Chapter Text
Day 1
Isabella climbs out of the car and stretches. It really is a long drive from Madrid to where she began this strange immortal life with the two best men she has ever known.
She doesn’t intend to stay long but the melancholy of nostalgia set in about a month ago and she found she just had to see the place again. So many fond memories keep drawing her mind back here.
Isabella is astonished at how little the village has changed. Sure the nearest petrol station is now an electric recharge point like everywhere else but to all intents and purposes, not much is different. She’s only stopping in the village for a few basic staples, milk, bread, eggs etc.
Isabella wishes she could come back more often but she’s too recognisable. It’s been thirty years since she was last here. Forty since she was here with Joe and Nicky.
The first time she came back, she was so close to her goal she could almost taste it. It had been almost time to send the immortal husbands her annual message and she’d orchestrated a job nearby so that they would unknowingly follow her to the house in a few weeks. She wished she could have seen their faces when they found the carved heart in Nicky’s favourite spot but she was too damn close to finally destroying the human trafficking syndicate. She’d allowed herself only a few days to just sit by the river, bathed in its beauty and the silence before the loneliness had set in. It just wasn’t the same there without them. But she did feel closer by being there.
This time, she’s free for longer as Andy has given them all a year off and the team scattered across the globe. She’s sure the men are in Malta and the thought makes her smile. The last job was a bloody awful business and they deserve to bask in time alone together. She always has her essential tech with her just in case but it’s been 4 months and no word from anyone, other than Nile’s hilarious old school memes. It’s a good sign.
Parked discreetly like they taught her, she crosses the street pulling her cap further over her face as she walks towards the grocer. Isabella is genuinely looking forward to seeing the place again. Lost in her memories, she fails to notice someone recognise her, a dangerous thing in her line of work.
As she passes a delivery truck, a large hand snakes out and slides down her forearm to pull her hand. Hidden by the open door of the truck, no one will see her grabbed and thrown inside. She immediately pivots and bends to pitch the person over her shoulder, using their own weight against them. But before she can, her tall, solidly built attacker has spun her around and grabbed her other wrist and quickly pinned both arms firmly against her chest.
Isabella is about to break his hold and kick back into his groin when she’s shocked to feel a nose brush intimately against her neck and warm breath on her ear. The voice is gravelly, deep and, oddly, rich with restrained laughter.
“Do you make everyone work this hard for a hug, cometa?”
Isabella’s whole body relaxes before her brain registers what the man has said.
“Joe.” she sighs as he laughs. As he releases her arms she spins and leaps up to throw them around his neck, burying her face by his ear with a huge smile. He growls and grips her tightly to him. They stay like that for a moment, just drinking the other person in. Isabella can’t remember how long it’s even been. They see each other fairly regularly via the video comm prepping for jobs. But in person, it’s ten years at least, probably with the whole team for that messy business in Angola.
As she slides down, his cheek rubs against hers and the unfamiliar sensation makes her frown. She pulls back and for a moment is rendered speechless. Gone is Joe’s typical full beard and crop of curls, in favour of a clean face and short buzz. He looks years younger. Yet still devastatingly handsome even in torn cargoes and a worn tee. She grins.
“Wait… what is going on here?” She scratches her fingernails across his jaw.
He laughs and runs a hand over his shorn head. She notices dimples in his cheeks that are far deeper than she realised. But the laugh lines around his warm dark eyes are all too familiar.
“Promise you won’t laugh?”
“Nope!”
Joe rolls his eyes with a scoff, “We have a bet with Nile.”
Isabella laughs, “What’s the bet?” then pauses, “Hold on, we?? Nicky shaved his head?!”
Joe throws his head back in laughter and annoyingly just shrugs. He follows her into the grocer. Isabella pokes him in the rib. “I thought you were in Malta? What are you doing here?”
“We were. But with all the tourists around those parts for the Olympics, Nicky wanted somewhere quieter and suggested a different nostalgic setting.” He nudges her. “It seems you and he still share a wavelength. And you accuse me of sentimentality?”
Isabella smiles as she gathers the groceries in her basket. “Where is he?”
“We’ve been at the house for about a week but...” Joe dramatically pretends to be put upon. “He wanted truffle oil for dinner.”
Isabella gives him an incredulous look. “They have truffle oil in here?!” making Joe chuckle.
“No. I’m on my way back from Barcelona. But, worth it since now I get to surprise him with two things!”
Joe places a bunch of sunflowers on the counter. He wraps Isabella in another massive bear hug and kisses her hair. He pays and says “see you soon,” before he jogs off.
***
Joe bounds up the stairs into the house and places the truffle oil and sunflowers on the kitchen bench.
It was a fluke he’d even seen her, changing his mind at the last minute when he saw the sunflowers in buckets outside the grocer in the village. He smiles knowing his beloved will insist it was destiny. When Joe saw her step out of the car, his stomach dropped thinking it mere wishful thinking. And then she’d turned her face to cross the street and he was sure. His heart almost burst with joy with her here in person. He cannot wait for Nicky to see her too. More and more lately he’s been preoccupied with concern that she’s lonely. They both miss her and it’s easier when they’re distracted on missions. The downtime allowed more pensive moments and they’d both felt more aware of how long it had been since they’d all been together. It was the real reason Nicky had wanted to come back here.
When it’s clear his beloved isn’t in the house, Joe wanders down the forest path to find him standing by the river. Nicky turns as he walks over and Joe is again momentarily stunned at how gorgeous his husband is with this new look. He kisses Nicky’s cheek.
