NotACactusCow
Fandoms
- Heartstopper (Webcomic) (13)
- Heartstopper (TV) (13)
Recent works
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Ghosted... Again. by NotACactusCow for HappySappyHippo
Fandoms: Heartstopper (TV), Heartstopper (Webcomic)
18 Jan 2026
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Summary
Thirty two-year-old Charlie Spring has just lost his mother. Their relationship was messy, but the grief still hits him and his siblings hard. Their father takes it worst of all and moves to Spain to be near family, leaving the house to Charlie.
Fresh out of a toxic relationship, Charlie refuses to move back into the childhood home that shaped so many of his issues. Instead, he decides to rent it out.
Nick Nelson, newly divorced and raising his five-year-old son Julian alone, returns to his hometown for support and takes a teaching job at his old primary school. He rents a house for himself and Julian—only to discover his new landlord is Charlie, the boy he once secretly crushed on.
Now Charlie has to decide if he can forgive Nick for ghosting him years ago, and Nick must finally explain what really happened.
And meanwhile…who is Julian talking to in his room when no one else is there?
TL;DR:
Charlie rents out his late mother’s house, only to lease it to Nick, the childhood crush who once ghosted him. As they navigate their unresolved past, Nick’s young son begins talking to someone unseen. -
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Summary
Charlie is a talented journalist struggling to be taken seriously in a workplace that consistently takes him for granted, while Nick, charming and guarded, carries the quiet weight of responsibilities he never asked for. When a high-profile assignment arises, resentment sparks and tempers flare, forcing them into close proximity neither is prepared for.
Outside of work, Charlie finds himself drawn into late-night gaming sessions with a soft hearted stranger who offers easy laughter and unexpected comfort, while Nick begins discovering new sides himself thanks to his sharp-witted, kind gaming companion. As professional frustrations mount and personal lives press in from all sides, unspoken tensions and blurred boundaries begin to surface. Set between office politics, digital escapes, and moments of vulnerability, this is a slow-burn story about misjudgment, longing, and the complicated ways people learn to see one another.
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Nine days: Nicky, It's Cold Outside ❄️ by NotACactusCow
Fandoms: Heartstopper (TV), Heartstopper (Webcomic)
23 Dec 2025
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Summary
New Year Countdown Collection
Prompt: “Oh, look, it’s snowing!”
"Uh oh… the snow isn’t stopping…”This story follows Charlie Spring on a night that doesn’t go at all as planned. While babysitting his eight-year-old brother, Oliver, Charlie is expecting cartoons and calm—until the boy he's been tutoring (who is also his very inconvenient crush), Nick Nelson, shows up needing last-minute help for a test.
What starts as a quick study session turns into an unexpected sleepover when the light snowfall outside becomes a full blizzard. With their parents stuck in town and the roads closed, Oliver is ecstatic, Charlie is flustered, and Nick seems strangely unbothered about being snowed in.
As the night unfolds—blanket forts, hot chocolate, shared jokes, and quiet, lingering moments—Charlie realizes the tension humming between them isn’t just in his head. The snow keeps falling, things keep spiraling, and the line between friendship and something more grows thinner in the warm glow of a winter storm.
TL;DR
Charlie ends up snowed in with Nick while babysitting Oliver, and finds out his friend isn't as straight as he thought he was...Series
- Part 24 of HS a03 countdown 2026
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Ginger Rogers' Heels and Felix's Wheels by NotACactusCow for niccknelsson
Fandoms: Heartstopper (TV), Heartstopper (Webcomic)
22 Dec 2025
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Summary
In their final year of art school, Felix—an anxious, wheelchair-using non-binary student—gets roped into starring in a musical short film directed by their friend Tao. Their confident, glamorous friends jump into the project with excitement, but Felix panics: they can’t dance, they don’t think they’re romantic lead material, and they hate being the center of attention.
Then Felix meets Teagan, the charming, slightly shy actress playing their love interest. Between lavender lattes, awkward flirting, and duet rehearsals taught by Tara, Felix slowly discovers they’re capable of far more than they believed. As the film comes together, so does something tender and unexpected between them—proving the musical disaster Felix feared might actually be the best thing to happen to them.
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A Softer Place To Land by NotACactusCow
Fandoms: Heartstopper (TV), Heartstopper (Webcomic)
03 Nov 2025
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Summary
When Nick stumbles upon a badly injured, dangerously thin, and barely conscious man named Charlie wandering the roadside in the middle of the night, he doesn’t hesitate to help. But as he brings Charlie to safety, questions begin to surface. Where did Charlie come from? What has he been through? And as Nick opens his home to him, can Charlie learn to trust again—and begin to rebuild a life he thought was beyond saving?
