. three rings

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By his reaction she can tell they have lost the moment completely. It's like a wave has hit him and he leans back. She draws her thumb on his cheekbone, she has empathy for him right now. Her legs unfasten around his waist and she moves to lay beside him, her shape fixing against his perfectly. "I've learned the best reaction to August is no reaction," she kisses his shoulder. "But I said that you're fine and to stop eating my food."

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Just like that, all the exhaustion and melancholia from earlier hits him anew. He's upset that August would say that, would go so far as to travel here to make a scene and then not even tell him about it, and he's upset that he's letting it ruin the moment. Though Freya understands. She had a front row seat to their friendship and saw how often things like this occurred, and he's grateful when she curls up next to him. Kissing her on the top of her head, he wrestled the blanket out from under them, pulling it over the two of them. "You don't think it's true, do you?" he asked, glancing down at her. "You know it's different with you, right?"

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Under these sheets, they feel very Nick and Freya. Though they wouldn't be quite so intimate levels of close and she would be wearing more than a bra and booty shorts. She doesn't let herself become disappointed in the loss of lust, and instead soaks up this moment. When he asks her if she knows they're different, she pauses to choose her words carefully. "No, I don't. But I'm not going to let August rain on my parade and not give us a chance," she doesn't want to hurt his feelings, but she also doesn't think how she feels should hurt them. "I think we're special. So we should prove him wrong. Right?"

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Nick squirms out of his tight fitting jeans, kicking them out of the bed once he's managed to do so. They're already a picture of domesticity but that doesn't surprise him, they were so close in every other way that adding a sexual element to their dynamic didn't feel like that big a change at all. Though he was still thrilled by her, by the memory of what she looked like under her clothes, how her skin feels against his. Nick craved closeness in all of his relationships so he was excited by the notion of getting even closer to her, he looked forward to discovering new facets of her that he hadn't seen before. "Well, I'm telling you now. It's different. I'll prove it to you, to both of you."

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Freya hooks her bare leg over his. God, she's really glad today was the day she shaved her legs. This is a coziness that she hasn't had for a while. In California they had skipped the cuddling in bed scene in favour of passing out drunkenly. And before Nick, there was Rafi. Their cuddles were anxious and fake. This was it. She smiles as he says his, I'll show all of you speech. Her arms wrap around his bicep so he's completely tangled in her. "Don't be too mad at him, okay? He's just doing what he thinks is best in his way, you know being mad won't solve much," she could see August somehow making the argument about himself, it wasn't worth the effort. "And don't try show me. I think it's pretty natural. I think you'll just wake up one day and it'll be fifty years later."

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"No, he just doesn't think at all," he huffs in response to her defence of August, feeling his friend unworthy of such an ally. Though Nick was someone who relentlessly saw the good in others, if there was one person in the world who could test him it was his best friend. Even if August had felt he was acting appropriately for the situation, it meant he had totally ignored everything Nick said about Freya, as well as all the differences between her and everyone else that seemed as clear as day to him. "I'm not fucking talking to him," he said sulkily, ignoring how much he sounded like a teenage girl. Having Freya entwined with him softens him, and he resolves not to let his bad mood dominate the evening. "That'd be the best," he said warmly, meaning it. Of course he'd said and thought similar things with Elena... and Corinne... ignoring August's voice in the back of his mind, he leaned down and kissed Freya softly. "Here's to fifty years."

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When August had waltzed into the apartment yesterday Freya was hardly surprised. She had been waiting for him since California and was actually surprised that it took him this long to white knight (in his head this is what he was doing) Nick. Freya stood back and let him back himself at home which he always did. He'd picked up a few of Nailas toys to inspect and thrown them where they belonged, then he went on about how much of a lovaholic Nick was and how he should be avoided not encouraged. Freya understood this. She knew who he was in a relationship before they'd slept together and had thought about it for those lonely few weeks after California. She was sure Nick had said most of these things to a lot of women, but no matter how repetitive it got it had to stick with someone. Didn't it? Nick was constantly in search of something great to share with someone and Freya thought she should try be the only the share it. "Okay," she accepts him pouting over August, her own hand adjusting the pillow so it's easier on her neck. "To fifty years.. fifty not to fast years," she kisses him back. "And if it doesn't work, I think we'll still be fine," she adds for insurance. She believes it too. Even with sore hearts they'd move on for Naila. "Glad for this though."

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Even in the midst of his sulking, it's an inevitability that Nick will have forgiven August by the time he gets home. It was the secret to the enduring nature of their friendship, Nick forgave him when he overstepped the mark (as he often did), and August overstepped the mark in order to save Nick from his own well meaning but destructive urges (a rescue he often needed, though seldom asked for). August's rigidity worked well with Nick's flexibility, and Nick's niceness was saved from spinelessness by August's defensiveness of him. Even now, he'd started to forgive his friend. "Yeah, we'll be fine," he repeats, though he won't actually allow himself to consider the possibility that they won't end up together. "I'm so glad for this," he says, able to say that with genuine enthusiasm. He sinks down into the bed, turning to face her, his hand cupping her cheek as he kisses her again. "Naila's gonna be so excited," he said with a grin, imagining her face as it dawned on her that this was really happening. He wants to bring up moving in together, getting engaged, the whole shebang, but he manages to slow himself down. "Though her friends' moms are gonna be devastated. What am I gonna tell Karen Thompson?"

