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Joe blinks awake, feeling heavy and warm, and tightens his arms around Nicky to pull him closer to his own chest. Joe tucks his nose into the nape of Nicky’s neck and burrows his head further into their pillow, making his nose to brush back and forth against Nicky’s neck. It’s not on purpose at first, but when Joe hears Nicky’s little giggle, Joe does it again, this time definitely on purpose. Nicky reaches a hand over his shoulder, stilling Joe’s head with a gentle touch. “It tickles.”
“I know.” Joe whispers, still too tired to really speak. Joe feels Nicky’s chest jump with a silent laugh, no doubt amused. The hand that Nicky threw over his shoulder to still Joe is now firmly in his hair, gently massaging at Joe’s scalp. Joe groans from how good it feels, how Nicky always seems to know the right spots to hit on his scalp, how he always applies the perfect amount of pressure. “Sleep again?”
“Of course, Yusuf.” Nicky whispers. Joe smiles into the back of Nicky’s neck, taking Nicky’s hand from his hair and pulling it back in front of Nicky’s chest, tangling their fingers together. Joe knows Nicky will eventually turn over in his arms and bury his face in Joe’s chest, but Joe likes to fall asleep like this and Nicky knows it. “We have no plans today, we can sleep as long as you like.”
Joe has a passing thought of how horrible and disgusting it is that Nicky is a morning person and is speaking to Joe in full sentences, but another thought comes to the front of his mind before he can articulate how terrible Nicky being a morning person is for their relationship. Joe had been thinking about this yesterday, and he was going to bring it up with Nicky while he was baking, but Nicky had turned around and Joe had taken one look at his flour covered cheek and kissed him. There wasn’t much talking after that.
“We need plants at the store today.” Joe mumbles into Nicky’s neck, and while that sentence makes perfect sense to Joe, who already knows what he’s talking about and didn’t hear the words spoken directly into Nicky’s skin, Nicky doesn’t understand him. Joe thinks Nicky asks him something, something that sounds a lot like, “What plants at what store, babe?”, but Joe is already asleep before he can respond.
Joe wakes up for the second time still warm and heavy, but this time Nicky is curled into Joe’s chest, like he predicted. Nicky is gently running his thumb over Joe’s collarbone, the rest of his fingers wrapped over Joe’s shoulder. Joe thinks he presses a kiss to Nicky’s hair before he falls asleep again, but he can’t be sure. The third time Joe wakes up, he’s rolled onto his back, with Nicky laying fully on his chest this time, still wrapped in Joe’s arms. Joe knows he could fully wake up, feels less groggy and heavy than the other times he’s woken up, but he really doesn’t feel like waking up right now. Nicky must sense this and coaxes him back to sleep, shushing him and gently rubbing his thumb over Joe’s eyebrows and running his fingertip down the slope of Joe’s nose. Nicky’s touch is not distracting in the way that it should be when he’s trying to go back to sleep, it’s soothing and relaxing and one of the best things Joe’s ever experienced, and Joe is asleep in seconds each time.
The fourth and final time he opens his eyes to start his day, Nicky is still in bed with him. Sometimes, Nicky can’t lay around in bed any longer than he already has and gets up to start his day, starting a pot of coffee for Joe and boiling water for his own tea. Sometimes, Joe wakes up early enough to ‘help’ Nicky make breakfast (Nicky gives Joe tasks that essentially keep him out of the way, and Joe knows this, and Nicky knows that Joe knows, but Nicky still pretends that Joe is none the wiser), but sometimes Nicky wakes Joe up with a plate piled high with food, sitting with Joe in their bed while they eat breakfast together. Every version of their mornings are Joe’s favorite, but when Joe wakes up with Nicky still in his arms, nothing is better than that.
“You finally awake, sleepy-head?” Nicky teases him, and Joe can feel Nicky’s smirk pressed into the side of his neck. Joe must have rolled over onto his side in his sleep, pressing Nicky’s face against his neck again. Joe squeezes Nicky tighter in response, still too close to sleep to come up with something clever to say back, and while Joe meant for it to be some kind of retaliation, it isn’t effective at all. They both enjoy Joe tightening his arms around Nicky too much, Nicky likes being pressed up against Joe and the pressure of Joe’s arms too tight around him, and Joe likes when Nicky inevitably caves and flips Joe over onto his back and Joe can finally see his whole face.
