Chapter Text
It started somewhere between September and his birthday. He only knew that due to the dread that sat in his stomach that time of year, his life always changed around his birthday, for better or for worse. There was something in the air, something unpredictable, something he couldn't control.
Nicholas D. Wolfwood isn’t one to boast, his mama taught him better than that, but he likes to think he’s pretty good with kids. He might even say he’s one of the best in the small city he calls home.
It would sound ridiculous to say ever since he was young he wanted to be a child and family social worker, but honestly, since he met the woman he considers his mother, he’s been unable to do anything but look up to her. She would talk about tragedy, about the night the two of them met, about how all you can do in your life is help those around you, about living in the goodness of Christ for those around you, and of course a young Nico heard that and decided he had to be just like her when he was older.
Now he’s older, turning twenty-seven soon if he’s counting right. Melanie Wolfwood is on the road to retiring early, and he has taken her place. Sitting behind a desk, listening to the same tragedy she harped on when he was young.
So at some point, between September and his birthday—he really needs to write the date down somewhere—his life changes, unexpected in the way he expects every year.
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It starts with an email, from one Milly Thompson.
Milly Thompson is who Nicholas would consider to be his best friend. They made out once while drunk at a classmate’s house party in college, trying to fit in but quickly realizing neither of them were really into it they decided to spend the night very loudly discussing the inefficiency of the school’s online library instead. They weren’t invited to many parties. But in some ways they’ve been a dynamic duo, because while Nicholas got his bachelors in social work, Milly studied hard to become a trustworthy pediatric therapist for him to send his cases to.
All this to say, he gets an email from his best friend, about a child who needed help. Of course Nicholas was quick to jump in, asking for any information she could give.
The report painted a picture of a shy quiet child, one who hardly spoke, who had a bad ear, and was as polite as could be. But somehow, this child at seven years old ran away from home, begging anyone he came across for help. There wasn’t much information past that, only that the teary eyed child was dropped off at a nearby children's home by some good samaritan and then Milly was called. Her personal assessment of him was a deeply traumatized young boy, whose voice shook when he spoke, who constantly curled in on himself, and was always shivering slightly. And yet somehow this boy ran through the streets, trying to find a way out. Perhaps that is what did Nicholas in in the end, he could never ignore a child who knows they need help, he was one of them once afterall.
He ends up having to fight to see the boy in the first place, law enforcement was involved now, and wanted their own person on the case. Nicholas isn’t one to trust such a declaration, and does everything he can to just see the kid even once.
Thankfully after several weeks of strongly worded emails, and far too much paperwork, the little boy steps into Nicholas’ office, Milly at his side.
“Hey there Mister Priest! I have a friend for you to meet, I hope you don’t mind”
With only the slightest eye twitch at the nickname, Nicholas does his best to smile all friendly-like for the child currently holding his friend’s hand.
The kid looks thin in a way that makes it obvious he doesn’t eat much. His hair is an unusual silvery grey, stark against tanned skin, a patch of vitiligo around his left eye. Generally he looks pretty meek next to the wall of height and muscles that is Milly Thompson (seriously she’s better about the gym than Nico has ever been). But Nicholas has seen kids like this for the past decade at least, so he just nods towards the chairs in front of his desk
“Have a seat kiddo.”
“Mister Wolfwood, this is my friend Livio, he’s a little shy and may need you to repeat some words, but he’s very smart. Isn’t that right?”
Milly speaks in a cadence that is familiar to Nicholas, she’s great with children, especially the quiet ones, and Nico trusts her to guide him on how to speak with this particular case.
“Hey there kid, I’m Nicholas D. Wolfwood, you can call me Nico. I’m sure you’ve had a lot of adults tell you this, but I want to help you out okay?”
Livio nods, hiding behind his hair but obviously listening intently with the way his wide eyes look up at Nicholas.
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All things considered, their first meeting goes pretty well. Nicholas explains that he wants to try and help find Livio a better home, which then leads to the boy actually piping up, explaining he has parents at home who in his own words are “Really mean” That's why he needs help, he says, he just wants to be happy.
It hits Nicholas hard, harder than he expects even. He remembers being angry and young, meeting Melanie for the first time, not even having the words to beg for a chance, and yet Melanie took him in anyways.
He speaks to Melanie after meeting Livio, knocking on her office door just down the hall. She always makes time for him, even while they’re working, so he slumps into one of the chairs in front of her desk and tries to explain how his heart feels like it’s melting between the bones of his ribcage.
Melanie just smiles, and tells him to keep the child close, that she remembers feeling the same about him as well.
Honestly Nicholas should have known what was going to happen, from that meeting he should have been able to guess why his heart felt like a bowling ball in his chest. Melanie’s words should have sparked familiarity in his mind. But when Milly comes to him a month later and tells him Livio is struggling in the group home, the other kids shutting him out, his heart melts even further, a bundle of sympathy and pain. When he proceeds to pull an all-nighter, trying to find a family willing to take in this one of many troubled young kids, he should have felt the failure coming.
No one wants him. Despite Livio being such a sweet kid, no one wants the runner, no one wants to take on the hearing loss diagnosis on his chart, and when Milly makes a breakthrough around the poor boy’s mental state, no one wants the dissociative disorder either.
It’s obvious to those around him that Nicholas takes it personally, at home he sits staring off into space, trying to find solutions while Melanie tries to get him to eat dinner. The couple times Milly and him manage to go out for drinks and a work-free night, he spends the whole time cursing out the world for treating the boy how it has. In the end Milly has to haul him into her Jeep and drop him into Melanie’s waiting arms with an apology and a look of concern in his direction.
