S C H M I C O || A collection of short stories

A Simple Gift

Nico was so ready to get home and just collapse onto the couch. His feet were throbbing and he felt so exhausted that he could barely keep his eye open, which definitely made walking up the stairs to the apartment a lot harder. Of course, the elevator had to be broken. It had been for the past two weeks and nobody had done anything yet.

Knowing that Levi would be waiting for him gave him the push he needed to, almost quite literally, drag himself up the stairs. Knowing that soon he'd be able to climb into bed with him and just complain about the day he had seemed like actual heaven to him.

He fumbled around with his keys, letting out a frustrated sigh at the fact his hands just didn't seem to want to work. Eventually, he managed to get the key he needed. Today had just been far too stressful for him to cope with. It seemed as if the world around him was speeding past him, leaving him in the dust as he desperately tried to catch up.

As he entered through the front door, he shrugged his jacket off his shoulders, toeing his shoes off and kicking them to the side of the shoe rack. He knew Levi would probably nag him about it later but right now, he was far too tired to give a crap.

Nico could hear some faint chatter from the living room, where he guessed Levi was. He ventured in, scanning around the room as he tried to find Levi. Eventually, he spotted him, pacing back and forth as he chatted away on the phone. Nico didn't say anything, as he didn't want to disrupt Levi, so he made his way over to the couch and made himself comfy.

It was a couple of minutes and a few huffs later that Levi finally managed to hang up the phone, locking it and shoving it in the pocket of the hoodie he was wearing. Nico had been so caught up in his own mind that he didn't even realize the hoodie that Levi was wearing was actually his.

"That was my mom," Levi started, dragging himself over to join Nico on the couch. He slumped down next to his boyfriend, letting out a short sigh as he cuddled up into his side. Nico wrapped a firm arm around Levi, holding him close. "She wants to know when she's next going to see you. And she said she hopes you feel better."

Nico felt a little smile tug at the corner of his lips. "I'm free this weekend, if you are?" Levi nodded lightly, his fingers absent-mindedly tracing shapes on Nico's leg. "You can also tell her I'm doing fine. I'm doing better, at least."

"That's something. It isn't an overnight process." There was a sadness to Levi's words as he spoke, something which Nico couldn't quite put his finger on. He swallowed, turning his head to press a kiss into Levi's hair.

They shared a few moments of silence between them, neither of them quite knowing what to say. Both of them had so many things in which they wanted to say to each other, but neither of them could bring themselves to say it. It was still very much a touch-and-go process at the moment.

"I see you're wearing my hoodie," Nico let himself smile for once, a feeling of warmth running through him as he heard Levi chuckle. "That one is big on me, let alone you. It literally swamps you."

"I can't help that I like it, it keeps me warm."

"Hey, I could do that too!"

"Nico, you're always freezing. No offense," Levi jabbed, sitting up from Nico's side so he could look at him. Nico had a childish pout slapped across his face, acting as if the words Levi had told him had hurt.

Nico's pout faded into a small, fond grin as he looked Levi up and down. That really was his favorite thing to see him wear. "Have I ever told you that I think that color really suits you?"

Levi could feel his cheeks flush as he dipped his head, lower lip caught between his teeth as he tried to bite back the shy grin. Still, after all this time together, Nico's compliments never failed to make Levi blush. Quite honestly, he still had no idea how to react to them.