Chapter Text
Nick starts drawing the bath just as the front door opens. Perfect timing. He drops in a strawberry bath bomb and lets the moving water froth up as he heads out to meet Charlie by the door.
“Hello, my love,” Nick greets warmly, stretching out his arms. Charlie collapses into him, his body sagging into Nick’s broad chest as the larger man wraps him in a tight embrace. “How was work?”
“Mmf,” Charlie murmurs from where his face is buried in Nick’s chest.
“I’ve got a bath running for you, darling,” Nick whispers.
Charlie releases a long exhale. “Work was good. Tired and sore though.”
Nick nods. He figured as much. These weekend trips take a lot out of Charlie’s social battery, in addition to being physically demanding, and usually when the smaller man comes home he needs to decompress.
“Bathtime,” Nick orders, gently steering Charlie in the direction of the loo.
“I should wash my stuff properly, I just rinsed it at the hotel,” Charlie tries to argue.
“I’ll wash your stuff, you wash you.”
Charlie smiles at him, eyes soft and tired. He starts removing his clothing, which Nick gathers in his arms to take to the laundry bin in their bedroom.
“Do you want company, or alone time?” Nick asks. It’s always a coin toss.
“Alone time for now, I think,” his boyfriend says quietly. Nick leans in to kiss his forehead, and closes the door behind him as he leaves Charlie to recharge by himself.
He deposits the laundry in the basket, and then grabs the bag that Charlie had left in the front hall and takes its contents to the kitchen. Filling the sink with hot, soapy water, he places the toys in one by one and grabs the notched sponge to start cleaning them. Music plays in the background, and he hums along to the familiar song as he does this normal-to-him washing up.
Nick and Charlie have been living together for over a year now, having moved into this two bedroom flat soon after their first anniversary. One of the rooms is their bedroom, and the other is Charlie’s office. Charlie had acquiesced to letting Nick decorate it a bit more than the spartan and functional furniture he had at his old place, and Nick had delighted in adding fairy lights and framed art to the space. A few weeks after the change, Charlie admitted that he was receiving positive feedback from subscribers about the new decor, and Nick bubbled with pride.
As the toys lay drying on the rack, Nick rinses the sponge and pops it into the microwave to sanitise it. He grabs the anti-bacterial wipes from under the sink, giving every surface a thorough cleaning.
He pulls out the granola and peanut butter, mashing the two ingredients together in just the right proportions for Charlie’s preferences. Nick knows his boyfriend will be hungry soon, if he’s not already, and wants to be prepared. He holds off on adding the chocolate chips though, wanting them to still be frozen by the time Charlie is eating it.
Finally Nick returns to the sofa, opening his phone to check the delivery status of a very special package. He had ordered Charlie a new tarot deck– a colourful queer version that Nick knew he would love– and it was supposed to be arriving any time. The tracker had said it was Out For Delivery all day today, and Nick had been practically vibrating with excitement.
When he hears a knock on the door, he practically runs to answer it. He takes the package to their bedroom to open it, flipping through the gorgeous technicolour cards.
“Nick?” He hears a call from the bathroom. Nick carefully deposits the deck into a shoebox labelled “Rugby Trophies” at the back of their closet. There are no trophies in the box, though. Just this new deck of tarot cards, and another, much smaller box inside it.
“Coming!” Nick quickly puts the rubbish from the package into the bin and sprinkles some frozen chocolate chips on top of the Special, grabbing a spoon and taking the bowl into the loo.
Charlie is lounging in the large tub, artfully covered in bubbles and smiling softly when Nick comes in. Nick wordlessly hands him the food, returning his grin as he seats himself on the closed toilet seat.
“Ready for company?” Nick asks, looking lovingly at his partner.
“Mhm,” Charlie nods, swallowing a mouthful of food. “Missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
Charlie continues eating, and Nick doesn’t feel the need to fill the room with noise. They just sit together, comfortably sharing the space.
Once Charlie has finished, Nick takes the bowl and sets it on the counter.
“Vinny and Ted couldn’t make it this weekend,” he shares, closing his eyes as he sinks deeper into the tub so that just his head and neck are above water. “Vin had a bit of a tumble, he’s in hospital.”
“Fuck,” Nick says, leaning over to rest his elbows on his thighs. “Is he alright?”
“He will be, yeah,” Charlie replies, shifting his weight around in the sparkly pink water. “Ted was pretty shaken up when he called, though. The first nurse he talked to wouldn’t tell him anything, it took ages for him to find out that Vin would be okay.”
Nick frowns. “Why the fuck not?”
Charlie sighs. “They’re not married. Don’t believe in the institution of it, never bothered to do the paperwork.”
“But commonlaw is as good as.”
“For most purposes, I think. Maybe this nurse was just being a bit of a twat.”
“Right massive cow,” Nick huffs.
“Yeah…” Charlie stares off, letting the word hang in the air. Things feel unsaid and Nick wonders what’s going through Charlie’s mind. His own brain wanders to the small box in the closet, and the plans he’s been making to ask Charlie to be his husband. It occurs to him that they’ve never actually talked about marriage though– just about spending their lives together and the shared dreams they hope to fulfil as a couple. Nick starts to doubt himself, but quickly shuts down that spiral. It’s not like he’s planning on popping the question today. They’ve got plenty of time.
