Nick was doing his usual thing when they find a person telling them to leave the premises – his camera held down by his leg and facing away, but on so they could catch the conversation going on between Zak and, at the moment, an old lady who seemed to be yelling something at them. They've been at it for three minutes already, but not one of them could understand her. He could hear Aaron trying to stifle his laughter into the sleeve of his jacket somewhere behind his right shoulder and Nick was trying really hard not to crack a smile as Zak struggled through trying to explain to this woman that they had permission to be there. She could not be swayed, nor charmed. Nick could see the flush coming onto Zak's cheeks as this woman out-spoke him again, getting louder every time Zak tried to open his mouth. That usually never happens, and Nick couldn't stop the small hiccup of a laugh that escaped.
Shit. Nick bit his lip, hoping it'd hide the smile slowly climbing up his face but Zak was already on to him. Zak huffed and crossed his arms, eyes swiftly moving from the infuriating woman in front of him to Nick with a quick glare and back. There's a reason Zak doesn't do negotiations. There's a reason he sends Nick to do all the talking behind the scenes. Nick could see the line of his shoulders tense and he knew if he didn't get Zak free now, that loud mouth of his was going to get them in a lot of trouble.
"Alright, alright. We understand, ma'am," Nick said loudly and slowly as he switched his camera off with a slide of his finger. Zak looked at Nick as if he'd been betrayed and Nick really wanted to smooth the distress from Zak's eyebrows. Instead, he gave him a slight nod and a small smile before signaling Aaron to move out. The other man finally let out a short bark of laughter after getting the camera from Nick and running out before Zak could turn his burning gaze on him.
The woman was looking pretty smug as she walked back into the room she came out of and Zak looked as if he wasn't done yet. He wanted to take a look around the building before they started the interviews but even Nick had abandoned him. Nick raised an eyebrow and Zak huffed again.
"We're staying, Nick."
The second eyebrow raised, "Zak did you not hear what that woman said?"
"I didn't understand a damn word she said."
Nick scoffed lightheartedly. Looking towards where Aaron ran off to and back towards the room the lady escaped to, Nick made sure the coast was clear before he pulled the strong figure into his arms. He rubbed his hands up and down Zak's back until he felt the tense muscles loosen and the slightly shorter man relax. Zak was a bit headstrong, usually got his way – liked getting his way – and usually Nick found ways for it to happen when Zak doesn't get it right the first time.
"We have every right to be in here, Nick." Zak whined into Nick's neck, his arms coming around his chest to keep Nick in place. Nick sighed and rested his hands in the pretty curve in Zak's lower back. Zak bumped his forehead lightly onto Nick's, begging with his eyes when deep browns finally met crystal blues. Nick shut his eyes with a sigh.
"Fine... I'll do it. I'll talk to her."
The smile Nick received nearly knocked the breath out of him, like it usually did when he put it there, and he chuckled when Zak placed a light kiss to his smiling lips.
"I knew you'd do it for me. I know you'll do it better."
Yeah. Nick's pretty smitten with the guy.
The place was a lot bigger on the inside than it looked from the outside and a lot more dangerous. Nick managed to persuade the old lady that, yes, they had received permission prior to arrival, and that okay, she had no responsibility over the men if they get lost or hurt, and... and what? Oh. Alright. They promisenot to touch anything, break anything, or take anything out of the building. Walking down the fourth floor hallway with an excited Zak bouncing from room to room and a joking Aaron who returned after making sure their cameras were safe with Billy, Nick could finally feel the throbbing in his head he received from the grueling verbal battle with a person even more hardheaded than Zak fade. He swore to be more patient with the other man if he never had to meet another person like the little old lady in the front room ever again.
"Hey, dude, do you hear Zak?" Aaron asked. Like Nick, he was following Zak at a slower pace trying to keep his distance in case Zak decided somewhere back the other way felt more active.
Nick looked at Aaron and was about to ask what the hell he was talking about but instead stopped and listened. It was a whole lot quieter. For the past ten minutes they had either heard the darker man's footsteps as he hurried back their way or the opening and slamming of doors as the other man moved forward, but it was dead silent now. Aaron looked at him with growing concern, not exactly knowing what to do.
"Zak?" Nick called out, and when he didn't get a response a look back at Aaron got them both running towards the direction Zak headed off towards.
