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Description
WARNING TO MY WATCHERS, THIS IS GAY. PLEASE DON'T READ IT IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT. Thanks for your consideration.

Title: Spectrum
Rating: PG
Pairing: Nick/Zak
Warning: BOY LOVE~ Feels, Anxiety
Genre: Humor/Romance
Summary: Zak has a difficult time dealing with his anxiety in relation to his feels.

*****
Zak picked absent-mindedly at the scab forming on the bottom of his pointer finger's nail. He didn't know how it had gotten there in the first place; it wasn't like he got a hangnail and ripped it off viciously so only raw skin was exposed. A few pieces fell off and satisfaction thrummed through him. He wondered quietly if it would be absolutely disgusting if he tried to bite off the scab in public. Probably so. Plus he didn't like the taste of metallic blood. He sighed and tried to think of something else; anything but the bubbling anxious feeling that was currently eating away his insides.

"Dude."

Zak looked up and immediately wished he hadn't. The anxiety brewed faster than it had previously, pushing almost violently through his veins until he was sure his face had gone pale. Gentle brown eyes appraised him, cautiously taking in his appearance as the owner of said eyes shifted in his seat and leaned closer. Nick made an odd face, biting his bottom lip briefly in contemplation before speaking again.

"You alright? You look… green."

Ah well, at least he wasn't white as a banshee. Zak frowned and cradled his cup of iced Starbucks tea closer to chest, coughing once to hide his discomfort. He wished Aaron wouldn't take so long in the friggen bathroom but as fate would have it, they had Mexican for lunch. Aaron would be gone for a while if Zak knew him well enough.

"M'fine," he muttered, taking a sip of his drink and shifting back in his seat, leaning precariously on two legs. If only to put up a casual façade.

He didn't really feel like explaining to Nick that the urge to vomit was overwhelming. In fact, he didn't feel like talking about feelings at all. He just wanted to drift back to his fascination with his scab. But no, Nick was burning holes into his skull with his laser vision and talking was definitely in the cards.

"C'mon man, fess up, something is eating at you. I can feel it," Nick said, quiet enough that others in the busy starbucks would not hear but loud enough for Zak to catch.

The dark haired man stared at the way Nick formed the words with his mouth, he could see the concern in his soulful eyes, he could practically feel Nick's words vibrating in his ears. But there would be none of this. He would not let the anxiety win this time. He was going to be strong. He was just going to tell Nick—oh shit. Stomach tying in knots. Breathing becoming erratic. This was happening. In a starbucks in Detroit.

"I'm gunna puke," he said, shakily standing to his feet.

Nick was standing in a heartbeat, confusion in his features.

"What? You're going to what?" he questioned, immediately coming to Zak's side when the man hunched over and grabbed the table for support.
He wasn't there for long. Zak was flying towards the bathroom in two seconds, flinging open the door and making for the nearest open stall with Nick right behind him.

"Zak, uh, just try breathing," he suggested, rubbing Zak's back as he dry heaved over the toilet.

"Breathing? Are you… uhgg…. Kidding?! It smells like a fuckin' barn in here!" he hollered, trying weakly to laugh as another bout of nausea hit him.

There was silence for a moment, apart from Zak's heavy breathing, then Aaron's voice.

"That's probably me. Sorry."
*****
It was an unintentional opportunity unfortunately missed because of an anxiety attack but whatever right? Zak had these things under control. Most of the time. But unintentional opportunities were rare. Like a gift. You can't just stiff a gift and expect another, the universe don't work out that way. So the next time an unintentional opportunity struck he couldn't afford to miss it.

"Let's play strip poker!"

"What?"

Nick and Zak both stared skeptically at Aaron who suddenly looked bashful at his once 'I thought it was a great idea!' idea. The bearded man shrugged and dropped the deck of cards on the small table between them, settling himself on the floor comfortably.

"Well we didn't want to go out so I scrapped that idea. I had a deck of cards. We don't have money. Let's bet clothes!" he said, doubt lingering in his voice.

Nick snorted and rolled his eyes, warily folding his arms over his chest.

"You just wanna play to see what I'm packing."

"Please. We all know it's a water pistol the size of a kid's hand. Now are we going to play or what?" Aaron grinned from ear to ear, daring them to deny him.

Zak, who hadn't said a word leading up to this moment, carefully looked at Nick. Nick was staring back at him. He knew this was the unintentional opportunity.

"I'm in," Zak said, keeping his gaze locked on Nick.

Nick sighed and let his eyes fall on the deck of card.

"Deal me in."

About eight hands in, and six beers later, Aaron was down to his boxers and so was Nick, leaving Zak the poker champ and the most clothed in only a tank top and boxers. With the alcohol buzz and pride coursing through his veins, Zak was feeling pretty good. Especially because he felt fairly clever about sneaking glances at Nick on the sly. All slim body and firm muscles. Zak unconsciously licked his lips as they were dealt another hand. If he couldn't tell Nick tonight, at least he could enjoy the show, right? He tried not to grin at his winning hand. Destiny was on his side tonight. Now if only Nick had the losing hand... not that seeing Aaron naked wouldn't be disappointing. It would make for a good laugh. Zak carefully let his gaze wander over to Nick. For being smashed the man looked utterly concentrated, shifting his cards around and asking Aaron to hit him. He looked absolutely defeated however when Aaron flipped over a card for him. Success. Nick lost. Wait. Nick lost. Nick. Lost.

Nick will be naked in less than a minute.

Zak froze as Aaron chuckled and began taunting Nick, telling him that now he had to make it a good show.

There was that familiar bubbling sensation. Like having too much soda and poprocks being shoved down your throat and into your stomach. Then having your body being shaken and set to explode. There are also the tiniest inklings of fear and dread that worm their way into the mainframe of anxiety, toying with the design and making it into this huge destructive monster. Nick stood and slowly ran his hands down his sides, inching his fingers under the elastic of his boxers. Zak swore he stopped breathing. Yes. He was losing oxygen. There was none going to his brain. Nick's mouth moved, did he speak words? Maybe. Zak was only aware of Nick's eyes as they shifted and locked with his. There was that bloody concern again. Nick and his concerned eyes. Well… now it's all spotty… Zak blinked. Or tried to, just to clear his vision of the dots. But he couldn't open his eyes.

*****

"—ak. Zak. ZAK."

Zak blinked a few times and squinted against the bright lights shining in his face. He lifted a hand to shield his eyes only to find his hand was dead weight. He tried flexing his fingers. Nothing.

"What the hell?" he said, only it sounded more like 'whadda helf' even to his own ears. God he must be hammered.

A quick assessment of the situation proved that Nick was the only one in the room, grinning goofily at him. Where the hell did Aaron keep disappearing to?! At least Nick was fully clothed again..

