In later years, Joe blamed himself for not seeing it coming. Losing Quynh had been...a blow was putting it mildly. It had felt like his chest had been cored out, like his heart had been impaled on a spike, and trust him, he knew what that felt like thanks to some unscrupulous merchants back in the 13th century.
But he had thought that it was a blow that the three of them bore together, a shared agony. Nothing would ever replace Quynh, nothing could, but he had tried to tell himself that no matter what, he still had Andromache’s embrace and Nicolo’s kisses, he still had his two lovers who held his heart.
Except, apparently, he didn’t. He hadn’t even had the presence of mind to speak when Andy was telling them that she wanted to break off their relationship, had just sat stunned, mouth agape, and let Nicky do the talking while he grasped Nicky’s arm desperately, as if he too would fade into nothing if he let go.
He thought Nicky was handling it remarkably well, but later, when Andy pointedly moved her bedroll away from theirs, Joe felt the trembling of Nicky’s shoulders as they lay curled together, and he reached over to wipe away his lover’s tears, slowly and tenderly. “I’m here for you, Nicky,” he promised a little desperately, “always, my love, as long as you want me.” “Always, then,” Nicky gasped back, and they kissed, a sacred vow.
The three of them separated after that night, for a full forty years, the longest time they had ever been apart since Joe and Nicky had finally found Andy and Quynh. The weeks faded into years, the years into decades, empires rose and fell and the ever-present ache eased a bit, enough that when Joe and Nicky finally met up with Andy, along the banks of the Tiber in Rome, they could pull her into a tight hug and only feel a mild tug at their heartstrings.
If they still felt an urge to pull her closer and kiss her hello, well, that faded with time, though it never really went away. They had never cared much about privacy before, but they became very conscious of it then. When Joe and Nicky made love, they hardly stopped kissing, for fear that they would let a noise slip that would disturb Andy. When she came home late at night, hair tousled and clothes pulled on in a hurry, they tried to pretend that it didn’t hurt. Neither of them ever said anything until one night, Joe and Nicky had been out drinking, just the two of them, and when they got back to their safe house Andy still wasn’t home.
“She told us she needed space after Quynh, but how can she be with these random people and she doesn’t trust us enough to piece her back together?” Nicky asked morosely as they slid under the covers, and Joe’s arm just tightened around his waist. “I don’t know, my love. I just want her to be happy, is all. And you, my heart. As long as the two of you are happy then all is right with the world.”
By the time Booker came around, they had found their way around their new dynamic pretty well, and by the time Nile brought a breath of fresh air into the team, the days when Andy had been their beloved as well as their boss seemed like a faraway dream.
Joe hadn’t cried in over a century, but he sobbed against Nicky’s shoulder after Booker’s betrayal. “I’m so angry,” he explained between hitching sobs. “I’m angry at him and I’m angry at myself, how could I have been so blind to how alone he was feeling?” He nuzzled sorrowfully against Nicky’s collarbone. “I wanted to ask you...I meant to ask you if we could ask him to join us, but I never got a chance and now—“ the way that Nicky made a wounded sound and pressed closer to Joe told him that the answer would have been yes.
Nile’s arrival brought the light back into Andy’s eyes in a way that they had long since given up on hoping for. Andy might be mortal now—something that never failed to make Joe’s heart clench; he hadn’t told Nicky, hadn’t wanted to get his hopes up, but he had been spending late nights trying to see if he could find anything about how to bring her immortality back, asked Copley for help—but Andy was more alive than she had been in centuries. Joe watched as she clapped Nile on the back, slung a loose arm around her, watched as Nile stepped in front of Andy again and again to take a bullet, watched the fondness and the blossoming heat between them, and he thought that it was only a matter of time before they got together.
Nicky saw it too, but when Joe asked him about it he only shrugged, wearily, and repeated Joe’s own words back at him. “As long as she is happy and you are safe and know how much I love you, my heart, then everything is alright.”
Fill: Poly! guard getting back together (1/?)
