*I DID NOT EDIT THIS

Attention: This chapter will have mentions of depression, self harm, and attempted suicide. Please, read with caution if these subjects make you uncomfortable.

XxXxXx

(( Mortal AU ))

XxXxXx

"What?"

"Yeah."

"When are we going to meet them?"

"Tomorrow," Will muttered quietly.

"Tomorrow! And you're only telling me now?!" I yelled, rushing to our shared room so I could start packing. Will sighed, following me.

"How long are we staying?" I asked.

"Four days."

"Where do they live again?"

"Texas." I looked over at Will.

"You mean to tell me," Will hesitantly met my gaze, "That you waited weeks to let me know that we are flying from New York to Texas."

"Y-Yeah?"

"Why?"

"Well," he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "They kind of, sort of, may or may not know that I'm gay and have had a boyfriend the past five years?"

"Oh my gods, Will, I swear-"

"It's not that bad."

"They didn't know I existed!"

"Technically, they still don't know. I said I had someone I wanted them to meet and they assumed it was a girl. . "

"Solace, I have an apartment with you! Shouldn't your parents have, at the very least, heard about me before?!" He just shrugged. I walked over to Will, abandoning the suitcase, and dropped my head onto his chest.

"You're a jerk." His hand came up and started playing with my hair. It was oddly relaxing.

"I'm sorry." I took a deep breath.

"What if. . What if your parents don't approve of us?"

"They'll get over it," though I heard the doubt in his voice, I decided to ignore it.

XxXxXx

"How much further?" I asked anxiously.

"Few minutes." We had landed a few hours ago, with our bags in the trunk of the car, Will drove us to his old house. We would be staying there, depending on how dinner goes.

If they accepted the idea of there son being in a same sex relationship, we would, obviously, stay. But, if they didn't accept it, we would get a hotel an enjoy Texas the next four days.

Mr. And Mrs. Solace were already at the restaurant, waiting for our arrival. We were planning on dropping our things off at Will's house before going so we could get dressed appropriately for a fancy restaurant.

XxWillxX

Nico didn't dress up often. Only on special occasions.

Seeing him in nice (black) dress pants and in a white button up with a tie, was definitely, to say the least, kind of sexy.

I told him so, in a fruitless attempt to calm his nerves, at the house, in the car, and at the front door of the restaurant. Though I'd never admit out loud, my nerves were crazy as well.

As my parents saw us, my mother took on 3 different facial expressions.

1, happiness. She finally gets to see her son grown up after a few years. Not to mention he's bringing along a special someone. Wonderful!

2, darkness. As soon as she saw Nico, her face morphed. Her smile vanished completely and she, seeming absentmindedly, gave a small glare to Nico and a questioning look to me. Should have seen it coming, I suppose, as she was very religious.

And 3, the fake face. Cover up. What ever you'd like to call it. She forced a smile back onto her face. When she saw our interlocked hands, she grimaced slightly. My step father didn't seem to mind much, he smiled widely at us, in fact.

As we sat down, my mother examined Nico's face quickly. Her forced smile didn't waver, though.

"Hello, Will and. ." She looked over at Nico.

"N-Nico Di Angelo," he stuttered. I squeezed his hand comfortingly. I took a deep breath.

"Mom, this is my boyfriend," I said with much more confidence than was actually there.

"Welcome to the family, Nico," My step father, John (?), smiled warmly at Nico, holding out a hand.

"Thank you, S-Sir," Nico accepted his hand, giving a (most likely) weak shake.

Naomi gave her husband a glance, than looked back over with that stupid, obvious smile of hers.

"Yes. W-Welcome. I'm glad Will finally found someone. It's been a while, no?" I cleared my throat awkwardly.

"Um, actually Nico and I have been together for five years. We- We have an apartment together."

My mother licked her lips.

"L-let's order, shall we?" She picked up her menu.

--

The dinner was going fine.

It was tense, but things slowly started getting more relaxed as the evening progressed. There was a pleasant, light discussion.

That is, until my mother decided to be rude.