"You passed right the fuck out, dude," Nick laughed, resting his face against the palm of his hand as he leaned against the table.

Zak tried to laugh but it sounded like an embarrassed titter. He rubbed his face and sat up, glancing away from Nick's smiling face.

"Must be the alcohol," he mumbled.

"Must be," Nick agreed, going over to sit beside him, "Aaron went out to get you some medicine, you hit your head pretty hard on the way down."

Now that he mentioned it, Zak had a pretty splitting headache. Odd. He rubbed the back of his head and sighed deeply, cursing his anxiety issues as loudly and obnoxiously as he could in his head. The ranting ceased immediately when gentle fingers came to rest on his temples, running smooth, soothing circles there. Zak's eyes shot instantly to Nick but the other man was resolute in his task, bring both hands into the picture to rub circles alongside Zak's forehead.

"They say if you run counter clockwise, it works better, "Nick offered quietly as he worked, careful to leave a certain amount of space between them as not to create discomfort.

Zak appreciated the gesture. He really did. But in honesty, he didn't really want the space so he inched closer. Nick didn't seem to notice or if he did, he didn't seem to care; he just kept rubbing Zak's head, a small smile on his face.

"Thanks dude," Zak said in a hushed voice, fighting off the groan that threatened to fall from his lips. This was doing wonders for his headache.

"Don't mention it," Nick replied, actually laughing a bit, "But for real bro, don't mention it, Aaron will beg and bother me to do this for him whenever he gets a migraine. I won't. I can't."

Zak laughed.

"Why?"

Nick suddenly took on a serious expression and looked down, keeping his hands working at a steady pace. Aaron took the opportunity to come bursting through the front door, babbling about how far away the 'local' Walgreens was and how expensive drugs were these days. The two literally jumped away from each other, trying to ward off the startled bambi-eyed look they both were sporting. Aaron didn't notice, flopping into a chair and tossing his bag towards Zak.

"You're welcome bro," he snipped, "You owe me 14.99."
*****
"First EVP session with Nick and Zak, Aaron is in the left wing doing EVPs as well. Ok here we go. Are you trapped here? …………………Are you angry that we're here with you? ………………………………Make some sort of noise if you know that we're here, in your home."
Silence. Absolute, deadly silence. Nick shifted and faced his camera in the opposite direction for a moment.

"You feeling it bro? I got the chills," he muttered, running his free hand up the arm supporting his camera.

Zak resisted the urge to roll his eyes because yes he felt it. He felt a whole lot of it. But it could be anything and in this case he was sure it wasn't a ghost.
"What are you trying to tell us?" he asked into the darkness, staring down at his recorder as it blinked red back at him.

Nick resumed filming him, coughing slightly as Zak paused the recorder and rewound it.
"Let's see if we got anything," he murmured, hitting play and listening as his voice shouted clear as day through the small device.

Are you trapped here?....... Are you angry we're here with you?..... Nick..and…. Make some sort of noise if you know that we're here, in your home….. Zakkk. Hahah………
Zak starred at the device for a full 5 seconds before freaking out.

"DUDE DID YOU HEAR THAT?! CLEAR AS DAY," he shouted in excitement, going over to Nick and waving the EVP recorder in his face.

Nick looked just as blown away. He was even trembling slightly.

"They said our names bro! They said our names and laughed. How freaking weird is that?! This is so fucking weird oh my god dude, we got to do more," he replied, trying to keep his aim trained on Zak even though his hands were shaking.

Zak was nearly bouncing off the walls as he hit record again.

"Were you laughing at us? Why were you calling us? Huh?" he waited impatiently for a response, nearly sighing after a minute of complete silence.

But then there came a disembodied voice of a girl that had them both whirling their heads around so fast that Zak was sure they'd have whiplash. Of course there was nothing but darkness. Zak blinked then turned to Nick.

"You heard that right?" he asked, glancing down at the recorder still clutched firmly in his hand.

"Yeah, it was hard to make out what she said though..." Nick frowned, just a slight down turn of his lips but still there nonetheless.

Zak groaned quietly under his breath. He had hoped Nick didn't hear it. Apparently, these ghosts had it in for them. Nick walked forward and grabbed the EVP recorder from Zak's hand.

"You caught it, right? Let's hear what she said," he suggested, rewinding the recording as Zak scrambled and tried to snatch the recorder back.

"Naww bro let's review later with Billy and stuff. We got to move on. Burning nighttime!" he frantically tried again to make a grab for the recorder but nearly knocked Nick's camera out of his grasps. Nick hissed and took a step back.

"Dude! C'mon! The camera!"

"Nick, the recorder, NOW."

But the recorder was already playing. Loudly and clearly. The disembodied voice sang over the speakers.

"They're together."

Then it got stuck in a loop.

"THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER.THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER."

Zak finally managed to steal the recorder from Nick and tried to take the battery out of the back of the cursed thing. Nick laughed at Zak's fumbled attempts.

"I think I understand why the ghosts were laughing," he said as he filmed the other man's irritation, "You're a spaz."

He pulled out his walkie talkie and called to Aaron while Zak finally managed to pry open the back and fish around for the battery.
Just in time to hear Aaron ask over the channel, "Who's together?"

****
I think I love you
So what am I so afraid of?
I'm afraid I'm not sure of
A love there's no cure for
I think I love you
Isn't that what life is made of?
Though it worries me to say
That I've never felt this way….

Zak stared at the radio venomously, as if he could annihilate the song simply with a glare at the speakers. It wasn't making anything any better that Nick was humming along with the tune right beside him, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel almost merrily. It also didn't help that he was sitting in a cold sweat, shaking from head to toe with that nervous sick feeling in his stomach. To hell with anxiety. To hell with all this crap.

Aaron popped his head in between the two of them, offering up a bag of twizzlers.

"Anybody want one?" he asked, munching on one of his own quite happily.

Nick shrugged and grabbed one, grinning as he set it between his teeth.

"Want to share Zak?" he asked when they reached a red light, laughing as he suggestively raised an eyebrow and earned a disgusted look from the other man.

"Fuck you," Zak grumbled, crossing his arms and nestling down further in his seat.

This morning
I woke up with this feeling
I didn't know how to deal with
And so I just decided to myself
I'd hide it to myself
And never talk about it
And did not I go and shout it
When you walked into the room

Zak paled visibly and inched further down in his chair. Fuck if he was going to shout it when Nick walked into a room. He'd probably pass out on the spot.

"Can we change this fucking station? Jesus," he griped, leaning over to flip channels.

Nick grabbed his hand, successfully stopping him.

"No way bro, I love this song. It's so ridiculous that it's funny. Driver calls the shots," he said, laughing when Zak made a sour face.

