Parents

Parents
by OneOfAMind
Summary
A series of vignettes about Nick and Charlie’s life as parents
1) First gender reveal

2) First period
3) First birth
4) Tao and Elle babysit
5) Meeting the girlfriend
6) ‘Where’s my Mummy?’
7) Nanny Sarah finds out it’s twins
8) Sports Day
9) Uncle Olly comes to stay
10) The Talk
11) ‘I think our son might be drunk’
12) A toddler and two newborns
13) ‘Our son’s girlfriend is sleeping over’
14) Walked in on
15) Abortion
16) Swear words
17) A new cousin
18) Caught in the act
19) First Birthday Cake
20) Auntie Tori’s announcement
21) ‘So who’s the real dad?’
22) Hickey
23) Parents’ Evening
24) ‘I thought ‘Charlie’ was a woman!’
25) First family holiday abroad
26) Coming out
27) First words
28) ‘I want children. With you.’
29) Wrong number
30) Boyfriends?
31) First grandchild
32) Boy/Girl sleepover
33) First bra
34) Role model
35) Sick day
36) Surprise uni visit
37) Wedding Day
38) The magic of Christmas
Table of contents
Just a bunch of one shots featuring Nick and Charlie as parents :)
Nick and Charlie have 3 children born via their surrogate, Molly: Robin (born when Nick is
28 and Charlie is 26), and then the twins Ada and Ellis (born when Nick is 31 and Charlie is
29)
Leave a comment if you have any suggestions/recommendations of what you’d like to see!
They’ll be posted in random order, so expect some time jumps. I’ve linked them in
chronological order if you wanted to read them from pre-baby all the way to adulthood:
Chapter 28- ‘I want children. With you’
Chapter 1- first gender reveal
Chapter 3- first birth
Chapter 21 - ‘So who’s the real dad?’
Chapter 27 - first words
Chapter 7- nanny Sarah finds out it’s twins
Chapter 34 - role model
Chapter 12- a toddler and two newborns
Chapter 19 - First Birthday Cake
Chapter 38 - the magic of Christmas
Chapter 23 - Parents’ evening
Chapter 9- uncle Olly comes to stay
Chapter 4- Tao and Elle babysit
Chapter 24 - ‘I thought ‘Charlie’ was a woman!’
Chapter 25 - First family holiday abroad
Chapter 35 - sick day
Chapter 17 - a new cousin

Chapter 6- ‘where’s my mummy?’
Chapter 8- sports day
Chapter 16 - swear words
Chapter 20 - auntie Tori’s announcement
Chapter 33 - first bra
Chapter 2 - first period
Chapter 5- meeting the girlfriend
Chapter 13- ‘our son’s girlfriend is sleeping over’
Chapter 18 - caught in the act
Chapter 29 - wrong number
Chapter 22 - hickey
Chapter 30 - Boyfriends?
Chapter 32 - boy/girl sleepover
Chapter 10- the talk
Chapter 11- ‘I think our son might be drunk’
Chapter 15- abortion
Chapter 14- walked in on
Chapter 26 - coming out
Chapter 36 - surprise uni visit
Chapter 31 - first grandchild
Chapter 37 - wedding day
Or if you want to read them in the order I post, then below is a short description of each
chapter along with the word count
Chapter 1) First gender reveal (1,545 words)

Nick and Charlie discover the gender of their first baby
Chapter 2) First period (1,955 words)
Nick and Charlie’s 11 year old daughter, Ada, has her first period
Chapter 3) First birth (2,252 words)
Nick and Charlie welcome their first child, Robin, into the world
Chapter 4) Tao and Elle babysit (3,760 words)
With Tao and Elle in the process of adopting their own baby, they offer to babysit the 3
NelSpring children overnight whilst Nick and Charlie go away for their anniversary weekend
Chapter 5) Meeting the girlfriend (2,186 words)
15 year old Robin brings his first girlfriend, Lottie, over to meet his parents and siblings
Chapter 6) ‘Where’s my Mummy?’ (963 words)
7 year old Ellis realises that everyone in his class has a mummy except for him. He asks his
daddy and papa why
Chapter 7) Nanny Sarah finds out it’s twins (1,733 words)
Nick and Charlie have just discovered that their surrogate is expecting twins, and decide to
tell Nanny Sarah first
Chapter 8) Sports Day (2,122 words)
Robin is in year 6 and it’s his last sports day in primary school. The twins, are now in year 3
and it’s their first sports day in the junior school. Nick and Charlie are the biggest (and
possibly most embarrassing) cheerleaders for their children
Chapter 9) Uncle Olly comes to stay (2,856 words)
22 year old Olly comes to stay at Nick and Charlie’s after an argument with his mum
Chapter 10) The Talk (2,645 words)
16 year old Ada has been seeing her boyfriend, Noah, for about 6 months now. When Nick
and Charlie find a pair of his pants in the washing, they decide it’s time to give her the talk
Chapter 11) ‘I think our son might be drunk’ (2,469 words)
17 year old Ellis comes home drunk for the first time
Chapter 12) A toddler and two newborns (5,121 words)
31 year old Nick and 29 year old Charlie welcomed their twins, Ada and Ellis, into the world
a few weeks ago. But now Nick must return to work, leaving Charlie home alone with a
toddler and two newborns
Chapter 13) ‘Our son’s girlfriend is sleeping over’ (3,041 words)
16 year old Robin has his girlfriend, Lottie, sleepover for the first time
Chapter 14) Walked in on (2,098 words)
Nick and Charlie come home drunk after their monthly date day, but events at home lead
them to buying locks for everyone’s doors
Chapter 15) Abortion (3,724 words)
Ada discovers she’s pregnant at 17 years old. After finally getting the courage to tell her
dads, she decides she’s not ready for a baby.
Chapter 16) Swear words (2,803 words)
12 year old Robin teachers 8 year old Ellis some swear words
Chapter 17) A new cousin (2,322 words)
David and his fiancé, Hannah, have an announcement to make to everyone during family day
at nanny Sarah’s
Chapter 18) Caught in the act (4,092 words)
Nick and Charlie decide to take advantage of a child-free house
Chapter 19) First Birthday Cake (2,509 words)
Nick bakes an elaborate birthday cake for the twins first birthday, Charlie and Robin help
Chapter 20) Auntie Tori’s announcement (3,643 words)
Auntie Tori and Uncle Michael have spent their 20’s and 30’s travelling the world for
Michael’s career. They’d relocated to Switzerland a few months ago, so what was Tori doing
knocking at the Nelson-Spring door when she wasn’t even meant to be in the country?
Chapter 21) ‘So who’s the real dad?’ (2,066 words)
It’s the start of the summer holidays, and Nick takes 10 month old Robin to visit Charlie at
his new job
Chapter 22) Hickey (2,726 words)
15 year old Ellis has a hickey on his neck
Chapter 23) Parents’ Evening (2,236 words)
5 year old Robin has recently started Reception, and Nick and Charlie attend his first parents’
evening
Chapter 24) ‘I thought ‘Charlie’ was a woman!’ (2,535 words)
Weekends with the NelSpring’s usually involved ferrying their kids off to their various clubs,
whether that be football, gymnastics, or dance. But a communication error with one of the
dance mums leads to a bit of confusion, and some not so nice words.
Chapter 25) First family holiday abroad (4,618 words)
Now that their children aren’t babies, Nick and Charlie decide it’s finally time to take their
first family holiday abroad. Of course, nanny Sarah is invited too.
Chapter 26) Coming out (3,744 words)
Ellis has discovered a lot about himself since starting uni - including his sexuality. On his
first time back home since the school year began, he decided it’s time to tell his parents.
Chapter 27) First words (3,876 words)
13 month old Robin says his first words.
Chapter 28) ‘I want children. With you.’ (5,487 words)
The moments when Nick and Charlie realised they want children together.
Chapter 29) Wrong Number (3,711 words)
Nick and Charlie send some embarrassing texts to the wrong chat
Chapter 30) Boyfriends? (2,674 words)
A few months after coming out, 15 year old Ellis opens up about his blossoming relationship
with Lucas.
Chapter 31) First grandchild (3,339 words)
28 year old Robin and his girlfriend, Lottie, introduce their first child to Nick and Charlie.
The boys become grandads
Chapter 32) Boy/Girl sleepover (2,966 words)
15 year old Ada asks if she can have some of her friends sleepover. Some of her friends are
boys
Chapter 33) First bra (3,162 words)
11 year old Ada is about to start her last term of primary school and wants a bra.
Chapter 34) Role model (3,812 words)
Nick explains to his class how he is married to a man after one of his pupils asks about the
baby scan of their twins he has on his desk. What should have been a nice conversation leads
to Nick worrying that he’s overstepped the mark and could soon have a hoard of angry
parents complaining that their child’s teacher is queer.
Chapter 35) Sick day (1,925 words)
Nick and Charlie are wrangled into having a tea party with a poorly Ada and Ellis (aged 6),
tutus and all. Nick reflects on his relationship with his own papa after receiving some news.
Chapter 36) Surprise uni visit (2,936 words)
Nick and Charlie decide to surprise Ellis at uni. They get their own surprise, too.
Chapter 37) Wedding Day (4,407 words)
The wedding of Ada Sarah Nelson-Spring and Gus Joseph Williams.
Chapter 38) The magic of Christmas (4,551 words)
With Christmas just around the corner, Nick and Charlie take their three children to visit
Santa
First gender reveal
Chapter Notes
Nick is 27 and Charlie is 26
I had to do a lot of Googling about surrogacy and IVF to try and make this as accurate
as possible, but apologies if anything is wrong!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
It had taken months of fertility consultations, months of meeting with their surrogacy agency,
to get to this point. Background checks, family history checks, a semen analysis for Nick to
make sure his swimmers were in top condition (they were), medical checks. A few months
finding an egg donor as they wanted her to have as many similar characteristics to Charlie as
possible (they had debated asking Tori whether she'd do the honours, but then Nick realised
that that would mean he would have a biological child with his sister in law and the thought
kind of freaked him out). And then there was the 6 months of searching for the right
surrogate. They weren't picky, all they wanted was someone who lived fairly close and had a
few healthy pregnancies before. And, of course, someone who was happy to carry a baby
who would be raised by 2 dads.
They had finally come across Molly and instantly knew they wanted her to carry their baby.
She was 30, married with a husband, had 2 children of their own, had already been a
surrogate for one couple a year prior. All pregnancies had been healthy and carried to term,
and her profile specifically stated that she wanted to help LGBT couples become parents. She
was friendly and welcoming from the beginning, greeting the boys with hugs and kisses on
their cheeks. They immediately knew that they wanted her to carry their baby.
2 months ago, Nick had found himself in the clinic waiting room nervously waiting to give
his sample. He'd not had a drink in a month, not even the little glass of wine that he liked on a
Friday after work, and hadn't been able to 'finish himself off' for the last 2 days. Their egg
donor had had her eggs collected earlier that day after being on medication to stimulate her
ovaries. And now it was Nick's turn to provide his part.
His name had been called, a plastic tube placed in his hands, and guided to a soundproof
room (so he was assured) to get down to business.
It had taken a while, not helped by the fact that the room itself was pretty uninspiring and that
everyone outside the room knew he was in there having a wank. He'd propped his phone up
on the table, watching a video Charlie had specially prepared for today (it wasn't usually their
sort of thing, but Charlie thought it might help) (it did), and soon enough he was handing his
sample over with a sheepish smile to the receptionist.
The donor eggs had been fertilised by IVF, and then it was a few days waiting to see if any of
the embryos would develop. Less than a week later, Nick and Charlie found themselves at the
clinic with Molly and her husband Luke for the embryo transfer.
If the boys thought that day was nerve wracking, it was nothing compared to the next two
weeks of anxiety as they waited to see whether Molly was actually pregnant. They knew
there was a chance that she wouldn't be, and they'd arranged for Molly to come to their house
to take the test 14 days after the transfer. They all wanted to be together when they found out,
good news or bad.
They'd all cried tears of joy when the test came back positive. Blood tests confirmed a few
days later that she was definitely pregnant, and a trans vaginal ultrasound at 6 weeks showed
that the pregnancy was progressing exactly how it should be.
The first trimester had been hard on Molly. Morning sickness, tiredness, food aversions, food
cravings (Nick and Charlie were more than happy to run around Tesco's at 3am buying
pickles for her). But they felt helpless in how to help her, despite how much she reassured
them it was normal.
Her and Luke's own children, Annie and Albie (aged 5 and 6) loved whenever they came
round, jumping all over them and begging for the boys to play with them. They couldn't help
but think about how it wouldn't be long before that would be their reality every day, and they
couldn't wait.
And, now at 20 weeks pregnant, they were finally finding out if they were going to have a
son or daughter.
"Are you nervous?" Charlie asked his husband, grabbing his hand over the gear stick as they
drove over to Molly's house. Her husband was caught up with some important meetings at
work today so wasn't able to come, so they'd offered to pick her up on their way through to
the hospital.
"A little, yea." Nick nodded as he pulled up outside her house. "But more excited than
anything."
Molly must have been waiting and watching for them, because the front door was opening as
soon as Nick had parked up. Her bump had grown since they last saw her a couple of weeks
ago, stretching her top which they couldn't help but beam with pride at. Their baby was
growing so big already.
"You's ready to find out whether this little one's a boy or a girl then?" Molly asked excitedly
as she jumped into the car and strapped up.
"We can't wait!" Nick replied as Charlie reached around to pass Molly a bowl of pickles and
peanut butter they'd bought from home (her most recent craving).
"You're both angels, you know that?" She replied happily, tucking into the strange
concoction.
The ride to the hospital was short, and soon enough they were in the waiting room 10 minutes
early. They liked to be early - they usually took longer at appointments, what with having to
explain about the surrogacy and all the extra questions that bought about. Thankfully, the
sonographer, Jane, had already met with them before at the 12 week scan and soon they were
being ushered into the dimly lit room.
"Lovely to see you all again!" Jane greeted, pulling over an extra chair so there was 2 next to
the bed. "Molly, you know the drill, pop yourself up on the bed, lower your jeans, lift your
top and let's get a good look at this baby!"
Nick and Charlie sat themselves on the chairs either side of Molly's head, getting themselves
in a good position to see the screen.
"So at this scan, we just want to examine baby's size and position, look for any conditions
like spina bifida. We're also going to be checking that baby's heart, brain, all of their internal
organs are developing as they should." Jane explained as she tucked some tissue paper
around Molly's clothes to stop the gel getting on them. "We can also try to find out the gender
of baby, if you two like?" She smiled over at Nick and Charlie, who both nodded eagerly.
"Yes please!" Nick grinned back at her.
"We don't think we can wait another 20 weeks to find out what we're having!" Charlie
agreed.
Jane squirted some gel onto Molly's bump and started moving the probe around. "It's no
guarantee we can find out today, but as long as baby is in a good position and playing ball
then we should be able to make a near accurate guess."
It took a moment, but soon the grainy image of their baby appeared on the screen. They
actually looked like a baby this time, with a little nose and tiny pursed lips. Nick reached his
hand around the back of the bed, connecting his with Charlie's.
"That's our baby, Char." He whispered out, and when Charlie looked up at his husband he
could see tears forming in his eyes.
"Can you feel them moving?" Charlie asked Molly, watching the screen as tiny arms flailed
around.
"A bit, feels a bit like butterflies." She smiled up at the two boys. "You two will be able to
feel them kick soon."
They all watched in wonder at the tiny being on the screen fidgeting about as Jane got to
work taking measurements and checking everything was how it should be. "Well, everything
seems to be going perfectly with this little one." She reported after about half an hour of
going through everything. "They seem to be in a good position right now to find out the
gender, if you'd still like?" She was met with eager nods. "Well, it looks like you'll be having
a little boy."
"A-a son? We're going to have a son?" Charlie asked, voice thick with emotion as he looked
between Jane, Molly, before finally settling on Nick. "We're going to have a son!"
The biggest grin was splattered across Nick's face as he cheered "It's a boy!" He leaned down
to press a kiss to Molly's cheek before jumping up and wrapping his husband in the biggest
hug imaginable.
Charlie leaned in, pressing a kiss against his lips before using a thumb to wipe away some
tears which had formed in the corners of his eyes. "You sap." He teased good naturedly.
"I would have been happy either way, and I know they might change down the line, but a
boy! When I've pictured myself as a dad, pictured us as parents, it's always been with a boy.
And now our dream is coming true."
Chapter End Notes
The first of (hopefully) many one shots featuring Nick and Charlie as parents! If there’s
anything you’d like to see (whether it be during their children’s younger or older years),
leave a comment :)
First period
Chapter Summary
11 year old Ada has her first period, her father’s aren’t exactly prepared
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
"Dad? Daddy? Daddyyyyy?"
Nick looked up from his spot on the sofa where he was catching up on some marking, a cup
of tea resting on the side table. It was Saturday morning, the news was playing quietly in the
background on the tv. Charlie had gone to do their big shop of the week at Tesco, and Nick
had thought all three of their children were sound asleep in beds still. It was only 8am, after
all.
It would seem he had thought wrong.
He got up from the sofa, leaving the scribbles of his year 2 class on his seat, and wandered
upstairs. "Daddy's at the shops, Ada. You all ok in there?" Nick asked, tapping his knuckles
against the bathroom door.
"Papa?" His little girl's voice sounded tearful. "I need daddy."
"What have you broken, Ade?" Nick asked, voice teasing. In his experience, if one of their
children were asking for Charlie specifically and not Nick, it was because they had broken
something.
"Nothing!" She shouted back defensively. "I just...I need dad!"

"What's with all the yelling?" Ada's twin brother, Ellis, asked as he emerged from his
bedroom. He was the spit of a younger Charlie (which made sense, seeing as genetically the
twins were Charlie's). He was all spindly limbs and a head of curls, piercing blue eyes which
currently looked tired after being awaken from his slumber.
"Piss off, Ellis!" Ada shouted through the bathroom door.
"Language!" Nick warned. She may not be a small child anymore, but she was still only 11.
He turned to his youngest son, who looked just as confused as Nick felt. "Go back to bed, it's
still early."
Once again it was just Nick and his little girl, so he thought he'd try a different approach.
"Right, if you can only tell dad what's wrong, then can you at least tell me what it's relating
to? I can maybe call him then, and he'll get back quicker."
There was a moment of silence. "I don't want to. It's embarrassing." He heard her whisper
back.
"Ok, so it's something embarrassing to tell me but not to tell dad?" Nick asked, trying to rack
his brain about what could have happened to Ada.
"No! It's embarrassing to tell both of you...just...less so daddy." She grumbled back.
"Right, ok." Nick sunk to the floor, running a hand through his balding hair (something which
he was in denial about), trying desperately to think what the issue could be. "Can I have
another hint?"
He heard a groan on the other side of the door. "Im bleeding, papa!"
This caught Nick's attention, the mere mention of blood making alarm bells ring. "Where are
you bleeding, Ada? Have you fallen over in the shower? Is that why I can't come in? I can
grab you some clothes and pass them through the door? Is there a lot of blood? Do I need to
drive you to A&E?" Nick started to list off all the things he thought he'd need to do, hoping
his daughter would give him more indication to the seriousness of the situation.
"No, papa! None of that!" Ada cried through the door. "I've...I think....I think I've started my
period."
The last part of the sentence was said so quietly that Nick wasn't too sure if he'd heard
correctly. But he had. His baby girl had started her period. He sat frozen, unsure of what to do
or say. Sure, he knew about periods to an extent. He'd had RSE classes at school. But actually
experiencing a woman on her period, well, he lacked the experience in that. He was one of
two boys, and by the time he'd hit his teenage years his mum was going through the
menopause so he didn't really remember much of what she was like during that time of the
month.
Charlie, on the other hand, had a mum younger than his and Tori. Whilst Nick was sure that
Jane would never even mutter the word 'period' to either of her sons, he knew first hand how
open Tori was about hers. He'd been with Charlie before when Tori had texted asking him to
pick her up a box of tampons because she'd run out, or when she'd asked Charlie to fill her up
a hot water bottle to help with cramps.
It came as no surprise to Nick that their daughter was now asking for Charlie and not him,
when it was clear that Charlie was far more experienced.
"Ok, I'm just gonna call daddy and ask him to pick you up some bits before he gets to the tills
and then I'll be right back with you, ok?"
He received a sniffly "ok" in response, so quickly ran down the stairs to grab his phone to call
his husband.
"Pick up, pick up, pick up!" Nick muttered to himself, pacing the living room floor. It was on
the fourth ring that Charlie finally answered.
"Hello my love, everything alright? Did you miss something off the shopping list again?"
Charlie teased down the other end of the phone.
"You're not at the tills yet, are you?" Nick asked.
"Not yet, still have a few bits to get. What did you forget this time?"
"Pads, tampons, probably chocolates for good measure, and any other period products you
can get your hands on."
Nick could tell Charlie had stopped in his tracks, the sound of the trolly wheels no longer
being heard. "Ada's started her period?" He asked cautiously.
"Yep, so if you could hurry back with the supplies I'd be very grateful, I feel extremely
unequipped to deal with this situation!"
Charlie laughed, actually laughed, at his husband. "Situation? Nick, half the world's
population have a period at some point in their lives! It's completely natural, just talk to her
normally."
"I think I've forgotten how to." Nick answered truthfully.
"Do you not teach Sex ed at school? Don't tell me you go all red faced and awkward then!"
"It's different when it's a group of 30 7 year olds who are only getting taught the basics. You
know, things like healthy relationships. Plus, I'm prepared for those lessons! I didn't think
she'd start her period this young."
"I know, me neither." Charlie replied mournfully. "Our baby girl isn't so much a baby
anymore."
"She's not and she's currently locked herself in the bathroom so please hurry!"
"Tell her to shove a wad of toilet paper in her knickers for the time being, I shouldn't be too
much longer." Nick heard the trolly being wheeled some more. "Do you think she'd prefer
pads with or without wings?"
"What's even the difference?" Nick asked as he slumped down onto the sofa.
"Haven't a clue, I'll grab both. Oooo, they have a diva cup for our little diva!"
"A diva-what?" Nick shook his head. "Just don't say that to her when you get in, she'll bite
your head off. I'm gonna let you go and tend to Ada, I'll see you in a bit. Love you."
"Love you too. And be brave, it's only a period. How scary can it be?"
Nick wasn't worried about it being scary, but more his lack of knowledge. Sure, he and
Charlie had discussed briefly that eventually they'd have to help Ada with her periods. But
they had thought they'd have needed a more in depth discussion when she got a little older.
She was only in year 7, only 11 years old. Maybe they just hadn't accepted previously that
their baby wouldn't always be a baby.
"Ada," Nick knocked on the bathroom door again, "I've spoken with dad, he said he won't be
too much longer. Do you wanna come down and watch a film with me in the meantime? Your
choice, we can cuddle on the sofa?" He suggested, crossing his fingers that she'd agree. "If
you're worried about the blood, you can shove a wad of tissue in your knickers." Nick
repeated his husband's words. "Dad's picking you up some pads." He tried his best to sound
confident, hoping his daughter trusted his words.
A few minutes later, the lock of the bathroom door clicked and Ada's tear stained face
emerged.
"Oh, baby girl, come here." Nick wrapped her in a hug, bringing her close to his chest and
rocking them back and forth. "Should we watch a Disney film? Tangled?"
"You're only suggesting that because it's your favourite." Ada replied, a small smile finally
appearing on her face.
Nick feigned offence. "It is not!" It was. "Come on you, I'll make you a cup of tea."
When Charlie arrived home 40 minutes later, he found his husband and daughter snuggled up
on the sofa, Ada's head rested against Nick's chest.
"I'll give you a hand with bringing the shopping in." Nick began to get up, but stopped when
Charlie held up his hand.
"That can wait, I've got some stuff for Ada first." He looked at their daughter reassuringly as
he came to sit on the other side of her. "Now, I've talked to Auntie Tori because, let's face it,
me and papa aren't the most clued up when it comes to periods."
Nick shot his husband a look, unsure as to where this was going.
Charlie rummaged through the bag for life in his hands, pulling out a line green pack of
Always pads. "So, these are pads-"
"- I know what pads are, dad." Ada said matter of factly.
"And do you know what to do with them?" Ada shook her head. "Right, so," Charlie started
to open the packet, pulling out a pad and removing it from the packaging, "ooo, it's sticky."
He commented, poking the underside.
"Even I knew they were sticky, darling." Nick teased.

"Yea but, feel! It's like a wax strip." Nick leaned over the reddened face of his daughter,
giving the sticky side a poke and nodding in agreement. "Don't wanna be putting that the
wrong way up, Ade! Reckon it would hurt, always remember sticky side down."
"Thanks, dad." Ada grumbled, accepting the packet from her father and sinking into the sofa.
"So, next up, tampons!" Charlie announced a little too enthusiastically, pulling out the box,
choosing to ignore his daughter's mortified face. "I spoke to auntie Tori about these, and she
said maybe give it a few months before you try them. But only if you want to, you use
whatever you feel comfortable with. But, she did warn that they can be tricky to put in the
first time so suggested using a mirror."
"I can't believe you actually just said that." Ada replied, face the colour of a tomato. Poor girl
had inherited a pale complexion, making any blushing extremely obvious.
"Hey, nothing to be embarrassed about. This is all entirely normal and natural, and just a part
of you growing up." Nick tried to comfort, placing a kiss on the crown of her head.
"Exactly, and you know what I've heard are good for periods?" Charlie asked with a raised
eyebrow, rummaging through his bag some more. "Chocolate." He pulled out a big box of
Maltesers, her favourite.
This seemed to perk Ada up a little, and she gratefully accepted the box before looking
between her two father's. "I think I'm gonna go upstairs now and...yea." She awkwardly got
up, carrying her new supplies to the bathroom.
Nick let out a sigh once he was sure she was out of earshot. "I think we handled that pretty
well."
"Considering our lack of preparation, I'd say so." He got up from the sofa, offering his hand
out to Nick. "Come on, let's get the shopping in.”
Chapter End Notes
Remember to leave kudos if you enjoyed :)
And please leave a comment if there’s any scenarios you’d like me to write about!
First birth
Chapter Summary
28 year old Nick and 26 year old Charlie help welcome their first baby into the world
"Right, okay, and they're regular...." Charlie paced the front room, phone held in one hand
and the other nervously bought to his mouth as he bit his fingernails.
"Have you lost your mucus plug?" Words Charlie would have never imaged saying a few
years ago, or even would have known what they meant.
"Yea, Nick's at work, I can - are you ok, Mol?" He could hear their surrogate's husband,
Luke, in the background, encouraging her to breath through it as she gasped and moaned.
When Charlie had woken up that morning, he knew today could be the day. Molly was 4 days
overdue; the birth of their son was imminent. His boss had allowed him to work from home
full time for the last few weeks, seeing as his home was a lot closer to the hospital than his
office. Nick, on the other hand, was a primary school teacher, making working from home
impossible. But his phone was kept on loud at his desk, just waiting for the call that Molly
had gone into labour.
That call would come today.
"Are you heading to the hospital?" Charlie listened to some rustling in the background. "Do
you want us to grab Annie and Albie from school and drop them at your mums?" Molly and
Luke's own biological children were in Reception and Year 2, and the boys were always
offering to help out. It was good to get the practice in, they thought, but this time Molly
declined, saying she'd call her mum next and tell her to collect the kids once school finished.
"Ok, we'll meet you at the the hospital."

Charlie checked the clock, just gone 9am. They could be finishing the day with a baby.
He quickly scrolled through his contacts, selecting his husband's name as he dashed up the
stairs to grab their baby bag. It only took a few rings for Nick to answer.
"Char, you ok? Is it time?" Nick asked in a hushed voice. In the background, Charlie could
hear a chorus of little voices singing an out of tune rendition of 'Cauliflowers Fluffy' - he
must have interrupted Nick during assembly.
"It's time!" Charlie couldn't help but squeal in excitement. "I'm just grabbing our bits, I'll
come grab you from school and then meet Molly and Luke at the hospital."
"Yea, ok, yea." Charlie could hear the nerves in Nick's voice.
"Hey, it's ok, my love." Charlie soothed over the phone. "We're having a baby."
"We're having a baby." Nick breathed out.
They hung up the phone, and Charlie quickly done another check of their hospital bag.
Nappies, baby bottles, snacks, baby grows, mittens, hand sanitiser, push present for Molly (a
dainty necklace with her children's initials in a heart which they hoped she'd love), wipes,
changing pad, rash cream. It was all there, just as it had been for the last 6 weeks.
Grabbing his car keys, Charlie set off for Nick's school, possibly breaking every speeding law
in the time being. Nick was already waiting outside the school gates when he pulled up, and
Charlie didn't even have time to park up before his husband was jumping in, planting a kiss
on his lips, and telling him to drive.
"It's baby time." Charlie whispered in disbelief, taking the familiar route to the hospital. It
was the closest to Molly, but was about a 40 minute drive for the boys.
"Did she sound ok on the phone?" Nick asked, concern laced in his voice. "Like, as ok as she
could sound?"
"Yea, Luke was with her. She said she thinks her contractions started early this morning, she
just wanted to make sure they were actually contractions before calling us." Last month,
they'd all gone out for Nick's birthday to a little cafe in town for lunch. About an hour in,
Molly started to feel contractions. Queue a very frantic and frazzled Nick and Charlie, who
insisted on rushing her straight to the hospital. It was her fourth baby after all; the midwives
had said labour could be quick. But, by the time she'd gotten all checked in, the contractions
had stopped. It had merely been braxton hicks.
"I'm scared." Nick admitted after sitting in silence for a while. They were stopped at a red
light, so Charlie spared the older boy a look and could see the fear on his face. It broke his
heart. "I don't wanna mess this up. I wanna be a good dad, wanna do everything for our son
that my own dad didn't for me. But we're gonna have a whole tiny baby soon, Char. Entirely
reliant on us. What if we fuck it up?" His voice wavered at the end.
"Hey, none of that!" Charlie tried to calm him. "There's no rule book to parenting, but I bet
between us we can do a pretty good job! We've got this, my love."
They soon arrived at the hospital, and after some struggle finding a spot and then grumbling
about the cost of hospital parking (£18 for stays over 12 hours, absolutely absurd!), they were
soon rushing through the corridors towards the maternity ward. Luke met them outside the
doors, greeting them with handshakes and hugs.
"She's just down here." He guided them through the doors until they arrived to Molly's.
"Hiya, Mol." Charlie greeted, one hand gripped with Nick's and neither too sure what to do.
Molly lay in the hospital bed all gowned up, various wired and bands attached to her.
"Don't just stand there, come on in!" She encouraged, reaching out a hand to gesture them
forward. "You've just missed all the drama of my waters breaking, I'm all cleaned up now
though so no need to worry." She gave them a grin, and just that alone was enough to make
the boys slightly less nervous. If Molly was ok, then they'd be ok.
"How are you feeling?" Nick asked as he set down their hospital bag next to Molly's. Whilst
theirs was for the baby, Molly's was for her postpartum. They'd learnt a lot about the
postpartum phase during pregnancy classes, and both boys were glad they hadn't been born
girls. It didn't look very fun.
"A bit uncomfortable, but that's expected. Contractions are about 8 minutes apart, dilated
about 4 centimetres when they last checked. Hopefully this won't be a long labour and we can
all be home in time for Bake Off tonight!"
They couldn't help but laugh at that - Molly and Nick had bonded over their love of baking,
even though Nick was considerably better by her children's own admission. She'd soon teased
him that his evenings of watching bake off and making gorgeous looking cupcakes would be
long gone, to be replaced with icing explosion courtesy of their child who would no doubt
insist on helping.
Nick couldn't wait for the day he'd be able to bake with his son, making questionable tasting
chocolate cakes and cupcakes sickly sweet with too much sugar and icing.
The next few hours were spent playing card games, watching The Office, and encouraging
Molly through each contraction as they became stronger and got closer together. She wanted
as natural a birth as possible - no epidurals, no c-section unless necessary, and the only pain
relief she wanted was gas and air. She didn't want anything that might make her hospital stay
longer than necessary.
And of course, Nick and Charlie had tried to prepare themselves for labour. They'd watched
the entirety of Call the Midwife - twice in Charlie's case (he had a soft spot for Sister
Evangelina) - and had binged seasons 1-6 of One Born Every Minute. Even Sarah had given
them very detailed accounts of both of her birthing experiences (Nick bought her some
flowers by way of apology upon finding out just how many stitches she had needed after
giving birth to him). But despite their thorough research, nothing could have prepared them
for the real thing.
It was loud, and gruesome, and incredibly invasive and they hadn't even gotten to the pushing
yet.
"Ok, about 8 centimetres now Molly. You're in the transition stage, it won't be long now."
Their midwife informed them. It had just gone 11pm; labour hadn't progressed as quickly as
Molly had predicted, but they were nearly at the finishing line.
The midwife just received a groan in response from Molly, any words she wanted to say
muffled by the gas and air machine which she had hanging out of her mouth. Luke's hand
was rubbing firm circles around her lower back, whilst Nick and Charlie alternating between
holding her hand and dabbing a cold flannel along the back of her neck.
An hour and a half later the midwives were in the room, Molly was on all fours pushing, and
Nick and Charlie were watching in anticipation. Luke sat by his wife's head, gripping her
hand in his whilst whispering words of encouragement.
"Go-on, watcha-" Molly was cut off by a particularly strong point of her contraction, and she
grunted loudly. "-watch him be born." She finally got out, batting Nick's hand away from
where he was dabbing the flannel against her forehead.
Nick shared a look with Charlie from where he'd taken Luke's spot of rubbing circles on her
lower back, who gestured with his head to do as told. Nervously, Nick walked to the end of
the bed, watching with wide eyes the sight in front of him. There was blood, lots of blood,
and although Nick knew he wasn't the most experienced with the female body he was pretty
sure it wasn't normal to be stretched that much.
Well, it was. It was how his and Charlie's son would come into the world. But it definitely
didn't look normal. No, it looked very painful though.
Eyes wide and mouth slightly gaping, Nick decided he couldn't watch any longer. "Your turn,
daddy." He whispered over to Charlie, his face white as though he'd just witnessed a murder.
A particularly loud groan from Molly bought Charlie's attention to where their baby was
making his entrance. And, unlike Nick, his face split into a huge grin. "Oh my god, is that the
head?" He asked one of the midwives who nodded. "You hear that, Mol? Nearly there, we
can see the head!"
"Fucking brilliant, CharRRRL-" More groaning and grunting from Molly. But with each
groan and pant, Charlie could see the baby's head emerging more and more until it was
popping out, supported by the midwife's hand.
"His head's out!" Charlie exclaimed, not too sure who he was talking to but unable to contain
his excitement.
Nick decided to chance another glance - if his husband could watch this, then so could he -
but immediately regretted it. It was somehow much more bloody than before with bits of -
was that membrane? - coming out of Molly. No, Nick's skills were much better put to use
applying pressure on her back to try and relieve the pain of the contractions.
Some more pushing, groaning, shoulders emerging before a loud cry filled the room. Tiny
and red and covered in goo, their baby boy was passed over to Molly's open arms for some
skin to skin (the boys had read a few studies that there could be health benefits of babies
having skin to skin with the surrogate immediately after birth, so all parties agreed this was
the best way to go).
"Born at 35 minutes past midnight on October 6th." One of the midwives called out.
"We've got a baby." Nick whispered, allowing Luke to pull him over to the head of the bed
next to Molly's head.
Charlie came to the other side of the bed, a look of awe on his face. He reached his hand
down, stopping himself briefly before he touched his son. "Can I?"
Molly gave a teary laugh. "Of course you can, he's your baby!"
Charlie gently ran his pointer finger along the side of his tiny face, briefly looking up at Nick
who was looking back at him with nothing but love.
"Who's cutting cord?" One of the midwives asked, interrupting the moment.
"That'll be me." Charlie whispered, accepting the scissors held out and following her
instructions. They'd decided Charlie would be the one to cut the cord for this baby and Nick,
who was now being guided to an armchair by one of the midwives, would get first skin to
skin.
"Right, poppet, let's get these buttons undone and get baby to your chest, ay?" Nick done as
instructed, leaning back slightly as she carried the baby over. "Hold your arms out like this,
that's it." Charlie was kneeling by his side at this point, watching as the tiny little being was
placed on his husband's skin.
"He's really light." Nick whispered, cooing as their son snuggled close to him. He had little
flicks of fair hair sticking up on his head, chubby cheeks and a nose that was undoubtedly
Nick's.
"Have you got a name for him?" Molly asked. Nick and Charlie had been pretty tight lipped
on any baby name ideas they had, not wanting others opinions to effect whether they liked
the names or not. They had a particular name in mind, but wanted to wait until he was born to
make sure it suited him.
"I think the name suits him perfectly." Nick said, whilst Charlie nodded in agreement, neither
of them taking their eyes off their newborn son.
"We've decided on Robin Patrick Nelson-Spring."

Tao and Elle babysit
Chapter Notes
Nick and Charlie go for a romantic weekend away, leaving 6 year old Robin and 3 year
old twins Ada and Ellis in the care of Tao and Elle.
Nick and Charlie had left their children alone overnight before. They loved sleepovers at
nanny Sarah's, auntie Tori's and uncle Michael's and, more recently (though only the once)
uncle Ollie's at his new flat. The boys didn't mind letting their kids go for sleepovers, making
the most of any alone time they could get and comforted by the fact that they were never
more than a 15 minute car ride away if anything was to happen.
However, this time would be different. For their 8th wedding anniversary, they had decided to
spend the night away at a spa in Windsor. A relaxing, child-free weekend filled with
massages, delicious food and uninterrupted snuggles. The only catch? It was an hour and a
half drive from their home.
They were never short of people willing to babysit for their brood, but this time it was down
to Tao and Elle. They were in the process of adopting, and had jumped at the chance to look
after the 3 children for a full 32 hours.
"It'll be good practice." Elle had used by way of persuasion.
So here they were, before 9am on a Saturday morning knocking on their friend's doors with 3
kids in tow.
"ELLEEEEE!" Ellis screamed once the front door had been opened, running to collide with
her legs, wrapping them in a hug. Elle reached down to scoop him up, planting a kiss on his
nose and ushering everyone else inside.
"Thanks again for watching them for us." Nick thanked as he dropped a rucksack of clothes
on the floor.
"It's fine, we're looking forward to it, aren't we kids?" Elle exclaimed as she reached down to
high five Robin.
A tired looking Tao emerged from the kitchen, mug of coffee in hands, grunting at them by
way of greeting.
"As sociable as ever, Tao." Charlie teased, going over to hug his friend.
"You've gotten me up at this ungodly hour, how do these children have so much energy
before 9am?" They looked down to where Ada and Ellis had already started making a mess
unpacking their toys. Disney figurines and jumbo Lego blocks now littered the floor, excited
squeals erupting from their mouths.
"Hey, I thought we agreed no play-doh." Nick knelt down, taking the pink tub out of Ada's
hands (though he was sure the contents would be a sludge grey). "You'll thank me for taking
this, it'll be a nightmare to get out of your carpets."
"Right, if there's any problems at all and you need us, please give us a call. If they won't
settle at bedtime, we can always FaceTime them. You have Sarah's number too, and she's
usually pretty good at calming them down, though she has work tomorrow from 1pm."
Charlie rattled off, mentally ticking off his check list.
"Bedtime is 7pm for the twins, 8pm for Robin and don't let him tell you differently." Nick
sent a pointed look to his eldest son, who smiled back sheepishly. "The twins still need pull
ups at night, but they're usually good during the day, bed time books are in their clothes bag
along with toiletries, changes of clothes. They've already had breakfast today, and they
shouldn't have more than an hour of screen time."
"Stop worrying, you two! We've looked after the kids before, go and enjoy your romantic
weekend away, they'll be fine." Elle encouraged.
"We'll call you if something bad happens, like one of them cuts off a finger or something."
Tao added.
"Well that's put my mind at ease, thanks Tao." Charlie replied, shaking his head as he leant
down to kiss goodbye each of his children, Nick doing the same.
~~~~~
9:00am
"Okay kids, who fancies doing some painting?" Elle asked, and was met with a chorus of
cheers from the children in front of her. "Tao, can you grab the aprons out of the cupboard?
I've already set everything up at the dining table."
"Yes boss." Tao mocked a salute before fetching the tiny aprons they'd purchased earlier in
the week and helping them put them on.
They got the kids set up at the table where a range of paints where set out along with paper of
various colours and foam stamps in a dozen shapes.
"I'm gonna paint in pink, purple and blue 'cos papa says they're his colours." Robin
announced proudly, leaning across the table to grab the star stamp.
Things were going well, at least at first. They all got on with their painting, even painting
each other's hands and faces. But, about 20 minutes in, it would seem the twins were starting
to lose focus.
"What's that?" Ada asked from where she'd gotten up from her seat and wondered into the
front room.
"That is something that little children definitely shouldn't have." Tao replied as he speedily
ran over before the toddler could grab the (thankfully unlit) wax burner with her grubby
hands.
"Why?" It was Ellis now, who'd come over to see what his twin was up to.
"Because it can be dangerous." And because it was one of his favourites and didn't want it
getting dirty, but Tao didn't say that out loud.
"Why?" Ada this time.
"Well, when it's lit on fire, it can burn your hands and that would really hurt."
They both looked up at him quizzically, as if judging whether he was actually telling the
truth.
~~~~~
10:30am
The painting supplies had long been packed away, and the actual paintings left on the table to
dry. After washing up, they had decided a trip to the park would be the best way to spend the
rest of the morning. Tao had purchased a football from the shops with the intention of having
a kick about with Robin (with a papa like Nick, he knew he wouldn't be able to get away this
weekend without Robin asking to play some form of sports, so thought football would be the
easiest option). Elle had packed some tupperware containers with rice, oats and sweetcorn to
feed the ducks (because bread is bad for ducks) and had lathered the kids in some factor 50.
"It's only 18 degrees out, Elle." Tao had laughed as she wiped some cream behind Ellis' ear.
"It's all about the UV rays." She had merely responded, booping her husband on the nose.
They were lucky to live just a 5 minute walk from a park, and soon enough they were
walking along the lake feeding the ducks - and having a near heart attack with Ada got a bit
too close and nearly fell in.
They all found a quiet spot to lay down a blanket and eat some snacks afterwards. Elle took a
quick snap of them all smiling brightly at the camera to send Nick and Charlie.
Elle
11:24am
[insert photo] The NelSpring offspring are having a great time with us! No hospital visits as
of yet, just a fun trip to the park to feed the ducks. Have you arrived safely? Xx
Charlie
11:48am
[insert selfie of Nick and Charlie relaxing by the pool] Glad our kiddies are enjoying
themselves, hopefully there's not been too many fights or tantrums so far? We arrived a bit
ago, just lounging by the pool before afternoon tea :) tell the kids we love them and thank
you again for looking after them xx
~~~~~
1:00pm
"I don't like this cheese." Robin said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world,
pushing his plate away from him.
It was lunch time, and they had gone to the cafe in the park - it was a favourite spot of Tao
and Elle's, overlooking the lake and they always had the most delicious homemade cakes.
"Robin, you asked for cheese?" Elle replied, sharing a look with Tao who looked just as
confused as her.
"This cheese is tiny." Robin replied, as though that would explain it all.
They all looked to the plate where the shredded cheese sandwich sat, untouched.
"The cheese is grated, of course it's bloody shredded." Tao whispered under his breath,
mentally kicking himself. Somewhere in the list Nick and Charlie had given them had been
that their eldest son was going through a phase of refusing to eat anything shredded - carrots,
peppers and, clearly, cheese. They thought it might be a texture thing and were trying to get
him used to it, but had had no luck so far.
"Would you like to swap?" Tao asked, offering up his ham sandwich, to which Robin nodded
happily and replied with a 'yes please.'
Crisis diverted.
~~~~~
3:00pm
"I'm shattered." Elle announced as she collapsed onto the sofa, listening to the children as
they ran around the garden. They were still in her view through the windows.
"At least now we know why Charlie drinks so much coffee." Tao added as he sat down next
to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders so she could lean on his chest.
"I just don't understand how they can have so much energy still!" As if on queue, Robin
started to cartwheel along the grass, much to the excitement of his siblings.
"This will be our reality soon. And you know what, even though I could really do with a nap
and I've got a headache from all the screaming, I really can't wait for it." Tao said, a dozy
smile settling on his face as Ellis came running to the back door.
"Elle, Tao! Come play!" He insisted, grabbing Elle's hand to pull her into the garden.
"Me neither." She replied to her husband, reaching for his hand too so they could all go
outside.
~~~~~
5:30pm
"Pizzas here!" Tao loudly announced as the doorbell rang. He had 3 excited children
following him to the door, peeking out from behind his legs as he took the pizza from the
delivery man.
"Come on, let's go wash our hands before we eat." Elle took the youngest twos hands and,
with Robin following, guided them to the bathroom, leaving Tao to plate up.
It took him a while (and a bit of Googling) to get the portion sizes right. 2 small slices of
margarita for Ada and hawaiian for Ellis (Tao was sure he had Charlie to blame for that). He
made sure to pick the 3 slices of margarita with the most melted cheese for Robin, not
wanting a repeat of lunchtime if the young boy saw his cheese was cut a bit too thin. Soon
enough, he was setting the plates down at the dining table and watching as the pizza was
devoured.
"This is the quietest I've seen them all day." He whispered to Elle, who only snickered in
response as she picked the pineapple off her pizza.
~~~~~
7:00pm
Elle had volunteered to put the twins to bed whilst Tao entertained Robin downstairs. She
helped them brush their teeth, gave them a quick wash to remove the dirt that had collected
over the day, and then got them dressed into their pyjamas. They'd set up the spare room with
blow up beds all over the floor, and a new teddy laid out on top of each pillow as a gift.
"For me?" Ada asked as she picked up the toy Dalmatian (her favourite animal), hugging it to
her chest.
"For you." Elle confirmed, picking up the toy zebra and handing it to Ellis, who beamed at
her.
Elle sat down on the blow up beds, a child lying down either side of her as she started to read
'The Owl Who Was Afraid Of The Dark'. It didn't take long for the twins to fall asleep, the
excitement of the day fully knackering them out. With some struggle, Elle crawled over the
sleeping bodies and came downstairs to see Tao and Robin asleep on the sofa, the young boy
dozing on her husband's lap. Her heart swelled at the site and she snapped a photo, unable to
resist.
Elle
7:23apm
[insert photo] all the kids + Tao are soundo before 8pm, all in all I'd call that a success!xx
Nick
7:26pm
I'm going to treasure that photo forever you've done a better job than us getting them
down! Just be prepared for an early start tomorrow! Xx
~~~~~
9:00pm
Tao blinked wearily, eyes struggling to focus in the dimly lit room. He shifted, confused as to
why his legs felt numb until he looked down and noticed the small child sleeping soundly on
his lap.
"Hello sleepy head." Elle whispered, brushing some hair out of his eyes. "I think it's time to
get you to bed.”
"I'm too tired for that." Tao groaned, flopping an arm over his eyes to stop the lights in the
room waking him up.
Elle rolled her eyes. "Not like that, get your head out the gutter. Come on, let's get Robin
ready for bed."
Tao shifted slightly, grasping Robin in his arms so that he wouldn't fall as he stood up. He
was in a surprisingly deep sleep, his body going floppy against his chest.
"C'mon, little man, let's get you washed and changed." Tao whispered as he tried to coax him
awake. Robin swayed slightly on his feet, allowing his teeth to be brushed and his clothes to
be swapped for pyjamas. They ushered him into the bedroom where his siblings continued to
sleep, and he crawled over into the spare space, hugging the toy crocodile they'd bought him,
drifting off again.
~~~~~
3:30am
"Elle? Elle? Elle?"

