Disclaimer: I do not own Codename KND.
It was just like preparing for a mission. Of course, this was far more important then securing some birthday cake or say capturing an infamous space bounty potato chip hunter. It was far more important then any assignment he had ever been on, and far more was at stake if it all went to hell. But still, at heart it was just like preparing for a mission. Just way more stakes and jumbling nerves…
No time to think like that. He had managed to put on a visage of calm and control so far; just had to keep it up for just a bit longer. Now if only the damn tie would cooperate with him…
His friends had teased that he had stayed up all night. Which of course was blown way out of proportion…somewhat. He just got up really early. He couldn't afford to be late for this date. While he couldn't make sure his partner was ready (on account of tempting bad luck) he would see to it that his side of the operation was running at tip-top shape. And that was easier said then done. Zero, the only way things could have been even more chaotic is if his dear uncle was still alive and out to end him. But the man really couldn't say much about his fallen foe. Father hadn't really disturbed him since he returned home, but that was mostly due to Abby and the team sending him on one final wild goose chase upon his arrival.
But again, no time to think on past things such as those. All that mattered was everything on his end was as settled as it was going to get. All of his party was ready, knew their positions, and had a few scant minutes left to spare. Minutes he wanted to spend composing himself. He felt so out of character with these nerves blitzing about and he wouldn't be caught dead in the state he was in. It ruined his cool image. Besides, now with the only occupant of the room being himself, he could go over a mental checklist without stress.
Nigel stood with a tense posture in front of the large mirror, his coal blue optics scanning over his form for any error. The Brit adorned a sharp dark tuxedo, edges prominent and perfected for the events to come. But that still didn't stop him from nitpicking. His lapel was too crooked, the crinkles were too rumpled, his belt buckle looked laughingly uneven, and that damn tie!
With a frown, Nigel gripped his opposite wrist and forced it back down to his side. He looked fine, he just had to keep telling himself that. His underwear wasn't showing, so he was good. He turned back to the mirror, his face contorting slightly to stop himself from fretting over the errors. There were so many things that could be better, but he just did not have the time. He doubted she would care as long as she had him anyway.
His eyes softened as he trailed up to look into his own orbs. A wry smirk found home on his lips. It felt so weird without some type of eye wear on. Kinda like he was naked. He was never often seen without sunglasses, even after he had ventured off. But today was different. He didn't think he could wear shades here. But even if he could, she had said she liked when she could actually see his eye. He supposed that was another difference between her and…
God, he was comparing them again. He hadn't done that in years.
A knock on the door interrupted his conflicting thoughts and caused him to jump. He then sent a dry frown as whoever it was just kept pounding away. What part of 'I need a minute' did they not understand? "Come in." He sighed as he rubbed at his temple. Once he opened his eyes and spotted the newcomer, he couldn't help but stand a bit straighter. As if on the slight defensive. Old habits die hard. "Numbuh 274."
"And even after today, I bet you'll still insist on calling me that." Chad Dickson grumbled out as he strode into the room. The man himself was clad in his own formal attire, being another prominent figure at this whole event. His appearance was riddled with obvious signs of age. The visible skin of his hands and face were wrinkled. Not way out there, but more than enough to be noticed. His once shining gold locks had dulled to an almost bronze tint; gray hairs far from rare. The man kept walking past Nigel and stopped once he reached the window. "Seriously Uno, we're adults now. Don't you think it's time to let all that go?"
The Brit offered an indignant huff. "It's the only neutral response I have for you. We're far from first name basis, and you refuse to be called Mr. Dickson because it makes you seem old, Mr. Dickson." He replied as he went to adjust his tie, not bothering to hide his cheeky smirk.
"Make your snide jokes, Uno. I'll make sure to take them all into account when the show starts."
"I'm sure you will." Nigel mumbled under his breath. "Is there something you want? I have enough to worry about." He tried to sound confident, but cursed when he his voice picked up by a pitch.
Something Chad noticed with a wide grin. "Ah, so the great Numbuh 1 does get the jitters after all." The man chuckled as he smirked to the side. "I can call the whole thing off if it helps." He suggested, knowing it was futile even before the bald man's quiet laugh.
"I'm sure you would just love that."
"I'd be lying if I said the idea didn't sound appealing." Chad idly commented with a shrug. "But I wouldn't survive the aftermath if she found out I had a hand in ruining this."
"So she's the only reason I'm still here?" Nigel humorously asked with a shake of the head. "Tsk, tsk. And here I thought we had grown past this, sir."
