#booker and nile nap together

[nevermindirah]

fun new way for immortals to do drugs

A while back Nile and Booker stumbled upon a fun new way to do drugs. Turns out there's a poisonous mushroom that doesn't kill immortals, it just temporarily turns them into a werewolf. Booker's a really cute werewolf! He loves playing fetch and getting belly rubs! More about Booker's first werewolf trip in Wouf Wouf: An Unredacted Fairy Tale.

Their second time around, Nile takes a dose, and they discover it's a more general immortals become were-beasts thing: Nile is now a were-squirrel. She's so cute and sleek and bushy-tailed! She's extremely agile. She's no more a flying squirrel than she is a flying human but it's not like that's gonna stop her, and she has the best time discovering she can leap between treetops!

Squirrel Nile sits on human Booker's shoulder or curls up on his chest and he feeds her almonds and gives her pets and watches her sleep. When they're were-beasts together, Nile loves holding onto wolfy Booker's ruff while he runs as fast as he can. It becomes a thing they do every so often, go off for a camping weekend, do drugs, run around a wilderness as their were-beast selves. Their special thing.

Eventually they decide to invite Andy and Quynh to join them. Andy is, predictably, a were-horse. She's enormous and so elegant and faster than wolfy Booker thank you very much. Were-horse Andy teaches human Nile how to ride her, and she whinnies mercilessly at wolfy Booker when he tries and fails to climb onto her back.

Quynh's were-beast form? Frog. If she wants to venture back under water, now she can breathe there. Wolfy Booker loves to swim as well, and the two of them spend hours at a time splashing around in ponds and lakes and rivers. Froggy Quynh can also leap and climb up into the treetops right alongside Nile, which quickly gets competitive. Nile can leap higher, Quynh can leap farther.

Quynh finds she especially loves clinging to Andy's mane as she runs at top speed. She and Nile take to leap-frogging each other hopping between Andy and Booker's backs as their lorge sweeties race each other through whatever wilderness, and then they all sack out by the nearest body of water for naps and snacks and cuddles. Nile is barely visible as she sinks into Booker's shaggy fur just as Quynh is neon-vivid where she rests perched between Andy's ears.

Booker, the only predator among them as animals just as he's the only one of them as humans who didn't choose a warrior's life, keeps other predators away with his ferocious growling. If it really came down to it though, Nile and Quynh could fight off most beasts with creative use of projectiles. Andy, of course, can and will stomp an asshole to death with her hooves.

[youssefguedira]

Lucia fic no. 2 💜💜💜💜💜

i have GOT to get back to this fic its just . well there's a lot of emotions in there. but what i HAVEN'T previously mentioned is the actual framing of the fic, i.e. it doesn't all take place in the past!! for example:

It's not until late afternoon, when Andy is napping in the other room, that Nicky brings up the reason for their visit. The TV is chattering away softly in the background, some drama show she's too tired to watch, though she’s getting better at understanding the rapid Italian. Joe'd pulled the curtains open to let the sun in a little while ago, casting a square of golden light on the terracotta tiles, and is now seated in one of the armchairs, sketching in a little black notebook, glancing up at the TV every now and then. 

“Nile,” Nicky starts. “There is something I would like to show you tomorrow, if you will let me.” 

“Sure,” Nile says, shifting position – she'd been starting to drift off in the afternoon sunlight. “What is it?” 

“There is a village, a few hours' drive from here,” he says. “I know Booker” – and here Joe's shoulders tense, just a little – “told you about his family already, but I would like the chance to tell you about mine. Only if you want to hear it, of course.” 

Nile wonders if that's why Andy had argued with him about this. She's been carefully avoiding thinking about her family for too long; Copley had handled it, sure, but that doesn't mean Nile doesn't still wish with every part of her that she could go home, even if it was just once. 

“Yeah,” she says. She could use getting out of the house anyway.

Nicky relaxes, just a little. “We can leave in the morning,” he says. “Eight?”

Nile nods. 

The next morning, Joe and Nicky are already in the kitchen when Nile gets up, talking to each other quietly in Italian. She doesn’t even bother to listen in, still a little too tired to process another language right now, but she catches the odd word that’s close enough to Spanish or French for her to understand. 

There’s two thermoses on the kitchen table already, and a little plate of pastries, possibly bought from the bakery a few streets over that Joe had mentioned yesterday; Nicky stands when she enters.

“Ready?” he asks. 

Nile nods. 

“Domenico’s is closed,” Joe says to Nicky. “I checked yesterday. But there’s a place not far from where it used to be.” His expression softens, then, and there’s something almost sad about the way he looks at Nicky when he says, “Bring her something from me?”

Nicky nods. Joe catches hold of his wrist as he walks past, kisses his palm. Nicky shudders for a moment, then leans down to knock their foreheads together briefly, eyes closed like he's bracing himself for something. It’s the most physical affection Nile’s ever seen them show towards each other: of course, they’re never that far from each other, but they’re not usually like this, at least not in front of her. She can’t help but wonder.

“You’re not coming?” Nile asks. 

Joe shakes his head. “Not this time.”

Again, she wonders. But then Nicky passes her one of the thermoses and a couple pastries in a paper bag, and they head out. 

It’s not until they’re out of the city and on the autostrada after a quick stop at a florist’s that leaves Nile with even more questions, and she’s halfway through her thermos of coffee, that Nicky says, “I had a sister.”

[alit0my]

Fic prompt if you are taking them! Nile & Booker depression naps together, where Quynh hasn't been found yet and Nile is struggling with dreaming her deaths nearly every night, she finds booker and accidentally falls asleep next to him but for some reason it really helps to keeps the dreams at bay. And they keep finding weird places to take naps in post-exile. Thank you if you do write this!

hi anon! im not gonna miss an opportunity to write about Booker sleeping! also yay booker x nile friendship!! hope this is what you wanted! x

~

Booker was known for his peculiar sleeping habits. Sometimes, Joe would find him half sitting against a wall slouched over, one knee bent up and his hair in front of his eyes.

If the man wasn’t immortal, Joe thinks he would have had the back problems of an eighty-year-old.

Sometimes, it was Nicky who found Booker sleeping on the couch, his long limbs draped off the edges as he slept soundly and comfortably through the noise of the blaring TV, much to Nicky’s amusement. The Frenchman could sleep through a bomb detonating if he had to.

He has.

Andy would always poke him into a more sustainable position whenever she found him sleeping with a twisted back or with his neck too bent. Even at six thousand years old, she was adamant about keeping a reasonable posture, and Booker gave her the shits whenever she found him sleeping oddly.

Naturally, the team told Nile of the Frenchman’s sleeping positions whenever she asked about it, as she had caught him dozing off against a wall, still on his feet. When she confronted Booker about it, he just brushed her off gently.

“Sleep is important for growing bodies,” he winked, drinking some water from the bottle she had handed him.

“You’re not going to tell me the real reason, are you?” Nile prodded, groaning when the man shook his head.

“No, if only to preserve your innocence.”

~

Nile awoke with a gasp, the feeling of water crushing her lungs escaping her as she opened her eyes. Panting, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, silently making her way out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen. Grabbing herself a glass of water, Nile turned around and jumped when she saw Booker on the couch, the TV flashing the room with the movie that was playing on mute.

She walked over and waved a hand in front of Booker’s face, humming softly when he didn’t respond, the slight rise and fall of his chest indicating that he was sleeping. Sipping her water, Nile grabbed the remote and switched the TV off, shrouding the pair in darkness as Nile sat down and tucked her feet underneath herself.

She watched the older man for a bit, sipping her water until it was empty.

‘Totally not weird that I’m watching a grown man sleep,’ she thought, placing the empty glass on the coffee table before settling back down on the couch. Resting her elbow on the back of the couch and her head in her hand, Nile exhaled heavily in an attempt to calm herself enough to try sleeping again for the night, wondering how Booker slept in such uncomfortable positions and seemingly avoided lying horizontal at all costs.

She closed her eyes and levelled her breathing. She was a Marine, for crying out loud. She could sleep anywhere too.

So she slept.

~

Nile opened her eyes slowly, blinking away the bleariness as she rose to consciousness. She sat up quickly when she realised she was leaning against someone, nearly giving herself whiplash as she did so and blushing slightly when she remembered joining Booker on the couch to sleep.

“Well, if I didn’t know any better I’d think you detest me by the speed at which you just moved,” Booker grinned and chuckled at Nile’s face, which was still laced with sleep and a little bit of drool on the corner of her mouth.

“Nonsense,” Nile replied, wiping at her mouth. She was not going to get embarrassed about drooling of all things. “I just forgot I moved out here.”

Booker hummed and scratched at his beard, stretching his arms above his head as he stretched, satisfied when he heard multiple joints pop, releasing into a comfortable slouch once more. “Why did you decide to join me? You always give me shit for not sleeping in a bed.”

“Not always!” Nile protested, fixing her hair and draping it over her shoulder. “I just.. dreamt of Quynh last night.”

“Ah,” Booker nodded slowly, in understanding. “Yeah, that’ll do it.”

Nile thought for a moment and frowned slightly. “I didn’t have any dreams when I fell back asleep out here with you. I usually have multiple dreams each night.”

“Well, you’re welcome to sleep on the couch with me whenever you like. We can even pull the bed out and cuddle,” Booker teased, patting Nile’s leg before leaning back again, taking a pause before speaking again. “It’s why I don’t sleep in a bed, Nile.”

“The dreams?”

Booker nodded. “The more comfortable and sober I am, the more dreams I have.”

Nile looked around the room and saw an empty whiskey glass on the coffee table and wondered how she hadn’t seen it last night. “That explains so much.”

Booker simply grinned and stood up, straightening his clothes as he did so. “The offer stands, Nile. If you somehow think being in my presence helps relieve you of your dreams, I’ll gladly accept you as my sleeping buddy. Just be warned, I sleep a lot.”

“Oh I know, Book. I know.”

~

Booker really did sleep a lot.

Nile found him outside in the small garden this particular safehouse had, lounging on a lawn chair with his hat covering his face. Nile glanced at the sky and shrugged at the clear blue skies before walking over to the other lawn chair and pushing it closer to Booker’s, plopping herself down once she was happy.

