Itās unsure, like Levi isnāt entirely positive that Nico can, in fact, come in. Almost as if him doing so would blow Leviās whole cover, his mother would know in an instant and heād have to come out right there on the spot and Nico doesnāt know if heās ready for that yet, so he starts to shake his head.
āI want you to! I really really want you to come inside. Please?ā
Nico sighs, unbuckling his seatbelt slowly, keeping a weary eye on Levi as he does it. āI really do want to see that nerd thing you were telling me about at lunchā¦ā
āItās not a nerd thing,ā Levi scoffs, scrabbling at his bag thatās tangled in his legs, āitās a limited edition PokĆ©mon Nintendo 64 console that my dad gave me for my birthday.ā
āSoā¦ā Nico smirks, āa nerd thing?ā His laughter follows Levi out of the car as he scrambles to join him, slightly more nervous than he was five minutes ago, but ready to meet his boyfriends mother for the first time none-the-less.
Itās a short walk to the door and Levi doesnāt stop to give him a pep talk before he bursts through the door and calls out a simple āIām hooooome!ā which is followed by a voice thatās too muffled for Nico to understand, but Levi catches every word.
āTaryn didnāt work today, she caught that cold that was going around! Nico drove me.ā
Leviās shucked his jacket off and is walking down the wide hallway before Nicoās even halfway through untying his left shoe lace, he doesnāt wait for him, but he does smile at him as he disappears behind a wall.
Heās confident, Nico thinks, here on his own turf. He knows his house and his mom and he knows he has at least a semblance of control and heās confident. Nico rushes through his second shoe and speed walks down to where heād seen Levi turn, peeking his head around the corner, smiling nervously as a women almost half the size of himself looks up at him with wide, doe eyes. He knows immediately where Levi gets his kind soul from.
āWell?ā She says, he hands coming her hips and her head tilting a little to the right. āDonāt be shy.ā Her voice is raspy but light, a little heavy on some vowels and sheās got an accent Nico canāt quite place.
He shuffles into the kitchen, his sachet knocking against the doorframe as he does.
āThis is Nico.ā Levi smiles at him over her head and Nico melts a little at the sight of it.
He face is soft but not delicate, her lips are thinner than Leviās and her hair is raven black, tumbling down around her shoulders in waves. She smiles up at him, her two front teeth sticking out just a little, like Leviās, and her cheeks dimpling as she does so.
āHuh,ā she says, throwing her hair behind her back before reaching her arms out to pat a Nicoās chest, āI thought heād beā¦buffer, with the way you described him.ā
Nico feels the blush rising up his neck, darting his eyes over to Levi whoās already a as red as a tomato. āSorry to disappoint,ā he says, trying to fight the urge to scratch at the back of his head.
āOh nonsense! You have a lovely body, Iām sure, but thereās barely any meat on you. Youāre staying for dinner. Iāll fatten you right up.ā She pats his biceps twice before turning to Levi. āYou always bring home to underfed ones, honestly Iām starting to think you attract them. Look at him! Heās hard all over. Dünn dünn dünn.ā
Nico lowered his gaze, staring at a faded stick figure that was drawn on one of the tiles by the counter, wondering vaguely what language she was speaking, and if Levi was bilingual too. āIām quite happy with my body, to be honest.ā
āGood,ā she said, ābe honest. Iām still feeding you. Winziges kleines Ding.ā
They made it to the basement without much more fuss, Nicoās eyes flittering around at everything he passed, Levi dashing about the living room as they passed it to find a spare controller.
āShe wonāt let you leave until you eat,ā heād explained, āso Iām kicking your ass at Mario Kart.ā
Once theyād cleared the last step down, and Levi had effectively pulled Nicoās sweater over his head because it really was quite hot down there, Levi had affectionately ran his hands down over Nicoās arms, caressing at his elbows and then sliding down a little more to grasp both of his hands. āIām quite happy with your body too,ā heād whispered, stepping in closer and smiling up through this lashes, āI love every single thing about you.ā
Nico huffed, fighting a smile and trying to get Leviās hands untangled from him own so he could pull him in closer. āSheāsā¦ā
āJewish.ā Levi said, as if that explained it all. āAnd donāt worry about her fattening you up, itās me sheās after. Iāve always been to skinny for her likings, and I mean, has she not seen my belly? Iāve got squishy bits.ā
āI love your squishy bits.ā
āTheyāll never be enough for her.ā He shook his head fondly, pretending to be sad about it. āI try so hard to be the chubby son she always wanted.ā
Levi let go of his hands, reaching up to link his own around Nicoās neck.
āTheyāre enough for me.ā
Levi giggled, bouncing a little before leaning in for a kiss. āI knowā¦and I also know Iām about to destroy you. Dibs on Princess Peach.ā
Levi, unsurprisingly to Nico, destroys him in Mario Kart, always ready and able to deal with anything Nico tried to send his way.
They were called for dinner an hour later, but Levi pulled Nico back down to the couch to kiss him one last time before they went up.
āArenāt you worried sheās going to come looking for us?ā
āNo. Sheās only calling so Iāll set the table.ā Levi pulled back to nibble at a fingernail. āAnd Iām not hiding you. You know that, right? She- she knows thereās someone and she knows that Iām happy, she justā¦doesnāt know Iām gay yet.ā
Nico smiled, pushing his hands up under Leviās shirt to squeeze his waist. āI donāt want to rush you. I want this to be at your own pace, lord knows my coming out wasnāt at mine, but I really really wish I could go up there and have her retell all your embarrassing stories and all the fun stuff that comes with meeting the parents.ā
The hands around Leviās waist snaked up to rest against his ribs. āI know, Hunkster, me too. Iām ready, Iām just-ā Levi sighed, āIām not sure she is.ā
āTake your time,ā Nico murmured, leaning in to run his teeth along Leviās jaw, tightening his hands at the drag from the stubble. āNow letās go set the table like the gentlemen we are.ā