Work Text:
A week after their arrival in Scotland, Nile can definitely understand Nicky’s urge to stuff himself with all the local food. So far, Nile herself has eagerly sampled haggis - an abomination; British fish and chips - not that dramatic but much more edible than the haggis; and a deep-fried kebab - which made her grateful she couldn’t die of heart disease, because she wanted another six straight away.
But when Nicky buys his fourth baklava in as many days, Nile has to ask what’s up with that.
Nicky smiles at her while unwrapping the slice, breaking it in half delicately and offering her a piece. “It is a game between Andy and myself. Sometimes when we are apart, I will bring her a dessert and she guesses where it’s from. I win the bet if she can’t guess right. Baklava has been traditional for the last decade or so.”
Nile’s eyes widen. Maybe that’s why there was a pastry in the Humvee when Andy kidnapped her.
She accepts her piece from Nicky and takes a bite. “Okay, two problems- oh damn, this is good,” she mumbles through her mouthful, distracted. Rich and flaky and spiced and - she’s tried all of Nicky’s previous baklava purchases too, and this one is far and away the best.
Nicky watches her with enjoyment, seeming to appreciate her appreciation, and takes a small bite of his own.
Nile swallows, and resumes her rant. “Two problems with that: one, Andy definitely knows we’re in Scotland, and two, we’re in Scotland for a whole year.”
Splitting up for that long had surprised Nile at first, before the others explained why. Nicky had declared it was time for him to go back to college and ‘brush up’ on his medical degree - apparently he re-enrolls every twenty years or so, to learn what’s new since the last time he did it - and it had been Andy’s idea to send Nile to college with him, to study something complementary.
“We don’t need two fully-qualified doctors,” she’d said, “but somebody who can keep a patient alive until the doctor gets there would be useful. You already know a bit of battlefield medicine, so paramedicine should be a breeze.”
Put like that, it made perfect sense, and Nile’s pleased that the team has more to offer the world than shooting the bad guys. She had wondered why they needed to split up at all, but apparently Scotland’s excellent medical schools are not enough of an incentive to make Andy tolerate that much winter. Nobody needed to say aloud that they weren’t leaving Andy on her own, so that ruled Joe out of the Scotland year too. Nile hadn’t expected Joe and Nicky to willingly separate, but the boys had eagerly reassured her that they were more than capable of spending a year apart. According to Joe, Nicky focuses so hard on his studies that he might as well be on the other side of the planet anyway, and besides, Joe was quite looking forward to spending some time just him and Andy.
So Nile’s studying a one-year course Andy specially designed for her, which skips all the classes involving too much medical equipment the team won’t have access to, and instead leans towards classes like Nursing in Developing Nations. Nile is enrolled in Andy’s customized diploma under the alias ‘Amazon Freeman’, which none of the others will fess up to being their idea. Nicky is supposedly Russian this time around, with a student card declaring him to be Nikolai Kuznetsov. It sounded very grand until Nile worked out the English equivalent, and now she’s just amazed it took so long for the team to get caught. Nicky’s plan is to cram six years’ worth of study into one year of attendance by going to every single lecture and just ignoring all the bits he already knows.
“Your second ‘problem’ solves the first,” Nicky says, drawing Nile’s attention back to the present. “I’m starting now to decide where we should stop over when we travel home. I will buy Andy a baklava there, and hopefully…” He takes another small bite. “Win the bet.”
“Makes sense,” Nile allows. “This one tastes good?”
Nicky shakes his head. “Too obvious. Cinnamon and clove is classically Armenian. Andy would know it in a heartbeat.”
“Cinnamon and clove, huh?” That’s why it tastes like a pumpkin spice latte… “So, what, you need to find something so generic it can’t be pinned down?”
“That is the delightful thing about baklava,” Nicky says. “Every region that claims it as a local dish has its own variant. Armenian baklava is different to Libyan baklava, which is different to Greek baklava, which is different to Iranian baklava…”
Nile turns this over. “You’ve never won that bet, have you.”
“I have not,” Nicky agrees. “But I have gotten close enough that I still think the right one will do the trick. I am determined to find it.”
“Well, we’ve got a year to work something out,” Nile says, polishing off her slice and dusting the crumbs off her fingers. “I am definitely down for baklava-fueled study sessions.”
~
The year goes by faster than Nile could have imagined. College-level study is hard work, harder than she expected, but improving her ability to save lives is plenty of motivation to keep up. Being tutored by Dr. Nicolò di Genova, M.D., M.D., M.D., M.D., M.D., and M.D., doesn’t hurt either.
By the time final exams roll around, Nicky has been through just about every bakery in Scotland and still hasn’t found a baklava he’s satisfied with, but Nile has a few ideas about that.
When she shares her ideas with Nicky, he grins delighted mischief that looks pure evil, and she wonders how she ever thought he was the nice one. “That might just work.”
