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The number one rule in any locker room was not to look at your naked teammates. Normally it wasn’t a problem at all, something none of them even thought about, but today Nursey had lost count of the number of times he’d broken that rule in the past ten minutes. Dex walked out of the showers with a towel around his hips and a dark bruise standing out sharply against his skin, right above the towel. Nursey couldn’t help it; he stared.
It definitely wasn’t a hockey bruise - they never check hard enough to hurt anybody during practice, and they haven’t even had their first game this season yet. His mind made the jump from ‘hockey bruise’ to ‘hickey’ almost too easily. He’d always been good at word games, at puns and crosswords and artful wordplay, but he really hated his brain right now for what it’s done. Because sure, there are probably a thousand other potential explanations for the bruise on Dex’s hip, but now all he could think about was someone else’s lips pressed to his skin, Dex sprawled out on a bed, or whoever it was on their knees in front of Dex - and now he was thinking about himself on his knees in front of Dex, looking up at him and pulling him closer by the hips, bruises from his hands pressed into his pale skin.
“Dude, are you okay?” Ransom’s voice cut through the haze in his mind. He must have looked totally insane, because Rans waves his hand in front of Nursey’s face. “You really checked out there.”
“Yeah, it’s chill,” he said, letting go of the towel he didn’t realize he’d been strangling. It fell to the floor with a soft thump and he knows Lardo would destroy him if it didn’t get to the laundry bin but that seemed just a little too much to ask right now, his brain still reeling. He looked up and saw Chowder looking at him worriedly.
“Don’t worry, Nursey,” Holster said. “We’ll go to team breakfast soon. “It’s Wednesday, there’ll be pancakes.”
“Oh, I can do a pancake bar on Sunday brunch if y’all want,” Bitty said, and the whole team started talking about what they can put in pancakes. Nursey looked over at Dex again, fully dressed and looking completely normal. Nursey wondered if it was a one-time thing, or if he’s got a secret girlfriend, or boyfriend. Maybe he’s been hooking up with people all year and not telling anybody about it. Dex hadn’t been spending a whole lot of time in their dorm and his only excuse has been that he was “busy.” Maybe he has been gettin’ busy.
Dex has been fairly quiet today, nodding along to the music that Holster was playing through the speakers. When Dex looked up, Whiskey caught his eye from a few stalls away. “Nice moves today,” Dex said to him, smiling brightly. “You’re doing great.”
Whiskey smiled back at him and said, “Thanks,” so softly Nursey could hardly hear it over the music, especially with Ransom and Holster singing along. They were still smiling at each other, and a terrible, sinking feeling occurs to Nursey. What if Nursey knew the person Dex was hooking up with? What if it was Whiskey? They had become fast friends that year, something Nursey hadn’t really thought about until right now. It was only October, they only knew each other for a few months. This time last year, Nursey and Dex could barely be in the same room without yelling at each other. Apparently Nursey was a special case, and Dex was perfectly capable of making other friends - boyfriends- in a short space of time.
A terrible idea occurred to him, and he thought, okay, why the hell not. If Dex was in a secret relationship, with Whiskey or anybody else, he probably wouldn’t want Nursey to be all over him, so that’s exactly what he’ll do. On the way over to Commons for team breakfast, he threw his arm around Dex’s neck and reeled him into his side. He glanced over his shoulder at Whiskey, who had fallen back to walk with Tango. Dex looked at Nursey but doesn’t shove him away. “Gonna drag me down with you when you trip?” he chirped.
“Good practice today, Dexy.” He completely ignored the chirp. “Whatcha doin’ later?”
“I have class,” he said slowly. “So do you.”
“Yeah but like, after class,” Nursey pressed, not loosening his grip on Dex at all as they walked into the dining hall.
“I have a coding project that’s probably gonna take all day,” he said, ducking out of Nursey’s arm to pick up a plate. “Chowder didn’t take that class this semester, though, so you can probably chill with him at the Haus.”
