Work Text:
Charlie is cooking lunch in the kitchen when hears the keys in the front door.
He dries his hands on the apron he's wearing to avoid getting dirt in his clothes and goes towards the living room, ready to give his husband a big welcoming hug and kiss. Today is Nick's birthday, so he took the day off to cook his favourite meal as a treat and to plan his surprise birthday party, with all their friends and family members. Well, at least the close and decent family members, so of course David is not invited. Sarah is even going to bring Nellie and Henry, and Charlie can't wait to see Nick's face when he sees the three of them.
"Hello birthday boy!" he says with a smile as soon as he sees Nick by the door. However, his face changes and the smile drops when he notices the other man's expression. Nick is intently looking at something in his hand, and he didn't even say hello.
"Oh my god, babe, what's wrong? What happened?"
Charlie takes off the apron and leaves it in the first place he finds, walking towards Nick with a worried expression in his face.
"It's Daisy"
"Wh- Daisy? Our... dog?" Charlie asks, a bit confused. Their dog is perfectly fine sleeping in her bed, so there's no way something happened to her.
"No, not our dog, my student!"
"Oh, the one from last year, blond with pigtails and a very bright smile?" he asks again, perfectly remembering the girl. Nick always says that as a teacher he loves all his students equally, but Charlie knows that that little and full of energy menace was Nick's favourite one last year. When his husband nods, still looking at his hand, Charlie takes him by the wrist and walks with him to the sofa, starting to worry about something happening to the little girl. "What happened to her? Is she okay?"
Nick nods again, and, already on the sofa, he shows Charlie what he's holding.
In his hand, a bracelet made with colourful beads. The only ones lacking colour are six white ones in the middle, and in them you can see two hearts and four letters: ♡NICK♡.
Charlie looks at the bracelet, still a bit confused, and then again to his husband, whose watery eyes complement his smile, showing the emotion he is feeling.
"She came to me right after the bell rang and said all of them were missing having me as a teacher. She remembered that my birthday was today because, as she told me, she wrote it down on her notebook to remember, and then gave me this as a birthday present" Nick says, his voice cracking a bit due to the emotion. "She also wrote a note"
Nick reaches for his briefcase and looks between his papers until he finds what he wants. A pink piece of paper, cut in the shape of a star, with the words "to the best teacher ever" in a childish writing and pink ink.
Charlie, on the other hand, feels a warm feeling of pride inside him. He knows that Nick is a good teacher and how much he cares about his students, so seeing how much they love him back always makes him incredibly happy.
He takes Nick's hand in his and gives him a squeeze, smiling fondly to his husband.
"That is the sweetest thing in the world, honey, and you don't deserve any less than that"
Nick smiles back, leaning towards Charlie and giving him a quick peck on the lips. "You are only saying this because you are so in love with me"
"Oh well, I think you could say that, after ten years together"
Both of the boys laugh and they stay like that, cuddled in the sofa and looking to Nick's hands absentmindedly playing with the bracelet.
"I should find where to keep it"
"What do you mean?" Charlie asks midly surprised, since he thought Nick was going to wear the bracelet.
"I guess I am a bit old to wear this kind of things, don't you think? I would look ridiculous" he says it with a smile, but Charlie can see directly through it. He knows how much Nick wants to wear the bracelet, how proud he is of his work (as he should) and how important are for him those details the children have.
And Charlie is not going to allow him to feel embarrassed by any of it, so he picks the bracelet and pretends to think about what Nick said.
"Hm... I think that what would be ridiculous is hiding this instead of showing off how much your children love you". He smiles, and before Nick can say anything else, he takes his hand and puts him the bracelet in his right wrist. "There, you have already found where to keep it, where it should be"
Nick is looking at Charlie with a smile that shows all the love in the world, and slightly shakes his head before putting his hands in both sides of Charlie's face.
"You really are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I am incredibly in love with you, you know that?"
Charlie smiles and nods, leaning forward to kiss him. When they break apart a bit later, Charlie stands from the sofa and extends his hand for Nick to take it.
"And now, come on, I haven't been cooking so much time for you to not enjoy your birthday lunch!"
♡
Later that same night, when the closest friends and family are enjoying a dinner after the birthday party, Tao and Darcy decide to team up against Nick and mock him a bit about different topics. They always do that when one of the others is celebrating their birthday, and the "oh you are old for this" jokes last the whole night. And in that moment, the mocking has to do with the bracelet.
"Come on, Nicholas, you are certainly a bit old to be wearing a beads bracelet, mate" Darcy says, unsuccessfully hiding a smile.
"The children you teach are rubbing off on you, aren't they?" Tao adds, in his characteristic sarcastic tone.
Charlie knows that they are only jokes and that Nick is not taking them seriously, and he shouldn't do so, so he rolls his eyes and speaks in the same jokingly tone.
