ΗΑΔΕΣ (underworldly) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-06-28 19:05:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, hades, nico di angelo |
Who: Nico & Hades
What: Helping the only son move back home for the summer, and sharing not so good news
When: Backdated to end of May
Where: The house
Rating/Warnings: Pretty low!
Status: Complete
Nico didn’t know how but he managed to get all of his things in his car for one trip back to his parents, telling Sans he’d come back to help him get his things for the move since he was supposed to be staying with them. Unless Hazel had told their dad she wasn’t comfortable with Sans crashing there for a few months. If that was the case he’d just have to help his friend find somewhere else to stay. He had to know somebody other than Kurt who was looking for a roommate for the summer. He pulled into the driveway and turned the engine off, opening the door and grabbing the box he’d put on the front seat before climbing out, using his butt to push it closed behind him. He balanced the box in one arm as he fumbled with the front door handle. “Anybody home?” he called as he stepped inside. His dad knew he was coming home this weekend so hopefully he was here so that they could talk. He knew Hades was keeping something from him. And when he’d called his mom, she’d given him basically the same response Hades had: this wasn’t something to discuss over the phone. They’d talk about it when she saw him next. “Dad? You here?” It was too early for Hazel to be home and his mom’s car hadn’t been in the driveway. He’d seen his dad’s but that didn’t really mean anything. Hades could have gotten a ride with Meg or taken a cab. Studio car. Anything really. But he’d told Hades he’d be coming home this weekend when they’d talked on the network so it shouldn’t be a surprise. *** Hades was there, ready for Nico’s grand arrival - he’d even gotten a cake (not made by him, naturally, no one wanted charred brick for dessert) to celebrate the end of finals and the beginning of summer. But he also knew that he had to tell Nico about his mom leaving, and going back to Italy, and the divorce - which had been a long time coming, honestly, and surely the kid already had an inkling. Hades just hoped that his son wouldn’t resent him too much - there was little he wouldn’t do for his kids, and now more than ever he felt like they had to stick together. Especially given what was happening with the dreams, and Hazel’s progressing...abilities. “Right here,” he called back, quickly ending an impromptu meeting about the post-production schedule (and he wasn’t going to let it fall behind if he could help it). Cell phone connection disconnected, laptop closed, he went down the stairs. The house in Laguna Beach was nice. Felt like a castle sometimes, an empty one, but that could always be in Hades’ head - it was spacious, had panoramic views of the ocean, and one wall in the living room was floor-to-ceiling-glass windows (probably shouldn’t get up to anything naughty, by those windows). It’d be nice to have Nico home though, and Hades didn’t even mind Sans staying with them - not like they didn’t have the rooms available. “Made it back alright? Where’s all your shit, you need help bringing it in?” he asked, andt swept Nico up into a bear hug that was exuberant even despite the box the kid was carrying. But he was the only son, he was a little special. *** Nico smiled when he heard Hades calling back to him, glad that his dad was at home. He’d missed getting time just them since the school year had started. Maybe over the summer they could hang out more. Without the rest of the family. As long as it wasn’t always on a set somewhere since Nico really wasn’t into film despite his father’s career and the fact that one of his closest friends, Chloe, was following that same career path. It just wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life. He managed to get one arm around his dad, returning that bear hug with a grin. “It’s out in the car. Don’t ask how I managed to get everything packed in there because if you do I’m going to have to claim...magic,” he said, pulling free after a minute. “I was kind of hoping we could have that talk before everybody got home,” he said, looking down at the floor when he heard nails coming across the floor at him. “Hey Cesare,” he said, smiling again as his Italian Greyhound came up to him and started sniffing all over his leg. *** At least the dog was only sniffing and not taking a piss on Nico’s leg. Hades didn’t really do the dog thing, he considered it his son’s responsibility, but with Nico away at college it was either train the dog a little or clean up all the animal excrement in the house, so. Maybe while he was home, Nico could train him to do something actually useful - like scrub the toilets. Oh, right, but then there was Hazel’s reminder that dogs don’t scrub toilets, dad. “Let’s get you settled first,” he replied hastily, clapping Nico on the shoulder and then turning to head for the door. “You hungry, by the way?” Helping the kid bring in the contents of his dorm was a good way for Hades to sort of figure out how to phrase everything - even if Nico likely picked up on the hints, it was still a delicate matter. *** “I can’t scratch you right now. I’ll make it up to you later. I promise,” Nico said even though he knew the dog couldn’t really understand what he was saying. Or at least he was pretty sure Cesare couldn’t actually understand him. Other than the word scratch, judging by the way his dog was thumping his tail on the floor Nico was pretty sure he got that one. He frowned at Hades’ hasty reply and topic change but he didn’t say anything. 