“You said we had no plans today?” Joe asks, just to confirm. The two of them aren’t working on any kind of mission or recon, they were on...vacation, if Joe could call it that. Joe wanted to settle for a while, wanted to stop running around and dying covered in his own blood and in strangers’ blood for at least a few months. They had been working nonstop for a while, and Joe wasn’t even going to say anything, didn’t want to break them up when it was clearly going well for all of them, but Nicky saw right through him, as usual. After the two of them had showered and gently washed away the blood and guts that covered them both from an intense mission, Nicky brought them to bed and took Joe’s hand, playing with his fingers until Joe talked. Nicky listened patiently, listened as Joe explained how he was so happy with their life, but he was feeling tired, burnt out, and he wasn’t going to be able to do any good if he kept going like this, if he kept pushing himself when he needed a break. Nicky had just kissed him and told him it was okay, it was more than okay, that if Joe felt like he needed a break then they would start planning tomorrow morning. Joe had invited everyone with him and Nicky, but they had declined, saying they would keep working without them, but promised not to take anything too dangerous or risky without them.
Nicky brings him out of his memories, confirming what Joe already suspected. “Yes, no plans.” Nicky tightens his arms and legs around Joe, and even though Joe knew it was coming, he’s still breathless when Nicky flips him onto his back and straddles his thighs. Joe smiles up at Nicky, silly and wide, and Nicky smiles down at Joe, soft and no less wide. Joe’s hands come up to Nicky’s hips, a reflex more than anything at this point, and starts thumbing at Nicky’s hip bones under his t-shirt. Nicky sighs and settles further onto Joe’s thighs, wrapping his hands around Joe’s wrists, not to restrict his movement, but just to hold him. “We could go to the beach again, or take our boat out tonight and watch the sunset, or we could just walk around the city if you want. We could also stay home, if you wanted to do that instead.”
Joe settles his head further into the pillow, thinking about what he wants to do today, but not taking his eyes off Nicky. His hair is a mess, like it couldn’t decide between whether it wanted to stick up or stay matted down, but Joe doesn’t say anything about it, can’t even imagine what his own hair looks like. There’s a line in Nicky’s cheek that Joe assumes Nicky got from when he was pressed against the collar of Joe’s t-shirt for too long, and Nicky is still sleep warm in a way that Joe loves. Joe has seen Nicky in expensive suits, has seen him in leather pants on one memorable occasion, has seen him look down a sniper rifle with deadly focus, has seen him in the most endearingly ugly clothes Joe has ever seen, but Joe doesn’t think Nicky has ever been more beautiful than he is right now. (Joe has this thought ever morning, but it’s always true, Joe always thinks Nicky is the most beautiful every time he looks over at him.)
“I love you.” is what Joe decides to say, instead of responding to any of Nicky’s suggestions. Nicky’s face goes soft, a fond smile growing on his face, his eyes shining with love. Joe knows Nicky loves him, hasn’t questioned that fact in hundreds of years and will never question it, but Joe likes to hear it anyways, and Nicky knows it. “I love you, too.” Nicky takes his hands off Joe’s wrists and cups Joe’s face instead, leaning down to kiss Joe. It’s quick, they’re really just pressing their lips together, but when Nicky goes to pull away, Joe takes his hands off Nicky’s hips and wraps them around his back, keeping Nicky still and kissing him again, keeps kissing him until Nicky pulls back slightly and rests their foreheads together.
“I did have something specific I wanted to do today, but now I can’t remember.” Joe and Nicky are still pressed close, their foreheads are still resting against eachothers’ so Joe can’t really see Nicky clearly, but he thinks Nicky raises an eyebrow at him. Nicky pulls back so he’s sitting upright again, despite Joe’s whine of disapproval, but he stays seated on Joe’s thighs, so Joe gets over it pretty quickly.
“Did it have something to do with plants? You said something about going to the store to get plants before you fell asleep earlier.”
Joe sits up so suddenly that Nicky looks surprised, but Joe kisses his surprise off his face, swallowing the shocked noise Nicky makes. “You beautiful, wonderful man.” Nicky looks even more surprised, but he goes with it, leaning back on Joe’s arms that are now wrapped around Nicky’s waist. “I want to fill the window room with plants and flowers. I think it’ll look really pretty.”
The window room, as they have started calling it, is the only empty room in their house, and it’s stayed empty because neither of them know what to do with it. The room is so covered in windows to the point where the walls are basically just basically one big window, and they’ve put tables and couches and rugs and chairs in there, but they just never go into the window room. Joe had wanted to buy the house because of the window room, liked the idea of all the natural light while he worked on his paintings, but when he got his easel set up and got his paints ready, he just didn’t feel it. The it he usually feels when he’s prepared to make art in a space he’s comfortable in, the it that allows him to solely focus on his art while his environment fades around him. After Joe had gotten frustrated and packed up his supplies, he had been determined to find a purpose for the window room.
