A Lifetime Later: A Heartstopper AU Fanfic

Chapter Seven: Move

The contents of Charlie's home office and kitchen were almost entirely boxed away. The moving van was slated to arrive in seven days, and he felt a bit surprised by his progress. He had never been a fan of packing. Then again, somehow everything he looked at reminded him of Nick these days, and he was afraid of what might happen if he was idle.

It had been three weeks since they met at the dog park for the first time. Crouching on the ground with Edwin had been a welcome distraction from Nick's hair in the breeze, the sunlight on his cheekbones, his strong, hulking frame. Lately he and Nick had been meeting there a couple of times a week and messaging nonstop too, throughout the workdays and into the evenings. Charlie wondered how long he could keep this up before, ethically, it was something Thomas should know about. With his long hours at the advertising agency, it had been easy to hide. But once they lived together...

Maybe he and Tom could be pals, thought Charlie, before rejecting the idea almost instantly. It was rashly idealistic, and also impossible. Thomas would pick up on the tension between Charlie and Nick in no time; everyone would. So where did that leave them? Even if it was just as a friend, he needed to keep Nick in his life.

Charlie sighed. He picked up his phone, intending to shoot off a quick request for more photos of Edwin. Instead, he saw that he had missed three calls from Thomas. No voicemails.

Nervously, he dialed Thomas' number. He picked up after one ring.

"Is everything okay?," asked Charlie.

"More than okay!" replied Thomas, brightly.

"Oh," said Charlie, relieved. "I had a bunch of missed calls and no voicemails, so..."

"Yeah, I didn't want to leave this in a message. I think you'll understand why. Are you sitting down?"

"Um." Charlie felt on edge. He looked around and sat down at his small kitchen table and took a breath before responding. "Yeah, now I am."

"The new hire finally accepted our offer!"

Charlie wondered why he had needed to sit down for that. "Er, that's great? Cheers to them?"

"So," Thomas continued, a hint of mischief in his voice, "they don't need me in this office anymore. They've offered me a promotion. They've appointed me head of the office in Edinburgh. The whole office, Charlie!"

"Um, wow! Congratulations, Tom, that's so great," he said.

"Aaand," said Thomas, drawing out the word, "I figured since all of your stuff is about to be boxed up anyway..."

A beat. Two beats. And then Charlie understood.

"You... want me to move to Edinburgh with you?"

Now he was glad to be sitting down. He listened, bewildered, as Thomas explained a detailed plan for the move. Since Charlie had originally planned to move mid-month, he had the leeway of two extra weeks on his lease. He could just stay in his own flat while the logistics were ironed out, and they would move north together at the end of the month. Charlie was too dazed to take in the rest of the specifics and found himself absently saying "uh huh" and "mmm" every so often in order to give the impression he was still listening.

"So, what do you think? You'd have to move your practice, but with my new salary I can easily support us both while you get established. You wouldn't even have to work if you didn't want to. Gosh... you're going to love it there, Charlie."

He felt cornered. "Let's... talk about this in person, Tom. This is a big step." Then, careful not to ruin what, for Thomas, was clearly an exciting development, he added, "Exciting! But, big."

"Yeah, of course," he said. Charlie thought he heard the slightest hint of disappointment in Thomas' voice. "You still coming round mine on Thursday night?"

"Yeah, planning on it," said Charlie. He mustered as much sincerity as he could. "Congratulations, really. You deserve this, Tom."

"Thanks, Charlie. See you in a couple days. Love you."

The call disconnected before he could respond. Charlie looked down at the phone in his hand. This damn ankle, he thought first. If there was ever a time to go for a run, it would be now. Too bad that wasn't an option. So he did the next best thing.

Opening the contacts app on his phone, he scrolled to find Nick's name and pressed the 'call' button.