Work Text:
Charlie and Nick sat on the couch watching telly. Nick was working on his latest knitting project, a beanie for Tao. Meanwhile, Charlie fidgeted, drumming against his legs, wishing he had something to do with his hands. He picked at the edges of the hole where his oversized phone was wearing the edges of his pocket thin. Charlie absentmindedly picked up his phone and opened up his Instagram reels.
He scrolled past a bunch of reposted TikToks and kitten videos before pausing on a video of someone mending a pair of jeans. Creepy psychic algorithm strikes again, he thought, as he watched someone transform a hole into a field of flowers. He likes it, and was immediately suggested a dozen other videos of sewing and mending. An hour later, he found himself subscribes to half a dozen new accounts and browsing the Hobbycraft website for supplies. Nick glanced over with an amused look
"What are you up to?" he asked Charlie.
"I was thinking about repairing my jeans but… pretty?" said Charlie
"Oh, like visible mending or something?"
"Yeah, I was thinking about embroidering little yellow and blue hearts. I want something I can do with my hands like you've got knitting."
"Grandmas are definitely on to something with always having something to keep your hands busy," said Nick. "I'm pretty sure I've actually paid attention to this season of Taskmaster for a change. It's like enough of my brain stays occupied that I can focus better."
"Plus all my favorite jeans have holes."
"Did you want to go to the store together tomorrow? I need a new set of double points anyway."
"Sure! I think I know what all I need, but colors are always a little wrong on the screen," said Charlie. "You don't think it's a silly idea?"
"Why would I?" asked Nick.
"I don't know, I already have hobbies."
"One, you aren't stuck with the hobbies you had as a teenager forever. Two, mending clothes is cool. Three, none of your hobbies can be done while we watch telly. It's not like you're asking to get a table saw for our small flat. Oo, can we get a ton of those Danish butter biscuits and actually eat them so then you can have it full of sewing stuff like an American gran?"
"I like how you're trying to scam biscuits out of this," laughed Charlie.
"I'm just being a supportive partner!"
"Of course you are. No ulterior motives involved."
"I may also be invested in you continuing to wear those jeans," said Nick, blushing.
"And why would that be?"
"They make your butt look really good…"
"Ulterior motives indeed, then. Well, I think I can live with that. But we should probably head to bed."
"Oh?"
"It's almost midnight."
"Oh," said Nick.
"Plus we need to get me out of these jeans," said Charlie.
"Oh!"
—--
The next morning, they went out for coffee before swinging by Hobbycraft. Charlie had continued looking up basic tutorials and recommended supplies for beginners. Somewhere along the way, the algorithm had picked this up and merged it with his usual memes, and started showing him sweary cross stitch samplers. He had an idea for Nick's birthday already, but he probably needed to master some basic skills first. So he was on a quest for a hoop, needles and thread for repairs, and a beginner cross stitch kit, along with some blank cross stitch cloth.
So while Nick got distracted by yarn, Charlie picked his way slowly through the embroidery floss, finding the perfect golden yellow and a blue, and purple, pink and indigo too. He grabbed a few greens and black as well, just because it was pretty. Hands full, he went to find Nick.
When he walked down the yarn aisle, Nick was alternating cuddling two different skeins against his face contemplatively.
"Charlie! I need help deciding which is softer for a baby blanket!" said Nick, thrusting yarn at him.
"So you're using your face?"
"Yeah?"
Charlie sighed and smushed the yarn against his face. He handed Nick the one with rainbow speckles. "This one is softer. Who are you making a baby blanket for?"
"Otis and his wife are expecting again."
"Oh, I missed the announcement!"
"He texted me. Apparently she saw the one I made Christian and Immy and made very sad faces at him until he agreed to ask. They haven't made a big announcement yet," said Nick.
Charlie smiled. "We're turning into such old couples, between all the jobs and weddings and houses and babies."
"Are you hinting at something, love?" asked Nick.
"We've already talked about kids and houses. The frustrating thing about getting a doctorate is that it kind of delays a lot of other big milestones," sighed Charlie.
"I love you, Doctor Spring Nelson," said Nick. "I was just teasing. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
"No s-word," said Charlie with a soft smile.
"Let me grab more of this yarn and we can get going," said Nick.
—-
When they got home, Charlie was faced with the fact that he had never actually seen someone thread a needle. His mother had mended buttons over the years, but she always had one of those little sewing kits that came with the little device. He hadn't thought to buy one, and somehow, none of the tutorials he bookmarked bothered to show it. Nick giggled as he watched.
"What, like you're any better?" said Charlie indignantly.
"Hand it over," said Nick. Charlie had separated his floss (thankfully, that had been mentioned in a video), and Nick quickly wet the two strands between his lips, squinted slightly, and threaded the needle on the first try.
"How did you do that?" demanded Charlie.
"The spit really helps," said Nick. "Mum made me learn to do all my own patches for scouts."
Charlie carefully tied a knot, and pushed the needle through the stiff fabric of his jeans, letting out a breath as the knot caught on the back. He followed the pattern to make a little blue heart, not actually covering any holes yet, just practicing nearby. He held them up to show Nick. "Look! I made a heart!"
"That's so cute!" said Nick, admiring Charlie's stitching.
Charlie frowned as he tried to make a knot on the back, but he finally got it. "Thank goodness for YouTube," he muttered.
Over the next few weeks, Charlie grew more confident with his stitching, a constellation of hearts covering the worn spots on his beloved jeans.
He started working with his tiny cross stitch kitchen, a little unicorn, while semi-secretly working on Nick's birthday project. He'd used a spreadsheet to make his own chart after seeing the one in the kit. He saw people post about special software, but he had Excel, so in the grand tradition of academics using Microsoft products, he bullied it into doing what he wanted anyway. Charlie found needlework surprisingly soothing, the sensation of the sharp metal passing smoothly in and out of fabric, the slight hitch at the transition to thread, the tug as he reached the current length. Just him, the fabric, and getting things right.
Several weeks later, it was Nick's birthday, and Charlie was nervous. He had gotten Nick several gifts, but this was the first time Charlie had given Nick something he had made himself. He held his breath as Nick removed the golden yellow paper and blue ribbon. Nick held up the sampler. In the colors of the bisexual flag, Charlie had stitched "Happy Fucking Birthday" framed by little hearts.
"Oh my gosh, I love it!" said Nick. "Obviously, I can't hang it at work." Charlie giggled. "Thank you, love," said Nick with a kiss.
"Thank you for encouraging me," said Charlie, kissing him back.