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With his hand hovering in mid-air in front of his door, Nick momentarily forgets what he was about to do as he gets distracted by the sound of a sweet giggle and a scoff. He looks down the hallway, and the first thing his mind registers are boxes of different sizes standing in front of Steven and Marty’s former flat, but when he hears another giggle, his gaze has probably never followed a sound so quickly. He sees a tall, lean guy about his age with a mess of black curls on his head and strikingly blue eyes that sparkle even from four doors down, gesturing at an even taller, lanky person wearing a beanie, who Nick currently can only see the back of. His gaze snaps to lips dancing a mesmerising dance with every seemingly teasingly spoken word, travelling down to a reddish t-shirt that seems as old as the person wearing it, revealing a tantalising view of delicate collarbones peeking out from under a worn-out collar. As Nick’s eyes travel even lower, the other man decides to use that exact moment to gesticulate at the person standing in front of him, which causes the fabric to ride up and expose a toned stomach that instantly brings Nick’s wandering eyes to an abrupt halt.
Fuck. Since when is he transfixed by a stomach? Sure, there’s also a treasure trail Nick would really like to follow with his tongue but - Jesus. It’s been definitely too long since he last had any kind of sex that didn’t only involve his hand.
Nick blinks a few times to retrieve his mind from the gutter and bring it back to reality; the person in the beanie could just as well be this gorgeous man’s partner. He tries to avert his gaze from the pair but curiosity wins and he can’t help but watch beanie-person turn towards one of the smaller boxes standing on the dark-green linoleum next to him, revealing their face and front. Ah, definitely a man then. So they could be boyfriends. Or, even worse, his literal dream-person could fancy only girls.
Nick clears his throat, apparently too loudly because he has to watch helplessly as two heads turn in his direction at high speed. He sees a scowl form on the beanie-man’s face and curly-haired’s blue eyes widen slowly as Nick feels his own cheeks heat up at lightning speed.
Nick remembers to stop staring and actually unlock his door and is instantly greeted by a wet snout nuzzling his bare shin. It distracts him enough to step into his own flat without any further accident and he closes the door on this embarrassing fiasco with slightly too much force.
He leans against his door and exhales slowly, his mind whirling with the most urgent questions…
Are these two the new residents to Steven and Marty's flat after they moved out three weeks ago? Are they a couple? If not, is the other man single? If yes, is he into men? And are his curls as soft as they look? Are his eyes even more captivating up close? Can he please hear him giggle one more time? Can he be the one who elicits this sound for the rest of their shared life?
Wow, okay, don't get ahead of yourself, Nelson.
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The next time Nick sees the other man - or, more precisely, his door - is when he walks past it two days later as part of his new resolution to get more exercise and takes the stairs instead of the lift. He needs to put his guilty conscience at ease for not doing anything more than just sleeping after an exhausting day at his first real teaching job so for now, he conveniently ignores the fact that going downstairs isn’t that much exercise.
He stops dead in his tracks as his gaze falls to a new doormat welcoming visitors, reading ‘It’s super gay in here!’ in a richly ornate font written over vibrant rainbow colours. He feels a giddy smile spreading on his face and a quiet, “Yay!” escape his lips as he now has an answer to at least one of his burning questions, and he can’t help but raise his gaze to the bell-labelling to see if there’s more than one name visible. It says ‘Spring’. Which could still mean anything, Nick reminds himself, they could be married. Age is only a number and if you find the love of your life at a young age, why not tie the knot.
Nick briefly dreams about having just that: meeting the love of his life at a young age and not having to go and try to find his soulmate by kissing many frogs of both genders.
And if he now starts wearing his bi-pride pin a bit more openly after discovering that ‘Spring’ most likely is into men too, it’s Nick’s business and his alone.
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Every time Nick now walks past the “Spring” household, he hopes to catch a glimpse of his curly-haired dream guy. He’s pretty proud of himself that he even uses the stairs to go up now , so the eight floors are actually a nice work-out for his thighs - and, if he might say so - his butt. He catches sight of him - and only him, no beanie-man in sight - four times in the course of three weeks, mostly while one of them comes home and the other leaves. Every time, they nod at each other and smile shyly even though they're standing five metres apart.
