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Tessa groaned in frustration, running her hands over her face. "Fine, fine," she murmured, "I'll go. Dammit Markus, why?" She gave him a look that was clearly saying 'why do you have to be so sweet and adorable?' Nikolas wasn't concerned with her, however. He was silently watching Markus and internally freaking out about Markus' Southern accent.
"'Cause I need as many people I can stand as possible, doll." Markus cooed, tucking his phone away and standing. His grin widened, making it obvious he was planning something, and he was completely unaware of Nikolas's internal freaking out. Without warning, he strode over to Tessa, scooping her up off the ground in a bear hug and beaming up at her. "Thanks a million, Tessa Bear."
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"Oh Fucking Jesus Christ," Tessa breathed when she was picked up without warning, "Must you, you big oaf?" Nikolas blinked, then chuckled as he sat back and watched with an amused gleam in his eyes. It wasn't often when he got to see Tessa getting carried around by anyone but Nikolas and her brother, Ronan—that is, anyone she'd let pick her up.
"What, I can't give my second favorite foster sister a hug?" He asked, pouting slightly through his smile. He was pulling the same card she had, messing with her. Though, something in his eyes flickered at the distant mention of the only other foster sister he'd bonded with. "Tha's too bad. An' here I thought ya'd be even more willin' t' show me some love after that knife."
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"I very much love you," Tessa said matter-of-factly, "But I don't appreciate being carried around, as you well know." She pouted, then flicked her gaze over at Nikolas. "Get him to put me down. Pwease?" She batted her eyelashes, giving him a cheeky grin as she rested her elbow against Markus' shoulder and held her head up with her hand. What she really wanted to do was make Markus have another gay freakout.
“But you’re so easy t’ carry around. Small.” Markus glanced over at Nikolas when Tessa brought him into it, arching an eyebrow curiously. “An’ how, exactly, is he gonna get me ta let ya down?” That probably wasn’t the best thing to ask, just begging to end up a flustered mess, but hey. Hindsight’s twenty twenty, and foresight is even worse when your vision is shitty.
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Tessa didn't say anything, just scowled down at Markus. Nikolas didn't say anything, either. He knew Markus wasn't into him, but anyone could get flustered if Nikolas tried hard enough. Besides, it was worth a shot. He reached over to grab his coffee, took a sip, then casually strolled by Markus and Tessa, his vanilla and coffee scent following him. As he passed by them, he looked up and down Markus' body with a smirk on his lips, then stuck his tongue out to expose his piercing and winked. With that, he left the kitchen, heading up to his room.
It took Markus a long moment to react, and when he did, it was to choke. The choking turned into a coughing fit as he turned red, setting Tessa down quickly to keep from dropping her. Fucking shit. Not gay not gay-liar. “I should- I gotta get goin’.” He managed to choke out, still wheezing slightly and out of breath.
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Tessa snickered as she was set down, knowing that had done the trick. She pouted her bottom lip out as she turned to Markus. "Why don't you head up and talk to Nikolas? I'm sure you two need to get to know each other better to seal the rift, and you're here already." Please do it.
Markus glanced up at the ceiling, his face somehow turning redder. “I don’t-are ya sure tha’s a good idea? He seems like a good guy, for sure, but we hated each other, doll. An’ now I ain’t sure what’s goin’ on, but I really don’ wanna get my ass kicked a second time today. Lily’s only got so many bandages.”
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"Nikolas isn't going to do anything to you, Markus," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "He's tired and probably planning on a nap later today once his coffee wears off. Now is the best time to catch him. Hell, he's probably going to be more adorable than usual, so…" she fluttered her hands towards the staircase.
Markus sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand. "Fine. I'll go up and talk to 'im. But if I didn' know any better-" He said, shooting Tess a look that said 'I know you're doing exactly that'. "-I'd think ya were tryin' your damndest to set us up. An' might I just remind ya that he hates me?" Shaking his head, he turned, following where Nikolas had gone.
