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Nick wasn’t used to flirting.
It should come as a big shock to no one. He was never interested in the girls that pursued him, and he always found himself too busy to go on dates. And Nick didn’t take dating lightly. He wasn’t the type of guy to blow a kiss or sneak innuendo into a conversation. Nick Nelson just wasn’t a flirt.
But then he started going out with Charlie Spring.
Charlie. He liked saying the name over and over, getting used to it. Saying it slow. Saying it fast. Rolling it around in his mouth.
Charlie. With his curls, and those dimples, and those blue eyes. His grin when he beat Nick at Mario Kart. His soft smile whenever he caught Nick staring. His blush when Nick caught him staring.
Charlie. He liked Charlie so much that sometimes he forgot to tell him.
Nick didn’t even realize how little he complimented Charlie until a certain afternoon, after school.
**
“Your lips are shiny.”
Nick immediately regretted letting those words leave his mouth. Charlie’s gaze jumped up from his Earth Science textbook in surprise. They were on opposite sides of Charlie’s rug, papers sprawled between them. A moment passed, and it became apparent Charlie was trying not to laugh.
“What?”
Nick reddened further. “Well, they are! They look... nice.”
Color flooded Charlie’s face. “My lips are shiny and nice?”
“I mean, yeah!”
His boyfriend buried into his hands, rings stacked on each finger. Muffled a bit, Nick heard him say, “You can’t just say things like that.”
“Does it make you uncomfortable?”
“No, not like that. I really like it, I just… how am I supposed to do homework now?”
He sounded intensely flustered. He peered from his hands to find Nick wearing a puzzled half-smile. “Does it really make you that flustered?”
“You never say things like that,” Charlie defended.
Nick frowned. “...I guess not. But I think it all the time.”
“ Nick .”
“What? What now?”
“Just kiss me, you idiot.”
That night, Nick replayed the scene. You never say things like that. The comment caught him off guard. He noticed things about Charlie all the time; how hot his hands were, how much he liked Charlie’s curls, how pretty his eyes were. But he never realized he didn’t say them.
He was hit with the truth that he barely ever complimented Charlie. Like, ever. That night, he vowed to compliment Charlie more.
And so it began.
**
“You have an eyelash on your cheek.”
“Really?”
“Here, I’ll get it,” Nick said, swiping his thumb on Charlie’s cheekbone. Now that he thought about it, Charlie’s skin was soft. He remembered his vow and smiled to himself. “Your skin is really soft.”
Charlie’s cheeks turned pink under his hand. “Huh?”
“Do you moisturize or something?”
“Well, y- yeah,” Charlie mumbled, struggling under eye contact. They were so close, they were almost kissing.
“You have very soft skin,” Nick repeated simply. This whole ‘flirting’ thing was fun.
Charlie blushed harder. “Thank you.”
“Here.” Nick carefully slid the eyelash onto his fingertip. He lifted it for Charlie. “Make a wish.”
Charlie immediately blew. “I wish for you to kiss me.”
“You can’t tell me or it won’t come true!”
“Is that so?”
Nick pretended to think about it. “Alright. We can bend the rules this once.”
**
Nick looked up, perking up like a puppy at the sound of the bathroom door opening. The boys had just gotten back from rugby practice and were taking turns showering. Fifteen minutes felt very long, sitting alone in your bed when all you really wanted to do was snuggle your boyfriend.
Charlie’s hair was dripping wet, towel around his neck. It refused to stay down, even straight out of the shower.
And he looked super hot. It wasn’t even an opinion. It was a fact.
Charlie tilted his head, searching Nick’s expression with a small smile on his face. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Oh, nothing,” Nick said casually, bed coils creaking as he got up. “You just look really hot when your hair is wet.”
Charlie’s jaw fell slack. “What?”
“You look super hot.”
“When’d you become such a flirt?”
“Is it too much?”
“No!” Charlie was turning redder by the second. “It’s just- a bit flustering, you know? I can’t keep my cool when you keep telling me how.. how pretty you think I am.”
Nick hummed in agreement, planting a kiss on his forehead. “Well, maybe you should stop being so pretty.”
Charlie made a noise resembling a squeak.
“Can I kiss you?”
“You can’t not kiss me after all that.”
**
Nick could admit, the third time he was probably pushing it.
They were in the back of the classroom, chairs pushed together so their knees were touching as they flipped through articles on their Chromebooks. Well, Charlie was searching for articles. Nick was too busy watching Charlie.
It wasn’t his fault. It was Charlie’s, honestly. Charlie’s tie hung a bit loose from his neck, the first button undone to show his Adam’s apple bob every time he swallowed like that wasn’t the hottest thing ever. He slid his ring slowly up and down his index finger in thought. Nick just wanted to push him up against a wall and-
Charlie looked up and, like clockwork, turned red.
“What are you staring at?” He said, though there was no heat behind his words.
“You.”
“Why?”
In a hushed tone, Nick said, “I’m trying to imagine everywhere I can kiss you.”
If Charlie was red before, now he was a dangerous shade of crimson. “Nick!”
Nick kept examining him. He liked watching Charlie turn steadily deeper shades of red. He pushed it further. He couldn’t help himself, whispering, “I think I’ll start with your jaw. I like the noises you make when I kiss you there.”
Charlie’s mouth fell open again. If he could turn any redder, he did. “ Nick. This- I- you can’t-”
Okay, Nick really liked flirting with Charlie. “Words, mi amour.”
“I hate you.” It came out weak.
“It’s your fault for being so gorgeous.”
“I’m- I’m not gorgeous. I’m just me.”
“You are gorgeous. And I can’t stop fantasizing about ‘just you.’”
“F- fantasizing?”
“Well, what else would I do during math?”
“ Math, Nick.”
“Mm, I think I like you more.”
“That’s not saying much.”
“Oh, do you want me to prove it to you?”
“Prove it to me?”
“You should come over after school.”
“Yeah,” Charlie said immediately. “That sounds like a good idea.”
Neither got any work done the rest of the day.