extent | duplicitynet

he's a regular old sleeping beauty

Damn it. I'm sorry, Nick. You holding up?

im getting real good at this whole bedside vigil thing maybe i should start doing it professionally

it's ok, he's going to wake up. they always do

Just like Nate did. It's gonna be okay.

exactly
it's just yknow. patience. and i'm totally terrible at that

You need anything? I can bring over tequila shots or something. Or something that looks more like food.

tequila shots sounds good
do u wanna maybe meet me at like the house down here or

i can come up its not the end of the world or anything

No, you stay there, I'll come to you. Oliver'd kick my ass if I dragged you away from him.

idk good news is he's not up for any ass kicking right now ur probably safe

but yeah like i'd appreciate that + stuff

I'll be with you soon.

[ He drives to the elevator and goes through that whole process, then makes his way to the Down house. He isn't here that often - his jobs are both in the Up, and so is Alex, and most other people he spends his time with. There isn't a lot of call to hang out in the Down unless he's looking for someone. Or looking for trouble, which he isn't, today.

When he arrives at the house, he's holding a bag with tequila and shot glasses, and another with French fries, because he strongly suspects Nick hasn't eaten in a while. ]

Oli's house or ours? I'm outside.

[ there's no real need to stay in the down, nick knows that. oliver won't wake up any faster by virtue of his proximity--but after he's done rambling at oli's side for as long as he can hold a one-sided conversation, the thought of being as far away as the beach house makes him feel a little sick. he's lucky really, that they ended up neighbours, because he wouldn't have coped very well without this option.

but he's in their house right now, not nate's, which means he can answer michael's text by just answering the door. he looks-fine, in the way that nick always looks fine, smiling and walking back inside and leaving michael to close the door behind them. it is technically a place where both of them live, after all. ]

So I missed the beginning of Contract At First Sight but there's still like three ceremonies to go and they haven't got to the one where the guy pulls the face when he sees his sub yet.

[ It's both relieving, and a little worrying to find Nick being so Nick. But it's better than him staring at Oli all day, probably. Michael goes over to the couch and frowns at the tv. ]

I feel like I saw this one. Didn't that guy wear a fetish mankini with a bow tie?

[ Meanwhile, he lays out the box of fries on the coffee table, and pours out a couple of tequila shots. ]

Yeah, it's so not a look. Like fetishwear just shouldn't be formal, you know?

[ nick is already on the couch by the time michael makes it there, but he's quick to shuffle over once the other man sits down, closer until their shoulders can bump together. apparently satisfied, he settles and leans to take a shot in one hand and a handful of fries with the other.

it was a pretty safe assumption to make, that he hadn't had much of a mind for eating, because nick only realises then just how hungry he actually is. comatose people aren't so good at reminding their friends to eat, unsurprisingly. ]

Were these two the ones that stayed together? She looks so pleased.

[ Michael doesn't remember, honestly. He has, somehow, seen so many of these things that they all run together. But he thinks Nick's in a place where happy endings need to happen, so: ]

Yeah, I think so. She looks like it's the best fucking day.

[ He leans back, slinging an arm across the back of the sofa and downing one of the shots. ]

Hey, I'm gonna stay overnight. Figured you could use the company.

[ nick's good with shots, the shaky sobriety bus hasn't changed that, and he knocks it back quick before grabbing the bottle and settling back on the couch next to michael. he doesn't pour another just yet, he just...has it, for now. it's nice to know that it's an immediate option, for when he wants. ]

You don't have to, you know. I wasn't really going to do anything tonight, I was just going to watch some shot until I fell asleep, not exactly an exciting evening.

That's okay, I don't need exciting. What was I gonna do anyway, lay around waving toys around for the cats? I'm good.

[ Probably there would've been beer involved, but he can vibe with tequila instead. He moves his hand to Nick's shoulder. ]

You're not alone in this. I mean, you have more friends than I do, you know that, but. I wanna be here for you too.

[ he does have an awful lot of people, plenty that he could reach out to with just a quick text, plenty that would be more than happy to hold his hand through oli's coma. it's just the reaching out part that is always a little too hard. nick never has really figured out how to just ask for help, unprompted.

michael didn't wait for nick to ask though, and that's probably the only reason that nick isn't spending the night alone. he tips his head until his cheek rests on top of michael's hand, smiling faintly. ]

I just like--I got used to having him around all the time again, you know? Like...before I came here, we were basically living together, and I know I had that whole year without him, but now it's been so long. I don't know, I forgot how to be without him I guess.

[ Michael's hand squeezes his shoulder. Nick's a stoic person, despite how much he wears his heart on his sleeve. It's something Michael understands and identifies with, just like he identifies with setting up to be alone even when it's the last thing you want. He reaches to snag that bottle of tequila and pour them a couple more shots. ]

You know, he's not gone. I've done the coma thing a couple times, remember. He isn't aware of anything, but he'll wake up with a download of shit from home. He won't even remember worrying you like this.

It's gonna be okay.

Yeah, I know. It's kind of annoying, actually, I can't even be mad at him.

[ it's supposed to be a funny joke. nick even smirks like it's one, but he mostly just misses him. nick doesn't really remember how to spend his days without oliver, or what used to fill all that time. the next shot is as welcome as the first, and once he's done with this one, nick quickly holds out the glass, ready for another. ]

I wish I knew what was coming, for him. We were basically from the same time. Whatever happens next...I don't know. Pierce did, but he never told us.

[ Michael's quick to refill both glasses. He lifts his eyebrows, nodding. ]

I was further on than Alex for a while. Maria was further on than me. You always have that question about whether you want to know your own future. It isn't always what you want to hear, and we don't take our memories back with us, so it's not like having advance knowledge helps you prepare.

[ He drinks his shot, and offers the bottle again. ]

Could've helped you prepare here, maybe. You just have to take it as it comes, like in real life.

[ there's something about sitting with another person that makes swigging straight from a bottle feel less okay, which is probably for the best right now. it would be very easy to just sink into some wallowing, miserable spot right now, there's so many wounds that still feel barely healed. oli's absence is just the latest.

but michael is here so nick keeps swallowing from his glass instead, even if he's knocking them back quick enough that the drawn line is mostly symbolic. ]

I don't know. I think--I mean I probably don't want to know, right? We can't change anything, it probably doesn't help us. But I don't know if he did, we never talked about it. I don't know, it just...

[ he shrugs, sighs. pours again. ]

It sucks. I'm sick of the like, million ways this place can screw with us. It's not fair.

[ Michael's lips press together. He absolutely sympathizes. He knows it's not fair. When is it ever, in any world? But this place is worse than most. This place is geared to hurt them.. ]

It's not. It never will be, this place has a thousand and one ways to hurt us.

But Nick.

[ He puts his hand on his wrist. ]

Your friend's not gone. He will open his eyes again, he'll come back. And whatever that means for him, you'll deal with that, and you'll help him deal with it. Because being with someone you love is always better than not, even when it's hard. So you'll find the way through it for him. With him.

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