Don't Wave No Goodbye

An hour later, they, along with a few of Aimee's other close friends, all meet up for a few drinks and farewells while Nick tries to stay above it all. When the times comes, Aimee, Darcy, and himself all pile into a cab together and instruct the cabbie to take them to Heathrow. When they arrive, Aimee and Darcy talk quietly while Nick fiddles with all of Aimee’s luggage, trying to put off the inevitable but failing miserably.

“Please look after him,” Aimee whispers for only Darcy to hear. “He’ll tell you he’s fine and he’ll put on appearances but he’s just a kid trapped in a man’s body and he likes being looked after.”

Darcy nods solemnly. “Don’t you worry, I’ll keep a close eye.”

“Thanks babe. And if you can somehow get him and Peter Pan together too, that would be amazing. I think he’s about to start writing sad poetry and we all know how that goes.”

Laughing, Darcy nods before pulling Aimee into a tight hug. “I’m really going to miss you. Come back soon, yeah?”

Aimee moves to kiss Darcy’s head lovingly before giving her a squeeze. “Of course. Don’t forget to call and everything, yeah? Keep me updated.”

With that goodbye said, Aimee turns to look at Nick who’s scrubbing at his face and pretending to take interest in his jacket sleeves to avoid having to approach the situation.

“Nicholas,” Aimee says slowly, and eventually Nick has to look up at her, eyes already rimmed red. “It’s not forever, you know that right?”

“Feels like it,” he mumbles, feeling like a moron for acting this way. “Just don’t forget me, yeah?”

Aimee lets out a loud laugh. “Me, forget you? Think it’s the other way ‘round mate, you with all your famous popstar friends. But if it makes you feel better, there’s nothing in this world that can make me forget you. You’re stuck in my brain, you annoying twat.”

Finally, Nick cracks a smile and moves forward to scoop Aimee into a hug. “I love you, you obnoxious ginger. I love you a lot and you better keep in touch or I will fly over to New York myself. Look after yourself okay? And don’t shag anyone I wouldn’t, you know this!”

“That I do. I better go or I’ll miss my flight but I’ll ring you the moment I’m in my new apartment, okay? And merry Christmas, you lovable loser.”

“Yeah, merry Christmas,” Nick says weakly, bringing her in once more and kissing her forehead softly. Aimee smiles at him once they step back, reaching out to pinch his cheeks gently before grabbing her carry-on luggage and heading toward the terminals, looking back once to wave goodbye. Darcy moves to Nick’s side, linking their fingers together tightly as they wave back.

The cab ride home is silent, Darcy still holding Nick’s hand tightly, and when they arrive at his house, Darcy asks quietly if he’ll be alright or if he wants her to stay over. He waves her off with a smile, telling her he’ll be fine and that he’ll call her in the morning. Darcy doesn’t believe him but lets him go, blowing him a kiss before telling the cabbie her address. Nick makes his way into his dark flat, with only Lex to greet him, and sits down in the living room with all the lights off because there’s no one around to tell him he’ll lose his eyesight from peering around in the dark.

Twenty minutes later and Nick’s trying to decide whether to go to bed or open a bottle of wine when there’s a knock at his door and he sits there for a moment in confusion. He figures it’s most likely Darcy, hovering because she does that when she’s worried about him, but when he opens the door, there’s a sheepish looking Louis Tomlinson standing there instead.

“I, err,” Louis begins, looking a bit out of place. “Darcy text me telling me about Aimee leaving. Thought maybe you’d want some company.”

Nick narrows his eyes at Louis, not at all unkindly. “So you’re taking pity on me because I’m miserable and alone, hmm?”

“That’s about the size of it,” Louis laughs, before jabbing Nick in the ribs to get him to move. “Come on, old man, I’m freezing my peanuts off out here.”

