Chapter Text
New message: 1 of 2 received 1123pm
Family meeting in five minutes, if you’d be so kind.
New message: 2 of 2 received 1124pm
I do mean now, Darlings.
The kitchen on the Carte Blanche was already busy by the time Nureyev arrived. He stood outside the door, listening to the dull murmur of voices on the other side of the thin metal. And his heart raced as he realized that he was probably the last to arrive.
He had been in the middle of washing his face for the night when Buddy had messaged the group chat. They had only just returned from their last heist an hour or so ago. A priceless sapphire stolen from under the nose of a Mercurian Marchioness.
The mission had been a success, but they were all exhausted. And Nureyev hadn’t imagined that anyone would need him for the rest of the evening. His only plan had been to crawl into bed with Juno and sleep for as long as his mind would let him.
Nureyev blamed that exhaustion for why he hadn’t noticed Buddy’s message until after his makeup had been wiped away. Which had to be hastily reapplied before he could even think of rejoining the crew.
All in all, he wasn’t spectacularly late. Only a few minutes past Buddy’s deadline at worst. But it was enough to send an all too familiar voice buzzing through his skull. First rule of thieving: never be the first or the last person in a room. It drew far too much attention.
Attention that Nureyev couldn’t risk. Especially not from Buddy. Even if the reason for his tardiness was completely innocent, it wouldn’t do for the captain to be any more curious about his off time than she already was. Not when… certain members of the crew were already vocal about their concerns.
And there was still the question of why the Captain was calling a family meeting in the first place. Such things were generally morning affairs, discussed over breakfast. Consistency and routine was the key to surviving long-distance space travel, after all. If Buddy was calling a meeting now, then something must have been wrong.
But what? It couldn't have been about the day’s heist. They had already debriefed. And even then, the mission had gone flawlessly.
Unless…
A bolt of icy panic shot through him, leaving Nureyev’s hands numb and trembling against the kitchen door. Had Buddy found his burner comm? It was currently in a locked box in his bedside table. Certainly, she wouldn’t have checked there.
Or worse, had she overheard a private conversation with Juno; discovered his name? Nureyev hadn’t checked in a while, but the warrant for his arrest would certainly be enough to bankroll the Carte Blanche for years to come.
No. Nureyev huffed out a breath as he folded that thought away. Shoving it as far back in his mind as he could manage. Even if Buddy had found him out, Nureyev was confident that wasn’t something she’d bring up at a team meeting. No, she’d confront him in private. With a blaster in her hand.
Whatever Buddy wanted to talk about, it wasn’t about him. It wouldn’t do to stand out here and work himself up over nothing. So even though every instinct told him to turn and run, Nureyev lifted his chin and went inside.
Jet, Juno and Rita were huddled near the stove, talking among themselves. While Vespa dozed, balanced on the back legs of the chair with her heavy boots kicked up onto the table. And Nureyev realized, much to his chagrin, that Buddy had yet to make an appearance herself. He still had time.
Vespa cracked an eye open as Nureyev walked into the room. But she didn’t say a word as he made a beeline towards Juno.
The Lady in question was perched on the counter. Watching with a look of bemused disgust as Jet and Rita mixed something in a mug. A selection of ingredients lined the counter: hot chocolate mix, a jar of pickles, salmon flavouring and whipped cream. Quite frankly, Nureyev didn’t want to know any more.
“Hey, Handsome,” Juno said. His whole face lit up as Nureyev approached, smile no longer hesitant like it had been when they first met. It unabashedly filled his face until the Lady glowed with it. And Nureyev found himself smiling in kind. Juno reached for another mug, holding it out. “I told the others you might be a second late.”
“You’re a saint.” Nureyev crooned, taking the cup as he pressed a kiss to Juno’s cheek. “Goddess among men.”
“oh gag me.” Vespa snapped, “it's too late for this crap.”
“Your eyes were closed!” Juno said.
“I can hear you being gross.”
Juno flipped her the bird as Nureyev cradled the mug to his chest, savouring the warmth of it. He leaned back against the counter, his side pressed into the solid curve of Juno’s leg. And he didn’t try to hide his smile as Juno’s arm draped over his shoulders, his hand settling in the hollow of Nureyev’s collar.
How ridiculous it seemed that he’d wasted so much time in the hall, if this was the only terror that awaited him. He breathed deep, letting the sharp tang of his favourite tea fill his lungs before taking a sip. A touch sweeter than he would have preferred, perhaps. But Nureyev would never comment. It tasted better than he had ever prepared just on the merit of being made by Juno Steel.
“Vespa raises a valid concern, I think.” Jet said, holding the mug steady as Rita sprayed whip cream on top of her concoction.
“Oh come on!” Juno snapped. “She and Buddy are way worse than this! Like all the time.”
