Nick had decided that Sheryl was the only worthwhile woman in the world. She was friendly without being annoying, kind without being overbearing, a no-nonsense sort of woman that wasted no time with mercy when the situation called for a sharp tongue. Ellis’ mother was brilliant. And since the first eventful meeting where he’d nearly given himself some kind of attack trying to be perfect and worthy for her son, things had grown easier. But now they were at her place for dinner, and he was helping to cook. And he knew just how important food was to this little Southern family. And he was a bit nervous that he might screw it up. But Ellis always seemed to like his food, so he was hoping the same would go for Sheryl.

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((Yeah, we had another unexpected hiatus. We’ve been trying to get better, but too many things happen. My Nick has been experiencing both family and internet issues. So those combined leaves very little room for answering asks. We’ll try and get an answer or two up this week, but we cannot guarantee anything. In the meantime, feel free to drop an ask or two into our box, maybe it’ll give us a bit more motivation!))

Nick finished unbuttoning his shirt and stripped it off, tossing it to the floor. He did the same with his pants before climbing onto the bed, shooting Ellis a smirk. “All right, you’ve got me naked, now what?” They hadn’t discussed specifics of the deal when they had made it, just that one of them would get to have their way in bed that night, and unfortunately Ellis had won. It was definitely the last time he’d bet on Ellis being able to keep himself from talking for any amount of time.

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Nick slammed the front door behind them and leaned against it, cursing as he swiped his hand over his face. “I can’t fucking believe this. Can’t even go to the damn grocery store anymore without getting swarmed.” He pulled his suit coat off the rest of the way and headed into the living room, tossing it onto the chair before dropping down on the couch. “I think one of them tried to give me a hickey.” He rubbed his hand over his neck.

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Nick wasn’t unused to insomnia. It had been better lately, the longer he spent with Ellis, with his family. He slept through the night far more often than not, and the shadows of his past were gradually coming to light. Ellis knew things about him that no one else left alive did. And still he stayed around, still he loved him. But there were some things that still haunted him. The smell of cheap booze, the low hum of a television in the dark. The hoarse, slurred grunt of his name over his shoulder. Thin, pinching fingers locking onto his arm, hauling him onto his toes, rank breath in his face. The years of wondering how much worse off he could be if his father would just die.

Sitting in the darkness, watching his husband sleep, Nick wondered how much different things would be if he had had a normal childhood of presenting clumsy father’s day cards and being rewarded for it, of burning breakfast and bringing it on a tray and still watching him eat as much as he could stomach. Instead his fondest memory was a week early, stealing away in the night in his father’s car, promising himself he would never look back. With a sigh, Nick quietly swung his legs over the side of the bed and got to his feet, stretching his arms over his head. It didn’t seem like he’d be getting anymore sleep tonight.

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Nick dropped the still smoking butt of his cigarette and crushed it under his heel before pulling another from the pack and lighting it with a swift click of the black lighter from the pocket of his jeans. He exhaled grey smoke and sighed, pushing off of the tree he was leaning against to resume walking through the park. He could hear children playing on the swings and slides not too far away, but he avoided them carefully. Being an only child, he didn’t have much experience or interest in small children. Dragging his fingers through his hair, Nick wondered what his father would say the morning after he graduated when he woke from his drunken stupor and realized that his son had gone missing with their shitty car. The old fool would never send anyone after him. He was too lazy, and he knew his son could make his life just as miserable.

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Okay, so the cabin wasn’t as bad as he’d expected. After the whole situation with Keith accusing him of ruining their little camping trip, Ellis had been dropping hints about knowing a nice cabin where they could stay together, about having the weekend off from work every now and then, and Nick had finally agreed to go, just to make Ellis happy and get him to stop obsessing over it. And he had been fully prepared to hate it. But as he sat his bag down at the foot of the bed, he had to admit that it wasn’t the most horrible place they could have chosen to stay. “You’re sure this place doesn’t have a shower?” he asked as he heard Ellis coming in behind him, turning to face his lover.

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It was a fairly ordinary day at the shop, and Ellis was ducked underneath the hood of the car, as usual. Chatting with Keith about who knows what, and looking forward to heading home to his lover.

Though, there was one thing that wasn’t ordinary that happened that day.

A puppy, looking about a month or two old, waddled on its tiny legs and peeked curiously into the garage with its big, beady eyes. Everything was so new to it, and all the sights and sounds drew it close like a magnet. It had only ever seen its mother and siblings, and the small box where it sat in the corner of the road with its siblings, waiting to be adopted. Letting out a soft yip, it bounded into the auto shop as fast as its short legs could carry it, wanting to know everything that was going on.

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Nick tapped his fork against his glass several times to call all the attention in the room to himself and his new husband at the front of the room. It wasn’t an overly large gathering, just consisting of Ellis’ mother, brother, and sister, Keith and Dave, and a handful of other relatives and coworkers. Nick lowered the fork when everyone was looking their way, hooking his free arm around Ellis’ waist to pull him closer. “All right, I’ve been told that there are supposed to be speeches at the reception. From the best man, the parents, things like that. Well, since pretty much all of you are guests for Ellis, I’m going to be doing my own speeches, and I’ve dragged Ellis up here to help me out with it.”

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“No way, man! Yer pullin’ my leg!” Keith leaned forward a little on the couch, sprawled just enough to comfortably drape one arm across Dave’s chest, resting his head on his shoulder. Nick didn’t mind the tall hick’s lazy domination of most of the large piece of furniture with his long legs since it put Ellis in his lap. “Yer not seriously tellin’ me that you got t’drive the Jimmy Gibbs’ stock car?!”

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