Chapter Text
Nick woke to a pleasant smell and less pleasant confusion. His groggy brain teetered between the savoury smell of something cooking, and the fact that he did not remember Charlie being so hairy. He frowned at Nellie underneath his arm until it clicked and then he stretched his arms over his head as his resonance sought out Charlie in the house.
Charlie wasn’t here.
He found his mum, Nellie, and Henry, but no one else. His resonance recoiled as he sat up—
“Easy, Nicky,” Sarah soothed, coming around the couch. She placed down a bowl of something on the coffee table and sat there, herself. “I had to let Charlie go. His father came to pick him up.”
He absorbed this as he sat up, but asked unhappily, “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“I didn’t know how you’d wake up to bad news. You’ve never nested with a partner before.”
All at once, Nick’s face scrunched from embarrassment. His mother hummed a curt laugh. “Charlie’s a sweet boy. You could’ve told me. Then again, I suppose I did know because of Paris.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I came out to dad yesterday and…I guess I’ve just been recovering.”
The warmth in Sarah’s face furrowed into concern. “Your father is an imbecile in plenty of ways, but I never took him to be homophobic. Was I wrong?”
Nick shrugged a little as he crossed his arms. “No, he seemed surprised but he didn’t really seem to care. That’s always the issue. He doesn’t care, or he cares about the wrong things.”
“Was he rude to Charlie?”
“No, he didn’t know about Charlie until we were on our way out. He saved his disappointment for a conversation alone in his office. He was upset I brought people into his flat. Territorial vampire stuff.”
“How many people did you have in the flat?”
Nick had to pause to count. “Six. Which…yeah, might’ve been a bit much.”
Sarah laughed lightly. “May I ask why you had so many people over? House parties are so rare for you.”
Nick took a deep breath and shared, “Originally, it was just the chaperones of the trip: Charlie, Tao, and Isaac. A pipe burst in their hotel and we all worked together to move the students to a new place. I, um, might’ve been a bit of a vampire about it and took Charlie back to the flat. The teachers allowed it since money was tight, and Tao and Isaac joined us. You know Tara; she and Darcy, and Tao’s girlfriend, Elle, were also in Paris because Charlie’s friend group usually does these annual Paris trips. The last night of the trip, we all slept over in the flat. It was nice. Until dad came home yesterday morning. He never would’ve even known we were there. We all got up early to clean the place, which is more than the plant sitter he asked me to be.”
“You don’t need his approval for any part of your life,” Sarah consoled, “but he did sound pleased when I told him about how your ceramics were going.”
“I don’t think he realizes we know how to pull his puppet strings. Mention business or money and he goes where you tell him to.”
Sarah coughed a stunned, yet amused sound. “How deceitful, Nicky. I didn’t know you had it in you.”
The corners of his mouth pinched to pull his mouth into a flat line. Sarah squeezed his knee and stood up. “I’ve got my book club tonight, but there’s more stew on the stove. Thanks for leaving me a pot.”
He laughed breathily, “Sorry. I’ll clean up.”
“Thank you, dear. And, um, do try and put more planning into nesting with Charlie, won’t you? The poor thing was so disoriented when I woke him up.”
“Yeah,” he rushed, not making eye contact. “Again, sorry.”
She strolled through the kitchen, calling, “And use protection!”
Nick rolled his eyes and collapsed back down on his side, hugging Nellie while his mother locked up the house behind her.
“She’s winning! ” Oliver fumed.
“Yeah, she’s Tori,” Charlie said mercilessly. While Olly lost in Mario Kart against their sister, Charlie worked on a Youtube playlist of the songs Elle wanted him to check out, as well as others he had discovered along the way. He took off the neon post-it note from his wall and replaced it with another for his drum lesson the following day: “Jjam” by StrayKids – metal?
His teacher, Mandy, would be thrilled. Outside of teaching, she worked as a heavy metal drummer for a couple of London bands and was always ready to challenge her students with it, especially Charlie. He had always insisted he didn’t care for metal music and didn’t want to take his drumming in that direction. He used the drills and warm-ups for the genre and that was about it. Now, however, the fast electronic he was trying to cover in kpop might help him finish the song he started on the Paris coach.
