Two Faced

Chapter Eighteen: A Part of a Home

Chapter Eighteen: A Part of a Home 
Leozy's POV

Nick knocked out on the couch just a bit after we finished our hot cocoa and the hours we spent talking.

I found it almost too easy to sleep tonight. Perhaps too worn from the work perhaps for other reasons unknown. 

For some reason it felt more homelike in my house. The smell of motor oil became a common fragrance even on days when Nick had zero contact with anything to do with mechanics.

It was the kind of smell that wafted into your nose randomly, and suddenly every memory of it was there. Nick on my couch, asleep, curled into himself with a blanket draped around his shoulders.

Occasionally he'd get up to grab a snack, or pet the cat, change the thermostat - comfortable enough as if this was his own house.

At this point I was starting to think it was becoming as much of his place as it was mine.

~~~

I heard him wake up in the morning, he had a bit of a cough, and I knew instantly that the cold was making him sick - especially since he's been racing in it.

I could feel the static build in my hair as I shuffled awake, the night full of tossing and turning from the stiff mattress.

I desperately needed a new one.

I listened, for a while, to him shuffling around and I waited for the sound of the door to open and then close again.

Waiting for a long day by myself with nothing but silent air and work in front of me. 

But it never came.

After a while of nothing, I started to figure that maybe he closed it softly as to not wake me up. 

My questions were all answered when I entered the living room. 

Nick was on his back; his shirt was off - maybe getting hot last night and too tired to turn down the temperature - and Lucien was lovingly purring into his neck.

His tattoos were on full display, they seemed more prevalent pressed against the light gray carpet. Like I could further examine the details.

Nick kept his eyes closed, a calm look on his face that made me wonder if he was asleep.

As if reading my thoughts his eyes opened to see me standing above him. I realized then just how it was a bit creepy - the way I was just standing above him.

But he did nothing but smile, a giant yawn escaping his mouth. "Good morning," he said, his bare arms situating themselves around the gentle cat. 

"Morning," I said a bit huskily.

He coughed, "I was gonna leave and then I saw the cat being cute and I just couldn't," He said, "I figured we could eat breakfast?" He had a fond look in his eyes. 

I frowned, "Don't you have school?" 

He shook his head, "It was cancelled,"

I had a feeling he was lying, just skipping because he didn't want to go. 

As the elder in the room, my job was to scold him. Tell him that it didn't matter if he did or didn't want to go - he had to.