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As soon as Lestat got in the door and found that Nicolas had not been sitting in his armchair when he had come back from shopping for wine and a few other things, he knew he had made a mistake leaving the violinist home alone in bed. "Nicki?" The blond called softly, setting down the bottle of wine and the loaf of bread he had purchased on a side-table and pulling off his boots. "Nicki where are you?" Lestat left his boots by one of the armchairs as headed to their shared room, assuming that Nicolas was hiding in there still, despite his knowledge that his Nicki simply didn't sleep in this late. The blond shoved open the bedroom door, surprised to find the bed unmade yet lacking Nicki, Lestat turned in a sharp circle, seeing a leg poking out of the closet clad in what appeared to be Nickis stockings. The taller man sighed, cursing himself mentally for not taking the violinist with him, and heading to the closet, opening the door and finding his sweet Nicki hiding in the enclosed space, a hand tight over his mouth as he cried silently. "Oh, Nicki." Lestat whispered, sitting in front of the brunet and opening his arms, inviting the violinist in for a hug. Nicolas accepted the invitation and practically crawled into Lestats arms, the latter keeping his violinist tight to his chest as Nicki sobbed in his arms. "Why are you crying, mon ange? What happened?" Lestat asked in a hushed voice, pressing gentle kisses to the top of Nickis head as he held the brunet. It seemed as though Nicolas did not want to talk, Lestat was lost on what to do, sure, his Nicki had bad days, but none quite to the extent that their situation had reached. Lestat slowly ran his hand through the violinists soft chestnut hair, still quietly trying to urge Nicolas to tell him what had happened, unsure of how exactly to help his Nicki without knowing what had led up to the brunets distress while the blond had been absent. "I need you to talk to me, my dearest Nicolas, I can't help you if I don't know what happened." Lestat murmured, the only response Nicolas gave was more sobbing, worrying the blond further as he tried to find some way to comfort his dear violinist.
Lestat realized that Nicolas wouldn't be talking while he was so distraught, and instead resigned himself to silently trying to soothe the violinist without making any attempts in urging the other male to explain until Nicki was ready to talk. Nicolas eventually looked up at the blond, tears coating his cheeks and still falling, Lestat smiled slightly at his violinist, cupping Nickis somewhat flushed cheek in his right hand, gently caressing the cold flesh. "Are you ready to talk about what happened, or do you need a few more minutes?" The blond asked quietly, softly kissing his Nickis nose, he didn't want to be overbearing nor did he want to push Nicolas, but he wanted to help and felt useless not knowing the situation. Nicki opened his mouth as if he was preparing to answer, but instead turned his face away towards the wall opposite to them, the blond nodded slightly to himself, prepared to wait as long as his dear violinist needed, as long as the chestnut-haired males state didn't worsen. Lestat removed his hand from Nicolas' face bringing his right arm around Nickis shoulders and pulling the brunet closer, pressing a soft kiss to the violinists temple before resting his cheek against the top of his Nickis head, whispering words of soothing to the shorter male. The blond didn't know what to do, Nicki wouldn't talk and as far as Lestat knew, he had made the worlds largest mistake by not even checking up on the violinist before he left.
"Lestat?" Nicolas finally mumbled, his voice raspy and weak from god-knows how long he had been crying for. "Yes, Nicki? Are you feeling a little better now?" The blond asked, nearly crying out in relief once his Nicki finally showed acknowledgement to his surroundings. The brunet nodded slightly, leaning his head against Lestats chest as his cries slowed to small whimpers and sniffles every few moments. "Did something upset you, or is today just one of your bad days?" Lestat questioned, still not wanting to overwhelm the violinist but knowing that he needed the answers before he worked out what he could do to help. Nicolas shrugged, seeming that he wasn't ready to explain verbally what had happened, that was fine, Lestat knew that he would wait an eternity until his Nicki was comfortable enough to talk. "Do you want to get off the floor, maybe go sit on the bed?" The blond asked, certain that Nicki was growing uncomfortable with the position they were in. A part of the reason Lestat made his offer was to draw Nicolas' attention away from whatever had upset him and put his concentration on another task, no matter how simple said task would be. Nicki nodded and Lestat got to his feet, offering his hand to the violinist and pulling Nicolas up with him once his hand was accepted, shuddering slightly at the cold touch of his Nickis skin against his own. "Alright, I'm thinking we have an in-bed rest of our day, unless there's something else you want to do." The blond suggested, walking with Nicolas to the bed and sitting on the edge, pulling his violinist close to himself and pressing another soothing kiss to Nickis temple. "Jus' wanna stay in bed." Nicolas mumbled, looking up at Lestat with tired eyes as he curled himself up on his side of the shared bed. "We can do that." Lestat responded calmly, suppressing a laugh as Nicki tugged on his shoulder, gesturing for him to lay down. "Are you ready to talk about what happened? You seemed pretty upset."
