Mermaids and Men [mlm]

26. Ambrose: Immortal By Design

"Thank you for the ride, Alex," Nicki said, getting out of the jeep and getting his backpack and duffle bag out of the trunk. "No problem, man. We'll see you later, alright?" Alex replied, smiling at him. "We love youuuu," Aveline and Natalie drawled, smiling at him as well. Rose was the first to get dropped off, so it was just them two in the car with Alex. "I love you guys, too. See you later," he told them, waving them off and walking up to Elijah's front porch. He knocked on the door, hearing the sound of Alex's jeep driving down the road. After a few seconds, the door opened up, but it wasn't Elijah who greeted him. It was Anthony. Nicki couldn't help but tense up at that since he had quite the night of seeing his ancestor killing him and everyone else. He didn't really want to see Anthony right now.

"Nicki! Hey, it's good to see you," Anthony greeted, smiling at him. Nicki gave a weak smile and glanced away, the grip on his bags tightening. "Hi... I-Is Eli home..?" he asked, looking back up at him. "Yes, he is," Anthony began, turning his head towards the stairs, then calling out, "Elijah! Nicki's here to see you!"

Anthony brought his attention back to Nicki and stepped back some, gesturing for him to come in. "Come in, son," he said, smiling. Nicki nodded and mumbled a quiet thank you, taking a weak step inside, still feeling the ache in his ribs. He could hear the sound of Elijah rushing around upstairs, making his way out into the hallway. "No offense, Nicki, but... You don't look so great," Anthony pointed out, closing the front door, then moving so that he was in front of Nicki, looking at him. Nicki chuckled weakly, situating his duffle bag on his shoulder. "Yeah, uh... I had a rough night," he told him. "Nicki," Elijah called out, walking down the stairs. Nicki turned to him and smiled, really happy to see him right now. "Hey, Eli," he greeted, walking over to him. Elijah frowned, looking him up and down. "You look like shit," he stated, which had his father clearing his throat and shooting him a glare. "Elijah," he said in a scolding tone. Nicki chuckled, gripping onto his bags again. "Ah... Your honesty is what I like most about you, babe," he joked, earning a small smile from Elijah. "Well... C'mon, let's go upstairs," Elijah said, grabbing his hand and leading him towards the stairs. "U-Uh... It was nice seeing you again, Anthony," Nicki said to the older man, looking over at him as he walked up the stairs. "You too, Nicki. Elijah, I'll be heading off to the office soon, so I won't be home until really late," Anthony informed his son. "Okay, that's fine," Elijah replied, waving his dad off as he and Nicki walked up the stairs.

God, Nicki really craved Elijah right now-- he absolutely needed him more than anything at the moment.

"I'm guessing camping was pretty rough?" Elijah asked, walking into his room with Nicki. Nicki closed the door behind them and dropped his bags onto the floor, then began walking right over to Elijah. Before Elijah could say anything else, Nicki quickly wrapped his arms around him, hugging him close. Elijah was a bit caught off guard by that, but he wasn't opposed to the sudden show of affection. "Nicki..?" he called out softly, a little concerned with the way Nicki was acting. He could tell that Nicki felt off right now. Nicki buried his face in the crook of Elijah's neck, breathing in his scent, which he missed more than he thought. "Te extrañé," the Siren whispered, causing Elijah's eyes to widen. "Did you... Did you just speak Spanish?" he asked. Nicki began kissing Elijah's neck, which had the man shivering. "I just said I missed you," he muttered, hugging Elijah tighter. "Yeah, in Spanish??"

Nicki hummed and nodded his head, nuzzling his face into Elijah's neck. "Aveline taught me some words," he mumbled, causing Elijah to scoff and roll his eyes. "Yeah, sure. She just suddenly taught you how to speak Spanish, and now you're speaking it like you've talked that way your whole life," he retorted, which had Nicki sighing, pulling away from him. "I'm a quick learner," he said, walking over to the bed. Elijah watched him walk, his brows furrowing at the kind of slow pace he was going at as well as the slight limp in his walk. "You hurt yourself, didn't you?" he asked, glaring at the Siren. Nicki kicked his shoes off and climbed into the bed, making a pained face as he scooted back on it and got into a comfortable spot. "Yeah, who was the idiot that thought running around like a madman was a good idea?" he replied as Elijah walked over to the bed and sat down as well, facing him. Nicki pointed to himself, chuckling lightly. "It's me. I'm the idiot."