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Part 1|Part 2
Part 3
Nick’s not sure what kind of greeting he’s going to get from Loki after letting Bond try and beat the crap out of him—admittedly not one of his better ideas—and he’s not in a hurry to find out. After leaving Bond to his own devices, Nick knocks lightly on the door to the room his son Jacob is using on his way back to the stairs then opens it when there’s no answer. Inside the room is empty and in the same condition it was in when he had taken the kids and Loki down to Cardiff to visit the gang at Torchwood 3; a few toys laying in front of the toy box instead of inside it, rumpled bed sheets on the hand carved bed Loki had made for their son, and a pile of books on the reading chair in the corner. Closing the door, he checks the next room and finds his daughter Aislynn’s room is—though cleaner—is just as empty.
Stepping back into the hallway, he listens for anything he can identify as his two youngest but in that regard the house is silent. What he can hear is his oldest son Mikel speaking to someone downstairs. From what he can make out from the one-sided conversation, Mikel is pulling the Torchwood card on MI6’s Quartermaster. The kid probably hacked his way through the S.H.I.E.L.D. firewalls protecting the cottage’s landline to try and get a direct SITREP instead of accepting the info S.H.I.E.L.D. was feeding them regarding what had gone down at Skyfall. He had yet to figure out how the hell M had snuck the kid under his radar and gotten him to work for her.
Off to his left, Nick can hear Loki moving around the master bedroom; after twelve years of association, including six years of marriage, Nick has no problem identifying the Asgardian’s footsteps no matter which gender might be favoring. There’s a restless quality to those footsteps and Nick frowns.
He suspects the low level hum coming from the room to his right is the cause for a lot of that restlessness.
Taking a step towards the hum, Nick pushes the door open and pauses on the threshold. Inside, a shallow transparent dome that glitters with flecks of gold covers the surface of the bed. Beneath the dome, M looks as if she’s simply sleeping and Nick almost expects the woman’s chest to rise with her next breath even though he knows that breath will never come. Taking a step closer, he can just make out through the shimmering haze of the dome the wound that finished M off. The only weapons Nick had seen at the chapel he’d found the three in was the knife in Tiago Rodriguez’s back, and the gun he suspects is Rodriguez’s on the ground where Bond and M had been. She had not been shot in the chapel—the only bullet they had found that wasn’t over a hundred years old had hit a side entrance on the right side of the chapel. She’d probably taken a hit in the shootout at the lodge. Considering Bond, M, and Kincade had managed to wipe out a heavily armed force with old explosives, two hunting rifles, and a handgun, Nick was seriously considering shooting off an email to the trainers at S.H.I.E.L.D. Central to have them check the report for this when it came in. It might make a good simulation to run agents through.
Leaving the room and closing the door behind him, Nick crosses the hall. He hadn’t been sure if Hela would honor his request but clearly she had. He’ll probably pay for that favor in some way later.
As he rests a hand on the door—it was open just enough to let light spill out into the hall but not enough for him to see inside—Nick hears a snore drift out of Bond’s room. No surprise there—though Nick had attempted to avoid hitting Bond above the shoulders, it was clear someone had landed a hit on the man during the evening.He considers going down to shut the door to Bond’s room then decides not to worry about it. It’s not as if it’ll bother him any and if it annoyed Mikel then he could close it himself.
When he opens the door Nick gets a narrow-eyed look from Loki before he disappears into the bathroom. Nick glances up at the ceiling then starts peeling off the S.H.I.E.L.D. jacket he’d snagged off of one of the first team of agents to arrive. “Take it the kids are with Hela?” he asks as he tosses the jacket on a chair. A groan slips out as he pulls his sweater off. Bond may be getting up in years but he could still give as good as he got.
“Yes.” Nick finds Loki frowning at him when he yanks the sweater off. “Care to explain what that was all about downstairs?”
Sitting on the bed, Nick bends over to unlace his boots. When he grits his teeth, Loki huffs and bats his arm. Straightening, Nick glares at the small lidded container of salve Loki places on the bed next to him as he crouches down to get the boots off.
“Why’d you dig that stuff out?” Nick says as he gestures at the salve. “The Infinity Formula’ll take care of the bruises.”