“Charlie! Come get your washing,” Jane called up the stairs.
On his way out of the room, he glanced at the television and warned, “Shells,” right before Tori sent a turtle shell into Olly’s car.
“I’m gonna scream!”
Charlie laughed on his way down the stairs, but Julio intercepted him at the bottom. He held the newel post as he murmured, “You know it’s better to tell your mother sooner rather than later, about Nick. And it should be you who tells her.”
“Dad, your reactions are mild compared to hers.”
“Just because she’s sometimes a storm-before-the-calm type of person, doesn’t mean there won’t be calm. If Nick means a lot to you, then she ought to know, and not by finding out through a surprise. That won’t go well for anybody. If Nick brings you happiness, then it’s fine. She just wants you safe and happy.”
Charlie exhaled heavily, trading places with Julio going up the stairs to try and corral Oliver into the shower. He found his mother in the den organizing stacks of laundry. She pressed her palms into two of them and said, “Could you take your brother’s up with you? Oh, and this was in your pile, but I don’t recognize it. Is it Tao’s?”
She held up a folded hoodie and Charlie’s jaw went a bit slack. He wondered if his father had seen it first or if he just had wicked timing. “Uh, no. No, it’s Nick’s.”
She set the hoodie on top of the piles in his arms and thought aloud, “Do I know a Nick?”
“I’ve told you about him; he’s my program partner.”
“Right, that’s it,” she said before she puzzled, “How’d you get his jumper?”
Charlie felt a bit ridiculous holding so much laundry in his arms but he also felt shielded behind them. “He helped Tao and me chaperone the Paris trip. I gave my jacket to one of the girls, and Nick gave me one of his hoodies since he’s my boyfriend.”
He waited for that to land. His mother blinked at him, thankfully more confused that worried to the point of anger. “Dating your program partner? Charlie…I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“I know. I was worried, too, but…but he likes me back. It’s gone really well for us so far.”
Her brows pinched together as things lined up. “He went on this school trip with you?”
Charlie’s small smile faltered. “Yeah? I’m glad he went. We really needed his help. He, Elle, Tara, and Darcy were all there and became proper chaperones because we had to change hotels halfway through the week.”
“You’re not trying to convince me he went to help with the trip,” she cornered.
“So what if he went for me? Is that not better? It would’ve been a month before we could see each other…”
Charlie looked down at the hoodie as he realized he had left Nick’s house without saying goodbye to him.
“I’m not comfortable with you being alone with such a new boyfriend, especially one who plays rugby.”
Charlie frowned into a grimace. “What’s wrong with rugby?”
“Theoretically, nothing. It’s laddish enough that I wouldn’t have expected him to be gay, but I don’t like the idea of you being with someone who is so accustomed to a violent sport.”
“Gay people can do sports. I’m doing track in December, and he’s not gay. He’s bisexual, but he’s never violent with me. I feel safe with him at the park and anywhere else. He’s kind and he listens to me. I need to go by his place tonight.”
“What? Charlie,” Jane scolded as he turned to leave the room.
“He goes back to Leeds tomorrow morning! I need to give him his jumper back.”
“Charlie, it’s late,” she said at the bottom of the stairs while he ran upstairs to deposit his and Olly’s clothes.
“It’s a Saturday!” called his voice through the walls. He rushed back down the stairs with his phone in hand and the hoodie clutched under his arm. “It’s not even nine. My drum lesson tomorrow isn’t until the afternoon.”
“You’re not staying over there late. You’re dropping off the jumper and that’s it.”
“Okay, okay,” he conceded, yanking his shoes on and wrestling inside his coat. “I have my phone. I won’t fall asleep this time. I’ll run there.”
