topino | (no subject)

"I would," is his counterpoint, though he thinks that he would likely end up doing a lot of bickering and likely a recipe cook-off of some kind where he kindly informs this lovely Tunisian grandmother that he will be taking care of Joe now, but she can certainly help.

He's also not convinced there isn't a little infatuation because, well, look at Joe.

"Good, because the shoulders are already gone," he happily says. "And I feel cozy. I chose very cozy clothes, and you may have to tell me where you got them."

"I know you would," Joe returns, amused. "And I'm not sure I'd bet on you. She's feisty," he teases, putting his other hand on Nicky's hip and giving him a gentle squeeze.

He hums and strokes his hands up to Nicky's shoulders, taking them in happily. The shirt looks good, tightly stretched over Nicky's broad shoulders. "You can just keep borrowing mine," Joe offers, pleased that Nicky is feeling warm and comfortable. "I like seeing you in them." And he does, even if they don't fit perfectly.

He pats Nicky's shoulders. "Go sit down, I'll bring you your food."

Nicky would probably end up losing, humbled, with his head down and begging for forgiveness, so he doesn't argue that. Joe's absolutely right, but he's still looking forward to the dinner from the grandmotherly neighbour (that he may or may not have to fight).

He peers down at the shirt, shrugging like it's no big deal, even though it is to him. "Well, I could bring my own things here, but with such a kind offer, I'm not sure I want to," he says, settling down at the table, body aching, and eager for food.

"You can bring things here, if you'd like. A change of clothes, a toothbrush, whatever you want," Joe answers, earnestly. He doesn't mind, far from it. "I'll bring a few things to your place too, if that's okay," he offers, smiling.

He ladles lamb in a rich tomato sauce as well as prunes, almonds and vegetables into bowls, and brings them to the table. "Here," he says. "My payment for working hard on that leaky water heater."

"Books? Maybe some writing materials?" Nicky is thinking more about how he could spend his hours doing some of his writing in Joe's place, where he thinks he'll be more inspired to write about romance anyway. He would save his criticizing for his home office, but he has a feeling that he'll do better talking about his protagonist here.

After all, the new one is basically Joe.

He grins as he takes the bowl, tucking one leg under his ass to reach for a napkin and fork. "This much food, I think you're trying to put me to sleep," he accuses fondly. "I see your plan to make sure I stay." As if he'd go anywhere, barefoot and cozy as he is.

"Anything you like," Joe assures, smiling as he sits down. "We can put them in the painting studio, if you want, so we can work together." They might not talk while working -Joe suspects they both get quite absorbed in their work- but at least they will be together.

"Oh no," Joe says, dryly. "You've seen right through my cunning plan to make you stay so I can hold you through the night." He takes a bite from his dish, grinning brightly. "Foiled again." The tagine is just as good as he remembers and he hums, pouring Nicky a little wine to go with it.

Nicky gives a thoughtful nod as his mind helpfully begins to make plans for them, almost as if he hadn't been necessary in this equation at all. Joe says yes, so there will be a computer and some reference books, and his notes on the new novel.

It's settled.

"You may need to be shirtless," he warns, "if I plan to write here, I won't bother you, but if I look up and need inspiration, the model of my main character being as helpfully shirtless will only help." He's teasingly smiling, but he's not joking.

Nicky murmurs a soft 'thank you' for the wine, and a few bites in, he has to admit that the neighbour absolutely knows a thing or two. "Do you think she'd teach me this?" he wonders. "Maybe I won't fight her, maybe I should try and get her to adopt me."

Joe is thinking about it too, thinking about how nice it will be to draw and paint with Nicky sitting at the desk by the window, looking soft and golden in the sunlight. He snorts at the request, arching his eyebrows playfully. "I'll crank the heat up, then," he agrees. He half thinks Nicky is joking, though Nicky's tone is serious enough. "Just ask me to flex whenever you'd like to be inspired," he adds, clearly pretending to boast, waggling his eyebrows.

Sipping from his wine, Joe considers the idea. "Well, I'm sure you can charm her into it. Her grandson never visits her, she could use the two of us to help her." He grins, brightly. "I'll introduce you tomorrow, if you'd like."

