Chapter Text
Nico rushed over the campgrounds, again! Somehow, tricked into cleaning up the Gods’ messes, again…
Chiron had almost been even more cryptic than last time. Only explaining that he’d have to come back, for his own safety. Nico didn’t know what he was on about, but he did know one thing. All of this was fucking bullshit!
He made sure to sigh with extra annoyance, muttering angrily under his breath the whole way. Gods damn you Chiron… You horse’s ass… He swore he’d never forgive him this time. In fact he wouldn’t forgive his entire equestrian pedigree, not until at least five generations back, for allowing this to happen.
His heart sank when he saw he wasn’t going to be facing whatever this was alone. But, not just that... Two very familiar frames waited for him at the meeting point. Well, not exactly. Yan and Logan were far too busy actively keeping a respectable distance away from each other to be actively waiting for him.
Nico had clearly disturbed their intense bout of avoiding eye contact with his sudden presence. His eyes darted from one to the other, almost forgetting to stick up a hand. Yan smiled awkwardly, but quickly returned a careful wave.
Logan scowled straight ahead, only glancing over for a moment.
“Didn’t expect to see you again so soon, Spooky” he said with a low voice.
Gods. That stupid fucking nickname again.
“Boo...” Nico replied coldly, adding a single, lazy shrug. Seemed like a safe enough response.
Logan barely reacted. The corner of his mouth curled up a bit, nothing close to a smile.
“So… Guess we’re getting the band back together?” Nico asked no one in particular.
Yan shot them both an apprehensive look, then turned to Nico.
“Well… after our last mission they weren’t that excited to send us back out again… You know? The three of us... Together... The only reason Clarisse even allowed it is because apparently it was specifically requested by the God in question. So she asked one of the more experienced demigods to go along with us. One of my friends, actually. I can vouch for her, she’s amazing! I promise!” she said with a bright smile “She’s going to lead the whole mission”.
Nico smiled reassuringly. “Should be fine, right?” he replied, trying to convince himself.
Yan looked behind her, quickly finding someone. “This is Amira, the one who's going to keep us all from dying”. She gestured at the young woman reading a large book at the base of a tree.
Nico hadn’t even noticed her before. A thick bunch of dark brown curls covered her face. He could see she was wearing a very large short sleeved shirt, it almost looked like a tunic. Her thin, muscular legs were clad in a pair of practical black leggings. Amira seemed to have some trouble dragging her eyes off her book, lifting it slightly before looking at Nico. The warm tone of her bronze coloured skin didn’t match her cool expression. She had sharp facial features, reminding Nico of a stern librarian.
She raised one thin, expectant eyebrow. Her cold grey eyes seemed to be trying to figure out Nico’s whole personality through his eyes, like he was some sort of puzzle. He felt a little uneasy.
“Hi, I’m Nico” he said, sticking out his hand.
She gave him a firm handshake, not breaking eye contact even once. “Hello, Amira” she said firmly. “Daughter of Athena” She looked him up and down slowly. “So… What are you bringing to this team, Nico?”.
“Honestly? Mostly free travel as far as Clarisse is concerned… But, I know some other tricks. I’m a son of Hades”.
Amira’s stoic expression cracked ever so slightly with surprise. She let out a hum. “That should be interesting…” she concluded.
Clarisse called out to them from a distance. She was standing in a suspiciously sheltered and dark corner of camp. They reluctantly made their way over and formed a half circle around her and her guest.
A woman Nico had never seen before stood next to Clarisse. Her stiletto heels made her even more remarkably tall than she already was. She wore a long fur coat, very large sunglasses and had her hair hidden under a shiny, purple scarf. Despite the disguise it was obvious she was stunningly beautiful. Based on her impressive appearance Nico didn’t doubt that she was Aphrodite. Apples dotted angry red all across the canopy above her.
Clarisse eyed her nervously. She was about to speak when Aphrodite interrupted her, not wasting any time.
“As you can see I’m not keen to be seen here with you, after what you did to me”. She slightly lowered her sunglasses, giving them a look of contempt. She spoke with an angry yet smooth voice. “As you probably already realized, I summoned you because you have something to make up to me” she stated.
“You” she glared at Clarisse. “And the three of you” she fanned her hand at Nico, Yan and Logan with a look of disgust. “Meddled with my marriage. You really, really shouldn’t have done that…” she said threateningly.
She lowered her sunglasses even lower, looking at Amira. “You… I don’t know you, I don’t care about you…” she said with a bored tone, waving her hand at her absentmindedly.
She turned back to the three of them with a scowl. “You’re lucky I’m such a gracious Goddess” she continued. “And you’re very lucky you’re not the only ones who offended me so deeply… So, I’ll consider you forgiven if you clean up a mess for me… Well, clean up a filthy boar of a sphinx to be precise. I’ll arrange a place for you to stay. You can bring me a photo as proof of the deed being done” she offered.
She threw a disposable camera at Yan, who clambered to catch it.
Clarisse seemed tense. “Of course, my lady. Thank you for your grace… If I may ask, where will we find this sphinx?”.
Aphrodite huffed loudly. “The pig goes by Wilma Robinson, her ‘accomplishments’ will be celebrated this friday in the hotel la Foutaise, in Hollywood”. She burst out in sudden anger, ripping her sunglasses from her face. “I want you to humiliate her like she did to me!” she hissed loudly.
Clarisse recoiled a little. “My… lady…?” she asked weakly.
Aphrodite spun to face her “That swine had the guts to declare some random Beverly Hills bimbo, mutilated beyond recognition by plastique, the most beautiful woman in the world for one of her little gameshow questions. Perfectly aware how that would make me look!”.
She threw her sunglasses on the ground and crushed them mercilessly with her heel over and over, small bits flying everywhere.
A silence fell over the group.
Seriously…? Nico bit his tongue.
Logan didn't. “Really?! This petty bullshit is why you made us come running?!” he asked in irritated astonishment.
Yan hissed loudly.
Aphrodite blew up. “Sacrebleu!” she cried out hysterically. She hit Logan’s face with a hard sounding slap, snapping it to the side. Then leaned in, sticking her finger in his chest. “Ferme ta gueule, espèce bâtard grossier, ou je te fais tuer!” she screamed in his ear.
Logan grinned widely. He put up his hands in defeat, snickering quietly to himself.
She backed off, turning around and throwing her hands up dramatically. “Be sure to dress appropriately, you peasants” she hissed with her back turned to them.
“... So… Are we clear?” Clarisse asked a little hesitantly.
“Yes, ma'am. We’ll take care of it" Amira said firmly, sticking out a hand at the files Clarisse was holding.
