#Rock pretty much Nico's adoptive father

[dmc-questions-anon]

Happy father's day!

(Vergil you are on thin fucking ice. You're only on here with the assumption you'll be a good dad in the future. Make us proud.)

[nayci]

Tagged by the lovely @keldae. (I didn't forget about this I swear…)

Thing of note, I am an unashamed Canon x OC/Reader fan soooo take that for what you will. lol

3 Ships

Joshua Rosfield/Suraya Murdoch (Final Fantasy 16) These two have lived rent-free in my head and my soul since Final Fantasy 16 game out. Still waiting for it to come to PC so I can actually play it but I digress. Hasn't stopped my brain from coming up with something. Somehow their story ended up being childhood friends to lovers to boot. Normally I go for an older man, younger woman vibe. But for these two? It's reversed and it's wild and I adore it. Joshua being the inheritor of the Rosarian Duchy and Suraya being the adopted daughter of Rodney and Hanna Murdoch. So, the two of them inadvertently got pushed together during the early years since her father wanted her to get the most out of her upbringing, self-defense being a top priority along with her studies. Suraya was and still is incredibly protective of Joshua's happiness and hated his mother with a burning passion for how she treated all of them, even to her own detriment. That said, Joshua formed feelings first when they were children, but never had a chance to speak of them before the fall of Phoenix Gate. So it was years before anything could happen. Suraya on the other hand, never had a chance to even think about it until they were reunited, and she had to come to terms with the fact that her ten-year-old friend was no longer a boy, but was actually a young man determined to bring her the happiness and joy she gave him, should she wish it.

Vergil/Alya (Devil May Cry) These two shitheads have also been living rent-free in my head since 2019 and have given me at least five different massive fanfic reworks since then. And it continues to morph and change so I just keep flipping my desk over at this point. Anyway, for these two it was never an overt thing. They pretty much fell together without ever explicitly talking about it as neither was looking for a relationship. Behind the scenes Dante was over Vergil's bullshit, Trish and Lady were over Alya's bullshit, and Nero was like: fuck that I'm not getting involved, and watched from the sidelines with Nico who had a betting pool that everyone was in on much to the pair's annoyance after the fact. Either way, Alya wanted answers after her father was murdered and Devil May Cry is who ended up coming to her aid. To that end, it opens up a massive can of demons and angels. But those angels aren't your traditional light and loving kind. Having the upbringing Vergil had, or lack thereof after his mother's death, he was always wary about opening up again, and in many ways still is, but Alya takes it in stride. And for that, Vergil is silently grateful. In turn, he is her protector and rock, and a good listening ear. What he can't say in verbal words, he will say in written poetry. This is more of my status quo, older man, younger woman vibe, but with the added bonus of magic, demons, and a slow-burn romance.

Graha Tia/Khulan Noykin (Final Fantasy 14) Listen, when I got into Final Fantasy 14 back during ARR, me and my Warrior of Light didn't think too much of the Allagan cat boy. He was a friend, nothing more to her at the time, and while she did mourn for him when he locked himself in the Crystal Tower, she also understood. Plus, she was dealing with her own feelings for a certain rogue bard soon-to-be gunbreaker. It wasn't until Shadowbringers that Graha Tia came in dropkicking Khulan in the face, and Thancred being a complete ass didn't help. Khulan during this time saw much of herself in Graha Tia's willingness to die for a cause and hated it. Not him of course, but seeing a mirror of some of your faults is never a fun thing. As their friendship developed after defeating Emet Selch, it eventually became a dance around the subject of feelings. Graha never feeling like he was good enough for her and Khulan feeling the exact same way but of herself towards him. Everyone else saw it as it was blatantly obvious, but the events of Endwalker came before anything could become of it. Khulan ends up in a dark place during this time, almost robotic like her ARR self, but a lot more deadly than her early days of being just an arcanist. It's when she begins losing her friends that the walls around her heart begin to break, and Graha's sacrifice was the breaking point. When all of it was over and they were back home, the two of them start to explore something more as Khulan recovered from her fight with Zenos. Now, going into the events of Dawntrail, me nor Khulan know where this is going to go. But hey! it's a new adventure!

First Ship

We're going back to when I was but a small eight/nine year old child and loved Ash and Misty as a pairing. During this time I didn't know what fandom was or that people wrote fanfic and created art. So it was mostly me creating terrible drawings. Did I self insert into pokemon as well? Of course I did! lol

Last Song

"The Phoenix" from Fall Out Boy. I just discovered it after find a GMV for Final Fantasy 16. It was so good I had to find it in my Apple Music and is now on repeat. I regret nothing regarding my hyperfixation.

Currently Reading

"A Court of Thorns and Roses" by Sarah J. Maas. Yes I'm late to the game, but hey! I made it! Am I only on chapter 3? Also yes, but hey, I'll get throgh it eventually.

Last Film

I think it was Mission Impossible 3? It was on at work so it was just background noise.

