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Charlie hadn’t meant to be away for too long, Nick had been sleeping since they came home and effectively trapped Charlie into a massive bear hug. Nick was sleeping peacefully but Charlie was wide awake, thirsty and had a dangerously full bladder for at least thirty minutes before he managed to extract himself. He took care of what he needed in the loo, before heading into the kitchen for some tea and a snack.
“How’s our boy?” Jade asked, sitting at their small kitchen table.
“Asleep,” Charlie answered, going for the mug cupboard and getting down two mugs, one with the bi pride flag, the other with the gay one. They’d picked them up at Leed’s gay pride event last year, to commemorate their first large pride parade. Nick had dropped his two days after, chipping the edge but his silly sentimental boyfriend insisted on keeping it. “They said he’ll probably be in and out for the rest of the day.”
“If you need help moving him around, let me know,” Jade offered. “Or with anything else too. Think you guys will want supper later?”
Charlie thought for a second, they said Nick needed to stick with light foods for the first twenty four hours, adjusting in case he ended up getting nauseous. “I’ll let you know,” Charlie answered. “He might be too nauseous to properly eat, so we might have to stick with something light.”
“Okay,” Jade answered, then smirked. “He’s gonna be a right pain when he can’t walk around that much.”
Charlie moaned playfully, rolling his eyes. “Oh, you’re telling me! They needed to wheel him to the car but he insisted he could walk. I’m pretty sure if I hadn’t been talking to him, he'd have been too stubborn to give in.”
“I think we’re all lucky you were at the game today,” Jade commented. “Well, except you maybe. You looked…” she trailed off. “It was terrifying, I can’t imagine watching your partner collapse like that in pain.”
Charlie exhaled, she was right. Watching Nick get tackled was one thing, but when he got back to his feet, he collapsed back down. Charlie had imagined a lot of terrible things going wrong by the time he actually knew what had happened. Nick had a minor meniscus tear in his knee. It wasn’t super serious, but it required a brief surgical procedure to repair it, thus meaning Nick had to be under twilight anesthesia for it.
He’d only spent a few hours at the hospital, they let him out as soon as he was awake and moving. In the grand scheme of things, it was nothing, but also sort of terrifying to be there for.
“It was,” Charlie agreed. “But I guess if my rugby idiot is going to play rugby, then I’ve got to get used to it.”
Jade gave him a smile. “Take care of yourself too, yeah? Don’t hesitate to ask us for help.”
Charlie thanked her again, finishing up with the tea and grabbing a bag of Monster Munch for himself (and Nick if he was up for it). When he came back into Nick’s room, he laughed at what he saw.
Nick was sitting up, mouth opened a little, looking dazed and confused, eyes barely registering Charlie standing there. He didn’t say anything as Charlie walked in, just stared blankly again. Charlie managed to put down his mug and hover next to the bed, as Nick still looked at him.
“Hi,” Charlie offered. “Doing okay?”
“Hi,” Nick echoed, what felt like several minutes later as if it took him that long to understand and process. He looked adorable, which was frankly unfair. His voice was a bit off, wobbly and unsure. His hair was unnaturally flat, stuck down on his face and looking really long. Charlie wanted to joke about it but he wasn’t sure Nick would fully understand.
“How are you feeling?” Charlie asked, hovering, wanting nothing more than to get in bed with him.
Nick squinted at him, despite how close he was. “Do you know,” he started much quicker in his reply, “you’re very pretty.”
Charlie laughed, shaking his head. When Nick had woken up from surgery he’d said the same thing to Charlie, it was pretty much the only thing he could say. Even when the nurse was asking him how he was, Nick was really hellbent on telling Charlie how pretty he was.
He’d gotten better after the anesthetic wore off but then they gave him a pretty decent pain killer and it seemed like his brain was still a bit fuzzy.
“Thank you,” Charlie said. “You’re really pretty too.”
“Like,” Nick said, staring at him. “How? I don’t understand it. You’re just so pretty. How, Charlie? How?”
“How?” Charlie mused. “Can I get in bed with you now please?”
