I'm back!

First of all, I just want to say thank you to those of you who reviewed, favorited, and followed the previous fic. I'm glad that everyone seems to like this series so far!

So here is the second installment, which takes place in September. I tried to make this one longer than the first, but in the end, I just felt like I was dragging it out and it would end up taking forever to try to finish so I just kept it kind of short. I will say that this one isn't super "eventful" but I'm still trying to introduce the story and set everything up for all the drama later, so just be patient please! Until then, have some fluffy Chenry!

Again: Thanks to Lizlen for being the best. Literally.

*Also: hope everyone is staying safe during this insane time!*

Song: Single by The Neighborhood

Single

September 2021

It only takes about a week to fully get into a routine.

Henry is forever grateful that they've been friends for so long, otherwise this wouldn't be so easy.

He knows that Charlotte is an early morning runner, and she knows that Henry would literally rather die than move before 8 o'clock in the morning. He knows that she prefers tea, and she knows that he prefers coffee. He knows that she hates washing dishes and she knows that he hates washing clothes.

So he has breakfast ready for them when she gets out of the shower after her run, she fixes their tea and coffee, he washes dishes and she does laundry.

He refuses to acknowledge the voice in his head that keeps repeating the word 'married' over and over again because they're just friends.

Has he been in love with her since they were 16? Absolutely. Is he ever going to tell her that? Absolutely not.

He knew that asking her if she wanted to live with him was both the best and worst idea he's ever had.

His best, because it's Charlotte.

His worst, because it's Charlotte.

"What if I can't find the right building-"

"Charlotte."

"-or what if I somehow signed up for the wrong classes-"

"Charlotte."

"-and I screw it all up on the first day and I end up failing out of college-"

"Charlotte."

Henry steps in front of her pacing, stopping her with a hand on her arm.

"What?" She asks, eyes wide in panic.

"I know you told me never to tell a woman to calm down, but you really need to calm down."

She rolls her eyes, shrugging his arm off with a huff.

"I can't help it." She protests, "I mean, this is my dream college and I can't mess this up."

"You're not going to." He looks down at her, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"You don't know that." She responds, but he can tell she's relaxing a little.

"Of course I do, I know everything."

That gets a laugh out of her, and the sound fills his chest with warmth.

"Yeah, okay." She retorts, playfully tapping his foot with hers as she walks past to grab her books.

"Oh, is Chinese good for tonight?" He checks as she grabs her jacket, "I can grab it after my last class."

"Yeah, that sounds good."

"Kung Pao with fried rice?" He guesses, getting a fond smile in return.

"You know me so well."

"Thirty eggs?!"

"I make a lot of omelets!"

Sunday mornings are for grocery shopping.

Henry will never admit it, but he secretly loves it. He thinks it has to do with the fact that it's more time that he gets to spend with Charlotte.

"We don't need thirty eggs, Henry!"

"You don't complain about how many eggs we have when I make you breakfast in the mornings!"

He notices an older lady across the aisle smiling at them, and he quickly looks away.

"I'll go to the produce section," Charlotte instructs, marking off the list on her phone, "You grab one box of butter, a block of cheese, and milk-"

"Got it!" He is already walking away when she calls after him.

"Just one gallon of milk!"

He sticks his tongue out at her before heading to the dairy section. He's got a handful of butter and cheese when a voice startles him from his left.

"How long have you two been together?"

He looks over to see the older lady from earlier waiting for him to reply.

"Oh, uh," He stammers, feeling his face flush, "We're not-we're just friends."

She gives him a doubtful look, the kind that Henry gets every time he tells someone that he and Charlotte aren't dating.

"We've known each other since we're six and we are both going to college here so we figured we would just live together."

Even to him, it sounds weak.

"So you're too afraid to tell her how you feel?" She judges over the bar of her shopping cart.

"What-no!" He protests, "I-I don't…I mean…I don't like her like that."

Liar.

"You make her breakfast every morning." She reminds him, and Henry wishes he had kept his mouth shut.

"She gets up early to run and I happen to be making breakfast when she comes back and showers before class." He explains with a shrug.

"What about dinner?"

"Sometimes we eat out somewhere, sometimes we cook." He answers, getting a little exasperated.

"Do you two do the dishes together?" She inquires, as if this is a job interview that Henry is not prepared for.

"Oh, no. Charlotte hates doing dishes, so I do them."

He gets that look again and attempts to correct himself.

"But I hate doing laundry, so she does laundry."

It doesn't help.

"So you two compromise?"