"I mean, I was a bit worried when he came back home with it, I wanted to know who was giving my husband a bracelet with hearts, even thought it looks great on him"
Nick laughs and shakes his head before telling them the story of how Daisy gave him the bracelet and the note.
While listening to Nick, Charlie takes his hand and intertwines their fingers, rubbing the back of the other man's hand with his thumb.
He looks at his husband while he speaks, feeling a smile forming in his own face just by seeing how happy he is.
Sometimes he wonders if Nick knows how proud he is of him, how proud everybody sitting at that table in the restaurant is of him. Sometimes he even wonders if Nick is aware of the uncountable amount of reasons why he should be proud of himself.
And he probably doesn't, because that is how Nick is, he is the best husband and son and friend and teacher in the whole world without even noticing he is doing so.
Tara is saying something about how wonderful it is that their students love him so much, and even Tao has left the sarcasm to tell him how nobody is surprised about Nick being the favourite teacher, but Charlie is not paying attention to them. He sort of zoomed out thinking about how lucky he is to have this man to share his life with, until Elle pokes him in the side and he turns to look at her, a questioning look in his face and a smirk in hers.
"A decade and you still need to stand up, huh?" she whispers, only for him to hear.
Charlie laughs and shrugs, pointing at Nick with his head, still holding his hand. "Can you blame me? Have you seen him? No, not only seen, have you met him?"
In that moment Nick hears him and squeezes his husband's hand, smiling to Charlie and Elle.
"Are you talking about me?"
"Of course we are, it's your day!" Charlie says, slightly leaning towards Nick's side. "I am very proud of you"
"Oh, okay" Nick smiles, kissing Charlie's head. "Where does this come from?"
"Nowhere, I just wanted to remind you, in case you have forgotten"
"As if you would let me forget it, darling"
Charlie laughs at the teasing tone and rests his head in Nick's shoulder.
"No, of course I won't".
♡
Nick keeps proudly wearing the bracelet everyday for the next five months. It's a thursday mid January when he is in a rush, running to leave for school because they overslept and he doesn't have any time left when the bracelet hooks on the handle of the door and the thread holding the beads breaks. Suddenly, the floor is covered by plenty of colourful beads, and Nick and Charlie stare at them silently for a couple of seconds.
Charlie looks at Nick, and he seems devastated. He really liked that bracelet because even in the bad days in the school, even when he was trapped in never ending meetings with the other teachers, even when the parents were annoying or he had to stay for extra curricular activities, it reminded him why he loved his job so much. Because the important thing were those tiny humans who filled his days with smiles and adventures and learning and gratitude. Charlie can see all of that passing through Nick's expression until he reacts and moves to pick the beads.
"Go, I'll clean it" Charlie says, smiling to Nick and giving him a quick kiss on the lips.
They both exchange their "I love you"s and Nick leaves to work. Charlie cleans the rests of the bracelet and stays a bit longer at home, having a coffee calmly in the kitchen before having to go to the editorial where he works.
He is looking through the kitchen window with the mug in his hands, thinking how he could remake the bracelet again. But it wouldn't be the same, since the beads with the tiny hearts broke when they fell to the floor, and he knows it.
He goes to work and keeps with his day, texting Nick whenever both of them have some spare time, and he doesn't think much more about the bracelet until they are both back home at the end of the evening. They are both lying on the sofa watching a movie before dinner when he catches Nick absentmindedly touching his wrist. He is probably not even realising he is doing so, but his mind is missing something there. And he probably is, too.
And suddenly Charlie has an idea. He picks his phone up and opens his chat with Darcy, who is an art teacher in Nick's school.
hey darce
you know the bracelet daisy made to nick? well, it broke today
and he is sad, although he is not admitting it out loud
do you think you could talk to daisy, tell her that the bracelet broke and see if she would make another?
i tried to fix it, but some beads broke
He waits and, after a couple of minutes, Darcy sends back her response.
darce 🎨
ofc he's sad, we all loved that thing!
count on me, spring!!!!
operation get nick a new bracelet has started
I thank you so much for your service, olsson
darce 🎨
🫡
"What if we order takeaway? I'm not really in the mood for cooking, to be honest" Nick says once Charlie puts the phone away again. The boy agrees and both of them try to pick something to eat.
♡
Friday and the weekend passed without any noticeable events. Being Monday again, Nick is in his class picking his things up and putting a bit of order before leaving the school, when there's a soft knock in the door. "Mr. Nelson?"
When he looks up, he finds Daisy waiting on the entrance. He smiles to the girl and makes a gesture for her to come in.
"Hello Daisy! How are you?" he crouches when the girl walks to him, to be at the same height as her. "Did something happen? Is Harry giving you a hard time again?"
"Oh, no, no, Harry is dumb, I am not friends with him anymore. I just... wait"
She stops talking and puts her backpack on the floor, looking inside it for something. While she is searching, she frowns and the tip of her tongue sticks out as a sign of how focused she is, and Nick has to contain a laugh because she looks adorable and funny.
