WARNING: This is only meant for the real Nick x Ellis fans out there-including me! You don't like it? TURN BACK NOW! (Also contains Francis x Rochelle, you HAVE been warned!)

DISCLAIMER: Valve owns these wonderful boys, not I. But I do however, own this story. So...bite me!

"Hey watch out!"

"Ow! Francis, watch it!"

"I did say to watch out, didn't I?"

Nick smirked, turning to the next page in his book. He ignored the commotion that took place a few feet in front of him.

"You can be so difficult sometimes!"

"I know, but admit it, you love me no matter what."

Rochelle chuckled. The sound of her kissing his cheek loud in his ears. "That I do, baby."

"CANNONBALL!" Came a rather loud yell followed by a tidal wave of water splashing out of the pool and wetting Nick's feet. He grunted his frustrations.

Rochelle laughed as the person responsible surfaced for air and shook off the droplets, smiling wide. "Ellis!"

"Ah man, that feels good!" He turned towards Francis. "Hey, toss that nerf ball over here!"

They were invited to their first pool party, celebrating Francis and Rochelle moving into their first home since being together. Nick still wondered how he gave in and had Ellis convince him to go. Although he and Francis were starting to become good buds—but still had a love/hate relationship between them—and he was pretty much level with Rochelle, Louis and Coach—

"Hey Ellis!" A rather loud slap was heard as a wet nerf ball bounced off his bare back. "Tag, your it!"

—except for one. The sound of her voice made his skin crawl and his inner demons threatened to unleash an unwelcomed hell.

Ellis made a surprised noise and turned towards the young lady. A new determination on his face. "Oh, yer gonna get it now, Zoey!" She squeaked playfully as she tried to get away from him as he swam out to get her. Francis jumped back into the pool and splashed Louis, who was having a rather delightful chat with Coach at the edge of the pool about…well, Nick didn't care.

They had been there for about an hour and Nick wasn't really having a good time. Sure he would look up occasionally and stare at Ellis, clad in his red swim shorts, and smile to himself at how much fun he seemed to be having. After hearing how much hard work he'd been doing for the past two weeks at the shop, it was good to see the kid unwind and smile. Not to mention the bottle of beer that became Nick's best friend as he read his book. He sighed and glanced at this watch.

"Oh, come on, Nicolas." Louis treaded towards him and rested his arms on the tiles. "Join us. The water is spectacular!"

Nick turned another page, refusing to look at him. "I'm fine where I am, thanks."

"You don't wanna join us for some water volleyball?"

"No."

"It'll be fun!"

"No."

Louis stared at him a moment longer, hoping somehow it would bother Nick enough to make him budge. When Nick turned yet another page and didn't acknowledge him further, he sighed and went back to preparing the net across the pool. "And score one for Nick," he said under his breath.

They divided into teams of three; Francis, Louis and Rochelle versus Ellis, Zoey and Coach. Looking above his reading glasses, Nick nearly sneered at how close Zoey was standing next to Ellis as they waited for Louis to serve. He knew that they were good friends and that Nick didn't need to worry about Ellis trying anything…since the vague marks of hickies on his skin were an indication that he belonged to somebody.

Zoey knew enough when it came to getting under Nick's skin. The subtle hand gestures, the innocent looks and the gentle touching she always did when Nick was present…the way she was dressed in her red polka dot bikini…

Nick made a mental note to renew those marks.

He set his book down and put his reading glasses away, giving the impression he was coming out of his shell and enjoying the game before him. Normally he would have been amused with watching how serious Francis and Rochelle took the game and bickered with everyone, making them egg on Coach and Ellis, only he wasn't even paying attention to them.

"Come on!" Rochelle yelled. Clapping her hands in frustration. "Hit it over here already!"

"Oh, I'm gonna hit it all right, baby girl!" Coach yelled back. He jumped up and served the ball.

"I got it!" Francis leaned in front of Louis and hit it back. The ball went back and forth for some time. The game getting under way. Zoey stayed back behind Coach and Ellis as they fought over making sure the ball didn't fall into the water as Louis had to take a backseat himself to let Francis and Rochelle vent their frustrations.

It was starting to get really interesting. Enough to make Nick smile a little. Until Zoey touched Ellis on the shoulder and made him turn to look at her as she hopped around to the side of him and tried to get back into the game. He kept his eyes on her.

"Here it comes!" Francis yelled, getting serious air and spiking the ball over the net.

And hitting Ellis square in the face.

Nick was out of his chair in mere seconds and rushing over to his side of the pool as Ellis turned away and covered his face with his hands.

"Oh my God, Ellis sweetie—" Rochelle gasped.

