Derek Nurse (yochill) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-02-20 21:42:00 |
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Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, ₴ inactive: derek nurse, ₴ inactive: william poindexter |
Log: Nursey & Dex
Okay, maybe he was a little lazy, but it hardly mattered now when his only slightly planned date had fallen apart at the seams anyway. It had all started with a misplaced reservation at a hip new restaurant the size of a postage stamp. No big deal, he’d said, we’ll take whatever table you can get us. Then the neverending waiting had started. Also not a big deal, since it meant Nursey got to sit practically in Dex’s lap in the waiting area and talk very close.
But then food had happened and by the time they’d given up on the restaurant, Dex was covered in Nursey’s dinner and Nursey was covered in Nursey’s wine and, well.
The freezing cold flash of rain had almost been a relief.
Now that they were back at the house, pizza boxes and beer in hand, Nursey’s anxiety was leveling out. He could almost laugh about all of this. He did laugh, a little drunkenly, as he cracked the front door of the haus open like he was breaking in.
“Shhhh,” he told the hinges. His head swiveled and he gave Dex a dorky smirk over his shoulder. “You got wd40 on you, Poindexter?” he whispered. “Like a little mini spray can? That feels like something you would own.”
“No, I don’t have a- a tiny can of WD40. That might actually be useful though,” he whispered back thoughtfully. “I could spray it on you when you’re whining,” he gently gave him a nudge through the door with the boxes he was carrying in his arms, creeping up behind him. Whatever this was with Nursey, it was slowly evening out into something- really good, actually. A disaster like today probably would have sent Dex through the roof in an anxiety and fear spiral about all kinds of things but now he just felt a little bit resigned to the wine stains and the fact that he needed to shower because somehow, Nursery had got his food down Dex’s nicest shirt.
For all of Nursey’s worry about Dex hating him the other week, a lot of the traits he’d found annoying before were honestly just… endearing now, especially at this point when Dex knew he wasn’t doing it to wind him up. Their chirps were practically insult-flirting and Dex was surprisingly happy. Content. The butterflies were a nice thing, not an anxiety thing.
“Nurse, the slower you go the more chance you’ve got of somebody coming down to check it all out, let’s just- get downstairs, yeah?”
Nursey snickered at Dex’s reply and let himself get pushed through the door. If he dragged his feet, it was only because it kept him close to Dex. The closer Dex was, the less Nursey had a chance to overthink this whole mess. One disaster of a date didn’t mean they were a disaster.
But then Dex did sound tired. Fond, maybe? If Nursey weren’t reading too much into the warmth of his voice.
“Alright, alright, don’t rush me. I don’t want to fall on my face. Spending the rest of the night in the ER is not sexy at all.” Nursey scurried ahead in the dimly lit living room, hoping they didn’t run into anyone along the way. It was late, on Valentine’s, and everyone but Tater was coupled up in the haus. He got to the basement door and held it open for Dex. “After you, sexy Dexy.”
Dex snorted softly as he glanced around for any watchers before sneaking a kiss to Nursey’s lips when he held the door open for him. It was just a quick peck, but that paired with the stupid ‘Sexy Dexy’ comment was enough for Dex to not realise his shoelaces had come undone in the rain and he tripped, narrowly avoiding falling down the stairs himself.
The pizza on top of the pile wasn’t so lucky. There wasn’t much he could do as it fell unceremoniously to the floor, the box open and the pizza face-down on the stone of the basement with a soft ‘splat’ as he stared at it grimly. “Oh,” he murmured, staring a little glumly at the pepperoni mess now residing on the floor.
Nursey went through a rollercoaster of emotions in the space of a minute. He lit up first, at Dex sneaking a kiss like he just couldn’t wait until they were downstairs. But then Dex was the one stumbling for a change and the smile on Nursey’s face morphed into wide-eyed surprise. Ice instincts kicked in and he caught hold of Dex’s arm to stop him from tumbling down into the dark.
The pizza was a lost cause, unfortunately. Nursey bit his lip as they stood there at the top of the stairs, trying to stifle a laugh. He was only a little successful.
“Maybe the box stayed closed…,” he said in a choked voice. Leaning in through the door, he could vaguely see the shape of the scattered box. Nursey winced and snorted all at once. “Well, on the plus side, I feel much better about dumping my dinner on you.” He reached inside the door and flicked on the light to expose the crime down below. “Oh damn. Hashtag rorschach test. Quick, what do you see in all that pizza sauce?”