Nicky nods, because he does want it. He wouldn't have said it if he didn't, even if his interest is far more of the artistic muse sort than the sexual, though he's sure that he'll be able to mulit-task when it comes time.

"Flex, or maybe pick something heavy up so I know what you look like with someone thrown over your shoulder," he muses, as he eats.

He follows suit with Joe, sipping his wine, grinning as he thinks about meeting the neighbours. "And will I be introduced as your boyfriend?"

Nicky's serious nod makes Joe snort, though he will take his shirt off if asked. He's not shy and he likes the soft, stunned way Nicky looks at him when he's shirtless. "I could do that," Joe agrees, easily. He arches an eyebrow. "Pick you up, if you'd like." He could take it, he's lifted heavier weights than Nicky at the gym.

Joe smiles to Nicky softly, his eyes warm. "Yeah. What else would I introduce you as?"

"Of course that's what I want, but I just want to hear it again," he admits, with a pleased as punch smirk on his face, knowing that he'd managed to get Joe to say exactly what Nicky had been searching for.

"If you pick me up, then I could write very realistically how it felt," he says between bites of delicious food. "I could describe your muscles with stunning accuracy. You'll have to make sure to capture that, in the commission for the cover."

"You can hear it whenever you like, tesoro," Joe replies, amused. He's happy to claim Nicky as his partner, and will gladly tell everyone that. He doesn't think his neighbor will have a problem with it; at any rate, she'll be too busy pinching Nicky's cheeks and asking him for secret Italian recipes.

"That won't be a problem," Joe teases in return. "I think we've established that I'm very good at painting myself with great narcissistic accuracy." He arches his eyebrows, considering that. "Of course. And for further book research, where should I take you, once I have you over my shoulder?" he asks, playfully.

"Then I'll come to your next show and bask in being the artist's boyfriend," he says, which is a warning and a boast at once. He's never really been anyone's, so the pride of having a man like Joe want him like this is intoxicating and perfection.

He cannot wait to flaunt it in people's faces.

"Well, I would have to be put down to write about it," Nicky admits, clucking his tongue in disappointment. "So any fantasies of carrying me and throwing me down on the bed would have to wait."

"If you'd like," Joe answers, chuckling. "I feel like a lot of artists are terrified of you, so introducing you as my boyfriend will be interesting," he teases, gently. Joe himself in still somewhat in awe that he managed to seduce Nicky at all, so he can imagine the incredulous looks he's going to get at an art exhibit. He likes the idea a lot.

"You could write it down afterwards," Joe helpfully suggests, grinning wider. "I know you have a pretty good memory."

Nicky raises his brow, as if he has no idea at all why anyone would be scared of him. Really. What could it possibly be? (He knows, very well, and he enjoys being an ominous and shadowy figure that has other artists scared)

"Or they'll flock to you to find out the secret of taming me," Nicky points out, smirking as he thinks about that. "What will you tell them to try, amore? Just so I can be prepared."

Nicky finishes with his food, but he still has wine to sip and enjoy. "Well, it is an okay memory, but I would hate to lose the passion of the moment."

No idea at all, uh? Joe isn't buying that.

"I don't think I've tamed you at all," Joe points out in return, leaning back in his chair to sip his wine and consider Nicky with a grin. He shakes his head, tapping his finger against the table. "I will tell them to try nothing, they can't have you," he answers, quite serious about it. He's not actually a very jealous man and he wouldn't cause a scene if someone tried to flirt with Nicky, but he would dislike it very much.

"Ah, that's too bad," he pretends to sigh, amused. "Yet another fantasy sacrificed to your art."

Nicky can't help his smirk at the taming comment, but it grows into a true smile when Joe mentioned that he's going to keep his secrets close to his vest. "Good," he insists, sipping his wine, "I'm not really into stringing along multiple boyfriends at once," is his cool tease, leaning over to kiss Joe, lips still brushed with wine.

He licks his lips as he eases back, biting his lower one thoughtfully. "I suppose once I wrote the chapter, you could always pick me up then, since it would all be written down."