Clarisse seemed to get her nerve back, and shoved them in Amira’s hand. “Good” she huffed. “Remember, my hide is on the line too. I’m counting on you”.
Amira gave her a nod and walked ahead. They slowly followed. Everyone seemed at a loss for words, staying quiet until they reached a decrepit looking little shed. An unending series of loud noises blasted through the numerous holes between the planks of rotten wood.
Amira knocked on the door with a determined rhythm, seemingly unfazed by everything.
“Wow…” Yan let out.
Nico hummed in agreement. “She sure is… Something…” he added.
Logan ran his fingers over the red mark on his cheek. “Not gonna lie, I sort of get the hype now. That was pretty hot…” he said, smiling to himself.
Yan slowly shook her head. “Forget that one, my boy. You won't survive”.
Logan briefly seemed to consider the challenge.
Yan noticed. “Besides, you don't want to go where your father's been…”.
Logan shuddered in disgust.
Yan almost reached his cheek with her hand, then didn’t. She pulled back with a painful little jerk. Yan’s cheeks turned red when she realized that they’d all noticed, all eyes lingering on her.
Nico stared at the trees behind her, just to not to die from second hand embarrassment.
Amira quickly threw the door open, done waiting for an answer. A wall of noise wafted them all in the face. Amira waded through the wave, quickly infiltrating the small space. Yan almost ran after her. Nico waited for Logan to trudge by before doing the same.
As soon as his ears got used to his surroundings, his eyes had time to take their turn. The small space looked even worse inside than it did on the outside. They barely managed to fit around the infinite piles of tools, parts and, frankly, junk. It instantly took him back to the cabin in Russia.
He took in the frame of the young man in front of them. He was on the shorter side and heavy set, definitely with a little more than just muscle. His dark brown hair had been trimmed close to his scalp. Once, at least, the buzzcut now overgrown. His equally messy beard had a faint reddish hue throughout its otherwise dark colour. Nico noticed the several small burn holes in his shirt when he turned to face them.
“Hey, guys! Long time no see!” he yelled at the top of his lungs over the blaring sounds. Sounds Nico only just now recognized as hard bass music, channeled by horribly blown out speakers.
A gaze hidden by incredibly dusty goggles landed on Nico. The young man stuck up his hand, knocking the old radio next to him into submission with a swift punch.
“Hi, Nico di Angelo” Nico offered.
His soon to be colleague revealed two surprisingly large, almost pretty, light brown eyes. The dark dirt all over his face left a clear imprint of his goggles around them.
“Hi! Shane Włodarczyk!” the young man replied loudly. “You better remember that name so you can tell your grandchildren you knew me before I got famous” he added, framing his face with his hands.
“Oh…?” Nico replied, a little caught off guard. “What should I know you from?”.
Shane gave him a sly look. “Modeling of course. No, kidding, although…? Maybe later, as a side gig. I'm an inventor! Well… I will be once I actually invent something people are willing to pay for”.
Uhuh… Nico pursed his lips. “Ah, how's that going?”.
Shane blew a raspberry. “Oh, great. I mean, nothing like Leo's adamantine phone thingies, but I've already invented tons of, like, hella impressive things. I'm just waiting for people to notice”.
Logan folded his arms. “Yeah, like chainmail underwear…” he said with obvious disgust.
“Somehow the chainmail mask was worse” Amira added.
“Both were horrifying. I wish you hadn't modeled them at the same time…” Yan said, seemingly trying to shake off the memory.
“You guys are just shallow! War isn't supposed to be pretty, you know?” Shane responded, undefeated in his enthusiasm. “Besides, I've actually sold some of those! Just not to the crowd I imagined…” he added, his bright smile dimming noticeably. “Just wait till you see my latest project!” he said, picking himself up again. “Prepare to be wowed” he warned. He took a can from a shelf. His eyes gleamed when he pulled the lid open. A laughtrack burst out of the can, echoing off of its tin walls. “Eeeh?” he let out expectantly. “Canned laughter!” he explained loudly.
No reaction.
His face dropped. He took another can from the shelf underneath. He shook his head as he cracked it open. A cricket noise echoed out.
Nico shoved his hands in his eyes. “Well… Thin line between genius and goofball, right?” Nico concluded sarcastically.
Shane pointed a very excited finger at him. “Thank you! Exactly! ‘There is no great genius without a touch of madness’!” he exclaimed happily.
Nico blinked at him. Did he just perfectly quote-?
Amira got back to business. “Enough. We're here for the trap. Is it done?”.
Shane rolled his eyes. “Right, the one my evil stepmother forced me to make…” he said unhappily. “Of course it’s done”. He grabbed something from his workbench and held it up for her. A neatly wrapped little gift box let off a bronze shimmer in his hand.
She inspected it quickly and thoroughly. “Good job” Amira said firmly.
Shane raised an eyebrow at her, clearly amused.
Amira raised an eyebrow in return, obviously not nearly as amused.
Shane raised his eyebrow even higher.
“Hand it over” she demanded.
“Yes, boss lady!” he said happily. He dropped it in her hands. “What are you guys going to do with it?” he asked.
“Detonate it at a party we’re infiltrating” Amira offered up.
Yan gasped in sudden realization. “Wait… Are we… Terrorists?”.
Amira shook her head. “No, no. We’re keeping the collateral damage to an absolute minimum. We’re neutralizing the target only” she assured, hitting the palm of her hand with a fist.
“So… Hitmen, then?” Nico concluded.
Amira tilted her head up a little, mulling it over. Then gave a single, effective nod.
They seemed to have lost Shane along the way. “Ah! Darn! I love parties! The Hephaestus guys always get left behind…” he complained.
“I mean… no offense, but it's not exactly your scene, hun” Yan explained, clearly meaning all offense.
Shane let out a smug chuckle. “You have no idea what you're talking about, hun” he declared. He stuck out a pinky as he downed his can of beer. He followed up by taking a dirty rag from the back pocket of his overalls and gently dabbed his mouth with it as he very poorly suppressed a burp.
Yan made a noise as if she was about to say something, then opted not to. Nico decided to follow her example.
“Well, for the record, I think it definitely would have been more fun if you were there, bud” Logan reassured with a smirk.
Shane grabbed another can of beer and offered it to him in solidarity.
Logan's smirk faltered a little. “No thanks… It's nine in the morning…”.
Shane tapped the side of his forehead and wiggled his eyebrows. “Isn't it still night if you haven't gone to sleep yet?” he asked.
The smirk died. “Yeah, okay, no... It probably would have been a little too much fun to have you there…” Logan concluded.
