THE GOODBYE'S WENT AS WELL AS COULD BE EXPECTED. Fury had told him to be ready by nine in the morning, meaning that everyone in the complex had pulled themselves out of bed, some struggling far worse than others, huddling together to say goodbye to Terran, all of them waking up enough to be present when they said their own personal goodbye, accepting the tight hugs he always gave, wishing him well, but to come back soon.

It had taken him about an hour to say goodbye to everyone, people shuffling in and out of the foyer, some waking up later than others, some unable to stay awake after they said goodbye, and he couldn't blame any of them. 

"Bring back a souvenir," one of the tenants said, accepting the bear hug, and Terran wondered if he should get a souvenir for all his tenants when there was a tap on his shoulder.

"They're almost here, I think," Janelle said, showing him the time on her phone, and he nodded, turning back around to make sure he didn't miss anyone; at least, no one who lived in the building itself.

It wasn't as if the people in the building were a family—they hardly spoke most of the time, and Terran had to imagine each apartment door in order to remember the names of most of them—but they saw each other every day and had a vested interest in staying alive, so that came with a certain amount of attachment.

"We can wait outside," Terran said, picking up the suitcase he had packed, "Good thing they're coming early or else it'd be harder for the mirage to get people to just keep on walking."

"This isn't that early," Janelle pointed out, but Terran waved her off, opening the door and stepping out onto the sidewalk.

He shivered as his breath fogged up, wrapping his jacket around him. It hadn't snowed in the past week, so at least there wasn't sludge, but standing around and waiting wasn't necessarily enjoyable, though it beat sneakily checking his phone for messages while saying goodbye to everyone like he had been the entire time he was in the building. 

He could feel his hands numbing up even in his pockets, and if he didn't care as much, he would've been overjoyed to see black van with tinted windows making its way down the street. But, unfortunately, he did care, and he could only curse, checking his phone again, frowning at the lack of messages.

"There they are..." Janelle began, squeezing his arm, but Terran caught her hand before she could pull away.

"I'm not leaving yet," he said, squeezing back before picking up his suitcase and walking over to where Fury was climbing out.

"I thought there'd be more people," he commented, motioning from Terran's suitcase to the trunk, opening it for him.

"They're all inside," he explained, craning his neck to try and see if there was anyone else inside the van, "Figured it'd be easier on the defenses if we don't all crowd on the sidewalk. But you know never know."

Fury gave a non-committal hum, and Terran realized the man hadn't actually cared for a response, and he was glad that the cold helped to mask the embarrassed pink of his cheeks. He raised his hands to his mouth to warm them up, looking down the sidewalk.

"What're you waiting for?" Fury called, paused by the passenger side door, eyebrows furrowed, "You said you'd get all the crying done before you leave."

"Just give me a few more minutes," Terran pleaded, gaze darting between his phone and the block corner, as if he could control anything that happened.

Fury sighed, rolling his eye, and Terran paused his whiplash-inducing searching to look over and give the older man the biggest smile he could, lips curled back to show both rows of pearly, straight white teeth; and it was in that moment that he found whom he was looking for.

"Terran!"

The blond's smile turned genuine at the shout, and he whirled around, oblivious to the opening passenger door and the added set of eyes that watched him nearly brain himself on the sidewalk as he raced towards the corner, meeting the newcomers halfway.

"Hey, Nicky," he breathed, lifting the shorter man in his arms, relieved that they had finally made it.

Nicky had run ahead of Rhett, but the other blond had managed to catch up, which was good for Terran as he had lost his footing when he pulled Nicky into a hug, and if it wasn't for Rhett grabbing his arms to steady him, he probably would have cracked his head open, which wasn't exactly how he wanted his morning to go.

"Sorry we're late, I set the wrong alarm," Nicky explained, voice muffled in the crook of Terran's neck, his arms and legs wrapped around him like a starfish, "Glad we caught you before you got in the car."

"I wasn't gonna leave until I said goodbye," Terran whispered, carefully turning and following Rhett back to the van.

Nicky didn't respond, instead just holding on tighter, taking deep breaths as he shifted so he had his face pressed into the hood of Terran's jacket, and the blond had the sudden urge to give him something of his, to help him adjust.