The sun kissed her skin as she relaxed into the chair, closing her eyes and relishing in the warmth the star provided the earth, her breathing evening out until her consciousness left her.

~

Nile often sought out Booker whenever she had dreams of Quynh instead of the others. She just felt like he understood better, and he was always more than happy to take a nap with her if she felt like.

Their current safehouse was located in Russia, and Booker was more anxious than ever. The first few nights Nile slept by his side as the dreams got bad, but then Booker changed his mind about their offer and refused to settle if Nile was around.

“What’s up with Booker?” Nile asked Andy, who was sharpening her labrys at the kitchen table. The older woman sighed and paused her movements, looking Nile dead in the eye.

“We’re close by to where he first died. It’s still a sore subject for him,” Andy replied, nodding towards the living room where Booker was watching a silent film. “He often gets nightmares about his time in the Grande Armee as well as Quynh, so that might be why he’s pulled away from you. Don’t worry about it too much, he does it to all of us.”

“Huh,” Nile pondered for a moment before walking to where the Frenchman was sitting on the couch and stood in front of him, blocking his view of the TV.

“Uh, Nile, I’m watching something,” Booker spoke, frowning up at her as she held her hands out, hesitantly taking them and allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. “What are you doing?”

“We are going to take a nap.”

~

AO3 Link

[asamandra]

Whumptober 2022 - Day 12

What could go wrong - Cave in

“I should’ve stayed in bed,” Booker sighed and leaned back against the wall behind him. He couldn’t see because it was pitch black inside of the cave. 

“I had no idea this would happen,” Nile said from somewhere to the left of him. 

“How could you know? Booker said. “No one could know.” 

“I know… but it was my idea and… it should’ve been fun and not like this,” she sighed. Booker imagined that she gestured around herself, the way she usually did.

“Nile, please,” he said. “Sit down, sit down beside me and together we wait. Andy, Joe and Nicky know where we are and they will find us here.”

“How could that even happen?” Nile asked and eventually she sat down beside him. 

“It felt like a small earthquake,” Booker said and put his arm around her shoulder. 

“An earthquake? In the Alps?” Nile asked. Booker shrugged, then he remembered that she couldn’t see him.

“It happens,” he said. “They are rare but they happen.” 

“We have one moment,” she sighed. “One moment for just the two of us, one moment in the last six months and right that moment the earth decided to shake and cave us in? What the fuck?” 

“Try to see it positively,” Booker said and turned to her even if she couldn’t see him, even if he couldn't see her. “As long as we’re trapped here they can’t send us on missions.” 

“You really would stay in a dark cave just to laze around?” Nile blurted. 

“With you? Everywhere,” he said. 

“Well, not exactly like Joe but you’re on a good way,” Nile chuckled. 

“We have a few years left to practice,” Booker grinned. 

“Hopefully not in this cave,” Nile sighed. 

“Don’t worry, they will find us. Andy will do everything to find us,” he said. “And this cave is way easier to find than Quynh on the ground of the ocean,”

“Right,” she said. “Sorry.” 

“Sorry?” Booker asked and frowned. 

“You know,” Nile said and placed her head on his shoulder. “For the bad mood.” 

“No, it’s okay,” he said. “And now… how does a nap sound? We have some time and…” 

“Nap sounds good. Nap sounds fantastic.” 

[aramblingjay]

Let me count the ways

A series of TOG drabbles inspired by 100 ways to say I love you

--

1. “Pull over. Let me drive for awhile.”

Andy drives them out, because Andy needs to drive them out. Mortal or not, she’s their leader, and to contemplate otherwise would break something more fundamental than even Booker’s betrayal can touch.

Joe meets Nicky’s eyes as they scramble toward the nearest car. As much as he wants to feel the heat of Nicky pressed up against him, a tangible reminder they’re both alive and free, someone needs to watch Andy and someone needs to watch Booker. Nicky’s better suited to the latter role, operative word being watch, because he’s less likely to snap Booker’s neck over and over purely for the satisfaction until they arrive at the safe house. Joe isn’t saying he will, but he can’t promise he won’t try. The acknowledgment passes between them unspoken, a quirk of Joe’s brow, a resigned twitch of Nicky’s lip.

So Nicky climbs in the back, Joe claims shotgun, and they speed down the street with the English pharmaceutical industry crumbing in their wake.

Let it burn, he thinks derisively.

The car is silent save for the rumbling of the wheels. Nile dozes, Booker stares down at his hands and doesn’t look up. Joe glances at Nicky only once, and every part of him hurts to see him staring blankly out of the window, not asleep, not awake. He doesn’t look again, doesn’t think he can keep himself together for Andy if he does.

Two hours and seven twisting roads later, Joe sees the signs he was looking for when Andy’s leg begins to twitch. She starts blinking a little more frequently, as though daring her eyes to close. The line of her shoulders goes tight and stiff. And most damningly, she clamps a second hand on the steering wheel, something she didn’t even do when cars were a new invention (“I’ve ridden camels and horses for longer than anyone else’s been alive, I think I can handle a wheel,” were her exact words).

“Boss,” Joe says quietly, mindful of Nile dozing in the back. The first few deaths are always the most draining, especially one as traumatic as plummeting from a skyscraper. “You alright?” He glances meaningfully at her hands on the wheel.

Andy drops one into her lap, scowling. “I’m fine.”

Joe is not fine. He feels mere seconds from collapsing with every breath he takes, despite his body having been healed as good as new. The mind does not heal quite so fast, or quite so clean. He cannot imagine exactly how Andy must be feeling, having entirely lost the memory of being mortal in the thousand years since, but is certain it must be worse.

“Pull over. Let me drive for a while.”

Andy’s fingers clench tighter around the wheel, and she keeps driving. They cross no less than six abandoned churches, Nile wakes up from and then falls back into three separate naps, the sky turns from pale blue to dusty orange to molten red, and still Andy drives.

Then, abruptly, she stops. Wrenches the door open. Steps outside.

Joe follows suit on autopilot more than anything else. When he meets her eyes across the roof of the car, her expression is cold, carved of thunder and stone. They switch places without a word exchanged.

It prickles at him, that this is hurting Andy somehow, that taking away the only thing she can do for them right now might be worse than letting her keel over in exhaustion. But a voice that sounds suspiciously like Nicky’s tells him there’s no point overthinking it anymore, and he focuses on the road ahead. After everything, the last thing they need is a car accident.

So he drives. The first stars of the evening glitter above, the horizon is painted in every shade of red and purple and pink imaginable, the full moon gleams like a pearl in the sky. None of it is as beautiful as when Andy’s hand suddenly clasps his over the center console and squeezes, once, the shape and warmth of it as familiar as his own name.

Her hand slips away, and he fights the urge to cling to it like a small child with his mother. Don’t go. Don’t leave.

It isn’t in their control. Nothing seems to be, anymore.

Their family is broken in ways that Joe doesn’t even have the words to describe. Andy being mortal, Andy being anywhere other than by their side, is a concept so vast and terrifying that the very thought of it is incomprehensible.

But Andy’s eyes are closed when he next glances over at her, her breath coming out in little puffs the way it only does when she’s fast asleep. And despite it all, Joe manages a little smile.

In a life as long as theirs, you learn to savor the small victories.

[even-after-a-millennia]

Ending on Canvas

Fic for @nilefreemanweek2021 and the prompt Art!  Nile thinks about Jay and Dizzy while sketching.  Joe helps distract her and she finally says goodbye. You can read it below or over on my ao3 account here.  Gen | Rated G | 1.4k

The safehouse was quiet.  Andy and Quynh had left for a hike earlier that morning and hadn’t returned yet.  Nicky was reading at the dining table, occasionally flipping his page.  Booker was napping in one of the bedrooms, though if Nile concentrated enough she could hear his faint snores.  

She and Joe both had their sketchbooks out and were drawing separately on the couch.  Some day, they would challenge each other to recreate portraits or scenes and see how their art styles differed, but today, they were both in their own worlds.

Nile hadn’t had a plan when she had sat down, but she found herself pulling out her phone and flipping through the pictures until she found the one that she wanted to recreate.  Now, it was slowly coming together, the features of her former friends becoming clearer as she worked.

Finally, she finished drawing the picture of Dizzy, Jay, and her posing for the camera.  

And sat there, staring at it.  At them.

She didn’t realize that she had started rocking in place, trying to expel the emotions she was feeling, until she felt Joe’s hand on her shoulder and stilled.

“Nile?  Are you alright?” he asked softly.

It shouldn’t be so hard to shake her head, to tell him she wasn’t, this was Joe after all, but it felt like all the muscles in her neck were rebelling against her as she forced them to move.

“What is it, little river?” he asked.  

She watched as his eyes fell on her drawing.  He picked it up and examined it, his eyes taking in the scene.

“Former sisters in arms?” he gently prodded.

“Yeah,” she said, her voice raspy.  “That’s Jay,” she said, pointing to her.  “And that’s- that’s Dizzy.”

“You look as if you were close,” he said.

She nodded.

“They were my best friends while I served,” she admitted.  Every word felt like barbed wire being pulled out of her, barbs digging in as they went.

“You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t wish to,” Joe said.

Nile smiled, a sad, small thing.  “I know.  I think I want to though.”

Joe nodded, settling in.  Out of the corner of her eye, Nile saw Nicky close his book.

She took a deep breath, then let it out.  “Women in the service are always together, on base and on assignments.  That can lead to some interesting dynamics.  But I was lucky when I found them.  Jay was a year older than me, showed me the ropes.  Dizzy… Dizzy was there.  My first death.”

Joe shifted closer to her, but didn’t reach out.  She huffed then grabbed hold of his hand.  He squeezed it, then nodded.

“We got a lead that a man who had been responsible for the deaths of soldiers as well as civilians was holed up in a village near our base.  He was using women as a living shield.  We were tasked to talk to the women and engage if we found him.  We did,” Nile said simply.

She could still remember the moment that Jay had kicked the door in, when Nile had entered and instinctually shot the man when she saw his gun.  Two taps, right to the chest.  It wasn’t even until afterward that she had realized what she had done.

