Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A fresh start had been exactly what Nick Nelson had needed. A new town, a new job, a new home. London and his tiny share flat had been getting him down, his pencil pushing job had worn thin and he’d realised that he hadn’t seen the beach in a really really long time. When he’d applied for and won a dream job in Brighton, he really couldn’t have concocted a better opportunity for himself if he’d tried.

Within a week of moving into a tiny terraced cottage a few streets back from the beach, he’d sort of tripped and adopted a giant tabby cat from the local shelter. Something to do with the anticipated loneliness of a living by himself again, and the fact that his house had a postage-stamp sized garden, which was nowhere near big enough for a dog, had motivated him to browse the local cat shelter’s Instagram page at 8pm on a Tuesday night. The big fat tabby with bright green eyes had basically leapt right out of his phone screen and wrapped itself around his heart within seconds, and he’d adopted him first thing the following morning. They’d given him the business card of a local vet (Brighton Beach Veterinary Clinic) and told him it was standard to take the cat for an appointment soon after adoption for a check-up. The hefty weight of the cat didn’t escape his notice too. The vet would need to give him a diet plan.

So, he’d called the number on the business card that afternoon, while heading home from the nearest pet store, with a pile of new pet supplies on the back seat of his car.

“Let’s see. We have an open appointment on Saturday morning at 9am,” the receptionist had said on the phone.

"Perfect," Nick had replied.

As the receptionist was confirming the details of the appointment, Nick had passed through a patch of bad phone reception and he’d barely caught the name of the doctor he’d be booked in with.

“That’ll b—wi-- doc—Char—Prin--.”

But just as quickly as the connection had failed, it was back again and before he could ask the receptionist to repeat that, she was saying, “Can I have your cat’s name for the appointment?”

“Oh, Yes. It’s um… David.”

He was expecting her to laugh at the name, just as he had when he’d seen it on the adoption website, but she just carried on, without batting an eye.

“Lovely. I’ve booked David in for 9am Saturday morning. See you then!” she’d said cheerily, and he’d hung up the call.

He supposed he’d find out the doctor’s actual name on the day.

***

When Nick arrived at the vet clinic at 8:50am on the morning in question, he was greeted by a tall, fairly muscular looking vet nurse behind the reception counter, named Luke. His sandy, copper-ish hair was kind of wavy and soft looking and Nick thought that he looked vaguely familiar.

Luke gave him a bunch of new-client forms to fill in and once completed, led him straight into a small consultation room where he told Nick to put David in his cat carrier up on the small table in the middle of the room, and have a seat.

“The vet will be with you soon,” Luke said with a smile, before closing the door behind him.

Nick looked around the room. There were two doors – the one he’d entered through, and a swing door across the room, which he assumed opened to other consultation rooms beyond. To his left was a window that peeked out on to a sunny little courtyard with an old table and chairs, a neat row of flower beds and a patch of lawn. A vet nurse was out there with a large three-legged dog, with freshly sewn up wound where his forth leg had previously been. He was limping about and sniffing at the flowers. The nurse was encouraging him to walk and his tail was giving a half-hearted wag. It was both sad and beautiful and somehow Nick’s eyes began to tear up, so he looked away quickly.

He spotted a couple of framed university certificates hanging on the wall behind him. The vet’s qualifications, he assumed. At the top of each one, the name and crest of the university was clear: Cambridge. First class honours. Vice Chancellor’s Excellence Award. Impressive.

As he approached to take a closer look, the swinging door on the opposite side of the room opened and Nick turned in time to see a tall, slender frame nudge his way into the room, as he dried his hands with a paper towel.

“Alright, who have we got he--”

Both men froze. Nicks heart came to a crashing halt. Dark, messy curls. Large, bright blue eyes. High, sharp cheekbones. Dimples in both cheeks. Large hands with long, slender fingers. He immediately knew the name of the doctor. Charlie Spring.

“Nick? Nick Nelson?” Charlie said quietly, almost uncertain.

Nick couldn’t help the smile that positively beamed across his face. He let out a chuckle. He’d known that Charlie was a vet from social media but didn’t know where he worked. He felt strangely relieved, like part of him had expected this to happen when he’d vaguely heard “Doc—Char—Prin” over the phone. Now that it had, he realised how much he’d been hoping it would.

“Hi Charlie,” he said. It felt strangely wonderful to say his name again.

“Wow. Hi. I didn’t even know you lived in Brighton. I thought you were in London,” Charlie said. He was still frozen just near the door, the damp paper towel still scrunched in his hands.

“Um - ha - yeah. I just moved here like two weeks ago.”

Charlie grinned. Nick felt a flutter in his chest when he noticed a familiar sparkle in those eyes. It took him right back to all those years ago, every morning in form, when Charlie would flash his cheeky smile and wave at him from across the room.

“Well… welcome!” Charlie said cheerily, finally throwing the balled-up paper away and approaching the cat carrier that sat on the table between them. The one Nick had basically totally forgotten about in the minute since Charlie had entered the room.

“And who do we have here?”

Nick blushed and coughed out a small laugh.

“Ah yes, right. This is David. My cat.”

Charlie’s eyes jumped up to meet his and he quirked a curious eyebrow at Nick. It was confident and teasing. And very sexy.

“Ah. David,” Charlie said with a smirk. “You named your cat after your asshole older brother?”

Nick let out a laugh again. It felt nice that Charlie remembered that detail.

“No, I mean, I only just adopted him from the shelter, like, last week, and he just came with that name. They said he’s 6 years old and his previous owners named him that so, I guess, it’s what he’s used to now. Not ideal really but they said he also responds to Davey which is a bit cuter I suppose.”

Nick pinched his mouth closed and ran a hand through his hair awkwardly, trying to stop the flow of word vomit. He expected Charlie to laugh at him but he just smiled kindly and nodded.

“Let’s take a look at him then,” he replied, as he smoothly opened the carrier and gently lifted David out.

“Woah. Big boy!” Charlie said immediately, scooping the enormous tabby into his chest. Something stirred in Nick and he looked down as he felt his face flush again. David was immediately purring as Charlie scratched him behind the ears and gently placed him on the table.

“Yeah, uh, the shelter said he’s up to date with all his vaccines and he’s been neutered and stuff, but they said I’d need to bring him to a vet for a check-up and, I guess, to organise a diet plan because… well obviously. He’s a bit fat.”

Charlie nodded and started feeling around David’s body and lifting his lips to check his teeth and gums. Every move was gentle but sure. Confident. Deft. Really just kind of… beautiful.

“Hmm well he looks pretty healthy. Anything else they could tell you about him?”

“Uh well, he’s FIV positive and, I mean, I’ve never owned a cat before, let alone one with FIV, but I did some reading about it and it sounds like as long as I keep him inside and up to date with his vaccines, it doesn’t have to be too big of a deal.”

Charlie nodded again.

“I can give you some info to help with that. Let’s get him weighed first. Could you grab him and pop him on those scales over there for me?”

Nick nodded and as he reached out, David came and nudged his hand with his head, purring loudly as Nick gently stroked him between the ears. Charlie chuckled softly.

“Cute. He’s a sweet boy.”

Nick took David and placed him on the scales, noting with mild annoyance the slight shake in his hands. Pull it together, Nick. Charlie jotted down the weight as it flashed up on the screen. 7.5 kgs.

“God. He is big,” said Nick.

“Yeah. Look he is quite a long cat and quite tall so he should be a bit heavier than average. But I think he needs to lose at least 1.5kgs.”

Charlie brought him back up on to the table and began taking notes on his clipboard while Nick watched on, idly stroking David.

And so, the appointment went on that way. Charlie was warm but strictly professional. It was nice but… odd. Nick was desperate to talk but could only nod and listen and ask the kinds of questions a responsible pet owner should ask. Charlie recommended a special type of diet food and some portion sizes. He explained the details of caring for an FIV positive cat and talked about the importance of protecting him from viruses like cat flu. He showed Nick some toys that would be worth trying to keep David stimulated in the house and gave him some samples of cat treats that would be okay for him to have while he was on his diet. Charlie was thorough and diligent, and all the while David was slinking across the table between them, purring and rubbing his cheeks against the both of them and receiving endless chin scratches.

“Gosh. He loves you, doesn’t he?” Charlie said, watching as Nick placed a gentle kiss on David’s head and David responded by nudging this head against Nick’s cheek.

“Hah. Yeah. Feels like I’ve had him forever, but it’s only been a week.”

“Well he’s lucky to have you.”

Nick blushed again.

“Thanks.”

“You can pop him back in his carrier now. Is there anything else you need?” Charlie asked.

“I was thinking. David is a dumb name, right?”

Charlie laughed properly now, and Nick felt a bit giddy. He realised that the dimples in Charlie’s cheeks hadn’t smoothed out the entire time Nick had been in the room.

“I mean. I’ve heard worse. One of my clients has two cats called Keith and Alan.”

