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Nyck, in hindsight, should have known today was going to be a no good, very bad, awful and shit terrible day. Waking up to no coffee in the apartment, realizing he was late on the laundry and only had one clean shirt left that was even half way presentable, checking his schedule to see he had two major tests in his business and accounting courses today that he may or may not have studied enough for, and tripping hard enough to make his toe bleed through his sock right before shoving it into a shoe and having to run out the door (late, which is highly unlike him) should have been all the proof he needed that today would be a wash.
And yet.
He makes it to class with little to no fuss, only to find a note on the door informing him that his professor had sent an email (which, in his haste, he had forgotten to check) canceling the class for the day and rescheduling the exam. Small blessings, he will take them.
He uses his free time to study for the accounting exam instead, but when the test comes and goes, Nyck feels like he's vastly unprepared and is tripped up by a question too many. That sinking feeling of failure begins bubbling up in his gut when he hands his papers over to his professor. He's better than this, he knows he is, and he's not sure just what has gotten into him lately. Anything less than an A on this exam could cause a break down of epic proportions, but there isn't much he can do about that now.
So he drags himself to his last class of the day, takes half hearted notes, and goes the fuck home. He does not each lunch, he does not stop at the library, and he does not even scratch his itch for coffee at the corner cafe near his apartment. He throws open the door and then slams it shut with impressive force behind him, startling the absolute hell out of someone on the couch in front of him. For a brief moment, he has the gall to look guilty.
Esteban, his roommate and - well - are they partners? Nyck has never been brave enough to ask, and part of him is scared of the answer. Esteban’s head pops up from over the side of the couch, eyes wide and slightly startled until they come to rest on Nyck. Impossibly, Esteban smiles and Nyck feels his stomach turn into useless mush.
He tries his best to smile back.
“Welcome home. Not sure what the door has done to deserve that treatment, but I support you fully.” Esteban says, standing up from the couch and making his way over to Nyck.
Nyck, to his credit, tries hard again to smile, but he can imagine it probably looks more like a grimace by the way Esteban frowns.
“Rough day?” He asks, gently reaching out to take Nyck's bag off of his shoulder and hang it on the hook beside the door. Nyck swallows thickly and nods.
“It wasn't even so bad in hindsight, but I can't shake the mood.” Nyck explains, letting his gaze fall from the warmth in Esteban's eyes, to the cold detachment of the livingroom carpet. He hears Esteban sigh in front of him and somehow that makes it all worse.
Until, much to his surprise, he feels himself being pulled forward up against a firm chest and cocooned by gentle, welcoming arms. The shock lasts all of a few moments, before his body is reacting almost involuntarily to Esteban's touch by melting into a puddle of pathetic, useless human against him.
To Esteban’s credit, his hold on Nyck never falters, even when every bit of Nyck's weight leans hopelessly against him. His arms squeeze just a little tighter, a little more secure, but he accepts the burden without a single complaint and just holds Nyck like it's the most effortless thing in the world.
Nyck closes his eyes and listens to the steady, rhythmic thump of Esteban's heartbeat beneath his ear. It's like clockwork, a beat that could not possibly be more uniform if it tried to be. Nyck is grateful for the sound, and the almost metronome-like quality and consistency of each heartbeat, because it gives his mind something to focus on that is blissfully distracting and, most importantly, anchoring. A tether to reality, which his mind has felt like it lost its grasp on until this very moment.
He notices the faint beating of his own heart, a rhythm quicker and obviously more stressed than Esteban’s, realigning itself to try and match the calm pace that Esteban's heart is setting. It takes perhaps a few moments too many, but Nyck feels both of their hearts synchronize to an identical beat in the wisps of space between them and he lets out a breath that expells every ounce of bad energy from this day out of his lungs to dissipate into the universe. His body, now fully relaxed, feels at home pressed against Esteban's and he could cry. He absolutely could.
But he won't. At least not yet.
“I've got you, Nyck. Tell me what I can do to make your day better and I will do it.”
Warmth blossoms in Nyck’s chest as he registers the earnesty of Esteban's words. He looks up, meeting the loving, kind gaze that Esteban is casting him with a genuine smile, his first and only of the day so far. He leans up onto the tips of his toes in an attempt to meet Esteban’s looming height and presses a soft, gentle kiss to his lips - which is eagerly returned, much to his delight - with a bit more passion than Nyck expects. His breath comes shallow and stilted through his nose, mingling with Esteban's own similar pattern, and it causes the lenses of his glasses to fog slightly with the shared heat between them.
Esteban breaks the kiss apart long enough to reach up and gently remove the glasses from Nyck's face, laying them down on the little side table next to the front door where they will be safe. Nyck beams up at Esteban, the woes of this stupid, terrible, no good day disappearing into thin air as though they never existed in the first place. Esteban beams back at him, dark eyes sparkling with mischief and love, and the way Nyck's heart clenches up in his chest like it's been squeezed in a vice is enough to make him forget about his stupid morning, his stupid test, his stupid self worth issues and his stupid academic crises just long enough for his mind to settle.
“You've already done that,” Nyck replies to Esteban's earlier offer, his voice slightly raspy from the excitement of their kiss, “but a few more kisses would not hurt, I think.”
Esteban chuckles softly beneath his breath, softly bumping their noses together in a way that makes Nyck's teeth ache. “I think I can manage that much, at least.”
Soft lips are pressed against his again with a sudden surge of passion that makes Nyck's heart soar free from the confines of his chest. He kisses back desperately, longingly, with all the love and affection he has to offer Esteban and more.
Later that evening when Nyck makes his rounds to check that all lights are off and the door is locked, he finds a pile of their clothes crumpled haphazardly to the ground beside the welcome mat and he can't help but chuckle.
It may have been a no good, very bad, awful and shit terrible day, but he wouldn't change it for the world.