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"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."

"I love the idea of you being my muse, but tesoro, I will want to try out every last scene," he says with the utmost of severity, as if this is the kind of thing they have to be cautious and careful of, instead of something to look forward to.

He does love the idea of living and working together, so very much. "I'll make sure your curls are perfect, even if it will put me into a jealous fit whenever someone looks too long," he vows.

"I don't see a problem with that," Yusuf answers, matching Nicolo's serious tone though he's obviously grinning. "I will try out every scene with you, as often as you'd like." He sees Nicolo's point still, and hums in agreement.

"Good. Between your hair and mine, we're going to glare at a lot of people for staring too long," he jokes, sounding very smug about it.

"I think I might need to write a whole series with your protagonist character, then," Nicky muses, "though, with the romance genre, that does mean I will have to throw some obstacles at them. What do you think? Should I send one of them away on a very long trip?" he teases, given their current situation.

He laughs, soft and under his breath, at the thought of people staring at him for his hair. "What do you think they'll stare at me for? Because they assume it is greasy, yes?"

"That's fine with me, I think I make a good protagonist," Yusuf says, playfully. He's not sure that's true, but he trusts Nicolo's talent as a writer to make him an interesting character. "Oh, yes," he sighs, wistfully. "They can write heartfelt yet steamy letters to each other in the mean time. Perhaps a few drawings too, from your artist heartthrob." He grins. "And then reunite with a great deal of passion."

He makes a small noise of dismay, shaking his head though he knows Nicolo can't see him. "I'd never make your hair look greasy, Nico. They'll look at you because it's soft and shiny and very cute in a little ponytail."

"You are certainly the most well-liked of my books," Nicky can say with absolute honesty, because he's never had this much love for a character before than when he writes about Joe.

He deserves every moment of it too, so he is happy for it. "I do like writing passionate reunions. I will have to act that one out too," he says, eyes closed as he begins to let sleep take him over.

"You think it will not be greasy, but a few hours in, and I fear we will have no choice."

"The credit is yours, tesoro, not mine," Joe answers, softly because he can tell that Nicolo is beginning to fall asleep. "Your excellent writing lured more readers in." He smiles, settling more comfortably to sleep too.

"I'd like that. I think our reunion will be passionate anyway, staging or not." He chuckles, amused at the way Nicolo is talking about his hair. "We might need to change your shampoo, then. We'll figure it out."

Nicky hums softly, not wanting Joe to think that he's given up on him already. He is trying, so very hard, to stay awake, but he thinks it's a losing battle, even if he is desperate not to let it be.

"We will figure it all out, together, because you are the love of my life," he says, as if he isn't sleepily dropping a huge truth on Joe like this.

It's not a mind-blowing revelation -they've been slowly slipping towards making this relationship more and more serious and saying 'I love you'- but it's still a shock to hear Nicolo state that he believes Joe to be the love of his life so plainly and so earnestly, in that vulnerable moment right before sleep.

"Oh," Yusuf says, sounding terribly fond and a little emotional. "Nico." He smiles, stroking the back of his phone like it's Nicky's cheekbone. "My love."

Edited 2021-08-08 17:50 (UTC)

Oh, indeed.

Nicky doesn't want to take it back, not when he means it with all his heart, but he still smiles warmly to hear Joe respond with such perfect warmth, because that is all he wants.

"When I get home tomorrow, you can show me how happy you are to hear it," he vows. "I will be excited to experience it."

Joe doesn't want Nicky to take it back, either. "I will," he vows, warmly. "I'll show you how much I missed you, and how much I love you. Don't make any plans, habibi, it'll take all evening." He adds the last bit playfully, though he does mean it. This is good, Joe thinks. It'll give him something to plan and think on until Nicky is back.