Nix walked across the saloon floor, scratching at the back of his head with a yawn.
"What are you doing up so early?" Lip's gentle voice pounded against his skull like rocks.
"Oh, I thought I might make myself useful." A careful glance around told him that there probably wasn't much to be done. The chairs were all lowered and placed around the tables, ready for the day's patrons to arrive. Lip was at the bar, wiping down the polished wood, and lining up the glassware. It wasn't quite time for the faro dealers to arrive even though opening time was less than thirty minutes away.
Nix yawned again, squinting back over at Lip, watching him line up the bottles. "I suppose I could ask you the same thing. You closed last night. You shouldn't have to open this morning."
"I wasn't supposed to work closing last night. But Roe looked like he could use a good night's sleep."
"True," Nix agreed, "he did look a little worse for wear."
Lip hummed in agreement. "He'll take this evening's shift, though.
"Good." Nix looked the other man over. "Because now you look a little worse for wear."
He offered a wry smile. "Part of the job sometimes."
"Boy, isn't that the truth. But I'm glad you were on hand last night, though – helped keep everyone calm and focused on spending."
"Roe would have done equally well with the incident." Lip shrugged off the comment as Nix shook his head with a soft laugh.
"Never thought I'd see the day we had a naked man running through here."
Lip chuckled quietly. "Me neither, sir. But it makes for a good story."
"Good story, huh?" Dick's voice carried out across the saloon, drawing both of their attention towards the front doors that had just swung open as he entered. "What did I miss?"
Nix looked at Lip incredulously. "You didn't tell him at breakfast?"
"Lip wasn't at breakfast." Dick said.
Lip looked hesitant but not regretful. "He doesn't know that I covered the shift last night."
"Wait," Dick looked at Lip in disbelief, "you closed down last night and now you're opening up this morning? Carwood, you're going to give yourself pneumonia if you keep running yourself so thin."
"Sorry, sir – Roe looked like he could use last night's sleep more than me. I promise I'll sack out tonight. Roe can have his usual shift."
"That's more like it." Dick agreed with a nod, looking at Nix from under the brim of his hat. "Now, what was that story from last night?"
"Oh, well, we uh – we had a naked man charge the floor last night."
"A naked man." Dick chuckled softly, eyes wide with surprise. "I bet that turned some heads."
"He came through hooting and hollering about something. I knew he was drun-"
"Richard Winters! Lewis Nixon! Carwood Lipton! " Norman Dike's voice punctured the air from outside, his yells audible through the closed doors and windows. "You are all under arrest for harboring a fugitive of the law!"
Nix grumbled, raking another hand through his hair. "Knew I got out of bed too soon."
Dike's voice continued as Dick moved around the bar, past Nix. "Y'all have one minute to come out with your hands up! Leave any weapons you may be carrying inside. Don't think about trying to sneak out the back with the fugitive - we've got the place surrounded and we will shoot anyone who tries to escape! "
"Well, we can't let that happen." Dick calmly said, motioning over. "Here, Nix - take the other side of this table."
"Now it's three-quarter's a minute to come out, or we will start shooting! "
"I think he just likes to hear himself talk." Nix quipped, grunting as he and Dick upended the nearest large round table onto its side.
"Lip - grab the rifle from behind the bar." Dick ordered, looking over to see the man already in motion before angling to look up the stairs. "Roe! Speirs! Get yourselves down here!"
"Dick?" Lily's confused voice drifted down from the upper landing. "What's going -"
"Lily!" Dick called out, watching Nix move for the locked rifle cabinet on the wall, fumbling for his key. "Get Roe and Speirs down here now! Get the girls together and come down - stay low!"
"Half minute, now. Don't try to be a hero, Dick! It won't end well! "
Nix handed Dick one of the Model 73 Winchesters, extra magazines, and a gun belt, already loaded with a Peacemaker and extra bullets. Nix slapped his own belt around his waist, throwing the buckle before reaching for a rifle.
"They're going to come at us from all sides." Dick said, voice all business. "We've got to clear the backway out. It's closest to the livery."
"What the hell?" Speirs' voice sounded overhead as rushed footfalls took to the stairs. Roe was hastily dressed and his hair still mussed from sleep, but his eyes were alert as he followed the taller man down the stairs.
