#Nico finds family in Venice

[yonemurishiroku]

please drop the link for the Nico finds family in Venice au when you're done pretty please 🥺

would be very interested in reading it

I regret to inform you that I, in fact, have nothing regarding this AU except for maybe a few visions that would do much better were I an artist instead of a slow-as-snail writer.

I have some reasonable explanation for the di Angelos - Maria had many siblings, and therefore Nico has many cousins who are actually still alive. One of them being the current head of the family (?) and he recognizes Nico. He has a vague sense of the whole Hades thing, so when Nico tells him the truth, he believes him and welcomes him back to the family. Nico then lives with them as his grandson.

I like to play around and imagine that it's like a big family staying together. And Nico now has an 'older brother' - who is actually his... grandnephew?? idk i probably just made that up. It'd be 10x times funnier if said grandnephew is actually aware of the truth. So they have this weird dynamic of "I'm 70 years older than you, son" - "Not in the adoption papers you are not, grandpa" LMAO. And then maybe - just maybe! - a boyfriend who is friends with said older brother/grandnephew? LOL

My plan, as of currently (which is code word for: all the prompts I can think of), is only an one-scene oneshot (you know, typical me).

Initially, I was going to merge it with another prompt I've got in store - which is about Grover coming across Nico in Italy again when he's traveling the world as the god of the wild. The plot would be quite simple, obviously: Grover lands in Venice, recognizes Nico who is just having a nice morning out with his (new) family, and then spends some time together on a bench sightseeing as they contemplate Nico's life story.

It's a one-time encounter between old friends to reminisce about your past - that sort of thing.

On the other hand, I just realized maybe five minutes ago that Reyna can fit quite well in Grover's place, as well. Mainly because:

1/ She is traveling around, too.

2/ She's close to Nico, too.

3/ She's now a Hunter of Artemis, which is a whole other branch that can connect to Bianca in case I want to go there, too.

Hazel is also a good candidate, though in her case I'd have to modify the plot a little, figuring out a good reason for her to cross the freaking Atlantic, what kind of transportation she'll have to take, their reactions upon reuniting - just. a bunch of things, really. I reckon if I'm going to pick Hazel, I would need to bring Percy too bc 1/ Frank would never let Hazel go that far alone but CJ needs at least a praetor; 2/ It allows for more interesting interactions.

But alas - I hardly have enough willpower for both Hazel and Percy, so there's that.

This is everything I have in mind. I'm sorry if you were expecting a multi-chaptered fanfic bc honestly I can't do longfic and half of the time I say I have an AU - it's like a 2-sentence prompt at best 😭😭😭

[lusyscilly]

My favorite headcanons about the Di Angelo family. I have a genuine interest in them, so please bear with me!

Maria di Angelo was born in 1909 and met Hades and Persephone in 1932, during a party at the Italian embassy in the US. She had Bianca in 1933, and Nico in 1935 (I refuse in any way Rick's idea that the two were born at the end of the 20s, it doesn’t make with the timeline, but when does it make sense?)

She had an older brother, Michele, who was born in 1907, a younger sister, Elisabetta, born in 1919, and an older cousin, Giulio, born in 1908

Giulio went to live with them after the death of his father during WW1 because he was already an orphan of his mother, who died during childbirth. They grew up all together

These four kids didn't have many friends, except for the Adriani siblings, Alessandro (1906) and Vittoria (1909, but younger than Maria)

The Adriani are from both Naples and Rome (because of an arranged marriage), while the Di Angelo are from around Venice

The two families became friends because the two fathers met during the war and continued to see each other after the end of it because they both went into politics. The Di Angelo's became an ambassador, while the Adriani's a senator

During her adolescence, Maria had a little crush on Alessandro, but he always saw her as a little sister

Maria had a relationship with both Hades and Persephone but decided to cut it after Nico's birth, not because she wanted to but to protect her children from her father and older brother

She and Alessandro got married, to help her, but also to hide the relationship between Alessandro and Giulio (it was her idea, and she knows everything). They got married in 1937

Vittoria is Maria's best friend and always supported her

Ironically, I think Di Angelo's flower symbol is a white chrysanthemum, and Maria gave one to Michele before he went to Russia

All the family died during the war, while the Adriani siblings survived and are the only ones who remember them as people and not as symbols

The two parents died a few months before Italy's entrance into the war, Giulio and Elisabetta both died of pneumonia in 1942 (early year), while Michele died of hypothermia in Russia during the retreat (1943). Maria died because of Zeus, obv (in 1944)

Nobody in Italy knows what happened to Maria and her kids, even though Alessandro and Vittoria tried to find them. They became some sort of urban legend

Alessandro was sent to Africa during the war, hoping to see them again once he returned, but that never happened

Plus, I think Hades amplified Maria's sight. You know, when mortals can see over the Mist? Yeah, Maria could manipulate also her dreams, but this led her to make some sort of contact with Naomi Solace. The two of them started to see each other every night, and both of them started to develop some feelings for each other, a mix of eros and agape, something like that

Some of Naomi's songs are about her, like "Girl of the Forest" or "Fallen Angel" (I know, they are cringe titles, I'm very sorry!)

Naomi still dedicates some songs to Maria, even though she knows she's not here anymore

Plus, during HoO, when Argo II is in Venice, Nico, Hazel, and Frank meet a group of friends who are wandering in the city. They are very similar physically to Nico's relatives and one girl in particular reminds him of Maria. They aren't their reincarnations, but they are similar to them. This girl is also obsessed with Naomi's music and Di Angelo's story

And those are my main headcanons about them, right now I cannot think of others, but if I have others, I will share!

[cocopuffsstillinside]

Messed Up - fanfic by cocopuffsstillinside

Full fic available on Ao3

Summary - Nico has just moved to the US with his sister Bianca. Their Mama died and now they live with they somewhat involved father. Life isn't going well for little Nico. The constant gay panic and dealing with his fathers favouritism is over whelming. Can life really get any worse?

Set in school AU.

Chapter 1 - Captain Westover

             11 year old Nico’s life was a mess. His mother had fallen terminally ill not long after his tenth birthday and his somewhat absent father had whisked her, him and his sister off to the US in the hopes of finding someway to save her. It was futile. She died not 2 months after they arrived.

             All Nico wanted was to go home to his little village just outside Venice. He knew he couldnt. What didn’t help matters was that when they had arrived, Nico discovered why his Father wasn’t around much. He knew he was a businessman and he travelled for work, so he had just assumed that was it. Unfortunately, it was worse than that, Nico and Bianca where the products of one of Hades’ affairs while he was travelling.

             When they first arrived with their mother, Hades had set up an apartment for them. Both he and his sister thought it odd that he didn’t stay with them, one of the only bright sides Nico could see about the move was that he might have a shot at a normal family life, but no.

             Turns out his father had a pretty little wife here in the States, and she wasn’t best pleased to learn of their existence.

              After their mother finally passed, he and Bianca were moved into the Hades household. It was huge, Nico didn’t realise but it was clear his father had money and by the look and size of the ‘house', there was a lot of it to.

              It didn’t take long for him to notice his Father had a clear favourite between Nico and his sister. Bianca would receive surprise gifts, she would always be greeted first and she would always be the centre of his attention when they were together. Nico however, not so much. If Bianca got a gift, so would he but it was clearly less effort. For example, once he gave her a pair of diamond earrings and Nico had got a new t-shirt. He didn’t care that hers was more expensive or flashier, it was more that his father just saw him as a extra mouth to feed and barely acknowledged Nico’s existence. It hurt - fucking hell it hurt, but after awhile he accepted that this was his life now.

              They had been enrolled at a local private school where, just like at the Hades household – Bianca was miss popular and Nico was nothing but the shadow that would follow her out the car when the chauffeur would drop them off for the day.

               He didn’t mind too much when at school, she would normally check up on him if they passed in the hall or if they bumped into each other at lunch, but other than that they kept apart. It was different at home though, she was always with him, trying to get him to talk about their mother and help him grieve – not that he wanted to, it hurt to much. It was easier to bottle it up and just pretend she was back in Italy.

               Bianca had made some friends that seemed nice enough, they didn't look at Nico like he was a nuisance – unlike his father and stepmother. There was Zoe, Thalia, Grover and Percy. She would hang out with them at school and soon enough was bringing them home to hang out after school.

               She would try to get Nico to join. At first he did, although he mostly just sat in the corner pretending to read while quietly watching the group. After a while he started to try and find excuses to avoid them. “Sorry, got homework” was his typical response - short, sweet and extremely plausible.

               Although, he had a much more secret reason he wanted to avoid the group. He wasn’t sure why but he regularly caught himself staring at Percy. There was just something about his eyes, sea green that sparkled when he laughed. The mischievous grin when he was clearly plotting something that would likely land him in detention, not that he needed to plot it. Trouble had a way of finding him – he seemed to be in detention every other weekend. He had a very sassy attitude that, with Nico’s growing resentment for his life, he could really appreciate. He had oddly sculpted arms for someone his age, on more than one occasion Nico found himself wondering if that was he case with the rest off his body... what! Ewww no, that’s gross! Don’t think like that!

              After being at Westover Hall for a few months, he was in the locker room getting ready for gym with about 15 other boys about his age. He’d noticed how he would stare out the corner of his eye at some of them as they changed when he was sure they weren’t looking, he would then mentally chide himself. Stop that! Don’t be a creep!

               Occasionally, they would try to engage him in conversation, normally something about some comic series or new movie, very generic stuff. Nico had decided early on that he would fake not understanding, so he wouldn’t have to engage in to much conversation and risk saying something that would give away some of his ‘weirdo’ thoughts as he’d taken to calling them.

               Of course he could understand and speak English perfectly fine. He still had a thick accent but could speak clearly without much stumbling. They had been taught the English language at school in Italy as there village was a fairly popular tourist spot and his mother had thought it important, though she never said why – guess it’s obvious now.

              It was one of those days when Percy walked into the locker room.

              He was wearing a blue shirt with the school logo and WOH Swim Team printed on it, with a pair of bleach washed jeans and white trainers.

              So, he’s on the swim team. That would explain a lot, how have I not noticed before now? No, WHY would I have noticed that? He's not my friend and I definitely don’t think about him. No, I definitely don’t think about him at all. He thought to himself as he stared intently into his gym bag.

              Next thing he knew there was a tapping on his shoulder. “A little birdy told me it was your birthday. Happy Birthday man!” said a voice he knew to well. He had dreams of the voice. No. No I don't dream of Jackson's stupid voice. No. Creepy. Weirdo.

              He quickly steeled himself and turned to face Percy. “Thanks, but I asked Bianca to tell anyone.” Nico frowned at him. Nico didn't exactly feel like celebrating. He had no friends, his mother was gone, his father clearly couldn’t care less about him and his step-mother made her hatred for him (and his sister) very clear. The only person he had was his sister, unless you counted the family guard dog, but somehow counting Cerberus seemed a little sad even for him. So no, Nico wasn’t in the birthday mood.

              “oh, sorry. She’s been going on about it all week, so I assumed...” Percy trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck as Nico scowled at him.

               “Going on about what? There’s nothing to ‘go on' about.” Nico retorted with a bit to much apprehension in his voice. He definitely needed to get better control of his tone of voice, he decided to work on that. He didn’t want to be so easily read or people might start to work out some of his other more distasteful feelings.

