topino | (no subject)

Joe doesn't think that. Nicky was (relatively) easy to seduce, but Joe gets the impression that he got very lucky in that respect, and that Nicky is usually a lot more circumspect. From what he knows, it would seem out of character for Nicky to have multiple relationships and discard them all.

He hums, not asking what the reasons were. He doesn't want to stir up painful memories. "Their loss," he says, gently, and kisses Nicky's temple.

He chuckles, stroking through Nicky's hair. "I'll tell you, but you have to tell me yours in return," he teases. And he will. He can tell Nicky about the foods he likes, about how he loves reading and going to museums and occasionally writing mediocre poetry, about how he enjoyed his holidays in Algeria and would love to go to Malta next summer.

"My gain," Nicky replies, seeing as he absolutely thinks that finding and having Joe is the first prize in a contest he hadn't even known he'd been a part of, but here he is, and he's absolutely beyond thrilled, in a way he cannot describe.

He finds he's fighting a jaw-cracking yawn, but he knows he needs to clean up, so he pinches Joe's hip. "We cannot fall asleep," he says, as if he's accusing Joe of that, when it's really him who's at fault. "And maybe you can start by telling me your favourite colour. Mine is...green, I think."

It's such a sweet thing for Nicky to say that Joe just has to cup his cheek and give him another kiss, smiling into it. He feels warm, both from Nicky's embrace and from his interest.

"I'm not falling asleep," Joe protests, wriggling away from the pinch. "Are you?" He leans up a little, snorting. "Yeah. Come on, let's go shower before we put even more paint on my sheets." He hates to break their embrace but he's looking forward to getting clean too, tugging Nicky to a sitting position.

"What kind of green?" Joe inquires, curiously. "There are many." He would know, as he's been reviewing them all to find a good match for Nicky's eyes.

Nicky makes a face, a considerate face that says that yes, he is falling asleep, and if Joe lets him curl in with him, then he will fall asleep a painted sticky mess, and nothing can be done about it. Luckily, Joe is made of sterner stuff, sitting up and giving Nicky a good example to follow.

"Sea green, like the ocean. Or deep green? Blue? Aqua?" He shakes his head, not sure what the difference is in the minutia, he just knows that he likes it because it reminds him of the deep sea. "And yours?"

It's a very sweet face and it almost prompts Joe to just let Nicky curl against him and fall asleep. Almost. "Come on," he repeats, chuckling. "I'll wash your back for you." He smiles, kissing Nicky's shoulder before he pulls him to stand up.

"Those are all very different greens, Nico," Joe chastises, amused. He stretches his arms above his head, relaxing his back. He won't bother to get dressed to walk to the bathroom, pulling Nicky along. "I like a good golden orange," he says, thoughtfully. "Like a beautiful sunset."

He leads the way, closing the bathroom door behind them. "Bath or shower?" he offers, letting Nicky choose.

Nicky lets Joe pull him to his feet, grateful for the help because he doesn't think that he could do it on his own, not without Joe. "It will be a shame to watch such beautiful art go down the drain," Nicky says with a look of regret over his shoulder, peering at it. "I guess you will have to do it again."

"And then again," he teases gently, following towards the bathroom. "And maybe the next time, you can use such beautiful sunset golden oranges." He kisses Joe's cheek, lingering and soft, wanting to reward him for such sharing. "Shower, I think. Too much paint on us for a bath."

"I wouldn't mind doing it again," Joe agrees, starting the shower and pulling Nicky into it once the water is warm. "You're a great canvas." He grins. "Distracting, but lovely."

He tilts his face back into the stream of water, rubbing at his beard, and then steps back, motioning Nicky to take his place. "I'll turn you into a beautiful sunset, if you like." He smirks. "Your ass can be the sun." He puts his hands on Nicky's hips and pushes him to turn around, reaching for the soap to wash his back. "And what an incredible sun it will be."

Nicky slides right into the shower and, consequently, Joe's arms, which is the only place he wants to be, tipping his head to the side to watch the paint start to sluice off him with the water, sighing with disappointment to see the colourful water go down the drain.

"Will you be a sun worshipper, then?" he questions, able to keep his expression neutral even if there's a sparkle of mirth and amusement in his eyes. "Or is this just the new series of paintings? My backside and back, in series of nature landscapes?"

