polyamorous | polyamorous relationships (: [c]

27 | what have you sacrificed preserving what you love?

It wasn't difficult.

Nikki always tended to wander back to the places he thought he used to know, whenever he was upset. So it was no surprise when Ricky found him there, at the library, which was likely the oldest building in town.

He was sat against a book case, frowning at the carpet. His figure seemed to falter every few seconds, reminding Ricky that no, Nikki wasn't solid. Not then, at least.

The gargoyle drew in a breath and coughed, to clear his throat and snag Nikki's attention. He was still soaking wet, but he couldn't have stayed outside- because Nikki wasn't outside. Besides, it was just water- it would dry..

The spirit looked up, eyebrows knitting together as he looked Ricky up and down. "What the hell happened to you..?" He asked in a quiet voice.

Ricky just shrugged, heaving a shaky sigh and shuffling over to sit beside Nikki, staring down at the carpet. "It's nothing. You-.." Ricky trailed off, picking at a fraying thread on one of the tears in his jeans. "You're safe now, though," He said, looking up at Nikki. "You don't have to worry anymore."

If it were possible, Nikki would have gone even paler than he was. He sat up a bit, eyes locked on Ricky. "What did you do? What did you do, Ricky?" He stressed, looking his friend up and down a few times, trying to find something- anything different. He didn't look harmed, but that didn't mean anything.

Ricky's eyes softened, and he pushed himself to stand up. "It's not a big deal, I just figured I should tell you. It's Halloween. No one should have to spend Halloween running from something they can't help," He said quietly as he headed for the door.

Nikki scrambled to follow, grabbing Ricky's elbow and turning him around. "Please tell me what you've done," He said, "You shouldn't have done anything in the first place. But I at least want to know how bad you fucked yourself."

Ricky pulled away and started walking again. "Remember when you asked me why I don't fly?" He droned, Nikki following along behind him silently. "Yeah," He said. "Why..?"

"It's because I couldn't. When I was around.. twelve.. thirteen.. I shattered one of my wings. Not on purpose or anything, just.. You know. When gargoyles feel threatened, we.. change. Because the stone, that's what protects us. But unfortunately for us, stone isn't invincible. Our bodies, that's stronger. Falling off a cliff wouldn't kill us. But anyway.. not every part of the body is that strong. I got in a car accident, freaked out, and.." He shrugged, glancing at Nikki over his shoulder. "So that's why I don't fly."

Nikki ducked his head. "I'm sorry.." He said softly. Ricky shrugged. "What's done is done. I can't change the past." He said, "I told you because I don't want you to feel bad for what I did. I want you to know that it was useless anyway. I'm okay. I'm not upset. I did what I did because it was an easy fix for a tough problem, and it was the only thing I could.." He trailed off and shrugged.

Stopping dead in his tracks, Ricky turned to face Nikki, looking up at him. "Everything's fine now." He stated simply, wincing a bit as he shifted, running a stony hand over his face and sighing shakily. "Just.. don't touch it." He mumbled, turning around so that Nikki could see.

Even stone, gargoyles- especially younger ones such as Ricky,- are far from immune to pain. So of course it hurt when Ricky had decided to give up something of his own in exchange for Nikki being able to continue roaming the world of the living until he found his own way elsewhere.

Regardless, next to where Ricky's first wing had been shattered, his second one now matched, leaving Ricky flightless. But in the gargoyle's eyes, his other wing was just extra, useless weight. He didn't need it, but he did need Nikki. He hated the idea of Nikki getting hauled off to fuck only knows where.

"Oh, gosh-" Nikki said softly. He reached forward, making sure he wasn't solid enough to hurt Ricky at all. "You-.. fuck, Rick, you didn't have to-"

"Don't," Ricky frowned, stone changing back to flesh as he turned around to look up at Nikki again. "It was my choice; don't kick yourself for it." He said. "How 'bout we just.. I'm tired.. Why don't we go back to my place and watch a movie or something..? I'm sick of walking.." He said.

Nikki bit his lip, running a hand through his hair. "Alright.." He agreed with a small nod. "We can do that.." He said, managing a tiny smile.

Ricky, in spite of how exhausted he was, managed a bit of a smile back as they started walking down the street, dull lights illuminating the cracked cement of the sidewalk as they made their way down the streets.

A/N: question: i know there are a few people who definitely wanna see some ricky/nikki goin' on. i can write that, sure. anything else you guys wanna see?