Nick nodded, but didn’t move to give Charlie additional room. He climbed into bed anyways, sitting up next to Nick, who was still gawking at him. Nick’s uni bed was not much bigger than Charlie’s childhood one, so they were pretty used to the tight space.
“How are you this pretty?” Nick repeated. “Like, it’s not fair. Totally not fair. I object.”
“Oh my god,” Charlie moaned. “You do realise you don’t need to flatter me this much, we’re dating.”
“How?” Nick repeated, seemingly a bit stuck. “Explain your prettiness to me. Do it. I demand to know.”
Charlie laughed, reaching for his mug to take a drink. “I’ll tell you later.”
“You’ve got the best eyes,” Nick said, still apparently on a roll with this. “Like, so blue. And not? But also blue.”
“Elequent, Nick.”
“Like, what’s that color? Cobalt? Cerulean?”
“I’m sure it’s one of those,” Charlie said placatingly. “Or maybe just plain old blue.”
“It should be your stripper name.”
Charlie nearly choked on his tea. “What, plain old blue?”
“No silly,” Nick said, like it was Charlie who was being rather illogical. “They can call you Cerulean Cobalt, or like Cerulean Eyes or something.”
“Right sure,” Charlie laughed. “Sounds exactly like me.”
“You’re pretty enough. Like hot too. So many people would give you money. You’d be like the richest stripper in the world. People would pay billions and trillions just to see you naked.”
“Alright, sure Jan," Charlie laughed. “I’ll get right on that stripper career.”
“NO!” Nick shouted, making Charlie jump. He reached over, gripping Charlie round his middle. “You are mine. Okay? No one gets to see you naked but me.”
Charlie put his mug down, as not to spill it on Nick’s head. He patted his boyfriend’s head, rubbing down his arm. “Okay, no stripping for me then. Only yours.”
“And maybe Henry Maddox.”
Charlie choked on air this time. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Charlie,” Nick said, serious as all get up. “If Henry Maddox asked us to have a threesome, the answer is yes.”
“Oh really?” Charlie mused. “What if I say no?”
Nick’s head shot up, eyes wild, face flushed. He was, what Charlie assumed to be, attempting a glare of some kind but he wasn’t nearly as focused enough for that. Instead he just looked… a bit like an angry puppy, adorable but completely nonthreatening. “You would not say no.”
“You don’t know that,” Charlie pushed, suppressing a giggle at how insane his boyfriend was being. “Maybe I don’t want to have sex with him. Maybe I only want to have sex with you.”
Nick nodded his head. “I do, I know things, Char. You wouldn’t turn down a threesome with Henry Maddox. It’s in our boyfriend contract.”
“Oh my god,” Charlie grumbled. “Enough with the contract.”
Anytime Nick got drunk, or even tipsy, he’d come up with things for the boyfriend contract. Things that Charlie had apparently signed off on, despite doing no such thing. In the past it included things like, taking pictures of any dogs spotted in the wild, always dancing to any ABBA song (Charlie could not understand why this was important), consulting Nick before any haircut could take place and once, after drunk Nick fell and scraped his knee, kissing all booboos better.
Most of the time they were things Charlie was already doing, and didn’t need a contract to want to do, but sometimes it was silly hypothetical things.
“It's not my fault you didn’t bother to read the fine print,” Nick said, then brought his head back down to rest against Charlie’s tummy. Charlie brought his hand into Nick’s hair, carding his fingers through it. He thought maybe Nick had gone back to sleep after several minutes of silence, but then Nick was talking into his stomach, mumbling something it took a few tries before Charlie could recognise as words. “I love your tummy.”
“Oh, really?” Charlie questioned, then Nick pulled back so he could look at him. He moved his hand under Charlie’s shirt to press his warm hand against the skin of his stomach. Charlie was not going to complain about that.
“It’s like, a nice tummy. I don’t say that to everyone,” Nick said very seriously.
“Do you usually judge people’s stomachs, Nick?”
He shook his head determinedly. “No. And you’ve got a slutty little waist."
