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փ l'Ultima Notte • Nico, Tessa
l'Ulitima Notte (The Last Night)
Nico di Angelo (PJO), Tessa Gray (TID)
• 1.6k
• for various prompts: midnight, nighttime, descendants
Fingero mi abituero
Continuero in silenzio senza te
Solo resto coi ricordi
Domani tutto finira
Ma adesso resta qui
Qui con me perche sara
L'ultima notte insieme a te
Nico was the only one who knew about the Shadowhunters and the Downworlders; it was his business to know these things. He was fairly certain none of the Clave knew about the demigods - surely, some of the Downworlders did, but they considered them separate, since they weren't descended from demons or angels. Their monsters had no relation to Biblical demons, so the Greeks and Romans were brushed off as unimportant.
Still, it was Nico's business to know these things. It was Nico's business to make everyone else's business his own business. Also, he suspected there was a Shadowhunter who was also a demigod. Likely she'd get herself killed far before anyone needed to figure out what to do with her, but death was only the beginning. Would she be claimed by Thanatos, or the Angels? What blood ran stronger?
Anyway, he still had time. Which led to him drinking at a Downworlder party, ostensibly trying to get information but mostly he just really liked warlock drinks. They didn't have quite the same effect on him that they would a warlock or a human, but gods, the buzz was unlike anything in the world. And the music, and the dancing - it was this ridiculous mishmash of magic and history, and it was one of the few places that Nico didn't feel like a fish out of water. He was among friends, here. At least, he was among other outcasts.
Magnus Bane slid an arm around his shoulders. "Angelo! Good to see you, I was hoping you'd come by. How's the blue-eyed boy?"
Nico rolled his eyes. Magnus and his obsessions. "He's fine. And no, you don't get to meet him," he added, to the warlock's very great disappointment.
"Nico, you wound me. And here I went through all the trouble of calling on an old friend, someone I think you'd be very interested in meeting." His mouth was close to Nico's ear now, whatever he was talking about, he wanted to keep it private. "She's in the drawing room, and she's just as interested in that powerful babe of yours. And be nice, all right?" He pulled back, with a catlike smile to match his catlike eyes. "She's very dear to me. Don't chase her away."
Nico knew Magnus well enough to read between the lines. He loved her, or they had some history, and this girl, whoever she was, had only come out of hiding for a reason. Magnus was not that reason.
Nico took the steps up to the drawing room two at a time, his heart thumping uncomfortably. Of all the Downworlders, only Magnus knew the truth - it wasn't really that he cared all too much about the balance of power or what realm the child would die to. He was looking for a certain baby girl. A certain reincarnation of a certain sister. If Magnus said Nico would find this important - it couldn't just be about the baby.
He slipped into the drawing room via shadows rather than the door. He wanted to get a look at her first, without telegraphing his presence. She was tall and quiet-looking, brown hair, gray eyes. Nico knew she was a warlock - only warlocks dressed like that, in bits and pieces of different cultures. There was a tall Victorian corset over a soft cashmere sweater, a knee-length bell skirt, an open brocade jacket with Chinese clasps and a felt cloche, pulled low over her face. Her boots, Nico noticed, were also Victorian in style, though of a much more modern and sturdy make.
"Hello," he said, stepping from the shadows. "Magnus said you wanted to meet me."
She whirled around in a cloud of hair, then pulled her jacket tight over her chest. "...Yes. Hello. Nico, isn't it? My name is Tessa Gray."
փ
When she told him who she was, what she could do - he didn't understand, at first, what she was offering. But she sat in Magnus's wing-backed armchair with her hands neatly folded in her lap and smiled, so gently. "There's something in your pocket, isn't there? A button, and a tuning peg. Please, let me see them."
Nico didn't know how she knew about those. No one knew about those, though he supposed - Magnus, of course, he wouldn't put it past him to snoop around. He swallowed and handed them over, wary. He wasn't sure where this was going.