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"That's not stopping you from being attracted to him!" she called with a cackle as he turned away to do just what she had asked of him. He very well could've just left the house without bothering with Nikolas, yet here he was, going to talk to the man that he claimed to hate while he was all hot and bothered by simple non-verbal flirting. She found it funny, but she was happy, too. They were good for each other. Despite his hard exterior, she knew that Markus would be a perfect match for Nikolas with how easily he fell victim to the dreaded blush. That, and they were just practically made for each other. Even if they hadn't been soulmates, they would've seemed like it.
Markus hesitantly made his way up the stairs, very much regretting this decision more with each step. Stupid Tess. She's lucky I like her too much. Otherwise I wouldn't still be here. Partial truth, partial lie. Because there definitely something-someone-else keeping him here as well.
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Nikolas was lounging on his bed, hair tousled carelessly with one leg outstretched and the other bent towards his chest to hold the astronomy book he was reading. This chapter was about the different constellations, and he was incredibly engrossed in it. His lips were partially parted as he read, eyes partially hidden from view from the hair falling over his face. He was nested in a pile of pillows, and was blissfully unaware of the person coming up the stairs.
Nikolas's room was at the end of the hall, decked out with a king-sized bed, walk-in closet, bookshelf filled with an assortment of astronomy books, music sheet collections, car part catalogs, and some random novels he had enjoyed. The entire theme of the room was a mix of black, silver, and white, with the bed having a black comforter and silver pillows, the soft carpet a simple white, and the walls a light gray.
Markus found himself pausing just outside the doorway to Nikolas's room, unable to take another step forward as he watched the man reading. For once, Nikolas looked completely peaceful, not angry or closed off to the world. And honestly, the first word Markus's poor brain could come up with was beautiful. Is that an astrology book?
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Nikolas still had yet to notice Markus hovering by the door. He reached up to lightly brush his thumb over his bottom lip when he read about the history behind the formation of the constellations, intrigued. History was fascinating to him when it applied to his interests. Ancient civilizations, the sky, music, that sort of thing. A country's history? Pass.
Markus stood there and watched him as long as he could before it got just a bit too creepy, entirely enthralled by the man so lost in his own world. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he stepped just into the doorway, not actually entering the room. He knew better than that. Experiences as a child quickly beat that urge right out of him, after one too many attempts to seek comfort after a nightmare. "Uh. Watcha readin' there?"
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Nikolas flicked his gaze up when Markus announced his presence, though nothing in his expression changed when he saw the man. He simply held the book up with both hands so Markus could get a look at the cover. "Astronomy," he said, "history of constellations at the moment." He put the book down and curled his other leg up, providing room at the foot of the bed should Markus want to enter and sit there. Granted, there was room at the sides of the bed, but Nikolas doubted Markus would want to sit that close to him.
Markus furrowed his brow slightly at the invitation, eyeing the spot that had been freed up as though it was some puzzle that needed solving. He was inviting him in. That-was that normal? Shaking off the uncertainty, he very carefully sat down where he was offered to sit, nodding. "Constellations? Like Cancer and Orion?" Granted, those were the main two he knew, but hey.
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Nikolas nodded. "And Draco, Antlia Pneumatica, Caela Sculptoris, Circinus, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Canis Major, and Canis Minor," he said, smiling a little to himself at his memorization skills. Some of those were unknown constellations to most of the population, created by a French astronomer long ago. He looked up at Markus, tilting his head somewhat as he examined the man in front of him—not for any particular reason except that he's never really looked at him. Nikolas was always too busy with other things to do so.
The furrow between Markus's brow deepened, this time in curiosity as he looked around the room instead of at Nikolas. The boy had a problem with slouching, his tall frame usually hunched over at least slightly. Shortly buzzed hair and a thick scar that stood out against his dark skin on his shoulder and over his collarbone gave him an almost trouble-making appearance, but the taped up glasses on his face subtracted from that immediately. "I've only heard o' a coupl'a those. Ya really know your stuff, huh?"
