed again. “Sorry if I was not expecting that right now!”

“Imagine how you’d react if I tried to kiss you in your parent’s dining room,” Nick kept going as if Charlie hadn’t said a thing, and Charlie stuttered.

“Kiss me? Who said anything about kissing?”

“I mean, that’s what boyfriends do, isn’t it? How do you expect your mum to believe it if you keep a distance of a mile from me?”

“Okay, but kissing is a bit too much, Nick! There’s no need for that much PDA in front of my parents.”

“Charlie,” Nick started in a serious tone, his face blank. “I think we should practice the kissing part.”

“Nick!” Charlie huffed and Nick’s laugh was so loud, he couldn’t hear the music anymore.

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

Nick’s mum was an absolute gem.

Sarah Nelson had welcomed him with a big smile, a tight hug, a warm cuppa, and then proceeded to show him where he would be sleeping. And she had a dog! The cutest and loveliest dog Charlie had ever seen was called Nellie, who used to be Sarah and Nick’s until he moved to London for good after university and let Nellie stay with Sarah so the older woman wouldn’t feel so alone.

So overall, in the short ten minutes he had spent with her, he already felt like she was the kind of mum he wished he had.

Oh well… not depressing at all.

Charlie had decided to shower and freshen up before going back down to eat the pizza Sarah had ordered for both him and Nick, but as he was leaving the bedroom to do just that, his mobile rang with a call from his sister.

“Victoria.”

“How the fuck one day we’re talking about how you think Nick likes Elle and then a few days later mum is calling me to say you’re bringing your boyfriend Nick to meet the family so I should also be there? What the actual hell, Charlie?”

Charlie sighed, sitting on the bed. Of course Jane would try and turn that into a big family thing.

“I’m not actually dating Nick, Tori.”

Tori was silent for a few seconds. “Well then, let me repeat it. What the actual hell, Charlie?”

“It was just a bad decision in the heat of the moment? Like mum was being her usual self, saying I should stay with them not with a stranger, and when she asked if there was any other reason for me to stay with Nick, I just blurted out he was my boyfriend.”

“Bloody hell, Charles. Don’t you know the best course of action with mum is basically ignoring her stupidity?”

“Yes, I do, but I’m also tired, Tori,” he fell back on the bed, a deep sigh escaping his lips. “I’m literally a fucking adult, I don’t need her for any fucking thing and she still tries to control my life. Whenever I just try to ignore her, she makes such a big deal out of it all that it just ends up being even more tiring.”

“I hate that I can’t help you with that,” Tori also sighed. “No matter how much I try, she never listens to me.”

“I know, but I appreciate you helping anyways.”

“But going back to the Nick thing, what are you gonna do?”

“He agreed to play my fake boyfriend during dinner,” there was a brief silence from Tori’s end once again before he heard her soft giggles, as if she was trying not to flat out laugh at his face. “Go on, you can laugh.”

And then she did just that. “How are you gonna play boyfriend with the guy you hate? Oh my fucking God, this is so coming back to bite you in the arse, dear brother.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’ve already told me this,” he rolled his eyes, even though he had a soft smile on his face. It was nice to hear his sister laugh, even if it was at his expense. “I need to go now; Nick and his mum are waiting for me so we can eat pizza.”

“Okay, go on. I’ll see you on Sunday.”

“What? You’re actually coming? Victoria!”

“Bye bye, love,” she sang before hanging up.

“Argh, for fucks sake,” he mumbled, his hands on his face.

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

As soon as he left the room that used to belong to Nick’s older brother but was now a spare room, he came face to face with Nick, who was leaving his old bedroom after also freshening up. The other man was wearing a pair of grey joggers and a tight white shirt and… okay. Charlie could admit, at least to himself, that he appreciated the view because yes, objectively Nick was fit as hell, but he tried not to dwell too much on that.

(He failed.)

“How come your brother’s room was made into a guest room and yours is still yours?” He had seen a bit of Nick’s room earlier when the both of them had gone upstairs and there was still a sign on the door in the shape of a rugby ball with a Nick written on it.

“That’s because I’m the favourite.”

Charlie snorted. “With that ego, how could you not be, right?”

Nick chuckled as they reached the first floor, heading for the kitchen. “I mean, my brother is an absolute arse, so I’m not lying, but it’s actually because I visit way more often than David.”

“That makes sense,” Charlie hummed. Nick’s mum was already sitting in the living room, where she was watching the telly while waiting for them, so they started dishing out their food. “You don’t get along with your brother then?”

“Nope,” Nick opened the fridge, taking out a beer and offering it to Charlie. When Charlie nodded, he got another one and went back to the counter. “We were never that close, but it got worse after he found out I’m bi, because of course he’s a biphobic twat.”

“Oh,” Charlie frowned. “I’m sorry for that. As terrible as my parents might be, at least they don’t care that I'm gay.”

“Yeah, well. It is what it is and to be honest, I’ve given up on trying to get his approval or whatever.”

“Good for you then.”

They got their pizzas and beers and headed for the living room. Sarah, sitting in an armchair with Nellie by her feet, smiled at them when they joined her, sitting on the sofa. They made small talk while searching for something to watch but Charlie wasn’t paying much attention to it. He was a bit more focused on eating his pizza, one bite at a time, because even though Sarah had been lovely, he was still thrown into a new situation and with everything going on with his mum, it would be too easy for him to fall into old habits. But since he didn’t want that, and since pizza was one of his favourite foods, he was doing his best to eat it.

Unfortunately, that meant he missed some of the conversation, only tuning back in when he heard Sarah ask Nick. “And why didn’t you bring Henry with you, Nicky?”

Wait, what? Who the fuck was Henry?

Did Nick have a boyfriend he didn’t know about? Fucking hell, did he just rope a guy who wasn’t even single into playing his fake boyfriend? And why the fuck would Nick joke about them kissing if he was not single?

Oh my God, and what about Elle?!

But before Charlie could spiral even more, the pizza he had just eaten churning unpleasantly in his stomach, Nick answered his mum after swallowing his own food.

“I left him with Sai,” Nick took a sip from his beer. “He agreed to lend me his car, but he wanted to keep Henry.”

“Oh,” Sarah snorted. “Funny how now he really likes Henry, huh? Bet he’ll end up getting one for himself in the future.”

Charlie frowned, blinking in confusion. That… didn’t sound like a conversation about a boyfriend. “Um… who’s Henry?”

“Oh, he’s my dog.”

Oh.

A… dog.

Wow Charlie, he thought, you really need to learn how to get all the information before running with it, huh?

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

The next day, Charlie was feeling excited yet nervous. The interview with Nathan Ajayi was going to be his first big one on his own, and even though he felt ready, he still felt as if everything would go wrong.

But then he took a deep breath and decided he wouldn’t allow the intrusive thoughts to take a hold of him. He had worked too hard to get where he was and he was prepared enough for everything to go smoothly, so he just had to trust himself.

Granted, it was easier said than done. But he’d try.

“You okay?”

He had just exited the car that Nick had parked in front of Nathan’s atelier, in downtown Rochester, and he looked at Nick over the hood of the car. “Yeah. A bit nervous, but fine.”

“That’s understandable, I suppose. But I’m sure you’ll be great.”

Charlie looked at Nick with surprise, but the other man was distracted gathering up his camera equipment. “Thank you.”

They headed for the building’s entrance, where Charlie rang the buzzer. They were buzzed in by the owner of the studio himself and soon they were on the second floor, being greeted by a smiley Black man standing by the door.

The meeting started as casually as possible. Nathan Ajayi was friendly as he showed them around the spacious atelier, and Nick took the opportunity to take a few candid shots of the designer with some of his croquis on the wall and mannequins dressed with still semi-finished creations. All the while, Charlie was recording – with Nathan’s permission, of course – their conversation so he could add informal bits in his article and make it more fluid and intimate.

Then Charlie sat down with Nathan in his big centre table, with even more croquis laying on top of it, and talking about Nathan’s early works, inspirations and background. But as focused as he was on their talk, Charlie couldn’t help but also notice Nick, as the photographer explored the place and took more shots of the racks filled with the designer’s latest creations. It was quite the sight, really, since he’d never had the opportunity to watch Nick be so much in his element as he was in that moment.

By the time Charlie felt like they had everything they needed, he was positively surprised with how much he had enjoyed talking to Nathan, and they both had bonded over shared life experiences, as they had grown up as two gay boys loving fashion in a small town full of people that didn’t really understand them.

After setting up for Nathan to meet them in London along with Elle, during the week, so the designer could make any new necessary adjustments on the chosen outfits and also watch some of the shooting, Nick and Charlie went on their way.

As both of them sat in the car and Nick showed him a few of the shots he had taken in the studio, Charlie started feeling as if that trip could actually end up being a good one.

Maybe, just maybe, the meeting would be the good omen he needed and not even the visit to his parent’s house the next day would ruin it.

Well, it was good that he was trying to keep up the good spirits… even if he was, in fact, about to be proven wrong.

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

Chapter Text

It was absurd. Absolutely fucking absurd.

Well, it wasn’t a surprise to Charlie, not when he knew Nick to be just like that. Not when that was part of the reason Charlie was so wary of him. But the last few days where Nick had been so nice, especially as they worked together, had clouded his judgement and he had momentarily forgotten he didn’t like the man.

He took another sip from his drink.

Nick and Charlie had gone out that Saturday night to meet some of Nick’s friends from school. Well, technically it was only the woman, Imogen Heaney, that was Nick’s friend, since he wasn’t much in contact with many of his schoolmates, as he’d explained. Apart from two of the three guys he shared a flat with and Imogen, who had been his friend ever since they tried to date in secondary before deciding they were better off as friends, Nick dropped the St. John’s guys as soon as he left for uni. Something about them not being good friends anyway, especially after he came out in his last year of school.

So, there Charlie was, leaning on the counter of the pub’s bar, drink in hand and watching Nick flirting shamelessly with a guy named James, who was friends with Imogen or whatever. Charlie stopped caring as soon as the bloke took an instant liking to Nick.

Someone sided up to him, clicking their tongue. “Isn’t that your boyfriend?”

Charlie looked up at Oliver – it was honestly unfair that his younger brother was taller than him – before sipping his drink. “Nick is not my boyfriend.”

Oliver hummed, leaning back and resting one of his elbows on the counter, the other hand holding up a beer. “Why is he coming to dinner tomorrow as if he was, then?”

“Because I told mum he was.”

“… I’m not sure I’m following, Charlie.”

“Mum was being annoying about me staying at his, so I told her he was my boyfriend to get her to back off,” Charlie’s reply was met with silence from his brother, before Oliver burst out laughing.

“God, Charlie, your mind works in mysterious ways.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ve been told.”

“Why are you glaring daggers at him and the other guy, though?”

“I am not–” Oliver sent him a look that made him roll his eyes. “Okay, fine. It’s just… I think he’s interested in Elle, but he keeps flirting around without a care in the world and that doesn’t sit right with me at all.”

“O-kay… question. You got the guy that’s supposedly interested in your friend to play your fake boyfriend and he agreed… even though you say he’s interested in someone else. Which happens to be Elle.”

Charlie bristled, hiding himself behind his glass, and looking back at where Nick is sitting with James in time to see them both laughing at something James had said. “That would be correct.”

“Are you sure he’s not interested in you? I mean, that’s a basic romance trope 101.”

“Yes, Olly, I’m sure.”

Oliver sighed solemnly. “Remember when you said we straights are complicated? Well, it’s not sounding that much easier for you either, dear brother.”

“Oliver,” Charlie snorted, trying hard not to laugh. “Don’t make me call homophobia on that.”

Oliver’s laughter was so loud that Charlie couldn’t help but join him. However, all traces of joy left his body when he witnessed Nick getting up from where he was sitting, heading away from the table and leaving a lonely and proper forlorn James watching Nick distance himself, as if he just had his favourite toy ripped from his hands. And that was enough to trigger some memories.

Because Charlie could vividly remember the crying, his friend trying not to break, making him promise never to talk about that to anyone else. Then his friend leaving the magazine to go work in another city because being there was too much, and he basically losing a friend who was quite dear to him.

“I don’t understand why he would do this, Charlie.”

“He broke my heart and didn’t even feel bad for it.”

“He just got up and left me there, alone.”

“Nick Nelson is just a player, Charlie. He’s not a good person.”

Fuck, now he needed something a bit stronger than the drink he had.

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

The air inside the car was tense, and it wasn’t because of the warm night. Charlie had been in a bad mood ever since he went down memory lane still at the pub and being alone with Nick didn’t help.

He had stayed with Oliver until his brother left with some friends, then he joined the main group again where they stood by the pool tables, a game already happening between a few of them. He ended up playing a game with Imogen, James and Nick and he did have fun, even if he had to watch Nick and James flirting with each other.

“Are you mad at me or something?” The uncomfortable silence was broken by Nick, who sent Charlie a brief contemplative look, frowning, when they were slowed down by a few other cars.

Charlie didn’t look at him. “Should I be?”

“I– I have no idea, actually,” Nick sounded frustrated, running a hand through his hair.

“Then why would I be mad at you?”

A frustrated sigh. “I dunno, Charlie. But you are being way colder than normal.”

“I’m just tired, Nick.”

“Fine then.”

“Fine.”

The uncomfortable silence was back for a few minutes, the only sound coming from the car engine. But then Charlie’s passive aggressive side won the battle against his mind.

“I just find it interesting that you don’t feel bad at all for doing shit like that.”

“Excuse me? What the fuck are you even talking about?”

“James!”

It seemed like Nick was not expecting that answer, because he opened and closed his mouth without saying anything until he settled in, “What?”

“Oh please, so now you're gonna tell me you didn’t realize he was interested in you?”

“And I didn’t, because he wasn’t! He was just being friendly.”

Charlie scoffed. “Are you– You can’t be serious right now. It was so clear he was flirting with you!”

They had arrived back at the house and as soon as both of them had left the car, Nick kept going. “Okay, fine. Let’s say he was flirting with me. Why the fuck do you care?”

“I don’t!” They entered the house and Charlie made a conscious effort to not raise his voice too much as to not disturb Sarah. “It’s just annoying to see you leading people on like that!”

“But I was clearly not?! I just told you I didn’t even notice if he was flirting with me or not.”

“Yeah, right.”

“God, you’re infuriating.”

“Me? I’ve been watching you doing that for ages and I’m infuriating?”

“What? The only person I’ve actually ever flirted with was–” Nick cut himself off, shaking his head while he opened his bedroom door. “You know what? Never fucking mind.”

The door slam wasn’t loud, but still made Charlie flinch slightly and he frowned, wondering who Nick was talking about. Did he mean Elle? Or could it be…?

No. Everyone's opinions were just clearly clouding his judgement.

Sighing and running his fingers through his curls, Charlie entered his room ready for the day to be over.

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

The following afternoon found Charlie alone in the car with Nick once again, this time heading to the Springs, for the Sunday roast.

After their… row the previous day, things between them were a bit edgy. Charlie didn’t see Nick for most of the day, because he decided to stay in his room and work a bit on his laptop. He convinced himself he wasn’t hiding from Nick, just… trying to get ahead on work.

Lunch had been weird, with both of them getting their food and vanishing to different parts of the house. But it was interesting how even though Charlie was staying at Nick’s house and they weren’t really talking to each other, he never once felt like he wasn’t welcome there.

Before they left, Charlie tried to offer an out to Nick, saying he could come up with some type of excuse to tell his parents. But Nick didn’t want to listen, so Charlie really was about to take a fake boyfriend to dinner with his parents. He just hoped nothing would go wrong. He had also kind of apologised for lashing out at Nick the night before, because even though he was still annoyed about what happened and he still thought he was right, Nick was doing him a huge favour and he didn’t want to come across as ungrateful. Not that it mattered anyways, because Nick brushed off his apologies and just said it was fine. As if fine didn’t mean he was still pissed but choosing not to show it. Whatever then.

It didn’t take long for them to arrive and soon enough Charlie was opening the door to his childhood home, entering right after and being followed by Nick. “Mum, dad! We’re here!”

As they took turns taking off their shoes, Nick picked up on Charlie’s nervous habit – he kept picking on the sleeve of the black and green flannel shirt he was wearing – and touched his elbow, whispering, “Relax, everything is gonna go fine.”

“I really wish I had your optimism,” he whispered back, making Nick’s lopsided smile appear, albeit not as warm as usual.

They were making their way inside, Nick casually looking at some of the pictures scattered around the entryway, when Jane came in from the kitchen. “Oh great, you’re here. You’re almost late.”

Charlie made a show of looking at the watch that was absolutely not on his wrist. “Oh I’m sorry, do you have anything else to do after dinner?”

“Don’t be sassy with me, Charles,” Jane raised her eyebrow at Charlie then focused her blue eyes on Nick, extending her hand. “You must be Nicholas, I’m Jane.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Spring. You can call me Nick,” Nick shook her hand and Charlie could notice her looking Nick up and down, already making her assumptions. He sighed.

They found everyone else in the kitchen. Charlie’s dad, Julio, was near the stove since he was usually the one to cook, wearing a black apron with Caution, Hot Dad on the front. Yes, his dad had a thing for funny and corny dad aprons. Tori and Michael were setting up the kitchen table – which surprised Charlie a bit, because he thought his mum would want to be a bit over the top and set up their barely used dining room – and while Michael smiled warmly at them, Tori just gave a small smirk.

“Nicholas.”

“Hey Tori, Michael.”

Oh yeah... Sometimes Charlie forgot that Nick would often hang out with his crowd, which meant he had met Charlie’s siblings plus Michael a few other times. And as weird as it may sound, seeing as that was something he had complained many times before, it was a bit comforting in that moment.

Charlie made the introductions between his dad and Nick and then Nick helped finish setting the table, while they all made a bit of small talk. Well, his dad, Michael and Nick made small talk. Jane was quietly assessing the situation while helping her husband and Charlie was already too tense. Tori was observing much like their mum, but instead of being judgemental, she was just sending knowing looks over to Charlie, who was pretending not to see it.

Then the last Spring entered the room, “Hey Charlie. Hi Nick!”

“Hey Olly,” Nick and Olly did some type of bro dude hand shake and one-armed hug that made Charlie raise an eyebrow in amusement. “How is uni going?”

“Good, good,” Olly tried to steal something from the pan, but Julio didn’t let him.

“How come everyone already knows Nicholas except for the both of us, Charlie?” Jane’s sharp voice interrupted the overall light atmosphere, and Charlie rolled his eyes.

“Well, Tori and Michael do live in London, don’t they? And Olly actually makes an effort to visit us there.”

“But that goes both ways, doesn’t it? You barely visit us anymore!”

“I wonder why,” he mumbled under his breath but of course Jane picked up on something.

“What did you–?”

“Okay!” Julio interrupted his wife and clapped his hands once. “Dinner is done!”

Jane scoffed but let the topic go as everyone moved around the room. The food was brought to the table, a few drinks were taken out of the fridge and then they all took their places. Jane and Julio each took a seat at the head of the table, and Charlie somehow ended up sitting to his mum’s right, Nick by his side and both his siblings and Michael in front of them.

Their dinner started out quite normal. Olly, Michael and Julio – meaning the most outgoing people on the table – kept the conversation going, asking questions to Nick, as everyone dished their food. Charlie managed to get a good portion of food on this plate, trying not to call too much attention on himself, just like he used to do when he was a teen. It frustrated him to no end that his childhood home couldn’t offer the comfort he needed to be able to do a basic thing such as eating without feeling on edge. But of course, that false sense of security didn’t last long.

“You should get more food on that plate, Charlie,” Jane pointed out as if he had asked her opinion. Not that it mattered anyways, because she always gave them without being asked. “If you keep eating that little, you’re gonna end up relapsing, and we don’t want that, do we?”

Charlie silently asked for patience. “That’s not how it works, mum,” not that you would know, of course. “But you bringing attention to it doesn’t help either, if you wanna know.”

“Oh I’m sorry, is your boyfriend not aware of your… issues?”

“Mum, can’t you drop it?” Olly frustratedly asked.

“I'm just asking because it’s something important for someone to know about the person they are with!”

“You say that as if Charlie is hiding a murder or something,” Tori mumbled loud enough for them all to hear and Jane scoffed.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Spring,” Nick said before Jane could, sending a look in Charlie’s direction. “Charlie has indeed told me about his eating disorder.”

Jane hummed and just as Olly opened his mouth to probably change the subject, she spoke again. “And where did the two of you meet, then?”

Charlie sighed, already knowing what would come next. “We work together.”

“You… work together.”

“That’s correct, yes,” it was Nick who answered and Jane sent him a look while humming.

“And is that really wise, though?” She tried to ask casually, but Charlie could hear the hidden innuendos in her tone. His mum always had some hidden innuendos. “Dating in the workplace… it always leads to problems, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t think we’ll have any problems with that,” Nick butted in once again. “We don’t really work that close to each other.”

And that was technically true, since their jobs weren’t always intertwined, but seeing as they were in Kent for work… Well, obviously it wasn’t always the case. But it wasn’t as if his mother needed to know that anyways. Especially since they weren’t really dating – and he shouldn’t forget that.

Jane hummed again – one of her many passive aggressive tactics – and Julio pipped in. “And what do you do in the magazine, Nick? Are you also a writer?”

“Oh no, I’m a photographer.”

Thankfully, the rest of their meal went by rather uneventfully after his mum decided to keep quiet, and Charlie even managed to have fun. As they always did whenever they all ate together, his siblings and Michael took longer to finish, following Charlie’s pace so he wouldn’t feel the pressure of being the last one still eating. And even without being informed of this unspoken agreement, Charlie noticed that Nick was doing the same thing. It was nice, if he was honest with himself, having someone else – who wasn’t his siblings – in his corner.

After dinner, as the whole group went to the living room, Jane beckoned Charlie to help her out with the dishes. He reluctantly accepted, Tori staying behind until he nodded that she could go ahead with the others.

They started doing the dishes in relative peace, Jane rinsing and Charlie loading up the dishwasher. He could hear the chit chatter of everyone in the other room, Nick and Olly’s voices rising above the noise, probably playing Mario Kart, if he was recognizing the game sounds correctly. He was a bit lost in his head when Jane got his attention.

“A co-worker, Charlie? Really?”

Ah, he’d almost forgotten that his mum hadn’t been able to comment much on the situation. And Jane Spring couldn’t fathom the idea of not sharing all of her opinions on something.

“Yes, and I don’t really see the problem you’re trying to dig here, mum.”

“Of course you don’t, you never think things through.”

Charlie sighed, his annoyance growing by the second. “Can you just–”

“Is he even gay, Charlie?”

He stuttered. “Excuse me???”

“You heard me! He definitely doesn’t look gay–”

“There’s no such thing as looking gay, mum!” He interrupted her, his annoyance turning into frustration. His parents might not mind him being gay, but they sure as hell were still very much ignorant on certain aspects. “And he’s bisexual, if you really need to know.”

“He’s bise– Oh my God, Charlie, you really know how to pick them, don’t you?”

“And what the heck do you mean by that?”

“Well, you’ve dated plenty but none have stuck, have they?” She clicked off the faucet, turning to him. “You are so high maintenance, Charlie, and now you pick a guy with double the options?”

He seriously considered throwing the plate in his hands at the wall on the other side of the room, but he ended up just shoving it forcefully into the washer. “What– There are so many things wrong with everything you’ve just said that I can’t even–”

“Charlie?” He turned to see Nick entering the kitchen, a weird look on his face that Charlie could not decipher. “Are you done here? It’s getting a bit late, so I thought we could get going?”

Feeling slightly out of it because of the interruption, Charlie didn’t answer right away so Nick stood by him, his arm lacing Charlie’s waist. “Yeah… Yeah, sure. I’m almost finished.”

Nick smiled, something passing over his face as if he was assessing the situation, before he got into Charlie’s personal space, his hand circling Charlie’s waist then whispering, “I’m gonna kiss you.”

And then he did just that.

Granted, it was more like a chaste peck, they were still in front of his mother, after all. And yet…

And yet it sent shock waves through his whole body, goosebumps breaking all over his skin and making him feel warm inside... And as suddenly as it started, it was over. Nick backed away, another undecipherable look on his face before he smiled again peeking over at Jane, who had gone back to rinsing the last few plates. Charlie thanked the gods who blessed him with the ability to maintain a casual expression as opposed to showing his flabbergasted thoughts right on his face.

“I’ll wait with the others then.”

It seemed like Nick’s casual display of affection left Jane without any other thing to say, so they quickly finished in the kitchen. In the living room, goodbyes were exchanged, hugs were given and before he knew it, he was sitting on the passenger side of their borrowed car and Nick was driving away from his parents’ house.

They stayed in silence for a few minutes, the traffic noise being the only thing disturbing the quietness of the space. But…

“Did you hear all of that?”

“If you meant your mother being very casually biphobic and insensitive, then yes.”

Charlie was silent for a few seconds. “I am so sorry.”

“Nah, it isn’t your fault. But now I really understand why you didn’t want to stay with your parents.”

“Yeah. And believe it or not, but that was still very mild.”

“And now about that kiss…”

Charlie groaned, rolling his eyes. “That was barely even a kiss, Nick.”

“We really should’ve practiced!” Nick talked over him, a shit eating grin on his face. “I mean, it was good, but I bet we can do better.”

Leaning his head on the headrest, Charlie snorted. “Keep telling yourself that, Nicholas.”

Nick laughed, but fortunately didn’t say anything else. Even though Charlie seemed calm on the outside, on the inside he was actually anything but. His mind kept replaying the feeling of Nick’s lips on his and everything he felt when it happened… and he just couldn’t understand what it all meant.

He wasn’t joking when he said it was barely a kiss. But it still made him feel more than heated make out sessions he’d had in the past with people he was actually in a relationship with. Which made absolutely no sense because they didn’t like each other romantically. Because Charlie didn’t – couldn’t – like Nick. Not when Nick was already interested in Elle… right? Right?

Still, Nick liking Elle or not wouldn’t matter, after all, he thought, a bit of melancholy looming over him.

Not when no one ever chose Charlie anyways.

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

Chapter Text

“Are you nervous?”

“A bit, yeah,” Charlie and Elle entered the lift and he pressed the buttons for the 11^th and 12^th floors. While Elle was headed straight for the studio, Charlie was making a quick stop in his office to grab the tablet he had forgotten the day before. “I’m mostly excited though, but it’s been a while. Do I even know how to stand in front of the camera?”

“It’s understandable,” Elle hugged him by his shoulders and he hugged her waist, resting his head on her shoulder. Since they were a bit earlier than usual, they had the lift for themselves. “But I’m sure everything will work out fine. And I don’t think that’s something you forget that easily.”

“Yeah, well. We’ll see,” she rested her head on top of Charlie’s. “At least it’s Nick, so I won’t be too self-conscious.”

“You do have a point.”

The lift got to his floor, so he untangled himself from Elle, leaving after telling her he’d be meeting her in a few.

Charlie then made quick work of going to his office and retrieving his tablet. He’d had the idea of documenting the photoshoot behind-the-scenes to write an article for them to release along with the August issue on the website, so he’d use his tablet to take notes faster. Since he was already there, he also took the opportunity to check a few emails on his work laptop, and not finding anything that would need his immediate attention, he headed for the studio on the 12^th floor.

He was a bit distracted with his mobile when he got to the studio, so it took him a bit longer to notice the scene before him, but his step faltered as soon as he did.

Right in the end of the room were Elle and Nick; she was already sitting by the vanity station and it seemed like Nick had just arrived as well, because he was handing Elle a coffee cup. But that wasn’t what made him stop, no.

It was the single sunflower that was being handed to Elle. By Nick. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Elle was looking at the flower as if it was the sweetest thing someone had ever given her while Nick smiled a bit too knowingly.

Well. Seemed like Nick had decided to step up his game after all.

He had finally decided to push open the glass door and enter the room, when someone sided up to him.

“Am I late? Oh Lord, I hope not!” Sahar Zahid’s voice made him jump slightly, but he looked at her with a teasing smile.

“Good morning, Sahar,” he said pointedly. “You’re not late, we all just got here as well.”

“Oh phew,” she exhaled as the both of them entered the studio. “And good morning too. I kinda overslept, this is earlier than normal for me.”

Sahar was one of Elle’s beauty assistants and also a very talented makeup artist that was actually quite famous on TikTok. She had started working for the mag a few months prior and she was slowly getting closer to his friend group, which Charlie was happy about because the woman was super sweet.

They both greeted Nick from afar, since the other man was already a bit preoccupied with setting up the equipment, before joining Elle, who was trying to take a picture of her sunflower. The flower was potted in a white ceramic pot with small sunflowers painted all over it, and Charlie had to admit that was the perfect gift for Elle, seeing as the woman loved plants and flowers of any kind and their flat had actually more green life than he knew what to do with.

He watched as his best friend finished posting the picture to her Insta story and he was about to ask her about it, but Sahar was faster.

“That’s such a gorgeous flower, Elle,” she placed her makeup bag on the top of the vanity and started assembling her stuff. “Did you bring it as a prop for the photos?”

“Oh,” Elle got visibly flustered, looking down at her hands and smiling bashfully. “No, it’s not a prop. It was a gift.”

“A gift???” Charlie piped in, his interest being piqued, as well as Sahar’s, who raised both her eyebrows in excitement.

She grinned mischievously at Elle. “From whom, may I ask? A crush?”

“… Something like that,” then she giggled.

And… well.

Elle was usually pretty reserved when she had a crush. When they met back in uni, it took literal months for her to even entertain the idea of admitting that she was crushing on one of her classmates. And she only ended up admitting it because she got jealous of said guy in a party both she and Charlie had attended together and her ‘I just think he’s nice!’ excuse had lost its meaning.

So for her to be at least acknowledging that she might have a crush? Yeah, to someone who knew her like Charlie did, it was basically saying she was in deep.

His blue eyes met her black ones and he noticed the exact moment she realized he had caught on to that little clue. He raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile showing up and Elle rolled her eyes. She didn’t know he knew exactly who she was crushing on though. And that actually worked in his favour.

Nick was interested in Elle and Elle was interested in Nick… He wondered if he should meddle to try and get the both of them together.

Hm, yeah, that would be a thought for another moment. Right now though, they had a job to get through.

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

They had been in the studio for a whole hour already. Sahar had finished Elle’s makeup, Elle had arranged her braids how she wanted them to look and all the while Charlie was documenting the whole thing, taking some pictures and notes. He even sent some pictures to their social media team so the magazine’s Insta could be updated about the photoshoot. Nick and Aled had been quite fast at assembling the equipment, so when Elle was ready, they only needed to test the lighting and then they were good to go.

And it wasn’t the first time Charlie had the chance to watch a photoshoot happening, though. It was something that came with the job of working at a fashion magazine, so he had been to countless of them during the last few years as a staff writer. And even when Elle herself worked as a model, Charlie would accompany her in some of her shoots, especially in the beginning, when she had no idea what to expect.

So, in short, Charlie had seen plenty of models being photographed before by many different photographers – including Ben when they were still together – therefore he just couldn’t understand why he felt so… entranced by the scene before him.

Elle was wearing her first look – a black vinyl dress, a rose gold heel and a bandana in her head – and as Charlie had previously told her, she got into model-mode in no time.

And Nick…

It was noticeable that Nick was in his element. Watching him taking pictures in Nathan Ajayi’s atelier had already been distracting, but seeing him in a studio directing a model, working the lights with his assistant and really throwing himself into it? Yeah, that was a fucking sight to behold.

Charlie was still sitting by the vanity station with Sahar, her Kindle in hand and her focus divided between watching the action in front of her and reading, and his tablet, that he went out of his way to retrieve, was laying unused on his lap. The photoshoot had been going on for less than ten minutes and Charlie had already completely forgotten the task he assigned to himself because he just couldn’t take his eyes off them – him.

He allowed his focus to change back to Elle, watching how his best friend made different poses and faces, as if no time at all had passed between her last photoshoot almost eight years prior and that moment. It took him back to the times when they would spend whole days inside a studio, with him watching much like he was doing currently, until it was finally time to leave and they would eat ice cream together on the floor of one of their dorms and eventually on the floor of their shared flat. Charlie had been with Elle through so many of those long days… except on the one that changed everything. And he still felt a bit guilty over that.

Charlie was brought back from memories when Elle made eye contact with him, making a funny face in his direction and getting a giggle out of him, just like she always used to do.

But unlike the other times, his focus wouldn’t stay only on his friend, so before he even realized it, he was back at watching Nick. Right then, Nick was prompting Elle into a weird looking pose, that would make anyone look stupid but seemed to be a very usual modelling stance. He snapped a few shots from different angles, the lights flashing from each side, and then briefly checked the camera screen before urging Elle to another pose and repeating the process. Like Nick had previously said, it was a very tedious thing to watch if you weren’t actively involved in it, like Nick, Elle and Aled were. But Charlie also felt like it was weirdly captivating.

He watched as Nick crouched to get an upward angle, his mouth going slightly dry at the view. Since they were all spending the day in the studio, their attire was a lot more casual, meaning he was once again in the presence of Nick Nelson wearing a grey jogger and tight white shirt combo. Which, if Charlie was going to be honest at least to himself, was a very hot looking Nick Nelson. And pairing that with the fancy camera hanging from his neck, the look of concentration on his face and the pair of glasses that were stuck on the top of his head? He was as much of an attention grabber as the model he was photographing.

Oh fuck.

Blinking fast to get out of his stupor, Charlie rearranged himself on his seat, looking around quickly before focusing on his tablet. He unlocked the device, detaching the stylus pencil from the case to finally start making a few notes.

He was not about to develop a crush on Nick Nelson.

No, actually, scratch that. He absolutely refused to develop a crush on Nick Nelson. Not when he was the guy that his own best friend was also crushing on.

He would not go there. Period.

They took a quick break for Elle to change into another outfit, this time a colourful top and a long purple skirt, and Sahar to touch up her makeup and then they were back at it again, using more of the scenario they had available.

A few minutes later, a knock on the studio door got their attention, and Charlie looked over to see Nathan Ajayi arriving with the husband they still hadn’t met. Introductions were promptly made, and Charlie realized that even though Youssef Farouk was quiet and a bit stern looking, he also gravitated a lot towards his husband. They had all gathered around Nick’s laptop so he could show them a few of the takes he had taken so far, and while Nathan and Nick were discussing the pictures and ideas, Youssef kept a hand firmly on Nathan’s waist, as if he couldn’t help to always be touching his husband somehow. It was cute and lovely, and the kind of casual intimacy that Charlie yearned for someday.

When Elle was back in front of the camera, Nathan and Youssef decided to sit with Charlie while the three of them watched the photos being taken. Sahar had been called to help with a problem that Elle wouldn’t be able to deal with at the moment, so she had left with the promise to come back to the studio in a few minutes.

Charlie made small talk with both men for some time, talking about some upcoming fashion events that both Charlie and Nathan would probably be attending.

But as they watched Elle posing while laying on a loveseat, Charlie trying very hard to keep his eyes on his friend – and failing because Nick was once again crouching, – Youssef changed the subject.

“So, Charlie, how long have you and Nick been together?”

Charlie thanked the heavens that he was not drinking anything, otherwise his choking would have been way worse, but when he got his bearings, he looked at Youssef as if the man had grown another head. “What do you– we’re not together.”

“You’re not?” The man raised his eyebrows, surprise colouring his face.

“No!”

“Really?” Nathan pipped in. “I could’ve sworn you guys were a couple when you visited last weekend.”

Charlie gaped at them. “Why does everyone think we’re a couple? We’re barely even friends.”

“I mean, you do stare at each other a tad too much,” Youssef said, shrugging as if he wasn’t saying something that preposterous.

