Flight
A Gangsta drabble
by mew-tsubaki
Note: The Gangsta characters belong to kohske, not to me. I do love Nina and Nina/Nic, but I look forward to writing the other charries and pairings this awesome fandom has to offer. :D Read, review, and enjoy! *Written for BlueMango for the Gift-Giving Extravaganza 2015 forum with the pairing Nina/Nicolas.
- ^-^3
I'm getting too old for this, Nicolas signs to her with an inaudible sigh.
"No, you're not," Nina tells him, signing along with her speech. It's been years now…what, nearly ten or so since she first met the Handymen? No, it can't have been that long already, can it have? She shakes her head free from the distracting thought and beams at him. "One more? Just for today."
Try for the week, he replies, but his teasing grin is right around the corner from his grimace. He can never say no to her.
And this is a perfect example of just that. Since Dr. Theo has yet to call Nina back in and Worick's still chatting up the pretty redhead that moved in up the street, no one pays them mind as Nicolas tugs Nina to him and adjusts her arms around his neck before he wraps his own arms around her. Then he briefly crouches down—
—and they're off.
Nina's never been able to understand it. She can be okay with heights at times except if she's at the top of an incredibly long staircase, or is on the roof of the clinic looking down. And yet somehow, flying in Nicolas' arms brings her nothing but joy. It's excitement, the rush of adrenaline in her blood, her brain tells her, but she knows otherwise. Love makes people irrational, and even Nina falls prey to it. But that explains only her. What about Nicolas?
Nina internally sighs as they rest for a second before he jumps again. Nina might be older, but Nicolas probably only sees that young girl playing at being Dr. Theo's nurse. Maybe it doesn't matter that Nina was genuinely a nurse back then. Maybe it doesn't matter that Nina is going to become a doctor for real by the year's end. Maybe all that matters is that Nicolas looks at Nina and still sees the girl he'd make an extra stop for when buying beverages, the girl whose nose he'd tweak just to tease her a bit. Or maybe he's just oblivious to the way she sees him.
But instead of letting such thoughts get her down, Nina merely tightens her grip of Nicolas, wishing for this moment in the air to never end.
Of course, they land, and Nicolas rolls his shoulders. You're too hard on this old man, he gripes.
Nina laughs. A Twilight, old? Well…to be honest, it's kind of a miracle Nicolas has lasted this long, and Worick chocks it up to Nicolas wanting to be around to keep after him. Nicolas doesn't look particularly old, either, not much older than he did about eight or so years ago. Worick says it's because he's Asian, but it's more as though Nicolas has a second price, but his second price isn't to stop aging permanently. He just ages at a slower pace than others.
What? Nicolas asks, his eyes wide and his expression a little dopey.
The nurse giggles and shakes her head. "It's nothing," she fibs, because if she tries explaining everything on her mind right now, Nicolas is likely only to catch the part about her feelings for him, and that would just ruin a perfect day. "We should probably head back inside, though," she adds, and she turns like usual and grabs his hand like usual, tugging him along.
They head for the clinic, but Nicolas' hand feels less like a dead weight in her palm today. Unusual. Nina glances back at him, only to find that Nicolas isn't walking behind her today. He walks beside her, and he shifts his hand in hers, interlocking their fingers. More comfortable this way, he signs with his free hand.
Nina gawks at him for a second, but she quickly shakes off her amazement. Maybe their feelings wouldn't ruin this perfect day…? She hates how hot her face feels when they stop outside the clinic door and she faces him. It's frustrating that now, of all times, she wishes she had grown taller, at least just an inch past his shoulders, because it's hard to be demanding when someone's more than a head taller than her. "So same time and place next week?"
Nicolas snorts at her, because he really does love teasing her. Yeah, sure thing. I'll see you tomorrow, Nina. He doesn't often sign her name, so it's personal, and a treat, and feels so intimate that Nina's sure she must be imagining it. But she doesn't imagine Nicolas ruffling her hair as he's always done…and letting his fingers linger long enough to brush a lock of hair behind her ear.
He turns and goes, but Nina's already thinking of tomorrow—with the wind and Nicolas' fingers in her hair.
- ^-^3
-w- Nic is slow on the uptake, but I think he reads some people better than he lets on. He and Nina are so kyoot together… GAH. But yeah. This was fun to write. I need to draw them, too… Hope you liked this, Mango! Also, if it wasn't clear to anyone, I was writing Nina as 18/19, imaging that maybe she first met the Handymen when she was 10-ish, so it's been almost a decade… *only writing this according to what little we know of Nina & Dr. Theo through vol5/ch28*
Thanks for reading and please review!
-mew-tsubaki :D