Falling (a Heartstopper fanfiction)

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Charlie met Nick at the train station Sunday morning, walking straight into his arms. After thinking all week that they shouldn't be together any longer, the feeling of belonging that came over him when Nick held him was ... unbelievable.

Nick had texted that he had a plan, and that he wasn't telling Charlie any of it, which was adorable, but Charlie teased him for answers anyway as they stood on the platform waiting for the train and Nick refused to tell him anything, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

All the way there, Charlie looked out the window, trying to see if he could learn where they were off to. Although really he didn't try as hard as he was making it seem. Clearly surprising him was important to Nick, and Charlie wouldn't have ruined that for the world.

It seemed to be taking it a bit far when the train stopped and Nick covered Charlie's eyes with one hand, holding Charlie's hand tightly with the other so he couldn't trip and fall. "We're nearly there, I promise," he said after a bit.

Overhead, a bird squawked. "Wait ... seagulls?" Nick pulled him to a stop and uncovered his eyes, and Charlie gasped in delight when he saw the ocean stretching out before them. "Oh, my God, the beach!"

"Yeah. Surprise!"

"Oh, my God!" Still holding Nick's hand, Charlie set off running, pulling Nick along with him, until they were standing on the sand. "What shall we do?"

"Everything!"

Well, if everything was the plan, then Charlie knew just what to start with. He tugged on Nick's hand, pulling him closer and kissing him. "If I forget to tell you later, I had the best time today."

Nick smiled. "Me, too."

After that, they rode the carousel, and took stupid touristy pictures, and walked together down the boardwalk, just holding hands and talking.

Coming to a stop in the middle of the boardwalk, Nick said, "There's something I promised myself I was going to do."

"What's that?"

Taking Charlie's face in his hands, Nick kissed him.

When he let go, Charlie looked at him curiously. "What was the promise?"

"On your birthday, I promised myself someday I would kiss you in public and not care who saw."

"Do you? Care?"

Nick shook his head. "Not at all."

Charlie couldn't help smiling. After being someone's secret for so long, it felt more amazing than he could have imagined to have Nick be so open about them. Even if no one they knew could see them, Nick hadn't even glanced around to see if anyone else was on the boardwalk. "I'm so proud of you."

Nick blushed. "Come on. I'm starving. Are you hungry?"

"I could eat," Charlie said cautiously.

They got fish and chips, which weren't great, but Charlie ate some anyway, laughing at Nick's attempts to catch a chip in his mouth.

Then they went to a photo booth. The only way they fit was with Charlie on Nick's lap, which neither of them minded at all. They laughed, and kissed, and tried to smile for the camera, and kissed some more, and agreed that the resulting pictures were really cute.

After that, Nick laid the towels he had brought out on the sand, and they lay there together listening to the waves, sharing Charlie's earbuds.

Turning his head, Charlie saw that Nick was looking at him and smiling. "I was thinking ... What if I came out?"

Charlie sat up, pulling out his earbud. "Do you really want to?" To be out together, to be able to be open about how they felt about one another ...

Nick sat up, too. "I really want to. I know I've been pretty unsure of everything for a while, but, like, I'm definitely bisexual. And I don't want to have to sneak around pretending we're platonic BFFs. I'm not saying I want to have a public announcement or anything, but ... I want to tell the people who matter. And I want you to be able to tell people, too."

This was so much more than Charlie had expected, even after the scene on Sports Day, that he simply didn't have words.

"Oh, my God, I like you so much," Nick said. "And ... I love liking you." There was a look in his eyes that Charlie knew no one else had ever seen there. Suddenly Nick got to his feet, running out into the surf, shoes and all, waving his arms in the air and shouting out to the world, "I like Charlie Spring in a romantic way, not just a friend way!"

Laughing, Charlie ran down to the water after him, stopping just short of getting his shoes wet.

Nick turned to him, studying his face. "What?"

"I never thought this would happen to me."

He found himself enveloped in one of Nick's exuberant, affectionate hugs. "Me, neither."

Charlie was hesitant to mess with the moment, but there was one more thing he wanted to be sure of. "Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Does this mean we're boyfriends?"

Nick pulled away, frowning at him, and laughed a little when he realised Charlie was serious. "Yes! Was that not already established the last ten times we made out?"

"Oh." Maybe he'd been building up the official term in his mind so much that it had never occurred to him Nick might have just assumed it. "Yeah? I don't know, we never, like, confirmed it."

They both laughed, because really, how ridiculous was it that neither of them had ever thought to confirm such a simple thing?

"Why are we like this?" Charlie asked. For answer, Nick bent down and picked Charlie up. "Wha—Wha—What are you doing?" he sputtered, holding on as Nick carried him out into the surf.

"There we go. Come on." Nick held him there, shouting out, "You're my boyfriend! I'm your boyfriend! We're boyfriends!" So now it was established, and Charlie never needed to be worried about it again.

Which he appreciated, but might have appreciated more if he wasn't being held just a few inches above the no doubt freezing water. "Don't you dare drop me!"

"I'm not going to drop you," Nick assured him, and then proceeded to pretend to do so.

"Stop it!"

Nick laughed, carrying him back to the towels. "Okay. I think we're wet enough now."

He may have been, but Charlie was still dry, which was how he preferred it. They lay back on the towels, and Charlie rested his head on Nick's chest, feeling Nick's arms come round him. "So ... now we're going to tell people?"

"Yeah."

Sighing happily, Charlie closed his eyes. "Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"This is my favourite day ever."

"Mine, too."