Archive of Our Own ^beta

Thomas stood outside, staring at the same art wall that he and Nico went on their first date together. He fiddled with the hem of his shirt, bouncing back and forth on his feet as he waited.

Nico said he'd be there soon, asking if Thomas was alright.

Well, he was, but he could feel anxiety coursing through his veins as he checked the time on his phone again — it had only been a minute since the last time he pulled it out.

"We don't have to tell him, you know," Janus looked away from one of the art pieces, turning to Thomas. Patton bapped his arm, "Janus! We said we wanted to do this!"

"It'll be easier than skirting around the topic," Logan reminded the group, taking some notes on a clipboard he summoned from the headspace. "Plus, then we can be fully open when around our friends and him. No walking on eggshells."

"What if he takes it bad?" Virgil chewed on his lip, sitting down on a curb, his leg bouncing.

"Then he doesn't deserve us!" Patton chirped up, with Roman nodding his head and agreeing. 

"It's weird." Virgil insisted. 

Roman shoots Virgil a look. "Dude, how we met was weird. Thomas fell into a trash can." Janus snorts, a hand covering his mouth. 

"And he's still smitten for you?" Logan raises an eyebrow, apparently unaware until now. 

Thomas takes a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves as the other parts of him continue talking amongst themselves. He checks his phone again. 

Another car pulls into the parking lot, and Thomas feels his heart stutter. Everyone goes silent as Nico walks out, a smile on his face. "Mr. Sanders!"

"Mr. Flores!" Thomas answers, walking towards his boyfriend. "How're you doing?"

"Good, good! Better now that you're here," he winks, pulling Thomas into a hug. "How're you, though? Everything alright?"

Ah. "Yeah, just— there's something I wanted to tell you." The hug broke apart, and Thomas could feel Virgil's anxiety mixing with his own. Nico smiled at him, patiently waiting as Thomas collected himself. "I, gosh. There isn't really a good way to say this."

Nico takes Thomas's hand in his own. "You're not hurt or sick, are you?"

Thomas let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "No, no. Nothing like that, just… hard to explain." Thomas takes a deep breath as Nico gently squeezed his hands. "I… sort of… haveseveralpeopleinmyhead?" The sentence came out rushed, jumbled together as he looked anywhere besides at Nico.

Nico didn't say anything for several moments, and the longer it took the worse Thomas's thoughts started to spiral. Still, Thomas took the smallest comfort that Nico hadn't pulled his hands away.

"Oh, that's what you said!" Nico spoke suddenly, nearly startling Thomas. "Sorry— That took me so long to break down!" Nico moved his hand onto Thomas's face, cradling his cheek. 

Thomas felt himself lean into it, hesitantly looking at Nico's face. "You're not… upset?"

"Why would I be upset?" He shook his head, a smile on his face as he looked at Thomas. "You don't have to worry about that. My younger sibling has something like that too."

Relief flooded Thomas, shoulders sagging. "I was so worried something bad was gonna happen." Nico laughed, the bright, shining sound Thomas needed. "I haven't told anyone besides a few friends, this is such a relief."

"I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me," Nico smiled, pulling Thomas into another hug. This one lasted much longer, and he could hear Virgil teasing Roman and Patton. The hug finally broke, and the went to just simply holding hands together as they talked. "Is anyone else there?"

Thomas nods. "Yeah, they're almost always here for the most part. Well, most of the time."

"That's because no one truly understands my ingenious insight I bring into your life!" Remus replied, only to get four voices overlapping in response. 

"Ooh! Thomas, tell him I say hi!" Patton bounced closer to him, grabbing his shoulders. Roman huffed, moving next to Patton. "I helped Thomas build up the courage to even talk to Nico! I should get the honor!"

Thomas quietly laughs to himself. "Patton and Roman both say hi."

Nico croons before waving. "Hi guys!" 

"Perhaps, now that the secret is metaphorically 'out of the bag'," Logan pulls out a flashcard as he speaks, "it would be in our best interests to go back to the apartment with him so you can enjoy his company in more comfortable conditions?"

Remus makes a comment at that, causing Roman to cover his mouth before making a grossed out sound.

"Would you wanna head back to my place for a bit?" Nico asked, breaking the silence. "This is nice and all, but it's like, a hundred degrees out and I feel like I'm gonna be as mushy as those carrots."

Thomas snorted. "You're not gonna let me live that down, are you?"

"That, or the trash can," Nico smiles, "though I could finish the song that you inspired."

Thomas groaned dramatically, and the other laughed at his theatrics. Seeing as Thomaa had walked here, (which earned him Nico exclaiming, "are you crazy? Walking in this weather?"), Nico drove Thomas to his own apartment, as they ended up having an impromptu date where they cooked dinner together.