She closed her bare hands over them; shut her eyes, drew in a deep breath - and then, startlingly, she began to Change. Her skin shifted and darkened; she shrank, her corset sliding off-center and her hair pulled and straightened into long, dark lines.
Nico found he couldn't breathe. Not when Bianca was sitting in front of him.
"Hello," she said, shy and quiet. "I'm still Tessa, but. Your sister's in here, too. I can feel what she felt, remember what she remembered. She loved you very much," Bianca's face said, and Nico felt his knees buckle as he fell to the ground.
She spent all evening in Bianca's form, just - talking. Being her, and Nico would never be able to explain how much this meant to him. To be able to have one more night, one more chance - to talk to her, to let everything out, to hear that she died well from her own lips, and to say goodbye.
That was all he'd wanted, really. He'd never gotten a chance to say goodbye.
When Bianca faded and Tessa took her place, Nico had tears streaming down his face and he was still clutching at her hands, so tightly he could feel the bones shifting when she Changed. "S-sorry," he muttered, trying to get a hold of himself. "It's - "
"Shh," Tessa murmured. "It's all right. Believe me, I understand. I've had to say goodbye to far too many people, including a brother that I loved so dearly. I understand."
He cried into that lovely sweater of hers and she held him, stroking his hair.
Finally, when he was able to talk without blubbering, he asked, "What is it you want from me? I'll do anything. Anything. I owe you more than I can say."
She kissed the crown of his head, like a mother would - or a sister. "That baby you're looking for - the little girl. I know where she is, and I can take you there, but."
"But?" He lifted his head, blinking tears away.
Tessa looked.... anxious. Worried. "I need your help. You see, she's somewhere I'm not allowed to go, and her mother - "
"Died in childbirth, most likely," Nico said, rubbing at his face with the heel of his hand. "If her father was who I think it was, the stress of all that power coming into the world - someone would have died for it, her or the kid or both."
"It was her." Tessa bowed her head. "I hadn't seen her since she was - oh. Very young. A teenager. But she's family." She swallowed, begged him with her eyes to understand. "Please don't ask, but I'm not like other warlocks. She's my descendant. She was all I had left, and now there's just her daughter, and I'll do anything to protect her. But the Clave will never let me see her. They'll raise her to be nothing more than a tool, and I can't - "
Nico grasped her hands again. "Tessa," he murmured. "We'll find her. But you have to know - it's likely she won't last long."
Tessa Gray swallowed and her look became sharp and steely. "She'll survive," she whispered. "I'll make sure of it."
փ
They slipped into Idris through the paths of shadows, right into the baby's room. Tessa rushed to the cradle, her skirts rustling, and lifted the child into her arms.
Nico felt his heart stop for a breath of a moment.
Yes. This was her. He'd found her. He knew it, in his bones, and he knew that if what Tessa said was true - and he'd trust her to the ends of the earth, for what she'd done - they couldn't leave her here. They had to take her away, take her somewhere safe - Camp Jupiter, he was thinking, there was a city there and everything, and Hazel could be a part of her life. She was such a tiny thing, pale-skinned and dark-haired, but her eyes - yes. It was the eyes. The same eyes Bianca had had, eyes inherited from her father, the King of Souls.
Nico swallowed. "Tess," he whispered. "That's her. She's a daughter of Pluto. She's the reincarnation of my sister."
Tessa looked quickly over her shoulder, her own gray eyes wide. "We can't leave her here," she whispered, already panicking, but Nico nodded swiftly and beckoned with both hands.
"Come. Follow me. I know where we can hide. She'll be safe there - you both will."
փ
He never asked her to become Bianca again, and she never offered. What was done was done - he'd said his goodbyes, and he knew that Beatrice Carstairs wouldn't be the same, shared soul or no. But it was all right. He would love her more than life itself, because how could he not? She was family. He would love her in his bones. And together, with Tessa and Hazel and Percy and Frank and everyone in their growing family - they would keep her safe. She would be the maker of destinies, and she would live.