Nix pumped a round into the chamber of his rifle. "Dike knows that we've been hiding you. And we're about to get the joint shot up because we won't let him arrest us."
"What do we need to do?" Speirs voice was calm with a lethal edge.
"Quarter till! I better see that door opening."
"Ron," Dick said, "you, Carwood and Gene take the back. Clear the way, and get to the livery. Horses enough for all of us. Grab the house take from last night and leave it."
"Sure thing." Roe said, nodding as Speirs just moved off for the door leading to the backroom of the saloon, grabbing a Winchester from the cabinet and following Lip.
Nix sighed, looking anxiously at the windows. "And we're gonna stay here and keep Dike busy, aren't we?"
"Exactly. Fire back to hopefully keep them from discovering that the others have snuck out the back."
The high-pitched voices of the girls sounded on the top landing, all in various states of protest. Complaints and whines, all undercut by Lily's reassuring words trying to usher them downstairs.
"And cover for the girls." Dick added. "We'll have to get them from the stairs to the -"
"Your time's up! " Dike sounded just a little too happy. "I'm sad it has to go this way but you brought this on yourself. OK - go ahead on! "
Wood splintered and glass shattered as the bullets started to fly. Dick and Nix dropped back to take cover against the upturned table as the girls' screams filled the air. Bullets continued to pelt the building - chewing up furniture, the glass bottles, the piano - whatever they hit.
Dick stood up, swinging the rifle to his shoulder, firing off a series of quick, clean shots before dropping back down. The barrage of bullets from outside faltered for the briefest of seconds before resuming, the girls renewing their frightened cries.
Nix swung sideways with his rifle, aiming for the nearest window, loosing a few rounds. "Lily! All of you get down here!"
"I'm too scared to move!"
"Is he crazy?!"
"Come on!" Lily's voice urged. "We have to get down there, or we stand a better chance of getting shot!"
More whimpers and cries sounded as the stairs creaked, telltale of footfalls. Dick raised just above the table again, squeezing off more rounds through the distorted glass windows. Splinters of wood shot up from the table and he jerked back, drawing the rifle close.
"Nix!" He hollered over the meley, looking over to the stairs to see the girls coming, ducking low in various states of panic. The table shook some more as bullets pinged off the wood and Nix pulled back around, reloading a new magazine in his rifle. Those last shots were just too close. "Roll the table - I'll cover." Dick reached for another magazine of bullets, loading up.
"Sure - on 3!" Nix answered, counting down quick before starting to push the table. Dick swung the rifle around, pumping off a spray of shots - centering on a shadow at the front-right window. An answering cry of pain went up outside as Nix continued to roll the table, moving other furniture out of the way.
"Girls! Come on!" Dick encouraged, ducking back behind the table as the three women scrambled to get behind it, tears and whimpers just audible as they moved. Nix fired off another set of bullets as the girls huddled.
"Come on now!" Dick called out as the table shook and splintered again. "Towards the back door." Another quick reload and Nix started to roll the table back the other way, towards the back of the saloon and the door that the other three were supposed to have cleared.
"Dick! Come on, now – be reasonable! You can't really expect to win this. We've got you surrounded, and enough bullets to last days if we have to."
Another shadow – two sets of shadows – approached the windows. Nix wheeled around the table, aiming for the window on the left. Dick took aim at the window on the right, their shots ringing out in unison as the shadows fell away with grunted cries.
"We can't kill them all." Nix said, exasperated. "We need some of them to keep shooting back and keep Dike busy." He looked back to the girls, huddled together just in the table's shadow. "Lily – go check the back. See if the others have cleared the way."
"Oh - ok." She nodded, shaky and uncertain, eyes wide as she started to move slowly towards the closed door.
Nix spun back around, firing off more rounds, to join Dick who leaned around the table's edge to get a clear shot. Nix's rifle clicked empty and he ducked back to load another magazine. He pumped the action to load a round and looked up just in time to see. His. World. Stop.
Dick's head flew back under the striking impact, hat flying off his head. His body went down, crashing against the wood floor, rifle clattering beside him. The sound of Alice and Elmira's screams were second to Nix's own panicked voice. He could only repeat a litany of Dick's name, a hand gripping his shoulder, the other on his torso, as he stared down at the other man's wide, stunned gaze.