              Percy just smirked. Damn, he really needs to stop doing that. Certainly not helping my dilemma. 

              Nico opened his mouth to say something but changed his mind. “I don't think it’s anything major. More like she's just looking forward to spending time with you this evening. Hasn't she said anything to you?” Percy tried for reassuring but clearly had no clue how to handle an 11 year old not wanting a birthday.

              Admittedly, it was an unlikely situation, definitely not how Nico would have imagined it a year previous.

              “No. She has been but I kept telling her to let it go.” Nico mumbled “I guess not, great.” New plan for the day, avoid Bianca Di Angelo at all costs.

               He knew the library was a safe bet for lunch, she'd never go in there unless absolutely necessary. ‘It smells like loneliness and boredom’ was her reasoning, but that suited Nico just fine.

               On the way home, he could put his headphones in and pretend he couldn’t hear, but he knew she’d just pull them out his ears... maybe he could just walk home? Bit of a trek but doable and he’d be gone most of the afternoon then it was just a case of sneaking in without her noticing him...

              “ermmm... Nico? Planet earth is this way.” Percy's voice sounded hazy at first but as he got Nico's attention back it became clearer. “Maybe you should just talk to her about it, I'm sure she'll understand.”

             “Well clearly not. If she hasn’t dropped it by now, after me telling her a million times...” Nico growled “I doubt one more conversation about it will do me any good.”

              “Wait... you CAN speck English runt?” came a snarky voice from the door. It was one of the guys from Nico's class, not a pleasant guy either. James was on the larger side, mostly because he'd been held back a year but he was large even for his age. Nearly as tall as Percy and the same dark hair (although in a crew cut), but none of the charm and no where near as cute. Shit, he is not cute!

              Nico froze. He'd been dealing with James making these jokes since day one - short jokes, foreign jokes, looser jokes, nerd jokes... honestly the list could go on forever.

              Nico had just been ignoring it but was surprised to see the look on Percy's face. It was pure hatred. Nico wasn't aware of any history between the two but clearly there was something there.

             “What did you call him, Winters?” Percy spat. Wait, what is happening? Does he think I need protecting or some shit?

             James let out a laugh. “Of course, Jackson has taken on yet another hewlpless wittle looooser!” he said the last part in a mocking baby voice. It made Nico seethe, but what could he do? Lash out? Verbally? Physically? All routes would likely land him in a hospital bed.

             Before he had a chance to process the thought, Percy had stepped in front of him and stood up straight, making his shoulders broader. As far as looking intimidating goes for a thirteen year old, Percy was the picture of it.

             Oh shit! This is not the time to question your sexuality Nico. But fuck. Nope. Nope, I'm not gay. Shit.Shit.Shit.

             “You are not gonna pull your usual shit Winters.” Nico just stared at Percy in awe as he growled at the bully. “You’re nothing but a pathetic coward with mommy issues. I honestly don’t know how you are still here, after the last stunt you pulled. And more to the point what has Nico ever done to deserve your bullshit?”

              James advanced on Percy, with Nico still standing frozen just behind him in full gay panic mode and complete awe. Winters fully squared up to Percy with a shit-eating grin on his face, “It’s basically just the fact he exists really. Plus when he’s in the locker room, he spends most of his time checking out the half naked guys.”

              Nico winced at the comment. There was no way he was that obvious about it, sure he had to check himself a few times but there’s no way James could actually know. Was there?

             “HA! Ohhh we're doing this trick again are we?” snickered Percy “Isn't that one a little played out by now? You’ve made that rumour with Kyle and Sarah! Honestly, you need to get some new material.”

              Maybe James doesn't know then... if there is a god out there somewhere, please let that be the case! Nico thought as he regained some of his composure.

              A sudden burst of confidence filled him. He was tiny in comparison to the meat-head in front of them, so he had no clue what he was going to do. Whatever it was, he better do it and leg it. James was bigger but Nico would bet his life he was faster, and just as he was about to Winters swung for Percy!

             Percy blocked it with his left arm and punched with his right. His fist landed square on Winters nose with a cracking sound. Nico couldn't help but grin as Winters stumbled backwards into the row of lockers behind him. “Holy shit!” Nico gasped. Percy grinned as he stared at James.

            “Anymore Winters? I think you need a reminder of the last time you tried to take me on-one-on one.” Percy smirked at the brute now laying in a heap on the floor with blood running down his mouth.

            “Fuck you, Jackson! You're not always gonna be around the pipsqueak to act as bodyguard.” Winters retorted in a gargled voice.

             “Very true...” he turned to Nico grinning ear to ear. Nico himself probably looked like a awe struck mess at this point. “Dude, I think I'm gonna need to teach you how to throw a punch. Consider it a ‘not-a-gift' for your ‘not-birthday'” Percy offered his hand out to shake a deal.

               Nico just stared at his hand for a second, it was slightly red and maybe a little swollen at the knuckles. Percy Jackson just broke a guys nose for me! And he’s smiling about it!  “Come on man, Winters is staring" he muttered through gritted teeth "Was it the not-a-gift/birthday thing? Was that weird? Hearing it back sounds weird.” he said with a laugh.

               Nico snapped out of his daze and grabbed Percy's hand in a shake, all be it with what could only be explained as a dazed expression on his face. I am so gay. Shit! No, I'm not!

              After Percy asked Nico to accompany him to the medical office. Once they were a good distance from the locker room, Percy turned and said “You don’t actually have to come with me, I was just giving you an easy way out and away from the future roid-head back there.”

             “Oh Okay, sorry I'll just...” Nico trailed off, the suddenly “Actually, were you serious back there?”

             “For once, everything I said was completely genuine. First for everything I guess, why do you ask?” Percy replied with a chuckle.

             “Well, you said you'd teach me how to punch? And has he really done that rumour thing before?” Nico questioned, his thoughts were simple. More ‘one-on-one’ with Percy could be fun and possibly productive. And if Winters was a serial liar, maybe no-one would believe him about the ‘checking out half naked guys in the locker room' thing.

              “Oh, yeah. To both. I'm no professional when it comes to fighting and stuff, but I didn’t always go to this posh-ass wanna be Hogwarts school. My old schools were in a bit of a rough area, so I learnt how to hold my own pretty good rather early. And Winters, well he's all talk really. He looks big and scary but after he did the whole ‘gay' rumour to Kyle, plus a few other rumours with other kids, by the time he did it to Sarah no-one really believed it after they found out who started it.” Percy laughed as they turned the corner of the corridor to the medical office. “Personally, I can't stand bullies and he knows it.”

              “Guess that makes you the school superhero and him your arch nemesis.” Nico chuckled and IMMEDIATELY regretted it! NOT COOL DI ANGELO! He chided himself.

              “Just call me Captain Westover!” Percy snorted as he struck a superman pose.

              Nico laughed. Like, Genuinely laughed and Percy couldnt help but join him. He hadn’t done that since his Mama died. It felt so good, how had he actually forgotten how good this felt?!

................................

This is not a Percio fic, it just takes place in the time period when Nico has his crush on Percy.

[wrongcaitlyn]

odd question, first time talk your talk reader here! so we kinda know nico just hates interviews and other than being spotted on his friend’s social medias + random bursts of being active online, he kinda just goes silent right? like mostly he’s private (like how people didnt know his birthday and stuff until apollo announced it)

how much like personal life things about nico does his fandom know? has anyone been like sleuthing trying to find out about his family and connected him to hades’ business or is everyone just making up convoluted stuff as a joke to respect his privacy?? 😭 (i FEAR him being outed)

its just a little silly to think about the angels making insane lore pipelines connecting nico to all these random celebrities and such, and then someone asks “whats his dads name��� and the fandom collectively just shrugs like idk thats his life i dont need to know about it!

YES. YES. YES. KASJDFSDF I LOVE THAT

okay yes so basically he's like that person you know a bunch of superficial details abt, like hobbies and interests and friends and whatnot, but then you realize you don't even know if they have siblings. that's nico.

he's a MASTER at shifting topics in conversations to things he'd rather talk about, whether that's about a book he read, or song recs, or some random story abt him and his friends - that most people cling on so much to those details that they don't even consider his family!

i mean, it's pretty implied, at least in his award acceptance speeches and whatnot that he doesn't have a good relationship with his parents, seeing as he only ever thanks apollo and talks about apollo's family as his family - so i imagine that most fans probably just go along with that, and some even think that apollo is his dad or something.

according to google, there are also like 600+ people with the last name di angelo. it's not an incredibly uncommon last name, and some people may even assume that it's just a stage name, not his actual last name - so i don't think that they would ever actually be able to connect nico to his father's work, or his mother and sister's death in venice. after all, nico di angelo doesn't even have a sister, right? and he's never mentioned his mom dying. oh, and also that that was his deadname that was recorded as being the only survivor of that incident. so unintentionally, him being trans also covered up a lot of his history. anyone who may have known him as a kid (even though he mostly stuck with bianca) wouldn't recognize the popstar (yk, partly because he just grew up but also because of the transition and change of name)

i think that there probably are a few fans who really try to dig deeper (because there always will be some who take it too far), but they'll just keep reaching dead ends. at least, with the information he put out online, and nothing more, there's really nothing to find - he's always been seein in apollo's house, with apollo's family, and most people just accept that that's all they need to know about him

its just a little silly to think about the angels making insane lore pipelines connecting nico to all these random celebrities and such, and then someone asks “whats his dads name” and the fandom collectively just shrugs like idk thats his life i dont need to know about it!

AND THIS IS EXACTLY CORRECT LIKE THAT'S HOW I IMAGINE THE FANDOMSDFJS who cares what his dad's name is?? who cares if his parents are even alive!!! he makes slay music and is besties with the apollo family that's all they need to know

plus i do think it's more interesting for them to try and find his connections to some other celebrity rather than his own parents. like most people probably assume that it's online, but they just never actually look bc they don't care that much

thank you for the ask!! and to calm your fears, nico will NOT be outed in this fic. i can promise you that. he will come out on his own terms!!

[softersinned]

@balldwin said: sender kisses receiver to say hello.

There are certain tasks left to her, sometimes for her skill set, more often than either of them will confess for her patience where her husband has none. It's why she's been in Venice these last two weeks, the honored guest of Domenico Michele along with her stepson. Baldwin hadn't liked it, considering the circumstances, but he's always been protective, and she's always enjoyed it. This was no different.

"I'll be fine," she'd assured him before they parted ways, her hands settled gently against his chest, the smile on her face strained. She doesn't like this. She doesn't want to do this. All those centuries she took for granted that, in most circumstances, she would be able to remain with him, but now it's them making these decisions. And if he is back, if he can't die—

—awful, isn't it? Now the prudent thing to do, not for themselves but the family as a whole, is a brief separation, to gather allies as quickly as possible. "Nico will look after me if I need the help," she'd continued, not wanting to say it, knowing it needed to be said. "And Domenico knows better than to let anything happen to me. I'll be fine, and I'll be back soon." (Who was she trying to convince?)

She extracted the same promise from Baldwin and she kissed him goodbye, with a real fear that it might be the last time she did. Perhaps she worries too much, but if anything warrants that kind of fear, it's him coming back. Niccolò had squeezed her shoulder as if to comfort her as they watched him leave, ever respectful of his father's wishes, ever dedicated to his family.