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"For the most part," he finally said at length, having been attempting to piece together what he knew about Markus. "I'm currently reading about constellations and their history, as I said, so some of those names I've read a few minutes ago." He didn't try to brag about his superior astronomy knowledge, seeing how he didn't know a whole lot compared to the knowledge still out there he has yet to receive. But, he was more knowledgeable than the average Joe, so there was that. He tipped his head to the side and caught his tongue between his teeth, two fingers reaching up to tap his neck along with his pulse. He was curious as to why Markus was up here, but he didn't want to outright ask. He didn't want to inadvertently make the guy think he wasn't welcome.
Markus huffed a laugh at that admission, not his full laugh but a nice laugh nonetheless. “What’s your favorite constellation then? Ain’t gotta be one ya’ve known forever.” He asked, looking over at Nikolas then. He still seemed slightly wary, but at the same time, he was starting to gain that openness he showed around Tess and Lily. The trust. He was slowly beginning to feel comfortable around Nikolas, even despite their past.
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Nikolas noticed the change and was slightly taken aback by it—but not so much that he couldn't provide an immediate answer. "Draco all the way." He set the book down after folding the corner in to bookmark his page, then shifted so he was sitting cross-legged and fully facing Markus. Now the other man had his full attention.
"What are the myths behind it?" Markus asked, blinking at Nikolas as he shifted. Curiously and with less hesitance than normal, he did the same, folding his long legs and resting his forearms on his knees as he hunched over slightly. The bad posture this time was more relaxed than wary.
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"Greek," Nikolas said with a half-smile, "which is apparently in my genes, according to Tess." He had everything about Draco memorized, from its myths to the different stars making up the constellation. And his love for this particular subject was clear as he spoke to Markus about it. The silver in his eyes swirled with a lighter highlight than normal; the unusual dark clouds typically obscuring the color gone for once. "It's all centered around Heracles—which is a nearby constellation—and his twelve labors.
"Draco means 'the dragon' in Latin, and that's because it represents the dragon that guarded the golden apples in the gardens of the Hesperides. Ladon, was the dragon's name. He was put there by Hera to protect the golden apples from being picked by the Hesperides, who were the daughters of Atlas and asked by Hera to guard them. Some myths say Ladon had a hundred heads and the child of Typhon and Echidna, while others only say he was the child of Ceto and Phorcys."
Nikolas paused when he realized he was rambling, rubbing the back of his neck and ducking his head. "Sorry, got a little off track. Anyway, Heracles was asked to steal some of those apples from the tree as one of his labors. Long story short, he killed Ladon with poisoned arrows and took the apples. Surprise surprise. Hera was upset about Ladon's death, so she put an image of him in the sky as a constellation, curled around the North Pole and under the foot of Heracles. The Romans say Draco was one of the Giant Titans that fought the Olympian gods for a long time, killed in battle by the goddess Minerva and thrown into the sky, where he froze around the North Pole."
Markus watched Nikolas as he spoke, listening happily to him ramble. He had always liked listening to people talk about things they were excited about, but somehow, it was even more special with Nikolas. Slightly adorable, too. "Huh. I didn' know stars got so complicated. Kinda cool though, that ya know all o' that about 'em." He said, smiling slightly at Nikolas.
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"Uh, yeah," Nikolas mumbled, looking off to the side and letting his hair fall to cover his eyes. "Some do, some don't. I just really like that one, for some reason." Well, there was a reason, but that wasn't a reason he was going to divulge to Markus—at least not right now. That was a secret for the closet people to Nikolas.
"It sounds like a cool one, for sure. What's it look like?" He almost looked sheepish asking that question, tilting his head slightly and rubbing the back of his neck. To ask about a constellation and not know what it looked like seemed kind of stupid to him, but that was honestly probably just him.