His mother’s haughty sigh faded as he left the house like a gust of wind. He wound up having to run anyways, since he only wore joggers over his legs. His lungs burned from the cold air and his legs weighed heavily at doing physical activity twice in one day. His stride arched around the pavement into Nick’s driveway and he jabbed a finger at the doorbell. The dogs went wild, but Charlie recognized the intonations of Nick’s voice before the door opened. Nick’s features lifted in pleasant surprise before dropping a notch at Charlie heaving breath and saying dryly, “Hey.”
“Hey?” Nick greeted with a laugh. He reached for Charlie’s arm and drew him into the warmth of the house. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”
“Nothing, nothing. I just ran here. I wanted to give this to you before you left. Hi, doggies, hi.”
Nick reluctantly let go of Charlie to accept the hoodie while the latter crouched to pet Nellie and Henry. “There wasn’t any rush to return this.”
“I know, but,” he said as he stood upright, “I wanted to see you before tomorrow since I didn’t get to say goodbye earlier. I don’t know how you wash your jumpers, but we washed it for you. I hope it’s okay.”
Without thinking about it, Nick lifted the hoodie to his face and inhaled deeply. Charlie stood in mute fascination, the sound of Nick’s breath leaving nothing to wonder about. He raised his head with the verdict, “It’s okay. Would’ve been better if you wore if another day or two.” He looked at Charlie staring at him and realized shyly, “Was that weird?”
“No,” Charlie exhaled. “I thought I was the only one who did that.”
Nick draped the garment over his arm as he shook his head. “Definitely not.”
They stood in the quiet of the house for a moment. Then it occurred to Charlie, “Is Sarah home?”
Nick glanced towards the kitchen. “No, she has a, um, book club thing tonight.”
Charlie’s eyes wandered Nick’s face, like he might be waiting for something, or unsure what to do with such a brief night and tomorrow looming. Nick let his desires work on autopilot, reaching for the toggles on Charlie’s coat and pulling him closer. A little laugh hummed out of him, Charlie’s resonance sparkling until it shifted with his eyes closing for Nick’s kiss. It was brief, his eyes still closed as Nick moved to kiss his cheek, and then his arms encircled him. Charlie blinked through the tingles on his neck and Nick pulled his coat collar to the side, making room to press his cheek into the curve of Charlie’s neck. Nick’s arms tightened around him and Charlie relaxed in his embrace. His own hands gradually found Nick’s shoulders, sliding along over his shoulder blades.
Charlie’s eyes shut from the soft weight of Nick’s den around his mind. His hands felt Nick’s shoulders expand as he breathed Charlie into his lungs: clean from a shower, a little icy from the air outside, but more Charlie from running here. Warmth and salt and the slightest sweetness…
Charlie nuzzled Nick’s shoulder, slowly moving over his shirt to feel the heat of Nick’s body on his lips through the fabric. The difference between bone and muscle. He slid back toward Nick’s neck, inhaling while he planted a kiss directly on his skin before turning his head to rest in the safety of Nick’s body again.
Nick’s hand slid up Charlie’s back, underneath the hood of his coat. There was something intimate about it, about Nick’s hand at the junction of Charlie’s neck and shoulders. They lifted their heads at the same time, careful to not break the moment or to bump each other. In the shared space of their breath, Nick’s lips parted. His gums ached in a ticklish way, and his eyes were dark. Charlie’s hand slid up Nick’s nape until his palm cradled Nick’s cheek. He brought Nick’s mouth to his, soft but sure.
Nick’s brows furrowed as emotions clashed inside him. The way the world landed back on its axis when Charlie kissed him. The way he was still angry at having his nest interrupted, at having Charlie taken away. An anger that was new to him and he hadn’t had enough time to figure out.
The way Charlie came back. Back to him. Charlie ran here because he was Nick’s. Because he wanted to kiss Nick and be with Nick, and he didn’t want Nick to leave tomorrow.
