[liv is surprised, but not unpleasantly. he's more than okay with lying down together -- even takes a moment to gently push his cookbook off the mattress so they have more room. (petunia Stays, though.) then that hand lifts up to nick's hair and strokes through it thoughtfully.]

I didn't see you get taken... I'd already run away. If I'd known... [he would have followed. he would follow wolfwood anywhere, but he doesn't need to say so out loud in this moment. nick already knows.]

... Nicholas, I want you to know it doesn't matter to me that you're different. You're just as much mine as the you I grew up with. [especially if the history of the grove is to be believed in. in a way, that makes this nick even more "his." they've known each other across lifetimes, now. it feels like they're fated to be together, like the corniest cheap romance novel. he bets nick would laugh at him if he said as much out loud.]