Four's Company | Stucky / Marvel Polyamorous LGBT Romance

Chapter 14: Nicky

TW: Flashbacks/mentions of past abuse, blood, panic attack, mentions of past suicidal thoughts, death of parents (in the past)

Nicky nearly shattered his work phone when he threw it across his office.

For as long as he had worked here, Nicky had always been more than willing to go anywhere he was sent by his company, sometimes with less than a few days of notice. He had just one request, one rule. That he not be sent there.

HR had done everything in their power for the past three years to be accommodating, letting him switch trips with his colleagues, even allowing him to beg off of a trip earlier this year to the same city. Unfortunately, this trip was last minute and absolutely no one else was available to go on a holiday. ]

The site had been having some problems and they needed a consultation immediately. Nicky wasn't surprised. The entire city was cursed, it was a wonder it hadn't just sunken into the earth yet.

This was, of course, the city where he had taken his first job. The city where he had met Charlie... and then the city where they had met HIM.

HIM. Nicky didn't even like to think his name and he never spoke it out loud, like an incantation that could summon a demon into the room with him. Adrienne. The only other man who had shared a bed, shared a life, with Charlie and Nicky as a couple.

They met in that cursed city, and they shattered there as well. Charlie and Nicky were only barely able to pick up the pieces when Charlie submitted for the transfer that brought them here.

Nicky tried to tell himself that it wasn't the city itself he hated. There were just so many memories slithering along the roads, hidden in the corners of bars, and creeping through coffee shops and restaurants. All of the tendrils originated from the club underneath Nicky's old apartment, where they had met HIM.

Nicky felt bile rising in his throat and he slammed his hands down on the desk trying to regain a semblance of his composure. He didn't have a choice. He had to go. He only had 8 hours to go home, pack, and figure out how he was going to make it through the next four days.

He grabbed his coat and left the office without a backwards glance. He shot off an acidic text to Charlie telling him to meet him at home and he grabbed the first taxi he saw, not having the patience to wait for an Uber today.

Charlie arrived home twenty minutes after Nicky and he had already managed to rip apart half their closet trying to pack clothes for the trip.

Charlie didn't say a word, just let Nicky throw clothes at him violently from the bowels of the closet, calmly placing them in Nicky's suitcase that lay splayed open on the carpet.

Once he finished in the closet, Nicky stalked to the bathroom, pulling out a pointless amount of toiletries. He just needed to keep moving.

Charlie shadowed him around their apartment as he continued to seethe and snarl, like a rabid animal confined to tight quarters.

Finally, Nicky slammed to a stop in their bedroom, feeling his muscles clench up and his mind grind to a halt.

His eyes snapped up to Charlie's. "What if HE's there."

Charlie stepped towards Nicky now, taking him in his arms. "He... shouldn't be. The last time I was able to find anything on him he was across the country. It should be fine but...I will go with you if you need me."

Nicky really considered it for a moment, but he knew Charlie savored holidays at work. He could go into the office and catch up on huge swaths of work without being bothered. December was usually too hectic for him to get any real work done and then they often took a full week off for Christmas. This was Charlie's last real opportunity of the year to finish big projects.