Elle woke up to her name being called and the side of the duvet being pulled at. She groaned,
rolling over and picking up her phone to check the time. 3:41am.
"Elle?"
The voice called again, and she looked around the room, eyes struggling to adjust to the
darkness. That was, until she spotted the small child at her bedside, looking up at her with
wide, watery eyes.
"You ok, Ellis?" She whispered, conscious that Tao was still sleeping next to her.
"Miss daddy and papa." Ellis replied, sounding awfully sorry for himself, using the hand that
wasn't clutching his zebra to wipe his snotty nose. More tears started to fall.
"Oh, come here bug." Elle's heart broke for the small toddler, and she lifted up her blanket to
allow him to crawl in next to her. She wrapped him in her arms, placing a gentle kiss to the
crown of his head and running soothing fingers through his hair. "They'll be back tomorrow, I
promise."
"Want them now." He sobbed a bit more, the pillow beneath his head becoming wet.
Elle lay there, debating whether to call Nick and Charlie. But no, she couldn't. It was too late
(or early) to disturb them, and they deserved a night kid free. So instead, she lay there, telling
him a made up story set in a far away land about two princes from different kingdoms who
fell in love. It seemed to work a treat, because soon they were both back asleep.
~~~~~
4:30am
Tao's heart stopped as he nearly fell out of bed, just stopping himself by grabbing onto his
bedside table. A tiny leg kicked him in the ribs, and he nearly fell out of bed again.
"Wha' in the...?" He looked around, confused, the early morning sun just starting to make its
way through the blinds. He noticed in between him and Elle now lay Robin, and on Elle's
other side lay Ellis, who was gripping onto her. The bed started to dip some more, and he
looked over to see Ada crawling into the bed too. She hadn't noticed Tao watching him,
instead focusing on crawling over his legs and settling next to her older brother.
The bed was cramped, Tao was at the very edge of the bed and wouldn't be surprised if he
woke up on the floor, he had knees digging into his ribs and a hand in his face. But it was
cozy, so he snuggled back into bed to try and get some more sleep.
~~~~~
6:30am
"Taoooooo! Ellleeeeeee! Wake uppppp!" Ada's booming voice roused the pair, who groaned
as the bed started to move.
"Gotta weeee!" Ellis was next, rolling out of bed and onto the floor, grabbing a tired Elle's
hand to try and take her to the toilet.
"M'kay, coming." Ellie mumbled, slipping out of bed and padding off to the bathroom,
toddler in tow.
"Taoooo?" It was Robin this time, poking the man's cheek repeatedly. "Wake up! Tao?"
" 'm up, 'm I'm!" Tao whispered, voice groggy, rolling over to face the two small faces staring
at him expectingly. He knew that early Sunday mornings at the Nelson-Spring household
usually consisted of children's cartoons. And if Tao had to guess it was probably because his
friends were too tired to do anything else that early in the morning.
Tiny pitter patters followed him down the stairs where he put CBeebies on for them, Ellis
soon joining his siblings.
"I think the last time we got up this early was to catch that flight to New York." Elle
whispered as she put the kettle on, 'Number Blocks' playing on the tv.
Tao stopped her as she went to put a tea bag in his mug. "I'll take a coffee instead."
~~~~~
7:30am
"Ok, so lemon and sugar for Ellis, strawberry for Ada and golden syrup for Robin." Elle
announced proudly as she placed the home made pancakes down in front of each child. "And
omelet for Tao."
"They're gonna be on a sugar rush all morning after this." He commented, giving her a
grateful smile for his own breakfast.
"I...didn't think of that." She said cautiously, watching as the kids devoured their breakfasts.
"Oh well, too late now." She took her own seat, eating her avocado on toast.
"What do you all want to do today?" Tao asked, looking towards the children.
"KIDZONE!!!" Robin replied excitedly, his younger siblings nodding in agreement.
"Kidzone?" Elle asked, and Tao got out his phone to give it a quick search.
"A fun filled soft play area for under 10's." He read out. "And only a 20 minute drive away."
"Looks like we're going kidzone!" Elle announced, met with cheers.
~~~~~
10:00am
After getting the kids washed and dressed for the day, and struggling to put the car seats in
their car, they finally pulled up at Kidzone. They had to remind them not to run through the
car park, the excitement of plastic balls and rope bridges getting the better of them.
"How we gonna do this? Tag team?" Tao asked, and Elle nodded in agreement.
"I'll take the twins and you take Robin? He'll probably wanna do the bigger things, and I don't
see myself climbing through the tiny tunnels they have up there." They both looked above
them to where a dad was crawling after his daughter, struggling to keep up.
"Come on, Tao!" Robin exclaimed, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the foam
ladder.
"Wish me luck!" He yelled back to Elle, who laughed at her husband as he ducked just in
time to stop himself hitting his head on a pillar.
Elle took a tiny hand in each of hers, leading them to the 3 and under area filled with sensory
lights and shapes. It was hard, trying to keep track of two children, but they seemed to really
enjoy interacting with everything in the room.
At 12pm, when their time was up, they met up with Robin and a frazzled looking Tao in the
waiting room.
"How was it?" Elle asked, trying not to laugh at him.
"Traumatic." He replied, rubbing his elbow. "I'm covered in bruises and germs, that was the
biggest workout I think I've ever done!"
"Tao was too scared to go down the big slide so I had to go down it all by myself!" Robin
reported proudly, pointing to the slide at the highest point of the room that was a straight
drop.
"Tao, you never! I can't believe you were too scared and let a 6 year old go down that slide all
by himself!" Elle mocked anger, causing the children to giggle.
"Don't worry, Tao. Next time you take us here you'll be older and braver and then you can go
down with me!" Robin said with such seriousness that Tao couldn't help but laugh.
~~~~~
5:00pm
"I've got it!" Elle announced as the front doorbell went. She looked out the window, noticing
Nick's car pulled up outside and smiled. "Hello, my favourite boys!" She greeted, pulling
each into a hug.
"Daddy? Papa?" Ellis called through the house, his little legs running until they reached
Charlie's, arms reaching up as Charlie bent down to pick up his youngest, planting a kiss to
his nose.
Ada and Robin were close behind, Tao in their wake to make sure neither fell over, squealing
with excitement at the sight of their fathers standing in the doorway. Nick reached down to
pick up one in each arm, holding them close. "I've missed my kiddies." He gave them each a
kiss on the cheek before they followed Tao and Elle into the front room, taking a seat on the
sofa."Have you all been good?" He looked to their friends this time.
"As good as gold, they were just outside playing with the football." Tao replied happily. Nick
noted his messy hair, laughing as he realised his children probably made him play, too.
"We can see you two had a good time." Elle teased as she gave a pointed look to Charlie's
neck. He blushed, using a hand to scratch the red mark just below his jawline.
"Yea, well, we had to make the most of a child free weekend." He replied sheepishly.
"And an uninterrupted nights sleep." Nick added, tickling Ada's side - she was the usual
culprit, preferring to sleep snuggled in between her dads rather than her own bed.
"Yea, we had a bed full last night.” Tao said fondly. "It's been really nice looking after them
this weekend, we've honestly had a great time."
"Yea, it really has been lovely." Elle confirmed, taking Tao's hand in her own. "Crazy to think
that this will be our life in a few years."
Charlie smiled at the pair. "You two are gonna make amazing parents."
Chapter End Notes
Remember to leave kudos and comment any other scenarios you’d like to see :)
Meeting the girlfriend
Chapter Summary
15 year old Robin brings his girlfriend, Lottie, over to meet Nick and Charlie for the
first time.
Chapter Notes
When Robin had come to his parents 3 weeks ago and announced he had a girlfriend, they'd
been ecstatic, wanting to learn everything about the girl in their son's life who made him so
happy. They'd found out that her name was Lottie, she was in his year at school and they
apparently had Geography and Maths together. She had dark brown hair and 'eyes the shade
of grass' (it was the most poetic thing their son had ever said).
Since meeting Lottie, Robin seemed to be cheerier. Not that he wasn't happy before, but he
was a stereotypical moody teenager, flipping out over the smallest things and wanting to
spend all his time alone in his room.
But not since Lottie.
So, of course, Nick and Charlie were thrilled when Robin asked if Lottie could come over for
dinner one evening. They wanted to meet the girl who made their eldest's eyes twinkle in a
way they hadn't seen before.
"She's a vegetarian." Robin had informed them once they'd agreed to her coming for dinner.
"Guess I won't be making bolognese then, or lamb chops!" Charlie had replied, getting up
and looking through the cupboards to see what else they had. "How about my vegetarian
lasagne?"
"Dadddd!" Robin groaned. No one actually liked Charlie's vegetarian lasagne, especially not
after he burnt it last time. "Can't papa cook?"
Nick looked up from where he was doing some marking, poking his tongue out at his
husband. "Don't worry, Rob. I'll do us all something nice."
And so that Thursday was the big day. Nick and Charlie hadn't failed to notice how Robin
had spent Wednesday night cleaning his room, even hoovering it and the landing (they were
shocked that he even knew how to turn on the hoover). And how he got up extra early
Thursday morning to shower, only emerging when Nick knocked on the door for the 4th time
because 'if he didn't get in there right now, he'd be late for work'. Robin had left for school
that morning with a skip in his step and stinking of aftershave.
Charlie had elected to work from home Thursday, typing away in his small office until about
4pm when the first of his children started to arrive home from school.
"Hi dad!" Ada greeted as she poked her head around the door.
"Hi baby girl, remember Robin has his new girlfriend over for dinner tonight so be nice." He
warned - she knew how to get under her brother's skin when she wanted to.
"I'm always nice, daddy." She simply replied with a smile, skipping off up to her bedroom.
Nick and Ellis were next to get, arriving at practically the same time.
"Nice day at school, Lis?" Charlie asked as Nick wrapped his arms around his husband's
shoulders, leaning down to press a kiss to his hair.
"Was alright." Was all they got out of the young boy, who then slumped up the stairs to his
room.
"Teenagers." Charlie said with an eye roll, accepting the kiss his husband was leaning down
to offer.
"Pfft, he's got another 10 months until he's a teenager! Let me cherish this final year of still
having actual children." Nick said with mock offence.
Charlie got up, wrapping his arms around Nick's waist. "Want me to help with dinner? I
worked through lunch so am good to finish work now."
The offer earned a laugh from the older man. "You," Nick pointed his finger accusingly into
Charlie's face, "are not going anywhere near my sweet potato curry!"
"I wouldn't dre-" Charlie was cut off mid sentence by the sound of the front door opening,
both men whipping their heads round to the direction of it.
"Dad, papa, we're home!" Robin called out, his voice sounding slightly nervous.
"Oh god, oh god! We're going to meet the famous Lottie!" Charlie whispered, unable to help
his face break out into the biggest smile.
"How are we gonna play this out? Serious? Funny? Handshakes or hugs? What if she's not a
hugger? I don't want to scare her off!" Nick looked at his husband with wide, worried eyes.
"It's fine, just play it cool. Act natural, we'll play it by ear." Charlie took Nick's hand in his,
giving a reassuring squeeze before leading him out of his office and into the living room.
"Papa, dad, this is Lottie." Robin introduced. "Lottie, these are my parents."
Both men took in the girl in front of them, a nervous smile on her face. Her light brown hair
was pulled half back to the top of her head, and she had herself tucked into one side of Robin.
Their eldest's broader frame, increased by a recent growth spurt and from the rugby team he'd
joined (much to Nick's delight), dwarfed Lottie's, who was only about the height of Ada.
"It's lovely to meet you, Lottie." Charlie decided to say first, holding out his hand for her to
shake. "We've heard a lot about you."
"Dad!" Robin warned, face turning red with embarrassment.
"All good stuff, don't worry." Nick reassured Lottie, who's own face was turning slightly
scarlett. "We're glad to have you over for dinner, is sweet potato curry ok for you? I know
Robin's said you're a veggie but he didn't give us much else to go on food wise."
"Sweet potato curry is good, thank you, Mr Nelson-Spring." Lottie replied, giving them a
sweet smile.
"Honestly call me Nick, and call this one," he poked Charlie's cheek with his finger, who
batted his hand away and rolled his eyes, "Charlie. No need to be all formal."
Robin smiled at them gratefully, and they watched as he reached his hand down to take
Lottie's in his. The young girl seemed to relax some by the touch, shoulders sagging slightly.
"Well, we're gonna go make a start on dinner. Was lovely to meet you, Lottie." Nick said,
grabbing Charlie's hand to take him to the kitchen.
"Oh, so it's 'we' doing dinner now?" Charlie teased, raising his eyebrows before turning back
to Lottie. "Make yourself at home, I'm sure Robin will show you around."
Once behind the safe confines of the kitchen door, both men started to freak out.
"Oh my god, oh my god! We've just met our son's first girlfriend!" Charlie whispered,
wrapping a Nick in a hug and spinning them around.
"Lottie seemed really sweet! She could be the future mother of our grandkids, oh my god our
baby boy’s getting so old."
Charlie pulled away with that comment, staring Nick straight in the eyes. "Don't get ahead of
yourself! Grandkids are a long, long way off." He contemplated for a moment. "Do you think
we'll need to have the talk with him?
Nick stifled a laugh. "God, do you remember when my mum gave us both the talk?"
Charlie smirked at the thought. He'd been 16 and Nick 17. Sarah had sat them down one
evening after dinner, pages upon pages of research into the ins and outs of same sex sexual
relationships printed out. Oh, and not to mention a box of condoms and varying types of lube.
They'd sat there red faced but, a few months later when they were ready to take that next step,
they'd been grateful for the talk Sarah had given them.
"They've not been going out long and are only young. Let's just see how this progresses."
Nick suggested as he started to open the cupboards to get out the dinner ingredients.
They got into their usual dinner time routine, Nick cooking and Charlie doing a bit of
cleaning, shamelessly flirting as they went. The sound of their son and his girlfriend laughing
at the tv in the front room would occasionally drift through, along with some muffled
whispers.
"I'll go wrangle the spawn." Charlie said once Nick was ready to plate up. He poked his head
around the front room door, heart warming at the sight of Lottie and Robin snuggled up on
the sofa. "Dinners ready." He said, making them both jump and pull away from each other.
Next was the twins, so he stood at the bottom of the stairs. "Dinners ready kids!" And not a
second later did he hear the rushed sound of footsteps as they raced to the table.
"So you're Robin's girlfriend?" Ellis asked quizzically as he entered the kitchen and took a
seat at one end of the table next to his older brother.
"Yea, I'm Lottie! It's lovely to meet you." The young girl greeted,
Ellis leaned over to his brother, whispering in a not so subtle way "you were right, she is
pretty."
Robin's face went bright red almost instantly, Lottie's face sporting a similar blush. Ellis sat
smugly, seemingly pleased with embarrassing his older brother.
Ada's footsteps could be heard on the stairs and soon she made her appearance too, setting
herself down in the only empty seat left.
"Hi Lottie! I'm Ada, I'm sure Robin's told you loads about me!" She beamed gleefully, never
shy about meeting new people.
"He's told me about all of you." She replied, cutting up some of her dinner before stopping,
looking panicked. "It’s clear how close you all are, I’ve heard nothing but lovely stuff."
"Robin's told us all about you, too! About how pretty you are, how he thinks he loves you..."
Ellis rattled off, ignoring the warning glare from his papa.
"I've...I didn't say that much..." Robin corrects, hunching up slightly as though he could
disappear.
"Have you two had sex?" Ada asked innocently, though the smirk on her face told her fathers
otherwise.
Charlie chocked on the spoonful of rice he had in his mouth, covering his mouth as he
coughed.
"Ada!" Nick scolded, raising an eyebrow, daring his daughter to challenge him.
"So-Um-who do you live with, Lottie?" Charlie asked, trying his best to divert the question
and hoping the two teenagers could fight through the embarrassment they'd just faced. They'd
have to talk with Ada later about inappropriate questions
"Umm-I, uh, live with my mum. And step dad." The blush was slowly starting to leave her
face. "And I've got a little sister who's 8, and a step sister who stays with us every other
weekend."
"What do they do for a living?" Nick asked.
"Well, Colin's - that's my step dad - he's an electrician and my mum's a teacher."
"Snap! So is Nick." Charlie said, looking adoringly at his husband. "He's got a year 5 class,
and is deputy head down Oak Hill Primary."
"My mum used to teach there when she first started out!" Lottie replied, any signs of
embarrassment now vanished from her face. "She's at Flemingworth now."
“Flemingworth’s meant to be a great school, I’ve heard such good things about their SEND
support.” Nick complimented. “We were gonna send the kids there, but it was a little out of
our catchment area.”
The rest of dinner seemingly went off without a hitch. The twins behaved themselves, Nick
received a lot of compliments on his cooking skills, and they got to find out a lot more about
the girl who made their son so happy. It was funny, really, watching Robin. Their teenager
had suddenly become a gentleman, using his knife and fork and eating with his mouth closed.
He clearly wanted to make a good impression.
"I'll do the dishes if you like?" He asked once everyone had finished eating. The younger two
and long since scampered from the table as soon as their plates were cleared, claiming that
homework needed to be done (their fathers knew they'd probably be upstairs talking to their
friends instead).
Charlie blinked at him a few times in utter disbelief. "I'm sorry, have I misheard? Have you
actually just offered to do the dishes?!" He teased.
Robin looked between his dad and Lottie, who seemed to be trying to hold back her laughter.
"Would you like me to?" He asked again.
"No, you two go and spend some time together. Let me and your papa worry about cleaning
up." Charlie declined the offer, a smirk still sitting on his face from his son's unusual
behaviour.
"You can go up to your room, you know?" Nick came over and whispered into Robin's ear.
"Don't feel like you have to stay downstairs. We trust you."
"Uh..ok, yea. Thanks, come on Lottie let's go upstairs." Robin shot his papa a thankful smile
and grabbed Lottie's hand to guide her out of the room.
"Thank you again for dinner, it was delicious!" She called behind them.
"I like that Lottie, she seemed really nice." Nick commented once her was sure the pair were
out of earshot, wrapping his husband in a hug from behind as he made a start of the dishes.
"Pfft, you're just saying that because she kept singing your praises about your cooking."
Charlie laughed, leaning around to plant a kiss on the taller man's cheek. "But yea, she was
lovely, I think she'll be good for Rob. I just hope the youngest NelSprings didn't scare her
off!"
Chapter End Notes
Remember to leave kudos and comments, they make me happy :)

Where’s my mummy?
Chapter Summary
7 year old Ellis has some questions about where his mum is after drawing family
pictures in school.
"Where's my mummy?”
It was a question Nick and Charlie had been dreading explaining but also expecting, albeit a
lot sooner than this. They had expected it from Robin, being the oldest, more likely to be
exposed to things earlier than the twins. Even once the twins started school, they had
expected it. But it had taken their youngest, Ellis, to reach the grand old age of 7 before the
question came up.
"Where's my mummm?" The question came more insistingly this time, and Nick and Charlie
shared a look with each other from where they sat on the sofa, wrapped in each other's arms.
"What makes you ask that, Lis?" Charlie asked, picking the small boy up and bringing him
onto his lap, running a comforting hand through the mess of curls sprouting from his head.
"We were drawing family pictures at school today and I drew you and papa and Robin and
Ada. And everyone else had mummy's in their pictures but I didn't. And I showed rest of the
class and when I showed the rest of the class Max laughed at me 'cos I have two daddies and
no mummy." He said the last part so mournfully that Charlie's heart broke a little bit, pulling
him impossibly closer and pressing a kiss to the crown of his head. "So where's my
mummy?"
Society had come a long way since Nick and Charlie were little. Growing up, they hadn't
known anyone with same sex parents. But in their children's school, they knew of one set of
lesbian parents with a little boy in the twin's year, and there was a set of gay parents with a
child in year 6. They weren't alone in this journey, and their family was certainly becoming
more 'normal' (whatever normal is), but they supposed it was inevitable that at least one of
their children would ask where their mummy was when all their friends had what they
lacked.
"Well, you see Ellis. Some people have a mummy and a daddy, and some people only have a
mummy or a daddy. And some children, if you're lucky enough, get two mummy's or two
daddy's." Nick tried to explain as simply as possible.
"Yes but where's my mummy? Why don't I get a mummy?" Ellis pouted out his bottom lip,
tears threatening to spill over his eyes.
"Oh, bug." Charlie tried to soothe him, rocking them back and forth. Maybe the scientific
route would work better. "You might not have a mummy, but that doesn't mean you didn't
have any amazing women who helped bring you into the world. One special lady gave us her
eggs to help make you and Ada, and then Molly carried you both in her belly whilst you
grew."
"Eggs? Like a chicken?" Ellis asked quizzically.
Nick couldn't help the giggle that escaped him. "A little bit like that, yea. We wanted to make
sure it was an extra special egg though, to make our extra special children."
Ellis sat there quietly for a while, as though contemplating what was said on his small head.
"Did Robin come from an egg?"
"He sure did, and Molly grew him in her tummy too."
"Does that make Molly our mummy? 'Cos Daniel's mummy has a baby in her belly."
More looks were shared between the two fathers. This wasn't exactly where they planned on
steering the conversation. They loved Molly, and knew Molly loved their children. They kept
in regular contact, and made an effort to see each other at least a few times a year. But Molly
wasn't their children's mum, nor did she see herself as that. And she had her own children,
children who they didn't want to get confused next time Ellis went over for a play date and
started calling their mum 'mum' too.
"Well, I suppose she's like your tummy mummy." Charlie carefully explained, remembering
the phrase one of the other parents Molly was a surrogate for used. He looked over at Nick,
who nodded his head encouragingly. "But what's important Ellis, is having people around you
who love you. And you're very lucky, because you have a lot of people who love you."
Nick nodded his head in agreement. "You've got me and daddy, Ada and Robin, nanny Sarah,
grandma Jane and grandad Julio..."
"...Auntie Tori, uncle Ollie, Elle, Tao, Tara, Darcy..." Charlie continued.
"...Otis, Christian, Sai, Aled, uncle David..." Nick made a face at the last one. The brothers
had put behind their bitterness to each other for the sake of their children, wanting them all to
get on. But Nick still hadn't totally forgiven his older brother for how he'd treated him (and
sometimes continued to treat him).
"So what we're trying to say," Charlie began to explain, "is that you have all these amazing
people in your life who love you and care about you. And you're so lucky to have that."
Ellis sat there contemplating what his dads had said, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
He started to fidget a bit, before looking up at his papa. “Can I go and play Lego now?" He
asked, wriggling a bit to get down from his daddy's lap.
"Course you can." Nick said, helping him down and watching him scatter off to the play
room.
"I think our list of people in our lives bored him into forgetting the question." Charlie laughed
as he stretched out again back against Nick.
"10/10 parenting from you there, darling. 'You came from an egg', I'm surprised he didn't ask
if he was scrambled or poached!" Nick teased, tickling his sides.
"Oi! I think we both handled that very well." Charlie protested, pushing Nick off only to boop
their noses together.
"Yea, I think we did too."

Nanny Sarah finds out it’s twins
Chapter Summary
30 year old Nick and 28 year old Charlie take Robin to Nanny Sarah’s house, excited to
announce that their surrogate is expecting twins.
Chapter Notes
Charlie placed his hand on Robin's upper back, ushering the toddler towards the front room
where Nick was waiting for him with tiny shoes.
"C'mon, little man, let's get your shoes on so we can go and see nanny Sarah." Nick tried to
encourage, only to be met with the 2 year old crossing his arms over his chest and giving a
defiant 'No!'
The great shoe debacle was becoming a regular occurrence, the 'terrible twos' living up to its
name. Their son was always on the move - clambering up and down the stairs, running
around barefoot in the garden. They didn't mind it at home, they knew there was nothing
dangerous on the floor. But Robin refused to be picked up and carried (unless by his nanny
Sarah), and the walk to Sarah's house was too dangerous to take barefoot.
"Well, looks like we'll be going without you then, Robin." Charlie began, kneeling down so
he was at eye level. "Me and papa will have to eat all that yummy chocolate cake nanny
Sarah made without you."
"Yep, little boys who don't put there shoes on don't get chocolate cake." Nick played along,
smiling with relief when Robin finally relented and stuck out his leg. "You got everything we
need?" He asked as he done up the velcro, looking over to where Charlie was packing a
backpack.
"All packed and ready to go." Charlie confirmed, his face giddy as he slipped their most
recent scan picture into a side pocket, reminiscing about their appointment yesterday.
~~~~~
About 9 months ago, they started the process of having their second child. Finding the right
surrogate was a lot easier this time - Molly was easily their first choice, and she'd
immediately said yes when they asked her to carry their baby again. It had taken a little
longer to find an egg donor with similar characteristics to Nick's (this time, the baby would
be biologically Charlie's), but they'd found one and soon enough the doctor's were confirming
that Molly was pregnant.
Yesterday had been her 12 week pregnancy scan. They'd met Molly and Luke at the hospital,
and were guided into the new familiar room where their ultrasound would take place. She'd
started to show a lot earlier this time, but that had been chalked up to the fact it was her fifth
pregnancy.
The sonographer had moved the wand over her stomach, quietly humming to herself as she
went until their was sudden silence.
"Is everything ok?" Charlie asked from his seat next to Molly's head, noticing how she'd
stopped moving the wand too.
"Yes everything is...fine." She moved the wand back a bit, stopping to look at something on
the screen out of view, and then moved it back again.
"You don't sound so sure." Nick asked, sharing a worried look with Charlie and taking his
hand in his.
"No, yes, sorry, everything is fine I can assure you." The sonographer replied. "You have two
perfectly healthy babies growing in there."
Molly strained her head up, trying to get a look of the screen. "Two? Twins?"
Charlie had felt his heart rate pick up - twins? Two babies? They'd be outnumbered. That's
twice as many as they had planned for. Twice as many nappies, twice as many clothes, twice
as many sleepless nights. They'd have to get a double buggy, two cots, two car seats. Would
they need a bigger car? A bigger house?
"Charlie? Char, love, breath." Nick's soothing voice next to him had broken his spiralling.
"Twins, Nick. We're gonna have twins." He'd breathed out, voice shaky.
~~~~~
The walk to Sarah's house now took twice as long as usual, not that either minded. It was the
middle of June, the sun was shining, and Robin was toddling away happily towards his
nanny's house. When they'd bought their first family home, they hadn't planned on it being so
close to Nick's mums. But they'd spotted it for sale one day whilst driving over and instantly
fell in love. The fact that Sarah was within walking distance was only an added bonus.
"Nanny! Nanny! Nanny!" Robin screamed, starting to run once her house came into view,
ignoring the calls from his papa to slow down incase he tripped. Sarah was standing out front,
waving to the boys, beaming brightly.
"My baby boy! Oh how I've missed you!" She exclaimed as she lifted Robin into her arms,
peppering his face in kisses. "My goodness is this a new tractor?" She gasped as she pointed
to the blue and yellow toy tractor Robin had grasped in his hand.
The toddler nodded excitedly. "Uncle Ollie got me."
"It was one of his favourites when he was little." Charlie explained as they finally caught up,
wrapping Sarah in a hug before Nick done the same.
"Well it must be very special then." Sarah said, tickling his sides, causing him to shriek with
laughter. "Come on then, boys. I thought it would be nice to sit in the garden? It's a beautiful
day! I've got some chairs out and there's some ice lollies in the fridge for my little man!" The
revelation caused Robin to cheer, fidgeting to be put down so he could go through the back
gate into the garden, his shoes quickly removed and discarded by the back gate.
"You spoil him, mum." Nick said warmly, picking up the trainers and following her round the
back.
"It's what nanny's are for." Was all she replied, giving him a wink before going into the
kitchen to retrieve the ice lollies.
"Daddy! Papa! Look!" Robin yelled from the water table. He put a little plastic ball into the
centre, giggling as it shot back out along with squirts of water.
"I'm pretty sure your mum has more kid's toys in her garden than we do." Charlie whispered
with a smirk as they sat down on the bench. He probably wasn't wrong, to be fair. Sarah's
garden boasted, along with the water table, a blue rocking horse, a playhouse, a miniature
play gym, a sand pit as well as a shed dedicated to outdoor toys. And that wasn't counting
David's old bedroom which had been converted into a playroom for her grandchildren (David
had two children of his own). Sarah truly loved every second of being a nanny.
"Here you go, boys," Sarah said as she came out of the kitchen, handing them both a Fab,
"and for my baby-"
"-TWISTER!" Robin came charging over, wrapping Sarah's legs in a quick hug before
accepting the ice lolly from her outstretched hand. "Thank you!" He began to run off to the
playhouse but was stopped by his dad.
"Sit down whilst you're eating it, Robin. You can play after." Charlie reminded him, causing
the 2 year old to plonk himself down on the grass.
"So, tell me, how did the scan go yesterday? How's my newest grand baby getting along?"
Sarah asked excitedly, sitting herself down on the chair next to the bench. "And how's Molly
doing now? Has her morning sickness gotten any better?"
"Molly's doing good, still a bit of morning sickness but she said it's started to ease." Charlie
replied, feeling bad for how hard this pregnancy had been for her so far. Her morning
sickness had been a lot worse than normal, causing her to be exhausted a lot of the time. She
even had to take a week off work, the sickness and tiredness mixed with a sore back leaving
her all but bedridden. 'All early signs of a twin pregnancy', the midwife had informed them
yesterday.
"And baby's doing good, do you wanna see the scan?" Nick asked, already reaching into the
backpack to retrieve it. Charlie couldn't help how giddy he felt - Sarah was the first person
they were going to tell about the twins.
Nick handed the grainy black and white photo over to his mum and crouched next to her
chair, pointing out all the different features. "Well, you see here, that's our baby's head. And
that's their little hands, and there's their legs. And look, do you see here right above it, there's
the other baby's head and body." Nick's voice went higher with excitement, looking up at his
mum's face to see her reaction.
Charlie, on the other hand, had been watching her face the whole time and it was clear that
she'd clocked nearly straight away that there were two baby's on the scan. Confusion had
crossed her face for a moment before realisation flickered. Her eyes had gone wide, mouth
opening into a small 'o' before gradually forming the biggest grin possible.
"Other baby?" Sarah asked, voice chocked as she looked between the two boys in front of
her.
"Twins." Charlie confirmed, a happy cry immediately coming out of Sarah as she wrapped
Nick into a hug. After a moment, her arm gestured out and Charlie knew he'd be scolded by
both the Nelsons's if he didn't join them.
"Wanna hug!" A small voice was heard behind them, and they all looked down to see Robin
pouting, clearly upset at being left out of the group hug. Nick reached his arm out, allowing
their son to toddle into the space and be embraced with the love.
"Does he know?" Sarah leaned down to whisper to Charlie, who shook his head. No. Whilst
Robin knew he would be a big brother in about 6 months time, they hadn't quite figured out
how to tell him that there'd be two new babies in the house soon. He was excited about the
prospect of having a little brother or sister (in particular, he'd requested that he get a little
brother like how uncle Ollie was to his daddy. Ollie hadn't stopped boasting about what an
amazing little brother he was ever since). And Robin never failed to tell people how he was
soon going to have a baby sibling. It melted his father's hearts, but they also wanted to tell
their friends and family themselves that they were expecting twins rather than them finding
out through their toddler.
"Well isn't this the most exciting news." Sarah couldn't wipe the grin off her face, pulling
both boys in for a kiss before picking up her current youngest grandchild and hugging him
close on her lap.
"A bit scary, but we really can't wait." Nick confirmed, looking lovingly over at his husband.
Chapter End Notes
I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter :) remember to leave kudos and comment anything
you’d like me to write about with Nick and Charlie’s parenting journey!
Sports Day
Chapter Summary
Robin is now in year 6 and it’s his last sports day in primary school. It’s the twins first
sports day in junior school now that they’re in year 3. Nick and Charlie are the biggest
(and possibly most embarrassing) cheerleaders for their children.
Chapter Notes
"Oh god, oh," a deep intake of air, "my god, am I late...Did I make it?" Nick asked as he
gasped for breath, his jogging coming to a stop as he came to stand next to his husband. Or
more, double over, hands on his knees as he tried to regain himself.
"They've not even started the first event yet." Charlie replied through a giggle, handing him
his bottle of water which was gratefully accepted.
"This...dear god...I need to work out more." Nick groaned as he stood up straight, wiping the
sweat from his forehead. "It's only a couple miles between my school and here! How am I so
out of breath?"
"I did tell you to drive to work this morning, but you insisted on walking." Charlie gave him
a knowing look. "And you are 40 in a couple of months, dear." Charlie continued to tease,
earning a groan from Nick.
"Ugh, don't remind me! You know what it is? It's because we don't have a gaggle of small,
energetic children who need our constant supervision anymore. I was fit up until the twins
started school. Like, proper fit. I think it's a sign we need to have more babies." One of the
mum's standing next to them must have overheard, and she snorted out a laugh.
Nick was looking at his husband with such seriousness but all Charlie could do was shake his
head, covering his smile with his hand and cocking his eyebrow. "You have a class of 30
small, energetic children to tend to everyday, plus the 3 we already have! Is that not
enough?"
"Even they called me old today! 'Mr Nelson-Spring, why's your hair going the same colour as
my granny's?' 'My mummy dyes her hair, Mr Nelson-Spring, would you like me to bring in
her hair dye?'" He mimicked his pupils, running his hand through his slightly balding hair. He
hadn't failed to notice that some of his remaining hair now had a grey hue to it.
Charlie went on his tip toes, leaning close to Nick's ear so only he could hear him. "You're
turning into my sexy, silver fox. You're still insanely gorgeous to me." The comment was met
with a fond eye roll and a chaste kiss.
"PARENTS AND PUPILS OF APPLE BRIDGE JUNIOR SCHOOL, WELCOME TO

SPORTS DAY!" One of the teachers announced through her megaphone, met with a round of
cheers from both pupils and parents alike. "FIRST UP WILL BE THE YEAR 3 BEAN BAG
TOSS."
"Is Ada in this one? I think Ada's in this one!" Charlie said excitedly. Their daughter got up,
collecting her blue bean bag and both her dad's started waving at her like mad men.
"GO ON ADA! GO ON WATER HOUSE!" Nick started to yell, getting out his blue flag and
waving it in the air.
Ok, so he and Charlie were those parents. You know the kind, who go all out at these kind of
things. Nick donned some light blue shorts and a blue polo, whilst Charlie wore his blue
jeans and blue checkered shirt (not much had changed style wise since their teenage years).
Blue flags had been purchased, along with hats and the kids had helped make a banner. Nick
had debated getting them face paint, too, but even Charlie admitted that was a tad much. It
was the primary school teacher in Nick, he couldn't help but want to go overboard at these
kind of things.
They were just grateful that all the kids had been placed in the same house. And that they
weren't in Fire house (they had a few opinions about certain parents of children in fire house
that were better left unsaid).
Ada lined up with the rest of the year 3's taking part, her tongue sticking out of her mouth in
concentration and a serious expression donning her face. She always had been competitive.
The whistle was blown, bean bags were thrown at varying distances (one even backwards),
Ada's being the third furthest. The disappointment on her face at the fact was short lived
when a teacher came over and placed a '3rd place' sticker on her blue PE top.
"WELL DONE ADA! WE'RE SO PROUD OF YOU!" Charlie cheered, earning a large wave
from their daughter in return.
Next up was the egg and spoon race, then the long jump, before it was Ellis' turn with the
relay race. A child from year 3, 4, 5 and 6 all lined up in their teams, Ellis at the starting line
with the other year 3's and holding his baton.
"YOU GOT THIS, LIS!" Charlie started to scream, his son giving him a sheepish smile from
across the field.
Ellis had inherited his dad's speed, and soon he was sprinting across the grass to the year 4 in
front of him, baton held out. His little legs sped along, both his father's holding their breath
and hoping he wouldn't topple (he had a habit of being somewhat clumsy). But soon he had
the baton passed over and cheers erupted from both men.
"SO PROUD OF YOU, ELLIS! YOU DONE SO GOOD!" Nick yelled, Ellis looking over
and giving them a double thumbs up. His team ended up coming first, and he wore his '1st
place' sticker with pride.
It was the end of the first quarter, and Robin along with the rest of the house captains were
given whiteboards with the current scores to display to the parents, doing a slow walk around
the perimeter of the field. When Robin had come home from school last July and announced
that he'd been chosen to be the male house captain for Water House, he'd been bouncing off
the walls with excitement. He took his role very seriously, encouraging his team to get as
many house points as possible. When he made it to where his dads were standing, in their
usual embarrassing behaviour, they started cheering for him, whooping, clapping. The look
they received in return could have killed - their eldest was not impressed.
"I'm only holding the scores." He whispered, using one hand to brush his auburn hair out of
his eyes.
It would be another half hour before the year 6 three legged race, which Robin would be
doing, was to start so Nick and Charlie set up their (blue) blanket, inviting some of their
parent friends to sit with them.
"How comes you managed to get the afternoon off work, Nick? Isn't that usually quite hard
for teachers?" Asked Lucy, one of the mums asked whose daughter, Layla, was friends with
Ada.
"They're pretty good with this kind of stuff. I sorted out some work for the TA to do with
them, and it's end of year so the kids are usually too excited for the summer holidays to do
too much anyways!" Nick replied, thankful he worked in a school that was so understanding
with these sort of things. Being present in big moments in their children's lives was so
important for the pair, but particularly Nick. He grew up with a dad who never showed up to
school plays, sports days, parents evenings. His mum was amazing, and especially now he
was older it made him appreciate her all the more. But he couldn't forget the hurt he would
feel when he'd look out into the crowd and not see his own dad's face smiling back.
He didn't want that for their kids.
Nick and Charlie had a good group of parents they knew from the school drop off and play
dates. When Robin had first started primary school, they'd been a little anxious in case they
were the only same sex parents there. They took turns doing the school drop off, always had
except for when the kids were in nursery. In nursery, it was usually Charlie who done drop
off. He’d elected to take a years paternity both times, he and Nick agreeing it would make
more sense seeing as Nick got more time off regardless to help at home with all the school
holidays. Up until the twins started reception, Charlie worked part time in their local book
store. He'd loved it there, and loved their flexibility when it came to childcare. But, money
wise, it wasn't feasible so went back to full time work once the twins were in full time
schooling. Now the kids were in primary school, by taking the drop off in terms, it meant
they both got to know the school parents and helped even out the load. Although they were
the only same sex parents from Robin's year, they soon met two dads who had children in the
years above who quickly befriended them. Some of the parents in Robin's year had definitely
been a little dubious of the pair at first, but they'd formed their own little clique with a bunch
of the nicer parents, and it worked well for them.
"AND NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE YEAR 6 THREE LEGGED RACE!" A teacher's voice
called over the loud speaker.
Nick started to ferociously tap Charlie's arm. "This is Robin's race! Char, come on!" He
jumped to his feet, dragging his husband up with him. "GO ON, ROBIN! YOU GOT THIS!"
Robin, clearly embarrassed by his papa's antics, glared at him with a look that could only
mean 'please shut up!'
"COME ON, WATER HOUSE!" Charlie decided to cheer instead, hoping to save their eldest
some dignity.
"When did our son become embarrassed by his own dads?" Nick said sadly, looking over to
where Robin was now actively avoiding looking in their direction.
"Maybe it's the grey hair." Charlie teased, tugging one out that seemed to be glimmering in
the sunshine.
Nick swatted his hand away. "Oh shush, just because your hair is still so thick and curly and-"
"-and on my head, rather than down the bathroom plug hole?"
The whistle blowing announcing the start of the race distracted both men, who went back to
their cheers. They only became louder once they realised that Robin and his team mate -
Marcus, they thought his name was - were neck and neck with a pair from Earth House. It
was tight, really tight. But at the last second, the two children in green just about overtook the
two in blue.
"WELL DONE ROBIN! THAT WAS SO CLOSE!" Nick started to yell, and this time the 11
year old did actually smile back at him, gratefully accepting his '2nd place' sticker from the
teacher.
Sports day was an all afternoon event and, even though their own children had finished
competing, Nick and Charlie were happy to sit and watch everyone else. It was nice to spend
some time out of the house and with the other parents, too.
Plus the parents and carers race would be coming up soon, and Charlie was determined to
win. It was the final race of the day and, arguably, the most anticipated.
With the last race finished, Charlie got up, making a point of stretching in front of Nick in a
totally innocent way before he went to join some of the other dads at the starting line. At 37,
he still felt pretty young but noticed as he looked around he was on the older side of the dads
who's put their name down to run.
Charlie had done this race every year since Robin was in Reception (apart from that one year
Nick decided he wanted to do it, and was left out of action for a solid week), and being on the
wrong side of 30 wasn't going to stop him.
He could pick out his own children's cheers for him through the rumble of tiny voices,
spurring him on to run faster and faster. He knew winning wasn't important, he was doing this
to make his children proud and show them it was the taking part that mattered.
But he still didn't want to come last.
He zoned in, only focusing on the finishing line at the end and the sound of his loved ones.
As he neared the end, Nick's voice became louder, shouting encouragement, shouting as he
made it to the end.
Charlie panted as he crossed the line, looking around and realising a few people had beaten
him. To the right, he could see his children's faces beaming and clapping. Robin had Ellis
wrapped in a hug, Ada jumping up and down next to them. To his left, Nick was whooping,
yelling how proud he was.
He may not have won the race, but with his family by his side and cheering him on that didn't
matter. He had everything he needed.
Chapter End Notes
I had no clue how to end this so the ending is a little rubbish :(
But if you still enjoyed remember to leave kudos and comment any scenarios you’d like
to see!
Uncle Olly comes to stay
Chapter Summary
22 year old Olly comes to stay at Nick and Charlie’s after an argument with his mum.
Chapter Notes
"Nick, can you get the door?" Charlie called from his spot in the front room, Ellis resting on
one hip grabbing fistfuls of his daddy's hair whilst Charlie made faces at Ada to try and stop
her from having a tantrum. The front door bell chimed loudly throughout the house. He
cringed, hoping that the sound wouldn't wake up Robin from his nap.
It was a typical Saturday in the Nelson-Spring household. The morning had been spent down
the park, Robin getting out all of his energy by running around the field and chucking rugby
balls with his papa. Charlie had set up a picnic blanket just off to the side underneath a tree,
content on watching Nick teach Robin how to tackle whilst the twins toddled around next to
their daddy. They loved the outdoors, loved the feeling of the grass between their fingers and
beneath their feet.
Nick and Charlie wanted to make the most of the last of the August sun, knowing it wouldn't
last long. They'd left early that morning, making sure to be back home before midday so that
the kids didn't get heatstroke. Lunch had been eaten, Nick had just set Robin down for his
nap and was getting on with cleaning up the kitchen from lunch. It was a task they liked to
take turns in - one cleaning up from cooking whilst the other kept the kids busy. The twins
were technically meant to be down for a nap right now, but Ada had been putting up a fuss
which, in turn, meant Ellis was refusing to take his nap too. They'd be asleep soon.
Hopefully.
The doorbell went off again, loud and piercing.
"Nick?! Doorbell!" Charlie yelled a bit more urgently, voice strained as Ellis yanked a bit
harder at his hair.
"Coming, coming!" Nick came rushing out of the kitchen, drying his hands on a teat towel.
He narrowly dodged stepping on a rattle, before pulling open the front door.
He was expecting to find a delivery man at the door; Nick's birthday was approaching, and
Charlie had spent the last few weeks not so subtly trying to find out what he wants.
But no, standing in their doorway was Charlie's younger brother Olly, eyes red rimmed and
carrying a bulging backpack.
"Uh, can I come in?" Olly asked, shifting nervously from one foot to the other.
Nick realised he must have been staring, not expecting to see the youngest Spring standing in
their doorway in such a fragile looking state. "Yea, sure, sorry Olly, come in." He stood to
one side, allowing his brother in law to come inside and kick off his shoes. "We were just
cleaning up after lunch and about to put the babies down for a nap." Nick explained as they
walked down the hallway and into the front room.
"Olly?" Charlie whispered as they rounded the corner and came into his view. He was sat
crossed legged on the floor, Ada now asleep in one arm, head tucked into the crook of his
neck. In the other arm, Ellis seemed close to nodding off too. He shifted a little so that Ellis
wasn't able to see his uncle, knowing the sight would no doubt make him excited and awake.
Olly stood there sheepishly, twiddling his thumps. "I can go, if you're all busy. You all look
busy with the kids, I'll just go."
"No!" Both Nick and Charlie said at the same time, stopping Olly from turning around.
"You're always welcome here, you know that. Any time." Charlie reassured, making sure to
keep his voice down. Ellis' body was now floppy in his arm, and he was sure he'd now drifted
off to sleep.
"Here, pass me them, I'll take them up for their nap." Nick knelt down in front of his
husband, and with some manoeuvring he managed to hold both of them without either
waking up. "I'll stay upstairs for a bit, let you two talk." He whispered into Charlie's ear,
planting a chaste kiss to his cheek.
Once Nick was out the room and his footsteps could be heard climbing the stairs, Charlie
heaved himself up onto the sofa he'd been leaning against and patted the spot next to him.
"Come on then, Ol. What's mum done this time?"
"How do you know it's to do with mum?" Olly asked, taking the seat his brother offered.
Charlie shot him a sympathetic smile. "Because I used to show up countless times to Nick's
with the exact same look on my face that you have on yours right now, and the cause was
always mum."
Olly groaned, leaning over, elbows on his knees and placing his head in his hands. "It's just,
ever since I moved back home now I've graduated uni, it feels like I'm being treated like a kid
again! It's all 'Olly, tidy your room' or 'Olly, I need the names of everyone you're going to the
pub with.' You know she even told me I'm only allowed to go out one night a week! And she
wanted to set me a curfew!"
"Sounds like mum." Charlie wrapped an arm around his younger brother, bringing him back
and to his chest in a hug.
"I got home at 2 this morning, literally only 2am! I was quiet, I wasn't even that drunk. But of
course, there she was sitting and waiting in the front room for me, that angry look on her face
and saying that we'll talk about this in the morning."
Charlie knew the angry look Olly was referencing, having seen it many times before.
"And then when I wake up today she's giving me a lecture about how I shouldn't be drinking
that much, and how I shouldn't be staying out that late. And I'm standing there like 'mum, I'm
22 years old, a fully grown adult for fucks sake!' And I'd get it if I was being loud or rude or
disrespectful or whatever, but she's literally treating me like I'm a little kid again. And
obviously then she kicks off, screaming at me because how dare I go out and have a life. But
she says she's not having that under her roof, so I said fine. And that's it, I packed a bag and I
left."
"Well shit, Ol." Charlie said, rubbing his back soothingly and trying to process everything
that had just been said. He knew what his mother was like, all the Spring siblings did. It's
partly why Tori had moved down to Sussex with Michael as soon as they could afford it,
anything to distance herself from Jane Spring's controlling behaviour. Charlie had been the
same, him and Nick getting a mortgage on their first flat when he was only 23. He and Tori
had hoped that maybe, just maybe, their mum had learnt from her past mistakes and things
would work out better for the littlest Spring.
Clearly not.
"I'm sorry that she's treated you like that, it's really not fair."
"It's really not, is it?" Olly looked up at his older brother, face close to crumbling. "Was she
like this with you and Tori too? When you both finished uni?"
Charlie nodded his head mournfully. "I can't tell you the amount of times me and mum butted
heads. She means well, I'm sure. But she's just..." he trailed off, unsure how to finish the
sentence.
Thankfully Olly understood. "Yea, she is." He sighed, looking down to his backpack left by
his feet.
"You're welcome to stay here as long as you need, you know that, right?" Charlie said, and he
meant it. His door was always open to those in need, and right now Olly needed a place to
stay away from their mum.
"Only if you're sure..?" Olly looked over to him hopefully, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
"Of course I'm sure, we'll put you up in Robin's room. He can kip in with me and Nick, he
won't mind. Loves sleeping in his dad's bed, anyway, plus the kids will be so excited to have
their uncle stay over.”
"And Nick won't mind?" Olly asked tentatively.
Charlie rolled his eyes at this. "You know Nick sees you as his very own little brother too,
Olly. He'd do anything for you, including offering up our home for however long you need it.
Nick loves you just as much as I do."
"It's true." Nick replied in a sing song voice, appearing in the front room with a sleepy grin
on his face.
"Did they twins go down alright?" Charlie asked, attention briefly distracted.
"They're out like a light. Robin's still soundo, too." Nick confirmed. "Tea?"
"Please." Charlie confirmed, Olly nodding also. Nick went to flick the kettle on and Charlie
turned back to his brother. "You know I'll have to text mum though, right? Just to let her
know you're here and safe. Unless you fancy her filling out a missing persons report!"
"Do you think she'll come over here and demand I go back home?" Olly sounded fearful at
the idea.
"No, I'll tell her not to." Charlie replied, already pulling out his phone.
13:46pm
Charlie: Hi mum, just letting you know that Olly’s at mine. Think he needs a bit of space to
cool off, he's gonna stay here for a few nights. I'll get him to text you tomorrow x
He added in a picture of the kids at the park this morning, all cheesy grins just for good
measure. She was always in a better mood seeing pictures of her grandchildren. He made sure
to crop out Ada’s muddy knees though, not wanting to see a comment about how ‘little girls
shouldn’t be playing in the dirt’.
His mum had gotten better at boundaries with Charlie since he and Nick had married, and
even more so since the kids had been born. When they'd first moved in together, there was a
lot of unannounced visits, a lot of calls, a lot of unwarranted advice. After she'd interrupted
their alone time just one too many times, Charlie had decided to have a word with his dad,
who in turn had a gentle word with Jane. And, once the kids were born, so long as they texted
her pictures of them and got to see her grandchildren often enough, she seemed content to not
interfere with their lives.
It would seem Jane now respected her eldest son, and he just hoped it would remain the same
now her youngest was staying with him.
"Have you had lunch, Olly? I can whip you up something if not?" Nick asked as he entered
the room, carefully balancing the three mugs of teas in his hands and handing them out.
"Uh, no, not yet but it's ok I'm-"
Nick cut him off. "Right, we've gone some crusty rolls in the cupboard. BLT?" Olly nodded
wordlessly. "Char?"
"Ham and cheese, ta."
Nick prepared them all lunch, and by the time they had finished eating, they could hear Robin
stirring upstairs.
"I think Robin would love it if you got him up from nap time, Olly." Charlie said, grabbing
his brothers hand and dragging him up the stairs.
Olly had always been the kids favourite uncle, providing a never ending supply of sweets
whenever he saw them. Not to mention he could never say no to any of their requests, no
matter how ridiculous it may be (they'd once found him on all fours with Robin sitting on his
back, apparently playing a game of 'horsies'). Olly hadn't been able to see his nieces and
nephews as much as he'd of liked to when he was at uni, but since finishing a couple months
ago he'd wasted no time in spoiling the kids again.
Robin's bedroom door was slowly pushed open, revealing the young boy as he stretched in
his bed, forearm over his eyes to shield them from the light.
"Wakey wakey, little man. Someone's here to see you." Nick whispered, standing out of the
way so Olly could get in.
"Uncle Olly?!" Robin immediately brightened up, eyes goes wide at the surprise of seeing
him there. He was quick to jump out of bed, feet bounding along the carpeted floor and
wrapping his arms around his uncle's shins. Olly crouched down, pulling his nephew in for a
hug. "Did you come to play?" Robin asked hopefully.
"I sure did! Your papa was telling me you got a new football?"
Robin's eyes lit up at this - even at the young age of 4, he was sports mad. Well, any sport
that involved some sort of ball. Football, rugby, basketball. He loved it all. "Yessss! It's so
cool and it's bright green like the colour of slime! Daddy, papa, can me and uncle Olly go
play outside? Pleeassseeeee?"
Olly gave the pair his best puppy dog eyes, looking up at them from the floor. "Yea,
pleeassseeeee?"
Charlie gave a fond roll of his eyes. "Ok, but Robin we gotta get you dressed first."
All the worry and tension that had been on Olly’s face when he first arrived at the Nelson-
Spring household seemed to disappear once he was in the garden playing with his nephew.
Nick and Charlie watched fondly from the kitchen window, laughing when Robin decided to
demonstrate his new tackling skills on Olly, who proceeded to gracefully fall to the ground.
"I know I sort of told Olly he could stay here without asking you first, I hope you don't mind.
I should have probably asked you first." Charlie said as they went up to wake the twins from
their nap.
"Love, you know it's not an issue." Nick replied, planting a kiss to his forehead. "He's our
family."
Even after so many years together, the sentiment still made Charlie weak at the knees and his
heart flutter. Charlie's family was his and vice versa. It was one of the best feelings.
Ellis was already standing up in his crib babbling away to himself when they entered the
twin's bedroom. His face lit up and arms stretched out as soon as he saw them both.
"Come on, you, let's get your nappy changed." Nick came over and swooped him into his
arms, blowing a raspberry on his belly as he went causing Ellis to squeal in delight.
Ada was a deep sleeper, and despite her brother's noises she still hadn't stirred. Charlie
walked over to her cot, reaching in, picking her up and holding her close, rubbing a finger
across her chubby cheek. She squirmed a bit, eyelids starting to flutter before her bright blue
eyes looked up at her daddy through long eyelashes.
"Wakey wakey, baby." Charlie whispered, placing a few gentle kisses to her cheek and cooing
as she let out a small yawn. He cringed slightly at the smell emitting from her nappy, raising
his eyes at Nick as he stifled a laugh.
"That's all you, Char." He mocked, propping Ellis on his hip to give Charlie access to the
changing table.
They soon had two sweet smelling toddlers who were eager to see the 'surprise' their daddy's
had promised was waiting for them downstairs.
"Chocolate?" Ellis asked excitedly, eyes full of hope. Their youngest had a sweet tooth ever
since his uncle Olly had given him some chocolate buttons the other month. It was a rare
treat, and one he wasn't getting today (at least not until later when his daddy's backs were
turned and his uncle could sneak him some).
"Something better than chocolate." Charlie promised.
"How are my favourite little twinnies?” Olly asked as they all emerged around the corner into
the living room where he lying on the floor with Robin.
There was excited squeals and cheers emitting throughout the room as the twins wriggled to
get down and clamber over their uncle, who didn't seem to mind too much that he suddenly
had feet treading over his chest or elbows in his face.
The kids loved having their uncle Olly over for the weekend. They had lasagne for dinner
(comfort food was deemed necessary for Olly after the day he had), before ice cream for
desert. All three children had insisted he be the one to read them a bedtime story, telling their
daddy and papa that uncle Olly did the voices sooooo much better than they did. And whilst
Nick and Charlie fell asleep with Robin in between them, when Nick woke up at 3am to use
the toilet he found the bed lacking a tiny human. After a mild panic, a quick poke into
Robin's bedroom found him snuggled up in his uncle's arms.
Olly went back home Sunday evening, deciding it was better to try and hear his mum out and
make amends. Nick and Charlie made sure that he always knew he was welcome at their
home, and made a point of inviting him over for dinner at least once a week. It was a nice
break from the intensity of the Spring household. And, if sometimes those dinners turned into
a sleepover, the kids definitely weren't complaining.
Chapter End Notes
Thank you for reading this far! If you liked this chapter, please remember to leave kudos
:)
Suggestions in the comments about what you’d like to see as Nick and Charlie explore
parenthood are always welcome
The Talk
Chapter Summary
16 year old Ada has been seeing her boyfriend, Noah, for about 6 months now. After
Nick and Charlie find a pair of his pants in the washing, they decide it’s time to give her
the talk
Chapter Notes
Ada had been seeing her boyfriend, Noah, for about 6 months now. And Noah was lovely. He
would make sure to walk her home after school, even though it was 5 minutes out of his way,
always complimented how she looked, would make the effort to talk to Nick and Charlie and
the boys whenever he came over. They'd watch as Ada's eyes would light up whenever
Noah's name was so much as mentioned, how a smile would form on her face when she'd text
him.
Ada had never been shy about letting her feelings be known about anything, no matter how
brutal it may be. If she didn't like your outfit, she'd tell you. She'd had a bad day? The whole
house would have to listen to her ranting and/or crying. And ever since getting with Noah,
her sing song voice had rung throughout their home, a smile full of teeth beaming at
everyone as she went.
The first time she'd bought him home, it was clear Noah had been keen to make a good
impression. It was late spring, Robin was away for his first year of uni, leaving the house
considerably quieter (it was rare when Robin was in college to go a week without having
some of his mates over). Noah already knew Ellis - they were in the same form, though they
had different friend groups. When their daughter's boyfriend had first walked into their home,
he'd greeted them both with a handshake and a tub of freshly made cookies made by his mum
(he'd explained that she told him to never go to someone's house empty handed, but thought a
bottle of wine would give the wrong impression considering he was only 16).
Ever since then, Nick and Charlie looked forward to Noah's visits. He'd usually come over a
couple of times a week, helping Ada with her homework (she wasn't the brightest spark when
it came to the more traditional subjects, but she really excelled in music and drama). And of a
weekend, they'd take out the family dog, a golden retriever called Monty, for walks and have
wholesome cinema dates or a game of bowling.
Everyone could see the happiness radiating off their daughter, and it warmed her dad's
hearts.
It was about 6 months into their relationship. Charlie was sorting through the washing,
organising it into piles. One for Nick, one for him (which included any of Nick's jumpers that
he might like for himself) (some things never change), one for Ada, one for Ellis and one
larger one for Robin. He'd come back for the weekend, a large black sack of washing in tow.
Supposedly, the washing machine in his accommodation had broken. Likely story, but
regardless, the two men were happy to have their eldest home for a night.
With four men's worth of washing, some would think it would be hard to tell their clothes
apart. But thankfully, they all had very different tastes. Pants, on the other hand, were another
story. Charlie made sure to label Robin's with a large R on the tag, and Ellis' with an E, so as
to not get them mixed up with Nick and Charlie's. But the pair he had just picked up was
neither labelled nor did it look familiar.
"Nick, you didn't buy these, did you?" Charlie called into the kitchen.
"Didn't buy what?" Nick asked as he walked into the living room where Charlie was
surrounded by piles of freshly cleaned and ironed clothes.
Charlie held up the pair of size medium boxers, black and covered in little dinosaurs. His
size, but definitely not something he would have bought for himself. He inspected the label
again, just to make sure he hadn't misread. But nope, it was definitely a medium with no
name. Ellis wore a small, and Robin a large.
Nick shook his head. "Never seen them, dinosaurs aren't really my style."
"I don't think they're our boy's styles either." Charlie replied, studying the boxers in his
hands.
"Maybe one of Robin's mates who's washing just got mixed up in his?" Nick suggested,
before calling up to their eldest to do come down for a second.
Robin came padding down the stairs, yawning and running a hand over the reddish stubble on
his face. Since being away at uni, he'd been experimenting with growing out his facial hair. It
was like their little boy had grown up overnight, suddenly looking like a man.
"Do you recognise these, Rob?" Charlie asked as he held up the pants that were confusing the
men so much.
But all Robin did was cock his eyebrow at his dad's. "Dinosaurs? You really think my or my
mates would wear them?" He went to pour himself a glass of orange juice, then teased,
"Maybe they're Noah's. They're 16, after all." Before he sloped back up to his bedroom.
Nick and Charlie shared an exasperated look - not the answer they were hoping for.
They prided themselves in being as non-judgemental and open with their children with
anything. They wanted the kids to know that they could come to them about absolutely
anything without shame. That their home was a home where they could safely experiment as
teenagers do, and if anything went wrong, they could go to their dad's. And so far, they had.
But the unfamiliar pair of pants Charlie was currently holding raised doubts in their heads.
"You don't think they're having sex, do you?" Charlie asked his husband, teeth biting his
upper lip, a nervous habit.
It's not that Charlie was naive. Their daughter was 16, she'd been with Noah for a decent
amount of time. And Noah was a nice lad. Sex would probably happen once they were ready,
and they would rather it be under their own roof than somewhere their child might be unsafe.
They'd said the exact same thing to Robin when they thought he was close to taking that next
step, even buying him a box of condoms, knowing how awkward it could be at that age to
buy them.
But Ada, their sweet, little, bubbly Ada. They hadn't thought she was ready yet, hadn't
noticed any signs. She was open with them about most things, and gentle coaxing was all if
usually took if the topic of conversation was embarrassing (like the first time she'd asked
them to buy her tampons after using up the box they'd got her when she first started her
period).
But sex, they thought she would have come to them. Robin came to them a few days after
he'd lost his virginity, not to gloat or boast, just to let them know and ask some questions.
Maybe this was different, because she was a girl.
She was a girl, a girl who could get pregnant.
"I think we need to have the talk with Ada." Nick said, eyes focused in on the pair of
dinosaur boxers.
*****
They'd left it a week before deciding to talk to their daughter. They needed to do some
research first, allowing themselves to be as well prepped for any questions as possible. And
they needed to do some shopping. They weren't the kind of parents to snoop through their
children's drawers, but wanted to make sure she was well prepared. Just in case.
"Ada, can you come down for a moment please?" Nick called up the stairs. Robin had gone
back to uni on the Monday, and Ellis was upstairs on the Xbox to his friends - with his
headset on, the house could be burning down and he'd be none the wiser.
"I'm getting ready to go out to meet Noah, what do you need?" Ada asked as she skipped into
the living room. Despite being in a house of boys, she was very much a stereotypical girly
girl. Full face of make up, hair half way through being curled. She didn't like to leave the
house looking anything but picture perfect, no matter how many times her dad's told her she
was naturally beautiful.
"Come take a seat, baby girl." Charlie patted the spot next to him on the big sofa, Nick sitting
in the armchair just off to the side facing it.
She looked between her papa and her dad quizzically, cautiously taking the offered seat.
"What's this about?"
"Well, the other day, when dad was sorting out the clothes, he found a pair of pants." Nick
began, very slowly, giving their daughter the chance to say anything if she wanted to.
"You were doing the washing, dad. I'd be surprised if you didn't find any pants in there!
Though Ellis did tell me he just flips his inside out sometimes." Ada shuddered at the
thought.
Nick and Charlie shared a look - that was a conversation to have with their youngest another
time.
"The thing about these pants though, is that they don't belong to either of your brothers. And
they aren't mine, and they definitely aren't papa's." Ada's head dropped slightly, refusing to
meet their eyes. "They're black with dinosaurs on them. Are they Noah's, darling?" Charlie
placed a comforting hand on her knee, hoping to convey that they weren't mad if they did
belong to her boyfriend.
She nodded silently, still refusing to look up.
"We thought so." Charlie looked over to Nick, who sat nervously in his seat, torn between
going over to cuddle his little girl who looked so vulnerable right now or giving her the space
she needed. Charlie took a deep breath, here goes nothing. "Now, we know you're at that age
now where you're getting older, and that sex is a natural part-"
"Wait, what? No! Me and Noah - what? We're not having sex!" Ada interrupted, finally
looking up and whipping her head between her papa and dad.
"You're not?" Charlie sat to straighter, eyes blinking. He felt slightly guilty at the relief that
filled him.
Nick didn't quite believe their daughter. "Then how did his dirty pants end up in our pile of
washing? No shame or judgement, we just want to make sure you're safe, Ade." He
reassured.
"You promise?" She asked, to which both her dads nodded. "Do you remember when you
both went to visit grandma Jane and grandad Julio?"
The men remembered it well. It wasn't that often that they went to Charlie's parents,
especially since they'd moved to Cornwall now they'd retired. But it was his dad's 75th
birthday, and they knew they'd have to make the 5+ hour trip to see him. A journey too far to
make in the space of one day, Jane had insisted that they stay in the spare room at their
cottage. They'd asked the twins if they'd wanted to come, but both responded saying they'd
rather not. So Nick and Charlie had spent the weekend away without their offspring, leaving
the kids home alone overnight for the first time.
"Noah stayed over that Saturday. I'm sorry, I really am sorry. I should have asked you both
first for permission." Her reply was quiet and full of remorse, a total change to her usual
confidence. "But we didn't do anything!" She quickly reiterated, looking panicked.
"It's ok if you did, baby." Charlie wrapped an arm around her, rubbing her arm in comfort.
"Like papa said, we just want you to be safe, and we hope you feel safe here at home."
"No, but we really didn't." Ada insisted, voice serious. "We've, Um," her voice was small
again. "We've, well, talked about it. About taking the next step. I - just - uh, I don't feel quite
ready yet...and he doesn't either." She was speaking barely above a whisper by the end of the
sentence.
Nick and Charlie made eye contact, able to tell what the other was thinking without even
saying a word. They were proud of their daughter, and of Noah, for taking their time and not
rushing into things before they were ready. Peer pressure at that age to have sex, to boast
about sex, it hadn't changed much since their own teenage years.
"Thank you for telling us, baby." Nick smiled at her proudly, finally feeling like it was ok to
get up and sit on the other side of Ada, pulling her into one of his infamous 'papa hugs'. "But
me and dad, we'd still like to talk to you about a few things."
Ada groaned, rolled her eyes, back to being her usual self. "I do not need The Talk from you
two, we learn enough about it in school! Check consent, porn isn't real, wear a condom or
else you get an STI or pregnant."
"Do you and Noah have condoms?" Charlie asked, voice calm but desperately trying to fight
the blush that threatened to rise.
Ada remained quiet for a moment, before shaking her head - no, they didn't.
"Good thing your dads are here, then, because we've bought you a few boxes." Nick informed
her. "They're in the bathroom cabinet upstairs, take as you please."
Ada sat there looking absolutely mortified, face a deep red. "You have not bought me them?
Surely not?"
"We done the exact same thing for Robin, we wouldn't be doing our job as responsible fathers
if we didn't. We know how awkward it can be buying condoms at your age, and we'd rather
buy them for you and Noah than you both take a risk because you don't feel comfortable
buying them yourselves." Charlie explained.
"This may feel like an awkward conversation now, but we just want to make sure you're safe
and making good, consensual choices. And that any questions you may have, we're here to
help in any way we can." Nick added, looking over to his husband behind Ada's back, giving
him a reassuring smile.
"And Noah is welcome to come over any time, he's a lovely boy. Maybe just ask next time."
Charlie poked his daughter's side in a teasing manner, earning a small laugh.
"I will, I promise." Ada said, and then paused for a moment, seemingly deep in thought.
"We mean it, Ade. Anything you want to ask." Charlie tried to encourage her to share
whatever was on her mind.
"I think I want to go on the pill." She finally said, the words coming out fast, taking her dads
a moment to process what was being asked.
"Well, if that's what you want. It's your body and your choice, we're just here to give you the
best guidance and advice we can. The pill doesn't protect against things like STI's though,
you know." Charlie hasn't been expecting Ada to ask to go on the pill, and he didn't really
know a lot of women who were on it themselves.
"I know it doesn't, and I think we'd still be safe in that way, when the time comes. I just want
to try it out, Chloe at schools on it and says how much easier things are, especially with her
periods. Says that she doesn't even get cramps anymore." Ada had a pretty rough time when
it came to cramps, some months it being so bad she'd be practically bed ridden and have to
take a day off school. "And it just seems safer, like extra protection. I don't want to have a
baby yet!"
Nick couldn't help but snort a laugh. "Well that's a relief! We don't want to be grandparents
any time soon, either!"
"If you wanna go on the pill, Ada, then that's ok. It's your choice, and if you want either of us
to come to the GP with you, then we will." Charlie promised.
"Yea, I think that might be even more awkward than this! I'll go by myself." Ada laughed,
looking between her dad and her papa with a large smile on her face. "Thank you both,
seriously. Thank you, I really do appreciate it."
Chapter End Notes

I love hearing any suggestions for scenarios you’d like to see, so please leave a
comment :)
‘I think our son might be drunk’
Chapter Summary
17 year old Ellis comes home drunk for the first time
"Charlie....Char...did you hear that?" Nick whispered out into the dark room, poking his
husband's cheek in an attempt to wake him.
Another bang was heard downstairs, followed by a barely audible 'shit!'
"Charlie! I think someone's broken in!" Nick's voice was more urgent this time, shaking
Charlie's shoulder with desperation.
Charlie groaned, rolling over so he could snuggle closer into Nick's arms. He mumbled out a
quiet 'sleeping', kissing Nick's jaw once, twice before wrapping an arm around him as he tried
to drift off again.
"No, Charlie I'm being serious! I think someone's downstairs!" Nick could hear more
footsteps now, they sounded like they were in the the kitchen. Some clattering - perhaps the
cupboards being opened and shut? "Charlie, I'm getting the pole." He whispered, peeling his
arms away from his waist and slipping out of bed.
A groan, some fidgeting. "Wait, I'm coming too. If it's an intruder, two people will be better
that one." Charlie yawned, slipping his legs out of bed. "What you gonna do with that?
Bludgeon them?" He gestured towards the metal pole Nick had grabbed with sweaty palms, a
remnant of their old bed they'd dismantled and replaced a few years ago.
"Well, uh, no, but, it's just, it's," Nick stuttered over his words, struggling to reply. "Listen,
it'll be more intimidating even if I don't use it!"
Charlie smirked, placing a hand on his back and pushing him out of the bedroom door. "After
you then, Mr Intimidating." Despite his teasing, Nick could tell that Charlie was anxious
about the idea of someone breaking into their current situation. The shake in his voice gave it
away.
Nick left their room, tiptoeing down the stairs, Charlie close behind him and keeping a hand
on his bicep at all times. More crashing could be heard, and a voice, swearing occasionally as
it went. The light was on in the kitchen, creating a dim glow in the hallway at the bottom of
the stairs.
"Right, so there's definitely someone here." Charlie confirmed, keeping his voice quiet. He
hadn't quite believed it upstairs before. Their house was old, it wasn't uncommon for them to
hear rattles and creaks. But slamming cupboard doors, lights switching themselves on,
voices? There was either an intruder or their home was haunted, and Charlie wasn't one to
believe in the supernatural.
Nick looked back towards his husband once they'd made it to the entrance way of their
kitchen. He gave a panicked look, to which Charlie gestured with his head to go forward.
Feet were stomping around in the kitchen, careless, heavy.
Both men froze.
Nick took a step back, bashing into Charlie chest. His husband proceeded to take the metal
pole out of his hand and into his own, placing a kiss to his lips before taking a steadying
breath. Charlie took a step in front of Nick, sneaking around the kitchen corner.
"We've called the police!" Charlie announced, facing the back of the man standing in their
kitchen. Charlie held up the metal pole in his hands in defence, feeling Nick come up behind
him, nervously poking out from behind his back.
The intruder lifted their arms up, a plate of - was that a kebab? - in one hand. His other held
their salt shaker. His shoulders were shaking, head of curls bouncing upon the top of their
head. He turned around slowly, arms still up, to reveal the laughing face of their youngest
son, Ellis.
"God, dad, put the pole down," a giggle, "it's meeeee!" A large cheesy grin was set on his
face, clearly trying (and failing) to hold back his laughter at the sight of his two fathers. He
swayed a little, nearly dropping his plate, and that's when the laughter really started.
"Ellis! What on Earth?" Charlie asked, finally putting the pole down and looking at his son,
bewildered.
"It's," Nick looked over to the clock on the oven, "half 4! In the morning! Why are you-"
Nick took a step closer to his son, taking a sniff of the air in front of his mouth before looking
over his shoulder to Charlie. "I think our son might be drunk."
Charlie let out a groan. "Ellis! You're 17! And meant to be in bed! Where have you been?"
Whilst Nick and Charlie didn't encourage their children to drink underage, it would be pretty
hypocritical of them to chastise their son for being drunk. What they could chastise him for,
however, was sneaking out of the house and waking them up in the process. He could have at
least been sneakier about it.
"Just at, you know," Ellis took a forkful of his kebab before replying, "meeekss."
"Meeks?" Charlie asked, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.
Ellis rolled his eyes, dramatically holding up a finger for his parents to wait a moment whilst
he finished his mouthful. "Marcuses. Had some drinks with Marcus." Their son gave them a
lopsided smile before shoving a few chips down his mouth.
"Any reason you didn't want to tell us you were going to Marcus's for drinks? You know we
don't mind you doing these things so long as you tell us so we know you're safe." Nick gave
an exasperated sigh as he reached into a cupboard to grab a glass. Ellis stunk of alcohol, and
a glass of water would definitely be needed even if it would only slightly lessen his hangover
in the morning.
Ellis had always been their well behaved child, their quieter child. He had a good group of
friends in school and now in college, all slightly nerdy and video game obsessed. He wasn't
as extroverted as his siblings, much preferring to take a back seat. Whilst they were out
drinking or going to parties until the early hours, he was playing Xbox with his mates until
the early hours. Or at least, that's what he usually done. This was the first time he'd snuck out,
and he'd had drinks at his friend's houses before, but had never come home this late (or
seemingly, this drunk).
Ellis just shrugged, handing his plate to his papa in return for the glass of water, which he
took a large gulp of.
"Where did you even get the kebab from?" Charlie asked. The walk from their home to
Marcus's was only 15 minutes, and no where on route was there a kebab open this late.
"Leftovers." Was all Ellis replied, reaching over to grab another bite of the food.
Nick picked up a chip, taking a bite to realise it was ice cold. He scrunched his nose. "Cold
kebab, nice Lis."
Ellis smiled back proudly, nodding his head eagerly as he grabbed the remainder of the chip
out of Nick's hand, shoving it in his mouth. "Mine."
"Ok, come on, I think we better get you up to bed to try and get a bit of shut eye." Charlie
took the plate out of his hand and popped it into the microwave, wrapped an arm around Ellis
and started guiding him out of the kitchen. "And an couple extra hours sleep for us." He
whispered to Nick, who's eyes were drooping with tiredness.
With some struggle, they managed to get Ellis up the stairs. He only tripped twice, which
they counted as a win. The commotion had woken up Ada, who poked her head out of her
bedroom door.
"Ellis ok?" She asked, voice thick with sleep. It took her a second to realise her twin was
drunk. She and Ellis made eye contact before erupting into a fit of giggles. "How much did
you drink?"
"Enough." Nick replied for his son, hauling him up the final two stairs. "Back to bed, Ade.
It's early."
"Waaaaiittttt I need to wee!" Ellis announced, taking wobbly steps to the bathroom.
"At least he's not as bad as Robin was that one time." Charlie whispered. They could look
back and laugh at it now, but at the time their son projectile vomiting all over the bathroom
was definitely not funny.
"The night is still young, my love. Don't jinx it." Nick reminded him.
Ellis had already stripped out of his jeans when he emerged from the bathroom, batting his
dad's hands away from his shoulder. "I got this." On unsteady legs he made his way to his
own bedroom, Nick and Charlie close behind him with arms out incase he fell. Charlie pulled
the duvet covers back for him, not that it did much as Ellis collapsed horizontally across the
bed.
"Come on, let's get you tucked in. That's it." Nick encouraged as the two men tried to
manoeuvre their son, eventually managing to tuck him under the covers.
"You two are the bessssstttt dads everrrr." Ellis slurred, reaching his arms up for a hug from
each.
Charlie let out a laugh, reaching down for a hug and planting a kiss on his forehead. "Hmm,
we know. But it's bedtime now. Try and get some sleep."
"But the roooommm! It spinnssss!" He protested, holding into Nick's neck when he also leant
down to give a goodnight hug.
"That's what happens when you drink, Lis." Nick peeled his arms away, brushing some
sweaty hair away from his forehead before they both wished him goodnight.
"I wanna know how he snuck out without us realising!" Charlie whispered once they were
back into their own room. He curled himself into Nick's chest, grateful for the warmth his
husband brought.
"I'm sure we're going deaf, how could we have not heard the front door go?" Nick asked,
voice quiet as they drifted off.
They only managed a few more hours sleep before they were awoken by their son again, but
this time to the sound of him retching into the toilet. Charlie rolled out of Nick's embrace,
pulling the blanket up over his head and groaning. "Your turn, Nick. I dealt with drunk Ada
last time."
It was true. They tried to take it in turns dealing with their drunken or poorly children. And
last time, it had been Charlie who tended to Ada, holding her hair back as she emptied the
contents of her stomach into the toilet. She had sworn it was something dodgy she'd eaten the
night before. Charlie knew it was more than likely the vodka shots she'd been doing for her
friend's birthday.
"Not fair, was on an overnight school trip." Nick grumbled. It had technically been his turn
last time, but he had been accompanying his year 6's were on an overnight adventure school
trip. Full of races, raft building and rock climbing. Of course, it had been pissing down the
whole weekend and he returned convinced that he had trench foot (he didn't). "Together?"
Nick suggested, voice hopeful. He rolled over, spooning Charlie from behind and placing
gentle kisses right behind his ear and along down his neck. "Please?" He pleaded, cringing as
he heard Ellis retch again.
"You owe me." Charlie grumbled, turning over so he could place a kiss to Nick's lips before
pulling the covers back to get out of bed.
"Love you." Nick sang happily, following his husband and wrapping him in a hug. "You'll get
your thank you tonight." He whispered that part, not that anyone could hear, reaching down
to squeeze his husband's bum.
"Oooo, so romantic. Propositioning me as our son is being sick." Charlie teased, leaning up to
kiss Nick. "I'll hold you to that though." He winked. "But for now, come on. I'll go get him a
fresh glass of water, you make sure he's ok?"
"I suppose that's fair." Nick mumbled, padding over to the bathroom and tapping his knuckles
against the bathroom door. "Ellis, it's papa. I'm coming in, ok?" He waited a moment, and
when he received no response other than some more retching he opened the door.
Ellis was hunched over the toilet seat, gagging, a far cry from the cheery drunk he'd been a
few hours ago. Nick knelt down by his side, rubbing a soothing circle along his back. "That's
it, get it all up."
His son coughed a bit before asking, "Does this always happen when you get drunk?" He
sounded so sorry for himself, and Nick's heart broke.
Only slightly, though. He was hoping this hangover would be a good punishment for
sneaking out.
"Only when you've drunk too much." Nick replied, not wanting to put his youngest off
drinking forever. "Dad's gone to get you some water. How you feeling?"
"Heads pounding." Ellis groaned, retching some more bile into the toilet. It stank. "Feel like
crap." He continued to mutter.
"Good thing I got you some pain killers too." Charlie said as he came into the bathroom. He
handed the glass of water to Nick, who in turn held it against Ellis' lips to drink. "You can't
take them until you've not been sick for about half an hour, though. No point in taking them if
they're just gonna end up in the toilet."
"Think I'm done being sick." Ellis replied weakly, resting his head against the cool tiles on
the wall. "Wanna go back to bed."
Nick looped an arm around his midsection to help him up, guiding him back to his bedroom
and tucking him into bed with much less struggle than earlier that morning. Charlie went to
retrieve the sick bowl from the kitchen (an old, plastic salad bowl that had been demoted to
the family 'sick bowl' many years ago), placing it on the floor by Ellis' bed.
"How comes you snuck out, bug?" Nick couldn't help but ask, and took a seat on the side of
his bed.
Ellis groaned, flopping his forearm over his face. "Marcus texted late asking if I wanted to
come for a few drinks, I didn't want to wake you up to ask."
"Well that went well, considering the racket you made when you got in!" Charlie joked.
"You're nearly an adult now, Lis." Nick reminded his son. "We understand that you'll want to
go out and do your own things, and you don't always have to ask for permission. We trust you
to make the right choices, that's part of being grown up. But just drop us a text next time,
ok?"
Ellis nodded his head sheepishly. "I will, I'm sorry."
"It's ok, just try and get some more sleep. Shout if you need us." Charlie said as he closed the
door behind them, before turning to his husband. "Well, that's it. All our kids are grown up.
We don't have babies anymore!"
Nick chuckled, wrapping the smaller man in a bear hug and placing a kiss onto his crown of
messy curls. "They'll always be our babies." He promised, then added, "I still can't believe he
managed to sneak out of the house!"
A toddler and two newborns
Chapter Summary
31 year old Nick and 29 year old Charlie welcomed their twins, Ada and Ellis, into the
world a few weeks ago. But now Nick must return to work, leaving Charlie home alone
with a toddler and two newborns.
Chapter Notes
The last few weeks had been a blur of sleepless nights and nappy changes. 5 weeks ago,
they'd received the call from their surrogate, Molly, that labour had begun. There was a
frantic rush to the hospital after dropping Robin off at nanny Sarah's along with his overnight
bag, knowing that this labour would most likely be quicker.
They had only been at the hospital 4 hours when Molly had started pushing, and soon the
shrill cries of their baby girl was filling the room. 17 minutes later, the sound of their son's
cries joined his twins. And just like that, they became a family of five.
Ada Sarah Nelson-Spring, born at 2:01am weighing 5.7lbs, and Ellis Theodore Nelson-
Spring, born at 2:18am weighing 5.5lbs. Both had 10 fingers and 10 toes and were absolutely
perfect.
They were allowed to go home that morning, it was December 1st and both men were excited
for Robin to meet his early Christmas presents. They'd spent the past 8 months preparing him
for their arrival, even buying him a baby doll of his own to practice with how to be gentle (he
could be a bit rough and tumble).
Sarah had taken him to nursery that morning and would be picking him up that afternoon too.
She had always been such a big help, and today would be no different. When the men had
arrived home that morning, they'd been greeted at their front door by her smiling face and the
smell of freshly cooked food in the kitchen. They could see that she was having to restrain
herself from physically running up the drive to them, instead ushering them into the warmth
of their home.
"Oh my boys, my precious precious boys, you have two more babies!" She squealed, peering
into the car seats they'd placed in the centre of the living room. She peered down at a sleeping
Ellis, face practically melting. "Can I? I've washed my hands." She asked both men, who
nodded their approval. The love Sarah had for her grand babies was clear to see, particularly
when her grand babies were newborns. Anyone would have thought she'd won the lottery the
way she'd squeal and jump with excitement.
She reached her hand in, gently running it along the baby boy's chubby cheek. "Isn't he just
absolutely perfect." She whispered down, eyes filling with tears.
"We've decided to call him Ellis Theodore." Nick said as he came to look over his mum's
shoulder, cooing down at his son.
"Hi there, little Ellis, I'm your nanny Sarah."
Charlie had removed Ada from her carrier, bouncing her gently in his arms. "And this one is
Ada Sarah." He introduced. And that's when the tears had truly begun.
Nick and Charlie had decided to keep their babies names a secret, that was until Nick was
showing their last scan to his mum and accidentally referred to their daughter as Ada. He
hadn't even realised he'd done it until she pointed it out, and after that it hadn't taken much
convincing to reveal they were going to name their boy Ellis. Only Sarah knew their first
names, and she'd been sworn to secrecy.
But their middle names, they had kept that a secret.
Sarah had been so good to them over the years. Charlie had moved in with them for 6 months
a little after uni, life at home getting a bit too tough. She had welcomed him with open arms
and helped him with his meal plans, always making sure he had safe foods in the house for
those extra hard days, never made him feel bad if he took ages to eat. When they got their
first flat, she'd helped them decorate and make the place their own. They'd moved into a
house by the time Robin was born, and each week after they'd first bought him home she
prepped them lunches and dinners to make sure they always had easy, home made meals to
eat when they were too exhausted to cook themselves. Charlie had only been working part
time in a book store since Robin arrived, and on those few days that he was at work Sarah
was always glad to babysit.
She'd been there for both of them through everything, thick and thin, the highs and lows. She
supported them and loved them, and neither boy could of asked for a better support network
than Sarah Nelson. It had only seemed right that she was honoured in some way - in the name
of their daughter.
When she bought Robin home from nursery that afternoon, he was practically jumping off
the walls with excitement to see his daddy's again. And, of course, to meet his little brother
and sister. They'd sat him down on the sofa, Nick holding Ada sat on one side of him and
Charlie with Ellis on the other.
"They're very delicate, Robin. So you have to be careful and gentle, ok?" Nick reminded him
as they lowered the babies to be at eye level.
"Mine?" The three year old had asked, looking up at them with big brown eyes.
"That's right, they're yours. They're ours." Charlie confirmed, guiding Robin's wrist down so
that it was near Ellis' hand, who proceeded to wrap his palm around one of his big brother's
fingers.
"I'm gonna be the bestest big brother ever." Robin promised, leaning down to kiss his
forehead.
Nick had two weeks paternity leave to take with the new babies. His school let him take an
additional week off, not seeing much point of him coming back for a week just to go off
again for 2 for Christmas half term.
Their first Christmas as a family of 5 had been filled with so much joy and happiness. Sarah
made a lovely roast for all of the Nelsons and the Springs, both families wanting to spend
Christmas Day with the newest members of the family. David's two children, Maggie and
Lyla, spent the day doting over their little cousins and being the best little helpers their uncles
could ask for, bringing them bibs, bottles and nappies from the baby bag whenever they were
needed. David, for his part, hadn't been much of an arse. Nick thought he must have took pity
on their tired eyes and the constant dirty nappy's they seemed to be changing. Although
David hadn't been through the newborn stage for quite some years (Maggie was 8 and Lyla
was 7), the memory still made him shudder.
Tori had never been too fussed about newborns, saying that they all looked the same, like
'grumpy little old men'. Which, to be fair, she had a point (especially in Ada's case). Charlie
had caught her when she was sitting on the sofa after Christmas dinner, paper hat from her
cracker sat wonkily on her head, and decided it was the best time for her to hold her newest
nephew. Nick was with them a minute later, palming Ada off to Tori too. They laughed as she
sat there, frozen and eyes wide, a baby in each arm.
"This can be next year's Christmas card!" Michael, her boyfriend, teased, snapping a few
photos on his phone.
She gave all three men a glare, the dad's taking that as their queue to take back their babies.
Jane seemed to be on her best behaviour Christmas Day. Sarah had invited the Springs over
early and accepted Jane's offer of assisting making the roast, knowing that keeping her busy
would be best for everyone. Charlie had asked Sarah prior if he could be seated as far away
from his mother as possible for dinner - he couldn't deal with her judgemental looks if he
didn't finish his plate, or for taking too long to eat (never mind the fact that he and Nick also
had three children to look after throughout the meal). But, perhaps due to the sheer amount of
wine she'd consumed, Jane did not say a bad word. She just sat there merrily chatting away to
everyone.
That had all been a little over a week ago. Christmas decorations had long since been taken
down, everyone in a post holiday haze. And Nick was returning back to work, his
headteacher assuring him that he had a class of very excited year 4's eager to see pictures of
Mr Nelson-Spring's new babies. Charlie was taking a year off paternity leave, as he had with
Robin. It made sense, seeing as Nick got loads of time off anyway with all the school half
terms. They'd gotten Robin in for the morning sessions at nursery, allowing Nick to drop him
off before work, meaning Charlie only had to do pick up.
"Are you sure you're going to be ok? I can stay home if you need me, school will
understand." Nick asked that morning as fed Ellis his bottle. It had been a hectic night, the
twins waking up every 3 hours for a feed or nappy change. With Robin, it had been easier,
each of them taking a turn to tend to the crying baby. But twins were a two man job - if one
was crying, it was never long before the other woke up crying too. And they couldn't just
tend to one whilst the other was in distress.
"No, no, we'll be fine." Charlie reassured his husband through a yawn, holding Ada up over
his shoulder to burp her. "You gotta work, and it's only a few hours anyway."
"PAPA! DADDY! LOOK!" Robin exclaimed as he came tumbling towards them. "I dressed
myself!"
Robin was taking his role as big brother very seriously, and to him being a big brother now
meant he was grown up. So, that morning, when he'd asked if he could pick out his own
clothes, his dads had given a hesitant yes. How bad could it be?
Well, their eldest son was currently donning a rainbow striped top they'd bought him for pride
last year, his Marvel print joggers, and his favourite blue and black chequered fleece. Paired
with his light up Paw Patrol trainers Tao and Elle had got him for Christmas, it was a true
colour explosion.
It was good to let him explore his creativity, they supposed.
"You look amazing, darling." Nick confirmed, glancing a look at Charlie who was holding
back a laugh. "We best get you to nursery before you're late! Say goodbye to daddy and the
babies!"
"Bye bye, daddy, love you!" Charlie crouched down so Robin could wrap his arms around his
neck in a hug. "Love you Ada!" He added, planting a kiss to his little sisters forehead. He was
big on giving forehead kisses. Apparently seeing his daddy smile whenever his papa kissed
his forehead had convinced Robin that it was the best way to show his little siblings that he
loved them.
"We love you too, have a fun day at nursery." Charlie straightened his auburn locks with one
hand before straightening up.
"I'm only a phone call away, I'll answer in an instant." Nick promised in a whisper, leaning in
to brush his lips against Charlie's.
"We're gonna be ok, it's gonna be ok." Charlie said sincerely, taking Ellis out of his husband's
arms.
Nick looked down at his little babies with teary eyes. He hadn't left them since they'd been
born, and he didn't want to leave them now. But he knew Charlie was right, he had to go to
work, and he'd be home by 4. He leant down to kiss them both and then took Robin's hand in
his. With one final wave, they were out the door.
And then it was just Charlie and two newborns.
"Right, let's get you two changed and dressed then." Charlie started with Ellis first,
discovering early on that Ada was less likely to fuss at being left alone for longer compared
to Ellis. Once Ellis was changed, dressed and placed back into his bassinet with a rattle, he
moved onto Ada. He smiled to himself once he had them both settled down.
"Piece of piss." He whispered to himself, making faces down to his babies.
Famous last words.
Within minutes, Ellis was letting out loud wails, which in turn set off Ada.
"Ok, ok, come here baby." Charlie whispered, picking up Ellis and bouncing him slightly. He
checked his nappy - not wet. Couldn't be hungry - he wasn't due his next feed for another
hour and a half. He leant down into Ada's cot, doing the same checks but not noting that
anything was wrong. He lifted her up into his other arm, a skill that he'd recently mastered,
and started bouncing the pair. "Did you just want someone to hold you? Just wanted your
daddy? Is that it?" He cooed, sighing as they finally started to settle.
It was a constant repeat. Every time he tried to set them down to get on with some housework
or have a bit of shut eye, they cried.
"Looks like we'll all have to get comfy on the sofa then." He whispered down to them,
flicking the tv on to Loose Women and settling down on the arm chair, a baby in each arm.
They seemed to settle at that, drifting back off to sleep.
The morning continued in a pattern of feeding, burping, changing the babies, singing to them,
making faces , attempting to get them to nap in their bassinet and eventually giving up to let
them sleep in his arms. They weren't usually this fussy, usually content in sleeping by
themselves. But then that was when Nick was there also, perhaps they were missing their
papa.
Charlie managed to make himself a quick sandwich for lunch, nothing fancy, whilst the twins
were kept entertained by a mirror above their cribs. He sent a quick snap to Nick, finally
having the time to check his phone and see the multiple messages is husband had sent asking
him about his day.
8:34am
Robin went into nursery without a fuss, think he was just happy to see his friends again! I'm
at school now and everyone can't stop gushing about how adorable the babies are
8:52am
Kids have started to file in now, gonna have to go so I can take them down to assembly. Will
give you a text during morning break, I love and miss you and our babies so much, give them
an extra big kiss from their papa xxxxxx
10:25am
How have they been so far? How have you been? I miss you all so much roll on 4pm!!
Xxx
12:12pm
Guessing it's been a very busy morning! Every other question coming out of my year 4's
mouths is about the babies, it's honestly too adorable but also making me miss you all the
more if you need me I can be home in a heartbeat, how's the morning gone so far? Has
everything been ok?xxxxx
12:27pm
I miss you too, soooooo much can't wait for you to get home and give us all the biggest
hugs ever! Me and the babies have just had our lunches, I think they miss you too, they won't
sleep unless I'm holding them, they just cry if I try and get them to sleep in their cots! But
other than that it's been a good morning so far we love you sooooo much too xxxxxx
12:29pm
[insert photo] like papa like son (+daughter!), all obsessed with checking themselves out in
the mirror!
Before he knew it, it was time to get ready to go and collect Robin.
Now, if getting one newborn ready to leave the house was hard, getting two prepared
deserved an Olympic medal. He'd just gotten Ada into her romper when she spat up all over
it, and as soon as he got Ellis into his he managed to do the biggest, most smelliest poos
known to man.
"You're tiny! How have you managed to produce something like that?!" Charlie exclaimed,
trying hard not to gag as he wiped him clean.
Eventually, he had them all dressed and ready and bundled up in the twin buggy, prepared to
take the 15 minute walk up the road to Robin's nursery.
It was cold outside, bitter and frosty. 'Cold enough to snow,' Nick had commented this
morning. And as Charlie pulled his woolly hat further down his head, he couldn't help but
agree.
"We're off to pick up your big brother, aren't we my babies?" Charlie babbled away happily to
the newborns, who stared back up at him with big, wide eyes. "I bet he's missed you both so
much, he's the best big brother and loves you both, and so does daddy and papa. I hope you're
going to be nice to your daddy this afternoon, and maybe sleep in your cribs?"
It's the first time that he'd taken the twins to the nursery. In those first couple of weeks after
they'd been born, Nick and Charlie took it in turns going to and from the nursery whilst the
other stayed home with the newborns. He didn't have that luxury anymore, but he was still
very excited to see some of the other parents again.
"Charlie! My lovely!" Mia, one of the mums came over straight away and wrapped him into a
hug, planting a kiss on his cheek. "How was your Christmas? How are you? My gosh, you've
bought the twins!" She squealed as she looked down into the buggy, eyes sparkling.
Charlie soon had a hoard of excited mums and a couple of dads gathered around him, all
peering down into at the small babies who, for their part, seemed rather happy at all the funny
faces being made at them.
"How's it been adjusting from having just the one?" Emily asked. She was currently 7 months
pregnant with a little boy herself, already having the one child in Robin's class, another boy
named Aaron.
"It's been a change, that's for sure. I'd forgotten how hard the sleepless nights can be." He
answered truthfully, giving out a yawn as if on queue. "But it's so worth it, Em. It feels like
our family is complete now, you know? And Robin's taken to being a big brother so well, he
loves helping out me and Nick."
The nursery door opened and then a hoard of toddlers were rushing out, looking for their
mums and dads. Robin spotted his daddy straight away, rushing over excitedly.
"Daddy! Daddy!" He cried, all too happy to be lifted up by his dad and held close. Charlie
had forgotten about his son's outfit choice until now, and had to stifle a laugh at the
mismatched clothes his son donned.
"Did you have a good day?"
Robin nodded his head excitedly, wiggling to get down. "We done painting and shapes!" He
replied happily, before going up on tip toes to peer into the pram and gasping. "You bought
my babies! AARON! GEORGIE! FERN! Come look at my babies!" He called over to his
friends, who all came rushing over to peer in too.
"I gotta baby dolly like that for Christmas! They're so small!" Fern said with a huge smile on
her face.
"They're cute!" Georgie added, before looking up at his own mum. "I wanna baby! Can we
have a baby?"
Charlie gave a guilty smile as Georgie's mum, Lucy, tried to explain that it doesn't quite work
like that and how he already had two big sisters so he didn't need another sibling.
It was a slower walk back home, partly due to Robin's little legs not being able to move as
fast as his own and partly because Charlie was enjoying the fresh air so much. Robin spent
the walk happily babbling away about his first day back at nursery, and was proudly able to
recite the alphabet to his daddy.
Once they were back home, Charlie set his eldest up with a snack of yogurt and apple slices
and got to feeding the twins. Robin insisted on helping his dad measure the right amount of
formula.
"Trains?" Robin asked hopefully once everyone had finished eating, looking excitedly over to
the train set auntie Tori and uncle Michael had gotten him for Christmas. And who was
Charlie to deny a request as cute as that?
He set the twins down on their play mats for tummy time, making sure to always keep one
eye on them, and then knelt on the floor next to Robin. He loved his little train set, and had
been begging for one for months now. So when Tori had asked what to get her nephew for
Christmas, of course this had been top of the list. Charlie smiled as he watched Robin race
the trains around the track, helping him make all the sounds and noises. The twins soon
started to fuss, so he lifted one in each arm and sat crossed leg on the floor with all of his
babies. With a smile on his face, he couldn't help but feel how lucky he was.
But looking after three aged and under by himself, how long could that really last?
Robin's attention soon drifted from the train set and he instead decided he wanted to do some
drawing. Nice and easy, right? Not dangerous at all. Charlie got out their colouring supplies
and set them out on Robin's mini table and chairs in the corner of their living room. His
current favourite colouring book was one that had a range of puppy pictures in it (Robin (and
Nick, for that matter) had been pestering Charlie to get a puppy for months now. But Charlie
wanted the twins to be a little older first before they expanded their family even more). It was
the twins nap time, and despite trying again to see if they'd settle in their cribs, they were
having none of it. So Charlie found himself once again on the sofa, a baby in each arm whilst
Robin sat and coloured.
"Daddy, like?" Robin asked after a while as he held up his colouring. He'd picked out a
golden retriever to colour in, and had taken the bold choice of colouring it in greens, pinks
and reds.
"Wow, Robin, that's amazing! I love it so much!" Charlie gushed, leaning forward to get a
better look whilst trying not to jostle the babies.
Robin beamed at him with pride, eyes glistening. "It needs stickers!" He announced, running
off to the kitchen.
"Wait, Robin, I'll get them!" Charlie's calls were ignored. He began to get up from the sofa,
hoping that the babies would be ok being set down for just a second, and then he heard a loud
thump.
Everything was quiet for a moment. And then Robin's screams and tears wailed through the
house, loud and piercing and worrying Charlie half to death.
He rushed to put the twins in the bassinets before running to the kitchen to pick up his little
boy and hold him close. "Oh, baby boy, it's ok, it's ok, daddy's got you." He tried to soothe,
tucking Robin's head into the crook of his neck and rocking him back and forth. "Where does
it hurt, baby?"
He could hear that the twins had started to cry too, but was unsure if they'd been woken by
their brother's screams or because their daddy had put them down.
Robin's cry's didn't stop as he pointed at his knee. Charlie set him down on the kitchen
counter and pulled up the leg of his trousers, revealing a sore looking carpet burn.
The twins cries were getting louder and louder, as though trying to outcry their brother.
Charlie took a deep breath, thinking about the best way to deal with three crying children.
He lifted Robin back up into his arms, pressing a kiss to his now sweaty forehead and
bounced him back and forth as he went back to the front room. With Robin still in his arms,
and still crying, he reached down into the cots and with his free hand gently run fingers over
each of the babies faces.
"It's ok, my loves, daddy's still here. I'm here, it's ok." He tried to sooth, but to no avail.
Charlie took another deep breath, trying to calm himself.
Sometimes he wished he'd have been born with an extra set of hands.
He continued to bounce on the balls of his feet to try and calm down Robin whilst whispering
down to the twins and, when eventually Robin's cries turned to just a few sniffles, he went
and set him down on the sofa.
"Ok, baby, I'm just gonna run and grab you some magic cream to make your graze feel better,
ok?" Charlie asked, to which Robin gave a tearful nod.
Charlie caught sight of himself in the mirror above the fireplace on his way to the medical
cabinet in the kitchen. He had a large wet patch of tears and snot on one shoulder, his hair
was a mess, and he looked close to tears himself.
All part of being a dad, he supposed.
After grabbing some antiseptic cream and generously applying it to Robin's knee, he allowed
the toddler some tv time. A rare treat not usually given, but Charlie thought he deserved it for
being such a brave boy (and so he could try and calm the twins down).
He went to pick up a still crying Ellis who proceeded to be sick all down the back of his
(Nick's) jumper. Brilliant.
"Ok, it's alright Ellis daddy's got you now." Charlie reached down to take Ada in the other
arm, rocking them both gently as he paced around the front room. He noticed a smell
emitting from Ada, that smell, and Charlie knew it was time to change her.
He was faced with the biggest poo explosion he'd seen yet. All up the poor girl's back and
down her legs. Charlie's eyes went wide, unsure where best to start. The baby grow was way
past saving, he decided, wrapping it up in her nappy and chucking it in the bin.
"Robin, do you wanna help daddy watch Ellis so I can give Ada a quick wash?" He asked, to
which his eldest nodded enthusiastically.
And then proceeded to gag when he saw the state of his little sister.
"Don't worry, I've got her. She's a bit pongy, isn't she?" Robin nodded whilst holding his nose.
"Why don't you play peek a boo with Ellis, I'm sure he'd love that." Charlie encouraged,
happy to see his little boy smiling again as he went to entertain his brother.
After a quick and thorough wash in the sink, his little girl was back to being clean and fresh
smelling again. Charlie, not so much. His jumper was still stained with snot and sick, and he
was pretty sure there was a bit of poo in the mix now. With a groan, he shrugged it off and
changed into one that was slightly less gross from the pile of dirty washing sitting on the
kitchen table, just waiting to be washed but neither men having the time or energy to put a
load on.
If Charlie had a spare 5 minutes, he'd rather use it taking a nap than doing the washing.
But instead he now had two grouchy newborns, upset at being awoken from their nap and
needing to sleep some more, and a three year old who now wanted as much comforting from
his daddy as possible after his tumble earlier.
So what better to do than chuck on a Disney film (Frozen, of course), have a baby held in
each arm and Robin tucked into his side whilst they all sat and watched. Charlie made sure to
sing along to all of the songs, knowing how it made Robin laugh.
At 4pm on the dot, Nick's car pulled into their drive. Charlie let out a sigh of relief, happy to
finally have his husband home.
"Hello, my lovely family!" Nick greeted as he walked through the front door, only to be
immediately tackled in the shins by a hug from Robin.
"Papa!! Missed you!" He squealed as Nick picked him up and blew raspberries on his belly.
"I missed you too, little man!" Nick set him down so he could run back off to whatever toy he
was playing with and went over to hug Charlie. "And I missed you, too, darling."
Charlie practically melted into his arms, finding comfort. "We've all missed you."
"How was today?" Nick asked with a worried frown on his face. He looked over to where the
twins were sleeping in the bassinets, the film long since finished and the twins needing more
sleep, peaceful for now.
"It was harder than I thought it would be." Charlie admitted. Keeping three aged three and
under entertained and happy, with one being a toddler and the other two newborns, was
definitely a challenge. "But I'm ok. We're ok. We managed, and I know it'll only get easier."
Charlie leant up to kiss his husband, only then noticing the gift bags behind him he'd left by
the front door. "What's that?"
"Ahhh, these," Nick picked up the gift bag and took Charlie's hand, leading him to the sofa.
"Are gifts from my ever so lovey year 4's. And their mums."
Charlie raised an eyebrow - it was no secret that Nick was popular with the mums at his
school, he had his own fan club of middle aged women who swooned over every little thing
he done. But, as he rummaged through the gift bag, Charlie realised how sweet they all were.
Hand knitted cardigans, booties and hats, nappies, toys. And tucked into an envelope was a
large card hand made by Nick's class congratulating them on the arrival of their new babies.
"Oh Nick, this is all so thoughtful of them." Charlie wiped at his eyes as tears threatened to
fall.
"The kids practically demanded that I bring the twins in to meet them all." Nick chuckled at
the memory of having 30 very determined 8 and 9 year olds at his feet pleading for him to
bring his babies in. "I said it might have to wait until they're a bit bigger." He took Charlie
into his arms, a warm comforting hug which he melted into, feeling like all of the day's
troubles were washed away.
It was hard having to look after a toddler and two newborns by himself, exhausting even. But
it was so worth it. They were his and Nick's babies, his family. And he would do anything for
them.
Chapter End Notes

I start a new job tomorrow so this might be the last update for a while whilst everything
is so busy! Also my longest chapter yet!
If you’ve read this far, then thank you! :) please remember to leave kudos and
comment!!
‘Our son’s girlfriend is sleeping over’
Chapter Summary
16 year old Robin had his girlfriend, Lottie, sleepover for the first time
Chapter Notes
Robin and Lottie had been going strong for quite a while now. It was a regular occurrence for
the dads to get home from work and find the now 16 year old girl sitting in their front room
with their eldest son, or to hear their laughter from upstairs. They always liked to make sure
they had some sort of vegetarian dinner ready to cook in the house, wanting to be as
accommodating as possible (particularly Charlie, who was forever grateful to Sarah for
always having safe foods for him at her home. He truly hoped that he was being at least half
as amazing a parent as Sarah was to he and Nick). Lottie had even started popping over when
Robin wasn't there, taking on a sort of 'big sister' role with Ada, helping her with how to do
her make up and painting each other's nails. All the things that Nick and Charlie weren't
exactly experts in themselves.
And as common as it was to find Lottie at their home, it was just as common to receive a text
on their family group chat from Robin that he was 'over at Lot's for the evening'. Nick and
Charlie had no issues with this, having met Lottie's mum and step dad some months ago.
Charlie and Collin had bonded over their joint love of drumming, whilst Nick and Marie
shared baking recipes and teaching methods. The two couples got on extremely well, and
were both happy to watch their children's relationship grow.
Robin's 16th birthday had been 3 months ago, marked with a party at the family home. He'd
invited all of his friends (and Lottie and her family, of course), all of their family had come
over, the twins had invited a few friends each, too. His 16th birthday bash had been big and
busy, filled with music and dancing and only a touch of underage drinking (because, really,
what's one WKD or Smirnoff Ice?).
"You just wanna be the cool dads!" Tao had teased as they watched the youngsters fake being
drunk.
"You know, I can't even deny that!" Nick said with a laugh, crossing his arms and smiling at
the scene in front of him. "But the cool, safe dads! Only cool within reason."
Lottie had celebrated her 16th birthday just 2 months later, having a similar party at her own
home. Nick and Charlie got to meet some of her more extended family then, particularly
hitting it off with her uncle Martin and his partner, Lucas.
"You never told us that Lottie's uncle had a boyfriend!" Charlie had exclaimed once they
were home.
Robin just shrugged at him. "I didn't think it was important."
And he was right, it wasn't. But it would have still been nice to know that someone from their
community would be there.
They'd been together for the best part of 10 months when Robin came to them shyly one
evening, asking if they could talk. Nick had sat up from where he'd been lying with his head
in Charlie's lap, scooting over and patting the spot in between the pair.
Charlie reached over for the remote and paused the tv, Eastenders forgotten for the moment.
"What do you wanna talk about?"
Nick and Charlie shared a look, unsure what he could want. Was he in trouble in school?
Outside of school? Was he and Lottie in trouble? Had he done something bad?
Robin looked between the two nervously, twiddling his fingers in his lap. Taking a deep
breath, he began. "So, me and Lottie were planning to go to a concert on Saturday." He
paused.
"We know, and we're completely ok with that, Rob. You told us about this months ago, one
last proper day out before you're bogged down with GCSE revision?" Nick asked, recalling
their conversation.
Robin nodded. "Yes, that's the one. Umm, it's just, well,
IwaswonderingifLottiecouldsleepoverthatnight?"
Charlie blinked down at him, trying to make sense of the jumble of words that just came out
of his son's mouth.
Nope, no clue.
"You're gonna have to repeat that."
Taking a deep breath to lessen his nerves, Robin asked again, "I was wondering, would it be
ok if Lottie slept over? The night before, that is. We've got to leave pretty early in the
morning to catch the fast train into London anyway, and the station is closer to our house than
hers, and she has her step sister over that weekend who always hogs the bathroom but we
have 2 bathrooms here, and Collin's on nights so Lottie doesn't wanna wake him up but we
have to be up early, and-"
"Ok, ok, ok," Charlie chuckled, leaning back calmly on the sofa, "and this is what's made you
nervous? Asking if your girlfriend can sleep over?"
Robin nodded his head.
"Hmm, I'm not sure." Charlie smirked over to his husband. This is something they'd
discussed privately between themselves already, and they were both very much on the same
page with it. But it would be fun to tease their son. "What do you think Nick?"
"Well, I'm not too sure." Nick tried his best to keep a straight face. "Has she asked her mum?"
"She's asking them tonight." Robin said, quickly glancing down at his phone. Probably to
check if Lottie had messaged about whether her parents were going to give the go ahead.
"I'm just not too sure where she'd sleep, we don't really have a spare room." Nick began,
stifling a laugh as Robin's head shot up and panic shot across his face.
"We could always put Lottie in with Ada." Charlie suggested, really having no intentions of
subjecting his son's girlfriend to a night in Ada's room. The girl sleep talked; no one could
sleep through that.
Robin looked between the two with wide eyes. It clearly wasn't what he had planned in his
head.
Nor was it what his parents were going to implement.
Nick couldn't hold back his smile any longer, wrapping an arm around Robin for a hug.
"Don't you worry, Robin. So long as her parents are ok with it, Lottie can sleep over."
Charlie wrapped an arm around his son's other shoulder. "And of course we wouldn’t make
Lottie share with Ade. She’d go in your room with you. We trust you both, we know you're
safe. And this is just the natural next step in your relationship." Robin had come to them a
month ago to let them know he and Lottie had had sex. It had been said casually, slipped in
between him asking his dad's if they'd like a cup of tea. They'd had an open, honest
conversation together after that, and both men were so proud of their son for how maturely he
was acting about the situation. They always encouraged their children to have these sort of
honest, healthy conversations. It was better than having something bottled up, so they were
glad that Robin felt he was able to talk to them.
And if their son and his girlfriend were now ready for that next step of sharing a bed, then
they weren't going to be stopping them.
And so, a few weeks later, they found Robin preparing his bedroom for Lottie. He'd struggled
to change his sheets, much to the bemusement of Nick who stood in the doorway watching
for a while before offering to help. All of his dirty washing, and there was a lot, had been put
into the now overflowing dirty washing basket (when Charlie came upstairs and saw the pile
he'd have to work through that weekend, he wasn't impressed). He had then spent a good 3
hours polishing every surface in his room, hoovering, spraying air freshener.
"What time is Lottie getting here, Robin?" Nick asked as he prepared dinner. It was nothing
fancy, just some fresh spaghetti in a homemade tomato sauce, some veggie and cheese, bread
he'd lathered in some garlic butter he'd prepped earlier. Large glass of wine for him, large
glass of wine for Charlie. He was in his (slightly tipsy) element.
"Not until about 6, I'm gonna go meet her at the end of the road." Robin said, his voice shaky.
He was nervous.
Ada opened her mouth to make a comment, but was cut off by Charlie. "Uh, nope. None of
that, baby girl. No embarrassing your brother, or Lottie for that matter."
Ada feigned shock, getting up to wrap Charlie in a hug. "I would never even dream of it,
daddy!" She gave him her best puppy dog eyes, fluttering her eyelashes and then looking
over at her older brother. "As long as they keep the noise down."
"Ada!" Robin let out a groan, slouching down into one of the chairs. "I want Lottie to come
back, and she won't if you say stuff like that! Dad, papa, tell her!"
"That's the exact sort of thing you shouldn't say, Ade." Nick came over and started to
massage Robin's shoulder's, attempting to calm him down. "We've met Lottie loads of times,
and she clearly likes you Rob. Despite the stench that emits from your bedroom."
Charlie snorted out a laugh, whilst Robin held his head in his hands, moaning out a
disgruntled, "Papa!"
"We'll make sure to put headphones in, don't worry." Charlie added to their mortified son,
who just glared between his two dads.
As it turned out, both Ada and Ellis (and Nick and Charlie, for that matter) were on their best
behaviour when Lottie came over. No awkward questions were asked, nor did they say any
embarrassing comments. Dinner went down nicely, Lottie complimenting Nick's cooking.
The pair ran up to Robin's room once dinner was finished, saying they wanted to watch a
film. Nick and Charlie settled on the sofa in each other's arms, flicking through Netflix trying
to find another murder documentary to watch. It was cozy, their favourite kind of Friday
evening. They'd gotten through a bottle of wine between them, and were dipping into the
selection box whilst the tv blared in front of them.
And then they heard the tell tale thudding upstairs.
Only quiet, but repetitive enough to be a giveaway.
"You'd think he'd have learnt the 'pillow behind the headboard' trick." Charlie joked as he
grabbed the tv remote to turn up the tv, laughing as Nick turned his head into the crook of his
neck to hide from a particularly gruesome scene.
"I don't know why I agreed to watch this horror with you." Nick grumbled, chancing a glance
back at the screen and quickly regretting it.
"It's not a horror, love. It's a murder documentary." Charlie corrected, planting a kiss to Nick's
forehead and turning the tv up a bit more.
Not that either men could really pay much attention to the tv now, the creaking and thudding
from upstairs being a bit too distracting.
It went on.
And on.
And on.
And on. Until finally, nearly half an hour later (they only knew because they'd managed to
finish the episode at pretty much the exact same time their son...finished...too), the creaking
stopped.
"Fuck me, our son has some stamina." Nick laughed out, eyes wide in disbelief as he looked
up at Charlie.
"Nick!" He scolded, shaking his head. "You can't say things like that!"
"No, but he does! Could you imagine if we had that sort of stamina at 16?"
Charlie gave a fond eye roll and flicked his husband's nose. "You're something else, Nick
Nelson-Spring."
"I feel like I should go up there and congratulate him or something."
"Please, please do not do that." Charlie pleaded through a laugh, wrapping his legs around
Nick and effectively trapping him on the sofa. "I'm pretty sure that would count as
embarrassing our son and his girlfriend. I just hope for their sake the twins didn't hear."
The rest of the evening was (thankfully) much more quiet, and soon it was time to head up to
bed. First they poked their head into Ellis' room, finding him still sat on his Xbox.
"Come on, Lis. Time for bed." Charlie said to his pouting son, who saved where he was at
before turning it off.
"Have you brushed your teeth yet?" Nick asked, knowing their youngest son didn't always
have the best personal hygiene habits.
"Doing it now." Ellis gave them a smile before scampering off to the bathroom.
Charlie went to rack his knuckles against Robin's bedroom door, hearing some shuffling
before he called out for them to come in.
Charlie pushed open the door, smiling warmly at the two teens in front of him tucked up into
bed. Robin was sitting on one edge of the bed, putting as much distance between him and
Lottie as possible and looking sheepish. Nick poked his head around the door too, noticing
the remains of a condom wrapper on the floor that they'd clearly not realised had been left.
"Well, me and papa are off to bed now. Lottie, if you need anything just give us a shout ok?"
Charlie reminded her, wanting to put Lottie at as much ease as he could. He knew this was a
big step for her too, and they just wanted her to feel comfortable and welcome in their home.
"I will, thank you Charlie." Lottie nodded. It had taken a while for Lottie to start calling him
and Nick anything, 'Mr Nelson-Spring's' sounding too formal and 'Nick and Charlie' too
casual. But it was a nice development, one both men had internally celebrated when she first
said it.
"Night guys." Nick called out, the teens shouting out 'night' back.
"And night to you too, Lis. Love you, sleep well." Nick added as he caught Ellis leaving the
bathroom. They both planted a kiss to the crown of his head, a recent growth spurt meaning
Charlie now had to stand on his tip toes to do so.
He hoped Ellis didn't get much taller anytime soon. Robin was already taller than him, he
didn't think his heart would be able to take it if both his son's were to suddenly shoot up past
him.
They walked up the next set of stairs, going into Ada's room to say their good nights.
"You were right about headphones being needed." She said matter of factly, spinning said
headphones around in her fingers.
"Just remember, Ade, that you might bring someone home one day and whatever you say to
embarrass Robin, he could say the exact same thing to you in the future." Charlie reminded
her as he went to tuck her in.
Ada made a face, fake gagging. "Eww, no, no, no! I won't be going out with any boys
anytime soon. They're all so smelly and immature!"
Nick and Charlie smirked at each other, leaning down one at a time to kiss her forehead. "I'll
remind you of that if we ever meet your future partner." Nick teased, before they left to get
ready for bed themselves.
Soon enough they were washed, teeth brushed and flossed, and they were snuggled up in bed
reading a book each. Nick had replaced his contacts with his glasses, a pair of thick rimmed
ones which drove Charlie crazy and he was in the process of trying to get his husband to wear
them permanently.
"Do you ever feel like we're proper adults now? Like, fully grown up?" Charlie asked once
he'd finished his chapter.
"Darling, I hate to break it to you but we’ve been ‘proper adults’ for quite a few years now.
I’m 44, you’re turning 43 soon.” Nick put his book down too, marking the page with a dog
ear (something which also drove Charlie crazy but not for the same reason). He opened up an
arm, allowing Charlie to scoot up and cuddle close. “What do you mean?”
“Our son’s girlfriend is sleeping over. He’s our little boy, but here he is with a girlfriend. His
very own girlfriend. They’re probably down there right now cuddling just like we are.”
“Judging by the sounds we heard earlier and the condom wrapper I saw on their bedroom
floor, I’d take a guess and say they’re probably not just cuddling.”
“Nick, I’m being serious!” Charlie squeaked, giving his chest a playful bat before looking up.
“Wait, so you saw the wrapper too? I’m just glad they’re being safe.” He sighed, sinking
deeper into Nick’s chest. “This is what I mean. He’s not dependant on us anymore, he’s going
out and living his life, falling in love, making his own choices and decisions. He’ll be in sixth
form next year, and then uni, and then moving out!”
“Heyy, that’s a long way off Char.” Nick tried to sooth, running his fingers through his
husband’s curls in a way he knew calmed the younger man. “But I do understand where
you’re coming from. It does feel like having Lottie sleep over is a big step for us, as much as
it is a big step for them.”
Nick was right. This was a big step for the two dads. A scary step, yet a step that had to be
taken. They were just glad that Lottie was such a lovely girl, and that she made their son so
happy. And the next morning, when Nick cooked breakfast and had to set down an extra plate
for their guest, he done so with a genuine, happy smile. And when Charlie drove the pair to
the station, he couldn’t help the warm feeling that rose throughout his body as he listened to
the pair chat and laugh in the back seats.
Their son was growing up, but that was a good thing. And, in the years to come, they’d look
back at that first time their future daughter in law slept over with nothing but fond memories.
They’d joke about how they could hear the headboard banging, about how Lottie actually
wasn’t that much of a fan of Nick’s homemade pasta sauce but didn’t want to offend him.
And their son would tell them how grateful he was to have dads like them, who trusted him
enough to have his girlfriend sleepover and always made sure their home was a safe place.
Chapter End Notes
@Gay_N3rd asked for more fluff with Lottie, so here’s more fluff with Lottie and
Robin! :)
I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, please leave any comments of recommendations
and remember to leave kudos!
Walked in on
Chapter Summary
Nick and Charlie come home drunk after their monthly date day, but events at home lead
them to buying locks for everyone’s doors.
Chapter Notes
“I’ve had the most lovely afternoon, darling.” Nick complimented as he and Charlie stumbled
through their front door, hand in hand. “You truly are perfect.” He pulled his husband into his
chest, squishing his face against his pecks.
“Hmm, I know.” Charlie mumbled with a happy giggle, reaching back to shut the door only
to be immediately tugged into Nick’s embrace again.
Nick and Charlie had decided long ago that monthly date nights (or afternoons, or days) were
the best way to keep their marriage happy. Not that the pair weren’t utterly besotted with one
another, but the dedicated day to each other allowed them to talk and flirt as though they were
teenagers again without the distractions of their own teenagers.
Today’s date had consisted of a romantic morning in bed entangled in the other’s limbs,
passionate kisses and quiet lovemaking so as to not scar their kids with the knowledge that
they were shagging. They highly suspected that their children knew what was up; they’d shot
them enough looks of disgust that the pair knew they weren’t subtle in their post-sex highs,
but they still had some dignity. Their children hearing them going at it definitely wasn’t
something any of them wanted.
After washing and getting changed, they’d gone to a bottomless brunch in town at a fancy
new bar on the high street. They’d been seated on velvets chairs with a black marble table,
fake flowers hanging from the walls and mirrors on the ceiling. They’d felt slightly out of
place, figuring that they probably weren’t the demographic they owners were going for when
they opened their bar. But, as they worked their way down the cocktail menu, they found
themselves caring less and less.
The afternoon tea part of their brunch came out once they were about 4 cocktails deep, the
food being welcomed to soak up the alcohol. By the end of their 2.5 hour slot, they’d
managed to sample nearly half the drinks on offer from a Blue Lagoon, to something called
‘Mean Girls’ which came out bright pink, to a Sex on the Beach.
“Do you remember that time we done this drink for real?” Nick had asked in a voice which
he had attempted to make a whisper, but judging by the giggles from a group of girls next to
them was louder than he expected.
Charlie could remember the time they had tried that drink for real. A time before kids, when
they could go on holidays and get smashed out of their faces and take romantic walks along
the beach. This time in particular, they’d found a quiet spot on the sand, dimly lit by the
moon light. They were feeling brave from the tequila shots they’d just downed.
And horny, of course. Tequila shots tended to make them horny.
Alcohol tended to make them horny.
They always carried a miniature bottle of lube with them, and a condom. They were pretty
adventurous in their 20’s, and always wanted to be prepared.
But they’d sworn to never shag on the beach again after that night. It had started off good,
really good, their moans muffled by the sound of waves crashing next to them. And then
Nick had started to groan, but not in a good way.
As it turns out, sand gets everywhere. Everywhere. Including up Nick’s arse. Which hurt, a
lot. Especially with the thrusting motion of Charlie above him.
“Cheers to sandy arses.” Charlie had toasted him, bringing up his own cocktail (a Tequila
Sunrise) to clink with Nick’s.
“And sandy dicks!” Nick had exclaimed back a little too enthusiastically.
Charlie had tried to block out that part of the memory; the sand in his urethra was not fun.
And so that’s how they found themselves thoroughly pissed by 3pm that Sunday afternoon,
embraced in each other’s arms both for support standing and because they were both rather
clingy when drunk. Nick couldn’t help the soppy smile on his face as he leaned down to plant
a heated kiss to his husband’s lips, allowing his hands to wonder down his waist, groping skin
that should definitely not be groped in their front room in the middle of the afternoon.
But they couldn’t go up to bed now, that would be far too obvious to their kids. They’d have
to make do with kisses and subtle touches for the time being. The pair were quite happy
making out in the doorway until a cough drew them apart.
“You two have a nice afternoon then?” Robin asked with a slightly disgusted look on his
face, his eyebrow cocked in a way that mirrored Nick. He had Lottie tucked into his side, a
smirk on her face. She’d been with their eldest long enough to know what they were like, to
know that they weren’t ashamed with PDA. Whilst it sometimes disturbed the pair’s children
to watch their dad’s acting like a pair of horny teenagers (which, fair enough. Completely
understandable), Lottie seemed to take some joy out of her boyfriend’s discomfort.
Charlie was the first to pull away, pupils blown wide and face red from the alcohol (and
possibly slight embarrassment, but mainly the alcohol). He kept an arm wrapped around
Nick’s waist, a lopsided smile taking over his face. “Such a great afternoon! You two should
go, it’s called The Herne, bottomless cocktails and loads of food, and it was so pretty in
there.”
“So pretty.” Nick repeated, voice husky, looking down at his husband with a look of
adoration.
Charlie felt Nick reach down to squeeze his bum, causing him to let out a squark. He batted
Nick’s hand away, taking a mini step to the side as Robin rolled his eyes at them. “Come on,
love, we’ve got stuff to do.” He grabbed Nick’s hand, who seemed a little worse for wear
compared to himself, dragging him to the stairs.
“Keep the bedroom door open.” Robin teased, earning a poke in the ribs from Lottie.
“We’ve never made any of you keep the door open, and that’s because we lead by example.”
Nick quipped back, sticking his tongue out at their eldest who proceeded to fake gag.
“For god’s sake, Nicholas, come on, let’s get into some comfy clothes so we can relax.”
Charlie chastised, but Nick wasn’t done.
“You two are going to Majorca soon, right?” He asked, standing firmly on the bottom step of
the stairs despite Charlie’s insistent pulling on his hand. Robin and Lottie nodded. “Well,”
Nick started giggling, a cheesy grin on his face, “just - don’t, whatever you do, don’t try that
cocktail on the beach!” He was full blown laughing now, doubled over whilst his son and his
girlfriend stood there, confused.
“I think this is our queue to leave.” Lottie said, still looked baffled. “Come on, Rob. Let’s go
on that walk.”
“Right, get up the stairs, you light weight.” Charlie groaned, a hand now around Nick’s side
and physically pulling him up the stairs. He did not need Nick to stay around any longer to
explain to Robin and Lottie that he was basically telling them to not have sex on the beach or
else they’d get sand in their bits. “You’re awful, you know that?” Charlie teased a still
giggling Nick,
“I want to see our other babies!” Nick pouted back, sloping over to Ellis’ room and rapping
his knuckle against the door. “Lis? Lissy? Psssst, open up!”
“Maybe he’s gone out.” Charlie suggested, placing a hand on Nick’s shoulder to steady him.
“Ellisssss.” Nick continued to whisper, knocking on the 18 year olds door again but still no
reply. He groaned, pulling down the door handle and letting himself in.
And there Ellis was, lying in his bed, headphones on, phone in one hand and…
Ohhh.
Ohhhhhh.
“Shit, fuck!” Nick swore, quickly sobering up, turning and running out the room.
“PAPA! What the fuck!” Ellis exclaimed, and they could hear him scrambling about.
“What happened?!” Charlie asked, taking in his husband’s flushed face and wide eyes.
“He was…oh fuck…I’m so sorry, Lis!” Nick called out, sitting on the bottom step of the
stairs leading up to their loft conversion.
“What happened to fucking knocking?” Ellis cried back in response, slamming his door shut.
“Oh my god, has he got a girl in there?” Charlie asked, taking a seat next to Nick.
Nick shook his head, placing it in his hands as a pitiful groan left his lips.
“A boy?” Charlie tried instead.
“I just walked in on him, you know…arrggh.” Nick buried his head in Charlie’s neck.
“Wanking.” He whispered out the last part, trying to mentally erase the site from his head. It
was something no parent should ever have to see, yet for a brief second he’d been given a
view.
“Oh, Nick.” Charlie squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the embarrassment in the air. “I’m taking
papa downstairs, Lis. He’s a bit drunk!” Charlie called out, helping Nick to his feet. “You just
carry on doing…whatever…” Charlie trailed off, really wishing he’d thought through what
he said before saying it out loud.
“Oh my god, dad!!!!” Ellis shouted back, voice high pitched.
Nick grabbed Charlie’s hand, pulling him back down the stairs. “Run, let’s fucking run!”
“What’s with all the screaming?” Ada asked upon seeing her dad’s enter the front room,
panting and out of breath with blushes spread across both their faces.
Nick and Charlie shared a look, shuddering in sync. “I’m - I think you need a water. Yea,
water. I’m gonna get us both a water.” Charlie stated, allowing his feet to guide him to the
kitchen.
Nick collapsed on the sofa opposite their daughter, slouching back and covering his eyes with
his forearm. He could not believe what he just saw, and the guilt he felt for walking in on his
son.
“Everything ok, papa?” Ada asked curiously.
Nick lifted his arm up slightly to peer at her. “Yep, everything is completely fine. Absolutely
fine.” He whispered, voice strained.
Charlie reentered the living room, handing Nick the glass of water who accepted with a shaky
hand. “Here you go, darling.” He came and sat next to his husband.
“Did you walk in on Lis having a wank?” Ada asked nonchalantly.
Both men sat up right, eyes wide and faces becoming impossibly redder.
“I - what - just - how?” Nick spluttered.
“You’re acting like how you acted when you found my vibrator.” Ada simply shrugged at her
fathers.
Unbashful and to the point, that was their daughter. No shame (not that there was shame in
masturbating) and straight talking.
The other month, whilst Nick had been putting away some of their daughter’s clothes, he’d
accidentally stumbled across her vibrator in one of her drawers. Only, he hadn’t realised it
was a vibrator at first. He’d never been with a girl, he and Charlie didn’t own one like that at
all, and it’s not like they went rummaging through their female friend’s sex drawers. It was
only upon picking it up and inspecting it, clicking the power button, did he realise what the
object in his hands was.
He’d dropped it immediately, scurrying out of the room and spending the evening unable to
meet Ada’s eyes. They’d always tried to encourage healthy, open and honest conversations
surrounding sex. And their daughter was 18, she had a part time job, and if that’s what she
wanted to spend her money on then her parents weren’t going to stop her.
Still didn’t make it any less embarrassing for Nick though.
Ada had guessed what was up that evening after she went through her drawers and saw that it
had been dropped haphazardly on top of her clothes rather than tucked neatly into the side.
She’d made a joke about it the next day, teased her papa, asked if he got a ‘buzz going
through his children’s drawers’.
“Maybe you should let us all get locks on our doors? Save you from anymore embarrassing
encounters. You know Lis can’t hear a thing with his headphones in.” Ada reminded them.
And so the next weekend, they found themselves in B&Q buying four sets of locks (including
one for their own bedroom), doing a bit of DIY to fix them to each door. They’d always put a
big emphasis on privacy in their home, especially once their kids turned into teenagers. But
they were practically adults now, all aged 18+. They deserved to not feel on edge in their own
home, and to know they wouldn’t be walked in on (again).
Chapter End Notes
Happy new year everyone! I’ve missed writing about Nick and Charlie as parents so
much so thought I’d come back with a new chapter!
Hope everyone enjoyed :)
Remember to leave kudos and comment any prompts you’d like me to write
Abortion
Chapter Summary
Ada discovers she’s pregnant at 17 years old. After finally getting the courage to tell her
dads, she decides she’s not ready for a baby.
Chapter Notes
“Come on, get it all up...fuck me that stinks, Ada."
"Nick." Charlie roused from his sleep, the sound of Robin talking to Ada waking him up. He
shook his husband a little, who seemed dead to the world.
"I'll get you a water."
It was Ellis that time; his feet could be heard running down the stairs.
"Nick!" Charlie groaned at the sleeping lump next to him. He decided to leave him there,
jumping out of bed and pulling on one of Nick's hoodies - it was a cold morning.
He padded down the stairs to where the main bathroom was (it was mostly used by the kids,
he and Nick had an en suite). At the same time he reached the bottom step, Ellis reached the
top with a glass of water in his hands. He looked like a deer in headlights, caught in an act he
shouldn't be doing.
"Morning, Lis. Ada ok?" Charlie asked, cringing as he could hear the sound of her retching
behind the closed bathroom door.
Ellis just nodded his head, smiling tightly. "Yep, she's ok. Think she just had a bit too much
to drink last night. You know how she gets, one drink turns to another and then another!
Always a bit of a lightweight. I think she was having vodka and Sourz, not a good mix. No
wonder she's being sick, that's not strange at all!"
The bathroom door swung open at that, revealing their eldest standing there with a sickly
sweet smile on his face. "Morning, dad! Yea, Ada's just had a bit too much to drink." He
confirmed, taking Ellis' hand and dragging him into the small room. Charlie didn't fail to
notice the stern look that briefly flashed on his face.
Nor did he fail to notice his daughter knelt over the toilet. He took a few steps forward,
poking his head in. "You feeling a bit rough, baby?" Charlie asked, concern laced in his
voice.
Ada gave a pitiful nod. "Yea, a little bit. Like they said, too much to drink."
The kids had all gone to a house party last night, one of Ada's mates apparently. They'd been
out late, but only the twins were drinking supposedly. Robin had drove them, something
about feeling sick so not wanting to get drunk.
Nick and Charlie weren’t so sure if they believed them, but trusted them enough not to pry. If
it was something they needed to know, their children would tell them. And the fact that all
their children were together further put their minds at ease.
"Can I get you anything else? Some pain killers?" Charlie asked again, but Ada just shook
her head.
"It's ok, Ellis got me some water. I should feel better soon."
"Plus Ada's on her period so I'm sure that's making her feel worse? Isn't that right, Ade?
Cramps so bad you're being sick." Ellis rushed out, only to be met with a confused look from
his older brother.
Ada gave a tentative nod. "Yea, those cramps probably aren't helping matters either."
"My poor girl." Charlie looked at her sympathetically. "I'll go and get you a hot water bottle. I
didn't realise your periods were getting bad again, you've not been sick from your cramps for
a while now."
"You go, dad. Make her the hot water bottle. We can look after Ada in the mean time." Robin
reassured their father.
"Thank you, both. You’ve turned out to be such kind and caring young men." Charlie couldn't
help but the pride he felt at how his son's were looking after their sister.
By the time Charlie had made the hot water bottle and a tea for his daughter, he could hear
Nick stirring. When he went back upstairs, the boys had tucked their sister into her bed and
were talking in hushed voices.
They went silent when their dad walked into the room.
"Don't stop on my account." Charlie teased, taking in the awkward glances between the three.
"Here you go, baby girl. Hot water bottle for your stomach and a tea." Ada accepted both
gratefully, shifting her duvet so she could place the water bottle on her belly and taking a
small sip from the mug.
"You never make me tea when I'm hanging!" Robin protested.
"That's because Ada's our favourite." Nick joked as he walked into his daughter's bedroom,
wearing just his pyjama bottoms and a dressing gown hanging open. "Was that you I could
hear being sick in the toilet?"
"Yea, but I'm feeling a little bit better now." Ada gave a small nod but her pale face told a
different story.
Every morning for the next few days, Nick and Charlie were awoken to the sound of their
little girl chucking up down the loo. And each time they went to go and make sure she was
ok, she already had her brothers by her side. Holding her hair back, rubbing circles on her
back, guiding a glass of water up to her lips to sip.
Their kids were close 80% of the time (the other 20% was spent fighting), but this was weird.
Weird that her brothers were the ones volunteering to look after their sister as she was
physicality sick, weird that they were seemingly not leaving her side.
And weird that Ada was being sick so much.
"I must have just caught something, picked up a bug at college or something." Ada had
insisted, but her fathers weren't convinced.
"Being sick this often isn't normal, if it's still happening by the weekend we'll take you to see
the doctor." Nick insisted.
Ada carried in being sick the rest of the week.
Saturday morning came, and Nick and Charlie were making their weekly fry up. A Saturday
treat, a proper breakfast that they could enjoy. Sausages, bacon, eggs, beans, toast, Nick had
even found some hash browns in the reduced section at Tesco.
"You've got to tell them."
"I don't want to."
"They'll end up guessing soon if you don't say anything."

The pair stopped cooking, turning to the kitchen door where they could hear their children
bickering at the bottom of the stairs in hushed voices.
"If I go in that kitchen I'll be sick!"
"No change there then."
"It's the smell of the bacon!"
"I don't like the sound of this." Charlie muttered, setting the timer on the air fryer and
wondering to the hallway, Nick close behind him. The three teenagers stopped their
whispering once they realised their parents were looking at them. "What have you got to tell
us, Ade?"
"Nothing, nothing at all." Ada protested, turning to try and walk up the stairs but stopped by
Robin grabbing her arm and pulling her back.
"You gotta tell them." Ellis insisted, taking his twins hand in his own.
"You're scaring us now." Nick admitted, wrapping an around Charlie and studying their
daughter's tear stained face.
"Fine! Just...arrrghh!" She groaned, looking up at the ceiling as she tried to stop even more
tears flowing. "Front room. Can we talk in the front room?" She asked, voice strained. "It
smells in the hallway."
"Ok, after you." Charlie tried his best to sound calm, but really on the inside his anxiety was
going into overdrive. This wasn't like Ada. Their daughter was brash and bold and never
afraid to say what she was thinking. Few things made her scared, and even less worried her.
Ada started to walk to the front room but quickly turned around to glare at her brothers when
she realised they was following. "No! Not you two."
"Ok, but if you don't tell them then we're gonna have to." Robin warned, further increasing
the sickening feeling in their parent's stomachs.
Ads took a few tentative steps into the front room, waiting for her dads to follow her in
before shutting the door behind them.
"Ok, baby girl. Whatever's happened, we can sort it, ok? If you're in trouble...if somethings
happened...we've got you." Charlie tried to reassure their teenage daughter, wrapping her in
his arms.
Ada allowed herself to hug him back for a moment before pulling back and wrapping her
arms around herself. "You two should probably sit down."
Nick and Charlie shared a nervous look, feeling near tears themselves. But they done as
requested, taking a seat next to each other on the sofa and hanging onto each other with
sweaty hands.
"Ok, so first you gotta promise not to be mad or angry or start shouting. Because I promise
that this was a mistake. A big, fucking mistake."
"Ada, how often do we get angry at mistakes?" Charlie asked.
"Yea, so long as the mistake can be rectified then it should be ok. And if it can't be, then we
can work through it together as a family." Nick added.
"It can kinda be rectified, I think." She took a steadying breath, pacing back and forth in front
of her dad's before saying in a shaky voice. "I'm pregnant."
A heavy silence filled the room as they let the words sink in.
Pregnant. Their 17 year old daughter was pregnant.
Their 17 year old daughter who was still in college, who had her whole life ahead of her.
Who was planning on going to uni next year to live her best life.
But she was pregnant.
They felt sick to their stomachs.
"Uh - god - is it...is it Noah's?" Charlie asked, looking up to meet Ada's eyes who gave an
affirmative nod.
"It's Noah's. But before you say anything, we didn't break up because of...this..." She gestured
to her stomach, before saying in a small voice. "He doesn't even know. I didn't even know
until last week."
Nick hadn't said a word up until that point, not quite knowing what to say. What do you say
to your teenage daughter who's just told you she's pregnant? So instead, he shifted slightly
away from Charlie, patting the space in between them and opening his arms to give Ada a
hug.
A hug that was meant to take all the pain away. That was meant to make everything better.
"I'm such an idiot." She muttered into his chest, finally letting the tears fall once again. And
once they started, they didn't stop. Ada found herself sandwiched between her two dads,
sandwiched in their arms, never feeling so small and vulnerable.
"Do you, uh, know how far along you are?" Charlie asked, brushing a hand through her
unruly curls as her breathing started to even out again.
"8ish weeks...that's what the test said last week." She muttered out.
"Ok, right, so about 9 weeks now." Charlie whispered, still trying to get his head around the
situation at hand. "And your brothers...when did you tell them?"
Ada fiddled with her fingers, looking nervous. "I told Ellis first that I thought I could be.
Convinced me to tell Robin so he could drive us to a pharmacy to buy a test. Didn’t wanna
buy one locally, in case someone saw. That's where we were the other week...there was no
house party.” She sighed before rushing out. “Please don't be mad at them for not telling you,
I made them swear not to."
"Ada, you're - you're 17. Me and dad, we've talked about protection. About being safe, safe
sex." Nick felt a few tears slip down his own cheeks, pressing a kiss to his daughter's
forehead. "I thought you were on the pill."
Ada just shrugged, face crumbling again. "I missed one...maybe more...I didn't think I would
get pregnant."
Charlie sighed, trying his best to keep his voice level and calm. "Have you thought about
what you want to do? Your options? Me and papa will support you with whatever you
decide."
"I don't want a baby." Ada told them, voice certain and leaving no room for argument. "Ive
called up the doctors, I have an assessment appointment Monday afternoon and then
hopefully they'll book me in for an abortion after."
"That's very mature of you, calling them up and booking it in yourself." Nick commented,
unable to stop the relief he felt. Charlie was right - they would support their daughter no
matter her decision. But she had her whole life ahead of her; she wasn't ready for a baby.
"Yea, well, I suppose time is of the essence." Ada tried to joke. "It's not like I'm gonna be
getting any less pregnant the longer I wait. Already been getting some pretty crappy morning
sickness so the quicker I can get rid the better."
There was a weird atmosphere in the Nelson-Spring household that night, no one quite sure
what to say or what to do. Feeling like they had to walk on eggshells to avoid the elephant in
the room. Their little girl had knocked on their bedroom door that evening, a shy smile on her
face as she asked if she could sleep with them. It was something she hadn't done in so many
years, but they all needed some comforting that night.
The day of her appointment came around quickly. Charlie had offered to take her, his boss
letting him take an extended lunch, and they didn't want Ada to go alone no matter how much
of a brave face she'd been putting on since admitting her pregnancy.
And so that's how he found himself in the GP waiting room, anxiously tapping his leg with
his daughter by his side.
"I'm nervous." She admitted, fiddling with a loose piece of threat on her cardigan. "Like, I
don't know what to expect. What they're gonna say. They'll probably judge me, won't they?
For being so young? What if the doctor wants to do an internal examination? I don't want
them looking at my bits."
"You had no problem with Noah looking at your bits, that's how we've ended up here."
Charlie quipped, but shut up when Ada glared at him.
A nurse appeared around the corner, scanning the room. "Ada Nelson-Spring?"
"Are you sure you want me to stay out here?" Charlie asked as she got up.
She paused for a second, before shaking her head. "Can you come, actually? Please?"
"Of course, darling." Charlie felt a pang in his heart at how young his daughter seemed right
now despite the very adult decision she was making.
The nurse led them into her office where Ada was asked to provide a urine sample to confirm
the pregnancy, a blood test and she was then given an ultrasound. The screen was turned
away from the pair, out of sight, and Ada gripped Charlie’s hand tightly the whole time. She
was being oddly quiet, a sure sign of her anxiety.
"Ok, Ada, so looks as though you're about 10 weeks along. When was the date of your last
period?"
"I'm not too sure, I think it ended at the beginning of March."
Charlie sighed - that was new information to him. "Ada, that was months ago. Why didn't
you take a test sooner?" She'd originally told them that, because she was on the pill, she was
still getting a period. Nick and Charlie, never having been on the pill themselves (for obvious
reasons), believed her.
"I thought if I ignored it, maybe it would go away." Ada replied mournfully.
"Unfortunately, that's not something that tends to happen with pregnancies." The nurse
nodded, noting something down before handing over a tissue so Ada could clean herself up.
"Come on then, let's have a little chat about your options. Are you ok for your father to
remain in the room still? We're going to need to discuss your reasons for an abortion, and the
different types of abortion we can offer you."
Ada looked worriedly at her dad as he helped her down from the examination bed. She had
tears in her eyes. "No, can he stay? I want him to stay."
"I'll stay as long as you want me to, baby girl."
Charlie confirmed, the pair of them taking a seat at the nurses desk.
"It's good to see you have a support system around you. This is a big decision to make, and
you're going to need all the support you can get." The nurse smiled at them. "Now, Ada,
would you like to tell me why you're looking into getting an abortion. Have you looked into
all possible options?"
"I'm 17, I don't want to be a mum yet. I wanna go uni next year, go on holidays with my
mates, go and live my life. I can't do that with a baby." She looked down sadly, twiddling her
thumbs. "I never meant to get pregnant. This wasn't meant to happen. Even if I was to have
the baby and give it up for adoption, how am I meant to go college and do my A Levels with
a massive bloody bump? Plus all the side effects that go with being pregnant. I can't do it, not
this young."
The nurse held out two tissues for them both to take - Charlie hadn't realised he'd been crying
along with his daughter. This was turning out to be an emotional day. The thought of his and
Nick’s little girl having to go through all of this whilst so young broke his heart.
But she'd made an adult choice but having sex and not taking the pill. And she was now
having to face the consequences.
"So, based on how far along you are, I'm gonna get you booked in for a surgical abortion. It
looks like the next appointment they have is," the nurse tapped at her computer, "in 3 days, at
10am. Do you know what this sort of abortion involves, Ada?"
Ada shook her head - no.
"So, it’s a safe and simple procedure where the pregnancy is removed by suction through the
vagina. A few hours before you have to take some medicine to open your cervix. For the
actual termination, you’ll be under a conscious sedation. The process is very quick, it’ll only
take 5-10 minutes. You’ll likely experience some bleeding and cramping afterwards, and that
can last for a couple of weeks. It’ll just be like a heavy period, but make sure not to use
tampons until the bleeding has stopped. And you’ll be very fertile after the abortion, so if
you’re going to be having sex make sure to use contraception.”
Charlie looked over at Ada at that, raising an eyebrow.
“Don’t worry, dad, I will! I’ve learnt my lesson with this.”

The nurse smiled at the exchange. “You can also bring someone to the clinic with you, and as
you’re under 18 you’re able to have an adult go into theatre with you if you wish. You’ll also
need someone to be able to drive you home after.”
“Me or papa can come with you, we’ll be there for you.” Charlie confirmed, taking Ada’s
hand in his own.
“I’ll get the appointment details sent through to you, Ada.” The nurse said, already typing
away at the laptop to email them over. “And remember, you can always change your mind up
until the point of sedation.”
Ada just shook her furiously. “I won’t be changing my mind. I’m certain that this is what I
want.”
After being given a few pamphlets, the number to a 24 hour specialist and talking through a
few more of the details, the appointment was finally finished.
“I don’t know about you, but I could do with some ice cream. Today’s been intense. Do you
want to go to that dessert place near the station?” Charlie suggested, to which Ada readily
agreed.
Ada stayed off school the next few days, her morning sickness getting the better of her and
the pregnancy just generally making her feel run down.
Her dad’s were also pretty sure she wanted to avoid seeing Noah in case he became
suspicious. It was ultimately up to her whether or not she wanted to tell him about the
pregnancy - it was her body, after all.
“You ready to go, Ade?” Charlie asked the morning of the abortion. He poked his head
around the slightly ajar bathroom door, watching his daughter finishing off brushing her
teeth.
She gave a nod, spitting the toothpaste into the sink and rinsing her mouth out. “Bags all
packed! This time tomorrow I’ll have no more morning sickness, it’ll be such a relief.”
“You know there’s other side effects from the procedure though, right?” Charlie asked,
placing a hand on her back as she emerged and guiding her down the stairs.
“Yes but none of those side effects involve having to look after a baby for the rest of my life.”
Ada reminded him.
Nick greeted them at the bottom of the stairs, finishing off tying his laces and giving a
nervous smile. “Right, let’s head off.”
Charlie leaned over to brush his lips against his husband’s. “Text me, ok? Keep me updated?”
He whispered. Nick nodded his confirmation, wrapping him in a hug.
“I’ll see you tonight dad, I’m gonna be ok.” Ada crushed herself into Charlie’s chest as he
lowered his head to kiss the crown of her head.
“Come on, we’re gonna be late if we don’t get a move on.” Nick said, wrapping an arm
around Ada and leading her out the door.
“Good luck, Ade!” Ellis shouted out his bedroom window as they got into the car, his twin
giving him a thumbs.
Nick and Ada were at the clinic for about 4 hours, the procedure itself not taking long but the
nurses wanted to keep her in for a while after to make sure everything was ok. It took a few
days of recovery before Ada felt herself again, the cramping and bleeding making her not
want to leave her bed or the sofa. But she had her dads and brothers there to take good care of
her, bringing her hot drinks and letting her have the choice of what crappy film to watch.
For Ada, she was glad with the choice she made. It allowed her to go and live her life, go to
uni, be carefree. And, 15 years later when she did eventually decide to start her own family,
she was glad it was on her terms and it was her choice.
Chapter End Notes
I wasn’t too sure how to do the ending, so sorry if it feels a little rushed! But I hope
everyone enjoys the chapter regardless, and remember to leave kudos and let me know
any suggestions :)
Swear words
Chapter Summary
12 year old Robin teaches 8 year old Ellis some swear words
Chapter Notes
“Robin?" Ellis knocked on his big brother's door with his small fist, sighing when he didn't
get an immediate response. "ROBIN?" He tried more insistingly this time, voice louder.
The bedroom door opened a crack, revealing an annoyed looking Robin still dressed in his
school clothes. His tie hung lose around his neck, shirt untucked and top button undone.
"What?" Robin asked, squinting down at the smaller boy in front of him.
Ellis beamed up at him, his gappy smile on full show. He held out his Nintendo Switch and
asked hopefully, "Do you wanna play Mario Kart?"
"Pfft," Robin scoffed, rolling his eyes and stalking back into his room, "Mario Kart's for
babies."
Ellis was hot on his brother's heels, pushing the door open fully and entering his room. It was
a bit of a mess, his school bag chucked on the floor, a football in one corner and a rugby ball
in the middle of the room, dirty clothes strewn across the carpet. Ellis made sure to watch his
step, hopping over an Xbox controller. "Mario Kart isn't for babies!" He protested.
"Yea, it is, Lis." Robin fought back, plonking down on his bed.
Ellis scrambled up after him. He preferred Robin's bed, and Robin's room. It was bigger than
his own ('because he's the eldest' his dads had explained when they'd moved into their home),
and he got a double bed. A double bed wouldn't fit in Ellis' - but he did get a bunk bed, which
he thought was pretty cool.
"You played Mario Kart with me when it was summer! And that wasn't that long ago!" Ellis
pouted, pushing the controller further towards Robin who just batted it away.
"I'm older now though, and when you're older you don't play Mario Kart." Robin stated
matter of factly.
But that was a lie, and Ellis knew it. His daddy and papa loved playing Mario Kart with him,
and even without him (he'd come to their bedroom once after a nightmare to find them tucked
up in bed in the midst of a very competitive tournament). And their daddy always said how
he and papa would play Mario Kart loads when they first met, and they met when they
weren't much older than Robin.
"Why can't you be into football or rugby or something cool like that? Mario Kart isn't cool."
Robin continued.
Another lie. Ellis had played Mario Kart with Uncle Olly LOADS, and Uncle Olly was the
coolest person he knew. He always had lots of sweets to sneak him and his brother and sister,
and whenever he looked after them he'd let them stay up way past their bedtimes.
"You're no fun anymore! You never wanna play games with me since you started big school."
Ellis pouted, crossing his arms.
"I've got stuff to do, Lis." Robin groaned, flopping an arm over his face. "Homework and
stuff."
"I can help!" Ellis replied eagerly, bouncing up and down.

A wicked grin made its way to Robin's face and he scooted up next to his little brother. "You
wanna help?"
Ellis nodded his head eagerly, curls bouncing. He loved spending time with Robin, but Robin
hadn't wanted to spend much time with him since he started year 7. "Yea, I can help! What
homework is it? I know all my time tables now!"
"No, not maths." Robin reached over to grab some paper and a pen from his bedside table,
leaning on his hardback of 'England Rugby Hero's' (his papa had got it for him for his
birthday). "I need some help with my spelling. If I write out some words, can you repeat them
back to me?"
Ellis' eyes went wide in excitement. "Yea! I can do spelling! I got 12/20 right in my spelling
test this week!"
Robin smirked, taking the pen and writing something out in big, bold letters. "Can you read
what this says?"
Ellis studied the paper intensely, eyes squinting. "F U C K." He sounded out, looking at his
big brother for approval who smiled brightly at him. "Fuck?"
Robin muffled a laugh, nodding his head. "Yep, that's it!"
"What does it mean?"
"It's like...when you're really angry, you say it." Robin decided on, before quickly adding.
"But you can't say it at school, because some adults don't like it."
"But they taught it to you at school?" Ellis asked, now confused.
Robin shrugged. "Some of the older boys did, wanna know another word they taught me?"
Robin started writing it out on the paper before receiving a response, then showed his little
brother.
"D I C K H E A D...dickhead?" Ellis smiled at his big brother when he nodded his approval.
"What does that one mean?"
"So that one, it's if someone has done something funny or naughty or mean, then you call
them that." Robin explained.
"Can I say that one in school? Like, when Albie doesn't share his coloured pens, can I call
him a dickhead?" Ellis asked innocently.
"No, probably best you don't!" Robin thought for a moment. "Or, at least, make sure your
teacher isn't within hearing distance."
Ellis didn't really think much more of the words his big brother taught him, too caught up in
his worlds of make believe with his friends and playing Mario Kart with his papa (who was
pretty rubbish and usually lost).
~~~~~
1 week later
"Ok, so we have the wine, we have the snacks, we have the games...do we have the games?"
Nick rambled to himself, digging through their box of games and not finding the one Charlie
had wanted. He raced up the stairs to their bedroom, poking his head around the door to
where his husband was getting ready. "Babe, do you know where Cluedo is?"
Charlie looked at him from his spot in front of their bathroom mirror, shaving cream
smothered over his face as he shaved. "I think I put it on top of the book case, for safe
keeping."
"For safe keeping? Safe keeping from who?"
Charlie just shrugged, going back to scraping the stubble from his face.
"Bloody safe keeping." Nick mumbled, rolling his eyes fondly and taking the stairs two at a
time. He wasn't too sure how Charlie had managed to reach the top of the book case - even he
had to stand on his tip toes.
"Papa?" A small voice called up to him as he gripped the corner of the box, edging it closer
into his grip. He strained to look down, seeing Ada's large eyes staring back at him. He let out
a 'hmm', prompting her to go on. "What time's everyone getting here?"
"About - in about an hour." Nick groaned; he was so close to getting the bastard game down.
"Can I stay downstairs with everyone?"
"Uhh...of course...yep." Nick just needed to edge it forward one more inch.
"Can I stay up past my bedtime?"
"Thank god." Nick whispered, getting the box down and finally being able to stop stretching
"Can I papa? Me and Ellis? Pleassssssee?"
Nick looked down at his little girl, blinking and confused for a moment before he
remembered what she was asking. "Umm, maybe, me and daddy will think about it."
She gave a little cheer, sprinting off to no doubt tell her twin that they'd be able to stay up late
with the adults. The 'adults' coming tonight were Tao and Elle, Tara and Darcy, and of course
Nick and Charlie. They had originally planned on it being a child free night - Tao's mum was
looking after his and Elle's toddler, Zeki, and Sarah was going to have the kids over at hers.
But then she done her knee in, and was hobbling around the house as it was. And as much as
she insisted she'd be fine, and maybe with just Robin she would have been, there was no way
she'd have been able to keep up with the twins.
So the adult's child-free night would now be an adult+two 8 year olds night (they planned on
turning the big clock forward in the front room a few hours, a fool proof plan which usually
left the kids not arguing so much about going up to bed if they thought it was later). Robin
was going through that phase of wanting to stay holed up in his room, and had already
announced that he didn’t plan on coming downstairs except to say hi.
Within the hour everyone had arrived and were sitting around dining room table, wine glasses
full, picking at the snacks and in a very intense game of Cluedo.
"I don't think I understand this game." Ada whispered from where she sat on Tara's lap. She'd
insisted on being on her team as soon as she walked through the door, proclaiming that 'Tara
is the smartest and the best at games!"
"Me neither, Ade." Darcy muttered, taking a large gulp of her drink and looking down,
confused, at her cards. "I call...Professor Plum into the...study...with the knife?" She turned to
Tao, who just smirked.
"We have that card." Ellis whispered to Elle from his place on her lap, but he didn't say it
quietly enough.
She quickly shushed him, wrapping her arms around the 8 year old and tickling him slightly.
"Shhh, cheeky monkey! Remember, our cards have to be a secret."
"You know you've already asked me this one, right?" Tao said to Darcy, turning around one
of his cards so she could see.
"I - ughhh - this game is too confusing! For fu-." She stopped herself, eyes going wide as she
remembered the two small children also in the room. "For God's sake. Yep. That's what I
meant. For God's sake."
Ellis gasped, swinging his legs happily and clapping his hands. "Darcy! You was gonna say
fuck! I know that word!" He exclaimed, only to be met by gasps from his dads.
"No, Ellis. That’s a bad word. We don't say that word." Nick scolded, nudging Charlie under
the table in a silent conversation of 'Where on earth did our son learn a word like that?'
"What word, fuck?" He was met with scowls by both his fathers. "But Darcy was gonna say
it." Ellis protested.
Darcy just smirked, poking her girlfriend with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Yea, that's
'cos I've been naughty. I'm gonna be in trouble later, ain't that right, babe?"
Tara quickly covered up Ada's ears. "Oh my goodness, Darcy. Tiny people present!"
"Ellis." Charlie began, trying not to get annoyed. Their youngest son was a good kid. A good,
innocent kid. "Where did you learn that word? Who told you it?"
Ellis looked around, not quite fully grasping how annoyed his dads were. "It's what older
boys teach you, they say themmmm."
"Did they teach you anything else?!" Ada laughed, clearly finding it funny to see their daddy
and papa's faces getting redder and redder.
Ellis contemplated it for a moment, before screaming loudly, "DICKHEAD!" As he as Ada

