Work Text:
Nico smelled him minutes before the doorbell rang. In a small neighborhood like that, any new heartbeat was easily caught by Nico’s ear.
He went downstairs in less than one second. In front of the closed door, Nico felt the attractive way the heartbeat sounded to him. When the doorbell finally rang, Nico waited for a little, enjoying the sweetness exhaled by that body. Young, strong, healthy. He was already perfect even before the door was open. With a hand on the doorknob, Nico sharpened his sense of smell, imagining the figure's appearance on the other side of the door.
He smelled like innocence. A sweet jealousy innocence. It was something Nico had lost a long, long time ago. That human was definitely very young, not more than a quarter of a century of life. Interesting. Nico didn't have a mortal visit for decades.
Nico opened the door and finally saw him. Tall, blonde, with dark blue eyes like a deep ocean begging to be explored. The human smiled, and dimples took shape on his face. His tooths were a little crooked in a way that remembered Nico how humans were so full of failures. He was carrying a bag on his shoulder, wearing simple jeans and a yellow t-shirt.
‘Hello. My name is Will Solace’
Will Solace.
A very sweet name.
‘I’m a journalist.’ He continued ‘I’m writing an article about Nicollo di Angelo. If my searches are correct, you’re related to him.’
Nico smiled gently.
‘Nicollo was my grandfather’ That kind of lie was something that came out of Nico’s lips so ridiculously easily. It didn’t even sound like a lie anymore ‘I was named after him, but I prefer to be called Nico’
‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nico’
He was so sweet .
‘The pleasure is all mine'
It really was. A pleasure.
‘Your grandfather was an important figure in history’ Will said ‘I studied literature in college, Nicollo was my biggest inspiration’
‘That’s not something I’m used to hearing. My grandfather is generally remembered as a depraved man. Are things finally changing?’
‘I believe Nicollo was a man ahead of his time. The fifties were not prepared for him. Things are changing, and will change even more if it’s up to me'
Will was right. Nico really was ahead of his time. In 1950, he had already lost any shyness a human could have. Even between his own species, Nico was far from being inhibited.
For decades, Nico had fun playing as an artist among mortals. He painted a little, composed songs, but what made success was his writing. Nico loved the hours in front of a typewriter, typing till a story was complete. At that time, a small publishing company demonstrated interest in Nico’s books. A man with a fancy tie and a cigar in his hands said Nico’s writing was “Visceral and provocative, although not much commercial, but we will publish if you agree to some modifications”. Some scenes with decapitation and guts were removed, unfortunately, but all the sex was kept. After all, sex is a timeless and universal interest.
Six books in the same style, then Nico got tired and made up a death to Nicollo di Angelo, the author. For a long time, the journals mentioned Nicollo as a “writer with no morals” and “an offensive freak” and it was obvious they were especially scandalized by the parts with a naked man touching another naked man. To Nico, that was the funniest thing; big literary critics writing articles about how they hated to read about men covered in blood kissing some male groin.
In the post-decades, the opinions about Nicollo di Angelo were slowly being less rude. Now, he was sometimes mentioned as “essential for the queer literature”.
Nico liked the title. In fact, he loved to be idolized.
And it was obvious in Will’s eyes he idolized Nico, even if he didn’t know he was in front of the same writer he loved so much.
Sweet.
And innocent.
‘I would like to have a conversation with you. About Nicollo, I mean. If you have time and interest. Can I give you a card so you call me to schedule a meeting?’
Nico had back the urge to lick his own lips.
‘Actually, I’m free now. I’m always free to talk about Nicollo di Angelo. A man like him deserves all our time’
Will gave a big smile, and his dimples showed even more.
‘We agree with this, Nico. Your grandfather was fantastic’
Nico took a backstep and, with a gesture, invited Will to enter his house. Like the innocent prey he was, Will accepted the invitation with joy.
There was nothing more beautiful than taking away the innocence of a man like Will.