“We absolutely do not,” was his weak reply, and even as he answered, he could feel his cheeks warming up.

Nathan and Youssef exchanged a look, the first one smirking in a way that Charlie felt was a bit too condescending. “Whatever you say, Charlie.”

Charlie rolled his eyes making the other two chuckle, before finally changing the subject.

It didn’t take long before lunch rolled around, and Nick announced they should take a break, volunteering to go get everyone something to eat and drink. Elle suggested they get their food from her favourite café and no one had reasons to refuse so Nick took notes on his mobile as they all rattled out their orders, ranging from a simple coffee order to sandwiches.

“Hey,” Nick approached him before he left. “Do you mind coming with me to help me bring everything back?”

Charlie nodded. “Yeah, sure. Lead the way.”

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

When they entered CoffeeBusters, the first thing Charlie noticed was how much of a cinema nerd the owner probably was, because the whole decor was heavily based in movies. On the walls on either side of the glass entrance, there were countless movie posters, in a vintage style, hanging alongside some old film projectors. And Charlie could spot a few famous cult movies like Pulp Fiction, Donnie Darko and The Shining as well as some newer ones, like Get Out, Midsommar and Parasite. The counter area looked a bit like a concession stand from a cinema and it was then that Charlie understood the red and white striped coffee cup was supposed to look like a popcorn bucket.

All in all, it was such a cool place that Charlie could immediately see why Elle liked going there as much as she did. And then he mentally slapped himself for taking that long to do the same.

He was taken out of his awed contemplation by Nick brushing past him. Charlie followed the older man, half expecting him to take a place at the end of the small line, but Nick sidestepped it to lean across the counter, where a tall man wearing a beanie was busy finishing up an order.

“You seriously need to hire another employee,” Nick said, making the man look up with a blank expression.

“Don’t remember asking for your opinion, Nicholas,” he replied, raising an eyebrow.

“He really has this habit of giving his opinion when no one has asked, doesn’t he?” Charlie couldn’t help joining in and the stranger man laughed out loud, while Nick made an offended sound.

“I like you already,” the man dried his hands before extending his right one towards Charlie. “I’m Tao.”

Charlie smiled at him, shaking the offered hand. “Charlie.”

“Oh, Charlie,” Tao glanced quickly at Nick, his smile turning into a smirk. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“All good things, I hope?” Charlie blinked, slightly confused. But then again, Elle really frequented that café a lot, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise if she had mentioned her best friend. Especially with Nick apparently being friends with Tao.

“Yeah, obviously,” Tao once again looked at Nick, who despite being red was also narrowing his eyes at the other man.

“Tao here is my best friend,” Nick explained. “We met each other in uni, but he’s only recently moved to London.”

“Really? What made you come here now?”

“Oh, you know,” Tao was back at making a coffee as he talked to them. “Was a bit bored with my old job but then I inherited this place and thought ‘why not’.

“Nah, he just missed me too much and decided to come after me,” Nick teased, winking at Tao.

“Nick, we’ve been through this,” Tao let out a deep sigh. “I know it’s a disappointment to you, but I really don’t like men.”

“You really can’t blame a guy for trying, can you?” Nick rested an elbow on the counter, placing his chin on his hand and grinning at Tao. Their interaction was so unexpected that Charlie giggled.

“You guys are ridiculous,” both men laughed and Charlie shook his head. “But this place is super neat, I really like the movie decorations.”

“Thank you! It was my idea to redecorate,” Tao, who was back in front of them, rested both his hands widely on the counter, looking around proudly. He was so tall that even though he had leaned down a bit, he was still towering over both Nick and Charlie. “Cinema is a passion of mine, you know.”

Charlie snorted. “Yeah, I barely noticed that.”

Tao drummed his fingers on the countertop and pointed at Charlie. “Okay, favourite movie, go.”

“Moonlight.”

“Oh, good answer,” Tao nodded appraisingly. “Might trade this Marvel lover for you as a best friend.”

“Hey! I’ll remember that when I bake my brownies again.”

“You and I both know you always bake more than you can eat, golden boy. You’ll end up bringing them to me.”

Nick hmphed, not answering. “Is my order ready or not?”

Charlie frowned. “When the fuck did you order??”

“Oh, I sent him a text with everyone’s request.”

“Wow, being friends with the owner really has its perks, huh?”

“Yes,” Nick smiled cheekily, then turned back to Tao. “So?”

Tao rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it’s all done. Let me grab everything.”

The taller man reached below the counter, grabbing two paper bags with the Café logo and placing them on top of it. He then got two takeaway trays, filling the spaces with the drinks, including the ones he had been making when they arrived. Nick paid – Charlie tried to get half of it, but he just wouldn’t allow it – and after separating and arranging everything between them both, they were good to go.

They said their goodbyes and were already starting to leave, when Tao got Nick’s attention, who turned back. “Did you give her the flower?”

Oh, okay. Interesting line of conversation.

“Took you long enough to ask, I’m impressed,” Nick teased his friend, but Tao just looked at him blankly, raising one of his eyebrows. Nick smiled. “Yes, Tao, I did give her the flower.”

“And did she like it?”

“She did, yes. Just like I told you she would,” Nick smiled knowingly while Tao nodded, looking oddly satisfied.

Smug bastard.

Charlie frowned. Yeah, of course anyone who knew Elle would be sure she would like the gift. But something about their interaction just sounded… unusual. It almost felt as if he was looking at a puzzle piece that seemed completed, but only because the person assembling them forced some piece to fit where it wasn’t supposed to go.

Hm.

Still a bit lost in his head, Charlie stepped out of CoffeeBusters right after Nick, both of them starting their way back and talking quietly.

Nick explained to Charlie how Tao still had another year left of uni when Nick moved to London after graduating, but their friendship stayed strong, even when the younger man decided to stay in Leeds because of a good job offer. However, a few years later and he had realized he didn’t really like that job all that much, and almost as a sign from the universe – “Tao’s words, not mine,” Nick had said – a stranded relative had passed away suddenly and left Tao the only thing they owned: the coffee shop. So Tao had decided to keep the shop, and after he had renamed and redecorated the place, CoffeeBusters was born.

“The both of you seem very close,” Charlie was saying as they entered the lift in their building.

“Yeah, we really are. We’ve been through a lot together, so I’m quite happy he moved here,” Nick said, a fond smile on his face.

They arrived back in the studio, and after distributing the food and drinks around, they all sat together to eat and talk. Even though there were many people sitting around him, Charlie felt weirdly at ease eating in front of them. Maybe it was the fact they were all queer adults sharing and comparing queer experiences; maybe it was the air of found family that made him feel warm, especially after his visit with his own blood family had left him feeling kind of hollow inside.

One way or the other, it was a really good way of recharging their energy before the rest of the photoshoot.

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

Charlie left the bathroom after showering, going back to his room to retrieve his mobile. A few notifications got his attention, but he ignored them in favour of his friends’ group chat.

🌈 fruity friends forever 🍒

darcy olsson
NICHOLAS
i wanna see more from the photoshoot!!

nick nelson
yeah but you won’t
i still need to edit them and fix some lighting and stuff

darcy olsson
BOOO 🙄
you’re no fun
alexa play buzzkill by baby queen

elle argent
don’t you have an iphone tho 🤔

darcy olsson
WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON ELLE

elle argent
😚

isaac henderson
i do have to say nick
that picture you posted looked amazing already
can’t wait to see the rest 😊

tara jones
yeah, i agree
elle, you looked amazing!

elle argent
thank you, tara 🖤

nick nelson
thanks guys!
i’ll make sure to share some outtakes with you as soon as i can

not to brag
but i’ve seen some of the pics already 😌
and they really are looking amazing

darcy olsson
😤
you are all so annoying

Giggling after reading Darcy’s last text, Charlie clicked out of the group chat to open Insta and see the picture they were all talking about. He didn’t even need to search for it; his feed refreshed and displayed, right on top, Nick’s latest post. It was a picture of Nick’s camera screen showing one of Elle’s shots from the day, and he liked it before even checking the caption, but frowned as soon as he did.

“Might be my new favourite model.”

“My new favourite photographer.”

God, they weren’t even hiding anymore. He wondered if he even needed to try and do anything about it because it felt like they were being very obvious already. He didn’t need to meddle. Did he? He fell back on his bed, groaning. Why he was that invested in this was beyond him. Charlie really wasn’t lying when he said he was shit at meddling and he usually left that for people a bit more… unapologetic, like Darcy was.

Sighing, he got up, leaving his mobile on his bed and getting out of his room. He had something to do and his meddling thoughts could wait.

In the kitchen, he got ice cream from the freezer and a couple of spoons, leaving the room and the flat right after. Reaching the end of the hallway, he opened an unsuspicious door, finding the small set of stairs that led upwards. Their flat was on the last livable floor, but one of the things they liked the most was being able to go to the rooftop area. Not many of the tenants used the space, so it was usually empty but Charlie, Elle and Isaac really liked to spend time there, especially in the summer.

The area opened to a terrace that had been decorated with many different plants, some that had been brought by Elle herself and some by other tenants or even management. A few flowers were also scattered around the place, giving the greenery some colour.

It was a bit after 8pm, and the sun was still setting, colouring the sky in hues of pink and yellow and orange; and he found Elle sitting on a cushion on the floor in front of a coffee table, a few hair supplies on top of it. She had already started removing her braids, cutting off the extension hair to save time and also wearing her gold glasses, having taken her contact lenses off for the day. Charlie joined her, placing the ice cream on the table and sitting in the chair that was right behind her.

“Hey babe, do you want some help?”

“Oh, please,” she sighed, leaning on his legs and resting her head on his knees, looking up at him upside down. “I had forgotten how tiring photoshoots are. Standing still while occasionally changing poses and all those lights… I’m really not used to that anymore.”

Charlie hummed, gently scraping Elle’s scalp, making her sigh again. “You did a really good job, though. It was like going down memory lane. Remember when I used to stay hours and hours in the studio with you?”

“Oh God, yeah,” Elle laughed. “I honestly have no idea how you did it, it is so boring from the outside.”

“Well, it did help that I would meet some cute models to flirt with.”

“Of course, it did,” she sat back up, finally acknowledging the ice cream and letting out a squeal. “Ahhh, just like old times!”

They got into a pretty good rhythm, eating ice cream and working on Elle’s hair. It was something they always did whenever Elle was done with her braids, so they made fast work, their fingers moving at a steady pace. When they were finally done, the sun was almost completely gone, but they still had enough daylight to enjoy the view.

“It’s always a funny feeling, losing the weight of the extensions so suddenly,” Elle fluffed her hair, messing it up a bit. “And I still need to braid it so I can wear the laces tomorrow. Ugh, I just wanna sleep.”

Charlie chuckled. “The both of us know you’re gonna be done in no time, babe. You’re a pro already.”

“At least that,” they both ended up lying down on the floor side by side, staring at the sky.

“Now,” Charlie started. “How are you really feeling about today?”

Elle was silent for a few moments, before sighing. “The truth is that I’m feeling way too good about this, Charlie. And that scares me because going back to it would be so easy.”

“And do you think that would be a bad thing?”

“No. Maybe? You know that after that terrible fucking photoshoot all those years ago, I just resigned myself not to work as a model anymore. And I never mind it much because I love working at Pose. But… I don’t know. I just missed it.”

“Would you go back fully into modelling? Or at least do it as a side job?”

“Yes.”

“Then I think you should,” Charlie held her hand, intertwining their fingers as a way of showing support. “Things are a bit better in the industry than they were back when we were in uni. I mean, we know it’s still not perfect, but we can see by the models we work with at Pose. We’ve had trans women and men featured, some that are getting very popular at the moment. And maybe with the right management, you can avoid what happened that time.”

And that was something Charlie really believed in. Back when Elle was modelling, she’d had a manager that didn’t take her well being into consideration, and that was how she ended up in front of the lens of a big known transphobe photographer. He absolutely refused calling Elle by her name, referring to her with the wrong pronouns again and again, and when Elle got rightfully distressed after hours of blatant bigotry, he had the audacity to threaten her career. After that, she got home, called her manager and quit, not feeling safe to continue working in that environment anymore. Honestly, Charlie was even surprised she decided to stay working in the fashion industry, but then again, working in a queer-friendly space helped wonders.

“Did you know that Youssef Farouk works at a model agency and that was how he met Nathan?”

His eyebrows went up. “I did not.”

“Yeah, well. He offered me management, in case I was interested. He said his agency works with mostly queer models.”

“Elle! That’s amazing!”

She let out a giddy laugh. “I know, right?”

“Are you going to accept it?”

“I guess I will, yeah. He gave me his card and said I could get in touch with him whenever I wanted. But I think I might update my portfolio before doing that.”

“That might be best, yes. Honestly Elle, this sounds like such a good opportunity. I really hope it works out.”

“Yeah, so do I, love. So do I.”

Chapter Text

🌈 fruity friends forever 🍒

elle argent
who’s down for some drinks at the pub tomorrow?
i feel like celebrating that this project worked out so well

darcy olsson
did someone say alcohol?
tara and i are very much in

tara jones
👍🏿

isaac henderson
hm if i say i have an important appointment
would anyone believe me? 😇

nick nelson
no

darcy olsson
lol nope

not at all

elle argent
yeah babes, not really
and it’s been a while since we all went out together
please come?

isaac henderson
*sigh*
if i must

it’s amazing how you always make us feel so very loved :)

isaac henderson
cheers x

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

For Charlie, the next two days at Pose Magazine went by in a flash.

On Thursday, he found himself in his office, while Nick and Elle went back to the studio along with Sahar and Aled. He had decided to skip another sit through in order to work on some of the articles he had to finish before the week ended, also resuming the drafting of the article about Nathan Ajayi that he had started while at Nick’s the weekend prior. Not only because he knew this one would take longer for him to be done with since it was a bigger one, but also because he wanted to be as thorough as possible before sending it to the editors and Singh.

And even with the pressure he couldn’t help but put on himself, he was still feeling excited about writing the article, especially after spending so much time with the fashion designer the day before along with his husband. Nathan and Youssef were the type of older queers that Charlie would have loved meeting when he himself was just a lost teenager studying in an all-boys school and keeping his sexuality hidden as deep as he could from the other students.

Yeah, Charlie was really, really happy to have chosen Nathan Ajayi.

After a morning of intense writing, he decided to stop by the studio and see how that day’s photoshoot was going. That day, he found Elle wearing a lavender silky dress and one of her black laces, while Nick crouched in front of her near a fan that they were using to add a bit more movement on her dress and hair. The other two people in the room, Aled and Sahar, were doing much the same thing as the day before; Aled assisting with the equipment and Sahar sitting by the vanity station once again with her Kindle. He stayed there with them for a few minutes, enough to see that once again, the photoshoot was going flawlessly. He really had to hand it to Nick for insisting to get Elle as the model for their project.

By the time he was leaving work for the day, Charlie was feeling rather confident on his progress, even if he had been informed that afternoon that his behind the scenes article would have to be changed to now feature an interview with both Elle and Youssef. Looked like his small extra project had just become something a bit bigger, but he wasn’t gonna lie, he liked where it was headed to.

Another person that had been quite excited with all the events of the week was Elle, and this was what had propelled her to organize an outing with the entire gang for them to celebrate. They were going to their favourite pub called The Copper Flower, a fairly popular place among local queer people that they had been frequenting for a few years already. It was a mix of pub and nightclub, with two different spaces, one inside with a dance floor and another on the outside with picnic tables that usually the smoking crowd liked to hang out at.

Elle was also determined to turn their getting ready into a whole thing, so they made drinks and took turns in each of their rooms while they all chose their looks for the night. Isaac was the first one ready, since he was, objectively, both the easiest and the one that least cared about fashion between the three of them; he ended up choosing a white shirt, a brown light jacket on top, black jeans and his usual black Converse shoes. And being Isaac, he also added many accessories, such as rings, bracelets and a pearled necklace, which happened to be his favourite.

Elle was a little trickier. She was already overly excited and the alcohol just heightened her happiness, and being the way she was, Elle just couldn’t make a decision for herself. And Charlie, also a bit too giddy on his juice and vodka, was finding it all very funny. After what felt like hours, – but it had actually been maybe twenty minutes – she finally decided on a sparkly silver dress and black heels, and paired with her black lace, she was looking amazing. She didn’t do much with her makeup, however, preferring it to be a bit more natural instead of heavy glam. Then finally it was Charlie’s turn. Elle and Isaac perched themselves on Charlie’s bed while he rummaged through his wardrobe looking for something that he felt confident and good in.

“Nope,” Elle took a sip of her drink and shook her head, rejecting the skinny jeans and burgundy jumper he had held up to them. Isaac took his eyes out of his book long enough to roll them, chuckling. “That’s too simple, babe. You should try something a bit more… fancy, maybe.”

“You do realize we’re only going to the pub, right? The same one we go to, like, twice a month.”

“Yes, but I also know that it's been a while since you tried to meet someone.”

Charlie raised his eyebrows. “What? What brought this up now? You’re not the one usually bugging me with this stuff.”

“I know, I know. But c’mon, babe, when was the last time you went out on a date? Or even gotten laid?”

“Why are you suddenly this interested in my sex life?” Charlie chuckled, getting a bit red as he playfully narrowed his eyes. “When was the last time you got laid then?”

“We’re not talking about me!”

“The hell we’re not,” Charlie laughed, momentarily forgetting about his clothes and sitting on the bed with them. “It’s been even longer for you, hasn’t it?”

“It’s not as if I’m not trying to change that!” Elle shot back, her hand coming up to her face being the only tell-tale that she was getting flustered.

Charlie, and even Isaac, paused at that. “So you do have a crush on someone!”

“Why is this the first time I’m hearing about a crush?” Isaac puzzledly asked, lowering down his book to pay more attention to the conversation.

“Because Elle is being Elle and not sharing this with us, as usual!”

“Excuse me, Charlie, but I’m not seeing you talking about your crush either!”

“What fucking crush?”

Elle looked at him for a moment, one eyebrow going up as she snorted. “You are so oblivious it’s not even funny. No, actually, it is funny as hell and I can’t wait to finally say I told you so and laugh in your face.”

“Okay, first of all, rude. Second, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

It was Isaac’s turn to snort. “Of course, you don’t.”

“The two of you are so obnoxious,” Charlie rolled his eyes, making the others giggle. He got up, hands on his hips. “Anyways, I still need an outfit!”

“Oh, oh, I know!” Elle jumped out of the bed, almost barrelling into Charlie as she ran over to his wardrobe. She moved a few hangers around until she spotted the one she wanted, pulling it out. “Remember this look you got from that fashion show we went to a few months ago? It’s not too fancy for a pub but still quite cute!”

Charlie got the clothes out of her hands, looking at them contemplatively. It was a white halter shirt with sheer details and silk loose fitted crossover trousers, that paired together looked kind of like a one piece. He hummed.

“I like this idea, but you know I’ll end up getting cold later.”

“You can take a light jacket, I guess that greenish one you have will match nicely and also give it a pop of colour.”

“Okay, yeah. Sounds good.”

As he was changing into his chosen outfit in his small ensuite bathroom, – one of the perks of being the first one to choose his room when they first moved in – he caught his friends’ voices from the other room.

“He’s going to be there tonight, won’t he?” He heard Isaac asking, quietly. “Your crush.”

A pause and then… “Yeah,” he could almost hear the smile on Elle’s voice. Isaac giggled.

“That’s why you’re so overly excited then.”

“I… guess I am being a bit too much, yeah,” Elle groaned. “It’s just that this is the first time we’re going out together since he also made his feelings known? So I don’t know, I’m just a bit nervous.”

Charlie’s movements faltered.

Oh-kay.

“Well,” Isaac was saying when Charlie left his bathroom and joined them again. “If he’s already shown his interest, then you don’t have much to worry about.”

“Yeah, I agree. Besides,” he smiled, sitting next to Elle once again. “Anyone would be lucky to have you. I mean, look at you; hot, smart and funny? You’re a catch, babe,” he finished, winking at her.

“Why, love, thank you,” Elle tucked her hair behind her ear, looking at him through her eyelashes and playfully flirting with him. “If you want, we can make that happen, you know…”

Charlie threw his head back, laughing. “Too fucking gay for that, Elle.”

Also laughing, Elle clapped her hands and got up. “Okay, time for pictures, let’s go!”

 ☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

When they got to the pub, Tara and Darcy were already waiting by the entrance. Darcy, who was wearing high-waisted dark green trousers and a black cropped sleeveless top, spotted them as soon as they were close enough and she jumped on Charlie right away, hugging him tight.

“Charlie, my guy!” She laughed as she swayed the both of them, making Charlie giggle. “It’s been too long!”

“It has!” He squeezed her a bit tighter, before backing away. “How have you been? How’s the shop?”

“Everything is going fine. I'm still waiting for you to book an appointment, though,” Darcy wiggled her eyebrows, throwing an arm around Charlie’s shoulders. Since she was wearing heeled boots, she was just a tad bit taller than him. “I mean, come on, even a wimp like Nick has a tattoo and you don’t!”

Wait, what? Why the fuck didn’t Charlie know Nick had a tattoo?

“And I’ve told you countless times before that I’m still too indecisive on what design to choose,” he laced his arm through her waist, shaking his head to clear his thoughts about Nick and tattoos, and hoisting her along as he took the last few steps to join Tara and the others. “I am not getting a tattoo just because you wanna cause me pain and call it work.”

“You are not fun at all.”

Charlie giggled as he let go of her to hug Tara. “Is Darcy already trying to convince you to get a tattoo?”

“You know she is.”

“Has Nick arrived yet?” Elle asked as they made their way inside. There was a small line of people waiting to head in, but the manager of the pub was a client of Darcy’s, so whenever she went there, she had free reign to just go in.

And just like that his thoughts went back to Nick with a tattoo and he wondered about the design. Knowing Nick it was probably something either stupid or really meaningful or maybe even both. And then he thought about where the tattoo would be located, which made him realize it would be somewhere relatively hidden, since he had seen Nick wearing sleeveless shirts and bermuda shorts before and never caught a glimpse of it. Maybe on his back, then? Or his chest?

Oh my fucking God, Charlie. Why do you even care?

“He has, yeah. We sent him inside along with Sahar so they could snag us a table,” Tara replied a little loud since they had reached the inside and the music was thumping loud.

As they always did, their night started at the tables near the dance floor, so they could drink and dance and have some fun before making their way to the outside tables, as most of them were either regular smokers or smokers when drinking. It wasn’t hard to find Nick and Sahar, the two of them hogging two tables in the outskirts of the dance floor, but a bit far away from the bar, unfortunately. A quick glance around and Charlie understood why – all the other tables were either occupied or wouldn’t fit all of the group.

And that was when Charlie spotted the other three people sitting with them. Tao Xu, Nathan Ajayi and Youssef Farouk were also there and they were all talking and laughing, which took Charlie by surprise. But it was not a bad surprise, at least. Charlie would never refuse more friends, even if one of them was straight.

They all reached the table, everyone greeting each other and making introductions where they were due, before they all found a place to sit. Nick and Sahar had pushed two round tables close to one another, so Charlie had ended up in one of them with Darcy right next to him, and even though Nick was in the other table, he was still in Charlie direct line of sight, and that was how Charlie noticed as Nick got flustered and looked away when their eyes crossed. He frowned, but his attention was taken from it when Tara asked Elle about the photoshoot and they all started talking about it.

After a lot of peer pressure from them – Darcy – Nick caved and did show a few of the photos he had already edited and uploaded to a Google Drive folder. Everyone oohed and aahed, complimenting not only Nick’s work but Elle as well, which promptly made her smile a bit flustered, and Tao then announced a round of drinks for them all in celebration. Elle ended up going over to help him, and those who stayed at the tables launched into different group conversations.

Charlie, only half listening to Darcy tell Isaac about a walk-in client that asked her for a Colleen Hoover tattoo and she had point blank refused, got his mobile out of his pocket when he felt the tell-tale vibration of a notification. He opened Insta to see a new comment from Nick himself, even though the man was sitting just a few chairs away. Charlie looked over at the strawberry blonde man, but he was focused on his own mobile, nursing the beer he had probably gotten when he first arrived.

Right.

He replied to the comment, scrolling through his feed and some stories before locking his mobile once again and focusing back on the conversation right as Tao was coming back with beer bottles for everyone. The whole group separated once again. Nathan managed to convince his grumpy husband to dance with him, so they were off to the dance floor; Sahar, Tara and Nick ended up going to have a fag; and Tao and Elle got into a deep conversation about something or another, their heads a bit close to each other. Which actually amazed Charlie, because he didn’t know they were that close, but then again, since Tao was Nick’s best friend and Elle had been going to the café that much with Nick, it made sense they were all good friends.

Even if their closeness was a bit… peculiar.

Charlie’s mobile vibrated once again with another reply from Nick. It was ridiculous that they were communicating through Insta comments when they were literally in the same place, but Charlie was feeling oddly entertained by that. He waited a few minutes before replying back though, not wanting to look as if he was eagerly awaiting it. 

“So, it has come to my attention that you and Nick are kinda getting along now,” Darcy scooted closer to Charlie, resting her arm on the back of his chair.

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Kinda being the operative word, yeah.”

“Have you finally shagged then?”

He had made the mistake of sipping his beer as she spoke, which caused him to splutter. “Why the fuck would you think that?”

“Well, I’ve always thought this weird tension between the both of you was just sexual tension, so if it’s not there, then it means it has been dealt with.”

“Nothing has been dealt with!”

“Why don’t you just shag and call it a day, then? That’s what Tara and I did and look at us now. Together and in love for almost nine years.”

“Good luck trying to make him see it,” Isaac piped in, sitting across from them.

Charlie sent him a quick threatening look. “You do know that you need to, at least, be attracted to another person to shag, don’t you?”

“Are you actually going to look me dead in the eye and tell me you don’t find Nick attractive?” Darcy’s tone was so patronizing that Charlie blushed and rolled his eyes.

The thing was that Charlie was pretty aware of the fact he did find Nick attractive. And if he was being very, very honest with himself, he also had to admit that learning Nick had a tattoo had made him infinitely more attractive in Charlie’s eyes. Which, in itself, was already a problem, let alone now that he knew Elle liked Nick. Fuck, why did Darcy had to tell him that?

“Thinking someone is attractive and being attracted to them are two vastly different things.”

“Okay, that’s an actual good argument,” Isaac raised an eyebrow, a contemplative look in his face.

“Thank you!”

“However, you have to admit that Darcy is definitely right and that is a weird sexual tension between you two.”

Darcy laughed and Charlie huffed. “Ha, thank you.”

“I swear to God I don’t understand why you are all this interested in my sex life?”

“Well, I like seeing romance blossom,” Isaac grinned. And you will see it, Isaac, he thought. Just not between Nick and I.

“And to be quite honest, I’m a bit tired of listening to some people whine without them doing much to change their fucking situation,” Darcy said, shaking her head and staring off ahead, thoughts seemingly distant.

“I– What?”

Darcy shook her head once again, getting up. “Nothing, don’t mind me. I’m gonna go find my girlfriend and possibly steal her cig.”

“Um,” Charlie turned to Isaac, who was holding back a laugh. “Did you understand whatever she meant?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. But I can’t do much for you if you didn’t.”

“Why are you all talking so cryptically lately?”

Isaac opened his mouth to say something, but clearly thought better of it, giggling. “I’m pretty sure you’ll understand sooner or later.”

“Fuck you.”

As Isaac laughed, Charlie got his mobile once again, opening Insta and determined to leave that whole conversation behind him. He pulled up his latest picture – one that Elle had insisted he took before they head out and that he actually thought he looked good – going to the comments section and finding Nick’s reply.

“nah, the camera likes you, and the person behind it does too.”

He blinked. What the fuck did that even mean? Was he talking about Elle? He had to be talking about Elle since she was the one to take the photo… right?

Jesus fuck, could they all just stop being cryptic for one fucking second?

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

Once everyone returned, they all ended up sitting in different places and suddenly Charlie found himself sitting across from Nick and Darcy, with Tara by his side, right where Darcy had previously been. It was an interesting development… especially after all their chat.

The whole table had, once again, got into one big conversation, this time about movies, and it was clear that the three new additions were getting along swimmingly with them all. They were all a bit heated, half of them enjoying superhero movies, Nick included, and the other half despising them, like Tao. The funniest part was when Youssef admitted that his favourite genre of movies were rom-coms, which prompted them all into a fit of giggles, Nathan just nodding solemnly and saying he was also surprised when he first heard that tidbit.

It was during a small lull in the conversation while they were sharing their favourite rom-coms and Elle was promising on educating Tao on all things about romantic comedies, when Charlie overheard a glimpse of Darcy and Nick’s hushed side conversation.

“Will you stop flirting on Insta and just do something about it already?”

Nick flustered. “I’m not flirting!”

“The fuck you’re not, you’re not even hiding it, for fuck’s sake.”

“I just–” Nick trailed off as his honey brown eyes crossed with Charlie’s blue ones and then he was flushing once again, the red in his cheeks not as prominent in the dim lights of the pub. Charlie frowned, his good mood dwindling.

“You know what, forget it,” Darcy looked between the two of them, something passing through her face that Charlie didn’t have a chance to analyse. “Go on, just get some more beers for us, please. Charlie, will you be a dear and help him out?”

“Darcy…”

“I guess?”

“Great. Chop, chop, off you go,” she made a shooing motion and they both got up, albeit reluctantly, to head to the bar.

Charlie had every intention of not getting into Nick’s business, since… The last time it didn’t work out very well. But honestly, he had a feeling the aforementioned flirting Darcy claimed Nick was doing was with him, Charlie Spring, and that sat a bit weirdly with him. Especially because come on, he was best friends with Elle! Didn’t Nick see how fucking messed up that was?

So before he even had a chance to consider his words, he had already opened his mouth. “You really should stop this whole flirting with everyone habit you have.”

Nick’s steps faltered. “Excuse me, what? Is this once again about that bloke from last weekend?”

“Oh my fucking God,” Charlie huffed, his hand going up to run across his hair. “You don’t even remember his name, do you?”

“No, I really don’t, because we were just talking! We’ve gone through this before, Charlie,” it was Nick’s turn to mess his hair in frustration. “And again, why the fuck do you care?”

Charlie scoffed. “I don’t! I just find it interesting that you keep doing the same thing you did to Riley!”

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Charlie hadn’t meant to name drop Riley like that, but then again, he was tired of holding it in for so long. And it seemed like Nick was completely taken off guard, because he stopped dead in his tracks and whipped his head around so fast Charlie could swear he heard a snap.

“What did you just say?”

“Oh, okay then, at least you remember the person that fucking left the magazine because of you!”

“Yeah, Charlie, I for sure remember the fucking twat that made my life hell in the mag for a few weeks!”

“Riley made your life hell? Are you even serious right now? I’m pretty sure it was the other way around.”

“That’s rich because I actually have other people’s words to vouch for me while you only have a biphobic prick’s version!”

That made Charlie falter and pause. “Biphobic? What the fuck do you mean by that?”

“Oh, so now you’re asking me?” Charlie sent him a look, eyebrow raised high and Nick sighed, all defensiveness leaving him. “That’s exactly what you heard. Riley didn’t take no for an answer and then started harassing me while simultaneously throwing around very casually biphobic remarks. It fucking sucked.”

Charlie had been staring at Nick intently the whole time he spoke, and he could see clear as day as the look of dread and shame and anger washed over Nick’s face while mentioning Riley and what had actually happened between the two of them. And then Charlie felt dread fill himself completely.

Because oh God, had he believed the wrong person this whole time?

Chapter Text

Previously on Cruel Summer:

“Oh, so now you’re asking me?” Charlie sent him a look, eyebrow raised high and Nick sighed, all defensiveness leaving him. “That’s exactly what you heard. Riley didn’t take no for an answer and then started harassing me while simultaneously throwing around very casually biphobic remarks. It fucking sucked.”

Charlie had been staring at Nick intently the whole time he spoke, and he could see clear as day as the look of dread and shame and anger washed over Nick’s face while mentioning Riley and what had actually happened between the two of them. And then Charlie felt dread fill himself completely.

Because oh God, had he believed the wrong person this whole time?

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

It felt like many hours had passed, but it had only been a couple of seconds, maybe a minute at most, that Charlie had been staring up at Nick after the other man had dropped the bomb that Charlie might have been wrong this whole time. Nick, however, wasn’t looking at Charlie; his eyes were focused on the people around them, even if not really seeing them.

“What d–” Charlie’s voice cracked and he had to clear his throat before trying again. “Can you explain to me what you mean? If you don’t mind? Clearly I’ve been told a completely different story.”

Nick sighed, nodding once. “Can we go somewhere more private though?” His voice was quiet, and Charlie’s heart hurt. “I don’t really want people overhearing us.”

“Yeah, of course,” Charlie looked around. “We could go sit outside for a bit? I don’t think many people are out there yet.”

“Okay.”

Nick took the lead, manoeuvring through people milling around near the dance floor until they reached the open area, and truth to Charlie’s prediction, it wasn’t too crowded yet. They managed to get a small table tucked away from the door, where there were even less people around. They sat across from each other, and Charlie’s thoughts were still running completely out of control, but he took a breath and glanced up at Nick, who was looking down at his own hands.

“So,” he started, interlacing his own fingers on the table top and sighing. “Can you tell me what actually happened between you and Riley? Please, I just… want to understand.”

Nick sighed again, glancing briefly at Charlie before looking back down at his joined hands. “What exactly do you know?”

“Oh. Hm, I don’t really know much?” Charlie shook his head. “I mean, I always knew Riley had a crush on you because he was very vocal about that to me, but he also told me that he thought you reciprocated it. So, after you rejected him, he kind of shut down. He told me you had played with his feelings– well, to be honest, he basically accused you of being a douchebag player who was doing it on purpose. That’s pretty much why I’ve always disliked you? Because I saw you as the guy who toyed with my friend’s feelings on purpose, and he really sold that story. Like, he fucking cried in an ice cream bowl cursing the day you were born and then a few weeks later, he left the magazine telling me that he couldn’t handle working with you anymore, and then I never heard from him again!”

Nick chuckled humourlessly. “Yeah, Riley was always very good at being manipulative.”

“I… I really don’t understand it,” Charlie responded gently.

“Well, it all started when I joined the magazine. I still didn’t have any friends, so when he began talking to me in the break room and all that, I just accepted his approach as friendly and I really liked him. And well, we’ve just gone over this again, but I really don’t notice when people are flirting with me. I mean, not when they are being too casual about it, at least.”

“I think I might actually believe this now,” Charlie smiled a bit teasingly and Nick’s chuckle was a little more real then.

“But he was just… a nice friend, if I could even call him that,” Nick continued. “So when he asked me out during that party, I was just so flabbergasted it took me a second to actually react. But he didn’t take the no very well. He literally told me I had no good reason to not go out with him because I, and I quote, ‘liked to say I was bisexual so I had to at least like going out with guys.’ And basically insinuated that if I was saying no to him then I wasn’t actually bisexual.”

“Excuse me, but what the actual fuck?!”

“Yeah… Like, he was outright biphobic looking at my face and he didn’t feel bad about it,” Nick ran an anxious hand through his hair. “I don’t even remember what I said, because truly, I was just so fucking mad. I left right away and decided I was never gonna talk to him again, if it wasn’t about work. But… But then he cornered me the next day he saw me in the magazine. And well, it all just went quickly downhill from there.”

Charlie let out a gush of air. “It gets worse?”

Another humourless chuckle. “He tried to fucking kiss me.”

“He tried to fucking what?” Charlie’s voice went up on octave, anger colouring his face. How the fuck had he been so blind to what his ‘friend’ was actually like?