“I tried to save him.  But he didn’t want me to.  Dizzy got distracted and he- he had a knife and,” Nile broke off, holding Joe’s hand so hard it probably hurt.

“We saw,” he murmured.  “We felt it.”

It was almost a relief, to not have to describe what came next out loud.  That they understood.

She nodded.

“After, when I came back, Dizzy didn’t want to be around me.  She had held my throat together.  Probably left a lasting impression,” Nile said, making a face.  “It still hurt, though.  They all turned away from me.”

Her eyes fell to her drawing.

To her friends.

“Even Jay.”

“Were you two…?” Joe trailed off, leaving the question open.

Nile shrugged.  “Like I said, interesting dynamics.”

“Ah.”

They sat there, still holding hands, though their grip was much looser than before.

“I have an idea,” Joe said slowly.  “But I want to check that it is something that would be good for you right now.”

“Kay.  What is it?” Nile asked.

He explained his plan and Nile found herself grinning despite herself.

“Hell yes,” she said.  “I’ve always wanted to do that.  I loved Princess Diaries.”

Joe looked momentarily confused, but rallied.  “Nicolò!” he called, as if his husband wasn’t already paying attention.  “We need to go to the store!”

Nicky got up without a word and came back with their car keys.

They ended up at the dollar store, throwing supplies into the cart with abandon.  Nile threw in some chocolate for good measure, enough that there would be some left for Andy.  She bounced on the balls of her feet at the check out and Nicky and Joe smiled at her enthusiasm.

It took a while to set up in the backyard of their safe house, but once the tarp, canvas, and balloons filled with paint were in place, Joe turned to Nicky.  

“Just one thing left,” he said with a smile.

“One moment,” Nicky said, going back into the house but not before he sent a smile back.

He emerged soon after with his arms full of a box.  It was only when he set it down on the grass before Nile did she realize that it was full of knives.  Not kitchen knives, either. 

“Oh ho ho ho, this is going to be fun,” she said, reaching in and grabbing a throwing knife.

“Need a tutorial on throwing these?” Joe asked.

Nile pinched the tip of her knife, hefted her arm beside her head with her other arm extending before her, and then pitched forward, the blade spinning through the air until it sunk into a balloon and its paint began to drip down the canvas.

“Impressive,” Nicky said, his eyes twinkling.

Nile shrugged.  “Something I picked up.”

Joe gestured to the canvas.  “It’s all yours.”

“Nah, I want your guys’ help with this,” she said, handing them knives of their own.  “And I wanna see who is the better shot,” she said, teasing.

“You first, my love,” Nicky said.

Joe sent him a look that made him snort, then his knife was spinning through the air and blue paint exploded across the canvas.

Nile gave a little cheer.

Nicky stepped forward and threw his as well.  His knife hit the balloon next to Joe’s nestling into the canvas side by side.  Nile huffed at the look of unabashed love that Joe gave Nicky and the smile Nicky gave him in return.  Then they focused, and took turns throwing.

They had only put purples, blues, and black in the balloons, and soon, the canvas was covered in color and they had no more balloons to pop.

Going to the canvas, Nile smeared the colors together a bit more in places, more to make sure the canvas wasn’t showing any more.

“It will be a bit of time until it dries,” Joe said, looking over her shoulder.

Nile nodded.  “That’s okay.  I have an idea for once it does, if you don’t mind me taking it over.”

Joe lifted his hands, acquiescing.  “This was for you, Nile.  Do with it what you wish.”

She smiled and didn’t even have to put effort into it.  “Thanks, Joe.  Both of you,” she said, looking over at Nicky.

He shook his head.  “This was all Joe’s idea.  But I am glad that it helped.”

“Where is everybody?” Nile heard Quynh’s voice say from inside the house.

“Out here!” she called.

Andy and Quynh emerged into the backyard and took in the artistic carnage there.  Andy started laughing.

“I’m almost sorry I missed whatever the fuck this was,” she said.

Quynh entwined their hands.  “Almost,” she agreed.

They cleaned up, Nile taking the canvas inside to dry.

It did take a while to dry with all the paint on it, but once it did, she sat in front of it with a paint brush and white paint.

Slowly, she turned the multitude of colors into an alive night sky, complete with stars shining.

Her final touch was to add three figures to the bottom, etched out in white against the black that had spilled there.  No prominent details, but they stood there together, looking up at the sky awash with color.

It was the best ending she could give to her two friends and the woman they used to know.

[cantteachanoldguardnewquotes]

Febuwhump Day 5 Let Me See

Warnings: Grief

It had been a terrible day, an awful week, a bad month and a worse year. Few things seemed to be going right whether they were on a job or off, and Nile didn't think anything would be able to get her out of this grey mood. She was still grappling with the fact she could never go home again, that she didn't get to say goodbye to her family. Everyday she thought about turning up out of the blue just to get one last hug from her mom. This week they were laying low and she was bored out of her mind, it was hard to think about anything else when she had so little to do. 

Joe and Nicky had gone out on a walk, they'd asked if she wanted to come but she declined since it was drizzling and she didn't want to be a drag, Andy was taking a nap, Quynh was painting and Booker was in his room. 

Nile was flipping through tv shows, nothing sounded appealing, she picked up her phone and flipped through the app store for a few minutes before tossing it back on the couch. She stared at the little phone icon you clicked to make a phone call. One button, type in her mom's number and boom, she could hear her mothers voice. It really was that simple. It was everything that came after that was the hard part. 

She knew why it was more prevalent on her mind today, it was her mom's birthday. She couldn't imagine how little her mom would want to celebrate without her there and it was eating her up inside knowing she could give her mom the  greatest birthday present ever, if she wasn't such a coward and picked up her phone. 

She didn't, instead she picked up the remote again and flipped through the channels for the umpteenth time. 

She kept worrying her necklace, a terrible habit of running it back and forth along the chain when she was trying not to think about something. Back and forth, back and forth, she was barely even aware she was doing it. 

Then it broke. The little cross was in her hand and the chain was still on her neck. She felt awful, but she took a deep breath. Necklaces could usually be fixed, it would be fine.

She took a closer look, then took off the chain to examine that. The longer she stared at the two pieces the more hopeless she felt about having it fixed. The tiny circle that attached the cross to the chain had broke so it would no longer stay on the chain. It was such a small piece she didn't know how anyone could ever fix it. 

It was the last kick her heart needed to break a little more. She had received the necklace as a gift from her mom and dad when she was eleven, it was the last birthday gift her dad had ever given her. She couldn't help it, she started crying. She drew her knees to her chest and quietly sobbed, her arms wrapped as tight as she could get them around her, like she was physically trying to hold herself together. 

"Hey, hey, Nile, what's wrong? What's the matter?" Booker's gentle voice asked her. 

She felt the couch dip as he sat down but he made no move to actually touch her before he knew what was going on. 

"Are you hurt? Did something happen?" 

He sounded so worried she felt bad for not answering, but she still couldn't get any words out without sounding like a mess. She nodded at his last question. 

"What? What happened? Can I do anything?" 

"I-I don't think anyone can do anything." She stammered, trying to calm down and catch her breath. "I-it's silly anyway." She didn't actually think it was silly but she knew if she said it out loud it would sound silly to react this much to something like a necklace breaking.

"Hey now, if you're this upset about whatever it is it can't be that silly. I just want to know if I can do anything, anything at all." 

She took another deep breath before she could get the words out. "M-my neckl-lace broke." She didn't expect him to understand, she'd never told any of them how important it was to her. 

"Oh Nile, I'm so sorry." He moved closer to her. "Let me see." 

He sounded so understanding, so soothing, she felt like she could trust him with anything and everything in that moment. She wiped her eyes a few times and carefully passed over the cross and chain. 

He studied them for a moment and Nile held her breathe waiting for him to tell her she would have to figure out another way to keep it on her because it's days as a necklace were over. 

"Oh, I can fix this." He told her still looking at the pieces.

"You can?" Nile asked, daring to get her hopes up a little. 

"Sure, I've worked on all sorts of jewelry and precious metals, I've done it as a hobby for, well centuries now." 

"Really?" Nile sat up at that.

"Yeah, here, come with me, I have the stuff I need in my room, I can have it fixed in half an hour tops." He stood up offering his hand, pulling her up when she took it, pulling her into a hug when she stood up, just for a moment before he released her and beckoned her to follow him.

He laid out an assortment of tools and sat down at his desk. He pulled up an extra chair so she could sit and watch him work. 

Twenty minutes went by before he proudly held up his handiwork to show her. "May I?" 

She quickly turned around so that he could clip the necklace  back on her. 

"Booker, it's perfect, it's good as new. Thank you, thank you so much." 

Booker grinned relived that she was smiling again. "Glad I could help, and if you ever want to learn a thing or two about fixing jewelry I'd love to teach you." 

She gently touched the necklace, so grateful she felt she might cry again. "I'd love that."

[lady-of-the-spirit]

I was thinking some thoughts about my girl Joan and her relationships with the Guard so here’s what I have to share with you all (under the cut bc it’s long)

Joan + Nile: Joan figured out her own way to live her life that is completely different from how the others live, and for Nile she's a reminder that she can always live differently. For Joan, Nile is the only immortal she watched become immortal, so she wants to watch out for her. The two of them are the only ones who are caught up on modern pop culture (Joan misses a lot but still knows more than the others). The two of them are the only ones who have had a relatively normal life in recent memory so they kind of enjoy that sense of normalcy they share that the others don't have. They're also both the newest members of the Guard so they have that in common, trying to find their footing with these complete strangers. Joan relaxes pretty easily with Nile because she's not thinking "this is someone I should have been with this whole time" because Nile is brand new, and Nile with Joan because there's no expectation for what she should be like, how she should fit in with her. They talk about art together, and Nile also is like "good, someone who knows about modern therapy and has words for things" like she doesn't have to explain some aspects of modern life with her. Joan WILL share her oranges with Nile. And also has good advice for being immortal and also books and things.

