Stiles POV
"I'm serious! I just walked right over to him in the sandbox, pulled down my pants and peed on his sandcastle!"
Snorting with laughter Stiles brought the wine glass to his lips and took a sip as Nick laughed loudly at his story, his blue eyes twinkling as he threw his head back. Placing down the glass Stiles continued his story with a melancholy smile.
"That's not even the best bit! Scottie bless his heart, just stood up, pulled down his shorts and started peeing too!"
"So there we are, four years old, standing in a sandbox, and laughing like maniacs as we pee all over this shitty little sandcastle. And since that moment, it's like we've been inseparable...or at least..we used to be" Stiles finished, his heart clenching painfully at how different everything's been with Scott lately, how distant they've become.
As if sensing his shift in mood, Nick reached out across the table and took Stiles' hand in his, entwining their fingers with a gentle smile. "Whatever it is going on between you two, I'm sure you'll sort it out". Staring down at his half eaten plate of spinach and mushroom pasta, Stiles squeezed Nick's hand and shrugged a shoulder sadly. "I doubt it. I think it's been a long time coming, us outgrowing each other. I.. tried to hold on and it was stupid and selfish but I've realized something" taking a deep breath in a bid to stop any traitorous tears Stiles continued with a slightly more bitter laugh "we can't stay kids in the sandbox forever".
Nick raised his brows at Stiles words but nodded in understanding, grasping his wine glass with his free hand he raised it in Stiles' direction in the motion of a toast, a bright smile plastered across his lips, teeth glinting in the candlelight "then here's to new beginnings".
Licking his lips Stiles raised his glass, mirroring Nick perfectly, the rim of their glasses making a tinkling noise as they made contact, rich red wine sloshing up the sides.
"To new beginnings" he echoed.
-time skip-
The full moon hung in the sky, shining beams of liquid silver down onto Nick's face as they stood on his porch, lingering like fools in the slightly chilly air.
Scuffling the ground slightly with the toe of his shoe Stiles crossed his arms and gazed at Nick from lowered lids, and blew out a slow breath trying and failing to think up of a way to make the night with Nick last longer.
"Sooo.. thank you, for tonight I mean. Tonight was good, great, tonight was great".
God damn it.
Wincing at his awkward wording, Stiles squashed down the urge to kick himself out of embarrassment as Nick just laughed gently. "I had a wonderful time tonight too. You are by far, the best company I've had in a long while, Stiles". Biting back a smile Stiles rolled his eyes, his arms relaxing from their crossed state as he quipped naturally "flattery will get you nowhere, Mr. Campbell".
At his teasing words, Nick pouted, stepping closer "really? And here I thought it would at least get me a goodnight kiss". Grasping one of Stiles' hands in his, Nick rubbed his thumb across the bony knuckles. Bending slowly whilst bringing Stiles' hand upwards, Nick executed a perfect imitation of a bow straight out of a Jane Austen movie, pressing his lips gently to flesh in a whisper of a kiss.
Blushing like a lobster with a bad fever and in a vain attempt to hide just how much the simple romantic gesture had affected him, Stiles cleared his throat loudly "you're really going to run this whole 'English Gentleman' thing into the ground aren't you?".
"Of course" Nick grinned.
Pressing one last kiss to Stiles' knuckles Nick bid the teen a soft goodnight and headed towards his car, Stiles watching him go with a sad sigh, knowing that he wouldn't be seeing the older man again until Friday.
Entering the house, Stiles kicked off his shoes and threw his keys into the crystal bowl beside the door, prepared for another night in a silent house.
"Stiles, who the hell was that?!"
Well shit.
~#~#~#~#~ Nick's POV
Nick smirked as he drove away, the evening having gone even better than expected, and Nick had already expected the evening to go very well.
Stiles was a vision as always, dressed so simply in a plaid shirt, jeans, and converse but still looking better than any man in a fancy suit. Nick would, of course, have to introduce the teen to a more sophisticated wardrobe once he began living with him, but for now, the cheap plaid and dirty converse were... endearing.
Then came the delightful surprise of Papa Stilinski himself being home when Nick dropped Stiles back off after their date. Stiles didn't notice, the cruiser not being parked anywhere in sight to indicate that his own father was home but Nick felt the presence like a warning humm in the back of his mind.
Nick also felt the intense suspicion and barely controlled anger rolling off the man when he watched him kiss the hand of his teenage son through the parted curtains. It took almost everything in his willpower not to wiggle his fingers at the man whilst walking away, like battling the insane urge to provoke an already angry lion. And whilst Nick was 100% certain he would win a fight against the older human, he figured Stiles would hardly appreciate seeing his boyfriend kill his father, at least, not so early on in their relationship.
