I have to say, in the old guard, I am absolutely living for Protective!Nicky! 

Out of Nicky and Joe, Joe is the more visibly obvious protective of the two. His grand, intimate declaration of love in the convey, and how he deliberately goes to kill Keane after he shoots Nicky are undeniable, very visible representations of Joe’s love and protectiveness towards a Nicky. 

But I think that that very visible, passionate protectiveness can mislead the eye into camouflaging Nicky. Because if you look a little bit closer? Nicky is just as protective of Joe as Joe is of him. Nicky is just a bit quieter about it. 

For the most part, throughout the movie, Nicky is a calming, moralising influence. You never see him get really, outwardly angry- that is, until Joe is hurt.

You can see this at the first ambush, when they’re going to rescue the kidnapped girls, but instead are set up and killed. After they wake up, immediately both Nicky and Joe instinctively look for the other. (Can anybody say soulmates?) You can see the complete and utter relief both feel when they see the other- awake and alive. Together. 

(Credit to @strangehighs for capturing those heart eyes. #soblessed)

But if you look closer at Nicky, at first, all you can see on Nicky’s face is that overwhelming relief. But then as the details of what happened start to register, as he sees the multiple, fresh bullet wounds on Joe’s face... When he sees that Joe was deliberately, maliciously hurt... You can see that relief give way to reveal the holy wrath and insurmountable rage of the angry, righteous crusader he use to be. Sword and all.  

That expression of rage? That’s the face of a man ready to kill a bitch for killing the love of his life. 

I think it’s an interesting commentary on their personalities that before this, Nicky had been the sniper whilst Joe used his scimitar. To be a sniper embodies cool patience, calm breathing and calculating distance. Nicky is very much like that; more laid back, calmer, and more likely to have a cool head. But as you can see here... in this beautiful gif by @wordsofwarning​ …

...after he sees the aftermath of the ambush, when he attacks... He uses his handgun to incapacitate, but his sword for the close up kill. 

It maybe be that he instinctively goes for the weapon that’s been at his side for so many hundreds of years, but I think there’s something poetic in forgoing the distance of a gun for he close up kill of his sword. Because his soulmate had just been killed in front of him, and he wants to protect Joe by exacting retribution, and he’s angry. 

You can see this again when Dudley Dursley Merrick attacks Joe in an infantile, sadistic temper tantrum. Before that, Nicky had been outwardly calm and collected, watching and observing (like a sniper). But the second Joe is hurt? Boom. He loses his composure and flips into angry and protective desperation. 

He gets stabbed for his troubles, but he doesn’t stop desperately fighting and trying to get between the threat and Joe until he sees Joe is okay. 

(This gorgeous gif belongs and one below belong to @beanabouttown )

Nicky might be more cautious, but he’s just as down as Joe is to fight for and with to protect each other. They both protect each other. 

You can see this in Joe and Nicky’s sleeping arrangements. I think I’ve seen this discussed in a post by @sockich But if I can expand on that... In all the times we see them sleeping next to each other, Joe is the big spoon. 

(And can I just say how much I love the parallel between Joe covering Nicky’s back whilst they sleep with how when they’re in fighting formation, Joe is almost always protecting and covering Nicky’s six? *chefs kisses*) At first, it appears that Joe is protecting Nicky, which he is. But if you look a bit closer... Nicky is protecting Joe too. (Equal and reciprocal, together. A partnership.) 

Nicky might be the little spoon but he’s also always putting himself in front of Joe; he’s between Joe and the enemy at the door. Everytime… 

You can see more clearly on this wider shot... 

Nicky is using his body to shield a sleeping Joe, putting his body between Joe and the world outside their sanctuary. (Credit to @malex-yes for these two beautiful gifs!)

And here... (in this beautiful gif by @dinasbracelet !) 

...at every turn, Nicky is protectively shielding Joe from any outside hostiles. Nicky instinctively reaches for his readied loaded gun to protect Joe before they even know what’s going on. 

You want to get to a sleeping, vulnerable Joe? Sorry. You’re going to have to get past a protective Nicky with a loaded gun pointed at you first. 

I think it’s reflective of their partnership that their protectiveness follows the same pattern of their personalities. Joe is more outwardly, visibly passionate, like a wildfire ready to spark into life at any minute. Nicky is calmer, quieter, with steady ground to stand on... until Joe is hurt, and then he erupts outwards, like a volcano.