Nico now snored softly in his ear, his breaths syncing with Mal’s until they moved as one. He fell asleep with his lipspressed to Nico’s hair and a newfound determination to finally prove to him that they belonged together.
Denial wasn’t just a river in Egypt.
Sometimes, denial was ignoring the fact that your best friend had given you the most intense night of your life. Sometimes, it was starting your day doing the walk of shame out of your own apartment and pretending the whole thing never happened.
Nico had never been so happy to have morning classes. He spent the entirety of his English Lit class staring intently at the back of a girl’s head, absorbing nothing from the lesson. Tiny pulses of heat shot through him each time he tried—and failed—to not think of Mal touching him, kissing him…taunting him in the best possible way. He tried not to think about how Mal had been quietly controlling his every move for months and how Nico had just…allowed it.
To his credit, Mal said nothing about Nico sneaking out, about him not eating breakfast with him, about how he’d made him cum so hard he’d seen God. He sent him the same silly cat memes and pictures of wide-eyed woodland creatures, captioning them ‘this is you.’ Nico usually replied withsomething equally cute and sickeningly adorable, but, today, he’d spent the day vacillating between the heart emoji—too lovey dovey—and the thumbs up emoji—too aggressive. He’d settled for a variety of rarely used emojis, like a lone shrimp and the sun.
Maybe he could confuse Mal into forgetting everything.
With a gun to his head, Nico couldn’t have told anyone a single important detail of his day or how he’d even made it home. It was as if he’d floated back to his apartment in a cloud of his own pornographic memories, his body acting accordingly, every nerve ending on high alert. By the time he fell through the door, he was so turned on he just wanted to get off before anyone got home.
Except, everyone was already home.
Fuck.
Nico almost swallowed his tongue when he saw Mal on the couch with Shiloh and Levi, the three of them pretending to watchBlack Butlerwhile they actually scrolled their phones. All five of the cats lined the back of the sofa, each of them blinking at him, unimpressed. Mal sprawled there, thighs parted, freshly showered in low-slung gray joggers and a cropped black hoodie that showed off an unfair amount of skin when he stood to greet Nico at the door like he did most days he was home.
Nico used to think his roommate was a golden retriever, but now, he suspected he was part hellhound. Mal was definitely—probably—doing this on purpose. Nico just knew it. This was some kind of psychological warfare tactic. Mal in sweatpants. Mal’s tummy exposed. Mal’s hair all wild and curly. Jesus. He’d even put on makeup.
Makeup on Mal was Nico’s kryptonite. It wasn’t even that much—just a smudge of shimmery charcoal shadow around his eyes and lip stain that made it look like he’d spent the whole day making out with someone.
Someone whowasn’tNico. His stomach churned at the thought.
Calm down. He wasn’t actually making out with someone else. And even if he was, how is that your business? You’re the one who wants to keep it casual.
The voice in his head was right. Except, he wasn’t. Mal was his. Only his. Just because he wanted Mal to think Nico had options didn’t mean he could mentally handle him thinking about anyone but Nico.
Mal smiled at him when they were a foot from each other. He was so fucking beautiful with his full lips and adorable bunny teeth. And also, clearly, some kind of diabolical genius hellbent on ruining Nico’s already fragile grasp on his sanity. He considered being normal, saying hello and dropping his backpack at the door as always.
But why be normal when he could suddenly remember the feel of Mal’s mouth on his skin and his hands skimming his body? Why be normal when he could vividly remember how he’d clung to him, begging him not to go even as far as the kitchen? He was so weak. So pathetic. If he wasn’t careful, he’d give everything to Malachi and have nothing left of himself.
He blinked himself from his thoughts to find three sets of eyes staring at him curiously. He turned towards the kitchen, but then did an about-face and escaped to the bedroom, hoping to grab some clothes and hide in the shower for the rest of his life.
Before Nico made it to the safety of their bedroom, Mal snagged him by the arm, dragging him back and locking him in a tight hug that ended with him kissing the top of his head.
Nico had no time to process this assault on his senses before Mal was letting him go and walking towards the kitchen himself. Shiloh and Levi gaped at him, clearly expecting an explanation. But Nico had none. He briefly contemplated screaming, “What?Sometimes, best friends kiss each other on the head!” but he imagined that would likely only lead to follow-up questions.
Instead, he slinked to his room, grabbing the first clean clothes he could find before locking himself in the bathroom. He leaned against the door, trying not to hyperventilate, his hand touching the spot where Mal kissed him. He spent a good five minutes just replaying the encounter on repeat before he made it to the shower.
The boiling water on his tight muscles was a much-needed distraction. He showered quickly, then jerked off slowly, trying not to imagine Mal draped over him, coaxing him through touching himself, Mal pushing him to his knees and feeding him his cock while Nico gazed up at him.
Nico bit down on his forearm as he came hard, muffling his cry as the evidence of his weakness washed down the drain.
He lingered in there for far too long, brushing his teeth, doing his skin care, even blow-drying his hair…which he never did unless Mal insisted. When he couldn’t hide anymore, he shoved his legs into black basketball shorts and one of Mal’s sleeveless hoodies from the dance studio. He brought it to his nose, inhaling deeply. How did it still smell like him?
While in the shower, Nico had come up with another escape plan. He’d head to the garage to see Jericho. He could hide there all night if he had to. He could sleep there if he had to. Even if Arsen and Ever wouldn’t let him crash on their sofa, Silas was right next door and there was a whole hostel full of empty beds…maybe. Either way, he’d have a place to sleep.
Until Mal drags you home.
Nico shivered at the thought. What would the others say if that happened?
In the end, it didn’t even matter. He never made it to the door.
As soon as he entered their bedroom, Mal held out his controller to him. “Come play. We’re just starting a new game.”
Nico froze, looking from Mal to the door, watching as it telescoped farther away with each passing moment like he was in some kind of horror movie. He hesitated too long, allowing Mal to snag his wrist and drag him into the space between his spread legs.