Amira shook her head. “Enough, everyone. Time to go”. She gestured at Nico inquisitively. “Nico?”.
Yep. That's me. Really wish I wasn’t right now… He nodded and held out his hands. “Right”. The shadows drew in close. He let them swallow them as soon as all hands locked.
They reemerged in the shade of a large fountain, the largest of three, all belonging to the huge building they’d be spending the night, it seemed. Water gently misted over them as they took in the sight of the tower ahead of them. A tower fit for the Gods. It reached up into the sky like the clouds belonged to it.
Nico caught his breath for a second. This time he’d anticipated it, but four people was still rough. New York and Hollywood weren’t exactly close to one another. His hand trembled when he wiped his face.
Logan put his hands in his coat pockets. It caught Nico’s attention enough to notice he’d caught Logan’s too. Nico straightened up. Logan narrowed his eyes. Nico didn’t know what to make of it, so narrowed his eyes right back at him.
What was Logan trying? And more annoyingly, why did he have to try it now that Nico almost couldn’t pretend to be fine?
Nico quickly looked away to get him off his back. He let his eyes slide down over the infinite windows of the hotel, all sparkling in the bright sunlight like diamonds. They landed on the large, glass and marble entrance. And Amira’s back, he realized, already well under way.
Yan walked past him, rubbing herself over her upper arms. “Blegh”. She shook her head and rubbed harder. “I’ll never get used to that! Shadow travel is so… Blegh”. She stopped and quickly looked back at him, blushing. “Sorry! No offense!”
Nico smiled reassuringly and held up his hands. He walked past her, chuckling quietly to himself. Why would he be offended? If anyone knew how ‘Blegh’ shadow travel was, it was him. In fact, every single one of his powers was… Oh, maybe he was a little offended after all.
By the time all of them had made it inside, Amira was already done taking care of the bureaucratic side of the mission. The three of them watched her walk back to them from the Hotel reception desk.
“We are booked for two rooms. For two nights, just to be sure and to throw off suspicion”. She looked at Nico and Logan. “Here’s your room keys, you’ll be staying a few rooms over from us” she declared, placing a metal pass in each of their hands. They frowned at each other, equally excited.
“Guess we’re roommates… No way out of that, huh?” Nico asked the Gods more than anyone actually present.
Amira nodded, relaying their divine message. “Yes. Men and women separate. Lady Aphrodite was very clear about that. She wants us to ‘focus on what is important’ and doesn't want any ‘unnecessary distractions’. So I will share a bed with Yan and so will you two”.
Logan spoke up before Nico could. “A bed? You’re telling me there’s no separate beds left in this entire, massive hotel?!” he asked in aggravated disbelief.
Amira lowered her eyebrows sternly. “Yes, I am afraid that is exactly what I’m telling you. This entire, massive hotel has been fully booked. We’re lucky Lady Aphrodite could pull some strings. Sharing a bed is a shame, but unfortunately it can't be helped” she explained calmly.
She gave them one last nod before turning to walk away. Neither of them returned it. Yan shot them a last pitiful smile before trying to catch up with Amira.
Great. Wonderful. The first time in years he was going to be sleeping in the same bed as another man and it had to be him.
Nico couldn’t help setting the tone. “Just so you know, this is going to be a lot worse for me than it is for you” he said with a venomously fake reassuring tone.
Logan smiled widely in equally fake appreciation. “For your sake, I really hope not…”. He punched Nico in the upper arm quite a bit harder than amicable and walked off.
Nico rubbed his upper arm for a bit. Did he just… Actually sound miserable…? That jerk! He had no right to be more upset about this than Nico was!
In a weak form of protest, he didn’t follow immediately, deciding to plop down in one of the lobby chairs and glare at the meaningless hotel art on the wall. Gods, being a demigod sucked sometimes. Gods, this chair sucked worse somehow… He shifted uncomfortably. Then shifted even more uncomfortably.
The sickening colours in the preschooler art projects on the opposite wall ganged up on him. He ground his teeth, carefully taking in every single lack of detail and pointing out exactly what he hated about each piece. That probably killed him more than it killed time, he realized with a sigh.
Reluctantly, he dragged himself off of the upholstered rock pretending to be a chair.
He mentally prepared himself for a long, hopefully quiet, day before holding his card to the scanner. Like he’d dreaded, he found his new roommate as soon as the door opened.
It took him a second to realize Logan wasn’t going to react, at all, just sitting on the bed, elbow propped onto his knee, chin on the palm of his hand, and most notably, eyes closed.
Was he asleep? In the middle of the day? After giving him so much shit for being tired when he’d dragged halfway across the world?! Probably about to do the same earlier when they got here?! Nico felt annoyance build inside him. He walked past him and flicked his fingers at his forehead, making him jolt. Grinning to himself, he walked out on the balcony and leaned his back on the railing.
“You tired already? I don't want to throw your own words back in your face… but then again, I kinda do… You better know what you signed up for because I'm not going to go out of my way to fix your fuck ups” Nico sneered.
Logan faced away and rapped his fingers against the bedframe. For a second Nico thought that was all he was going to get. Right before Nico could throw another snarky remark at him, Logan got up and walked over. He put his hands down on the railing at Nico's sides and leaned in. Nico bent backwards when he realized Logan had no intention of stopping.
Logan stared him down. He was really close, and really pissed off. The all too familiar fire in his eyes flickered. Nico averted his eyes from them, instead watching as Logan’s mouth barely moved, speaking through clenched teeth.
“I'm not going to fuck up. You worry about yourself, Spooky. Don't start anything you can't finish”. He moved one hand up and flicked at the tiny skull hanging from Nico's earring, making a hard ting sound right under his ear.
Nico debated backing down, but he physically couldn't. Admitting defeat with words was even less of an option. He couldn't resist making it worse. “You're a little too close for comfort, buddy. It's kinda intense… Are you going to punch me, or make out with me?” he sneered.
The rage on Logan's face made way for contempt. “You pick. Whichever is worse for you!” he growled, but he did back down immediately, practically ripping himself away. Nico felt the railing shudder as he did. Logan stormed off inside.
Nico smirked at his small victory. Weaponising homophobia was always fun. There was no better way to get a ‘tough guy’ to back off…
Or to get killed, he admitted to himself. His smirk turned over into a frown.
His frown disappeared when he heard the door slam. Good. Some space. Time to think… About what? Maybe about what just happened. That wasn’t smart. He shouldn't let this guy get under his skin so much. And probably stop trying to get under his skin too, while he was at it.
