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11:02, Nick ❤️🐶🖕🏼
I’m on the traaaaaiiinnnn
God I can’t wait to see you
And everyone else blah blah
But frankly they can fuck themselves rn
11.07, Charlie ❤️🐱🖕🏼
on isaac’s birthday??? fucking rude
i’m telling him xox
Apart from Isaac
But I don’t want to stick my tongue immediately down his throat so my point still stands
i would fucking well hope not
so would he
i guess i’m kind of excited to see you too
You know what
Close enough, I’ll take it
What are you more excited about, games night or the two hours we get to ourselves first?
clearly games night xxx
Sigh
I don’t know why I asked
i do have just one favour to ask of you for games night though, my love
Keep calling me “my love” and I’ll do anything the fuck you want
Christ
hush
anyway. i need you to promise me that you won’t go crazy
… I’m going to need a little more context, darling
during the games
you and isaac get… intense
and i need you to not go batshit when you don’t win
PARDON ME
YOU’RE THE SORE LOSER NOT ME
that’s not even…
come on nick, you know what i mean
when we play wavelength
….
I simply have no idea what you’re implying, Charles
Charlie rolls his eyes. No idea, his arse. He’ll let it go for now though, because, actually, he is very excited to see Nick. Despite how much of a monster he is when he plays games, Charlie still quite likes him.
It wasn’t really something he’d expected from his mild-mannered, fairly sensible boyfriend, and it definitely wasn’t as bad when they used to play on their Switches together after school back in the day. Maybe it’s because Nick knew then that he had no chance of winning. Now, when the Paris Squad get together on breaks from uni or arranged weekend trips for someone’s birthday, it’s different.
They play games online sometimes, from their own laptops in their own cities. It’s a way to connect when they can’t be together in person, and it keeps Charlie going between actual visits. It always descends into chaos, all of them shouting over each other and insulting each other as they try to win. And, to Charlie’s utter surprise when they started the tradition, Nick is the fucking worst for it.
Despite all of that, Charlie has decided to keep him around anyway. He’s God’s strongest soldier, truly. Nobody knows suffering like he does.
“Why is no one listening to me! Look at him!” Nick squawks as he jabs a finger towards Isaac. “I know what he put! You’re all thinking what you would say, but I know him! I’m in his brain! Why is no one listening?”
The peals of laughter drown Nick’s desperate pleas out and Charlie reaches over to pull at his flailing arm.
“Babe, this is what I was talking about earlier. Calm the fuck down.”
Nick does not. Instead, he stands up and starts screeching even louder about how he’s always right.
Jesus fucking Christ, Charlie thinks. They’re onto their third round of a game called Wavelength, one of Isaac’s favourites, and they’ve been getting louder and louder with every question. It’s Isaac’s go and he’s sitting quietly and coyly in an armchair in the corner of the room, not giving anything away. Everybody is debating his answer, trying to get into his mindset so they can guess where he’ll have set his line.
Charlie likes to think he knows Isaac pretty well, so he keeps moving the dial to where he thinks it should be. Every time it shifts, Nick gets more and more irate.
“You don’t understand!” he’s yelling over the group’s noise, cracking Isaac’s serious façade. “I’m telling you, we have the same brain! He’s going to put it here!”
He aggressively stabs at his phone until the dial moves towards the left, making everybody else groan and scramble to move it back on their own devices.
“Nick?” Charlie mutters, too quietly for his hyperactive boyfriend to hear him. “I’m divorcing you.”
Elle cracks up beside him, but nobody else pays any attention. After Tao moves the dial on his screen again, Nick very dramatically growls and collapses back onto the sofa, jostling Charlie in the process.
“You know what?” Nick says. “Do whatever the fuck you want. Be wrong. And when the answer comes up, and he’s put it exactly where I’m telling you he put it, you’re going to be fucking sorry.”
There’s silence for a moment as everyone stares wide-eyed at Nick, and then they all dissolve into hysterical laughter. Charlie just tips forward and buries his face in his knees, wishing he could teleport to somewhere lovely where his chosen life partner isn’t a total embarrassment.
“I told them,” Nick is saying, clinging onto both of Isaac’s biceps. They’re all trying to leave, but Nick is blocking the doorway.
“I know,” Isaac placates, patting awkwardly at Nick’s shoulder.
“I had it exactly where you did.”
“I know, Nick.”
“I know you.”
“You do.”
“It’s like looking into a mirror sometimes,” Nick sighs dramatically, and Charlie snorts behind him.
“A very old, very dusty, very cracked mirror,” Isaac agrees.
“Fucking rude.”
Isaac grins in response. “Get out of my house, brain twin.”
Nick is still pouting, but he makes a resigned sound. “Happy birthday. Love you.”
“Yeah, you’re alright,” Isaac allows, shoving Nick away so he can say goodbye to his other guests. Nick only hovers for half a second longer before he does as he’s told, finally.
19:33, Nick ❤️🐶🖕🏼
It can’t have been that bad
19.34, Charlie ❤️🐱🖕🏼
nick
it was fucking awful
But I was right!!!
It was everyone else who was awful
And I can’t believe you didn’t have my back
have your back?
nicholas
i wanted to pretend i’d never fucking met you in my life
That’s so fucking rude btw x
Also, don’t think I didn’t hear you threatening divorce
I keep telling you, you have to agree to marry me before that
i’ll marry you just to divorce you for how you are at games night
You know what I’m going to ask for for my birthday?
your birthday was two weeks ago x
My NEXT birthday
Is one whole night where people have to listen to ME
Because I am RIGHT
and i thought i was a bad loser
You are
I’ve seen Tori beat you at Mario Kart
It was very embarrassing for you xxx
we do not discuss that
SEE
You’re definitely worse
AWW cute thought
Maybe that’s why we’re soulmates, cos we’re both bad losers
don’t fucking soulmate me after bringing up my greatest shame, nicholas
i find that very rude
Well, I find you very rude
Next time we play games, I expect you to back me up
Like my PARTNER should
next time?
there will never be a next time, nelson
i’m too humiliated
One day you won’t be embarrassed of me and you’ll just love me
i do love you
unconditionally
that doesn’t mean i can’t disown you from time to time xoxo
Hmm
That sounds a little like a condition
u need a dictionary
Why? I have you x
you do
unconditionally
Gay
Two half days wasn’t enough btw
I sad
you’ll get over it xx
Sometimes it’s like you’ve never met me
I’m actually going to pout for five days until you get to Leeds
yeah, idk what i was thinking
five days. that’s a nice small amount <3
Any days is too many days
i’m trying to be reassuring and positive
Well DON’T
Actually do
Keep going pls
Charlie
Charlie I said keep going
CHARRRRRRLIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Okay well I guess we’re breaking up then
Bye I guess x
nick. i went to shower.
but nah, you’re not dramatic at all xxx
Love you say it back
i love you
even though u like isaac’s brain more than mine
traitor
CHARLIE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO