Chapter Text
“I love you, Niran,” Jean-Baptiste Augustin whispered into a young Niran Pruksamanee’s bare chest.
“I love you as well, Jean-Baptiste,” the younger began. “But if Vishkar found out…” He trailed off, not continuing the sentence.
“You always talk about if Vishkar found out. I can protect myself, Ni.”
“I just wouldn’t want them to go after you. They would know that hurting you would harm me, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”
“I know,” the older one’s voice quieted. He knew how much Niran loved him and wanted him to be safe, and that’s one of the biggest reasons why he loved the boy so much.
Vrrrm Vrrrrm
“Ah merde, who’s ruining our moment?” Baptiste reached for the phone vibrating on the nightstand. It was his own, obviously. The contact was one of his co-workers. “Of course I’d have to be called on my day off.”
“Who is it?” Niran questioned innocently.
“Mexican Cartel Leader,” Baptiste read off the contact name for his lover.
“Sombra?” Niran chuckled.
“You would be correct.” The older man smiled, his phone still buzzing in his hand. His thumb gently tapped the green button on the device.
“Aye, you answered. Didn’t think you’d actually pick up, big dog,” Sombra’s voice echoed through the phone.
“Why are you calling me? I’m not working today,” Baptiste huffed, not really frustrated.
“I’m bored,” she admitted. “Gabrielito is being all moody and Akande is really not in the mood.”
“And I’m not working. Goodbye,” his thumb moved to press the hang up button. Niran was getting a little impatient. When a man wants his cuddles, he needs them, yeah?
“¡Espere!” She shouted quickly into the phone, making Baptiste falter. “Tell Niran that I will find dirt on him.”
“Good luck with that,” Niran doubted that she would. There was none, not unless he was gardening. His boyfriend then hung up the phone.
The younger of the two began threading his fingers through the older one’s curls. Although short, there was still enough length for Niran to play with. Jean-Baptiste smiled, soothed by the feeling of his boyfriend’s fingers in his hair.
“You’re lovely,” he mumbled, nuzzling his head further into the blonde boy’s chest, though it was impossible.
“Thank you, handsome,” the other replied, a hand escaping from the Haitian man’s hair and moving to his bare back.
“Niran,” Jean-Baptiste paused, pulling their blanket up a bit higher. “Should I leave Talon? Join Overwatch?” That caught Niran’s attention. His eyes moved down to the brown ones already looking up at him.
“I mean, if that’s what you want to do, go ahead. I’m sure it’s.. A lot safer with Overwatch than Talon,” Niran hesitated. “Why are you asking?”
“Cole Cassidy invited me to join them,” Baptiste admitted. “He knows I’m in Talon. Said he wanted to give me a chance.”
“I think you should,” Niran reckoned.
“We’d be apart more often.”
“I understand.”
“Ni…” Jean-Baptiste sighed. “Okay. I’ll text Cole now.”
“Now?,” whined Niran. His partner looked up at him, stared for a second, and smiled. Then the man leaned up and pressed his lips to the others. Then they moved to his nose, his cheeks, his forehead- anywhere that Baptiste’s lips could reach. Niran began chuckling.
“I suppose I’ll save that for tomorrow,” chirped Baptiste. Niran grinned happily, joyful that he got his way like normal. “You’re adorable.”
“I prefer more flattering terms, sugar,” Niran flirted playfully, kissing his lover’s forehead. Jean-Baptiste moved them so that he was spooning the younger one. His arms wrapped tightly around Niran’s waist, pulling the man against himself. He then nuzzled his head into Niran’s neck.
“Fè bon rèv, chèri,” whispered Jean-Baptiste, his voice muffled since his face was buried.
“I love you,” yawned the other, placing a hand on the other man’s arm.
The two slipped into a peaceful sleep. The only noises came from Jean-Baptiste’s soft snoring and the white noise machine Niran just had to play every night. Clouds rolled over the sky outside as the moon shone in through the windows of Niran’s bedroom at the Arcology. Waves brushed up against the outside, though muffled by the thick glass and walls the structure was built out of. It was a calming atmosphere, one that any sane person would love to enjoy.
Niran awoke first the next morning. He rubbed his eyes, yawning and peering over at his boyfriend. Jean-Baptiste was sprawled out on his stomach beside him, one arm thrown lazily over the top of his body. Niran held back a chuckle.
“Adorable,” he mumbled quietly, not wishing to wake the other. He carefully extracted his body from under Baptiste’s arm and stood up. His eyes moved to the clock he had perched on a dresser he’d meant to get rid of. The time read 7:23 am. A marvelous time to get up, he thought.
The platinum-blonde haired man made his way to the open closet on his side of the room. He thought for a bit before grabbing a plain, pink shirt and pulling it on. His eyes made their way back to the sleeping man and the sight forced a smile on his face. He forced himself to leave so as to not disturb Baptiste.
Once he left the room, he marched towards the small kitchen he had in his little home. Each scientist had a small apartment-like home they lived in at the Arcology. Niran was quite lucky with his. It hadn’t exhibited any problems so far, and it was quite spacious.
Niran grabbed a pack of tofu and a couple strips of vegan bacon for himself from the fridge, and three eggs and a few pieces of real bacon for his partner, along with a pan from his pan rack. He set the pan on the stove top, greased it, and turned up the heat. After waiting for a bit, he cracked open the eggs and poured the contents on the pan. After doing so, he laid the bacon beside the eggs. On a different pan, he began to fry the tofu and vegan bacon, humming a soft song as he began to make breakfast.
Unexpectedly, a pair of nice, muscular arms wrapped around his waist tightly, similar to the ones that had done the same last night. Niran jumped slightly.
“Careful, Ni,” Baptiste muttered sluggishly, still tired after just waking up. Niran sighed.
“At least alert me before grabbing onto me so suddenly,” Niran huffed, unimpressed, though secretly enjoying the affection he was receiving. Baptiste pressed a kiss to Niran’s nape gently, still tired. Then, he rested his face on his shoulder. Niran was quite a bit taller than him, so unfortunately, since he’d much rather rest his head on the others, could only reach his shoulder. Baptiste was tall, too, being about 6'2, but his boyfriend managed to outdo him in that field as well.
“Breakfast smells amazing.”
“I think that’s the first time you've ever said such a thing about my cooking.”
“What? No way,” scoffed Baptiste. “I’ve definitely said that before.”
“I don’t think so,” joked Niran. He gently pushed the older man back and grabbed the plates he had set down on the counter, along with the spatula to get the eggs off of the pan. He placed the oddly seasoned tofu and vegan bacon on his own plate before setting the other one with the remaining three eggs and bacon. “Could you pour drinks, babe?”
“Sure, my rose,” Baptiste smiled, heading to the fridge after releasing Niran. He grabbed the orange juice from the fridge and two glasses from the cabinet beside it. Meanwhile, his boyfriend brought the plates over to the island they had that separated the kitchen from the living room. He placed the respective plates in their seats and sat down. He waited for the Haitian man to sit beside him and place the drinks down before he ate.
Jean-Baptiste placed his hand on Niran’s thigh. The man then picked up his fork and began to eat, silently glancing over at the other a few times. The Thai male ate his tofu peacefully for a bit before looking at Baptiste
“You should text Cole now,” he muttered. Bap peered at him for a second, then agreed. He grabbed his phone from the pocket of his sweatpants and unlocked it. He then shot Cole a text.
“Good morning. I’ve been thinking about your request and I want to accept it, but how would I go about leaving Talon? Cutting tails with them completely?”
Was what was sent. It took less than a minute for a reply to come in.
“Just tell Moira you’re quitting.”
“He wants me to tell Moira I quit. I’d rather tell Ogundimu that I quit than her,” Baptiste muttered, completely serious. “Moira is horrifying.”
