Out at the Beach (tags: Naveen/Nero)

Naveen stood on the front porch of the beach house and looked out over the beach. The children were asleep in a bassinet by a bench behind him, shielded from the sun by the canopy that covered the porch. His body was clothed by a loose white shirt that was tucked into a fitted pair of black pants. He had rolled his sleeves up to his elbows and ran a hand through his hair as he watched Nita out along the beach. She had already been out there for an hour or so but he didn't want to rush her. For the first time in a while, she looked happy. His smile only grew as she twirled around and gave herself a new dress, the colors instantly complimenting her. Then he saw her do the same for Chel and he shook his head lightly, the smile still glued to his face. Nita always spoiled Chel...but she deserved it. He heard footsteps behind him and looked over to see his father, dressed in a similar outfit as Naveen though instead of his shirt being white, it was a deep blue like the depths of the ocean. Nero moved to stand beside his son, his hands shoved in his pockets as he watched Nita and Chel out on the beach. "Thank you...for helping her forget." Naveen suddenly spoke, his gaze never leaving Nita and Chel. Nero blinked in surprise at the comment and shook his head. "It's not a big deal...I didn't want her living with those memories any more than you did." He caught sight of Nita's charm bracelet gleaming in the sun and he felt his muscles stiffen. Of course he had known that Naveen had given it to her a few weeks before but he still wasn't used to it being there. He looked over at Naveen, noticing how he was still keeping his distance. "I know you still don't trust me and you have every reason not to. But I love her...and I hope that you'll accept us as...a thing." He looked over at Naveen and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Naveen felt his body involuntarily flinch at the gesture and he turned to look at his father. "I still don't trust you...but I've already spoken about this to Chel. As long as she is happy, and safe, I can make my peace with this. Just...just don't make me regret it." Naveen looked up at his father as he spoke, hoping that he would understand. "You're a good father Naveen..." Suddenly, Nero wrapped his arms around his son and held him in a very rare embrace. Nero never showed his children affection in any way and Naveen stiffened. After a few moments, his muscles slowly started to relax and Naveen leaned into his father, his arms moving up to hug him back but his hands clung to him with a white knuckled grip. He could feel tears springing to his eyes so he buried his face in his father's chest, refusing to cry. All his life his father had beat him, told him that he wasn't enough, and abused every possible part of him he could and just to feel support for the first time in his life and that it was coming from him, it felt amazing.

Nero had been surprised that Naveen had relaxed so much in his arms and even more so when he clung to him. Though the more he thought about it, he realized that he had never been...nice to his son, or even Nita. He let Naveen be as long as he needed since he didn't want to disturb him. Naveen could barely breath from holding back his tears and his fingers dug into Nero's shirt. He smelled familiar and solid...it reminded him of his mother oddly enough. Though he heard footsteps heading up to the house and he quickly released his father, turning his back to Nita and Chel for a moment as he wiped his face. He prayed that they hadn't seen him hugging his father so desperately and cleared his throat before turning back around. Just as he did, Nita and Chel had reached the steps to the porch and a smile tugged at his lips. "Wow...you two look beautiful." Naveen pushed past his father, practically ignoring the man and he moved over and took Nita's hand as she made her way up the last step. The charm bracelet dangled from her wrist and he gently ran his fingers over it. Nero cleared his throat and Naveen jumped, looking over his shoulder at his father when he suddenly realized that he was blocking Chel from getting onto the porch too. Naveen felt his cheeks blush and hastily stepped out of the way, letting Chel up and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Is this what you hand in mind Chel?" Naveen looked over at his daughter, curious to see if he had succeeded in making one of her dreams come true.

Naveen grinned at Chel's words and wrapped his arm around Nita's shoulder. Though just as he did, Narcisse started to cry and his arm slid down in disappointment to let Nita tend to the children. He loved the twins but the past few days, they had a tendency to start crying just as he would touch Nita. Nita pressed a kiss against his lips and he lightly squeezed her hand before she walked away. Nero glanced over just as Narcisse had started crying but Nita beat him to it and wandered over to the children. He squeezed Chel's shoulders lightly and placed a kiss on her cheek. "I should go help her..play nice." He teased and kissed her lips before following after Nita. Naveen felt his muscles stiffen as he watched his father kiss Chel and he looked out towards the sea trying to ignore them. Once Nero left, he slowly relaxed and ran a hand through his hair. He still wasn't used to the two of them being so close but he was proving that he loved Chel. After all, he had gotten rid of the terrible memories that plagued her and Naveen couldn't be more grateful. He had never seen Chel so carefree before and she deserved it all.

