extent | duplicitynet

They're all the same.

( so it doesn't matter. nick puts the tray down, so oliver takes his own mocha (lavender, thank you) and scone off of it to carry it back to nick's room. )

Clean off a space for us?

( nick's bed actually is clear, on account of an embarrassing amount of time spent being emotionally devastated in it, but he'd be mortified actually admitting that. instead he just raises a hand before they make it to his door, motions in a way that sends a few pen pots skittering across the desk and adding to the overall clutter of the room. but the bed is clear, save the rumpled sheets, and once they're in he makes quick work of setting up the tv. )

You know, Nate actually could set up a portal right to my room. It could probably even have an occupied sign, so you don't walk in while I'm doing something important.

Sure, and I'm sure Nate's portal's plenty fun, but mine's portable. I can put my end wherever and take it down whenever.

( also it means he doesn't have to worry about someone else finding an open door and just deciding to waltz on through it. especially after nick's vague bullshit with william, he doesn't want to leave that around.

oliver finds an empty corner of the desk, puts down his coffee and scone and bends down to start picking shit up.

helpfully. )

Point out which drawer is for what.

Okay flex, don't show off just 'cause I can't do them.

( never mind the multiple offers to teach him from multiple different sources. nick will stick to learning retrieval magic and bullying his friends for rides for now, thank you very much. he heads straight for the bed, shoving down the sheets so that he can sit cross legged with the vague intention of pulling them up later, and he just sort of--watches oliver move about his space for a moment. it's nice.

even if being glad that he's here makes nick feel more selfish than ever now. )

That goes on the right side of the desk. That goes on my bed except for when I'm using it then it goes on the chair. That goes in a drawer, but it's supposed to be in the kitchen.

I'm not great at it yet.

( just enough to show off a little. you know. oliver follows directions, rolls his eyes when he gets to the thing that goes in a drawer but actually goes into the kitchen, and--leaves the room to put it actually away, before he's coming back to grab onto more crap. cleaning up seems fucking pointless, considering nick'll just leave it messy again as soon as he's gone, but.

why the hell not. )

Think Kyle'd mind if I stayed the night?

( the "system", as nick claims, is more or less just that he remembers where he leaves things and little else. sometimes very specifically "the drawer on your left but it has to be behind the book that's already in there" and sometimes more vague "i don't know, the floor?", but he has an answer for everything.

still, if oliver wants to tidy then he can, and if oliver wants to stay over then nick is already sending out the message to make sure that it's fine. housing is--strict, especially here in the up. it's something worth keeping kyle looped in on, at least. )

He doesn't mind. ( he answers before he gets a response, tugging a leg up to his chest and looping his arm around it, chin propped on his knee. ) You know if you're in a cleaning mood my desk at work could use some attention too.

You can figure out your work desk yourself.

( he gets the floor mostly cleaned up. the desk, too. enough to have a few surfaces to put items on, room to make a mess and still have some room on the floor to walk on. after it's mostly tidied, oliver pulls off his jacket, throws it over the chair at the desk, then climbs into the bed with nick. )

Scoot forward.

No, I think I need you to do it.

( he looks amused as he says it though, which is an improvement on the vaguely morose vibes that have clung to nick even with the smiles he's been putting out. he shuffles forward in the bed, careful with the drink in his hand to make sure there isn't a spill, and gives oliver just enough time to get settled before he flops back. oliver can rearrange him as he pleases to get comfortable, nick's done his bit for now. )

Can you do your thing, I left the remote over there.

( which nick could get, but he asks oliver anyway. )

( nick scoots up which creates enough room for oliver to squeeze in behind him. which. was really the whole goddamn point. he presses right up against nick's back, legs on either side of the other's own and wraps an arm around his midsection to hold him in close. puts his chin over nick's shoulder, so he can look at the tv over him.

rolls his eyes, but he's still raising a hand and flicking his fingers towards the screen. it turns on, channel shifting to the correct one and volume turning down enough that it's not actually going to muffle out any of their conversation, it'll just be nice background noise.

then he's reaching for his coffee, cup, leaning to the side to grab onto it from the desk. )

Lazy.

( nick settles in once oliver is sat behind him, slumping in comfortably and worming his hand along until he can find oliver's hand at the end of the arm around his waist. the drinks only require one hand after all, this one is for nick. his head tips a little, resting against the side of oliver's face, and he's looking at the lid of his drink more than he is the screen, but it's all the same. it's not like he's going to pay attention to the film anyway.

mostly it just provides a quiet backdrop for nick's thinking time, before he murmurs very quietly, very carefully. )

I love him, Oli.

( ah. there it is. oliver does keep an eye on the television, even if his attention is focused on the way nick wraps himself around him. there's a hand against his own, holding onto it. his head resting against him, nick's weight pressing back into oliver.

he takes a breath. slow and steady. lets it out through his nose. )

Do you want me to talk, or do you want to just talk to me?

