fredbassett (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fredbassett) wrote2020-02-14 05:57 pm
fredbassett) wrote2020-02-14 05:57 pm
Entry tags:
Fic, Together, As Ever, Nick/Stephen, 12
Title : Together, As Ever
Author : fredbassett
Fandom : Primeval
Rating : 12
Characters : Nick/Stephen, Claudia
Disclaimer : Not mine, no money made, don’t sue.
Spoilers : None
Summary : Nick has decided that the time is right to hand over a certain formal letter.
A/N: Written forcordeliadelayne for the prompt ‘retirement suits you’.
“Are you sure?” Stephen tried hard to keep his tone as neutral as possible.
He’d been anticipating this moment for a while, but this wasn’t a decision he could help Nick arrive at. This had to be his decision and his alone. One hint of just the smallest nudge and the stubborn old bugger would promptly head in the other direction at a brisk trot.
“I’m sure. Chasing dinosaurs is a young man’s game.”
“You were 35 when you started. Not so young.”
Nick smiled, and it held warmth only faintly tinged with regret. “Stephen, I was 35 going on 45. And I’d aged ten years overnight when Helen went missing.”
Stephen ran a hand gently over Nick’s short grey hair. In the time he’d known Nick Cutter, the man’s once-blond hair had gone from swept up and positively startled to sad and flat, and then to the full on romantic poet vibe. Stephen had hated that at first but he’d long since learned to pick his battles with his occasionally wayward lover.
Over the past decade, Nick had traded in his flowing locks for an unremarkable crop, now almost completely grey. He’d also recently grown a short, equally grey beard, declaring that at 57, he was too bloody old to shave every morning. Claudia had simply rolled her eyes and declared loudly that Nick was clearly having a very late mid-life crisis. Lester would have been nowhere near as forgiving. He’d held strong views on the matter of facial hair in the workplace.
“In that case, go for it. It’s not as if we’ll have money troubles.”
“The bloody civil service pension scheme is the best thing about this place.”
“I thought that was me.”
Nick’s grin was as boyish as ever, despite Stephen’s teasing. “It’s always been you.”
Stephen found himself drawn into a gentle kiss full of times past and shared memories. They were a bit too old for shagging on the desk like a couple of randy teenagers, but they’d certainly put the ARC’s overnight accommodation to good use on several occasions.
“Claudia says you can have visiting right to your old office.”
“Claudia’s hoping for some free consultancy.” There was no rancour in Nick’s comment. They both knew that if duty called, Nick would be the first to drive back into the ARC in his battered old Hilux, now held together with nothing more than the wing of an arthritic bird and a prayer to any non-existent saint who might be inclined listen to the pleas of an irascible atheist.
“Too right. She has a somewhat elastic view of on call for emergencies only. I don’t think Ryan’s forgiven her for getting him to chase a herd of prehistoric kangaroos up Pen y Fan on New Year’s Eve.”
“What he hasn’t forgiven her for is the assumption that he’d still be sober enough to drive. Mind you, he sent the bill for the Uber to her the following day. It’s a good job taxi drivers in that area don’t ask too many questions.”
“I bet Lester wasn’t happy when their phone rang at 1am.”
“Ryan said the sarcasm did reach epic proportions.”
Nick grinned. “No change there. I’m glad Ryan didn’t have to do anything more than act as a sheepdog, The hopping little buggers were better off alive than on a special forces barbie.”
“Finn would have disagreed.”
“Finn never met the creature alive or dead that he didn’t fancy eating burnt to a crisp and slapped between two slices of bread. I wonder if he’s still working on that cookbook? It’s probably a good job that at least half of the latest lot seem to be vegetarian.”
Stephen glanced at the white envelope in Nick’s hand. “You’re doing this the old-fashioned way?”
“I think I owe it to her to do this in person. Email’s a bit impersonal. Come with me?”
“When have I not come with you?”
“No dirty talk in the office. You wouldn’t want me to get distracted, not at a moment like this…”
Stephen rolled his eyes. He hadn’t worked with Lester for 20 years without learning that particular life skill. “Come on, if you’ve made your mind up…?” He let the question hang in the air, still not wanting to make any move to push Nick in the direction of this particular precipice.
“I’ve made my mind up.” Nick slipped his hand into Stephen’s and gave a reassuring squeeze. “I’ve been thinking this over for a while. You’re all right with this, aren’t you?”