One time, the other man practically flies past him down the stairs and the only thing following Nick’s own startled, “Huh!” is an unintelligible word that Nick thinks is “sorry”.
Another time, his neighbour talks to Ms Riggs in the entrance hall, wearing a vest that reveals his toned arms, short shorts and a headband to hold back his slightly sweaty locks, obviously just returning from a run. Nick, already in a hurry on his way to work, almost stumbles at the sight which earns him a knowing grin from their neighbour and a bashful smile from this gorgeous man, and his mind isn't capable of more than an almost-grunt as a greeting.
These little interactions have such an impact on Nick, they even follow him in his dreams, especially after once noticing the faintest hint of dimples on the other man’s cheeks. He categorically refuses to acknowledge how pathetic this might sound, pining over somebody he hasn't even talked to yet, but tries to steel himself to use actual words the next time he sees him anyway.
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“Oh.”
Nick feels heat rise up on his face but he hasn’t been able to stop this word from escaping his lips when the doors to the lift open to reveal his gorgeous neighbour. This wasn’t what he had in mind with use your words, but here they are. The other man must have come from the underground car park as Nick pressed the button in the entrance hall, opting for the lift for once with his two bags full of heavy groceries.
He awkwardly shuffles inside the waiting lift, trying to take up as little space as possible as the other man holds two big and seemingly heavy boxes - at least judging by how white his knuckles shine.
“Which floor are you?” Nick asks, realising too late that this is a question he knows the answer to so he blushes some more and chuckles lowly as he adds, “Nevermind, I do know that, sorry,” and pushes the button for their floor. He chances a look back at the other man and finds his eyes already resting on Nick, his teeth buried deep into his lips, obviously trying to stop himself from grinning too wide. Nick can’t blame him here so he just grins and rolls his eyes jokingly, mostly at himself.
Then he sees the other man’s gaze fall down to Nick's bi-coloured pin and he thanks every queer deity that he thought to put it on when he’d left his flat that morning. Even more so, when he watches the other man’s eyes grow wide and his cheeks colour pink just the tiniest , suspicious bit. Before he can say anything, though, he hears a timid “Meow?”
Without a second thought, Nick replies in kind, just like he always does when confronted with animals talking to him.
There’s a snort that’s definitely human following his meowing reply and then there’s that giggle Nick already had the pleasure of hearing on the first day they ‘met’.
God. Why does he always have to be such a dork? Nick almost puts down one of his bags to hide his face in his hand but his embarrassment is interrupted by a sudden cascade of indignant meows.
Now they both laugh, to Nick’s delight while connecting gazes and he sees those blue eyes sparkle like they did on his moving day, captivating Nick all over again.
“Whatever you just said to them seems to not be to their liking,” the other man says, still giggling.
“Apparently so! I’m sorry,” Nick replies, his gaze bouncing from one box to the other. “But I don’t dare apologise in cat-language, I don’t want to cause any further riots!”
“I really appreciate it! It’s my first day with them and I need them to like me,” the man confesses with a chuckle, “I’ll just tell them it was my neighbour who upset them,” the man adds, still sporting a bright smile that shows off dimples so deep Nick’s sure the tip of his pinky would fit in perfectly. For fuck’s sake, keep it together Nelson.
“Fair,” Nick replies after regaining access to the word department of his brain again, “I could also come over and apologise to them in person, if that helps?” Slightly too late, Nick registers how intrusive that sounds and starts backtracking immediately. “Sorry, what an odd thing to say, please ignore me.”
“We’ll see how the day goes, I might take you up on that offer actually,” is the answer that follows without missing a beat, the other man’s voice so clearly painted with a smile, Nick even dares to look up again.
Nick’s surprise about his neighbour’s almost flirty reply must be visible on his face because the other man blushes slightly before he shrugs.
Nick clears his throat the exact moment the doors of the lift open with a “ding” and they both make their exit and walk towards their respective flats - to Nick's delight - side by side. Not wanting to end their first real interaction, Nick searches his brain for more to talk about.
“Where did you get the cats, if you don't mind me asking?” Nick asks.
