extent | duplicitynet

You need to talk to Oliver, and the goal needs to be for you both to stay out.

[ ragnor doesn't think it'd be that hard. if nick stays out, then william would have to negotiate with oliver, and so far oliver seems to be very clear on his priorities and considerably less likely to take the martyr road than nick. ]

Worst case scenario we kill him and if he comes back before the contract's up, we just kill him again.

[ he might not have meant to say that part out loud. ]

I told him, if he stays out I would too. He just called you.

[ presumably because oliver thought that ragnor would be the most likely to stop nick from doing anything stupid. he hasn't decided how he feels about all of that yet, that's something to be unpacked later. ]

We can't just kill people because we don't like them.

Because he knew I'd prioritize you over him. But I called his boyfriend, who sounds like a very angry young man but I'm sure will stop him from any self-sacrificial moves.

[ It's unsurprising to hear Nick be against murder. But Ragnor is very much in favour, and Oliver seemed to be as well. ]

If I killed everyone I disliked, I'd be sitting in a throne of skulls.

[ Despite his very long life, his kill count had been in the low dozens up until Sammael. He has pointedly avoided thinking about it since, but he has no moral quandaries about putting a mad dog down, especially when the mad dog will come back anyway. ]

Well that's really gross.

[ it's complicated, because nick is very, very non-violent, and has been his whole life, even before all the very, very real issues surrounding violence started to be a problem for nick. so he doesn't really know what to do with the fact that, for maybe the first time ever, he actually wants someone to hurt. sometimes he even wants to be the one that does it, but mostly he just wants to let all the people that would very gladly tear william apart do just that.

but even the thought makes him nauseous, and beyond that, he doesn't want to chip away at any more of his soul for william, so the impulse has to just stay an impulse. ]

Maybe if we figure out how to depower him, like long-term. If he's not powerful he doesn't have anything. But it still runs the risk of him using the contract, it's just--anything is too risky.

We can wait until Oliver's out, but you can't keep going back to him. If he tries to make good on his threats, he'll lose, so you need to stop letting him get into your head.

[ Ragnor is still pro murder, he figures if they kill him after the monthly arrivals show up, and then the man's amnesiac for a week, the contract with Oliver will, for sure, run out before he can do anything. ]

[ he can, but nick doesn't think that ragnor would be very receptive to him saying that right now. instead he just huffs out a quiet breath, turns his head a little to brush a kiss over ragnor's chest. ]

Thanks for, like, coming to get me.

I'll always come to get you, I just need to be told to.

[ it's a gentle scolding. ragnor doesn't want to fight right now, but he does wish nick would tell him things. ]

[ he's probably earned worse than that, honestly. nick is quiet for a moment as he tips his head up, pulls back enough that he can actually look at ragnor. ]

You know if he finds out I talked to you at all, you're in the firing line too.

You know, Nick. I am very measured and dislike physical fights, but I am one of the most powerful warlocks alive.

[ and magnus might as well be the most powerful one. ragnor's come face to face with higher demons, there's very little he's intimidated by. ]

I am not afraid of some wanker who needs to rely on secrecy to make himself feel strong. If this man were as powerful as he claims to be, he would not need to hide.

I know. But I've met you both, and I'm still worried.

[ nick has never really been able to pinpoint what it is about william's magical essence that makes him so uneasy, he just knows that it's getting stronger, that it's old. ]

I won't seek out a fight.

[ he never does, but he will not shy away from one either. ]

And if a fight comes to me, I'll have Magnus with me.

[ that should be reassuring, he's never met a threat that could take both him and magnus out. ]

If he corners you without Magnus? If he stops you before you can use magic?

[ nick's already played the scenarios out, imagined over and over exactly how william could take out eve the immensely powerful people in his closest circles. maybe he's just becoming the bogeyman in nick's head, but he really doesn't see how any of them survive. as if the threat of the contract wasn't enough, now nick worries that just talking will be enough to ruin everyone's lives. ]

Just...pretend he doesn't exist. Please. Just for another month, that's all.

Will you pretend he doesn't exist for a month?

[ because he doesn't see this not coming to a head a lot sooner than anyone wants it too if william goes anywhere near nick again. ]

[ he doesn't want to lie, is the thing. nick doesn't want to lie any more, but he knows ragnor, and he knows oli, and he knows that they'll never willingly let him be just collateral damage. but he doesn't want to lie. ]

Do you want me to tell you I will?

I know you won't stop. And you your friends and I won't tolerate him hurting you again.

[ he sighs, resigned. he has the worst case scenario mapped out in his head already. nick goes to william, oliver finds out, attacks him but doesn't kill him. oliver is punished by both william and the city, and he's forced to renew for three more months.

they could avoid that by killing william right after orientation. if they can push things that far then it'll be fine. ]

... can you promise to wait two weeks?

He doesn't want to hurt me, he just wants to fuck.

[ now that is an outright lie, but nick doesn't even hesitate. two weeks is just too long, not with the kinds of promises he's already made. ]

It's not going to be forever. I don't care what happens to him after Oli's out.

Stop lying to me. I've never met the man and I know he wants to hurt you, I know he wants to hurt Oliver.

[ there's frustration in his voice now. ]

If you go back to him, someone will find out, and someone will explode. And if whoever explodes is a submissive, they will get hurt, if not by him, by the city. This need of yours to martyr yourself will be worse for your loved one than just sitting still for two weeks.

So don't explode.

[ the thing is, he knows that ragnor is being more than reasonable. he knows that what he's asking is insane, but nick still scowls and sits up, twisting with his back to ragnor. ]

If you're just going to decide what's right without me I'm not talking about this any more.

This is not about me, Nick. As much I would love to be killing that man right now, I know what a bad idea it is to do anything until it's safe for Oliver to act.

[ god, he's so frustrated. ]

Aren't you trying to decide what's right without anyone's input? Haven't you been doing that for weeks?

And it worked. Until someone decided to tell Oliver, it was working perfectly.

Are you suggesting that if I end up falling in an abusers' lap, I shouldn't tell anyone as long as no one else is getting hurt?

God, I'm not doing this.

[ it'd be a great argument, if not for the way that nick fundamentally doesn't view the situations the same. ]

I made a choice, okay? Me, not you, not anyone else.

It wasn't your choice to make. Oliver had the right to know.

And you broke a promise to me.

[ which matters less, but hurts more. ]

[ ...that's a better argument. enough that he stops short of getting up, stuck in place for a moment without doing anything. ]

I was going to tell you.

When?

[ ragnor doesn't believe that. he believes nock would have brought it up, maybe, months later, once it was over. ]

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