topino | (no subject)

Joe smiles, his eyes still closed. "What makes you think I'd even try to leave your arms," he argues playfully, his voice going a little shaky as his pleasure builds.

He hums, low and wanting, at what Nicky is promising in that soft voice, biting on his lower lip to give himself some contact there as he pictures Nicky kissing him as soon as he returns.

Nicky's words of love are met with a soft groan and Joe manages to whisper that he loves Nicky too before he comes, breathing hard as he strokes himself through his pleasure.

Now that they have both found their pleasure, Nicky feels cold and lonely, even though Joe is on the other end of the line. He's regretting telling Joe not to come, because as much as he wants to believe he can be patient, he's also realizing that it's not the case.

He waits to hear Joe's breathing settle before he speaks.

"We are going to be a pair, aren't we? Unable to drift too far from each other for the rest of our lives." He puts it out there, almost tentatively, testing the waters to see how Joe will react to such a statement.

Joe takes his time to catch his breath, still smiling, his eyes closed. When he opens them he too is left cold and alone though, and with sticky fingers. He sighs, reaching for a paper tissue so he doesn't make a mess on their couch, before he zips himself up and goes to wash his hands.

He keeps the phone between his cheek and his shoulder, grinning when Nicky speaks up again. "I think we're going to be quite insufferable," he agrees, fondly, drying his hands. "The rest of our lives, uh?" he adds, a little teasing though he obviously has no objections.

Nicky pauses a moment, in the midst of his cleanup, careful to keep the phone with him. "Well," he says, flustered and blushing a little, because he hadn't meant to scare Joe with his statement, but he also knows that unless he's the one who makes a mess of it, he doesn't want things to end.

"Who am I to ignore a great thing? It took me this long to meet you. I'm just lucky that you were willing to be more than just my nemesis via email."

Joe isn't scared at all, and it shows in the way he chuckles, warm and amused. When he answers, his voice is tender. "I think I'm the lucky one, Nicolo. But let's not argue about who is luckiest."

He hums, setting out to make himself a cup of tea, feeling relaxed though he still misses having Nicky close enough to touch fiercely. Nicky's voice in his ear, still, is much better than nothing, and he holds the phone tightly. "I'll always be your email nemesis," he teases, softly. "But I'm happy to be more to you, for as long as you will let me."

"Ah, well, in that case, I'm going to claim you until you don't want me anymore," Nicky replies, tangling the blankets around him as if he can cocoon and find himself protected from a lonely night. "Maybe, sometime, we can pretend again," he teases.

"I will find an anonymous address, and I will email about your latest exhibit to give you my honest opinion about the brushwork."

"That could be a very long time, Nico, just so you know," Joe teases back. He pours himself a cup of tea and returns to the living room, grinning at Nicolo's offer to become his email nemesis again.

"Oh yeah? Criticize my model even though the model is you?" He sips from his tea, humming. "I think I'd recognize your style of criticism. I'd come straight home and demand an explanation," he mock-threatens, oddly amused at the idea of staging an argument between them.

Edited 2021-07-03 00:58 (UTC)

"You had better seal that promise," Nicky insists, because if Joe is going to offer the rest of his life, then Nicky is going to take him up on it. He can be very selfish, which Joe might not know in full, but he's going to find out.

He laughs, softly, as he thinks to his earliest criticisms of Joe and how self-centered he had thought the man, only to be proven wrong. "Would it be a heated argument, my love?" he murmurs. "I'm sure we could find ways to hash it out."

"I'll seal it with a kiss when you come back," Joe promises, his voice tender. If Nicky's selfishness means they are going to stay together forever, Joe is fully ready to encourage it.

"Very heated," he confirms, though his tone shows clearly that he doesn't mean it. "I would be very mad and you'd have to go to great lengths to placate me. Great lengths, Nico," he insists, obviously grinning.

Edited 2021-07-05 14:50 (UTC)

"Tomorrow," Nicky murmurs with a long sigh, as if he's the one truly upset about this turn of events, when he's the one who took this book tour in the first place, even knowing how miserable he would be.

He closes his eyes, letting the overwhelming feeling of love and adoration wash over him. "Well, then, I will start with the length between your legs and go from there."

"Tomorrow," Joe repeats, longingly. It seems so close and yet very far away at the same time. He takes a sip from his tea, humming in agreement when he hears Nicky sigh. "I'm definitely coming with you, next time," he points out, smiling.

Nicky's awful joke makes Joe snort inelegantly and rub at his face, unable to bite down a grin. Well, he did set himself up for that one, didn't he? "Pretty safe bet, I can't stay mad at you when you do that," he agrees, amused.

"Next time, you will come to every signing and you can make my readers furiously jealous that I have made my romantic hero come to life," he agrees, because even before Joe had done the artwork for him, he thinks he would be hard-pressed to admit his new protagonist is anyone but Joe.

He grins, lazily, and absently rubs at the spot beside him, as if he can make Joe manifest. "I know. It's been a very handy trick to have."

"I can definitely do that," Joe agrees, pleased at the idea that he could make everyone jealous just by standing there and grinning to Nicky lovingly. "I'll be your arm candy for the signings, make sure no one hits on you," he adds, teasingly. "Perhaps sign a few copies too, if I do end up drawing your cover art."

