Chapter Text
All things considered, the break up with Auggie was pretty amicable.
It was also probably a long time coming, but Nick had never been good at telling people exactly what he wanted. Auggie had seemed happy enough, they’d been dating for nearly two years and he’d just moved into her flat six months prior. It should have been the start of something new with them, but Nick realised pretty quickly it wasn’t really what he’d been looking for.
On paper the two of them were a good match; she was a solicitor, whip smart and funny, a good foil to his more laddish good bro nature. But when it came down to it, they really didn’t vibe well together. There wasn’t anything completely wrong about them, but it was easy to see the sort of small things that would eventually end up being big things. They were the type of things ones only really noticed when you were living with someone.
“I just don’t think we’re on the same page,” Auggie said, holding Nick’s hand across the kitchen table. “You know I love you and care about you Nick, but I’m only twenty-four, I’m not ready to get married and start a family. I’ve got a career now, it’s really starting to move forward and I don’t want you to just… be here waiting around for me.”
Which really had to be the crux of the whole thing, Auggie was driven whereas Nick really wasn’t. He didn’t have a career planned out like Auggie did. He went to uni thinking he’d play rugby his whole life, but when it became clear he’d never get called up anywhere, not even the minor leagues, he stopped altogether. He finished uni with a BA in Sports Medicine that he did absolutely nothing with.
Instead he moved from Leeds back to Kent and lived with his mum again, living in his childhood home. He’d gotten a few part time jobs here and there, enough to help support himself and the household but nothing that made him truly happy or fulfilled. He got lucky getting a full time job as an office administrator at a local health clinic, mostly because his mum knew a few of the nurses and doctors who worked there.
He’d met Auggie through a dating app and she didn’t seem to mind that he still lived at home, nor that his career was sort of bland. But now it seemed like she was ready to move on with her life and thought that Nick had been bringing her down.
“You can stay here still,” she offered. “Until you find a new place, or move back in with Sarah.”
Moving back in with his mum was his first thought, but hearing the way she’d said it, made his skin crawl. It wasn’t an insult, or at least Nick hoped it wasn’t, but he was twenty-four years old now. He had a full-time job, he should be out there supporting himself instead of living off his mum.
“I’ll find a place,” he insisted, giving her the best smile he could muster.
They spent the rest of the evening working on detangling their lives together, which to Nick’s surprise, didn’t involve much. They didn’t have any joint accounts, Nick had only brought his clothing and a few personal items into the flat and that had been about it. They didn’t share friends, Nick didn’t have many, everyone they hung out with had been brought in by Auggie and he knew they’d stay loyal to her, as they should.
All in all, it was just sort of an end to things. They’d shared one last kiss before Auggie went back to her bed and Nick took up residence on their small sofa. He spent most of the night sleepless, looking up flats to rent in the area. He didn’t necessarily want a roommate but it became pretty obvious he’d need one based on his salary and wanting to stay close to his job and Mum.
It took him awhile before he found a small two bedroom flat in the perfect area, affordable and up for rent. He looked through the pictures provided, noting how clean and careful the whole place looked. Not only were there two bedrooms, but both had their own attached loo, it was an open kitchen, living room situation, both looked modern and nice. It gave Nick a very home-y vibe, there were two large bookcases, full of books and a neon yellow Music sign on the wall.
Nick scrolled down to the listing, skimming over the official information provided, before reading the actual ad.
Clean, spacious, two bedroom with attached loo, flat in Rochester. Rent includes shared utilities, which also includes internet and telly. Renter must be LGBTQ+ friendly. Looking for a renter, ASAP. Please contact [email protected] with inquiries.
It wasn’t a whole lot of information, the listing had been up for nearly a month now and Nick wondered why. The place looked nice, had a great price and the LGBTQ+ friendly statement didn’t detour him at all.
Feeling rather brave, he sent off an email.
Hi, my name is Nick Nelson and I’m interested in renting your room. I know it’s last minute but I’d be available anytime tomorrow if you are. Thanks!
When he finished, he bookmarked the listing and finally drifted off into sleep.
