Chapter Text
He almost fell sprinting to the bathroom and probably just about tore off the valve turning on the shower. The other valve tried to warn him it was turned as cold as possible. Nico didn’t even notice, not even as he got under the stream.
One long, ice cold shower later he finally felt like he could breathe again.
He flung open the cabinet behind the mirror and swiped out a razor. His eyes met those of a very tired looking stranger when he shut it. The stranger scowled at him while started to shave.
He closed his eyes for a second, trying to make some sense of what had happened earlier. Well, what was there even to make sense of? He knew this didn't mean anything. Did he? Didn't it? Did it even matter even if it did? What could he even do about it? He did know one thing. He needed to keep his distance. This was starting to become a huge mess.
He ran the razor under the tap and threw it back in the cabinet. The unfriendly stranger offered him some positive affirmations. ‘It will be fine!’. ‘You can do this!’. ‘You just need to get through one more mission!’. ‘If you’re lucky, you’ll die and you won’t have to make it through anything else anymore ever again!’. He let out a low, humourless chuckle. Man, he really cracked himself up sometimes…
He fought some clean clothes onto his body and grabbed the door handle. As soon as he pulled the door open, he froze. As had pretty much everything else it seemed. A thin yet brave layer of snow covered everything in sight. Surprisingly early this year.
Luckily he’d already thought of dressing warm, seeing as they’d be going to the underworld.
His eyes settled on the only two, dark clad figures contrasting the white all around.
Steph's eyes grew large as she took in Nico in the doorframe. She quickly looked back over to her brother. Her mouth opened slightly, then snapped shut. She hugged Logan, then sprinted away in the opposite direction. The silver wings, crudely made out of safety pins, on the back of her jacket almost made it look like she was literally trying to take off.
“Okay…?! bye?!” Logan yelled after her.
“Sorry” Nico offered.
Logan turned to him, surprised to see him. “There he is, the man of my dreams” he said with exaggerated intensity.
Fuck. The knife in his stomach twisted. Please don't… Logan obviously didn't mean anything by it. He was just joking, like always. Nico hadn't been prepared for the genuine friendliness in his voice. It was the worst somehow.
Shame took a stranglehold on him. He tried to bury all memories of this morning as deep as he could. Logan couldn't know? Could he? Panic took shame's place. Just for a second or two. No way. There's no way he'd be this happy to see him, he realized.
“... Hi” he forced out.
Logan raised an eyebrow. “That's the best you can give me? After thinking that long?”.
Nico sucked in his lips. “Uhm… Fuck off?” he replied, holding out his hands in an offering gesture.
Logan laughed and smacked him on the shoulder. “Little rough around the edges but it's a start. You'll get there”.
Nico felt Logan’s eyes look him over. Nerves took over. “Sorry I keep stealing your bed…” he quickly tossed out, hoping he could stay ahead of the embarrassment.
“No big deal. I thought it was funny. But you almost didn’t. I was pretty tired so I almost laid down on top of you” Logan chuckled.
The embarrassment caught up with Nico quickly, slapping him in the face angrily as soon as it reached him. “Haha…” he read off a script rather than actually laughed.
Logan looked almost a little stern. “I probably should have, actually…”.
Nico's heart skipped a beat. Wha-?!
Logan grinned at his expression. “You were fucking freezing… But hey, maybe next time. For now I just tucked you in” he teased.
Nico pursed his lips, mostly to stop his face from doing anything else. “Ah… thanks…”.
Logan smiled fondly. “Don’t thank me! That's the least I could do!”.
Nico's face set out to commit mutiny. He tried to keep it in check. Not well enough, apparently. Logan's bright grin dimmed. Nico swallowed nervously.
“You look tired” Logan concluded.
You fucking bet I am. “Yeah, I am. Kinda” Nico stammered. He exhaled and lowered his shoulders.
Logan's grin evaporated. “I'm really sorry… About last night…”.
Crap! “No! I slept plenty! It’s just…!”. Too much, if anything. He gestured wildly, maybe hoping to grab something, anything to say.
Logan looked more than a little worried now. Then it seemed to hit him. “Nightmare?” he asked.
“...Yeah” Nico lied.
“Hah. Looks like it was a bad one too. You look terrified” Logan concluded.
Nico let out a pathetic attempt at a huff. His nod in agreement was so jerky he had to close his eyes in embarrassment. What the fuck am I doing?! He moved a hand up to smack himself in the forehead. He quickly stopped himself, shoving it back down.
“Want to talk about-?” Logan offered.
“No!” Nico cut him off, accidentally taking his frustration out on him. “Uh. No thanks. I'll be fine”.
Logan hummed. It was impossible to tell if it was in agreement or doubt. His warm smile returned anyway. He gently pinched the side of Nico's neck, leaving a mental scar. To go with all the others.
“Okay. Well, I'll try to be a little nicer to you today” he said cheekily. It was clear he meant it anyway.
Oh! Great… That was going to make everything so much easier. Nico bowed his head down in silent frustration, then gathered himself back up. All he needed to do was keep some distance, not just physically, but emotionally. That was no problem. It was one of his biggest talents. He didn’t even mean to do it most of the time.
He made way for his resting bitch face. Gods, had he missed working with her… Now all she needed was some ammo… “G.B.H” he coldly read out loud off of Logan's shirt. “What does that mean?”.
Logan smirked. “Grievous bodily harm”.
Nico pursed his lips. “Cute” he said with an eyeroll. His expression cracked with a smile, ruining his attempt at biting sarcasm. That useless bitch! She tried again. “So… You're one of those annoying guys who wears t-shirts in dead winter?” Another, wider smile broke his sneer right in half. She’s so fucking fired!
“Cold has never bothered me” Logan shrugged. “I can handle it pretty well. I really like it, even” he added with a smug little smile.
Why did that brag get to him so much? “Yeah, I keep finding that out every time I get in the shower after you” Nico quipped, finally reaching an acceptable level of bitchyness.
Logan's smug little smile died down. “Oh, sorry…”.
Crap… Why did that get to him even more? “No, It's… whatever, it helped me wake up…” Nico quickly waved at him.
The smile returned, closing the distance he'd just successfully created. Nico tried not to smile along.
“Yeah, me too…” Logan agreed, giving a hint at an explanation behind all his unintentional boobietraps. He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “Huh… I thought you were an evening shower guy… Special occasion?” he joked.
The memory of his morning shower shanked Nico between the ribs. “I forgot last night…” he stated gravely. Ha… that was actually true, he realized.
Logan chuckled awkwardly, downright concerned. “Dude, chill. I was kidding. You don't owe me an explanation. Let alone one so… intense. Please, shower whenever the fuck you want…”.
Nico took a deep breath. He was too tired for all these games… And he was losing so hard… Worst of all, Logan didn’t even know he was playing… He needed to screw his head back on, and to get his priorities straight.
Stop trying to push him away and focus on getting through the day… “Sorry I've been so… weird... I'll get it together before we get there. Promise” he vowed more to himself than to Logan.
Warmth radiated off of Logan's signature devious grin. “Don't worry so much. If shit hits the fan, I'll come save you” he taunted with an affectionate nudge to his shoulder.
“My knight in shining armor…” Nico declared, balancing wry mockery and just the smallest hint of appreciation. He forced the heat to retreat from his face. It worked. See? Way better. He could do this.
“My dark lord” Logan declared in turn with an exaggerated devoted tone. His snickering took some of the heaviness off.
