Nico Short Story: Betrayal

Nico, age 15

Adair, age 16

River, age 16

Rowan, age 15 (Dead at 14)

Aurora, age 20 (Dead at 19)

*TW for implied sexual abuse, victim blaming, emotional/mental abuse, underaged drinking/drug use, and probably some other stuff*

By the time Nico woke up, the autumn sun was already high in the sky, but their exhaustion didn't waver. They sat up groggily, wincing as pain shot through his whole body.

Their head was pounding and it took a moment for her vision to properly clear. As it did, though, Nico felt panic spike in his chest.

They were lying in the bed they shared with River and Adiar, which wasn't unusual in itself, but paired with the fact that they were completely exposed and in pain, it was concerning.

Scratch that, it was fucking vile.

As Nico continued to very slowly regain consciousness, little flashes of the night before appeared. They remembered hesitantly accepting a bottle that Adair handed over. Remembered looking in directly in his drunken eyes and making him promise that nothing would happen. That he wouldn't do anything. He remembered feeling drowsy and weak, even more than she should have after only drinking a little beer. She remembered struggling.

The utter contentment on Adair's face. The worry on River's.

The panic, the pain, the begging, the crying, the intrusion.

The complete betrayal of trust.

Fighting against the need to vomit, Nico forced themselves to move, practically falling out of bed. River, who was still sleeping, shifted, curling in on themselves in their sleep, bare skin practically glistening in the sunlight streaming through the window. Nico clenched her jaw and tried to move quietly.

They didn't blame River for last night. He couldn't.

As quickly as her broken body would allow, Nico shoved himself into whatever clothes they could get their hands on and stumbled out of the bedroom.

"Morning, lovely!" They froze, breath catching as Adair came into view, looking up from where he was cooking breakfast (or, rather, lunch) and grinning widely. "How are we feeling this morning?"

Nico shook his head slightly, ignoring the pain at the movement. "Fuck off, Adair." Their voice was hardly threatening, sounding strained even in his own ears.

Adair's expression fell slightly and he turned off the stove, catching Nico's wrist before he could continue toward the journey toward the door.

"Hold on, what's wrong?"

Nico glared at him as best as she could, hoping that her anger was perceived. "Don't fucking touch me."

Adair's eyes narrowed and his grip only tightened. "Why are you acting so off, Nico? I get having a hangover, but this is just pathetic."

"You know damn well that's not the problem."

Adair rolled his eyes. "No, actually, I don't."

"You lied. You lied to me, Adiar. You made a fucking promise, and you broke it!"

"I think you were hallucinating, sweetheart," Adair growled, obviously doing his best to hide how angry he was and failing miserably. "I never broke any promise of ours."

Nico opened their mouth to respond, but, before he could, soft footsteps approached and River's slender build appeared in the hallway, covered only by a bathrobe. Their shoulder-length blonde hair was a mess atop their head and they rubbed their blue eyes tiredly. "What's going on?" They murmured, obviously still half-asleep.

Nico yanked his arm from Adair's wrist and turned, carefully avoiding looking at River.

"I'm leaving." They hissed, stumbling the rest of the way to the door.

"What-?"

"Let him go, Riv, she'll be back. They're just overreacting."

Nico's shoulders tensed at that, but he kept quiet, slamming the door behind her.

Without a destination in mind, Nico walked, mind racing. They quickly started to regret not grabbing a jacket as the cool air kissed his skin, but she was determined not to go back. Each step brought up more and more emotion. More confusion, pain, and starting regret.

They couldn't help but think about what Adair had said.

Was she overreacting?

Or, worse, had they done something that warranted what had happened last night?

Nico had been dating Adair for nearly a year now. He never did anything without reason, especially not something like this, and he had never broken a promise before. Not once, for any reason.

He'd always been kind and affectionate, if not a little explosive on occasion.

So, if he had broken a promise, there had to be a reason.

Right?

Eventually, Nico ended up at the graveyard and walked straight to the spot they were most familiar with.

Two graves standing next to each other, one belonging to her sister and the other belonging to her deceased lover. Nico allowed themselves to slide down the back of one, pulling their knees tightly to his chest. Finally, they let herself go and began to sob.

---

Nico wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting on the cold ground, but it was long enough that he'd been out of tears for a while now. They stared at the various shades of red, orange, and yellow littering the floor, allowing his mind to detach from their body.

The cold air had lost its sting and Nico felt numb and alone, fully broken by everything that had taken place the night before.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Nico didn't move at the sound of River's voice, barely noticing how soft it was in contrast to their usual optimism. Not that it mattered.

There was shuffling as River sat down beside them.

"Here, I brought you a jacket. You must be freezing."