"It's okay, tesoro," Joe says, smiling at the way Nicky is sighing wistfully. "I'll paint you again. And you can see the pictures for this one." He kisses Nicky's shoulder once it is clean, humming.

"I will definitely be a sun worshiper," he returns, grinning though he's very serious about it. He runs soapy fingers across Nicky's backside, even though there isn't much paint there. Chuckling, he leans against Nicolo's back, his chin on his shoulder. "I could make a series of it. Maybe not all landscapes featuring your backside, though, that would be tacky." And some things aren't meant to be posted online, Joe thinks.

"Good," is Nicky's emphatic reply, because he would never want to see work wasted, and seeing it all go down the drain is a very poignant reminder that this is a transient artform. At least the picture will make it more permanent.

Nicky glances back to Joe, stealing a kiss in between him being soaped up. "There's another artwork that I'd like to see of you," he admits, "if you're willing to take on a commission." He reaches for the soap so he can have a turn, taking his time soaping up and running his hands over Joe's abs. "I'd very much like a new artist for the cover of my next book."

There is no need to steal kisses from Joe, he will give them all very willingly. He pauses to kiss Nicky better, his hands staying on his hips for a while, his eyes closed.

The offer makes him hum, even as he gently strokes his palms over Nicky's chest, making sure he got all the paint that managed to get there. "From you, I'll take any commission," Joe says, earnestly. He leans into the touch, looking down to enjoy the sight of Nicky's strong hands on his own chest.

"I could do that," he says, sounding surprised but pleased by the request. "I'd love to put your words into art." He grins, his hands coming up to rest on Nicky's broad shoulders, stroking to his neck. "I'm warning you, though, I am very expensive to commission," he adds, playfully. "So if you thought you could get away with getting free art from your poor boyfriend, you thought wrong, Nicolo."

Nicky can already tell that he'll feel the absence of Joe's fingers on his hips in no time at all. When he writes, when he reviews, he'll ache for the press of his fingers. It may become something of a problem, but he's going to enjoy it now, while he has it.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't ever think about making you do it for free. You would be paid and your name would be in the promotional materials," he promises, turning to face Joe, sliding his fingers through his wet hair to push it off his forehead. "Is my boyfriend truly so poor? Here I thought that he was very rich in non-financial ways."

Luckily, Joe will be more than willing to touch him every time he likes.

"That's nice," Joe agrees, mildly. "I didn't think you would. You don't strike me as one of the 'do it for the exposure' assholes I've had to deal with in the past." He shakes his head, disapproving.

"I am poor in money, very rich in other ways," Joe agrees, cupping Nicky's face between both hands. He grins, the corners of his eyes crinkling in joy. "I mean, I have been calling you tesoro for a reason, haven't I?" Nicky is quickly becoming so precious to him.

"I would never," he vows with a hint of fierceness in his words, because he would never ask for Joe to do anything for him as a favour or a kindness. He appreciates Joe's value and his talent far too much to even imply that he doesn't deserve the very most.

Nicky grins as he slides his soapy hands a little lower, taking his time to wash Joe's hips as he skims his thumbs over the line of Joe's hipbones. "Am I silver and gold, then? Or gems?"

"I know," Joe says, gently. He doesn't know everything about Nicky, but he can already tell that this is not the type of person he is. "Thank you."

He shifts his weight a little when Nicky's hands stroke lower, both because it feels nice and sensitive, and because he loves Nicky's hands on his hips. "No," he answers, smiling back. "You're yourself, and that's enough to make you precious."

"You're welcome," is his serious, calm, and honest reply, because he wants to make sure there's an even balance of respect between them, especially with how they began this relationship. Bickering is something he enjoys, but not if it throws them too far off balance.

He leans forward to slide his palms down Joe's thighs, gripping at his ass as he starts to soap him up. "Does everyone fall for those lines? Because I think I might have to give up my superiority complex, because I am too."

The difference is that bickering with Nicky, Joe never got the impression that Nicky was undervaluing him. They had argued about some aspects of his work, but Nicky had always made clear that he thought Joe's work had worth, and that Joe himself was talented. This has not, unfortunately, been the case with all the commissions Joe has done.

Joe steps closer to nip at Nicky's shoulder, pressing kisses up the side of his neck and grinning at the way Nicky is gripping his ass. "They're not lines if I mean it, Nico," he says, playfully. He kisses Nicky's jaw, his own arms coming to rest around his broad shoulders. "But I'm glad to know they're working all the same."

