Heartstopper Inktober 2K24

8 - Hike (Canon!AU P2)

"Come on, lovebirds - catch up will you?!" Aunt Dianne's voice makes Nick turn to Charlie, exhausted. "Did I say she was crazy or did I forget to tell you that?"

"You've already told me, but another time wouldn't hurt too much. At least, not as much as this." Charlie panted from where he's stopped beside him, taking a drink of water from his bottle that he'd filled that morning several times and almost finished currently as they looked out over the expanse of Son Xoriguer.

The current hiking trail that Aunt Dianne had promised to drag them to at some point during the family holiday mapped itself out in front of them, the beauty of Spain obviously on show. The other problem was that the other thing on show was the heat, almost 40 degrees to be exact, way worse than the 31 to 35 predicted by the Spanish weather channel that Uncle Richard been tuning into everyday that week.

Yet, here he and Charlie were. On a hike, with his batshit insane Aunt Dianne, even more insane Uncle Eich and their two crazed children. What was his life?

Nick turned back to Charlie, originally wanting to make a quip about how crazy his family was and how lucky he was to have Charlie in it or something, but the words burned away like the summer heat when his eye clocked Charlie in a vest. Well, okay, it wasn't a vest, more of a singlet, but nonetheless, Charlie was in one and using his undershirt to wipe the sweat off his chest and brow, Nick's mouth shutting with a click.

The silence must have gotten Charlie's attention because he's turning toward Nick with a knowing expression. "It's already hot, don't make it worse by being horny."

In response, the latter let out a strangled noise before hiding his blushing face in his hands as Charlie laughed heartily (a new development since last year) and pulled Nick into a sweaty, but well timed hug, his voice tickling his ear as he said something that stopped his heart in it's tracks. "Too bad this wasn't all your doing."

"Fuck." Nick whimpered as he became half hard at the thought. Charlie, back in their villa room, laid out on their queen sized bed all sweaty and bright red, curls damp, practically dripping wet-

"Are you two melted into the terrain or something?" Aunt Dianne's voice cuts through the fantasy and it falls away just as Dream Nick is about to crawl on top of Charlie and lick him like a lollipop. It's cockblocking at it's finest, but his aunt didn't need to know that and he springs (ha, get it, springs?) away from Charlie, trying and failing to preserve his dignity. "Coming!"

He turns to Charlie, the burn on his face rivalling the heat around them with a frown on his face. "Tease."

"No idea what you're on about." Charlie stretched his arms over his head, showing his torso (traitor) before he picked his bag up and started walking down the hill in front of them. "Come on Nick, Dianne did say this was a test to see if I'm worthy of the family."

"Arse." Nick hissed, before quickly gathering himself and following behind, head spinning as the quote ran though to like the F1 did at Monaco.

Luckily, they still had a few days before they went home, so would make sure those words were true soon enough.