Recent series
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HS a03 countdown 2026 by AegoBi, CadburyOreo, Chescr, Chiralspiral, Coach1305, csheartstopper, Doozy4Ever, erinthelibrarian, Horny_sparklez (rainbowheartmug), kaalee, KateGraves, L56895, Lockerberry, niccknelsson, NotACactusCow, OlderSisterMagic, phlimsical, PhoenixSpring, rileys_words, roo_writes, roo_writes_heartstopper (roo_writes), Rugbi, Skasi6, TheIrishGirl, thoughtthedormouse, TK2nd, TwoBeatHearts, VasterEmpires, VroDo, warpaintandpixiedust, Yojfull, zillygoose
Fandom: Heartstopper (TV), Heartstopper (Webcomic)
01 Jan 2026
- Words:
- 126,829
- Works:
- 32
- Bookmarks:
- 12
Recent bookmarks
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The 12 days of Kinkmas by Beeslouisee
Fandom: Heartstopper (TV), Heartstopper (Webcomic)
26 Dec 2025
- Words:
- 49,225
- Works:
- 14
- Bookmarks:
- 27
Bookmarked by NotACactusCow
29 Nov 2025
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Summary
'Darcy opened Nick's laptop, and their eyebrows promptly shot up under their fringe. “Nicholas Nelson,” they chastised, peering down at him over the screen. “Who’s the hottie?"
The humiliation only got worse as Tara read out, “‘ Benjamin ‘Ben’ Hope (left) and Charles ‘Charlie’ Spring (right), claiming the bronze medal at their first British Figure Skating Championships .’”
Oh, God. He'd left his Google search open. “He’s just a guy at the rink, okay?! I just got curious about him!”
“Bi-curious, maybe,” Imogen drawled. The three of them snickered.'
***
OR: Charlie Spring is a competitive figure skater, Nick Nelson is Captain of the ice hockey team.
Slow burn shenanigans may include: Charlie Spring being a menace, figure-skating attempts by Nick Nelson, extremely gay meddling from Darcy Olssen, as well as pining, yearning, and an unhealthy amount of blushing.
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Summary
In the midst of the zombie apocalypse, 21 year old Charlie and his hormonal teenage brother are making their way from Edinburgh to Manchester on foot. They’ve heard it’s become somewhat of a sanctuary after London was ravaged by the undead. It’s also the last place their sister was known to be alive.
Nick is also looking for sanctuary after losing his brother and only travel companion. He’s not built to brave this world alone, and wants a fresh start. A support system. A family.
Unfortunately he stumbles upon a couple of extremely rude, aggressive, bickering little dickheads instead.
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It's Not Like I'm In Love With You by charlienotspring
Fandoms: Heartstopper (TV), Heartstopper (Webcomic)
23 Aug 2025
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Summary
And they were roommates... but what happens when things push the boundaries of platonic? Can Nick fix Charlies mistake or will he make it worse?
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Or in which Charlie is in love with his best friend and Nick finds out by accident but can't find the right way to tell Charlie that he knows... and feels the same way.
Bookmarked by NotACactusCow
16 Nov 2025
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What We Are & What We May Be by Indigo_Skye
Fandoms: Heartstopper (TV), Heartstopper (Webcomic)
08 Jan 2026
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Summary
Charlie Spring is thrilled to be part of Nathan Ajayi’s production of "Hamlet", but Elle and Tao are worried about him. He swears he’s fine... but they can’t help feeling like Charlie is hiding something.
Tara is ecstatic when her childhood best friend is cast in "Hamlet." After a rough start, it becomes clear to everyone that Nick is talented. However, the newcomer to London is cagey about his past- and his present, for that matter.
Nick and Charlie are each determined to keep their secrets to themselves.
The universe, and their meddling friends, have other plans.
A Theatre AU full of queer joy, meddling, secrets, spice, drag, dancing, drama, friendship, found family, fencing, flirting, angst, a few third act plot twists, far too many baked goods, and whole lot of iambic pentameter.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 301,475
- Chapters:
- 70/72
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 2,118
- Kudos:
- 962
- Bookmarks:
- 134
- Hits:
- 51,572
Bookmarked by NotACactusCow
16 Nov 2025
Bookmarker's Notes
Read to chapter 49. Come back when complete!