A/N: Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry. Honestly, I totally understand if you started hating me. I'm just so slow...
School work sucks. Apparently, my teachers don't seem to understand that free time is for relaxing and writing fics and not doing yet another load of homework.
Anyways, I am thankful for all of you who stick with this fic after all this time.
Special thanks to Meike, who went through this chapter and helped me correct the mistakes. Check out her blog on tumblr. It's still
ganzvielliebe
Unfortunately, I still don't own none of the characters.
Just wanted to say that I'm so sorry once again. Now, have fun reading. :)
The next day he met up with Kurt and Blaine half an hour earlier, just like they wanted him to. He wasn't surprised when he didn't find his partner there. Of course he wasn't invited.
Kurt and Blaine showed him some useful shooting techniques along with a small survival lesson. Jeff told them he would be okay, he could survive. Even if his dickhead of partner wouldn't help him. Kurt and (especially) Blaine were really sceptical but they still trusted Jeff.
Training with Agent 3 was just like the day before, except for maybe it was a little, teeny tiny bit, better than before seeing as somehow they could work better as a team. For example, Agent 3 seemed to run a bit slower whenever Jeff slowed down. It still wasn't enough and after a few hours Blaine and Kurt decided to end it all for the day.
Agent 3 left and Jeff didn't get to talk to him at all. He didn't know whether he should be glad or sad about it. Because on the one hand he really wanted to find out what exactly that dude's problem was. But on the other hand he knew the guy wouldn't open up to him; he would only get pissed.
The next two days went by exactly the same, improving slightly each day. But still, nothing had really changed. Agent 3 wasn't really talking to Jeff. Sometimes he just couldn't hold back his comments.
One time, Jeff tried to climb up a rope but he wasn't fast enough, so that in the end his partner ended up telling him to stop being a snail and start working.
Another time, however, Jeff actually beat him to climbing up the same rope and Agent 3 complemented him.
But Jeff couldn't care less about the comments. And neither Kurt nor Blaine seemed to care about it too much.
Sometimes, Jeff went to grab something to eat with either Blaine, Kurt or both. They talked about missions and partnering but they never particularly talked about Jeff's issue.
On the third day Jeff just couldn't keep his mouth shut and asked, "Do you think Mr Schue could be wrong?"
"About what?" Kurt asked.
Jeff lowered his voice and said, "About my partner."
Blaine shook his head. "I don't think so, Mr Schue usually does a great job at partnering people up."
The blond couldn't believe it, but didn't comment on it.
On the sixth day Agent 3 was behaving weirdly nice. Maybe it was because he knew it would be over soon. But what was he hoping for? After he was done with training he would be forced to actually work with him.
But he was actually helping Jeff with getting through the obstacle course. It was easy for them by now because Kurt and Blaine hadn't changed it since the beginning.
Still, Jeff's partner was actually working with him on that one. He even held Jeff's wrist when Jeff almost tripped on something. "Thanks," Jeff said after they were done.
"You're welcome," the brunet answered. A small smile ghosted over his lips and Jeff couldn't believe it. It was hard to believe that this guy was actually Agent 3.
They worked together pretty well for the rest of the day, until training was over. Afterwards, Agent 3 was already gone before Jeff could even follow him. Jeff shrugged it off, he'd learned not to mind it.
But Blaine and Kurt seemed to think differently about it because they raised an eyebrow at each other and Blaine asked whether Jeff didn't find his partner's behaviour weird.
Jeff replied, "Yes but whatever. I'm not his mother and I don't know why he does that. And to be honest, I don't really care. He's probably gonna be back to being an asshole pretty soon."
Blaine and his boyfriend both shrugged and then offered Jeff to have some dinner with them. Wes, David and Mike had gotten a mission the day after their gaming night. So, even if they were at the agency, they would probably be really worked up and stressed out, so neither Blaine and Kurt, nor Jeff wanted to bother them.
After lunch Jeff went back to his room and spent the evening watching TV, nothing fancy. He was still wondering why Agent 3 was acting so weird. But then again, he didn't know this guy, maybe that's just what he was like.
That night, however, Jeff could fall asleep easily. He'd thought that he would lie awake for quite a long time and try to figure things out. But that didn't happen. He closed his eyes and was fast asleep within a few minutes.
The next morning he woke up with a good feeling. He knew it was the last day of training, and he was also looking forward to seeing how his partner would behave.
