When their lips met, Nico could feel his body sing again. He almost whimpered at how familiar it felt. His mouth seemed to slot against the god's like they were made for each other.
Anubis let out a surprised sound against his lips. His body had gone stiff, and Nico was worried he'd read this all wrong. He started to pull away, but was stopped by a hand on his jaw yanking him back into the kiss. Nico opened his eyes for a second on instinct at the movement, and saw the other's closed eyes, eyebrows scrunched (gods, he was cute).
Nico breathed through his nose as he pressed closer. His hands made their way to Anubis' shoulders, resting them there.
He tilted his head, aiming for a better angle. The god sighed, his arms tightening their hold on him.
Nico's fingers slipped up into Anubis' hair (it felt way too soft to be legal). The god hummed against his lips before he pulled back slightly.
Anubis licked his lips, a furious blush dusting his cheeks. "Not that I'm complaining, but what's happening?"
Nico licked his own lips, noticing how puffy they were. "Pretty sure I was kissing you."
Anubis' eyes flickered down to his lips and he licke his own again. "I was aware of that."
Nico kissed him again.
Anubis pressed into him. Nico relished the tiny sound the god let out as he flicked his tongue against his upper lip.
"Shit," Anubis mumbled, his voice rasping. He kissed Nico again, with fervor. He all but pulled Nico into his lap on the bench, making the demigod squeak.
Their kissing had turned to open-mouth kisses. Nico felt their teeth clack together. He smiled at that. Anubis ended up kissing his teeth.
The god pulled back. "It's hard to kiss you when you're smiling."
Nico laughed at that, but it soon turned into a gasp when the other started kissing down his neck instead. Nico gripped Anubis' hair. "Dios mio…"
Anubis grinned against his skin.
Nico's fingers were carding through the other's hair when a thought struck him. He pulled Anubis back from his neck. "I know how we can find a rainbow."
The god's face brightened. "How?"
"Iris."
Iris proved extremely helpful (albeit a little teasing about Nico's predicament. He had a sneaking suspicion that it was mostly about his probably obvious crush). She had given them a location of a rainbow, and Nico had thanked her immensely.
Nico shadow-travelled to the spot where Iris had told them about.
He saw the rainbow high in the sky.
"So, we just follow this to the end?" Nico wondered.
"I guess so."
Nico shrugged as he started walking to where he supposed the end of the rainbow was.
They were both quiet for a second. Nico couldn't help but think about what had just happened between them. How the god's lips had felt, how it felt so safe to be pressed close to him.
He heard Anubis groan in his head. "You're making it kind of hard to focus on our surroundings."
Nico's face flushed. "Sorry, it's just a bit thought-consuming…"
Anubis chuckled that stupid chuckle of his (wait, he was allowed to think it was cute now). "Sorry for being so cute."
"Stop hearing my thoughts!"
"It's kind of hard, they're just there, right in front of me."
"Argh!" Nico stomped on, trying to fight down his blush. The rainbow seemed to meet the ground on the other side of a hill not too far away. "I hope just for once, that we can do this without any damage to me…"
Anubis was quiet for a moment. "Yeah…"
Nico trekked over the hill and could finally see where the rainbow met the ground. There was something on the ground where the light ended, but he couldn't make it out just yet. As he walked closer, he could see the contours of something at the base of the rainbow.
"Hello?" Nico asked aloud. He was looking for a leprechaun, after all, so maybe just asking was better.
"Um, are leprechauns dangerous?" Nico wondered in his mind.
"Not that I know of. But I've heard that you shouldn't make a wish, or steal any gold from them," Anubis replied.
Nico was about to say hello again, when a nasal voice spoke up. "Who's there?"
The son of Hades tried to post whoever had spoken, and finally saw the tiny man standing next to a cauldron full of gold coins. He was dressed in green, with a bunch of clovers growing on his hat.
"Hey, um, I kinda need a four-leaved clover from your hat," Nico said. Gods, that sounded ridiculous when he said it out loud.
The leprechaun narrowed his eyes. "Why should I give you one?"
Nico blinked. "Um, because I'm asking nicely."
Anubis snorted. "Smooth."
"Shut up."
The leprechaun raised one eyebrow. "Wait a minute! You're the one she told me about?"
Shit. "What are you talking about?"
The leprechaun leaned against the cauldron, seemingly nonchalant. "Let's just say that someone came and told me you were coming." He grinned, "Tried to get me to give her my clovers too."
Fuck, the saboteur was one step ahead this time too. Nico tried to keep his expression neutral. He didn't want to give anything away.
The leprechaun plucked one clover from his hat, studying it. "That lady offered me some pretty nice things, too, if I gave her the clovers." His eyes locked with Nico's again, and Nico felt the prick of need to have his sword in hand. He resisted the urge, for now.
"And?"
The leprechaun shrugged. "I told her no. I'm not interested in making deals with snakes."
Snakes?
"So, will you give me a clover?" Nico felt the anticipation of almost having the last ingredient in his hands. He wanted to rip the damn thing from the leprechaun's hands.
