Archive of Our Own

“Charlie! I’m glad I caught you.” Anthony, the editor in chief of the university newspaper, jogged over to Charlie. He was a few inches shorter than Charlie but made up for it with his innate ability to exude authority.

“Uh, yup, I’m here. Just came in to double-check the layout for my article this week.”

In an effort to put himself out there at the beginning of university, Charlie had gone to an introductory meeting for the paper. He’d always had a passing interest in journalism and figured that would be an activity that fit with his skill set and introverted demeanour.

His first assignment had been for the culture section, a review of a fresher comedy showcase. The culture editor had loved his wit and ability to be both honest and delicate in his review. Now, at the beginning of his third term, he was one of the go-to writers for that section.

“You finished your piece early this week, yeah?” Charlie nodded, having written his review of the campus production of The Tempest over the weekend so it was still fresh in his mind after seeing it Friday night. “Perfect! Ted has come down with something, really gross and intense, but he had an interview scheduled for this afternoon. Would you be able to cover for him?”

Ted was one of the sport reporters, an area Charlie was grossly under-qualified to report on.

“Um, are you sure you want me?”

Anthony nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, definitely. It’s an important interview, and we don’t think we can trust any of our backup writers with it. And no one else on the sport staff is at a place where they can step in.”

It seemed Charlie was trapped. “Uh, yeah, okay. I guess I can step in.”

“Ace, thanks, Charlie! It’s today at four thirty over on the practice rugby field. I guess it doesn’t have to be on the rugby field, but you’d be meeting there.”

Static filled Charlie’s ears. He didn’t have the best history with rugby players. “I’m interviewing the whole rugby team?”

Anthony chuckled. “No, no, just the new captain, Nick Nelson. He was named captain even though he’s only a second year, and he’s apparently being scouted this season to play professionally. We wanted just a sort of spotlight article on him. Ted had questions prepared so I’ll email those to you. Thank you so much, Charlie, you’re really saving us here!”

Charlie smiled and knew Anthony couldn’t tell how fake it was. Anthony patted him on the shoulder and went off to rejoin the other editors, leaving Charlie to fully come to terms with what he’d just agreed to.

The rest of the day felt like it was happening around Charlie as opposed to to him. He listened in his classes, he did his best to stomach his lunch, and he even made it through a short phone call with his parents. But it felt like he was underwater, looking up at the rest of the world happening around him.

He tried to tell himself that uni rugby boys were probably not like the ones in his grammar school. And there were plenty of out people on campus, not just Charlie. But the memories still lingered.

Anthony had sent him Ted’s drafted questions, and Charlie made sure to read them over, doing minimal research to ensure he didn’t sound completely ignorant during the interview. He’d also received a breakdown of Nick’s accomplishments on the uni team. Charlie may not have been the most informed on sports, but even he knew this guy was impressive.

As the time crept ever closer to four thirty, Charlie steeled himself, double checking that he had his notepad and recorder, and made his way to the practice fields. He’d never actually been to the athletic grounds, but they were kind of hard to miss.

When he got to the field, there was a swarm of massive men all scattered about the sideline. Charlie had no idea what this Nick person looked like, so he just hovered awkwardly to the side, hoping someone might notice him and take pity.

“You alright, mate?” A large guy with an Irish accent nodded over at Charlie.

“Um. Yeah. Hi. I’m Charlie Spring.” The man looked confused. “Right, obviously that means nothing to you. I’m here to interview Nick Nelson.”

“Oh! Yeah, I heard Ted had come down with something. One sec.” The man turned and yelled down the field, “Oi, Nick! Your interviewer’s here!”

As though it were happening in slow motion, the crowd of rugby lads parted, giving Charlie a clear view of one lad in particular.

Well, fuck.

The guy, who must have been Nick, began to jog over, his strawberry blonde hair flopping with the movement. He was tall, taller than Charlie, at least, and looked strong with muscular arms and thick thighs. Even though he was far away, Charlie could tell that he had an unfairly attractive face, all soft lines and beautiful symmetry.

This was not good. Charlie was hoping to get through this interview quickly and with minimal room for embarrassment. But now, he had to spend the next however long with maybe the most gorgeous person he’d ever seen, all while pretending he gave a flying fuck about rugby.

Before he could bolt away, using his speed to his advantage, Nick was in front of him, smiling a lopsided smile that caused Charlie’s heart to speed up.

“Hiya! Ted mentioned someone would be covering for him. I’m Nick.” He held out his hand towards Charlie.