One kiss melted into two, and just as easily their heads tilted to switch sides. Soft kisses began to press more firmly. Nick’s hands clutched at Charlie’s body through his coat. Their kisses rocked together, but Charlie held onto Nick as he walked him backwards until Charlie thudded clumsily against the door—
Charlie’s eyes opened the same time he blurted a curt sound. Nick was already kissing him again, but he noticed something had changed and paused. Their lips had slid a little bit…and one side of Nick’s mouth ached differently than the other. His eyes darted to Charlie’s lips, where the collision with the door had pricked his bottom lip on Nick’s fang.
Nick didn’t freak out this time. He licked his lips, and Charlie saw his pupils blow wide. A hand came up to gently tilt Charlie’s jaw up—Charlie’s eyes blinked under the foyer spotlights and his breath halted at the warm, slick sensation of Nick’s tongue on his skin, catching the blood drip down his chin. Wet, sticking kisses that went up to his mouth, where his tongue slid past Charlie’s lips. He sucked Charlie’s lip into his mouth, the injury tingling until it was only Nick exploring his mouth for every last taste of the sweet and tangy red.
Nick didn’t know when both of his hands held the base of Charlie’s head, fingers deep in his curls. He came up to see Charlie’s shiny mouth and unfocused eyes. He asked nervously, “Was that disgusting?”
Charlie felt like he could vibrate out of his skin. Nick blurted a hum as Charlie pulled him by the nape back to his lips, but Nick’s voice sank deep into his chest as he picked up a plundering pace into Charlie’s mouth. Charlie’s tongue moved with his, sending swooping, molten yearning down Nick’s body. He only released Charlie’s mouth so they could breathe, and even then Nick dove for Charlie’s throat. The sigh that Charlie released past his ear would play out in his dreams whenever he longed to kiss Charlie’s neck like this. To hold Charlie’s body flush with his own and to have his throat open to him…
“Nick,” Charlie managed through the thick fog in his brain. “I should be going…unless you—”
Nick hadn’t meant to rub his thigh against Charlie’s groin. He’d moved without thinking, disliking the idea of Charlie leaving enough to press his knee to the door, which meant moving his leg between Charlie’s. And Charlie only wore joggers. Nick could feel how aroused he was, from the sway of his cock in the fabric on Nick’s leg, to the way his whole body shuddered and his hands clenched the parts of Nick he held.
“Unless?” he breathed.
You’re kind of a brat sometimes. Do you know?
“Take me upstairs,” Charlie suggested, ordered, pleaded.
He had zero control over his voice when Nick reached down and picked him up by the backs of his thighs. The squeeze and thrill of being picked up sent a lusty, “Whoop!” through him, and then laughter as he held on tight with his arms and legs. The arrangement did make his groin uncomfortably cramped against Nick’s body, but he could hardly complain as he watched the ground floor disappear with the stairs from Nick carrying him to his room. He laughed, “Oh my god,” right as Nick swung his door shut and tackled Charlie into his bed.
Charlie may have worn joggers, but Nick wore shorts. They both groaned at the collision, but Charlie felt alive under the weight of Nick’s body, the weight of Nick’s arousal. He kicked off one of his sneakers but the other landed up on Nick, eliciting a rushed, “Sorry, sorry!”
Nick laughed and the shoe fell away as he pushed Charlie’s coat off his arms. He had no idea where his hoodie had wound up and he didn’t care. He started to grasp the hem of Charlie’s shirt but Charlie simultaneously pushed one of his hands away and pulled him closer as he said, “I can’t stay long.”
Nick redirected his hands underneath him, scooping Charlie up and rolling them over so he could control how far they went. Charlie liked that just fine. He liked how the only illumination in the room was Nick’s fairy lights over their heads, making everything warm and glowy.
Nick was a vision. The light twinkled in his eyes and his fangs peeked through his lips. Charlie wanted every part of him, but they didn’t have time. It had only been a few days ago when Nick voiced that he wasn’t ready for too much. He didn’t mind Charlie straddling him this time, though. His hands squeezed up Charlie’s thighs as they kissed, only skipping over Charlie’s arse to slide underneath his shirt and feel his waist. His thumbs stopped moving circles over Charlie’s skin when Charlie kissed his throat. Nick’s chest heaved, the fairy lights expanding into starbursts every time he blinked.