erupted into a fit of giggles.
"Ok, Ellis, no. Enough. We do NOT say either of those words!" Charlie said sternly, shooting
looks too their slightly drunk friends who were trying (and failing) to stifle their giggles.
"What do they mean, daddy?" Ada asked innocently.
Nick chose to ignore their daughter, instead focusing on the now frowning little boy sitting
opposite him. "Who taught you those words?"
Ellis simply shrugged, hiding his face in Elle's neck. "Am I in trouble?" He asked, voice
muffled but Elle's hair.
"Ellis, you can't say words like that. They're bad words." Charlie began to explain, getting up
and kneeling in front of their youngest. "Those sort of words can upset people, and be
offensive to people."
Nick got up too and took a place next to his husband, taking Ellis' tiny hands in his own.
"Who taught you them? Was it some kids at school?"
Ellis pouted for a moment, before shaking his head.
"So not some kids at school?" Charlie asked for confirmation.
"Was it Robin?" Nick tried, knowing that their eldest had learnt a much
more...colourful...vocabulary since starting secondary school.
And Ellis' eyes going wide at his big brother's name was all his dad's needed.
"Sorry, guys, can you give us both 5 minutes to have a word with Robin?" Charlie asked, all
of their friends nodding in understanding. "You two, stay down here, ok?" He directed at the
twins, who nodded their heads wordlessly.
"Bloody child free night, that's all we wanted. I'd have happily lived without this knowledge
that he's been teaching the twins how to swear." Nick muttered to Charlie as they went
upstairs.
"We knew this would probably happen, darling. Robin's practically a teenager, I'm surprised
it took him this long to learn those words, especially with you as their papa." Charlie teased.
They were angry, yes, but couldn't be too annoyed. It's not like either of them had never
slipped up and said the occasional swear word in front of the kids. And it's not like they
weren't going to learn 'naughty' words at some point, but what they did need to learn was
when it was appropriate to say them.
And their 12 year old son teaching his 8 year old siblings how to swear was definitely not
appropriate.
Charlie knocked his knuckles against Robin's bedroom door a couple times. "It's me and
papa, can we come in?"
"Yea!" His voice called out, and they entered the pigsty that was his room. Robin was laying
on his bed, scrolling through his new phone they'd gotten him for his birthday the previous
month. He took one earphone out, looking at them expectingly.
"Right, Robin, what's this about you teaching Ellis some swear words?" Nick asked, thinking
it better to get straight to the point. Get the tricky stuff out the way so they can find a
resolution, no beating around the bush.
Robin froze, the only things moving were his eyes. Back and forth between his dad and papa.
"What swear words..." He asked, very slowly.
"Come on, Robin. We know it was you, Lis is a rubbish liar and can't hide anything. He didn't
need to say your name for us to know it was you." Charlie said matter of factly, coming to sit
at the edge of his bed, prompting Robin to sit up.
"Why'd you do it?" Nick asked this time, coming and sitting on the other side of the bed.
"Just...thought it might be funny?" Robin grumbled, looking down bashfully.
Nick sighed - that wasn't exactly a good reason (though, he couldn't really think of any reason
that would be 'good'). "He's 8 though, Robin. He's too little to know words like that. And you
shouldn't be saying those words at home, or at school for that matter. Because it's not funny,
especially if he says them at school. He could get into serious trouble."
"Or imagine if he'd said it in front of grandma Jane and grandad Julio? They'd have gone
mental!" Charlie added, hating to think of the telling off he'd receive from his parents
(namely his mum) if they heard any of his children swearing. He may be a fully grown adult,
but his mother still had very rigid views on how his and Nick's children should be parented.
Robin looked at them both mournfully. "Im sorry...I really didn't mean any harm by it."
"We know," Charlie sighed, sharing a look with Nick who nodded, "Now you're going to tell
Ellis to not say those words again, ok? Explain to him that they're not words that should be
used, and that they can be harmful."
"And if we find out you've taught either you brother or sister any more swear words," Nick
added, "Then there'll be serious consequences. Got it?"
Robin nodded his head quickly. "I'll tell Ellis, and I promise I won't do it again."
"Well, we better get back to our house guests before the twins drive them mad. Don't stay up
too late, ok?" Charlie reminded him, taking Nick's hand and leading him back downstairs.
For the most part, Nick and Charlie didn't believe in punishing their children. When they
were little, they'd be put on the naughty step, sure. But now, so long as it wasn’t too serious,
they didn't believe in punishments like grounding their children or confiscating their
belongings. They preferred to talk things through with their children, explain why what
they've done is wrong, give them time to think about it or to find a solution. Their children
had never misbehaved badly enough that warranted a punishment (yet, at least). For the time
being, at least, their method of talking things through and finding a solution seemed to work
best for their children.
Chapter End Notes
How is everyone? A nice little mid-week update :)
I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! I have a couple more in the works, but let me
know if you have any more suggestions!
A new cousin
Chapter Summary
David and his fiancé, Hannah, have an announcement to make to everyone during
family day at nanny Sarah’s
Chapter Notes
Things between Nick and David hadn't always been the best (understatement of the century),
but since becoming dads things had gotten better. When David entered fatherhood some 14
years ago when he and his ex welcomed their first daughter, Maggie, it bought about a
change in the eldest Nelson that no one had quite expected. He was kinder, happier. Sure, he
could still be a dick, but he seemed to have mellowed. And, 15 months later when their
second daughter, Lyla, was born, the snide comments to his brother and brother-in-law
became practically non existent.
Fatherhood had bought the brothers together in a way their mother had wanted for so long but
had never imagined happening. They still had their moments where they argued (they were
siblings, and siblings argue, even as adults), or David said something out of line, but he was
learning. And that was the important thing.
It was nice for the kids to have some cousins to play with, too. With Tori and Michael
traveling for Michael's speed skating and living their best dual income/no children life, and
Olly not yet having any children of his own, the only cousins their kids had were David's
children.
Maggie and Lyla loved doting over their little cousins, looking after them, playing with them.
Nick and Charlie had even let them babysit the twins one evening for a few hours, with Ada
and Ellis coming back requesting that the girls look after them every weekend.
David had broken up with the girl's mum when they were young, but they tried to keep on
good terms for the sake of their children. David had been living his best bachelor life half the
time and the other half was spent trying to be the best dad to his girls he could be. He'd been
worried he'd turn out like his and Nick's father, filled with empty promises that they'll still see
each other all the time when in reality he spent most of their childhoods being absent. David
wouldn't let that happen, he loved the girls too much. He was quiet happy it just being the
three of them.
And then he met Hannah.
It had been a Hinge date, convinced by his old uni mates to join the app. She was a year
younger than him, lived in Herne Bay, worked as a room leader at a nursery.
And she had a daughter, Penelope, who was only 3 at the time (the same age as Robin. Well,
five days younger). She didn't have much contact with her dad, and had taken to calling
David 'daddy', something which had made the man cry when he first heard it. He viewed her
as his own flesh and blood, another one of his daughters just like Maggie and Lyla.
David and Hannah had hit it off from the get go, and their children got on so well. They got
engaged three years later but had yet to set a date, content with how things were and not
wanting it to change.
They all tried to get together at least once a month at Sarah's house for a family day. Nick and
Charlie usually saw her more often than that (at least once a week, normally more), but it was
harder for David and Hannah who lived further out.
Sarah was always so excited to have her children and grandchildren all together under one
roof, and today was no different. Nick, Charlie and their brood had arrived slightly early,
their home only being a short walk from Sarah's anyway.
"Nanny!!" Ada cried as she walked through the front door, the 6 year old wrapping her arms
around her nan's legs and squealing in delight.
Sarah crouched down on the floor so she could fully wrap her in a hug, Ellis and Robin
quickly running over to join them. "How are my beautiful little grand babies?" She gushed,
planting kisses on each of their foreheads.
"I bought my rugby ball 'cos papa said he'll play with me and uncle David in the garden!"
Robin said gleefully, holding up the ball proudly that he'd carried all the way there.
"That's great, Rob!" Sarah encouraged, getting up and wrapping Nick in her arms. "It's like
having a mini you around the house again." She teased before going to hug Charlie as well.
Nick and Charlie got about helping Sarah make dinner - a Sunday roast - despite her protests
and trying to shoo them from the kitchen.
"Come on, Sarah, put your feet up, we've got this." Charlie said, already ushering her to the
front room where Ellis was sitting playing with some dolls. "Plus, you know my homemade
Yorkshire puddings are the best." He teased, earning a playful slap on the arm from Sarah.
"Fine, but you boys aren't touching my desserts! I've got apple crumble and rice pudding in
there that just need cooking but if you dare touch them, I'll know!" She warned, sitting down
in her armchair and reclining. Nick's amazing baking skills had to of come from somewhere,
and it was clear his skills in creating sweet desserts had come from his mother.
Whilst Nick's skills were more in baking, Charlie wasn't too bad at cooking. Or, at least, he
liked to think he was decent (his children liked to tell him otherwise). Years of meal plans
and recovering from his eating disorder had meant he'd tried to learn how to cook a range of
foods, foods that were both 'safe' and others which pushed him more to his limits. They didn't
always taste great, but one thing he had mastered was the Sunday roast.
No one could moan when Charlie cooked a roast, plates usually left clean and belly's full.
It wasn't too much longer before David, Hannah and the girls all arrived, and suddenly Sarah
had a houseful of hyper children running about the place (plus one teenager who had decided
she was too cool for little kid games and would rather sit on her phone).
"Ok, so that's the last of dinner in the oven, it should be ready in about 15 minutes." Charlie
announced, wiping his hands on a tea towel and collapsing on the two seater next to Nick,
who draped an arm around his back.
"Uncle Charlie, can you show me how to play the drums pleasseeee?" Penelope asked not
even a second later, running over to her uncle and clambering on his lap.
"Penny! I said to wait until after dinner." Hannah scolded before turning to Charlie. "Sorry,
she's been saying about you teaching her for a few weeks now."
"Yea, 'cos of the drum kit you two got her for her birthday. Thanks for that, by the way. We
love noisy toys." David scowled but there was no real menace in his voice. He and Nick had
an unwritten rule to get the other's child a noisy present on their birthdays. It started with
Nick and Charlie getting Maggie a rattle when she was born, nothing too loud. But then
David got Robin once of those cardboard books with the buttons that make sounds, so they
got Lyla a 'toddler jams' toy radio, and then the twins were gifted mini megaphones each and
so on.
Charlie had just about died when he saw the miniature drum set in Smyths. He'd tried to get
Robin into music, but his focus was more on sports (he wasn't very musically gifted anyway,
Charlie had tried to console himself). Ada had shown an interest in instruments, but was a
little to small for this particular drum kit. But it was perfect for Penny.
And, of course, they'd bought an extra one for the play room at nanny Sarah's. Even if Ada
was too little to play it now, she'd get there eventually.
"Of course I'll show you, but like your mummy said we have to eat dinner first." He
confirmed to the small girl who cheered in response.
Roasts were soon devoured by everyone in the house, and of course there was always room
for dessert (no one could say no to Sarah's home made desserts). Pre-children, the adults
would have probably gone into a food-induced coma and have a nap. But, somehow, most of
the kids were still buzzing with energy. So Nick, Charlie and David found themselves in the
playroom (David's old bedroom), surrounded by a mountain of toys and 4 small children.
"Ada, remember to share." Charlie reminded his daughter as she tried to grab a soft toy off
Penelope. "Penny had that first, and you shouldn't take something that someone else was
playing with without asking first."
"Ada, come play dolls with me!" Ellis tried to distract his twin, waving the Princess Barbie in
the air to get her attention.
"Dolls? Ellis is playing with dolls?" David whispered to Nick, who nods his head.
"Yea, it's his go-to toy right now. Especially the princesses." Nick replied, digging through
the box next to him to find the a couple dresses for the dolls and passing them over to the
twins.
"Have you got a sparkly purple one?" Ellis asked, giving his best puppy dog eyes. Nick had
another rummage before managing to find one and chucked it over.
"Isn't that a little bit...like, girly? More of a girls toy?" David asked, lowering his voice
further to make sure the kids couldn't hear.
Nick just rolled his eyes at his older brother. "Toys aren't gendered, David. If Ellis wants to
play with dolls, then Ellis can play with dolls."
"I-uh-yea, no, you're right." David spluttered, looking down bashfully. "Sorry, it's
just...yea...boys can play with dolls."
"Hey, it's ok, you're still learning. We're all still learning." Nick placed a supportive hand on
David's arm and gave him a soft smile. His brother had come a long way from the
homophobic and biphobic comments he used to spit at him and Charlie in their teens. It had
taken a long time for the brother's to heal their relationship, but they finally felt like they
were in a good place. And, like now, there were still going to be times where David (and
Nick even) would slip up and make mistakes with what they say. But the important thing
about mistakes was that you learn from them, and David had proved to his family that he was
learning from his.
"I wanna go see nanny!" Robin announced loudly, collecting up as many toys as he could in
his small hands. He was definitely a nanny's boy, never wanting to be far from his favourite
woman in his life.
"Ahh, we're not taking that many toys out of here and making nanny's house a mess." Charlie
warned, tutting. "One toy only."
"I wanna go see nanny too!" Penny said, gripping her cousins hand and following him out of
the play room.
"Can we see nanny too? I wanna see nanny!" Ada asked, already getting up and dragging her
twin with her.
"Guess we're all off to see mum." Nick said, clambering up from his spot on the floor as the
three men followed their children into the front room.
They found the children surrounding Sarah's arm chair, all fighting for her attention as she
tried her hardest to listen to all of them. The smile never left her face, cheeks rosy red and
glowing. Sarah thrived being a nan, and was always glad to listen to her grandchildren
ramble on at her.
"...And this one is my favourite." Ellis announced, shoving a curly haired doll in Sarah's face
who beamed back at him.
"And this one's my favourite because it's a baby bear." Penny said happily as she held up a
soft toy. "Like the baby mummy has in her tummy!"
The adults all went silent.
"Oh my god, Penny!" Lyla said, eyes bulging and unblinking.
"We weren't meant to say anything yet!" Maggie added, eyes darting between her dad and
step mum.
"Wait...baby?" Sarah pushed in the recliner from her armchair, looking over to the big sofa
where Hannah was sitting with a mug and tea and a conveniently placed pillow over her lap.
"Darling, you're pregnant?"
Hannah have a shy smile and nodded, reaching her hand out to take David's as her fiancé
crossed the room to be by her side. "I'm pregnant. We're having another baby!"
Sarah was up from her seat in an instant, running over to her daughter in law and wrapping
her in a hug. Nick done the same for his brother, patting him on the back and congratulating
him.
"This is wonderful news, I bet you're all so excited!" Charlie squealed. "God, another niece or
nephew."
"How far along are you, dear? How's pregnancy been treating you?" Sarah asked,
affectionately running a hand through Hannah's hair.
"We're about 13 weeks now." Hannah said, looking up at David who nodded in confirmation.
"We wanted to wait to make sure everything was ok. Apparently I'm a 'geriatric pregnancy' so
we wanted to get into the second trimester before announcing. We was gonna tell you all later
today."
Penny looked over at them sadly. "Sorry for ruining the surprise."
"Hey, it's ok, you didn't ruin anything." David soothed, picking up the small girl and tickling
her until a smile was back on her face. "We're glad to not have to keep it a secret anymore."
David Nelson (junior) was born 5 months later, a little bit early but he was the picture of
health. He made his entrance into the world in David and Hannah's front room, taking them
both by surprise. Labour was very quick and the ambulance didn't get to them in time - safe
to say, David was not considering a career change to midwifery after that. The whole family
were over the moon with the newest addition, and affectionately took to calling him 'baby
DJ'.
Chapter End Notes
Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! What do you all think of this chapter? I loved
reading chapter suggestions requested previously and have already started writing a few
(and finished a few - watch this space!)
Remember to leave kudos, drop a comment, and hope everyone has a lovely week x
Caught in the act
Chapter Summary
Nick and Charlie decide to take advantage of a child-free house.
Chapter Notes
It was rare that Nick and Charlie got the house to themselves. So rare, in fact, that the pair
couldn't remember the last time it happened. Sure, with Robin being 17, he was definitely in
the house less. But that didn't mean he was never home. And he and his mates were usually at
the NelSpring household if they were getting ready to go to a party or wanted somewhere to
chill. They'd even taken in one of Robin's friends for a week after he got into an argument
with his parents.
At 14, the twins had only just started to go out without their dad's in the last couple of years.
They had started to get a small taste of independence. Of course, there were rules, like
making sure they were home no later than 8pm on a school night or 10pm on a weekend, and
that they told their dad's where they were going. Ada had started to take advantage of her new
found freedom, usually going out into town with her girl friends for a mooch around the
clothes shops and a cheap lunch at McDonalds. But Ellis had always been a bit more
introverted, preferring to stay holed up in his room chatting to his mates over Xbox. And, like
with Robin, it seemed that their home was the go-to place for their friends. It was rare that
Nick and Charlie would go more than 3 days without having an extra addition at the dinner
table, or having a couple more teenagers running about the house at the weekend.
It was nice to know that their children's friends felt so comfortable at their home and knew it
was a safe place for them. And they liked that the kid's friends thought of them as the 'cool
parents' (Charlie had walked past Robin's door one evening when he and his mates were
chilling after a rugby game and overheard one of the boys tell their son that his dad's were the
'coolest', with another adding that he wished 'his parents were like them'). But sometimes,
just sometimes, they wished the kids would go to their friend's houses instead so that they
could have a bit of alone time.
But luck seemed to be with them one Saturday.

~~~~~
"Papa, can I have £5 please if I unload and load the dishwasher?" Ada asked that afternoon,
batting her eyelashes.
Nick blinked at her - the going rate for doing the dishwasher in their house was usually only
£3. "£5? Are you sure? That's gone up a bit."
"Cost of living and inflation, papa. Things aren't as cheap as they used to be anymore." Ada
said matter of factly. She'd clearly been watching the news.
"Ok, how about £5 if you do the dishwasher and wipe down the sides in the kitchen as well?"
Nick bargained.
"£8 and I'll even mop the floor."
"Ok, you got yourself a deal." Nick said with a laugh, holding out his hand to shake his
daughter's.
Nick and Charlie didn't really do pocket money. If they were going on a family holiday or out
together for the day, they'd give the kids a bit of spending money. But for the most part, if
they wanted money to spend, they'd have to work for it. Nothing strenuous - they were still
kids, after all, and it was Nick and Charlie's jobs as their parents to keep the house in order.
But, once their kids hit the teenage years, they allowed them to do a few tasks around the
house in exchange for money. Hoovering, doing the dishes, tidying their own rooms and so
on. They weren't forced to do any of it - if they didn't, then their dad's were more than happy
to do it instead - but they felt it gave the kids a sense of responsibility to be able to earn their
own money.
"What do you need £8 for, anyway?" Nick asked.
"Me and some of my friends are going into town to do some shopping and grab some food."
This sparked Nick's attention. Ada was going out. And, if he remembered correctly, Robin
and Ellis were planning on going to the cinema together this evening to watch the new
Marvel film, too.
Nick tried to act nonchalant, taking out his phone and scrolling aimlessly through it. "So what
time are you going out? Do you and your friends need a lift in?"
"Thank you, but it's ok. We're gonna get the bus, I'll probably be leaving in a couple of
hours." Ada said as she started wiping down the sides.
"So long as you're sure. Will you want a lift home? Me and dad won't want you all getting a
bus home if it's dark out." Nick asked, subtly trying to ask what time she'll be home.
"It won't be late, I doubt I'll be later than 8. Most of the shops shut at 7 anyways, I'll text you
when we need a lift." Ada replied happily.
7, Nick could work with that.
Next stop, find out how long the boys would be out.
Nick went upstairs, knocking on Robin's door and waiting to him to say to come in. Lottie
had stayed over the night before, and he really didn't want to walk in on something he ought
not to be seeing. He found them settled on his bed together, laptop open in front of them and
music playing softly in the background.
"What time does the film start that you and Ellis are going into town to watch?" He asked,
getting straight to the point.
"I think just before 5, why? You changed your mind about coming with us?" Robin asked.
It was no secret that Nick loved a Marvel film, and usually whenever one came out in the
cinema he'd be up there with his sons watching it. But, when they asked him earlier in the
week if he was going to come, he had said he probably wouldn't be able to do. He and
Charlie had a lot of housework to catch up on (especially with Jane and Julio planning a visit
to them in a couple of days now that it was half term), and it wouldn't be fair to leave his
husband to deal with it all whilst he's out enjoying himself.
"I'm gonna have to give it a miss I think, there's still a lot to sort out before grandma and
grandad get here." Nick explained, mentally cheering. That gave him and Charlie nearly 3
whole hours to themselves. "But if it's any good and you two wanna go watch it again, you
can count me in!"
Nick couldn't help the skip in his step as he left his son's bedroom, hurriedly getting his
phone out of his pocket to text Charlie who was currently doing the food shop.
Nick
[14:14pm]
Soooo....guess who has a child free house tonight?! xxxxxxx
Charlie had all but jumped into his arms when he returned from shopping, eyes sparkling as
he held on tightly to his husband. "Child free house? How long for? Are you sure? What
happened there?"
Nick chuckled. "That was a lot of questions. Ada's going out with her friends soon and said
she'll probably want a lift home for 8ish but will text us when she's ready to leave, the boys
are going to the cinema and their film starts at 5. That could be nearly 3 hours, Char! 3 hours
of just you, me, and nothing else." He lowered his voice, pulling Charlie impossibly closer by
his belt hoops. He leant down, placing a few teasing kisses against his neck.
Charlie practically melted into his husband's arms. "Just you wait, Mr Nelson-Spring. Just.
You. Wait."
They didn't mean to, but both men ended up lingering around their children. Just waiting for
them to leave the house. Ada was the first to go, running out the front door to make the bus
into town (she'd been so busy doing her hair that she hadn't realised the time).
Then it was just a matter of waiting for the boys.
And if they thought it took Ada ages to get ready and leave, then the boys definitely took an
eternity.
"You two are gonna miss the film at this rate!" Charlie called up the stairs, anxiously looking
at the time on his phone.
"It's ok, it'll only be the adverts at the beginning!" Ellis called back down.
"Not the answer I was hoping for." Charlie grumbled, sitting down half on the sofa and half
on Nick's lap.
"Patience, love. They'll be gone soon." Nick whispered, snaking his arms around Charlie's
waist and hugging him closer.
'Soon' ended up being another 20 minutes. Thank god Robin knew how to drive and had a
car, otherwise they were sure they'd have asked one of their dads to drop them off.
As soon as they heard the car pull away from the drive, the two men were on each other. All
tongues and wandering hands and bodies pressed impossibly close to each other. It wasn't as
though they didn't have sex - granted, their sex life was pretty great - but with a houseful of
kids it meant having to keep quiet (they had a few different gags to help with that).
But the rarity of a child free house? Where they could be free to make as much noise without
fear of someone hearing? (excluding the neighbours, but they sounded pretty adventurous
themselves if the noises emitting between their shared wall was anything to go by).
They were going to take full advantage of this.

Nick lifted Charlie up effortlessly, placing him on the kitchen counter and grinding forward
when his husband wrapped his legs around him.
"I've - uh -" Charlie groaned when Nick nipped at the sensitive spot beneath his ear on his
neck. "I - yea - I got us - got us something."
"Hmm?" Nick asked with a smirk, loving the effect he was having on Charlie. He snaked his
hands up and under his top, scraping blunt nails down his back. "And what would that be?"
Nick whispered, voice husky.
Nick tugged at the hem of Charlie's top, who waisted no time stripping it from his torso.
"Remember when we was younger?" Charlie asked, planting gentle kisses along his
husband's arms. "We used - we used to use that tingly lube?" He took advantage of Nick's
brief pause to pull his top over his head. "I may have bought some in Tesco earlier. For old
time's sake." Charlie threw a wink in Nick's direction, smirking at his flustered face.
They hadn't used tingly lube in quite a while, the effects being a bit too...noisy, on both their
parts. It was hard to be subtle with it.
"And, um," Nick licked his lips, pupils blown wide at the mere thought, "Where is this tingly
lube?"
Charlie wiggled his eyebrows, had the audacity to grope Nick over his joggers, eliciting a
moan, before he hopped down from the counter and skipped across the room. He bent down,
making sure to wiggle his bum as he went. "I kept it in my backpack, knew the kids wouldn't
go looking through there."
Charlie gasped as he felt Nick push into his from behind, gripping his hips and grinding
down. "Hmm, and what if I'd have found it?" Nick reached in front now, expertly using one
hand to unbuckle the younger man's belt and pop his jean buttons open.
Charlie stood up fully, bottle of tingly lube griped firmly in his hand. "Well, it would have
been fun to watch your flustered face all afternoon."
"You," Nick undone the last of the buttons, "Cheeky," He nipped at Charlie's neck, "Little,"
With both hands, he pulled down Charlie's jeans and pants in one swift motion, "Sod."
Charlie turned around, stepping out of his remaining clothes and leaving them discarded on
the kitchen floor. "Honey, I think we can both agree that there's nothing little about me." He
whispered, going on his tip toes and planting gentle kisses along Nick's jawline.
"How do you wanna do this, then?" Nick asked, quirking an eyebrow. He gave a few long
tugs on Charlie's dick, loving the way it made him go putty in his hands. This time was no
different, his husband leaning into his chest and biting his lip to hold back a groan.
"Remember," Nick added, leaning down and brushing the curls from Charlie's face, "There's
no need to be quiet."
"I was thinking..." Charlie started, reaching his hands down the back of Nick's trousers and
giving his bum cheeks a playful squeeze.
"You know I love when you think." Nick teased.
He was met with a harsh spank against his arse. "Cunt." Charlie bit down on one of his
nipples, enjoying the way it made him arch his back. Nick's nipples had always been extra
sensitive. "I was thinking, though...we've never done it on this sofa..."
"The sofa, hmm?"
Charlie nodded, working Nick's joggers and pants down his thighs. "We've shagged on every
sofa we've ever owned...except this one...could put a blanket down...make the most of not
getting walked in on..."
Clothes shrugged off, Charlie pushed their naked bodies close together, savouring the way his
husband felt. Nick reached down, once again lifting Charlie into his arms and encouraging
him to wrap his legs around his waist. "To the sofa we go then."
Charlie couldn't help the squeals and giggles that came out as he was carried throughout the
house, feeling like he was in his 20's again. A time when they could walk freely around their
home, naked, without the fear of someone walking in on them. Of a time when they could
have, and would have, sex no matter the time of day, not just late at night or early mornings
under the ruse that they were sleeping.
When they could use tingly lube and not have to worry about keeping quiet.
Nick chucked Charlie onto the sofa, giving him a second to recover before he climbed on
top.
"Pass me the lube then."
Charlie happily obliged, watching with wide eyes as Nick squirted some onto his fingers with
a plop. He spread his legs eagerly, reaching one hand down to hold onto Nick's biceps, and
his other going to flop over his mouth, ready to muffle the moans.
"Hey, no need for that this time." Nick said with a smirk, not giving Charlie time to reply
before he was diving a finger in. He knew his husband's body like the back of his hand, easily
finding that sweet spot that elicited filthy moans from his mouth. "Hmm, you're loose." Nick
commented, already able to add a second finger as he began to scissor him open.
"I may - ugh - may have...done some - some prep...earlier." Charlie's voice came out breathy.
He reached a hand down, lazily wrapping a fist around his dick and started to pump it.
"Uh, uh uh," Nick used his free hand to move Charlie's away, pinning it to his side, "No
touching. Not yet."
Charlie shifted his bum up, trapping his hand underneath his body weight, knowing that was
the only way he'd be able to stop himself. "Not...that's not fairrrrr..." His protests quickly
turned into a moan as Nick continuously rubbed that sweet spot deep inside him.
"C'mon...ready babe...need you." Charlie gripped onto Nick, bringing him down so that their
chests were flush.
Nick was all but happy to oblige. He squirted more of the lube onto his dick, biting his lip to
hold back a moan.
"Hey, no need for that this time." Charlie mimicked, earning a flick to the nipple.
He guided himself slowly in, giving Charlie time to adjust. His husband was practically a
mess beneath him, pupils blown in lust at the feeling of the friction.
"Forgot how - how good - this tingly lube is." Nick groaned once he bottomed out. It
heightened all his senses, making everything feel that much more intense.
Charlie shifted below him, pushing him impossibly deeper. Nick knew what the wordless
movement meant - it was giving him permission to move.
The sound of skin on skin. Moans filling the room. Hot and sweaty. Pants. Groans. Mantras
of "More, More, MORE!"
"Nick...oh god, Nick..."
Nick carried on, thrusting harder and faster. Charlie's hands gripped tightly onto his back,
bound to leave marks later but he didn't care. 'No visible marks', that was their rule.
"Nick...wait..."
Nick carried on, knowing that's what his husband would say when he was close. 'Wait' - wait
so they could finish together, wait so they could make the sensations last longer.
He was close himself.
"No, red, shitty fucking - RED!"
Nick stopped instantly, panic filling his body. He pulled out, eyes going over his husbands
body in a hurry, checking for any physical signs of injury. "Darling, oh my god, it's ok. Have
I hurt you? Are you in pain?" He rushed out, a hand going between Charlie's legs to check for
blood (that had happened a couple times before, more often to Nick but once to Charlie too.
Google told them it was common, just an 'anal fissure'. Regardless of how common it was, it
was still painful and uncomfortable).
"No, Nick, shit!" Charlie shifted so he was sitting up on his forearms. "I'm fine! Just - listen!
It sounds like the kids."
Nick went silent, the worry leaving his body briefly upon finding out his husband was ok.
But that moment of calmness quickly diminished when he realised his husband was right.
Their front door rattled, pushed open. Then the porch door, their children's voices getting
louder and louder.
The two men looked at each other with wide eyes.
"Shit."
"Shit." Charlie looked around frantically for some clothes but realised they'd been discarded
in the kitchen. And the kitchen entrance was in direct view of the hallway door. "What do we
do?"
Nick chucked the tv remote at Charlie, who got the message and turned it on. The older of the
pair then grabbed the blanket they'd been sitting on, tugging it out from beneath their bodies
and wrapping them both up. They curled up together, pulling the blanket up to their necks.
They managed it just in time, because then their three children were entering the front room.
"Kids! Hi! What are you all doing back so early?" Nick squeaked out, voice going high. His
eyes darted between them and the kitchen entrance, silently preying that none of them would
want to get a drink.
"Rob's an idiot and forgot to pre-buy the cinema tickets, they had none left!" Ellis grumbled,
glaring at his big brother. Their youngest, at least, seemed not to have picked up on the
strange atmosphere in the room.
They wished the same could be said about the other two.
"What about you, Ade? We weren't meant to be getting you until later?" Charlie asked this
time, blushing when his voice cracked. He pulled the blanket up higher, trying to hide from
the gaze of his children.
Ada looked between her two dads, confusion etched across her face. "I bumped into the boys
after eating, Clara had shown up and I don't like Clara right now so decided to go home with
them." She crossed her arms, frowning. "Why are you two so sweaty? And acting so
strange?"
Nick and Charlie glanced at each other briefly, gulping. "It's just...it's hot in here..." Nick
said, trailing off.
"Then why are you both tucked under a blanket?" Ada pushed.
Robin had been silently watching the exchange, but seemingly became bored of the
questions. "I'm hungry, we got any good food in?" He asked, already heading to the kitchen.
"Wait, don't go in there! We can get -" Nick stopped talking when he realised Robin had
stopped walking. Their eldest stood in the doorway, teetering between the two rooms. His
eyes had gone wide and the colour drained from his face. "- A takeaway? We can get a
takeaway?" Nick finished in a small voice.
"No! Oh my god no! You two! This is just - ugghhh!" Robin took a few steps back, bumping
into his siblings. "I just - for fucks sake! Come on, we're gonna wait in the car for 5 minutes."
"No! You two weren't, were you?!" Ada exclaimed, looking between Robin who was refusing
to look at his dad's and the red faces of the two men in front of her.
The blushing said it all.
"That is so gross! Oh my god!"
"What's gross? What's going on?" Ellis asked, clueless as to what his brother and sister were
talking about.
"No! You don't want to know! Come on!" Robin groaned, grabbing Ellis' arm and dragging
him back out the door. Ada was hot on their heels. "5 minutes! You have 5 minutes!" He
shouted as they went.
"We're so sorry, kids!" Charlie shouted after them, but it was met on deaf ears.
As soon as the front door shut, both men were jumping up to scramble to get their clothes
back on.
"That was mortifying. I can't believe that just happened!" Charlie said, hands shaking as he
struggled with the buttons on his jeans.
"Thank fuck you heard them, Char! Could you imagine if they'd have walked in and we
hadn't of stopped?" Nick cringed at the thought. "Shit, where's the lube? We can't have them
seeing that!"
Charlie was on his hands and knees, sweeping the floor until he found where it had rolled
under the sofa. "I'm gonna - I'm gonna hide this upstairs. Yea, this is doing in our locked
drawer." He said, taking the stairs two at a time.
Nick made quick work of putting the front room back in order. They both sat on the sofa,
putting a considerable amount of space between each other, and waited for the kids to come
back in.
It was definitely longer than 5 minutes, and when they did come back in through the front
door, Ada called out, "Are you both decent this time?!"
"You can come in!" Nick called back, taking a deep, calming breath as he prepared for the
awkwardness. Charlie slid towards him ever so slightly, grabbing his husband's hand and
giving it a reassuring squeeze.
The kids came back into the front room - Robin still refused to meet their eyes, Ada had a
look of disgust on her face, and Ellis still seemed as clueless as ever.
"I think we need to talk." Robin began, going to sit on the sofa with his dads but then having
second thoughts. The kids all chose to clamber onto the two seater together.
"We, umm....we had a towel down. If that makes it any better? We didn't ruin the sofa."
Charlie told them, feeling more like the child in this situation rather than the adult.
"It doesn't." Ada said bluntly.
"It's our family sofa! I don't think I can ever sit on that again." Robin added, finally looking at
his dad's. "Bloody scarred us for life."
"You don't make this a regular habit, do you?" Ada asked, crossing her arms and raising an
eyebrow.
"As if you lot leave the house enough to let us..." Nick whispered, earning a light slap in the
arm from Charlie.
"No! God, no! It's...this is a communal space, and we probably shouldn't have done it down
here."
"Definitely shouldn't have done it down here." Robin corrected.
"Ohhhh!" Ellis exclaimed, eyes going wide as realisation hit him. "That's what you two were
doing! Oh my god, that's disgusting!!! You two are way too old for that!"
Robin looked at his brother in confusion. "How can you be so dense?!"
"Rob, don't be horrible!" Nick scolded.
"And then being old isn't even the problem here!" Ada exclaimed, glaring at her twin.
"We're not even that old!" Charlie protested. "I'm only 43!"
"Practically 50." Robin deadpanned. "But that's not the point! You two have to promise to
never do that in this house ever again!"
"Never in the house?" Nick asked, trying to hold back a smirk. Watching his children get so
flustered was always slightly funny.
"No! Never again! I'm gonna be having nightmares about this!" Ada declared. "It's so gross!"
Nick and Charlie shared a look; if that's what their kids needed to hear. "Ok, never again."
Charlie confirmed.
'Never again' lasted about 3 hours - both men had some unfinished business to attend to.
From the safe confines of their bedroom this time.
Chapter End Notes
Anyone else feel like they’re going through an early-20s life crisis right now? Just
feeling so indifferent about life? Me and my boyfriend recently broke up, we’d been
together since teenagers, and I feel like I should feel more bothered about it than I do.
My new job isn’t quite what I expected; I like the work I’m doing, but the people are a
bit…strange? Idk, I feel like it would have upset me how they act a few years ago but
now I just find myself not caring. Is that normal? Life just feels so weird right now, I’m
not sure what direction my life is going in and feel like I’m having a self-identity crisis.
But at the same time every week is just merging into one and I feel so indifferent about
everything.
Weird rant over - something had been bothering me the last few months and I realised in
work today that it’s how strange I’m finding life right now. Felt like I needed to release
it somewhere
Anywayyyyyyy
Hope you all enjoyed this little chapter - I’m crap at writing sexy stuff so hopefully it’s
not too cringe!!
I got this idea from a previous comment so if anyone else has any suggestions let me
know and I’ll give a go at writing it :)
Remember to leave kudos and comments they make me very happy!

First Birthday Cake
Chapter Summary
Nick bakes an elaborate birthday cake for the twins first birthday, Charlie and Robin
help
Chapter Notes
The last year of Nick and Charlie's life had been a whirlwind. From the moment they bought
the twins home, they felt that their family was complete. The year had been hard, and
exhausting, and challenging.
But also, so, so rewarding in ways they couldn't imagine.
And now, with their first birthday being tomorrow, it was time to prepare for the
celebrations.
Charlie had gone back to work a few months ago from his paternity leave, working part time
at the old book shop in town. He loved it there, loved the people that came in and the
knowledge he could share. But, god, he did miss his babies whilst he was away.
He was grateful for one of the girls who worked there who'd agreed to swap around a few
shifts with him, giving him 4 days at home to fully celebrate the twins turning 1.
He'd gotten the hang of juggling all the kids by himself, knowing the best way to deal with a
situation where one was having a meltdown or one had gotten messy. He had to admit that it
was a little harder now they'd started to toddle about, but he made it work.
Both he and Nick were beyond excited for the twins first birthday, and for the party they were
throwing with all their friends and family. It was going to be Disney themed, with them
buying Ellis a Mickey Mouse costume and Ada a Minnie Mouse one (Robin was going as
Robin Hood, of course. He became obsessed with the film when he realised he had the same
name as the main character). Nick and Charlie decided to go as Woody and Buzz, though it
had been a bit hard to find family appropriate costumes.
They'd bought banners and balloons, sorted out goody bags for the kids. They had a piñata
for the older children, Sarah and Elle were making platters of food. The only thing they didn't
have sorted yet was the cake.
Nick would be making the cake.
Nick loved baking, and he was pretty bloody good at it, too. For Robin's first birthday, he'd
made an array of Winnie the Pooh themed cupcakes. For Charlie's 30th, he'd made cookies
showing all of his husband's favourite things. He'd even made a mini smash cake for the
twin's first birthday photoshoot the other week.
But nothing was going to be as elaborate as what he had planned for today.
Three tiers, a different flavour for each. One chocolate, one victoria sponge, one blueberry
lemon. The bottom tier would be white with 'Ellis' cut out in black fondant on one side and
'Ada' is red on the other. Tier two would be red with little white spots covering it. And the top
tier would be white with black Mickey Mouse heads covering it. Sprouting out the top, they'd
bought a red glittery cake topper saying 'Ada and Ellis Turn One!' And he was planning on
making mini fondant Disney characters (with Charlie's help) - Mickey and Minnie, of course,
Donald and Daisy Duck, Pluto, and Goofy.
He was most worried about them. Cakes, he could do. And his decorating wasn't too bad. But
creating these tiny little characters was going to be his greatest challenge.
"Ok, Robin, what do we need first?" He asked the small four year old standing on a step stool
next to him in the kitchen.
Of course, when Nick had announced he was planning on making the twin's first birthday
cake, Robin had insisted on helping. He loved helping his dad's, whether that be with his little
brother and sister or helping around the house (he'd even asked for a hoover for Christmas).
And he loved baking with his papa, always squealed with excitement whenever he saw the
scales being taken out the cupboard or saw the cake decoration box on the kitchen counter.
"Flour!" Robin answered excitedly, making grabby hands towards the paper bag just out of
reach.
"Which type do we need? Plain, or self raising?" Nick further questioned. Robin was like a
little sponge at the moment, soaking anything up and wanting to learn everything.
Robin paused for a moment, face scrunching up as he thought about it. "Self raising?" He
eventually asked.
"That's the one!" Nick nodded happily, taking the bag and putting it near the bowls.
It was always a little risky baking with a four year old, especially when the food was going to
be consumed by people other than he and Charlie. But he loved baking with his son, and
wasn't about to tell him he couldn't help.
Even if he did get a few bits of egg shells in the batter.
"How's it going in here then?" Charlie asked about an hour later. Ada was by his side,
toddling over, whilst Ellis was in his arms, arms clinging around his daddy's neck. He always
did take a little longer to wake up after a nap.
"Daddy! Look what I done!" Robin exclaimed, excitedly pointing to the bowl of lemon and
blueberry cake mixture in front of him.
Charlie laughed, dampening a bit of kitchen roll to wipe some chocolate off one side of his
cheek and his forehead. "Looks amazing, Robin! You're doing such a good job!"
Ada looked up at her papa, making grabby hands at him. "Up! Up!"
"You wanna see what me and Robin are doing, hey little missy?" Nick asked, scooping her up
in her arms so she could see the counter top. Her eyes went wide at the bowl of blueberry's in
front of her, her favourite fruit at the moment, and she tried to escape Nick's arms to reach
them.
"Here you go, Ada!" Robin grabbed a few of the quartered blueberries (any bigger and they'd
be a choking hazard), giving them one by one to his sister who happily ate away before
wriggling to get down again.
"Looks like you're doing a good job, love." Charlie complimented, shifting Ellis to the other
arm so he could better kiss his husband.
"I think we're gonna need your help soon with the Disney characters. Just gotta put this last
layer in the oven, the other two are on the side cooling." Nick said, pointing his head to the
direction of the first two cake layers. Ellis seemed to perk up upon seeing his papa, reaching
his arms out and babbling away. Nick's eyes lit up, happily taking the little boy into his arms.
"And I think I need to clean you up first, you've got more batter on your face than Robin
did!" Charlie teased, using one hand to hold Nick's head still and the other to rub some flour
out of his beard, ignoring his husband's protests. "I'll get the twin's sensory stations out and
then we can all give making the characters a go?" Charlie suggested.
Nick plopped a now wriggling Ellis on the floor, who immediately went over to his sister.
The two were joint at the hip, never wanting to be far from one another. He then went to help
Robin pour the batter into the last of the cake tins, allowing their eldest to lick out the bowl
whilst he helped Charlie get the twins set up with their sensory toys (it was the only toy that
kept them entertained for more than 5 minutes). Toddlers quiet, he, Charlie and Robin sat at
the dining room table with an array of colourful fondants and printed pictures of their
characters.
"Can I make Robin Hood?" Robin has asked, already grabbing for the brown fondant to make
the foxes face.
Nick and Charlie shared a look - it wasn't exactly one of the characters they had planned for
their cake, but anything for their little boy.
"Of course, you can make any character you want." Charlie said, earning a big grin.
Robin and the twins soon grew bored of their activities, and it was nearing their dinner time.
Nick sighed - he supposed he'd have to try and finish the rest of the characters and decorating
the cake later. Dinner was an easy task, and Charlie was more than happy to keep the kids
entertained in the living room.
Since becoming parents, they'd truly learnt the importance of team work. Gone were the
relaxing evenings of cooking together, music playing in the background as they danced
around the kitchen with a glass of wine in hand. Gone were dinners on the sofa whilst they
peacefully ate their food with a drama playing on the tv. Dinners now often went cold as they
helped their babies cut up their food and eat it, or whilst they tried to keep them at the table
and taught them how to use their plastic knife and fork. No longer could they be carefree as
they cooked together; one of them had to keep the kids entertained, determined to stick to
their guns about not plonking them in front of a screen too much.
But you know what? Nick and Charlie wouldn't have their lives any other way.
"Dinner's ready!" Nick called, dinner tonight consisting of shepherd's pie and veg.
Robin came speeding into the dining room, ignoring his dad's calls to slow down. Charlie
came through slowly after, a hand behind both of the twin's backs as they toddled in after
their big brother. Since hitting that milestone of learning to walk, both were pretty reluctant
to be picked up and carried anywhere. It made both men more than a little emotional to know
that their youngest babies were getting older, but it filled them with so much pride every time
they showed determination with their walking.
Charlie picked up both in his arms and put them in their booster seats and Nick bought in the
plates, ensuring that the twins were mashed up enough and Robin's was cut into bite sized
pieces. They'd learnt long ago that meal times were made much easier when they cut up the
kid's food before serving it up to them. Sippy cups were filled up for the twins and plastic
cups for everyone else (they had very few actual glasses anymore, and saved them for when
the kid's were out. Robin was a bit clumsy to say the least, and was always full of energy and
running about. After accidentally bumping into the table when he was 2, causing a glass to
fall and smash everywhere, then proceeding to get a bit of glass stuck in his foot, both men
had decided it be best if they stick to non-breakable glasses for the next few years. At least
until all their children were older).
The nightly routine in the NelSpring household consisted of bath times and stories read in
bed. The twins would go down first (they were fairly lucky, as they often slept through the
night. That hadn't been the case with Robin at that age). Next was Robin, who always insisted
both his daddy's lie in bed with him, read him a story with the voices and they couldn't leave
until he'd drifted off. They had no doubt, though, that he'd be crawling into their bed at about
3am, a recent habit he'd developed.
And then, at last, with all the kids tucked into bed and sleeping soundly, could they try to
complete the birthday cake.
"I can't believe that they're turning one tomorrow, this last years gone so quickly." Nick
commented as he started assembling the cake. The first layer was the easiest, just cutting out
their names with the cookie cutter alphabet shapes they had.
Charlie hummed in agreement, eyebrows scrunch in concentration as he tried do get the

details on Goofy right. "This time last year we was at the hospital with Molly, her waters
hadn't long broke." Charlie looked up briefly and smirked. "You were fretting because you
wanted to watch the twins come out but also didn't wanna go all woozy like you did with
Robin."
"Hey!" Nick exclaimed in mock offence, chucking a small ball of fondant towards Charlie
who ducked just in time. "It's not my fault that childbirth is so bloody and gruesome."
"Literally the most natural thing in the world, love." Charlie said with a fond eye roll.
"You're telling me that needing over 20 stitches from delivering the twins was natural?"
"Well Molly did have an episiotomy." Charlie gave one final look at Goofy, decided he was
happy with how he turned out, and went to work on Daisy Duck.
Nick shuddered at the memory. "And to think you managed to watch all that and not pass
out."
Nick had never been squeamish, not when he was younger and not now. He'd held Charlie
and cleaned and bandaged his wounds enough times, had enough rugby injuries that needed
sorting out. And he never shied away from patching up the kid's cuts and bruises. But for
some reason, childbirth was the thing that crossed the line for Nick - both times, he just
couldn't hack looking watching it.
The two men worked into the early hours completing their babies birthday cake. It had gone
midnight by the time it was complete; maybe 5 years ago that wouldn't have been a late one,
but since becoming dad's their usual bedtime was rarely later than 10pm.
And there was still the front room to decorate.
"Right, if I do the balloons and you do the banners," A yawn, "We can smash this out in half
hour. Sound good?" Charlie suggested, already grabbing the pack of 1st birthday balloons.
By the time they finished, both of them were ready to pass out with exhaustion but it was so
worth it. The house looked amazing, with banners and balloons and streamers. They'd put the
presents in front of the fire place, had rearranged the dining room so that the table was
pushed against the back window, ready for the buffet. Everything looked perfect, and they
couldn't wait to celebrate the twin's first birthday in the morning with all of their loved ones.
The birthday party went better than the dad's could have ever expected. The twins had the
best time being showered in love and affection (and presents), and Robin had so much fun
getting to run around the house with all his little friends. All their family and friends showed
up, gushing over their babies and sharing memories of the past year, watching them grow and
hit all of their milestones. They all received so many compliments on their costumes, too, and
made sure to get lots of family pictures.
And, of course, everyone loved the cake. There had been 'ooos' and 'ahhhs' when Nick had
emerged from the kitchen into the darkened living room carrying the showstopper, a large '1'
candle flicking on top for the twins to blow out. And if everyone thought it looked good, they
all thought it tasted even better. The cake had been a success, and it became a tradition for
Nick and Charlie to bake and decorate a cake each year for their children's birthdays.
Chapter End Notes
Happy Wednesday and happy February! Hope everyone’s doing ok and that you enjoyed
this chapter!
I have a few chapters lined up (one involving auntie Tori, one involving an emotional
conversation between Ellis and his dads, and one involving parents evening), but let me
know if you have any suggestions or recommendations as I’d love to write about them!
If you’ve enjoyed this so far, remember to leave kudos and a comment x

Auntie Tori’s announcement
Chapter Summary
Auntie Tori and Uncle Michael have spent their 20’s and 30’s travelling the world for
Michael’s career. They’d relocated to Switzerland a few months ago, so what was Tori
doing knocking at the Nelson-Spring door when she wasn’t even meant to be in the
country?
Chapter Notes
“Daddy, auntie Tori's at the door!"
Charlie put down the jumper he'd been folding up in Ada's room. Auntie Tori? Had he heard
Ellis right?
"DADDYYYYY! Can I let auntie Tori in?"
Ok, Charlie definitely heard it right that time. Ellis had said Tori's name. He took the stairs
two at a time, finding his youngest son sitting on the sofa and peaking out the blinds. He was
meant to be at karate right now, but had woken up with a temperature and sore throat so his
parents thought it better he stay home with Charlie.
"Auntie Tori? Are you sure?" Charlie asked, already walking towards the front door with a
tiny human in tow.
Ellis nodded his head eagerly. "Yea! It's her!"
Charlie opened the front door and, lo and behold, there stood his big sister with the hint of a
smile on her face.
"Charles." Was all she greeted before Charlie was wrapping her in his arms in a bone
breaking hug.
"Tori, I can't believe it's you! I can't believe you're here!" He gushed, pulling her inside to
shut the front door before pulling her into his chest again. "What are you doing here?"
"Hmm, can a girl not come to visit her little brother and his family without a reason?" She
asked dryly before pulling away to look down at her nephew who'd clung himself to her side.
"How are you, my littlest nephew?"
"I've got a cold so daddy and papa said I can't go to karate today but I'm soooooo excited to
see you!" Ellis gushed, grinning up at his auntie.
"I expect to go home with a cold as well, then?" Tori asked, raising an eyebrow to Charlie
who gave a sheepish nod.
"It's sort of doing its rounds around here at the moment. I blame Nick, I think he bought it
home from one of the kids in his class."
They made their way into the living room. "The rest of the kids not here?" Tori asked, noting
the lack of small children running up to greet her as she sat herself down on the sofa, Ellis
squeezing in closely next to her.
"Nah, Saturday's are the club days. Nick's taken Robin to rugby and Ada to dance class, it's a
good thing Ellis is sick really or I'd have gone with them and then you'd have been left on the
doorstep." Charlie explained, voice raised a bit from where he was in the kitchen making
them both mugs of tea. He bought them in, carefully handing one over to his sister who
accepted it gratefully.
"They not gonna be back for a while then?"

Charlie checked the time on his phone - it was half 11. "They won't be much longer, they'll
probably just be finishing up now." He replied before thinking for a moment. "I thought you
and Michael were meant to be in Switzerland? Isn't he training a club over there?"
"Yea, I, uh, flew home last night. He's still over there."
Charlie could sense the tension, sense that Tori wanted to say something more but was
holding back. Most likely due to the 10 year old clinging to her side.
"Ellis, how about you go up to your room and play with your toys?" Charlie suggested.
Ellis shook his head violently. "Whatttt? Nooooo! Auntie Tori only just got here, I wanna
stay with herrrrr!"
"Ellis, please. I bet auntie Tori would love for you to draw her a picture." Charlie suggested
"And I promise I'll still be here later." Tori added, and that seemed to do the trick with Ellis
scurrying off upstairs, yelling all the way about the rainbow of colours he'd be using for her
drawing.
Once tiny ears were out of hearing, Charlie got up and sat next to Tori. "Right, ok Victoria,
come on, what's happened? What's Michael done? Do I need to fly over there and kick his
arse? Have you gotten into an argument? What's -"
"I'm pregnant."
That stopped Charlie right in his tracks.
"You're....what? Pregnant? That's...wow..." Charlie realised he wasn't saying actual sentences,

just words. He quickly schooled his expression. "That's...Ummm...yea, that's great news?" It
came out as more of a question.
Tori and Michael didn't have any children and, with them both now hitting that 40 mark,
everyone assumed that they weren't going to ever have kids. Charlie included. With the pair
traveling around the world, having to move for Michael's job, Michael even competing in the
olympics, they'd never settled down and created that stereotypical 'family'. But they were
both happy, and had both said before that they didn't want children.
And now here Tori was. Pregnant.
"Not what you was expecting, huh?" Tori looked at her little brother, expression still
unchanging. "Me neither."
"Woww...fucking hell..." Charlie trailed off, not too sure on what to say. He wrapped an arm
around Tori, feeling her slightly melt into his side. "What do you wanna do?" He decided to
ask.
Tori just let out a huff, resting her head on his shoulder. "Fuck knows...a fucking baby...I
think I want to keep it...I'm not sure..." Charlie noticed Tori's hand flutter over her stomach, a
thumb rubbing small circles.
The front door banged open and a herd of feet could be heard rushing in along with Nick's
voice calling out, "Honey, I'm home!" Before quickly adding, "Robin, shoes off before you
trample mud through the house please."
"Suppose I better tell Nick as well." Tori whispered, sitting up straighter on the sofa.
"You don't have to tell anyone anything until you want to and feel ready." Charlie reassured
his sister.
Tori shook her head. "I want to tell Nick too."

Ada came running around the corner, still in her dance leotard and her bun sitting neatly on
her head (Nick and Charlie had mastered little girl hairstyles long ago). She didn't seem to
notice Tori at first, instead diving onto her dad's lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Daddy! Daddy! Guess what? I learnt how to sauté at ballet today! And that means 'jump' in
English 'cos it's in French! And I did realllyyyy well and I think that's cos I'm part French cos
papa is half French so I'm practically an expert at sauté-ering!" Ada explained giddily,
bouncing up and down on her dad.
Charlie placed one hand over his lap to protect it from his daughter's knees, oblivious to the
pain she was near causing. "That's amazing, Ada, I'm so -"
"Oh my god, auntie Tori!" Charlie was cut off when his daughter noticed her auntie sitting
next to her, and soon the young girl was climbing from his lap into hers. "Auntie Tori!! You
came to see me! Did you come to watch my ballet recital that's in a few weeks?"
"Tori?" Nick asked as he turned the corner into the front room, looking at his sister-in-law
with shock on his face. It quickly broke into a huge grin and he crossed the room to wrap her
in a hug. "It's so good to see you! How have you been? You should have said you were
coming, I'd have baked a cake or something!"
"It's fine, Nick, just a little surprise visit." Tori insisted, shifting into a more comfortable
position now she had a 10 year old on her lap.
Charlie noticed, then quickly remembered the new information he'd just found out. "Careful,
Ada." He warned, placing an arm out to his daughter to help her get down.
"A'right, auntie Tori?" Robin asked as he came into the front room, chucking his rugby bag
on the table and nodding his head in her direction.
"Hey Robin, you've gotten so much bigger since I last saw you!" Tori exclaimed, having to
blink twice as she took in her nephew.
He'd recently gone through a growth spurt, and was nearly as tall as Charlie now.
"Yea, our little boys becoming a man! Deep voice and everything." Nick teased, ruffling
Robin's hair who just grunted in response. His voice had broken recently, and after a few
weeks of teasing from his friends and family it had finally settled into something low and
gruff.
"You'll be shaving soon and everything." Charlie added, to which Robin rolled his eyes and
went upstairs. "Why don't you join Ellis upstairs too, Ade? I know he's missed you today."
Charlie suggested.
Ada was somewhat protective over her twin, and had been worried that morning when he'd
woken up poorly. At the mention of his name, she was jumping up and running upstairs
shouting, "Ellisssss! I'm here to look after youuuuu!" As she went.
Nick looked between the pair in front of him. "You've sent the kids upstairs, what's
happened? Is everyone ok? Are your parents ok?" He asked, taking a seat opposite them.
Tori sighed, deciding to get straight to the point and put her brother in law out of his
worrying. "I'm pregnant."
Nick froze in the spot, eyes going wide and plastering an unsure smile on his face. "You're...
pregnant? Well...that's....isn't that gre-uhhh..." He looked at Tori, who was not giving away
anything as to whether this was great news or not. "Is Michael here too?"
Tori shook her head. "No, I've not actually told him yet. Took a test a few days ago, spent a
few days panicking before making up some bullshit excuse that I needed to fly home asap."
"He is the dad though, yea? Like, no shame if he isn't, but right now I'm assuming he's the
father?" Charlie asked. They pair had been going out for over 20 years now, but had never
been very traditional. They never got engaged, never married, never settled down, never had
a baby.
Until now, that is.
"Of course he's the bloody father, Charles." Tori spat before groaning. "Sorry, I didn't mean to
snap. It was a genuine question."
"How are along are you?" Nick asked this time.
"The test said about 7 or 8 weeks, so not that far."
Nick continued. "And how comes you've not told Michael? Do you not think he'd be happy? I
mean, it does take two to make a baby, and at your ages he should know better than to walk
away from his pregnant partner."
" 'At our ages'? You calling me old, Nelson?" Tori asked, smirking at him.
"Oi, it's Nelson-Spring actually." Nick corrected, glad to have finally got a hint of a smile out
of the girl. "And no. I'm just saying, if he thinks about walking away from you or not
supporting your decisions, I'm catching the first flight to Switzerland and beating his arse."
"Awww, that's what I said!" Charlie exclaimed, reaching over to high five his husband.
"Great minds think alike!"
"For fucks sake, you two are so cringingly cute it's making me want to be sick. And that's not
because of the morning sickness." Tori grumbled.
"Hey, at least now mum will be pleased you're finally fulfilling your womanly duty of
bearing a child." Charlie said with a cheeky grin.
Tori just glared at him. "Shut up, Charles."
But Charlie was right. To say Jane was pleased that her only daughter was pregnant would be
an understatement. Tori stayed at her brother's house for a few nights after that, kipping in
Ellis' room whilst he was put in with Robin (Robin wasn't very pleased). But eventually, she
knew she had to fly back to Switzerland to tell Michael her news. She had expected
annoyance, sadness, expected him to ask her to abort it.
But what she did not expect was for him to break down into tears hugging her, before getting
on his knees and peppering her stomach with kisses.
As it turned out, the baby was the piece of their family they didn't know they were missing.
Tori had told her mum over the phone that she was expecting, and had to physically hold her
phone away from her face to stop her eardrums bursting. She didn't realise that the human
voice could scream so high pitched.
With Michael's contract coming to an end at around the 6 month mark, they decided to come
back to England, to come back home, to have their baby there.
The first time the whole of the Spring family got together since Tori had announced her
pregnancy had been an exciting time. And a little overwhelming.
~~~~~
"Victoria! Look at you, you're blooming!" Jane gushed as she wrapped an arm around her
daughter and ushered her into the house. Tori tried to shrug her mum's arm off her, the
physical affection being unusual, but soon gave in when she realised Jane wasn't budging.
Jane had never been an affectionate parent, preferring to keep up her stoney persona. She was
strict and believed everything had to be done a certain way and seemed incapable of showing
real human emotion (unless that was anger or annoyance).
That all washed away whenever she was with someone who was pregnant. Nick and Charlie
had seen it first hand whenever Jane saw their surrogate, Molly. Gone was her coldness,
replaced with gentle words and soft movements. It was truly perplexing to see.
Tori had all but forgotten about the apparent personality transplant Jane experienced upon
seeing an expectant mother, but here she was being faced with the full experience.
"Come along, honey," (honey? When did she ever call any of her children honey?), "Let's get
you sitting on the sofa, put your feet up. We don't want your ankles getting swollen." Jane
coaxed, helping Tori get settled and pulling over the pouf for her legs to rest on. She grabbed
a few pillows, fluffed them a bit and then arranged them around her daughter in a way she
thought would be comfy.
"Mum, honestly it's fine, I don't need -"
Jane seemingly didn't hear her daughter's protests, or maybe she just chose to ignore them.
"Charlie, go and make your sister a nice hot drink. I've bought some peppermint tea specially,
it's meant to reduce digestive discomfort and bloating."
Charlie looked up from his spot on the sofa where he'd been trying to make himself look busy
on his phone. He noted Tori's scowl aimed in the direction of his mother. She and Michael
had arrived back in England a few weeks ago, but had decided not to tell Jane and Julio that.
They couldn't deal with her mother's interfering with getting everything sorted in their new
home, so had instead roped in the help of Olly, Nick and Charlie (and the kids, who, for their
part, weren't half bad at decorating). He knew Tori had always been independent, and being
pregnant had just made her want for that independence anymore.
Nick had already made the mistake once when they first came back home of telling Tori to sit
down whilst he got on with putting some furniture together. The lecture he received as a
result ('I'm pregnant, not incapable!' 'I can make those fucking chairs better than you!' 'I'm
literally growing a fucking human and you don't think I can put some pissing furniture
together?!' To name a few stand out points) had resulted in the men now knowing better than
to get Tori to put her feet up whilst they waited on her.
"I'm sure that Tori can -"
"Charles, your sister is carrying the most precious gift of all in her uterus, now you go up and
make her a peppermint tea." Jane interrupted. Charlie and Tori shared a look, him mouthing a
'sorry' to his annoyed looking sister, before getting up to make her a tea.
"I'm gonna help Charlie!" Olly announced, not wanting to deal with the tension in the room.
"I think we could all do with some fresh drinks, yea?" He scurried after his big brother.
"Papa, what's a uterus?" Ellis asked innocently, looking up at Nick.
"It's where babies grow, so your little cousin is currently growing in auntie Tori's uterus."
Nick explained, budging up on the sofa to make room for Michael and purposely avoiding
making eye contact with Tori.
"I just can't believe how big you've gotten." Jane commented, placing her hands on Tori's
stomach despite her daughter's obvious discomfort.
"I don't think Tori's big, Mrs Spring." Michael said, knowing how such a comment could
upset his (very hormonal) girlfriend. "In fact, I think she's glowing. I've never seen her look
so beautiful."
Such nice words might have made a girl swoon, but for Tori she just fake gagged. "Say
something like that again and I'll actually be sick."
Michael gave her an exaggerated wink and made a kissy face, to which Tori simply rolled her
eyes.
"Tori, don't be mean to Michael!" Jane chastised. She never did quite understand how the two
of them worked.
Thankfully, Charlie and Olly were there to save the awkwardness, coming into the living
room with plenty of drinks for everyone.
"Peppermint tea for my pregnant sister and the precious gift inside her uterus." Olly teased,
handing the tea down.
Tori took a sip, face turning into a frown. "This tastes like crap."
"Daddy! Auntie Tori said a naughty word!" Ada cried in shock.
"Honestly, Victoria, you're going to be having a baby. You've got to watch your language.
You don't want them picking up bad manners." Jane scolded, ignoring how her daughter
rolled her eyes. "It's a good thing me and your father were thinking about moving closer to
you. Of course, I can be there for the birth and I'm more than happy to stay with you for the
first few weeks -"
"-Jane, I don't think any of that is necessary unless Tori asks." Julio's objection was met on
deaf ears.
"- You're going to need all the help you can get, and I have raised three children after all. I
offered the same to Charlie and Nick when all their children were born, but it seems they
wanted Sarah's help more than mine."
Jane had always been slightly bitter that the pair had leaned more on Nick's mum for help
than her. They'd used the excuse that Sarah lived much closer and didn't work as many hours.
Of course the truth was that Sarah was actually helpful and knew when not to interfere - a
skill which Charlie's mum lacked.
"That's a lovely offer, Mrs Spring, and we truly do appreciate it. But I've been offered a pretty
generous paternity leave, and we wouldn't want you to move all that way just for us.
Especially when you've set up such a nice home here already." Michael tried to be as polite as
possible, knowing that world war three would break out if Tori was to reply. Keeping the
peace was the best option right now. "And the hospital we're planning on having the baby at
only allows one birth partner."
"Hmm, well it's always an option for you both to consider. It would be no trouble at all for
me to come stay with you for a few weeks whilst you settle in as new parents. The first few
weeks are the hardest, aren't they boys?" She turned to Nick and Charlie.
"Uhh, yea, they can be a bit exhausting." Bit of an understatement, but Charlie wasn't going
to say anything that would make his mum want to stay with Tori more. "But I think it's
important to get into your own routine. As long as you and Michael work together and
support each other, then you can make it work. That's the only way me and Nick survived
those first few weeks."
If the glare on Jane's face was anything to go by, she clearly didn't like that answer. "Very
well, it's clear none of you want my help. Olly, when you finally settle down and have
children, I'm sure you'll love for me to stay for a while."
"That's a long way off yet, mum. I'm quite happy with my uncle duties for the time being."
Olly said from where he sat on the floor colouring with the twins. He was a big kid at heart.
~~~~~
Jane didn't stop her fussing over her daughter the entirety of her pregnancy. Tori was
surprised she managed to hold her tongue most of the time (there was one or two (or several)
times where she snapped). There was a lot of unexpected calls and visits to Michael and
Tori's home. Nick and Charlie tried to lessen the stress it was giving her - Tori would simply
send 'SOS' to their group chat, and within half an hour one of the boys would 'randomly'
show up with a child or two to distract Jane. Robin quickly bored of his father's antics, not
wanting to spend the day with his 'posh grandma' (Sarah was 'fun nanny'). But the twins were
usually more than happy to go and visit their aunt and uncle. Ada in particular, who'd taken a
real interest in the pregnancy and couldn't wait for the arrival of her baby cousin.
Tori ended up having to be induced early after a scan showed that the baby's growth had
slowed. She had decided not to tell her parents - she was nervous enough without her
mother's recent overbearing personality getting involved. But she did, of course, tell her
brothers, who spent the day anxiously waiting with each other for that all important text that
their niece or nephew had arrived safely into the world.
~~~~~
Spring Kids & Co group chat
Sunday, April 29th
Michael Holden
[15:11pm] Look who made an appearance this morning! Meet Frankie Jade Holden,
weighing 5.5lbs, midwives say she's healthy despite being early. Tori's done amazing, they
just wanna keep them in overnight but she's recovering well :)
We're over the moon and can't wait for you all to meet the newest member of the family x
Chapter End Notes
What did you all think of this chapter? Do you have any recommendations for new
chapter ideas? Someone commented a few chapters back about wanting to see Tori’s
family so here we are :)
If you enjoyed it please remember to leave kudos and a comment!