Tentatively, Charlie slipped his hand into Nick’s, resolutely ignoring the thrill of electricity that ran through him at the contact. Nick’s hand was big, fully encasing Charlie’s, and rough with callouses.

It was nice. Charlie tried to push that feeling down.

“Charlie. I’m usually in the culture section. But I guess I do sports now too.” Charlie reluctantly let go of Nick’s hand.

Nick laughed, a genuine noise that sent shivers down Charlie’s spine. “I’ve read your stuff. You’re a really great writer, I’m sure you can handle a difficult subject like me.”

“You’ve— you’ve read my stuff?” Charlie was gobsmacked, fully not expecting that from someone like Nick.

“Of course! The culture section’s always my favourite. And I’m friends with Tara and Darcy, so they insisted I read your articles as soon as one was published.”

Tara and Darcy were some of the first friends Charlie had made on campus. They had gone to grammar school with his friend, Elle, and immediately pulled him aside at the first QSU meeting. They’d all been great friends ever since.

“But… how have we never met if you’re friends with them?” Belatedly, Charlie realised he should have acknowledged the compliment, but he couldn’t get past Nick knowing his friends.

Nick chuckled, so boyish and sweet, it almost seemed out of place. “I’ve been so busy with rugby stuff this year. And I’m in the education course so I have primary school placement most days. I’m probably with them during the times you’re busy with your stuff. Which is a shame, honestly.”

Charlie had no idea what that meant, but he shook it off, trying to remain professional. “Um, where should we talk? It may be a bit loud out here.”

“Oh yeah! We have a little office in the locker room area that should be quiet enough and give us some privacy from this lot.”

Privacy. Charlie couldn’t decide if he wanted copious amounts of privacy with Nick or to never be alone with him ever.

“Okay, that should work.” He felt the heat rising in his cheeks and hoped Nick would chock it up to the sun beaming down on them, not Charlie’s reaction to having privacy with him.

“Great, let’s go.” Nick placed a hand loosely on Charlie’s back, so as to guide him towards the door leading to the locker room. Charlie tried to ignore the way that tiny bit of contact seemed to burn his skin.

The office they found themselves in was small, a tiny table with a few chairs around it and a larger desk on one side. Thankfully, one wall was actually just windows into the locker room space; even if Charlie wanted to jump Nick (which he definitely didn’t!), the threat of being seen would keep him in check.

“Captains get this space for prep and such. I think it’s kind of silly, but it is useful in situations like this. Let’s use the table, if that’s okay. The desk makes me feel like I’m a professor or something.”

“You are in education, though. So good practice?” Joking was good. He could create a playful rapport; that would work well and make him a bit more comfortable.

There was that beautiful laugh again. “I’m learning pretty quickly that primary teachers spend less time at their desk and more time actually out with the kids. So not the best practice for me specifically.”

Charlie glanced at the questions he’d printed out. He should start there, seeing as he knew next to nothing about rugby. But… he felt like the story could be something else.

“Education seems an odd choice for you, what with talks of you maybe going pro and all. What made you want to do primary ed?”

“Oh, we’re starting!”

“Yes, sorry, I didn’t mean to just jump in so fast. It just felt like the right time to ask.” Nick nodded with an encouraging smile. “Oh, do you mind if I record this?”

“No, you’re fine to record.”

“Just say something’s ‘off the record’ if you don’t want me to include it.”

“Okay.” Nick took a deep breath. “So education. My plan has never been to go pro. If I do, that would be awesome, and I’d be very excited. But chances are always low, and rugby is a rough game. Even if I manage to avoid any career-ending injuries, I probably wouldn’t be able to sustain myself for that long. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but… I’m realising a lot of what I love is the camaraderie. And as a captain, I love helping my team, teaching them and making sure they succeed.”

Charlie couldn’t help his smile. Nick was so well-spoken and genuine. “And why primary?”

“Growing up, I loved spending time with my little cousins. I’ve always been big, but my mum calls me a gentle giant. There’s a lot of whimsy that young kids have that so many people lose when they get older. I love being around that and fostering it.”

Nick lit up as he spoke, and Charlie could easily tell how passionate he was about working with kids. It was, frankly, adorable.

“My little brother is almost seven years younger. It was kind of weird growing up with such a big age gap between us, but he made sure that life was always a bit more youthful and fun.” Charlie didn’t know why he was offering such information, but he wanted to relate to Nick.