“Oh. Well, I-” The other man starts but stops himself, briefly averting his gaze. “I got them from the local cat rescue centre.”
“That’s so great!” Nick can't help but exclaim since he also got his dog from the rescue centre nearby. “What made you choose the two of them?”
“Umm, I-,” the other man trails off again, blushing slightly before he clears his throat and Nick can't help but wonder what this is all about. “It’s kind of a long story? And I don’t want to keep you,” the other man says then and Nick almost laughs because if it were up to him, his neighbour could keep him for as long as he pleases. He uses different words though to get his feelings across.
"I have time, there’s no one waiting at home apart from Daisy and I already took her for a walk before I went grocery shopping so she’s definitely good.”
He sees confusion flash over the other man’s gorgeous features before his whole face lights up in delight and he asks, “Is Daisy your dog?”
Nick can’t stop a proud smile from forming on his lips as he nods affirmatively.
“So now I know my neighbour’s dog's name but not my neighbour’s name?” Charlie asks with a smirk, one expressive eyebrow raised high. His flirty tone is only betrayed by how he starts chewing somewhat nervously on the inside of his lower lip a beat later.
“Well, she’s the princess of the house so the introduction of our names happened in absolutely the right order,” Nick laughs before he adds, suddenly a bit shy, “I’m Nick, Nick Nelson.”
“So if she’s the princess, does that make you king, Nick?” The other man teases him with a wink that brings Nick’s rapidly beating heart to a flustered stop. But before he can even try to regain his bearings, the other man resumes talking, “My name’s Charlie Spring and I’m pretty sure I’ll end up as the servant in my household.”
Charlie. Charlie Spring, hopefully not married just yet, hopefully single, hopefully into Nick someday soon.
For a few beats, they just stare at each other but their moment is broken by another loud meow.
“Right.” Charlie clears his throat. “The cats. I should probably get them into their new home now so that they don’t have to stay inside these boxes for longer than necessary and already hate me on our first day together,” he says, sounding genuinely apologetic. “I can tell you the story the next time I see you?” Charlie proposes, a hopeful lilt to his voice. Nick swallows down his disappointment upon the impending end to their conversation and is about to nod when Charlie keeps talking.
“Not that you have to of course! I just thought maybe you’d want to know because you mentioned it before but I totally get if you don’t want t-”
When Charlie’s beautiful blue eyes, wide like saucers in their current state of insecurity, connect with his, Nick doesn't hesitate to reassure him immediately. “Charlie, I’d really love to hear your story because I love animals so much, I wasn’t just saying that! Maybe one day I can introduce you to Daisy, too.”
He almost adds that he loves Charlie's proposition a ridiculous amount because it will give them a reason to interact again but instead, he keeps smiling at Charlie until he sees it mirrored on the other man's gorgeous features.
“Okay, I’d love that,” Charlie says, a soft exhale escaping him that sounds a lot like a relieved laugh. “So… see you then, I guess?”
“Yeah, see you,” Nick echoes, trying to wave with his face as his hands are still occupied with holding his bags. He hears Charlie giggle and the cats meow on his way to his door and as soon as Nick is inside his flat, he puts down his grocery shopping to facepalm in embarrassment and groans so loudly he wakes Daisy from her sleep.
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Nick’s about to turn the corner to exit the stairwell when he hears a familiar voice.
“I can't just go over, ring the bell, and say hi, Tori.”
Oh. It's Charlie. Nick stays rooted to the spot and even though his mum taught him to not eavesdrop, he can't make himself move.
“Yeah sure. Brilliant suggestion, Victoria,” Nick hears Charlie say, his voice is dripping with sarcasm. “‘Hi, hot neighbour, fancy coming over to finally meet my cats so I can tell you the story about how I got them like I promised? And can I cook dinner for you as a date?’ And then we kiss and live happily ever after, because my life is suddenly a fairy tale.”
Oh!
