Work Text:
Joe braiding Nile’s became a new normal in her life. After Joe had first done her box braids for her, it became an unspoken rule that Joe was pretty much Nile’s new hairstylist. It warmed Nile’s heart when Joe would come bounding up to her like an excited Golden Retriever, showing her this new style he found on the internet of some intricate braid. Nile began pulling up hair tutorial youtube videos for her and Joe to watch. They’d discuss how they would do this and that, or whether it would get in her way when they inevitably go on a mission. It became a pattern. Every other month, or by the time Nile wanted to change things up again, Joe would be the one to give her a new do.
Nile would sit in a chair in whatever safe house they were currently occupying, and Joe would be behind her. Brush, synthetic hair, gel, or whatever else in hand as he talked to her while he got to work on her hair.
They talked about missions and what they could have done better, how Nile’s fighting style is starting to flow with the rest of the team.
They talked about how Nile is improving on her Arabic and sometimes manage to have simple conversations in Italian (Nile is determined to learn as to finally understand the random phrases that Nicky is constantly muttering under his breath).
Nile asked about his home, the Crusades, the World Wars, or the Civil Rights movement. Joe always answers honestly, and Nile can't help but feel lucky by the fact that there are now people in her life who can teach her more accurately than any history book ever could. Joe asks Nile questions too, which surprised Nile at first. She only has 27 years of experience, and compared to Joe and the others, she would feel odd talking about her previously mundane life in Chicago. What would they want to hear from her that they haven't already experienced? She's boring; she told Joe it would be like comparing a pond to the Pacific.
"No life is boring, Nile. Every single life is filled with unique experiences that define us. Take it from me, I've known thousands of lives over the years, and none have ever bored me."
So Nile tells him about her family, her childhood friends, her home in Chicago, and all the stupid shit she got up to as a kid. Joe threw his head back in laughter when she told him about the time she had to sneak back into her house one night when she was 17 and underestimated her alcohol tolerance, resulting in a broken wrist when she fell trying to climb into her room at 3 am.
"Bet you wish you had super healing then."
"You have no idea."
Sometimes Nicky will sit in the same room while Joe does Nile's hair, talking to both, asking Nile the same questions and vice versa. Other times he's there just to be there, sitting silently, maybe reading a book. Nile likes it when Nicky brings her food when a particular hairstyle will take hours. He sets the plate down in front of her, tells her she already looks beautiful and gives Joe a quick peck on the cheek before leaving the room. It's all so domestic that it surprised Nile the first couple times it happened. Now, it's weird if it doesn't.
Even Andy comes in now and then to watch Joe at work, joking that he's only ever this focused when he's drawing something in his sketchbook.
"Well, it's all art," he says, making Nile smile from ear-to-ear.
When Nile was on her own for the first time about a year after everything had happened, she had a run-in with two girls. Andy had business of her own, and Joe and Nicky were spending some well earned time together in Malta (they reference that place all the time, and yet Nile still doesn't know what makes it so special. Maybe one day they'll tell her). Nile decided to go to Rome. She'd never been to Italy before, and she had a whole new perspective on the area after her long talks with Nicky about the history of his homeland.
While there, two young girls, maybe in their early 20's, commented on her hair.
"I love your braids!" said the first girl, surprising Nile with the excitement in her voice. It took Nile a moment to realize they weren't threats as she reached for the Glock under her jacket. She stopped herself before she could pull it out. Hanging out with Andy had begun to rub off on her.
The girl's friend was nodding along, agreeing. Both had what sounded like an English accent.
"Um, thank you," Nile replied genuinely. She unconsciously ran her hand over the intricate swirled braids that Joe had done for her before she'd left. It was one of his slightly more advanced styles, taking hours to do that resulted in a sore ass. It was absolutely worth it.
"Did you get it done at a salon? Our mum does ours, but I don't think even she could do that."
Nile smiled, knowing if Joe were here, he would be grinning wide, loving how others were complimenting his handy work. He'd joke about it later, talking about how he should invest in a hair salon. Andy would roll her eyes and comment on Joe's growing ego, Nile would laugh, and Nicky would agree, albeit stop his speech about his talents with a kiss.
"No, actually, my brother does my hair," Nile replied.
"Really? Well, he's amazing."
"Yeah, our brother would never. He's sort of a dick."
Both girls giggled at their joke. Nile smiled at their antics. She may only be a little older, but she felt like she had aged a lot in the past year. Part of her wanted to tell the girls that their brother was probably a dick, but that they should tell him they love him while they had the chance. Nile knows she wishes she did.
Then again, she didn't want to come off as cryptic. She decided to be friendly and pulled up the youtube video she and Joe had watched and gave the girls some tips. Joe may have been the one doing the braiding, but it was Nile's head that was getting braided. She wasn't clueless.
Once she was done the two sisters thanked Nile and ran off in the other direction together.
My brother
She had said it so fast and so casually she didn't even realize it.
