Title: When The Storm Comes: Part 1/3

Author: Lia

Rating: PG-13

Summary: On a stormy night when Nicky is visiting Shaun at his mother’s house Shaun gets scared.

Warning(s): None this part except some m/m interaction.

Disclaimer: None needed. I own it all. Nicky and Shaun are my characters. If you want to use them, ask first.

Note(s): Princess Shaun. Shaun Princess. Yes, Princess is MALE. There’s a good reason that he’s called Princess but that’s mentioned in another story.

Normally Nicky tried to stay away from his mother’s current place of residence in Segundo, New York, during the week. His mother always did her charity work during the week or had lunch with her friends or whatever it was she did. Princess had almost finished his senior year at Carlisle Academy and had to get up at 5:00 every morning during the week in order to get to school on time. Instead, he tried to come up every other weekend not just to put his mother at ease about his whereabouts and his relationship with Princess being more than just a series of one night stands but also because he could not bear more than two weeks away from Princess. Really, he hated being away from Princess even that long. As time went on and their relationship grew, Nicky found himself counting the days until Princess’s eighteenth birthday, the day Princess could finally move to New York with him. The every other weekend visits and nightly phone calls were quickly becoming not enough.

So, when the studio had experienced technical difficulties and Triple Flip was unable to continue recording their new album that Tuesday – recording had been pushed back two days while repairs were underway – Nicky had immediately called his mother to let her know he would be there in a few hours and, since the next train from New York City to Segundo was not for two hours yet, he had made the four hour drive to Segundo just to spend one night with his Princess.

It had been worth it. He had arrived on Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 and found the house empty except for his mother’s live-in maid. Clarisse had informed him that his mother was at the hotel for a luncheon with her women’s group and Princess was still at school but was expected home within the hour. Nicky had left again almost as soon as he had arrived at his mother’s house. He had gone to Princess’s school to collect him at the front gates as soon as he had come out instead of letting him ride the bus home as he usually did. Princess had launched himself at Nicky, clinging to him tightly for several minutes before excitedly chattering on for several more minutes about everything that had transpired since they had last been together. Nicky already knew most of it from their telephone conversations every night but he listened anyway. He loved to hear his Princess ramble on and on about anything and everything.

After picking up Princess at school Nicky had taken him to the library so he could do research for a report he had been assigned two weeks ago that was due the next day. Having nothing to do while Princess did his research, Nicky had finished Princess’s calculus homework. Calculus and Princess did not mesh well. If not for Nicky providing homework ‘help’ Princess would probably have been failing it. Even with Nicky’s help his last report card had showed his grade in calculus as only a 72.

Then, after four hours at the library, Princess had finally finished his report and Nicky had taken him to the mall where they shopped at the same stores they went to every other weekend when Nicky attempted to diversify Princess’s wardrobe and get rid of more of his Wal-Mart hand-me-downs. His goal was to have his Princess dressed in only the best clothing from the best stores by the time he turned eighteen and moved in with Nicky. When that happened the paparazzi would be all over the two of them and, although Nicky intended to shield Princess from as much as he could, he needed something besides his sister’s hand-me-downs from Wal-Mart to wear when the reporters could not be avoided or when Nicky had something important to attend and took Princess along with him. He was making progress although it was going rather slowly. They had spent two hours in the mall wandering in and out of every store but all Nicky had been able to convince Princess to let him buy for him was a Heatherette tee-shirt, two pairs of Taverniti-so jeans, baby blue silk pajama pants with little pink puppies all over them, and the biggest, ugliest pink stuffed dog Nicky had ever seen. It had taken no persuasion from Nicky to convince Princess he needed another stuffed animal. That had been the one thing he had actually asked for. It seemed that Princess actually liked stuffed animals and Nicky had promised himself that he would remember that for Princess’s upcoming birthday.

After the mall they had gone back to Nicky’s mother’s house where she was just putting dinner on the table. They had eaten then Princess had had his usual nightly hot bubble bath before putting on his new pajamas and curling up on the couch in the family room with his head in Nicky’s lap to watch some movie that Nicky knew neither the name nor the plot of. He was paying more attention to Princess, running his fingers through still damp white-blond hair that was at least two inches longer than it had been the last time they had sat like this. Princess, his eyes half closed already, rubbed his head against Nicky’s hand and made a sound that sounded almost like the purr of a kitten. Nicky doubted he was watching the movie either. He seemed more intent on falling asleep on the couch so Nicky would have to carry him upstairs to bed. Again.

