#nico: and it smells quite pleasant too

[aleksa-sims]

Simself Story (18+)

⚠️ CW: addiction, drugs, drug abuse, trauma ⚠️

Only 2 days after my stormy journey with Nico, I was back home. Today the weather was nice. No more thunderstorms or dark clouds over the sky. Maybe this is a good sign? So I went to Daniel’s & my place in the evening. He was waiting for me there. After more than 4 months, I'll finally see him again and get answers, I’ve been waiting for so long.

I arrived on our street. It was a beautiful summer night, many people were still on the road. There was a relaxed, cheerful mood in the air and a a familiar, pleasant smell, that almost attracted me. I wondered, who smells so good here?... I saw a handsome guy standing in front of me. I risked a quick look over to him, as I passed him. I still didn’t realize, that Daniel was the good-smelling guy.

D.'s hair looked a bit different compared to a few months earlier. That’s why I didn’t expect him, who looked at me.

But as soon as I saw his face, his cute smile and those stunning green eyes, I knew it was Daniel. And... uh, I could literally hear my Baby calling for me, "Mommy, don't forget me & Daddy!" 🤦‍♀️ (🙈🤭) Of course, the voice I heard in my head was not my Baby’s, but my own, my conscience! I already guessed, something would happen tonight that would change me. I mean my attitude to.... love, or the dilemma I was stuck in.

Daniel: You’ve always been beautiful and yet, you get more beautiful.

Me: 😳😳...............Is this real?

Daniel: You’re sober, I suppose. So yea, it's real! But let me show you, babe.

Me: Okay! This time, it's definitely real, not a dream!

Daniel: I’ve always told you, I will never leave you...... I’m so sorry. I will explain why I was gone, but can we just be together for a moment?

Me: You have 24 hours with me, but I can't stay with you.

Daniel: You're not going anywhere! We're still married!

Me: You're gonna hate me, once you get to know, what I did.

Daniel: No, certainly not. No matter what you did, ILY.. Let's go up.

Daniel was totally cute but honestly, I felt pretty stupid. This isn’t a date! I wanted answers! So I finally asked him to TALK!

Me: Stop it, D.! I can’t anymore! So....Why? Why did you put me through that??

⚠️CW ⚠️

Daniel: I wasn't myself. But now I’m fine. I’m on meds. This helps.. Anyway! The abridged version: The guy with the black hoodie was back! He saw me at the place where I bought drugs. I knew the guy didn’t mean anything good when I saw him watching Sofia and you doing drugs a few moths ago. Well, he knew me! He wanted something back from me, that I supposedly took away from him, a damn watch or something??... It was about the time more than 2 years ago. Elena's fucker and those drugs.... I should have got something that belonged to him, but...I was sure, I never got his shit he was looking for. That weirdo didn't believe me. He followed me. He left me messages, notes, like a parking ticket on my car's windscreen. He threatened to take something away from me too, something that cannot be replaced. I ignored it.... Also, when I saw Alex trying to get between us, I went nuts. Now I know, my brother was just trying to help us, but after that night at the club, the fight between Alex & me, something happened. Normally Alex always accompanied me, when I went to buy drugs. But since I was pissed at him, I went on my own. I got a really bad withdrawal. So I did a line there. I was hanging up with some.... guys, druggies. And.... the guy with the black hoddie also came. Idk exactly how it happened? I don’t quite remember. But he, and someone else... they...shoot me heroin, against my will. I must have been lying there for a few hours. When I woke up, everything was still there. The syringe, a lighter that wasn’t mine and.... my left sleeve was rolled up. As I moved my arm to get up, I felt it. So it was real. It really happend. I took the syringe with me, I wanted to have it checked by a lab. I went to our doc. I told him about it. He took blood from me to see if I was..... positive. He said even if my test turned out negative, he still can’t give me a all-clear yet. Only after 3 months it will show, whether I was lucky or not. But since I took the syringe with me, he tested it. It was clean! Still, I wasn't sure, yk? I had to stay away from you. What if I was positive? I was afraid I could infect you.

Me: Fuck, Daniel!😨 I’m so sorry you got.... hurt again ... But why the hell didn’t you just tell me?? I never would have blamed you for that. 😟

Daniel: And that’s exactly why I couldn’t tell you! You still don’t realize the seriousness of the situation. We had both relapsed!! Didn’t you listen to me? I had a fucking junk shot in my arm!!

Me: But, that wasn’t your fault or intention. I mean, what’s that got to do with me? You think I'd shoot or what?

Daniel: I know you would do it without batting an eye, if I did it again.

Me: What?... You're such an ass! I don't believe you! Where’s Tina, Daniel? She disappeared or went into hiding just like you. Right after you remembered her, she was gone.

Daniel: The fuck...??

Daniel: You still think I’m screwing Tina? Seriously now? 😠

Me: Not just Tina! Why were you at Irena's? She told me herself!

Daniel: I swear you're still nuts!... But yes, I had to get into my old apartment somehow .I told her a lie, to get into her apartment. You remember? The wooden floor in the bedroom? Where we used to hide our drugs? That’s why I was there! I thought I might have forgotten something? I mean those damn things, this guy wanted from me. Maybe I missed something then, that seemed unimportant to me? Yk?... Anyway, Irena caught me. She thought I was hiding drugs or something? Like I used to. She got really mad and kicked me out. That's ALL! You got it? And I don’t give a shit about Tina! I still don’t remember her!! And I doubt that anything has ever happened. For me, Tina is just a fucking liar, who started all this... MESS here. Tina and the secrets you shared with my brother... have triggered that.... shit, my madness in me. So pls, let's drop this! 😠

Me: But I still don't get why you left me? 😟

Daniel: Babe, be honest with yourself, then you will see it. I mean, you don’t have to pretend or suppress, what you told or asked me yourself.

Me: I didn’t mean that, I was just talking about it. I said IF, I ever do that, then only with you! Yk? IF, Daniel, not I want!!! I didn’t know you were so sensitive about it?

Daniel: What if I had stayed? We both would have continued until we get back to the point, where we don’t give a shit about anything. Tbh, I had already reached this point, but I didn’t want to drag you down with me. The truth is, I never meant to leave you in uncertainty for so long. I thought after a few days, I will call you back to explain everything, but the longer I didn't, the harder it was for me to call you. And I was always high, babe. When I wasn’t, I was busy getting money. Until I had nothing. That day I went to my Dad. But just some days later, I took off again. It wasn’t until he and Alex found me a second time, that I realized, what I was actually doing. I had to get clean, to get back to you. So I was in a clinic for 4 weeks. They suspected I was suffering from an acute, traumatic stress disorder. The pain I had in my left half and the constant trembling in my fingers.... They asked me, why and how I got this. I told the docs there what happend to us. They gave me meds. They said after two weeks, I’ll feel different, better! Like I used to. And indeed, I felt a relief after a while, an improvement. 4 more weeks later, I was myself again. I became aware that my behavior before and my actions, were not normal. I would never have acted like this!! I hope you understand me and if you let me, I’ll make it up to you.

Me: You don’t have to make amends for me. You also helped me. You tried everything to help me get rid of my panic attacks. I just wish............. I had known all this before.

That’s so terrible what happened to Daniel. Those 4 men who attacked us in the middle of the street wanted to kill Daniel 7 months ago. And now something happened to him again. It shocked me so much that I didn’t want to believe it at first. How do I tell him about Nico, our Baby & me?? But also Nico. I promised him, Daniel's return, would nothing change for me, but........ can I keep it?

Previous/Next

[frozendeity17]

Aaallll fifty of them, in order, punk! :p

Alright, here we go:

Lumity and Percabeth. Yes, I know TOH just ended and TLT won't be coming out for a hot sec, no I do not care.

Never had one specific color, though I've definitely always preferred cooler colors. Used to love greens, but now indigoes, violets, and dark blues are more my style. Still love a good forest green though.

All of the quotes on that one doc abt unlikely posts. Also, "I think it's silly to be ashamed of your art because it's not in a museum and of your voice because it's not selling out stadiums. There will always be people who enjoy and appreciate what you can do." -Tumblr user venuskissed

Private. I'm not one to share my birthday.

Also private. Not today, fae fuck.

See #4.

Honestly, I don't know. I think I give them in all of their forms, but as for receiving, I think affirmation is what does it for me. Might be physical contact though, I do love hugs.

Probably a drama, I did like How to Get Away With Murder, even if I only got through the first season and a bit. Designated Survivor was awesome too.

Spain, for one. I don't know what it is about the place, but it has a charm about it for me. Maybe it's the weather. Aside from that, Greece and Italy would be awesome. I'm a little bit of a mythology nerd, so seeing all of the temples and wonders built for these ancient gods sounds like an awesome experience. If I could choose more, Norway and Iceland are both incredibly beautiful places, and I do kind of prefer the cold. Also, I've always wanted to see the aurora borealis in person.

Ooph, this one is difficult. There are a lot of great scents out there. Vanilla's a long-standing favorite, I remember once bringing a bottle of it to school once to show to my friends. Cinnamon rolls smell delicious, as does that smell from the candles we always used to buy. It might've been sandalwood, but I've never been quite sure. Also, there's this one perfume my mom's worn for as long as I can remember - it's a little too sharp to be entirely pleasant, but it's flowery, and nostalgic for me.

"City of Angels" by Em Beihold. She also wrote the trending songs "Numb Little Bug" - the "Do you ever get a little bit tired of life" one - and dueted "Until I Found You" with Stephen Sanchez. I think her songs "Too Precious" and "12345" are also really good.

Stalker. But seriously, probably one of the places listed in #9, or back home, as I have some stuff to do there.

Vanilla. Most pure chocolate ice creams have a bad aftertaste.

Donuts. I don't know what it is about cake, but I've never seemed to like it all that much, even the good ones. It is, honestly, my least favorite dessert that I'll actually eat - I even like eclairs, which are literally just pastry around messy whipped cream that gets everywhere, more than cake. I particularly hate it with that weird gel writing on it. Just...urgh. Donuts are chill tho, and I'll never turn down a solid frosted with sprinkles or Boston Creme.

Black. It's reliable, doesn't stain easily, works well in formal outfits, doesn't show sweat stains, and works on most complexions. Also, I never really wear much color regardless. I would miss that one blue dress shirt I really like - it's comfy as hell.

Haven't read one in ages, despite my massive TBR, but off the top of my head, probably "With great power comes great need to take a nap," by Nico di Angelo from PJO, if only because of how ridiculous yet true it is.

If I can't handle myself In a fight, I'm not subjecting any of y'all to that.

Ice cream. It's more reliable and easily accessible for me, and frankly, cotton candy is too dry as a dessert.

A famous engineer, hopefully. Being an author would be cool, too.

I do not have pet peeves, I am a pet peeve.

Basic Bitch. I suck at fashion and aesthetics and currently have neither the desire nor the capability to improve. My wardrobe is composed entirely of thin shorts, tracksuit pants, and t-shirts, with a singular formal suit. Might try to start painting my nails soon, see how that goes.

As prideful as it may sound, my intelligence. I don't have much street sense, to say the least, but I have a good factual memory, am good at logic puzzles, and am a quick reader, and I'm rather proud of that.

Saturday. Nothing to occupy that day, nor the day after. It's excellent. My favorite weekday? Probably Thursday. Dunno why, it just vibes the best.

I am SUCH a bad night owl. I don't even know why, I always regret it in the mornings too. I guess it's just kinda freeing, not having the expectations.

Neither, hot chocolate reigns supreme.

This is the first half, the second half to come, as Tumblr apparently has a character limit.

[ao3writers-pls-love-me]

Hi so im thinking this idea of au where Nico can see ppl mind whenever they touch him and back. its a cursed thing bc all he ever felt is ppl's hostility towards him, whether that "annoying kid", "scary scary", "thy son of hades holds the world's crushing grudges", "hes suspicious we cant trust him", "hes gonna kill us all one day", "creep" or "im going to kill him"

Solangelo mind reading upon touches au (with Nico can read a small amount of thought from people's mind base on how they touch him)

Bianca is straight out, "youre annoying and i love u so much, but i dont want to carry more burdens, dont want you to always put everything u care and trust on me, i want u to find yourself, your own path, follow your heart, not me and also, you are not allowed to watch aquaman until your 13th birthday"

Percy's more complicated, its a mix with guilt, anger, betrayal, brotherly love, annoying, sad, sorrow, "im so sorry Nico", "gods this kid is going to be the death of me", "why did u do that i trusted you!", "im sorry im so sorry you dont have to forgive me im sorry", "i trusted you", "why", "he doesnt...hate me?", "imma make a drop dead joke abt his dad", "i hate him im going to do everything for my lil bro"

Annabeth is quite brief actually, but i imagine it goes like "u go and slay kid", "thank you", "deserved", "gods hes such a nerd i like him", "wtf we can eat spiders as FOOD??? the demigods saved humanity for million times and this is what we ge—"

Hazel is very wholesome and nice, "you saved my life", "Im willingly trust u with everything", "youre my brother! happy happy!", "f— sh— holy he—", "baby bear frank we stan", "ppl find u untrustworthy but dont worry Nico i do and i will shove this sword up thei—", "i love u brother", "i wonder what Bianca will think of me"

Jason's wary at him at first but after the Cupid incident he becomes protective and cares for him a lot, "i dont trust him", "son of hades what will u do", "grrr woof woof bark arf", "piper, leo piper leo..", "hes scary", "does nico eat fancy stuff—", "hes brave", "nico youre the best u deserved the world", "im sorry for not trusting u", "im glad i know i appreciated u", "i hope hes ok", "nico you idiot thats not self loving thats self harming com'ere ill give u a hug", "its going to be alright bro", "dont be sad youre great you should know that everything is going to be alright"

Lastly Will Solace, dude this guy is just full on, sentimental, love, gentleness it makes Nico shooked so badly every time they touch, theres even this electrify feeling and warmths and affections, is not like, is not the same as everyone else. And, Nico fall for it every time, in denial, but he can not chase that weird sappy thing in his heart away, cannot ignore it any longer, cannot be in denial, any longer.

they touched the first time, and all Nico see is just worried and strangely huge amount of adoration, "omg did i...touch him, with my hand, which just delivered a baby satyr?", "shit hes cold", "also cute", "dammit Will nows not the time everyone's dying", "imma warm up his pretty warrior hand that is full of scars and scratches", "hes fading", "oh no oh gods no shit keep calm keep calm keep calm", "please i just met him", "i dont want you to fade away", "i have to—i have do something—anything", "fricking speak Will! speak! hes going to disappear again!", "that shirt is cute and disgusting, but overall looks very nice on you", "not that idiot", "smart stuff", "youre going dark and its terrifying me how much i dont want you to—", "what did you do to me", "you are driving me insane"

the second time in the infirmary is just Will being a lovesick puppy and a concerning friend.

"youre old", "im sorry let me fix that", "youre dense and i love-hate you for it", "im worried", "careful focus stitches careful steady blood careful calm bandage", "did i hurt you", "im sorry if i did", "no why would i think that", "of course hes hurted", "he doesnt look like it", "i want to somehow help you other than healing i want to help you but what should i do", "what if hes uncomfortable", "what if i make him uncomfortable", "but hes just", "i need you", "i want to help you", "not as a medic or healer or therapist", "something more", "you are so...nice", "what did you do to me", "ambroisa unicorn draught maybe lights he needs to be at shine", "please dont go", "please come back, "i look forward to seeing you", "hi its nice your face nice your smile nice", "please dont disappear", "i like you", "lots of things about you", "everyday nico everyday nico", "you need every rest you can get you can have everything you want", "even me"

the third time and is just, is too, driving Nico crazy. Despite all the things Will said, not even once of them connected to those inside his head, why, why tho, why him, why this Apollo's son choose him, of all campers, why him, why? And one single touch then this mind-blowing fact hit him harder than a truck.

"i love you"

oh...huh, its simply as that? he is, nico—is, that dense and stupid, isnt he.

Nico, tapping Will's shoulder: Will, can I um, have that?

Will: Have what? "im here you know u can have me instead", "that fricking caramel chocolate candy bar", "you can have anything hon just kiss me", "actually no id died", "worth it", "he looks cute today as well", "dear diary hes cute FUCK—"

Nico, choking: I—nothing. I want to sit with you

Nico, petting Will on his head: Hey, I was just wondering—

Will: "FUKA AFSHEJDKHSSHJA HE TOUCHED MY HEAD—", "soft hand soft hand soft hand soft hand soft hand", "AAAAAAAAAAAAAA—", "its Nico", "Nico Nico Nico Nico—", "and iiiiiiiiiiiii—", "crying right now", "fuck my face is red isnt it duck shieee no no nono calm calm"

Will, blushing: Yes, I'm available, what's up?

Nico, snorts:

Will, leaning his head on Nico's: Nico? "oh gods its happening everyWill calm down oh gods oh gosh", "calm calm calm calm wheres medic Will! We need his ungayness", "nowhere! we lost him seven days ago!!", "wtf thats three nico days he died that early!—", "fuck we doomed"

Nico, trying to hold in his laughter: Y—Yeah?

Will: It's on my mind for awhile "no itS DUCKING NOT—", " i dreamed abt you", "no this is not a dream fuck fuck duck duckshit", "i thought of you every—", that I always wanted to, um, wanted to spend more time with you, to hang out or wanted, you know, be with you, like, "for the rest of my life say it coward say it say it saY IT SAY IT" m—most of the time, and would you mind if I—

Nico is so red, he's not even ashamed of it at this point: If you?

Will: A—Ask you out..."on a date on a date on date on date" on a—on a—

Nico: Yes...?

Will: —trip to Starbuck where we can eat fancy coffee and laugh at stupid drinks like Crystal Ball Frappucino or something "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—", "WHY DO WE KEEP LOOSING", "FOR GODS SAKE ITS LITERALLY RIGHT THERE", "WE ALMOST FRICKING HAD IT FUCK—", "BUT ITS TECHNICALLY A DATE RIGHT??? ITS A DATE RIGHT???"

Nico, trembling: G—Gods sure Will sure, snorts I—of course I'd lov—love to

Nico, pokes Will's back: Will...

"Will", hardly breathing: "cute cute cute cute cute cute nico cute cute cute", "hes being a babyyyyyy—", "fuck thats cute", "is he pouting??? is thaT A FCKING POUT—", "mind be calm and im having a heart attack", "i wanna hug him"

Will: Oh? What's wrong, love?

Nico: It's nothing important, really. I don't know how to explain it. I'm just...kinda, gloomy, at the moment

Will, immediately: "i wanna hug him", "you wanna hug?" You wanna hug? "—OH SHI—"

Nico: Yes, took you long enough

[esha-isboogara]

flu season

i caught a cold from my brother so i wrote this plus i needed a excuse to write for nico …this is sort of a wip but also not i just don’t know how to end it

nicolas brown x afab reader

poor y/n is sick :( luckily she has nic to take care of her

☆mentions of sickness and swearing. that’s about it

“Eugh…I see the bearer of the plague hasn’t left yet” Worrik scoffed , covering his mouth with one hand and backing away from you in a dramatic fashion.

God, he sure was pushing his luck extra hard today.

If you weren’t in such a sickly state you would have jumped off the couch and given him a good & hard punch in the gut.

But alas. You were too weak at the moment to do such a thing. Instead you flipped him off , snuggling deeper into the soft woolen blankets. They smelled just like Nic. A pleasant mix of smoke ,cinnamon and fresh rain.

It was such a familiar, comforting scent you couldn’t help but be a tiny bit obsessed. Almost like home to you.

“Shut the hell up”. You paused to cough a few times. “Nicolas said I’m allowed to stay since he doesn’t want me on my own while I’m like this”.

“Are you serious right now !? You’re just as good at fighting as the two of us”. He protested “You don’t have to be HERE. I know you have other allies around here go to someone else’s place and make them sick instead”. Worrick was visibly starting to get upset as are you.

“What’s the big deal asshole ? I’ve literally been here for like a day”.

“Youre in his T.V. watching spot” Nicolas spoke , entering the room with a cup of steaming tea in one hand and what you could only hope was a cool towel in the other.

“Well why’d the hell you tell me to sleep here then dumb ass ? I know damn well one of ya has a cot in this place I could have slept in one of your rooms”. You quipped, looking up towards him.

Despite your pounding head you sat up and crossed your arms.

[ did not want to make you uncomfortable]

“And I didn’t want to germs to get all over it. I’m the one who does the cleaning around here ya know”. Worrick huffed indignantly.

“Nic just send her home please I WANT TO WATCH MY SHOWS”.

