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The rain had started early in the morning and hadn’t let up since, tapping steadily against the windows of Nico’s apartment in Monaco. The city outside was muted and gray, but inside everything was warm and cocooned.
Sebastian had claimed the couch first, stretching out with a blanket pulled lazily over himself, his hair tousled, his eyes already halfway shut. Nico slid in beside him without asking, settling close enough that their shoulders brushed.
“You’ve been hogging the blanket,” Nico said, voice light.
“You didn’t even ask before sitting down,” Sebastian replied, eyes still closed. “Just swooped in.”
“Would you rather I hadn’t?”
A pause. Then Sebastian shifted closer, resting his forehead against Nico’s collarbone. “No. This is better.”
That was how the hours began to pass—quietly, softly, with Nico’s fingers carding through Sebastian’s hair and Sebastian’s hand resting on Nico’s ribs under the blanket. Every now and then Nico pressed a kiss to his temple, his hair, sometimes brushing his lips against the corner of Sebastian’s mouth until Sebastian laughed and muttered, “You’re insufferable.”
“And you love me for it,” Nico would answer, smiling when Sebastian tilted his face up for a proper kiss.
Eventually, Sebastian stirred, peeling himself reluctantly away. “Tea,” he mumbled, padding into the kitchen in his socks.
Nico followed, wrapping his arms around Sebastian from behind as he fussed with the kettle.
“You’re heavy,” Sebastian muttered, though he leaned back into Nico’s chest all the same.
“You love it,” Nico teased, kissing just below his ear, grinning at the way Sebastian shivered.
Soon, the two of them were back on the couch with mugs of tea and a small plate of biscuits. Sebastian cradled his cup in both hands, sighing contentedly.
“You’re staring,” Sebastian said without looking up.
“I’m appreciating,” Nico corrected, leaning in to press a kiss against Sebastian’s temple.
Sebastian shook his head, “You’re impossible.” Sebastian muttered, though he was smiling now, the corner of his mouth curved soft and fond.
The afternoon melted away like that—tea, laughter, kisses that landed like punctuation marks between words. Sebastian’s teasing softened into fond smiles, Nico’s smirk into something gentler. By the time the light outside dimmed into evening, both mugs had long gone cold.
When Nico finally suggested dinner, Sebastian groaned and burrowed deeper into the couch. “You could just carry me.”
“Into the kitchen? Not quite the romance you’re imagining,” Nico laughed, tugging him up. “Come on. We’ll cook together.”
The kitchen was warm, golden against the gray. Sebastian shuffled over still wrapped in the blanket, which Nico couldn’t stop laughing at. They settled on pasta, Nico at the stove while Sebastian chopped tomatoes with sleepy focus. Every so often Nico leaned over to kiss him, murmuring into his curls until Sebastian muttered, “You’re distracting me,” but never pushed him away.
At one point, Sebastian flicked a piece of tomato at him. “That’s for laughing at me earlier.”
Nico retaliated with a kiss so deep Sebastian lost track of the knife in his hand, breathless when Nico finally pulled back. “You cheat.”
Dinner ended up simple but perfect. They carried steaming bowls back to the couch, legs brushing, blanket pulled back over them as though it had been waiting. Conversation came and went, but silence felt just as good, just as full.
Later, dishes rinsed and left in the sink, they retreated to the bedroom. The rain still poured steady, drumming on the windows, the lamp casting the room in soft amber light. Sebastian climbed under the covers first, tugging Nico in with him, curling naturally into his arms.
For a long while, they didn’t speak. Nico traced patterns on Sebastian’s back, Sebastian breathed evenly against Nico’s chest. Every so often one would murmur something—a half-thought, a teasing remark—and the other would respond with a hum, a kiss, a squeeze.
“Too quiet,” Sebastian murmured, voice muffled into Nico’s shirt.
“I thought you liked quiet,” Nico teased, tightening his arm around him.
“I like your quiet,” Sebastian replied after a beat, turning his face just enough to press the faintest kiss against Nico’s collarbone. The words lingered in the air, warm and unguarded.
Eventually Sebastian whispered, “Feels strange.”
“What does?” Nico asked, brushing his lips over Sebastian’s hair.
“To not be rushing anywhere. No paddock. No press. Just… you and me.”
Nico kissed him, slow and deliberate, cupping his cheek. “Maybe that’s what makes it perfect.”
Sebastian smiled, small and soft, before resting his head back down. “Yeah. Perfect.”
The rain carried them into night. They kissed lazily until words ran out, until their breaths grew slow. Nico’s arm stayed firmly around Sebastian, Sebastian’s hand curled around his, as if neither intended to let go.
And when sleep came, it felt like the natural extension of the day—quiet, safe, and entirely theirs.
It was the kind of day that didn’t need to be more. A day wrapped in warmth, in the steady beat of rain and the steadier comfort of love that whispered instead of roared.