🍂🍂🍂🍂
When Nick woke up in the morning, it was with a stiff back and an email reply. Nick felt a little embarrassed, he’d sent the email close to three in the morning, but the person on the other end had sent a reply close to five. Either they were both night owls, or the person got up early. There had been no name on the ad and Nick wasn’t sure if it was a guy or girl renting and didn’t want to assume.
Hi Nick, I’m Charlie. Tomorrow isn’t too late notice at all, I should be available around 1pm, if that’s okay? I’m going to give you my mobile number, please text me. Thanks.
Nick quickly copied the number and sent off a text.
Nick: Hi, this is Nick Nelson. I emailed about the flat and you said to text you. 1 works with me. Thanks again.
The reply was there a minute later.
Charlie: Hi Nick Nelson. See you at one! When you come to the front door, you can buzz unit 4A, Spring. I’ll let you up.
Nick went back to looking at the photos, trying to get an idea for who this Charlie was. He had a feeling they were a guy, just based on the decor of the living room, but he wasn’t one to judge. They could be a woman, of course and he’d have no problem with that. He had plenty of woman friends, he knew how to be respectful and kind.
When Auggie was up, he excitedly told her about the flat and she looked happy for him, offering to drop him off since he didn’t have a car. He was planning on taking the bus, but was happy to get the assist. He’d head out to his mum’s after, not only to see if the bus ride was easy from his prospective flat but also to tell her about the break up.
Nick was feeling a bit nervy when Auggie dropped him off at the front door of a very nice flat complex. He walked up to the front door, searching on the board for the name Spring, before finding it and buzzing. He was a bit early, chalking it up to nervousness and hoped Charlie wouldn’t mind. The door buzzed a moment later and he walked into the building and straight towards a set of lifts.
He found Charlie’s door, 4A but before he could knock, the door opened and here stood, who he assumed to be Charlie Spring.
He was about the same height as Nick, but had a very slender frame, long lean arms and legs. He wore a pair of skinny jeans and a tee shirt and all Nick could think about was how… uncool his jogger and Vans tee looked in comparison. Charlie looked like he was some sort of rockstar, with tousled black curls and a pair of the brightest bluest eyes Nick had ever seen. And when Charlie smiled he caught a glimpse of two dimples on both sides of his face.
“Hi,” Charlie said, taking a step back from the door. “Nick?”
“Hi,” Nick said, a little dumb founded. Charlie was, in a word, beautiful. He wasn’t ashamed to admit it, he was secure in his own masculinity to know it was okay to think other men were beautiful. He’d found plenty of other men good looking, but Charlie was just perfection in a way Nick had never seen before. He took a step forward into the flat, unable to take his eyes off the man. “Um, yes, Charlie?”
Charlie smiled, moving slightly around Nick to shut the door before extending his hand. “Yes, nice to meet you. Thank you for your interest in the flat! It’s been a bit hectic trying to find someone to rent the room. Not that I’m like a bad roommate or serial killer. It just seemed like no one’s been a good match. Er, this is a terrible way to start this. Sorry. Would you like a tour?”
Nick had to laugh, shaking his head. “It’s alright and yeah, a tour would be lovely. I already liked what I saw from the photographs, the place looks… cool.”
“Oh thanks,” Charlie said with a shrug. “I’ve lived here for a few years now, so it’s pretty much just my junk everywhere. That's why I want a roommate so bad, I don’t want to lose this place and it’s a bit too expensive for me on my own. Anyways, kitchen and living room area, as you can tell. It would be communal, of course, you can use anything you want. I do a lot of food prep for the week, so I only ask you don’t eat anything unless you ask or I offer. You can have your own cabinets and stuff, or you can label things. I’ll pretty much only eat my own food, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
Nick nodded and Charlie let out a long breath, then seemed to nervously wipe his hands on his jeans. “And the living room is a shared space too, feel free to bring stuff and decorate.”
“I don’t have anything,” Nick offered. “Maybe a few video games, but not much else.”
Charlie nodded, walking them into the living room space. “Oh, okay, but yeah, you can use the telly or play the Switch all you want. I don’t mind sharing the space, honestly. But I’m fine with it, splitting the time up.”