He caught himself wondering. Whichever was worse for him… His stomach protested. No… Don't actually think about that… He shook his head and grimaced. No way did he care to find out.
He pushed himself off the railing into the room, not really thinking about where to go from there. The door stared at him. He stared back. The door was very convincing. He pushed it open and walked into the hallway, thinking of where to go next. Anywhere far from here, that was for sure.
Yan and Amira’s door was open, just a crack. Voices spilled out. Hushed, but pressing. Before he realized he’d done so, he’d stopped. He didn’t see much, but enough to know he probably shouldn't have. Yan was practically wrapped around Logan, holding him tight.
“I wanted to…” Logan muttered.
He sounded… Emotional. Stunned, Nico realized that despite Logan's scowl, he was crying.
“I get it” Yan responded heavily, buried in his chest.
Nico straightened up. They hadn't noticed him. He quietly stepped back and turned around. Alright… Back to the room after all, I guess. He walked back a lot faster than he’d done on his way over.
His grip on the doorknob kept him pressed against the door for a second. What had he just seen? Memories of Yan’s slumped shoulders, her quiet panic, the tears, slowly dripped into his mind. His grip around the doorknob slowly let up. As soon as his feet allowed, he moved over to the bed and sat down.
Were they making up? Nico hoped so. For Yan’s sake. He tried to piece everything together. Were they-?
The beep of a keycard broke his concentration. Logan opened the door, even more tired looking than before. He noticed Nico and gave him an irritated look. Surprisingly, it actually made him feel a little guilty. Nico reluctantly turned to face him.
“About earlier… Uh, Sorry”.
Logan looked apprehensive.
“When I got on your nerves” Nico clarified.
“You mean when you were trying to pick a fight with me” Logan concluded, a little annoyed. He pursed his lips. “Or french me. Which one was it again?”.
Nico narrowed his eyes.
Logan got the hint. “Yeah, okay… Sure”. He gestured to the door, then let his arm drop back down. “Amira wants us to come over. I came to get you…”. Logan rapped his fingers against the open door, actively waiting.
Nico sighed and got to his feet, walking straight through.
Yan perked up when he walked through the door, still cracked open. Amira looked completely unfazed, beckoning him closer.
He could barely keep his mind in the room as Amira went over layers and layers of background information. None of it seemed all that relevant, let alone important. Nico nodded a few times, then slowly let his eyes wander.
Yan looked serious, even daring to ask follow up questions.
Logan looked the opposite. He wasn’t even pretending to be listening. Apart from that, he seemed to be in a much better mood than before. Not that Nico cared. Logan met his eyes from across the room. Nico debated looking away. Too late for that. Logan raised an eyebrow, not looking away either. Nico threw him one of his signature creepy grins.
Fuck off, jerk.
Logan grinned deviously and winked at him.
For fuck's sake… Nico huffed and looked away.
Yan’s face, staring intently at him caught his attention. She gave Nico a disappointed look, then shot Logan a stern one. They both straightened up and turned back to Amira, who’d seemingly gotten so lost in her stack of documents and giving her speech that she had no idea they’d missed most of it.
“- As for tomorrow, we’ll have to make sure to blend in. It's a gala. The dress code is ‘cocktail’. That means less formal than black tie, but more formal than-”.
Logan cut in. “All good, but I haven’t worn a suit in ten years. Don’t think it still fits” he countered, not seeming remotely sorry.
Nico smirked to himself. Of course the savage doesn’t own a suit. Wait… His smirk died. Neither did he right now…
“We have funds for that” Amira reassured.
Nico’s eyes went wide as she put down a solid brick of bills in front of them. “Holy shit… I know we’re going for fancy, but… How much does she think-?”.
Yan cut him off, grabbing the stack of bills off of the bed. “Yoink!” she exclaimed loudly.
Amira didn’t react in the slightest, even as Yan turned to run. Logan grabbed her and hung her upside down. Yan didn’t seem to mind, crossing her legs over his shoulder. She kept on counting the money carefully.
“Ohohoh… I’m getting the most expensive dress I can find…” she pledged.
Amira stuck out her hand at Yan expectantly.
Yan complied, obediently placing the green brick in it. She hung her legs forward. Logan let her roll over onto her feet.
“First thing tomorrow, we’re going to get the appropriate attire. I think it’s best if we split up. Men and women. We’ll be much more efficient that way. Besides, yours will be easy enough”. She gestured at Nico and Logan. “I don’t think you’ll need my help” her tone made it clear she’d actually considered they might not be up to the task.
Nico sucked in his lips. Alright…
Logan audibly ground his teeth, not nearly caring as much for the art of subtlety “Yeah, I think we’ll fucking manage”.
Amira nodded, either not caring about the venom in his voice, or pretending not to.
“Should I go for solid gold shoes…?” Yan muttered under her breath.
“That was all for now. It is time to eat. After that it is time for bed. I will see you all tomorrow morning” Amira concluded.
Nico wasn’t spending any more time with Logan than he absolutely had to.
As soon as he got back to their room, he made a beeline for the shower. The water helped him flush away all of his worries. He watched them all go down the drain. It made him take a bit longer than he usually would. Not surprising, as there had been quite a lot more worries than there usually were… He wasn’t exactly looking forward to going on his little shopping date tomorrow. He hated things like that on a good day. With good company. Hell, he’d give up years of his life to get to do it with anybody else… He clicked his tongue. Time to go face the rest of the night, he decided as he turned the valve. His legs took some more convincing.
Nico took in the sight of Logan's abused toothbrush as he dried himself off and smiled to himself. Yeah. Made sense. He walked out of the bathroom in his underwear, quickly grabbing his t-shirt. He wasn’t in as much of a hurry as he thought, he noticed when he glanced around the room.
Logan had fallen asleep on top of the covers on the bed. He probably hadn't meant to, as he was still fully dressed, and on the wrong side... Nico huffed in annoyance as he pulled his shirt over himself. He hesitated for a second, then walked over to the closet, swiped an extra blanket out of it and threw it over him.
He dropped down next to him and fell asleep almost instantly. During the night his dreams suddenly developed a tense, unpleasant undertone. He couldn't place it, there was nothing particularly tense or unpleasant going on.
Nico startled awake at a loud thump on the floor. Before even fully waking up, he grasped for his sword by the side of the bed. The wrong side of the bed. Shit. He slammed the palm of his hand onto the floor and pushed himself upright. Just in time to catch the sound of hitched breathing, a few stomps and the balcony door slamming into its frame.
He tried to make sense of it. Disoriënted, he reached to his left. Nothing there. Logan. He looked at the clock. Three in the morning. That loud asshat. He better have a good reason!