"I'm alright. I'm alright." Dick's eyes focused on Nix's, creasing with worry. "Am I alright?"
"Yes." Nix barely heard his own voice. "Yes, you feel alright?"
"Yes." Dick breathed, sitting up. "Quit looking at me like that."
Nix helped Dick to his knees, trying to shake off his own terror as he reached for his forgotten rifle. He took aim and unloaded the entire magazine at the front of the saloon, focusing on the already broken glass panes. He didn't know if he hit anybody, but it made him feel better after seeing Dick go down.
"They're gone." Lily's voice drew him back, looking over as he ducked down to reload. "There's no one back there."
"Good – that's good." Dick breathed, looking over at Nix. "Come on – let's get out of here." The shots continued to ring out, pining off the table and surroundings, as they rolled the table, still providing cover. The girls moved with them, gasping and whimpering as Dick reached for his hat, firing off more covering shots.
"Alright, after you – go!" Dick encouraged, ushering the girls through the back door. Nix stood up from the table alongside Dick and together, they emptied the last of their magazines in a tight pattern through the shattered glass.
"It won't take them long to figure out what happened." Nix said as they moved through the back door, locking it behind him.
The peace and quiet of the kitchen was staggering by comparison. It looked just as undisturbed as always, with hardly any of the window panes broken. The back door was even closed.
"Out the back way. We can't stay here." Dick didn't even sound fazed as he moved through the kitchen, herding the girls towards the back door. "It's alright, Alice – we'll get you out of here."
The younger girl hiccupped through heaving sobs. "I…I thought they'd shot you."
"No," he flashed a reassuring smile, "they missed."
"But your hat…" Alice looked up at the obvious bullet hole punched through the felt.
"It's just a hat."
"You were shot?!" Lily's voice was heavy with concern as she looked at Dick.
"Come on," Nix encouraged, reaching for Lily's arm to guide her towards the door. "We have to keep moving. And yes – he was shot at, but they missed. Just hit his hat."
"My god. Who's doing this? Why are they shooting at us?" Her questions carried them out the back door into the sunlight. "Oh, god!" Her eyes widened, trying to break from Nix's grasp at the sight of several dead bodies strewn about. All of them looked to have been killed with several well-aimed shots.
Nix wouldn't let it be said that Speirs and Lip weren't efficient. "Hey, hey." He tried to soothe, tightening his hold in support. "Hold it together just a little longer. Till we get away from here."
Alice and Elmira sobbed close by as Dick tore the storage cabinet open, slinging a haversack on his back as he scanned up and down the back alley. A throng of horses rounded the corner, mounted with three riders and coming at them with full steam.
"Thank God there were enough." Nix said.
"I only count six." Dick said as the horses slowed to a stop with Speirs, Lip and Roe at the reins.
"This was all he had." Lip sounded out of breath as he handed the reins for a riderless horse to Dick.
"It'll have to do." He took the reins, stepping up into the saddle and swinging a leg over. "Come on!"
Lily looked at the girls, reaching over to pull Alice forward. "Go with Lip – come on, now. Elmira – with Gene."
Nix stepped up to the last horse, swinging into the saddle. "Then you're with me, Lily."
xxx
She rushed over, holding out a hand as he helped pull her up and she slotted into place behind him with her arms around his belly.
Dick was already moving out, haversack gripped tight in his free hand as he urged his horse forward in a gallop. The others followed and she gripped Lew tighter, holding on as the saloon faded in a cloud of their dust. They rode until the familiar roads of Bluewater yielded to the great expanse beyond – the stagecoach road and the untamed countryside.
She couldn't say for how long they rode. Every so often, Dick would look back – whether confirming they were all still together, or watching for the shooters to come after them, she couldn't say. Maybe it was both. At one point she craned her neck to look over her shoulder, not seeing anyone behind them.
Had they made good on the getaway?
"Stop! Stop. Slow up." Dick's voice rose up over the thudding of horse hooves as they all gradually slowed, looking amongst each other. "We need to regroup. Come on, form up." He swung down from his horse effortlessly as the others started to dismount.
"Thanks, Lew." Lily said quietly as he helped her slide down out of the saddle. She crossed her arms protectively against the front of her chest as she moved for the circle forming up between the milling horses.
Dick looked conflicted, worried even, as he looked between everyone. "I'll give Dike credit for that one. None of us saw that coming. We should count ourselves lucky that we made it this far. Is anyone hurt?"