Nico di Angelo (PJO), Tessa Gray (TID)
• 1.6k
• for various prompts: midnight, nighttime, descendants
Fingero mi abituero
Continuero in silenzio senza te
Solo resto coi ricordi
Domani tutto finira
Ma adesso resta qui
Qui con me perche sara
L'ultima notte insieme a te
Nico was the only one who knew about the Shadowhunters and the Downworlders; it was his business to know these things. He was fairly certain none of the Clave knew about the demigods - surely, some of the Downworlders did, but they considered them separate, since they weren't descended from demons or angels. Their monsters had no relation to Biblical demons, so the Greeks and Romans were brushed off as unimportant.
Still, it was Nico's business to know these things. It was Nico's business to make everyone else's business his own business. Also, he suspected there was a Shadowhunter who was also a demigod. Likely she'd get herself killed far before anyone needed to figure out what to do with her, but death was only the beginning. Would she be claimed by Thanatos, or the Angels? What blood ran stronger?
Anyway, he still had time. Which led to him drinking at a Downworlder party, ostensibly trying to get information but mostly he just really liked warlock drinks. They didn't have quite the same effect on him that they would a warlock or a human, but gods, the buzz was unlike anything in the world. And the music, and the dancing - it was this ridiculous mishmash of magic and history, and it was one of the few places that Nico didn't feel like a fish out of water. He was among friends, here. At least, he was among other outcasts.
Magnus Bane slid an arm around his shoulders. "Angelo! Good to see you, I was hoping you'd come by. How's the blue-eyed boy?"
Nico rolled his eyes. Magnus and his obsessions. "He's fine. And no, you don't get to meet him," he added, to the warlock's very great disappointment.
"Nico, you wound me. And here I went through all the trouble of calling on an old friend, someone I think you'd be very interested in meeting." His mouth was close to Nico's ear now, whatever he was talking about, he wanted to keep it private. "She's in the drawing room, and she's just as interested in that powerful babe of yours. And be nice, all right?" He pulled back, with a catlike smile to match his catlike eyes. "She's very dear to me. Don't chase her away."
Nico knew Magnus well enough to read between the lines. He loved her, or they had some history, and this girl, whoever she was, had only come out of hiding for a reason. Magnus was not that reason.
Nico took the steps up to the drawing room two at a time, his heart thumping uncomfortably. Of all the Downworlders, only Magnus knew the truth - it wasn't really that he cared all too much about the balance of power or what realm the child would die to. He was looking for a certain baby girl. A certain reincarnation of a certain sister. If Magnus said Nico would find this important - it couldn't just be about the baby.
He slipped into the drawing room via shadows rather than the door. He wanted to get a look at her first, without telegraphing his presence. She was tall and quiet-looking, brown hair, gray eyes. Nico knew she was a warlock - only warlocks dressed like that, in bits and pieces of different cultures. There was a tall Victorian corset over a soft cashmere sweater, a knee-length bell skirt, an open brocade jacket with Chinese clasps and a felt cloche, pulled low over her face. Her boots, Nico noticed, were also Victorian in style, though of a much more modern and sturdy make.
"Hello," he said, stepping from the shadows. "Magnus said you wanted to meet me."
She whirled around in a cloud of hair, then pulled her jacket tight over her chest. "...Yes. Hello. Nico, isn't it? My name is Tessa Gray."
փ
When she told him who she was, what she could do - he didn't understand, at first, what she was offering. But she sat in Magnus's wing-backed armchair with her hands neatly folded in her lap and smiled, so gently. "There's something in your pocket, isn't there? A button, and a tuning peg. Please, let me see them."
Nico didn't know how she knew about those. No one knew about those, though he supposed - Magnus, of course, he wouldn't put it past him to snoop around. He swallowed and handed them over, wary. He wasn't sure where this was going.
