Nick sighed softly as he allowed his eyes to wander across the boy laying on the uncomfortable bed, chest bare and bleeding. But, whether it be for good or for bad, Ellis had passed out after just a few minutes of chattering away, trying to pry free the reasons why he was so mean to the boy. Not a word left his busted lips as he merely scowled, ordering the boy to lay down and be still. He wasn't going to give away how worried he was. He absolutely could not do it. But the least he could do to show he cared was cover the others lower half that was thankfully still clothed with the dirty blanket.
"Dammit Ellis, why are you so difficult?" the conman asked himself, leaning back against the wall and wiping at his sweaty brow. It sucked. He'd definitely never felt this way about anyone else, so protective, so needy, so ... so ...
Sighing softly, the elder of the two looked at Ellis' sleeping form, allowing his eyes to wander across the mans face, tracing and memorizing every feature he could before finally bringing himself to look at the others chest. Not a pretty sight, at least not at the moment. All he could do to stop the bleeding was wrap some of the blanket around it, and still Ellis was groaning, breath hitching as he slept. The thought had never occurred to Nick that the hick could die so very easily when he was sleeping, that he was so vulnerable, at this moment. What was it about that that made him want to ravish the boy as he lay, half naked, bleeding ... Such easy prey.
Gripping the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, Nick calmed himself, well aware of how bad an idea that was. Coach was in the other room, Ellis was a talker, and ... Well, the boy was dying, though he didn't want to admit it. Damn, how badly he wanted to apologize right now. "Ellis ..." Nick spoke softly, hoarsely.
Very slowly the man moved so that he was sitting right beside the hick. Leaning down, he examined the man, watching his chest rise and fall slowly, breathing shallow. "C'mon overalls." he murmured, moving his hand shakily and hesitantly to the mans face, resting it on his cheek for just a few seconds before moving his thumb across the soft skin, then allowing his fingers to travel up and into the curly locks of brunette hair, savoring the soft touch. It was amazing how they manged to remain so soft and still look so beautiful, even despite the fact it must've been forever since Ellis had had any kind of bath. He didn't stink all too bad, either, unless you counted the ever present smell of blood. It was strong, filling his nostrils and completely covering the smell of 'Ellis'.
At the moment, Nick was completely lost in thought, eyes still wandering across the hicks face. It was sad that he'd just realized how lovely the man looked. Sure, they were in the middle of an apocalypse and were constantly fighting for their lives, and yes, he'd felt 'somewhat' attracted to the hick at times before this, but now, now that he was staring at the pale face of the southerner before him, he felt that tugging on hsi heartstrings he thought he'd felt so many times before. But for Ellis, it was real. The feeling of wanting this guy to stay alive, to be there with him at the end of all this, was real.
A soft, barely managed chuckle left his lips as he withdrew his hand, leaning closer and squinting as he continued examining the boy laying on the bed, memorizing his every feature. Just in case. It wasn't too long and he was closing his eyes, then leaning down even closer so that their lips were touching, though just barely. He wanted more, to lean in and taste all of the tantalizing hick, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. This was dangerous, and every instinct was telling him this. But he wanted it, and hadn't he always lived his life on the edge?
Slowly he took in a shaky breath, pulling back and knitting his brows together as he murmured soft curses under his breath. "You damn hick." he murmured, once again letting his eyes trace over the boys features before standing and grabbing his gun, then heading out of the one separate room, trying not to press the tips of his fingers to his lips that felt as if they might just melt on his face.
Once he was sure the other had left the room, Ellis opened his eyes wide and gasped, sitting up and being sure to make as little noise as possible. Lips parted as he gripped the mattress beneath him, blinking in disbelief before looking down at himself, then covering his lips and stifling a groan. Unbelievable. That definitely hadn't counted as a kiss, right? He was sleeping, so technically that was rape, right? Yeah, he was going to go with that story, if Nick ever found out he'd actually been awake through that. Once again the hick groaned, cheeks warming as he lowered his head and rubbed at his bloody face, wishing he he had the strength to barge into the other room and demand to know 'What the hell' that had been. But, at the moment, all he do was watch himself bleed as his mind wandered elsewhere.