Worrik was acting as childish as ever. Typical.

He could be quite terrifying to those in the outside world but living with him is the real nightmare. Times like this made you glad you didn’t live with him and had your own place.

“Nicolas…I’ve known you both since we were young I really don’t mind sleeping on your floor. Hell I’ll even sleep in bed with one of you I just really need a nap”.

He nodded and shot a dirty look towards his house mate. Nicolas trusted your skills as a fighter and as a former assassin but on days like these he much preferred to have you close so he could keep his eye on you.

Just in case. Normally he wouldn’t give a care in the world but seeing you so weak..it scared him

[She is staying here…I will move her to my room] Nic signed and kneeled down beside you.

Placing the items he was holding on the coffee table behind he allowed all his attention to go to you.

Your eyes met for a brief moment only for you to close them quickly in order to avoid looking like a love struck teenager.

You’re a grown women for gods sake.

Placing the palm of his hand on your forehead he nodded to himself as if he was taking mental notes. Like a doctor of some sorts.

[You are very warm. I will get you medicine and you can lay in my bed]

“Are you sure Nico ? I don’t want to make you sick too”

[I don’t mind. I want you to be okay]

You felt your heart flutter inside your chest as he scooped you up in his strong arms and carried you off to his room.

Too starstruck to say anything you stayed quiet enjoying the closeness between the two of you.

[raindancer2004]

Blended Family

Word Count: 4,400 Demetri x OC - Part Two Warnings: Fluff, Angst, mention of sexual assault of OC.

Nico was a one-week-old when he said his first word “Daddy” Demetri froze for a moment not sure he heard right, his son was only a week old “Daddy” The soft voice repeated and Demetri looked down at his son and lifted him out of the crib and held him to his chest “That’s right little one, I’m your Daddy” He replied softly smiling and his son snuggled into him, his small hand holding onto Demetri’s top. Demetri had never thought about being dad once he was turned, but now that he has a son, he wouldn’t have it any other way ‘I may not have a mate to share eternity with but I’ll always have my son’ He smiled at the thought and made his way to his bed and got comfortable as his son began to fall asleep laying on his chest.

Demetri takes Nico to meet the Queens and they fall in love with him instantly “Oh my god he’s adorable” Sulpicia beamed as soon as Demetri entered the room with Nico. Athenodora took Nico from Demetri “Hello little one, you look just like your daddy” “Thank you” Nico replied, his cheeks turning a little pink “Aww and he has your manners” Sulpicia smiled at Demetri, who smiled back beaming with pride “You are going to bring such joy to us all little one” Athenodora added hugging him a little tighter and he snuggled into her “Nico likes a cuddle mi’ lady” Demetri says looking at Athenodora “I’ve noticed and that’s ok with me” She replied “Don’t hog the little one, sister” Sulpicia said holding her arms out to Athenodora, who handed Nico over to her and watched as he cuddled into her sister. Demetri watched as the Queens took Nico over to the sofa and take a seat knowing he wasn’t getting his son back anytime soon “Come take a seat Demetri” Athenodora offers pointing to the armchair beside the sofa “Thank you mi’ lady” He replies as he takes a seat getting comfortable, he was going to be there a while.

Nico surprised Demetri when he got up and walked at only four weeks old “Fascinating little thing aren’t you?” Demetri chuckled and his son chuckled too as his little arms reached up “Up please” Demetri smiled and lifted his son into his arms “I’m so proud of you son, talking and walking within a month” Nico nodded and smiled before yawning and snuggling into Demetri before falling asleep in his arms, something both of them enjoyed.

Demetri had taken Nico into the castle’s south facing garden and noticed that Nico’s hardened skin glowed faintly rather than sparkled in sunlight, therefore he would be able to blend in with humans more easily than vampires, something Demetri liked as it meant that Gianna could take his son out to the courtyard in front of the castle on sunny days when he couldn’t, although he would in the castle near the doors just in case, ensuring his son was safe.

It was a Saturday afternoon and Demetri decided to take his son to a nearby park as he wanted to get out of the castle for a bit and Nico likes the park; luckily for him it was an overcast day, so he didn’t have to worry about exposure. They were approaching the park when Demetri noticed two familiar scents ‘apple and cinnamon’ and ‘lemon and honey’ and before he knew what he was doing he was walking towards the scents; only to discover his son had beaten him to it and was standing by the bench looking at the baby in the dark-haired girl’s arms “Hello, I’m Nico. It’s nice to meet you” He introduced himself, smiling and looking at the two of them “I’m Sophie and this is Ellie. It’s nice to meet you too” “She’s really pretty” Nico said looking down at Ellie who cooed at him “Thank you Nico. Is your mommy around?” She asked softly, looking around “No, I don’t have a mommy. I’m here with my daddy” He replied turning and pointing at Demetri “Hello again Sophie” Demetri smiled as he approached them, recognising them from the plane “Hello Demetri. I’ve just met your son” She replied smiling “He’s very polite” “Thank you” He replied “Do you mind if I sit here?” He asked gesturing to the empty space beside her “Not at all” She replied “How have you been?” He asked “I’ve been ok thank you, still trying to settle into our new home. How have you been?” “I’ve been ok too, I er…I gained a son since I last saw you” He replied “I did wonder about Nico as I remember you saying you weren’t sure about holding babies and I took that to mean that you didn’t have children of your own” She said “It’s definitely a new thing but I wouldn’t change having him in my life for anything” He replied with a smile “How old is Ellie?” Nico asked “She’s four months tomorrow” Sophie replied and Demetri watched Nico’s reaction and chuckled as his son seemed intrigued by her “Would you like to hold her Nico?” Sophie asked “I’m not sure how to…I wouldn’t want to hurt her” He replied low not looking away from Ellie. Demetri lifted Nico onto the bench so he was sitting between him and Sophie “Just make sure you support her head and you’ll be fine” Demetri said and nodded at Sophie, who gently placed Ellie in Nico’s arms; Demetri wrapping his arm around his son to help support Ellie’s head “You’re so tiny” Nico said to Ellie and she cooed back at him as he smiled down at her.

About an hour later Sophie noticed it had gotten colder “I should get going, it’s getting a bit too cold for her” Sophie said nodding down at Ellie “We’ll walk you home” Demetri smiled “There’s no need” “I know but I want to and it’s the least I can do as my son ‘stole’ your daughter for the afternoon” He replied and Nico looked up at him and smiled “She’s so pretty daddy and I think she likes me” “I think she does too, she doesn’t usually smile that much at people she doesn’t know” Sophie answered. The four of them walked back to Sophie’s apartment and Demetri couldn’t help feeling uneasy at the thought of leaving them there…alone. “Sophie, may I use your bathroom please?” Nico asked politely “Of course you can. Come on in” She replied opening the door “Here let me” Demetri said and leaned down to get Ellie out of her pram “Thank you. Come on Nico I’ll show you where the bathroom is” Sophie said and Nico slipped his small hand inside Sophie’s and followed her. When she returned to the living room she saw Demetri sitting on the sofa with Ellie in his arms and he was singing the Greek lullaby to her softly “Daddy sings that to me at night too” Nico said as he came to stand by Sophie. Sophie smiled at the sight, Demetri looked up and smiled at her “She woke a little when I picked her up and I remembered this worked the last time I held her” He said softly not wanting to wake her “Like I said you’re a natural” Sophie smiled at him “I’m putting the kettle on would you like a tea or coffee?” “Coffee please” He answered with a smile, pleased she wanted him to stay a little longer “Would you like some juice Nico?” Nico nodded “Yes please Sophie.” Nico smiled when she handed him a small cup of juice “Thank you Sophie.” “Thank you” Demetri smiled at her too as he took his coffee from her “You’re both welcome” She replied.

Demetri and Nico arrived back the castle later that evening after having dinner at Sophie’s at her request “You’ve been at the park for quite some time” Felix said as he entered Demetri’s room “We met up with Daddy’s friend Sophie and her daughter Ellie” Nico answered before his Dad could, Felix smirked at his friend “When do I get to meet your ‘friend’?” “Not anytime soon” Demetri replied “What is she like?” Felix asked “She’s gorgeous Fe, inside and out, she’s funny, caring and seems to get on with Nico” Demetri replied “Ellie’s pretty and so tiny” Nico added smiling, Felix raised an eyebrow “It would seem Nico found a new friend too” “It’s not like that Fe, she’s four months old and if I get to claim Sophie as mine, Nico and Ellie will be raised as siblings.” “You have been at the park all this time…with Sophie?” Felix asked “No, after about an hour we left the park as it was getting too cold for Ellie; we walked them back to their place and went inside, had a drink and Sophie insisted cooking us dinner” Demetri answered “It was yummy Felix” Nico informed him “Really? What did you have?” “Sophie made lasagne with garlic bread, followed by chocolate brownies for dessert” Nico replied “Although I don’t think Daddy enjoyed it as much as Sophie and I” Nico added with a chuckle “I haven’t eaten human food in over 1000 years and the taste is not pleasant” Demetri said looking at Nico “I know, but you may want to work on your expressions a little Daddy or you’ll hurt Sophie’s feelings” Nico responded and Demetri nodded “That’s you told then” Felix chuckled ”Get bent” Demetri replied turning his back to his friend. “Come on Nico bath time” Nico ran into the bathroom and Demetri followed and begun running a bath with the Johnson’s baby bubble bath, Demetri likes how it smells so he continued to use it regularly. Once Demetri finished bathing Nico, he dressed him in clean pyjamas and they made their way to Demetri’s bed and got under the duvet, getting comfortable, before Demetri reads him a bedtime story. Soon enough Nico is sleeping peacefully, his breathing and heartbeat slowing down, the sound was quite relaxing to Demetri.

The following weekend Demetri and Nico met Sophie and Ellie in the park “Hello Sophie” Demetri smiled at her before looking down at a sleeping Ellie in her arms “Hello Demetri, Nico. It’s nice to see you both again” She replied “Likewise.” “Hello Sophie” Nico replied smiling at her, looking down at Ellie, Nico whispered “Hello Ellie.” Sophie looked at Nico and then Demetri and then back to Nico “He-he’s grown since last week” Sophie said low, but Demetri heard her and smiled, a little nervous “Don’t all children have a little growth spurt?” Demetri asked “Yes, but it seems a little more than that” She replied but didn’t push any further on the subject as Demetri and Nico sat beside her on the bench. Sophie handed Ellie to Nico and Demetri wrapped his arm around him to help support Ellie’s head again. Demetri and Sophie spoke about what their week was like since they last saw each other. Nico joined in the conversation too, telling Sophie that Auntie Jane had showed him her china doll collection and Uncle Alec had let him use his art stuff to paint a picture for daddy, whilst he was at work. Sophie and Demetri’s hands brushed and she noticed how cold it appeared “Are you cold Demetri?” She asked taking his hand in hers “Maybe a little” He replied and Sophie nodded rubbing her hands over his in an attempt to warm them up.

Demetri, Sophie and the children continued to meet up each weekend and Sophie continued to notice changes in Nico, especially that he seemed to be ‘aging’ rather quickly compared to other children his age. Demetri knew Sophie had noticed these changes in his son but she didn’t ask him about them, not after the first time. Sophie also noticed that Demetri was cold to the touch when they held hands and that he would accept the offer of a drink but never accepted the offer to eat anything when he was at her place. She felt drawn to him; she really liked him despite these little differences and hoped that he would tell her, if and when he wanted her to know.

Nico spent some time with Sulpicia and Athenodora whilst Demetri attended a trial in the throne room, although Nico didn’t know that, he just thought Demetri was on guard duty. “How have you been Nico since we last saw you?” Sulpicia asked “I’ve been ok thank you. Daddy and I went to the park a few weeks back and we met daddy’s friend Sophie and her daughter Ellie” Nico replied smiling, Athenodora and Sulpicia exchanged glances before probing gently for more information “Tell us more about Sophie and Ellie” Athenodora asked gently “Daddy met Sophie and Ellie on the plane a few months ago on his way back from the US and when Daddy took me to the park a few weeks ago we met them and have seen them every weekend since. Ellie is so tiny and so pretty” Nico answered still smiling “What is Sophie like?” Sulpicia asked “Sophie is pretty too; she has brown hair and green eyes just like Ellie. Sophie is a good cook, I really like her chocolate brownies and she makes a really nice lasagne too” He replied “She sounds lovely, I’m glad you and Daddy have made such a good friend outside the castle” Sulpicia responded with a smile “How have you both been since I last you?” Nico asked them “We’ve been ok, thank you. We have acquired some new books and art supplies” Athenodora replied and Nico nodded. Nico did some painting with Sulpicia, then had a cuddle with Athenodora whilst she read him a story.

Demetri arrived to collect his son later that afternoon to find him having a nap on Athenodora’s lap. “Thank you so much for looking after him, he’d been asking to see you both again” Demetri said with a smile “Our pleasure Demetri. We have heard all about your ‘friend’ Sophie and little Ellie” Sulpicia replied smiling and gave him a wink, if Demetri could blush, he would be. “Your secret is safe with us Demetri, do not worry about that. We’re just pleased you have finally found your one” Athenodora said as she handed Nico to him “Thank you. I plan to speak to the Kings tomorrow as I would like to tell Sophie about me, about our bond” He replied and the two Queens nodded and smiled in response.

Demetri got permission to tell Sophie about him, about vampires and their world as she became a little curious when she noticed how quickly Nico was changing. “Good afternoon masters, may I have a private word with you?” Demetri asked bowing his head “Of course my dear boy. Dismissed for now, we’ll call you back once we are done” Caius said waving his hand to dismiss the guards on duty. Once the guards had left Aro held out his hand to Demetri “May I?” Demetri nodded and placed his hand inside Aro’s. Aro saw the events of the past few weeks; Demetri and Nico going to the park and meeting Sophie and Ellie, the four of them going back to her place. The reoccurring visits to the park to see the two of them. Aro smiled and released Demetri’s hand “How can we help you?” Aro asked “I have met someone recently; her name is Sophie and she’s my mate” He replied and Marcus’ eyes lit up upon hearing this. “She’s noticed that Nico has aged a little quickly compared to his human counterparts over the past few weeks and I do not wish to lie to her. I would like permission to tell her about me, about our bond and about our world including that Nico is a hybrid” Demetri spoke to Aro; Marcus and Caius were on their thrones listening “You can tell Sophie about your bond, about Nico and about us but I would like to meet her Demetri and have Marcus confirm your bond. There is no rush per say but the sooner the better for all parties” Aro replied “Yes, I agree as we can’t help protect her if we don’t know who she is my dear boy” Marcus added and Demetri nodded “Of course. I will tell her the next time I see her and give her a little time to get used to everything and then I will bring them to the castle to meet you” He replied “Them?” Caius asked curiosity flashed through his eyes “Yes brother, them. I forgot to mention Sophie has a baby, a daughter. Demetri and Nico have met her and they all get along very well” Aro answered Caius’ question “The little girl is called Ellie and Nico absolutely adores her” Demetri told them with a smile. “Is there is a father in the picture?” Marcus asked “I am not entirely sure master. I think Sophie is a single parent like myself, although I haven’t asked about Ellie’s father and she hasn’t volunteered that information either. We haven’t discussed Nico’s mother either but I think she has guessed that she is no longer in the picture” Demetri responded “Please have that conversation too as we need to know if there will be any…complications regarding you and Sophie being together” Caius said sympathetically “I will master. Thank you” Demetri replied, bowed his head and left the throne room. He and Sophie had much to talk about the next time they saw one another.

That Saturday afternoon Demetri and Nico arrived at Sophie’s apartment after deciding it’s probably best to meet there rather than the park so other people wouldn’t notice how quickly Nico changes. Sophie had noticed the changes over the last few weeks and Demetri promised he’d explain everything during this visit. Sophie watched as Nico lay beside Ellie on the floor “This is a good story Ellie. The Prince kills the evil Fairy in order to save his Princess” He explained before reading her the story of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ “He’s really good with her” Sophie said quietly to Demetri “I know but it’s a little strange as he hasn’t been around other children; except when I took him to the park, but even then, he kept to himself. That is…until he met you and Ellie that day” He replied and she hummed in response smiling at Nico and Ellie. Once the children were bathed and put to bed Demetri and Sophie had two very important conversations, conversations that would change everything for those involved.

“Sophie I know you have noticed some differences between you and I” He begins and she nods waiting for him to continue “Well the reason I feel cold to the touch, have quick reflexes and do not really eat a lot when I’m with you is because…I’m a vampire.” She doesn’t say anything at first and he starts to worry “So-Sophie…are you ok?” She shakes her head to clear her thoughts “I-I’m fine. It’s just I…I always thought vampires only existed in books and movies” “That’s the point…humans aren’t allowed to know about us…” “Then why are you telling me?” She cut him off “I’m telling you because there things you need to know about me, about…us” She nods “Ok” “Firstly, I need you to know that you and Ellie are safe with me no matter what” He says looking into her eyes as he leans forward and takes her hands in his “I survive on a diet of blood…human blood but I have excellent self-control around humans as you have probably noticed” She nods again and he continues “I was born in Greece and was 21 when I was turned over 1000 years ago. I have lived with and worked for the Volturi, the Government / Royalty of the vampire world for about 1000 years and hold the position of ‘Elite Guard’ I am also the personal bodyguard to Marcus, one of the three Kings” “Wow! That’s a lot of information to take in” He could see the amazement in her eyes “There’s more you need to know now, the rest I can tell at a later time as to not overwhelm you” “O-ok. What else do I need to know now?” She asked and he took a deep unneeded breath “Vampires are very protective of what is theirs, possessive even. I would protect my son with my life if anyone ever tried to harm him…” “Sounds like us moms, we are also very protective of our children” He smiled at her response and nodded “We are also very protective of our mates, as we only get one in our lifetime. If we were to ever lose them, then we would be left heartbroken and over time fall into a deep depression…” He trailed off “Hence the protective / possessive nature of your kind” “Exactly Sophie. Once we meet our mate everything just…falls into place, we feel complete and are drawn to them in a way that is hard to put into words. Vampires fall in love quickly and once we do; we never fall out of love with our mate” He shifts a little closer to her and her breath catches in her throat “Sophie…you are my mate and I…” “What about Nico’s mom?” She cuts him off and he looks down for a second before looking back up at her “Nico wasn’t planned Sophie, but I love him and wouldn’t be without him. I need you to remember that…please” She nods and he tells her what happened after they got off the plane as it was the night his son was conceived and the events that followed and she could see the remorse in his eyes regarding the situation and lifted her hand and rested it against his cheek “It’s ok Demetri…I understand…more than you can imagine. He is a real credit to you, you should be proud” He leaned into her touch, his eyes closing “Thank you and I am very proud him. He also displays a good level of self-control around humans, more so since he has met you and Ellie” He smiles at her “I still cannot believe he is only eight weeks old” She chuckles “That’s his vampire side, he grows faster than his human counterparts, which means he’ll be fully grown in seven years and then won’t change after that” “Wow! So vampire parenting is a seven year deal?” She asks, surprise clearly shown on her face and he nods smiling at her “I have to wait sixteen years till Ellie is fully grown and she is about 10 weeks older than he is” “I know” He chuckled “In my defence we only found out about vampire / human hybrids about eighteen months ago when an old friend of mine’s son got his human wife pregnant on their honeymoon. After the stressful month I had had I didn’t even think about…precautions” She chuckled again “It’s ok Demetri. I’m not judging you if that is what you are worried about, I mean I’m not a virgin either. I have Ellie and although she was conceived under very different circumstances, I wouldn’t be without her” She said as her thumb gently caressed his cheek “Tell me…please. You have never mentioned her father and if he is in the picture…it may complicate things” He replied softly “Don’t worry he isn’t in the picture. It’s just me and her” She replied low.  