"Dude, this is pansy music from the 70s. You've GOT to be joking. Flip it to rock c'mon pleeaasse," he whined, trying to wriggle his hand free from Nick's vice grip.

The other man would not have it. Instead he set their joined hands on the arm rest between their seats and smiled. Zak flushed a light pink and continued trying to pry his hand away when Nick opened his mouth.

"Believe me, You really don't have to worry. I only want to make you happy and if you say,"Hey, go away," I will. But I think better still, I'd better stay around and love you. Do you think I have a case? Let me ask you to your face: Do you think you love me?" he sang in a purposefully ridiculous voice, teasing and light but obviously directed at Zak.

Green light again. Finally Nick released Zak's hand and the man recoiled like a snake had just bitten him. He stared openly at Nick, rubbing absent-mindedly at his hand as if it were burned and blistered. There was a scoff from the back of the van, suddenly dragging Zak back to reality. Aaron. Oh shit, right.

"That. Was extremely gay," he commented, biting another twizzler in half and giving them his best shit-eating grin.

Zak tried his best to compose himself and come back with something witty.

"Oh yeah? Well you're... gay..." Well. He tried.

Aaron just laughed and patted Zak's head. The man made a nasty face and pulled away immediately, fixing his hair the best he could without a mirror.

"Only for you Zak, only for you," Aaron chuckled, leaning back into his seat to finish his twizzlers.

Nick just smiled and smiled.

*****

It had been two weeks of pure bliss. No knotty stomach, no cold sweats, no sweaty palms or trembling hands. Bliss. Zak spent most of his time with Gracie, playing with and coddling the dog like it was his child. He took her on long walks and runs, he took her to the park and played fetch with her for a solid hour, they took naps together, they ate together, hell they even watched Iron Man together. Gracie was obviously a fan of Robert Downey Jr. Who wasn't?

Nick and Aaron called and invited him to do stuff. He declined. He wanted some space. Some zen time. Ghost Adventures was taking a break for Christmas after all, why not enjoy the free time to do absolutely nothing? Zak sighed and flopped over onto his stomach. He was lying on his bed with Gracie, the dog flanking his side like the perfect guardian. He fondly rubbed behind her ears.

"What should we do today, Gracie?" he asked as the dog rolled over onto her back, whining and begging for Zak to rub her stomach.

He kindly obliged. That is, until his cell phone started ringing. He fumbled around for a bit until he found it. Nick.

"Hello?" he greeted into the receiver, yawning loudly to make clear his displeasure at being interrupted from 'me time'.

"Dude I'm coming over."

Zak paused then sat up, running a hand through his slightly greasy hair. The first thing he thought was 'When is the last time I took a shower?'. Monday. Definitely Monday. That was only… two days ago?

"Why bro? I'm busy," he lied, lying back against Gracie. The dog didn't seem to mind, she just licked Zak's ear fondly before laying her head next to his face.

"No, I know you're sitting in your dungeon. I'm coming over and we're going to talk or… hell I dunno, do something but you're definitely going to take a shower. I bet you're disgusting."

Zak quickly sniffed himself.

"Naww dude, I smell good. Manly," he replied, grinning when he heard Nick sigh.

"I'm on my way over now. Be ready in 15 minutes. I don't really feel like seeing you naked right now."

"Would you at a different date?" Zak laughed.

"Just... be ready."

Zak grumbled his goodbyes and hung up, pulling himself from Gracie's warm body and forcing himself towards the bathroom. It's not like he stunk or anything. He could get away with not showering for three days if he wanted. Then he could make his hair do all sorts of cool things. But Nick was such a clean freak anyways. He messed with the cold and hot water for a bit before settling on a temperature and stripping at record speed. He pondered to himself as he stepped into the shower and let the warm water hit his equally as warm body. He wondered if he should read into how Nick reacted to his question about seeing him naked at a different time. He didn't say no. And then there was that time where he sang to Zak in the car... Zak laughed to himself and began scrubbing soap into the muscles of his chest.

This. Was stupid. He was the one with the... feelings. Oh it hurt to even think the words. Nick was just being Nick.

He quickly shampooed his hair, rinsed it then stepped out of the shower, grateful to be clean but feeling troubled and anxious again for the first time in a couple weeks. He did not miss it. He walked out of the bathroom stark naked and moseyed into his room, completely oblivious to the fact that Nick was sitting at his kitchen table staring at him the entire way, shocked into silence. Zak growled in aggravation and threw his hands up over his head as he searched for a pair of boxers.

"I'M SO FRUSTRATED," he roared to no one in particular, jamming his legs in a particularly hideous pair of boxers that his mom sent him one year for the holidays, "Gracie! When Nick gets here, we are going for a walk! Gracie?"

The dog was no longer in his room. Curious, Zak poked his head out of the room and looked down the hallway. Gracie was loyally sitting at Nick's feet, her head in his lap. Nick was quietly petting her head, blinking almost shyly at Zak as he gawked at them.

"I let myself in," he answered before the question even left the dark haired man's lips, "I could have sworn I said I DIDN'T feel like seeing you naked today."

Zak stared at him in confusion for a moment before groaning and covering his face with his hand.

"How much did you see?" he asked.

Nick shrugged.

"Oh you know. Everything. I pretty much have boyfriend privileges," he smirked and rubbed behind Gracie's ears, "Go put clothes on, I seriously want to talk to you about something."

Zak felt his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. There goes the dread mingling so cohesively with the anxiety, just like they were meant to be. M.F.E.O. He turned on his heel and headed back towards his bedroom, finding a partially clean shirt and some jeans. He hastily threw them on then walked back out towards the kitchen table, sitting opposite of Nick.

"Ok, what?" he asked, trying not to sound fearful.

Nick stared at him for a moment, trying to read him, before starting.

"You've been acting really weird lately. Like. Really weird for Zak. I just want to make sure you're ok. I know you have these panic attacks but I... don't know what's causing them or how to help stop them, you know? And it's hard for me," he said.

Zak took this in. He didn't realize that purely as a friend, this must be difficult for Nick. To have someone you care about literally flipping a shit every time they're in your presence. He had to tell him. It was the only way to rid himself of this anxiousness and set things smooth again.

"I..." he took a breath and fought down the nausea, Gracie god bless her soul came over and set her head in his lap for support, "I think..."

Nick looked at him expectantly and Zak almost lost his nerve. God this was like a grade school confession. All those years of middle school bullying came right to the forefront of his memory. He pushed them away and cleared his throat, trying again this time in a quieter voice.

"I think I like you," he managed after a minute. He nervously petted Gracie's head but proudly maintained Nick's gaze, searching for anything that resembled fear, disgust... something.

There was nothing of the sort. Only Nick's thoughtful brown eyes gazed back at him.

