Work Text:
Caleb regretted going out drinking with his friends last night.
It was the first time they had been all together since the Academy. They had met up in a dingy dive bar near where Caleb was stationed in Dallas and they had all gotten a little bit too tipsy. Even Taylor had gotten smashed due to Isabela sliding her drinks. They had disappeared first.
Caleb could remember almost nothing after drink number 4. Almost being the keyword. He had very vivid memories of Ran leaving the bar with some guy, Kopano making out with someone in the corner and Nigel dragging him onto a table to dance (although grind would be a better adjective.) It was fun.
But, god, did he regret it. His head was pounding so badly that even his thoughts were too loud. His tongue felt like sandpaper and he’s pretty sure that he’s about to vomit.
And to make matters worse, his neighbour was up cleaning, which meant her music was too loud. He rolled onto his back and glared at the ceiling, thanking the gods that his roof was painted black.
After lying there for way too long, Caleb hauled himself out of bed, groaning as his head pounded harder. He stumbled into his bathroom and brushed his teeth, not bothering to fix his overgrown and messy hair. He tugged off his shirt from last night (which is stained with someone else’s vomit (possibly Kopano’s but he honestly doesn’t know)) and stumbles into his living room where he finds half of the fugitive six passed out one his couch.
With an affectionate sigh, he quietly walks past them and makes a coffee. Caleb smiles as he watches his friends. Kopano was spread-eagle across the couch and using one arm to keep Ran from rolling off the edge. Nigel was asleep sitting up, with his head bent back against Ran’s stomach. Taylor and Isabela hadn’t come back last night.
Grabbing his coffee and some Advil, he slipped out and down the hall to knock on Andi’s door. She opens it and looks him up and down before nodding.
“I’ll turn the music down lest four supernaturals kill me. Good luck with the hangover and your houseguests, Crane,” and then she’s gone. He thanks god that his neighbour is a decent person and steps back into his own apartment, where Nigel was sitting up and blinking wearily. He watches Caleb with an appreciative smile.
“And who is this handsome homeless man?” Caleb lets out a breathy laugh before approaching his friend and handing the British man his coffee. Nigel takes a sip and makes a disgusted face. “How do you drink this shit?”
“How are you still smashed? First of all, you literally just slept in my house, Ni. And secondly, I like black coffee,” Nigel shoots him a look of distaste and hands back the coffee, before stumbling onto his feet and hobbling toward Caleb’s coffee pot. Caleb follows and slides the Advil bottle toward his best friend before leaning back against his kitchen counter.
“I’m not smashed. You just have that look about you,” Caleb raises an eyebrow and Nigel sighs, mirroring Caleb’s position on the opposite side of the counter. “The army abs are handsome but your hair’s grown out and is all messy, but not like, organised mess, more homeless guy mess.”
“Hm. Well, I’m too hungover to deal with that. Also, did you and I grind while standing on a table? And where are Bela and Taylor?”
“Yes, we grinded and I actually have no clue where those two snuck off to. Suppose Isabela wants to get caught up with Taylor again before Tay gets shipped off to another place where they can’t talk on the phone,” Caleb nods and takes a sip of his coffee. “Speaking of, where are you thinking of going now that you’re free from the UN?” Nigel asks softly, watching Caleb as he lowered the cup and shrugged.
“I think I’ll wait until the lease runs out on this place in a couple of months and then… I don’t know, but I’m excited. You?” Nigel taps a rhythm on his coffee cup and watches Caleb through his drooping mohawk. Caleb attempts not to blush. It would undo years of work hiding an unrequited crush.
“I’m thinking of staying where I am. Australia’s great. When they shipped me off I was worried, but I actually really like it there, even if I constantly have gecko’s and spiders in my house. No one looks at me like I’m weird which is awesome,” Caleb smiled at the man in front of him. “Maybe you could come stay with me after you move out,” Nigel’s face drops to stare into his cup, his skin flushing scarlet. Caleb analyses his face for the first time in a long time.
Nigel had become tanned from both their years together in Point Reyes and Nigel’s time working for peace in Australian heat. He was still scrawnier than Caleb, but now he actually had some muscles. Caleb had missed looking at him while in Dallas, missed seeing him every day.
“Would you like me to stay with you?” Caleb has to fight hard to not give away anything. Nigel raises his head to look at Caleb (truthfully, Caleb had also missed the way Nigel looked at him) and bites his lip, hooking his teeth around that one silver piercing Caleb had been envious of for a long time.
“For as long as I can keep you, yeah” Nigel’s face gets redder and he looks down again. He doesn’t notice Caleb put his coffee cup down or push off the counter. Caleb uses his arms to corner Nigel against the counter, takes his cup and places it behind them. Nigel looks Caleb in the eyes, fear in the Brits own eyes.
“I could be convinced to stay around as long as you want me,” Nigel’s fear turns to surprise which turns to a teasing smile that had a tendency to drive Caleb a little crazy (good to know Nigel hadn’t truly changed since school) and he leaned in a bit closer.
“Is that your way of telling me that you like me, Crane? Because it’s certainly an interesting one,” Nigel voice was quiet, as if he didn’t want Caleb to hear him assume something in case it wasn’t true. Caleb decided to just bite the bullet.
He closed the distance between them and laid a soft, solitary kiss on Nigel’s lips. He pulled back far enough to look Nigel in the eye.
“It might be,” Nigel pulls him back, smashing their lips together, one of his hands finding the small of Caleb’s back, the other carding through the American’s hair. Caleb nips at Nigels lip piercing and Nigel opens his mouth for Caleb.
Caleb was happily shocked to find Nigel’s tongue stud as he tugged the Brit closer, wrapping his arms around Nigel’s neck. Nigel makes a small happy sound that makes Caleb’s mind melt.
They pull apart at the sound of a crash and what Caleb had to assume were Japanese swear words, he pulls back to see Ran hauling herself to her feet and Kopano slowly sitting up, both looking shocked and confused. Kopano mumbled apologies to the girl. Caleb caught Nigel mumble something under his breath that sounded disturbingly like ‘bloody cockblockers.’
The two men separated as Kopano and Ran came over to kitchen, Ran stealing Caleb’s coffee and Kopano stealing Nigel’s. They walk back to the couch, laughing at their friends indignation. Caleb leans closer to Nigel.
“You know, I have a bedroom we could continue this in,” Nigel grabs Caleb’s hand and drags him toward said bedroom, ignoring Ran and Kopano’s shouts of triumph.
They didn’t emerge for the rest of the day.