Season 2 may obsolete this scene, but I'm including it anyway. For now, this is the end. I may continue or start a new story once season 2 comes out, but I won't be sure about that until I see it. Thank you for reading!
They held hands all the way home on the train, Charlie's head on Nick's shoulder. He dozed a little and they talked a little, but mostly they were content just to be together.
Nick walked him home, kissing him good-bye on his doorstep this time, and Charlie let himself into the house.
His parents were sitting at the kitchen table with their newspapers and cups of tea. It seemed like the perfect time to tell them. "Mum, Dad, have you got a minute?"
Charlie's dad put his paper down immediately, his mum a bit more slowly.
Taking a seat at the table facing them, Charlie said, "I wanted to talk to you. It's … about Nick."
"Yes. We've wanted to talk to you about Nick as well," his mum said crisply. "We think you've been spending too much time with him, and it's not good for you."
Charlie stared at her. Where had this come from? He turned to his dad, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "It's just that we worry about … some of the things that have happened when you've gone places together. The cinema, and that party."
"But those weren't Nick's fault! Those were—" How to explain it? He tried to find the words.
"You see? You can't even tell us why." His mother shook her head and started to pick up her paper again.
"No, but you don't understand!" Charlie said desperately. "Everything's different now!"
"Different how? And since when?" his dad asked.
"Since—well, since Friday, really, but … today. Nick and I—we've been going out. For about two months now. Starting—starting the morning after that party, when he came over."
He had both their attention now. "I thought Nick was straight," his mum said, frowning.
"So did I! So did he. And that was the problem. He … well, he needed time to figure things out, to—be ready to come out. And I didn't want to rush him."
"And he's ready now?" Charlie's dad asked, looking skeptical. Charlie didn't blame him entirely; this must all seem very fast to them.
"Yes. We're—he's out now, or will be, and we're telling people. So … I'm telling you." He ducked his head shyly, swallowing before he tried to get out the next words. "I … I really like him. He's—"
"He is quite respectful when he comes to visit," his mum said thoughtfully. "And you do always seem happy when he's here."
His dad nodded. "All right, Charlie. I think Nick should come to dinner sometime. I'm—glad you found someone."
"Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Mum." He got up from the table feeling exhausted, but also pleased. He had a real boyfriend, and now everyone who mattered could know about it.
Leaving his parents to their newspapers, Charlie went to his room to text his friends. "Nick's out! He says we're going to tell people!"
All of them—even Tao—were happy with this, and immediately a new chat got set up with Nick, and with Tara and Darcy, to set up a full group movie night. Nick volunteered to host, since he had room and everyone wanted to meet Nellie.
Nick's mum was teaching him how to cook, which he took remarkably seriously. It was almost like watching him play rugby, to see him so focused on what he was doing. Charlie offered to help, but he kept getting caught up watching Nick and messing up the task he'd been given, so eventually Nick and his mum sent him to walk Nellie.
Following Charlie to the door, Nick took the opportunity to kiss him. "Something I can do better than Charlie Spring," he marvelled. "What a great day."
"You're getting flour all over me," Charlie grumbled.
In response, Nick swiped a floury thumb across Charlie's cheek and retreated to the kitchen, laughing.
One by one the others arrived. Snacks were set up on the table across the room. Tao and Elle took one end of the couch, sitting side by side, Isaac the other. Tara and Darcy curled up in the chair together, and Nick and Charlie sat on the floor under a blanket, with Nellie tucked up next to Charlie. Nick snuggled in on Charlie's other side, his head on Charlie's shoulder, and sighed happily.
"Look at you two," Elle said, looking down at them from the sofa. "I don't know how you kept yourselves a secret for so long."
Isaac looked up from his book. "I don't, either. It was obvious from the start."
"It really was," Darcy agreed.
"It was in the eyes, don't you think?"
The two of them nodded.
Charlie turned his head to frown up at Isaac. "How did you know? I always wondered."
