Kaleidoscope (a Heartstopper fanfiction)

Morning

Nick woke up smiling. That had been a great dream, their whole friend group together. He'd have to make it happen, soon. If he could convince Tao that his intentions were honourable, at least. At the moment, he wasn't sure he was Charlie's best friend's favourite person.

Charlie.

He lay there for a moment, just remembering what an amazing day yesterday had been. Then he grabbed his phone and texted him. "Hi". With a heart, naturally.

While he waited for Charlie, always a later riser than he was, to get up, he dressed and brushed his teeth and bounded downstairs to let Nellie out and get her breakfast.

"hi", Charlie texted back. "does being boyfriends mean we do good morning texts now"

"Does that technically qualify as a 'good morning text'" "Because technically all I said as 'hi'"

"it was first thing in the morning. i think it qualifies"

Nick laughed.

"Lovely to hear that sound first thing in the morning, darling."

Remembering how awesome she'd been yesterday, the long and open talk they'd had over dinner, he hugged her spontaneously. "You have a good day, Mum."

She looked rather surprised, and he made a note to ask about her life more often. "Thank you, Nick. You, too."

"Oh, I will." He slung his bag over his shoulder, opening up his texts to see that Charlie had sent "good morning boyfriend" with a heart.

His boyfriend. He'd never imagined anything like this.

"So sending good morning texts is a boyfriend job, is it?"

"yeah"

"And what else might be in the small print of this job description?"

"hmmm" "kissing me many times per day"

Nick grinned. That he could do. In fact, he couldn't wait to see Charlie just so he could find a hidden place and kiss him before school started properly.

He walked right past the front table. None of his former mates were there this morning, anyway, and he wouldn't have cared if they were, he told himself. The hurt from the way they had acted in the cinema was still fresh.

And it didn't matter anyway, because he had Charlie. Still carrying on their delightfully flirty text conversation, he waited a little way down the corridor until Charlie came in, then snuck up behind him and put his hands over his eyes.

Charlie laughed. "Nick."

He turned, and they smiled at each other. "Hi."

"Hi."

Then Nick grabbed Charlie's hand and pulled him into the supplies room, the nearest place where they could be private. He closed the door behind them. "Guess what?"

"What?"

"I came out to my mum last night."

"Oh, my God! How did it go?"

Nick couldn't help smiling. "Really well. She was completely fine with it."

Charlie hugged him, hard, and Nick laughed and hugged him back, lifting him off the floor and turning them both around.

"Want a 'well done' kiss?"

He didn't even have to think about it. "Yeah."

And then they were kissing. It was like they hadn't seen each other in days, rather than having just spent the whole afternoon together yesterday. Charlie's hands in Nick's hair, Nick grasping the back of Charlie's jacket, lost in the moment.