Nick holds his breath, this sounds oddly specific to not be-
“Tori! I have not been pining for ages! It's been barely weeks. And you know my usual luck with men. He’s just… yeah. I know. I will, Tori. Just need to find the perfect occasion, don't want to scare him away. He's just too gorgeous to fumble this, his smile is so lovely and god, his arms, Tori, he looks so strong and -. Yeah okay, I’ll shut up now, but one last thing...”
And then the door to Charlie's flat closes.
What one last thing? Who was Charlie talking about? Him?
Oh dear God.
Nick has to lean against the wall to steady himself. This is too good to be true, right?
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“And he lives over there?”
“Mum! Shhh! What if he can hear you?”
Sarah just giggles, the two white wines she had in the local pub after walking Daisy clearly having an effect on her ability to not embarrass Nick in front of his gorgeous neighbour. He tries to look and see if the door to Charlie's flat is closed and releases a sigh of relief after realising that it's in fact the case.
Still, he whispers his reply, “Yes, mum, he lives over there with the colourful door mat. Now can we please stop-”
“We could go over and see if he's at home? I’m really curious to see who got you all excited and swooning and blushing and so, so giggly when you talk about him.”
“Oh god, mum, let's get you inside. No more wine for you today!”
“Fiiiiine,” his mum relents reluctantly, but not without waving her hand dramatically in front of his face.
Nick finally unlocks the door and opens it for Sarah and Daisy to enter, finding himself very close to just shoving them inside. With one last glance over his shoulder in both directions to double check that Charlie really isn't nearby, he almost chokes on his shocked gasp when he sees Charlie standing close, obviously coming from the direction of the lift, his eyes wide, his cheeks coloured a light hue of pink and his mouth agape, the corners twitching from a suppressed but quite happy smile.
Oh shit. Nick tries to smile back as if nothing out of the ordinary happened and waves at Charlie awkwardly before he rushes inside his flat and closes the door behind himself in a hurry, not wanting his mum to realise that she could actually meet Charlie now and embarrass Nick into next week, making it all even worse.
Well. Seems like he and Charlie are even now.
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“Hi!”
“Hi!”
Nick knows he sounds probably too giddy but he’s so happy after eight days of not catching one single glimpse of Charlie to finally see his favourite set of curls, eyes, lips and dimples. They meet each other in the same position as they did a few weeks ago: Nick entering the lift that’s already occupied by gorgeous Charlie, who is wearing a cropped dark-red t-shirt and frayed black shorts, both of them carrying two bags full of things. Cat things, in Charlie’s case, Nick registers with a raised eyebrow and a smirk as he lifts his gaze to Charlie’s face. He just shrugs in response and yeah, Nick gets it, Daisy is in possession of an ungodly amount of dog toys, too.
“Is this bribery to get in their good books?” Nick teases.
“You mean on your behalf?” Charlie shoots back grinning, raising his eyebrows impressively high. And okay, Nick can play that game too.
“So you want them to like me then?” he asks and oops, different game, this sounds way more flirty spoken out loud than it did in his head.
Charlie sputters but holds his gaze, one eyebrow still so high it merges with his curls, something almost challenging tugging at his smiling lips when he replies, “Sure."
Maybe they're both more daring, now that they know that there's most certainly mutual pining involved.
“When can I meet them then?”
And okay again, Nick had no idea he could be this forward and feels his whole face heat up at the suggestiveness of his question. Even more so when he sees Charlie's eyes grow wide.
“I mean,” Nick starts but has no idea how to solve this and steer their conversation back into shallow and innocuous waters, so he trails off again.
But Charlie, sweet Charlie, comes to the rescue, “You can meet them soon and get to know each other - so you could look after them when I have to go on a work trip.” Charlie blushes before he adds, “Or something like that.”
Nick laughs relieved. “That’s actually really kind of you.You just could’ve asked me, you know. I’d have said yes anyway and then you could have left me with the little monsters all by myself. But instead, you go and buy two bags full of toys for my safety! You’re great Charlie,” Nick says with a wink, “You really care about a healthy relationship between neighbours.”
Charlie rolls his eyes at him in obvious jest. “You know, in my defence, there’s also cat food in there somewhere, it’s not only toys.”
Nick places his bags down on the ground to lift his hands in mock-surrender and is about to serve a witty reply the moment the lift stops at their floor.