“And you’ll bitch all night about it. Just have to live with the consequences of picking a fight.” Setting the boots aside, Loki settles back on his heels. “Why did you pick the fight?”
“Losing M on his watch ain’t going to go over well with Bond,” Nick answers as he pulls his t-shirt off. Loki makes a tsk sound and picks up the container and unscrews the top.
“M?” he asks as Nick wrinkles his nose at the smell. He gets a look of exasperation instead of sympathy from Loki.
Nick can barely feel Loki’s fingertips touching his skin probing for the worse spots but hisses at the icy sensation the salve produces when it comes in contact with his skin. He knows that will pass quickly and he braces his hands against the bed and holds his breath until the cold melts into warmth and his muscles relax.
Loki stands and screws the top back on then heads back to the bathroom. “M?” he asks again.
Standing up himself so he can strip the rest of his clothes off, Nick says, “Head of MI6—British Intelligence.”
Leaning against the jamb, Loki crosses his arms and lets his gaze run down the length of Nick’s body, a glimmer of interest visible in his eyes though with his daughter’s magic humming away next door Nick figures there won’t be much more than spooning going on in their bed tonight. The way he’s feeling right now that was fine with him.
“Rival?”
Nick shrugs. “Sometimes. We’ve certainly had a game of ‘who gets who first’ going over the last few decades. M’s one of the few constants in Bond’s life; this could mess him up for a time. Figured picking a fight with him was a good way of his anger out of his system instead of letting him turn it on himself.” He folds his pants and drapes them over the chair as he adds, “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”
Walking over to him, Loki slips his arms around Nick’s waist and kisses him. When he pulls back, there’s a smile on his lips. “You beat the crap out of him for his own good.”
An answering smile quirks the corners of Nick’s lips. “Yep. Never said I was smart.”
Still smiling Loki gives him a little push towards the bed. “Well then, since I’m obviously the smarter of the two of us you won’t complain when I tell you it’s time for bed.”
“You’ll never hear me complain when you tell me that,” Nick says as he does exactly as he’s told.
Part 3
Nick’s not sure what kind of greeting he’s going to get from Loki after letting Bond try and beat the crap out of him—admittedly not one of his better ideas—and he’s not in a hurry to find out. After leaving Bond to his own devices, Nick knocks lightly on the door to the room his son Jacob is using on his way back to the stairs then opens it when there’s no answer. Inside the room is empty and in the same condition it was in when he had taken the kids and Loki down to Cardiff to visit the gang at Torchwood 3; a few toys laying in front of the toy box instead of inside it, rumpled bed sheets on the hand carved bed Loki had made for their son, and a pile of books on the reading chair in the corner. Closing the door, he checks the next room and finds his daughter Aislynn’s room is—though cleaner—is just as empty.
Stepping back into the hallway, he listens for anything he can identify as his two youngest but in that regard the house is silent. What he can hear is his oldest son Mikel speaking to someone downstairs. From what he can make out from the one-sided conversation, Mikel is pulling the Torchwood card on MI6’s Quartermaster. The kid probably hacked his way through the S.H.I.E.L.D. firewalls protecting the cottage’s landline to try and get a direct SITREP instead of accepting the info S.H.I.E.L.D. was feeding them regarding what had gone down at Skyfall. He had yet to figure out how the hell M had snuck the kid under his radar and gotten him to work for her.
Off to his left, Nick can hear Loki moving around the master bedroom; after twelve years of association, including six years of marriage, Nick has no problem identifying the Asgardian’s footsteps no matter which gender might be favoring. There’s a restless quality to those footsteps and Nick frowns.
He suspects the low level hum coming from the room to his right is the cause for a lot of that restlessness.