(And because they need to consider it, now, she thinks that her stepson, who hovers near her as they approach Domenico's door, is as good an heir as they could ever hope to find.)

The planned three days turns into a week. The week turns into two. She and Baldwin speak whenever they can, and she does what she came here to do. She is a skillful negotiator, a diplomat in her own right, and Domenico knew her when she was a girl, clinging to her grandmother's skirts and listening in when she wasn't invited. It means that he has a soft spot for her, sometimes, in a way he does not with the rest of the de Clermonts: she never rejected his overtures of friendship. She never denied him. It means, too, that he forgets sometimes that she is as deadly as she is, that she and her husband are well matched.

She leaves Venice with an agreement between them, the promise that when the time comes next their families will be bonded. No doubt Serafine will be eager to see her mate turned, and sooner than later, and Constanta is clearly no longer an option. More than that, she leaves Venice with information: the Drăculești will rise, there is no doubt of that, but they will not do so unobserved.

Niccolò drives, knowing that if he allows Astoria to take the wheel, they may not make it to Sept-Tours in one piece. Baldwin arrived the day before, let them all know he was safe, told Astoria to hurry back to him, and she's been eager to follow his instructions; her stepson watches her with some amusement, but doesn't date tease out loud.

She knows that Baldwin hears the rumbling of the engine, the crunch of gravel beneath the tires, the moment they're on de Clermont grounds. (She imagines Baldwin inside, standing abruptly, ignoring Matthew as he speaks. She imagines Matthew's irritated aside, and Baldwin's simple response: I haven't seen my wife in two weeks.)

Centuries, they've had together, but even centuries don't soothe her unease when they're apart, or calm the hollow ache in her chest to be away from him. Nor do centuries dull the impatience to set eyes on him again, or the eager joy when she recognizes his shape so far in the distance, the set of his shoulders. She grips the seat of her car tightly enough that her fingers pierce through the leather, prompting a snort of amusement from Niccolò.

"Drive faster," she demands hoarsely, and he laughs out loud at that, but he complies.

Astoria sees the moment that Baldwin gives up on patience; it is, remarkably, the same moment she does, as well. She's opened the car door before it's come to a complete stop as he walks closer to where he knows they'll park. One moment, they're apart, and the next, they've crashed into each other, Astoria swept into his arms and Baldwin's hands under her thighs to hold her in place as she wraps her legs around his waist.

The car comes to a stop behind them, the passenger side door left open. Neither of them notice. The moment she's in his grasp she's taken his face in her hands, relieved beyond words to have him whole and before her, and Baldwin closes what little distance is left between them to kiss her.

Centuries, they've had together, and only two weeks apart, but their reunion is as sweet now as it's ever been. One kiss becomes a second and a third, neither one of them willing to be parted, and only the familiar sound of Serafine, standing in a doorway with Diana as she greets her stepbrother, clearing her throat can make them tear themselves away from each other.

It feels like an open wound is healing. Astoria lets out a quiet laugh, and Baldwin tucks his face against her neck for a moment, breathes her in. "He's been insufferable since he got here," Serafine reports cheerfully, and beside her, Niccolò rolls his eyes and laughs.

"One day with just him. Try two weeks with just her."

"Beasts," Astoria informs them, "both of you," and her daughter only grins wider. It's a rare moment of familiarity, of peace, amidst the chaos. Miyako is due tomorrow, with Lydia. Fernando and Sarah will follow shortly after, as will Freyja and Marcus and Phoebe. Gallowglass and Stasia, she thinks, are already here. It's been some time since the whole of the family was together. She's almost glad for it, though now, she doesn't care for anything except the lingering touch of Baldwin's lips against her throat.

"Should I get the others?" Matthew asks. "Should we start discussing our next moves?" But even before he's finished the question Baldwin has lifted his head and begun to walk, Astoria still held firmly in his grasp, Astoria's arms and legs secure around him. When he makes no move to stop in the doorway, Matthew lets out a noise of some disapproval. "Well?"

"Do what you want," Baldwin says, a bit impatiently. He still doesn't stop. "It's been two weeks since I last saw my wife. If you need to speak to me now you can do so while I greet her properly. I don't think she minds an audience."

"You might learn something," she calls over his shoulder, and Matthew simply shakes his head and turns towards his nephew.

It's certainly for the better, she thinks, once Baldwin's teeth are fixed in her throat and her blood is spilling over his tongue. Two weeks without him (only two, she knows, two weeks out of thousands) and she can't bear the thought of sharing him with anyone else.

[the-lunar-system]

That being said, I'm trying to track down that word of god confirmation and I can't find it? the fandom.com wiki doesnt source the claim, and I cant find any mention of it on read riordan, the official site, which doesnt make any mention of Nico being Catholic.

it only says a "traditional household", which in Venice, home of the oldest Jewish Ghetto in the world, doesnt necessarily mean a catholic home. And it is explicitly mentioned that the family moved from Italy to the United States due to the outbreak of WWII

my psychic warriors. vote for sister mary. nico is jewish coded and was smuggled out of nazi occupied italy

I feel like this is another "Steve Rogers is Jewish-coded but actually is Catholic" situation cuz

[beta-ita]

Does your blorbo speak Italian? Do you not speak Italian? Fear not!

Instead of using google translate, which results in awkward and clunky dialogue, you can ask us!

Does Nico di Angelo know an amazing family recipie that you… don’t? Confused about how growing up in Venice might even look like? Want to be more accurate when writing LuigixBowser? Apparently Tony Stark knows how to speak Italian? What would going to school in Rome look like for your OC?

Send an ask, on anon or not, with any questions you have. We can help you with geography questions, translate phrases, find names, spellcheck, and more. If you need to spice up your story drop in and ask about italian culture or cuisine.

Disclaimer: This is not a discourse blog, what people write/create with the info we give is none of our concern.

Run by two board certified italians: Mod Gabri (she/they) and Mod Elia (any prns)

[tina-aumont]

I found this beautiful photo and is new for me!

Here is the article in french language:

 https://www.cinematheque.fr/article/1976.html

🌟Thank you very much for these great findings Andrea, you are great!!🌟😍💜

A new Home Movie by Frédéric Pardo has been found and it will be shown the 9th March 2023 at 19:30h at Cinema Reflet Medicis

                        Home Movie : New York

Frédéric Pardo

France 1968  / 20 min  

With Tina Aumont, Nico, Jackie Raynal.

Jackie Raynal and Tina Aumont in Central Park. Views from an apartment, from a car, Nico at the window above Tina Aumont. Jackie Raynal, pregnant, gets dressed in an apartment, Tina is lying down in bed. Walks in the streets of NYC at dusk.

2K digitization at the CNC laboratory by the Cinémathèque française, from the 8 and 16 mm copies kept in the collections.

Three Home Movies, from a collection deposited at the Cinémathèque. Three previously unseen films, which show, in their simplicity of family films, an artist in love: Tina Aumont is permanently at the center of Paris Home Movie With Tina, a candid poem shot mostly in the alleys of Luxembourg and Pardo New York, where the couple joins Viva and Michel Auder in Central Park, and where we also see Nico at the window of a room in the Chelsea Hotel. Here again, Tina magnetizes the painter’s gaze. What he does with her and the light has no other aim than to translate into images an intimacy that obsesses and delights him. Different, because devoted to the group – in this case the Zanzibar band, Philippe Garrel, Serge Bard, Patrick Deval, Jackie Raynal, Michel Auder, Daniel Pommereulle and Sylvina Boissonnas – Home Movie Marrakech begins in Venice. Tina contemplates the Grand Canal from her room before continuing in a boat, then it’s Morocco, crossed in a large American car. We recognize Sylvina Boissonnas, producer and patron of the group, Caroline de Bendern, Auder, and others (it could be, it is to be confirmed, Jean Mascolo, Babethe Lamy and Pierre-Richard Bré). It is a prolegomena to the Home Movie that Pardo will do in the wake of the filming of Garrel’s Le Lit de la Vierge. It is notable that these films were not listed in the catalog of Zanzibar productions. Pardo obviously had no intention of showing them. Discovering them today, however, leads us to place them (all things considered) alongside certain films by Pierre Clémenti, Warhol, Mekas or Garrel: a whole crest line of a cinema that fuels the intimate, the couple, to the band, and to the meeting. In the psychedelic paintings that Pardo was doing at the same time (from his initiation, by Klarwein, to the ancestral tempera method), the princes, the sponsors were replaced by friends, loves. It was an idea he held dear. When we know the influence (aesthetic in all) that Pardo had on the Zanzibar group, we understand better in what perspective Garrel, at the time of Le Berceau de Cristal (where he films Pardo at work) needed in turn to gather his “ family” in his films. To repopulate an imaginary in exile, caught in a perpetual flight.

Philippe Azoury

[theshakykid]

MASTERLIST

Fluff-💐; Angst-🌧; AU-💫

PETER PARKER (READER-INSERT)

Distant 🌧

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

You and Peter have been married for three years now. But when Peter starts becoming distant, you have no choice but to use anything at your disposal to bring him back. [Complete]

En Route 💫

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

Titanic AU (Sort of)

Peter Parker is aboard the Argo III, the world’s biggest passenger ship. He was sent by Tony Stark to strike a deal with Silver Sable, a wealthy businesswoman. But Stark’s deal will have to wait, as Peter has set his eyes on something- or someone - else. [On-going]

SOLANGELO

His Clutch on My Heart 💫

Bonnie and Clyde AU (Loosely inspired)

Nico di Angelo had always walked the line between darkness and light. And then he found Will Solace. His blue eyes always peering at him with fascination rather than fear. Together, they plunge into a whirlwind of violence and passion, forcing them to confront not just the chaos around them, but the chaotic love blooming between them. [Complete]

Will&Nico 💫

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Wandavision AU

Nico di Angelo and Will Solace are living an idyllic suburban life in the town of Westview, New Jersey. As their surroundings begin to move through different decades and they encounter various television tropes, the couple suspects that things are not as they seem. [On-going]

Golden Hour 💐

A lazy morning with Solangelo. [Complete]

The Echo of His Steps 🌧💫

Orpheus and Eurydice AU

Will Solace has to brave the depths of the Underworld to reclaim Nico di Angelo, the boy he loved, after a cruel twist of fate takes him too soon. Granted one chance by Hades and Persephone, Will must lead Nico back to the living world without ever looking back. But as doubt and fear creep in, Will's faith is tested to its breaking point. [Complete]

No Solace for the Weary 🌧

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Warnings: Mentions of rape/non-con, Heavy Angst

When it’s the healer’s heart on the line, who will save him before the final hour? [Complete]

Marked by Fate 💫

Soulmate AU

In a world where everyone is marked with two names—one belonging to their soulmate and the other to their sworn enemy—Nico di Angelo has always been haunted by the names etched on his wrists: Bryce Lawrence and Will Solace.

When he falls for the charming and enigmatic Bryce, it feels like destiny. After a devastating accident ties Nico’s life to Will in a way that ignites nothing but fury and resentment, he becomes certain that Will is the enemy fate promised him.

