Chapter Text
September 27, 2024
Nick had been acting strange for nearly a week. Charlie would be worried that something was going on, but he had already asked, and Nick had reassured him that he was okay. That everything between them was okay. That it was simply the stress of the new routine getting to him. Charlie believed him because the man had no poker face and wasn’t exactly known for his ability to lie easily.
Of course, he still wanted to know what was up with his boyfriend. Because something was up, and Charlie’s natural curiosity was driving him crazy, forming all sorts of wild ideas ranging from good—some sort of surprise—to harmless—he really was stressed—to terrible—Nick never loved Charlie and wanted to break up. That last one was extremely unlikely, he was aware, but that was what happened when his imagination was left to run wild.
However, Charlie was hopeful that whatever it was would resolved after tonight. Nick had asked that they both not attend Friday night drinks with Charlie’s friends this evening, so instead of getting off the tube at Angel, he got off at Highbury & Islington and walked the few blocks to Nick’s townhouse.
After asking not to attend drinks, Nick had said that he would arrive home after Charlie got back from work—something about a group project and needing something from the grocery. He still felt a little strange about using the key that Nick had given him two months ago, but he let himself in through the front door anyway. Even though he spent more nights with Nick than he did at Tori’s and half his clothes were in Nick’s closet, it still felt… strange. Not in a bad way, necessarily. It was almost like this giddy, bubbly feeling that fizzed in the pit of his stomach. It was excited energy that had nowhere to go, making him feel fidgety and antsy. And he wasn’t in any sort of hurry to analyze all that just yet. Something for Future Charlie to deal with.
There had only been two other occasions before this one where he had needed the key. The first was the reason prompting him receiving a key, meeting a plumber at Nick’s while he was in school and working from Nick’s home office that day. The second was when Nick got stuck at his school and needed Charlie to check on Leo when they had gotten sick. Past that, Nick was always already home by the time Charlie arrived.
Charlie hooked his work bag on his designated hook by the door and grabbed his kindle from inside, then bounded up the stairs, showered quickly, and clothed himself in a pair of his own joggers and one of Nick’s sweatshirts. He grabbed the Bluetooth speaker and headed back downstairs. After returning to the living room, Charlie flopped himself onto the couch, pulled up his couch blanket, turned on his music to play quietly in the background, and picked back up where he had left off reading on the train.
He was lost in the story, not even hearing the front door or his music, when Nick finally returned home. Nick cleared his throat and Charlie was ripped back to reality, startling him a little. Looking up, he saw Nick was grinning—the adorable lop-sided one that made him want to smother his boyfriend in kisses—leaning against the archway into the living room, arms across his chest, expression full of love and fondness. No one had ever made Charlie feel so loved, not the way Nick did. He felt his own face break into a smile, returning everything that Nick was giving.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
“You look cozy.” Nick said as he crossed the room.
Charlie dropped the Kindle on the coffee table and stretched his arms over his head, back arching off the couch and releasing one of those stretch-yawn-groan noises.
“Quite.” Charlie smiled up at Nick and grabbed his wrist. “Come down here.”
Nick settled himself down on top of Charlie, one knee between Charlie’s legs, and kissed Charlie much more sweetly than the position called for.
“Hi.” Nick said again into the kisses he was now placing along Charlie’s neck.
“Mmm. Hi.” He sighed, then pushed one hand into Nick’s hair and the other was grasping at his hip, trying to pull him closer.
“I love you.” More kisses. “I missed you all day.”
“I love you, too, baby.” Charlie turned his head to the side, giving Nick more room to continue kissing his neck. “You saw me this morning—” Charlie had been staying at Nick’s for a few days already, but he didn’t need to argue that. “—and you have me now.”
“Yes, but there was a whole day in between.”
“Greedy.” Charlie teased.
“For you. Always.”
“So, is that why we aren’t at drinks tonight? You wanted me all to yourself?”
Nick pushed himself up, so he was resting on his elbow, looking down at Charlie. “Yes and no.”
He shifted so that he was lying next to Charlie instead of on top of him, suddenly looking so awkward. So, he was right. This was about whatever was going on, making Nick act strange.
“Nick?” Nick wasn’t making eye contact now, so Charlie squeezed his forearm. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. But it’s killing me not knowing. My imagination is starting to run wild. I don’t know if I should be worried or concerned.”
“Um… Can we—let’s sit up.”
