Nico's POV

Early the next morning, while Elijah was still presumably sound asleep in his bed,

I sat alone, up in my usual reading tree, staring down at the phone in my hands…...deliberating, debating with myself, back and forth on whether or not I was gonna pull myself together and gather up the courage to choose my sister's name in my contacts and tell her whether or not I was planning to attend this wedding of hers'.

What am I thinking? Of COURSE I'm going, if I decide to pick up the phone and call her about it.

A "No" could be much more easily, and a lot less emotionally and likely without any shouting, been an email, just like almost anyone else who couldn't or just wouldn't be attending would likely be doing.

Had I not been so damned stressed out about this whole thing, I might've realized a lot sooner rather than later, that there was something funny about how she was likely worried about how my own transition might come up on her special day, when the plus one I'd be bringing along was a goddamn werewolf.

"...Here goes nothing." I muttered to myself, finally forcing my own hand in scrolling back in my contacts until I found her name, Lee, as it was listed.

I tried her twice, getting her voicemail both times, before I decided I should just leave her a voicemail and get back to Elijah.

Before I could even tap my thumb to do that, however, my ringtone for her, accompanied by her name lighting up across my screen, startled me and I answered it, after taking another second to recollect myself.

"Nico!" She declared excitedly, clearly surprised that it was really me. "Another two seconds, and you would've caught me." She laughed. "..I'm just getting out of the shower.

"That's okay…" I chuckled nervously. "I know I should've called you back sooner anyway, it's just that…..well, you've just given me a lot to think about, here."

"Oh, good. So, you got it, then?"

"Yeah, I got it. Liz managed to get it to me the other day."

"I met her." She said with a particularly enthusiastic tone. "She seems nice."

"Liar." I thought to myself.

Not a single thing I got from Liz, while it didn't sound particularly hostile, implied that that little interaction left a decent impression on either of their parts.

"...Look…" She finally said with a sigh, when it got quiet. "...I know we haven't talked in a while, and you've had every reason not to, so there's absolutely no pressure for you to come, if you're not there yet, I just…."

"You just…..what?"

She sighed. "...I just didn't want you to find out about it any other way, I guess…..and I wanted you to have the option to be there, if you do want to."

"I understand." I assured her, taking another few moments to really consider what I was about to say…...and then talk myself out of chickening out from it.

"...I'll be there."

She let out a sigh of clear relief. "I'm so glad….alright, I have to go now, but we should talk again, I wanna catch up."

"Uhh, yeah…" I chuckled nervously. "...for sure."

"Maybe you can tell me about this new girlfriend of yours.."

I just rolled my eyes. "Liz isn't my girlfriend, if that's what you're thinking."

"Oh God!" She blurted out in a panic. "I'm so sorry! I just- "

"That's okay." I chuckled, knowing this would likely, genuinely, amuse Elijah.

"...I'm sure my boyfriend and I will have a good laugh over it, when I tell him."

"I hope so." She chuckled. "...well, maybe you can tell me more about him then, when we talk again."

"Love to." I chuckled. "Alright, well, I'll let you go now."

"Thanks, talk to you soon."

"Sounds good." I fibbed. "Later."

—

—

Just as I was slipping my phone back into my pocket, a familiar voice called up to me from below.

"So, what is it I get to have a laugh at, exactly?" He teased.

"Were you eavesdropping that entire conversation?" I laughed, leaping down to meet him at ground level.

"Well, obviously not, or else I wouldn't have to ask what we're gonna have a laugh at, would I?" He snickered, kissing me on the cheek.

"Touché." I chuckled, glancing out across the woods, then looking back at him. "..how bout I tell you while we walk?"

"I think I won't say no to that." He agreed. "...lead the way."

"With pleasure." I chuckled, taking his hand as we started to walk.

"...So...you are going, then?" Elijah asked, after I filled him in on the gist of the conversation.

"Uh...we're going...Yes." I corrected with a chuckle. "...assuming your offer to accompany me still stands, of course."

"Wouldn't miss it." He confirmed with a reassuring grin. "...so, where's the punchline, then?"

"The punchline?"

"...or, did you forget what we were supposed to have a laugh at?" He teased.

"Oh, right. That." I chuckled. "...it was just a stupid little thing, really. I mostly said that to take the heat off her."

He gave me one of his infamous looks, at the heat comment, to which I just rolled my eyes.

"Oh, my god. It's an expression!" I couldn't help but laugh, despite my best efforts, as I playfully smacked him. "Not everything is about you!"

This earned a somehow even more devious smirk from him. "...that you jumped so quickly to that assumption of my potential accusation speaks volumes.

"Ow!" He laughed, "Are you gonna tell me what was so funny, or what?"

"Or what." I teased. "Just funny little misunderstanding. She said she wanted to talk more, when we have more time, and suggested that I could tell her more about my girlfriend, meaning Liz, who she met when she gave her the invitation to pass along.'

"Ahh. Well, I guess you were right, then." He chuckled. "..So, how'd you break it to her?"

"I just told her not to sweat too much over it because.."

"...because your boyfriend would get a kick out of it, anyway?" He finished for me.

"Something like that." I chuckled. "...which just proves that you still heard too much."

"Fine, but in my defense, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop. Em was up a while before I got up, mentioned she saw you head out, so I figured I might catch ya reading…" He gently pulled at the book I was holding, to see the title. "...The Shining, again?!" He laughed.

"It's my comfort read, what can I say?" I chuckled. "...if you were any kind of a stalker, you'd know this."

"Not a stalker…." He corrected. "...well, today, anyway. Anyway, I didn't know you were on the phone til I got here. I ain't touching whatever you're dealing with with your sister, here, with a ten foot pole, unless you tell me about it first."

I smiled back at him. "I appreciate that, but it was nothing, really. Just a long overdue callback about whether or not I was coming. Like I mentioned, she had been trying to get hold of me, even before she gave the invitation to Liz for me."

"Yeah, you did mention that." He recalled. "...so, you're good, then?"

"Very." I assured him. "...well, for now, anyway….in the meantime, I see you've left the house without your little travel coffee mug. What do you say to me taking you out for some coffee, this morning?"

This earned one of his famous grins, that I love so much.

"I won't say no to that."