Mal blinked at him in the dull blue light of the computer screensaver, made even duller by the sheets over their heads. Mal hadn’t been expecting Nico’s question, but there was no missing the anxiety in his voice. “What?”
“Like…has your opinion of me changed?” Nico asked. “Because we had sex, I mean?”
Mal couldn’t fathom what that had to do with his opinion of Nico. But he could see it was truly weighing on his mind. “I mean, you’re a little bit of a pillow princess,” Mal joked.
Nico pinched his side hard enough to make him flinch, shocking a barked laugh from Mal. “Hey, you were the one who wouldn’t let me do anything,” he pouted.
Mal reached out, cupping Nico’s face, staring at his pretty blue eyes. “You know I’m kidding. I like being in control, especially of you.”
Nico snorted, rolling his eyes. “You don’t say.”
This time, it was Mal who dug his fingers into Nico’s ribs until the younger boy slapped at his hands, breathless. They fell silent for a while before Nico was biting his lip, like he was trying to keep himself from asking any more questions.
“Just say it, Fidget. Whatever’s on your mind. You know I won’t get mad.”
Nico studied his face for a long moment, chewing his lower lip. Finally, he mumbled, “I might get clingy.”
Mal tweaked his nose. “Clingier than you already are?”
Nico’s face collapsed, his voice cutely whiny. “I’m being serious.”
Mal gave him a patient look. “Okay. So, you’ll get clingier.”
Nico was watching him so intently. “Would that annoy you?”
It was so clear that Nico’s wheels were turning. He’d taken this huge leap out of his comfort zone with Mal, and now, he was waiting for some catastrophic fallout. He was waiting for Mal to transform into a whole different person because he crossed this imaginary line Nico had drawn. He didn’t know how to make Nico understand that nothing was different.
“No,” Mal said simply.
Nico huffed, glowering at him. “You’re not taking me seriously.”
Mal’s expression softened. “Because what you’re saying doesn’t make sense, baby.”
“It does. You think it doesn’t, but I can be really bad. My ADHD makes me hyperfixate. I’m gonna end up calling and texting you a hundred times a day.”
Mal threaded their fingers together. “Should I pull up our chat history? We text each other all day, every day, hundreds of times a day. When we aren’t working, we’re together. I spend all my free timewithyou. Why would that change?”
“Friends versus boyfriends is different,” Nico insisted.
“Why?”
Nico sucked his teeth. “I don’t know. It just is.”
Mal squeezed his hand. “Well, at least tell me how it’s different so I know how to…adjust accordingly. I’ve never been someone’s boyfriend. Should I…Google it?”
Nico made a frustrated sound. “There are lots of things,” he groaned.
“Like…” Mal persisted.
Nico flailed. “Boyfriends make each other a priority.”
Mal gave him a confused look. “We already do that. Who’s more important to you than me?”
“Nobody,” Nico said.
Mal gave him a patient look. “Nobody is more important to me than you either. So, done. What else?”
“They go on dates,” Nico said.