"Oh, shit!" Francis exclaimed.

"Ellis, are you all right?" Zoey asked, concerned. She reached out and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Overalls, come here!" Nick beckoned. He held out his hands to him as Ellis sloshed his way over to his lover. "Let me see."

Carefully, Ellis took his hands away and Nick's eyes widened when he saw that his nose was covered in blood.

"Oh, gosh El—" Zoey started before being silenced by a warning glance from Nick.

Ellis reached out and Nick helped him out of the pool, leading him to where Nick was sitting just as Rochelle made it out and went inside the house, coming back a moment later with a cloth. She handed it to Nick who then made him tilt his head back and gently placed it over his nose. Francis gave Ellis an apologetic look

"Well, look on the bright side," Francis started.

"Not now, Francis." Louis warned.

Francis wasn't afraid of Nick. "Now his face matches his shorts!" He ducked as Nick threw his empty beer bottle at him. "Hey, I thought it was funny!"

"C'mon guys! Stop it," Zoey interjected. She turned to Nick who was asking Ellis if his nose felt broken. "Nick, it was an accident. Francis didn't mean it."

He gave her such an angry stare that she flinched. "Of course I know that. You're the one who should be sorry since you made him look away!" He snapped, pointing a finger at her.

"Oh, so now it's my fault?" She asked incredulously.

Nick was up on his feet and about to really unleash the inner hell he was feeling until Ellis stood and got in-between them, keeping them away from each other at arm's length. "Stop it, you two!" He sniffled and regretted doing so, coughing the blood out of his mouth. Nick was about to make him sit back down but Ellis waved his arm away. "It was an accident, Nick. An accident. It wasn't Francis's fault or Zoey's. It was mine, okay? Mine."

Zoey continued to stare daggers at Nick who returned the expression, until she broke her gaze and backed away a step.

"And b'sides, I'm tired of seeing you two always goin' at it. Can't we go any place without you two bickerin' 'bout somethin'?"

"That's what I always ask!" Francis exclaimed. Rochelle slapped him on the chest to make him be quiet. He held up his hands defensively. "What? I'm just sayin'!"

"He's right," Zoey said. She looked at everyone in turn before addressing Nick. "We should be having a good time celebrating and enjoying each others company. Not bickering over something trivial because you have a hard-on for me." Francis chuckled. Rochelle slapped him again.

Ellis sniffled again and wiped his nose clean. "Jus' for today, can we call it a truce? Please?"

"Yeah, I'm starving and I wanna start the BBQ soon!" Francis said. He stopped Rochelle from hitting him again and pulled her into a bear hug, making her squeal. "Then afterwards I have a great idea on how we can play volleyball before my lady serves dessert!"

Nick was torn between staring at Zoey and looking at Ellis. He really didn't want to placed on the spot. He really didn't want to be here in the first place. He would rather be at home watching television with an arm draped across Ellis's shoulder and figuring out how he could move them from the couch to their bedroom upstairs.

Any other place was better then being here.

But the look on Ellis's face told him otherwise. He had been looking forward to the get together and being able to unwind and enjoy himself from the hardship he had to endure recently at the shop, and he wanted Nick to be with him. Even knowing full well that Zoey was also attending.

Nick let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding and looked at Ellis straight on. "Okay, kiddo. Truce."

Ellis looked to Zoey.

She nodded. "Truce."

When Ellis went to give Rochelle the blood-stained cloth, Zoey caught Nick's eye as she smirked behind Ellis's back in the 'I-got-you-first' look. He shot back the 'this-isn't-over-yet' expression before shoving her back into the pool when she turned away from him. When she surfaced she coughed up a bit of water. "Nick, we called a truce!"

"From fighting, not playing." He smiled lopsidedly.

She scowled.

Nick went back to making sure Ellis's nose wasn't broken. "Does it hurt?"

Ellis wrinkled his nose. "Stings, but no. Not broken."

"I can beat-up Francis for you, if you want."

Ellis smiled. The heat of the moment between Nick and Zoey forgotten. "No. I'll beat him at the next game of volleyball."

"I can't believe you actually enjoy playing such a stupid game."

Ellis shrugged. "Guess I'm a stupid guy who likes stupid things."

Nick wasn't about to fall into another argument. "Your not stupid, El. Not by a long shot."

Ellis sighed. "I know. I jus'…"

Nick silenced him with a quick kiss to the lips, careful not to tap his nose. "I know how hard you've been working these past few days and believe me, it's hard to be able to unwind from all the shit you've had to endure. But never, ever, think that your stupid because your not. Understand me?"

"Nick, I…"

"Ellis?" Nick drawled. "Do you understand me?"