“That does sound pretty. I will make us breakfast and then we’ll go to the store, okay?”
“Okay.” Nicky kisses him one last time before he climbs off Joe’s lap, trusting Joe will follow him soon. “Can I help you make breakfast this morning?”
Nicky pretends he doesn’t hear Joe, closing the bedroom door behind him too quickly for it to be anything other than avoidance. Joe cackles as he follows Nicky into the kitchen, pulling out all the stops so that Nicky will let him help with breakfast. It doesn’t work, naturally, but Joe is still proud of himself for trying.
______
Joe drives them to the store after they eat breakfast, trusting Nicky with the directions. They’re staying in their house that sits just outside of Gijón, Spain, twelve minutes from the main part of the city. Joe pulls off the highway, taking a turn onto a side street when Nicky tells him to. They’re going to a little local nursery Joe saw a few days ago, after he and Nicky had spent the day at the beach and then just walked around the city.
If Joe pulls into the parking lot of the nursery a little too quickly, Nicky is gracious enough not to say anything. Joe is just excited, happy to finally have some kind of hope of filling the window room. Joe grabs Nicky’s hand and swings their arms between the two of them to get Nicky to smile, greeting the woman at the front counter when she welcomes them to her store and asks if they need anything.
“We’re just looking for now, thank you.” Nicky tells her in Spanish. “You have a very beautiful store.”
“Thank you.” The woman, Joe is now close enough to read her name tag and sees her name is Isabel, tells them with a polite smile. “Let me know if you need any help.”
Joe leads the two of them around the room, taking the two of them on a lap around the store before they make any big decisions on what plants they want to buy. Joe points out plants he likes, touches at their leaves until Nicky notices and tells him to stop, that plants don’t like when you touch them.
“I read about it on the internet. It activates their stress response, and that’s bad for them.”
“I thought you hated the internet.” Joe says, but he puts his hands in his jacket pockets to prevent himself from touching any more plants. Nicky links their arms together and pulls him around the corner of a shelf, bringing them to a new shelf that’s full of little cacti and succulents. Joe’s eyes widen at all the different colors and shapes and sizes, not expecting this nursery to have this kind of variety.
“Yes, but it has a lot of good information in it.” Nicky says, now just following Joe again. Joe looks over at him, at his cute focused face as he takes in all the colorful plants around them, and Joe bites his tongue to stop himself from telling Nicky it’s on the internet, not in it. Joe watches as Nicky eyes a bright pink succulent, and Joe makes a mental note to come back and get it. “Besides, I would brave anything I hated for you.”
Nicky says that like it’s nothing, like that is a normal, passing thought for him to have. Joe guesses that it probably is a pretty normal thought for Nicky at this point, that Nicky would do anything for Joe, because Joe would do the same for him, has the same thoughts about Nicky. Still, Nicky just can’t say things like that to Joe and expect for the two of them to carry on like nothing happened, can’t expect Joe to not tell him something romantic in return.
“Hey,” Joe says, unlinking their arms and turning Nicky by the shoulders to face him in the aisle. Nicky blinks at him with wide eyes, listening intently to whatever Joe is about to say. Joe knows Nicky isn’t expecting a romantic speech right now, probably didn’t even expect Joe to get hung up on his sentence, either. “You are my moon, my stars, my compass in life that I cannot live without. The way that you show me that you care, that you listen, I don’t think I will ever know enough words in enough languages to tell you how much it means to me, even if we live another five thousand years. I know that you know, but I… there is no end to what I would do for you, no end to how my heart beats for you.”
Joe watches as Nicky swallows thickly, jaw clicking, his eyes shining as he searches Joe’s face. Nicky lightly cups Joe’s face, this thumb resting at the edge of Joe’s beard and his other fingers tangled in Joe’s curls at the nape of his neck. Nicky exhales, any tension in his shoulders dropping away at whatever he sees on Joe’s face. Nicky pulls Joe’s head down just a little bit, and Joe is briefly confused before Nicky rises up on his toes slightly, pressing a dry kiss to Joe’s forehead. Joe closes his eyes and lets out a heavy breath, leaning into Nicky’s kiss. Nicky pulls back and lets go of Joe’s face to slide his hand down Joe’s arm, interlocking their fingers with a gentle smile on his face. Joe gives Nicky what he’s sure is his most love-struck, besotted smile, because after that, how could he not ?
“Thank you for indulging me today.” Joe adds on, running his thumb over Nicky’s knuckles that he can reach.
