valentine | the old guard

xxi. right where we left off

Surrey, England    2020

When the five of us step out of Copley's front door, he follows us down the driveway. Things are a lot calmer now that Andy has made her orders clear - the tension that filled the office earlier long gone. Joe is still a little defensive, however. He's firmly at my side as we turn back to Copley, his arm wrapped tightly around my waist.

"I'm sure you can forgive the frostiness," Joe says with a slight frown, his eyes trained on Copley as we put some distance between us and him. "I saw those pictures on the boards: the ones of Val and Nicky. Then there was the one of Val and I... that crossed a line."

I lower my head to stifle a laugh, instantly remembering the rather inappropriate shot of the two of us, spied on through a hotel window. Nicky quite liked that one - in fact, he even asked Copley to send him a copy to one of our safehouses. He said something about admiring the way the light hit us... either that or he was just trying to mess with Copley.

"I understand, Joe. I do apologize for the unforgivable breech of your privacy. It will never happen again," Copley replies, a warm smile on his face as Andy starts walking away towards our car. "You're welcome here any time."

She opens the door and leans against it, beckoning the rest of us to join her. "It's a kind offer but it's not necessary."

I lift my arm at the elbow and give Copley a small wave before moving out from under Joe's shoulder, heading to the front passenger's side of the car. I smile to Andy over the roof as she ducks down and move to get in beside her. However, before I can, a strong forearm springs up to block me.

"No," a deep voice mutters from just behind my ear. It's unmistakably Nicky. "You ride in the back with us."

"Really?" I tease quietly in return, letting myself lean back into his body as I step back from the car door. "And why would I do that?"

"Yes, really," he replies softly. "We can't bare to let you out of our sight. Not so soon after..." A sad expression sweeps over his features and I frown, moving out of the way to let Nile take my space.

I follow Nicky to the rear door and allow him to open it up for me in his true, gentlemanly fashion - ducking into the middle seat beside Joe. He's calmer now and his face has relaxed into its familiar, handsome grin. 

It's like nothing bad ever happened; like Booker never betrayed us. Except he's not here now - he's not cracking a joke about the "ménage a trois" being back together or annoying one of the boys, pestering Andy as she starts the car or bitching to me about the radio. There's a silence where his witty quips and sarcastic remarks should be. It's like a pause in the middle of a sentence - unnatural and bizarre.

It feels so strangely wrong. So incorrect for him to not be leaning back in the passenger seat, kicking his legs up on the dashboard and annoying us with his jokes or awful singing. It almost feels like I've just imagined him for the past hundred years - like he was never here at all.

"Valentine, are you okay?" Nile asks, leaning back over the center console with her trademark, concerned frown. 

I soon realize that the car has been moving for a while now - the landscape outside the windows showing nothing but trees and countryside. Copley's house is barely visible in the distance behind us at this point; just a small rectangle of brick and gleaming glass, half-hidden by a thick band of trees on the horizon.

"Yeah, all good. I was daydreaming again," I lie, leaning into Nicky's side and resting my head on his shoulder. "Sorry. I just haven't slept in a while."

Nile cocks her head innocently. "Not even at the house?"

Andy snorts out a laugh as Joe reaches a hand over the headrest, tapping her gently on the top of the head. She continues to laugh before replying, "Sleep was probably the last thing on their to-do list."