They were still just getting to know each other after all.
The shrill noise of his phone ringing loudly broke Nick's internal musings about the eventual fate of a certain Sheriff. One hand still securely on the wheel as he drove out of Beacon Hills, Nick used the other to swipe accept and press the device to his ear and singing in a false cheery tone. "You better be calling me with good news or you'll find your intestines relocated to the outside of your body very very soooooon"
A familiar sigh echoed over the other end of the phone.
"You know, I think one of the main reasons you don't have any friends Nicholas is because you threaten to heavily maim everyone, constantly."
Pouting childishly Nick pressed his foot on the pedal as the traffic cleared ahead, stating petulantly "I have tons of friends". The man on the other end of the phone only laughed harshly "your coven doesn't count, they only follow you because they're scared of you, as they should be".
Pout turning into a sharp grin, Nick preened at the other man's words, even though he knew they were meant to be an insult to his character. "And I suppose you're not my friend then either Tobias?".
"We have a business relationship and nothing more"
Rolling his eyes Nick opened his mouth to retort about their relationship having been more than just business a few decades back but was cut off by an idiot in a pickup truck overtaking him, almost causing him to veer off to the side of the road. Clicking his tongue in disapproval Nick watched as the driver of the car flashed their lights at him in a taunting fashion.
"Excuse me Tobias, but I have a rather annoying pest problem I need to take care of. I'll have to call you back". Not waiting for a reply Nick hung up the phone and proceeded to take a detour, following the truck at a discreet distance until it pulled into the driveway of a little two-story house.
Parking down the street Nick climbed out of the car and made his towards the house in a slow steady stride, the street lamps switching off as he walked underneath, bathing him in darkness.
It really was such a shame, he was on his way back from a wonderful dinner with Stiles, in a wonderful mood and then this absolute pillock had to ruin it.
Raising his arm Nick knocked briskly on the surface of the front door before shoving both of his hands into his jean pockets and plastering a wide grin onto his face.
The door opened with a rough swing, the very rounded figure of a man in his late fifties stumbling his way into view, the stench of cheap alcohol seeping from his dirty bearded mouth like pus from an infected wound. Gritting his teeth at the clearly intoxicated figure Nick decided to cut straight to the chase "I'm not native to America, but … I do believe that even in your backward society, drinking whilst under the influence of alcohol is considered to be very, very illegal. Is it not?".
The bulbous beast simply blinked at Nick for a moment before grunting "who the fuck do you think you are? The fucking cops? Ain't nobody gives a shit if I drive after a few beers. Now get off my fucking property before I get my shotgun and shove it up your ass".
Raising his brows at the words tumbling out of the stranger's mouth Nick sighed loudly in disappointment. "Well… when you put it like that. I guess there's only one thing for me to do..". Taking one hand out of his pocket, Nick flicked his fingers, the man soaring back and slamming into the hallway wall as Nick strolled casually into the house, kicking the door shut behind him.
Observing the heavily wheezing man with a tilted head Nick swiped his hand to the left, an unseen force propelling the man across the wooden flooring into the kitchen.
"You wouldn't have a knife I could borrow, would you? I left mine at home, you see, I was on this rather wonderful date and you know what they say. Never bring your best knife on a first date!".
Eyes roaming around the room Nick let out a mocking cheer as he spotted the block of cooking knives. Keeping the gasping and struggling homeowner pinned to the floor with one hand, Nick reached out with the other, picking out the biggest and sharpest looking knife with a pleased noise and admiring the glint it made in the fluorescent lighting.
"Guess this will have to do"
Crouching down Nick grabbed the older man's jaw in a crushing grip while smiling pleasantly "now, time to open wide sweetheart. I need to cut out that lovely tongue of yours so I can shove it down your throat".
-time skip-
Slipping back into the driver's seat Nick whistled a jaunty little tune to himself as he started the ignition and picked his phone back up off the dashboard. Making his way back down the street Nick rang Tobias back, knowing that the other man would pick up and deciding to forego any formalities in favour of getting straight to the point.
"You rang me for a reason, Tobias?"
Silence rang out on the other end before the man spoke in a defeated tone.
"I found the book. I'll deliver it to you by the end of the week"
Eyes glinting in excitement Nick squeezed the wheel of the car in anticipation.
"Marvelous"