Currently Craving

A vacation. A true, real, good vacation. Tagging anyone who wants to do it

[jankwritten]

How does the parenting and caring for Nico differ for snowy and Jack? Wait if Jack is Percy's dad, does that make them brothers????!

OsiuPOXCASOIDMAPSD

Okay so first thing's first: Jack and Percy are, if anything, closer to brothers than father/son. Percy also has a low key crush on Jack which I feel is important to mention considering LMFAO.

But yes, Percy and Nico can be described as brotherly. In endgame hockey AU they end up in a kind of QPR type thing, bonded for life through some shit that happens near the middle/end of Spotlight :) I think that Nico definitely had a little crush on Percy (well, he'll say it was a little crush) when Nico was like, 16/17 and Percy was just joining the NHL. I think he liked Percy right up until they became teammates at which point he went "oh this dude's a fucking dweeb why did I think he was hot" and then Percy put him in a headlock and the rest is history.

OKAY SO ONTO THE ACTUAL QUESTION LMFAO

So Jack is very. Stoic, I feel. He's kinda stilted and awkward, because he doesn't quite know how to handle Nico, not really. Percy was easy for him to handle, because Percy and Bitty are very similar in a lot of ways, and so Jack was like "ah yes, I've done this before" with mentoring Percy and helping him out in the beginning. Plus, Jack and Percy are far closer in age than Jack and Nico are - I believe Jack is 29 and Percy is 26, where Nico is 19. With Percy, Jack already knew what to expect, he had a baseline for how a guy that age would generally be, etc. etc.

With Nico, however, it was like being thrown a curveball-shaped-mirror. Jack looked at Nico and he saw himself at 19, fresh out of rehab and scared to shit about hockey and being queer (I do think that Jack clocked Nico pretty early, and not just because Nico wasn't super trying to hide it), he saw this kid who's talent was hanging about his head ready to snap and crush him at any point, and he thought, "no, I will not let this happen again."

But he also thought, "if someone had come to ME at that age and tried to demand I listen to them and all this shit, I would've snapped at them and shoved them away", and so he sort of. Didn't know how to approach. Kind of stood in the wings and watched how the rest of the team took to Nico. Jack stared out very much as The Captain - he took his job of watching over Nico as The Rookie very seriously, maybe more seriously than he had with other guys, but Nico wouldn't have known any different so it worked out. But now Jack is kind of stuck as The Captain and not, like. A Friend, not really. Nico thinks of Jack as a teammate first, an emergency contact at best. A last resort. Jack, however, is always there in the background, watching, keeping track, noting if Nico starts behaving strangely, sneaking off, partying more, etc. etc.

SNOWY on the other hand was immediately all-in on the "yeah you're my rookie I'm adopting you you're my child fucking deal with it" shtick. He heard they'd be getting a new backup goalie and was all prepared for that, and then Nico di Angelo rocked up to camp, five foot shit, twig-skinny, baby-faced with a scowl that could freeze even the biggest of d-men, and Snowy said "oh, word?"

Basically, where Jack hesitated because he didn't want to scare Nico off, Snowy didn't give Nico a chance to get scared off. I think there was also a sense, from Nico's end, of relief. The team's goalie was obviously not a dickhead, obviously didn't hate him, obviously wanted to help him. Even though Nico hated the way Snowy babied him, texting him about remembering to eat and sleep and all this shit, he still appreciated it on some level, because, yeah, he probably would've forgotten, otherwise.

Jack is very observant, but largely hands-off when it comes to taking care of Nico. He's always going to step in when he thinks it's necessary, and he's always got Nico's back, but he does it froma distance (such a distance that Nico doesn't even really realize Jack considers him a friend, let alone that Jack is keeping a hawks-eye on him). Snowy is exactly the opposite. He's loud and obnoxious and in-your-face about making sure Nico is alright. He calls Nico kid constantly, he's always the first to check in after a shit game, the first to ask Nico if he wants to go eat somewhere, the first to try and include him, if others have forgotten. Snowy is also sometimes less observant than Jack is, in fact a lot of the time some of Nico's quirks slip past him, because Snowy writes them off as Goalie quirks. Nico's thing about pre-game routine, for example, which we saw Snowy be flippant about. That kind of stuff means more to Nico because of things Snowy doesn't quite see, like Nico's neurodivergences. Snowy does start to catch on that there's something a little Different about it, eventually.

[jflashandclash]

Traitors of Olympus IV

 Epilogue

           As they exited the courtroom for recess, Kally wished she hadn’t worn a skirt. Everything was miserable enough without having uncomfortable clothing on the list.

           Nikhil, Merry’s little brother, looked terrified. His gangly limbs looked awkward and stick-figure in his charcoal suit, like someone decided to stuff a scarecrow with dowel rods. Although Merry was pretending everything was fine, there was too much talk of foster homes. Neither sibling wanted to be split up again. With Merry’s emancipation, it was looking more and more likely. If Nikhil stayed at his Mom’s, then Merry would be close by and could do some proper mothering from a distance. But, Mrs. Blythe had missed out on too many court dates concerning Merry’s abusive stepfather.

