Title: Reckless Abandon
By: juneprota
Pairing: Warrick/Nick
Summary: AU. A young Warrick and Nick go on a road trip.
Rating: M

Warrick took a drag from his cigarette as he leaned against the old tree outside of LV East High School. Nick tried not to stare at his lips as they wrapped around the filter. He really couldn't help it though. He'd been obsessing over those lips for the past two years, ever since he transferred to LVE. He tried to pay attention when "the lips" started to move.

"So, I've decided we're going on a road trip."

"Oh, sweet!" Greg was jumping up and down excitedly. Warrick looked at him as if he'd forgotten the younger teenager was even there, which really wasn't an unusual occurrence when Nick was around.

"You can't come."

"Come on, Warrick. Why not?" Greg was pleading. He was always being left out.

"Because I said so. You're too young."

"I'm a year younger than you, not even. And Nick's only six months older than me. That's not fair."

"Well, life isn't fair, is it?" Warrick pulled himself away from the tree and threw his cigarette butt into the street. Nick finally decided to join in the conversation.

"You're parents wouldn't let you go anyway." Nick didn't have to worry about that. It was common knowledge that his own parents were too busy enforcing the law to actually look after their own kids. And with six siblings, no one would notice if he went missing for awhile. Nick turned to Warrick, dismissing Greg. "So, when are we leaving?" Warrick grinned.

"Right now."

"Now? I don't have anything with me."

"I know you have your dad's credit card. And I have cash with me. Come on, let's go." Warrick slipped on his sunglasses and walked toward the parking lot. Nick followed. And Greg went to meet his mom at the front of the school.

Nick hopped into the passenger side of the silver Jeep and waited for Warrick to start the car and peel out of the parking lot. Every time Nick was in the Jeep he thought of the six months that Warrick worked his ass off to save money to buy it. One Friday, after school, Warrick had called, telling him to look out of his window. And there he was waving to him in front of the Jeep.

Nick stood outside with him for half an hour while Warrick talked about how much he loved his baby and how smooth the ride was and how he loved the way it purred for him. And in that half hour he proved something that Nick had already suspected, Warrick Brown could provoke a hard-on with his voice alone.

XXXXXXXXXX

Warrick and Nick were speeding down I-15 with the top down. The music was loud and Nick was doing a half-ass job of navigating. He had the map in his lap and was paying attention to the mile markers, but they were just following the signs along the highway.

They were about 100 miles away from their destination when Nick felt the first raindrops. He ignored it, figuring it would clear up any second. And of course as soon as he figured that, it started raining for real. Raining in the fucking desert. He couldn't believe it. Nick scrambled to the back to put up the roof. But it was one of those old canvas ones that usually took two people and for-fucking-ever to put up. Warrick was yelling at him to hurry the fuck up, in between complaints about what was happening to his poor baby. Nick rolled his eyes. Warrick loved his Jeep more than anything.

After ten minutes the top wasn't up, it was down-pouring, and Rick was pulling into a rest stop. They both jumped out of the Jeep and scrambled to put the top back up. They did it in record time and by the time they were done the interior of the car was only a tad moist and their clothes were completely soaked through.

"Does this place have vacuums?" Warrick seemed to ask out of nowhere. Nick looked around, spotting some in the corner of the parking lot.

"Yeah, over there. Is this really the best time to clean your car?"

"I'm going to vacuum out the water."

"You can't do that! It'll ruin the vacuum." Warrick looked at him as if he was talking crazy-talk.

"Like I give a fuck about this shithole's vacuum!" Warrick waved toward the gas station. "It has to be vacuumed out. He's not used to the water." Warrick caressed the hood of the Jeep and Nick tried not to read too much into the fact that the car Warrick referred to as baby was in fact a he.

"Okay. Whatever you say. I'll leave you two alone. I'm gonna go see if this place has some clothes." Nick walked into the gas station and looked around. There was a little souvenir shop that had a few California t-shirts. But that was it; they were stuck with wet pants. Nick paid for two t-shirts and had them bagged up so they wouldn't get wet while he walked back to the car. Nick walked out of the gas station and turned the corner toward the vacuums, and God must have been fucking with him, because there was everything he ever wanted bent over the side of a Jeep. The rain had soaked Warrick's pants and they must have weighed them down, because those baggy jeans were riding lower than they usually did. And from what Nick could see, Rick wasn't wearing any underwear today. Warrick turned around and Nick stared. He couldn't help it. He could see a trail of hair and hipbones and all he wanted to do was yank the pants completely off.