18 years living with his dad had taught him that trying to get him to talk about something he didn’t want to was...honestly about as effective as trying to get Nico to talk about something he didn’t want to talk about. Easier said than done. “I can wait until after the car’s unloaded to eat. I learned something with all this - either take less things to campus or bring it home the same way I take it to campus, a little at a time,” he said, setting his box down out of the walkway before following his dad out to his car. Get it all into the house and then he could work on getting stuff up to his room. Then unpacking it all. Stages. He’d get this all done in stages. And if his dad wanted to help with all of them - he wouldn’t say no. *** Hades wasn’t good at talking anyway (that was a lot of the problem - his own issues ran deep, and were not easily reachable, he was not easily reachable) but he owed his kids an explanation and he always tried harder for their sake no matter what. But you truly could not get him to talk about something unless he was ready, so, to the car it was - and he began unloading things, balancing as much as he could to bring inside. There were definitely more boxes than he anticipated though, how did Nico manage to fit all this stuff in one tiny, shoebox-sized dorm? “I’m guessing it just kind of accumulates too, throughout the semesters - you don’t notice ‘til you actually have to move it all someplace,” he cracked a grin. Care packages were sent as well, from him, though he mostly stuck with sending money for food and laundry - or at least, that’s what it was meant for. He knew college students could always use money. That box was brought inside, then another - everything stacked neatly in the marble entranceway of the house that felt too large sometimes. But with a dog, the kids home for the summer, it wouldn’t be too bad. “Well, at least it’s all in now?” *** Nico was relieved as they pulled the last box out of his car, locking the door out of habit even though he knew the chances of someone breaking into his car while it was parked in the driveway were low enough that he could probably get away with saying they were nonexistent. “I should have brought some of it home when I moved dorms,” he said, reaching out to take another box from his dad as they headed up to the house. He added to the pile in the entranceway and then turned to look at Hades. “You mentioned food right? I’ll put everything away after I get something in me. Promise.” He never seemed to eat a lot at any one time, going with smaller meals throughout the day. Lots of smaller meals some days. It all depended on what he’d been doing that day. *** Considering most parents with kids who were in college worried that their little dumplings weren't eating enough, Hades was perfectly fine with that plan. "Yeah, come on," he canted his head toward the kitchen. Cesare was interested too, and followed - especially because being in the kitchen might mean a can of wet food opening, and his drooly face. "I picked up a cake especially for your homecoming but we can have that after dinner." He was kind of looking forward to sitting down for a real meal, as a family, such as it was - even with Sans here, but he could be considered extended family or some shit like that. But in the meantime, he took out the fixings for cold-cut sandwiches - it would tide over the hungry boy, and didn't mean Hades burned down the kitchen. Everything went on the counter too - cheese, mustard, oregano - and he was glad for the chance to keep his hands busy. "Your mom - " Now was the time, wasn't it? He couldn't hide it. "She's moved back to Italy, Nico." *** “I told Sans I’d head back and pick him and his stuff up tomorrow since he doesn’t have a car. I wanted to spend tonight with you and…” Nico’d been looking in the fridge for a drink to go with the sandwiches when he heard Hades say that about his mom. He stepped back from the fridge and turned to look at his dad. “She...What?” He asked, not wanting to believe what he’d just heard. “I called her after you and I talked and she…” She’d said it wasn’t something to talk about over the phone. They’d talk about it...next time she saw him. “Wouldn’t answer my questions,” he said hurt obvious in his voice as he looked at his dad. He closed the door to the fridge and leaned against it. He was taking deep breaths, trying to keep calm and not start to cry. He couldn’t believe his mom had done this, had just packed up and left without saying a word to him about it. But he knew that she had - his dad wouldn’t lie about something like that. “You two are getting a divorce or something I guess?” he asked, tears still threatening to fall. He wasn’t upset or hurt by Hades’ actions. He was here, he was telling him about it. Maria...Maria was the one he was hurt by in all this because she hadn’t been honest with him. And she hadn’t