‘So who’s the real dad?’
Chapter Summary
It’s the start of the summer holidays, and Nick takes 10 month old Robin to visit Charlie
at his new job
Chapter Notes
It was the first week of the summer holidays, and Nick was making the most of his time off.
Charlie had recently started working again (recently, as in it was his 4th day there). They'd
both agreed it be better for Charlie to take paternity leave when Robin was born, what with
Nick getting a lot of time off with half terms anyway. And Charlie loved being a stay at home
dad, but he had been going a little stir crazy recently with no adults to talk to. Plus, it would
be nice to have a little extra money coming in. So he'd found a part time job at a book shop in
town, walking distance from their own house. And so far, he'd been loving it. Loved the
people he worked with, loved the customers who came in, just loved the whole atmosphere. It
was only for 3 days a week, 4 or 6 hour shifts at a time. Perfect for their little family.
The sun was shining and so Nick had dressed Robin in shorts and a top with a matching hat,
plus some baby sunglasses (he'd be surprised if they stayed on for long, though). He hadn't
quite started walking yet, but had started pulling himself up to stand and his dads were just
waiting for the day he would be able to toddle about. Their son's inability to walk hadn't
stopped them buying him a couple pairs of shoes, so Nick slipped on the baby trainers from
Next onto Robin's feet. Grabbing the baby bag and putting on his own shoes, Nick took the
handles of the pushchair and started on the 20 minute walk to see his husband.
It was his first time visiting Charlie at his new job, and truth be told he'd been a bit
apprehensive at first. He knew what it was like starting a new job, how nerve wracking it
could be and wanting to make a good impression. But apparently Charlie's co-workers had all
but demanded that Nick come visit.
Ok, so not so much Nick. It was Robin they had demanded to meet.
Charlie had of course gushed about their little boy to everyone who worked there, and who
could blame him? Maybe Nick was a little biased, what with being one of Robin's dads, but
he was an adorable baby. Big chubby cheeks, large brown eyes that would light up whenever
a person came into view. He hadn't started talking yet, but would still babble away as though
he was having a full on conversation with you. Much like he was doing right now as Nick
pushed him down the road.
"Look over there, Robin. Do you see the doggy?" Nick pointed across the road, to which
Robin babbled something that his papa took as a confirmation. "Isn't he big! I'm gonna
convince your daddy to let us get a doggy one day." (Charlie liked doggy in bed, so maybe a
romantic night together soon might get him what he wants).
People seemed to smile at Nick and Charlie whenever one, or both, of them took Robin out.
Particularly old ladies, who'd have no issue in stopping them to ask about the baby and to
have a look at him. Today was no exception, when not even 5 minutes in an elderly woman
came hobbling over with a glint in her eye and a smile taking over her whole face as she
asked Nick all about his son.
Of course, Nick was more than happy to talk about Robin. He couldn't help but gush with
pride when he tells her how his son's now started grabbing things, and has a few teeth that
have come through (even if his teething often kept the two men up at night). 'Robin' had
quickly become his and Charlie's favourite topic of conversation, and they'd happily talk
about him to anyone who cared to listen.
The stroll into town was nice and peaceful and, after a quick stop into Greggs for a vegan
sausage roll for he and Charlie (they're better than the originals, sue him), it was finally time
to visit his husband.
The bookstore itself was fairly quaint and old, with low ceilings and exposed beams. Nick
had to duck as he went through the front door, the bell above him giving a chirpy ring when
he entered. He'd only been in here a handful of times, and only ever with Charlie. The isles
were fairly narrow, and Nick looked around anxiously and he tried to figure out how to
manoeuvre Robin's pushchair down them without knocking anything over.
It was as though the lady at the tills read his mind (or took pity on his panicked face). "You
can leave the buggy at the front door if you like, we'll keep an eye on it and make sure no one
takes anything." She walked over, smiling at him kindly, her name tag telling Nick that her
name was Cara. She knelt down to eye level with Robin. "I'm sure this little guy would love
to have a look at all of our books." She looked back up to Nick. "We have a great selection of
vintage children's books."
"Yea, I think we have a few at home from here. Every time my husband comes in, I swear he
ends up buying about half a dozen." Nick smiled fondly at the memory as he unstrapped
Robin from his seat and lifted him up, blowing a few raspberries into his baby's neck to make
him squeal. "He actually works here, started the other day. Charlie? Dark, curly hair?"
Cara's face lit up. "Ahh yes, our lovely Charlie! That must mean you're Nick, and this little
fella is Robin?" She made a few silly faces to the 10 month old who let out a shrill laugh.
"That's us!" Nick beamed, jiggling Robin a bit to continue his laughter. "We thought we'd
come down and see his daddy at work and drop him off some food."
"Ohh, he's just round the other side of the shop right now in the classics section."
Nick chuckled. "Yep, that sounds like my Charlie."
"Go on, leave the pushchair with me, I'll put it out the way. You go and make our newest
recruits day with his adorable baby." Cara made a few more faces to Robin who babbled back
happily and then took the pushchair away.
The outside of the bookstore looked slight and unassuming, but step inside and you're met
with vast rows of books from every genre that go back as far as they eye could see: fantasy's,
horror, poetry, biography's and so much more. Charlie had always been particularly fond of
this book store as it doubled as a bit of a library, with a little corner upstairs with beanbags
and a coffee bar that sold homemade cakes. You couldn't bring any book up there though, you
could only pick from the selection upstairs - the owners didn't want to ruin any of the books
that were for sale.
Nick found Charlie exactly where Cara said he would be - in 'Classics Corner', talking to a
few customers. Charlie didn't spot them straight away, but Robin definitely spotted his daddy
and started squirming and leaning forward to try and reach him, a string of 'ba ba ba ba's'
leaving his mouth.
The customers looked over, and then Charlie, and his whole face lit up. He explained
something to the customers that Nick couldn't quite make out, and then he and Robin were
being beckoned over.
"Sorry, we thought we'd come and see daddy whilst he was at work." Nick apologised, a little
bashful to be interrupting Charlie whilst he was mid-working, but the couple he was talking
to didn't seem to mind.
Charlie wasted no time taking Robin into his arms and snuggling him close, their son
squealing with excitement to be reunited with his daddy.
"Oh, it's no bother. We can remember what it's like when they're that age, we miss it really.
Don't we John?" The elderly woman looked up at her husband who nodded his head, though
his face told a different story.
"Hmm, I loved all the sleepless nights and nappy changes, Marge."
Marge ignored her husband. "And I must say, isn't your son absolutely adorable! Look at
those chubby cheeks, such a happy little baby, aren't you, handsome?" She cooed down at
Robin, who clapped his hands happily.
"Yea, he really is all smiles most of the time. The most happy little chappy." Charlie beamed
down at his little boy and covered his cheek in kisses as he erupted into a fit of giggles.
"It's so lovely how you boys can adopt nowadays." Marge continued, looking happily
between the pair.
"Oh, no, he's not adopted. We decided to go down the IVF route." Nick explained, though he
was glad to hear that the couple weren't going to hassle them about being two men raising a
baby. It hadn't happened often, but there'd been a few occasions where people (particularly
elderly people) had had a few not so pleasant things to say about their family.
"Ahh, that's the biological one! We saw it in that tv documentary, don't you remember
Marge? That one on the BBC with that presenter from the One Show?"
"Ohhh don't act like you can't remember her name, John! We both know you fancy Alex
Jones!" Marge teased with a fond eye role. "So go on, do tell, which of you two is the real
father of this cutie pie?"
Nick and Charlie shared a confused look. Had she missed the part where they were both
clearly Robin's parents? Did she think they were just friends raising a baby after one of them
accidentally got a girl pregnant?
"Uhh, we're both his dads. Well, I'm daddy, he's papa." Charlie explained in a light tone, the
way he usually did when he was scared that there could be confrontation that he wanted to
avoid. "Being half French, my husband pretty much insisted on that title." Charlie joked,
hoping they'd get the message.
They didn't.
"No, what I think my wife means is, which of you is biologically this little fellas father?"
John further pushed. He studied Robin's face, which made Charlie slightly uncomfortable and
he turned away to shield his son. "Now, if I had to guess, I'd say he's yours." John turned to
Nick, who had edged towards Charlie and gripped one of his hands in his own. "But, I think
that's only because he has brown eyes. Now, I suppose if his mum has brown eyes, then he
could be biologically yours." He pointed towards Charlie this time, who was trying his
hardest not to get angry. This was a customer in his place of work, after all. And he didn't
want to get fired after only 4 shifts.
"Our son doesn't have a mum, his daddy and papa are all he needs." Nick tried to reiterate,
hoping his glare was enough to silence them.
"Yes, but he must have a mum. Everyone has a mother and a father. What we're wondering is,
which of you is biologically related to your little boy?" Marge pushed.
"Charlie! Charlie, can you come and help me over here please?" They turned around to see
Cara standing behind them, her face looking tense. "In fact, we could use your husband's help
too briefly? I'm more than happy to hold your little boy whilst you both come to lift
something for me.” She came over, standing between the two men and the customers. "Now,
I think you two might benefit from our books in our LGBTQ+ section, particularly ones
about same-sex parents. Because you've clearly made a member of our staff uncomfortable,
and from what I heard you could both do with some educating." She gave the customers a
sickly sweet smile before turning around and walking gesturing for the two men to follow.
Once she was out of earshot of the customers, she whispered. “Remember; there are always
some small minded people in this world, and always some people who need to be educated.
Don’t take their words to heart - yes, it might be shit. But you two are the best dads this little
boy could ask for and that’s all that matters.”
Chapter End Notes
Happy weekend everyone! I went to badminton with some of my mates this weekend
and we somehow ended up down the pub after and now slightly drunk me has finished
this chapter and decided to post it! Hope you all enjoy :)
This came from a suggestion on a previous chapter to do leave me a comment if you

have any suggestions about what you’d like to see!
And as always please leave kudos because I love getting that little email notification
telling me how many people have liked this :) x
Hickey
Chapter Summary
15 year old Ellis has a hickey on his neck
Chapter Notes
“What's that?"
"Piss off, it's nothing."
"That's definitely not nothing!"
"I said piss off!"
Charlie stopped outside Ellis' bedroom door. He hadn't been meaning to eavesdrop, he was
just passing through to run up to his and Nick's bedroom to grab his (Nick's) jumper. He gave
a few bangs on the door, shouting out a warning of, "Language!" Which quickly shut both his
sons up.
He didn't think much else about the exchange he'd overheard until later that day. He and Nick
were lounging on the sofa, half paying attention to some Disney+ show on the tv whilst they
cuddled into each other. Ada was on the other sofa, arguably more interested in whatever crap
was playing. She'd even put her phone down to watch it, a rarity for the 15 year old.
A few floorboards creaking down the stairs shifted their attention - it was Ellis, who kept his
head down as he swiftly walked from the front room to the kitchen.
"Was he wearing a scarf?" Nick whispered to a bewildered Charlie, who nodded his head
slowly. It was the middle of Spring, t-shirt and shorts weather, definitely not big knitted scarf
around the house weather.
"What's up with the scarf, Lis?" Charlie called out.
"Shhhhhh!!!!" Ada shushed him harshly, gesturing to the tv.
Ellis poked his head around the kitchen door, face sporting a shade of scarlet. "It's....I'm
cold."
"You're not poorly, are you? Have you got a temperature?" Nick asked this time.
"Oh my god!" Ada groaned, picking up the tv remote to rewind her programme. "Right in the
middle of an important part too!" She paused at the part she had missed then turned her head
to her twin. "Dad's right, why are you wearing a scarf?"
Ellis gave a loud groan and began to march back to the kitchen. "I just said, it's 'cos I'm
cold!"
Ada wasn't having that, jumping up from her seat and running after her brother. "But it's hot,
you surely can't be cold!"
"Just leave it, Ade!"
They were out of eyesight now.
"No, come on, you've not gone and got a secret tattoo on your neck have you?" She asked in
a mischievous tone.
"Why can't you just drop it!"
"It's definitely something if it's getting you this bothered!"
Ada didn't drop it, even when Ellis came rushing out of the kitchen empty handed. He made a
run for the hallway to go back upstairs, but Ada was quick, grabbing his arm and dragging
him to the armchair.
"Ada, watch it!" Charlie warned, not liking the way his son was flailing about as he tried to
escape her grip.
Ada paid her dad no mind, instead unwrapping the scarf from around his neck.
She sat back and gasped, eyes going wide in shock before she raised a hand to her mouth to
cover a laugh. "No way, is that a hickey?!"
"I said to leave it!" A red faced Ellis all but screamed, using his sister's moment of shock
against her to release himself from her grip and storm upstairs.
Nick and Charlie shared a look - that was not what they were expecting. Well, they weren't
too sure what to expect, but it definitely wasn't for their 15 year old son to have a hickey.
"Ada, that really wasn't a very nice thing to do to your brother." Nick chastised, torn between
going upstairs to comfort his youngest or giving him time to cool down. Ellis usually
responded better to having some breathing space when he was angry or annoyed.
"Well I didn't realise that he was hiding a hickey!" Ada protested, putting her hands up in
defence. "Didn't realise he was seeing someone."
Unlike his siblings, Ellis hadn't really shown an interest in dating. Or, at least, he hadn't been
vocal in it. Whilst Ada was more than glad to tell her father's elaborate tales of boys she
fancied or had asked her on dates, Ellis hadn't once mentioned anyone's name romantically.
And, as far as they knew, he'd never been on a date either.
'That must have been what the boys were arguing about earlier.' Charlie thought to himself.
They decided it was better to leave Ellis alone to calm down, not wanting to further add to his
embarrassment. Sex and anything surrounding that realm was always a little bit embarrassing
at first, no matter how much Nick and Charlie tried to create an open and safe environment.
Robin had been left red faced enough times, though was much more lax now when it came to
talking casually about his relationship (not that he'd go into detail, not that their dad's would
want him to go into detail). Ellis, at only 15, hadn't gone through those sort of conversations
with his parents yet. So it was no surprise to them that he felt so embarrassed.
Come dinner, it had taken a fair bit of coaxing to get the teenager to come down to eat. They
understood that sometimes their kids wouldn't want to eat, and they'd never been the type of
family that made their kids finish their plates if they didn't want to.
But they weren't about to let him sit holed up in his room over a little hickey.
So, eventually, Ellis came sloping down the stairs, scarf still wrapped around his neck.
"We won't bring it up to him." Charlie had told Nick earlier that evening.
His husband had nodded in agreement. "It'll only unnecessarily embarrass him even more."
But just because they weren't going to bring it up, didn't mean their other two children
weren't.
"I don't know why you're insisting on wearing that scarf, Lis, we all know you've got a
hickey." Ada gave a teasing tug at the plaid material around her twin's neck, ignoring the
warning glare from her papa as he plated up her spag bol.
"Come on, tell us who gave it to you!" Robin egged on.
Ellis hid his ever reddening face behind his bowl of spaghetti, shooting daggers at his
siblings.
"That's enough from you two." Nick scolded. "And Ellis, there's nothing embarrassing about
what's happened."
"Yea, most people get a hickey at some point in their lives." Charlie added, grabbing a piece
of garlic bread. "I remember one time, when I was 15, me and your papa were on a school
trip to Paris and he gave me a hickey on my neck. I had no way of hiding it either, everyone
could see it! Now that was embarrassing."
Ellis stared at his dad with wide eyes, whispering a shocked. "Oh my god."
"LALALALLALAALALALALA NOOOO THAT'S SO GROSS WE DON'T NEED TO

