Markus blinked a few times, tilting his head as he studied Nikolas, like trying to see if he was lying. "If tha's a real offer, then I'd love t' tag along with ya. You're kinda my ride anyway, so I guess that saves gas'n'time." He added, shrugging a shoulder before giving Nikolas that soft and bright smile.
My Other Half // PRIVATE with Crocs
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Nikolas huffed a breathy laugh. "Yes, it's a real offer," he said with a smile, then held up a finger as he walked backwards towards the staircase. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." He offered a bright grin, then darted up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He dug through the trunk of clothes until he found his leather jacket, black tight-fitting long sleeved shirt, black skinny-ish jeans, and combat boots. He changed into the ensemble, then ran his fingers through his hair, combing it. He spotted his thought-to-be-missing leather braided bracelets and put them on, then smirked and went downstairs to Markus.
"Where exactly am I s'posed t' go?" Markus called up the stairs after him, shaking his head and biting his lip to hold back a laugh. With the couple minutes of time he'd been given to waste, he continued his looking around, much less somber than before.
Nikolas' footsteps reached him before the boy himself did, and he turned around, mouth open to say something, before pausing. Fuck. He always looked good, Markus knew that, but somehow, it seemed a little bit different know. Maybe because he was allowed to look.
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"I feel like a girl, needing to dress up for a special occasion," Nikolas grumbled as he made his ways downstairs, not yet aware of Markus' inner struggle. He then looked up and saw the boy's open mouth and smirked, stalking over to him. "What?" he purred, stopping a foot away from the boy and crossing his arms over his chest.
"Er-uh, nothin'. Nothin'." Markus stammered out, shaking his head just a bit too quickly as he looked away. His cheeks were red, making his lie even more obvious. "You uh-gotta dress up for these?" He asked, trying to change the subject to something just a bit more neutral, only to find himself imagining Nikolas dressing up like that every Sunday and Saturday.
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Nikolas rose a brow knowingly, but didn't comment on the cute blush. "I have an image, and this," he gestured to himself, "helps. I'm the badass that kicks ass and doesn't talk to anyone while lurking in the shadows looking bored." He offered a smile. "I suppose I can give up part of that for you."
"How sweet o' you." Markus said, huffing a laugh. "Well then, Mr. Badass, ya ready t' get goin'? Don't want ya bein' late t' this, since it's important." He held out his hand, arching a brow at Nikolas. Offering it to hold. He wasn't sure where the sudden urge to hold Nikolas' hand came from, but it was there, and who was he to ignore it?
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Nikolas barely hesitated. Grinning brightly, he laced his fingers through Markus' and tugged him towards the front door, grabbing his keys and things from the coffee table. "In that case, let's go!" He held Markus close to him, as if afraid of him leaving his side. He knew he wouldn't, but it still was there in the back of his mind.
Markus barked out that musical laugh of his, letting Nikolas tug him along as he attempted to get his feet under him. "I'm comin', I'm comin'! You ain't gotta yank my arm from it's socket, darlin'." He teased, leaning down to kiss Nikolas' cheek before pushing open the door. "It'd take a lot t' keep me from followin' ya anywhere."
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Nikolas smiled softly and tilted his head slightly as Markus kissed his cheek. Just that simple thing made him incredibly happy. The kiss and those words. "Yeah?" he questioned without looking up at Markus. "And why's that? Haven't done much to earn that sort of loyalty. Not that I'm complaining." They went down the stairs, and Nikolas led Markus to his car, which was sitting at the edge of the clearing.
“You’ve done plenty, darlin’.” Markus promised, following him out the door. Truth be told, he was kind of wrapped around Nikolas’ finger for good now. “Startin’ with bein’ just the right height for neck kisses.” There was a whole list of reasons, all the things that Markus wasn’t sure he’d find anywhere else, or even want to. Because no one else would have come with the particular charm Nikolas had.
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Nikolas sighed dramatically and rubbed the back of his neck. "That's just because you're freakishly tall," he grumbled, "Never been a factor until you decided to tower over me." Really, he didn't mind it. Markus had found his weak points, and he decided that it was a good thing. It might break his ability to function properly, but it was something he liked. And he knew that Markus wouldn't exploit that in a bad way.
“Y’know, I was actually kinda tiny when I was younger. All the baby pictures I ever seen, I’m so small. I saw a class photo from fifth grade once and I was the shortest little kid ya ever seen.” Markus mused, climbing into the passenger seat once it was unlocked. “Had a fuckin’ huge ass aphro, too. So proud o’ that, ‘till a group of boys cornered me after school and stuck gum in my hair. Rest in peace.”
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Nikolas hopped into the driver's side of the car, staring it barley a second after he sat down. He glanced at Markus, giving him not one but two look overs before he shook his head and said simply, "No." He quite like this Markus, and imagining him small and with an afro was just that to him, a no.
“No what?” Markus asked, confusion clouding his features as he looked over at Nikolas, head titled. He almost looked like he couldn’t decide whether to be amused or confused by that, actually, but was settling with confusion.
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Nikolas' lips twitched up in amusement when he spotted Markus' confusion, though he didn't look at the beautiful boy for long as he drove off and towards the paved road. "I refuse to believe you were small and had an afro. My Markus is tall and safe from a cloud of hair."
“My aphro was beautiful, excuse you.” Markus said, sticking his tongue out before blinking. My Markus. That’s what Nikolas had said. His cheeks flamed at the realization, and he ducked his head slightly, pulling out his phone and flipping through the few photos on it. “I’ve got proof. Took a pic o’ the photo in the file.”