They both rearranged themselves on the couch. Nick was seated on the middle cushion and Charlie was facing him, legs bent in front of him, arms hugging them to his chest.
“Charlie…” Nick started, rubbing his neck, looked over at Charlie, then quickly back down at his hands. “Do you remember the first day we met?”
“How could I forget?”
This was not making Charlie feel like whatever it was was on the good to harmless end. That first night, he had been so rude. He left in the middle of Nick speaking to him. He had not been particularly happy when he first moved to the city. Just… not his finest moment.
“That was a year ago today.” Nick stated plainly, finally meeting Charlie’s gaze again.
Oh.
“Was it really?”
Charlie grabbed his phone and looked at the date. September 27. His mind was spinning as he tried to remember. He had no idea that was a year ago today. It was the right time frame. Next week would make a full year at Driscoll—Lange had scheduled another one of those check ins corresponding with notable dates.
“It was. I realized this morning just before I messaged you.” Nick said.
“And… is that why you wanted to be alone tonight? Did—do you want to go to that bar?”
Nick laughed lightly. “No. No. It just started me thinking.”
He paused and looked at Charlie’s hands in his lap—wringing, like they always did when he was nervous. Nick reached out and covered Charlie’s fingers, stilling their movement, with his always warm, lightly calloused hand.
“Sorry… I’m doing a terrible job at this. I’m not trying to make you nervous. I’m nervous.”
“You can always tell me anything. Whatever it is. I—I love you so much.”
“It’s not something to tell you. It’s something to ask you.”
Uh… What??? Surely, he can’t mean… No, it’s too soon for that.
Charlie was sure his face was doing some odd things, and he was very glad that Nick wasn’t meeting his eyes again.
“I don I—I wanted to know… Do you want to move in with me?”
Charlie heaved a sigh, relieved. It wasn’t something bad after all. In fact, it was something quite good. Honestly, Charlie probably should have thought of this before—but he had been too busy trying not to think about it. He had never come close to reaching the step in a relationship. Immediately, he felt a wave of guilt crash over him. While Charlie had been avoiding thinking about these things, Nick had been worked up for a whole week about asking. And then this morning, wait…
“Wait a second, what does today being the one-year anniversary of when we first met have to do with you asking me to move in?”
“Well… Nothing, I guess. I’ve just been trying to figure out when and how to ask. And then this morning, I saw the date and I thought—it’s silly. Sorry.”
“It’s not silly. It’s sweet. You’re always so sweet.”
Charlie crawled into Nick’s lap, knees straddling his boyfriend’s hips. He put his hands on either side of Nick’s face and planted loud, over the top kisses all over his face. Nick’s anxious energy didn’t dissipate, though, so Charlie pulled back and looked at him. They sat looking at each other for a moment before Charlie realized.
“Oh! Yes!” Kiss. “Sorry, yes!” Kiss, kiss. “I want to move in with you.” Kiss, kiss, kiss.
Nick’s shoulders collapsed, his head fell onto Charlie’s chest, and he laughed nervously. “Oh, thank god.”
“Nick, I basically already live here. Why were you so worried?”
“You hate using your key.”
Oh. Fuck.
Charlie put his hand under Nick’s chin and tipped his head back to meet his eyes. “I just felt awkward because it’s not my house. It had nothing to do with me not wanting to live with you or me feeling uncomfortable here or anything to do with our relationship.”
“Oh.” Nick swallowed and blinked a few times—signs that tears would be following shortly.
“Hey, hey. I love you. Nothing to worry about. Yeah?” Charlie tried to reassure him. He laughed nervously. “I’ll start using my key, too. I hope you know this means I’m going to take more room in the closet.”
Nick laughed wetly, tears almost at the point of spilling over now. “You can have the whole thing, if you want it.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll just take most of it.”
Nick smiled and burrowed his face back into Charlie’s chest, arms squeezing around Charlie’s waist. Charlie let them sit there for a few minutes, just holding each other.
“Uh… Nick?”
“Yeah?” Nick looked up again.
“I want to make sure that it’s even, though. That responsibility and everything is split equitably between us. We don’t have to figure it all out now, but I just want to make sure that we have things hashed out before I fully move in.”
“Of course, yeah. Yes. Whatever we need to do, I’ll do it.”
Charlie knew that Nick meant that, which was enough for him just then. They could focus on the finer details later. He leaned in and kissed his boyfriend sweetly. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Nick pulled back.
