Entry tags:

active: freddy freeman, active: nico di angelo

WHO: Nico di Angelo and Freddy Freeman
WHERE: A small, random neighborhood park.
WHEN: Around 1pm on July 25th
WARNINGS: None so far?
SPOILERS? I'm not sure... I don't think so?
STATUS: In progress. Will update when completed.



Initially, butterflies filled Nico’s stomach at the thought of celebrating Freddy’s birthday with the other boy. After reading Freddy’s entry about it being December and not really his birthday, those butterflies had mutated from butterflies to pterodactyls. If he didn’t feel like it was his birthday, if he still had seven months to go back home, did that mean he didn’t really want to celebrate it? He’d debated on telling Freddy they didn’t have to do anything or didn’t have to celebrate it, but then it was too late, and they were at a small park, and he was trying not to have a panic attack about the whole situation. Because maybe he’d made a mistake. Maybe he should have just left the present at home.

But no. It was in his backpack along with the sandwiches (salami and Swiss for Freddy, ham and Swiss for him, though he wasn’t sure he could eat) and a couple bottles of water. And they were there at the little park, and if he disappeared now, that’d not only be rude but awkward. And then he’d have to explain why he disappeared, and he wasn’t sure he could without sounding like a jerk.

Steeling himself, he swung his backpack around and sat on one of the swings. Then he busied himself with pulling out the sandwiches. “I didn’t know what else to do for food, so I made sandwiches. I hope that’s ok,” he said, pulling out two sandwiches in bags, one with Freddy’s name on it, the other with his own. “If you don’t like it, that’s fine,” he added, holding out the one with Freddy’s name on it. “I also brought water.” And that just sounded stupid, and a tiny voice in the back of his head chided him for how stupid he was and how stupid this idea had been.

---

Freddy not wanting to celebrate his birthday had little to do with Goodland’s calendar day; he simply didn’t want to celebrate without his family. It had taken a few years to get the best foster family, but once he had them, they celebrated all holidays together. Rosa loved Christmas and birthdays; they were not wealthy, but they were creative and they loved each other. Freddy woke up that morning and, perhaps for the first time, fully realized he was totally alone again. Oh, he had people he cared about in the city and he knew people cared about him, but he missed his parents and siblings. He was, after all, only 14. Or maybe 15. He still wasn’t sure what to make of the time jump.

Freddy, despite birthday weirdness, felt excited to hang out with Nico. He enjoyed spending time with the other boy although he wasn’t sure why he always felt a little nervous too. He wasn’t nervous because of Hades and all that so what made his stomach do little flips when Nico was around? Freddy wasn’t sure, but he still preferred Nico’s company to others their age. Nothing against the other teens, of course! Besides, Nico wanting to celebrate his birthday touched Freddy.

“Thanks,” he said as he accepted the sandwich. He noticed Nico remembered his favorite upon unwrapping it. “Salami and Swiss! Cool, Nico, thanks again.” He grinned at the other boy as he swung a little on the swing next to Nico. “What have you been up to?”

---

“Welcome,” he said, setting his bag on the ground next to him. “I brought water, too,” he added, slowly unwrapping his sandwich. He pushed himself a little with his toes, taking a small bite. Idly he wondered when was the last time he ate, then quickly shoved the thought from his mind as Freddy’s question registered.

What had he been up to? Not much, if he were being honest. Wandering when he could manage to pull himself out of bed, but he didn’t want to say that. It sounded so stupid and pathetic, and he didn’t need to add to the fact that he was weird by including the fact that, with no world ending crisis on hand, he was pretty useless. The fact that he’d managed to get himself bathed and dressed was just sad, and he knew it, and he hated himself just a little bit more for it. Shrugging, he tried to push the thoughts away.

“Nothing too exciting. Just keeping out of trouble. Learning more of the layout since it isn’t identical to my New York. Messing around with the computer. What about you,” he asked, glancing over at the boy next to him. He looked away a few seconds later, trying not to stare. He focused instead on his sandwich, thinking it was a safe, neutral place to put his attention than on Freddy’s face or any other part of Freddy. Still, he stole a quick glance behind the curtain of his hair, trying to ignore the fact that he wanted to sneak glances at him at all.

