who:Nick and Charlie What:Nick's arrival When: sometime before new years eve Where:Welcome center Warnings:none
Charlie had forgotten to say anything at all on his way out. He barely remembered to put on his shoes. One of them was untied, so it made the running harder. But he was still doing just that. Running to get to the welcome center before Nick could be snatched away by whatever guardian he’d ended up with.
He’d spent so long being depressed and anxious about not being home, seeing Nick was a breath of fresh air. Like warmth just lit up inside him. That run felt like it took forever, though it was only a few minutes.
Doors burst open as he looked around. “Nick?”
Nick was sitting in a plastic chair trying very hard not to fidget. Miss Jones, Martha he reminded himself, was coming to get him and so was Charlie. One guess as to which of those he found more comforting.
When the dark haired boy entered the room and said his name he bolted to his feet, his smile was immediate.
“Charlie!” He didn’t say thank God, but his tone absolutely implied it.
One shoe was lost in his run towards Nick. He immediately wrapped his arms around him and hugged him so tight. There was a long moment of silence as he just used him to ground the moment. As if to make sure Nick was actually there. He buried his face against his shoulder and said a muffled “Hi”
It was like he hadn’t seen him in weeks. Because for him he had not. He was trying to hold back tears at the sight of him and not be weird.
His arms automatically went around Charlie and lifted him off the ground to hug him. He’d seen him only a few hours ago but getting brought to Madison had been upsetting and disconcerting. So it was nice to have something familiar to grab on to.
“Hi,” he said back, into Charlie’s hair and a trifle inanely possibly, but that was sort of their thing. Then, “I’m so glad you’re here.”
That elicited an airy laugh from him as his feet lifted. “You have no idea how much I missed you.” There was no reason to hold that back now. His hands shook a little bit as he held onto him as though he might lose grip on reality if he let go.
“It’s bloody weird here…I’m sort of living in a mansion?” He could barely believe it himself. “I got lost.” He laughed at the absurdity of it all. “ For me it’s been…a month almost since I’ve seen you.”
“A month?” He set him down, reluctantly, but didn’t let go as he shifted back so he could look at him. “That’s…”
Mental. The word he was looking for was, mental. But so was suddenly being in a strange American town with two suns on another planet.
“I just saw you, a couple hours ago. We got back from the beach and you went home and I went and…”
Oh. OH.
“I went home and came out to my mum…” She’d been great, but now he was here and she might think he’d run away.
“I’ve been doing some reading back on the net…seems though we’re here, the others back home won’t even know we’re gone. We’re not to them. Time moves differently here.” He was just quiet after that for a moment, soaking in Nick’s arms and familiar smell.
Then Nick said he came out, and his jaw dropped open. Only then did he have to back up and look at him. “Did you really? I’m so proud of you. How did she respond?” He touched Nick’s face gently with his hand in a comforting sort of way, palm on his jawline.
“She was completely fine with it.” He’s still a little shocked about it to be honest. He’d been pretty sure it would be fine, but it was still scary to do. “It went really well Char. Like incredibly well.”
He knew not everyone would react that way, but it was still good that his mum had been more than fine. And it was a relief that she wouldn’t miss him, or be alone.
“I’m so happy for you. You have no idea. I really want to kiss you right now.” He brushed a thumb against Nick’s cheek.
He bit his lip, glanced around the Welcome Center hallway a little and then, “Okay.”
He shifted closer, one hand coming up to card through the curls at the nape of Charlie’s neck as Nick bent to kiss him, it was almost chaste, completely sweet, and possibly a little overwhelming.
But then he was always a little overwhelmed when he kissed Charlie.
The hand that had been on his face slid down to press gently against Nick’s chest for support as he returned that kiss. There was no one there to worry about watching or catching them. He was completely lost in that kiss.
It didn’t take much with Nick to lose the room entirely. A small hand gripped his shirt.The kiss caused a little heat to rise to his cheeks as he reluctantly pulled away only to breathe after a moment. “Maybe a few more times.”
“Only a few?” He was a little breathless, his smile lopsided as he bent to kiss Charlie again, a little more forcefully this time. He forgot all about where they were, and the strangeness of the day he was having, and all the anxiety and confusion that came with arriving somewhere completely alien.
Because Charlie was here. And being with him made it okay. He pulled back a second time, but didn’t step away. “Okay?”
He suddenly wished they had some place a bit more private for it to continue. A pleased sound was muffled by his lips, his hand twisted in the fabric of his shirt and pressed against his chest. If they didn’t stop there they were going to have to find somewhere more private.
When Nick pulled back, it was him that was left breathless and wanting. Damn the public place. “Few more.” He mumbled contently as he pressed his cheek against Nick’s chest. He would just hug him there until Martha showed up. And maybe even when she did. “I missed you.”
“I’m here now,” he wrapped his arms around Charlie and held on, his face buried in his dark curls and just inhaled. He couldn’t say he’d missed him, he’d just seen him, but this made everything better.
He had no intention of letting go until Martha showed up, just stayed wrapped around Charlie. Recharging.