Charlie giggles as he makes his way past Nick, mumbling a teasing, “Serves you just right,” in passing and every word of response dies on Nick’s lips as he gets a tantalising noseful of Charlie, of vanilla and coconut mixed with a cologne Nick doesn't recognise . He needs a few beats to collect himself before he bends down to grab his bags and follows Charlie.
Who waits for him outside with a soft smile on his face.
Fuck, Nick's doomed - his heart longs for this man, he feels it ache in his chest and all he wants is to keep their interaction going at all costs, to get to know him a little better, to be near him a little longer.
“So, I think you owe me a story?” he says, glancing sideways at Charlie who looks up at him with wide eyes.
“You remember?”
Nick almost scoffs but thinks better of it. Charlie can’t read his mind just yet. “Yeah, of course I do! I’d love to hear how the three of you found each other. I really love stories like that,” he says instead as they come to a halt in front of Nick’s door.
Charlie smiles shyly but is obviously pleased, averting his gaze to the ground where he puts down his bags. Nick does the same and leans his against his wooden door.
“Okay,” Charlie starts as he straightens up again, inhaling while he seems to try to find his words. “So, as you know I moved in a few weeks ago and when I finally unpacked the last box and didn't have that much to do after work every night, I realised I’m not that good at living all by myself.” He laughs a little self-deprecatingly which gives Nick’s mind a second to catch up. Charlie Spring lives alone! Doesn’t mean he’s single, his brain reminds him not a beat later and he almost rolls his eyes at himself. Always so negative, he just confessed to feeling lonely at night. With his rationality arguing with his emotions, Nick almost misses that Charlie continues talking. “So the morning of when we first actually spoke to each other, I decided to go to the animal shelter and see if there was a cat waiting for a new home. And well, I did just that and as they showed me around, we stopped in front of this one cage. The lady told me the story of these two cats, Tommy and Mika, and how a couple had to leave them with the shelter as they had to move abroad because of a new job and couldn’t take the cats with them. It was a heartbreaking story because they loved their cats so much and them being a gay couple was like the last straw for me. It felt like some sort of gay-deity bringing us together in gay-solidarity.” Charlie looks up at Nick at this, holding his hands out in a ‘what can you do’-manner and Nick wants to hug him badly. But he knows they're not that kind of friends just yet so he just reaches out to squeeze Charlie's shoulder in comfort and own version of solidarity.
And that's when his brain connects the dots and he freezes. “Did you just say Tommy and Mika?” Nick almost whispers in his disbelief. That can't be, right?
“Yeah?” Charlie replies, clearly unsure about Nick's sudden change of demeanour.
“Are they both a beautiful silky grey with Mika having a slightly brighter tone to his fur?”
“Yes! Nick-”
“Do you, by any chance, know the name of the gay couple?” Nick prods, feeling his eyes widen in cautious delight.
“I think it was Steven and-”
“Marty?”
“Yes? Nick, how do you know that? What’s going on?”
Upon hearing the uncertainty in Charlie's voice, Nick reels his mind back from the joyful state that is finding out about this huge coincidence.
“Okay, I know this sounds insane but I’m so sure it's what happened here,” Nick starts, realising he’s still holding Charlie's shoulder so he squeezes it once more in his need of connection in this moment that feels somewhat pivotal. “The previous people living in your flat were a gay couple who owned two cats. Marty got an offer for a new fancy job, but since it was abroad, they couldn't take the cats with them and had to take them to an animal shelter.” Nick stops himself to see if Charlie figures out what’s going on by himself.
After a beat of silence, Nick sees his eyes grow impossibly wide.
“And I went and brought them home again, so to speak?”
Nick just nods, his grin too big for actual words.
“No way,” Charlie breathes and Nick watches emotion after emotion cross his expressive face. “That actually explains a lot,” Charlie continues, his mind clearly travelling through the past few weeks, “I wondered how they knew their way around super fast... and to think I blamed it on the amazing instincts! Never in a million years would I have thought that this would be the reason,” Charlie says, trailing off, now sporting a stunned smile. His sigh turns into a soft laugh as he continues, “Jesus, this really feels like fate… Two cats from a gay couple in need of a new place, one lonely gay guy in search of company, who all end up finding each other in a way that the cats can continue to live their lives in the same place. You couldn't dream up a match like that!"