“Oh I do, do I?” Charlie laughed, this was actually not the first time Nick had told him this. The first time he wore a crop top, as soon as Nick got two beers in, he was whispering that into Charlie’s ear all night long. “Glad you can keep reminding me of that.”
“You’re not a slut,” Nick said, still very serious. “But your waist is.”
“Sure, darling, that makes perfect sense.”
Another beat of silence, Nick staring into his eyes like Charlie held the secrets of the universe in them.
“I love your hair.”
“For fucks sake, Nick, not this again. You really don’t have to keep saying this to me, you know that right? I know you think I’m pretty and beautiful and hot and all of that.”
“I know that,” Nick said a bit hotly, like Charlie had personally offended him with his push back. “But like, you need to know. What if you forget? What if you get amnesia? What if I forget?”
Charlie huffed out a laugh. “Okay, darling, whatever you want then. Do you want some Monster Munch?”
Nick seemed to ignore him. “I have to remember how pretty you are, all the time. Your nose is pretty. Your cheek bones. Your lips. Your ears. Maybe you should be writing this down so we both don’t forget, okay?”
“Okay then,” Charlie said, reaching over and getting the bag, he opened it, taking a handful as Nick prattled on a few more body parts he thought were pretty. He didn’t seem to care that Charlie wasn’t writing any of it down, at least. Maybe if Nick kept going he’d just talk himself back to sleep. Drunk Nick usually ended up this way, pain medication Nick couldn’t be that much different.
“But your thumb is weird.”
“Oh?” Charlie questioned, raising an eyebrow. “Do tell, Nick, how weird is my thumb?”
“Good, weird. Like, different but also good.”
“Right,” Charlie laughed, looking down at his thumbs. Nick wasn’t wrong, but this was also the first time Nick even said anything about them. “Thanks.”
“Noooooo,” Nick moaned, he grabbed Charlie’s hand and wrapped his entire fist around Charlie’s thumb. He nearly caused him to spill the Monster Munch everywhere. “It’s not a bad thing, okay? No bad. Never bad. Nothing about you is bad, Charlie.”
“I know sweetheart,” Charlie laughed, pulling his hand away, which thankfully Nick’s grip wasn’t too hard. He managed to get it free, but reached out to thread his hand into Nick’s. “You could never say anything bad about me, I’m well aware.”
Nodding his head very seriously, Nick looked at their joined hands. “They just, like, go thick and then thin. I noticed your hands a lot before I knew I liked you. And now, like, all I think about is your hands. And not because of sex.”
“Oh, okay, good,” Charlie laughed. “I sort of wish I was filming this, I can use it for blackmail later.”
“You wouldn't," Nick whispered, his voice suddenly going really soft, like he was really concerned. “Charlie, please don’t blackmail me.” His eyes started to water and his lip trembled, he was really about to start crying, Charlie could tell. “I wouldn’t like it if you blackmailed me.”
“Oh my god, Nicholas, I will not blackmail you.”
“Pinky promise?” Nick asked, letting go of Charlie’s hand so he could hold out his pinky. This was also a drunk Nick special, requesting any promise or decision made be sealed with a pinky promise.
Charlie looped Nick’s pinky with his own. “Yes, I pinky promise you, Nick, that I will never blackmail you.”
“Okay good,” Nick confirmed, seemingly jumping back from his near tears.
“Does not mean I’m not telling everyone about this enlightening conversation,” Charlie joked. “Are you sure you don’t want to try and eat something? Or maybe we should take a nap again, naps are super helpful.”
“Yeah okay, naps,” Nick agreed. “But first I need to tell you a secret thing I like about you.”
“Secret?” Charlie questioned, putting the Monster Munch bag on the table, who knew what mess Nick would cause them to make at this point.
“Yeah ‘cuz it’s a you and me thing.”
“A sex thing?” Charlie questioned.
Nick’s eyes went wide, as if other people could hear them. That normally never bothered him in the past, they were often probably way too loud. “Yes,” Nick cooed, he leaned in closer, making sure he was right in Charlie’s face. “I like your dick.”
Charlie giggled. “I don’t think that was much of a secret, Nick.”