A general chorus of negatives rose up but Dick sent Speirs a particularly sharp, dubious glare which the other man returned. "No, Dick. Honest to God."
"Good, then." Dick looked between everyone else. "That's a good place to start. But now comes the hard part. I said that none of us saw that coming - but that's not entirely true. Dike approached me a couple weeks ago, and at the time – I didn't quite know what the conversation was. But I see it now for what it was – he was bragging. He was showing off that we were vulnerable and that he had inside information."
"Inside information?" Speirs echoed. "Who?"
"Ladies?" Dick asked, looking between the three of them as all of their eyes widened, aghast.
"Dick! You can't –"
"I would never!"
"How dare you!"
Nix cut over their protesting, looking at Dick in shock. "How can you say that?"
"Was it one of you four, then?" Dick looked sharply between the men. "Dike knew that Speirs was there. How else would he have known that unless someone told him?"
"He came down last week." Lily spoke up, not sparing Ron a glance. "He wandered right through the saloon floor and into the backroom."
Dick fixed his glare on the slightly taller man. "If you risked –"
"He didn't." Lip firmly interjected. "I was at the bar when he came down. There was no one of suspect that knew him at the time."
"Which leaves you?" Dick look at Lip, unconvinced. "And Lily?"
"And Elmira and Alice." Lily added. "They were also in the backroom with me."
"Then it could have been any one of you." The hurt of betrayal blazing in Dick's eyes brought Lily to a standstill as a cold sweat raced down her spine. She'd never seen him so worked up before.
She forced a hard swallow, suddenly unsure about her future. "Dick, I would never – I couldn't possibly betray – if I was gonna turn on you, I would have by now -"
"Well I wouldn't either!" Alice cried over her.
"And it certainly wasn't me!" Elmira insisted.
Dick looked between all three of them, the resolution of a firm decision in his gaze. "Then you all stay here. Go back to Bluewater, or you can go somewhere else. The law shouldn't be after you all."
Lily's heart stopped, the sounds of Elmira and Alice yelling, accusing, swearing faded under the tumult of her thoughts. Dick couldn't possibly give her the boot – she hadn't done anything! She would never turn on him, or any of them! She looked to Lew with wide, pleading eyes dismayed the find that he steadfastly refused to look at her. Same with Lip. Same with Ron. She wanted to yell at them all, furious and hurt. Tears stung her eyes as she could find nothing to say.
Elmira continued to shout. "And just where are we supposed to go, hmm? You dragged us all the way out here and now we're just supposed to find our own way? You act all high and mighty, Dick Winters, but you're just a fucking scoundrel. Like every other man!"
Dick turned from the group, stepping over to his horse and reaching in the haversack slung across his saddle. He returned with a folded wad of cash, holding it out. "This should help get you started in whatever you choose to do."
Lily's stomached rotted to look at the money. A final business deal. A dismissal fee.
Elmira stomped over, snatching it quickly. "It's the fucking least you can do, bastard."
"We need to keep moving." Dick looked unconcernedly at the others, moving back to his horse without another parting word. A heavy reluctance hung in the movements of the other four men, but no one dared say anything against the major's decision.
Panic started to grip Lily as they mounted up. They really were going to abandon her here in the woods.
"Dick – wait! Please!" She looked desperately at the others, a tear sliding free. "Lewis, please – you know that I wouldn't! Ron – please! You can't believe it!"
Ron cut her with a hard, unsympathetic look. "Dick has his reasons."
Another tear rolled down her cheek, defeated as her heart broke. The men turned their horses, urging them into cants as they took off through the trees.
"Go on - get outta here!" Elmira yelled after them. "Shitbag bastards – all of you!"
Lily seethed on Elmira's words, eyes furious as she drew deep having breaths. "Which one of you did it?!" She whirled around. "Which one of you. Ruined. Everything?!"
"You can't blame me." Elmira returned. "I had nothing to gain by turning those men out."
"Nor me." Alice defended. "Maybe it was you! Was it…was it just not enough having one of them? Were you promised something more?"
Lily shook her head, another tear rolling down her cheek. "How can you say that? Those men gave me the only good things I've ever had in my entire fucking life! And now…now…"
Alice shook her head. "There's nothing left for it now - maybe it wasn't any of us. Maybe the betrayer is still riding with him."
