Secrets and Things (MxM)

Chapter 86 - Where is help when you need it?

Note:

- Warning: Mentions of assault (both physical and sexual), self-harm and suicidal thoughts. As well as dark stuff like smuggling/trafficking rings. Please take care of yourself and don't read this chapter if you're not comfortable. It's not explicit details but still.

- I've kind of stopped writing so I honestly for real don't know when the next chapter will come out. It's temporarily like this though so please don't forget about me

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POV: Third Person

"So... where to begin..."

Leo and Nero had both woken up around the same time and decided to migrate down to the living room with the fancy fireplace to talk about the one thing Nero had been trying to avoid talking about since forever. When Nero asked about his best friend, it turned out that both he and his boss had been knocked out after clearing our traces and moreover, they were peacefully napping in each other's embrace. The LeoNeo duo was snickering like a bunch of teenagers and made sure to snap at least one photo.

"Well, you can start from the beginning?" Leo unhelpfully responded.

Both men had a cup of coffee in their hands as they were huddled on each end of the leather sofa. The fancy fireplace proved to be useful (surprisingly) so both of them were cosy for the grim topic that was about to be discussed.

Nero rolled his eyes and responded sarcastically. "Geez, why didn't I think of that? You're ingenious."

"Thanks, I know." Leo beamed, making the other man rolled his eyes to the back of his head.

"Well," Nero sighed out, "as you know, I'm an orphan and I was brought up in an orphanage. Yeah that's it. That's my trauma."

Leo blinked. "Nero..." He then growled out and I quickly put my free hand up in surrender with a playful smirk.

"Just kidding~ Cut me some slack. I'm talking about nightmare of many years for the second time and that's already two too many. Anyway, the orphanage was fine. Unlike most movies, I actually had a great time there and I considered all the children and caretakers family. It was a large and dysfunctional family but it was family none the less. Furthermore, the orphanage was a special one. It was an orphanage specially designed and dedicated for Oddity children.

Now you'd be thinking that a lot of these kids might not bloom or haven't bloomed when taken in, so how would they know if they possess such power? The answer is, we don't. Some kids were actual ended up being normal kids but they weren't kicked out or anything. They were still accepted with open arms. It's just this orphanage has some sort of weird luck or curse where most of the kids ended up having some sort of power. Luckily, none of the kids bullied each other and accepted one another regardless. I guess being parentless and lonely tends to do that, huh?" Nero couldn't help but smile at the fond memories of painting the walls with glitter (and getting chased with a elephant sized shoe around the place for it) or sitting (or floating) in the big, old tree at back just talking about nonsense.

The smile didn't go unnoticed by Leo and he found himself smiling along. His smile dropped when Nero's smile also dropped into a frown abruptly.

"It was when I was fifteen- or was it fourteen? I don't know. It was around then when everything changed... and the fire nation attacked-"

"Wha-"

"Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred-"

"Nero."

Nero nervously glanced at the other man's disappointed (but slightly amused) face and chuckled. "Okay, okay. You gotta admit though. Pretty smooth, ay?"