Ellis turned his head away and Nick took his chin in his fingers, making him look at him. He stared into his baby blues.

"Okay," he whispered. Nick smiled and leaned in for another kiss.

"Oh, get a room you two!" Francis yelled.

Nick turned to him as Ellis's face flushed. "Wanna bet how fast I can make it to your bedroom and take it over just to officially break it in?"

Francis couldn't avoid the shocked, open-mouthed woman beside him as she turned to him and hit him on the back of the head with a wet smack. "You told him?"

"Baby, I didn't mean—"

"You always tell Nick about our personal life?"

"If I can just explain—"

"Oh, your gonna get it now, Francis!"

Everyone laughed as Francis sloshed out of the pool to get away from Rochelle as she chased him, clearly wanting to pummel him. Nick laughed the hardest, his face turning red and tears forming at the corners of his eyes as he watched the drama unfold. Ellis rested his head against Nick's bare shoulder and laughed with him. Nick placed an arm around his waist, shoving his hand into a back pocket and gently squeezing his left butt cheek.

When Francis was finally able to calm Rochelle down, he got to work on BBQ'ing. Nick and Louis passed around the paper plates as Zoey and Rochelle poured everyone drinks and Ellis and Coach evenly divided the plastic utensils. They all sat down at the long patio table and was about to dig in, when Louis stood and raised his glass.

"To Francis and Rochelle," he began. "Thank you for inviting us to your lovely home and congratulations."

"To Francis and Rochelle!" Coach declared.

"To Francis and Rochelle!" Everyone chorused, taking a sip from their drinks.

Then Francis stood. Raising his own glass as he took Rochelle's hand into his. "To Bill," he stated. The table took a more serious tone as Louis and Zoey bowed their heads at the memory of a fallen friend. Louis took Zoey's hand into his and kissed it in comfort. "I know he's looking down on us now and is happy knowing that we all made it and that we're doing just fine." He paused, then raised his glass higher which prompted everyone else to do the same. "To Bill."

"To Bill." A softer chorus this time.

They contentedly ate their food in silence. Hot dogs, hamburgers, coleslaw, and potato salad filling their stomachs. While Rochelle and Zoey settled for drinking cola, the boys' quenched their thirst with assorted alcohol. Slowly the conversations started up and there were different topics being discussed around the table. When Louis told a really funny joke he heard the other day, Ellis laughed so hard he smashed some potato salad onto his cheek. Nick cleaned it by leaning in and licking it off, then kissing the wet spot. Ellis smiled and kissed him on the lips in appreciation.

Once everyone had their fill, Rochelle excused herself from the table and disappeared into the house. Louis waited a moment to make sure the coast was clear then leaned in and whispered something into Francis's ear. Then he pulled away and looked him in the eye. "You don't say?"

Louis nodded. Clearly pleased with himself. "You betcha!"

"What?" Zoey prodded, she took another sip of her cola.

"Nothing!" Louis beamed. "Honest!"

Francis indicated to Nick. "You?"

Nick nodded in acknowledgement. "All taken care of."

"Who wants dessert?" Rochelle called out as Zoey was about to protest. Everyone turned to see her approach with what looked like a big cake. Chocolate, Nick noted. The sight of it made Coach grin from ear to ear.

Turns out it was an ice cream cake; chocolate batter with cookies and cream inside. She and Francis cut the cake into equal portions and passed them along each side of the table. Nick made a show of feeding Ellis a piece and making the younger man smile as he returned the gesture, purposely smudging some on his chin to kiss it off.

Oh yeah. Nick was really starting to enjoy himself.

Until two hours later of more talking and a few more rounds of alcohol, Francis declared a volleyball rematch. Since it was still light out and nowhere near evening time, everyone jumped back into the pool. All except for Nick, who returned to reading his book after applying another batch of sunscreen to Ellis's skin and slapping his ass to make him go.

"Come play with us this time."

Nick shook his head. "Have fun, kiddo. You deserve it."

They played two more rounds of volleyball—thankfully without Francis spiking the ball to Ellis's face—before Rochelle remembered what Francis said about wanting to try to play the game a different way. He showed her rather then told her.

He disappeared under the water and emerged a moment later with Rochelle sitting on top of his shoulders, yelling and squealing with delight. "There!" He declared. "You can see our house from here!"

Nick thought it was funny the way Rochelle looked being on Francis's shoulders. Her expression a mixture of surprise and fear of falling before she found her balance and trusted him to hold her. He held onto her legs and laughed.

"Hey, that's a good idea!" Zoey exclaimed.

Nick felt his heart skip a beat and his blood turn cold.

"Ellis, give me a boost?"

