#declanxnate

“Who says I let you catch me?” He asks, more into his mug than anything. Nate’s eyes finally meet his, and the look in them is rather too verbose this early in the morning. Dex shrugs, wrapping one arm loosely around his stomach to bench his other elbow.

It was a game, they played…or, had played, Dex supposed. Nate was fantastic at stealth when he wanted to be - seemed to take delight in trying to catch Dex off guard - to delight in the fact that he was allowed to try. Ever since Dex had let him upstairs into his apartment, into his…territory (though he shuddered to think of it like that, as sad as it was, it was certainly true), Nate seemed to enjoy nothing more than figuring out exactly what he could do.

Dex wasn’t sure of the appeal - he’d let the man up, what else was there?

But, he’d had fun, sidestepping silent grabs and tossing pillows at otherwise silent footsteps. It wasn’t often he dealt with other supernaturals anymore in his space - for good reason - let alone ones powerful and trained. Once he’d tamped down the natural instincts to push, and claw, and run, it was interesting to see what new tricks Nate could come up with. It had gotten to the point where he didn’t even have to…to try to ignore the instinct anymore. There was no growl in his chest, no fangs cutting his tongue.

This is the first time he hadn’t side-stepped. Hadn’t reached back to swat wandering hands away.

Had just…let the man catch him.

Nate’s still puzzling this out - sharp brown eyes refusing to look away now that they’ve caught his. But that’s fine. Dex has been this patient - he can wait a little longer.

“A new game then?” A question - with a lilt of uncertainty. The first Dex has seen from him. He can be ridiculous, sure. Stubborn in his pursuits, regardless of where they lead. Even soft-spoken and hesitant in the way one is with a wounded animal, but never unsure.

“Are we playing a game?” Confusion darkens those eyes he adores, and he gives the man a moment, returning to his coffee.

“Fruit chews.” And Felix looks intrigued by that, but he plows on.

“Favorite movie?”

“This is a thing isn’t it?” Dex asks, not minding too much, even as he files an idea away and turns back to his book.

“Well, yeah. I know all these things about the others. But not you. And it’s easier to just ask than suss it out slowly over the next couple of months. Or years, in Mason’s case. Now, favorite movie.”

---

It goes on like that for a while. Favorite song. Food. Flower (that gets another raised eyebrow, and Felix snorts, “Second favorite then”). Cologne. Book. Sweet. Sport. Instrument. Plant.

---

“It is not amorphophallus titanum.” Felix says, and Dex is pretty sure he’s glaring again, but all he can hear is the grin in his voice.

“And you’re not asking out of friendly curiosity. What’s your point?”

“When’d you figure that out?”

“Oh, I knew something was up when you started this. You knew like half that shit already. The flower thing gave it away though.”

“...You’re weirdly perceptive sometimes.”

“So are you. So, what’d Nate offer?”

“Really?” And Dex just laughs.

---

He does not find out what Nate offered Felix, if only because he finds himself more curious about what Nate wanted in the first place. Nate normally had no issue asking him things himself - maybe a problem being direct or clear about it, sure, but that’s something they’re both working on. Actually talking to each other though? Not a problem.

So whatever it is, it’s a surprise. And that’s new.

Not...surprises in general - he liked to think they were both pretty spontaneous with affection, or fun, or whatever, as much as two homebodies like them could be. But this sounded like planning. And that...that was new.

And he wanted to see.

---

What makes him smile about the whole thing is, after the thing with Felix? It’s not like Nate’s hiding anything, not really. He’s certainly up to something. But that something involves bags. And Nate wandering away for a short while. And a visit from Vieno weirdly enough. But never anything concrete.

And the whole while, Nate just grins at him. Laughs and gently pulls the bags closer when he tries to get a look. Teasingly pulls him away from the back of the first floor of the warehouse.

Nate knows Dex knows something’s up, clearly - probably knew the minute Felix gave him whatever info he was after. But they both seem to be enjoying the build up for now, so Dex lets himself be laughed at, lets himself be pulled away, be distracted.

He gives the man another week before both of them combust.

