Nico's POV

I was sure he was dreaming now. One of the few things I missed from my human days.

I rested my chin comfortably over my folded arms, blissfully watching Elijah as he muttered something incoherent in his sleep, as he remained blissfully unaware of my presence.

He groaned softly as he turned over, now facing me, his eyes squinting as they opened and adjusted to the new light in the room….among other things.

He snickered quietly to himself as his still half asleep brain began to register who was sitting here, staring back at him.

"Good morning, Sunshine." I teased, earning a chuckle from him.

"Morning…" He yawned, glancing toward the clock for the time. "It's early, what are you doing here?"

"Hey, some people like watching the sun rise, I like watching you sleep. Is that such a crime?"

"Well, stalking is considered a crime in most areas so, technically speaking, yes." He teased back.

I shrugged and stood, as if I was actually about to leave. "Alright, alright, I'll go. I know when I'm not wanted."

"Very funny." He chuckled, a little sleepily still. "I'll rephrase my earlier question, aren't you usually off reading this early in the mornings?"

"I finished early." I scoffed. "Word of advice, The Tommyknockers is NEVER better than you remembered it to be."

"Nobody ever claimed it was." He chuckled. "Should I be concerned though? You always tell me that reading The Tommyknockers is a cry for help."

I shrugged. "Not particularly, just out of new ones to read."

"...and you thought The Tommyknockers was a good candidate for rereading becaaause…..?"

"You know, I'd be a little more insulted by the insinuation if you had your morning coffee in you." I pointed out.

He chuckled a little as he sat up. "Fair enough, I am running on empty."

"Want me to get it for you?" I offered.

He shook his head. "Nahh, I have to get up at some point anyway."

"Fair enough." I admitted. "I thought about fixing it for you earlier, but I didn't want it to get cold."

"That is also fair, your body temperature certainly wouldn't help. I will call you if I need an iced coffee, however."

"Alright, now you're just trying to insult me." I sighed, pretending to be offended.

"Yeah, yeah. Poor you." He snickered, pulling on a nearby t shirt and hoodie as he stood up. "You comin or what?"

"Poor me, indeed." I fake whined. "You had to put something on?"

"The horror." He chuckled. "How do you ever put up with me."

"It's a daily struggle." I sighed jokingly.

"Right, right. That's why you stalk me every morning, isn't it?"

I roughed up his hair a little. "No, but it's why you need to shut up."

"So I've been told." He sighed, sneaking in a peck on the cheek.

Em was already in the kitchen when we came down. A pot of coffee, presumably Elijah's, seemed to be waiting for him.

She smiled upon seeing us. "Morning, boys. Coffee's ready, if you want it, Elijah."

He nodded as he searched for a cup. "Thanks, Em. You didn't have to do that though."

"My pleasure. I was already making another pot for your brother, anyway. He left just a little while ago."

"All the same." He shrugged. "He say when he'd be back?"

"A couple hours or so. Why?"

"Cause he wants to sneak out his dirty little secret." I teased before he could answer.

He shook his head, despite my earning a chuckle from Em, and took a swig of his coffee. "You just think you're so clever, don't you?"

"Oh, I know I am." I laughed. "You comin or what?"

"Or what." He snickered, waving goodbye to Em. "I'd say don't wait up, but we might not be out too late if he keeps this up."

"You love it." I moved to put my arm around him as he shooed me away.

"Ah! Uh huh. You're not spilling this one."

I rolled my eyes. "I told you, it was an accident."

"No no." He corrected. "Twice is an accident...maybe even three times. Six is a jinx."

I shook my head. "You exaggerate, but alright.

"And you spill, so distance." He was trying not to chuckle.

"So…." He started, moving in closer as he finished his coffee.

I grinned, happily obliging. "So…..what?"

"So, were you going to tell me what's coming up? Orrr?"

"...Our anniversary?" I assumed, chuckling a little at the implication. "Of course I remembered our anniversary. Didn't you?"

He sighed, as if the real answer should've been obvious." Your birthday, Nico." He was holding back a chuckle at this point. "Were you hoping I wouldn't notice."

"Right, that."

"Right, that." He mocked. "Explain?"

I chuckled a little, myself, now. "It's not a personal thing, it's more of an I stopped aging a little more than a year ago thing."

He stared back at me for a moment before shaking his head, impatiently."

"So, what? That means I don't get to celebrate you?"

"It means, that's what anniversaries are for, actually they're even better, cause then I get to celebrate you too."

He shook his head. "You can never argue fair, can you?"

I shook my head in return. "Not my style."

He sighed.

"Well, what did you even have in mind that you're so crushed about not being able to do for me?" I asked before he could say anything else, my hands interlocking with his as we stopped in front of the waves of the beach.

He shrugged. "Well, what do you want? It is your day, you know."

I gripped the strings from his hoodie, playfully, with my free hand. "Well, what are my options?"

"Whatever your little heart desires, babe." He smiled.

I scrambled my brain for a moment, hardly even considering previously that... what was there even to do?.

"Alright, logically what are my options?" I specified. "It's not like you can take me out to dinner, not a lot's even open still…"

He chuckled. "Well, surely you can think of something. Surely there must be some mask you've been eyeing for your everygrowing collection or some new or rare version of some Stephen King novel you have like 89 other copies of."

"Oh, you think so, do you?"

He nodded. "Or what about some distant post pandemic plan you've been waiting for….come one, work with me.

"Now, who's not arguing fair?" I sighed. Nonetheless, I scrambled my head as I entertained his idea.

"...What about Disneyland?" He suggested, as if reading my mind…..or one of the ideas in it, anyway.

"What about it?" I shrugged. "We're in Washington?"

"So?"

"Soo…." I sighed. "Disneyland's in California, and they're still limited to residents of the state."

"...Alright, Disneyworld then. It's Florida, I'm sure they're not restricted….not that that's necessarily a good thing…."

Another chuckle escaped. "Probably not, but at least the chance of vampiric transmission of Covid is relatively low….as I presume it is for you?" I semi joked.

"Exponentially." He agreed.

"...Can we even afford that though?"

"I mean, if I take us, we only have to pay for park tickets. I think you'll find that most places don't charge for wolf parking."

My eyebrows raised at this. "You'd take us? ...like, on your back?"

"...Well, technically only one of us can ride on my back…." He teased.

I smacked him playfully. "You rat, you know what I meant."

"...I actually prefer the term, wolf." He snickered, blocking my next move.

I shook my head. "Man, you are impossible."

"Hmmm….impossibly cute though, right?"

"On occasion." I teased. "So, we're going then?" I added slightly more eagerly than intended.

He nodded. "Only if you want."

"Ohh, I want." I whispered, leaning in to kiss him.

"Then, your wish is my command." He whispered.

We stayed like that til I pulled away at a sudden realization. "Just one more thing though…."

"Name it…" He chuckled.

"...Who told you my birthday was next month, anyway?..."

"Naomi got it from Liz, which good ol' wolf telepathy caught and passed it along to me."

I shook my head and sighed. "Figures."