Wish (a Heartstopper fanfiction)

Dinner

Nick had texted earlier in the day that he was going to go to Charlie's after school. To study. Sarah smiled at that, happy that he had trusted her, liking how cheerful and like his best self he had looked when she dropped him off at school this morning. "Love you, Nicky!" she had said as he opened the car door, and he had turned round and smiled and said "Love you, Mum!" in a way he hadn't done in quite a long time.

Still. It was a quiet and empty house Sarah came home to, just Nellie, sleepily climbing down off the couch, interrupted in the middle of her afternoon nap. "Yes, old girl, we'll go out in just a moment. Let me put my things down," she assured the dog.

As she was putting the shopping on the counter, it occurred to her that there was plenty for three of them. So while holding Nellie's leash in one hand, letting the dog lead her on the familiar path, she typed with the other hand, "Why don't you bring Charlie home for dinner?" She'd always done that with David's girlfriends, invited them round, made them feel welcome. David hadn't wanted her to, naturally—he liked to keep his life to himself—but Nick was different. And Charlie was lovely.

Nick agreed after a few minutes—conferring with Charlie, she expected—and they arrived in the entry smiling and cheerful, kneeling to pet Nellie.

Sarah wasn't entirely sure what the etiquette was for greeting your son's boyfriend, but this was Charlie, wasn't it, the same boy she'd been happy to see showing up at her door for months now. "Charlie! Good to see you."

He smiled awkwardly, and it occurred to her that maybe he didn't know she knew. "Thank you, Mrs. Nelson."

"Now, I think I've told you it's okay to call me Sarah. And if you're going to be around a lot, and for a long time, which I hope you are, I wish you would."

"Oh." Charlie blushed and ducked his head, but he was still smiling. "Okay. Um, thanks ... Sarah."

"There. That's better. Now you boys go finish your homework while I put dinner together."

"How do you know it's not already done?" Nick asked.

She grinned at him. "It isn't, is it?"

"Well ... maybe not." He grinned back. "Do you need any help?"

"I'll let you know when I need the table set."

"Okay."

And they hurried upstairs. Hand in hand, she noticed out of the corner of her eye.

They had a lovely meal, the three of them, the boys unable to keep their eyes off each other even as they talked and laughed and told her about their day. Sarah wondered how it was possible anyone didn't know about them, if this was how they were all the time.

When the dinner was over, Sarah stood up and started gathering plates. After a glance at each other, Nick asked what they could do to help.

Wanting a quiet moment with Charlie, Sarah asked Nick to take the dog out and Charlie to help her clear.

They stood side by side at the sink, scraping and rinsing. "Charlie," Sarah began, trying to think exactly what she wanted him to know.

He went completely still, and she wondered if he thought she was about to tell him she didn't want him seeing her son, or some medieval nonsense like that.

"I just ... I want you to know that you are welcome here anytime. You—" She set her dish down and turned to look at him. "You have made my Nicky so happy. Before he met you, he ... well, he was content, but he had lost all his ... all his colour. And now—well. You see how he is now."

"But he— this spring," Charlie stammered. "He had such a hard time. The fight, and everything. I know it was all my fault."

Sarah shook her head. "I've met Harry Greene a few times myself," she told him, "and I know whose fault that was. I don't hold with fighting, but I don't think you do, either, and Nick wouldn't have if he hadn't been very angry. I've talked to him about it, I hope nothing like it will happen again. But that's not your fault. And the rest of it ... Change is hard, Charlie. I wish he'd talked to me about it, but he felt he had to get through on his own."

They both heard the sound of Nick returning, talking to Nellie even as he hung up her leash. When he came back into the kitchen, he looked between the two of them, tensing immediately. "Everything okay?"

Charlie nodded.

"I was just telling Charlie, or just about to tell him, that I want you both to know that you can talk to me. I may not always know what to say, but ... I am here."

Nick smiled, the tension easing. "Thanks, Mum."

"Thank you, Sarah," Charlie said in a whisper. She wondered if he wasn't used to adults telling him he could trust them—she hoped he believed her. Well, time would tell. He cleared his throat. "I should go. I do actually still have homework to finish."

"Charlie the brilliant still needs to do homework?" Nick teased, and Charlie blushed. "I'll walk you to the door."

"And I'll finish the dishes," Sarah said, turning back to the sink and scraping extra loudly at a plate so they wouldn't think she was watching them, or monitoring how long it took them to say good-bye. She'd been young once, too, hard though it was to remember exactly how that had felt.

Nick came back in once the door had closed behind Charlie and hugged her. "You're the best, Mum. Did you know that?"

"I try. I'm going to try, Nicky. I ... I hope you'll feel comfortable bringing your new friends over, and Charlie is welcome anytime. You know that?"

"Yes." He gave her another squeeze and was off upstairs, hopefully to actually finish his homework.

Sarah watched him go, thinking what she hadn't wanted to say to him out loud, that if she lost Nick the way she had David, if Nick started choosing to spend entire summers with Stephane or stopped telling her about his life, it would break her heart.

But this ... this had been lovely. Charlie was lovely. He was good for Nick, and she hoped Nick was good for him. And both of them were good for her.

For tonight, that was enough.