“Yes, exactly! On days when I’m feeling sort of bleh, the kids always make me laugh.” Nick aimed another disarming smile at Charlie. “I’m the younger brother, but my brother and I never really got along.”

“I’m sorry, that sucks. I’m in the middle. My sister is only a year older, and we’ve always been close.”

“Jealous!”

Charlie giggled, not expecting such a response. He shook himself, going back into professional mode.

“Is it hard balancing your life with all your responsibilities?”

“Yeah, I guess so. My days are tiring and long. But I love all that I’m doing so that makes it easier. I feel like the part of my brain I use when playing rugby is separate from the rest of my brain. When I’m playing, I only have to focus on the game, not any of the other things I have to worry about in my life.”

“Huh, what else beyond school are you worrying about?”

“Maybe the biggest thing is being a queer athlete. Like, I don’t want to be a poster child or anything, but I also understand the importance of being out in this space. I hate saying I’m a role model because that feels so self-indulgent, but I do want to be somebody that queer kids can look to and realise they can be athletes as well.”

Charlie’s ears were ringing. Nick was queer? Nick, this beautiful, intelligent, funny man, was queer?! Charlie subtly pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what was your coming out like with the team?”

“I came out as bi almost right away. I’d spent so long in secondary coming to terms with my identity, and I just didn’t feel like keeping it in while here. A couple guys were weird about it, thinking I was trying to sneak a peek or whatever, but most were really supportive. And even the other guys came around when they saw me play. I’m not saying it’s always going to be like that, I think I just got lucky.”

“Um, I was outed in secondary. And the rugby guys bullied me the worst. So I was a bit nervous to meet with you, actually.” Charlie kept his voice small.

Nick slid a hand across the table to loosely grab Charlie’s. “I’m sorry that happened to you. But I want you to know that I don’t tolerate anything like that on this team. If any of the guys give you any trouble, tell me immediately.”

Charlie stared at their almost clasped hands, trying to make sense of the feelings circling within his stomach. He cleared his throat, hoping he might be able to say something coherent. “I’ve mostly just been avoiding athletes. Self-preservation and all.”

Nick nodded understandingly and casually withdrew his hand. Charlie already missed it. “Fair. But I hope you won’t avoid me now?”

“Jury’s still out.” They shared a laugh at that, much of the tension dissipating. “Ted sent me a bunch of questions he was going to ask. They’re much more informed and probably what our sports readers want to know. But I need you to know that I will have little to no idea what we’re talking about from here on out.”

Being subjected to Charlie’s brutal honesty sent Nick into a laughing fit, his eyes crinkling and shoulders shaking. Charlie had the passing thought that he wanted to witness this for the rest of his life.

“This is already the greatest interview I could imagine, so I’ll give you a pass with the rugby knowledge.”

“Thank you, you’re too kind.” They shared a smile before Charlie dramatically lifted his question sheet. “Ted has instructed I ask you about the try you scored to win Saturday’s game. That sounds like nonsense but please, do let me know.”

From there, the interview was what Charlie had to assume was standard for sport spotlights. Nick talked about the team’s successes and where they could improve and how he’s only as good as the people who support him. But he remained engaging and charming the whole time, putting Charlie at ease despite the completely foreign situation.

“Okay, that should do it. You can email the paper if there’s anything you want to add or change or whatever.” Charlie began to pack up his things.

“Um.” He looked up to find Nick nervously wringing his hands. “Wouldn’t it be easier for me to just contact you?”

“Oh, I guess. My email’s on the paper’s website.”

“Okay, yeah.” Nick took a deep breath. “Or maybe… maybe you could give me your number so I could just call or text.”

Charlie was taken aback. “Oh, okay. Yeah, I guess… yeah.”

Nick positively beamed as he handed his phone to Charlie.

“And maybe,” Nick said as Charlie input his number, “you should come to a game. Just so you can get a feel for it and see us in action.”

“Hm, I’m not sure.” Charlie handed the phone back, sure he was misreading the hurt on Nick’s face.

“What if I leave a ticket for you at the front? And you can come if you want. I can probably get tickets for Tara and Darcy too. Ya know, if you didn’t want to go alone?” Nick looked so hopeful, Charlie could almost imagine him bouncing on his heels in wide-eyed excitement.

Nick was sweet and funny and so handsome. And he genuinely seemed to care about Charlie coming to watch him play. Except Nick was also a rugby lad, and Charlie had learned early on to never trust a rugby lad. But he couldn’t look at Nick, eyes shining and smile eager, and not wonder if maybe he was the exception.