But then he remembered how Janelle had spent two hours talking him out of doing that when Nicky first moved out of the complex with Rhett. How she had sat him down and reminded him of his time teaching pre-school, of how most of the point was specifically to help the children adjust to not always having their parents, how it would make sense to give Nicky some of his clothes if the brunet was an infant or a puppy, not a grown man who was on his second PhD before he turned anywhere near thirty.

So Terran steeled his nerves, reminded himself that he was going to D.C., not Afghanistan, and stopped beside Rhett, pausing for a moment longer before setting Nicky down, trying not to show how worried he was for him; children had an uncanny ability to sense when an adult is concerned, and the last thing they need is that level of instability.

As if reading his thoughts, Janelle shot Terran a pointed look that he pretended not to see, instead turning to look at the other blond looking at him with a tired fondness, blue eyes dulled by the fog and glare of the glasses Terran had gotten him as a present.

"Try not to kill any of my kids, okay?" he said, because Rhett had caught on rather quickly, and it was nice to have one person to say goodbye to that he didn't need to vomit his heart up for.

The man just laughed, going in for a hug, and Terran squeezed him as hard as he could, pouring all his appreciation and relief and trust into the five seconds that held on for, pulling away slowly, one hand on the man's shoulder and the other cupping the man's face.

"You take care..." he said, watching as the corners of Rhett's eyes crinkled, though his smile grew more strained; he knew exactly what Terran had meant.

Terran felt his eyes flutter as Rhett's hands came to mirror his own, a hand on his shoulder and the other on the side of his face, and he could feel the amused stares from the small audience they had, but he couldn't find it in him to care.

"I will," Rhett promised, holding his gaze, "And I'll call if I need anything, I promise. It'll be like you never left at all."

Terran nearly collapsed with relief, only realizing then just how much anxiety had been building over the past few days as he had been preparing to leave; he had been so focused on everything and everyone being okay when he was gone that he never even realized what it entailed for him to actually be gone.

"Thanks, replacement," he joked, patting Rhett's cheek before finally pulling his hands away, the other man just smiling at him with the same tired eyes he always had.

Turning, Terran looked down at Nicky, the younger man standing in the gutter, hands shoved in his jacket pockets and shoulders up to his ears. Terran just waited, both his and Nicky's gazes trained on the sneakers that were scuffing against the concrete.

"We do have places to be," Fury pointed out, and Terran would have laughed if Nicky hadn't tensed.

"Take your time," the older man coughed, and Terran spared him another glance, surprised that Fury was actually trying to get Nicky's attention, satisfied when the young man met his eye for a brief moment.

Finally, Nicky looked up at him, and where Terran had expected to see unshed tears and fear, he instead saw a steeled determination, green eyes unyielding as he held his gaze. Terran could see behind the curtain, the way Nicky was biting his tongue to keep himself still, fingernails digging into his palms as he clenched his fists; behind the facade was the fear and pain that Terran knew he would be leaving the young man to deal with.

But, in that moment, it was clear things weren't quite the same.

He saw Nicky look past his shoulder, head twitching in a ghost of a nod, and Terran turned, seeing Rhett giving the brunet a supportive smile. The blonds' eyes met briefly, Rhett giving him a similar smile, and it took every fiber of Terran's being not to let the rush of relief send him keeling over.

"I'll see you soon," he said instead, reaching out to fix the young man's hair the way he used to, back when Nicky was still a stray and more raincloud than teenager; how things have changed.

"Okay," Nicky said, rocking back and forth on his heels, looking up at him expectantly, a bit of sun peeking through the masked green eyes, "Do I get my joke now?"

Terran laughed so he wouldn't cry.

Back when they had first met, when Nicky would try and act like he didn't have abandonment issues more layered than an onion, Terran had started telling the boy the starts of jokes or riddles, promising to tell him the end once they saw each other again. It had started before Nicky had moved in, when they would see each other only once or twice a week, but had continued even after he had moved in, when the boy was too afraid to put up posters or unpack his suitcase, so sure that Terran would get sick of him eventually.

They didn't do it as much anymore, Nicky having grown comfortable enough to run out with a hurried farewell, even when he had moved out of the complex and got a place of his own. It had been a natural process, so he hadn't even really noticed, but, now, it was a wonder why he hadn't paid it more mind.

"You've grown up," Terran mumbled, not realizing he had spoken until Nicky's brow furrowed.

"Is this another short joke?" the young man demanded, and Terran's laugh rang loud enough to wake the entire block.