As their paths continue to cross and the lines between love and hate blur, Nico is forced to confront the cruel truth: what if he’s been wrong all along? [Complete]

I know a place we can go, where everyone gonna lay down their weapon 💫🌧

In the unforgiving backdrop of the 1980s, amidst the rising tide of the AIDS epidemic and the fight for gay rights, Nico and Will find refuge in each other. As love grows between them in a world determined to tear them apart, a single moment of unguarded tenderness alters their lives forever. [Complete]

Fade to Black 🌧

"The sun could heal anything, everything. Or so he had thought." [Complete]

Crazy Rich Italians 💫

Crazy Rich Asians AU

When Will joins his wealthy boyfriend Nico at a high-society wedding in Venice, he’s unprepared for the judgment of Nico’s powerful family. As love clashes with familial judgement, Will must prove he belongs in Nico’s world without losing himself. [On-going]

Love for Hire 💫

Sex work AU

Warnings: Mentions of prostitution, sex work

Nico assumed he was being paid for sex. He didn’t expect to be roped into this whole ‘feelings’ thing. [Complete]

The Di Angelo-Solace Paranormal Case Files: Declassified 💫

The Conjuring AU

Recently declassified at the discretion of Nico di Angelo and Will Solace, these case files contain records of supernatural encounters once deemed too controversial for public knowledge. Within are accounts of restless spirits, unspeakable entities, and phenomena that defy reason—evidence of horrors the world was never meant to see.

Open at your own risk. Some truths cannot be forgotten.

(Links to series that contain three separate fics- The Jackson Family Haunting, The Case of the Haunted Doll, The Trial of Jason Grace)

Cryptic Love 💫

Loosely inspired by the Addams Family. [Complete]

Freaky Family 💫

An eccentric old-money family struggles to fit into conventional society, with their unconventional ways causing chaos and uproar at every turn. [Complete]

[anachronisticcrab]

So I reblogged my original post w/ this stuff, but gonna do a separate post too. Soldezangelo and Valdangelace HC’s

Nico/Leo/Jason get together first

After a few months, Will starts dating Nico and Leo

He’s jealous of Jason and vice versa

Jason cause abandonment issues and Will cause he’s like ‘only room for one blond white boy here’

Also neither of them like each other in the slightest to begin with

So Will starts trying to outdo Jason on dates and stuff

Jason’s really sweet so he gets his boyfriends gifts all the time (flowers, chocolates, little things he finds that remind him of his boys)

Will starts getting bigger bouquets, fancier chocolates, new expensive equipment for Leo, etc

Jason knows what he’s doing and is terrified of losing his boys so he takes them on a trip to New Rome and shows them around his hometown (it’s really cute and romantic)

Will then takes them on a trip to his hometown, introduces his mom and shows them around his grandparents farm

Jason can’t compete with that; his boys are his only family

He decides to take his boys to Houston and Venice (Will insists on joining)

They try to outdo romantic and cutesy dates with their boys

Nico and Leo love both of their boys, but like. Neither of them care about grand displays too much. They’re simple guys who like cuddles and quality time

So Jason tones it down again, deciding not to let Will get under his skin, knowing his boys love him and don’t care about Big Things

Will takes this as an ‘I win, Grace gave up’ kinda thing and continues to make grand gestures and displays

Will then tries to be like ‘hey, babes, look how many chin ups I can do’

And Jason’s like ‘no. I will beat him I know I’m strong’

And to get a one-up on him Jason starts making dinner every night and baking for his boys

Will then starts making breakfast and bringing his boys lunches

Jason writes cute notes for them which he sneaks into their rooms and bags

This can end one of two ways: angsty Valdangelace or a continuing pettiness between Will and Jason where they eventually start to like each other (as friends. These two Could Never date) but continue their stupid competitions and never admit they like one another

But angsty Valdangelace:

Jason breaks down with his boys one night

Goes ‘I can’t do this anymore, we need to break up’

He’s so tired of feeling inadequate and fighting to keep his boys and he has SERIOUS abandonment issues

So he leaves his boys who are complete messes without him

And Will tried to get them to lean on him for support cause he proved he was the Best Blond Boyfriend

But they miss Jason. Nico and Leo need him in their lives.

And Will just… does not understand. He doesn’t get it. He’s confused why they still want Jason

They get in a Big Fight about this and Nico and Leo realize what happened. How Jace broke down because of Will pushing him and making him feel like shit

And they break up with Will immediately. He can’t be their boyfriend if he would do that to their other boyfriend

And they run back to Jace and hug him and beg him to come back

They have a LONG talk and get back together

Nico and Leo try to prove to Jason that he’s Most Special Boy and they love him

Ends very fluffy and cute w/ Will crying on the side (he will eventually find a Roman demigod that is Perfect for him)

Feel free to share ur thoughts and ideas!

[kuaille]

i can't stop thinking about an alive!bianca au so i'll just put them here to not forget

Bianca actually found an entrance to the labyrinth just before she was crushed, and fled there

She spent months in the labyrinth (which felt like a week) until she was finally able to get out

She left in Venice and was worried about everything that had happened with the mission and the others

Aphrodite showed up and told her that Bianca was presumed dead four months ago

Bianca wanted to go back immediately, find the hunters and Nico, but Aphrodite stopped her

The goddess said that she could protect Nico as he was under her blessing, but that Bianca should stay away as it would be too complicated to protect two powerful demigods together

(remember in MoA, when Annabeth, Piper and Hazel meet Aphrodite and she says "would it make their love life interesting?" considering all that Nico did, I would say Aphrodite had a lot of fun with so much tragedy)

Bianca was very afraid, but Aphrodite said that Nico was safe in the CHB; that Percy, because he understood what it was like to be a powerful demigod, would be by Nico's side

So Bianca trusted, and decided to stay in Venice

She learned to fight alone, discover her own powers (since there were many monsters there) and gradually remembered her own past

Unfortunately, the Di Angelos had been condemned shortly before Mussolini died, massacred as traitors for not following the fascist regime, and only Bianca and Nico of the family were left

Artemis' blessing was taken away by Aphrodite, to make everything more "real", according to the goddess

Bianca started having constant nightmares: she used to see Nico alone in the underworld, accompanied by ghosts all the time, always looking miserable and lonely

When she questioned Aphrodite about it, the goddess said that they were just irrational nightmares, fueled by a feeling of guilt at Bianca's core for having "abandoned" her brother (we all know how manipulative Aphrodite can be)

Sometimes Bianca also dreamed in the first person: that Nico had summoned her to a ranch together with Percy, that Nico had tried to summon their mother's spirit, and she had tried to stop him... but there was no way those things could be true, after all, Aphrodite was always so convincing in saying that Nico was protected at CHB, right?

Until one day, Aphrodite arrives and says that Nico died in the battle against Kronos, shortly after convincing Hades, Persephone and Demeter to participate

Bianca wanted to visit him in the underworld, but Aphrodite was persistent in saying that would only bring more headaches

And then Bianca stayed there, for years... living old and new memories, surviving the monsters, making friends, totally away from the greek world in the USA, and still with the bitter feeling in her chest

Years later, the situation got much worse in Italy: monsters appeared in huge flocks and just didn't die, and Bianca felt a crack between the underworld and the mortal world, along with the presence of thousands and thousands of monsters

Before she could focus on it, the nightmares returned: this time, Nico was alone in a dark and completely horrible place, with monsters sprouting from the ground, rivers of fire and lamentation, dark and empty sky and air that felt like poison

Bianca couldn't understand why these nightmares came back, but the more she had them, the more something stuck in her mind: she needed to go to Rome, and that's what she did

No one but her saw the gigantic flying greek trireme, but with her invisibility powers, it was easy to get there

Bianca felt the presence of demigods and wanted to know why they were in that place until she saw: Nico, with glassy eyes and looking half dead

She surprised the demigods, not looking at anyone and just going on automatic, wanting to get Nico out of there

It was then that Percy's face appeared and Bianca hesitated to run away

in this au nico kinda went crazy because of tartarus (honestly how it didn't happen in canon i don't know) and he's in a vegetative state where he doesn't recognize anyone

yes! bianca with invisibility powers! thanks to this post here:

idk if i should continue this

[yonemurishiroku]

Hi! I know asks are closed, so don't answer this one until you're done with everything else, please! 💕 I'm happy to wait because I dunno when's the next time I'm visiting tumbly 😂 Do you have any Nico-centric fic recs? Mostly centered on family? Thank you! And good luck with the others! ❤❤❤

Hi!! I hope this reply reaches you because Nico's family is my religion. 😭😭😭 The good news is that I do have some nice recommendations for you!

The other news is that I consider Persephone a part of Nico's family too so be aware that I'd include her! I'm a die-hard believer of Persephone-Nico step-mother-and-son/ begrudging friends/ defenders of the Underworld and I'm not letting that go.

Flowers Bloom Until They Rot by HoneySim (Solangelo, Will finds out Nico is not the son of Hades but of Persephone)

But I would die for you, in secret by deathboy-and-solace (LWritesx): Nico and Hades's attempt at family bonding!

Hold My Hand, I'll Guide You Home by Higuchi_Sora: AU in which Hades raises the Nico and Bianca in the Underworld instead of sending them to the Lotus Hotel. Peak wholesome. Persephone is the best step-mother. Little Nico is the cutest. PLEASE TRY. TRUST ME.

威尼斯午后 by qsxcguik: I know, I know, it's not English. But dammit if this isn't the best Nico-Hades plus Bianca, Maria fanfic I've ever read. 😭😭😭 This is basically a day of their family back in Venice, 1937. I use Google Translate and still, it's such a good fic, you know? I still hold this close to my heart. Please give it a chance, you won't be disappointed.

oh, darling, don’t you ever grow up by babyimafirefighter: Hades-Nico again. They have problems but they're trying. This got me teary every time I came back reading.

Happy Birthday, Have a Zombie! by shiiki: Hades gifting Nico a zombie driver.

bring me home by Rehearsal_Dweller (Solangelo, Nico & Jason): Hades helping Nico with Jason's death.

Family by apollosmortalangst (orphan_account): The Underworld family in the eyes of Cerberus, more Cerberus-centric but this is such a good fic and I cried and you'll have to cry too.

as the trees do by manywheels: Nico and Zagreus! But only if you know both PJO and Hades game lol since this is a crossover. But eh i haven't played the game, only got a vague idea of what it's about but I still enjoy it a lot, so maybe you would too!

And now. My time to shamelessly push my own works ehehe:

Hold me like we're going home in which Nico falls in battle and Hades brings him back to the Underworld. I also have another which is Hazel-centric that talks about Nico's pomegranate seeds: Wait for me please, I'll wake you from this long dream

This is also supposed to be a series in which Nico stays and heals in his father's kingdom with the help of other chthonic deities. Well, that's the plan at least LOL. I'm still trying, anw I'd be very glad if you can give this a chance!

That's about it Ig. Hope you have a great time reading!! Now excuse me I have to go and reminisce on all this old bookmarks

[the-ghost-king]

people calling nico italian instead of venetian is lowkey richard’s fault bc that man speaks italian and is clearly interested in italy,,, and just chose to ignore the differences between regions dialects & culture when he wrote about the di angelos 😔😔

Yeah, I know it’s Rick’s fault- classic “American tourist goes to Venice and learns nothing about the culture while also failing to realize the locals don’t want him there” lmao- this problem with “Oh Venice is Italian!” isn’t just a Rick problem but a problem anyone who doesn’t interact with Venetian locals (Hi) or has a weird interest in Italian regional history (also hi) also has, and it’s so pervasive throughout so many cultures. I can’t blame one man for an issue that permeates almost every fucking article you read about Venice, but oof.

