Nikki was afraid to go home.

Tommy promised that he would stay outside in his car, if Nikki had to run out again he'd be there, but the smaller man refused. He'd take whatever his parents did.

Tommy sighed, knowing there was no way to argue with him when his mind was made up.

After a nap and a warm shower together, Nikki redressed himself, mostly in Tommy's clothes. He led he way out of Tommy's apartment, feeling his boyfriend grab his hand and hold on as they walked to the car.

Nikki hopped in the car, sitting cross-legged in his seat.

"You okay?" Tommy asked softly as he got in, leaning over to kiss Nikki lightly.

"I'm just anxious. It's nothing." The bassist grumbled, staring out the window as Tommy pulled out of the parking lot. In reality, he was only going home because he had to eventually. He'd rather stay at Tommy's forever.

The silence was getting to Tommy, he never liked it when Nikki was quiet. It either meant he was upset or up to no good.

"Kitten?"

Nikki furrowed his brow, glancing over at Tommy.

"Huh?"

"Kitten. Do you mind if I call you that? Ever since I saw you with your stage makeup on, I've always thought you looked like a kitten. The black lines are like whiskers." Tommy laughed sheepishly, eyes focused on the road.

"That's kinda.. actually, I like it. Yeah." Nikki laughed, feeling his cheeks heat up.

"You're so cute." Tommy stole a glance at Nikki's pink cheeks before gazing back in front of him.

"How do you make me smile when I'm afraid for my life?" Nikki snickered, folding his arms over his chest.

"I dunno. Being in love is a funny thing." Tommy murmured, smiling sweetly over at his boyfriend. It made Nikki's stomach flip and he couldn't pull the grin off his face as he stared down at his lap.

"You still give me butterflies, what the fuck." Nikki laughed, resting his hand on Tommy's knee as they pulled up to his house.

"As you still do for me. I love you." Tommy put the car in park, turning and softly pressing his lips to Nikki's.

Nikki nearly melted in Tommy's grasp as his boyfriend's hand came up to his head, gently caressing his cheek and cradling his face as they kissed.

"I love you, too." Nikki whispered against his lips, eyes still closed as he rested his forehead against Tommy's.

"Do you want me to stay outside?" Tommy pressed, opening his eyes in sync with the smaller man.

"No.. I think it'll be okay. The damage is already done, anyway.. I'll call you if everything is okay, or I'll make a run to your apartment." The bassist replied softly, as if his parents could hear them in the car.

"Okay.. stay safe, kitten." Tommy exchanged one last smile with his lover. He pulled him in for a tight hug before sitting back and letting him exit the car. He watched, biting his lip, as Nikki trotted up to his front door. He knocked once, and then it opened, and he was yanked inside.

Tommy wanted to stay so badly, but he knew Nikki would be even more upset if he didn't listen to his wishes. Regretfully, he pulled out and drove back home.

Nikki's father had his hand firmly on his son's shoulder, steering him to the kitchen where his mother was waiting at the table.

No one spoke for a good minute.

"The school called." His mother began. Nikki was too scared to utter a word in his defense. He felt himself begin to sweat.

"Is it true that Tommy was your.. math substitute?"

Nikki couldn't bear to look into her eyes, opting for realizing how cool and interesting his old combat boots were.

"Nikki."

She stood, gently grabbing his hand and leading him to the table. She sat him down beside her. He still kept his eyes low.

"Baby, why didn't you tell us the truth?"

"Because it would've gone all wrong," Nikki blurted out. Suddenly, he couldn't stop himself. "It should've been over - Tommy being my teacher - months ago. Mrs. Sullivan was supposed to be back by now but she had to stay out later for her baby because it had some health problems and it was all supposed to blow over and it wasn't supposed to end like this it wasn't-"

"Hey, hey! Calm down, breathe.. We aren't going to punish you. I think you've been punished enough.. we just want to talk." His mother murmured softly, pulling him in for a tight hug.

Nikki shook his head, fighting out of her embrace.

"I'm sorry - I never meant for this."

"What were you thinking? They told us that he's been kicked out of college-"

"We weren't thinking!" Nikki shouted, standing up and pushing the chair back in. He tried to run but his father was blocking the doorway.

The tears that had been building up in his eyes began to trickle down his cheeks, then more and more came, and he found himself sobbing into his mother's neck.

"Everything was going so well." He whimpered, feeling his mother rubbing soothing circles on his back. It was about then she noticed his clothes.

"What are you wearing? These aren't yours." She seemed puzzled. Nikki remained silent until she finally understood that they were Tommy's.

