On With The Show

11

After coffee, the rest of the day had gone mostly fine. It was... uneventful. Not in a bad way, it had just been quiet. Calm. Nikki never thought he'd like that. Maybe it was just that he didn't like it alone. He'd never thought about it before. He put the dried plates on the shelf above the sink, pouring himself a beer. It wasn't a big deal - it was just a glass of beer. He glanced at Tommy, asleep already. Nikki had tried to tell Tommy to keep the bed to himself that night - the younger one promptly refused. After a long, long talk, Tommy agreed to sleep there provided they share the bed.

Not like the stab hurts as much as it did a few days back.

Nikki called bullshit, but didn't want to argue. He was tired. Tommy was tired; Vince was already asleep. At least, Nikki thought he'd gone to sleep. For all he knew, Vince had a night job as a Ghostbuster. Maybe that's what he meant when he talked about Tommy being the only one who treated him the same.

Nikki frowned, putting the beer down and keeping it back in the bottle - thank god it was a screw on. It'd be a shame to let a beer go to waste.

I've been listening to Tommy too much, he thought, laughing a bit to himself as he took his shirt off, heading back to the bed and lying down next to Tommy, who was already fast asleep. He pried Tommy's gangly arm off the pillow, stretching out as he lay down next to him, managing to fit on the edge of the bed.

Why the hell did I agree to this, he thought to himself, laughing slightly as he realized Tommy was sprawled out, practically a starfish on the bed. Nikki laughed to himself, kicking Tommy's leg lightly to move it. He felt an immediate pang of jealousy as he saw the slight smile on Tommy's face, shutting his eyes tightly as he shoved that thought down and just closing his eyes.

He had just started to drift off when he jerked awake, feeling something on his shoulder. He inhaled sharply, feeling it and realizing it was Tommy's arm. He slowed down his breathing. In for five seconds, hold for six, out for seven, He thought, using a tip he once heard someone tell him. He didn't bother moving Tommy's arm off him; he just let it stay there. No point waking him up. He sighed again, slowly stroking Tommy's soft skin as he slept, feeling closer to Nikki than he had been when Nikki first got in bed. He sighed, closing his eyes again as he tried to fall asleep.

There was a loud thud the next time Nikki woke up - He looked around, feeling the floor under him. F.uck, I fell out of the bed, He thought as he saw Tommy's leg dangling off. He looked out of the window - No point going back to sleep, he had to go to work soon anyhow. He rubbed his eyes, getting up and walking over to Tommy.

"Get up, Tommy, I need to change your bandage again," He said,tapping on Tommy's leg.

Nope, that was a fail.

"Tommy!" He half-yelled, irritable after not getting any good sleep. "Get up!"

"Shit, sorry, Honey, I didn't mean to oversl- F.UCK!" He said, feeling the stab on his shoulder brush against the bed.

Nikki immediately felt guilty. "Tommy, it's okay, just me, Nikki," he said, reaching over to place one hand on Tommy's forearm. "I just need to change your bandage. Nothing major."

Tommy's eyes focused, and he visibly relaxed on seeing Nikki. "Oh. Okay. Sorry about that, man."

Nikki just nodded, reaching under the bed for the first aid box. "It's okay. Don't apologize for it, Tommy," he said, getting worried about him. "Something wrong?"

Tommy bit his lip. "I don't- She usually talked like that just before-"

"Don't say anything you don't want to say," Nikki said, as he felt Tommy shaking a bit as he comfortingly placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Tom. You're going to be okay."

Tommy bent his head forward, letting his messy hair cover his face. "Thank you, Nikki," He said, turning around.

Nikki peeled off be bandage - he felt Tommy wince as he peeled it off the wound itself. He folded it up, dropping it on the floor. Taking the antiseptic on a piece of cheap cotton, he cleaned Tommy's wound again, feeling Tommy flinch.

"Tommy?"

"Yeah?"

"If uh- if it hurts too much, just squeeze my hand okay?" Nikki gave Tommy his free hand, using the other one to clean the wound. He bit his lip as Tommy squeezed his hand, before rubbing Tommy's knuckled with his thumb as he finally finished cleaning the wound. "Worst's over, Tom," he said softly, as Tommy let his hand go.

Nikki absent-mindedly ran his fingers through Tommy's soft curls, smiling to himself as Tommy relaxed into his touch, turning his face to nuzzle his hand. "Almost done, Tommy," Nikki said, taking a bandage and medical tape out of the box and putting it on his shoulder. "Yeah, we're done now," He said, unable to stop himself from smiling.

Tommy turned around.

"Feeling any better, Lee?" Nikki asked him, hoping it hadn't hurt too much.

"Yeah, much. It doesn't feel as moist anymore."

Nikki smiled. "There's cereal and milk if you want - i's not french toast, but I'm nearly late for work."

Tommy nodded. "Sure, man, see you when you get back. I only got a half-day thing, but it pays decently per hour! I am so, so happy it's a barista thing, I'm gonna get to meet so many people!" Tommy was grinning ear to ear.

 Nikki just smiled, ruffling Tommy's hair a bit. "Take care, drummer boy," He laughed, before leaving.

*

Nikki had just left the building - Tommy rushed to Vince's place.

"Vince! VinceVinceVince!" He said, knocking.

He was greeted by a greasy, disheveled Vince, who was somehow more tired than he was last night.

"Who hit you with a train?"

"Nobody, but you're going to get hit by one if you don't tell me what's going on," he said, yawning.

"Inside!" Tommy said, pushing past Vince and sitting on the pullout couch.

"Yeah, Tommy?"

"It's about Nikki," He grinned.

Vince was interested. "Spill. Wait, let me guess. Hopeless romantic, getting this hyped up about somebody? You like him, don't you?"

"HE LET ME SQUEEZE HIS HAND WHILE HE CHANGED MY BANDAGE, VINCENT! IT MIGHT BE MUTUAL!"

Vince just laughed. "That's... definitely a maybe, Tommy," He said, "Keep it to yourself, though. For now, anyway. Nikki doesn't strike me as the type who's ready for anything like that."

Tommy nodded. "I'm just gonna act with him the way I act with you. He's chill with that."

Vince smiled, pulling Tommy in for a hug. "Look at you, making the best possible decision!"

Tommy just smiled as he hugged back.