"It's nothing against you…for the most part." Chad pacified. The old blond then leaned against the counter gazing out as he gathered his thoughts. "It's a sense of protectiveness you might come to understand should you two get that far. That's all it's ever been. I stopped trying to break you up after your first year together." His lids lowered a bit as he spared Nigel a brief glance. "But I'm still trying to think of ways to prove you're a pedophile. Just for fun."
The smile on Nigel's face dropped as his expression became somber. "I've never lied about my age. I am what I say I am." He looked himself over in the mirror again as a wave of sadness overcame him. It still hurt when he really thought on the matter. Compared to everyone else he knew, he was so young. "Time…moves differently in distance pockets of the galaxy. It was only two years for me."
"I'm not up to date on sci-fi law." Chad muttered to himself as his eyes became pensive. With one final heave, he heard the slight pop of his aging bones as he turned to fully face Nigel. "Enough beating around the bush. We both know I'm here for more then some elevator small talk."
"I was waiting for you to start," Nigel responded, tucking his arms to his sides as he chose to address Chad indirectly through the mirror's reflection. "You tend to ramble nowadays."
"Well then allow me to ramble about my opinion on today." He opened his mouth to start, but slowly closed it a second after. His eyes rolled to the ceiling, trying to find the right way to word it all. But after a fleeting moment of serious contemplation, Chad just uttered a 'tch' noise and crossed his burly arms. "You know what? Nothing could sum it all up more then this one simple question. So let me ask you this," His dark pupils narrowed, gazing a hole into the back of the Brit's skull. "Do you love her?"
Nigel craned his neck a bit to take in Chad from the corner of his vision. His face was settled into a glare as he tried not to let the man get to him. "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't."
The blond's gaze filled with fire as a flicker of anger appeared. "If that was a 'yes', then you chose a REALLY wrong way to word it." He threatened.
"I know how I feel, 274." Nigel answered again as he turned back towards the mirror. "I love her, no matter what you may think."
"Really?" Chad pressed harder. "Cause I'm gettin' old, Nigel. I think a lot. And out of all the many, many things I think about, this relationship between you two is something I think about every waking hour." He admitted with no shame. The man then took a step closer; not letting up in the slightest. "And I'm a pessimist to boot. So that means whenever my thoughts stray to you two, a lot of negatives things come up, and they give me all the reason not to let this day happen."
"Care to clear your chest then?" Nigel queried, wild emotions bubbling up behind his mask stoic calm. He didn't need this. Not now. "I would like to get all this out of the way before I move on with my life."
"I stood down and supported this, Nigel. Only for her sake. I was content to sit back and watch it play out. But now that you both about to take the big plunge, I'm not gonna stand by without speaking my piece." Chad spoke with a strong voice, it demanding attention and respect. "So open your ears, kid, because I'm going to put this as bluntly as possible. While you're still up in the air about it, there's no question that she loves you. I think you don't understand how much."
The Brit's blank face was broken as his brows knitted into a menacing frown. "I do."
"No, I do. And I'm also gonna make sure she gets what she deserves. She may be willing to take the risk with you, but I'm not until I'm one hundred and ten percent sure." Chad growled. "So if need be, I won't hesitate to end this day if it stops her from making the biggest mistake of her life. It'll be a cold day in hell before I let you take her up as some pathetic replacement."
"She's NOT a replacement!" Nigel snapped as he reared on the man. Finally facing him with a look of rage. Seething at the fact he could even suggest such a travesty. "I would never do that to her."
At his reaction, Chad lightened up somewhat. Not because he was frightened. This little boy couldn't scare him. No, he let up because he was beginning to see what he wanted to see. "How can I be sure?"
"Because, it's for that very reason I avoided her for so long." Nigel admitted as he turned away. "No one deserves to go through that. Especially an angel like her. I'd rather remain a lonely hermit then be with her because they shared the same face."
"Kind of hard to tell." Chad uttered as he leaned against the wall. "From my point of view, you were stalking her."
"Trust me. It was the other way around." Nigel sighed as he glanced back to his reflection. "To her, I was that talented kid who did not want to join the Kids Next Door. She thought I had too much skill not to, and she wouldn't leave me alone until she figured out why. It didn't help that she moved on to be a teen spy." He forced a laugh as he recalled the memory. "But what was I supposed to tell her? 'Sorry, I can't join the Kids Next Door because I was in it over thirty Earth years ago?'" He then spared Chad a look before he looked away. "Soon, she got less interested about me joining and more about me in general, or something like that. You know the rest."
"Believe me," Chad groaned. "I know."
"Are you satisfied now?"
Chad sneaked a peek to the clock after Nigel's question. Gauging he had a enough time, he nodded. "It's almost funny how this all turned out." He muttered as he looked back down. "I never expected it to come to something like this."
