"It's a vacation, Sydney. No work."
"I promise. No work. Just us."
"Really?"
"Yes."
That was the conversation she'd had with Nigel only two weeks before. And it had started as a vacation. They'd spent time on the beach, in restaurants, lazing in bed naked. They'd also unfortunately for the vacation taken the resort up on its offer of a tour of the island they were on, where Sydney had noticed some markings on a rock wall that likely indicated a burial ground. The result of that was Sydney sneaking around, much as she had with Gray a couple of years ago, leading to her current position.
She turned her head to see that Nigel was still sleeping soundly. Good. As much as she wanted him with her, the guilt of turning the vacation into a relic hunt prevented her from telling him what she was doing when she disappeared. Turning her head again she considered the time. It was only one thirty. She'd have plenty of time to get to the cave she had found hidden in the rock wall during one of her disappearances, poke around and be back before Nigel even woke up.
She slipped out of bed noiselessly and grabbed her gear from her bag. She wasn't sure Nigel had even noticed that she had packed it. Sometimes he could be strangely observant, and other times incredibly oblivious. She hadn't yet figured out which one he'd be in any event, despite the five years she'd known him. Nigel shifted and she paused in pulling on her leggings, waiting for him to settle. After a moment she continued, until all that was left was finding her crossbow. She dug into her bag again, her pulse quickening when it wasn't where she had left it.
"Mmhggm mmmfmm."
Sydney looked towards the bed. "What was that?" she asked quietly, hoping he was just talking in his sleep, not looking for an answer.
Nigel, however, raised his head to look at her. "It's in the other bag. I moved it since it weighed less."
Caught and called out, Sydney moved to the other bag. No need to point out the obvious. As she pulled out her crossbow her attention caught on Nigel moving about, pulling on his own clothes, mumbling under his breath.
"Nigel?"
"You couldn't have waited until a more reasonable time? It's one thirty in the morning and I'm sure that whatever it is that you're going to find," he yawned, "has waited a long time and could have waited for at least five more hours."
Sydney paused, nonplussed. The complaining itself was very Nigel. Even getting up to go with her was very Nigel, but she had promised him she wouldn't do exactly what she was doing. "What are you doing?" she asked. In her experience there were truly two ways this could go. Either he was leaving for home, tired of her endless need to pursue history, or – and this was something that only Nigel had actually ever done before they even began dating – he was coming with her. Usually this kind of thing made sure she was single in the following few days.
"I was speaking with some of the locals and it turns out that even though the resort was built so close to the wall, it's still been virtually untouched for a few hundred years. Since around the 1600s actually. So I managed to sneak a peek at some of the books in the museum – Lucely was quite eager to show them to me – and you're going to want to know that the area seems to have Spanish origins related to the landing of a ship considered missing at the time. A ship rumoured to be carrying treasures they didn't want lost in the war against England. However, this was Mayan land, so you're probably going to want someone who knows a bit of Yucatec with you. I didn't get a good look at those markings but from what I did see I think that's the language." Nigel finished tying his shoelaces and stood. "I'm ready when you are."
"Nigel, I…" Sydney stared at him, unable to force the words out past the lump in her throat.
After a moment Nigel shrugged and looked down at his shoes, his hand going to the back of his neck. "I saw the markings on that rock wall too, Syd, and I know you," he said quietly. "I didn't know that it existed when we booked the vacation, but there's always a possibility that you run into your next hunt entirely by accident. Or we end up kidnapped. It's why I didn't say anything about your gear." He moved until he was standing in front of her and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Do you not want me to come?"
"No, I – I just thought…" She couldn't believe he wasn't leaving. Not only was he not leaving but he had done research for her, was ready to come with her. And then had the audacity to think she didn't even want him there. "The vacation –"
"Will still be here after you find whatever's there. I'm not giving up on the food until I have to. Or the bed. Or you in the bed."
The ache in her chest, which had started with his explanation of the research he had done, intensified. He loved her, she realized suddenly. He truly loved her. He had expected her to be exactly who she was, had understood exactly what she was going to do. And he wanted to be with her, wanted to make sure she was armed with as much information as possible. So she did the only thing she could think of: she grabbed him by his shirt and kissed him.
Nigel kissed her back, letting her take the lead as she tried to pour every feeling she had for him into it – especially the things she hadn't said yet. He pulled at her hips until they were flush with his own, his hands wandering up her sides, down her back, and down even further to her –
Sydney broke the kiss, conscious of the thrum of blood rushing in her ears, the butterflies in her stomach, and the excited staccato of her heartbeat. Whether from the beginning of another hunt, or the man in front of her, she wasn't sure, but there was no need to figure that out just now.
"Come on," she said, grinning before starting towards the door, knowing that Nigel was following behind her, that he was with her every step of the way.