"Hey. How're you?" Nikita found Ryan sitting at the kitchen counter, scrolling through one of the tablets. He had told them everything about his time with Division and why Amanda wanted him (to use his analyst magic on the members of Oversight), and they told him about what had occurred over the last couple of months. It was all superficial, though. The information they shared was just a brief description of events to catch everyone up- kind of like an overall recap. No one was willing to go into detail, not even Alex when she called to learn what was happening at the safehouse and to give updates about Russia. It was easier to simply live in a world of facts. The emotional stuff was way too complicated.
"How're you?" Which was why Ryan asked Nikita the same question instead of answering it. He honestly didn't expect her to answer. She hadn't really said much since the shooting. She talked to Birkhoff a little bit, but mostly to assure him that he had done nothing wrong. And there was no doubt that Michael made her talk to him about her grief. But it was almost like she was striving to shove it all behind her. The pain of Carla's betrayal and death cut deep. Ryan couldn't even imagine what Nikita was going through. Even if she were to actually talk, how was she to express the screaming thoughts in her head.
"Wanna eat? Whatever crap we have has to be better than prison and Division food," She decided to move away from the topic completely, not that he was going to complain. Pushing away the tablet he was using to read up on some of the team's files, Ryan moved to help Nikita scrounge for something to eat. They mostly kept easy-to-make meals at the safehouse, a lot of it being leftover take-out. So, the two agreed to just heat up some frozen pizzas in the oven. It was good enough to hold them over until their next meal. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any new developments for a while; they could relax and take care of themselves.
"Food wasn't so bad. Dealing with Percy and Amanda, though…" Once the oven was set to preheat and the pizzas were thrown on trays with added toppings, Ryan smirked. He could comfortably go along with the sarcastic tone Nikita set. The grave seriousness- and fear- he had been forced to endure the past couple of months needed to be washed away. What better chance to do that than by joking around with friends. Besides, the quip made them both smile for the first time in a long time. She hopped up on the counter, swinging her feet slightly against the cupboards. He let himself relax, and leaned his tired body into the space next to her.
"Oh yeah. Psychological torture. Ten out of ten would recommend," Nudging him with her foot, Nikita couldn't help but laugh quietly. Ryan hadn't been physically tortured for information. Yet he was still subjected to the mind games Amanda inflicted on others. It was something the team was well aware of and came to expect. However, no one was immune to it. She had a way of poking and prodding in your head without you knowing it. By the time she was done, you hardly even noticed what she was up to- until it was frighteningly revealed not so long later. It was great to have escaped such torture. Though, there were lingering effects.
Humor wasn't just a way to help the team relax. Making light of the hell they had been through proved- to them at least- that it didn't continue to have a chokehold on their lives. They could keep living, keep breathing, keep making their tormentors pay for what they had done. Ryan chose to laugh along with Nikita at that moment. The two could continue their crusade later; they should focus on the living and breathing parts of survival. It definitely was easy with her talent for quips. He never thought it would've been something he'd miss so strongly. But, strangely, hearing it again helped to calm him like no other, "I've missed those little comments."
"Get ready for a whole lot more of them in this crowded-ass safehouse," Brown eyes rolling, Nikita decided to continue the sarcastic tone instead of diving into seriousness. After all, if it got Ryan to keep laughing then it was the better option. But it wasn't as though the safehouse was that crowded; there were enough rooms for everybody, even if the team was a little too tight knit for privacy at times. Alex and Sean had their own apartments, yet they still made their presence known, calling and coming over constantly. Birkhoff took up a lot of space with all his equipment, and his annoyance. And Michael and Nikita had their own faults as the resident couple with no shame. The safehouse was always insane. Whether that was a good or bad thing was still up for debate.