They both chuckle, the astonishment audible in both their voices. But Charlie's words ‘lonely gay guy’ make Nick’s heart ache for him and with double the force from before, he feels the urge to wrap him up in a tight hug and never let go. He wants to be the one who keeps him company, wants to tell him that he isn’t alone, but not wanting to overwhelm him, Nick just squeezes the shoulder he's still holding tightly once more before he finally lets go.
“I couldn't think of a better match, honestly!” Nick agrees cheerfully before he lowers his voice to add, “But I also know what you mean, I have my dog for the same reason. It’s nice to have someone waiting for you when you come home.” Nick shrugs but doesn't miss how Charlie’s eyes light up in interest.
“So you’re single too?” he asks and for slightly too long, they smile at each other slightly too dopily after Nick’s very affirmative nod - until they hear a soft bark through the door. Daisy must’ve sensed his arrival by now and, ever the impatient girl, needs to have Nick’s attention immediately.
They both huff out a laugh but Nick starts to curse their respective animals just a tiny little bit for always interrupting them.
“See you soon then?” Charlie asks, already bending down to grab his bags again. “I need to go and tell the cats about this, I still can't wrap my head around it,” he adds when he comes up again, his smile back to being one of disbelief.
Nick can't help but picture Charlie sitting with his cats and it's so adorable, a small giggle escapes his lips.
He shakes his head and turns towards his door before he replies, “Yeah, see you soon, can't wait!”
He feels his cheeks burn hot at the almost too sincere confession so he unlocks the door and wiggles himself and his own bags inside without giving Daisy a chance to escape.
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Sitting at his desk to mark the maths books, Nick startles upon hearing his buzzer ring from the flat's intercom system on the street. Who could that be, on a Saturday at 10 in the morning?
He gets up to make his way to the door intercom and asks, “Who’s there?”
The first thing he hears is the clearing of a throat and a sheepish giggle and fuck, he knows this sound.
“Charlie?”
“Um yeah, how did you know that?” comes the surprised reply in this tinny version of Charlie’s voice.
“Umm,” is Nick’s eloquent reply, because how on Earth could he explain to Charlie without sounding like a total creep that he would recognise his giggle anywhere?
When Nick doesn’t say anything else, Charlie takes over the talking again.
“So um, I kinda need your help. Oh god, this is so embarrassing. But I, um. I… Well. I bought a maybe slightly too big cat tree and the company only delivered to the building address and refused to help me bring this thing inside and up to our - I mean my floor and now I’m kinda stuck with this thing in the entry hall and you…”
“And I what?” Nick can’t help but prod when Charlie stays silent for a beat too long.
“Oh god, I sound like a total creep, but I noticed your arms and you look really strong and that’s why I wanted to ask you if you could help me bring this thing up.”
What? Charlie noticed his arms? So it looks like Charlie was talking about him on the phone that day after all. Nick smirks at his intercom and wiggles his hips happily so his whole upper body shimmies with the movement.
“Nick? Did I scare you off? I mean I could understand, I’m so sor-”
“Charlie, stop please, no need to apologise! You just fried my brain for a moment. I’m already on my way.”
“Oh, okay. Thank you so much Nick!”
“Of course, see you in a minute! Don't go anywhere, over-achieving cat dad.”
“Haha, shut up. And no, I won't, I couldn't go anywhere even if I wanted to.”
Nick huffs out a laugh as he hangs up the receiver and looks at himself in the mirror in his hallway to check on the state of his hair. Still slightly too long with his lack of time for a haircut, his reddish fringe flops down onto his face. But it doesn't look too bad as he hadn't been sat too long working so it isn’t messed up too much from gripping it in frustration. He just pads at it like he always does before he leaves his flat. Then his gaze wanders lower until it stops at the hem of his t-shirt-sleeves. It’s a decently warm morning, he could take off his shirt and go and help Charlie just wearing his vest with his strong arms on display. He bites his lower lip in anticipation and does just that.