“I desperately need to take a shower and I was going to cook, so if you wanted to run back to Tori’s and grab anything, you’ve probably got an hour and a half or so before dinner is cooked.”
Nodding, Charlie dismounted, freeing Nick. It was odd, though, Nick telling him he had time to go back to Tori’s. Charlie had everything he could need for the weekend already at Nick’s. Did Nick want him to get out of the house for some reason? Or was there—
Oh.
Sweet, sweet, ridiculous man. He was giving Charlie the chance to tell Tori in person if he wanted. She was always home on Friday nights and Nick knew that this was an in-person type of conversation. Of course, he wouldn’t just say that, though. He leaned in and kissed Nick one more time before he walked out of the room to shower. Charlie tried to collect himself enough to go have a conversation with his sister.
Unlocking the front door of Tori’s townhouse, Charlie took his shoes off at the door and called out that he was there. He walked through the living room first, the dining room, and then into the kitchen, which is where he found her sitting with her laptop open on the table.
Without looking up, she asked, “What are you doing home right now?”
“Skipped drinks tonight and went straight to Nick’s.”
“So, why are you here?”
He rolled his eyes fondly. “What a lovely greeting, Tor.”
“I enjoy my alone time. And I have grown accustomed to having my Friday nights alone. Thank you.” She finally glanced up from the screen and gave him a quick once over. “Nice sweatshirt.”
“Thanks. It’s Nick’s.”
“I know.” With a heavy sigh, his sister closed the laptop and crossed her hands on top of it. “Are you going to sit so you can tell me whatever it is you’re here to say?”
How did she always do that? “You’re scary sometimes.”
“I’m scary all the time.” She said haughtily. “Come on. Out with it.”
“Ugh. Fine. I’m moving in with Nick.”
“Oh, my goodness. I’m so utterly shocked and just flabbergasted beyond belief.” Tori said flatly.
“Rude.” Charlie complained. “Thought you’d be happy to be getting your house back to yourself.”
“I am happy to be getting my house back. Though, you weren’t the most annoying sibling to share with. The brother with that title beat you by two months.”
“Hey! Olly liked his boyfriend when they met a year ago.” Charlie protested.
“Oh, shut up. You liked your boyfriend back then, too. You were just mad about it.” He made a face and opened his mouth to speak, but Tori cut him off and continued. “I’m… happy for you. You’ve been pathetic about Nick for so long. It’s… good to see you happy.”
Watching her struggle to get such heartfelt words out, his arguments fell away and Charlie smiled at his sister. “Was that painful to say?”
“Yes, and I won’t repeat it.”
“Love you, too, Tor.”
“Okay. Get your stuff and get out. I have a quiet Friday night of recharging that you’re getting in the way of.”
He didn’t grab everything, not even close to it. Charlie only packed up his drum kit and the remainder of his work clothes, plus the last of his boxers and socks. Everything fit in two duffel bags that he had slung over each of his shoulders and walked the short few blocks back to Nick’s—or now—his place. When he made it back up the front steps, he found the front door had been locked behind him. Charlie rolled his eyes and grumbled a bit about Nick being ridiculous while he fumbled for the keys in his pocket.
“Forgotten how to unlock a door, big brother?”
“Two siblings in one evening. How did I get so lucky?” Charlie said sarcastically instead of greeting.
Leo took over, always the one to smooth over Olly’s abrasiveness. “We were on our way back from meeting some friends around the corner and decided to swing by to see if you both were home.”
Instead of responding, Charlie unlocked the door and held it open to let the younger two inside ahead of him.
“What have you got there, Charlie?” Olly asked, eyeing his bags.
“Just… some stuff.” Charlie answered lamely.
“Yes, stuff. Very specific.” Olly teased.
“Go hang out on the couch. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Leaving Olly and Leo to get settled on their own, Charlie quickly hauled his bags up the stairs. The shower wasn’t on, but the bathroom door was still closed when he made it to Nick’s room. His room? That was going to take some getting used to. Not being there or sleeping there. But calling things in Nick’s house his own. Suddenly, sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for Nick felt excruciating. He was excited and he couldn’t just… sit quietly.
Rejoining the two downstairs—who had made themselves at home with Leo sitting cross-legged and Olly’s head in their lap—he restarted his music and started setting up Mario Kart. Charlie hoped that they couldn’t pick up on his excited-nervous energy as he wordlessly handed them controllers. Leo gave him a strange look, but Olly barely seemed to register anything other than ‘competition’. And then they were off, teasing and taunting, eventually falling away to quiet concentration and small jabs. They played that way through several rounds, so engrossed that none of them heard Nick’s movement down the stairs.