"Ok," he said after a minute, offering Zak a small smile.

Zak blinked stupidly at him for a moment before leaning forward, nearly into Nick's space.

"Ok? Ok? That's it? No, ew that's gross dude! Or, cut the shit and grow up. Or…or.. I don't know, something other than 'ok'," Zak groused, huffing as he leaned back in his chair.

Nick laughed at his childish antics and shrugged his shoulders leisurely.

"I... kind of thought it might be something like that," he admitted.

Zak gawked.

"You thought I might like you? As more than just a bro? And that didn't put you off?"

Nick shrugged again, being awfully casual about the whole affair.

"The only thing that put me off was you almost dying every time you tried or even thought about telling me. I mean, what's the big deal? Am I really that terrifying?" he asked cautiously, getting to his feet so he could walk over to Zak and hover over him.

Zak frowned and glared up at him.

"Now you are. Sit," he commanded.

Nick squatted down so they were eye level with each other but they were close. Awfully close. Zak sighed then swallowed his building nervousness.

"Well now you know what's been triggering my panic attacks," he said as nonchalantly as he could, feeling his face grow a little hotter under Nick's scrutiny.

Nick nodded and shifted his weight a little bit. He looked troubled.

"So..." he began, seeming at a loss for words, "...is it just me? Or is it because you're afraid I'll reject you?"

Zak paused. He hadn't even gotten that far yet. He was only panicking over the act of telling Nick about his new found feelings, now, he was realizing, he had much bigger concerns to deal with. The panicky sensation was returning tenfold and in waves, causing his breath to shorten and his heart to speed up. No, he didn't even think of rejection. He was stupid. He was only thinking in the short term he—
"Relax, take deep breaths," Nick said, now hovering an inch away from his face.

When did he get so close?

"You're working yourself into another panic attack," he said, leaning forward and placing a quick, chaste kiss to Zak's temples, "If you're freaking out about me rejecting you, I'm not."

Another kiss to his left cheek. It was... nice. Zak could feel the stubble of Nick's beard and moustache brush lightly against his skin and he liked it. He sighed and closed his eyes, allowing Nick to kiss the corner of his mouth. An almost kiss. Zak felt his body respond nevertheless, craving more of what Nick was willing to offer. He tilted his head slightly and apparently that was all that was needed for their lips to meet perfectly. They held steady for a moment, getting a feel for it before Nick shifted and gradually began moving his lips against Zak's, urging the other man to deepen the kiss. With only a moment's hesitation, Zak began moving with Nick, getting lost in the gentle roughness of it. He loved the way Nick's facial hair tickled his face and the way Nick fought for dominance in the kiss, it made things interesting, heated. They broke for a quick gasp of air but Nick was back on him in a second, bruising and fierce. Zak would have grinned if his mouth wasn't busy. He was stunned when he felt Nick's tongue lick across his bottom lip. He really shouldn't have been after the many times he's kissed girls but still... this was Nick. Not just some girl. He cautiously opened his mouth for him, moaning softly in surprise when Nick's tongue met his and urged it to explore. He moved it along side Nick's, battling playfully for dominance and losing on purpose because he didn't care. He tentatively tried to tongue into Nick's mouth but was easily pushed back into his, lost in the hazy pleasure of kissing. Too soon the need for oxygen was overwhelming and they broke away for breath. Zak blinked a few times down at Nick and resisted the urge to laugh. Nick looked pained squatting there on the floor, like he wanted nothing more than to get up and stretch. At the same time he didn't want to move at all. He was obviously pleased being so close to Zak, breathing the same air as him, being able to kiss him again with just the slight tilt of his head. He looked good, his lips were significantly redder from kissing and it was just so tempting to bruise them more. But Zak resisted with an easy smile.

"You can move you know," Zak said, chuckling softly as Nick groaned and heaved himself up, twisting his back at an odd angle for a moment before smiling down at Zak.

"Thank God, I was about to turn into a pretzel," he mused, grabbing Zak's arm, "C'mon."

The dark haired man gave Nick a quizzed look before slowly climbing to his feet and trailing after him towards the bedroom. Then it dawned on him and he felt his face tingle. Surely he was some sort of red.

"Nick I--"

Nick just turn and smiled slightly at him.

"Relax Zak," he said softly, tugging the older man closer to him as they entered the room, "Geesh man, you're acting more scared of me than of those demons we come across.."
"Shut up," Zak hissed, rubbing one of his arms to calm his nerves, "So what now? We're just going to.. like... do something?"

Nick stared at him in an odd way before nodding and beckoning for Zak to come closer still. Which he did, albeit reluctantly. Nick just smiled in an easy way and ran his hands over Zak's smooth biceps, pausing to trace his tattoo idly. He inched forward until they were directly in front of each other, noses barely touching and sighed softly.

"Now, we're going to get you out of that shirt," he said, tugging gently at the hems of Zak's tee, "So we can go walk Gracie."

Zak made a face as Nick gave a quick tug, pulling the shirt over his flat stomach and up to his chest. It caught on his chin and he made a quick unhappy grunt as he grabbed Nick's hands and pulled the shirt from his grasps.

"So we can walk Gracie?" he parroted in a questioning tone, fixing the shirt back into place, "What? We're not..?"

Nick stared openly until realization hit him. Hard. He coughed to hide his laughter and again reached for Zak's shirt.

"You were the one who wanted to go for the walk, and I doubt you want to go in this," he said, ripping the shirt off Zak, who yelped in surprise and shot Nick a nasty look.

The younger man just smirked and held up the shirt. It read 'I <3 ZAK BAGANS' in huge pink letters with sparkles trailing up and down the sides of the decorations. Oh, a fan made shirt. Why had he kept it? Nick tossed him another clean shirt and it smacked him in the face. Zak grabbed for it and quickly tried to wriggle into it. Being so exposed while Nick just watched him, amusement and something else, something Zak couldn't really pinpoint at the second, on his face made him feel squeamish. When he was done, Nick was all in his space again, smiling appreciatively.

"Not that sparkles didn't suit you," he said, chuckling as he leaned forward and planted a kiss on Zak's mouth.

The hair haired man intended to pull away and stick out his tongue with a disgusted face but Nick just moved with him, deepening the kiss, only pulling away when absolutely necessary. He fought off a grin at Zak's defeated face and grabbed his hand.

"C'mon. Gracie's waiting for us."

Epilogue

So Zak went. It was a good walk except Nick tried to trip Zak every five minutes. They got icecream. Zak shoved the last bit of his down Nick's pants. Nick did the walk of shame back to Zak's house. Gracie graciously tried to clean Nick's pants with him still wearing them. Nick had to use Zak's washer to clean his pants.

End of story?

Zak found five dollars. In Nick's pants.