She glanced at Nico, then back down to her food.

"Tell me about yourself, Nico." He shifted slightly.

"There's not much to tell, ma'am." She looked at him.

"Are you saying your uninteresting?"

"N-no that's not-"

"I don't know about this one, Will. He's uncertain of himself."

"Mother-"

"You look nervous, Nico. Do you have a reason to be nervous?"

"No, I-"

"How do you feel, Nico?"

"Naomi, please." John tried.

"Shh, shh," she put her fork down and looked at Nico, "Let him answer."

"I," he cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable, "I'm sorry. I'm not sure I understand your question?"

"Why? It's a simple question. I'm simply asking how you feel."

"Mother please. Ignore her, Nico."

"I'm going to be honest with you, Nico-"

"Mother," I warned.

"-You look sad," his eyes widened, "You look like the introverted type. Have you ever been depressed, Nico? Have you ever thought about suicide?" I don't understand how my mother does it, but she always seems to understand a persons back story with a simple look.

Nico, after a moment of tense silence around the table, put his napkin on his plate, excused himself, and existed the building, all the while blinking rapidly.

I glared at Naomi.

"That was uncalled for, and completely insensitive of you." I muttered angrily, putting money on the table to pay for me and Nico's meal.

She had the decency to look sorry, but it only made me angrier. She was intentionally trying to provoke Nico.

John didn't seem to like Naomi's choices either, which made me feel slightly relived that he accepted my relationship.

I quickly made my way to the front of the building.

Outside, Nico paced on the sidewalk, hugging himself. His eyes held unleashed tears that threatened to spill and his breathing had picked up.

It's no secret that Nico had been depressed for a great portion of his life. It's not like he had good influences on him either. It started when he was five, when his mother and sister died. He has had thoughts about suicide, self harm, and has acted on them, on more than one occasion. Luckily, though, he's okay.

He still has his moments, sometimes days, where he tells himself things he knows he shouldn't. Though if it ever gets too bad, he promised me he would tell some one. Whether it's me, a friend, or therapist, he tells someone.

And, he didn't like talking about his past. It made him uncomfortable at the memories and often sent him into a panic attack, like he is right now.

"Nico?" I asked quietly, walking over to him.

"I'm fine," he glared at the ground as tears fell. I cupped his cheek, but he didn't look at me, "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm okay, I'm fine."

"Nico," I said again. He looked up at me, through his dark and damp eyelashes.

"I'm okay, right?" He whispered.

I hated seeing Nico like this. It honestly made me want to cry. I pulled him into a hug and played with his hair.

"Yeah, you're okay."

XxXxXx

I walked into my old bedroom. Nico sat on the bed, already in is pajamas, which was his black boxers and a long t- shirt that went down to his mid thigh.

He seemed off in his own little world, staring boredly at the floor. I sat down beside him, ran a hand through his hair, and kissed his forehead.

"How are you?" I asked quietly, my lips moving against his forehead. He sighed.

"Okay." I smirked.

"Well, in that case, since tonight didn't go as planned," I stood and walked to the middle of the room, playing a slow song on my phone and throwing it aside.

I held my hand out to Nico.

"Mister Nico Di Angelo, may you please honor me with this dance?" His mouth twitched at the corners and he stood up.

He put his arms around me, ignoring my extended hand. I quickly hugged him back, putting my chin on his head and slowly swaying side to side, content with having him in my arms.

I didn't notice when the door opened a few songs later until I heard Naomi clear her throat.

Nico pulled away as quickly as possible. I mindlessly glared at my mother.

"I," she cleared her throat again, "I just wanted to apologize, Nico. I realize what I said was. . Inappropriate. I just want wanted to officially welcome you to our house."

"Thank you Mrs. Solace."

"Just call me Naomi," she smile, a actual genuine smile, at Nico. Nico smile back.

"Have a nice night," she then exited, closing the door behind her.

I let out a small chuckle, pulling Nico into a passionate kiss, and wrapping my arms around him again.

These next four days were going to be amazing.

-Lexie

Words: 1589