I need to make a long post on this but I haven't yet tbh, I want to, but in general I am just rather sick of seeing Nico is Italian... He is Venetian... Venetian =/= Italian...

Just because a country owns a plot of land, doesn’t mean the people there want to be a part of that country. It’s hard to find anything written by Venetians about Venice, or Venetians talking about Venice, because the Italian government doesn’t want people to know that one of their biggest tourist cities, hates tourists. 

Venice, as a lived-in city, is dying. A population which peaked at 164,000 in 1931 is now hovering at around 60,000. Since about 20 million tourists pour in each year - 55,000 a day - it's a safe bet that most days there are now more tourists than locals in Venice. "The number of locals has dropped 600 since we started counting last March and we are set to go under the psychological 60,000 barrier in May," said Secchi, who heads a residents' group, Venessia.com, which is planning a procession to mark the occasion. "We will hold the funeral of Venice and take a coffin down to the town hall," he said.... "Tourists were welcome, but the point was to show we feel like we are living on a reserve," said Secchi. Leaflets in five languages said: "Our cultural identity is at risk of dissolving if Venice becomes a theme park - we Venetians will not surrender!" (X)

(Venessia.com, a pro-Venice website, in Venetian)

Over 89% of Venetians want to succeed from Italy (and I’ve seen other sources cite more), Venice has its own individualized culture and language which is being systematically erased by the Italian government, and it has been this way for over a hundred years now (here's about Venetian art erasure, how tourism and the government are ruining housing in Venice)

Italy's mismanagement of Venice has caused most of the original population to leave Venice, to leave the homes and the island their families have lived in for generations, to leave behind their culture because mass tourism mismanagement that the government refuses to fix is destroying not just the Venetian culture, but peoples ability to even live in the city.

The Venetian language is so separate from standard Italian, that two people, one speaking each language, could not understand one another- yet the Italian government refuses to recognize Venetian as a language

“It’s the language spoken in my family, in schools, at work. I am Venetian, Mr. President, my language is that of Venice,” Bricolo said in his dialect before his microphone was switched off because he was breaking a rule that states only Italian may be spoken in parliament. (X)

I think the saddest thing is seeing how happy Venetians were at the way COVID-19 stopped all the tourism, they've been trying for years to get people to recognize Venice as separate from Italy in a desperate attempt to save what is left of their culture.

I can't blame this issue on fandom or even on Rick when it's so massively prevalent in everything, but I guess thanks for letting me rant a bit on the back of your ask? lmao, feels good

Nico is unlikely to consider himself Italian personally to be honest, because although I've presented mostly modern articles and publishings about these issues... They've been going on for hundreds of years slowly building, and around WWII (following the Italian government retaking control of Venice) many citizens often discussed life as better, and didn't consider themselves Italians even back then, but Venetians- always Venetians never Italians.

(I want to specify a little more on using the word hate to describe Venetian locals opinions of tourists, but essentially, they don't hate the tourists themselves and they understand why people want to see Venice. They hate the disrespect and lack of regard for Venetian life that the tourists showcase, in addition to the mismanagement by the Italian government who has little to no idea what happens in Venice, and rarely cares)

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Hello, Gen! ^-^ Random, but - High Warlock!Nico/Shadowhunter!Percy headcanons??? (the thought process behind that was that I've been thinking about a Teen Wolf/Shadowhunter crossover these days, which brought me to your Teen Wolf/Percy Jackson crossover and thus, to close the circle, I came back to an old fave and got curious! :D)

Okay, okay, okay.

So-

- Hades is the demon parent - obviously. Nico grew up in the Republic of Venice (La Serenissima), with his sister around the 15th century (just because Renaissance 😍). Maria was the daughter of the current Doge that time, but they tended to die suddenly. How tragic.

- But it was really tragic, because Maria was also murdered when he was, leaving Bianca and Nico orphans, in need to flee from Venice. Rome, here they come!

- Unfortunately, it wasn't the best choice, because after awhile, Bianca caught the attention of Cesare Borgia, and she, too, was killed. After that, Nico spent some years in a rage, letting his demonic side out.

- It was not a nice decade. Century? A few centuries at the most.

- After that, he traveled around the world, afloat, trying to find some reason for his existence.

- He found one: his half-sister from his father's side, Hazel, and her lovers, Frank (vampire) and Leo (warlock).

- Right. I forgot to mention his demon mark is his completely black eyes, silver claws and bat wings. (Hazel's is her golden, cat-like eyes and her ridiculously fluffy cat ears.)

- Nico never stepped a foot into Venice over the centuries (not until his honeymoon with his husband leads to there, wanting to introduce him to his family).

- He didn't really want to become a High Warlock, especially not of San Francisco, because that city was too dark, had too many criminals (both mundane and downworlder) and the Shadowhunters were too racists, but. Hazel and her husbands found home there, so what could he do? Leave them alone to fend for themselves? Obviously not.

- So, he started cleaning up a bit around his home, starting with the current High Warlock, and the other underworld leaders who tried to manipulate, hurt, and/or kill his family members.

Hmmm...

- Percy Jackson's father was a Circle member, so he is not in his life, but because his mother is a good little Shadowhunter, they are just under mild suspicion.

- His parabatai is Grover. (You can't convince me otherwise u.u)

- His mother, seeing the Lightwoods not really wanting another kid, adopted Jace. Because I want Jace and Percy to be brothers, dammit!

- They grew up with the Lightwoods, the Chases (as in Annabeth, Grover, and Luke Case) and the Graces, so the New York Institute, despite of the adults' effort to make it unpleasant, was always full of life. Sure, they learned everything, and when they needed to be, they were serious, but- Honestly. Nine kids growing up together? Sounds chaotic ngl.

- Mostly everything happened as in the show with Clary, so hello, eleven teenagers, a child and two immortals (Sounds exhausting...)!

- Okay, so. Because they have more people, more trusted friends, some things happens differently. Especially that they don't let the Clave take over the Institute. (Honestly, Annabeth and Izzy, then Clary and Lydia working together? They could take over the whole world.)

- Jace and Percy are proud pansexuals. (Sally would never allow them to be ashamed for their sexuality u.u) Because of this, it is Jace, who realizes his crush on Alec, and asks him on a date, regardless of them being parabatai. So, a fairly confident pair meet with Magnus, who immediately notices them. I mean, how could he not?!

- As they need all help they could get, Magnus calls for his old friend, Nico, who, redundantly, but decides to help them out. And when he steps out of his portal, how glad he is for his decision! That pretty, green-eyed Shadowhunter is really, really, really yummy looking.

- But there is no time for romance, no matter what the happy threesome... Raphael and Simon... Izzy and Lydia... Annabeth and Clary (or is it Izzy and Clary, Lydia and Annabeth? 🤔 Percy doesn't know. The answer is: it's all the four together) and all of their happiness seems to suggest.

- So, they wait. And flirt with each other. And irritate the others with their UST.

- But then finally, the war ends, everything is peaceful and the future is full of hope, so of course it is time for their first date!

- It goes horribly wrong. Percy is late because he had a Downworlder problem; the restaurant Nico choose has to be evacuated because of faulty pipes; the hamburger place throws them out for being gay; and when they finally find a nice pizzeria that is up to Nico's standards, he is called away for an emergency.

- It is a complete disaster. They are conflicted, think that it was a sign that it is just not meant to be, but Jace, Grover and Annabeth throw him through Magnus' portal before he could completely close himself off of having a warlock boyfriend.

- He lands in Nico's lap.

- They end up married. Well. Not that day.

- That day they decide that who cares about "real" dates, if they could hug, and talk, and spend time together without even going out? They know each other, they obviously like each other, it's not like they need that awkward stage in their relationship where they don't know anything about the other and their expectations.

- But they do end up getting married. And have a ceremony where they connect their lives together literally, so that they would live until the other lives.

- While Percy moves to San Francisco, there's a constant portal between Nico's and Magnus' place, so basically the friend group spend just as much time together as they did before, just now they have Nico, Hazel, Frank and Leo as well.

- Izzy is their surrogate, because she looks the closest to Nico, so when their little daughter is born with Percy's fluffy hair, and dark brown eyes, similar to Nico's, she looks as the perfect combination of the two of them. Their second child is an abandoned Downworlder with fluffy, blue, feather-y hair and curious, yellow eyes.

- They have two dogs and a cat. Obviously. u.u

I... I think that's all for today, but it's more than I thought I would have for you when I started to write the answer 😅 I hope you like it 😅😚 even if it is not exactly what you asked for 💀

[green-and-grey-kenaz]

Ghosts of Venice

Language: English

Characters: Nico di Angelo (Percy Jackson Series), Ezio Auditore (Assassin’s Creed)

Summary:

While trying to find out more about his past, Nico di Angelo travels to Venice where he meets a shadowy figure, the ghost of an assassin. The self titled Ghost King is rather used to commanding the spirits of the dead, unfortunately this ghost seems intent on giving him advice, whether he wants it or not.

The spirit of Ezio sees a lot of himself in a young teenager, who's come to Venice looking for answers and has the shadow of death over him.

Word Count: c. 2 500

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32877292

Nico stared down at the people passing by on the streets and tried to piece it with the fragments of memories he’d slowly been recovering. Had Venice (Venezia) been this busy when he had lived here all those years ago with his mother and Bianca? Did they have quite so many boats (and quiet so large)? If he walked through the streets long enough, would he find the house that he had once lived in? Would he know it? His mother had been the daughter of an ambassador, she must have been somewhat important and the house somewhat grand but that didn't narrow down his options. Nico wondered who lived in what used to be his home. Might he have cousins and if so, did they now live there?

The answer would have been to walk the streets and see if any memories resurfaced and that had been Nico’s intent but even in the dead of winter he felt like there were too many tourists. Nico did not mind the bitter cold that blew in from the mountains carrying flecks of snow that were not confined to the mountainous hillside but neither did the visitors. They just pulled their gloves and coats closer around them. Nico stared down at his own hands, a slight purple tint to them. Like so many things, he could ignore it but his body was annoyingly physical and took repercussions. Unfortunately he had no lira to his name (Nico frowned, it was the euro now) and while he was not opposed to a little bit of theft, he'd rather avoid it if possible.

Crossing his arms, he pressed his fingers against his sides with a begrudging awareness that loosing his fingers to frostbite would likely be to his detriment. His dark gaze returned to the city below him. It would be quieter once the evening set in.

“È bella, no?” A voice asked.

Nico jumped, nearly falling off of the tower he was perched on. Behind him was a white robed, a pointed hooded casting a strange shadow over his eyes which glittered uncomfortably bright in the darkness. There was the stench of death around the man and not just because he himself was not counted amongst the living. Nico could tell that this spirit, who ever he was, had killed many people. It clung to him, a miasma upon his very being but he did not seem bothered.

The more pressing concern though, was that somehow this spirit had managed to appear without his notice. That was something the son of Hades was not used to. Far down below him he could sense the lares, angry spirits that seemed so endemic to Italian cities and they had generally accepted his orders to keep back. This ghost seemed completely unbothered by the aura Nico was giving off. Another reason to be cautious.

“What are you?” Nico growled, pulling out his sword and pointing it straight at the ghost’s chest. Most would shy away from Stygian Iron but this figure seemed unbothered as he moved to stand next to Nico, who’s sword followed the ghost’s movements but he just stared out across the city.

