Work Text:
“Is there any way I can convince you to join Marco and me for a double date?” Grant asks over the phone.
“That would require me to be dating, Grant. We both know I am not doing that currently.” Nick responds as they brush their hair. They miss the days when they would not have to have the phone on speaker in their and Lark’s shared bathroom so that they could get ready for the day.
“Oh come on. You and him aren’t dating yet? What is taking you so long to close the deal?” Grant asks.
“I care about him, and he isn't stupid enough for that” Nick replies as they look themself over trying to not focus on their amputated arm. Besides the now-healed wound, Nick had a rocking self-made body and a handsome face. So logically Nicky had enough rizz to pull whomever they wanted.
Grant sighs loudly, “You aren’t damaged, Nick”
“Well, my missing arm would say otherwise.” Nick laughs, finishing brushing their hair. They would ask Lark to help them braid it when he got back from the store.
“No. The missing arm does not make you damaged. It does not make you any less of a person. I'm guessing you've not been doing the daily affirmations. Have you at least been keeping up with going to therapy?” Grant interrogates them.
Nick hangs up the phone. They pick up the phone to send Grant a quick text.
Nick 1708: So is the date tonight?
Grant 1708: Yes Please I’m begging you
Nick 1709: Fine I’ll ask Lark. But im not telling him its a date.
Grant 1709: First round is on me!
Nick walks out of the bathroom fully intending to throw a shirt on before Lark gets home when he hears Lark struggling with the door. they open the door and step out of the way. Lark comes in with 4 plastic bags full of groceries for the two of them.
“Remind me never to go then again.” Lark huffs as he sets them down on the floor. He quickly snaps up and strips his hoodie. His white shirt gets dragged up and exposes his stomach. Nick disrespectfully stares at Lark.
“You said that last time,” Nick says shutting the door, and by the time they turn around Lark already has the fridge open and is putting things away.
“Well then why did you let me go?” Lark snips back.
“I was in the shower?” Nicky questions why it is their fault. “We are going out tonight. Grant wants us to accompany him,”
“I thought Sparrow and Rebecca were going,” Lark states.
Nicky sighs trying to remember what Grant had said. “Something about her Pregnancy not liking the place”
Lark scoffs as he finishes his task. “What time are we going?”
“Soon. Would you help me get ready?” Nicky asks gently, already embarrassed by it.
Lark nods “After I shower, yeah?”
Nick just nods in response and retreats back to their room. They Instantly rush over to their closet to pick out clothes. Nicky had always really been into clothes but after their amputation, Nick realized that if they wanted to stay fancy that they had to up their clothing game. While the amputation was a conversation starter, they still had to dress the part to be hot. The one thing he missed most was being able to properly fill out their leather jacket from their biological father. Their uncle/stepdad Jodie had offered to get it tailored to fit snuggly again. Nicky had refused. Their dad had passed it down to them. They plan on passing it down to their kids.
Nicky looks through their clothing, instantly flicking past all their polos and normal shirts to examine their button-downs. Nick used to have a bunch of them but they slowly got rid of them, at least the ones they had to button up. They pulled out a shiny red and a shiny blue one. Both Jodie and Glenn, his dad, had given him the same shirt style and all but different colors. Nicky had found it stupidly funny as did his Mom, but his two fathers were furious. Nicky still to this day paired them and his leather together. They looked smoking hot in it. The leather always accentuated their natural features. And they would be lying if they said they did not like the attention it got him, even from his friends. They had always caught Terry staring at them when they wore the leather pants, and always caught Grant when they wore both that and the jacket. Once they pull out the potential outfits and drape them across their bed like a girl in her teens would do when getting ready for a date, they go out to the living room to flop on the couch.
Nicky opens up tiktok and just starts doom scrolling waiting for Lark to get out of the shower. They are suddenly covered in a red-tinted fabric and they realize it was their shirt that they had picked out. Pulling the shirt off of them, they see Lark standing above them in his blue shirt holding a brush with a hair tie around his wrist. Lark has the shirt unbuttoned and Nicky is finding it hard not to stare
“You wanted me to do your hair, right? In a braid?” Lark mentions tapping his legs so he can sit next to him on the couch.
“Yeah. That's- That’s my shirt.” Nicky states.
“Indeed.” Lark turns to him, “You are gonna practice buttoning your shirt while I do your hair”
“You have my-your shirt unbuttoned why?”
