She wasn't handling it well; that much was obvious. The second Sean had walked into the bedroom she started to spiral. She could barely think. So many thoughts and emotions were running through her, it was overwhelming. Simply put, Nikita was upset. Expanding upon it, she was angry, frustrated, hurt, lost, and unbelievably ecstatic. She was so excited to see her brother again. He was more mature and muscular than when she had last seen him, but other than that he appeared to be the same annoying Sean. All she had wanted for nearly a decade was to be with her family again- to laugh and smile with those she loved so much. She thought the sentiment would've been the same for them. Yet she was terribly wrong.
Sean and Madeline were Oversight. They worked for the very organization that ran the hellhole of Division and wanted her dead. How was she supposed to deal with that. It didn't matter if her brother actually went rogue or not. He had still worked for them; he was still their stupid little lapdog. Nikita collapsed her head in her hands, and screamed. The sound was muffled, but the expression continued to be powerful. It was anguish and confusion that couldn't easily be solved, no matter how much she wanted it to be. It also drew Cassandra from her bedroom into the main room of the hotel suite. One look at Nikita with disheveled hair and an oversized unbuttoned shirt, and she knew something was up, "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, sorry. Did I wake Max?" With a settling breath, Nikita wondered. She didn't mean to disturb anybody with her outburst. No one else should've been drawn into her family drama. Michael shouldn't be involved either. But he was ensuring she had all the support she needed. She appreciated that; she was so grateful for everything he had done. It was her mess to sort through, however. Unless he could change her family's past actions, there was nothing he could've done.
"No, he's fine. But are you?" Gently, Cassandra asked again. Nikita attempted to brush her long dark hair out of her face, but it was tangled and knotted. She gave up on the soothing motion, sighing harshly. It was time to get herself together. She couldn't afford to keep getting worked up over the situation. It was certainly something Division could use to its advantage. In that war, she had to be focused and determined on her mission. Her family and all that shit needed to be forced aside.
"Just some family drama. Mind if I raid the minibar?" Alcohol became the appealing answer to her problem. Nikita knew how terrible of a solution it was, after seeing so many junkies enter Division and after helping Alex get clean. She needed a healthier way to cope. Yet getting drunk, no matter how temporary, would make her forget everything. With a nod from Cassandra, she grabbed all of the mini bottles of alcohol in the fridge. She even tossed some to the other woman who had survived shitty family drama that night, "You know. You deserve to drink too."
Cassandra regarded the rogue and the bottles for a moment. She soon smiled and cleared a space in the sitting area for them to drink. Nikita grinned as well, following her and plopping down into a seat. Maybe the women could help one another process their shocking night. Or at the very least, they could make getting drunk more entertaining. As Nikita buttoned the shirt she had hastily thrown on, Cassandra came up with the suggestion, "You have any drinking games we can play?"
"I like your style. And yeah. Got one my sisters and I used to do. We drink two mini bottles at the same time. Whoever chokes loses," Nikita waved the liquor for emphasis. It was a stupid and rare stunt she, Jill, and Sandy used to pull when they were in highschool. They could barely drink more than two mini bottles, so the faster they drank them the better. The three sisters only did that when they were home alone, and Sean wasn't around to rat them out later. Despite that, it seemed like a fitting game to play at the moment. Besides, the faster she could get drunk, the better.
Cassandra had her reservations for the game at first. But she was soon persuaded into it by the idea of getting the bitter alcohol down faster. It took the women a round or two to get used to essentially taking four shots at once. However once they did, everything became a lot more fun. They had to keep shushing themselves as they giggled, remembering that Max was asleep in the next room. The two also had to quiet each other down when they got too excited about whatever they had started to talk about. Eventually, the alcohol was all finished. But Nikita and Cassandra weren't finished drinking. They wanted to become blissfully unaware of their surroundings, not just merely drunk, "Uh oh. Now what do we do?"
"We steal, duh," Nikita answered Cassandra's question with a devilish grin. She stumbled to her feet, grabbing the keys to the hotel suite. Although she was about to embark on an 'important' mission, both women were giggling. The rogue was able to get a handle on herself long enough to leave the suite and break into the empty one next door. Getting into the minibar and taking all of the alcohol bottles without tripping the sensors was a challenge. But she managed it, just as she managed everything else. Well, everything else that was secret agent related. Her emotions continued to be an absolute shitshow.
And God, drinking with Cassandra was the worst idea (just slightly worse than breaking and entering for alcohol). Nikita felt amazing, yet it wasn't going to last long. It was a horribly temporary solution to a very complicated problem. However, that didn't deter the women's actions. They were wrapped up in their drunk ramblings, and the feeling that their anguish had disappeared for the moment. That was the thing that mattered most to them. They didn't have to remember that day.
If Nikita and Cassandra were sober, their vague conversations would have made plenty of sense. They also would've been able to understand the confessions they were revealing. Yet drunk, it was something the women could simply nod to and forget in the morning. It didn't take much longer for the two to lose their steam and settle down into a stupor. That was how Michael found them when he finished interrogating Sean. He rapidly grew concerned, "Nikita. Are you alright?"
