A/N: Anyone who catches the vague BUFFY reference gets a virtual cookie!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters, Valve does. But I get to plaaaay with them!

After a satisfying meal, and after Ellis went back for seconds, the two men simply sat at the table and chatted long after the sun had set. Ellis knew he liked mushrooms, and rice, and cheese, but he'd never imagined that they could be combined in such a way. Nick was right, it was kind of like grits, only better, and he was going to ask Carlisle if HE knew how to make it, because if he did he should DEFINITELY sell it at the restaurant.

"Can I go back for more?" he asked, and Nick made a face.

"It's kind of rich for thirds, kiddo, aren't you going to make yourself sick?" he asked, taking a sip of the white wine he'd opened to compliment the dinner.

"Oh, good point, that would suck, wouldn't it?" Ellis nodded, setting his fork down and looking at his empty bowl like it was something insidious. "Never mind, I don't wanna get sick or nothin'. Nick, that was so good."

"You've said that three times already, Overalls, you flatter me," Nick said, clearing the plates from the table and dropping them into the sink.

"Sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," the older man stated, picking up his wine and walking into the living room. Ellis grabbed his beer and followed eagerly. "So now what. You want a ride home?"

"Huh? Aw come on, it's early an' shit," Ellis griped. "I fed my cat, I'm stayin' out."

Nick chuckled as he sat on the couch, and shrugged. "Up to you. Can't say there' s much to do around here. You can pick some music if you want." Ellis frowned, as the task had already daunted him earlier and he couldn't imagine trying again.

"Well, of your records I either hadn't heard've of 'em, or I didn't get 'em," he admitted, and Nick snorted, crankily. "I mean, if you had some good old fashioned AC/DC-."

"Jesus, I can't escape it."

"Or maybe KISS, or Van Halen-."

"Just stop right there, you're killing me," Nick said, and Ellis clicked his tongue, and went to look at the records again.

"Well fine, if you want me to pick somethin' so bad, I will," he said, flipping through the vinyls again. "Why haven't you converted to CDs? Or, you know, an iPod or somethin'."

"Because I prefer vinyls."

"You can't get nothin' on vinyl anymore."

"I don't want any of today's garbage."

"You sound like that old man who waves his cane around and chases kids off his lawn," Ellis chuckled, and Nick scowled a bit, but didn't answer. The younger man was going to make another comment about being crotchety and needing a walker, but he became distracted by one of the albums. "Hold on! WHAT is THIS?" He yanked the record out of the collection, and held it up, laughing derisively. "Supertramp?"

"Are you judging me because I have Supertramp?" Nick snapped, crossing his arms.

"Yep."

"First of all Supertramp is plenty respectable," the older man argued, shifting in his seat so he could look up at his companion. "And second of all, that record has been the go-to music for any break-up I've endured since my divorce."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, smartass," Nick replied. " 'Goodbye Stranger'? Best song to listen to when your relationship is ending. I listened to it as I signed my divorce papers and smiled the whole time. Fool proof."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ellis lied, putting the album back in the box. "I don't know, Nick, help me out here!"

"Arg, the closest thing I have to something you'd like is probably The Only Ones," Nick said, giving in to the whining, and Ellis flipped back to that record, as he had for certain seen that earlier. "It has a nice rock edge to it without being hair metal bullshit. Try that on for size."

"Nothin' wrong with hair metal," Ellis muttered, but found The Only Ones and put it on the turntable, putting The Beach Boys away. He turned on the player, and lifted the needle.

"Put it to the second song, 'Another Girl, Another Planet'," Nick commanded, and Ellis rolled his eyes slightly, but did so anyway, and then plopped down next to Nick on the couch, picking up his beer from the coffee table. As the song began, with the light guitar tempo and baseline that just grew and grew, he leaned back into the sofa, and tapped his hand on the arm of the chair. "See? Not that bad."

"No, it's not," Ellis agreed. "You're right, this is pretty good." He began tapping his foot along with it.

"Told you so."

"Yeah, ya did," Ellis admitted, starting to bounce about in his seat. "I'll hafta go through more've these albums you have, cuz if they're anything like this one I've been missin' out on some good tunes!" Nick just watched him bouncing about on the sofa, smiling at him calmly.

