She watches him, his nervous gaze bouncing around the room to rest steadily on the floor. He's plainly afraid of hurting Lev, in any capacity. It's why Abby wouldn't yell at him for this even if it were worse, because it's so clear that he's already weathering criticism from himself. He doesn't need it from her, too.
"He'd find a way to do all of those things even if something happened to his hands." Abby has no doubt; she's thinking of Yara now, as fierce and as strong as ever even after her arm had been injured, "He's a survivor. It's what we do. But–" she hastens to add it, because she suddenly realises she's not helping, "it won't even come to that. Okay? He'll be fine."
Nico doesn't really trust people, as a rule—certainly not when they come bearing good news, which always feels like a trap (because he's very jaded and extra cool xoxo.) But he wants to believe her badly enough that he stops fidgeting and looks at her again. "Okay," he says after a moment, deciding that he doesn't think she'd be so calm if she wasn't telling the truth about that. Lev was chill the whole time, but Lev is chill about a lot of things that he probably shouldn't be. He's been through too much.
After a moment, Nico can't stop himself from tacking on: "You're not mad?"
She snorts. "I'm not mad, kid. You'd know if I was."
Kettle has boiled. Of course Lev has hot chocolate powder in his room, it's probably his favourite thing in their house back home and this hotel caters to every need, so. Abby puts a very generous couple of spoonfuls into a mug for him, and makes up the drink. She fixes Nico with a look while she does it, like she can figure him out that way.
"Did you really think I was going to yell at you? I know you wouldn't ever hurt him on purpose."
Nico has spent so long under constant suspicion by the people whose side he's been on literally the whole time that he almost doesn't know what to do with the clear trust in his motives. Lev trusts him, sure, but Lev also never even heard of Hades, and never thought Nico was creepy and secretly plotting everybody's demise behind their backs. You know, like most people do. Like he's pretty sure Abby did for at least awhile. Maybe still does, he doesn't know, adults are strange and mysterious creatures to him and he has no idea how to read them most of the time (unless they're dead.)
"I don't know." He says instead of yeah, he did think that, because he's a teenager and he can't just admit to being wrong. Impossible. He stands up when he sees that she's done with the drink that he didn't contribute a single thing to, looking pretty sheepish about the whole thing. "He's going to be so annoyed," Nico predicts, though at least he isn't predicting that Lev's hands are going to fall off and ruin his life anymore, so that's progress!!
"Probably," Abby agrees, and rolls her eyes. She nudges the mug across the bench toward him. "Here. If you take him the hot chocolate, he can only be annoyed at me."
Lev life hacks........ besides, she's used to him being titchy at her. Nico can get a pass for now. Abby realises she has an opportunity before they rejoin Lev to ask Nico what exactly they mean to each other, even opens her mouth to say something, but she abruptly realises that Lev won't appreciate her prying. That if she wants him to trust her, she has to let him come to her instead, just like with everything else. That's okay. She's getting good at waiting him out.
So instead she shrugs, and gives Nico a good natured thump on the arm with her fist, before she pushes off the bench to trail back down the hall. Lev's probably thirty seconds away from yelling for one of them, anyway.
"Are you guys finally done talking?" Lev scowls and leans out of the doorway as he hears them approach closer. Okay, he's not mad that Nico and Abby are talking. Actually, it makes him really happy. But they are NOT ALLOWED TO TALK ABOUT HIM WHILE HE IS RIGHT THERE. Surely, that is illegal? Banned across the world.
"Can I take my hands out of the water now? They're all wrinkled." He says like he's suffered an extreme injustice. Which one of you will apologize?
He should probably let her take the hot chocolate, in that case, but he definitely does not. Conveniently that means he's too busy struggling to keep all the liquid inside of the cup when she gets him in the shoulder to get too weird about being touched.
And then Lev is complaining, which is extremely cute. He fights the urge to grin valiantly. "Um, probably?" It's not much of an apology, given that he sounds pretty relieved about it. Wrinkles mean that his fingers can't be frozen at all anymore, right? Nico glances to Abby to see if she agrees even as he sidles up to Lev's side and peers down at them, still hanging onto the mug of hot cocoa. "Let me see. Are they back to the regular color?" That's what she'd said to look for on the Fluid!
"Nico and I will find something else to go talk about if you're not careful."
She pauses in the doorway to the bathroom, pushing her shoulder up against the doorframe to look into the basin over both sets of their shoulders. Wrinkled fingers don't mean anything other than Lev's hands have been in the water for a while. They are a good colour though, so much further from the irritated pink they'd been before.
She gives Nico a nod of approval.
"Just– don't try to rub them. Okay? You could blister."
"Ugh. Like what? You only talk about books and the gym."