“I’ll think about it. But only so I can see the Rugby King in action.” Nick’s smile turned bashful, and Charlie finally understood how someone could be both hot and cute at the same time.

He held a hand over his heart in promise. “I’ll dedicate every try to you.”

“That would mean more if I knew what a try was.”

Nick roared with laughter, and Charlie felt filled to the brim with something he couldn’t quite name.

Charlie was posted up in the QSU lounge, deep in an old, worn armchair in the corner, working on his article. He did plenty of interviews in the culture section, but he had experience and context to help him figure out how to pare down the answers into an article that people would find worthwhile. With his interview with Nick, he had no idea what the average reader of the paper’s sports section would want to read. Sure, Charlie found Nick’s parallel lives as a team captain and an aspiring teacher captivating and felt his struggles with how exactly to merge his queer identity with his love of rugby would resonate with a lot of people, but he had no idea if that was actually what was being asked of him.

For all he knew, they wanted seven hundred words about Nick’s favourite plays and which professional rugby team he would most want to play for. But Charlie had learned, even in their limited time together, that Nick was a whole lot more than a star rugby player, and he wanted to be able to share that with everyone. Nick deserved an article with as much depth as he seemed to have.

“Ah, Charlie, just the guy I was hoping to find.” Darcy plopped down in the armchair across from Charlie, Tara settling on the floor between her legs. “I heard you’ve met Nick.”

Charlie willed his blush to go away, not needing any teasing from Darcy about Nick, not while Charlie was still trying to figure out how he was feeling.

“Ted’s sick. So I’m a sport reporter now.” Charlie lightly shook his laptop back and forth, as if that would somehow emphasise his new position.

“Mm, yes, so we’ve heard. Incessantly.” Darcy’s grin was wicked and even Tara looked a little too pleased.

Charlie blinked a few times, keeping his face as neutral as possible. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“‘Oh, Tara, why haven’t you introduced me to him before?’”

“‘Darcy, I can’t believe you, of all people, haven’t tried to set us up in some convoluted way.’”

Both girls were acting over-the-top, but seemed to be at least somewhat serious. Charlie gaped at them. “He didn’t say that.”

Tara rolled her eyes. “Maybe those aren’t direct quotes, but the gist is still there.” Darcy nodded emphatically in agreement.

“You’re both ridiculous.” Charlie hoped that would be the end of it, turning his attention back to his laptop.

“Look, we’ve known Nick basically since we all started here last year. And he’s never been like this.” The sincerity in Tara’s voice almost made Charlie look back up, but he stared hard at the blinking cursor and resisted.

“He said you’re going to the game.” Darcy’s tone implied much more than just spectating would be happening.

Charlie sighed, adjusting the wording of his introductory paragraph, only half paying attention to his article at this point. “I haven’t decided yet. He said he’d put a ticket at the front for me. But I don’t like sports.”

“Do you like him?”

Darcy’s bluntness was what finally got him to look up. He stared at them, wide-eyed and panicked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know him.”

“Do you want to know him?”

“I… That doesn’t matter.”

“Why not?”

“Because it doesn’t!” Charlie looked around self-consciously and dropped his voice. “Because guys like him don’t belong with guys like me so none of this matters.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Both girls looked almost hurt at Charlie’s words.

Charlie blew out a deep breath through his nose. “He’s this campus star, someone who everyone wants to know and is going to do impressive things. I’m a nerd who can barely get out of bed most days. We’re not exactly ‘campus couple’ material.”

Darcy huffed out a laugh. “Well, that’s just total bullshit, innit?”

“Darcy!” Tara exclaimed, whacking her calf.

“No, but it is. This isn’t some teen rom-com or whatever. Nick’s also a massive nerd who definitely doesn’t have it all together. And you, Charlie Spring, will also do impressive things, they just may not be as widely publicised. Let’s start easy. Do you think he’s attractive?”

“I mean,” Charlie shrugged, “yeah, obviously.”

“Great! Did you enjoy your conversation with him?”

“I… yeah, I did.” Charlie wasn’t sure how to convey just how much he enjoyed it; he couldn’t figure out how to make it clear that conversation was one of the best he’d had in a while, the most he’d felt a connection with someone maybe ever.

“Do you want to see him again?”

“... Yes,” Charlie whispered.

“Then go to the game! We’ll come too. But he really wants you there, trust us.” Tara nodded from her perch on the floor, eyes wide with sincerity.