“That is not what I am referring to. You are being far more sedate than normal.” Jet said. “I am simply curious as to why Buddy would call a meeting after most of us had already retired for the evening.”
“I have my reasons Dearest one, never fear.”
Buddy swept into the room with all her normal gravitas. Despite the late hour, her hair and makeup were impeccable . Making Nureyev keenly aware of his own far too thin layer of foundation. Indeed it seemed the Captain’s only concession for the time was to pour her wine into a coffee mug. “Now, I think an apology is in order for calling you here after I had already bid you adieu for the night. But needs must, I'm sorry to say.”
“That’s okay Captain A!” Rita said, dumping sprinkles over her noxious-smelling concoction. Sprinkles that were suspiciously the same colour as her dusty crunches. “I was already gonna be up for the 3 am premier of Killer Baker 4: Love is all you Knead.”
“I'm happy to hear that, Darling,” Buddy said. “Do tell me how it is. I confess I am quite curious about what happened with the possessed rolling pin.”
“What’s going on, Bud?” Vespa asked. She was still leaning back in her chair, but her lean scarred face was focused only on her partner. “Everything alright?”
“I wish I could say it was,” Buddy said. She was holding a soft velvet bag. She reached inside, pulling out the prize from their last heist. a shimmering blue stone hanging from a delicate silver chain. The last true earth sapphire. Millions of creds worth of earth history dangling from her fingers. “I'm afraid there’s been a complication.”
“A complication?” Nureyev parroted, confused
The heist went flawlessly; a textbook robbery. No tripped alarms or stunned guards. And both he and Jet had confirmed the sapphire's authenticity.
To the best of their respective abilities of course. But Nureyev was certain of his authentication. The sapphire wasn’t as deep a blue, or as clear as its Neptunian counterparts. The value in the necklace lay more in its history than its quality after all. A trap that many a counterfeiter had fallen prey to. By all measures, it was the real deal.
“Yes. I was going to lock it up for the night when I noticed something peculiar.” Buddy said, tapping her hair where it covered her cybernetic eye. She tossed the necklace to Jet. “ I was hoping you could confirm something for me, Darling. Near the bottom of the stone itself”
Jet reached into his pocket for a slim pair of glasses, flipping the necklace over in his hands. He held the stone up to the light, turning it this way and that. And his stoic features twitched towards a frown.
“There’s a mark.” He said finally. “Laser etched. It is very small, but I would say it's a chess piece. A rook unless i am mistaken. ”
“So what, It’s insured?” Juno said, even as Vespa cursed. A long string of expletives that would make even the most colourful of individuals blush. “Last time I checked that was kind of normal for earth relics.”
“It's not that it's insured, Dear,” Nureyev said. “It's who it's insured by: a rook is Citadel’s logo. And they have a reputation for being... diligent about investigating the theft of anything they have an interest in."
“And then there’s the fact that mark is a god damn tracking chip.” Vespa snarled. “They’ll know exactly where we are.”
“Okay, yeah. I can see how that’s a problem.”
“Good job, Steel.” Vespa turned back to Buddy. “How long before they’re here?”
“Best case scenario, her Grace won’t notice the necklace is missing until tomorrow morning.” Buddy said. “It's a bit of a head start, but the Carte Blanche will hardly hold her own in a chase.”
“And they’ll show up with blasters charged,” Vespa finished. “Fuck.”
“Indeed.” Jet said. “We will need a plan if we hope to survive.”
“I vote we throw the stupid thing out an airlock.”
“Let's not be hasty, Vespa Darling.” Buddy soothed, placing the necklace back into its bag and into her pocket. “I like to think this family is more than capable of outsmarting a few suits.”
“Huh… one sec.” Juno’s brow furrowed under the strap of his eyepatch. His thumb brushed absently over Nureyev’s collarbone, deep in thought. “Citadel Insurance. I think I… well Rita and I… we worked with them before.”
“Really?” Nureyev asked. He hadn’t meant for it to come out quite so disbelievingly. But there weren’t many cases of Juno’s that he hadn’t heard about. Either through research or from the lady himself. “That’s quite the addition to your resume.”
“Not really. It was only the once, and it didn’t end all that well for either of us.” Juno admitted with an endearingly sheepish shrug.” Hey Rita, remember the Lyerly case?”
“That was a nasty one alright!” Rita agreed with no small amount of enthusiasm. “I remember you had a crush on that one investigator. What was her name, the real big one!”
“Okay, that’s sooooo not the point!” Juno flailed as his voice climbed steadily in pitch. Nureyev hid a chuckle behind his hand. His poor Detective was so easily flustered. “Do you remember how you stopped them from tracking us down in the end? After the painting got blasted?”
Blasted? “Oh, Juno….”
“Hey! It wasn’t my fault alright? Blame the Triad.”