“Stop responding to their calls and don’t show up again,” Niran encouraged.
“I haven't shown up in a while. Not after Monte Cristi. Yet they’re still searching for me,” Baptiste mentioned. “Since I have all this knowledge of what's happening in Talon, they want me dead. Technically I haven’t left, but I feel like I have, and not responding to Sombra is like wishing death upon myself.”
“You’re probably right, baby.”
“Mhm,” the shorter one replied, texting Cole back after.
“Alright.”
“Now that you’re done with that, we can spend the day together, yeah? No research, no Talon?” queried Niran. His hand rested on the one that laid on his thigh.
“Of course,” Jean-Baptiste smiled. The two finished their meal in a comfortable silence. No words were uttered between them at that time, but they didn’t mind it. It was nice. Then Niran got up. He took their plates and glasses to the sink, rinsing them off and sliding them into the dishwasher.
“What would you want to do?”
“A movie?,” asked Baptiste.
“As long as you hold me the whole time,” murmured Niran. His boyfriend chuckled softly.
“I always will,” he promised. The two moved back to the bedroom, turning on the tv and snuggling up with each other on the bed. Both were extremely content, all cuddled up with each other. Warm bodies against warm bodies, arms wrapped around one another. It was perfect, especially for a clingy guy like Niran.
Their movie played softly in the bedroom as they laid entwined. Like before, they were content with the silence between them. In fact, the comfortable silence began to lull Jean-Baptiste to sleep. Niran didn’t notice that fact, but when he ended up doing so, he smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to the man’s forehead.
“You’re always so sleepy, sugar,” Niran quietly commented, staring down at the Haitian rather than watching the movie. He really didn’t mind. It just meant more affection for him. While Baptiste slept, his phone pinged with a message.
“Come in tomorrow, Augustin.”
Niran read after picking up his partner’s phone. The text was sent from Cole Cassidy, of course. The man was about to put his lover’s phone away when he noticed a text he’d gotten from Mauga, an ex-colleague, and ex-boyfriend.
“Ay JBA down to grab drinks?????;) havent seen ya in a while”
Niran scoffed. Obviously Jean-Baptiste didn’t want to see him. After all, Baptiste constantly told Niran how mean and controlling Mauga was to him when they dated. However, Niran left the message alone. It was his boyfriend’s privacy, and he definitely didn’t want to invade that. He set the phone back on the nightstand, plugging it in. Then, he checked his own. Only two missed messages, wow.
“Niran what was that sprayer you used”
From Satya Vaswani, his best friend and ex-roommate at Vishkar.
“Also do you know what fabric that one blanket was?”
Also from Satya Vaswani. Niran just set his phone down, pretending not to see either message. If he didn’t see them, he didn’t have to respond to them. It was a mindset he lived by.
“Baby, could you dim the lights?,” a voice muffled by his chest said. Niran’s gaze dropped down to the sleepy man’s. He chuckled softly.
“But it’s noon, my love,” he responded, smiling wide at Baptiste. The older man looked up and smiled sluggishly back.
“I can’t help it. You’re so warm and comfy. It makes me tired.” Niran chuckled more after Jean-Baptiste said that. He was glad he could provide such a safe space for his partner, but it was noon and they did have stuff to do after all.
“You still need to rise and shine,” smiled the younger man. Jean-Baptiste groaned dramatically, leaning up and pressing a kiss to his lover’s lips. Niran gently kissed him back before pulling away.
“Fine,” whined the Haitian. He sat up, stretching his arms above his head. Niran poked his sides almost immediately, receiving a startled yelp from him. “Hey-!” Niran immediately started laughing. Baptiste immediately grabbed his partner and pinned him down onto the bed.
“NO- I’m sorry-” Niran managed to say through a fit of giggles. His boyfriend smirked and placed a sweet kiss on his cheek. “Stop!” He was still giggling, though.
