Chapter Text
Charlie’s car sputters as he makes his way through the Welsh countryside, creating a series of concerning sounds as he grows closer to his destination. His small Toyota is not made for the long six-hour journey from Glasgow to Wales, it's much more accustomed to the stop-and-go of the city.
“Come on, don’t fail me now.” He says under his breath as he rolls slowly uphill. Once he's safely up and can see the cottage in the distance, he lets out a long breath. Finally.
Now that he’s not white-knuckling the steering wheel, he can take in the gorgeous view around him. He is driving on the winding road along the grassy hilltops, to his right is the sharp drop to the sea below, crashing into the rocks; slightly terrifying, but beautiful nonetheless. As he pushes along, he spots a few houses dotted about, but for the most part, it's only grassy hills as far as the eye can see.
The cottage he’s renting for the summer is in the Wales countryside, about a twenty-minute walk from the town of Tenby. He wanted something that was not completely isolated, but secluded enough that he could sit in silence without hearing the constant bustling city life around him. He enjoys the city, he does, but this is much-needed silence.
He pulls along the side of the white picket fence that is in front of the cottage, it’s even more beautiful in person. It’s a small white cottage with baby blue shudders and a matching door, the paint chipping off from what is probably years of salty air wearing it away. It’s nestled on the flattened clifftop with bushes of flowers in front and the sea behind it. His home for the summer.
The aforementioned blue door opens to reveal a woman with overalls and short brown hair, she smiles wide and waves to him. That must be Sarah Nelson, the owner he’s renting from.
“Hello! You must be Charlie, so nice to finally meet you” She says, meeting Charlie halfway as he walks up the stone path to the cottage.
“Um, yes, nice to meet you too,” Charlie says, shaking her hand.
“Come, follow me, I’ll show you around,”
Charlie does so and follows her inside. The interior is just as gorgeous as the outside with exposed wooden beams on the ceiling, big windows that look out to the sea, and dark oak floors; It feels homey and lived in.
“This is gorgeous,” Charlie says, taking it all in.
“I’m glad you think so, dear!” She beams. “So, downstairs is the sitting room, kitchen, and one of the bathrooms. Upstairs is the bedroom and a half bath, everything should be working properly, I had my son check this morning, but feel free to walk over to my place if you need anything or have any trouble, my house is just down the road.” Sarah puts a hand on his shoulder and smiles. “I’ll leave you to it unless you have any questions or need me to help you bring in your things?”
Sarah has one of those warm smiles that Charlie can't help but match. “I think I’m all set, thank you, Sarah.”
“No worries dear, I’ll see you around!” and with that, she is out the door and Charlie is alone in the cottage.
It’s quiet beside the faint sounds of the sea crashing into the cliffside and loud seagulls squawking overhead, it’s so silent he can hear the house settling beneath him. It’s music to his ears.
Charlie brings in his too many bags and begins unpacking. He places his childhood stuffed cat on the bed, his toothbrush next to the sink, and his meal plan on the kitchen counter. But most importantly, his computer on the desk in the bedroom– one of the reasons why he is even here in the first place.
You see, the past year has been pretty shit, and that's putting it lightly. It all started last December, well it’s been longer than that, considering he’d been dating Ben for two years before they broke up, but things got worse last winter when they moved in together.
Charlie met Ben two years ago. They first met during Charlie’s last year at university and quickly became friends. Then quickly became more than friends. Charlie was head over heels for him, he was an attractive, seemingly charming guy, and he liked Charlie. Charlie had no experience with romance before Ben, so he was willing to take anything Ben would give him, even when the ‘nice guy’ walls came down and his actual personality was uncovered.
But, Charlie had rose-tinted glasses when looking at him, so when Ben wanted Charlie to move in with him when Charlie’s lease on his flat was up, Charlie said yes, it seemed like the obvious next step. But it wasn’t until he moved in and they were together every day, sharing a small space, that Charlie could finally see clearly what a horrible person he was.
But, the breaking point was when Ben tried to force Charlie into intimate acts he didn’t consent to, which snapped him out of his ignorant bubble.
It has been six months since Charlie moved out of Ben’s place, but the pain he caused still lingers. Which not only affects Charlie’s mental health but also his job.
Charlie is a romance author… ironic, he knows. And it’s because of Ben that Charlie hasn’t been able to write anything sustainable in months.
When Charlie was a kid, books about queer love and joy were few and far between. But when he did find them, those were the types of books that filled him with hope. Hope that maybe one day, someone like him could find love like that. So that’s what Charlie wrote. Books filled with queer love to help other people feel that happiness he felt. But, now that his one and only romantic experience was quite literally the worst thing that could have happened, it was hard to write about the love he so desperately wanted, but couldn’t seem to find. Love he’s not even sure actually exists outside of book pages and movie screens.
Who knew it would be so hard to write about love when his life was so devoid of it?
