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Jack and Nico traveled a lot.
They've seen the big Montana skies, been to Paris and Mycenae, they've driven the coast and seen all the beaches, watched the northern lights in Alaska. They've been to so many places, so many drop dead gorgeous scenes were in front of them, but Nico still thinks that the best scene is Jack in his arms.
They've seen the most beautiful of scenes that so many people would kill to see, but Nico can't really remember them. Of course, he remembers them, but doesn't remember remember them like Jack does. Jack can describe the northern lights in great detail, but Nico can't. Nico doesn't have memory issues or anything, he just spends most of their time at these places looking at Jack.
Nico couldn't care about what colors the sky is, how many stars there are, how big the rocks are, or how old the historical monument is, he just cares about Jack fucking Hughes.
In Nico's eyes, not a damn thing could compare to Jack's beauty and grace.
--
(Montana, United States)
Jack and Nico were on the porch of their rented cabin, Jack laying down in front of Nico, who is sitting criss-cross and running a hand through Jack's soft hair. Jack is looking up at the sky, his eyes wide in shock and awe at how big and clear the Montana skies are.
"Neeks, look at how many stars there are!" Jack points at no star in particular, he's just trying to get Nico to look at the sky instead of him.
"I know, sweetheart, there's a lot." Nico is still staring at Jack, though, getting lost in the way the full and bright moon made Jack's eyes sparkle.
"Don't look at me! Look at the stars! When will you get to see this again?" Jack asked, momentarily tearing his eyes away from the sky to look at Nico. In Jack's humble opinion, no amount of stars could be any prettier than Nico. He was captivated in the way that the moonlight was shining against Nico's paler, soft skin.
Nico had half a mind to say some corny shit, like 'but you're the only star I need', but decided he wanted to live to see another day. To spend another day with Jack. He complied with Jack's request, glancing up at the sky and being momentarily breathless with the beauty and size of the sky. The mountains in the background would make this a perfect picture for Instagram.
When Nico looked back down at Jack, he was still looking up at Nico.
Nico thought that Jack looked like a damn angel. The moonlight was bright enough that Nico could clearly see all of Jack's freckles and moles.
“You’re really pretty.” Nico whispered, caressing Jack's soft cheek.
”You aren’t too bad yourself.” Jack muttered before lifting himself up on his elbows and leaning in so close to Nico that they’re sharing the same breath.
“That’s not what you were saying last night.” Nico smiled and pressed his lips to Jack's own softer ones.
—
(Paris, France)
Nico knows that he should be looking up at the Eiffel Tower, like everyone else in Paris. It’s the normal thing to do, regardless of who you’re with.
He still can’t pry his eyes away from his boyfriend, who’s laying on the blanket they’ve laid out and is basking in the Paris sun.
“Jack, you’re gonna get so sunburned.” Nico said fondly, brushing hair away from Jack's eyes. “No, I’ll be fine. I don’t burn.”
“Yes you do, you’re still peeling from not wearing sunscreen in Mycenae.” Nico laughs, solidifying his point by peeling a little dead skin from Jack's arm and throwing it in the grass.
“Don’t peel my dead skin for me. It’s my nighttime activity.” Jack isn't wrong, he does pick at his sunburn at night and thinks it’s the coolest thing ever when he peels off a big piece of skin in one go.
“Gross. My point is, I didn’t get sunburned, I tanned. Y’know why?” Nico asked teasingly, “Because I wore this magical thing called sunscreen.”
Jack scoffed, there’s no bite behind it, and rolled over so his face wasn’t directly in the sun anymore. “It’s the one time you do tan, when the U.V is ten. Otherwise you’re paler than me. It’s still barely a tan.”
Nico acted offended, gently slapping Jack's sunburn. “That felt good.” Jack muttered.
“What kinda kinky shit are you into?”
“You know what kinda shit I’m into. But that’s not even what I meant, I meant that your hands are cold. My skin is burning.” Jack moves his arms to rest against Nico's cold hands.
“I wonder why.”
“Shut up.”
When the two come back to the Eiffel Tower that night, Jack is a whole different kind of amazed. He’s never seen it at night, and he’s always to, ever since he was a kid in New Jersey.
Jack lays down on the dew covered grass, trying to drag Nico down with him. “C’mon, Neeks, just lay with me.”
“But it’s wet.”
“So?”
“I don’t really wanna be wet right now.”
”Please?” Jack looks at Nico with those big, pleading eyes that Jack knows his boyfriend can’t resist and, suddenly, he's is laying down next to his boyfriend, grimacing at the feeling of dew seeping into his thin shirt.
“You’re lucky I love you.” Nico muttered under his breath, sitting back up and wrapping Jack in his arms, which is where Jack belongs, in Nico's opinion.
“I love you too.” Jack whispered and looked at the scenic view in front of him. The Eiffel Tower is beautiful at night, Nico won’t deny it, the shimmering lights looked as if the stars were brought down to Earth and formed in the shape of an ‘A’.
It doesn't matter how pretty the tower is, not a single thing could be prettier than Jack's awestruck eyes, glittering in the light from the Eiffel Tower.
--
(Fairbanks, Alaska, United States)
Nico will admit it, he’s always wanted to see the northern lights, and it was his idea to go and see them while they were in Alaska. Jack thought that this would be the first time Nico's eyes didn’t have to be pried away from Jack.
Obviously, Jack is wrong.