“All moved in, Char?” Nick asked as he rounded the corner into the living room, coming to a dead stop in the middle of the doorway when he saw Olly and Leo. “Oh! Leo. Olly. I didn’t know you were here.”
Game forgotten, Olly’s face split into a huge grin, looking between Nick in the doorway and Charlie sitting on the sofa adjacent. “So, that’s what all your stuff was for.”
“Oliver, please.” Charlie wasn’t sure what he was asking his brother for. To be an adult? Mature? Not his usual flippant and abrasive self?
Leo grabbed his hand and squeezed, affectively shutting him up. “Nick asked you to move in, then?”
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t know you two were coming over tonight.” Nick said, directing the comment at Leo.
“Neither did we. We were hanging out with some friends and decided to come say hi before we headed home.” Leo explained.
“We didn’t know it was such a special evening for the two of you. Should have brought some wine.” Olly added, taking far too much enjoyment, as usual.
“Well, you’re here now. May as well stay for dinner.” Nick said, then to Charlie, “Come help me in the kitchen?”
He did not hesitate for even a second, taking Nick’s offer of escape. God, he loved that wonderful man.
As soon as they were in the kitchen, Nick pulled him in closed by the waist. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know they were here.”
“Nick, it’s okay. They were going to find out eventually.”
Nick made a little noise in the back of his throat like he was going to argue, but instead he leaned down and kissed Charlie. Charlie reached his arms up around his boyfriend’s neck and pulled him in closer. It wasn’t enough, though. He needed more of him. He needed to be as close as possible. He wanted to touch and be touched. He wanted to hear Nick’s little breathy noises as Charlie’s fingers tugged on his hair. He wanted. So much had happened in the last hour, and all he wanted was to pour all his excitement and love and emotion into this. He backed his boyfriend up to the closest wall and slotted their legs together, pressing their bodies together, kissing Nick harder and deeper with every passing second.
When they finally broke for air—both panting lightly and mostly hard—it wasn’t because either of them wanted to stop. There was a loud noise and some giggling that came from outside the kitchen, and they were reminded that their family members were sitting in the living room, that they weren’t home alone.
Grinning, Nick said, “Kiss me like that and I’m going to have to ask you move in with me every day.”
“Shut up.” But Charlie was also grinning, couldn’t stop smiling even if he wanted.
“Mmm. Don’t think I will.” He punctuated his words with one more kiss to each of Charlie’s dimples and then got to work on making their dinner.
Charlie kept him company in the kitchen the entire time, chatting away about Imogen’s latest work drama and Nick’s group project, while Leo kept Olly occupied in the living room. Nick, the overachiever, baked pizza from scratch with dough he had made himself.
The dinner itself passed without incident, was pleasant even. Nick and Charlie were caught up on Olly’s first semester of school and Leo’s second year. Then, they were regaled with stories of the younger two’s adventures living together in a flat they shared with some of Leo’s uni friends. Eventually, full of pizza and wine, all four made it back to the living room for a couple less competitive rounds of Mario Kart. It was a good night.
~~Found You by MOONZz~~
Back on the couch after saying their goodbyes in the foyer, Charlie curled into Nick’s side. Music was still playing from the speaker, and he was another two glasses of wine deeper, feeling relaxed and happy. Nick’s fingers were making small swirling motions on his scalp, and he felt almost like he could fall asleep right there.
How had Charlie gotten so lucky? He had gotten everything he—
“Oh my god!”
Nick looked down at him, concerned, “What?”
Charlie covered his face with his hands. “God, it’s so embarrassing.”
“Well, you have to tell me now.” Nick said.
“Why?”
Nick laughed at whatever face Charlie made. “Did you not see me this afternoon? I was about to combust from embarrassment and anxiety. Your turn.”
“Ugh… Fine.” Charlie smooshed his face into Nick’s chest so that the rest of his words were slightly muffled. “I—I had this list that I made when I first moved to London. When I was looking for places to live. It was all the things I was looking for in where to live. And one of the items was—well, it turned out to be you. I had crossed it off because it was silly. I can’t believe it, but I… I got everything I wanted.”
Charlie felt Nick kiss the top of his head and then he was quiet for a few moments before he spoke, the smile clear in his voice. “So did I, my love.”