10 Years Later
Sitting on the floor by the coffee table, legs crammed beneath the smooth glass surface, I let out a fatigued sigh. Pulling my glasses off to rub at my aching nose bridge, I closed my eyes to rest them for a moment, the reports spread in front of me beginning to blur. Opening them again, I stretched my weary limbs, before leaning my head back to rest against the edge of the couch behind me. Our modest apartment was a little dark, with only the copper floor lamp casting a dim glow over the coffee table. For a while now, the apartment had been quiet save for the rhythmic scratching of pen against paper.
It has been ten years since I graduated highschool, and just a little more than that since I've been with Nico. Living together for the past four years, while our relationship was very much set in stone, like every relationship there were some bumps in the road. Sometimes our paths curved away from each other, or went over a bumpy road, but in the end they always reunited. I couldn't imagine a life without Nico, and I knew he felt the same way.
After everything, it seemed only fitting for me to pursue a career in science, though some were surprised when I decided to not only study it, but to teach it. Now teaching biology to unruly teenagers, the events of my youth seemed so far away. It was a long time ago, but every now and then, something would remind me about those times and everything would come back with a startling clarity that always made me lose my train of thought.
Looking at the papers below me, I couldn't help but smile, the curve of my lips full of nostalgia.
"So, when are you free so we can do this experiment?"
"Huh? One second," Alyssa said, fingers clacking on her phone as her friend peered over her shoulder.
"Oh, yeah, no problem," I said, words drawn out sarcastically as I hefted my books onto my other arm, already tired. "It's not like I have anywhere to be."
"I'm free this weekend," Nico's husky voice suddenly spoke, Alyssa's head snapping up from her phone, fingers poised mid-emoji as she blinked.
"What?" both Alyssa and I said in unison, Nico just looking up at me, a hidden smile on his lips.
Picking up the useless piece of paper from the table and unfurling it, Nico waved it in front of my face.
"We're swapping partners," Nico said coolly, not even looking at Alyssa as he got up from his chair, hands in his pockets. As he walked past me, his shoulder bumped with mine, his head tilting downwards to look at me. "Let's go."
Shaking my head at the memory, I couldn't help but find that the apartment was a little empty without Nico's presence. Even after living with each other for so long, I still missed him whenever he wasn't beside me. Lately, he had been even busier than usual; after years of hard work, Nico had just managed to open his own restaurant. Sure, it was small, and the plot of land that he bought needed a lot of work, but it was his. But, because of the work that he needed to put into it to get it up and running, he had been spending less and less time at home.
Slapping my cheeks at my self-apparent loneliness, I pushed away some of the papers I was grading, checking my laptop for any emails or messages, sliding my glasses back on as I did so. As I opened up my email, a new message popped up, and my stomach flipped like it always did.
Neil Dillon.
I had rarely spoken to my father since he decided to leave us for another man. Since that day when I was 17, the only connection we had was on my birth certificate. We went for six years without contacting each other, and it was only four years ago that Nico asked me to contact him. I was reluctant at first, still bitter at what he did to mum, Jamie and I back then, but Nico had given me a sullen, knowing look that made me think twice.
"He's still your father. The relationship I have with mine is completely gone, but you might still have a chance. You'll never know if you don't try, babe."
It had only taken that little slither of encouragement for me to reach out to my father, even if in a curt email. He had replied back almost straight away, a little too eager, but also relieved. Apparently he had found out that I was gay after keeping tabs on my social media, though it was only recently since I never shared anything too personal online. Since then, we have been conversing over email regularly. We weren't at the stage where I would be willing to meet with him, and his new family, and I didn't know if I would ever be ready.
I probably couldn't forgive him, but for Nico, I was willing to try.
Quickly replying to my father's email, each one becoming easier than the last, I quickly checked the rest of my messages. There were a few from Benny, whose 9-to-5 finance job gave him ample time at his desk to spam me with messages. He hadn't changed too much, although a lot had happened in his own life since we graduated from highschool. He got into university, he graduated from being a virgin, and he graduated from being single. Colin was responsible for two out of three of those milestones - but that's a whole other story.
After replying to only half of Benny's random assortment of messages, I made myself a cup of tea before forcing myself back into the cesspool of highschool biology assignments. After finding my rhythm, my mind and my hand methodically working through the assignments, I barely registered when the front door of the apartment opened, Nico's tall form stepping through.