"Did they have anything?" And, right, Warrick was talking.

"Just t-shirts."

"Cool, cool. Come on, let's go." Warrick got into the car and pulled off his t-shirt, changing into the other one quickly. As he got back onto the highway, Nick changed into his and caught a few sideway glances directed his way.

XXXXXXXXXX

By the time they pulled into L.A., it was going on eight o'clock. Nick watched out of the window as the city's nightlife was waking up. Truthfully, he wasn't all that impressed. Once you've seen the Strip, every other city kind of pales in comparison. But it was nice, being alone in a different city with Warrick. Nick instructed Warrick where to turn according to the instructions Warrick had written down.

Within a few minutes they were pulling into a hotel. It wasn't the best hotel in the city, but it wasn't a complete dump either. Warrick had already made the reservations and paid for the room. They just had to check in. As soon as they walked into the room, Nick flopped down on the bed.

"So what do you we do now?"

"We get drunk."

Nick sat up to look at Warrick. "And how do you suppose we do that? We're only eighteen, remember?"

"Trust me. I have a plan. I did this with my cousin, Pammi, once." Nick was already dreading this. Warrick's cousin Pammi was notorious for coming up with stupid ideas.

XXXXXXXXXX

They stood in front of the Wine and Spirits store. Nick was about to walk in, but Warrick stopped him, grabbing his hand and intertwining their fingers.

"As soon as we enter that door, we have to be a couple."

"A couple?"

"Yeah, just follow my lead, Sugar." Warrick was gonna get him put in jail, Nick just knew it.

They walked into the store, holding hands. They strolled around the store slowly, looking at the selection, as Warrick explained the plan.

"I can pass for over 21, right?" Warrick asked casually. Nick nodded his head in agreement. "But, you're kind of borderline, right?" Again, Nick nodded. "Alright, so even though I can pass, they still might ask, especially since I'm with you. The plan is distraction. We're going to be so sickeningly sweet when we get up to the register, that the cashier will be so busy listening to us talk that she won't think to card us. And we're going to pay with your platinum card. Eighteen-year-olds don't have platinum cards. So the distraction, plus the card, plus me looking old enough, this should be a breeze." And Nick made a decision in that moment, Warrick Brown was certifiably insane and he loved him for it.

Nick started walking toward the beer selection, when Warrick yanked his hand hard.

"Do you want us to get caught? Is that what you're trying to do, Nicky?"

"What? I thought you liked beer."

"Sophisticated gay couples do not drink beer. They drink wine, expensive wine."

"I don't like wine." And Nick knew he was whining, but his "life-partner" should think that was cute.

"Well, suck it up." They stood in front of the wine selection and picked the three most expensive bottles, before going up to the register.

"Nicky, baby, are you sure this is the wine Michael and David like?" Warrick held up one of the three wine bottles for Nick to inspect.

"I think so, honey. David drank half the bottle at the last dinner party." Nick fell into his role immediately. They should have been given Oscars.

"He sure did, didn't he? I thought Chad was going to cut off his hand when he made a pass at him."

"You know, I actually found David and Chad in the hallway closet halfway through the night, and they seemed pretty friendly to me." The cashier had started ringing up the bottles of wine.

"Poor Michael." Warrick shook his head for effect. "Honeybear, I think you have the platinum card."

"Oh, I do, don't I, shnookums?" Nick reached in his back pocket for the platinum card. The cashier scanned it without saying anything and gave Nick a receipt to sign. Warrick turned to the cashier.

"Those other two bottles are just for him." He nodded toward Nick. "He gets so feisty when he's had a few glasses." And with that, Warrick reached over and grabbed Nick's ass. Nick batted his hand away, playfully.

"Not in public, pookie."

Warrick grabbed the bag of bottles in one hand and wrapped his other arm around Nick's waist. As soon as they were out of the store, they were both laughing so hard they were in danger of falling down.

"I can't believe you made me do that, Rick."

