Derek Nurse (seasonedstorm) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-10-30 16:02:00 |
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Still, things were mostly normal, normal enough that Dex was still going to work in the mornings and heading back in the afternoon with their usual Annie’s order although today he’d opted to branch out and try their new Apple Pie Crunch special latte for himself, something he was starting to wonder cast a bad omen on the day when he tasted it and realised it was incredibly sweet in a way that was almost impossible to drink.
“Derek? You might wanna try this one,” he frowned down at the cup as he shouldered open the basement door and then the door to his room, dropping their donuts down on the side. “I think my cavities have cavities from how sweet it is. I’ll just go make some shitty filter coffee if you hate it too.”
Vallo always had interesting timing. Nursey knew this particular trip was coming eventually, but there was really no way to tell when exactly it would happen. And after a long night editing his latest book was not when he expected to find himself in the Haus Basement of Distant Past. Still, he was better at going with the flow these days. His anxiety only skyrocketed for a few minutes and then he spent the late morning figuring out what clothes he could even fit into out of his younger self's closet.
It was a distressingly low number. But he liked to think the muscle he still had and the still handsome face made up for some growth in the midsection. He grabbed a book and sprawled out on the bed - was this Poindexter's bed at this point? He woke up here so he had to figure they were already forgetting this wasn't really his room.
Will's voice at the top of the stairs made him smirk and he set the book aside to stretch out, one arm behind his head. "I'll give it a try, Dexy, but we kind of have bigger things to worry about…"
Nursey’s voice sounded… different, somehow. More rough? Like he’d been overdoing it with the singing or something? “You okay, man?” he asked as he looked down at the bed, locating his boyfriend.
To his credit, a week ago he might have thrown the coffee at the possible-impostor and ran out of the room to go grab some kind of weapon or something but as it was, he simply dropped the coffee, his jaw dropping at the same time. That was Nursey? There was no way that was Nursey. He had a beard. He was definitely older, although that wasn’t to say he looked old. Just- different. “...I thought everybody had done flip-flopping on ages,” he murmured, wondering whether or not this meant that Nursey was in the future and with whatever future-him looked like.
“Babe- Nurs- I-” the coffee seeping into his socks was incredibly uncomfortable and he swallowed, reaching to grab the cleaning supplies he kept in the room just in case of Vallo Specific Circumstances such as this and he definitely wasn’t just doing it so he could duck and hide his bright red face, nope.
Nursey huffed a laugh at Dex. He didn't get to shock him very often these days. When he did, it took a lot more than just sprawling out in a bed, that was for sure. He did feel bad about the coffee though.
"Crap, sorry." He sat up to reach for the overturned cup on the ground as Dex went for the cleaning supplies. "Apparently you weren't done with the flip-flopping. This sort of thing happens often enough over the years that I can't even tell you exactly when this one is." His gaze followed Dex, squinting slightly in thought. Things could be very awkward if he'd pegged the time all wrong. A small spike of anxiety made his heart race. "I uh, I woke up here though so I have to assume, we're solidly dating and not just dancing around each other?"
“Flip-flopping?” He wasn’t sure why that was his first question, but his second question sent his head spinning again at the whole this is real, he’s actually here and from the future. “Uh- yes. Dating, I mean, we’re- pretty solidly dating,” he licked his lips to wet them, suddenly dry, his heart hammering in his chest. Was it cheating to ask him future-ish questions? He wasn’t sure if that broke the timeline - then again, if Bitty and Jack’s kid being here wasn’t a potential risk of the timeline it surely wasn’t too big of a risk.
“When you say, uh- happens over the years. Do we…?” It wasn’t that he had plans to break up with Nursey like, ever, but Dex also knew he had a lot of shit to get through and he just worried sometimes. “Stay together? Or- something like that? Or are you too Vallo-famous for me after your big theatre breaks?” he tried for a smirk although it possibly looked a little like a grimace as he tried to make sure the carpet wouldn’t stain.
Nursey wasn't sure why he was surprised by the question. This was Dex and a young one at that. Of course he'd aim right for the heart of things without much preamble. It made Nursey smile softer as he stood up and carried the coffee cup over the trash.
"I want to give you a hard time and ask if you want us to stay together, but thankfully my anxiety already knows the answer to that one." He moved closer to Dex, looking him over. His Dex might have a few more freckles from years in the sun and was generally a bit broader, but there was no mistaking those eyes. He'd written enough poems about them to fill a book.
"I don't want to freak you out but since you asked…" He held up his hand with his wedding ring. "I am happily married to one William Poindexter."
Dex probably would have dropped another coffee if he’d been holding one. Instead, he stood up from where he’d been scrubbing the stain out of the carpet, staring in silence for a moment until he seemed to unroot himself from the floor to walk over to Nursey, taking the hand with the ring on it to look at it. “Holy shit,” he murmured, quickly taking a step back.
“This- oh, shit. I probably shouldn’t tell- today you about this, right? Unless he ends up where you are. I guess we’d both know, then,” but this meant that Nursey had said yes. Or he would, if it was the other way around - which, actually, he sort of wanted that to be a surprise. Today-Nursey probably wouldn’t want either of them to know either, he figured. Or maybe he would, but if he knew it was him he would constantly second guess whether or not it was the right time and if he knew it was Nursey he would be stuck waiting and wondering. “We’re, uh- happy, then?”
Dex took it better than Nursey expected, honestly. His husband had a way of dramatically responding to surprises that could be either hilarious or hurtful. Though there were a lot less of the latter these days. They talked more. He wondered if that would spin Dex's head around.
"You can tell me if you want," he shrugged. "I don't know that I believe you but I do know I'll want to. So just don't hold any weird faces I make against me." Nursey's smile softened and stretched like taffy. "But yeah, Will. We're happy." He stepped a little closer, but still left Dex his space. He just wanted to be close enough to read his expressions better. He knew his face pretty well at this point. "Are you happy right now? I know we have our share of stupid littel fights at this age."
“I kinda figured we’d always have stupid little fights,” he raised an eyebrow, unsure exactly what to do with himself. It was Nursey, but not the Nursey he was used to. He had no idea if touching him would be weird, especially considering he was only just getting used to that kind of thing in the first place - how to show affection through means that weren’t playful insults that both of them could take the wrong way, for example. “But- uh. I’m…” he wrinkled his nose. “Happier than I’ve ever been. That was cheesy.”
“Well yeah but we get really good at talking that stuff out,” Nursey shrugged. “It’s mostly just foreplay these days.” It was weird thinking back to when they’d butted heads about things like room cleanliness and politics, but didn’t have the patience to just talk it through. Nursey realized it was also weird to be crowded this close to Dex when he was twice his age. Even if Dex’s admission made him dopey smile. He huffed a laugh and stepped back, looking around his shoes.
“I’m glad you’re happy. I am too. Just in case I don’t tell you that enough at this age.” He grabbed a pair of sneakers and quickly put them on. “What do you say we go out to eat? I haven’t had anything yet and I’m definitely going to need some coffee to deal with all of you this young. Especially Bits.” He finished tying his shoes and straightened up. “Annie’s?”
“I think Bitty and Jack have their hands full at the minute with a kid,” he was still staring which he probably should have realised by now was actually surprisingly rude, but it was so odd. He was definitely still Nursey but he had aged incredibly gracefully, to the point where Dex was almost tempted to take a picture and show him how good he looked.
“Annie’s sounds good? I’m not sure they’ll recognise you enough to get your coffee club points in, though,” he teased, finishing up with attempting to clean the carpet. Hopefully it wouldn’t stain too badly, although it could just serve as an interesting reminder of the day, too.