“What’s with giving cats shit human names?” Nick said.

“I know, right? What happened to Mr Whiskers or Tibbles or something?”

“So, I mean, given that David is a bit older, is it too late to change his name?”

“Not necessarily. They said he answers to Davey right? I mean you could give him a name that sounds similar enough that he won’t really notice. Like… Gravy!”

Nick laughed. “Gravy?”

“Yeah. He’s brown and… delicious. Like Gravy.” A tingle flew down Nick’s spine. “I think it suits him,” Charlie said.

“Gravy,” Nick said. “Hah. Yeah. Gravy. I like it.”

“Gravy it is then!” Charlie said. “Gravy Nelson. Love it. Sounds like an old country singer from the 1930s. I’ll change his name in our system.” He handed the cat carrier over to Nick, a clear sign that the appointment was over. “You can head out to Luke at the counter. He’ll sort out payment and book you in for another appointment in, say two months.”

“Two months?”

“Yeah. We’ll need to monitor Gravy’s weight every couple of months while he’s on his diet and by then he’ll be due for his next worm pill. I’ll show you the fun of administering pills to cats then!”

Nick nodded. Two months. That’s how long he’d have to wait before he could see Charlie Spring again.

“It was really nice to see you, Nick,” Charlie then said, his voice suddenly a little softer, the cheery professionalism slipping for just a moment. Nick glanced his way and Charlie’s face was neutral as he kept his head down checking over Gravy’s notes on his clipboard, but there was a slight flush of colour in his cheeks which gave him away.

“Um,” Nick began. Charlie looked up. “Like I said, I’m new in Brighton and I don’t really know anyone around here and… well… it really has been nice to see you too, Char.”

Charlie’s eyebrows lifted slightly at the old nickname that had slipped out entirely by accident. Nick cleared his throat and pushed on.

“Can we - I mean… would it be okay if we went for a drink sometime or something? I really want to… Um… catch up. It’s been years.”

“Nine years,” Charlie said quickly, and Nick’s eyes snapped to his. Something passed between them. They both knew exactly how long it had been. Exactly how weird it had been.

“So… is that a yes then?” Nick asked. Charlie blinked.

“I mean. Of course… yes. That would be… great.” His tone was so matter of fact that Nick couldn’t help but let out a breathy laugh, like he was exhaling for the first time since he’d entered the room.

“How about tonight?” Charlie continued. “My last appointment is at 5:30. I’ll need to pop home first but then I was going to head down to the pub down the road anyway. I could meet you there at 6.30.” 

Nick’s heart leapt. “Yes. Perfect. That would be… perfect.”

Charlie smiled softly. “Great then. See you there.”

Nick didn’t notice the way Charlie’s hand was gripping the side seam of his blue scrubs at his thigh, and he didn’t hear the shaky breath Charlie released, as Nick positively floated from the room.

Chapter Text

At 6:28pm, Charlie pushed his way into the quaint Brighton pub. It was busy inside, being a chilly Saturday night, but he spotted Nick almost immediately. He’d recognise the back of that head anywhere.

He was at the bar in dark blue jeans and a slim fitting emerald green cable-knit sweater, that set off the copper in his auburn hair kind of perfectly. His hair was still cut in the style it had always been, with a long, floppy fringe that Nick occasionally pushed back out of his eyes, but now it was not quite so short on the back and sides. Charlie was reminded of the all too familiar urge to run his fingers through it, just as he had imagined doing every day of their friendship back in high school.

Charlie immediately noticed a couple of guys around the bar giving Nick furtive glances. It was to be expected, of course. In the gayest pub in England, Nick was bound to attract immediate attention. Charlie was eager to be beside him – to somehow mark him as being there for him and no one else, even if it was just a platonic catch up between old school buddies.

Charlie took a deep breath before he walked over and lightly touched Nick on the shoulder.

“Hi,” he said, when Nick spun around to see him.

“Hi,” Nick replied, with a soft smile.

So weird. It was like absolutely no time at all had passed.

“You want a drink?” Nick asked.

“A glass of red wine – merlot. Please.”

Nick nodded and went to order but before he could the bar tender cut him off, looking past him at Charlie.

“Hi Charlie. The usual?”

Charlie smiled sheepishly and nodded. “Thanks Mark. And um… Nick, what do you want?”

“Pint of Guiness, please,” Nick said to the barman – Mark – who nodded and started pouring the beer.

“I’m guessing this is your local, then?” Nick asked.

Charlie smiled at him, muttering, “Something like that”, and Nick nodded.

Charlie watched him carefully. It was remarkable how little he’d changed. He still had a sprinkling of freckles across his nose. His brown eyes were still Labrador-like - warm and round. The slim-fit jumper hugged the still broad, strong shoulders and arms of the high-school rugby lad Charlie used to know. The smallest differences were there on closer inspection too, though. The slightest smile lines around this eyes and mouth. The very occasional grey hair here and there, through the sides of his head. It all only added to his wonderful warmth and familiarity. Quite expectedly, he was still 5000% Charlie’s type in exactly every way, and it kind of made Charlie want to slap himself. God.

He was snapped out of his reverie when Mark slid the drinks across the bar and Nick paid for them both.

“Merlot for you,” Nick said, handing Charlie a large glass. He was holding his pint of stout. An odd little detail – last time they’d drunk alcohol together it had been a gross combination of vodka and tepid Fanta orange at one of Nick’s university friends’ house parties. The last night they’d hung out together before losing touch. This stout drinking, slightly more distinguished looking, 30-year-old Nick was somehow more delicious than ever.

“Let’s go and sit by the fire,” Charlie said, leading Nick towards a small cluster of tables around the fireplace and near the windows. It was a crowded little corner of the pub, but they managed to sit down with a tiny table between them, their knees inches from bumping underneath it. The closeness was strangely nerve-wracking for Charlie. He licked his lips and quickly took a sip of his wine.

“So,” Nick said.

“So,” Charlie replied. A long pause followed before they both chuckled awkwardly. It was nice to know the nerves were mutual.

“God, Charlie. I can’t tell you how pleased I am to see you,” Nick suddenly said, with a rushed outward breath.

Oh. Same, Charlie thought.

“Really?” He managed.

“Yeah. Yeah. It’s been… just way too long. And you look so… I mean. Exactly the same,” Nick said.

Dumbly, Charlie looked down, as if to check if Nick was right. He was wearing ripped grey skinny jeans. Worn Converse on his feet. An oversized navy cardigan, which hung away from his slight frame, over a soft, white button up shirt. Yeah. He kind of did look exactly the same.

“Except the hair. It’s longer than it used to be,” Nick added with a grin. Oh yeah.

“Ah. I’m just way overdue for a haircut,” Charlie said shyly.

Nick shrugged.

“I think it suits you.”

Charlie’s cheeks warmed. Maybe being this close to the fireplace as well as Nick Nelson wearing that very cosy green jumper had been a bad idea for his blood pressure.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, before taking another quick sip of his wine. He wished Nick would stop staring.

“So,” Charlie said again, this time feeling very stupid. He fiddled with the stem of his wine glass as he cleared his throat. “What brings you Brighton?”

“Oh,” Nick said, appearing surprised, like he’d forgotten they were supposed to talk to each other. “Um. A job, actually. A new job.”

“Cool,” Charlie replied. “Uh. I still follow you on Instagram but you don’t post much. Last I heard you working for Rugby something something, right?”

Nick laughed.

“Yeah I was working as a communications manager for the Rugby Football Union. In Twickenham.”

“Wow. That sounds… well… it must have been a good fit for you?” Charlie said.

“Yeah. I liked the industry, obviously, just not the job itself. When we last... uh... hung out... I was studying teaching. But I ended up doing a double degree in education and psychology. I wanted to do sports psychology originally, maybe working with young athletes. I was just desperate to work for the RFU in any role I could, so when I was offered communications, I kind of just took it regardless. I was hoping I could side-step my way into the job I actually wanted once I’d been there for a while.”

“And how did that work out for you?” Charlie asked with raised brows and a knowing smile.

“Four years and counting in the same damn office,” Nick said, with a laugh. “But I just did as much youth coaching as I could on the side.”

“So, what’s the new job?”

Charlie watched a new, excited grin spread across Nick’s face and his mouth suddenly felt very dry. He took another, bigger sip of wine.

“Assistant coach for the Rugby academy at Brighton College.” Nick's hand raked through his hair as he spoke, his eyes dropping to the table, but the wide grin was still there.

Charlie’s eyes went wide.

“Nick. That’s amazing. Loads of top players have gone through there.”

Nick blushed and kept his eyes on his beer. Charlie had to pinch his own thigh under the table to stop himself from reaching across the table, grabbing the man by his gorgeous shoulders and shaking him until he stopped being so bashful. 

“Yeah. It’s cool. It's really what I’ve always wanted. And I’ll actually get to do the sports psychology stuff with the kids there, which is exciting.”