Shit.

"Well, yeah, but we live together." He defends, shifting the groceries in his arms.

The lady hums to herself, but all Henry hears is 'these kids'.

"You're still young, but you're learning." She approves as Charlotte walks up with a few bags of produce.

"Did you get the milk?" She asks Henry, then notices the older lady and smiles politely.

"I'm sorry, honey, he was helping me find something." The lady lies, winking at Henry, who is ready for the ground to swallow him whole at this point.

"Oh." Charlotte looks between the two of them, a little puzzled but still smiling.

"He's a very sweet young man." The lady says to Charlotte, as Henry winces in the background because this is too much, "You two have a nice day."

As she walks off, she gives Henry an almost stern look, and all he can think of is how grateful he is that Charlotte isn't looking that way.

She is, however, looking at him and giggling.

"What is it with older ladies hitting on you?" She teases, nudging his shoulder with hers.

"I don-Wait, ladies?" He looks down at her in confusion, a grin erupting at her wide eyes.

"We should go to the frozen food aisle now." She redirects, ducking her head and walking away promptly.

He jogs after her, curious but heavily amused.

"What do you mean by ladies?"

Henry isn't sure how he feels about Charlotte and Murphy.

The angry ball of gray fur has hated Henry's existence since his uncle first adopted the cat when Henry was three years old.

Now, at almost twenty years old, Henry still can't seem to make friends with the ancient creature.

It was unbelievable that the second Charlotte walked through the door on day one, Murphy took to her like they had been best friends their entire lives.

(Although, if Henry is being honest, he can't blame the cat for loving her. It's Charlotte.)

From their first night in the house, Murphy has slept at the foot of Charlotte's bed. He follows her around throughout the day, purring and wanting her to pet him constantly. He loves Charlotte and hates Henry.

"I just don't understand." He says from his seat on the couch one afternoon.

"What?" Charlotte inquires from the recliner, absentmindedly petting Murphy as he curls up on her lap next to her book.

"Why does he love you so much but hates me with a vengeance?"

"You don't think I'm lovable, Hen?" She's obviously joking, but he nearly has an aneurysm trying to correct himself anyways.

"What-no! It's not that, I just don't see why he doesn't love me." He rambles, stumbling over his own words.

"I don't know." Charlotte shrugs, going back to reading.

Henry waits for the punchline, but doesn't get one.

"What, no insult?" He teases, catching her attention again.

"I think you're pretty lovable." Is the only answer he gets before she goes back to her book.

Luckily for him, that means she doesn't see how red his face turns.

"It says half of a cup of sugar-"

"That's close enough to half-"

"Henry-"

"Fine, half a cup of sugar!" The blonde relents, pouring the sugar into the pan.

"Now, we have to stir everything together over medium-low heat until it reaches 120 degrees." Charlotte instructs as she pulls out the kitchen thermometer that Henry didn't even know they had.

"Then what?" He asks, leaning against the counter next to the stove.

"Then we'll put this into the dry ingredients and add the rest of the flour into the mixer."

"Then what?"

She shoots him a warning look, but continues anyways.

"Then we knead the dough and let it rest for twenty minutes."

"Then wha-"

She points the large wooden spoon that she's using the stir the mixture with threateningly at him.

"Got it." He surrenders with a grin, hands up.

"Can you grab the eggs?" She requests as she checks the temperature of the liquid mixture again.

He grabs the large carton out, setting it down on the kitchen island.

"120 degrees." She declares a minute later, picking up the pan from the stove and carrying it to where the mixer is full of flour, dry yeast, and salt.

"How many eggs do you need?" Henry asks, opening the container while she pours the liquid into the mixer.

"Just one."

She grabs the egg from him a moment later, adding it along with half of a cup of flour.

"Now we need to add two more cups of flour gradually." She explains, looking down at the recipe on her phone for confirmation.

He makes the mistake of handing her two cups of flour before he speaks.

"Then what?"

He guesses he really should've expected flour in his face.

She's fighting back a smile unsuccessfully before she turns back to start pouring the rest of the flour into the mixer.

He grabs a handful of flour straight from the bag and she quickly backs away.

"Don't you dare-"

Her burgundy shirt is dusted white before she can even finish her warning and she glares at his challenging smirk.

"You sure about that, Hart?" She gives him a chance to back down, but he doesn't cower.

"You started it." He counters, although technically he did, but that's not relevant.

"And I'll end it." She says before grabbing two handfuls of flour before he can grab the bag.