“Chill,” Nursey said, even though he didn’t feel it at all. Midterms were coming up, which meant he had papers to write and a poetry assignment to put together, but there’s no way he could focus on schoolwork when the only thing he could think about was Dex. “I have homework, too. I can keep you company if you want.”
Dex looked up at him, still piling bacon onto his plate. “Sure, if you want,” he said, “but I know you talk through your poetry assignments, and somebody in the CS lab might stab you.”
“I can be quiet,” he argued. The dining hall was crowded with students between classes. They wandered through students until they reached their usual table. It was so loud he practically had to yell to be heard, and that didn’t really support his argument.
“Sure, Nursey,” Dex said mockingly. Nursey took a seat next to Dex and sat down much closer to him than he needed to, so their hands kept knocking into each other. Dex didn’t snap at him, though, and he wasn’t really sure what to make of that. He needed to do some more research.
After his last class that day, Nursey walked into the CS lab and sat down at the edge of the Dex’s table, pulling his laptop out of his bag. Dex was staring intensely at his computer screen, his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth as he types. Nursey hooked a pen into the cord of Dex’s headphones and pulled it out of his ear. Dex turned to him, blinking a few times.
“Hey,” Dex said loudly. “I was in the zone.”
“You did not just say that,” Nursey said excitedly. “Oh my god you’re such a nerd.”
“Shut up,” Dex argued. “If you just came to make fun of me you can leave.”
“Chill,” Nursey said, grinning, as Dex jammed his headphone back into his ear and went back to his project. Nursey stretched his legs out and tangled his feet between Dex’s. The lab wasn’t empty, but the other people here were just as intensely focused as Dex is. It wasn’t the most obvious show of possession - not that Nursey even had any kind of claim on Dex at all, and he could hear Shitty’s ranting crystal clear in his head - but there was somebody out in this world leaving hickeys on Dex, and he wanted that person to know they had some serious competition.
He didn’t know how much time passed, engrossed in his paper on T. S. Eliot. He almost forgot about his legs stretched between Dex’s until Dex moved, stretching his arms above his head and revealing a flash of skin, the dark purple of a bruise, and just like that Nursey’s focus was shattered. Dex looked at his phone and frowned. He rolled his head back and forth, cracking his neck. Nursey winced before trying to go back to his paper. He read the same stanza over and over (“I grow old… I grow old… / I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled”) and couldn’t think of anything intelligent to write. He stared past his computer to Dex’s hips. The hickey might as well have been glowing through his shirt in the way it drew Nursey’s attention.
His focus completely shattered when someone walked into the lab and headed straight over to Dex. “Hey Dex,” the girl said, smiling down at him. Nursey barely stopped himself from banging his head on the desk. Maybe Dex wasn’t hooking up with Whiskey; maybe he was hooking up with half the fucking student population of Samwell, if the way this girl was looking at Dex was anything to go by. She smiled hungrily, twirling a strand of long dark hair around her finger. She was very pretty, all curves and bronze skin. She leaned on the desk suggestively, her bright orange nails inches from Dex’s hand. Nursey’s blunt nails dug into his palms as he tried to stop himself from doing something stupidly, unnecessarily possessive.
“Hey Clara,” Dex said, taking out his headphones. “Give me a second and we can go.” Dex saved his work three times before disentangling his legs from Nursey’s and getting to his feet. Clara, whoever she was, doesn’t even notice.
“Great,” she said. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get paid this time.” She grinned, giggling like this was some great joke.
“Good,” Dex said, smiling back. “I can’t really afford to do this for free.” Nursey sucked in a breath and looks between Dex and Clara, thinking there was no way what he was thinking could be true. No fucking way.
“Well, it won’t take that long,” she said. “I won’t keep you.”