Sophie took a deep breath before explaining that she doesn’t know who Ellie’s father is as she was too busy squeezing her eyes shut and trying to not to think about the drunk young man who was forcing himself on her. It happened one evening after she left the college library a little later than usual and decided to take a shortcut home. Demetri felt himself get angry upon hearing that some drunk human had sexually assaulted his mate and he wasn’t around to save her “I’m so sorry Sophie…I-I should have been there to save you from that” He said as he removed her hand from his cheek, holding both of her hands in his “It’s ok…we didn’t know each other back then” She gently pulled her hands from his and looked down at her lap “I-I understand if this changes things…between us” She said low, tears building behind her eyes at the thought of losing him, as she had come to care for him “This changes nothing mi amore. You are my mate and the only woman I want in my arms forever. I am truly sorry I couldn’t protect you then but I promise you this…no one and I mean no one will ever hurt you again, not as long as I am around” He vowed and pulled her into his arms and held her as she sobbed “They-they never caught him you know…it-it’s why I left and moved here. I-I needed a new start and…I had always wanted to come to Italy” She said low, Demetri nodded “I can understand that. You didn’t feel safe there, but you are safe here…with me always” He soothed as he stroked her hair. She fell asleep in his arms on the sofa and he gently carried her to her room and placed her in bed covering her with the duvet, he placed a kiss to her hair “Goodnight mi amore.” He checked on Ellie who was sleeping soundly in her crib cuddling the little bunny toy Nico had given her a week before. Nico was asleep on the sofa bed in Ellie’s room and Demetri couldn’t help smiling at the sight of his children sleeping knowing they were safe from harm. He made his way back to Sophie’s room and climbed in beside her and gently pulled her into his arms. That night whilst she slept he had a look though her mind to try and find the tenor of the man who had harmed his Sophie, he finally found someone whose tenor was dark and fitted with what she had told him ‘he will pay for what he’s done’ he vowed silently to himself and he planned on asking Felix for his help for he knew his best friend would help hunt down and kill the man who had dared to harm what was his.

[hiyaluronic]

Unnamed Sentinel/Guide Au (partial draft)

Nile eyed Nicky’s plate with envy, her nose twitching at the pleasant aroma of garlic and the slightly nutty, pungent smell of cumin and turmeric; the spicy aromatics filling the small dining room and causing her stomach to grumble excitedly. She turned from Nicky’s plate to stare down at her own in dismay. The grilled chicken breast, steamed broccoli, and rich buttery baked potato were doing nothing to satiate her cranky stomach.

“Why does Nicky get the good stuff?” She hadn’t meant to sound childish but Joe’s home cooked chicken curry looked a thousand times more appetizing than the standard restaurant-style meal situated on her plate.

Joe grinned and winked at Nicky who in turn rolled his eyes in response, “Because he’s being punished.” 

Nile sighed and poked halfheartedly at her chicken, “Then can I be punished too?”

Andy snorted into her wine glass, pulling the stemmed glass away and clearing her throat against the burn of alcohol. “Trust me, you don’t.”

“If you say so.” Nile murmured and reluctantly cut into her chicken. She took a few bites, her gaze lingering on Nicky’s plate which sat untouched, wondering how exactly homemade food was a punishment. 

“C’mon, Nicolò,” Joe prodded, forgetting his own meal and using his fork to spear a piece of sauce drenched chicken from Nicky’s plate. “I promise it will not be as bad as Baton Rouge.”

Nile perked up, curious. “What happened in Baton Rouge?” 

Andy smiled deviously and leaned over to Nile. “Booker’s attempt at cerole cooking. His Jambalaya is still pending a patent as a lethal weapon. Joe and I ended up with food poisoning, Nicky on the other hand....”

Nicky swallowed, eyeing the innocent piece of poultry dangling from Joe’s fork with trepidation, eyes following the curry sauce as it slowly dripped onto the tablecloth. “I ended up zoning because the idiota, mixed up chile peppers with bhut jolokia.”

Nile scrunched her face. “Bahht Zo-lu-key-ya?” 

“Ghost peppers.” Andy simplified, leaning back into the kitchen chair and crossing her arms, watching Joe shake the chicken enticingly in front of Nicky with mild amusement.

Nile cringed and swallowed, her mouth watering at the imagined heat of said pepper. “Shit.” 

“Indeed.” Nicky replied with a sigh before leaning forward and letting his mouth wrap enticingly around Joe’s fork - the pink of his lips covering the silver of the utensil suggestively - before ever so slowly pulling back, smirking when he noticed Joe’s eyes narrow at his actions. Nicky closed his eyes and let the juices from the chicken settle on his tongue; the sweetness of clove and cinnamon dancing across his tongue and running as a current under the powerful flavor of turmeric, bay leaves, and cumin. He sucked the sauce and juice from the chicken, tilting his head back and moaning in pleasure when the slight underlying warmth of garlic and mustard seed tickled his taste buds.

He mentally smirked when he felt Joe kick his shin under the table, a quiet behave drifting from his husband's lips, the heady scent of musk saturating the air between them and sending a jolt of excitement through Nicky. He could hear Nile coughing awkwardly across the table; a deep bass to the quiet trill of Andy’s accompanying  laughter. Why should he be the only one to be punished? 

He felt the air shift and change before he heard Joe sigh. “Come on, Nico. You know how this goes, what’s the secret ingredient?”

Nicky frowned at the question and chewed the chicken, unsure. He could taste something off. Taste something out of place underneath the normal spices, something sharp and bitter  - almost medicinal.

“I’m assuming it’s not love?” Nile said to Andy, who snickered.

Nicky swallowed and blinked open his eyes, turning to Joe, “Clove, cinnamon, turmeric, bay leaf, cumin. Just a hint of garlic and mustard... and...”

Joe ticked off the ingredients with his finger, “And…?”

Nicky licked his lips and tried to focus on the odd taste, he knew it, he just couldn’t place the where and what, and most notably the name. He hated having to sort through Joe’s cooking because there were so many different flavors in the world and it was sometimes very hard to distinguish between herbs and spices; and, while he loved his husband, Joe liked to make it as hard as possible. The reasoning? Because it eased his husband's mind knowing that he could detect even the subtlest of flavors - which he would agree. Being able to detect the minute differences in flavors between herbs and poisons had saved them many unneeded deaths over the various decades.

But, still…

“It tastes like soap.”

“Seriously, Joe!” Nile admonished, eyes wide in concern. “You put soap in his food?”

“It’s not soap!” Joe was quick to reply, just a little offended at the accusation. “I would never do such a thing!”

“Uggh.” Nicky shivered in disgust when it finally clicked what the offending flavor was, “Cilantro!”

“Very good, Nico!” Joe leaned forward and kissed his husband happily. “And now what sense shall we work on next, hmmm?”

Nicky laughed softly with a shake of his head, “Joe, it was only one zone with a great many number of years between my last one. I promise I do not need-”

“It is not about what you need, you have become lax in these last few decades, hayati, you’re starting to rely too heavily on the technology of today. And it worries me.” Joe explained, running a hand through his beard and scratching at the skin underneath. “You were very lucky that Nile had been there to keep an eye on you until Andy and I arrived but what would have happened if Nile had been indisposed of? You would have been left vulnerable and that’s just not acceptable.”

“Cuore Mio.” Nicky murmured, his hand reaching over to grasp Joe’s tightly in his absently running his thumb over Joe’s knuckles.. He didn’t need heightened senses to know that his love was feeling anxious but the sulfuric reek permeating the air around Joe just confirmed it. 

Andy nodded, seeming to agree with the idea. “Joe’s right, Nicky. We have to be able to trust that on a mission you won’t conk out on us. A refresher might do some good and it’ll help Nile know what to do when Joe is unavailable to pull you back.”

Nile held her hand up and cleared her throat, drawing the attention of the small group. “Speaking of. I was promised an explanation?”

“That you were, Nile.” Nicky agreed, squeezing Joe’s hand with a gentle smile. “There is sadly not much to tell.”

“Oh, hell no. You don’t get to reveal Nicky is a superhero-” Not a superhero, Nile “and then not tell me how that happened.”

Joe and Nicky shared a look, Joe raised his shoulder slightly in question to which Nicky tilted his head, his gaze flicking towards Nile before returning to Joe with a small nod.

Joe sighed and pulled his hand free from Nicky’s, settling back against his chair, and focusing his sight on the darkened splotches of curry staining the tablecloth. “It was many, many months after we had grown tired of constant death and had laid down our arms against one another. At the time we thought our situation was part of our immortality, it wasn’t until we met Andromache and Quynh that we understood otherwise.” 

Nicky smiled fondly, remembering the circumstances that had surrounded their meeting of their sisters in arms. It had been a sweltering summer, the air so thick that even the simple act of breathing would leave a person exhausted and uncomfortably drenched. Time had worn away at a lot of his memories but the vibrant scent of the briny waters lapping at the sands along the coast, the salty air pushed inland by the balmy waves of the Mediterannean that ate away at wood and stone alike and the overbearing smell of seagrasses that would drift upward when low tide would hit and carrying the faint tinge of dead sea life along with it were still vivid in his memory.

But what he remembered the most about that first meeting - what still haunted him and fueled his nightmares almost a millennium later - was the utter terror of not being able to hear Joe’s heartbeat between one moment and the next. His breath still faltered when he thought back to the utter panic that had grabbed hold and burrowed deep into his chest at the mere thought of losing the one person who could make him feel human.

“Andromache and Quynh absconded with Joe before we had the chance to be formally introduced.”

Nile balked at Nicky’s words but at the minute twitch to the corners of his mouth and the way she noticed his eyes darken just a tad, not quite in anger but in an almost accusatory way, had her turning to Andy flabbergasted, “You what!?

“In all fairness,” Andy started, her hands raised in supplication, “it was just to test a theory. We’d trailed the two of them for days, trying to get a read on what kind of buffoons they were outside of the dreams.”

“We were not buffoons.” Joe huffed, affronted, eyes ticking to Nicky looking for agreement.

Andy quirked an eyebrow, “You literally killed each other dozens of times over the span of 6 months. Quynh and I had even started making bets on it. So, hence, bah-foons.”

“We were-” Joe trailed off, looking to Nicky for the right way to answer without confirming Andy’s rather accurate description.

Nicky turned from Joe’s gaze to Andy’s with a frown, “-working through some things.” 

“Sure, language barrier, sectarianism, genocide…” Andy said, ticking each item off with the raise of one of her fingers.

“Getting off topic here, guys. I’m assuming there’s more to the story then Andy and Quynh running off with Joe in tow?” 

With a sigh, Andy looked towards Nile. “There were… are stories. Legends really, about persons with the capability to  perceive the world around them on a level unseen by us mere humans.”

“Sounds amazing.” Nile said.

“One would think until you realize nothing can be such without its own hindrances.” Nicky explained with a wince, “What Andy and Quynh were testing was to see if Joe and I had bonded as guide and sentinel.”

“Bonded?”

“A sentinel’s abilities are latent, most that have this ability will never know because a sentinel is born through harsh conditions and need.” Andy explained at Nile’s question. “But if there is no guide, no way for a sentinel to maintain a baseline, the world becomes an enemy to them and they either zone or turn feral.”

“Feral? Like...turn rabid?” 

Nicky nodded at Nile, “An abhorred definition but yes. We have only ever seen a feral sentinel once and it ended with him falling to my blade.” 

“Okay.” Nile pursed her lips trying to gather her thoughts, “Okay so Andy and Quynh took Joe to make sure you were bonded and not feral?”

“You have to understand Nile, we saw them kill each other for months. With so much senseless violence Quynh and I had to make sure that the world hadn’t bred a broken and untamed immortal.”

[gatesofember]

The Ballad of Ladon Creek

Chapter 1

Wild West au | Pairing: Solangelo | Rating: T | Read it on AO3 | Next Chapter

Summary: Doctor Will Solace had lived in the secluded Oregon town of Ladon Creek for a year when a mysterious stranger arrived and turned his world upside down.

For @solangeloweek​’s auctober 

In the years after the Civil War, a young woman by the name of Hazel Levesque discovered a massive supply of gold in the hills near Ladon Creek.  With the help of a few close friends, she established her own mine—something that she should not have been able to do, because Miss Levesque was not only female, but black, as well.  At the time, blacks had been prohibited from entering the state of Oregon at all; they certainly weren’t granted the right to own property.  It had taken some clever manipulation and sneaking around to have the land registered in her name.

The mine brought so many settlers in its first year of operation that one of Miss Levesque’s friends—Miss Annabeth Chase—designed a town named Ladon Creek after the nearby river.  It was the largest town for miles but not far from Grande Ronde and it sat largely undisturbed by the county marshal and outside lawmen.  That, and the fact that it had been founded by a black woman and her friends, was why Ladon Creek had attracted all manner of social outcasts and “undesirables” in the years since the mine’s opening—one of whom being Dr. William Solace.

Dr. Solace had kept to himself since arriving in Ladon Creek the year before.  While his mother, Mrs. Naomi Solace, was a pleasant and sociable woman, Will never sought out companionship.  Even when invited, he listened more than he spoke and hardly ever stayed long.

Still, Will remained well-liked in Ladon Creek.  Something about him made people feel safe and comfortable.  He was of average height and his posture was unthreatening.  His face was handsome and smooth, his voice sounded pleasantly melodic, and his demeanor was gentle and calming.  His hands felt soft like he’d never worked a day in his life, yet he labored over his patients so arduously that you might have thought they were his own kin.  Every touch was careful and every word was warm.

On one bright summer afternoon, a stranger rode into Ladon Creek slouched on the back of a bay-coated horse.  He was clothed almost entirely in black and his face was hidden in shadow under the brim of his dark hat.  When he stopped a couple on the street and asked where he could find the doctor, they pointed him in the direction of Will’s clinic.

Will looked up when he heard the rustling outside his office and saw the black-clad stranger tying up his horse outside the windows.  He noted a limp to the man’s gait and clicked his tongue.  Wounded travelers came into his office too often for Will’s liking—out west, people were far too careless and the terrain was far too dangerous.

Will folded his hands on the desk in front of him as the man opened the door and walked inside.  “You’re the doctor?” asked the stranger.

“Yes,” said Will.  “How may I help you?”

The man took off his hat, revealing a head of unkempt black hair and a pair of bottomless dark eyes that reminded Will of staring into a well.  There was a sheen of sweat on his brow and dark circles under his eyes, and Will almost feared the man might pass out right in the doorway of his clinic.  But despite his obvious exhaustion, he was handsome in a rough kind of way—the dangerous sort of handsome that was best admired from afar.

“I’m looking to buy some bandages,” the man said.

Will glanced down at the leg the man had been favoring.  “You have a name, stranger?” he asked.

“Di Angelo—Nico di Angelo,” the man replied.

“Well, then, Mr. di Angelo,” Will said, rising from his desk.  “If you let me examine that leg, the bandages are free.”

To Will’s surprise, the man hesitated before nodding and taking off his duster, revealing the brown-stained bandage wrapped around his left thigh.

“Sit down,” Will said, gesturing to the exam table hidden from the view of the windows by a privacy curtain.  He took Nico’s coat and hat and hung them by the door before joining him.  Nico had already started unwrapping his bandages.  The wound was messy, caked with dried blood and slowly oozing a cloudy yellow fluid.  Will could tell it was at least a day or two old and that an infection was setting in.

“You must have gotten in quite a fight,” Will said, standing to fetch supplies to clean the wound.  “Run into some trouble?”

Nico didn’t answer.  Will hadn’t expected him to.

“I already got the bullet out and cleaned it,” Nico said.

“Good,” Will replied.  “You probably held the infection off long enough to make it here, but you’re lucky I asked to see it—otherwise, you might’ve lost your leg.”

Will poured alcohol on a cleaning cloth and Nico tensed when it touched his wound, but held still and didn’t make a sound until Will had finished and applied a healing ointment.  “You’ll need to stay in town a few days so I can keep an eye on your progress and care for your wound properly,” Will said.  “Mrs. Jackson owns an inn a little ways down the road where you can rent a room.  She’ll make sure you eat well and her son will take good care of your horse.”  

Nico was quiet and for a moment, Will worried that he’d argue.  But then he sighed and said, “I suppose there’s no helping it.  Where can I find her?”

Will tried not to feel insulted by Nico’s obvious disappointment.  “Only a few buildings down the road—I’ll take you there,” he said as he finished changing Nico’s bandages.  “Wait here a moment.”

Will went into the back room of the clinic and retrieved a wooden crutch from his supplies, then returned and offered it to Nico.  “You’ll need to use this to walk for a while,” he said.  “Try to keep your weight off that leg as much as you can.”

Nico looked at Will with tired incredulity, like he couldn’t believe Will was forcing him to do all this, but he got to his feet and tested the crutch without complaining.  Will handed Nico his hat and coat and brought him outside to where his mare was waiting.  Will offered to lead her while Nico got used to his crutch, and Nico shrugged like he didn’t care one way or the other.

The Jacksons’ inn was a two-story building just a short walk away with blue painted siding and windows of natural pine.  If he walked by at the wrong time, Will would smell a wonderful meal being prepared, which always left him hungry and jealous.  He had been invited to join them for supper a handful of times, and each time he swore it was the best meal he’d ever had.

Mrs. Sally Jackson sat on a rocking chair on the front porch as Will and Nico approached, humming softly and holding her sleeping six-month-old baby against her chest.  She looked tired, with a few brown and gray hairs out of place, but relaxed and happy.

“Afternoon, Mrs. Jackson,” called Will.

“Dr. Solace!” Mrs. Jackson said.  “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I have a patient in need of a room,” Will answered, nodding to Nico.  “This is Mr. di Angelo.  He’ll be staying here until his leg heals.”

“Poor thing,” Mrs. Jackson tutted as she rose from her chair, careful to not wake the baby.  “Take a seat while I bring your horse to the stable out back, Mr. di Angelo.  Doctor, I’m sorry to trouble you, but would you mind holding Estelle?  Paul’s at the schoolhouse, Percy’s on the ranch, and poor Estelle has barely napped all day.”

“No trouble at all, Mrs. Jackson,” Will answered.  Estelle stirred when Will took her, but she quickly fell asleep again in his arms.

“Thank you, Doctor,” Sally said before leading the horse around to the back of the building.  

When Will glanced back at Nico, half expecting to find him passed out in the rocking chair, he was surprised to instead see Nico watching him with a curious, unnerving expression that made Will’s hair stand on end.  He felt like he was being picked apart, dissected and examined like a dead animal.  Will cleared his throat, but Nico kept staring—perhaps not even realizing what he was doing or not understanding that Will was trying to get him to stop.

“Your horse is lovely,” Will said, attempting to distract him instead.  “What’s her name?” 

Nico finally blinked and he looked thoughtful for a moment, like he’d never considered giving her a name.  Then he said, “Cavala.”

“Cavala,” Will repeated, rubbing soft circles into Estelle’s back.  “A beautiful name for a beautiful horse.”

Nico smiled, but it seemed more like he was enjoying a private joke than appreciating Will’s compliment.  Still, the smile made Will’s heart rate pick up for a second and he almost worried the hammering would wake the baby sleeping against his chest.  He glanced away and was glad to see Mrs. Jackson returning.

“Thank you for holding her,” she said when Will passed Estelle back.

“You’re very welcome,” Will said.  “Don’t let her nap too much longer or she won’t want to sleep tonight.”

“I know, Doctor—this isn’t my first baby, it’s just been a while since my last,” said Mrs. Jackson.  “I’ll set you up in a room on the ground floor so that you don’t have to bother with the stairs, Mr. di Angelo.  My husband and my son should be home soon and Percy will look after your horse while Paul helps me with supper.  Are you hungry?”

Nico looked at her blankly for a second before nodding, like it took a moment for his tired brain to comprehend what she was asking.  “Yes, ma’am,” he said.

“I ought to head back to the clinic,” Will said, before the idea of a Jackson supper made him start to drool.  “Come by tomorrow morning so I can check on your leg, Mr. di Angelo.”

Nico turned back to Will, once again fixing him with that unnerving stare, and slowly nodded.

When Will walked back to his clinic, he could still feel the stare on his back.

[dreaming-gamer]

Magic Touch – Nero X V Chapter 3

Firefighter Nero x Massage Therapist V

The smell of oil and tires hit Nero’s nose the second he stepped into Devil May Drive, to find V’s piece of junk car suspended by a red car lift and Nero’s best friend checking its underside. Nico wore a yellow overall, the sleeves rolled up for the world to see her tattoos and oil coated her clothed fingers.

The front of the small car might be looking a bit steadier since last Nero had seen it, two days ago. Work had kept him away, but at least he was free today. And hoping for a chance meeting with a certain massage therapist.

“You can stop checking around, he ain’t here.” The mechanic stated, but she flashed Nero a grin. “So, I wanna hear all ‘bout it. Ya get another session or something?” She winked.

“Did you sniff too much gasoline?” Nero retorted. “I gave him a ride, nothing else.”

“At least ya got his number, right?” Nico teased, only for her eyes to widen as Nero hesitated just a second too long. “Yer shittin’ me! Are ya the worst person in the world when it comes to flirting or what?!” She demanded, both hands on her hips.

“Kyrie and I didn’t need flirting! This is just totally different, alright?!” Nero exclaimed, but quickly lowered his voice, stepping closer to his best friend. “Kyrie and I were friends for the longest time! I’ve met this guy twice! I tried asking his number! …but the timing was all wrong, he got out of the car without hearing me.”