“Not indulging.” Nicky says with a vaguely offended look, like even the suggestion that he isn’t as invested in their little plant project as Joe is is ridiculous, but Joe knows him. “I’m just as happy to have finally found a use for the window room as you.”
“Oh, of course.” Joe says dryly, earning a slight shove from Nicky with his free hand. “Let’s get a cart at the front for all our plants.”
“How many are you thinking of buying?” Nicky asks, following after Joe to the front of the store.
“It’s too early to tell, Nicky.” Joe says, deciding between a regular shopping cart with sides or a flatbed shopping cart. The cart with the sides is practical in the sense that it will support the plants better, and will probably keep Joe from buying too many because of its smaller size. He should probably pick that one. “Probably not that many, though. We still don’t know how this will work out.”
Nicky reaches across Joe and grabs the flatbed cart, giving Joe a dry look as he does so. “Get as many as you want. If it doesn’t work out, we will figure out what to do with them.” Nicky widens his eyes and flicks them to the many aisles of leafy plants and flowers and succulents before them. “I’ll push the cart.”
______
They are at the nursery for two hours before Nicky wanders away from him. Really, it’s not so much wandering as it is Joe was too focused on the tulips to really process what Nicky said when he left Joe surrounded by flowers. Joe pouts, looking down the aisle and peeking around the sides of the aisle for Nicky, not seeing him anywhere.
Joe sighs, deciding to finish his search of the flower aisle before he moves on and finds Nicky. Joe had insisted they start in the flower aisle, wanting to surround himself in the scent immediately, and Nicky didn’t fight him on it at all. Joe picked up each flower and lightly sniffed it, making sure not to touch their leaves or petals. Joe had asked Nicky’s opinion on every flower he picked up, asked him whether he liked the smell or if he liked the color or if he had any thoughts about where in the room it should go, but Nicky wasn’t offering many of his own opinions. It was always, If you like it, hayati, I like it or The pink is nice, yes, tesoro or My love, I think that one doesn’t like too much sun, so that won’t work for us .
Joe decides to get the dark maroon tulips, gently laying then down with all the other flowers he has in his shopping cart. Nicky was right to get the flatbed style cart, Joe had already filled more than half of the space with flowers, and there were still two more sections of the store for them to work through. Joe sighs, thinking that he could scale back on his flower selections, but he talks himself out of it, reminds himself that he could just get another cart if he needs the extra space. Nicky did say to get as many as he wanted.
Joe pushes his cart to the side of the aisle, in an empty corner where it won’t be in the way, while he looks for Nicky. Joe ducks in between all the aisles in the front of the store, and when he still hasn’t found Nicky, he ventures to the back of the nursery where all the bulkier gardening supplies are kept. Joe finds Nicky helping some boy, no older than twenty years old, stack bags of mulch onto a pallet. Joe hangs back by the flower pots, watching Nicky and this boy stack bags of mulch and chat.
“What brings you to our little nursery?” the boy asks Nicky, struggling a little with a bag of mulch that looks like it was overstuffed. “Home renovation project?”
“Ah, kind of.” Nicky says, abandoning his own bag of mulch and helping the boy pick up his bag the last final inches. “My husband wants to put some plants in our house. He’s in the front part of the store picking out some now.”
“Did you want to go back and help him? I can-” the boy starts, but Nicky stops him with a shake of his head.
“No, let me finish helping you. He can manage on his own for a little while longer.” There are only a handful of mulch bags left, so they’ll be done soon. Joe’s heart flutters when he hears Nicky call him his husband, even though it feels like a oversimplification of what they are to each other. They are married, in many countries over many centuries, but they’re so much more than that to each other, they are everything to each other. But Joe will be the first to admit that it’s hard to shake his smile for a while after Nicky calls him his husband in public. “My husband has much better taste than me, anyways. He knows what’s best.”
Joe slaps a hand over his heart, pouting even though no one can see him. God, Nicky is so sweet and kind and sappy that sometimes it hurts. Joe doesn’t know how Nicky found the boy, whether Nicky saw him struggling and offered to help or if the boy asked Nicky for help directly, but Joe is willing to bet everything he owns that Nicky saw the boy struggling and offered his help.
Joe watches as Nicky and the boy place the last bag on the pallet, and Nicky swipes his hair back from his forehead as the boy thanks him repeatedly. Nicky tells him its no problem, that he was happy to help him. Nicky turns to walk back to where Joe is supposed to be, and when he spots Joe, a faint blush spreads across his cheeks. Joe meets Nicky halfway, not able to stand being apart from him for a second longer. “ Nicolò di Genova, you are too kind for this world.”
