AN: Everything throughout the story that is between ~this mark~ is an alternated version of story prompts and stuff on Tumblr. Whatever is between ~this mark~ I don't own. Nor do I own Nico or Will or any of Riordan's characters.
Prologue
~I wasn't always a house on fire, but I've always been full of light.~
I've spent my time in churches. I've spent my time in sunny rooms and singing choirs. I've spent my time in libraries full of dusty books and the scent of old paper.
I've spent my time with friends of all races, friends of all backgrounds. I've spent my time with people that were good for me. I've spent my time with people that, in the end, didn't love me.
I've never spent time with someone of his nature before. And it wasn't just the wings. It was the destruction in his eyes of his soul, of his happiness. It was the destruction he did to me. Just like water flows. High concentration to low. He took everything I had.
~I can tell you about the sunlight. How it gets inside you like fish hooks or an old kind of hunger.
About my mother's addiction to drugstore blush and smeared lipstick,
My father's penchant for the scent of pipe tobacco,
How my house was a vintage animal with claws.
About the creek, his muddy feet,
That time I kissed a boy
Even though everyone said I shouldn't
Because I'm a boy too.
About the lavender sprigs I keep in a water glass on my nightstand,
How he laughed,
How I loved him for the coldness of it.~