Description
WARNING TO MY WATCHERS, THIS IS GAY. PLEASE DON'T READ IT IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT. Thanks for your consideration.

Title: Spectrum
Rating: PG
Pairing: Nick/Zak
Warning: BOY LOVE~ Feels, Anxiety
Genre: Humor/Romance
Summary: Zak has a difficult time dealing with his anxiety in relation to his feels.

*****
Zak picked absent-mindedly at the scab forming on the bottom of his pointer finger's nail. He didn't know how it had gotten there in the first place; it wasn't like he got a hangnail and ripped it off viciously so only raw skin was exposed. A few pieces fell off and satisfaction thrummed through him. He wondered quietly if it would be absolutely disgusting if he tried to bite off the scab in public. Probably so. Plus he didn't like the taste of metallic blood. He sighed and tried to think of something else; anything but the bubbling anxious feeling that was currently eating away his insides.

"Dude."

Zak looked up and immediately wished he hadn't. The anxiety brewed faster than it had previously, pushing almost violently through his veins until he was sure his face had gone pale. Gentle brown eyes appraised him, cautiously taking in his appearance as the owner of said eyes shifted in his seat and leaned closer. Nick made an odd face, biting his bottom lip briefly in contemplation before speaking again.

"You alright? You look… green."

Ah well, at least he wasn't white as a banshee. Zak frowned and cradled his cup of iced Starbucks tea closer to chest, coughing once to hide his discomfort. He wished Aaron wouldn't take so long in the friggen bathroom but as fate would have it, they had Mexican for lunch. Aaron would be gone for a while if Zak knew him well enough.

"M'fine," he muttered, taking a sip of his drink and shifting back in his seat, leaning precariously on two legs. If only to put up a casual façade.

He didn't really feel like explaining to Nick that the urge to vomit was overwhelming. In fact, he didn't feel like talking about feelings at all. He just wanted to drift back to his fascination with his scab. But no, Nick was burning holes into his skull with his laser vision and talking was definitely in the cards.

"C'mon man, fess up, something is eating at you. I can feel it," Nick said, quiet enough that others in the busy starbucks would not hear but loud enough for Zak to catch.

The dark haired man stared at the way Nick formed the words with his mouth, he could see the concern in his soulful eyes, he could practically feel Nick's words vibrating in his ears. But there would be none of this. He would not let the anxiety win this time. He was going to be strong. He was just going to tell Nick—oh shit. Stomach tying in knots. Breathing becoming erratic. This was happening. In a starbucks in Detroit.

"I'm gunna puke," he said, shakily standing to his feet.

Nick was standing in a heartbeat, confusion in his features.

"What? You're going to what?" he questioned, immediately coming to Zak's side when the man hunched over and grabbed the table for support.
He wasn't there for long. Zak was flying towards the bathroom in two seconds, flinging open the door and making for the nearest open stall with Nick right behind him.

"Zak, uh, just try breathing," he suggested, rubbing Zak's back as he dry heaved over the toilet.

"Breathing? Are you… uhgg…. Kidding?! It smells like a fuckin' barn in here!" he hollered, trying weakly to laugh as another bout of nausea hit him.

There was silence for a moment, apart from Zak's heavy breathing, then Aaron's voice.

"That's probably me. Sorry."
*****
It was an unintentional opportunity unfortunately missed because of an anxiety attack but whatever right? Zak had these things under control. Most of the time. But unintentional opportunities were rare. Like a gift. You can't just stiff a gift and expect another, the universe don't work out that way. So the next time an unintentional opportunity struck he couldn't afford to miss it.

"Let's play strip poker!"

"What?"

Nick and Zak both stared skeptically at Aaron who suddenly looked bashful at his once 'I thought it was a great idea!' idea. The bearded man shrugged and dropped the deck of cards on the small table between them, settling himself on the floor comfortably.

"Well we didn't want to go out so I scrapped that idea. I had a deck of cards. We don't have money. Let's bet clothes!" he said, doubt lingering in his voice.

Nick snorted and rolled his eyes, warily folding his arms over his chest.

"You just wanna play to see what I'm packing."

"Please. We all know it's a water pistol the size of a kid's hand. Now are we going to play or what?" Aaron grinned from ear to ear, daring them to deny him.

Zak, who hadn't said a word leading up to this moment, carefully looked at Nick. Nick was staring back at him. He knew this was the unintentional opportunity.

"I'm in," Zak said, keeping his gaze locked on Nick.

Nick sighed and let his eyes fall on the deck of card.

"Deal me in."

About eight hands in, and six beers later, Aaron was down to his boxers and so was Nick, leaving Zak the poker champ and the most clothed in only a tank top and boxers. With the alcohol buzz and pride coursing through his veins, Zak was feeling pretty good. Especially because he felt fairly clever about sneaking glances at Nick on the sly. All slim body and firm muscles. Zak unconsciously licked his lips as they were dealt another hand. If he couldn't tell Nick tonight, at least he could enjoy the show, right? He tried not to grin at his winning hand. Destiny was on his side tonight. Now if only Nick had the losing hand... not that seeing Aaron naked wouldn't be disappointing. It would make for a good laugh. Zak carefully let his gaze wander over to Nick. For being smashed the man looked utterly concentrated, shifting his cards around and asking Aaron to hit him. He looked absolutely defeated however when Aaron flipped over a card for him. Success. Nick lost. Wait. Nick lost. Nick. Lost.

Nick will be naked in less than a minute.

Zak froze as Aaron chuckled and began taunting Nick, telling him that now he had to make it a good show.

There was that familiar bubbling sensation. Like having too much soda and poprocks being shoved down your throat and into your stomach. Then having your body being shaken and set to explode. There are also the tiniest inklings of fear and dread that worm their way into the mainframe of anxiety, toying with the design and making it into this huge destructive monster. Nick stood and slowly ran his hands down his sides, inching his fingers under the elastic of his boxers. Zak swore he stopped breathing. Yes. He was losing oxygen. There was none going to his brain. Nick's mouth moved, did he speak words? Maybe. Zak was only aware of Nick's eyes as they shifted and locked with his. There was that bloody concern again. Nick and his concerned eyes. Well… now it's all spotty… Zak blinked. Or tried to, just to clear his vision of the dots. But he couldn't open his eyes.

*****

"—ak. Zak. ZAK."

Zak blinked a few times and squinted against the bright lights shining in his face. He lifted a hand to shield his eyes only to find his hand was dead weight. He tried flexing his fingers. Nothing.

"What the hell?" he said, only it sounded more like 'whadda helf' even to his own ears. God he must be hammered.

A quick assessment of the situation proved that Nick was the only one in the room, grinning goofily at him. Where the hell did Aaron keep disappearing to?! At least Nick was fully clothed again..