"I didn't either." Nigel sadly admitted as he reached into his pocket. His hand pulled out a worn pair of dark sunglasses. His sunglasses. His sunglasses that were returned to him when the person he bestowed them to passed away. "I came back with so many hopes. So many plans to spend the remainder of my childhood with my friends and live life being somewhat normal with them all. But then I met my team at the moonbase. And…and they had gotten so old." He whispered as he remembered the shock on everyone's faces. "For me, it was like I went off to summer school. To them, to everyone, it had been a lifetime. Heh." He chuckled hollowly. "I was a grown-up hating kid who's only friends who still remembered were four full blown adults. They let me into their lives to adapt, while the rest of the world had long forgotten about Nigel Uno." His eyes centered on the ring on Chad's hand. "They had moved on."
Chad noticed Nigel's gaze, and couldn't help but look down to the ring himself. His look wavered before he went back to the Brit, but the bald man was back at the mirror. Trying to get ready and fix his tie. As if the whole conversation never happened. Then the blond only had one more question. "You loved Rachel, didn't you?"
"Yes." Was the instant reply.
"So what will you do now?"
"Admit that I loved her," He finally straightened the tie and went over his tux again. "Accept that we couldn't be together," He looked down at the pair of shades in his hand. "Admit that she'll always have a place in my heart," He smiled a low smile as he tucked the shades back into his pockets. "And move on." He firmly nodded to himself before glancing back to Chad. "Is that good enough for you?"
The blond stared into Nigel. As if reading is soul with all his might. Finally, he tsked his lips as he turned to the door. "I suppose it'll have to do." He then turned for the door; planning on getting back to his seat in time.
Nigel watched the man go before he sighed. Great. Like he needed to give his nerves a boost. He looked up to the clock, but then snapped back when Chad spoke again.
"I would catch her staring up into the stars every night," The man spoke with his back turned, his hand frozen on the knob. "She always apologized when she realized I was there. Saying it felt like she was sneaking off. But she would keep gazing up, as if waiting; with this look in her eyes she never gave anyone else. Not even her children. Not even me." With that said, he turned and conveyed the Brit one last look before he left out the door.
Nigel's eyes widened as he got the message. He then turned to the mirror. He really needed to sort his thoughts out. Now.
Unfortunately, he wouldn't have the time.
"There you are!" The door slamming open caused him to jump and turned to the man who appeared. A tuxedo wearing African American man rushed him and gripped his arm sleeve. Grinning as he pulled him along. "C'mon, dog. We gotta get this shindig moving!"
Nigel jerked and stumbled as the man dragged out the door. "W-Watch the suit!" He fussed as he jerked his arm away. He dusted himself off before he gave the man a dry look. "Was that really necessary?"
The guy just laughed as he patted him on the back. "I'm just doin' my job and lightening up the joint. It's way too tense up in here, and you like, seriously need to chill, bro." He motioned with his hands. As they turned the corner, he called out to the other man waiting. "Don't sweat it Dex, I found 'em!"
"Thank goodness." Nigel party was increased by one member as a dark haired man with a bowl cut fell in step with them. The man pushed his glasses back up as he listed off several things on his fingers. "For a fleeting moment, I had thought the guests would erupt into complete anarchy at the prospect of the groom abandoning the ceremony." He then turned to Nigel to analyze him and talked without missing a beat. "Speaking of guests, I do believe I recall seeing the form of Mr. Dickson waltzing in your direction. He didn't attempt to ruffle you up did he? Lord knows the standing resentment between the two of you. Then again, it could only be brought up by the permanence of him being –"
"Whoa, whoa! Put the brakes on your motor mouth, Beatles." The mocha skinned man interrupted as they walked. "The last thing the man needs is for ya to overload his brain with that big ol' word bank of yours."
The man huffed as he sent the man a sharp look. "Ha ha. How very comical of you, Gilligan. I would have assumed with your position as chief male assistant, that you would be more concerned with his emotional state and not bludger. But I suppose some habits tend to hold steadfast."
"Run that back by me again in english and we'll see how smart ya are!"
Nigel tuned out the two's argument as he thought to more pressing matters. Today was supposed to be the first day of the rest of his life. To leave everything else in the past. It was time to start thinking positive. Yeah, that's the way. It was time to face the music. He only wished his parents and friends could be here.
But maybe some of them were.
Nigel blankly looked up to the two arguing friends. His new friends. He had known them since their own childhood. And looking at them now, he couldn't help but notice how they carried some traits of his old friends.