“Im lazy. So are we doing this? Or am I gonna have to leave you to get ready on your own? And eventually, leave without you”
Nick gasps “You wouldn’t”
“You wanna test that?” Lark challenges.
Nicky just pouts tossing the shirt on before sliding off the couch. Lark settles in behind them, his strong muscular legs from his workouts pressing warmth into Nicky’s back. Nicky starts to fumble with the shirt as Lark’s fingers brush their hair around much more gently than needed. Lark has helped Nicky with this dozens of times and has not been this gentle since he started with it. As the first time Lark helped Nicky with their hair, he went between tugging on it (on purpose) to being as gentle as a fluffy cat’s fur (Not on purpose). Nicky adored everything Lark did gently especially since he had the tendency to throw himself (literally) at everything he does and it always ends in him or others getting bruises. Nicky takes a deep breath and tries to focus on buttoning their shirt up while Lark cards his fingers through their hair like they are precious. Buttoning was a hard skill to master with only one hand. Well, only one hand and a stump. They were working on their mobility and getting back to everyday life with the stump. It was considerably difficult for the new amputee. While they struggle with the shirt, Lark starts brushing and separating the hair into three different sections.
Lark had gotten considerably better at braiding Nick’s hair over the time he was allowed to play with it. He loved playing with Nicky’s hair. He wished that Nick would have played with his long hair when they were younger. Nicky had tried it once while trying to calm Lark down and it backfired on them. Yet the very next day Lark had been wanting his head to be touched by them. Lark took his time braiding Nick’s hair so his own sake. It was very soothing. Once Lark finished he rested his hands on Nicky’s shoulders.
“Do you want help with makeup tonight?” Lark asks as he gently squeezes their shoulders.
Nicky nods as they now are determined to finish buttoning up their shirt before Lark gets back. Nicky is really proud of themself to finish as Lark comes back with their eyeliner and the small eyeshadow pallet they owned. Lark settles himself onto the couch preparing the eyeliner pen as Nicky turns around and starts kneeling in front of him. They had found this to be the easiest way through trial and error. Nicky had been poked in the eyes too many times by this point for the duo to not have figured this out. Once Lark is done screwing with the pen, he gently takes Nicky’s face into his left hand to move them as needed. Lark is quick with the eyeliner, swiping it under their eyes and into a small point at the end. The point was not enough to be a wing but just sharp enough to be a point. Once Lark finishes with both eyes, He pears directly into Nicky’s examining them. Nicky can feel heat rising within themself. Why was Lark being extremely nice tonight?
“Beautiful,” Lark whispers, before letting Nicky’s face go, so he can grab the eyeshadow. “I am just gonna use the shimmer tonight,” Lark states as if he had not just told Nicky a deep secret. It was not a secret but the way Lark whispered it while looking into their soul and gently holding their face made it feel like so.
“Yeah- Okay,” Nicky breathes out still shocked. Lark is very quick with brushing the eyeshadow on. They both know it is just meant to highlight Nicky’s beautiful eyes.
Once Lark finishes with Nicky’s makeup, he makes no move to get up, clearly expecting Nicky to move first. “If you are gonna stay there, at least make yourself useful” Lark laughs, understanding how it sounds, “Button up my shirt or let me get up.”
Despite Nicky’s face blushing, they adjust their weight to get a better angle to button up the man’s shirt. Lark looks a bit surprised but leans forward so the shirt is actually hanging off his body. Nicky fumbles with all the buttons, taking a full minute with the first one, before getting slightly faster each time. They swore the stump was going to be the death of them. The blushing did not fade as Nicky realized he was directly in front of Lark’s abs and they got to watch them disappear behind their blue shirt. And that was an entirely another thing for them to unpack. Lark in their clothing was going to actually kill them. If this was foreplay Nicky would be so into it would be driving them insane. Them on their knees worshiping Lark. Nicky quickly shakes their head trying to clear their thoughts. In all their embarrassment they do not notice Lark gazing upon them with reverence.
“Thank you Hellcat” Lark speaks when Nicky finishes with the shirt, “Now you need to go finish getting ready, so we can leave.” Lark laughs as Nicky scampers away.
