@b4ttl3 as nicky said: what a comfort you have brought me.
heidi.
mutt stops mid-pace. from the back, the livewire of his shoulders tightens. he did not expect that. nicky has that way about him. some muscle flutters and tenses in his throat, pitching up against the sides like a wild thing fighting to get out. it feels not unlike missing a step at the bottom of a stairwell.
he turns. his arms hang loose at his sides. eyes wide and chest sore. brittle ache in his throat.
he wants to throw himself against nicky. to wrap his arms around him and never relinquish his hold. leave a mutt-sized imprint on his front, like flowers pressed into a book. nicky seeing him, seeing and knowing and understanding his heart even through all the bullshit—that’s the bruising, coiling thump in mutt's stomach. the now prickling behind the dark of his eyes.
he looks at nicky. away, up. at nicky. his nicky. there is a part of him that'll always come back. he quickly closes the space between them, like he really is going to try. he stops short in front of him.
he settles for allowing nicky to run his hand over his hair. allows him to gently coax him inside by taking the arm it belongs to and girding it loosely around his shoulders. the house is warm and he is hungry.
