Somebody somewhere said "Courtland Gentry gets tag team mommy and daddy dommed by John and Helen Wick after helping Helen out of a bind" and like. I can't get it out of my head ugh
Like alright, he hooks up with them a few times before Helen passes, and they take SUCH good care of him, and Helen is always just a little easier to talk to and connect with, but he knows how much of an effort that kind of thing is for John, so he cherishes the little moments of non sexual connection and intimacy he gets from the older man.
Work takes them on different paths constantly. It's not like either of them expected otherwise. They see each other when they can and he cherishes each of the moments they get.
Helen's the one who tells him she's sick.
Winston is the one who passes it along to him when she does pass.
But something keeps him from making his way to John until after the fourth movie. In the wake of all of the destruction and chaos of both of their lives, Court hopes he can maybe provide John with a little of the steady comfort he and Helen provided him with over the years.
Maybe he keeps it all away from Colt, though, because neither of them are great at talking to each other. Maybe Ryland being sent away on the Mary by Stratt broke both of them a little, because he's their talker, their bright spot, the one who wouldn't stop pestering Colt after he broke his back because he wouldn't let his twin rot alone by himself no matter how full of grief he was.
Maybe the first time John really ever learns about the twins is when he's making dinner in the kitchen and Courtland's burner rings, the one he always keeps in the same pouch of his dufflebag. Court's in the gym or the garage, so John sticks his head through the doorway and calls. "Burner's ringing."
Court's head WHIPS up from what he's doing. "Answer it! Don't let it go to message," he yells back, scrambling towards John and the kitchen and the cellphone.
John flips the old cell open and rasps out a hello.
"C-court?" The voice on the other end is breathless and FAMILIAR. "Is Courtland there? I NEED to talk to Courtland!" He can hear another voice in the background, a woman, asking what's wrong, what has him so upset.
"Here," grunts John, to Courtland and the voice on the line, shoving the burner away from himself as soon as is possible.
"Colt? What's wrong?" Courtland demands, flitting around the kitchen, checking his go bag, all nervous energy. Then he goes stock still, and the hair on the back of John's neck stands up. "The... news?"
"Yes! Yes! Turn on the news! Right fucking now Court!" Colt's voice is shaking and Court can hear the tears, and his stomach is turning and his blood is frozen in his veins. He hasn't heard him like this since... since Ryland was sent away and neither of them could stop it.
John follows him from the kitchen to the living room when he darts away to turn the tv on, and his stomach sinks to the floor when he sees the color drain from Court's face, watches him voicelessly mouth the word "how."
On screen is a breaking news story. Ryland Grace and the Hail Mary have, improbably, returned to earth after solving the astrophage dilemma. A too-skinny blond staggers off the ship and shades his eyes from the sun and camera flashes, and John spots the family resemblance immediately.
Anxious and lonely after everything that's happened in the last few years, John is unwilling to let Courtland travel by himself, and so that's how John is introduced to the twins and their significant others, trailing in awkwardly behind a near hysterical Courtland as he charges into a room to hug the little brother he never thought he'd see again.