Charlie’s heart swelled in his chest.

“I’m really happy for you. When do you start?”

“Thanks. Um Monday. I’m pretty nervous.”

“Oh my God, shut up! You’ll be amazing,” Charlie muttered.

Nick glanced back at Charlie's face and felt a warm glow in his chest at the proud smile he saw there. There was a moment of silence as they both took a drink.

“So, um. How long have you been at the vet clinic here?” Nick asked.

“Oh. Basically, since I qualified. I was really lucky. Got a great job straight out of uni. Most people have to work in emergency, 24 hour clinics for a few years before they land a cushy job like mine.”

Nick shook his head.

“No luck involved. I saw the certificates in your office. You were, what, top of your class?”

Charlie cringed.

“I don’t like having those on display, but my boss wants them there. She says it’s good for clients. Makes them trust you more or something.”

“I suppose she’s right but anyone with a pair of eyes can see you’re a natural, with or without the awards.”

Charlie once again wished they were sitting somewhere cooler, perhaps with a bigger table between them, where their knees couldn’t brush together, and Nick’s kind eyes didn’t shine quite so prettily in the firelight.

“I don’t know about that. I’m still early career. I’m the most junior at my clinic.”

“I don’t think David – sorry, Gravy – cared about your level of experience when he was flirting with you so outrageously.”

Charlie laughed.

“Well, tell him from me, it worked. Quite the charmer, that Gravy Nelson. He might quickly become my favourite client if he’s not careful.”

Nick let out a little laugh as a subtle blush spread across his cheeks and he took a big gulp of his beer. Charlie watched as his tongue darted out to lick away the froth from his top lip and he felt a slight ache in pit of his belly.

“Anyway,” Charlie said, quickly. “Where abouts are you living?”

“Oh. Not far from here. Maybe a 15 minute walk. A few roads back from the beach in this tiny little cottage. It’s kind of nice.”

“And, you’ve moved down with your girlfriend?” Nick looked up at that, surprised. “I saw her in your Instagram stories over Christmas,” Charlie explained.

“Oh… no. I split up with her a little while ago,” Nick said. Charlie scanned his face for traces of grief. He didn’t look very sad. Before Charlie could probe for more, Nick said, “What about you? Are you seeing anyone at the moment?”

Charlie shrugged. “Ah. Not really. Well... Kind of, I guess. I mean, I’m, like, perpetually single to be honest, but I have been on a couple of dates with this one guy recently.”

Nick’s eyebrows shot up.

“Perpetually single?”

Charlie rolled his eyes. “You do remember who I am right? You can’t possibly be surprised.”

“No, I totally am. You’re a charming gay vet in the queer seaside capital of England. You’re like every gay guy’s wet dream.”

Charlie snorted.

“I beg your pardon? First of all, who’s still having wet dreams in their late 20s? Hate to break it to you but if you are, you should probably be seeing a doctor about it.”

Nick laughed heartily now.

“And,” Charlie continued. “What the hell would you know about a gay man’s wet dreams anyway, rugby-lad?”

Charlie took a sip of his wine while Nick hesitated for a moment. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, before snapping it shut and shrugging.

“I’ve seen the movies,” he finally said, and Charlie plastered a look of exaggerated incredulity on his face.

“I didn’t think you were into softcore gay porn, Nelson.”

It was kind of lovely to have banter with Nick again. He’d missed this. After a couple of moments of shared laughter, Nick said,

“I’m actually serious though, Char. You know you’re a catch right.”

Charlie wished he wouldn’t say stuff like that. It made a familiar bubble of heat erupt in his chest and spread right through his body. He couldn’t believe Nick could still do that to him, even after all this time. Luckily, though, time and age and all those years in high school of being in love with his straight best friend, had given him the tools to brush it off fairly quickly.

“I’m… really not, actually. I work 6, sometimes 7 days a week. I’ve spent the better part of my 20s with my head buried in books. I didn’t get those results from Cambridge by accident. I just… haven’t been able to prioritise dating.”

Nick still looked a little sceptical but nodded. “Okay. Sure. But you’re seeing someone now?” He prompted.

“Oh yeah. You met him today, actually. Luke. From the vet clinic?”

Nick’s face went strangely blank for a moment.

“The ginger guy?” He blurted out with a slightly ungenerous tone. Charlie laughed loudly.

“Bit rich coming from you! Anyway, I’d call him… like… coppery blonde.”

“And as a fellow ginger, I’m here to tell you, coppery-blonde is another name for ginger.”

Charlie tutted and grinned. “Whatever. You saw his chiselled jaw, right? He’s hot. And…nice.”

Nick smirked.

“That’s the extent of criteria is it?”

“Yes, actually. Two boxes to tick. Hot and nice. Tick one and you’re in. Tick both and you’re basically soul mate material. Perpetually single gay nerds can’t exactly afford to be picky.”

Charlie laughed. Nick did too but there was a familiar clench in his chest. Charlie was just as self-deprecating as he’d always been and although it was kind of funny and charming, Nick knew there was pain behind it. He cleared his throat and pushed on.

“So. This hot-ginger-soul-mate-material guy –”

“His friends just call him Luke,” Charlie corrected.

“Luke,” Nick said, though the name was a bit bitter in his mouth. “When’s the wedding?”

Charlie rolled his eyes. “Oh, shut it. We’re still very much in the casual, early days and he’s a bit younger than me so I don’t know if it will really go anywhere. But, I mean, the couple of dates have been nice. So… we’ll see.”

Nick nodded then and fell quiet, returning to his beer. Charlie felt silly. He wished he hadn’t mentioned Luke. The dates really had been fine, but he wasn’t actually planning on going on a third one. Then again, Nick’s pity over his sad, non-existent love life was a shit kind of wake-up call. Luke really could be “soul mate material” (whatever the hell that meant) and he would never even know because he’d become pretty bad at the whole dating game. Maybe it was time to give a real relationship a go.

“Anyway, enough about me. What happened with the girlfriend?”

Nick coughed. “Ah – Samantha  – yeah. I ended it about two months ago.”

“Should I “oh that’s too bad, I’m so sorry” or is “good riddance, she was a nightmare” more appropriate?” Charlie asked, which made Nick laugh.

“Neither. It was… a long time coming. She’s a really nice person just… you know… not really my type I guess,” Nick said, and Charlie quirked an eyebrow.

“Looked pretty close to your type to me.”

“What d’you mean?”

“Well, you know. When we were at school and those first few years of uni… Every girl you ever dated was some variation of a Zooey Deschanel doppelganger.”

After a momentary pause for confusion, a memory crossed through Nick’s mind that made him laugh heartily.

“Oh God. You’re so right. I had it pretty bad for Zooey Deschanel back in high school.”

“That’s putting it lightly, Nelson. You practically frothed at the mouth for everything she was in.”

Nick chuckled. “A bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?”

“Hardly!” Charlie replied. “I could’ve sworn you had a boner for the entirety of '500 Days of Summer' every time we watched it at our movie nights.”

Charlie was amused to see Nick’s face go bright red now.

“I did not!”

“Did too, loser.”

“Yeah well… I had boners a lot back then, often for no reason whatsoever.”

Charlie laughed. “Hah. Same. But you know, gay kid at an all-boys school. Actually, pretty unfair when you think about it.”

Again, Nick knew the humour was a thin veil for pain.

“Anyway, Zooey Deschanel was a mega-babe. The hair and eyes and…” Nick cleared his throat. “Dimples.”

Charlie felt the ache in his belly again. He quickly shook his head. “I’ll take your word for it. Creep.”

Nick laughed.

“Okay,” he said, with a shrug. “I guess my physical type is fairly well established and yes Samantha did kind of… have the right look. But, Mr Perpetually-Single, perhaps you’ve never heard this before, successful relationships are not supposed to just be based entirely on looks.”

Charlie feigned surprise. “Seriously? So that’s where I’ve been going wrong all this time.”

Nick grinned and Charlie softened and continued. “How long were you together?”

“Uh,” Nick sighed. “About two years. One of them good.” Pause. “I actually really wanted to end it last year.”

Charlie coughed on his wine. “Nick!”

“I know, I know. I was an idiot. Things were just a bit... shit. Like. She wanted to move in together. I think if I was still with her now, she would be expecting a ring on her finger any day. It was all just… not right. We weren’t on the same page.”

“But that’s just the stuff that people do in their late-twenties, Nick. They settle down. Get married. Have babies. You know, all that fun, generic stuff.”

“Yeah, and that’s all fine and great. I want to do that stuff too one day. I just didn’t want to do that… with her.” He sighed. “I was just in a rut in London, in more ways than one. But, you know, we had all the same friends and my mum liked her and it looked right to everyone else. It was just… easier to stay in it.”

Charlie sipped his drink before he said with a teasing tone, “You know a wise old straight guy once told me that relationships are based on more than just appearances.”