---

Freddy swallowed some of his sandwich and nodded along as Nico mentioned exploring and messing around on the computer. Freddy’s days were mostly filled with walking around or tinkering on his phone without school and siblings to fill his time. He never thought he’d actually miss school; he certainly didn’t miss the kids who bullied him. Still, there was only so much a teen could do with free time without running into trouble. “Yeah, pretty much the same,” Freddy agreed. He finished his food and finally took the bottle of water that Nico mentioned. “It must be cool having Hazel here though? Have you been doing things with her?” Freddy had seen her in passing, but hadn’t really spent time with her, but he wanted to change that. “We should all do something,” he added as he kicked off on the swing.

---

“Yeah, we’ve hung out,” Nico said, toeing the ground a bit. He hadn’t wanted to overwhelm Hazel with his presence, but he couldn’t say he hadn’t been happy when she’d arrived. Sure, he hated the thought that she might be stuck here like the rest of them, but he was also relieved to know she was okay. Everyone was okay. Things had turned out for the best. He didn’t have a lot of details, as he was a little scared to ask, but the overall picture was there. And, for now, it would suffice.

“It’s nice to see a familiar face, even if I don’t want her stuck,” he added. “Or you.” He paused a second, glancing quickly at Freddy. “I like hanging out with you. But it isn’t fair to be trapped, you know? It should be your choice to be here.” And Nico had a feeling that Freddy probably wouldn’t choose to stay if he had the choice. He didn’t blame him, not after hearing about the other boy’s family. Who wouldn’t want to return to that?

Swapping out the sandwich for the bottle of water, Nico said, “I think doing something together, all of us, would be nice.” He uncapped the bottle and quickly took a sip. “I think you’d like each other.” Or so he hoped.

---

Freddy frowned when Nico said “or you.” Did Nico not want him in Goodland? He stopped his swing so he could focus on the conversation. He was glad he could use his cane to push on and off; swings made him feel like he was flying, something he always wanted to do. “Oh,” he said when he caught on to what Nico meant. “I mean we are all sorta trapped wherever we end up, huh? I mean, I guess you move around places and Goodland is smaller than, like, the planet, but still. You are born and you live somewhere?” He winced, remembering Nico’s life was different than most. “But, yeah!” He rushed on. “I’d love to hang out. She seems awesome.”

---

“That’s kind of deep,” he said with a slight, dry chuckle. If you weren’t trapped somewhere, he supposed, you were trapped somewhere else. “Is it really free range if you can’t see the cage walls?” he mused, a little to himself. Maybe that’s what his problem was, he could see the cage’s walls in the bedroom, the apartment, the building. Even the city, if it could be called that, had definable boundaries. And while his home world was certainly larger, it too had definable boundaries. They just weren’t always as easy to see.

Shaking his head to keep himself focused, nodded a little bit. “She is.” He briefly considered mentioning Bianca, telling Freddy that they were both awesome in their own ways, that he was so lucky to have found Hazel, but he decided not to. It’d taken enough out of him telling Klaus via the network. He wasn’t sure he could do it in person with Freddy. Besides, this day wasn’t about him. It was about Freddy.

“She’s awesome,” he reiterated. “And so are you,” he added, quickly taking another sip from his water to distract himself.

---

Freddy blushed when Nico complimented him. “Thanks,” he replied softly. “You are really great too.” He quickly pushed off on the swing again; he hoped he didn’t sound like a dork. “I have a sister, Darla,” he continued as he swung. “Mary too. Mary sort of helps take care of everyone. Darla is little and she…” A wistful expression crossed his face. “She loves everyone the minute she meets them, you know?”

---

Nico turned his head away as if looking at something to keep Freddy from seeing any reaction he had to being told he was great, too. A part of him felt a little embarrassed while another part of him told himself he wasn’t. A third part told himself to stop being so weird. People got compliments all the time. They didn’t mean anything. He took another sip of his water, looking back over at Freddy as the other boy spoke about his sisters.