The day it happens Melanie is writing out their grocery list at the dining table, it’s early in the evening, Nicholas comes down from a shower, and stands in front of where Melanie sits, she doesn’t even bother looking up.
“I’m taking him in”
“I know hijo”
“Don’t- wait what?”
Melanie smiles looking up at his bewildered face, just shaking her head slightly, her sweet son has always taken his time to think through things.
“I think you may need him as much as he needs you Nico”
Nicholas huffs, crossing his arms like he would when he was young and Melanie asked him to follow one simple rule.
“I’m getting an apartment then, so you can stay here”
“This place would be way too empty for me alone hijo, we can just move some of the stuff out of the office”
It’s a losing battle, it always is with his mama, maybe that's why he brought up leaving in the first place, just to hear her tell him to stay.
They do move stuff out of the office, honestly they never really used it anyways. The house is small, a little place even further from downtown than their office building. Nicholas moved in with Melanie when he was ten and never left, despite always saying he would eventually. The office turns into a good room for a seven year old over thanksgiving, Milly comes over to help, Jasmine—one of Melanie’s old cases who’s all grown up now—comes by too. Melanie makes a feast and they all laugh and eat and congratulate Nicholas on the big decision, as if they all didn’t know he was gonna do this months ago.
When everyone leaves, and the room is done, Nicholas just stands in it alone, wondering how he got here. He’s gonna be twenty-seven soon, if he’s counting right. Seventeen years ago he thought his life was over, and then he was given a room in this house. He hopes Livio feels the same he did that day, feels the sense of a new life ahead, feels happy.
It takes some time to get him fully approved to foster, he tries to act like it doesn’t stress him out, when in reality it’s all he thinks about until they finally tell him he’s good. When the time finally comes to tell Livio, he spends twenty minutes chainsmoking in the alley behind the office building before getting the courage to head to his office. Melanie berates him for smelling like smoke on such an important day, and sprays him with some of her cinnamony perfume.
“Take a breath mi hijo, he’s going to be so happy”
The three of them had been spending lunch together recently, Nicholas wanting to make sure Melanie and Livio would be alright with each other, and Melanie wanting to get to know the child who her son cared for so much. In the end the two got along great, Melanie being able to bring a softer, happier side of Livio out.
Aside from just lunches, Livio spent a lot of time in Nicholas’ office. He would get calls from the carers at the group home, letting him know the kid wanted to come by, for a meal, or just to spend time away from the other children. Nicholas didn’t have the heart to deny him.
“Nico?”
The time comes quicker than Nicholas is prepared for, he didn’t even realize he’d zoned out until Livio was leaning over the desk, blinking up at him.
“What’s up kid”
“Why are you so quiet? Is somethin’ wrong?”
Honestly Nicholas should be used to this by now, he knows hurt kids are so much more observant than your average adult, but it still takes him by surprise to see the concern in Livio’s eyes.
“No no, everything is ok…I actually- I needed to ask you something, is that ok?”
Pushing the stacks of paperwork and various pens to the side Nico leans forward to meet the young boy’s gaze head on. Livio is nodding, still blinking up at him but curiosity behind his eyes now rather than worry. Gathering himself with a breath Nicholas speaks,
“Would you like to stay with me and Miss Melanie for a while?”
In retrospect Nicholas wonders if his face lit up when Melanie asked him the question, the shine in Livio’s eyes as tears begin to form make Nico’s own eyes water, he turns to pull out the necessary paperwork to hide the way his lip quivers.
“Yer sure you want me? Melanie is okay with it too?”
Nicholas pauses and frowns, turning back at the boy who’s staring at him with uncertainty.
“Of course I’m sure Liv, I wouldn’t ask you if I wasn’t. And of course Melanie is ok with it, you’re a little angel. Plus she’s already done this once, I think she was just waiting for me to ask”
Livio’s bright grin returns quickly, he pushes away from the desk to run around it and hug Nico, who can only smile and hug back.
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From there Nicholas would like to say it’s smooth sailing, maybe more like slightly bumpy sailing. There are papers for him to sign, a pending court case for Livio, and numerous doctor’s appointments to finally get the boy a hearing aid. But throughout all of that, they’re able to bring Livio’s stuff from the children's home to Melanie’s in a trip in the woman's cute yellow pickup truck, which Livio adores. He likes the room too, giving the two adults (and a visiting Milly) huge hugs trying to hide his tears again.
Livio fits in perfectly with the Wolfwood family, he’s still shy and quiet, but he eats breakfast with them every morning, and does the supplemental homework he’s given with little complaint, always sitting next to Nicholas while he works from home for the first couple weeks. It’s hard for Nico not to overbearingly check on Livio at all times, but he tries to let the kid be independent, and ask for stuff when he needs help, per Milly’s recommendation. In fact it’s Milly’s latest recommendation that is causing Nicholas stress currently, which is putting Livio in a school. As much as he wants the kid to live a normal life, his memories of elementary school were rough as an orphanage kid, and he doesn’t want to subject Livio to the same.
It’s after lamenting his worries to an amused Melanie and Jasmine that the latter recommends a special needs schooling program, one of her own children goes there and loves it, so she says.
“And the teacher is wonderful! I really cannot recommend it enough Nico, I’m sure Milly could get the kid’s proper diagnosis for it and everything”
With a teacher’s name and a website written on a receipt for him, he decides to give it a shot.