Nick and Charlie life after high school one shots

Be Patient, Be Kind, Be Balanced, Be Mine

Half asleep on his bed, Charlie could hear the light beeping of the keypad outside his dorm room. He knew it was Nick finally coming home as Nick was the only one with the code to his door, but also because of the odd rhythms he always used to punch in the numbers, in 3s instead of 2s. Charlie marveled at him every time Nick came round. He couldn't imagine doing anything without it being in multiples of two.

At first, Charlie was comforted by the fact that he was about to see his loving boyfriend. But as Nick punched in the last numbers, panic surged through Charlie's body. He had promised himself he would feel better by the time Nick got back. He had a huge exam that day for his bio-chem class. Charlie couldn't put this on him. Not then. He tried to get up, to pull himself together and stand up to greet his hardworking man. But he couldn't. He just couldn't get out of the bed.

So he did the next best thing and pretended to be asleep as the door swung open.

"Charlie, baby," Nick called off softly, seeing that the big light was off. "Did you fall asleep?" he asked. Charlie listened as Nick kicked off his shoes and put them by the door in their spot. He tried not to react to the sounds, but it was hard not to flinch when he didn't know when the thud of the lab safe shoes would clang around the room.

"Love?" Nick cooed. Charlie felt the bed sink beneath him and soon enough there was a hand on his back. He tried not to lean into Nick's touch and prove he was awake. Perhaps it was his stillness that gave him away, as Nick said, "Charlie, I know you're awake."

Charlie let out a groan as he let his eyes flutter open. Even the soft light of the lamp on the other side of the room felt too much for him.

"Hi," he croaked. He was pitiful. He knew that.

"Hi baby," Nick said with a little smile,"What's wrong?"

"Nothing" Charlie lied. He brought his hands up to his eyes to rub the sleep away but it didn't work. "Just closed my eyes for a second. How was your exam?"

"I think it went well," Nick said skeptically. Charlie couldn't tell if his hesitation was about Nick's test or Charlie's well-being.

"That's good." Charlie tried to smile but he was sure it looked more like a grimace.

"But you don't look well," Nick quickly followed up. He felt Charlie's forehead to see if it was a fever. "Is it your body or your head?"

"Nothing's wrong," Charlie protested. There was more anger in his voice now. He turned away from Nick and faced the wall. He didn't even know why Nick's questions were making him so angry. He loved when Nick doted on him, took care of him. And the whole reason he was pretending to be fine was to not make a scene. But here he was, making one anyway.

"I don't believe you," Nick insisted. He placed a hand on Charlie's back, and it took everyone in him not to shove it away. He knew by now the difference between a comforting touch and a gentle hand counting just how much of his spine was poking out. But now he couldn't tell. It was like everything was a mystery. His feelings, Nick's feelings, they were all hidden behind a hazy cloud.

"I just had a shit day that's all," Charlie said, reaching for the blankets. "I'll be fine." Nick was silent for a moment. Charlie prayed to every god he could think of that Nick wasn't going to ask the one question he couldn't answer.

"Have you eaten today?" There it was. Charlie kept his mouth shut. If he spoke it would just make it worse. "Char, baby, have you eaten yet today?" Nick gently grabbed his shoulders and flipped Charlie around in the bed. "Anything? An energy bar? Some candy? don't care how small it was."

Charlie pondered his response. He could lie, say he went to the dining hall with friends, or had some ramen, but both of those options were easy to disprove. He could make up something about picking up a toffy from office hours, but Nick would see right through that. Eventually, he overthought it so much, that he couldn't control the words that spilled out of his mouth.