She closed her bare hands over them; shut her eyes, drew in a deep breath - and then, startlingly, she began to Change. Her skin shifted and darkened; she shrank, her corset sliding off-center and her hair pulled and straightened into long, dark lines.
Nico found he couldn't breathe. Not when Bianca was sitting in front of him.
"Hello," she said, shy and quiet. "I'm still Tessa, but. Your sister's in here, too. I can feel what she felt, remember what she remembered. She loved you very much," Bianca's face said, and Nico felt his knees buckle as he fell to the ground.
She spent all evening in Bianca's form, just - talking. Being her, and Nico would never be able to explain how much this meant to him. To be able to have one more night, one more chance - to talk to her, to let everything out, to hear that she died well from her own lips, and to say goodbye.
That was all he'd wanted, really. He'd never gotten a chance to say goodbye.
When Bianca faded and Tessa took her place, Nico had tears streaming down his face and he was still clutching at her hands, so tightly he could feel the bones shifting when she Changed. "S-sorry," he muttered, trying to get a hold of himself. "It's - "
"Shh," Tessa murmured. "It's all right. Believe me, I understand. I've had to say goodbye to far too many people, including a brother that I loved so dearly. I understand."
He cried into that lovely sweater of hers and she held him, stroking his hair.
Finally, when he was able to talk without blubbering, he asked, "What is it you want from me? I'll do anything. Anything. I owe you more than I can say."
She kissed the crown of his head, like a mother would - or a sister. "That baby you're looking for - the little girl. I know where she is, and I can take you there, but."
"But?" He lifted his head, blinking tears away.
Tessa looked.... anxious. Worried. "I need your help. You see, she's somewhere I'm not allowed to go, and her mother - "
"Died in childbirth, most likely," Nico said, rubbing at his face with the heel of his hand. "If her father was who I think it was, the stress of all that power coming into the world - someone would have died for it, her or the kid or both."
"It was her." Tessa bowed her head. "I hadn't seen her since she was - oh. Very young. A teenager. But she's family." She swallowed, begged him with her eyes to understand. "Please don't ask, but I'm not like other warlocks. She's my descendant. She was all I had left, and now there's just her daughter, and I'll do anything to protect her. But the Clave will never let me see her. They'll raise her to be nothing more than a tool, and I can't - "
Nico grasped her hands again. "Tessa," he murmured. "We'll find her. But you have to know - it's likely she won't last long."
Tessa Gray swallowed and her look became sharp and steely. "She'll survive," she whispered. "I'll make sure of it."
փ
They slipped into Idris through the paths of shadows, right into the baby's room. Tessa rushed to the cradle, her skirts rustling, and lifted the child into her arms.
Nico felt his heart stop for a breath of a moment.
Yes. This was her. He'd found her. He knew it, in his bones, and he knew that if what Tessa said was true - and he'd trust her to the ends of the earth, for what she'd done - they couldn't leave her here. They had to take her away, take her somewhere safe - Camp Jupiter, he was thinking, there was a city there and everything, and Hazel could be a part of her life. She was such a tiny thing, pale-skinned and dark-haired, but her eyes - yes. It was the eyes. The same eyes Bianca had had, eyes inherited from her father, the King of Souls.
Nico swallowed. "Tess," he whispered. "That's her. She's a daughter of Pluto. She's the reincarnation of my sister."
Tessa looked quickly over her shoulder, her own gray eyes wide. "We can't leave her here," she whispered, already panicking, but Nico nodded swiftly and beckoned with both hands.
"Come. Follow me. I know where we can hide. She'll be safe there - you both will."
փ
He never asked her to become Bianca again, and she never offered. What was done was done - he'd said his goodbyes, and he knew that Beatrice Carstairs wouldn't be the same, shared soul or no. But it was all right. He would love her more than life itself, because how could he not? She was family. He would love her in his bones. And together, with Tessa and Hazel and Percy and Frank and everyone in their growing family - they would keep her safe. She would be the maker of destinies, and she would live.