Work Text:
i
After school, Charlie’s room, Jane and Julio are still at work, Tori has taken Olly to the park.
“Did she know I was coming over?” Nick asks anxiously.
“It will be fine, once Olly meets up with his friends from school, he’ll be happy for at least an hour, probably longer. Now where were we?”
Nick, naked, pulls Charlie, in just an open shirt, towards him, so that his boyfriend ends up sitting on top of him and they kiss, long and deep and slow, murmuring to each other…yes… there… like that… so good.
They don’t hear the rain lashing against the window.
They don’t hear the pounding of little feet on the stairs.
They don’t hear the bedroom door fly open.
They do hear Olly shout, “Charlie. We’re…” stop and then ask curiously, “What are you doing to Nick?”
Nick, scarlet, frantically pulls at the duvet. Charlie, equally embarrassed, ineffectually trying to assist Nick cover them both, replies through gritted teeth.
“Trying to keep him warm.”
ii
Nick is in bliss. Shirtless in his own bed, eyes closed, as his beloved Charlie presses butterfly kisses to his pecs, his nipples, along the length of his sternum, moving lower… lower… Nick’s cock rising up to greet him, while warm breath caresses his neck, and a tongue swirls the shell of his right ear… bliss…
Wait…
WAIT!
Since when…
Nick’s eyes fly open. He sits up suddenly, dislodging Charlie from his position beneath the duvet, landing a knee in his boyfriend’s solar plexus leaving him winded as his eyes fill with tears.
“WHAT THE FUCK? HENRY!!!”
iii
Although the summer has hardly got going the evening is warm. Nick and Charlie are alone at Britannia Road, Jane and Julio have taken Oliver with them to visit Uncle Ant and Aunty Jules, Tori is at Michael’s, the boys have the house to themselves for at least another hour.
It would be rude not to make the most of this opportunity.
At least Charlie thought so when he prepared his room prior to Nick’s arrival.
There is always something deliciously naughty to be up to hanky-panky in Charlie’s house, Nick reflects. Not that he would ever use those words to Charlie, at least not again, he has already learnt their effectiveness as a passion killer.
Nick’s hand is beneath Charlie’s shirt, caressing the delicate cage of his ribs, tweaking his nipple resulting in a moan from his beloved, which aims a direct hit to his groin.
“Off.” Nick commands, tugging at the waistband of Charlie’s jeans.
“Eager, aren’t we?” Charlie giggles in reply.
“If you want to be able to wear these jeans again, you’ll do as I say.”
“I love it when you’re bossy.”
Charlie slips from beneath Nick and sits on the side of the bed, strips in a matter of seconds and then beckons Nick to join him. Nick doesn’t need to be asked twice and they are soon naked beneath the duvet, kissing passionately.
Nick feels the warmth spread the length of his body, he feels his skin tingle, he feels sparks fly… ow!
“Bloody hell, Charlie, it’s like a furnace in here.”
Nick flaps the duvet a bit to try to cool the bed down, “and ow! There it is again… something is giving me a shock.”
Charlie looks down shame faced, “I think it’s my electric blanket, it’s getting a bit old.”
“Your electric blanket? Charlie it’s the middle of May.”
“Well, you know I always run cold.”
iv
The door flies open before Charlie even gets a chance to ring the bell, Nick must have been sitting on the stairs from the moment Charlie messaged to say that he was leaving his house.
One strong arm effortlessly lifts Charlie up and swings him over the threshold before setting him down in the hallway, while the other slams the door shut.
“Right! You! Upstairs now.”
“Someone’s a bit keen.” Charlie laughs, secretly delighted.
“Mum’s gone to see a film with Aunty Diane, she’ll be out for at least three hours.”
“Well then, what are we waiting for?”
Nick responds by picking up Charlie again and swinging him over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift.
“Nick!” Charlie squeals, “You great rugby idiot. At least let me take my coat off.”
Nick almost growls in reply, “let me get you upstairs, first.”
He grips Charlie harder and takes the stairs two at a time. They reach the landing in seconds, Nick stopping to only push his bedroom door open a little wider with his shoulder before covering the space between the door and the bed in three quick strides.
