The gentle humming of the air conditioning made a soft purr that almost lulled Nikolai to sleep. Almost. His room was cool, and everything felt about right. However, even though he felt relaxed, there was some sort of agitation and tension that lingered in the air. Something felt wrong.
He tossed and turned a bit in his bed, and the tension seemed to grow by the moment. Nikolai ran his hand through his hair and tugged at the blankets, trying to get comfortable.
But it was the frantic rapping at his front door that brought Nikolai right to his senses.
Startled, he lifted his head, eyes darting across the room. What was that? He sat up in his bed and rose to his feet, listening carefully as the rapping quieted down. Nikolai pursed his lips and cautiously crept towards his window. He pressed the pads of his fingers down onto the dusty blinds, peeking out towards the driveway.
Seeing nothing, he curiously and cautiously slipped out of his room and padded down the hallway. He came up to the door and stood on his toes, peeking through the peephole. As soon as he saw the familiar face of Leonell, he unlocked the door and swung it open promptly.
"Leo, what the hell?" He said, feeling himself tense up. Then, it clicked; He noticed how disheveled he was. A faint bruise claimed the right of his jaw, and his lip trembled as he stared at Nikolai with a fearful expression.
He said in a choked voice,"Let me in."
Nikolai gave a brisk nod and stepped backwards, giving Leo space to stumble inside. His heart beat quickened, and he felt his palms sweat. Even though he didn't know what happened, he felt the urge to find who did it and beat the ever-living crap out of them. But he probably couldn't anyway.
With rising anxiety, Nikolai lead him through the livingroom and through a short hallway leading to the bathroom. As the bottom of his foot hit the cool tile, it felt as if all of his senses heightened.
Not giving Leonell a moment to hesitate or reason, as if he even would in this state, he promptly sat him on the closed lid of the toilet. He responded with a whimper, leaning over and burying his face into his palms. Nikolai thought he could probably whimper, too.
He stepped sideways, fumbling with the medicine cabinet and feeling around for the bottle of pain killers. Snagging the white bottle, Nikolai twisted the cap off and waggled the container a little above Leonell's clamy palms. Two blue pills bounced into his hand.
Very promptly, he popped the pain killers into his mouth and leaned back slightly. There was a look of worry in Nikolai's eyes, who watched him with concern. Who would do this to him? He was a great guy, and he didn't seem to have too many problems with others. Atleast, that he knew of.
Then, it all clicked; Leonell did have a father. A very religious and stern father.
Attentively, he guided Leonell to his feet, taking note of how shaky and faint he looked. Step by step, he lead him out of the closet and slowly to his room. It was faintly lit by the glow of the gray sky, the pale light filtering in past dusty blinds.
He sat him down on the bed. He then left briefly, returning with a glass of water that he placed on the nightstand. Leonell leaned in slightly, their shoulders pressing together slightly. Nikolai felt his hand up his back, humming lightly, and gently guided him closer.
Leonell hid his face into the calming warmth of his boyfriend's chest, his hands grabbing at the thin material of his sweatshirt. Frowning, Nikolai cradled his exhausted body, returning the embrace and hoping Leo would soon feel better. Tears threatened to burst out any moment, and he begged he wouldn't feel his tears fall onto his shoulder. If anything, he had to be strong when Leonell couldn't be, right?
"We're going to stop for a minute and pretend everything is okay, alright?" Nikolai murmured, rubbing circles into his as an attempt to soothe him. His hand felt up his spine and he let his pale fingers card through Leonell's hair, rubbing against his scalp. Sooner or later, choked, panicked sobs soon died down to sniffles and shaky breaths.