Nico let out a small genuine laugh in response. He pinched the bridge of his nose in embarrassment. That fucking dork… The heat sieged his face, threatening to conquer it yet again. He barely managed to hold it off.
His mind searched for a distraction. How about the actual mission…? Yeah… A mental checklist flowed past behind his eyes as he adjusted his backpack. Logan had done the same.
“Ready?” Nico asked. He suppressed a wince as Logan grabbed his hand firmly. Not the answer he’d expected. Don't just grab people's hands, you weirdo! His hand was so warm…
“Yep, still cold” Logan huffed.
“Yeah, I'm always cold. It's because I've been dead for years…” Nico huffed back at him.
Logan chuckled. “Okay, you moody zombie. I'll try to warm it up for you anyway” he offered, locking their fingers together.
Nico glanced over in surprise. Logan gave him a bright smile, eyes almost warmer than his hand. Nico didn’t know how to react, in fact he almost didn’t know how to breathe apparently. He tensed up, accidentally tightening his grip. Logan seemed to notice, looking down in surprise. A flash of heat went over Nico’s face.
“See? It's already working” Logan said happily.
Nico swallowed hard. This mission wasn't just going to be dangerous, it was going to be dangerous…
Logan gave him an inquisitive smile, narrowing his eyes a little. “Are we… Not doing your broody shadow magic thing?” he asked, loosening his grip a bit.
Right! Fuck!
“We are!” Nico quickly tossed out, maybe a little too eager. “I'm just… Getting ready” he added, gesturing at nothing in particular with his free hand. The shadows moved along with it anyway.
Logan chuckled. “Yeah, okay. Cool”. He immediately re-tightened his grip on his hand.
Relief slapped Nico in the face like a bitch, leaving a burning print on his face. The shadows moved nervously, hastily meeting up with them at the first step they took.
They stepped out of the shadows right into a dark, dirty alley. The front entrance of the familiar office building peeked at them between the alley walls. A creepy alley littered with trash and graffiti was probably a serious contender for the least romantic place to hold hands.
Very good!
A large rat scurried past them along the wall, spooked by their sudden intrusion. Nico blessed it for underlining the mood, smiling faintly in relief.
He tried to wiggle his hand free, then almost gasped as Logan tightened his grip. He pulled Nico's hand up and looked it over.
“Black nail polish?” he asked. “Edgy. Suits you” he concluded immediately.
Nico looked away to hide how his face burned. “Hazel did that. They've been like that for days…” he muttered in annoyance. You had all of yesterday to notice. Why now, while you're holding it hostage? Just let go!
“I like that colour on you” Logan added.
“I'm always in all black” Nico scoffed.
Logan poked his cheek. “I meant that one. It's a nice contrast with your ‘spooky’ vibe”.
Nico's face burned brighter.
Logan laughed at him. “C'mon! I'm barely even trying to mess with you!”.
Fuck you! Nico was so angry he couldn't speak. He just stared angrily at the clouds. Fuck you too, clouds.
“You get embarrassed over almost everything!”.
Nico turned to scowl at him. Logan's genuine smile caught him off guard. He quickly pulled his hand free. As he did, he noticed something on Logan's left index finger…
“How are you wearing that ring…? You threw it in the lake!” he asked.
Logan looked at his hand. He cursed under his breath. “That conniving asshole! I should have fucking figured! I never should have grabbed that thing!” he angrily told the ring. “Well he can fuck off. I'm not using it…”. He grabbed it with his other hand.
Nico couldn't help it. “You don't even wanna see what it does?”.
Logan shook his head. “Nope”. He twisted it, trying to get it off.
His hand enveloped in green flames. They both recoiled.
“Okay…?” Logan muttered. His other hand was still on the ring, right in the middle of the fire, seemingly unaffected. He let go, trying to shake the flames out. Nope. No effect.
“I think that's greek fire” Nico said, reaching his hand out to it.
Hot! Yep, the fire definitely affected him. He pulled back a little.
A woman walking her dog stopped and stared next to the opening of the alley. “Are you… On fire?” she asked warily.
They stared back at her.
“No, ma'am” Nico quickly stammered. “Just a magic trick!”.
Logan quickly shoved his hands in his coat pockets and pulled off the least convincing innocent smile Nico had ever seen. Nico stared at him in angry disbelief. Logan gave him a nervous side-eye. The lady slowly started walking again, tugged away by her impatient little poodle. She kept her eyes on them until she vanished behind the wall.
Nico punched Logan in the arm. “You could have set yourself on fire! Greek fire spreads! It's basically Napalm!” he shouted angrily.
“Relax! It doesn't seem to affect anything on me!”.
Nico groaned. “You didn't know that! You didn't even think!”.
Logan pulled out his hands and put them up in a defensive gesture. “Sorry! Sorry…”.
The fact Logan's left hand was still on fire next to his guilty expression got to Nico a little. He tried not to crack. “Right, well… It definitely affects me. Maybe it isn't what's on you but just that it doesn't affect mortal things…?” Nico tried.
Logan thought about it. He pulled out his sword. As soon as he did, the green flames swallowed it. Logan seemed very unamused about it.
Nico sucked in his lips. “That’s… Really cool…” he said almost apologetically.
“I know…” Logan replied with a bitter tone. He reluctantly put his thumb on the ring and ran it over it, downward this time. The fire died down instantly.
Nico looked at him. “Don't hate me, but that actually does seem pretty useful. You know, going into the underworld and all… But hey, it's up to you. Seriously”.
Logan seemed pensive. He let out an annoyed sigh. “Okay, just for today. But after we're done here, I'm finding a way to get rid of it…”.
They half smiled at each other.
On their way to the huge glass doors Logan looked over at him. Nico tried not to look back. Logan didn’t let up.
“So, you went to see your sister?” he asked.
“Yeah” Nico replied coolly. Yep… That's right... You won... If Logan was going to make fun of him over this, this mission would be over before it even began.
“Good for you. She must have been real happy to see you” Logan said casually, finally looking away.
He caught Nico off guard again. “Yeah…” he replied much softer. Good…? In a weird way, this reaction was even more embarrassing. In an even weirder way, he somehow still minded a lot less…
They walked in straight ahead, in an attempt to walk past the reception desk to the large bronze elevator.
The sharply dressed lady behind it wasn’t having it. “Can I help you?” she asked with a loud, nasal voice.
Nico put up his most polite smile. “No, thank you!”.
She narrowed her eyes into a sharp stare, forcing him to continue.
“We’re here to visit the executive office” he offered up.
She narrowed her eyes further. “Do you have an appointment?” she accused.
“Yes” Nico bluffed.
She narrowed her eyes so much they were almost closed now, lines thin as needles. She took a leatherbound notebook from the desk, readying her index fingers. “Names?” she stabbed.
They were in a standoff. One where she had the clear upper hand.
“... We would like to make an-” Nico attempted weakly.
“Get out!” she cut in, one finger on a threatening large red button.
Logan shrugged indifferently, happy enough to fight security.
Nope. Nico shoved him along, back out the door.
Logan turned to him outside. His eyes narrowed as he pursed his lips.“Okay. So, you’re not a fan of brute force… But, then what?” he asked. It sounded more like genuine interest than an accusation.
“I doubt she’d just let us go down, even if we did manage to beat down security. It’s a machine, it has controls” Nico explained.
Logan blinked in surprise, seemingly only now even considering that. Nico couldn’t help but smile a little smugly.