He took a cold shower in the morning and prepared himself for anything that would come up. Kurt had told him they'd planned something really special when they were eating lunch, so Jeff expected it to be hard. He then walked to the room where they always trained and was surprised to see Agent 3 already there, and so were Kurt and Blaine. Jeff even checked his watch, only to notice that they were all there pretty early. Kurt shrugged and said he was there just on time.
"For today," Blaine said, "We have planned something special."
Kurt continued, "Yeah, because today is the last day, we planned to give you two a final exam."
Jeff looked at them with interest, but Agent 3 seemed rather calm.
"We are going to drive out to a wood and you will have to complete a task there. This will be a special challenge to prove your skills on working together," Kurt said, and with that he dragged Jeff with him. They all went outside and got in Blaine's car. Kurt got to ride shotgun, next to Blaine, while Jeff had to sit next to his partner. Agent 3 seemed calm.
The drive was rather awkward as Kurt just chatted to Blaine and Jeff couldn't really talk to Agent 3 since he didn't even know his name. Sometimes Jeff would steal a look at his partner while he was looking out of the window.
When they arrived Agent 3 and Jeff got out of the car, and so did Kurt. Blaine stayed inside.
"So, I'm gonna tell you really quickly what you have to do. But first, I'm gonna give you something." Kurt went to the back of the car and took two small backpacks from the trunk. He handed one to Jeff and one to his partner and explained, "In there are all the things that are necessary to survive one night in the wood. Now, there is a hill, kind of like a small mountain, pretty close to middle of the wood. You need to get there. Then you climb up there and when you're at the top you can see a hut. That's where you meet me and Blaine. Keep in mind, there are only enough supplies for one night, if you leave some over you can also eat them in the morning. You get there the fastest you can to meet us, okay?"
Jeff and his partner nodded. "That's alright."
Kurt got back into the car and they drove off over the bumpy road. Jeff figured they were just driving around a little so that Jeff and Agent 3 wouldn't be able to follow them to the hut.
"So, we have to work together now, huh?"
"Guess so," Agent 3 said and smiled at Jeff, just a bit. Jeff definitely liked the soft look in his eyes that came along with the smile. Agent 3 opened the backpack and looked inside. He saw a bedroll and two medium sized water bottles, along with some bread. There were also a knife, a rope, and a compass. A flashlight and a box of matches were hidden at the bottom. "Just needed to have a look at what we have," he explained. Jeff nodded.
"How're we gonna climb that mountain though? We have no real mountaineering equipment," Jeff asked.
Agent 3 only shrugged and said, "We're gonna figure it out." He took the compass, although it was pretty useless. They didn't even have a map. "So we're in the north right now. I dunno where we are but I suggest we go south, right? Because the wood ends behind us and there's no point in walking towards the other ends in the west or in the east. We're gonna figure, right?"
Jeff was stunned by his partner's cooperativity.
"Sure," Jeff replied and they started walking.
The walk felt rather awkward to Jeff first, the silence was hanging heavily between them. But after a few hours Jeff finally decided to break the ice, "Can I ask you something?"
"Well, you can. But whether I answer depends on the question," Agent 3 replied.
Jeff sighed, he'd seen that coming. He hesitated and then asked, "So, why are you so weird?"
"Uh," Agent 3 said, "I don't know? I mean, I'm really sorry about being an asshole. I know I was wrong. I just... I don't need a partner, okay? I don't want one and I'm pretty sure I'm good enough to survive without one. It's nothing against you, it's just... It's me, okay?" The brunet shrugged but looked at his feet.
The blond man nodded. "But why do you work with me then?"
The brunet smirked and said, "Well, I don't have a choice now, do I? They'd do this anyway. Can't just let you die in this wood."
"How funny," Jeff said sarcastically but he couldn't help a small smile creeping up on his lips.
They walked on, talking to each other about nothing real. Agent 3 actually managed to make Jeff laugh a few times, and Jeff even returned that favour. When it was getting dark they could already see the hill. They got their flashlights but soon decided to stop and rest for the night. Afterwards they gathered some wood and Jeff lit a fire while Agent 3 prepared both of their bedrolls. Then they ate their "dinner, consisting of bread and water.
After dinner Agent 3 suddenly said, "It's Nick, okay?"
Jeff raised an eyebrow and asked, "What is Nick?"
"My name, stupid, my name is Nick; Nicholas Duval, actually." He was looking Jeff. Jeff smiled widely. "You did not just tell me your name, did you?"
Nick grinned, "Well, idiot, of course I did."
"You're an asshole," Jeff pointed out.
"And you are fucking stupid. Don't know why Mr Schue thinks you're a genius." Nick was still grinning.
