(Hello, lovely readers, I've got another drabble for you. ^^ This one is angsty, but it's still got all the Nellis-y goodness, so I hope you all enjoy. Leave a review, guys, show the love!)

"Ellis! Ellis! Get the fuck back here, where are you going?"

Ellis ignored him, snatching his keys, his cell phone, his wallet, and his hat from the kitchen counter. He could hear Nick behind him, storming down the stairs, still calling for him, but he was determined to make it out of the house before his lover could stop him. He slammed the front door open and stepped out into an utterly black night. The wind raged around him, yanking at his hair and clothes, pelting him with fat, heavy droplets of rain at an alarming rate. The yard was already flooded in places.

Determined, Ellis slogged his way out to his truck, clambering up into the driver's side and shutting the door quickly to protect himself from the elements. He could see Nick on the porch, one hand cupped at his mouth, clearly still trying to get his attention. Ellis pulled the brim of his hat just a little bit lower and cranked up his truck. He pulled out of the driveway and out onto the road.

Fuck Nick. He was going to Keith's.

In the cup holder, his phone's screen began to glow and the device vibrated frantically. Ellis didn't even look at it, reaching over to turn the thing off.

(Time skip)

Nick hung up the phone with a snarl, throwing it onto the couch without any regard for whether it landed safely or shattered. "Fucking tits," he muttered, and kicked at a kitchen chair as he passed it. He rummaged through the fridge for a moment, not really sure what he was looking for, and then slammed the door shut again, unsatisfied. What he really wanted to do was go after him. Right now. He knew that Ellis would be heading for Keith's, and he knew how to get there, unfortunately. But he didn't intend to just give in so easily.

Fuck him. He had warned Ellis not to go out there. It was pouring down rain and it was predicted to continue until sometime tomorrow morning. Ellis sucked at driving in the rain. His vision was totally compromised and it was incredibly dangerous for him to be out in this kind of weather. Nick wasn't too much better, but it was enough of a difference that he much preferred driving in the rain, however inconvenient it was, to letting Ellis do it.

And now he was out alone in this horrible storm, driving thirty miles to get to Keith's… Fuck, it would probably take him a good hour to get there in this weather. The idea of Ellis being on the road, during a storm, at night, for an hour left a sick weight in Nick's gut. Nevermind that the kid knew better than to do something so stupid.

Anger returned. It really was fucking stupid of him! He knew better! It was his own damn fault if something happened and he ended up spending the night on the side of the road because he couldn't see to get to Keith's and couldn't get himself back home either. Or, you know, if he crashed. It was his own damn fault. He wouldn't feel bad at all if something like that happened. Served him right. Definitely.

That sick weight got a little heavier.

"God dammit, Ellis!"

He raced back into the den and grabbed the phone off the couch, dialing the all-too familiar number. It went straight to voicemail.

(Time skip)

"Thanks fer lettin' me stay here tonight, man." Ellis scratched the back of his head as Keith shut the door behind him, closing out the storm that continued to wage war against their portion of the Earth. "Nick an' I got in a screamin' match an' I just couldn't stand t'be there anymore, ya know?"

Keith nodded, throwing his arm around his shoulders. "You don't hav'ta explain yerself t'me, El. You know yer welcome over here anytime. What'd you two fight about, anyways?"

Ellis tugged on the brim of his hat uneasily. "…Somethin' stupid, that's all."

"Uh-huh. Well, you know where the couch is, man. I'm headin' t'bed. Me'n'Dave are going to a gun show in Brunswick tomorrow. It's gonna be awesome!" He scrubbed his hand roughly over Ellis' head and headed upstairs, waving back at him as he climbed the stairs. "If I don' see ya in the mornin', I hope everythin' works out between you and that Yank."

Ellis sighed. "Ya'll have fun. Thanks, Keith." He wandered into the other room and plopped onto the couch, frowning as he patted his pockets and realized he had left his phone out in his truck. He shook his head and tossed his hat onto the nearby coffee table, kicking his shoes off. He'd just get it in the morning. He still didn't really feel like talking to Nick anyway.

Ellis found it difficult to sleep, however. He dozed off, slept for maybe an hour, and then was up again staring at the ceiling. Lather, rinse, repeat. He could hear the snores of his two best friends upstairs, echoing out of their bedroom and down the stairs to where he lay. It should have been soothing, but all he could think about was Nick's quieter snore, how it all but disappeared the rare times that he slept on his stomach. He wondered if Nick had waited up for him, how long it had taken him to give up and go to sleep.

Ellis sat up and glanced around for the wall clock, and found that it was already five o'clock in the morning. He had been up and down all night, but time had still somehow managed to pass quickly. He doubted he was going to be getting anymore sleep. Not here, anyway. Ellis got up quietly and got his boots and hat on, making sure that his wallet and keys were with him, and then tip-toed to the front door and peeked out. Water still dripped from everything, making it all too obvious that it had only very recently stopped raining. The yard seemed to be one big muddy puddle, and the road didn't look too much better.

Ellis trudged through the filthy water and climbed into his truck. Nick would have never come out in this mess. Not with his precious Mercedes. God forbid anything got tracked into that little beauty. Ellis couldn't blame the man for being protective; it was in fabulous shape for having survived the apocalypse.

Ellis cranked his truck and eased his way out of the pond Keith's yard had become and out onto the road, which looked completely abandoned in both directions. Everyone else in this town had enough sense to stay home in this kind of weather. Except him, apparently. Ellis took his time about driving back, not wanting to hydroplane into a ditch somewhere now after making it through the thick of things last night.

