A Collection of Heartstopper Oneshots

sneaking out late, tapping on his window - thetomkatwholived

Summary:

All he could think about was how much he was going to miss Nick when he had to end things. How much he'd miss Nick's boyish laugh and gentle touch and radiant smile. Having any of that, even for just a short while, had been more than Charlie could have hoped for, and he felt the need to mourn the inevitable loss.

Or, a different take on what could have happened after the movie theater fiasco.
Notes:

This is barely angst. People who actually read and/or write angst will probably not even bat an eye. But I'm a sad lil goblin and it's angsty to me!

You know that scene in the Andrew Garfield Spiderman where he goes to Gwen Stacy after he's in a fight? This was inspired by that, but it's definitely not that. But it has the essence of that; it's the Lacroix version of that.

Title from Our Song by a blonde lady.
(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:
Charlie wanted to curl up in bed and cry himself to sleep. He clutched Kitty close, his mind flooded with Harry and Ben's words from the cinema and all the ways he was ruining Nick's life. It had been so nice to pretend for just a bit that he could have a normal relationship, that he could hold a boy's hand at the movie theater.

But Nick didn't deserve to be brought down by Charlie, especially when he wasn't ready to be out yet. So Charlie hugged Kitty closer to his chest as he resolved himself to breaking things off with Nick.

Sleep wasn't coming no matter how much Charlie tried to wear himself out with tears. All he could think about was how much he was going to miss Nick when he had to end things. How much he'd miss Nick's boyish laugh and gentle touch and radiant smile. Having any of that, even for just a short while, had been more than Charlie could have hoped for, and he felt the need to mourn the inevitable loss.

Suddenly, a tap sounded at Charlie's bedroom window. And then another. And another until it was a low but constant knocking. Confused, he wiped his eyes and tentatively made his way to the window. There, standing on the barely usable balcony outside of his window, was Nick.

Charlie hastily opened the window, pulling Nick inside before someone saw him or he fell.

"Nick? What are you doing here? It's late." Charlie tried to make himself as small as possible, sure that Nick had come to beat him to the punch and break up with him. Break up. They weren't even boyfriends. Had he learned nothing from Ben?

"You weren't answering your phone." Nick sounded almost hysterical. It was too dark for Charlie to make out his face, but he saw Nick take a seat on the bed. Charlie followed suit.

It felt wrong for them to end things basically exactly where they'd agreed to start, but Charlie figured it made sense. He didn't get to keep good memories; his whatever with Ben had taught him that.

Up close, Charlie could see the bruises on Nick's beautiful face, marring the freckled perfection Charlie was used to. Before he could stop himself, he reached up a hand to Nick's cheek, gently stroking the black under his eye.

Nick winced slightly, and Charlie made to pull away, but then he leaned into the touch, lightly grasping Charlie's hand in his own. He let out a small sigh, seemingly of relief, as he let Charlie caress his face.

"What happened?" Charlie whispered.

"After you left, I confronted Harry. And he— he said some really bad things. I just... he deserved it. I couldn't hold back, but he deserved it."

"Nick." Charlie's voice was pleading. "You can't fight your mates over me. I'm not worth that."

"Harry is not my mate." Nick brought his hands up to cup Charlie's face. "And you are worth it. Charlie, you matter to me more than any of them do. You're my favourite person."