"Having a good time then?" he asked, and the mechanic nodded.

"Yep!"

"Good," Nick replied, setting his wine glass next to Ellis' beer bottle. "Me too. It just needs one more thing."

"What's that?" Ellis asked.

And that was when Nick leaned in for the kiss. As his lips locked with Ellis', the mechanic made a small surprised noise before realizing just what was going on. Always the clever one, that Nick, catching him so off guard like that. But Ellis found himself kissing back, his body reacting to the embrace instantly. His stomach fluttered, his heart raced, his groin began to ache and he wanted so badly to run his hands through Nick's hair. Nick, feeling he'd been given the go ahead due to lack of protest, pushed himself against Ellis even more, pressing the mechanic against the arm of the sofa as he grabbed it for balance. Ellis moaned, weakening against the gambler's jaw as he was caught between his ex and the sofa, and he was going to wrap his arms around Nick's back to pull him in even closer…

But his memories had none of it, and Nick's awful tirade leapt to the forefront of his mind. The words, the feelings, the terrible recollections attacked his confidence, and Rochelle's words about how people like the con man never change began to echo in his ears. So as much as his body was craving it, as much as part of his SOUL was craving it, he pulled his lips away, and gently, but decisively, pushed Nick off.

Nick took in a few breaths, thinking that Ellis just needed to do the same, but when he saw the sad look in the kid's eyes, he frowned.

"What's wrong?" he asked, leaning in again, but Ellis pulled away from it. "El-?"

"I can't," the mechanic said, quietly, and the Z-Man felt a surge of frustration rush through his system.

"You 'can't'? What the hell you do mean you can't?" he asked, voice tight.

"I mean I can't," Ellis repeated, louder this time.

"Why the fuck can't you?" Nick snapped, and Ellis swallowed, and withdrew himself from the couch, standing up.

"I should go," he said, walking for the door.

"The hell you should! I'm your ride for God's sake!" Nick snapped, standing up as well and turning off the record.

"So I'll walk," Ellis said, voice starting to tighten as well.

"Like fuck you will, you aren't going anywhere!" Nick exclaimed, inserting himself between the kid and the doorway. "I deserve an explanation for what just happened here!" Ellis crossed his arms defensively.

"Nick, just let me go."

"No! Not until you explain it to me!" Nick snapped, shaking his head. "Tell me something, have we had fun these past few weeks?"

"Yes-."

"And didn't you say that you liked hanging out with me?"

"Yeah-!"

"And correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you say that you were 'glad I ended up here'?" Nick demanded. Ellis sighed, and nodded.

"Yes."

"And is that still true?"

"Yes."

"Then why the FUCK can't I kiss you?" Nick snarled.

Ellis' averted eyes moved back to Nick's, and his uncomfortable face turned into a perplexed glare. "You seriously don't know why the fuck you can't kiss me?" he asked, his tone dangerous, so dangerous that it actually jarred the Z-Man a bit, though he didn't show it.

"Care to enlighten me?" Nick bit back, and Ellis laughed sharply, shaking his head. "It's not like we haven't done it before, goddammit!"

"That's just it!" Ellis snapped, ready to defend himself and his decision. "We've done it before, and I don't wanna do it again!"

"WHY? NOT?"

"You're unbelievable, Nick, do you know that?" the younger man asked, amazed that his ex was so dense.

But Nick wasn't dense. He knew damn well why Ellis wouldn't kiss him. He just didn't want to accept it.

"Is this about the Milltown?" he asked, with the same nonchalant 'who gives a shit' lilt in his voice he had when he asked if it was about 'that whole sex thing' three years prior. Which just made Ellis even angrier than he already was. In fact, he didn't think that he could possibly get any angrier. "Because I THOUGHT you got over that."

Okay, apparently he COULD get angrier.

"Why the HELL would you think I got over that?" he growled, glowering at the Z-Man, who was staggered by the dark tone the mechanic's voice had taken on. "What could possibly make you think that?"

It occurred to Nick that he'd definitely said the wrong thing. But he, being pig headed to the bone, was unwilling to even acknowledge it. "Because we were hanging out!" he exclaimed, becoming flustered at how utterly off beam this entire situation had gone. "We were hanging out and having fun and I thought you were over it!"

