۟

this could be the wrong thing, @lovesramblings ...

[۟ @nepoblem]

minor setback. major funding.

[۟ @nepoblem]

shoulder as one hand moved in slow strokes up and down the centre of her back. “you ok?” he murmured. that was the only question that mattered.

[۟ @nepoblem]

he perked up at the sound of the door opening, relief arriving first before something in his chest tightened at the sight of her face. her cheeks were ruddy, eyes still glassy from crying.

charlie pushed himself upright against the pillows, brow furrowing as he held a hand out —

[𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞.ᐟ @lovesramblings]

love returned over an hour later— if she’d been asked, she wouldn’t necessarily have been able to pinpoint how long it took.

it was a heavy conversation. she came in and watched nate’s eyes glisten with hope, hope that she had to take away as gently as she could.

it’s funny,—

[۟ @nepoblem]

towards her. “c'mere.”

the second she was close enough, he caught her gently around the waist and drew her between his legs, settling her against his chest without asking anything else. he didn't need to know how it went.

his chin dipped, mouth brushing softly against her —

[۟ @nepoblem]

tossed it beside him with an irritated sigh.

[۟ @nepoblem]

he watched her go, something uneasy twisting in his stomach despite the small smile pulling at his mouth.

“good luck,” he offered as she slipped through the doorway.

the door clicked shut behind her, leaving charlie alone in the sudden quiet of her bedroom. he did exactly —

[𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞.ᐟ @lovesramblings]

she can't really run from this. in fact, deep down, she doesn't really want to. she wants to be happy about this. about giving her and charlie a shot. she cannot do that unless nate isn't in the rearview, hoping, waiting.

"hell of a motivation."

the following kiss lingered—

[۟ @nepoblem]

his stomach.

waiting, as it turned out, was fucking awful. every muffled voice downstairs made his attention sharpen. every footstep in the hallway had him wondering whether it was her coming back. he checked his phone twice without actually having anything to check, then —

[۟ @nepoblem]

a lingering kiss against her cheek, dangerously close to the corner of her mouth, then reluctantly drew back.

“you need me to do anything?” his thumb brushed once beneath her ear.

[۟ @nepoblem]

she was right. it had been easy to be impulsive before, when neither of them had been particularly interested in stopping long enough to ask what any of it meant. but if they were actually doing this, properly doing it, then nate couldn't keep lingering between them like some —

[𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞.ᐟ @lovesramblings]

this wasn't the end of something mores than the start of something else. with vulnerability came the chance at something real. but, she needed to put the past to rest. to face nate, and to own up to the fact that he didn't have her heart.

maybe he never had. what charlie did —

[۟ @nepoblem]

he knew that much.

the corner of his mouth curled faintly. “guess it's a good thing you can kiss me whenever you like once it's over,” he murmured.

his fingers slipped gently across the nape of her neck, keeping her close for another second before his chin dipped. he pressed —

[۟ @nepoblem]

hers. “i’ve never…” he started, then let out a quiet breath, brow knitting when the words caught somewhere on the way out. “i’ve never felt this way about anyone.”

his fingers shifted gently against her skin. “not how i feel about you.”

[۟ @nepoblem]

his heart was hammering hard enough that he could feel it in his throat. for all the confidence he'd managed to scrape together, some part of him had been completely convinced she was going to say no. that he'd left it too late. fucked it up too badly. that the second he'd —

[𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞.ᐟ @lovesramblings]

love didn’t really plan for this. not the accountability, not the openness and certainly not this version of charlie. a man, in more ways than one. standing tall as he confesses his feelings, vulnerable and brave as he asks her to be with him.

in many ways, this would be the —

[۟ @nepoblem]

stupid. everything surrounding them had been complicated from the start, but being with her never had been. that part had always felt easy.

he stepped closer, one hand lifting to settle around the curve of her neck, thumb brushing softly beneath her jaw as his eyes stayed on —

[۟ @nepoblem]

brushed once against her arm. “be with me.”

[۟ @nepoblem]

he watched her talk him through it, watched the frustration sharpen every word, and for once charlie didn't try to defend himself. he understood. worse, he knew he'd earned it.

he'd spent weeks convincing himself of things she'd never actually said, then run halfway across the —

[𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞.ᐟ @lovesramblings]

"of course you did."

her tone is almost bitter, heavy with the frustration of such poor communication between the two.

"you didn't speak to me."

scoffing, shaking her head in disbelief. her hands still heavy with the box of words shelver got to say, of words she'd had to—

[۟ @nepoblem]

elbow, not enough to pull, just enough to stop himself from keeping all that distance between them.

“so, be with me.” there was no joke attached this time. no smirk. charlie's eyes stayed fixed on hers, expression unusually serious. “if that's what you want…” his thumb —

[۟ @nepoblem]

back with nate.”

the admission came with a faint frown, almost embarrassed now that he had to say it aloud. “i thought that was the whole point. you chose him, i fucked off, you two sorted yourselves out.”

[۟ @nepoblem]

he expected her to send him on his way. tell him he'd said his piece. remind him nate was waiting. maybe give him one of those soft, apologetic looks that somehow managed to hurt worse than outright rejection. instead, she turned away.

charlie's brow furrowed as he watched her —

[𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞.ᐟ @lovesramblings]

the first sentence feels like a cold shower. it feels like she did something wrong and he found out—not because of anything he's saying, but just because she isn't the one who told him.

"i..."

he cuts her off smoothly enough to reassure her that it's okay that he did, and she—

[۟ @nepoblem]

been halfway across the world trying to drink her out of his system, she'd been thinking about him too.

his fingers hovered over the edge of the box without touching anything. “you…” he started, then stopped, brow drawing together. his eyes lifted to hers. “i thought you got —