#winter shit

Joe shuts the door behind him with a careful shove and tenses as he waits to make sure the dog isn't going to wake up and bark.

It's just like Nicky to adopt the local mutt while no one is around to remind him that dogs make people more memorable to passing strangers, and therefore more at risk of exposure. 

Not to mention the fact that this particular dog is a loud and unschooled creature, with a voice like a foghorn and the brain of a squirrel. Joe has more than once had to give it scraps from a grocery trip to stop it from alerting the whole area of the hillside that this house is occupied again.

Joe stands for a moment, watching with reluctant fondness as the dog kicks a little in its sleep and Nicky makes a face at the feeling without waking up. 

It's been five long days tracking down the lead in this area and making his way back in the unreliable weather. But here and now he has a whole additonal barrier to rest, and he cant summon the energy to be upset about it.

Considering the scene for a moment, he decides the best course of action is food, and sneaks his way into the kitchenette to pour some into a bowl. He starts the moka pot first, so that when the leftover meat hits the dish and the mutt has lept off the sofa with a howl - waking a shouting Nicky and making Joe laugh with only a small amount of guilt - there is a cup of coffee waiting in Joes hands.

Nicky takes it from him and puts it on the counter in a great show of restraint, smiling without a hint of remorse as Joe holds him back from his kiss and asks, "The dog Nicolo? Really?"

"Gabriel is a blessing and we are lucky to have him."

Joe shakes his head at the seriousness with which Nicky answered, and allows himself to be kissed at last before he asks his next question. "Is he named after his ability to call hordes from all corners?"

"Clearly-" Nicky keeps an arm wrapped tightly around joes waist as he finally reaches for the cup of coffee, "-it is a reference to the companion I had the first winter you had to leave me."

Joes eyebrows lift without his permission and he finds himself speechless in the face of the memory. 1343 if hes remembering correctly.

Its a good memory, even if most of his own remembrance was the extensive description Nicky gave him during their lovemaking the following week.

With a glimmer in his eyes, Nicky drains the cup and puts it back on the counter.

"Would you like to hear about the things I did these last five days without Gabriel?"

"I would," Joe says, allowing himself to be led towards the door of the bedroom, "As long as we won't be sharing the bed with Gabriel now that I've returned."

The moment that Nicky hesitates is so very brief and so very subtle that Joe can only spot it because he has had so very long to learn how.

Before he can say anything, Nicky shuts the bedroom door and pushes Joe against it. 

"We're not sharing it right now."

And Joe has to laugh into their next kiss, fully aware that his sleep cycle will be cut short by a large invasive dog for as long as they're in this cabin.

Joe isnt even going to complain about it more than once.