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It’s getting late. Joe checks the time again and can’t help but frown. It’s not that he’s worried about Nicky; their current mission —gathering intel about a shady businessman by befriending his son— is not actually dangerous. Joe would go as far as to say it’s almost boring. And yet, he could also say they’re enjoying it.
Nicky is doing the shadowing. The businessman’s son is in med school and Nicky jumped at the chance to kill two birds with one stone: following their target and re-learning a thing or two. Joe had agreed to that, it gave him time to wander around the big city and visit its many museums.
According to Nicky, the campus is like a city in itself with thousands of students. It sounds challenging, but they have tracked people in worse conditions, it shouldn’t be too hard.
Another hour goes by and still no word from Nicky. Joe checks his phone in case he accidentally had it muted but there are no missed calls or unread texts.
Finally, three hours after Joe expected him, Nicky walks into their safehouse soaking wet, dripping from head to toe and, judging by the expression on his face, ready to murder someone.
“Nicky? What-” Joe stands up from the table and starts walking towards him but Nicky raises a hand to stop him. Joe cocks his head, he knows it’s best to let Nicky be when he’s angry. “I’m glad you’re home, what took you so long?”
“I walked.”
Joe raises an eyebrow. “Did you get lost?”
Nicky huffs indignant. “Of course not. Even if I didn’t know Spanish, it is literally impossible to get lost in the subway, just follow the pictures. But it started raining.”
Joe just stares at Nicky, not quite understanding how the rain would make him three hours late. Nicky shrugs off his jacket, trailing water all over the linoleum floor, and grabs a dish towel to dry his hair. “The subway flooded. Trains were packed. I wanted to wait but I realized it wasn’t going to get any better and anyway, when I tried to turn around the crowd just carried me, that was sort of fun.”
“Fun?” Joe asks, uncertain if he’d misheard.
“Yeah,” Nicky sighs. “But people just kept getting in and since it made no sense to stay on the subway, I thought I’d get off and call you to come pick me up. Only when I tried to do that, I noticed my phone and my wallet were gone. I wanted to laugh, no one had pickpocketed me in nearly two centuries. Then, I pulled out my backup phone and the battery was dead.”
“Oh, Nicky!” Joe has to bite his lip to stop himself from smirking but his shoulders shaking give him away. He closes the distance between them and rests his forehead against Nicky’s. Joe is laughing openly now.
“I’m hungry, I’m cold, I was robbed and I lost the target. Do not start with me.”
Joe cups Nicky’s face and brings their lips together, playfully at first, kissing the corners of Nicky’s mouth; then softly, barely moving and finally with all the passion that they inspire in each other even after all this time.
If anyone were to ask Joe —and sometimes even if no one does—, Joe would say Nicky’s lips taste different when he’s angry. Spicy. Joe would never make him mad on purpose but if someone else has already managed to get Nicky in a bad mood, Joe will gladly kiss it away.