---

Six days.

It’s six days before Nate wakes him up - with the dawn no less, and if Nate didn’t look damn pleased with himself, Dex would have something to say about that.

As it is, he yawns and scrubs his free hand down his face, his other hand firmly in Nate’s grasp. Nate’s too focused on - too excited about - leading him up the stairs to notice the way Dex is smiling at him, but that’s okay.

There’s a door at the back of the destroyed first floor that Dex knew for a fact hadn’t been there last week. It blends in well with the facade of the place - grey wood, scratched and dented, peppered through with water damage - though, if he looks closely, at the right angle to the frail beams of light snaking their way through the damaged roof, he can see the faint glitter of runes carved into the frame.

Explains Vieno then.

“Close your eyes?” Nate asks, and Dex blinks at him for a moment, “Please?” And he couldn’t say no to that smile even if he wanted to. Which, conveniently, he doesn’t.

He hears the door opening, then a gentle tug on his hand. He squeezes gently, and lets himself be led.

There’s a noticeable difference in temperature once he’s crossed the threshold, and even a change in the light he can see behind his closed eyelids. Curious.

Nate doesn’t let go of his hand, even as he winds his way behind him, wrapping his free arm around his waist and resting his chin on Dex’s shoulder. “Take a look?” And there’s this...tone there that Dex can only just hear - more in the rumble in his chest against his back than his actual voice. A tightness there that wasn’t before.

He’s nervous.

Dex opens his eyes, and for a moment, all he can see is gold. Gold and green. A splash of white - of pink. And so much green.

It’s not a full greenhouse, but it’s damn well on its way to becoming one. Tall windows cover the back wall - so tall he knows there’s some kind of magic going on, not unlike the space-manipulation downstairs - and curve up onto the roof. Benches line the wall, already laden with more than a couple rows of transfer pots, and even some wide soil beds cut out. Larger pots with heavy looking leafy plants he can only just barely remember stand tall down the center of the room. There’s empty spaces here and there, just waiting to be filled too, and all Dex can think about is the garden he’d told Nate about, not so long ago.

His one place in Rebecca’s house that felt like...not his, but familiar. Comforting in a way the empty rooms and quiet halls hadn’t been.

“What the hell?” It’s not the most graceful response, sure, and it echos in the golden quiet that had fallen around them. But, it gets him what he was after - the startled laugh out of Nate, even as his grip around Dex tightens.

“That’s good, I hope?” There’s a lightness to his voice again, and Dex grins, leaning back into him.

“Hell yes. This is amazing.” It’s hard spinning in his hold without letting go of his hand, but he manages after a moment - he has to, or else he can’t kiss him. And he so wants to kiss that laugh right now.

“Easy, easy…” He doesn’t recognize the voice, but when the roaring in his ears dies down somewhat, it seems to take most of the fog with it, and he can smell enough to tell him all he needs to know - through the smoke and the char and the blood, he can smell that too-clean, too-sharp antiseptic smell of-

“How’d you get here so fast?” His voice sounds muddled - muffled and scratched, and he’s not sure if it’s the fire in his throat or the ocean in his ears causing it. He does manage to open his eyes though, taking in the young, confused face above him.

The agency medic fussing at him blinks at him as he finally opens his eyes, then just shakes his head. “We were on call - like normal? Soon as the building blew, everyone was on site.”

The building?

The building…

He remembers two things in that moment. The explosion that knocked them off their feet - and apparently tossed him into a wall, if the headache is anything to go by - and-

“Dex?”

“What?” The medic isn’t a vampire, that much is clear, and Nate has no issue shoving out of his reach and to his feet. He can feel the last cuts and bruises slowly knitting themselves back together, but nothing feels broken or worse, and, frankly, he really doesn’t care about that.

“Agent? Agent!” He can hear the voice just fine. Finds the roar in his ears is of a different sort this time.

What’s left of the building is little more than a few walls and smoking rubble, swarming with agents. Something still actually, actively there in the back of his mind clocks Adam and Felix, and a few feet later, Mason, all getting checked out and looking varying degrees of annoyed.