For a second, they both reminded him a little bit of Bianca, but he forced the thought out of his head. Instead, he said, “What else do they do?” He paused a moment, shaking his head. “That… sounded weird. I mean, what are they like… More than what you said…” He shook his head again. He was just messing up all over the place right then. He wasn’t normally this bad at speaking, but just then, he was having a bit of a hard time for some reason.

Licking his lips, he said, “I mean, tell me more about them? If… if you want, that is.”

---

Freddy slowed his swing until he was next to Nico again. “My family? I mean, they are great. Rosa and Victor took me into their home a few years ago. I guess, technically, it is a group place because they take in the hard to place kids, you know? But it just feels like home.” He chuckled. “Darla adopts everyone right away. You should have seen Billy’s face when she started calling him her brother.” He shook his head, recalling how Billy hurt Darla’s feelings when he told her they weren’t really siblings. “Mary is really smart. She wants to go to college in California, which is kinda sad, you know? Eugene barely comes up for air from his video games and Pedro is quiet, but he sees everything, you know? If you need something, Pedro is the one to notice.” He was babbling and saying “you know” too much, but it was like a floodgate opened and he just went on and on. He mentioned his family in passing pretty often, but never actually spoke about them at length. Then again, no one besides Nico asked him to. Somehow, talking about them made them feel less far away. “And Billy, well, you know how he got the superhero powers and Shazam and all that, but…” He shrugged. “I thought we were best friends. Maybe we are. I don’t know. I wish he was here. I wish everyone was here, but…” He shrugged, hoping it didn’t sound like he only wanted Billy in Goodland. “Sorry, I’ve said a lot!” He ran a hand through his hair and glanced down.

---

As Freddy spoke, Nico watched him, quiet and attentive. He took in the information provided, trying to imagine what Freddy’s family looked like. They were faceless, humanoid in shape, but not menacing in the least. More warm, if the imagination could provide that. He decided it was the way in which Freddy spoke of them that allowed him to imagine them as warm. He clearly cared about them, and, part of Nico felt a little guilty that Hazel had ended up here when Freddy’s family hadn’t. Not that he would trade his sister for anyone. But it almost seemed unfair that he would end up with his family but not others.

Shaking his head, Nico sat up a little straighter. “It’s fine! I don’t… I don’t mind. You can talk about them if you want,” he said, brushing his hair away from his face. “Or… anything else you want to talk about.” He kept his eyes on Freddy’s face a moment after he spoke, trying to convey his sincerity.

---

Freddy may not have been the most emotionally aware young man in the whole world, but even he knew that Nico’s offer was a big deal. It filled him with an inexplicably warm feeling. “Thanks,” he said, reaching over to tap Nico’s knee ever so lightly. “You too, okay?”

---

Nico jolted just a little at the tap, not sure if he was startled by the unexpected or by being touched. Or maybe it was Freddy extending the same offer to him. Did he mean it, he wondered. He wasn’t sure anyone did, but how many people had really bothered to talk to him? Hestia, but she wasn’t a person, and Klaus, but he still wasn’t one hundred percent sure what to make of him. Hazel was there, of course, though he had times when he didn’t want to burden her.

And Freddy… He wasn’t sure what to make of Freddy.

And he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out.

It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with Freddy. There wasn’t, as far as he could see. An overall good person who Nico didn’t want to ruin. A person who could leave at a moment’s notice, especially if he saw what Nico really was. A person he wanted to get to know, and that scared him. But there he was, sitting on a swing in a park in the middle of another universe trying not to think about his fears in an attempt to help Freddy celebrate his birthday. Or non birthday. Whatever it was.

“Oh!” he said, straightening up a little before securing his water bottle and pulling his backpack into his lap. He let the water bottle drop into the bag as he pulled out a brown paper bag with the top bent and taped down, Freddy’s name written on one side. He held the haphazardly wrapped package out to the other boy and said, “I know you weren’t sure about your birthday, but I got you something.” Before your post, he silently added, suddenly unsure if he should have taken the present out of his bag. He kept his face neutral, though, and told himself if Freddy didn’t want it, he’d just hold onto it until he did. And if he never did, well, he tried very hard not to think of that and what that might mean.