"Bein' friends with you is one thing, Nick, but bein'… whatever we were, that's somethin' else entirely," Ellis said, coldly. "I can't do that again!"

"But why not?" Nick asked, voice starting to get tense with the emotions he had tried to keep in line. They weren't cooperating. "Why can't you-?"

"Because you broke my heart!" Ellis overlapped, voice beyond tense and well into trembling territory as the memories of it overpowered him. "You played me, you made me think that you cared about me when you never did! You fucked me up real bad, Nick! You fucked me up and I was JUST about to get over it when you had to come back an' fuck me up all over again! An' it would be one thing if you fucked me up but still cared about me, but you didn't! So who's to say that it's any different now?"

Nick ran a hand down his face, shaking his head in amazement, still trying to keep his cool. "… You can't still believe that," he answered, miserably. "How can you still believe that, kiddo?"

Ellis turned to the wall and thudded his elbows against it, frustrated and emotional. "Why shouldn't I?"

Nick took in a deep breath through his nose, and shook his head. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, I was lying to you?" he asked, the truth no longer willing to stay within him. "Did you ever stop and think that I was full of shit?"

Ellis turned his face, eyes glassy and wide, and he swallowed, not completely sure what to think of that quasi-confession. "You were lyin'?" When he didn't get any answer outside of Nick scowling at the floor, he shoved off of the wall, somehow even more upset now. "But… But you said those things… Those mean things!"

"I know."

The mechanic began to seethe all over again. "How could you lie about that? How could you say all that-?"

"Because you were acting like a fucking idiot!" Nick shouted, throwing his arms out hastily. "You were going to go looking for me even though you thought I was dead, goddammit! Why? WHY would you do something so goddamn stupid?"

Ellis had forgotten about that. He'd remembered punching Nick because he was worried, and he'd remembered the fight, but he'd forgotten that he had nearly gone out into the unknown to recover what he thought was a body.

"I… I don't know-!"

"Because I let you get too close to me, that's why!" Nick answered, grabbing Ellis by the shoulders and shaking him roughly. "I wasn't going to let you do anything stupid all for me, because I didn't deserve it! I wasn't going to let you die for me!"

This new information was piling on far too quickly, and Ellis was having a hard time processing it. Besides the truth coming out, the way Nick was cracking in front of him was scary to watch, and he slammed his hands on the con man's in an effort to make him stop gripping him like his life depended on it. "If that's true why didn't you just tell me to stop?" he exclaimed, still guarded, not sure if he believed all of this. He wanted to, but he wasn't sure he could.

"Because you WOULDN'T have!" Nick spat, yanking his hands away and starting to pace. "You can't honestly say that you would, because we both know that you would have completely ignored me and just kept on doing it!"

That was probably true. Ellis would have probably backed off, but still taken risks, covert risks in hopes of keeping Nick safe, keeping Nick with him. At that point in the journey he would have taken on a Tank all by himself if he thought it would save Nick's life.

"…. Nick-," he began, chest starting to contract, but Nick's mouth was off and running, all of it pouring out in a terrifying and powerful torrent.

"Didn't care about you my fucking ASS!" he shouted, hitting one of the walls. "I fought Tanks with you! I covered you when you wanted to hit that Witch in the head with a frying pan because you thought it would be 'funny'! I strangled a Hunter with my bare hands to get you a goddamn candy bar, for fuck's sake! So don't tell me that I didn't care about you!"

"You… Wait, what?" Ellis asked, surprised and just a bit confused by the last one. "You strangled a Hunter? When did you do THAT? I don't remember that-!"

"The Sugar Mill break room, where else am I going to find a Milky Way in the middle of the Zombocalypse? Not the swamp, that's for goddamn sure," Nick muttered, finally stopping his pacing, as he sensed that something significant had happened. What it was, he wasn't sure, but it had definitely happened. He could feel it.

"You STRANGLED a Hunter just to get me a fuckin' candy bar?" Ellis asked, feeling his chest start to thud again. "That's so stupid! Why'd you do that?"

Nick hadn't thought about that candy bar all that much in the past three years, as nothing had come of it. He'd never really questioned why exactly he'd done that either. At the time he'd just done it, and forgot about it after he threw it away. So now that he was directly asked what his motivation was, he came to the inescapable conclusion that he hadn't wanted to face three years ago, the conclusion that he had knocked away and forgotten about lest it completely wreck him.