“Uh huh… ya know, ya could ask yers truly and I’ll give it to ya, as a special order.” Nico said, her grin returning full force. Maybe she was taking pity on him. Nero wasn’t sure he wanted it or liked it.

“And what would that cost me?” He deadpanned.

“A favor to ask for whenever I please, no matter the cost?” Nico grinned, her eyes alight with glee. “Magic always comes with a price, dearie.”

“You quoting that show of yours again? And this isn’t even magic! Aren’t you breaking customer confidentiality if you give it to me?” Nero pointed out with a huff.

“Aww, does that mean yer worried about my job? Dante wouldn’t mind me helping his nephew, lemme tell ya!” Nico teased.

“You’re NOT telling him about this!” Nero exclaimed. Her teasing, he could put up with. If his uncle found out that Nero was starting to take fancy in someone, he would never hear the end of the Dante’s comments! Or the attempts of ‘advice’. “And if I’m going to get V’s number, damn straight I’m getting it myself! I’m not gonna sit around like some deadweight and get it handed to me!”

But the thought of asking V, well… it made his heart race again. A lot. First of all, he needed to actually meet the guy again, preferably here and hope with all his heart that V would maybe, maybe be interested enough in him to exchange numbers so Nero didn’t need to rely on chance meetings anymore. Sometimes he replayed V’s quote of poetry in his head, not that the poem meant much to him, but that voice…

He missed it.

“Pardon me.”

Oh great, Nero was even imagining it now, more vividly than he’d managed before, right behind him.

“I see we have run into each other, yet again. Good morning, Nero.”

Nero’s mind ground to a stop. There was only one pair of lips that made his name sound like more than it was.

No. Way.

He turned around to find the poet standing just a few meters behind them, a silvery cane in one hand, dressed in a black leather vest that gave off a strong gothic vibe but fit him amazingly. And the smirk on V’s face was quite amused. Either he had… heard Nero’s announcement. Or he was happy with gaining Nero’s attention, with his attire.

The tips of Nero’s ears turned red, whichever the case.

“M-morning!” He said quickly, dammit, what else was he supposed to say?! Had V heard him or not?! And if he had, was he totally fine with giving up his number?! Nero’s heart sped up, thundering in his chest while it felt like he had soaring butterflies in his stomach…!

Nico snorted, trying to hold back a laugh, making Nero turn quickly to face her, anger sparking in his eyes.

Her mirth said it all, she’d seen V come in. And not told him.

Nico just gave him a grin before seemingly taking pity on Nero, as she greeted her customer.

“Yo, yer early! Gonna take a few more hours to get this beauty completely fixed!” She announced, gesturing to the suspended car.

“Ah, my apologies. Your message specified today, so I was hoping…” V smiled politely. “I suppose I will have to return later then.”

“Come back at lunch and it’ll be greeting you with a roaring engine!” Nico grinned. Nero wondered if that car engine could roar at all, since… well, it looked way too old.  

V chuckled to her statement.

“I will look forward to that then.” He smirked as she went back to her work. Nico flashed Nero a meaningful grin, like a silent “Come on, jackass! Ya scared?!”

Nero grit his teeth, he wasn’t going to back down from that challenge! Fighting the urge to put his hands in his pockets and instead act natural, he approached V, putting a grin on his face.

“So, since the car’s gonna be a while… you wanna go grab a coffee? Brunch?” Nero offered, his heart beating fast in his chest. The pounding could almost be heard in his ears.

The second V looked at him, his lips turning into an apologetic smile, Nero knew what the answer would be. It made his heart sink, like a stone to his stomach.

“My apologies, Nero. As pleasant as your offer sounds… I have somewhere to be, right after this. I just came by… in hopes of finding the car finished early.” V replied.

Nero stumbled for a natural reply, with his previously soaring hope now crushing to the ground, within the same hour, it was hard to not seem affected.

“Yeah, no worries man, never mind that—“

“However…” V’s calm voice cut him off. “…if you would like to join me for a walk, to my destination…”

Nero’s hand, that had just been on it’s way to the back of his head, paused. His eyes widened, his tongue felt tied in his mouth. He was quick to nod.

“Excellent, shall we be off?” V suggested with a pleased smirk, taking the lead out of the oil-smelling shop. Nero kicked his brain and legs into following, feeling as if that hope he couldn’t let go of was currently on a rollercoaster. It didn’t stop the grin from appearing on his face. Nero let V take the lead, falling into step with the massage therapist.

Sunlight greeted them and despite the lack of sleeves on his clothing, V was dressed all in black leather. Wouldn’t he get really hot? Nero’s tongue seeming more willing to cooperate now, he opened his mouth to ask as he noticed another detail.

V had… sandals on.

For real? They didn’t really fit in with the rest of his look at all, they just didn’t! But V’s way of walking, as if they were the most appropriate thing in the world to wear… kind of made it work? It was rather confusing, to be honest.

V seemed to notice his staring.

“Is something the matter?” The massage therapist wondered.

Nero considered, for a moment to ask what the deal with the sandals was… but since they didn’t really know each other that well yet, he settled for another question on his mind.

“So why the cane? You need it or is it just to strengthen the goth look?” V stood out like a sore thumb compared to him, Nero was dressed in regular jeans, t-shirt and a short sleeved blue hoodie, perfect for the weather.

V graced him with a devilish smirk, that kind that made a shiver go down along Nero’s spine.

“I suppose… it is for aesthetic, rather than function. These days.”

“’These days’?” Nero asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes.” V replied, holding the cane just under the head in an easy grip. It certainly didn’t look like he needed it to walk, since there was no limp to his steps, just a bit of slouch to his back. V didn’t seem inclined to elaborate. Like he’d rather keep it a mystery, or perhaps it was something he’d rather not speak about. Nero couldn’t really tell which, but he didn’t push it.

“Looks good, anyway.” He simply said, because it was true. V wielded the cane gracefully, as if it was an extension of his tattooed arm.

V’s devilish smirk remained.

“Why, thank you. What was your errand, at Devil May Drive? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Nero felt the tips of his ears change color again. V’s tone was teasing and he wondered, again, had the massage therapist heard him or not? Proclaiming he wanted V’s number…

“I just hang out there sometimes.” He tried for, it wasn’t a completely white lie. Nero did hang around, sometimes, since Nico worked there. And meeting his uncle from time to time was cool.

And I was kinda hoping to see you again. The words were in his mind, right there, ready to be said. And he opened his mouth to let them out, but they just wouldn’t come. He struggled, swallowed to buy himself time to try again. His heart rate was picking up again, whoa Nico must be right, he was the worst when it came to flirting!

“I see.” V didn’t seem to mind Nero’s difficulties. “I’m afraid… our walk seems to be coming to an end.”

Are you kidding me?! This time, I am getting that number before you— Nero put a brake on his own thoughts, when he realized just where they were. Sure, they have started to walk down a very familiar road, but still… This street was where he lived! On both sides of the road, apartment buildings loomed over them, the sun hitting the southern windows making them glisten. He’d expected they were just going to pass through, but V meant that they were almost there?

“Why are we here, exactly?”  Nero’s mind was trying to catch up. Was V visiting someone? Or…

Did he live here, that close to Nero? His eyes fell upon a blue moving truck, parked outside the apartment building across from his. The movers stood just outside, discussing the best course of action, just before they opened shutter to the truck’s storage unit.

“I am moving to this new apartment, today.” V pointed to the moving truck with the head of his cane. “I’m afraid that’s why I’ll be too busy to…” The black-haired man paused as he noticed Nero’s wide eyes. “Is something the matter?”

“You’re moving in, acrossfromme.” Nero blurted the words out, too quickly for them to be really heard. It felt like his thoughts were tying themselves into knots.

V gave him a quizzical look.

“…pardon?”

“I live there.” Nero tapped V’s arm with his hand, then pointed it out for him, the first window on the third floor, facing the street as well as the opposite apartment building. “And you’re moving in…”

“Third floor, facing the road…” V’s eyes widened slightly, in that expression Nero had started to see as V’s attempt to hide his surprise. It took mere moments for his expression to smooth out into that devilish smirk.

“Well, we appear to be running into each other a lot recently.” V noted, sounding amused.

“I think this one is on you.” Nero said with a cocky grin. It felt like his heart was going to start breakdancing. Was this luck even real?

“It would seem that way.” V agreed, that amused glint not leaving his eyes. Nero just couldn’t believe this. He knew that an apartment across the road been empty for about a month now, the party animal that had lived there having finally moved on to someplace closer to the city center and the partying he had so adored. Either that or he had been evicted, for disturbing the neighborhood so often. But that didn’t mean that he could have imagined, in his wildest dreams, that V would be the one moving in.

Two men in blue clothes, the same color as the moving truck with caps on their heads exited the apartment building and climbed into the opened storage unit to start lifting a black leather couch between themselves. Nero could see a lot of boxes in the storage unit as well and he briefly wondered if V’s apartment would be the same size as his, with two rooms and a kitchen, or any other size. The question was on his tongue, but V beat him to it.

“Well then, I suppose I must assist.” V said, gesturing to the moving truck with his cane. “The walk might have been… short, but I enjoyed it. Thank you for the company.” V’s voice was that silken tone that sent shivers down Nero’s spine.

“Hey, no need for thanks. Seems like we’ll maybe see more of each other from now on huh?”

“It certainly seems that way…” From the way V smirked in amusement, Nero felt hope soar inside again. “Good luck with the move. I’m off work today, so just knock if you need help with something, deal?” He grinned, still not quite believing his luck.

V chuckled, that smirk on his face ever present.

“Perhaps I will. Good day to you, Nero.” V said, walking towards his new residence with that slight sway to his hips and waist. Nero tried so hard not to stare. And failed pretty miserably.

“See ya! G’day to you too!” Nero barely knew what he said as he waved and walked towards his own apartment building.

He’s moving in, on the other side of the road. It felt like Nero had wings on his feet when he climbed the stairs to his own apartment, one or sometimes two steps at a time. And V didn’t sound like he had anything against seeing each other again! The grin on Nero’s face couldn’t be wiped off by anything now! 

It wasn’t until he stepped inside his own home, kicked off his shoes and pulled off his jacket while simultaneously pulling off some steps to the sound of the electric guitar in his head, that he noticed that his phone had gotten a message. With a flick of his thumb, the message screen greeted him.

“So how did it go? Got that magical number already?” The message was short, but had plenty of emojis a la Nico, including some he barely understood. And why a devil emoji? The words were what made Nero stop in his happy dance around the kitchen though.

V’s number…

The sudden reveal of V’s new home had made him completely forget!

“Fuck!”

���🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸����🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

@la-vita and @thedyingmoon

[skvaderarts]

Hiraeth Chapter 15: Acquaintance

Masterlist can be found Here!

Chapter fifteen: Acquaintance

Notes: I don’t normally do anything for Valentine’s Day, but I might write something for it this year. IDK since I have no ideas. It’s not my kind of day. But I thought it might be a fun challenge, so here we are. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. It was a new kind of challenge for me. More on that later in the endnotes!

-~-

In truth, there had been no specific set of expectations placed upon the situation that they now found themselves in. none of them were entirely sure what they’d expected to find when they exited the house and walked along the path that led through the front lawn to the front gate that inclosed the small front yard, but it sure as hell hadn’t been what they found. In such trying times, that was one thing that was for certain.

Flames rained down from the sky as the intrepid group of devil hunters forged a path forwards up the street, remnants of a distant encounter of some sort that seemed to be a few blocks away. From this distance, all they could see was smoke and charred trees, all they could smell was the distinct sulfurous scent of the underworld; all they could feel was the burning heat that only fire left in its wake. looks of perplexion and mild amusement adorning their faces as they strode forward. Yes, something cataclysmic had certainly occurred during their time inside of Matier’s cozy abode. They hadn’t noticed any of this whatsoever. Whatever this was, it was eventful, and it might be the perfect distraction from the matter at hand.

But what had caused this incredible set of circumstances to occur in the first place? This entire situation was entirely irregular, to say the least. Even from the distance that they currently were from it, they could feel the change in the atmosphere. A great deal of power was being discharged in whatever battle was waging ahead of them, and they couldn’t pinpoint its origin. But perhaps the most incredible thing was that there didn’t seem to be any notable property damage. No, the encounter, whatever it was, seemed to be contained in some way. The entire little village that they found themselves in would have burned down by then if that wasn’t the case.

“So Vergil, you spent, what, literally forever in the underworld, right? You ever seen something like whatever this is?” Nico asked as she attempted to keep pace with the rest of the group. She was out of breath, and running wasn’t something that she did if she could avoid it, especially in a hot, humid climate like the one that they were in. That being said, she didn’t want to miss a second of the action if she could help it.

The devil slayer in blue glanced over at her, more or less neutral to the inquiry. Yes, he had indeed spent “literally forever” down there. There was no need to remind him. But he could only assume that the young woman had meant her comment in a non-malicious way. She had no reason to pick a fight with someone who could easily end her life. Perhaps it was just her misguided way of breaking the ice.

“Now that you mention it… no, I don’t believe that I have.” The reality of that realization suddenly dawned on Vergil as they forged a path forward. The Darkslayer drew his weapon and readied himself for a fight, unwilling to simply walk into what could possibly be a trap. Nico wouldn’t willingly walk them into one, but the situation could still be beyond her scope of expertise. And besides, having Yamato at the ready was probably be the best decision he could make when going up against an unfamiliar and more than likely deadly force. He wasn’t going to make it too easy on his opponent.

Dante shrugged, pulling his blade from his back in preparation for the battle that they were probably walking into. “Beats me! I’ve never seen anything quite like this, either. It’s kinda familiar, but not really, and I still can’t place what could be causing it.”

Much to their surprise, Nico snickered slightly at the statement. “Oh, believe me, your gonna see what’s causing. That’s why I came and got ya in the first place! I needed ya to see this for yourself. It’s pretty wild!”

“So am I the only one who wasn’t to know why the sky is on fire? Because I feel like that might be pretty important.” Nero said as he readied Blue Rose. It was the bare minimum of presumptive action that he could take against a possible sneak attack, and the last thing he wanted to do was get torn in half by some random demon. Not only would it be a lame way to die, but it would also keep him from finding out what the hell was going on.

“Yes, your quite right, Nero. The sky isn’t normally on fire. A rather astute observation, if I do say so myself. And it certainly doesn’t help me breathe any easier.” A familiar voice said as they passed him from behind, leaving nothing more than a blur or dark energy as they passed. Nero gave V an unamused look as he hovered past him, the shorter-haired man clearly not pleased that he had to run while V could simply float along the ground effortlessly. That wasn’t to say that he blamed him, though. If he has such an ability, Nero was certain that he too would abuse it in every possible way. Riding Punchline was by far one of the highlights of his day whenever he was afforded the opportunity.

As the group neared the trees, they caught sight of something that waylaid them slightly. Standing just to the side of their destination was a familiar face that Dante was positive that he hadn’t seen in far too long. A small dagger flew past Dante’s head and into the tree behind him as stepped forward, catching sight of the group of demons that had gathered around in a hopeless attempt at actually standing much of a chance against their opponent. But that wouldn’t do them any good. While she might not be quite as powerful as he was, Lucia was far from a pushover, and a few worthless Puia, Demonochorus, and Msira didn’t stand a chance against her. As if to prove his point, she threw a volley of blades at the last remaining wave of them, knocking them dead to the floor as she withdrew her curved blades from the remains of a Savage Golem that had made the fatal mistake of thinking it could take her on in close quarters combat.

Vergil raised an eyebrow as she approached them, noting the finer points of what little of her fighting style he’d be able to see. While he himself used smaller blades as a primary element of his fighting style, actually throwing them was another matter entirely. It took great skill to be able to hit your target so consistently, and to do so with such speed? She was rather impressive, wasn’t she? He wondered for a moment what he had expected her to do when he’d finally met her, but it seemed that whatever expectations he’d previously possessed had been subverted, even if he didn’t really know what those expectations were. It wasn’t every day that something like that happened.

The instant that the demon was dead and she had holstered her twin blades, Lucia jogged over to them, using her left hand to toss her long red braid over her shoulder as she came to a stop in front of Dante. Despite the fact that she’d just finished a battle, a pleasant, if not shy smile spread across her face. “Dante… Matier told me you’d come back around. What are you…”

She trailed off for a second as she caught sight of the rest of the group, noticing for the first time how many new people she’d never seen before were there, especially the ones with white hair. Her eyes drifted over to Vergil as he approached, V and Nero coming from behind their father and around to meet her. Was this the guardian that Dante had told them so much about? If so, they were somewhat surprised. For whatever reason, both Nero and V had collectively figured that she was an older woman like Matier. She didn’t’ seem significantly older than they were. Probably around Lady and Trish’s age, possibly even slightly younger. It was hard to say by just looking at her. What they could say, however, was that so far, she seemed far too nice to be one of Dante’s friends. After all, she hadn’t shot or stabbed him yet. What a welcome change of pace!

After a moment of staring in quiet confusion at Vergil, Lucia turned back towards Dante. She looked at the devil hunter in red for a second, her brow furrowing slightly as though she didn’t understand something. She tilted her head to one side, clearly considering something. A moment later she looked at Vergil again, this time stepping back to get a better look at both of them. And just like that, something clicked. 

“Oh… I see. That makes sense. Very interesting.” She turned her gaze towards Dante, folding her arms and she glared at him playfully. If she’s been closer, she might have even nudged him, but that was a longshot. “Why didn’t you tell me you were identical twins, Dante?! That’s incredible! You told me about your brother but…”

Lucia slowly stopped talking as she noticed that Vergil was folding his arms and turning to give his twin a dirty look, the younger of the two giving her a look as if to plead with her to stop talking. While the lovely redhead wasn’t privy to what was going on, she was smart enough to be able to tell that it was probably a complicated matter between her longtime friend and his twin brother, and that she didn’t want to get involved. If the tension alone was anything to go by, it might not end very well for her. Best to revisit that topic later when it was just her and Dante and the two of them were not in the same location. After all, she’d heard from down the grapevine that they didn’t always get along.

V peered around his father’s back, wrangling Shadow as he ended his use of the demonic feline. She was an invaluable asset, especially in regards to travel, but there was no reason to use her when they were standing still. Best to let her rest just in case things took a turn. Though going off of his experience with the young woman that they had just ran into, he couldn’t imagine that it would. From what he could tell, she seemed kind.

“Sorry about that. It’s not my business, is it? Forgive me.” Lucia blushed slightly, clearly embarrassed. She’d only been talking to him for a minute or two, and she’d already managed to find a way to get herself tongue-tied and into a situation that she didn’t particularly wish to be in. How did this always happen? “My name is Lucia. I’m one of the guardians of Vei Du Marlin. I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay so far. Sorry for the wait.”

As if to protest against her polite statement, another loud explosion ricochet across the space behind them, this time the vibration it caused was enough to stagger them, nearly causing V to stumble and fall over due to the sheer force of it. Nero reached for his brother in an attempt to steady him, but the older of the two politely waved him off. There was no need. Thankfully he hadn’t actually fallen down. The problem was that V’s center of balance left much to be desired. Lucia noticed his unsteady state and gave him a concerned look, drawing attention from the rest of the group as she did so. V sighed quietly under his breath, cursing his entire equilibrium for being so easily swayed.

“I’m fine. Truly. It’s just that whatever that was threw me off.” V glanced back towards the source of the explosion before turning back to her, intreuged.” Normally I tend to notice strange things such as that a moment or so before they occur because I do have eyes and I can see them, but we have no visibility from where we currently are. As such, I can’t really brace myself for impact. And whatever small amount of foresight I tend to possess has seemingly abandoned me. It’s unfortunate, but I’ll manage.”

Lucia nodded, seeming to understand his plight. “Oh, I understand. That makes sense. My mother needs assistance when she walks these days as well. She’s elderly, you see. Your balance being a little off is absolutely understandable if you walk with a cane.”

V considered elaborating for a moment, but he couldn’t will himself to do so. For whatever reason, he found himself tongue-tied in a manner that was unfamiliar to him. It was rare that he couldn’t think of a single thing to say, yet here he was, at a total loss for words. He wanted to say that it was simply because of the fact that he didn’t know what to say to such a polite, understanding, and accommodating response, but there was a part of him that subconsciously registered that there was more to it than that. He just didn’t know how to put it into words. And that was exceedingly strange to him. Maybe he was just worn out from his long conversation with Nero, Dante, and Vergil?

