"Here, Wes," Nico said softly, placing a warm mug into my arms. He settled himself beside me, wrapping his left around around my shoulders to nestle me towards him. His hand rubbed up and down my arm in comforting strokes, warming me more than the hot chocolate did in my hands.
"Thanks," I murmured quietly, resting my head on his shoulder. Nico's chest rumbled as he hummed in response, pressing a kiss to the top of my head, his touch feather-light. Nico gave me a soft smile as he rubbed his sleeve against my cheeks, dabbing away the remaining evidence of my tears. While I cried, Nico hadn't said anything and just held me, squeezing his strong around me almost as hard as I clung onto him. It had taken me the good part of an hour to calm down, at which point Nico planted me on the couch, bundled up in blankets that smelled like him while he made us warm drinks.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Nico coaxed softly, taking a sip of his hot chocolate as I shakily blew on the steaming surface of my own. My throat grew tight as I sniffled, closing my eyes to try and will the newly-forming tears to stop. Nico, seeing my reaction, kissed the top of my head again, and murmured against it, "Only if you want to."
"I-I do," I said, sniffling again whilst I rubbed my eyes dry. Nico gave me a long look, one that asked if I was sure, and I nodded in answer to his silent question. Nico didn't push me or pressure me, and just quietly sat there with his mug in one arm and me in the other. I slowly told him about what happened, pausing only to stem the flow of tears and gather my thoughts. Nico didn't interrupt me, his only reaction to my words being an increasingly furrowed brow and the occasional squeeze of my arm. I was grateful for his understated reactions; holding me a little closer when I needed it and giving me space when I wanted it. When I finished recounting what had happened earlier that night, Nico nodded, lost in thought for a moment.
"Nico?" I asked, prodding him in the side after taking the last sip of my hot chocolate, putting the cup on the coffee table by our legs and licking the film of milk from my lips. "What are you thinking about?"
"Hm? Oh, just thinking about my parents," he said, giving me a lopsided grin as I cocked my head to the side, curious.
"Are they..." I started, fingers awkwardly fiddling with themselves in my lap as Nico snorted, shaking his head.
"They're not dead, if that's what you're asking," Nico said, chuckling to himself. "They're divorced."
"Oh," I said, shuffling a little closer so I could wrap my arms around his middle, his arms repositioning themselves to allow me to come closer. "Sorry... I guess me talking about all this brought up some bad memories." A kernel of guilt jumped around in my stomach, but Nico just rolled his eyes at my words and pinched the flesh of my arm teasingly.
"Stupid, don't be sorry," Nico said, shrugging. "It was a long time ago, when I was really young. It was hard at the time, but things got better."
"How long did it take?" I asked, peering up at Nico, whose eyes were wandering over the distant walls of the living room.
"A while," Nico answered vaguely, sighing. "But it wasn't just because of the divorce, more because I was being used as some kind of tool by my parents to spite each other. They fucking hated each other's guts. My mum was basically a money hungry bitch two-timing my dad, but then he was an alcoholic bastard who spent more time at work than home. When he did come home, though, all he did was argue with my mum. When they finally decided to split, they couldn't bear the thought that one of them would come out better than the other, so they kept using me to get back at one another." Nico's face scrunched up as he recounted the bitter memory, disgust evident on his face.
"Is that why you're living with Bell?" I asked, Nico nodding as his face softened.
"Yeah," Nico said, finally dropping his eyes from the wall to look at me, his thumb carefully tracing the edges of my jaw. "I guess that's when things started getting better. It took a little while, though. They kept splitting up and getting back together, but Bell eventually had enough of their crap and ended up getting custody, and then they finally split for good." Hearing about Nico's parents made my heart ache a little, even more so when I remembered the image of Jamie comforting my mum as I closed the door behind me.
YOU ARE READING
Sheets | ✓
Romance[BxB] Waking up next to someone after having a little too much to drink was no new, riveting story in this day and age. Waking up next to another boy, when you were also a boy, was a little more interesting, but still nothing to write home about. B...