Nico threw the covers off of him and dragged himself out of bed. The door to the balcony was cracked open. If this turned out to be a smoke break, he was going to raise Hell. Literally. He slid the door open, maybe with a little more force than he meant.
Sure enough there Logan was. He swung himself around, obviously shook. He coughed, puffs of smoke blowing out with each hack.
Nico pursed his lips, he was seriously pissed off now. He was about to rip into Logan when he beat him to it.
“Did I wake you up?” Logan asked, the effect of the coughing fit still clearly noticeable.
“The fuck do you think?!” Nico spat.
Logan turned back around. With some fidgeting he stuck his cigarette back in his mouth and crossed his arms. “Right… My bad” he said weakly.
What? Now that he thought about it… Something felt off . What was up with him? Logan was never jumpy, and never this… Meek . Now that he looked closer, he could see Logan was shivering. His hands gripped tightly onto his upper arms. Suddenly he wiped at his face, giving Nico a sideways glance. He seemed embarrassed.
“You should probably go back to bed” Logan muttered.
Nico didn’t know what to say. He was expecting a fight. Not whatever was going on here. “Hey, uh… Are you alright?” he asked.
Logan didn’t react immediately. He took an extra long drag, ripped the cigarette from his mouth and pressed it out on the balcony railing. Then turned to face Nico, leaning back a bit. He gave Nico a cool smile, a very unconvincing one. “Just had a weird dream. I’ll be fine” he finally responded.
Nico raised an eyebrow. “Right” he said flatly. Then he realized something. “Wait, is that what got you so riled up last time? That night in front of the cabin? And then when you got poisoned?” he asked.
Logan’s eyes widened. His smile turned to stone. “Maybe?” he shrugged.
Nico narrowed his eyes. “Uhuh…” he uttered. The plot thickens. “Look I know this isn’t any of my business… And I guess I don’t need to know. But-”.
Logan threw up his hands. “I’ll be quiet, okay? Don’t worry about it” he bargained, seemingly desperate for Nico to let up.
Nico sighed. “That’s not really my point-”. He stopped himself “Look… So… I know we’re not really besties ” he made air quotation marks with his fingers. “But if you want to talk about it… Yan said some stuff went down a while ago. She's really worried about you, actually... I figure it’s about your mother, right?”.
Logan shifted, visibly uncomfortable. “It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it… I just can’t” he explained. “I get weird”.
Nico responded with an awkward gesture. He wasn't sure what he was trying to say either. “You don’t have to, but I don’t want this to turn into a whole ‘thing’. If I can’t be sure you’re going to be able to handle tomorrow, I’ll have to tell Yan and Amira. I have no freaking clue what’s going on with you and you look like-”. He didn’t finish what he was about to say.
Logan looked at his feet.
“We’re probably not going to see each other much after this anyway” Nico tried.
The silence was tense.
Just when Nico was about to give up, Logan gave way. “Fine. But it’s going to suck for both of us…”. He turned away, holding onto the railing. He stayed silent for a while. “ Where the fuck do I even start…? ”.
Logan rubbed his upper arm, then he continued “So… I’ve been having nightmares… About-”.
He sighed in frustration, rapping his fingers against the railing. His fingers stopped, curling around it. “My mom and my stepdad were both marines. They’d been together for ages . Everything was fine, pretty good even”. His voice was lower than usual, but calm.
Still, Nico felt unease build up slowly… He knew she died, what was the point of the family history lesson?
“A while ago, probably like a year and a half… Curtis, my stepdad, got sent on deployment and something happened. He never talked about it. None of us did. But after that he just wasn’t the same…”.
Nico watched Logan’s grip adjust a little, getting a better hold. The unease built up further.
“I don’t really know how to explain it, but I guess the point is that he started drinking a lot. When he did he turned into a… well, a crazy dickhead ”. Nico could hear him clenching his jaw tightly as he spoke. “He would start breaking things, shouting... Mostly at my mom. They would get into massive fights. If I was around, all three of us would be at each other’s throats”. Logan’s voice went coarse. His knuckles turned white from his grip on the railing.
Nico watched his shoulders rise and fall quicker and quicker.
“So… One night, either one of us said something that set Curtis off. I don’t even remember-”. His voice cracked. He took a second to look down over the railing, adjusting his grip again. “He got really pissed this time. He just straight up… Snapped ”. Logan was visibly shaking at this point, his voice trembled.
Nico unclenched his jaw, trying to slow his breathing.
“I don’t even know what happened next… He grabbed my mom… I grabbed him?” Logan shook his head, two quick jerky motions. Nico could hear him panting as he tried to remember. “He pulled out a gun and-” Logan drew in a ragged breath and leaned forward for a second.
Nico realized his own breathing had started to get coarse too. Cold shivers rolled down his body. Despite the warm summer night air, he was somehow freezing his ass off...
“He stuck it in my face. And, uh… My mother… She fought him… He turned to her, and he just-”. What was either an attempt at a shrug, or a short loss of control shook Logan’s shoulders. “ Shot her… ” He bent over the railing and retched, wheezed, then bent over further and retched again.
Nico felt his blood run cold. He listened to Logan pant for a while, too stunned to say anything. When a shudder went over Logan’s shoulders, he forced himself anyway. “Are you-?!” he began to ask.
Logan shot up a shaky hand. “ Yeah ” he breathed.
Like hell you are!
“So after that ” Logan continued.
There’s more…?! Nico didn't really want to hear more. But, he didn't have the nerve to tell him to stop.
“He turned to me… But… He was-”. Logan paused and glanced around. His eyes were wide, terrified. He pointed at them. “There was nothing there”.
Nico wanted to nod. He couldn’t. He just swallowed.
Logan tore his eyes away. “I was sure he'd...''. His hand opened and closed around the railing. “But, he didn't … He just broke down. Crying. Saying how sorry he was. Over and over. But, I couldn’t say anything… I couldn't do anything... And he, uh…". He glanced around again and slowly raised his hand, tapping the underside of his chin with two trembling fingers. " He shot himself in the face ” he finished with a flat voice. He grabbed back onto the railing, adjusted, then finally let go. His fists clenched, and unclenched, repeatedly. He swallowed hard, shaking all over.
Without thinking, Nico reached for his shoulder. Even before touching it, he could feel the heat casting off of it. Logan flinched, hard . Nico pulled his hand back as fast as he could.
“ Sorry…! Guess I’m a little jumpy ” Logan muttered hoarsely.
Nico cursed to himself. He wished he hadn’t pushed so much for this…
Logan slowly turned around to face him.