“Nice meeting you, Lucia. I’m Nero. Dante’s nephew. The frigid jerk in the blue coat is my dad, Vergil. He’s not so bad once you get used to him.” Nero said politely, trying his best to break the strange tension that had formed between V and the young guardian. He’d never seen V look so dumbfounded and lost before in his life, and it was as amusing as it was deeply confusing and strange. But regardless, they needed to figure out what was going on here. “This one’s my brother. I swear, he normally talks more. Not a lot more, but still. It’s something.”

V seemed to catch onto the fact that he was, in fact, acting deeply strange. He cleared his throat, looking down at the ground for a moment as if doing so would clear his head somehow. Suddenly he felt incredibly embarrassed, and he couldn’t even find a place to start as to why. What the hell was wrong with him? “You can call me V. it’s a pleasure to meet you, Lucia. What seems to be the trouble?”

She smiled slightly, a pleasant look that was reflected in her eyes in a way that told him it was genuine and not artificial friendliness to help break the ice between them. She pointed towards the woods, shrugging slightly as an exasperated look crossed her face. Despite the fact that she’d seen what had happened, that didn’t mean that it made any more sense to her than it did to anyone else. “Your companion came to assist me. A strange, large demon attacked while I was dispatching the lesser ones, and he lured it over there. I’ve been too busy dealing with these ones to go and see what became of him, but the fire doesn’t seem good, does it?”

Nero glanced over in the direction of the woods. He had to agree with her. “No, it doesn’t seem very good, does it? We should probably go and check it out. Ya know, see if he need any help. How big was this demon?”

The red-haired guardian gestured with both of her hands before withdrawing her blades, something catching her eye behind them. She took a defensive stance, motioning with her head towards the woods on the other side of the street. “Massive. But I think we might have company on the way. It seems that all this commotion had attracted unwanted attention.” 

She gestured in the direction of the large precession of demons that were now charging them, their heads lowered and their horns positioned to strike. It was a group that consisted of several varieties of goat and Finis demons and, from what he could tell, there were about two dozen of them. Each variety was present and accounted for, and they seemed eager and willing to attack. That didn’t surprise the devil hunter in red in the slightest. They always had been in his experience, especially the damn goat demons. But that didn’t change anything. He’d faced them before, and he would face them again.

Dante chuckled slightly, remembering the first time that he’d faced a member of the goat clan. They were always a fun time, but he didn’t really have the opportunity at the moment to give them the time that he would have liked to. Right now wasn’t the best time to pick a fight with a giant overgrown flaming goat, but they were going to have to take them down nonetheless. And then they needed to figure out where Sirrus was and fast before things got out of hand. If nothing else, flaming debris falling from the sky might catch something on fire. And the last thing they needed was to be even partially responsible for yet another destroyed town. Enough was enough for one lifetime. Or at least one year… 

“Alright then, let’s take care of these posers and go see what’s got the big guy so riled up. Think we can do that before the entire neighborhood burns down?” Dante said playfully as they readied themselves to meet their opponents head-on. Each of his companions gave him an affirming nod, even Nico who had no intention of getting into this fight. She didn’t even have a weapon, but she was going to hang back and see what she could do to help. Maybe going to check on what was going on in the woods was a good idea? Regardless, they were ready to meet their opponents head-on, and as the foolish creatures charged them head-on, they decided to meet them in the middle.

The entire company of devil hunters surged forward, ready to take down these pathetic excuses for demons and get to the real challenge. The poor creatures wouldn’t live to regret the day that they stumbled across the entirety of their family. After all, descendants of Sparda didn’t suffer demons to live, and there were a lot of demons here asking for a good murdering. Not a single one was going to make it out of here alive if any of them had anything to say about it. Especially with the mood that Vergil was in today. That had been their first and last mistake.

-~-

Wow. I did all of this week’s writing in one night. What the hell is wrong with me? Anyway, Lucia is hard for me to write, so I hope I did okay! I’ve never written anything with her in it before, despite how much I love her! Head to the comments and recommend me some fics with her in it to read! I need to learn her mannerisms, although I think I might have gotten a few of them at least half right. Thanks for all the support, and I’ll see you all next week. Well, except for the little valentines day short that I might write for Saudade sometime soon, but you know what I mean XD

See you in the comments!

[revengeisalwaysanoption]

Fic: Io non ci credo, alle giraffe (FINAL CHAPTER)

So, you can find this chapter on AO3 as well (together with the sappiest epilogue you could ever imagine) and I do hope it lives up to your expectations. It mostly did, to mine. I agonized over writing this fic, but I nearly cried now that it’s over.

This wasn't quite what he had in mind, when he had tried to picture the afterlife. The few times he did that, whilst attending the funerals of some old relative, Martino had conjured up a field of barley. An eternal sunset. A light breeze.

Loved ones, lost too early, ready to show him the ropes and teach him how to haunt his friends for the rest of their lives.

"Boohoo! Poor Marti wanted a welcoming committee in a lovely bucolic setting…" said a grating voice in a harsh and judgemental tone.

Where did it come from? Who was speaking? There was nothing around him. No one.

Only darkness.

"Instead of you've got me. This." The stranger continued. "Because we've got to be predictable, don't we? Unimaginative. But do you know what? Screw you, man. I can do better."

Then he heard a loud, snapping sound and had to shield his eyes from a bright blinding light.

"Are you still there?" Marti asked to his unknown companion.

They didn't sound like a particularly pleasant person, but… Anyone, even Marco - Emma's brutish brother - would do...

'Beggars can't be choosers' as his dad used to say.

"Unbelievable!! You're still quoting him. As if that man ever said anything worth repeating…"

Uhh, this guy sure had some serious beef with his father… and could read his thoughts, apparently? No wonder why the stranger was so grumpy, given that he had been bombarded by flashes of Marti kissing Nico for the last… day?

Week? It was hard to keep track of time when they only thing that existed was you, and your immense loneliness.

"No!! That's not my division, you've got somebody else covering that. I'm in charge of rage, disdain, frustration, resent and pettiness. Yeah, yeah. I do most of the work around here." The more Marti listened to him talking, the less sense he made.

Where were they? Who was he? Where was he hiding?

"I'm not hiding. I'm right behind you."

What? How was that possible? He must have been joking, because Marti would have noticed if… Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. A hand that was too familiar in weight and texture. He turned, finally, to face himself.

He looked battered, exhausted, dishevelled. His eyes were red, and teary. His shoulders hunched, as though he had been carrying the weight of the word for quite some time. Wow. It was a lot to take in. Did he really-

"Let me stop you there. Yes, this is how you sound to other people and how they see you. They are used to it, by the way, so they don't find it as unpleasant as you do. Next? Are you alive? Yes? No? How should I know, when I am literally something you made up?"

So, basically, Martino could only hope that he wasn't stuck here, with the worst of himself, forever.

"The worst, huh? Wait until fear, jealousy and paranoia show up... Not to mention the good old self-preservation instinct, aka what you usually refer to as 'common sense', who's gonna bore y-"

"Okay, okay. I get it. No need to get so defensive." Damn, someone here was a bit too sensitive to criticism!

Okay, alright. Perhaps this guy wasn't the bottom of the barrel, maybe some people even found his fiery disposition and charming, but…. it couldn't be all that his friends - and Nico; his sweet gentle dorky Nico -  saw in Martino.

He had plenty of good, in him… so where was it?

"Ooh! That's the attitude you need to get out of here… Know your worth! Fight for it!" Anger goaded him on, suddenly mellowing out and becoming a lot more amiable.

"Lend an ear to your heart, be true to yourself…" Martino rebuked, not quite as sarcastic as he would have been a couple of days before.

"... and when you do, you'll hold the key to open all doors, yeah. Starting from that one" his grumpy companion said, pointing at the portal that just appeared out of nowhere.

"Don't. Save it. We are nowhere, therefore…" Marti shushed him, rolling his eyes and smiling. It was kind of endearing to realise how predictable he could be. Comforting.

"Stop stalling and go through that damn door. Someone's waiting for you."

Who? Could it be… ? Well there was only one way to find out.

As he stepped over the threshold, everything changed.

He could have sworn that the air was filled with the smell of his mother's freshly baked cinnamon rolls, which she hadn't been making for nearly a decade. The sun shine brightly in a cloudless blue sky, but it didn't burn skin. A pleasant warmth was spreading through him, while Marti relieved the bone crushing hugs, the forehead kisses, the most gentle touch upon his own lips and all those casual loving gestures he had taken for granted for far too long.

He knew where he was. The Emerald Fields, and idyllic place on the outskirts of Eterna. A city 'where all wishes come true', according to legends. His father - merchant for a living, myth-buster for 'the greater good, the improvement of society as a whole' - had proved them to be nothing more than smoke and mirrors… Quite ironic that a man so obsessed with honesty and transparency had the guts to… No. Forget it.

It was unacceptable: he wouldn't any unresolved issues he had with his dad spoil this memory.

Of the last time it truly felt invincible, invaluable. Unique, in all his untapped potential. Carefree.

He didn't mind being alone, here… not that he was. Obviously, he wasn't. Deer and and fawns had materialise beside him, stubbornly nudging Martino towards the lake.

Playfully splashing water with his feet, with a flower crown in his auburn hair, sat the person who had been waiting for him. Not Niccolò, unfortunately. Or Gio.

"I suppose you'll have to settle for me." He said, silently asking Marti to sit next to him with an eloquent look. Welcoming, rather than threatening.

There was an aura of 'now tell me all about your troubles, my friend… share the weight with me and maybe they won't seem half as bad..' surrounding him, which normally Martino would've labelled as patronising - unless it came from Giovanni. Normally.

FlowerBoy tapped the plank on his right, for emphasis, thanking Marti when you finally took a seat on the creek.

"I'm glad you two parted on good terms. He got us through some awful times, you know? You call him 'anger', but he is 'pride'. Which, in itself, is not so bad. Life has hardened him, made him constantly ready for a fight, but… what you see as a flaw, indeed, is one of your biggest strengths. Loyalty. Perseverance. Spite… I can't take the credit for those - especially the latter, which has repeatedly spurred you into action. It comes from loving yourself, sure, but with a slight disdain for others and their shitty opinions."

Woah. Martino hadn't being ready for the lecture on his own negative feelings from… His hippie self?

"You seem nicer, though." Clean-shaven, soft-spoken, well-rested and well-dressed.

A stark contrast from the guy he had met first.

"I generally am. Enough to make people stay, most of the time. Draw them in, however? Avoiding to wax lyrical on how the universe now revolves around them, and keeping a shred of dignity as if I wouldn't gladly have them on every available surface?" Huh? Were they still talking about his family and friends?

"Sorry, I got a bit carried away. The most recent developments with Ni… That's all very new to me. Never had I experienced something so intense. It's exciting and scary. Fascinating and confusing. Anyway, the point is: I'm cheesy. Sappy. Shamelessly so. He gives us an edge, turning mushiness into good-natured banter."

An interesting take, undoubtedly, but… kind of pointless? It did offer a new perspective on parts of himself he hadn't been overly fond of, still… In the grand scheme of things, what was the purpose of these talks? Where was the conflict, and the revelation that came with it?

"Not every tale needs to feature a dragon's slayer, or a fearless knight battling orcs. Lessons can be learnt without suffering."

All he needed to do was listen, basically? Could it be that easy? Wasn't it such a cop out?

"Easy, you say. And yet you haven't been able to achieve such an easy task in all these years. You refuse to. Shut up. You weren't talking? Well, you were thinking. Given them - dreaded common sense, fear and self-pity - too much attention."

Empty your mind. Find the sound that resonates within your soul. Amplify it. That's your spark.

Martino had never progressed past that stage, at the Academy, much to the Mentors' bafflement. He'd supposed they couldn't believe what they were seeing… that an individual with no magic at all co-

"SHUT UP!!"

Right. Right. No more thoughts. Hear the waves sloshing against the creek? The breeze blowing through the grass? The pitter-patter of deer hooves? Great. Cancel them out. Your breath is deafening, now, isn't it? It's all you can hear, and that's not particularly interesting…

"Don't give up, Marti please." Whose voice was it?  His mom's?

"Come on, man. Wake up." Gio's?

"Going from sleep deprived to lethargic? Really? Since when are you the 'go big or go home' kind of guy?" Eva's?

"Are you trying to impress someone, hun? You don't need to. One would think you hung the stars and moon from the way he looks at you…" Filo's?

"Marti, you can't go without seeing Luca's latest master-" Oh, how he had missed Elia's laughter. "masterpiece, yeah, that you've inspired."

"Don't fret. It doesn't matter how long it takes, but come back to me when it's over, okay? I'll be waiting. I'll always be waiting." Nico's. 

Wait. How could that be possible. Shouldn't he… No, no, no. Marti, no. Don't get lost, don't let logical reasoning lure you in. Take care of that later, okay? Okay.

Silence, please… There. You have it. The complete absence of s-

"LET ME OUT!!" A young boy yelled, thumping repeatedly from under the thick ice layer it was now covering the lake.

Was it some kind of ruse, a deceit it was supposed to ignore to reach a higher level of consciousness?

"HELP ME!!!" Thud. Thud. Thud. "PLEASE!!!" Thud. Thud. Thud.

Screw it. Too bad if he wasn't supposed to intervene: he was going to, regardless of the consequences.

Deprived of any tool that could help him with the rescue, it soon became clear that's the only way he could smash the ice was by jumping on it. And once he inevitably plunged into the freezing water, it would be just a matter of minutes before hypothermia kicked in and killed them both.

It didn't matter.

"HOLD ON!!!" Jump. Jump. Jump. "I'M GONNA GET YOU HOME. GONNA GET BOTH OF US HOME!!! "Jump. Jump. Jump. "ALIVE!!!"

Crack. He did it!

Seize the kid and get out. Survive.

"Thanks. I'm sorry I cursed you." The boy said, creating a bubble around them. "I… I didn't mean… It backfired… I…"

"... didn’t want to be alone anymore. You aren’t, you understand? I’m the one who’s sorry. You just wanted to be heard. Acknowledged. Remembered.” Martino couldn't recall the last time I took in the world around him with wonder, grateful to be alive and getting to see a rainbow. The first snow. The low tide. Shooting stars. The dancing curtains. Sunrises and sunsets. Niccolò.

"You really like him, don't you? Me too… He's cool… and he was the first one who saw me. Saw all of us, really… and still chose to stay."

Enough with the chit chat. The promises he'd only made, all that he had never allowed himself to be… No more words were needed to reconcile.

Much better to embrace them. Swim back to the surface. Rise.

********************************** Messy black curls. Full, red, pouty lips. Insanely long lashes. Lithe fingers, adorned with huge rings. More beautiful than Martino ever recalled. “You look like shit.” He mumbled, lazily stroking his hair.  “And you’re heavy. Doze off somewhere else, please.” “Marti?” Oi! He had no business breaking his heart with that note of desperation in his voice. Or with the tears in his eyes. He shouldn’t be allowed to cry. Not on his watch.

“Marti, Marti, Marti…”  He didn’t seem able to say or do anything else, for a while. Only kiss him, and repeat his name like a mantra. Eventually, he calmed down. “Look who’s talking, by the way.” Niccolò retorted, rolling his eyes. “I don’t accept criticism from ‘Mr. Death-Warmed-Over’, sorry.” “And from whom would you accept it, huh? Your husband?” Marti teased, hoping he wasn’t being too cheeky. “Mh. Maybe. I wouldn’t say yes to a proposal that came from a bedside, when he’s still hazy from a long sleep and doesn’t quite know what he’s saying.” Niccolò answered, kissing his knuckles reverently. “I do know…” Martino huffed, taking comfort in the fact that Nico hadn’t utterly turned him down. “... nonetheless, you deserve a better proposal. I get it. And you’ll have it. I’ll ride a giraffe, if that’s what is required for you to say yes, okay?” “Okay. I’ll be waiting for it, then.” He leaned down, resting his forehead against Martino’s. “Choose my wedding dress, in the meantime. Unless you’d want me to wear a suit.” “You could wear a gunny sack and I wouldn’t dream to complain, Ni.” “What if I showed up naked, then?” Niccolò moved to the side, brushing his lips against his ear and neck. “Well, it’s not a sight I’m really so willing to share with everyone out there, but I suppose that if that’s what makes you happy…” “Forget it, then. We should be both happy on that day. We’ll be.” And they were. Living fully - though not always happily  - ever after.

[iamapoopmuffin]

Victims With Numbers

Fandom: Nanbaka/Corpse Party (crossover) Genre: Horror Characters: Hajime Sugoroku, Samon Gokuu, Kiji Mitsuba, Kenshirou Yozakura, Jyugo, Uno, Nico, Rock, Tsukumo, Liang, Upa, Qi, Honey, Trois, Musashi, Sachiko Shinozaki, Ryou Yoshizawa, Yuki Kanno, Tokiko Tsuji, Yoshikazu Yanagihori, Yoshie Shinozaki, Takamine Yanagihori, some OCs to take the role of Kizami later on instead of actual Kizami Includes major character death.

Chapter 8 of ?

Also available on Blogspot

Liang gave a slow nod, and hesitantly left, leaving Rock alone with the ghost of the weeping girl, crouched just by her own body.

Well, okay, they weren't really alone if Rock was honest. There were other ghosts in the room, but none of them were as expressive. None of them paid anyone or anything else any mind. The weeping girl, however, caught his eye for some reason. Most likely because she wasn't wandering aimlessly with a dull look in her eyes. He couldn't actually see her face from here, as she was curled over, face buried against her legs as she sobbed and mourned her own passing.

Before anything else, Rock decided to be true to his word, and write a message. He tore a small piece from one of the class notices and picked up a pen that someone had left on the teacher's desk - some cutesy purple thing with a bear head on the end and pink hearts all over it, he didn't know how long it had been there, but after a test scribble or two, it wrote with no difficulty - and simply wrote 'We'll spread the word if we see anyone. See you here later. Rock and Liang.' That was good enough. It was enough to just say 'someone else is here, someone else has seen this'. He wouldn't be sure if the others knew about the whole closed spaces and different dimensions thing. He didn't think he could explain it himself anyway, so he turned away from the desk, and from the notes, and found himself approaching the ghost girl.

As if she could sense his approach, the girl tensed, then looked up, seemingly frightened of the man approaching her. Rock carefully walked around the body on the floor, and crouched down beside the ghost.

"Hey..." He didn't ask if she was okay. It was clear she'd been stabbed to death, and it was very clear that she wasn't ever going to be okay again. The girl stared at him for a long time, and then said

"You can see me."

"I can see all the ghosts here." He answered honestly.

"They stole my pen."

Huh? "Who did?"

"Those two boys from before. They took my favourite pen. It was a gift, and they took it!"

"The...the purple one with the bear on it?"

The girl gave a slight nod.

"Well, it's still on the desk, they just wanted to borrow it to-"

"They didn't borrow it, they didn't give it back! They didn't think they had to, because I'm not alive like they are. Living people can be so selfish..."

"Everyone here is scared. Sometimes, we don't think about people who are dead when we might die too." He got up and fetched the pen, bringing it back to the girl. "I'm sorry they didn't bring it back to you. Here you go."

The ghost stared at him, and he frowned before pressing the pen into the corpse's hand, careful not to touch the body with his own skin. The ghost now stared at the pen, and Rock began to think he should just leave, and then the girl said, in a quiet voice "Thank you."

"Don't worry." He stood up and raised a hand to wave goodbye.

"You're nice."

"...Yeah. Sorry."

The girl watched him, and then said "I don't want anyone else to see me like this."

He looked down at the body. He wouldn't want to be seen like that either. "Can I...do anything?"

"...Hide my body..."

Okay, no. Not if it involved moving the body. No way. "I...I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you. I know it's not a nice thing to ask, but you're the only one who can hear me, and you're nice..."

"...It's okay, I...I understand." And if he thought about it, he guessed he did understand. The body wasn't pleasant to look at, and he wouldn't want random people staring at his body if he were to die...

Bad thought. Rock should not think about the possibility of his own death. "I'll see what I can do." He promised again, looking around as if something he could cover the body with would just suddenly appear.

"Are you lost?" It was the sound of Liang's voice, somewhat muffled through the door, asking that question that pulled Rock's attention away from the ghost. He slowly walked over and opened the door.

"Liang?"

Liang barely spared him a glance. "Wait! Um...young lady?"

Young lady? Rock moved to stand beside him, trying to see who he was talking to. Again, ghosts milling around the room blocked his view. Despite this, he did see one of the especially young figures in the distance, not milling around aimlessly like the others. A little girl in a tattered red dress. Standing there, looking around with her back to them, like she wasn't sure where she was.