“That’s great advice. You should listen to it. Doesn’t sound like it would come from someone old though. He sounds very cool and young.”

“Oh, no no, he’s thirty. Fully over the hill.”

“Positively ancient.”

They paused, grinning at each other.

“Well, no offence but it sounds like poor man’s Zooey Deschanel is well shot of you.”

“You can say that again. I… totally suck,” Nick agreed, snorting into the dregs of his beer.

“Cheers to that,” Charlie said, clinking their glasses together before they each drained them.

“Charlie!”

Both Nick and Charlie jumped and turned around to see the familiar lanky frame of Tao Xu rushing towards him, dragging none other than Elle Argent along by the hand. Nick’s eyebrows shot up.

“Could’ve told us you were coming to the pub early! I had the shittest day and need four bottles of wine immediately,” Tao said rapidly as he approached the table. Only when Elle nudged him in the ribs, did Tao actually look at the person sitting across from Charlie at the tiny table, and Tao’s jaw dropped.

“Nick Nelson,” Tao said incredulously.

Nick smiled shyly. “Hi,” he said, giving a small wave.

“What the bloody hell are you doing here?” Tao asked.

Nick cleared his throat and let out an uncomfortable chuckle.

“I mean I could ask you guys the same question. How are the three of you still living in each other’s pockets?” He said, trying to keep his tone light.

Tao quirked a brow at him but said nothing. After a pause, Elle tutted softly.

“I’ve tried to shake them off a million times, Nick, but they just can’t get enough of me,” she said, giving him a cheeky smile.

“Oi,” Tao said, looking outraged.

Elle giggled. “It’s a surprise to see you again,” she said, earnestly. Her head tipped to one side curiously, as her smile widened and her eyes darted all over his face. “My God, you haven’t changed one bit.”

“Neither have you two,” he said softly, and it was true. Elle looked as willowy and elegant as ever, her thick curly hair piled loosely on top of her head. Tao was just as tall and slim, with a signature beanie on his head and a Star Wars t-shirt peeking out from under his denim jacket. By far, the most recognisable aspect of Tao’s appearance, however, was the look on his face, all furrowed brows and sceptical eyes, which were now gazing directly at Charlie. It was a look Nick knew well and it made him whither in his seat.

There was an awkward pause, as Tao folded his arms and cleared his throat. Charlie, to his credit, stared right back at him, his face open and neutral. Nick was impressed.

“So, what? Are we friends with him again now?” Tao asked after a moment.

Elle tutted loudly and muttered, “Tao, for God’s sake,” under her breath.

“No, hang on a minute. Last time we mentioned his name, Charlie told us that he didn’t want to talk about it ever again. So now what?”

Nick let out a long breath and dropped his eyes to his lap as his heart clenched a little in his chest. To his surprise, though, he felt a light hand resting on his shoulder, and his eyes snapped to Charlie’s face, where he saw only a kind, slightly apologetic smile. Nick managed a shaky smile back before the hand fell away and Charlie turned his attention back to Tao.

“Tao, thank you, honestly, but all of that was a stupidly long time ago. Like, nearly ten years. I don’t even know what that argument was about, but it’s definitely behind us. We’re totally fine.”

Tao peered at Charlie dubiously for a moment longer. Charlie’s smile widened reassuringly.

“I promise,” he added. “It’s all good.”

Tao exhaled loudly and finally rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up in defeat.

“Ugh. Fine,” he muttered.

Charlie let out a breathy laugh and stood up.

“Here Elle, you take my chair. I’ll go get some more for Tao and I,” He said quietly, moving quickly towards the other tables surrounding them. Elle immediately pulled the chair around to her side of the table sat down, leaning across towards Nick.

“So come on! Tell us! How are you here right now?” Elle asked eagerly.

“Uh, well. I just moved here a few weeks ago and adopted a cat. When I took him into the vet for a check-up today, who should walk into the consult room but Charlie!”

Elle nodded and continued to gently quiz Nick, while Tao stood awkwardly behind her, still watching Nick with a penetrating stare.

Nick explained all about his new job, until some laughter erupted from a large group of guys nearby and he couldn’t help but let his eyes wander across the room to them. He was surprised to see Charlie standing at their table, laughing with them and casually holding two spare chairs, one in each hand.

Elle followed Nick’s curious eye line and her face immediately split into an enormous smile.

“Uh oh,” She said to Tao, who immediately looked over and groaned.

“What?” said Nick quickly.

“It’s karaoke night tonight and those guys are… let’s just say… Charlie’s little cheer squad,” Elle said with a small giggle.

Nick stared. The Charlie he remembered would have rather died than sing karaoke in front of a room full of strangers, with or without a cheer squad. But this Charlie, all head-thrown-back laughs and in-jokes with an impressively big group of cool looking guys, was just so comfortable in his skin and it was stunning to see.

Charlie was making his way back over, blushing and laughing as the group behind him cat-called and wolf-whistled obnoxiously at his retreating back. He put the two chairs down, and Tao groaned again has he slumped into the one closest to Elle, leaving Charlie to take the one next to Nick. Around the tiny table, the space was cramped, and it didn’t escape Charlie’s notice that he could feel the warmth of Nick’s body and smell his slightly sweet and spicy cologne from where he was sitting.

“You did not just promise to sing Dancing Queen with those guys again, did you?” Tao said, staring daggers at Charlie.

Nick snorted loudly as Charlie’s blush went a little deeper, and he very deliberately avoided catching Nick’s eye.

“You’ll be pleased to know that I promised no such thing. I told them we were here for a couple of well-behaved, quiet drinks and we would be at home in bed long before they crack out the karaoke machine tonight.”

Tao folded his arms and gave him a disbelieving look. Charlie’s grin became naughty and Tao huffed dramatically.

“God, you always do this! So, if it’s not Dancing Queen, what is it this time?”

Charlie feigned innocence, all wide eyes and shrugged shoulders. “I have no idea what you’re referring to. I have no plans to sing tonight. Not on Nick’s first night out in Brighton. He hasn’t quite earned the privilege of witnessing that magic just yet,” he said with a confident wink in Nick’s direction, sending a jolt right through Nick’s chest.

“God, I need to start drinking immediately,” Tao muttered, leaping to his feet. “Buckle in, Nelson. You’re in for a night. We’re going to need wine. A lot of wine.”

Charlie, Nick and Elle all laughed, as Tao stalked off towards the bar.

Chapter Text

Previously...

Charlie’s grin became naughty and Tao huffed dramatically.

“God, you always do this! So, if it’s not Dancing Queen, what is it this time?”

Charlie feigned innocence, all wide eyes and shrugged shoulders. “I have no idea what you’re referring to. I have no plans to sing tonight. Not on Nick’s first night out in Brighton. He hasn’t quite earned the privilege of witnessing that magic just yet,” he said with a confident wink in Nick’s direction, sending a jolt right through Nick’s chest.

“God, I need to start drinking immediately,” Tao muttered, leaping to his feet. “Buckle in, Nelson. You’re in for a night. We’re going to need wine. A lot of wine.”

Charlie, Nick and Elle all laughed, as Tao stalked off towards the bar.

////

“So, what happened at the house today?” Charlie asked Elle. “I assume something went wrong to make it ‘the shittest day ever’,” he added. Elle nodded and before she launched into the story, Charlie filled Nick in on some context.

“Elle and Tao bought an old terraced house about 15 minutes down the road from my place last year and they’ve just started renovations.”

Nick’s eyes went wide. “Wow, Elle. That’s so cool.”

She laughed. “Actually, considering how tiny a house it is, it’s becoming a giant pain in the arse, honestly. I mean, the place was run down as hell before, but right now, with no running water and a partially demolished kitchen, it’s the filthiest shithole on the planet. And now there’s no going back!”

“You’re not… living in it while it’s like that are you?” Nick asked, slightly horrified, considering it was late September and already getting chilly in Brighton.

“God no. We’re living out of suitcases in Charlie’s living room while the plumbing and re-wiring is going on. Don’t know what we’d do without him,” she said, giving Charlie’s arm an appreciative squeeze.

“Please,” Charlie said, shaking his head. “You guys can camp in my shitty little flat for the rest of your lives if you want.”

Warmth swelled in Nick’s heart. Charlie was still as unshakeably kind and loyal to his friends as he’d always been.

Suddenly, Tao was back with a bottle of red wine. Once he heard the topic of conversation, the flood gates opened. He immediately started pouring four very generous glasses, and launched into a dramatic retelling of how they'd uncovered some serious damp in the bathroom ceiling that morning, right before they discovered a burst sewage pipe in the back garden. He complained bitterly about the staggering quote from a local electrician to lay the underfloor heating they had desperately wanted, but now definitely could not afford. And he didn’t skip a beat as he clinked his glass against each of theirs with a hasty “cheers,” halfway through describing, with some particularly animated swearing, the state of the threadbare carpets on the staircase, after the contractors had been traipsing sewage mud up and down them all day. The retelling of it all was utterly chaotic and hilarious, and by the end, Nick, Charlie and Elle were in stitches, and Nick felt like he could finally breathe properly since Elle and Tao’s appearance.