“I have been many things but what I am more than any is a free spirit.” He answered, turning to look down at Nico and pushing the hood down to reveal young features, he couldn’t have been much more than eighteen and there was a certain carefreeness to him . It did not put Nico at ease.

“Nobody is free.” He said slowly. The stranger gave him a look that stunk of pity. Nico jabbed his sword forward, stopping shy of the ghost’s chest.

“Don’t look at me like that.” He growled.

“If you think that this is the first time I’ve had a sword pressed to my chest, you would be sadly mistaken, piccino. But perhaps your question should not be what am I but why am I here?”

“Don’t talk to me in such a familiar way.” Nico snarled, doing his best to force the ghost to leave. The Undead were his domain and they would listen to the son of their master. The teen sighed and leant against the wall.

“I too came here with much anger and hatred in me. Anger at the world, at the failure of justice and most of all anger at myself although I did not know it then.”

“I don’t feel that.” Nico said stiffly although he could feel a rising panic. Had he summoned this spirit without realising it? He should have a stronger grasp over his powers but this man seemed to know too much about him and if he had summoned him that would explain not realising until he was here.

“Hm.” The shade agreed, staring back out at the city.

“Who were you?” Nico asked as an uncomfortable silence lapsed between them. He may prefer the company of the dead but even they grated on him if they wouldn’t bend to his will.

“My name is Ezio Auditore da Firenze, although I doubt you have heard of me. If you had, I would have rather failed in my work.”

“What did you do?”

“I was an assassino.” Ezio said as if it were no matter. Nico looked out across the city and wondered about the angry shades down there.

“I gave my victims their rites. They should not linger.” Ezio assured, guessing the direction of his thoughts although Nico wasn’t so sure in the truth of Ezio's words – he had met some very stubborn and angry spirits during his time in this world. Again he felt the urge to ask this shade what exactly was he but that had gotten him nowhere. Instead, he got the feeling that Ezio would be cryptic when it suited him (never trust spirits, they always had an ulterior motive, usually wanting life).

“Do you want something?” He blurted out. Ezio was not leaving and seemed to have every intention on staying. It was irritating when he was here to be alone, couldn't the spirit take a hint by Nico sitting alone in the tower? Of course, he could shadow travel out of here but Nico did not particularly relish the idea of having fled from a spirit. It set a bad precedence.

“I do not want anything but to offer my advice and support.” Ezio said and he looked at Nico with a gaze that stopped his heart. The smile on his face was warm and accepting, just like Percy when he smiled with his friends. Nico’s hand clenched and the stones beneath his feet began to tremble. Not ideal when you were in a tower.

“I do not need help. I do not need advice.”

“I find the people who don’t need help are perhaps the ones who most require it. I certainly wish I had thought to ask for help more. I was not as alone as I thought I was and I would have been happier to not remain in my solitude.”

“Maybe I like being alone.”

“Perhaps. But if you did, would you insist so much on it?”

Nico frowned. Finally he lowered his sword and took a seat next to Ezio, feet dangling over the edge. It occurred to him that it would be easy to simply slip over the edge and plummet to the earth with just one wrong move. Perhaps he could shadow travel before he hit the ground, perhaps he couldn’t. He wondered whether his father would care.

“I used to live here.” Nico said softly. “But I don’t remember it. I thought by coming here I might get some memories back. My mother and sister…” His voice tightened.

“They are not here.” It was a soft observation.

“My father wiped my memory of my mother…. Of her death. My sister died not long after… Someone I knew failed to save her.” He glared at the ground below.

“A man my father trusted signed his death warrant, and the one for my brothers and myself. It was fortune that I escaped although they did not.” Ezio said, almost easily but there was a catch in his throat. Nico felt his heart ache with that catch and he stared down least Ezio see emotion in his eyes. “It is why I came here. There was a web behind their deaths and it was a web I desired to untangle. Or rather burn.”

“I can’t ki… There is no possibility of vengeance for me.” Nico sighed, head drooping. His mother had been killed by Zeus’ thunderbolt and Bianca had died killing the automaton that killed her and while it was Percy who had failed to save her... He was Percy. It left him feeling somewhat empty.

“That may be just as well. Vengeance made no man happy.”

“It would be a good first step though.”

“I cannot count how many I killed in the name of vengeance, only to realise that killing those who had wronged me would not bring peace. It takes greater courage and strength to build, il mio giovane amico, than it does to tear down. I realised that only too late in life.”

Nico’s nose wrinkled at the familiarity this man had slipped into.

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“Then perhaps you should tell me. Or someone.” Ezio said gently. He may be a ghost, but the wind ruffled his hair.

“No one would understand.”

“Perhaps that is the great thing about talking to one who is already dead. Does it matter whether I understand or not?”

“Will you leave me if I tell you?”

It wasn’t a plead. It was exasperation, Nico told himself. And it certainly wasn’t a desire to push someone away so he could mope in solitude and generally feel bad for himself. What did it matter that this long dead man had lost his family. Ezio was dead and not living with the realities of it. Ezio had been able to get vengeance and was happy like Percy. His fingers twisted the ring and perhaps he should have felt that but apparently they were numb now.

“If that is what you still desire.”

Nico frowned, thinking. Ezio was dead and if there was one thing that the dead were good at, it was keeping secrets. What was more, he had been an assassin and that sort were notorious about taking their secrets to the grave. Still…

“And you were not sent by my father?”

“Your father?”

“Hades.”

Ezio frowned and leaned back so he was stretched precariously on the wall. If he’d been alive, a small nudge would have been enough to send him plummeting.

“I have not met Hades in my life or my death. The only fortune I had was to once meet the goddess Minerva.”

Nico frowned.

“You mean Athena?”

“She informed me she has had many names.”

Nico made a note to ask his father about that. He’d never thought about how the Roman gods were so similar to the Greek ones.

“That means… you were mortal. As in not a demigod?” Almost all the ghosts he spoke with had ancestry with one of the gods. They tended to leave more of an impact and he certainly would rather understand the enigma of this spirit that he could not control.

“You would be the second godly figure I have met.” Ezio smiled. It was too warm and friendly.

“I wouldn’t say I was godly.” Nico muttered. “I’m the son of Hades. That kind of puts a damper on any relationships I might he able to have. Who wants to hang out with someone who’s more comfortable with the dead and darkness? I can see the fear in their eyes when I turn up at meals, how they shift uncomfortably away from me at the fire in the evening. No one wants me because I don’t belong. No one wants a reminder that death will come to them eventually.”

“I may not know what it is like to be the son of a god of the dead, but I know what it is to be an assassin and to many I was the kiss of death. I could have chosen to walk alone and in many ways, I had. I could have had love, for so many did love me and I would have only given my love too freely, yet I kept my ways to myself and pushed those I had left away.”

“I have no one left.”

“You have your father.”

“He’s… busy. And I don’t exactly get on with Persephone.”

Ezio placed a ghostly hand on Nico’s shoulder and he flinched. It was warm and suddenly he felt filled with promise and hope. He felt Ezio’s anguish as he pushed his way towards the gallows only to hear his family drop to the jeers of the crowd. He felt the young man’s burden as he guided his traumatised mother and sister to the only place left to them. Nico could feel his anger as he killed his childhood rival that had helped put in place the events that had caused everything to go wrong. He saw the deaths that Ezio had caused in his grief and determination. He could feel the drive that corrupted the carefree youth who had once run over the tiles of Florence. And he saw the love that fought within Ezio’s chest. He felt the love and companionship that Ezio had found with Leonardo Da Vinci and the Thieves. The growth from anger to acceptance and wisdom. The realisation that he could trust his sister to defend herself and mend that bond tossed aside decades ago. The warmth of brotherhood and found family that built around that. Ezio’s knowledge in his dying moments that his greatest achievement had been what he had built and not torn down and he was happy with that.

“You care greatly, although like me, you believe that it is not something that you can’t allow yourself to feel.”

Normally these things weren’t a two way streak and Nico pressed his lips together. That was too presuming of Ezio, to read his own feelings and heritage.

“I don’t care.” But his words did not have their usual bite.

“I think you do, Nico di Angelo. You have put so much of yourself into helping others at the expense of yourself and I do not see this being something you can escape. You care deeply yet you do not let them know all you have risked. Do you know what the creed of the Assassins was?”

Nico shook his head and Ezio rose to his feet, standing on the edge of the tower.

“We work in the dark, to serve the light.” A ghost of a smile went over his lips highlighting a scar that glistened in the weak winter light. With a pang, Nico felt a kindred spirit. He gave Ezio a nod.

“Until we meet again.”

The shade leapt into the air, arms outstretched as if he could fly. He twisted through the air and Nico stared after the descending figure who shifted into shadow moments before he would have hit the ground had he been alive.

[pls-let-me-out]

Invisible String

23rd of December

“Will?” Niccolò mumbled, as the other climbed in the bed. His words were slurred by tiredness and sleepiness. “Did you talk with your family?”

Will nodded, hugging the blankets around himself. It was warm enough to fall asleep in a second. He didn’t want to, not yet, not when they had so little left, so he kept his eyes open, just for a little while. He could only make out Niccolò’s shape in the darkness of the room.

“Yeah. They’re doing fine.” Will’s throat was still dry, his breath uneven.

Niccolò’s voice was little and soft when he said, “Will, have you been crying?”

Will nodded. For a moment, the air around them turned stiff and awkward, then Niccolò turned on his side, and held out an arm. It was scary, how Will didn’t think twice about it, before diving right in. His body fit perfectly against Niccolò’s. It hurt Will’s heart in a way he had never experienced before.

Slow, soft, gentle. Everything Niccolò’s fingers were, when they sneaked to Will’s curls and massaged his scalp.

“Do you miss them?” His words tasted of the minty toothpaste they used.

Will nodded. “Yeah. I just–I think that–can I tell you something else?”

“Of course you can, principino.”

Will took a deep breath. “I don’t talk to my parents anymore. My father is a thoughtless bastard, as you’ve gathered. My mother just–I don’t think she really sees me. I’m just the result of her relationship with my father, and they didn’t really have the best thing going on. They fought a lot, fucked up a lot. But they were soulmates, so they had to stay together, you know? They had to make it work, because it’s your soulmate or nothing. If your soulmate can’t love you, then no one can.” Will sniffled. He snuggled closer to Niccolò, the hand around his hip tightened. “And people look at them, and keep saying that it’s true love, how they finally renounced the pieces of each other they loved, because they were ruining the rest. And maybe it is, maybe that’s what true love is about. But it still hurt me, you know?” His throat was dry when he swallowed. “I’m sorry I hated you before even knowing who you were.”

“You hated me?” There was no hurt in his voice, but Niccolò was good at hiding his emotions.

“I did. I thought you would treat me like my dad treated my mother, or how my mother treated my dad. That we would ruin the people around us. I thought we’d make something horrendous.” The realization hit him suddenly. Or maybe not suddenly at all, as it was a thought that had been building up in his head for days. “I don’t think we did, though.”

“And that’s good, right?”

Will closed his fist around Niccolò’s shirt. His warmth passed through the soft fabric, Will wanted to bury himself in it, let it warm him from inside out. “It is. What did you think about soulmates?”