Logan narrowed his eyes again, almost pouting in thought. “More shadow magic isn’t an option…?” he tried.
“Nope. Too dangerous. I’ve never been in that part. Might toss us right down a cliff. Or worse…”.
Logan nodded. “Doubt that elevator is the only way down, right? Hades is bound to be huge” he quickly concluded.
Nico’s turn to blink in surprise. “Yeah, it’s probably connected to other parts of Hades… They might have a ‘back door’, somewhere…” he considered. “But I have no idea where that would be”.
A large cargo truck slammed its tailgate onto the ground, multiple workers quickly moved in and out to unload. One crate stood out, filled with large, clear bottles. The golden liquid in them sloshed back and forth as they made their way around the corner.
They gave each other a look.
“I thought nectar was an olympian thing?” Logan asked.
Nico grinned. “That might just make it even more appealing…”
They walked around the corner as soon as the workers got back in the truck for the next load of Godly groceries.
Logan didn’t even pause to look around before entering the back of the office. Nico sped up to stop and scold him, when he realized it would be pointless. Nobody in the cluttered little hall even so much as glanced at them, just going about their business.
The clutter paved a clear little pathway to the back, right to another, much more beaten up elevator. It whirred quietly, then creaked and bonked open its doors.
The worker inside was the first to acknowledge their presence, glancing at them in mild surprise. Logan casually stepped aside to make room. The worker shrugged and wheeled out his box cart, giving them a polite nod.
Ha… Easy? Nico stepped inside and reached for the buttons. He paused.
“It goes down to minus twenty three” he said in astonishment.
“Kay, seems like our best bet, I guess?” Logan replied.
Nico pushed the button, creaking and bonking the elevator back to work. He felt it sink into the abyss. Incredibly slowly.
The light flickered. Logan’s shoulder brushed against his as he turned to look up. It brushed past again as he turned back. Nico leaned against the scratched and dented wall to get away from it. This was going to be a long, long elevator ride…
Logan gave him a pensive look.
Oh, great. Now what?
“There's a hole in your hoodie” Logan stated. He stuck a finger through the ribcage painted on Nico’s chest, prodding him right in the heart.
Seriously?! Nico swatted his hand away. “As a general rule for this entire day, don't stick your fingers inside skeletons” he huffed.
“Okay, any other solid advice?” Logan asked dryly.
“Yeah. Don't touch the skeletons. Don't touch the plants. Especially don't touch the walls. In fact, don't touch anything. If you die there, you stay there” Nico replied just as dryly.
Logan snickered. “Okay, so… What? If you die in Hades, you die in real life?” he quickly summarized. “I figured as much”
Nico closed his eyes to shield his brain from the sheer stupidity. The stupidity snuck past easily and shanked him right in the frontal lobe. He rubbed his forehead to soothe the pain and begged the Gods to put him out of his misery. All they’d have to do was snap the elevator cable. Given Logan’s track record, he’d probably inexplicably survive that anyway…
The elevator creaked and bonked to a stop. It tugged its doors open to reveal… Well, nothing yet. Nico’s eyes needed a while to adjust to the darkness outside. The bright, flickering light wasn’t helping.
He unsheathed his sword and carefully stepped out.
“Welcome home, bud” Logan said cheerfully, slapping him on the shoulder.
Nico heard him unsheath his sword too. Just seconds later everything lit up in an eerie green hue. Dark, rocky walls stretched out in all directions, even up and down. The flames made long shadows dance all across their rough, uneven surface.
“We're not in Hades yet” Nico muttered, looking around. “But, we're pretty close”. He walked ahead, into the only direction they could. The cavelike walls tunneled ahead in a long dark hallway. Nico’s shadow reached for its end, offset by a green halo.
He looked at Logan over his shoulder. “Careful, even the upper levels are filled with traps” he warned, instantly setting one off.
Small bronze chains shot out from a well hidden slit in the wall, quickly wrapping themselves around him and pulling him against it.
Shit! That hurt. His sword dangled next to his face, his upper arm being pulled against his neck. His other arm tightly pressed against his body.
Logan looked at him, seemingly trying his best not to laugh.
Double shit... Nico tried to move his sword, seeing if he could use it to cut himself free. The chains wrapped tighter.
Logan carefully walked up close. “Well that's a sight” he mocked, chuckling quietly.
“I could just shadow travel myself out of this, you know?” Nico bluffed. He wasn't sure he could. Probably not actually, he couldn’t move an inch.
An amber flash of irritation shot through the green all around it, catching Nico by surprise. “Don't be stupid! I'm right here” Logan said sternly, moving his sword around to get a better look at the chains.
Nico felt the heat of the flames lick over him as he did.
Logan narrowed his eyes, not able to find what he was looking for. He reached out his free hand, feeling around the chains around Nico's sword arm.
Nico squirmed, making the chains tighten even more.
“Shit…” Logan muttered. “Stay still” he ordered, turning off the fire and adding his other hand.
Nico's face heated up. The darkness made it even harder not to pay attention to Logan's hands going over him. His fingers touched Nico's as he gently took his sword from his hand. He dropped it to the floor absentmindedly and got even closer trying to get a better angle.
Logan huffed in his concentration. The feeling of the warm air running past Nico's cheek was offensive. He clenched his teeth and moved his face as far away from Logan's neck as he could. He closed his eyes and pretended to be somewhere else. Anywhere else. He thought of nature.
A summer breeze flowed past him through a bristling pine forest…
Fuck…
Logan moved back a little and jabbed his sword right above Nico's head. He felt the chain loosen instantly.
“There! Mr. Independent” Logan scoffed, roughly pulling the chains away. “Was that so bad?” he asked, clearly very pleased with himself.
Yes!
No…
Yes.
Nico couldn't answer. Still, it was less bad than last night. Gods! Don't think about last night… The green fire flared back up right as Nico managed to get his resting bitch face in working order.
Logan offered him his sword, smiling genuinely.
“Thanks…” Nico muttered, swiping it out of his hand. “Seriously” he added with a bit more warmth.
Logan smiled wider, bright warmth in his eyes. He gently tapped Nico's earring. “Don't be embarrassed” he soothed. “Could've just as easily been me”.
Nico thought about it. Ideas of what that might have been like popped up in his mind. He wished they hadn't...
“Yeah, I guess” he replied weakly. Did he trust the green light to hide all the red on his face? Nope. He quickly sped up to walk in front, watching for traps much more attentively from now on.
Clicking and clattering echo’d off of the high rocky walls, now much wider apart. Nico’s suspicions were confirmed when the clicking and clattering intensified, to a hasteful pace, revealing a small army of skeleton warriors charging towards them.
Logan pulled him back next to his side, sticking out his sword. The skeleton warriors raised theirs, ready to strike, almost close enough to do so. Nico chuckled quietly, lazily raising and dropping his hands. The skeleton warriors fell apart in the middle of their rush. Bones clicked and clattered one last time as they hit the floor, sprawling out in front of their feet like a macabre wave washing ashore.
The hand on Nico’s back slipped away and the green light lowered. “Right…” Logan muttered with clear disappointment, kicking a skull.
“Cheer up” Nico told him, wading on through the skeleton warrior remains. “This means we’re getting closer”.
Logan sighed. The sound of bones sliding over stone and dirt suggested he followed close by. The chaotic sounds made way for the steady, calmer pace of their footsteps echoing around them.
The echoes stopped, green light growing slightly more distant behind Nico’s back.