“I mean we really did make some poor fucking life choices on this one. Me and my stupid, romantic notions of ‘falling in love with a character home’. What an idiot,” Elle said between giggles. She wiped some tears of laughter from her eyes as she added. “We’re just so fucking broke and tired all the time.”

They all briefly paused, staring at her sympathetically, before bursting into another fit of laughter.

The first bottle of wine disappeared very quickly after that, and the conversation flowed more and more effortlessly. Nick found out that Elle was an Art teacher at a local primary school and Tao was a writer for the BBC. They’d moved down to Brighton from London to be close to Charlie, as soon as Elle had found a teaching job in the area, and Tao had been able to negotiate working from home most days. They had been engaged for two years and were planning a wedding for the following summer. Upon learning that, Nick felt a flash of envy. Elle and Tao’s love story was like something out of a fairy tale.

As the pub grew busier, brief interruptions came regularly in the form of random people coming over to say a warm hello to the group, and it didn’t escape Nick’s notice that many of them seemed most eager to greet Charlie. The people that came over gave him big hugs and cheek kisses. They cracked in-jokes and several asked to be introduced to Nick, as if they’d never seen Charlie with someone new before.

When Charlie collapsed back into his seat after what felt like the twentieth interruption, Nick couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Someone’s popular tonight,” he said, nudging Charlie with his shoulder.

“Ugh, it’s always like this in this place,” Tao said, rolling his eyes. “Charlie runs pub choir here on the second Friday of every month, so basically everyone knows him.”

Nick’s eyes snapped to Charlie who was grinning and blushing lightly.

“What’s pub choir?” Nick asked.

“It’s just for a laugh. People come, get drunk and spend a couple of hours belting crappy pop songs like a crowd of football hooligans. I don’t do much except provide a printout of the lyrics and try and wrangle a melody out of them. It’s just, you know… cathartic.”

“There’s a bit more to it than that,” Elle said, shaking her head. “Charlie’s amazing at it. He gets people who are basically tone-deaf harmonizing and everything. It always sounds so good by the end of the night.”

“I didn’t know singing was your thing. You always said you liked the drums so you could hide up the back,” Nick said, nudging Charlie again, whose cheeks were burning properly now.

“Well… I uh… joined a band when I was in uni and when our singer quit I kind of… fell into it,” he muttered, not meeting Nick’s eye. It was Tao who piped up this time.

“Charlie, stop being coy. You know how good you are. I was as shocked as you are Nelson, but Charlie has a really good voice.”

“Figures,” Nick said with a smile and a shrug. “He always was good at literally everything he tried.”

“Ugh, please shut up,” Charlie moaned.

Nick couldn’t tear his eyes away from Charlie’s face. Back in high school, he had known that Charlie was admired by those closest to him, and he’d also known that Charlie would only shine brighter once he’d grown into himself and developed a bit more confidence. Looking at him now, so well-liked, so happy – it almost brought tears to Nick’s eyes.

By the time the karaoke machine was unveiled an hour later, the group were three bottles of merlot in, and all in that perfect, buzzing phase of tipsiness. The pub was now packed, so much so that Charlie found he needed to sit with the whole right side of his body pressed up against Nick, just to avoid getting bumped by the all the people milling around the fireplace. Nick had to lean right into his ear to be heard over the noise of the drunken laughter that surrounded them and, although Charlie wasn’t complaining, his nerves were basically shot from the constant electricity that was coursing through him.

“Good evening gays, theys, gals and pals,” announced the MC over the speaker system. She was a 6-foot-something drag queen, with enormous pink lips and a matching, fluorescent wig. She wore a sky-blue feathered jacket, skin-tight sequined pants and silver platform heels straight out of the 70s. “Karaoke night is once again upon us.” This was met with whistling and cheering, and even Tao held his half-full wine glass high in the air as he cheered.

“You know the rules,” the MC continued. “You sing and each of our lovely judges score you out of 5. Give us a wave, girls!”

The crowd cheered again, and Nick craned his neck to see a panel of three more drag queens seated at a row of tables, waving at the crowd from the back of the pub. They had a stack of bejewelled signs in front of each of them, and Nick could just make out the number “5” in large red font on the top sign of the stacks.

“Winner takes home the golden dildo—” the MC held up a trophy, shaped like a large, veiny cock, spray-painted gold, “--and gets to sing lead at next week’s pub choir.”

A couple of people nearby whistled loudly and ruffled Charlie’s hair, who grinned broadly and swatted them away. Nick caught sight of his own reflection in the darkness of a nearby window and realised that his smile was dopey to the point of being cartoon-like. He felt Charlie shift a little closer to him in his seat. Nick had to squeeze his hand into a fist to stop himself from reaching out and touching Charlie’s knee under the table.

“Let the battle commence!” The MC said, striking a flamboyant pose, before calling up the first singer – a skinny blonde guy called Jeff – who immediately launched into a slurred rendition of My Heart Will Go On.

“Sweet Jesus, kill me know,” Tao yelled, loud enough for a number of people nearby to burst out laughing, including Nick.

“Not sure if this is what you had in mind when you asked to go for a drink tonight,” Charlie said loudly. Nick giggled.

“Not quite but it’s the most fun I’ve had in years,” he replied, his nose brushing the dark curls above Charlie’s ear as he leaned in close to be heard over the sound of Jeff’s painful attempt at the song’s first chorus.

“I’m glad,” Charlie replied, his breath sweeping across Nick’s cheek, leaving a tingling heat there, and Nick once again stopped himself from reaching out to touch Charlie in some other, new way. God, he wanted to.

Once Jeff had crashed his way through the key change and ear-shattering final chorus, the judging panel waved their score cards in the air (two 1s and a 0), and Jeff was virtually carried away from the karaoke machine by a group of lads who were slapping him on the back and guffawing loudly. Jeff smirked and waved cheerily at the crowd before necking a full pint of lager, earning him even louder applause than his horrendous vocal performance.

“Thank God. Jeff’s definitely not winning again with that score,” Charlie said to Elle who threw her head back and laughed.

“He’s won before?!” Nick said, incredulously.

“Oh God yeah. More than once. Pub choir is always insufferably rowdy when he sings lead,” Charlie replied. “He cannot carry a tune, but boy, do the crowd love him anyway.”

Nick watched as a large group surrounding Jeff started chanting his name as he downed a second pint.

“All right, all right, settle down you lot. Someone make sure he gets some food in him,” the MC muttered into the microphone, before announcing the next singer.

Nick was amazed at the enthusiasm of the crowd and the seemingly endless stream of volunteers, as track after track of obnoxious pop songs were destroyed by the drunken singers. After only a few songs, he and Charlie, Elle and Tao had abandoned their seats to move closer to the front and sing along loudly with the rest of the crowd. Not long after his arm was slung heavily over Charlie’s shoulders, while Charlie’s was wrapped around his waist, as they swayed along tipsily to the music. At some point, Tao had supplied them with a couple of gin and tonics each, which Nick happily knocked back like lemonade.

He lost count of how many songs he’d heard before the MC stepped up on to the small stage and announced,

“Next up we have that pack of lads over there—” she pointed to the group that Nick vaguely recognised as having spoken to Charlie earlier in the night when he’d gone in search of more chairs, “-- singing Somebody to Love by Queen.”

There was loud applause and some unintelligible catcalls as three, tall, perfectly groomed men stood on swaying legs to make their way to the front. One of them with a particularly perfect beard broke off from the group and approached Nick and Charlie with a huge grin on his face.

“Oh no,” Nick heard Tao groan behind him. Charlie was shaking head.

“Not tonight Paul,” he said with a giggle as the guy grabbed Charlie’s wrist to pull him to the front.

“Can’t do it without our Freddie Mercury,” Paul slurred back.

“Uggggh fine,” Charlie said. “But Nick’s coming too.” His eyes sparkled mischievously at Nick, who felt the colour drain from his face and who didn’t even have time to object properly, before he was being dragged through the crowd and a microphone was shoved in his hand.

“I can’t bloody sing,” Nick pleaded in Charlie’s ear. Charlie smirked back.

“That’s hardly the point, Nicholas,” he yelled, as the words appeared on the screen in front of them and a count down from four began.

Charlie was shoved to the front by the group, and Nick found himself sandwiched between Paul and another tall movie-star-lookalike, wearing yolk yellow skinny jeans and a faded band tee, standing in what felt like a formation of back-up singers. As Charlie raised the microphone to his lips and sang the first word (pitch perfect, no less), Nick caught on immediately that really all he and the little squad of hipsters was there to do was just that – sing back up for the real star of the night.