“Fine! But you’re both coming with me, I’m holding you to that.” Tara cheered as Darcy threw off a mock salute. “Now shoo, I need to work on this article.”

The following afternoon, Charlie shrugged on a university-branded jumper, readjusting it around the neckline. He’d rarely worn it, thus making it a bit stiff. He ran his fingers through his hair, wondering if he would be able to hold out on getting a haircut for the rest of the term; it was starting to get a tad unruly.

He examined himself in the mirror, hoping the spot beginning to form on his forehead would be at least mostly covered by his hair. Then, he cursed himself for thinking how he looked mattered in the slightest because Nick definitely didn’t like him.

Except Charlie was truly beginning to think he wanted Nick to like him, at least enough that his presence today would be a welcome one. He couldn’t stop imagining Nick noticing him in the stands and beaming at him, making it clear that he did genuinely want Charlie to come to the game.

As Charlie made his way to the athletic fields, he entertained the very real possibility that Nick was merely being polite in inviting him to a game. He could show up at the front gate, ask about a ticket, and only get a confused stare back because Nick wasn’t serious about leaving him a ticket. After all, Nick had had Charlie’s number for a couple days now and hadn’t used it; how much could he actually like Charlie anyway?

The rugby arena was more bustling than Charlie had anticipated, used to the near empty stands that would be at his secondary school games. Dozens of people milled around outside the gate, most dressed in some kind of university swag, making Charlie glad he chose the jumper.

Nervously, Charlie approached the ticket counter, a sign proclaiming prices stuck to the wall by the window. A student ticket wasn’t a lot, so when he inevitably was met with a vacant stare, he could just laugh it off and pretend he always planned to just buy a ticket.

“How many?” The person behind the window was clearly bored, most likely having already had the same interaction with almost everyone currently waiting to go in.

“Um, I may have a ticket waiting for me?” That seemed to startle the ticket seller, causing her to look away from her screen to stare at Charlie. “For Charlie Spring?”

She pulled a small box closer, a few envelopes lined up in the box, and flitted through them before withdrawing one. “One ticket reserved for Charlie Spring by… Nick Nelson.” The girl raised an eyebrow at that.

“I’m just writing an article on him for the paper.”

“Uh-huh.” She clearly did not believe that was the reason for Charlie’s special treatment.

Once Charlie had his ticket, he stepped aside, watching the crowd filter into the arena. Tara and Darcy were going to be late, so Charlie had no reason to delay, but he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do once he did enter. Would Nick want him to say hi? Would he even be paying attention to the crowd at all?

Most of the crowd had migrated inside at this point, so Charlie set his shoulders and walked over to the ticket taker, nodding in thanks as they scanned his ticket. He walked in, realising he’d never actually been to the rugby game fields before; he’d met Nick at the practice field.

Charlie found a row not too far up that was relatively empty, claiming a spot and draping his bag next to him to save space for Tara and Darcy.

Both teams were warming up on the field, and Charlie spotted Nick almost right away, embarrassed to be so attuned to him. He was in conversation with a few other players, clearly giving some captain-y speech to hype them up. As he spoke, he stretched out his arms and let his eyes rove around the arena, absentmindedly taking in the crowd. Absentmindedly, that is, until he spotted Charlie.

Charlie saw Nick stiffen for a moment, before straightening up a bit and smiling slightly. He finished up his speech with his eyes trained on Charlie, a light flush visible on his cheeks even from farther away.

Once the other players jogged off, Nick smiled wide up at Charlie and threw off an enthusiastic wave. He jogged to the edge of the field so he was closer to the bleachers, and yelled up to Charlie, “You came!”

The arena was full of chatter so no one really batted an eye at Nick’s raised voice, but Charlie still felt himself blush.

“Um, yeah. I figured I should actually see a game before I write an entire article about it.”

Nick laughed, his face lighting up, and Charlie tried to calm his rapidly beating heart. “Well, I’m really glad to see you. Uh, if you want to stick around a bit after the game, maybe we could walk back to campus together?”

Nick looked and sounded so hopeful. Charlie smiled shyly, nodding slowly. “Yeah, okay.’

“Awesome! I gotta go finish warming up. But I’m really glad you’re here.” And then Nick was back in rugby mode, jogging back to the field and immediately jumping into lunges with some teammates.

Out of the corner of his eye, Charlie could see some people looking at him, trying to figure out who he was and why Rugby King Nick Nelson was talking to him. He even saw a group of girls downright glaring at him. But to be honest, Charlie didn’t really get it either.