After a moment, when Nico didn't respond, River simply reached over and let the jacket fall over her shoulders, drawing back their hands quickly.

Silence lingered for a minute or two before the blonde-haired eventually broke it again, letting out a quiet sigh.

"I'm sorry, Nico." They murmured, tone filled with genuine sadness. "I swear, I didn't know Adair put anything in your drink. I would have stepped in."

That finally caused Nico to move, glancing up at their partner with wide, watery eyes. A small smile touched River's soft, pink lips at the movement.

Nico's heart ached at the sight. She wasn't oblivious to the markings on River's own neck, or the pain reflecting in their eyes. He shook his head. "He... he hurt you too... didn't he?"

River's smile tensed a little like they had to force it. "Nah, don't worry about me, princess. I'm used to it, Adair can't hurt me anymore."

The answer was hardly satisfactory, and Nico was almost positive that River was bluffing, or maybe just in denial, but there wasn't much they could say. Once River was in one frame of thinking, they didn't get out easily.

Instead, the question that had been bubbling up in her chest finally spilled over.

"Why?" The question was barely more than a whisper. "Why would he... He promised! I don't... I don't understand..."

River started to reach out, only to pause hesitantly. "Can I touch you?" Nico nodded slightly in confirmation and River immediately wrapped their arms around her, tugging them close to their chest.

"Did I do something?" Nico questioned, leaning heavily against River's chest. "Did I... Did I say something wrong? Why... why would he... why would he lie?"

Another pause.

"Adair... doesn't do things without a reason," River said, tightening their grip around Nico. "He just... handles things differently than most is all. He probably saw something you did as... I don't know... offensive or something, and reacted in a way that he thought was suitable. He... he didn't mean to hurt you. You should probably just apologize and then we can figure something out."

Nico swallowed hard, somehow managing to make himself smaller in River's arms. They'd been right then. It was her own fault.

Of course, Adair wouldn't break a promise without good reason.

They'd fucked something up and Adair was just reacting. He'd given him a good enough reason to lie.

It was their fault.

The tears that Nico had believed they were out of came back, seeping out of his eyes and soaking River's shirt.

And, oh god, River. If Adair was reacting to Nico, then it was Nico's fault that River got hurt too.

"I'm sorry." They whimpered. "I'm so sorry."

River rocked her back and forth gently, planting soft kisses on the top of his head. "Shhh, it's alright. I know. It's okay. Everything will be fine, I'll make sure of it, okay? I'll do what I can to protect you from now on, Adair just caught me off guard last night."

Nico shook her head, too choked up with tears to say what was necessary. To beg River not to take the fall for them. Not now or ever. To say that they shouldn't forgive him for anything. That they shouldn't have to. They should just leave him to die out in the cold.

They shouldn't have come in the first place!

Yet, here they were, holding Nico tightly and letting their own heat seep into his bones. Accepting their apology and telling her not to worry. Telling Nico that they would protect them.

Like Aurora had.

That sent a whole new wave of pain rushing through his system and Nico shuddered. They didn't want River to be like Rora.

Rora was dead because she was protecting Nico.

That couldn't happen again.

"Riv... don't... don't fall... for me..."

A soft chuckle escaped River's throat and they ran a gentle hand through Nico's hair. "Too late, my love, I've already fallen."

Nico shook their head violently, barely noticing the pain resulting from the movement.

"No... I-"

"Nico," River said softly, voice filled with saddened affection. "I already told you not to worry about me, yeah? I've got it. I need at least one of us still functioning."

Nico started to protest, but River continued before he could.

"Besides, I think I owe you. You showed me a kind of love that no one has before. I mean, Adair's great, don't get me wrong, I know he loves me, but you? You're different. You're special. I don't want you to lose that, okay? No matter what happens, just... keep being you."

The words only made Nico feel more guilty, but they swallowed the negativity, sitting up slightly in River's arms and looking them in the eyes, surprised to find that, though they still maintained a smile, their cheeks were wet with tears.

Somehow, though, they were still blindingly beautiful, unlike Nico, who most definitely looked like a complete wreck.

"Okay." Nico breathed, taking a shaky breath.

River nodded, reaching out to gently brush some tears from Nico's face, ignoring those on their own.

"Promise?"

The question was softly spoken, filled with the pain and longing that Nico knew River had been trying to hide before. They glanced down, finding one of River's slender pinky fingers extended.

It made her smile slightly and they locked her own with theirs.

"Promise."

River's smile turned genuine and they shifted forward, carefully and slowly locking their lips with Nico's. They were gentle, making it obvious that Nico could pull away if he wanted.

She didn't.

Instead, they leaned into it, relishing the salty bliss that he knew would only result in ultimate disaster.