The rainbow seekers guide to seeking rainbows

Nico

Nico clutched the arms of the chair, his already pale hands practically white from how hard he was squeezing them.

"Nico di Angelo?" the kind woman at the receptionist desk called. Nico looked up. "Mr Dionysus is ready to see you."

He nodded. He ran his fingers over the arms of the chair, then over the fabric of the chair's cushion - he thought it was green, but didn't dare ask anyone. Then, when Nico felt he was ready, he walked into the room to which the kind lady gestured, took a seat, inhaled and exhaled deeply before taking stock of his surroundings.

The first thing he noticed was the sheer number of aluminium cans scattered around the room.

Empty cans of Diet Coke.

In front of him, seated on an office chair, was a chubby man. He had most-likely-blue eyes that were slightly bloodshot - it appeared he was no stranger to alcohol. His hair was black, extremely black, so black that Nico was starting to doubt that it was black at all. His nose appeared permanently flushed, as well as slightly tinged ears. The man wore a Hawaiian shirt with leopard spots, and shorts, relatively informal and casual.

Although maybe, Nico supposed, it was all part of his guise as a therapist, a person who's job was to look like a good person to spill your secrets to.

"Nico, is it? You don't mind me calling you that?"

"Not at all, Mr Dionysus."

The man laughed, spinning around in his chair. "Call me Mr D! Please, not so formal, not in this environment."

"Okay Mr D."

Mr D laughed again, clearly amused. He took a huge gulp of Diet Coke - maybe the eyes were from drinking too much soda, not alcohol - and looked at Nico, slightly-lighter-than-Will's eyes suddenly clear and piercing. "As much as I'd love to just sit here and laugh, you definitely didn't pay for this session for that." He gave an easy smile. "Some people want advice, others a friendly ear. You gave me the money, which means for this hour, I'm all yours."

Nico was well aware of how therapy sessions worked, but this one seemed...different. Hades had taken him to various people in the 'hopes of curing his colour blindness' before, in case it was a 'psychological problem'.

Of course, Nico now knew that to be absolute bullshit.

Either way, the session was coming from Hades' money, whether the man knew it or not. So however many sessions he went to, it wouldn't affect Nico in the slightest. Not money-wise anyways. He just needed to make the time.

What had he booked the therapist for again?

"Mr D...if I were to be perfectly honest, I'm not entirely sure why I booked this session. I just felt I needed to. I needed someone else to talk to."

The man seemed experienced. "Someone else?" Mr D prompted.

"Someone apart from my boyfriend. I don't think I would be able to tell him anything about myself." Nico sighed. "I'm too afraid that he'll leave me. I'm too afraid that he doesn't want me anymore."

"So you decided to tell a stranger."

Nico couldn't help but laugh a little. When it was put that way, Nico had to admit it sounded a bit weird. Not wanting to tell a person he knew he could trust, but was absolutely willing to spill the beans to an absolute stranger who looked like an alcoholic? Yeah, that didn't sound right.

But that's why he was sitting in the room, wasn't it?

"Yes."

Mr D leaned back. "I suppose it's story time now, isn't it." He spun around in his chair a few times at a lazy pace. "I'm all ears, Nico."