Cycles (Gryles)

13/5 - 00:00

I should not be starting another story - I know. I say this every time I do it but I just had to get this out of my head.

So for a bit of background, Nick is taking a holiday at the same time that Harry has a week-long break in his tour and my head went crazy with how they might spend their time together.

I debated formatting this differently since it's not going to be all that long, probably about the length of a typical oneshot of mine. It's really just snaps of different scenarios my brain produced while I daydreamed about Gryles.

I have been struggling to find time to write lately though since I am attempting to get my novel published and I've been fighting through a root canal that gave me an infection ending in half of my face swelling up. Posting in small parts seems to help motivate me which is why I have chosen not to combine this all together.

I am feeling better now so I am going to have a go at this. The chapters will be extremely short for the most part, and hopefully I will have it finished decently soon so I can return to working on my other stories that I have been neglecting for far too long.

I really do hope you all enjoy this.

And as always, this is entirely fictional even though I use some real events in it. I just wanted to produce my Gryles tinted version of Harry and Nick's time off.

* * *

Nick can't sleep that night. He knows he needs to, but his mind is too excited to settle. He's acting like a teenager again, counting down the seconds until he'll be reunited with Harry. The other man always makes him feel young somehow.

He tries to close his eyes, but they immediately snap back open again. He's going to regret this tomorrow for sure, but his body refuses to rest. He debates seeing if anyone else is up, but he knows that will ensure that he won't get any sleep at all tonight, so he forces himself to stay in his too large bed.

He wishes he could go pick Harry up at the airport. He'd suggested it of course, but Harry had assured him he didn't have to. He argued the time difference, and the fact that he wasn't entirely certain when he'd get in. Nick hadn't cared about that, but he didn't want to be spotted and alert the world to the fact that Harry would be coming to join him in Spain. This is their time, their week together away from the chaos of both of their daily lives, and Nick wants to keep that to themselves as much as possible.

Nick glances over at the digital display gracing the clock to his left. It's midnight here, so it should be around seven in Tokyo. Harry's flight will have left already, which means he's on his way now. He lets himself check his phone, and sure enough, Harry has texted him, letting him know he's boarding and he'll see him soon.

Nick messages him back even though he's aware he can't answer him until he lands, telling him to hurry it up and adding in a few too many emojis just because he can. Harry likes to tease him for them, saying that he's going to forget how to express himself in words soon. The memory makes him smile, which isn't a surprise. Thinking of Harry typically has that effect on him.

Nick attempts to calculate when he'll get in, but even with his recent practice in time zone conversions, he can't quite figure it out. His brain reminds him that it'll go by faster if he dozes his way through the next few hours, but that's easier said than done.

He is tired though, they'd been busy today exploring Ibiza. It's so lovely here, and Nick can't wait to share it with Harry. Harry had been gutted that he had to miss Annie's wedding, but no one had minded, especially not Nick.

It had taken them a ridiculous amount of time to figure out when they could both take a week off of work and touring that would actually match up, but they'd done it. They're trying to make this work, they're discussing things instead of dancing around them, they're looking toward the future which they used to pretend didn't exist.

This is a first for them - this preplanning, and it means so much to Nick that they're sitting down and talking things out now. It makes what they have feel more real - more permanent. Even if Harry can't be there for everything, Nick never expected him too.

Harry has his own life, and so does Nick. That's how it is, and how it will always be, but they're actively attempting to weave them together rather than waiting for chance to throw them a lucky break which was their past method of dealing with their varying schedules.

But if Nick wants to be vaguely functioning tomorrow, he needs to get at least a few hours of sleep. He manages to get comfortable as he runs through the list of what they plan on doing over the next few days, clutching a pillow to his chest and holding it tightly, pretending it's Harry instead of an inanimate object.

* * *

So yes - as I said this chapter is extremely short, but it is really just a bit of an introduction although they most likely won't be too much longer throughout the fic.

I plan on doing at least one moment for each day they are together. The POV will switch up throughout the story, but it's meant to be more of a glimpse into what's going on and not so much of a cohesive narrative if that makes sense.

I haven't really done something like this before but I already love it and I hope you do as well.

Thank you all for being here.

I'm sending you lots of love xxx

- starr