Izumi Matteo, Nicky’s mother, appeared in the doorway of the family room. “Nicky,” she said. Once she had her son’s attention she continued. “I have an early brunch tomorrow at the Thurston.” The Thurston was the most prominent hotel in Segundo. Izumi met her fund raising women’s group there once a week for brunch. “I’m turning in now. I don’t care how late you stay up but I want him-“ she pointed to Princess “-in bed by 11:00 and no later. And without you,” she added as an afterthought. Izumi was no longer opposed to her oldest son’s relationship with a boy six years younger than himself. She could see that what they had was more than just the series of one night stands she had once thought it was. Still, she was not comfortable with Nicky and Princess being in bed together in her house. If rumors got out about Nicky Narcissus having an affair with a seventeen-year-old boy it could be potentially damaging to his career.

Nicky tore himself away from Princess and gave his mother his attention. He took his hand away from Princess’s hair at the same time, distracted. “Okay,” he said, “I’ll make sure he gets there.” He made no promises about the two of them not ending up in bed together. No matter how they started out the night Nicky always woke up the next morning with Princess snuggled into bed beside him or sound asleep on top of him.

“I mean it, Nicky,” Izumi said firmly. “It doesn’t matter so much about bed time not being observed when you come up on weekends but Shaun has school tomorrow.” Izumi refused to call her son’s current love interest ‘Princess’ even though the rest of the family did. She was opposed neither to their relationship nor to her son’s homosexuality but she considered herself of a conservative mind regarding gender roles.

Princess, missing the hand that had been petting him for the last hour and a half, lifted his head and one hand came up to rub his eyes. “Nicky?” he asked in a sleepy voice barely above a whisper.

“Shh,” Nicky murmured. He moved Princess’s hand away from his eyes as Izumi disappeared from the doorway and started up the stairs to the second floor. “No rubbing your eyes, remember?”

Princess made a disgusted sound. “Can’t I stay up late and watch another movie? And sleep with you?” he asked. “I’ll still get up early tomorrow. I promise.”

Nicky looked at his watch although he knew it was almost 11:00 and time for Princess to be in bed. “No,” Nicky told him. “You need to be in bed as soon as this one is off.” They had chosen this movie; Nicky still had no idea what the name of it was or what it was about, because it went off at exactly 11:00. “You have to go to school tomorrow and I have a four hour drive back to the city.”

Princess made a whining sound that Nicky knew meant he was not pleased with not getting his own way. It seemed he was finally used to Nicky giving him everything he asked for and no longer expected, or liked, getting a refusal. Although he disliked Nicky’s answer, Princess lay down again, his head in Nicky’s lap, and turned his attention back to the movie he was only half watching. Semi-peaceful moments like this were few and far between. Sometimes there was nothing Princess wanted more than to snuggle into Nicky’s arms and stay that way but he had to settle for a nightly phone call and the occasional instant messaging session. The twice-monthly visits just were not enough any more and the single month until Princess turned eighteen and was able to live in the city with Nicky seemed like forever. “Can I at least sleep with you?” he asked. Sometimes, not every time he came to visit but sometimes, Nicky conveniently forgot about his mother’s ‘no sleeping together’ rule and let Princess sleep with him. Even more rarely – mostly because Princess could not stay quiet – they spent the night in the same bed without sleeping.

Nicky had known that was coming. They went through the same thing every time he spent the night at his mother’s house. Most of the time, since bedtime was not a big deal on the weekends, in order to steer clear of the whole issue, Nicky stayed up with Princess until he had fallen asleep on the couch then carried him to bed. It was not a hard task as Princess hardly weighed more than the sister he had ice danced with for several years as a teenager. At other times when Princess was half asleep anyway they went upstairs where Princess willingly got into his own bed and Nicky stayed with him until he fell asleep. Then there were the rare occasions when Princess was wide awake and showing no sign of giving in and going to bed any time soon. Those were the times when Nicky gave in and let his Princess sleep with him. “No, Princess,” he said now.

“But-“ Princess began.

“No,” Nicky said before he could get out a protest. “No, you can’t sleep with me. No, I’m not going to sleep with you. Now either lie down and watch your movie and go to sleep or go to bed now and I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep.” Nicky supposed that if he did not allow Princess the opportunity to argue they would not have to go through the usual routine.