The leprechaun pursed his lips. Then he raised the hand with the clover towards Nico, offering him the clover.
Nico raised an eyebrow. "You're just giving it to me?"
The leprechaun shrugged again. "I don't really need them, and I owe your father."
Nico grasped the delicate plant gingerly. What was up with people owing Hades these days?
He was about to say thanks, but the leprechaun was already gone, along with his rainbow.
A fat raindrop hit Nico's head. He glanced up, and noticed how the sky had filled with heavy clouds.
Standing in the heavy rainfall, he stared down at the green plant in his hand.
No time to waste.
He stepped into the nearest shadow, emerging in cabin thirteen not long after.
Nico made his way to his drawers, grabbing the other items and placing them in his backpack. He slipped into the shadows again, not wanting to risk running into Will.
"Now what?" he asked Anubis.
"Now we travel to the duat," Anubis responded.
That proved easier said than done, in Nico's opinion.
He had to find an area where the barrier between the two realms was thin, and slip through it. It felt like he was stumbling aimlessly through the shadows until he felt a prickle of something in his spine, like a tug.
Nico turned to the source of the tugging, not seeing anything different from the shadowy landscape surrounding him. He reached a hand out, trying to see if he could feel anything different. The hair on his arm stood on end as he felt himself being pulled into something.
Wherever he had ended up looked similar to the shadow-realm, but it felt different. The air felt heavier, denser.
Nico staggered as he heaved a breath. "Gods, this place feels weird."
Anubis chuckled. "I suppose you're right."
"So, is it fine to perform the ritual anywhere in here?"
"Yes."
Nico placed his backpack on the ground. He grabbed the items he needed and gingerly placed them on the ground. "Now what?"
"You have to burn them," Anubis replied.
That explained why Anubis had insisted he bring a lighter earlier. Nico grabbed the lighter and set to work on placing the ingredients close together. He made sure to only use the amount that was needed, in case he ruined one of them.
He had just placed the flower on the ground when he got the feeling he was being watched. He acted like he hadn't noticed, and continued arranging the items. "I'm being watched."
He could feel Anubis getting nervous. "Where?"
"I think it's from the right of us."
"Keep your guard up. It's better if they think they've surprised us."
Nico felt the itch to grab his sword, but repressed it in favour of getting a flame from the lighter. He felt the hair on his nape stand on end.
The items caught on fire, crackling in the flames.
"You have to inhale the smoke," Anubis said, his voice stressed.
"Great, I love inhaling smoke from miscellaneous burning things."
Leaning forward, Nico breathed the smoke in, instantly feeling lightheaded. The smell wasn't too bad, but his body evidently didn't like him inhaling the smoke as he started to cough violently. What definitely didn't help his situation was something hitting him in the back. Hard.
"Watch your back, Nico!" Anubis shouted in his head, but his voice sounded like it was fading in and out. "I'll be out in a second. Hold on until then."
Nico could only groan in response, feeling like something was trying to claw its way out of his throat. He staggered to his feet, turning to see his assailant. Whatever it was he'd been expecting, it definitely wasn't what met his eyes.
A young woman was standing in front of him, a look of disdain on her face. Her features looked very serpentine, and she actually had a snake wrapped around her neck.
Her slitted eyes narrowed at him, her mouth turned down in a frown. "So this is what you look like."
Nico struggled to keep his eyes focused on her. He grabbed his sword. "Who in Hades are you?" He felt the urge to gag.
The woman sneered, circling him slowly. Nico kept his sword trained on her. "I suppose I'm not so well-known in demigod communities." The way she said "demigod" made Nico frown.
"That doesn't answer my question," he retorted. He couldn't hear Anubis in his head anymore, and he could feel the anxiety crawl beneath his skin at his absence.
"I'm Kabechet, insolent child!" the woman spat
Nico blinked. "Anubis told me about you."
Kabechet stared back at him.
"He told me you were his respected apprentice."
Kabechet blinked once, seemingly surprised. She stopped for a second. "He said that?" she said, her voice soft. She seemed confused for a second before she grabbed her head, her face in anguish. Nico thought he could see the snake curl around her, its tongue flicking her ear.
His stomach lurched again, and Nico had to bend over as he vomited onto the ground. It looked like he had vomited gold liquid. Ichor, his memory told him. His stomach didn't give him any break, and he vomited more of the golden substance. He fell to his knees when he stopped heaving, staring down into a puddle of gold on the ground. His reflection stared down at him. He looked terrible, the bags under his eyes almost black from lack of sleep.
He could hear Kabechet mumbling to herself. He blinked down at the gold as he wiped his mouth, gold staining his hand. He fell back in shock as a hand suddenly burst from the puddle. The hand gripped the ground and another soon followed.
Nico sat on his butt and stared as a body pulled itself out of the puddle of ichor. They pushed themselves to their feet, the ichor falling from their shoulders in a rain of gold. As they straightened, they dragged a hand through their hair, effectively uncovering their face, and Nico felt his entire body shudder as his eyes met Anubis'.