Maybe it is because Charlie is actually heavier than he looks. Maybe because the action of physically throwing Charlie onto the bed upsets Nick’s centre of gravity, but before he can stop himself Nick loses his balance, and the momentum propels him forward to crash on top of Charlie.
Charlie emits a pained squeal and a breathless, “gerrroff,” but these are both drowned out by the sound of an almighty bang as the bed lurches sideways and they both feel it sink in the middle.
Unsteadily they climb off the sagging bed and Nick pulls the mattress from the frame. The two boys survey the damage, three of the central slats are snapped in half.
“Mum’s going to kill me.” Nick says, his voice a little wobbly.
“There must be something we can do,” Charlie says, not entirely convinced. “My dad has a drill.”
Nick gives a bitter laugh. “I’m not sure that will be much help.”
“Where did the bed come from?” Charlie asks, grabbing his phone.
“Ikea.” Nick replies, “but I can’t afford a new one.”
Charlie is already scrolling, Nick watches, he has complete trust that his clever boyfriend will come up with something.
“Okay, so, you can buy replacement slats they are not too expensive, we can go halves. Ikea is open until nine. Get your coat, I’ll order them online for collection while you are driving.”
v
An empty house at Britannia Road, is not something that happens all that often, so an opportunity to arise again so soon after the last one, is not to be missed. Jane and Julio are at Oliver’s parents’ evening. Tori has gone to watch Michael in a competition.
In Charlie’s bedroom, in the subdued light behind the closed door and drawn curtains, things are progressing. Charlie is keening, desperate now to feel Nick inside him.
“Lube?” Nick pants, “Condom?”
“Top drawer…” Charlie replies, such things need to be well hidden in Charlie’s room, away from prying eyes and hands. “Hurry.”
Not taking his mouth from Charlie’s, Nick roughly pulls open the drawer and fossicks around until his hand closes on the magic tube. He flips the cap open and somehow singlehandedly manages to squeeze a generous dollop onto his fingers. The room fills with the aroma of lemons, not their usual brand then, Nick thinks before throwing the tube in the general direction of the drawer and returning to the task in hand.
“Love you, my sweet, bend your knees for me. That’s right, wider, just like that… god, you are so gorgeous I can’t…”
“SHIT! FUCKING HELL NICK, SHIT WHAT IS THAT!”
Charlie is jumping from his arms and out of the bed. “What the fuck? My arse is burning.”
With that Charlie runs from the room. In the distance Nick can hear the sound of the shower starting up.
Confused as to what just happened, Nick fumbles with the bedside lamp until he finds the switch and floods the room with light. He blinks as his eyes adjust and then looks inside the drawer. He quickly finds the offending tube and squints at the label… Hand Sanitizer.
Who the fuck keeps hand sanitizer in the same drawer as their lube. His boyfriend obviously.
Nick rubs his eyes in disbelief.
Ow… fuck… fuckity... fuck…
v + i
Nick leads Charlie into the lounge of River Crescent in satisfaction, he thinks he has thought of everything. The air mattress is on the floor along with the cushions and throws from the sofa arranged to make a sort of archway above it. There are pillows and the duvet from his bed, plus extra from where he has raided the airing cupboard. The only light in the room comes from the rows of fairy lights hanging from the mantlepiece and the bookshelves, and while it isn’t dark outside the curtains are drawn to give the room a cosy, intimate feel. A playlist of Charlie’s favourite tracks is playing softly in the background.
Condoms, wet wipes and lube are carefully stashed beneath the coffee table to the side of the pillow fort, alongside bottled water and an Oreo chocolate bar. Nick has checked the lube four times already to ensure it is what it says it is, but he checked it again just before Charlie arrived, for good measure.
He even checked the air mattress for slow punctures.
Sarah is staying the night at Aunty Diane’s, along with Nellie and Henry. His dad is in Paris and his brother in Glasgow. He Facetimed Stéphane earlier, and checked David’s insta to be certain they were both where they were meant to be. The Springs are safely in Britannia Road, and Tori has instructions not to allow any of them to disturb Charlie except for a matter of life or death, and maybe not even then.
There are no over familiar dogs, no little brothers, no shorts in the electric blankets, no worn out beds, or dangerous chemicals to get in the way of two boys expressing their love for each other.
Nothing to prevent this night from being perfect.
And nothing does.