Decompressing Who: Nic and Skylar, with a brief appearence from Micah Where: Nic's house When: Late morning
Kenzie had stayed late and Skylar had wound up sleeping in his truck. When he woke up he was very aware that he was in a worse place than before and drug himself out of the truck, falling over the side before deciding what he wanted. He didn't bother with a shower, hair still askew, wearing the leather jacket and scarf he'd slept and and headed straight for Nic's house, knocking on the door. Who cared if Dr. Sexy was there. Skylar didn't. He wanted to talk to his friend and he wasn't stopping it until he got him dressed and headed for the diner with coffee.
Nic was expecting Skylar, even if he didn’t know when. He’d gotten up, showered, and called in to put himself on call. If he was going to get baked with Skylar, he didn’t need to be officially at work. Hopefully there’d be no emergency that required his assistance. When the knock came to the door, Nic went to answer it dressed in a t-shirt in jeans. At the sight of Skylar standing before him in slight disarray, he raised both brows. “Did you start without me?”
Skylar blinked a few times at a dressed Nic. “What?” The question didn’t make any sense at all. He looked around, then leaned into the doorway. “Is um...he here?” Admittedly, Skylar was a little curious. He hadn’t seen the guy before except in passing at the auction and was curious what he would be like.
“You look like you slept on the couch or something. But, yeah,” Nic said with a little smile. “You want to meet him? I think he’s about to head out to work.” He just hoped that Skylar wouldn’t call him Doctor Sexy to his face… though he did think it was an appropriate nickname.
“Back of the truck,” Skylar corrected. He pointed over his shoulder towards his house. He leaned in more, looking around. “Um. Maybe. That’s not...is that okay?”
“Babe, who are you talking to?” Micah said, coming towards the door, towel in his hair from the shower and sporting only a pair of scrub pants. “Oh...company.” Which was not what Micah was expecting. Sure Nic had friends, but he wasn’t expecting friends that looked like that.
“Sure, it’s fine,” Nic said, seeing no reason why not to introduce them. Skylar was a friend and Micah was his boyfriend, so… sure. When Micah came around the corner, Nic expected him to be wearing a bit more, but smiled at the sight of him. “Skylar, this is Micah, sans shirt. Micah, this is Skylar, sans shower.”
Skylar just sort of stared. “He’s...a doctor?” The scrubs he got, but the tattoos were different. Really different. Plus the guy sort of look like he walked out of some sort of magazine or tv show or something. “Shower’s are like...I didn’t bother.” He waved it away and let himself into the house, waving a little at Micah in the twitchy way that only stoners seemed to have mastered.
“The lack of a shower isn’t really hurting him,” Micah said, making a little face before nodding. “Yes, doctor.” The twitch was a sign and Micah cut his eyes at Nic. “What are you two up to today?” he asked, with an edge to his tone of wondering if he should be worried.
Nic laughed softly, eyes cutting from Skylar to Micah. He didn’t mind Skylar’s state of dress, but Micah was usually more put together. There was something similar between them, yet still so very different. “We’re just going to hang out. Sky’s having girl problems.” Or that his was understanding of it. He didn’t know Micah’s opinion on recreational drugs, so maybe now wasn’t the time to mention that’s what they’d be up to.
Skylar just ignored them both and made his way towards Nic’s couch landing face down on it. “Women are awful when you can’t leave town.”
Women. Well that at least that was something reassuring and maybe, just maybe, Micah could get the wolf in him to stop being super jealous of the guy who just looked like he lived here and despite being dirty had that kind of bedhead that reminded someone of what he might look like after sex. Micah nodded and drifted closer to Nic, one hand around his waist as he leaned in to kiss him. “Be careful. And be good.”
“There are other ways of dealing with them than running off.” Nic rolled his eyes and shut the door, moving towards the couch until Micah met him halfway there. His heart pounded as Micah kissed him, but he didn’t push him away, figuring that if he couldn’t handle it in front of Skylar, then he couldn’t in front of anyone. “It’s my day off,” he said with a small smirk. “I don’t intend to be either.”
Skylar waved his hand and glanced back in time to see Micah kiss Nic. Normally he would have just gone back to his face buried in the couch cushions, but that was...different. He’d seen it before, two dudes, but that was Los Angeles, so that wasn’t the weird part, it was just Nic. When it ended he was still sort of staring, not anything more than curious.
“If you aren’t being either, you’re going to wind up in my hospital.” Micah gave his boyfriend a teasing look then shook his head. “Which is where I need to be. You have put a serious dent in my hours.”
“Is that a complaint?” Nic teased, his fingers grazing over Micah’s abdomen before he backed away and went to the kitchen, considering a beer. It was early, though, perhaps too early to be drinking. Instead he got himself a glass of water. “We’ll be careful,” he said, since he couldn’t imagine what they’d get up to that wouldn’t be. But he wasn’t going to promise to be good, even if it was just hanging out with Skylar. Glancing over at his friend on the couch, he was surprised to see him watching the exchange. “Can I get you something?”