Princess sighed and dropped his head and shoulders back down into Nicky’s lap again. He opened his mouth to argue but shut it again without saying anything. He was tired and maybe if he fell asleep Nicky would take him up to bed then decide to stay with him. Princess curled up and closed his eyes. The movie he had picked to watch was somewhat less than interesting and his eyelids felt so heavy. Nicky’s hand continued to stroke his hair and moved down his back then back up in a soothing manner. Princess settled in, his entire body relaxing. He made a sound that was half purr and half yawn but he could not fall asleep without trying at least one more time to persuade Nicky to stay with him. His eyes fluttered open again. “Nicky,” he murmured.

Nicky looked down in time to see Princess’s eyes open again. “Shh,” he said. “Close your eyes again. You were almost asleep.”

Princess rubbed at his eyes. “Will you stay with me?” he asked again. “Or can I stay with you?”

“Close your eyes, Princess,” Nicky said again, purposely avoiding his Princess’s questions.

Princess yawned. “Will you pet me again?” he asked.

“Pet you?” Nicky asked. That was one of the oddest things he had heard Princess say yet but he had come to expect the unusual when dealing with his Princess.

“Pet me,” Princess confirmed.

“If you lie down and try to fall asleep.”

Princess lay down again, on his stomach this time, with his head and shoulders on Nicky’s lap again. He curled his left arm beneath him and let his right hand rest on Nicky’s leg, close to his knee. Nicky’s right hand settled onto his hair again and just as Princess was thinking he was going to have to tell his boyfriend that ‘pet’ meant his hand had to move, it did. His hand idly stroked the younger boy’s hair, then down his back, then back up again. Princess’s eyes closed and he became quiet again, a rare thing.

Nicky waited until the movie went off. He knew that would give Princess enough time to fall into a deep enough sleep that he would not wake up when he was moved. Once the movie was off Nicky took his time using the remote to turn off the television and satellite receiver. That done he rolled his Princess over onto his back and lifted the younger boy into his lap. Princess did not move except for his eyes. They fluttered open once then slowly drifted shut again. Nicky waited several minutes but there was no other sign of wakefulness from Princess. His breathing was deep and even, unchanging. That was what finally made Nicky decide it would be okay to move him again. Tightening his hold on Princess he stood up with the blond boy still in his arms. Princess was relatively small. At only five feet, four inches tall and somewhere between 110 and 115 pounds, Princess was only an inch taller and five pounds heavier than Ayame, Nicky’s sister and former skate dancing partner. Considering some of the throws skate dancing involved, it was nothing to carry Princess upstairs and place him on his bed.

For once Nicky was pleased that his Princess had conveniently forgotten to make his bed – again. He gently placed his beautiful burden on the baby pink and sea green striped sheet covering the mattress. The sleeping boy curled up immediately and Nicky pulled the top sheet, an exact match to the one covering the mattress, over him, followed by a heavy white comforter with pink and green butterflies stitched into it. He bent to kiss Princess’s cheek softly so he would not wake the younger boy. Then he stood, turning on the bedside lamp and silently watching the blond boy in the muted light.

Nicky had almost convinced himself to leave when Princess’s eyes fluttered open. He rubbed at his eyes with one hand and blinked up at Nicky. “Nicky?” he asked, hoping maybe his boyfriend had decided to stay with him tonight.

“Right here, Princess.” Nicky sat down on the edge of the bed beside his Princess. “Go back to sleep,” he said, sure Princess had been asleep just a few minutes ago.

“Where’s Penelope?” Princess asked, rubbing at his eyes with one hand.

“Who’s Penelope?” Nicky asked, wondering if Princess were still asleep or had been dreaming.

“My dog,” he murmured. “Remember? You bought her.”

“Right.” That was no help. Nicky glanced at the built-in shelves on the opposite wall of Princess’s bedroom. They had been meant for books but were filled with dozens of stuffed dogs of various shapes and sizes, all ones Nicky had bought Princess. “Wanna remind me which one is Penelope?”

“Big pink one. We got her at the toy store today.” Princess yawned. “Remember?”

Nicky nodded. “Right. That’s Penelope.” The only one of Princess’s toys not sitting with the others. He glanced around the room, knowing Princess would not be going to sleep until Penelope was found. The dog in question was sitting on Princess’s desk on top of his laptop. “Do you need to hold Penelope to fall asleep?” That happened sometimes. Conditions had to be exactly right for Princess to be able to sleep at night. He had to have just the right amount of light, the right number of pillows arranged just so and the right number of blankets covering him. The usual four stuffed dogs were already lined up along the wall on the far side of the bed. Normally Princess, in his just gone to bed half asleep state, reached out and hugged one at random or Nicky tucked one in beside him when he tucked Princess in too.