He sees Adam tilt his head to the pair of ambulances at the far side of the ruins and he’s gone.

“Dex? Declan!” He calls, and now he knows the scratch in his voice is from some tear - can feel it warp in the back of his throat - but he can’t find it in himself to care, about the scratch, about the pain. There’s so much smoke, and char, and blood that he can’t smell or see anything clear and the last thing he’d seen-god, he’d seen Dex-

And then he’s seeing him again. And he’s upright, sitting on the back of the ambulance. He’s breathing, hell, he’s arguing with the medic it looks like, and he’s there and...and…

Dex is on his feet just in time to catch Nate, who only just manages to reign it in enough to collide but not knock them both off their feet. Nate can taste blood in the press of his lips to Dex’s but he doesn’t care - doesn’t care that it’s sending all his senses haywire, doesn’t care that he’s holding Dex tight, because he can feel the bruises purpling up under Dex’s hands on his own skin, doesn’t care that it’s less a kiss and more just needing to feel the man breathe, feel him alive, against him.

Some part of his brain - the part that’s not focused on the breath and the blood and feel of warm skin against his - manages to notice the tense press of fangs against lips and teeth, the harsh clack as Dex presses in closer, seemingly uncaring.

Minutes, hours, seconds later, he feels hands on him, on his face, gently coaxing him away from the kiss and then gently pulling him back in to breath into Dex’s skin at his neck - and he goes with absolutely no resistance, the fight and the adrenaline all but draining out of him at the barest gentle touch and the trust, the absolution, that movement takes, after...after.

There’s an ugly purpling bruise maring his skin there - cutting that beautiful inked rose in half, and Nate shuts his eyes to just enjoy the warmth, and the beat of a pulse still going strong.

He vaguely hears Dex talking - feels it more in the rumble of his voice, pressed this close to his throat. Hears a squeak of an affirmative from somewhere off to his right, then footsteps leading away.

“Mm...you’re worrying the baby medics you know…” And it’s low, and rough, and there’s this rasp that makes Nate wrap his arms tighter around him. He knows it’s too tight. Can’t seem to make himself let go.

And Dex just curls his fingers in his hair and presses him closer.

It’s that acceptance, that insistence, that helps Nate relax - just a bit. Not enough to pull away. Not enough to let go. But enough to breathe and not taste ash. Enough to breathe, period.

“Where’d you go?” It’s no more than a whisper. He’s almost worried it’s too quiet for Dex to hear - wonders if he can make his jaw work long enough to ask again without something vital breaking in half.

“They pulled me outside. Think they saw shit about to go sideways and decided to run off with the consolation prize.” Before Nate can even react to that, he’s speaking again, fingers tightening ever so slightly in his hair, “And before you even try, they’re already dead. Turns out, explosions are fantastic distractions.” And he...he tries for levity. Misses by a mile, but Nate appreciates the attempt.

“Don’t…” He can’t ask. It’s not possible. It’s not fair. “Don’t do that again.” and it’s said around a broken laugh - or, at least, Nate thinks it’s a laugh.

“I’ll come back.”

It’s not the truth, because they can’t know.

But it’s not a lie, either. A promise doesn’t have to ring true to be honest. And that will have to be enough.

He had his arm up around Nate’s shoulders where the man was leaning against him, and they were both lazily watching Mason try to - once again - teach Felix how to play pool. He’d vaguely wondered how long it’d take Mason to realize Felix was playing him, right up until he’d seen him smirk when Felix turned his back.

So. Felix’s new found hustling skills (which Dex had no hand in. Promise.) and desire to prank versus Mason’s patience for the long haul. Dex knew for a fact Adam was going to have to break that up. But, until then, it was kind of nice to just...exist in the same space for a little while, enjoying the tired laughter (he wasn’t the only one drawn thin this week) and the comfort that comes from sharing space with friends.

Nate had seemed of a same mind, as he’d curled up against Dex’s side and had had about as much inclination to move as he had. In fact, when he glances over, he has to bite back a smile. Nate looks like he’s fallen asleep - face relaxed and soft and oh so beautiful in the low light.