Joan + Booker: became fast friends while they were travelling together in 1812 and picked up right where they left off 200 years later. Joan takes one look at Booker and goes "get some fucking therapy." She's more at ease with him than she is with the others because he's the only one she knows (no matter how long ago or for how little time they knew each other), and he enjoys her company because she’s good company, she’s a calm, quiet presence and sometimes you just want that in your life. They both get each other’s loneliness, they’re very much the same way in that regard. They find the company refreshing - there's no mutual support of nihilism so she's more encouraging of him dealing with his issues (and seeing his issues as issues, and being okay with him talking about them), and they both fill in an empty space in each other's lives. They'll just hang out in the backyard and vibe together. They'll nap on the couch together. And like with Nile, Joan opens his eyes to a life he didn't know was even an option for him - he’s looking at this relatively normal life she’s made for herself despite her immortality, and he’s like “I can have this?” and she’s like “yes you can!” They'd do the Palm Springs Bar Dance together. Piggyback rides because he's tall and she's small. With him Joan doesn't get a sense of pity or sadness about her? Like he's not feeling sorry for her or anything. She appreciates it. She feels like she can talk to him about anything because he's so open to everything. They only ever call each other by their birth names - Ioana and Sebastien - and if anyone else does it they just give them a Look.

Joan + Joe: the Artists. They do art together. Joe takes an active role in trying to break Joan out of her shell with them. It freaks her out, not because of him specifically, but just because it catches her off guard that he would actually want to get to know her (and that makes him sad). She is extremely awkward and it makes her embarrassed (and is thinking “please kill me” the whole time) at first. They take walks together just to talk, or walk in silence, and this helps them get to know each other better than talking in the house. Joan probably has one of his old paintings and is trying to restore it, or one of his poems and is trying to translate it and when they find out it's another bonding moment for them as Joe admires her work. Maybe vice versa is true too, like one of Joe's favourite books is one she published some decades ago. Joe's a little sore that Joan "stole" Booker from him but in a mostly joking, only a little serious way. Everyone is constantly mixing up their names because they're basically the same and it becomes a joke for them to do it to themselves. (Joan: Joan, will you come here? Joe: Sure, Joe.) It annoys everyone and just makes the mixups even worse.

also @onyx-void had the idea a while back that Joan doesn’t have a last name or one that she recognizes because she struggles with a sense of belonging, and after decades with the old guard they pick one for her together, and I’ve been in love with it ever since, so that’s definitely canon for her.                   

Joan + Nicky: The quiet pair. Nicky's form of bringing Joan out of her shell is spending quality time with her - Joan do you want to help me make breakfast? Joan want to come to the store with me? Joan is it okay if I sit on the couch with you and do the crossword in complete silence? And Joan meets this the same way - Nicky I wanted to make this specific Italian dish could you help me? Nicky I was gonna make a stop at the library, want to come with? All sorts of quiet activities that involves a lot of quiet chatter that helps bring them together. They talk about what they're meant to be Doing on earth with this time given to them a lot. Nicky's worried about what it means, that they never met her - if it's destiny for them to meet, why didn't they meet her sooner? How could she have been destined for centuries of loneliness? And Joan wonders if she was destined to be alone. Joan wonders a lot if what she's doing is even doing anything - she’s not out there helping the same way they are, she doesn’t even know what she’s doing - and Nicky encourages her, believing even her small influences mean something to someone.

Joan + Andy: they butt heads. Andy sees Joan's loneliness and it frustrates her because first Same and second That's My Fault even though it's not and it was just shitty luck (Andy is the leader, so she feels the responsibility for everyone and thinks “jesus christ Andy you were right there when it happened if I had noticed something about Joan/Ioanna when she first came back she wouldn’t have been alone”). Joan herself struggles with her own feelings about her bad luck and tries to not take it out on the Guard because it wasn't their fault but she sees Andy as the leader and her mind works around to it being her fault even though she knows it wasn't and she’s just looking for someone to blame. Joan also lives a life that is wildly Not what Andy is used to at all and it drives her crazy that Joan is so relaxed about it, because all she sees is Joan being reckless and stupid about her safety. Joan does not appreciate anyone criticizing how she lives her life, especially when she's been living it this way for years now. She can take care of herself thank you very much. Joan doesn't see Andy as her leader, both because she was never led by Andy (like the boys) and because she's not new to being immortal and doesn't need a teacher (like Nile). They struggle to find a common ground most of the time. Joan softening up Booker and helping out Nile makes her better in Andy's eyes, and Joan respects how hard Andy works for her team. Joan offering her place as a safehouse when they need one also raises Andy's opinion of her. When it comes down to it, they do eventually come to care about each other and respect each other - they just have clashing world views.

[fonulyn]

fonulyn’s 2020 in fics

this is kind of exciting since in 2020 I did get a lot writing done, and it marks the second year in a row that I’m able to actually make one of these posts after that horrible not good at all terrible disastrous three and a half years when I wrote absolutely nothing. so it’s a triumph to get another one of these up! personal victory haha.

in total, in 2020 I wrote 148 fics, ranging from like 200 words to 34k (idk if those short things can be called fics but i just did). by pairing, there’s

13 of Joe/Nicky

58 of Piers/Leon

56 of Chris/Leon

(1 with Piers/Leon and Chris/Leon)

5 of the ot3 (Chris/Leon/Piers)

11 of Krauser/Leon

3 of Wesker/Chris (lmao still can’t believe this)

1 of Chris/Leon/Krauser

so. in retrospect, i did okay. 

it’s over 300 thousand words and I am kind of. surprised. and that is not counting the approximately 50k of wips i’m ignoring :’D

I’d also like to take a second to thank everyone who has ever sent me nice messages, commented on the fics, left reblogs or kudos, and the like. you’re what kept me going, I wouldn’t have gotten even half as much done otherwise.

without further ado, links to all of the fics under the cut! they’re organized by pairing, and the links take you to tumblr posts (bc I’m lazy) and a lot of them have a link in the post that takes you to ao3. (also can you see I put ~~so much~~ effort into naming the tumblr ficlets :’D feel free to laugh at me)

Joe/Nicky

a dog by any other name | 1,5k | The one wherein they end up owning a dog.

within the heart a flame of desires | 5,0k | Nicolo watches Yusuf have sex with others, desperately wishing he was with him instead. Until things change. He much prefers having Yusuf all for himself.

the world will wait | 2,4k | The one wherein Joe takes a lot of naps and the whole team gets to relax.

catch this | 650w | Every time Joe gets distracted (by Nicky), Andy tries to take him by surprise.

nobody’s perfect | 1,9k | Even immortal warriors have their weaknesses, Nile learns. Those just aren’t what she expected.

only in these arms | 780w | Nicky has trouble sleeping alone. Andy is a decent substitute, but only when Joe returns so does Nicky’s ability to get a decent night’s rest.

(please don’t explain) that time in Malta | 580w | Nile doesn’t think at first it would even be possible for Joe to be embarrassed. By anything. Until one evening, they talk about Malta.

cool it down boys | 400w | Andy gets no sleep. She gets revenge, though.

cowboy, baby | 340w | Nicky has the fashion sense of a sack of flour, and he is fine with that.

that day is not today | 4,9k | They struggle through the whole lab-experience. It isn’t the time yet to forgive Booker.

tea, soup and tlc | 2k | The one wherein Joe is not sick. At all. Nope. He isn't.

two drinks too many | 770w | Nicky is a little drunk. Joe loves him anyway.

safe haven | 3,9k | The one wherein everyone gets quality cuddles from Joe.

Piers/Leon

it was you that I found | 23,4k | Leon doesn’t really do relationships. Not because he doesn’t want to, but because he always seems to be so bad at them. Of course entirely by accident he manages to build one without even realizing it. 

unexpected visitor | 690w | Piers is forced on bed-rest. At least Leon stops by.

got me all tied up (never let me go) | 4,0k | Piers doesn’t like suits. Leon loves Piers in a suit.

not so subtle | 210w | “Soo, were you checking me out all night, or was that just my imagination?” Leon asks suddenly, Piers chokes on his drink in surprise.

nighttime fools | 4,8k | Piers and Leon get arrested for public indecency. It’s not their fault, honest.

piers isn’t sick, really, he isn’t (he is) | 670w | “Oh, hi,” Piers said immediately, a goofy smile slipping onto his face. Man, he was happy to see Leon. So happy to see him.  

so you’ve met Xena | 620w | “Xena?” Leon turned to look at Piers, decidedly unimpressed. “You named your dog after the Warrior Princess?“

you’re cute, you know | 680w | Piers took the opportunity the second their gazes met. He grinned, as charmingly as he possibly managed, and said “You’re cute, you know that?“

kiss the nightmares away | 470w | Sleepily Piers blinked, trying to make his eyes work properly. He squinted at the digital clock on the bedside, and its harsh red numbers that told him it was 3:30, and confusedly he turned to frown at Leon. “Why aren’t you sleeping?“

smooth talking, Nivans, very smooth | 1,4k | Piers can not control what comes out of his mouth.

dream a little (dirty) dream of me | 1,3k | Piers wakes Leon up. That's it.

your shirt is my shirt | 950w | With a sigh Piers grabbed the only shirt available that wasn’t battery operated and obnoxious. It was Leon’s, so old that the print had faded completely, leaving only faint outlines behind. And when Piers pulled it on he grumbled again, realizing how tight it was.

here for you | 620w | Leon can’t sleep, but somehow Piers makes his anxieties bleed away. 

grand plans | 260w | “Are you seriously going to wear that?”

new puppy | 430w | “Hey there little guy.” Leon bent down to pick up the little puppy, straightening again to hold it against his chest. His hands looked almost comically large as the dog was so tiny, and carefully he cradled it close.

a little bit funny | 850w | So maybe Piers hadn’t slept properly in days, and the sleep deprivation was making him a little hysterical, but he didn’t even remember when a stupid comedy would’ve made him laugh so much.

for now our time is here | 4,4k | When Chris had told them to wait up and left them alone for a while, this probably wasn’t what he’d been expecting, but the second he’d closed the door behind himself the tension that had been brewing between Leon and Piers had snapped like a cord.

wanting too much | 1,1k | “Fucking hell, never do that to me again,“ Leon huffed out, clearly relieved beyond anything.