“Honestly the only reason he wasn’t successful is because I’m bigger than him. But yeah, he did try. And when I once again obviously rejected him, he just spat out more biphobic remarks and that was when Singh found us. She actually overheard everything and she was so, so pissed.”

“Oh my God.”

Nick nodded in agreement. “There weren’t many people in the magazine at that time, because it was after hours and I had stayed late to finish editing some photos, so I honestly don’t think anyone else heard all the mess that went down. That’s why it never, you know, leaked. Singh fired Riley on the spot but because I didn’t want a fuss, she made a deal with him that he couldn’t talk about what happened or even mention my name anymore.”

“Why didn’t you tell us, though? Well, at least after you got closer to us? I remember you joined our group like, right after Riley left. And, honestly, that was also one of the reasons I was a bit salty.”

“I just… I don’t know. I just really didn’t feel comfortable with others knowing? I didn’t – still don’t – want people to just see that when they look at me, you know? And I had just joined the team, you all barely knew me, I didn’t want that to define how you saw me,” Nick shrugged, his right hand going over his hair once again. “But Tara knew. She was the only one, apart from Singh, that knew the whole story and that was why we got so close, so fast. She helped me quite a lot and then she just became one of my best friends.”

“I’m glad that she was there for you,” Charlie smiled at Nick, getting a lopsided smile back. “I just honestly feel so terrible for not noticing anything. Like, my friend was being terrible towards you and he still managed to convince me that you were the bad guy here. I’m so fucking sorry for that. I was cold to you for so long, for no real reason.”

Nick shook his head quite vehemently. “No, please. You have nothing to be sorry for. He was your friend, someone you trusted, and he told you a heavily manipulated version of the story. Anyone in your position would have believed him.”

“Still, I should’ve at least asked you about it. If not right away, then after you became a permanent fixture in our group of friends. Tara would never be friends with you if you were anything like the player Riley made you out to be.”

One of the corners of Nick’s mouth went up in a teasing smile. “I honestly don’t understand how you kept thinking I was a player when you barely even see me going out with anyone. Shouldn’t I be like, I don’t know, snatching people left and right whenever we all go out?”

“Well, when you put it like that…” Charlie laughed, feeling weirdly flustered now. “But again, I was too comfortable keeping the idea I had of you alive in my head and that really wasn’t right of me. So, again, I apologize for that.”

Nick’s smile turned soft. “I accept your apology and I really appreciate it,” then he raised an eyebrow, holding out his hand. “So, Charlie, can we finally be friends now?”

Charlie laughed, real and honest before taking Nick’s hand in his to shake it. “Yeah, Nick, we can finally be friends.”

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

They ended up staying there for quite some time, just talking. And laughing, because it turned out that when Charlie wasn’t being peeved by his own misconceptions about Nick, their sense of humour was very much aligned and it was just easy to make each other laugh.

(“What do you mean your favourite milkshake is bubblegum flavour? What other kind of weird nasty stuff are you into?”

“Well, Charlie, I’m pretty sure that’s at least a third, maybe even fourth date topic. I can’t give it all away like that.”

“Fuck’s sake, Nick, that’s not what I meant!”)

But then Darcy and Tara came out of seemingly nowhere.

“Whatever happened to my fucking beer, mate?” Darcy plumped herself on the chair by Nick’s side while Tara sat by Charlie.

Nick snorted. “May I remind you that you’re perfectly capable of getting your own drink?”

“Nah, that’s just not good enough,” she scrunched her nose, laughing and lighting up a cigarette. Tara, however, looked between Nick and Charlie contemplatively.

“Is everything fine?”

Nick and her shared a look that Charlie didn’t fully understand and then Nick smiled. “Yeah, everything is fine.”

“Good, amazing, spectacular!” Darcy interrupted rather loudly, even if the music wasn’t much of a bother on the outside area, and in the very obnoxious way that only Darcy could pull off without actually being… Well, obnoxious. “What I really wanna know is if you’re gonna get me that beer or not, Nicholas.”

“Jesus, fine, fine. I’m going!” Nick got up and looked at Tara. “Wanna tag along?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Oh, also!” Darcy yelled after them. “Since you’re going inside, make sure to let the others know we’re here!”

She had already turned her back to them when Nick flipped her off, making Charlie giggle. When Nick and Tara returned, the only ones with them were Tao and Elle. Apparently, Sahar and Isaac had found a common ground between their interests – both of them had spent their teens reading The Hunger Games books and were discussing them while sharing a plate of chips – and Nathan and Youssef were, once again, in the dance floor – Nathan having told Nick he was enjoying the opportunity of getting his husband to dance since that wasn’t much of a common occurrence. Upon hearing that, Darcy ended up dragging a laughing Tara inside to join the fun on the dance floor, leaving Nick, Charlie, Tao and Elle alone outside.

Charlie had ended up alone in one of the sides of the table while the other three were sitting side by side across from him, with Elle right in the middle. Some time later, after Nick and Elle had gone to retrieve more beers (“You lot are really trying to get me drunk, aren’t you?” had said Charlie when he was handed his drink), Nick returned wearing his glasses. Now, Charlie was never one to have a preference for men in glasses, but somehow, they just really, really fit Nick and after a few drinks, it was getting quite hard for Charlie to not get affected.

“It was actually very unplanned,” Tao was replying to Elle’s question of how he and Nick had become friends when Charlie finally managed to focus on the words instead of on the… people. “When I started uni, a year later than Nick, all I would hear around campus was about Rugby King Nick Nelson, and… Well, it all made me think this bloke would be a fucking knob, right. I mean, all of the lads from my secondary school had been terrible, so I thought he would be the same.”

“Valid assumption, in my opinion,” Elle teased, lightly elbowing Nick on the ribs, making him laugh.

“And come on, Rugby King?” Charlie asked, also with a teasing smile and Nick got a bit flustered.

“It was a gag nickname,” he rolled his eyes. “That’s how people at my school used to call me and then someone from the uni team came across my school’s Insta and found that out. The lads started calling me that as a joke and it ended up spreading around campus. I fucking hated it.”

“It didn’t help that Nick was actually really good, so instead of a joke it became a real nickname, after all,” Tao added, making Nick’s blush intensify.

“But keep going!” Elle urged Tao to get back on track, poking him on his arm.

“Okay, okay!” He laughed. “Well, since I was a freshman, I arrived a bit earlier than my other flatmates, so what wasn’t my surprise when one of them arrived and instead of Lucas Nelson, I had Nicholas Nelson sharing a flat with me.”

“How the fuck did that happen?!”

“Well, dear Charlie, it seemed like someone from the Student’s Administration mixed their information and I ended up in the second year residence hall instead of the first year one. So there I was, sharing a flat with three rugby lads, while I was such a big nerd. But by then, the guy that was supposed to be in my place didn’t really want to swap, so I stayed.”

“And he was such a snob,” Nick chuckled, shaking his head. “The first few weeks, we would invite him to watch telly with us and he would look at the screen and be all like I have no interest in watching these brute men running around a field or you lot really have absolutely no taste in movies,” Nick made such an accurate imitation of Tao’s voice that they all lost it, including the man being mocked. “But then, somewhere around the second month of classes, I think? The lads and I decided to do kind of like a movie night and we, once again, invited him and–”

“I said I would join them if they watched Donnie Darko,” Tao interrupted Nick, laughing softly. “I thought I had been so smart, because there was no way they would want to watch that movie, right? But then I was absolutely gobsmacked when Sai, one of the other guys, said he had already seen it and also really liked it. So we all spent the night watching movies and talking about them and I realized they weren’t all that bad.”

“And we realized he wasn’t a snob,” Nick tilted his head. “Well, I mean, not that much of a snob, at least.”

Tao laughed again. “Fuck you.”

They changed the topic, going over their time at school, uni and work and that was how Charlie realized he didn’t know much about Nick, even though he had known the older man for a few years already. That realization got Charlie feeling bad all over again, even if he had been as manipulated by Riley as Nick; with different levels of outcomes, yes, but it was manipulation nonetheless.

As he was listening to Elle recounting to both Nick and Tao one of their many uni crazy nights, Charlie took another sip of his beer and the cold liquid suddenly made him shiver, finally noticing that the night had gone a little bit colder and that he had, in the rush to leave the flat, forgotten his jacket.

Fuck. He rubbed his hands up and down his own arms, trying to get a bit warmer, and that caught Elle’s attention.

“Oh no, babe, we completely forgot your jacket, didn’t we? Are you too cold? Do you wanna go back inside?” Leave it to Elle to always be the mother hen of the group.

Charlie did a dismissive gesture. “Nah, it’s a bit cold, but I don’t really wanna go back inside.”

“Do you want my jacket?” Nick piped in, already shrugging off the piece of clothing, staying only with his white shirt. Before Charlie could refuse, he continued, “I’m not really cold and I usually run hot, so I wouldn’t mind it,” he held the jacket out to Charlie, who took it with just a bit of hesitation.

“Thanks,” a bit flustered, Charlie got the jacket on, fixing the collar and the sleeves. It was a bit bigger than Charlie’s average oversized jumpers, and since it still retained some of Nick’s body heat, it felt rather cozy.

The conversation resumed, but Charlie was, once again, distracted, this time by the cologne he could smell coming off of Nick’s jacket. The cologne was somewhat familiar, since Charlie had been around Nick many, many times before, but being engulfed in his jacket made it even more prominent, which made Charlie a bit lightheaded.

Granted, it could also have been the alcohol; he had been drinking the whole night, after all.

Still, it felt as if Charlie’s brain was swimming in Nick, Nick, Nick, so before he could even realize what he was doing, he had discreetly tipped his face and stuck his nose into the jacket’s collar to get a bit more of the scent.

Then what he was doing caught up to him, making his eyes fly open – when had he even closed them?? – and he looked up, a bit self-conscious, trying to focus back in the conversation while pretending nothing had happened…

But he met honey brown eyes that were looking at him with a glint of mischief, light coloured eyebrows raised slightly and a small smug lopsided smile aimed at him. Charlie couldn’t help but feel his cheeks getting overwhelmingly hot.

Well… fuck.

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

🌈 fruity friends forever 🍒 + tao ☕️

darcy olsson has added tao xu

darcy olsson
hello mr. tao xu
welcome here i guess
hope you’re honoured to be the only non queer in our group 🤗

isaac henderson
hmmm
isn’t sahar straight though?

darcy olsson
in our group chat**
🙄

elle argent
welcome tao!! 🖤

nick nelson
seems like i can’t escape tao even on this chat

welcome tao
glad you’re here 🥰
and shut up nick

tara jones
lol it was very much nice meeting you tao!

tao xu
thank you, guys
and yeah darcy, i’m very much honoured
someone had to take one for the team

LOL i think you’re gonna fit right in with us tao

darcy olsson
for a straight, he’s alright
we can keep him

tao xu
wow i’ve been blessed by the lesbian queen herself 😌

elle argent
and that’s not an honour bestowed upon many!

let’s just hope darcy doesn’t start collecting straights as she likes collecting queers
it could get complicated

darcy olsson
😏

tara jones
no matter how much i love you babe
and how much i like sahar and tao
it’s gonna be a no for me

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

When the three of them got home from the pub, Elle made a beeline to the loo to take off her makeup and do her skincare. Charlie, even though tired and drunk, was also a bit hungry so he decided to make a sandwich and Isaac kept him company, sitting on the kitchen island while Charlie rummaged through the refrigerator.

As soon as he made sure Elle was safely out of earshot, Isaac got Charlie’s attention. “So, you do know who Elle’s crush is, don’t you?”

Charlie almost let the cheese container fall, but he managed to secure it without making a fuss. “I might have an idea, yes.”

“Okay, good,” Isaac chuckled, breathing a bit in relief. “It was so obvious that I honestly thought I was imagining it.”

“You… you also noticed it?”

“I mean, yeah. Like, they are not being subtle at all! I think they are the only ones still a bit oblivious themselves, even if Elle said he made his feelings known, because neither of them made a move today.”

Charlie cleared his throat. “Yeah, honestly. I’ve seen them together on other occasions and it’s really obvious.”

“Really?” Isaac giggled, delighted with Elle’s possible romance. “I wonder whatever happened for them not to do anything today?”

“Maybe they were a bit intimidated by the whole group being there together?”

“Yeah, that could be it.”

It wasn’t until Charlie was lying on his bed, half an hour later, that he allowed his thoughts to run a bit freer. It made the most sense that Isaac had noticed whatever was going on between Nick and Elle since he was, objectively, the most observing person Charlie knew. And that only made Charlie surer of his assumptions.

That also made Charlie’s thoughts take a turn towards Nick, since he still hadn’t fully processed all that he’d heard earlier about Riley.

Riley…

Riley Scudder had been his first friend in the magazine. When he started there, Elle had already been hired a few months prior and she worked in the beauty department while he was in the fashion department. They didn’t have much of an interaction during their work day, so Charlie had wanted to make friends with other staff writers on his team. He met Riley on the first few days and they bonded over their love for music, talking about their favourite songs and artists and a few weeks later, Charlie had a friend.

And to be honest, thinking in hindsight, Charlie should have realized how shitty of a person Riley was, because he didn’t really try to hide it. For starters, Riley never cared to meet Charlie’s friends. Charlie had tried, many, many times to have a meet up, inviting Riley to their regular pub nights, but Riley had always refused, giving one excuse or another as to why he couldn’t go. Then there was the weird behaviour with Nick. Admittedly, at the time, Charlie was way too busy with Ben Hope to actually notice whatever Riley was doing beyond what he was told, and that might have also contributed to him being so clueless as he had been.

But the worst part for him, was that he was absolutely sure Riley knew it wouldn’t take long for Charlie to find out the real reason Riley had left the magazine. And that was why, he realized, Riley had made him promise to never speak about what had happened.

“Just promise me you won’t mention it to anyone.”

“But why? Why can’t anyone know about it? It’s not like you did anything wrong, you shouldn’t be ashamed of liking the wrong guy.”

“I know that. I just don’t want people thinking I’m lame for leaving a perfectly good job because of a man.”

Had he known, or at least suspected of anything shady, so many things could have been different. Things that Charlie wasn’t even allowing himself to imagine, in fear of allowing other… feelings to resurface.

Especially now, when nothing could be done about it.

He was happy though, that he had been able to understand everything and apologise to Nick. And that Nick had been nice enough to accept his apology, so they could both move on from that.

Charlie’s last thoughts before falling asleep, however, was that he was really, really happy to be able to let go of his grudge against Nicholas Nelson.

Chapter Text

nick nelson • 🌈 fruity friends forever 🍒 + tao ☕️
i’m so fucking drunk right now

how the fuck did this happen?
when we left the pub you were fine

nick nelson
because when i got home, my flatmates were also drinking
and they roped me into a game of beer pong
we were all pretty hammered after a few rounds

damn
i don’t think i’ve played beer pong ever since uni

nick nelson
what can i say
my friends are the basic straight men-children

lol fair enough
are you alive today?

nick nelson
not really, the hangover hit very hard
how about you?

eh
have been better
have been worse

nick nelson
honestly? mood
ugh i need to get up to take my dog on a walk

henry?
and you’re STILL in bed?
bloody hell you really are fucked

nick nelson
yeah yeah no need to state the obvious 😒
and yes, henry
sai, the flatmate that’s always trying to steal him, was even worse than i
so he didn’t walk henry this morning
*picture of Nick and Henry cuddling on Nick’s bed, the dog looking very much pleased to be where he was*

…
i think i’ve just died of cuteness
henry’s cuteness, not yours

nick nelson
wow, thank you very much

you’re welcome 🤗

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

well, after that pic you posted i also wanna steal your dog

nick nelson
stop trying to steal from me!!!

no x

nick nelson
🙄
first my best friend
now my dog
what’s gonna be next?

your flatmates, probably

nick nelson
…
worst part is that i know they would fucking love you

of course they would
i’m lovely

nick nelson
also very humble huh

yes 😌
how was your walk?
and hyde park? do you live near it or something?

nick nelson
actually yes, we live in kensington
and the walk was quite good
henry likes playing in the leaves around the trees lol
but he tires easily, so i always have to fucking carry him all the way home

kensington? oh that’s fucking posh
do you have a secret trust fund or something?
and i will not accept complaints about carrying henry
whatever he wants, he gets

nick nelson
can’t believe you’re already siding up with my dog and not with me

i chose the superior nelson, obviously
well, excluding your mum
because she is the true Superior one

nick nelson
i can’t even complain because you are absolutely right
but about kensington, no i’m surely not a trust fund baby
sai on the other hand
very fucking much is

ahhh okay got it
that means you also live closer to the mag then

nick nelson
yeah
i still get the tube usually, especially during colder days
but it’s nice to be able to get home quickly

yeah i bet
could not relate lol

nick nelson
are you doing something today?

yes, i have a date

nick nelson
oh?
you do?

yeah 🤗
with my sofa
and maybe with some cushions and ice cream too

nick nelson
and you used to tell me i’m insufferable 😒

that’s because you are x

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

i’m not sure if i’m just too old to drink much and therefore i’m still feeling a bit hangover even almost two days later
or if i’m just feeling the lingering effects of my own poor choices

nick nelson
it could be a mix of both
i mean you did decide to rewatch derry girls when it was already super late
when i went to sleep at 1, you were still awake

listen
there’s no way i would be able to stop once i started
that show is just too good

nick nelson
i’m not disagreeing with you at all
it’s one of my favourite shows

good because if you disagreed you’d be wrong

“Who have you been texting this much if all of your friends are pretty much in this room?” Elle’s voice brought Charlie back to reality and he quickly looked up from his phone, locking it as he did it. He knew the moment he locked eyes with his best friend that he had unknowingly displayed a very guilty face, because her face was alight with mirth. “Oh, is it not a friend?” She teased.

“Ah, I bet if anything it’s a friend indeed, but a very tall, broad and blonde friend,” Isaac piped in, from his loveseat with a wink. He was, surprisingly, without any book on him this Sunday afternoon, but they had been watching The Hunger Games series, so Isaac’s investment on the telly made sense. Although his focus on the film was not enough to avoid conversation, it seemed like. Especially if it was talking about Charlie.

“Nick???” Elle asked eagerly, wide eyes going from one man to the other.

He rolled his eyes. “You’re not as subtle as you think, Isa.”

“Oh no, I wasn’t trying to be,” he sent a cheeky grin toward Charlie and changed his focus back to the movie.

Charlie rolled his eyes and Elle looked at him again. “You’re on good terms with Nick now? I mean, it’s absolutely amazing, but why now?”

“I… um,” he sighed, realizing he would have to tell them at least some part of the story so they could understand things better. “Do you guys remember Riley?”

“The prat that worked with us at the mag but never cared enough to get along with your friends and sometimes would try and get you away from us?” Elle raised an eyebrow at him, the contempt in her face very much clear.

“... Yeah, the one and only,” Charlie responded, realizing everyone else seemed to have noticed Riley’s assholery, except him. Great. Elle and Isaac nodded, so he continued, “So basically, he was really into Nick, and he mistook Nick’s friendliness for flirtation so when Nick ended up rejecting him, Riley got… Well, I don’t think it’s fair to talk about Nick’s business, but Riley got very vicious, to be honest.”

Isaac clicked his tongue. “I never even met this guy and I already dislike him so much.”

“Yeah, join the club,” Elle scoffed, rearranging herself on the sofa to sit cross-legged. “He was always a big snob, never wanting to mingle much with people in the mag unless they were either important or able to give him something in return. I never truly understood how Charlie ended up friends with him.”

“Honestly, after hearing everything he did, I don’t understand it either,” he shook his head, running his fingers through his curls. Even though Nick had forgiven him, he always struggled with feeling guilty, so forgiving himself was another story altogether. “Anyways, long story short, he manipulated me into thinking Nick was a terrible person that had played with his feelings on purpose and that was why I never even gave Nick a chance.”

There was a beat of silence, and then…

“What a cunt.”

Charlie and Elle snorted out a laugh. “So right, babe.”

“Yeah, definitely a cunt,” Charlie agreed, frowning slightly when he thought about the worst parts, the harassment and biphobia, that he didn’t even mention. “I feel so stupid for believing him all this time, though,” his voice came out in a whisper, and Elle placed her hand on his knee to comfort him.

“You shouldn’t,” she smiled softly. “You considered him a friend and he used that to his advantage. He’s the one that should feel stupid.”

Charlie smiled back. “That’s exactly what Nick said, actually.”

“See, Nick and I are very much in agreement,” she winked at him.

“He sounds like the type of person that thrives in manipulating and using everyone to their benefit, especially kind and generous people like you Charlie.” Isaac inputted wisely, eyes glued on Peeta attacking Katniss in Mockingjay Part 1. “You should never feel stupid for being kind and his friend, but he definitely should choke.”

That prompted another laugh from the other two. Isaac was pretty much the least violent person Charlie knew, but that was only until he learned someone he loved had been wronged. He wasn’t violent, but he was very loyal.

His phone vibrated where he had left it on his leg, so he lifted it up to check his notifications.

nick nelson
sai took henry out on a walk around the block
and the wanker let him jump into a puddle of mud
so now this had to happen 🤠

oh lord
that poor little face 🥺

nick nelson
nah don’t let it fool you
he loves taking a bath
he jumps so much now i also have to clean the loo
kill me please

ha really sounds like a great way to spend your sunday lol

nick nelson
what have you been doing this sunday?

lounging on the sofa with elle and isaac bingeing the hunger games

nick nelson
ugh i dislike you all so much right now

cheers 😌

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

When Monday rolled around, Charlie was feeling slightly anxious even if he knew it was ridiculous to feel so, because he and Nick would be finally meeting at work after a whole weekend of non-stopping back and forth texting. They had hit it off pretty easily over texts, but his brain just wouldn’t stop overthinking. Sometimes it was easier to have great banter with someone through a screen while also being extremely awkward in person.

Granted, he had known Nick for years already, so he knew that it wasn’t the case but this was the first time that Charlie was actually allowing himself to… well, be his true self with Nick, fully and unabashedly. So he would just have to deal with some overthinking for the time being.

And truth be told, Charlie was also a bit surprised at how fast and easy it had been to just fall into a friendship with Nick. They had gone from barely even texting each other unless it was related to work or their friends, to texting about everything, even literally the smallest of things. And it had only been two days. It made him think where they could both be right now, if it wasn’t for his blind trust on the wrong person. And it was also another reason for him to worry about their in real life interaction.

But of course, he shouldn’t have worried.

“I am so telling Tao you’re drinking this shitty coffee instead of his.”

Charlie looked up quickly from where he was fixing his coffee in the break room, playfully narrowing his eyes at Nick. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Nick gave Charlie a cheeky grin while he leaned on the door frame, arms crossed. “You do keep trying to steal my best friend after all.”

“If you say anything I’ll tell him you are the one always changing the original audio to English on his Netflix account,” Charlie shot back, giggling softly when Nick’s jaw dropped. Charlie took a sip of the coffee and tried not to make a face. It really was shitty.

“I told you that in confidence!”

“Yeah, well… If you’re gonna fight dirty, so will I.”

Nick’s façade dropped and he flashed his lopsided smile. “I know you won’t rat on me because you had too much fun with that story. Especially in the part where Tao called Netflix support to try and fix that when there was nothing to be fixed.”

Charlie cackled, almost choking on his coffee remembering how much he laughed when he learned about the ongoing prank that Nick had been pulling on Tao for the last few years. “I honestly don’t know how you manage to keep a straight face when he complains to you about it.”

“Would be the only straight thing about me so…,” Nick replied jokingly, making Charlie huff out a laugh, shaking his head at the older man.

They headed their separate ways then; Charlie to his office and Nick to the studio, where he would have an editorial photoshoot that day. Charlie’s work day wasn’t too full, which was something he was quite happy about, because he honestly was still regretting some life choices over the weekend. In other words, he really needed to have a better sleeping schedule and stop either texting Nick or watching Netflix until late hours when he had work the next day – except he was sure it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

Not long after Charlie was back in his office, he checked his inbox to find an email he had completely forgotten he was supposed to receive. Since he was also very much into the music scene in London, he would usually know bands that weren’t too famous yet and still in the stages of trying to make a name for themselves, meaning he would often get tickets for a few concerts with the purpose of him writing about the band set afterwards. And sometimes that also meant he would get close to a few band members, becoming friendly enough with some to be invited to some concerts even if he wasn’t writing about them.

Kieran Evans was one of the latter. Charlie had met him and his other New Dawn band members the year previously when they were the opening act for another band Charlie liked. He had enjoyed their set and ended up talking to them after, so ever since then he properly considered himself a fan of their music. And now, they were having their first big solo concert and Charlie had promised to write about it.

He only needed to find some company.

👑 flat 4d 👑

are any of you doing something wednesday night?

isaac henderson
hmmm i don’t think so
why?

i’m in need of company for a concert i got a pair of tickets to

isaac henderson
oh actually, i don’t think i can
there’s something at the bookshop and i just now remembered

you just conveniently remembered that now huh? 🙄

isaac henderson
yes 😇

@elle argent what about you babe?

isaac henderson
pretty sure she can’t as well
right elle?

elle argent
yeah, sorry love
i had already told sahar i was gonna help her with a tiktok project

🤨
fine then, i’ll see who else i can ask

isaac henderson
if you don’t mind me suggesting it
you should totally invite nick

elle argent
you really should!
bet he wouldn’t mind coming with you 😌

hm that doesn’t sound like a completely terrible idea

☼・☀︎・☼

do you wanna go to a concert on wednesday?
with me?

nick nelson
sure!
who’s playing?

it’s a rock band called new dawn
i actually know the people in it, and this is their first big concert
and i want to write about them, they are really good

nick nelson
sounds good to me, it’s been a while since i went to a concert

you sure?
you don’t need to come if you don’t want to

nick nelson
nah you can’t backtrack now
i’m going with you 😉

okay then :)

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

“You ready?”

Charlie glanced behind him to find Nick leaning in his office doorway, looking ready for their outing. They had decided to go straight from work to save time, so both Nick and Charlie had taken a different set of clothes to change into once it was time to leave. And Charlie had to admit Nick was looking rather dashing in his dark green Henley, dark jeans and trusty Vans.

He looked down at his stuff, pocketing his wallet, phone and keys. “Yeah, just about.”

Elle, who was still sitting on her table finishing up her work, turned to Nick with an appreciative smile. “Looking good, Mr. Nelson.”

Nick blushed, smiling back. “Thanks, Elle.”

When they left the building, the sun was still setting and the sky was coloured in hues of pink, yellow and orange. Since the concert venue wasn’t too far from the magazine, they had decided to just walk there, so Charlie was quite happy that the night was warm and his light black denim jacket seemed to be enough for the evening. Paired with his trademark ripped black skinny jeans, dark grey V-neck shirt and black Converse, he felt confident about his outfit choice.

As they chatted basically the whole way there, Charlie learned that Nick had started working on another project which wasn’t as time consuming as theirs had been, but one he was noticeably excited about. He also told Charlie that he was almost done editing Elle’s pictures, so they decided to meet up by the end of the week to go through them and choose their favourites.

They arrived at the venue with an hour to spare before the opening act started, so they decided to get drinks. The VIP area their tickets gave access to was slightly separated from general admission, with an easier access to the bar and Charlie just really needed a mojito. He wasn’t planning on getting drunk since he did have work in the morning and he wanted to enjoy the concert, but he figured two or three drinks weren’t gonna hurt.

Charlie had just gotten his mojito and they were waiting for the bartender to get Nick’s beer when a voice sounded near them, an Irish accent that he recognized.

“Charlie! I’m so glad you were able to come,” Kieran Evans said as he joined them, stepping in between Nick and Charlie, completely ignoring Nick, who just looked over with a raised eyebrow as he sipped his beer, not saying anything.

“Of course I did, I wouldn't miss it!”

Kieran gave him a once over, green eyes shining as he grinned. “Did you come alone? Where’s that cute friend of yours?”

“Oh, Isaac couldn’t come, but I’m here with Nick today,” Charlie replied, motioning to said man with his chin.

The Irish man looked over at Nick, his grin diminishing slightly as he stuck out his hand. “Oh, hi. I’m Kieran Evans, the drummer.”

“Nick Nelson,” Nick and Kieran shook hands, neither of them smiling. Charlie frowned at the tension he felt radiating from them.

“Are you guys like, together?” Kieran asked, looking from Nick to Charlie to Nick again.

“Oh umm, no. We’re friends,” not being able to help himself, Charlie smiled at Nick. It was the first time he actually referred to them as friends and it honestly felt nice to do so. And Nick seemed to understand the sentiment, because he smiled back, displaying Charlie’s favourite smile of his.

Whoa, wait what? He did not have a favourite Nick smile. At all. No fucking way.

Once again, Kieran looked from one to the other, before focusing back on Charlie. “Are you staying for the celebration later? You can come backstage and we can hang out for a bit,” then he sent a brief look towards Nick and added almost like an afterthought. “Both of you can.”

Charlie smiled apologetically as he watched Nick raise an eyebrow out of the corner of his eye. “Oh, we really can’t. We have work early tomorrow.”

“Aw, that’s a bummer. I was looking forward to that.”

“Next time, maybe. Now that you guys are taking off, there’s going to be so many more concerts!”

“We’re really hoping for that!” Kieran looked at something behind Charlie before raising his thumb in agreement to something. “I have to go, I’m being called by Marissa. Talk to you later? We can at least share a drink before you go, right?”

“Yeah, sure,” Charlie smiled at the other man. “Have a good concert!”

“Thank you, I hope you enjoy it,” Kieran looked at Nick. “It was nice meeting you, Nelson.”

“Yeah, you too, mate.”

As soon as Kieran was out of earshot, Nick snorted and Charlie looked at him questionably. “What?”

“You talk about me not reading signs, but you’re also shit at realising when someone is flirting with you.”

He spluttered. “Who? Kieran? Oh no, he definitely wasn’t flirting with me.”

“Oh but he was,” Nick looked ahead at the growing crowd and took a sip of his beer, face uncharacteristically unexpressive. “Asking if we were together, not being warm towards me at all and then basically begging for drinks later. He’s got it bad.”

“He was just being nice,” Charlie said as he sipped his drink, rebutting Nick’s words. Kieran and him had been friends for a few months and not even once had the other man shown any interest in him. Well, not that he had noticed it anyways. Besides, Kieran was way too pretty to be interested in him, with his green eyes and brownish hair, and Charlie Spring didn’t usually get the attention of handsome men. Apart from Ben Hope, but Ben was a twat and nothing good came out of that.

Nick turned to Charlie, looking at him contemplatively. “How much do you wanna bet he’ll ask you out after the concert?”

“Pfft, what are you willing to lose? Because it’s gonna be a very easy win for me since he’s not interested in me.”

“Let’s make it interesting then, for both of us. The winner gets a free dinner at his favourite restaurant.”

“And how do we do it? You gonna transfer me the dinner expenses?” Charlie smirked. He was so sure he was gonna win this.

“No way, we’re going together. Either way I’m eating out, but you’ll be the one paying for it.”

Charlie laughed mischievously, extending his hand. “Deal?”

Nick shook his hand once, his lopsided smile in place. “Deal.”

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

🌈 fruity friends forever 🍒 + tao ☕️

did you all know nick speaks fluent french?????

darcy olsson
yes?
didn’t you?

no!!!!! wtf
we are in this french restaurant
and apparently nick’s a regular because he and the maître just started talking in french with each other
and i was like 👁 ️ 👄👁 ️

isaac henderson
french restaurant you say? 👀
what are you both doing there

nick nelson
he lost a bet to me so now he’s buying me dinner 😌

tara jones
oh is that right? 😏

unfortunately yes
let’s just hope nick won’t make me go bankrupt today

isaac henderson
interesting turn of events i’d say

tao xu
interesting indeed 🤨

what are you guys on about?
whatever i don’t care
i’ll stop being a bad company right now and go back to engaging nick

nick nelson
thank you, i appreciate it

elle argent
can i ask what was this bet about at least
charlie is not usually someone to lose bets

nick nelson
i told him the drummer of the band we went to see on wednesday was into him and he didn’t believe me
then we bet if the guy was gonna ask him out after the concert or not
he did

elle argent
oh yeah, good ol’ charlie thinking no one is ever interested in him
checks out

in my defense
he never made his advances clear

darcy olsson
you sure about that?
because if nick noticed it having met the guy only once… then it must have been obvious

…
i honestly have no come back for that
and now nick is cracking up in front of me
thanks for that

darcy olsson
anytime xx

☼・☀︎・☼

isaac henderson
are you like, on a date with nick or something?
you can tell me, i wouldn’t tell anyone
i’m just curious

ffs isaac, no i’m not
i’m literally paying the bet i lost
and that’s it

isaac henderson
hm
if you say so

☼・☀︎・☼

nick nelson
are you doing anything today?

we literally just had dinner together yesterday
are you not tired of me yet?

nick nelson
eh you’re alright i guess

fuck you
what did you want?

nick nelson
i finished editing all of elle’s pics
do you wanna hang out and go over them?

OOOH yes!
where can we meet?

nick nelson
it can be in my place
everything is already here and i’ll admit i’m being lazy to go out lol

ohh
yeah, okay
around 6?

nick nelson
yeah sounds good xx
📍 Location

xx

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

When Charlie left his Uber in front of Nick’s place, his jaw almost hit the floor. As much as Nick was always referring to his home as a flat, Charlie was just now realising it was actually very far from a flat.

In front of Charlie was a beautiful two-story Victorian terrace house, with red bricks and white window panels and a big bay window right beside the front door. He double checked the house number to be sure he was in the right place, finding it that he was.

Oh wow, Charlie thought. Nick really wasn’t exaggerating when he said Sai was loaded.

He opened the small gate that surrounded the front yard – which was beautifully decorated with flower bushes – and rang the doorbell. It didn't take long for Nick to open the door, dressed in joggers and an ever so slightly tight shirt as usual, and welcome Charlie in.

The house was just as beautiful on the inside, and it was clear the decoration was done by a person who knew some interior design. But there were touches of the men that lived in the place too, in pictures scattered around walls and tables and even some rugby trophies and decorations mixed with framed editorial photos that Charlie knew to have been taken by Nick.

As they entered the living room, where Nick had his laptop open on the coffee table, Charlie heard nails scraping on the floor panels and soon he was being greeted by an overly excited Henry, the Pug.

“Oh, hello there, sweet guy,” Charlie crouched for easy access to the dog, who used Charlie’s legs to propel himself up on his back paws. Charlie scratched Henry’s head, receiving finger licks in exchange. “You really are the cutest thing, aren’t you? Don’t tell Nick, but I might indeed end up taking you home with me.”

He heard Nick snorting, but it wasn’t him who answered Charlie. “Bold of you to assume Nick is the one you should worry about.”

Charlie looked up to see a man close to his age, with rich brown skin, black thick hair and kind eyes behind black rimmed glasses. He was leaning on the doorstep that Charlie assumed led to the kitchen with folded arms and a raised eyebrow.

Charlie let out a laugh, still on the floor with Henry. “I’m assuming you’re Sai, the flatmate that shares custody of Henry?”

“Saying that we share custody is a bit of an overstatement,” Nick mumbled from his place on the sofa. Both men ignored him.

“Yep, Sai’s the name,” Sai answered. “You’re Charlie, right? Nick’s cru-”

“Work mate, yes!” Nick interrupted Sai, making the other man laugh and confusing Charlie.

Sai was about to say crush, wasn’t he? Would it be possible he meant Nick’s crush’s friend?

Hm, interesting.

He stood up, moving to join Nick on the sofa as Sai headed for the stairs.

“I’m gonna be in my room, if you guys need anything. Just remember you are in a common area, Nicholas.”