“Not yet. Until they cite me for attendance.” Micah grinned at that little touch, but headed back towards the bedroom to get a shirt and his bag. Careful was enough for now, though he would have liked good tossed in there too with Nic’s friend being as haphazardly good looking as he was.
Skylar put his face back into the cushion, ignoring their relationship. How did his ‘find him stoned in the park’ friend had turned into a boyfriend and that just reminded Skylar that he was on the verge himself. “Answers. And coffee maybe.”
“I’m a good influence,” Nic called out as Micah disappeared back towards the bathroom, though he knew that probably wasn’t the case. “Coffee I can do,” he told Skylar. “Answers I can attempt. Is it nice enough for us to hang out outside after I get you coffee?” He was not going to smoke in the house, not with Micah coming over.
“It’s warmer, I think. I don’t know. I slept outside.” Skylar’s voice was a little muffled, but there. “So yeah, probably.”
“Too warm?” Nic asked, pouring Skylar a cup of coffee and then coming over to the couch to hand it to him. “Want to drink the coffee first, or bring it with you?”
“Too warm last night? No, it was freezing. It’s warmer now,” Skylar said, not sure if he was answering the question or not. He rolled over and held out a hand for the coffee, only looking up when Micah appeared, dressed again.
Micah watched the two of them then shook his head, leaning in to kiss Nic’s cheek. “I’ll leave you two to it. See you later, babe.”
“Why’d you sleep in the truck then?” Nic asked, handing over the coffee. He looked up as Micah walked through, smiling at his boyfriend. “See ya, babe,” he said, giving him a wave.
Skylar waited until Micah was gone before he raised an eyebrow at his friend. “Babe?” It was half teasing, half honestly surprised. “I was feeling metaphysical. Thinking about the stars. And then Kenzie came over.”
Nic could feel the blush crawl up his neck to his ears as Skylar teased him and took a sip of coffee to try and hide it. “Metaphysical? Did Kenzie break your zen?” he asked. “What’d you end up doing about her and Clementine?”
“So it’s serious.” Skylar pointed at the door and made a face. That was fast wasn’t it? What did he know, but it seemed fast. “She flipped it on it’s end.” He shook his head. “I talked to Clementine and I told her I wanted her to stop letting the vampire guy bite her, which by the way feels awesome and so how would she even know if it was a bad idea, right? And she said fine, but I had to stop kissing Kenzie.” Skylar shrugged a little. “Which is fine and shit, but then Kenzie didn’t seem to be to happy about that and last night she was still unhappy and thinking she wanted more and now I’m stuck, oh and Jyoti wants to do a chick auction, like ours? So that should be worse.” Skylar was well into rambling, words just tumbling out of him.
“...It is,” Nic answered. “Sometimes more than I’m ready for.” It was hard to explain how far ahead of Nic that Micah was without Micah sounding crazy, not without getting into the werewolf instincts. And Nic wasn’t one hundred percent sure how that worked. Nic listened to Skylar’s situation, quickly deciding that he’d rather be in his own than in his friend’s. “Yeah, so it sounds like both girls want your hot body and you’ve got to decide which one you want,” he said with a little laugh. “That’s rough, man. I don’t know how you deal.”
Skylar gave his friend a questioning look. “So you aren’t as happy as you seemed just there?” he asked, thinking that might be an issue. Dragging himself off the couch he reached into his jacket pocket and handed off the joint he’d come prepared with to Nic. “I don’t know how to deal. Or choose. Because they’re both fucking distracting when you’re with them.”
“I am,” Nic answered, “I just think Micah’s kind of… committed for life, which is a little intimidating when we’ve been together for two weeks. But there’s more to that, when you’re up for more supernatural shit.” It would be good for Skylar to know, just in case he came across it. Taking the joint, he began to lead Skylar towards the door, coffee in hand. “Most girls want commitment. And the ones that don’t don’t like to be told they can’t have you because of the ones that do,” he said, holding the door open for Skylar.
Skylar stared at his friend. “There’s more supernatural shit? And it’s made him...committed for life? Are you sure about that?” He didn’t like the sound of any of that, dropping onto a chair on Nic’s porch once he was outside. “Yeah but I don’t know if that’s what Clementine wants and I think it’s what Kenzie wants.” Not that Kenzie had said that. She just really seemed to like being with him. Last night had been different than the other times. The other times had been fun, like a game, but last night Kenzie hadn’t seemed like she wanted to be alone.
“Yeah, well, let’s talk about you first,” Nic said, leaning against the porch railing as he lit up the joint. He took a long drag as he listened, wishing he had a little better advice to give. Unfortunately, he didn’t think he was going to be able to provide much insight. “They sound like pretty different girls. Any idea what you want, since they’re confusing as hell?” He figured that was as good a place to start as any.
