Chapter Text
Half an hour or so later, Nicky stirred.
"Welcome back, my love," Joe said as Nicky blinked and yawned in the most adorable way. "How are you feeling."
"Sane," Nicky replied, but gave him a small smile, "and hungry. How are you and everyone else?"
"Quite possibly better for the whole experience," Joe whispered and indicated the door.
It was still open and Andy and Quynh were sitting on the couch, still wrapped in their one blanket. Nile could not be seen, but there was the sound of the shower running, and Booker appeared to be making coffee in his underwear. It all felt surprisingly relaxed.
"Oh," Nicky said, slowly sitting up.
He had the most delightful bed head going on that made Joe want to kiss him, so he did. Nicky gave him a warm smile before stretching like a cat.
The way the duvet pooled around Nicky's waist had Joe reassessing his position on the sex being over. However, the way Nicky looked around the room, then through the door and back again hinted that his husband's mind was on other things.
"Also crusty," Nicky added, making something of a face.
Joe hadn't had time to clean them up before they'd both fallen asleep after the last cycle.
"I think," Joe said, climbing out from under the covers, "we could do with a proper shower. When Nile has finished, I suggest you and I skip the queue so I can perform my alphaly duties and make sure my beautiful omega is all freshened up."
Nicky shook his head with a fond smile and rolled his eyes.
"I am capable of washing myself," he pointed out.
"But where would the fun be in that?" Joe asked. "And would you be so cruel as to deny me the chance to take care of you?"
It was supposed to be a light, amusing moment, but Nicky's smile slowly sobered.
"You have given me such great care already," he said, leaning across the bed into Joe's space and placing a hand on Joe's hip, "that I could not ask for more."
Joe leaned down, running his fingers into Nicky's hair.
"I love you," Nicky said, gazing up into his eyes.
"And I love you," he replied, kissing his way down Nicky's brow and nose until he placed an almost chaste kiss on his husband's sensual mouth.
There were a thousand heartfelt and poetic declarations floating around his brain, but that was the single one he needed at that moment. They remained looking into each other's eyes for several long seconds and Joe thought he could see infinity in the blue looking back at him.
"Now I think we should stake our claim," he said and allowed a mischievous smile to play over his lips, "because I just heard the shower go off."
Nicky grinned back.
"We cannot use all the hot water," he said, typically worrying about everyone else too.
"I promise to try not to," Joe assured him and Nicky finally climbed out from under the duvet.
~*~
It was Nile who noticed first because Nicky was too busy making toast and eggs for everyone, even though it was four in the afternoon, Joe would have been the first to admit he was almost completely Nicky-centric at the moment and so was watching his husband, Quynh wasn't paying attention, and Booker was in the bedroom trying to find something to wear. Hence when Andy stepped out of the bathroom, naked as the day she was born because she had long since decided being bashful was a waste of time and she'd left Quynh with the blanket they had been sharing, Nile was the only one who looked over.
Nile's mug of tea bounced off the carpet. Which was what alerted Joe to something going on and he turned.
"What?" Andy asked, because Nile was staring at her.
"You … the … your," Nile said waving in her general direction.
Joe had seen Andy naked in many situations, but looked anyway. When he did, he swore.
"What?" Andy demanded, clearly annoyed now.
Not that Joe could blame her, neither he nor Nile had been particularly helpful.
"You scar, Boss," he finally managed to find some sensible words, "it's gone."
The pink and white patch of healed bullet wound that had been a constant reminder of the mess Merrick had made of their family whenever Andy let it be glimpsed was now clear, unmarked skin. It hadn't been that way last time Joe had seen their leader sans coverings. He had the most ridiculous thought that she'd just washed it off. Andy looked down at herself as if she didn't believe him. Not that he could blame her for not noticing, he doubted he'd voluntarily look at a reminder of suddenly being mortal either.
Joe had rarely seen Andy so completely at a loss. She touched the area and looked up at them as if she didn't know what to think. Of course, this was Andy, so her inaction lasted all of a couple of seconds before she walked to her clothes, pulled out a knife and slashed the edge of her finger.
