here’s a tiny extract off something i’m working on:
"Nik! How was your—"
Nikolai pushed past him in lieu of a reply. Head down, he made his way into the kitchen.
John followed after him, continuing. “Nik. How was your trip?”
He stared on in silence as Nikolai walked away.
“Fine, John. I would like to be alone, for now.” Nikolai opened the fridge to take a beer, retreating to the lounge where he promptly slumped in an armchair. He pulled a knee up onto the seat with him. He tried not to look at John in the hallway. Tried not to think about his meeting, tried not to focus on anything but the bottle in his hands. His saving grace, which he elected to pick open with a thumbnail so he wouldn’t have to walk past John again to get a bottle opener.
Nikolai stared into the dark behind the TV set, and gulped down more of his beer. Could’ve sworn it was staring back at him. He relegated his gaze back to the bottle. Swirled it around, silently, watching the last centimetre in the bottle slam against the glass, over, and over, until a hand grasped the bottle and forced him to settle.
“Hey. The fuck is wrong?” John asked. The tone didn’t feel affectionate, more predatory, as John knelt down to take the bottle out of his hand.
Nikolai snatched it away. “Nothing, Captain, let me rest.” He finished his drink, before meeting John’s eyes, for the first time in over a week.
