Charlie and Nick: A Heartstopper FanFic

It Isn't What It Looks Like

April

The sun blazed outside as Charlie walked home from his job at the music shop. It had been a good day, so Charlie decided to pick up a treat for Nick, but mostly himself, a new video game that hopefully would provide a couple of hours of entertainment that night.

All in all, Charlie was happy. Work was going well, he would be going to school in a few months, Nick was happy, and their friends were all doing well. Tara and Darcy’s wedding was only a week away and Charlie was getting excited for it. He never would have thought when he first learned of Tara that he would be a part of her wedding. Then again, Charlie thought Nick was in love with her at the time, so he never really thought he would be her friend either.

As he walked up to his own front door, Charlie paused at the sound of a ruckus inside of the flat. Before he could rush inside to see if perhaps Nick had fallen, he heard Nick's voice.

“Will you stop? He'll be home soon,” Nick scolded in a hushed, yet panicked tone.

A glass broke.

“You need to stop,” Nick said before he grunted in pain. “Ow! Get off of me and hide before Charlie walks in.”

Having heard enough, Charlie opened the door just in time to see Nick shut the door to their bedroom, hiding his secret visitor inside.

Nick chuckled, his cheeks flushed. “Hey babes. How was work?” He stayed at the bedroom door, ready to defend it from Charlie.

There was a large part of Charlie screaming that this wasn’t what it appeared to be. It said Nick would never cheat. No matter the mounting evidence, Charlie knew this to be true. By taking infidelity off of the table, Charlie grew concerned by what could be amiss. “Good. Really good. What about you?”

Nick shrugged overdramatically. “Boring and long. You know, desk job.”

“You’re home early,” Charlie pointed out.

“Am I?” Nick replied, anxiously scratching the back of his neck. “Right. Yes. There wasn’t much to do, so my boss let me off early.”

Charlie assessed him critically. “Were you sacked?”

“What? No. I wasn’t fired, I just got to come home early,” Nick assured him.

“You usually have to request time off months in advance, even if it is only a couple of hours. You had to make a request four months before your last dentist appointment, remember?”

Nick shrugged again, his way of saying, “what do you want me to say?”

Charlie was getting angry and growing tired if this game. “Why are you lying to me?”

An expression of guilt fell over Nick's face.  He pursed his lips and stared down at the floor.

Charlie swallowed at a lump in his throat and asked, “Nick, who’s in the bedroom?”

Nick's eyes were wide. He actually thought Charlie was stupid enough not to notice. Even if he hadn’t overheard them, Charlie could smell the guilt on Nick.

Nick tried to laugh. “No one. Why would anyone be in our bedroom?”

Just then, Nick's phone pinged with a message notification.

“Is that them?” Charlie wondered as rage began to cloud his mind. “Can I meet them? Is it a man or a woman?”

Nick neglected his new message.

“Check it,” Charlie urged.

He pulled his phone from the pocket of his sweatpants.

“Well?”

Nick gave his phone to Charlie. “It’s Tao.”

Charlie didn’t bother looking at the phone, too shocked to care about any messages. “Are you kidding me? You’re fucking my best friend?” Charlie redirected his rage to the bedroom door. “Get your skinny ass out here so I can kick it!”

“Jesus, Charlie,” Nick replied, more shocked than Charlie was. “Tao texted me. He isn’t in our room. No one is.”

Charlie finally looked at the message as Nick put his fingertips to his eyelids and chuckled.

T: film his reaction! I bet he’ll love it in a matter if seconds.

“I'm never gonna try to surprise you again,” Nick laughed. “You were ready to tear Tao to pieces. Plus, I thought I was your best friend.”

“You are. What surprise?” Charlie asked in confusion.

Nick opened the bedroom door and stepped aside so Charlie could see for himself. “Happy anniversary, babes.”

Instead of finding another person hiding in their room, Charlie found a little gray ball of fuzzy happiness curled up on their bed. The kitten looked up, its slumber disturbed, and gave Charlie a weak squeak of a meow.

“I know we’ve talked about a dog, but the building won’t allow it. Plus, you’ve always wanted a cat.”

With a smirk, Charlie kissed his fiancé. “You’re amazing,” he told him before he rushed over to their new kitten.