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He huddles down with her and she kisses him, she's unable to max out on affection. She laughs when she pictured Naila in the morning. The kid had only realized that her family was not normal, which only made her squish the idea of a legitimate family together. Nick had become a frequent subject of conversation these past few months and when she did a presentation on her family, he was a focal point. Naila would surely flip out once she realized her dreams were coming true. "It'll be better than Christmas," her body stretches out and she yawns, exhaustion is getting the best of her. "Tell Karen Thompson to meet me by the corner store at five. I'll show her not to mess with us."

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One of Naila's most endearing qualities was insisting the things she wanted to be true were already true, despite all evidence to the contrary. Just last month she had decided that they were going to Disneyland and instead of nagging the two of them for permission, she'd simply started asking 'when are we going to Disneyland again?'. Upon being told that there were no firm dates since it was not something anyone but Naila had agreed to, she'd give them a look, before chiding them that they'd have to get it booked soon. This was something she had taken to doing with Freya and Nick lately, referring to them as her parents and resisting any sort of correction. This habit wouldn't detract from the joy in her reaction when she found out it was real. Being a smart kid, it wasn't delusion that drove her persistence but more an understanding of the fact that adults could eventually be worn down. She'd be delighted that the ploy had worked. "She's gonna want to take all the credit." Her yawn sends a pang of affection through his chest and he smiles at her, finding everything she does insanely endearing. "Aww, are you gonna fight for me? Let all the moms know who's boss?"

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Freya practically radiates with happiness. Although she is the happiest she has been in forever, she is exhausted. There were too many long days and short nights this month. Naila had been down with a case of the flu last week and Freya had been fighting it off with spray bottles of bleach while tending to her baby in between. This week had been sleepless, too much school work and the stress of Nick ignoring her had kept her up. She wonders if exhaustion is a permanent state for Nick, who although is mostly always upbeat is plagued with insomnia. Freya cozies in further and becomes impossibly close, her arms stretching across and pulling him into a bear hug. "As she should," she smiles, knowing that without Naila they probably wouldn't be here. Nick had practically saved them, but she had doubts that he wouldn't have stuck around if it weren't for his niece. "Mhm, I'm going to show up with a baseball bat and brass knuckles. She already thinks I'm ghetto but she doesn't know the half of it," she keeps serious but lifts her head to kiss his lips. "We'll have do a lot of this too, gotta make sure those soccer moms know what's mine."

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Despite his tiredness and his absolute level of comfort, Nick wouldn't be falling asleep any time soon. His insomnia had been the demise of many a relationship in the past, with girlfriends wanting him to come to bed when they did rather than when they woke up, his tossing and turning keeping them awake, the irritability even he couldn't resist after a few nights without sleep. Tangled up with Freya here felt like heaven, but he wondered how long it would take her to become frustrated with it too. With her ruthless work structure and Naila to worry about, would she really want to take that on? When would they be able to see each other if he was asleep during the day and she went to school nights?  Ignoring the fact that he saw plenty of her as things stood, Nick felt a nervousness creep in. Ignoring it, he nodded along. "She parent trapped us alright. Thank god there aren't two of her." As she hugs him he wraps his arms around her, squeezing her tiny frame against himself. He can't get close enough. "God yeah, the most ghetto girl I know," he said with a laugh, kissing her back. "I can agree to that," he added, giving her a slow, deep kiss. When he pulled away he loosened his hold somewhat, pulling away from her ever so slightly. "Don't let me keep you up, ok?"

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Something changes in his body language and Freya has to reexamine what she's said, in case she's offended him. She laughs at the idea of them being parent trapped, she hasn't thought of that. Little Naila's persistence had prevailed. She kisses back, her hand reaching behind his neck and grabbing a handful of dark hair. When they break he separates further and she frowns. "Is that something you're worried about?" She'd never considered his insomnia much of a game changer. But then again, she wasn't living completely sleeplessly. It was something he seemed to live with. "I won't.  But when I fall asleep, you don't have to stay here."

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Nick is oblivious to the fact that he may have been giving the game away, barely even knowing that he was recoiling from her even though he physically was. It's a hideous idea, that the slightest thing could creep under his skin and corrupt their deep understanding of each other, but he can't help but let his mind get carried away. It's like she's too good to be true, and even though Nick knows her well as an individual, he can't quite reconcile her as someone who'd want to be with him, even though she's giving every indication that that's the case. "I'm worried about a lot," he says finally. admitting it in the hopes that it'll be the first step to not worrying at all. He half shrugged, not really absorbing what she was saying. "I want to stay."

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He says he worries about a lot and her brows bend with concern. She views Nick as a sort of light bearer in an extraordinarily dark night. He has a way of lighting up things with his positive glow. As she was transitioning from a family to a single mother, Nick had often been there to pull her out of the shadows. She's surprised and not surprised over his concern, partially because she felt the same worries. But Freya kisses the back of his hand, trying to offer her own light to his darkness. "Me too. You know I haven't really been with anyone since Rafi," she hates talking about it, but knows that her opening up and offering her own vulnerability will help. "I'd like that."