Meih

It was obviously a mistake on Duke’s part because there was no way Mason had screwed up. However, the accusation still tickled his brain the wrong way for a few seconds before he put the phone down. The day had been stressful enough, and he didn’t need Duke’s paranoia in the mix.

On the way back to the living room, Mason’s brows knit together, noticing Nico wasn’t on the sofa but instead, hidden behind the curtains. "What are you doing here?" Nico's eyes were big as he stared at him, not moving a muscle. "Come, we will play later," Mason said, pulling the curtains away and nudging Nico towards the sofa.

They sat facing each other for a minute before Mason sighed and leaned on the sofa, working out what he wanted to say, trying to be extra soft since Nico seemed unsettled.

"You understand most of what I say, right?" asked Mason when he saw Nico pick up the small ball. Nico stared at him without moving for a long moment before he dipped his head for a second, his hand clutching the ball harder.

"Can you speak?" Nico didn’t even try to open his mouth. "Try saying my name. Mason," he said, enunciating each syllable of his name. “Without the dummy.”

After multiple tries, the most Nico could say was 'ma'; it wasn't much, but it was progress, and better than nothing. He smiled as Nico’s cheeks turned a light red from the praise and decided that from that day on, he would encourage Nico to express himself more. It would benefit him more in the long haul, and as it was, he felt this job would take longer than advertised.

The more they went out, the easier it got, up to the point that grocery shopping was a walk in the park. If Mason was being honest, it was easier than going to the park, since neither adults nor children approached them. As it turned out, Mason and Nico were somewhat awkward around other people, their age or otherwise, and they would rather avoid those places during the busy hours.

"Meih, 'nana."

Mason stopped in his tracks when he heard that unmistakable soft and baby-like voice. He turned to the voice, almost like a robot, as if he had stopped computing, and stared at Nico.

Nico meekly pointed toward his favourite fruit, his other hand holding onto the fabric of his clothes. Much like a robot, Mason’s jaw dislodged and fell to the floor.

“Holy Sh–” Mason almost screamed, his fists clenching and raking over his hair, trying to keep the excitement at bay. “That was awesome, little dude.”

Mason crouched in front of Nico, enthusiasm dripping from his expression as he stared at Nico, waiting for more words, but what came instead was Nico’s face turning a bright red. Mason put his hand up, “High-five.” Then he grabbed Nico’s hand and bumped into his. “Fist-bump,” he said, closing Nico’s hand and knocking it into his own fist and proceeding to wiggle his fingers. A small smile showed on Nico’s lips, but Mason couldn’t and wasn’t even trying to stop his.

Eleventh rule of assassination: don’t interact with the target more than necessary.

A few minutes later, after grabbing the bananas Nico reminded him, they were on their way back home, and Mason’s steps were so lighter that without noticing, he diverted their path to his favourite place, until his phone vibrated in his pocket and he looked at it.

Bile rose to his mouth as he recognised Duke’s number on the message he received. There was no call, no ranting text, not even a threat. There was only a picture attached. Duke’s words came back to him, and even though he was a hundred percent sure he had done everything he should have, unease soaked his senses. He darted towards his apartment. He needed the safe space to gather his thoughts and open the picture he had yet to download, until the huffing sounds matching the hurried steps behind him permeated his mind as he recalled every step he took that night. What brought him to fully acknowledge those sounds was when he heard a loud thump.

Nico.

He turned so fast, he almost slipped, dashing to get Nico from the floor, blood trickling from his scraped hands and knees.

“Fuck,” he said, seeing Nico’s eyes filling with tears as he bit down on his lips so he wouldn’t cry out. “I’m sorry.” Mason stood up, holding Nico close to his chest, soft pats on his heaving back. “You are alright. It’s okay,” Mason kept murmuring as he approached his apartment, and despite all the tears Nico shed, his sobs were barely audible.

It took a long time to calm Nico after cleaning his wounds, and Mason wasn’t sure if he had successfully calmed him or if Nico simply got so tired he fell asleep on his lap. Either way, the heaviness that he had forgotten and ignored Nico for a few seconds made it hard for him to breathe. After setting Nico down, Mason opened the picture Duke had sent, watching it focus pixel by pixel.

The picture was taken a good length away and had bad quality, showing what was clearly a woman, but not necessarily the woman Duke claimed it was. A shiver ran through his spine when the thought that Duke wasn’t interested if it was really Sarah in the picture crossed his mind.

Mason needed proof. He needed to find the woman in the picture and show Duke he was wrong before the man had the stupid idea to actually try to kill him.

***

It was eerie how sometimes Nico became aware that something was going on. When Mason opened snacks, even if the TV was loud enough to prevent the rustling sound from reaching Nico, after a few seconds, he would stumble over to the kitchen, looking for his share.

Apparently, his superpowers worked while he was asleep, too, because the moment Mason got dressed to track the woman, after putting Nico to sleep, he sat on the bed with his eyes half closed.

It wasn't a very nice thing to do, leave Nico home alone to investigate, but it was not like he had a choice, and if everything had gone as he planned, Nico wouldn't have noticed his absence.

In a quick movement, Mason lay down next to Nico, trying to get him to sleep again, which he did in two seconds, but the grasp of his little hand on Mason's clothes was unbreakable, and Mason resorted to taking his shirt off, so he wouldn’t disrupt his sleep again. The second Mason slipped off the bed, Nico sat up again.

"Just sleep, I will be back before morning." Nico stared at him, his eyes slowly focusing, but his hand holding on to Mason again. "I'll be quick."

Those sleep-infused eyes kept staring at him, unwavering, and Mason, setting his face, grabbed the little hand holding onto him. Nico clenched harder, his lips trembling, but still Mason pulled it off. Tears filled Nico's eyes as his mouth showed an inverted U, but he didn't make a noise, even as he saw Mason step back.

"Sleep," said Mason. He was sure that the second he closed the door behind him, Nico would cry and wail, but there was no noise from the other side of the door. An uncomfortable feeling made his heart heavy, and he didn't like it, but he had to get to work, because as it was, they were both in danger if Duke wasn’t stopped.

For the longest time, Mason stood with his hand on the door handle, unable to leave.

Annoyed with himself, he turned back to his room to find Nico's face soaked with tears in the same position he had left him. That hurt him more than if he had just cried out. Nico's eyes grew bigger as a small sob left his throat, seeing Mason approach him.

Mason crouched in front of him, his stern face long gone. "You will have to stay hidden, you understand?" Nico blinked slowly before he nodded. "You will have to stay quiet, too."

Mason rubbed his face, feeling weary despite not having left the house yet. "How do I even hide you?" Mason sighed. Nico leaned his head to the side before getting off the bed, walked to the closet and pointed at a backpack.

The backpack was big enough to snugly fit Nico inside, but it wouldn't be the most comfortable position for him. Without waiting for Mason to make up his mind, Nico sat inside the backpack, and the way his head stuck out from it made Mason laugh.