She manages to cover his hair and shoulders in flour before he can retaliate, covering the rest of her shirt and part of her shorts.

She runs around the island, grabbing the carton of eggs and pulling one out. He stays across the island, mirroring her stance with a handful of flour aimed to throw.

"Ready to call a truce?" He tries, eyeing her warily.

"Are you admitting defeat?" She asks, not letting her guard down for a second.

"Absolutely not-"

She throws the egg right at his chest, splattering against the blue and green plaid.

"I could've used that egg for breakfast tomorrow!" He protests, although she knows he's not really mad.

"Well it's a good thing we have 24 others thanks to you!" She shoots back, ready to grab another if needed.

"I'll take that as a compliment!" He quips before darting around the island after her.

She shrieks as she runs the opposite direction, hands empty as he chases her with flour. She runs to grab the sugar container from beside the fridge, but as soon as she reaches for it, he's wrapping his arms around her from behind. She's laughing too hard to protest, trying to wiggle her way out of his grip before he can cover her with even more flour.

"Truce!" She cries, raising her hands up as he corners her against the counter.

"I tried to call a truce a minute ago but someone -"

"I'm calling one now." She eyes the handful of flour nervously, still slightly out of breath.

"Are you admitting defeat?"

She pauses, then relents.

"I'm admitting that I may have thrown the flour first."

"And?" He prompts.

"And I did it because you were being annoying."

"Hmmm, doesn't sound like admitting defeat to me." He decides, his hand holding the flour moving just a little.

"If you throw that flour on me, I'll tell Murphy to smother you in your sleep tonight." She threatens, and he shakes his head.

"I can't believe that cat absolutely loves you and still hates my guts."

"I think he's a good judge of character."

"That's a pretty brave thing to say considering your current predicament."

She eyes the bag of leftover flour that is sitting on the counter, only a foot away.

"You sure about that, Page?" He repeats after catching her gaze, which is exactly what she wanted.

She catches him off guard when she shoves his right arm away from her, causing him to dump the flour on himself rather than her. She dashes around him while he's shaking off the flour, and almost makes it to the remaining bag of flour before she's suddenly lifted off her feet and over his shoulder.

"Henry!"

"You should've called a truce!"

"Put me down!"

"Are you calling a truce?"

"Yes!"

"And admitting defeat?"

"Fine!" She concedes, gripping onto the back of his shirt to steady herself.

She expects him to just set her down on the floor right then, but instead, he sets her on top of a clean section of the island. Her hands instinctively grab his shoulders for balance, and he steadies her with both hands on her waist.

"You could've just set me down on the floor." She says after a moment.

"Well, you're so short that I would've had to bend all the way over to put you down." He teases, and she rolls her eyes.

"Fuck you." She retorts, but her laugh makes it clear that she's not mad.

He doesn't say anything, and she can feel the air change. He's standing in between her knees, and she's still got her hands on his shoulders. His hold on her waist tightens so minimally that if she wasn't paying attention, she wouldn't have noticed.

He can hear his heart pounding in his ears, and he hopes that she can't.

He glances down at her mouth, and when he looks back up, he realizes that she is watching him, brown eyes wide with apprehension.

Before he can even consider whether or not to take the risk, his phone is ringing from the counter behind them.

"I should-" He motions back towards his phone, but doesn't immediately back away. She swallows visibly, then nods.

"Yeah."

He then backs away from her, and she slides off of the counter as he grabs his phone.

Perfect timing, Jasper.

Saturday nights are movie nights.

It's a tradition that they had since Charlotte, Henry, and Jasper were little, and only grew over the years.

They use Henry's laptop to videochat Piper and Jasper, as well as Ray, Schwoz, and the kids on the Saturday nights that they're not out fighting crime.

It's Piper's turn to pick the movie, and she is fully prepared as usual.

"On this week's edition of Piper's Educational Cinematic School-"

"PECS!" Jasper echoes, like he does every week.

"-is the ultimate rom-com-and no I will not accept any challenges to that title-the one, the only, Letters to Juliet." Piper finishes dramatically, earning applause from Henry and Jasper.

"Well, we all know Ray is going to cry." Schwoz pipes up with a snort.

"I refuse to be ashamed about crying over a couple finding each ot-"

"Spoilers!"

"It's Lorenzo."

"Who, the boy?"

"Wait, what?" Charlotte looks over at Henry in confusion before looking back at the screen.

"I am Lorenzo Bartolini."

Henry just smiles and shakes his head.

"Sophie, he's the grandson!"