The anxiety he'd felt a second ago at the voice being gone from his head, was replaced by a calm he'd never experienced before as he stared at Anubis. His mouth fell open as he took in the god's features. It was like he was seeing him for the first time, even though he'd seen him loads of times before. He looked exactly like he did in his dreams, but it was completely different seeing him in real life. He looked ridiculously hot even though he was all but soaked in ichor (but he managed to pull even that off).
Anubis had frozen in his actions when his eyes had met Nico's, and his mouth had also fallen open. His eyes raked over Nico's body, and he shuddered again. Anubis reached a hand out to him. Nico grabbed it, feeling that calmness sink into his bones as he was pulled to his feet to stand in front of the god.
Nico swallowed as he looked into Anubis' eyes, only a tiny distance separating them. He was about to say something, when a furious hiss interrupted him. They both turned to Kabechet.
Anubis looked crestfallen as he saw who it was. "Kabechet?"
The goddess in question sneered at him. "So nice to see you, Anubis. Although I'd have preferred you stay away a bit longer, forever actually."
Anubis looked so confused, Nico felt bad for him. "I- I don't understand. Why?"
Kabechet rolled her eyes. "Really? Like I'm going to but that!" She started circling them again. "You should stay away! I have everything now! All the things you had before, while I was just your underling." She spat the word "underling".
Nico saw the snake flicking its tongue against her ear again. He leaned closer to Anubis to whisper in his ear. "I think that snake is affecting her. She seemed confused earlier when I said you told me you respected her."
Anubis looked back at him, brows furrowed in thought. He glanced back at Kabechet, and his eyes widened. "I think you're onto something. We have to get rid of the snake."
Nico nodded. "You distract her, and I'll try to get close enough to get the snake."
Anubis smiled at Kabechet. "I trusted you, Kabechet. How could you do this to me?"
Kabechet looked conflicted. "I'm not- I didn't-" She grabbed her head with one hand.
Nico quietly moved closer to her by walking in a wide circle towards her.
Anubis didn't take his eyes off Kabechet, taking a few steps closer as well. "I care about you, so I left the souls in your care, and this is how you repay me?"
Kabechet let out a whimper, then a frustrated growl. "Shut up!"
Nico could see the snake coil tighter around her, its attention fixed on Anubis. He carefully made his way closer, aiming to get behind Kabechet.
"You think you're so special, Anubis!" Kabechet shouted. "Well, I have your job now, and I'm finally doing something other than giving the souls water. I'm special too."
Anubis' eyes softened. "Of course you're special. I knew that when I took you in."
Nico saw how the goddess froze.
"No," she mumbled. "You don't care. He told me. He said that I don't need you!"
Anubis frowned. "Who told you?"
The snake around Kabechet hissed into her ear insistently. Nico suddenly remembered the satyr's demise. He had to hurry to ensure the same didn't potentially happen to Kabechet. He quickly stepped close to her back, and grabbed the snake's head. He almost let go when Kabechet suddenly turned to him with a roar and without further ado, stabbed him through with a spear that seemingly materialized from thin air.
Nico screamed in pain as she twisted the blade, definitely messing his insides up. The snake was wriggling in his hand. He could barely make out Anubis running towards them. As he screamed in agony, he felt that pain channel down his arm and through the fingers gripping the snake's head. It let out a surprised hiss as it slowly turned to dust that slipped through Nico's fingers. He slumped forward as Kabechet let out a shriek and dropped the spear.
"Shit, that hurts," he groaned out on his knees. His blood trickled from the wound, painting the ground beneath him. He turned his head as he heard a thud and saw Anubis unceremoniously drop Kabechet to the ground, having knocked her out.
Nico felt his lips twitch into a smile at the sight of the god. He really did look good covered in golden blood.
Anubis was not smiling when he ran over to him. He knelt down next to Nico on the ground, staring at the spear sticking out of his stomach. "I'm so sorry, Nico. This- this should've never happened to you."
"Hey- you- you saved my life, remember? I owe you," Nico mumbled, pulling a lock of hair away from the god's face, tucking it behind his ear.
Anubis looked like that was the furthest from what he wanted to hear. "Just- stop talking, please? You're losing a lot of blood."
As if to prove his point, Nico coughed up a glob of blood, feeling it trickle down his chin. What was worse, was the spear disappearing, leaving the wound open, free to let his blood run unhindered.
Nico heaved a breath as he dropped down on the ground.
Anubis let out a curse, turning Nico around to see the wound. He pressed his hand to the injury. His face looked stricken, his eyes flicking between Nico's face and the wound.
The demigod raised a hand to cradle Anubis' cheek. "Your face really is pretty."
Anubis looked broken at those words.
Nico's body had apparently decided that that was the last straw for his strength. His hand dropped down to the ground. His vision was swimming now. Anubis' face was fading in and out of focus.
"Nico!"
"Nico, don't you dare close your eyes!"
"Nico, I swear- if you pass out I'll-"
Nico didn't catch whatever it was Anubis would do if he passed out, the darkness having pulled him under.