Work Text:
In retrospect, it rained quite often in Paris, not heavy rain, just light showers but still technically rain. Not that Lestat cared, he much preferred the rain to a sunny day, but Nicolas was not partial to the gloomy weather. Lestat was shoving Nickis shoulder, not wanting to go on a walk alone but most certainly not wanting to stay in their apartment the whole day, the violinist was huddled under blankets and apparently wasn't keen on waking up. "Nicki! It's not that bad out, please!" The blond all but whined, tugging gently on his Nickis shoulder as the violinist just mumbled some excuse and tried to shake Lestat off of him without much of an effort. "Go away, go for a walk yourself." Nicolas grumbled, burying himself further in his cocoon of blankets to avoid Lestats harassment. "But it won't be the same without you. Come with me! It'll be fun." The blond continued annoying the violinist, trying to pry the blankets away from Nicki. "Just a short walk, then? Twenty minutes?" Lestat compromised, sticking his bottom lip out in a pout despite knowing that Nicki most likely wouldn't pay mind to his expression, the violinist was most likely only focused on getting the blond to go away for a little. "How do you consider twenty minutes as short?" Nicolas asked, sounding to Lestat like he was much more awake due to the blonds constant pestering, of course that was what Lestat had wanted, after all. "It's short for me." Lestat answered with a shrug, still trying to drag the brunet out of the blankets, he was bored and knew that Nicki was the best at amusing him. "Nicki. I want entertainment." Lestat said in a demanding tone, pausing in his annoyances so he could cross his arms and pout much like a child would had they not gotten what they wanted, which was exactly how the blond felt at that particular moment. "Specify and I'll consider getting up." Nicolas grumbled, shifting around so he was on his side facing away from Lestat.
"I don't care. All I want is entertainment." The blond huffed, rolling his eyes slightly as though that would make a difference in Nickis final decision. "First you wanted to go on a walk, now you want to be amused as though you're a child. Pick one and then we'll talk." Nicolas answered, causing Lestat to whine slightly and grumble about how Nicki was 'unfair'. Of course Nicolas knew that Lestat typically spent at least thirty minutes mulling over two different options, trying to decide which would better suit his desires for the day, of course the violinist knew that the blonds final decision would change multiple times before he reached his actual final decision. "I want a walk today." Lestat mumbled, surprised at himself for being so quick and straightforward, his decisiveness obviously shocked Nicki as well, for the violinist turned over onto his other side and eyed Lestat with suspicion. "A walk? That's all?" Nicolas asked, his brown eyes narrowed slightly as he surveyed the blond, looking mildly confused as Lestat nodded in response. "Just a walk." Lestat repeated, looking out the window and watching the small raindrops hit the glass as a way to avoid Nickis gaze. "It's raining." Nicolas added bluntly, causing Lestat to turn his head to take in the brunets displeased expression. "I noticed, it doesn't really matter. Not like it's raining a lot." The blond answered, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to Nickis cheek, grinning at the violinist who in turn made a grotesque expression back. "Rude." Lestat grumbled at Nickis expression, climbing on top of the brunet just so he could harass him. "Pay attention to me." The blond whined, planting gentle kisses all over Nickis face wherever he could reach, Lestat took great joy in the moments he got to be so close to his Nicki, and he was certain the violinist felt the same sometimes.
"I thought you wanted a walk." Nicolas mumbled, shifting underneath the blonds weight with a small smile spreading across his face. "Yes, but I also want attention." Lestat answered as though this were obvious, pressing a firm kiss to his Nickis lips, it was a messy kiss, both being clumsy due to Nickis surprise and Lestats own shakiness. "There's no winning with you, is there?" The violinist mumbled into the kiss, causing Lestat to chuckle slightly, pulling away so he could speak without his words being muffled by Nickis lips. "You knew what you signed up for, this is what you get." Lestat shot back, kissing the brunet again quickly before pulling away so he could take in Nickis flushed face, grinning boyishly at the smaller male. "You look so cute under me." The blond whispered, leaning close so he could speak in Nickis ear, practically feeling the glare that the violinist gave him despite not even meeting Nickis eyes. "Too bad I'm too tired today." Lestat murmured, gently nipping Nickis earlobe and chuckling as the brunet made an annoyed noise, taking pleasure in pestering the violinist. "You're teasing me, you ass." Nicolas huffed, squirming underneath Lestat as he turned his head so his cheek was the subject of Lestats soft kisses, the blond nodded in response, moving downward slightly so he could plant kisses on Nickis neck. "I can't deny your claims." Lestat mumbled, nuzzling slightly against Nickis warm skin, still placing small kisses wherever he could reach without moving much. The violinist grumbled something that Lestat tuned out, savoring the warmth of his Nickis touch, he sighed slightly, taking advantage of the brunets silence to revel in the Golden Moment.
