AMANTI, nico di angelo

XVI. they are not well, but they will be together

0016. | THEY ARE NOT WELL,
BUT THEY WILL BE TOGETHER

There was something awaiting them when they arrived in his room. It was laid on the bed, packaged in a quilt of brown paper and foil, long and bending slightly at the end. His bed wasn't made, pillows and duvet strewn about with hapless care, but the parcel was laid on top as if placed there carefully whilst he was away wreaking havoc at an ancient site (his usual Saturday night plans).

Nico sat down on his desk chair as soon as he could, straightening out his broken leg. The stairs to get below deck must have taken their toll. Nevertheless, he seemed to focus his energy on ignoring the pain. He eyed the package on the bed. "What's that?" He asked and wiped his fist over his eyes, drying the wateriness. "A birthday present?"

"Our birthdays are in January." Vela mumbled. "But I can start getting you a present every day of the year, if you'd like?"

Nico smiled but shook his head. "You saved me from Giants who wanted to sell me to Gaea's enemy. I don't need birthday presents." His voice shook slightly at the memory.

"We're Gaea's enemy." He reminded, unwrapping the top of the parcel.

Nico narrowed his eyes. "You know that's not what I meant."

He scrapped the foil and brown paper. "Well, you know what they say... the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"That's the stupidest idea you've ever thought of. You're not actually thinking— what is that?"

Vela had completely unwrapped the package now and revealed a metal contraption, like a cage built for a leg, a brace. A note was tucked between the screws and bars. Vela read it aloud. "From one cripple to another, I find that a brace works well for mobility. Strap on and click the button on the side for bespoke fit."

"From one cripple to another. Can't say I'm a particular fan of that nickname." Nico wrinkled his nose.

Vela grinned, flipping the note over. "It's from Hephaestus." He inspected the brace. "It's a leg brace." He carried it over to Nico. "May I?"

Nico nodded and Vela kneeled in front of him. He refused to ever kneel before anyone, and yet, kneeling in front of Nico felt so right. Nico truly was the only person he would ever pay homage to. "Why did he send it?" Nico muttered. He sounded anxious and that was informed when he suffered that nervous eye glance he always did when he was afraid. "Does he not think it's going to heal?"

Vela unclipped the sides of the brace so it could attach to his leg but waited. He wanted Nico to be fully comfortable, if that were even possible or achievable given what he'd been through. Somewhere like Tartarus, that leaves a stain no matter who you are. It was the reason monsters were monsters. Vela could only hope that he could be there for Nico when that stain came to be cleaned. "I don't know." He admitted. "Broken femurs are tricky, they almost always need surgery but I was the one who performed it on myself. I don't know how well that affected you or if it even helped heal you at all. I tried my best but you were cramped in that jar a long while... There's a possibility it might never heal." He didn't want to be the one to say it, and he most certainly didn't want to be the cause of it either. If Nico's leg didn't heal properly, then it was his fault for not doing better for healing him.