“Oh my fucking God, Sai. Get out of here.”

Sai’s booming laughter could be heard all the way to the second floor and Charlie turned to Nick. “He’s funny, but I don’t really understand him.”

Nick chuckled, a light blush covering his cheeks. “You don’t wanna understand, just… don’t mind it.”

Sai had made some pizza right before Charlie arrived and it was still quite warm, so they plated a few pieces, and Nick got a bottle of wine as they got comfortable on the floor. Sitting side by side, with Henry on Charlie’s lap and Nick’s laptop and their food and drinks on the coffee table, Nick loaded the photos and they started going over them.

And Charlie’s mind was blown.

Granted, he had seen plenty of photoshoots, with him accompanying Elle on hers, and even more since he had started at the magazine, with some even being from Nick himself. But there was just something about that project that felt like it was a bit more… special and personal to them all. Nick had managed to capture Elle in her most authentic way, with her beauty and charisma, and it was amazing to see. 

So because of that, they had a hard time narrowing down the shots. Charlie figured they could get up to seven pictures plus the cover shot, and choosing them took way longer than he was anticipating. And it didn’t help that they did that while very much polishing off the bottle of wine.

It was close to 10pm when they finally finished going through the photos, being able to narrow down their picks to fifteen. Nick suggested sending them to Nathan Ajayi so he could also give his input, so after Charlie agreed, they did just that and decided to conclude their task for the night.

Instead of deciding to head home since it was already late, Charlie made himself comfortable on the floor – getting up to sit on the sofa was just too much work at that moment – and Nick offered to get them more wine.

Then he heard Nick swear in the kitchen.

“What’s the matter?” Charlie asked, wondering if he should get up to see for himself what was happening but ultimately deciding it was also too much work.

“The good stuff is gone, there’s only this screw-top rosé that I’m almost certain is Christian’s,” was Nick’s reply, a bit muffled as if he had his head stuck somewhere. “Do you still want it?”

“I mean, yeah. I’ve probably drunk worse in uni, so it doesn’t really bother me.”

“Fair enough,” he heard some more rustling and then Nick was coming back, rosé bottle already opened and two wine glasses in hand.

He joined Charlie on the floor again and poured their drinks, handing Charlie’s glass right after. He took a sip, analysing it for a few seconds before clicking his tongue.

“Well, I really have had worse. Or maybe the other bottle we drank is clouding my judgement,” Charlie took another sip. “Eh, don’t care either way.”

Nick’s laugh was a bit looser than in the beginning of the night, so Charlie figured he was also slightly intoxicated already. “I can’t believe I’m about to be hungover for the second Sunday in a row.”

“That’s quite wild of you, Nicholas.”

“I know, right?” Nick drank from his glass, manoeuvring himself until he was sitting a bit lower with his head resting on the sofa seat. “Understandable how you thought I was such a player.”

Seeing Nick was now seated perpendicular to him, Charlie didn’t even think before resting his feet on the other man’s lap. He blamed that on the alcohol. “I’m never gonna live that down, am I?”

“Probably not,” Nick gave him a cheeky grin, before his face turned a bit more sombre. “I was just relieved that you didn’t think that because of, you know, my sexuality.”

Charlie frowned. “Oh Nick, I’m sorry if I ever made you think I would have any problem with that.”

“You didn’t, per se. It’s just…” Nick ruffled his hair, trying to come up with words. “It hit a bit of a sore spot, to be honest. I had a few partners in uni that wouldn’t… understand that just because I’m bi I’m not actively attracted to every single person I meet.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard some of those takes before, and it’s honestly ridiculous.”

“It’s even worse when it’s from someone you actually care about,” they exchanged a grim look, Charlie commiserating with him in more ways than one. Even if he couldn’t relate to experiencing biphobia, discrimination was most definitely something every queer person could understand. Then Nick smiled again, lighting up the air. “Anyway, tell me about your interest in music!”

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

Charlie’s consciousness slowly came to him as something wet and cold touched his left cheek, and he squeezed his eyes against the brightness that bothered him even before he opened them up. He blinked, taking in a deep breath when he started feeling the telltale pounding of a hangover.

Once again, something wet and cold nudged his face and he turned his head… coming face to face with Henry, who upon realising Charlie was awake, proceeded to give him a light lick on the nose, making him giggle.

It took him another minute to fully register where he was, though.

Charlie noticed he was still on Nick’s floor, however now he was actually lying down – not that it made much of a difference – and Nick was right beside him, already showing signs of waking up.

Fuck. They had completely lost track of time and after finishing up the wine, they were completely gone. At least they were lying on the carpet, and it wasn’t as cold or hard as the floor panels would have been.

Nick groaned. “Fuck, why the hell are we on the fucking floor?”

“I guess we underestimated your flatmate’s cheap-ass rosé, actually.”

“Fuck,” Nick threw his arm over his eyes, letting out a deep sigh.

Henry, having noticed his favourite person was awake, lost interest in Charlie rather easily and trotted happily over to Nick. Soon, his round body was perched on top of Nick’s chest and the man wrapped his arms around the animal, cuddling the small dog close to him.

And if Charlie found that scene to be the cutest thing he ever saw… Well, he can’t be blamed for that, can he?

They finally managed to get up some time later, freshening up in the loo and Charlie learned it was only half past eight in the morning. Jesus, the last time he had looked at the time it was still pushing midnight…

As Nick headed into the kitchen to start some breakfast for them, Charlie also realised he hadn’t warned his friends beforehand, so he got his phone from the coffee table to find some texts from them.

isaac henderson
hey
you okay?
are you coming home anytime soon?

☼・☀︎・☼

elle argent
charlieeee
it’s past 1
are you still coming home?

☼・☀︎・☼

👑 flat 4d 👑

fuck guys, i’m so sorry!!
nick and i shared some wine and then we completely passed out
i’ll be heading home soon!

isaac henderson
yeah we know
elle texted nick and he let us know you were already asleep
so no worries 😉

Oh.

So he had actually fallen asleep before Nick, and instead of waking him up, Nick decided to just sleep there on the floor with him after letting his flatmates know Charlie was alright? Charlie didn’t know what to make of it.

He got up to join Nick in the kitchen, where he found the other man already in the process of cooking them a fry-up. 

“Thanks for letting Isaac and Elle know that I was okay.”

Nick smiled from over his shoulder. “Of course.”

“Do you need some help?”

“No, I’ve got this. You can fix your tea, though, if you want.”

He set about doing that as they chatted lightly, both of them still a bit sleepy and hungover to do much else. It started raining then, a heavy pouring that darkened the morning and left the air slightly chilly.

So when Charlie was finally getting ready to leave, he looked at his light shirt, frowning. “Do you have an umbrella? I’m already gonna fucking freeze, I don’t need to be drenched as well.”

Nick looked at him assessingly. “Wait a sec.”

Then he ran upstairs, staying there for a few minutes before coming back down holding a hoodie and an umbrella.

“If you want, you can borrow this hoodie so you won’t be as cold,” Nick said, looking slightly flustered as he handed Charlie said garment. “It’s a bit old, but it’s comfy.”

It was a bright – albeit faded – blue hoodie, with a big white number 10 on the right part of the chest and what seemed like Leeds’ Rugby team crest on the left part. It was way bigger than any of the usual oversized jumpers Charlie used to wear but it also looked super soft and when Charlie flipped it to push it over his head, he noticed the Nelson written in big bold white letters in the back. He blushed.

“Are we turning this into a habit? You lending me warm clothes, I mean,” he chuckled to deflect the fact that his cheeks were on fire.

Nick smiled bashfully. “Seems like we are.”

As soon as Charlie entered his flat some while later, though, Isaac took one look at his new piece of clothing and raised his eyebrow.

“I could swear you went to uni here in London since that was where we met. And rugby? My, my, Charlie. Aren’t you full of surprises?”

“Shut up,” and when Isaac’s shit-eating grin remained firmly in place, he huffed, heading to his room. “I swear to God, I hate you so much right now.”

Charlie was still hearing Isaac’s loud laugh when he closed his bedroom door. He looked down at the hoodie he was wearing, Nick’s hoodie, and sighed.

Realisation was starting to kick in and he had only one word running through his mind.

Fuck.

Chapter Text

Being honest with himself was something that Charlie always tried to be. Sometimes it was right away, like when he was a teenager and realised he had a crush on the straight rugby captain from his school team; some other times it would take him way longer, when he didn’t feel like truly acknowledging his feelings for one reason or another, like when it took him almost a full year to admit he had an eating disorder and seek help. 

Then there were the times when he would hide the truth so deep inside him, that he would actually believe that it didn’t exist because it was an easier way of dealing with a possible disappointment. It was something he would do unknowingly and he did manage to tone it down as he worked through it on therapy, but depending on whatever it was, he would still pretend nothing was happening, as if that would actually mean that nothing was happening.

However, feelings had a way of sneaking up on a person, them wanting it or not. No matter how much said person tried to pretend that they weren’t there, there would come a time when they would make themselves present in a spiral of unacknowledged feelings, and that was nothing one could do to stop that. Charlie had been experiencing the latter for the last few days. Ever since arriving home wearing Nick’s hoodie and actually enjoying wearing said hoodie, Charlie had to finally admit to himself.

He was crushing on Nick Nelson. And he was crushing hard.

He didn’t reach that realisation just because he liked wearing a hoodie; it was a very comfy piece of clothing, after all. But no, the real reason was the Nelson written on the back. The Nelson that made him feel as if he was wearing a boyfriend’s team jersey and consequentially, making him feel giddy.

Charlie should have seen it coming, if he was rational about it. Looking back, Charlie could understand now that the reason he never sought Nick out to talk about the situation with Riley was because he knew that he needed something to keep himself away from Nick. When Nick started at the mag, Riley wasn’t the only one to have some type of interest in Nick, and not by a long shot.

Nick had been the hot commodity in the department for a few months, and being openly bisexual opened the shots for men, women and non-binary people that worked there. But Nick never gave them the time of the day and, as fast as it started, it was all forgotten and everyone was content with just being friends with the man. However, not only was Charlie stuck in a situationship with Ben, but Riley had made his interest clear from the get go and Charlie wasn't about to be a bad friend pursuing his then friend’s crush.

And look at where it got him. Still crushing on a friend’s crush and possibly about to have his heart broken – again.

Honestly, if there was one thing Charlie could always trust himself to do, was to get into complicated situations even if he tried hard not to.

So, he was very relieved when he learned he could work from home on Monday, and he wouldn’t need to be sociable with other people for the whole day. Or with Nick. Charlie still hadn’t given Nick back his jacket from their pub outing because… Well, he didn’t really want to, if he was honest. The jacket, that still held some of Nick’s scent, had been shoved deep into Charlie’s closet and he tried not to acknowledge the fact that it was there. But now he had another piece of Nick’s clothing in his possession and that one was a bit harder to ignore.

If anyone was to ask Charlie if he had slept with that hoodie on… he would deny it until he died.

(He did sleep wearing it, though. It was a very comfy piece of clothing, but mainly, it made him feel as if he was wrapped in a warm cuddle, but that was something wasn’t ready to admit yet.)

Then on Tuesday, he did the exact same thing to his feelings that he had done with Nick’s jacket: he shoved them deep into his mind, took a deep breath, and left for work.

However, the other thing about feelings was that they do whatever the fuck they want to, and they decided to make Charlie’s heart skip as soon as his eyes landed on Nick.

Keeping it all in was going to be harder than he anticipated.

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

Charlie was in the break room getting his third coffee of the day – at least it was already half past three in the afternoon, so it wasn’t too bad, in his opinion – when he tried to throw away the plastic spoon he had used from a distance. But Charlie had never had a good aim, so he failed miserably and the spoon hit the bin and was catapulted to the other side of the room, stopping under one of the little armchairs. He sighed.

“Fucking hell,” cursing even more under his breath, Charlie went over to fetch it, kneeling near the armchair to reach the annoying spoon.

It was when his fingers were almost closing over the offending cutlery, that he heard steps approaching the room along with voices. Familiar voices.

“… talked to Singh about it?” It was Nick. He and whoever was with him entered the break room, not noticing Charlie, who was hidden by the armchair. With an arm stuck under the piece of furniture, he ended up not making himself known.

“I did, yeah,” he recognized Elle’s voice as well as the electric kettle being turned on. “She said she was only given two invites, and that she chose you and I for whatever reason, and that it was final.”

“But that’s such bullshit! You and Charlie are way more important in this project than I am,” Charlie, who had finally gotten the spoon and was carefully withdrawing his arm from under the armchair, paused as he heard his own name. “He’s writing it, you modelled for it. Why am I being put over him?”

What in the bloody hell were they talking about?

“Yes, I know. I also don’t understand it,” a few more cutlery noises were heard and Charlie finally took the spoon from under the armchair, but didn’t leave his position because now he really didn’t want to be seen. Something might have passed between the other two unspokenly, because Elle added, “You won’t let it go, will you?”

“Obviously not,” he heard Nick huff and the characteristically sound of a spoon clicking on a mug as it mixed the contents inside of it. “I don’t like it that Singh just… disregarded Charlie like that. And if she can’t help, I’ll find a way.”

Elle chuckled. “Fair enough, and I like that you’re doing it,” she paused, then kept going. “It’s nice that you have his back like that, you know. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”

“I– Yeah, I hope so.”

He heard them leave the room, their voices slowly disappearing while they still talked about whatever it was Charlie had heard them talking about.

He got up from the floor, the offending spoon clutched on his hand, and sat down on the armchair, frowning.

He tried to make sense of what he heard, and his best bet was that Singh was sending Nick and Elle to either a fashion show or event representing the mag and…

Well.

It did make sense that she had chosen Elle, since Elle was from the beauty department and also a very important part of the project. But he had to agree with Nick. Why the fuck wasn’t he invited as well? The cover article was his, he was a fashion editor… it made no sense.

Unless…

Unless Singh had also picked up on the whole Nick and Elle situation and was trying to play matchmaker. It wouldn’t surprise him, to be honest. She did have a running track of doing just that, having matched more than one couple in the company that were all still going strong.

Great, so if Nick was successful, he would have to be a third-wheel on their weirdly planned date concocted by their own boss.

He finally left the break room – stupid spoon safely shoved inside the bin – and went back to his office. Elle, who was already sitting on her table, looked up from her laptop, frowning.

“I truly don’t understand how you can drink this coffee we have here,” she made a face as she rested her tea back on the table, assessing him as he sat on his own desk. “Or maybe you can’t and that’s why you look like you’re about to be sick.”

 “What? No, no, everything is fine,” he rested back in his chair, letting out a sigh. “I’m just confused and… I don’t know. It’s been a weird week so far.”

“Anything you wanna talk about?” She sent him a soft smile. “You know I’m always here for you.”

“I know, love. And thank you, but I’m not ready yet,” and maybe never will be, to be honest, he added in his mind.

How the fuck do you tell you best friend you’re in– having a crush on the guy she also liked? Hey Elle, the problem is that I finally understood that I have a massive fucking crush on Nick even though you also like him. Do you wanna eat ice cream and cry about it together? Yeah, that would go absolutely great.

“That’s fair. You know I understand this more than anyone.”

After that, the both of them went back to their respectives workload. Charlie had been adding the final touches to his article about Nathan Ajayi and everything was starting to feel more real, more tangent. He was about to send in his first cover feature article! Fuck, he had really come such a long way.

Nathan had given his input on the pictures, so Charlie had created a draft with the body of text and images, fiddling with it a little bit to find the best way to make the pictures complement the story he was telling. It was something he always felt relaxing, working on the drafts and editing them to his liking.

Charlie ended up getting lost in his work, only coming out of it when someone knocked on the office door. He turned his head to find Nick looking at him expectantly.

“Can I talk to you for a bit?”

Feeling a tad out of it for being too focused on the computer screen and then being hit with Nick – who was looking extra cute that day, not that he had noticed, of course not – Charlie only managed a weak, “Yeah.”

Not being deterred by that, Nick hauled a chair and sat near the younger man. He caught a glimpse at Charlie’s work on the screen and grinned. “Oh wow, I’m loving how it’s turning out.”

Charlie felt his cheeks warming up. Fucking hell, he had completely forgotten how much of a blushing mess he would turn into when he had a crush.

“Um, thank you,” he messed with his curls a little bit. “I think your idea of asking Nathan for his opinion on the pictures was really good. It worked out really well.”

“I can’t wait to see the finished result,” Elle said from her side of the room. “Charlie is not allowing me to see anything before it’s done, which is very rude of him, in my opinion.”

“And I already told you I don’t care,” Charlie blew her a kiss and Nick chuckled at their antics when Elle stuck her tongue out to her best friend. “Anyway, what did you need?”

“Oh yeah, right,” Nick’s expectant face came back and Charlie couldn’t help but compare him to a Golden Retriever. “So, there’s this beneficent event happening Thursday, and Nathan is actually one of the designers on the line up so he invited the three of us. Elle and I are already cleared to go.”

If Charlie hadn’t heard Nick and Elle’s previous conversation in the break room, he wouldn’t have thought twice about Nick’s blush as he finished speaking. Nick's fairer complexion made it nearly impossible for him to hide whenever he blushed, and most often than not, it wasn’t that big of a deal. However, when he put everything together, paired with Elle’s poor attempt at concealing her snort, he thought he had a pretty good idea what was happening.

Nick had made good on his promise of making sure he was also invited to this event and Charlie felt his stomach flutter at the thought. Nick had gone out of his way to include Charlie in something he felt was rightfully deserved by the black-haired man. Yeah, Elle was right. He really appreciated that – more than he could ever explain.

Charlie also thought it was cute that Nick had hid the truth and didn’t tell him how it was actually Nick’s doing that he was also going to the event now. It made him feel as if Nick was really doing it because he wanted it, and not for some type of recognition or something.

He smiled at the older man. “That sounds fun, actually.”

“Yeah? You’re gonna come then?”

“Obviously yes,” Charlie giggled at Nick’s satisfied face. “I’m not about to miss out on a fashion event. You do know I work in fashion, don’t you?”

“Oh, fuck off you.”

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

🌈 fruity friends forever 🍒 + tao ☕️

nick nelson
@charlie spring @tao xu @isaac henderson
are you guys free on saturday?
the boys and i are having a lads night with alcohol, video games and whatever else they can come up with

oh that sounds fun
count me in

isaac henderson
i can’t, that’s the book club night at the shop 😟

elle argent
isaac is mistyped that emoji
it was probably this one > 😙

LMAO ELLE

isaac henderson
well i didn’t want to be rude 😭

darcy olsson
🤨 why are you only inviting charlie, tao and isaac?
bit misogynistic in my opinion

nick nelson
are you saying you wanna spend the whole night with mostly straight men that are gonna drink more than they should and behave like animals?
because if you want to, be my guest

tara jones
lol darcy just gagged so loud in the bedroom i could hear from the living room

darcy olsson
…
why are men like that

nick nelson
straight men*

are you saying you don’t behave like an animal when you are drinking with your mates?

nick nelson
well, i guess you’ll have to wait and see, won’t you

tao xu
i’m not sure if i should, but i’m coming too
might arrive a bit late though, i have something else before that

darcy olsson
oh hello mr. xu
do i smell a mystery date? 👀

tao xu
wouldn’t you like to know

oh no tao
you’ve awaken the beast
now she won’t stop pestering you until you tell her

tao xu
she can’t pester me if i ignore her
so bye 😎

elle argent
sometimes it feels like tao has been a part of this group for ages
he knows how to deal with darcy better than all of us back when we met her

nick nelson
i feel like i never really learnt that tbh

darcy olsson
brb i’m gonna flood tao’s private thread

sigh
anyway nick, what time should i be there?

nick nelson
anytime after 7pm

okay!

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

For some reason, Singh hadn’t even batted an eye when all three of them asked to leave early on Thursday. If she thought it was weird that Charlie was also included and going to the event, she didn’t show. Which was a good thing for Charlie, because he wasn’t really in the mood to have to fight for permission. He was extremely excited, though.

Called BlackLDN, the event was a partnership between Black artists of various creative backgrounds, in order to gather donations to help further support the Black community, especially students, to develop their talents. And because Nathan was growing more and more in the fashion community, he was one of the main fashion designers of the night and the three of them had all been given front row seats.

Charlie had used his contacts in the fashion industry to get both his and Nick’s looks, since Nathan was mainly a women's clothing designer, and he had to admit, both of them were about to look amazing. Which, in hindsight, was both a blessing and a curse, because Charlie wasn’t sure he was prepared for that.

And he was absolutely right. They were all getting ready at Charlie and Elle’s flat – Elle being the woman and the person who would take longer to get ready had called the shots and decided that – and Charlie, who had allowed Nick to use his bathroom first, was in the kitchen eating an yoghurt bowl with some fruits when Nick entered the room.

And Charlie dropped the spoon at the sight of him.

He thanked the Gods that Nick was fiddling with his belt because truly, it was embarrassing the way he completely lost his bearings.

Nick was wearing a light rose coloured fluffy shirt with a man print on the front, black trousers and trainers. But the thing that actually got Charlie was the fit of the shirt, because it was really, really working to Nick’s advantage. Something about strong rugby arms flashed on his mind but he hastily shut down that thought.

“So, what do you think?” Nick asked him, twirling to show Charlie the full effect of his outfit. Picking up his fallen cutlery, Charlie quickly shoved a spoonful of yoghurt in his mouth so he didn’t risk making a fool out of himself. Fucking fuck, what a terrible week to have finally acknowledged this fucking crush.

Humming, Charlie swallowed his food and nodded, feeling his face hot all over. “You look– Looks good, yeah. Um, great, even.”

Nick beamed at him, looking giddy. “Thank you. I’m actually quite happy with this. Even though I’ve worked at the magazine for a while now, I never got to dress up like this for a fashion show.”

“It’s one of the most fun parts, I agree,” Charlie couldn’t help but return the smile from the other man. He got up, placing his now empty bowl in the sink. “Now it’s my turn. If you wanna eat something before we leave, feel free to roam the refrigerator.”

“I’m fine, but thanks.”

An hour and a half later, the three of them were hopping on an Uber, heading for The Roundhouse, the place where the show was taking place. Charlie had opted for an all black look that consisted of a jumper-like shirt with a vinyl patch on each shoulder and, black trousers and shiny boots, while Elle had downed a asymmetric green silk dress with black lace by Nathan Ajayi and black heels. She had also worn her short black lace wig and to Charlie, she was looking like a 1950s model.

Because of traffic, they took a while to arrive, but thankfully they weren’t late, and Charlie was genuinely surprised to see how many people were there, not to mention the media coverage. Before they went inside, since the sun was still shining, Charlie and Elle went for some pictures. Nick, ever the photographer, helped them a little bit even if he barely took any pictures himself, saying he did prefer being behind the camera – or phone, in that case.

Once they got inside, it wasn’t hard for them to find their respective places. It was nice to know one of the designers because their seats were super nice, and Charlie was actually feeling important to be seated right in the front row of a fashion show. Somehow, Nick ended up in the middle of Charlie and Elle, and Charlie wasn’t sure how to feel about that. It didn’t matter anyway, because soon enough the event started and Charlie forgot all about it.

 ☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

“What? Absolutely not, it’s obvious the green jumpsuit was the most gorgeous piece tonight!”

“You are very much out of your mind because it was the red halter dress.”

“I’m sorry, who is the fucking fashion editor again?”

“Excuse me if I happen to have taste even if I’m not an authority in fashion.”

Sitting on the opposite side of them, Elle huffed in annoyance. “Will you both shut up already? Jesus, you look like a fucking married couple.”

That shut both men up as quickly as she had expected, and Charlie avoided even looking at Nick so the other man wouldn’t see his red cheeks.

The fashion show had ended around half an hour ago, with Nathan being the last artist to show off his creations, but then the next part of the event started. The main room of the venue they were in had turned into an art room, with paintings of different artists decorating each wall, and scattered around the centre of the room were many clothing racks with the outfits they’d seen on the runway just a few minutes earlier, everything just waiting to be purchased by expectant guests.

And the show had been so amazing that Charlie was still feeling the high of it. He had always enjoyed watching models parade around the runway showing different styles of clothing, either with some intricate storytelling behind it, or just to display the artist's creativity. Every show was different in their own way and it was amazing to see. Nathan was by far the most popular designer of the night, receiving a standing ovation at the end of his showcase and that popularity was still going strong, since his corner was buzzing with people.

The three of them had found a high top table near the bar area, sitting on stools while talking and sipping on their drinks. Charlie was having a good time, and he was honestly relieved that his previous assumption of being a third-wheel was very much unfounded. Well, actually, now that he thought about it, Elle wasn’t acting too interested in their conversation, choosing to focus on her phone that was glued to her hands from the moment they sat down. He didn’t even think much of it though, because she had always been the most social media obsessed amongst them all.

“What was your favourite piece tonight, Elle?” Nick asked, seemingly unbothered by Elle’s exasperation, even if a quick look in his direction let Charlie know he was indeed also flustered.

Elle put down her phone, giving them some attention. She narrowed her eyes contemplatively. “Hm, as much as I do agree both of your options are gorgeous, my favourite was the purple flowy dress.”

Charlie paused, trying to remember the dress. “Oh, yes! Okay, I’ll give you that because it looks like something you would absolutely wear.”

“It would also look amazing on you,” Nick added and Charlie felt a pang of something inside of him. Something he was not prepared to analyse, especially after Nick’s comment on Elle’s picture. 

“I agree and that’s why I already reserved it for you,” Nathan said as he approached their table with Youssef not too far behind. Elle started to protest but Nathan didn’t allow her to say much. “Consider this a welcome back to modelling gift.”

Elle laughed. “Okay, okay. I won’t refuse it, especially because I truly loved that dress.”

And as they all spent the remnant of the event talking and laughing together, Charlie had to admit for the very first time, that he did not like that Nick and Elle could potentially happen.

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

Friday afternoon found Charlie finally submitting his finished article about Nathan Ajayi, that he had titled “Fashion For All.” Feeling extremely proud of his work, it was like Charlie was still feeling the excitement from the night before and not even the slightly self-pitying party he had indulged in after he got home had dwindled it. At least that was what he was telling himself.

Honestly, Charlie had experienced too many revelations in just one week, so he was trying to keep his mood on a higher note rather than obsessing over the fact that his crush on Nick was potentially a bit more than just a crush. And that Nick had a crush on Elle. And that Charlie had no fucking chance at all with the other man.

It was clear that not thinking about it was working very well, thank you.

Objectively, Charlie was perfectly aware that he could end his misery with a simple question. And to be honest, he also knew that by this point, he normally would have already asked his best friend about her feelings and the person she had feelings for, so really, Elle wouldn’t find it odd. The real problem was that he was scared shitless of the answer. Having a suspicion – as big as it was – that he was crushing on the same man as his best friend was better than actually knowing that with absolute certainty.

And again, in a hypothetical scenario where Nick did not like Elle in a romantic way, what possible chance would Charlie have, anyway? His track record just proved that he only attracted the wrong type of people, for fucks sake. Well, okay, his first real boyfriend who he’d met when he first started uni had been nice and all, but still. At that time, he was still learning how to be himself away from his childhood home while also dealing with his mental health and eating disorder… He ended up not focusing as much as he should in the relationship, and they parted ways before it could turn nasty.

The same could not be said for Ben, for example, who funnily enough had been his worst relationship even though they weren’t technically together. Charlie had laughed about that once during therapy and Geoff had hummed, saying that while dealing with his problems with humour was… slightly better than succumbing to his depression and self harm, it was still not the best coping mechanism. And there wasn’t much he could say to that; his therapist did know him, after all.

One way or the other, Charlie was determined to not let his stupid fucking feelings deter him from relishing on the fact he had just finished a major project, and he was allowed to feel proud and happy for that.

🌈 fruity friends forever 🍒 + tao ☕️

just sent in the article
pose’s august edition is, once again, finished 🥹

elle argent
omg really?
aaaa this is so exciting 😭

tara jones
wooo i’m so proud of you guys!

thank you! 🥰
i’m biased, but it’s looking so good

nick nelson
oh i absolutely agree
we’re so gonna drink to that tomorrow

darcy olsson
stop reminding me you’re gonna be drinking without me

tao xu
we’re totally drinking to that tomorrow

darcy olsson
🙄
don’t think i have forgotten about your mystery date, tao xu
my spider sense is tingling

tao xu
please do not use a marvel reference with me
ever again

nick nelson
darcy quoting marvel
wow my job here is really done 🥹

tao xu
we need to have a movie night soon so i can show you all some real cinema

why do i feel like we’ll be watching some really pretentious shit that i’ll probably not understand a single thing about

elle argent
that’s because we most definitely are
i’m also betting on a movie we’ve never even knew existed and perhaps with subtitles

nick nelson
and that’s exactly what will happen

tao xu
even you elle?
i take so much offense to that 😤

can i at least request a horror movie?

tara jones
hehe oh this is gonna be fun 🤭

?? 🤨

nick nelson
absolutely the fuck not

you don’t like horror movies???

nick nelson
…
no

NICK
ARE YOU SCARED OF HORROR MOVIES????

nick nelson
… no comments

darcy olsson
he’s absolutely super scared
like shaking mess clutching a blanket actually hiding his face and jumping out of his skin scared

nick nelson
IT SPIKES MY ANXIETY OKAY
I CAN’T CONTROL IT

tara jones
whatever you say sweetie

oh my GOD i’m sorry but i’m cackling so fucking hard

nick nelson
i hate you all so much 😒

would it help if you held someone’s hand during it?

nick nelson
… perhaps
why, are you offering?

… perhaps
you’ll have to take a risk and actually show up to this movie night

darcy olsson
well 🙃
didn’t that escalate quickly 

isaac henderson
this group chat sometimes is better than a romcom 🍿

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Charlie felt as if ice was running down his spine when Isaac’s comment made him realise he had just openly flirted with Nick where all of their friends could see, including Elle. And he hadn’t even noticed he was doing it because flirting with the other man was so fun and so natural that it would just… happen.

Groaning, fell back on his bed, grabbing his pillow and pressing it to his face. This mess of a crush was getting messier and messier by the second.

Fuck, I’m such a terrible friend, he thought, face still hidden by the pillow and eyes shut tight as he felt the telltale sting of unshed tears. No wonder he could never get someone good. Who would want someone like him anyway?

Chapter Text

“Listen, I’m not exactly saying you’re wrong or that you read it all wrong… but don’t you think you might have jumped to the wrong conclusion based on what little info you’ve got?” Tori’s voice sounded loud through his earbuds while his breath came out in pants and sweat dripped down his back.

Having woken up feeling rather restless, Charlie had decided to do something he hadn’t been doing lately and genuinely missed: running. It had always helped when he just needed some peace and quiet, a way of shutting down his brain as his body went through the motions of breathing and placing one foot after the other in quick succession.

He had, unfortunately, been disrupted by his sister’s call, but he couldn’t complain much because he really needed someone to talk to, so he had slowed down to a light jog in order to be able to talk and breathe at the same time.

“Elaborate, please.”

“I’m just saying… Well, what if Nick doesn’t like Elle romantically? Okay, just hear me out, please,” she interrupted him when he let out a protesting sound. He sighed in surrender. “You started this when you could barely stand Nick so you had a very narrowed vision on the situation. Now you actually know that he really is friendly with everyone, so it could be possible that he just considers Elle a very good friend. Right?”

Okay, Charlie had to admit she had a point, so he agreed, but... “What about the signs though? The flower, the secret smiles, her talking about a crush?”

“I never said she doesn’t have a crush,” Tori clicked her tongue as something clunked on the other side of the line and Charlie bet she was trying to cook a new recipe. Operative word being trying. “Didn’t you say there’s a new guy in your friend group? Tao, I think you said his name was?”

“Yes, it is Tao. And he’s Nick’s best friend.”

“So, basically this guy came into the picture at the exact same time Elle developed a new secret crush and for some reason you didn’t even consider him?”

That made Charlie stop dead in his tracks. Tori wasn’t completely wrong and Charlie couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought about that. But then something nagged on his mind.

“Oh fuck, no, it can’t be Tao,” he said, picking up his pace again, a new uneasy feeling forming on the pit of his stomach. “He apparently has a date tonight and it can’t be Elle because she said he was gonna be with Sahar.”

“Doesn’t mean she can’t have a crush on him, though.”

He groaned. “Fuck, I honestly don’t know what’s worse. Her having a crush on the same guy as I, or her crushing on someone that might be interested in someone else.”

“Well, one way or the other, I just think you should consider this hypothesis,” something fell on the other side and he heard Tori curse under her breath. He held back a chuckle. “I know you don’t believe it, but I’ve seen you and Nick together and by everything you’ve just told me, well. I truly think his crush is on you, dear brother.”

“Don’t say that, Tori.”

“Why the fuck not? Just because you think you are undeserving of good things and love doesn’t mean you actually are undeserving, you know? And people can actually fucking like you, for goodness sake.”

“I just… I can’t get my hopes up for nothing, Tori. Really. Why do you think I went so long without giving Nick a chance?” He stopped his jog and just allowed his body to fall into a nearby bench, letting his head fall back. “I think I’ve always been scared of falling for Nick if I let myself be close to him. And now that I am closer, I feel like I’m half way there already and it’s literally only been a few days! A few fucking days, Tori! This is absolutely ridiculous.”

“It’s not ridiculous, Charlie. You’ve always been oblivious to your own feelings because it’s easier. If you don’t acknowledge them, you think they don’t exist, but we all know it’s not how it works.”

“It’s too fucking early to be called out like this, sis,” he mumbled, making her chuckle on the other side.

“And you’re too clueless about people flirting with you in general,” she kept going, and he remembered Kieran Evans and the bet with Nick, so he really couldn’t even deny it. “I mean, I was there when the rugby captain of your school team would flirt shamelessly with you and it was painful to watch you not even notice it.”

Wait, what? “Now I know you’re shitting me because that guy was straight as an arrow, Victoria.”

Tori snorted. “No, he wasn’t, Charles. He literally came out as soon as he left for uni.”

“He did what? How did I not know that?”

“Once again, fucking clueless,” she sighed then and her voice softened. “Look, I’m not saying you should tell Nick how you feel or anything if you’re not comfortable yet. However, I think you should, at least, change the narrative in your head and possibly see things from a new angle. Just… allow yourself the benefit of the doubt, okay?”

He ran his hand through his face as he let out a gush of air, burying his fingers in his curls right after. “Yeah, okay. I guess I can do that.”

“Okay, great. And please let me know when you have new developments. This is way more entertaining than the stupid cases I’ve been dealing with at work.”

“I am so glad my emotional suffering is a source of entertainment for someone, at least,” he huffed, his voice oozing with sarcasm, but Tori just snorted.

“Cheers, love.”

After they hung up, Charlie decided to go for one last lap to think about everything they had talked about. As his playlist resumed playing, the current song was already ending and another one took its place. And as soon as he heard the lyrics starting, it felt like the universe was trying to send him a sign.

“I settled down, a twisted up frown
Disguised as a smile, well
You would have never known
I had it all but not what I wanted
Cause hope for me was a place uncharted and overgrown”

It wasn’t as if he was consciously trying to sabotage himself or anything like that. He knew he deserved happiness just like everyone else; his problem was accepting it. It was hard to, when all of his other relationships had ended either badly or in a bland way. When his brain decided that it was impossible for someone like Nick to want anything other than friendship with someone like him.

He released a deep sigh.

Maybe it was time to schedule another appointment with his therapist.