~
Nicky has barely opened the door to Andy and Joe’s place with a call of, “Honey, we’re home,” before Andy is on them like a whirlwind. Nile finds herself with a face full of Andy’s shoulder and Andy’s arms around her so tight she thinks she feels ribs crack.
“Air,” Nile croaks, hugging Andy back anyway, and Andy laughs. She ruffles Nile’s hair without actually letting her breathe any.
“Did you pass, kid?”
“Air,” Nile insists, and Andy lets them separate by an inch. Grinning, Nile gasps out, “Top of my class, I’ll have you know.”
“That’s my girl,” Andy says proudly. “If you failed I wasn’t going to let Copley make your student loans disappear.”
“I’m sure ‘Amazon Freeman’ is shaking in her boots to hear it.”
Andy lets them pull apart just far enough that she can look Nile in the eyes and clap her on the shoulder. “It’s good to have you back.”
Nile’s heart feels full to bursting. “Good to be back, boss.”
A little ways away from them, Joe and Nicky are coming out of a kiss, foreheads together, Nicky’s hands settled either side of Joe’s neck and Joe’s hands around the back of Nicky’s head. They both have their eyes closed, and they’re just breathing each other’s air. It’s almost painfully sweet and intimate and deep, and despite their assurances it would be only a year apart, Nile can see how much they missed each other.
Joe breaks away from Nicky for the sole purpose of grabbing Nile in a hug that lifts her off her feet, and twirling her around the hallway. Nile shrieks with surprise and laughter, and almost misses Andy and Nicky wrapped up in their own reunion.
Joe puts Nile back down eventually and kisses her cheek. “We missed you, ukhti.”
After a year of Nicky dropping every nickname under the sun, Nile recognizes the Arabic word for sister with ease, and it warms her from the inside out. She tucks her head against Joe’s for another second. “Missed you too, shaqiq.”
Joe keeps his arm slung around Nile’s shoulders as Andy and Nicky separate, and Nicky pulls the long-awaited baklava out of his bag and proffers it to Andy.
“Oh, looks good,” Andy enthuses, taking the wrapped slice and lifting it to her nose to inhale the scent. “Thank you, Nicky.”
Nicky smiles and says nothing, keeping Nile’s secret for just a few moments longer. Nile forces herself to pull a poker face of neutral curiosity, and not vibrate with excitement where Joe will definitely feel it.
Andy unwraps the baklava and takes a massive bite. “It is good,” she says, chewing slowly. Poker face, poker face, Nile recites. Nicky is very helpfully not looking in Nile’s direction.
“Pistachio,” Andy concludes after a few seconds. “And almond paste, mmm. Honey.” She takes another bite. “Orange blossom…” She frowns, concentrating. “Cinnamon?”
Poker face…
“Buttery, too…” Andy’s confident recitation of the ingredients is becoming less confident with every one. She tugs the paper aside to eyeball the pastry itself.
Nicky shifts from foot to foot, a smile threatening to break out on his face. “Do you give up?”
Andy flips him off and takes another bite.
“Nicky’s got a chance,” Joe informs Nile in soft amazement. “I can’t remember the last time it took Andy this long to guess.”
“Berlin, 2010,” Nicky says at once. He clearly remembers the last time he came so close to winning. His hand comes up, tapping at his smiling lips.
“No, definitely orange blossom,” Andy mutters to herself. “Bloody hell, Nicky, where did you-”
“YES!” Nicky crows, punching the air dramatically. Joe laughs, throwing his head back and clutching at Nile’s shoulder to keep him upright. Nile herself can’t control her glee anymore, grinning wide enough to hurt her cheeks.
“Yeah, gloat all you like,” Andy says, kicking Nicky in the ankle. “Now where did you find this monstrosity of a baklava? Nobody puts those flavors together.”
Nicky reins himself in, and beams at Andy. “Nile does.”
Slowly, three heads turn to her as Andy and Joe work it out, and Nile lifts her chin. “’Sup?”
Andy waves what’s left of the baklava. “You made this? You… made this?”
“Sure did. So technically it’s from a shitty student apartment on the Scottish coast.” Nile somehow manages to grin just a little wider. “Which you did not guess.”
“You did not!” Nicky shouts, and raises his hand for Nile to high-five. Nile slaps it so hard her own hand stings.
“You’re both lucky this tastes so damn good,” Andy grumbles, but she’s smiling too as she shoves the last of the baklava in her mouth and gives another forceful hum of satisfaction.
Joe hip-checks Nile affectionately. “Enjoy your victory! And say farewell to it, because you won’t get that trick past Andy twice.”
“Oh, that’s a shame,” Nile says, ducking out from under Joe’s arm and wandering over to where she dropped her bag. She unzips it, and pulls out a laden Tupperware. “Does that mean it wasn’t worth me bringing the whole tray?”