Before he leaves his flat, he winks at himself. “Wish me luck Daisy, I’ll be back in a few minutes!”
Or, hopefully longer, he adds under his breath.
When he makes his way into the entry hall, he can’t stop a low laugh escaping from his lips. It’s a ridiculously big box Charlie’s currently sitting on, obviously containing a cat tree of abnormal size. Or a very sophisticated one. His gaze travels up to Charlie and he suddenly feels weak in the knees and every teasing thought disappears at once. Charlie’s wearing the same shirt he wore for his moving day, the one with the very loose collar, currently revealing a lot more for Nick’s eyes than Nick’s brain can handle with the hunched over position Charlie has from reading something on his phone. Nick can see hair covering a tantalisingly muscular chest and even glimpses of the stomach that had caught his eye all those weeks ago. His eyes wander lower to Charlie’s legs and he bites his lip so as to not let out a pathetic whimper upon seeing the other man’s strong lean thighs and muscular calves on full display because he’s wearing his damn short shorts again. Oh fuck, he’s screwed. Nick closes his eyes, praying that Charlie doesn’t look up just yet so he can calm himself, especially his racing heart and his lower half, to a decent degree. After a few beats, he feels like he’s back to working normally.
“Charlie?” Nick says softly, not wanting to scare the other man and cause him to fall off the box.
Charlie looks up from his phone upon hearing Nick’s voice and opens his mouth but as soon as his eyes fall on Nick, his gaze zeroes in on Nick’s arms, jumping from the left to the right and back again as if completely unsure where to settle. Oh. They’re really both a little bit into each other? Nick flexes his muscles just to see what will happen and watches - probably a little bit too smugly - how Charlie’s eyes grow wide while still flickering back and forth.
Nick clears his throat, causing Charlie to look up surprised as if he’s shocked that there’s actually a human being attached to those arms. Nick bites his lip to prevent himself from laughing.
“You’re really stepping up your game with your cats,” Nick says teasingly, trying to ease a bit of the tension wafting around them. They cannot jump each other in the hallway, for fuck’s sake. He really likes living in this building.
This seems to bring Charlie back from his own stupor and he clears his throat although he seems to still have trouble tearing his gaze away from Nick’s arms - the ripping is almost audible. He clears his throat again.
“Um yeah. Might have misjudged the sheer size of it. But it looked cosy and interesting and adventurous in the ad. And they don’t allow returns so I have to at least see if it will fit in my flat before I try to sell it.”
He shrugs and holds up his hands before he jumps off the box, a movement that brings him very close to Nick - something they both realise with wide eyes, staring at each other with quiet gasps escaping their lungs.
Fuck. Nick would only have to lean down the tiniest bit to close the distance. Just- Oh god, is Charlie raising on his tip-toes, fuck, is this happening?
“Good morning Mr Nelson, Mr Spring,” a grumpy male voice says, causing them to break away instantly before they gather themselves enough to greet Mr Thomas in unison.
Nick and Charlie glance at each other when the other man walks past them, smiling shyly, and Nick really wants to curse his least beloved neighbour for interrupting their moment. But he doesn't. Instead, he swallows hard before he goes back to the task at hand.
“Okay, now let’s get this thing up to your place.” Nick says, flexing his muscles one more time for good measure before bending down to take hold of this big package.
Eyeing the too narrow door and the too big box, Charlie breaks out in laughter.
“Oh fuck off, you gotta be kidding me. It’s even too big to fit through the door?”
“Well, yeah,” Nick agrees to the obvious before laughing at their misery, too.
He looks at Charlie, giggling so freely and unabashed, his t-shirt riding up as he supports himself on the box so he doesn’t topple over, and it takes all of Nick’s willpower to not curl his arm around Charlie's waist and pull him close.
He really needs to see where this could lead, if there's more in the cards for them than just being neighbours, and he knows he at least has to try.
“I can help you build it if you want? We could open the box here and go from there,” Nick offers once they’ve calmed enough to breathe at least somewhat regularly again.
“Do you have any experience in building cat trees?” Charlie teases in suspicion, well aware of Nick’s dog.
