holding my last breath - a noah sebastian/nicholas ruffilo story

chapter 8 // this is real

Week 15 // beginning of 2nd trimester // month 3

It had been a few weeks since Noah's stay in the hospital, and tour being cancelled. The guys were back home, decompressing from jetlag and getting settled. But, Noah would be lying if he said it wasn't hard in the beginning. He was still weak, and disappointed in himself for letting the tour get cancelled so abruptly. He spent the first week hiding in his room under a pile of blankets, sleeping and doom-scrolling on his burner accounts. He only came out of the room to eat, and even then he wasn't socializing. He just ate as quick as he could, and then disappeared back upstairs, much to the other three men's dismay.

But after week two, his body started to regain its energy, finally ridding itself of the weak, sickly feeling he had been struggling with. His morning sickness wasn't as aggressive or constant, and he found himself going back into his old self. And that alone made Nicholas the happiest he'd been in weeks, seeing the color return to Noah's cheeks and his smile reappearing. Nicholas was ecstatic actually, because it meant things were slowly going back to the way they were.

Today, the boys found themselves trying to build a Lord of the Rings LEGO set, millions of pieces spread out on the kitchen table while the four of them worked. Jolly and Folio were tag-teaming, knocking out the base of the castle of Barad-dur while Nicholas and Noah worked on the Eye of Sauron. It was tiring, and time consuming, but it kept the boys entertained on their break.

Noah grumbles to himself after the Eye broke apart, sitting back in his chair pouting, "This is impossible,"

Folio let out a laugh, his eyes not moving from his project, "It's not impossible once you figure out the tricks,"

Noah just scoffs in response, getting up and heading into the kitchen to raid the pantry. He had a hankering for something salty, a craving he'd been keeping underwraps for a few days now. He found himself sneaking bags of chips and adding extra salt to his meals. But right now, all he could think about was some salty potato chips. He stands in the doorway of the pantry, eyes raking the cabinets and shelves, only to be disappointed.

There was not one bag of chips in the pantry. He must've finished the last of it and never replenished it. He groans, closing the door and going back to sit at the table. His arms are crossed over his chest, watching the guys build quietly. Even the popcorn they were eating didn't sound good, and he had finally gotten over his disgust for the smell of it. (Folio's still mad about the Bad Omens baby not fucking with popcorn, but he won't tell you that.)

Nicholas peers at Noah from his spot at the table, noticing the unpleasant look on his boyfriend's face. Nicholas drops his extra LEGOs that were in his hand, reaching over to poke Noah's cheek. The man just grumbled again, not meeting his eyes.

"What's eating you up over there?" Nicholas asks, his grey eyes searching for something to help him understand what was wrong.

Noah mumbles under his breath, annoyance in his tone, but Nicholas could barely hear it, "What was that? Speak up honey,"

"Iwantedchipsbutwedon'thaveanyandthebabyisdemandingit," Noah forces out, his words jumbled together in a run-on sentence. His eyes finally meet Nicholas', who is staring at him in utter confusion, Folio and Jolly now silently looking at him, "What?"

Nicholas just laughs a little, scooting his chair closer to Noah's, a hand resting on his knee, "I think what I heard is...the baby wants potato chips, but we don't have any?" Nicholas presses, a smile spreading across his face when Noah just nods in response.

Folio has to bite back a giggle, Jolly elbowing him in the ribs to stop him and giving him a look of warning. Instead, Jolly gets up from the table to look again in the pantry, thinking maybe Noah just overlooked it. They did have a lot of food crowded inside that little room, anything could easily blend in and disappear in there. But alas, Noah was still right and potato chip-less. Jolly returns to the kitchen, declaring they were really out and Nicholas swore he heard Noah sniffle at the response.