Later, when she returned home (She realized home was really wherever the others were), she told Nicky, Joe, and Andy about the run-in, and as predicted, Joe was very pleased.
Weeks later, Joe did box braids again. It had been a while since he first had, and this time Nile wanted some color. Pastel blue, to be specific, and she absolutely adored it.
She was busy admiring her newly braided hair in the mirror on the wall of her room when she heard someone coming up the stairs in the small house in England they were staying.
Throughout her time with them, she learned to determine who was walking up or down stairs by the sounds of their footsteps. Joe's were the loudest, always a usual paced thud thud thud. Andy's were the slowest and quietest, sometimes Nile didn't even hear them. Nicky's were the fastest. He always jogged upstairs, usually only with his toe's, so it was a soft thud compared to Joe's loud ones. Judging by the quick-paced small sounds coming towards Nile's room, it was Nicky who was about to knock.
"Come in," Nile said when she heard knuckles softly bang on the door. In stepped Nicky, eyes as large and blue as ever. Were they blue? They could be green? Then again the other day they looked sort of grey.
"Hey," Nile said, curious as to why Nicky was in her room. Nothing in his expression indicated anything was wrong, but you could never be sure in her life anymore. Maybe there was another mission they had to leave for tonight, or he just came in to ask if she wanted to train with a sniper rifle tomorrow. She'd been wanting to learn.
"You look beautiful," was the first thing he said, and Nile couldn't help but blush a little. The way Nicky said it was so sincere. Hell, everything that came out of Nicky's mouth was told with so much kindness and sincerity that when he called her beautiful, she knew he truly meant it.
"Thanks, Nicky." Nile got up from her seat to put away the hair stuff as she talked. "So, what's up?"
"I just wanted to thank you," he said as he stepped into the room.
"What for?"
"For this." he pointed vaguely to her, then she realized she was talking about her hair. "For letting Joe do this."
"Oh." Nile was a little caught off guard, mostly because Nicky was coming in her room, thanking her for something she didn't feel she needed to be thanked for. "I mean, I should be the one thanking Joe, maybe I should be paying him or something."
Nicky laughed. "Yeah, well, it makes him happy, so thank you."
Nile finished putting away her things and took a seat on her bed. Nicky didn't leave immediately, so Nile motioned for him to sit next to her. He seemed thankful she did and sat down on the old, cricket bed.
Once Nicky was sat down, he sighed, not looking Nile in the eye. Nile knew immediately something was on his mind.
"He hasn't said it out loud, but I know braiding your hair makes him happy, it's been a while since…"
Nicky was fidgeting with his hands and closed his eyes. Nile knew that look. It was the look they made whenever they thought about something they'd rather forget. It was the look Andy made when talking about the innocent lives lost during forgotten wars, or the look Joe made when talking about those he couldn't help when he served as a medic during the first world war.
"I'm assuming Joe told you the reason he learned in the first place?" he asked, looking at Nile this time.
"Yeah," Nile replied. She guessed she knew what the look was for then. "Quynh."
"Hm." Nicky sighed his answer, looking down again. "When we lost her, Andy stopped letting Joe braid her hair. I guess it reminded her and was too painful, which was understandable."
Nicky paused, continuing to fidget with his hands. Nile wanted to tell him that he didn't have to continue talking about it, that he could stop, but she remembered the conversation she had with Joe. Sometimes talking is the best option.
"After a while, I stopped letting him, too."
Nicky said it so quietly Nile almost didn't hear it. She could hear the regret in his voice, the sadness that came with the confession.
"It became painful for me, eventually, the reminders, so I cut it. Joe understood, of course. 'It's just hair' is what he told me, but I think we both knew that wasn't true."
Nicky stopped talking now, looking down at his hands again. Nile wasn't sure what to say. It wasn't often that Nile wasn't on the receiving end of a conversation like this. She expected it eventually, though. After all, they were only human. Nile decided to do what Nicky had done for her whenever she had been at her lowest.
She reached over and took his fidgeting hand in hers and squeezed. He stopped immediately. "Thanks for telling me," she said, and it was genuine.
Nicky was finally looking at her again with those eyes that always seemed to be different colors. He smiled. "No. Thank you, Nile. I can see how happy it's making him when you ask for his help. Unlike Andy, it's more of a reminder of what he had, not what he's lost. I think it comforts him."
Now that made Nile happy to hear. Because honestly, she felt the same way.
"My mom used to do my hair," Nile started. "Also my dad when I was little, and in basic and when I was deployed, it was my marine buddies. So I get it, too. I guess it's good for both of us."
She didn't say anything beyond that. She figured she said all she needed to say and smiled up at Nicky, with Nicky smiling back. She was still squeezing his hand when she leaned her head on his shoulder and let it rest there. Both of them didn't say anything for a while and sat there in comfortable silence on the old bed.
After what had probably been a while but felt less, Nicky finally spoke.
"I'm glad we found you, Nile."
"Yeah. Me too."