“He clearly needed help, and I could help him. I couldn’t just watch him struggle with the mulch, he’s just a boy.” Nicky says, like Joe said anything against Nicky helping the boy in the first place. Joe smiles to himself, proud that he was right about Nicky offering to help the boy on his own.
“No, you did good, I know.” Joe wraps an arm around Nicky’s shoulders, leading him back to the main part of the store. Nicky leans into his hold a little, and Joe bites back a smile, ecstatic that their day is going so well, that Nicky doesn’t seem to want to be separated from him either.
“Did you find everything you wanted?” Nicky asks when he sees the cart full of flowers, practically every type the nursery has. While Nicky checks over the flowers, Joe scratches at his beard, thinking of the best way to tell Nicky that they will likely be at this nursery all day at this point. “You have exceptional taste in flowers, my love. These are beautiful.”
“Thank you, Nicky, but, uh,” Joe stumbles over his words, which only makes Nicky give him a suspicious look, so Joe just says it. It’s not like Joe expects Nicky to be mad about it, never, Joe thinks he’ll be more fondly exasperated than anything. Joe scrunches up his face, reminiscent of a wince. “I only finished going through the flower section.”
Nicky raises in eyebrows in shock, a little, surprised smile growing on his face. Nicky shifts his eyes to their cart, full of flowers, and then brings his focus back to Joe. Joe can tell he’s amused, not really all that surprised that Joe took two hours on the flowers alone, his eyes shining with mirth. “We have been here for two hours, love.”
“Yes, but I had to put a lot of thought into each choice I made!” Joe defends himself, dragging the shopping cart closer to the two of them to explain himself. Nicky still looks very amused, briefly bringing his hand up to scratch his nose, but Joe really knows it’s to cover his smile. “I had to make sure that the colors would match when we brought them home, that we were bringing them into the right environment, that they would grow well in our home.”
“It’s like adoption.” Joe says, just to watch Nicky roll his eyes. Nicky presses a kiss to his own fingertips and then presses his fingers to Joe’s lips, a sweet gesture and also effective at quieting Joe.
“Shh, I know, it’s alright. Let’s go look at those leafy plants now.” Nicky tugs at Joe’s wrist to bring him to the next section, dragging the shopping cart along as an afterthought, but Joe pulls his hand in the opposite direction, stopping Nicky.
“No, no, no- let’s go look at the succulents.” Joe insists, planting his feet and pulling his wrist in the other direction again, toward the succulents. “I saw you looking at that bright pink one, we’ll pick that one first.”
“Yes, I did like that one.” Nicky says, nodding to himself. “Okay, let’s go that way.”
They end up buying enough plants to cover every surface of the window room. Isabel looks like she might pass out when she sees how much they have, until Nicky and Joe reassure her that they’re in no rush and she can take as much time as she needs. Once they pack everything into the trunk and backseat of their car, Nicky asks Joe if they can pick up fish for dinner at that one good place, and Joe of course says yes. It’s a good day.
______
Joe sets his coffee mug down on the table, looking around their window room, sighing. Practically every surface covered in flowers and cacti and succulents and plants, Joe even had to hang some plants from the ceiling because he ran out of space in the room. In hanging pots suspended from the ceiling, Joe had put some ivy and jade that drooped long over the pots, covering the designs of the pots that Joe spent so much time choosing. Even the stairs are covered by ferns and monstera and nerve plants, large, swooping leaves creating a real tripping hazard for the two of them.
They had set up all the plants three weeks ago, first organizing the plants by sunlight needs, sectioning off the room by which side received a lot of sunlight and which side didn’t get a lot of sunlight, and then grouping them by how much water they needed, so they wouldn’t overwater or underwater any of them by accident. It was a good system, and after they figured it out, it wasn’t hard to sort the plants by the little informational cards each plant came with.
Nicky and Joe did research on how to best take care of the plants they bought (mostly Nicky, with Joe listening actively while he doodled in his notebook), and if there was anything extra they should be doing, and Nicky found a few articles on the benefits of simulating rain and wind for your plants, and occasionally talking to them. Joe thought it was a cute idea and planned to add it to his morning routine, Nicky thought it was a little silly, saying “How would they even hear us, Joe? They don’t have ears.”
Joe had spent his next few mornings watering and talking to their plants, faking rain and wind for everything except the succulents and cacti. Nothing too extreme, just some sprinkles of water from his fingertips and slight rocking of their pots. Joe commented on how much they were growing, how beautiful and bright their colors were, how proud he was that they were all adjusting so well to their house. When Joe noticed a rotten spot in one of their succulents, he had stopped watering immediately and brought the succulent to the circle table in the room, sitting with it and speaking to it gently. Joe knew he probably just needed to watch how much he was watering it or remove it from sunlight, but he was going to try everything, and everything included talking to the succulent and offering reassurances that it was doing okay.
