Nick

Nick Nelson had been dating his childhood sweetheart Charlie Spring since he was 16 years old. They’d had their ups and downs, probably more than most couples, but they’d come out the other side stronger than ever. They’d been to hell and back when Charlie had spent time as an in-patient for his issues with eating; they’d endured being long-distance when Nick moved to Leeds for university and subsequently when Charlie went to Durham to study classics, making as much of the time they could spend together as they possibly could.

After Charlie graduated 4 years ago, they’d moved in together in Rochester to be near their families, Nick getting lucky and landing a job teaching at a local primary school. While Charlie was commuting into London for his job as a copy editor for a publishing house. This year would be Charlie’s 25^th birthday in April and Nick had decided that this valentine’s day he was finally going to propose. He’d known for years that there was no one else for him, he’d not looked at another person since the day he first met Charlie back at Truham. He’d only waited this long because he needed everything to be perfect, he’d been saving for a ring that screamed ‘Charlie Spring’, something simple but elegant, just like his boyfriend.

He’d originally planned to propose at Christmas, but they’d spent the festive season at the Springs’ family home and Jane Spring’s overbearing attitudes had put Charlie into one of his ‘down days’ as they called them. Nick didn’t want Charlie’s memory of him proposing to be overshadowed by those negative emotions. So now that Valentine’s Day was here, it was the most romantic time to pop the question. Nick was pretty sure Charlie would say yes, but he was still nervous, nonetheless.

David

David Nelson never thought of himself as the sappy sort, not like his younger brother Nick, but whenever he thought about his boyfriend Olly he just felt calm and happy. They’d met four years ago when Nick and Charlie hosted the first ‘Nelson-Spring’ family Christmases that had become an annual tradition after they got their own place together. He and Olly found themselves drawn together whenever their two families were in the same place.

Oliver Spring was chaotic and wild, the complete opposite of his older brother, but whenever David was near Olly, he struggled to resist him. He had tried at first, Oliver was 10 years younger than him after all, but once Oliver had set his sights on him, he knew it was all over. Olly brought colour into his otherwise dull life. Olly had been in his first year of uni when they first met and by the time he’d reached his second year, him and David were as close to boyfriends as they could be, although neither of them had told their families yet.

Things weren’t always plain sailing between them, when they fought it was on an epic scale, but they always made up and the make up sex was always amazing. Sometimes David thought Olly picked something to fight over just so they could have ‘the good sex’ as he once put it. David just laughed at his mad antics and played along. It was Olly’s graduation day a year ago when they’d finally ‘told’ their families about the two of them being a couple.

Told, probably isn’t the right word. After Oliver had collected his certificate, he came bounding off the stage and ran straight into David’s arms and gave him the most passionate, and certainly most public kiss they’d ever shared. The whole Nelson-Spring clan had a mix of reactions to this revelation. Jane Spring, Olly’s mother, seemed to be appalled at the sight in front of her, while Nick and Charlie were simply shocked and at a loss for words. David’s mum Sarah was happy for the two of them, while Tori scarily said, “Called it.”

Once they’d all got home that day there was a lot of raised voices in the Springs’ home. Jane had tried to imply that David had ‘groomed’ her son and that he was some kind of pervert for being with someone ‘so much younger’ than him. While Nick and Charlie were hurt for another reason altogether, David had said some pretty nasty things to them when Nick had first come out, which of course he now deeply regretted.

Once the initial shock of him and Olly being together had faded, David and had worked to make amends with his brother and his boyfriend. The relationship between him and Nick was now the best it had ever been. Jane took longer to win over, and David wasn’t entirely sure she was still happy with him dating her son, but Olly had made it very clear to her that if she made him choose between them, that he would choose David every time, filling David with even more love for his Olly.

Oliver

Valentine’s Day was finally here, and Oliver Spring was feeling nervous but excited for the night they had planned. Before Christmas, Nick had confided in Olly that he was planning to propose to Charlie. He’d even asked Olly to go with him to collect the ring that Nick had chosen for his boyfriend. Nick was so disappointed when his plans to propose to Charlie on Christmas Day fell through, but Oliver reassured him that he’d made the right call.

Oliver suggested to Nick that he should wait until Valentine’s Day, as he knew Charlie would love the romance of that. Oliver helped Nick to find a romantic restaurant, deciding on a fancy roof-top restaurant that had amazing views of the London skyline. Nick had insisted on him and David joining them too, as a thank you to Oliver for helping him and wanting to help Oliver to make the evening special for him and David too.

What Nick didn’t know, was that Oliver had his own plans for making the evening special, Oliver was also planning to propose tonight. Last week he had gone back to the same jewellers that Nick had used and picked out a ring for David that he thought summed up the two of them together perfectly. It was beautiful but with a hint of chaos in its design, it was how David had once described him. He knew they hadn’t been together as long as Nick and Charlie, and that he was still quite young, but he knew this was it for him.

He’d seen doubt in David’s eyes sometimes, little things like when he saw Oliver out with his friends or the way he was just more outgoing than David. There were even times when David had ‘joked’ that Oliver would leave him someday for someone younger. But he could see the truth behind the words, the pain, and he wanted to stop David from ever thinking that again, by showing him just how much he truly meant to him.

Charlie

Charlie was putting his suit on for the evening and trying to tame his wild curls into something a little more normal. Nick had booked them a fancy looking restaurant for Valentine’s Day, which had made him a little anxious, but Nick was great at making sure the menu was suitable for Charlie’s needs. It wasn’t even something they discussed; it was just second-nature to Nick to make sure anywhere they went had a few safe dishes on the menu to make sure Charlie could feel comfortable. He hadn’t had a relapse like when he’d been an in-patient during secondary school, but there were always going to be good days and bad. But he was much better at coping now, especially with Nick by his side.

Having Nick by his side was something Charlie knew was going to be forever, there was no doubt in his mind about that. He never knew what Nick saw in him when they first got together back in school, and when they were apart during their time at university they’d had some rocky patches, but now the doubts had long since gone.

Charlie hadn’t told anyone, but tonight he planned on asking Nick to marry him. He’d gotten a ring that reminded him of Nick, it was strong and masculine but with a soft edge to it. He was pretty sure Nick would say yes, but he was wishing now he’d discussed it with someone first, to put some of his natural anxiety at ease a little. But there was no time for that now, Nick and David were arriving any minute to collect him and Olly.