an: well, this is awkward. I've sort of been writing a companion story for 'The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot' that's kind of just extra (and unessisary) things from Nick's pov. Someone over here found me on Ao3 and noticed that this second part existed and that I've never posted it over here.

I didn't know if anyone here would want it.

There aren't all that many of you reading 'The Boy Who' story over on this site.

Mind you, I'm happy for the few people that are here. We just never talk. I always kind of felt like fanfic. net was not as hospitable to this particular ship and I didn't want to pester people by uploading a story that they aren't interested in.

that sounds stupid now that I've put it here...

oh well.

Have a dump of chapters

This one starts around chapter 7 of the other story.

We saw the western coast- and I nursed the shoreline like a wound

We kept it safe and slow

Those quiet things that no one ever knows

.:.

Nick looked at his shoelaces, at the horrible mess that he had made of them. His hands usually worked better than this- but maybe Sam was right. Maybe he'd actually had a bit too much to drink tonight. But it wasn't his fault. The concert had been loud and the room warm and the beer cold. And Sam had just been there, leaning against the bar, standing easily head and shoulders over almost everyone else in the room. Every time Nick had come back to talk to him he'd been forced to lean closer and closer, Sam talking with his mouth against Nick's ear just so he could be heard.

Stupid Sam with his big warm hands that fit so comfortably around the back of Nick's neck.

And it was no fault of his own that Nick drank. Just a bit. Only enough beer that he was sure that he would either be able to ignore the way that Sam felt leaning against him or enough that he would forget all the reasons why he wasn't doing something about it.

Luckily he managed the first- or at least he thought so because he was alone in the hotel bathroom and he wasn't entirely sure where Sam had gotten to. There was water running down his back and it was then that Nick noticed that he wasn't actually in the shower but sitting on the edge of the tub. This was not one of his better nights.

"Sam?" His voice sounded weird and strained to his ears and he hoped that the man hadn't wandered too far.

"Yes?"

Oh good. He must have just been in the other room.

"I can't get my shoes untied." He begged softly, hoping that Sam might take pity on him, just this once.

"How is that 'not as drunk as you look' thing working out for you now?"

Nick tugged at one of the knots, folding completely over and just sort of getting stuck like that for a bit. " 'm not that drunk." He mumbled into his knees. He was just tired. That's all. "If you don't help me I will just shower with them and my pants on- because I can't get them off over the shoes- and when they're still wet tomorrow I will make you go to the store and buy me new shoes and dry pants." It was an idle threat, but apparently enough because he heard shuffling and then Sam was coming over and sitting at his feet.

God he was beautiful. Men weren't supposed to be that good looking, and Nick had suspicions that it had something to do with all that long, soft hair. It looked soft at least. It certainly smelled nice.

Sam looked up with those odd colored eyes of his, his mouth curving in such a smug little smile as he started to battle the mess that Nick had made. "What would you do if I wasn't here to save you from yourself?"

Well, he never would have made it back to the hotel for one, but he also wouldn't have felt a need to drink quite as much as he had. He closed his eyes and started listing all the things that would have gone wrong if Sam wasn't here to take care of him, a long confession of what a mess he would be right now and in the morning.

Sam only smiled. He was good at it.

Much better than Nick was certainly. He'd seen himself smiling in pictures, it wasn't anything that he was proud of- but Sam, he had to practice to look that good. The way his eyes shone and his dimples made themselves known.

"I mean it." He didn't know what he would do if Sam wasn't here with those dimples. Somehow he found that he had got a hand in to Sam's hair, wishing that his fingers weren't so numb so he could actually tell if it was as soft as he thought that it would be. "Same for what I said earlier. You're too good for me."

"Nick, whatever stupid thing you're about to say, you won't remember it tomorrow and I doubt that I'll want to. Do us both a favor."

Maybe he wouldn't remember any of this later. But why would that matter? He was here and it was now and later was later. And Nick really was grateful for Sam. He'd always had the worst taste in women. Lilith was living proof of that. The woman was the devil incarnate and even after the eight years since he had last seen her he was still suffering from the ill effects. And she hadn't been the only woman that Nick had hand picked for his personal misery. There were others. God, there were others.

But this was Sam. And Sam wouldn't ever steal money from him, or instigate a screaming match on the front porch, or compulsively lie about plans, stalk him, try to start a fight with Anna because she had hugged Nick 'a little too long'. Sam wouldn't leave scars after a fight. Sam was good.

"You're not a psycho bitch. I never thanked you for that."

"You're welcome I guess?" Sam laughed, apparently pleased by the complement.

" Mean it. For the longest time I've been worried that I'll turn around and suddenly realize that you're this insufferable asshole like every other person I've ever dated. But look at you- you're like a boy scout." People didn't have any right to be as sweet at Sam, certainly not to such a miserable man like Nick. He realized that he was still talking, his mouth running and he was saying something stupid about Sam, about those dimples and his laugh and how he looked like a lumberjack- but in a good way. "Why couldn't you have been a girl?"

God, but if Sam was a girl... he would probably still have legs for days and an impressive right hook. And to be fair, Nick would have appreciated that fine ass but also would have kept on moving because beautiful or not, he'd never gone for nice girls with sweet smiles. He'd never thought that they deserved to be stuck with someone like him.

"Nick- take your shower. Make it a cold one."

"Yell at me if I'm not out in five minutes. If I don't come out assume that I died and you have my advanced permission to attempt mouth to mouth- just no tongue, ok?" He teased, not being entirely honest with either of them. "We're not at that point in our relationship yet." He sort of wished that they were. And there in lied the problem with drinking as much as he had tonight. Soft lips belonging to someone he liked were just as welcoming despite the gender they were attached to.

"I'm not sure I would want to do better than you, Nick."

At least that is what it sounded like Sam said, but that couldn't be right. He had to have heard wrong.

Sam was climbing to his feet and Nick smiled up at him, because even if the kid was just saying nice things to him, feeling sorry for him, the words were still beautiful.

"Five minutes. Don't drown." Sam instructed as he left.

Nick didn't know how long he sat on the edge of the tub but at some point Sam called out 'it's been five minutes' and Nick still hadn't gotten undressed or into the shower like a normal person. He grumbled at tugged off the rest of his clothes before crawling into the bottom of the shower and turning the water to cold, hoping that a quick, fast shower would be just as good as a real shower.

Sam came and thumped on the door. "Did you die?"

"I think I just got a little lost."

"Did you manage to find yourself?"

Nick closed his eyes and felt the cold water prickling along his back and down his front like icicles. He could practically feel the alcohol fleeing his system in fear. He was roughly a hundred times more awake and every inch of that was furious at him for doing this.

" 'm fine." He called out in the direction of the door.

"You sure?"

"No." He turned off the water and put his head against the side of the tub.

"You… you need any help?"

"I need a towel and maybe a sweater?"

There was some quiet shuffling and a towel and some clothes were set on the edge of the tub.

"Thanks." He told the tiles under his cheek.

And even though no one had asked him to, Sam touched Nick's shoulders, very lightly at first and then a gentle shake.

"Hey, don't fall asleep in here."

Nick looked over his shoulder and was startled to see Sam sitting there on the edge of the tub, a worried look on his young face.

"I wasn't going to."

Careful as he could, Sam pulled a towel around Nick's shoulders. "You were sleeping. I brought you your clothes almost ten minutes ago, you haven't budged."

" 'm sorry."

"Come on."

"You don't have to take care of me."

"I know." Sam rubbed his shoulders and the towel was scratchy. "Come on anyways."