*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧—chapter twenty: together, always together

THE APARTMENT IS FAIRLY QUIET WHEN POE RETURNS THAT EVENING. The soft click of the door closing behind him echoes in the stillness. He slips his shoes off and sets his bag down by the door, his movements cautious, as if trying not to disturb the tension that he can feel still lingering in the air.

When he enters the living room, the TV is on, but it can barely be heard, set to a low volume. The faint hint of something savory lingers in the air—it seems that Nico had cooked dinner earlier, but both plates of food were sitting on the kitchen island, untouched. The food was most likely cold now, depending on when it was made.

Poe worries his bottom lip between his teeth. Nico most likely hadn't known when Poe would've gotten back, so he had prepared dinner early just in case. And even thought the food was untouched, there's a cup of something by Nico's seat. A clear cup. Half-empty.

He thinks about what might've happened earlier, Nico not being able to decide whether or not to leave the food in the pots on the stove and plate it, and just ultimately deciding to plate it instead, in the hopes there would be some miracle and Poe comes home early. Poe never wanted this to happen, for Nico to feel like this was his fault. Not the silence, not the distance. He loves Nico, loves him more than he knows how to express, and the thought of their marriage starting off like this—fractured, uncertain—makes his heart ache.

Poe swallows thickly, glancing toward the couch to find Nico sprawled out, his eyes closed as he sleeps. He was still wearing the same clothes he had been in from this morning. He walks over quietly, not wanting to startle him, and lightly taps him on the shoulder.

"Nico."

The blond stirs, mumbling something before cracking an eye open. He blinks, staring at Poe, half expecting this to be a dream. Poe can tell Nico hadn't expected him to be home just yet. Nico sits up, a look of relief washing over his face. "You're back," he says quietly, his voice hoarse.

"Yeah," Poe says, taking a seat beside him on the couch. "I'm back."

For a moment neither of them say anything else. Poe fingers with the hem of his shirt, his gaze focused on his lap. Nico watches him with a frown.

"I'm sorry," Poe whispers, still not looking at him. "For this morning. For everything."

Nico shakes his head, his jaw tightening. "You don't need to apologize. It's my fault. I should be the one apologizing. I didn't mean to make you feel like your job doesn't matter. I know how much it means to you and I know how long it took for you to get there. I'm sorry."

Poe nods, glancing back up at him. "I know you didn't mean any of it. And I definitely didn't mean to make it sound like I don't care about us, because I do. We both know I care. I care so much, Nico. I just..." He lets go of his shirt and reaches up to run a hand through his hair. "I didn't realize it'd be so difficult to balance everything. Our careers with our personal lives. I didn't realize how much time we'd end up losing because of your schedule. And with the Williams news, when Lewis told me... I guess I was a bit blindsided by it."

Nico winces slightly. "I... I should have told you as soon as I found out. I mean, I wanted to, but I didn't know how. I was afraid of it feeling like I was... like I was putting Formula 1 ahead of us. And I didn't want that."

"Isn't this exactly what I'm doing with my work?" Poe questions, tilting his head as he looks at him. He leans back into the couch, a sigh leaving his lips. "I'm so focused on building my career, trying to become something bigger, something better than I already am that I've been shutting you out, and I didn't notice until this morning, Nico. I didn't mean what I said earlier. I didn't mean to make you feel like you're not a priority in my life."

Nico smiles. "Stop apologizing, idiot."

"Why...?"

"Because," Nico leans forward and presses a kiss to Poe's lips. "I know why you were upset this morning, you don't need to go on this whole thing about the reason. I just don't want to lose what we have, you know? I don't want us drifting apart because we're so busy with everything else."

A look of relief and understanding washes over Poe's face and the corners of his lips quirk up in a smile. "Okay. I can't promise it won't, but if it does happen, we need a plan."

"A plan?" Nico cocks his head to the side.

"Yes, a plan, because we can't keep doing this," Poe gestures between them. "We can't keep overworking ourselves and then ignoring each other like we don't live together, permanently now. I think... I think we need to come up with something that'll work for both of us, something that doesn't interfere with our schedules."

Nico nods, a look of understanding showing in his eyes. "Okay, so how about this? We set aside a day or two. No work. No distractions. Nothing. Just us."

"That could work," Poe says, brows furrowing as he thinks. "But what if you're gone for a race weekend?"

"Then we figure that out when I get back," Nico says, no hesitation. "Or I could call you or something. We don't have to figure it out in person. Just as long as we can come to some type of agreement. I don't care how we make it work, as long as we do. That's all that matters in the end."

Poe smiles again. "Yeah, I like that. And we could, well, I could set boundaries and stuff with my work. No more taking on extra projects because I want to prove something. I want to be here, Nico, with you, every chance we have. I don't need this taking away from that. I don't want you feeling like you're competing with my job."

"Hey, I need to set boundaries too," Nico admits. "I can't let racing take over my life. That's not why I'm here. We're in this together, you know."

Poe nods again. "Together."

"I'm sorry for this morning, too, by the way," Nico says, reaching for Poe's hands and giving them a gentle squeeze. "I hate fighting with you."

"Me too," Poe says softly. "But I think... I think we needed that. I think that what happened this morning was necessary for us to get everything off our chests, whatever was troubling us. To figure out how to move forward from there. A perfect world doesn't exist. People have their ups and downs. It's normal."

Nico hums in agreement, reaching up to trace his fingers along Poe's arm. "We'll figure it out. Call this baby steps."

Poe smiles, and Nico can tell it's a genuine one this time.

"Je t'aime, Nico," he murmurs, pressing a kiss to the top of Nico's head.

"Ich liebe dich, Poe." Nico returns the statement and sits up. "Why don't we go eat? And don't you dare complain about the food being cold. There's a microwave right there."

"And, he's back," Poe says with a laugh, moving out of the way when Nico lunges across the couch to playfully smack on the head.

author's note
i wrote this in one sitting

01.07.25