“We can figure it out,” Nick said. “I’m pretty fluid.”
Charlie laughed a little, but didn’t say anything else. “This way is my room,” he said, gesturing towards a slightly opened door. He didn’t make his way instead and Nick resisted the urge to peek in for a glimpse. Instead he followed Charlie down to the end of the short hallway. “And this would be your room.” They walked into a nice sized bedroom that housed a pair of drums and some boxes. “They are my drums, sorry. I didn’t want to move them until I got someone in here but they’ll be out of your way. So will the boxes too. You’ll have to bring your own bed and furniture, I hope that wouldn’t be a problem. We only used this room for my drums and storage, so we never had a reason to get a bed.”
“Oh,” Nick said, staring at the shiny drumset. He really wanted to see Charlie playing them. “I thought your previous roommate left?”
“Oh,” Charlie said, sounding so unsure. “Um, he was my boyfriend. Actually. Not roommate. He sort of dumped me and left me in a bit of a scramble to afford the place on my own.”
“I’m only looking for a place because I just broke up with my girlfriend,” Nick offered. Charlie’s face went a bit sad for a moment, but he seemed to recover quickly enough.
“It’s not going to be a problem that it’s an ex-boyfriend?” Charlie asked, tentatively. His listing did say LGBTQ+ friendly and Nick wondered how many people had made it a big deal, despite the request.
“Oh no, I’m an ally,” Nick answered quickly, wincing at his own corniness. “God, sorry that sounded so cringe.”
Charlie let out a small giggle, a sound that made Nick smirk. “You’re good, it’s better than being homophobic, I suppose. But um, loo is right this way.”
Charlie led him further into the bedroom, showing off a full loo with a nice shower. Nick liked the look of all of it and he could really see himself there. They walked back out into the living room area and Charlie directed them to a small dining room table where they both took seats. “Here,” Charlie said, sliding over a piece of paper that was already on the table. “This has all the HOA rules and information about the utility split. I can go over anything else you’d like. The HOA will let us split rent, so we can pay them directly instead of you having to give me money. The only thing would be the internet and telly, both of which I don’t mind covering on my own.”
“I’m sure we can work something out that’s fair. I uh, work full time, in case you needed to know. At City Way Medical, the job’s 9-5.”
“Oh cool, I do too. I’m an accountant, I work for a public accounting firm in London. I mostly work from home, but I do go in once or twice a week. I hope that’s not a problem…”
Nick knew he made a weird face, but quickly laughed, changing his expression. “No, no, I just, you don’t seem like the accountant type, I guess. I was thinking about something with books.”
Charlie grinned. “I contain multitudes, Nick.” He winked. “I wanted to study classics but my mum was a bit hard on me about it. I’m a gay nerd who also is very good at Maths.”
“Nothing wrong with that, I wanted to play rugby but my career never got off the ground, just sort of stumbled into my job. My mum’s a nurse and she knew some people and well, I’ve been there for over two years now.”
“Ha, I knew you were a rugby lad, you’ve got the arms,” Charlie said, then blushed. “Oh er, sorry that’s a bit weird to say isn’t it?”
“Nah, you’re fine,” Nick smiled, he sort of liked that Charlie noticed his arms and he had to resist flexing a little for him. “But um, anyways, I like the place and I’d like to uh, rent it, if you’re alright with that?”
Charlie tilted his head, giving Nick a glance over that made him feel suddenly really warm and he had to avert his eyes. “Yeah,” Charlie said. “I usually ask for references but… I’ve got a vibe about you, Nick. I’ll forward you some paperwork today? You’ll have to sign some things before you’re officially moved in. I’m pretty much okay for whenever you want to.”
“Yeah okay, sounds good. Honestly, Auggie and I broke up last night, so it really isn’t dire that I’m out. I don’t have much to pack, but I’ll need to buy a bed and stuff.”
“Last night?” Charlie questioned.
“Yeah,” Nick said with a shrug. “I mean, I think I saw the writing on the wall a bit ago, but yeah, official break up last night.”
