The Illusion of Danger

Chapter 34

(Note: CW, this chapter is very spicey. Read at your own discretion)

Walking up to the tree as his paw pads snapped a few twigs on his way over, Nico touched the part of the tree that Mordecai hurt himself on; dried blood, black fur, and some fabric still clung to the jagged edge of the broken limb even after a few days since their interaction.
That outcome wasn't at all what he was aiming for. In fact, he didn't know what he was aiming for in general.
He seemed to have overstepped in more ways than one.

What was his end goal? What was he going to do if Mordecai had actually reciprocated?
Well, now he knew that he couldn't be messing around like that anymore. Mordecai had dirt on him and he was a well-trusted man, so if he ended up telling Asa about what had happened, there would definitely be trouble. Not to mention the fact that if he tried to expose the tuxedo in turn, there was no proof. He didn't have the letter on hand and seeking that car out again wasn't exactly ideal; there was no guarantee that it would still be there either.

Nico put his right hand in his pocket and took the cigarette from between his lips with his left, breathing out the smoke in a sigh.
He didn't know why he returned to this spot but he did have a bit of time to himself before he had to get to the Maribel. Serafine was going to meet him there. One thing that he wasn't really looking forward to was that he would be seeing Mordecai again. Of course, they would be in a professional setting and there would be a lot of people around so nothing was likely to happen, but there was still that knot of dread in the pit of his gut.

Nico turned away from the tree and started to make his way back to the automobile that he used to get to this spot, thinking up ways to apologize for his actions and how to be sincere about it. He knew that he gave a questionable impression no matter what he was doing, whether that be a sort of I-don't-take-anything-seriously output or a more intimidating kind that was often perceived as threatening.

If he had just listened when he was told 'no'...

Nico put the cigarette between his lips before grasping the handle of the driver's door and paused. He still had time before he had to be where he needed to be. He moved to the back of the vehicle and crawled onto the backbench, lying down stretching across the seat after he closed the door.
It wasn't the most comfortable spot, but he wanted to take this time to rest and come up with ways to apologize and make it come off as sincere as possible.

After crushing the cigarette against the floor of the car to put it out, Nico stared up at the roof, trying his best to relax. Soon enough, he could feel his eyes grow heavier. The last few nights hadn't been the most restful due to his level of guilt and worry and he wasn't going to pass up a nap if his mind was pushing for it.

Unfortunately, after only five minutes of having his eyes closed, Nico shot up at the sound of the car door opening. Frankly, he was ready to knock the intruder senseless, but he froze once he saw and realized who it was.

"Move."
Mordecai instructed bluntly.

Nico blinked, needing a second to come to terms that this particular man had just come out of nowhere before he could sit up properly and provide enough room for the tuxedo to sit with him.
He could feel the sweat begin to form on his brow, not even having the confidence to look across at Mordecai let alone speak.

"Well?"

The larger man's ears perked and his brows raised as he looked over.
"Well?"

"If you're going to play stupid, I might as well cut to the chase."
The tuxedo sighed.

There was hardly a moment to breathe before Nico found himself forced against the door that he was closest to, the smaller man with his hands firmly on his chest. Nico's eyes widened and his ears folded back as he finally looked Mordecai in the eyes. They were really the only things he could really look at considering how close they were now.