"Sonofabitch," she said, eloquent as ever as she looked over at Quynh, eyes far wider than normal.
Joe couldn't see the wound from where he was, but Andy's reaction left no doubt it had healed.
"Does this mean I can shoot you now?" Quynh asked in the sweetest of tones.
Andy glared and picked up a cushion to throw at her head.
When Joe looked over at Nicky there were tears in his husband's eyes. He reached out his hand and Nicky took it. Joe decided that just maybe Kozak might not deserve eternal damnation, just a few thousand years for what she had done if this was one of the outcomes.
~*~
Andy's phone rang three days later, letting them know they were safe to move. Over those three days they had all done their best to relax and take stock. It was more than clear there were still issues, but they had apparently unanimously decided that dealing with any of them while stuck in the flat would be a big mistake.
Nicky had possessed the kitchen and refused to let anyone else so much as chop a vegetable, but then, given the delights he'd managed to produce with their slowly dwindling supplies, no one complained. It had all begun to feel kind of normal and right, which was why Booker's reaction to the news of their impending freedom was something of a surprise.
"I should be going then," the Frenchman said about five minutes after Copely's phone call.
While Joe still harboured some resentment towards the younger immortal he hadn't expected that. The way Booker tended to gaze at Nile like she had hung the moon when he thought no one was looking was kind of telling. No one else had expected it either from the looks on their faces. However, it was Nicky who reacted first. He walked over to Booker, cuffed him up the side of the head and began ranting in Italian.
He called into question Booker's intelligence, his parentage, his sexual prowess and several other aspects of his person, all in exquisite detail. Joe was impressed. When he'd finished that he loudly explained how if Booker dared break Nile's heart he would eviscerate and castrate him while he was still alive, all the while gesticulating wildly. Joe was reminded of the angry, whirlwind he had first met on the battlefield so many centuries ago. It was quite a thing to behold and Booker looked completely shellshocked, even though Joe was pretty sure Nicky was ranting so fast the Frenchman only got half of what he was saying.
Then to round up, Nicky called Booker an idiot in eight different languages before enveloping him in a hug that would have made an octopus proud. Joe was familiar with those kinds of hugs, usually he was only ever on the receiving end of one quite like that if he had managed to get himself killed in a particularly nasty way, or he and Nicky had had to be apart for any amount of time.
"Glad that's settled then," Andy commented, which made Quynh laugh like she was slightly unhinged, which was still a distinct possibility.
"Anyone care to translate?" Nile asked.
Nile had been learning quite a lot of Italian and Arabic, but Nicky had been speaking so fast and in his distinct dialect that a native speaker would have had trouble.
"Nicky told Booker not to be an idiot," Joe said simply, "but in an Italian way."
"Never seen him this excited before," Nile commented.
"He's hormonal," Joe said, smiling sweetly when Nicky gave him a very pointed look.
He was so going to pay for that comment later and he was looking forward to it. While he cherished Nicky's heats he preferred it when Nicky was much less pliable. Contrary to popular wisdom, having been in heat did not ever put Nicky off sex, in fact it was the opposite. They were usually more sexually active after his heats than most of the rest of the time. When Nicky chose to fuck his brains out to prove a point, Joe was going to enjoy every second.
"That's it, we're going to the house in Norway," Andy decided. "It's remote, has plenty of rooms, thick walls and lots of space so we can all work out whatever shit we need to. No one, and I'm looking at you two, is having sex until we get there, because I am not bailing anyone out and everyone's boundaries are completely fucked."
Joe thought Quynh might object for a second or so, but she just nodded along with everyone else. It seemed old habits died hard, even after hundreds of years apart.
Given the way Nicky was looking at him, Joe thought he might be paying for his comment with a severe case of blue balls by the time they reached Norway. Nicky was a sniper, he was a patient bastard and Joe knew he was in trouble.
When they finally got to Norway the sex was going to be epic. He'd worry about the rest of their screwed up little family once he could walk again.
The End