WANTED // Sapnap X Reader

16

You woke slowly, eyes fluttering open in the early morning light. Dust motes drifted through the air, only illuminated by the light that streamed through the window as sharp angles, almost tangible during these few hours. Nick's snoring mixed together with the sounds of the world waking up, providing a gentle soundtrack for you to slip out of bed, stretching out your muscles.

Quietly - though you had never disturbed Nick's sleep before - started your simple morning routine. Turning slightly so that you could see your fingers work in the mirror, you unbuttoned last nights clothes, stripping out of the old garments. They fell to the floor, and you turned to the dresser that separated the beds, opening the drawers to grab what you would need for the day.

As you did, your eyes fell on Nick's sleeping face, smooshed into his pillow. You had always thought it was a little strange that he slept on his stomach, but seeing his open, sleepy face made you smile. That teasing energy he usually kept around him was gone here, leaving just that underlying softness that you had come to recognize.

Last nights self-admission came back to you, and you forced your eyes away as you got dressed. That was exactly the kind of thing you needed to stop doing if you didn't want this to tear apart your feelings. Sure, Nick seemed like a stand up guy, and he made jokes and slipped you compliments, but that didn't mean the second his ankle was fixed he wasn't going to be high-tailing it out of here. The skittish behavior on the night you had met him said otherwise - while you didn't believe he was a thief, he had certainly been running from something. Simple attachments wouldn't outweigh fear.

Sometimes though... you wished they would.

Going back to how things had been before you'd been taking care of Nick wouldn't be hard, per say, but it would be difficult. You had gotten so used to taking your breaks upstairs with him when you could, just talking about what conversations you had overheard down in the saloon today and what things he had seen from the window. It was something to look forward to throughout the day, and think about while you were playing the piano.

You would miss his little games when he was gone. Who else would purposefully get up and walk around when he wasn't supposed to just to flop on the bed as soon as you walked in the door?

You finished getting dressed, now turning to the washbasin below the mirror. You dipped your hands in, splashing some water over your face to get rid of the crust in the corners of your eyes and any grime from yesterday. Again in the mirror, you caught sight of sleeping Nick in the background, slowly stirring.

You watched as his eyes fluttered open, and he made eye contact with you through the mirror, smiling.

"Morning." You said, returning the smile. "You're up early. Did I wake you?"

Nick sighed sleepily, rolling from his stomach to his side so he could look at you more comfortably. "Don't worry about it - we both know I'm going to pass right out again after breakfast." He chuckled to himself, tipping his head back to get out of a direct sunbeam, exposing his sharp jaw. You could see the beginnings of some stubble there - you would have to ask him if he wanted a razor at some point.

His voice was different than normal - a deep raspy rumble, the product of disuse overnight. It went straight to your face, creating a heat in your cheeks that had you splashing more water from the washbasin over them, rapidly cooling down. You had already played out how upset you would be to lose Nick's companionship, but you would be lying if you said you weren't going to miss his physical attractiveness as well.

You felt a little vain just thinking about it. It was undeniable though - you wouldn't have been surprised to find out that all the girls in his hometown were fawning over him. If you had known him growing up, you certainly would have.

You forced out a little laugh at his joke as to not betray how his voice affected you, finishing up getting ready by grabbing your apron from where it was draped over the foot of your bed and slinging it over your shoulder. "I'll be back up with the eggs-"

"C'mere, I'll tie your apron for you."

The request took you by surprise for a moment - Nick had never offered to tie your apron before. It was part of your routine that you would go downstairs and Anne would do it, and you would tie hers. You quickly shook off the thought though - it was just an apron. He was just being helpful.

You watched Nick sit himself up, shuffling sleepily to swing his legs over the edge of the bed, blearily blinking the sleep out of his eyes as he looked at you, waiting for you to take a step toward him so he could fasten the strings of your apron. You pulled the garment back down from your shoulder, putting it on instead and turning around, stepping withing Nick's reach.

Gentle fingers brushed across your sides as Nick collected the strings of the apron. It was different than when Anne did it - she worked quickly and efficiently, with practiced ease. Her hands felt different than Nick's too - her fingers were long and thin, where Nick's were bigger, more calloused. He was almost clumsy s he tied the strings into a bow, making sure it was tight enough to stay on throughout the day without cutting into your skin.

When he was done, his hands fell away, and you took a step, turning around to face him.

"Thanks." You said.

"No problem, darlin'." He replied easily in that morning voice, falling back on the bed to sprawl out as he usually did.

God, this man was going to kill you.