His Nicki visibly tensed up, and Lestat internally scolded himself for bringing it up so soon after the fact. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to press. I'm just a little confused about what got you so distressed." The blond apologized as he curled up beside the violinist, kissing the brunets pale cheek gently and pulling the covers up to Nickis shoulders. When the brunet gave him a confused look, Lestat offered a half-smile in response. "You're cold, no sense in letting you stay that way." The slightly taller male explained, grinning at the slight red coloring that graced his Nickis cheeks before he pulled the violinist closer to him, peppering the violinists pale face with gentle kisses. "I think today was just a bad day." Nicolas finally mumbled before affectionately planting a kiss on the blonds cheek, Lestat smiled slightly and turned his face so his lips were the main subject of his Nickis kiss, he felt a little more secure knowing what had led up to the violinist hiding in the closet, knowing that he could easily help him as long as he kept the brunets thoughts away from the bad things. "So beautiful." Lestat whispered, feeling a warmth spread through his face as Nicolas pressed another gentle kiss to his lips, lingering for a moment before he pulled away to offer the blond a smile. "Lestat, you're much more dazzling than I am, you know this." Nicki said softly, causing Lestat to frown slightly. "Non. It's not possible, you are the most gorgeous person I've ever laid my eyes on." The blond responded, reaching a hand up to cup his Nickis cheek, the skin was much less cold after them huddling under the duvet together.
"I don't think we'll ever agree on this one. I still think you're much more than I'll ever be." There was a scathing bitterness underlying Nickis words, a tone that Lestat had become expert at hearing no matter how subtle it was. "Hey, no. We don't talk about things like that, you're so dazzling, everybody must envy me when I go home, wondering how their newest actor got somebody as spectacular as you to fall in love with him." Lestat answered softly, leaning in to press another soft kiss to his Nickis lips, feeling the violinist smile against the kiss. "So gorgeous. I don't think I deserve you, but I do know that you deserve the world." The blond continued, laying tender kisses all over his Nickis face, despite the brunets feeble protests. "Lestat, stop it." Nicolas grumbled, despite the smile growing on his face. "How could I stop kissing a face this beautiful?" Lestat responded, kissing Nickis flushed cheek before the violinist pulled him closer, effectively stopping the blonds gentle attack on his lips and cheeks. The slightly taller male stuck his bottom lip out in a pout, which caused his Nicki to laugh, which in turn brought another smile to Lestats face. Lestat never wanted to see Nicolas so upset, and he made a silent promise to himself that he would never be stupid enough to not check on Nicki before going out on his own again.
"You already look so gorgeous now, I can't help but wonder; how gorgeous would you look in nothing but one of our sheets covering you?" The blond said, moving slightly away so he could see Nickis reaction, which was to flush a deep red and turn his face away. "Lestat..." The violinist mumbled, shifting around slightly as though he was trying to get comfortable. Lestat grinned, gently cupping Nickis jaw in his hand so he could turn the mans head so they were eye to eye. "What? Just thinking out loud." The blond responded with a audacious smile, much to his Nickis apparent horror. "Well, think out loud in your head then." The violinist responded, causing Lestat to roll his eyes, taking in his Nickis reddened face lazily. "Then I wouldn't be thinking out loud, I'd just be thinking." Lestat answered, leisurely draping an arm over Nicolas' shoulders, watching with amusement as Nicki tried to hide his flushed cheeks with little luck. "Don't hide your face, I think this is absolutely adorable, the way a simple sentence gets you squirming, cheeks all red, embarrassed by just a few words." The blond teased, pressing a quick kiss to the violinists temple. "Lestat. Don't." The brunet whined, wiggling around again with an irritated expression on his face. "I do what I want, my dear Nicki. You know this." Lestat said with a grin, keeping his violinist close to him with an insistent arm. "You're a tease, you know that?" Nicolas groaned, leaning a little closer to Lestat so he could press a firm kiss to the blonds pale lips. "I know. It's fun to tease you." Lestat mumbled into the kiss, pulling away slightly so he could take in Nickis appalled expression, which only made the blonds grin wider.
"Lestat, I'm tired, not now." The violinist finally admitted, blinking drowsily at the blond. Lestat chuckled and pulled Nicki just a little closer, planting a gentle kiss on the crown of his beloveds head, feeling Nicolas reach up and pull the blonds hand down so he could keep a grip on it. "Go to sleep for a bit, maybe later we'll go for a walk if you feel up to it." Lestat murmured, rubbing his thumb over the top of his Nickis hand gently, enjoying even the quietest moments with his dear violinist. "I love you, Stat." Nicki mumbled, clearly suppressing a yawn as he leaned his head against Lestats chest, the blond laughed quietly, giving the brunets hand a gentle squeeze. "I love you too, my dear, beautiful Nicki." The blond whispered, resting his cheek against the top of Nicolas' head, feeling a little tired himself but not wanting to admit it. "G'night, Lestat." The violinist said softly, shifting around slightly, obviously trying to get comfortable. "Technically it's day, but alright. Sleep well, Nicki." Lestat said, letting his eyes slip shut, slowly being lulled to sleep by the quiet sound of his Nickis breathing, presuming that the brunet was falling asleep as well. His last conscious thought was how lucky he was to have Nicolas in his life, knowing that he didn't deserve the violinist, and knowing that he would do anything to keep his Nicki happy, no matter what was asked of him. As he drifted off, Lestat mumbled something that sounded to him like a declaration of how much he loved the violinist, which evidently was not what he had actually said, due to the soft laughter and a whispered insistence that Lestat went to sleep it brought out of Nicolas. The blond tightened his grip on Nickis hand as he fell into an unconscious state, loving the warmth of the violinists skin against his own as the brunet presumably fell asleep himself. Lestat understood that Nicki would have bad days, and the blond was fully prepared to stick with his lovely violinist through every bit of it, good and bad, as long as he got to spend the rest of his life with his precious Nicolas.