"Aha!!!! There it is!!!!" she gives Nick a blue envelope with something inside, and waits for him to open it before start speaking again. "I'm sorry, I ran out of blue and green beads so I used mostly purple ones this time. Oh, and the hearts are made of plastic so they don't break if they fall again!!!!"
The girl looks incredibly excited, and Nick is looking alternatively to her and to the bracelet in awe, his brain trying to process how she knew. Then he thinks that maybe Darcy told her, but he doesn't remember having told his friend about the broken bracelet.
"I made one with my name, too, so now they can be friendship bracelets if you want, Mr. Nelson!!!!"
Nick laughs at the comment and, fighting back the emotion he feels, nods and puts his own bracelet back on his right wrist. "Yeah, yes Daisy, I would love them to be friendship bracelets, thank you so much"
"You are welcome! I really like making them, so I didn't mind make it again! Oh, I almost forgot!"
The girl starts looking again inside her backpack, and she takes another envelope, this one yellow.
"This one is for your husband, I liked him when he came to the school parties, he is nice and smiles a lot and I liked him and I didn't want him to be jealous of yours!". Daisy says all of this almost without stopping to breath, and before Nick can say anything she's talking again. "I have to go now because mum is waiting for me, so bye-bye Mr. Nelson!" she waves her hand and exits the classroom with the pigtails bouncing, and leaving Nick looking at the new bracelet with the most fond smile in his face.
♡
"I'm home!" says Nick, as soon as he walks though the house door. He leaves all his things in the living room and walks towards the kitchen, where he knows he is going to find Charlie, probably preparing lunch.
With the noise in the kitchen Charlie hasn't heard him entering nor announcing his arrival, and Nick takes the chance to lead towards the doorframe and just look at his husband for some minutes.
How after ten years he is still as in love as he was with sixteen years old is something he can't really understand. Actually, no, scratch that. He is way more in love than he was when he was a teenager. The last ten years haven't always been easy for both of them, but the love they have for each other has never been in doubt.
One day Tara said they were so in love with each other that it was a little unbearable to watch sometimes, and he knew she is right but he really can't help himself. He wakes up every morning feeling incredibly lucky, and that has been happening for the last ten years. And Nick knows it's going to keep happening his whole life, because there's no way he can stop loving Charlie or feeling the most lucky man to have him by his side.
While Nick looks at him Charlie walks towards the fridge and it's then when he sees Nick. The two men smile to each other, and Charlie walks to his husband to give him a quick peck on the lips.
"Hey you, didn't hear you coming. How was everything today?"
"Oh, you know... A regular Monday". Nick says while he wraps his arms around Charlie's waist to keep him close so he can properly kiss him.
Charlie, a bit surprised at the beginning, melts in his husband's arms and to the kiss. They make out for some minutes, until the oven whistles, reminding them that they have things to do.
Charlie breaks the kiss, giggling slightly. "One day we are going to burn the kitchen down, Nick..."
"If we haven't done it yet... Come on, let's have lunch" Nick gives him another quick peck and goes toward the oven to take the food out of it, leaving a slightly flustered Charlie behind him.
Both of them have lunch while talking about their days, and when they are preparing two cups of tea, Nick clears his throat.
"I am a bit offended because you haven't noticed anything different today"
"Anything different?" Charlie asks, turning to look at the other man with a small frown. "About what?"
"Well..." Nick raises his arm a bit, showing his wrist to Charlie with a smile.
"Oh. Oh!! She made you another one!" Charlie exclaims, and Nick thinks that his smile could enlighten the whole house.
"She did, yeah, apparently this time she used plastic beads so they dont break. And she made another one for her, too, so now we have friendship bracelets"
"That is adorable, Nick, I'm so happy that you have it back, honey"
Both of them walk towards the sofa with their cups of tea, and they sit turning to face each other while sitting.
"What I didn't really understand is how she knew that the bracelet broke but then... well, she gave me this"
Nick takes the yellow envelope from the pocket of his jeans and gives it to Charlie, smiling fondly to him, specially when the other boy looks at the envelope in his hands a bit confused.
"What... Why?" he says, opening it and taking a bracelet for him, a bit smaller than Nick's. It's also purple, with some white beads which read ♡CHARLIE♡. He looks at Nick, clearly moved by the unexpected present.
"Apparently I am the best teacher and I have the best husband, you made quite an impression when you went to the school parties and they love you. I can't blame the children, though" he says, shrugging slightly. "Obviously you don't have to wear it because..."
"Are you kidding?! Of course I'm wearing it! Now we are matching with Daisy!" Charlie says, putting the bracelet on his left wrist.
Nick laughs at his husband words, and takes his hand to intertwine their fingers.
"Thank you"
"For what?"
"For always taking care of me, and for being the best husband in the world"
"Excuse me, but that spot is taken by you" Charlie says, leaning to rest his forehead in Nick's. "And I am always going to take care of you, honey, there's no universe in which I wouldn't do so".