Work Text:
Nairobi blinked and the scene changed.
At least it felt like she had only blinked. One moment, staring down the barrel of a gun, had disappeared, and now she lay flat on her back in thick, tall grass that tickled the backs of her calves and the tips of her ears. She looked down at herself. The red jumpsuit was gone. And so, more importantly, was the gun strapped to her hip. It had been a long time since being without a gun felt more normal than being with it.
That was odd. Also odd? She hadn’t realized until now that she thought of herself as Nairobi. She hadn’t referred to herself as Ágata in years. Because no one else had. And she had changed so much in those years, since first arriving at the house in Toledo. Ágata had died the moment she set foot in the Royal Mint.
The wind whipped across her face and she caught a whiff of the orange blossoms that flooded the valley. She had forgotten about the oranges, but she sat up with a start, and realized in an instant where she was. She was at the house in Toledo, somehow. Not the real house, the real house had been seized by the government, but it sure looked like the real house. She could even see the places the grass had been scuffed away during early morning soccer games, and the crack in one of the wooden window frames from where Denver had tried to punch Berlin once and missed. With effort, Nairobi got to her feet. Her joints felt oddly stiff as she approached the familiar front door and ran her fingers over the grains in the wood. The door didn’t cream when she opened it. That was the first clue. The door was eternally creaky, no matter how many coats of oil Moscow or the Professor put on the hinges.
Her bare feet ghosted over the front hall carpet, which was uneven over the stone floor. The iron chandelier that hung from the ceiling was lit. That was the second clue- the overhead light was never on during the day. But other than that, the house looked the same. The dining room table was still littered with beer bottles and silverware from the last dinner they had eaten. No one had eaten breakfast the morning of the heist. They were all too nauseous, even if they wouldn’t admit it.
Through the dining room window, something moved. Nairobi flinched. It was too large to be a bird- maybe a deer? There were lots of deer. But deer didn’t wear green velvet smoking jackets. So she knew exactly what it was, then- or who, rather. And that was the next odd thing- she felt giddy, almost, and it took all of her self control not to sprint out to the patio and throw her arms around him. But she didn’t. She walked as calmly as she could and stopped at the open door. He was facing out towards the valley, and didn’t hear her approach. She cleared her throat. He didn’t move, so she thought maybe he hadn’t heard her, and moved to knock on the door frame, but at the last moment he spoke.
”I missed the orange trees,” he said, and turned.
”So did I,” she responded, and this time she did run to him and she did throw her arms around him. He seemed caught off-guard, but politely returned the hug until she finally released him.
”Berlin,” she said, unable to keep from smiling.
”Nairobi.” She found she had missed that crooked smile of his, as much as it had used to infuriate her. Berlin looked the same as he had the first day she met him on this very patio six years ago. That was the third and final clue, and suddenly she knew exactly where she was. Well, not exactly where, but more what.
”Are we-“
”Yes.” He didn’t look at her.
”I’m sorry,” she said.
”For what?”
”I wanted to go back for you. Helsinki and your brother wouldn’t let me.”
”Good. There’s nothing you could have done to stop me.”
”Maybe not. But I would have felt better for trying.”
”Sure, you’d have felt great for the thirty seconds before they killed you, too.”
”I ended up in the same place, anyway.”
”And I was going to die in two months anyway. We were both destined to wind up here. Everyone is.” Nairobi was silent for a moment. She was overrun with questions, but there was one that rose above the rest.
”What is it like, you know, up here? Or is it down here?” Berlin chuckled and shrugged.
”I don’t think there is an ‘up here’ or a ‘down here.’ I think it’s just... here. And to answer your question, it’s not what they tell you. It’s just like being alive- you take care of yourself, you just... live.”
”What about everyone else? Do you know... well, do you see them?”
”Like I said, it’s not like they tell you. You can’t look down on your loved ones and see every part of their day. But you can feel it, just a little bit. If you’re still enough, and quiet enough, you can feel it. It’s like a little string pulling on the back of your heart.”
”Huh.” Unconsciously, Nairobi put a hand over her heart. The skin was warm under her dress, and it was still beating at a normal pace. It was as if she was truly still alive. “Did you know? When I... you know?”
”I had my suspicions you would be here before too long. How did it happen?”
”There was a security guard.”
”Damn it. Gandía?”
”Yes, how did you-“
”I planned the damn heist, and I told Sergio and I told Martín, I told them he would cause trouble.”
”Martín?”
”Oh, let’s see, what would he have picked? Buenos Aires?” Berlin gasped and clapped a hand over his mouth. Over dramatic as ever. When he pulled his hand away, he was smiling, but it was sad, sadder than Nairobi thought was possible for him. “Palermo.”
”Palermo. Palermo fucked up. Tokyo took over, locked Palermo up with the security guards-“
”And let me guess, the bastard got free, let the guard escape, and it all went to hell?” Nairobi nodded.
”More or less. Long story short, I’m here. I don’t know what happened to him.”
”If I know Martín, he’s dead. Or will be soon.”
”He’s a lot like you, Martín.”
”He’s too much like me. But he’s different enough that he’ll be dying over you.”
”I hope not. I hope he gets his revenge, but I hope he doesn’t let it eat him. I hope Helsinki doesn’t let it eat him either. There’s nothing more to do.”
”They will. They won’t let it kill them, but all of them are hurting. More than they hurt for me.”
”Berlin-“
”No, it’s fine. I don’t deserve their pain. Not for the amount that I already caused. But that’s life.”
Nairobi let her head fall back against the back of the chair and her eyes drift up to the clear sky.
”Is anyone else here?”
”Moscow is upstairs. Oslo went for a walk, I think. Or to shoot something. I don’t actually know.” Nairobi grinned. She would find them later and hug them just as hard as she had hugged Berlin. But for now, she stayed seated and lifted a hand to catch a few orange blossoms.
”So what do we do now?” She asked. He was silent for a moment, and when she glanced over at him, he was pensive.
”I don’t know,” Berlin responded finally. “Isn’t it wonderful?” He laughed, which made her laugh, and she let the blossoms go, watching them catch on the wind and float away into the valley.
There was no plan.
It truly was wonderful.