Stephen slipped his free hand around Nick’s waist. “Yes. We’ve talked it over often enough, but you had to come to this in your own time.”
“What about you? Don’t you want to carry on?”
“I want to be with you. There’s plenty we can do together. Look at Lester and Ryan. They both survived the transition to civvie street.”
“Much to everyone’s surprise.” Nick hesitated, then said, “On the day his retirement became public knowledge, Lester told me he thought I’d have trouble letting go.”
“He was right.”
Nick’s smile was rueful. “Maybe he was, but that was then.”
“And this is now?”
Nick nodded. “Claudia can rely on Danny. He’s still as mad as a badger.”
“I’m not sure she thinks that’s his biggest selling point.”
“He does. Come on, stop procrastinating. I’ve got a resignation to hand in.”
It was Stephen’s turn to smile. “You’re not the only one.”
*****
Claudia looked up at the knock on her door.
Nick, looking unusually hesitant, stood just outside her office, Stephen at his side.
“Since when have we stood on ceremony, Nick?”
“Not very often,” he admitted. “But there’s a time and a place for everything.” He stepped forward, a white envelope in his hand.
She looked from the envelope to him and back again. “You’ve finally decided now’s the time?”
“Aye, it took a while, but I got there in the end.” He held it out to her.
Claudia took the crisp white envelope and used Lester’s old paperknife to slit it open sp she could slide out the neatly folded paper. For all Nick’s occasionally chaotic demeaner, he knew how to treat stationary. She ran her eye down the brief and to the point note. In accordance with his contract, Nick had given three months’ notice.
At the bottom, Stephen had added a PS in his characteristic dying spider doing a waltz across the page scrawl. It said simply, me too.
Claudia smiled and pulled open the bottom draw in the desk she’d inherited from Lester. He’d left a bottle of Talisker there for just this sort of occasion. Claudia didn’t normally drink in the office, but this was an occasion that deserved to be marked. The three of them had been through a lot together, and since Lester had bowed out, they’d both been a tower of strength to her when she’d stepped into the role of director.
She poured three generous measures of scotch and they clinked their glasses together.
“To the future,” she said.
“To the future,” Nick and Stephen echoed.
The look of deep contentment on Nick’s face told Claudia all she needed to know.
Author : fredbassett
Fandom : Primeval
Rating : 12
Characters : Nick/Stephen, Claudia
Disclaimer : Not mine, no money made, don’t sue.
Spoilers : None
Summary : Nick has decided that the time is right to hand over a certain formal letter.
A/N: Written for
cordeliadelayne for the prompt ‘retirement suits you’.“Are you sure?” Stephen tried hard to keep his tone as neutral as possible.
He’d been anticipating this moment for a while, but this wasn’t a decision he could help Nick arrive at. This had to be his decision and his alone. One hint of just the smallest nudge and the stubborn old bugger would promptly head in the other direction at a brisk trot.
“I’m sure. Chasing dinosaurs is a young man’s game.”
“You were 35 when you started. Not so young.”
Nick smiled, and it held warmth only faintly tinged with regret. “Stephen, I was 35 going on 45. And I’d aged ten years overnight when Helen went missing.”
Stephen ran a hand gently over Nick’s short grey hair. In the time he’d known Nick Cutter, the man’s once-blond hair had gone from swept up and positively startled to sad and flat, and then to the full on romantic poet vibe. Stephen had hated that at first but he’d long since learned to pick his battles with his occasionally wayward lover.
Over the past decade, Nick had traded in his flowing locks for an unremarkable crop, now almost completely grey. He’d also recently grown a short, equally grey beard, declaring that at 57, he was too bloody old to shave every morning. Claudia had simply rolled her eyes and declared loudly that Nick was clearly having a very late mid-life crisis. Lester would have been nowhere near as forgiving. He’d held strong views on the matter of facial hair in the workplace.
“In that case, go for it. It’s not as if we’ll have money troubles.”
“The bloody civil service pension scheme is the best thing about this place.”
“I thought that was me.”
Nick’s grin was as boyish as ever, despite Stephen’s teasing. “It’s always been you.”
Stephen found himself drawn into a gentle kiss full of times past and shared memories. They were a bit too old for shagging on the desk like a couple of randy teenagers, but they’d certainly put the ARC’s overnight accommodation to good use on several occasions.
