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Feeling the cold metal against his legs, Nico sighed, tilting his head back. He pulled his jacket against his body. His stomach hurt, pulsing with pain. He didn’t want to go home, though. Going home meant dealing with…everything.
A tap on his shoulder made his body tense, eyes widening, and Nico sat up. Blinking rapidly, he scowled.
“Hey, Death boy,” Solace grinned, blond hair littered with snow, lanky arms reaching into his bag.
“What the hell are you doing here, Solace?” Nico glared, eyes tracking his movement’s carefully. This man has murdered men and women alike- posing for a while with his plague powers, a double agent. Many heroes have tried to catch him, to no avail.
Nico already has tried. Tried to tie him up- tried to lock him up. In fact, he was the closest to catch Solace. But every time- Solace turned it on him at the last moment. Nico has no idea why he isn’t dead yet.
Solace threw a scarf onto him and Nico caught it, fumbling. Solace pulled out another thing, but concealed in his hand. “Here. Take my scarf. You need it- by the way you’re shivering,” His grin widened. “Plus, I can’t imagine a world without playing around with you.”
Rolling his eyes, he gripped the scarf and threw it over his neck. His arms wrapped around his stomach, hoping it hid the growling.
It didn’t work.
Solace frowned, eyebrows furrowed. “When was the last time you ate?”
”It’s fine.”
He shook his head, inching closer forward towards Nico. “That isn’t an answer,” Solace reached out his arm, palm up. Two twenty bills. “Go buy something, to eat.”
“No way. I’ll live, Solace.” He locked brown eyes with blue, glaring. It would be a sad day in hell when he would accept charity from Solace.
Solace sighed, putting the bills back in his bag. Random vitals jingled from the side of the bag from the motion. “I’m not a fool, Death boy. My plague powers come with healing, and I know damn well you need to eat. You passed out last time we met.”
It had the same sharp bitter edge to it as the cold snow around them, like frost on crops. But yet- warmth surrounded them, his light blue eyes soft. Nico could see why one could mistake light for such comfort. No, that was wrong. He was not mistaking light for comfort. He was finding comfort in light. Like how they found comfort in darkness.
He had plague powers- thats how he infested their community in the beginning. But defining Solace as light or dark felt…wrong. Solace’s plague powers were strong. He could work to infect as easily as he could heal and strengthen.
Solace was the opposite of everything society had built. His light was soft, not like corpses or lightning. But his darkness was the contrast in him, being able to plague communities. He was not sharp, not bitter, in his light. He was bitter, sharp in his plague.
“Solace, I’m not taking anything. End of story.”
His tan hand clasped around Nico’s wrist in a fluid motion, then Solace’s eyes widened. He let go, stepping back to dig in his bag again. Nico tried to ignore the lingering warmth in his wrist.
“You seriously need some food, Death boy.” He looked back up, stopping his search in his bag. “Stop trying to push yourself to the limit. Let me help you, at least. Please, one meal on me.”
Drawing a sharp intake of breath, Nico looked back over at Solace. His eyes were pleading now and his eyelashes had snow dusted in them.
“Fine.” Nico muttered, watching his face light up. “Just this once.”
Solace reached out his hand, smile wide. “C’mon then. You can choose, the place, if you’d like.”
He accepted the hand, sitting up from the park bench. “This is a one time thing, Solace.”