Dex looked down at Nursey. “I’ll be back,” he said
“Where are you going?” Nursey asked, but Dex and Clara had already walked away, talking to each other. “Hey, bring coffee,” he called, desperately trying not to let his imagination run away from him. There were plenty of ways to explain that. Totally normal, rational explanations that definitely didn’t involve sex, money, and Dex. He tried to go back to his paper, but it was a total lost cause. He opened Netflix and tried to distract himself, watching episodes of Parks and Rec he’s already seen. Even that didn’t distract him, not really, and he was staring at the screen thinking of Dex, of him naked with someone who wasn’t Nursey.
He was halfway through a third episode, debating leaving Dex’s stuff in the lab so he won’t have to see Dex until practice on Thursday, when Dex walked back through the door. His shirt was wrinkled and his hair stood up in a thousand different directions. Nursey’s heart slammed against his ribs. He couldn’t be making this up, this was more than just his own imagination running wild. Dex looked like he’d just been fucked. Nursey was explosively angry about it. He couldn’t sit here and watch Dex sit down calmly, going back to his assignment without even saying a word to Nursey.
“Are you having sex with people for money?” he demanded. Dex whipped his head up to look at Nursey, open-mouthed and glaring. Several students turned to look at them. He didn’t give a damn. “Are you?”
“What?” Dex asked.
“Are people paying you for sex?” he repeated. His voice was loud, bordering on hysterical. He wouldn’t have cared if it was anybody else, but he has never really been able to think clearly around Dex. Dex was his partner, his teammate, his friend. Nursey felt defensive, protective of him. Dex was important to him, and he’s not willing to share.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Dex hissed. He stood up, and then he grabbed the front of Nursey’s shirt and dragged him to his feet. He looked around at everyone in the lab, students pretending to do work but glancing at them every few seconds. Dex’s shoulders were tense, his hands tightly balled into fists and a furious blush on his face. He stomped out of the lab. Nursey followed immediately, letting Dex lead him down the hall and into an empty classroom. Dex slammed the door shut behind them.
“Why the hell do you think I'm some kind of prostitute?” he yelled. His shoulders are shaking slightly. Shit, Nursey had really pissed him off this time.
Nursey gestured vaguely at Dex. “Your clothes are all messed up, and so’s your hair. You look like you just had sex.” He decided it’s best not to point out the way Dex was blushing. That made him angry all the time; now it would only make things worse. “Plus you’ve got that hickey on your hip.”
To Nursey’s dismay, Dex actually pulled up his shirt and tugged down his jeans to look at his own hips. He traced the edge of the hickey like he was surprised it’s there. Nursey fought the urge to knock Dex’s hands away so he could do the same thing, drag his fingers along his skin, leave his mark all over him.
“Why does it bother you so much?” Dex asked, pulling his clothes back where they belong.
Nursey took a deep breath. He could tell Dex about how he feels - about how Dex makes him feel, every time he walks in the room. He could tell Dex he’s been losing his mind for months, that he’s acting chill because that’s safest, but on the inside he’s falling apart. He could tell Dex the truth, and see what happened. Instead he said, “You know what, it doesn’t.”
“Good,” Dex said defiantly. “I like my job. It’s fun.”
Nursey stared at him. He could not believe what he had heard. “Fine. Do whatever you want,” he said before walking out of the room. He went back to the CS lab, shoved all his stuff into his backpack as quickly as possible, and left before Dex came back.
Over the next few days, he avoided Dex as much as he possibly could. He spent time with Chowder and Farmer at the volleyball house down the street. He worked on midterms in the English department building, wrote and edited poem after poem in the nicest leaf piles on the beach. He got high with Lardo a whole lot.
“I know it’s not fair to him,” he said to her one day. He was lying on the floor of her room, staring up at the ceiling. “We’re not even friends anymore. I can’t act like I own him. He’s so great, and I hate watching everyone else on this campus figure that out but I can’t do anything about it.”
“Shit, bro,” Lardo said, “You’ve got it bad.”