           When Nikhil went to use the bathroom, all of Merry’s feigned confidence deflated. She collapsed onto one of the benches in the eerily sterile, white hallway. Kally had to wonder why all government buildings thought white was a good idea. What a comforting color when you’re settling a violent family dispute.

           “They’re not going to let me take care of him,” Merry said.

           Her voice was as hollow as her expression. No humming. No “sweetie” or “bae.” Even her outfit looked really… not Merry: a conservative business suit that couldn’t cover her curves and her wavy hair twisted up into a bun.

           Kally wished she knew what to do. Pax would have cracked a joke, but she hadn’t seen him since their chaotic Christmas dinner. Calex probably would have known best, but he hadn’t been able to come back from Britain. He’d fought hard to scrounge up enough money for a flight, but his side job didn’t make enough extra to helping his father with the funeral debts, contribute to rent, and pay for a ticket.

           Merry had teased him on the phone, had told him it was fine.

           Now, Merry’s face was pale. There wasn’t a trace of a smile on her lips. Kally could tell she hadn’t been sleeping.  

           “I did a lot of research with Malcolm about the laws for this,” Merry continued, her eyes distantly staring at the sunlight trickling through the window. A beautiful backdrop of a parking lot. “If an older, emancipated sibling can provide for their younger sibling, they’ll sometimes let them live together, but, I disappeared when he needed me… They’re going to keep him in permanent foster care. He doesn’t even like his temporary foster family.”

           Merry’s eyes glistened.

           Kally took Merry’s hand and squeezed it. “Hey, we’re going to make sure you can see Nik.”

           Merry’s eyes focused. She forced a smile. Although Kally hadn’t seen Merry nearly as much as she would have liked—something about being grounded for eternity as punishment for “running away” for a few months and drowning under makeup school work—Kally could tell Merry hadn’t been taking any of what happened well. Not that any of them could, but what happened to Hiro haunted Merry. Merry did not like that she had the power to drive people insane. It especially terrified Kally when Pollux gave her a call on the camp phone to say that Merry was second guessing whether she could have driven her own father to beat her.

           With the two months of distance between them and the Battle of Saturnalia, Kally almost wished these monsters were the kind she could hit with a light javelin.

           Then, the recess ended, and everyone was allowed back into the courtroom. Kally made sure not to look Merry’s adoptive father or her mother in the face. She was afraid she’d punch both of them for what they’d done to their children and that didn’t seem like a great idea with so many deputies patrolling the halls.

           The judge, an elderly, possibly senile Hispanic man named Justice Jose, shuffled back into the courtroom. For the entire proceedings, Kally had feared he would pass out. He and his two deputies had been glistening with sweat and clearly sick.

           Now, however, he looked much better. Color had returned to his wrinkled complexion. She’d heard Nikhil make a half-hearted joke about the judge really needing to go to the bathroom when he called recess so close to the final hearing. Maybe Nikhil had been right. No upset stomachs allowed in the courtroom.

           There was something different about him though, something Kally probably shouldn’t have even noticed because it was so subtle: he was wearing thin, black gloves.

           When Kally glanced at his two deputies, something else weird happened. Already, she couldn’t really remember what they looked like. Now, she struggled to look them in the face at all, and not because she’d broken the law several times in the last few months.

           Each time she did look at one, she immediately forgot his features, beyond the fact that the deputy was tall and a male. Hadn’t one of them been a female before?

           Kally was so distracted, she didn’t register the court formalities. She was so conditioned to standing and sitting at mass, the motions blurred past.

           But, her mind sharpened when Jose said, “I think we’ve heard enough from the different parties. Normally, I might go through an explanation to Mr. Sukumar Priya and Mrs. Blythe as to why I find them unfit to raise Nikhil, but I believe we have covered that amply.”

           Merry blinked and glanced over at Kally. This judge had been very wordy, like Homeric epic wordy, before.

           “From her financial records and the amount of maturity and responsibility that this merry girl has illustrated—”

           Merry’s eyes widened. During the entire proceedings, they’d been referring to her by her legal name, either Maari or Ms. Blythe. The judge looked like he’d held off a smile at the comment.

           “—she clearly is the best option to take care of her little brother. We will set up another home inspection and check in the next month after.”

           Kally almost didn’t hear anything else.

           Merry’s jaw dropped. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

           Kally felt the same happen to her. She didn’t even catch the judge delegating the decision’s write up to a clerk, who looked confused and skeptical. Jose signed a paper and said, “This court is adjourned.”

***

           They were celebrating as they left the courthouse. Kally’s older brother, John, would be driving around to pick them up, and she knew she could bully him into taking them for dessert. He’d been a lot more protective and attentive since she’d been back, especially after the massive fight that Kally had with their mother. And the fact that Kally could barely move the first month with her broken ribs.

           When they turned to the parking garage, Kally froze.

           On the sidewalk, facing away from her, there was a person wearing a silk burgundy suit. His hair was gelled back into a perfect, short ponytail.