"Are you and him still together?" She murmured, brushing his hair out of his eyes. He nodded quickly, still keeping his eyes low.

"He's the one who dropped me off.."

His father and mother exchanged sad glances, as if what they were about to say next was hard for them.

"We suggest that you break up with him, Nikki.. you're both going to be going through some tough times now, and it's probably best if-"

Nikki wrenched himself out of her arms, refusing to hear any more.

"I'm in love with him, goddammit! We're going to get through this, and anything else life throws at us, because life is a son of a bitch and wants to hurt us! But it won't! It fucking won't!"

"Watch your mouth." His father growled from behind him. Nikki shook his head, tears running faster now.

"I will never leave him. He's my everything, and if you can't see that, then you're blind. Both of you. I'm an adult, and I can make my own fucking decisions." Nikki spat before shoving his way past his father and running up to his room. He slammed and locked the door behind him, grabbing the phone and dialing Tommy's number.

"Hello?"

"Baby!" Nikki cried, clutching a pillow to his chest.

"Hey, hey, what's going on? Are you okay?"

"N-no.." Nikki whimpered, barely able to get a word out past the gasps and sobs that were wracking his body. "I- T-they told me to break up with you, they're terrible, Tommy, I need to get out-"

"Shh, shh. I'm sure that's not what they really want. I'll be there in fifteen, babe. Clean yourself up.. Remember that I love you. You'll be okay. If you want, throw together a bag of clothes. You could stay here for a few days, if you really need to get away."

"O-okay, I will." Nikki forced his voice to stop shaking. "I love you, too. Bye."

Not a second after he hung up the phone, there was an impatient knock on his door.

"Nikki, open up-"

"Never!" He screamed, burying his face in his pillow. His makeup had run off nearly completely, leaving him with dark lines running all the way to his jawline.

The knocking continued until Nikki screeched again as he desperately tried to throw together a duffel bag of clothing. The knocking hand retreated and did not attempt again.

Nikki had never been more glad to have a bathroom attached to his room. He reached his face under the running faucet, washing off all the makeup with a bar of soap.

He quickly reapplied his eyeliner, hand only trembling a little now. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he realized Tommy would be here any minute. Nikki removed the screen from his window, tossing his duffel bag of clothes out the window and onto the lawn. It rolled ungracefully off the roof, but landed where he needed it, so it didn't matter. He put the screen back on, clicking it into place. Once he spotted Tommy's car coming down the road, he hightailed it down the stairs and darted outside, hoping his parents wouldn't see. There were no protests as the front door slammed behind him.

Nikki grabbed his duffel bag out of the lawn, tossing it into the backseat and hopping in.

Tommy drove down the road a little bit before pausing to comfort his love.

Nikki was holding back the tears he knew would come anyway. At least he had thrown his eyeliner stick into the duffel bag.

He leaned into Tommy's embrace as soon as he gave it, sobbing freely into his boyfriend's chest.

"I hate them, I hate them."

Tommy kissed his forehead, gently brushing his unruly hair out of his face.

"You don't hate them, baby.. they're just trying to do what they think is best for you."

"You're the best for me." Nikki growled indignantly, taking advantage of the bench seat and half-sliding into Tommy's lap, sitting sideways with his butt awkwardly situated between his boyfriend's thighs. He kicked his feet over into his own side of the seat, leaning back as Tommy wrapped his arms around him.

Tommy sighed quietly, closing his eyes as Nikki softly cried into his shirt.

"I love you so much. They don't understand." Nikki whimpered, feeling Tommy's gentle fingers petting his head in an attempt to calm him.

"I know, baby. One day, they'll see. But until then, you can just sit here in my arms and everything will be okay. As long as you're mine, everything will be okay."

Nikki sniffled, closing his eyes and nuzzling into Tommy's chest.

"C-can we go home, now?"

"I won't be able to drive with you in my lap like this, sweetie." Tommy murmured regretfully, realizing how small and vulnerable Nikki was, and enjoying how he went to him for comfort, and how he trusted him.

"Ugh. You're right." Nikki sighed, sliding off Tommy and curling up on the seat.

"I can't drive with you like that, either. You'll slide off the seat and hurt yourself."

"I won't."

"You will." Tommy smiled goodheartedly.

Nikki pouted, sitting upright and putting his seatbelt on.

"Good boy." Tommy laughed softly, reaching over and kissing Nikki's nose. It wrinkled up under the attention, making him laugh more.

"Home?" He glanced over at his lover, seeing the beginnings of his signature smile starting to peek at his beautiful lips. Nikki nodded, breaking out into a grin.

"Home."