Nursey tossed a hockey puck back and forth between his hands. It was smooth and reassuringly familiar. “Yeah,” Nursey agreed. He’s known for a while. Now, rather than watch Dex be around other people, he was hiding from him. It had done nothing to quell the jealousy burning in his chest. “There are so many other jobs he can have, though,” he said. “He could tutor people for CS or work at one of the help desks or do, like, literally anything else.”
“What’s wrong with Dex’s job?” Lardo asked. She took a hit, passed her piece and a lighter down to Nursey, and flopped back onto her bed.
“Sex,” Nursey said simply, bringing the piece to his lips to take a hit. He let the smoke buzz through his system, blew it out, tries to blow all his problems out with it. The heaviness didn’t leave his heart.
“Shit,” Lardo said slowly. “Hidden depths.”
Nursey snorted. “Samwell Republican, Samwell Call Boy, Will Poindexter.”
Lardo rolled over and looks down at Nursey, her chin hooked over the edge of the mattress. “Have you asked him? Like, did he actually tell you those exact words.”
Nursey shrugged, dragging his shoulders across the fluffy area rug Lardo had on the floor. “Not exactly,” he admitted. “But basically.”
Lardo narrowed her eyes at him, letting both arms hang off the bed. “I think you’re parkouring to conclusions, bro.” Nursey frowned. “You should talk to him. He’s been, like, wicked sad lately.” He rolled his head to look at her. She looked entirely too serious for the amount they’ve smoked. “He’s always looking at you, you know.” Nursey took another hit, tried not to think about it. Couldn’t get the image of freckles out of his mind. “Figure your shit out,” Lardo said, holding her hand out expectantly. “I’m not gonna let you two tear my team apart.”
“Fine,” he said to the ceiling. “Why are you always right?”
Lardo laughed. “Because that’s what I want you to think.” She stretched her arms above her head. “Respect meeeee.”
Nursey smiled. “Wanna watch Pacific Rim?”
“Hell yeah,” she said. “Grab my laptop.”
Nursey curled up with Lardo on her bed, her head on his shoulder as they watched the movie. He tried to think of anyone on this earth he would be less drift compatible with than Will Poindexter, but couldn’t come up with anyone. He and Dex would crash and burn spectacularly, handing earth over to giant alien monsters with an explosion of neon colors and robot pieces.
He managed to go on avoiding Dex for most of a week before their game really suffered. One morning Dex showed up to practice with a fresh purple-blue bruise at the juncture of his neck and shoulder - another hickey - and Nursey couldn’t stop his hands from shaking, all through warm-ups and into drills. “Pull it together, Nurse!” Coach Hall yelled. “Come on, focus!”
“I’m right here,” Dex yelled, three feet ahead of the spot where Nursey consistently passed. “Just send me the puck, it’s not that hard.” Annoyed, Nursey took a shot at Chowder between the pipes. He was past the centerline; the puck skittered through Whiskey and Tango running drills and sailed clear past the goal, hitting the wall. He heard Coach Murray sigh and set down his clipboard. Head down, he skated around in a tight circle, trying not to completely lose his chill.
The soft swish of skates on ice drew too close for comfort. “Don’t right now,” he said, not looking up. “I’m really trying to pull it together, but I can’t talk to you right now.”
Someone’s hand landed on his arm and he looked to see Bitty watching him, concerned. “We all have rough days,” he said, sounding scarily like Jack. “Just don’t let it get to you.” He glanced behind him at Dex, who was now skating with Wicks, and bit his lip. “I know it’s not my place to ask, but is this--this is more than just your usual snits, isn’t it?”
Nursey’s grip tightened on his stick, his fingers sweating in his gloves. “Yeah,” he said quietly, still not looking Bitty in the eye. “Yeah it is. I’m really trying, Bits, I just need a minute.”
Bitty squeezed his arm briefly. “Take as long as you need, hon,” he said. “Not too long though, you know, Rans and Holster are graduating in the spring.” Nursey gave Bitty a weak smile as he skated away, hoping that he could get over his feelings for Dex before he got kicked off the team.