“What the…?” he heard behind him.
He quickly turned around to check on Logan, then blinked. Logan looked straight up. Slowly raising his sword to see better.
Nico took in the completely overgrown ceiling. It was covered in light gray roots, sticking out in all possible directions. “Poplar tree roots” he explained, almost sighing in relief.
He felt Logan's eyes on him. “In the underworld…?” he asked.
“Some woman rejected my father. Long story… She's a tree now. They spread everywhere”.
“Petty as hell” Logan concluded.
Nico smirked. Yep. That was a pretty good summary of most things that had to do with the Gods. They weren’t great at dealing with complex human emotions. Ha, guess he got that from his father then…
The steady pace of echoes picked back up. Half of them a bit faster paced than the others. The green behind him brightened, even more so as it reached in front of him.
Logan nudged his shoulder.“It’s boring back here. Stop running away from me” he complained.
“You’ve never been in Hades before. I just don’t want you to get yourself hurt” Nico complained back.
Logan huffed. “I’m more than just a torch, okay? I can handle myself. I’ve even gotten pretty good at the whole ‘zombie’ thing” he bragged, nudging him again.
Nico pushed down the small sense of pride he felt. It kept trying to crawl back up to his face. To keep it down once and for all, he decided to take Logan down a small notch. He never seemed to mind anyway. “Yeah? You think you can top me?”.
That came out wrong. So wrong. Nico’s face almost burst into flames. He definitely burned down his grin, at least…
All echoes stopped. The green flames sent a shudder over their shadows. Nico turned to stare at Logan's face.
Logan was clearly in disbelief too, and in awe... He cocked his head, smiling as wide as he could. “You dirty little-” he started.
“In a fight! In a goddamn fight, you idiot!” Nico shouted, waving his hands in Logan’s face hysterically.
“Okay! Okay. I get it…” Logan assured, gesturing for him to calm down. “But… For the record, I'd have you begging me for mercy either way” he said smugly.
A hundred cursed images flashed through Nico's mind all at once. His brain broke trying to suppress them all. He hung his head down and put his hands on Logan's shoulders to steady himself, trying desperately not to kill either of them.
Logan messed up his hair. “Sorry, but you started it. That means this is how low the bar is now. Those are the rules…” he hissed with feigned regret.
No, please. Any God out there… This must be what Hell was like. Oh, wait. They actually were in Hell… He grinned joylessly, then got himself back together. He erased the past ten minutes from his memory. And oh, why not? He threw the last few days away with them too, just because. He was already cleaning up anyway.
He straightened up, folding his hands and putting them on his chin. “Alright. That sentence might have been a little up to interpretation. I'll give you that. Now, please stop killing me, you pervert…”. He reached his hands out to him a little in an offering gesture.
Logan raised his eyebrows. “So the begging's already-” he cut himself off with a sudden realization. “I said I was going to be nicer to you today, didn't I?” he asked with some disappointment.
Hahaa! Right! And to think he thought that was going to bite him in the ass before. Guess life was worth living after all! Nico smiled gratefully.
Logan smiled back warmly. “Okay, fine. Actually getting to see you be genuinely happy for once is worth it anyway” he shrugged. He reached over and gently ran the back of his hand over Nico's cheek.
Gods fucking damn it! Nico could already feel the burn wounds from the caress start to scar.
Logan turned around and stuck up a warning finger. “So, the bar goes back up, but just a bit!” he yelled.
Nico stood frozen in place for a moment, suffering in silence. In a fit of anger, he grit his teeth and swung his fist up pretending to stab himself in the heart. That adorable fucking asshole! He took a deep breath and moved back into gear.
Logan glanced back and slowed down, waiting for him to catch up.
Nico decided keeping quiet would be the safest strategy. There was no way Logan could turn that against him, right? Well… he hoped so… Logan was annoyingly good at turning any type of situation, no matter how mundane, right into a panic attack! Nico suppressed a huff. It was strangely fitting. It was strangelier painful…
He shook his head. All he needed to do was keep his mouth-!
Logan suddenly tapped his temple. “You keep doing that” he accused.
Huh? “What?” Nico asked.
“Zoning out” Logan replied. “You’ve always done that, but it’s gotten even worse since yesterday…”
No I don't! Do I? What does that even-. He quickly stopped himself. “It's called thinking. You wouldn't get it” he quipped.
“Yeah, no. All my teachers called that distracted” Logan shot back.
Nico rolled his eyes. He let his thoughts wander again. Not unnoticed apparently.
“Is it fun?” Logan asked, a lot more amused than annoyed.
Nico looked at him.
“Being an enigma” Logan clarified dramatically.
Nico pretended to think it over. “Does it bother you?” he asked in return. Damn. That almost actually sounded like he cared. He could have fooled himself.
Logan pursed his lips. “I mean, in a way, yeah” he replied a little warily.
“Then, yes. It’s tons of fun” Nico concluded.
The corner of Logan’s mouth twitched. Nico grinned triumphantly.
Logan grinned in return, clearly still a little annoyed. “Good. Can’t stay mad at that face for long anyway. You look so cute when you’re torturing yourself in there” he huffed, tapping Nico on the forehead. “Adorable, even” he added with an evil grin.
Nico’s face burned. He scowled through it.
“Oh, does that bother you?” Logan asked triumphantically.
You don’t even know what you’re doing to me…! Nico turned bitter. “You’re such an asshole when you’re being nice. I miss the unhinged psycho you used to be”. The words tasted like battery acid.
Logan actually looked a little angry. Then mostly just hurt. He opened his mouth to say something, but, with a small jerk of his head, went and grit his teeth instead.
Fuck. That wasn't worth it... At all… Nico avoided his eyes and kept walking. He picked up the pace a little to create some distance again.
Nico saw the hints of a faded, stone carved symbol on the ground, hidden in all the green looking dirt. He made a quick adjustment to move around it. “Don’t touch that on the ground” he warned.
Just seconds after he did, a thunderous crash roared out behind him. The flickering green hue disappeared instantly, obscuring everything ahead. A gust of smoke, dust and cold air almost knocked him over. He spun around. Nico stared at the wall of smoke. Time froze with him.
No way… Right…? Right?!
Shrouded in dust and smoke, everything looked black and white. Logan just died, just like that. Nico shook his head. No, he hadn’t. If he had… Nico would never ever, not even in death, forgive himself for-
A loud laugh broke free from the silence. A silhouette slowly formed as the dust started to settle.
“Wooh! Close call, huh?!” Logan asked cheerfully. He'd managed to cling on to some especially thick roots growing out of the ceiling, now hanging right above a massive hole where the ground and walls used to be. “That put all my reflexes to the test” he laughed.
He climbed forward and swung himself back onto the ground, landing with a heavy thud. Waving some of the smoke away from himself with his hands, he looked over the edge into the abyss below. “Well, there goes Stabigail number seven…” he muttered. “Or was it eight?”.
He turned around and gave Nico a bright grin. It aggravated him to the core. That dumb fucking asshole! Nico only noticed how much his chest hurt when he finally inhaled. Rage took over. He stepped closer. How could he be so reckless?! He stopped right in front of him and glared like he’d never glared before.
Logan met his eyes with a fond look, completely oblivious to his imminent murder. Nico was about ready to strangle him. He reached out his arms. His hands missed his throat and moved past it. He wrapped his arms around the back of Logan's neck and pulled him against himself.
