An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Gray Man (2022), The Gray Man Series - Mark Greaney, John Wick (Movies)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sierra Six | Courtland Gentry/John Wick
Characters: John Wick, Charon (John Wick), Sierra Six | Courtland Gentry
Additional Tags: Non-Sexual Intimacy, Non-Sexual Nudity, Bathing Together, Wound Care, Hurt Sierra Six | Courtland Gentry, Soft Sierra Six | Courtland Gentry, Soft John Wick, POV John Wick, Lover boy John Wick, Stubbornness
Summary:
John taking care of Court after a tiring job, and a shit ton of yearning on johns end.
I absolutely loved your Julian and Henry story!! I adore them as brothers so much!
I was wondering if you would want to write more about Julian taking care of Henry (Henry having another bad pain day, Henry being sick, Henry having a nightmare/flashback).
Really anything with Julian being the amazing older brother he is to sweet Henry! I just need more hurt/comfort from these two and you write them so well!!
I'm so glad you liked that one! They were a lot of fun to write the first time, so I enjoyed writing them again. I mixed Henry having a nightmare and flashbacks because you know that boy is going to suffer. Enjoy! :3
Henry had been asleep for about 2 hours before he began dreaming. Or no, that wasn't right… he began having a nightmare.
It always started the same: Just a normal drive at night to a restaurant… and then it would grow dark around the edges, and the voices of everyone he loves would fade into nothingness. He'd see their mouths move from the rearview mirror or when he turned his head to the side, but he couldn't hear any words. They'd all be speaking, acting as if everything was fine, when Henry knew something was going to happen. He always knew. This nightmare happened constantly.
The car would be crossing the bridge, and he'd only be able to hear the tire exploding out from underneath him before he saw Athena move from his peripheral vision. Henry would be locked into place, stuck in the driver's seat as Athena was tossed violently through the windshield, only the sound of the glass shattering making its way through his brain.
He'd see hail. But it wasn't hail. It was glass. It was all glass decorating the highway. He knew that, and he hated it. He hated hail.
Henry never got a glimpse of his parents in this nightmare— at least not fully. He'd only see glances of them throughout the drive, but never saw them when the accident occurred. He only ever saw Athena. Henry saw her be tossed forward, saw how her head smashed through the glass as it spider-webbed and then shattered in and out of the car's frame, saw her eyes turn lifeless in less than a second.
Henry hated this nightmare. He was sick of it—but he deserved it. Each time he woke, he calmed himself by saying this pain was only a fraction of what they suffered as they died.
This night was different. Tonight, it was hailing when he woke up from the nightmare.
Henry nearly screamed when he opened his eyes, breathing heavily and feeling his heart race as he replayed the accident over and over again. Hearing and seeing new things with each flashback.
He sat up and looked out his window. It was hailing. The snow and ice falling from the sky smashed fiercely against the glass, and Henry flinched as he saw the ice shatter and glide slowly down it.
Henry rubbed his face roughly with his hands and tried to control his breathing.
A knock came from the other side of his door, and Henry froze.
Julian.
Shit… Henry wasn't sure he could handle talking right now. He didn't want to bother Julian with something so trivial either, so Henry debated ignoring the knock.
Another series of knocks resounded, this time more insistent.
Henry heaved a sigh and stood up from his bed. He limped slightly before reaching a hand out to the door and pulling it open just enough to see Julian.
Julian was standing in plain clothes— his usual sleep clothes— with his hands clenched very tightly at his sides. His eyes were wider than usual, and he seemed to be measuring his breathing, but Henry wasn't sure.
"Yeah…?" Henry's voice cracked as he asked, and he cleared his throat.
Julian looked him over worriedly before opening and closing his mouth a few times. Strange. Julian wasn't one for words, but when he did speak, they were deliberate and carefully chosen. It was odd to see him struggle this way, like he wasn't thinking before speaking anymore.
"I heard you." Julian eventually whispered as his eyes flicked over Henry's form again. He stepped closer to the door and pushed it open gently, making Henry take a couple of steps back into his room.
"Heard me?" Henry asked and began to panic. Did he yell in his sleep or something? He's never done that before… at least he thought so.
Henry walked back over to his bed as casually as he could and sat down.
Julian hesitated at the entrance of his room before closing the door behind him and hurriedly walking over to the bed. He sat stiffly on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall in front of him while his eyes grew more glassy.
"You screamed," Julian said quietly. It was blunt, but Henry always preferred how Julian spoke to him over how anyone else addressed him. Julian never treated him like he was fragile… well, you know what he means. Henry was still an adult, and Julian recognized that. Julian just understood him. Henry was grateful.