           Reflexively, Kally’s hand shot into her messenger bag. Her chest constricted, and she felt her rib pain return with her panic.

           She stepped in front of Merry and Nikhil, withdrawing her Argonaut statue.

           There was no way—she wouldn’t be able to—he couldn’t be alive—

           “Kall! Merry!”

           Kally’s vision had tunneled. She had noticed two figures standing on either side of Mr. Burgundy Suit, like henchmen, but she hadn’t registered them beyond the matching dress shirts.

           One of the two henchies—the tallest one—had broken off, rapidly walking towards her with a broad grin.

           There was no muzzle or straight jacket, but Kally still took a step backwards, horrified this might be a trick.

           His black hair had grown out. Instead of the military style cut he used to have, the bangs hung long, and would have concealed his dark eyes if the bangs weren’t so fluffy. The once-neatly trimmed goatee was longer too, giving him a look crossed between a disheveled, adventurer and a rock star. The scarification gleamed on his bronzed skin.

           Mr. Burgundy Suit whirled towards his rogue underling. “Axel! This isn’t the dramatic reunion we agreed to! We’ll never get this valuable opportunity back!”

           Axel ignored him. He also ignored the way Kally squeaked when he picked her up by the waist for a bear hug.

           Kally felt her cheeks warm up. The suspicion dissolved and she hugged Axel back tightly. “You guys are okay,” she whispered.

           Axel nodded. He held her for an instant longer, then slowly lowered her feet back to the ground.

           There had been no word from them since Christmas. Lapis hadn’t even come after Merry like he’d promised. They had no idea if the Romans had captured them, other than a quick message from Nico and Will assuring her that Frank had no progress on his hunt. But, she’d been wondering if the Romans and Greeks were covering things up or if any gods with a taste for Pax vendettas had achieved vengeance or if the Pax boys had disappeared into the forests of Belize like a bad folk tale monster.

           Kally was genuinely torn between giving each of them a kiss on the check or slugging them hard in the diaphragm. She’d probably have to do both.

           Axel gave Merry a warm smile. “It’s good to see you, Merry. And you must be Nikhil. I heard you two just had a major victory.”

           Nikhil had taken a step behind his sister, practically vanishing. He made a grunt noise. Kally felt bad. He’d gone through too much today to meet these maniacs. Though this was pretty tame compared to the first time she’d met the Pax brothers. Not enough flaming cars.

           Not that we need flaming cars, she thought, in case any Fates were listening.

           Merry’s eyes went glassy again. This time, though, she swayed softly to a tune she was humming. “You dodgy, wonderful works of nature.”

           Kally didn’t quite understand until Pax came over. Her stomach twisted to see him in that familiar burgundy suit with his hair slicked back. One resilient lock still popped out in the front, like a flag that said, I will never be tamed!

           Then, she saw what Merry had: Pax wore a pair of thin, black gloves. The same ones Jose had been wearing.

           There was no way for them to know about the verdict unless they were in the courtroom itself. Well, unless they had threatened the first person out of the courtroom, which is something they would do.

           Pax stopped a few feet away from Kally, giving her his most devilish smile.

           Behind him, a tall, gangly figure approached in a similar burgundy dress shirt with black tie.

           Last time Kally saw Alabaster, he’d been sickly pale and trying to hide his want as everyone else shoveled Christmas food into their mouths. Everything he ate had to be puréed.

           Although Alabaster was still pale like her—he’d always burn within ten minutes of sun contact—there was more color to his freckled cheeks. A thin scar traced where his jawbone had protruded the skin a few months ago. His wry smile looked far less painful as he said, “It’s good to see you Kally.”

           He could talk. Kally didn’t see any wires or anything.

           When he turned to Merry, he merely nodded his head and said, “Ol’Sissy.”

           “Proof that Kally has questionable taste in men,” Merry retorted, folding her arms and looking him up and down like the most disappointed of matchmakers.

           “Aw, Merry! I think Witch-Boy looks hot in a suit and tie,” Pax said with a wink.

           Both Kally and Alabaster blushed. Pax wasn’t wrong. They all looked good in a creepy Santiago’s men wore these when they were being evil way, and it made Kally want to slap them harder and demand where they’d been.

           “Who are these guys? They look like Agents of Shield villains,” Nikhil muttered from behind Merry.

           “We’re the psychopaths that kidnapped your sister and her hot friend,” Pax said.

           “So, demigods,” Nikhil said. He’d been taking some time getting used to the new knowledge of the world, but Merry, Dionysus, and Chiron agreed it was necessary if Merry wanted to have any hand in her brother’s life.

           “Fifty percent,” Pax agreed, gesturing towards Alabaster and himself. He pointed a thumb to Axel, and waggled it between them. “The other fifty is primordial awesome.”

           Axel shook his head, smiling.

           “You’re weird,” Nikhil said. His shoulder relaxed a little and he took a timid step out from behind his sister.

           She completely sidestepped to leave him fully exposed. Merry: ever the coddling caretaker.

           Pax wiped a fake tear from his eye. “We only just started talking and he already knows me so well.”

