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The bus ride to Paris was just over five hours, and Charlie was planning to use that time to listen to his audiobook. But then Nick had followed him onto the bus and seamlessly slid into the seat next to him and immediately struck up conversation. And who was Charlie to deny Nick anything, especially when he offered his time and attention so enthusiastically. Nick had fallen asleep about three hours in, but he’d done so on Charlie’s shoulder so he couldn’t really focus on anything else for the rest of the ride.
When the bus stopped in front of the hotel, Charlie shook Nick awake, who blushed and apologized profusely.
“I’m so sorry! My big head probably made it hard for you to get comfortable!”
Charlie shook his head before Nick could even finish speaking. “No, it’s fine, honestly. I quite like your big head.” He realized what he said just a bit too late. “I mean—“
“My big head thanks you.” Nick smiled his glorious lopsided smile, and Charlie found it difficult to stay embarrassed.
Nick and Tao went on ahead to their room, Charlie and Aled both needing to use the loo immediately, not able to trust themselves to make it through the short journey up to the room.
Once they entered the room, Charlie saw Tao sorting through his luggage on the bed by the window, and Nick sprawled out on the other bed. Before Charlie could decide whether he really wanted to share a bed with his crush or really wanted to avoid that option, Aled marched over to Tao’s bed.
“I’d like the one by the window, if that’s alright, Charlie?” Aled looked at Charlie with wide eyes, innocence painted all over his face. All Charlie could do was nod in response.
Charlie could see Tao trying to make eye contact with him, no doubt to help him sort out another sleeping arrangement, but Nick had watched that all happen. If Charlie and Tao all of the sudden switched, it could be awkward. And Charlie didn’t want to make this situation any more awkward than it already was.
See, Charlie was absolutely gone for Nick. Doodling his name in margins, gazing at him longingly, itching just to hold his hand kind of gone. And Nick was… Charlie’s best friend. Sometimes Charlie caught Nick looking at him with flushed cheeks or noticed him sitting just a bit too close, but he never made any sort of move.
Well… except when they’d been just a breadth from kissing at Harry Greene’s birthday party. Sai had called out Nick’s name right before their lips met, startling him back and ruining the moment. He’d run out to meet Sai, leaving Charlie alone to parse out all of that. He’d left before he could see Nick again, wanting to put off the inevitable rejection just a bit longer.
Nick had come to Charlie’s house the next morning, drenched from the rain and brimming with apology. They didn’t mention the almost kiss, Nick instead asserting that Charlie was a better friend to him than any of his mates in his year.
And they’d moved on from that. Or, their friendship had, strengthening and progressing until Nick and Charlie had become indisputably best friends. But Charlie still thought about that almost kiss everyday. He certainly hadn’t moved on from it.
Which brought him to here and now, awkwardly hovering in front of the bed he was now going to be sharing with Nick for a week. While in the City of Love. Perfect.
“So Charlie,” Nick’s face was slightly flushed as he fully sat up. Charlie tried to pretend he didn’t find that stupidly attractive. “Do you want the wall side or the nightstand side? I know your actual bed is tiny so you get the benefits of both, but now you’ll have to choose.”
Charlie burned red at Nick talking about his bed while discussing the logistics of the bed they’d be sharing. He wasn’t going to make it through this trip in one piece.
“Um. I’ll take wall side.” Charlie placed his bags on the foot of the bed, taking up as little space there as possible, scared to stake any claim on this bed that Nick has already made his own.
Nick, who was already lying mostly on the nightstand side, scooted all the way over. A small indent of his shoulder and head remained on Charlie’s pillow. “Perfect.”
🍂
Tara and Darcy had come to their door just as Charlie was unpacking some of his clothes, not wanting them to wrinkle in his duffle. He welcomed the respite from the constant reminder of his forced proximity with Nick, unable to stop his gaze from wandering over to Nick lying on their shared bed.
Mr. Farouk had begrudgingly given them all permission to explore the area around the hotel; they must stay within a five block radius and return in an hour. The girls had excitedly suggested they take advantage of that tiny bit of freedom, and Charlie had immediately agreed, abandoning his clothes to rush out of the room. Tao, Aled, and Nick had followed, much less enthusiastically.
Charlie had spent the walk through the streets surrounding the hotel doing his best to avoid Nick, striking up conversations with whoever else was near him. Eventually, though, Nick had snuck up on him, falling into step next to him and drawing Charlie into a conversation about the best movies set in Paris.