Taking a step towards the hum, Nick pushes the door open and pauses on the threshold. Inside, a shallow transparent dome that glitters with flecks of gold covers the surface of the bed. Beneath the dome, M looks as if she’s simply sleeping and Nick almost expects the woman’s chest to rise with her next breath even though he knows that breath will never come. Taking a step closer, he can just make out through the shimmering haze of the dome the wound that finished M off. The only weapons Nick had seen at the chapel he’d found the three in was the knife in Tiago Rodriguez’s back, and the gun he suspects is Rodriguez’s on the ground where Bond and M had been. She had not been shot in the chapel—the only bullet they had found that wasn’t over a hundred years old had hit a side entrance on the right side of the chapel. She’d probably taken a hit in the shootout at the lodge. Considering Bond, M, and Kincade had managed to wipe out a heavily armed force with old explosives, two hunting rifles, and a handgun, Nick was seriously considering shooting off an email to the trainers at S.H.I.E.L.D. Central to have them check the report for this when it came in. It might make a good simulation to run agents through.
Leaving the room and closing the door behind him, Nick crosses the hall. He hadn’t been sure if Hela would honor his request but clearly she had. He’ll probably pay for that favor in some way later.
As he rests a hand on the door—it was open just enough to let light spill out into the hall but not enough for him to see inside—Nick hears a snore drift out of Bond’s room. No surprise there—though Nick had attempted to avoid hitting Bond above the shoulders, it was clear someone had landed a hit on the man during the evening.He considers going down to shut the door to Bond’s room then decides not to worry about it. It’s not as if it’ll bother him any and if it annoyed Mikel then he could close it himself.
When he opens the door Nick gets a narrow-eyed look from Loki before he disappears into the bathroom. Nick glances up at the ceiling then starts peeling off the S.H.I.E.L.D. jacket he’d snagged off of one of the first team of agents to arrive. “Take it the kids are with Hela?” he asks as he tosses the jacket on a chair. A groan slips out as he pulls his sweater off. Bond may be getting up in years but he could still give as good as he got.
“Yes.” Nick finds Loki frowning at him when he yanks the sweater off. “Care to explain what that was all about downstairs?”
Sitting on the bed, Nick bends over to unlace his boots. When he grits his teeth, Loki huffs and bats his arm. Straightening, Nick glares at the small lidded container of salve Loki places on the bed next to him as he crouches down to get the boots off.
“Why’d you dig that stuff out?” Nick says as he gestures at the salve. “The Infinity Formula’ll take care of the bruises.”
“And you’ll bitch all night about it. Just have to live with the consequences of picking a fight.” Setting the boots aside, Loki settles back on his heels. “Why did you pick the fight?”
“Losing M on his watch ain’t going to go over well with Bond,” Nick answers as he pulls his t-shirt off. Loki makes a tsk sound and picks up the container and unscrews the top.
“M?” he asks as Nick wrinkles his nose at the smell. He gets a look of exasperation instead of sympathy from Loki.
Nick can barely feel Loki’s fingertips touching his skin probing for the worse spots but hisses at the icy sensation the salve produces when it comes in contact with his skin. He knows that will pass quickly and he braces his hands against the bed and holds his breath until the cold melts into warmth and his muscles relax.
Loki stands and screws the top back on then heads back to the bathroom. “M?” he asks again.
Standing up himself so he can strip the rest of his clothes off, Nick says, “Head of MI6—British Intelligence.”
Leaning against the jamb, Loki crosses his arms and lets his gaze run down the length of Nick’s body, a glimmer of interest visible in his eyes though with his daughter’s magic humming away next door Nick figures there won’t be much more than spooning going on in their bed tonight. The way he’s feeling right now that was fine with him.
“Rival?”
Nick shrugs. “Sometimes. We’ve certainly had a game of ‘who gets who first’ going over the last few decades. M’s one of the few constants in Bond’s life; this could mess him up for a time. Figured picking a fight with him was a good way of his anger out of his system instead of letting him turn it on himself.” He folds his pants and drapes them over the chair as he adds, “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”
Walking over to him, Loki slips his arms around Nick’s waist and kisses him. When he pulls back, there’s a smile on his lips. “You beat the crap out of him for his own good.”
An answering smile quirks the corners of Nick’s lips. “Yep. Never said I was smart.”
Still smiling Loki gives him a little push towards the bed. “Well then, since I’m obviously the smarter of the two of us you won’t complain when I tell you it’s time for bed.”
“You’ll never hear me complain when you tell me that,” Nick says as he does exactly as he’s told.