Skylar shrugged. “I like ‘em both. I’m not really picky.” And both women were interesting in their own ways. Kenzie was darker, darker in looks and in demeanor. Clementine was light, in the same ways. And depending on his mood, both appealed to Skylar. Which wasn’t helping.
“So you’re really not looking to commit. And maybe neither are they, except for the part where Clementine doesn’t want you seeing someone else at the same time,” Nic pointed out. “Is Clementine allowed to go around kissing guys?”
Skylar reached for the joint, taking it from Nic and taking a hit. When he answered it was in a cloud of smoke. “No, not really. And I have no idea. I don’t see why she wouldn’t be. I didn’t say anything about that.”
“Doesn’t seem like a fair exchange,” Nic said, though he hadn’t been bitten, so he really didn’t know. Maybe Skylar should have had to give up a lot more to prohibit that from Clementine. “Does she care if you get bitten?”
“That’s what Kenzie said.” Skylar shrugged a little. “I don’t think so knows I have been…” He was pretty certain she didn’t since it had been her roommate and that had gotten a little more heated than Skylar had planned with Nic’s cousin.
“Okay, so… don’t be a hypocrite,” Nic said. “Don’t tell her not to get bitten, then go do it yourself. I think you’ve gotta talk to her, tell her what’s going on in your head, that you want to be able to kiss whomever you want. But be prepared for her to hate that idea if she wants to be in a relationship. Most people aren’t swingers.” And if they weren’t, it was generally considered cheating.
“I didn’t mean to. I was just...I talked to Zania. About the vampire thing and she offered and...I’m not doing that again.” Not any time soon at least. Hooking up with his friend’s sister-like cousin had never been on his list of things to do, but after taking a second hit and handing the joint over he was starting to feel that blur at the edge of his consciousness he didn’t have an issue with admitting that it happened. “That’s what I was thinking, that I gotta find out what it is I agreed to.”
“Zan bit you?” Nic asked, both brows raising. That was… not good, at least considering that Zania was Clementine’s roommate. Then there was the part where Nic knew what biting brought out in a person, and he really didn’t need to be thinking of Skylar with his cousin. He and Zan were close, but he didn’t think he’d be able to handle the two of them being attracted to the same guy, even if he was already in a committed relationship. “Right,” Nic said, reaching for the joint. “Though, honestly? That’s not a rule you give your friends. The no kissing thing. If you’re not her boyfriend, it shouldn’t matter.”
Skylar shrugged. “Yeah. Which was weird. Good, but weird.” He looked at Nic, squinting a little. “It’s a good thing she doesn’t look like you.” He didn’t need to have his mind replace the two in memories. That would just be unsettling. If he was into dudes, Nic might be his type, but Skylar was one hundred percent sure he wasn’t into dudes. “I’m trying to remember if it was no kissing Kenzie or no kissing anyone.”
“Glad it was good, but that’s all I wanna know about it,” Nic said with a little laugh, taking a drag off the joint, then handing it back. Normally he’d be fine with hearing all the details, but not when they involved his cousin. “Only when she does my makeup,” he teased. No, he and Zania had never looked alike. That was good for both of them. “I’d probably assume it was no kissing anyone unless she has something against Kenzie. Do they know each other?”
“You sure?” Skylar asked, raising one eyebrow, but he was obviously teasing. He got it. He probably didn’t want to talk about it. She was cute and not being pick made him okay with the kissing that had happened, but her being related to one of his best friends had him less interested. “They’re friends. Sort of.”
“Yeah, I know where biting tends to lead and it’s better if we don’t got there,” Nic said. He really, really hoped they’d just stuck to biting. “If there’s friends, that could be a part of it. Isn’t there some kind of girl code? Where you don’t share boys? I dunno.”
“Probably better.” Skylar said with a sage looking nod before taking another hit off the joint. “Probably. But who knows who it applies to. They probably don’t even know.” He shook his head a little. “I gotta talk to Clementine. Find out what the hell is going on. Tell me about Dr. Sexy.”
“Good plan. I can’t solve that mystery for you,” Nic said with a little laugh. It made him glad he was dating a guy right now, though that really hadn’t simplified anything. “Things are good. He’s been staying with me a lot and I like that. But… you sure you want me to burst your bubble on the supernatural stuff going on? Or are vampires enough?”
“Staying a lot as in he moved in or…” Skylar thought that was weird. He wasn’t sure he could come whenever around if Nic had moved in with his boyfriend. All that talk about Nic being interested in him wasn’t really forgotten. That made things weird didn’t it? He watched his friend then waved. “Fuck it. What? What else is weird going on?”
“Not like officially moved in. He still has his house,” Nic said, even if it was his home Micah came home to. And Nic liked that. He liked everything about his relationship with Micah except for the part where it seemed really fast in terms of commitment. There were still people that caught Nic’s eye and that wasn’t going to fade immediately. “So you know the wolves that attacked everyone, right? Well, everyone that got bitten and survived is now a werewolf.” It seemed a lot to throw out there abruptly, but why dance around it at this point?