“You’re adorable, my flower,” Jean-Baptiste grinned. The Thai man placed his hand over the other’s mouth, smiling back.
“Don’t call me that, you hog,” joked the male, his hand still over his boyfriend’s mouth. Baptiste attempted to say something, but was silenced by the pretty boy beneath him. He just shook his head. When the younger finally moved his hand, the older attacked him with another kiss. Instead of fighting it, Niran happily kissed him back. Their lips moved softly against each other with a gentle passion only true love could muster up. When they finally parted, the older one spoke.
“You are the most handsome flower, dearest. It’d be criminal not to call you such,” he smiled.
“You have a couple texts, sweetheart. I saw your phone light up, baby,” Niran cut in.
“Do I?,” responded Baptiste. He reached for his phone, clicking it on. He saw the text from Mauga, and then he saw the text from Cole. “Tomorrow? Really? How does he expect me to get there by tomorrow?” Then he texted the latter.
“How am I supposed to get there?”
Jean-Baptiste sent. It took maybe five minutes for Cassidy to respond, but he did.
“I’ll be picking you up at 7 pm, your time. I’ve got a jet and a couple other members to grab on the way. You’re last.”
Jean-Baptiste was shocked. Tonight? He had seven hours left. Just under seven, really. Niran saw the expression on his lover’s face and became concerned.
“Honey?,” Niran questioned.
“They want me to go tonight,” he murmured, looking at his partner’s face.
“Tonight?!” exclaimed the younger. He sat up so quickly. Baptiste nodded, only further helping the sad expression on Niran’s face grow. “But- why? Why tonight?” Jean-Baptiste felt his heart break a little.
“I know, love, but it’s for the better that I go, yeah?” He tried to keep it light. Niran looked really upset, though.
“But I don’t want you to go…” Niran’s voice quietened.
“I’m sorry, amour,” Jean-Baptiste wrapped his arms tightly around his partner. Another text came through.
“Yo, you cool?”
Baptiste sighed. Niran was snuggled against him, holding on as if he could prevent his boyfriend from going to Overwatch. The older man moved his arm to grab his phone and respond back.
“Yeah, sorry, my partner is a little upset at that fact.”
Within a minute, he got a response.
“Mine hates it when I leave too. Just another part of life, unfortunately.”
At least Cassidy understood. Baptiste looked down at Niran, who was conveniently staring up at him with a sad, pouty look.
“Don’t look at me like that. You know I have to go,” the Haitian man whispered, putting his phone done and running a finger over the other’s cheek.
“I’m aware. I’m just not ready for you to go, love,” Niran faltered, biting his lip. His boyfriend gently rubbed his back.
“I’ll call you every night when I get off, okay gorgeous?,” the older responded, a small smile appearing on his face, trying to keep the situation light. Niran responded with a sigh, resting his head on Jean-Baptiste’s chest. The older one just petted the younger one's hair and kissed his forehead. Then Baptiste’s phone pinged again. When he checked it, he read:
“Bring a couple changes of clothes, whatever you like to work in, and all the basics. We’ll go back for more stuff later on.”
Only then did he register Mauga’s text. He didn’t reply. Instead, he blocked the number.
“Would you like it if I left a couple of the shirts of mine that smell like me?,” he questioned. Niran nodded.
“That’d be nice,” whispered Niran.
“Let’s go out for dinner, your choice.”
“Alright,” replied the Thai man. Jean-Baptiste leaned down and placed a soft kiss onto his boyfriend’s lips. They held each other quietly, not speaking for a little while. A heavy atmosphere had dropped down on the room, enveloping both men. It wasn’t until Baptiste spoke that the silence was dropped.
“I love you so much, Niran,” he said softly, his voice full of pure love. Niran sighed, but couldn’t help but smile.
“I love you too,” he responded quietly, staring at the love of his life, still worried about his partner leaving. Baptiste kissed his forehead, and they sat together on the bed, holding each other tightly.