Prompt: https://theoldguardkinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/2726.html?thread=688550#cmt688550
In later years, Joe blamed himself for not seeing it coming. Losing Quynh had been...a blow was putting it mildly. It had felt like his chest had been cored out, like his heart had been impaled on a spike, and trust him, he knew what that felt like thanks to some unscrupulous merchants back in the 13th century.
But he had thought that it was a blow that the three of them bore together, a shared agony. Nothing would ever replace Quynh, nothing could, but he had tried to tell himself that no matter what, he still had Andromache’s embrace and Nicolo’s kisses, he still had his two lovers who held his heart.
Except, apparently, he didn’t. He hadn’t even had the presence of mind to speak when Andy was telling them that she wanted to break off their relationship, had just sat stunned, mouth agape, and let Nicky do the talking while he grasped Nicky’s arm desperately, as if he too would fade into nothing if he let go.
He thought Nicky was handling it remarkably well, but later, when Andy pointedly moved her bedroll away from theirs, Joe felt the trembling of Nicky’s shoulders as they lay curled together, and he reached over to wipe away his lover’s tears, slowly and tenderly. “I’m here for you, Nicky,” he promised a little desperately, “always, my love, as long as you want me.” “Always, then,” Nicky gasped back, and they kissed, a sacred vow.
The three of them separated after that night, for a full forty years, the longest time they had ever been apart since Joe and Nicky had finally found Andy and Quynh. The weeks faded into years, the years into decades, empires rose and fell and the ever-present ache eased a bit, enough that when Joe and Nicky finally met up with Andy, along the banks of the Tiber in Rome, they could pull her into a tight hug and only feel a mild tug at their heartstrings.
If they still felt an urge to pull her closer and kiss her hello, well, that faded with time, though it never really went away. They had never cared much about privacy before, but they became very conscious of it then. When Joe and Nicky made love, they hardly stopped kissing, for fear that they would let a noise slip that would disturb Andy. When she came home late at night, hair tousled and clothes pulled on in a hurry, they tried to pretend that it didn’t hurt. Neither of them ever said anything until one night, Joe and Nicky had been out drinking, just the two of them, and when they got back to their safe house Andy still wasn’t home.
“She told us she needed space after Quynh, but how can she be with these random people and she doesn’t trust us enough to piece her back together?” Nicky asked morosely as they slid under the covers, and Joe’s arm just tightened around his waist. “I don’t know, my love. I just want her to be happy, is all. And you, my heart. As long as the two of you are happy then all is right with the world.”
By the time Booker came around, they had found their way around their new dynamic pretty well, and by the time Nile brought a breath of fresh air into the team, the days when Andy had been their beloved as well as their boss seemed like a faraway dream.
Joe hadn’t cried in over a century, but he sobbed against Nicky’s shoulder after Booker’s betrayal. “I’m so angry,” he explained between hitching sobs. “I’m angry at him and I’m angry at myself, how could I have been so blind to how alone he was feeling?” He nuzzled sorrowfully against Nicky’s collarbone. “I wanted to ask you...I meant to ask you if we could ask him to join us, but I never got a chance and now—“ the way that Nicky made a wounded sound and pressed closer to Joe told him that the answer would have been yes.
Nile’s arrival brought the light back into Andy’s eyes in a way that they had long since given up on hoping for. Andy might be mortal now—something that never failed to make Joe’s heart clench; he hadn’t told Nicky, hadn’t wanted to get his hopes up, but he had been spending late nights trying to see if he could find anything about how to bring her immortality back, asked Copley for help—but Andy was more alive than she had been in centuries. Joe watched as she clapped Nile on the back, slung a loose arm around her, watched as Nile stepped in front of Andy again and again to take a bullet, watched the fondness and the blossoming heat between them, and he thought that it was only a matter of time before they got together.
Nicky saw it too, but when Joe asked him about it he only shrugged, wearily, and repeated Joe’s own words back at him. “As long as she is happy and you are safe and know how much I love you, my heart, then everything is alright.”