“You look pretty… not upset?” Charlie questioned, then shook his head. “Sorry, I’m probably over-stepping for a first meeting.”
“Nah,” Nick said. “I’m gonna go hang out with my mum after this, I’m sure I’ll cry a little there too. My mum’s my best friend, honestly.”
“That’s cute,” Charlie offered and he sounded genuine about it. A lot of people immediately made fun of Nick, or some off-handed comment about it. He had braced himself for it, but was relieved when Charlie didn’t really make a fuss of it. “I’m not too close with my parents, but my older sister is my best friend.”
“I have an older brother, who is not my best friend,” Nick said, but pivoted quickly. The less he said about David, the better. “But anyway, I’ll get out of your hair now. Thank you for the tour and allowing me to move in, I mean, if I can that is.”
“Yeah, of course, thanks for coming and not being a terrible person,” Charlie said, as Nick got up. “Yet at least.”
🍂🍂🍂🍂
Nick considered it really good luck when he got the okay from the HOA to move in when he wanted to. He immediately set up his payment with the building, paying a pro-rated rent so he could move in as soon as possible. Two weeks after their break-up, Nick was officially renting Charlie’s second bedroom, he just needed to sign a few documents and pick a moving date.
He really didn’t have a lot, he managed to box nearly everything but his daily essential and clothing up within the first week. He reckoned he didn’t even need to rent a van, Auggie had readily agreed to shuttle him back and forth and Nick was certain they could do it in two trips. Charlie had volunteered to help too, offering to carry boxes for him.
Nick had already purchased a bed and dresser, they had already arrived when he was at work and Charlie sent him several photos of the set up. He hadn’t expected Charlie to do it, he was pretty surprised at how much contact the two of them had.
Sure, they had to discuss moving dates and other things, but their conversation didn’t seem to actually end. He discovered that Charlie was absolutely hilarious, his texts were sarcastic and witty, never failing to make Nick actually chuckle. It was like talking to an old friend, not a stranger he was about to just rent a room from. He had hoped that maybe they could turn into roommates, to friends at some point. Nick was in short supply of those, he had some friends from uni but none he kept in contact with. Some of his old school mates would respond to his social posts, the rare time he made them, but it wasn’t anything real. Talking with Charlie as much as he did, really made him miss having someone he could just talk to.
Nick was just finishing up his day, when his phone dinged and a message from Charlie came up.
Charlie: i know you’re not officially moved in until this weekend, but would you want to come over for dinner tonight? just to go over some paper work and you can check to make sure you like the bedroom stuff
Charlie: if you’re busy i understand
Nick really wasn’t all that busy and the idea of spending more time with Charlie was appealing. Auggie hadn’t gone out of her way to ignore him, but they were sort of dancing around each other. No more dinners together, or time spent alone. They were more or less orbiting the same space and Nick had spent a lot of time the last two weeks either in the gym or at his mum’s to avoid it.
Nick: yeah that sounds great what time?
Charlie: whenever you get off work?
Nick: I should be there around 5:30, it hasn’t taken me that long if the bus is running on time
Charlie: perfect, i can order pizza if you’re up for it
Nick: pizza sounds great just cheese and pepperoni for me
Charlie: 👍
The ride to his new flat wasn’t as bad as it could be, it was only two buses, both of which were on time. It was amazing how convenient the flat was for him, easy to get to his work and to mum’s house. It was almost as if moving in with Charlie was a perfect event, something that made Nick’s life easier in so many ways. He just hoped actually living with the guy turned out to be just as beneficial.
Charlie hadn’t given him a key yet, which Nick totally understood, so he had to be buzzed in again. He made his way up, smiling as he saw the door already open for him. Charlie greeted him from the kitchen, the pizza already out and the table set for two.
“I don’t know what you like to drink,” Charlie said as Nick took off his shoes, lining them up with the neat line of Charlie’s Converse and hung up his coat and bag. “I’ve got some fizzy drink but it’s not my favourite.”
“I’ll take a look but I’m fine with water. I’m a bit of a beer drinker, but it’s not a necessity.”
