Under Your Skin: Nick and Charlie fanfic

Kiss (Nick's Version)

Over the next week, mine and Charlie's level of intimacy deepened. With nothing holding us back now, our sex life is amazing. I realise now how much he was stopping himself due to my nerves, any chance he gets, he's all over me and I love it.

My love for him grows every day, but so does my concern for him. I can see that his mental health is slowly getting worse, I don't know how to approach the matter without upsetting him.

He rarely has a day off work, the only time he isn't stressed is when it's just us and we're away from work. He sometimes speaks to me a little bluntly when we're at work, I ignore it because when we're alone he's sweet and loving.

I hate the days when I'm not at work with him, I worry about him so much because I can't be there to try and ease his stress. Today is one of those days, he's done an open until close with Lily. I haven't heard from him all day, so I know he hasn't had a break.

We spend every night together now, even on the days we don't finish work until late. We alternate who's flat we sleep at, I know he likes routine and it seems to help him a bit. Tonight he's staying at mine, at eleven thirty he messages to say he's outside.

I go downstairs to let him in, and the second he gets out of his car, I can see how stressed and upset he is. My heart sinks as he approaches me, he doesn't even smile like he normally does when he sees me.

"What's wrong?" I ask softly, pulling him into a tight hug.
"I've just had a shit day." He says quietly, hugging me back.
"Let's go upstairs." I say gently, letting go of him and closing the door.

Once in my flat, we go straight into the living room. I sit down on the sofa and he snuggles into me, burying his face in my chest. I stroke his arm, I hear him inhale deeply and feel him relax a little.

"What happened?" I ask softly.
"Is it okay if we don't talk about it? I just wanted to be with you." He says, his voice slightly muffled.
"Of course." I whisper, kissing the top of his head.

I respect that he doesn't want to talk, but that doesn't stop me worrying. I know this is deeper than just stress, he's not well and I don't want him to start pushing me away. All I can do is comfort him, and try to gently encourage him to talk to me.

He stays silent for a while, his breathing slows and I start to think he's fallen asleep when he suddenly raises his head. He looks at me affectionately, and I place my hand on the side of his face.

"You look so tired." I say softly.
"Yeah, I am." He says quietly.
"Do you want to get into bed?"
"I haven't seen you all day, I don't want to fall asleep straight away." He chuckles softly.
"Char, if you're tired you need to sleep. And you're working with me all day tomorrow." I say, looking into his eyes.
"Fine." He huffs in a playful way, making me laugh.

I interlock our fingers, stand up and take him through to my bedroom. We undress down to our boxers, then get into bed. He cuddles into me, resting his head on my chest and I stroke his arm. I want to express my concerns, if I don't it could start affecting our relationship.

"I'm worried about you babe." I say gently.
"Why?" He asks, sounding confused.
"You work so much, and I'm just worried you'll burn yourself out, you need to give yourself more days off." I say, feeling nervous about how he'll react.
"You're just saying that because you want to see me more." He teases, an obvious deflection and I exhale a small laugh.
"It would be nice to have a whole day off work together sometimes, but that isn't why." I say softly.
"I'll speak to Tom about having two days off sometimes and I'll stop working the full seven days." He says, nuzzling into me more and I feel a sense of relief.
"I'm not trying to tell you what to do Char." I say softly.
"I know, I like that you care about me." He says, lifting his head to look at me.
"Always." I whisper, leaning down and kissing him.