"I am not some damsel in distress Nick, and if you ever do that again I will break your nose," the words were hissed in a hushed voice which only added to the sinister tone. She might regret that tone later but right now, she was pissed and Nick was not making it any easier on himself.
They were seven weeks into the operation when Hank, their main target, invited the both of them to the beach house for a party. It was the first time the invitation was extended to Andy and both had felt a huge relief at the organizations apparent acceptance of her. And that's where they met Ryan "Scully" Harlow -- Hank's second and a man who took an immediate interest in Andy.
At first, it was innocent enough -- passing remarks which were brushed off as scum bag teasing. Then it moved to subtle touches, a hand lingering on the small of Andy's back just a moment too long, or constantly placing a hand on her shoulder or back when he had no reason to. Hank had asked him earlier in the night if he was going to let it slide -- Nick passed it off with a short "I trust her". But the more he watched, the more his stomach churned and bile rose in his throat.
Frankly, Hank wasn't surprised when returning, after calling Nick away on a business call, the sight that met them was that of Ryan pinning Andy to the wall, arms trapping her on between them. Her face was flushed with anger and had Nick given a second thought, he would have seen the subtle shift in her weight that indicated she was about to handle it herself. He didn't wait to see that though -- he wasn't sure when the last time he moved so fast was, but in only three strides, he was behind Ryan. The man was peeled from Andy and shoved away, Nick making one quick step after him, fist driving into the man's nose.
Everyone froze in stunned silence, Andy watching as Ryan collapsed, unconscious and no doubt with a broken nose; Hank in amusement at Nick's defense of "his old lady", and Nick in mild horror and anger at both his own actions and those of Harlow himself. When he pulled Andy from the poolside, leading her back into the house, he wasn't sure what he was thinking -- he simply knew he needed out. Needed away from them and what he had just done. Their steps carried them to one of the spare rooms, cherry floors replaced with ivory carpet.
"What the hell was that?" Andy demanded, voice as angry as Nick felt. Honestly, he wasn't even sure. "Nick, do you know what you just did!" Nick knew -- he just jeopardized the entire mission.
"Why the hell did you let it escalate like that!" He snarled back, pacing restlessly from one side of the room to the other; that's when he knew he made a mistake. This wasn't her fault, this was on Harlow and Nick should have known better than to leave without her, but still his blood boiled. What if he hadn't gotten back? What if Harlow over powered her? His fist flew into the nearest thing, glass shattering and splaying out around him, embedding itself into his knuckles and into the carpet.
"I am not some damsel in distress Nick, and if you ever do that again I will break your nose," god did he hate those words. He hated it even more when she walked out of the room and left him staring at the bloody mess he made.
He didn't return to their shared apartment until nearly midnight, and Andy didn't even glance up from where she was writing in her journal. He wasn't sure which hurt worse, her clear anger or his hand. "Andy," he started, words strained and unsure. She continued to ignore him. "Andy please," he sighed. She said nothing.
Now, Nick always knew the brunette had a temper and could hold a grudge with the best of them -- normally he admired her for standing up for herself. But when that temper was directed at him, it made his stomach all twisted. Even still, he knew he wouldn't get anything from her and that's how he found himself lying flat on his back in the bed until nearly 2 AM when Andy finally entered. "Why are you still in here?" His shoulders sagged in relief at her words.
"I hate going to bed angry," came the soft reply, voice sounding more tired than he originally realized, but between the pain in his hand and the stress of the day, he didn't really care. "I didn't mean to make it seem like I thought you were weak," he continued after a moment, "When I saw him pinning you it freaked me out. I never thought you would let someone like him get that into your space without you reacting, so I thought the worst."
The bed dipped with the added weight of Andy as she crawled up the bed to lay beside him, their shoulders just barely brushing. "You walked in a second after it happened, I didn't have the chance to react. But Nick, you can't go around punching these guys. Either you blow our cover, or they drop us, neither of which we can risk. I need a partner, not a guardian." Nick nodded in response, eyes finally drooping as the exhaustion took hold. In the morning, if his hand was cleaned and bandaged, neither mentioned it. Nor did they mention the manner of which they awoke, their legs tangled together and Andy tucked securely against his chest. They didn't mention the way Andy didn't pull out of his arms or the way Nick didn't move his arm pillowed beneath her head despite how numb it was. They definitely didn't mention how their bodies molded together like a perfect puzzle piece finding its home. No -- all that was taken away from that night, was that Nick Collins hated going to bed angry.
I hope you guys liked this chapter! Things will start picking up soon so please bare with me until we get to the exciting stuff! Please excuse any spelling errors, I am writing everything in a phone app that doesnt have the best autocorrect for the things I miss! Thank you to those that have reviewed this story so far, it means a lot to me!