“Uhm… Spooky…? You good?” Logan asked, stupidly.
Nico dropped his head on Logan's shoulder and quietly swore into it. “You're the fucking worst” he said breathlessly.
Logan chuckled and put his free hand on Nico's back, rubbing over it.
“Don't touch me!” Nico growled, pulling himself away and stomping on into the remains of the hallway.
“Oh… Kay…?” he heard Logan say behind him.
Nico ignored him.
“Getting some mixed messages here, pal” Logan complained.
Nico turned around this time, to scowl at him. To his surprise Logan actually looked startled. Good.
To his horror he realized his lower lip was trembling. He quickly clenched his jaw and turned back around.
Logan caught up with him. He hooked his arm around him and put his chin on his shoulder. “Hey, look man… I'm sorry. That was stupid. I'll be more careful”.
Nico held onto his last nerve before he lost it. “You fucking better be! If you don’t I’m coming after you just to beat the shit out of you in the afterlife!” he threatened.
Logan chuckled against him. He smacked Logan's forehead with the back of his hand so softly it was almost a pat. “I said don't touch me” he reiterated weakly.
Logan let go.
Nico sighed out his disappointment. It needed to be done, if Logan was still this close when he said what he was about to say… There was no way he could stop himself from crying. “About what I said earlier… Before the explosion. I'm really, really sorry… I didn't mean any of-”. His voice cracked.
Logan gently pushed past to face him.
Nico forced himself to look him in the eye when he continued. “I swear, I really didn’t-”.
Logan put up his hands in defeat. “My guy, it’s fine. Stop!” he pleaded.
The amount of pity in his expression was painful… And a little annoying… Nico couldn’t help pouting a bit. To Logan’s credit, he seemed to be trying his hardest not to smirk at the sight of it. Nico’s pout didn’t think he tried hard enough, turning angrier.
Logan broke, snickering soundlessly. He caught himself before Nico could tell him off. “Thanks! Forget about it already, okay? It's not a big deal!” he waved away.
Nico sighed, knowing he wouldn’t and it was. Not that he didn’t believe Logan, Nico just wasn’t any good at that self-compassion type of bullshit. But that wasn’t Logan’s problem, so he forced a smile anyway.
Logan’s expression fell, not just pity, disappointment too. “Don’t do that…” he pleaded more desperately.
Nico looked down a bit in shame and watched a faint, but reassuring smile spread on his lips.
“I forgive you, yeah? Please at least try to do the same? It’s not fair to do this to yourself. No use to it either” Logan reasoned softly.
Nico’s eyes darted back up, straight into pure, warm sincerity. Relief and shame fought over the tears welling up in his eyes. With a quick wipe from the back of his hand, he subdued them both. “Yeah. I’ll try” he promised, just as much to himself.
Logan grinned brightly, lighting up a genuine smile on Nico’s face. Logan’s fist moved up, Nico braced for impact. Instead, it halted before it landed in his stomach, even pulling back a little.
Nico blinked at it a few times then snorted. “Gods, fine! Your ban’s been lifted” he laughed.
Logan happily jabbed him in the stomach, just a bit too hard, exactly like he was supposed to.
“Since when do you care about rules anyway?!” Nico asked as soon as he could breathe normally.
Logan raised an eyebrow in clear offense. “Dude, healthy boundaries aren’t just any old, useless fucking rule! Just because I’ll murder someone doesn’t mean I don’t have any honor!”.
Nico quickly held up his hands. “Alright! Alright! I see your point” he conceded, trying not to laugh. He held a hand over his heart. “I’m sorry for questioning your integrity” he added, theatrically serious.
Logan ground his teeth, annoyance and amusement twinkling bright orange right above. “I know you’re joking, but if you apologize one more time I’m going to lose my shit” he warned.
“I’m-”.
Nico quickly bit his tongue. He smiled, apologetically.
Logan shook his head slowly, looking at him intently. Nico quickly sucked in his lips.
Logan smirked through his annoyance and dug his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket with two rough movements. “I need a fucking smoke” he concluded. He walked a bit ahead, up to a hole in the wall, and sat down.
Nico followed, sitting down next to him. He looked ahead, past their legs dangling over the edge. Underneath them, even more stark white Poplar trees grew on the various ledges and plateaus.
Nico glanced over at Logan. He watched him flick on his lighter. Logan’s eyes lit up a little as he held the flame close to his face, lighting his cigarette. The contrast with his dark lashes made his eyes seem even brighter. The flicker of the little flames in his eyes dimmed when he snapped the lighter shut.
Their eyes locked, Logan's no longer flames, but still emitting a warm glow.
In a weird surge of bravery Nico opened up a little. “Remember that evening on Gwen’s porch? The last one, I mean” he asked.
“Yeah, when I made you cry” Logan replied, almost like a question itself.
“Well, yeah. But I meant before that. When you said you'd been wanting to tell me something… I was afraid you were going to tell me you liked me... That's why I got a little freaked out” his face burned as he said it.
Logan's eyes almost had a twinkle to them as he gave Nico a fond smile. “Dude, I do like you!”.
Nico closed his eyes to lock away his glare. Yes. You absolute moron. But not like that. He exhaled. Logan was so freaking dense. It was annoying as all hell, but somehow also kinda cute. Nico smiled. Pretty good description of Logan in general. His smile dissipated. What was he even trying to accomplish here?
“What's so scary about me liking you?” Logan asked, he seemed a little defensive.
Nico thought about it. “You know what? I don't think I actually know” he shrugged.
Logan shook his head. “I don't get you” he replied, taking a drag of his cigarette. “At all…” he blew out with his smoke.
“Damn right you don't” Nico said. He smiled wider and nudged Logan's shoulder with his.
Logan raised an eyebrow in a puzzled look. “Affection? From you?” he asked with a grin.
“Yeah, guess I’m nervous or something” Nico offered in a half assed explanation. He was losing control. He needed to be more careful.
Logan smirked. “You're always nervous. It's getting worse too. I'm starting to think your cheeks are just going to stay red forever…” he snickered.
Yeah. Don't think about that too hard, you idiot…
Logan reached out again and nudged his cheek. “Why would someone like you be so ashamed of himself all the time? You're a great guy, you know? I wish you’d stop being so hard on yourself” he said tenderly, killing Nico instantly.
Nico's corpse exhaled its final breath in a small, damp cloud of melancholy. But you don’t know me, not really… Not in the way that truly matters, anyway. If he’d stop being hard on himself, stop fighting himself, he’d lose control. And if he did, even for just a moment, Logan would hate him… forever… So being himself, his actual self, all of himself, was impossible. At least around the people he wanted to be close with. He used to think he liked irony…
He forced himself to look at Logan. Logan looked back. There it was again, that irresistible warmth in his eyes. Gods, life was cruel…
His hand moved on its own. Before he could stop himself he took the cigarette from Logan's mouth. He caught himself before he leaned in. To do what?! Shit! He definitely lost control there!
They both stared at the cigarette in disbelief.
What the hell was he doing?! More importantly, what the hell was he going to do now?! The problem solver in him glanced over the rocky edge. Nope. Nowhere near deep enough, that would just add to the embarrassment!
Logan huffed in confusion. “Oh…? I thought you didn't smoke…?” he muttered.
Right…! Guess he did now?! Nico quickly took a drag. What burned more? he wondered. The disgusting hot fumes in his throat, or the fact that what he had in his mouth had been in Logan's just seconds before?