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Nikolas glanced over at Markus and shook his head. "I'd rather keep it a mystery, thanks." He made a shooing gesture with his fingers as his lips formed a full smile, "But you are free to admire yourself for however long you want." Nikolas tipped his head to the side, biting his lip, then said, "I've had short blonde hair and blue eyes—contacts, uh… was a ginger for approximately three or four years in a row, green contacts, uhhh, and a bunch of different combos. Never let my hair grow out more than it is already grown out, though."
Markus glanced up at Nikolas, studying him for a moment. "I like this Nikolas. My Nikolas. Though, your natural hair color suits ya a lot. And I like your eyes, they're like li'l pools o' starlight. Portable stars for stargazin', lucky me." He grinned, looking back down at his phone only to make a face at the photo of himself. "I miss that hair, sorta, but I definitely like this better. Easier when boxin', and don't gotta worry 'bout kids stickin' things in it."
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Nikolas only smirked when Markus complimented him, even as he felt his heart skip a beat when Markus called him his. He tipped his head to the side as he focused on driving, pulling onto the paved road and turning further away from town, heading to the deserted outskirts where the tracks were likely blossoming with the growls of cars and thrumming with loud music and chattering with easily hundreds of people.
"What's racin' like?" Markus asked suddenly, after a little while of comfortable silence in the car. He had spent the time flipping through his photos, most of which were either of Lily in some high place or getting strangely excited about strawberries, or of different animals they'd rescued. Sometimes both at the same time. She was his only friend, besides Tessa who was more like a sister, after all.
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Nikolas tilted his head and hummed, thinking of the answer. "Hm. Depends on the situation, I think. In general, it's exhilarating. The speed and competition 'nd all that. Other times it can be stressful if I'm dependent on winning that money we bet—and if I bet a lot of money."
Markus watched him as he listened, smiling slightly. "Well, yeah. Gamblin' can be stressful, and so can havin' so much money on the line when it comes t' work. You seem like ya'd be good at it though. Racin'." He glanced down at his phone for a second, brow furrowed in thought, before lifting his phone and snapping a picture of Nikolas. Ah ha.
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Nikolas wasn't paying attention to Markus, so he didn't notice when the other boy took a picture of him. He smirked and tapped the steering wheel, already feeling the vibrations from the loud music and cars. They were close. "You say that before even getting to see what I can do. I appreciate the confidence." His smirk faded slightly when he reached the tracks, slowing down and pulling into a free patch of grass.
The "tracks" was just a twisting road that was no longer in use, seeing how the town it led to was abandoned. There were cars and people everywhere, with two red cars already racing. They sped down the paved road, avoiding the sharp turn that would take them on the dirt shortcut, skipping the trip through the town. Almost no one dared to try that shortcut, too dangerous with all the sharp turns—almost.
Markus tucked his phone away as they parked, eyes on the sight's around him with a slightly awed curiosity. "'S loud. Lotta people." He commented, head tilted as he took everything in. The energy around them had him almost excited, now, but he focused on Nikolas and shot him a smile. "Kinda neat, though. Looks like a less racist scene from that movie, Tokyo Drift or whatever."
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Nikolas chuckled and kept the car on, spotting Greyson, who was in charge of the place. The lanky male came up to the driver's window and leaned on it once Nikolas rolled the glass down. "You're late," Greyson said by greeting, then peered at Markus in the other seat. "Fashionably late," he corrected with a chuckle, then looked down at Nikolas. "Lotta callouts against ya. Ready to make some money?" Nikolas grinned and leaned back, the picture of confidence. "Hell yeah." Greyson nodded and tapped Nik's shoulder as he stood up straight. "You're up, then. Make me some money." Nikolas nodded, and Greyson left to monitor the finishing race.
"That your boss?" Markus asked, once Greyson was gone, head tilted. The correction to 'fashionably late' had confused him slightly, but he wasn't about to ask about it. Adjusting his long legs, he turned to face Nikolas fully, which was a bit of a funny sight. The adjusting itself, at least. "Kinda reminds me o' this guy that came t' work with us when we got short staffed. Weird dude, but not too bad. Not that lanky, either."
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Nikolas chuckled when he noted Markus' confusion, guessing what, exactly, had him confused. He leaned over and hooked his fingers over the collar of the boy's shirt, pulling him a little closer as he kissed Markus' cheek. "He runs the place, Agapiménos. He gets a cut of the bets made by bystanders, regulates the races, starts everything out with the initial callouts, that sort of thing. Basically makes it run smoothly." Nikolas smiled fondly, fingers lightly brushing over Markus' throat. "That being said, I gotta go up soon."
Markus' breath faltered for a moment in surprise, but he was all too willing to let Nikolas pull him closer, cheeks reddening at the kiss placed on them. "Huh. Money man." He flushed even deeper at the words he dubbed completely stupid coming from his mouth, but considering Nikolas had managed to fluster him with his kiss, he felt like it was valid. He swallowed, only making Nikolas' touch to his throat more prominent. "Then ya might wanna kick me out, huh? Anywhere specific I should go?"
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Nikolas grinned cheekily at the blush he managed to easily summon from Markus. He wondered what would happen if he were to actually kiss the boy, but he refrained from that. For now. "Close to the starting line? That way I can see you when I come back. Greyson'll keep an eye on you for me. For my own conscience," he added with a small smile, pulling back and letting Markus go.