“Open your eyes like I opened mine
It's only the real world, a life you will never know
Shifting your weight, to throw off the pain
Well, you can ignore it, but only for so long

You look like I did, you resist me just like this
You can't tell me to heal, and it hurts remembering how it felt to shut down
Can't be too careful anymore, when all that is waiting for you won't come any closer
You've got to reach out a little more…”

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

🌈 fruity friends forever 🍒 + tao ☕️

nick nelson

have you seen this shit?????

tara jones
i’m gonna need you to be more specific here, love 🧐

oh

nick nelson
the problem is that it’s only me and elle
meaning that they for some reason cut charlie out of the pic

to be quite honest i’m not really upset?

nick nelson
don’t worry i can be upset for the both of us
because it’s ridiculous

hahah go ahead then

darcy olsson
i don’t usually agree with nick but yeah it really is a bit ridiculous
but also, fuck you both look so hot! 🥵

elle argent
cheers darce
the worst part is that the original pic actually had the three of us lol
i don’t understand it tbh

i think they might have cropped me out because with the photoshoot success they want to focus more on you two
i truly don’t care about it tbh

nick nelson
while that might make sense
i still don’t like it 

tara jones
yeah, it’s really shitty 

darcy olsson
let’s boycott them!!! 🖕🏻

elle argent
darcy that’s literally our place of work 💀

ffs we can’t boycott them just because of a cropped picture

nick nelson
i mean 🤪

tara jones
oh fucks sake, don’t enable her, nicholas

nick nelson
😇

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

“Charlie, my guy!!” A blonde man Charlie had not yet officially met said as he opened the door to Nick’s place and made a grand gesture of showing the way in to him. Finding it a bit amusing but also weird, Charlie walked inside the house and the man closed the door, turning to him with a boyish grin. “I’m Christian, mate, but you can call me Chris. All of the other lads do.”

“Well then, nice to meet you, Chris,” he smiled, following Christian through the hall and corridor, until they reached the living room, where the telly was on and an ongoing game of Super Smash Bros was paused.

Henry noticed Charlie right away, and trotted happily in his direction to collect more pets. It was clear the dog was in heaven with a house full of people at his disposal, although Charlie had a feeling he would abandon them as soon as the guys got a bit wild.

“Hey, Charlie,” Otis, another one of Nick’s flatmates and someone who Charlie had met very briefly the first time he was there, waved from where he was perched on the sofa with a Switch controller in hand.

“Hey! Where are the others?” He started heading towards the armchair, but was accosted by Sai, who entered the room, and placed his hands on Charlie’s shoulders and started to steer him in the general direction of the kitchen. “Uhhh, hello Sai. I’m great, thanks for asking.”

“Yes, hello. Happy to know you’re great,” they entered the kitchen, and Charlie spotted Nick right away, standing by the island in the middle of the room. On top of it, he could see a few ingredients that Nick was handling with the precision of someone who was used to baking. “Dear Nicky here needs help preparing his tiramisu and I cannot handle his annoying ass in the kitchen for a second longer, so you’re taking my place. Bye.”

Nick, who had looked up when he heard Sai’s voice, looked as offended as he could get watching his friend leaving the two of them behind. “The only reason you hate helping is because you cannot follow orders!”

“Yes, and I also don’t care! I just wanna eat the end result!” Sai called out from the living room, and Charlie heard the other two snickering.

“Some friends they are,” Nick grumbled, and his face softened into a smile as he finally looked over at Charlie. “Hi, I’m glad you could make it.”

“Hi,” he smiled back as he approached the island and stopped in front of Nick, looking at the things scattered around the surface. “So, what do you need help with?”

“Well, brownies are done since that’s usually the only thing Sai is happy to help with, but I’m about to start making a tiramisu, if you don’t mind making the coffee? Mine is shite.”

Noises from the other room briefly distracted Charlie, and in any other situation he would feel left out or wanting to join the fun, but if he was being honest, he kinda preferred being there with Nick.

Charlie looked at him strangely. “Who the fuck doesn’t know how to make coffee?”

“Someone who doesn’t like drinking it, that’s who,” Nick rolled his eyes. “And I do know how to make it, it just usually tastes like dirty water.”

“You are hopeless.”

Then they set to work rather seamlessly. Charlie didn’t particularly know how to make a tiramisu, but he loved watching cooking shows, especially on the Food Network channel, so he had some idea of what it entailed. That paired up with Nick’s instructions, and Charlie thought they were doing a pretty good job as a team.

As Charlie made the coffee, Nick continued his task of setting apart the ingredients, first to make the cream and then to assemble the dessert. They kept chatting easily throughout it all, laughing as if they hadn’t spent the whole week together either at work or talking through texts.

Nick whipped the cream, setting it aside after it was done, while Charlie poured the coffee he’d made on a shallow bowl, adding a touch of rum, as Nick had told him to. As the coffee cooled down a bit Charlie set himself near Nick, drinking the small portion of coffee he had saved for himself and watching the other man mixing more of the cream.

“Now answer me this, why are you making a coffee based dessert if you don’t like coffee?”

“Well, the lads all like it,” Nick ducked his head, and Charlie could see he was blushing slightly. “But Elle told me it’s one of your favourites, isn’t it?”

That comment made Charlie momentarily speechless. He couldn’t help but remember Tori’s words from their call, making a spark of hope start to blossom inside of him. Nick had decided to make Charlie’s favourite dessert and it had to mean something. Right?

“It is, actually,” he ended up saying, eyes never leaving Nick, who smiled brightly at him. “You didn’t have to go through all this work, though, but I appreciate it.”

“Nah, I don’t mind it.”

Then it was time to assemble the dessert. The two of them got into a good system, where both Nick and Charlie would dip the sponge fingers into the coffee, placing them on the bowl, then Nick would add a generous layer of cream on top, repeating the process right after. Soon, Nick was dusting a layer of cocoa powder on top of it, also grating some chocolate for a little more sweetness and they were done.

“And now we just need to let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours,” Nick said as he did just that.

“That sounds simple enough,” Charlie commented, slightly surprised. “I’ve seen tiramisu being done countless times on the telly but I don’t think I’ve paid enough attention to actually realise how easy it is.”

Nick approached the island once again, stopping by Charlie’s side this time. “Yeah, it’s a very simple dessert. The hardest part is probably whipping the cream, I suppose.”

“Oi,” Charlie dumped their shoulders, eyes playfully narrowed. “Making sure the sponge fingers aren’t too soggy is also hard, okay? Otherwise it’s a disaster.”

Nick chuckled at Charlie calling out his biggest contribution. “Yeah, okay. You’re right, of course.”

“Thank you.”

Then Nick looked around the island surface, taking in the dirty bowls and appliances still waiting to be cleaned. “Oh you know what, guess we forgot something.”

“Did we?” Confused, Charlie looked from the bowls to Nick, not fully understanding what the older man meant.

“Yeah, cleaning you up.”

“Cleaning me up? But I’m not—” Before Charlie could even complete his thought, Nick had dipped his finger on the remaining whipped cream and smeared it over Charlie’s nose. His jaw fell open. “Oh, you did not just do that!”

Giggling so hard he could barely open his eyes, Nick didn’t see Charlie doing the same thing he’s done before, only realising it when Charlie plastered whipped cream all over his cheek. “Hey!”

“You started it!” Charlie dipped his head back to avoid another one of Nick’s attacks but Nick was still fast enough to get the cream on Charlie’s chin. “You are such a little shit.”

They were both giggling at this point, not even caring about the loud noises they were making. Charlie got another portion of cream smeared on Nick’s nose… except Nick moved at the last minute and it ended up on his lips.

Charlie’s breath got stuck on his throat as he watched Nick’s tongue darting out to lick the cream off.

Oh fuck.

Oh fuck.

His eyes snapped up to find Nick’s already focused on him, and all traces of amusement left the air as they stared into each other’s eyes. They were a bit too close, Charlie noticed for the first time. Close enough for Nick to be towering over him… and for him to notice Nick wetting his lips once again.

“If the two of you are done flirting, would you mind joining us back in the living room?” Sai’s voice coming from the kitchen’s door took both of them out of their staring contest, and Charlie could feel his cheeks heating up. He quickly grabbed a napkin for himself and offered another one to a very flustered Nick. “We are about to order pizza and we want opinions. Are there any toppings you wouldn’t like, Charlie?”

“Um,” he blinked to clear his mind, and get himself back in check. He looked up at the dark-skinned man, realising Sai had a barely concealed smile on his face. “I’m good with anything, just not pineapple.”

Sai snickered. “Of course you would say that.”

“Excuse me, what’s that supposed to mean???”

Sai ignored Charlie as he turned his back to them. “Try not to take too long!”

“We won’t,” Nick rolled his eyes, starting to gather some of the bowls and cutlery off the island to deposit them on the sink. He turned back to Charlie then, a faint blush still visible across his cheeks. “You can go join them, I’ll handle the cleaning.”

“You sure? I could help you.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” he shot a lopsided smile at Charlie. “You’ve already helped me out enough. And you should get to choose whatever you want on your pizza. The lads can order for me just fine.”

A thought that he could probably order for Nick passed through his mind in a flash, but he squashed it down as soon as it had come. “Okay then.”

He took in a shaky breath as he turned away from Nick and then he hightailed out of the kitchen.

He could be oblivious and clueless as hell, but there was no mistaking that he had just shared a Moment with Nick.

And it was a Moment with capital M and italics and all the corny little shit that romance books did when that happened.

Could Charlie have gotten everything so twisted that he was deluding himself into thinking Nick had his eyes on Elle?

And if he had… Did it mean Nick could have his eyes on Charlie, like Tori had suggested?

Fuck.

He needed alcohol.

☼・☀︎・☼

“No, no, no!!!”

“That’s so not fair!”

“How can you be this good?”

“I told you all wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Charlie leaned back on the sofa, a smug smile on his lips and the video game controller still on his hands. He had just won for the third time in a row… and it was only their fourth race.

And he had to admit he was feeling extremely proud of that; one, because he hadn’t played Mario Kart in a while, so knowing that he was still good at it felt amazing and two, he was surrounded by rugby lads that were bigger than him and could play real sports really well and they were losing spectacularly to him. Granted, it was on a video game but nothing was more of an ego booster than crushing big guys on something they thought they were good at.

It also helped that Nick was looking at Charlie as if he was seeing a completely new side of him. Which he was, because they had never played video games together and Charlie hit a completely new level of competitiveness while playing games. He blamed that on having a brother who was way younger than him and still managed to be way better than him at that.

And all of that playing had distracted him from whatever had happened in the kitchen with Nick earlier that night. He needed time to think and mull over all of the ramifications of that and it definitely wasn’t the best time for that. 

“I’m tired of losing,” Otis said resignedly. “Let’s do something else now.”

Sitting on a beanbag near the dark-skinned man, and with Henry on his lap, Nick tutted. “You’re always losing, though, why aren’t you used to it by now?”

“And why don’t you suck my–” Otis was cut off by a cushion that smacked right into his face, and he flipped his friend off. “Fuck you.”

Laughing at the two of them, Sai joined in. “Let’s play beer pong. We’re still too sober and it will change that in a heartbeat.”

The lads all expressed their agreement and then everyone looked at Charlie. “Yeah, of course. Let’s do it.”

Not so long later, Charlie realised that they were not about to play old classic beer pong, and instead of two groups playing opposite the other, they were supposed to play individually. As Nick had explained to him, they were all too competitive to play together and after too much cheating, they just changed their rules. So basically, they lined up as many plastic cups as they could on one half of the dinner table, and then whoever was throwing the ping pong ball had to make the ball bounce at least once on the surface before it fell into a cup. If it got in, everyone had to take a shot of tequila, and if it didn’t, then the person had to take a shot.

Summing it up, it was nothing like beer pong, they wouldn’t even drink beer but they called it beer pong.

Go figure.

As everything was set up and they had played rock, paper and scissors to define the order they would play at – Christian, Otis, Nick, Charlie and Sai – Christian rubbed his hands together in clear mischief. “Let’s spicy it up a bit. Whenever you miss a ball, you have to answer a question.”

Nick raised a brow. “That sounds specifically targeted at me since I have a terrible aim with a ball that small.”

“... I will let you know the only reason I’m not saying something incredibly inappropriate right now is because I don’t want Charlie to think we’re savages.”

“I’m pretty sure he’ll be aware of that soon enough, though,” Nick snorted, rolling his eyes.

“And I don’t think I have that high of an opinion on you all for it to go down that drastically because of an inappropriate comment,” Charlie sent them an amused look, a smirk playing on his lips and all the others laughed.

“See, Charlie fits right in with us all,” Otis slapped him on the back. He sent a pointed look to Nick, who flushed.

Christian was the first to throw the ball, getting it in one of the cups right away and they all swallowed a shot. Otis wasn’t as lucky though, so he drank his shot and Sai laughed. 

“Alright then, now tell us why Marian hasn’t been here in a while and why you’ve been in such a bad mood lately,” Sai smirked, pressing on as Otis opened his mouth. “And don’t lie because you know you can’t lie for shit.”

“Who is Marian?” Charlie whispered to Nick, confusion lacing his voice.

“Supposedly Otis’ best friend, but also someone we’ve seen sneaking out of his room early in the morning way too many times,” Nick whispered back, holding back a laugh and Charlie snorted, paying attention to the man in question.

Otis frowned, crossing his arms. “She had a date last weekend. And we fought because of that.”

“Why the fuck aren’t the two of you dating yet?” Christian raised his eyebrows, being backed up by the others, including Charlie who was now invested in the situation.

“Because she said she didn’t want a relationship!” Otis huffed, annoyed. “And that was exactly why we fought, because apparently she does want a relationship, just not with me.”

Charlie hummed. “When exactly did you have the relationship conversation?”

“When we first started… you know–”

“Shagging,” Nick supplied.

“Fucking,” Sai snorted.

“Boning,” Christian fired back.

“Doing the horizontal tango, even if it wasn’t always horizontal,” Sai snickered, high-fiving both Nick and Christian.

“I guess we understand,” Charlie tried to say, but not only he couldn’t stop laughing, but the guys were now in a competition.

“Doing the nasty.”

“Exploring the hidden valley.”

“Scoring a try,” Nick high-fived Christian.

“Playing hide the sausage.”

“Getting your dick wet.”

“All right, all right! We get it, Jesus. You all aren’t even drunk yet,” Otis rolled his eyes, and even through his dark skin complexion it was noticeable he was flustered. He turned to Charlie as the guys laughed out loud. “So yeah, it was around when we started sleeping together.”

“Well,” Charlie started, considering his words carefully. If it was any of his friends, he would be way less tactful, but he barely knew the situation at hand. “Is it possible things changed and the two of you didn’t want to say anything directly?”

Otis looked at him, thoughtfully. “I… guess? I mean, I thought she would say something since she was the one to say she didn’t want a relationship.”

“Yeah, but you’re not saying anything either, are you?” Nick pipped in, shrugging. “She won’t put herself on the line alone.”

“And to be quite fair,” Sai said as Chistian retrieved Otis’ missing ball. “There isn’t much to lose, is there? You’ve already shagged, you’ve already argued… Just go for it.”

“Unless she’s serious about the other guy,” Christian casually said, passing the ball to Nick. “Then I’d say you lost your turn.”

“Yeah, thanks for the support,” Otis mumbled, sending a dirty look to Chris, who just grinned.

“Just… talk to her. You’d be surprised at how it can work wonders,” Charlie looked at Nick and they both smiled at each other. Otis nodded, accepting the advice.

“Now, Nicholas,” Sai rubbed his hands, then presented the table to Nick in a flourish. “Guess it’s your time to miss.”

Nick rolled his eyes but complied, preparing to shoot… and missing it by a whole inch. He sighed, already downing a shot and waiting resigned for his question. “Go on, then.”

Christian took the lead. “Do you or do you not have a birthmark on your left butt cheek that resembles France?”

“Why the fuck does Otis get a normal question and I get one regarding my arse?!” Nick complained. “Also, you’ve shared a flat with me for fucking years, I’m pretty sure you’ve seen my arse countless times.”

Charlie held back a snicker, not being able to stop his teasing. “Do you make it a habit of showing your arse around then, Nicholas? Is that something I should expect after you get shitface drunk?”

Nick spluttered as the lads guffawed. “I cannot believe you’re siding with them against me! No, actually I do believe it, you’re so mean to me.”

Charlie giggled, shrugging and Christian threw the ball at Nick’s head, who ducked at the last minute. “Answer the question!” Nick huffed, mumbling something unintelligible. “What was that?”

“It actually looks like Italy, okay?”

“Oh, you’re talking about your birthmark again?” A flat voice came from the doorway, and they all turned to find Tao standing there, Henry in his arms and a very unimpressed look on his face.

“It’s not like I chose it!” Nick grimaced, looking offended and Tao raised a brow. “Damn, no idea why I’m friends with you all.”

They continued on with their game, now with Tao’s addition, even if begrudgingly. Charlie had been the next one to play, and baffling even himself, he had managed to get the ball in one of the cups. As Sai got the ball in on his turn and they all had to down another shot, Charlie waited until Nick had just tipped his glass back to mutter, “Italy does have a nice shape… doesn’t it?” And giggle when Nick choked, flustering red.

From then on, they only got more unhinged and Charlie was slightly surprised to be actually having fun. After leaving his secondary school, he had made a point of not being mainly surrounded by straight men because… well, he didn’t really have the best experiences with them in school. However, he had to admit, Nick’s friends were nice. They were extremely ridiculous and over the top and everything they said had a double entendre, but not even once Charlie had felt uncomfortable with them or scared they would be casually – or even flat out – homophobic. And that was a really good feeling.

Nick, however, was being absolutely roasted by his friends because as predicted by Nick himself, he was absolute shit in the game. He only got one ball in, and the lads were determined to make him as embarrassed as they could. Nick had to say what his type was – he blushed and pointedly avoided looking at Charlie while answering dark hair and blueish eyes; if baking was one of his love languages – it was; if he had gotten laid recently – he hadn’t. Admittedly, there were many other questions, but those were the ones that got stuck in Charlie’s brain the most.

For no reason… obviously.

But the game did manage to get everyone in a nice buzz, so by the time Tao convinced them all to watch a movie, Charlie was ready to stuff his face with tiramisu and brownies.

And that was how Christian found him in the kitchen.

“Hey, you doing something tomorrow?”

Charlie swallowed a bite from the brownie in his hand, thoughtful. “Nursing my hangover, mostly. Why?”

“Every other Sunday, the lads and I train a little rugby league at the park, and I was wondering if you wanted to join us.”

“You are aware I know nothing about rugby, right?”

“Oh, I don’t expect you to do anything other than watch,” the casualness in Christian’s voice was as suspicious as the invitation, but Charlie had too much alcohol on his mind to actually care.

“Yeah, okay. Might be cool.”

Chris smiled, pleased. “Great then.”

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

Charlie wasn’t sure if agreeing on going to Nick’s little league practice had been the best idea.

And as he thought that, he watched Nick, who was wearing basketball shorts and a striped green and white shirt with the word coach on the back, crouch in front of a little boy, not older than eight, and talk to him after the boy had messed up a play.

Or something like that. Charlie was not paying attention to the actual training.

So yeah, scratch that.

He was absolutely sure that going to that practice was not his best idea.

“You should close your mouth, babes,” Isaac’s Kindle made contact with the underside of his chin, as if making sure he understood the instruction. “You’re about to drool and that’s not a good look in public.”

He huffed, pressing his mouth shut in exasperation. “Would that even be a good look in private?”

“I mean, who knows? You allos are into things I can’t even begin to understand.”

“I–” he trailed off as he lost his focus once again. This time Nick was laughing with a trio of boys, high-fiving them and pushing his hair out of his face. Nick was already showing signs of being affected by the summer day: his cheeks were extremely red and his skin was shiny with transpiration. Charlie inhaled sharply. “Why the fuck didn’t you stop me from coming today?”

“And why the fuck would I do that?”

“Because!”

Charlie hadn’t taken his eyes away from the field, but he was pretty sure Isaac rolled his eyes. “You are not making a single sense but I’m not even gonna call you out on that.”

He was about to answer, when he got distracted once again. Really, at this point Charlie was just very, very grateful for his forethought of wearing a cap and sunglasses. First, because the sun was already punishing them and it was barely eleven am, and second, because he was able to get away with his ogling without being found out.

No, he wasn’t proud of that.

No, he wasn’t about to stop.

When he had asked – forced – Isaac to come with him to the practice, he was expecting it to be boring and to need some distraction. The thing was, watching Nick playing and coaching and interacting with little children ended up being enough of a distraction for him. He was never one for the whole hot guy with kids trope but… now he was starting to actually get it.

So there he was, sitting on the grass path that surrounded the field, sweating more than he would like, still feeling the remnants of his hungover and noticing things he should not be noticing.

Things such as how those basketball shorts Nick was wearing fit him really well. Especially when he leaned over to talk to the kids. Or to get the ball. Or to…

Well.

He changed his focus to the other coaches. Much like Christian had said, the two of them plus Sai and Otis coached the little league together, and it was quite noticeable that they were all popular. Charlie could see, sitting on the grass much like he was, mums and dads and some other family members also interested in the field activity… and many in the same manner as he was interested.

He really couldn’t blame them, to be honest.

Charlie turned back to the field, only to realise the practice had hit its second break. The kids were all rounded together near the benches, drinking water and talking… and Charlie’s eyes found Nick’s figure the moment the older man decided to take off his shirt.

Granted, he was wearing a tank top underneath his coach shirt but suddenly, all he could see were arms. And shoulders. And the black contours of a tattoo peeking out from the back of a shirt.

Charlie got up in a quick move, startling Isaac, who had been distracted by his book. “What—”

“Let’s go.”

“What? Why?” Even though clearly confused, Isaac still got up and started following Charlie, which he was thankful for.

Charlie shook his head. “All this heat is making my head hurt.”

“Ahhh, the heat… Okay.”

“Shut up.”

☼・☀︎・☼

nick nelson
hey
is everything alright? you left practice without saying goodbye

yeah…
i just had a migraine and decided to leave before the heat made it worse

nick nelson
oh… okay
are you feeling better? do you need anything?

i’m fine
thank you

☼・☀︎・☼

Charlie threw his phone on his bedside table, after turning on the do not disturb mode. He covered his face with the pillow he was hugging close to his chest and sighed, closing his eyes and allowing his body to relax.

It was actually laughable how the brain worked. He had spent so long not allowing himself to notice Nick, in any way, shape or form… but now that he had, it was the only thing he could do.

And after his realisation the day before…

Well, his mind was having a bit of a hard time understanding and reassessing all of the new information. So much so, that paired up with the lack of sleep and hangover, his text to Nick wasn’t even a lie.

He could only hope he would feel good enough the next day to face Nick. And Elle.

He sighed again.

What a fucking mess.

Chapter Text

Monday arrived faster than Charlie anticipated, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he knew it was a Terrible Mental Health Day. First, he had slept horribly, having nightmares whenever he did manage to get some sleep and then lying restless when he didn’t. Second, his head felt as if it was exploding. Third and the most telling, he couldn’t find the strength to leave his bed.

So, Charlie did what he did best in this situation.

He avoided life.

After sending an email to Singh explaining to her he was not feeling the best and asking for a few days of sick leave, he covered his head once again with his blanket and tried to fall back asleep… Only to be interrupted by a knock on his bedroom door.

“Charlie?”

He sighed, lowering his blanket until only his eyes were on display. “You can come in, Elle.”

The door opened and Elle stuck her head inside, her worried eyes softening when they met Charlie’s tired ones. “Are you okay, babes? It’s way past the time you usually get up.”

“Not really,” Charlie’s voice was raspy, and Elle pushed the door, entering his room and sitting near him on the bed.

“Are you coming down with something or is it just, you know, a bad brain day?” Elle placed her hand on Charlie’s curls, caressing his hair in  sympathy.

Charlie closed his eyes, sighing. “The second one.”

“Oh, love… It’s been a while since the last one, hasn’t it?” He nodded and she hummed. “Do you need anything? I can bring you some breakfast. Or some tea.”

“No, it’s… I’m not really hungry right now.”

“Charlie…”

“I promise I’ll eat something later, I just… I just need to sleep some more.”

“All right,” Elle sighed. “I have to leave for the magazine now, but… if you need anything – and I mean it, Charlie – you call me. Or Isaac.”

“I’ll be fine,” he tried to say, but she sent him a pointed look and he huffed lightly. “Okay.”

After Elle had left, he put his phone on do not disturb mode and rolled over allowing his tiredness to take over him.

☼・☀︎・☼

When Charlie woke back up, blurry eyed and still with a lingering headache, it was nearing midday. The light that was streaming through the window had dimmed though, because in true London fashion, the good weather was gone and now it was pouring rain.

Honestly, it feels like reflecting my mood right now, he thought, getting out of bed and immediately feeling slightly cold – another drastic change from the day before. Wrapping the throw blanket around himself, he made his way outside his room, realising it had gone over twelve hours since he last ate. The idea of actually making himself something to eat wasn’t the most appealing so he just chopped some fruit, added granola and honey, and plopped himself on the sofa to eat his ‘lunch’. The flat was silent, save for the noise of rain coming from the slightly ajar window, and the telly turned on to a random channel. He wasn’t paying attention to it, and that allowed his mind to roam free.

As shitty as it was, Charlie couldn’t say he was exactly surprised he was slipping into a depressed state like this one. The last few weeks had been a rollercoaster of emotions; not only did he have to reevaluate everything he knew about Nick, but he also had to come to terms with the realisation that he had been lied to by someone he used to trust. Not to mention the whole ‘crushing on the same person as your best friend’ thing. And to say he had been brushing every single feeling he didn’t want to face under the carpet was an understatement.

But objectively, getting hit in the face by all his feelings, at once, during the weekend, had made it impossible for him to continue to do so. And that was precisely why he was spiralling.

It didn’t help that he kept meaning to call his therapist… but never really did. Mostly because he knew Geoff would make him go through all of his deepest thoughts and he was still trying to keep some resemblance of control. The moment his conscious mind got the smallest hint he was actually in love there was no going–

Oh.

Oh.

Well, crap.

Charlie looked down at the half eaten bowl of fruit in his hands, and sighed, feeling his stomach lurch. He wasn’t in the mood for food anymore. 

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

Charlie woke up to the sounds of continuous rain once again. He blinked against the daylight – he had forgotten to close his blinds once again – and the next thing he realised was that his head was hurting a bit less than the day before.

A quick glance towards his bedside table told him it was a little past eleven in the morning. He checked his phone notifications, promising himself he would take some time to reply to his friends’ text later in the day, then he got out of bed.

(Okay, fine. He spent over thirty minutes mindlessly scrolling through Twitter and Instagram first before actually dragging himself out of bed.)

He had just perched himself once again on the sofa with some ice cream for breakfast – lunch, brunch? – when knocks sounded on his front door. He froze with his spoon midway to his mouth, confused about who the fuck would’ve entered the building without needing to ring the buzzer only to knock on the door. Especially at… twelve something in the afternoon?

Weird.

As he got up, he briefly wondered if it would be one of his neighbours, but they usually tried to reach out in the building’s group chat first before actually showing up unannounced, so he dismissed that idea. 

He pulled open the door, only to almost close it right back again when his eyes met a very wet Nick Nelson on the other side of it. Nick was wearing a green hoodie that had turned dark because of the rain, its hood still covering his hair, and in his hand he held two paper bags.

Charlie was very aware he had been standing there gaping at Nick for longer than he should have, but he could not, for the life of him, force his brain to work.

Nick was there, on his doorstep. Wet from the rain, slightly out of breath as if he had run up the four flights of stairs and still looking as fit as ever.

He needed to lay down; but that was too much for his depressed and anxious gay brain.

“Um,” Nick pushed back his hood, and buried his free hand in his hair, looking a bit sheepish. “Hi.”

Finally getting out of his shocked stupor, Charlie blinked up at Nick. “Hi. What– How did you get in?”

“Um, well… Elle let me borrow her keys?” It sounded like a question as his hand ended up on his neck. Ducking his head, Nick looked bashfully at Charlie. “I didn’t want to, you know, barge into your flat out of the blue without letting you know first, but you weren’t picking up your phone, so…”

“It’s probably still on do not disturb mode, if I’m honest.”

“Oh.”

Noticing Nick was looking at him expectantly, Charlie finally sprung into action, opening the door a bit wider and motioning for him to enter. After Charlie had closed the door and Nick had taken off his wet Vans, they stood there looking at each other for a few seconds, until Nick broke the weird silence.

“So…” He raised the bags in his hand. “I got us lunch?”

“Did you? You don’t sound so sure.”

Nick chuckled lightly. “I did, actually. I’m just not sure how you’ll take it. Elle said you weren’t feeling the greatest right now so I just… got you some sushi because I remember you saying it’s one of your safe foods,” he looked down briefly before looking up at Charlie again. “And since I haven’t eaten yet, I thought we could share.”

Charlie had to make a conscious effort to stop himself from staring at Nick once again, because he was having a hard time understanding that Nick was actually there with lunch for the two of them and had remembered that he loved sushi. And that it was one of his safe foods, which meant he didn’t have such a hard time eating it even when he wasn’t feeling the best at– well, eating.

How had he taken so long to see Nick Nelson for the sweet, caring person he really was?

“You got here right on time then, because I was about to have ice cream for lunch,” Charlie smirked and Nick chuckled.

“Ice cream? And then you judge me for my poor choices.”

“That’s because you make them all the time,” Charlie shot back, turning on his heels to make his way into the kitchen so they could dish out the food.

“Oi!” Nick scoffed, going after him. Then he heard Nick’s sharp intake of breath, followed by him cleaning his throat. Charlie frowned in confusion, but when he sent a look over his shoulder, Nick was already setting the bags on the counter, not meeting his eyes. “Can’t believe I brought you lunch and you’re still gonna be mean to me.”

“It’s one of the things you like about me, though,” Charlie shrugged and then instantly wanted to swallow the words back. Damn it, he needed to keep himself in check.

“You’re not wrong,” Nick sent a look his way, and Charlie could feel his cheeks reddening.

It was his time to avert his eyes, while he helped Nick take the containers out of the bags. “So… Where should we eat? We could either stay here or head to the living room.”

“Hmm, maybe the living room?”

“Living room it is, then.”

It took them two trips, but soon enough they had managed to organise the food in a spread on the living room coffee table and then they both sat down side by side on the floor in front of the telly.

It didn’t escape Charlie’s notice that it wasn’t the first time they had found themselves on the floor together.

They got into a light conversation, with Nick telling Charlie about the new project he was working on with both Elle and Sahar and then filling him in on whatever has happened at the magazine in the past two days. Giggling, he realised it was the first time since he woke up the day before, that he was actually feeling light and comfortable enough to eat without feeling like his throat would close just by thinking about food.

As they were finishing their dessert – because of fucking course Nick had been extra enough to bring dessert as well – Nick put down his half eaten muffin and looked over at Charlie.

“Would you tell me what has actually been going on with you these past few days?” His eyes were as soft as his voice as he looked at Charlie with an open expression.

Now, how does one even begin to explain the mess that is their head when the responsible for said mess is precisely the one asking about it?

Charlie must have shown his hesitancy on his face, because before he could open his mouth, Nick continued. “You don’t have to, if you don’t want to, but I’m here if you wanna talk.”

So he told Nick about his mental health history. How he would have some intense depression episodes, as a teen, and still pretend everything was okay even when it wasn’t. How he’d been outed in secondary and it made everything worse. How it all piled up so bad, he started controlling his eating and then, later on, self harming. How his sister was the one to notice what was happening and, after a very bad incident where he had to be taken to the hospital, he finally realised he needed help and accepted to be hospitalised for better treatment. How he had been diagnosed then with anorexia and OCD, and how it impacted his relationship with his parents, because as much as Julio tried to act as a buffer between Charlie and Jane, he still never stood up to his wife in favour of his children and that started to make Charlie resentful. How therapy helped him wonders, but it was always gonna be something he had to deal with in his life.

Explaining all of his history and trauma to Nick was not something he expected to do when he woke up earlier that day, but well… Here he was. 

In the end, Charlie sighed, slumping back on the sofa behind him. “It’s– well, it shouldn’t be complicated, but like, not everyone really understands it, you know? And even though I’m much better now, I clearly still have bad days, especially if there’s too much happening and I don’t let my brain fully process my own feelings or whatever. It’s been a while since I had an episode though, so it just kind of… snuck up on me.”

“I’m sorry you have to go through this,” Nick also rested back, bumping their shoulders lightly. “Was that why you left the rugby practice earlier on Sunday? Were you already feeling the start of it?”

No. Maybe. Kinda. But he went with, “Yeah.”

“Thank you for sharing all of this with me,” Nick smiled softly, and the way he moved his arm made Charlie think he was about to hold Charlie’s hand, but if that was the case, he changed his mind midway. “Is there… Anything I can do to help?”

“Oh,” the question took him so much by surprise he took a while to reply. Charlie was so used to his closest friends already knowing how to deal with his episodes, that he didn’t realise how comforting it was to have someone new being actually interested in helping him. “This already helped. A lot, in fact.”

Nick's smile grew. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” and he returned the smile.

Nick didn’t take long to leave, since he still had to go back to the magazine, and as Charlie was leaning against his front door after walking Nick out, the older man turned back to him.

“Forgot to mention it before but,” Nick looked down at Charlie’s chest and smirked, before looking up directly into Charlie’s eyes. “Nice hoodie.”

As Nick turned on his heels and headed for the stairs, Charlie looked down, confused. The faded blue fabric of the hoodie he was wearing stared up at him and only after he noticed the Leeds rugby logo on the left hand corner did he understand what had happened.

He had gone to bed the day before wearing Nick’s Leeds hoodie.

A hoodie he was still wearing.

A hoodie Nick had just seen him wearing.

Charlie closed his door with a sigh.

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

tori spring
so let me get this straight
he dropped whatever it was he was doing to bring you lunch
and he shared it with you

that would be correct, yes

tori spring
charlie 🙄

what

tori spring
you desperately need some self-awareness, dear brother
like you need self-awareness to slap you in the face

i take offence to that, actually

tori spring
you should xx

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

🎈 tara’s bday surprise shhhh 🤫

darcy olsson
hello fuckers
tara’s birthday is coming, as i’m sure you’re all aware
and i’m planning a surprise bday party on the rooftop bar
i just need you all to agree to the brunch i’ll suggest on sunday so she won’t suspect when i invite her to dinner on saturday

elle argent
omggg a surprise party!!!
that’s such a good idea!!

darcy olsson
and i am so excited!!
i hope no one spoils the surprise tho
(i’m looking right at you nicholas nelson!!!)

nick nelson
hey! i only did that once and it was your fault for not telling me it was a surprise in the first place!!!

darcy olsson
it’s not my fault if you’re stupid!!!

nick nelson
am not!!!

children
can you please not fight in the gc

darcy olsson
i’ll stop just because i have better things to do than keep this going
everything has to be perfect for my princess 🥰

isaac henderson
pretty sure tara would love anything you planned even if it was in the dim lit pub down the street

real

darcy olsson
i know but
things have been a bit complicated in her family with her granny being bedridden
which means she won’t be seeing her family for her bday unless she goes home and she can’t go home right now
so i really want her to be able to enjoy this

elle argent
oh darce, we had no idea tara was going through it 😔

nick nelson
i don’t think she told many people tbh
you know how tara is, never wanting to bother anyone

isaac henderson
oh looks like someone else we all know so well whose name starts with charlie and ends with spring

that was extremely uncalled for

elle argent
he’s not wrong tho babe 👀

ANYWAYS
was there anything else darcy?
do you need anything?

darcy olsson
OH yes actually
basically the deal with the bar’s manager is that we can use the area and services but i’ll need to decorate it all
which means i’ll need someone to distract tara during the day while the rest of you help me out there 😃

tao xu
i knew it was too good to be true

darcy olsson
you shush, you just got here 🙄
don’t go thinking i forgot about your mystery woman 😤

tao xu
no idea what you’re talking about 😇

nick nelson
i can be the one to distract tara, if you want
i’ve promised her we’d hit some museums a while back and we still haven’t so, i can suggest it as a best friends’ birthday date

darcy olsson
okay great
but for the love of god don’t spoil the fucking surprise

nick nelson
I WON’T
jesus christ

lol
bet nick cracks in an hour

tao xu
i bet he takes a bit longer so maybe 2 hours

isaac henderson
i bet 2.30 hours

nick nelson
excuse me?????

elle argent
aw guys, don’t be so hard on nick

nick nelson
thank you elle!!

elle argent
bet he’ll probably last the whole day and crack when he gets darcy’s text saying they’re clear to leave

nick nelson
your faith in me is very inspiring

isaac henderson
elle lmao
that was low

poor nick, there’s no one on his side

darcy olsson
istg nicholas, if tara as much as suspects something is going on i’m gonna rip your balls off
you’re not using them anyways

nick nelson
god sometimes i hate having friends
and don’t think i don’t see your laughing reaction to darcy’s text 🙄

nah you love us all

nick nelson
i really don’t

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

Somehow the weeks before Tara’s birthday party passed by in a blur.