"Zak!" Nick called out again. How dangerous could this place be? Zak knows better than to walk over weak floorboards or into destroyed rooms without having anyone know first. He could hear Aaron falling behind as the other man opened doors to see if their missing friend was passed out somewhere or – shit. Shit. What if Zak wasn't breathing? This place was old, there was dust everywhere and other things flying through the air, supposedly there are violent ghosts floating around and though they haven't been killed yet, getting attacked or possessed wasn't something new.
The other doors going down the path didn't look to be recently opened. Nick was breathing deeply and Aaron ignored the other doors now to be by Nick's side. The door was parted open just slightly, but they couldn't hear anything beyond the sound of their own breathing. Nick really hoped Zak was on the other side and when he got the courage to finally push it open he couldn't help but sigh in relief when he saw the man standing there with a confused look on his face.
"Fuck, Zak. What were you thinking? What are you doing? Why are you in here?" Nick's concern was slowing growing into anger, but stopped when he saw that the confusion on Zak's face hadn't changed.
"Zak, man, are you... are you okay?" Aaron took the first step towards Zak and reached out a hand towards his shoulder only to hover for a bit before landing.
Zak's gaze broke from somewhere above Nick's shoulder to focus on Aaron before it looked like his senses were returned to him. He shook his head and breathed deeply twice, "I... what?"
"Dude, how are you feeling?"
"Bro, I don't know, man. I just feel weird in this room. Don't you guys feel it?"
Nick walked forward next. He was so close to grabbing the other man around his shoulders and bringing him closer so he could feel the other man's heartbeat against his chest, but Aaron was around and he promised Aaron he wouldn't do that in front of him.
"You wouldn't answer me, Zak."
"You were calling me? I didn't know!" Zak said with a small laugh as he brushed Aaron's hand off his shoulder. Aaron was sill looking at him funny, but so was Nick. Was there something on his face?
Nick closed his eyes and dropped his head. His right hand came up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart. He thought something may have happened. Wait...
"How do you feel?"
"What? Nick, I'm okay."
"No... how are you feeling? What were you feeling? There has to be a reason you weren't answering us, Zak. Aaron and I could probably be heard two floors down."
"I feel fine now, Nick, honestly. A little dazed, but I'm okay. I just walked in here."
"How long have you been in here?"
"What? That's a silly question."
"Zak..."
"Look, I'm okay. I'm not hurt. Something compelled me to come here, but it hasn't hurt me."
Nick looked at Aaron and Aaron quickly got the hint. With a thumbs up and a quick, good luck, Aaron left them alone.
When the door closed Nick shortened the distance between them and grabbed Zak around the face. He pulled the other man closer, "Tell me everything Zak. You don't need to hide anything from me. Hell, you don't need to hide anything from Aaron. We've been in this crazy shit together for ten years now. Now tell me, what happened in this room?"
Nick watched Zak as he felt the other man cover his hands with his own. He closed his blue eyes, "I think... I may have been... partially possessed again," he opened them and added quickly, "but it's okay! I'm okay."
"Fuck... Zak," Nick let go of Zak's face and backed up to take a good look at the other man.
"It won't happen again, I won't let it. This place is packed with activity, I could feel it, Nick," Zak pressured. He grabbed Nick's hand and snickered, "I'm a professional."
Squeezing his fingers, Nick chuckled and relented. He couldn't take this man away from any kind of haunted building, teeming with demons or not. Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door and Aaron's voice telling them it's about time to start the interviews. Zak squeezed the hand in his one final time before letting go and telling Aaron that it was safe to open the door and that yes, they still had their clothes on, jeez, Aaron.
Nick knew they shouldn't of taken on that building. The fourth floor was the most dangerous and the second spot visited during the night and they've all been shook up for the better part of the investigation. Zak put on a good show, as usual. After being possessed by the same spirit that whisked him away for a few minutes the day before, Zak could barely respond to either Aaron or Nick for an hour. Cameras were shut off, every flashlight on them was turned on and Nick would've broken open a window if he knew it would help Zak calm down. But in the dark room, Zak was just breathing harshly, his eyes half lidded and pupils blown wide. The spirit seemed to have left, but it seemed to have given Zak a gift of some sort, a memory, an experience, something, it had to be something.