"Why don't you just go up to her?" Rock asked.

"I don't want to scare her. We're strangers to her, and much bigger than she is. She turned away from me when I called out to her. I think she's wary of me."

The girl glanced back. Her dark hair covered her face, but Liang could see one eye peeking through the greasy curtain. She looked him straight in the eye, then turned and ran down the corridor. Not as if she were scared of them, but more like..."She wants us to follow her." Liang took off after the girl before Rock could say or do anything. With a sigh, he followed.

The little girl didn't once look back to check they were following, or respond to them calling out to her. Rock assumed she was a normal little girl, trapped here just as the two of them were. She was probably leading them to someone who was hurt or stuck, hoping they'd help her. Why she wouldn't talk to them, though, was another point entirely. Rock supposed it was because she was shy or afraid. She looked no older than eight or nine, if he had to guess, so he could understand her being terrified. The little girl led them around a few corners, and with one more turn, the girl disappeared from sight.

Instead of the girl, they found themselves in a thin, foul smelling corridor. Of course, the whole place smelled foul, but something about this place smelled of fresh death, a smell Liang could, unfortunately, distinguish. At the end of the corridor, at another turn, someone was crouched, peeking around the corner.

"Tsukumo!" Rock called out, running to the other inmate, who jolted to attention before turning and placing a finger over his mouth, a universal signal for 'shut the hell up'. Frowning, Rock crouched next to him. "What's up?"

Tsukumo wasn't quite sure how to respond. He was naturally very tense, and after a moment he turned back to the corner, to whatever he was looking at before. "They're...playing with it." He managed to choke out.

"Playing with what?" He moved forward just enough to see around the corner, and saw what Tsukumo was staring at. Three children, stood by a red splat on the wall. Two of them were playing a game of tug of war with some kind of rope, while the third was dipping her hands in the red and then smearing them on the one clean patch of wall. Finger painting.

"What's that they're pulling on?" Rock asked, still not entirely sure what he was looking at.

"Intestines." Liang replied softly from somewhere over his shoulder. And as soon as he said it, Rock began to make sense of the scene. The red was blood, the unidentifiable lumps were bones and organs, and indeed the thing the children were tugging between them was the intestine of whoever that person used to be. For a brief moment, among the milling ghosts, he thought he saw someone he knew, but before he could be sure, he had turned away from the scene to vomit over the opposite wall. Of course, he'd seen the other dead bodies there, and they'd been horrific - he'd felt quite ill earlier as well - but there was something about this one, it being so much fresher, and so unrecognisable as a person, that really made reality crash down on him. They were in a place where people had died, where people were dying. It wasn't just haunted with old spirits who had died long ago, people were dying here and now, as they spoke. They were in a situation where they themselves could die at any moment, and finally accepting that as the truth was a cold and maddening thing.

Behind him, he heard Tsukumo and Liang talking. They kept their voices low.

"I...I don't want to see it, but I can't look away."

"It might be for the best to keep the spirits in view. Did they do that?"

"I don't know. It wasn't there before, and then it was...I didn't see it happen, but..."

"...Have you seen anyone else from Nanba?"

"Other than you two?" He heard a shuffle as Tsukumo moved away from the corner of death. "I haven't seen anyone. No-one alive, anyway...and no-one from Nanba."

"I see. Same with us. Well, we've seen a note from Upa." He heard more movement, and then there was a hand on his back, and another brushing his hair away from his face. Liang's next words were spoken from right by his ear. "He said we should meet him in the classroom...um...which one was it? 2-A?"

"1-A." Rock corrected. Then frowned. "I think. Did we go up or down after there?"

"No, no, I think you're right. It was on the first floor. Are you okay?"

Rock took a deep breath through his mouth, made sure he wasn't going to vomit again, and nodded.

On their way back to 1-A, they discovered that Tsukumo hadn't really learned much about where they were. He couldn't find a way out, or any windows that opened. Liang did his best to explain the multiple dimensions thing in a way Tsukumo would understand, and stated that it was a good sign they'd found each other, considering they'd been told they were in a different dimension to anyone they knew to begin with. As long as they stuck together and kept moving, kept looking, they'd figure it out. He was still trying to be optimistic, at least for the others. Rock had to try the same.

No-one new had been in 1-A, and nothing else was added to the messages. They collectively considered waiting there for a moment, but decided against it. They needed more information about this place. They didn't feel comfortable waiting around. They needed to be sure no-one was in any danger.

Also, Liang needed to use the bathroom.

After a little bit of pretty aimless wandering, the three of them found themselves on the top floor, stood outside the bathrooms. The door on the right was boarded up and sported an 'out of order' sign. The door on the left opened with no resistance, and Liang didn't bat an eye as he stepped inside.

"Uh...Liang?"

He looked back over his shoulder. Neither Rock nor Tsukumo seemed willing to enter the room.

"What?"

"...That's the girl's bathroom."

"It's also the only bathroom. It doesn't matter anyway - this place is abandoned, aside from the people who trapped us here and their victims. People might be hiding in here. We might find someone we know. Especially those two perverts from Building 3."

The others seemed to agree, but still didn't follow him in, and he shut the door behind him before walking to the stalls.

There were five cubicles. Three were smashed in, and under the rubble of the second, he could see an arm. The remaining two, the doors had been torn off, and over the toilets lay piles of bodies. Teenage girls, mostly, in varying stages of decay, flies and maggots crawling across their flesh and buzzing in the air nearby. A quick look over confirmed that it was very unlikely that anyone Liang knew was among the deceased here, and he decided to walk out again, not wanting to spend more time than he had to in the presence of all that death.

"That was quick." Rock commented when his friend came back into view.

"Is there something wrong?" Tsukumo asked, taking in the expression on Liang's face.

"...No. It's fine. These ones are out of order as well, though." He doubted those two would react well to 'there were hundreds of corpses in there and I'm pretty sure the one with no face was a kindergartener'.

"So where do we go now?" Asked Rock

That was a good question. With the exception of the hallway with the splattered body, and things otherwise inaccessible without going through there, they'd explored just about every part of that school they could get to, or at least Rock and Liang had. It seemed their only real options were to wait at the classroom for someone else to turn up or walk down that path, provided the ghost children were gone. Wandering aimlessly wouldn't be much help any more. Perhaps it was time to come up with a plan. "Back to the classroom. We'll try and figure out a proper action plan from there, think properly about our options and priorities."

"What are our options?" Tsukumo asked as the three hesitantly walked to the stairs.

"...Not great. Our options are not great."

As they reached the top of the stairs, another earthquake shook them. Liang, already taking a step down, overbalanced and barely avoided tumbling headlong down. Behind him, Rock and Tsukumo also had trouble keeping their balance, and the former found himself falling against the latter hard. They landed in a tangled heap on the floor and stayed there until the shaking stopped.

"Damn earthquakes..." Liang muttered as he got to his feet. The last time there had been one like that, they'd been shunted into a different dimension.

Wait.

"It's over..." Rock sat up.

"Rock, does anything look different up there to you?"

He cast a look around. "There's a flyer on the wall now...

"We've jumped dimensions again. We may need to check around old places again."

Rock groaned. "So where are we going now?"

"We should stick to the plan of going back to 1-A."

Tsukumo tapped Rock on the shoulder. "You can get off me any time."

When the group made their way back to classroom 1-A, they found the biggest difference between this dimension and the previous one. Where there had previously been a solid wall was now a hallway ending in a door. "That wasn't there before, was it?"

It was a moment before Liang responded. "That first ghost said there was a second wing."

"You think that's the second wing?" Rock asked, walking toward the door.

"It must be. Question is, why is it only visible now?"

Rock pushed the door open with a shrug. "You think it might be a trap?"

"I think here, everything could be a trap."

As the door opened, the sound of the rain became all that clearer. Beyond the door was a walkway leading to another building. The second wing. The walkway had high rails either side, presumably to keep the children from straying into the forest. The rails came up to Liang's chest, and were connected to a canopy or roofing above them, keeping the rain mostly off the walkway, but for a leak or two.

"We're outside..." Tsukumo muttered, sounding surprised and relieved. "There's a way out of here."

"The ghost we spoke to said there was no escape. He also knew about the second walkway though..."

"Guess he wasn't right about everything, then."

Rock slid open the door to the second wing and let Tsukumo enter before him before glancing back and realising Liang had stopped about halfway across the walkway. "Uh, Liang? You coming?"

"I'll join you in a moment." He was stood at the rail, looking out at the forest.

"Why? You see something?"

"Nothing useful." He shifted his weight, looking uncomfortable. "I still have to go, is all."

"There's...there's probably a bathroom in the second wing."

"...I...can't hold it. I'll go out here and join you in a moment."

Rock looked out at the forest, and ghosts of people who had died out there glared back at him. "Don't go into the forest."

"Hmm? Why not?"

"I just...I think it would be bad."

"What can you see?"

"...More ghosts. They look really angry."

Liang nodded. "I'll stay close to the building." He would rather have been able to find somewhere a bit more secluded than by the school walls, considering he would have to remove almost his entire jumpsuit, but it honestly didn't matter that much. Plus he hadn't really wanted to go into the forest to begin with. He could see some of the corpses on the edge, and certainly didn't trust it. "You two see if you can find anything. I'll join you in a moment."

"Okay. Yell if you run into any murderers. Or ghosts. Or murder ghosts."

"I will."

With that, despite not feeling okay with it, Rock went inside and the door shut behind him. Liang took another look at the railing. A more normal person, a person who hadn't undergone such intense physical training, would have had a lot of difficulty climbing over it, but for him it was an easy vault. He landed without difficulty on the grass on the other side, then something caught his eye. Movement. When he looked, he saw a figure at the edge of the forest. A little girl with her hair in pigtails. She had a sort of blue light around her, and it didn't take a genius to realise what that was. She sported some brutal-looking injuries, most notably the complete absence of her right eye, and was almost certainly not actually alive. She had been one of the children playing tug of war with someone's entrails before.

He hesitated. Took his eyes off the girl for a second, and suddenly, they were nose to nose. She'd covered all that distance in the blink of an eye, her small hands reaching for his shoulders as she screamed something at him. A question he couldn't work out.

She didn't have a tongue, he noted as he saw her mouth open. He stepped back, thinking the best thing to do would be to get back inside, and his foot slipped against the wet mud. He fell back, hitting his head hard against the railing. He reached up blindly, grabbing part of the rail and using it to haul himself up as the ghost watched him and reached for him again. He was pretty sure he'd let out an involuntary yell when he'd fallen, and wondered if that had alerted Rock and Tsukumo or not. The girl repeated her mournful question as he pulled himself back over the railing. It was garbled, presumably because of her missing tongue, but the more she repeated it, the more he could understand.

'Where is my eye? Give me back my eye'

She was reaching for his eye. That was what she wanted. He observed her for a moment as she stood just beyond the rail. And then she stepped forward, and stepped through the rail as if it wasn't there.

Of course. She was a ghost, after all.

Liang walked calmly to the second wing, shutting the door behind him. The entryway of the building was empty. "Rock? Tsukumo?" He walked to the middle of the room, trying to figure out where they might have gone. There were two doors leading out, one to the left, one to the right. "Guys?" They had to be in earshot. Rock had said to call out if he needed help, so he needed to be able to hear. Unless he was too stupid to think about that. Sighing, he decided he would just have to go looking for them. He went to the right, and heard the front door open and shut behind him. Logically, that was most likely the ghost girl giving chase. He picked up the pace a little. He couldn't exactly drop-kick the ghost kid in the face if she presented a real threat to him or anyone else.

The second wing was three storeys high. The bottom floor held nothing special. Shoe cubbies, a girls' toilet (unusable, of course), a few cabinets, and some dead bodies. The second had some classrooms and the boys' toilet, though that was also blocked up, this time with protective charms. The other doors, he opened long enough to see if the others were in there, then moved on. The third floor was nothing but a locked door that claimed to be the principal's office. No sign of the others. They can't have gone back to the main building, though. They would have had to have passed him to do that. He found that walking through the second floor allowed him to loop around to the left door from the entryway. He'd not seen the ghost girl, but he was sure he'd heard footsteps behind him the whole time. Feeling nervous, he walked to the door again, startling when a cabinet fell behind him. Shaking away the nerves, he tugged at the door, and it didn't budge. Frowning, he pulled again. Nothing.

Unusual. That door opened without any issue before. With a sigh, he took a step back, aimed a kick at the door, and cursed when all that achieved was a sore foot. 

It looked like he was trapped.

[rainbow-turtle]

NICO, KATA, TEO, CHARLIE, FRANK; 1, 2, 5, 10, 13, 20, 23, 42, 63, 75, 86, and 94

strap in kids this got long

Nico

1. What do they smell like?

when he settles in the clinic with his family, he has the possibility of bathing a lot more so he smells considerably more pleasant than when he spends a few years on the road. 

also peppermint. 

2. What is their voice like?

mute. he’s mute. 

5. How do they deal with/react to pain?

simple! 

he doesn’t. 

13. How do they react to feelings of guilt?

denial. if he doesn’t allow himself to feel it, it’s not happening. 

20. Fears?

oh boy what isn’t a fear! his most major fear is laisal leaving him or realising what kind of horrible person he really is and in turn leaving him. 

23. Do they collect anything?

children. he hoards children. 

42. Do they have any bad habits?

of course he does. it depends on when in his life you meet him but he has this bad habit of pissing people off and getting hurt from it. 

63. Do they have an accent?

he would have an accent if he wasn’t mute. 

75. How patient are they?

depends on the person, but he can be very patient. but with strangers he’s extremely impatient. 

76. Are they good at cooking?

yes! he’s the resident cook and you have to take that from his cold dead hands. 

86. Do they like sweet foods?

he feels eh about it at most. 

94. Outlook on life?

again, depending on when you meet him. he’s smack dab in the middle of optimist and pessimist. very much the result of his upbringing ofc

Kata. 

1. What do they smell like?

she smells NICE. her favourite soap is vanilla-rose and she cares very much for hygiene okay. 

she also has this underlying scent of magic and herbs. 

2. What is their voice like?

silvery and very soft spoken. she has a very pleasant voice to listen to. 

5. How do they deal with/react to pain?

emotional pain? like when she lost her parents, she swore revenge and would see it happen no matter the price. she deals with emotional pain by getting angry at herself for being in pain. 

physical pain she whines. a lot. i love her. 

13. How do they react to feelings of guilt?

oof yeah not great scoob! she does her best to work out what makes her feel guilty. if it’s something she did to someone, she confesses it up as soon as possible. 

20. Fears?

she’s afraid that her current family will end up like her parents. 

23. Do they collect anything?

she collects herbs n stuff. for practical reasons. 

for less practical reasons, she really likes collecting little things from every town she’s been in. 

42. Do they have any bad habits?

answered!! 

63. Do they have an accent?

her accent is the common/trade tongue. so she wouldn’t really say she has an accent, but… 

75. How patient are they?

she is SO gentle and patient yes? just so so patient. she’s a spirit healer and has the patience of a saint. 

76. Are they good at cooking?

no. 

but at least she’s better than her wife. 

86. Do they like sweet foods?

she has a sweet tooth omg

94. Outlook on life?

she’s an optimist! things will turn out great!! 

Teo: 

1. What do they smell like?

nice. 

his favourite soap is elderberries and he smells safe ok. 

2. What is their voice like?

he has a really high voice pft. and he loves to talk, so so much. 

5. How do they deal with/react to pain?

this bitch cries no matter what kinda pain it is. 

13. How do they react to feelings of guilt?

oh no he deals poorly with that. he feels all physically bad and stuff, so he doesn’t like that! 

20. Fears?

he’s afraid of the Crows, and he’s afraid of people finding out he’s actually noble born. 

23. Do they collect anything?

he doesn’t, no :o

42. Do they have any bad habits?

he talks with his hands SO much. he sometimes signs a word when he talks too, so it’s all kinds of confusing. 

63. Do they have an accent?

ya. so i headcanon that in antiva, the spoken language is slightly different depending on what class you’re born and raised in. he has an antivan accent, but it’s posh. 

75. How patient are they?

he’s very patient! 

76. Are they good at cooking?

he gets by, but he would prefer not to cook.

86. Do they like sweet foods?

teo has THE HUGEST sweet tooth. 

it’s almost illegal, ngl.

94. Outlook on life?

he’s mostly positive!! he loves living and being alive. 

Charlie. 

1. What do they smell like?

they have an underlying smell of magic that no-one can quite explain (and he offers none) they smell kinda sweet too. 

2. What is their voice like?

they have a deep-ish kinda voice, and gets really excited and talk fast. 

5. How do they deal with/react to pain?

they’re trained not to show they feel pain, so they pretend not to feel it. 

13. How do they react to feelings of guilt?

oh they don’t. at all. they don’t let themselves feel any sort of guilt whatsoever. 

20. Fears?

they’re afraid of failure and being alone. 👌

23. Do they collect anything?

the occasional ring off the finger off a rich target, but other than that? nothing. 

42. Do they have any bad habits?

ya they smoke

63. Do they have an accent?

yes, they’re antivan so they have that accent.

75. How patient are they?

they’re patient with people they know. 

76. Are they good at cooking?

they get by! they’re pretty good actually. 

86. Do they like sweet foods?

they neither love nor hate sweet food. 

94. Outlook on life?

in themas, they’re an assassin. so they’re not exactly expecting to live further than to dinner and thus try not to think too hard about life.

Frank. 

1. What do they smell like?

sword oil and sweat and he cannot get rid of either smell and at this point he’s considering finding the strongest smelling herb and live with it. 

2. What is their voice like?

it’s surprisingly deep for an elf of his stature. 

5. How do they deal with/react to pain?

he’s trained not to show it 👌

13. How do they react to feelings of guilt?

denial or he gets all yelling. 

20. Fears?

he’s afraid of needles and pointy stuff. which isn’t great considering pointy stuff is his job. 

23. Do they collect anything?

soap bars. 

42. Do they have any bad habits?

biting fingernails and shopping when he’s sad

63. Do they have an accent?

he’s antivan! so yes, he has an accent when he talks in common/trade tongue

75. How patient are they?

he’s not. at all.

76. Are they good at cooking?

he is no longer legally allowed near any cooking space.

86. Do they like sweet foods?

yes but he’ll never admit it

94. Outlook on life?

live fast be gay do crime

[imgonnabeyourbubblegumwitch]

I Love You, You Pay My Rent: Chapter 16

First Chapter (Prologue)

Previous Chapter (Chapter 15)

Nico had been living with Will for long enough to slowly have developed a grudging tolerance for his friends. Or at least some of his friends. No matter what Will said he didn’t think he’d ever be able to bring himself to warm to Drew. Part of it was jealously, part of it genuine distrust and wariness he reserved for pretty much everyone he wasn’t well acquainted with. It was a survival technique. But then there was also the fact he was probably just shoving all his frustration at Will towards her.

Lou Ellen and Cecil, however, were different. Loud and often obnoxious for a start, and somehow carefree in a way Will sometimes achieved and sometimes faked, and Nico could never hope to understand. But they cared for Will, that was obvious enough, so he accepted them as a kind of necessary annoyance. It didn’t mean he didn’t jump when Lou Ellen caught his arm in the middle of a street. He frowned at her, more confused and surprised than actually angry for once, and she let go with a look of apology.

“You look stressed,” she commented.

Nico stared at her blankly for a second. Lou Ellen frowned slightly.

“Coffee?” she asked. “Or maybe green tea or something in your case since coffee might set your heart to explode -?”

Nico blinked.

“Or not?”

Nico had arrived in town far too early to meet his father. He’d been unable to spend another minute in the house in the grips of the agony of a wait, when each second felt like he’d lived a decade. He had also been terrified of being late, and that had overwritten any contrariness he might have felt, any insistence that he didn’t care what his father thought of him and his time keeping skills. Whenever he thought of his father he felt ten years old again, and desperate to please.

“Yes,” he said abruptly, and his own words surprised him. But he had time to kill and though he thought he might feel too jittery to sit, he also couldn’t keep walking up and down if only because it felt like his legs were locking up.  He followed Lou Ellen distractedly into a café where he was assaulted with the smell of coffee grounds. It was a heavy scent but comforting and he fell into a chair feeling a tiny bit more settled. He was still awash on a stormy ocean on a rickety raft with a tornado incoming, but it felt like he’d at least just found a single life-preserver for all the good it would do him.