“But he’s never there?” Skylar guessed since that seemed to be the way his friend had worded it. “You okay with that?” That seemed like a lot. Someone crashing at his place was one thing, but Skylar’s house was small. He didn’t need someone else there constantly. When Nic went into the werewolf thing he just stared at his friend for a long quiet pause. “You’re fucking with me right?” Not that the vampire thing hadn’t been true and it wasn’t like he hadn’t heard the wolves out there, but no way. That was a joke Jyoti had made. Or was it Clementine? It was a joke someone had made.
“He’s mostly at work,” Nic said with a roll of his eyes. Coming home to Nic was a reason for Micah to come home at all, though they were only a couple days into it. “But yeah, I like having him here so far.” It wasn’t like Nic was short on space. He even had a spare room now that Zania had moved out. “My new purpose in life should be to fuck with your sense of reality,” he said with a snicker. “No, I’m not fucking with you. My boyfriend’s a werewolf. It makes things a bit more intense than expected.”
“Well, he is a doctor. They’re supposed to work all the time, right?” Skylar focused on his coffee instead. “Just so long as you like it, I guess.” He narrowed his eyes at Nic, not sure he believed his friend. “Your boyfriend is a werewolf...The gay doctor is a werewolf…” Skylar made a face. “I think that was a bad porn. Or one of those movies that the teenaged girls went to that should have been a porn but wasn’t.”
“He’s a bit of a workaholic,” Nic agreed. Most doctors were, in his experience. Nic raised a brow, not sure how he felt about Skylar’s response. “Why wouldn’t I like it?” Getting a tattoo that claimed his as Micah’s was a little much, but sharing a living space wasn’t that big a deal, at least to him. “The two are unrelated,” he laughed. “You can be a werewolf without being gay. My cousin Justin got bitten as well. Hell, a lot of people did. I’d be surprised if you didn’t know one already.”
“It’s fast? It’s your house, whatever reason.” Skylar shrugged. He hadn’t lived with anyone since Jay which might be why he was gun-shy about it. “I didn’t say they were related. I just said it sounded like a bad movie.” He smirked some and took another swing of his coffee. “I can’t think of who I would know. Minus your boyfriend. So does the werewolf thing make him all serious or what did you say intense? What does that mean?”
“It is fast, but… I like spending time with him. And he works so much that it’s really only the evenings, so…” Nic shrugged, not sure how to explain it. He was used to having people around. Before things had gotten bad, he and Cade had been living together. Then it had been his little group, on the road, and then just Zania. Living alone made him feel even more alone than he was. “It all sounds like a bad movie,” he agreed. “The werewolf thing, it makes him possessive. And aggressive. And very serious about his mate, which I apparently am.” Using the word ‘mate’ sounded funny to Nic, even if he knew it was probably accurate.
“So it’s mostly just sex,” Skylar supplied, making an assumption on where that was going. Which might not have been at all where it was going, but that was where his mind went. “Mate? You just...you know what, don’t. It’s just weird.” Skylar let out a breath trying to just deal with the whole werewolf thing and luckily he was well on his way to stoned again so that was easier than it normally would have been. “So you don’t like those things?”
“I didn’t say that,” Nic said, smile fading. Yes, there was sex, but there was also the fact that Micah was there after, next to him, and in the morning. And they had dinner together, and breakfast, and it just felt good to have him there. When Skylar went on to say it was weird, Nic took a sip of his coffee, dropping that part of the conversation completely. “I’m not a possession. I like that he cares for me, but not the part where he wants to be over protective. It’s just a lot more serious than I was ready for,” he said quietly.
Skylar saw the smile fade and sat up more. “This doesn’t sound good. Not any of it. Just...so you know. You don’t seem happy.”
“I am happy,” Nic said defensively. “But you think it’s weird and-- and maybe it is. But the weird part isn’t his fault. He’s changed since he got bitten. And I’m a little freaked out at how serious it is. But I don’t like feeling like you’re judging me either.”
Skylar gave Nic a look. “I’m not judging I’m saying you don’t sound happy. I’m saying that you sound super concerned about something that seems like it would be a big deal for, you know, being with someone. I couldn’t do it. But if you want that, go for it, if you don’t...maybe you find someone else. He’s not the only guy in the dome.”
“So if you met a girl and she felt more strongly for you than you for her, you’d drop her, even if you liked her?” Nic asked, that logic not making sense to him. He was happy with Micah, even if he felt like Micah was months ahead of him in how he felt. And the possessiveness and aggression, he knew that wasn’t how Micah had been before. He knew it wasn’t entirely how he was now. And it felt cruel to push him away for things he knew Micah couldn’t help.