Soon, Charlie was laughing as Nick fought hard for Passport to Paris, almost forgetting about his nerves as they fell into easy conversation.
And that was the thing of it all: everything with Nick felt so easy. Even as Charlie helplessly pined for him, being around him felt easy because they were both their truest selves with each other.
Which is what made falling in love with Nick so easy.
Charlie’s laughter faded abruptly as he felt a hand grasp his own. A big hand, calloused and worn in a lived-in way.
Nick’s hand.
Nick’s hand was grasping his own.
“Follow me, down here’s my favorite little bookshop.” Nick pulled Charlie down a small cobblestone lane, almost hidden in the hustle and bustle of the city. “My dad always took us here. It’s not as flashy as some of the more famous shops in Paris, but I love how homey it is.”
They had stopped in front of a small storefront, unassuming and quaint. Nick, hand still holding Charlie’s, led them in, the space too small for them to walk side by side. Using their joined hands, Nick wove them through the shop, stopping whenever Charlie made a small noise of interest or excitement.
As Charlie perused the stacks of classical tomes, Nick sighed fondly behind him. “I knew I had to take you here. I didn’t want to share this with everyone, but I knew I wanted to share it with you.
Charlie paused, suddenly so glad Nick was facing his back and couldn’t see just how red and flustered he had become. He cleared his throat, hoping to also clear his mind in the process, and carefully turned towards Nick, making sure to not knock over any books.
“Thank you. For sharing this with me. I’m honoured to see something so special to you.”
Nick beamed brighter than the sun; it must have been because Charlie could not imagine anything being more magnificent than Nick in that moment.
Just as he opened his mouth to say more, maybe to call Nick beautiful, he didn’t know, a tinny song rang out.
“That’ll be one of our friends, probably asking where we are.” Nick laughed and tugged Charlie’s hand to pull him out of the shop. They stumbled back onto the street, laughing.
If you had told Charlie earlier that day that he’d be strolling down a picturesque Paris lane hand in hand with Nick Nelson, he’d assume you were predicting his dreams. But no, that was his current reality.
His hand tingled, invisible sparks shooting up and down his arm. Nick was babbling away about his favorite memories in Paris, and Charlie wondered if this would be the peak of his life.
They emerged back into the large square, spotting their friends across the way. Charlie quickly dropped Nick’s hand, immediately feeling its absence.
He looked up at Nick just as Nick looked down at him, his eyes wide and sparkling, his mouth just opening to say something. But what he was about to say Charlie would never know because Darcy barreled up to them, throwing her arms around their shoulders, leading them back to the group and babbling about the “majesty of Paris.”
🍂
Soon after Nick and Charlie had rejoined their group, it was time for them all to return to the hotel for dinner. Charlie was too anxious to eat much, but he thought he hid it well and had a great time otherwise.
Dinner was over around nine thirty, which would normally feel too early, but the day had been long, and no one put up a fight when Mr. Ajayi suggested they all call it an early night. The boys bid their goodbyes to the girls, promising to meet up the next morning for breakfast.
Charlie let everyone use the bathroom before him, figuring they’d all be less aware of how long (or not long) he took if no one had to wait for him. Maybe no one would notice anyway. He wasn’t about to take that chance.
So while he waited, Charlie tried to figure out how to get through the night with as little awkwardness as possible. The bed was big enough that if he scooted all the way towards the wall and slept on his side (facing away from Nick, of course), he and Nick would stay far away from each other.
After Charlie finished his routine in the bathroom, he took a moment to steady his breathing and slow his racing heart rate. He was basically just having a sleepover with a friend! His best friend!
Just a sleepover with his best friend.
Except…
He was in love with his best friend. He and his best friend both liked boys in a decidedly not platonic way. He and his best friend had held hands only a few hours before as they strolled through the City of Love.
He and his best friend were sharing a bed for the next week after holding hands and liking boys and being together in the City of Love.
Charlie splashed some water on his face and blew out one last breath. He couldn’t stay in there forever, regardless of how nervous he was.
Most of the lights were off when Charlie got out, only the small lamp on Nick’s side of the nightstand still on. Nick looked up from his phone as Charlie emerged smiling and putting a finger to his lips, pointing towards the other bed where Aled and Tao were both fast asleep. Charlie nodded and threw off a salute, drawing a silent laugh from Nick.