After practice, Nursey showered so fast he was already dressed before most of the team had left the showers. He left Faber for the dining hall, thankful for the few minutes of peace he’d have before everyone else showed up for team breakfast. What he really needed was a break, just some time to himself to clear his head. It was a nice day out, if a little cold. He’d take all his homework down to the beach and get ahead on schoolwork for once. Or he could smoke a bit - and then end up writing a dozen poems about freckles. It would probably be satisfying to burn them, though he could never bring himself to do that.
He was jolted out of his thoughts when Dex sat down next to him with a plate of waffles.He took a deep breath and said, “Look, I haven’t been entirely honest lately, and that’s not fair to you.”
Here it comes, Nursey thought. Dex was finally gonna tell him what he’s really been doing all this time, all about his new girlfriend, about how he was so in love or whatever, and Nursey would have to pretend it didn’t bother him at all. He would tell him that money has been tight for his family for a while, and it was tough to have a normal job with their practice schedule, really it wasn’t so bad, and Nursey would have to stop himself from offering Dex literally anything he needed because of all the problems he’s faced in his life, money has never been an issue.
They had been sitting in uneasy silence, both of them pretending to be interested in their breakfasts. “It’s whatever,” Nursey said, before Dex could say anything. “You don’t have to tell me.”
“No,” Dex said, turning to look at him, “I really think I do. What happened today at practice-”
“Was a fluke,” Nursey said. “I got stuck in my head, it won’t happen again.”
Dex set down his fork with a clatter. “Look, Nursey, if you just let me explain-”
“It’s none of my business,” Nursey said. His heart pounded in his chest. It wasn’t his business, but he wanted it to be - wanted Dex to want to tell him everything in his life just because he wanted to and not because it was fucking up their game beyond repair. He wanted to tell Dex how much he cared about him, wanted to kiss him breathless and watch a blush spread down his pale skin and hold his hand. Since apparently all of that was off the table, he just needed to take the time to accept that, and hopefully not ruin their friendship in the process. Both of them were distracted by a movement across the dining hall - Clara waving at Dex, a bright smile on her face. Dex flushed and, after a second’s hesitation, waved back. Nursey shoved his chair back.
“Trust me,” Nursey said, “You don’t need to explain anything.” He was thankful his dark skin didn’t betray the embarrassment he felt, telling such a huge and obvious lie. He grabbed all of his stuff so quickly he sloshed milk all over the table and had to toss a handful of napkins on it to blot up the mess. He left without a word, feeling Dex watching him walk all the way across the room and out the door.
They managed to survive another thirty-six hours or so before it all blew up in their faces. Practice was tense but not disastrous, Nursey went to classes and took notes, he spent time at the Haus with Chowder and managed to not feel weird without Dex there for approximately ninety seconds. At dinner that night, Nursey took a seat at the end of the table and tried to keep up a conversation with Lardo about records.
“I mean, they’re fun to have, but they’re also such a hassle and they take up so much space,” she said.
“Y’all, just embrace the twenty-first century,” Bitty said.
“No, I love music in digital format,” Lardo said. “It’s so convenient. There’s just something so satisfying about flipping through bins in a record store.”
“Sorry I’m late,” Dex said, standing at the edge of the table. He looked directly at Nursey when he said, “I was at work.” He sat down and started eating before anyone could say anything, cheeks pink and clothes rumpled.
“You got a job? Where?” Bitty asked.
“The art department,” Dex said. “It’s not, like, a real job.” He shrugged. “They’re paying me to help a couple of the seniors with large-scale sculpture projects.” Lardo nodded; Nursey stared at Dex, who was deliberately avoiding his gaze.
“What,” Nursey said sharply.
“Good for you, Dex,” Bitty said, smiling happily. “That sounds so exciting.”
Dex smiled, small but genuine. It was the first time Nursey had seen him smile like that in weeks. “Lardo’s the one who suggested it to me,” he said between bites of his dinner.