the prettiest agent with the prettiest hair | 1,2k | Piers stress-braids. Leon doesn't mind. And besides, Piers always undoes the braids whenever he's done with them. Until one night he forgets.

you can be the air that i breathe | 1,0k |  It wasn’t the first time Piers got punched in the face by a gigantic BOW so hard that the hit sent him flying. It was, however, the first time he was sent careening off a bridge and into the river below. And it was, definitely, the first time Leon saved his life.  

before I found you | 890w | The second Piers realized that the spikes covering the monster actually came off, and it was able to shoot them towards its attackers, it was already too late for him to react.

you don’t need to stay | 950w | Piers did his best to take care of Leon.  And as much as Leon appreciated it, he didn’t want to be a goddamn nuisance.

need me, baby, just a little stronger tonight | 2,1k | Leon really has to practice perfecting his poker face. At least he gets what he wants in the end.

be my valentine | 920w | “Are you sure?“ Piers asked for the tenth time, frowning down at the bar of Fazer blue chocolate. “I still think it’s… not a lot?”

you're the world that I wanna discover | 7,5k | The one wherein they buy a house, fall even more in love, and Leon reaches a breaking point.

call me (tell me what you feel) | 1,7k | Leon is stuck at the airport. At least he gets a nice phone call with Piers.

incentive to stay alive | 1,0k |  "Hey, Nivans, wake up,” he tried, but there was no answer, and he couldn’t help but let the worry in his voice. “Piers. Don’t you dare die on me. Chris would kill me if I let anything happen to his best sniper.”

blanket hog Leon | 880w | Grumbling, Piers turned around, and as he’d expected Leon was cozily wrapped in at least four blankets, leaving nothing for Piers, who was currently freezing his ass off.

I give you all I am | 2,0k | “Leon?” Piers approached in quick steps, watching recognition flicker in Leon’s eyes as he lowered his own weapon too. Leon was slumped against the wall, hunched over and holding his side, and there was something feverish about his eyes. Yet as soon as he realized it was Piers he gave a shaky grin, even if that was all he managed.

why are the gorgeous ones always taken | 810w | Piers blinked his eyes open slowly, expression scrunched up, and it took a long moment before he managed to actually focus his gaze on Leon’s face. When he did, a smile immediately bloomed on his face, and he even tilted his head a little. “Have I died and gone to heaven?” he croaked out, his voice rough from lack of use.

still intact | 1,1k | It took a week before the level of painkillers was correct and Piers woke up with a gasp instead of a scream. And the first thing he asked was for someone to kill him.

of guns and ...guns | 270w | Leon likes the way Piers handles his rifle. There’s drool involved.

always fashionable | 540w | Apparently having a crush on the well-dressed, professional Leon translated into being absolutely fucking in love with the sleep-mussed and squinty Leon.

misplaced phones and revelations | 660w | Chris finds Piers’ phone. Which turns out to be Leon’s phone. The two turn out to be dating. Chris feels kind of blind.

yee-haw! | 1,0k | Leon rides Piers. Wearing a cowboy hat.

you’re cute when you’re angry | 620w | When he’s stressed, Piers washes the dishes. Angrily.  

want to drink (with) you | 1,1k | Piers is an embarrassing drunk. Leon loves him anyway. 

and each one of us is a path somewhere | 22,2k | Piers gets thrown twenty years back in time. Into Raccoon City, 1998. He’d heard about what Leon went through that night, but he never thought he’d have to actually experience it himself. Together with bright eyed rookie Leon.

hold me close | 560w | Leon falls asleep against Piers’ shoulder. 

goatee man | 890w | Piers thinks growing a beard might make him look more manly. 

promises kept | 2,9k | Leon finds out Piers isn't dead after all. He's just locked up in a BSAA research facility with no one allowed in to visit.

stay with me tonight (stay until the end of life) | 2,2k | Leon doesn’t know I’m contacting you, but a fair warning, because I’m worried. He was found unconscious on the bathroom floor at 10AM. They took him to the hospital, but he checked himself out. Look after him, okay?  

4am | 760w | “What can I say,” Piers grinned against Leon’s neck, “I was dreaming of you.” He had no reservations about moving his hips, letting Leon feel just how nice the dream had been.

caffeinated | 550w | Someone gives Piers coffee. Leon knows what to do with that excess energy.

and i'm you and you're me | 7,0k | The one wherein Leon and Piers accidentally swap bodies.

girls’ day in bed | 780w | Piers and Leon wake up one morning with boobs and other assorted lady parts. It’s a fun day. (Spoiler alert: they have a lot of sex.)

worlds apart | 3,2k | Krauser kidnaps Piers to lure Leon to him. (feat. past Krauser/Leon)

not again | 530w | Watching Piers’ mutation brings Leon some very unfortunate flashbacks. (feat. past Krauser/Leon)

gorgeous | 300w | Piers calls Leon gorgeous.

the most comfortable pillow | 350w | Leon falls asleep with his head on Piers’ lap.

beautiful | 840w | Even after losing an arm and ruining half of his face, Piers is the most beautiful thing to Leon.

as seen in adult films | 580w | Piers doesn’t know one damn thing about dishwashers. He volunteers to fix one anyway.

never letting go | 260w | Leon is goddamn comfortable right here. He isn’t going to move a single inch.

nose kisses | 390w | Piers is cute when he’s cranky. Just ask Leon.

no other half could ever make me whole | 6,3k | The one wherein they get a scare and there's a proposal.

the luxury of being held | 690w | The fabric of Piers’ hoodie is the perfect place to hide. (feat. Theo’s amazing art)

just one step from heaven, one step from paradise | 2,7k | The one wherein Piers makes sure Leon doesn’t freeze, and they enjoy their vacation.

all is fair in war, love and Mario Kart | 600w | Piers sucks at Mario Kart.

Chris/Leon

if i never see all my dreams come true, the one that mattered the most was you | 5,9k |  Chris enlists Leon’s help on a mission as a clever ruse to make the man take a break he so obviously needs. 

and I don't want to know how slow the time must flow | 11,1k | Chris and Leon try to fight their way out of a castle and feelings take over.

you are my heart, you are my home | 3,2k | Chris is sick, and he’s being extra dramatic about it.

from the gates of longing | 5,5k | Chris volunteers to take Leon home, but ends up getting a lot more than he bargained for.

how to accidentally get adopted - a guide by Piers Nivans | 2,3k | Piers accidentally keeps calling Chris dad, and Chris and Leon sort of unofficially adopt him.

right here by your side | 1,9k | When Chris shows up to check up on Leon, four days into his self-imposed flu-exile, at first Leon wants to just throw him out. But then it turns into a relationship-building moment and suddenly he can’t mind all that much.

about time | 1,8k | Leon is freezing. Chris warms him up.

yet you'll lose yourself in me | 3,3k | The one wherein Chris is generously proportioned and Leon kind of loves it. (whispers: size kink)

beyond tomorrow | 1,7k | Leon ends up in the hospital after a mission, Chris hurries to see if he’s okay. Claire is already there.

look at those heart-eyes | 180w | Quickly Chris shook his head, reluctantly pulling his attention away from Leon.

there’s a cat in the sink | 220w | “There’s a cat in the sink, and we don’t own a cat.”

from the future | 300w | It’s 1998 and Leon comes face to face with himself, from 2017.

surprise redfield | 250w | “Don’t worry,“ Chris says, nonchalantly as if it’s an everyday occurrence that he’s standing in Leon’s kitchen.

need this feeling to last (there's no denying) | 2,4k | “Why don’t you fuck me yourself, you coward!“

something solid, something good | 520w | Chris was so warm, and that together with all the glorious skin-on-skin contact made Leon happily sink back into the embrace.

come closer | 520w | Leon is done with Chris being so careful around him.  

your arms around me | 690w | Chris woke up cold and alone.  

a needed break | 440w | Sometimes Chris got so single-mindedly stuck on a task that he forgot everything around himself.

the iron maiden | 820w | Suddenly it was hard to breathe, like he couldn’t fill his lungs with oxygen no matter how much he tried, to the point that his vision started to get blurry. 

robin hood: chris in tights | 480w | Chris’ face was twisted into a theatrical grimace as he tugged a little on the green tights we was wearing. They were like painted on and although he didn’t really have body issues in general, he couldn’t help but feel self-conscious about it.

luckless romance | 4,0k | Leon and Chris turn a drunken argument into something better. (Please note: The link takes you to the last part of six.) 

take my hand | 920w | The worst part, by far, is not seeing anything. There are sounds, people talking like he isn’t even in the room, machines beeping and doors opening, quick busy steps against the floor.

let me take you to the edge of the stars and back again | 3,0k | Chris takes his sweet, sweet time before he gives Leon what he wants.

I’m going to seduce you | 1,1k | Jesus Christ, they’d had sex. Leon groaned again, this time less because of the headache and more because he felt so unbearably dumb. He’d probably had the best sex of his life, and he couldn’t remember it.

a little help | 430w | Those fucking idiots, Claire thought for the millionth time, as she watched her brother give the biggest dumbest heart eyes at Leon, who was blissfully oblivious about everything going on around him.

the way to anyone’s heart (the answer is food, good food)  | 2,4k | Chris asks Leon to teach him how to cook. (Spoiler: Leon doesn't know how.)

oh the horror | 270w | “I seriously don’t understand why you want to watch this shit,” Leon groaned, pressing his face into Chris’ chest.

jealousy | 670w | Chris swallowed hard, downed the last of his beer, and took the leap. “I’m jealous okay.”

twist me up | 510w | Sure Chris had always known that Leon was flexible. Sure he had seen him even do these weird-ass yoga poses more than once. There was nothing new to it.

meet the parents | 600w | Leon brings Chris home for Christmas.

precious cargo | 930w | Chris lugs Leon around like luggage.

it's always been you | 870w  | The hardest thing for Leon was when someone he cared about was in danger but there was nothing he could do about it. And then Chris fell into a ravine.

come away with me (to another world) | 2,0k | Leon finally gets a vacation.

first time sucker | 930w | “I don’t know, because it’s fun?” Leon said. “I promise you, you’re missing out.”

read my scars | 1,9k | Chris learns about Leon's scars.

battered and bruised | 650w | Ignoring the bruises and scrapes he had, Chris turned around and sprinted towards Leon, gritting his teeth against the strain moving put on his side.

a different kind of proposal | 500w | “If you keep fucking me this good,“ he breathed out, unsure if Chris even heard the words, “I’ll have to marry you.“

welcome home | 370w | The door had barely fallen shut behind Chris when Leon was in his personal space, grabbing him by the lapels of the trench coat he was wearing so he could pull him in close for a kiss.

