kiah had definitely not intended for any of this to happen. he came to this town for a job, he wasn’t going to get distracted. find out what happened to these people and move on. that was the goal, but after the first night of work, and not looking forward to going back to that motel room, he didn’t want to be alone in a place he had nothing to do. his hands were going to grow horribly restless, his mind wandering to the last places it needed to be going, he went to the local dive bar for a drink. they were always a good place to talk to local and get a better idea of the town and the people that lived there. the very last thing he was expecting happened.
he walked through the doors and the bartender looked up, their eyes met, he smiled, and suddenly, the world seemed to make just a little more sense. the only thing he could think of was the great gatsby, of shakespeare, he always thought that was just a product of poetic words, of an artistic mind, but he understood those words with such clarity. that smile knew him with an eternal reassurance and it was the fairest thing he’d ever seen, and his life was spent around fair things. he sat down right in front of the other man, and offered his name like he was sealing a deal. kiah didn’t go to the hotel room that night, not for a second. he talked to nicky all night and then he mentioned that he was going to work at his second job, nicky told him that the walk was dark and his phone was dead. it didn’t matter that kiah saw him use it just a couple of minutes ago. he wanted the excuse to spend the time with him.
kiah spent the rest of the morning sipping on coffee and talking to nicky. he barely realized it was time for work until he glanced at his watch. nicky felt bad for keeping him up all night, not like he would have slept anyway, but he appreciated the thought, but nicky insisted on making it up to him, dinner at his house. kiah couldn’t stop smiling, and he couldn’t stop smiling at work, even though it didn’t slip past rory and laz that he was wearing the same suit as the day before.
though, of course, this had to be the day that work kept him late, and he again, didn’t have a chance to change or even freshen up, so here he was at nicky’s doorstep with flowers that he managed to nab on the way out of the precinct, sorry to whoever they were meant for. he would be sure to actually stop at some point and get real flowers to replace them. he texted and waited outside for nicky to open the door, trying not to let his leg jitter. he realized the original dedication card was still in the flowers and he quickly pulled it out and tossed it to the distance right before the door opened.
he saw that smile again and all those butterflies settled, that irresistible prejudice in his favor made him realize he had nothing to be nervous about.
“hi,” he said with a soft smile, “i, uh, i got you some flowers."
in fairness, neither of them had intended for anything like this but it’s fair to say that no one could have expected this. the bar was always dry, out of towners were seldomly interesting enough to draw nicky’s eye long enough to think about pursuing them outside of the bar and the people in town weren’t quite what nicky was looking for. what exactly he was looking for he didn’t know but 6’6 and in a well kept suit was certainly interesting. he was all bright smiles from the moment that nicky laid eyes on the man and to know his name was like knowing the name of an angel, something magnificent and otherworldly. he felt his heart perform somersaults and he knew that he was a goner.
phones could die in the span of a few minutes, nicky would maintain that as being the utmost truth, but his phone hadn’t. he was looking for the least creepy excuse to invite this man with him to the diner, not wanting to ask the question outright and seem as attached to this smile and this man as he was. three am turned and nicky’s shift at the bar was done and had he not had to go to the diner, nicky couldn’t have truly guaranteed to himself that he wouldn’t have invited kiah home. he would have certainly talked himself out of it, bringing someone home without preparing belle was not something he was in the habit of doing, especially when she had a sweet habit of waking him up. nicky might not have been ready for that experience but he was ready to get to know kiah more intimately ( take that however you’d please ).
in inviting kiah over for dinner, though, that meant nicky had to cook and in all their conversation, favorite foods and allergies didn’t come up and the idea of dinner quickly devolved from one meal to instead a tapas style array of all six things nicky knew how to cook with some skill. there were more, but these were the things that he was confident in and had the least chance of killing someone. homemade meatballs, homemade dumplings, baked lemon chicken ( he would have grilled it if he weren’t afraid to potentially disappoint the nice man from south carolina where some of the best barbecue in the country is ), a traditional scottish raspberry dessert, and other things that might appeal to him. there were also dinosaur chicken nuggets still sitting on the counter but those were from belle’s dinner and nicky’s nervous snacking.
when kiah texted, nicky almost didn’t hear it, so concerned that he might burn something. he’d sent belle and poppy off a while ago to go get dressed and prepare belle for a sleepover at the finnegan household and the peculiarly quiet house led him to turning on some music, both to occupy the space and help him try and calm down. the text though had his heart beating all too quickly and he wiped his hands on his jeans before opening the door.
oh he had a beautiful smile. for a moment nicky was breathless. looking down at the flowers, a matching, equally gentle smile painted itself across his face as he gently took them from the other’s hands, letting their fingertips brush against one another gently. ❛ thank you, they’re — ❜ he stopped for a moment as he looked up again. and then he met kiah’s eyes again, word leaving him before he could stop himself. he realized he didn’t want to. ❛ beautiful. ❜
he took a step back, gesturing into the home. ❛ please, come in. dinner’s almost ready and there’s someone i’d like you to meet. ❜
❛ that’s our cue. ❜ for someone so tiny, belle’s voice sure did carry. another voice was muffled, decidedly feminine but seemingly encouraging her to go. draped in pink fabric, the princess of pine haven was sure to float and take her time coming down the hallway. nicky beamed back at her with pride as she made her way gracefully and stood a few feet in front of kiah. behind her appeared another girl, blonde and short and if you were looking too quickly, you might think she and nicky were siblings.
clearing her throat, the older of the pair said, ❛ presenting princess belle of pine haven. she has been looking forward to meeting you, sir. ❜ though always willing to play along with her games, poppy was ready to swoop in and pull belle out so that nicky could get to his date. something that she had already taken the last hour to help prepare him for and, as far as she was concerned, if this didn’t get him laid then nothing would. though what nicky’s intentions were he hadn’t said.
❛ it’s lovely to meet you, lord kiah. ❜ belle was a spitting image of kiah, dark curls that frame her face, though pinned back in a more regal style per her request, and eyes as piercing as nicky’s. they are gentle though they try to be hard as she said, ❛ i’m sorry to cut right to the point but what are your intentions with my brother, the king ? ❜ perhaps poppy had had too much influence on belle.