“Yeah well, they need all the help they can get,” she said with a shrug. “Clara’s got an amazing vision, but it’s a miracle she hasn’t killed somebody with a staple gun.” Nursey jumped, accidentally knocking over a glass of water. It spread across the table and dripped down onto his leg. He didn’t care.
“Can we talk?” he asked Dex.
Dex looked up at him, fork and knife poised over his plate. “What about? I thought we were all good.”
Bitty started a loud conversation with Lardo about Jack getting them tickets for a home game in Providence soon. Nursey was thankful for the distraction - this conversation with Dex felt exceptionally volatile.
“Um,” he said carefully. “I might have lied about that.” Dex raised his eyebrows. Nursey glared. “Which I guess makes us even, since apparently you weren’t so truthful, either.”
“You made it pretty clear you don’t care what I had to say,” Dex shot back.
“Well, I do,” Nursey snapped. “I thought that was pretty obvious,” he added, quieter.
Dex rolled his eyes, an exaggerated gesture that moved his whole body. “I’m sorry it’s been a year and a half and I still haven’t catalogued all of your glares yet. Plus, you haven’t been talking to me.”
“You’ve been busy all the time,” Nursey said. “I didn’t think you wanted to talk to me.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re the one who’s been avoiding me,” Dex snapped.
“Hey,” Lardo said, leaning between them. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but maybe you don’t want to do this in front of the entire team.”
Dex stared at her for a second before stacking their plates, the loud clatter of it jolting Nursey to his feet. He followed Dex across the dining hall and outside, still following him as he started to walk back to his dorm. Dex took the hat off his head to run his hand through his hair, shoving his hat back on his head. Nursey watched the movement of his pale fingers, noticed a spot of what might have been wood glue along his thumb.
“I’m sorry,” Nursey said. Dex looked up at him, surprised. “For not letting you explain the other day, and for avoiding you. For being a dick for weeks. For fucking up practice.”
Dex shook his head. “I let you jump to conclusions - impressively stupid ones, even for you -” Nursey shoved his shoulder, falling into step beside him. “I thought it was funny, at first. I thought it would be like all our other fights.”
“What a surprise, you were wrong,” Nursey said. Dex pushed him back as they walked into his building.
“Write down the date, it doesn’t happen often,” Dex said, leading the way up the stairs to his room. He unlocked the door and dropped his bag by his desk, then braced his hands on the back of his chair.
Nursey leaned against his bed awkwardly. “Is that explanation still on the table, or…”
Dex turned to face him, sitting on his desk. Unlike Nursey, Dex kept his desk clean and organized. He actually stored his laptop in a drawer when he wasn’t using it, library books stacked on one side and used textbooks lining the bookshelf. Dozens of pictures were pinned to the bulletin board behind the desk. Nursey’s face smiled back at him from some of them, taken after they’d hated each other, before whatever this was.
“Like Lardo said, it was her idea,” Dex said. “She asked me for help one day with one of her sculptures. I guess Shitty used to help her, but now he’s gone, she needed somebody else to do the heavy lifting. That was when I met Clara.” Nursey crossed his arms. “Do you know what she asked me when she found out I was on the hockey team? If Whiskey was single. So no, I’m not, like, sleeping with her, or whatever you think.”
“Seriously?” Nursey asked, some of the tension leaving his shoulders.
“Yes, seriously,” Dex said. “So, Clara’s senior project is this gigantic sculpture - she’s building a literal wall - anyway, the professor who specializes in sculpture is on sabbatical this semester. When I went to help Lardo with her project, this girl practically cut her hand off with a portaband, and…” He shrugged. “I couldn’t really let her keep using it, after that. And then I found out Professor Gavras wasn’t on campus this semester, and no one else in the art department actually knows how to use a power tool safely. So.”
Nursey took a few steps closer to Dex. “So that’s where you’ve been this whole time?”
Dex nodded. “I mean, I had a group project for my German class, and I’ve been in the CS lab a lot, too...” He trailed off as Nursey continued to move closer.