KNOW THAT!" Ada yelled, putting her fingers in her ears and scrunching her eyes shut.
Nick chuckled at the memory, giving Charlie a fond look. "That was the trip I came out to
everyone." He leaned to his left, giving his husband a gentle kiss to the cheek.
"Was that scary? You know, coming out to all your mates?" Robin asked through a mouthful
of food.
"At first it was, but I knew I loved your dad so much, and I didn't want to hide it. I didn't
want to hide that part of me anymore." Nick didn't miss the way Charlie squeezed his hand
affectionately, nor the way that Ellis seemed to fold in on himself and slouch even further
down into his seat.
"Aww, that's so sweet!" Ada squealed in mock affection, placing a hand over her heart for
dramatic effect.
The hickey was rarely mentioned for the rest of the evening, the other two kids seemingly
getting tired of making fun of their brother and making him squirm. It was helped by the fact
that Ellis scampered off to his bedroom as soon as his food had been eaten, immersing
himself in one of his video games away from his sibling's teasing.
Nick and Charlie thought they'd heard the last about their son's hickey, thought the whole
thing had been put behind them.
They were wrong. In fact, the hickey on their son's neck was about to start a conversation
they were not expecting.
"We're going up to bed now, Lis." Nick called out that evening, knocking on his bedroom
door a couple times. They hadn't heard from or seen the teenager since dinner. Not
uncommon, but he still wanted to make sure the boy was ok after the day's events. When he
didn't get a response, and he couldn't hear him talking to his mates down the xBox, he
knocked a couple more times. "Ellis? You ok? Can I come in?"
Nick waited a moment, Charlie coming to stand by his side. They could hear some shuffling,
a few floorboards creaking. And then the bedroom door opened, revealing a teary faced Ellis
wrapped up in his duvet.
"Oh, bug." Nick cooed using his son's childhood nickname and wrapped him into his arms.
Charlie ushered them all into the bedroom, closing the door behind him to ensure no one else
could see (or hear) what was happening. As soon as that door shut, the floodgates opened.
Ellis gripped onto his papa as though his life depended on it, tears streaming down his face.
The dad's were at a loss of what to do other than hold their son close, Charlie coming to the
other side and wrapping his arms around them both.
They stood like that for what seemed like an eternity but in reality was likely only a few
minutes. Ellis' tears started to lessen, and he shrugged himself away from his dad's. He
looked up at them through wet lashes with a blotchy, red face and, god, if that didn't break
their hearts.
"Come on, let's sit, yea Lis?" Charlie suggested, taking a seat on the bed and patting the spot
next to him. Ellis seemed hesitant but tentatively took a few steps forward, sitting by his dad
and curling into his side.
Nick took a seat on the other side, placing a caring kiss to the crown of curls sprouting from
their son's head. "You know you can talk to us about anything, right? You don't have to right
now, but we're here for you no matter what."
"I know." Ellis croaked out, sniffling a bit as he wiped his nose with the back of his hand.
Charlie cringed, digging around his jean pocket until he found a clean tissue he could hand
the teenager.
A sickening thought had filled his brain as soon as he'd seen his son crying, a thought that
made his stomach drop. Ellis wasn't one to be emotional; in fact, he couldn't remember the
last time he'd seen the teenager cry so harshly. And for it to happen on the same day that
everyone saw a hickey on his neck - it didn't take a genius to guess that the two were related.
He had to tread carefully with this.
"Ellis," Charlie began, running a soothing hand through his curls, "You've...this hickey. It's -
did the person who gave it to you..." Charlie paused a second, thinking about how to word it,
"...Was it consensual?"
Ellis pulled back from his dad's touch, giving him a bewildered look, eyebrows furrowed.
"What? What do you mean?"
Nick had clearly been having the same thoughts as his husband. "It's ok if it wasn't, we're
here for you. There's no shame in any of this, we just want to support you, bug."
Ellis pulled his legs up and hugged them to his chest. "It was bloody consensual, ok? Why
would you think it wasn't?"
"It's just...Lis, you seem really upset and distressed about something. And, if someone's done
something to you that's caused you this much upset, we want to be able to help you." Charlie
kept his voice quiet and gentle, each of his words making Ellis' body relax more.
"I promise...it wasn't anything like that." Ellis sighed, shuffling back against the wall and
keeping his eyes trained to his lap. "How did you two know?" He asked, voice small.
Now it was Nick and Charlie's turn to look confused. "How did we know what?" Nick asked,
shifting so his full body was facing his son.
"That...that you weren't...you know...straight." Ellis' face crumpled and he dug his head
between his knees, large sobs escaping his mouth.
He was immediately pulled into Nick's chest who rocked them back and forth, whispering
kind words as he tried to soothe the sobbing boy. He and Charlie didn't say a word, just
providing comfort through touch. They didn't want to put words in Ellis' mouth, to influence
what he was going to say. This was his life, his story, and he was the one who had to choose
how and when to tell it.
Ellis took a deep breath once the tears had stopped, keeping his head buried in the crook of
Nick's neck. "It was Lucas." His voice came out small and croaky, barely audible. "And...I,
ummm...it's what I wanted. It was - it was mutual."
Ellis looked up briefly, making eye contact with his dad who smiled encouragingly, taking his
hand in his own and giving it a comforting squeeze.
"And it all feels so stupid..." Ellis continued, fidgeting a bit in his papa's arms so he could
look at them both. "...I mean, I've literally got two dads. And you two are, like, the perfect
queers! You've both known exactly who you are forever! And I thought I knew who I was. I
really, really did. And then there's Lucas, and he's made me feel all these feelings that I
haven't felt before and I don't even know what to do! I just - ugh - it just all feels..."
"...Feels like you're having a full on gay crisis?" Nick finished for his son, mimicking the
words he'd told his now-husband all those years ago.
Ellis nodded his head, scrunching his eyebrows. "I don't even know who I am...what I am. I
thought maybe I'm gay, but I still like girls, but then bisexual doesn't feel like the right title
and I feel like I've googled the whole bloody alphabet...but nothing, nothing feels right.
Nothing feels like me." He let out a shaky breath. "And it shouldn't be this hard! Why is it
this hard? I've got the best fucking queer role models going so why the fuck can't I figure
myself out?"
Nick and Charlie's hearts broke, one again wrapping their son in their arms as they tried to
comfort him.
"It's ok, bug, it's all gonna be ok." Charlie whispered.
"I look at all the bloody labels out there and nothing feels like me!" Ellis let out a frustrated
groan. "I just wanna be normal." He whispered the last part.
"Labels are - they can be shitty, Lis." Nick tried to comfort. "Just because none of them fit
how you feel, doesn't mean that you're not normal. You are amazing exactly how you are.
And maybe one day, you'll find a label which best fits you. Or maybe nothing will ever feel
like it describes who you are. And that's ok, that's completely ok if you remain unlabelled for
the entirety of your life. That is valid, you are valid, and how you're feeling right now is
completely valid too."
"It's just..." Ellis' eyes welled up again, and he grabbed a tissue from his bedside table to wipe
at them. "...You two. I feel like you're such the perfect gays - or bi's. I feel like I should know
who I am."
"And you do, Lis. You're Ellis Theodore Nelson-Spring, our slightly introverted teenage son
who loves chatting to his mates over xBox, who's friendly and kind and so, so clever. And so
loved by everyone." Charlie shifted closer to his son, wrapping an arm around him. "And if
you're questioning your sexuality, then that's ok. And not having a label to put on your
sexuality, that's ok too and completely valid."
"And are you and Lucas...are you together? Are you serious?" Nick prompted. Lucas was
often over their house, whether it be just him or a few of Ellis’ other friends. And they were
often on the Xbox together, talking loudly down their headsets. Lucas was a nice lad.
Ellis just shrugged his shoulders, looking down bashfully.
"Well, if he ever comes over again, just know that he's more than welcome here."
Chapter End Notes
It’s the weekend!! At last! :)
I saw a suggestion a few chapters back about Ellis and his sexuality, and another about
Ellis being in a relationship, so put this together. Hope you all like it!
Remember to leave kudos and drop a comment if you have any recommendations on
what I could write!
Parents’ Evening
Chapter Summary
5 year old Robin has recently started Reception, and Nick and Charlie attend his first
parents’ evening
Chapter Notes
"Nannnnnnyyyyyyyy!"
"Oh my goodness, my grandbabies!" Sarah exclaimed, crouching down with only a little
trouble as three of her grandchildren came hurtling down the path and into her arms.
"Careful, kids! Don't send nanny toppling!" Charlie warned, finally catching up and wrapping
his mother-in-law into a hug. "Thanks again for watching the twins." He whispered into her
ear, picking up Ellis who was tugging at his trouser leg.
"Oh, it's never a bother to watch these little cuties!" Sarah cooed, tickling Ellis' chin who
squealed in return.
"I'm sure you won't be saying that when one of them has a meltdown, terrible twos are in full
swing it seems." Not even two hours ago had Charlie been caught in the middle of not one,
but two toddler meltdowns. Ada wanted to wear sparkly orange trainers to go pick up Robin
from school (she did not own sparkly orange trainers), and Ellis because Charlie had poured
him a glass of milk (even though he'd asked for a glass of milk). This morning Ellis had cried
because Nick was going to work at his school, rather than the school Robin went to, even
though Nick did not work at the school that Robin went to. And not to forget when Ada had a
full on scream-the-house-down tantrum last week when she discovered that Charlie wee's
standing up, rather than sitting down like her (the days of using the toilet with the door closed
were long gone in the Nelson-Spring household). Nick and Charlie had relented after that
one, choosing to lead by example. Particularly after Ellis decided he wanted to be like his
daddy and papa and wee standing up, ruining their living room rug in the process.
"My little angels? Being terrible? I don't believe it!" Sarah feigned shock, causing Ada to to
erupt in a fit of giggles.
"I wanna stay with nanny!" Robin pouted, clinging to Sarah's waist with as much force as he
could muster. "Don't wanna go back to school!"
"Hey, come on now Rob, we talked about this." Charlie knelt down so they were at eye level.
"We're only going to school for half an hour, and I'll be there with you and papa is gonna
meet us there too. And then afterwards, we're gonna come back to nanny's for dinner."
Robin shook his head. "But Ade and Lis get to stay with nanny!"
"That's because they're too little to go to school; you're my big grown up boy." Robin was
going through a phase where he loved acting 'grown up', and liked to make a point that he
was older than his siblings and could do more grown up things than them. Maybe it was bad
of Charlie to use that to get his son to come with him, but they were running late and would
soon miss their parents evening slot.
Robin seemed to mentally debate it for a moment, before finally giving in and taking his
daddy's hand.
"Come on, let's go see papa and your teacher." Charlie bent down to kiss each of the twins
goodbye. "I'll see you all soon."
"Good luck!" Sarah called after them.
As promised, Nick was waiting for them outside Robin's school, having come straight from
his own school. Robin's upset about not being able to stay with his Nan seemed to be all but
forgotten upon seeing his papa, and he went running across the school courtyard to jump into
his arms.
"Oooo, my little boys getting big!" Nick exclaimed with a fake groan, pretending to drop
Robin a few times, smiling as the little boy's shrill laughter filled his ears.
"Careful you don't drop him!" Charlie warned, hand going out to block Robin's head from
hitting the brick wall next to them.
Nick kept a strong grip on Robin as he pretended to chuck him one last time just to watch his
husband's eyes bug out of his head, before deciding he'd scared Charlie just enough and
lowering his son to the ground. "Come on, Robin, how about you show us where we're meant
to go?"
With one hand gripped in his daddy's and the other in his papa's, he dragged the two men
through the corridors of his primary school. Walls were decorated with poorly drawn artwork
and colourful displays, bright lights guiding the way.
Robin stopped abruptly in front of one of the walls, looking up excitedly and jumping so he
could be more at eye level. "Look! Look! It's mine!! I done that!" He said proudly.
Nick and Charlie scanned the wall, quickly finding the piece of 'art' with Robin's name
scrawled in the bottom left corner. A few blobs of yellow with some green and brown mixed
in for good measure. Supposedly they'd been studying Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' and, it
seemed, that the class had been trying to replicate the painting. It was...abstract, though they
weren't too sure they'd have guessed what it was had it not been for the large printed picture
of the original stuck in the middle of the display.
"Wow, that looks amazing, Robin! Such a good job!" Charlie exclaimed, voice going high for
emphasis and plastering a cheesy grin on his face.
Robin smiled brightly up at his daddy at the praise. "Miss Hewison said I could take it home
after Christmas! I'm gonna put it up in the kitchen!"
His dads nodded their heads in agreement. Their kitchen was practically an art display at this
point, a rather unique art display. If you could call the stick figures and paint spills on
coloured paper art. But it made their kids happy having their art work up for all to see, and if
their kids were happy then they were happy.
Robin led them down a few more corridors, eventually stopping outside a door and
announcing, "This is my classroom!"
Charlie peered through the glass on the door, spotting Miss Hewison chatting to another set
of parents and their daughter. She looked up briefly, smiling to confirm that she'd seen him,
and holding up her hands indicating she'd be about 5 more minutes. Unsurprisingly, parents
evening was running behind.
"Who's in there?!" Robin asked, bouncing like a kangaroo as he struggled to see in. "It's
Miah! I like Miah, she shares her rubbers with me! She has loads of shapes! Giraffes,
penguins, elephants..."
Nick and Charlie let their son go on about all the different animal shaped rubbers his
classmate had, taking a seat on the colourful plastic chairs just outside the classroom door. It
was better to let him get his energy out now, and it was probably all a little bit exciting for
him, having both his dad's at school with him.
"...And she has one that's a lion!!!! And she ALWAYS lets me use the lion! It's my favourite!"
The door opening stopped Robin in his tracks, and he waved excitedly at Miah as she came
out holding her mum's hand. "Miah! It's me, Robin!"
Miah let go of her mum, rushing over to Robin and waving back. "Miss Hewison said I've
been realllyyyyyy good with my literacy and numeracy! My mummy and daddy are taking
me for Ice cream!"
"Ice cream?!" Robin gasped, looking desperately over at his parents. "Daddy, papa, can we
get ice cream?!"
Miah's parents gave them an apologetic look, guiding their daughter out of the school. Nick
and Charlie tried not to reward good behaviour with food, not wanting their children to see
food as a reward and to help them maintain a healthy relationship with food.
But also, their kids really loved ice cream. They usually had a tub of Neapolitan in the
freezer, something their children hated to be reminded about whenever the ice cream man
came down the street and their dad's refused to buy them one. It wasn't often that they'd go
out for 'nice' ice cream. So, maybe, if Robin's teacher had good things to say about him,
they'd have to see about going to the desert shop in town.
"Maybe later, but remember, we're going to see nanny after we've seen your teacher." Nick
reminded the small boy, who seemed to perk up even more at being reminded he'd soon be
reunited with his nanny Sarah. She was definitely one of his favourite, if not his absolute
favourite, person in the world.
"Hi, it's lovely to see you both again, I'm Miss Hewison." Robin's teacher greeted, shaking
each of their hands. She saw Charlie every morning at school drop off and after at pick up,
but Nick had only been able to take Robin to school a handful of times.
"Miss Hewison! This is my daddy, and this is my papa! He's a teacher like you!" Robin said
happily, eyes lighting up.
"I teach year 6's at the moment." Nick explained, taking a seat at one of the classroom desks
next to Robin.
"Shaping young minds is always such a rewarding job." Miss Hewison said, smiling fondly
down at Robin who swung his legs happily between his dads.
Miss Hewison had nothing but good things to say about Robin. He was picking up everything
fairly well, struggled a bit with numeracy but wasn't afraid to ask for help. He showed
enthusiasm for most of his subjects, particularly PE (no surprise there then). He was kind and
friendly to all of his classmates, apparently could be a bit cheeky and a bit of a chatterbox,
but she assured them it was nothing bad and that he just had a bit more of an extroverted
personality. She even showed them some of his school books, praising his handwriting and
saying that, if he carried on how he was going, he'd earn his pen license in no time.
Robin's teacher also confirmed that Robin had settled into Reception wonderfully,
particularly now he had started doing full days. Like most new parents, Nick and Charlie had
been a bag of nerves about their son's next step in education and starting primary school.
They were nervous in case he didn't make friends, in case the kids were mean, in case he
didn't settle well being away from them all day (it was partly why the school started off
Reception children on half days for the first half term, to gently ease them into big school).
But Miss Hewison said he was a pleasure to teach and he seemed happy in the school, a
sentiment which Robin agreed to with an exaggerated nod of his head.
"Would you like to show your parents your tray, Robin?" Miss Hewison asked once she'd
gone through everything.
Robin's eyes lit up, and he raced across the classroom to where colourful trays slotted into a
cabinet. Each one was labelled in a child's name with some stickers, and with only a little
jostling needed, Robin pulled out the one labelled 'Robin Nelson-Spring' and carried it over
to the table.
"This is my tray!" He said proudly, digging around and taking out some of its contents. "Miss
Hewison told us that we should fill it with our most favourite things that we did in class!" He
held up a little hand-made book, opening up the first page to reveal it was, in fact, a pop up
book. What they thought looked like a little bear popped out in front of them (though it could
have been a turd, they just hoped it wasn't. But knowing their son's current sense of humour,
they wouldn't be surprised).
"We've been reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears in class so, for art, the class each made
their own pop up book." Miss Hewison explained.
"And we wrote letters to Goldilocks but that wasn't as fun." Robin stated with his eyebrows
furrowed.
Robin dug through it a bit more, pulling out a Mr Men book titled 'The Rugby Match'. "And
this is what I read on Monday mornings during quiet time! Miss Hewison said I'm getting lots
better at reading in my head."
Miss Hewison flushed in embarrassment whilst Nick stifled a laugh. He knew that Monday
morning trick, and it was often one he used himself. That Monday feeling where you can't be
bothered to do anything, where everything gives you a headache, and it's only amplified by
having a class full of chatting children.
Yea, Nick's year 6's also had quiet time reading on a Monday morning.
"It's really really good!" Robins said excitedly before looking towards his teacher. "My daddy
and papa play rugby with me sometimes on the weekend! I want to play with my brother and
sister, too, but they say they're too little right now to play those sort of games. They're only
1," He held up one finger, "But turn 2 soon!"
"Ahh yes, the famous Ada and Ellis Nelson-Spring." Miss Hewison gave Nick and Charlie a
fond smile. "If your youngest children are anything like Robin, then I truly do hope to be
lucky enough to teach them in a few years. Robin is such a pleasure to have in my class."
They bid Miss Hewison farewell, Robin skipping out of the classroom happily after his
glowing review.
"Does this mean I get ice cream?" He asked cheekily as Charlie buckled him into his car
seat.
Charlie looked over to Nick, giving his husband a smirk. "I think you can definitely get ice
cream."
Chapter End Notes
I’m off on a few holidays soon so this might be the last update for a while, but I have a
few more in the works!
A few people have also commented how they’d like to see more of Ellis and Lucas
(from the previous chapter, ‘hickey’). I’m thinking of maybe doing a little spin off
centred around them two - is it something people would like to read?
And as always, if you enjoyed this chapter remember to leave kudos and a comment of
any suggestions for more chapters!
‘I thought ‘Charlie’ was a woman!’
Chapter Summary
Weekends with the NelSpring’s usually involved ferrying their kids off to their various
clubs, whether that be football, gymnastics, or dance. But a communication error with
one of the dance mums leads to a bit of confusion, and some not so nice words.
Chapter Notes
Nick and Charlie always knew that they wanted their children to join clubs, to find hobbies
that they could enjoy. They wanted their children to find something they could really take an
interest in outside of school. Robin had taken an interest in any sports involving a ball as
soon as he was old enough to toddle about, though that might have been down him wanting
to copy his papa. And so, practically as soon as he turned four, the two men found themselves
ferrying their eldest off to the local children's football club. Training on a Thursday night and
Saturday morning, games on a Sunday morning where Nick, Charlie and the twins would be
cheering him on from the sidelines. Robin loved it.
When they asked 4 year old Ellis what club he wanted to join, he hadn't missed a beat when
he replied 'gymnastics!' He was their little monkey, always on the move and practically
climbing the walls (and actually climbing the walls once, splitting his legs to grip each side
of a doorframe and shimmying his way up. It almost gave Nick a heart attack!). He was
already rolling all over the place, and going to gymnastics class had only helped him develop
his skills. He took great pride in coming home and showing his dads the cartwheels and
forward rolls he'd learnt in class.
Ada was a little different. She was their child who wanted to do EVERYTHING. When asked
what club she wanted to join (note the singular there, rather than the plural), Ada replied with
'DRAMA! And piano!! Ooooo and drums - wanna be like daddy! And tap dancing! Ballet
like Angelina Ballerina! And singing!' Which lead to a 5 minute rendition of Twinkle
Twinkle Little Star which both men smiled through painfully (maybe singing wasn't the best
club for their daughter). When narrowed down, they finally settled on a dance club which
offered both ballet and tap.
Saturday mornings in the Nelson-Spring household were pretty hectic. It was an early start
(not because of the clubs, but because the twins were always up at the crack of dawn), and
after breakfast it was a mad rush of getting the children dressed ready for their respective
clubs. With Ada and Ellis only being 4, they needed to have an adult with them at their clubs.
So Charlie took charge of Ellis, driving him to one side of town to his gymnastics class. Nick
took Robin and Ada, grateful that the school Ada's dance class was in also had a football
pitch where Robin's football club played. He'd stay to watch his eldest son for 20 minutes,
before rushing indoors with his daughter just in time for dance to start.
Nick was the only dad in the dance class, and surprisingly (or unsurprisingly, according to
Charlie), he received a fair bit of attention from the mums there. It was light touches on his
arms, batting their eyelashes, gushing at every little interaction he had with Ada. And some
would just outright flirt with him (not that Nick would realise at the time. It wasn't until he'd
re-tell the conversations to his husband when they were all back home that Charlie would
point it out). Charlie wasn't worried though; even after all these years, they were still besotted
with one another. He knew Nick only had eyes for him.
Nick had made a good little group of 'mum' friends at the dance class, mums who helped him
with doing Ada's hair (they still hadn't quite perfected the ballet bun yet), providing extra
bobby pins when he'd run out and giving tips on how to wash Ada's tutu. They all had a little
group chat affectionally named 'Mama's and Papa' where they'd share photos of their children
in case one of them wasn't able to attend (it was a 2 children per one adult rule at the dance
studio, so if you couldn't attend there was always another parent willing to help watch your
child). Ada loved all the little friends she made too, and dance classes were the highlight of
her week.
It was about 6 months into Ada starting her dance class that they were to have a ballet and tap
recital. A little show with all the children in her class, dancing slightly off beat to upbeat pop
songs. And all the parents and siblings were invited to come watch.
Nick wasn't too sure who was more excited, Ada or Charlie. Charlie hadn't been to watch his
daughter dance yet - they tried to keep a routine, and their current routine worked. They were
planning on swapping over drop off after summer, so that he'd get a chance to watch Ada and
Robin and so that Nick could watch Ellis (he was really improving, apparently). So for
Charlie, getting to watch his little girl perform had left him with a permanent smile on his
face.
"Ok, come on Robin, get your shoes on!" Charlie called, already slipping Ellis' shoes on his
feet. He was having a bit of a pout at being told he couldn't wear his light up trainers, but his
dads didn't want him stomping around and making the room look like a disco.
"I got themmmmm!" Robin announced, speeding round the corner and nearly knocking Ada
off her feet.
"We walk indoors, Robin!" Nick reminded his son, placing a few more pins into Ada's hair to
make sure it would stay in place. He gave it one final spray of hair spray, asking the young
girl to shake her head and smiling when not a single strand moved out of place.
Soon, their little herd of offspring were ready to leave the house and packed into booster seats
in the car. Ada was busy chattering away, excited that her whole family was here to watch her
dance.
"I'm getting realllyyyy good at tap, aren't I papa?"
"So good, darling." Nick replied. He'd already warned Charlie of the headache he was likely
to get from listening to 30 4 and 5 year olds tapping just out of tune to each other.
By the time they arrived at the school where dance was held, Ada had talked them through all
of her routines twice, Robin had moaned that he's going to miss the rugby match, and Ellis
had decided that he wanted to swap club and join his twin at dance.
"Daddy, daddy, look! This is where I do my ballet and tappp!" Ada cried, gripping tightly
onto Charlie's hand and pulling him in the direction of the school building. It was a pretty
stereotypical secondary school, dull and lacklustre, falling apart at the seams with attempts to
patch it back together again made with displays on the walls. The hall was fairly large, with
pitch markings painted all over the floor and plastic chairs set out in front of the stage.
Ada continued pulling her daddy by his hand, picking up the pace when she saw her friends.
"Poppy! Kay! We gonna be dancing!" She squealed, jumping up and down whilst still
holding onto Charlie, the rest of the family trailing behind.
"Nick! Nick, I've saved us all seats!" One of the mums came running over, her red painted
lips smiling brightly and heels clacking along the hard wood floor. She wrapped Nick in a
hug, a bit too familiar for Charlie's liking, and didn't remove her hand off of his husband's
bicep when they pulled apart. It was then she noticed Charlie. "Oh, hello! I don't think we've
met before! I'm Rosie's mum, Nicole. The other Nic here! That's us, the two Nicks! That's
what people call us anyway." Nick looked at her confused - no one called them the two
Nicks. "Gosh, you don't half look like Ada! I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you're her
uncle Olly she loves to talk about?"
Charlie have an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "Uhh, no,
actually-"
"-That's not uncle Olly!" Ada interrupted. "Uncle Olly couldn't come! That's my daddy!"
Nicole seemed genuinely surprised by this revelation. "Daddy? Oh...Nick, I didn't realise that
Charlie was Ada's step mum!" She looked to a confused looking Charlie. "So you must be
with Ada's bio mum? Wow, Nick I knew you was such a loving father, and to let Ada call her
stepdad 'dad' too, you truly are amazing. Setting such a good example for blended families
everywhere."
Nick took a step back from Nicole, a step closer to Charlie. "Wait, step dad? Bio mum? That's
not -"
"-I don't have any mummy's!" Ada said happily, still gripping onto Charlie's hand. "We got
my daddy and my papa!"
"Nicole, this is Charlie. My husband." Nick was finally able to introduce, feeling just as
confused as the woman looked.
"Charlie? That's...Charlie? But - but you're a man?" Charlie assumed that her forehead would
have creased on confusion was it not for the copious amount of Botox she'd clearly had
injected into her face.
Charlie looked down at his body, trying not to laugh. "Uhh, yea? I am a man? At least last
time I checked I was. I suppose Nick can be witness to that." He flashed his husband a
cheeky smile, that smile only growing when he noticed Nick's face flushing.
"But...oh god, I'm so confused! But Charlie, when you've spoken about Charlie. I thought
'Charlie' was a woman! I didn't realise you were gay!" Nicole said accusingly to Nick, having
the audacity to look offended.
"I'm not gay, I'm bi. I thought that would have been obvious by the bi pride bracelet I wear?"
Nick held up his wrist to show it off. It had been a gift from Charlie on their first Pride they
went to after moving in together. A black woven bracelet with a silver magnetic lock
decorated in blue, purple and pink stripes. Nick rarely took it off. "And I've spoken about
Charlie enough that it's surely made it obvious that he's my husband, not wife? Even Ada
talks about him."
"Yes, but - she references her dad. I thought that was you!" Nicole's features soured even
further, and they had a little crowd of nosey parents around them now.
"Nope, I'm our kid's papa. Charlie is their dad." Nick explained, keeping his voice calm.
"I thought you just interchanged the two! Why would you even go by papa? That makes no
sense!"
Charlie had never seen someone so wound up by a child calling one of their parents 'papa'.
"Well, you see, I'm half French. I call my own 'dad' 'papa', so it makes sense that my children
call me the same." Nick explained.
"I can't believe you kept this all from me!" Nicole continued, her voice rising. "First I find
out you're gay -"
"-Bisexual." Charlie corrected.

"-Now you're saying you're half French! What else have you been keeping from me, Nick? If
that even is your real name?"
"Well, my name is actually Nicholas, just most people call me Nick." Nick replied, and he'd
be laughing at how wound up Nicole looked right now had it not been for his own anger.
Nicola glared between the two men in front of her. "I think things like this should really be
disclosed by parents before they attend clubs, especially where children are involved."
"Right, kids. I think we should all go and get ourselves ready backstage, siblings as well!"
One of the other parents said, starting to usher the youngsters away from the scene. Robin
and Ellis went with them - Ada refused, clinging tightly onto her dad and shooting tiny
daggers at the woman in front of them.
"And what do you mean by 'things like this'? Do you mean my sexuality?" Nick asked,
keeping his voice level and calm despite the adrenaline pumping through him. He wasn't
usually one for confrontation, and maybe a few years ago he would have walked away from
this. But he wasn't about to let his children stand by and watch someone get away with being
homophobic.
"I think we both know what I mean." Nicola spat.
"Ok, ok, let's break this up. The dance studio is no place for a spat!" Ada's dance instructor
came running over, probably told about the confrontation about one of the children. "Now,
Ms Lester, hearing the back end of this, I am not impressed with your behaviour. My dance
studio is an inclusive place, irrespective of gender, sexuality or race. We do not tolerate your
sort of behaviour in here!"
"Yea! No one is mean to my daddy's!" Ada growled, the scowl not once leaving her little
face. Nick and Charlie weren't too sure how much of the conversation Ada had understood,
and it was usually something they'd shield her from. She was too young to know about the
discrimination people like her dads faced by a few small minded people in the world. But it
was clear to them that she knew what Nicola was saying was wrong. "I'm gonna tell your
daddy on you and then you'll have to sit on the naughty step! And then I'm gonna tell Santa
on you and he's gonna put you on the naughty list! You're like....you're like the wicked witch
in Cinderella! The Big Bad Wolf in the Three Little Pigs! Like the-"
"-Ok, Ada, that's enough." Charlie hushed, a smile playing on his lips. He was rather
impressed that his daughter had managed to list off so many villains.
"Wow, Nick! Are you really going to let your daughter talk to me like that?!" Nicole gasped,
face turning red.
Nick smiled, winking at his daughter and giving her a sneaky thumbs up. "Well, yes. Yes I
am."
"I think it's time you left the building, Ms Lester." The dance instructor stated, leaving no
room for argument. "You can either leave Rosie in our care for her to finish the recital she's
been working so hard on, or you can take her with you. But you are no longer welcome on at
this studio."
Maybe it was the adrenaline of everything that had happened, or maybe the other kids were a
bit shaken up from the argument so were off their game, making their daughter look better.
But Ada danced better than ever before during her recital. She remembered all of her steps,
danced (mostly) in time to the songs, and even made sure to bow extra big and wave at her
dads and brothers when the show was over.
When they all got home again, Ada discovered her dads had bought her a bouquet of flowers
as a 'well done' gift for doing such a good job at the recital. And, they supposed, they could
now also be for a job well done at telling off Nicola.
There was always going to be a minority in society who thought like Nicola. But their dads
weren't going to just bow down and take it and, clearly, neither was their daughter. They were
proud of her for standing up for what's right, and whilst a small part of them did feel like they
should tell her off for what she said, they weren't going to.
Chapter End Notes

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this little chapter (if you’ve gotten to the end and
are reading this, then I assume you did!)
Let me know if you have any recommendations or suggestions for things to write about
Nick and Charlie’s adventures into parenthood :)
I recently deleted one of my unfinished works (Rainbow baby), because I felt bad
leaving it unfinished for so long. But then a few people (ok, it was only the one
person…) said they’re sad to see it deleted and of course that was enough for me to want
to carry on writing it! I’m about 20 chapters in, it’s an omega!verse mpreg with omega
Nick and alpha Charlie (not everyone’s cup of tea - I know!), but would anyone be
interested in reading it? I’m thinking of maybe posting it on here once it’s finished :)
First family holiday abroad
Chapter Summary
Now that their children aren’t babies anymore, Nick and Charlie decide it’s finally time
to take their first family holiday abroad. Of course, nanny Sarah is invited too.
Chapter Notes
“We're all goin' on a summer holiday."
"Papaaaaa not again!" Ada protested.
"No more workin' for a week or two."
"No daddy, nooooo!" Robin shrieked as his dad joined in.
"Fun and laughter on our summer holiday."
Ellis threw his tiny head back against his car seat, groaning as nanny Sarah started singing
too.
"No more worries for me or you, for a week or two."
For the past month, the voice of Cliff Richard had been dancing through the Nelson-Spring
house, the classic holiday song being played on repeat much to the annoyance of their three
young children. Nick and Charlie saw it as sort of a revenge after having to listen to Baby
Shark 100 times a day for about 6 months straight.
A few months ago, they'd decided it was finally time to take their first family holiday abroad.
They'd had little getaways together, you know, those traditional British ones. A caravan down
by the coast with a slightly run down club house filled with screaming kids. It always seemed
to rain half the time and every other shop in town was closed with dicks spray painted on the
shutters. They were pretty convinced they'd contracted all sorts of diseases going in the
communal pools, and on more then one occasion came out with a bloody plaster hanging off
their bodies. And not forgetting being ripped off in the arcades, spending a near fortune on
the 2p machines to get plastic key rings or a singular Maoam. Plus the £20 Nick once spent
on the claw machine determined to win the tiny stuffed dog that looked like Nellie (spoiler:
he did not win the soft toy. Those machines are a scam).
They loved a caravan holiday. There was something about the simplicity of it, of watching
their children run freely through the freezing English sea and making crumbling sandcastles
along the beach. Evenings spent in the clubhouse were definitely some of their favourites.
The dads loved watching their babies join in with kids club, showing off their best moves in
the dance competitions and making loads of friends to play with.
But, as much as they enjoyed their caravan holidays, they missed going abroad.
It had been 4 years now since they'd last been on a plane. They'd taken Robin to Italy when
he was little, and decided then and there that it would be their last time going abroad with a
child who still required a buggy and changing bag. He spent the entirety of the flights
screaming no matter how long Nick and Charlie spent rocking him up and down the isles.
Robin then decided to do a huge poo explosion right before the plane landed, meaning they
had everyone walking past them trying not to gag as they waited until the plane was empty to
use the toilets to change him. And then the airline damaged the buggy, so they spent the first
day of their holiday carrying the squirming one year old around most of the time. And when
they did finally manage to buy a buggy, well - have you ever tried pushing a buggy along
packed out cobbled streets? Yea, they wouldn't recommend it.
But the kids were all potty trained now, and they'd long since said goodbye to buggy's. So it
was time to take them abroad.
And, of course, they invited Sarah. She'd given up the family villa in Menorca quite a few
years ago when all the kids got too old to go on big family holidays. Sarah had had a few
girly weekends away with her sister and her friends, and had been on some of the caravan
holidays with them all. But she missed lounging around the pool with a cocktail in hand and
day trips into town to look at all the little trinkets.
And so that's how they all ended up in their car heading to Gatwick to catch their 10am flight
to Mallorca for 2 weeks of sun, sea and sand.
"Are we nearly there yet?"
The dreaded question which had come just 5 minutes into their car journey.
"Not yet, baby." Charlie said from his spot in the front seat. He'd elected to sit there to help
Nick with directions. "We've still got an hour left."
"Why don't you try and get some sleep?" Sarah suggested from the back of the car next to
Robin. "We promise no more singing if you do."
It was 6am. There was no chance the kids would be sleeping in the car. 6am was their usual
wake up time, plus they were far too excited for sleep.
20 minutes into the car journey and they'd had to stop for a toilet break. Another 10 minutes
and they were asking for the snacks that their nanny Sarah had thankfully packed in her
handbag. Another 15 minutes and Robin and Ellis were squabbling over a game of eye spy.
But finally they made it to the airport and through security.
"Are you sure you're ok to take Rob and Lis by yourself?" Nick whispered as they started to
prepare for boarding. They'd booked 2 rows of three for the plane next to each other, but with
three children and three adults, it posed the question of who was pulling the short straw and
being stuck with two kids.
Charlie had ended up volunteering for it. Robin and Ada were both pretty excited about being
on a plane, whilst Ellis was rather nervous about flying. Perhaps it was because Charlie was
home more with the kids, but they seemed to calm down the quickest with him comforting
them.
"It's fine, you'll only be over the isle anyway if I need any help." Charlie reassured him,
greeting the cabin crew with a smile as they boarded.
Robin got one window seat, then it was Charlie in the middle, and then Ellis. Then, in the
row next to them, would be Nick in the isle seat, Sarah in the middle, and Ada with the other
window seat.
It may only be a two and a half hour flight, but the dads knew that they needed to bring a lot
to keep their kids occupied. Their time in the air was filled with colouring in, unlimited iPad
time (a very rare treat), reading stories and lots of snacks.
Snacks were always key in getting their children to behave.
"I remember your first time on a plane, Nicky." Sarah had recalled. "You must have only
been 1 or 2, and we were flying to France to see some of your dads family. And god, how you
cried and cried and cried. I felt so bad for everyone on that flight. And do you know what
stopped you crying? Well, one of the male flight attendants took pity on me I think, offered to
try and calm you down. And as soon as you were in his arms it was like magic, you stopped
crying! I swear, that man had the magic touch. You were captivated by his curly hair, kept
gripping at it with your little chubby hands."
"Some things never change." Nick looked fondly over to his curly haired husband, their
youngest boy clinging to him on his lap. Ellis hadn't taken too fondly to flying, tears spilling
down his face the entire time they ascended into the air until the 'fasten seatbelt' sign had
been turned off and he could climb into his daddy's lap. One hand was wrapped in Charlie's
hair, twiddling a curl between his fingers for comfort. A trait he'd possibly (probably) picked
up from Nick, who often found himself doing the same thing to his husband's curls when he
was anxious.
"You're just like papa, hey, Lis?" Charlie whispered, kissing the young boys sweaty forehead.
~~~~~
The hotel looked even better than the pictures. They'd been driven up on their transfer coach
to the front entrance, swimming pool 1 of 3 being just off to their left. Their children were
already pleading to go for a swim, the sounds of other kids screaming happily being so
tempting. But they needed to check in first, and after promising the trio that they'd check it
out after they'd sorted out their rooms, they only pouted for a few minutes.
Sarah (and Charlie for that matter) weren't too impressed that the adult wristbands at the all
inclusive were bright orange. 'Really, and I can't take it off? Orange will hardly go with any
of my outfits!' Sarah had exclaimed, scandalised.
"Just think of the unlimited pina coladas you can get though, mum." Nick had reminded her,
and the mention of a cocktail seemed to put all her worries to rest.
They'd booked a superior interconnecting room; Nick, Charlie in the double in one with Ada
on the pull out, with Sarah on the single in the next room and the boys on the pull out in
there. Realistically, they knew the kids would probably play musical beds over the fortnight
they were there (and they had no doubt that they'd wake up with a tiny body or two tucked
between them on some nights). Their balcony overlooked the clear blue ocean of their little
cove in Cala D'or, the water rippling as tourists splashed along the shore. The children had all
but forgotten about the swimming pool upon seeing the beach from the bedroom window,
giving desperate pleas to their dads and nanny to take them down there.
And really, who were they to deny the kids? They were on holiday after all.
~~~~~
"Robin, let me just put the sun cream on your face and then we can all go down!" Nick tried
to hold the squirming little boy still, a dollop of factor 30 in one hand that he'd been trying to
smear over the 8 year olds cheeks.
"It's colllddddd." Robin whined, giggling when his papa wiped the last of it behind his ears
before running off to hide behind his nanny Sarah. The suncream battle had been a daily
occurrence over the 4 days they'd been in Mallorca.
Nick jumped as a cold hand splattered some suncream onto his hips, tiny giggles erupting
behind him. "Papa gotta wear some to!" Came Ada's little voice, more laughter as she poured
some of the liquid over his back. "Daddy says you're pale and burn!"
"Oh did he now?" Nick asked, sending his husband a pointed look from where he was
blowing into one of the armbands to top it up.
Charlie smirked at him, sticking his tongue out. "We can't all be naturally gifted with my
beautifully Spanish olive skin."
The kids were all up at the crack of dawn and, after grabbing breakfast at the buffet
downstairs, they were desperate to go out to the pool or down to the beach to play in the
water. They'd been to the little shops in town to buy some inflatables - shark armbands for
Ellis, flower ones for Ada, a giant blow up whale, and a couple of lilos. The bigger ones
weren't permitted in the pool, but in the ocean there were no restrictions. And so with a
couple of beach bags filled with towels, sun cream and water, and the inflatables tucked
under their arms, they made the short walk down to the beach to claim some sun beds and
spend the day in the sea.
"I think this is a good spot?" Nick suggested, already stripping off his top and putting it on
one of the four free sun beds lined up next to each other, a few umbrellas providing shade
from the early morning sun. They were along the first rows of beds, giving a clear view of the
sea and with plenty of space for the children to play in the sand around them.
"Sea! Sea! Wanna go in the sea!" Ada squealed, pulling on her dad's hand with as much force
as she could. Which wasn't much, but Charlie made sure to take a few steps in the direction
she wanted, smiling as his little girl's face lit up in glee.
"Go on, you lot go for a swim. I'm happy to watch our stuff and keep the sun beds safe."
Sarah encouraged, already slipping her flip flops off and taking a seat on one of the beds.
"Oh yea, I'm sure this is nothing to do with you wanting to carry on with your book." Charlie
teased, dropping his beach bag into one of the other beds.
Sarah feigned shock, waving the book in question around. "I can assure you that that didn't
even cross my mind! I just want to know that our belongings are being safely looked after."
"'How to Kill Your Family?'" Nick cocked an eyebrow at the title. "Is that a story or a
manual?"
"Papaaaa!" Robin whined insistently. "I wanna swim!"
He squealed as his papa lifted him up high above his head, pretending to chuck him a few
times before lifting him up onto his shoulders. "Hold on tight, Rob!" Nick instructed,
jumping over to the twins and lifting one up under each arm. "TO THE SEA!" He shouted,
the giggles of his children drowning out his voice.
"He's gonna kill them one day, I swear." Charlie laughed, shaking his head as he watched his
husband take gentle steps over the sand. It was hard enough to walk on it normally, let alone
whilst carrying three squirming children.
"Maybe he's been getting tips from my book." Sarah teased, swapping out her sunglasses for
her reading ones.
Charlie gathered up the inflatable armbands and whale into his arms, ignoring his mother-in-
law's cackles at watching him struggle to trek across the beach to his family.
"Daddy! Daddy! Look at me, I'm swimming!" Ellis shouted, his head barely bobbing above
the water as he crouched in the shallows. He ducked his head below, blowing bubbles into the
water and quickly regretting it. "Arrghhh. Tastes gross." He cried, pulling a face. And then
continued to blow bubbles.
Charlie chucked the two floral armbands to Nick for him to help their daughter into and then
waded over to their youngest, kneeling by the boy who was quite happily ducking his head in
and out of the water. For a child who was scared of most things, it surprised the men (and
somewhat frightened them) just how fearless he was in the water.
"Come on, bug. Let's get these on you and then we can practice your swimming!" Charlie
wrangled him into the armbands, only getting splashed in the face a handful of times.
Watching three children with only two sets of eyes was definitely a task. There was a lot of
'Don't go any further than that, Rob!' When Robin drifted out a bit too far on his whale, and
'Stop dunking your brother!' When Ada tried to drown Ellis again (what was that saying?
That there's always one evil twin?). They spent hours in the sea until their skin was pruned
and eyes stinging from the salt (they'd had the foresight to put goggles on the children, but on
themselves? Not so much). By the time the sun was high in the sky, there were calls from the
children that they wanted snacks. So then it was a race across the scolding sand to the sun
beds where Sarah was beaming at them all.
"Nanny! Did you see me swimming? I learnt doggy paddle!" Ada boasted, hand stuffed into
the share bag of cheese & onion Lays.
"I say, baby girl! I was so impressed!" Sarah praised, taking a towel to try and dry off Robin.
It was a difficult task when the boy was more determined in trying to grab the bag of pretzels
sticking out of her bag.
Days at the beach soon became some of their favourites. There was something about
watching the children run freely along the beach, jumping in and out of the sea, making
sandcastles and singing along to the Pineapple, Apple, Pear! Song from the fruit man that
filled them with so much joy. There was no greater sound than their children's shrieks of joy
and laughter.
~~~~~
"Choo choo wa
Choo choo wa
Choo choo wa wa wa."
Charlie and Sarah sat at one of the tables in the entertainment area sipping on a Love on the
Rocks each (it was the hotel's version of a sex on the beach, the name being changed most
likely because they didn't want the word 'Sex' printed big and bold on their menus for all the
children at the resort to see). They'd been in Spain for a little over a week now, and had
settled into a nice routine.
They'd usually go to the pool or the beach in the morning after breakfast, then back to the
hotel for lunch (one of the reasons they chose an all inclusive was that it meant they wouldn't
have to keep putting their hands in their pockets whenever the kids asked for food. Which
was often). After lunch was usually spent in the play area for a few hours, and then back up
to the room for a siesta and to wash up for dinner. They liked to dress up a bit for the
evenings, Sarah wearing one of her many dresses and working her way through the 10 pairs
of wedges she bought with her ('I need to make sure that I have shoes to match all my
outfits!' She had justified). Nick and Charlie usually dressed themselves in shirts and some
nice shorts, nothing too smart. Somehow the kids were still full of energy come evening, so
they made sure their outfits weren't too restrictive so they were able to run about.
After dinner was the children's entertainment. How they all loved the children's
entertainment. For a full 2 (!!!) hours, they could let their kids run off to be supervised by
other adults whilst they watched from a distance, working their way through the cocktail
menu. The entertainment usually consisted of a few games like musical chairs and musical
statues, a magician would come to do some magic tricks. And then they'd all learn a song and
dance to perform to the parents (and the other lucky guests) at the end.
Tonight's song was Choo Choo Wa and, when that had been announced, Ada had came over
with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Papa," she had started off innocently, batting her eyelashes, "Can you come and dance this
one?"
Nick was slightly tipsy by that point, which was a mean feat considering the lack of alcohol
actually used in the cocktails. But, to give him credit, he was on his 12th drink of the day (the
current one being a mojito). The primary school teacher in him left him with no shame of
dancing and making a fool of himself in a room (or outdoor space) filled with children and
adults. But he was also enjoying a bit of kid-free time this evening. He looked desperately
over at his husband and mum for help.
Which, he should have known, was the wrong thing to do.

"I think your papa would love to up and sing and dance with you all!" Sarah laughed,
nudging Nick's arm.
"Yea, go on papa! I'll make sure to film you all!" Charlie further egged on.
Nick turned his face out of sight of his daughter to shoot daggers at the pair, giving an
exaggerated sigh before taking a giddy Ada's hand and being marched to the crowd of little
people singing and dancing away.
And that's how Charlie and Sarah found themselves cracking up, watching the 6'1" man
towering above all the kids around him, singing at the top of his lungs whilst he struggled to
keep up with all the steps.
"Thumbs up
Lift your shoulders
Your head up high
Bottom behind."
Nick stuck his bottom out, giving it a shake, looking behind him to make sure Charlie was
watching. He just rolled his eyes at his husband's antics, laughing when he received a wink.
"You know, if you two wanted some alone time, I'm more than happy to take Ada into my
room." Sarah had said nonchalantly, taking a sip of her drink and giving her son-in-law a
knowing look. "Sleepover in nanny's room, I'll make sure they won't disturb you."
"Sarah!" Charlie squawked, pretending to be scandalised with a hand over his heart for
emphasis.
She flicked a stray piece of ice at him across the table, erupting in a shrill laugh when it
landed in Charlie's lap. "Don't 'Sarah!' me! You're on your holidays! If my two lovely boys
want a night away from the kids, I'm happy to take them off your hands."
Comments like this used to leave Charlie red faced and flustered, unable to look Sarah in the
eyes for at least a week. But he'd gotten used to it by now. It should be weird, his husband's
mum basically telling them to shag - and Charlie knew she was only half joking with the
offer!
The first time she'd ever made an offer like that was when Robin was 6 weeks old. The two
men had barely had 5 minutes of alone time since he'd been born, and the alone time they did
have they spent trying to catch up on sleep. But they missed the intimacy they once shared.
They'd been warned before that sex was pretty much off the table with a baby, but that didn't
mean that their desires had wained.
Sarah had come over one day, a determined look on her face.
"Right, you two," she'd announced, "I've booked you a room at an adult only hotel for
Saturday night. Let me take Robin, I'll stay here and look after the house. You need some
alone time."
It definitely wasn't the best shag of their lives - they both finished far quicker than normal
and collapsed into a 12 hour slumber after. But they'd been grateful for Sarah's
thoughtfulness, and that they'd come home to a spotless house and home cooked meal.
But that was different. It was one thing Sarah getting them a hotel room, or purposefully
going on an evening trip to the 24 hour Tesco when they were teenagers to give them a free
house for an hour. Shagging in the hotel room whilst Sarah was next door, knowing what they
were doing?
No, that just felt a bit too wrong in Charlie's book.
"We'll be ok, but thanks Sarah." Charlie replied, watching as his husband lifted his arms and
twirled like a ballerina.
~~~~~
"Suncream?"
"Check!"
"Sunglasses?"
"Check!"
"Bottles of water?"
"Check!"
"Good, I definitely don't want a repeat of that time we got unlucky in that village in Menorca
and got the shits from drinking tap water!" Charlie cringed at the memory. They'd been in
their early 20's and taken a day trip to a little remote village across the island. They hadn't
realised that it would be cash only, and had only bought one bottle of water between them.
They were left with no choice but to drink the free tap water - which did not have great
consequences.
"I think you're forgetting one very cheeky little monkey!" Sarah called out, carrying a
giggling Ellis into the room who was clinging to her body.
"A cheeky monkey who needs to put his trainers on!" Nick approached with the trainers in
question, prying one leg away from Sarah's body and then the other until the 5 year old was
firmly held in his arms.
"Noooo papa! Noooo!" Ellis shook his head furiously, trying (and failing) to wiggle out of his
papa's arms. A week of wearing nothing but sandals had made the youngster despise any
closed toe shoes. Nick and Charlie didn't quite understand it, but did anyone truly understand
the mind of a 5 year old?
"Come on, bug. Trainers on or we won't be able to get ice cream in town." Nick bribed, and
almost instantly the little boy went lax in his arms and allowed his trainers to be slipped onto
his feet and Velcroed up.
Soon enough, and only half an hour behind schedule, the Nelson-Spring clan were out the
door, on the bus, and stepping into Palma's old town.
"Ice cream! Ice cream!" Robin screamed as soon as his feet hit the pavement, pointing
excitedly to a brightly coloured ice cream and frozen yogurt shop conveniently placed right
in front of the bus stop.
Charlie quickly grabbed his son's hand before he could run off. "Rob, remember, we don't run
off. We wait for everyone." Looking behind to his husband, they both nodded, silently
agreeing to visit the ice cream shop.
Robin went for chocolate chip, Ada for bubblegum ('Just like papa!' Nick had gloated,
ignoring his husband's disgusted look), and Ellis went for something called 'Unicorn Twirl',
which seemed to be a mixture of different flavours infused with sprinkles.
Charlie went for a frozen yogurt topped with various fruits and Sarah had strawberry.
Thankfully, Nick's taste in sweet treats had somewhat matured since his teenage years, and he
ended up going for a lemon ice.
"I'm not sure what the Spanish do with their ice creams, but they always taste so much better
over here than the ones in England!" Sarah said happily, using her spare hand to bat the fan
she'd bought at the beginning of the holiday. Every so often, she'd flap it in Robin's face,
receiving shrills of laughter in return as he tried to swat it away.
They had thought about visiting the museum, but after protests from 3 tiny voices, decided
that their afternoon was better spent strolling around the shops, letting the kids pick out a few
souvenirs to to buy with their holiday money. There were a few sections in the shops that
were a tad inappropriate and they tried their best to steer clear of, especially after Ada's loud
remark of 'Why are there so many willy keyrings?'
They'd made a swift exit after that, trying to distract her from asking any more questions.
Sarah was in her element, taking her time to go through all of the shoes, and clothes, and
bags, and jewellery. It reminded Nick of being a kid again, being dragged around the local
shopping centre whilst she insisted on looking in every shop. Except, this time, it seemed his
husband and their children had taken a leaf from his mum's book, dragging him into this shop
and that.
"It's their first time abroad." Charlie justified when he went to the counter with a knock off
football kit for Robin, a flamenco dress for Ada, and some Paw Patrol themed tops for Ellis.
Plus a few new games for them all. "If we can't treat them now, then when can we?"
In all fairness, the kids were very pleased with their gifts, and Ada spent the whole evening
running around the resort in her new dress clicking her castanets.
~~~~~
The first Nelson-Spring family holiday abroad had been a success. Everyone came back
feeling miles more relaxed than they'd been when they left; a week by the sea was just what
they needed. When the kids went back to school, they loved telling all their friends about the
adventures they'd had in Spain, and they made sure that their daddys knew that they wanted
to go again.
It was the first of many family holidays abroad. Nick and Charlie were glad they'd waited
until the kids were a little older before taking them - it meant they could remember all the
memories they were making, and appreciate the time away that much more.
Chapter End Notes
I’ve really missed writing this story!
I’ve been writing a lot of my other story (an ABO mpreg - defo not everyone’s cup of
tea!), but now I’m only a couple chapters from finishing writing that, thought it was
time to jump back into this one! :)
That’s not to say Rainbow Baby is nearly finished being posted - I try to update that one
weekly, every Sunday!
It’s been kind of hot in England the last week and it really made me want to be on
holiday. So instead, here’s a short fic about the Nelson-Springs on their holidays :)
I never quite know how to end these little fics, so sorry if the ending is a bit rubbish!
As always, pls remember to leave kudos or a comment if you enjoyed reading, and do
let me know any suggestions of what you’d like me to write next!
The next few I have planned include the families first Pride, Ellis figuring out his
sexuality, and the story of how they decided it was time to start a family
Coming out
Chapter Summary
Ellis has discovered a lot about himself since starting uni - including his sexuality. On
his first time back home since the school year began, he decided it’s time to tell his
parents.
Chapter Notes
Monthly game/film night with the Paris squad was definitely something that they'd been
trying to get back in the habit of doing. It had been hard fitting it in since becoming adults -
Nick was 50 now, a 'proper old man' as his husband liked to tease him. There had been a
good few years where they'd all been surrounded by children, and children tended to take up
a lot of time. Not that any of them were complaining; they all loved the families they had.
Tao and Elle's boy Zeki, who they'd adopted some years ago, was 12 now. A proper little
character, very sarcastic (wonder where he got that from), and had a great love for all things
Marvel (Nick might be to blame for that, plopping on a Marvel film to watch with his own
kids whenever they babysat Zeki).
You can only imagine Tao's face when his son came up to him one day asking to watch the
newest film! Elle claimed that he had actual tears in his eyes. But, like the doting dad he was,
he reluctantly sat through each and every film multiple times, his little boy cuddled up next to
him, dutifully paying attention.
They were all sure that Tao was a secret Marvel fan now, just far too stubborn to actually
admit to it.
Tara and Darcy had tried for a baby for a few years through IVF, putting all of their savings
into trial after trial. It had been hard and gruelling for the pair, both physically and mentally,
particularly after the miscarriage on their 3rd try. They'd decided they'd give it one more go,
and if it didn't work then it just wasn't meant to be.
It was meant to be. On their 4th try, Tara saw that positive mark on a test. She was pregnant.
The pregnancy had been hard on Tara, pretty much wiping her out for the full 8 months (she
ended up going into labour at 35 weeks, having to have an emergency c section). Their
daughter, Monica, was 15 now and was definitely in that awkward teenage phase. Nick and
Charlie couldn't remember the last time they'd heard her say more than 2 or 3 words.
After the hardships they'd faced with IVF, they decided adoption was their best bet for their
second child. 7 years ago, they'd adopted a 3 year old boy called Nathanial. And little Nate,
now 10, was this ball of energy. He couldn't sit still, was always having to do something
whether that be running around the garden or pulling pranks or (literally) climbing the walls.
In amongst the busyness of having children, working, maintaining their homes, and just
general adult responsibilities, the Paris squad didn't get to see each other nearly as much as
they liked.
It had taken 3 months of planning and changing the date about 5 different times, but finally a
games night had been planned. Tara and Darcy were hosting, not feeling comfortable enough
to leave Nate by himself just yet. It was going to be a great night of catching up and many
shared bottles of wine.
~~~~~
"Not too much off the top, Ade. I don't wanna end up bald like papa."
"Oi, I heard that!" Nick called from the front room. England were playing a match tonight; it
was due to finish at 7, and Charlie had made him promise that they would be out the door no
later than 7:15pm to head to Tara and Darcy's. Nick usually watched the rugby with Robin,
but he'd gone to the pub with some of his work lot instead.
"Don't worry, dad. I won't make the same mistake twice." Ada swore.
That didn't do much to reassure Charlie.
After finishing college, Ada had elected to do a hairdressing apprenticeship. In her words,
'uni is only useful if the career you definitely want to go into requires a degree.' They didn't
entirely agree - uni taught independence as well, and gave them some of the best experiences
of their lives. But they always tried to be supportive of their children. And if their daughter
didn't want to go to uni, then that was ok with them.
At least hairdressing and barbering was a useful profession, and they could safely say that
they wouldn't have to pay for haircuts again.
When she started her barbering module, Charlie had volunteered to be her first human model.
Ada had been so confident, putting her dad's nerves at ease when she told him how much her
teacher had praised the cuts she'd done on the practice dummy's heads.
What Ada failed to tell him was that she hadn't worked with short, curly hair before.
To be fair, the first warning sign should have been when she started cutting his hair wet. But
he'd thought maybe it was just a new technique.
The second warning sign should have been the look on her face as she blowed it dry. But by
that point it was too late. She'd sheepishly held the hand mirror up for him to have a look,
claiming that it looked better in person.
His husband's stunned expression when he came back home begged to differ.
There were chunks missing where his curl pattern differed, bits of hair sticking up at funny
angles whilst other pieces hung limply.
There'd been a short period after that where he'd sported a buzz cut, allowing Nick to shave
his hair fully off in true Brittany fashion. It had taken months for it to grow back, and for a
while Charlie was convinced that this was it for him. No more hair.
He was also pretty convinced that he had PTSD from the whole ordeal, hence this being his
first haircut since Nick had shaved it all off.
But he wanted to show Ada that he had trust in her abilities. She'd just passed her barbering
module, and had done a few curly cuts before. His hair was now at that length that annoyed
him; just a bit too long to be comfortable.
"Just a couple of inches. A good trim." Charlie reiterated when he saw an extra long chunk of
curl fall to the floor.
"You worry too much, dad. I promise your hair is gonna look amazing when I'm done with it,
your friends will all be complimenting you!" A few more snips and she looked back to assess
her work, holding up a mirror for Charlie to see. "What do you think?"
Charlie turned his head to the side, assessing the damage. It looked...good.
It actually looked good.
"I'm very impressed." He said, watching as Ada's shoulders sagged in relief.
"Told you I'm getting better!" She replied happily, starting to pack her clippers away. "Can
you tell Elle that, please? I really wanna get my hands on her hair!"
Elle had agreed to be a model for Ada, but after a FaceTime with Charlie and seeing him
bald, had decided that maybe she'd wait until the teenager was as a little more trained. She'd
explained it nicely enough to Ada, who understood why. But Elle promised to model for her
when she was a bit more trained with curly hair.
"I'll make sure to mention it to her." Charlie agreed, shaking off the remnants of his locks
from his top. He just had time for a quick shower and to change his clothes before (hopefully)
the rugby could be finished and they could head on their way.
But there was no such luck. Charlie was freshly washed, clean clothes on, hair styled and
body sprayed but it looked like the rugby had gone into extra time.
"Just 20 more minutes, Char." Nick explained, sitting forward on his seat, body tense as he
focused on the tv. "England needs to win this or we're out of the league."
Despite playing the game for a short while in school, and going to most of his husband's
rugby matches over the years, Charlie still struggled to understand how rugby worked. What
he did understand, however, was how much the sport meant to Nick. As did their friends. If
they were a little bit late, they would get it.
"Come on, run faster!" Nick yelled at the tv, leaning forward even further. "FASTER!"
Charlie just smirked at his husbands shouting; he knew how intense these games got. Their
neighbour next door was the same with football - whenever Tottenham was playing, they
were sure to hear screaming and cheers through the walls. Charlie was quite happy to lounge
next to Nick on the sofa, dropping the group chat a quick text that they were running a bit late
and scrolling mindlessly through his phone.
"Uhh, can I talk to you two?"
Charlie looked up, smiling at their youngest standing in the front room doorway, nervously
twiddling with the sleeve of his jumper. Ellis was currently home for half term from uni. He
was in his first year at Coventry studying Computer Science, and university had really bought
the teenager out of his shell. He'd made a good group of friends down there, had actually
learnt some basic hygiene (at least, when they went to visit him a few months ago, the bin in
his bedroom was empty and he had clean sheets on), and he seemed to be enjoying his
course.
This was Ellis' first time back home this year and, although he texted them often and they
called every week or so, it was so good to have their son back home.
"Oh, come ON! You've just given them the bloody ball!" Nick shouted again, slumping back
against the sofa but then quickly jolting forward when one of our players started dashing for
the try line. "Yes, YES! YOU'VE GOT THIS!"
"I don't think you've got much luck of getting papa's attention right now." Charlie joked.
When Nick was like this, his only focus really was on the match. "Is it important?"
"Umm, no. It's - no, it's ok. It can wait." Ellis mumbled, looking down awkwardly.
"You sure, bug?" Charlie checked, concerned by how nervous he seemed. He elbowed Nick
in the side to get his attention, who snapped his head up. Charlie gave him a pointed look.
"Uh, yea. Honestly Lis, if it's important, we can talk." And then Nick was on his feet,
cheering and clapping at the tv. "YES! COME ON ENGLAND!"
They'd just scored a try.
Ellis looked awkwardly between the two. "No, no. It's ok." And then he was back out the
front room door and scampering up the stairs.
Charlie stared at his husband, utterly bewildered. It took Nick a minute to realise the eyes on
him; he was otherwise totally focused on the rugby match on the tv.
"What?"
"Do you not think Ellis was acting a little strange?" Charlie asked.
Nick shrugged, groaning as the other team scored a try and shrinking further back into the
sofa. "For fucks sake, I think we're gonna lose."
"Nick! This is serious!" Charlie scolded. He looked at the timer on the tv - 30 seconds to go.
He could wait 30 seconds.
The longest bloody 30 seconds.
The final whistle blew, and Charlie gave his husband an exasperated look. "Now can we
discuss why our son was acting so nervous?"
"Isn't Ellis always a little bit on edge?" Nick asked. Maybe not so much now he was older,
but Ellis had always been the more socially awkward out of their children, the one who was
always a bit anxious about everything.
"He wanted to talk to us about something important!" Charlie reiterated, grabbing the older
man's hand and pulling him to his feet. "Come on, let's find out what it is and then we can
make our way to Tara and Darcy's. We can blame our lateness on you crying over the fact
England lost." He teased, already dragging him up the stairs.
"That was an important game, Char!" Nick pouted. "And we should have bloody won. That
other team played dirty." He continued to grumble until they came to their youngest's
bedroom door.
Charlie gave a few gentle knocks on the door. "Lis, can we come in?" No reply. He knocked a
bit louder. "Ellis?"
"You can come in!"
They opened the door and stepped into their youngest son's bedroom. It still had remnants of
his childhood scattered around - a tatty stuffed zebra poking out from under his bed, a lava
lamp night light collecting dust on his book shelf, a kids edition of Monopoly sitting on top
of his wardrobe. But amongst the memorabilia from the life of little Ellis, there was a much
more grownup feel to the space. From the freshly made bed to the blinds pulled back, even
the empty bin and the lack of clean washing pile sitting to be put away.
Their littlest boy was no longer so little, and his bedroom showed signs of that.
"What did you want to talk about earlier?" Charlie asked, jumping straight to it. There was no
use in small talk; it would only make him anxious.
Ellis shrugged, taking a seat at his desk. The wall behind him was littered in pictures, stuck to
the paint with blue tack. There was one right in the middle that always made the two men
smile - a photo of the five of them at their first Pride after Ellis came out to them all. He
stood proudly in the middle of them all, rainbows drawn on both his cheeks and his siblings
grinning on either side of him, Nick and Charlie on the outer edges. Multi-coloured confetti
flew around behind them, barely visible in the camera lens. His siblings had been so
supportive of their brother - not that the men had any doubts that they wouldn't be, but it had
still been a scary time for their son.
"It's stupid." Ellis just mumbled, not meeting their eyes.
"It can't be that stupid if it's got you this nervous." Nick tried to reassure him, taking a seat on
the bed next to his husband, a comforting hand placed on his knee. Charlie hadn't even
realised it was shaking.
They could tell he wanted to say something, his mouth opening and shutting like a fish a few
times. But then he shook his head. "No, it's ok. You're meant to be seeing your mates tonight,
it can wait until later."
They didn't want to push, no matter how much their parental concern was telling them to.
They gave each other a worried glance. "Only if you're absolutely sure?" Charlie double
checked.
Ellis nodded his head quickly. "Yea, promise. Just want to talk about something at uni." He
got up to usher the pair out the door. "Go on, go have a good night."
The bedroom door was shut in their faces, leaving the men standing on their landing at
crossroads.
"We shouldn't really push him, should we?" Nick asked, glancing back at the bedroom door
as he was pulled down the stairs.
Charlie shook his head. "I don't like leaving it any more than you do. But we both know
pushing will just make him less likely to tell us."
Nick knew his husband was right, but he couldn't help the nagging feeling in the back of his
mind that maybe, this time, they shouldn't let it go.
"We know Ellis, he would tell us if it was something bad." Charlie said, as though reading his
mind. "Or he'd at least tell Rob or Ade, who'd tell us if it was really that bad."
The older man sighed, knowing he was right. It was like when Ada fell pregnant - she told
her siblings first, who encouraged her to tell them. If it was that bad, he'd have someone to
confide in.
They both slipped on their shoes, chucked on their jackets and grabbed the bag of wine and
crisps to take with them.
"I'll drive if you want? You drove last time." Charlie offered, taking the keys out of their pot
and heading out their front door. Buckled into the car, they were about to head off when both
of their phones pinged.
A new group chat had been made. Nick, Charlie and Ellis.
Ellis
7:31pm
I think I'm androsexual