Nicky had walked in when he was talking to the rotten succulent, and Joe saw Nicky school his expression before he sat down with Joe at the table. Nicky had rubbed Joe’s back, right between his shoulder blades, as they left the window room to eat breakfast, so Joe decided to let it slide.
Joe had even given some of the plants names, and even though he felt a little bad that he hadn’t named them all, he just knew he would never remember the names to all the plants they have. The fern by the door is named Isla, the hanging jade plant is named Maya, the bunch of roses by the right windows are named Amelia, and the big cactus on the left side is named Charlie. Nicky’s two plants that he had picked out at he nursery, the bright pink succulent and a little cactus, are placed specially on the circle table in the middle of the room, so Joe always knows where they are. Joe named the succulent Honey and the cactus Angel, and Nicky had blushed and smiled so pretty when Joe told him that, when he explained to Nicky why he singled them out.
(“Won’t they get lonely? All by themselves on this table?” Nicky asked, still a little pink after hearing their names. Joe knew that Nicky didn’t really buy into the emotional aspects of plant care, the talking to them and thinking of their feelings , but Joe appreciated that he was trying for Joe. “No,” Joe had said, “they have each other, they could never get lonely.” Joe hadn’t meant for that to be anything special, or romantic, but when Nicky tilted his head and smiled at him, Joe had whispered, “ Oh .”)
Nicky helps with the plants too, of course, he’ll join Joe in the morning to water them or he’ll wake up early and water the plants himself. Joe has only been awake early enough to see Nicky take care of then plants a few times, and each time Joe had only seen Nicky faking the rain and the wind for the plants, not speaking to them. Nicky had insisted that he does talk to the plants, Joe has just never seen him do it. Joe believed him and had since been determined to hear Nicky speak to their plants, curious about how he talks to them and what he says to them.
Now, though, Joe just finished watering their plants while Nicky makes them breakfast, drinking his coffee as he waits. “This is fine.”, Joe says to himself as he looks around the window room, at all their plants. It’s good , even. Joe likes this room full of plants, likes it having a purpose that is for both him and Nicky to enjoy. The room is fine, but Joe can’t help but feel like something is… missing.
“Joe, breakfast is ready.” Nicky says, standing in the doorway. Joe looks over at Nicky, beautiful Nicky, who always has flour on his cheek no matter what food he makes, who makes them breakfast every morning, who talks to their plants even though he thinks it’s not essential to the plant’s wellbeing.
“Coming.” Joe stands up from the chair he was sitting in, grabbing his coffee mug on his way out. Joe adjusts his hat, taking it off and making it sit more comfortably on his head. Joe catches Nicky eyeing the part of his hair that peeks out from the cutout of the hat, and he remembers Nicky telling him, the first time he wore his hat backwards like this, that he thought it was cute how some of his curls poke through the hat. Joe lets Nicky lead him to their table to eat together, discussing what they should do today, even though Joe already knows Nicky wants to go to the beach again.
______
Nicky wakes up slow, a luxury he allows himself when he and Joe are alone, when they aren’t working or running away from people who want them dead. Nicky feels Joe plastered to his back, one of his legs between Nicky’s own, his arm wrapped around Nicky’s chest. Nicky closes his eyes and sighs, feeling more at peace than he has in a long time. When Nicky opens his eyes, he sees Joe’s hand close to his face, one of Nicky’s own hands tangled with his. Nicky presses a light kiss to a part of Joe’s hand that he can reach, careful not to wake him up.
Judging by the amount of light in their bedroom, Nicky guesses that it’s well after nine in the morning, so Joe won’t want to wake up for another hour, at least. Nicky lets himself relax back into Joe, letting himself be held for a little while longer before he decides to start his day.
A few minutes later, Nicky is feeling restless, itching to get out of bed and begin his morning routine. He was hoping that he would want to stay in bed with Joe longer, that he would be able to watch Joe wake up today, but there’s always tomorrow, and everyday after that. Nicky presses another kiss to Joe’s hand, an unnecessary and unheard apology for leaving their bed.
Nicky gently shifts his legs, letting Joe’s leg fall from between his own, and slowly curls his body away from Joe’s, eventually getting far enough away from Joe that leaving their bed won’t wake him. Nicky untangles their hands last, reluctant to lose that last point of contact between them. Nicky stands up and turns around, and as he knew he would be, Joe is still asleep, nuzzling his pillow. Nicky has had nine hundred years to learn how to get up without waking Joe, has had a lot of time to practice and perfect his method.
