Charlie and Nick: A Heartstopper FanFic

The Knot: Part Two

With his cheeks hurting from smiling so much, Nick gave Charlie’s hands a gentle squeeze. He glanced to the officiant, unsure of himself. “My turn?”

“Whenever you’re ready,” she said, repeating the same “go ahead" that she had given Charlie.

Nick locked his gaze with Charlie’s and let the rest of the room, all of their guests, melt away until all Nick could see was him. He cleared his throat, then did his best to remember everything he wanted to say. He had written down his vows and had practiced them in the mirror for hours last night. Yet now, he drew a blank. Throwing his planned speech to the wayside, Nick simply told Charlie how he felt.

“I can still remember the first time I saw you in form. You came in and spoke to the teacher, and you just looked so…lost,” he chuckled. “I could tell you were shy, which only made me pay more attention. I thought you were cute. I thought it was just a passing fancy until our teacher pointed to me, and you and I made eye contact for the first time. No passing fancy. I swear, I fell for you that very instant. Since that day, I have loved you, Charlie Spring. You don’t think so, but you’re the light, the beacon in my life, too. You think you don’t make my life better but you do. You inspire me to follow my dreams. You’re brilliant and creative. You’re so good, so sweet that it doesn’t matter how bad of a day I have, just talking to you makes it better. You’re my missing piece. My perfect fit. Not everyone finds such a perfect fit, but we did. I promise to never take that for granted. I promise to love you, protect you, support you, listen to you. I promise that I will do everything in my power to be the husband you deserve. I love you, Char.”

With flushed cheeks, Charlie glanced at the officiant. “I forgot the promises.”

She nodded for him to speak.

Anxiously he said, “I promise to stand by you, protect you, and love you no matter what. I promise to take care of myself because my health is important to you. And I promise to always be the best husband I can be because you deserve the best.”

Although Nick’s smile spanned from ear to ear, he could feel tears streaming down his face. He had never been so moved, so appreciative, so happy as he was in this moment.

With his cute grin never faltering, Charlie reached out and wiped away some of Nick’s tears. His eyes were glossy as well, the tears of joy close to the surface.

The officiant handed a cup half filled with sand to each groom. Each cup held a different colour of sand. In Nick’s cup were grains of yellow-gold while Charlie's contained grains of a sparkling blue.

“This sand represents your individual lives. The box represents the life you will share. In a symbol of unity, please pour the sand into the box." She moved aside to reveal a narrow glass box about the size of a tablet and as thick as the length of a lighter.

Both grooms approached the box and, with a nod to one another, they poured their respective sand into it, gradually creating a design of yellow and blue until their cups were empty.

With a warm grin, the officiant declared, “I am proud to pronounce you husband and husband. You may kiss your groom.”

With Charlie's hand in his, Nick turned to their guests and grinned, frantically trying to dry his tears. When he turned to Charlie, he took Charlie’s face into his hands and kissed him. Nick quite enjoyed kissing his husband.