Nico blinked in surprise when their eyes met. For the first time, Logan’s eyes were completely dull, like unpolished copper. No fire. No emotion whatsoever. It didn't suit him at all… It felt like he was looking past him, miles away.
Logan seemed to be trying to hold his composure, even though there was none left. Nico rubbed his upper arms, trying to process everything. He was floored, what could anyone say to this?
Still trembling, Logan slid himself down the balcony fence onto the floor. Despite the rough landing, without any reaction. He rested his head against the frame with a long, shaky sigh. Nico watched him struggle to take out a cigarette. He managed to bite it out of his hand and fumbled with the lighter. His hands were shaking too much to manage to get it to light.
Nico sighed. Dropping down next to him, he slowly reached for the lighter.
Logan let him take it. When Nico put up a light for him, Logan gave him a grateful look, and leaned in with his cigarette. Something that could either be sweat or a tear rolled down his cheek.
Nico watched him take a few drags of his cigarette. The shivers calmed with every exhale.
“So… Yeah. That's pretty much it. The cops came, neighbours must have called them. They tasered me. Because I punched one of them. I was pretty out of it. Spent a while in a psych ward, drugged out of my mind. Almost missed my mom's funeral… I had to be fucking chaperoned… ” Logan quickly summed up.
Nico felt drained. “I don’t know what to say, sorry” he finally admitted.
“Fair…” Logan responded.
“When did it happen?” Nico asked flatly.
“Bout four months ago” Logan replied, just as flatly.
“How have you been holding up?” It was a stupid question, but Nico didn't have any others.
“Pretty bad” Logan said with a hollow laugh.
“Fair…” Nico responded.
Logan sighed. “I can't sleep, I'm on edge all the time, I started smoking, I moved out from my grandparents because I couldn’t stop being a massive jerk to them, I got kicked out of college … I don’t know how I’m going to fix this… Don't think I can fight myself out of this mess”.
The complete defeat in his tone was contagious. Nico took a while to think of something that could at least resemble reassuring. The while went on.
“Yeah, that sounds rough... What happened at college? You fail too many classes?” he asked, finally deciding to give up and just start talking.
“Ha. I didn’t even make it that far ... I threw a guy into another guy” Logan muttered.
Nico wasn’t really surprised. Still… “Why’d you do that?”.
Logan shrugged “First guy called my friend a slur, second guy laughed about it”.
Nico smiled. “Bet he stopped laughing”.
For what felt like the first time, Logan smiled, genuinely . It didn’t last long. “Well, they got the last laugh. I can’t come back until I have a talk with the counselor about what’s going on with me. They know about everything and they’re trying to get me to go to therapy”.
Nico gave him an awkward glance. “I mean … Wouldn’t that be smart?”.
Logan side-eyed him. “Smart isn’t really my style, you should have probably figured that out by now”.
Nico pursed his lips.
“My stay at the psych ward wasn't very promising, but I’ll think about it” Logan muttered.
Nico hummed in approval. “Good for you, I hope things fall back into place”. He meant it.
“Thanks”. Logan pressed out his cigarette on the ground and lit another, hands a lot steadier than before. Then he slapped Nico on the knee. “Okay. Enough about me. What about you? Why are you so ‘angsty’ all the time?” He asked with a smirk.
Very smooth. Nico shook his head. Then he found himself considering it. It was probably true that they weren’t going to be spending much more time together after tomorrow. Oh, what the hell. What did he have to lose anyway? If anything it might be a nice distraction from Logan’s train wreck of a story. Even if not, it probably couldn’t make things much worse.
“I’m also not really living my best life right now” Nico started. “But it’s a long, boring story… You want the whole sad childhood story? Or just what I got up to the last few years?”. He glanced at Logan.
“Hey, I’m not going to be able to sleep any time soon” Logan shrugged.
Yeah. Me neither… “Alright, so… I’m like… Eighty four years old” Nico calculated quickly.
“Old soul?” Logan asked.
“No, I was born in the nineteen thirties”.
Logan seemed to be processing. “ What… ?!”.
Nico smirked “Told you it was a long story”.
Logan shisted. “You also said it was boring! And now you’re telling me you're an actual vampire?”. He scowled and jabbed Nico in his upper arm. “Are you messing with me? Or just insane?”.
Nico chuckled. “No, no. I’m dead serious”.
Logan gave him a wary but amused look. “Well, you look great for your age… I would have guessed sixty at most” he grumbled.
Nico elbowed him and continued. “Alright, we'll get to that... So, I was born in Venice. Ages ago. I lived with my mother and my sister. But as children of Hades, things got a little dicey. So my father sent us to the US, and told my mother to hide us”.
He sighed. “It didn’t work… Zeus attacked the hotel we were staying at. He tried to kill me and my sister, but killed my mother instead… My father had our memories wiped. Even now that it's coming back to me, I only remember shreds…”. He paused, letting some shreds pass by until they disappeared back into the fog.
Logan’s eyes seared the side of his face, urging him on.
Nico continued. “After, my father had us hidden away at the Lotus casino. That worked a lot better. Don’t know if you’ve heard about it?”. He glanced to check.
Logan replied with a wary, bit apologetic shake of the head.
Nico went on. “Its history is complicated, but basically time works differently there. So what felt like just a few months was actually about seventy years”.
Logan huffed. “That's a pretty fucked up way to lose your mother… And, like, your entire life… ”.
Ha… I guess? Nico didn't really know what to think about it, he never really did. He just shrugged. “Pretty long time ago… I kinda got used to it. Besides, I hadn’t lost everything. Not yet… ”. He felt his stomach churn. “Losing my sister after that was harder on me…”. He mulled it over a little. “When we got out, we found out about all the other demigods. We met Percy…”. He paused, shame burned his face. He hadn’t said that name out loud in-!
“Jackson?” Logan asked.
“Yeah…” Nico forced himself to admit. “He was so impressive. I really trusted him. He said he was going to keep my sister safe… He couldn't… She got killed. It messed me up for a long time. Especially… because I kinda fell for him. That made everything even more messed up”.
Nico felt Logan shift again. He stared right ahead, avoiding his eyes. He picked up the pace. It wasn't like he was actively keeping it a secret , but actually openly talking about his sexuality was always uncomfortable .
“I was on my own after that. Did whatever I needed to not die for a couple of years. Eros, that sadistic little asshole , forced me to fess up. Everyone found out I was gay… I got over it. I met Will… Yan's brother… Fell in love. That was nice. For a while…”.
Logan let out a short hum and narrowed his eyes. He took a pensive drag of his cigarette.
Nico felt himself get defensive. “What? Does that bother you?” he asked, heavy and accusatorily.
