"Are you sure you want to meet him now?" Sergio gave Annabella a sympathetic look, hesitantly patting her shoulder, "I mean, you only just met me, I wouldn't want to rush you into meeting Niccolò—"
"You said he's 17 now, right?" The younger woman interrupted, fidgeting with the hem of her sweater, "I would rather not drag it out much longer." An anxious lump was starting in her throat, quickly swallowing it down and trying a reassuring smile. "I have two kids of my own anyway, I think I'll handle it fine." Only 15 minutes later and they had reached the apartment complex where Sergio—and in extent his son—resided. After another minute or two of awkward elevator silence and walking down the complex's hallway, the man unlocked the door.
"Nico, I'm back!" He called out, taking off his shoes and motioning for his sister to do the same.
"How'd the reunion—" A tired, yet oddly silverly, voice replied, as a head of messy brow hair turned to face them, pausing their sentence as they made eye contact with Annabella, "...go..?"
Annabella's voice nearly caught in her throat at the boy's—Nico's?—voice. She had prepared all that she would say during the drive, mentally preparing herself to try and connect with her nephew and yet her mind never fully realized how much of Niccolò life she had never been apart of, thoughts of doubt slowly seeping into her mind.
What if he doesn't like me? How will he react to me being his aunt? Will he be disappointed? Will he even want to see me again? Will he hate me for never seeing him? Why did I even come-
"This, Nico," Sergio's calm voice snapped her out of panicked thoughts, giving her look that told her it's going to be alright, "is your aunt, Annabella. Bella, this is Niccolò."
Niccolò hesitantly got up from his seat on the couch, walking towards Annabella. The older lady met him halfway, blinking rapidly to hold back any tears.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Niccolò," internally she cringed at her trembling voice, offering her arms out to him for a hug. "I'm... sorry it's only now that we've been able to meet."
The teen stood stiff for a moment, staring at his aunt's arms as though in thought and the fleeting thoughts of doubt started to flood into her mind until—
Until he stepped forward, embracing her tightly, saying with a quiet, mildly awkward laugh, "better now than never, Zia.."
And Annabella swears there are no tears rolling down her face when she hears those words, holding her nephew just a little bit tighter and silently thanking the gods for the reunion.
Why am I fixated with Annabella's family? Don't ask me.
Niccolò "Nico" Costa, Sergio's son and Annabella's nephew. He's 17 years old and currently living only with his dad as his mom isn't the best at being... well a mother. Nico identifies as demi-panromantic, but is pretty comfortable as a single guy as he's focusing on school and his part-time job as a cafe worker. To destress with work/school, he often uses his spare time to write poetry. Despite his "bad-boyish" appearance, He's not big on talking to many people and tends to not like physical touch unless he decides to go for it—though don't let this fool you, he can be a source of sunshine once he's comfortable with someone. Niccolò's currently in his last year of high school and plans on studying medicine in college.
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Niccolò's voice:
Perhaps my last update in this book till the new year, can't believe 2022 ends in like... three days-