“I prefer wine, but there might be some lager in the fridge, sometimes my friends come over for movie nights, so we drink a bit.”
Nick walked over to the fridge, opening it up to see a very neat and tidy inside. Everything seemed to be in very specific locations, grouping similar foods together. Nick saw a row of fizzy drinks, as well as a few beer bottles, but grabbed a fizzy instead. He made his way over to the table, sitting on the seat adjacent to Charlie.
“I got you a medium pepperoni,” Charlie said, gesturing towards one of the open boxes. “I’ve got a small cheese with green peppers and olives, if you’d like a slice.”
Nick made a face. “Nah, not an olive person.”
“Ah,” Charlie smiled, taking a slice just as Nick did. “My dad’s family is from Spain, so we had a lot of olives growing up.”
“Oh, your surname is so… English?” Nick said, then cleared his throat. “Wow, sorry that’s rude of me to say.”
“It’s fine,” Charlie laughed, he hadn’t taken a bite of pizza yet and Nick took a bite of his own, trying not to watch Charlie. “My abuelo says we have a complicated family tree.”
Charlie took a bite of pizza and Nick looked back down at this, feeling a bit shy suddenly. “Where are you from?” Nick asked. “If you don’t mind me asking.”
“Well, originally I grew up in Kent but when I was in Year 10 we moved to Sussex.”
“Really?” Nick said, astonished. “No way, I grew up in Rochester! What school did you go to? I went to Truham.”
Charlie’s face went a little red and he seemed to shrink down just a bit, Nick immediately felt bad, back peddling. “Oh, no, I mean, you don’t owe me any information, sorry if I was overstepping by asking. I just figured it would be nice to know something about each other -”
“Nick,” Charlie said, cutting him off and holding up both hands. “It’s fine. Um, it’s just, well. Okay, I’ll be honest with you. I sort of, well, I know you. Like, I wasn’t 100% sure until I saw you in person but um, I went to Truham before I moved. We never talked or anything, but you were Nick ‘Rugby King’ Nelson, so of course I knew of you. You were a year ahead of me, so it wasn’t like we had any,” he paused for a moment, before letting out a sigh. “friends or whatever in common.”
Nick frowned, not because he was upset, but because he was desperately trying to remember if he knew a Charlie Spring back at Turham. Since he’d first met Charlie he thought had felt a weird connection at the site of him, his face invading his personal thoughts. It must be because he’d seen Charlie before, a familiar feeling without him really noticing it.
“Oh,” Nick said. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”
Charlie shrugged. “I didn’t think you’d remember me and I was planning on telling you tonight, actually. Just in case you didn’t want to move in anymore.”
“Why wouldn’t I not want to move in anymore?” Nick questioned. “It’s actually really cool that we went to the same secondary, maybe we could have been friends back when we were kids.”
Charlie laughed loudly at that and the tension seemed to seep from him. “Right, you a rugby lad, me a gay nerd, match made in heaven.”
“You never know,” Nick offered, going in for another bite of pizza. He watched as Charlie did the same, another small bite, taking a very long pause before drinking some of his water. “Maybe you would have joined the rugby team or something.”
Charlie snorted, rolling his eyes. “Right, aren’t I a little small and weak for that?”
“I mean, I would have helped you,” Nick insisted. “Taught you how to get in a proper tackle.”
“So you’re saying I am small and weak?” Charlie countered and for a moment Nick was worried he’d fucked up, but a grin was tugging on Charlie’s face.
“You’re a menace,” Nick grumbled. “You can’t be mean to me, I'm like your like, renter or something.”
Charlie laughed again, a beautiful sound that made Nick feel really light and fluffy. “Or, maybe that’s what happens when we become friends?”
The question hung in the air for a moment, Charlie looked a little worried Nick was about to reject him, but Nick tried to give him the most reassuring smile he could. “Yeah, friends. I’d like that.”
“Cool,” Charlie said, going back to his pizza. “I was worried you’d… think I was weird for not telling you I recognised you right away.”
“Nah, I understand, we didn’t really know each other, yeah? It’s just a coincidence we end up meeting each other now.”
