Party Crashers Fic Compilation

comfort you through this storm (Nick/Vernias)

For Lavxxnr . I took a liberty with whose perspective the story was in. Hope you don't mind.

The booming and rumbling of thunder outside his window unwillingly drags Nick out of his sleep. He groggily sits up in his bed, and the last faint traces of whatever dream he had been submerged in slips away from his memory's grasp. He flails his right arm blindly around his nightstand, instinctively trying to check the time. He manages to pick up his phone, and grimaces as he reads the time off his phone, squinting due to the sudden bright light. 3:45 A.M. Nick mumbles something incoherent, but stumbles out of his bed in the darkness. He wants to flop back face first onto his pillow again, but he feels the sudden urge to go to the restroom.

Nick quietly slips out of his room and to the restroom, the door to his bedroom creaking slightly behind him. He quickly finishes using the toilet and stands in front of the sink, turning the faucet. The water flowing onto his hands chills his fingers, and Nick feels a little less sleepy. After drying his hands with a towel, Nick steps out of the restroom and starts to head back to his bedroom before he pauses. Standing in the middle of the hallway, Nick strains his ears to identify very faint clinks coming from the direction of the kitchen. He figures it's most likely nothing to worry about, since the only people in this apartment were him and Vernias. But there also isn't any harm in checking just to be safe, so Nick walks to the kitchen, making sure that not a single peep could be heard.

Even though Nick's eyes haven't adjusted to the darkness yet,  he easily recognizes Vernias's silhouette. Vernias seems to be standing by the counter with something in his hand, but Nick can't make out exactly what he's holding. A small smile curls up on Nick's lips as he slowly sneaks up behind Vernias. He's about to tap Vernias on the shoulder when another round of rumbling starts. Vernias immediately turns around, startled, and slams whatever he was holding down a little too hard. He stares at Nick for a moment, not having yet registered his presence, before he audibly sighs. Nick isn't sure if it's out of relief or exasperation, but he chuckles to himself regardless.

"Were you going to try to scare me?" Vernias accuses Nick as he raises the object back off the counter. Since he's a lot closer, Nick can finally see what Vernias's holding, which is a glass of water. Vernias's fingers are tightly gripped around the glass as if it'd somehow slip out of his hands at any given moment.

"Maybe," Nick answers with a hint of amusement in his voice. He really can't help himself from smiling at any reaction Vernias has. "Wasn't expecting to see you up this late today, so..."
"Well, that's not a good reason," Vernias mutters, annoyed, and raises the glass of water to his lips. Nick watches Vernias gulp down the remaining water and wipe his mouth with his sleeve. "I could ask you the same thing too, you know? Why are you also up?"

"Thunder woke me up," Nick replies. "Needed to use the restroom really quickly and then heard some noises from the kitchen, so I went to check just to make sure nothing was wrong. Now that I know that it's just you here, I'm probably going to head back to bed. Good night, Vernias." Nick yawns, waving to Vernias as he turns around and begins to walk back to his room.

There's a sudden flash of lightning followed by a loud boom, and Nick feels his arm being yanked behind. For a split second, he can see Vernias's face as he looks up at him, eyes wide and eyebrows furrowed. And then Vernias's expression is once again obscured by the darkness, but he continues to hold onto Nick, tightly squeezing his hand.

"You know, if you squeeze my hand that tightly, you'll cut off the blood circulation in my hand," Nick teases, and Vernias immediately lets Nick's hand go. He turns his head away from Nick and scratches his head awkwardly. Nick would push the teasing a little more, but something in his gut told him that wouldn't be the greatest idea. They both stand there silently, each with something to say on the tip of their tongue.

"If you want, you could stay with me in my room for tonight," Nick is the one to break the silence. He reaches for Vernias's hand and begins softly rubbing his thumb along his hand. "You know, I won't judge you if you're scared."

"I'm not-" Vernias stammers before sighing and holding his face in his hands. "Okay, maybe I am. Just a little bit at the moment. But you sure you don't mind? I'd hate to impose on you so suddenly..." Despite what Vernias is saying, Nick can hear the hopefulness in his voice.

"You're not doing any of the sort," Nick assures Vernias as he begins to lead Vernias to his room. "I like your company. I like being close to you, Vernias." He hears a faint but sharp inhale behind him and almost smiles.

"Thanks," Vernias whispers something else that Nick can't quite catch while Nick pushes the already slightly open door to his bedroom. They both climb into Nick's bed, and Nick pulls the blanket over both of them. They both turn over onto their side, facing their left. Nick wraps his arms around Vernias, and Vernias scoots a little closer to Nick. Being this close to each other, Nick can feel Vernias's heartbeat, quick thumps in succession. His right hand reaches over and starts gently running through Vernias's hair as Vernias's heartbeat begins to slow down to a more steady, calmer pace.

"Good night, Nick," Vernias murmurs quietly before his voice trails off into soft, slow breaths. Nick continues to caress Vernias's hair, listening to Vernias's breathing and heartbeat. Something about doing so is soothing to his ears and Nick can feel his body begin to relax a little more. He buries his face into Vernias's neck and sighs quietly. Warmth and comfort gently wraps themselves around Nick , and before long, he begins to feel sleepy himself. With his eyes beginning to droop, Nick places a single kiss on the back of Vernias's neck and ruffles Vernias's hair lazily before sleep welcomes Nick back with open arms.

"Love you," Nick whispers into Vernias's ears before he pulls the blanket up more and closes his eyes.

Good night and sweet dreams...