"Ugh…" Zak moaned. "Why did you let me eat so many fries?" He rubbed his stomach as he lay in Nick's lap, the aftermath of their meal scattered on the coffee table in front of them.

"No one forced you to eat all your fries and then finish mine." Nick replied with a laugh.

"You don't just let cheese fries sit around, Nick. They don't get better with time." Zak said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I see. My mistake." Nick said with a smile. "So, that movie was shit, wasn't it?"

"The worst. So offensively bad." Zak laughed.

"Yeah, sorry about that. You can pick the next one." Nick said reaching down to run a hand through Zak's hair.

"Damn straight." Zak said with a smirk. He tilted his head to lock eyes with Nick. Nick smiled back at him lovingly, just enjoying the quiet moment.

"Are you happy?" Zak asked without thinking. He could tell Nick was taken aback by the question so he tried not to show the small pang of sadness he felt when Nick didn't answer back immediately. But his eyes dropped for a moment and Nick didn't miss it.

"Hey." Nick said, willing Zak to meet his eyes again. "You know I am. I've never been happier." He grazed a hand down Zak's cheek pulling a small smile from the older man. Zak sat up, turning to face Nick before pressing their lips together in a soft kiss. Nick, wrapped his arms around Zak's body, pulling him in protectively as he deepened the kiss. Zak was the first to pull away as he settled in next to Nick and laid his head on the younger man's shoulder.

"Good. Me too." Zak said quietly.

Nick's heart sunk. He meant what he said, he had never been happier. And he knew that Zak was happy too. But he also knew that by forcing them to keep their relationship quiet, he was denying Zak the true and complete happiness he craved. And he knew that Zak's insecurities could easily convince him that Nick wanted to keep things quiet because he wasn't sure about their relationship. He turned to kiss Zak's forehead. A silent apology. He wished he could find a way to explain why it was so hard to think about coming out to people. He didn't really even understand it himself. But it had nothing to do with Zak. Hell, Zak was the only thing he's ever been sure about. And no matter what, Nick knew he belonged to him.

"We should go out tonight." Nick decided out loud.

"Really?" Zak said sitting up in surprise. "Like you and me?"

"Oh sorry, I meant me and my other boyfriend." Nick joked. "Yeah, you and me."

"Okay!" Zak said with a smile. Nick half-expected a punch in the arm for the boyfriend joke but Zak was too excited to care. Nick couldn't hold back his grin at how Zak's face brightened from just the idea of going out.

"Where should we go?" Nick asked, prepared to say yes to just about anything. He loved the look on Zak's face and would do anything to keep it there.

"Well, I don't know if you want to or not…" Zak started with a hint of insecurity, "but I haven't been to the casinos in a while."

"Oh…" Nick said thinking through the idea.

"Unless you want to do something a little more quiet? Less public." Zak cut in nervously. Afraid to say anything that would scare Nick into changing his mind.

"No." Nick answered firmly. "Let's do it. I want to be out with you."

"Okay!" Zak said, his blue eyes glowing with excitement. "I better go get ready!" He leaned in for a quick kiss before jumping up to make his way toward the bathroom. Nick settled into the couch knowing he had at least 30 minutes before he had to start thinking about getting ready.

An hour and a half later they were finally leaving the house. Zak had changed his shirt at least five times, trying on different versions of what Nick was pretty sure was the same black shirt. But he had finally decided on one that hugged his arms and chest in just the right places. Nick knew it was going to be a herculean task to keep his hands to himself.

"You look hot, babe." he said when he noticed Zak looking down at himself, second guessing his choice.

"Yeah?" Zak said with a satisfied smile, climbing into the passenger seat. "You look hot too. You're wearing my favorite jeans."

"I know. You gonna watch me walk away?" Nick said mischievously, making a show of walking around the front of the car before sliding into the driver's seat and looking at Zak expectantly.

"You're a dork." Zak said with a laugh. "But you've got a great ass."

Nick smiled as he started the car, pulling out of the driveway and onto the street. He reached his free hand over to Zak's, intertwining their fingers and pulling Zak's hand to his mouth to softly kiss his knuckles before resting their hands together on the center console. Zak was used to Nick holding his hand in the privacy of their homes or hotel rooms, but this public display of affection was new to him and he loved it. He knew that there was almost no chance of anyone being able to see them in the car, especially since it was dark outside. But he didn't care. This new side of Nick had Zak positively beaming.

As they pulled up to the casino, Zak felt his heart jump into his throat. He had been waiting so long to go out in public with Nick. Not as his best friend or co-worker, but as his partner. And now that his wish had finally come true, he found his hands going clammy. He didn't know how to act. It wasn't like they were going public with their relationship so they still needed to be discreet. Zak's heart began to race when Nick noticed his furrowed brow.

"Hey. You ok?" He asked concerned. "You look a little...sweaty."

The last thing Zak wanted to do was give Nick a reason to second guess their plans, so he quickly rearranged his face into a semi-convincing smile. "I'm great. Just... excited." he said deciding to just follow Nick's lead.

"Me too." Nick said with a smile. He gave Zak's hand a squeeze before letting go.

As they made their way toward the casino bar, Zak felt like a 12 year old boy, unsure what to do with his hands. He felt awkward and he could tell that Nick noticed. Nick shot him a reassuring smile pressing his shoulder into Zak's as they walked. The warmth radiated between them, calming Zak's nerves a bit.

"Do you want to get a table, or sit at the bar?" Nick asked.