Skylar shrugged. “Depends on if I felt like I would ever catch up. If yeah maybe, but if not...maybe it’s best to put it all out there. I think it’s honest right?” Though what did Skylar know. He’d never really had a girlfriend.
“We’ve talked about it. He knows he’s a little ahead of me,” Nic said, taking another deep inhale off the joint. He held it for a minute, eyes closed, then exhaled slowly as he passed it back. “I guess I don’t see the point of throwing away something that makes me happy just because there are a few issues to iron out. Every relationship has issues. No one’s perfect.”
Skylar took the joint and shrugged, taking his own hit and waiting until he exhaled to even consider answering. “Just don’t want you to get stuck.”
“Stuck? You’re never really stuck. There’s always a way out,” Nic said, though he wasn’t sure that was true for Micah. Micah might always want him if what he said about wolves was true. And if that was the case, then Nic would have to figure out some solution if he ever wanted to leave him because he couldn’t crush him like that. It just wasn’t who he was.
“Yeah, but sometimes they get all crazy on you,” Skylar said, but it was softer than the rest, his eyes lowered and not looking at Nic. He knew what it was like when someone wanted something that wasn’t where he could get. And it had ended badly.
Nic could suddenly see where this was coming from, or so he thought, knowing at least one person who had lost it in Skylar’s life. “This is different,” Nic said gently. “I want to be with Micah, at least right now. I don’t wanna end things. And I think it’ll be just as hard for him now as later, so why break something that’s not broken?”
Skylar looked up at his friend, quiet for a moment then nodded. “Just so long as you’re sure. Don’t want you to be unhappy.” That wasn’t the point here. It was supposed to be a happy thing. Skylar knew that much.
“I haven’t agreed to marry him or anything. It’s only been two weeks!” Nic said, growing frustrated. Why did he have to be sure of anything at this point? Couldn’t he just enjoy being with Micah without all the pressure?
“Jesus, I hope you haven’t,” Skylar said with a half laugh. “I mean, we’re not even sure if that’s legal in here.” He was teasing, having lived in California which was so on again and off again with the laws about that sort of thing. He could hear Nic’s tone change and handed the joint over again. “I get it, you haven’t.”
Nic ran his fingers through his hair then took the joint, letting Skylar’s laughter sink in as he took another hit. He couldn’t let the uncertainty get to him. If he started to think about it too much, he’d end up ending a good thing over paranoia. “So, I know you barely met him, but what’d you think of him?”
Skylar tilted his head back and forth, waiting for his neck to pop and when it did he shrugged. “He’s intimidating, but not like you’d expect. And he looks like he walked out of some sort of magazine. The tattoos are cool and not expected with that haircut.”
“I don’t think I would have ever said he’s intimidating,” Nic said with a little laugh. “Except when he’s in the hospital. He’s pretty pulled together there. In his element. But he used to be a bit more shy.” It was something Nic had found adorable about him. He missed it a little, annoyed at the wolf for taking that part of Micah away. “But yeah on the tats. Not what I would’ve expected either. He has a new one he wants to get done on his side, the phases of the moon.”
“You haven’t been the unshowered guy who shows up to say hi and get that look,” Skylar said. He’d seen that look. “You liked the shy better?” That seemed to fit Nic a little better. “A werewolf thing, huh?”
“Yeah, that was probably him being possessive. I should’ve had you hold a sign reminding him you like girls,” Nic said with a little laugh. Skylar had enough girls chasing after him that he had to know he was attractive. Hell, Nic hadn’t even been the first guy to come onto him. He wouldn’t blame Micah for it, even if it was unwarranted. Skylar wasn’t a threat. “I liked feeling we were on equal ground. Like sometimes I was the guy in the relationship. Now…” Nic shrugged. He didn’t know what to do about that issue. “I definitely think it’s a werewolf thing.”
“Now...you’re the girl?” Skylar asked. “And I get it. He’d probably worry no matter what. I did show up early.” He stretched out in his chair more, relaxing like he could around Nic and not like he could around the girls.
“Sometimes, yeah. I guess I play into that role sometimes, but… I liked being the guy in relationships. When you can make a girl blush and swoon, there’s nothing quite like it,” he said with a little laugh. He’d always like girls and that wasn’t going to go away. In general, he liked them better than guys, but then there was Micah. And guys like Skylar. Most days Nic didn’t want to choose. “He’d worry if you were a girl, too. Don’t take it personally.”
“That is fun,” Skylar said with a grin. “Though I probably don’t do it like you do. Mine’s mostly by accident. Guess you’ll just have to try harder with him then.” Shaking his head he fought a laugh and wound up just looking sad for Micah. “Poor guy. Too much competition.”
“I was occasionally able to be charming with girls. I fail miserably when it comes to guys,” Nic snickered. And with Micah’s newfound werewolf personality traits, Nic was more often the one blushing. “You must be doing something right, seeing as how you’ve got girls fighting over you. I’m pretty sure Micah would like it better if I were just into guys, but there’s not much I can do there.”