His body fought not to choke either way. It didn't work. The last remains of the temple crumbled, collapsing in on themselves with a puff of smoke. Coughing up his lungs, he held the cursed little hell stick out for Logan. Thankfully he took it. Nico let him laugh at him all he wanted, he was too relieved for the sudden nightmare to be over to care.
“What a weird ass power move!” Logan laughed. He gave Nico some rough, slightly painful pats on the back.
Nico caught his breath, grateful anyway. “Yeah, I don't really know what came over me…” he half admitted.
“Shit, Am I a bad influence on you?” Logan chuckled. It almost sounded like a sincere question.
“Are you kidding? A terrible influence!” Nico said intensely.
“Damn… Guess everyone else’s moms were right…” he replied with an exaggerated mournful tone.
Nico grinned. “Sure, but at least the dads absolutely love you, right?” he asked as sarcastically as he could.
Logan stifled a laugh and winked at him suggestively. He took a drag. “Yeah, okay” he exhaled. “I'm not really someone to bring home to your parents…”.
Nico pursed his lips. “Well to be fair, most parents suck anyway”.
Logan gave him a funny look. He hooked his arm around Nico's neck and pulled him closer. “Are you sticking up for me?” he asked with amusement.
Nico tried not to get distracted by the fact that Logan's temple rested against the side of his head. “No, I just hate most people” he replied flatly.
“Eh, I'll still take it” Logan shrugged against him. “Man, I should be nice to you all the time” he joked, rubbing their cheeks together jokingly. It burned like hell.
“I don't think I could bear it” Nico accidentally let slip. He'd sounded like he was going to cry.
Logan pulled away quickly, lowering his arm to grip Nico's shoulder tightly. Nico carefully glanced to meet his eyes. He looked very concerned.
Nico quickly put up a smug face.
Logan huffed in amusement. “Fuck, you're cruel. You got me there for a second!”.
Yeah… I'm the one being cruel… Nico watched Logan put out his cigarette on the bottom of his shoe, without a single care. Off into his pocket the cigarette butt went, just like always.
Logan pulled up his knees and got up. Nico sighed and did the same, not quite ready to face the rest of Hell.
He followed Logan’s burning hand further through the rocky tunnel. Logan fidgeted with his fingers, lost in careful watch of the floors and wall. The movements made the flames flicker even more restlessly.
Nico dragged his eyes off of them to look ahead. He wasn’t very familiar with this area of Hades. He wondered where the hallway led to. Where was it going to end? If anywhere at all…
Not long after, he found out. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, just more foggy dusk. The rocky walls he’d gotten used to ended abruptly, into open darkness. Nico almost missed the claustrophobic feeling from earlier, now having to keep careful watch on what might be lurking from any direction.
Logan didn’t seem bothered whatsoever, in fact he seemed excited.
Suspiciously excited.
It quickly dawned on Nico exactly why, when Logan sped up a bit over the dim plain, stopping next to a bundle of bones. The scattered remains of a decapitated skeleton warrior, still in full suit of armor.
Logan bent down and stole its sword, taking its entire lower arm with him.
“Score!” he said cheerfully. He held it up proudly, the bones still clinging onto it. “Behold. Stabigail the eighth. Probably…”.
Nico almost chuckled, then he remembered Logan's stupidity from earlier, the reason he needed a new sword in the first place... He drew a sharp breath. “She's beautiful…” he started sarcastically. “Remember, you promised to be careful. So, make sure this Stabigail lasts…” he warned, getting to the point.
Logan's expression softened a bit. “Don't worry. I remember” he assured, still smirking a little. “And you can call her Stabby” he offered with a wink.
Nico had to try a lot harder not to chuckle this time. He compromised on a grin.
The sound of panting and many clawed feet hitting the dirt caught their attention. The sounds got closer and closer, accompanied by many large shadows growing even larger in the fog ahead.
“Hellhounds” Nico pointed out.
Logan grinned. He stepped in front of Nico. His grip on Stabigail tightened as he held her at the ready, clearly eager to try her out.
Nico smirked and stuck out a hand. The ground in front of them cracked open following his gesture, making the hellhounds slip to halt. The crater grew slowly, pushing them back a bit. Many skeletal arms reached out, grasping at the frenzy of the hellhounds’ kicking legs. They snarled and howled, desperately resisting their grip. No use, of course. All at once they were slowly pulled under the surface. The dirt caving in over them drowned out their final yips and yelps.
The earth went still.
Logan’s shoulders slumped with a huff of disbelief. “You're not going to let me do anything, are you?” he complained, resheathing his sword.
“Keep up” Nico shrugged, smiling smugly to himself.
They stepped over the remains of the cracks in the ground and walked on. Mere moments they hit a wall. The ceiling had caved in and formed what looked close to a small cliff. A dark cavern had formed above it.
Nico sighed. “No way to tell if that even goes anywhere”.
He looked behind them. Not much to go back to either though… He turned around right in time to see Logan climb up, already almost there. He made it look frustratingly easy.
“Where are you going?” Nico asked, annoyed, a little worried.
Logan knelt down at the top, looking down at him. “Where's your sense of adventure?” he asked cheekily.
Of course.
Nico shivered, not quite recovered from burying the pack of large dogs. There was no way he could climb up in his current state. Just walking had been draining. The thought of having to admit that out loud annoyed and worried him even further.
Guess he didn't have to.
Logan reached out his hand. “Here” he offered.
Nico pursed his lips. Not much better, but whatever. He grabbed it and prepared himself to put his feet on the wall.
Guess he didn't have to do that either.
Logan pulled him straight up and hooked his other arm under Nico's as he stood back up. Showing another frustrating lack of effort. Nico fought his hardest not to get completely pressed against him. Logan turned around and dropped him on his feet, seemingly completely unaware of how awkward this was.
Nico scowled as he pulled back. “Was that really necessary?” he asked, the annoyance clearly getting overshadowed by how flustered he was.
Logan looked amused, but he sounded almost a little worried. “You tell me” He picked up Nico's wrist and held up his hand. It trembled.
Nico pulled it out of his grasp. “That's nothing. That happens every time I use my powers. I'm fine” he grumbled.
“Sure” Logan responded with a low voice.
Nico glared at him.
It didn't reach Logan, already looking off into the makeshift hallway next to them. “C'mon”. He glanced at Nico and gestured to go.
There wasn’t much to go to. After just a few feet they found a huge, gaping hole in the wall.
Nico looked down over the edge. Another makeshift cliff. Thankfully a lot less steep. He was about to turn to Logan when he heard a low rumble in the darkness below. His eyes snapped back to the centre of the dark, looking closer. There was a giant mass on the floor. It shifted a little, letting out another rumble. He felt the vibrations in his legs.
“Great. A Laistrygonian giant. A big one at that. How’d we get so lucky?” Nico asked sarcastically.
They watched the Giant stir again. It looked like it was about to wake up.
Shit.
He still had no energy left, not having had a chance to actually rest. A shiver came over him like a wave. He grabbed his upper arms in a reflex, trying to warm himself up a little. The green light waved around. Logan dropped his coat over Nico's shoulders. The sudden weight almost made his knees buckle.
Nico winced. “What is this thing made of? Lead?!” he blurted out.
Logan laughed at him. “If you can’t even beat my coat, you might want to sit this one out” he said cheerfully. He slapped Nico on the shoulder. “Leave it to me”.
Before Nico could react Logan slid down the debris on the ledge.