“Truffle oil delivered to the kitchen as requested.”
“Perdonami, grazie.” Nicky smiles gratefully but has a touch of melancholy about him.
“Hayati?” Joe wraps his arms around his husband's waist and rests his chin on Nicky’s shoulder.
“I was thinking about Isabella…”
Joe smiles. “Of course.”
Nicky looks out across the river wistfully. “Is she happy, do you think?”
Joe hides his grin in Nicky’s shoulder and doesn’t speak until he’s sure his voice is steady.
“How about we go back to the house and make this risotto that’s so amazing it warrants a whole trip to Barcelona and back…”
Nicky scoffs.
“…and I can give you your surprise.”
Nicky turns and raises his eyebrows happily, “Did you find sunflowers?”
“I may have… but you’ll have to wait and see.”
***
Nicky is surprised at how affected he is to be back here. It’s been decades but the memories are still so fresh. The last time they were here it was after a last minute job in Barcelona and they’d found Isabella’s message by the river just over a decade since she’d left them. It was poignant and sentimental and so typical of Isabella’s thoughtfulness. The day the three of them had spent reunited in Madrid just a few months later had been wonderful. They’d resolved things in such a short amount of time, testament to the closeness of their connection.
It was bittersweet for then they’d had to say goodbye. It was necessary and she was truly in her element and insisted it was the best thing for her and the team. They see each other of course but always amongst the team. And he and Joe have each other and that is everything.
But she is alone and he worries. Being back here brought all the memories flooding back. From time to time, more lately, he or Joe have mentioned missing being encamped together in their little bubble in the forest, just the three of them, no threats or violence. One finite year in their millennia had had such a profound impact. He thought time spent here would be a refreshing change. But perhaps coming back here just the two of them was a mistake.
Nicky and Joe stroll back to the house arm in arm. Just before they break the tree line, Nicky’s ears prick up and he tenses at an unfamiliar sound, maybe a car door? Joe claps his hands over Nicky’s eyes.
“Yusuf?”
His beloved speaks in a low but smiling voice in his ear. “It’s alright, hayati. The flowers weren’t the only thing I found in the village…”
Nicky tenses as he hears the telltale crunch of gravel as someone walks towards them before the footsteps quicken to almost a run. Joe removes his hands just in time for Nicky to see a flurry of fiery hair, bracing as someone leaps into him, arms flung around his neck and legs around his waist.
“Nicky!!”
He’s shocked but the woman wrapped around him is so familiar even after all this time. Nicky looks at Joe with wide eyes.
“Isabella?”
Joe smirks. “Apparently you two had the same idea.”
Nicky laughs and grips her fiercely, still not quite believing that she’s here. He immerses in the sensation of holding her close. “Isabella.” he sighs.
“I missed you, ya amar.” she says softly.
He sighs and lets her down, swiping a knuckle across her cheek, “Anche tu mi sei mancato, amorino.”
Isabella reaches up to tuck his long locks behind his ear, her laugh wrinkling her nose, “I’m so glad you didn’t shave your head too!” making Nicky laugh, loud and sincere.
She strokes along his chin. “But the beard definitely suits you. You’re like a super hot Jesus.”
Joe laughs heartily then nudges Nicky with a smile, “As if he could ever be anything but beautiful.”
Nicky blushes under their compliments, “Come, inside. We have much to catch up on…”
He puts his arm around Isabella’s waist and pulls her inside as Joe grabs her gear from the car.
***
Nicky stirs the risotto while the three of them chat and laugh, Joe and Isabella watching on from the bench.
“So come on, what’s the deal with this bet?” Isabella asks.
Nicky rolls his eyes as he plates up. Joe laughs and explains.
“Nile bet Nicky she could break his infinite tolerance. He failed to negotiate the specific terms. So he has to grow all hair from the neck up long for the whole year AND I have to do the opposite.”
Isabella bursts out laughing.
Joe looks adoringly at Nicky. “Unfortunately, Nile failed to take into account this is almost how my Nicolò looked when we met.”
“Or how beautiful Joe looks like this.” Nicky counters cupping his husband's bare jaw.
Isabella smirks, sipping her wine, “Nile lost this before it started.”
They both hum in agreement, still gazing at each other. They move to the couch with their plates. At the first mouthful Isabella closes her eyes and groans.
“Sorry Joe but this is absolutely worth the round trip to Barcelona.”
Nicky looks smug and Joe smiles.
“Mmm, yep, far superior to my usual prepackaged ravioli.”
The horrified look on Nicky’s face at the sacrilege of her statement makes Joe roar with laughter.
They talk for hours about those months here together and the time that has passed since then. Isabella laughs at the confusion on their faces when she announces she’s close to retiring - she is after all coming up on 65.
“How long can you stay?” Nicky puts his hand on hers.
“I was planning to spend a month here. But I don’t want to interfere with your break. Could you stand a third wheel that long?”
Joe leans across and kisses her forehead as he goes to the kitchen for another bottle of wine. “We’ll try.” he says with a wink.
By the wee hours of the morning they’re several bottles deep and they start to fade. With tender hugs they all turn in for the night. Nicky falls asleep with Joe wrapped around him and a smile on his face.
***
Check out what the guys' new looks are based on: Marwan in Over Zonen, Luca from a photoshoot
And Isabella too of course