"You stopped talking about him all the time. Also, I saw the two of you walking in the hallway one day, and Nick was looking at you like Mr. Darcy at Elizabeth Bennet."
"If you mean like he was the last brownie, same at the rugby match," Darcy said.
Isaac chuckled. "At Charlie's birthday, Nick might as well have had hearts for eyes."
Nick blushed furiously and buried his head under the blanket while the others laughed. Charlie was pretty sure he was blushing, too.
Tao frowned. "I didn't notice."
Charlie saw Isaac and Darcy exchange grins. Isaac saw everything, even though he always had his nose in a book, and Darcy apparently loved to get people together. But Charlie thought the sparks between Tao and Elle were pretty obvious, anyway. The only ones who couldn't see them, it seemed, were them.
"It's true," Elle agreed, seeming unaware of everyone else's reaction to Tao's comment. "Nick should never play poker."
"Or he should. With us," Isaac suggested.
Charlie reached down and pulled Nick out from under the blanket. "I think you're embarrassing him."
Nick chuckled, although he was still blushing. "No, it's probably fair. I've never been able to lie to my mum—she catches me every time. Says it's written all over my face."
"Good to know."
"So what are we watching?" Tara asked.
"Oh, that was a difficult choice," Elle said.
"Wait, we're not watching The Avengers?" Nick asked. "I was told that's Tao's favorite movie."
Tao made a face at him, and Charlie laughed, glad that Nick and Tao were on good terms with each other now.
"It's Anna and the Apocalypse," he said.
"Never heard of it."
Tao held out the remote. "Is everyone ready?"
"Everyone have enough food? Need something to drink?" Nick asked. He turned to Charlie. "Anything I can get you?"
"No, I'm good."
Everyone else seemed to be good as well, so Nick got up to dim the lights before tucking himself back in next to Charlie and Tao began the movie.
Almost immediately, the characters burst into song, and Nick sat up and frowned. "Wait, is this a musical? I was promised that being LGBTQ did not require watching musicals."
"Ignore him," Charlie told the others. "His favorite movie is Mamma Mia."
"It is not." Nick turned to Charlie and frowned teasingly. "This is the secret gay agenda, isn't it?"
Charlie laughed and hugged him. From the chair, Darcy called out, "For heaven's sake, Nick, rule number one is that we don't talk about the secret gay agenda!"
"I must have misplaced my rule book."
"Shhh!" Tao said to all of them.
Nick and Darcy both giggled, and Charlie pulled Nick back down into the warmth of the blanket.
About halfway through the movie's tone started getting darker, and one character was bitten by a zombie at a crucial moment. Nick was so startled he sat up and cried out, and Charlie burst into laughter. "Sorry, everyone, I forgot to tell you Nick's a big wimp when it comes to horror movies."
"You managed to find a movie that was both a musical and a horror movie?" Nick grumbled.
"Uh-huh."
"You'll pay for this."
Nick was laughing, and under the blanket he reached for Charie's hand, holding on tightly. At the next scare, he hid his face in Charlie's shoulder and pulled the blanket over his head, tugging it down just enough to see the screen out of one eye.
The others all found this highly entertaining—with the exception of Tara, whose head was hidden in Darcy's shoulder. Charlie suspected Nick was playing up his fears just a little, but he did jump at every scare, and it was indescribably lovely to be holding him this way, here with all their friends, not having to hide anything about themselves.
Everyone offered to stay and clean up after, but Nick's mum told them not to worry about it, that she had it under control. Nick walked them all to the door. The drawback to having everyone here was that they didn't get to kiss good-night, but they held hands until the last possible moment before the door closed between them.
Elle put an arm around Charlie. "Happy?" she asked.
"It's a little scary how much," he admitted.
"I think you can trust it. He's a good guy, and he likes you a ridiculous amount."
Charlie smiled. "You think so?"
"It's obvious."
At the corner, they went in different directions. Charlie glanced back at Nick's house. They would text tonight, they would see each other tomorrow … and then the next day and the next and the next. Because now they belonged to each other.