Lily really didn't think that was possible. Was it? Dick had been so awful quick to accuse her and the girls. But none of them would confess to anything – how could Dick possibly be so wrong? She kicked at the ground, crying out in frustration and sniffling back more tears.
With a deep breath, she glared over at Elmira. "Split that cash three ways. I don't care where each of you go from here, but it's over – we're done. Our jobs are gone and we have to make a new way now."
Elmira glared back, a hint of fear in her gaze as she started thumbing through the bills.
High numbers weren't Lily's strong suit, but they were able to divide the similar looking bills equally between them. She could only hope it would be enough for a night or two at the Bluewater Central Hotel. Maybe by then she'd know what to do. How to move on. Where to go.
Memories of her days at the hellhole of Jimmy's Diamond Saloon ate at her mind, making her shudder.
She just had to find a better way. She just had to.
That night, no one knew what to say and the crackling fire filled the silence.
Dick had just finishing telling them all about the conversation that Sunday morning outside the church with Dike. All about the thinly veiled threats and talk of betrayal. The specific mentions of Alice and Lily.
But now each man sat, wound tight and trying to make sense of it all.
"Well, someone has to say something." Nix said, with his usual air of self-deprecation. "I know I feel pretty shitty. Can't be the only one."
The crackling fire greeted him in response for the longest of minutes.
"There's plenty that could be said." Lip started quietly. "There's plenty that could have been said weeks ago – there's decisions that might have been made differently. But we're here now. The rest of it is just a bunch of yelling and finger pointing that accomplishes nothing."
Ron shrugged. It was the first movement he'd made, aside from blinking, since he sat down. "If it makes you feel less like shit to yell and point fingers, then maybe that'll be one less of us who wants to punch our bosses square in the face."
Dick looked over, concern in his gaze. "Ron, you can't –"
"No." Ron cut him off with a sharp look. "No – you can't claim that you made the smart decision here. Harboring me and putting everything – everyone – at risk. We should have gone to higher ground. To the Stro – "
"And admit ourselves guilty by running? Never."
Gene sighed. "Didn't we make ourselves guilty by running away already?"
Nix shook his head, wrinkling his nose. "No – not since Dike struck first. Until he starts spreading his lies, we just look like victims."
"The damage is done either way." Lip said, shaking his head. "Whatever life we hoped to have built in Bluewater is lost now."
Dick looked up and over at Lip. "Not if we can prove what Dike was doing, and that we're innocent of…all of it."
Ron's jaw tightened as he stared at the fire. "We start by finding those men – the ones Dike gave the Indian weapons to. Find them, and see what they can tell us."
Nix leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Not sure we have any other choice. We're on the run until we prove Dike's accusations otherwise."
The answering silence lingered a few minutes until Lip sighed, his lips drawing to a thin, troubled line. "I hope the girls are alright going back there."
"They don't know all the details." Dick said softly. "Not even Lily."
A log snapped in the fire, sending up a flurry of embers.
Gene looked over at Dick, gaze hard but trusting. "I hope that's true. Not sure I'd put it past Dike to use everything available to get at us if what Speirs has said is true."
"The girls couldn't stay with us." Dick's tone left no room for disagreement. "I wouldn't allow us to sustain that continued risk. You have to understand that. And if not…well. This isn't the cavalry. It's not desertion if you want to go off on your own. I don't have any severance to offer for ending employment, but I'm sure any or all of you would manage."
xxx
Dick's words hung like a heavy veil around the fire. Nix shuffled uneasily, drawing his knees to this chest and wrapping his arms around his legs. Would anyone actually take him up on it? He supposed Speirs might – if the man wanted to strike out, or take up a defensive position, this was his opening. It was honestly hard to say.
As it was, silence continued to reign for several tense minutes.
Gene yawned, stretching his neck to one side. "Well, I've had enough for one day. And we've another day's ride ahead of us tomorrow."
Speirs pushed up to his feet. "I'll take first watch over the horses."
Lip nodded, rising with stiff movements. "I'll take second. Wake me round after midnight. Gene – you'll take third?" The shorter man offered a nod that Lip matched before he looked over at Dick. "With all due respect, sir, I don't think any of us are going anywhere just yet. So you can stow all future talk like that."