“Ohhhhhh! Mistah Steel that’s a really good idea!” Rita crowed, gesturing wildly with her mug. And the noxious-smelling drink slopped dangerously over the sides. “ I can do the same thing on the ship, rewrite the shielding matrix through my old code. And bam! They’ll never know we’re here.”
“Wonderful work Darling, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear,” Buddy said. And the tension that Nureyev hadn’t even noticed seemed to drop from her shoulders. Only once it was gone did he realize just how tired their captain looked. “There is the small matter of selling the sapphire, of course. But that can wait until tomorrow I think. I dare say we’ve earned a good rest.”
Nureyev paused, mulling over Buddy’s words. It was an effort to keep his face still, to stop the skeptical frown that threatened to take over. There were only a few fences with the skill or connections to move a Citadel marked item. Nureyev himself only knew of one in this part of the galaxy. On an asteroid, he had long since blacklisted for future work.
But Nureyev realized with a sinking certainty, that Buddy didn’t know how to sell the necklace. The research alone would cost them weeks. Months perhaps. And that was time they simply didn’t have.
Nureyev had no doubts about Rita’s skills. Whatever she had done back in Hyperion had protected her and Juno from Citadel for this long. But nothing could last forever. And a crew like this couldn’t function looking over their shoulders every day. It would only take one mistake and their mission would be over.
They had to get rid of the sapphire. As quickly as possible.
Nureyev tapped his finger against his mug, listening to the satisfying clink of his ring against porcelain. It would be a risk to share what he knew. A greater one then he’d normally be willing to gamble. But a calculated one perhaps, given the circumstances.
Especially now that he knew Juno had already danced with citadel before. Did his detective know the weight of the sword above his head? Nureyev doubted it. The Juno Steel who had left him in Hyperion collected enemies like trading cards. But Citadel was not in the business of forgiving old grudges.
He folded that thought away. Shoving it deep down as Ransom’s cool confidence slid back into place. “This isn’t my first run-in with citadel either.” He said. “I know a fence on the edge of the belt who won’t ask any questions.”
“My! Everyone is full of surprises today.” Buddy said. “Have you worked with them before?”
“A few times, yes.” Nureyev put his mug down on the counter, crossing his arms. The very picture of nonchalance. It's been a few years, but she were fairly well established. I doubt they’d move.”
Nureyev could feel Juno’s eyes on his. And he made himself stand a little taller under the weight of that gaze. Juno had always been able to tell when he was hiding something. A frustrating skill, all told, even if it came from a place of genuine concern. But whatever Juno was thinking, he didn’t comment on it. He just gave Nureyev’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
Buddy, shrewd as ever, was not so generous. “I'm sensing a but, Darling.”
“I’ve never enjoyed reusing aliases if it can be avoided.” Nureyev said, slow and collected. “Especially on the back of a heist as notable as this one.”
“So one of us can go instead,” Juno said without missing a beat. “We’re a team, right? Jet and I can go.”
“Unfortunately not, Love. She has a rather… exclusive client list.” Nureyev said. “ I would need to be there to make the sale.”
There was a thump as Vespa’s chair hit the ground. “You’re kidding right?” She said, venom in her narrowed grey eyes. “We’re just going to trust the thief with a million cred take, just like that?”
Nureyev stiffened. He drew himself up, no longer allowing himself the luxury of slumping against Juno’s Leg. Preparing himself for the familiar thrust and parry that made up nearly all his conversations with Vespa.
“Hey!” Juno beat him to it, snapping on his behalf. “Lay the hell off.”
“You got something to say to me Steel?”
“He said he has a plan. Why are you riding his ass?” Juno snarled back. “Not like you have a better idea.”
“That doesn’t mean I have to listen.” Vespa sneered and she turned to Buddy and Jet. “Think about it. The thief promises he knows a fence, who coincidentally will only talk to him? How dumb do you think we are?”
“That’s quite enough.” Buddy’s captain’s voice rang through the kitchen; sharp and final. “We will use Pete’s contact, and he won’t go alone. I believe that should satisfy both your and Juno’s concerns. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Vespa and Juno said in disgruntled unison.
“Excellent.” Buddy clasped her hands. “Then I don’t know about you, but I'm positively exhausted. Off to bed now, we’ll plot our course in the morning.”
The room emptied quickly. Nureyev couldn’t blame anyone for that. A quick glance at his comm showed it was already well past midnight. And the day had already been a long one before Buddy’s discovery. Anyone with any degree of sense would be heading straight to their room.
But even though Nureyev’s eyes were burning with exhaustion, and his thoughts felt syrupy and thick, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to sleep.
He made to leave regardless. Toying with the notion of heading to his cabin to review his old star charts for tomorrow. To somehow find a way to make good on his promises without getting himself killed in the process. A possibility that was far more probable than he wanted to think about right now.
