Origins

Origins XVII

Origins XVII

Two hours later, I was woken up by Sawyer. I hadn't slept in a while and must've cried myself to sleep.

"Nico slapped you. I saw. But you did talk to him, and I respect you for that," he said.

"I just want things to go back to how things were!" I said.

"Peter. I know. But we're backing you up. Me, the twins, Jason. Even Hook. The fairies are trying to change Nico's mind while working on healing his legs." Sawyer said. I didn't say anything. "Please, just come back! I'm sure Hook can find something for you to do."

"You think manual labor will make me feel better?"

"I know it won't. But it'll take your mind off Nico, and as your best friend, I say you need that right now," Sawyer reached his hand down to help me stand. I didn't go to grab it. "I'll carry you back, but walking yourself is less painful for both of us." I reached up as we grasped forearms and he pulled me to my feet. It was mostly him as I didn't feel much like standing.

As we got back, I noticed that Nico was no longer laying down. He was in a wheelchair now that the others had probably built. He saw me, and quickly turned around. I didn't see it for long, but his gaze as it fell on me...I shivered. I'd never seen such an evil look. Nico...he would want revenge, but I couldn't think about that right now. I would think about it while doing manual labor. Hook gave me some assignments that would keep me busy for the next few hours if not days. While I was working, Tanner and Damien came up to me, one on either side.

"Hey, can we talk?" Tanner asked.

"Sure. Don't expect me to reply," I said, not missing a beat while stacking pallets.

"We'd rather you not respond. It makes things easier for us," Damien said. I rolled my eyes, but didn't say anything. "Listen, with Nico...I think you're overthinking it."

"You could also just accept that you two are through as boyfriends and try to salvage what you can of a friendship," Tanner said. That phrase hit me like a truck, but I didn't let it show.

"You saw his chair. His legs are still healing, but he was tired of laying down. He should be better soon. Then he can walk and you two can have a heart to heart. He calmed down since he slapped you," Damien said. I still didn't say anything.

"We'll leave you to do the work that you clearly hate. But...you may want to sleep in a tree for a while. You know, for safety," Tanner said.

"Your yammering isn't helping me hate this work any less," I said, still stacking the pallets. I had to float up now as the stack had gotten rather tall. Tanner and Damien left without a word.

I was asleep in a tree when I felt a tug on my hair from outside of my hat. I opened an eye and saw Tink gesturing downward, glowing softly. I looked down and saw a boy with red hair standing at the base of the tree, tapping his foot impatiently. He gestured for me to come down. I floated down from the tree and lightly landed in front of Nico, now fully healed.

"You're an idiot," he said, his Belfast accent shining through rather strongly. I didn't know whether that was good or bad in this case.

"Hi to you too," I said slowly.

"Look, I'm fine with wrestling, I'm also fine with racing you. But wrestling on top of a mountain? That's just plain stupid. You know I'm scared of heights. Ag dia, you've known this for at least 10 years."

"Nico, I-"

"Nah, shut up. I'm not done yet. Buachaill maith. Now listen." His native Irish was also emerging. That was rare for him. And twice. He'd also just called me a good boy, which got on my nerves. After all, he was all of a day older than me.

"I've considered getting revenge on you. In fact, you're probably expecting it and it's been killing you. I've decided that the worst I can do is actually not get revenge at all. You've been experiencing so much emotional pain, but you have no idea how it's been for me in my mind. And I think you ought to know. Sawyer talked to me. We talked a lot, actually. There are some things though that I never let you know. I always tried being happy for you. It's not always easy, but in the past, I've had friends. You know what happened with them?" Nico asked. I shook my head. "They all left me! Every one of them except for you and the others. You were the one I didn't want to lose. I fell. I know you didn't drop me. But my mind went there.

"I've been burned so much in the past, I thought you'd decided to hate me and would leave next. You did leave physically. But I know you. You run when you don't know how to handle things. That's just how you are," Nico finished.

"I don't assume you came here at night just to talk to me," I said.

"You're right in that. There's a bigger reason I came. And I don't know how you'll take it. But you better enjoy it, Peter," Nico said. Then he grabbed my face and kissed me. I kissed back and melted into it.

"That was something," I said after the kiss ended. "Was that a welcome back or a goodbye?"

"Oh, come on. You didn't think we were through did you, ya leathcheann? Come on, let's go for a walk. Maybe a late night swim. We have somethings to catch up on. In fact, I think you have a promise to keep. I saw the note written when you gave me the package that had this in it," Nico said, pointing to his chest. Sitting over his sternum was a triquetra amulet. That was what his mother had asked me to deliver. "Take me back. Tonight. Please," he said, extending his hand. I grabbed his hand, and we began flying back to our original homes, our fairies with us.

"We need to get you some clothes," I said.

"As long as they look less stupid than yours," he said. I laughed softly. So did he. We enjoyed each other's company the whole way back.