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The legend of Nico and Jack has been retold in a thousand different ways.
In the Greek version, Nico met Jack in a temple dedicated to Aphrodite and he thought that Jack was prettier than Aphrodite. The two fell madly in love with each other, unable to be pried away from each other. After years of happiness and love, Jack died unexpectedly. He died before Nico. Greeks say that it was Aphrodite’s punishment for Nico thinking Jack was prettier than her.
The Swiss say that Jack was sitting at the top of the Swiss Alps. Nico, a poor merchant, received a calling from the gods to find Jack, they whispered that if he were to find Jack, he would become immortal and he and Jack would fall into a love that lasted a lifetime. So Nico scaled the Alps in search of Jack, dreaming about the day that he would find the soon-to-be love of his life and a ticket to immortality. He walked up and down the mountains, sleeping with wolves and other creatures, all for Jack. When Nico found Jack, Jack was dead. He was frozen, dressed in beautiful, white robes and a flower headband made of Wisteria vines.
Americans simply say it was a Romeo and Juliet type romance. They were forbidden from seeing each other after being caught together once, so they got strategic with when they met up. They’d meet in secret, in the late hours of night, and spend the entire night wrapped in each other's arms. They were sweet and attentive and caring, so sickeningly in love. Nico was poisoned during a family dinner, everyone suspected that it was foul play, but there was never any evidence. Jack was quick to realize that he couldn’t live without Nico, and used the chain that Nico wore around his neck to strangle himself.
The French made it more romantic, the Germans kept with the theme of divine revenge, Italians decided that Jack and Nico killed each other out of pity for one another. Albanians say that Nico killed Jack, realized his mistake, and killed himself.
No matter how many times the love story of Nico and Jack is told, regardless of how many variations of the two lovers exist, there is a recurring ending. At least one will always end up dead. How will remain a mystery, but one, maybe both, will end up dead.
Jack and Nico are dead.
They have been dead for thousands of years.
Yet, as Jack sits on his couch, the French version of what people have called The Tragedy of N.J. in his lap, he doesn’t feel very dead. He’s pretty sure that he’s alive, breathing, and he most definitely has a pulse.
He’s been alive for hundreds of years, lived through too many historical events to count, and he doesn’t see an end in sight to his life. Nico’s right across from Jack, a shirt that he bought in the fifties hanging loosely off his frame and sweatpants hanging low on his hips.
They've been alive since the start of Ancient Greece, and yet Jack manages to fall in love even more every second. No words in the many languages he's come to learn could describe his feelings for Nico.
From Latin to English to Heiratic script, no symbol nor word would ever be able to properly convey his everlasting and eternal feelings for his husband. Although, now that he really thinks about it, they should probably just get married again, or renew their vows, it's been at least a hundred years since their third marriage to each other.
"Jack?" Nico's soothing voice breaks Jack away from his thoughts, his head snapping up to meet Nico's gaze. "What're you thinking so hard about?"
"Nothing." Jack answers a little too quickly. Nico raises one eyebrow, "C'mon, just tell me! We've been together for thousands of years, I basically know what you're thinking. We can like.. Read each other's minds!"
That is true, they have been together for thousands of years. They were pretty close friends with Achilles and Patroclus, Jack thinks it's a pity the way their story ended, but that's neither here nor there.
Telepathic might be over dramatic, but Nico is over dramatic. "I love you. A lot. Like, a lot a lot."
Nico looks blankly at Jack, and for a millisecond, Jack wonders if he made it weird. But Nico laughs, not mockingly or patronizingly, but a sound of utter delight and joy. "I'd hope so, Jacky, we have been married for a few centuries."
"So you won't even say it back?" Jack asks, face breaking out into a cheesy grin and a light blush dusting his pale cheeks.
"I love you too, Jacky." Nico smiles, "Like.. A lot. A lot a lot."