#and for as much as i yoinked this vague concept from [redacted tv show] it's definitely going in its own direction now

[wymgreenteam]

wip wfriday

i am incapable of consuming media without inserting my blorbos into it. this is the product of that. to preserve my dignity i will be staying silent on what i have binged three seasons of in the past two days that has brought this idea to life.

(~900 words under the cut, jack/nico, fantasy au? kind of? but not a lot of fantasy in this scene and by not a lot i mean there are only vague references to it)

“I am from the North,” Jack argues.

“You are not from my north,” Nico roars. “You know nothing of my people. You come and ask for help without knowing what you’re asking for.”

“Then tell me the price I must pay!” Jack steps forward. “Tell me this truth that you’ve been so afraid of saying since I brought my men up this mountain. I’m not green enough to think that you’ve been transparent.”

Nico’s expression fills with agony as he turns away, pacing. “The Brotherhood acts on a collective purpose. If one is brave or stupid enough to ask for our swords to be turned against their enemies, then they must give back to even the scales.”

Jack rolls his eyes, crossing his arms. “I know all of this. I’ve heard stories since I was a boy. Just tell me what’s required. Is it blood? Is it my blood? Why are you so—” Jack wants to accuse him of being evasive, but there’s a flash of fear in Nico’s eyes that makes Jack hesitate.

Nico stops, facing away. He bows his head. “The Brotherhood has rules, Jack,” he says. “If those within are bound to your cause, you must be bound to ours.”

Jack throws his hands up, irritation bubbling in his throat. “That’s it?”

“What—” Nico turns, confusion marring his handsome face. “What do you mean ‘that’s it?’ Do you not understand?”

“I understand perfectly well. I serve with the Brotherhood as the price. So be it. What I don’t understand is why you are so adamantly against me doing just that. Have I not proven myself thrice-over? Does the Commander of the Brotherhood not deem me worthy to be among his ranks?” Jack storms over, pushing at Nico’s shoulder, fingers inadvertently sinking into the soft furs on his cloak. Nico goes nowhere, sturdy as the mountain they reside in, his expression unreadable once more. “

“The Brotherhood has rules, Jack!” Nico repeats, more desperate this time.

“Then tell me!” Jack grits. “Let me decide what price is too steep to pay.”

Nico makes this frustrated noise and shakes his head. “I cannot— The Oath is sacred—”

“Do you see anyone here taking an oath? No? Good. Neither do I.” Jack walks away so he can stand at the edge of the council’s table, leaning against it and crossing his arms, expectant. He isn’t sure what he’d do if he remained close to Nico, and he doubts the consequences would be worth it. “Tell me what I’m getting myself into, and if I’ll have to run from this mountain with my people at dawn because I’m supposed to burn them all as an offering to your gods.” He takes a moment to calm himself down before adding, “Not as a son of the Valkyrie, not as a person of my House, but as the man whose life you’ve saved and the man who has saved your life in return. As an ally, as a friend, I’m asking for your honesty.”

Nico is quiet for a long moment, standing tall, the glint of the Commander’s brooch flickering gold in the torchlight. His hair falls over his forehead and his unkempt scruff covers the wound on his cheek, the angles of his face softened from their usual severity as he looks at Jack with those kind eyes. The wrinkles at the corners speak not of his age but of his humor, of his smile, of the dip in his cheek when Jack says something to make him laugh. He’s never bothered to ask, but he’s certain Nico can’t be much older than Jack himself. Perhaps born in the Dark Winter like Quinn, just before Jack’s birth coincided with the start of the Seven-Year Summer.

Jack’s seen him many ways in their shared time, but never has he seen Nico be conflicted like this. He’s always been a man who knows his path and his purpose, steady and strong in the decisions he makes, as a Commander should be. He looks to fight with himself now, opening and closing his mouth several times before he finally settles on the words he wishes to speak.

“The Brotherhood requires that you give yourself to us wholly. You may have no brothers but the ones who fight beside you. You may sire no children.”

“I don’t need to have children, if that’s the price—”

“You must renounce your family and your House. You cannot see them for the rest of your days.” Nico starts taking slow, measured paces forward as he speaks. “You no longer serve under your banner and you must discard your sigil. You’ll take up the Silver Eagle as your own, like you never knew any other.” He lands just in front of Jack, the tips of their boots nearly touching. Jack tilts his chin up to meet Nico’s eyes.

“Nico—”

“You can have no love, Jack,” he murmurs, reaching to cup Jack’s cheeks in his warm, calloused palms. “There can be no intersection of duty and love where you may be forced to choose a direction other than that of the Brotherhood. Duty must prevail. To our brothers, to our banner, to our purpose.”

Jack raises a brow. “Good thing I’m not your brother then.”

Nico kisses the smile right off of Jack’s face.