"Oh," Henry was surprised and looked out the window again. "Did I wake you? I'm sorry." He watched more hail smash against the window and felt his anxiety creep up again.
Julian shifted on the bed so he was blocking Henry's view of the window. "I was already awake," Julian said, looking at Henry. Sometimes it felt like Julian could see through Henry with how damn perceptive he was.
Henry nodded in response and shifted his legs up so he was cradling them in his arms. "I… um." He didn't know what to say, so he just sighed with a little shrug.
Julian tilted his head as he watched Henry. He didn't say anything for another minute, both of them just listening to the wind howl and the hail fall.
"I can stay," Julian offered. "I could stay in here tonight… if that would help." Julian shuffled on the bed, looking a little agitated as he glanced around the room. "I… I don't want you to feel forced, though. You can say no."
It might have been the most Henry had ever heard Julian speak at once. Of course, the time he hears the man speak so much at once is when Henry is falling apart… God dammit, Henry.
Henry didn't respond in time, still in shock. Julian nodded his head like he'd expected this and stood up stiffly from the bed. "I'll give you space." He started to walk back towards the door, but Henry, without thinking, wrapped a hand over Julian's.
Henry looked down at his hand as if it had somehow betrayed him. He glanced up at Julian quickly before flicking his eyes back down, "Stay?" He asked. It came out embarrassed and awkward, but Julian squeezed his hand lightly before nodding again, this time looking much less tense.
Julian sat down on the bed and then shuffled higher so he would have his back against the headboard. "Lay down…?" He suggested to Henry hesitantly.
Henry felt a wave of exhaustion run over him, and so he hummed before lying down under the covers again.
They sat in silence for a while before Henry whispered, "I'm really sorry."
Julian looked down at him with a sad expression. Henry never understood why Julian was always so… caring. "Don't be." Julian shook his head at Henry and slumped down on the headboard a bit.
Henry rolled onto his side to face Julian before drawing his legs up to his chest. "I just…" He started. Henry felt like he owed Julian an explanation for his bizarre behavior. "I see them… I see it," He whispered and felt tears form in his eyes.
It was one thing to think about his nightmares and anxieties, and a whole other thing to talk about them.
Julian stayed quiet, just giving Henry the opportunity to catch his breath as he felt a few tears fall.
Julian hummed in sympathy and reached a hand over. He laid his fingers gently in Henry's hair, pushing the strands out of his face, and watched his expression closely. "It's not your fault," Julian said firmly.
Henry sobbed. Of course. Of course, Julian would know what Henry was thinking.
Henry dug his face into his pillow and cried, feeling ripped open and raw. "You can't know that," He told Julian.
Julian wiped Henry's face with soft fingers as he said, "I do." Julian shuffled down the headboard so he'd be lying down beside and facing Henry. "It's not your fault, I swear," He repeated, his eyes hardened with resolve.
Henry looked at him, and he could almost believe that what he was saying was true. Henry heaved in a deep breath as he tried to get himself under control.
Julian shushed him as Henry tried to force his body to relax, trying to coax him into letting his body feel for a moment.
They lay there together long enough for the hail to stop and the weather to be only light snowfall. Henry eventually ran out of tears, and Julian kept petting his hair soothingly.
"Thanks…" Henry murmured sleepily. Julian hummed in response as he brought the covers higher over the two of them.
"Sleep, I'll watch you," Julian told Henry, and before Henry could even begin to protest, he fell asleep against Julian's side.
Julian held onto Henry tightly, brushing away his tears and wiping strands of hair out of his face. It might not be soon, but one day Julian will convince Henry that the accident wasn't his fault. He'll make sure Henry is okay, even if it means staying awake all night every night to make sure a nightmare doesn't disturb his sleep.
I’ve seen lots of wheelchair user Colt and Colt with chronic back pain (which I absolutely love btw keep doing this forever and ever) but something I don’t see people talk about enough is that he had!!! GASOLINE!!! Poured into his eyes and mouth!!! He spat up BLOOD!!! So he likely has some internal issues with his throat or lungs or stomach going on + sight issues as well
So this is brings me to: Colt with glasses 🙏 the only problem with this is that nobody can tell Ryland and Colt apart anymore LMAO
I feel like Court in prison would struggle with coping mechanisms bc the 5-4-3-2-1 strategy only reminds him of that fateful day (where he shot his dad) and so does touching surrounding things so he parents himself. He makes up this version of himself—a father with a motherly voice, a parent with a gentle touch. He’d bury his head into his knees and imagine he’s crying into the chest of a father who isn’t real. He’d bring his hands to his hair and stroke his scalp gently, imagining it’s by the hand of an understanding mother who doesn’t exist. He’d tell himself things you’d tell a distraught child, in a gentle and soft tone, imagining it’s said by a caring parent who only exists in his head.