"Right?" Joe agrees when Nicky says he's not really the type to string several men along at once. "Who has the time?" He has to stop grinning when Nicky kisses him, making a soft noise of approval instead and kissing him back.

He puts his head on Nicky's shoulder, gently stroking up his neck, but resists the urge to go up and into Nicky's hair again. He doesn't want to abuse the knowledge Nicky just gave him about that.

"Oh yeah," he says, pretending to be flippant about it. "I suppose we could do that." He smirks. "Any time you like, Nicky, just let me know."

Nicky's smile is only growing as Joe rests his head on his shoulder, as if Joe has suddenly coaxed the sun itself to come out and it's warming Nicky from the inside out. That's just how he makes him feel -- so perfect and alive and wonderful.

Now, it's a grin, as he thinks of Joe holding him over his shoulder. "Well, we could start tonight, just so I can sketch out the scene. You could always take me over your shoulder to your bed," he suggests serenely.

Joe nuzzles into the crook of Nicky's neck a little, kissing him there before he leans back. He keeps his hand on Nicky's shoulder though, making sure he stays close.

He snorts at the proposition, playfully shaking his head. "You've just eaten, wouldn't that make you queasy?" he teases, watching Nicky with warm eyes. He spreads his hands, agreeing nonetheless. "But I did say any time, and I'm a man of my word. So, what's the context for this, in your book?" he inquires, finishing his glass of wine. If Nicky wants to be carried to bed like a heroine in a romance novel, Joe can certainly give him that.

Nicky is glad for the touch. He would hate for Joe to think that he wants anything else and he breathes in deeply as he peers up at him, adoring his eyes and the way he looks.

"I have a stomach of steel," he vows, telling the truth. He's had so many poor dishes over the years that you could poison him and he would be absolutely fine, apart from maybe a slight growl. He raises his brow smoothly, dabbing his lips with the napkin. "Well, in the book, they're arguing and he puts her over her shoulder to take her to bed, in order to put the argument to rest, so to speak."

"Lucky you," Joe answers, amused. He makes a note of it in his mind; he's enjoying finding out more things about Nicky.

"Isn't that a bit cliché, Mr DiGenova?" he teases, nudging Nicky with his foot. "Shouldn't they talk about their feelings instead?"

Still, he's ready to take Nicky to bed over his shoulder. The idea is not unappealing, in fact. "How does your heroine react? Does she get mad?"

"Write what you know," is Nicky's calm reply, trapping Joe's foot before it can go too far, enjoying that they're playing a sudden game of footsie under the kitchen table. If his body weren't exhausted from earlier, he might be eager for a new round, but as it is, his muscles are screaming from rest.

"Well, she is a thing of fury, of course. How dare this man interrupt her speaking by putting his hands on her," he says, pushing his plate and glass away, so they won't be knocked to the ground.

"Do you have a lot of experience with people resolving fights by taking you to bed, then?" Joe inquires, grinning. He wriggles his foot between Nicky's, amused.

"How dare he, indeed," Joe approves, getting up and gesturing for Nicky to do so as well. "Don't kick me, please," he requests. "And tell me if I'm hurting you." He puts his hands on his hips and tries to get the appropriate tone for this, though he's not a great actor.

"Enough of this argument, habibi," he says, sounding stern and exasperated, and leans down until he can press his shoulder against Nicky's belly, wrapping both arms around his thighs to lift him up. Nicky is heavy but it's nothing Joe can't handle, making sure to bend his knees and use his thighs to lift instead of his back. "There. To bed with you," he says, giving Nicky's ass a little pat.

"No, just the arguing part," Nicky serenely admits, given that he has fantasized about being ported off in the midst of one by a handsome man, but most of those fantasies start and stop with the handsome man in this room, and he's about to get his way.

He stifles a big laugh when Joe takes him over his shoulder and decides to have lines, but the strangled yelp when his ass gets patted is real. "You know, you don't have to degrade me by patting my ass like I'm some sort of good boy," he mutters, a little peeved, but only because he'd sort of liked it.