#18 in TeenFic
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❝Don't,❞ he pleaded softly, offering her a tiny smile, ❝please don't make me a promise you will never be able to keep.❞ He released a quiet but deep breath, leaning forward even more, tilting his body towards her, until thei...
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dedicated to every single one of you, silent readers and the vocal ones, for sticking through until the very end :')❤
| EPILOGUE |
| holding on |
Nick checked his watch as he approached the ugly, gray building that towered over him -- Maxfield Correctional Centre was an eyesore, there was no doubt about that. But he supposed he could put up with its gloomy appearance as long as he got to visit Michael every Tuesday.
Having performed the same routine for the last three months -- because three months ago was when Nick himself was released from the Witness Protection Program -- he was fairly familiar with what he had to do once he entered the lobby.
At the front desk, Nick filled out a form and handed it over to the lobby correctional officer, along with his ID. It was returned to him after a few minutes, and then as per MCC rules, he had to check his wallet and phone into one of the lockers behind the front desk.
He was accompanied by several other visitors and a second correctional officer into an elevator, before being taken to the visiting room on an upper floor. Nick and the other visitors had to go through security clearance first -- metal detectors included -- and then waited for a guard to unlock a heavy set of doors, all solid steel and bulletproof glass.
The first time Nick had stepped in here, he'd felt an odd ache in his stomach. He didn't want to interact with Michael while being separated by glass and having to speak through a telephone. But the minute he'd seen the visiting room and noticed that the inmates were allowed to meet their visitors in what looked like a large common room, Nick had been enveloped with immense relief.
Of course the shrew eyes of four armed guards on all of them was a little discomforting, but he was getting to interact with his brother face-to-face. And that was all that mattered.
Nick picked a table in the corner, and took a seat. It'd take a few minutes before Michael was processed through to the visiting room.
He'd just began to let his mind drift away when he heard the heavy double doors swing open. Nick glanced over to see the inmates filing into the room, and caught his brother's eye.
Nick's lips lifted into a smile and Michael returned it, walking over to the table in his orange jumpsuit. He rose out of the chair and leaned into the hug he knew Michael was about to pull him into. This hug and another at the end of the visit was all the physical contact permitted.
"How've you been?" Nick asked, like he always did, keeping his voice low yet clear.
"Same as usual," Michael shrugged, taking a seat across Nick. "You?" His lips quirked up. "Must be nice to finally be free of living under another identity."
Nick exhaled, his shoulders dropping slightly. "It is," he answered. "Kind of weird to be able to live with no fear and not looking over my shoulder -- especially since I'd spent fourteen months being hidden by the program and having to take so many precautions. But these last three months of being out in the world has been refreshing. I'm beginning to adjust being comfortable back in my own skin, under my own name."