“Maybe it’s okay to fail miserably,” Skylar said. “I know I do sometimes.” Mostly he just went along with things and let them take things where they took him. “I think they see more than most people do. And don’t say that. Or at least not like that. He’s obviously into you, no matter what.”
“You’re a good guy. I don’t think you give yourself enough credit,” Nic said, moving from the porch rail to the other chair, needing the ability to slump back in his seat. “I know. I just hope he’s still into me because he likes me, not because he has some instinct to stay with me because he’s a werewolf.”
Skylar tilted his head, looking at Nic as Nic sat next to him. “You really don’t think he likes you because of you? It seems like he likes you because of you.”
“No, I do know he likes me because of me,” Nic said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs at the ankle. “Or he did in the beginning. But what if he changes his mind, except he can’t? What if he stays with me for some weird werewolf reason, even if he’s over me?”
Skylar considered that. “But would he really get over you? Isn’t that what the werewolf thing does? It keeps him interested?”
“I guess not, but… is that the same? Or am I over-thinking things again?” Nic asked. It was possible he was worrying about something that wasn’t an issue, at least not now. Maybe he’d know the difference if they ever got there.
Skylar looked up towards the sky and shrugged. “I’m thinking yes, maybe. Provided he still wants to have sex with you, I think you’re good.” That seemed safe enough in his mind.
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s going away anytime soon,” Nic said with a laugh. If anything, that desire was stronger, even if Nic was occasionally shy beneath the sheets. “This werewolf shit just kinda threw me off my game. Made things complicated. But they’re good. Really good.”
“I’m sure it did complicate things.” Skylar was quiet. “Did he change? Does he change? Not just a person, but like a wolf? Or worse?” That probably complicated things even more. “Just so long as that part’s not going away, you should be good.”
“On the full moon he changed,” Nic said. “Into a wolf. Not some monster. I think it scares him, the part of him he’s not used to. He didn’t ask for this, you know? New instincts and desires. But he’s still Micah.” And that was what mattered to Nic. If he’d become a different person entirely, then he wasn’t sure things would have worked out between them.
“I don’t think anyone would, would they?” Skylar asked. Didn’t seem like something anyone would want. “It’s good that you’ve stuck with it. Might scare most people off completely.”
“You’d be surprised how many people were bitten,” Nic said, thinking of all the ones he’d seen in cages. “Even if he’d turned into a monster, I’d have stayed with him. What happens once a month doesn’t change who he is the rest of the time, you know?”
Skylar laughed a little, not wanting to say it, but thinking that it wasn’t that different from a girl. “Yeah? At least they didn’t turn into monsters. That would be shitty.”
“You know we locked them all in cages, just in case?” Nic asked with a small smile. “That was the only scary part, not knowing what would happen. I think I could handle it either way, once I knew, but until the moon came out we were just waiting to see what would happen.”
“Shit really?” Skylar shook his head. “Smart, but damn. Being put in a cage sounds awful. Even if it was, you know, safer.” He watched his friend, making a face. “You really think you could have handled it if he’d turned into something from one of those scary movies?”
“Not if he stayed like that permanently, but otherwise, sure,” Nic said. “It’s not even for twenty-four hours. I’d rather him be a werewolf than a vampire.” He couldn’t imagine Micah holding up as a vampire. It would’ve ruined his life. Not that a werewolf was great, but it was easier to deal with, in Nic’s opinion.
“Yeah, that dead and cold thing is weird.” Skylar sighed and leaned back in his chair again. “Shit’s just weird in general. It needs to stop.” It felt like things were spinning, though that could have been the high.
“World’s different than it used to be. We live in a dome, for fuck’s sake.” Nic was at the point where nothing would really surprise him, not now. What could be weirder than zombies, vampires, and werewolves? Aliens? That seemed just as likely, which made the world a very crazy place.
“Yeah, well, the weird isn’t really great,” Skylar said letting out a sigh. He still hadn’t been sold on the zombies, but now it was zombies and more and Skylar still wasn’t sure what he believed.
“It’s what we have to deal with, though. All crazy and shit. But it’s still good occasionally. When girl troubles are your biggest problem, it’s really not that bad,” Nic pointed out. It wasn’t survival, or starvation. It was just… girls. Certainly not life or death.
“Well, girls and the fact that Jyoti bought me out of most of my stash. I’m down to the bare minimum until I can harvest again, which won’t be for a day or two.” While Skylar really didn’t want for much in the way of money or need much, it was unsettling to have his stash that he sold down to just a little bit. If he wasn’t careful he’d have to tap into his personal stash.
“She bought your whole stash?” Nic asked, raising a brow. “Don’t you have some kind of a cap on it? Otherwise, she could just resell… or maybe that’s not a problem in this kind of closed environment.” He was thinking back to when they lived outside the dome, when a dealer wanted to keep his stash close to home. “Two days isn’t bad to wait. Who is this girl?”