Naveen looked over at Chel as she spoke, a small smirk tugging at his lip at her words. "I'll be nice and promise that I'll never say that to you. I wouldn't want to rub it in." He teased and lightly knocked her elbow with his. Though her next words made him freeze and he instantly dropped his gaze. "That..." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "That should be something that she should tell you. We didn't have a very...healthy relationship with our father growing up. You saw what he did just this past year to us..to you..I understand that he's trying but it's going to take a lot to convince me." Though he remembered the hug he had just shared with his father and he instantly hated himself for giving in so easily. "I know you and Nita saw...but that was the first time that he had ever been...nice to me and...Our mother was the only one that truly loved us growing up. Father was strict. He thought showing emotion was a weakness and he never praised me for anything. Even if I brought home the biggest dragons or won tournaments, it was never good enough for him. He treated Nita like an object and I would protect her. Although that did involve me being beaten...more than she knows. I went through a lot for her because I loved her even back then and I always will. I can't tell you everything...that is more for her to decide, but when she's ready...we'll tell you everything if you want to hear it." Naveen looked over at her, wondering what her reaction would be. He had already revealed more than he should have but if she and Nero were going to be together, she would have to know about his dark sides too.

---

Nero had waited a few minutes to follow Nita upstairs to the children's room, giving her some privacy as she fed them. Once she was finished, he head just been about to head in when he heard her talking to Narcisse in her arms. He had almost forgotten that he was going to take Narcisse when he was older...but now that Nita had had time to get attached, he wasn't so sure he could do that to her. What would Chel think if he stole one of Nita's only children after all the ones she's lost? He leaned against the wall and continued to listen to her, all these thoughts running through his head. Though the moment she revealed something about Mira, his eyes widened and he cursed under his breath. The poison...They must not have gotten to it in time and it had affected the children. Mira most likely gained an effect first because she was conceived first. Nero waited for a few more minutes before gently pushing open the door to the nursery, his hands shoved nervously in his pockets. "I'm sorry...if we had found a solution for the poison faster, maybe she wouldn't be." He frowned when Nita looked over at him and he sighed. "You have to tell him Nita. He still doesn't even know that you were poisoned...if you keep this from him for much longer, he's going to figure it out and have questions. You can blame it on me, make me the bad guy, but I don't want him to think that you betrayed him by keeping this from him."

Nero sighed at her words and looked down. She was right, if Naveen thought he had anything to do with it, he'd never be allowed near Chel ever again. But he's going to wonder why his daughter was born blind and he wasn't so sure Nita could explain it without mentioning the poison. Just as he heard her words cut off, he saw the blood drip from her nose and he tensed. "Are you alright?" He moved to take a step closer as she set Narcisse down and then the moment he saw her sway, he rushed forwards. She was falling too fast and as he caught her, his feet slipped and he landed with a loud thud against the ground with his arms wrapped tightly around her body.
Naveen heard a thud from upstairs and he immediately tensed, his eyes flying towards the nursery window. Memories flashed before his eyes of when he had heard those sounds back home and they always meant trouble. Naveen narrowed his gaze and pushed past Chel, not really telling her what he was doing and he rushed into the house and up the stairs. He didn't even care if Chel was following him or not, his main concern was his wife and his children. His feet flew across the ground when he suddenly came to a stop in the doorway. "Nita, what's-" His words halted when he saw Nita unconscious on the floor, her body laying on top of Nero's. Every muscle in his body tensed and he rushed into the room, pulling Nita off of his father so her head was resting in his lap. "What the hell happened?" Naveen hissed, his gaze starting to turn a deep red. Nero flinched at Naveen's words and pushed himself into a seated position. "She just fainted...I don't know. She was fine one second and the next, she was falling." Naveen glared at his father, the moment they had earlier clearly not phasing his anger, before he looked down and gentle cupped Nita's face.

Naveen felt himself relax as Nita started to come to and the red from his eyes faded as they returned to normal. When she asked about Narcisse, he shook his head and shushed her. "He's fine, you on the other hand..." He looked up as Chel came over and did a check on her body, worry clearly showing in his eyes. Though he didn't quite believe her when Nita said she was fine and he bit his lip. Nero looked towards the crib, his eyes landing on Narcisse. He had a bad feeling about this but he didn't have much time to ponder it when Chel helped him to his feet and practically dragged him out of the room. Naveen sighed when the two of them finally left and he looked down at Nita. He could still feel her body trembling beneath his touch and he lifted her up into his arms. Thankfully they had an extra bed in the nursery so he took her there, resting her body lightly on the mattress before he moved to sit next to her. "So do you want to tell me what's really going on here?" He looked down at her, lightly smoothing some hair away from her face with his worry still clearly showing in his eyes. When she tried to protest, he sighed and shook his head. "Did you think I really wouldn't notice if you were acting different? You've been different ever since you came back to me during your pregnancy...did something happen that I should know about? Or do you...do you want to go back with him?" The last words felt sour in his mouth and his lips curled in distaste as he looked away from her and down at his hands.

