They would never find out if Andy would have allowed herself to open up to Nile, because one morning Nile woke up, gasping as if she was choking. “Quynh—“ she gasped out, and even in the half light Nicky could see the way that Andy’s whole body clenched, steeling herself for what was coming. “Is she dead?” She asked in a soft voice, looking away from them.
“No, no,” Nile assured her quickly. “I saw her—she’s out of the water, she’s on a boat somewhere and—“ she hesitated, not sure whether to mention this part—“she has Booker.”
Andy was white as a sheet, looked as if she might be violently sick any moment, but she still managed to make the arrangements, to ask Nile enough details about her dream to pinpoint where their wayward teammates were. She worked through the night planning, and Joe laid a gentle hand on her shoulder just before dawn. “Get some rest, boss, I’ll finish up the preparations.” He swallowed, thinking. They might not be together any longer, but he still cared deeply for her, and to see her in such pain was agony. “It’ll be alright, boss. We’ll make sure Booker is okay and...we’ll bring her home.”
Andy shivered, a full body shake that made it clear just how much she was barely holding it together, and when she looked up at Joe he was alarmed that her eyes were glistening with tears she refused to let fall. “What if she doesn’t want to come home, Joe? She must hate me, I promised her forever and then I gave up on her, I should have looked harder, I could have done more, I should have sifted through the entire ocean for her—“
Joe pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, wrapping his arms around her in an embrace he rarely allowed himself to indulge in because it was too easy to bring back memories of the old days. “Andy...I cannot imagine a universe in which Quynh does not love you so utterly and profoundly that she would not forgive you any imagined slight.” As I love you, he thought with that familiar ache in his chest. And as Nicky loves you, still, even after all these years of longing for you, even when you were right beside us.
When they boarded the boat, they left Quynh to Andy while the rest of them dealt with Quynh’s hired guards, went to find Booker and free him from his chains. Joe felt his heart break a little when Booker looked up at him, tear tracks clear on his face, his lip still bitten clean through which meant they had been trying to get information out of him recently. “I didn’t tell her where you are,” Booker said, pleading with Joe to believe him. “I told her that you all wouldn’t come for me, that I wasn’t worth anything to you anymore,” and oh, that hurt. “Booker,” Nicky said sternly. “You may occasionally be a stupid bastard who doesn’t think through what he’s doing, but you’re our stupid bastard, and we’ll always come for you.”
Booker looked as if he wanted to argue, but they heard a yell of pain and they knew it was Andy crying out, and everything else was forgotten in order to rush to her. She was locked in a vicious battle with Quynh, a fresh gash clearly visible on her shoulder. Joe stepped forward to help her, but Andy shook her head. “Let me handle this,” she said through gritted teeth, wheeling around to parry Quynh’s next move.
They fought like they had fucked, once, perfectly in sync, like a dance that only they knew the steps to. “You left me to suffer alone, you forgot about me,” Quynh said bitterly, her sword locking with Andy’s labrys, and the older woman shook her head vehemently, her hair falling into her eyes. “I could never forget you, you took my heart and every time you drowned, it drowned with you.” She had wiggled her axe free and struck at Quynh again, but Joe could see, now, that they were both pulling their punches. Both of them could fight far better than this, he knew, and they were merely going through the motions now, exorcising five hundred years of agony.
“Every day, Quynh, every day you were the first in my thoughts in the morning and the last at night. Every day I wished that I could take your place, I tried to bargain with the universe. I would have sold anyone and everything and whatever scraps of my soul are left if only I could have freed you from your suffering, I swear, Quynh, I swear,” Andy gasped out as she matched Quynh’s moves perfectly—until suddenly she didn’t, and Quynh managed to trip her.
Andy landed on the floor with a groan as her injured shoulder made contact with the wood, and Quynh was on her in an instant, the tip of her blade at Andy’s throat, and Joe was already opening his mouth to warn her that Andy was mortal now, because no matter how furious Quynh was, he knew enough to know that she would not want to lose Andy forever, but he caught the look on Quynh’s face as she gazed down at her longtime lover and it was clear that she didn’t intend to strike. “Goddamn you, Andy,” she grumbled. “I want to hate you so badly, but I still love you so fucking much,” and then she was throwing her sword aside and leaning down to kiss Andy.
It would be difficult to pour enough passion into a kiss to make up for hundreds of lost years, but the two of them seemed to be making a valiant attempt, and Joe and Nicky couldn’t help sharing a smile. It hurt, a bit, that they were no longer included, but the sight of Andy and Quynh pressing desperately into each other was still one they had nearly despaired of ever seeing again.
Booker whistled in amazement and no small amount of arousal, while Nile just nodded, slowly. “Well, that explains a lot,” she remarked, and nobody was surprised when Quynh got up in a hurry, offering Andy a hand and pulling her off to the boat’s master suite to make up for lost time, while the rest of them studiously pretended they didn’t hear the moans and cries that filtered through the thin walls.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Fill: Poly! guard getting back together (2/?)