"Oh, so we really fit together because I don't know why he thinks you're a genius!"
They argued just a little bit more before they went to sleep. Even though it wasn't the best place to sleep, Jeff was still glad about it. That was the final breakthrough. It probably was the biggest achievement in Jeff's special agent career.
Again, he could just close his eyes and start sleeping pretty easily. Maybe it was because Nick had finally opened up to him and god, he looked stunning when he wasn't acting all tough and hard to work with. And he had a good sense of humour. Jeff liked it. Jeff liked everything about the actual Nick, when he was the real Nick and not some kind of façade.
He was woken up by Nick the next morning. They ate some breakfast and went on together. Jeff couldn't help finding Nick quite cute when he was just talking about anything. He liked the way the brunet would really get into it. Jeff also liked listening to him because apparently Nick was telling some interesting stuff. For example he talked about how he once almost got shot or how another time he actually got shot.
The blond man would listen to him, until they arrived at the hill. "Now, we only have to get up there," Jeff said smirking. The hill looked kind of funny, it was quite tall but there was no real way to just go up there. It rather seemed like a mini island in the middle of the wood.
Nick shrugged and said he was going to find out. He walked around a bit and opened his backpack, taking out the rope. "See, it's thick and probably really steady."
"So what?" Jeff asked.
The brunet looked around once more, noticing a tree near the hill and another tree at the top of the hill. "We could like, throw the rope around that tree over there and then wrap it around you. And then I pull you up. You, of course, help me by holding on to it and climbing upwards. Basically, I'll secure you, so you don't fall. And once you're up there you tie it up with your rope and wrap it around that one tree over there. And you throw it down here so I can get it. And once I tie it around myself you secure me, so I can climb up."
Jeff smiled. That plan was smart, but he still had some doubts. "What if you can't pull up my weight? Or what if I can't pull up yours?"
"Guess you'll have to trust me on that one, Jeffie, just like I'll have to trust you."
"When did I give you the permission to call me Jeffie, though?"
Nick shrugged. "Do I really need it?" With these words Nick threw his own rope around the branch of the tree close to the hill. He then went towards Jeff and wrapped the rope around him, tying it in a steady knot around Jeff's waist.
Before Jeff could even say anything, Nick said, "You're welcome." He patted Jeff on the shoulder and walked a few steps away from the tree, so that it was easier to lift the blond. Jeff nodded and walked towards the tree, letting Nick pull him up so he could grab onto some unevenness on the hill. He then started climbing up, and he always felt Nick supporting him, pulling him upwards.
Once Jeff was at the top he undid Nick's knot and took his own rope and tied it with Nick's. He threw the end of his rope around the branch of the tree closest to him on the hill and gave Nick a thumb up. The brunet man tied the end of his own rope around himself and ran over to the hill, letting Jeff pull him up. Nick wasn't too heavy, so it was easy for him to help Nick.
When Nick had finally reached the top he said, "Thanks. I wouldn't have made it without you." And Jeff believed it to be Nick's actual opinion of that situation. So, maybe after all, Mr Big and Mighty did need a partner too.
They walked towards the little hut in the middle of the hill. Just when they were about to reach the door, Nick tripped on something and was about to fall but Jeff caught him by his wrist and pulled him up.
"Thanks," Nick said once more, and the smile he showed warmed Jeff's heart.
"Now we're even, right?" Jeff asked and giggled.
Nick raised an eyebrow at Jeff but he was still smiling. "Dude, did you just giggle?"
Jeff shook his head furiously and replied, irony sounding right through his voice, "Me? Never! That's so for girls. I'm not a girl, dude."
Nick shook his head, grinning as if he didn't want to believe how dorky Jeff was. But he didn't seem to mind, which Jeff found weird.
They arrived at the hut and Jeff opened the door, they both entered to see Blaine sitting on a couch facing the door and Kurt was sitting beside him. When both Nick and Jeff had entered and closed the door behind them, Kurt stood up and said, "Congratulations, I am proud of you. I am especially proud of Agent 3 for cooperating."
"Kurt uh... he told me," Jeff replied, pride ringing in his voice.
Kurt only raised an eyebrow at him. "Told you what?"
"His name. He told me his name."
Now Blaine couldn't hold back anymore. "That's nice, Nick. I'm proud of you, man!" He walked over to Nick and patted his shoulder. Nick smiled at Blaine, too.
"About time though," Kurt said, now smiling too.
Jeff grinned at them. After everything they went through, risking their lives and fighting crimes – how cliché – they were just young guys and better yet, they were friends.