---

Nero nearly stumbled as Chel pushed him out into the hallway and she kept pushing him until they were a safe distance from the room. At her question, he sighed and ran a hand over his head. "I thought she was going to be fine but it must have taken more of a toll on her than I thought. She just spent nine months carrying a demon child, not to mention the poison, she's been weakened. And I think.." His words cut off as he looked back towards the nursery to make sure neither of them had been followed. "I think Narcisse is a siphon. I thought I felt it when he was first born but he didn't show any signs of it later on so I just dismissed it. He can drain powers, pain, anything really and make them his own. If he gets to be strong enough, he could take Nita's powers away and he would gain them. I think that's what happened when she fainted. He's not strong enough yet but he's already testing...and that's not good." Nero frowned and shook his head. They would have to find a way to fix this and soon, otherwise all of them could be in danger. His thoughts moved to Mira and he had to admit, he was worried about her too. "We didn't get to the poison in time...Mira's blind. She's something supernatural too but I haven't figure out what yet. But if she's with Narcisse for much longer and we don't fix this, she could be in more trouble than all of us. Narcisse is my heir...Nita knows that I had planned to take him, though I had started to change my mind about it, but with this...I might have to."

Naveen bit his lip, knowing that he must have offended her with his last question. When she kissed him, he leaned into her and hesitated to let go. "I know you've been faithful and I know you don't love him..it just worries me. I almost lost you to him once and now that he's around every day...I just don't want you to think you made a mistake. Every woman I have been with has been a mistake until you...if I lost you again, and our children, I wouldn't be able to wake up in the mornings." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Though when she mentioned that she had been keeping something from him, he looked at her with wide eyes. Whatever it was, she was trying to prepare him for it so it couldn't be good. "What is it?" Naveen felt his worry grow even more and he gently squeezed her hand. As soon as she started, he blinked at her, almost refusing to believe her words. His mouth went dry and he slowly pulled his hand away from hers as he leaned on his knees, running a hand over his face. "How...um.." He could barely even get the words out as he stared at the ground. "But mother didn't die from poison or childbirth, she..." His eyes widened when he realized that he actually had no idea how his mother died. All these years he thought he had but now that he was trying to remember, nothing was there. It was like she just disappeared one day. It had been Ruby the whole time. Then she mentioned Nero and Chel had known and his heart sank. Why did they keep this from him? A sudden realization hit him and he frowned. They were scared of him....this was all after he was changed and they didn't want him to lash out.  But her next words made him freeze and his stomach churned. His eyes flew to the crib where Mira was sleeping and he felt tears sting the back of his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me? If you had told me..." Naveen let out a shaky breath and stood up from the bed. She had just unloaded a lot of information on him and it was all just swirling around in his head. "I...I need some air." Naveen didn't even look at her as he moved to leave the room, not caring that she was calling for him to stop. He fled from the nursery and pushed past Chel and Nero in the hallway. They tried to call out to him but he couldn't hear them. All he could hear was what Nita had just told him. While they all had been inside, it started raining and the skies turned dark. Naveen pushed open the door to the house, slamming it shut behind him as he ventured out into the rain like it didn't even bother him.

---

Nero nodded at her question and frowned. "I'm almost positive. But if we could get a talisman like Aurora said, it could prevent him from using his powers. If it works, I won't have to take him but if it doesn't...I know it will hurt her but she and Mira will be safer if I do. You and your father will be too." Nero's words cut off when he heard the door of the nursery open and Naveen walked out. "Speak of the devil..." He muttered to himself but by the way Naveen was looking, Nita must have told him. "Naveen...hey, is everything alright?" Nero tried to catch his son's attention but he simply pushed past them and went downstairs. "We should check on Nita.." Nero gently took Chel's hand and led her to the nursery. They walked in and it was obvious that Nita was hurt that Naveen left. He heard the front door slam shut and he moved to the window to see Naveen wandering out along the beach in the rain. "I see he didn't take it very well..." His fingers tugged at the curtains to move them and watch Naveen as he disappeared in the distance. After a moment, he sighed and closed the curtains as the rain started to pound again the windows.