When Zak came back to his senses, it took him a few more minutes with the cameras on and the investigation back in full swing to bring back his usual charismatic hunting. Zak was going off again on ghosts, trying to bring them out, but Nick could still see the panic in Zak's eyes. The man was a lot more twitchy, a bit more sensitive, and a whole lot more paranoid. Nick refused to leave his side, refused to go into different rooms, barely let there be eight feet between them and nearly said "no" to every request Zak made. He was not going to leave Zak's side, not when he was so close he could hear the tremble in Zak's every breath.
Nick was laying down in bed in a pair of basketball shorts playing with his cellphone in one hand while the other rested under his head. The television was shut off in favor of listening to Zak taking a shower in case the other man passed out from either exhaustion or from some random side-effect from last night's possession.
Veronique was supposed to call today; she always did after an investigation night to make sure Nick was safe. Nick always waited for the call, never wanting to wake up his wife and daughter if they were still asleep, but he did want to hear their voices if only to make sure he came out of the building the same person and that life outside the paranormal was real. But it's almost eight and he's pretty sure that by this time she wasn't going to call. Veronique and he were usually done with a conversation at that time, so Nick felt that she assumed he'd be asleep for the rest of the day. He heard the shower shut off and he set his cellphone down on the bedside table.
The door opened and steam was the first to make it out before his towel clad lover. When Nick saw Zak focus on him, Nick opened his arms wide, an invitation for Zak to just fall into his arms but Zak only laughed and threw the towel around his waist at him before heading for his luggage.
"Jerk." Nick said playfully as he let the towel drop to the floor. He heard the other man scoff lightly as he watched the way Zak's muscles moved with every step and sway of his hips. He watched as the other man bended over to dig through his suitcase for something to sleep in and Nick would've really taken advantage of that position had he had any energy left. Instead he laid back and admired as Zak pulled something over his legs. Watching the now clothed man turn around, Nick opened his arms again and was not disappointed.
"Hey, beautiful." Nick whispered into Zak's still damp hair as he felt the other man cling onto his body. Zak's body was still very warm from his shower and Nick had a feeling that his own room-temperature adjusted body must of felt too cool against Zak's skin but the other man neither complained or pulled away.
Zak gave him a light chuckle and whispered into Nick's neck, "You charmer."
Nick placed his lips right in the center of Zak's hairline, letting himself rest there as he felt Zak's heartbeat against his own chest. Every now and then he could feel the beat picking up and he knew that something was bothering the man in his arms. Leaving with a kiss to the spot where he rested his lips Nick pulled his face away, "Tell me what happened. Back there, in the room on the fourth floor."
Nick waited patiently as Zak inhaled and exhaled unsteadily, and he tried to catch the other man's blue eyes, but they refused to raise above Nick's chin. Nick let his hand smooth over the skin on Zak's hip, allowing his little finger to slip under the band of the other man's shorts as he moved his hand from Zak's side to his back trying to touch as much skin as possible. Zak's eyes were falling shut and Nick was a bit scared that Zak was falling into another world. Without thinking it through, Nick pulled his hand away, pulling the band with him and allowed it to snap back onto Zak's hip which earned him a full on glare when those blue eyes shot open.
"I'm sorry." Nick said quickly, and Zak rolled his eyes before grabbing Nick's hand and putting it back where it was resting.
"I was trying to remember everything. And I really, really don't want to."
"But you have to, Zak. Remember what both the priest and the therapists said, you have to share these experiences. They're not good to keep bottled inside of you."
"I know." Zak sighed. "... it was the usual. Well, it was kind of different." Zak moved to lay on his back, but Nick beat him to it, pulling the heavier man slightly on top of him so Zak was laying flat on his stomach instead. This made it easier for Nick to move his hands across Zak's back and let him know he's there and Zak thanked him quietly before continuing, "You know how those possessions go, Nick. I wanted to be violent. I wanted to kill Aaron, I wanted to kill you. They showed me how to do it, how I would've done it, Nick, and it scared me."
Nick pulled Zak's head to rest on his chest, "But you didn't do anything to us, Zak." Nick reminded him as he pulled Zak's hair away from his face and smoothed it down.
"I know. I know. Thank God."