Nick gives a strange little smile, letting Louis slip past him and it's not long before he finds himself naked and flushed with a sweaty armful of popstar lying against him on his suddenly too small couch. There’s half a bottle of wine on the coffee table that neither of them had managed to get glasses for so they just make do, passing the bottle back and forth soundly until Louis finally finds the words to speak.

“You okay, then?”

Nick snorts at this. “Why, are you concerned about my feelings?”

Louis gives him a bit of a shove, but he’s grinning when he tugs the bottle from Nick’s hands. “Just a question, mate. I liked Aimee. She was always happy to teach me which buttons to push to irritate ya.”

“M'glad that you two find so much enjoyment in annoying me,” Nick mutters, rather fondly.

“Of course, it’s all you’re really good for. Entertainment,” Louis enunciates the word carefully before rolling slightly so that he can look at Nick directly. “Really though, are you okay? Kinda sucks to have to live alone.”

Nick shrugs. “I’ll survive. I’ve got Darce around the corner, when she’s not too busy shagging her boy toys, and there’s Pix and Henry and Gells, and yeah, I’m fine, really.”

“Boy toys? Plural?”

“Hmm. She’s got eyes for the new fill-in DJ.”

“Does Haz know?” Louis asks, mouth twisting in concern.

“That’s what I asked, she seems to think he’s aware of the arrangements,” Nick answers with a bit of yawn, not sure why he has to talk about Darcy’s sex life when she’s not even here. “It’s a bit stupid, I think, but they’ll figure it out.”

“I hope so,” Louis murmurs before snuggling back down a bit. “Is he a looker, then? This new bloke?”

Nick peers down at Louis with a half grin. “Why, you jealous, Tomlinson?”

“You bloody wish. Maybe I want a go,” Louis jokes, letting out an undignified squeal when Nick digs his fingers into Louis’ sides roughly. “Oi, none of that, please!”

“Sorry princess,” Nick apologises, though he’s not all that sorry. “You can decide for yourself, if you’d like. He’ll be at the Radio One Christmas party and you’re more than welcome to come along.”

Louis prompts himself up on one elbow, ignoring Nick’s huff of annoyance. “What, like as your date?”

“No, not like my date. I was gonna invite you and the lads to it, if you’re interested. Ed too, if he’s around. Rita and the Little Mix girls, Pro Green, Olly and Caroline and whoever else I can trick into coming.”

“Is this just so you can show off to all your co-workers that you know lots of famous people?”

“Yes,” Nick says unapologetically, giving Louis a wry grin. “But it’s also because I can’t be bothered with a Christmas party so why not just hijack Radio One’s?”

Louis nods at this. “Good point. Okay then, I can’t speak for the rest of the boys but I’ll be there.”

“Yeah?” Nick tries not to sound as surprised as he feels.

“Yeah,” Louis says, grinning at Nick before he settles down beside him. They lay side by side in comfortable silence, finishing off the bottle of wine and drifting off to sleep easily.

When Nick wakes, Louis’ is still plastered against his side with a sleepy smile on his face that makes Nick’s black heart melt because he looks rather adorable all ruffled from sleep. Nick manages to shimmy out from underneath the younger boy, letting him sleep on as he organises tea for the two of them. Louis comes around immediately after the smell of tea wafts through from the kitchen and sits up, stretching obscenely before giving Nick the kind of smile he wants to see every day for the rest of his life. They sit together and argue over what’s the better tea brand before Louis insults the lack of anything edible in Nick’s cupboard and then they take half an hour to decide where to go out for brunch.

It’s nice, Nick thinks, as they sit together at an outside table of a swank café of Louis’ choosing, Lex lying obediently underneath the younger boy’s chair much to Nick’s disgust. They banter back and forth about nothing in particular, making fun of passersbys' awful choice in outfits, and at one stage Nick wants to reach across to maybe hold Louis’ hand and although he doesn’t (he does not need to be on the receiving end of a bunch of angry teenager girls everywhere), the fact that he wants to leaves a bittersweet feeling in his chest for days.