I’d always choose you | 280w | Ada was something they didn’t talk about. When someone, anyone, brought her up Leon clammed up and changed the subject. And Chris had tried to be understanding, had tried to be patient, had tried his very best to respect Leon’s boundaries with this. But Chris was only human.

fuck or die | 1,7k | Chris gets hit by a weird plant, and his hard-on just will not go down. Until Leon takes matters into his hands.

i need a hug | 470w | “I think,“ Leon sighed, but then it was like all fight bled from him and he slumped a little forward. “I need a hug.“

oh no there’s only one bed | 990w | “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s just one night. I’m sure you’ve slept with worse persons than me.”

the butt that became a pillow | 420w | Chris falls asleep on Leon.

like father like son | 2,8k | Leon finds out he has a son.

monster magnet | 1,1k | Leon didn’t know when it had become something he recognized so easily. When had it become so normal for mutated creatures to look at him with such unadulterated lust.

please be okay | 620w | Leon faints from sheer exhaustion. 

like father like... grandson? | 4,1k | Liam proposes to a girl but ends up with Piers anyway. Chris and Leon are the friendly neighborhood grandpas. Their grandson is adorable, and Leon thinks he takes after him. Obviously. (feat. Piers/OMC)

black lace | 790w | Chris gets to come home to Leon in thigh high black lacy stockings and matching lingerie, instantly sending Chris’ brains into an overdrive.

at least let me help | 790w | Leon opens the door an inch, Chris uses the given opportunity to slam it wide open. Metaphorically speaking.

bridal style | 200w | Leon refuses the medical check up. So Chris carries him.

dance with me | 1,0k | Wedding planning with two schmoopy idiots in love.

drunken cravings | 480w | Chris and Leon are drunk, hungry, and incapable of cooking.

blow me | 650w | Chris gets his brains sucked out through his dick.

Claire knows best | 610w | Chris tries to set Leon up with Claire. Then Claire does set Leon up with Chris.

chase the demons away | 940w | Chris struggles with nightmares, Leon is there to hold him through them.

dance me to the end of love | 550w | Leon struggles to learn to dance.

Piers/Leon, Chris/Leon

fate changed (we keep loving as if the story isn't over yet) | 34,3k | In hindsight, Leon knew the second he opened the door and saw Chris standing there, dressed in his service uniform, mouth pinched to a grim line and unable to meet Leon’s gaze straight. There was only one logical reason for it, only one way to explain why he was standing there like he would rather be anywhere else, and Leon almost slammed the door right in his face. --  Or the one wherein no one really knows how to handle their grief, but somehow life goes on anyway. (I’m still so proud of this one negl)

Chris/Leon/Krauser

hearts beating fast (let's make this moment last) | 5,7k | Chris gets invited in for a threesome. The clever thing would’ve been to refuse, knowing his unrequited, helpless feelings. But then again, he’s just a man.

OT3

double the fun | 3,1k | Truthfully, Leon hadn’t thought his day could get this much better. Everything had gone wrong from the second he’d woken up and he’d already written the day off entirely, until the moment Chris had looked him dead in the eye and asked “How do you feel about two at once?”

of cuddles and blanket forts | 620w | Piers and Leon build a blanket fort. Chris would think they’re idiots, but they might actually be kind of brilliant.

hair straightener or waffle iron? | 310w | Chris and Piers break Leon’s hair straightener.

the last piece of the puzzle | 2,7k | The one wherein two becomes three.

not alone | 2,3k | Completely on accident, Piers and Chris happen to be there to save Leon from a tight spot. Cuddles ensue.

Krauser/Leon

drive me crazy (your eyes made me crave for this) | 2,3k | It was the best sex Krauser had ever had in his life. That’s why he kept coming back to Leon, kept saying ‘yes’ every single time the man as much as hinted that he might be up for meeting. He was getting off, and he was enjoying every second of it, and that was the extent of it. There certainly weren’t any feelings involved. None. None at all. 

enjoying the view | 200w | Krauser likes ass-watching.

carry me to bed | 440w | Slowly Leon was coming back to his senses. Sweat was cooling on his skin, the hard surface of the table underneath him starting to feel uncomfortable.  

and I lied that we would be fine | 1,1k | Leon knows he isn’t supposed to be doing this. There’s a vague recollection of something more important, something he should be focusing on, but the vast majority of his world has narrowed down onto the slick slide of their bodies, on the cheap scratchy sheets on his skin, on the sound of Krauser’s voice in his ear, and he can’t bring himself to care.

yet never enough | 1,9k | Krauser likes mirrors.

of wanting | 400w | Leon’s laughter echoed in the room as Krauser pinned him against the wall, before shutting him up with a ravenous kiss.

better with you | 590w | Despite knowing Krauser had his back, Leon was genuinely surprised when the man sat down right next to him instead of telling him to suck it up and get moving.

breakfast | 530w | Lately things had slowly begun to shift. And Leon wasn’t sure yet what was going on. Or how he felt about it.

kill me now | 900w | It was more than clear how much Krauser enjoyed their frantic attempts to kill one another, and Leon’s traitorous body shivered in response, the memory of times long gone returning like no time had passed at all.

lust that I've already spilled | 1,4k | “C’mon, Leon,” Krauser taunted, grinning as widened his stance. “This cock isn’t gonna suck itself.”

will you just look at me | 650w | Krauser refuses to do feelings.

Wesker/Chris

I am the light that shall lead you to darkness | 1,8k | In all honesty, Chris wasn’t entirely sure how he’d ended up here: a panting mess, bent over a massive wooden table with Wesker holding him down laughably easily. 

the light to drown in darkness | 2,0k | Wesker craves Chris. So Wesker takes Chris.

love-hate-(obsession?) | 470w | Wesker is a lovesick fool. If he wasn’t also a homicidal maniac, Jill would almost feel sorry for him.

[randomingoftherandomness]

Booker doesn't sell out the team he only lets himself be taken by Merrick Pharmaceuticals, the team find out and rescue him. They find out he's been dreaming of Quyhn for 200+ years. Booker gets the comfort he needs from the team.

He's slowly stitching himself back together in the backseat of their stolen car when Joe hits a pothole and it jars his organs out of place for a second.

He can't stop the choked out scream that tears itself out of his throat.

"Fuck."

"Sorry!"

Booker huffs in reply. Gaze flickering to the new girl watching him where her left thigh is pressed against his still bleeding and healing one. Her eyes are wary and he can't blame her. They hadn't exactly found him in one piece.

"You should have left--"

"Finish that sentence Sebastien and I will tear your guts out, you know I will," Andy interrupts with a sharp hiss. Booker inclines his head at her.

"I needed it to stop," He says, looking out the window at the passing scenery that bleeds from houses to greenery. "The dreams."

"Quynh," The new girl, Nile, says. "I dream of her too."

"Good for you," Booker smiles mirthlessly. "I've been dreaming of her for 200 years. I think I can taste seawater every time I swallow."

Andy is watching him carefully from the other side of Nile while Joe and Nicky are listening in. He bites the inside of his cheek. There'll be questions. More than there are now.

He feels his pancreas shift back into place and grimaces. Closing his eyes he tucks himself into the sunlight, savouring a warmth he has not felt on his skin for a very long time. He'll just take a nap before they get to wherever they're going.

[thetransguard-archive]

I really have a hard time with ao3's interface, would you mind posting your fic on here so it's more accessible to me personally? I understand if you don't want to, have a lovely day!

of course, it’s not a problem! putting it under the cut because it’s kind of long 

tw: canon temporary character death (nicky’s shooting), mild temporary amnesia, graphic description of canon typical violence

all the little lives

Later, Joe chalks it up to the adrenaline coursing through his veins, the same purpose that has carried him, exhausted and aching, up and up and up, through the sleek building to carry out Andy’s strategy. So it’s only when he offers the end of the rope to Nicky to tie around his arm, and the green eyes that stare back at him are blankly confused that he realises.

“São Pau-” but he doesn’t let Booker finish his sentence, doesn’t want Nicky stammering apologies for things beyond his control. So he cuts in, “I’ll make the entrance this time.” Loops the cord around his forearm a few times, tightens it. Swaps out his gun for Nicky’s. He has less ammunition in this one, but it’s bigger and louder and here his role is not to attack effectively, just to put them off balance, even for a moment. As he pulls away, Nicky’s fingers wrap around his wrist.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. The tips of his fingers are still terribly cold.

Joe looks from Nicky’s solemn face to Booker’s. The guilt in him pours from his eyes, the slant of his mouth, the set of his shoulders. Pity and pain wage war inside Joe’s mind, but right now there are bigger things to take care of. They don’t need words, not after two centuries of brotherhood.

I’m trusting you, for this. For now. Keep him safe.

He waits three seconds after the fire door slams shut behind them to smash through the window.

--

In the elevator down, his eyes can’t stop drifting to Booker. He’s standing closest to the doors, gun gripped tight. Joe doesn’t want to bore holes in the back of his brother’s head, but he can't help himself. He can’t stop wondering. When? When? At what point did Booker decide that whatever family they had all built together, was never going to be enough? That night a decade or so ago, when he’d smashed the night’s wine bottle in a drunken rage and screamed at Andy and Nicky and him until Joe had cried? Or even before that, the last job in Russia in the seventies, when he refused to speak at all? When they’d laughed over Andy’s baklava? At what point had Booker decided that a chance of true, final death was worth the rest of them?