Zak went silent as he tried to calm himself down with Nick's touches. Fuck, but that wasn't all.
"They wanted me to kill myself too."
Nick's hands stalled before he continued combing back Zak's drying hair. He swallowed before asking, "What do you mean?"
"They just about convinced me that I was dangerous. That I was definitely going to hurt you. I was nearly convinced that the only way you guys were safe was if I were dead, Nick." Zak's voice caught, "Nick, I wanted to die."
"Zak..."
"I would've done it too. I would've jumped if you hadn't stopped me from opening the window. I could never hurt you."
What could Nick say after that? I'm glad that you didn't? You should never have to feel that way? Those were all to obvious. Nick pulled the other man up by his shoulders making the strong body straddle his waist and waited for Zak's forearms to rest above his shoulders so Zak's weight wouldn't crush him. He's never seen that face on the other man before. He wanted it to leave.
"I love you."
"Jesus, Nick."
The body on top of him nearly collapsed, he could feel the shaking in the other man's shoulders.
"Nick, I said I was going to kill you!"
"But you didn't. And you wouldn't, Zak. That was an evil spirit trapped in that building trying to keep one of us there forever. I love you. If you'd have jumped..." Nick wrapped his hands around that strong face, "I don't know how I could of survived that."
Zak's body collapsed, his arms going around Nick's shoulders and body shaking. Nick could feel it in the other man's whole frame and he wrapped his own arms around the trembling back. Nick wanted Zak to let the experience go, but he knew possessions were harder than most. He let the other man take as much time as he needed, as much comfort from him as he can. After a few minutes he felt the tremble in the other man's spine subside.
"Calmer now?" he felt the other man nod against his cheek and sighed when the body moved further down his own so Zak could lay his head down in the space underneath this chin.
"I love you, Nick. I love you."
And that started a whole mess of emotions in Nick, but he beat them down. "I love you too."
His phone rang and the ring tone was unmistakable. It was Roni and he didn't know what to do. Zak was clinging on to him, after something like that Nick knew Zak wasn't going to let go of him and Nick knew that the other man needed him. But the call, he was not sure if he could miss this call. It's been a week and he honestly missed the sound of his wife and his little girl's voices. But they could wait, he felt, until later today. The phone continued to ring and he could still feel the other man tremble slightly before relaxing, giving up.
"You could answer it, you know."
Nick thought for a moment, considerate of the man in his arms and how it'll effect him, but when Zak let go briefly to reach behind himself to grab Nick's phone on the bedside table and handed it to him, Nick merely stared at the phone, and Zak pressed accept before placing it near Nick's ear. Nick smiled slightly in apology,mouthed an "I love you" to Zak before holding the phone himself, nearly sighing when he felt Zak run his hand down his side to rest at his hip.
"Hey, Roni."
"Nick, honey, how are you?"
Nick was staring at Zak's face, but the other man's eyes were closed. He wasn't sleeping though. The body in his arms was to tense to be asleep. Nick licked his lips before laying his hand down at the top of his spine and scratching down towards the curve in his back making the other man's breath hitch.
Nick cleared his throat, "I've been good."
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Uh, just needed to clear my throat. How are you and our baby? I've missed you."
"We're fine, Nick. You want to hear her? She's speaking more now, aren't you sweetheart?"
Nick couldn't stop the smile from appearing on his face. He was almost glad that Zak wouldn't open his eyes, but he really wished that Zak didn't have to go through this. He shouldn't have to go through this. Nick tried to move the weight on top of him, but Zak was immobile. He sighed and wrapped his free arm around the tense shoulders and couldn't keep himself from smiling when he heard the musical notes of his wife and child talking.
"You sound beautiful." Nick couldn't help but say, and he tried to ignore the flinch he felt against he chest.
"We can't wait for you to come home, Nick."
His heart burned- he couldn't wait either, but hell, if he didn't feel torn about that too.
"I know."
"We love you, Nick. I love you."
Nick almost couldn't say it, "I love you too." those words usually came so easily to him when he spoke them to his wife, but with Zak near, they nearly caught in his throat. Nick couldn't ignore how those words seem to create another crack in Zak's already fragile facade. It's been years, but his love for his wife hasn't faded and the love he had for Zak was only growing- nothing became any easier.