Nicky stands there for a few more minutes, just watching Joe sleep. Joe’s face is relaxed, peaceful, free of worry in his sleep. As much as Nicky loves his eye crinkles, seeing Joe at peace has to be the next best thing. Joe’s pouty, lower lip is somehow even more pouty in his sleep, and Nicky watches as Joe’s eyelashes briefly flutter over Joe’s cheeks as his eyes shift in his sleep. Joe is beautiful like this, hair matted from his pillow and how much he moves in his sleep, and snoring lightly (not that Nicky will ever mention that). Nicky could look at him forever, could spend the next century living this life with Joe, slowly waking up with him and making plans as they go. Create a ‘normal’ life here with Joe, whatever that should look like at this point.
Nicky can’t help himself, ends up kneeling on the floor next to their bed, right next to Joe’s face. Nicky gently smooths his hand over Joe’s hair, letting the gesture follow the line of Joe’s face so his hand rests on Joe’s cheek. Nicky is barely touching Joe’s face, but it’s enough contact for him, enough for his desire to touch Joe fade a little. Nicky thinks about crawling back into bed with Joe, laying with him during the many times he wakes up and coaxing him back to sleep each time, but the itch to start his day is still running through him. Nicky blows Joe a silent kiss and leaves their bedroom, quietly closing the door behind himself.
Nicky boils water for his tea, not even bothering with Joe’s coffee this early. Nicky is steeping his tea bag when he looks across the kitchen, looks through the doorway into the window room with all their plants. Nicky sometimes thinks of them as Joe’s plants, even though they are definitely shared between the two of them, it’s Joe who loves them the most. It’s Joe who named them, it’s Joe who will talk to them in that soft voice he usually reserves for children, it’s Joe who thought to reserve an entire room in their house for them. Nicky does care about the plants, has put love and care into his actions every time he waters them and talks to them, he just doesn’t have as intense a connection with them as Joe does.
Nicky walks across their house into the window room and picks up the spray bottle next to the succulent section, deciding to just water them now. Joe is the one who takes care of the plants most often, but if Nicky wakes up early enough, he’ll just take care of everything and tell Joe he can do it tomorrow. Nicky does like to see Joe take care of the plants, likes to watch him refer to them by their names and watch him make mini-conversations with them. Nicky has never said this, and of course Joe already knows, but the whole thing seems a little silly to Nicky.
That doesn’t mean Nicky is any less devoted to their well-being, to their staying healthy. Joe cares about these plants so much, so Nicky cares about them just as much, if not a little more. Nicky has memorized all the plants that have names, has memorized who gets watered when and how much, has memorized what sections of the room aren’t supposed to get a lot of sun so he can adjust the plants during the day if he needs to. Nicky even talks to the plants, which makes him feel ridiculous, but it’s for Joe, so of course he does it, encourages them and is nice to them like Joe is.
Nicky is watering one succulent that has been having a difficult time lately, Joe named him David a few days ago in case he was rotting because he was jealous that he didn’t have a name, when he notices that the plant is looking much less rotted this morning. Nicky smiles down at the plant, happy that Joe will be happy when he sees this.
Nicky puts the spray bottle down and picks up the succulent, holds it in his hands so he can speak to it. Nicky closes his eyes, prepares himself to speak to a plant. “David,” Nicky clears his voice, still sleep rough, and wishes he brought his tea with him, “David, look at you! Your stem has that dark green back again, which is just lovely, and the rest of you is looking great too. The bright yellow is so beautiful, a real showstopper.” Nicky puts David back down, giving him one last message before he moves on. “Your colors are absolutely perfect today, keep up the good work.”
Nicky moves down the room, finishing the succulent section and moving onto the flowers and then the leafy plants. Joe has been standing in the doorway since Nicky first started talking to David, but he hasn’t come in the room yet or said anything to Nicky, so Nicky gives him his time. Nicky didn’t need to see or hear Joe to know he was in a room, there was just something that changed, something suddenly different that let him know Joe was near him now. Nicky just keeps watering the plants and talking to them, letting Joe keep silent and watch Nicky as he moves. Nicky isn’t self conscious or uncomfortable at being watched like one might expect, could never be self conscious of his actions around Joe, is actually happy that Joe is watching him this morning. Joe is so rarely awake to watch Nicky take care of their plants, it must be nice for him to see Nicky take care of them, the same way Nicky likes watching Joe take care of the plants.