“Not the whole thing, just a lot of it.” Skylar shrugged. “I won’t go broke. And if she resells, she resells. It always comes from me right? I’m not that worried about it. She’s still got to come back to me.” He shrugged. “Couple of days for some of it. There will be more. You don’t know her? She does glass...work. Windows and such. Cool chick. Exotic.”
“Oh yeah,” Nic said with a nod. He’d seen her around, but they hadn’t really talked. It was good to know the person in town who replaced glass, though, since it was one of those commodities that Nic couldn’t even begin to make himself. “Don’t really know her. You into her too?”
“It’s hard not to at least look at her. But no, not really. Not against it, but not trying,” Skylar shrugged. He wasn’t picky and Jyoti was worth looking at, that much was for sure.
“It’s always hard not to look,” Nic said with a little smile. He was happy with Micah, yes, but he couldn’t imagine ever being in such a committed relationship that that part of him turned off completely.
“That’s the truth. Well, unless you’re Doctor Sexy. Or banging Doctor Sexy. I don’t like dudes, but he sort of looks like how guys are supposed to look, doesn’t he?” Skylar was mostly teasing, grin that he couldn’t contain pulling at the corners of his mouth.
“Fuck, yeah,” Nic grinned. He’d never been able to take his eyes off Micah. The man could make his heart pound like few could. Nic generally preferred girls, but Micah was something special. “He doesn’t even know it, which makes it even more sexy.”
Skylar wasn’t sure why he was having this conversation, but he rolled with it, just like he rolled with everything else. Plus it made him hum a cheesy pop song about the same thing to himself. “No? What is he blind?”
“I just don’t think he sees himself like that,” Nic said with a little shrug. “He’s also super self conscious about the scar on his face, and I feel like everyone has scars these days.” Both inside and out. If the worst of them was visible, then they weren’t doing all that bad. “I think he was kind of surprised to hear what the nurses were saying about him when he got his super werewolf hearing.”
“I guess I get that. There’s a lot of people who seem like that, like they don’t know. I stood on a stage so I knew I was at least watching for a couple of hours,” Skylar said with a grin. “I’m not sure I saw the scar. Though...so he could hear them gossiping? That’d be awesome.”
“Yeah, you’re different. You know you’re hot, but you don’t let it go to your head,” Nic teased. He wasn’t even going to pretend Skylar wasn’t. There was something appealing about him as well, something very different from Micah. “Werewolves have super senses. He can hear almost everything. Like my heart beating. So whispering is a definite yes.”
Skylar turned in the chair, throwing his legs over the arm. “Well, I am a front man,” he said without missing a beat. “That’s just nuts. No secrets from the boyfriend then.”
“You should talk to Zan about starting a band. I heard she got her drumset. Though she likes to be out front sometimes, too,” Nic said, rolling his eyes. Most of the time, his cousin was happy in the bag, beating away on her drums, but occasionally she wanted her share of the attention. “No secrets, at least not if I’m going to try whispering them in front of him,” he laughed. “Don’t really have any at the moment, so I’m not worried about it.”
“She’s a drummer. They don’t go up front.” Skylar made a face and shook his head. “I should talk to her. I miss like really playing. Could be fun.” He grinned a little. “Well, no secrets yet. I’m sure we could come up with some.”
“A drummer, and a piano player, and a singer,” Nic said, since he knew she couldn’t sing and play the drums. “I think she’d be into it. And if you really need someone else, I might be talked into it myself. Maybe.” He’d have to see how he was feeling… and how high he had to be to get his ass on stage. “Oh, you think?” he laughed. “I’m not sure he knows I like to get high, but that won’t last long with that nose of his.”
“Whatever, I’d totally have you sing back up. You’ve got that covered and were already on the list.” Nerves or not, Skylar would drag his friend up on stage with him without thinking twice about it. He’d signed him up for the bachelor auction after all, what was a little bit of singing? “See? That’s a secret. You’ll have to continue to see if he can guess the little things. It’ll be fun.” He looked up again, thoughtful in a way that only a stoner could be. “Think he’ll be pissed?”
“Definitely gotta be drunk for that. Just to let you know,” Nic said, already dreading what Skylar might drag him into, but knowing he’d probably enjoy himself. “I dunno. Maybe? But after everything that happened in this world, maybe not? It’s not a vice that I’m just gonna give up, so we’ll have to see.”
“Whatever. You’d be fine. You get up there, the music would start and you’d forget the rest and just go with it.” Skylar closed his eyes with the happy memory, smiling to himself. “Well, he is a doctor. So I feel like that’s important or something.”
“Or I may see all those eyes staring back at me and forget what I’m supposed to be doing,” Nic said, hoping that wouldn’t be the case. He’d never been the performer. That was Zania. But maybe if there were other people on stage with him, he could handle it. “Doctors generally don’t like you smoking things due to what it does to your lungs. We all know that. But after half the world dies due to a zombie apocalypse, is lung cancer really the biggest of my worries? No.”