He ran a hand through his hair, his palm shaking as he did so, very close to falling apart at not only how much he'd fucked everything up, but how much it fucking hurt. "….. Because… Goddammit," he replied, quietly, though his voice was starting to quiver. "Because I just wanted to see the look on your face."

Ellis didn't move for a few moments, and Nick thought that maybe this was it, that he'd once again blown it and the damage was irreparable this time.

But then Ellis lunged forward, lips violently locking on the older man's, and it was Nick's turn to moan as he found himself pinned between the kid and the wall. He swung his arms around Ellis' back, holding him so tightly and snaring his fingers through his hair, baseball cap falling to the wooden floor. Ellis held Nick's face in his palms as he accosted his mouth.

"You're a dope!" the mechanic rasped between kisses.

"What?"

"You're a dope! An' a bonehead! An' you're stupid!" Ellis continued as he pawed and grasped his lover's body. While Nick might have been insulted, at the time he didn't care and just chuckled at the name-calling. He was too relieved. Instead he just shut him up with more kissing, and spun the kid around so HE was against the wall. Ellis grunted as he hit the wallpaper, which turned to a drawn out groan as Nick ground into his pelvis. The con man pulled his mouth away, leering slyly as he ran his hands up the mechanic's chest, wrenching at the cotton tee shirt and twisting it in his palms.

"I'm taking this off," he announced, and Ellis nodded just as Nick yanked the tee shirt over his head and stepped back to take in the sight. Jesus Christ the kid still looked great, not that he'd expected anything less, and Nick swallowed roughly as he jerked him back in his embrace. Ellis took a deep sniff of Nick's shirt, forcing the coat over the con man's shoulders and fumbling with the buttons on the nice cloth.

"I missed you so much," Ellis panted as Nick kissed down his neck and across his collarbone. "You have NO idea how much I want this-!"

"I have some idea," Nick muttered, and began to suck on Ellis' chest.

"Oh God," Ellis breathed, getting harder by the minute as he pulled Nick's face closer into him, the pain being outweighed by agonizing pleasure. Nick ran his tongue down the exposed chest as he dropped to his knees, snatching Ellis' belt and unbuckling it before unbuttoning the jeans. Ellis gasped as the denim and boxers were yanked from his waist, his erection finally free. The gambler snaked his hands up Ellis' hips, letting his fingers tease the area without actually touching the kid's hard cock. Ellis whined, desperate to feel those hands, that mouth, the heat. But Nick was being coy, pleased to draw his lover out slowly. So he kissed up Ellis' thigh, enjoying every moan, every gasp, every clench of fingers on his shoulders. He finally relented, and drew Ellis' length into his mouth, which made the mechanic thud his head against the wall.

"Ah, shit, Nick," he moaned as the con man bobbed his head and sucked with more and more ferocity. The younger man's lower extremities began to clench up, and he rocked his hips forward in an attempt to get further into Nick's maw. The older man kneaded Ellis' hips with his fingers as he rolled his tongue around the dick again and again. How he adored the sounds that Ellis would make at the beginnings of fooling around. The first time they had done this Nick could have sworn that the kid had never received a blowjob before, at least not a proper one. He hadn't asked, not wanting to embarrass the younger man, but it had always been the assumption. So every time he went down on Ellis he would bring his A-game so the mechanic would know that one, there were lots of ways to make his toes curl, and two, Nick knew how to do them all and WOULD do them all.

Ellis huffed, his face flushing and his abdomen throbbing, and he realized that it had been so long since he'd had sex, good sex, he was already on the cusp. And that was a place he didn't want to be just yet. So he put his hand on Nick's forehead and pushed him away. "No, wait!" he rasped, and Nick looked up at him, brow furrowed.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked, suddenly horrified at the thought that Ellis was changing his mind AGAIN.

"I don't wanna be there yet," the mechanic replied, swallowing. "I want… I want you to…"

"To what?" Nick asked, trying not to sound impatient.

"I want you to stop teasin' and just get to it," Ellis replied, firmly. And the Z-Man exhaled, relieved and even more aroused than he already was. "I'm sorry-."

