Second Hand [manxboy]

Chapter 19

Nico wandered out of the kitchen with a plate of snacks in hand, stopping guiltily as he ran into his dad in the hall. Yakov smirked at him. "You'll spoil your dinner," he commented good naturedly.

Nico shrugged and popped a pretzel into his mouth. "It's just a little snack."

"I was planning on lamb for tonight's dinner, after everything that has been going on, I thought we could do something special," Yakov said pointedly.

"And what about Mimi?" Nico muttered.

Yakov eyed Nico curiously, making him squirm under the scrutiny. "What?" Nico finally questioned.

"Nothing," Yakov responded with a tone that was certainly not nothing. "Just you and Miroslav have been spending a lot of time out, before you come home from school."

"We go out and do things," Nico answered cryptically, watching his dad's reactions carefully.

"What kind of things?" Yakov tried.

"Watching movies, dinner, doing nothing and talking." All of that was mostly true, because rarely did anything else happened other than them kissing.

"Do you know if he's started dating anyone again?" Yakov asked.

Nico fell silent, unable to help the owl-eyed look he gave his dad. Yakov chuckled then. "I don't mind if you two are involved."

"You don't?" Nico hadn't been expecting a huge fall out, but he hadn't been expecting his dad acting like he already knew about it.

"I'm okay with it. And Miroslav knows that."

"He does?" Nico frowned. Since when had that been a thing? Miroslav had been the one instant on Yakov not knowing, so how could they have talked about it?

"Last I knew he was being stubborn, saying if anything was going to happen that it would be on its own accord, not just because of my say-so," Yakov explained.

"But... everything with Mac," Nico began unsurely. "Miroslav is the same age, if not a little older."

"He's thirty-two," Yakov answered. "And this is different. I trust Miroslav with you, and only because he is who he is. No one else that much older than you would be okay, including Mac." He sneered at the latter name.

"We haven't done anything," Nico admitted openly. "I don't think he'll let much happen."

"I don't want to know about these things," Yakov threw his hands up in surrender. "What's between you two is just that. You are both very important to me, so make it worth it. I can call him over for dinner."

Nico grinned and headed up to his room, but not before Yakov took away his plate of snacks. Nico wasn't sure what the hype about lamb was but he assumed it had to be something good.

He waited until he knew that Miroslav was over and called him upstairs. "My dad knows," Nico explained, flashing a hopeful smile.

"God damn it," Miroslav groaned. "How did that happen?"

"He already kind of knew."

"Of course he did." Miroslav sighed and ruffled Nico's hair. "Anyways, no hanging out with Amy tomorrow after school. And dig out your suit."

Nico drew back suspiciously. "Why?"

"We've talked about it," Miroslav baited him.

"Talked about what?" Nico tried again.