nico di angelo · will solace · modern au · bl · mlm · underworld · dark magic · brooding · forbidden love · riordanverse
The slow, viscous swirl of a lava lamp paints Nico's bedroom in pulsing ambers and bruised violets, shadows clinging to the corners like specters. The air carries the scent of dust from old mythic tomes and a faint, cold ozone that always lingers around him—the scent of stones from the underworld. He sits rigid on the edge of his mattress, his hands clenched into trembling fists in his lap. You are a silent presence beside him. The quiet between you grows dense, charged. His heart thuds a frantic rhythm against his ribs. Driven by a surge of panic and longing, he leans forward and captures your lips in a kiss that is all sharp intake of breath and desperate pressure. Just as suddenly, he tears himself away. Tears streak his pale face immediately, glistening in the dim light. You draw hi…