           “You must be Pax,” Nikhil said, pointing a finger.

           “I was story worthy?” Pax asked. If he were an anime character, his eyes would have sparkled.

           “You were warning worthy,” Merry said. “I know you didn’t just wear those to give Kally and me a heart attack.” She gestured at Pax’s suit and Axel and Alabaster’s burgundy dress shirts.

           “We’re rebranding,” Pax said.

           The stiffness of his smile made the unease return to Kally’s stomach. Something inside Kally said that Pax shouldn’t have been the one to answer that question. He hated those suits. He had sobbed to her when his father made him jell his hair back for their violent family reunion.

           The unease turned to nausea when she realized how much Pax really did look like his father. The more his face had matured from cute to handsome, the closer it got. With the stiffness of that smile, the way his shoulders were held back, and the disquieting confidence—

           Kally shook off the thought.

           Another one immediately clouded her mind. He was answering for Axel and Alabaster. They stood on either side of him like a pair of bodyguards. Pax also hadn’t tried to hug her or touch her at all. Weird to think that boundary respect would be foreboding but—

           “There are a few changes we’re excited to—”

           Merry’s eyes went wide. She held up a hand to cut Pax off. “Stop everything.” She took a step closer to Axel, rising on her tiptoes to examine him thoroughly. Kally wondered if she’d picked up on the same oddities and was about to call one of them out on it.

“Your neck.” She pointed a finger into his chest. “What beautiful creature got a hold of it?”

           Kally feared she meant that someone had strangled Axel. When she saw what Merry meant, Kally’s hand shot up to cover her lips, a habit that she’d been trying to break.

           There were at least four bruises, two just under his ear and two peeking out from his collar, with skin discoloration speckling the skin beside it. Kally couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed them before. They were—

“Are those hickeys?” the words blurted out of Kally’s mouth before she could choke them back.

Really. Obvious. Hickeys.

           Axel’s smile turned to a cocky smirk. He cracked his neck and glanced innocently off to the side. He didn’t even blush.

           “Witness his open defiance of societal standards,” Pax said, making a grand show-man gesture.

           “No,” Merry said in clear disbelief at Axel’s shamelessness. Her grin was enormous.

           Pax pouted and folded his arms across his chest. The perfect posture caved as he slouched gloomily. “He won’t spill. The worst part from this devious fiend? Yesterday, I was gone all day on boring business stuff, and he had a peace meeting with a praetor in the afternoon, and went to a Green Day concert with Grace at night. And Bast has constant access to the house. Could have been an actual empousa for all I know.”

           “I know who it was,” Alabaster said, feigning disinterest as he checked over some spell pouches along his belt.

           “You’re bluffing,” Pax said, “You just want something to hold over my head.”

           “You’re upset because you have no way to find out if I’m bluffing and can’t make me talk if I’m not,” Alabaster said.

           From the way Alabaster and Axel exchanged a glance, she could tell how much they enjoyed dangling this in front of Pax.

           The youngest whined and huffed.

           Kally’s worries melted at their ridiculousness. This was still them. Though, what had Pax meant by business stuff? Alabaster may be capable of becoming a reasonable member of society, but the Pax boys had spent most of their time training and doing street performances before she met them.

           “Oh Mr. Stoic, don’t you go thinking you can hide this from Auntie Merry,” Merry said and folded her arms across her chest. Unlike Pax, she looked more like a mob boss or a proper Queen of Gossip with the motion. Kally was always terrified of how Merry could twist people’s personal info—or assumed personal info—against them.

           Axel pulled out a packet of gum from his pocket. He gave her a grin as he withdrew a piece and slowly folded it into his mouth. “Gentlemen,” Axel said, “Do not kiss and tell.” He looked so proud of himself.

           He offered the gum out to the group.

           Nikhil timidly reached forward and took a piece. “Looking at your neck, I don’t think the person you’re interested in wants anything to do with someone who is gentle,” the kid said.

           Merry gave the most genuine laugh that Kally had heard since everything happened during the Festival of Saturnalia.

           A slight blush finally lit up Axel’s cheeks. Maybe he had to hear it from a fourteen-year-old.

           Kally could tell her face had gone bright red. She often forgot Axel was a Pax boy. When she first met them, Axel was always restrained by the stress of running from their psychotic father and New Rome, of struggling to keep his little brother safe and fed, of crumbling under the guilt of a failed army. He looked so much more relaxed, so much… younger, and, with the new hair, almost wild.

           She never considered how much of a terror Axel could be without those worries. Especially if he put all of his efforts towards charming over one girl. Kally had always assumed it would be Reyna, but Pax’s grumpiness and Merry’s conniving grin made her wonder.  Thalia hadn’t revoked her vows, had she? Not like Kally would have heard about it. She didn’t even know if Thalia and Euna had been talking.

           Anger threatened to bubble when she realized they had been keeping in touch with some of their other friends and not her.

           “Merry, lunch is on me if you can weasel information out of him. That’s usually my forte, but, alas…” Pax glared at his brother. “I’ve been a weasel failure.”

