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It all started with a silly little conversation, he didn't even remember when exactly.
“Man, I could barely understand that poor journalist.” Lewis said with a little smile as he and Charles walked back to their driver’s room.
“Hey! You don't know how hard it is to speak in a foreign language.” he slapped his arm playfully “Some people really like accents. Max always says he likes to listen to me speaking so he can hear it.” Charles smiled widely, like a lovesick puppy.
“I do love accents.” Lewis tried to defend himself, his hands up in the air.
“I bet you do. After all, Nico is also not a native English speaker, and he knows a bunch of languages.” he winked at Lewis.
And this is where everything started. Lewis never really paid too much attention to Nico’s accent. He noticed it a lot when they first became friends, back when it was much thicker, but Nico still has it to this day, and Lewis kind of scolded himself for not paying more attention to it.
Because since he started to listen to it, it became one of his favorite things in the world.
Lewis was doing the dishes after dinner. It was an unspoken rule that whoever didn't do the dinner had to do the dishes after, and that day Lewis was the lucky one. His back was to Nico, who was reading an article aloud about some research on engines.
Lewis listened to what he said, at first, but after a while he only focused on his tone, on the way he pronounced the words, the way he said the letters. A warm feeling ran through his body, his mind switched to auto-pilot as he washes the plates and cutlery. For a moment he even closed his eyes, a loving smile on his face.
He loved this man with all his heart, as far as if he ever had to choose between keeping all his titles or keeping Nico, he wouldn't hesitate for a minute.
He was too deep in his head, that he let out a soft sigh as he closed the water.
“Am I boring you?” Nico asked, a little skeptical.
Lewis immediately turned to him.
“No, never.” he said “I just…”
Nico's brow furrows slightly and he put the phone on the table.
"Just what?" he asked, and Lewis could easily notice the hint of insecurity in his voice. He knew that tone. It was always the same when Nico thought that Lewis was no longer paying attention to him.
Lewis quickly put the last plate down and stepped closer to Nico. His heart ached a little from hearing the insecurity in his voice. He hated when Nico thought he was disinterested in him.
He cupped his cheeks and looked him in the eye.
"You can never bore me, babe. Ever." he said sincerely.
“Good.” Nico smiled as he put his index finger under Lewis's chin “But if you don’t pay attention to me ever again when I’m talking to you I’ll switch to a language you don't understand, which is basically everything other than English.” he teased.
Lewis loved this man more than his own life.
-°-
Lewis really fucked up, because after a couple of days of directly paying attention to his voice and not what he said, his brain switched to this in the default state. It didn't help when the other day he heard Nico talk to his family on the phone, his tongue forming the German words with lightness. Lewis couldn't help but focus on his voice as he listened to him. He could already feel the effect of it, the tingles all over his body, the heat in his lower stomach.
He didn't understand himself. Did he develop some accent kink? Or was it Nico kink in general? It wasn't even sexual most of the time, only an innocent, new way to appreciate his partner. It never happened during all those years they spent together, why now? Was this some mid-life crisis?
Stupid brain for not doing what he wants, stupid Charles to point out the whole accent thing, stupid Nico for being non-native English speaker, and so smart, and perfect, and the most amazing man on earth.
But as everything, with time this came out of the dark.
“Okay, what’s wrong with you lately?” Nico asked one afternoon. He just finished an online interview, and when he left his work room he found Lewis on the couch, staring at the door, a glass of wine in his hand.
“What do you mean?” Lewis sat the glass on the coffee table, a nervous smile on his face.
Nico noticed immediately how awkward he was being, the fake smile, avoiding eye contact. Lewis was hiding something, no doubt.
Nico crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow, his eyes not leaving Lewis' figure.
"You've been weird lately." Nico bluntly said, his tone serious. "You keep spacing out when I say something, you have this faraway look on your face. What's going on?”
“Nothing, just…”
“If you got bored of me you can tell me. I will survive.” he folded his arms around himself, his eyes looking everywhere “But don’t play with me, please.”
Nico's words stung Lewis right in the heart. The way he looked, how he wrapped his arms protectively around himself as if bracing for impact, expecting to hear the worst.
"No, no, baby." he immediately stood up, walking closer to Nico. "Please don't ever think I have gotten bored of you. That never, ever happened, and will never happen. You're too important for me, Nico. You're everything to me. I just...kind of have a thing for your voice, especially for your accent lately." he admitted it, a bit of shame deep in his stomach. It was so embarrassing, but rather this feeling than letting Nico think he's the problem.