“Did you really-” Dex was trying not to laugh or cry and he hadn’t fully decided which. “Did you really just say hashtag rorschach test? I think Rorschach himself is rolling around in his grave right now,” he murmured, following Nursey’s gaze down to the pizza splat on the floor. “I see like, ten bucks and all of my hopes and dreams,” honestly, Nursey’s gift destroying itself at this point would probably be the kicker to all of this.
Hopefully it had survived.
The genuine worry of that thought had Dex dashing down the stairs and opting to ignore the sad destroyed pizza, unlocking the door to his room to check but the wrapped gift was still on the table and he managed a sigh of relief, looking back up the stairs. “You do English, is this what they call a comedy of errors? I feel a bit like it counts?”
“All your hopes and dreams? Damn, Poindexter. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a pizza,” Nursey laughed. Most of Nursey’s tension had fled, and hearing Dex laugh took the edge off the rest. Did it matter if they ate anything tonight if Dex kept making that sound?
He made his way down the stairs in a tipsy way and dropped two six packs of beer onto the washer. He had to stop there, while Dex unlocked his bungalow, just to get his equilibrium back. Once he had, he crouched down to use the pizza box to scoop up the scattered pizza without getting any on his hands. That felt like proof that he was only slightly buzzed. Drunk!Nursey definitely would’ve ended up with saucy hands.
“We’re missing some mistaken identity but yeah, this fits a comedy of errors,” he smirked. A few months ago, he’d have peeked his head in behind Dex and been nosy. He dumped the pizza into a trash can and wiped his hands off on his jeans instead. “It’s not...that bad though, right? I mean. It’s a mess but I’ve had a good time anyway.”
"I'm sure the pizza understands after how much it just disappointed me," he deadpanned, staring at it as Nursey cleaned up the mess with surprising grace, frankly. He edged inside to put the rest of the pizza on the bed - in its box still, thankfully - and sighed. "Do you think there'll be any cake left that we can steal? We're significantly lacking in food now. I can't imagine why," he couldn't quite pull off the innocence needed for that as he picked up the wrapped present and sat down, tucking himself into the corner against the wall.
He remembered a few things all at once - the projector Nursey had got him, for one. He leant over to flick it on in lieu of turning on the light, a small smile on his face. Of course Nursey had been born on Valentine's day. It was one of many things that made him utterly ridiculous in a way but today had probably been the best Valentine's he'd ever had, all of the mishaps considered.
“Oh, right, because the pizza leapt out of your hands like a traitor.” Nursey lifted his eyebrows tauntingly and he squeezed into Dex’s bungalow. He would always be impressed by this space Dex had carved out for himself, even if it had been motivated by getting away from him. He sprawled out on Dex’s bed, resting back on his elbows.
“Pretty sure the cake is gone, though. Sorry.” He tried to look chill. Unbothered. Dex hadn’t said the date wasn’t the worst ever, but he was smiling and Nursey could make himself not be a neurotic mess just this once. Probably. He stared up at the northern lights reflection flickering across the inside of the bungalow and then let his gaze drop to the wrapped present. He grinned. “Yo, is that for me?”
Dex shifted to make more room for him when Nursey sprawled next to him. “The pizza did leap out of my hands. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it,” he responded a little defiantly as he held out the present, more than a little nervous. Honestly, he still had no idea what to get for Nursey - he knew what kind of things he liked, but the knowledge of those things didn’t match up very well with Dex’s knowledge or skillsets. He’d also been stuck on the couch for the past few weeks while he was recovering and it hadn’t left him with a lot of time to shop, but he hoped he’d managed something… at least enjoyable.
There were chocolates because that was easy but also a set of bookends he’d managed to carve into the shape of a skyline - he’d tried for New York’s and then he’d broken the top off of what he’d intended to be the Empire State so it was just a generic skyline at this point, but he was quickly realising that all of his gift ideas were incredibly boring and practical but he couldn’t really take it back now. “Uh- I hope you like it?” he handed the present over, cheeks (and the tips of his ears) turning red as he tried to look anywhere but at Nursey for a moment.
Nursey generally didn’t do Valentine’s dates. One, because he rarely dated anyone serious enough to deal with all that pressure. And two, because he didn’t want people feeling obligated to throw in something for his birthday.
