Chapter Text
Nico is not entirely sure of how he escaped his wooden enclosure – he woke up trapped in the small coffin and suddenly he was on the surface, covered in dirt and gasping for air. The sky was pitch black, no clouds, no stars, and he needed a moment to adjust his eyes to the deep darkness. He was in a cemetery, he noticed. Maybe in another life he would be creeped out by the deafening silence and the gray tombstones. In another life…
He looked at his own tombstone and could barely make out what was written. Nico di Angelo . Date of birth, date of death. No epitaph.
It was only then that Nico noticed he had no memory whatsoever of who he was. The name engraved on the stone was the one of a stranger to him, and he had to do the math on his head to find out his own age from the information he just gathered. It seemed he died a couple months after his twentieth birthday, if the dates on the tombstone were anything to go by. Nico di Angelo. Twenty years old. That was all.
He got up from the hole in the ground – no grass around it, he noticed, the grave must be fresh – and walked around, looking for a way out. The cemetery was large and Nico had no idea where he was going, which only made his situation more frustrating. Even when he managed to leave this place, where was he going? Did he even have a family who was mourning him right then? Anyone who cried over his lifeless body and would be happy by his resurrection? He doubted it. Whoever buried him didn't have the trouble of writing an epitaph. Beloved son, brother, friend. Will be missed terribly. No. Just his name, date of birth, date of death. Nothing more.
He finally found a wall that, luckily for him, was short enough for him to jump over. He found himself in an empty street, with no cars or passersby, which meant it really was as late in the night as Nico previously deduced. He walked around aimlessly, trying to recognize anything, any building or store, anything familiar, with no luck. There was this empty space where his memory should be, as if he was reborn brand new. After hours and hours wandering the sleeping streets, he sat down under some store's marquee and fell asleep, exhausted.
He knew Nico's weaknesses very well and it was in moments like this he showed his expertise. He would pepper kisses all over his neck and Nico would close his eyes, all of his defenses down, and he could kill him right then and there, and Nico wouldn't mind one bit.
Nico opened his eyes and looked at his lover's face. He took his time to memorize each detail, starting with the chiseled jawline and cheekbones, the long, straight nose and thin lips, the electric blue eyes and blond hair.
“What do you even see in me?”, the question left his lips before he was able to stop it. His lover smiled, soft.
“Are you sure you want me to tell you? Because I can go on for hours.”
Nico rolled his eyes.
“I'm being serious.”
Nico almost wasn't able to finish his sentence before his lover attacked his lips with his own in a fast, demanding kiss.
“So am I”, he said, slightly breathless. “I understand your insecurities and I know the reasons why they exist, but I know what I see. And I don't mind reminding you of it every chance I get.”
Nico felt so blessed. So blessed and lucky for being chosen like this and by him . He could stay like this, being adored by the man he loved, for the rest of his life, he thought. He knew that, as long as they were together, everything would be alright.
“Nico”, he could hear a very distant voice calling him. “Nico, wake up. Fuck, I'm so glad I finally found you. Why are you exhaling power?”
He opened his eyes, slowly, and saw a girl crouched in front of him. She was around his age, with brown skin and dark brown eyes to match, and long black hair on a single braid over her shoulder.
“Gods, you're all covered in dirt. You need a shower, come on.”
Nico got up slowly, surprised for not feeling any pain after sleeping in such an awkward position.
“I'm sorry, I… I appreciate your worry, but I have no idea who you are.”
The girl, who had already started walking, stopped in her tracks.
“...huh. I suppose Rachel warned me you could come back with no memories. I'm Reyna, your best friend. Now come, people are starting to look at you weird.”
Since that was indeed true and Nico had no one else to help him find out more about himself, he followed Reyna to a small, old building and into a smaller, older apartment.
“Your bedroom is that one”, she vaguely pointed to a door. “And the bathroom is on its left. Take a shower, put on some clean clothes and then we'll talk.”
So he did what he was told and went to talk to Reyna, who was waiting for him in the living room.
“Do I live here?”, he started asking.
“We both do. Although we are the only fixed residents, sometimes other heroes crash on our couch. Sometimes even gods on quests. The apartment is magically protected, so it became some sort of safe space for whoever needs it.”
“Heroes? Gods?”, but as soon as he asked he realized the idea didn't sound so insane to him. Reyna nodded.
“Our lives are… eventful, to say the least. We both are heroes, although your energy has been odd since you came back. Stronger. Almost like a… but it can't be.”
Nico ignored Reyna's cryptic words in favor of something more urgent.
“Reyna, how did I die? And how did you know I would come back?”
For only a second, Reyna's face contorted in a mask of pain. The following instant, however, she looked normal again.
“I knew you would come back because of a vision from Rachel, the goddess of prophecy. She even knew where I would find you, which made things easy for me. Now, about your death… well. You died on a mission for the goddess of love.”
Nico frowned with the slight discomfort of someone who knows that there's something missing but can't pinpoint what .
“Reyna. Last night, when I slept, I had a dream with a man. It was less of a dream and more of a memory, I think. We were… close. Do you know who–”
Reyna got up abruptly from the couch.
“I will cook something for you to eat, you must be starving. Now, if you excuse me…”
And she left hurriedly for what Nico deduced was the kitchen, leaving him with more questions than he had before.