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English
Series:
Part 5 of in any universe, i’m yours (EXCERPTS)
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Published:
2022-06-28
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1,013
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1/1
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20
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202
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we knew from the start (it was always us)

Summary:

Nick closed the door behind them, briefly taking in the subtle changes since he had last been here. It was messier, papers no longer contained to the desk and the bin overflowing with crumpled scraps. He turned to face Charlie, letter now clutched with both hands in front of his chest.

“Um,” he said, breathless with nerves, “I wrote you a letter.”

—
this is a written excerpt from my twitter au! you can find that at @wylanvenfahey

Notes:

this is another part taken out of context from my au on twitter! you can read it in full at @wylanvenfahey.

if you don’t want to, then here’s what you need to know:
- nick had an accident and got memory loss, forgot being childhood friends with charlie (who moved away)
- charlie wrote nick letters, but nick didn’t read them because he didn’t know who they were from
- they met again years later when nick moved out

i think that’s everything? hope you enjoy <3

Work Text:

The “party” had been going on for over an hour, and Charlie still hadn’t been able to have a decent conversation with Nick. It was almost like every time they got the chance to talk, Nick took the first opportunity to leave. Which was fine, obviously. It’s not like Charlie cared or anything. Plus, they had Isaac to hang out with instead.

 

He was sat on the sofa, snacking on the rest of the butterfly cakes while Isaac quietly read over his prospective final chapter. Tao and Elle snuck off somewhere else on their own pretty early on, which Charlie made sure to notice so he could bully them for it in the morning. Nick had been talking with Tara for the past half hour, acting uncharacteristically nervous, Charlie noted, while Darcy was trying to hack into the speakers bluetooth connection since Tao had left with his phone.

 

Charlie almost choked on frosting as Nick stood, marching straight across the room to them. He held out his hand for them to take, the other holding something else behind his back. Charlie dusted the crumbs off their fingers with a paper towel, accepting Nick’s hand up. He turned to look at Isaac when Nick started to drag him to his room, confused and worried. Isaac just wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and winked, giggling at Charlie’s dismayed expression.

 

Nick closed the door behind them, briefly taking in the subtle changes since he had last been here. It was messier, papers no longer contained to the desk and the bin overflowing with crumpled scraps. He turned to face Charlie, letter now clutched with both hands in front of his chest.

 

“Um,” he said, breathless with nerves, “I wrote you a letter.”

 

Charlie’s eyes dropped to the folded papers, somehow feeling relieved and yet more anxious at the same time. Nick slowly held it out, forcing his fingers to unclench from around it as Charlie took it.

 

“I just… you wrote me so many, it felt wrong to never write one back. I’m not as talented as you are, but I had to try.” Nick said, voice wobbling the whole time. Charlie’s eyes grew wet at the explanation, swallowing around the lump in his throat.

 

“Thank you,” they whispered, unfolding the papers. Nick turned away, desperately trying to focus on anything other than what was happening right now.

 

He ended up sitting on their bed, fiddling with the blanket. His heart was beating so hard he could feel it in his fingertips, eyes glued to Charlie’s every move. Every hitch in their breath, the press of their lips together into a thin line, the tears gathering in their eyes. He barely suppressed a full body flinch as they turned the page, hot shame burning him up as he berated himself for making it so long. Still, Nick watched it all, until his every thought was consumed by the way Charlie’s throat worked overtime to keep their tears at bay.

 

Eventually, after what felt like the most painful moments of Nick’s life, Charlie looked up. They folded the letter and carefully placed it on their desk before walking straight up to Nick. There were tears falling down Charlie’s face, chin trembling with the strain of keeping his sobs back. Nick couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t do anything but stare as Charlie sat himself down in his lap like he belonged there (like he belonged there) and cupped Nick’s face in his palms.

 

“Did you mean it?” They asked, throat burning with emotions. Nick was struggling to focus on anything other than the comforting weight of Charlie in his lap and Charlie holding his face oh so gently, but that sentence felt like he had been slapped.

 

“Of course I did,” Nick assured, “I would never lie about something like that, Char. I love you so much, always have, I just didn’t—“ his determined rambling was cut off by Charlie moving in, connecting their lips in a kiss. It was brief, fueled more with anxiety than anything else, but it stole the air from Nick’s lungs.

 

“Was that okay?” Charlie whispered, already trying to shift away. Nick desperately pulled Charlie closer, nodding vigorously.

 

“Yeah, yes. Yes.” He responded, nearly tearing up at how beautiful they were. He moved his hands to cup Charlie’s face, wiping the remaining tears away.

 

They both went back in at the same time, slotting their lips together perfectly. Nick moved his hands to hold their waist while Charlie’s went to play with his hair. Charlie tasted like buttercream frosting and strawberry jam, and Nick couldn’t get enough.

 

Charlie broke the kiss first, resting their foreheads together as he breathed. They wrapped their arms around Nick properly, Nick reciprocating until it was a hug. They sat like that for a while, the silence only broken by the muffled sounds of ABBA starting to play from the speakers and Darcy’s triumphant yelling.

 

Nick’s hands wandered briefly under Charlie’s shirt, causing them to shiver and lean in closer.

 

“Does this mean we’re boyfriends?” Charlie said, cautiously. Nick felt all of his muscles tense up one by one, as if bracing for a rejection. He stopped rubbing shapes into their hips and leaned back to make eye contact.

 

“Uh, yes!” He said, laugh bordering on hysterical. “I would love to be your boyfriend, if you’d have me.”

 

“Of course I’d have you. I’ll always have you.” Charlie said through a smile, heart barely contained in their chest. They leaned in for more, both laughing as they struggled to stop smiling long enough to properly kiss.

 

Nick was glowing, the massive weight finally lifting off of his shoulders. He was sure he would’ve floated away by now if it wasn’t for Charlie anchoring him to earth with his hands and his lips and his smile. He made the prettiest noises as Nick’s lips trailed down their neck, and it felt like a promise.

 

This was it. This was what he had been waiting for his entire life. They had the rest of their lives together to spend loving each other.

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