Lestat found himself thinking back to the first week they had spent together, admittedly, they had both been rather drunk during most of that week while they were with each other, that wasn't the point. "Get off." Nicki growled, causing a tingle of excitement to run through Lestat, the violinists tone caused all thoughts of the past to be whisked out of the blonds mind instantly. "I said, get off." Nicolas hissed, smoothly flipping the blond over when he didn't respond, scowling down at Lestat with brown eyes that were practically glowing amber despite the dim lighting. "That's better." The violinist said, smirking as Lestat grumbled something incoherent as his argument against their switched positions. Lestat didn't exactly mind being underneath Nicki, but he was stubborn as hell, and lacked patience, the violinist was sure to point that out whenever they were in a playful banter. "Now, what did you have in mind for today?" Nicolas' voice was rough, this excited Lestat greatly, Nickis and his intimate experiences together were always interesting, but he could always count on the violinist to throw a surprise into their endeavors, whether that be teasing or something entirely different. "Whatever you want to do." The blond breathed, his voice hushed as anticipation made him quiver, looking up at his Nicki with a small smile on his face.
"Mmm, I have a few ideas." Nicki whispered, gently kissing down Lestats neck, the blond got lost in the soft feeling of the violinists lips on his skin, being brought back to reality when the brunet not-so-gently nipped his earlobe. "Pay attention, I was talking." The brunet growled, causing Lestat to shudder slightly, Nicki was gentle when he wanted to be, but that didn't guarantee how the violinist would act this time due to Lestats disobedience. "I'm sorry." The blond mumbled, feeling the violinist work his way slowly back up to his face, Lestat had a joke on the tip of his tongue on how Nicki called him needy, but he also wanted a bit of an easier run if they were really going to play the game. "I'm thinking, you weren't listening very well today, I don't think I should play into this." Nicki teased, a wide smile spreading across his face. "You vex me to my very core." Lestat growled in response, letting his annoyance seep into his voice. "That was my intention." This response made Lestat glare slightly at his love, obviously wanting to do something other than lay in a bed all day. "Can we go and do something?" He whined, pouting at Nicki in an attempt to convince the violinist to at least do something. "Well I can't do anything with you if I don't know what you want to do." Nicki answered.
"We're going on a walk." Lestat said promptly, dragging his violinist out of bed with a wide grin. "Get dressed." As he spoke, Lestat had hurried over to their closet and was throwing an assortment of clothing over his shoulder in Nickis direction. "Lestat! First of all, half of these aren't even mine, second-" the blond cut Nicki off quickly, turning to face the violinist with a grin plastered on his face. "It's fine, all the clothes I so generously gave to you don't fit me anyway." Nicki scowled at Lestat, looking skeptical at the blonds statement. "Generously gave to- Lestat you threw them at me!" The brunet shouted, throwing a disgruntled look at Lestat. "Not the point, get dressed." The blond grinned at Nicki before he all but pranced out of the room, shutting the door as he left the bedroom. "Lestat I swear to-" Nickis voice was cut off by the shut door and Lestat practically running to the sitting room, sitting in one of the armchairs with a grin that bordered on manic resting on his face. The blond waited as patiently as he could, looking irritated as the minutes wore on before sitting up from his slouched position as he heard the bedroom door open. "Lestat, I'm going to kill you." Nicolas growled, standing in the doorway of the sitting room as he glared at Lestat. "No you won't. You look fine in the clothes, if that's what you're mad about." Lestat answered, giving the violinist a cheeky grin after he spoke.