"Christ, don't be, I'm thrilled," Nick said, standing up and setting his hands on Ellis' shoulders.

"Yeah?" Ellis asked.

"Yeah, hell yeah."

Ellis nodded, and shakily put his hands on the shirt, undoing the rest of the buttons and savoring ever moment of it. He leaned in as he did so, kissing his ex again and pulling the shirt over Nick's shoulders. The fabric dropped to the floor with the other scattered clothing. The older man wrapped his arms around Ellis' back, skin against skin and jaw against jaw, as Ellis stepped out of his dropped pants. They moved against the wall back towards the couch, Ellis pulling away briefly to catch his breath, and his eyes dropped to look at Nick's chest, eager to get a look at it again after three years. But instead of the chest he remembered, he was greeted with a surprising sight.

Long faded gashes decorated the gambler's torso, pink scars that looked not only painful, but extraordinarily serious, like something had nearly torn his chest apart. Ellis definitely had scars on his body, like most people who had been in the late evacuations and had to deal with the Infected. But this? He'd been with Nick from Savannah to New Orleans, and the con man hadn't received these in that time. Ellis would have remembered. He put his hands on the marks, running his fingers over them, face a sad frown. "Oh my God, what happened to you?" he asked, voice overcome with the horror that something so terrible happened to his friend. Nick looked down, and cleared his throat, uncomfortably. He took Ellis' wrists in his hands and moved them from his chest.

"Don't worry about that right now," he muttered. "Okay?"

Ellis was going to protest, but just shut his mouth, and nodded. This was obviously one of those things that Nick didn't want to talk about, which he was going to respect. So instead he just started kissing him once more. Nick took his face in his hands again, pulling Ellis' lips apart with his tongue and running it along the kid's teeth, the roof of his mouth, everywhere it could possibly go. Ellis returned the motion, and unbuckled Nick's pants as he did so and practically throwing them down on the wooden flooring. The older man stepped out of the fallen trousers, but his leg got tangled with the younger's and they fell to the floor, mauling and chewing each other the entire way down. Ellis pulled his lips away and tipped his head back, breathing heavily as he lay on the slick wood. "I want you so bad," he moaned, and Nick ground down on his hips in response. "NICK, oh GOD."

Nick shut him up by kissing him turbulently again, and pulled his own boxers off so there was no barrier between flesh and flesh. He kissed down Ellis' stomach, the mechanic whining with each motion and writhing beneath him. "We're doing this then, kiddo?" he asked.

Ellis nodded impatiently. "Yes, yes, hurry," he begged, and Nick nodded, standing up. "Where are ya-?"

"Getting lube."

"Oh c'mon, I don't need-!"

"Don't be a dumbass. It's been awhile, I'm getting supplies," Nick said, barely able to contain his excitement. "Stay there, don't move."

"Can I move to the couch-?"

"No, it's too cramped and it's sagging, just stay there," Nick commanded, rushing up the steps and leaving Ellis on the floor to listen to the heavy and quick footfalls above him. Okay, Ellis, he thought. Last chance. You can still back out.

Fuck that.

Nick returned moments later, carrying a couple of blankets and a bottle of KY. He tossed the blankets at Ellis, and fell back to his knees, revealing a foiled wrapper in his other hand.

"Why'd you bring that?" Ellis asked, surprised to see a condom.

"I know you're clean, and I can assure you I am too, but if you want to be sure-."

"I trust ya, Nick, c'mon," the younger man said, taking the condom and tossing it to the side of the room.

"Oh, well that's good, Francis will be thrilled," Nick said aloofly, though he was stoked that he wouldn't be using it. As much as condoms were smart and a necessity in most of his conquests (he wasn't getting the Clap again, no sir), he knew it wasn't needed with the kid. He smoothed the first blanket out, and pointed at it. "Lie down."

Ellis flipped over and lay flat on his stomach, but Nick snorted and shook his head. "On your back."

"On my-? Really?" Ellis asked, surprised. "But you never-."

"Jesus, Overalls, I'm seriously about to burst here and you're questioning the positioning?" Nick snapped, and Ellis held up his hands.

"Sorry," he said, rolling back over.

"… Don't be sorry," Nick relented, regretting how curt he'd been. "Just thought you'd want to look me in the eyes, or something."

