The funny thing is, Nile was the first one to lose the train. Their train, the one supposed to bring them home.
Now they’re both texting her, Joe with a fast tap tap tap on the screen and Nicky with a slow, indecisive forefinger choosing one letter at a time. Train delayed :(((, Joe explains. We may have to buy another ticket altogether.
Nicky, always one for succinct practical messages, simply sends: DB. Deutsche Bahn. Enough said. 120 minutes of delay if not more.
Of course, the train stopped the moment Nicky had finally fallen asleep on Joe’s shoulder, his nose pressed to Joe’s neck in a way that allowed his sleepy self to perceive only Joe, only his lover’s familiar smell and warmth.
The mission was not even that bad, they hadn’t died once, but it was one of the first without Andy. Her absence lingered, though lessened by her texts and updates, Quỳnh’s funnier comments a welcome surprise. In the sea of new changes, hearing Booker’s voice next to Copley’s at the phone had been almost welcome. Yet it was undeniable that the tides had already shifted in their little group, drowning beloved ruins in the process. Nicky and Joe were wordlessly, constantly reaching for each other ever since the mission had ended. There wasn’t an easier definition of familiar, not if they were together.
Now they are waiting at a small train station, bags and jackets left at their feet while they freeze their asses on a small metal bench. A Russian old lady is waiting with them with a seemingly perpetual cigarette dangling from her lips, the knowing calm in her eyes something Nicky recognises as similar to his own.
“Two hours,” Joe says. They waited on the last train for one more before realising they’d have to buy another ticket to get home. He tries to sound cheerful, but there are limits even to Yusuf Al-Kaysani’s optimism for the day.
“Do you want noodles?” Nicky taps Joe’s foot with his own. He saw a young couple wordlessly talk like that, taps and soft touches, early that morning, and the image remained with him. It fills him with fondness and stupid nostalgia; they’ve never been that young and shyly in love. They crashed their lips together one night almost a thousand years before, then they spent the rest of their lives trying to make sense of it.
Do you want noodles? I can get them for you. I love you so much the tides can’t separate us.
“Like otters,” he murmurs absentmindedly.
“What? I said I’m full,” Joe said, munching on one of Nicky’s cereal bars that he always swore he hated but somehow always finished before Nicky could taste one.
“Otters hold hand in the stream so they don’t get separated.”
They turn in unison when they realise the golden light reflecting on the metal of the station is the sunset. The original plan was eating all together at Quỳnh’s house (Andy promised not to cook, “grandma privileges” permanently revoked.)
“I really wanted to eat at home,” Nicky admits. His voice is heavy with exhaustion, rough with that twinge of sadness.
“Amore, no,” Joe drags him closer, leaves a noisy kiss on his temple. “Nooo, don’t be sad.”
“I love you a lot. Without you here I’d probably be screaming at the sky for all the bad luck we have these days.”
Joe just hums, a tiny bit happy, to balance things out as they usually do.
He pats Nicky’s arm, smiles in that special way Nicky cannot hear, but most certainly feel in his chest and belly, where the excess love is.
“Now don’t be a crybaby,” here Nicky can’t help but snort. “We’re actually catching Nile’s train.”
Nile, who lost the train and Nicky keysmashed a laughter just to tease her (the keysmash: ‘aha77!’). They’ll never hear the end of it. She’ll tease them forever.
But when the train finally arrives, Nicky doesn’t have to pretend to get offended. Nile greets them with a smile and her arm waving through the window, laughter bubbling in her chest in a way he can’t help but mimic.
“QUICK! BEFORE THE TRAIN BREAKS AGAIN!”
Joe laughs, bright and impossible to replicate, miracle in the flesh. He lets go of Nicky, taking his warmth with him, but Nicky only has to follow. Two minutes after and they’re back where they belong, next to each other, playing cards with a laughing Nile until their smiles hurt.
Nicky’s phone buzzes. It’s Andy’s new number, and apparently she’s learnt how to send stickers. Terrible, terrible news. He has so much to learn about his family, still, always. Until the tides dare to separate them.
stormborns
titsay
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
turnnoffyourmind
