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They were on a mission in the middle of nowhere, so they had to sleep under the open sky. Because Nile had been killed twice that day (she didn't want to talk about it), Joe and Nicky offered to take the night shift. It was a peaceful night for once, so Joe and Nicky used the night to watch the stars while holding hands and sharing kisses.
In the morning, Nicky used his last ingredients to bake flatbread.
Joe: "Nicky, the Love of my life, do you know if I have more of the spread left?"
Nicky shook his head.
Nicky: "I can't say. You eat it like candy whenever you have a jar of it."
Joe: "Because it tastes so good."
Nicky: "That is still debatable."
Nicky looked over at Nile, who had been woken by the smell of freshly baked flatbread.
Nicky: "Morning, Topo. Sleep well?"
Nile loved it when Nicky called her that. Nile sat up and stretched her body with a yawn.
Nile: "Yes. I have forgotten all about yesterday."
Nicky: "That is good to know. There is still some coffee left if you want some."
Nile: "Thanks. I could use a cup."
After peeing and washing her face, Nile sat down to eat breakfast.
Nile: "Your bread is the best in the world, Nicky."
Nicky: "Thanks. I have had close to a thousand years to practice my bread-making skills."
Nile: "That is true. I do sometimes wonder what I will be good at when I am your age."
Nicky: "My best advice is: find something you love and use it as an outlet. It has helped me many times."
Nile: "I will keep that in mind."
Nile looked over at Joe, who at this point had turned the inside out of his backpack.
Nile: "Is Joe spring cleaning his backpack?"
Nicky chuckled.
Nicky: "No, he is searching for something. And I say this with love, but spring cleaning will never be one of Joe's many talents. Yes, he likes to think he is helping me..."
Nicky looked at Joe with a smile.
Nile: "Am I wrong to assume that is why you always send Joe out on 'a special mission' whenever you are cleaning? And leave just a tiny thing for him to do."
Nicky: "Yes, but Joe does the same thing with me whenever he needs things done himself. We see it as helping each other and preventing an argument, even though break-up sex is a great thing after an argument."
Joe let up a triumphant yell as he held up a jar.
Joe: "I found it."
Joe opened the jar.
Joe: "And there is still some left."
Joe dumped down next to Nile before taking one of the flatbreads. When Joe spread the spread over the flatbread, Nile pulled her head away while covering her nose.
Joe: "Something wrong?"
Nile: "What the hell is that? And how can you eat it?"
Joe looked at the jar.
Joe: "It is Vegemite and it tastes amazing. Wanna try?"
Nile: "No thanks. And you can't convince me otherwise."
Joe: "It is filled with vegetables and vitamins."
Nile: "Still not convinced. And how long have you been eating that?"
Joe: "I think it was in North Africa during the 2nd World War. Or am I wrong, Nicky?"
Nicky sat down to eat a flatbread.
Nicky: "You aren't wrong about that. We were assisting a group of Australian soldiers. Very nice men, who all made it home."
Joe and Nicky were still very proud of that achievement because it didn't happen often that an entire group of soldiers made it home after a war.
Joe: "We treated rations with them. And in their rations was some Vegemite. Where I loved the taste of it, it was a different case with Nicky."
Nicky: "It turned out that either you love the taste of the Vegemite or not. It is perfectly normal."
Joe scraped the rest of the Vegemite out of the jar before spreading it out over a flatbread.
Nicky: "Vegemite has more applications than just being food. It once saved our lives back in the 1960s."
Nile looked sceptical at Joe and Nicky. She was still trying to figure out when they were speaking the truth and when they were pulling her leg.
Nicky: "But that is a story for another day, because we'd better get going before the sun gets too warm."
They started packing their stuff together, and after making sure to erase all their traces, they walked on.
Nile: "Joe? Is it true you once used Vegemite to save your lives?"
Joe: "Yes, but Nicky is right. Long stories have to wait until we are done with this mission."
Nile could understand that. And she knew that they would tell her the story once the mission was over.