He didn’t make it far however. Juno hadn’t left with the others. He slid off the counter, reaching for Nureyev. His warm fingers curling around his wrist.
“Okay, what’s got you so twisted up?”
“Nothing serious.” Nureyev tried to soothe. But the lie fell flat. They always did in Juno’s presence. How quickly he’d been undone. “It's been a long day, my love.”
“Uh-huh.” Juno leaned back against the counter, his arms crossed. “You want to try that again?”
“Citadel’s a dangerous company. “ Nureyev said. “I think that’s worthy of some concern, don’t you?”
“So's Dark Matters, but they don’t bug you this much.”
“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” Nureyev asked as he worried at his ring, spinning it in circles on his finger.
“It's part of my charm.” Juno smiled impishly. But even that small jovial moment fell far too quickly. “Seriously, it's just us. What’s wrong?”
Nureyev sighed. It sounded so simple when he said it like that. As if he wasn’t asking for something that felt impossible. But for Juno, Nureyev wanted to try. He moved to stand beside his partner, shifting until they were shoulder to shoulder. “I wasn’t lying about not wanting to reuse the alias.”
“I figured.” Juno chuckled, knocking their shoulders together. “It's always half-truths with you. Since the day we met.”
It wasn’t an accusation. Even with anxiety thrumming beneath his skin, Nureyev could hear the affection in Juno’s voice. But his stomach still twisted at the words. He hummed, reaching back for his long cold tea. Anything to bide some time as he tried to find something to say. To decide how much of himself he could give up, even now.
“My last trip on that asteroid ended well. For me at least.” He said finally. “But… There are a number of people who would not be happy to hear from Max Blythe.”
“Nureyev…”
“It's been years, Love. Almost a decade,” Nureyev cut in. He reached for his hand, smiling as Juno laced their fingers together. “Odds are they’ve long since moved on. I’m just being overcautious.”
“I’m not saying you should ignore your instincts,” Juno said. “But you're on a team now. We’ll have your back.”
Would they?
Juno would of course. Nureyev had no doubts about that, at least. And by extension, he knew Ms.Rita would be there as well. But the others?
It was a laughable notion at best. Buddy’s earlier compromise had hardly been a ringing endorsement of his merit. She listened to him of course. But that seemed more for the betterment of the crew than anything else. Vespa and Jet on the other hand. Well, the less he thought about that, the better.
Nureyev was far from naive. Trust was a currency earned, not something freely given. But he would have thought that Ransom would have earned a small amount by now. Except it was Ransom’s very existence that they took offence to. Vespa especially. Her distrust of his use of an alias ran far deeper than her own struggles with reality. And as long as Vespa didn’t trust him, his position on the ship was far from secure.
Vespa, Buddy and Jet; that was a dynamic set in stone. Walls prebuilt and imposing. Nureyev knew what side of them he was on. Even as Juno and Rita managed to slip through seemingly invisible gaps in the fortification.
And what would happen, if Juno ever had to choose? Between the family he so desperately wanted, and a thief with nothing to give him but a name and a mountain of debt?
Fold it away.
Juno yawned, his jaw cracking. The sluggish sound pulling Nureyev away from his spiralling thoughts.
“You coming to bed?” He asked.
“Not quite yet.” Nureyev smiled at him, soft and small. Not an alias’ mask, but not quite genuine. More for Juno’s comfort than his own. “I’m going to stay up a while longer. Get the coordinates ready for Buddy.”
“It's late, Baby,” Juno said. “Nobody’s expecting that of you.”
“It's okay, I’m not tired.”
But Juno didn’t seem swayed by the excuse. “You were dead on your feet before the meeting.” He said with a disapproving scowl. And then he paused, his expression shifting into something sad and sympathetic. “Was it what Vespa said?”
“Of course not,” Nureyev said, far too quick.
“I don’t think she actually means it.” Juno pressed on. It was an amendable effort. But the words lacked his normal conviction. There was no way to sugarcoat the good doctor's feelings for him. “She’s just trying to rile you up.”
“Don't worry about me, Detective Mine. It's not the first time someone hasn’t liked me.” Nureyev raised their still conjoined hands, kissing the back of Juno’s knuckles. “And you’re right, it's time for bed. Just give me a moment to wash my face and I’ll be right behind you.”
Juno’s frown deepened. But he seemed ready to let the conversation go for the night, at least. He reached up on his toes, pressing his lips to Nureyev’s cheek. “Okay- if you're sure. My room?”
It was truly amazing the way so few words could make Nureyev’s heart dance. Because it was no longer a question of whether Nureyev would spend the night or not. The only thing up for debate was who’s bed they’d be sleeping in.
And whatever was waiting for them on that asteroid would be worth it. As long as Juno kept smiling at him like that.