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“Five-fifty, Booker.” Nicky’s voice was sharp and serious, and as he threw down a pile of green bills there was something tight in his eyes which Nile had only previously seen before a fight.
It was as if the room went still for a moment, something passing over all the others that Nile didn’t yet understand. It was different from the tension of when they’d first met in the Boston hotel room—Joe and Nicky just back from their trip to the Mediterranean, Booker back from his exile ninety-nine and a half years early. Yet it was certainly a kind of quiet, hovering over them like a spell.
But Nile was used to those kinds of moments—with the others having known each other for so long, it probably would have been weirder if she’d already learned all the inside jokes. Even Joe stilled, glancing to Nicky with an unreadable expression rather than his usual warm smile.
Then, Booker’s lips twitched.
“You’re joking.” Andy’s voice was disbelieving, and Nile thought it might have been the most incredulous she’d seen the oldest immortal since the time she’d introduced Andy to the wonders of maple bacon doughnuts.
“No, I am not.” Nicky’s expression was still stony as he moved toward Andy, holding something in a paper bag.
Andy seemed this close to rolling her eyes, but she took the bag regardless, pulling out a small item that was carefully wrapped. Nile leaned closer, wanting to see what had managed to capture the whole team so perfectly.
Booker had already pulled out his wallet. “You’re on.”
Joe was grinning now, leaning forward with a softness in his eyes which only brightened the smile. When he spoke, his voice was teasing. “Nicolò, I love you, but if you lose all of our money again—”
“I won’t.”
“That’s what you say every time. And yet, every single time—”
“I won’t.” That fierceness was back in Nicky’s gaze, and Joe held his hands up in surrender. Nile narrowed her eyes, suspicious.
Booker was almost properly smiling, the curve of his lips certainly closer to the real thing than Nile had seen since he’d brought the team back together with news of Quynh. It was perhaps that which had Andy smiling in return as she finally pulled open the wrapping, revealing—
“Baklava?” Nile asked, confused. “What…?”
“You’ll see,” Joe said, sparing her a warm glance. “Just wait.”
Andy considered the pastry for a moment before bringing it to her mouth—and her smile dropped as she took the first bite, her eyes flicking back to Nicky before she had even swallowed.
“Nicky,” she said dryly. “I know this isn’t the best you can do.”
Nicky didn’t say a word. He merely brought up a hand to press his knuckles to his lips, shifting slightly on his feet.
Andy shrugged. “Well. It’s pistachio.”
“Nicolò,” Joe groaned, though his eyes were still amused. “Even I would be able to guess where—”
“Silenzio amore mio, have patience.”
Joe quietened and turned his gaze back to Andy, something of a smirk now playing around the corners of his mouth. Nicky’s lips were pressing together, as if he were trying to hide his expression. Booker, meanwhile was leaning forward with an expectant gleam, as if thinking he had already won—
“Has to be Gaziantep,” Andy said—
And Booker let out a shout, punching his fist in the air in victory. “Always a pleasure Nicky,” he said, reaching for the pile of money the pair of them had left on the coffee table—
“I don’t think so.” There was something burning in Nicky’s tone, and even Booker looked back up. “The receipt is in the bag,” Nicky continued, his smile slowly stretching wider until it could have been bright enough to light the whole room. “And I think you’ll find that I bought that baklava in New York City.”
There was a beat of silence in which Nile couldn’t help but hold her breath, feeling the imminent explosion. And, sure enough—
“No way,” Booker said, his hands lifting to his hair in disbelief even as Andy tugged the receipt from the previously discarded paper bag. “That’s cheating—”
“Andy did not guess where it was made, so I won the bet,” Nicky said, the rising excitement in his tone turning his voice positively giddy. “Two hundred years, and I won—”
Joe was laughing, the sound near incredulous in its brightness. He was already out of his seat, and he caught Nicky in his arms as the other man threw himself forward, the laughter spewing brightly from them both as Joe practically twirled Nicky around.
“Joe, I told you that would work—”
“I know, you won! Finally—”
“Hey!”
“Excellent work hayati, non aveva alcuna possibilità!”
Nicky let go of Joe and turned to Nile, his arms tight around her shoulders. She found herself laughing along with him, the giddiness infectious. The hug only lasted a moment before Nicky next ran to hug Andy, and then Booker—and despite the other man’s defeat, he seemed far more relaxed after Nicky let him go. Then Nicky was hugging Joe again, still grinning wide, still excited beyond what a simple bet should usually warrant.
Nile smiled fondly as Nicky pressed his grin against Joe’s in a quick but sweet kiss. She hadn’t known about the whole immortality thing for long, but seeing that something so simple could bring smiles to all of their faces calmed a fear that she wasn’t even sure she’d had.
Andy rose to her feet to throw an arm around Nile’s shoulders, still grinning. Booker was laughing, light chuckles accompanying a fond shake of his head.
And the money still lay on the coffee table, entirely forgotten as Joe and Nicky spun around the room, happy and content in each other’s arms.