Hug Prompt: “if you were anyone else, you would have been flipped right over” (Conrad/Nick Danforth Evans, JATP) Conrad is an oc created by the wonderful @soemthingsparkly
He barely made it to school in time to exchange books at his locker and he was cranky, an attitude of don’t fuck with me practically radiating off of him in waves.
Which is why he was surprised to hear footsteps stop right behind him, just as a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind.
He tensed for a brief moment before the smell of grass and a familiar shampoo reached his nose. Relaxing into Nick’s arms as his breath hit Conrad’s ear.
“Good morning” Nick whispered, cuddling Conrad close.
“If you were anyone else, you would have been flipped right over.” Conrad grumbled, moving his hands to Nick’s wrists, squeezing gently before moving to close his locker and turn in Nick’s hold. Kissing him quickly before stepping back to meet his eyes. “Morning.”
Nick smiled softly, offering a bag from the bakery across the street. “Reggie texted, he said you missed breakfast. So I got you a bagel and a coffee.”
Conrad grabbed the bag, inhaling the smell of a freshly toasted cinnamon raisin bagel, squeezing Nick’s hand in thanks.
One of the many times he’d spent the night at Nick’s, they’d stayed up talking until 3 am. Well into the hours when light talking and laughing turns to deep, secret revealing, soul baring words traded in the darkness. He had laid in Nick’s room, head in his lap with Nick’s hands in his hair, dark room lit with the glow of the muted TV as he quietly talked. He told Nick of his life moving from city to city on the whims of his mother’s relationships, the constant hunger and raised voices, and never feeling like he had a place to land. A home, a safety net. Nick's fingers had run through his hair, scratching gently at his scalp as he listened quietly, humming encouragement from time to time.
The next weekend, he had handed Conrad a copy of his house key. Making sure Conrad always had a place to retreat to, that he was able to access even if Nick wasn’t with him. He also made sure that Conrad never skipped a meal. Bringing bagels to school on days Conrad was in a hurry. Always having snacks tucked into a small pocket on his school bag. Handing a bag of trail mix over when study sessions ran long. An apple on the ride home from school.
He never said anything about it, knowing Conrad didn’t like to accept what he viewed as charity, but was always prepared.