Ellis did, of course. But he could also tell that while he wouldn't admit it, Nick wanted to look him in the eyes too. So he smiled, heart fluttering, and nodded. Nick nodded back, and squeezed lube onto his fingertips, coating them heavily before moving his hand to Ellis' rear. He slowly circled the kid's entrance with his hand, massaging the inner thighs and trying his best not to get too eager. "Ready?" he asked, and Ellis nodded. Nick moved one digit inside, which caused Ellis to gasp. It had been quite awhile, and while it was a bit uncomfortable his insides remembered the touch and how much they enjoyed it. At least, until Nick began to move in further. He tensed up, hissing, and Nick stopped the advance. "Relax, kiddo." Ellis nodded, and closed his eyes, trying to find the pleasure in it again. Nick wiggled about, stretching slowly and trying to gauge how to go depending on Ellis' face. Once his face went from a wince to a relaxed state, Nick dared put another finger in.

"Ah!" Ellis yelped, and Nick stopped, but Ellis grabbed his arm. "No, don't stop, it's good!"

If he says so, Nick thought, and scissored the two fingers in smooth movements, the moaning encouraging him and making him even harder than he already was. As Ellis' muscles clenched and crushed his digits, he licked his lips, just imagining what it was going to feel like around his dick. Okay, tiger, I hope you're ready, because I'm going to start before I go off. He removed his fingers, and raised his eyebrows.

Ellis opened his eyes and stared up into Nick's green ones. "I'll ask again," Nick said, smiling seductively. "Are you ready?"

Ellis nodded, anxiety battling with joy. "Yeah. I am. I just need you inside've me again. I need all've you again." Nick chewed on the inside of his cheek, the statement filling him with more pleasure than anything else he'd heard since he couldn't remember when. So he covered himself with the lubricant, tossed the bottle to the side, and lifted Ellis up by the lower back before plunging in slowly. And as he did so, a long moan escaped his lips, a moan that overshadowed the gasp Ellis had choked out. He was so tight, Nick had forgotten just how tight he'd been, and the con man waited a moment before proceeding, just to be sure that it was alright. But their gazes met again, and Nick knew that it was fine, better than fine even. He raised his eyebrow, trying to keep his wits about him, and he could have cheered when Ellis nodded and said 'Go, go on, do it now.' So he began to shallowly rock into his lover, moving one of the kid's legs up against his chest to spread him even more.

Ellis huffed with each motion inside of him, wishing that Nick would go in further for God's sake. But the older man wanted to make it last, just like Ellis had earlier, and he went back to teasing. He dipped in again, leisurely and shallowly, and Ellis squirmed as he heaved, desperately.

"Oh Christ, Ellis," Nick said, the tension around his dick overwhelming, and Ellis smiled, putting a hand behind Nick's head. "You're so damn tight." Ellis nodded, not breaking the gaze as Nick bucked again, this time sliding all the way in and striking just the right spot. The mechanic yapped, and Nick grinned, doing it again just to hear the mewling and keening. Ellis yanked on Nick's hair, and the older man winced, the tug a little painful. But he wouldn't let Ellis know, he didn't want to ruin the kid's fun.

"N-Nick," he whimpered, eyes bright and sparking in the faint light of the room, and the pit of Nick's stomach began to come alive, starting the trek towards climax. The first rumblings always pleased him, as they were promises of great things to come. "Ah, AH, NICK! More've that! Please!"

Nick nodded, and decided that a difference in position might make it that much better for both of them. So he let Ellis' leg go and instead scooped him up into his lap. Ellis gasped at the change and how it completely filled him up, and Nick clamped his hands and forearms around the kid's shoulders as he thrust up into him sharply, no longer able to control himself. Ellis wailed as his prostate was hit, throat drying and becoming rawer with each cry, but he didn't care. He'd always made such glorious noise, noise that until now had been inhibited. Back on the road to New Orleans Nick would have to clamp his hand over the kid's mouth in an effort to silence him, lest their companions or their pursuers hear them. Now he just let Ellis bawl it all out, and it only improved the Z-Man's experience.

"Scream for me, Overalls!" Nick commanded, voice shaking. And Ellis did so as the older man slammed into him more and more.