Joe hums, low and tender. "It truly has, hasn't it? And you've been using it ruthlessly habibi, you know I don't stand a chance."

"As if they would hit on me with you right there," Nicky huffs, but he still appreciates the idea, and he's grinning as he looks at Joe, nodding as he thinks about how very much he will be outshined.

Nicky is very ruthless, and he is very glad for it, and there is nothing about it he would take back. "Good," he murmurs, his post-coital pleasure catching up with him. "In that case, I think we have an agreement about my next book tour."

"I think they would," Joe argues. "Have you seen yourself, Nicky? I'd give it a shot too, if I met you at a book signing." Joe grins, amused. "And perhaps I will. I'll come to get my book signed, pretend I've never met you before, and seduce you away," he teases, joking though the idea holds some appeal.

"We do," Joe agrees, softly. "Much better than this." He hums at the tone of Nicky's voice. "Sleepy? Are you going to bed soon?"

"I have had to up my game," Nicky admits, seriously, "if I'm dating you, I want to be as attractive as possible." It's as good as admitting to being vain and making himself look as handsome as possible when he'd first gone to Joe's show, but not something he says out loud.

He suspect Joe knows, anyway.

"I was tired out by someone's very lovely voice," Nicky admits, "but I don't want you to hang up," he admits. "Will you stay on the line with me?"

Joe hums, delighted at the idea of Nicky trying to be even more attractive just for him. "Well. I was going to say that you don't need to, but since it benefits me greatly, by all means. Do wear tighter pants and product in your hair," he teases, knowing Nicky despises the latter.

"I will. We can go to bed together, if you'd like. I'll put you on speaker and we can chat until we fall asleep." Joe smiles, softly. "I need to brush my teeth first, though."

"Maybe I will keep growing out my hair a little," he says, ruffling a hand through it. He'd cut it off before the tour so he wouldn't have to maintain it, but he's finding that it's not as nice as before.

Turning, he shifts so he can drag a pillow close to him, setting the phone on speaker so he won't miss a thing. "I've put my phone on the pillow you would have used," he tells him. "It's not the same as your arms around me, but at least I have your voice."

"I'd like that," Joe tells him, earnestly. "You look great with longer hair. I think it'd look good if you grew it long enough to tie it back." And Nicky knows how much Joe likes to pet it, too.

He grins as he takes the phone with him, brushing his teeth and stripping down to his underwear before he gets into bed. "I've put mine on your pillow," he returns, softly. "It's better than nothing," he agrees, closing his eyes. "What do you want to talk about?"

"So you want me to wear a ponytail." He hums, rifling his fingers through his hair. It's been growing while he's on tour and he's been sending the photos to Joe, but he also knows that it's not long enough to be able to do anything with.

Still, as he cards his own fingers through his hair, pretending they're Joe's, he smiles at the thought of it. "I want to hear about what's going to happen when I come home," he murmurs. "Not just our reunion, but the days after. I want to know what it will be like, living together."

"Yeah, a ponytail," Joe says, picturing it. If he wasn't in bed already, he'd reach for his drawing pad and sketch it. "I think it would look good. You could do one of those half up, half down buns? That'd suit your face." He sounds a little dreamy just picturing it.

Joe hums, his voice tender as he complies. "Well first, I'm going to cook a very nice dinner for you when you come home. Something that can be reheated when we eventually get out of bed, preferably," he teases. "Then we'll start looking for a flat, and visit some together, yes?" Joe sounds soft. "We can go to sleep holding each other and wake up in the morning holding each other still."

"Ah, now it just sounds like you will be putting my hair up in a ponytail, most days," Nicky teases, though he does like the idea. It would save him a lot of time on having to worry about styling it, if he's able to just tie it up.

Maybe some strands will even fall in his eyes, which Joe can then push aside with his lovely fingers.

"I will make us coffee in the mornings and make you stumble out of bed," he agrees, heart beating faster to think about the life they'll live. "We'll need two offices, of course, since we both will work from home."

"I wouldn't mind," Joe returns, truthfully. "I like your hair. And it's easier to do than mine." He smiles at the idea of starting his days by doing Nicky's hair. And pulling on it, probably, to see if he can get his lover to groan. It all sounds good to him.

"I thought you wanted to share an office," he teases, smiling. "So you could glance over and look at me for inspiration any time you need."

"We could do it together. Yours and mine, at the same time, in our shared washroom each morning," he says, and each time he adds a new detail in this picture he's painting, he finds he likes it even more.

What a beautiful life it will be.

"I thought that I would want to share, but be honest, Joe, would we ever get any work done?" he challenges.

"That works," Joe says, softly because he likes the idea too. "I'll teach you how to do the curls, it's not hard, it just takes time." Nicky better do it seriously, too. Joe isn't going out with his hair all wild and disheveled.

"I thought I was your muse, and now I'm distracting?" Joe mock-complains, though he's obviously grinning. He hums, considering. "Let's get two, yes. This way we can share one if we want to be together, but also work on our own if we need to."