"Honestly, sometimes I wonder if you even have a brain." Nicki snapped, rolling his eyes as Lestat leapt up and gripped the violinists upper arm, dragging Nicki to the door and pausing as the brunet stopped. "I swear if you make me go out there without a coat on I will smother you with a pillow." Lestat released his hold on his loves arm, he never exactly knew when Nicki was joking, and didn't want to find out whether it was just teasing or not. "Put a damned jacket on, then." The blond responded, causing Nicki to let out a soft growl, evidently, the brunet didn't enjoy being forced out of bed. "I will but a damned jacket on." The violinist mocked, grabbing one of the jackets that had been left on the back of one of the armchairs, grabbing an umbrella as well and looking at Lestat with an annoyed expression. "Go get a coat, you'll be freezing if you don't, and I'm not sharing." Nicolas said, causing Lestat to frown, ready to shoot down the idea until Nicki fixed him with a sharp look. "You know what, I'm going to get a jacket." Lestat said, giving his Nicki a faint grin as he hurried back to the bedroom, grabbing a jacket from the closet and briskly walking back to his violinist. Nicolas sighed as the blond grabbed his hand and dragged him out the door, the former looking annoyed but remaining silent. Lestat beamed at Nicki as they got outside, the violinist glared as the blond lead him through the muddy streets. "Not that bad out he says. I'm soaked!" Nicolas grumbled, still clutching Lestats hand as they wandered around. "Can we go home?" The brunet whined, tugging Lestat in the direction of their home, Lestat was cold, but obviously wasn't planning to admit that to his violinist. "Let's go. The rain's only getting harder."
Both men were shivering by the time they made their way through the door, removing their boots and coats, leaving them at the front door to be picked up later. "How and why you thought this was a good idea I don't quite know, but you owe me." Nicki grumbled, following Lestat to their bedroom without saying another word. The blond had gotten Nicki to at least go on a walk, which had been his original idea and the only true reason he had dragged the violinist out in the rain in such a manner, therefore he would be satisfied with whatever Nicolas had decided to do with the rest of their day. "Now, if you are finished with rudely harassing me, I'm going back to bed." Nicki finally muttered headed over to the closet pulling out one of his nightshirts and yanking off his soaked clothes, Lestat keeping his eyes averted out of knowledge that doing such would be something Nicki would have wanted him to do. "Are you going to stand there dripping all over the floor?" Nicolas asked, a slight note of teasing in his tone. Lestat looked at his violinist, who's hair was still drenched just as much as his discarded clothes had been. The blond shook his head and Nick shot him a small grin, throwing another nightshirt at him and looking surprised when Lestat caught it.
Once Lestat had gotten changed and properly discarded of both of their clothes, he joined Nicki in the bed, pulling the brunet closer to him and pressing gentle kisses to Nickis cheeks. "Lestat, please I just want to sleep for a little." The violinist mumbled, throwing an arm over Lestats waist as he spoke. "Of course, my Nicki." Lestat had known upon making the decision to take Nicki out for a walk that the brunet would want, perhaps even need, to sleep for a while, the blond was slowly piecing things together and figured the need to sleep more than usual had something to do with the frequent melancholy moods he would find Nicki in. "Sleep for a while, perhaps I'll act something out for you when you wake if you'd like." As he spoke, Lestats hand found its way into Nickis hair, and he found himself gently playing with the soft brunet strands as he kept the violinist close to him. Lestat watched his violinist in a contemplative silence, trying to figure out the reason for the pensive moods that seemed to dominate Nickis life, trying to figure out a way to help the brunet feel better even for a little while. Nicolas had long since fallen asleep, leaving the blond to stay awake, every slight movement Lestat made was jittery and projected his own anxiousness as he watched the violinists chest rise and fall. Lestat figured that even if he wanted to fall asleep, he wouldn't be able to, he was full of unrest and he was ill at ease, the blond disliked not knowing what was going on in his Nickis mind.
Eventually, Nicki finally awoke, appearing slightly better but still somewhat detached from reality, his eyes still had the glazed-over look that both mystified and terrified Lestat. "Did you sleep well, mon cher?" The blond asked, giving the violinist a small smile and pressing a quick kiss to Nickis pale cheek. "No, my back's bothering me." The brunet answered, causing Lestat to make a sympathetic noise and move his hand down to his loves back, running a hand up Nickis shirt in an attempt to try and feel if perhaps a muscle had gotten too tight and finding nothing. "It doesn't feel like a muscle Nicki." The blond remarked, gently shoving at Nickis hip to get the violinist to roll over onto his stomach, seemingly determined to find the cause of his Nickis pain and put a stop to it. Lestat sat up slightly and moved his other hand up Nickis shirt, gently kneading at the skin to try and dull the mystery pain, still prepared to stop at a moments notice in case his gentle caressing caused the violinist more discomfort. "Do you feel like this often?" Lestat asked quietly, only getting a nod from Nicki in response to his question, causing the blond to frown slightly. "Why did you not tell me, mon amour, I could have helped." The blond murmured, his hands continuing the gentle motions that seemed to soothe his Nicki, not expecting the brunet to give him a coherent answer. "It only hurts in the morning, usually before you wake."