He watched the team warm up, trying to convince himself that Nick being absurdly attractive in his uniform had nothing to do with it. Watching Nick lead the team really put into perspective a lot of what they had discussed in their interview. Charlie saw firsthand how competent and charismatic Nick was and how easy it was for people to want to follow him.

As the game was about to begin, Tara and Darcy shuffled down the row, settling next to Charlie, offering him some of the popcorn Darcy had snuck in.

When Charlie asked why she didn’t just go to the concession stand, she looked scandalised. “I’m not going to pay five quid for something I have at home! Plus, the funds go to support the footie team, and I’ve decided I hate them.”

“She tripped on a football last week. I don’t even think it was anyone from the team’s.” Tara grabbed a handful of popcorn.

Charlie shrugged. “She needs to blame someone.”

Darcy clapped him on the back. “Yes, my guy! See, Charlie gets it!”

Tara rolled her eyes. “Hush up, you two. I don’t understand rugby enough to only half pay attention.”

The three tried to follow along, doing their best to explain the bits they knew to each other. At one point, Nick had the ball and ended up breaking away from the pack, sprinting up the field. While none fully knew what was happening, they knew it was good and cheered loudly as he ran.

When Nick crossed the end line, he put down the ball, accepting congratulations from his teammates, before turning to the crowd. He found Charlie, smiling wide and pointing towards him, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

“Oh, so he’s super into you.” Darcy shoved popcorn into her mouth as she looked between both boys.

“I… what… no… that’s not…” But Charlie couldn’t process what was happening, too busy staring at Nick in disbelief. Nick had turned his attention back to the game, but he had a new flush to his cheeks that didn’t seem to be from physical exertion.

“He just sought you out and pointed to you after scoring. That’s the most cliche jock move.” Tara took a long sip from her water bottle, eyes still on Charlie, leaving him in suspense. “Plus, he’s basically already told us he liked you.”

Charlie groaned, dropping his head down to rest in his hands.

Darcy rubbed a hand on his back. “You’re a jock’s boyfriend, Charlie! Like some kind of rom-com.”

“I’m not his boyfriend.” Charlie raised his head. He couldn’t deny how exciting the idea of it was, but he wasn’t about to delude himself into thinking it was possible. “He just said he’d dedicate his tries to me. It’s honestly just a joke.”

Tara and Darcy snorted. “Yeah, okay.”

A girl a couple rows in front of them scoffed and spoke much louder than necessary: “Nick was pointing at him?! That can’t be serious, right?! Nick could do so much better.”

Darcy pulled a bottle of Fanta out of her bag and unscrewed it, taking a long swig. She then tapped the shoulder of the person directly behind the loud girl. “Would you mind moving aside for a moment? You don’t deserve to be caught in the crossfire.”

The person shrugged and slid over, leaving Darcy’s path clear.

Charlie realised what she was doing a moment too late. “Darcy, no—“

But Darcy wasn’t concerned with Charlie’s reaction as she tilted the bottle towards the girl and squeezed hard. A stream of unnaturally orange liquid arced out of the bottle and doused the girl.

Tara hid her laughter behind her hand as Charlie stared in horror. The girl turned slowly, mouth agape and eyes narrowed.

“Oops. I’m just so clumsy.”

“What the fuck?!”

“Sorry, sometimes I hear people saying bullshit and lose control of my hands. My best friend, Nick Nelson, usually helps me keep it under control.” Darcy winked obnoxiously.

The girl scoffed. “As if Nick Nelson would be friends with the likes of you.”

Darcy merely shrugged. “Okay, don’t believe me. But don’t you dare be rude to Charlie again. Not his fault your delusional crush on Nick isn’t reciprocated.”

The girl huffed indignantly and shuffled off with a friend, presumably to clean up.

“Darcy, you can’t just spray anyone you don’t like in Fanta,” Charlie sighed out, already turning his attention back to the game where the teams were setting up for some kind of face-off.

“I know that! Sometimes I use Vimto.”

Charlie snorted a laugh as he tried to locate Nick in the jumble of rugby lads in some sort of defensive huddle. As much as he wanted to play it cool, it was almost impossible for him to not gravitate immediately towards the boy.

Nick was clearly a leader on the field, other players looking to him for guidance or support, sometimes even reassurance, as if Nick’s approval was vital for their confidence. And Nick seemed happy to offer it, patting teammates on the back, clapping with encouragement, always there with words of wisdom.