Charlie padded over to the bed, purposely avoiding Nick’s eyes, which followed him on his short journey. He plugged his phone into the charger and slid into the bed, making sure to leave plenty of space between him and Nick.
“G’night, Charlie,” Nick whispered, softly and low, even fondly, if Charlie wanted to read into it.
“Night, Nick.”
Charlie turned on his side, needing those few extra inches of separation.
🍂
It was warm. Warmer than Charlie usually liked to be with sleeping. Had Ollie snuck into his room to close his window? Had he fallen asleep in his jumper again?
Slowly, he opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings blurrily. This wasn’t his room. Oh right, he was in Paris. This was his Paris hotel room.
But why was he so warm? They’d kept the room at a cool temperature, and he was wearing a t-shirt.
Also, why was his pillow so hard? Was that a weird French thing? And why was it moving slightly? Was that a weird French thing?
Oh.
Oh god.
Oh no.
There were arms around him. Yes, that was unmistakably a pair of arms holding him close.
Which meant the hard, moving pillow was probably the chest of whoever’s arms those were.
And Charlie knew there was only one person it could be.
What should he do? What could he do?
If he tried to extract himself, he risked waking Nick up and making him all too aware of their situation. He couldn’t go back to sleep, not now, not with the knowledge that Nick was holding him while they slept.
Before Charlie could come up with anything to do besides freak out, the movement of Nick’s chest changed and his arms tightened a bit. Charlie chanced a glance up and was met with Nick smiling down at him, eyes barely open and face calm.
Charlie’s face must have clued Nick into the reality of the situation because his eyes widened.
“I— I’m sorry.” Charlie made to move out of Nick’s arms, but Nick held him close.
“Charlie. I’m so tired of holding back. Charlie.” Nick pleaded, his eyes brimming with hope. “It’s not just me, right?”
“No. No, it’s not just you.”
As soon as the words were out of Charlie’s mouth, Nick ducked his head, bringing one hand to Charlie’s chin to tip his face up. When their lips were only a hair’s breadth apart, the closest they had ever gotten, Nick breathed out: “finally.”
It was somewhat clumsy, their positioning not ideal and neither that experienced. But Charlie couldn’t imagine it being better, not when he’d been waiting for this moment for months. Not when Nick was holding him so delicately and kissing him so tenderly and breathing him in so eagerly.
Eventually, maybe hours later, maybe only moments later, Charlie pulled back, the need for air becoming somehow stronger than his need for Nick. (How could anything come before Nick in that moment?!)
“No,” Nick whined out, chasing Charlie’s lips.
Charlie laughed and gave Nick a short peck, less short than intended thanks to Nick.
“Nick, we need to sleep. We can’t just stay up ki–kissing.” Charlie blushed at the last word, the reality of what had happened hitting him in that moment.
“Counterpoint: we have a lot of lost time to make up for.” Nick looked smug, so sure he’d found just what to say to persuade Charlie.
“I— that’s not—“
“I came back. At Harry’s party. I rushed back to that room after begging them off as quickly as possible. But you were gone, and I worried I’d mucked it all up and ruined my chance.” Nick stroked a thumb over Charlie’s cheekbone. “I let myself cry that night until I thought I’d cried it all out and I could handle being just your friend. Because I love being your friend, Charlie, I really, really do. But I’m also pretty sure I love you, and it hurt to know I’d gotten so close and ruined it.”
“I love you.” Nick beamed at Charlie’s admission. “God, it was torture, everyday, pretending I hadn’t been so close to you. Pretending I didn’t want to kiss you so badly.”
“I love you.” They smiled at each other dopily, both too tired to care if they looked weird. “But you’re right, we need to sleep.”
“Oh. Yes, right. I’ll just…” Charlie made to leave Nick’s embrace, but Nick only tightened his hold.
“If you’re okay with it, I’d like to cuddle on purpose.” Nick looked scared, as if Charlie could ever deny him such a request.
Charlie burrowed deeper into Nick, resting his head in the crook of his neck. He felt a soft, firm kiss on the top of his head as he closed his eyes, drifting off in Nick’s arms, their breathing syncing as it evened out.
It was horribly cliche, finally getting together because “oops, only one bed” while in Paris. But Charlie knew now that it was inevitable; they would have gotten here someway, somehow. And he thought maybe they deserved their own cheesy romance story after all they’d been through and held back since knowing each other. Why not a classic in the City of Love?