Nico was taken aback, obviously not expecting this. He was expecting so many different answers, but this was definitely not one of them.
"Wait, what?" He frowned in confusion. "You…have a thing for my voice?"
Lewis let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah…kind of. Not only for your voice, but for the way you speak different languages, your accent, everything. I don't know why, but lately I've been really paying attention to it.”
Nico looked stunned.
“I like your accent. It’s cute.”
“Really? You think my accent is cute? What is this? Highschool? ‘Oh, your accent is so cute, what is it? German? You could tutor me.’” Nico played the scene out with a high voice.
Lewis rolled his eyes, a big smile on his face.
“I would’ve never used such a bad pick up line.”
"No, you'd probably come up with something even worse." Nico teased him, a small smirk on his face.
Lewis scoffed, acting offended, but the grin on his face gave him away.
"Please, you know my pick up lines are legendary."
"Legendary for being cheesy, maybe." Nico rolled his eyes playfully "But back to the original topic. What's up with this…thing?”
Lewis shrugged, a bit embarrassed now that Nico was pushing the subject. He felt silly, like a teenager with a crush.
"I don't know, it just happened, you know? One minute I'm minding my business, and the next I'm hyper fixated on the way you say things. The way you roll your 'r's, the way you pronounce certain syllables, the way you switch to German when you're frustrated. It drives me crazy.”
Nico winked at him.
"Could you please tell me more about this? It kinda interests me." he said, directly amplifying his accent.
Lewis' mind instantly went blank, his throat dry, his body tense. Damn it, it was even sexier when he did it on purpose.
He cleared his throat, trying to compose himself, failing miserably.
"You're just doing this to tease me now." he said, his voice thick with desire already.
"Vielleicht könnten wir das im Schlafzimmer fortsetzen.“ Nico smiled at him playfully. (“Maybe we could continue this in the bedroom.”)
Without another word, he grabbed Nico's wrist and practically dragged him towards their room.
-°-
After the first time, Nico decided that this new thing was not so bad, and he planned out a little play. He took a long shower, washed and styled his hair, and put on that form-fitting black shirt he knew Lewis loved on him. He laid on their bed, and waited for his partner to arrive.
When Lewis stepped into their home he was a bit tired from the training, but he couldn't wait to spend the rest of the day with Nico.
“Nico, baby, where are you?” he asked as he walked through the living room, and into their bedroom “Ni…co?” he stopped when he saw the man on the bed.
“Oh, schön, dass du da bist. Kannst du mir helfen?“ Nico sat up on the bed. ("Oh, nice to have you here. Can you help me?”)
“Sorry, what did you say?” Lewis looked surprised, although he loved everything Nico said.
“Ich sagte, ich brauche deine Hilfe.” Nico repeated it with an innocent smile. (“I said I need your help.”)
“Nico, baby, you know I don't understand German.” Lewis said.
Nico couldn't stop the smirk on his face as he stood up from the bed and slowly walked towards Lewis, not breaking eye contact.
"Questo mi fa apprezzarlo ancora di più." he circled his arms around Lewis' neck. "Allora, mi aiuterai, tesoro?" he asked, his voice dripping with innocence he absolutely did not possess. ("This makes me appreciate it even more.” "So, will you help me, darling?”)
Lewis felt his heartrate quicken as Nico's arms went around his neck, and his mind was already swimming with dirty thoughts. He placed his hands on Nico's hips, keeping him flush against his body.
"Damn it, you really know how to mess with me."
With one easy move Nico was on the bed again, Lewis over him.
-°-
“So, this will be regular from now on?” Lewis asked with a big grin, his hands caressing his partner 's soft skin.
“Definitely.”
Nico chuckled, enjoying the feeling of Lewis' hands on his skin.
"You seem pretty excited about it." he said, a sly glint in his eyes.
Lewis smirked, his hands moving lower down Nico's body, teasing the skin just above his stomach. He looked at Nico, and he felt his heart swelling with love for him. This man was the most gorgeous, most amazing, most loving person on the earth for him, and Nico was only his.
"You have no idea just how excited I am about it." he murmured, before leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to Nico's neck.
“Good.” Nico smiled “Cause I really feel the urge to learn another language.”
Lewis was sure this man will be the death of him one day.