He was charming without coming off as fake or manufactured; an actual good guy. And as much as Charlie wanted to pretend he wasn’t falling for Nick, it was starting to feel like the inevitable conclusion to this whole ordeal. Writing an objective profile on him was becoming more and more difficult the longer he watched Nick run in those short rugby shorts.

They were barely behind, only needing one more try to win, as the clock ticked down. Nick had only scored the one try so far, although he had been instrumental in most of the others scored so far, tossing and assisting and blocking.

As the time dwindled down, Nick got possession of the ball, immediately running, swerving between opponents, fast footwork opening up a path to the endzone for him. He sprinted, leaving everyone else in his dust and placed the ball down behind the line. His team swarmed him, jumping up and down in a circle around him.

As they set up for the kick, Nick looked into the crowd and pointed, once again at Charlie. He held the gesture, chest heaving as he caught his breath, eyes soft, evident even from far away.

Charlie felt his face flame as he made eye contact with Nick, whatever resolve he had to deny his feelings fading fast. He smiled, small and genuine, scrunching his nose slightly, causing Nick to beam at him. Nick was drawn back to the action of the game, the kick being good and the game officially being clenched.

“So you’re going to be making out with him after the game, right?”

“Darcy!” Tara whacked her girlfriend on the arm.

“Ow!” She rubbed her arm dramatically, “We saw the same thing just now, right? Something’s gonna happen between them.”

“He doesn’t like me,” Charlie mumbled quietly. Even he didn’t believe that anymore, not after all the evidence presented to him.

Tara and Darcy both scoffed, Darcy laughing out an “okay, sure.”

“You are going to meet him after, aren’t you? He mentioned he wanted to ask you to walk back with him.” Tara was definitely as eager as Darcy, but she disguised it better, seeming a bit more subtle in her questioning.

“Yeah, I’m going to wait. You guys can wait too!” He didn’t want to just awkwardly hang around the field alone.

“I don’t think a double date is the best idea for a first date.”

“What she means is,” Tara glared over at Darcy, “we can say hi. But I think he really just wants to spend time alone with you.”

“I find I’m not as great one on one. At least not with boys I like.” Charlie tried to push down the memories of his ill-fated attempts at flirting over the years, always too awkward to leave a flattering impression.

Darcy shrugged and finished off her Fanta. “He seemed to already enjoy the one on one time you’ve had. I know it does no good to tell you this, but you just need to not overthink it.”

Charlie rolled his eyes. “That’ll be the day.”

By now, the stands were almost completely empty, only a few stragglers still there. The spareness felt a lot closer to what Charlie was used to when it came to a school sporting event. He noticed a small puddle of orange liquid a couple rows in front of them, breathing out a laugh at the sight.

“Something funny?” The voice startled Charlie, bringing his eyes down to the field to take in a sweaty and beaming Nick.

“Oh! Nick, hi.”

“Hi,” he responded softly, so softly that Charlie wanted to wind the word around himself like a warm blanket.

“You, uh, you did great. I think. As we’ve established, I don’t really know the game.” Charlie smiled sheepishly.

Nick laughed lightly and rubbed at the back of his neck. “Yeah, I think I did alright. We won, so that’s good!”

“For sure.” They stayed smiling at each other for a moment, Charlie feeling his cheeks reddened.

“Hi, Nick,” Darcy called out, louder than strictly necessary. Tara stifled laughter next to her.

That seemed to break Nick out of whatever trance he seemed to have fallen into, turning his attention to the girls. “Oh! Hi, you two! Thanks for coming.”

“Yeah, yeah, we only came because this guy,” Darcy thrust her thumb in Charlie’s direction, “was too nervous to come alone.” That earned a playful swat from Tara.

Nick chuckled. “Well, in any case, thank you.” He turned his gaze back to Charlie. “Um, we have to do a post-game talk and then shower off. But I’ll meet you here in about fifteen?”

Charlie nodded. “Mhm.”

That earned him another beam from Nick. “Great.” And just as quickly as he’d appeared, he vanished, off towards the changing rooms.

Surprisingly, Tara and Darcy stayed relatively quiet after Nick left, as if sensing that Charlie was now too nervous to handle anyone taking the mick. They made small talk, trying to put Charlie at ease, but he could tell they were both thrumming with anticipation, obviously having picked up on the very obvious chemistry between him and Nick.

The players started streaming out of the change rooms, and Tara and Darcy took that as their cue to leave.

As they were leaving, Tara grabbed Charlie’s hand, making sure he was paying attention. “He likes you, Charlie. Don’t do that thing you always do where you overthink and self-sabotage.”