For a moment, Niccolò’s fingers stilled. “I liked the idea, someone to love you no matter what.” His voice had never been so vulnerable before. “My father and Persephone are soulmates, much to her mother’s displeasure. But he had three children out of wedlock. Bianca was the eldest of us, before Persephone came in the picture. Mom got pregnant with me little before she and my dad broke it off. They did before he and Persephone found each other, but he got scared or some shit, and met Hazel’s mother.”

Will caressed Niccolò’s collarbones. He realized he was doing it only when Niccolò’s breath hitched. He blushed, but didn’t stop. Niccolò didn’t ask him to either.

“I thought Hazel was Persephone’s child,” Will revealed.

Niccolò skin was covered in goosebumps. He hummed. “She is barren. That’s why I’m heir to the throne. She sees a child in Hazel, sometimes.”

“But you lived in Venice not in Elysium when you were little, didn’t you?”

Niccolò took a deep breath. “With my mom and sister. Sometimes Bianca traveled to Elysium. I never did. Persephone could like Bianca. Everyone could, really. She was kind and gentle, but fierce. She couldn’t stand injustice. She wanted to be a lawyer, study the law.”

Will smiled in the darkness. “What did you want to be?”

“Prince. And when I couldn’t be, I wanted to be a pirate.”

Will chuckled around a yawn. “You are prince now.”

“Because there was no other choice. I wanted–when you said you’d be a doctor to make your grandparents proud, I was a hypocrite. When I was younger, I only wanted to be prince so that my father would be proud of me. So he could look at me, and think I wasn’t a total waste of space. And the people of Elysium wouldn’t only see their king’s bastard child in me.” As he talked, Niccolò’s fingertips tapped on Will’s hip. “I lived in exile, and after they took my sister from me, they took me, too. My mother’s body was long since cold when I moved to Elysium. They just made me pack my bags, and now we don’t talk about the fact that I used to have a whole other life.”

“Do you miss it?”

“I don’t remember enough to do that. I spent so much time not thinking about it, that when I try to now, I just can’t recall more than bits and pieces.” His breath shook. “I remember running down Canal Grande in Venice. The sun on my back, and my own laugh. Bianca’s smile when she turned and looked back at me. Our mother shouting. I don’t even know if that memory is real, or if I was so lonely, I created it.” He stayed silent for a long moment, and Will thought he had fallen asleep. “If that was real, then I miss it. If it wasn’t, I miss it anyway.”

Will rubbed his cheeks away against the mattress, hoping Niccolò hadn’t noticed.

“There’s something I haven’t told you,” Will said. “About my parents. About who I am.”

“I know.”

Will’s whole body went stiff. “You know?”

“I know you haven’t told me something. You don’t have to tell me, though.” Niccolò passed his fingers through Will’s hair. “I’ll trust you, if you’ll let me.”

Less than an hour earlier, Will had talked to Drew about Sherman, about dating someone else, but the thought stayed far from his head as he snuggled even closer to Niccolò.

“Thank you,” was all he said. And then he felt something tug in his chest.

Longing. More. He wanted more. He was hugging Niccolò in his bed, and they were alone, and Will hadn’t wanted to find his soulmate, but his soulmate was Niccolò and he had never stood a chance against something so big. His walls had crumbled down, and he had been too blind to notice.

“We shouldn’t do this,” Will said, his words whispered against Niccolò’s skin. “We shouldn’t do this when there’s not a chance for us.”

“Tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll wake up and we won’t do this anymore.”

“It’s already tomorrow.” Will sniffled. “I used to play a game with my brothers, when our–my parents fought loudly. One had to choose a letter, and the others named a city and an animal with that letter.”

Niccolò hummed. “P.”

Will bit the inside of his cheeks. “You need to?”

Niccolò took a moment to understand, and when he did, he broke out laughing. “Stop being an asshole.”

“Alright. I’d like to live in Philadelphia, with a, uh. What animals are there with the letter p? Uh.” Will furrowed his eyebrows, pouting in the dark. “You ruined the game.”

“You just suck.” He groaned, as though he were lifting something heavy. “Paguro.”

“What?”

“It’s an animal with a p. It means, uh, hermit crab.”

“Such a cultured man.”

And Niccolò laughed. They kept on talking for a bit, and Niccolò said he’d like to live in the outskirts of Austin, Texas, and be a farmer. He wanted to have an alpaca.

“What are you laughing at?” Niccolò asked when the silence was broken by Will’s raucous laughter.

“You just make me laugh.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. A lot.”

“But like, are you laughing with me or at me?”

And Will laughed again.

 “Persephone called me. There’s a flight booked for you on the twenty-sixth of December. Four in the morning.”

“Oh.”

“There’s still three days before that, though.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“We should do the gift exchange. Between the two of us. We’ll be here on Christmas, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then do your worst. The one who picks the worst gift wins.”

 Mornings had never felt as long as the one they spent apart. From the moment they stepped out of the house, Will’s mark began burning slightly.

“I think the bond has settled,” Nico said when they met up in the restaurant for lunch. “For me, at least.”

Will spoke in a breath. “Me too.” He smiled, but it turned bitter quickly. “It’ll hurt when we separate.”

“What if we don’t?” Nico asked. His heart thrummed in his chest, as he leaned forward a little, his elbows on the table. “There will always be a place for you in Elysium, you know?”

“My life isn’t there,” Will said. “I–I don’t want to be a doctor, but I also don’t want to–I have my life in New York.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Nico smiled, but it didn’t meet his eyes. “It was just a stupid idea, anyway. I mean, it will hurt, but it’ll pass eventually. We won’t even remember it’s there.”

“I will,” Will said softly. “I won’t just forget about it.”

Nico didn’t have anything to say to that. They ate in silence.

 24th of December

“You can say it when you want something,” Reyna said. “It doesn’t make you selfish. And even if it does, it’s okay to be sometimes, for the things that are worth it.”

Nico clutched the phone tighter. “He doesn’t want to come to Elysium.”

“Convince him somehow. Or you could go to New York, frequent university there. It’s an option.”

“But then what? University doesn’t last forever.”

“What you have with Will, could that be forever?”

“I don’t know. Sometimes–sometimes I think it might be. As a friendship.”

“Are you saying that because friendship is all you both want, or because it’s what people expect of you?” Her soft smile was heard even through the phone, and was reflected in her tone. “It’s your life, live it as you deem, not as people tell you.”

“I know. I just–I don’t even know if he could ever like me like that.”

Reyna huffed. “Self-deprecation isn’t a good look on anyone, Nico. Does he know you like him like that?”

“Oh my God, I don’t like him!”

She groaned, but almost sounded like a laugh. “Nico.”

“Alright, he doesn’t of course. We talked about it once, and we both said we weren’t ready for a relationship. Maybe he even has someone back home.”

“Have you seen articles recently? Because I sure as hell hope he hasn’t, or that if he has you two have talked about it. Someone said you have a girlfriend, probably to cover up the possibility of you and Will choosing to have a romantic bond.”

“He wouldn’t like that. His parents were soulmates, and they fought a lot and–he just wants to be friends.”

“It seems to me, like you’re hiding behind well-crafted excuses.”

“It’s true.”

“I’m not saying it isn’t, I’m just saying that you’re using it as an excuse. You like him, and what if he likes you?”

“Even if he did, we could never be together. He lives in New York, Reyna. He doesn’t want to leave New York, and I can’t leave Elysium. With the bond settled, things just get harder. It will hurt every time we talk and every second we don’t.”

“What is your biggest fear right now, Nico?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you sure?”

Nico took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. “Losing him, I guess. I’m afraid of losing him, and missing him for the rest of my life.”

“It will be hard, but I think you two can do it. I think you can work out a way to be together. You are not the first soulmates to have completely different lives.”

“So I should talk to him.”

“Of course you should.”

“Yeah. Right. Talking. I can do that.”

As it turned out, talking wasn’t so easy.

 In the afternoon they took a walk through the city. Everything made Will smile, to the point his cheeks must have hurt. If they did, he didn’t say. Nico realized he was following Will around like a lost puppy, but he didn’t know what else to do. In the morning they had been given a Christmas tree, and now Will wanted to decorate it. Nico huffed and sighed, calling him an overgrown baby, all the while hiding a smile.

“It could become a tradition,” Will said. He had his hands in his pockets, and refused to look up from the stand of handmade Christmas balls they were in front of.

“You ordering me around?” Nico asked, cocking an eyebrow. He clasped his hands behind his back, leaning forward to take a peak to the stand. It was covered in red balls. Even through all the layers he could feel the heat radiating off Will’s body. Even more so when the other leaned back, resting against Nico’s shoulder.

Nico’s breath hitched.

“No, spending Christmas together. No wait, you probably have galas or something. Sorry.” He scoffed.

Nico couldn’t see Will’s face. He immediately missed the his warmth when he stepped forward. With his heart thumping in his chest, Nico did the same, hooking his chin on Will’s shoulder, with the pretense of taking another look.

“I will miss them for you,” Nico said, speaking so quietly it was a mystery how Will heard him.

He did, and tensed up. When he spoke, his voice was as soft as cotton balls. “Would you?”

“I don’t like them much to begin with.” Nico cleared his throat, the tension unbearable. Will’s fingers were shaking. Nico stepped back, taking his wallet from his pocket. “So, which ones would you like?”

 They didn’t speak much. They found themselves in a café a while later, with steaming cups of hot chocolate and coffee on the table. As soon as Nico was recognized, they were gifted cookies.

“Something I never understood,” Nico said, trying to break the tension. “Is why they always gift rich people with food.”

Will choked on his hot chocolate, falling forward on the table. He laughed so hard other costumers turned to look at them. Glare at them, more specifically.

“You’re such an old man,” Will finally said, shaking his head. He sighed heavily. “God, my grandmother will love you.”

“Oh, you plan on introducing us?” Nico asked, learning forward, a small smile on his face. “Let me tell you, every mother and grandmother hates me before knowing I’m rich. They think I’m a gangster.”

Will snorted, in a way he would later realize didn’t make him more attractive at all. “Oh, shut up. You’re a marshmallow.”

Nico clasped his lips. “Wow. That I’ve never been called.”

“I find that hard to believe. Don’t you have pet-names with your girlfriends?”

Nico furrowed his eyebrows. “Girl…friends? Like, girls who are my friends?” Reyna’s words came back to him in full force, as he watched Will tilt his head to the side. “You mean like a…a…?”

“A romantic partner who is a girl?” Will tried. His eyes roamed around the room, before setting back on Nico. He tapped his fingers on the table, at the same rhythm as the music passing on the radio. “Don’t you have one now?”

Nico turned red in less than a second. “I don’t. But, like, I also won’t. Never. I won’t ever have a girlfriend.”

“Oh my God, do you still do arranged marriages?”

Will seemed outraged, and for a moment Nico wondered if he was being serious. Was he always so dense? It took him a moment to remember that yes, he was. With no doubt at all.

“Will, I’m gay.”

Will’s eyebrows shot up so fast they should have fallen from his forehead. “Oh.”

He furrowed his eyebrows even more. God. God, had Nico fucked up? Why did he have to listen to Reyna of all people? What did she know? God. Fantastic. Perfect. He would never, ever–

“Is that how you know French?”

Nico looked at him for a long moment. Will, and the smile he was trying to suppress, his lips half-upturned but not completely, and his eyes, they shone so bright, and–

“Oh my God, are you being serious right now?”