Charlie turned the car off, looking between Nick and the phone in his hand.
They both pinged again.
Ellis
7:32pm
No, I know I'm androsexual
"He was trying to come out to us again." Nick whispered, voice thick with emotion.
Charlie let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding in, chuckling as he hit his head back
against the head rest. "Well we're not going to the girls' now, are we."
"Fucking androsexual, I don't even think I know what that means." Nick couldn't wipe the
smile off his face despite his confusion about his son's sexuality, unbuckling his belt and
following his husband back into the house. He was just glad that there was nothing wrong -
that his nerves had only been about telling his parents his sexuality as opposed to him being
in trouble or something.
"I think it means being attracted to masculine qualities regardless of gender." Charlie
laughed at Nick's surprised face. "I'm pretty sure I used to work with someone who was
androsexual."
"Let's ask Ellis how he defines it, just in case we're making assumptions." Nick suggested,
taking the stairs two at a time and once again knocking on their son's bedroom door, only
opening it when Ellis called out a shaky 'come in!'
"So, androsexual?" Nick began, trying to school his expression but failing miserably at it.
Ellis gave a slow nod of his head, looking equal parts nervous and excited at sharing this new
part of his life with his parents. "I, uh - I know it's not one of the big, main sexualities. But,
yea. It's me. I know that's what I am." He looked up then, making eye contact first with his
dad and then his papa. Behind the anxiety on his face was confidence, just shining through,
the teenager certain of his words.
Charlie shook his head, taking a few strides to wrap his arms around Ellis who was still sat in
his desk chair. "Just because you don't identify as one of the 'big main ones', it doesn't make it
any less valid. There's a reason that it's LGBTQI+." Charlie assured him, putting an emphasis
on the plus. "Is that why you were nervous?"
"Yea," Ellis nodded his head, "I know you two will support me no matter what, and that
you'll always be in my corner. But - I dunno..." He trailed off, fiddling with his thumbs.
"Coming out can be scary even if you're coming out to the most supportive people in the
world." Nick thought back to when he came out as bisexual to his mum. He knew she'd
always have his back, and loved him unconditionally. But that didn't stop the anxiety he felt.
"But you're right that we do support you. No matter what."
"I love you two." Ellis whispered, and then he found himself squished between his two dads,
the hug easing his nerves.
"Would you mind telling us what being androsexual means for you?" Nick asked, pulling
away and shuffling over on the bed so he was directly in front of Ellis. "Me and your dad, we
sort of have an idea. But we'd like to know how you define it."
Ellis smiled for the first time since they'd come into his bedroom, his body relaxing as he
thought about the best way to explain it. "I suppose, it's a bit like..." He paused, thinking
about how to word it. "...I'm attracted to guys and girls, but I'm not attracted to them because
of their sexualities. The way someone at uni described it to me is being attracted to masculine
traits or qualities, and that's what resinated with me. I'm attracted to masculinity irrespective
of someone's gender..." Ellis gave an awkward laugh. "God, that's really weird to say to my
dads. Describing what sort of person I'm attracted to."
"Hey, none of this is weird." Charlie tried to reassure him. "We're just so proud of you,
always. And so glad that you've figured out who you are."
Ellis had always had a bit of a hard time being unlabelled. The two men could remember one
evening about a year ago, they'd come downstairs to find their son furiously scrolling through
his phone. When they'd asked what he was up to, he'd just grumbled something about how no
sexuality feels like him and spent the whole evening with a face like thunder. It was all well
and good knowing what he wanted and who he was attracted to, but he also desperately
craved that label.
"Uni definitely helped with that." They nodded at Ellis to go on. "When I joined the LGBT
society, it was like I finally found this huge community who have a wealth of knowledge
about everything. Like, no offence to you two, but you're kinda old gays."
Nick feigned hurt, giving an audible gasp. "Well I'm going to pretend that being referred to as
an 'old gay' wasn't like a stab to the heart!"
"Darling, you did have to ask me what androsexual meant." Charlie reminded his husband
and then smirked at their son. "I knew. I think that must be something to do with your papa
being in his 50's now. Not as clued up as us younger gays, ain't that right, Lis?" He teased,
squealing when he received a sharp jab in the ribs as Nick called him a dickhead under his
breath.
Ellis rolled his eyes, used to his dad's antics. "You two are insufferable, you know that?"
Though he'd never admit it until he was older, Ellis truly hoped that one day he'd find a love
like his parents had.
The next time Ellis came home from uni, he entered his bedroom to find a large blue, brown
and purple flag pinned above his head as well as a tray of freshly baked cupcakes in the same
colours. Despite shaking his head at the gifts from his dads, he couldn't help the smile on his
face. Having the label helped Ellis with his identity, it made him feel like he has a group of
people he belongs to.
And he'd never been more grateful for having parents as amazing and supportive as his own.
Chapter End Notes
Happy Pride month!
I just hit 1000 kudos on my first ever work on here, ‘Unexpected’, so it’s been a good
week!
A great big thank you to Sapphicgodess who suggested this idea a couple of chapters
ago! It’s been such fun writing it :)
If anyone has anything they’d like me to write about in this little universe, leave a
comment and let me know as I love getting suggestions
First words
Chapter Summary
13 month old Robin says his first words
Chapter Notes
It was one of those rare Sunday's where the Nelson-Spring's found themselves at Charlie's
childhood home, spending time with his parents and little brother, Olly (though, at 18 and
coming in at over 6 foot, there really wasn't much little about the youngest Spring child).
Sunday's where Charlie wasn't working were usually spent at the park or at soft play, or
spending time at Sarah's, or trying to catch up with the seemingly never ending housework
whilst keeping a 13 month old entertained.
But Jane had been on at her son, upset that she hadn't seen her 'favourite grandchild' (and
only grandchild) since his first birthday party the previous month. Apparently, 'baby's are
changing so much at this age' (you didn't have to tell Nick and Charlie that - only a few
weeks ago were they spoon feeding their baby and now he was able to grasp the spoon all by
himself!), and Jane didn't want to miss out on watching Robin grow.
And so, they'd bundled up their toddler - according to google, 12 months up is a toddler, a
fact which bought tears to Nick's eyes - and drove down familiar roads to what was sure to be
an interesting afternoon.
~~~~~
"ROBBBIIIINN!"
Charlie laughed as he watched his brother run down the front path to where they'd parked
their car, giddy with excitement at seeing his nephew. He yanked open the back door before
either man had even gotten the chance to unbuckle their belt, poking his head in and grinning
at the toddler.
"How's my favourite little guy doing? Look how big you're getting!" He furrowed his
eyebrows and puffed his cheeks in an attempt to make Robin laugh before looking towards
his brother for permission to pick up the toddler, who nodded his confirmation. "Ooo, come
on, my chunky chunky bestie. Uncle Olly's got loads of new toys for you to play with."
"Nice to see you too, Oll!" Nick called after Oliver, who was already half way back up the
drive, throwing Robin in his arms as he went.
"I mean, really, did we expect any different?" Charlie smirked, grabbing the baby bag out the
boot and following his husband inside. A few years ago, and his mum would have been at the
front door to greet them both, but now they were met with an empty hallway. "Mum? Dad?"
Charlie called out, poking his head around the front room door and seeing his son being
bounced in his mum's arms on the floor, Olly looking on sulkily, and his dad walking over to
greet them both.
"God, I can't believe how big Robin's got since we last saw him!" Julio exclaimed with teary
eyes. Possibly one of the most surprising reactions to Nick and Charlie becoming dads was
Julio now crying at everything. He blamed it on his old age now that he was a grandad, but
the man's eyes would water at any little milestone.
Found out that he was going to be a grandad? Cried. Met Robin for the first time? Cried
again. When Robin first crawled to him? Well, that was an extra big bawling his eyes out cry.
Charlie had been stunned at first - he always knew his dad was the more emotional one out of
his parents, but still, he had rarely seen him cry. If anything now, though, he found it
endearing that his dad got so emotional over his grandson.
"He'll be toddling around the place in no time." Nick said as he watched his son crawl along
the rug, nearly as emotional as his father-in-law.
"Come on, you big sap, let's put the kettle on and make everyone a drink." Jane grabbed her
husband's arm, leading him to the kitchen.
Much like Julio, Jane had changed upon becoming a grandmother. There was a softer side to
her showing, a more gentle and caring side, one the Spring siblings had seldom seen growing
up. There was no fussing if Robin didn't finish his food, or if he made a mess. Instead, there
were words of encouragement as his grandma Jane cooed over him.
Maybe it would change once Robin got older, but right now it was a novelty to witness.
Nick had to swoop down and redirect his son from crawling after his grandparents into the
kitchen. Though they encouraged him to explore, he had been in that kitchen enough to know
that the unit corners were a bit too sharp, and one knock to the head on that and he'd have a
screeching toddler to try and soothe. Robin didn't seem too upset by the change of direction,
looking around before deciding to stampede to his uncle Olly.
"That's right, come to your favourite!" He gloated, wiggling back on the floor a bit so his
nephew had further to travel. His victory, however, was short lived as Robin made a b-line
for his daddy.
"You were saying?" Charlie teased, lifting the squealing little boy into his arms and peppering
kisses all over his face, laughing as his son babbled back at him. It was just jibberish at the
moment - a repeat of 'a ga a ga a ga' - but Nick and Charlie weren't worried that their son
hadn't said his first word yet.
Nope. Not worried at all. He was still within that 'normal' range of not having said his first
word. Between 10 and 14 months, that's what the practitioner said. And Robin was only 13
months. So that was another month before they had to get worried. No, definitely not worried
by Robin's lack of speech development.
"He sounds like he's trying to say dada." Olly looked on excitedly, crawling up behind his
brother so he was face to face with Robin. "That's it, Robin. You can say it. Da-da. Dada,
dada, dada."
"Nah, he's gonna say 'papa' first. Ain't that right, little man? Pa-pa." Nick had come over now,
sitting on the other side of his husband. He made faces at a giggling Robin, repeating, "Papa,
papa, papa," over and over again.
"Has he still not said his first word?" Jane asked, handing out mugs of tea. She placed
Charlie's on the side table next to him - no way could he hold a hot drink with a squirming
toddler in hand. The little boy in question reached out towards the steaming mug in curiosity,
and Nick quickly distracted him by pulling his toy keys out the baby bag. Robin babbled
back some more, taking the keys in grubby hands and shaking them about happily.
"Not yet," Charlie replied, giving an exaggerated gasp when his son waved the plastic toy in
his face, "He's got a lot of sounds down; we think it'll be any day now." Translation: we hope
it'll be any day now before we call up the practitioner again worried about our son's
development.
"He's just been waiting to see me, wanted me to be here when he says 'Olly' as his first
word." Olly took his nephew into his arms, swinging him back and forth as Robin screeched
in delight. "Un-cle Ol-ly, un-cle ol-ly."
"Oliver, careful!" Jane scolded, putting her arms out as though he was about to drop Robin.
Charlie gave a subtle nudge to Nick and they both shared a look - they had no fears that Olly
was going to hurt Robin, or drop him, but Jane had always been a bit too overcautious. Their
son loved being chucked about; he'd always been a bit rough and tumble, and that only
seemed to be increasing the older he got. He seemed quite happy being thrown around by his
uncle.
Nick decided to try and distract his mother-in-law from having a heart attack watching the
pair. "Jane, what was Olly's first words?"
Her face lit up at this, eyes sparkling as she recalled the tale of how her youngest son wanted
to eat nothing but bananas when he was a baby - it was his favourite food, and always tried to
make a grab for them. They always made sure to have plenty in the house, "They're a good
source of fibre and potassium." Jane explained. And then, one day, as Tori sat eating a banana
as an after-school treat, little Olly came crawling over exclaiming, "'Nana! 'Nana!" Over and
over again, making grabby hands at the fruit.
"Of course your first word was food related." Charlie joked.
"I was just in so much shock!" Jane explained. "Tori called for me, saying how Oliver was
saying his first word, and I thought 'surely not, he's only 11 months old', but then he kept on
repeating it until Tori gave him a bit of the banana."
"He was 11 months old?" Nick asked, giving a concerned glance to Charlie. That was a full 2
months younger than their son - over 8 weeks younger than him but ahead developmentally.
Julio must have noticed their panicked looks, quickly jumping in to try and reassure them. "I
wouldn't worry about Robin though - kids develop at all different ages. I think we were more
shocked because Olly was talking so much younger than what we had expected! Tori didn't
say her first word until 13 months, and Charlie your first word wasn't until your first
birthday!"
Jane was back down memory lane at that. "Oh yes, god, do you remember? It was your actual
birthday, Charlie, and we were throwing a joint birthday for you and Tori." With not even 13
months between the siblings, they always ended up having a joint birthday party growing up.
"Your favourite book had been one about a cat that had all these textures you could stroke in
it - you loved it so much. So we, your father and I, that was the birthday we bought you
Kitty." Charlie smiled; he really did love his toy Kitty, even if it was a bit tatty now and
living on top of he and Nick's wardrobe. "We had found it in Toys R Us and it looked exactly
like the cat from your book, so of course we had to buy it for you. And as soon you saw
Kitty, your whole face lit up and you said 'cat!'"
"Oh god, I remember that day so well." Julio looked at his eldest son, his eyes welling up.
"And now look at you, my baby boy with his own little baby."
Yea, becoming a grandad had definitely turned Julio into an emotional wreck. Maybe it was
Nick rubbing off on him? Or maybe it was the other way around? Either way, when Charlie
turned to look at his husband, he noticed tears in his eyes too.
"Nick, why are you crying?" Charlie chuckled, bringing him into his side and kissing his
cheek.
" 'M not crying." He protested, though the snotty sniff he gave begged to differ. "It's just,
you've had Kitty pretty much your whole life. And we got Robin a little toy cat for his first
birthday, what if he has that his whole life to? And then one day he's a teenager and he's still
sleeping with it in bed, and maybe one day he'll move out and get married and he'll still have
his toy cat with him, and maybe he'll even have his own kids one day and then what if he
carries on the tradition and gives his future child, our future grandchildren, a toy cat for their
first birthday? He's getting so old already." Nick looked tearfully over to Robin, who was
now being held tightly by Julio who was dabbing at his eyes with a tissue.
"Babe, he's only just turned one, don't go wishing his life away already! The teenage years,
moving out and grandkids are a long, long way off yet." Charlie tried to comfort, holding in a
laugh.
"Both as bad as each other." Olly mumbled, getting up to go and get another toy for Robin to
play with.
~~~~~
Lunch with Jane and Julio Spring was less stressful now than it had been 10 years ago. Not a
lot less stressful, but still, a bit less stressful.
Charlie was a fully fledged adult now. He still had his bad food days, something which had
become more common a year ago when they had a newborn, but he knew how important it
was for him to keep to a routine and eat his three meals a day. And now Robin was in a good
routine, it was easier for Charlie to stay in routine, too.
His mum also knew that it was easier for him to keep a routine. As she would not-so
helpfully continuously point when he and Nick were struggling with the sleepless nights and
continuous chores that came with having a tiny baby. They already knew that keeping routine
was good, but it was easier said than done. When you had a crying baby in one arm and a
mountain load of washing to do, sometimes Charlie had just found himself just...skipping
meals.
He wasn't even fully aware he was fully doing it at first, and with Nick back at work he
hadn't noticed it either. Not for a while. It wasn't until one day that Charlie realised he'd
gotten through until dinner without eating a single thing that he clocked on. He'd told Nick
straight away - of course he had, they were husbands, they told each other everything. And if
years of therapy taught Charlie anything, it was that a problem shared was a problem halved.
They'd started meal prepping again, easy freezer meals made at the weekend that Charlie
could just pop in the oven or take out in the morning to defrost. Sarah, lovely Sarah, she'd
helped too, making sure she bought over some of Charlie's safe meals that were freezable
every time she saw them. There was no judgment when she done this, no coldness or
comments about how Charlie should have kept a better routine. No, they had nothing but love
and support from Sarah.
Charlie had let slip one day to his mum how been skipping meals without realising it. She'd
come over for lunch, and Charlie had chucked one of Sarah's pre-cooked dinners in the oven.
Jane had complimented the cooking, and that led to Charlie saying how Sarah was helping
him with his meal plans after struggling to find the time to cook food with Nick being back at
work.
And that's when the unhelpful comments began. About how Charlie should be keeping a
routine. About how Nick should be helping Charlie keep a routine. About how they should
have thought about how this (this being their actual baby) could effect their mental health
before becoming parents. No offers of help from Jane, just unhelpful comments.
Charlie didn't really like eating in front of his mother anymore. He couldn't be arsed to deal
with the stress that came with it. But he could put up with it for one day.
And, as Jane plated up the chicken pasta and salad she had made (one of Charlie's safe
foods), he'd have to guess that his dad must have had words with her. Or maybe Nick?
Possibly both.
Probably both.
"I made a little for Robin too, I wasn't too sure what you're feeding him so there's a little bit
of everything here separated out so you can pick." Jane offered the plate of food to her son
who smiled gratefully at her. Maybe this dinner time wouldn't be as stressful as he first
thought.
"Tomato's are his favourite at the moment, thanks mum." Charlie said as he put the plate of
food in front of his son who's eyes lit up at the sight of the cut up red fruit.
"What do we say Robin? Thank you grandma Jane and grandpa Julio?" Nick tried, and Robin
babbled back in what they assumed was his attempt at saying a thank you to his grandparents.
Nick took a piece of pasta, holding it up to Robin's mouth. "Ta?" He tried again, but just got
more incoherent speech in return.
"'Thank you' is usually one of the words that comes a bit later." Julio explained. "Sometimes,
even teenagers struggle with saying it." He sent a pointed look to Olly who smirked back.
"You'll all miss me and my amazing personality when I'm off to uni next year."
"We're not gonna miss uncle Olly, are we?" Nick asked in what Charlie called his 'baby
voice'. Slightly high pitched, slightly silly, and he could only talk like it when he was smiling
big. "No we're not. No? Can you say no?"
Robin shook his head back and forth, grabbing a fistful of chicken and shoving it in his
mouth.
"I'm sure the only reason we'll be seeing Olly is when he comes down to visit Robin." Charlie
joked.
"Pfft," Oliver scoffed, "You say that sarcastically as if it isn't true!"
~~~~~
Charlie loved his parents, he truly did. But there was only so much of them he could take in
one go before he felt a stress headache coming on. It wasn't so bad in big group settings, but
when it was just Charlie and his little family, it was a lot. So, after eating their lunch and his
parents spending a few hours playing with their grandson, it was time to pack up and head off
with the excuse that Nick had some marking to sort out before school tomorrow.
"Come on then, Robin, let's pack up the mess you've made and head on home." Nick said,
already on his hands and knees and scooping the copious amount of toys his son had left
scattered around the room. Jane and Julio kept a small toy box in the corner of the room for
when their grandson came over; it mostly had stacking games and baby puzzles, a few soft
toys but definitely nothing noisy. In the few short hours they had been at the Spring's, Robin
seemed to have managed to empty the entirety of his toy box around the living room, as well
as the toys they'd bought in his baby bag. And, in what was a bit of a counter productive
move, the toddler was now taking back out every toy that his papa was trying to clear away.
"Robin, come to uncle Olly!" Olly tried to distract him, reaching across the carpet and pulling
him into his arms. "I want one last cuddle with you before you have to go bye bye." He blew
a few raspberries into the squealing boy's neck. "How about I keep you with me, hey? You
could come for a sleepover with uncle Olly? We could eat loaaadddsss of chocolate and play
with your Lego's and read allll your favourite books and I'll even take you to the park to feed
the ducks!"
Charlie raised his eyebrows at his younger brother. He knew was he was doing - trying to get
Robin all excited by saying all of his favourite words. The toddler might not be able to fully
understand what his uncle was asking, but he definitely knew what words like 'duck' and
'Lego' meant. And, judging by the way he was kicking his feet about, he was now very
excited at the prospect of being able to do all of his favourite things.
"Maybe another time, Ol." Charlie tried to let him down gently. It wasn't that he didn't trust
his brother to look after Robin. In fact, Olly had babysit Robin more times than he could
remember. But a sleepover? That had yet to happen. Sleepovers were a big step, and so far
Robin had only spent the night away from his daddy's a handful of times and that was with
nanny Sarah.
Sarah knew what she was doing when it came to baby's - she'd raised two of her own after
all, practically single handedly. She knew what to do when he woke up crying in the night,
knew how to heat up a bottle and how different foods should be cut up so he wouldn't choke.
She knew about safe sleeping and what temperature the water should be at bath time. She had
a spare cot at her house for when her grandson came for sleepovers, she had loads of his toys
and a car seat if they needed to go out. She'd helped them so much, too, when he was a
newborn, giving them tips and advice whilst simultaneously knowing when to let them figure
things out on their own. It wasn't often that Robin slept over at his nanny Sarah's, but when
he did, his daddy's (mostly) didn't feel anxious.
But a sleepover with uncle Olly? Who won't change a shitty nappy and is the reason their son
now has a taste for chocolate? Nick and Charlie had talked about him babysitting overnight
before, and both decided to maybe wait until Robin was a little bit bigger before he spent the
night with his uncle.
Olly turned his face into a pout, sticking out his bottom lip until Robin was giggling at him.
"Fineeee, I guess I'll have to come and annoy you all in the week if I wanna see my nephew."
He held Robin a little closer, swinging him back and forth. "You're gonna miss your uncle
Olly, aren't you? You'd rather stay here with me than go bye bye."
"Bye bye!"
Charlie froze, turning to look at his son with wide eyes. His son, who was waving at Oliver's
face with a big grin.
"Oll, tell us seriously now. Did you say that? Or was it Robin?" Charlie asked as his husband
scooted across the room, his face mirroring his husband's in shock.
"That wasn't me." Olly shook his head, looking down proudly at his nephew. "Go on, Robin!
Say it again. Bye bye!"
Robin giggled, continuing his waving as he exclaimed, 'Bye bye!' Again. "Bye bye! Bye
bye!"
"Oh my god!" Nick gasped, swooping down to take a squealing Robin into his arms. "You've
just said your first word! Charlie, he's just said his first word!"
Charlie hooked his chin over his husband's shoulder, taking one of Robin's chubby little
hands in his and waving it about in delight. "Can you say it again, Robin? Say it for daddy
and papa? Bye bye?"
Robin scrunched his face up, shaking his hand until he freed it from his daddy's grasp and
could wave it freely. "Bye bye!"
"Our little boy's talking! He's not falling behind with his milestones!" Nick exclaimed
tearfully, kissing Charlie's cheek. "Bye bye?"
"Bye bye!" Robin happily parroted back before shoving his fist in his mouth to suck on.
"See! This is why Robin should stay with me! Let uncle Olly work his magic and he'll be
saying full sentences in no time!" Olly teased, squeezing up next to his brother.
"This is the start now." Julio added, gazing down lovingly at the little boy. "One week they're
saying their first words, by next week he'll be saying about another 10!"
"Of all the words though! Bye bye? I suppose it's a race now between 'dada' and 'papa' being
his next words." Charlie joked, grinning as their son shouted 'bye bye!' again.
Chapter End Notes
Soooo with the new season coming out soon, I’ve been more motivated to write new
chapters on this story!
I’m running a bit short on ideas - if anyone has any suggestions about what they’d like
me to write about in this little world, let me know :)
And of course, if you’ve enjoyed reading, pls rememebr to leave kudos and a comment
x
‘I want children. With you.’
Chapter Summary
The moments that Nick and Charlie realised they want children together
Chapter Notes
Nick and Charlie had always known they wanted kids someday. When they discussed their
future together, kids were a part of it. A home full of love and laughter and joy. They'd joke
about how Charlie would be the protective parent one day, not allowing anyone to hurt their
kids. And how Nick would probably be the emotional parent, the one who'd cry at school
performances and on special occasions.
Kids seemed like a natural step in their relationship, one day. They knew it would take a bit
more planning compared to a heterosexual couple, but they knew it would be worth the wait
(and money). They’d started a little savings pot once everything for their wedding was paid
for, savings that would one day be spent on starting their family. What day that would be,
they hadn’t decided. But they knew they wanted it to happen eventually.
They'd chat about future baby names, Nick scrunching his nose up when Charlie suggested
'Theodore' once. Apparently, there were three 'Theodore's' in Nick's class that year, and he did
not want their future son to be lost in a sea of Theo's. Charlie had made the same expression
when Nick had suggested 'Annabelle', not wanting their hypothetical daughter to be named
after a horror film.
They agreed they liked the name Robyn though, both for a boy or a girl. Maybe that would be
the name of one of their kids if they were ever lucky enough to have any.
Maybe.
They dreamed of a future spent ferrying their children off to clubs and birthday parties.
Family holidays at a caravan club with a slightly crappy kids club that their children would
no doubt love. School plays, having friends over, weekends at the park. Raising a whole
human together, a human who they would choose to have and to love forever.
Maybe they’d have a child who was as rugby mad as Nick? Or maybe one who was as
musically gifted as Charlie? They spent evenings wondering what their child would be like.
Would they be more introverted or extroverted? What would they enjoy doing? Small, silly
things like what their favourite colour would be, or what they’d study at school.
And when they pictured growing old together, it would always be with a hoard of
grandchildren, spoiling them with too many treats and having them over for sleepovers.
Making up stories to help them get to sleep, making sure they done all the voices.
Nick and Charlie definitely wanted children, at some point. But, for the last few months,
they'd been quite happy living in their honeymoon bubble.
~~~~~
"Come on, Delilah, who am I? What's my name?"
Nick's 1 year old niece stared back at him blankly, her big brown eyes opening wide as she
batted her lashes.
"Un-cle Nick. That's it, you can say it! Un-cle Nick!"
She briefly stopped chewing on her fist, chubby cheeks smiling as she squealed, "Uncoo Ca
Ca!"
Nick groaned, flopping back against the floor as the toddler giggled in front of him, happily
going back to chewing on her fingers. Above him, he could hear his husband of 4 months
laughing along with her.
"Just face it, 'Uncoo Ca Ca' is definitely the favourite." Charlie teased, coming down to sit on
the floor and tickling the toddler under her chin. The little girl clapped when his curls came
into view, her grubby fingers reaching out as she repeated, "Up! Up!"
"Come here then, my precious little Lilah."
"Don't let David hear you call her that." Nick warned, only half serious. For whatever reason,
his brother seemed to detest anyone calling his daughters anything but their full names. He
chuckled to himself, remembering the death glare he'd received from both David and his
wife, Amber, when he held a newborn Margaret for the first time and called her 'Maggie'.
Charlie scooped Delilah into his arms, only wincing a little as she started to pull on his curls.
He had a slight suspicion that his curls were the only reason little Lilah liked him so much -
she was fascinated by them, continuously stroking them, pulling them, just touching them.
Not that Charlie was complaining; it meant he got the bragging rights of being her favourite
uncle, much to Nick's annoyance.
"What shall we do today, hey then, little missy?" Charlie asked, bouncing the girl up and
down as she made happy sounds. "We could...have a bath."
Delilah scrunched her face up, shaking her head defiantly.
Charlie smirked, blowing a raspberry onto her cheek. "Ok, no bath. How about...a nap?"
"Nah uh!" She protested, pouting up at her uncle.
"So you don't want a bath and you don't want a nap...how about...the sandpit in the garden!"
At the mention of the sandpit, Delilah's whole face lit up and she started to clap, bouncing
herself up and down as she struggled to get out of her uncle's arms to toddle to the garden.
Charlie placed her to the floor, speeding after her - toddlers are faster than they look! -
dragging Nick along with him.
"Hold up, we gotta get some sun cream on you first!" Charlie rummaged around the kitchen
cabinets until he found the little blue bottle, popping the lid and smothering the wriggling
toddler in it.
"Don't think your mummy or daddy would be very happy if they came home to a bright red
baby girl." Nick teased, grabbing her favourite toy and waving it in front of her face in a
futile attempt to distract her.
David and Amber had taken their first daughter, Margaret, to a nursery open day today. And
whilst younger siblings were welcome to tag along too, the pair wanted to make a special day
out of it and have one on one (or one on two?) time with eldest. It was always a bit harder to
find a baby sitter in the family on a weekday, but then there was uncle Nick, who had just
broken up from school for the summer holidays and had all the free time in the world.
And Charlie didn't want to miss an opportunity to spend time with his, their, niece, so had
taken the day off to help.
"I think Uncle Nick should wear some too," Charlie said, smirking as Nick jolted in shock
when the cold cream was squirted on his arm, "Uncle Charlie doesn't want a red husband
either."
"Oi, cheeky!" Nick laughed, grabbing the bottle out of his hands and squirting some back,
only stopping when he felt some tugging at the bottom of his shorts.
Delilah was reaching up with a cheesy grin. "Uncoo Ca Ca!" She squealed, pointing towards
the door.
"Alright, little lady, let's get going." Charlie gave his husband a gloating look, ignoring his
grumbles as he unlocked the back door and led them outside. Ok, so Delilah might have
called Nick 'Uncle Charlie', but the point still stood that his was the name she could say and,
in his eyes, that was conclusive proof that he was the favourite.
The sand pit was only one of those blue, shallow ones, shaped like a seashell. David and
Amber had bought it the other week for the summer, and it had quickly become their
daughter's favourite toy. When Nick and Charlie had heard, they made sure to stop by the
shops over the weekend to pick up some extra beach toys for their nieces to play with.
The best way to get brownie points with a toddler was through colourful toys and snacks, two
things which Nick and Charlie made sure to provide whenever they babysat.
"Why doesn't uncle Charlie get the sand pit set out, and then uncle Nick go and get the hose
so I can fill up the lid with water?" Nick suggested, already jogging over to the green hose
and unraveling it.
By the time he turned back, Charlie had placed a beaming Delilah in the sand, kneeling down
next to her and dropping sand in front of her face. She really did look mesmerised, her eyes
watching the tiny golden pieces fall to her legs and then excitedly exclaiming, "Again!
Again!"
"Just wait until she sees the beaches in Majorca, I think she'd happily just spend two weeks
mucking about in this!" Nick smiled down at his niece as he sat down next to his husband,
angling the hose into the lid.
"It's a sensory thing, I think." Charlie said, picking up the flower shaped mould and filling it
with sand. "It's good for her fine motor skills. Isn't that right Lilah?" Charlie cooed, giving an
exaggerated gasp as he lifted the mould to reveal a slightly wonky flower. Delilah wasn't very
impressed, taking her hand and smashing the flower, laughing as sand splattered everywhere.
Charlie spluttered as a few specks went into his mouth, sticking his tongue out and blowing a
raspberry in a comical attempt of clearing them out.
Nick loved afternoons like this. It wasn't often that just he and Charlie would babysit the girls
- Amber's family were usually first on call, and then Sarah. But moments like this, just he, his
husband and their niece, he truly treasured them.
Charlie might protest it, but he really was a natural with little kids this age. Maybe it was
because of Olly; he'd been 8 when his younger brother was born, and their close bond wasn't
formed by Charlie just leaving him to his own devices. He'd seen countless photos and the
odd grainy video of a young Charlie and toddler Olly playing together, of Olly following his
big brother around everywhere he went, tales of Charlie playing tractors with him for hours
even when he was a teenager and most would have palmed their younger sibling onto
someone else.
God knows thats’s what David used to do when Nick tried to play with him when they were
little, and their age gap was only 4 years.
Delilah screeching tore Nick from his thoughts, his head whipping down to the young girl
and watching as she tried to pull her hand out of Charlie's grip.
"Delilah, we don't eat the sand. The sand's yucky!" Charlie scrunched up his face, keeping
impressively calm despite being mere seconds away from a full blown toddler meltdown.
Nick would definitely be a lot more frazzled, especially as he could see fat tears forming in
her eyes. Children, he knew how to deal with. But babies and toddlers? He wasn’t quite so
confident.
"Lilah, what's this?" Charlie grabbed a spade, hitting one of the buckets to somewhat form a
tune as he started to sing 'Ring a Ring o' Roses'. Delilah's tiny pout only lasted a second more
before she was grabbing the spade from her uncle's hand and bashing out her own beat,
squealing the words to the nursery rhyme in her own baby talk.
Watching Charlie with Delilah, it done something funny to Nick's insides. He imagined this is
what women meant when they say watching a fit man with a baby 'makes their ovaries
explode.' Nick had never been one to be overly broody. Whilst he loved fawning over babies
and children, and he knew he wanted to be a dad someday, he had never felt a strong urge to
have children immediately.
Until now, that is.
Seeing his husband interact with their niece, it made Nick want nothing more than for the two
of them to have that with their own baby. He wanted a baby.
It had only been 4 months of marriage. Nick found himself wondering that, if they'd been a
straight couple, would they have started trying for a baby already? Would they already have
their own children? There were so many more hoops to jump through as a same sex couple
just to have a baby.
Watching Charlie with Delilah, Nick couldn't help but imagine a life in (hopefully) the not
too distant future where they had their own children.
“Watch out, uncle Nick!”
Nick was brought out of his trance as a splash of cold water hit his face. He gasped in shock,
using the back of his hand to rub the water out of his eyes. Turning around, he saw a giggling
Delilah and smirking Charlie, a mischievous glint in his eye.
Nick scrambled over to the half filled paddling pool, grabbing a spade as he went. “Oh,
you’re on!”
~~~~~
A few weeks later, Nick and Charlie found themselves having a picnic in the park celebrating
their 5 month wedding anniversary.
Yes, they were unapologetically one of those couples. The type who'd celebrate every month
of their marriage, and they had no plans on stopping. Month one's celebration was a fancy
meal up the Shard and then a night together in a fancy hotel, and had also coincided with
Charlie's 24th birthday, meaning the celebrations carried on over into the next day with Nick
taking his husband to his favourite record store. Month two's was a Golden Retriever
experience, the day spent knee deep in a field of excitable dogs. Month three was a beach
day, reliving their first ever date, and month four was a long weekend in Barcelona,
something extra special in recognition of spending 1/3rd a year married to each other.
Nick had spent all morning cooking and baking their favourite goodies, Charlie had packed a
bag with blankets and their favourite wine, and they'd taken the short walk to their local (and
coincidentally favourite) park. It was never busy; backing onto a old Manor House, people
often assumed that the land was private or that it cost to enter the grounds. It meant that they
often had the flower filled park practically to themselves, save for a couple of dog walkers, a
few families and the occasional outdoor wedding taking place at the manor.
(It had actually been a contender for their own wedding, but ultimately decided that they
wanted a venue a bit further into the countryside).
"How about this spot?" Nick suggested, pointing to a clearing just by the trees, still
overlooking the lake but secluded enough that they didn't feel like they were being watched.
Charlie cocked an eyebrow. "This spot yea?"
Nick tried (and failed) to hold back his smirk. "Yea, this spot. You got an issue with this
spot?"
"We are in broad daylight, Nicholas Nelson-Spring," Charlie didn't ever think he'd get tired of
saying his husband's new name, "And you're suggesting the one spot we've shagged in."
"Oh, it was this spot?" Nick flashed a cheeky smile, already laying down their towel and
starting to unpack their bag. "I hadn't noticed."
It's not that they made a habit out of having sex in public, it's just...sometimes, they couldn't
quite help themselves. Between the nature parks, their car, the beach (never again to be
repeated after getting sand EVERYWHERE), they found themselves getting down and dirty
in some pretty adventurous places.
"I was planning for us to be here all day, we can watch the sunset together, stay well into the
evening." Nick whispered the last part, pulling Charlie close and kissing down his neck.
"Unless you have somewhere you'd rather be?"
Charlie rolled his eyes, pecking his husband's lips. "You're insatiable, you." He teased,
dragging him down to the floor so they could cuddle up together.
The honeymoon stage really hadn't worn off yet.
The afternoon was spent feeding each other strawberries and sipping wine, stealing kisses,
and just spending time together without the distractions of their phones. Just special, one on
one, NickAndCharlie time. Chatting about everything and nothing. What their plans for the
week were, where they should go on holiday next, the latest piece of work Charlie was
studying or how Nick was feeling about teaching year 6's this year and guiding them through
their SATs.
"Mr Nelson! Mr Nelson!"
Nick jolted up from where he'd been lying down against Charlie's chest, beating out the
thumps of his heart with his fingers. The only other sounds had been that of the birds rustling
through the trees, but now he could hear the voice of a small child calling his name and he
was instantly in teacher mode.
"Mr Nelson! No, Mr Nelson-Spring! Hi!"
It took Nick a minute to recognise the girl standing in front of her, waving frantically and
giving him a gappy smile. It was Mabel - he'd taught her last year, but she seemed to have
had a growth spurt and a hair cut over the last few weeks.
"Hiya Mabel, it's lovely to see you." Nick smiled warmly at her, feeling Charlie prop himself
up and lean back on his hands. He also noticed him making sure to keep a distance between
the pair, not allowing their bodies to touch. Nick understood - his husband had probably
guessed that this was one of his pupils, who probably had a parent running around
somewhere, and PDA wouldn't look very professional. Regardless, Nick craved his touch so
reached back and linked their hands together, feeling Charlie relax next to him. “Are you
enjoying your summer holidays?"
Mabel took that as an invitation to come running over and sit next to the pair, only glancing
behind her once to wave at her mum who grinned back. Nick knew her mum, a lovely
woman who always made an effort to get involved in the PTA and would make the most
delicious cakes for the school bake sales. He also knew that the last time he saw her, she'd
been heavily pregnant with twins. And, judging by the two tiny babies lying on the blanket in
front of her, must have only recently given birth.
"Yes! So much! My baby brother and sister got borned a few weeks ago and I got to stay with
nanny and granddad for a few days but that's ok 'cos they baked me loads of cakes and
mummy says I'm the best big sister in the whole wide world! I love my brother and sister
soooo much but daddy says they're still a bit too little for me to play with them but that's ok
'cos they're getting bigger and bigger every day and soon they'll be able to play dollies with
me!"
Ahh, so that confirmed Nick's suspicions. He waved back to Mabel's mum, gesturing for her
to sit back down when she looked like she was about to pick up her babies to come and fetch
her eldest daughter. Nick didn't mind spending some time with his old pupil, and her mum
could probably do with a break.
"That sounds amazing, Mabel!" Nick matched her excitement level. "I bet your new brother
and sister love you so much already! What's their names?"
Mabel's eyes gleamed as she started to rattle on about 'Hugo and Lola', bouncing up and
down excitedly as she recounted the day that she first got to meet them, and the time they
were sick 'all down her daddy's back', and the time that 'Lola smiled at her really big but her
mummy said she was just farting.'
Nick made sure to gasp and laugh and make all the sound effects at just the right moment,
giving the little girl in front of him his full and undivided attention. It done something funny
to Charlie's insides, watching his husband interact laugh along with his old pupil, making
comments in his 'teacher voice' as Charlie liked to call it (a tad higher than his usual voice
and a lot more expressive, if that was even possible). Mabel clearly thought highly of her old
teacher, and the fact that she was happy to come running over to say hi to him showed just
how good a relationship Nick had with his kids.
"Mr Nelson-Spring, who's that?"
Mabel had finally stopped for a breath, and in doing so had noticed the curly haired man
sitting next to Nick.
Charlie smiled, offering her a small wave. "Hey Mabel, I'm Charlie."
Nick looked towards him briefly, his face beaming with pride. "Mabel, do you remember
how half way through the school year I went from being Mr Nelson to Mr Nelson-Spring?"
She nodded her head. "Well, Charlie's the reason for that. This is my husband."
Mabel's face scrunched up. "Mr Nelson-Spring! You're making that lovey lovey face again!"
She moaned, hiding her face.
"Lovey lovey face?" Charlie asked, looking confused between the two.
Nick actually looked embarrassed at this, a light dusting of pink flushing over his face. "Ah,
Mabel, we don't need to-" But Mabel had already begun.
"His lovey lovey face, Mr Nelson-Spring's husband! He gets it whenever he talked about you
in class! His eyes would go all wide like this!" She made her eyes comically wide, batting her
eyelashes. "And Mr Nelson-Spring goes all pink like he is now! And he smiles super duper
big!" Mabel done her best to imitate her teacher, holding her breath until her cheeks went
rosy and then letting it out in one big go. "He was making it now. Kieran used to ask Mr
Nelson-Spring about you whenever he was being naughty cos then he'd get really happy
talking about you and wouldn't be angry at him."
"Did he now?" Well that was news to Nick. He'd clearly have to try and keep more focused
with his new class next year.
"Yes, did he now?" Charlie mimicked, a teasing look on his face as he turned to his husband.
"Getting all mushy talking about me to your pupils?"
"I - uh - hang on, no - I don't get mushy!" Nick tried to protest.

"Nah uh, you was gonna cry when you showed everyone your wedding pictures after you got
married." Mabel said matter of factly and, really, Nick couldn't deny that. He was emotional
at the best of times, and showing pictures to his pupils of the most magical day of his life did
nearly set him off.
Nick wore his heart on his sleeve - sue him.
"Aww, my little emotional wreck." Charlie cooed, kissing his cheek.
"Oh, p-ahh. Buggar off." Nick quickly stopped himself from swearing. "Mabel, I think your
mummy’s calling you back! Maybe it's best to go see her and your brother and sister?" Nick
couldn't face having any more embarrassing stories told to his husband, by a 7 year old no
less.
"Hugo and Lola!" Mabel exclaimed, as though she'd forgotten their existence. "Bye Mr
Nelson-Spring and Mr Nelson-Spring husband!" Nick wished her a good summer and she ran
back off to her family.
"You were so good with her." Charlie commented once he was sure she was out of ear shot,
crawling over the blanket so he could sit in between his legs, leaning back against his chest.
"I was?" Nick asked, wrapping his arms around him and kissing just under his ear, causing
goosebumps to appear all over the younger man's skin. "I was just doing what any teacher
would. Just because I'm not working right now doesn't mean I stop being a teacher."
"Hmm, but you could have sent her straight back to her mum, but instead you invited her to
come and join us." Charlie looked up adoringly. "That was really lovely of you."
He could see a blush forming on his husband's face again as he tried to shrug it off. "Yea,
well, her mum was clearly tired. Looking after two newborns and a very energetic Mabel,
must be a lot. I'm sure she appreciated the rest, even if only briefly."
Charlie looked back over to where Mabel was now lying down next to her siblings, giggling
away. That same feeling came back to Charlie's chest, almost like a sense of longing. Of
wanting.
Mabel's mum picked up one of the twins, rocking them back and forth as Mabel continued to
play with the other. She looked to be such a good big sister, keeping her touches gentle and
digging through the bag when her mum asked her to fetch something. Charlie could imagine
they'd all grow up to be the best of friends.
He'd like that one day, he thought to himself. A few children, all close in age. There was only
13 months between he and Tori, and although he was still close to Olly, he couldn't deny that
he shared a special relationship with his sister. They'd been thick as thieves growing up; it
had been great to always have someone to play with, to have sleepovers in each others rooms,
someone to hang out with at family events.
He knew it didn't always work out like that - just look at Nick and David. Sarah tried, and
there was no denying she was the best mum. She had a natural way with kids which had
obviously rubbed off on her youngest. It probably didn't do David any good when their dad
walked out on them - god knows it still effects Nick to this day.
But that wouldn't happen to their children. Charlie couldn't imagine a life without his
husband being by his side. They were in it for the long run; it had always been Nick. They'd
grow up and grow old together, experience life together. And part of that experience was
having children.
"Hmm, you've got your thinking face on. What's going on in that curly haired head of yours?"
Nick whispered, tucking a few curls of hair away from his eyes.
"Just thinking about us...about how lucky I am to have a life with you."
And how much he wants children with him.
~~~~~
A few weeks later, Nick and Charlie found themselves in the same position they usually did
on a Friday evening; cuddled up in bed together, a mug of tea each balanced on the bed side
table, and enjoying some down time after a stressful week.
Charlie had had a lot of deadlines due this week, and had stayed on late to make sure
everything was finished. He was enjoying his new job, he really was - it was just trying to get
used to a new routine.
Nick was adapting to teaching his year 6s. He'd been in the infants last year teaching year 1s,
but decided a move to the juniors would be best for him. The difference was stark; from how
they acted, the lessons, how they spoke, it was a lot of getting used to. He would have
thought, with them being the oldest year group in the school, that they would be well
behaved. But nope. He liked his pupils being cheeky, it showed their personalities, but it
taken it out of him.
Charlie was currently tucked under Nick's arm, leaning back against his bare chest reading
his book. Even after a stressful day, he found reading a book the best way to wind down
before bed. Nick was more than content burying his face into his husband's neck,
occasionally reading a few lines of the book but usually just dozing.
"This is a new one." He whispered, scanning the pages and not recognising any of it.
"Hmm, it's not my usual thing but someone at work recommended it." Charlie marked his
page and closed the book, turning it around to show Nick the cover. "It's about this man who's
son has come out, and it makes him question his own sexuality. A bit of a self discovery
journey. It's quite sweet, really. A bit of a feel-good book."
"I can make you feel good." Nick suggested, nipping at Charlie's beck just to watch him
squirm.
Charlie wanted to roll his eyes, but really, could he say no when Nick made such a tempting
offer? Soon enough, his book and clothes were discarded and they found themselves merging
together as one.
Yea, it was a pretty typical Friday evening.
Snuggles were pretty much a given after, face to face so they could sneak kisses and play
with the other's hair. Arms wrapped around each other, fingers lulling up and down their
backs. Bodies pressed close together as they regained their breath.
"Do you ever think about the future?" Nick asked, one finger twirling a ringlet around his
finger in a calming habit.
Charlie pulled in closer, resting his head underneath Nick's chin. "All the time. Is that what
you're thinking about?"
He felt Nick nod above him. "I try to stay in the present, but I'm always thinking about our
futures together, Char. How one day we might get a dog, or all the Christmases we'll spend
together, all the places we will get to see together. All the weddings we'll get to go to together
and all of the parties. We'll get to watch each other grow old and grey, retire down by the
seaside maybe. How every moment of our lives is going to be together now, and I'm so so
lucky that I get to experience life with you. I love my life with you."
Charlie pouted, reaching out a thumb to wipe a stray tear that had started to slide down his
husband's cheek. Sure, he could get a little emotional after sex sometimes (they both could),
but this was something different. "What's got you being all sappy?"
Nick sighed, shifting so that they were face to face. "I want children." Charlie stared at his
husband, eyes wide. "With you." Nick clarified.
"Well I'd bloody hope with me!" Charlie laughed, shoving into him lightly. "I want kids with
you too, just so we're on the same page about who we're having babies with."
"Yea, but," Nick sniffled a bit, looking Charlie deep in the eye, "I mean, I want children with
you soon. Like, in the next few years soon. I want us to start looking into having our own
children."
Charlie sucked in a breath, letting silence fall between the pair.
Children. Nick was ready to take that next step with Charlie.
"And it's ok if you don't feel ready. I know hypothetically we've talked about a future where
we have children together but never really thought about a time frame -"
"-Nick-"
"- And I know that children would be a huge responsibility. And it's probably going to be a
bit of a long process however we choose to have kids. It's not like we're a straight couple and
can just have unprotected sex and then, BAM!, there's a baby -"
"-Nick-"
"- But Char, it's all I've been able to think about the last couple of months. You'd be the most
amazing dad, I just know it. Watching you with Delilah when we were babysitting, it really
made me realise how much I want us to start a family. I want us to have a tiny little human
who can call us their dads."
"Well, it might be a bit confusing if they call both of us 'dad', I think we'd have to find an
alternative name for one of us." Charlie smirked.
"Charlieeeeee." The younger man shut his husband up with a kiss.
"So kids, yea?" He asked quietly, scratching Nick's scalp in a way he knew would help calm
his nerves.
Nick nodded tentatively. "It's ok if you don't feel like you're ready. It's a joint decision, and
we obviously have to be on the same page before we start any processes. I don't want you to
feel forced or pressured into anything-"
"-Nick, darling, I would love to have children with you soon.” Charlie cut off his rambling,
watching as the eyes in front of his went wide and sparkly.
"Really?"
Charlie nodded, feeling butterflies in his stomach. "It's, um, it's something I've been thinking
about recently too, actually...me and you, starting a family. I think seeing you with your old
pupil at the park the other week, it sort of cemented it for me. That I want us to start looking
in to having our own children. You'd be an incredible parent."
Nick's once anxious face softened, reaching across to kiss his forehead before pulling Charlie
close to his chest. "So children?"
"I've been doing a bit of Googling about it -"
"- You and your Googling." Nick teased.
"- Oi, shush!" Charlie nipped at his neck, smiling as he felt Nick chuckle above. "Anyway, as
I was saying, I've been doing some googling about how we could have children. There's
options, but none of them are easy, and all are expensive and take time."
"That's ok, we've got time, and our ‘future children’ savings pot.” Nick reassured him, "And
it'll all be so worth it to have a baby of our own."
And so began the long process of researching what journey to parenthood was right for them,
meetings with agencies, background checks, discussions with doctors, way too many tests
done on the both of them to count. But Nick and Charlie didn't mind - they knew each day,
they were a step closer to becoming the parents they longed to be.
Chapter End Notes
Possibly my favourite chapter I’ve ever wrote for this - I hope you all love it too!!
Please leave any suggestions for more scenarios you’d like me to write about, and
remember to leave kudos if you enjoyed reading!
Wrong number
Chapter Summary
Nick and Charlie send some embarrassing texts to the wrong chat
Chapter Notes
Keeping up with the NelSprings
[13:16] Nick: I'm in Tesco, if anyone needs anything let me know in the next 10 mins x
[13:18] Ada: bananas and pads pls x
[13:19] Robin: deodorant
[13:19] Ada: and make up wipes x
[13:21] Charlie: can you pick up some noodles, veg, kale and soy sauce, I'll do a stir fry in
the week x
[13:21] Charlie: we also need toothpaste
[13:22] Nick:@Ellis need anything???x

Husband
[13:22] Charlie: maybe you could pick up some more of that tingly lube...
[13:23] Nick: wow
[13:23] Nick: wowwwwwwwww
[13:23] Nick: I've just had to hide my phone from the poor old lady standing next to me in the
toiletries isle
[13:23] Charlie: well if you're in the toiletries isle then that means you're only one isle over
from the lube x
[13:24] Nick: cheeky sod x
[13:24] Nick: liked that one did you
[13:25] Charlie: I think you know I did
[13:25]: Ellis: Cadbury's Oreo bar!
[13:26] Nick: do we need anymore normal lube?
[13:27] Charlie: just checked the stash, running low on normal, might need some more
condoms too x
[13:27] Charlie: ribbed?x
[13:27] Nick: tingly lube AND ribbed condoms, someone's feeling adventurous
Sibling Squad
[13:27] Robin: ...
[13:27] Robin: think I'm scarred
[13:28] Ellis: at least you're not home, literally just heard dad run upstairs to 'check the
stash'
[13:28] Ada: one of us needs to tell them they're messaging on the family chat
[13:28] Ada: still get nightmares about finding them on the sofa the other month
[13:29] Robin: thought we agreed to never bring that up again for the sake of our mental
health

[13:28] Nick: that old lady defo saw your text, she just recommended a vibrator ♂
[13:28] Nick: was too mortified to tell her I'm with a man so that doesn't really work for us
[13:28] Charlie: just because we didn't like them when we tried one out doesn't mean all men
don't like vibrators ♂she might have been suggesting it for your personal use
[13:29] Nick: I know Tao bigged it up but I really don't get all the fuss over them :(
[13:29] Nick: you with Lis? Can you check with him if he needs anything? X
[13:29] Charlie: two secs let me run down and ask him x
Sibling Squad
[13:30] Ellis: mayday fucking mayday
[13:30] Ellis: dads calling for me
[13:30] Ellis: idk what to say
[13:30] Ada: lol thats shit for you
[13:30] Ellis: dont even think I can look him in the eye
[13:31] Robin: should have replied on the fams chat sooner
[13:31] Robin: good luck
*****
"Ellis? Lis?"
Ellis cringed, curling up on himself in his gaming chair. He grabbed his headphones, putting
them over his ears and turning it up loud. Maybe if his dad walked in and saw that he was
busy, he would talk to him. He really didn't want to have to talk to his dad whilst the texts
were still vivid in his mind.
A few minutes passed and he thought he'd escaped, but then he felt a hand on his shoulder
and...
Shit.
He was gonna have to talk to his dad.
Stupid noise cancelling headphones being so noise cancelling that he couldn't even hear his
bedroom door opening.
At least they'd stop him hearing other things, if his dads texts were anything to go by.
Gross. Nope. Ellis quickly shook the thought from his brain.
He took a deep breath, removing the headphones one ear at a time and letting them dangle
around his neck. Tentatively, he looked up, his dad smiling down at him. Ellis was sure his
face was bright red - why did his dads have to be so clueless when it came to texting? There
was some things he and his sibling's definitely did not need to know.
"Papa asked if you want anything from Tesco?"
Ellis darted his eyes around, not wanting to look at his dad's face. "Oh, uh. No - no thanks."
He'd suddenly gone off the idea of his Cadbury Oreo bar.
"You really should put your phone on loud Lis so you can hear when we text you." His dad
tutted as he walked out, shutting the door behind him.
Ellis wasn't about to correct his dad and tell him that he actually did have his phone on loud,
and he had replied to his text, it's just that his dads hadn't realised because they thought they
were talking on their own private chat.
He needed to do something to take his minds off this whole situation. Picking up his phone,
he spun off a text to his mates asking if anyone was about for a quick game of COD. Lucas
replied quickly, and soon enough they were emerged in their own world.
*****
"Ade, can you help with the shopping please?"
Ada looked up from her spot on the sofa where she'd been texting on her phone, freezing in
place and making no move to get up and help. Maybe they wouldn't notice?
"Please, Ada, do as your dad says. I've had to buy a lot this week and we could do with an
extra set of hands helping us unload." Her papa asked this time as he walked through the
house, a few shopping bags in each hand.
Had they forgotten about what her dad had asked her papa to buy? Were they really asking
her to risk her sanity by helping unload the shopping and potentially finding...those things.
"I'm just in the middle of something, papa." Ada replied, trying to keep her voice level. She
glued her eyes to her phone, not wanting to look up and accidentally catch one of their eyes.
"It won't take long, Ade. Please!" Her dad called out in that voice she knew meant 'do as I say
now'.
Groaning, she hoisted herself up off the sofa and sloped into the kitchen. Her dad was busy
sorting through the bags whilst her papa ferried them from the boot of the car to the kitchen
worktop.
"If you unpack the bags and put them into piles of frozen, fridge and cupboard? Will be a
quicker job for you than putting away." Her dad suggested, already grabbing a handful of
cardboard boxes and crouching down in front of the freezer.
"Don't really have a choice, do I?" Ada mumbled under her breath. She was sure her dad
heard her but was choosing to ignore it - she was doing him a favour, after all.
A pretty bloody huge favour, because right now there was nothing less that Ada wanted to do
than sort through their bags of shopping.
Cautiously, she picked up the first bag and rummaged her way through it. Just some pasta and
eggs here at least, nothing that make her want the ground to swallow her whole. She worked
her way through the bags, finding nothing incriminating, just more food, some sweets, drinks.
With each bag she felt less and less stressed. Maybe her dads had only been joking? Maybe
they hadn't bought anything like that?
"Ahh, I'll grab that one!" Her papa grabbed the next bag out of her hands, pulling it over her
head and holding it close. "Toiletry bag, I'll take it upstairs in a bit."
Ada watched on in disgust as her papa nudged her dad, her dad smirking back at him.
Yep. They hadn't been joking.
Kill. Her. Now.
What she needed was a quick escape route. "Ahh, I think Ellis is calling me! Better go see
what he wants." She announced, speeding walking out of the kitchen and jogging up the
stairs before she could be called back. She couldn't stay in a room with her dads knowing that
they had...gross things...in that bag.
She slammed open her twin's door - they usually didn't knock for each other - crying out a
pitiful 'ELLISSSSS!' and collapsing face down on his bed.
She felt the bed dip next to her, the presence of Ellis' body lying next to hers.
"Why do they have to be like this?" Ellis moaned out pitifully.
"I'm gonna hide up here with you for the rest of the day. I can't face them both again knowing
what they plan to do." Ada said, making herself comfy on her brother's bed.
*****
"Come on, Rob, you have to admit that it's a bit funny."
Robin glared at his girlfriend, his face beetroot read. He'd just recounted the whole wrong-
group chat text fiasco to Lottie, and she seemed to be finding it a lot more amusing than he
and his siblings.
"It's really not though!" Robin groaned, hiding his face in the crook of her neck. "No kid
wants to know about their parents sex life, let alone the fact that they're a bit kinky."
"I'd hardly called tingly lube and ribbed condoms kinky." Lottie teased, running her fingers
through his hair to try and soothe him.
"You know what I mean." He mumbled against her skin before pulling up to look at her
smirking face. "I'm glad you find this whole situation so funny! You wouldn't be laughing if
it was your mum and step dad you'd found this stuff out about."
"I'm pretty sure my mum and step dad don't even sleep in the same bed anymore."
Robin cringed, muttering out a 'sorry'. Their relationship was a bit of a sore spot for Lottie at
the moment, ever since she'd woken up early one morning to find her step dad asleep on the
sofa for the third time that week. He and her mum could hardly stand to be in the same room
anymore, and Robin had been witness to more than one screaming match between the pair.
"It is what it is with them." She shrugged it off, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "At
least you know your dads still love each other. I think it's quite admirable that they're still
shagging in their late 40's."
Robin proceeded to fake gag. "If they wanna shag then that's fine! So long as it's behind
closed doors." Lottie snorted out a laugh - she'd heard all about the sofa incident where Robin
and his siblings had come home to find their dads naked on their family settee. "But I just
wanna live in my little pretend bubble where I think they don't do anything more than hug."
"Well I suppose it's time to go and face the music. Your papas waved at me 3 times now from
the front room window - if you don't go in soon I'm scared he'll come out and I'll have to talk
to them too." She gestured Robin to look behind himself, where his papa was clearly waving
at the pair from inside his home.
"See! You don't want to talk to them either knowing what they've been up to!" Robin
exclaimed.
"I'll be happy to talk to them again when it's not fresh in my memory." She laughed, leaning
over to kiss her boyfriend. "Now go! And say hi to them for me! And maybe ask if I should
bring ear plugs next time I'm over!"
"I hate you."
Lottie smirked back. "No, you love me."
With a fond eye roll, he leaned forward for a final kiss. "I do love you. I'll see you later, text
me when you get home."
It was one last embrace before Robin trudged up the pathway to his home, his papa opening
the front door before he got the chance to take his keys out. "Hi, Lottie!" He shouted out the
door, waving manically. She smiled back shyly, waving back before getting back in her car
and driving off.
"Nice day today, Rob?" His dad asked as he came into the house. Robin tried his hardest to
keep his movements small, to not encourage much conversation. Get upstairs as quickly as he
could, that was the plan.
He gave a tight smile, nodding his head in confirmation as he slipped off his shoes.
"Got that deodorant you asked for." His papa said, rummaging through a Tesco bag and
passing him over the can.
"Uhh, thanks." He snatched it quickly. His dads clearly hadn't realised what had happened,
they wouldn't be acting as normal as they were if they had. "I'm - I'm gonna go upstairs."
Robin rushed out, stampeding up the stairs and ignoring his papa's calls that he'll 'put his foot
through the floor if you're not careful!'
He gave a knock to Ellis' bedroom door, not waiting for a reply before he swung it open. He
found both his siblings inside, looking like they were in the midst of a mental breakdown.
"Take it you're both hiding upstairs from them as well then?" Robin asked, collapsing on the
beanbag in the corner of the room.
"People that old should not have sex lives." Was all Ada replied.
Her brothers couldn't agree more.
*****
"The kids have been acting strange this afternoon, haven't they?" Charlie asked his husband
as he took the honey roasted carrots out the air fryer. They were doing a roast today, seeing as
it was a Sunday. It was one of the meals they loved to cook together.
Nick took the chicken out the oven, taking a moment to appreciate the smell that wafted
around him. There was something special about a Sunday roast that just felt so homey, so
cozy. The best meal for when he had all his family around him.
"Nick?" Charlie prompted again, now dishing up the roast potato's. They'd come out perfectly
crispy, nicely browned on the outside and no doubt soft and fluffy on the inside.
"I suppose they've been a little strange." Nick agreed as he got to work cutting up the
chicken. "I feel like I've not really seen them today."
"I get it with the boys, they're usually holed up in their rooms. But even Ada has hardly been
down." Charlie said with a pout.
"I think you are forgetting, my love, that we are the parents of three teenagers." Nick moved
to kiss his cheek. And again. And again, until his husband was once again smiling. "They
don't want to spend all their time with their old dads anymore."
"I suppose...I miss them being little sometimes, you know?" Charlie sighed, taking our the
Yorkshire puddings and dishing them out. "Miss having a little person following me about."
Nick raised an eyebrow at him. "Is me not following you about enough?" He teased, hugging
Charlie from behind. "I know I might not be little but, as Christian has said on many
occasion, I am 'practically joint to your hip.' Where you go, I go!"
Charlie rolled his eyes, breaking a bit off one of the yorkshires and feeding it to Nick. "Not
the same as one of our children." He went over to the hob, taking the peas and draining them
in the sink.
"I could start calling you daddy if that would help?"
Charlie squawked as a tea towel hit his bum, and he spun around to see a playful smirk on the
older man's face. He couldn't help but shake his head, chucking a pea at his husband's head.
"Awful. You are absolutely awful."
"And yet, you still married me."
"Every so slightly reconsidering that deci-NICK!!!" Charlie groaned as his husband lifted
him up, effortlessly carrying him across the kitchen. "You gotta stop doing this, you'll do
your back in one of these days."
"I'll never stop carrying you around even when we're old and grey." Nick said confidently,
ignoring Charlie's quip of 'Well you're already half way there.' He gently placed Charlie to
the floor and took the bowl of peas out of his hands. "Go on, I'll finish dishing up. You go
wrangle the kids."
A task easier said than done.
"KIDS!" Charlie called up the stairs. "Dinners ready!"
No reply.
"KIDS?"
"Just text them, you're more likely to get a response!" Nick called from the kitchen. He was
probably right.
Charlie pulled out his phone, opening up their family group chat. He was mid-text asking
them to come down when he noticed the most recent texts on the chat. "Oh no." He gulped,
eyes going wide. "Surely...no, that was just for Nick." He frantically scrolled up the chat,
each text making his stomach sink more and more. Texts, private texts meant only for his
husband's eyes, about lube and condoms and bloody vibrators, sent to their family group chat
for their kids to see. "Shit."
He ran through to the kitchen, hands shaking as he held up his phone for Nick to see. "We've
got a problem."
Nick immediately stopped setting out the knives and forks, his face dropping to a frown. "Are
the kids ok? Are you ok?" He rushed over, taking Charlie into his arms.
"We're fucking idiots." Was all Charlie could mutter out, shoving the phone into Nick's face.
He took it, squinting at the screen. "These are just our texts from earlier? I got the right lube,
didn't I? Silicone based?"
"Check who the texts were sent to." Was all Charlie could say. He could tell he exact moment
his husband realised their mistake, his whole body seizing up.
"Well shit." Charlie nodded in agreement against his chest. "No wonder the kids have been
avoiding us."
"And now we've got to face them for dinner."
They didn't even have time to make a game plan before the sound of three sets of feet could
be heard tentatively making their way across the landing and down the stairs. Charlie shot his
husband a panicked looked, who in turn decided that hiding behind the smaller man's body
was the best way to go about the situation.
"Just act normal. We just gotta act normal." Charlie repeated, more to himself than Nick.
But it was hard to act normal when their three teenage children shuffled into the kitchen, all
of whom were clearly aware of the texts their dads had sent each other.
"Uhm, din-" Nick's voice broke, and he coughed and spluttered in a way that definitely wasn't
'acting natural'. "Dinners ready." He tried again, voice high pitched.
None of the teens said a word as they walked past, blatantly avoiding any and all eye contact
with their dads.
"We've made a roast, there's even pigs in blankets." Charlie offered, hoping that a delicious
home cooked meal with all the trimmings would put things right.
No such luck. They all took their seats, glances made between the three kids in silent
conversation. But not a word to their dads.
The rest of dinner carried on pretty much the same. Awkward silences, red faces and quiet
mutterings of 'can you pass the gravy' between the teens but never to their dads.
"Ok, I can't take this anymore." Nick announced once dinner was nearly finished. The tension
in the room was getting too much. "We know you all saw the texts, and we're both sorry that
we put them on the wrong chat. But we're both fully grown adults, and we're going to -"
"-No." Robin cut him off.
Charlie raised an eyebrow. "No?"
"We don't want to hear it. We don't want to hear yous. And we definitely don't need to know
anymore than you've already told us." Robin confirmed, looking to his siblings who nodded
in confirmation.
"I could have happily gone my whole life without knowing that information." Ellis
complained through a mouthful of chicken.
"I'm trying my hardest to forget about it." Added Ada. "Clearly promises mean nothing in
this house if you're still going at it after promising to never ever do it again after the last
incident!"
Charlie sighed, putting down his knife and fork so he could try and have a somewhat serious
conversation. "Darling, sometimes, when you have two consenting adults who love each
other...they want to do stuff that makes them feel closer to one another, to show that love. For
most people, myself and your papa included, that's a very normal thing." Charlie could feel
himself blushing, but why should a conversation about sex be awkward? It was perfectly
natural.
As he watched his youngest son gag into his plate and his eldest shake his head as though
trying to rid his dad's words from his brain, he realised that maybe he hadn't chosen the right
way to broach the situation.
"Sex is normal but that doesn't mean you should be doing it under the same roof as your
children!" Ada exclaimed, her eyes wide. "How would you like it if I was having sex in the
family home!"
"Well considering you're 14, underage, and don't have a partner, we wouldn't be very happy."
Nick said matter of factly, crossing his arms and attempting to keep a straight face. He and
Charlie were the adults in this situation, the adults that had fucked up. And they were going
to fix this, and to do that it required keeping their calm. "Would you suggest me and dad
sneak off to a hotel instead?"
"Yes!!" Ellis screamed out.
Robin was practically rocking back and forth, muttering to himself 'I can't believe this is
actually happening during our Sunday roast'.
Charlie reached across the table to take Nick's hand in his own, running a finger across the
knuckle. "How about me and papa promise to always check the group chat name at the top
before sending texts? How does that sound?"
"If it means this conversation is done with, then that sounds bloody amazing." Robin
muttered, hiding his face behind his phone.
"Ok, perfect, who's up for desert then! Homemade rhubarb crumble." Nick announced, taking
Charlie's hand and dragging him away from the dining table. "I honestly feel like I could cry
right now. That was mortifying." He whispered once out of earshot.
Charlie laughed at his husband's distress, bringing him in for a hug. "At least it was only texts
they saw and not one of my pictures."
Chapter End Notes
I’m off on my Summer holidays on Wednesday so thought I’d post another chapter!
I love getting feedback so let me know what you thought with a comment and if you
have any suggestions for what I should write about next :)
Boyfriends?
Chapter Summary
A few months after coming out, 15 year old Ellis opens up about his blossoming
relationship with Lucas.
Chapter Notes
Nick hummed to himself as he loaded up the washing machine with their dirty clothes. He'd
pulled the short straw this week. He and Charlie usually had their own set of chores around
the house that they stuck to: Nick took out the bins and took charge of the cleaning upstairs,
Charlie done the cleaning downstairs and fixed things around the house. They took it in turns
to do the cooking and washing up, usually depending on the other's work load that day.
But nowadays, it was always a battle over which of them pulled the short straw and had to
sort out the washing. The other was left with the (only slightly) nicer task of ironing.
Neither of them enjoyed it, but it was a job that had to be done. Especially when he and
Charlie had three teenagers living with them. It seemed to be a basket full of dirty underwear,
blood stained sheets (that would explain Ada crying when he wouldn't make her favourite
dinner the other day) and crusty socks (why couldn't his boys just shove them behind the
radiator like a normal teenager?), Nick holding them with the tips of his fingers as he
chucked in the load of darks. Whoever said having teenagers was fun had clearly never
cleaned up after that.
Ok, maybe having teenagers was fun. It was definitely one of their favourite stages with the
kids so far, even if they spent half the time in hormone-induced rampages. But it was still one
of the best feelings watching their babies grow into their own people with their own
personalities and opinions.
He'd managed to fill it about 3/4 full before he realised that the washing basket was empty,
and that just wouldn't do. No way was he putting on a load that wasn't full, no chance. Sarah
Nelson didn't raise her son to put on a half empty load - what a waste of money! he could hear
her say.
"Time to face the kid's rooms." He muttered to himself, groaning as he pulled himself to his
feet, his knees clicking as he done so.
God, he really was getting old.
He decided that Robin's room would be a good place to start. His eldest son was at college at
the moment (or at least he hoped he was), at a revision class for his upcoming A Levels. It
came as a relief to both men that their eldest finally seemed to be buckling down and trying
to do well in his exams - it certainly wasn't the case 6 months ago. Despite his exams, his
girlfriend of nearly 3 years, Lottie, often slept over. Nick and Charlie weren't the type of
parents to say no to sleepovers unless it got in the way of their children's studying. Lottie was
a good influence in that sense, coming over with flash cards and sticky notes to help her
boyfriend revise in his bedroom.
Nick scoffed at the thought. Yea, sure, 'revise'. The same type of 'revising' he and Charlie
would spend hours doing in each other's bedrooms as teenagers.
Whether they were 'revising' or actually revising, something seemed to be working as Robin
done better in his last set of mocks than expected. And so Lottie was allowed to continue to
stay overnight.
Nick knocked on his bedroom door and waited a few seconds before entering, just to be safe.
The last thing he wanted to do was barge in on the pair doing something he definitely
shouldn't be seeing. When he received no reply, he pushed his way into the bedroom,
groaning at the state of it.
Text books and revision notes littered the floor, dirty screwed up clothes lay about the room
(unfortunately most were lights), and of course he'd left his lamp on.
Looking around his bedroom for anything he could add to the washing - maybe the bedsheets
would be his best bet? He was sure Lottie would appreciate some clean sheets to sleep in
even if his son wouldn't. He shook the unmade sheets out, all set to strip them from the duvet,
when a bra came flying out, landing across the room.
Nick paused for a moment, weighing up his options.
"Yep, I'm definitely not changing these sheets." He whispered to himself, dropping the duvet
back on the bed. Cleaning his children's dirty clothes was one thing. But picking out his son's
girlfriend's underwear from the bed? That felt like he was crossing a line he did not want to
go near.
Maybe Ellis would have some darks that needed washing.
He had to mentally prepare himself before entering the 15 year old's bedroom. Robin may
have a messy room, but at least he didn't leave half eaten plates of food lying around and
actually opened his windows to let it air out.
Nick should have probably worn a hazmat suit to enter his youngest's bedroom.
He rapped his knuckles against the door, not that he was expecting an answer. Ellis spent a lot
of time with his headphones on playing video games with his friends. Even if he was home,
he probably wouldn't hear Nick knocking on his door.
Nick took a deep breath, scared of the stench that would hit him, and pushed open the door.
What he thought he'd find was his son engrossed in some online game, probably with his
headset on chatting away to his mates.
What he did not expect to see, however, was Ellis sitting on his 'friend', Lucas', lap, the two
looking awfully cozy as they played on the xBox.
Lucas looked over to Nick briefly, done a double take, before shaking Ellis who only now
seemed to notice the presence of his papa and jumped to his feet, looking like a deer caught
in headlights.
Lucas being over at their house wasn't a rarity. They usually saw the boy at least every other
week; he'd come to hang out with Ellis in his bedroom, stay for some dinner before the two
ran back up to play whatever games they had. And Ellis would often spend days at Lucas'
house, dropping his dads a text that he'd be having a sleepover at his friend's.
And then Ellis came out to them a few months ago and admitted that he and Lucas had been
fooling about (sleepovers had been banned after that - there was something that felt wrong
about their underage child sharing a bed with someone he’d been seeing romantically).
They'd seen Lucas a few times since, but no matter how much they insisted that they
supported Ellis and that Lucas was welcome over whether that be as his friend or as
something more, their youngest son still acted awkward whenever the topic was broached.
It had been a while since Lucas had last been over, or since their youngest son had talked
about the boy. They'd thought that maybe he and Lucas had had an argument, or maybe
they'd ended whatever it was that they had.
Judging by the fact that his son had just been cuddled up in the taller boys lap, Nick had to
guess that there was definitely still something there.
Now, how does he react without embarrassing Ellis? Acting normal is the best way, right?
What even is normal?
"Lucas, I feel like I've not seen you in ages!" Nick started, still standing in the doorway,
shuffling from foot to foot. He tried to keep his voice relaxed, despite the obvious
awkwardness coming from the two boys. "How have you been?"
"Umm," Lucas visibly gulped, glancing up at Ellis who's face was becoming increasingly
more red. "Yea - yea, I've been good." He refused to meet Nick's eyes.
"What did you want, papa?" Ellis asked, his voice cracking mid sentence. He was twiddling
the bottom of his jumper sleeve, a nervous habit he'd inherited from his dad.
God, he was the spit of Charlie at that age right now. It was kinda freaky.
"I've just come to get any dark washing you have; is it ok if I come in to grab it?" Nick asked,
waiting until Ellis nodded before he entered. He tried to be as quick as he could, collecting
tops and trousers into the dirty washing basket he balanced on his hip. Neither boy moved as
he done so. "Will you be staying for dinner, Lucas?" He asked once he was done, offering a
friendly smile to the blushing teenager.
Lucas and Ellis looked at each other in silent conversation before Lucas nodded. "Uh, yes
please. If that's ok?"
"Of course it is, you're always welcome here." Nick replied, picking up a stray sock to add to
the basket. That should be enough for a full load. As he left the bedroom, he couldn't help but
shout over his shoulder. "You boys be safe!" In a teasing manner, earning a groan from Ellis
as he shut the door behind him.
He couldn't wait to tell Charlie about this!
*****
"Honey I'm home!" Charlie called out as he waltzed in through the front door, greeted with a
kiss from husband.
"I've missed you." Nick whispered into his lips. Charlie could feel him smiling, and he
pecked him before pulling away so he could pull of his shoes.
"You literally saw me this morning." Charlie reminded him, melting into Nick's touch as he
wrapped himself around his body, nuzzling close into his neck.
"Still missed you." Nick mumbled, kissing along Charlie's stubble and pulling him through
the house into the kitchen.
Ada was sitting at the kitchen table doing her homework when they came in and she
scrunched her nose up at the site of her dads all over each other. "God, calm it! I'm sitting
right here! As in, your teenage daughter who does not need to be seeing this!"
Charlie skipped over, wrapped his arms around his little girl and kissing the top of her head in
greeting. "One day you'll find someone who you love with your whole being too, and you
won't be able to stop touching them either."
"He didn't mean that sexually, Ade!" Nick clarified as their daughter fake gagged. Really,
though, she was used to this. All the kids were - this was their normal.
"Soooo, you'll never guess who's upstairs?" Nick starts, trapping Charlie against the kitchen
counter between his arms.
"Umm, Robin?"
Nick rolled his eyes. "Obvious answer but not who I mean."
"Ellis?"
"Also not who I mean."
"David?"
"Why would my brother be over? You're really crap at guessing."