"You passed right the fuck out, dude," Nick laughed, resting his face against the palm of his hand as he leaned against the table.

Zak tried to laugh but it sounded like an embarrassed titter. He rubbed his face and sat up, glancing away from Nick's smiling face.

"Must be the alcohol," he mumbled.

"Must be," Nick agreed, going over to sit beside him, "Aaron went out to get you some medicine, you hit your head pretty hard on the way down."

Now that he mentioned it, Zak had a pretty splitting headache. Odd. He rubbed the back of his head and sighed deeply, cursing his anxiety issues as loudly and obnoxiously as he could in his head. The ranting ceased immediately when gentle fingers came to rest on his temples, running smooth, soothing circles there. Zak's eyes shot instantly to Nick but the other man was resolute in his task, bring both hands into the picture to rub circles alongside Zak's forehead.

"They say if you run counter clockwise, it works better, "Nick offered quietly as he worked, careful to leave a certain amount of space between them as not to create discomfort.

Zak appreciated the gesture. He really did. But in honesty, he didn't really want the space so he inched closer. Nick didn't seem to notice or if he did, he didn't seem to care; he just kept rubbing Zak's head, a small smile on his face.

"Thanks dude," Zak said in a hushed voice, fighting off the groan that threatened to fall from his lips. This was doing wonders for his headache.

"Don't mention it," Nick replied, actually laughing a bit, "But for real bro, don't mention it, Aaron will beg and bother me to do this for him whenever he gets a migraine. I won't. I can't."

Zak laughed.

"Why?"

Nick suddenly took on a serious expression and looked down, keeping his hands working at a steady pace. Aaron took the opportunity to come bursting through the front door, babbling about how far away the 'local' Walgreens was and how expensive drugs were these days. The two literally jumped away from each other, trying to ward off the startled bambi-eyed look they both were sporting. Aaron didn't notice, flopping into a chair and tossing his bag towards Zak.

"You're welcome bro," he snipped, "You owe me 14.99."
*****
"First EVP session with Nick and Zak, Aaron is in the left wing doing EVPs as well. Ok here we go. Are you trapped here? …………………Are you angry that we're here with you? ………………………………Make some sort of noise if you know that we're here, in your home."
Silence. Absolute, deadly silence. Nick shifted and faced his camera in the opposite direction for a moment.

"You feeling it bro? I got the chills," he muttered, running his free hand up the arm supporting his camera.

Zak resisted the urge to roll his eyes because yes he felt it. He felt a whole lot of it. But it could be anything and in this case he was sure it wasn't a ghost.
"What are you trying to tell us?" he asked into the darkness, staring down at his recorder as it blinked red back at him.

Nick resumed filming him, coughing slightly as Zak paused the recorder and rewound it.
"Let's see if we got anything," he murmured, hitting play and listening as his voice shouted clear as day through the small device.

Are you trapped here?....... Are you angry we're here with you?..... Nick..and…. Make some sort of noise if you know that we're here, in your home….. Zakkk. Hahah………
Zak starred at the device for a full 5 seconds before freaking out.

"DUDE DID YOU HEAR THAT?! CLEAR AS DAY," he shouted in excitement, going over to Nick and waving the EVP recorder in his face.

Nick looked just as blown away. He was even trembling slightly.

"They said our names bro! They said our names and laughed. How freaking weird is that?! This is so fucking weird oh my god dude, we got to do more," he replied, trying to keep his aim trained on Zak even though his hands were shaking.

Zak was nearly bouncing off the walls as he hit record again.

"Were you laughing at us? Why were you calling us? Huh?" he waited impatiently for a response, nearly sighing after a minute of complete silence.

But then there came a disembodied voice of a girl that had them both whirling their heads around so fast that Zak was sure they'd have whiplash. Of course there was nothing but darkness. Zak blinked then turned to Nick.

"You heard that right?" he asked, glancing down at the recorder still clutched firmly in his hand.

"Yeah, it was hard to make out what she said though..." Nick frowned, just a slight down turn of his lips but still there nonetheless.

Zak groaned quietly under his breath. He had hoped Nick didn't hear it. Apparently, these ghosts had it in for them. Nick walked forward and grabbed the EVP recorder from Zak's hand.

"You caught it, right? Let's hear what she said," he suggested, rewinding the recording as Zak scrambled and tried to snatch the recorder back.

"Naww bro let's review later with Billy and stuff. We got to move on. Burning nighttime!" he frantically tried again to make a grab for the recorder but nearly knocked Nick's camera out of his grasps. Nick hissed and took a step back.

"Dude! C'mon! The camera!"

"Nick, the recorder, NOW."

But the recorder was already playing. Loudly and clearly. The disembodied voice sang over the speakers.

"They're together."

Then it got stuck in a loop.

"THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER.THEY'RE TOGETHER. THEY'RE TOGETHER."

Zak finally managed to steal the recorder from Nick and tried to take the battery out of the back of the cursed thing. Nick laughed at Zak's fumbled attempts.

"I think I understand why the ghosts were laughing," he said as he filmed the other man's irritation, "You're a spaz."

He pulled out his walkie talkie and called to Aaron while Zak finally managed to pry open the back and fish around for the battery.
Just in time to hear Aaron ask over the channel, "Who's together?"

****
I think I love you
So what am I so afraid of?
I'm afraid I'm not sure of
A love there's no cure for
I think I love you
Isn't that what life is made of?
Though it worries me to say
That I've never felt this way….

Zak stared at the radio venomously, as if he could annihilate the song simply with a glare at the speakers. It wasn't making anything any better that Nick was humming along with the tune right beside him, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel almost merrily. It also didn't help that he was sitting in a cold sweat, shaking from head to toe with that nervous sick feeling in his stomach. To hell with anxiety. To hell with all this crap.

Aaron popped his head in between the two of them, offering up a bag of twizzlers.

"Anybody want one?" he asked, munching on one of his own quite happily.

Nick shrugged and grabbed one, grinning as he set it between his teeth.

"Want to share Zak?" he asked when they reached a red light, laughing as he suggestively raised an eyebrow and earned a disgusted look from the other man.

"Fuck you," Zak grumbled, crossing his arms and nestling down further in his seat.

This morning
I woke up with this feeling
I didn't know how to deal with
And so I just decided to myself
I'd hide it to myself
And never talk about it
And did not I go and shout it
When you walked into the room

Zak paled visibly and inched further down in his chair. Fuck if he was going to shout it when Nick walked into a room. He'd probably pass out on the spot.

"Can we change this fucking station? Jesus," he griped, leaning over to flip channels.

Nick grabbed his hand, successfully stopping him.

"No way bro, I love this song. It's so ridiculous that it's funny. Driver calls the shots," he said, laughing when Zak made a sour face.