Charlie finally got the courage to set up an appointment with his therapist Geoff, who was actually not surprised that Charlie had gotten himself in such a predicament. He really wasn’t exaggerating when he said hiding his feelings until it blew in his face was his modus operandi.

But just some sessions with Geoff were enough for Charlie to start feeling as if he could finally breathe properly again. Which was funny on its own because work had picked up again, and now with their problem with the August issue being truly and well behind them, Charlie could start new projects for the next issues and that meant he was extremely busy.

Not that he was complaining, though. Work was the best thing to keep his mind occupied and not constantly dwelling on his raging crush on Nick.

Geoff wanted him to work things out and either ask Elle or Nick about their feelings so he could at least have some peace of mind. He had tried to argue he preferred having his peace of mind over not knowing… but it didn’t work. So even though he had promised his therapist he would have a talk with Elle… he didn’t exactly say when said talk would happen.

Sue him if he was still slightly avoiding doing that.

Didn’t help that it felt as if he barely saw Elle in the last couple of weeks, with both their schedules being hectic and different and her being very suspiciously busy whenever they weren’t at the mag.

Tara’s birthday party was happening that night, so Charlie was giving himself another night of not thinking about having to talk to Elle.

It was fine.

Especially because he wanted to get hammered with fancy drinks.

And also probably go bankrupt because of those fancy drinks… but that was an issue for future Charlie.

As was dealing with the rest of his problems.

(Oh, Geoff was gonna love all of that avoidance paired with up alcohol. It was the perfect combo for him to look expressionless at Charlie from behind his spectacles and just utter a low ‘hmmm’ on their next session in a few days.)

So Charlie finished getting ready. Darcy had texted the surprise party group chat saying Tara was already home from her day out with Nick, who had, very surprisingly, kept his mouth shut and Tara was still none the wiser about her party.

“If we had decided on wearing the same thing, it wouldn’t have worked out this well,” Isaac said when the two of them left their rooms at the same time, realising they were both wearing white shirts with jean jackets.

Charlie huffed out a laugh. “I’m not changing.”

“Neither am I,” Isaac shrugged.

“We’ll just have to own it, then.”

It turned out they weren’t the only ones wearing that outfit combo, and Elle could not stop giggling when the three of them met Nick and Tao by the rooftop bar’s entrance and Nick was also in a white shirt with a jean jacket.

Tao looked from one man to the other, his lips twitching as he held back a smile. “Was there a dress code I was not aware of?”

They all chuckled, but Nick was the one to jokingly flip him off.

The Moon Lounge was somewhat of a new place in the city. It used to be a very famous bar until it was found out the previous management had been stealing the profit instead of actually running the place. It had been quite a scandal at the time, and both the owners had opted for selling out the place instead of dealing with the crazy amount of debt to keep running it. Then the new owners had taken over, remodelled the place completely, and in just a few months it had become the new hotspot, especially for younger londoners.

And apparently, the new manager’s husband was one of Darcy’s most loyal clients at the tattoo shop and when she mentioned wanting to throw a surprise party for her girlfriend during their latest session, he had given her the idea of renting the bar. So since she was kinda friends with the couple, she had gotten a good deal for that, only needing to decorate the place.

That was how everyone, sans Nick and Tara, had spent a good portion of their Saturday running from one side to another at the lounge, decorating it the best they could under Darcy’s strict gaze. She wanted everything to be perfect for her girlfriend.

But it had paid off, because now that Charlie was walking inside and seeing the place buzzing with people and all the lit up fairy lights with a multicoloured sky as background… he couldn’t help but feel proud of the work they had done.

☼・☀︎・☼

☼・☀︎・☼

☼・☀︎・☼

Charlie was drunk. Not “fall on his face and try to speak in different accents” drunk yet, but drunk enough to acknowledge the fact that whenever Nick ever so slightly glanced his way, he would get extremely flustered. Anyone else would think it was the alcohol, but he knew the truth because he just couldn’t silence his fucking thoughts.

And drunk Charlie’s thoughts were unhinged.

For instance, now that they had left the balcony and had moved inside, Nick had shrugged off his jean jacket and Charlie was very, very aware of how tight his white shirt was, and how it hugged his biceps when he moved his arms… 

His eyes couldn’t stay away for long and that was starting to be a problem. Because he kept wondering how good it would be to run his hands over Nick’s arms. Or squeeze them. Or be squeezed by them. He wasn’t picky.

Honestly, one would think Charlie had never seen Nick in a short-sleeved shirt – which was absolutely not the case – but again, drunk Charlie was not thinking properly.

He was taken out of his drunken musings about Nick’s arms by Sahar plopping herself on a chair by his side with a heavy sigh.

Nick, who was the only other person at the table with him, looked at her, amused. “You good?”

Another sigh. “I’m going through a sexuality crisis.”

“Oh?” Charlie rested his elbow on the table, turning to her while sipping from his straw. “Tell us more about it.”

Instead of doing that though, Sahar looked at Nick. “How did you realise you were bi?”

“Oh,” noticeably taken aback, Nick’s eyebrows went up and he briefly looked over at Charlie before addressing Sahar again. “Well, looking back the signs were all there, but I only really noticed it around sixteen when I had a major crush on a classmate.”

“Define crush.”

Nick didn’t miss a beat. “I wanted to kiss him as much as I had wanted to kiss the first girl I had a crush on.”

A moment passed. And then another. “Well, fuck.”

Charlie giggled. “Relatable?”

“Yeah,” she ran her hand through her face, before taking a sip from her drink. “I just… I really thought I just admired her a lot because she’s such a lovely person, you know? But then there was this moment between us the other day and I don’t know, it left me all confused.”

Before Charlie could stop his thoughts, his mind took him back to a few weeks ago when he and Nick shared a Moment in Nick’s kitchen. He couldn’t help looking over at the other man, who was already gazing back at him. Charlie felt his cheeks heat up.

Nick cleared his throat, averting his eyes. “Yeah… definitely been there,” he said. “It’s easier to miss the attraction when you’re also attracted to the opposite gender and when you notice something… different, you kinda come up with random excuses in your head to explain why you’re suddenly so interested in that person.”

“Yes, exactly!” Sahar rested both her hands on the table, looking at Nick with wide eyes. “I’ve been thinking back and yeah, the signs were all definitely there too. But I’m still so confused,” she groaned, dropping her head on her hands.

“Hey, and it’s fine,” Charlie patted her back soothingly. “You don’t have to have everything figured out right away.”

“You really don’t,” Nick agreed, with a commiserating smile of someone who had been in the same position once. “Have you talked to her?”

“She kissed me,” she said suddenly, and both men exchanged surprised looks. “And I freaked the fuck out, left her house and haven’t talked to her since, and now I’m convinced she might actually hate me and will never talk to me ever again–”

“Sahar!” Nick called out with a perplexed chuckle and Sahar promptly stopped her rambling. “Breathe,” and after the woman had done just that, Nick continued. “That’s all the more reason to talk to her. If you do identify as bisexual and she’s not biphobic, she’ll understand.”

“I guess,” Sahar sighed once again. “I think I’m just… scared.”

“And that’s valid,” Charlie said, and Nick nodded. “But not saying anything is not really any better, is it?”

Sahar scowled. “No.”

“So…”

“Ugh, you’re right. I’ll try and talk to her soon,” she got up, nodding once before smiling. “Thanks for the pep talk, though. I appreciate it a lot.”

“Of course.”

And as fast as she had arrived, Sahar had moved to another group of people, drink in hand and joining their conversation as if she hadn’t been questioning her sexuality just a few seconds before. Nick and Charlie exchanged another look before bursting into quiet laughs.

“Guess Tao really is the only straight in this friend group,” Charlie said through his giggles.

“We really are a giant rainbow magnet for the queers, aren’t we?” Nick snorted and they cracked up again. God, they really were drunk.

“Why are we laughing?” Tao let himself fall on Sahar’s previous seat while Elle took the chair next to Nick. The two of them had been thick as thieves the whole night and Charlie was only now noticing it.

Not wanting to out Sahar before she was ready, Charlie giggled again. “Does it really matter when you’re drunk?”

From then on, the whole group ended up together once again. Tara was in high demand, understandably so since she was the birthday girl, so she wasn’t at the table for long, choosing to drag a rather complacent Darcy along with her as she made small talk with her guests. The rooftop bar was quite full of Tara’s friends, co-workers and even some relatives that had managed to attend since they lived closer to London than Tara’s immediate family. And at some point, Charlie had even spotted Singh and her wife with Nathan and Youssef.

Darcy had reasons to be smug; her little surprise party for Tara was a success.

Additionally, Nick and Charlie spent the majority of the night together. For most of it, they stayed at their little corner table, sometimes just the two of them, other times with more of their friends tagging along. And even when they were walking around the bar, joining other people’s groups, it wouldn’t take long for one to find the other and then they’d find a way to be only them again.

And that was making Charlie crazy.

Not because he didn’t enjoy Nick’s company, obviously, it was the exact opposite. Nick had quickly grown into being one of Charlie’s favourite people, so being around him was definitely not a bad thing.

The problem was that, ever since acknowledging that he had deeper feelings for Nick, it was quite hard not to think about those feelings all the damn time. And tipsy Nick was too cute with his red cheeks and loose smile and he was quite touchy feely too. More often than not, Charlie would find Nick’s hand on his lower back, or on his arm, or on his shoulders, and then there was that one brief moment when Charlie had messed up his own hair and Nick reached over to fix the curls around Charlie’s forehead…

Charlie really had to thank his overthinking brain, because even as pissed drunk as he was, he was still able to reign himself in and not lean over to kiss Nick.

Was it really going to be a bad thing if he had done that? No. But he would definitely beat himself over it afterwards. Not to mention that he wanted to talk to Elle first.

So he was glad he did refrain.

Mostly.

Well, a little bit at least.

One way or the other, since they were joined by the hip, they had ended up ordering drinks together while alternating who was getting and paying for them. It was Charlie’s turn again, and as he waited for the bartender to take his order, he checked his Insta feed and all of the new photos his friends had been posting for the night.

(If he did check his own post, with a picture of Nick just to look at that picture again… no, he didn’t.)

“Ugh he looks so good with that white shirt,” he heard a groan coming from his right, and realising he knew the voice, he looked over to see both Elle and Isaac leaning on the counter by his side. “I just wanna snog the living daylights out of him.”

Isaac snickered. “You opening up like that is how we know you’re way drunker than usual, right Charlie?”

Having been taken slightly aback, it took him a bit longer to reply with a weak, “Yeah.”

Elle banged her hair lightly on the countertop, groaning again. “I knooooow. But oh my God, you guys, I can’t take this anymore, I just like him so much.”

“It’s quite noticeable, babe, yeah,” Isaac said amusedly. “Are you gonna do something about it, then?”

Charlie blanched; he could physically feel all of his blood leaving his face and he was thankful when the bartender finally approached them to take their order, interrupting their conversation. Elle’s piña colada was the first drink to get ready and she took a sip, straightening herself up resolutely.

“You know what, Isaac,” she said, shaking up her hair out of her shoulders. “I am gonna do something about it,” she nodded once, looking at both her friends for support. “Wish me luck.”

And Charlie felt his stomach sink watching his best friend walking in the direction of the table where Nick, Sahar and Tara were seated.

“Hopefully she will get lucky tonight,” Isaac giggled at the double meaning of his words but his smile dimmed when he looked back at Charlie. “What’s wrong? You look weird.”

“Um, I don’t–” Charlie turned back to the bar, receiving the drinks he’d ordered. Without a second thought, he downed his drink in one go, choosing not to acknowledge Isaac’s shocked face. He slid the other drink – Nick’s drink – towards his friend. “Would you take this drink back to Nick? I need to head to the loo for a moment.”

“Are you fine, though? You don’t look so good,” Isaac looked at him attentively. “Are you feeling sick? Maybe you should stop drinking.”

“I’m fine, I’m not feeling sick,” not because of the drinking anyways, he added on his mind. “I just… need some time.”

“Hm, okay,” Isaac took both his and Nick’s drink, still looking at Charlie with too much attentiveness for his liking. “I’ll take this back, if you’re sure you’re fine.”

“I am.”

“Okay then.”

As Isaac made his way back to their table, Charlie hightailed to the loo.

See, three drinks before and he would be able to make more sense of his thoughts about that whole situation. But now?

The only thing on Charlie’s mind was that his best friend was gonna shoot her shot with the guy she liked, who also happened to be the guy he liked and he had no idea how that would turn out.

And even worse, he had no idea how he wanted that to turn out.

Because he hated the idea of Elle having her heart broken but he also hated the idea of Nick and Elle potentially getting together.

Fuck, maybe he really shouldn’t have drank that much… or maybe he should drink more. 

He chose the second option.

☼・☀︎・☼

☼・☀︎・☼

☼・☀︎・☼

☼・☀︎・☼

He was leaning against the bar, sipping on his second – perhaps third? – drink in the last half hour while watching the dance floor. 

Where Nick was dancing.

With Elle.

It was fine.

Now that it was much later and most guests were happily drunk, the music had gone up and the dance floor was open and full. Charlie spotted Tara and Darcy swirling together in a corner to the Ed Sheeran song playing and on the other side he could also see Nathan and Youssef – once again the former having convinced the latter to dance with him. They were cute and seeing the couples together made something stir inside of him.

He blamed the alcohol.

He averted his eyes, looking down at his glass and realising his drink was almost at the end. He briefly wondered if he should order another drink, but then again, he was starting to sway a little bit while he was supposed to be standing still so… maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. Especially because he had his monthly brunch with Tori the next day and Olly was going to be joining them since he was in the city and staying with their older sister.

“You’ve drunk a little bit too much, haven’t you?”

Looking up at the sound of Nick’s voice, Charlie blinked slowly, making the older man chuckle. “Perhaps.”

“Perhaps, yeah,” Nick shook his head, a lopsided smile playing on his lips. “You’re so full of shit.”

“Fuck off.”

Nick snickered, turning towards the bar and asking for two glasses of water, one of which he handed to Charlie. “Come on, drink up. You’re gonna thank me later.”

Even if he rolled his eyes, Charlie took it graciously – or as graciously as his drunk arse could be. “Thank you.”

“You are very welcome,” and the smile he gave Charlie was so soft and so lovely that it just…

Fuck, Charlie was so in love he could cry.

In fact, he did tear up, which promptly made Nick lose his smile. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”

Charlie sniffed, shaking his head. He wasn’t feeling sick, per se, but he also wasn’t feeling great either. And he suddenly felt the biggest urge to lie on his bed, curled up underneath his blanket so he could maybe cry in peace. “I’m fine, I just… I think it’s time for me to go home.”

“Oh,” Nick’s face fell momentarily before he schooled his expression again. “Okay, yeah, that’s fine. Do you want me to call Isaac or Elle to see if they wanna come with you?”

“I don’t–”

“Heeeey,” speak of the devil and he shall appear, he thought with an amused snort when a drunk Elle joined them, throwing her arm over Charlie’s shoulders way too excitedly, making them both sway precariously. “What are we doing here looking all moero– monroe– morosed?”

Even though he was indeed feeling morosed, Charlie could not help giggling at Elle’s almost failed attempt at pronouncing the word. God, he really, really loved her.

Nick also huffed a laugh, a fond look on his face. “Guess you’re not the only drunk one here, Charlie.”

“Oh absolutely not,” Elle giggled. “But it’s fine, I’ve stopped drinking already and now I’m just vibing.”

“Smart woman,” Nick winked and Charlie’s stomach did something funny.

“I know,” Elle winked back and the two of them burst into giggles over something Charlie most definitely didn’t understand. Yeah, he really needed to go home.

As if reading his thoughts, Isaac suddenly appeared next to them, a look in his face that let Charlie know that his social battery was running way too low.

“I’m ready to leave,” he said, and Charlie silently thanked the heavens. “Are any of you coming?”

“Yeah, I was just saying I was ready to leave as well,” Charlie drank the rest of his water, before placing the empty glass on the counter. “You coming, Elle?”

“Nope,” she shook her head while making a pop sound on the ‘p’. Then she got closer to Charlie’s ear, lowering her voice. “If I’m leaving accompanied tonight, it won’t be by the two of you,” she giggled mischievously before giving Charlie a sloppy kiss on his cheek. “Bye babes, let me know once you get home!”

Nick watched her leave with an amused smile. “She’s quite excited tonight, isn’t she?” He turned back to Charlie and Isaac. “I’ll make sure she gets home okay, you guys don’t need to worry.”

“Cheers, Nick,” Isaac smiled. “Ready to go, Charlie?”

“Yeah, let’s go,” he looked up at Nick from behind his eyelashes, a few stray curls falling down on his eyes. “Bye Nick, I’ll let you know when we’re home.”

“Okay,” Nick said, cheeks getting red as he looked at Charlie. “Bye, guys.”

Thankfully, their Uber didn’t take long to arrive, because in the ten minutes it took for them to leave the bar and go from the rooftop of the building to the lobby, Charlie’s mind had started to spiral again and by the time he was finally entering the backseat of this lovely driver named Mary, he was ready to cry again.

He had understood Elle’s meaning completely and that was weighing heavily on his mind.

He sniffed, feeling his cheeks wet. Oh great, they haven’t been in the car for longer than four minutes and he was already crying. But his constant sniffing caught Isaac’s attention… as well as the Uber driver’s, because he could notice her sneaking glances at him from the rearview mirror.

“Charlie? Why the fuck are you crying? Are you okay?”

“I’m fin–” oh boy, the flood gates were well and truly open now and his tears started coming with a newfound strength. He bit back a sob.

“Charlie,” Isaac placed his hand on his arm, his voice worried and soft. “What’s wrong, love?”

A sob managed to escape and he noticed Uber driver Mary looking at him again. Fuck, he really wish he had waited until getting home to have his break down.

“What’s wrong, Isaac, is t-that I like the same guy Elle likes! And now she’s g-gona go home with him and I feel terrible for disliking it because Elle deserves the world but I a-also can’t help it because I wish it was me and–”

“Wait, wait, wait, hold on!” Isaac held up a hand to stop Charlie’s drunken rambles, eyes wide in confusion and Charlie promptly shut up. “You like Tao?!”

It was Charlie’s turn to be confused. So much so, that his tears even stopped falling. “Wha– What? No! I like Nick, Isaac. Keep up!”

“Oh! Oh honey,” Charlie could feel the condescending note oozing out of Isaac’s tone but his drunk brain was so confused he didn’t even care. “Elle doesn’t like Nick.”

“What are you even talking about?” He cocked his head, sniffing again because his nose was now running from all the crying. Great. “Of course she likes Nick!”

“And pray tell, why would you think that?”

“Because I’ve seen the signs!!!”

Isaac snorted so loud Charlie briefly wondered if it was possible for a brain to fall out of someone’s nose. “Charlie, you know I love you, but you can’t ‘see the signs’ even if they slapped you in the face.”

Frowning, Charlie heard the surprised snicker of Uber driver Mary and when he made eye contact with her in the rearview mirror, she quickly averted her eyes. Well, at least someone was having fun with this conversation.

“Well, that was rude,” completely distracted from his crying session, Charlie crossed his arms. “I’ll have you know I can be quite observant.”

“Oh yeah. You only miss the fucking signs when they pertain to you, since apparently you’re oblivious as hell.”

He opened his mouth to complain, but his drunk mind couldn’t come up with a reply since– well, it was true. He suddenly remembered the last few times he’d gotten drunk had been in Nick’s house, which made his mind go back to thinking about Nick. And Nick and Elle.

“Do you think they’re gonna hook up?” He didn’t look at Isaac, but he could hear the sigh the other man let out when noticing the new wave of tears in Charlie’s face.

“Who, Elle and Tao?”

“Isaac! Elle and Nick,” he slumped forward, burying his hands in his hair. “They will, won’t they? Oh God, they are gonna date, and get married and I’m gonna have to be Uncle Charlie to their babies even though I’ll still be completely in love with their father while still being best friends with their mother!”

The silence in the car was staggering. Charlie could see Uber driver Mary’s shoulders shaking, but she didn’t utter a single sound, and neither did Isaac, who was gaping at him speechless. Out of the corner of his teary eyes, he could see Isaac blinking and running a hand through his hair tiredly, probably regretting going out altogether since he now had to deal with his drunk friend. And the worst part is that Charlie wasn’t usually a messy drunk, he was just really out of it.

Wow, love could really make you unreasonable, huh?

“Charlie, I swear to God–”

“We’re here,” Uber driver Mary interrupted Isaac and looking around in amazement, Charlie finally realised the car had stopped moving.

“Oh, thank God,” he opened his door, throwing an offhand, “Thank you, Mary,” over his shoulder before jumping out.

“I’m so sorry for all of this mess,” he heard Isaac mutter to Uber driver Mary, as he closed the door and through her open window, he heard her replying.

“No worries, love. It was quite the entertainment,” she sent a look to where he was standing on the sidewalk, patiently waiting for Isaac to open the building’s door while still sniffing. “Hope everything works out for you though, darling.”

Confused, Charlie frowned. “Thank you… I guess.”

Without another word, Uber driver Mary drove off and the night was silent once again, safe for Isaac’s sigh – the tenth just in the last half hour.

“Come on, let’s get you inside.”

Once inside his own flat, Charlie went straight to his bedroom, haphazardly taking off his clothes. He made a quick pit stop in the loo to brush his teeth and wash his face, then he threw himself on his bed unceremoniously. He had just wrapped his blanket around himself when Isaac knocked and opened his door.

“Do you wanna talk about whatever just happened in the Uber?”

“Not really?”

“Charlie,” Isaac leaned on the doorway, and Charlie noticed he had also changed into some pyjamas. “You’ve just admitted to being in love with Nick while also having a breakdown about him and Elle.”

Sighing, Charlie rolled over and buried his face on his pillow. “I know what I said, you don’t need to repeat the words to me.”

“So… don’t you think we should talk?”

“I– Maybe,” he took his face off his pillow, laying sideways so he could look at his friend. “But can we do that in the morning? I’m too drunk and exhausted for this.”

“Yeah, I reckon all that crying on the back of someone else’s car will do that to a person,” Isaac deadpanned and Charlie flipped him off. “I’ll let you sleep and we’ll talk later, then. And please, drink some water.”

“Yes, dad.”

Sending him one last look, Isaac left. He didn’t fully close the door, though; a crack was left open, but Charlie was way too comfortable on his bed to get up just to fix that.

The silence was a bit too much for him though, so he grabbed one of his earbuds – he was not about to sleep on his back so he could use both – and pressed play on a random playlist he had.

Charlie was almost falling asleep, barely paying attention to the songs playing, when a new one started and… honestly, not for the first time Charlie thought the universe was trying to send him a message. 

Killing me slow, out the window
I'm always waiting for you to be waiting below
Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes
What doesn't kill me makes me want you more

It had been a while since he had last listened to Cruel Summer, especially because Lover wasn’t Charlie’s favourite Taylor Swift album – it was folklore for that matter – but as the north-american artist sang ‘oooh woah oh, it’s a cruel summer with you’ he couldn’t help but compare his situation with the song.

Because Charlie was having quite the wild Summer, now that he stopped to think about it. Especially because he was most definitely not planning on falling in love. And with the guy he, just a few months previously, disliked quite a bit.

Well, at least he could now admit he had never fully disliked Nick, not for real. He had basically just fooled himself into thinking that was how he felt.

As he usually did.

So it was quite… ironic that the moment that the bridge of the song started – the best part of it in his opinion and also the exact thing he had just done in the car ride back home – he heard the front door open and close rather loudly. He lowered the volume of his earbud, wondering if Elle would need assistance, but then two sets of footsteps sounded right outside his door along with hushed ‘shhhs’ and giggles.

Elle’s giggles… and a male one. Elle was not alone.

He heard the guy say something unintelligible, in a voice vaguely familiar, before the door to Elle’s room was slammed shut.

I'm drunk in the back of the car
And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar
Said, "I'm fine," but it wasn't true
I don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you
And I snuck in through the garden gate
Every night that summer just to seal my fate
And I scream, "For whatever it's worth
I love you, ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?"

Noticing he had raised his head to better pay attention to what was happening, he slumped back in his pillow, hiding his face with his blanket.

Damn, apparently he still had tears to cry.

Lovely.

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

Charlie woke up with a blinding headache and a stupid noise ringing in his ears. He clumsily felt for his phone to try and see what time it was, when he realised the stupid noise was his phone ringing. He picked up the call without even acknowledging the caller.

“‘lo.”

“Oh shit, did I wake you up?”

His eyes flew open in surprise, before he closed them again due to the light. “Nick?”

“Yeah. So, um… I’m outside?” He was what? Nick hadn’t even finished his sentence and Charlie was already getting up. Something kept nagging on the back of his mind, but he just couldn’t put his finger on what it was, so he chose to ignore it for now. “You left your jacket at the bar yesterday so I brought it over to you… along with some coffee.”

“Fuck, you’re a godsend,” as he got some clothes, Charlie let out a groan just thinking about the coffee and Nick chuckled on the other side. “Lemme just– I’ll be right out to buzz you in.”

“Okay.”

When he finally opened his front door, he found a slightly flustered Nick on the other side, Charlie’s jacket folded over his arm and a paper tray with two coffee cups from the Costa down the road in his hand.

Charlie all but pulled Nick inside, grabbing the hot coffee cup from the tray and making Nick snicker. He took a long sip, while Nick took off his Vans. “Yeah, it’s decided. You’re the best person on the planet.”

“Why thank you,” Nick placed Charlie’s jacket on the little table by the front door and followed him to the living room where the two of them plopped themselves on the sofa with matching sighs. “I take it the hangover is not going well?”

“Eh, not much,” Charlie drank from his coffee again, feeling the hot liquid warming up his insides. Or maybe it was the fact that Nick was sitting a tad bit closer to him. “But then again, some lad literally just woke me up so I haven’t been awake for long.”

“Hey, you also literally just said this lad was a godsend so fuck off.”

“Yeah, but you know–”

But whatever Charlie was about to say died in his throat when a banging noise coming from the corridor interrupted him. Both he and Nick shared a confused look, before looking in the direction of the noise in time to see a giggly Elle and a laughing Tao entering the living room, not really noticing the two of them on the sofa.

Because Elle, who was wearing only a white shirt that was definitely not hers, was looking back at Tao with her hands on his face as if trying to shut him up while also muttering, “Shhhh, you’re gonna wake the boys!”

Tao looked over her head, seeing both his and Elle’s best friends casually sitting on the sofa and looking at them with shocked faces and snorted. “Bit late for that, love.”

Elle turned in a swift move, wide eyed and immediately started tugging on the hem of her – Tao’s – shirt, obviously flustered. “Oh hi, Charlie. And Nick! Ummm, good morning?”

“Clearly, a very good morning for the two of you, I’d say,” Nick was the first to recover, raising a brow and making Tao blush and roll his eyes.

“Shut up.”

Recovering from her mortification, Elle grabbed Tao’s hand and started dragging him towards the kitchen, the other hand still holding the hem of her shirt. “Ummmm okay, this is enough embarrassment for one morning, we’re gonna get some breakfast.”

But Charlie wasn’t paying attention, because he felt as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes and he could finally see clearly.

And everything he knew was properly slotting into the right places like puzzle pieces, creating a bigger picture that finally made sense.

Elle didn’t fancy Nick. She wasn’t going to CoffeeBusters to be closer to Nick, but to be closer to Tao. And that also made him understand that conversation between Nick and Tao, that first time he met the shop owner, about the gift he had given Elle. Because it wasn’t from Nick, it was from Tao.

Elle actually fancied Tao.

Then Isaac’s words from last night echoed loudly in this mind. As did Tori’s from a couple of weeks back. Oh they were never gonna let him live that down.

But most importantly, it was the astonishing realisation that nothing – not even a single thing – was stopping him from pursuing something with Nick that made his heart skip a beat and his stomach flutter in delight.

Holy.

Fucking.

Shit. 

It was time for some planning.

Chapter Text

“Go on, the two of you can have a laugh now.”

Tori and Olly, both sitting in front of him at the round table, shared a look before their lips twitched in a similar way while Charlie munched on his croqueta, already regretting recounting the events that had happened the night before and that morning to his siblings.

The three of them had met at Charlie's favourite tapas restaurant, changing the scheduled brunch date to a dinner one, because Olly had joined them and Charlie could not for the life of him leave his flat before processing the whole revelation he’d just had.

“It’s not that I don’t wanna laugh, because trust me, I do,” Tori took a sip of her sangria, smirking while using the straw to stir the contents of her glass. “But the urge to bask in the feeling of being right again is stronger.”

“Of course you’d say that,” Olly, who had been quietly drinking his sangria, snorted. “But I’ll have you know I also called it that Nick liked Charlie since the beginning.”

“Well, apparently everyone called that,” Charlie grumbled, grumpily.

“Yes, brother, because everyone could fucking read the signs,” Tori rolled her eyes. “Why the hell would someone pretend to be your boyfriend and willingly spend time with our family if not for the fact that he likes you?”

Charlie shrugged. “Someone who is nice?”

“Yeah, right.”

“So, what are you gonna do now?” Olly asked and both of his siblings looked at him expectantly.

“I’m not really sure,” Charlie sighed. “I feel like I’ve spent so long thinking Nick could never like me, or that Elle liked him, that my brain is having a hard time adjusting to the new reality.”

“Okay, that’s understandable,” Tori nodded in sympathy. “Even if it was your own stupid fault.”

“I think you should just go for it,” Olly ignored Tori as Charlie sent her a menacing look. “You said you’ve flirted before, but then you’ve always backtracked? I say just up the flirting a bit, or a lot really, and see where that takes you.”

“I– that’s actually not a bad idea,” Charlie said, thoughtfully, biting into another croqueta. He munched on it slowly, his mind drifting elsewhere. Precisely to that moment in Nick’s kitchen.

That had been the only time where Charlie had really felt like he was about to lose control and not care about his best friend at all. He was thankful nothing had truly happened, but now he couldn’t help but wonder what he would've done if he’d already known he didn’t need to hold back.

“I might be younger than you guys, but I did manage to land a girlfriend, you know,” Olly smiled cheekily as his siblings rolled their eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Charlie decided to start on the patatas ali oli that the waiter had just placed on the middle of their table. He scooped some on his own place before looking back at the other two. “Now enough about me, how’s everything with you two?”

“Well, I might be thinking about changing my degree because I truly hate Maths but I’m not sure how mum and dad are gonna take it,” Olly said with a forced humourless chuckle, not looking up from his food to see Charlie and Tori’s shocked faces. “Other than that everything is peachy.”

“Okay, wait a fucking second,” Tori set down her sangria, focusing all of her attention on their youngest brother. “Let’s go into this a bit more.”

“I really don’t want to.”

“Well, boo fucking hoo, we’re talking about it,” Tori deadpanned, making Charlie snort. “Also, you’ll have a much better shot at convincing mum and dad with the two of us on your side, so spill.”

“I– I’m thinking of changing to Games Development, actually,” Olly was still not looking up at them, clearly afraid of seeing disapproval on their faces. “It’s something I really enjoy, and you know I used to fool around creating games with my mates while in school but… mum never truly allowed me to entertain that idea.”

No matter all the contempt he felt for his mum for all the things she’d never done for him – or overly done – it was the way she tried to reign Olly in, the only Spring that was genuinely fine, that bothered him the most.

“I think that’s a great plan,” Charlie replied, placing a hand on Olly’s arm and squeezing in a show of support. The way his younger brother looked up at him with frowned brows and guarded eyes almost made his heart break. “You used to be great at creating those games. Remember that you had a whole notebook filled with game ideas?”

“Oh, I remember that notebook,” Tori chuckled lightly, her drink once again in one of her hands as she held a calamari in the other. “You had a game about an elf queen you had named Victoria and I’ve always wanted to play that.”

“Why does it not surprise me you were interested in that exact game?” Charlie mumbled with a giggle.

Olly smiled. “I still have that notebook. I took it to uni with me,” he looked down bashfully, snorting out a small laugh. “I still write in it, sometimes. I think– I think I never fully gave up on that idea, to be honest.”

“You should go for it and we’ll deal with mum,” Tori said firmly, a hard look on her face. “Hell, if she doesn’t agree, I’ll pay for your tuition myself.”

“Count me in on that, too.”

Olly’s eyes widened as he took in Tori’s words and Charlie’s agreement, both shocked and emotional. He sniffled. “I’m gonna talk to her soon, then. The deadline for changing courses is almost coming to an end.”

“Great, I’ll be waiting for the sudden hurricane forecast.”

Snorting at Tori’s bluntness, Charlie focused his attention on her. “What about you, Victoria? What has been going on in your house of commons?”

“Oh, you know, the usual,” she swallowed her bite of croqueta. “Michael keeps talking about marriage, mum keeps forwarding me TikToks about grandmas and grandkids, the last case we worked on at the office almost left me in need of legal assistance, and now I’m on a paid break… Oh! And last week I had a pregnancy scare.”

Her words were met with a stunned silence, both her brothers looking at her with open mouths.

“I think it’s safe to say mum really wants a grandchild, huh?” Charlie managed to say, after getting over the fact that he had almost become an uncle.

“Well, she’s gonna have to rely on the two of you because I’m not having kids.”

“Maybe I should do that,” Olly said thoughtfully. “That way I’d not be the golden child anymore and she’d leave me the fuck alone for a bit.”

“Don’t be daft,” Charlie rolled his eyes. “Having a kid at nineteen would never be worse to Jane Spring than having a mentally ill gay son who used to self-harm.”

“Or having a mentally ill asexual daughter that has been living with her boyfriend for years without getting married.”

“Guess I’ll have to bear being the better kid then,” Olly sighed heavily, before plopping a whole pimiento de padrón on his mouth and swearing loudly. “Fuck! I got a spicy one!”