stayed. Hell she hadn’t even said goodbye to him. *** "Yeah. We are." No sense in lying about the divorce either - it was going to be hard all around, for everyone. But he had a feeling Nico would take Maria's leaving like a sledgehammer to the skull, and it looked bad, really, Hades knew exactly how it looked. But still. "She just felt it was something she had to do - " Staying here any longer, it was too painful, and he also knew that everything he'd done had contributed to that. He wasn't the easiest person to be married to, he was well aware. Abandoning the meats, cheeses, and bread for the time being, he reached out and rested a hand on his son's shoulder, giving him a squeeze. "One day I hope you'll forgive her, she loves you, she loves all of you and so do I," he said, though he knew the wound was raw and fresh and if Nico wanted to be angry, he was allowed to be. It was a lot to process, and a lot of things were changing. Then he pulled his son into another hug - maybe he felt he was too grown-up for these types of things, but Hades could see the glistening of his eyes and instinct was to protect him. *** It wasn’t the news of the divorce that had Nico reeling, he’d known for a while that was probably going to be what happened. Things between his parents had pretty much always been complicated and it was because of his dad’s actions, but they’d always both been there. Made sure he and his sisters knew they were important, that they were a priority, that they were loved. Which was why the news that his mother had just packed up and left was hitting him so hard. She hadn’t said goodbye to him. She hadn’t said anything that even hinted she was leaving the country. It went against everything he’d known his entire life. Although there was a part of him that had to acknowledge it made sense. They’d moved to California for Hades’ career so there wasn’t really anything forcing her to stay in the area. He wasn’t the most affectionate person but he didn’t fight his dad pulling him in for another hug. He almost clung to him actually. He and his dad hadn’t always been the closest but Hades had stayed and been honest with him. He could have danced around it, he could have lied, sugarcoated it, but he hadn’t. That meant a lot to Nico and he stayed there for a few minutes before stepping back and wiping his cheeks to get rid of the tears that had escaped. “Maybe. Right now though - it doesn’t feel like she cares all that much,” he confessed. He knew he wasn’t really being fair to his mom but it was how he felt. *** No parent liked to see their child cry, and Hades was no exception. It was like when Hazel shed those tears over pancakes, because she’d had awful dreams, because she was scared - and he wished he could take the threat away and make everything better. He wished that Maria hadn’t left, but she had, and their divorce proceedings would be done long-distance except for a few instances here and there; Bianca and Nico were technically adults, there wouldn’t be any custody hearings for them, and it was a whole other battle with Hazel’s mother to get custody of her. But Hades had strings, and he’d pull them - when it came to his own kids, and their wellbeing, he’d use the power and connections he had accumulated over the years. There was no question about that. “I’m sure it feels that way,” he nodded, and went back to making lunch - he wanted to make sure Nico ate something, even if it might taste like sawdust. Food was important for growing college students. “And I can’t tell you how or what to feel. Things will just take time to settle. But I’m here for you, alright? Whatever you need. That won’t change.” *** Nico pulled a pitcher out of the fridge, grabbing a couple glasses when he saw the number of sandwiches his dad seemed to be making. Hopefully Hades wasn’t planning on him eating all of those by myself. “What are you going to tell the press when they get wind of her moving?” There was a slight chance they might not find out but Nico doubted it. He wanted to make sure he didn’t say anything that wasn’t the Hades approved response. Nico’s inclination if asked would probably be to tell the reporter to shove their microphone up their ass or to go to hell. Or both. There was always a chance he’d decide to tell them both. He grabbed one of the sandwiches as Hades finished it and went to sit at the table with it and his drink. “Hey dad - thanks. For...telling me.” *** Oh, fuck, the press. Hades was also inclined to tell the nosy paparazzi to take a long walk off a short pier - like father, like son in that instance. But he already had enough of a reputation as a hothead (har har), egging it along wouldn’t help matters. “Something about how it’s the next stage of her life and mine, and we all support that - though if you wanted to drop an f-bomb or two, I wouldn’t care.” He’d be so proud. They’d devour these sandwiches - between the two of them, the supply wouldn’t last long. But Hades grabbed his own as well, and something to wash it down with, settling at the table with his son. “No need to thank me for being honest with you, but you’re welcome,” he reached over and ruffled Nico’s hair affectionately, like he was eight instead of eighteen but some things would never change. Many things would, and did, but never that. |