"Well just tell me then!" Charlie whined.
"Lucas!"
Charlie's eyes went wide. "Lucas? As in Ellis' Lucas?"
Nick scoffed at that. "How many other Lucas' do we know?"
"The same Lucas who defrauded our son?"
Ada snorted a laugh from her chair.
"I'd hardly call giving Ellis a hickey defrauding him." Nick challenged.
"He's 15!"
"Darling, you were 15 when I gave you a hickey for the first time. Are you saying I
defrauded you?" Nick asked, chuckling as his husband glared at him.
"Yes, I am! You definitely defrauded me!" Charlie looked like he was struggling to keep a
straight face. "And I'm sure if my dad had found out at the time he wouldn't have been too
pleased!"
"I thought you liked Lucas?"
Charlie signed. "I do, it's just..." He thought about how to word it. It's not that he didn't like
Lucas. In fact, Lucas seemed like a lovely young man. He was always polite to them, he
made their son smile. But they hadn't heard about Lucas for weeks, hadn't seen him in even
longer. They'd questioned their son if something had happened, but he just brushed them off.
They didn't want to push; if Ellis wanted them to know, he'd tell them. But they still worried,
not wanting their son to be hurt. "Ellis is our baby." Charlie explained. "It feels like all of our
babies are growing up."
"I like Lucas." Ada piped in, looking up from her homework. "And I think Ellis does too.
They've been hanging around at school together again. And I think Ellis went to his football
match the other day."
Charlie raised his eyebrow at this. "He did?" Ellis hated football, both playing and watching
it. That was a well known fact.
Ada nodded. "I'd say, if Lis is going to his football matches, then he must be pretty into
him."
*****
Lucas came down to join them all for dinner. He wasn't the most chatty of boys, definitely
more on the introverted side (much like their Ellis, really). But he was happy to answer any
questions they had, and Robin made sure to ask him about the latest Arsenal match.
The urge to pry had become too much throughout the evening. They knew that Ellis might
not open up to them, but there was always a chance that he could. Lucas had left a few hours
after dinner, and then it was their time to strike.
"We don't wanna make him close up." Charlie reminded his husband as they made their way
up to their son's bedroom. "Nothing too invasive." He knocked on the door, waiting for a
response before going in.
"Sooooo," Nick asked, taking a seat on the edge of Ellis' bed whilst his son sat on his
beanbag, gaming headphones hanging around his neck, "Lucas, ey?"
"What about Lucas?" Ellis asked, clearly trying to act dumb.

"We've not seen him around here for a while, it's good to see you two hanging out together
again." Charlie said, taking a seat next to Nick and holding his hand. Moral support.
Ellis shrugged, looking down to his lap. "Yea, well...we got talking again. Realised we
missed each other's company."
"What sort of company? His friendship? Or more than friendship?" Charlie asked gently,
sighing when all he received back was a small shrug.
"We heard you've been going to watch him play football." Nick tried, holding back a laugh
when Ellis glared at him, grumbling that Ada had promised not to tell them. "I'm quite
offended, really. Won't come to watch a match with your old man but the second a cute guy is
playing, you're all over it!" He joked, hoping it would relax his son a little but Ellis only
tensed at the words. He felt Charlie jab him in the ribs but chose to ignore it.
Charlie got to his feet, kneeling by Ellis' side and placing a hand on his knee. "You haven't
got to tell us anything, bug. That's ok if you don't want to tell us. Teenage relationships can
be complicated. But, whenever you're ready, we'd like to know. If Lucas is someone who
makes you happy, we want to know about it."
A blush rose to Ellis' face and he twiddled with his thumbs. He glanced up at his dads before
looking down again. "He does make me happy. In a friend way and a...a more than friend
way."
Ok, that was very sweet. Nick had to stop himself from physically awing at the teenager's
words. Instead, he rose to his feet and hugged his son, Charlie joining in from the other side.
"So, Lucas, is he your boyfriend?" Nick asked in a teasing tone, deciding to get straight to the
point. Even if both his husband and son were glaring daggers at him. Sometimes being
straight to the point was the best way to go.
Ellis looked at them both sheepishly. "Well...he's not not my boyfriend."

Both men's eyes went wide, their faces breaking out into grins at the news. "So you and
Lucas, you're officially going out?" Charlie asked, trying (and failing) to school his
expression.
"I mean, we've not actually said that." Ellis confirmed, his face going impossibly redder. "But
we've talked about things...I really like him...and I think he really likes me too."
"Oh, bug." Nick cooed, bringing him back in for a hug and ignoring the protests of 'Papaaaaa'
as he done so. "Me and your dad are so happy for you."
Chapter End Notes
Hope everyone enjoys this little chapter! I’m really excited about the next one I’ll be
posting - the boys becoming grandads for the first time!
Let me know if you have any suggestions for more chapters!

First grandchild
Chapter Summary
28 year old Robin and his girlfriend, Lottie, introduce their first child to Nick and
Charlie. The boys become grandads
Chapter Notes
Nick and Charlie had been sat in the hospital canteen for about three hours now. Three hours
of anxiety, three hours of nerves. Three hours of jumping every time one of their phones went
off, only to give a deflated sigh when they realise it's just a 'Happy New Years!' text. Both
were nursing a cup of watery coffee - there wasn't a lot open in the early hours of the
morning, so they were having to make do with the vending machine crap. They’d already
gotten through the pre-made flask they bought with them.
"We could always wait at home?" Nick suggested, but both knew that neither wanted that. It
would be just their luck that they'd get the text as soon as they got home, home being a solid
45 minutes away.
They wanted to be here when they got the text.
"It's been, what," Charlie checked the time on his phone, "5 hours now since Lottie's waters
broke. It can't be that much longer."
Nick grimaced, resting his head against his husband's shoulder. "I hope for her sake it's not
much longer. Do you remember how much pain Molly was in when she had the kids?"
"I remember you nearly passing out from all the blood." Nick could hear the smirk in
Charlie's voice. His husband never had let him live it down that he'd been too woozy to
actually watch their children enter the world. He'd committed himself to being on 'hand
squeezing' duty instead, less he risk fainting.
"There's a reason I married a man and that's so I wouldn't have to watch a woman give birth."
Nick grumbled.
"Oh, so you didn't marry me because of how insanely attractive I am, or for my incredible
personality, or because you love me? It was more to do with my biological inability to give
birth?" Charlie teased. Nick could hear the smile in his voice even if he wasn't looking at his
face.
The older man nodded against his chest. "Mmm Yep. That was the deal, I married you so you
could watch the babies being born, whilst I offer moral support." Nick sighed, twiddling with
his wedding ring on his finger. "Our poor Robin, I hope he's doing ok up there."
"Oh yea, I'm sure it's Robin we should be worried about right now and not our daughter in
law who's pushing an actual baby out of her body." Charlie joked, pulling Nick down so he
could kiss the crown of his head. "Lottie's mums up there with them, and she loves Rob just
as much as we do. I'm sure they're all doing ok."
"Our babies having his own baby." Nick whispered, letting a stray tear slip down his cheek.
Charlie nodded against his husband's cheek, pulling him impossibly closer. "And he's gonna
be the best dad. Do you know why that is?" Nick looked up curiously. "It's because he's had
us to be such amazing role models."
Nick snorted a laugh. "Not to toot your own horn or anything." He nuzzled back closer into
Charlie's chest, the other man's arms wrapped around him bringing some comfort.
"I think our horns deserved to be tooted." Nick felt a hand reach down to his bum to give it a
squeeze, the older man struggling to hold back a laugh as Charlie made a 'toot toot' with each
squeeze. "But seriously, let's face it. Our kids are pretty bloody amazing."
"They are, aren't they?" Nick let a smile fall to his face.
"And now they're fully fledged adults who are going to have children, and we get the
privilege of being grandads." Nick's lips found their way to Charlie's neck, a few gentle pecks
being placed along his skin. They were grateful that the hospital canteen was practically
empty; not a lot of people wanted to be waiting around here in the early hours of New Years
Day. Even the twins had opted to go out with their mates rather than wait for their niece or
nephew to be born. Robin had promised to text them a picture once the baby had arrived, and
in return they'd promised to do a shot in their honour.
"Isn't it crazy just how quickly they grow up."
Charlie hummed in agreement. "Isn't it crazy how quickly this pregnancy's gone."
*****
8 months earlier
"Papa! Dad! Come in out the rain before you get drenched!" Robin greeted both of his dads,
pulling them inside his home before wrapping them both in a hug. They'd always been an
affectionate family, and that hadn't changed even if their kids were now all grown up.
"It's only a bit of drizzle, Rob. We're not that old that a little bit of rain is gonna kill us."
Charlie said as he shook his recently dyed curls with his hands to try and stop the frizz.
Thank god Ada was a hairdresser and was able to get rid of his greys without frying his hair.
His kids (and husband) might tease him that this was his 'mid-life crisis', but after finding one
too many silver strands he decided that enough was enough and took the plunge to get it
dyed.
"Well it is your birthday in a couple weeks, dad. 54, that's a big one." Their son teased back,
taking them through to the front room.
Robin and Lottie had first moved out together nearly 2 years ago, when they were 25. They'd
started off in a little new build flat, not wanting to fully commit to a house until they'd seen
what it was like living together. Nick and Charlie really weren't too sure what they'd been
worried about; it was clear the pair were meant to be together. Then, 6 months ago, they'd
moved into this house. It was a sweet little terrace about a half hour drive from the men, an
extension off to the back with a decent sized garden. "It has 2 spare bedrooms and is within
walking distance of some pretty good schools." Nick had noted to his husband when Robin
had told them their offer had been accepted.
They tried to visit their eldest son at least once every other week, usually with the twins who
were still living at home. It had been hard to get used to a house without Robin at first, but
they were so proud of their son for all the achievements both he and Lottie had made.
Speaking of Lottie...
"Hey, guys." She croaked out from her spot on the living room sofa, a blanket pulled up high
over her body, dark circles under her eyes, greasy hair scraped back into a messy bun. They'd
never ever say it to her, but Lottie looked like crap today. Especially considering she usually
made sure she looked immaculate.
They both went over to lean down and give her a hug and kiss on the cheek before taking a
seat on the sofa opposite her. If she was as sick as she looked, they'd rather not catch it. Robin
didn't seem too concerned by his girlfriend's illness, sitting close to her and opening an arm
so she could lean against his chest.
Nick and Charlie knew that their adult children were independent people with minds of their
own, but mentally they couldn't help but take a bit of credit for just how open their kids were.
With their thoughts, their feelings, with affection. They'd never shied away from showing
signs of affection to each other, even in front of their kids, and it seemed their children were
following suit.
"You feeling ok, Lots?" Nick asked, trying to choose his words carefully. "You got that bug
that's going about? Think half my schools gone down with it."
The two men watched as Robin smiled down at Lottie, kissing her sweaty forehead and
holding her even closer than before. "I don't think what I've got is something you can catch."
She explained, her voice sounding hoarse.
Nick and Charlie glanced at each other, both having a slight idea at where this was going but
not wanting to get ahead of themselves. Because what if they were wrong?
A few months ago, Robin had let slip that he and Lottie were trying for a baby. They still
weren't entirely sure if they were meant to know. They'd gone over to their son's new house
to help to put together some furniture; Robin had offered them all a drink. Nick and Charlie
accepted a glass of wine each, Robin had stuck with water. He didn't need to explain
anything, to be honest his dads weren't even questioning it. But then Robin had started
rambling about how alcohol can effect a man's fertility as well as a woman's and so Lottie
had put them both on an alcohol ban. And when his dad tentatively asked why they were
suddenly so worried about fertility, Robin had explained how they wanted a baby within the
next year, shyly admitting that since moving into their new home they'd stopped doing
anything to prevent pregnancy.
He then made them swear not to say anything to Lottie, both men promising to keep their
mouths shut.
Robin grinned at them both wide, practically vibrating with excitement at his girlfriend's
words. It pretty much confirmed their suspicions, but they were going to play along.
"We've, um, we've got something for you both. A little present." Robin explained, his voice
cracking half way through. He reached down the side of the sofa, pulling out a gift bag and
handing it to his dads with shaky hands.
"As you so kindly reminded me earlier Rob, it's not my birthday for another few weeks."
Charlie said as he looked at the bag quizzically.
This whole thing didn't seem real. Both men had butterflies in their stomachs, desperate to
see what was inside the bag but too nervous to take the first steps by opening it. This had to
be what they thought it was, right?
Charlie made the first move, untying the string and moving some of the tissue paper out the
way. He reached in, rummaging around until he pulled out an envelope. "Would you like to
do the honours?" He whispered to Nick, who nodded, taking a calming breath and slipping
the card out of the envelope.
A baby scan fell out with it.
"Ohhh." Nick's gasp came out strangled and slightly teary as he reached down to retrieve the
scan from his lap, holding it up close so that both he and his husband could get a good look.
"I'm pregnant." Lottie announced, her voice sounding equally as teary. "You're gonna be
grandads."
*****
It was exactly 6:23am when the canteen door opened and the tired but excited face of their
eldest son appeared. They only knew it was the exact time because their phones had gone off
again and they had both rushed to grab it in case it was a text with an update.
Updates so far had included:
December 31st
[07:48] Robin: Looks like we might be getting a baby this year after all! Lottie's been up all
night with contractions, will keep you's updated x
[13:34] Robin: contractions closer together, heading to hospital, will let u know if they keep
Lotts in
[15:05] Robin: sent home, not dilated enough apparently
[21:12] Robin: waters have broken
[21:27] Robin: called midwife, heading to hospital, they said they're going to keep her in.
BABY TIME!
[21:27] Robin: 2.5hrs left to get a New Year's Eve baby!

[21:29] Robin: Lottie's said to bring a bottle of something nice too, she wants a drink to
celebrate the new year lol
[21:30] Robin: she said to reiterate that that was a joke!!
[21:30] Robin: (tho do bring a drink I don't think she's joking, we gotta wet the babies head!)
After picking up a fancy bottle of champagne they'd been gifted from Tao and Elle that
Christmas, filling a travel flask with coffee, and packing a backpack with toiletries and
presents, they'd left to make the drive to the hospital. They'd originally had plans with some
of Nick's old rugby lads - Otis always threw a New Year's party that they'd normally go to.
But this wasn't a 'normal' new years, and instead the day had been spent anxiously waiting for
more updates about the arrival of their grandchild.
The updates had continued to come through once they'd arrived at the hospital.
[23:08] Robin: asked they midwife and they said it's too late for visitors to come up :( Lottie's
6cm dilated tho so maybe baby soon!?!?
[23:10] Robin: midwife said canteen is open all hours if you wanna wait down there?x
1st January
[00:20] Robin: we're gonna have a New Year's Day baby! 7cm dilated
[01:49] Robin: 8cm now midwife said won't be long
[03:57] Robin: she's pushing
The last 2 and a half hours had been torturous. Every little sound they heard, they were
convinced it was their phone going off with a new update. But they'd had nothing, not a
thing, until they saw their son appear in the doorway. Both men scrambled to their feet,
rushing over to wrap him in their arms. A sob erupted in their huddle, none entirely sure who
it was coming from.
It was probably from all of them, to be fair.

"She's beautiful." Robin whispered, pulling back to give his dads a watery grin.
"She?" Nick asked, his voice shaking.
Robin nodded, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his jumper. "She. I've got a daughter. You's
have a granddaughter!" He started laughing, as though he couldn't quite believe it himself.
"How's she doing? How's Lottie doing?" Charlie asked anxiously. He reached out to grip
Nick's hand, his husband rubbing a soothing thumb over his knuckles.
"Lottie, she was just..." Robin rubbed the back of his neck, looking up to the ceiling trying to
find the right words. "She was just...amazing. She's incredible. I'm just in complete awe of
her. I think we're both just running on adrenaline now, about 24 hours of no sleep but neither
of us can take our eyes off our daughter...a bloody daughter...." His laughing was contagious,
his dad's soon joining in as they all came together for a hug again. "Lotts was asking after
you both actually, if you'd like to come up and see them both? Visiting hours don't officially
start for another few hours, but we checked with the midwives and they said it's ok."
They hadn't been expecting to be able to see the baby so early. If Robin had texted saying
Lottie was pushing only a couple hours ago, then the baby can't be much more than an hours
old. Lottie had her mum up there, and Robin of course.
They loved Lottie. They really did. She was like a daughter to them, a bonus sister to Ada
and Ellis. She'd come away on family holidays, was perfectly comfortable coming over to see
them even without Robin being there. Most importantly, she made their son unbelievably
happy. And that's all they ever wanted for their children.
To be happy.
But they knew what an intimate time this was. She'd only just given birth, and in their minds
they'd prepared themselves for a long wait in the hospital until Lottie felt up for visitors.
But then Robin was opening the door of the canteen and beckoning for them to follow him
down the winding halls of the hospital and up to the maternity ward. Maybe it was their own
sleep deprivation, or maybe just the shock at the fact that they were now grandads, but
neither said a word as they followed their son. Just gripped each other's sweaty palms, bodies
shaking with the anticipation of meeting their granddaughter.
Robin stopped in front of one of the doors, knocking before opening it a smidge and poking
his head around. "I've got my dad and papa, are we all ok to come in?" He whispered.
They didn't hear a reply, but Robin pushed open the door all the way and ushered them
inside.
It wasn't often that Nick and Charlie were left speechless. One of them often had a comment
about everything, a funny remark, something to input. But right now they were truly lost for
words.
Lottie was sat up in the hospital bed somehow looking exhausted but also like the happiest
person alive. Her mum, Alexis, sat on the armchair next to her, giving the pair a welcoming
smile and nodding at them to come further in. Robin had gone straight over to the bed, sitting
on the edge beside Alexis and craning his neck to look inside the bundle of blankets being
held by Lottie.
"Hey, you two." Lottie welcomed them, her voice hoarse. "Come over, there's someone who
wants to meet you both."
Charlie was the first to take a step forward, feeling somewhat like Bambi on ice, his legs like
jelly as he forced them to move. He pulled Nick along with him, a slow shuffle until they
were at Lottie's bedside. She shifted her arms, allowing the two men to get a full view of their
granddaughter.
Robin had been right when he said she was beautiful. This precious, tiny baby with chubby
cheeks and little bow lips. The sweetest button nose they'd ever seen, snuffling as she dozed
in her mum's arms. Wisps of light blonde hair were just about visible under the lilac hat she
wore, the words 'I'm new around here!' printed on the front in gold.
"She's perfect." Charlie whispered, reaching out a hand to go to touch her check before
stopping himself, looking at Lottie for permission. "They're clean, promise." She gave him a
tired smile and nodded, allowing Charlie to place his finger in his granddaughter's wrinkled
hand.
"Hey little one, welcome to the world. I'm your grandad." He whispered, trying (and failing)
not to cry.
He felt his husband's arm reach around him, pulling him into a side hug. When Charlie
looked over, he could see Nick's eyes firmly focused on their son's baby. "And I'm your
grandpa." Nick introduced, wiping away a stray tear that had fallen down his cheek. "God, I
love her so much already."
"She's pretty amazing, isn't she." Robin agreed, cuddling up to Lottie's side as they all looked
adoringly at the newborn.
"She was the first baby of the new year in this hospital, according to the midwife." Alexis
added. "The best start to a new year we could have asked for."
"Has she got a name yet?" Charlie asked, unable to take his eyes off of her.
"We was originally thinking something botanical, like Dahlia or Wisteria." Robin explained,
looking lovingly down at his girlfriend.
"But when she came out, we didn't think she suited a name like that. Plus, Wisteria reminds
me of a My Little Pony toy I had when I was younger." Lottie explained.
Charlie laughed at that, remembering the hours he used to spend with Ada going through the
My Little Pony toys at Tesco, trying to find the ones she didn't have yet. "Yea, I remember
that one. I think it was one of Ade's favourites."
"And then we thought, well she's come into the world at the very start of a new year in the
early hours of the morning. What's a name that fits in with that." Lottie continued to explain.
Her daughter started to fuss a bit, but a little bit of rocking from Lottie and Robin cooing
down at her and she was soon back to her slumber.
"We've decided on the name Aurora." Robin announced, looking down proudly at his newly
formed family. "It means 'dawn' in Latin, and Aurora was the Roman goddess of sunrise
so...yea, our little Aurora. It seems like the perfect fit for our daughter."
Lottie nodded in agreement, looking up towards Nick and Charlie. "Your granddaughter,
Aurora Nelson-Spring."
Chapter End Notes
Possibly one of my favourite chapters I’ve wrote - Nick and Charlie would be the best
dads so it only makes sense that they’d be the best grandads too!
If you have any chapter suggestions then please leave a comment :)
And don’t forget to leave kudos!

Boy/Girl sleepover
Chapter Summary
15 year old Ada asks if she can have some of her friends sleepover. Some of her friends
are boys
Chapter Notes
“Daddyyyyyyyy, papaaaaaaaa."
Nick groaned, rolling over in bed and reaching out blindly for his husband. All he could feel
was empty sheets, Charlie's side of the bed still warm but lacking the man he loved.
"Dadddyyyy, papaaaaa, can I come innnn?"
"You alright, Ada?" Nick heard Charlie ask, their bedroom door creaking open. He reached
out for his phone to check the time and - 8:30am? Really? Weren't 15 year old teenagers
meant to sleep in on the weekend? He sat up in their bed, stretching out his back and
scratching at his bare chest, and reached out for his glasses so he could actually see what's
going on.
He was greeted to the sight of his husband in a pair of very tight bike shorts and one of his
old gym tops, a bit of shaving cream splattered along his jawline where he was trying to wipe
it off with a flannel. Recently, Charlie had taken up bike riding with their neighbour, Moira,
on Sunday mornings. Charlie loved how much energy it gave him and how much healthier he
felt, and Nick loved watching his husband's bum in Lycra. It was a win win, really. Definitely
not an excuse for Nick to perv over him.
Ada (and their other kids, for that matter), hadn't taken too well to their dad's new fashion
choice. As Ada had ever so kindly told them, 'no men look good in bike shorts, especially not
old men'. Nick would beg to differ, and Charlie certainly didn't let it deter him.
Their daughter came skipping into their bedroom, not even making a face at her dad's attire
(very unlike her) and sat gingerly on the side of their bed. "Where are you going bike riding
today, daddy?"
"We were thinking just up and around the country park, only a short one today as Moira has
to visit her in-laws for lunch." Charlie explained, taking out his headband and pulling his
curls back from his face.
"That sounds fun, maybe I'll have to come with you one time!" Ada said cheerily, practically
bouncing up and down.
Nick furrowed his brows. Some things their daughter found fun: shopping, getting her nails
done, dancing, hanging out with her friends. Things she did not find fun: anything that made
her sweaty. Something was up. "You don't even own a bike, Ade." He reminded her.
"Well, it's my sweet 16th soon, papa, maybe you could buy me one!" She said in a sickly
sweet voice, scooting back on the bed until she was resting against his side. "If daddy is
going on a bike ride today, maybe me and you could go to that cafe you like for some
brunch? The one by the station?"
Something that had taken some getting used to when their kids went from being children to
being teenagers was their embarrassment at being seen with their dads. Long gone were the
days when they could bundle their little family into a car and spend the day in town or at the
park. No, their teenagers would rather spend their time with their friends, or alone in their
bedrooms, or doing anything else really than being seen with their old dads. Robin was
starting to come out of that phase now, but that wasn't the case for the twins.
Charlie shot his husband a look at Ada's offer. "You want to take papa to brunch? Just the two
of you?"
Ada nodded her head eagerly. "Yea, I think it would be nice."

"Right, baby girl, what do you want?" Nick finally gave in. It was clear their daughter was
trying to butter them up, and as much as he would love a brunch with his daughter (and he'd
still hold her to it), there was clearly something she was worried about telling them.
She twiddled a stray curl around her finger - definitely nervous - and looked at them both
innocently. "Nothings up!! I just want to spend time with my dads...and maybe talk about me
having some friends over for a sleepover?"
That was...not what they were expecting. Sleepovers were normal at their house - they
usually had at least one additional person staying over at the weekend, especially with Ada.
So why would asking for a sleepover be making her nervous?
Charlie looked thoughtful, coming to sit on the other side of their daughter. "Who would you
like to sleepover?" He asked.
"Oh, you know, just my friends. Lara, Marley, Olive, Tom, Noah, Charlotte, Abi - ."Ada
began to list off.
" - Hang on, hang on, rewind." Nick furrowed his brows. "Tom? Noah?" Ada nodded her
head, face of innocence. "They're not part of your usual group of girls?"
"Well that's because they're boys, papa!"
Charlie glanced over at his husband. "So you want boys to sleep over too?"
"They're my friends." Ada smiled. "It's not like boys from my year haven't slept over before.
Ellis' friends sleep over!"
"That's a bit different, Ade, and you know it." Charlie shook his head, biting his lip. "Me and
your papa, we're gonna have to discuss this first."
She scowled at her dad. "Well that means no."
"No, it means me and your dad need to talk about this first - having boys sleepover." Nick
tried to explain in a calm manner.
This seemed to do nothing to reassure Ada, her face going red. "I'm 15, what do you think I'm
going to do? I'm allowed to have friends who are boys! You ALWAYS let Lottie sleep over
with Robin! I could be a lesbian for all you know getting up to all sorts behind closed doors
with my friends! You two are so ridiculous!" She spat, heaving herself off the bed and
storming out. They could hear her footsteps pounding against the floorboards as she went, her
bedroom door slamming as she no doubt went to call her friends to complain about her dads.
Ahh, the lovely teenager tantrums.
And they thought the terrible twos were bad.
"She's got a point, I suppose." Charlie shrugged, massaging his temple with the tips of his
fingers. "It would be kind of hypocritical of us to ban boys from a sleepover when we don't
know who she's attracted to - who they're attracted to. I used to stay over Elle's loads when
we were her age."
Nick sighed, letting his head bang back against the headboard. "I don't trust boys." He
muttered, his husband laughing against his chest.
"But we trust our daughter." Charlie reminded him, before a thought crossed his mind. "Do
you think she's a lesbian? Was that her coming out to us?"
It's was Nick's turn to snort out a chuckle. "Ada? Really? The girl who's been swooning over
Taylor Lautner and Ryan Gosling since she could talk? There's a reason both she and Lis
were obsessed with The Hunger Games growing up and I'm pretty sure that reason is Liam
Hemsworth."
Charlie nodded; Nick was right. That girl was boy-crazy. "Maybe if we set them all up in the
front room? Sort out some blow up mattresses? That way they won't be behind closed
doors?" He suggested.
Ada's anger at her dads was short lived upon them telling her she could have her boy/girl
sleepover. Apparently, they all wanted to celebrate the end of year 10 with a big sleepover,
and her friends had all asked if they could have it at hers because 'her parents were the best!'
Maybe that was Ada trying to butter them up again, but it worked.
And so, that's how the two men found themselves with a hairdryer each blowing up the air
mattresses in the front room whilst Ada ran around them, sorting out snacks and drinks.
They'd allowed her to have a few bottles of low-percentage drinks - just some WKD,
Smirnoff Ice, nothing crazy but they had no doubt they'd have a few teenagers pretending to
be drunk later on. They were of the opinion that, if they were to deny their children things,
they'd just be sneaky about getting it and could end up in danger. 15 year olds had their ways
of getting alcohol (a particular school trip to Paris came to mind); it made sense to provide a
limited amount of booze where they could try it under the supervision of two adults.
"Papa, can you hang some fairy lights for me? Pretty please?" Ada asked as she held up the
glistening pink lights in her hand, batting her eyelids.
Nick gave an exaggerated smile, leaning on the sofa to help get up from the floor and taking
the fairy lights in his hand. "Where do you want them?" He asked, unable to stop his grin as
Ada squealed and mapped out where she wanted her decorations to go.
They all had to admit that they'd done a pretty good job of decorating their front room. The
floor was basically all air mattress now, each one covered in duvets and blankets and pillows.
They'd moved their coffee table off to the side and added bowls of crisps and and sweets, and
the fairy lights made the whole room feel cozy.
Ada had warned her dads early on not to gatecrash her sleepover or to do anything that would
embarrass her.
Nick and Charlie embarrassing their children? They were hardly about to pull out the old
family album and show her baby photos.
Though they might be tempted to show some old videos of toddler Ada saved on their
phones.
But they understood that want for independence and freedom, especially at her age. So they
promised to stay out of their way for the most part. They still wanted to come and say hello.
(Apparently that would be embarrassing in itself).
The doorbell rang at 5pm, the first of Ada's friends showing up with a duffel bag slung over
her arm and a pillow clutched in the other. They were pretty sure the girl's squeals could be
heard two streets over as the pair jumped up and down before running off to the front room.
At least, they could hear it from the kitchen.
"Guessing no boys yet then?" Nick asked, nuzzling into Charlie's neck, sighing when he felt
the short man's fingers dance up and down his back.
Charlie shook his head. "Not unless they're all squeaky voiced, which....I suppose they are
15." He muttered, shifting the two so they could shuffle to the kitchen door to peer into the
living room.
Nope, no boys. Just Ada and her best friend, Lara, excitedly unpacking her bag.
In the back of their heads, they knew that their worry about Ada having boys sleep over for
her group sleepover wasn't massively justified. She was a sensible girl (for the most part),
and she kept a good crowd of friends. If one of them done something she didn't like, she'd tell
them where to go.
But she was also their little girl, their only baby girl. She may try to act like an adult, but she
was still their baby. They knew they couldn't wrap their children in cotton wool forever, and
that they were getting older, but that didn't stop that longing of wanting to wrap her up and
hold her in their arms, protecting her from any bad things in the world.
And then there were teenage boys and their hormones. They could trust Ada, sure. But other
people? They may be old (their kids words, not theirs), but they could remember what it was
like to be a teenager. Wanting to explore, wanting to touch. Girls and boys being a mystery to
them that they wanted to know. They may have been together since Ada's age, not having
eyes for anyone but each other, but that didn't mean they didn't see things at parties. Gross
things. Things that made them step in and try and stop it.
Charlie shuddered as he remembered his experience with Ben. Years of therapy had helped
him, but it would never erase what had happened to him.
Yea, teenage boys could be awful.
The doorbell rang again, and Nick and Charlie ducked behind the doorframe as they watched
Ada and Lara rush to greet their next guests. They pulled open the door, revealing 3 grinning
boys who all clambered into their home.
"Ugh." Nick groaned, sliding so he was out of view of the front room and flopping against
the kitchen counter. "The one on the left is definitely Ada's type."
Charlie rolled his eyes, unable to stop the smile on his face at his husband's melodramatics.
"What makes you say that? The fact that he's the tallest there? Has dark hair? Or the fact that
he's got what I'm guessing he'd call a beard but actually just looks like bum fluff?"
Nick glared up at him. "I'm glad you find this funny, but our little girl is going to be sharing a
bed with those boys tonight! Who knows what roaming hands will do under the cover of
darkness."
"Sweetheart." Charlie sighed, taking Nick's hand and leading them to the barstools in the
kitchen island. "I know this is a big step for Ada, for us. But, really, honestly and truly, do
you think anything is going to happen? Think back to our teenage years - would any of my
friends have done something like that? Any of your friends? Ade's a good egg, and I'm sure
the boys she hangs around with are too." He leaned over to kiss Nick's forehead, rubbing his
thumb along his stubble. "And, let's face it, if any of them did try anything, Lara would chop
their dicks off."
"Oh my god."
Ada's voice broke through the room, both men snapping their heads up to see an embarrassed
looking Ada, Lara trying (and failing) to hold back her giggles and three slightly frightened
looking teenage boys.
Charlie forced on a smile, gripping Nick's hand under the counter. "You lot all ok?"
"We just came in for drinks." Ada said, walking over to the two and muttering through gritted
teeth, "God, why do you two have to be so embarrassing!"
"For the record," Lara began, opening up the cupboard to get out some glasses, "I would
definitely chop all of your dicks off if any of you done anything." She threatened, before
going up on her tiptoes and looking them all square in the eyes. "And I mean anything."
Yep, the dads probably didn't have anything to worry about if the looks on the boy's faces
were anything to go by. They all looked petrified of the tiny teenage girl in front of them, and
possibly the two fully grown men as well.
The one who was definitely Ada's type took a step forward towards them, holding out his
hand. "It's nice to meet you both, I'm Noah, and that's Tom and Mitch." The two boys behind
him gave tentative waves.
Slightly taken back by the politeness, they both shook his hand. "I'm Charlie, and this is
Nick." Charlie greeted for them both, sensing that his husband was too preoccupied with
staring down the trio with his best 'threatening dad glare'.
They all busied themselves in the kitchen, helping pour drinks and carry things in. As Noah
left the room, he turned around to look at the two men. "We're not like that, me and the guys.
Just so you know." He looked at them earnestly. "We wouldn't ever do anything like that. Not
to your daughter or any of the girls."
Nick fought every urge to run over and give this diamond of a teenager a hug. That would be
weird if he did, and would certainly be on Ada's list of 'embarrassing things her dads aren't
allowed to do'. So instead he smiled and nodded, whispering out a, "Thank you."
Who would have thought that just a few little words would have put their minds at ease so
much.
He turned to look at his husband who was giving him his 'I told you so' look. "See? Nice
teenage boys exist."
True to their word, they left Ada and her friends to it. They ordered pizza for dinner - way too
much, in their opinion, but Ellis seemed happy to have a range to dig through when he
ventured downstairs. When it started to get dark out, they put on a horror film. At least, it
sounded like a horror film if the squeaky screams were anything to go by. The film must not
have been too scary, as they could soon hear them dancing and singling along to music.
They did have to text Ada about midnight asking for them to keep it down, though, not
wanting to annoy the neighbours.
When Charlie got up to wee about 3am, he could still hear the teens downstairs chatting in
hushed whispers. He couldn't quite make out what was being said, but they all sounded
happy.
And when Nick and Charlie stumbled down the stairs the following morning to make some
tea, they found all the kids fully out of it, scattered across the mattresses. Pillows had been
used as a divider, the girls asleep in on one section of the floor and the boys on an (arguably
smaller) part. In scrawly handwriting on a piece of paper blue tacked to the wall was a note
reading '<— BOYS SIDE Do Not Cross GIRLS SIDE —>'
"See, darling," Charlie looked up at Nick fondly, "Nothing to worry about."

And although the teacher in Nick was telling him that, Yes, there is something to worry
about! These kids have their English GCSE next year and don't know where to put an
apostrophe! The dad in his was calm. Happy. Content even.
Their daughter had a good group of friends, even the boys.
Chapter End Notes
I wrote this chapter a while ago, forgot about it, and after a bit of editing decided it was
time to post! :)
Hope everyone enjoyed this little update! Let me know if you have any chapter
suggestions!
First bra
Chapter Summary
11 year old Ada is about to start her last term of primary school and wants a bra.
Chapter Notes
“Daddy?"
"Yes, darling?" Charlie asked from his home office, tapping away at his keyboard. It wasn't a
particularly busy week, and he hoped that if he could reply to these last few emails he'd be
able to log off a bit early. Hopefully around the same time Nick would get back from work,
and then they could blitz through dinner together and have a nice, chilled evening.
"I need a bra."
Well that stopped Charlie right in his tracks. Raising his eyebrows, he looked up over his
laptop screen at his 11 year old daughter who was staring bashfully down at her feet. This
was definitely not what he was expecting Ada to ask.
"Are you - do you - " Charlie fumbled over his words, struggling to find the right thing to say.
"Are you not a little...young to need a bra?" He decided on.
Charlie wasn't stupid. He and Nick both knew that the day would come where their babies
would grow up into hormonal teenagers with changing bodies that they wouldn't to talk
about. It had already started happening with Robin - though his death glares hadn't stopped
his younger siblings teasing him when his voice started to break.
But they knew things would be a little different with their daughter. Voices breaking, first
time shaving, they'd gone through that themselves and felt they could deal with it in a
somewhat good way.
But girls were different, there was no getting around that. Sure, they knew the basics about
periods, bras and the like, but when it came down to it could they really be sympathetic with
their daughter when neither of them had experienced something like that?
It had been something that had kept both men up at night a lot recently, worrying that they
weren't going to be able to support their daughter now she was reaching those preteen years.
Their daughter was still in primary school, albeit the last term of primary school, but still.
She was only 11. He and Nick had discussed looking at getting Ada a bra when she started
secondary school, reckoning it would be a good transition to go alongside starting big school.
In his opinion, his daughter didn't even need a bra. Did girls in primary school even wear
bras?
Apparently they did.
"All the girls in my class wear bras, dad." Ada whined, her bottom lip jutting out. "They were
showing them off when we were getting changed for PE."
Charlie stared her down, trying to figure out if his daughter was being truthful. Last month,
she'd told them that 'every girl in her class owns false lashes'. Which turned out to be a bit of
a fib when they bought her to the school disco with spider legs sprouting from her eyelids
whilst most of the other girls came with more subtle looks.
As tears formed in Ada's eyes, he realised that maybe, this time, his daughter was being
truthful. He quickly got out of his seat, rushing over and pulling her into his embrace. "Hey,
baby girl. It's ok." He rocked them back and forth, craning down to kiss the crown of her
head. "Why the tears?"
"Some of the girls in my class were laughing at me because they said they could see my
boobs." Ada grumbled, clinging onto her dad's top.
Charlie didn't think that pointing out to Ada that she didn't actually have boobs yet would
help soothe his daughter.
"We have to get changed in class, dad, in front of everyone!" She continued, no longer crying
but sounding angry. "It was humiliating! I just can't do PE again until I have a bra!"
"Sweetheart, do I need to have a word with your teacher? If the girls in your class are being -
"
"- NO!" Ada cut him off, pulling back and glaring up at him. "Dad, you can't go to the
school! That would make it 10 times worse! Please, just take me bra shopping!"
Charlie sighed, using the pad of his thumb to wipe a stray tear away from Ada's cheek. "Ok,
me and papa will take you out to get a bra." He agreed, already preparing himself for how
emotional this was bound to make his husband. "When do you next have PE?"
"Monday."
Right. Today was Thursday. Looks like they now had weekend plans.
*****
As predicted, Nick became teary eyed that evening when Charlie explained how their little
girl had asked for her first bra.
"But - but, she's only 11!" Nick had looked at his husband as though he'd just told them their
dog had died.
"I know, love." Charlie rubbed a hand up and down Nick's bicep, trying to soothe him. "But
kids are growing up so fast now, and girls do hit puberty before boys. Plus, kids can be
horrible. We just want her to have a good school experience, right?"
Nick's bottom lip began to wobble, and Charlie quickly bought him into his chest before the
tears could spill. "Our baby girl's becoming a woman." He muttered into the crook of the
smaller man's neck.
Charlie held back a laugh, shaking his head. "She's only 11, I think we've got a long way off
before she becomes a woman. She's not even started her period."
"Don't say that." Nick pouted. "She's still our baby."
"She'll always be our baby, even when she's all grown up." Charlie reassured him.
Now was the matter of actually finding somewhere to get their daughter a bra. If they thought
Google would be handy, they thought wrong. It was a rabbit hole of confusing words and
different websites, each suggesting different things. How were they meant to know what band
size Ada was? Or what style would be best for her?
"I think we need to phone a girl." Nick suggested, his husband agreeing with a defeated
sounding huff.
After phoning Tori, who proved to be no help ('I didn't wear a bra before having a baby,
Charles, and the type I wear now would be of no help to my niece'.), they decided a chat with
Sarah would be their best bet.
"Hello, my lovely!" Sarah's cheery voice greeted down the phone. "How are you? How are
my gorgeous grandbabies?"
"Your grandbabies are kind of why me and Nick are phoning, Sarah." Charlie explained,
holding his phone close enough that Nick could hear whilst not having it on loud speaking.
God forbid one of the boys overheard this conversation, they'd be teasing Ada for life and
they did not need that. "Ada needs her first bra. And we're not entirely sure where to start."
He said in a hushed tone. Might as well get straight to the point.
They were sure they heard a happy squeal down the phone, something which was quickly
replaced with a cough. Whether she was trying to cover her excitement or merely overdone
herself (she was nearly 80, after all), neither were sure. "I'd love to help my lovely
granddaughter! Now, have you found somewhere to get her measured?"
Both men exchanged a confused look. "Uhh, measured...? Mum, doesn't she just try them on
until one fits? Like normal clothes?" Nick asked.
Another cackle was heard down the line. "Sometimes I forget you boys have never had to
deal with a bra fitting!"
"By measure, what do you mean?" Charlie asked, anxiously playing with the hem of his top.
"Like, will they have to touch Ada?"
"She can have on a bra or a vest whilst they do it." There was a pause down the line. "I tell
you what, when are you thinking of going? How about I tag along? Only if you're all ok with
that, that is?"
Nick and Charlie hadn't wanted to ask - Sarah struggled to get around now whilst she was
waiting for her hip replacement. But they were so grateful that they offered. They knew that,
whilst they could try and be the best dads they could to their children, there were some things
(like bras) that they just didn't know a lot about. "We'll check with Ada but, yea, we'd really
love it if you could come." Nick said.
Ada seemed thrilled with the idea of her beloved nanny coming on the shopping trip. "No
offence, but I think Nan knows a bit more about bras than you two!" She'd exclaimed.
It did hurt them a bit to know that they weren't able to provide all the help and support to
their daughter that they'd like to. But then, it just made them all the more grateful for all the
wonderful women in their lives who wanted to help Ada, especially now she was hitting the
teenage years.
*****
"Do you need any help, sir?"
Charlie could feel his face going beat red, quickly averting his eyes from the array of bras in
front of him. "Uh, no - " His voice went high pitched, and he coughed quickly to try and even
it out. " - No, thank you." They probably thought he was some sort of perv.
Or a man out buying underwear for his wife.
He scoffed at the thought.
"Ok, I'll be around here if you need anything." The shop assistant smiled brightly at him
before walking off.
Spending his Sunday wandering around the bra section of M&S was not exactly top of
Charlie's list of exciting things to do at the weekend. In fact, he could only ever remember
one time when he'd been in any sort of bra section of any store, and that was with Elle back
when she was transitioning. Even then, he felt massively out of his depth.
Padded. Unpadded. Training. Balcony. Sports. Nursing. Push up. Strapless.
Who knew that there were so many types of bras.
Did all girls know what these were for? What the words meant? What even is a 'bustier'?
Thank fuck for Sarah.
He sighed, taking a seat on one of the little worn stalls next to a mirror.
Sarah had suggested them all going to M&S for Ada's bra measuring-fitting thingy. Ada had
been red faced walking into the shop with her two dads, keeping a few paces ahead of them
whilst gripping onto her nanny Sarah's hand. Sarah couldn't walk that fast these days, so the
two men made sure to keep a sluggish speed behind the pair. Anything to try and make this
easier for their little girl.
They'd asked Ada if she wanted them to come to the fitting with her. The look she gave them
could only be described as pure mortification. "Nan can come in with me, right Nan?" She'd
asked Sarah, who'd given a sympathetic look to her boys before nodding her head in
agreement.
They'd told their daughter that they'd wait for her outside the changing rooms. This,
apparently, was not the right thing to do. Having both her dads lingering outside whilst she
tried on bras would be 'way too embarrassing'. She sent Nick off to go and find her some new
white frilly socks for school ('that's what all the girls are wearing', supposedly), and she thrust
her bag into her dads arms as she followed her Nan towards the bra fitter-measurer lady.
Charlie took that as meaning he was allowed to wait outside the changing rooms for her.
Which, had the changing rooms been in any other section, would be fine. But of course he
was now in a sea of a multitude of bras. Sighing, he took out his phone, trying to look busy
and avoid any and all eye contact.
He felt way too out of his depth here. And he couldn't help but feel a little guilty about that.
Ada was he and Nick's daughter. Surely they should know how to look after her, what she'd
need. He wasn't naive; he knew parents didn't have all the answers. But, as her dads,
shouldn't they know a bit more about what their daughter would need as she got older?
He made a mental note to research all things 'periods' over the coming weeks, not wanting to
be caught out by that as well. Though, hopefully, that wouldn't come for a few more years.
Tori might be more helpful in that department, or maybe Tara or Imogen? It's probably been
a while since Sarah had a period he thought.
He groaned - when did all his babies start growing up? Why couldn't they all remain small
and innocent forever?
"What do you think of this one?"
Charlie jolted, looking up to the voice of his husband who'd placed one of the largest bras
he'd ever seen over his head. "Maybe I could get back into drag? Something to keep me busy
during the half terms?" Nick joked.
Charlie felt his face flush at the memory. Nick used to have a little side job back in their uni
days at the local gay bar performing in drag 2 nights a week. It had started as a way to make a
bit of extra money - between all the socials, train tickets home and to see his boyfriend, and
just general life being bloody expensive, he was the exact definition of a broke uni student.
As it turned out, though, he was actually pretty good at performing. Even his rugby lads
would come down to support him, and his mum when she was up to visit. And Charlie, of
course, would come to enjoy the show when he could. He had to admit, he did miss watching
Nick perform (that's not to say he didn't get the occasional private show).
"As much as I loved Lady Fingas," Charlie began, standing up to take the bra off of a pouting
Nick, "I think this counts as 'embarrassing dad things' that Ada would kill us for."
Nick sloped down on the seat next to Charlie, giving a loud sigh. "Suppose you're right." He
agreed, glancing over in the direction of the changing rooms. "Do you think she's alright in
there?"
"I'm sure Sarah's taking good care of our girl." Charlie tried to reassure him, despite the
quiver in his own voice giving away his anxiety.
When did their kids become so grown up?
When did he and Nick become so old?

"Have you seen how expensive bras are?" Nick asked, pulling the tag of one dangling by his
face closer to his eyes. He really needed to get his eyes tested again. "£46! For one bra! It's
absurd!"
"Think that's a nursing bra too." Charlie commented, squinting at the tag. Maybe he should
get his eyes tested too? "You'd think they'd make them cheaper, what with how expensive it is
having a baby anyway."
"Hopefully Ade's will be cheaper." Nick mumbled, glaring at the bra.
"Unfortunately for us, I think our daughter's inherited your mum's expensive taste in clothes."
Charlie reminded his husband. It made sense, considering Sarah was the main female role
model in Ada's life - in all of their children's lives. He dreaded to think about the day Sarah
wouldn't be there for them all anymore.
Nope.
No. No. No. He is not having those thoughts.
Thankfully, the woman in question's voice bought their attention over to the changing rooms,
where Sarah could be seen thanking a woman and smiling brightly at her. Ada stood at her
side, looking considerably less embarrassed than she had half an hour ago.
"We all good then?" Nick asked, hurrying over to the pair, Charlie close behind him.
"We are all good." Sarah confirmed happily, winking down at Ada who stifled a giggle. "Ada
has a few lovely new bras that we are going to buy using her papa's credit card."
"Gotta love using papa's credit card, I always use it when I'm buying new shirts." Charlie shot
his husband a cheeky look who just rolled his eyes back at him. "Did you find a few that you
like then, Ade?" Charlie asked, working hard at pushing down the awkwardness of the
conversation with his daughter about bras. This was a normal thing that girls needed, and
therefore he and Nick needed to act, well, normal.
"A couple, but I still wish I could have one with an underwire." Ada pouted. "Morgan's sister
has an underwired bra." She tried to justify.
Sarah ran her fingers through her granddaughter's hair, trying to calm the preteen down. "You
heard the lady measuring you, underwires on bras for young girls still developing can cause
issues." She explained, and by the tone in her voice Nick and Charlie had to guess this was
not the first time they'd had this conversation. "And besides, take it from someone who
knows, bras with an underwire are not comfortable."
"And isn't Morgan's sister quite a bit older?" Nick asked, furrowing his brows. He was sure
that she'd had dropped Ada off home before, meaning she was at least 17.
Ada pouted, mumbling something inaudible under her breath. But within moments she had
perked up again, looking up to her Nan with hopeful eyes. "Can we get that other thing we
talked about too? Please, nanny?"
The two men shared a puzzled look. "Uhh, what other things?" Charlie asked, looking
between the two.
"Ahh, this is something you boys actually know about! Ada needs her first razor so she can
shave her legs." Sarah explained, leading them towards the tills. "So a quick stop at Boots on
the way to the car is needed."
"A - a, a razor?" Nick stuttered, and Charlie could tell his husband would have cried had they
not been in public.
"Are you sure, Ade?" Charlie asked, rubbing Nick's biceps as the older man tried to compose
himself. "You've only got light hair, once you shave your legs they can come back darker."
He explained.
Ada laughed at him. Actually laughed. "Daddy that's just an old wives tale! Right, Nan?" She
asked, Sarah nodding her head in agreement. "I'm going into year 7 soon, and I can't go into
year 7 with hairy legs!"
Nick sighed, taking a deep, calming breath. He couldn't quite believe how big his baby girl
was getting. "Ok, we'll stop off and get you a razor too. But we'll get you a men's one, or
unisex. We're not paying a pink tax for something that does the exact same thing."
Ada squealed, going on her tip toes to wrap both of them in a hug. "Yay! Thanks, dads!"
First bras. They were already experiencing some hormone induced mood swings from Ada.
Before they know it, she'll be a full blown teenager wanting to go out drinking and partying
with her friends. It kind of scared them, thinking about how quick the last 11 years had gone,
to think how fast their babies were growing up. But it was a good kind of scared. They were
getting the privilege of being able to watch their children grow into adults, and were
immensely grateful for all the help they got from family and friend along the way.
Chapter End Notes
Another Ada-centric chapter but thought it would be interesting to explore how the boys
react to getting their daughter’s first bra, was so much fun to write :)
If you’ve enjoyed this chapter remember to leave kudos! And I love to hear any
suggestions for new chapters in the comments
Role model
Chapter Summary
Nick explains to his class how he is married to a man after one of his pupils asks about
the baby scan of their twins he has on his desk. What should have been a nice
conversation leads to Nick worrying that he’s overstepped the mark and could soon have
a hoard of angry parents complaining that their child’s teacher is queer.
Chapter Notes
"Ok, class 4NNS, settle down!" Nick called out to his class, struggling to be heard over the
excited voices of 32 8 and 9 year olds (the max his class was meant to have was 30, but
school cuts and all that...fuck the Tories).
Maybe a call and response would work? "HOCUS, POCUS..." but he didn't receive 'Time to
focus!' back.
In his 8 years of teaching, he'd learnt that kids were always harder to control on the last day
of term. He never planned on any real work for the last day, knowing it would be near
impossible. Fun activities like painting and a few films were usually the way to go, but even
the lure of a paint by numbers didn't seem to be doing the trick.
"How about a game of pass the ball?" Nick suggested, and this seemed to quieten his class
down.
'Pass the ball' - originally named 'Chuck the ball' until his class took the 'Chuck' part a little
too literally - was a game he liked to play where he'd take a glittery, glow up ball and lightly
toss it around his class to music until it stopped. Whoever had the ball could then ask him any
question they wanted about anything. Some of his favourite were ones about his favourite
subjects and books (though he kept them age appropriate), the food he likes the most,
showing a picture of him at their age. Then there were the ones like 'do carrots really help
you see in the dark?' Or 'if you could be an animal what animal would you be?'
The music started (Monster Mash, seeing as it was the last day before they broke up for
Halloween half term) and the mayhem began. The ball was definitely not 'passed' as the name
of the game suggested, his class instead lobbing it at their friends. Nick watched the ball,
stopping the music when it landed in Holly's hands. He liked Holly, and hoped she'd have a
good question.
"Mr Nelson-Spring, is it true that eating green vegetables make you fart?" She asked after
thinking for a moment, causing the whole class to erupt into a fit of laughter.
Nick laughed along with them, waiting for his pupils to quieten down a bit before answering.
"You know what, that's actually a true fact. Some green vegetables contain a sugar which our
bodies don't digest like other foods, and that can make you fart. Personally, I think that's even
more reason to eat your greens!"
The music started back up, the ball was passed (chucked) around, eventually landing on
Theo.
"Mr Nelson-Spring, what's that weird black and white picture on your desk? Is it a picture of
you when you was little?"
"Did you not have coloured pictures when you was a kid, Mr Nelson-Spring?" Billie shouted
across the room. "You must be realllyyyyyy old!"
Nick raised an eyebrow, a bemused smirk on his face. "Remember, Billie, we can only ask
questions when we have the ball." He reminded her, walking to his desk and picking up the
black and white picture in question. "So this isn't a photo of me, it's actually a baby scan
photo of my babies. In a couple of months, me and my partner are going to be welcoming our
twins into the world."
He stared down lovingly at the grainy scan in his hands. What was once two blobs could now
clearly be made out to be babies, baby A waving one arm in the air whilst baby B kicked
their leg. It had only been taken the week before at their surrogate, Molly's, 32 week scan.
Both twins were now head down, thankfully, and were growing well and looked healthy, as
was Molly. Their midwife had asked them again if they'd like to find out the gender, but
they'd decided to keep it a surprise this time round. They'd found out with Robin that he was
a boy before he was born, and still had a lot of his old clothes that could be passed onto the
babies. There had already been so many surprises with this pregnancy (the main one being
getting twice as many babies as they bargained for), what was one more surprise of waiting
until the birth to find out the genders?
Ava had snuck across the class, leaning in close to get a better look of the scan. "That one has
your nose!" She exclaimed, pointing to baby A, who's poor nose did seem like it was
unproportionally big compared to the rest of their body.
But they were still perfect in Nick's eyes.
"Mr Nelson-Spring," Jeremy shot up his hand, waving it about wildly, "When will your
babies be born?"
It looks like the game of 'Pass the ball' had been long forgotten, replaced with a fun game of
'Asking Mr Nelson-Spring about his family'.
Nick wasn't complaining, any excuse to talk about Charlie and his children.
"They should be due around Christmas," Nick explained, not wanting to give them all an
exact date to get excited about, "But they could come a little earlier. Twins are usually born a
little early."
"If they're born on Christmas, will you call one of them Jesus?" Maisy asked this time,
coming to join Ava in inspecting the baby scan closely.
Jesus Nelson-Spring - he somehow didn't think Charlie would agree to naming one of their
children that. "Possibly." He replied, not wanting to completely turn the 8 year old's idea
down. "But me and my partner already have a little boy called Robin, so we'd need
something that flows nicely with his name."
"Robin's a Christmassy name, Mr Nelson-Spring. You get Robins at Christmas!" Oliver

proclaimed. "You could call them Robin, Jesus, and Joseph!"
Well Oliver had him there. It certainly had a festive theme.
"What's your wife's name, Mr Nelson-Spring?" Lila asked, looking up at him with wide eyes.
"Because then you can pick out names for your babies that match her name too!"
Now that was a question.
It's not that Nick ever hid his sexuality at school. He had a little Bi flag on his desk in his
classroom, bought Charlie to all of the staff functions to meet his colleagues (they all loved
him, especially Natalie who taught year 3). But him having a husband wasn't something that
really came up with his pupils. He didn't make a habit of talking about his personal life with
the kids - none of the teachers did, really. If they asked, like they had been today, he'd refer to
Charlie as his partner, let them know he has a son and twins on the way, but nothing going
into detail.
None of his pupils had ever asked for more detail until now.
"I don't have a wife." He said to Lila, smiling down at her. "But my partner's name is Charlie.
So we'd have to choose two names that go well with Charlie."
"Why haven't you married her yet, Mr Nelson-Spring?" Darcy asked, grabbing the glitter ball
as she spoke. She always was a rule follower. "Is it because you eat loads of greens and do
smelly farts?"
More laughter from the class, one pupil proclaiming that 'Mr Nelson-Spring's farts smell
gross!' Nick smiled regardless, because Charlie had actually threatened him with divorce
more than once from his farts.
Nick took a deep breath, thinking carefully about how to explain that he was married to a
man in a way that wouldn't cause a stampede of parents showing up at the school demanding
he be fired. Whilst he knew that most parents would have nothing against their children's
teacher being married to another man, there were still some small minded people in the
world. "So, I don't have a wife because Charlie is my husband. We've been married about 7
years." Nice and simple and keeping to the facts, that was probably the best way, right?
He could see Mo in the corner of the room looking at him confused. "But you're a boy, Mr
Nelson-Spring. If you have a husband then he's a boy too. Are boys allowed to marry boys?"
"My uncle Martin and uncle Rudolph are both boys and they're married." Polly said, looking
rather pleased with herself that she was able to defend her teacher's martial status.
"We're fortunate to live in a country where boys can marry boys and girls can marry girls if
they want to." Nick explained, hoping this wouldn't turn into a conversation about why some
countries don't allow same sex marriage. The fact that, in some countries, he could literally
be arrested for just talking about this made him shudder. "It's who you love that matters, and I
love Charlie. So that's why we got married and decided to have children of our own."
"How do you and your husband have two babies coming and a child already if you're both
boys?" Ava asked, still sitting closely to him. Half the class had joined her by this point on
the carpet, surrounding their teacher as they hounded him with questions. "My mummy's
having a baby and she said my little sister is growing in her belly and now she's getting all
fat. She said she wished daddy could be pregnant instead of her but he can't because he's a
boy. So which one of you is growing your babies if you're both boys?" She squinted her eyes
at him, focusing in on his stomach. "You don't look that fat, so I don't think you have any
babies in your belly."
That fat. God. He knew he'd developed a bit of a dad bod since Robin arrived, but maybe it
was a time to start hitting the gym again.
This was a considerably harder question to answer than explaining he had a husband rather
than a wife. He somehow didn't think that explaining how his husband handed over a pot of
his semen to a receptionist after wanking off in a side room, who then mixed it in a petrie
dish with an egg, before it was basically syringed into Molly's uterus would go down well
with the parent/teacher board.
Time for an impromptu SRE lesson.