So, Charlie decided he needed to get out of Glasgow, the town where with every corner he turned, it felt as if Ben haunted it. Because, after the worst few months of his life, he thinks he deserves a break; a new, beautiful place where he can clear his mind and focus on getting his next book written before his publisher murders him. So, for the next three months, it’s just him and his laptop, no distractions.
After he finishes unpacking, he makes his way to the kitchen. He hasn’t eaten dinner yet, and he promised his therapist and himself he would follow his meal plan religiously. He had a relapse last month, and he knows how important it is to stay consistent, especially right now.
He opens the fridge and the cabinets to see them mostly bare, but enough to make himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He makes a mental note to ask Sarah where the nearest supermarket is.
He makes his sandwich, after searching every single cabinet for the knives, and sits on the back porch to eat.
He finds it pretty easy to finish his whole sandwich when he’s distracted by the gorgeous view. The back garden isn’t huge, but there is a small grassy patch that is fenced in by a white fence that opens to wooden steps leading down to the rocky shore.
As he swallows his last bite, his phone pings with a text from his sister, asking if he made it there in one piece. Charlie smiles and presses the call button.
It rings twice before Tori’s face fills his screen. “Looks like you made it there without your car blowing off the cliff, then.” She says, expression flat as always.
Charlie just laughs and flips the camera to show Tori the view. “Gorgeous, isn't it?”
“Eh, it’s alright.” She says, but Charlie can see a hint of a smile on her face.
Charlie flips the camera back to him so he can stick his tongue out at her. “I should probably start working, I just wanted to let you know I made it,”
“Okay, but make sure you actually give yourself time to rest too.” Her voice is stern, a big change from her usually monotone voice, which tells Charlie she's serious. “I mean it, Charles, if I find out you’re not taking time for yourself, I will walk all the way to Wales and steal your laptop.”
“I would expect nothing less,”
They exchange goodbyes and Charlie hangs up with a sigh and the silence returns. Tori is the only person he told that he was going on this trip besides his publicist. There wasn’t really anyone else to tell. He didn’t have many friends back in Glasgow, not anyone he was close enough to that they would wonder where he went if he disappeared for three months. Charlie never noticed his lack of social life until he broke up with Ben, he realized pretty quickly that Ben demanded so much of Charlie’s time and undivided attention that he never really had the chance to go out and meet people. So, at the moment, his sister is his best friend. Quite sad, if he thinks about it for too long.
He sits out on the porch for a long while, just letting himself unwind and decompress from his long drive. He is just about to head inside when he hears distant barking and… shouting?
The noise quickly becomes less distant when suddenly there is a dog in his yard, a brown and white border collie that bounds up the steps of the porch and stops at Charlie’s feet, tail wagging wildly.
“Oh,” Charlie smiles. “Hello there,”
“Nellie!”
Oh, now there is a man in the garden. A very attractive man, at that.
Charlie’s eyes go wide as the man comes to a stop, putting his hands on his knees and breathing heavily, his blond hair falls in front of his eyes. The man, suddenly realizing Charlie is staring at him, quickly stands up straight and brings a hand up to rub the back of his neck. And Charlie definitely doesn’t notice the way his very large biceps flex as he does so.
“Oh my God, I am so sorry!” The man rushes out. “I was taking her for a walk and she got off her leash and your fence gate was open, I’m so sorry. She’s friendly, I promise, she just wants pets,”
“It’s fine, really,” Charlie smiles at the flustered man and crouches down to scratch Nellie behind the ears. “She’s adorable,”
“Not so adorable when she makes me chase her through the neighborhood,” He lets out an exasperated laugh. “Um, do you mind if I come up and get her?”
“No, of course,”
He walks up the steps and crouches down to clip her leash back on. “I’m Nick, by the way, Nelson. Nick Nelson.”
“Oh, you’re Sarah’s son?”
“Yup, I’m home for the summer, so I’m helping her out with the cottage.” Nick smiles and stands up and it’s then that Charlie realizes he has to look up to meet his eyes. “So, what brings you to Wales?”
“Oh, um,” I’m mentally ill and tired and I needed to get out of the town my toxic ex lives in, would be the truth, but he couldn’t exactly say that, could he. “I am an author and needed some inspiration,” He eventually settles on. “And Wales is beautiful from what I’ve seen so far, so it seems like the right place for that.”
“It definitely is beautiful,” Nick says, warm eyes locked on his. “Have you had any time to explore yet?”
“Not yet, I just got here today,”
“Oh, could show you around sometime, if you’d like? Unless you are busy, which you probably will be since you are here working, sorry, forget I said anything–”
“Nick,” Charlie cuts him off with a laugh. It’s quite endearing to watch this unit of a man get so flustered over something so simple. “I’d really like that.”
“Oh, yeah okay, well, you know where I live so,” He smiles shyly. “Just let me know whenever you want the grand tour,”
“Yeah, I definitely will.”
“Okay, well, I see you around,”
And with that, Nick and Nellie walk back to the road to continue their walk but not before Nick throws a dorky wave over his shoulder.
Nick Nelson… interesting.