“Do you ever think about, like…” Charlie starts to say, and Nick gives him his full attention. Charlie holds back though, shaking his head. “Nevermind, it’s stupid.”
“‘Snot stupid if you want to talk about it,” Nick reassures, but Charlie just shakes his head again.
“I think I’m just a bit tired, I need a kip.”
Nick stands up and holds out his hand to help Charlie balance as he lifts himself out of the tub. After wrapping him in the fluffiest towel, Nick presses a soft kiss onto Charlie’s forehead and shoos him off to bed. He drains the tub and goes back to the kitchen to tidy away the now-dry toys from the rack, carefully putting them back where they belong in the storage drawers under the bed in the office.
When Nick goes to use the loo himself, he realises that the bath bomb left a sparkly pink residue coating the inside of the tub. After finishing up his bodily business, he grabs a cleaning spray and sponge and starts gently wiping up the mess. It doesn’t take much in terms of strength, since the stain hasn’t had time to set, but it’s an awkward angle to be bent over the tub like this and his arms are soon aching.
“Nick?” he hears a soft call from the other side of the closed door.
“Yeah?” Nick grunts, wiping the sweat off his brow with the back of his forearm. “You can come in, I’m just cleaning the tub.”
“No, it’s fine,” Charlie says quietly. “I just… well… I’ve been thinking like… would you ever want to get married? To me?”
Nick’s hand slips against the tub in his rush to push himself up to standing, and he nearly faceplants into the side of the ceramic. “Motherfucking cunt sucking piece of fucking…” he mutters under his breath, picking himself back up and practically throwing himself against the door before pulling it open. “Charlie Francis Fucking Spring!” he nearly shouts. Charlie opens his mouth to speak again but Nick just pulls him in for a fierce snog.
“Is that a yes, then?” Charlie asks breathlessly when they finally break apart.
“I was cleaning the tub!” Nick pants, laughing. “You asked me to marry you while I was fucking cleaning the fucking tub!”
“Technically I just asked if you would ever want to get married. To me.”
“Important clarification, that bit,” Nick huffs, deeply amused and besotted.
“And I notice you still haven’t answered,” Charlie replies, eyebrows raised with a cheeky grin playing across his face.
Nick shakes his head, chuckling. “Gimme a mo’.” He pushes past his boyfriend and walks to their bedroom, pulling out the box marked Rugby Trophies. Charlie follows.
“You need to consult your old trophies before you answer?” the smaller man teases.
“No,” Nick responds. “I need to consult these.” He pulls out the new tarot deck, concealing the rest of the box’s contents while setting it on the ground at his feet.
“New cards? But you don’t read tarot…” Charlie says, frowning in confusion.
Nick is shuffling through the deck, looking for the card he wants. He had a plan, damn it. He finally finds what he needs, and sinks to one knee before handing it over to Charlie.
“Four of wands?” Charlie asks, looking between the card and his partner.
“Joy, celebration, domesticity. Right?” Nick asks. Charlie nods, and Nick continues. “You are my joy, Charlie Spring. You have brought so much laughter, and light, and love into my life. You are honest, and kind, and hardworking, and funny, and smart, and just incredible, honestly. Building a home with you has truly been a joy, and continuing to build a life with you would be an honour. Will you marry me?”
Charlie sniffles, wiping away the mist that’s formed beneath his eyes before getting down on his knees. “You think you’re the only one who gets to make speeches around here, Mr. Nelson?” he laughs, grasping Nick’s hands in his own. “The Four of Wands is a celebration. It’s a pause to recognize everything you’ve accomplished so far, and a promise for what’s to come. What we’ve built together has been no easy task, but there is no one I’d rather have on my team. There is nothing that the world can throw at me that I can’t face, knowing that it’s you I get to come home to. You are my home, Nick. My soft place to land. My fairy lights and throw pillows and bubbles in my bath. You are warm like freshly baked bread, and steady like your atrocious snoring–”
“Oi!” Nick murmurs through a damp smile.
“You are safety, and comfort, and love. You’re it for me, Nick. Will you marry me?”
“Well who’s the fucking sap now?” Nick sniffles, wiping away his tears.
“Still you,” Charlie chuckles. “Always you.”
Nick reaches down to the old shoe box, knocking off the lid and pulling out the much smaller box from inside. “Yes, Charlie,” he says, opening the hinged box to reveal a princess cut deep red stone embedded into a shiny steel ring. “I’ll marry you.”
Charlie gasps, gently removing the ring from the box and holding it up to the light. “Ruby?”
“Garnet,” Nick smiles. “It’s the birthstone of–”
“January.” Charlie finishes his sentence. “Our first date.”
“And it symbolises love, sincerity, determination, and… other stuff I don’t remember. Depending on who you ask,” Nick chuckles. He is really not a crystal gay, but he wanted the ring to be meaningful for Charlie.
“Charisma and sexual energy too, I believe,” Charlie grins, his eyes sparkling mischievously.
“Ah fuck, better pick a different stone then. You’re already too powerful!” Nick laughs.
Charlie hums, cocking an eyebrow suggestively. “Guess you better put me in my place.”
“Lord have mercy,” Nick murmurs.
“Only if you ask real nice,” Charlie winks.
Nick shakes his head, laughing. “Weren’t you tired? Whatever happened to having a kip?”
Charlie stands, pulling Nick up with him. “Sleep with me?”
Nick nods, and Charlie takes him by the hand and leads him to bed.