“You just sing. It’s nearly impossible to forget.” At least it was for Skylar. “I figure if my lungs are fucked, they’re fucked. I’m still amazed I’m alive anyway.” He grinned, darkly amused that he’d survived on just luck.
“You’ve never had stage fright a day in your life, have you?” Nic asked with a grin. Skylar was just so chill about everything, even the things that seemed to be worrying him. “That’s pretty much how I feel. I wanna enjoy life. I wanna smoke my cigarettes and weed, ride my bike, and be with who I wanna be with. Life’s too short to hold back.”
Skylar shook his head. “No. Why would I have ever?” he asked, with a grin. There was no need for that nonsense. “I like that plan. And he’ll probably like the last part. He’ll get over it. Or turn you or something.”
“Turn me?” Nic asked, the meaning hitting him a second later. “No way. That’s not something I want to bring on myself. I can deal with it from him, but I’ve got enough on my plate without adding werewolf to the mix.”
Skylar made a face. “Well, I don’t want you turning into some sort of monster, but what else do you have on your plate?”
“Other than my werewolf boyfriend and my vampire cousin?” Nic asked, raising a brow. “How about zombies outside these walls, wolves attacking people within, and ghosts wandering the streets? They don’t always impact me directly, but I’m not sure I want all new senses and an instinct to cling to one person for life.”
“Would solve the boyfriend problem,” Skylar said with a shrug, turning to put his feet back on the ground and stand up. “Then we stay normal. Or normalish.” Skylar smoothed his wrinkled shirt even if it didn’t do anything. “I need to go find Clementine.”
“It would, but is it the same if I change myself so that it’s not a concern?” Nic asked, wondering about that. Yes, he might want to stay with Micah, but it wouldn’t really be his decision. It would be there wolf inside him. In some ways, Micah had lost that part of his free will, if that’s really how it worked. “Now? You’re gonna get high with me and then leave me to doze on the porch?”
“Maybe,” Skylar said. He didn’t think it was that much of a change, but he wasn’t going to bring that up with the way Nic saw things. “Why is dozing on the porch a bad thing?” he asked. “You have any ideas in mind?”
“You have that guitar of yours? Cause I can grab mine,” Nic said. He’d be more comfortable if they were both playing, but he’d try giving it a shot going solo. So long as Skylar did the singing. Nic could maybe play by himself, but it was going to take a bit more pot, or maybe a drink, to get him singing out on the front porch without even a practice behind him.
Skylar looked around himself. “I don’t think I have it now. It’s at the house,” he said. “I can go get it. Or play yours. Though you should play. I need a back up singer and guitarist. Remember?” Skylar grinned wide, already starting towards the house to find Nic’s guitar.
“I’m not your best bet, but let’s give it a shot and see how it goes,” he called out to Skylar, following him back in the house to find his guitar. It would be fun to try, even if he didn’t think he was anything special. If they had a piano, then maybe he’d be a little more confident, but he still wasn’t sure he could sing while playing.
“Whatever. You’re going to be awesome. And have groupies. Doctor Sexy will hate it.” Skylar looked around the house like the guitar might jump out at him, but it wasn’t anywhere obvious which left him a little stumped.
“It’s in my closet,” Nic said, passing by him to go grab it from the bedroom. If he left it out, then Micah might know he played… and then he might be asked to play. Playing for Micah seemed more intimidating than playing for anyone else, possibly because his opinion mattered more. With the guitar in hand, Nic returned to the living room and sat down on the couch. “And he would hate it, if that happened, but I think you’re getting ahead of yourself.”
“Of course it is. Worst place for a guitar ever!” Skylar called after his friend, but once Nic was back he sat on the coffee table, after pulling it backwards a few feet so they’d both have space. “Alright. Impress me.”
“I’m not a performer,” Nic said, looking up at Skylar as he began to tune his guitar. “Be prepared to be underwhelmed,” he laughed, but once the guitar was in tune, he gave it a shot, trying to pick something that Skylar could sing along to.
“Whatever. No one picks up guitar without the hope of playing it in front of someone.” Skylar had. He’d wanted to impress girls and he’d wound up being kind of a natural. Not like a Hendrix natural, but quick to learn the basics and how to sing along with it. He smiled as the music started, humming with it, but waiting for Nic to sing.
Maybe that was true, but this was one area that Nic didn’t have the confidence that Skylar had. The thought of having an audience always made him a bit nervous. It was easier when it was a friend, though, so he was willing to give it a shot. After a bit, Nic began to sing, his eyes watching his fingers just to make sure he didn’t miss a note.
That was what Skylar had been waiting for, grinning as Nic started to sing. Instead of joining in right away he just listened, grinning widely, foot tapping to the beat. He definitely needed to get Nic up on stage.