#starrynvghts

The first time Rafael sees Nick in uniform is at Nick’s graduation from the police academy. He doesn’t see him until Nick walks in with the rest of the graduates and he’s grateful that the music is so loud because he definitely gasps for breath. He’s grateful that Cesaria is looking right at her boy so she doesn’t see that Rafael is freaking out. 

Rafael whistles when Nick walks up on the stage. Nick finds him in the crowd and winks at him. 

“I’m so proud of you.” Rafael says later, perched on the edge of Nick’s bed. “For all that you’ve accomplished. For everything that you’re going to accomplish.”

Nick smiles at him as he steps out of his shoes. He’s just about to take off the white gloves when Rafael raises his hands. His eyebrows furrow a little. “What?” He asks, confused. 

“Wait. Come here.” Rafael reaches out for him then puts his hands on Nick’s hips when he steps in front of him. “I want to show you just how proud I am.”

Nick lets out a deep breath. “Rafi, are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?” A smirk is threatening to pull up the corner of his lip; the smug one, when he knows that he’s figured something out or has gotten something right. 

“Probably. You were always good at reading me.” Rafael replies easily. He tugs Nick forward while scooting back on the bed. It’s difficult to do both at the same time, but Nick helps out by leaning down and hovering over Rafael. 

“Is that the only thing I’m good at when it comes to you?” Nick drawls. 

Rafael shudders but he isn’t going to let Nick take control. He raises his hands to rest them on Nick’s biceps then he quickly flips them over. He wraps his right hand around Nick’s forearm and presses it down on the bed. He doesn’t miss how Nick opens his legs for him. 

When Rafael hears the front door to his apartment open, his entire body freezes. He tries to remember if he’d locked it; he’d gotten into the habit once the death threats had started that he’d started doing it subconsciously. Once he gets home, he shuts the door, locks it, and locks the deadbolt. He keeps the curtains on his windows shut even if his apartment is towards the top of the building. Now, lying in his bed and frozen in fear, he can’t remember if he had locked it when he’d gotten home earlier. 

He’d been exhausted, drained from the case, and he’d wanted nothing more than to climb into bed and sleep until the next morning. He tries to go over what he had done after walking into his apartment except everything is foggy. Instead, he decides to try and figure out where the intruder is, if there’s more than one, what weapons they could have. He knows that they’re coming for him and he looks towards his window. He knows he’d have to jump to his death before the intruder shot him or stabbed him or hit him on the head with a baseball bat in just the right spot to kill him. 

He can hear the intruder’s footsteps getting closer to the door of his bedroom. He grips onto his phone, wonders if he has time to call 911, wonders if he has the courage to yell that he has called 911 and the police are on their way. 

The door opens before he is able to decide. 

Rafael holds his breath, squeezes his eyes shut, and prepares himself to fight. It won’t be much. He’ll just need to deter the intruder somehow then run away as fast as he can. He can do it. 

It sickens him that he can hear the intruder breathing. He can almost feel their breath on the side of his face. He lets go of his phone, hoping that the darkness in his room will cover the action.

When he feels a hand on his shoulder, Rafael whirls around, propping himself onto his knees, and he punches the person in the chest. 

The person grunts. Then, “Rafael.” 

Rafael knows that voice. He loves hearing that voice. It takes a few seconds for his brain to catch up, to recognize that this person is nowhere near an intruder and someone who would never, ever hurt him. “Nick? Nick, Nick, Nick, Nick.” Rafael says, Nick’s name coming out in a rush as Rafael comes down from the adrenaline. 

Even in the dark, he’s able to find Nick and pull him into a hug. His heart is still racing though he ignores it. “Nick.” Rafael says again, hiding his face in Nick’s hair. He feels Nick’s arms wrap around him, his hands pressed against Rafael’s back. “Nick. I thought...” 

“Shhh, I know. I’m sorry, Raf. I should’ve waited until morning to see you but I couldn’t wait. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s not that hard these days.” Rafael says quietly. He keeps his face pressed into Nick’s hair. He doesn’t comment on how it’s a little longer, how Nick has a stubble now. “If there’s anything you’re known for, it’s not being subtle.”

Nick laughs gently at that and Rafael can feel his body shake with it and he doesn’t realize how much he’s missed that. He feels Nick lift his head up so he can kiss down Rafael’s cheek. When he gets close to Rafael’s lips, Rafael lifts his head up too and smiles into the kiss. He wants to say how much he’s missed Nick though he figures that Nick knows and can tell by how close Rafael is holding onto him. He thinks that the kiss helps him calm down, no matter how cliche that may sound even in his own head. 

Finally, he has to pull away but he doesn’t let go of Nick. He pulls him toward the bed, walking back on his knees. Nick follows easily, his body sinking to the left then the right a little as he takes off his shoes. He climbs easily into the bed - Rafael is relieved to see that he doesn’t wince when he lifts his weaker leg even if it’s been almost two years since he got shot - without taking his eyes off Rafael. 

They lie down at the same time. Rafael immediately wraps his arms around Nick again and rests his head against Nick’s chest. He feels Nick slowly run his fingers up and down his arm, and he sighs contently. He decides not to ask Nick how long he’s going to stay. He wants to focus on the fact that Nick is here and, for the first time in a long time, he feels completely safe. He feels safer than when he had the security detail. He knows that Nick will always protect him even when he feels like he doesn’t need it. 

Nick rests his lips on top of Rafael’s hair. “Good night, corazón. I love you.” 

I’m no expert but maybe the shift had to do with the recent trend of like including the actors in fandom? Like showing them art and fic n shit. And I’ve never been in the spn fandom but part of me is like … this is their fault. Like they got way too in to it and had these grand conspiracies and took it way to seriously

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I just want everyone to know “Yeah!” by Usher...

i just listened to this for like the first time since a middle school dance and like…. what did lil jon contribute he just said yeah a few times

Oh my dear boy. A very heavy cultural meme circa 2005-2007, made very popular by Chapelle skits featuring him as Lil Jon and all he does is say “Yea” “Okay” and “What?” in response to people. They are some of my fave skits ever. 

But in more seriousness Lil Jon produced/co-wrote the song and was a very significant producer and songwriter circa 2005 and helped the genre crunk&b (a merge of crunk and r&b) become popular. 

But yea vocally he wasn’t doing much in the song, therefore jokes!