"Babe, I'm home," Nico called, making me smile, looking up from the grammatically incorrect paper I was grilling. Seeing me sitting there, wearing his hoodie, Nico gave me a lopsided grin. Throwing his coat onto the back of a barstool by the kitchen, Nico quickly disappeared into our bedroom, emerging again wearing his pyjamas. Wasting no time, he crossed the small expanse of the room, climbing onto the couch behind my head. Situating his legs around either side of me, Nico bent down, pressing a kiss to the back of my head. Inhaling deeply, Nico let out a content yet exhausted sigh.
"Long day?" I asked, looking at the clock on my phone. It was just past midnight, Nico obviously working on the restaurant far longer than he had intended. Mumbling a tired "mhmm" against the back of my head, Nico slung his arms over my shoulders, picking up one of the papers I was marking. Eyes skimming over it, I mirrored his smile when he chuckled, the vibration of his body tickling my back.
"This assignment looks a little familiar," Nico said, turning the page. "Woah, these guys grew so many beans. But still not as much as you." Looking up at him, holding a paper like he did when he was eighteen, another wave of nostalgia washed over me. Nico looked the same yet different; he was still devilishly handsome, with the same azure blue eyes and cheeky grin, but his longer hair had been cropped short due to his profession as a chef, and his lip ring was missing. Surprisingly, I had lamented over his decision to remove his lip ring - for professionalism purposes, he had said - which Nico found amusing. Still, I had grumbled about it for a good few weeks after he first removed it, but he found plenty of ways to make it up to me.
"I'm surprised you find it familiar, considering someone had to write the whole thing because his partner decided he didn't want to contribute," I said, wiggling my brow as Nico whistled, feigning ignorance.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Nico said, putting the paper back down on the table, shrugging emphatically. "I remember us growing the beans in my wardrobe, and opening up my house to you to work in."
"Bell's house," I said, rolling my eyes. "It was Bell's house."
"Whatever you say, babe," Nico said, leaning down to press his weight against my back, arms still dangling over my shoulders. His tattoos peeked out from beneath his jumper, dark against his fairer skin. With Nico's weight at my back, my body began to tilt forwards, to the point that I was unable to concentrate on marking the final papers in front of me.
"Nico, I'm trying to work," I whined, reaching my arm upwards to lightly slap the back of his head. Nico groaned, taking the opportunity to pull the glasses from my face and the paper from my hands, before wrapping his arms around my shoulders tightly.
"Babe, I haven't seen you all day, and you want to sit here reading about beans?"
"It's part of my job," I said simply as I moved to pick up the paper I was half way through. Nico shook his head, slamming his hand down on the paper, bolting it to the table.
"It's late, and I miss you," Nico said stated, as if he were listing out the universal truths of the universe. Getting up, Nico tugged on my arm, a slight pout on his lips. "Come to bed with me."
Staring up at Nico's face, which was both pleading and teasing at the same time, I couldn't help but cave. Muttering a curse under my breath, I let Nico hoist my up with his strong arms, which dragged me towards the bedroom. As we neared the edge of our bed, I let out a yelp as those same arms scooped me up around my waist, throwing me onto the mattress. A second startled noise escaped my open mouth as Nico jumped on top of me, his four limbs trapping me beneath him.
"Nico!" I huffed, rolling my eyes at Nico's amused smirk from above me.
"Babe, I missed you today," Nico said for the second time that night, his smirk morphing into a warm, heart-wrenching smile. Struggling to keep my annoyed expression up for any more than two seconds, I laughed while shaking my head, reaching up to coil my arms around Nico's neck. His arms lowered themselves around my head, his fingers tangling in my hair as he pressed a soft kiss on my lips. Pulling away only enough to rest his forehead against mine, Nico's hands gently carded through my locks, nails scraping against my scalp.
Closing my eyes at his tender touch, I smiled as Nico spoke, the rumble of his chest flush against mine.
"Did you miss me, Wes?" Nico asked, his voice a mere whisper.
Pausing for a moment, enough to make Nico's fingers stop moving through my hair, I then opened my eyes to find Nico staring down at me expectantly.
"Yeah, I missed you, too," I said honestly, Nico's face lighting up in a smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
Kissing me again, Nico held me close like he always has, and always will. Enveloped in the smell and feel of this man that I loved so damn much, I knew that there was no place I'd rather be. For me, I never felt happier, never felt more alive, than when I was in our...
Sheets.
A/N: Because a few people have missed them, just want to let you know that there are two bonus chapters in Nico's POV after the next chapter (i.e. after my long-winded author's note)! :)