This Is Love, This Is Life

Say You Love Me (Sixx/Sambora)

Author's Notes:

Here we are again, lovelies...

I opened up my future fics file to some fellow authors and asked them what they thought I should tackle next...so this is an amalgam of two of the ideas in there.

Hope you enjoy...

J💕💕💕

Thursday 18 November 1976

New Jersey

Nikki POV

Nikki kicked the door closed behind him, taking the time to lock it securely, before putting his keys back in his pocket and shrugging out of his jacket. Retrieving the small flat box from the inside pocket, he hung the well-worn leather carefully on the back of the chair, ready to be grabbed at short notice.

Fetching a cold beer from the small fridge, Nikki popped the cap and took a sip as he wandered back to the beat up sofa, one he'd found in a Goodwill store with Richie one day.

He smiled thinking back to the moment they'd both laid down on it together in the store to test its comfort, durability and viability for vigorous rounds of sex. The elderly store keeper had watched the two of them warily as they bounced from couch to couch, getting into all manner of positions on each one, before settling on the one he was currently occupying.

Turning the small box around and around in his fingers, Nikki wracked his brain for any clues as to what was inside.

~~~

Rosie had handed it over to him when he called in, hoping to catch his boyfriend before he hit the streets for work.

"I haven't seen that child all day," Rosie said, pouring Nikki a coffee. "Can I get you something to eat, Nikki? You're wasting away," she tsked.

"Sure, thanks, Rosie," Nikki smiled. He wasn't really hungry but he knew it was always best to just agree and keep their friend happy.

"I'll be right back, honey," the older woman smiled and strolled back to place the order with the kitchen staff.

Nikki absently watched her plump behind rock from side to side with attitude as she walked. He had a feeling that Rosie would have been a real looker in her younger days. Rosie was always very quiet about her past and none of the street kids she helped out knew anything more than their own interactions with their local guardian angel.

Dragging his thoughts back to the present, Nikki tried to recall if Richie had mentioned having to start work early today but came up blank. It wouldn't be the first time he had just failed to show up though. It wasn't unusual for Al to order his workers to take on last minute call-outs, especially if the price was right.

"Here you go, honey," Rosie said, returning with a plate loaded with a burger and fries. Nikki's stomach rumbled, startling him. He would have sworn that he wasn't hungry moments ago but, like Pavlov's Dog, he started salivating at the sight and smell of the freshly prepared food. "You start eating, child," she insisted. "I'll be right back."

Nikki bit into the juicy offering as he waited and when Rosie returned, she held a small, flat box, a little deeper than the type that would hold a bracelet but similar in length and width. Rosie placed it on the table and slid it across to him as she perched her luscious bottom on the banquette opposite him.

"Wassis?" Nikki mumbled through a mouthful of burger and fries. He eyed it warily. Being in his line of work, he rarely accepted packaged gifts for himself.

"It's a box," Rosie said, giving Nikki a bland look. "I don't know what's in it, so put that next question back where it came from. All I was tasked to do was give it to you with the instructions to tell you not to open it until you get home."