Lou Ellen had chosen the table. There was a half a cup of coffee waiting, and she picked it back up, watching him as she sipped. Something in her gaze reminded him or his father; though Lou Ellen was a more benevolent version he still felt that if she put in a little bit of work she’d probably see right through him.

“How’s everything going?” she asked.

He got the distinct impression that there was an undertone to that question, some kind of subtext he was probably supposed to pick up on but he was too tired, too distracted, to even bother attempting to work out where she was coming from.

“Good,” he lied automatically.

“Uh huh,” Lou Ellen said. There was no judgement at all in her tone, but again Nico felt something intangible just around the corner.

“You know you walked up and down outside that window about eight times before I went out and got you?” Lou Ellen asked.

“You shouldn’t have left your drink unattended,” Nico responded.

Lou Ellen raised an eyebrow.  

“I can see why Will likes you,” was all she said.

Which surprised Nico because he was still having trouble figuring that out, and half the time Will himself seemed to have trouble working out exactly what the point of Nico was.

That was unfair.

Will was –

He didn’t really know what Will was.

He was edgy and he was taking it out on his boyfriend because Will was an easy target at the moment.

“He’s not what people think,” Lou Ellen added. She was watching him again. Nico hated being watched, hated being in the spotlight, it made him want to duck out to run away, change his name and face and identity and only leave his house under the cover of darkness.

And he did feel like he wanted to shrink, could feel himself unconsciously making himself smaller, hunching his shoulders into his default defensive posture. But he was also aware that, actually, he didn’t feel as exposed as usual.

One day, he thought, Lou Ellen would rule the world. And she’d do it so silently and subtly that no one would even notice she’d taken charge.

“What do people think he is?” Nico asked.

Lou Ellen’s smile flickered on.

“Interesting question,” she said. “Do you want a drink?”

Hanging out with Lou Ellen wasn’t anywhere near as terrible as Nico might have imagined it, although that might have just been because interacting with her offered a strong contrast with what was to come. She didn’t really offer any further insight into the question of what Will’s deal was though she did reaffirm that Will really did like Nico and she had added in a vaguely threatening manner that it would be a real shame if one (or both) of them screwed it all up because they were being clueless morons.

In total he spent about half an hour with her and managed to do it all without planning an exit route or a variety of implausible excuses as to why he had to leave. Either that was a testament to Lou Ellen’s social skills or a testament to his personal growth. Eventually however, as mildly pleasant as the impromptu coffee date had been, he had to stand and explain he had to go visit his father.

“Good luck,” Lou Ellen said. “And don’t worry about Will. He’d stupid but I don’t think he’s quite stupid enough to let you go.”

She seemed to think for a moment.

“At least Cecil and I won’t let him be that stupid. And I think Kayla would strangle him if he did anything to jeopardise you two. So you’re probably safe.”

Nico shrugged in vague acknowledgment.

“I mean it,” Lou Ellen said. “He really likes you Nico. Anyone can see that.”

It was a relief to hear someone say that, even if that someone wasn’t Will professing his undying love directly - a situation he had to admit may be a little unrealistic this early into a somewhat complicated relationship. If that thought was a train it usually ran along the does Will like me tracks which lead in turn to Self-Doubt and Overthinking Stations. Occasionally the thought went on a little detour to if I want him to admit he loves me do I love him? town which tended to be the sort of stop that he got to in the darkest part of the night and had him stranded there, lost and panicking until the early hours of the morning.

In some ways his father turning up was almost a blessing in disguise. At least now he had something else to overthink.

Nico couldn’t remember his father having many particular traits, hobbies or quirks and his mental image of his father could be summed as cold and formal. His choice of restaurant reflected everything Nico knew about him: it was formal, somewhat aloof and distant despite, or perhaps because of, the plush and luxurious décor.

Nico felt instantly on edge. For a moment he wondered if his father had chosen the venue deliberately to make Nico uneasy, to meet him feel like a scared little kid again. The thought probably hadn’t even crossed his father’s mind, and Nico wondered if that was worse. His father didn’t have any clue what Nico liked, or maybe he just didn’t care.

His father was already seated. Nico, who wouldn’t have changed and didn’t have anything else to wear anyway, suddenly felt more conscious than he ever had of his slightly faded black jeans and old top. He fiddled with the hem of his shirt as he sat, barely able to meet his father’s eyes. In turn his father barely acknowledged him, merely glancing over the top of the menu and casting his eyes over Nico then turning back to his food choices

“Hello father,” Nico said, a little pointedly.

“Nico,” his father said. His voice lacked any warmth, but he didn’t sound disappointed yet.

Nico had to be satisfied with that and he picked up the menu, wincing at the prices. His father spent money like it meant nothing, and Nico still wasn’t one hundred per cent sure what he actually did.

“How is school?”

Nico looked up surprised.

“I don’t go to school,” he pointed out, a slight bite in his voice.

His father did look up then, and actually put the menu down to better fix Nico with a sharp stare.

“I thought you attended with Percy?”

“Well you thought wrong,” Nico snapped. “I haven’t been to school in years.”

“What on earth are you doing with your time?”

Nico was used to justifying his life to himself. He asked himself the question almost daily. What are you doing with your life? Why do you matter? And the more morbid would anyone care if you disappeared? He had yet to come up with an answer. He wasn’t doing anything. He was drifting. He worked in a bar. It wasn’t exactly revolutionary.

“I work,” Nico answered shortly.

“You should be at school,” his father said. “A degree would greatly improve your chances in life.”

Nico felt like screaming. It wasn’t like he hadn’t wanted to go to school. Had his father missed everything that had happened? Had he missed Bianca’s death? Percy dropping out of school? Jason barely making it through and eventually moving to the other side of the freaking country to escape everything? How had he missed the fact that Nico had been working in a bar since he was legally able to and before that in cafes and shops and anywhere that would have him just to make enough to survive?

Because he wanted to get out of the restaurant and book home as quickly as possible he just made a noncommittal sound and picked his menu back up, hiding behind it.

“Your mother would not have wanted you to waste your life.”

Nico grit his teeth. His cheeks felt hot, he was holding the menu so tightly his fingers began to cramp. He was saved by a waiter turning up to take their order. His father ordered some expensive fish and sparkling water. Nico asked for a coke and a burger, and, if sniffing in derision hadn’t been beneath his father, Nico was sure he would have done so.  

“Have you considered what you are going to do next? I assume you don’t want to be doing whatever it is you are doing now for the rest of your life. I certainly expect more from you. Your sister would have finished school by now. She’d be working hard.”

Nico didn’t even have the menu to slowly strangle anymore.

“Why are you here?” he bit out.

Hs father raised an eyebrow.

“I came to see you. To offer Percy my congratulations on his engagement. Do I need another reason?”

“Usually yes.”

“Nico this surliness is getting tiring. I tried to be patient after your mother and your sister but really it’s time to start growing up now.”

The napkins were fabric he discovered as he pulled one into his lap and tried to shred it.

“Their deaths were a terrible tragedy. But do you think Bianca would still be sulking? She would have stayed strong. She would not have ended up working in a bar.”

So his father did know. And all this was one big, Nico why aren’t you halfway to becoming a five star lawyer like Jason or at least pretending like you have a clue by going to college like Percy. It was a you’ll never be as good as your sister.

“You wish I had died instead of Bianca,” Nico said.

“Nico!”

He didn’t deny it. Nico stood, eyes hot and ashamed at himself for getting so frustrated. His father had never been any different. He never would be any different.

“Thanks for coming,” he said.

“Sit down Nico!”

Nico just shook his head. He threw the napkin down on the table and fled.

He had never wanted to go home more. He ran up the stairs to their door and stopped dead on the landing when he saw Jason and Percy waiting outside. Percy looked bored, slumped against the wall but Jason was standing tall and alert.

“Nico!” he said. “How did it – oh.”

Knowing Percy and Jason his entire life didn’t make it any easier to cry in front of them. He tried not to notice them exchanging glances.

“Why don’t we go back to mine,” Percy said. Nico turned to him, didn’t have to say anything before Percy held up his hands.

“We won’t make you talk but –“

“-you shouldn’t be alone right now,” Jason finished.

The only thing more frustrating than Percy and Jason’s almost constant good-natured sniping and bickering, or the times they used the word ‘bro’ out loud in actual conversation, were the times they ended up finishing each other’s sentences in joint concern over him.

“I’m not a baby,” he muttered.

But he did let them lead him back to Percy’s dorm room, if only because if they were waiting outside then maybe Will wasn’t in and they were kind of right – though he’d never admit that – for once he didn’t want to be alone.

Percy’s roommate – Grover? – was in but Percy took him to the side and after a brief muttered conversation he left saying something about needing to leave the library and or get lunch. He was about as bad at making excuses as Nico.

Once he’d gone, the three of them seemed to realise that after a period in childhood during which they had rarely been apart in their free time, they hadn’t been together in years. There was a bite in the air, unsaid things and some more recent arguments on his and Percy’s side. No one wanted to bring up the past but it was becoming apparent none of them really knew what to say. Percy quickly solved this by pulling out a bottle of tequila.

“I hate tequila,” Percy explaining, pouring them all shots rather generous shots. “It’s why it’s still here.”

He held up his shot glass.

“To crappy dads.”

They all toasted. It was something they could all get behind after all. Percy’s dad wasn’t necessarily horrible, but he wasn’t around much. Jason’s dad was some big shot something and was distant and hard to live up to. And Nico’s dad was –

He took the second shot Percy offered him, coming to the conclusion he didn’t really like tequila either.

“My dad said congratulations,” Nico said. “I hope for your sake he doesn’t feel the need to pass that message on in person.”

Percy laughed but also looked a little worried.

“Do you think I have to invite him to the wedding?”

“No,” Jason said firmly.

“It’s him or me,” Nico said at the same time.

“Oh well when you put it like that –“

Nico’s eyes narrowed but Percy just took a third shot and didn’t finish his sentence.

“No,” Percy said screwing his nose up. “It’s still terrible.”

“Besides,” Jason said returning to the previous point. “If you invited him to the wedding our dads would probably turn it into world war three.”

Percy winced.

“Point made and taken.”

Nico’s phone vibrated. He was used to ignoring messages, sometimes for days, but since Will had his number and began texting him he found himself actually checking whenever a text came through.

“Is that Will?” Jason asked. Nico looked up at him, trying to figure out what the tone behind his voice was. Percy took the opportunity to snatch the phone from his grip.

“That’s really childish,” Nico scolded as Percy leant further back and away as Nico reached for the phone. Nico’s fingertips were inches away when Percy elbowed him and managed to push him back.

“Jason!” Percy called.

Jason caught the phone out of reflex.

“Don’t you dare!” Nico said, as he scrambled up.

“Well maybe if you’d introduced me to him I wouldn’t have to –“

“You know I tried!” Nico protested. “Come on give it back. Jason!”

“What does it say?” Percy asked.

“Jason!”

“Text him back!" Percy suggested. "Invite him over!”

“Jason seriously!”

Jason glanced between Percy and Nico, phone in the palm of one hand. Nico could lunge for it but Jason had quick reflexes; he’d move it before Nico could get close.

“I’ll give it back,” Jason said ignoring Percy’s groan. “If you text him and invite him over.”

Nico debated for a moment weighing up having to introduce his boyfriend who he was currently on very uncertain standing with, against the cost of buying a new phone. Jason gave him a pointed look, waving the phone. Percy was grinning.

“Fine,” Nico said in bad grace.

He opened up the text to reply and saw that Lou Ellen had apparently told Will Nico was going to meet his father. Will was asking if he wanted Nico to come home but there was a something almost passive aggressive behind his words. Nico guessed Will didn’t like he’d had to find out from Lou Ellen.

He told Will he was fine. He didn’t invite him over. He’d just tell Jason and Percy, Will was busy.

“There,” he said.

“Do we believe he’s actually done it?” Jason asked, with far too much insight.

“Not at all,” Percy said.

Nico sighed.

“Why don’t you want us to meet him?” Jason demanded.

“I’ve met him,” Percy said.

Jason turned to look at Percy  and then back to Nico, so quickly Nico was slightly concerned he’d just given himself whiplash.

“Percy introduced us,” Nico said with a shrug. “Sort of. He kind of threw him my way.”

“And look how it worked out for you!” Percy said with a grin. Nico glared at him.

“Well how do you know him?” Jason asked.

“He’s in my biology class. And he’s Connor’s brother’s friend. Besides everyone knows him even if they don’t know him.”

Jason was beginning to move from looking #offended to looking confused.

“What are you talking about Percy?”

“Come on even you all the way in LA must have heard of Will Solace.”

Jason blanched.

“Solace?” he asked.

“I hadn’t heard of him,” Nico pointed out, giving Jason a searching look. Jason met his eyes, all traces of the shock that had only half a second before been written so deeply on his face gone.

“Yes but you live under a rock and only occasionally emerge in the dead of night. Everyone else has a vague idea who he is. Just like everyone has a vague idea who the Kardashians are. Did you know Nico watches the Kardashians? Maybe that was a bad example.”

“I wasn’t watching –“ Nico tried to explain and then gave up.

“Jason?” he added when Jason still didn’t offer an explanation for his rapid loss of colour.  

Jason just shook his head.

“I didn’t realise it was Will Solace,” was all he would say, even when Percy began giving him a strange look.

“Anyway,” he continued, apparently mustering up some of his usual good humour. “I still think we should meet him. Even though one of us has apparently already met him.”

Percy shrugged good naturedly.

“Nico’s always liked me more.”

Once upon a time that might have had Nico trying to hide a blush, but now he just threw a pillow at Percy’s face. Percy protested, Jason got involved in the argument and they all got distracted from Nico’s boyfriend and relationship, which was undeniably what he wanted. But as the day wore on Jason seemed distracted and Nico noticed him on his phone several times, typing with an expression that was somehow both intent and far away. And when Nico left for home, Jason walked with him down the hall.

“How much do you like Will?” Jason asked.

It was an odd question, even for Jason who was overly invested in Nico’s wellbeing and love life.

“Why?”

Jason shook his head.

“It’s nothing,” he said. It didn’t look like nothing but Nico was too annoyed with him to care about asing further. Jason probably just thought Will was nothing but some shallow rich kid who’d drop Nico after a few months. Which to be fair was sort of what Nico had thought when he’d met him.

“Nico?” Jason had stopped at the top of the stairs. Nico had to turn to look at him, neck craned at an awkward angle.

"What?" he snapped.

“Be careful?”

Nico had begun walking down the stairs the pause had been so long and he'd been so convinced Jason wasn't going to answer. He turned back in frustration, but Jason was walking back towards Percy’s room, shoulders hunched and defensive.

"Jason!"

Jason didn't respond.

Next chapter

[dekinswritings]

Piece of cake to bake

μ's takes out Nico to celebrate for her birthday. Unfortunately, Maki couldn’t make it, but she had her own good reasons. NicoMaki.

Word count: 1581

A/N: This is a collab with @myonmukyuu!!! sfuibfuiweb I was so excited when she asked me if I wanted to do something with her but don’t tell her that mkay??? thanks

[Ao3] [FF.net]

“So where's Maki-chan?” Honoka asked as she tried to see if the red haired doctor was anywhere to be found behind Nico.

“She couldn't come,” Nico answered, seemingly unaffected by the fact that her girlfriend hadn't come.

“Eeeh?! Why not?! We’ve had this lunch planned for like two months nya!” Rin frowned and got to Nico’s side. “What's so important that she couldn't come to celebrate Nico’s birthday?!”

“Maybe saving people's lives? She told me that the hospital called her in to tend to some patient, even though she asked for the day off.” Nico explained and wrapped an arm around Rin’s shoulder. “I don't hold it against her though, Nico will have more birthdays and Maki gets to save someone's life! That's enough of a compromise for Nico so let's stop brooding and let's get started.” Nico smiled and did her signature hand gesture with her free arm.

They had all met up at a cozy family restaurant that they frequented from time to time; the food was pleasant and not too pricey but what made them stick to this place was Honoka, when she had discovered that a few employees here had recognized her and told her how big fans they had been of μ's. After that, it had become a sort of unwritten rule to always come to this place every times they needed to come together for lunch.

Nico was surprised when desserts had arrived, as her slice of strawberry shortcake had been adorned with a happy birthday message. She was even more surprised to see everyone else as perplexed as her because none of them had told any of the waiters that it was Nico’s birthday. Apparently the employees whom Honoka had met knew about it and decided to surprise her on their own. After a small sing along of a happy birthday song, desserts eaten and bills paid, they all headed to next stop of Nico’s birthday plan: karaoke.

The last step was all up to Maki.

When Maki got confirmation from the others that Nico arrived at the family restaurant, that was her cue on being able to finally go home with all the shopping she had done. Setting down the grocery bags, she took everything out and ran a mental checklist of her shopping: eggs, milk, sugar, all purpose flour, baking soda, vanilla extract, milk and fresh strawberries. Maki had never baked a cake before, but if she can cut open a skull and cut pieces of the most sensible organ in the human body, a cake shouldn’t be so difficult. Right?

Maki set her phone down with a cake she found online. It was for a simple cake: Nico couldn’t expect a New York style cheesecake out of her first try baking. First, preheat the oven to 175C, then take out a bowl and start to mix the ingredients. Maki felt blessed when she found a cake pan in the kitchen that she could use because she certainly forgot to buy one. Putting some butter in the microwave to melt it, next was mixing one and half cups of flour and baking soda each and a teaspoon of salt, the doctor started to mix the ingredients. With all the powders looking equally mixed, Maki scooped a cup of sugar and poured it along the melted butter. This whole mixing situation was much harder than she thought, her cake mix was taking a long time to look like the ones she found online. Almost 10 minutes of hard work with a whisk, Maki finally made it look like something worth putting on an online recipe, so she then added the eggs, milk and finally the vanilla extract.

Maki sighed, wiping off the sweat that had started to appear on her forehead. The kitchen was a mess, there was flour on the kitchen island, on the floor and on herself, she cracked an egg too hard and it was yet to be cleaned up, but the cake mix was finally ready. Out of mere curiosity, Maki dipped a finger in it and tasted a small sample of the mix. Her gag reflex reacted almost immediately with its astoundingly salty taste. Maki frowned, assuming she must’ve mixed up the sugar and salt. The cake mix was basically ruined… or was it?

“Sugar and salt balance each other, right?” Maki assumed as she did a small calculation in her head. She added exactly a teaspoon of sugar and a cup and two teaspoons of salt, so she just needed to add a cup and two teaspoons of sugar. Adding the surplus of sugar, Maki stirred for another 5 minutes, just to make sure the sugar had mixed well.

The last step before using the oven was buttering the cake pan. Maki had to take out another bar of butter and she buttered the plate by rubbing its inside with a side of the bar. Once prepared, she poured in the whole cake mix. Almost filling the entire plate, she opened the oven, slid it in and now Maki just had to sit pretty for more or less 30 minutes. The redhead took a look at the complete and utter mess that she made of the kitchen and considered cleaning it, but right now she just wanted to rest. She had time to spare as the cake baked and sat down for a well deserved rest.

“maki-chan!! nico-chan just left!!!” Maki’s phone buzzed with a message from Rin. She quickly checked the time, only 15 minutes had passed and Nico would be home in 10 minutes, at best. The cake wasn’t going to be ready in time. With a whimper, Maki quickly tried to come up with a solution. With no other choice, she went back to the oven and turned it up it to its maximum temperature.

Nico sighed as she walked up the stairs to her apartment; she had had a fun time with her friends, and it got really fun when Eli decided to order some drinks during karaoke. That alone made her 25th birthday stand out, but she really wanted it to be special. She did her best to not show it, but those with more keen eyes must’ve picked up that Maki’s absence was affecting her. When Nico reached her door, she picked up on an odd smell. It smelled like… a bakery? Confused, she opened the door and was hit with a wave of warm air and the aroma of baking.

“Happy birthday, Nico-chan,” Maki greeted her by the table with a bright and big smile that Nico didn’t see very often. She almost looked proud of herself, the kind of look that she always gave her when Maki was particularly clingy and looked for appraise. That’s when Nico noticed the chocolate cake sitting on the middle of the table.

“I’m home,” Nico greeted her and kicked off her shoes to the side and took off the ribbons on her pigtails. Walking up to Maki, she wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into a kiss. “Did you lie to me about getting called in for work?”

“Maybe, but this was a bit harder than a surgery,” Maki smiled as she pressed her forehead to Nico’s. Nico snorted at the joke and let go.

“Can I eat it now?” Nico asked and sat down after getting a nod from her girlfriend. Maki brought her a plate, a fork and a knife to cut the cake.