He feels the beginnings of tears in the backs of his eyes and before he can scrub at them to push them back, he feels a warm hand on the small of his back. Nicky. He refocuses on that small pressure, on the taste of blood in his mouth, the weight of his boots. He breathes, and does not cry. There’s nothing to be ashamed of in tears, but right now he needs to keep a steady head.

There’ll be time later.

The gunshots are faint but Nicky still jolts, pale eyes latching onto the ceiling. When the elevator doors open, he sprints, pushing past Booker. Joe’s not far behind, and they help Nile out of the car as her joints snap back into place, muscles reforming around shattered bone. Bonds made in blood, in pain. In love. Joe meets Nicky’s eyes through the dash mirror as they drive into something new.

--

They stop, after a while, because Andy’s still woozy from blood loss and the shock of actually feeling the physical pain through to its entirety. She and Joe swap, and after a brief argument in which Andy increasingly slurs her words in a way that’s alarming to all in the car, Nile takes her place in shotgun. Joe looks back after maybe half an hour and finds their fearless leader drooling a little on his beloved’s shoulder. Nicky’s drifted off a little too, days of almost constant pain catching up to him. They’re only human, after all. Some small selfish part of Joe wants to swap out and let himself nap too, but Nile’s new and has just taken a swan dive out of a skyscraper and doesn’t even know where to go, really, and Booker...

Logically, Joe knows that there’s no chance that Booker would drive them into another trap, another capture. This was his only plan, and he’s shed blood to make it right, however immediately. But this new sting of pain and horror is brand new and fresh in his chest, so he keeps driving, and ignores the way Booker’s eyes keep flicking to his in the mirror. Doesn’t acknowledge him the way Nicky has been doing, but for a different reason. Nicky retreats, when he’s angry- the problem shrinks in his mind, becomes somewhat invisible. His eyes slide over the issue like a river over a rock until it’s eventually worn away. His rage is deep and slow to dissipate. But for Joe? If he lets himself go, he knows exactly the type of venom he’s capable of spitting. And it’s as Andy said. Now just isn’t the time.

So, he drives.

--

Somehow between one blink and the next, they are at the safehouse. It’s almost dark now, the deepening sky wreathed in purples and blues in a way that makes him itch for his paints. If he had the energy for it. He feels worn down to the bone. Joe is just uncurling his aching fingers from the wheel, but Nile is already out of the car, stepping around to shake Andy awake. So young, for all of this already, and stronger than all of them. She’ll be the best of us. Most days he feels fine, is able to keep all of that time packed away, out of sight and out of mind. There’s always something new to see, to experience, to love. Today though, he just feels the weight of all the years.

(He’s so fucking tired.)

A gentle voice to his right, that odd mix of old Ligurian and Arabic that they’d invented, all on their own so many lifetimes ago. He’s smiling even before he knows why.

“Yusuf, love, let’s go. Let’s go.”

He lets himself lean on Nicky, just a little, as they slouch towards the door that Nile’s taken Andy through. She doesn’t try turning on the lights, but he does, and Nile jolts like she’s been shocked when they actually flick on. Booker closes the door behind them with a soft click. Still trying to blend away into the background. They stand there in the atrium for a moment, still covered in dust and smoke and blood. The house is large and it swallows the sounds of their ragged breaths.

“Some of our safehouses aren’t abandoned churches and caves.” Nicky’s voice has gone even softer with fatigue. “Hot water works, too. The rooms have ensuites.” He doesn’t say anything else before he begins leading Joe up the stairs.

Joe, as tired as he is, is pleased to know that Nicky at least remembers these little things. It means he’s healing well.

The bedroom door locks behind them and they strip off their clothes in a pile in the corner. They’ll have to burn it all tomorrow. Now, Joe goes hunting for where they’d kept their spares while Nicky finds the soap and starts the hot water running. When he returns, Nicky is already submerged to his neck. They’d allowed themselves to splurge in buying this place, and when Joe seats himself behind Nicky there’s plenty of room to move. Nevertheless, his heart leans back, damp head on his shoulder. They sit for a moment. Soak in the quiet of it all. They’ll have to rinse themselves off properly later, but for now they let the steam pool and swirl and fill the slightly dusty bathroom.

“How much?”

Sometimes, when one of them suffers a catastrophic head injury, it takes a while to remember it all. The last time had been Booker, and he’d been blown to bits by a mine and died three more times before they could piece enough of him back together for it to matter. They’d taken turns, him and Nicky and Andy, for the few days after, filling in all the gaps that Booker couldn’t recall at the time. The memories all came back eventually, but at least there was a warning. Some things just shouldn’t be remembered alone.

Between the two of them, it had been Joe the last time things were forgotten. He’d been dead and in the process of healing before the tank had rolled over his head, killing him again. He'd awoken to a hysterical Nicky, blood all over his face and hands. Trying to piece his pulverised skull back together. He hadn’t remembered what exactly had brought him to this place, but he’d tried to wipe away Nicky’s tears, first. Always, Nicky first. That kiss had tasted of blood. When it was either of them, they usually just told tales to each other. They’d been together for all of it, hadn’t they?

There is not a single piece of his soul that he hadn’t already bared.

“Just little... Little pieces. Tell me.” Nicky has switched to Arabic, rounding out the sounds in his throat. Joe can feel the rumble of his chest, knows without looking that Nicky’s eyes are closed. He grabs the soap, starts working on what he can reach. Nicky’s sifting back through a millennium of memory. He can help speed things along.

Nicky leans forwards and Joe leans with him, lathering soap down the length of his spine. He considers. He begins, his voice a bare whisper, barely sound. Pure thought passed from one half to another.

“You are Nicolo di Genova. You are Nicholas, and Nico, and Nicky to those who love you. You are loved, dearly. You are the other side of my beating heart. You are the son to parents who did not care for you and deserve no care in return. You are the friend and brother to Andromache of Scythia, and Sébastien le Livre, and… Nile Freeman. She’s new. She saved us. He betrayed us.

We have lived thousands of lives, side by side. I have killed you, and you have killed me. Our deaths are the same. Our lives align. When that final night comes, it shall come for us both. We have walked through war, and peace, through hatred and with love, always. We hurt those who harm. We protect those who cannot protect themselves. You are good with children, and small animals. You have practised kindness until it has become the bedrock on which you build your soul.

You dream, and you think harder than any of us, because out of us you are the one who knows the danger of action without reason. You are the philosopher to my poet. You make sense of my art. You sing, when you can, and it is always the most beautiful sound to my ears, comparable only to your voice, and the beat of your heart.

You speak only when you need to. Your patience is boundless. You inflicted great harm once, on me, on my people and on others. But you learn, and you have grown. You are forgiven. You are always learning, eager for knowledge. Your curiosity is the best part of you, in my opinion. Along with all the rest.

You have purpose. You are good. Always, I love you.”

Nicky’s hair has grown back in exactly the same way it had been before Keane shot him, but the skin is tender under his wet fingers. They turn around in the bathtub, splashing water out the sides, and he feels Nicky’s hands on his shoulders now, easing away the grime.

“And you?” Nicky’s voice is breathless, teasing. Somewhere, somehow in between getting into the water and now, the weight has lifted from Joe’s bones, has set aside that grief and guilt and anger and fear. It’s still there, but he’ll deal with it in the morning. The sun will rise, as it always has, and there will be time later to card through everything and pack it away. Now, however, is cooling water and gentle fingers and cheap hotel soap from decades gone by. Now is the quiet after the storm. The house is shaken, but still standing. Everyone he holds in his heart is still here.

“I am Yusuf, I am Joe. I am yours. And I will never let you go.”

[alit0my]

If you are still taking prompts I have one. Prompt- After Booker's exile, the team starts to miss him. So one by one they contact him (each of them trying to hide it from the others). But after a while Booker can't handle only having random contact with his family. He needs to be completely with them or not at all. So he cut contact completely. They team starts to worry and are confused when he changes his number, email, and address, and decide to go get their brother back.

Hey anon! I hope this is what you were after!

~

It didn’t even take a year before Nile convinced Copley to give her Booker’s current number. 

“Ms Freeman, he’s doing just fine,” Copley told her, earning himself a scoff over the phone. “I don’t think it’d be best-” 

“Give me the damn number, Copley,” she huffed, waiting a moment before her phone pinged with the message. “Thank you. Don’t tell the others about this.” 

Copley chuckled quietly over the phone, knowingly. “Wouldn’t dream of it, I value my life far too greatly.” 

Nile said her goodbyes and hung up, pressing the screen a few times until Booker’s new number was staring at her almost menacingly. She took a deep breath and smiled to herself before pressing the link and brought the phone up to her ear again, the dial tone ringing loudly. 

“Hello?” 

“Hey Book, how are you?”

~

Joe fidgeted with his fingers more than usual, and Nicky knew something was wrong. Normally, Joe would distract himself with drawing or sparring or Nicky himself, but he looked rather nervous as he sat down next to his partner on the couch. 

“What’s wrong?” Nicky asked, wrapping an arm around Joe’s shoulders and pulling him close. “Joe?” 

The man sighed and nuzzled his face into Nicky’s neck before he spoke. “I miss Booker.” 

It had been almost a decade since that day in London, and Nicky was wondering when the love of his life would express his concern over the Frenchman. He knew Joe inside and out, and it came to no surprise that he felt this way, even if it was too early for reconciliation. 

Pulling out his phone, Nicky held it out for Joe to take, a number already loaded on the screen, ready to be pressed. At Joe’s furrowed brows, Nicky smiled and nodded. 

“It’s okay. I called him a few weeks ago.” He pressed a kiss to Joe’s temple. “I wasn’t sure if you were ready so I didn’t tell you, I hope you don’t mind.” 

Joe shook his head before turning and capturing their lips together softly. “Nonsense, it’s okay. Would you like to stay and talk to him again?” 

“I will stay here, but I will stay silent. You talk to him as much as you need to,” Nicky said softly and ran a hand through Joe’s curls as the man pressed the number on the screen and brought the phone up to his ear. 

~

Andy had been calling Booker since the beginning, though a lot of time passed between each connection. Knowing the others, especially Joe and Nicky, needed the space to heal, she kept their contact secret, calling the Frenchman when she was checking the perimeters or alone in the safehouse. 