Charlie came up to kiss his jaw and asked, “Can I touch you?”
Their noses bumped with Nick’s nod. He cupped Charlie’s face to kiss him and say, “Yeah. Anywhere.”
Progress, but Charlie still slid his thumb over the waistband of Nick’s shorts, fingertips dipping just underneath. “Is here okay?”
Nick swallowed thickly but nodded without letting Charlie go. “Yeah. I’m sure.”
Charlie kissed him and followed him down to the bed when Nick lay back. Charlie moved to kiss down his neck while he got a grip on the shorts. He pulled them down to rest under Nick’s hipbones, enough out of the way for him to free Nick’s erection. Nick shivered with the first drag of Charlie’s hand over him, from the sensation as well as the thrill and awareness that this was real.
“Tell me if you want me to do something,” Charlie’s voice anchored him.
“Okay,” Nick heard himself say, not really having any ideas currently. Charlie did, and he sank between Nick’s legs to use his mouth.
Fantastically real.
Charlie explored the cockhead with his tongue and lips, using his hand for the rest and Nick was more than fine with that. His brain somehow flew into orbit and hyper-focused on the warm and wet sensations around him, the sound as well as his own noise, his voice sometimes escaping on his loud breathing.
All at once, his temperature went up, so doing his best to not jostle Charlie, he pulled his shirt over his head. He knew Charlie watched because of the ripple of hot resonance that washed over him. The pad of a thumb circled over the cockhead as Charlie pumped his hand and came back up to kiss Nick’s abdomen.
“Char,” he panted. “I’m-I’m close.”
His hand tightened just a tiny bit, still moving as Nick lifted a hand to Charlie’s shoulder. He followed it up to Charlie’s curls and tried not to hold him too tightly. Charlie planted kisses up Nick’s body, putting him at a crossroads of wanting to watch him but also wanting to lie back for the journey. He didn’t have to deliberate for long, since Charlie bit his nipple and Nick cried out as he wrenched Charlie’s head up to capture his mouth in a sloppy kiss.
Charlie felt overheated and exhilarated. He had already made his peace with the likelihood that Nick wouldn’t want to kiss him afterward.
Nick kissed him like Charlie was the water in an oasis. Like to not kiss him would kill him.
Charlie quickened his pace and ducked under Nick’s jaw to suck on his neck. Charlie wanted to commit the moans that came out of Nick to everlasting memory, and he wanted more. He raised his head to drag his teeth down the soft flesh of Nick’s earlobe and pulled—
Nick shuddered and thrust into his hand. A thread might’ve popped in Charlie’s shirt as he came, but he was too far in the throes of his body coiling up and releasing all at once. Chest heaving, Nick started to ebb into the afterglow of processing what just happened. Meanwhile, Charlie righted Nick’s shorts and started to reach toward the nightstand for the tissue box. Nick captured him again and kissed him gently, ardently. Charlie hummed a laugh into his mouth but Nick’s thumbs dimpled his cheeks as he asked, “Did I hurt you?”
Their noses bumped again as Charlie shook his head. “Not at all.”
Nick moved one of his hands to pet through Charlie’s hair and rolled them over. With Charlie on the bed, Nick’s lips traced the edge of his jaw, and started down the slanted muscle of his throat. This felt right. Charlie in Nick’s bed, in his den while Nick luxuriated in Charlie’s pleasure and resonance.
Nick’s hand traveled down Charlie’s body to find the bulky waistband of his joggers. He lifted up to see Charlie’s face when he asked, “May I touch you?”
Charlie’s eyes widened and he nodded a bit fast. “Yeah!”
Nick laughed breathily. “Are you sure?”
Charlie wondered if Nick could hear his heart jack rabbiting in his chest. “I just didn’t think you’d want to.”
“Charlie,” he scolded benignly, “I dunno if you noticed, but I…”
Holy shit.
Of course Nick knew what he’d done but coming back to the realization that he properly tasted blood for the first time made his eyes drop to Charlie’s mouth. He grazed his thumb over Charlie’s lip and finished, “I tasted you.”