Eh. No use trying to reign him in anyway… Nico dropped down in a sitting position and unwrapped the energy bar he’d saved. He took a bite.
The giant sat up from behind a colossal, flat stone slab. It flicked on a primitive looking, massive desk lamp. It got up from the rock he’d been sitting on and stomped over his makeshift desk, dropping its feet onto the ground with a thump so loud it felt like the room shook.
In the light Nico could tell it was wearing a huge, yet still obviously too small, dress suit. It gestured its gigantic hand at Logan and roared.
“Watch out, you ugly bastard! I’m crazier than you!” Logan warned, pointing at the giant with his sword. The excitement in his voice was undeniable. The Greek fire cast an eerie glow on his evil smirk.
The giant let loose immediately. He swung his arm down like a sledgehammer.
Logan stepped out of the way just enough to dodge it, ramming his sword down in the giant's wrist as soon as its hand crashed into the ground.
It cried out in a deafening roar and pulled away its arm, green flames still lingering. After spreading them to its other hand trying to put them out, it gave up and swung its arm across.
Logan ran forward and slid underneath on his knees. As he came to a stop he stabbed the giant in its heel. Nico could see the sword exit on the other side. More green fire burst out, spreading ominously all over its lower leg. Logan changed his grip and dragged his sword up through the giant's calf as he got to his feet.
It roared again, but it almost sounded like a whimper. Its leg gave out. The giant tried to turn around to face Logan, but in its wounded state it was slow. It struggled to get back up.
Logan almost casually walked around its back. He sliced at the inside of the knee on its other leg, leaving another deep, bright green gash. The giant buckled and fell forward with a thundering crash.
Logan stepped up onto its back as it very slowly engulfed in flames. The giant slammed its hands onto the ground in a burst of green embers, desperately trying to prop itself up. Before it could, Logan thrust his sword through the back of its neck, putting it out of its misery. It let out a last whimper before it turned to dust.
Logan landed in the big pool of burning blood that had formed underneath it. The small splash echo’d off the walls in shiny emerald ripples, flowing over the dark liquid in expanding circles.
Nico blinked, he realized he hadn't for a while. Watching Logan fight had felt strangely mesmerizing. In all its gory brutality it was almost elegant. He was very agile, very precise and most of all, he was clearly enjoying himself. You could tell children of Ares were made for this.
Logan stuck out his arms in a triumphant gesture and strolled towards Nico out of the small lake of slowly dying green flames. He flashed a toothy grin. Nico started a slow clap, chewing on the last bite of his energy bar.
Logan threw his head back a little in frustration. “Oh, come on! That was some of my best work!”.
Nico pursed his lips. “Alright, that was a little impressive” he let up.
Logan took a dramatic bow. “Couldn’t let you do all the work” he grumbled as he flicked his ring, letting the fire die down before he sheathed his sword.
He cocked his head, his smile fading a little as he looked up at Nico. “Need help?” he asked, holding his arms out in an offer to catch him.
Nico thought about it. He quickly shook the thought out of his head. His cheeks started to burn. Trying to hide the fact he was about to catch fire, he threw Logan's coat down into his face and quickly unzipped his hoodie a bit.
“Hey watch it! That's sentimental” Logan complained, revealing a disgruntled pout as he pulled himself free.
Nico gave him a questioning look.
“It's my grandpa's." Logan explained.
“No way, how old is it?” Nico asked.
“He got it in the seventies” Logan shrugged.
Nico mulled it over. “Probably shouldn't bring precious antiques to a monster den, though”.
Logan actually seemed to consider it. “Maybe… But it's good luck”.
Nico slid down the ledge. A lot less smoothly than Logan did before. Logan seemed to pretend not to notice. Nico appreciated that.
He scrambled to his feet as he watched Logan throw on his coat. His dog tag jingled as he did.
“So you’re actually a pretty sentimental guy, huh?” Nico asked. “Wouldn’t have guessed that from such a tough guy”.
Logan didn’t seem bothered. “You caught me. Secretly I’m just a big softy”. He gave Nico an amused glance. “You’re one to talk, though. I didn’t expect you to actually keep wearing that”.
He bumped Nico in the chest with his knuckles, right above his zipper. Nico looked down to see what he meant. For a second, he and the faded Scream mask almost perfectly matched expressions.
“I don’t! Usually…! I was just running low!” he stammered, quickly zipping back up, hiding it away from prying eyes.
Logan laughed. “Calm down! I’m just messing with you…”.
They walked around the desk, around the shards of a cheaply made Buddha garden ornament…? Towards a stone arch leading into even more darkness. Torches lit as they came closer, illuminating an impossibly long hallway.
An unnerving feeling crept over Nico. His mind started to wander. Last time he walked behind someone in a narrow hallway like this, the light just slightly too dim, the atmosphere heavy, was…
“Reminds me of when I was down here with Will…” he said suddenly. Crap. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud… He hoped Logan wouldn’t pry… He probably should have known better.
“Yan's brother, right?” Logan asked, swiping away a cobweb.
“Let's leave him out of this” Nico pleaded, walking into another cobweb anyway.
“You angry at him?” Logan asked.
“No! Not at all!” Nico replied, desperately wiping the remains of the silky trap off of his face. “I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm a pretty complicated person. I've got tons of issues. It's not Will's fault that it didn't work out”. He could hear that some hurt shone through. This was always a bit of a touchy subject. He really didn't feel like getting into it with Logan of all people.
“Hey, give yourself some credit. You're way too smart, very nice in your own edgy way, scary strong, and on top of all of that, you're a really good looking guy. Don't worry about it! Whoever you pick is one of the luckiest guys out there” Logan said matter-of-factly, stabbing Nico right in the heart.
He wondered how many times Logan could stab him in the heart before he'd bleed out… Not much more, he hoped.
As usual, it was clear Logan meant all of it. Forget all the physical stuff. This was his worst emotional war crime yet, by far. Nico felt so much he almost went numb. The swarm of bugs in his stomach churned. It made it hard to walk.
Please… You beautiful bastard, have mercy on me. If you’re going to kill me, just get it over with already...
Nico’s face burned bright, the fire quickly spreading all over his body. He fought the smile threatening to come out so hard it hurt, badly. There was nothing to smile about. It was so fucking unfair. This freaking guy. Why did he always make being around him so difficult?
Nico felt frustration take over. “Whatever. Just drop it” he hissed. He scowled when their eyes met.
“What's with the whole ‘cold and mean’ act again all of a sudden? I'm being as nice as I can here” Logan huffed. He turned around and blocked Nico's path by sticking his hand out against the wall in front of him.
Nico debated shoving it away, but he couldn't bear the thought of touching him right now. He glared at him instead. Logan grinned back, but Nico could tell he was well on his way to getting angry.
Logan leaned in and reached up a hand. He gently moved Nico's hair behind his ear. He let his fingers linger, aggravatingly. “I'm not buying it. I know you don't hate me nearly as much as you pretend to, so cheer up a little” he practically whispered in Nico's ear. He lowered his hand and gave a short, light tug on the tiny skull hanging from his earring.
Nico suppressed a shiver as Logan pulled back. This was exactly what he didn't want. Logan was being unbearable. “You don't know shit, especially not about me” he spat back at him.
