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Nick's alarm buzzed on his watch, silently waking him up. He rolled over softly, careful not to wake Charlie. Nick has always needed less sleep than Charlie does, and waking up a half hour earlier gives him time to reflect on the day ahead as well as a quiet moment to make breakfast, start the coffee going, and more often than not make a lunch for Charlie to bring in to work.
Nick looks forward to this moment every day because it includes one of his favorite things. The two of them had always sent affectionate texts to each other, but the importance of the physical, tangible note never hit him until the last year of secondary school when he and Charlie had almost split up. Charlie had sent him a developed picture, and had written a note on the back.
“ Hey. You take a lot of pictures of me. D’you have a crush on me or something? How embarrassing… I’m sorry for how sappy this is. Btw I love you. Ok bye xxxx ”
Nick still keeps that picture folded up in his wallet, 14 years later. It's a bit worn and creased, but it is one of his most prized possessions.
Sometime shortly after, Nick isn’t sure exactly when, he started writing notes out and leaving them for Charlie. Tangible, physical reminders of how much Charlie means to him, and how much he loves him. During their college years when they were apart more often than together he would send them via post, but his favorite thing to do now was to tuck them into Charlie’s lunch. Sometimes Nick has fun stationary that he knows will bring a smile to Charlie’s face, but many times it is quickly scrawled on a napkin, and when they overslept or were running late, sometimes even the back of an envelope or a receipt.
Finishing his tea and noting the time, Nick gets started on the morning routine, knowing Charlie will be awake soon. He hastily scrawled a note, tucked it into the lunch, and started up the coffee maker. This week was a big week for them. They were closing on the house this afternoon and were set to start moving this weekend.
~~~~
Nick gave Charlie a quick kiss, handed him his lunch, and waved as Charlie headed off to work. Nick’s job is much more flexible than Charlie's, so he opted to take a few days off to work to pack up the flat and get ready for the big move. Nick made a mental list of what had already been completed, and what still remained. With the exception of the necessities, Nick wanted to have everything packed up and ready to go so that this move was as smooth as possible.
Nick glanced down at his list.
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Pack the kitchen- mostly finished, with the exception of what they would need the next few days Bookshelves boxed and labeled- done- Finish packing up the bedroom
Right. Bedroom it was. Nick was using the method of keeping everything on the hangers that was already hung up, so that part shouldn’t be too difficult. He worked pulling the clothes out of the closet and setting them onto their king bed. Nick put some music on in the background, and worked efficiently, packing up almost everything in a few hours, not even registering the number of boxes that were piling up. When the room seemed sufficiently clear, he started stacking the boxes by the door, checking the contents and carefully labeling them before moving on to the next.
Almost clear, Nick noticed a box stuck in the back corner of the closet. He wasn’t sure how he had missed it, but he hauled it up for the stack. The box was surprisingly light. Puzzled Nick opened it, and inside he found the box filled nearly to the brim with notes. His notes. 14 years worth of notes, each carefully saved.
*****
Charlie walked in the door that evening, ready to sign the paperwork and start their new life as homeowners, but abruptly stopped as he glanced around. Nick was sitting on the floor with a stack of boxes behind him, with one box open. Nick glanced up.
“You saved them! This must be every single note I’ve ever written you!”
Charlie smiled and sat on the floor next to Nick, putting his arms around him.
“Every note except one. The first one you ever wrote to me is in my wallet.”