The answering look on Dick's face spoke to such gratitude. "Thank you, Carwood."
Lip smiled softly in return, nodding dismissively. "I'm glad you're alright. It would have been a horrible day if that bullet had been any lower."
Nix's gut rotted at the memory of that terrifying moment. At the blind panic that had seized him.
Lip shuffled off to join the others before Dick could respond to the sentiment, and Nix exhaled deep, trying to let go of the day. There had just been so much – how had their world managed to upturn so quickly?
"I don't know if I've ever seen you so quiet." Dick said softly.
"I don't know if I've ever been this sober at this time of night." He sighed. "And on a night when I could really use it, too."
"I might even join you."
"Now that would be something." His gaze strayed to Dick's hat, sitting beside the man with the bullet hole caught visibly in the firelight. "Hell of a day."
"Yes…yes, it was. Hardest day I've had in years."
"I know it wasn't easy for you." The rest went unspoken. Nix just couldn't bring himself to voice Dick's outright dismissal of Lily and the girls.
"You don't think I made the right decision. I know you well enough to know that you're only this quiet when you don't want to say what's really on your mind."
"Hell, Dick." Nix sighed, shaking his head slowly. "What do you want me to say? Yes, I think it was wrong to abandon them the way that we did. But was it the right decision? Maybe? Probably. Stands to reason someone on the inside was passing along information – most likely it was one of them. But Lily? Not a chance in hell."
"You would know?"
"Yes, I would know." A simmering anger burned in Nix's eyes, echoed in his tone. "She had nothing to gain from turning traitor. You remember how we found her. Why in god's name would she risk that we'd send her back? Always seemed like she was braced for the bottom to fall out, to reach the end of your generosity – not to play you for a sucker and take you for everything you have."
The briefest look flashed across Dick's face and disappeared as Nix stared at him. Was it guilt? Was it hurt? Jealousy? Whatever it was, it made Nix's heart ache. He wanted nothing more than the reach out to the other man, wrap him up, hold him close.
Dick visibly swallowed, exhaling a tight breath. "I hear what you're saying. And I'd be lying to say that you're not echoing my own conflicting thoughts. I just…." Only once before had Nix witnessed the pressure of leadership weighing down on Richard Winters and the vulnerability on the other man's face in those moments was gut wrenching. "I just couldn't keep her and not the others. You say you know her – and believe me, I know that you know her better than I do – but she was still a risk to all of us. And I couldn't allow that."
"I can see how you might think that. But I'm going to say that you were wrong on this one." He couldn't help but think back to how she fell apart in the kitchen that day Speirs was shot. To the longing in her voice that matched his own. She could no more betray them than he could betray Dick.
"Lew, I…" Had he ever heard the other man sound so sad? "I need…I can't do this without you on my side."
"I'm on your side. Have been since that day on the train to Fort Benning." Nix shrugged, exhaling a sad sigh. "That doesn't mean we'll always be right."
"Sure." Dick reached over for his hat, making moves to rise. "I'm going to pack it in. See you in the morning."
"In the morning." Nix watched him go, warring with himself to call out and say more. Not that he knew exactly what to say. There were just too many words choking his throat, yearning to claw their way out. So he watched the other man shuffle off before turning his gaze back to the low burning embers, just staring.
Sadly, snuffing out the fire and retiring to his blanket did nothing to bring him peace of mind or sleep. The stars continued to peek in and out of passing clouds as he lay on his back, looking up. His gut clenched each time he thought back to the last conversation with Dick and the look on the man's face.
It sat even worse with him on the heels of the panic that had overtaken him when he saw Dick go down. A tightness settled in his chest at the thought of losing Dick, an ache that threatened to consume him. God, he'd never thought himself to be so undone at the thought of actual, physical heartbreak, but then he'd never counted himself lucky enough to meet someone like Richard Winters.
Wind rustled the leaves of the trees as it blew on by, bringing with it a pleasant smell. He'd found a grove of juniper trees to lay out his blanket, enjoying the crisp, sweet smell. It made his mouth water for liquor, even though gin wasn't his favorite. He shuffled against a stray root digging into his back, bringing an arm up behind his head in a mock attempt of a pillow.
A soft, deliberate crunching of leaves and earth sounded off to this right. His ears perked instantly, left hand reaching for the curled-up gun belt beside him.