The blond gave no response, focused on alleviating Nickis discomfort, feeling guilty for not noticing how often the ache troubled his love. "You can always tell me, alright love? I don't care if you wake me for something like this." Lestat finally said, removing his hands from Nickis back as the brunets tension seemed to dissipate, pulling Nickis nightshirt back down and carefully watching as his love sat up. "You promised me an reenactment of one of your plays." Lestat knew Nicolas was switching the subject, but the brunet seemed to be in a good mood, and Lestat intended to keep it that way by doing what Nicki asked him. "Of course, my love, prepare to be swept away." The blond declared dramatically, getting up swiftly from the bed and beginning to act out one of the many scenes that he had played, one that Nicki had once told him, on one of their drunken night conversations of course, had been one of his favorites. Lestat came to the realization as he was coming to the end of his scene that he would do anything just to help his Nicki feel better, anything the violinist asked for would be delivered as soon as possible. The blond cared deeply for Nicolas, and in reality, Lestat wanted to protect and shelter the brunet from all the bad he knew tainted the world until he couldn't, to Lestat Nicki was an angel sent to him straight from the heavens. "I love you." Three simple words spoken as Lestat was settling back into bed, flushed and panting from the exertion of dramatically acting out every part of the scene, was all it took to cause Nicki to practically latch onto Lestat with great heaving sobs wracking his thin frame. "Mon amour, why are you crying? Did I do something?" Lestat asked softly, holding the violinist tight to him and trying to soothe his beloved.
Nicki shook his head, tears still flooding down his cheeks. "I just love you so much." The violinist finally mumbled, clutching at Lestats shoulders tightly as he spoke. "I love you too Nicki, would you like me to get you one of your books. Perhaps reading would make you feel better." Lestat wanted to help Nicki focus on something other than his sadness, even if the idea he was offering was menial, it was something to keep the violinists attention away from the melancholy feeling the blond could tell was beginning to set in. "I would like to go to the sitting room." Nicolas' tone was dry and made him sound tired, despite the fact that he had just slept for at least an hour, but Lestat didn't intend to mention that and instead stood, picking Nicki up somewhat awkwardly and carrying him to the sitting room. "Stat, I can walk myself." Nicolas mumbled, though he contradicted his displeased statement by resting his head on Lestats chest as the blond sat the two of them in one of the armchairs. "Yes I know, but I like carrying you." The blond responded, pressing a sweet kiss to the top of Nickis head and reaching blindly for the book that had been sitting on the side table. He found it and handed the somewhat heavy volume to the violinist, who took it and stared at the book as if he had never seen one until that moment. "Stat, why am I on your lap?" Nicki asked, his eyes still fixed on the book as he spoke. "Because you'll find I make for an excellent seating arrangement." Lestat responded, leaning his head back and looking up at the ceiling as he heard the rustle of pages that told him Nicki had opened the book and had began to read.
Thunder still rumbled outside, but it was soothing and slowly lulling Lestat to sleep, the sound of the storm mixed with Nickis breathing and the turn of pages had quickly become Lestats lullaby. "I love you Nicki." The blond murmured, his voice heavy with his own exhaustion as he felt the violinists head move from his chest, presumably to look up at the slightly taller man. "I love you too, Lestat. Would you like me to read to you until you fall asleep?" Nicolas asked, his voice hushed and adding to the comforting assortment of sounds that were causing Lestats drowsiness. "Please." Lestat answered, his arms wrapped comfortably around Nickis waist as he held his love on his lap. "You won't drop me while you sleep?" The brunet asked, a slight worry edging his tone. "Non." The blond knew when he slept he was absolutely still, he wasn't worried about accidentally dropping his love due to that fact, it was often Nicki who wound up being the restless sleeper, aside from when his catatonic moods sapped his energy unexpectedly. As Nicolas began to read out loud from whatever book Lestat had handed him, the blond let his eyes drift shut, he was exhausted and Nickis lowered voice was soothing him into a comatose-like state. The words made less and less sense as Lestat rapidly lost consciousness, mumbling some nonsense and hearing Nicki chuckle softly in response to whatever he had said. Lestat knew that he was lucky to have the violinist with him, he found they balanced each other out, and he continued to mumble about how much he loved Nicki as he finally fell asleep, comforted by the soft noises that surrounded him.