Nick was certain he was not the only person who was mesmerised for the entirety of the song as he watched Charlie strut around the little platform stage, actually singing properly, not even glancing at the words on the screen, hitting even the trickier vocal runs, while Nick and the others chanted “find me somebody to luh-ove.” He realised very quickly that this karaoke business was ridiculously fun.

When the final notes of the song rang out, the pub erupted and the group lined up, arms over each other’s shoulders, to take an elaborate bow as if they’d just finished the headlining set at Wembley stadium. The judges waved three sparkling 5s from their panel at the back of the pub, earning the group another round of deafening cheers as Paul yelled “highest score of the night!” in Nick’s ear. The group pushed Charlie forward, and he took another bow.

They handed back their microphones and Charlie dragged Nick back through the crowd, as congratulatory hands rained down on their backs and heads and shoulders. They approached Tao, who was trying desperately to look cool and disapproving but couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across his face. Nick’s face was aching from his own, unwavering smile.

“Well obviously Charlie Superstar Spring was going to nail that one, but you can’t have the leader of pub choir also win karaoke night again. Disqualified for unfair advantage!” called the MC over the crowd, some of whom laughed, while a particularly vocal group in the middle booed obnoxiously, earning them a scolding reply of, “oh shut it, he can’t get the golden dildo every time. The boy can’t possibly have room for another one!” That earned a few raucous jeers and Tao cackled loudly, wrapping his arm around Charlie’s neck and giving in my playful noogie.

“Oi, idiots,” Elle called out. Nick, Charlie and Tao turned to find her standing with three pints of water balanced in her hands. “Hydrate,” she said.

Nick greedily knocked his back in one.

“Thanks,” he yelled.

“Not bad for a first night out in Brighton,” Elle replied, giving him a playful shove.

“I’ve got to get some fresh air,” Charlie announced, as the next singer began a tuneless rendition of something that sounded vaguely like a Taylor Swift song. Nick nodded enthusiastically and let Charlie drag him once again by the wrist out into a small beer garden.

It was freezing outside, and their breaths came out in foggy puffs as they folded their arms against the cold. Nick let out a spontaneous laugh.

“So. This is what you’ve been doing for the last few years is it?” he said, his ears still ringing from the noise inside. Charlie chuckled.

“Well, this and handing out diet plans for excessively fat cats.”

Nick laughed again.

“Not bad, Charles. Not at all bad. And exactly how many golden dildos do you have lying around your apartment?”

Charlie opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by the group of hipster lads tumbling out into the beer garden lighting up cigarettes immediately.

“Charliiiieeeee,” Paul cheered, giving Charlie a sloppy kiss on the cheek. Nick felt a jolt in his chest watching it. “Stunning performance, darling. One of your best,” he then said, before pressing another kiss into Charlie’s hair. Charlie blushed and giggled and Nick felt a wave of nausea hit suddenly.

“And this one,” the yellow-skinny-jeans guy said, pointing at Nick with the two fingers he was clutching his cigarette with, “is a rather delicious addition to our little squad, wouldn’t you agree fellas?”

The group all nodded along, patting Nick on the back and ruffling his hair. Paul was still draped over Charlie like a fox-fur. When one of the lads gave Nick a pat on the bum, sending a rush of blood to his cheeks, Charlie called out,

“Uhh hold your horses there, boys. Nick’s straight.”

Nick’s eyes met his. Something passed between them in a flash and Charlie’s smile dropped ever-so-slightly from his lips.

“Surely not!” Paul said with a quirked brow. Before Nick could reply he added, “that’s a pity,” before whispering something obviously brazen in Charlie’s ear, which caused him to flush crimson red and drop his eyes to the floor. Nick was desperate to know what Paul had said. He was drunk enough to ask but before he could, the group was pulling Paul away from Charlie, saying goodnight and stumbling through the beer garden gate, out onto the street beyond to finish their cigarettes and hail a taxi.

“They seem fun,” Nick mumbled, nodding at their retreating backs. Charlie rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks still flushed, his eyes still on the floor.

“Uh yeah. They’re… you know… a lot,” he replied quietly. Nick took a small step towards him.

“What is it?” he asked gently. Charlie cleared his throat.

“Just Paul… he’s pretty outrageous when he’s drunk. They all are. Sorry if they made you feel awkward.”

Nick stared at him for a moment.

“Why would they make me feel awkward?”

“Oh, didn’t you hear? Paul just said — and I quote — he would happily rip your clothes off and handcuff you to a four-poster bed, straight or not,” Charlie said, an uncomfortable chuckle escaping his lips.

Nick felt a vein in his neck pulse at Charlie’s words.

“To be honest, I think Paul would rather do that to you if you’d let him,” he replied. And he wouldn’t be the only one, he thought.

Charlie’s eyes once again slipped to the floor and the blush was back.

“Hah, maybe,” he said quietly, and Nick heard blood pound in his ears.

“Has he?” Nick asked, before he could stop himself, his voice suddenly hoarse. Charlie’s head snapped up and he looked at Nick with wide eyes.

“Has he what?” 

“Ripped your clothes off and handcuffed you to a four-poster?”

Nick’s heart felt like it would explode out of his chest.

“No,” Charlie replied in a rush. “God, no. Paul’s like a big brother or an older cousin or something. I wouldn’t do that with Paul.”

Nick took another step towards him. They were close now. Close enough to feel each other’s body heat. Close enough that they no longer had enough space between them to keep their arms folded across their chests for warmth.

“No?” He asked breathlessly.

“No,” Charlie replied.

“With Luke then?” Nick said, his voice now barely above a whisper. He didn’t feel drunk anymore, even though he knew he definitely was. There’s no way he’d be saying any of this if he were sober. But he felt something other than drunk now. Something clearer and lighter.

Charlie blinked. Luke? He shook his head quickly, as if he was trying to clear it.

“No,” he said, his tongue suddenly feeling thick in his throat. “Luke’s not exactly the clothes-ripping type.”

“Hmm,” said Nick. “But you are?”

Charlie lifted his chin now and jutted his bottom lip out ever so slightly. His expression was stubborn. Cheeky. So hot.

“I could be. With the right guy,” he said, his tone very matter-of-fact. Try me, it said. Nick smirked.

“And, hypothetically speaking,” Nick said. “Who would this ‘right guy’ be, exactly?”

Charlie froze. Nick was flirting with him, and pretty shamelessly at that. Charlie had suspected it of Nick before, many times throughout their friendship, even all the way back in high school, but had always refused to accept it, desperate not to get his hopes up. But now, not even Charlie could deny it. Nick looked ravenous as Charlie’s eyes were darting between his, searching for something.  Nick stared back fiercely, hoping Charlie was finding exactly what he was looking for. Charlie’s lips parted, an answer on the tip of his tongue.

“Charlie!” came a voice. They both jumped and turned to see the MC’s head popping out from the door to the pub. “We’re announcing the winner.”

Charlie nodded and the MC’s head disappeared. Charlie turned to go back inside. He glanced over his shoulder.

“It could be you, Nick,” he said with a quirked brow. Nick spluttered and Charlie gave him a toothy smile.

“Wh- What?”

“The winner of the karaoke competition, obviously. What did you think I meant?”

Before Nick could answer, Charlie had opened the door and slipped back into the pub, a deviant smile on his lips. The cheeky bastard, Nick thought, rushing to follow him back inside.

Chapter Text

Charlie, Elle, Tao and Nick emerged onto the pavement outside the pub an hour later, finally starting to sober up in the clear night air, thanks to Elle’s insistence that they all switch to water.

“You’re not 21 anymore, boys,” she had said with a smirk, to which Tao had attempted to appear deeply chagrined as he’d loudly proclaimed “I am forever young!” at the top of his lungs. Needless to say, Elle had forced yet another pint of water down his throat after that.

As they started bundling on their jackets, the karaoke winner – a loud, glitter-covered girl called Maddy – skipped by them with her arm around her girlfriend, singing her winning song at the top of her lungs (Natalie Imbruglia’s Torn).

“See you next Friday, Charlie!” Her girlfriend called after she’d safely guided Maddy into the back seat of an Uber, before slipping in to join her. Charlie laughed and waved them off as Maddy hung out the window brandishing the golden dildo at them enthusiastically.

“Bonkers,” Tao muttered with a grin.

“Right, how are we getting home then?” Elle said, pulling out her phone to check the time.

“I’m keen to walk back to mine – sober up a bit more,” Nick said. “It’s only 15 minutes.”

“Not me,” Elle said. “These heels are killing me.”

“I don’t know why you bothered,” Tao said.

“Because I spent the whole day in a hard hat and bloody steel-capped boots on the building site we call a home, Xu. A girl needs some glamour in her life.”

“Babe, we’re literally at the cheapest pub in Brighton. It’s not exactly a black-tie function…”

While Tao and Elle continued to bicker affectionately, Nick turned to Charlie and, feeling bold, he asked,

“Wanna walk me home? I’m pretty confident I can find my way but I’m still new here and… still a bit disoriented.”

