milliways_bar | (no subject)

Arms are around Charlie within a second of him taking the seat.

"I know. I'm boring too."

He laughs.

"Except, perhaps, for last night. It was...well, it was something of a whirlwind. How bout you? How are you doing?"

He takes a deep breath, inhaling Nick's comforting scent, and says quietly as he gets comfortable, "Dealing. I talked to a lot of people and it did help. You know. From a pragmatic standpoint."

He nods.

"I'm well aware of how this all goes, Charlie. Well aware."

A squeeze and a soft nuzzle to his cheek.

"Now...would you like to hear the good, the bad, or the not all that ugly apparently?"

"Start at the beginning, and when you get to the end, stop." He smiles and nuzzles back.

"Well," he says with a grin, "first there was me, walking down and almost instantly glomped by David, who was rather upset about what he'd done to you. I calmed him down...and we got up to our usual silliness...because it's David and I. And then he started trying to convince me I'm handsome again, which went as well as it ever does."

A smirk.

"Which is about when Alex wandered downstairs, Loki called off David before he attempted to get the both of us in bed, and then Alex told me about his nightmares...which upset me, as you might guess. I...fed him from me, and I from him...and we're bonded now. It's...lovely."

And then the widest smile on his face.

"Which is when I looked up and saw my sister, my real, mortal sister from eight hundred years ago, my little flower, my Fleur...walk into the bar."

"Your sister--that's wonderful! I'm glad. It's good to have family around. And the bonding . . . the bonding sounds nice."

David never offered that to me. I don't know why.

He smoothes a palm over Nick's cheek, frowning a little. "Why do you need convincing that you're handsome?"

He laughs.

"I don't. Because I'm not. Something I accepted long before."

But his eyes are elsewhere.

"But she was here...and I saw her. She...she hasn't seen me for two days, but it's been...god, centuries and we were so close. So very close."

"I'm glad for you, Nicky. I really am."

He holds Nick's head between both hands and tilts it gently to one side, then the other. "Hm."

He blinks at Charlie.

"Yes?"

"Trying to find the angle where you're not handsome."

There is no face to palm, but that it very much the look he's giving Charlie.

"God, another one."

Pleading.

"Leave it be? I'm not. I appreciate the care, but...unnecessary."

Charlie smiles and kisses the end of Nick's nose. "If you insist.

"But I like looking at you, so. Take that as you will."

He shudders a bit, but instead of explaining he nuzzles straight into Charlie's neck, needing something reassuring and calming so that he doesn't get upset.

"Nick?" He holds Nick close and kisses his hair.

He doesn't pull away. Well, just enough to speak.

"That...that would be the bad. Alex...wandered off while I was talking to my sister and...he met someone who looks like me. Not...not another version of me, but...a man...named Simon...who had a knife and...threatened him. And...he called me over and...accidentally..."

He looks up to Charlie.

"Have...have I told you about Him?"

The capitalization is very very easy to hear.

Charlie shakes his head, combing his hand through Nick's hair to soothe him.

"It's me...but it's not. He's...He doesn't feel anything. He's all the dark shoved into a corner and let rot for eight hundred years. Everything I couldn't deal with. And He's...He's so twisted from the pain, he doesn't understand things. Like...emotion. Or...right and wrong. Or anything."

He looks to Charlie.

"But...he can only come out when He's called. And...Alex called Him by accident. And...He would have killed Simon if He wasn't more worried about Alex."

He sighs and leans back into Charlie, nose back at the crook of his neck.

"But He got out...for a little while. Scared Alex. Scared me. And...He does that. He...kisses on the nose. I don't. It's...it was just a reminder. I'm sorry. I...I shouldn't have freaked on you. You're going through...much worse than me right now."

"Oh," he says softly, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I won't do it again."

He shakes his head, smiling.

"No, no, it's all right. Just...a little weird, considering."

A cheeky grin.

"Anywhere else you can think of?"

"You mean like here?" He kisses Nick's temple. "Or here?" He kisses beside his mouth.

He nods sagely.

"Of course."

A grin.

"Then again, there's always here."

The forehead.

"Here."

The cheek.

"And here."

He kisses Charlie on the lips.

Charlie whimpers and his fingers tighten in Nick's hair, kissing him back.

And Nick kisses him, soft and slow, gentle. Comfort. Care.

Charlie kisses him for some minutes, then finally pulls away and whispers, "Don't let me do this, Nicky. You and Alex have something wonderful. I don't want to ruin it just 'cause I'm selfish."

He blinks at Charlie.

"Charlie? What're you talking about?"