I don't have a joke for you," Terran admitted, his wide grin growing softer, less amused and more sincere, "And I don't really know if it counts as a riddle. But it is something."

Nicky nodded earnestly, and, for a moment, Terran could see the young undergrad gripping the front door, waiting with waning patience for his morning set-up, no matter if he was already late for his morning class, coming home at the end of the day exhausted and with more work than there were hours in a day, but still chasing after Terran to ask for his punchline.

"How do people greet the person who is loved more than anyone else in the world?"

Nicky's lips twitched, eyebrows quirked in silent question, and Terran only smiled, pretending to zip his lips. That seemed to be enough for the younger man who nodded, glancing to the side to where Janelle was standing, the woman giving him a small smile.

When Nicky looked back up at him, Terran felt his lips pull into a sad smile. "I think I have to get going now, baby."

Nicky nodded, and his resolve started to slip, the unshed tears starting to make themselves known, and Terran clucked softly, pulling him into a hug, tilting his head down to press his face into the younger man's hair, holding him close.

When Nicky finally pulled away, Rhett reached out to take him, making sure that Terran was actually able to leave, the other blond giving him a slight nod. Terran nodded back, clearing his throat as he started towards Janelle.

"Don't do anything stupid," she said, pulling him into one final hug, "And try to stay in one piece, okay? We really don't need any more reason to cause a scene."

He let out a hoarse laugh, unsure of whether it was genuine or not, and tapped the tip of her nose, grinning when she made the same face she had been for over the decade he had been doing it. 

"See you soon," he said, holding out his pinky, and she nodded, wrapping her own around it.

With that, he stepped back, glancing to his left to where Rhett and Nicky were standing. He gave them a small wave, not trusting to reach out again; if he didn't leave now, he would never leave at all.

"I'll call you guys tonight," he said instead, moving to open the door of the van, "It'll be just like normal."

The three nodded back, and he willed himself not to read too far into their various expressions, instead just shooting one last smile of his own, trying not to grimace when he felt just how tired and tense it was.

With a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped inside. He let himself pause for a moment, just enough to be noticed, then closed it, hiding himself behind the tinted windows, refusing to look anywhere besides his hands, not trusting to look and see how anyone reacted now that he was out of sight.

He would think on this moment for years, wondering how things would have gone if he had.

"You've never had such a hard goodbye before," Fury said, speaking up only when they were out of Brooklyn and the bubble of tension around Terran had started to fade, making it safe for outsiders to poke and prod.

Terran sighed, pausing when he caught sight of Natasha in the reflection of the side mirror, their eyes locking. He willed himself to hold it, if only for a moment, but was the first to turn away; he knew that she wouldn't cave first, and he didn't feel any reason to try and prove himself to be something he wasn't, especially not to her.

"It's been years since I've been away from him more than three days. This'll be the longest I'll be away from him for the first time. I'm just worried how he'll take it," he explained, not bothering to explain more to Fury; he didn't want them to know more about Nicky than they already did, and that included his name.

"You don't trust him?" Natasha asked, though she phrased it like a statement, catching his eye in the mirror for just a moment.

"No, I do," Terran sighed, running a hand through his hair, "I honestly think he'll be fine. But I just can't help but worry about him. I promised I'd never leave, and I don't wanna break that. Considering I'm heading to where my old roommate is hiding out, keeping the promise isn't gonna be easy."

"Well," Natasha began, this time refusing to look in the mirror, "I guess I just have to keep you alive until it's over."

"Lighten up, would you?" Fury said, and the two Russian figured he was addressing both of them, "You're acting like you're going off to war. Look, you'll be back before you know it, and it'll feel like you were never gone at all. The kid will hardly notice you've gone."

Terran nodded, turning to look out the window. "Let's hope you're right."

No matter how many years later, Terran still wished Fury had been right. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE

( 05.19.18 ; 03.16.21 )

This chapter was not supposed to just be them saying goodbye, literally what the hell is wrong with me. I'm already two chapters behind my original plan because I wanted to establish Terran's relationship with Nicky and Rhett and the others, but I just really went beyond that.

But, hey, I think I laid important foundation that will help shed light upon future chapters, so yeet! No regrets from me, I like my boys. Also, I changed the riddle he gave, but if you're new, read Almost Happy and see what Terran's first words are when he shows back up.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!