Charlie giggled.

“Sure, loser.” His eyes flicked to Tao and Elle who were now grinning like idiots, as Tao tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear tenderly. “Oi, lovebirds. I’ll walk with Nick and see you at home later.”

“Can’t guarantee we’ll be decent but sure. See you later,” Tao replied, refusing to tear his eyes from Elle’s flirtatious grin.

“Ugh, we’d better take our time. They’re going to need at least an hour,” Charlie muttered.

“Fine by me. We’ve got plenty to catch up on,” Nick replied, steering Charlie away with a bump of his elbow.

They fell into a companionable silence as they headed down the road towards the distant sound of gentle rolling waves. They stayed that way for a while, only breaking the silence for Nick to mutter the occasional direction. There were a couple of stars peeking through the light pollution, and the air was still and smelt fresh and damp. Nick breathed it in contentedly. It was nothing like London but already it felt more like home than Twickenham ever did.

“Great night,” Nick said on a sigh.

“Yeah,” Charlie said softly.

“Thanks.”

“For what?”

“I dunno. Taking me up on my offer. Suggesting we do it tonight. I really needed this.”

Charlie hummed quietly

“I mean. I didn’t really do anything but… you’re welcome.”

They walked a few paces more before Nick murmured,

“You’re kind of extraordinary, you know?”

Charlie snorted and bumped their shoulders together.

“And you’re kind of drunk,” he said back. Nick nodded and laughed.

“Yeah. Doesn’t mean it’s not true, though.”

Charlie didn’t say anything to that, so Nick pressed on.

“Can’t believe it’s been nine years.”

Charlie sighed heavily and Nick reached out to take his hand beside him. Feeling their fingers weave together, Charlie came to a sudden stop and looked down at their joined hands with a curious frown. They were on a quiet side street now. No cars, no one around, no lights on behind the windows of the terraced houses. Just the thin glow of the streetlight above them and the fog of their breaths mingling in the air between them.

“Are you…um…okay?” Nick said.

Charlie let out another heavy breath, releasing another foggy cloud. His eyes drifted up to Nick’s face.

“I’m a bit. Just. Overwhelmed, I guess.”

Nick took a step closer to him. Charlie swallowed thickly and carried on, his eyes back on their hands again.

“It’s like nothing has changed but also, actually, everything has changed.”

Nick sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

“I’ve really missed you, Nick,” Charlie said suddenly. Nick’s heart clenched. Charlie still wasn’t looking at him and he wished he would.

“God, Charlie. I’ve missed you too. You can’t imagine how much.” He didn’t wait for a reply, but instead simply stepped as close to Charlie’s body as he dared and pulled him into a tight hug, squeezing his eyes shut, burying his face into Charlie’s all too familiar shoulder. It took a moment for Charlie to respond, but soon, he too was snaking his arms around Nicks waist and holding on just as tightly, balling up the back of Nicks jumper in his hands.

Nick wasn’t sure how long they actually hugged for, but this certainly wasn’t the standard, three-second, back-thumping hug he gave to his other friends. This felt entirely more like he was holding on for dear life. When he eventually pulled back, he remained close and Charlie finally met his eye. The electricity he’d been feeling all night was raging through him. His tongue felt useless in his mouth as Charlie’s eyes shimmered slightly in the dim light. Nick shivered.

“I suppose we better find your house before you freeze your balls off,” Charlie said, quietly. Nick let out a huff of a laugh but didn’t move. The temperature had no bearing on him right now.

“Yeah,” he murmured back.

“Gravy’s probably wondering where you are,” Charlie added, still speaking as if everything he was saying was a secret.

“Only because it’s past his dinner time,” Nick replied. But still neither of them moved.

A long moment passed between them. Nick was barely breathing. The desperation to reach up and take Charlie’s face in his hands sent tingles right through his arms, straight into his numb fingertips. All he would need to do then is lean forward a few inches and he could press his lips to Charlie’s. God. He’d never in his life wanted to kiss someone more.

“Nick,” Charlie whispered.

“Hmm,” Nick all but groaned.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you want to kiss me?”

Nick paused and let out one long shaky breath.

“Why do you think?” He replied tenderly.

Charlie’s eyes snapped closed.

“Don’t, Nick,” he said, sounding desperate.  He took a small step back and Nick’s heart sank. Even just the small distance between them now felt vast and too much for Nick to handle.

“Don’t what?” Nick said, unable to conceal the desperation in his tone.

“Don’t take me back there,” Charlie whispered.

Nick was on fire. He reached out slowly and gently took Charlie’s left hand. He was pleased when after a brief pause, Charlie’s fingers threaded between his, like they belonged there.

“Char,” he murmured, willing those blue eyes to meet his again. He waited and they did after a moment, though the look was shy. Hesitant. “If I could go back there, believe me, I would. I’d do anything to go back there. Do it all again. Do it right,” Nick said, stronger now.

Charlie’s eyes became fixed, staring hard into Nick’s now. Nick could see they were glistening with a thin film of tears. He reached out to clasp Charlie’s other hand too.

“Nick.” Charlie’s voice was hoarse now. “Please don’t do or say anything you can’t take back.”

Nick felt tears prickle his own eyes at that. He didn’t want to scare or overwhelm Charlie but he longed to close the gap between them, to capture the younger man’s lips with his own and never let go. He tentatively shuffled closer and brushed his thumbs against the angular knuckles on the back of Charlie’s hands. Beautiful.

“What if I…” he paused to swallow back the lump in his throat. “What if I finally do and say everything I’ve always wanted to? And what if I have no intention of ever taking it back?”

Charlie’s eyes were darting all over his face now, desperate and searching. His eyes lingered on Nick’s lips for a long moment, causing him to release a shaky breath.

“What do you want to say and… do?” Charlie whispered.

Nick carefully lifted both his hands and cupped Charlie’s face between them. He gently ran the pads of his thumbs across the sharp cheek bones there. Charlie’s eyes slipped closed.

“Charlie,” he said. “Please look at me.”

Charlie’s eyes fluttered open.

“You know I’m… I’m dying to kiss you,” Nick whispered.

Charlie hesitated for a long moment and Nick’s heart came to a crashing halt. The silence around them was suddenly deafening. Doubt flooded through him. It had been years. Charlie didn’t want him. He’d missed his opportunity a long long time ago. He was just starting to slowly pull his hands away from Charlie’s face, a crushing weight of despair washing over him, when Charlie’s hands darted up and gripped Nick’s wrists, holding them in place. Nicks eyes met his hopefully.

“What are you waiting for, then?” Charlie breathed.

Nick froze. Had he heard right? Was he just imagining it?

“For fucks sake, Nick, kiss me.”

It was all Nick needed to sweep forward and finally press his lips to Charlie’s, feeling years of waiting and wondering and imagining swelling up inside him.

A small sound escaped from the back of Charlie’s throat. It was something between a whimper of surprise and a sigh of relief. It only made Nick crush their lips together even more. An immediate and unbelievable warmth was coursing through Nick’s veins. It was like a fireball had erupted in his chest and was sending flames licking through every inch of his body. He tilted his head to deepen the kiss and was thrilled when he felt Charlie’s lips open and his tongue slide gently across Nicks lower lip.

Before long, Nick had forgotten entirely where he was. He wrapped the fullest reach of his arms around Charlie’s slender frame and practically lifted him off the ground to guide him up against a front garden wall of the house they’d stopped alongside. There, he pressed the whole length of his body against Charlie, while Charlie’s exquisite fingers tangled themselves in Nick’s hair. A spark of electricity shot straight down Nick’s spine when those fingers gave his hair a gentle tug. Oh boy. Charlie was better at this than Nick had ever thought possible.

After a long, intense while, Charlie gently pulled back.

“Straight boys don’t kiss like that,” he breathed against Nick’s mouth, sending yet another jolt of electricity right through him. Nick let out a shaky sigh.

“Well, clearly I’m no straight boy, so I wouldn’t know.”

He felt Charlie freeze for a moment before gently pulling back again. Nick opened his eyes as he felt Charlie’s fingers slip away from his hair.

Charlie’s brow was furrowed, his eyes clouded with confusion.

“Okay. Explain,” Charlie said quietly.

Nick sighed and pressed their foreheads together again, closing his eyes for a moment.

“God. I’m so fucking sorry, Char,” He pulled back and took Charlie’s face in his hands again. “I don’t know why I haven’t said anything. It’s ridiculous. I actually came out as bi years ago.”

There was a pause, while Nick watched something swim behind Charlie’s eyes. Processing at first, then understanding and then… pain. A bit of betrayal perhaps.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Charlie asked, his voice every bit as sad as his eyes. It made Nick want to cry.