Neither. ( is the honest answer, but it's not a particularly helpful one. he squeezes oliver's hand though, sucks a breath in like he has more to say, and-

holds it, for a bit. he knows he needs to say more though, or this thing is just going to keep hanging between them, and he can't handle another source of contention when he's barely brokered fragile peaces between his relationship with logan and all the other people that heavily disagree.

nick's exhale comes out shaky, words punctuated by the quiet flick of his thumb against the rim of the coffee cup in rapid succession. )

I was going to tell you. I just--how do you explain that to someone, who didn't see it happen for themselves? Like, why would I even have said? I thought, if you had time to settle, and I had time to figure out what to say, it wouldn't be...so bad, I guess.

I get that the rules this city have in place mean that sometimes, people get put into shitty situations and have to figure out how to deal with the aftermath.

( he says it like he's--understanding of logan's position, but to be honest, logan's position doesn't mean jack shit to him. he'll still go after the asshole and--figure out a way to kill him, maybe. just not. now or while nick's saying schmoopy things about being in love with him or whatever. oliver's anger can wait. but. )

If you'd been put into a similar position, I'd have forgiven you. I'd have told you it wasn't your fault you were drugged and forced to act that way. The difference is he keeps pulling shit that puts him right back in the same situation. Just recently, he whipped someone on camera because of whatever else he got his sticky fingers into. It's one thing to wave a finger at the system and tell it to fuck off, it's another to consistently make choice which put you and everyone else he cares about at risk. This isn't a place where someone can do whatever they want to and just expect the repercussions to fall on their own shoulders. The episode with you and that girl made that quite clear. He knows that. But he selfishly keeps doing it.

I know why it happened. I don't know if that justifies what happened, but I know what got him there.

( it's a bigger issue than nick can really grapple with, how much blame can be placed on logan for the punishments being doled out. the forgiveness for that incident had to come from dick, not from him -- and nick is pretty sure that he's gotten it, or the last few weeks would have probably looked very different.

still, it's not like he doesn't get it. he's had this conversation too many times not to understand the concerns, even if he doesn't agree with them. )

You don't understand how easy it is to end up like that. Fuck the wrong person, you're in the shit. Ask too many questions, hell, you don't even have to do anything. Why do you think I wear those shitty collars every single day?

I've done my research. Dominants get into shit for fucking other Dominants, fucking with city officials and guard'll get you thrown into bad situations, looking at them the wrong way will. Ruining public property will. Not making quota.

( head tipping down to press his lips against the fabric of nick's collar. gently. oliver has his own, somewhere, but he's not wearing it right now. )

Those are the rules that apply to him, aren't they? Ours are more don't violate your contract, follow the rules your dom sets for you, don't make a mess and whatever. Be a good Submissive. Keep your head down and do whatever they want, as specified by our contracts. Don't spend money unless they say it's okay, don't make money unless they say it's okay.

( teeth digging into his lower lip for a moment, while he pauses to take a breath in through his nose. hesitance, or at least oliver's trying to make it look like it. )

And I don't see you getting into shit every month, despite your rules being significantly harder than his to follow. I don't see Kyle, or Ragnor getting sent to realignment constantly. Or Nate, even if he's had some run-ins. And Nate's been here for fucking years, hasn't he? I just see Logan, whipping Submissives and causing others to suffer because he can't keep himself in line.

Doing your research isn't the same, it's not being here.

( that earns a sigh, even if nick tips his head as he does it, giving oliver all the room he needs and then some to lay light kisses down along his neck. it's a hell of a lot nicer than the conversation that they're having, after all. )

I know why he went after guards that day and got that punishment. I--more or less know why he reacts the way he does. I'm not going to sit here and justify his actions, that's not my job. If you want that from someone, go talk to him. I...have sworn up and down to Kyle that if there's even a whisper of a chance that he'll get punished, I will get the hell out of there. I'm not going to volunteer, I'm not going to suggest myself, I will get the hell out of dodge so fast.

( and kyle hadn't liked any of that then, but he'd reluctantly come around — or dropped it, at least. sometimes that's the best he can hope for. it's all he can hope for with ragnor, who dislikes the man so thoroughly that nick has done his best not to even accidentally let logan's name slip out in conversation for months.

he ditches the coffee with a vague gesture, one that he wasn't paying enough attention to clearly, because the cup lands on the desk with a wobble and almost tips. but it stays upright and nick uses the opportunity to snag oliver's arm in both of his hand, squeezing tight. but he's deliberately not defensive, because every conversation like this devolves into a fight when nick inevitably feels his back in a corner and reacts, but he wants this to be different. )

I get, if you don't understand it. I really do, and I get that you don't like it, but he's...really fucking important to me. And I would really appreciate it if you didn't put me through the wringer for it. I've already done that and it fucking sucks.