Slowly, he pulled Dex’s collar aside to reveal the mark on his neck. “How’d you get this?” he asked, voice catching because his throat was so dry. He could see Dex’s chest move as he breathed.
“Bad judgement, carrying a two by four through a doorway,” Dex answered, looking down at Nursey’s hand still on his shirt.
Slowly, Nursey pulled up Dex’s shirt, revealing the faded remains of the bruise on his hip. “What about this one?” he asked.
Dex laughed. “Wasn’t paying attention, walked straight into a bar clamp. Hurt like hell.” Dex looked at him, watching his face. “You seriously thought, what, these were hickeys?” Nursey bit his lip. “It’s not really a normal campus job. It took a couple weeks to get payroll worked out.” Suddenly, he shoved Nursey away from him. “I can’t believe you thought I was sleeping with people for money.”
“I was jealous!” Nursey yelped, stumbling back a few steps.
“Jealous?” Dex asked incredulously. “Of who?”
“Whom,” Nursey corrected automatically.
Dex leapt off the desk. “Is this seriously the time for grammar lessons?” He stopped a few inches out of Nursey’s reach, never close enough.
“Of anybody you’d let touch you like that,” Nursey said. “Anybody who put their mark on you.”
A slow, terrible smile spread across Dex’s face. “You’re jealous of art supplies and construction equipment,” he said gleefully. Nursey couldn’t take it anymore. He closed the distance between them, grabbed the collar of Dex’s shirt again and kissed his stupidly smug grin. Dex stood, frozen, and Nursey was afraid he’d made a terrible mistake, that Dex was comfortable with chirping him about this but absolutely not okay with acting on it. He pulled back, an apology on the tip of his tongue, when Dex took hold of Nursey’s hips and leaned in, kissing him again. Nursey reacted instantly, loosening his grip on Dex’s shirt to run his hands down his chest. He doesn’t think he’ll ever get tired of the feeling of Dex’s lips on his own, of Dex’s hands clutching his hips, of the way he breathed Nursey’s name against his lips like a prayer. He pressed closer to Dex, both of them stumbling until Dex backed into his desk.
“Dex,” Nursey said, “I - can I…” He was distracted by Dex’s hands, which had dipped beneath the hem of his shirt to drag maddeningly over Nursey’s skin.
“Not so good with words, are you, Nursey?” Dex asked teasingly. Nursey kissed a line down Dex’s throat, biting and sucking as he went. “Ah,” Dex sighed. “Yeah, yeah, do it.” Nursey practically ripped Dex’s shirt in his haste to get it off him. “Okay, caveman, don’t ruin my clothes.” Dex’s voice was much lower than Nursey had ever heard it, like every syllable was being torn out of him. Nursey caught his lips in another searing kiss before moving down neck, on the opposite side as his existing bruise. Dex tangled one hand in Nursey’s hair as the other fell to his desk, fingers spread wide.
Nursey traced the mark he’d just made with his fingertips. Dex said something, but Nursey hadn’t heard it. “What?” he said. Dex flushed, pink from his cheeks down to his chest.
“I said, I like people knowing that I’m yours.” Nursey stared up at him, unable to believe what he was hearing. Suddenly, he couldn’t be close enough to Dex. He stood up again, pressing kisses to every part of Dex he saw: his lips, his cheeks, his ridiculous, perfect ears.
“You are,” Nursey said, pausing to kiss his forehead, “every good word I can think of.” He kissed the tip of Dex’s nose. “And I’m yours, as much as you’re mine.”
Dex put his hands on Nursey’s jaw, kissing him deeply. “You’re so poetic,” he said quietly.
Nursey looped his arms around Dex’s back, his hands pressed along his spine. “I have some pretty good inspiration,” he said. Dex smiled at him, so brilliantly happy Nursey couldn’t help but smile back at him. He could write a thousand poems about this one moment - and he probably would, but for now, they had better things to do. Now that he had Dex in his arms, he was never letting go.