God, if they started talking... Well, actually he'd like that because he wants them to like each other. He just doesn't want them to talk about him! That's fair! Thats legit!
"You've been saying that the whole time," Nico grumps, "even when they were frozen solid."
It wasn't that bad, but Nico was very worried!!! He finally offers up the mug of hot chocolate after Lev gets done flexing his fingers, before reaching over to shut the water off. At least that conversation seems to have gotten him to unclench a little bit, since he's no longer shifting around so guiltily. "I thought you wanted us to be friends," he even manages to tease. "You've changed your mind?"
"I don't care," Abby says, an edge of exasperation sneaking in, "You know your skin has to– moisturise, again. Right? It was frozen and now it isn't, so be careful for a couple hours."
She has no idea if any of this is true or not, she just has a vivid picture in her mind of Lev's skin sloughing off like snake shed and revealing all this raw, shiny flesh underneath of it. And that's the last thing anybody needs because then he won't be able to hold anything and he'll become insufferable. So really, she says it for all of them.
Anyway. Nico's teasing Lev, she has to get in there. "It's too late, if you have. We're already best friends."
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"He'd find a way to do all of those things even if something happened to his hands." Abby has no doubt; she's thinking of Yara now, as fierce and as strong as ever even after her arm had been injured, "He's a survivor. It's what we do. But–" she hastens to add it, because she suddenly realises she's not helping, "it won't even come to that. Okay? He'll be fine."
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After a moment, Nico can't stop himself from tacking on: "You're not mad?"
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Kettle has boiled. Of course Lev has hot chocolate powder in his room, it's probably his favourite thing in their house back home and this hotel caters to every need, so. Abby puts a very generous couple of spoonfuls into a mug for him, and makes up the drink. She fixes Nico with a look while she does it, like she can figure him out that way.
"Did you really think I was going to yell at you? I know you wouldn't ever hurt him on purpose."
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"I don't know." He says instead of yeah, he did think that, because he's a teenager and he can't just admit to being wrong. Impossible. He stands up when he sees that she's done with the drink that he didn't contribute a single thing to, looking pretty sheepish about the whole thing. "He's going to be so annoyed," Nico predicts, though at least he isn't predicting that Lev's hands are going to fall off and ruin his life anymore, so that's progress!!
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Lev life hacks........ besides, she's used to him being titchy at her. Nico can get a pass for now. Abby realises she has an opportunity before they rejoin Lev to ask Nico what exactly they mean to each other, even opens her mouth to say something, but she abruptly realises that Lev won't appreciate her prying. That if she wants him to trust her, she has to let him come to her instead, just like with everything else. That's okay. She's getting good at waiting him out.
So instead she shrugs, and gives Nico a good natured thump on the arm with her fist, before she pushes off the bench to trail back down the hall. Lev's probably thirty seconds away from yelling for one of them, anyway.
YEETS BACK IN HERE.
"Can I take my hands out of the water now? They're all wrinkled." He says like he's suffered an extreme injustice. Which one of you will apologize?
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And then Lev is complaining, which is extremely cute. He fights the urge to grin valiantly. "Um, probably?" It's not much of an apology, given that he sounds pretty relieved about it. Wrinkles mean that his fingers can't be frozen at all anymore, right? Nico glances to Abby to see if she agrees even as he sidles up to Lev's side and peers down at them, still hanging onto the mug of hot cocoa. "Let me see. Are they back to the regular color?" That's what she'd said to look for on the Fluid!
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She pauses in the doorway to the bathroom, pushing her shoulder up against the doorframe to look into the basin over both sets of their shoulders. Wrinkled fingers don't mean anything other than Lev's hands have been in the water for a while. They are a good colour though, so much further from the irritated pink they'd been before.
She gives Nico a nod of approval.
"Just– don't try to rub them. Okay? You could blister."
no subject
God, if they started talking... Well, actually he'd like that because he wants them to like each other. He just doesn't want them to talk about him! That's fair! Thats legit!
He looks at his fingers and flexes them.
"It doesn't hurt."
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It wasn't that bad, but Nico was very worried!!! He finally offers up the mug of hot chocolate after Lev gets done flexing his fingers, before reaching over to shut the water off. At least that conversation seems to have gotten him to unclench a little bit, since he's no longer shifting around so guiltily. "I thought you wanted us to be friends," he even manages to tease. "You've changed your mind?"
gross... skin.. stuff.... mention (??)
She has no idea if any of this is true or not, she just has a vivid picture in her mind of Lev's skin sloughing off like snake shed and revealing all this raw, shiny flesh underneath of it. And that's the last thing anybody needs because then he won't be able to hold anything and he'll become insufferable. So really, she says it for all of them.
Anyway. Nico's teasing Lev, she has to get in there. "It's too late, if you have. We're already best friends."