By the time he pulled into his own driveway, which was as horribly flooded as Keith's had been, he realized that his phone was still sitting in the holder where he had left it, completely silent. He had never turned it back on. Ellis picked it up and held down the power button, watching the loading screen for a moment before he tucked it into his pocket and slogged through the yard to his front door, fumbling with his keys for a moment before he realized that it was still unlocked. Brows furrowed, he pushed it open and stepped inside.

The first thing he noticed was the light in the kitchen, which appeared to be the only light left on in the house. He headed toward it, feeling a little uneasy. In his pocket, his phone started to vibrate. He stopped in the doorway and merely gaped at the mess. One of their chairs appeared to have met with some sort of violent force, shattering one of the legs clean off and leaving two of the others crooked. The back was split, its top hanging on by mere splinters. Glass from what looked like several beer bottles littered the floor. The dishes from last night's dinner were thrown into the sink, quite literally. The majority of them looked like they'd had chunks knocked out of them. They would probably all end up being thrown away.

Ellis followed the trail of destruction to the stairs, where more glass lay broken and untended, this time from a picture frame. It was of the two of them, at the fair that he'd managed to drag Nick along to. They'd been on the Ferris wheel together. Ellis set the broken frame, picture still inside, on a nearby table and spotted the flickering glow of the television in the den. He headed toward it. His phone was still vibrating rather insistently in his pocket.

He pulled it out as he walked, glancing down at it as he stepped into the other room. You have 54 missed messages, 25 voicemails. Ellis stared at it in shock, and then looked up to see Nick, draped in a rather uncomfortable position on their couch. His arm dangled awkwardly over the edge, his fingertips brushing the back of his cell phone where it had apparently fallen from his grasp. There were deep, dark circles under his eyes, and he was still in the clothes he'd been wearing yesterday.

Ellis looked back at his phone, and felt a wave of guilt crash over him. He lifted his phone to his ear, and pressed play.

Ellis, you had better get your ass back here! Do you hear me? I'm not fucking around, Ellis, get back here; you know you can't drive in the rain! If you crash and die or something I am going to be so pissed with you! Call me as soon as you get this message!

Ellis, come on! Are you really going to drive all the way to Keith's in this weather? Pull over somewhere and I'll come get you, you fucking idiot. Call me back, stop ignoring me, you asshat! I know you have your phone with you!

Ellis, come on, answer the phone! What the fuck is wrong with you? …Are you okay? Did you already crash? Come on, Ellis; just let me know you're all right. I don't care if you go to Keith's tonight, just let me know you're all right. I'm… fuck.

Ellis! Listen, I'm sorry, all right? Is that what you're waiting for? Then fine! I'm. Sorry. You win. Please come home now. Or at least let me know you're hearing this. Surely you've made it to Keith's by now. It's been hours. Ellis…

I don't know what you want from me, Ellis. Just… call me. Please. I'll… I'll do whatever it takes. J-just… Ellis could have sworn he heard a muffled sob just before the phone clicked off this time. By the time he reached the last message, he was close to tears himself.

I guess you're not going to call me back. That's fine. I hope you made it to Keith's all right. I've… kind of been waiting for this, actually. I'm no good for you; you deserve someone much better than me to spend the rest of your life with. I just… didn't know that tonight was going to be our last night. I would have… done things differently, I guess. Treasured our last hours together a little more. Then again, maybe if I'd been doing that anyway, we wouldn't have fought in the first place. Good night, Ellis. I love you.

Ellis lowered the phone, rubbing his palms over his face. The sound of movement from the couch had him lifting his head, looking on with reddened eyes as Nick sat up a little, rubbing his arm over his face. He looked up, his dark hair mussed and his eyes bloodshot, and stared at Ellis like he didn't even recognize him.

"Ellis…"

The younger man threw himself across the room and right on top of the other, clinging to him tightly. Nick wrapped his arm around him, still trying to make sense of what was going on. "Ellis," he repeated, and his fingers suddenly tightened in his shirt, holding him close. "When did… Ellis." They clung to one another, riding out the waves of surprise and lingering upset together, until they both felt safe enough to pull back and look up at one another. "When did you… get back? I thought…"

Ellis leaned up and kissed him, snuggling into his chest immediately afterward. He was suddenly very, very tired. "Just now," he admitted. "I turned my phone off right when I was leavin' and it was off all night. I'm so sorry. I would'a come home right away if I'd gotten yer messages when ya sent 'em, I was just so mad at'cha, and then I got t'Keith's an' I forgot all about it, an'…"

Nick tangled his fingers in his hair, knocking his hat aside, and tugged him in for another kiss. "If you're just a dream, you still talk too much," he murmured.

Ellis smiled against his lips. "M'not a dream," he promised with a little laugh, pulling back once more. "Did'ja mean all that stuff ya said in yer messages?"

Nick's brows drew together, thinking back. He had poured out his heart and soul into those messages. He had truly thought that he would never see Ellis again. In the light of the new day, he was a little embarrassed by everything that he had said. Ellis watched, fascinated, as a hint of red colored across his lover's cheeks. "Of course I meant it," he muttered. He let out a startled yelp as Ellis tackled him back down onto the couch, his arms now tight around him once more.

"Good. 'Cause I love you too."

(How was it? C'mon, review, my lovely readers! :D)