“But like,” Nick continued, still quiet and still close. “I’ve seen other dicks and I like yours the best.”
“And where are you seeing these other dicks, Nicholas?”
“Changing room,” Nick said. “I don’t look at them, that’s weird but I see them. And porn.”
“Porn?” Charlie prompted. It was as if he didn't know Nick enjoyed porn, they were in a long-distance relationship, Nick liked to search things too. They would bring things up for them both to try, Charlie didn’t mind it at all. It was sort of hot that Nick would watch porn, but walk away just wanting to try new things with him instead.
“You know I watch porn, Charlie. But like, you’ve got a much better dick. You could do porn.”
“Just like I could be a stripper too?” Charlie questioned but cut off Nick’s worry before it steamrolled. “But I won’t do porn. I don’t want to anyway, my body is yours or whatever. No porn, no stripping. But,” Charlie added, seeing Nick getting worked up again. “Maybe a threesome with Henry Maddox.”
“Okay good,” Nick confirmed. “But your dick is perfect, okay? It’s not too big or too small.”
“It’s just right?” Charlie mused. “I like your dick too, for the record. It’s just right for me.”
“Goldilocks dick,” Nick agreed, completely serious and Charlie couldn’t help but to start laughing. Nick was the most endearingly amazing human he’d ever met. And he should, he realised, probably tell him that.
“Well, Nick,” he said, scooting down in the bed, opening his arms. “Come cuddle me and I can tell you what I love about you?”
“Yeah!” Nick said happily, laying in Charlie’s open arms, head on his chest. Charlie carded his hand through Nick’s hair as he held Nick close.
“Well, you are pretty too, you know. You’ve got lovely and kind eyes. You’ve got an adorable nose too and such perfect lips. I love how floppy your hair is and I love when you push it out of your eyes all the time. I love that you care about people and animals. I love how strong you are, how you can pick me up and throw me around whenever you want to. I love how obsessed you are with me, because I’m also obsessed with you. And I love your dick and ass, so much. You’re all I ever want.”
Nick was silent, breathing heavily and Charlie chuckled, of course he’d fall asleep at this moment. Nick was always so willing to tell Charlie all the things he loved about him, but rarely allowed himself to hear the things Charlie loved about him. He made a mental note to make sure and say it more often, when Nick was of sound body and mind.
“Do y’know what else is on the boyfriend contract?” Nick asked, startling Charlie a little.
“No, because it’s not a real legally binding document?” Charlie questioned. “As in, it doesn’t exist anywhere on paper but only in your silly little mind?”
Nick ignored him. “That you’re gonna marry me.”
“Nicholas Nelson,” Charlie huffed. “Will you stop proposing to me while under the influence?” He sighed, shaking his head. This was not the first time Nick proposed drunk before and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last.
“I’m serious,” Nick pouted, sounding like a tiny toddler and not a uni student. “You gotta.”
“And I will,” Charlie answered. “But you’re not proposing until you’re of sound body and mind. And when we’re both financially able to afford a wedding. AND,” Charlie added just in case. “Both of us live in the same city at least.”
“You’re no fun,” Nick grumbled, with no heat to it at all. “We could be secretly engaged.”
“We could, but we aren’t,” Charlie said. “And also, what if I propose to you first?”
That made Nick sit up and for a second Charlie worried he was about to vomit or fall back over, but instead he gave Charlie a very hard glare, one that almost worked if Charlie didn’t know what a teddy bear his boyfriend was. “That’s not happening, Charles Francis Spring. That’s also in the boyfriend contract, that’s like the very first line.”
“Oh my god,” Charlie laughed, rolling his eyes. “I’m going to add that I can do whatever I want to this boyfriend contract, including proposing to you.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in it,” Nick countered, which just made Charlie roll his eyes even harder.
“Go to sleep my favorite pain in the arse,” Charlie said, hoping to put an end to the convo before things got out of hand and Nick actually hired a solicitor to write up the contract. He wouldn’t put it past him, honestly.
“Fine,” Nick grumbled, his voice already laden with sleep. “Love you even if you won’t honor our written contract.”
“Love you too,” Charlie echoed fondly.