Letterman Jacket

31 / thirteen days before

warning: we're going to have a lot of sweet nico here once again! i'm so sorry guys i know you've had enough of him :c

we're getting back to the plot on the next chapter though! and we're so close to the end i'm excited!

thank you for reading and for waiting. it really means a lot. again, if you wanna know what's going on in my life and when's the next update coming and just to talk to me, my twitter is pqmwrites!! let's chat c:

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My eyes fluttered open, and my breath caught in my throat when I felt heavy weight crushing me—Nico was on his stomach with his arm still wrapped loosely around my waist, and his legs were tangled with mine under the sheets. Slightly parted, his lips rested by the hollow of the curve of my neck, dangerously near my collarbone.

I swallowed hard. My shirt had hitched up in the middle of the night, and Nico's fingers were lightly splayed across my side, as if lazily stroking my skin. I listened, but his breathing was still even. Carefully, I started to shift away, but with a voice deeper than usual and rough with sleep, Nico said, "It's too early. Where are you going?"

My pulse jumped. "Um, you're a little heavy."

"Sorry," he mumbled, immediately loosening his hold. Nico rolled on his back and threw his arm on the opposite side of the bed to pull me closer with his other. Almost naturally, I leaned against him and laid my head on his chest. "Better?"

I sighed in contentment as I snuggled deeper into his embrace, clutching the shirt underneath the hoodie he wore. "Much."

Nico hummed in response. His breathing slowed, and I was lulled back into a peaceful sleep.

Waking up the second time around was just as heart-racing as the first.

I spent some seconds admiring the sight of Nico on my bed once again. Then, pushing up on my elbows, I slowly maneuvered myself into a sitting position, careful not to wake him this time. Running my hands through the tangles of my hair, I stared down at Nico—from the softened edges of his face and his perfectly-structured features, to the slow rising of his chest and to the obvious ripples of his muscles through his thin shirt.

I swallowed hard and looked away. The sunlight was seeping through the glass of the windows, and the clock on my bedside table said it was a little over nine.

Dragging myself towards the edge of the bed, I quietly tiptoed towards the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth from the drawer below the sink. I rubbed it against my face to ease the drowsiness and to somehow calm my flushed cheeks. I brushed my teeth and my hair, staring long enough at the mirror to decide that there was nothing more I could do about my appearance before stepping back inside the room. Nico was still lying on his back, but his arm reached across my side of the mattress—his hand was evidently searching for me against the sheets. My lips pulled up into a small smile when a frown etched its way onto his expression when he realized the space beside him was empty.

Then his eyes snapped open, and he sat up immediately before his gaze met mine. Nico's body visibly relaxed. "Hi."

"Hi," I whispered.

His hand reached up to run through his hair as he twisted his body to sit on the edge of the mattress. Nico looked at me with half-closed eyes. "How long have you been awake?"

"A few minutes. I just went to the bathroom. I'm sorry I woke you up."

Nico outstretched his arm and gently tugged on my wrist. "C'mere."

With my heart in my throat, I stepped forward as he pulled me to stand in between his legs. His hands slid themselves down to my sides and stopped on my waist—a respectable but intimate touch—but his eyes stayed locked with mine. "I slept really well," Nico stated lowly. "Thea, I want more mornings like this one."