           “You can try,” Axel said. He pinched the gum between his front teeth and pulled it forward with his pointer and middle finger, the same way someone might hold a cigarette, then slipped it back into his mouth.

           “This guy is cool,” Nikhil said.

           “You’re forbidden from looking at him as role model material,” Merry said. “And don’t think you can distract us from the fancy get-ups with this information, at least not for long.”

           “Can’t I?” Axel asked, raising an eyebrow.

           “It’s dangerous when these two agree to work together,” Alabaster said, voicing exactly what Kally was thinking. “Shall we move this conversation to a restaurant? We passed an acceptable-looking ramen house on the way here, and I think Ajax just offered your celebratory lunch on him.”

           That felt too smooth. That ramen house was a spot Merry and Kally enjoyed visiting when they had spare cash from birthdays and could con one of their parents or Kally’s siblings into taking them. They hadn’t been able to go with Merry pooling all her extra cash to get a place for Nikhil. Mr. D was helping, but they all knew it would look suspicious if Merry didn’t come across as financially responsible on her records.

           Merry clucked her tongue. “As suspicious as ever boys.”

           “We’ll need to invite John,” Kally warned, desperately wanting to go, even if this whole thing felt weird. When it came to them, when did anything ever not feel weird? Plus, she still needed to punch all three of them for keeping out of contact for so long.

           “Augh, your brother is an ass,” Nikhil grumbled.

           “Language, sweetie. Remember the rule? SAT hot word with every cuss,” Merry said.

           “Fine. He’s a supercilious ass,” Nikhil said.

           “There’s my smart boy,” Merry said. She tried to pinch his cheek. Nikhil batted her away, clearly embarrassed around the older boys.

           Pax stood up straighter with excitement. “We’ll just have Alabaster talk to John. He’s white. White people like white people, right?”

           Considering John was a walking stereotype of racism, this was a scenario that Kally couldn’t scold Pax for saying that. It still made Kally cringe with secondhand embarrassment. She wanted to point out that John thought that Alabaster was a city-slicker pansy. The only thing that pissed her brother off more than race was the amount of money someone had.

           “I would like to think that Merry can do an exquisite job of broadening his horizons without my assistance,” Alabaster said.

           Merry’s jaw jutted to the side. Both she and Kally cringed at the old discomfort they felt whenever Kally brought Merry to her house. “That stubborn hunbun—”

           “Supercilious ass,” Nikhil said, looking proud of himself. Kally couldn’t help but notice that he’d put his hands into his pockets the same way Axel had.

           “—has commented that he doesn’t view me as Desi anymore, like it’s a compliment,” Merry’s voice was tight. “Though, I think it’ll do him some good to spend more time with you two. I heard he has a certain respect for Mr. Stoic.”

           Axel looked amused. The first time Axel met John, he’d sent John  running faster than a drunken centaur in fear. Kally had to hope, with Axel’s presence demanding respect, Merry’s wit, and Pax’s playfulness, John would become more open-minded over time.

           Alabaster, Axel, and Pax offered to escort them to the designated space that Merry, Nikhil, and Kally had agreed to meet John. They ought to start moving anyway, considering the matching style of the boy’s dress was drawing attention from the deputies just inside the courthouse.

           “So whose nicked money is paying for our lunch?” Merry hummed as they walked. Kally was ecstatic to see a slight dance in Merry’s step again.

           Pax inhaled sharply. “Merry, the person who this money belongs to is a perfectly respectable member of society. They would be offended that you insinuated otherwise.”

           Everyone laughed, though the ones coming from Axel and Alabaster sounded dark.

           Kally swallowed. At least for today, she wanted to have a “normal” lunch with them, as normal as they could handle.[1] Merry had her brother. Kally knew the boys were alive. Would they run out of conversation if they avoided anything serious for this round? Between Merry trying to worm information out of Axel and Pax teasing John, Kally felt the normalcy of the conversation was fabricated. She wondered if they could keep it to normal conversations, if they could make it through a meal without having a dragon attack. By the end of the day, Kally was shocked to find out that they could.

***

One chapter left before the series is done T.T Seriously guys, thank you so much for reading this far and dealing with all of my nonsense. *Pax sniffles* Okay, okay, saving it for next week. Tune in for the last chapter, Epilogue Part II!!!!

***

Footnote:

[1] Melbeta note, “I’m imagining as she says this a monster just bursts through the shop and causes destruction.” Jack, “That’s the movie version.”

[ghoulluck]

When Nico dreamed, it was a great darkness -- big and vast. It swallowed up every scream, every spell -- everything. After years of trying to fight her dreams, she had accepted it. She would sit in the plane of space, staff of one floating over her and illuminating the very little she could see. The little light it gave her only highlighted the darkness around her. Nico stared out, imagining it would make shapes until she would wake up feeling like she hadn’t slept.