And Will laughed.

 Will threw himself over Niccolò on the couch. He could start thinking about the future the next day, or the day after. They had turned on the lights on the Christmas tree, and they were now flickering with red, green and yellow.

Niccolò huffed, letting his hand fall between Will’s shoulders blade. “God, are you always so hot?”

Will put his chin on Niccolò’s chest, batting his eyelashes coyly. “Are you always such a flirt?”

“I–” He turned red, his Adam apple going up and down. “I meant warm. Not, like, hot as in sexy. I mean. I mean, you–it’s not like-”

Will laughed. “Sometimes I forget you’re shy.”

Niccolò’s whole face transformed into a frown. “That’s because I’m not. Fuck you, Will.”

Will laughed some more. Niccolò was avoiding his eyes, so he propped himself on his elbows, getting in Niccolò face with a blinding smile.

It was almost anticlimactic the way it happened.

Will was laughing, until he wasn’t. Niccolò was sputtering, until he wasn’t. They had been on their own, until someone had thrown them together, closing them in a house in Livigno. They had been strangers, until they weren’t.

Will had despised the idea of soulmates, until he hadn’t. Because with Nico, with Nico he could envision it. Waking up together, planning a life together. Having a dog, and then another, maybe even a cat. Walking down the streets together, holding each other’s hand. Traveling Europe train by train, without having a route.

For once in his life, he could imagine it all.

Nico had a light stubble from the day, and Will wanted to touch it, run his fingertips over the curves of Nico’s face. Touch his skin where it wasn’t so perfect, where Prince Niccolò met Nico. Remind himself that, after all, Niccolò was just Nico, who liked black coffee and sputtered when he was nervous.

And then they were on the ground. Will’s arm had given in under the weight of his body, and he fell to the ground. Nico’s limbs were tangled with his, so they fell together. Nico’s head touched the carpet with a loud thud.

“Oh my God!” Will shrieked. He tried to stand, but only entangled himself further in the blanket that had been covering Nico. “How’s your head? Oh my God, can you even hear me?”

Nico groaned, making no move to stand. He covered his face with his hands. “With the frequencies you’re speaking at, I’m also probably losing my hearing.”

“Fuck, I’m getting you some ice.” He bolted to the kitchen, and a new sound of despair echoed through the house. “Do we even have ice?”

 Nico took his phone out of his pocket, and sent a message to Reyna.

I almost kissed him and fucked up.

She responded after a few moments.

I bet you didn’t talk about it.

Nico huffed.

You don’t say.

With some dizziness, he stood and reached the kitchen. He sat on the counter, watching Will roam through the freezer, and only come back with a bag of iced peas.

He must have not heard Nico, for when he saw him sitting there he completely paled, almost dropping the peas.

“Careful, those are sacred around here,” Nico said.

Will nodded, with a little smile on his lips, that didn’t seem natural at all.

Nico chewed on his lower lip. How did he bring it up? Sorry I tried to kiss you, I was just vibe checking? Was that something normal kids these days said?

“You know about the soulmate ceremony?” Nico blurted out, reaching forward to take the bag of peas from Will’s hands.

“Yeah?” Will prompted, sitting on the other stool and swinging his feet.

“Well. We’ll have to choose a color palette. One day. When we actually have it.” Nico nodded. “Well, that was it. All I had to say. Yep.”

Will snorted through his nose. “Is that really all you have to say?”

Will leaned forward, taking the wrist of the hand in which Nico was uselessly holding the bag, and brought it to Nico’s temple. Nico adjusted his grip on it. Will’s hand seemed to linger forever, and if Nico were honest, he would have admitted he wished it would.

“No.” Nico’s heart stopped beating. It literally stopped beating, then did so hard it broke his chest. “It’s not all I have to say.”

“What else is there, then?”

Oh. Oh, Will’s eyes. They had resumed their puppy resemblance, or maybe puppy eyes should have just been called Will’s eyes, because Nico was pretty sure he had invented them. There was no other explanation of why he would ever look so good with them.

“Before the ritual, we have to decide what we should be. Platonic or romantic.”

“You’re gay, I’m bi.”

Nico’s breath resembled a sob. “Yeah.”

“But you’re a prince.”

“Yeah.”

Will’s eyes were still so sweet, even with the hurt so clear in them. “We don’t really have a choice then, do we?”

“I can’t offer you a relationship.” Nico shook his head; he couldn’t bear Will’s knowing gaze anymore. He looked away. “If I keep seeing you, then I’ll fall in love. But even then, we’d have to sneak around, keep being in secret.”

“Just–I just have a question. Why can’t you be gay? Are your parents homophobes?””

“Not my parents. They know. But it would cause problems if I were to create a scandal. My sisters, my mother, my father’s past… everything would be thrown right back on journals. I have to keep quiet, so I can live peacefully. And I can’t ask that of you. You deserve to be loved in the open.”

Will’s smile turned bitter. “So do you.” Slowly, oh so slowly, his hand covered Nico’s. His skin was soft and warm, much like he was. “You deserve to be happy.”

“Our happiness doesn’t overlap, does it? I’ll be a prince for the rest of my life, famous forever.”

“I know.” Will gripped his hand tighter, and Nico let the peas bag fall to the counter. He tried to smile again. It looked more like a grimace. “Star crossed lovers, aren’t we, my darlin’?” He tilted his head to the side, causing the blonde curls on his head to move, and the perfume of his shampoo to expand through the air. “If you could be selfish just for this one moment, this one night, what would you do?”

Nico didn’t hesitate. He stood, and cupped Will’s jaw. Was Will’s mark pulsing as his own was? Could he feel the sparks where they touched? Nico leaned forward, and kissed him. The first kiss was little more than a lingering peck, but it was followed by another, and another again. They separated, keeping their foreheads resting against one another’s. One of Will’s hand was on Nico’s shoulder, the other on the small of his back.

Their breaths mingled. Nico was sure that, if he looked away, he’d never have the force to meet Will’s eyes again. So he didn’t. He didn’t have to either, because Will kissed him again, and it was heated and perfect, and their marks were really pulsing this time.

 Spending Christmas Eve with a stranger hadn’t been on Will’s to-do list. As he lays in bed later the same night, he wonders whether Nico has ever been one at all.

 25th of December

Will has never spent a Christmas quite like this. He sits in front of the TV, with Nico’s chest against his back, Nico’s own back against the sofa.

“What time is the flight, again?” Will asks. His voice is low, a bit raspy.

“Five in the afternoon. They’ll come pick us up around three, I think.”

Will rests his head on Nico’s shoulder, dropping a little to the ground, and looking up at him.

“We have to open the gifts,” Nico says. He makes to move, but Will is quicker, and puts his hand on Nico’s knee, stopping him mid-movement. But Will doesn’t know how to start when his heart is beating like this, and Nico looking at him like this. “Will?”

“Remember when I said my name wasn’t William?” he asks.

“Yes. What has that to do with now?”

YouTube is open on the TV, and Taylor Swift’s Christmas Tree Farm playing quietly. In the music video are some photos of her childhood, and Will finds the force of turning to look at Nico by seeing little Taylor fall in a pile of snow.

“If I tell you the truth, will you forgive me for not telling you sooner?”

Once again, Nico doesn’t hesitate in cupping Will’s cheek with his hand. His touch is so tender it shouldn’t be legal. Eve and Adam must have felt like this, when they ate the forbidden fruit. “Everything that happened between us, happened with me knowing you were keeping something from me.”

Will nods. “But I–it might change what you think of me.”

“Unless you tell me you’re an assassin sent to kill me, then I don’t think we’re in that kind of trouble.”

“My name.” Will wraps his fingers around Nico’s wrist, keeping it there. He wets his lips, almost laughs at the way Nico blushes. “You know Apollo’s real name?”

Nico furrows his eyebrows, tilting his head to the side. He still seems so confused. “No? Don’t they say it’s one of Hollywood’s best kept secrets?”

The warmth of Nico’s skin against his and the softness of the carpet underneath them are the only things keeping Will’s head above the waters his mind has turned into.

“Lester Papadopolous. That’s his name.”

Nico still doesn’t understand. “Were you a groupie or something?”

“God, no, I–listen.” Will sits straighter, without even thinking of letting Nico go, with the fear of his touch never coming back. “People don’t know where his children ended up, right? But he had a lot.”

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t really keep up with Hollywood gossip or whatever, but I don’t get where you’re going with–”

“My name,” Will interrupts him. “My name now is Fitzwilliam Andrew Solace. But it used to be Fitzwilliam Andrew Papadopolous.”

Nico is silent for a long moment. His hand slips from Will’s cheek, passing through his fingers, wrapped too loosely, and to the ground. It makes the same thud his head has the night prior. His face is unreadable.

“You are his son,” he finally says.

God. Why is his voice so carefully blank? Will doesn’t want them to be careful around each other, not after they’ve got so far.

Will nods. “His and Naomi. They–I didn’t really want to stay after what happened with Lee and Michael. I had a big fight with my father.”

“Yeah. Yeah, it makes sense.”

What? What makes sense? Will wants to scream, tear his own hair out, but he can’t. He’s not a child anymore.

Will sniffles. “Well, we can open the gifts now that that is in the open, anyway.” He claps his hands, willing the knot in his chest away. When he can’t, he starts ignoring it. “Just felt like you should know and everything.”

He uncrosses his legs to stand, but Nico’s fingers wrap around his wrist. This time it’s him trying to keep Will close.

Nico takes a deep breath, and talks so fast he could be an undercover rapper. “You know I don’t think any different of you for that, right? And I hope I didn’t do anything to make you feel pressured to tell me, although I am glad you did, and I think it might help to know in the future.”

Will stares dumbfounded at him. “Future.”

“Yeah. I still want to know a lot about you.” He turns as red as the jumper Will has found in the back of the wardrobe, and forced on him. In Will’s defense, Nico hasn’t put up that much of a fight, and red really suits him. “Even when we go back to platonic. You’re wonderful as Fitzwilliam Andrew Solace, I’m sure you were wonderful as Fitzwilliam Andrew Papopolous.”

Platonic. They were good when they were, so the thought shouldn’t hurt Will so much.

“Papadopolous.”

“Yeah, that.”

Will laughs. And then he cries.

 It’s dark outside when a car pulls up in the driveway. They have already brought their luggage downstairs. Nico’s phone pings with a new message, and after he checks it, he stands in front of the window to wave at the driver. In silence, they put on their coats. Will has left his gloves in the pockets. Nico takes one of the scarves from the coat hanger, and then puts the other on Will. They stand there for a long moment, looking at each other, no one wanting to go out, meet the outside world again.

“I’ll miss you,” Will says, so quietly he isn’t sure Nico will hear.

“So will I,” Nico responds. And then it’s silent again.

Will wraps his arms around Nico, and the other reciprocates. Will swallows, shutting his eyes and willing the tears away. Why does it feel so much like a goodbye?

 26th of December

Will’s siblings and Drew are waiting for him at the airport. He smiles, laughing at Drew and Kayla’s intertwined hands, wishing he and Nico were allowed to do the same. He looks down at his finger, the way the artificial light catches on the ring Nico has gifted him. As they pass the Brooklyn Bridge, he looks East, and in the way the sun shines on the surface of the river, he almost thinks he will forget Nico.