"Where do you keep finding all these people to follow you?" Ryan was impressed by Nikita's ability to cultivate rogues. But instead of praising her, he swatted at her swinging foot. Everytime he rejoined the team on a mission, there were more members than before. Alex and Owen had already been involved by the time she roped him into the war. But soon there was Michael, then Birkhoff, then Sean, and sometimes Sonya despite the fact that she was still trapped by Division. An argument could be made that Carla had joined the rogues' gallery as well, but Ryan didn't think it would've been best to bring it up. That conversation should be saved for a less emotionally daunting time.
"I've either saved them, or given them exactly what they wanted," Nikita's voice gradually dipped into a husk and she threw a wink in Ryan's direction. He was momentarily stunned. Sure, they had kissed before. But that was just platonic. She also had a boyfriend, and she never struck him as the type of person to cheat. Fortunately, Michael entered the kitchen behind him. The second the analyst saw the agent, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Of course she was flirting with her partner. Ryan blamed his exhaustion for thinking differently. Although things had started torturously for the couple- and there continued to be rocky moments- their relationship held solid. The same could be said of the whole team's relationship to one another. Despite the shit they went through, that was a constant to hold onto.
"Or you're related to them," Michael's side comment brought Ryan right back into confusion, however. Whereas Nikita was unfazed, handing the trays of pizza for her boyfriend to place in the ready oven, the analyst couldn't help but stare at the two. He thought for half a second that they had married while he was gone. They were a tad more affectionate than usual, his hand lingering on hers as the food was passed and his lips brushing against her cheek when he moved to rest on the counter next to her. Yet that could've been his way of comforting her after everything that happened. Who else could've been related, though.
"I still believe he's the adopted one. There's no way that freak's not from Mars," Nikita continued the line of conversation, not noticing Ryan's bewilderment. Michael hadn't spotted it either. His green eyes rolled at her statement, and his body drifted closer to her. They were wrapped in one another. They hadn't meant to shut the analyst out. The lightness in the air just made them want to revel in good feelings. Bumping up against each other as they shifted as close as possible was their way of perpetuating it. The rest of the world could fall away for a moment.
"Who?"
Ryan's earnest question, however, brought the couple back to reality. Nikita cast a quick glance at Michael, needing something to ground her before she could tell her family story again. They hadn't informed him of her connections to Sean or Oversight. It wasn't something to mention in a quick briefing. The news had to be given time to process properly. Nikita, Sean, Michael, Alex, and Birkhoff were still reeling with some of the aspects of it. Hearing it all for the first time was definitely a trip, "Right. Yeah. Uh. Fletch. You identified all members of Oversight, right?"
"Yeah. But what does it matter since all of them are dead but Madeline Pierce?" Confusion not at all alleviated, Ryan studied Nikita and Michael; she was agitated and he was doing his best to soothe her without being too overt about it. The analyst had had the sinking suspicion that Oversight would continue to haunt them and Division even after they were gone. They must've had a hold over somebody or somebody's family. His bet would've been Alex. She had made a deal with the group and was in Russia, currently fighting for her mother. But that didn't match what Nikita said to Michael.
"Well. Madeline is Sean's mother," That did, however. As he informed Ryan of the Pierces' relation, Michael placed a reassuring hand on Nikita's thigh. Except, she didn't believe she needed it. She wanted her friend to know the truth. He deserved to be aware of everything; he had 'died' for it all. She was simply apprehensive of being asked the same questions they always had. Going through all that emotion and complications and conspiracy was heartbreaking and mind numbing. Hadn't she been through it enough. Couldn't she state the facts and avoid everything else like she had in their earlier debriefing. That was a heavier topic, though. She could never escape it even if she tried.
"That explains how a Seal got involved in this mess," Ryan became too lost in thought to see Nikita's conflict. He had been wondering how a young Navy Seal got involved with Oversight in the first place. That secret wasn't handed out to anybody. His strong connection to a member was the only explanation. With that in mind, the analyst wasn't surprised to learn about Sean's mother. What shocked him, however, was how it never came up in his research. Maybe covert status and national security came into play there. But Division could get any information it wanted. Could Amanda and Percy have held intel from him. No, that wasn't it; he had been told about Alex's mother. There couldn't be even more conspiracy tied to that hellhole than there already was- could there.
