Chapter Text
Nicky awoke with a start, as he usually did after dying. He blinked and his head spun as he tried to take in his surroundings. He was on a table, naked, and he had wires and tubes connected to him in various places. His mouth was dry, so dry, and he felt sticky, somehow. He tried to rub his eyes, but his arms were chained to the table, so he just had to blink away that death film. His head was really pounding, in a way that meant he hadn’t eaten properly or had anything to drink in a while.
He started to take in his surroundings as he came into his body some more. He seemed to be in a small, well-lit room. It was almost clinical in its cleanliness, and the bright lights made his head hurt even more. Nicky wondered where Joe was, if he was okay. Well, he was probably okay, even if he was dead. But Nicky still wished Joe could have been there with him. Nicky tugged experimentally on his restraints - they seemed sturdy enough. He wouldn’t be able to make an easy escape, especially in his condition. Nicky was more than tempted to go to sleep or just die, whichever came first, because he felt so miserable. He was sure he would make it out eventually, so what was the harm in a little nap right now?
But just as he had decided to sleep, three men walked in, speaking German in hushed tones. Nicky’s German was rusty and needed some work, but he still caught snippets of what they were saying.
“Impossible,” one man said.
Another breathed, “demon.”
Nicky just sighed. The one who appeared to be the head scientist walked over to him and exclaimed, in Italian, “you’re awake!” At least they spoke the same language.
“Yes, I am. And I am chained to a table. I wonder, could you remove these restraints? I will not harm you. But I would kill for a glass of water.”
The head scientist looked at him with something like disdain written on his features. He snorted. “You are nothing more than my pet now. You will eat when I give food and drink when I give water. And I will learn your secrets. For now, though, you will stay on this table.”
Nicky just sighed. “There are bad people in the world, and then there are people like you. I wonder how you can sleep at night.”
The scientist curled his lips into what looked like it was supposed to be a smile. “ The work I’m doing here will change the world. Your suffering for a better future. That’s how I sleep at night.” Then he gestured for one of the others to hand him something. “For now, though, it would be better if you weren’t conscious.”
Nicky felt the needle enter his arm, before everything faded to black.
-
12 Hours Earlier
-
Nicky awoke to sunlight streaming into the bedroom, a gentle golden that matched his happy mood. Joe was draped over his back, as per usual, and Nicky gave the hand encircling him a gentle squeeze. Nicky could feel Joe’s breath on his neck, and the rhythmic nature of it threatened to lull him back to sleep. Instead, though, he turned around in Joe’s arms to study him. Who would have thought that it would have been the two of them? Nicky’s eyes roamed over Joe’s closed eyes, his nose, his lips. It must have been fate or destiny that had brought them together. What else could account for Nicky finding the love of his life in the middle of what were supposed to be his last moments? Nicky allowed himself a few more moments of peace before he forced himself out of the bed. They did not have the luxury of a lazy morning, unfortunately. He walked into the main room, where Andy and Booker were already awake and sitting at the table. They were eating and discussing under their breath. Nicky passed them and went to get some water before sitting down.
“We need to be more careful,” Andy was stating. “At any moment, one of us could be sought out. There’s no sense in being unnecessarily careless. And after last week, we should really keep a low profile.”
Booker took a drink out of a mug, which Nicky suspected had more than coffee in it. “We are being careful, Andy. We’re doing all we can. We relocated, got new IDs, and we are laying low. I don’t know what else you want from us.”
Nicky just watched the exchange, still in the process of waking up. He had seen this argument play out many times before. Then, a sleepy voice from the bedroom called, “Nicolo?”
Rising from his seat, Nicky filled another glass with water and went back into the bedroom. He handed Joe the cup, reaching his hand out to ruffle his bedhead. “ Good morning,” Nicky whispered, planting a kiss on Joe’s cheek. “ The others are already up. Arguing-” He was interrupted by Joe kissing him briefly and firmly on the mouth.
“ It’s too early,” Joe grumbled, never a morning person. “ Come back to bed with me?”
“ I can’t,” Nicky said reluctantly. “ Andy wants me to go out and scope a location. She thinks there may be some people looking for us.”
“I’ll go too. I don’t want you out there alone.” Nicky looked fondly at Joe, just woken up, and already wanting to protect him.
“ You have a different mission, I’m afraid. Don’t worry though - I’m just doing reconnaissance. I’ll be fine.” Nicky planted another kiss on Joe’s cheek, then stood up, stretching. Joe watched him dig through a pile of clothes before putting on a mostly-clean shirt, an outer jacket, and pants. Nicky began to load his guns and store them when Joe came up from behind and hugged him.
“ Promise me you’ll be careful,” Joe whispered. “ I think I’ll kill Booker if you’re not here.” Nicky laughed and melted back into him as Joe pressed soft kisses to the side of his neck.
“ Don’t worry, I will be careful. I promise. And you will be careful too, yes?” Nicky felt more than heard Joe snort against him.
“ Yes, I will be. Only so that I can make it back here, to you.”
“Always the romantic, Yusuf.”