thewanderingmind
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His plans are derailed when he sees Nicky heading into the fitness suite, already wrapping his knuckles as he walks. The stretch of his shoulders is obscene in his compression shirt. Joe tries to ignore the sense memory of all that skin and strength under his hands.
The gentle way Nicky handled him still rankles at Joe, still sticks out in his mind like a thorn, and there’s no better way to show him that he doesn’t need it than to give him a proper demonstration.
Joe tries to understand his relationship with Nicky.
A mission gets in the way.
Series
- Part 5 of it's such an almighty sound
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- English
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- 7/7
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Bookmarked by thewanderingmind
18 Apr 2026
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It’s unfortunate that Nicky was at the same nightclub as him tonight, that Joe spotted him across the room throwing back shots, that Joe was unable to look away from the long line of his throat. It’s even more unfortunate that Nicky caught his eye and smiled so fucking widely before coming over to greet him; there was no polite way to escape the interaction, and all Joe could do was match Nicky shot for shot.
Nicky’s hand was clumsy on his arm, Nicky’s breath was mostly vodka ghosting over his face, when he leaned close and asked Joe if maybe he’d like to get out of there.
Joe was drunk as fuck and unable to say anything besides, “Sorry, I don’t fuck Christian missionaries.”
(In which Nicky thinks the mission trips he went on as a teen are a net positive for the world and Joe has a problem with that. (Un)Fortunately, it's not enough to stop him from hooking up with Nicky.)
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 11,963
- Chapters:
- 1/1
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- 1
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Bookmarked by thewanderingmind
29 Dec 2025
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Nicky has not been particularly successful in life: unlucky in love, a struggling small business owner, something of a doormat. But perhaps that luck will change after internationally-renowned movie star, Yusuf al-Kaysani, walks into his used bookshop.
Bookmarked by thewanderingmind
12 Dec 2025
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There, in black ink, stood a name in clean, tall Latin letters.
Nicolò.
Yusuf swallowed. The name felt heavy on his tongue, and his heart skipped a beat.
“Ah,” Yusuf’s baba said solemnly. “I think it is safe to assume that your worst enemy goes by the name of Nicolò. I will pray to Allah that he may merely be someone you meet on a trade trip across the sea, and that this name does not forebode anything more sinister.”
Yusuf nodded, and he let his baba turn over his right arm carefully towards the light, so they could read the name written there.
“Now, my son,” Yusuf’s baba said in a joyful tone, “let us see if we know your beautiful soulmate already, or if you will have to be patient a little longer.”
The rosy light of dawn crept through the windows, and neither his baba nor Yusuf had any trouble reading his Mark. For on Yusuf’s right arm, in the same bold black letters, stood the name again.
Nicolò.
***
Or, Yusuf is confused by the soulmarks on his arm. He is even more confused when he notices Nicolò's arms.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 10,229
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- 1/1
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Bookmarked by thewanderingmind
25 Nov 2025
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The Perpetual Motion Machine by GrinAndBearIt, paperstorm
Fandoms: The Old Guard (Movie 2020), The Old Guard (Comics)
28 Feb 2021
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In 1099, Yusuf and Nicolò meet during the siege of Jerusalem, as they drive their swords through each other and awaken when they shouldn't. In 2020, Joe and Nicky snuggle happily on a beach in Genoa, ignored by the strangers surrounding them and the sun setting across the water. In between, they see the passing of eleven centuries. They live through wars, earthquakes, pandemics, art movements, the age of explorers, devastating loss, political revolution, new family members, and gay nightclubs. With them all along is a love that transcends time and space; that settles heavily into their souls and exists regardless of when or where they are. Years pass, one era fades into another, and no matter what happens they always, always choose each other. Perpetually.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 53,487
- Chapters:
- 11/11
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 143
- Kudos:
- 336
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- 112
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Bookmarked by thewanderingmind
17 Oct 2025