Even though the northern lights are beautiful and bright and colorful, Nico can’t help advert his attention back to Jack. It’s cold in Alaska, and Jack is a cold person, so when Nico sees his boyfriend shivering and shaking, goosebumps littering his skin, he can’t help but wrap his entire body around Jack.
"No, don't pay attention to me, pay attention to the lights. They're really pretty." Jack whined, trying to shake Nico's strong arms off his body. Nico smiled and kissed Jack's cheek.
"But you're more important." Nico whispered and glanced up at the northern lights. He took in the colors and how surprisingly bright they were, the image being imprinted into his cranium.
He looked back down at Jack, admiring the way that the bright night sky lit up his face just enough so Nico could make out the features that he's grown to love. He's memorized the slight curve of Jack's nose, the freckles that dusted his face, the barely visible birthmark under his bright eyes.
Nico loved how Jack hated his freckles, because it gave Nico all the more reasons to kiss each individual one, to count them every time that Jack sleeps in late, to compliment his freckles every single day.
"Hey Jackie?"
"Yeah?"
"I really fucking love your freckles."
--
(Mycenae, Greece)
Jack has always really liked Ancient Greece, and even if Nico doesn't understand what's so cool about a bunch of half-buried cities, Nico will happily go with Jack to said half-buried cities. Why?
It's Jack, and Jack himself is interesting.
Nico would gladly listen to Jack talk about Agamemnon and the Trojan War and Helen of Troy. As long as Jack is talking and Nico can admire him, reminding him to breathe every now and then, Nico is happy. Actually, he's more than happy, he's overjoyed.
He's happy to listen, giving his opinions and asking questions like 'why would the Greeks hide in a horse of all things?', even if Nico knew the answer. He just liked hearing Jack talk.
It was relaxing, even if it was late at night and still hot. When they were walking through the ruins of what used to be Mycenae, Jack talked about how he couldn't even blame Paris for kidnapping Helen, but then he moved onto talking about how it wasn't even kidnapping, how Helen wanted to go with Paris because Menelaus was 'being an asshole'.
Nico tried to remember everything that Jack was saying, but sometimes he got lost in the sound of Jack's voice. The boyishness of his voice, how happy he sounds as he talks about stories and Homer's tales that he's read over and over again. He loves the way that Jack speeds up his words and mixes words up when he's excited about a particular person or event.
There isn't a single thing about Jack that Nico could ever hate. Except maybe for Jack's refusal to wear sunscreen, but it's fun to see Jack amazed when he's peeling from his horrid sunburns. As disgusting as it is to Nico, he wouldn't trade those quiet moments for anything.
"Breathe, Jack, breathe." Nico stops walking, gently pulling Jack back by his hand. Jack's face is illuminated by the bright moon and stars, and Nico forgets how to breathe for a second. Jack is drop-dead gorgeous, and Nico will never let him hear the end of it.
Jack takes a deep breath, but ends up yawning instead of exhaling properly. He steps forward and presses his forehead against Nico's own, realizing how insanely grateful he is that no one else is here to witness this intimate moment.
Nico puts a hand on Jack's cheek, brushing his thumb along Jack's cheekbone. "I love you. So, so much." Nico mutters against Jack's lips, smiling when he feels Jack's smile.
"I love you too, Neeks." Jack said before kissing Nico, wrapping his arms around Nico's waist.
--
(Home, New Jersey, United States)
Jack isn't just beautiful when they're on these trips and under the pale moon light or in the bright sun. He's not just beautiful under brightly colored skies or under the bright stars.
No, no, Jack is beautiful everywhere.
He's beautiful when he's laying in bed with Nico, barely conscious and trying to convince Nico that he's not tired.
He's beautiful when he's shirtless and cooking in the kitchen, or at least trying to.
He's beautiful when he's walking around with only one of Nico's shirts on after they just had mind-blowing sex. He's especially beautiful then, in Nico's opinion.
Nico loves moments like these, when Jack is curled up in Nico's arms, on their bed, and they've watched every Christmas movie they know of. Both of them are shirtless, per Jack's request, he just likes skin-to-skin contact. There's nothing sexual about it, it's actually so domestic that it's sickening.
Jack's arms are wrapped around Nico's neck tightly, any tighter and Nico would be victim to a suffocation. His head was tucked under Nico's chin, his flyaways tickling Nico's chin pleasantly.
Nico moved his hand to play with Jack's hair, diligently untangling the small knots and twirling the curls around his fingers. Jack made a small noise of appreciation and contentment, trying to snuggle closer to Nico's warm body. He rolls over onto Nico's body, tucking his head under Nico's chin again and pulling the blanket up to cover both of them.
He hums in satisfaction, letting himself go limp in Nico's grasp. Jack closes his eyes and focuses entirely on Nico's fingers working through his messy hair, the soft and grounding pull of his hair slowly lulling him to sleep. Nico smelled like whiskey and vanilla extract, which was never a help whenever Jack is fighting to stay alive.
"Are you gonna fall asleep?" Nico had a subtle smile plaguing his lips, pausing the movements of his fingers. Jack shook his head, stubborn as always, and tried to press his head into Nico's fingers.
"Sure you aren't." Nico kissed the top of his boyfriend's head and resumed his movements in Jack's hair. Jack felt his eyes grow heavier and sleep started to sound more and more appealing, even though he wanted to savor as much of this moment as possible.
"I love you, sweetheart." Nico whispered before Jack actually fell asleep. Jack barely registered that Nico was talking to him, only managing to squeak out a "love you too" before drifting off to sleep, letting dreams filled of Nico take over him.