Chapter Text
Jannik knew who was at the door as soon as he heard the knock.
He wasn’t quite sure how he deduced it so quickly, but the reality became apparent in a flash: his past was calling on him. Everything he once left behind was finally catching up with him.
He always knew it was bound to happen eventually. That didn’t do much to prepare him.
Jannik was in the Monte Carlo apartment that he now shared with Carlos - a reality he was still getting used to. Their relationship went from a series of tentative maybes to one wholehearted yes with the help of a few near-death experiences. It was all very new but undoubtedly wonderful.
When the knock came, Carlos was asleep in bed next to him, arms curled around the pillow. Jannik was going over paperwork for his next mission - Alex de Minaur was rumored to be gearing up for another vintage car theft job, and no one but Jannik could possibly be put on that case. He didn’t mind it, really, but he was honestly starting to feel bad for Alex. Nothing went right for him ever since Jannik caught him that first time.
The rap on the door was heavy but fast, startling Jannik and jolting Carlos from his sleep.
“What?” He exclaimed, bolting upright. He was one of the lightest sleepers Jannik knew.
And Jannik just felt it. He knew exactly who was at the door.
“What does he want?” Jannik whispered, more to himself than to Carlos.
“Who?” Carlos demanded, kicking his blankets off. “Jannik, who is it?”
“I…” He could feel his throat closing up, heat rising in his cheeks. “It’s-“
The knock came again, more impatient. Jannik nearly jumped out of his own skin at it.
“Jannik,” he said again, softly but firmly. “Are we in danger?”
A laugh forced itself from his lips. “No. No, never.”
He felt strange. Delirious, almost. He probably should have been at least a little worried, knowing something was wrong, but he just felt so light. It was as if someone else was in his body, the Jannik of his youth suddenly taking over and pushing the current one out. Ignoring Carlos' concerned questioning, he pushed himself off of the bed and started stumbling towards the front door.
Carlos scrambled after him, quick as ever.
"Wait!" He cried, catching Jannik by the shoulder and spinning him around. "Jannik, talk to me. What's happening?"
Jannik tilted his head to the side. "You don't know much about me before this, do you?"
He could see Carlos trying to hold his patience, trying to hide his frustrations at Jannik's vagueness. Carlos was always kind, always understanding, but even he had a limit.
With their profession, the pasts of others was always a mystery to be slowly unraveled. Carlos revealed his rather unwillingly when the organization Red Clay tried to kill both of them and Jannik went all across Europe trying to solve things, running on Carlos' information. Jannik had managed to keep his own history in shadow. That was, until now.
The knock had stopped, but Jannik knew he hadn't gone away. He was waiting.
"You don't have to tell me," Carlos said eventually, but Jannik could see in his eyes that he wanted to know. "But what is... this?"
"This is someone I haven't seen in..." How long had it been? Years, of course, but how many? "I think it's him, at least. I have a feeling. I cut off ties with home when I joined the Agency. We- they are the sort of thing the Agency would try to shut down, so I just stayed away. Roger must have known, but he didn't say anything. I left it all behind and I thought that was it."
"So what do... they want now?"
The explanation didn't seem to soothe him - in fact, it agitated him even more.
"I don't know." A thought bubbled in his mind. "Maybe they decided I know too much."
Carlos choked on his own breath. "You said no danger!"
"Probably."
"Probably?" Carlos was gaping at Jannik now as if he had never seen him before. And Jannik still felt out of his own body, not in control of his actions or his words. He hadn't felt this awkward with Carlos in a very, very long time. "Please, Jannik, just talk to me. What do you need me to do?"
"I don't know," he said, trying to take a deep breath. "I don't know what to do. I thought he would never want to see me again."
"Who is 'he', Jan?" Carlos whispered, suddenly gentle as a feather.
What an excellent question. Jannik, for one, had never known the answer, only that it had gotten far more complicated as time went on, hurtling itself to the twisted mess that it was now. Of course, it was complicated with everyone from where he used to call home, but if the person at the door was who he thought it was...
"Someone I shouldn't leave outside."
With a newfound determination, he made his way to the door.
It wasn't until his hand was on the doorknob that the nerves crashed over him, a sudden tsunami of emotion freezing him where he stood.
He left. Why would anyone from back then want to see him? He betrayed them all, essentially, snatched up a better opportunity while everyone else stayed behind, supporting each other. And as much as Jannik held such love for them, the work never brought him any joy.
He wasn't sure if the Agency brought him joy. But it did bring him Carlos, standing behind him now, supporting him even in a haze of confusion.
It was just a door. Plain, simple, nothing life-altering. But what stood behind it was the representation of everything Jannik once knew, everything he left behind.
Carlos’ hand was on his shoulder, feeding him strength, the mental energy he needed.
“You don’t have to,” Carlos said softly.
But Jannik did.
He took a deep breath, twisted the handle, and-
He looked the same as Jannik remembered him: tall and handsome, yet awkward in his own body. He was leaning against the doorframe, one arm over his head to prop him up. His other hand was in his hair, absentmindedly smoothing it out. When he saw Jannik, his eyes brightened for a moment, then fell into a strange sort of sorrow.
“Ciao, Jannik,” Matteo said softly. “It’s been a long time.”