( nick's cup doesn't quite fall, and oliver's reaching over with his own to shove it a bit more up onto the desk, to keep it from falling over. raises his own to his lips after to take another drink, before his mocha gets cold and disappointing. listens still. he knows better, than to push nick too hard. it won't get him anywhere, it won't resolve anything, it'll only piss them both off even more.

so he keeps his mouth shut. decides he'll deal with logan in his own way later, it's fine. )

I'll drop it. I just don't want you to get hurt. ( kisses pressed just below nick's ear, once oliver's moved the cup of coffee back to the desk and on the edge next to nick's. not close enough it'll fall. just close enough to make it easy to grab onto later. ) You know that, right? It's not that I hate him, it's that I like you and want you to stay safe.

( and logan is a liability. likely to off whenever he feels like it and cause damage. he wishes nick would have stuck with safer people. kyle's alright. he likes ragnor and nate. one out of four isn't the absolute worst. )

If he hurts you, I'll kill him.

That's what everyone says, they don't want to see me hurt.

( it's not pressure, it's love, but sometimes it feels like it. the downside of having people who love you, care about you, is that there are people who love and care about you. and nick--well. he likes them possessive.

so it's a problem, but not one with any solution except to keep doing what he's been doing — pleading with them all to trust him, have faith that nick knows what he's doing with logan and just pray that it doesn't backfire. for now it seems like he's dodged the bullet though, and nick leans in a little, presses his cheek a bit harder against oliver's and finds both his hands. winds their fingers together and digs his thumbnails in lightly over the back of oliver's hands, just enough to leave faint half moon circles in his wake. )

You know I'd do the same for you, right? I know I'm... ( scrawny. avoidant. a raging pacifist, but- ) If someone hurt you, I'd tear them apart Oli.

I know.

( that nick would try. that those feelings of his are exactly why he should know how oliver feels about logan. they're both possessive in their own right. nick digs his fingers into his hand and oliver's turning his hand over, palm up in front of nick with his fingers wrapped tight around the other's own. )

You want to leave a more permanent mark? Like the one Nate gave you. I'll let you.

( because he wants to leave his own on nick. )

( it feels like a mistake, because nick doesn't know a thing about what william wants out of this contract except for that he likes oliver's face and rocking the boat before they find that out at least is stupid. really fucking stupid, where the only thing that wins is some nasty possessive flare of ego that nick doesn't entertain very often, at all.

so, naturally, nick doesn't so much as hesitate before he answers. )

Yeah, I do.

( he pulls a hand forward, presses his lips to the skin and let's him feel the smile against it. ) Is my name in big letters across your chest too much? I can scale it back.

I think your name might be a little too much. Wouldn't want to freak out any of my one night stands by explaining to them who Nick is.

( but he's laughing soft, dipping his head down to nip where his neck curves into his shoulders. leans forward into him. the movie's been forgotten; nobody follows the plot of die hard anyway. )

Simplify it. Then put some of your magic in it. Tracker, maybe? So you can find me whenever.

( he doesn't mind nick stalking him. it'd give nick some security--or a goddamn panic attack if oliver disappears. but that's later oliver's problem. )

What do you want, a tattoo?

( he remembers carving a heart into nate's ribcage. entertains, just for a moment, the suggestion, but it's a little much. a tracker is good though, a tracker--helps. even without this contract situation nick would still worry about oliver, maybe being able to follow oliver's movements will alleviate some of that. )

We can do it now, if you want. I've got stuff here. ( a pause, before he adds- ) You could do something on me too.

( maybe not a tracker, but he has ideas. )

You don't want to finish slutty Die Hard?

( the snort says he already knows the answer to that, but he's not moving any. just pressing soft kisses along nick's cheek, over his jawline. hums soft under his breath. )

I want something on you, too. So I'll know you're okay.

( purposefully vague, purposefully leaving plenty options open for nick to pick and choose from. giving him the choice so it doesn't feel like oliver's pushing for it. )

Nah. The good guy wins, right? What else do you need to know.

( nick's never been one for action films anyway, pornographic or otherwise, and he twists just a little so that he's half turned towards oliver with a shoulder against his chest. he can recognise the--gesture, of sorts, for what it is. a delicate balancing act between demanding too much and his own peace of mind. or at least not sending nick skittering off into a pissy shrug off again. )

How about like....a panic button. "Push this in case of emergencies", homing beacon? I could do that.

( it's maybe not as much access as he'd like, it's certainly not a tracker, but it's as much of a compromise as nick has got. )

( his legs spread a little more, giving nick room to turn around between them. he can always eventually figure out the off switch for nick's mark if he feels like it, so it's not like oliver actually gives a shit. nick's giving him enough leverage to make it worth it. )

Works fine for me.

( easy, and oliver's--moving his free hand back behind him. rests his weight back on his palm. )

Where do you want to tatt me? Back? Chest? Thigh?

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