Under expectant amethyst eyes, Nico slowly cut herself a slice and served it, taking the single strawberry adorning the cake and popping it into her mouth. Next, she took a piece of the fluffy cake in her fork. “Your chocolate cake doesn’t smell very chocolate-y.” Nico commented before taking the piece in her mouth.

“U-um… well, it’s not chocolate. I-it’s vanilla but I might’ve burned it a bit.” Maki confessed. “I took too long making the cake mix so I had to rush the baking.”

Nico’s gag reflex immediately kicked in as her tongue touched the cake, wincing at its tremendously salty flavor and the gooey texture. Nico noticed the glint of expectancy in Maki’s eyes so she did her best to keep her smile, but her efforts were crumbling down as she tried to chew the salt mine of half raw cake and gulped it down. Her stomach was refusing to take it but Nico powered through it, but by the time she looked up at Maki, she was already looking down at the floor.

“It was awful, wasn’t it,” Maki mumbled more of a statement rather than a question.

“N-no! It was just,” Nico’s gag reflex kicked in again, interrupting her, “uh… unique. Not catered to Nico’s quite picky preferences!”

“You don’t have to sugarcoat it Nico, I could tell from your face that it was the most terrible thing you’ve had to taste.” Maki sighed and fiddled awkwardly with her apron.

Nico got up and took Maki’s hands in her own and gently rubbed them with her thumbs. “It’s okay Maki-chan, I’m really happy you made this for me.” Maki sniffled and looked Nico in the eyes. “I mean it.” The birthday girl felt relief as she finally saw Maki smile back at her.

“Although…” Maki tilted her head, confused that Nico talked so soon after the moment they just shared, “I haven’t really eaten cake yet, well, besides that.” Nico pointed at the one sitting on the table, “so… do you want to bake a cake? Together?”

A/N: This legit took me like 4 times to post bc I forgot the header and then I had a missing words and then I posted it on a wrong blog efuibeufiwebufbn. Thanks to @diverdaddy for betaing my god awful writing!! Happy birthday Nico!! I got such a good roll from step up scouting :))) anyways, yeah title might be a reference to a certain song bc I’m not creative.

[ninjacat1515]

Double Parked (Part 6)

The building was mind boggling. So many shops, so many people....so many odd styles. Their superiors certainly wouldn’t have approved of such clothing, and would have sent the two Englishmen flying out of the door. This new world was frightening, but in a gentler way than their home.

No hungry undead. No pirates. It was paradise!

Murtogg tugged on his friend’s arm, pointing to a green and white sign depicting a double tailed mermaid. “They have cafes!”

Mullroy nodded with a big smile. “Could use a cup of tea I suppose!”

They were drawing some puzzled looks from the attendant behind the counter. 

“Check out their menu.....latte?? What is a latte, if i may ask?”

“Espresso with steamed milk, sir.”

Murtogg liked the sound of that. “I’ll have the large one, please ma’am.” He placed a gold coin in her hand, and the woman’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

“Um....sir....this is too much....it’s only $1.50....with this gold coin, you could buy out all of the coffee, pastries, and cups.....”

“Oh dear....well....what will you be having, Mullroy?”

His friend pondered the menu. “A mocha sounds heavenly. And I’ll be trying some of that “coffee cake” too.”

The employee blinked. “That still leaves you with a lot of money sir.”

Murtogg scratched his chin. “Then...how about coffee for everyone! I have more coins...”

Some more gold and silver was dropped into the tip jar, and a small bag of precious metal was set on the counter. The employees had all gathered about at this point, and so had the customers. Mullroy slapped the hand of an older man who had been trying to sneak off with a coin from the tip jar.

“Oi, that doesn’t belong to you, you greedy twat! It’s theirs!”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Salazar was becoming increasingly impatient. Where were Santos and the others?! It wasn’t healthy to eat so late!

“Lesaro....mind the ship....I’m going in after them...”

“Capitan, you’re very hangry right now...and you tend to be quite irrational when this happens...so I’m going with you.”

Armando grumbled, but accepted his lieutenant’s help.

The moment they stepped through the door, their senses were assaulted. Too much light, too many smells....the music.....Salazar covered his ears, trying to find the source of the heinous sound.

“IS THIS....ENGLAND??....IT SOUNDS LIKE ENGLAND!!!”

A passerby shook their head. “No this is California. Welcome to Los Angeles.”

Lesaro growled. “If this is truly a place of “angels” the music would be more tasteful....” he placed a comforting hand on his captain’s shoulder.

The mortals were wearing the most ridiculous outfits imaginable....no....this was hell.....

Armando stalked along, slashing at the disturbing statues that flanked the walkways. Decked out in the same horrid clothes as the humans. They were not made of stone, but something incredibly flimsy. Cheap......just like this building of nightmares. The head of one tumbled off and tripped him, sending the captain sprawling into a glass shelf. 

Salazar snarled and hissed, destroying more of it. His lieutenant stared him down, one eye piercing his soul and reminding him to focus. Not another word was needed.

They broke free of one store, only to be met with a seemingly never ending line of other shops. His ghoulish eyesight caught two flashes of red....AH!....the pair of buffoons were in some garish tea shop....and off to the side, on the lower level of the shopping monstrosity, Salazar spotted Moss, Santos, and Nico. He glowered over the railing at them, and they slowly looked up to see his displeased face. Apologetic in every aspect, the three scampered up a staircase that moved on its own.

“Capitan!...let us explain-” 

Armando held up his hand. “I do not want to hear it right now....let’s just get supper, and go back to the Mary...this land is frightening.”

Out if the corner of his eye, the English were waltzing out of the cafe, cups in hand, and looking oddly perky and energized. The ghouls circled about, surrounding the pair as they came around some potted ferns.

“Gentlemen!” Salazar laughed. “What a pleasant surprise!”

[gatesofember]

The Privilla: Chapter 1

PJO Arranged Marriage/Royalty AU Part 2

Rating: G | Pairing: Solangelo

Prev | Next | AU directory | Read it on AO3 (Recommended) | Arranged Marriage AU Masterpage

Summary: Almost ten years after their first introduction, Will and Prince Nico meet again. But this time, they are no longer children. Will, the illegitimate third son of Duke Apollo, has had a few prospective suitors, but none of the offers have been as lucrative as his family has hoped. Prince Nico has had his fair share of suitors, as well; with the pressure of being heir to the throne of a kingdom in economic turmoil, Nico is expected to marry for profit and security. However, his icy personality has driven many impatient suitors away. The two young men may prove to be exactly what the other needs.

“I must say I am pleased with your recommendation for my son’s advisor,” King Hades said while he and Artemis watched Nico measure out his powder before pouring it into the muzzle of his rifle.  “It has been years, but I must say that I am still indebted to you for suggesting her, Your Divinity.”

“Reyna is a fine soror,” Artemis agreed, leisurely taking a sip of wine from the selection Hades had ordered to be brought out for her to taste before she selected one to be served at dinner.  She was currently enjoying a wine with a delicate smell and color, but a bold, acidic, earthy flavor.  “I thought she would get along with His Highness.  Her sister would have, too, but I thought it better to suggest someone closer to the prince’s age.”

“Indeed,” Hades said.  “It is good to see Nico with someone so often.  You know how he can behave.”

Artemis nodded quietly as she watched Nico raise his rifle to aim at the target across the green.  Reyna was standing off to the side with her own rifle, a standard Sorority model, while Nico had acquired one of the new rifles from Vulcan that summer.  Hades had mentioned that Nico and Reyna spent a great deal of their leisure time practicing on the grounds of the palace, and it showed.  Nico was becoming quite a skilled shot.

Artemis and Hades were seated to the side, a safe distance away from the rifles, testing wines under a tent that had been set up for shade.  Thalia, the captain of Artemis’ guard, was standing not far behind them; although Artemis had given her permission to practice shooting with the prince and Reyna, Thalia had declined, insisting that she would stay with Artemis.

“We are in the company of friends, Lady Thalia,” Artemis had said.  “What do you plan to protect me from?”

“Forgive my paranoia, Your Divinity,” Thalia had answered.  “But wherever there are guns and alcohol, there is always danger.”

So, instead, Thalia stood by Artemis, not drinking or shooting for sport.  It was easy to forget that Thalia had once been the crown princess of the Juvian Empire.  She still carried the confidence of royalty, but she had a rough, rebellious air about her that gave her the might of a warrior, and her devotion to Artemis made her the perfect captain.  She was usually a fun-loving girl, but she took her duty as a guard quite seriously.  Artemis wished that Thalia would enjoy herself at some point that afternoon.  It was a pleasant day; sunnier than average for Pluto, with a soft breeze reminding them that they were getting deeper into autumn.  

Artemis briefly wondered how Will was faring in Venadica; her nephew had such a low tolerance for cold.  She knew that he had hoped to return to Diana before the end of the season.

“When will you return?” Will had asked when Artemis announced that she would be visiting Divitia to see the King.  He had planned to be home in time to celebrate Chronalia at the end of the harvest, and Artemis had intended to travel with him.  Will always fled from Venatica before winter; as much as he despised carriage travel, he feared Pluton winters more.

“I suspect I will only be gone three weeks,” Artemis had replied.  She intended to be in Ceres for the Chronalia festival. Diana bordered Ceres to the east and Artemis intended to travel there for a visit before turning back to Ceres to celebrate the harvest. “Worry not, dear nephew.  I would not leave you to make the journey on your own.”

Artemis raised her glass to her lips again and took another sip of wine.  “Your wife keeps a wonderful vineyard,” Artemis remarked.  “You said this is one she has financed in the hill country?”

“Yes,” Hades replied proudly.  “The hobby makes her happy, and I am glad to reap the benefits of her investments.”

“I dare say that the gardens are even more beautiful now than they were when I last visited,” Artemis mentioned.  She was cut off by the the thunderous blast of Nico’s rifle and looked up in time to see him make the shot just outside the target.  “And I dare say he has gotten more skilled, as well.”

“Yes,” Hades agreed slowly.  “He certainly has a specific skill set.”

Artemis quirked an eyebrow at Hades’ tone.  He did not sound entirely pleased with the prince.  Artemis was aware that the two of them had trouble getting along ever since they lost the eldest princess, and although it seemed to be getting better with time, Nico and Hades occasionally had their spats.

“Is there any way I can assist you, Your Majesty?” she asked.

Hades sighed.  “I am afraid not,” the King said.  “I am worried for my son, Your Divinity.  He has yet to keep a suitor for longer than a day and I worry that we will be unable to find him a husband.  He refuses to take a wife, so if he does not carry on the family line, it is of utmost importance that he marry a man with a good name and status.”

Artemis nodded in understanding.  Marriages between men and women were more common than marriages between two men or two women simply because such a marriage could not result in children.  Same-sex marriages, however, were not uncommon, and the main purposes of that type of marriage were economic and political; a same-sex marriage had more short-term benefits, while an opposite-sex marriage had more future benefits.  The type of marriage one had relied on both personal preference and the needs of the family.  As long as the family line could be continued another way, same-sex marriages were perfectly viable and, in some cases, suited the family better than an opposite-sex marriage.

Some of Artemis’ scholars had found that a statistically insignificant but notably larger percentage of consors and knights had same-sex marriages as compared to non-consors and unknighted people.  Her research team believed this was because consors and knights could not pass on their titles and authority to their children, so the traits they had to offer in a bond were more valuable in same-sex marriages.

“My daughter will take care of the issue of progeny,” Hades continued.  “She is still very young, so that is not my main concern.  A husband may be better suited for Nico; it is true that his irksome personality has somewhat soiled his reputation in Pluto, and therefore he requires a man of great character to turn the common folk in his favor.  I have invited many eligible young men in the hopes that Nico might deem one fitting, but he has turned down every one of them.  In the words of his would-be suitors, he is ‘aloof, rude, proud, silent, and aggressive.’  His status may loan him some distinguished eligibility as a bachelor, but it seems that it is not enough to pardon his disposition.  Nico doesn’t bother to attempt to get along with them; he finds faults to pick at in each man we attempt to convince him to court.  ‘He bored me,’ he’ll say.  Or, ‘while his face was pleasant, it did not distract from his devastating lack of intellect.’  Or even, ‘I disliked the shape of his nose.’  I am at a loss, Your Divinity.  Nico has had trouble interacting with others ever since...well.  You remember what happened.  The Council is becoming restless.  Nico needs to choose a fiancé to guarantee he will bring stability to Pluto.  Years have passed, and we are still recovering from the tragedy of the Scarlet Delirium.  Nico’s reputation among the people does not lend assistance to the matter.”

“The prince is still young,” Artemis offered.  “He cannot marry for years, as it is.”

“Yes, I know,” Hades replied.  “But betrothals are very long, complex processes.  You know this, Your Divinity.  And the fact that he has not made any serious progress is worrying.”

“You are correct,” Artemis agreed.  “I can understand why you are concerned.  If I may be so bold, I have a nephew in Jupiter who is the same age as the prince.  He has had offers, but no serious attempt at engagement.  I am quite fond of this nephew.  He is in good health, consistently kind and courteous, and has a great interest in and talent for healing that may provide useful to you.  Apollo is quite wealthy and could offer a remarkable dowry.”

Hades drummed his finger on the gold rim of his glass.  “And this nephew’s name?” Hades asked.

“William,” Artemis answered.

The King frowned.  “William.  But I seem to remember that the circumstances of his birth were...unfortunate.”

Artemis raised an eyebrow.  “Need I remind you that Nico was the same?”

Hades looked displeased.  He never liked being reminded of his own children’s illegitimacy – it was a well-kept royal secret.  Artemis was one of the few people who was privy to the fact that Hades’ children were natural-born, as she had been present for the delivery.  “Nico and his sisters are a different case.”

“Not so different.”

“Your Divinity, with all due respect, I am not sure that William’s status is comparable to Nico’s.  The benefits of such a marriage....”

“Would include stronger ties with one of the wealthiest states in Jupiter,” Artemis said, boldly interrupting the King.  Her authority was, after all, superior to his, and she wasn’t afraid to use that to her advantage.  “You would gain a young, pleasant husband for your son and security in Pluto’s reconstruction.  Not to mention the ties you would gain with the Sorority through a royal marriage to my nephew.  William is a consor; he could prove quite valuable to you.  I think that you will be impressed with him.”  Artemis paused before adding, “I introduced the two of them when they were children, at my inauguration.  They had a very pleasant evening together.  My nephew still remembers that meeting quite fondly.  I believe that William would be a very patient, agreeable suitor.  It seems that he is exactly what the prince needs.”

Hades was quiet for a moment, tapping his chin in thought.  “I suppose it would not be amiss to arrange a meeting,” Hades said. “Will you send word to your brother?”

“Absolutely,” Artemis answered, storing away her delight so that she could celebrate later.  “I will send him a letter immediately.  My nephew is currently in Venadica.  When I hear back from my brother, I can arrange to bring my nephew here for an audience.”

Artemis hoped that Nico wasn’t as terrible a suitor as Hades had suggested; she had always thought Nico was a pleasant young man.  Nico had suffered so much already.  He was reserved and did not trust easily, so Artemis thought that perhaps Nico’s reputation as a bachelor was misattributed to his disposition.  However, Artemis knew that Nico was well-mannered, determined, intuitive, and spirited – all the qualities of an ideal husband.  Will deserved a good marriage, as well; all previous applicants to be his suitor had been rather unsatisfactory.  Will had much to offer Nico, as well: he was well-educated, rational, exceptionally intelligent, and he came from a wealthy family.  Besides that, Artemis thought the two of them would get along.  They were both passionate, talented young men.  Nico would never bore Will, who could rarely sit still for longer than a few minutes, and Will would bring Nico some much-needed serenity with his even-tempered character.

Later that day but before the evening meal, Artemis retired to her guest chambers to write a letter to her brother.  She had brought along her favorite pen during her visit to Divitia – a newer model with the metal-point tips that had recently been developed by a group of consors in Venadica.  It held ink well and wrote smoothly; Artemis found herself disappointed with other instruments after it was gifted to her, so she always travelled with it, as she constantly had letters to write and notes to make during her travels.

Artemis tapped the end of her pen to her chin in thought before starting her letter, wondering how best to ask for her brother’s permission.  It was, of course, unlikely that Apollo would refuse, but she could not act without consulting him.  In any case, she regretted being unable to ask in person to see her brother’s reaction.

My dear brother, she began.

I write to you from Divitia, where I am paying my respects to the royal family, to bring you some potentially happy news.  I may have found a man for your dear son William to play the suitor for.  During a conversation with His Majesty, the King mentioned his son’s lack of success in finding a potential husband, and I mentioned your son’s name.  His Majesty has agreed to arrange a meeting, should you and your son agree to it.

I regret that this meeting would interfere with the plans I had made with my nephew to travel to Diana before the end of autumn.  However, such an opportunity is, I think, worth that sacrifice.

Should you agree, I would be honored to act as Will’s chaperone on his trip to Divitia, so I see little need for you to send Chiron far from your younger children for so long.  The prince has been a close acquaintance for many years and I am confident that should this arrangement prove successful, your son would be very well cared-for.  

I will return to Venadica in three weeks’ time and I hope to hear from you then.  Please send your reply to my estate at your earliest possible convenience.  If you have requests, questions, or concerns, I ask you to mention them in your answer.

Your loving and devoted sister,

Artemis

 True to her word, Artemis and her guards journeyed home to Venadica later that month and was greeted by her sorors and consors.  William, her favorite nephew, and Hestia, her aide, were among them, of course, and they, along with Thalia, were the only ones to remain with Artemis after she dismissed the others.

“Will we return to Diana by the end of the week then, Your Divinity?” Will asked.

“A moment, nephew.”  Artemis turned to Hestia and asked, “Has there been word from my brother?”

“Yes, Your Divinity.”  Hestia filed through the papers in her satchel until she found a letter, and then she handed it to Artemis.

Artemis took the letter and waved for Will, Thalia, and Hestia to accompany her to her chambers.  She opened the seal as she walked and scanned over her brother’s words quickly.

My dearest and most divine sister, she read as they ascended the staircase.

I cannot describe the surprise, gratitude, and delight I received upon reading your letter.  My William has received suitors before, but we have hoped for a better offer.  This possibility is beyond what I ever expected.

“Your Divinity–” Will started, but Artemis held up a hand to silence him as they made their way down the corridor to her private rooms.

“Patience, nephew,” she said, and continued to read.

I have, of course, heard of His Highness’ reputation as a bachelor and rumors of an unpleasant disposition, but I have no way to confirm these utterances.  Although I admit to being wary, I trust your judgment, dear sister, and I know you have been an acquaintance of His Highness since he was a child.  If you believe he will be a good husband to my son in ways unrelated to his prestige, I offer my permission and my blessing for their meeting.

Artemis nodded to the sorors standing outside the entrance to her chambers and thanked them when they opened the doors and let her pass through.  Once inside, Artemis waved a gesture to Hestia, Thalia, and William to make themselves comfortable and took a seat behind the desk in the center of the room.  Thalia, of course, did not sit, instead choosing to stand beside the door.

I regret that I will be unable to see you and my son for a while longer, but with the promise of such a future for dear Will, I will gladly wait.  Give my son my regards and best wishes, and assure him that we in Diana are thinking of him and hoping for the best.  

Again, my most humble thanks for granting my son this honor, Your Divinity.  I eagerly await further news and I pray that you accept my gratitude.

Your grateful, happy, and loving brother,

Apollo, Duke of Diana

Having finished, Artemis set the letter down on her desk, folded her hands on top of it, and looked at her nephew with a smile.

“Well, my dear Will,” she said.  “It appears we must change our plans.”

“Your Divinity?” Will asked with a confused frown.

“I regret to inform you that you may have to bear the Pluton weather a little longer this season,” Artemis said.  “And, perhaps, for many seasons to come.”

“I do not understand,” Will said.  “Are we not returning to Diana?”

“No, my nephew,” Artemis replied.  “There is some very important business we must attend to here in Pluto; with luck, I may have found you a husband.”

Will looked dumbfounded.  “A husband?” he repeated.  “Here in Pluto?”

“Yes, indeed.  I will accompany you to your first meeting and remain as a chaperone and adviser in Chiron’s place.  Does this please you?”

“Absolutely, Your Divinity,” Will said.  “This is unexpected and happy news.  May I ask his name?”

“Of course,” Artemis answered.  “In a few days time, I will be accompanying you to Divitia, where you will meet with His Royal Highness, Prince Nico, the Duke of Angelus, in the hopes of a possible engagement.”

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