Nicky puts the spray bottle somewhere unimportant and turns around to greet Joe, to kiss him good morning. Nicky sees the most love-struck smile on Joe’s face, eyes that could only be categorized as heart-eyes, a word that Nicky loved as soon as he learned. Joe is still in his pajamas, an old long sleeve t-shirt and sweatpants, and clearly didn’t do anything to make himself presentable before he came and found Nicky. His eyes are still hooded with sleep, his hair is still a mess, and he’s yawning much too frequently to want to be awake. Nicky wants to bundle him up and keep him in his arms forever, keep him warm and safe while he’s still sleepy.
Nicky walks to Joe, who is still leaning heavily on the doorframe, wouldn’t even think of making Joe move right now. Joe blinks slowly at Nicky while he’s walking toward him, and as soon as he’s close enough to touch, he wraps Nicky in his arms, and Nicky immediately returns the hug. “Good morning, Joe.”
Joe mumbles what Nicky knows is “Good morning” into the top of Nicky’s head, but it’s only because he’s known Joe for nine hundred years that he’s able to understand him first thing in the morning. Nicky presses a kiss behind Joe’s ear, offering that as his good morning kiss until he can kiss Joe properly.
“David is doing much better today.” Nicky tells him, like Joe didn’t hear his entire conversation with the succulent. Nicky isn’t expecting a coherent response, would have happily settled for a grunt or a nod against Nicky’s hair, but the reminder seems to excite Joe. Not too much, since it is still morning, but enough that he pulls his face out of Nicky’s hair to speak clearly.
“I know, isn’t it exciting? He must have really been jealous that he didn’t have a name before.”
“It’s the only explanation, really.” Nicky says, is rewarded with a deep laugh from Joe that he can feel vibrate through his own chest from how close they’re still pressed together. Nicky presses a kiss behind Joe’s ear again, but when that still isn’t enough, regretfully pulls back a little from their hug. Joe wines, even though Nicky doesn’t leave his arms at all, just pulls back enough so he can kiss him right, can give him the good morning kiss he deserves.
Nicky cups both sides of Joe’s face in his hands, pulls him in slowly for a kiss. Joe seems much happier with Nicky’s actions now that he understands, now that he’s kissing Nicky. When they separate, Nicky presses a quick, dry kiss to Joe’s lips, watching as Joe breaks out in a blinding smile.
“Sit with me.” Nicky says, nodding his head back to the table behind them. He still hasn’t taken his hands off Joe’s face, won’t until he absolutely has to. Joe nods at his request, releasing Nicky from their hug and reaching toward the little table next to them, presenting Nicky with the tea he made earlier. Joe much have heated it up, there’s steam steadily rising from the mug when there shouldn’t be anymore.
Nicky finally drinks his tea, looking at Joe over the edge of the mug as he drinks. Joe must see what Nicky is trying to tell him through his eyes, how much he loves and appreciates him, because Joe grins and winks at him as he waits for Nicky to finish drinking. When they both finally enter the window room (they should really start calling it the plant room, Nicky thinks), Joe sits down in the only chair at the table, and Nicky easily sits down in his lap. Joe wraps one arm around Nicky’s back and the other is placed on his hip, making sure Nicky doesn’t fall.
Nicky offers Joe a sip of his tea, and even though Joe much prefers coffee, he takes a long sip. Joe gives the mug back to Nicky, and while Nicky is finishing off his tea, Joe kisses his cheek, quick and efficient. Nicky’s eyes snap open as he almost chokes on his tea from surprise, since his eyes were closed while he was drinking so he couldn’t see Joe move, couldn’t anticipate his actions like he normally could.
“What was that for?” Nicky asks, setting down his mug on the little table next to them. There doesn’t need to be a reason for Joe to give him a cheek kiss, there never needs to be a reason for anything they do together, but Joe could have easily waited another two seconds to kiss him so Nicky didn’t choke.
Joe just shrugs, casual as he still holds Nicky in his lap. “No reason. It’s just… this is perfect.” Joe has a scrunched up smile on his face by the time he’s finished talking, his eye crinkles on full display and his eyes glittering with love. Nicky doesn’t know if Joe means the room is perfect, if this moment is perfect, if Nicky being with him makes the morning perfect, but Nicky suspects if he asked, Joe would give him an answer with all three possibilities.
Nicky rests his head on Joe’s shoulder, Joe easily shifting in the chair to support Nicky in his new position. The hand that was on Nicky’s back is now in Nicky’s hair, gently scratching at his scalp and running his fingers through any tangles he happens to find. Nicky closes his eyes and sighs, fully relaxing into Joe’s body, finally content to rest this morning. “This is perfect, yes.”