The walk to the Bar/restaurant was as quick as their causal walks normally were. They lived with each other and Lark was always quiet so it often lead to them in comfortable silence. Nicky had needed some time to adjust which originally lead to them trying to fill the silence, but now after a year of living together and Lark being there for Nicky’s recovery, it made sense to not do a whole lot of speaking. The recovery had left Nicky conked out for a while but somehow they always managed to wake up to Lark softly humming or even singing in the other room. That always made them smile and always managed to embarrass Lark when he eventually came to check on Nicky. That's how Nicky knew Lark cared since during the days of their recovery Lark came in every 30 minutes. These thoughts always managed to make Nicky smile.
Once the pair got to the Bar, Nicky could see Lark’s tension in his shoulders, “Songbird. It’ll be okay. It's just You, me, Marco, and Grant”
“And all the other people in the Bar” Lark replies.
Nicky grabs Lark’s hand instead of replying to him. He squeezes it gently to soothe himself. “Breath Lark. We’ve been here a million times. We get food from here almost every night. We come here every Friday with the guys for drinks. If anyone should be afraid it should be the staff, we all know how a drunk Grant is” Nicky claims, making sure to rub their thumb over the back of his hand.
Lark deciding to focus on the Grant portion groans, “He better not get fucking drunk tonight. He’s a menace. I’m not dealing with it” And with that Lark, lets go of their hand to enter the Bar.
Waiting for them at the group's normal table is the expected Grant and Marco, the unexpected is their typical orders waiting for them. “Hey! If it's not the long-awaited Nick and Lark.”
Nicky scoffs, scooting towards the inside of the circular booth, as Lark refuses to sit anywhere but the outside. “Shut up we aren’t that Late”
“Yeah, only ten minutes this time,” Lark agrees, checking his watch.
“I honestly was starting to think no one was joining us” Marco speaks up.
“And you ordered our food anyway?” Nicky asks.
“I thought it was dumb but Grant insisted that it would be easier,” Marco answers.
“I’m sorry I was starving and they get the same thing every. Single. Time.” Grant apologizes.
“You’d have been stuck with the bill if we hadn’t come,” Lark states.
Grant sighs, “I was paying for dinner tonight anyway”
“No, you aren’t!” Nick gasps. Grant just nods and Marco laughs putting his head into his hands. “No seriously. You aren’t. Lark let me up so I can go to the bar!” Nicky pushes against Lark to make the man move faster. Lark lets him up.
Once Lark is reseated the couple starts to drill him, “Are you and Nicky dating yet?”
“I mean obviously they must be! Who asked who out?” Marco gushes, putting his chin onto his hands.
“How long have you been dating?”
“Is this your guys; first date?”
Lark sits there eyes wide as the couple fires questions at him. It is not until Nicky is back that Lark realizes he was not breathing. The first thing Nicky does after setting down re-fills for the couple; is place their hand on Lsrk’s shoulder. “Hey. Songbird. Everything alright?”
Lark takes a deep breath before standing up to allow Nicky back into the booth. He takes a spilt second while Nicky brushes past him to whisper in their ear, “I missed you. Don’t leave me alone with them again please.”
Nicky shoots him a worried glance as he settles back into his seat before launching into berating Grant, “You Prepaid for everything, Grant? Really? What did you also leave them a tip?” The couple dissolves into laughter once again.
“No. Marco did” Grant barely gets out during his laughter. Nicky audibly sighs and Dramatically throws themself against the booth.
After everyone finishes dinner they decide to take a break so Lark can go smoke. Lark is slightly displeased when Nicky does not join him but instead joins Marco in the quest for the bathroom. Leaving Grant to fetch refills for everyone’s drinks, as Marco teasingly said like a “good little boyfriend.” Lark had picked up smoking a while ago as a way to relieve stress, but with the incoming child in the family, he was trying to quit, which lead him to smoke Herbals. But after Grant and Marco interrogate him about his nonexistent romance with his roommate and best friend, he could really use a cigarette. So stepping outside he instantly hit up a group of smokers, to bum a cigarette and a light. Once it's lit he is obligated to stand there with the group. The group is chatting amongst themselves when the one who offered him slides up next to him.
“How much do you know about this bar, Sexy?” Lark was leaning up against the wall and now this person had propped themself against the wall trapping him in.
“That you wouldn’t like it” Lark mutters back willing the tobacco into his system faster.