“Nah, nice dudes. Handsome too.” Logan shrugged. “Just didn't take you for someone with good taste, is all”. He nudged Nico with his knee.
Nico tried not to show how relieved he was. “You're right. I'm setting the bar too high. I should probably settle for someone like you”. He nudged him back.
Crap. Was he making this weird?
Logan laughed. “Nice try, Spooky. Negging isn't going to work on me”.
Nico sighed in feigned annoyance. He felt his shoulders relax a little.
“Must be pretty tough, being an eighty year old gay dude…” Logan muttered.
Nico took a deep breath. “Yeah… I guess I'm kind of lucky I didn't find out until after the whole time skip. Wouldn't have been great in nineteen forties Italy…”.
He looked at the sky. Still pitch black apart from some stars speckled around.
“So how about the last few years? That was the grand finale right?” Logan asked.
Nico swallowed. “Right, I broke up with my boyfriend because I'm an emotionally unavailable asshole. Then I ghosted everyone for that same reason…” he hugged his knees. “ Then I tried to kill myself for that same reason.. .” he muttered quietly. He almost didn’t dare to look at Logan.
“Oh…” Logan started.
Nico glanced at him.
Logan gave him a serious, concerned look. “That really sucks” he said firmly.
Nico almost laughed, the matter-of-fact way he said it just kind of got to him.
Logan put an arm around his shoulders.
Nico let him, suddenly too lost in the memory to mind. “Yeah, well…Tried to drown myself in the ocean… It didn't really work” he replied absentmindedly. He remembered how he'd woken up after washing ashore, to a homeless man going through his pockets.
‘Sorry, I thought you were dead’ he'd said to Nico.
‘Sorry, me too’ he'd replied.
Nico snorted to himself. “You know what the funniest part about that was?” he asked, trying to lift the mood a little.
“Fucking nothing! ” Logan answered, low and frustrated.
Now Nico did laugh, hard. He couldn’t stop it. You got me there! He forgot what he even wanted to say. He surprised himself when a sob slipped out through the laughter.
Logan pulled their shoulders together.
Nico vaguely registered the warmth against him. He found himself suddenly choking back tears. “ Sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me ” he let out shakily.
“Don't apologize” Logan huffed. “You're not really in touch with your emotions, are you?”. He patted Nico on his shoulder, definitely a little more roughly than comfortable.
Nico shrugged, a tear fell down his face as he did.
Logan took a long, final drag and looked at him with an expression Nico couldn't really place. He pulled out his pack of cigarettes. Nico almost thought he was going to light up another one, when Logan held it up instead. “You don't smoke, right?” he asked.
No, he didn’t. Did he want to? He kinda got why Logan did now. He understood it more than a few hours ago at least… He shook his head. “No thanks, my body is a temple… ” he excused sarcastically. “That is to say, ancient and in ruins ... Don't think it could handle even a single cigarette…” he explained just a bit more seriously.
Logan laughed quietly, putting them back down. “Smart man” he muttered. “For the record, I’m glad you’re not dead” he said, with the same matter-of-fact tone as before.
Nico wiped his face and looked back up at the sky “Yeah, me too…”. He closed his eyes and calmed his breathing.
He woke up to knocking on the door and realized he was in the same spot he'd been sitting in last night. Apparently he'd fallen asleep at some point. He tilted his head away from the warmth of Logan's arm and looked to his side. Logan seemed to still be asleep, leaning onto him slightly. Nico reached around and shook his shoulder, then shifted to get up.
“Someone's at the door” he told him as he got to his feet.
Logan almost slumped over when he escaped out from under his arm. Nico ignored all his muscles aching as he walked. He could hear Logan stir as he opened the door.
Yan beamed a big grin at him, then narrowed her eyes a little as she took in the state of him. “Late night…?” she asked.
“Yeah” Nico groaned.
Logan stopped and stood next to him, arms crossed. “Good morning” he said, surprisingly cheerfully.
Nico couldn't tell if he was genuine.
Yan didn't seem to care either way. “You too sunshine!” she said excitedly. Her excitement tempered down a bit as she seemed to work up to the reason she came by. “So, Amira already snuck out at the crack of dawn to have breakfast… Can I tag along with you guys?” she asked, eyeing them both carefully.
“Course you can” Logan answered immediately.
Oh...? Nico quickly glanced at Logan.
Yan shrunk a few inches.
Nico desperately waved his hands at her. “No…! Sorry, Yan…!” he stammered. “It's not you I'm surprised I'm having breakfast with…”.
Logan raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged, completely unbothered. “Do and don't whatever the fuck you want, man. Not my problem”.
“Sure… Whatever…” Nico sighed quietly. “I'll be right there” he assured Yan.
She perked up, as did her smile.
“See you in a bit~!” she chimed as she walked off, a slight skip in her step.
Nico closed the door, Logan still standing next to him.
“You're pretty tall for an Italian” Logan said suddenly, sounding somewhat impressed.
Nico raised his eyebrow. “So we're jumping straight to stereotypes now? Watch out, I'll report you to Yan for workplace discrimination” he warned with feigned offense.
Logan smiled. “As if you wouldn't do the same if you had the chance. You just don't know anything about me” he retorted.
Nico huffed. “I wish. After last night I know way too much about you…”.
He realized apart from… that… he actually did pretty much know nothing about him. Logan raised his eyebrow, calling his bluff. Nico’s mind worked diligently, eager to prove he’d still figured him out completely, based only on the tiny shreds of information he had. What was his address again?
“Watch out now. There’s tons of stereotypes about New Yorkers” he bluffed harder, going all in.
Logan hissed. “That’s definitely true…”.
Nico managed to reign in his triumphant grin just in time, when he saw one spread on Logan’s face instead.
“Too bad I’m not from New York... Gwen is”.
Nico sighed in defeat. He decided to play along, fully intending to use anything he could get his hands on against him. Also just genuinely a little intrigued… Just a little…
“Alright, spill. Where are you from?” he asked.
He hoped it was somewhere particularly stupid. Maybe even Florida. He held himself back, trying not to get his hopes up.
“Utah” Logan replied deadpan. “Good luck” he added.
Nico's face fell. “What the fuck am I supposed to know about Utah?” he asked with mild annoyance.
Logan smiled again. “Nothing. I doubt anyone ever thinks about Utah. But to be fair, it's actually a pretty weird place. It's basically just a pile of rocks with Mormons all over them”.
Nico processed. “What the fuck am I supposed to know about Mormons?” he asked with less mild annoyance. An evil smile crept around his lips. “Screw Utah. I don’t even need it. Your daddy’s the God of meatheads. I’ve got plenty of stereotypes to throw at you, fist for brains”.