“Well, no. They don’t produce these things for dogs,” Nick replies, unable to stop his mind from picturing his big pup Daisy lazing in one of the suspended little beds and he can’t help but erupt in laughter again.
“Are you imagining it right now?” Charlie asks and giggles upon seeing Nick blush and nod.
“Dork,” Charlie adds and well, fair. Nick clears his throat.
“I might have no experience in building a cat tree, but I’ve had my fair share of assembling and disassembling Ikea furniture throughout my life. It can’t be that different. Or, at least I hope not.”
“Well, in that case, I’d love to take you up on your offer. I have assembled some furniture before, too, but it’s definitely not my strong suit,” Charlie chuckles before something seems to cross his mind and his smile falters. “But I don’t want to take up so much of your time, I’m sure you have better things to do on a beautiful Saturday than helping your neighbour out.”
“Charlie, I offered, remember? I wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t have time. I can mark my student’s books later or tomorrow.” And I would quite literally do anything to spend more time with you, goes unsaid.
“Oh, you’re a teacher?” Charlie asks in a voice that sounds decidedly softer than a few seconds ago.
“Yeah, I teach year six currently,” Nick replies with a smile before he jumps at the chance of learning more about Charlie. ‘What do you do with your time, aside from being a proud cat dad? If you don’t mind me asking?”
“I work as an editor in publishing, currently in the department of ancient history. So I get to do for a living what I already do in my free time - read a lot.”
“Oh wow, so you’re smart smart! That’s so cool, Charlie! I’m so impressed,” Nick says, not caring how excited he sounds upon seeing a proud little smile tugging at Charlie’s lips as he just shrugs nonchalantly as a reply.
“Okay so…” Charlie starts, then blushes and averts his gaze. “I mean, if you’re so generously offering your help to me, Tommy and Mika, can I pay you back by,” he stops to inhale deeply as if to steel himself for his next words, “let’s say, inviting you to dinner?”
Even though Nick doesn’t know Charlie that much or even at all, really, he sees the underlying uncertainty that is currently thinly painted by courage.
“Dinner?” Nick can’t help but inquire; he needs to know if they're on the same page, “You mean, like, as a date?” He holds his breath, fully aware of how hopeful he sounds. Maybe he just scared the other man away by being pushy.
Maybe he read it all wrong.
“If that’s something you’d like?” Charlie asks back, sounding infinitesimally more certain now.
“It’s definitely something I’d like,” Nick says, unable to bite back his happy smile any longer.
“Well then, it’s a date. Now come and meet Tommy and Mika again .”
“Yes, please! I wonder if they still recognise me!”
🍂🍂🍂💛💙🍂🍂🍂
“Charlie!” Nick whisper-shouts, “Come here and watch this! I knew she would do exactly that the moment she got the chance!” Nick adds, his voice shaking from suppressed laughter.
He feels his boyfriend’s arms wrap around his waist from behind and a chin hooking softly on his shoulder.
Nick’s whole back vibrates with Charlie's laugh.
“Is this how you pictured it back then when we first built it last year?”
Nick sighs happily as he thinks back to that fateful Saturday morning when being boyfriends started because of this ridiculously large cat tree. One that, of course, has made its way to their new home with enough space for the five of them. He turns in his boyfriend's arms so they can face each other and lifts his hands to gently cradle Charlie's face and caress his stubbly cheekbones. Their eyes meet and even though Charlie's still smiling, Nick sees nothing but adoration in his beautifully sparkling blue eyes. Nick leans down to kiss Charlie, something he still can't get enough of and wants - and does, if he’s honest - every chance he gets. He feels those deliciously plump lips move against his, tastes the sweetness of the tea they just shared on his tongue, and he all but loses himself in Charlie’s touches - fingers buried deep in his auburn hair to hold him close, a thumb grazing tantalisingly slowly along his waistband, a lean body pressed against his own so tight they almost become one.
And he almost, but only almost, forgets about Charlie's question. He pulls back just enough to whisper his reply against Charlie's neck.
“No, it's even better than I imagined it would be, because now there's the three of them lazing in the cat tree like a big found family.”
💛💙