Charlie nodded his head and went back to eating his pizza. It was clear he was a slow eater, Nick had finished an entire slice before Charlie had eaten half of his. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but he wanted to match Charlie’s pace enough so it didn’t feel overly awkward. He took another slice carefully from the box.
“Why’d you move?” Nick asked a minute later, he wanted to give Charlie enough time to eat.
“Mum wanted to be closer to her family,” Charlie answered, but it sounded… overly rehearsed and Nick had the feeling there was something else behind it. He didn’t want to push Charlie to tell him now but he hoped down the line Charlie could trust him.
“Sucks it happened in the middle of secondary,” he offered. “Must have been hard to leave your friends behind.”
“Yeah,” Charlie said. “But I stayed in touch with my friends, Tao Xu, Elle Argent and Isaac Henderson,” he added. “I don’t know if you remember them.”
Nick had to think for a minute, the names sounded vaguely familiar, but nothing concrete. “Not really, but I might if I saw them.”
Charlie smiled. “Maybe next time they come over, you can hang out with us. If you want that is, I don’t want to force you to hang out with a bunch of nerds or anything.”
“I don’t mind,” Nick said. “Why’d you move back here?”
“It’s sort of a weird story, uh, so I met my boyfriend when I went to University College London and he just so happened to be from Kent too. He went to Truham, actually but we never met there. When I graduated, he wanted to move back and work for his father’s law firm, so we came down together, got our place and yeah. I was intending to stay in London, especially when I got my job but he really wanted to be down here.”
“And you don't want to move back up to London now?” Nick asked, there was something in the far away look in Charlie’s eyes that worried him a little. He didn’t know much about this boyfriend of his, but he didn’t like him very much. Leaving Charlie high and dry was one thing, but being the reason they moved here in the first place and then breaking it off with him? That seemed cruel.
“I like my flat,” Charlie said with a shrug. “I sort of like being back here, I’m close to my friends, my brother’s at uni in London now and my sister isn’t that far away either. And, if I’m being honest, I think my ex thought I’d just move back home and I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of making me have to do that. A bit stubborn, really. If I didn’t find anything I was willing to just suck it up and go back home.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Nick said. “Better than me, I was willing to just turn tail and go back to my mum if I couldn’t find something right away.”
“Nothing wrong with that either,” Charlie offered. “You said your mum was your best friend, yeah? I’m sure she would have loved to have you back. My parents, on the other hand, would have given me the whole, told you so speel.” Charlie rolled his eyes. “They aren’t terrible, I should add, but my mum thinks I’m not very good with making decisions.”
“Sorry,” Nick said. “They should trust you, you’re an adult.”
“They do, in their own ways, but they worry and well, it’s complicated,” Charlie admitted, waving his hand like he was trying to wave away any more discussion of parents. Nick took his cue and went back to eating, finishing off an entire piece before Charlie even finished his first.
Charlie pushed away his plate after he finished his slice. “I have the paperwork for you,” Charlie said. “Just a breakdown of rent and shared things, the same stuff you signed last week but I wanted to make sure you had copies and agreed with everything before you were officially moved in.”
“I’m sure it’s all fine,” Nick said. “I trust you, you don’t seem like the type to rip me off or anything.”
Charlie smirked getting up and grabbing something from the counter and tossing it on the table. He set to work on putting away his left over pizza and Nick couldn’t help but to watch him at the counter. Charlie moved with such grace and fluidity, even doing something so simple as packing up leftovers. It was such a silly thing to notice, he had to shake his head and look down at the paperwork. At just his glance, he saw everything was in order and instead of bothering to read all of it, he picked up his own pizza box and brought it over to the counter.
“I don’t have anything to put leftovers in,” he admitted sheepishly.
“I’ve got you,” Charlie said, pointing to a plastic container. “I always have extra. Why don’t you go check out your bedroom and I’ll finish putting this away?”
Hearing Charlie mention his bedroom gave him an unexpected thrill and he turned away to hide his blush. Why on Earth did that make him feel a certain way? “Yeah, cool thanks.”
He scampered off before he could put any more thought into it.