“I know I should have. I’ve felt stupid about it all night. You just kept saying I was straight, which makes perfect sense because last time you saw me, I didn’t even know what the hell I was. I was just so far in the closet I was basically in Narnia. So tonight... I don’t know why, but I suddenly just couldn’t find the words to explain—”

“I don’t mean tonight, Nick. Although… yeah… I feel really shit that I spent the whole night incorrectly assuming your sexuality and I’m really sorry. I just wish you’d stopped me, especially when I told other people!” Charlie paused to cringe for a moment and Nick felt a hollow pit of guilt forming in his chest.  “But I’m actually talking about when you came out. Years ago. Why didn’t you tell me? I would have been there for you.”

Charlie’s hands were on his wrists now, removing Nick’s hands from his face. Nick took a small step back.

“I… fuck, Charlie. I just realised it all so late. By the time I was ready to come out… by the time I’d realised just what all those feelings I’d had for you in school really meant, we’d already been out of touch for over a year. And I was embarrassed about how blind I'd been."

“The feelings you had for me in school?” Charlie repeated numbly. His hands were still holding onto Nick’s wrists and they tightened ever so slightly now. Nick gently lifted one of his hands out of Charlie’s grip to push back a dark curl that had fallen across Charlie’s forehead. The touch had an immediate relaxing effect on them both, as they each released a long slow sigh that fogged between them.

“Do you remember my last few months at Truham, right around when I was writing my A Levels and getting ready to leave for uni?” Nick said gently.

“Vividly,” Charlie replied.

“How did you feel during those months? Like, about me leaving.”

“Terrible,” Charlie whispered. “Felt like I was about to lose a limb or something.”

“Right,” Nick said. “That’s how I felt too. Like I was ready to leave school, I was excited to move out and start uni, but leaving you felt like I was wounded or split in two or something.”

“Yeah,” Charlie said.

“But, a year later, when you found out Tao was going to a different uni to you, did you feel like that again about him?”

Charlie frowned.

“Well… I mean. Not quite. I was scared to have to go to uni without him because I originally thought we were going together and we would be able to look out for each other. And I was sad because he’s been my best friend since we were 11. But no. It wasn’t the same.”

“Exactly,” Nick said.

Charlie paused. He bit his lip and looked down, suddenly doubtful. His hands moved from Nick’s wrists to his hands, where he gently fiddled with Nick’s fingers distractedly.

“What?” Nick asked.

“Well… um… it’s just. I mean. It feels silly to say this now -- water under the bridge and all that -- but. You know that I spent basically every day of school from the start of Year 10 onwards harbouring a pretty intense crush on you, right?” Charlie said. Nick stared at him and Charlie didn’t wait for a reply before he carried on. “And I never had a crush on Tao. So, I mean, I think it was kind of a given that I would feel a more… I guess… extreme sadness when you went to uni. I was basically –”

He stopped.

“You were basically what?” Nick probed. Charlie swallowed thickly and let out a shaky breath.

“Well, for a long time there I was basically… you know… in love with you. Like... You were my first love,” Charlie said, barely audible, and yet he may as well have screamed it for the way it echoed in Nick’s brain. He was dizzy with it and Charlie still wasn’t looking at him and was instead now focusing his eyes on an invisible spot just above Nick’s left shoulder. Nick gently placed two fingers’ under Charlie’s chin, lifting his gaze so their eyes could meet.

“I didn’t know it at the time, Char, but you need to believe me when I say, I was in love with you too.”

Charlie’s eyes were wide again as they darted between Nicks, scanning him for the truth. Nick sighed.

“That’s what I’m trying to say. When I was at school, I just thought everyone felt the same way about their best friend as I did about you. It wasn’t until later on at uni that I realised, all those intense emotions I had when I was around you… That kind of dizzy feeling when we were together… all those long-winded fantasies I had about living this super cool future life with you. All those times I wanted to hug you or hold your hand. All of that insane connection that we had – the way we could communicate with a single look or read each other’s body language so perfectly – that wasn’t just what best friends felt for each other. That was me being, like, actually crazy in love with you.”

Charlie’s breath was shallow now.

“And you realised this when exactly?” He asked.

“It started becoming pretty clear during your first year at Cambridge. When you got together with Jake.”

Charlie felt something click in his brain. That night at that stupid vodka fuelled house party when Nick was suddenly in and out of being in a terrible a mood with him and they’d had that really confusing fight.

“You were… jealous of Jake,” Charlie said. It was more of a statement than a question.

Nick sighed and hung his head for a moment.

“Again, I didn’t realise it at the time. I thought I was just in a mood because you had a partner and I didn’t, and you seemed so happy and I wasn’t, and you’d come to Leeds to hang out with me but spent the whole time on your phone to him and I just thought that was pissing me off. But yeah… later I realised… I was just really fucking jealous of Jake.”

Charlie opened his mouth to reply when something vibrated between them. His phone. Nick stepped back enough to let him slide it out of his pocket. He looked down at the caller ID.

“Tao,” he mumbled.

“Ah,” said Nick.

“Hi Tao,” Charlie said, not taking his eyes off Nick, who started picking a few pieces of lint off the front of Charlie’s cardigan.

“Chaaaaarliiiie,” Tao whined loudly enough for Nick to hear. “Elle lost her house keys at the puuuuub.”

Nick’s heart sank.

“Shit,” Charlie whispered.

“It’s okay, we called and Mark found them, but they’re closing soon and it’s far and we’re cold. How far away are you?”

Charlie’s eyes swept across Nick. With a little jolt he realised Nick looked disappointed.

“We’re almost at Nick’s and then I’ll get an Uber straight home,” Charlie said with a small smile.

“Okay but hurry. It’s freezing,” Tao groaned.

Charlie tutted affectionately and hung up, both he and Nick looking down at the phone and sighing.

“So,” Charlie said. “Um… to be continued?”

Nick smiled softly at him.

“Yes please.”

Charlie took his hand and nodded for Nick to lead the way. They walked ahead quietly for another few minutes, their joined hands swinging gently between them, soon coming to a stop in front of a tiny, sky-blue cottage with a lemon coloured front door.

“This is me,” Nick murmured.

“It’s cute.”

“It’s tiny and impractical but… yeah. It’s home,” Nick said.

He felt Charlie’s hand brush across the front of his jeans and his eyes went wide when Charlie briefly dipped his hand into the right-hand pocket. Charlie smirked and pulled out Nick’s phone.

Without a word, he typed his number into it, hit save and then held it up in front of Nick’s eyes.

“Just… uh… text me, okay?” Charlie said, suddenly shy.

In one swift move Nick took the phone back and pressed a fast, firm kiss to Charlie’s lips. Charlie melted into it instantly, but as quickly as it began, Nick pulled back.

“You can count on it,” he murmured against Charlie’s lips. Despite his best efforts to suppress it, a breathless little whimper escaped Charlie’s throat, sending a tingle right down Nick’s spine and cheeky smirk to his mouth. Charlie instantly surged forward for another deep kiss.

By the time Charlie slid into the back of an Uber, just a few short minutes later, Nick’s lips were almost as swollen as his heart felt in his chest. In just one outrageous night, Charlie Spring had filled him to the brim with the kind of heart-stopping, dizzying excitement he’d been longing for since the day he’d lost touch with the younger boy.

The Uber had barely pulled away from the curb when Charlie’s phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out to see a text message from an unknown number.

Unknown:

In case it isn’t now very obvious, the 500 Days of Summer boners were just as much for Joseph Gordon-Levitt as they were for Zooey Deschanel.

Charlie laughed and glanced out the back window in time to see Nick grinning his lopsided smile and giving him a small wave. He waved back and then sent a reply text with a link to a YouTube video of the two actors singing “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve”. He followed it up with another text:

Charlie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSq1cez_flQ

For the spank bank x

He snickered, picturing Nick’s blush. His phone vibrated again.

Unknown:

Hate you. X

 He immediately saved Nick’s number in his phone with a yellow and blue love heart next to it.

///

After standing on the pavement in a euphoric daze, Nick finally made his way inside the house.

He’d barely hung up his coat by the door when he felt a little head nudge up against his calf. He looked down in time for Gravy to give him a gentle meow.

He bent down and scooped the cat up in his arms, placing a gentle kiss on his head.

“Hi Gravy-boy,” he murmured as he carried the purring cat down the hall towards the kitchen. “Do you know who I just had the best kiss of my life with on the street?”

Gravy blinked at him.

“Your vet!”

He put Gravy down on the floor and reached up into the cupboard to retrieve a pouch of wet food. Gravy meowed again, louder this time.

“I know!” Nick said, picking up his food bowl from the mat on the floor and placing it on the counter. “Charlie Spring! Can you believe it?”

He emptied out the pouch into the bowl and Gravy trotted over to mat waiting for his food, meowing insistently.

Nick smiled softly, mostly to himself as put the bowl down and Gravy immediately started to eat. Nick gently stroked the fur from his head, right down his spine and up to the tip of his tail.

“I can’t believe it either,” He whispered. “But all I can say is... Thank God for you, Gravy.”