“Claudia says you can have visiting right to your old office.”
“Claudia’s hoping for some free consultancy.” There was no rancour in Nick’s comment. They both knew that if duty called, Nick would be the first to drive back into the ARC in his battered old Hilux, now held together with nothing more than the wing of an arthritic bird and a prayer to any non-existent saint who might be inclined listen to the pleas of an irascible atheist.
“Too right. She has a somewhat elastic view of on call for emergencies only. I don’t think Ryan’s forgiven her for getting him to chase a herd of prehistoric kangaroos up Pen y Fan on New Year’s Eve.”
“What he hasn’t forgiven her for is the assumption that he’d still be sober enough to drive. Mind you, he sent the bill for the Uber to her the following day. It’s a good job taxi drivers in that area don’t ask too many questions.”
“I bet Lester wasn’t happy when their phone rang at 1am.”
“Ryan said the sarcasm did reach epic proportions.”
Nick grinned. “No change there. I’m glad Ryan didn’t have to do anything more than act as a sheepdog, The hopping little buggers were better off alive than on a special forces barbie.”
“Finn would have disagreed.”
“Finn never met the creature alive or dead that he didn’t fancy eating burnt to a crisp and slapped between two slices of bread. I wonder if he’s still working on that cookbook? It’s probably a good job that at least half of the latest lot seem to be vegetarian.”
Stephen glanced at the white envelope in Nick’s hand. “You’re doing this the old-fashioned way?”
“I think I owe it to her to do this in person. Email’s a bit impersonal. Come with me?”
“When have I not come with you?”
“No dirty talk in the office. You wouldn’t want me to get distracted, not at a moment like this…”
Stephen rolled his eyes. He hadn’t worked with Lester for 20 years without learning that particular life skill. “Come on, if you’ve made your mind up…?” He let the question hang in the air, still not wanting to make any move to push Nick in the direction of this particular precipice.
“I’ve made my mind up.” Nick slipped his hand into Stephen’s and gave a reassuring squeeze. “I’ve been thinking this over for a while. You’re all right with this, aren’t you?”
Stephen slipped his free hand around Nick’s waist. “Yes. We’ve talked it over often enough, but you had to come to this in your own time.”
“What about you? Don’t you want to carry on?”
“I want to be with you. There’s plenty we can do together. Look at Lester and Ryan. They both survived the transition to civvie street.”
“Much to everyone’s surprise.” Nick hesitated, then said, “On the day his retirement became public knowledge, Lester told me he thought I’d have trouble letting go.”
“He was right.”
Nick’s smile was rueful. “Maybe he was, but that was then.”
“And this is now?”
Nick nodded. “Claudia can rely on Danny. He’s still as mad as a badger.”
“I’m not sure she thinks that’s his biggest selling point.”
“He does. Come on, stop procrastinating. I’ve got a resignation to hand in.”
It was Stephen’s turn to smile. “You’re not the only one.”
*****
Claudia looked up at the knock on her door.
Nick, looking unusually hesitant, stood just outside her office, Stephen at his side.
“Since when have we stood on ceremony, Nick?”
“Not very often,” he admitted. “But there’s a time and a place for everything.” He stepped forward, a white envelope in his hand.
She looked from the envelope to him and back again. “You’ve finally decided now’s the time?”
“Aye, it took a while, but I got there in the end.” He held it out to her.
Claudia took the crisp white envelope and used Lester’s old paperknife to slit it open sp she could slide out the neatly folded paper. For all Nick’s occasionally chaotic demeaner, he knew how to treat stationary. She ran her eye down the brief and to the point note. In accordance with his contract, Nick had given three months’ notice.
At the bottom, Stephen had added a PS in his characteristic dying spider doing a waltz across the page scrawl. It said simply, me too.
Claudia smiled and pulled open the bottom draw in the desk she’d inherited from Lester. He’d left a bottle of Talisker there for just this sort of occasion. Claudia didn’t normally drink in the office, but this was an occasion that deserved to be marked. The three of them had been through a lot together, and since Lester had bowed out, they’d both been a tower of strength to her when she’d stepped into the role of director.
She poured three generous measures of scotch and they clinked their glasses together.
“To the future,” she said.
“To the future,” Nick and Stephen echoed.
The look of deep contentment on Nick’s face told Claudia all she needed to know.