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

🌈 fruity friends forever 🍒 + tao ☕️

tao xu
what do you all say to a movie night this weekend?

elle argent
i say yes!!

isaac henderson
can it be my birthday celebration/movie night?
i don’t really wanna have a night out to be honest

tao xu
yes, of course! that sounds great

excuse me
are we all gonna gloss over the fact that tao and elle are a thing now

darcy olsson
YES PLEASE
i cannot believe we finally know who tao’s mystery lady is and we’re not talking about it???

isaac henderson
that’s because only you and charlie were stupid enough to not realise it sooner

i… okay fair enough

nick nelson
and here i was thinking they were being so obvious

isaac henderson
oh they were
but charlie was being more stupid than usual lol

nick nelson
how so? 🤨

don’t mind isaac
he’s just being silly 🙄

elle argent
replying to charlie spring
there’s absolutely no need to talk about it babes 😇

tao xu
literally no need at all 

can i at least ask if this is, ya know
serious?

elle argent
oh yeah, we’re definitely dating 🖤

tara jones
ooo, congrats babes!

happy for the two of you 🥰

nick nelson
fucking finally ❤️

isaac henderson
happy for that!

darcy olsson
telle
towel
taoelle

what the fuck are you doing darce

darcy olsson
trying to find tao and elle’s ship name 😇

tao xu
……
i like taoelle

lmao it’s the least bad, that’s for sure
imagine you liking towel tho

elle argent
tao……

isaac henderson
hmmm
have you noticed there’s now two couples in this group chat?
what are the odds huh

darcy olsson
i was about to say something
but even i know it’s better to stay quiet this time 🙃

nick nelson
and if it’s what i’m thinking, you really should

i’m quite confused now 🤨

isaac henderson
literally nothing new there, love

rude!

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

Charlie hopped on the break room counter while Elle turned on the electric kettle for their cuppa. They had been working the whole morning on different projects and after a really quick lunch break, the two of them decided to have an actual break and decompress a bit.

Usually, they wouldn’t take another break right after lunch like that, but Singh had left early for the day, so everyone felt slightly more free.

No matter how much they all loved their work, they were still employees after all.

“Are you excited for the weekend?” He asked, kicking his legs absentmindedly. “It’s gonna be the first time you and Tao will be with us all as a couple,” he poked her waist, teasingly.

Elle grinned, biting her lip and scrunching her face, bashfully. “I am excited, actually. I– It’s been a while since I felt this good about a guy? And Tao… he’s so sweet and so easy to be with, you know? It’s just– Yeah, I’m just really excited.”

“It’s so nice seeing you like that, it really has been a while,” Charlie smiled, pulling her close for a sideways hug.

“Thank you,” she also wrapped her arm around Charlie’s waist and rested her head on his. “I guess that’s why we decided not to say anything right away? Sometimes it gets a bit… overwhelming when everyone knows about a new relationship. And I think Tao didn’t want everyone to think he was only hanging out with us because of me. He really likes everyone.”

“And we really like him as well! But yeah, I totally get that,” Charlie nodded. “Although it would’ve been easier for me if you had told me from the beginning.”

Elle pulled back, looking at him puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Well…” he debated if he should tell her or not, but ended up deciding on yes. “This is gonna sound extremely stupid now, but…” Elle looked at him expectantly and he sighed. “I spent a long time thinking you and Nick, uhhh, liked each other.”

Elle was silent for a few seconds, as if processing what she had just heard. “Liked as in… romantically?” When Charlie nodded hesitantly, she flat out laughed. A full on belly laugh that had her disentangling herself from Charlie’s arm and holding onto the counter as she doubled over. “Char– Charlie– Why the fuck would you think that?”

“Apparently because I’m stupid as hell?” He chuckled softly, shaking his head. Knowing what he did now, he really felt stupid.

“Babe, you know damn well Nick’s not my type. Like yeah, he’s fit alright but I don’t really like athletic guys,” Elle was still giggling as she started on their cuppas. “Even though the muscles are nice as fuck.”

“Oh my God, right? I went to see Nick and his friends training their little rugby league and fucking hell. Felt like gay heaven.”

Elle giggled. “Now, that’s something I wouldn’t mind doing. Take me with you next time.”

“Deal.”

“But really, Charlie, everyone with a brain knows Nick fancies you. I’ve no idea how you came up with that.”

“Yeah, okay. I ended up noticing that as well, but then I beat myself up over it because I thought you’d be distressed. Especially when I started liking him back.”

“Oh babes,” Elle handed him his mug, standing near him and resting her hand on his knee. “You know you could’ve asked me or something. I would’ve cleared that up so fast. In fact,” she smiled mischievously. “I’ve been wanting you and Nick together for ages.”

“Have you now?” Charlie took a sip of his drink that Elle had done to perfection, with the right amount of sugar and just a splash of milk. The perks of being friends for years and years. “Maybe I should take Darcy up on her offer and have ‘clueless’ tattooed in the middle of my forehead.”

“That would make a very good tattoo for sure,” she solemnly nodded, trying not to laugh.

“What is this I’m hearing about tattoos?” Nick appeared suddenly in the break room, a tired look on his face as he headed straight for the kettle that still had enough water for one more cup of tea. He looked at Charlie. “You finally getting one?”

Charlie quietly gasped, thanking the heavens that Nick hadn’t arrived just two minutes before. And also because Nick was wearing a maroon shirt that made him look so deliciously hot that Charlie had to sip his tea to hide his blush.

“Well, I do wanna get one, but I haven’t decided on what yet,” he replied after realising he had almost gone way too long without doing so. “Elle’s just being silly.”

The woman in question giggled. “Guilty.”

“Bummer,” Nick grabbed his own mug, approaching the two friends and standing near Charlie’s legs. “I’d very much like to see any tattoo ideas you have.”

“You’ll be the first one to know whenever I decide on that,” Charlie sipped his tea, licking his bottom lip as he pulled his mug away. He noticed Nick following the motion, but instead of averting his eyes as he would usually do when Nick looked up, Charlie held his gaze with a determined look in his eye. “You know what I have never seen before, though? Your tattoo.”

“Oh?” Nick raised a brow in amusement. “I didn’t even know that was something you were interested in seeing.”

“Well… I might be,” Charlie had not intended his reply to sound that coy, but oh well. “How long have you had it, by the way?”

Before Nick could say anything though, Charlie, who was still sitting on the counter and had been occasionally moving his legs distractedly, ended up looping them around Nick’s legs.

He felt Nick freezing midway to open his mouth to reply, a blush as dark as his shirt colouring his cheeks. And when Charlie realised what he’d done… Well, he acted as if nothing had happened.

But he obviously didn’t let go of Nick either.

“I uhh, I’ve had it since last summer,” Nick’s voice was slightly hoarse and he cleared his throat before sipping his tea. Elle hid a giggle with a fake cough. “Got it as a birthday gift to myself.”

“Hmm, and you haven’t wanted to get another one ever since?” Charlie asked, softly tightening his hold on Nick, who inhaled sharply. When he decided Olly’s idea wasn’t a bad one, he didn’t think he’d really be able to pull it off, and yet… “I feel like the moment I get one I won’t be able to stop.”

Elle made a sound of approval. “Oh, Charlie, you with a sleeve would look so hot.”

Nick sipped his tea, looking at Charlie from the rim of his mug. “Yeah, it really would… But yeah, I do wanna get more at some point,” his eyes were intense enough for Charlie to blush. Then he cleared his throat again. “Anyway, I came over to ask if you guys saw the printed August issue yet?”

“We haven’t!” Elle clapped her hands in anticipation, and Charlie could almost see her vibrating.

“I didn’t know they were already here,” Charlie added, also feeling the excitement.

“Yeah, I heard it from Sam, from the marketing department,” Nick explained. “They said you can probably get a copy for yourself, Elle.”

“Ooooh, then I’m gonna go get one now!” Before they could say anything, she was already leaving the room. And essentially leaving Nick and Charlie alone.

Charlie turned his focus back to Nick, drinking the rest of his cuppa in one go. “Excited for the weekend?” He couldn’t help saying the same question he’d asked Elle.

“I am,” Nick smiled softly, and he took a small barely there step toward Charlie, and the younger man bit his lip. “It’s gonna be at your flat, right? Since it’s Isaac’s birthday and all.”

“Yes, that’s correct,” Charlie flexed his legs ever so slightly, but with enough grip to force Nick to take another step forward, bringing him even closer to Charlie, who smiled teasingly. “And we are probably gonna watch that horror movie… Are you ready for it?”

Nick chuckled a little breathlessly as he flustered. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I’m afraid.”

“So… not ready at all?” Charlie giggled and Nick joined him.

“Unfortunately, yeah,” he locked eyes with Charlie then. “I’m sure I’ll handle it though, if I have, you know, someone to hold my hand during it.”

“I bet there’ll be someone willing to do it…”

“That’s what I hope too…”

Nick’s eyes fell to Charlie’s lips, and there was this moment, this one fleeting moment that he leaned forward in such a way, that Charlie could swear they were gonna kiss.

And for the first time since this… thing between them had started, Charlie was ready to welcome it.

But then, raised voices and laughter sounded from just outside the break room, making the two men realise, at the same time, where they were and what they were about to do.

Nick sighed, backing away and out of his Charlie cage just in time for a group of people from the beauty department to enter the room. They all greeted each other superficially, then Nick and Charlie shared a look that said more than words could at that moment. Nick gestured with his head towards the door, and Charlie nodded, hopping off the counter.

When Charlie got back to his office, still accompanied by Nick, he was met with an overly emotional Elle, who was holding the magazine that she had covered. And that was how the three of them spent the rest of their afternoon going over the spreads, and pictures and the discarded ones Nick had kept for Nathan to use.

In a way, it was the same as always.

And in another, the way Nick kept stealing glances over to him, a puzzling look on his face and a light blush on his cheeks… it made Charlie think something had changed.

Even if infinitesimally.

And he could absolutely work with that.

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

🍃🌸 springtime 🌼🍃

coolest spring
sooooo
i spoke to mum and dad about changing my degree…
it went as expected

tori spring
absolute shit then?

coolest spring
well, that’s one way to put it

stop being mysterious and just tell us

coolest spring
okay okay
basically i said i didn’t want to do maths anymore which made mum turn to condescending almost immediately

tori spring
*sigh* predictable

coolest spring
and obviously it didn’t get better when i said i wanted to change to games development

of course it didn’t

coolest spring
honestly, i tuned out whatever she was saying because it’s the same thing she’s been saying ever since charlie went out to uni

oh yeah
the same old ‘your degree is gonna be useless and then you’ll end up not earning enough money and then you’ll have to come live with us again and i do not want to be responsible for a literal adult charles!’
lovely to know she never changes 🥰

coolest spring
yup 🥲
dad wasn’t too opposed tho, which was good
but then i said i was gonna do it anyways because you two said you’d cover my tuition if they refused
guess that offended her so much she shut up real fast
like i don’t think i’ve ever seen jane spring out of words like that

tori spring
she must have been thinking about what people would think if her oldest kids started paying for her youngster’s education

coolest spring
whatever it was, it helped
i already submitted my request to change degrees 🥳

i’m extremely proud of you, shitface

tori spring
me too
but you still need to name a character after me
that’s the only payment i’ll accept

coolest spring
fair enough
consider it done sis 🫡

tori spring
appreciate it

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

🌈 fruity friends forever 🍒 + tao ☕️

can i suggest a movie for us to watch on saturday?

tao xu
well of course
can’t promise i’ll take the suggestion though 😉

nick nelson
god he’s such a film snob

lol
i was thinking hereditary?
have any of you seen it?

darcy olsson
tara and i haven’t

tara jones
yeah, i’m not much of a horror girlie
but i don’t mind watching it

elle argent
i haven’t either

isaac henderson
i don’t remember, so i’m fine with watching it anyway

what do you mean you don’t remember

isaac henderson
you know my memory is shit for anything other than books, charles

oh yeah, true
nick?

nick nelson
…
whatever do you think, charles?

i’m taking that as a ‘fuck no’ 😏

tao xu
well it’s settled
i’m dropping nick and taking charlie as my best friend

lmao i’m not opposed to that

nick nelson
hey!!

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

nick nelson
why do i feel like you chose the world's worst movie just so you could mess with me?

i mean… i could’ve chosen worse movies that’s for sure
but this one is good and unsettling and scary
meaning the perfect combo

nick nelson
the perfect combo for fucking what
making me not wanna sleep at night?
if that’s the case then sure

nah who cares about sleep when you’re gonna have a good time with friends 🤗

nick nelson
well i do, but whatever
i will blame you if i have nightmares, though

if i remember that movie well enough… you will 😈

nick nelson
charlieeeeee 😩
i hate you so much

no, you don’t
besides, i’ve already said you can hold my hand for support
and i won’t even mind if you cling to me during it

nick nelson
okay… that definitely sounds like something i’d enjoy a bit more 👀

see? knew you’d see the bright side of it 😌

nick nelson
charlie
can i ask you something?

oh that sounds ominous…
but of course you can

nick nelson
are you
like
flirting with me?
more than normal, i mean
we’ve always been a bit flirty i guess, but lately it just feels like it has changed, in a way
does that make sense?

it does make sense
and honestly nicholas, if you have noticed and still need to ask…
then i for sure need to step up my game
does that answer your question?

nick nelson
yes
yes it does

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

When Charlie opened his door to find Nick and Tao on the other side of it, the first thing he noticed was that Nick was holding a big container that was filled with cupcakes.

The second thing he noticed was that both men were wearing party hats.

Party hats with Isaac’s smiley face printed all over them.

Charlie promptly burst out laughing, making the two men smile cheekily. “This is absolutely perfect.”

“Why, thank you,” Nick grinned, pretending to tip his hat as the two of them entered the flat.

Isaac, who was coming out of the kitchen, looked at them with surprise in his eyes, giggling. “Oh my God, you guys did not.”

“Oh but we did,” Tao looked extremely pleased with what they had accomplished. “There’s one for everyone, including you.”

The two newcomers made a fuss of hugging the birthday boy in celebration and wishing him a happy birthday, so much so that Elle left her room to see what all the noise was about. Both Charlie and Elle giggled as they watched.

“I also brought cupcakes so we can sing you happy birthday later,” Nick raised the container he still held in his hands. “Strawberry shortcakes.”

“My favourite?” Isaac raised his brows in delight. “Oh you’re definitely spoiling me.”

“As you deserve,” Elle nodded in agreement as went to her boyfriend’s side. She pecked him lightly on the cheek. “Hi, babe.”

“Hi, love,” Tao nuzzled their noses together before kissing her full on the mouth.

Charlie let out a sigh of mock annoyance. “They are gonna be that couple now, aren’t they?”

“The sickenly disgusting couple?” Nick asked, sending him an amused and resigned smile. “Absolutely.”

“Don’t mind them, they’re just jealous,” Isaac rolled his eyes, stage whispering to Tao and Elle, who nodded in agreement between giggles.

Well, you know what Isaac? Yes, I am definitely jealous.

Ignoring his friends, Charlie turned his attention to a flustered Nick. “Come on, let’s get those cupcakes in the fridge for now.”

In the kitchen, after Charlie had rearranged some stuff in the refrigerator to be able to fit the container with Nick’s lovely decorated cupcakes, he grabbed two beers and handed one to Nick, leaning on the kitchen island next to him. The two of them stood side by side and Charlie had to admit, he focused a bit too much on the way Nick’s lips wrapped around the bottle and how his throat moved as he took his first sip.

And neither of them made a move to leave the kitchen. Or to sit in the stools.

“I’m happy about the cupcakes but not gonna lie, I kinda miss your brownies,” Charlie said, taking a sip of his own beer.

Nick raised his brow, a soft smile on his face. “Well, you could’ve said so, I wouldn’t mind baking some for you.”

“Is that so?” Charlie turned on his spot and leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand and looking up at Nick through his eyelashes. “Isn’t baking for others one of your love languages, if I remember correctly?”

“Yes. Yes, it is,” Nick copied Charlie’s stance and suddenly they were face to face, closer than Charlie had anticipated. His heart skipped a beat. “All the more reason for me to bake you some, don’t you think?”

Charlie’s lips curled into a smirk. “One would think you like me, Nicholas.”

“I mean, one would be correct, Charles.”

Charlie bit his lip, gnawing on the skin to hide his pleased smile. And he didn’t miss the way Nick’s eyes fell briefly to his lips as the older man swallowed.

“Oh, by the way,” Charlie broke their eye contact, reaching over to rummage through a paper bag that was sitting on the island near them. “I got you this when I was at the shop earlier,” and then he slid an Oreo Dairy Milk bar toward Nick, who was clearly not expecting it and let out a sound of surprise.

Taking the bar, he looked down at it with a little fond smile. “How the fuck did you know this is my favourite?”

“Oh, you mentioned it at some point,” Charlie smiled, shrugging one shoulder. He could feel his cheeks warming up.

“And you remembered?” Nick chuckled, his face still coloured with surprise.

“Of course I did.”

“Thank you,” he said earnestly. Nick locked eyes with him again, and Charlie’s breath hitched with the intensity of his look. “I– uh, I really appreciate it.”

His smile grew. “Not a problem.”

The buzzer went off then, signalling the arrival of the two remaining people in their group, so they shared one last look before heading back to the living room to greet Tara and Darcy.

Actively flirting with Nick without all the guilt and second guessing was fun. And it was even more fun knowing that Nick was fully aware of it and enjoying it just as much.

☼・☀︎・☼

“Okay, okay,” Tao called for attention and it was clear he was excited. “We’ll start with Hereditary, then we can move on to Panic. Sounds good?”

There was a collective noise of agreement, except for Nick, who slumped back on his spot and grumbled, “Sounds terrible, actually, but pop off I guess.”

Charlie, sitting by his side and the only one close enough to hear, muffled a giggle and elbowed him lightly. “Shut up.”

They were all spread around the living room in a rather cosy set up. Tao and Elle were sharing one of the corners of their L-shaped sofa with Isaac right next to them, his Kindle hidden behind a cushion but close enough for him to grab it if he got bored. On the floor, Charlie and Tara had laid a few fluffy blankets, cushions and pillows on the space between the sofa and the telly – the coffee table was reallocated somewhere else – creating something like a nest and now Tara and Darcy were laying in one of the sides of it and Charlie had taken the other corner.

With Nick.

Because when Nick came back after a quick stop in the loo, instead of choosing the armchair, he made a beeline to the nest and threw himself unceremoniously on the spot next to Charlie.

And Charlie was extremely pleased with that.

Since the weather had been a bit off the whole day, everyone had a throw blanket or a duvet to get cosy up in, and both Nick and Charlie were sharing one. Nick had also gotten a stray cushion that he was hugging close to his chest in a way that Charlie felt like he was trying to protect himself from the scary movies.

He held back a fond smile.

The movie started in that false sense of security that allowed Nick to get quite relaxed by his side, and before Charlie realised, they were completely flushed together and Nick was laying his head on Charlie’s shoulder.

Not that Charlie was bothered by it. Not at all.

“Hope you’re comfy,” he couldn’t help whispering at Nick, who gave him a cheeky grin.

“I really am, actually.”

But then the movie reached its turning point and whatever comfort Nick was feeling was thrown out of the window – pun intended – in a heartbeat.

“Did she just–?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Holy shit,” Nick couldn’t take his eyes from the screen. And as he realised what was about to happen, he gasped. “Oh fuck, she’s about to find–”

“She is.”

“God, this woman will need some really intense therapy,” Nick’s mouth was still hanging open and Charlie couldn’t help giggling at him.

It didn’t take long for Nick to be fully on edge though, burying himself more and more underneath their shared duvet while using the cushion to hide half of his face.

“Charlie, why the fuck would you make me watch this movie?” He hid himself on Charlie’s shoulder, groaning as the finale approached and one of the characters was crawling on the ceiling. “And now there’s naked people, too? Fuck off.”

Charlie muffled his giggle with a hand to not bother the others. “This is more entertaining than watching the movie.”

Nick sent him a seething look that fell absolutely flat given the fact that he was still slumped into Charlie’s side and hiding half of his face. “Glad that at least someone is having fun.”

“To be fair, sweetheart,” Charlie leaned down so he could whisper directly into Nick’s ear. “I think everyone is having fun.”

Being that close to Nick allowed Charlie to hear the moment his breath hitched as he took notice of the pet name. Charlie backed away, sending him a mischievous smile.

When the movie ended, Nick huffed out a shaky breath. “Jesus, I hate everything about this.”

Tara giggled. “Aww come on, Nick. It wasn’t so bad. I’m pretty sure Tao has made you watch worse.”

The man in question nodded. “True.”

“And I mean,” Darcy snorted. “It couldn’t have been all bad if you spent most of it cuddled up to Charlie over there.”

Charlie held back a giggle as he saw Nick blushing hard out of the corner of his eyes. “Shut up, Darce.”

☼・☀︎・☼

After everyone had gathered refreshments and snacks, they got comfortable again in their spots for their next movie. Panic was a favourite of everyone – well, maybe except Nick’s but he had at least seen that one before – so they were paying less attention and talking as a group. Especially to comment on stuff about the movie. And to mess with Nick and Charlie, who were both once again snuggled up in their corner of the nest.

But then three things happened in quick succession.

A loud and strong thunder rattled the windows, making every single one of them jump out of their skins, followed by heavy, pouring rain and the lights flickering.

“Oh no, no, no, no,” Elle complained with a groan. “Please don’t–” She let out a heavy sigh when the lights went off and left them all in complete darkness, their ears ringing due to the sudden silence. “Well, fuck.”

As everyone complained and grabbed their phones for some much needed light, Charlie felt a harsh movement by his side. The faint light of someone’s flashlight allowed him to make out a bump on the blanket; a bump that was too big to be a cushion or a pillow.

“Nick,” Charlie snorted, sliding down to get closer to the man. “What are you doing?”

“I’m too on edge to be out in the dark right now,” Nick whispered back, and Charlie snorted again, a bit louder than before.

Oh, the joke was right there and Charlie was not gonna let it go to waste. “Babe, you can’t get back in the closet just because it’s dark.”

With a huff, Nick uncovered his face and met Charlie’s teasing blue eyes with his exasperated brown ones. “Charlie. You did not just say that.”

“You walked right into that one, Nick,” he giggled.

The blond man rolled his eyes. “I swear to God–”

“Hey love birds,” Darcy interrupted Nick, throwing herself on the spot near Charlie. “Can either of you help us out? We’re gonna grab the cupcakes and some beers to set up the table and maybe even take some pictures with the hats.”

“Yeah, I can help,” Charlie volunteered, and when Darcy got up he turned to Nick one last time. “You can stay here and be safe from the demons.”

“Now you’re just being mean, Charlie!”

Not so long after, everything was set up; they arranged the cupcakes on the small dining table they had in one of the corners of the living room, and Elle added a candle on top of the one Isaac was supposed to hold, as well as some other candles around the table to make their corner a little brighter. Tao handed out the party hats that Charlie noticed looked even funnier up close. They really had outdone themselves with that.

Then Isaac brought out his instant camera and the many different films he had been given by both Elle and Charlie for his birthday, and obviously that turned into a whole photoshoot. There were pictures of Isaac with a cupcake and his hat, Tara and Darcy making funny faces, Tao and Elle being the disgustingly sweet new couple they were, the whole group together, since Isaac’s camera had a timer, Charlie and Elle kissing Isaac’s cheeks, Isaac blowing the candle after they sang him happy birthday…

And of course Charlie couldn’t help taking a picture with Nick as well. So while their friends were distracted eating their cupcakes, Charlie stepped closer to Nick and pulled him slightly away from the group.

“Let’s take a picture, just the two of us, yeah?”

Nick’s curled into a smile. “Of course.”

Charlie held the camera in front of them, making sure the two of them appeared in the small mirror near the lens. “Make a funny face.”

Nick chuckled. “Fine.”

When Nick was doing exactly that, with his face scrunched up, Charlie changed his pose right before pressing the shutter button. And that was how, a few minutes later, he was holding in his hands a sweet little fully developed picture of Nick scrunching up his face while Charlie kissed his jaw affectionately.

Nick took one look at it and huffed. “That’s not fair. I want a cute picture of us too.”

“You’re so annoying,” Charlie said with more fondness than he intended and Nick grinned. The curly-haired man held the camera once again in front of them. “Choose a pose then.”

Charlie was not expecting the way Nick’s arms looped around his waist, making him stand in front of the blonde man, who then rested his chin on Charlie’s shoulder. “Go on.”

He was embarrassed to admit it took him a few seconds to actually take the picture, but once he did, he was happy to see it turned out rather good.

Even if they looked even more like a couple than in the one Charlie had been kissing him.

Well, especially because they looked more like a couple.

Charlie looked up at Nick with all the intention of saying exactly that, but he was interrupted by Darcy. “Guys, come on. There’s nothing to do, let’s play some games!”

“Well, I’m not opposed to that, Darce, but truth or dare? Really?” Elle said, doubtfully. There was a sound of mutual scepticism around the room.

Charlie snorted. “What are we, fifteen?”

“It’s fun! It’s a good way to pass the time and we don’t need to have power for that,” Darcy was definitely determined to sell her idea. “And look, we don’t even need to play the truth part. We can only do dares and we can make them stupid and funny, like, I don’t know, eating a jar of mustard.”

“Jesus, Darcy, you’re never gonna let that go, are you?” Nick asked, exasperatedly, and Darcy shook her head solemnly.

“Absolutely not.”

“I’m sensing a story there, but I think it’s not the right time to ask,” Isaac said, raising a brow. “I’m down for dares, though. Let’s see how it goes.”

“If we’re doing dares, then we should have rules,” Tao suggested once they were all gathered on the previously abandoned nest, sitting on a circle. “For instance, if you don’t wanna do a dare, you have to drink something.”

“Oh, I do think we have some tequila!” Elle enthusiastically said, jumping up and heading to the kitchen.

“Is it even smart to mix beer and tequila?” Tara asked, unsure.

“The true question is,” Charlie replied. “Do we even care if it’s not?”

“Yeah, good point, I suppose,” she giggled.

Elle came back with a tequila bottle that was already half empty, and a few shot glasses. For someone who was so hesitant about playing truth or dare, she was rather excited now.

Darcy clapped her hands. “Let’s begin!”

There was something extremely fascinating about a group of literal adults playing a kid’s game while drinking and behaving like said kids.

For instance, their game started rather simple, with stupid dares like Elle having to take off Tao’s socks with her teeth while all of the others made disgusted sounds, or Darcy having to show her most embarrassing picture on her phone – she chose to down a shot, because apparently the picture would be too spicy for anyone other than Tara to see – or Tao having to point out a flaw in someone and saying Elle’s only flaw was taking too long to give him a chance.

But then they started being more stupid. Charlie had to wait in the loo while everyone hid something in the dark and he had to look for it without a flashlight, and Tara had been blindfolded and dared to single out her girlfriend while they all made noises together. At some point, Tao had to peck Darcy and she made a whole show of complaining about ‘having to actually kiss a guy’ when their lips had barely touched. 

It was fun and silly and ridiculous, but it was also a good way for them to keep drinking and not be bored by the lack of power.

Tara had just completed another round when the bottle stopped with its top facing her and the bottom facing Nick, and she smiled devilishly.

“Hmmmmm,” Tara looked around thoughtfully, and then giggled giddily. “Okay, you are also gonna be blindfolded but you’ll have to try and guess three people by their perfumes.”

“Ahh fuck off, that’s so hard,” Nick groaned, but didn’t refuse when Isaac handed him the kerchief Tara had just discarded to wrap around his eyes.

Charlie watched, from his place on the floor, as Tara spinned Nick around to make sure he wouldn’t remember everyone’s placements and then directed him towards Darcy. He called her almost instantly. Next was Isaac, but he missed it.

And then Tara steered Nick in Charlie’s direction.

She made her friend kneel in front of Charlie, much like she’d done the two previous times, and he balanced himself in his hands as he leaned forward so he could smell the person in front of him. Over his head, Charlie could see all of his friends trying to stifle their laughter as they caught the look on his face, because of course he was already as red as a tomato. As Nick leaned forward more and more, Charlie turned his head away and covered his face with his hand.

He felt Nick’s nose on the spot where his shoulder met his neck, the warm breath making goosebumps spread all over Charlie’s skin…

And then he felt a light, feathery kiss on that same spot and his heart skipped a beat as he tried to swallow the lump on his throat.

“It’s Charlie,” Nick backed away swiftly and took off his kerchief without waiting for a confirmation, locking eyes with Charlie immediately. He bit his lip and Charlie felt like dying.

God, things were spiralling a little bit out of control for his liking.

“See, it wasn’t so bad. You got two out of three right,” Tara joked with a way too knowing smile, sending Charlie a wink.

Uh oh. He suspected Tara knew exactly what she was doing.

And probably so did Darcy, because there was no way in hell that her previous comment about Nick and Charlie snuggling while watching the movie and the suggestion to play truth or dare hadn’t been meticulously calculated by her.

He was proven correct, thirty or so minutes and a few more dares later, when Darcy was supposed to give a dare to Nick.

And she sent a very mischievous smile in Charlie’s direction before stating, “I dare you to kiss Charlie poo.”

In all honesty, if Charlie could have the Earth swallow him whole, he would most definitely allow it to happen.

Yes, he was dying to kiss Nick, but doing it in front of all of his closest friends? During a dare? Fuck, how had Charlie allowed things to get to this point, anyway?

Nick stared at a grinning Darcy for several seconds as everyone else hooted and whooped, but Isaac must have noticedCharlie’s wide eyes because he was suddenly saying, “Shouldn’t we ask if Charlie’s okay with this?”

“Oh he is, he most definitely is, aren’t you Charlie?” Elle replied for him, and he blinked up at her.

He didn’t feel like talking. He didn’t think he could talk, if he was honest, but he cleared his throat and managed a weak, “Yeah.”

Nick’s eyes were on his in an instant, and he saw the blonde man’s lips twitch as he tried to hold back a smile. “Fine.”

And then Nick, who was sat on the opposite side of the circle to Charlie, got on all fours and started to make his way towards Charlie. He had no idea what was going on, but Nick looked so much more in control that night than Charlie did and it was throwing him off a bit.

Not in a bad way, though.

It felt way too juvenile; his crush crawling over to him, a teasing smile being hidden behind a bitten lip, their friends back with their hooting and whooping, Darcy being the loudest one of them, while he waited on his place, possibly with the worst blush on his cheeks.

But it felt good too.

Which was why it all came to a crumbling halt when Nick, instead of kissing him full on the mouth like he – and everyone – was expecting, got impossibly closer to his lips… only to turn his head and kiss Charlie straight on his right dimple.

Darcy immediately booed.

And Charlie’s heart immediately fell to his stomach.

☼・☀︎・☼

Many hours later, it was still heavily raining, the power still hadn’t returned and it seemed like everyone’s excitement had dwindled with time and they were all scattered around the flat.

Isaac had passed out on the sofa, where he had relocated after losing interest in the game, with his Kindle resting on his chest. Tara had fallen asleep on the nest of blankets while waiting for Darcy to come back from the loo. And then Nick made sure Darcy drank some water before tucking her into Tara’s side. Tao and Elle were nowhere to be found, and last Charlie had seen them, they’d been on the balcony, enjoying a much needed alone time.

And Charlie…

Well, Charlie was having a hard time sleeping and shutting up his brain, so he decided to do something to, at least, make his future self’s life a bit easier.

He started gathering the bottles and glasses and used napkins, taking it all over to the kitchen to dispose of them. The glasses were placed in the sink, where he turned on the tap to wash them, along with the other cutlery that had already been put there throughout the night.

Charlie was well aware that he could use the dishwasher, but he just… needed something tedious and manual to do.

Ever since Nick had kissed his fucking cheek during the stupid game, Charlie was feeling out of it. The rational part of his brain was arguing that it didn’t have to mean anything, that maybe Nick was just not comfortable with kissing in front of their friends. Maybe Nick just wanted to have a talk first.

But the other part, the part that was basically responsible for all of his self-image issues and second guessing and telling him that no one would ever like him, was not being as rational and unfortunately it was getting louder and louder.

The fact that he could acknowledge that he wasn’t thinking rationally was a good sign.

The fact that he couldn’t shut it up, wasn’t.

“Did you really need to be doing this right now?” Nick’s voice coming from the doorway scared the shit out of Charlie and he almost dropped the glass he’d been washing.

“Jesus, Nick. Give a guy some warning,” he turned briefly just to shoot Nick a glare, but the man just raised his hands in surrender and chuckled.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. But my question still stands.”

Charlie turned back to his task. “Well, I don’t need to do this right now, but I also can’t sleep so why not?”

“Fair,” he heard Nick stepping closer to where he was. “Want some help? I can do the drying.”

“There’s no– okay, sure,” he rolled his eyes when Nick made a point of getting a kitchen towel to start drying the cutlery even though Charlie was clearly going to refuse said help.

They worked in silence for a few minutes, both men focused on their tasks, but Charlie could feel the weight of Nick’s gaze on him from time to time. He knew it wouldn’t take long for Nick to break their silence.

And he was right.

“You’re a bit off,” it wasn’t a question, so Charlie didn’t bother with a reply. “What’s wrong?”

“Why do you think something’s wrong?”

“You just answered my question with another question, Charlie,” Nick sent him a sideways look. “And you’re not really denying it either, are you? Was it something I did?” When Charlie just shook his head, Nick sighed. “Fine then, I’ll ask you again in the morning–”

“Why didn’t you kiss me?” He blurted out.

Fuck.

He didn’t mean to just say it like that, but well.

Nick stopped drying off the cutlery at once, turning to Charlie. “What?”

Charlie closed the tap, giving up on any more washing and also turned towards Nick. “During the game. Why didn’t you kiss me? You know, properly kiss me?”

He saw the moment Nick understood what was going on, but instead of looking apologetic, a slow smile appeared in Nick’s lips.

“Well, Charlie, I considered doing it, you know. But then I thought better of it.”

Charlie’s stomach turned. And not in a pleasant way. “Why?”

“Because I didn’t want to kiss you for the first time during a stupid game in front of our friends while we were drunk,” he said, so matter-of-factly that Charlie took a few seconds to fully comprehend what he’s heard.

But then–

Oh.

Oh.

“Oh,” he parroted his own thoughts, feeling instantly dumb. He swallowed. “That– That makes sense, I suppose.”

“I’m glad you agree,” Nick scoffed, shaking his head. “I cannot believe you were cross with me because of this.”

“Oh shut up,” it was Charlie’s turn to roll his eyes. “I was drunk and my brain was not working properly. Give me a break.”

“Yeah, right,” Nick was silent for a while, before he hummed. “Did you really want me to kiss you, though?”

“… Yes,” he answered sincerely. “I could definitely do without everyone else watching it but… I really did.”

“Oh,” Nick nodded once. “Okay.”

There was another silence, and then… “So?”

“So what?”

“Well, we’re alone and we’re not playing games anymore, so…” Charlie grabbed Nick’s discarded towel and dried his hands. “Are you still drunk?”

Nick held back smile. “Hm, I’m not sure. I do feel a bit lightheaded, still.”

Oh, the jerk knew exactly what he was doing.

Twat.

“Fine,” Charlie rolled his eyes, making a move of turning away to leave. “We’ll talk later, then.”

“Nah, I don’t think so,” Nick chuckled and then he was pulling Charlie back by his arm.

Before Charlie realised what had happened, he was chest to chest to Nick and they were finally, finally kissing. And Charlie reacted almost instantly. As his hands went up to Nick’s hair, Nick hugged him around the waist, making sure there was not a single inch of space between them – as if it was possible – and he turned the two of them, pressing Charlie on the sink so they could balance themselves better.

One of Nick’s hands went up into Charlie’s hair, and he pulled on it with enough force to change the angle of their kiss, making Charlie moan, both from the hair pull and the new angle.

Charlie held onto Nick’s jaw, pulling back just slightly. “Now see, that wasn’t so hard.”

“Charlie, for fuck’s sake–”

The younger man was still giggling when he slotted their lips back together, licking into Nick’s mouth and deepening their kiss right away.

How the fuck had he gone this long without kissing Nick was beyond him.

Nick’s hands slid down, until they reached just underneath Charlie’s arse and then he hoisted Charlie up and placed him on the top of the sink. They heard a few clinking noises, but neither of them were too bothered by it.

