katikat | Ficlet: Life Changing

Title: Life Changing
Author:

katikat
Fandom: Riptide
Genre: slash (Cody/Nick)
Characters: Cody, Nick
Spoilers for: Baxter and Boz
Words: ~650
Summary: It's called test pilot for a reason, Nick.
Beta: yami_tai *smooch*

"Should we take the job?" Nick whispered into the darkness of their cabin.

He was lying on his back, staring at the dark ceiling. Cody was nestled against his left side, head pillowed on Nick's shoulder. He was tickling Nick with his mustache, which Nick found funny even after all their years together, while Nick was running his left hand up and down Cody's spine gently. They were still pleasantly aroused but the need for release of the pent-up tension and lust was already sated.

Cody shifted and Nick felt him frown. "You talking about Baxter's offer?"

"Uh-huh," Nick nodded. "Murray almost started sparkling when Bax offered him the job in his research lab. And I know that you want to start a real career - you've been dropping hints about it left and right for months now - and as a head of Bax's security you would have exactly that. And me..."

Cody raised himself on his elbow to look down at Nick. His eyes were glistening in the moon's light that sometimes fought its way through the gathering clouds in the night sky. "And you? Test pilot sounds good to you?"

Nick let his hand fall from Cody's back and tucked it behind his head, waving the other in the air. "It could be interesting. I would get to fly the latest models..."

"And crash in them!" Cody snapped, interrupting Nick angrily.

"Cody..." Nick tried to sooth, but Cody refused to listen.

"No, it's called test pilot for a reason, Nick. Just look at what happened with the chopper Baxter gave us and that one should have been perfectly safe! It's dangerous, you could get hurt or... or die!" Cody was so tense with anger, anxiety and worry that he almost vibrated like a tightly drawn string.

Nick sighed, running his fingers through Cody's tousled blond hair. "Yes, the job is dangerous but so is ours now. Cody, you can't say that it's safer to be shot at than to sit in a helicopter that just needs a tweak here and there."

"Yes, yes I can, because..." Cody fell silent. His frown disappeared and his voice softened. "Because here, I have your back. Here on the ground, I can make sure personally that you're alright."

Silence settled between them. They were looking each other in the eye, Cody determined, Nick curious. In the end, it was Nick who broke the silence first. "It bothers you that much?" he asked quietly.

Sighing, Cody leaned down and kissed Nick's mouth gently. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

More silence slipped over them like a blanket. "Okay, okay. Bax told us to take our time, to think about it. So we will," Nick decided in the end, pensively. "We will sit down tomorrow, the three of us, and talk it through. It must be a joint decision because it would mean closing the agency and getting a regular nine-to-five job. It's a big decision for all of us."

Waging an inner war, Cody nodded after a long while, still clearly not liking the prospect of Nick risking his life every day flying a glorified tin can. As if the Mimi wasn't scary enough.

Nick slipped his hand to the back of Cody's head and pulled his partner down for a kiss. It was hot and deep, fanning the desire in their veins once more. "Ready for round two?" Nick whispered against Cody's lips, knowing only one way to pull his lover out of his brooding mood.

Cody smiled. "You think I'm that easily distracted?" he asked, nibbling at the corner of Nick's mouth.

Grinning, Nick pretended to give it a thought. "Well, you've always been easy, so..."

Throwing himself at his lover and tickling him silly, Cody yelled. "You...!"

They both fell asleep with a sated smile on their lips that night. They would worry about their future in the morning.

The End