“I think I’d like anywhere you frequent.” Lark has to bite back the vile that trying to crawl its way out of his throat. Lark flicks his gaze to the door. He knows that is his way out. A way to safety.
“Well, it's a good thing I’m not from town then” Lark grits through his teeth. He takes a long drag and blows it directly into the persons face, trying to discourage them from standing this close. Usually, this works but tonight it does not; This is the reason Lark hates going out in public. He would be a shut-in if the people he cared about wouldn’t be so uptight about it.
“Let me get your number then hot stuff” Fucking Christ this guy won't leave him alone. Lark lets out a little growl and starts to straighten up when he hears Nicky.
“Songbird” They sound angry. The person looks over at Nicky instantly backing off. “What do you think you are doing?”
“Sorry man. I didn’t realize he was here with anyone.” The person weakly explains, finally letting Lark breathe as the offender shrinks away.
“Did you even ask?” Nicky snips back as they reach out grasping Lark’s wrist, effectively pulling him away.
Nicky walks them back towards the door and they both pause so Lark can finish his smoke. Nicky refuses to let go of Lark’s wrist and He doesn’t complain. “Don’t leave me alone again,” Lark says. Nicky makes a small noise of confusion. Looking over at Lark, Nicky cannot read his expression. “I’ll do anything if you don’t leave alone, Even with Grant”
“What did Grant do?” Nicky asks and when he does not receive an answer, he tries a different tact. “You’ll do anything huh? Kiss me?” Nicky gets to watch as Lark’s eyes go wide, clearly not expecting that. Nicky and him have not teased each other like that since their amputation. They missed it.
“No, Not that,” Lark mumbles blushing as he puts out the cigarette. “Is this a fucking double date? Marco was asking me about you.”
“Cuz we live together?” Nick questions, “Nah man, we are just third and fourth wheeling tonight” Trying to brush off the sting of how offended Lark sounded at the idea of a double date.
“Good. I’m planning to go in there and down a few shots.” Lark states and drags Nicky inside since they still had a grip on Lark.
A few shots turned into a few drinks, and soon enough it was 10 pm. The Duo stumbled home and were playing truth or Dare to keep Lark’s dumb attention span. As Nicky unlocked the door to their apartment they ask “Truth or Dare?” Expecting to be the last time.
“Truth” Lark replies kicking off his boots, much to the horror of Nicky who had kept the home in a semi-clean state.
“How much sleep have you had this week?” Nicky asks truly out of curiosity. They knew Lark had been struggling with sleep for a very long time and it had only gotten worse with Nicky relying on him recently.
“Dare.”
“What? You don’t get to change your answer!” Nicky shrugs off their jacket and straightens their shoes on the mat by the door.
“Dare.” Lark repeats heading towards the living room.
“Fine. I dare you to sleep” Nicky exclaims walking into their bedroom to hang up their leather jacket.
“I don’t like this game” Lark responds from the doorway of Nicky’s room. “What can I do to get out of this dare, Hellcat?”
Nicky knows that it's meant to be a joke but to a tipsy Nicky, this sounds like a proposition. They are trying their hardest to not ask Lark to get on his knees for him. “You can’t, You are going to sleep” Nick states as he starts to undress for bed.
“Can I at least sleep with you?” Lark asks.
“You know hear what you just said right? How gay you sound?” Nicky replies.
Nicky feels Lark put his bare chest against Nicky’s back. Lark must have dropped the shirt in the living room. “Maybe that's the point,” Lark says as his arms curl around Nicky to hug them. Nicky places his hand on one of Lark’s arms prepared to push it away when Lark kisses the shell of his ear. Nicky is frozen. “We should date. I like you, and everyone thinks you like me” Lark whispers.
Nicky gets no time to say anything as Lark pulls away faster than he had invaded their space. Nicky hears their bed creak as Lark lays on it. “Am I hearing you correctly? Are you Lark Oak asking me Nicky Freeman to be your boyfriend?”
“Boyfriend. Girlfriend. Partner. Whichever term you want Nicky.” Lark is looking up at Nicky hopeful. Nicky is sure that he is returning the gaze.
“Please” Nicky whispers.
“Good. Let's go to bed then.” Lark says as he buries himself in Nicky’s blankets. Nicky hops in the bed to cuddle up with Lark. “Tonight does not count as our first date. You owe me a good first date.” The duo giggles at Lark’s statement.