Work Text:
"Bell""Die Landebahn", West Berlin0200 hours, February 28, 1981
Outside the side door of the West Berlin safe house, Bell sat against the wall by the door, frowning and partially curled in on themself.
Bell hadn't been able to sleep. Everything that had happened in Ukraine during the mission weighed on them, not in a good way. They shouldn't have gone snooping on that computer. Hudson talking about "the asset" in that one recording wouldn't leave their mind, and they didn't know why. Bell couldn't shake the subconscious feeling that it was about them, and they weren't sure why they felt that way.
Bell was pulled out of their thoughts when they heard the door open, looking up to see Adler stepping out of the door. He was still dressed in what he'd worn on the mission, his brown leather jacket protecting him from the cold.
The cold. Bell finally realized just how cold it was out here, in the middle of the night in February in Berlin. They'd left their jacket in their room when coming out here, expecting the chill to help, but had stayed outside longer than expected.
Russell finally turned in their direction, and Bell saw him frown upon noticing them. "Hey, you okay?"
Bell shook their head and uncurled as Adler sat down next to them. "Can't sleep... got stuff from the mission that won't leave me."
"Want a smoke to distract from it?" Adler pulled the pack and lighter out of his jacket pocket, loosely offering it out to them.
Bell paused, then nodded, taking a cigarette from the box with a small smile. Adler picked out a cigarette of his own before going to light it. He fiddled with his lighter for a second and frowned.
"Shit... it's almost out. I'll have to get a new one."
"I can light off of yours if I need to," Bell offered as Adler tried lighting up the lighter again.
The older man only got off enough of a flame to light his own before the lighter died. Russell sighed and tucked the lighter into his jacket pocket.
In a move that felt much more intimate than it should've been, Bell leaned forward with the cigarette in their mouth and directly lit it off of Adler's. Bell turned away before they could notice the soft dusting of a blush on the older man's cheeks.
They smoked together in silence for a minute before Russell spoke up. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Bell shook their head after a moment. "I'll be fine, I think. Just went snooping a little on that computer in that base and found something I don't think I was supposed to find..."
Adler looked over at them. "What was it?"
"Well... there were two of them... the first was about the Greenlight nuke you talked to Hudson about earlier..." Bell trailed off and paused.
"What about the other one?" came the curious ask from the older man.
"Hudson talking to someone about an 'asset'. That one won't leave me alone."
Adler paused. Bell could tell Russell was thinking about something, so they continued to smoke while letting him think it out.
After a while and a long drag on the cigarette, Adler sighed. "I can't help you there Bell, but I wish I could."
They nodded. "It's okay Russell, no one has all the answers."
The blonde nodded, looking over at Bell. "I'll gladly sit out here with you as long as you need though."
They smiled and nodded, slightly leaning against Adler. After a moment, a brown leather jacket was placed around their shoulders. Bell looked over at the man it belonged to.
"You looked cold, don't need you freezing out here."
Bell chuckled and nodded, pulling the jacket over their shoulders. It was warm from having just been worn, and they smiled a little as they held it around them. A comfortable silence settled between them and Adler as they both smoked.
By the time their cigarettes were almost done, Bell was sleepily leaning their head on Adler's shoulder, eyes half closed. Russell, who was still mostly awake, gently wrapped an arm around them. "Want me to help you inside?" he whispered.
Bell barely nodded, but it was enough of a nod for Adler. He put out both of their cigarettes before carefully picking Bell up and carrying them inside.