Inbetween

21 - Beneath the Starry Sky

(the map above is a vague route of their trip haha 😽😽😽)
Leo's P.O.V.:
"Pardon?", I asked confused brewing some coffee.
"It was supposed to a surprise, but Mr. Loverboy can't shut it. Maryse and Robert want us to return to Idris, because they think it isn't safe here anymore. Since we, you, went through so much we decided to take a break. We'll leave tomorrow first thing in the morning. Think of this as a vacation", Alec said and I almost let the my fresh coffee mug fall.

The next morning at 3 a.m Alec marched into my bedroom.
I threw my pillow at him. 20 minutes later we rang Magnus' doorbell. We clearly had woken him up. Huge eye bags showed and he kept rubbing his eyes and yawning.
Magnus and Alec left the rest of us in the living room and then went to the balcony. We couldn't hear them, but we could see the concern on Alec's face.
Every once and then he turned around to look at me and when he noticed I was staring at him he turned red. Obviously they were talking about me. There was something off with the way Magnus reacted. Magnus got angry. His tiredness swept away and left an infuriated expression. Magnus threw his arms towards the living room and then pointed at Alec with one finger scoldingly. They returned and Magnus quick pulled me aside.
"Hey. You okay, love?", Magnus asked smiling.
"Sure?", I almost said insecurely.
"Okay great. So I just wanted you to know that whenever you feel like talking I'm here, okay? I know  I'm in no position to be interfering with whatever has been happening, but if you need to pour your heart out you can just call me anytime. I'm good at listening, you know, darling", he said smiling.
I nodded and then we joined the others in the living room.
"Just this once, Alec", I heard Magnus whispering and then we went through the portal leaving the Institute, New York, Magnus and everything behind.

When I opened my eyes I was standing in front of the Trevi fountain. Nicky and the others standing next to me. He smiled in astonishment.
"Do you have a penny?", I asked and Nicky pulled one out of his pocket giving it to me.
I turned around turning my back to the fountain and threw the penny.
"What did you wish for?", Nicky grinned.
"Hm nothing", I said sarcastically and smiled back.
He put his hands around my lower back and pulled me closer. When he read the uneasiness off my face he let go. I didn't feel very comfortable being seen holding hands or even kissing him in public, but I overcame that feeling, cupped his face with my hands, went on my tiptoes and kissed him.
There it was, that electricity flowing through my body only due to his touch. His lips tasted like coffee and fresh banana pancakes. And warm, just like I remembered. He smiled. Everything was perfect until Jace patted my shoulder proudly telling me I did a bloody good job and ruined the moment.
I shoved my elbow into his ribs and he backed off.

For the rest of the day we walked through Rome and visited places like Castel Sant'Angelo, the Colloseum, Piazza Navona, Piazza del Popolo, Scale Spagnole, the Pantheon and much more. We even visited my old house. I wanted to knock at the door. I wanted them to see how their son turned out. I wanted to introduce Nicky to them. I wanted to hug them. I wanted to see Sophia's nose wrinkling up when smiling one last time. I really did. But something told me they were better off without me. Through the kitchen window I saw Sophia standing at the kitchen aisle wearing her #1 miglior madre del mondo (best mother on earth) apron I had given her for mother's day.
A sob built in my throat but I swallowed it down.
A little girl not older than 6 years old ran into the kitchen and hugged her. I needed to let them go. I needed to accept they were my past.
I turned around and saw everyone standing there smiling encouragingly.
That feeling in my chest like something was missing vanished and I smiled back at them.
I had a new family that loved me for the way I was.
That supported me and my decisions. That was there every time I needed them. We then group-hugged and everyone giggled.

That evening we ordered pizza. I can't tell how, but we somehow managed to find a place to stay. Apparently there are old Lightwood mansions all over the world. Even in Rome. It was a huge apartment with two bedrooms a humongous living room and 2 bathrooms. Nicky and I took one bedroom, which had one kingsized bed and a big tv.
Izzy and Clary shared the other one. Alec took the couch and Jace was banned to the bathtub. Alec clearly wasn't okay with Nicky and me sleeping together again, but he eventually stopped whining.

"You awake, pretty boy?", Nicky whispered that night.
I hugged his torso my head resting on his chest.
"Yeah", I replied.
"Good", he said.
"Wanna do something crazy?", I asked and felt the smile appearing on his face. He sat up leaning on an arm and looked me in the eyes.
"What do you have in mind?".
"You'll see", I replied and we then snook out.

We went five blocks south and broke into an old abandoned building. It was as I remembered.
We went up the stairs and with my stele I forced the lock open.
The huge rooftop was as if I had never left.
When I still lived in Rome I used to spend my birthdays up here. The old lightbulbs were still pending from the walls. I somehow managed to turn them on.
"Woah", Nicky then said. From there you could see the Tiber and the Centre. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The sky was clear and you could see the uncountable stars. We both sat down and Nicky kept staring at the night sky.
"What are you doing?", I asked.
"Looking for Orion", he replied without even once glancing at me.
"Do you ever think about what your life would be like if you weren't a Shadowhunter? If you were an anonymous person somewhere out there?", I asked and stared at the sky as well.
Nicky looked at me with his questioning eyes.
"I'd probably want to go to uni. Travel the world. Fall in love like a normal person", I continued and directed my eyes at Nicky.
"You can still do that", he insisted.
"After all that has happened this week? Not likely".
"Hey, look at me", Nicky took my chin gently.
"I will make sure that any of your wishes become reality. Someday we will meet here and forget about everything. Just the two of us. And nothing will tear us apart ever. Whatever the cost might be. Leo, I love you more than anything. Don't you ever forget that", he finished and smiled reassuringly.
"And after all, I made a promise. Someday I will get on one knee and see you walk down the aisle. There's nothing I would want more".
I kissed him literally jumping at him and we both fell to the ground.
We both laughed and then laid down looking up to the sky next to each other holding hands. Not long after we headed back and immediately fell asleep.

The next morning I woke up to the nice smell of Italian cornetti fresh out of the oven (cornetti are croissants but somehow tastier haha). Nicky was in the kitchen wearing an apron with flour in his hair and cornetto (the singular form) dough all over his face. I couldn't help it but smile. When he noticed me standing in the entryway he blushed. With the back of my hand I wiped some dough from
his nose and he squinted. His ears got almost purple.
I kissed the tip of his nose and he smiled which made me melt.
"I didn't know you could bake", I then said jumping onto the kitchen aisle.
"I didn't know either, but here I am", he replied.

After the others woke up we packed our stuff and got into the grey van Alec had somehow gotten.
The whole day we drove along the coast up north. Italy was beautiful. The hills stretched in the back and in front of you was the sea. That cold breeze blowing through your hair and the smell of grass.
We would park the van somewhere and prepare the tents. Clary and Izzy slept in one and Alec and Jace shared another one. Nicky and I slept in the van.
There was this window on the top of the van so that we'd fall asleep under the stars cuddled up against each other.

Laying next to an angelically sleeping Nicky made everything around us disappear. My thoughts faded away.

"Goodnight, loverboy", I whispered in his ear and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Authors' note:
hello luvs <333333
oof this chapter took so long damn anywayssssss
we hope you liked the fluff pahahajwjjsjs
soon we'll update another one haha
that's it, don't forget to vote/follow!
mwah mwah see ya 🫂💞😽
btw some scenes are inspire by the book red, white and royal blue whose author is casey mcquinston.
you should really read it it's so awesome i'm planning on getting matching tattoos with sarah 🤡🤌