Prompt: Could you please write one where Anubis meet Maria Di Angelo? While she was alive / dead Just... Please, make them meet.
Anubis was visiting Venice in one of the few vacations he had as a god of death. (Although, he couldn't really call scouting out potential new souls as vacation, but he wasn't about to complain about some time away from the Duat.)
No one really payed any attention to him strolling about the graveyards. It was rather late and few people were paying their respects to the dead that evening. However, among them was a woman, a little girl barely walking at her side. Her belly was enlarged under her elegant dress, another unborn child.
Anubis regarded the child at her side. It was a girl with dark hair and equally dark eyes, she peered up at her mother every now and then.
The child seemed to ooze of something familiar to Anubis, like death and the Underworld. Ah, a child of Hades no doubt. It had been a while since he'd met any demigod with Hades as their godly parent, it seemed there were fewer and fewer each century.
Anubis watched on as the woman made her way to a gravestone. She knelt by the stone, keeping a hand protectively under her stomach. The girl looked confused but sat down beside her mother when the woman beckoned.
"This is my daughter, Bianca," the woman said, addressing the stone. She spoke English but her native language was clearly Italian, some of the melody shining through. "She has death in her. It will protect her, I'm sure of it."
A curious way to put it.
"Here I have Nico," the woman continued, stroking a fond hand over her belly. "He will become a great man one day, and along with his sister, he shall accomplish many things. Together, they shall overcome every obstacle."
She paused and placed her hand on the girl's head, "They will protect each other."
The woman lowered her head and kissed the stone, "Mama, Papa, I'm sorry I couldn't give you your grandchildren while you were alive. They are here with me now, and we all miss you."
Anubis felt like he was intruding on the woman's grief and quietly turned around. He took one step but stopped as the woman spoke up.
"Wait. You are a god, are you not?"
The Lord of Funerals turned back around and looked at the woman. She was looking straight at him as she awaited his answer.
"I am indeed a god, Anubis in fact," he replied, taking the woman's now outstretched hand and placing a light kiss to the top of it. "I take it you can see through the mist, considering you recognised me as a god."
The woman nodded, "I am Maria Di Angelo, pleased to meet you, Anubis."
"Be careful with his hair, Nico," Maria scolded the child currently climbing on Anubis' back. He'd grabbed a handful of the god's hair to keep his balance.
"It's okay, Maria, just let him play as he wants, I can take a little hair tugg- Ow! Nico, stop that," Anubis winced as the boy bit his ear again. "Okay, that's it." He reached behind his head and grabbed the child of Hades. He gripped the boy's nubby hands and tickled his stomach. Nico laughed and squirmed in his arms.
Anubis stopped the tickling and stroked the child's wavy, dark hair. Nico stared at him with his big, brown eyes and reached a hand up to touch the god's face. The god smiled and leaned into the tiny hand on his cheek.
It had been a long time since he'd spent any time with children. He couldn't say he didn't enjoy every time he met the tiny rascals.
He glanced at Maria. She sat with Bianca in her lap, reading a book for her. Even though they were in a graveyard, the children still managed to lighten the place up.
He stared at the child in his arms. Nico had fallen asleep, his fingers gripping Anubis' shirt.
Anubis was suddenly overcome with grief. Someday, these children would seize to be and it pained him immensely to think that he would have to live with the memory of their smiling faces for as long as he lived, however long that would be.
"Do not grieve what has yet to come, Anubis."
The god looked up at Maria.
"Their death is inevitable, but it will not happen for a long time. I know you will watch over them as I do," she said as she smiled down at Bianca, who had fallen asleep with her head in her mother's lap.
"I grieve that I will remember their deaths for as long as I live. I care about them," he stroked Nico's hair.
Maria smiled at him, "Then remember the smiling faces and their laughter, not their death. After all, as children of Hades, death is part of them, just as it is you."
"Ubis!" Nico yelled as he spotted Anubis in the graveyard.
The god grinned and scooped the little boy up in his arms, "Hey, Nico. You still can't pronounce my name correctly?"