"Flash."
Nix froze, recognizing the whispered word of his past in the voice of the man that tormented his thoughts. "Thunder." He heaved a sigh of relief as Dick emerged from the shadows, coming to stand alongside him. "Shit, Dick...it's been a long time since I've heard that."
"Glad you didn't forget."
"The CO drilled that friendly call sign into our head so many times, I could probably forget my own name but still remember it."
It was hard to see in the distant starlight, but Nix thought he saw a smile flit across Dick's face. "I'm sorry if I woke you."
"No, I wasn't asleep." Nix said quickly, shuffling over. "Though, even if I was - I don't think you'd have a qualm with waking me up."
"Well...I was hoping you weren't asleep." Dick sighed, a strangely frustrated sound. "I couldn't sleep. Just kept tossing and turning, and...with the way our last conversation ended, I hoped I wasn't the only one."
"No, I understand. That's - that's what was keeping me up to." Nix patted the blanket as he sat up. "Sit down. Apologies won't work if you're looking down on me."
"Not looking down on you, Nix." Dick admonished as he dropped down alongside him. "But this is nicer. Lovely collection of junipers that you found."
"They're just making me thirsty."
"There's water."
Silence was usually always easy between them, but tonight, it felt heavier than a brick. Nix forced a swallow, trying to make sense of it. But he kept coming back to the same answer - it had just been an absolute hell of a day.
"You cut it close there. Earlier." Nix said softly, not looking over.
"Cut it close?"
"Aerating your hat."
"Oh. I guess the angels are on our side."
"The angels will always be on your side."
Dick licked his lips. "I wouldn't be so sure."
"If they're not on your side, then there's no hope for the rest of us. I mean, come on. You're practically a saint."
"Not when it comes to you, Lew."
The bluntness of Dick's words punched Nix in the gut. His mouth went dry, heart leaping in his chest. Any lingering drowsiness drowned in the sudden wave of anxious alertness that overtook him.
"That's…that's just the shock talking."
"You don't give yourself enough credit. Never have." Dick's lips teased up in a warm, lopsided grin. "I wouldn't lie about this. Not now, and not when I've had seven years to come to terms with the truth."
Nix's stomach tightened anxiously, unable to believe this was actually happening now. He wasn't really that lucky, was he? "Dick, don't do this. Please. I can't –"
"I almost knocked on the Pearly Gates today and took with me the one thing I've always wanted you to know." The earnestness in Dick's voice was overwhelming. How wonderful it was to be the center of Dick Winters' world. "I'm not telling you so as to expect anything in return - you can even leave if it helps – but I have to tell you."
"Leave? Why on earth would I leave? It's the one thing I've wanted to hear you say."
Dick's lips lifted in a coy little smirk. "I haven't actually said it yet." They were standing at the point of no return, and there was no reason to hesitate. "I love you, Lew. Don't ever doubt it."
Nix's mind blanked. There it was…and he couldn't have heard it right. After all these years, how could someone like Dick possibly love him? He didn't deserve someone so good.
Dick shuffled over closer to him, unable to stop smiling at the look of sheer bewilderment on Nix's face. "It's not that hard to understand. I love you." He leaned in, brushing his nose to Lew's cheek. "I love you."
Nix turned, relishing the feel of Dick's breath against his skin before pressing his lips forward. Relief, elation and curiosity surged through the kiss. Nix could hardly breathe when Dick's mouth fell open, deepening the contact. A groan tore from his throat before could think to stifle it. God, this was everything he'd ever wanted.
His hands rose to Dick's jacket, pulling him forward, ever closer, as he shuffled to lay back against his blanket. Dick moved easily with him, sighing as Nix widened the v of his legs to better slot their bodies together. His hips rolled up against the other man's, drowning in the wanton sound on Dick's lips.
"You sound perfect." Nix rocked his hips again, pressing Dick so close, breath catching at the increasingly pleasurable press of their clothed erections. "I've loved you for so long. Why'd we wait? We could have had this - each other - for the last seven years?"
"I'll make it up to you."
"Oh?"
"Sure." Dick's words brushed his lips. "How's the rest of my life sound?"
"It's a start." Nix's smile threatened to split his face as he wrapped the other man up even tighter. "It's a damn good start."