Logan pulled his arm back a little then smashed his fist back into the wall. A stream of spiders quickly ran out of a crack next to it, disappearing into the shadows. “Look! I know I was a raging jerk the first time we met, and I know that I still was countless times after that. But I told you how sorry I am! We talked about that. I actually thought we were getting better! You’re, like, one of my closest friends at this point, man! And now it feels like the harder I try, the more of an ass you are to me! That’s fucked up! Just tell me what you want me to do!”.
Nico lost it. Everything Logan did messed with his head. Especially his stupid honesty, his complete lack of fear of saying whatever he felt like. It always wrecked Nico’s brain, leaving him speechless. Not this time! “It’s because anytime I'm around you it reminds me of how much of a freak I am. How fucking damaged I am. I’ll never be able to have a normal relationship with anyone… Especially not you”.
Nico shoved Logan in the chest. Then closed in on him. “You are my best friend. Fuck, you’re practically my only actual friend. You're getting too close to me! I don’t do that, I don’t let people get close to me. When you‘re nice to me, it messes with my head! It just reminds me that I’m not going to be able to hide how I feel and I’m going to ruin everything!” Nico shouted, staring Logan down furiously.
“Don’t you get it?! I’m in love with you! Fottuto Idiota!” he confessed, maybe more to himself than Logan. The relief was short-lived. He felt the shame take a chokehold on him.
Logan’s expression was hard to read, but it was clear he was seconds away from exploding. His eyes were absolutely blazing.
Nico saw the corner of Logan’s mouth twitch. He could tell he was holding back as hard as he could. Until he wasn’t.
Logan grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and shoved him into the wall. He got in his face, their noses almost touching. “If you're messing with me, this is your last chance to back out!” he growled through gritted teeth.
Nico gave him one last defiant look. Then stuck up his hands and closed his eyes. Deep down he knew this would happen. That’s why he had tried to avoid it so long. It had been nice while it lasted… “Go ahead. Do your worst” he challenged, already defeated. He waited for the first hit to land.
Logan pulled him in hard. Their lips crashed together. Nico’s sound of surprise got muffled by the kiss.
Nico felt Logan grab the back of his neck, rough and eager, holding him firmly in place. Logan ran his other hand down from his shoulder blades to his lower back, pressing himself against him. Nico’s legs went weak. He rushed his arms under Logan’s coat and grabbed onto him for dear life.
Getting kissed by Logan was everything he had never dared to dream of. He was rough, intense and skilled. Exactly like the way he fought. But, Nico wasn't going to go down without fighting back…
He shoved his knee between Logan's legs and swung him around against the wall, switching their positions. As hard as he could, he pulled Logan against him, his lips against his own.
It was impossible to hold back. He'd been dying for this for too long.
He ran a hand up Logan’s shirt, over the side of his stomach. His fingers searched for the scars on his abdomen. They got lost, feeling the contour of the muscles under the palm of his hand, mapping them out in his mind perfectly.
He felt Logan smirk against his lips.
Logan tightened his grip on him. So tight, it almost hurt. In the best way.
Nico followed suit.
“Gods” Logan groaned into his mouth, between them fighting for breath. “You drive me. Fucking. Crazy”.
Nico hung on tightly to every word, trying to take them right from-!
Logan bit Nico’s lower lip, not painfully, but hard enough to make a tingle go down his spine. Nico let out a surprised gasp. Logan made tactical use of the opportunity to invade, going in for a deep kiss.
Nico shuddered at the sudden tickling sensation and let out a short, low moan. Logan joined in, sending the vibrations right past Nico's teeth, down the underside of his tongue.
Logan tugged on his hair to get better access. With a drowned out sigh, Nico sank into his embrace. A low chuckle traced around his tongue. Nico tried not to get swept away, giving as much push back as he could.
It felt so… Addictive. He could have stayed like this forever.
He would have, if they didn't have something ‘important’ to do… Damn Gods... Always ruining everything… Still, Aphrodite had her perks...
With a frustrating amount of effort, he turned his face enough to break the kiss. He kissed Logan on his upper jaw, then rested his face against it. Each pant smelled like warm pinewood.
Nico quickly pulled his hand back out from under Logan's shirt. Logan didn't budge his, leaving it dangerously low on Nico's lower back. They caught their breath for a moment.
Nico pushed himself off of Logan and looked into his eyes. Logan flashed him the smuggest grin yet, the fire in his eyes still smouldering.
“Uhuh… Good talk…!” Nico concluded a little hoarsely.
Logan laughed. He pushed himself off the wall, getting himself very close to Nico's face again. Nico fought the urge to lean in.
Logan put his hand on Nico's chin and gently led his thumb over his lips. “I've been wanting to do that for a while…”.
He had? Nico didn't bother to hide his smile. “Alright. Lots to discuss, but ‘right time and place’ and all that… So now that we're done with our ‘fight’, we should probably finish what we actually came here to do and get out of here”.
Logan grinned, getting even closer.
“Try to take this a little seriously, you pervert!” Nico laughed, bending out of reach.
“I am! I'm just a little worked up…” Logan defended.
Yeah, fair… Nico quickly closed the distance. Just for a little bit.
He got an appreciative hum in response. Logan moved his hand to the side, running it over his cheek.
Nico blindly followed after him when Logan started to pull away, making Logan smirk again. He stopped himself to let Logan break the kiss, and cleared his throat. “ Right…” he said firmly.
They grinned at each other.
“That tongue of yours isn't nearly as sharp as it sounds, by the way” Logan teased, giving his cheek a final pat before removing his hand.
Nico felt some heat return to his face. Logan grabbed his hand and pulled him along. Nico let him. He watched him closely as they made their way further into the hallway. His smile was contagious.
Logan glanced at him, a little puzzled suddenly. “What was that you said in Italian?" he asked.
Nico got flustered as he remembered. “I called you a fucking idiot…” he admitted. He tried to look sly about it.
Logan gave him an amused look and turned back to the hallway. “Hot”.
Nico shoved him with his free hand. “Have some standards, man” he laughed.
“I know what I like, no shame in that” Logan shrugged with a grin.
Nico couldn't bring himself to sigh, not even to pretend. He needed all his focus not to grin like an idiot.
They reached what looked to be a dead end in the hallway. Walking up to it Nico discovered it was a split in two directions. On one side two bronze elevator doors, on the other a broad, very dark brown wooden door. Two black marble pillars were standing watch next to it.
They looked at each other. Throughout all of the mess of trying to get here, they’d completely forgotten to come up with a strategy.
Nico thought of what Aphrodite had told them. He let out a huff. The annoyance didn’t manage to break through his smile at all. ‘You’ll figure it out along the way…’. Yeah. Right. My ass…
Still, they had done a lot of figuring out. Much more pressing things than how to make it out of here alive, too. Based on the look in his eyes, Logan seemed to agree.
Nico smirked. “Ready to die?” he asked as slyly as he could.
Logan smirked back. “Sure! At least I can die happy now”. The warm glow in his eyes emphasized his genuine excitement.
Nico broke, he bit his knuckles to stop himself from both laughing and crying. “Don’t do that to me, you dork” he complained breathlessly, painfully charmed.
Logan snickered. “This might be the last time I get to annoy you, I have to make the most of it”.
Nico reigned in his grin to feign a scowl.
Logan killed it mercilessly with a quick kiss. “Ready?” he asked.
Nico pursed his lips. “I mean… No?” he replied with a shrug. He unsheathed his sword anyway.
Logan smiled and did the same. The unsettling mix of the angry purple glow and eerie green flickers clashed heavily with their giddy smiles. In a strange way, it also didn’t.