topino | (no subject)

I will make you a deal. You find me some swing-dancing in a nice public space with the evening air, and then I will entertain you in a club with the dancing you like so much.

[ Nicky happily leans into his side and wraps his arm around his waist, thinking about what it will be like to have someone to clean up for them who isn't Booker. ]

Andy will be happy if we fetch her some good desserts. What do you think for Nile? Journals, maybe? I want to give her something that she can do over the years, like you have your art.

So specific. [ He will find it, though. And a very fun gay club for them to go to another night. ] We won't dance all night at my club. Promise.

[ Trust is a difficult idea right now. Betrayed by a loved one. Relying on a stranger. Joe doesn't want to feel uneasy about their family but these are difficult times. ]

We should ask her next time but a journal sounds nice. And maybe a nice pen to write with.

[ Nicky shares a smirk with Joe. ] Is that your way of saying you cannot do it?

[ He knows it will be easier to find the modern club, and also knows that they will end up dancing amongst a slew of elderly couples if they go where Nicky wants, but that's what they are, isn't it? ]

Andy told me she recognized the Rodin. I think maybe you could teach her drawing. Anything, really, to avoid what happened with Booker.

[ Maybe if they start her with a hobby, she will not be consumed with grief or envy.

Or maybe she will be like Nicky and need no hobby, merely the reassurance that they are doing good. ]

No, no, just don't expect it tomorrow. [ He playfully tickles Nicky's side for that smirk.

He sighs at the mention of Booker. It brings up a complicated mess of feeling. Mostly it hurts and there's some guilt and anger. ]

Booker had his hobbies. He could've made other choices. [ But he won't let Nile go down the same path whatever it takes.

His heart can't take another betrayal like that. ]

We have weeks. You can surprise me.

[ He flinches, but laughs brightly for the tickling, viciously returning the parry with his own poke, though he breathes out sharply as he thinks of Booker and his hobbies and how it had not been enough. ]

We will make sure she's not like that, that she is never that unhappy. I don't care how, we will.

We will.

[ He presses his lips against Nicky's temple, closes his eyes, and rests there for a minute.

Silently, he prays they won't make the same mistakes and that their love for their family will be strong enough to support instead of smother. ]

What else should we do on our vacation? [ Time to change the subject before his heart gets too heavy. ]

[ Nicky closes his eyes as well, basking in what he has. He has always had Joe, and he loves him for it. They might have started enemies, but he couldn't imagine an existence without him.

Humming, he thinks of what he wants to do. ]

We have already decided on restaurants and sunbathing and swimming. Romance novels for me and sketching for you. Dancing. An unhealthy and appalling amount of sex, of course.

[ He can't see that he's missing anything. ]

Maybe we could drive along the coast in a convertible?

Unhealthy? That's only if we don't hydrate properly and have snacks in between.

[ That's a lesson they only need to learn once.

He sees a ferry employee and stops to ask them how much longer they have until they dock. An hour, the man informs them. ]

We should cook together. That always makes for a pleasant evening. And I'm sorry, but you will have to watch some football.

We should stop and get a few flats of water, then. I would hate for a repeat of that time we forgot.

[ Dying in that manner is not something he wants to do again.

Nicky slides their hands together, watching his hand and Joe's together as he sets them on the railing to stop and watch from this new viewpoint. ] I'm always happy to cook with you. You taught me to make such beautiful things with spices.

[ And, he sighs, football. ]

I will watch, but only if I can watch with my head in your lap and your fingers in my hair.

[ Joe props his hip against the railing, once again facing Nicky so that he can see his expressions and occasionally get lost in his eyes. ]

We were young and foolish then. [ The height of their passions had been very passionate. ] We won't do it again.

I still can't make bread the way you do. Let's practice while we've got the time.

[ He chuckles. ] That won't be a hardship for either of us.

[ Nicky is happy to lean his cheek on their joined hands, staring at Joe in the beautiful sunlight from behind his sunglasses, beaming at the thought of fucking themselves to death.

Andy never has let them live that down. ]

We can make bread every day. I will be your short-order cook, making anything you like.

[ Nicky's smile blossoms for Joe's confirmation. ] I will even be bribed to cheer for whichever team you want me to, instead of Italy.

If you make everything I want I'll have to work out six or seven times a day. Otherwise I'll get fat.

[ He will work out anyway because Joe likes the physical discipline but Nicky's cooking could turn a stick into a tree. ]

No, no, it's good for us to have different interests. [ And he wants someone to have a little sports rivalry with. Usually, it would be Booker... ]

I think I can work six or seven workouts into your daily regiment. Swords, grappling, and sex, and then we repeat. [ He says it calmly, like it's the easiest idea in the world, and he beams at Joe with the easy look of a man who has wonderful ideas.

He kisses his temple swiftly, to show that he loves him and is only teasing a little. ]

So I can cheer for Italy, and you will cheer against me? It will be the first we've fought in some time.

