Description (May contain spoilers)

It’s finally here, Nick & Charlie’s wedding day, but will everything go to plan.

Although this story can be read on its own, it does follow a series of fics that are mentioned in part during this story.

CW: Mentions of Eating Disorders, OCD and Anxiety.

Nick  

Nick was rudely awoken to a loud banging sound on the bedroom door. As his eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the sun streaming in through the window, he wasn’t sure where he was. He reached over to Charlie’s side of the bed and found he wasn’t there. In fact, Charlie’s whole side of the bed was gone.  

Looking around Nick realised he wasn’t in his and Charlie’s bed. He was in his old childhood bedroom, his fairy lights still hanging above the window where he hung them as a child. The wallpaper had faded around the spots where pictures of his favourite people used to be stuck up on the walls, well mainly pictures of him and Charlie. The same pictures that now lined the walls of their home together.  

The banging on the door continued and matched the beat of the throbbing in Nick’s head. “Nick, man, it’s time to get up.” It took a moment for Nick to realise it was Otis calling through the door. What was he doing here? Nick thought this must all be a dream. He’d wake up in a minute and he’d be at home, with Charlie by his side as always.  

“I’m coming in,” Otis called out again when Nick didn’t reply. When Otis opened the door, Nick saw him enter the room dressed in a full 3-piece suit.  

“Why are you dressed like that?” Nick asked, still dazed and confused.  

Otis laughed, “Did you forget you’re getting married today?”  

“Oh,” Nick sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “I guess I did.”  

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Otis placed a hand on Nick’s knee and asked gently, “How’s your head mate?”  

Rubbing his forehead to try and ease the pain, Nick grunted, “Throbbing.”  

“We thought it might be,” Otis said nodding to the bedside table. “Your Mum left you some paracetamol and a glass of water to help.” Taking the glass and a couple of the pills, Nick eagerly swallowed them down in the hope they would quickly get to work easing the drumbeat playing out inside his head.  

“I don’t even remember getting here last night,” Nick croaked, his throat scratchy.  

“I’m not surprised, you were pretty out of it. We had to practically carry you up here.”  

Nick blushed, “Sorry, mate.”  

“It’s cool,” Otis reassured him, “Now let’s get you up and ready shall we, Charlie will kill me if you’re late today.”  

“Well Charlie probably won’t, but Tao might murder you,” Nick joked, “or send you a strongly worded DM.” Sharing a laugh with his friend, before the headache reminded him of its presence.  

Reluctantly climbed out of bed, Nick nearly tripped over his discarded trainers that were scattered on the floor from the night before. He went to reach for his phone, but Otis grabbed it before he could.  

“Hey, what are you doing? I need that,” Nick protested.  

“Nope! We agreed, no contact with Charlie until you’re both down that aisle. That includes phones,” Otis scolded, pocketing Nick’s phone in the inside of his suit jacket.  

“How do you know I was going to contact Charlie?” Nick asked, “I might have just wanted to check the weather forecast.”  

Shaking his head, Otis said, “Because I know you Nick Nelson! You can’t go five minutes without speaking to your Charlie. In just a couple of hours, you can speak to him all you want for the rest of your lives. Until then, no phones!”  

Nick crossed his arms over his chest and pouted, “But…”  

“No, buts! Now go get in that shower and be quick about it,” Otis scolded before leaving Nick alone.  

Nick took a moment to take it all in, today was the day. He’d finally be marrying the love of his life and he couldn’t wait. Shrugging off his clothes from the night before, Nick headed across the hall just as he had hundreds of times before, to get showered ahead of his big day.  

Charlie  

Charlie woke up far too early, he was an odd combination of being too excited and too nervous to sleep in. He looked at the clock on his bedside table, it was only 7am. His friends wouldn’t be arriving until 8:30 to start getting ready. But now that he was up, he couldn’t just lay in bed doing nothing. Getting himself up and showered didn’t take long, so Charlie changed into one of Nick’s hoodies and a pair of comfortable jeans and headed down to the kitchen to make breakfast.  

Despite his nerves about today, Charlie forced himself to eat. Years of living with an eating disorder, he knew there was a possibility his anxiety would get the better of him, so he’d planned out an easy to eat breakfast. It wasn’t much, but it should be enough to sustain him until they got to the reception. He didn’t want a repeat of their trip to Paris, where he collapsed in the middle of the Louvre into Nick’s arms.  

Once he’d finished up the mix of fruit and granola that he’d prepared before he went out on his stag do, Charlie set about washing up his dish. But he didn’t stop there, once that was done, he kept on cleaning. Wiping down every surface in the kitchen, scrubbing them until they were spotless. He was about to start reorganising the cupboards when the doorbell rang.  

Forgetting he was still wearing rubber gloves, Charlie went to see who was interrupting him. Opening the door, he was happy to see one of his best friends, Elle, standing outside, with Tao dragging a huge suitcase up the path behind her.  

“CHARLIEEEE,” she screeched pulling him into a hug. When Tao reached the pair, he asked, “What have you got in here, bricks?” having struggled with the heavy bag.  

Releasing Charlie from her embrace, she smiled, “Just the essentials.” Charlie pulled his oldest friend in for a hug too as he welcomed them both inside.  

“Why are you wearing rubber gloves?” Tao asked as they broke apart.  

Charlie looked down at his hands, “Oh, I forgot I was.” He pulled them off and tossed them into the sink in the kitchen. Recognising the telltale signs of Charlie’s OCD, she tried to reassure him, “It’ll all be great you know.”  

Sighing, Charlie blurted out his biggest fear, “But what if he’s changed his mind and doesn’t show up.”  

Before Elle had a chance to reply, Tao spoke up, “That’s nonsense Charlie Spring and you know it! That man absolutely adores you and would literally do anything for you. He would be there even if he had to fight his way through hordes of flesh-eating zombies.”  

Elle and Charlie both stood staring at Tao, it was a far cry from the boy who had threatened to murder Nick all those years ago if he messed Charlie around. The doorbell rang again, “that’ll be Isaac, I’ll get it,” Elle offered, heading to the door to welcome their friend in.  

Slumping down into one of the chairs in their breakfast nook, Charlie sighed, “I know, I do know. But you know what my brain is like.”  

Walking into the kitchen, Isaac placed his book down on the table and wordlessly pulled Charlie in for a hug. “Hello,” Charlie cooed, relaxing in his friends arms. Now he was surrounded by his friends, he could feel some of the anxiety oozing out of him. They had his back, just as much as Nick did.  

Elle and Tao both wrapped their arms around the pair and made it into a group hug. Charlie had never felt so happy to have so many people who loved him for who he is, regardless of his insecurities.  

As they all let Charlie come up for air, Elle took hold of his hand to pull him up out of the chair, “Come on you, we’ve got a wedding to get ready for.” Leading him up the stairs to his and Nick’s bedroom to start preparing.