Work Text:
They're sitting on opposite sides of an abandoned lot, both staring at each other and working up the courage to be the first to hop off their perch and ask the other guy out for lunch when Nicky suddenly disappears from Joe's sight when he falls down from the wall. Joe rushes over to check on Nicky, who has broken his arm in the fall, so they end up in the ER, where Joe insists on driving Nicky around in a wheelchair so Nicky doesn't hurt himself anymore.
Joe feels responsible for Nicky's injury and insists on caring for him until his arm gets better. Cue him helping carry things for him, cooking for him - helping Nicky with everything even though he can actually take care of himself just fine. Nicky is just happy to have an excuse to have Joe with him, and Joe uses Nicky's cast as a canvas, creating a beautiful piece of art to cheer Nicky up.
When Joe reluctantly leaves Nicky for work, Joe makes sure that there are sandwiches in the fridge and has carved a flower out of an apple. After six weeks, the cast comes off, and they finally go out on the date and all night, Joe insists on holding Nicky's hand to check that it has healed up properly. In the cinema, they forget all about the movie because they start to kiss.
Years later, they tell the story of how they got together, and Nicky always jokes, "I fell head over heels for him", which automatically causes Joe to grab Nicky's hand and bring it to his lips to kiss. A story their five-year-old twin girls love to hear over and over again, while their three-year-old brother rolls his eyes, puts his headphones on, and looks down at his drawing.