She wiped back her inky blue hair as she sat up in bed, hands in her lap, Staff of One laying next to her in bed and brown eyes trained on the mirror across from her bed. Nico passed a hand over the space in front of her, effectively wiping away what she saw to check on her mother. Tina was downstairs sifting through her physical mail while Robert actively avoided her mother.

“Dad?”

The man looked about himself before carefully whispering back, “Yeah, pumpkin?”

“Is she angry today?”

His eyes found the reflective surface she was speaking to him through and he walked towards it so he could speak more softly, “No. Not yet at least.” Nico’s mouth pursed and he adjusted his glasses carefully, “It’s okay. I love you.” She didn’t say it back and her image faded on the turn of metallic rings.

She dusted her hands as she passed her hands down her legs under her blanket. They were sore from cutting into the soft skin. Nico bent her elbow to inspect her arm and noted that her mother’s grip had left a heavy bruise. She breathed in deeply as she struggled to move. 

She wobbled as dragged herself off the edge of her bed. 

Nico smoothed her night gown over her cuts as she made her way to the shower. It was saturday and if she was lucky she could avoid her mother by going over to Julien’s instead. She plucked her phone from it’s charging port on her dresser as she made a detour instead. 

Julien picked up on the first ring.

Nico couldn’t help the tug of a smile when she heard the blonde’s tiny yawn, “Morning.”

The blonde hadn’t bothered to get off the floor yet. She had fallen asleep playing grand theft auto with her brother who lay asleep on his side, an arm haphazardly draped over his doberman, Lily. She reached out to play with a little bit of his long hair as she shouldered the phone.

“I was hoping you’d want to spend today with me,” Nico stated hesitantly as she picked open one of her drawers cautiously to pick out some underwear. She can almost hear Julien smile as the blonde tosses her long blonde hair back with a nod Nico can’t see, “Yes, but training at --” She checks her iwatch with a sigh, “In twenty.” 

The blonde woman cautiously rises with a creak in her back that makes her grimace in pain.

“Do you want to pick me up after?” Nico’s teeth clasp her lower lip as she waits on the response. She’s almost always afraid that one day Julien won’t like her  as much as Nico likes the cheerleader. 

They don’t exactly come from the same worlds. The Minorus are wealthy -- hell the only reason Julien is in Atlas academy was because she had earned a scholarship. Julien’s adopted Fathers were both part of LA’s police department, Hart in cyber crimes and Antoly as a beat cop and a trainer for MMA fights. 

It was a far cry from the glass dollhouse Nico lived in with her mother and father. The teenager treaded carefully in her own home. Her mother had a nervous break down after her star child -- Amy had killed herself. It was a grim reminder that her own mother didn’t love her as much as she hoped they would. Recently, she had discovered her father’s affair with a childhood friend’s wife and that had driven a wedge between them. He could easily have taken them out of the situation, but chose not to.

“Yes.”

Julien’s answer brought her out of her thoughts and she smiled.

“Can we go to the art museum again?”

She had discovered not too long ago that like Nico, Julien had her own special gifts. Together, their power multiplied beyond what they individually could not do on their own.

“Are you thinking about what I’m thinking?” the goth asked as she looked at her standing closet to see what dresses were still clean. Julien hummed on the other line as she went to her bedroom, “We can go to standing rock.” Being able to read each other’s minds was like a blessing. “Yeah, have that picnic we talked about,” the goth stated as she pulled the perfect black dress from her selection, “See you in like an hour or two, yeah?”

Julien nodded, “I like you.”

Nico smirked to herself a bit, “Yeah? I like you too.”

The blonde smiled to herself a little and she hung up the phone to set it aside. She picked through the mess on her floor to find her doberman curled up in one of her more recently used sweaters. She gave him a kiss and his ear flicked at her face when she did so. Adolf was not a morning pupper. She pulled a pink dress and Nico’s black jean jacket from the floor for later, stuffed it in her bag, grabbed some hygiene stuff and changed into her ever preferred pink sportswear.

She pulled her long fairy blonde hair into a high pony tail to keep it out of her face. She didn’t bother with cleaning up her smeared mascara or removing her lashes. Instead, she strode out with her bag, pulled some shoes on -- ran back for a pretty pair for later and went to kneel by Zedd who was still asleep on the floor. She shook him lightly to try to wake him which only resulted in a very cranky Lily. 

“What?” Zedd croaked as he tried not to glare at her and the sun.

“Can I borrow your bike?”

He looked around, “Why can’t you borrow Dad’s car?”

“Nico smiles more when I bring the bike.”

He grimaced as he shuffled through his pockets noisily for the keys. He passed them over to her when he found them and Julien leaned over to kiss his face which made him smile just a little bit. “Be careful,” he warned his sister as he rubbed her shoulder. Adolf sulked over to Zedd to lay on him. The teenage boy made a deflated sound as he dragged a pillow over his head to keep the light out of his eyes.

Julien greeted the funny looking pit bulldog mix that sat beside the pretty disabled woman. Paulina was a family friend of the West-Moore’s and by all means was always present at her child’s training sessions. She greeted the blonde teenager with a smile and Julien returned it as she dropped her bag next to her dad. Hart still preferred the title of dad, mom still didn’t make her completely comfortable. She put one pretty muscular arm around Julien and made the teenager duck her head to kiss it.