"He also did it cause… well… he's my half-brother," Nikita attempted not to avert her gaze. She stared at Ryan, full of intense seriousness; she wasn't playing anymore. There was so much more to the story. And he wasn't sure how to take it. His suspicions were correct, but he frantically glanced at her and Michael to try and get a grip. Rushed, and a bit sardonic, she almost provided him one, "Long story short, Paul Mason Pierce cheated on his wife Madeline. I was born as a result, and then adopted to cover the scandal. When I was a teenager, I witnessed a Division hit. Instead of having me killed, Madeline used her connections to have me recruited."
"She's telling the truth, as insane as it is," When all Ryan could do was gape, Michael supported the shock his girlfriend laid out. Quizzical blue eyes studied Nikita, begging for understanding. She didn't budge. She sat still on the kitchen counter, her legs having stopped swinging. Her friend continued to stare, yet his thoughts were obviously putting everything together. He was probably thinking that it all made sense in a tragic, horrible way that could only come from Division and Oversight. That had been Michael's initial reaction at least. However, Ryan had spent more time delving into the harmful conspiracies the groups had created. He was fully aware of the cost and pain of her recruitment.
And that was when he cast her the sympathetic look. It was the same glances Alex got after her mother handed her over to Semak. Whereas the young woman had someone who had gone through similar experiences to help calm her, Nikita didn't have an empathetic shoulder to lean on. She swallowed the fury that began to rise in her chest, knowing it wasn't Ryan's fault. She couldn't be pissed anytime someone felt sorry for her. She had to move on and just focus on ending the war. However, that wasn't the reason for the look her friend gave her. He simply finally understood something she had once asked him, "So when you asked me about my family, and what I would do for my brother… you trusted me because you understood."
"I would've told you sooner. But I didn't think anyone was involved until after the whole attack on the CIA thing," Softly, Nikita admitted. She had made the same confession to the rest of her team earlier. She kept her family secret not just because of the pain it brought her, but also for their protection. Division obviously knew about them, yet they knew about everyone's family. It was mentioning them or attempting to contact them that put them in danger. Even after her escape, she didn't want to take that risk with her siblings' lives; it was too great of a chance. Her team understood her secrecy, though. They didn't blame her for wanting to keep her family separate from that war.
Yet, it was already too late for her brother. Madeline involved him to correct the mistake of hurting Nikita. That wasn't something to delve into right then, however. Ryan might later, when things were calmer. For the moment, he'd simply focus on the bright side. Reuniting with a sibling you thought was dead, though painful, must've been great. You got to laugh and play around just like you did before. Nikita did that with him, after all. She must've been even more sarcastic and fun with Sean. It was probably an amazing sight to behold, "So how's being rogue with your brother?"
"Awful."
"Bet it's the same as working with you," Ryan quipped over Michael and Nikita's laughter. They had answered at the same time, though his 'awful' was just an impression of her sisterly hatred for Sean. While the men laughed even more, she swung her feet at them. They managed to hop away and grab the finished pizzas from the oven. Yet she wasn't done making them pay. Once their guards were down, she'd let them know how she felt for being teased.
"Yeah. But she's actually worth the headache," Although Michael smirked, the glance he shared with his girlfriend was full of affection. Nikita smiled at him at first. But soon, she sharply dug her knuckle into his temple. He made a grab at her to retaliate, except she was saved by Birkhoff- drawn from his room by the smell of food- entering the small space. There was no room to spar in the kitchen. Maybe after dinner they'd bring out the mat and practice-fight it out. Until then, the team could goof around and relax. How else were they to get past all that shock and hurt. They just had to laugh it off, and help each other move forward.