All he could do was nod, too many emotions swirling within him to allow him to give any kind of coherent response. But he knew that Tara wouldn’t lie to him, especially not about this, and he trusted her to take care of him. Nick having her endorsement meant more than almost anything.

Charlie sat on the bleachers for a few minutes, anxiously fiddling with his fingers, trying to maintain at least some semblance of calm. He thought about his article, about the context he could add now that he’d actually watched a game. He thought about Nick seeking him out in the crowd and how special it had made him feel. He thought about the fierceness his friends had for him, always on his side. A lot of good had come from this day, even if it didn’t end with him becoming… anything with Nick.

“Hey.” Nick slid in next to Charlie, smelling fresh, hair damp and combed out of his face. He was still pink from the shower. Or maybe he was pink from being so close to Charlie.

Charlie looked over at him, unable to stop the smile from blooming on his face. He noticed Nick’s breathing stutter. “Hi.”

“Thanks for waiting. I was worried you’d have decided it wasn’t worth it or something.” Nick tried to play it off like a joke, but something in his tone told Charlie that he was expressing a genuine fear. As if even a minute with Nick wouldn’t be worth everything.

“Of course. The walk back to campus can be scary. I need a big strong rugby lad to keep me safe.”

Nick chuckled softly. “I will happily take on that task.” He stood and extended his hand, eyes brimming with fear and hope. Charlie slipped his hand into Nick’s watching his eyes brighten with the touch.

They walked back hand in hand, conversation flowing easily. Nick had had a hectic week of student teaching, recounting the three separate instances of children getting crayons stuck up their nose.

“I’m not even sure how that can happen, let alone three times!” Nick exclaimed.

“It was definitely a domino effect thing, though. The first kid did it so the other two wanted to join in.”

“You’re so smart. Can I just have you come with me to be the voice of reason?”

“Ha, definitely not. As awkward as I am with people my own age, I’m even worse with kids. I recently asked my little cousin what she thought about the history of imperialism in the UK. She stared at me blankly until someone started playing Baby Shark.”

Nick almost doubled over laughing. “Hey, it’s important to start them on the big topics early.”

“She’s three.”

Nick snorted. “Okay, yeah, maybe that’s too early.”

“I’m much better with old things. Old people, old buildings, old books. There’s a reason I spend so much time in the uni library reading Homer.”

“Ya know,” Nick swung their joined arms exaggeratedly, “I’m technically old. At least, as far as you’re concerned. So does that mean you’re good with me?”

They had reached Charlie’s building, stopping in front of it, now standing face to face. “I don’t know, am I?”

“Yeah,” Nick whispered out as he leaned in.

A thrill ran through Charlie as Nick got closer, and he couldn’t stop himself from surging up to meet him halfway, raising his free hand to cup Nick’s face and thread his fingers in the soft hairs by his ear. Even though Charlie didn’t have a lot of experience, he felt certain about what to do with Nick, as if he was made to be close to him. Nick sighed against his lips as Charlie stroked under his jaw and brought his free arm to settle around Charlie’s waist, pulling him in a bit closer.

They stayed like that, a gentle push and pull of lips and tentative exploration, for what may have been forever. Charlie figured this was what he was meant to do with his life now: be as close to Nick Nelson as he could.

With a squeeze to their joined hands, Nick pulled away, eyes heavy-lidded, a drunk smile on his face. He blew out a low giggle. “Fuck, that’s like all I’ve wanted to do since I saw you on that field.”

“Me too,” Charlie whispered back. Because it was true. No matter how much he may have debated his feelings, no matter how scared he had felt by the reality of his situation with Nick, he was sure that he wanted this with him. He wanted to be close to him, and there was no use denying it now.

“Are you busy tomorrow? Can I take you out?” Nick looked so hopeful, like a pleading golden retriever.

Charlie nodded swiftly and then let out a small laugh. “I’m not sure my article will be all that impartial now.”

Nick barked out a surprised laugh, shaking his head with amusement. “Still the best interview I’ll ever be a part of.”

The next time Darcy called Charlie a jock’s boyfriend, they were once again at a rugby game.

But this time, Charlie was dwarfed in Nick’s extra jersey and sporting a green “10” on his cheek. This time, it was a little harder to deny her, especially when Nick blew him a kiss after every try.

Charlie hoped he’d never have to fill in for the sports section again, but he couldn’t resent the assignment too much; it had given him the best thing in his life.