Somehow it didn’t feel that way with Dex. He sagged against Dex’s hip unnecessarily and started unwrapping the present while he spoke. “Aw, Billiam. You even wrapped it. I feel special.”
He pulled out the chocolates and made a pleased sound before setting them aside. The bookends made the smug smirk fall off his face in surprise. A more genuine smile took its place. “Oh, tight. My bookcase is a mess and these are--” He ran his hands over the edges and realized how fresh they felt. His eyes shot over to Dex’s face. “Did you make these?”
Dex let his hand rest behind Nursey as he leant on it, not quite sitting with his arm around him but sitting close enough that he was practically cuddled up to him, just… without the cuddling part as he half-watched and half-blushed about Nursey opening the gift. “Of course I wrapped it. It’s your birthday, Nurse,” he huffed softly, as though he hadn’t picked out nice wrapping paper specifically because he didn’t want Valentine’s day to overshadow his birthday, or something.
A lot of his plans around Nursey really did amount to some vague worry that he was being over the top, especially when he went quiet about the gift. “Uh,” he frowned. “I was really bored?” he offered a little awkwardly. “I got Lardo and Shitty to bring me my tools and some reclaimed wood to start making you something seeing as I couldn’t… go out and buy stuff. It was really awkward hiding them from you.” A lot of work done at night when he had slept too much in the day to sleep even more at night.
Nursey turned one of the bookends over and over in his hands. He felt a little dizzy and he didn’t think it was the buzz. Even though Dex moving into the basement had been upsetting, it had made Nursey realize he had a serious thing for Dex making things with his hands. He could barely use a hammer himself. Not without risking losing a finger. He couldn’t imagine carving anything like these bookends.
“I can’t believe you made me something,” he said quietly. There was no teasing in his tone now. “This is...these are really special, Will.” He smiled and held the bookend up to eye level. “You better have carved your initials on this work of art.” As he lowered the gift back to his lap, he leaned over to press his forehead to Dex’s shoulder and then pressed a kiss to the same spot. “Thank you.”
“Uh- no, I didn’t really… think of doing that?” he’d been more focused on making sure they actually looked somewhat like the skyline he was trying to carve, which was much more difficult from a perspective of a 2D image to a 3D sculpture. “I could, I guess. If you really want me to, but I’m going to be in the same house as them most of the time,” he offered him a wry smile as he carefully let his arm drape over Nursey’s shoulders. He was still a little on the sore side, but honestly, being hopped up on painkillers had given him an excuse to gauge his reaction to being a little more tactile than he usually would have been and he liked it. He hadn’t really realised just how nice casual touches could be in general until he’d come to Samwell and it was less aggressive and more aggressive-but-with-love.
“I didn’t really have the chance to go out and get you anything and if I got one of the guys to go get it, they’d probably figure out that something was up when I added the chocolates,” he smirked a little. “But, uh- I’m glad you like them.”
“Like them?” Nursey scoffed. “I love them. And they definitely need your initials or something.” He flipped them over to run his thumb across a spot on the base that would be good for it. “Don’t get a big head about it, but I’ve been pretty much dying to see you make something again since you built an entire apartment down here.”
He swallowed and smiled, lazy but with an undercurrent of concern. “You didn’t have to be top-secret, though. We don’t...I feel good about our chances after this disaster, Poindexter, not gonna lie. We can stop being so sneaky...if you want.” His clothes were stained and he was sure his hair was a mess from the flash of rain earlier, but he still felt really good. He set the bookends down at the end of the bed and reached over to pull Dex into a heated kiss.
“You can also put those manly wood-carving hands wherever you want, just saying,” he smirked.
The idea of not having to hide was both appealing and a little bit terrifying at the same time. Having this with Nursey had been amazing and Dex had been all for being open, but the idea of throwing their growing relationship under the microscope of their friends who had seen just his volatile they could be was mildly terrifying, to put it lightly. He hadn't really thought of it from that perspective yet but at the same time, he wanted to show him off to the world. Nursey was a lot more than he'd initially given him credit for - he said chill and hashtag far too often, but he was talented, beautiful and more than anything, unerringly patient with him. He'd never really known it was something he'd needed until he had it.
Still, Nursey's mouth was a welcome distraction from his thoughts and Dex kissed him until he needed to breathe properly, pulling back with a smile. "I might just take you up on that offer," he murmured, rolling them so that he could pull them down into the pillows.