"Dude, this is pansy music from the 70s. You've GOT to be joking. Flip it to rock c'mon pleeaasse," he whined, trying to wriggle his hand free from Nick's vice grip.

The other man would not have it. Instead he set their joined hands on the arm rest between their seats and smiled. Zak flushed a light pink and continued trying to pry his hand away when Nick opened his mouth.

"Believe me, You really don't have to worry. I only want to make you happy and if you say,"Hey, go away," I will. But I think better still, I'd better stay around and love you. Do you think I have a case? Let me ask you to your face: Do you think you love me?" he sang in a purposefully ridiculous voice, teasing and light but obviously directed at Zak.

Green light again. Finally Nick released Zak's hand and the man recoiled like a snake had just bitten him. He stared openly at Nick, rubbing absent-mindedly at his hand as if it were burned and blistered. There was a scoff from the back of the van, suddenly dragging Zak back to reality. Aaron. Oh shit, right.

"That. Was extremely gay," he commented, biting another twizzler in half and giving them his best shit-eating grin.

Zak tried his best to compose himself and come back with something witty.

"Oh yeah? Well you're... gay..." Well. He tried.

Aaron just laughed and patted Zak's head. The man made a nasty face and pulled away immediately, fixing his hair the best he could without a mirror.

"Only for you Zak, only for you," Aaron chuckled, leaning back into his seat to finish his twizzlers.

Nick just smiled and smiled.

*****

It had been two weeks of pure bliss. No knotty stomach, no cold sweats, no sweaty palms or trembling hands. Bliss. Zak spent most of his time with Gracie, playing with and coddling the dog like it was his child. He took her on long walks and runs, he took her to the park and played fetch with her for a solid hour, they took naps together, they ate together, hell they even watched Iron Man together. Gracie was obviously a fan of Robert Downey Jr. Who wasn't?

Nick and Aaron called and invited him to do stuff. He declined. He wanted some space. Some zen time. Ghost Adventures was taking a break for Christmas after all, why not enjoy the free time to do absolutely nothing? Zak sighed and flopped over onto his stomach. He was lying on his bed with Gracie, the dog flanking his side like the perfect guardian. He fondly rubbed behind her ears.

"What should we do today, Gracie?" he asked as the dog rolled over onto her back, whining and begging for Zak to rub her stomach.

He kindly obliged. That is, until his cell phone started ringing. He fumbled around for a bit until he found it. Nick.

"Hello?" he greeted into the receiver, yawning loudly to make clear his displeasure at being interrupted from 'me time'.

"Dude I'm coming over."

Zak paused then sat up, running a hand through his slightly greasy hair. The first thing he thought was 'When is the last time I took a shower?'. Monday. Definitely Monday. That was only… two days ago?

"Why bro? I'm busy," he lied, lying back against Gracie. The dog didn't seem to mind, she just licked Zak's ear fondly before laying her head next to his face.

"No, I know you're sitting in your dungeon. I'm coming over and we're going to talk or… hell I dunno, do something but you're definitely going to take a shower. I bet you're disgusting."

Zak quickly sniffed himself.

"Naww dude, I smell good. Manly," he replied, grinning when he heard Nick sigh.

"I'm on my way over now. Be ready in 15 minutes. I don't really feel like seeing you naked right now."

"Would you at a different date?" Zak laughed.

"Just... be ready."

Zak grumbled his goodbyes and hung up, pulling himself from Gracie's warm body and forcing himself towards the bathroom. It's not like he stunk or anything. He could get away with not showering for three days if he wanted. Then he could make his hair do all sorts of cool things. But Nick was such a clean freak anyways. He messed with the cold and hot water for a bit before settling on a temperature and stripping at record speed. He pondered to himself as he stepped into the shower and let the warm water hit his equally as warm body. He wondered if he should read into how Nick reacted to his question about seeing him naked at a different time. He didn't say no. And then there was that time where he sang to Zak in the car... Zak laughed to himself and began scrubbing soap into the muscles of his chest.

This. Was stupid. He was the one with the... feelings. Oh it hurt to even think the words. Nick was just being Nick.

He quickly shampooed his hair, rinsed it then stepped out of the shower, grateful to be clean but feeling troubled and anxious again for the first time in a couple weeks. He did not miss it. He walked out of the bathroom stark naked and moseyed into his room, completely oblivious to the fact that Nick was sitting at his kitchen table staring at him the entire way, shocked into silence. Zak growled in aggravation and threw his hands up over his head as he searched for a pair of boxers.

"I'M SO FRUSTRATED," he roared to no one in particular, jamming his legs in a particularly hideous pair of boxers that his mom sent him one year for the holidays, "Gracie! When Nick gets here, we are going for a walk! Gracie?"

The dog was no longer in his room. Curious, Zak poked his head out of the room and looked down the hallway. Gracie was loyally sitting at Nick's feet, her head in his lap. Nick was quietly petting her head, blinking almost shyly at Zak as he gawked at them.

"I let myself in," he answered before the question even left the dark haired man's lips, "I could have sworn I said I DIDN'T feel like seeing you naked today."

Zak stared at him in confusion for a moment before groaning and covering his face with his hand.

"How much did you see?" he asked.

Nick shrugged.

"Oh you know. Everything. I pretty much have boyfriend privileges," he smirked and rubbed behind Gracie's ears, "Go put clothes on, I seriously want to talk to you about something."

Zak felt his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. There goes the dread mingling so cohesively with the anxiety, just like they were meant to be. M.F.E.O. He turned on his heel and headed back towards his bedroom, finding a partially clean shirt and some jeans. He hastily threw them on then walked back out towards the kitchen table, sitting opposite of Nick.

"Ok, what?" he asked, trying not to sound fearful.

Nick stared at him for a moment, trying to read him, before starting.

"You've been acting really weird lately. Like. Really weird for Zak. I just want to make sure you're ok. I know you have these panic attacks but I... don't know what's causing them or how to help stop them, you know? And it's hard for me," he said.

Zak took this in. He didn't realize that purely as a friend, this must be difficult for Nick. To have someone you care about literally flipping a shit every time they're in your presence. He had to tell him. It was the only way to rid himself of this anxiousness and set things smooth again.

"I..." he took a breath and fought down the nausea, Gracie god bless her soul came over and set her head in his lap for support, "I think..."

Nick looked at him expectantly and Zak almost lost his nerve. God this was like a grade school confession. All those years of middle school bullying came right to the forefront of his memory. He pushed them away and cleared his throat, trying again this time in a quieter voice.

"I think I like you," he managed after a minute. He nervously petted Gracie's head but proudly maintained Nick's gaze, searching for anything that resembled fear, disgust... something.

There was nothing of the sort. Only Nick's thoughtful brown eyes gazed back at him.