Nico braced himself for a fiery scowl.
Instead, Logan laughed loudly. “Nice try! But, my dad actually is a fucking moron. Those aren’t stereotypes, those are sacred traditions”.
Nico cracked up a little, quickly hiding his mouth behind a fist.
Logan shook his head a little, in mild disapproval of Nico’s cultural insensitivity.
“Being a meathead has been passed down in our family for thousands of years”.
Nico performed an educated nod, as wry as he could manage.
Logan messed up Nico's hair with his knuckles as he walked past. “Okay…” he muttered along the way. “I'm going to wash off last night’s shame real quick…” Logan gestured at the bathroom.
“Good, I don't want any more of your culture to get in the way while I get ready anyway” Nico replied coldly, not able to hide all of his smile.
The hotel attendant bared her teeth at them in a friendly gesture, guarding her post next to the restaurant.
Yan went first. “Room seven hundred and two. My roommate has already had breakfast” she offered politely.
The attendant went over an endless list of scribbles, crosses and curls. She stopped her pen and traced a scribble, then puckered her lips and did the exact same thing, but much more slowly.
“Ms. … Weewee?”
Nico glanced at Yan. Gods, that's an unfortunate last name…
“Wèiwèi…” Yan corrected flatly. “Yes!” she answered right after with a bit of forced enthusiasm.
Ah…
Nico sucked in his lips and tried not to die in internal embarrassment. The attendant seemed to be trying the same, without the luxury of the ‘internal’ part.
“Apologies…!” she shouted, her tone changing tune three times throughout.
She nervously glanced at each of them, then gestured wildly, even her hands now bright red.
“Go right ahead!”
They did. Apparently she wasn't interested in the rest of their names anymore…
“That one's new…” Logan muttered, audibly appreciative of both the high level of insult and comedy of the mishap.
“Probably the worst one yet” Yan agreed calmly, clearly already over it.
Nico wondered how often things like this happened to her, newly appreciative of the fact he had a slightly more ‘American proof’ last name.
After a decent, very chatty breakfast from Yan's side of the table, the task Nico had been dreading ever since it had been assigned finally became inevitable…
During the short walk from the hotel to the boulevard, Nico realized something crucial. Hollywood was his personal hell. Man, he felt out of place everywhere, but never as much as he did right here. It was crowded, loud and needy.
He swore if he got touched by another street performer he’d hurl them straight into Tartarus. He stopped right in time to avoid having to make good on his promise, staring into the shabby, faded face of Spiderman.
Spiderman didn’t budge, gesturing wildly at him and muffling something excitedly.
Nico did budge, much to his own surprise. He let himself get pulled away by his arm, right through a door, into another world. Logan swung him over the doorstep and let go of him. Nico pursed his lips and gave his upper arm a good jerk to get the feeling of his hand off of him. If the stuffy, opulent little store hadn’t been such a savior to him, Nico might have managed better to be annoyed.
What he had assumed to be a melty wax statue of Winston Churchill turned to them from behind the counter as soon as the bell announced them. The clerk slowly looked them over with poorly hidden disgust.
“Excuse me, gentlemen. I don’t think this is-”.
Nico barely had time to be offended before Logan tossed their half of the green brick onto the counter.
“Think again, suit” he spat, grinning over his scowl.
The clerk glanced at the stack of bills, numbers ran over his eyes at top speed. He forced a polite smile.
“Why, of course. What kind?” he asked with a sticky voice.
“I don’t care. As long as it’s quick” Logan grumbled, mood audibly deteriorating quickly.
The clerk eyed Nico a little nervously.
“Black” Nico shrugged. “Please…” he added with a bitter smile.
The clerk moved in quickly, wrapping them up in tape-measure in every possible direction. Nico listened to Logan’s teeth grind between the swishing and clicking of the roll up mechanism of the tape. Churchill ran off, and right back in with arms full of fabric.
“Why don’t you try these” he didn’t exactly ask Logan, handing him a bundle.
“Nah. Just take your fucking money” he grumbled in return, taking the bundle and gesturing at the counter.
He side-eyed Nico, cigarette already between his teeth. “I’m going for a walk. Don’t wait for me”.
The bell announced his departure before Nico even had time to blink. Al…Right… Guess he was stuck here by himself now… Well, at least he didn’t have to worry about Winston’s safety anymore. The long exhale the clerk let out confirmed they’d just had the exact same thought. Nico scrunched his nose at another tacky smile, quickly steering his expression into something polite.
“Here you go, sir. Try this”.
He looked at the bundle, wishing he had the guts to just up and leave too. Scrunching his expression into something even more polite, he took it and went through the motions.
“I’ll take it” he decided without so much as looking at himself.
“Are you keeping them on…?” the clerk asked as Nico grabbed his things and walked over to the counter.
“Yep” he replied, not really bothering to stay polite anymore.
Winston rushed over, carefully flipping through the bills. He stopped, glancing up with a sharp gaze.
“You know? It’s customary for clients to leave a gratuity for good…” he trailed off as Nico’s expression darkened. “Here you go, sir. Thank you for your patronage. I hope to see you again”.
The clerk slid the remaining stack of bills over to him on the counter with a smile like tar. Nico slid the bills into his new pocket, taking a few steps back. He grinned at the clerks wide eyes as the shadows swallowed him.
They spat him back out, right into the hotel room.
A dark clad figure in the mirror caught his attention. The pale young man narrowed his eyes at him as he inspected him. He adjusted the collar of the black turtleneck to align better with his suit jacket. Yeah. This should be fine.
Well, allmost… He took off his ring and put it down on a dresser, looking himself over once again. The little silver skull grinned back at him, still hanging faithfully from his ear. With some pain in his heart, he unclasped its shackle and pulled it out. He hadn’t taken that out in years… Right next to his ring it went.
He watched the stranger in the mirror run a hand through his messy black hair, trying to get it under control. They both pursed their lips.
Despite being covered from head to toe, he felt so naked. Well, at least it was nice to wear something different from a black t-shirt for a change…?
Who was he kidding? Being here was the fucking worst.
He spent some time on the balcony, wallowing in the fact he’d never fit into normal society. Winston’s melty face, dripping with disgust, flashed behind his eyes, proving some of his deepest fears.
Then again, Logan hadn’t really helped their first impression with his usual blunt ‘authenticity’. Then again… At least Logan’d had the guts to tell him to fuck off… He sighed in at least two kinds of shame.
The sun had moved quite a bit while he’d been out here.
Showtime…