[ slowly, very slowly, nico leaned up enough to wrap his free arm around vex's neck. it was a loose hold because of their clasped hands, but it still conveyed nico's message. over time, he's seen so many different facets of vex, come to know the fae on intimate levels of both the physical and emotional. knowing that vex was willing to open up to him meant a great deal especially when nico knew that vex probably struggled with trust and acceptance like he did. in some ways, the relationship reminded nico a lot of his relationship with reyna avila ramírez-arellano. certainly, there were a lot of differences between vex and the young praetor of new rome, but the way walls had slowly come down before nico seemed very similar. and just like with reyna, nico wanted to express how much he appreciated the trust. ]

Some of these things... they have have to be shared. Keeping them inside and never using one's voice— That's the fastest route to Asphodel. And sometimes I think that Asphodel is worse than even the Fields of Punishment.

[ he gave vex a slight squeeze before pulling away again, never straying too far. ]

Your son should be fine. And so will you.