"Nope," Nico said, popping the "p". "I missed you, Ubis!"
"I missed you, too. You just went away so I couldn't see you."
Nico hugged his neck and Anubis could smell the earth in his hair from his playing around outside.
"Anubis," Maria said. She embraced the god and Nico.
"Mama, I want to hug Anubis, too!"
Anubis glanced at Bianca beside her mother. He stretched out a hand and dragged her into their group hug.
"Anubis?" Bianca said.
"Yes, Bianca?"
"Can I marry you when I grow up?"
"NO! I'll marry Ubis!" Nico yelled.
They all pulled apart.
"I asked him first," Bianca said, sticking her tongue out at her brother.
"But I wanna marry Ubis! I wanna, I wanna!" Nico gripped Anubis' neck and shook his head.
"I feel like something bad is about to happen, Anubis," Maria spoke one day.
They were seated in a graveyard, the children both having fallen asleep, Nico in the god's lap and Bianca in her mother's.
Anubis frowned, "Why would you say that?"
Maria looked down at her daughter, "I just feel it."
The god's mouth tightened. There usually was a reason people involved with the gods felt that something was about to happen, especially if it was something bad. He hoped he was wrong.
Maria looked up at him and met his eyes. Her dark irises swam with worry, "If something were to happen to me, will you look after them?"
Anubis raised his eyebrows, "Of course I will look after them."
Maria smiled, "I know you will protect them, even if you cannot always protect everyone. Please protect them."
Anubis nodded, "I will protect them. I promise."
Maria Di Angelo died.
Anubis found himself in the Underworld.
Hades was there with Bianca and Nico.
He had met Hades a few times before, and the Greek god acknowledged the bond between Anubis and his children.
"I have to remove their memories," Hades informed Anubis.
Nico and Bianca were in the Egyptian's arms. Bianca was crying, but Nico mostly seemed confused about the situation.
"To keep them safe," Anubis replied.
"It is our only choice," Hades said, his voice strained.
Anubis tightened his hold on the children in his arms, "I know."
He straightened up and took the children's hands.
Together, they walked with Hades to the edge of the river Lethe. They stopped there.
"Why are we at a river?" Bianca asked through her crying.
"You are just going to take a refreshing bath to help you feel more relaxed after what has happened," Anubis replied.
"Okay," Bianca said.
Nico looked up at the god, "Ubis isn't coming with us?"
Anubis choked back a sob, "No, Ubis can't come with you. I'm sick, so I can't swim now."
"Okay."
The Egyptian slipped his hand into his pocket and took out a deck of cards. "Here," he said. "I was saving it for your birthday, but you can have it now."
Nico grabbed the cards, "What is it?"
Anubis smiled through the tears forming in his eyes, "It's Mythomagic, a game. All those Greek gods from the stories I've been telling you are in there."
Nico's eyes sparkled with delight, "They are. Thank you! I love you, Anubis."
The god's heart shattered in his chest as he heard his name spoken perfectly.
"Why are you crying?" Nico asked.
Anubis sobbed once, "I'm just glad you like it."
Nico smiled, "I love it." He hugged the god's middle.
"Now go take a bath with your sister," Anubis said as he hugged the boy back.
"Okay."
As Nico let Anubis go and joined his sister and Hades by the river bank, he let the tears fall freely.
Bianca Di Angelo died.
Anubis leaned his head against the gravestone.
"I couldn't protect her." His breath staggered as he sobbed. "I promised I would protect her."
He sat in the same graveyard where he had first met Maria. He was leaning his forehead on the gravestone at her parents' grave.
"You were right, I can't protect everyone." Another sob. "I couldn't save you. I couldn't save Bianca."
He cried silently.
"I failed you."
He sobbed again, and again.
"I will protect him. I will protect him with my life."
Anubis met a lonely teen in a graveyard. Aviator jacket and Stygian Iron sword in place.
His eyes lingered on the worn cards in the boy's hands and the skull ring on his finger.
"Who are you?" the boy asked.
"Ubis."
I might've cried when writing this...
