Work Text:
Hazel will always remind Nico of Bianca, but he knows the two of them are extremely different. Nico had been with Bianca for decades, nearly a hundred years, stuck in the Lotus Hotel, immortally ten and unaware of what was wrong.
Similarly, Hazel had been stuck in the Underworld for about seventy years before Nico brought her back to the world of the living. Nico knows it’s not the same, but it’s a comfort he still holds dear to their relationship.
He sometimes wonders if Hazel resents him for pulling her back to life, to bringing her into something this big, only because he had been selfish about wanting his sister back. About wanting Bianca back.
Hazel is no Bianca, but Nico is fine with that. He loves her all the same.
Nico lets himself be vulnerable around her. He leans into her side, head falling to her shoulder. He’s tired, exhaustion seeping into his bones. She doesn’t mind, barely paying him any mind as she simply puts a hand against his upper back. Nico has never been that good with physical touch, but it feels easier with Hazel. Safer.
His sister’s touch is warm like home, familiar and kind.