Date: 2020-09-07 06:47 pm (UTC)“No, no,” Nile assured her quickly. “I saw her—she’s out of the water, she’s on a boat somewhere and—“ she hesitated, not sure whether to mention this part—“she has Booker.”
Andy was white as a sheet, looked as if she might be violently sick any moment, but she still managed to make the arrangements, to ask Nile enough details about her dream to pinpoint where their wayward teammates were. She worked through the night planning, and Joe laid a gentle hand on her shoulder just before dawn. “Get some rest, boss, I’ll finish up the preparations.” He swallowed, thinking. They might not be together any longer, but he still cared deeply for her, and to see her in such pain was agony. “It’ll be alright, boss. We’ll make sure Booker is okay and...we’ll bring her home.”
Andy shivered, a full body shake that made it clear just how much she was barely holding it together, and when she looked up at Joe he was alarmed that her eyes were glistening with tears she refused to let fall. “What if she doesn’t want to come home, Joe? She must hate me, I promised her forever and then I gave up on her, I should have looked harder, I could have done more, I should have sifted through the entire ocean for her—“
Joe pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, wrapping his arms around her in an embrace he rarely allowed himself to indulge in because it was too easy to bring back memories of the old days. “Andy...I cannot imagine a universe in which Quynh does not love you so utterly and profoundly that she would not forgive you any imagined slight.” As I love you, he thought with that familiar ache in his chest. And as Nicky loves you, still, even after all these years of longing for you, even when you were right beside us.
When they boarded the boat, they left Quynh to Andy while the rest of them dealt with Quynh’s hired guards, went to find Booker and free him from his chains. Joe felt his heart break a little when Booker looked up at him, tear tracks clear on his face, his lip still bitten clean through which meant they had been trying to get information out of him recently. “I didn’t tell her where you are,” Booker said, pleading with Joe to believe him. “I told her that you all wouldn’t come for me, that I wasn’t worth anything to you anymore,” and oh, that hurt. “Booker,” Nicky said sternly. “You may occasionally be a stupid bastard who doesn’t think through what he’s doing, but you’re our stupid bastard, and we’ll always come for you.”
Booker looked as if he wanted to argue, but they heard a yell of pain and they knew it was Andy crying out, and everything else was forgotten in order to rush to her. She was locked in a vicious battle with Quynh, a fresh gash clearly visible on her shoulder. Joe stepped forward to help her, but Andy shook her head. “Let me handle this,” she said through gritted teeth, wheeling around to parry Quynh’s next move.
They fought like they had fucked, once, perfectly in sync, like a dance that only they knew the steps to. “You left me to suffer alone, you forgot about me,” Quynh said bitterly, her sword locking with Andy’s labrys, and the older woman shook her head vehemently, her hair falling into her eyes. “I could never forget you, you took my heart and every time you drowned, it drowned with you.” She had wiggled her axe free and struck at Quynh again, but Joe could see, now, that they were both pulling their punches. Both of them could fight far better than this, he knew, and they were merely going through the motions now, exorcising five hundred years of agony.
“Every day, Quynh, every day you were the first in my thoughts in the morning and the last at night. Every day I wished that I could take your place, I tried to bargain with the universe. I would have sold anyone and everything and whatever scraps of my soul are left if only I could have freed you from your suffering, I swear, Quynh, I swear,” Andy gasped out as she matched Quynh’s moves perfectly—until suddenly she didn’t, and Quynh managed to trip her.
Andy landed on the floor with a groan as her injured shoulder made contact with the wood, and Quynh was on her in an instant, the tip of her blade at Andy’s throat, and Joe was already opening his mouth to warn her that Andy was mortal now, because no matter how furious Quynh was, he knew enough to know that she would not want to lose Andy forever, but he caught the look on Quynh’s face as she gazed down at her longtime lover and it was clear that she didn’t intend to strike. “Goddamn you, Andy,” she grumbled. “I want to hate you so badly, but I still love you so fucking much,” and then she was throwing her sword aside and leaning down to kiss Andy.
It would be difficult to pour enough passion into a kiss to make up for hundreds of lost years, but the two of them seemed to be making a valiant attempt, and Joe and Nicky couldn’t help sharing a smile. It hurt, a bit, that they were no longer included, but the sight of Andy and Quynh pressing desperately into each other was still one they had nearly despaired of ever seeing again.
Booker whistled in amazement and no small amount of arousal, while Nile just nodded, slowly. “Well, that explains a lot,” she remarked, and nobody was surprised when Quynh got up in a hurry, offering Andy a hand and pulling her off to the boat’s master suite to make up for lost time, while the rest of them studiously pretended they didn’t hear the moans and cries that filtered through the thin walls.