They kept their eyes locked on each other as Nick bucked and Ellis drew in each gyration. Hell, they could have never broken the gaze ever again and it still wouldn't be a long enough time in such intimacy.

"I missed you too," Nick blurted out, leaping backwards in the conversation.

"Huh?" Ellis asked, mind addled by the building tension, and Nick swallowed.

"Those years apart," Nick said, and held his breath as he plunged in fully, though he was unable to withhold a whine. Ellis smiled as he groaned, and tilted his head to the side.

"Y-yeah?" he asked, and Nick nodded.

"So fucking much, kiddo," he wheezed through grit teeth. Ellis grinned, about to reply, but all he could get out was a yell as Nick's movements sped up.

"Nick, NICK, NICK!" he cried, suddenly breaking the gaze as his head flung back. He was so close, his muscles were tightening in his pelvis, his hips, around Nick, everywhere. So Nick gave one more well placed thrust deep into the kid, and Ellis wailed and shook as he came all over the both of them, wrapping his arms and legs around Nick tightly, forehead coming to a halt against his.

Nick, finally able to let himself go now that Ellis had finished, bucked up in two more drawn out motions, before a guttural moan of expletives and Ellis' name tumbled from his mouth as he emptied deep inside his lover. After such a release, he fell backwards, back and arms hitting the wood floor. Ellis remained sitting on him, gulping in breaths and looking at Nick lazily. The Z-Man was panting, though grinning as well. The drought had finally ended, and it was in the only way Nick could have wanted.

"You okay?" Ellis asked, wiping his brow with his arm.

"Pretty sure I've never been better in my entire life," Nick responded, forcing himself to sit up. He ran his hands up Ellis' sweat covered back, and placed a kiss on his lips tenderly, just as he'd done in Rayford. And suffice to say, it made Ellis' heart soar once again.

Nick brushed Ellis' sandy hair from his forehead, and was about to make some cocksure comment, but both were silenced when the front door opened.

"Gross, I smell mushrooms," Francis announced, and both Ellis and Nick's eyes widened.

"Francis, don't come in here!" Nick warned.

"Last time I checked this was my house too, jackass," Francis tossed back. Though when he walked into the living room he saw just WHY he shouldn't have done so. "Oh JEEZE!"

Ellis turned a deep red and yanked the spare blanket over himself, face included, while Nick just remained uncovered, glowering at his roommate. "I fucking told you not to come in here, didn't I?"

Francis crossed his arms, standing in the most indignant manner he could. "Look Suit, I'm perfectly happy that you finally got some, because you're a real dick when you're horny. But this?" He gestured to the living room. "This is a SHARED space. Keep your sexcapades in your bedroom and your bathroom. And I swear to GOD if you did anything in the kitchen besides eat, I'm going to punch you in the neck."

"Well, you'll never know, now will you?" Nick retorted, smiling smugly.

"Jesus Christ. What has been seen cannot be unseen," Francis muttered.

"Not like you haven't seen it before," the con man snarked, and Ellis just whined under the blanket, humiliated to no end. "And why are you home anyway? I thought you were at Rochelle's tonight!"

"She has to get up early for work. I told her that since she's working from home she can sleep as long as she wants, but she had none of it," Francis said, leaning against the archway. "So I'm back. I'm going to need more condoms too."

"You know where they are."

"Do you have any flavored ones?" Francis asked. "Because Ro said-."

"CAN YOU PLEASE GO SO I CAN COME OUT FROM UNDER HERE?" Ellis begged, and Francis and Nick both jumped a little, their snippy banter interrupted for once.

"Okay, okay, sheesh," Francis said, holding up his hands in defeat. "I'm going to my room. DON'T keep me up tonight with your fucking. Glad to see you guys worked it out. See ya Ellis."

"See ya," the mechanic murmured through the blanket, and Francis walked up the steps. Nick waited for him to get to the top, and then gently pulled the blanket from Ellis' face. "That was real embarrassin'."

Nick smiled, amused, as he had little to no shame, and rubbed the kid's shoulder. "Shall we move this to the bedroom?"

"Yeah."

"Great. Also, I kind of feel like keeping Francis up, what say you?"

Ellis snickered, and nodded. "I think that sounds like fun for everyone. Well, everyone but Francis."

"To the upstairs then."