“Hey, you still awake?” He murmurs gently, grinning when Nate just hums out something that sounds vaguely like ‘no’.

Despite that, he does open his eyes again, grinning when he finds Dex looking and leaning up to whisper lower than even vampire ears can hear, “Let’s go home, yeah?” following it with a kiss behind his ear that has Dex shivering.

He knows his grin is a little lopsided, but before he even gets a chance to respond, Felix pipes up, “Are you two being mushy again?”

Dex doesn’t look over, grinning at Nate’s low rumble of a laugh being pressed into his shoulder, but he makes sure his hand is in Felix’s line of sight, the gesture he knows is making Adam frown in clear view, “Literally always, what’s your point?” That gets him another laugh, and this one he has to chase with a kiss to the cut of Nate’s jaw - about the only spot he can reach with how Nate is curled into him - which causes some kind of noise from Felix and Mason. But they’re smiling, and he knows it.

“Alright, we’re going, we’re going.” Dex grumbles half-heartedly, finally pushing himself up. There’s a small sound that might be a huff from Nate, but he doesn’t get a chance to ask before Nate’s letting himself be hauled up off the couch after him. “Come on, you. Home, remember?”

And there’s a blooming smile there that just asks to be kissed away. And who is Dex to say no?

Mornings like this though, Nate was never gone long. If he listened close enough, Dex could even hear him, shuffling around the kitchen.

Glancing back out at the rain for a moment - enjoying the way the world beyond seemed to fade into one muted field of gray, almost haloing the rose in the vase on the windowsill - and Dex decides that, even if he’s not going to be long, the bed is way too empty.

Hauling himself out of bed with a grumble only for the empty room, Dex heads out of the room, intent on finding his wayward companion. He finds himself stopped in the doorway though, unable to stop himself from just...enjoying the sight. Nate was indeed in his kitchen, fiddling with the kettle he’d bought a couple weeks back, and, now that the door was open, he was able to hear the coffee maker bubbling away as well. And he just looked...comfortable. Hair still sleep-rumpled and loose, shirtless and his shoulders relaxed in a way Dex so rarely gets to see, and just...right. In Dex’s space.

He knows Nate knows he’s there. Can see the tilt of a smile when Nate moves, even if he doesn’t actually turn to him. He also knows the look on his face is probably a couple shades of sappy. Can’t really find it in himself to care.

“Mm...I wake you?” Nate asks after another couple of moments, and Dex can hear the amusement in his voice, lilting gently through the patter of rain filling the space.

“You know you did.” Dex says as he finally pushes himself off the doorframe to slip over. “You were taking too long to come back.” He tries for petulant. Given Nate’s low rumble of a laugh, he doesn’t quite hit it. And oh, Dex wants to feel that laugh. Can’t see a reason not to.

He wraps his arms around Nate’s waist as he heads back over to the kettle on the stove, pressing up against the man’s back and grinning when it gets him what he wanted - another rumble he can feel, pressed this close. For a wonder, Nate doesn’t move away, instead settling back against him as they wait for his tea to finish whatever it is it’s doing. Dex doesn’t know. Only bought the damn thing because Nate had tried to once, politely, choke down the awful coffee Dex preferred and Dex had felt bad, while laughing in his face.

Humming softly, he tucks his forehead against the back of Nate’s nack, just enjoying holding him like this in the muffled quiet that settles around them. He feels one of Nate’s hands curl around his where they’re clasped low on his stomach, and he tightens his hold just a little.

“You know, eventually I was planning on moving back to the bed…” Nate murmurs, though Dex notices he makes no motion to move away. Humming again, Dex presses a kiss to warm skin between his shoulder blades, enjoying the shiver he can feel thread down Nate’s spine in response, and the way his fingers tighten around his own. Can’t help but press another smile to the same space, just to hear that minute hitch of breath, before pressing himself fully against Nate’s back again to rest his chin on his shoulder.

“I’m sure. But your tea takes forever, and we’ve got nowhere else to be.”