🌙 — 𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐎’𝐒 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐇𝐔𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐄𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐋𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍. she wasn’t a religious person, not ANYMORE at least. the divine and untouched belief in an ever-so-gracious higher being was lost upon her, that was the past; but with a childhood littered with godly metaphors and sayings, nico was a firm believer that the devil was truly in the DETAILS. eyebrows knitted together as she stays steady by the wall, still aware of the folder in her possession. the femme took in the gentleness of his eyes; bags resting neatly under their curve, strawy hair falling just between the knit of his eyebrows. nico certainly wouldn’t be forgetting him anytime soon, not when he spent his time tailing her around the city. what a waste of a pretty face.
truth be told, nico hadn’t gone into terrible detail with her folder. eyes only skimming over the scribbled notes and paperclipped sheets of ivory paper. she did, however, appreciate the blurry photo of her walking in a beeline through a lobby ALONE. dark eyes were hidden behind stolen cat-eyed sunglasses, dressed up as some kind of rich executive to fit amongst the stinking wealthy that lingered in the hallway. nico could only assume it was zoomed up security footage, a moment of her routinely peering back by the angle the photo framed her face.
her pulled lips stay brilliantly familiar upon her features, as if it was etched into place like a piece of art. nico took a step back, eyes attached upon the male and she watched a delicate feather elegantly twirl to the ground. ODD, but she had truthfully seen weirder in the filthy and more disgusting side of new york. in situations such as these, nico possibly would’ve leapt out of the window by now if it wasn’t for the blinking, reminding thought that floated in her mind. he was one introduction ahead of her, and in nico’s mind, that was entirely UNFAIR. and with the boyish smile from the other, a failed theory, the thief was hungry for more information. a light shrug of her shoulders as she held the folder closer, keeping note of the distance between them, “ too OPTIMISTIC of me, then? ”
nico glanced over to the couch of paper and folders; if he wasn’t a cop, what could he be then? possibilities were dissected and crossed off mentally in her mind. the vaguest of ghostly dimples grew by the edge of her lips, intertwining and hiding the folder behind her back childishly. “ so no uniform. surprise me, you’re some kind of BROODING detective? or am i guessing wrong and i’m meeting my biggest fan. ”
he stops a wing’s breadth away from her. intimidation isn't an intention here, nor any certain predatory instinct. birds of prey are not like their feline equivalents : they do not creep around and STALK --- they target and drop from the sky before their prey is none the wiser. birds of prey also don't use their wings as a weapon so that's an imperfect analogy --- but apollo lacks talons too so maybe that's fair. regardless, nowadays he's likely more akin to the sparrows that hop curiously around under the birdfeeder, pecking at the fallen seeds on the sill and waiting for him to put out more. his gaze flickers toward the open window : the pigeon that'd cooed the warning is gone, just the typical sounds of new york at night filter through.
OPTIMISTIC is one way to put it, but then again, that’s exactly what he had been thinking he could get his foot in the door of the fbi when they would never let his wings fit. reality is always grittier, less pretty, more sorrowful than anyone wants to let on. that feels like a very long time ago, though -- and maybe six years IS ; he's long moved on from the fact. if apollo is good at anything besides his job, it's at letting the past stay where it is. turns out he wasn't exactly a ' make the world a better place ' or ' revolutionize the system ' type anyway. shoulders rise and fall in a shrug in response as his eyes follow the movement of her hands. her words seem to echo in his head : biggest fan, so it was that case file as he suspected then.
though not exactly the terminology he'd use, he did have to admit that he had a begrudging respect for her skills --- the difficulty of tracking her down was something unmatched by any of his marks before or after her case. ( perhaps that's why he hadn't shredded the damn thing --- a point of PRIDE of having worked so hard on it ). " i'll give you PARTIAL CREDIT for that one ---- " he says. detective was close enough to private investigator in the end, just a bunch of mostly irrelevant technicalities between them. " ---- brooding season's almost over though ; can't really say that i partake in it anyway. " the smile turns more genuine at the joke. funny word BROODING --- oft attached to the mysterious male when the original definition harks to the protective female. hands settle in his pants pockets, stance mostly relaxed as he surveys her and her red-lipsticked smile. " you plan on taking that with you ?? 'fraid it'll fetch a lot LOWER price than the stuff you're used to ---- unless you're in the business of turning yourself in. "