“How was worship?” Julien asked the two women.

“It was good,” Paulina answered, “Ryan and Hart came, we had light breakfast after and we came to practice.” The older woman still had a bit of a Spanish accent, but Julien enjoyed it immensely. “Sounds fun,” the teenager commented as Hart curled her fingers with the little tip of the blonde’s pony tail. “Yeah, you sleep okay? I know you and Zedd stayed up pretty late.” Julien nodded a bit with a shrug. The floor always made her jaw hurt, although she couldn’t think of any good reason why it shouldn’t hurt with all the chewing she had been doing lately.

Her dark brown eyes darted across to her other dad. Antoly was currently in the ring with Paulina’s kid. There was something undoubtedly off about Ryan and Julien did her best to avoid the other. Ryan’s dad and his wife were off to the side talking quietly before she bent at the waist to pick up her kid to go.

“Did my pretty princess eat anything yet?” Antoly’s voice brought Julien out of her mild trance and her eyes went to the big blonde russian. She was always happy that he was blonde like her. He was a little too young to be a dad, so she was constantly questioned on if he was her brother. She was elated to be anything to him at all. Julien also knew better then to lie to her dad, “No.”

Antoly’s face had a look of mild disappointment, his blonde brows furrowing and his mouth pressed downwards, “You know the rules.” Hart wore the same expression, but his was knit in concern when Julien’s breath shuddered in milk panic. Antoly had promised to start enforcing his rules, training on an empty stomach was not allowed. 

Paulina couldn’t help overhearing the pair talk to their child and grasped around her wheelchair for the bag on her handle. She pulled out one of Ryan’s blenders and handed over the pre-mixed mush. She’d just make Indy mix their little dark prince a new one. Julien looked at the massive blender. It wasn’t that big really, but she could imagine the calories alone and that made her feel sick to her stomach.

You have to eat if you want to be a police officer.

Julien shuddered at the memory of sitting on Nico’s lap in the locker room before grabbing the shake with a nod of thanks. She glared at her blonde father who smirked a little and silently thanked the woman for being so kind. He went back into the ring and Julien forced herself to have at least half of the shake before she was allowed into the ring.

The blonde had the courtesy to clean it out of the remaining mixture and made sure the water made her hands red before handing it back to Paulina with an air of gratefulness. She joined her dad in the ring and they got right to it.

When training was over, she showered, got dressed for her date and applied a fresh coat of makeup on her face. She did it extra pale pink and glossy just for Nico. She pulled on her girlfriend’s jean jacket, folded up the arms since they weren’t long enough for her and changed her shoes. She felt bloated, but the work out at least helped.

Julien made her way out to the bike and pulled up the seat to put her backpack in it. In the spot across from her Indy was folding up Paulina’s wheel chair as she sat in the cabin of the truck with her arm over Ryan’s shoulders and her fingers playing with the short dark hair. 

Julien briefly wondered what it was like to be a parent to kids like them. 

She put the seat down and slung a leg over it as she coiled up her hair to keep it from whipping her in the face. She pulled her phone from her cleavage to shoot Nico a text, that it wouldn’t take her more then fifteen minutes to be right over. She pulled out of the parking lot before the truck did and hit the gas to get out the way as quickly as possible.

Julien played often with the idea of getting a red bike better accustomed to her height. She’d have to buy it herself because she didn’t think she deserved to just ask for such an expensive thing from her dads, but knowing them they’d figure out something for her if she just asked. The ride was pleasant, filled with the familiar sounds of LA traffic and people. She parked about a block away from the Minoru house and sent her girlfriend a quick text that she was waiting in their usual spot.

When Nico came out of the house, Julien could spot right away something wasn’t right by the hurried away her girlfriend crossed the street to her. She didn’t give Julien a kiss and instead wrapped her arms around the taller girl’s waist with the urgency to go. The blonde immediately took off. 

It wasn’t until they had nearly reached the Art Museum that Julien stopped.

She twisted around to get a good look at Nico and shuddered when the other girl refused to let her get a good look at her face. Tina had never hit Nico before. Usually Robert would have intervened before things got too out of hand. The goth girl fought the blonde before breaking down into tears, “I broke the trophy. I didn’t mean to. I bumped the corner. I broke--” Julien clasped Nico’s face between her hands to try to get her to look at her, to focus, to breathe. 

When the goth caught her breath, she broke into fresh tears, “She’s never--” There were a lot of things Tina was, a bitch, a cold shoulder, an emotional abuser, but beyond grabbing Nico’s arm too hard and just bruises from a stone tight grip, Tina had never hit her or her Dad. This was a new occurrence. Tina was a kyōiku mama, nothing more nothing less. It was too awful to say. It couldn’t have happened.

Julien kissed the side of the other’s face, soothing the pain and making the evidence go away before Nico caught her mouth to drown it all out.