"Michael! Oh. Shhh. Michael. You're my favorite boytoy," Instantly (or as instantly as her alcohol muddled mind could process his presence) Nikita beamed. She had been lying on the floor, absentmindedly playing with her hair. But at the sight of her boyfriend, she tried to shoot to her feet. Luckily, Michael was able to catch her as she fell. She held as tightly onto him as she could, giggling and smiling. He did his best to keep her still and upright.
"Oh you're drunk drunk. What about you, Cassandra? You okay?" Michael questioned Cassandra who was lying face down on the couch. She gave him a halfhearted thumbs up, allowing him to focus all of his attention on Nikita. There was an abundance of empty mini liquor bottles littering the room, and he was almost afraid to ask how many belonged to her. He had seen her get that drunk once before, after Daniel was killed. That was far worse, however, she was beyond belligerent and had to be forced into a cold shower to sober up; at least in the present she was giggly and excited. The cause was the same, though. She hadn't learned to cope with her heartbreak.
The mess she and Cassandra had made would have to be cleaned later. For the moment, Michael could lift Nikita securely in his arms. It was an awkward sort of bridal carry, but it worked enough to move her to the bedroom. While he carried her, she wiggled and squirmed. He was able to keep hold of her, but he had to tighten his grip to ensure they both didn't fall. The fact made her laugh, and she attempted to whisper into his ear, "You're not supposed to carry me like this till we're married."
"You wanna get married?" The question was a mixture of a tease and some shock. Michael paused at the threshold of the bedroom, glancing down at Nikita. Her brown eyes sparkled up at his green, her grin never diminishing. He smiled back just as brilliantly. It was never hard to imagine a future together. In fact, that was the easiest thing he could do. He intended to be with her for the rest of his life. He didn't have to be married to her to make that become a reality. But if that was what she wanted, then he'd be more than willing to obey.
"You gotta propose better than that, Mikey," Nikita tried to surge forward and kiss him. Michael laughed, bowing his head so their lips could meet. He continued to their room, and gently lowered her to the bed. Finally free of his zip ties, Sean snapped to his feet demanding to know if she was alright. Michael rolled his eyes as he told him she was drunk. She definitely wasn't alright. But considering it had something to do with her brother, he was going to keep that to himself.
Nikita grabbed at Michael to join her in bed, yet he fought her off to get her some water. She stared after him, giggling over the fact that she was in his shirt while he was topless. Her boyfriend could only chuckle along with her. He'd talk to her and make her share her thoughts when she was feeling better. In the meantime, he could simply take care of her as best he could. Sean watched the interaction with intrigued and curious hazel eyes. He made no comment about it, though. He was lost in thought. Michael snapped him out of it with some sort of apology, "You were supposed to sleep on the couch, but Cassandra's kinda passed out on it."
"That's okay. I don't need much sleep. Nikita on the other hand. She still a nightmare to wake up?" Sean smirked. He remembered his sister being a literal terror anytime someone tried to wake her in the morning. However, the memory wasn't shared with Michael. The agent glanced at the Seal confused. Nikita didn't help as her focus was entirely on her boyfriend. She wouldn't even glance at her brother. She was too busy babbling about something or chugging some water.
"She's a really light sleeper," Eventually, Michael muttered. He persuaded Nikita to lie back and settle down. She surprisingly did so without a fight, after he tenderly brushed her wild hair out of her face. Sean just continued to stare. He was constantly reminded of how much shit his sister had been through over the years. It had changed her. Not completely, if her drunken story of almost throwing a knife at her boyfriend was any indication. But she was a different person than he remembered. He had to keep reminding himself of that.
Soothing words were exchanged between Michael and Nikita, including some 'I love yous'. Sean felt as though he was intruding. He should leave them be, let Michael put his sister to bed in peace. Yet before he could attempt leaving the bedroom, Nikita called for him. She studied him with bleary eyes. After a moment, she mumbled the only comment she seemed to be able to make. And of course it was teasing him about how muscular he had gotten, "You probably drank a lot of chocolate milk. This is what happens when I'm not around to steal it."
"Yeah. Coulda used you a lot growing up," Sean wanted to make a joke, but he couldn't. It wasn't something he could make light of. He had missed his sister so goddamn much. He thought he could live with that pain, but after discovering that she was still alive it became clear how untrue that was. Although they were in the same room again, it didn't feel like he had gotten her back yet. They were two different people who had grown and changed without one another. Pretending they were the same brother and sister was a difficult fact to accept.
"I'm here now, Seanathan," Nikita slurred a promise, however. They'd get back home at some point. They simply had to keep fighting for it. Michael appeared to echo that, solemnly glancing between the siblings. Allowing her alcohol heavy limbs to weigh her down against the mattress, Nikita looked at the men with a shiteating grin. Her words continued to be slurred, yet her meaning was clear. She was determined to have Michael and Sean in her life, "You're both stuck with me forever, fuckers."