"Ok," he said after a minute, offering Zak a small smile.

Zak blinked stupidly at him for a moment before leaning forward, nearly into Nick's space.

"Ok? Ok? That's it? No, ew that's gross dude! Or, cut the shit and grow up. Or…or.. I don't know, something other than 'ok'," Zak groused, huffing as he leaned back in his chair.

Nick laughed at his childish antics and shrugged his shoulders leisurely.

"I... kind of thought it might be something like that," he admitted.

Zak gawked.

"You thought I might like you? As more than just a bro? And that didn't put you off?"

Nick shrugged again, being awfully casual about the whole affair.

"The only thing that put me off was you almost dying every time you tried or even thought about telling me. I mean, what's the big deal? Am I really that terrifying?" he asked cautiously, getting to his feet so he could walk over to Zak and hover over him.

Zak frowned and glared up at him.

"Now you are. Sit," he commanded.

Nick squatted down so they were eye level with each other but they were close. Awfully close. Zak sighed then swallowed his building nervousness.

"Well now you know what's been triggering my panic attacks," he said as nonchalantly as he could, feeling his face grow a little hotter under Nick's scrutiny.

Nick nodded and shifted his weight a little bit. He looked troubled.

"So..." he began, seeming at a loss for words, "...is it just me? Or is it because you're afraid I'll reject you?"

Zak paused. He hadn't even gotten that far yet. He was only panicking over the act of telling Nick about his new found feelings, now, he was realizing, he had much bigger concerns to deal with. The panicky sensation was returning tenfold and in waves, causing his breath to shorten and his heart to speed up. No, he didn't even think of rejection. He was stupid. He was only thinking in the short term he—
"Relax, take deep breaths," Nick said, now hovering an inch away from his face.

When did he get so close?

"You're working yourself into another panic attack," he said, leaning forward and placing a quick, chaste kiss to Zak's temples, "If you're freaking out about me rejecting you, I'm not."

Another kiss to his left cheek. It was... nice. Zak could feel the stubble of Nick's beard and moustache brush lightly against his skin and he liked it. He sighed and closed his eyes, allowing Nick to kiss the corner of his mouth. An almost kiss. Zak felt his body respond nevertheless, craving more of what Nick was willing to offer. He tilted his head slightly and apparently that was all that was needed for their lips to meet perfectly. They held steady for a moment, getting a feel for it before Nick shifted and gradually began moving his lips against Zak's, urging the other man to deepen the kiss. With only a moment's hesitation, Zak began moving with Nick, getting lost in the gentle roughness of it. He loved the way Nick's facial hair tickled his face and the way Nick fought for dominance in the kiss, it made things interesting, heated. They broke for a quick gasp of air but Nick was back on him in a second, bruising and fierce. Zak would have grinned if his mouth wasn't busy. He was stunned when he felt Nick's tongue lick across his bottom lip. He really shouldn't have been after the many times he's kissed girls but still... this was Nick. Not just some girl. He cautiously opened his mouth for him, moaning softly in surprise when Nick's tongue met his and urged it to explore. He moved it along side Nick's, battling playfully for dominance and losing on purpose because he didn't care. He tentatively tried to tongue into Nick's mouth but was easily pushed back into his, lost in the hazy pleasure of kissing. Too soon the need for oxygen was overwhelming and they broke away for breath. Zak blinked a few times down at Nick and resisted the urge to laugh. Nick looked pained squatting there on the floor, like he wanted nothing more than to get up and stretch. At the same time he didn't want to move at all. He was obviously pleased being so close to Zak, breathing the same air as him, being able to kiss him again with just the slight tilt of his head. He looked good, his lips were significantly redder from kissing and it was just so tempting to bruise them more. But Zak resisted with an easy smile.

"You can move you know," Zak said, chuckling softly as Nick groaned and heaved himself up, twisting his back at an odd angle for a moment before smiling down at Zak.

"Thank God, I was about to turn into a pretzel," he mused, grabbing Zak's arm, "C'mon."

The dark haired man gave Nick a quizzed look before slowly climbing to his feet and trailing after him towards the bedroom. Then it dawned on him and he felt his face tingle. Surely he was some sort of red.

"Nick I--"

Nick just turn and smiled slightly at him.

"Relax Zak," he said softly, tugging the older man closer to him as they entered the room, "Geesh man, you're acting more scared of me than of those demons we come across.."
"Shut up," Zak hissed, rubbing one of his arms to calm his nerves, "So what now? We're just going to.. like... do something?"

Nick stared at him in an odd way before nodding and beckoning for Zak to come closer still. Which he did, albeit reluctantly. Nick just smiled in an easy way and ran his hands over Zak's smooth biceps, pausing to trace his tattoo idly. He inched forward until they were directly in front of each other, noses barely touching and sighed softly.

"Now, we're going to get you out of that shirt," he said, tugging gently at the hems of Zak's tee, "So we can go walk Gracie."

Zak made a face as Nick gave a quick tug, pulling the shirt over his flat stomach and up to his chest. It caught on his chin and he made a quick unhappy grunt as he grabbed Nick's hands and pulled the shirt from his grasps.

"So we can walk Gracie?" he parroted in a questioning tone, fixing the shirt back into place, "What? We're not..?"

Nick stared openly until realization hit him. Hard. He coughed to hide his laughter and again reached for Zak's shirt.

"You were the one who wanted to go for the walk, and I doubt you want to go in this," he said, ripping the shirt off Zak, who yelped in surprise and shot Nick a nasty look.

The younger man just smirked and held up the shirt. It read 'I <3 ZAK BAGANS' in huge pink letters with sparkles trailing up and down the sides of the decorations. Oh, a fan made shirt. Why had he kept it? Nick tossed him another clean shirt and it smacked him in the face. Zak grabbed for it and quickly tried to wriggle into it. Being so exposed while Nick just watched him, amusement and something else, something Zak couldn't really pinpoint at the second, on his face made him feel squeamish. When he was done, Nick was all in his space again, smiling appreciatively.

"Not that sparkles didn't suit you," he said, chuckling as he leaned forward and planted a kiss on Zak's mouth.

The hair haired man intended to pull away and stick out his tongue with a disgusted face but Nick just moved with him, deepening the kiss, only pulling away when absolutely necessary. He fought off a grin at Zak's defeated face and grabbed his hand.

"C'mon. Gracie's waiting for us."

Epilogue

So Zak went. It was a good walk except Nick tried to trip Zak every five minutes. They got icecream. Zak shoved the last bit of his down Nick's pants. Nick did the walk of shame back to Zak's house. Gracie graciously tried to clean Nick's pants with him still wearing them. Nick had to use Zak's washer to clean his pants.

End of story?

Zak found five dollars. In Nick's pants.