"You loved it."

XXXXXXXXXX

They had already gone through the first bottle and were halfway through their second. They were both sprawled on the hotel room floor. Rick was completely stretched out, his arms to the side, with Nick lying next to him, his head resting below Warrick's left arm. Rick was smoking a cigarette and Nick was watching him. After taking one last, long inhale, Warrick sat up a bit to put the cigarette out in the ashtray next to his head and exhaled, before lying back down.

"You have really nice lips." Nick lifted his hand, brushing his fingers across Warrick's lips. Warrick let him. Nick let his hand drift to Warrick's cheek and Warrick moved his head down, closer to Nick. Soon they were breathing each other's air, and Nick was so close to having one of his top ten fantasies fulfilled when, of course, his cell phone rang. "Goddamnit!" Nick picked up his phone and flipped it open. It was his sister. He knew the drill by heart and didn't have a problem reciting his lines while intoxicated.

"Where are you?"

"Out."

"When're you comin' back?"

"Tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Nick hung up the phone and turned to Warrick who was now standing up and obviously had something to say.

"We have to go out. We're going to a club."

"Rick, we don't have anything to wear to a club."

"Yeah we do!" And with that Warrick was running out of the room like an excited twelve-year-old. Dumbass. He forgot the room key. Nick picked up the room key and left, following Warrick. Apparently, Warrick had an overnight bag for both of them in the Jeep. From what Nick gathered, the last time he was at Nick's he had stolen some clothes specifically for this spontaneous-not-so-spontaneous-road-trip.

"You mean to tell me I sat in wet jeans for 100 miles when there were clean, dry clothes in the back?"

"Nick, Nick. These are club clothes. You can't wear the club clothes during the road trip. It's just...it's just wrong." Warrick was drunk.

"Okay, okay. So we have clothes. But how are we going to get into the club? We're not 21 and don't tell me we're going to pretend to be a couple again."

"No, no. I have a different plan. Pammi does it all the time."

Nick just groaned.

XXXXXXXXXX

They were standing behind the club staring at a window that was at least 7 feet up.

"Okay, so this is the plan. I'm going to go to the front. I'm going to flirt with whoever's working the door. They're going to let me in. I'm going to go to the bathroom. And I'm going to help you through this window. Got it?"

"Why don't I flirt with the door person, and help you through the window."

"No offense, Nicky. But, I just flirt better than you do."

"Bullshit. Everyone falls for the I'm-so-pretty-and-innocent-thing."

"But I'm older than you, so I win. End of discussion."

"Well, make it quick, pookie. I'm not waiting all night for you." Nick waited outside of the window, while Warrick walked around the building. Within 10 minutes the window was popping open and Warrick was sticking his head through. Nick didn't even want to think about who or what Warrick had to grope to get in that fast. And Nick didn't doubt Rick would rub up against someone to have a good time.Nick reached up and grabbed Warrick's hands and Warrick pulled him up until he was halfway through the window. Warrick paused for a minute, breathing heavily.

"Damn. Did you gain weight?"

"Shut up, you oaf, and help me out of here before we get caught." Warrick helped him through the window until they were both standing on the garbage can below Warrick's feet. But, the shift in weight and balance had them both falling to the floor in a tangle of limbs. Nick was the first to stand up. "This club better be worth it." They walked out of the bathroom and it had never occurred to Nick that Warrick would take him to a gay club. Warrick was looking at him, probably to assess his reaction.

"Is this okay with you?" Warrick asked almost hesitantly. Nick just grinned.

"More than okay." He grabbed Warrick's hand and pulled him onto the dance floor.

They danced every song with each other and didn't leave until well past 2 in the morning. Euphoric and carefree, they fell into a cab to go their hotel. They were still holding hands. Warrick paid for the cab and when they were both out, he took Nick's hand again. Nick followed him up the stairs to their hotel room. And when they entered the room, Warrick closed the door behind them and leaned toward Nick. The kiss wasn't unexpected, but it still surprised Nick. It was just so much better than any fantasy he had ever had. Warrick pulled away first. And Nick tried to pay attention as "the lips" started to move again.

"I've wanted to do that for two years now."

"Kiss me again, pookie."

"You got it, honeybear."