"The grandson-" Charlotte gasps, and Henry chuckles this time as she leans closer to the screen in anticipation.

"Do you have a father also named Lorenzo?"

"Yes, he went out riding. What can I do for you?"

Charlotte inhales dramatically, tapping Henry's arm repeatedly.

"It's him-"

"I know, Char." He reminds her, "I've seen this movie four times."

"-we have been on quite a journey for your father-"

"Yes, we have." Charlotte agrees, only to be shushed over the laptop's videochat.

"Let's go."

Charlotte manages to hold her protest, but she tightens the grip that she has on Henry's arm unconsciously.

"I've been completely ridiculous."

"No, you haven't." Charlotte murmurs, heart breaking for Claire on screen.

"He knew me when I was 15 years old, a girl. That girl's gone."

Charlotte is glued to the screen when she feels Henry lean over and nudge her gently.

"This is the best part."

The sound of hooves approaching quickly echo as an older man approaches riding a horse.

She knows Henry is smiling down at her, but she just leans against his shoulder as she watches the reunion on screen.

"Claire."

"Yes."

Various reactions ring out around the group, but Henry is focused on Charlotte's glowing smile and glassy eyes.

"Mia Bella."

Charlotte's brows furrow in confusion, her smile faltering a little.

"My beauty." Henry translates softly, causing Charlotte to look up at him with an unreadable expression.

The vibrations of her phone startle her and she looks down to see a text from Piper.

'If you two are going to keep looking at each other like that, please turn off Skype."

She rolls her eyes before turning back to the screen to watch the rest of the movie, hoping she doesn't seem as flushed as she is.

Charlotte opens her eyes slowly, a haze of sleep still hovering over her as she takes in the dark room.

"Well let me know how it goes." A familiar voice says quietly from beside her, "Love you guys too, goodnight."

"Who was that?" Charlotte mumbles, stifling a yawn, and fully takes in the situation around her, "And when did I fall asleep?"

Henry is sitting up against the corner of the couch, and Charlotte is laying with her head against his chest, legs stretched out across the other side of the couch. She knows she should move, knows that this is probably a little too close for just friends, but she's so tired.

"That was Ray, they just got an emergency call." Henry answers, then continues, "And you fell asleep in the middle of Piper and Jasper arguing over whether or not to watch another movie."

"Sounds about right." She smiles fondly, then starts to sit up, "Sorry about falling asleep on you."

"It's fine." He shrugs, "I was going to just carry you to your room after I got off the phone with Ray."

"Oh." She says softly, a little taken aback, "You could've just woken me up."

"I know." He acknowledges with a smile, "But you've been really tired with school and everything, I wanted to let you sleep."

She's about to thank him when he adds, smirk tugging at his lips-

"Plus you're like three feet tall, so you don't weigh much."

She swats at him halfheartedly, unable to hold back a laugh of her own.

"Just for that, I should make you carry me to bed."

He turns his back to her and looks back at her expectantly, and she cocks her head to the side.

"What?" She prompts, confused.

"Hop on."

"I was kidding about you carrying me."

"I know, but I wasn't."

She relents, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and her legs circling his waist. He stands up slowly, hands gripping her lower thighs as he begins walking towards the stairs leading to their bedrooms.

"How do you know Italian?"

Henry glances at her over his shoulder in confusion.

"Hmmm?"

"You knew what they were saying in the movie." She reminds him as they reach the top of the stairs.

"Oh." He nods along, "After my mom and Piper made me watch it with them the first time, I ended up looking up Italian phrases and just went from there."

"Wait, do you actually speak Italian?" Charlotte urges as they turn left upstairs.

"I know a little, just enough to carry on a conversation."

"How did I not know this?" She muses as they walk into her room where Murphy is curled up at the foot of her bed.

"It just never came up I guess." He answers as he turns around, gently setting her down on her bed.

Charlotte hums in reply, then smiles sleepily up at him.

"Thanks, Hen. Good night."

"Buona notte." He responds before turning to leave.

"Does that mean 'your welcome' or 'good night'?" She inquires, reaching out as if to stop him.

He looks back with a grin and a roll of his eyes.

"Goodnight, Char."

"Was that the answer or-"

"I'm going to bed!"

Later, when he's laying in bed, he thinks about how much life has changed in the past month.

He is one thousand miles from the place he has called home for almost twenty years. He is one thousand miles away from his family and friends. A new school, a new job, a new house, a new life.

He should be absolutely terrified, and yet, in the end, he knows that he is going to be okay.

He has Charlotte.