Nicky tries to hide his grin at the nip to his shoulder and the line of kisses up his neck, trying to play it calm, cool, and collected (something he's failed to do since he met Joe, if he's honest, in a variety of ways).

"They're working very hard," he says with a serious nod of his head, turning towards Joe for a slower kiss, mumbling against his lips. "Would you like to wash my hair now?"

That's okay, Joe doesn't want Nicky to be cool, calm and collected. He'd much rather seem him bothered, arch and passionate.

"Good," Joe says, sounding pleased. "I'll keep it up, then." The offers makes him hum and reach for the shampoo, slipping his fingers through Nicky's wet hair. "I'd like that. Is that something you like too?" Nicky's hair is lovely and as much as Joe likes to dishevel it, he thinks it'll be nice to help wash it instead, for once.

Nicky has a very particular thing for the touch of fingers at his scalp. It makes him shiver and bow towards the person touching him. It makes him want to whimper and give in, fully, absolutely, and totally. It also means that his hair will look better, because he doesn't do the best job himself when it's barely rinsed out.

"I think," he manages, sucking in a breath through his teeth, "that you should keep going and find out." It will only be moments now before Nicky has a hard-on and Joe will know exactly how much he likes it.

"Yeah?" Joe prompts, smiling at the way Nicky is leaning into him now, shivering at the sensation of Joe's fingers running through his hair gently. He uses more shampoo and carefully works up a lather in Nicky's hair, combing his fingers through the strands, giving his scalp a slow massage with his fingertips.

Nicky is so close to him in the small shower that Joe can feel him get hard almost as soon as it starts happening, grinning wider. "What is it that you like, then? The scalp massage?" he inquires, demonstrating. "The petting?" He smooths Nicky's hair back. "Some pulling?" He tugs, close to the scalp so it doesn't hurt much, just enough to tilt Nicky's head back so he can kiss the underside of his jaw.

The pull makes him moan, a sound drawn out of him that he would be embarrassed to name, especially seeing as he likes to think he has so much more control than that. And yet, one tug from Joe, and his knees are almost buckling, he's fighting hard to grab at the shower wall, and he's forgetting all the things that led them here (namely, that he isn't usually ready to go like this again so soon).

"I think a combination of all of it, but especially the hands responsible for it, those are very important," is his grave admission, breathing a little harder now. "Joe," he groans, hand sliding from his hips to take his cock in hand, "There's something else I think could use some petting and pulling."

It's such a lovely sound and Joe smiles even as he directs Nicky to stand under the spray of water to rinse the shampoo out. When he sees that Nicky's knees are almost buckling he puts his free hand on his hip to steady him, pushing him up against the tiled wall so he doesn't risk slipping. He hums in answer, nipping down the side of Nicky's neck, licking at the water drops there.

"I hope my hands are to your liking, then," he answers, looking down when Nicky moves to touch his cock. "Is there?" he teases, amused. "What's that?" He punctuates the question with another tug, his fingers tight in Nicky's wet hair, trying to see if he can make him moan again.

Nicky helpfully steps to the exact spot that Joe needs him in, making a soft hum of pleasure for the warmth of the water, the bite of Joe's teeth, and the hand in his hair. It's not exactly a moan that Joe gets from him, more of a wrecked sound like Joe has somehow reached into his soul and broken him apart.

Fuck, that feels nice. Nicer than most things that Nicky's experienced in his life, if he's honest.

He drags his hand down Joe's cock, working his thumb over the head as he tries to hold his own ground. "What?" he asks, because his brain just short-circuited. Did Joe ask him something? Right, yes. In retribution, he starts jerking Joe off a little faster. "This kind of pulling and petting, I think."

It's a very nice sound nonetheless and it makes Joe's hips arch into Nicky's touch, stepping even closer so they are pressed together from thighs to shoulders. He shivers when Nicky starts stroking him, quickly hardening further, pleasure making him hum and flush with warmth.

Grinning as Nicky just blinks at him dazedly and takes a few seconds to answer, he leans in to kiss along his jawline again. "Oh, that kind," he says, his voice low and pleased. He lets go of Nicky's hip to circle his cock instead, stroking him slow and steady. He watches what it does to Nicky, tugging on his hair again and leaning in to kiss his wet lips, eager to swallow the noises of pleasure Nicky will make.