Nico snuggled closer to Mal. “I’m gonna stay here and try to get him to nap until the food gets here. Just order me my usual. You guys know what I eat.”
Shiloh watched his brother for another few moments, then nodded. “Yeah, sure. I’ll get his, too.”
“Bye bye,” Mal said, giving another goofy wave.
Nico buried his face in Mal’s chest to hide his laughter as Levi said, “What the fuck did they give him?” He shook his head. “And does Freckles have extra?”
Mal came awake slowly, the reassuring puff of Nico’s breath and drool on his chest. He started to smile, wincing at the pull of a cut on his lip. He forced his anvil-heavy eyelids open, looking down at the top of Nico’s head. The room was drenched in soft light, a small lamp in the far corner helping to offset the darkness of the heavy drapes, while not keeping them from sleeping. They weren’t in their bed. They were in Freckles’ spare room.
Right. He’d gotten jumped. There was a dull thud of his heartbeat behind his eyes, but his skull no longer felt like a cracked egg. His body ached, like he’d gone too hard at the gym. His eyelid was swollen, partially obscuring his vision. It hurt when he poked at it. All in all, it could have been much worse.
He shifted slightly to reach the water bottle, trying—and failing—not to disturb Nico, who was sleeping hard, clinging to him like a koala. He managed to grab the plastic bottle, taking a swig and swishing the water in his mouth before downing half in one go. The movement had Nico coming awake with a sharpinhalation, his head jerking up to look at Mal even as he tried to surreptitiously wipe the drool from his chin.
Mal smiled at him, taking in his tangle of curls and his sleep-swollen face. He loved sleepy Nico, especially when his eyes were narrowed and his cute little mouth formed a pout. “Hey, pretty.”
Nico snorted, getting so close their noses almost touched. “Are you still high?” he asked, his tone accusatory, like Mal frequently engaged in such activities. Which, to be fair, he sometimes did, but Nico was always right there beside him, partaking as well.
“High?” Mal repeated, trying to imagine why Nico might think he was high.
Nico searched his face, amusement leaching into his voice. “Yeah, you were high as balls when I got here.”
He vaguely remembered Freckles giving him some medicine to dull the pain and help him sleep, then tucking him in and letting him know they’d called Nico. Then…nothing.
“What did I say?” he asked, curiosity getting the better of him. “Did I say something weird? Well, weirder than normal?”
Stoned Mal was a much chattier and far more philosophical Mal. But Mal on weed versus Mal on pain meds were two wildly different people. He wasn’t overly concerned about their friends’ opinions on whatever he may have said or done, but he would rather not embarrass himself in front of his pseudo in-laws.
Their friends had all seen each other shit-faced and messy before. Seven had gotten so drunk the first weekend after his internship started that he’d fallen asleep on the garage couch, clutching Ever’s sneakers like a treasured heirloom for no discernible reason.
Silas and the others had done Molly for Lake’s birthday and had headed to an underground rave. The police raided the place and, instead of running, Silas tried to steal the K-9 cop’s newpuppy in training because he was ‘really soft.’ Jericho was not happy about that.
They got several lectures, one about drugs, one about raves, and one about why it wasn’t necessary to pet every dog they see. There were several protests regarding that, and Noah, Ever, and Shiloh had threatened a coup if Jericho invoked a no-puppy-petting rule. Jericho had quickly lost to Ever and Shiloh’s signature doe-eye with full pout routine. Nico had consoled him by saying they’d all been bested by it and that it was like trying to fight the Care Bear stare.
“I’m sure it’s in the group chat,” Nico teased.
Wasn’t everything?
“I didn’t start telling everyone about our sex life like my brother’s bestie, did I?”
The first time Mal experienced drunken Ever, the boy had sat him down and calmly started to tell him some of the filthiest things he’d experienced at the hands of his fiancé. Mal had never seen the Russian boy move so quickly to slap his palm over Ever’s adorable little face. The little gremlin had the audacity to look confused and even hurt that Mal didn’t want to hear about him getting railed in a Burger King bathroom. Nico had also been disappointed that the story was over too soon.
Ever and Shiloh often went out with Noah, Felix, and Zane, only to come back wasted and horny, saying the most out-of-pocket things. Things that usually had Arsen and Levi scrambling to get them home quickly before they were arrested for public indecency.
“No,” Nico said with a slight smile. “You squeezed my ass and said it had healing properties.”
“I stand by that,” Mal said, hand sliding down Nico’s back to his ass, giving it another squeeze.
“You compared it to Jell-O and then said you hated Jell-O.”
Mal winced. “Oof. Sorry, Fidget.”
“That’s okay. You made up for it by telling me I was pretty and your soulmate and your literal other half. Then you showed me your belly button and asked to see mine.”
Mal closed his eyes and sighed. “Did anyone else hear this?”
They were all a weirdly co-dependent group who used societal norms and boundaries like a jump rope.
“Your brother and Levi were here for a few minutes but nobody else. Just me.”