"It'd be my pleasure, Miss Zoey!"

Nick didn't have time to protest as the young man also disappeared underneath the water and surfaced a moment later with Zoey balancing on top his shoulders. Squealing like how Rochelle did. The sight of her on top of his lover's shoulders as she playfully ruffled his hair and he held onto her legs…her smiling down at him…

Nick had enough.

He set his book and reading glasses aside and moved to the side of the pool. He dived in and swam underwater straight to Ellis, grabbing onto his legs and giving him a good tug, causing him to drop Zoey into the pool. He made Francis laugh when he surfaced for air, fixing his hair and savoring the moment of triumph.

When Zoey resurfaced, she glowered at Nick. "What the hell is your problem?"

Nick smiled. "I have a better idea in mind."

He went back underwater and moved underneath Ellis, making him sit on his shoulders when he broke the surface. Zoey really stared daggers at him as he continued to beam with triumph. "Oh, you think your so smooth!"

Nick looked up at Ellis who was laughing and balanced just right on the older mans shoulders. "I like this much better."

"Save some for me!" Coach declared as he went under and emerged a moment later with a surprised Zoey balancing on his shoulders. She flushed with embarrassment which made Rochelle laugh. Louis, always the optimistic one, was determined to make sure his side would win being the only one who didn't have anyone to hold up on his shoulders.

So the game went underway. Nick not only enjoyed playing volleyball as much as he thought he would, but having Ellis on top of his shoulders and hitting the ball each and every time it came near him made his heart pump. Not to mention still savoring the triumph of overpowering Zoey and claiming Ellis as his for the day. Deep down he knew Zoey meant well and would do anything to grind Nick's gears given the chance.

Eventually the game was called a tie—after when Rochelle hit the ball Zoey leaned too far to the side to hit it back and ended up smacking Ellis in the face. He cried out in pain and Louis called a time-out. Nick let him down gently and was mortified once again as the bleeding started.

Francis jumped at the opportunity. "Hey, Zoey. Now it's really your fault!"

"Shut up, Francis!"

"I think we're gonna go now," Nick declared as he hopped out of the pool and then got Ellis out. "I'm gonna take him to a clinic to have it looked at."

They all said their goodbyes as Nick made Ellis clean off his nose and hold the cloth there while he dried both of them off to the best of his ability. Ellis was concerned that now it really was broken as they drove in Nick's car to the medical clinic.

"I'm pretty sure she only damaged the cartilage, Overalls." Nick soothed. He held onto his hand as he drove.

"It was still an accident, Nick." He breathed out of his mouth.

Nick squeezed his hand. "I know, but you know how much I like to tease."

Ellis squeezed back. "You didn't have to go under me so quickly and make Zoey fall. You could've asked us to trade."

Nick shrugged. "She wouldn't of let me."

"You don't know until you ask."

Nick brought his hand to his lips and kissed it gingerly, licking in-between his fingers. "And miss out on having some fun? I don't think so."

Ellis shivered at the feel of Nick's tongue on his fingers. "You had fun today?"

"'course I did. I got to see you smile and laugh and watch as Rochelle chased Francis to the ends of the earth. What was there not to have fun about?"

"You mean other than torturing Zoey?" he asked pointedly.

Nick chuckled. "That was fun, too."

"Your sense of fun is a strange one, Nick."

"So is our relationship." Nick looked over at him and winked when they reached a stoplight. "Ellis."

Ellis smiled, despite the pressure building in his nose. "I love you, Nick."

Nick kissed his hand again. "Love you too, Overalls."

"So, you gonna tell me what you and Louis were talking about?"

"I think the question is can I trust you to keep a secret?"

"I can keep secrets jus' fine!"

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Honest!"

"You gotta convince me first."

"Your not gonna tell me?"

"Convince me," Nick repeated.

"If you tell me…I'll let you have you have your way with me tonight."

"Tempting, but I always have my way with you. Any other suggestions?"

"I'll do the dishes and the laundry. Now will you tell me?"

"I didn't agree to that."

Ellis shook off Nick's hand in frustration. "I give up. Don't tell me, then."

"Hey, hey. Don't be like that." Nick tried reaching for his hand again, but Ellis, ever so stubborn wouldn't let him so Nick rested his hand on his knee. He didn't want Ellis to remain upset so he went with what he previously offered. "Okay, you win. I'll take you any way I want, but we are doing the dishes and laundry together. Got it?"

Ellis sighed. "Got it. So what's the secret?"

"Francis is gonna ask Rochelle to marry him."

Nick nearly crashed the car and became a patient himself as Ellis, surprised by what his lover just said, expressed his excitement by sneezing blood all over the dashboard.