Charlie pushed himself up enough to tease at kissing Nick’s mouth. “I liked it.”
He fell back onto the bed, cheeky and pushing Nick dangerously close to the point of not letting him go home. So instead, Nick declared, “I have something for us.”
Charlie’s expression opened and he sat up on his elbows to watch Nick open his bedside drawer. He went ahead and tossed the tissue box onto the bed while he was at it and Charlie saw what he held as he ripped the seals off: lube.
As if they needed it, given the slick mess waiting for him when Nick slipped his hand into Charlie’s joggers, but that wasn’t the point. His hand found Charlie’s cock as his other arm held Charlie around his shoulders. Charlie’s body melted against him as he started an easy rhythm. The slide of his hand felt lewd on its own but Nick swiveled his hand a little, twisting around the cockhead with each pass. Charlie clutched at Nick’s body, unsure where to hold. Nick made it easy for him by settling between Charlie’s legs. He pulled down his joggers so nothing was in the way. Planting his knees pushed Charlie’s legs up in a suggestive position, but his arms went readily around Nick’s back.
Charlie’s little moans as Nick tantalized his neck were going to drive him mad in the best way. He gradually quickened his pace, listening to Charlie’s resonance until his pelvis started to tremble. Nick licked a long line up Charlie’s throat, feeling the slightest kick of Charlie’s heartbeat against his tongue. Eyes heavy, enraptured, he watched Charlie trip and fall into his orgasm, his jaw slack before his brows furrowed and eyes shut as he slipped into blissful agony.
It was hard to kiss Charlie’s hair with his fangs out, but Nick eased Charlie through the thick mire of afterglow. When he kissed an eyebrow, Charlie’s lashes fluttered on his chin and then he looked up at him. Nick lowered his forehead to Charlie’s. “I’m sorry I said no to this in Paris.”
Charlie smiled and shook his head a little. “It’s okay. I do really need to go, though.”
Nick shoved his arm underneath his shoulders to hold him close. “What if I said no?”
Charlie laughed, giddy. “My mum might actually explode. She barely let me come here at all.” His smile faded as he shared, “I told my parents about us…I hope that’s okay?”
Nick nodded. “Yeah. My mum basically walked in on us nesting earlier, so she knows too.”
Charlie’s arm held Nick’s waist as he pushed his head into Nick’s chest to hide. His voice muffled as he asked, “Is this as embarrassing for you as it is for me?”
“It is,” he chuckled. He let Charlie get up as he said, “More so for me, I think, because I should know better.”
Charlie smiled at him as he yanked a shoe onto his foot. “Should you?”
Nick collapsed back on the bed, huffing, “I need to stop falling asleep!”
Charlie laughed and started looking for his other shoe. He ducked to try and see under the bed but after the thing fell off Nick, it had disappeared. “Where’s my other shoe?”
Nick started to sit up but his head turned toward the loud vibration coming from Charlie’s phone in his coat. Charlie cursed, “Oh, shit. Shit,” as he folded his coat to access the pocket and answered in a completely different tone, “Hi, mum.”
To Nick, he mouthed, Where’s my shoe?
Nick, however, sat in abject fascination at Charlie code switching so fast. He said, “I know, I’m on my way,” Nick! Find my shoe! “Okay, bye.”
Nick laughed, “Wow!”
Charlie chucked his shirt at him. “Nicholas!”
“Nicholas? ” he exclaimed, only to fall uselessly into a laughing fit.
Charlie ultimately found his shoe, but also plucked up a freshly used jumper from the floor. Swinging his coat around himself, he proclaimed, “I’m taking this,” and dashed out of the room.
Nick rushed to yank joggers over his shorts as he called, “Wait! I’ll walk you home!”
He ran after Charlie and found the hoodie he returned on the floor. He pulled it over his body and Charlie waited with the front door open. “Really?”
“Yes, really,” Nick sassed and then looked around the foyer. “Where are my shoes?”
Charlie barked a laugh and stepped outside.