Princess rubbed at his eyes again and nodded drowsily. He was already well on his way back to unconsciousness. “Please, Nicky?” he asked, giving his boyfriend his best puppy dog eyes. “I don’t wanna get up.”

Nicky retrieved the toy and tucked it into bed beside a half asleep Princess who immediately hugged it close and burrowed into his nest of blankets and pillows. “Go back to sleep now,” Nicky said softly. Doing his best not to disturb the blankets, pillows, and anything else that might be hiding in Princess’s bed, Nicky began to rub his back gently, the one sure way to help him fall asleep. Not that Princess needed much help just then.

He forced his eyes open and reached for Nicky with the hand that was not holding his stuffed animal. “Stay here with me,” he all but whispered, his eyes already closing again.

“For a little while,” Nicky agreed. He tucked the blankets more securely around Princess in hopes that they would stay there all night and not be kicked off. Then he lay down on top of the comforter beside the younger boy. “You need to go to sleep, Princess,” Nicky reiterated. “You have school tomorrow,” he reminded the younger boy.

“Why?”

Nicky gave Princess a puzzled look. “Why what?” he asked.

“Why do I have to go to school?”

“Never mind.” Nicky was not going to waste time trying to explain things to his Princess when he was almost asleep. It never did any good.

“Are you going to leave when I fall asleep?” Princess rubbed at his eyes again. He was determined not to fall asleep until after Nicky fell asleep in his bed. That way Nicky would have to stay. To his sleep addled mind, his reasoning made sense.

“I am,” Nicky admitted. “But I won’t leave until after you fall asleep and if you need me during the night you can come and get me.”

“You could stay here with me,” Princess offered. “Or I could come and sleep with you.”

“Not tonight. But I’ll come back up next weekend and you can crawl in bed with me then at least for one night, okay?” Next weekend was not a weekend Nicky had originally scheduled to come to Segundo. He was supposed to have been there last weekend but had been unable to make it. But he had changed his plans to include coming to Segundo to stay with Princess for the weekend while Izumi went to a spa in Boston with several of the other ladies from one of her fundraising organizations. With Izumi away there was no reason why Princess could not invite himself into Nicky’s bed.

Although he was leaning more toward sleep with every passing moment, Princess was still lucid enough to know he was going to have to accept Nicky’s compromise. He yawned and wiggled around until, with Penelope still held firmly in one arm, he was lying more on Nicky than on his pillow and curled up in a ball. “Love me?” he asked.

“Yes, Princess. I love you.” Nicky leaned down to kiss his forehead again. “Go back to sleep now.” He was so close to giving in and climbing into bed with Princess just to hold him.

“Love you too,” Princess all but whispered. His eyes were almost closed and he snuggled under the blanket. Nicky pulled the comforter up to Princess’s chin and in moments the younger boy was asleep.

Once Princess was obviously in a deep sleep Nicky tucked the blanket around him tightly in hopes that Princess would not kick it off before he woke up the next morning. He knew his hopes were probably in vain because Princess was a restless sleeper when he slept alone. After one last long glance at the boy who barely made a lump under the blankets, Nicky let himself out and closed the door silently behind him. He went back to his own bedroom across the hall from Princess’s.

The first thing Nicky did when he returned to his own bedroom was go to the window. His bedroom had, in his opinion, the best view of any of the rooms in the house. It looked out on the large swan pond in the gardens, the little arched bridge over the stream that fed it, and the gazebo next to the water where Princess liked to lie on his stomach and watch the gold fish swimming below him. The night was dark, the sky starless and the moon nowhere to be found. The weather forecast earlier had predicted a storm but Nicky had paid it little mind because the sun had been shining brightly all day. I should have let Princess sleep with me,” he thought. Princess was terrified of storms. Nicky thought it had something to do with the loud noise of the thunder because Princess hated loud noises too.

Nicky opened the window, letting in the cool air of early May. It was warm in his bedroom but not warm enough for the air conditioner yet and the window would have to be closed once the rain started. He stood staring out the window for several long minutes, his elbows resting on the windowsill before deciding to go to bed. If it did storm later in the night and Princess heard it they would both be up half the night.