Andy knew the others wouldn’t question her if she told them, but she just thought it would be best if they didn’t know. They didn’t need that rift to reopen now that it had somewhat sealed over. 

Sighing to herself, she pulled out her burner phone and punched in the number she had memorised for Booker. Bringing the phone up to her ear, she frowned as the automated voice relayed instead of the dial tone. 

’The number you have dialed has been discontinued.’

Frowning, she hung up and called Copley, getting an answer on the second ring. 

“Andy.”

“Why is Booker’s number out of use?” She demanded, and hearing the other man on the phone sigh she clenched her fists. “Copley!” 

“Booker asked me to get him a new phone and number, he couldn’t handle everything,” Copley explained, then quickly added, “He asked me not to share it with anyone.” 

“Bullshit.” 

“I’m sorry, Andy. I’m not going to go against his wishes.”

“What do you mean, ‘he couldn’t handle everything’? Is he in trouble?” Andy backtracked, chewing on her lip. “If he’s in trouble and you don’t tell me..” 

“He’s fine, I promise you,” Copley said. “But I’m in no position to tell you why he wanted a new number. My position is to have the trust of all of you, Booker included. I will not break it.” 

Andy let out a groan and hung up, not caring about proper phone etiquette before walking back to the safehouse. At the sound of the front door slamming open, the other three looked up in alarm. 

“Is everything okay?” Nile asked, putting down her colouring-in book she had gotten to pass the time. 

“I can’t get in touch with Booker,” Andy explained. “He’s changed his number.”

The other three had worry splashed across their faces as they not so subtly took out their phones to check. Andy raised an eyebrow. 

“Have we all been in contact with Booker?” She asked incredulously. 

At three nods, she let out a worried chuckle. 

“Well fuck.”

~

Booker had had enough of the instability surrounding his life. The random phone calls or text messages he would receive in the middle of the night were nice, but he didn’t want them to be random. 

The phone call with Andy a few days ago had been the last straw, and he had called Copley as soon as the timezones allowed it to be a reasonable hour and asked him to arrange a new phone under strict instructions to not share the number with the team. When asked why, Booker nearly sobbed over the phone. 

“Please,” he managed, and Copley agreed instantly. 

The new phone arrived days later, with only one saved number in it. Booker didn’t need Copley’s number saved as he knew it by heart, but he made no move to erase it from the contacts. The silence the new phone brought him for the next few weeks was wonderful, and though it hurt to no longer have contact with the team, he felt better knowing it was now a complete shut off rather than random calls at all hours of the day. 

Booker was trying to sleep goddamnit. 

The security he felt with the change was what he needed. The false hope he got every time the phone rang was not. 

The few weeks of peace was euphoric. 

That was until the loud banging on his apartment door woke him up from his midday nap. 

Groaning, he inelegantly rolled off the couch and trudged to the door, rubbing at his eye as he opened it. Seeing his team there in front of him almost made him slam the door shut again. Frozen, he looked at their faces which were laced with worry and he furrowed his brows. 

“What’s up?” 

Andy punched his arm as she stepped forward. “What’s up? You just changed numbers and didn’t tell us?” 

“That was kind of the whole point, Boss,” Booker mumbled and rubbed his arm. “What are you all doing here?” 

“Checking up on you, making sure you didn’t die or something,” Nile spoke, annoyed undertones peeking through. 

“Well, as you can see, I’m fine,” Booker said. “But I suppose since you are all here, would you like to come in?” 

He opened the door for them and then walked to the kitchen, flicking the kettle on and putting the few dirty dishes in the sink. Thank God he had the mind to clean up a bit in these past few days, feeling better with the amount of sound rest he’d been receiving. He took down five mugs from the cupboard and put teabags in each one, knowing they wouldn’t be fussy over the choice of tea. 

Booker felt the eyes on his back but he refused to turn around until the tea was made up. Using the five or so minutes to gather his thoughts, he turned and handed them their cups, remembering how each one liked their tea. Nodding in response to their thanks, he returned to the counter and picked up his own mug, waiting. 

“Are you going to tell us why you changed your number?” Nile asked softly, breaking the silence. Booker looked at her before making eye contact with each of the others before speaking. 

“The calls.. They were nice at first, though I didn’t deserve them,” Booker started, taking a sip of his tea. “But then it just felt like I was being kept on the edges, and I get it. The deal was no contact so I was surprised when the first call came through and let it slide, but then all of you started calling and I just.. I couldn’t do it.” 

“Because it hurt too much,” Joe spoke, grimacing slightly at the nod he received. 

“Yeah. I need stability in my life if I’m going to learn how to live properly and for me, I can’t do that if I’m in constant yet completely random contact. I don’t think it would help any of us heal if we are still talking as if nothing ever happened.” 

“We were worried about you,” Joe replied, keeping a steady gaze on Booker. “We thought that something had happened to you when we couldn’t reach you. Why didn’t you say to ease off? You know we would have.” 

Booker snorts. “I would have had to repeat myself three times, considering none of you knew that the others were calling me. A hard drop in contact was what I needed.” 

The team all looked at each other and they remained in silence for a moment, Andy being the next one to speak. “Do you still need it?” 

The Frenchman was quiet, looking around his apartment as he thought. He was getting better, he’d like to believe. The place was clean and the curtains were open, allowing the sun to shine through and bring the apartment to life. A small amount of bottles of alcohol were contained to the corner on the bench, largely untouched and out of sight, and Booker hadn’t felt the itch to drink in weeks. He went outside for walks, he made small talk with his neighbours and the cashiers at the shops, and he came home feeling content. 

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to go back to them just yet. 

“I don’t,” Booker finally said. “But I’m not ready to leave Paris just yet.”

Seeing them frown at that statement, Booker’s heart rate increased slightly. Had he said the wrong thing again? 

Nicky smiled at him when their eyes met and he nodded. “I think that would be fine with us, and if it’s okay with you, we’d like to stick around for a while.”

Booker smiled back. “Of course it’s okay, I have missed you all so much.” 

Before he could put his cup down, Booker was engulfed in four pairs of arms that held him tight. 

Closing his eyes, he relished in the contact that he’d been absent of for ten years. 

[asamandra]

Whumptober 2020 - Day 8

8. Where did everybody go?

“I was hoping for less,” Booker said and licked his lips. “But I was expecting more.” 

He had watched them leave, had seen Joe’s last glance in his direction and then they were gone. And he was alone.

He went back to the bar, bought a drink and then another and another. He was completely smashed when they threw him out that evening and he stumbled through the streets with no idea where to go. He woke up on a park bench when a dog barked and someone muttered ‘dosser’. 

Booker winced when he looked around. He was cold and someone had stolen his shoes while he was out cold. Fortunately his wallet was still here but he had only six pound and nine euros in it. He looked around and recognized the area. Not far from here they had a safehouse. Maybe the others… He stopped these thoughts and sighed. 

On his way he searched for his flask, but it was gone. 

“Merde,” he muttered and shuffled forward. People stared at him, at his disheveled appearance, at his missing shoes and one time he snapped at them in french. They shook their heads and hurried away and Booker moved on. 

He was tired again when he arrived at the safehouse. No one was there, no one was around and he went to the entrance, found the numeric keypad and punched in the code he remembered. No one had changed it and with a tiny klick the door went open. Booker went in.

It was dark, dusty and he switched on the light. He looked around and saw fresh footprints in the dust. They’d been here but they didn’t lock him out. He was still part of the team… part of the family. Still…

Slowly Booker went to the chest where they kept spare clothes. He found a pair of shoes - Joe’s - and put them on. He found clean clothes, too, - Nicky’s - and changed. 

A few weapons were gone, someone had opened the safe but when Booker looked in there was still enough money left. He took two of the packs with fifty euro bills and put them in a rucksack together with his dirty clothes. He found a bottle of vodka in the kitchen and drank half of it. 

Booker sat down on the couch and looked around. Usually Nicky would go to the kitchen, would start to prepare food, Joe would draw him or some of the team, Andy would lie down somewhere and take a nap and he… he would drink. Or watch TV. Or both. And Nile? He had no idea what Nile would do.

But now he was alone and he had no idea where the others were. And he wouldn’t see them for a very long time. He took the bottle with vodka and drank the rest. It was quiet. Too quiet. Too damn quiet. He missed Nicky’s singing, Joe’s stories and Andy cleaning her weapons, he missed the noises the other’s made… he missed them. Already. 

Booker leaned back and stared at the ceiling. He could do that. He would survive the hundred years and then, then he would make up to them. For now… for now he would go back to Paris and then maybe, maybe find something to do, something to help people, something… something to help him over the quietness around him.

[randomingoftherandomness]

I know you’re not taking prompts but I could live in a 100k fic of ot6 being gentle and kind to each other. With Nile teaching quynh how to maneuver Hulu and Netflix so she can binge watch the office or Brooklyn 99 when the nightmares get too much, with Joe and Booker sprawled out on a blanket on a beach near their current safe house, napping in the sun together, with Nicky dragging Andy into his arms and waltzing her around the kitchen just to make her smile

Ahhh the gentleness of this warms me ❤️

Just the Ot6 coexisting in a space together. Being content and safe and well loved? I can live for this.

Nile getting Andy into Korean dramas that they watch together on rainy nights in bed where Quynh would join in after a few episodes. Joe and Nicky taking turns feeding Booker slices of apples as they watch an afternoon soap opera. Quynh having a bubble bath where Nicky washes her hair. Andy and Booker who take to knitting together in the living room and sharing a collection of needles. Joe who delights in painting them all together, apart, in various stages of undress and dressed, joining them when his desire to touch and lavish love overwhelms his need to put their bodies onto paper. Nicky and Quynh who cook together, reliving old recipes and discovering new ones, roping Joe and Booker in to building them an outdoor kitchen where they make the most amazing roasts that attract the interests of their neighbours. Nile and Booker who have discussions about philosophy with her hands running through his back and hair and his stroking her thigh as they press together like languid cats. Like you said, Joe and Booker napping in the sun between composing poetry and prose and lazily trading kisses...

This gentleness has infinite possibilities and I would love to spin them all into a tapestry ❤️