Ah, yes, the best sort of exercise. [ Because swords and grappling will lead to sex. But he'll also go for runs on the beach and lift weights now and then. ]

Is it really a fight? [ He smiles fondly at his Nicolo. ] You won't make me sleep on the couch if Italy loses will you?

[ Like he could ever fall asleep without Nicky in his arms. ]

[ Nicky hums softly as he thinks about what he will do if his beloved team loses (not that he actually cares about football). ] No, I will miss your arms around me too much. You will be able to sleep with me, still.

[ Otherwise, how else would Nicky sleep?

Suddenly, he catches sight of something in the distance, and his grip on Joe's hand tightens. ] Guarda, Joe, look. Malta.

[ And there it is rising out of the sea. Malta. Their second home. He breathes a sigh of relief. Of course the sight also makes him impatient to be on land. Their vacation is so close he can taste it. ]

There it is. [ He nuzzles Nicky's hair. ] I suppose we'll have to head back to our car soon. We can take our time, though.

[ And watch the city come into view. ] Do you remember the first time we saw it together? It didn't look like this.

[ Nicky is already breathing deeper to see it. He's so relieved to be home, even if it's a different kind of home. He closes his eyes and steps back into Joe's touch, laughing at the idea of Malta being the same. ]

We didn't look the same then, either.

[ He struggles to even remember what they looked like, when all Nicky remembers is how handsome Joe had been. ]

I remember thinking it was like Genoa, like home, but a place I didn't have to worry about my past catching up to me.

I think my hair was longer. And my beard too. [ It's a vague memory like most things that aren't related to Nicky and falling in love with him. ]

I remember our first place. How tiny it was. [ That's it, really. A small, cramped place was all they afford but that had simply allowed them to be close. ] We should walk by and see what it is this decade.

[ Because the place changed long ago and has kept changing. They still have each other, the important part. ]

I like it when your beard and hair are long enough for me to take full handfuls of. It makes me feel like I can guide you where I want you.

[ He feels a little sad to think of their first place and how it's no longer theirs. Nicky knows the years are long and it would never stay the same, but he longs for a home they can return to with a proper bed and kitchen, maintained in a way that they could simply drop in again and live in.

Not a cave or a decrepit safehouse. ]

I think we should take evening walks in the sunset every day, so I can kiss you on the coast with the sea in your hair, and the sunset reflecting on your face, my love.

I can grow them out while we're here. [ Joe had been thinking about shaving them but Nicky's words stop that immediately. ] It's the reason why I like your hair long.

[ One day, they'll get their own place and have something more than safe houses and abandoned places. He knows Nicky wants to settle. He's more comfortable wandering but that was his life before Nicky. ]

Nightly walks sound nice. Down at the beach, I assume? Barefoot in the sand. You know how much I enjoy the romance of a moment.

I think we should both grow our hair and see how long it gets in the next two months. Andy can tell us who won when we return. [ Nicky already intends to let his beard, moustache, and hair grow, until he resembles more of his past self than his present.

And then, he will see how he can make marks on Joe, instead of only the other way around. ]

Of course, in the sand, and barefoot. Maybe under the moonlight. I enjoy the romance, but also enjoy the thought of skinny-dipping in the sea.

We can recreate how we first met. [ Nicky was something of a wild man their first meeting. Joe still fell for him anyway. ] With the sword fighting if we desire.

[ A passing tourist looks very confused by that statement which makes Joe grin a little. ]

Ah, I see your brilliant plan now. [ He tugs Nicky away from the railing to move on. He’s getting restless as they get closer and closer to the shore. ] Not that I am against it. You know how much I enjoy the sea.

I think this time I will keep it to more of a scruff and use beard oil. There are modern developments that I think will make me much more handsome.

[ And his hair, he will stop just after his chin, just at the point he can tie it up. He smiles brightly and with great politeness at the passing tourist, as if nothing is wrong.

Moving towards the car again, Nicky snorts. ] I think you love being naked in the surf, that's what you love.

I don’t know what I’ll do if you get any more handsome. I suppose just trail after you like a devoted hound. Eager to please you in any way I can.

[ The truth is Nicky is always handsome even in horrible fashions and various hair styles. He loves him when there is brain matter in his hair. Joe cannot stop loving him. It is physically impossible. ]

I do! [ He laughs loudly. ] No matter how much you enjoy me in that swimsuit you’re enraptured with I think swimming nude feels better.

[ Nicky is still snorting under his breath with laughter, seeing as he doesn't think that he needs to do anything to earn Joe thirsting after him like a dog on a summer day. ]

You please me in all ways, my beloved, my husband. [ He kisses his cheek as they wander back to the car. ]

And I admit, it is nice when you are bare-assed for the world to see, and I can sit back and claim you victoriously as mine. It is not what they promised me when I sailed to the Crusades, but it a better treasure, all the same.