"So, the most common type of family has a mum and a dad, where the mum grows the baby
in her belly. But, sometimes, parents can't always grow their own babies, or they might want
to go down a different route to having a baby. One option can be adoption. Does anyone
know what that is?"
Morgan raised his hand, practically bouncing in his seat. "I do!! We adopted our dog from
Battersea last year!" A worried look crossed his face. "Do they keep the babies in cages too?"
"No, no no no." Nick tried to quickly reassure the horrified looks on his year 4's faces.
"They're kept in homes with loving families until they find a family to adopt them. And you
can adopt a child of any age, not just babies." He made sure to make eye contact with Harley
and smile at her big, knowing that the young girl's adoption with her forever family had
finally been made official over the summer.
"Is that what you and the other Mr Nelson-Spring are doing? Adopting two babies?" Billie
asked curiously.
"Kind of." Nick kept it vague, not wanting to go into his frustrations with the UK legal
system that meant he and Charlie would have to legally adopt their own children after they
were born. "We're doing something called surrogacy, where they take a bit of our DNA -
that's like, little cells that make us who we are - and they use that to make our baby. But, as
we're both boys, we can't grow the baby ourself. So we have a very kind woman who has
offered to grow our babies for us in her belly." Nick grinned at his explanation, pleased with
himself.
There was a lot more questions thrown his way - whether the babies would be boys or girls
('we won't find out until they're born'), are they identical? ('nope'), if he'll bring them in to
meet them all once they're born ('maybe', though he'd already discussed it with his
headteacher who had said it would be great for Nick to bring the twins in to meet his class, if
they were all feeling up to it).
It wasn't until Nick got home that evening that the anxieties surrounding the topics of
discussion started to hit. At the time of talking to his class, he'd been a little apprehensive
about revealing that he was married to a man. But he wasn't going to hide who he was. If he
had been married to a woman, he wouldn't have had a second thought about sharing that part
of his life with the kids.
But had he taken it too far? He could have just stuck with calling Charlie his partner, he didn't
have to expand by telling his class he had a husband. The more he thought about it, the more
he realised just how much he'd revealed about his personal life. That he was married to a man
called Charlie, than he and Charlie had a son named Robin and twins on the way.
What if one of the kids went home and told their parents who then went and complained
about him? Had he just put his entire career in jeopardy?
By the time Charlie had come downstairs that evening from reading Robin his bedtime story
(he done the voices better, supposedly), Nick was in the midst of a full blown spiral. His
husband, being the amazing man that he was, could tell straight away.
"Did Robin go down alright?" Nick asked, his body curled up in the corner of the sofa, his
voice shaky.
"He did, out like a light." Charlie confirmed, sitting down next to the older man and pulling
him into his chest. "What's up, buttercup?"
Nick rolled his eyes at the expression, even as his chest warmed. Robin had heard it said on
one of his tv shows and was in the habit of asking everyone (strangers included) 'what's up,
buttercup.' It had started to slip into Charlie's vocabulary now, too. Nick thought it sweet, and
he snuggled further into his husband's chest.
"Think I fucked up today at school." He whispered, voice muffled by Charlie's (his) hoodie.
He felt slender fingers combing through his hair, massaging his scalp. "Now I'm sure that's
not true." Charlie protested. "What makes you think that?"
Nick fingers dug into Charlie's jumper, his head burrowed deeper into his chest as he allowed
the jumble of words and thoughts to come out. How it was meant to be a nice last day of
term, how it was only meant to be a game of pass the ball and how much he loved talking
about their babies and his partner to the class. But then his class assumed that his partner was
a woman - was his wife - and whilst Nick knew it would have just been easier and safer to go
along with that, he wanted to live his authentic self. He didn't want to lie to his class.
But he didn't have to reveal that he had a husband, he could have kept referring to Charlie as
his partner. He didn't have to overshare, but he had. And what if some parents didn't agree
with someone like Nick teaching their young pupils and complained about him?
By the end of his ramblings, Nick had tears in his eyes as his brain rapidly overthought every
little action he'd taken today, fully convinced that this would be the end if his career as a
primary school teacher.
"And I don't want this to be the end of my career, because I love being a teacher. I love
shaping these small minds and watching them grow and flourish and helping them navigate
the world. I love my job, and I'm scared I've just ballsed this all up." He finished, clinging to
his husband like a lifeline. His lovely husband, who'd held him through his entire speech,
listening to everything he had to say, not once stopping his fingers combing through his hair
in an attempt to calm him.
"Do you feel a bit better for getting that all out in the open?" Charlie whispered, placing a
feather light kiss to Nick's forehead.
He shrugged back in response. Maybe he did, a little. He always found handling his thoughts
a little better when he'd voiced them out loud.
"Sweetheart, whilst I would normally say your thoughts are completely valid this - this is
your brain overthinking. Ok? You have to understand that?" Charlie pulled away so he could
look Nick square in the eyes.
"I - no, but, what if..." He trailed off, not wanting to say the words again.
"First off, there's no 'what ifs' in this situation. From a legality point of view, you can't lose
your job for being queer. That's massively illegal and your school knows that, and I'm sure
they'd tell any parents just as such if they dare complain." Charlie said seriously, his thumb
reaching up to wipe a spare tear away that was falling down the older man's cheek.
"But, some of the parents at my school, they can be awful! What if they go to MumsNet -"
Charlie pressed his lips to Nick's, effectively silencing him. "I thought I said no 'what ifs'?"
Charlie teased his pouting husband. But then he could see tears forming in the older man's
eyes and, god, if that didn't break Charlie's heart. He quickly pulled him back to his chest,
rocking them both back and forth. "Sweetheart, you've done nothing wrong. I promise you
that. If anything, you were being an amazing role model to your class."
"How d'you mean?" Nick mumbled.
"Think about it. When you was in primary school, did you ever have any openly out teachers
to look up to? Because I definitely didn't. And when Robin starts school, wouldn't it be nice
for him to have a teacher who doesn't hide who they are?" He brushed some sweaty strands
of hair off Nick's forehead. "You were being your authentic self, and if anything, the parents
at your school will be glad of that. 'Cos I know I would be."
Maybe Charlie was right, maybe the parents at his school would see him revealing that he
was in a same sex marriage as a good thing. Regardless, he spent the whole of October half
term anxious, feeling sick to his stomach about what was waiting for him on his return to
school.
His headteacher asking to talk to him first thing on the first day back didn't help matters.
"You wanted to see me?" He asked after hesitantly knocking on her office door.
"Ahh, Nick, come take a seat!" The school's headteacher, Maggie, greeted. She didn't seem
annoyed, or mad. Just her usual bubbly self. "Did you have a nice half term? I bet Robin had
a great time!"
"Uhh, yea. It was really good, we took him to the farm for this Halloween walk they were
doing, and took him trick or treating which he loved." He replied, trying to keep his voice
from shaking.
"And how are your twins getting on? Not long to go now until they make their grand
entrance!"
Nick nodded. "They're doing good. We went out with our surrogate and her family a few
times last week. She had a few of those false contractions - braxton hicks? Scared us half to
death, but was just a false alarm thankfully."
She smiled warmly at him. "Just remember, the minute anything starts, you go and be there.
Don't worry about your classes, we have cover teachers on standby."
It was easy to feel relaxed around Maggie, she was always warm and welcoming and made
sure to have a good relationship with everyone who went to the school, kids and staff alike.
And she'd always been so supportive of Nick, allowing him time off for appointments when
they first started their surrogacy journey with Robin. She'd never made Nick feel bad about
needing time off to go to appointments - something he'd worried about particularly with the
twins considering how much extra monitoring was needed.
He loved working at this school, and he loved working with Maggie. His heart broke at the
thought of having to leave this all behind.
"So, Nick. I had a parent of one of your pupils call me up."
Shit. Here it goes.
Nick looked up, struggling to meet her gaze. "You did?"
"They wanted to talk about a discussion you had with your class about your family."
Nick scratched the back of his neck, swallowing a lump in his throat.
Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.
"And they wanted me to pass on their thanks to you for the open, honest and child-friendly
discussion you had with the class about different types of family."
Nick's head snapped up. "Pass on their thanks?" Had he heard her right?
Maggie gave an exaggerated nod. "It was Ava's mum. Apparently Ava came home all giddy
that her teacher was having a baby with his husband. Sat her and her dad down and told them
how her teacher said that it's ok to marry who you want so long as you love each other. Love
is what counts."
Nick couldn't help the grin on his face, the anxiety leaving his body.
"Apparently she then announced she's going to marry their cat because they love each other."
Nick snorted out a laugh, it was more a relieved laugh than anything. "I probably should have
explained better that marriage can only be between humans who love each other and doesn't
extend to different species."
Maggie matched his grin. "Point is, from what I've heard, you done a really good job in that
class the other day Nick. I'm impressed, and I'm also really glad that the kids here have a role
model like you to look up to. You're a brilliant teacher and the kids obviously all think so
highly of you. You keep it up, ok?"
~~~~~
Nick
[8:10] Guess who's NOT been fired!
[8:10] A parent called in to PRAISE me

[8:11] Liked that I was open and honest with the kids
[8:12] probs should have explained love is love better tho
[8:12] her daughter now reckons she can marry their cat
Charlie
[8:12] lol you knob
[8:13] told you there was nothing to be worried about x
[8:14] those kids are lucky to have Mr Nelson-Spring as their teacher
[8:14] and I'm lucky to have you x
Nick
[8:15] love you x
Charlie
[8:15] love you too x
Chapter End Notes
A lovely comment on ‘first grandchild’ gave me the inspiration for this chapter! If you
have any other chapter recommendations leave a comment and let me know! :)
Sick day
Chapter Summary
TW: mentions of terminal illness
Nick and Charlie are wrangled into having a tea party with a poorly Ada and Ellis (aged
6), tutus and all. Nick reflects on his relationship with his own papa after receiving some
news.
Chapter Notes
“And would you like another cake, Monsieur? We have only the finest French Fancies in our
bakery."
“Cafe, papa!" Cough. "We're in a cafe!"
"Yea, papa, get it right!" Charlie teased his husband, batting his glittery pink-covered eyes,
the false lashes his daughter had attempted to stick on hitting his eyebrows with every blink.
"Apologies, Mademoiselle," Nick took his 6 year old daughter's hand in his, reaching down
to kiss her knuckle, leaving tacky red residue on her skin. "Would a Ladysfinger make it up to
you? I promise, they're freshly baked in our cafe." He raised the plate of freshly baked goods
in offering, both Ada and Ellis taking one each and happily munching away.
Nick and Charlie hadn't intended to spend the afternoon dressed in tutus and covered in
glitter. Quite the contrary, in fact. Their afternoon was meant to be spent ferrying the children
around to their various clubs. But Ada had woken up with a right rotten cold and refusing to
leave her daddy's side. Charlie had been fine to stay at home and nurse their little girl whilst
Nick took their boys for the afternoon, but then Ellis had came moping down the stairs
looking just as poorly as his twin. Robin had had a freak out at that, refusing to go near
anyone in case he caught the lurgy too (even though his papa reminded him that he and his
dad weren't sick). But Robin had a big rugby match tomorrow, and the 9 year old wasn't
about to miss out on that.
Bring in nanny Sarah, who was over in a flash to take her eldest grandson to his rugby club.
"I was only going to catch up on a bit of housework today anyway." She reassured them as
she ushered Robin into her car, blowing kisses to her other grandbabies through the window.
Sick days usually warranted a sofa day, and that's how the day has started. They'd bought
down the twin's duvets and pillows from their beds, got them squished in between their dads
in front of the tv, Sofia the First playing on repeat. They'd been dosed up on Calpol, and
despite the occasional cough or sniffle, they seemed to be doing alright.
But, even when poorly, it was hard for 2 energetic 6 year olds to sit still.
"Daddyyyyyy," Ellis had wined, his clammy body glued to Charlie's side, "I'm
boorrreeedddd."
"I'm bored too, daddy!" Ada had whined, using the back of her hand to wipe her snotty noses.
Nick had quickly fished out a tissue at that, wiping her nose and hands.
"Ok, how about we all play a game?" Charlie had suggested, meaning something like a board
game, like The Operation Game or Guess Who. But instead the kids went scrambling off,
digging through the dress up box until they emerged with tutus and a Claire's makeup kit.
“We wanna play tea-," sneeze, "-tea party!" Ellis announced with big pouty eyes. "Papa, you
can be the baker and bake the cafe's cakes!"
"Oh, can I?" Nick asked with a smirk. A game of tea party was starting to make sense - of
course the twins wanted some sweet treats.
It was a good thing that Nick had a ready stocked cupboard full of ingredients, and was more
than happy to spend an hour baking for his family. Anything to make his babies feel better.
The twins had settled down in front of their daddy, digging through the Claire’s beauty kit
Ada had received for her birthday. She had gotten to work doing Charlie's face, applying
glittery eyeshadow, multicoloured eyelashes and shocking pink blusher. Ellis had gone down
the hair route, pinning his dad's curls this way and that with a multitude of emoji-decorated
snap clips.
"Can't forget the clothes!" He'd exclaimed, pulling out a bright green tutu and matching leg
warmers.
Charlie was sure he looked a picture, especially if the laughter coming from his husband
when he came back to the front room was anything to go by. It was alright though, anything
for their poorly babies. Even if he was sure he'd end up poorly, too, from the amount of times
Ada had coughed in his face.
Nick didn't miss out on the makeover either. As the goodies were baking, the twins had
gotten to work making him look just as pretty as their dad.
"Daddy is a ballerina, and you can be a fairy princess papa!" Ada had announced happily,
placing a glistening tiara on his head. Apparently, fairy princesses must also have tiny
gemstones stuck all over their face and bright red lips, as well as fairy wings with elastic that
dug a little too tightly onto their arms.
"You've never looked so beautiful." Charlie had teased, hiding his laugh behind a tiny plastic
tea cup from the twin's tea party set.
Ada had decided to try out the mascara on her papa too, forcing his head still with one
grubby hand as she poked away at his eyes. Nick’s surprised he didn’t end up blind, but it
made his baby happy to he sat still and let her jab at his face.
So that's how they found themselves, dressed as a ballerina and fairy Princess munching on
freshly made ladyfingers and sipping 'tea' (orange squash). Ellis had dressed himself in his
Batman costume and Ada as Rapunzel, getting Charlie to put her curly hair into one, long
French plait that trailed down her back.
"Papaaa, your pinky isn't high enough!" Ellis shrieked before erupting into a fit of coughs.
Nick was quickly there to rub his back, wincing as the coughs wracked the small boy’s body.
Was it time for another dose of Calpol yet?
"Apologies, Monsieur, how is this?" Nick asked once the coughing fit was over, stretching
his pinky finger as far away from the mug until Ellis gave a nod of approval.
The kids would always say that their papa was trying to be posh when he spoke French. He's
not entirely sure why - his French side of the family was anything but, and the kids had only
met their grandpapa a handful of times. The kids could speak basic French, and could
understand even more than that. Ellis was the best out of the three with his French, able to
string together a couple of sentences and have a basic conversation with his papa in the
language.
Nick was trying to get them all a bit more up to scratch with their French lingo. He and David
had had the call a few weeks ago that their father was sick - the kind of sick you don't recover
from. They were all planning a trip to Paris during the next half term to see him. And, even
though Nick rarely saw his absentee father, deciding long ago that distance was best for him
and his papa, a small part of him still wanted to impress him. Make him happy. And what
more could make a dying French man happy than conversing with his grandchildren in his
native tongue?
"Papaaaa? Papa?"
Nick shook his head, blinking and cringing at the feeling of the gloopy eyeshadow rubbing
against his skin.
Charlie reached a hand out, taking Nick's hand in his own. "You alright there, love? You
zoned out for a moment."
"Yea, I'm - yea." He plastered on a smile, kissing Charlie on the cheek and grinning at the red
stain it left. "I'm fine, mon chou." He turned to look at the two 6 year olds, who's attention
had now moved to fighting over a wooden block of cheese. "Now, mon petit chous, how
about we do some painting? I'm sure that your artwork would look beautiful on the fridge in
the cafe!"
"I want the glitter paint!" Ellis announced, running off to find the arts and crafts box. Ada
was quick behind him, shouting that she wanted the glitter paint too.
"There's plenty of glitter paint to go around, you can share it!" Charlie shouted after them,
taking the opportunity of a child-free room to remove a particularly painful hair clip that had
been pulling at a few of his curls. He slid across to the tiny plastic chair next to his husband,
bringing him in for a hug. "Are you sure you’re ok, my darling?"
Nick sighed. The thought of seeing his papa again had bought up a lot of buried feeling for
him. The last time he'd seen him, Stéphane had come to England to visit for David's 40th last
year. He hadn't seen the twins since they'd been toddlers, Robin had grown another foot taller.
David's girls hard hardly even recognised the man.
It had been the first time Stéphane had met David’s partner, Hannah, and her daughter Penny.
Stéphane had had a lot to say when he heard Penny caller David ‘dad’ for the first time,
seemingly bewildered that the 8 year old would view her stepfather as a dad when her
biological dad was still around.
David hadn’t taken too kindly to that. “I’d hardly call him Penny’s dad when he barely
bothers to see her once a year.”
Stéphane had understood the double meaning, and none of them had heard much from him
after that. Not that that was any different from usual.
But still, this could be his last chance to see his papa, for their children to see their
grandpapa. He didn’t want to have any regrets about how things were left with him, but how
does he go about doing that with a man he hardly knows anymore?
Nick nuzzled into Charlie’s shoulder, the younger man not caring that his top was now
smeared with blusher. “I’m ok. Just thinking about it a lot…I hope we don’t get sick from the
twins…”
“I think that’s inevitable, love, considering the amount of snot we’re both covered in.”
Kids were gross. But it was slightly less gross when they were your own.
The twins came tumbling back in, paint tubes and coloured paper clutched in their fists.
“Let’s put down your painting mat, we don’t want to ruin the table.” Charlie said, already on
his feet to dig through the cupboards.
That’s how Sarah and Robin found them when they got back from rugby. The twins painting
away in between coughs and sneezes, Charlie dressed as a ballerina, Nick as a fairy Princess.
Sarah had urged a mud-covered Robin forward (but not too close - he was NOT getting sick)
so she could snap a picture of them all.
“Ohhhh I think I’ll have to frame this one!” She squealed, a glint in her eye. “Though, Nicky,
your mascara has run a little! You’re looking a bit like a panda!”
Nick rolled his eyes, rubbing furiously under his eye to try and remove the black.
Sarah had sent them the picture that evening. The twins definitely looked a bit sick with their
red snotty noses, and Sarah was right about Nick’s mascara running. Charlie wasn’t in a
much better state, one false eyelash hanging half way down his face. And Robin was
definitely in need of a wash, caked head to toe in mud. But they all looked happy, in a dirty,
mix match of colours kind of way.
They decided to print and frame the picture in the end. One was gifted to Sarah, they kept one
at home on top of the fireplace, and they took the last one to France for Nick’s papa, who had
held Nick tightly when he received it.
Chapter End Notes
Sort of went off on a tangent on this one! Had a bit of an emotional weekend and I think
that went into this chapter - hadn’t really planned to go into detail about Stéphane but
here we are!
Would love any chapter suggestions you may have, particularly for when the kids are
teenagers! I love writing them as teenagers but am struggling to think of any decent
prompts, so please let me know if you have any ideas :)
Surprise uni visit
Chapter Summary
Nick and Charlie decide to surprise Ellis at uni. They get their own surprise, too.
Chapter Notes
Now that the kids were older, Nick and Charlie were taking any opportunity they could to
spend a weekend away. So far this year they'd been on a tour of the Scottish highlands, spent
St Patrick's day in Dublin and spent a few nights in Sorrento where they got to explore the
ruins of Pompeii, and they weren't even half way through the year yet. For the May bank
holiday, they'd decided to spend the weekend together in the Peak District.
Their kids may have teased them that this was their midlife crisis.
They were probably right.
Robin and Ada were both living at home, their eldest living his corporate dream with a job up
the city and their daughter getting to do what she loved all day - hairdressing whilst having a
gossip with the clients. They'd left their kids home alone plenty of times, and had no worries
that they would be alright whilst their dads spent a few nights away. Ellis was away at uni
still, not due back home until the summer holidays at the end of June.
The Peak District had been on their bucket list for a while now. They'd spent the last 30 years
together mostly holidaying abroad, whether that be more adventurous holidays in their 20s, a
mixture of caravan holidays and all inclusives in their 30s when the kids were still little, and
city breaks in their 40s. It had been the best experience traveling the world together, but had
found they'd neglected some of the beauty spots in the UK. So, as a belated 50th birthday
present for Charlie, Nick had booked the pair a cozy cabin break in the Peak District,
overlooking the Derbyshire countryside and complete with a hot tub and an alpaca farm just a
couple fields over.
It had been pure bliss. Some couples might find that the magic goes after so many years
together, but not Nick and Charlie. They found so much happiness in each other's company,
whether that be whilst they were simply lazing about on the sofa watching a film, cooking
together, dancing around the kitchen. The love they had for each other, that spark, it only
seemed to grow more and more (if that was even possible). Their weekend away together was
truly filled with so much love and happiness.
But, they had to go back home eventually. They both had work to get back to, and they had
no doubts that the kids would have left them a mountain of washing to get through when they
got back. It was a good four hour drive back home, a drive filled with singly loudly to Taylor
Swift songs (Nick's request), and The Strokes (that was Charlie's choice).
On the drive up, they'd stopped off around Northampton to stretch their legs and swap
driving. They didn't like staying in Northampton long, a quick in and out at the service station
so they could go a toilet too.
The drive back home would be far much more exciting. They were stopping off in Coventry,
planning on surprising Ellis whilst he was away at university.
They hadn't seen their youngest son in nearly 6 weeks. It had been hard adjusting to life
without him at home everyday, though Ada had taken a bit of offence when they said they
were practically empty nesters. Apparently she wasn't planning on moving out until she was
at least 28 - house prices were too much to afford, and she enjoyed the comforts of living
with her dads too much.
Neither men were complaining - they’d happily have their children stay at home as long as
they wanted.
But they had an Ellis shaped hole in their lives. They'd ummed and ahhed about whether or
not to pop in for a visit - uni had given their boy so much independence, and they didn't want
him thinking that they were trampling on that.
But also, they missed him. A lot. And Ellis was always so happy when he got home,
wrapping them in hugs and spending much more time downstairs with his family than he
ever did when he was in college.
As they drove down the M6 and saw the signs for Coventry, they knew that they had to pay
their son a visit. They'd regret it if not, even if only for 5 minutes. And if he was out, then it
just wasn't meant to be.
~~~~~
"Right, so Lis' house share should be the one with the red door..." Nick stopped in his tracks,
looking up from maps on his phone to be faced with at least 5 houses with red doors.
"Great."
"Remember, the pathway to the front door had those pretty yellow and blue tiles. If we find
them, then we should be at the right house." Charlie suggested, taking Nick's hand and taking
him to the first red doored house. They knew the name of the street, and had managed to find
a parking spots a few roads over. Now it was just a hunt for the house.
Ellis had gone into a house share for his second year of uni, renting an old Victorian terrace
with a group of his mates. Nick and Charlie had only been to visit the once, back in
September when they helped him move in. They'd met all of his house mates then, knew
most of them anyway by name from the stories Ellis would tell from his first year. They were
so glad that he'd settled into uni life and living away from home, and it had eased so much of
their parental anxieties that he had such a good group of friends up there.
They had decided to surprise Ellis, just in case they decided to pass by and not pop in for a
visit. Surprises were good, anyway. Ellis had surprised them a few months ago with a visit
home - they'd got in from work one day to find him lounging on the sofa having eaten half
their food! They had such a good relationship with all their children, and they were sure that
Ellis would be pleased to see them.
"FOUND IT!" Nick practically yelled, pointing across the street where the coloured tiles
were clearly visible behind the half opened gate.
Yep, that was definitely a rented uni house. Chipping paint along the windows, overgrown
grass at the front, and the faint smell of weed lingering in the air.
"I really hope he's in." Charlie was jogging after his husband, who was living up to his
golden retriever persona and running across the road, practically vibrating in excitement.
"Slow down, Nick! You'll do your knee in again."
Nick slowed down considerably after that, not wanting a repeat of a weeks bed rest (even if it
was nice to have Charlie waiting on him hand and foot (and mouth)).
They arrived at the front door of their son's uni accommodation hand in hand, reaching out to
ring the door bell.
They waited. And waited. And waited.
Nothing.
"Maybe he's not in?" Charlie said with a sad sigh, daring to get close to the window to peer in
and regretting it immediately when he realised how grubby they were.
"I wouldn't talk so soon." Nick called back giddily, his ear pressed close to the front door
where footsteps could be heard.
One of Ellis' housemates answered the door...Lewis? Lachlan? Maybe they really were
getting old if they couldn't remember names. He was looking a little scruffy, unshaven with
red eyes surrounded by dark circles, an unknown stain on his hoodie.
They really didn't want to know what that stain was.
"Ellis' dads!" Possibly Leon? Greeted, his eyes wide in surprise. “He didn’t mention you’s
were coming for a visit!”
“It’s a surprise.” Charlie explained, craning his neck slightly around the boy in front of them
to try and see if he could spot their son. “We were passing through so thought we’d pop in to
see him.”
“Ah, well, come in!” Maybe Lincoln stepped aside so the pair could walk in. They were
going to take their shoes off to be polite, but then noticed that the floor probably hadn’t been
hoovered in a good few months. Maybe they’d have to give the place a quick clean, too,
before they headed back. The kitchen could be seen at the end of the hallway with dirty pots
and plates littering the worktop, and from the smell of things the bin was definitely due to be
taken out. A thin layer of dust seemed to layer every surface, causing Nick to cough a couple
times.
Had they been this messy when they were at uni?
“Think Lis is still asleep still.” Levi (?) said, collapsing onto the lumpy old sofa in the living
room and pulling a duvet high up his body. “I've not seen him yet today."
Charlie looked at his phone. 1:30pm. Yep, that sounded like their Lis.
"Was a heavy night last night." Luca chuckled, leaning back against his seat and closing his
eyes. "You remember which one is his room?"
“Up the stairs and second on the left?” Nick asked, earning a hmmm of confirmation.
The upstairs of Ellis’ uni house wasn’t much better; they passed countless dirty socks as they
made their way upstairs, and there seemed to be a collection of empties on the landing. There
was a poster at the top next to the bathroom labelled the ‘Chunder Chart’, Ellis’ face having
several marks next to it.
“At least he’s not got the most.” Nick whispered. That spot would go to Cal.
They made it to their son’s bedroom door, Charlie reaching out to knock.
"Fuck off, Luca, I'm busy!"
Luca! That was his name!
The two men turned to each other, shrugging. Technically, they weren't Luca. And the
thought of seeing their baby boy for the first time in weeks was too much to handle. Charlie
took the handle, pushing it down and opening the door.
And immediately regretted opening the door.
Their son, their baby boy, naked and thrusting into a girl, also naked, below him.
“Said fuck off, Luca!” Ellis repeated, keeping up a steady pace.
The girl below looked over briefly, panic flashing across her face. “Lis, Ellis, stop!” She
exclaimed, eyes trained on the two men who were seemingly frozen to the spot in shock.
Ellis glanced behind him, a high pitched squeal coming from his throat as he grabbed his
duvet and tossed it over the two of them. “What the fuck! No, get out!”
Their son freaking out broke them from their trance, both scrambling out of the bedroom and
slamming the door shut, their chests heaving.
Well fuck.
“I’m gonna have to wash my eyes out.” Charlie muttered, stumbling back a few steps before
going in the direction he thought the bathroom would be in.
“At least he’s getting to know more people?” Nick offered sheepishly, holding back a laugh
when Charlie pushed open a door only for it to be a bedroom, one of Ellis’ other housemates
staring back confused.
“Alright, Charlie.” He looked around the curly haired man, giving Nick a nod and wave from
his spot on his bed.
Charlie stared back at the boy, wracking his brain for his name but coming up blank. God, he
really was getting old.
“Sorry, just…” Charlie trailed off, looking helplessly at his husband, who mouthed back what
looked like ‘Owen’.
“Lis never mentioned you’s were visiting.” Possibly Owen said, getting up with a stretch and
padding out along the hallway.
“It was meant to be a…surprise.” Nick explained, cringing at his own words. They really
hadn’t thought this through.
They heard a snort from Owen. “Oh yea, bet you got your surprise.” He laughed before
banging loudly on their son’s bedroom door. “LIS, STOP SHAGGING KYRIE AND COME
AND SAY HI TO YOUR DADS!” He turned back to the two men after that, rolling his eyes.
“At least you’s don’t have to deal with it all the time. His bloody bed backs onto my wall.
Don’t worry though, he’ll be out soon, he never lasts long.” They watched, slightly
disturbed, as Owen chuckled to himself, taking himself back off to bed again.
It had taken a further 10 minutes for them to see Ellis again, in which time the two men had
decided it was better to wait downstairs on the sofa. Luca had made himself beans on toast,
offering them a slice before sloping up to his own bedroom. When Ellis finally emerged in
the front room, he was alone, red faced and (thankfully) dressed.
There was an awkward silence for a good minute, Charlie being the first to break it with a,
“Hey, Lis.”
Ellis shuffled on his feet for a bit before deciding to settle on the armchair. “What are you
two doing here?”
“We were passing through on the way back from our weekend away.” Nick explained. Their
son knew they’d spent the weekend in the Peak District - they’d sent enough pictures in the
family group chat. “Thought we’d pop in to surprise you, have some lunch with you if you
weren’t busy.”
“Yea, well, it was definitely a surprise.” Ellis scoffed, a scowl on his face.
“We’re sorry, bug.” Charlie reached out for Ellis’ hand, grateful when his son accepted and
gave it a squeeze. “We were just so excited to see you, we weren’t expecting…that.”
Had it of been Robin, or even Ada, they would have been more comfortable teasing them
about being walked in on. But their Ellis, he’d always been a bit more embarrassed when it
came to talking about anything relating to sex with his parents.
“That’s why you should wait until someone says to come in when you knock. That tends to
be the right way of doing things.” Ellis snapped, but they could tell he was relaxing a bit. He
never did stay mad for long.
“We know, and we really are sorry.” Nick said sincerely. It wasn’t how they wanted today to
go. “It’s nice to know you have new friends though.” Charlie held back a laugh at his
husband’s choice of words. ‘Friends’ - yep, that was definitely their son’s friend.
“Is she-?” Charlie began to ask.
“-they." Ellis cut him off, looking up to make eye contact briefly.
"Are they..." Charlie corrected himself, taking a moment to think of the right words, "...are
they your partner?"
"Do I need to put on a proper Nelson-Spring home-cooked roast where we can all sit down
and properly meet them?" Nick chimed in, eyes lighting up at the idea of showing off his
cooking skills to someone new.
“No family meals!” Ellis rushed out to say. “Me and Kyrie, we’re just…taking things slow.”
He explained, face going even redder.
“Oh yea, that definitely looked like taking it slow.” Nick couldn’t help himself saying,
smiling cheekily at his son, earning him an embarrassed sounding, “Papaaaa!”
"Are you being safe?" Charlie asked. He wouldn’t be doing his fatherly duty if he didn’t,
even if their son was practically an adult.
"Of course I'm being safe." Ellis replied defensively.
"We have condoms and lube in the car if you need some." Charlie's head whipped to his
husband, giving a warning 'Nick!' "Trust me, I know how embarrassing it can be to buy those
sort of things at your age. I can just pop to the car to get some for-"
"Papa, please stop talking." Ellis' red face glared at his papa, Charlie's hand gripping to his
thigh to keep him firmly on the seat and not rushing to their car to get safe sex supplies for
their son.
“Yes, Nick, please stop talking.” Charlie agreed, not least because he didn’t want his husband
giving away their good lube. He turned back to their son. “Do they make you happy?”
A smile crept onto Ellis’ face, the 20 year old fiddling with his fingers. “Yea…yea, they
really do.”
Lunch with their son was a little different than what they expected, especially with the
addition of Ellis’ new…friend? Partner? Friend with benefits?
(Charlie had flicked Nick when his husband had suggested that).
Kyrie, for their part, was really lovely, and after some initial awkwardness (who could blame
them), settled in nicely to a lunch with their ‘friend’s’ parents. Nick and Charlie learnt that
they were from Bournemouth, had met their son at Spoons, and was studying Mechanical
Engineering - the two men still couldn’t get their head around the degree even after Kyrie
explained it.
They didn’t stay late, needing to get back on the road so they could get home and deal with
the mountain of housework they were sure their other two kids had left them. Ellis seemed a
lot happier by this point, his anger at his dads barging in long gone. He may claim they were
‘taking things slow’, but it was clear that their youngest son was smitten with Kyrie.
‘Taking things slow’ turned into ‘officially going out’ by the summer, Ellis spending a couple
weeks down in Bournemouth before Kyrie travelled up to stay at the Nelson-Springs. It may
have been a bit too hot for one of Nick’s famous roasts, but they still got to know their son’s
newest partner over a BBQ in the garden. Charlie was in control of the cooking though, Nick
refusing to go near the BBQ after he fried his eyebrows off a few years ago.
Kyrie made their boy really happy. And, as his parents, that’s all Nick and Charlie could have
ever asked for.
Chapter End Notes
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Remember to leave kudos and any suggestions in the
comments :)
I feel like my summary page at the front of the fic (where I list the title of each chapter)
is getting a little long - what do yous think? I never expected to write so many chapters,
and so thought it better to leave the title of each so people know what 'Parents' is about,
but I'm starting to think there's a lot there! Do you's think it would be better if I just have
the most recent work at the front? Or maybe condense it down to a few of my favourite
works at the front? Or maybe just the 5 most recent works?
Wedding Day
Chapter Summary
The wedding of Ada Sarah Nelson-Spring and Gus Joseph Williams.
Chapter Notes
I’ve included a wedding guest list just because there’s quite a few new characters, and
I’m sure it can get a bit confusing when I’m referencing lots of different people!
•Guest list•
Bride: Ada Nelson-Spring (28)
Groom: Gus Williams (30)
Fathers of the bride: Nick and Charlie Nelson-Spring (59 and 58)
Grandmother of the bride: Sarah Nelson (96)
Mother and father of the groom: the late Lee Williams and Lisa Williams (60)
Flower girls: Aurora Nelson-Spring (3, Robin and Lottie's daughter) and Beatrix Spring (5,
Olly and Maria's daughter)
Ring bearer: Freddie Nelson-Spring (1, Robin and Lottie's son)
Maid of honour: Lara Russell (28)
Bridesmaids: Lottie Nelson-Spring (31, Robin's wife), Margot Williams (23) and Holly
Williams (21) (Gus' sisters)
Best man: Liam Reid (31)
Groomsmen: Robin Nelson-Spring (31), Ellis Nelson-Spring (28) and Mitchell Reid (27,
Liam's cousin, Ellis' partner)
•Other guests•
Tori and Michael Holden (both 59), aunt and uncle of the bride
Frankie Holden (18), cousin of the bride
Olly and Maria Spring (49 and 44), uncle and aunt of the bride, Beatrix's parents
Tobias (11) and Ezra (9) Spring, bride's cousins, Olly and Maria's sons
David and Hannah Nelson (63 and 61), aunt and uncle of the bride
DJ (David jr) Nelson (22), cousin of the bride
Penny Nelson (31), (step) cousin of the bride
Maggie (née Nelson) (36), cousin of the bride and two daughters, Rosie and Daisy (7 and 5),
cousins of the bride, David's daughter/granddaughters
Lilah (née Nelson) (35), and three sons, Dylan, Eddie and Ronan (6, 4 and 2), cousins of the
bride, David's daughter/grandsons
~~~~~
From the moment a screeching, newborn baby Ada had been placed in Nick and Charlie's
arms, they couldn't wait to be girl dads and for all the moments that would bring. The frills
and the pink poofy dresses, the make up and hair and sleepovers filled with gossiping. The
shopping trips, the dance classes and recitals, or maybe rugby matches where they'd have to
spend hours brushing the bus from their daughter's hair.
They knew that they could do all this with their boys, or that their boys might one day come
out to them as girls. And it's not to say that they loved being boy dads any less. But there was
just something that excited them about the prospect of raising a strong, sassy, independent
daughter that they couldn't wait to experience.
And part of that experience would, one day, be walking their baby girl down the isle.
And 28 years after becoming girl dads, that day was finally here.
Ada had met Gus four years ago on Hinge, her friends setting her up on the app originally to
help her find a plus one to some party, not once expecting to find the love of her life. But
after a few dates with Gus, 26, 5km away, their daughter had been smitten. And, from the
moment they met Gus, they could understand why. He was utterly charming, with a winning
smile and a kind face that instantly put the men at ease. Ada had been a bit apprehensive
about bringing boys home after not realising her ex from when she was 20 was a bit
homophobic (Ada had told him to leave about 5 minutes into him stepping into their home -
no one insults her dads), and had always made sure since then to thoroughly question any guy
she was dating. No way would she be making the same mistake twice. But Gus had never
once batted an eyelid over the fact that she was raised by two men, and had told Ada (who in
turn told her dads) many times how he loved the close relationship she had with them both.
Gus had lost his own dad to cancer when he was 19, a topic he didn't shy talking about. He'd
always made clear that his dad was still part of his life, even if not physically here. But that
didn't mean he missed his dad any less; to him, Ada was lucky to have not one but two
fathers in her life to love and cherish.
They'd moved out together 2 years ago, staying fairly local so that they could still visit both
their families often. It was shortly after that Gus had asked Nick and Charlie if he could come
over for dinner, without Ada. Whilst they had a good relationship with Gus, and he'd spent
time with them before without Ada present, he'd never asked to come and have dinner with
them without their daughter.
Nick had spent the whole day worrying, it was a good thing really that he was a stress cooker
(and stress baker), because by 6 o'clock that evening he had a 3 course meal pretty much
ready to go.
"I hope it's not something bad. Do you think it's something bad?" He'd worried to his
husband, frantically cutting up some tomatoes.
Charlie had rolled his eyes fondly, wondering how something like this had gone straight over
Nick's head. "Our daughter's long term boyfriend asking to talk to us privately?" He'd asked,
holding back a laugh when Nick just looked back, confused.
Charlie couldn't take the grin off his face entire time, but Nick didn't catch on until Gus had
actually asked the question - did he have their blessing to ask Ada to marry him. They had
tearfully confirmed that they would love to welcome him to the family as their son-in-law, so
long as that was what Ada wanted. But they had no doubt their daughter would say yes.
From then on out it was a constant flurry of wedding planning. An engagement party, looking
at venues, food tasting, trying to find the perfect photographer, deciding on a theme, wedding
dress shopping.
The wedding dress shopping was definitely Nick and Charlie's favourite part of the wedding
prep. They'd both gone along, along with Ada's maid of honour Lara - the dress would be a
secret from everyone else. They'd had a long list of wedding shops that Ada had wanted to
visit, scattered all over Kent and up into Essex. She'd made a mood board of what things she
liked (sparkles, a corset, off the shoulder sleeves), and had gotten her entourage plaques so
that they could rate each dress. It was giving very much Say Yes to the Dress vibes.
(Yes, Nick and Charlie may or may not watch Say Yes to the Dress. Blame Ada and her
obsession with 'reality' tv growing up).
Ada had started to give up on finding the perfect dress until they got to the fifth boutique.
Whilst her best friend and dads had seen her in some beautiful gowns, they had to agree that
none of them seemed like the one. It was disheartening, but Ada had walked into the boutique
with determination that this shop would have her dress.
"I'm manifesting it." She said as they all scoured the rails in search for something that Ada
might like.
It wasn't until one of the shop assistants convinced Ada to try on a dress that definitely did
not comply with her mood board that she felt like she'd found her wedding dress. She'd come
out with tears in her eyes, unable to stop smiling as she looked at herself in the mirror.
The assistant had come over to put a veil in her hair, and when Ada turned around and
tentatively asked, "Well, what do you think?", Nick, Charlie and Lara let the tears start
flowing.
Ada had found her wedding dress.
Since then it was like everything was accelerated. Between the birth of Robin and Lottie's
second child, Freddie, and Ellis officially moving out (he was pretty much living at his
partner’s, Liam’s, flat by that point), before they knew it they had arrived at Ada and Gus' big
day.
~~~~~
"Has anyone seen Aurora's left shoe? We can't have one of our flower girls walking down the
isle barefoot!" Lara was flapping around the hotel room, her hair in curlers as she frantically
tried to find the three year old's ballet pump.
"Ahh, I think your culprit might be under the table." Lottie whispered from where she was
simultaneously getting her hair done whilst feeding Freddie who was, in her words, a 'terror
to wean'.
Lara was down on her hands and knees then, crawling under the table and pulling a giggling
Beatrix Spring out with her. "Hey, little missy. That's not your shoe!"
Beatrix blew a raspberry before scampering off, much to Lara's worry. "Can someone grab
her! Her hair has just been done and I am not having one of our flower girl walking around
looking like she's been dragged backwards through a bush!"
"I'm on it!" Holly, Gus' sister, announced, running after the 5 year old.
"Like father, like daughter." Charlie chuckled after her, taking a seat next to Ada. "Olly used
to get up to the exact same mischief when he was that age, could never sit still."
"She's alright, better to get her energy out now that causing mayhem during the vows!" Ada
replied, her eyes closed as the makeup artist got to work.
"I could get your uncle Olly or auntie Maria to come grab her?" Nick offered, taking a seat
next to Charlie.
Ada opened one eye, raising her eyebrow. "Honestly, she's fine. This is all part of the fun of a
wedding day."
Surprisingly, Ada did not seem one bit stressed about the day. Not when the makeup artist
arrived 10 minutes late, not when some of the flowers for her bouquet arrived slightly
damaged, and not now when the bridesmaid and flower girl shoes were getting all muddled.
"I just wanna marry Gus." Ada explained, taking her dad's hand in her own. "That's all that
matters to me, and I don't wanna be stressed. I'll leave that down to Lara, it's her job as my
maid of honour to stress for me."
"And I think I'm doing a pretty good job of it!" Lara called across the room. "Lottie, is Fred
nearly finished? We're gonna all need to be dressed soon for photos!"
"We're done!" Lottie called back, burping her son on her shoulder. "You can spend some time
with grandad and grandpa, can't you? Snuggles with your grandparents?" She cooed, handing
him over to Nick. "Just don't get any mess on their suits, Freddie, or I think Lara might chuck
you out the window." She whispered, kissing his forehead before running after Lara.
"We can take him to get a bit of fresh air whilst you girls change?" Charlie suggested,
grabbing the baby bag from the corner of the room.
"I wanna go with grandad and grandpa!" Aurora cried, reaching her chubby arms to Charlie
to be lifted up.
"Uncle Char, I wanna come too!" Beatrix seconded, tugging at the hem of his blazer.
They shared a look with Lara, who gave them a thumbs up. "They're not due to get changed
until the last minute in case they get dirty, they're good. But I swear to god if you ruin their
hair!"
"Promise they'll all come back looking picture perfect!" Nick confirmed, opening the door
with one hand so Charlie could carry both girls with him. "Probably good to get them out the
way anyway, I reckon Lara's on the verge of snapping." He whispered only once the door was
shut and they were out of earshot.
"I'd rather her than Ada. Like she said, it's her wedding day, she shouldn't have to stress."
They took the kids out to the little patio area, surrounded by flower beds and a patch of grass
the girls could get their energy out on. Freddie was quite a clingy baby, more than content to
snuggle up on his grandpa's lap whilst the two men fawned over them.
"Gaga gaga gaga."
"That was definitely grandpa he was saying." Nick teased, blowing a few raspberries against
Freddie's neck, the baby squealing back in delight.
"Pfft, you wish." Charlie rolled his eyes, tickling their grandson's feet until he was a fit of
giggles. "That was definitely him saying grandad. Weren't you, Fredster? Gaga gandad?"
"Gaga gandpa." Nick retorted back, the one year old's arms flailing around in glee as he
spotted his dad walking over.
"He's not even saying 'daddy' yet." Robin chuckled at his own dads as he walked over,
happily taking his little boy into his arms and peppering his faces with kisses. "And I'm
definitely going to make sure he says daddy before grandad or grandpa."
"What are you doing out here?" Charlie asked.

"Lottie texted, said you's had been lumbered with three small children so could use a hand."
Charlie chuckled, rolling his eyes. "I swear sometimes you guys forget that we successfully
raised three small children, and you all turned out perfectly fine."
"His first word could be any day now, Rob." Nick reminded him, the worry line on their son's
forehead evident even if he wasn't verbal with his concerns. "You took ages to say your first
word, had me and your dad worried half to death. Then once you had your first word down, it
was like you couldn't stop talking!"
"Every bloody word except 'dad' or 'papa', that is." Charlie added.
"Tiny ears, Charles!" Nick scolded, moving to cover up their grandson's ears with his hands.
"If his next word is 'bloody' then at least we know who to blame!"
"Daddy! Daddy! Watch me roly poly!" Aurora yelled across the garden, rolling around in a
way that was definitely not going to keep her hair picture perfect. "Bea taught me!"
Sure enough, Beatrix performed a roly poly next to her cousin, the ringlets in her hair
becoming tangled.
"Good job, girls! Really impressive!" Robin called over. "Ada is going to kill you both." He
added, glancing over at his dads.
"We're more worried about Lara at this point, your sister is surprisingly calm."
"So is Gus." Robin said, working Freddie's fingers out of his hair. "Just keeps saying that all
he wants to do is marry Ade, that nothing else really matters." He smiled thoughtfully. "I get
what he means."
Charlie looked over to his husband, kissing his cheek. "Yea, I do too."
~~~~~
"I want the bridesmaids to go in before me, I want everyone to see how beautiful they look as
well before I come down the isle." Ada had instructed that morning.
Nick and Charlie watched from the wings as Robin led Freddie down the isle, the toddler
holding a tiny pillow with the wedding bands tied tightly to it. He'd only just started to
toddle, and decided half way down the isle that he'd had enough and plonked himself down
on the floor.
"Laughing? Why is everyone laughing? What's happened?" Ada asked nervously. She was
refusing to look around the door in case Gus caught a glimpse of her. Instead, she had
instructed her dads to keep her updated of what was happening in the chapel. To let her know
how beautiful her bridesmaids and flower girls looked as they walked down the isle, to let her
know excited Gus looked.
"Freddie has decided he doesn't want to walk anymore." Charlie explained. "Don't worry,
though. Rob's carrying him and the rings the rest of the way."
Next was the flower girls, Aurora and Beatrix stepping out with their tiny wicker baskets and
walking in time to A Thousand Years. Beatrix was getting a bit distracted, waving frantically
when she saw her mum and dad in the audience. Aurora was taking her part very seriously,
keeping her eyes focused ahead despite how much Robin was trying to catch his daughter’s
eyes.
“Bridesmaid’s now.” Nick whispered, the three girls lining up with bouquets in hand as they
started their descent down the isle.
Ada was nervous, her dads could tell. They were feeling the same. Their little girl was getting
married. She’d no longer share their surname, they’d no longer be the main men in her life.
She was about to take the next step into adulthood, and that scared them.
But it also excited them. Because they knew from experience how incredible it was to marry
the love of your life. To marry the person who made your legs turn to jelly and caused
butterflies in your stomach. Who made your heart beat so fast it was fit to burst with love. To
know that you were going to spend the rest of your life with your person, to share a special
bond with each other like no other.
Nick and Charlie felt so lucky to have found each other, to have found their soulmate, so
young. So lucky to have got to spend so many wonderful years together, to get to experience
life together.
And now their daughter was going to be lucky enough to have that, too.
“It’s our turn, baby girl.” Charlie spoke in a shaky voice, coming to stand to at her right and
linking their arms.
Nick took the left side, giving their daughter’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “This reminds me
of our wedding day, Char, with our mums walking us down the isle.”
Charlie smiled fondly at the memory. They hadn’t stuck to traditions - they weren’t a
traditional couple. Sarah walked Nick down the isle and then Jane walked Charlie. Tori was
their best woman, their wedding party a mix match of family members, friends and, of
course, Henry the pug in a tux. Julio had blubbered his way through the ‘father of (one of) the
grooms’ speech, and they’d enjoyed their first dance surrounded by the people the loved the
most in the world.
Charlie peered across their daughter at his husband, feeling himself choke up as he saw the
older man’s watery eyes. He wouldn’t be surprised if the tears started to fall before they even
made it down the isle.
“Oh papa, you’ll start me off.” Ada whispered, having spotted Nick’s emotional state as well.
She carefully wiped at the corners of her eyes, mindful not to smudge her makeup.
“I’m not, I’m not.” Nick insisted, shaking his head and taking a deep breath. “I’m ok.” He
looked at two of his favourite people in the world. “Come on then, let’s do this.”
It was a speedy descent down the isle, Ada practically dragging her dads down as she rushed
to her soon-to-be husband. Gus could not take the grin off his face from the moment he lay
eyes on his bride, embracing her once she made it to the alter before quickly accepting the
same from his fathers in law.
“We’re getting another son.” Charlie spoke in a hushed tone as they took their seats at the
front, gripping each other’s hands as they watched their daughter marry the love of her life.
~~~~~
The wedding had gone off without a hitch. The vows had been exchanged, the rings placed
on each other’s fingers, and the newlyweds had walked out together to the cheers of their
nearest and dearest.
The room where the reception was being held had been decorated beautifully, with flowers
adorning each table and different photos of Ada and Gus tucked in amongst them. The tables
surrounded a large dance floor, and fairy lights dangled from the ceiling whilst music played
softly in the background.
Nick and Charlie had found themselves taking a moment at the memory table, faces of loved
ones gone but not forgotten lit up by the candles surrounding the frames. Gus' dad, who they
never got the privilege to meet but had heard so many stories about they felt like they
practically knew the man. Gus had only been 19 when his dad passed, his sisters only 10 and
12. They had no doubt that he would be beyond proud of his children and the kind,
considerate adults they had grown to be.
And then a photo of Stéphane, stood smartly in a three piece suite sipping on wine. The kids
had never really known Nick's father - Nick hadn't really known his father, not as he got
older. Robin had only been 10 when he passed, had only met his grandpapa a handful of
times. Sometimes, Nick mourned the relationship that they all missed out on with him,
wondered what it would have been like if he and his papa had been close. He had to remind
himself that that was down to his papa for being so absent once his parents divorced, that it
wasn't down to a 6 year old to try and keep a relationship with a parent. Nick hadn't expected
a photo of Stéphane to appear on the memory table, but was touched all the same.
Charlie gripped his husband's hand as they made it to the photo of his own parents. His
relationship with them had gotten so much better the older he got. Distance probably done
them some good; it was easier to appreciate time together when that time wasn't often. Robin
and Lottie had picked out a lovely photo of Jane and Julio with all the grandkids and their
great-granddaughter, Auroa, sitting around their grandparents and grinning up at the camera.
They could remember that day well - it was the day that Robin and Lottie had announced to
everyone else that Lottie was pregnant again. Nick and Charlie had known for a while; Robin
never was very good at keeping secrets. But for great grandma Jane and great granddad Julio,
it was a true shock, and they'd cried happy tears as they embraced their grandson and his
partner.
Jane had passed away not too long after that. She was well into her 80's, had been poorly for
some time. It was heartbreaking all the same, particularly for Julio. He had moved in with
Nick and Charlie after that, Charlie not wanting his dad to live by himself at his old age. Olly
and his wife, Maria, had a house full of young children still who probably wouldn't have done
an elderly man any good, getting under his feet and being constantly noisy. Tori and Michael
had moved quite far out once Michael had retired from speed skating, and their 18 year old
daughter Frankie still lived at home. But Nick and Charlie were empty nesters now with
plenty of space in their house, and they were more than happy to welcome Julio into it.
But his dad never was quite the same after the loss of his wife.
Lottie gave birth to Freddie exactly 3 months after Jane passed away, and Julio was lucky
enough to meet his great grandson. Nick and Charlie thought his body must have been
clinging on to get to the momentous occasion, because he passed away just a few days later.
”Some people pass away from a broken heart." The doctor had explained; Julio hadn't been
sick, was extremely healthy for his age. But he couldn't live without his soulmate.
They were reunited now, wherever we end up after we pass. And that thought gave the family
a small piece of comfort.
"It's a beautiful photo of them." Nick whispered, leaning over to kiss his husband, wrapping
his arms around him. It had been a hard year for all the family, not least the three Spring
siblings who had lost both parents in such a short space of time.
"I'm just glad I'm not on that table yet." Sarah joked, her walking stick clacking along the
floor.
"Mum, don't even say that." Nick said, wrapping her in a hug, Charlie coming to her other
side to do the same. Sarah Nelson would be here forever, and no one can say otherwise.
“You’re not ever allowed to leave us.” Charlie added, kissing his mother in law’s forehead.
~~~~~
“Dadddd, papaaaa! Come on! It’s time for our father/daughter dance!”
Charlie rolled his eyes cheekily, giving an exaggerated groan as their daughter helped them to
their feet. A traditional family would have one dad, which would make the father daughter
dance a lot easier. But Ada, being lucky enough to grow up with two dads, now had the
slightly awkward situation of attempting to dance with both her dads at the same time.
“We could just go one after the other.” Nick had suggested.
“Or we could just skip out on the dance, have everyone get up on the floor to dance
together?” Charlie had added.
But Ada wasn’t having it. She had liked her dad’s idea of everyone coming to join them for a
dance, but she also wanted to just dance with both of her fathers at the same time. And so,
after a few lessons and a lot of practicing, they had managed to find something that would
work. It might not be the slow dance that they had envisioned, but it would work.
As everyone made a circle around the trio, the wrapped their arms around each other,
swaying slowly in time to the music.
“I love you both so much, you know that?” Ada croaked out. “I’m so, so glad that you’re
both my dads.”
“We couldn’t have asked for a better daughter.” Charlie replied, pulling apart from Nick so
they could twirl Ada between them.
Nick pulled them both close, kissing Ada’s cheek and then his husband’s. “And we’re so
proud of the strong, beautiful woman you’ve grown up to be.”
The music changed, Robin and Ellis taking that as their queue to come and join their family.
They all embraced, Ellis lifting his twin up until she squealed with laughter and demanded
she be put down.
“You’re gonna dirty my dress!” She laughed, reaching up to straighten his tie.
More and more people started to join them. First little Aurora came skidding over, crawling
between Nick’s legs into the middle of their circle and reaching up to her daddy to be lifted
up.
“Auntie Ade looks like a princess!” She exclaimed, reaching out one of her chubby hands as
she pointed at Ada’s dress.
Robin chuckled, bouncing the toddler up and down a few times. “Yea, I suppose she does.”
David had took Sarah out to the dance floor in her wheelchair, taking her for a spin whilst she
held tightly onto Freddie in her lap. He seemed to be loving it, his laughter contagious as it
bounced around the room.
Olly and Maria had dragged their two boys up for a boogie, who were at the age where they
deemed it ‘uncool’ to dance with their parents. Beatrix didn’t care though, jumping up and
down until Tobias relented and and gave his little sister a piggy back ride, following her
commands as she demanded he chase their other brother, Ezra, around the room.
“To Frankie!” Beatrix announced, giggling as she was thrusted into her unsuspecting cousin’s
arms, who thankfully just managed to catch her before she went tumbling to the floor.
“It’s mayhem in here.” Tori appeared next to Nick and Charlie, a slight smirk on her face.
“But the good kind. The nice kind of mayhem where everything feels right.”
And they couldn’t agree more. Generations of screaming children were running about the
room, mixed in with moody teenagers and loved up 20-somethings. The people they’d grown
up with were now fully fledged adults with children and grandchildren of their own. It was
scary to think about how quick life was going.
But it was exciting, to. To get to watch all of their loved ones experience life, and get to
experience that life together. The little family they’d first created when deciding to have
children of their own were creating new families of their own, becoming incredible adults
with so much happiness and love to give. Their family was forever expanding, now with the
addition of Gus and with Ellis and Liam practically being married in everything but name.
Nick and Charlie were so lucky for the life they got to live together, and forever grateful for
the love and family that surrounded them.
Chapter End Notes
Well, this is going to be my last chapter for a while.
I have loved writing this story so much, and growing Nick and Charlie’s little family. I
posted my first chapter of Parents nearly a year ago (November 21st to be precise), and I
never could have imagined back then just how many chapters there would be. Or how
much love I would get for this story.
I’ve enjoyed every minute of writing about Nick, Charlie and their three children.
Maybe I’ll come back and revisit their lives another day. But for now, enjoy this final
chapter. I hadn’t planned on it being the last, but I think Ada’s wedding day is rather
fitting.
Thank you all again for every lovely comment I’ve received on here, they’ve really
made me smile and helped brighten my days when things haven’t been so good. I hope
you’ve all enjoyed reading Parents x
The magic of Christmas
Chapter Summary
With Christmas just around the corner, Nick and Charlie take their three children to visit
Santa
Chapter Notes
Last December
It was their first Christmas as a family of five, and they'd planned a visit to see Santa - a
quick, fleeting visit which was quickly regretted. The magic of Christmas had clearly skipped
over the family that year. The twins had only been a couple weeks old and both men had been
running on very limited sleep, walking around in a coffee-fuelled daze. Despite their
exhaustion, they weren't going to deny Robin a proper Christmas experience, especially with
the nagging thoughts at the back of their heads that their son might start to regret his new
siblings now he had to share his daddies. They weren't about to deny him a festive activity all
his friends would be doing just because he had a new brother and sister.
They'd bundled the kids up in the warmest clothes, filled a flask each of coffee, and left for
the local farm where 'Santa' had set up shop to meet all the local boys and girls.
The weather hadn't been on their side, the rain practically creating a mudslide, bits of dirt
splattering up and covering their new double buggy. Robin hadn't faired much better, slipping
and sliding all over the place no matter how much Nick tried to hold him up. He'd attempted
to carry the three year old, but Robin was having none of it. Apparently their emphasis on
him now being a 'big brother' and their 'big boy' meant that he felt he was too big to be
carried around by his papa.
In all fairness, the mud over Robin didn't bother them too much. Sure, it briefly broke their
hearts to realise that they wouldn't be getting that Pinterest perfect family photo with their
pristine looking brood. But they were learning quickly that there was no such thing as
'perfect'. And if Robin was having fun jumping in muddy puddles, then where was the harm
in that.
The mud, as it turned out, would be the least of their worries over their first family of five
photo with Santa. A poo explosion (courtesy of Ada) had left both her, her twin and her
daddy covered in some questionable looking stains. The twins had a spare set of clothes, but
there was no spare jumper for Charlie. He'd thrown on his husband's hoodie from the boot of
their car, mud stained of course, but so was all of the family.
Robin had been at the age where Christmas was starting to be magical. The year previous, he
had loved when Santa visited his nursery, had happily grinned at the camera for his photo.
They thought this year would be even better, now that he was 3.
They had thought wrong.
He took one step into Santa's grotto, looked up at the big man dressed in red, and promptly
burst into tears. Maybe this Santa looked a bit more realistic - the one from his nursery last
year had clearly been hired on a budget. But Robin did not like this Santa, clinging to his
daddy's leg as fat tears ran down his face.
Charlie had quickly passed Ellis to his husband, scooping up Robin and trying to sooth the
toddler. No amount of bouncing, kisses, hugs or even a present from Santa had helped.
Their family photo with Santa that year had consisted of two exhausted looking dads, one red
faced crying toddler, and two newborns, for once sleeping, blissfully unaware of the chaos
surrounding them.
~~~~~
This December
"Will Rudolph be there?"
"I'm sure Rudolph will be there, but remember what we said about his nose? It only lights up
when he's flying Santa's sleigh."
"Will the elves be there?"
"Yes, there'll be a few elves. But probably only a couple; the rest will be in the North Pole
making all the presents."
"And you're sure that Santa will be there?"
Charlie looked up at his son, big brown eyes blinking back at him curiously in a way that
reminded him so much of Nick. "I promise, Santa will be there." He confirmed, finally
managing to squeeze Robin's wellies onto his feet. He was growing at an alarming rate, but
he and Nick were determined to get a few more wears out of these shoes before they had to
go up a size. They'd only bought them for him 3 months ago.
"Will Santa give me a present?" Robin continued to quiz, standing up to allow his dad to
dress him in his scarf, hat and gloves. They were Spider-Man patterned, his current favourite
superhero. "And presents for Ada and Lis?"
Charlie hummed a yes, more focused on trying to get a squirming four year old's arms inside
his puffer jacket. "You wanna try doing the zipper?"
Robbin nodded enthusiastically, managing to get the zipper up after only a few attempts. He
grinned up at his daddy, relishing in the praise he received in return.
"Ob! Ob!" Ellis' shrill voice called out, the 1 year old taking a few steps on unsteady legs
before tumbling. He looked startled for a minute before deciding to crawl the rest of the way
to his big brother 'Ob'. 'R's' always were a bit harder to pronounce.
Robin loved being a big brother, and was soon down on the floor with him, giggling away.
"We're gonna see Santa and get loads and loads of presents!"
"Only if you've been good boys." Charlie reminded them, tickling Ellis under the chin to
make him shriek in laughter.
"And I'm sure you've both been excellent boys this year." Nick added, walking over with a
pouting Ada in his arms. She was just getting over a cold, and despite her temperature
returning to normal and no longer being bunged up, she was still feeling rather clingy.
"Will you and daddy get presents from Santa too? And uncle Olly and grandma and
grandpa?"
Charlie's brother had asked if he could spend some time with his brother's family this
Christmas period. With him being away at uni so much, he felt like he was missing out on
watching his nieces and nephews grow up. Nick and Charlie were more than happy to have
him tag along, especially for the extra set of hands he'd provide. Now the twins were toddling
about, it was harder to keep all three of them under control.
Once Charlie's parents had heard that Olly was tagging along with the family on their visit to
Santa's grotto, they, of course, were desperate to come along as well. Jane and Julio had
proved to be good grandparents, once boundaries had been put in place. Boundaries like no
unannounced visits and no commenting on their parenting strategy (just because the Spring
kids were left to 'cry it out', doesn't mean that they wanted to do that with their kids, too).
They’d invited Sarah as well, knowing she didn’t like to miss out on time with her
grandbabies. But she was away visiting David and his own little family, trying to split the
festive period between both her boys.
"I'm not too sure, do you think we've all been good this year and should get presents?" Nick
teased, using one hand to hold onto the sofa for balance as he come to sit on the floor with
the rest of his family. Ada perked up as soon as she saw her daddy, reaching out her jumper-
clad arms to be passed over.
Robin shook his head vigorously. "No! 'Cos you you made me eat brocci!"
"Brocc-o-li." Charlie corrected gently. "And you liked the broccoli."

Robin stuck his tongue out, gagging and shaking his head. "Nah uh, gross and green."
Nick and Charlie shared a look, smirking at each other. Robin had liked the broccoli they fed
him the other day, showed by the fact he'd literally licked his plate clean. He just refused to
admit that he liked any vegetables, less his daddy's try and feed him a Brussels sprout
Christmas Day.
"Ok, come on then kids. Let's go and visit Santa!" Charlie diverted, met with cheers from
Robin and confused looks from the twins. Maybe one was a bit too young to truly appreciate
the magic of Christmas, but the dad's would make sure they still had fun.
*****
"I think this is gonna wreck our buggy again." Nick grumbled, struggling to get their double
pushchair through the thick mud. There had been nonstop rain the last week. And whilst it
had mostly cleared up today, that didn't mean that the farm was any less waterlogged.
"We'll just run a baby wipe over it before we pack it back in the car, it'll be fine." Charlie
reassured him, half distracted as he tried to spot his parents and brother. He had Robin on his
shoulders, the small boy persuaded up there with the promise that it would be easier to find
his uncle Olly from so high up. They didn't want him slipping in the mud straight away,
especially as that ran the risk of him giving grandma Jane a very dirty welcome hug. "Any
sign of them, Rob?"
Robin furrowed his brows as he turned his head left and right, trying desperately to spot his
favourite uncle. Charlie knew the minute he'd spotted them, his welly-clad feet kicking him
repeatedly in the chest as he screamed, "Over there! UNCLE OLLY!" And waved with both
hands, Charlie gripping onto his legs tightly to stop him falling off.
"Hear that, twinnies? Your uncle's here to see you!" Nick peeked his head over the cover of
the pushchair as they made it out of the mud of the car park and onto the pathway, Ellis
babbling back at him something inaudible.
Olly was a giant child himself, running through the crowds as soon as he saw his nephew's
little head grinning above everyone else. "ROBBINNNN!" He squealed, plucking the four
year old from his daddy's shoulders and swinging him around. "The bestest big guy!"
"Olly - Olly - Oliver!" Jane started to scold as she and Julio weaved through the hoards of
people. "You'll make him sick if you keep spinning him like that!"
Charlie resisted the urge to say something, the only thing stopping his shoulders tensing
being his husband going to grip his hand in a silent show of solidarity. Jane meant well - she
was just concerned about their son getting dizzy. It was ok.
"Hi mum, hi dad, merry Christmas!" Charlie greeted, trying to divert their attention from a
now green looking Robin and sheepish looking Olly by wrapping both his parents in a hug.
Robin was placed on the floor, taking a few wonky steps before gripping onto his papa to
steady himself. He'd be alright in a minute.
"Merry Christmas, all!" Julio greeted, going to shake Nick's hand and then crouching down in
front of the pushchair. "Hello, my babies! Are we all excited to see Santa?"
Ada's face lit up at the sight of granddad Julio, struggling at her straps until he undone them
and lifted her into his arms. Ada had a massive soft spot for her grandad, would crawl all
around the house after him and he was the only one who could carry her at any time without
her crying. 'Ganda' had even been her first word, which would have gone mistaken as her
usual baby talk had it not been that she was hitting Charlie's phone at the time. His phone
which happened to have a picture of his dad up on the screen. It was quickly deciphered that
she was attempting to say 'Grandad', and of course the fact that his only granddaughter's first
word had been his name had made Julio cry.
They had a special relationship, one that was heartwarming to watch. Especially now as Julio
snuggled the young girl close, not minding as she mouthed at his beard to give him kisses and
attempted to grab his hat from his head.
"You're Grandad's girl, ain't that right Ada?" Julio cooed, beaming as she repeated ‘Ganda!’
Again and again and again.
Ellis was soon out of his seat, holding onto his grandma Jane’s hand as they made their way
to the first stop - the reindeer pen.
“Uncle Olly! Uncle Olly!” Robin exclaimed in excitement, letting go of his hand to run over
to get a closer look. “Look! It’s Santa’s reindeer!”
Nick and Charlie had never been more grateful for Olly as they had been now. Usually, it
would be one of them running manically after their child, struggling to keep track of him as
he disappeared in the crowds. But now, they could take their time to have a casual stroll,
Oliver taking over that role as he chased after their son.
“I don’t know where that boy gets his energy from!” Jane commented. They weren’t entirely
sure if she was referring to Oliver or Robin.
By the time they made it over to the reindeer enclosure, Olly had lifted Robin to stand on the
wooden fencing to get a better look, his face a picture of pure joy as he watched them graze
around the field.
“I know alllll the names of Santa’s reindeer!” Robin announced, giving his uncle a cheesy
grin. “There’s Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Comet and Cupid and Donner and
Blitzen!”
“And Vixen.” Jane pointed out, ruffling Robin’s hair. The hat had long been forgotten,
discarded somewhere in the baby bag attached to the pushchair.
“I said Vixen!” Robin pouted back, snuggling closer into his uncle.
“I think you might be forgetting the most important reindeer of all.” Nick said, crouching
down next to his son. “The one who lights the way for Santa’s sleigh when he delivers all his
presents.”
“RUDOLPH!!” Robin shouted, making Julio jump and Ada laugh. “Daddyyyyyy which one
is Rudolph! You said he’d be here!”
Charlie made a point of scanning the field, trying to decide which reindeer had the most
Rudolph-like qualities. He eventually spotted one in the back, a bit smaller than the rest but
looking the most clean, with tiny antlers sprouting from his head. “You see that one, Rob.
Right next to the tree on the left. I reckon that one’s Rudolph!”
Next on the agenda was a visit to the elves toy making station. An overly priced, capitalist
money making scheme created to rinse the pockets of parents who wanted to create a magical
moment for their children. Of course, Nick and Charlie had booked the family in as soon as
they’d heard about it, stupidly priced stuffed teddies be damned. It was something neither had
them had got to do as children - Charlie’s parents thinking it was too expensive, and Sarah
being unable to afford such a luxury being a single mum of two.
They were grateful to be able to have the money to give their babies little treats like this.
Nick knew all too well the hardships a lot of families were facing at the moment. Children
would say more than they meant to in his class, about how their mummy’s and daddy’s had
said how there weren’t a lot of elves this year to make as many presents, or how there’s a lot
of children who need presents so Santa needs to be fair and spread them out. He’d seen
parents picking up their children at the school gates looking gaunt and tired, probably
missing out on meals so that their children would have a full belly.
It was heartbreaking, and Nick counted them beyond lucky that he and Charlie were fortunate
enough to treat their children how they did.
The elves toy making station truly was a marvel to behold. Fairy lights swinging from the
ceiling, Christmas trees and giant candy canes scattered around the room, Christmas music
playing. And, off to the side, a large wall filled with soft toys to pick out.
An elf got them set up at the toy making station (a wooden bench with a mini machine used
for stuffing the toys), and then Robin was rushing over to pick out his toy. “Daddyyyy!
Papaaaaa! Can I pleaseee have the Snowman teddy! Please please pretty pleaseeeeee!” Their
little boy stood in front of the rows of teddy’s, desperately reaching his hand up to the just out
of reach white toy and looking at them pleadingly.
“Of course you can.” Charlie reached up to get the teddy of choice, handing it to his excited 4
year old who raced back to the table and glued himself to his uncle Olly’s side.
“What about you two? Which teddy would you both like?” Nick asked, lifting both twins up
in his arms so they could get a better view of the selection.
Ada went straight to grab for the penguin toy, squealing when her daddy handed it over.
“How about you, Ellis? Which teddy would you like?” Charlie asked.
Their youngest son looked a little overwhelmed by the wide variety of choice, instead
deciding to try and make a grab for his sister’s penguin. Ada wasn’t impressed with that,
holding onto her new toy tightly and pulling away. That’s when the tears started, Ellis crying
loudly as he was denied his sister’s new teddy.
The twins were a bit too young to have learnt how to share. Ellis’ tears, though upsetting,
we’re easily predictable.
“Ellis, it’s ok. We can get you your own penguin.” Nick tried to soothe, handing Ada over to
Charlie so he could grab another penguin toy. “See? One for you, one for Ada.”
Ellis tearfully took the toy in his arms and snuggled into his papa’s chest. He had a tiny scowl
on his face, his bottom lip pouted out in clear displeasure.
It was a hard life being one.
“You got them both the same toy?” Jane asked when they got back to the table, Ada once
again leaning over to be held by her grandad whilst Ellis was clinging firmly to Charlie. “Just
because they’re twins doesn’t mean they have to have the same toys.”
Charlie resisted the urge to roll his eyes, instead focusing on grabbing a handful of stuffing to
fill up one of the penguins. “They wanted the same, mum.” Charlie explained in a calm
voice. “If we gave them different, there would be tears and tantrums.”
“Like with their dinner plates!” Robin helpfully added, causing Nick to laugh. They’d
decided to buy the twins some new, plastic plates now that they’d started to introduce utensils
to meal times. A green one for Ada, and orange for Ellis. Of course, as soon as Ada saw that
her brother had an orange plate, she tried to snatch it off him. Which caused Ellis to shriek as
though he’d hurt himself, desperately trying to take his plate back. The arguments persisted
every meal time until they tried giving them both a plate of the same colour and, amazingly,
there was no more snatching.
They knew their twins were their own people, and they’d never try and lump them together
as the same. But they wanted to treat their children equally, and often times that meant
getting the twins the same toys so that they could both play with them.
“I think that elf might have a thing for you.” Nick teased, nudging Olly in the side and
motioning with his head to a girl who kept glancing their way. She noticed Olly looking,
quickly looking away but they still noticed a blush forming.
“Can’t say I blame her, Nick.” Olly said, a slight smirk forming on his face as he gave her a
small wave across the room.
“I’m sure it’s nothing to do with the fact that you’ve been helping Robin stuff his teddy, and
girls have a thing for guys who are good with kids?” Charlie asked, holding back a laugh.
“Robin’s just my wingman, ain’t that right, Rob?” Olly held his hand out for a fist bump,
Robin punching it with his own with all his might.
With their penguins and snowmen plumped out with stuffing and sown back up, it was time
for the main event of the day - a visit to Santa’s grotto.
Ada and Ellis had been tucked into the pushchair for a little afternoon nap, the excitement of
the day knackering them out. Whilst Ellis had refused to let go of his penguin, holding it
tightly even as he slept, Ada had given her teddy to her grandad for safekeeping.
“We can put it in the buggy, if you want?” Nick had offered, but Julio had declined, instead
looking wistfully down at his two youngest grandchildren.
“They remind me so much of you and Tori at that age.” He sighed to Charlie, holding Ada’s
toy even closer.
“Oh darling, you always did love the baby stage.” Jane teased, kissing her husband’s cheek in
a rare display of public affection. “Maybe we’ll get some some more grand children one
day.”
“Don’t look at us!” Charlie quickly piped in, helping Nick lift the pushchair up some steps.
The design choice for Santa’s grotto really hadn’t been thought out very well. “We are done
with having children. We’re already outnumbered!” He looked up to see his husband giving
him a longing look. “Nick, no! No more babies!”
“But I love babies.” Nick pouted, looking just as wistful as his father-in-law. “And the twins
are getting so big so quickly.”
“We’d have to buy a bigger car, though. One of those ugly ones with seats where the boot is
meant to be and I’m not driving that around.” Charlie reasoned. “Maybe Tori will have kids
soon, then you’ll have more babies to fawn over.”
Olly scoffed. “Yea right, you’ll have more luck getting a baby out of me.”
“Oliver Spring, I swear to god if you get a girl pregnant whilst at university!” Jane
threatened, glaring at her youngest. “And besides, if Tori and Michael don’t want children
yet, or ever, then that’s their choice and that’s ok. We love the grandchild we have, and have
no expectations of anymore any time soon!” This was again directed at Oliver, who
proceeded to take Robin’s hand and scurry them along.
Santa’s Grotto truly was a spectacle, with rainbow lights shining along the pathway and fake
snow shooting out and covering the grass. There was elves going up and down the (rather
long) queue, handing out sweets and interacting with the kids.
It worked to keep Robin entertained for a little while. But after 10 minutes of hardly moving,
he was starting to get restless.
“I wanna see santaaaa!” He moaned, hanging off of his daddy’s trouser leg.
“It won’t be too much longer.” Charlie tried to reassure him, combing his fingers through his
hair.
“Rob, why don’t we play eye-spy?” Olly suggested. Thank god for Olly, because that seemed
to keep their son entertained until they got to the front of the queue.
“I’m just hoping it’ll go better than last year.” Nick whispered as they worked on getting the
twins awake and out of their pushchair. Ellis seemed happy to be up and toddling about, but
Ada took a little longer waking up at the moment, wrapping her arms around Nick and not
wanting to let go.
Another elf came over to greet them, smiling brightly with red painted cheeks as she led them
through to see the big man himself. Robin was jumping all over the place, hyped up on the
excitement of finally getting to see Santa. Ellis was racing after him, desperate to try and
keep up with his big brother. Charlie made sure to keep one hand on him, less he fall over
and hurt himself. The last thing they needed was a crying toddler with a busted lip.
“Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!” Santa greeted as they turned the corner, the man in red with a
long white beard giving them a cheery wave.
“SANTA!!” Robin exclaimed, stopping in his tracks and jumping up and down. “Look, it’s
Santa!”
Charlie managed to grab onto Ellis before he went colliding into his brother’s back, the
toddler looking curiously up at the strange man sitting in front of them.
“Hello, come in, come in!” Santa greeted, Robin not needing to be told twice as he took Ellis’
hand and rushed them over to him. Ellis seemed a little stunned, not quite sure what to make
of the new person talking to them. “Who do we have here, then?”
“I’m Robin!” Robin announced proudly. “And this is my little brother Ellis and that’s my
little sister Ada. They’re twins.” He pointed up at Ada who was still being held by Nick,
refusing to take her face out of the hiding spot in the crook of his neck. “And that’s my daddy
and papa, and my grandma and grandad, and my uncle Olly! He’s the coolest!” The four year
old introduced, Olly looking awfully smug about himself.
“Definitely going better than last year.” Charlie whispered. 2/3 kids interacting with Santa
was an achievement.
“And what would you like for Christmas?” Santa continued to ask, Robin’s eyes lighting up
as he listed off everything he’d written down.
“I want Lego, and a rugby ball, and a football, and the rainbow lab, and the sky set, and the
paw patrol game!”
“Wow that’s a lot of presents!” Santa exclaimed, ruffling Robin’s hair. “Have you been a
good boy this year and made it onto my nice list?”
Robin nodded his head enthusiastically. “He’s our good boy.” Charlie confirmed, giving his
son a thumbs up.
“Well I have an early Christmas present for you three, seeing as you’ve all been so good!”
The dads didn’t think they’d ever seen Robin so excited, gratefully taking the present from
Santa, Ellis doing the same but looking a bit more confused.
“Thank you, Santa!” Robin shouted, giving the man a hug.

He tried to give Ada her present too, but she was having none of it, instead glaring at Santa
through tired eyes. “We can open this later instead, how about that?” Nick suggested, Ada
just snuggling in closer.
It was picture time, Robin snuggling up close to Santa and Ellis following his big brother’s
lead, sitting in Robin’s lap. Nick tried to put Ada down to get her in the picture for just the
kids, but she was having none of it.
“Maybe next year, sweetie.” Jane cooed, trying to brighten up her granddaughter by waving
her new toy in front of her face, but Ada continued to pout.
“Why don’t we all get in? That way Ada can be involved too?” Charlie suggested, an idea
Ellis clearly loved as he jumped off Robin’s lap and went to sit on his daddy’s instead.
They all gathered around Santa, smiling for the camera. Or glaring, in Ada’s case. It turned
out a lot better than last years, Robin no longer screaming the house down, instead fully
submerged in the festivities. It was their second favourite family photo yet (after the first one
when they bought the twins home from the hospital). Christmas had always been one of their
favourite times of year, and now with kids it was even better. There was no greater feeling
than getting to watch their children’s eyes light up as they experienced the magic of
Christmas.
Chapter End Notes
Sooooo….I’m back
I know the last chapter was going to be the last, but what with it being the festive period
I thought it might be nice to have another chapter added for this little family, all about
taking the kids to visit Santa
I’m not too sure if I’ll write anymore, maybe only for special occasions like Christmas.
But it was lovely to revisit the Nelson-Springs, and I hope everyone enjoyed this little
chapter x
Please drop by the Archive and comment to let the creator know if you enjoyed their work!

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A series of vignettes about Nick and Charlie’s life as parents

1) First gender reveal

Just a bunch of one shots featuring Nick and Charlie as parents :)

Chapter 28- ‘I want children. With you’

Chapter 1- first gender reveal

Chapter 3- first birth

Chapter 21 - ‘So who’s the real dad?’

Chapter 27 - first words

Chapter 7- nanny Sarah finds out it’s twins

Chapter 34 - role model

Chapter 12- a toddler and two newborns

Chapter 19 - First Birthday Cake

Chapter 38 - the magic of Christmas

Chapter 23 - Parents’ evening

Chapter 9- uncle Olly comes to stay

Chapter 4- Tao and Elle babysit

Chapter 24 - ‘I thought ‘Charlie’ was a woman!’

Chapter 25 - First family holiday abroad

Chapter 35 - sick day

Chapter 17 - a new cousin

Chapter 8- sports day

Chapter 16 - swear words

Chapter 20 - auntie Tori’s announcement

Chapter 33 - first bra

Chapter 2 - first period

Chapter 5- meeting the girlfriend

Chapter 13- ‘our son’s girlfriend is sleeping over’

Chapter 18 - caught in the act

Chapter 29 - wrong number

Chapter 32 - boy/girl sleepover

Chapter 10- the talk

Chapter 11- ‘I think our son might be drunk’

Chapter 15- abortion

Chapter 14- walked in on

Chapter 26 - coming out

Chapter 36 - surprise uni visit

Chapter 31 - first grandchild

Chapter 37 - wedding day

Chapter 1) First gender reveal (1,545 words)

Chapter 2) First period (1,955 words)

Chapter 3) First birth (2,252 words)

Chapter 4) Tao and Elle babysit (3,760 words)

Chapter 5) Meeting the girlfriend (2,186 words)

Chapter 6) ‘Where’s my Mummy?’ (963 words)

Chapter 7) Nanny Sarah finds out it’s twins (1,733 words)

Chapter 8) Sports Day (2,122 words)

Chapter 10) The Talk (2,645 words)

Chapter 11) ‘I think our son might be drunk’ (2,469 words)

Chapter 12) A toddler and two newborns (5,121 words)

Chapter 13) ‘Our son’s girlfriend is sleeping over’ (3,041 words)

Chapter 14) Walked in on (2,098 words)

Chapter 15) Abortion (3,724 words)

Chapter 16) Swear words (2,803 words)

Chapter 18) Caught in the act (4,092 words)

Nick and Charlie decide to take advantage of a child-free house

Chapter 19) First Birthday Cake (2,509 words)

Chapter 20) Auntie Tori’s announcement (3,643 words)

Chapter 21) ‘So who’s the real dad?’ (2,066 words)

Chapter 22) Hickey (2,726 words)

15 year old Ellis has a hickey on his neck

Chapter 23) Parents’ Evening (2,236 words)

Chapter 24) ‘I thought ‘Charlie’ was a woman!’ (2,535 words)

Chapter 25) First family holiday abroad (4,618 words)