"Um, I don't care. Whatever you want." Zak replied, embarrassed with his awkward indecisiveness. It was unlike him to be so timid. "Table!" He shouted quickly and a little louder than he meant to.

"Table, it is." Nick said, motioning for Zak to lead the way. The bar was crowded tonight and Zak began to worry that they might be recognized. He really didn't want to spend the night posing for pictures and listening to stranger's ghost stories. He squeezed through the large crowd, looking back to make sure he hadn't lost Nick when he felt a familiar, warm hand wrap around his. He couldn't help but grin back at the younger man as he gave his hand a squeeze. They spotted a table with two stools and made their way towards it, parting hands as they cleared the bulk of the crowd. Zak tried not to notice how empty his hand suddenly felt. Nick took a seat on one side of the table, as Zak climbed onto the stool opposite him.

"You gonna sit all the way over there?" Nick asked with a sly grin.

"Oh, um…" Zak started.

Nick hopped off his stool, making his way toward Zak. He grabbed the leg of his stool, pulling it, and him, around the table. He climbed back onto his own stool giving Zak a grin. They were close enough that their knees touched and Zak's heart fluttered in his chest like a damn school girl.

"That's better." Nick said. "How am I supposed to touch you when you're all the way over there?"

Zak's face flushed slightly. Nick was cool as a fucking cucumber and Zak felt like a sweaty, nervous mess. "I need a drink." he said.

"How about a beer?"

"How about a whiskey." Zak replied.

Nick couldn't help but smile at Zak's nervousness. He was used to a confident Zak that knew what he wanted and wouldn't stop until he got it. He rarely saw this side of his partner, but something about it was absolutely adorable. He leaned in a bit, resting his hand discreetly on Zak's thigh. "It's just me, babe. Relax."

"I know." Zak huffed. " I don't know what wrong with me." He laughed a little at how ridiculous he was being.

"How about we get you that whiskey?" Nick said, lifting the hand on Zak's leg to flag down a waitress. He ordered a whiskey and beer for each of them. Zak drained his whiskey immediately, feeling the warmth crawl down his throat and into his stomach.

"Better?" Nick asked.

"Yeah." Zak smiled back. "Thanks for doing this, Nick."

Nick smiled, placing a hand on Zak's kneecap. He had to fight his body's instinct to lean in. He lowered his voice to a husky whisper. "God, I want to kiss you so bad right now." Zak's face flushed with embarrassment as Nick's hand traveled slowly up his leg. The waitress walked up, startling them both. Nick's hand flew off of Zak's leg, hitting the underside of the table hard.

"Shit." Nick said surprised by the pain.

"Can I get you boys another whiskey?" she said, unaware of what she had missed over the loud music.

"Yeah, that would be great. And two more beers." Zak said quickly. As she walked away, Zak couldn't help but let the laugh he had been holding in go. "How's your hand?" he said with a smile.

"Hurts like hell." Nick laughed back. "She came out of nowhere."

"She's a ninja!" Zak joked.

"Oh well, it's probably for the best. With where my hand was headed, I'm not sure I could have stopped." Nick said with a sly smile and Zak felt a stirring in his groin.

The waitress reappeared with their drinks. Nick shot her a smile that she returned a little too eagerly for Zak's taste.

"Let me know when I can get you boys some more drinks." she said before turning to Nick, "Or anything else you may want." She lingered for a moment before walking away. And Zak did not miss the quick look she gave Nick over her shoulder. He shot an icy look at Nick, whose face was a deep shade of pink.

"What the fuck was that?" Zak demanded.

"What?" Nick said with a laugh trying to calm the tension he felt brewing.

"Are you kidding me? She practically eye fucked you." Zak spat back.

"Come on, Zak." Nick said in a calm voice.

"Come on, what? I'm supposed to just sit here and watch our waitress throw herself at you?"

"Girls throw themselves at you all the time!" Nick said feeling the familiar twinge of jealousy even just thinking about it.

"Yeah, but not when we're on a date. That's different." Zak said earnestly.

"How is that different?" Nick said confused.

"When we're with the guys and girls come up to us, that's one thing. I mean, there's a group of us and it's not like the guys know about you and me. But when it's just the two of us and we're on a date and some girl tries to... get all up on you…" Zak trailed off with a huff.

"Get all up on me?" Nick laughed incredulously.

"Be serious, Nick" Zak said with another icy stare. Nick wiped the smile from his face, taking a deep breath.

"Ok, you're right. I'm sorry for laughing. But I feel like you're being a little unreasonable. I didn't make any advances, or flirt or do anything that would lead her to believe I was interested." He reached under the table, grazing Zak's hand with his own. "Because I'm not."

Zak exhaled, closing his eyes as the tension fell from his shoulders. "I know…" he said softly. "I'm sorry. I'm just jealous that she gets to flirt with you so publicly and I just have to sit here and watch."

"You want me to tell her?" Nick said, raising a hand to flag her, "Because I'll call her over here right now if you want me to…" Zak grabbed his hand out of the air before the waitress could notice him. "I'll tell her all the gory details… Waitress!" Nick called out. He knew there was no chance of it being heard over the thumping music, but it put that big, beautiful grin back on Zak's face.

"Nick, stop!" Zak said laughing. "You can't tell the waitress before we tell the guys."

"Fair enough." Nick said with a smile. He knew he was going to have to face his fear of coming out sooner or later. But lately, it was feeling like it was more sooner than later. He could tell that Zak was growing more impatient by the day, and he honestly couldn't blame him. But he couldn't help but worry about the repercussions. He looked at the man he loved, swallowing the lump of fear in his throat with the last of his whiskey.