“Now that’s much better,” Nick whispered against his lips as he placed himself between Charlie’s legs and the blue-eyed man wrapped his legs around him.

They were kissing again and after that, Charlie really lost track of time of how long they had been snogging. The only thing he was aware of was Nick; Nick’s hands on him, and Nick’s body flushed against his, and Nick’s lips on his, and on his neck and jaw…

They either had to end this in Charlie’s bedroom or he’d be in need of an ice cold shower very, very soon.

As Nick’s hands were roaming inside his shirt and leaving a trail of goosebumps on their wake, a surprised gasp came from the entrance and the two of them jumped apart rather quickly. But not too apart, because Charlie still had his legs wrapped around Nick and he was not letting go.

“Uhhhh,” it was clear that Elle was trying very hard not to laugh. “This is an interesting turn of events.”

Charlie narrowed his eyes at her, pissed at being interrupted but also holding back a smile. He pulled Nick closer once again. “Do you need anything, Elle?”

“Oh no, don’t mind me,” she made her way to the fridge and grabbed a water bottle. “I’m just getting some water, I have no intention of bothering you two more than necessary, love.”

Charlie snorted. “Appreciated.”

She stopped by the door and looked back at them. “Just please, try not to engage in carnal activities in the common areas, okay? Especially not in the kitchen.”

“Jesus Christ, Elle. Just leave already!” Her laughter followed her out and when Charlie turned back to Nick, he noticed the other man’s cheeks were flushed dark red. “Aw Nicholas, are you blushing because you got caught snogging me senseless?”

Nick leaned over, resting his head on Charlie’s shoulder with a groan. “It was mortifying.”

“It was funny,” he wrapped his arms around Nick’s neck and Nick pinched his waist, making him giggle. “But honestly, it was a good interruption. We were getting a bit too carried away and we’re still in the fucking kitchen.”

“I hate that you’re right,” without warning, Charlie hopped off the counter, sliding his whole body against Nick’s due to the lack of space. “You’re such a little shit, did you know that?”

Charlie giggled mischievously, grabbing Nick’s hand and pulling him towards the door. “Come on, let’s go to bed.”

Nick spluttered. “What, you’re not even taking me on a date first?”

“Nicholas. Shut up.”

In Charlie’s room, they took turns in the loo and Charlie rummaged around his closet to find something for Nick to wear to sleep. But the man was bigger and taller than Charlie, which made the task harder than it should be. He considered giving Nick his Leeds hoodie back, but he wasn’t really sold on the idea of giving up that hoodie just yet.

Even if it hadn’t smelt like Nick in a while.

“Charlie. Do you mind if I sleep in my pants?” Nick asked through the door and Charlie paused, his brain short circuiting. Fuck, was he going to be able to even sleep if Nick was only wearing his fucking boxers? But he might’ve taken too long to reply and Nick apparently took that as hesitancy. “If it’s uncomfortable for you, it’s okay. I just feel a bit too hot when sleeping and your blanket seems way too heavy for me. But I still have a tank top on, so it wouldn’t be like, just my pants.”

Charlie shook his head. Jesus, he needed to get a grip. He cleared his throat twice before he was able to say anything. “It’s fine, Nick. It's actually better like this because I don’t think my sweats would fit you.”

“Okay, then.”

He tried to control himself when Nick came out of the loo, but clearly it didn’t work. Before he could stop himself, his eyes were taking in the way the black tank top hugged Nick’s broad chest, the soft swells of his tummy, his black pair of boxers and his strong legs, full of strawberry blond hairs…

Charlie was in so much trouble.

“Do you wanna take a picture? It would last longer,” he heard Nick chuckle, but when he looked up he could see the man was blushing and not at all unaffected.

Charlie rolled his eyes. “Don’t be sassy, it’s not my fault you’re hot.”

Nick’s blush intensified. “Come on, let’s go to sleep.”

But then Nick layed down and Charlie wasn’t having it.

“Excuse me, that’s my side of the bed,” he raised a brow with his hands on his hips and Nick, who had just made himself comfortable, looked up with innocent eyes.

“Is that so? Well, it sucks to be you then, because I got here first, didn’t I?”

Charlie got closer to the bed and before Nick could react, he had thrown himself on top of the older man. “If that’s how it is, then I’m gonna sleep right here.”

“Charlie,” Nick let out a breathy laugh that Charlie was sure had nothing to do with his weight and wrapped his arms around Charlie’s body. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

Nick turned to his side though, dropping Charlie on the bed but only taking one arm away long enough to pull the blanket over their bodies. He snuggled in, hugging Charlie closer again and then released a happy sigh.

“Hi.”

Charlie giggled, leaning over to drop a kiss on Nick's nose. “Hi.”

They were close enough for their breaths to mingle, so it wasn’t really a surprise when their lips met again, this time in a slower, tender kiss that left Charlie tingling all over.

God, how had he ever thought he wasn’t this into Nick?

And better yet, how had he ever thought Nick was into Elle?

They kept exchanging lazy kisses and touches and quiet words until they were too sleepy to keep going. Even though they had been all riled up in the kitchen, now that he was there, laying on Nick’s chest and feeling content and comfortable and warm… It was enough.

At least for now.

He wasn’t in any hurry, after all. He had Nick Nelson in his room, in his bed, and it was enough to send Charlie to sleep with a smile on his face.

Chapter Text

The first thing Charlie noticed when he woke up, was that he felt unbelievably warm. Which wasn’t a surprise, given that his duvet was quite heavy even for the summer due to him having a tendency of feeling colder than the average person.

The second thing he noticed was that his duvet wasn’t the only reason he was feeling too warm.

No, the real reason was the body underneath him, an arm draped around his shoulder and a warm, steady breath tickling his forehead. Squinting his eyes open against the sunlight that poured through his window, he looked up at the sleeping man in his bed.

Nick was laying on his back with Charlie cosily tucked into his side, his head resting on Nick’s shoulder and Charlie’s right arm thrown over Nick’s soft middle. They were sharing the same pillow and their legs were so entangled, Charlie didn’t think he’d be able to extricate himself without either falling back down or waking the other man up.

Not that he wanted to get up or free himself, anyway. With a content sigh, Charlie snuggled back into Nick, who instinctively tightened his hold and pulled Charlie even closer.

Charlie had never felt more comfortable.

And he could definitely get used to it.

☼・☀︎・☼

When Charlie woke up for the second time that morning, it was because of a crash coming from somewhere else in the flat that startled him awake and made Nick stir. They had also switched positions; now Charlie was the one on his back while Nick was on his side, one of his arms wrapped around Charlie. 

Nick breathed in, absentmindedly stroking Charlie’s waist and belly. Charlie lightly poked him on his ribs. “Good morning, sunshine.”

“Hmmm, g’morning,” he replied, his voice still hoarse and gravely from lack of use.

They took their sweet time getting out of bed to get ready for the day. One, because they were feeling the effects of their heavy drinking the night before, and also because they couldn’t stop making out.

They took turns using the loo and when Charlie came out, Nick was sitting on the bed already in his clothes and he stepped closer to the older man.

“Come on,” Charlie buried his hand in Nick’s hair, and the sleepy, soft look on his face made Charlie smile. He really looked like a golden retriever. “Let’s get some breakfast.”

“Ugh,” Nick groaned, wrapping his arms around Charlie’s waist and letting his head fall forward until it rested on Charlie’s belly. “Don’t want to.”

“For such a morning person, you’re being way too whiny today,” Charlie giggled. Nick huffed in mock annoyance, falling back on the bed and taking Charlie with him, who yelped in surprise. They rearranged themselves until they were laying on their sides and facing one another. “Alright, what’s wrong?”

Nick sighed. “Nothing’s wrong, I’m just…” he closed the gap between them, pecking Charlie lightly on the lips. “A bit hungover, I suppose.”

“All the more reason for us to get some food,” Charlie murmured against Nick’s mouth and the man chuckled.

“Yeah, yeah, in a second…” he pressed harder into Charlie’s mouth and their ‘second’ turned into minutes.

When they finally emerged from Charlie’s room – with their clothes a bit more dishevelled than he would like to admit – they were startled to find all of their friends gathered around the kitchen island, laughing and talking and having breakfast.

Friends who fell silent the moment they stepped foot into the room.

“Well, well, well,” Darcy smiled, resting her elbows on the counter and leaning forward to rest her face on her hands. “Look who finally decided to grace us with their presence.”

“Was about time,” Isaac piped in from his spot near the coffee pot. He sent a sideways look toward the newcomers. “In more ways than one, I’d say.”

Charlie rolled his eyes, pulling a flustered Nick along with him towards one of the stools. He basically deposited Nick onto a seat then joined Isaac in getting some coffee. “Good morning to you all too, I guess,” he said sarcastically with a laugh.

“Good afternoon, you mean,” Elle plopped a strawberry onto her mouth. “We all slept in, but the two of you…” she made a low whistling sound as she wiggled her eyebrows. “Guess the night was really good.”

“Oh, it was, actually. Thanks for asking,” Charlie said matter-of-factly and he heard Nick choking on his tea as everyone snickered.

Finishing his coffee, Tao got up from his stool to pat Nick on the shoulder. “Fucking finally, mate. At least now I can stop listening to you moaning about Charlie.”

“Yeah, because now he can moan to Charlie,” Darcy added and Tao almost lost his balance with how hard he laughed.

“Oh fuck off, you two,” Nick grumply said, flushing red even if did have a smile on his face.

“Okay, I’d love to stay longer and keep embarrassing Nick,” Nick flipped Tao off, who ignored him while heading to the door, “but I still need to stop by the Café, so talk to you guys later.” 

“Wait!” Elle hurried after him, mug still in hand as she drank the rest of her coffee. “I’m coming with you, just let me grab my stuff.”

“We’ll join you guys on the way out,” Tara also got up, speaking for the first time, and Charlie didn’t miss the pointed looks her and Nick shared as she passed him. He hid a smile on his mug.

“Yeah, I’ve got a special client for today that can only come in on Sundays so, duty calls,” Darcy saluted them, following her girlfriend and then it was just Nick and Charlie and Isaac in the kitchen.

Isaac looked from Nick to Charlie, who had just sat himself on a stool by Nick’s side – and scooted it closer than needed. “Yeah I’m not being the third wheel today, so I’m out.”

And just like that, they were completely alone once again.

Nick and Charlie shared a look. “Guess that went well.”

Nick scrunched up his face. “I have to admit I understand Tao and Elle way more now on keeping their relationship on the down low at the beginning.”

“Are you saying this is already a relationship, Nicholas?” Charlie teased and Nick spluttered.

“I mean– Well– I–”

Charlie interrupted him with a light peck and a giggle. God, how he had ever thought Nick was a player really was beyond him. “Relax, I’m just teasing. We can take things slow.”

Wrapping an arm around Charlie’s waist and pulling him closer, Nick nuzzled his nose with his own. “What if I don’t want to take things that slow?”

“Yeah?” Charlie smiled, feeling butterflies flying wild on his stomach. “I wouldn’t mind it either.”

“Good to know we’re on the same page then,” Nick pressed their lips together once again, now in a deep kiss that soon turned into a full on snogging session.

Yeah, Isaac had good foresight to leave when he did; they certainly had forgotten about their breakfast – and their surroundings – rather quickly.

And fuck, they really should stop making out in the kitchen. But that was something for future Nick and Charlie to think about.

Right now, Charlie really wasn’t too worried about it.

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼ 

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼ 

nick 🧁
i’ll have you know i had a nightmare last night where a woman was crawling on the ceiling and coming after me as i ran around a house
it was terrifying

awww
was it because of the movie?

nick 🧁
yes 😔

would you like a hug and a kiss when we see each other?

nick 🧁
i would really love that actually
but i won’t be in today, i’ve got a photoshoot in the park

ughhh
wanted to see you 😔
well then, want to watch a movie on facetime later?

nick 🧁
it depends on what movie it will be
let’s not forget that it was your movie choice that got me in this situation 🙄

hahaha i swear i wouldn’t do that to you again
although it *was* fun to have you clinging to me during the movie 🤭

nick 🧁
well that was my favourite part, yes 😌
but we don’t really need a horror movie to do that now, do we?

yeah, guess we really don’t

nick 🧁
and about the movie… can we watch one of the spider man? 👉🏻👈🏻

… the sam raimi ones?

nick 🧁
hmmmmm the tom holland ones

i cannot believe you’re gonna make me watch an mcu movie, nicholas

nick 🧁
does that mean you’ll watch it with me? 🥰

*sigh*
yes

nick 🧁
you’re the absolute best

i know 😉

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

how can you post THAT PICTURE and expect me not to swoon????

nick 🧁
i take it you like it?

*charlie spring can’t reply because he’s lying on the floor sobbing*

nick 🧁
LOL

☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼

nick 🧁
please tell me you’re also working from home today

i am, actually
you too?

nick 🧁
yeah
i mean, i didn’t have any sessions lined up for the next couple of days, so i just need to do some editing

lucky you
i have a shit ton of things to write
and plan

nick 🧁
what do you say about coming over so we can work together?
the lads are all out, there’s a new batch of brownies cooling off in the kitchen, henry’s in the mood for some cuddles
and there’s also me, of course

honestly you had me at brownies
but henry’s cuddles are good too

nick 🧁
…

guess you’re also a good factor to consider

nick 🧁
you know what?
never mind, i’ll keep both the brownies and henry’s cuddles just for myself

nooooo
i’m joking, babe
of course you’re my favourite thing 😇

nick 🧁
you’re so full of shit
and also so lucky i’m into you
come over around 10? we can order something for lunch too

see you then 💛

☼・☀︎・☼

Although Charlie loved days where he didn’t need to go to the magazine, he was used to the crazy atmosphere of the office, and all of the people and noises that turned it into an organised mess. For that reason, it was usually hard for him to concentrate on his work when he was home and Nick’s invitation had been a very welcomed one.

So, when he arrived at Nick’s house a bit before ten, he was actually looking forward to their day together even if they were about to spend it working.

And the sweet kiss he got as soon as Nick opened the door was definitely a great start.

“Hmmm,” Charlie smiled with his mouth still firmly pressed to Nick’s. “You really missed me, didn’t you?”

“Don’t let it get to your head,” Nick replied, pulling him inside, and Charlie giggled.

Once the door was shut, Nick closed the distance between them again, his hand finding its way to Charlie’s hair and tangling around the curls. They kissed lazily for a few moments, until Charlie’s laptop bag started to weigh more than comfortable.

“Not that I’m complaining about this, but I’m pretty sure I was also promised brownies and Henry’s cuddles,” Charlie gave Nick one last lingering peck and pulled away. “And we have work to do.”

Nick sighed, allowing Charlie to pull him in the direction of the living room. “If we must.”

“We do,” he placed his bag in one of the armchairs and looked around. “Are we going to stay here or should we head for the dining room to use the table?”

“Well, I was thinking we could stay here on the coffee table like we did the last time?”

Charlie noticed Nick already had his laptop open on the table so he went ahead and took his own out of his bag. “Yeah, that works.”

They made themselves comfortable on the floor with some flat cushions and soon they were lost to their work. Nick had presented Charlie with an iced coffee from CoffeeBusters, so he quietly sipped his beverage with Henry on his lap – the dog had bounced into the room at some point and headed straight to Charlie, who was quick to give the little guy some love – as he and Nick worked side by side, occasionally chatting about their new projects.

While Nick had been assigned with brainstorming ideas for a Halloween themed photoshoot for the October edition of the magazine, Charlie had started preparing for the spring collections from designers, which meant he’d need to think about Fashion Weeks soon.

They made a quick break for lunch, with Nick giving up on ordering something for them once he realised they had enough to make a mean chickpea salad sandwich and soon enough they were back to their previous designated spots by the coffee table.

With Derry Girls episodes running in the background, they worked together seamlessly, occasionally exchanging words and sharing their progress with each other; Nick was editing his latest photoshoot pictures while Charlie wrote an article for the magazine website about beach fashion, which promptly turned their conversation towards beach days they had in the past.

“We should go to the beach before summer ends,” Nick casually suggested after Charlie said it had been a while since he’d been to the beach. “Get everyone together for that would be quite fun.”

Charlie smiled, stupidly pleased by the idea. “Yeah, I think I’d like that a lot.”

By the end of the afternoon, when Charlie had managed to finish his first draft and was feeling confident he didn’t need to work too much on it before publishing, he slumped back on the floor, resting his back on the sofa.

“Okay, I don’t wanna see any more words in front of me right now,” he sighed dramatically, and Nick chuckled.

“Are you completely done?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, closing his laptop with a swift move. “I’ll just give it one more read tomorrow and then send it over to be approved.”

“Sounds good,” Nick gave him a smile, still slightly distracted by his own laptop. “I’m about to be done here as well.”

He was about to reply, saying they should probably find something else to do, when his phone going off on the coffee table got his attention.

🍃🌸 springtime 🌼🍃

coolest spring
i was flipping through that old notebook of game ideas
and honestly that one with the elf queen called victoria is actually more interesting than i remembered
so i kinda went back to it and
*image attachment*
this is how the new elf queen victoria looks like now

tori spring
holy shit, oliver!!!

oh my god, this looks so good olly!

“Is everything okay?”

Charlie only realised he had been staring at his phone slack-jawed when Nick’s voice reached his ears, taking him out of his stupor.

“Yeah, just–” Charlie scooted closer to Nick so he could show his phone screen to the other man, “Olly just sent this on our siblings group chat.”

“Oh wow, this is amazing! I didn’t know Olly could draw like this,” Nick’s brows shot up and Charlie looked down at the drawing once again. 

It was a clearly unpolished art that Olly had just sketched on his notebook page. However, it was clear his art style had evolved from his early drawings because even a sketch was looking amazing. The picture showed an elf, very obviously based on Tori, with black straight hair and bangs, slender figure and with a preference for black outfits, the only coloured thing being her starking blue eyes. She also had long and pointed ears that came out from underneath her hair and a crown on top of her head.

“Olly’s always been good at it, especially when drawing characters for games he’d like to make,” Charlie smiled proudly, as if the compliment had been aimed at him. He changed his position, once again resting his back on the sofa behind him, but now with his side fully flushed against Nick. “I don’t think I told you, but he’s recently changed degrees at uni. 

“Really?” Nick also rearranged himself, lifting the arm Charlie was leaning against to wrap around the younger man’s shoulders. “Wasn’t he doing something with numbers because he’s like, proper smart like you?”

Charlie felt his cheeks reddening. “I’m not that smart–”

“You are!” Nick poked him on his flustered cheeks, earning himself a giggle. “I remember you mentioning your GCSE and A-levels. Like come on, you said your strong subject used to be Maths.”

“Listen, I used to be a bit of a nerd–”

“Used to be, he says,” Nick interrupted him, and Charlie huffed, pretending to be exasperated.

“Anyways! Yes, Olly was studying Maths actually,” he decided to change the subject, rolling his eyes when Nick raised a brow pointedly. “But he’s always wanted to go into Games Development so that’s what he’s gonna be doing now.”

“I do think that suits him so much more,” Nick pondered, and Charlie nodded.

Nick had only met Olly a handful of times before, mostly when the young boy would come to London to visit his siblings in between classes, but it had been enough for them to form a natural connection that truly should’ve been enough to make Charlie realise Nick couldn’t be the terrible person he had once thought he was.

But then again, past Charlie really was only seeing what he wanted to see.

“That’s what Tori and I said too,” he agreed, thinking back to Olly being happy and relieved that his siblings were on board with his decision. “We supported him right away, even planning on paying for his tuition if it came down to it.”

Nick smiled, his hand slowly tracing patterns across Charlie’s arm and shoulder. “That was nice of you both.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Charlie rested his head on Nick’s shoulder, eyes closing in enjoyment of the little tender act. He let out a small sigh. “If you keep this up I’m gonna fall asleep on you.”

“That’s not the bad thing you think it is, to be honest,” Nick’s hand changed its course to Charlie’s hair, tangling into the curls and light scratching his scalp. Charlie’s sighs turned into a groan and Nick snickered.

They stayed in silence for a while, Nick’s hand still in Charlie’s hair and Charlie slowly unwinding from the work he’d just done. If every workday could end like this, he was sure waking up early to go to work would be much more pleasurable…

Charlie was in fact almost falling asleep when Nick’s quiet voice called his attention. “Char?”

“Hm?” But once his brain caught up to what he’d just heard, he raised his head to look at Nick with sleepy curiosity. “Wait… Char?”

“Oh,” Nick flushed red, scrunching up his nose. “Well–”

Charlie smiled teasingly, all traces of sleepiness gone from his face. “You do know ‘Charlie’ is already a nickname, don’t you?”

“Oh fuck off. Not gonna call you that again, then,” Nick tried to push Charlie off of him in mock annoyance and the younger man clung to him, giggling.

“No, no, it’s cute. I like it,” he smiled affectionately, making Nick roll his eyes but return the smile. “But go on, what were you about to say?”

Nick was quiet for a moment, then he briefly glanced at his laptop, his cheeks slightly pink. “Can I– Would you like to see something I’m working on? It’s not for the mag or anything. It’s… a personal project, if you will.”

Gathering it had to be something important to Nick, he sobered up, softening his features. “Yes, of course.”

“So, the curator of this gallery here in London approached me recently to invite me to participate in this exhibition they’re making in November.”

Charlie turned toward Nick, a huge smile on his face as he grabbed the man’s arm and squeezed. “Nick! Holy shit, that’s amazing!”

“Thank you,” Nick smiled bashfully, his cheeks once again reddening. “I’ve always been interested in doing this, having a more artful approach to my photography but it’s something that never really felt possible, in a way.”

“And yet, here you are, about to do just that,” Charlie relished in the way his words had the intended effect of making Nick’s smile grow. “Tell me more about this project.”

So Nick did. Choose Love was an exhibition for mostly queer artists of different media, aiming to amplify their voices and careers. Nick was part of the visual exhibit, and was supposed to give up to ten photographs for it. Apparently, the gallery made two of those exhibits a year, one during Pride Month and the other at some point during the end of the year and Nick had just been invited after a few of his photos taken at London Pride had gone viral on TikTok.

“Seems like someone had to drop out for personal reasons and I was the next name on the list,” Nick explained, and it was obvious to Charlie how happy and excited he was.

“This is so cool, Nick,” Charlie once again squeezed Nick’s arm. “Do you already know which pieces you’re going to show? Can I see them?”

“I still need to narrow down the selection, and I also want to work on some other ideas, but I was actually about to ask for your help with that. And of course you can see them,” Nick brough his laptop closer to them, opening a folder named Choose Love and clicking on the first picture on the folder.

And Charlie recognized the couple in it instantly.

Tara and Darcy were seemingly in a park somewhere based on the trees and green around them. They were both in light coloured outfits, standing face to face and with matching smiles while they stared at each other with so much love that Charlie actually lost his breath. Darcy was placing three little violets behind Tara’s ear, her sleeve of colourful tattoos giving a pop of life to the otherwise warm toned photo.

“Nick, holy–” Charlie sucked in a breath, unable to take his eyes off the portrait. He’d seen a lot of Nick’s work before but this was just… on another level altogether. “This is amazing.”

“This was the photo that made me decide to focus on showing queer relationships for the exhibit,” Nick smiled, also looking at the picture he’d taken of two of his best friends. “You really liked it?”

“Yeah, a whole lot actually. And of course I’ll help you, I’d be honoured to!” his assertiveness made Nick blush slightly. He turned back to the screen, his eyes once again scrutinising the picture. “It really is so pretty and you captured Tara and Darcy so beautifully… like it’s noticeable they are ridiculously in love.”

“It really is, isn’t it?” With a sigh, Nick smiled ruefully, eyes not meeting Charlie’s. “I just hope I get to find a love like theirs someday.”

Swallowing, Charlie nodded in agreement, feeling his cheeks warm. “Yeah, same.”

How could he tell his not-boyfriend-yet that he was for sure quite in love with him and he wished, he hoped, their love could be as big as Tara and Darcy’s? He knew it was still too early for that, but at the same time…

At the same time, it felt so right. As if he was supposed to be loving Nick his whole life.

With a soundless sigh, Charlie snuggled back into Nick, turning his attention once again to the other pictures the older man was showing him on his laptop. 

☼・☀︎・☼

Even though the telly was on and Charlie could faintly hear the sounds of whatever was going on in the romantic comedy they had put on, watching the movie was actually the last thing they ended up doing. In fact, if he was quite honest with himself, Charlie was much more interested in the noises Nick was making as he bit and sucked around the blonde’s neck.

It was the first time they had been truly alone since that day in Charlie’s flat, and from his place in Nick’s lap with literally not a single space between them, Charlie was thoroughly enjoying their closeness. And clearly, so was Nick.

Charlie pressed down harder on Nick’s lap, gently rotating his hips and causing a delicious friction that made the two of them release identical moans of pleasure.

Nick tightened the arm that he had around Charlie’s waist, sneaking his hand inside Charlie’s shirt and keeping him in place – as if Charlie would even think of moving – while his other hand pulled on the younger man’s curls, drawing him up for a searing kiss.

“Maybe–” Nick started, but Charlie didn’t allow him to continue, cutting his next words with another kiss. Nick chuckled breathlessly at Charlie's blatant tactic of distraction, leaning back just enough to be able to talk. “We probably should take this elsewhere. Meaning my room.”

“Yeah?” Another kiss. “I think we–”

“My eyes!” A shrill voice coming from the entryway interrupted Charlie, scaring him so bloody much, he promptly fell off of Nick’s lap.

And unfortunately for him, he fell backwards. Right on the fucking floor.

“Jesus Christ, I might be scarred for life now,” the voice continued and Charlie, still stunned from the fall and sprawled on the floor, looked in the direction of it, finding an upside down Otis with a shit-eating grin on his face that contradicted his words. At his side, an equally amused Black woman around their own age was having her eyes covered by Otis' big hand and she kept pushing it off her face while he pretended to protect her honour.

How the fuck had he gone from snogging Nick senseless to laying on the floor in the span of a second?

Huffing in annoyance, Nick leaned forward to check up on Charlie. “You okay?” He asked, as he offered a hand to help Charlie up.

Charlie accepted the help, blushing furiously as he listened to Otis’ shameless snickers. “Yeah, I’m okay,” he sent a seething look towards Otis. “Just bruised my ego.”

“It was a rather ridiculous fall,” Otis agreed solemnly, and the woman hit him in the chest, with an amused snort. “What? It was!”

She rolled her eyes, changing her focus to the two other men in the room, who were now sitting side by side on the sofa. She was almost as tall as Otis, with long and dark curly hair and black eyes that shone with mischief as she stared at them. “Hey, Nick.”

“Marian,” the blonde man cleared his throat, not fully meeting the woman’s eyes – who Charlie now recognised as the woman Otis fancied. But then Nick looked at his housemate with a raised brow. “Fancy seeing you here after so long.”

Otis looked down briefly, before looking at Marian and back at Nick and then deadpanning awkwardly. “We’re dating.”

Nick matched his energy. “Congratulations.”

Marian shook her head, not phased by the two friends, and smiled at Charlie. “Hi, you’re Charlie right? It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Yeah, likewise, Marian,” he returned the smile even if his cheeks were still too warm from his previous humiliation. At least he had been so embarrassed his boner had completely gone away, but apparently the same couldn’t be said for Nick, because he’d gingerly placed a cushion on his lap the second he placed Charlie safely beside him.

“What are you doing home, anyways? I thought you were staying at Marian’s?” He asked, a puzzled look on his red face.

“My flatmate asked for the place tonight because she’s proposing to her girlfriend,” Marian explained. “So we decided to come here instead.”

“Not sure it was the best decision now, since I saw things I would’ve preferred not to,” Otis shook his head in chagrin.

Nick huffed, pursing his lips. “Oh shut up, we weren’t doing anything obscene!”

“Yet!” Otis shot back, mouth twitching as if he was trying to fight back a smile in order to keep grilling Nick. “God knows what we would’ve found if we had taken like ten more minutes to arrive.”

“Fuck, you’re unbearable.”

“Glad you can finally stop pining for Charlie boy over there, mate, but no need for all of this indecency in the living room.”

“I hate you so much right now.”

“Stop bothering your friend, Smith,” Marian piped in, hitting her boyfriend on the chest once again, and even though he pretended to glare at her, Charlie could see how much affection Otis had for the woman.

He briefly wondered if Otis had followed his advice of talking to Marian or if something else had happened, and he was happy it had worked out for them.

But since it seemed to be a very recent development, he also made a mental note to ask Nick after a few days to see if he’d know the story. He wasn’t ashamed to admit he was curious as hell now.

“Anyways, we’ll leave you alone now,” Otis saluted them, which just made Nick roll his eyes. “Great to see you again, Charlie.”

“I would love to return the sentiment but I’m still slightly embarrassed,” Charlie retorted, much to Otis' amusement.

“Well, here’s to hoping you won’t end up with your arse on the floor next time you’re around then,” Otis grinned chirpily and left the room, leaving the room and pulling his girlfriend with him.

As soon as Nick and Charlie were alone once again, they stared at each other for a few seconds… and promptly started laughing uncontrollably.

“This was even worse than leaving my room and finding all of our friends staring at us,” Charlie said between fits of giggles and Nick nodded.

“We have to stop making out in common spaces.”

Charlie snorted. “You mean, you have to stop initiating a making out session in common spaces.”

“Excuse me, I didn’t see you complaining,” Nick poked Charlie on his dimple, making him giggle again.

“A fit guy is making out with me, of course I’m not gonna complain,” Charlie rolled his eyes, scoffing.

Nick narrowed his eyes. “Of course, why would I even think otherwise.”

With another giggle, Charlie slumped on Nick’s side and sighed. “I think I should head home.”

“Nooooo,” Nick wrapped both arms around Charlie’s waist, tucking his head on the younger man’s neck. “Why don’t you stay over?”

“Nick,” Charlie snickered when he felt Nick’s lips on his neck. “We have work tomorrow…”

“And everything you need is here,” he felt Nick gently nipping at his neck, and he closed his eyes, unconsciously tilting his head to allow Nick a better access to the area. “Your laptop, your bag, yourself…”

“I don’t have a change of clothes, though.”

“I mean, you could always borrow something from me. Again,” realising Charlie wasn’t at all opposed to his advances, Nick sucked on his neck a bit more enthusiastically, and Charlie’s breath hitched. His hand snaked up and down Charlie’s side, until it went up to the man’s hair, tangling itself on the curls. “And you’d be much closer to the mag, so you can sleep in…”

Charlie let out a breathless chuckle. “Gosh, if you want me in your bed this much, you could’ve just said so, Nicholas.”

“Pretty sure it was the first thing I did, Charles,” Nick bit hard on the spot where Charlie’s neck met his jaw in a teasing way and he left out a giggle. 

He detangled himself from Nick then, getting up from the sofa and heading for the stairs. When he noticed Nick hadn’t followed, Charlie turned to smile mischievously at him. “Come on, rugby lad. I don’t really know the way to your room, do I?”

Charlie had almost reached the stairs when Nick got over his bewilderment and barreled into him, hugging Charlie from behind and lifting him off the ground as he ran up the stairs the best he could with the younger man in his arms, both giggling all the way up.

When they got to the landing, Nick deposited him back on his feet and Charlie turned on Nick’s arms to kiss him as he walked backwards, pulling Nick with him.

Realising Nick was more interested in feeling his way up Charlie’s shirt, the shorter man snorted. “Nick, I still don’t know the way,” he said, his mouth still on Nick’s.

Nick bit Charlie’s lip, tightening his hold on Charlie’s waist and taking purposeful steps toward the last door on the corridor. He pressed Charlie onto it for a quick kiss before turning the knob and taking them inside. “Take note of the right door for the future.”

And then he closed the door resolutely.

✧・゜゜✧．・゜✧ ゜・．✧ ゜゜・✧

🌈 fruity friends forever 🍒 + tao ☕️

is there anything you’d like to tell me, @tao?

tao xu
🤨 no
why?

isaac henderson
👀

tara jones
👀

i just got my order from coffeebusters with drinks for elle, nick and i
and this was what i found on nick’s iced chai

and now i’m wondering if i have anything to worry about since nick obviously has a crush on tao

elle argent
okay, now i’m also worried 🤨

nick nelson
awww tao, do you really think i’m the prettiest girl ever??? 😍🥹

darcy olsson
now this was something i was not expecting on this fine morning

tao xu
oh for fucks sake
that was supposed to go on elle’s iced coffee
i mean, not that you’re not pretty, nick, but you’ve got nothing on my girlfriend, sorry

nick nelson
my heart is completely broken 😭

yes, go cry about your husband while i’m right here 🙄

nick nelson
don’t worry darling, you’re still my number 1

☼・☀︎・☼

isaac henderson
darling, huh? 😏

shut up

☼・☀︎・☼

Charlie found Nick in his little studio on the back of their floor and he softly tapped on the partially closed door to get the older man’s attention.

“Hey, you busy?”

“Not at all.”

He entered the space, which wasn’t as big as his shared office with Elle. It was a relatively small room, with two desks on each wall facing each other and a dozen or more photographs spread around the walls. The other desk was empty, since it used to be Ben’s and the mag still hadn’t found another photographer to cover his spot – and to be honest, he wasn’t too sure if Singh even wanted to find another one.

Nick got up from his chair to lean on the side of his desk, smiling at Charlie and eyeing the cup on Charlie’s hands. “Please tell me this is for me.”

“It is,” Charlie approached Nick, handing him the plastic cup. Nick took a sip of the tea, sighing contently as he pulled Charlie closer by the waist. “However, Elle did swap the lids since she wanted Tao’s message for herself.”

“Damn, I thought I would have a cute message as a mood booster today,” Nick shook his head, pretending to be disappointed.

“Do you want me to write something to you?” Charlie raised a brow. “Would you like ‘for the hottest guy ever’? Or perhaps ‘for the fittest guy I’ve ever shagged’? Unless what was doing it for you was the ‘prettiest girl’ bit?”

As expected, Nick blushed hard, dipping his head slightly while also trying to conceal a pleased smile. “The second option would be good enough, I suppose.”

“Yeah, thought you’d like it,” he rolled his eyes, evidently amused at Nick’s smugness.

They smiled at each other, and it was clear by the way both men blushed that they were remembering the previous night at Nick’s. And if that wasn’t enough, Charlie had a pinkish mark on his neck – that was getting darker by the minute – as a reminder of it.

Nick took another sip of his drink. “Not that I’m complaining, but why do I owe the pleasure of getting a free tea today?”

“I dunno, I just wanted to do something nice for you, even if it’s simple,” it was Charlie’s turn to feel slightly sheepish. “Especially after we had such a lovely day yesterday.”

Nick held back a smile, but Charlie could see one of the sides of his mouth turning up. “I didn’t know you were this charming,” he said, lowering his head until his nose nuzzled Charlie’s.

Charlie bit his lip. “Well, I kinda had an ulterior motive for that, if I’m being honest.”

“Hmmm, is that so?”

He hesitated just a bit, but decided to go on with it. “Are you free tomorrow?” When Nick nodded, he pressed on. “Do you– Do you wanna do something? With me?”

Nick didn’t hold back a smile this time. “Are you asking me on a date, Charles?”

Charlie was well aware Nick’s teasing was lighthearted, but he couldn’t help the slightly guarded tone to his own voice. “Yeah. I am.”

Noticing the shift, Nick’s smile turned soft. “Then I’ll be more than happy to go out with you. Officially.”

Even though he knew there was no reason for Nick to say no, relief still washed over Charlie in a wave that felt like butterflies in his stomach.

He was going on a date with Nick Nelson.

And he was positively excited for it.