A Lifetime Later: A Heartstopper AU Fanfic

Chapter Five: Midnight

Charlie lay in bed, awake. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this exhausted, and yet unable to sleep. Had Nick's face gone ashen when he mentioned moving in with Thomas, or had he imagined that? He winced, thinking about how painful it had been to say those words out loud. Charlie was looking forward to living with Thomas, really he was, but confessing his plans to Nick felt like the most difficult hurdle he had jumped in years.

He turned his head toward the opposite side of the bed, where Thomas lay snoring, tangled in bedsheets. Thomas had gotten out of work before 9pm for once, and they had watched a movie together at Charlie's flat. He hadn't told him about running into Nick again. Not about the emergency department, and not about today.

Not that Thomas knew much about his history with Nick anyway. Charlie had had an intense secondary school relationship that ended; that's all he knew. It wasn't out of the ordinary. Most secondary school relationships end. So why did being close to Nick after all these years feel so... electric?

Charlie kicked off the covers, sitting up and turning so that his legs dangled over the side of the bed. He looked at the clock. It was midnight. He wondered whether Nick was working the night shift tonight. Whether he was awake too. Whether he was thinking about their visit earlier — or whether he was fast asleep next to someone else. Charlie shook his head, as if to banish the thought. He stood, stretching his ankle a bit before padding to the kitchen and putting the kettle on.

Charlie leaned back against the counter, looking down. His gaze traced the pattern on the old linoleum floor, something that often happened when he was making tea, deep in thought.

He hadn't had a chance to probe Nick's personal life. After he dropped the bomb about Thomas, Nick had gone quiet for a moment. "That's great. I'm happy for you," he had said eventually, in a somewhat strangled voice, before downing his tea in three gulps. Then, he stood up abruptly, apologizing and saying he had somewhere to be. He gave Charlie his phone number, so they could 'all get together sometime.' And he walked out of the office without looking back.

The whole encounter had been awkward, if Charlie was being honest with himself. He didn't know what he had expected. So much time had passed; they were probably both completely different people now. He wondered whether Nick was just being polite by offering his phone number.

He thought about Thomas, fast asleep in his bed, wondering how upset he would be if he found out about Nick. Was it even okay to message an ex, when you were about to take a serious step with someone else?

It didn't really matter, though; Charlie knew he would reach out to Nick. He knew it like he knew his own name.

Tomorrow, he thought.

The kettle began to whistle. Charlie poured himself a cup of tea. He added milk, and one spoonful of sugar. He hesitated, thinking about how Nick would have added another. He smiled, recalling how surprised Nick had seemed that Charlie remembered how he took his tea.

If he only knew, Charlie thought. When it came to Nick, he remembered everything.