The Brit glanced to the spec wearing man. For a moment, he didn't see the man. He saw a short blond boy. He saw Wally pacing along in his orange hoodie, bopping his fist out as he walked. Like he was ready for a fight. He grinned as he struck his fist up, then the image turned to him.
"Yea! We'll go in there and show 'em, Numbuh 1! And don't sweat it, I got yer back."
Nigel blinked and the image disappeared. He then turned to the other man; the perfect mix of two people all the more noticeable now. And as he looked harder, the man blurred as he saw images of the two who made him.
Hoagie ran along the hallway with his arms stretched out, as if flying around in a plane. While he did that, Abby stayed close behind. The girl walked at the leisurely pace; her hands tucked in her pockets and hat veiling her eyes. After a moment, Hoagie flipped into the air. The boy then landed on his rump, but smiled and gave Nigel a thumbs up gesture.
"Don't let it get to ya, Numbuh 1. We're with you every step of the way!"
The image of Abby trailed up behind the chuckling pilot. She shook her head at his antics, then lifted the rim of her cap to smile up at Nigel.
"Go get 'em, boss."
And just like, the images disappeared as quick as they came. Leaving Nigel with a sad smile and glossed over eyes. He then let out a light laugh. His nerves must have finally got to him.
But…he really didn't mind this time.
"You alright, dog?"
He looked up to the two men staring at him with slight worry. But he shook it off with a smile. "Y-Yeah. I'm just…nervous is all."
"Understandable." The dorky Beatles uttered as he opened the door. "But don't let it distress you now. We have to move into our positions."
"Right." Now ready, Nigel moved with the two of them into the large room, which was a buzz with light chatter. The rows were filled with masses of people. Some he knew closely, others not so much. As he walked down the isle, his eyes trailed over and centered on one individual. He and Chad shared another sharp gaze, which was finally broken with a nod from the blond. After a few more steps, the three men stopped with the others at their location, and waited.
"Dude," He heard the Gilligan man whisper to the present Beatles. "How did you convince your stiff old mom to come?"
At the mention of the woman, Nigel looked over the crowd, and there sitting in a straight posture, was an old woman. Kuki Beatles. The gray haired Asian looked over the mass with a stoic look, it being more hardened then his own. Ironic given her previous position as head of the Rainbow Monkey Corporation. However, once her look landed on Nigel, she beamed brighter then any one in the room and gave off a very Numbuh 3 like wave.
Her son at the alter rose a brow. "I didn't. She came on her own." He then looked to Nigel, curious. "Why is it she only acts that way around you?"
Nigel smiled back at Kuki. The last other remaining member of his Sector V. All he did was smile as he answered the man's question. "Trade secret."
"Don't sweat it, Dex, he was like that with all our folks." The man was about to ask further, but then the organ music flared up, causing a hush over the people. The man then nudged the Brit in the side and grinned. "Showtime! It's all you from here."
But Nigel was hardly paying him any mind as the doors opened. He watched unblinkingly as the bride's party gracefully entered. And as it got to the final member, try as he might, he couldn't stop the image that came with her.
For moment, he only saw a girl. A lone girl walking up the isle. Her dirt blonde hair bounced with every step, and her shining chocolate gaze bore into him. Filled with so much emotion that it was almost too much to take. Finally, she joined his side with confidence, and looked up.
The image of Rachel sent a heart warming smile up to him. Her gaze filled with unspoken love as she took in the area. After a moment of contemplation, she nodded up to him and gave a subtle wink.
"Good luck, soldier."
She then disappeared, and her image was replaced with something just as, if not more, beautiful. She looked so much like her it was painful. Her cascading golden locks, her radiant smile. But even with all the similarities, there were so many things that made her different from Rachel. It could be physical. The way her hair frizzed up at the end, or how her ocean blue diamonds sparkled with pride and challenge. It also was how she was more laid back in terms of seriousness, or how she didn't fret over knocking down a few walls to get what she wanted. Those were only a few things he loved her for.
It was in that final moment, Nigel was finally ready accept all that had happened, and grow up.
"I can't believe we're finally here." He heard the woman utter behind her veil. He looked to over to see her smiling. Her eyes trimmed with tears. "Mom would've loved this."
All Nigel could do was nod as he gripped her hand. "I'm sure she would have." The cough of the man before them was the final call. Then then stood together, happy and ready to begin the rest of their lives.
"Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today to witness the blessed union of Nigel Montgomery Uno and Rebecca Tabatha Dickson…"
And in closing, I would like to state this is my first, and most likely only, Nigel/OC story.
...What? I got to thinking after reading a review. Nigel did come back, but no one said how OLD he was. And according to a lot of sci-fi I watch, time and space operate very differently...So yeah...I'm still proud of it.
Later.