A Collection of Heartstopper Oneshots

Bossy Bonnet Angel - Pattoc51

Summary:

Charlie is enjoying a Friday-night in at his flat in Cambridge when he gets a startling call from his boyfriend at a party in Leeds. It's often written that Charlie is the insecure one, but what if Nick hears just the wrong things from one of his teammates? Nick wishes he were better, for Charlie, for everyone.

Charlie drops everything to support the man he loves.
Notes:

I've never written a one shot before!

Also, I was going to continue, but I wasn't sure if I should go the explicit route for this. I also wasn't sure if I wanted to include the morning after or if I included enough that the reader can draw their own conclusions.

Anyway, don't mind me living vicariously through the boys and yearning to a) not be single and b) ever have a supportive partner that would come in a time of need.

Also, this isn't revised, so I'm marking it complete but it's subject to change.
Work Text:
Charlie scrolled through his Facebook newsfeed, lingering on random posts he found semi-interesting enough to captivate his attention for a fleeting moment. He saw Imogen share a photo of herself and her boyfriend, stood in front of a Uni building in London. Thomas was tagged and Charlie sent a friend request to the profile- they'd been dating a few months now, he figured it was time- and he love reacted to the post. A little further down he saw Elle had posted a photo of Tao immersed in the paintings of her art studio. He love reacted to it as well and clicked to type a comment below the photo.

"When are we gonna have our film night???"

Tao and Elle had had to rain check on their last scheduled reunion due to travels pertinent for Elle's 2023 portfolio. It wasn't an easy task getting the group together: Tao and Elle traveled often, Imogen (and boyfriend) were in London, Charlie and Isaac were in Cambridge, Nick in Leeds, and Tara and Darcy lived in Oxford together, Darcy having taken a gap year to enter the workforce. The Paris Squad, named after their primary school trip some years prior, still remained a close knit group of friends despite their distances from each other. Their group chat on Instagram was a non-stop constant buzz with at least someone awake and typing messages at all hours of the day and night.

Tonight was no different. He'd received photos from Tara and Darcy, dressed in matching, sparkling outfits under the club lights in Oxford. Darcy had no doubt dragged Tara out for a dance and copious amounts of alcohol.

Charlie wasn't much of a partier, especially without Nick. On the weekends they spent apart he tended hide in his room, like he preferred to do when he was stressed or anxious, but instead of using it as an unhealthy coping mechanism to avoid his friends, it was much-needed recharge time Charlie valued very highly. Being around people was exhausting, even the people he loved, and Charlie relished in his limited solitude much like Isaac valued his time to read.

So here Charlie was, on a quiet Friday evening, snuggled into the sofa of the common space of Charlie's flat. His two other flat mates were out, likely barhopping or looking for weekend hookups, and that was fine. Charlie would join them occasionally, more likely to attend outings when Nick was visiting, as Charlie much preferred social time when in the presence of his boyfriend. Tonight, he was enjoying the quiet, wrapped in a fluffy fleece blanket that Nick's mother had gotten him for Christmas the year prior with his hair was tied back into his pink silk bonnet that Nick had gotten for him on his last birthday, and dressed in one of Nick's old jumpers from primary school with just his pants on underneath.

It was nice to be able to use the common space during this time. Typically, when Charlie wanted to be alone, he was limited to his bedroom. The space was cozy, and he'd decorated it similarly to his bedroom at home. Even so, the small room felt stifling and it sometimes reminded him of his time spent as an in-patient. He felt much more freedom when able to use the living room, much more comfortable digging through the fridge in the kitchen, when he could move throughout the flat without risk of interruption. His flat-mates were nice enough, he considered them good friends, but nothing would ever compare to the peace of not having to speak to anyone for a time-span longer than a few hours.