This false image in his head allows him to help Claire through panic attacks and similar situations because he knows what she needs because it was what he needed and for her, there's someone to comfort her. Someone that Court didn't have, himself.
If Colt is short for Colton, then that name means "coal town" while Ryland means "land where rye is grown." There's something poetic being named after different resources that kinda reflect their characters.
Coal is a hard mineral that you extract from mines but it can run out, like how Colt's story is about a tough stuntman coming to terms with his limits. Meanwhile rye is necessary for survival and cultivated for harvesting but is surprisingly durable, like how Ryland was secretly trained as a backup sacrifice, but he managed to survive.
Then you have Courtland, which means "land of the court" or a royal land. It's in the same vein as the other two except kind of detached, like how Court has to stay out of their lives in the AU because of his job.
10-year-old Ryland finds an alien rock spider monster that crash landed in an escape pod on Earth. Turns out the alien is a kid, too, and he's pretty cool, if a little bossy. Ryland wants one best friend just for himself, so he tries to keep Rocky a secret from his twin brother Colt, his older brother and guardian Court, and his brother's adopted kid, five-year-old Claire.
Too bad the government knows there's an alien in town. And Area 51 has sent its best goons to track down the extraterrestrial.
So I had a fic Idea (I have too damn many ideas related to project hail Mary but that's not relevant) but it would be the fic I work on in the background and plotting it would be a nightmare.
ANYWAYS heres the idea:
Court was 17 when he's able to tell that something was going to escalate. Maybe it was the smell of alcohol getting stronger or the eviction notice he found plastered onto the front. But he knew that if something terrible was going to happen, it would be soon.
So, he took Court and Colt and he ran. Maybe he took care of Mr. Gentry like he did in cannon and was better at hiding it, but that doesn't matter. What matters was the fact he took the beat-up car he had (he bought it for incredibly cheap and spent the last year and a half fixing it up) and stuffed anything important into the trunk
He's seventeen and living on the road as the sole caretakers of two boy's and he's trying his best he swears but he's also doing it alone and working odd jobs wherever he can find. It's hard but they were alive and safe. He made sure there was food when they wanted, warm clothes when it was cold, cold clothes when it was warm, and they were never alone. Like he always had.
They took a highway exit to some janky small town because the boys were hungry and Court just needed a break from all of the driving. They were only there for a few hours before they were about to be back on the road before they see someone passed out in a ditch covered in blood.
Court's been there, he knows that this person is probably only able to rely on himself. So, he stopped and provided medical help that he learned from years of living in that house.
A nineteen-year-old John Wick has only recently been shoved out into the real world from the Ruska Roma. He's good, but there's always someone older with more experience. He was aware that people like him died young, but it's different when you are the one laying in a ditch
Except he doesn't die when he thought he was going too because a tired blond with two kids pulled him out and forced him to stay living. And there must have been something too it because blondie offered him a ride to wherever he was going next; it wasn't like Court had any idea what direction to travel
He gave an answer, a place that it wouldn't be hard to get from there to the continental. Then he just. Doesn't get out of the car, and he doesn't get told to open the door and shut it behind him. So they keep traveling.
And John might not be the most open, might listen exponentially more than he talked, but he was good with the twins and he was a friend. And loath as Court was to admit it, he liked having someone in the passenger seat.
John gave locations, they would stay for about a week, and they would be on the road again. He always came back with more money, and Court didn't question it as long as they had gas in the tank and the boys were fed.
Court didn't react to the knowledge of Johns profession in the way he thought he probably should have. Yet in this economy, money was money. And John had talked about saving enough so they could have somewhere to stay that wasn't a motel or the car. So, John kept travelling with them
And maybe they finally get a place. One that's got a community college close by that Court attends after he gets a GED.
They meet Helena who looked at these two -who have basically been coparenting for a solid while- and goes: them, I want those two. It takes exponentially long for Court and John to realize what's going on.
Colt and Grace like the area, it's a got a good school and has a park down the street. And maybe, just maybe Grace managed to find two extroverted people who kidnapped him into friendship, named Adrian and Rocky. Give it a couple years and he might even meet a boy fresh out of a cult with a guardian by the name Ava.
Okaaaaaay that was a lot longer than I expected it to be. How would I include Claire? I have no Idea but I'm sure someone does. Does Helena still die? NEXT QUESTION. But yeah, that was the idea and I've probably yapped to much about this.
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