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Nick had spent the entire walk to Charlie’s flat imagining every terrible scenario his brain could come up with, but this was not on it. He knocked a few times, precariously balancing his gift in one hand. Nick glanced down at the two candles in his hand, beginning to panic last minute. What if Charlie hated candles? What if they hated these scents?
It wasn’t even planned, he just saw the candle shop on his walk and was compelled to enter, finding these two almost immediately. Campfire and eucalyptus. He felt that tug in his chest when his eyes landed on them, so he had to buy them. Hopefully that was a good choice.
The door swung open between them, revealing a very angry looking Charlie. Nick stood frozen, candles in hand, staring like an idiot. Charlie looked rough. Their hair was stuck up all over the place, and they had dark circles under their eyes. His face was splotchy too, almost like he’d been crying recently.
Charlie instantly lost their anger at the sight of Nick on the other side, seemingly content to just stand there forever. He looked down to see what Nick was holding and gasped, tears instantly burning up his throat and at the back of his eyes. Nick’s eyebrows furrowed as they bit their lip hard enough to bleed, trying to not embarrass themselves completely.
Nick ushered them both inside, closing the door right as Charlie burst into tears. Panicked, he almost dropped the candles in his rush to put them down and hug Charlie. They held onto Nick like a lifeline, cold fingers digging in almost painfully so to his sides, but Nick didn’t care. He would let Charlie punch him if it would make them feel better.
“It’s okay, Char,” Nick whispered, resting his head on top of their curls, “I’m here. It’s okay, you’re safe.”
Charlie just sobbed harder, barely able to suck in breaths between his cries. They leaned their full weight against Nick, wanting nothing other than being in his arms. Nick held up their extra weight easily, continuing to whisper whatever words come to his mind.
Even when their sobs had turned to sniffles, Charlie did not pick themselves back up, content to hide in Nick’s arms a little longer.
“Those are my favorite candles.” They whispered, voice cracking and catching in their throat as they spoke. Nick stiffened slightly, but kept his arms around them.
“Really?” He asked back, wracking his brain to see if he remembered them ever talking about it recently. Charlie interrupted his thoughts before he could go far.
“Before. You would always bring me one when I was struggling.” His voice wavered, breath hitching as tears started to well back up. Nick looked back at where he put the candles on the table, staring at them like he might find the secrets of the universe in their labels.
“Oh,” He exhaled, feeling Charlie shake against him. “Do you want to lie down?”
Charlie nodded, but didn’t let go of him. Nick paused for a moment before reaching down, picking them up so Charlie could still hug him koala style.
“My room is the last door on the right.” He murmurs, adjusting his grip and hiding his face in Nick’s neck.
Nick walked down the hallway, eyes taking in all of the various decorations. The walls were lined with artwork, and every surface had at least one plant accompanied by at least one picture frame. Charlie’s door was the only one open, so he easily nudged it open and walked them over to the bed. He sat down, Charlie on his lap, before deciding to throw caution to the wind and kick off his shoes, turning to lie both of them down.
Charlie snuggled into his chest, still shaking slightly around their uneven breaths. Nick ran a hand up and down their back, carefully noting the details in his room. There was a drum set in the corner, which was a surprise, next to a book shelf full of what looked like children’s novels. The desk across from the bed was covered in stacks upon stacks of paper, both printed and ripped out from notebooks. Part of him hoped that wasn’t the story they were writing, it looked like a nightmare to sort through.
“I’m sorry.” Charlie whispered, watching Nick quietly take in the pieces of his life scattered around them. Nick immediately met their eyes, a scandalized look on his face.
“No, absolutely not. You don’t get to say that word anymore. It’s off limits!” He pulled them in closer, trying to force every ounce of adoration and concern he felt into Charlie’s brain. Charlie just chuckled, dropping their head back onto Nick’s chest.
“Fine then. Thank you.” He said, words muffled by Nick’s shirt.
“You’re very welcome, Charlie. Anytime.” Nick smiled, settling in to get comfortable. He would happily lose feeling in his arms if it meant Charlie would have a place to rest. As their breathing evened out, Nick’s eyes found a book on the nightstand. From Me to You, by Mx. Universe. Nick’s copy, kept in the cleanest part of their room. The bookmark was placed over halfway through the pages, small golden tassel splaying across the wood.
Nick closed his eyes, grinning like an idiot. Things may be hard right now, but with Charlie finally asleep against his chest, they would be okay. He would make sure of it.