have you seen ( nico russo, he/him )? They look a lot like ( elliot fletcher ). The ( 30 ) year old ( assistant to elio at charios art gallery ) is so ( resourceful, loyal, perceptive ) but I heard they can also be really ( guarded, resentful, blunt ). Can you believe theyâve been in town for ( 1 month )?! They live in the ( port carroll ) neighborhood and kind of remind me of ( old brass keys on heavy rings, italian curses said quietly during mass, expensive family heirlooms shoved in a storage unit, a cigarette tucked behind his ear that he forgot about ). If I was asked, Iâd guess that they were ( most likely to find treasure in the trash ) in their yearbook for the class of ( 2014 ).
full name : nicolas ânicoâ russo
nickname(s) : nico, nic, nicky â family only and usually against his will
date of birth : september 12
parentage: marco and caterina russo
siblings: gianna âgiaâ russo, 37; massimo âmaxâ russo, 34
significant other: none
children: none
gender identity : trans man
romantic orientation : biromantic
sexual orientation : bisexual
WANTED CONNECTIONS:
friends!
enemies!
lovers!!
anything else!!
BIOGRAPHY: (full)
nico russo grew up close enough to the russo family fortune to know exactly what it could buy, and exactly what it couldnât fix. the youngest of three children born to marco and caterina russo, nico learned early how easy it was to be both watched and overlooked. his older sister, gia, was polished and responsible in the way eldest daughters often had to be, while his older brother, max, carried himself with the easy charm of someone who knew how to talk his way out of trouble. nico, meanwhile, became the practical one: the fixer, the mover, the person people called when something needed handling.
being a russo meant being surrounded by beautiful things, loud opinions, family expectations, and old money disguised as tradition. nico loved his family, but he never fit neatly into the version of him they tried to preserve. coming out as trans only complicated a place he had never fully felt comfortable in to begin with. some relatives loved him fiercely, some loved him clumsily, some treated his identity like something to whisper around, and some chose silence sharp enough to leave marks. nico learned to build himself anyway. he became a man on his own terms â not polished for family portraits, not softened for anyoneâs comfort, and not interested in being treated like a lesson in acceptance.
his cousins, elio and elby russo, were part of that same golden family orbit, though each of them carried it differently. elio had always been the artist, nanu gioâs favorite, the brilliant one whose talent seemed to excuse everything from obsession to self-destruction. elby, the youngest russo sibling and only daughter, was adored for her beauty, charm, and wildness, even when she was busy proving she was more than something pretty to look at. nico loved them both, but love did not erase the old ache of watching other people be treasured while he was useful.
now thirty, nico arrives in carroll as a newcomer and takes on the role of elioâs gallery assistant, helping manage the less glamorous side of the art world: installations, shipments, clients, contractors, and all the little disasters elio would rather ignore. but nicoâs real passion has always been architectural salvage. he has a gift for seeing worth in what other people abandon â old doors, stained glass, antique fixtures, broken mantels, forgotten pieces of houses with better stories than their owners.
with both elio and elby already carving out lives in carroll, nico tells himself his stay is practical, temporary, and mostly about family obligation. still, the longer he remains, the harder it becomes to ignore the strange comfort of being somewhere new, somewhere he might exist outside the old russo hierarchy. practical, guarded, and sharper than he means to be, nico is a man built from second chances, old family wounds, and the stubborn belief that he gets to decide what survives. for someone who has spent his life recognizing the value in overlooked things, carroll may finally force him to decide what he believes he is worth.
who: @angstfactory (claudio)
where: chairos arts gallery
when: july 27 12:00 AM
nico rocked back on his heels as he waited outside the gallery for claudio, the hour creeping close to midnight. he had already unlocked the door and disabled the security alarm, so there shouldnât be any surprises once they went inside. at least, not the practical kind.
personally, nico had never been in the gallery this late before. the whole thing felt a little reckless, a little secretive, and the thrill of it danced along his skin. he was excited to show claudio the space, especially since they had never seen it before. more than that, though, he was excited by the possibility of rekindling something between them â the friendship they used to have, or whatever shape it might take now.
when he saw claudio making their way toward the gallery, nicoâs grin spread instantly. he lifted a hand and waved. âhi, claaaaudio,â he called, stretching out the a in their name the way he used to. he liked how familiar it felt. liked, maybe too much, the way it sounded on his tongue.
I'm not 100% sure what I'm doing with my life but what I do know for sure is that as long as I continue to be kind and I continue to love and as long as I am capable of noticing beautiful things then I'll be okay
nico was the first to arrive, so he claimed a spot at the bar and kept glancing toward the door while he waited for harmony. he had already grabbed himself a beer and started a tab by the time she walked in. when he saw her, his face warmed into an easy smile, and he lifted a hand to wave her over. âsorry, i started without you,â he said, glancing down at his beer with a small laugh. he caught the bartenderâs attention and nodded toward harmony. âput whatever she wants on my tab.â then he looked back at her, his smile turning a little sheepish. âi didnât want to assume what youâd get.â
"Yeah. Not great. Sometimes, with things like brushes, you get what your paid for." At least in her experience. Coming up beside him, eyes scanning the wall of paint brushes, her teeth worried over her bottom lip in contemplation before she finally reached up and snagged a couple of mid range horse hair brushes from the lower rungs and held them out to him before offering a hand in greeting. "It's like the opposite of a bar, all the top shelf stuff is cheap because they want you grabbing from where your eye lands. So like a bar, the best bang for your buck is right here in at the bottom." The middle eye level part of the set up housing the more expensive ones.
There wasn't really much attempt to hide the slide of her eyes over him, not the flirtation from her tone as she held out a hand in offer of a handshake. "Local, huh? Well, Nico Russo, cousin of Elio from the art gallery," That she had yet to actually step foot into. "I'm Harmony Howard. The pleasure is all yours." She teased.
it was something nico had heard before, usually from people who actually knew what they were talking about when it came to paint and brushes. not being a painter himself or someone who used brushes often enough to have strong opinions about them, so he had never taken much stock in it. now that he was apparently responsible for ordering and keeping track of supplies, however, he was starting to question several of his life choices. he watched as she studied the brushes, clearly giving them more consideration than he ever would have on his own. when she explained where the good ones were kept, nico grinned.
âthatâs smart of them,â he said. âi wouldâve grabbed whatever was closest if this wasnât so important.â she was cute, so he was more than pleased when she took his hand. his grin only widened as he shook hers. âthe pleasure is all mine,â he agreed wholeheartedly. ânice to meet you, harmony howard. do you work here?â
"You can go ahead and buy those brushes, but I promise you half the bristles are gunna fall off within a day." Leaning against one of the shelves as she looked over the outdoor paint options, she couldn't help herself at the sight of the cutest little thing she ever saw. "Sorry bout the options being lacking. Small town and all that. You painting a house or something? Probably not a tourist then, huh?"
nico had been put in charge of replenishing the brushes at the studio, which would have been easy enough if he had actually remembered to order them. as it turned out, he was not proving to be the worldâs greatest gallery assistant. what he lacked in experience, however, he made up for in enthusiasm or at least, that was the generous way to look at it. he had eventually placed the order, but the brushes would take a few days to arrive, and elio was not exactly known for his patience when his supplies were involved. so nico had found himself at the hardware store, hoping temporary replacements would be better than showing up empty-handed and admitting defeat.
he turned when he heard a voice nearby, assuming they were talking to him, and was relieved to find that they were. âoh, really?â he asked, glancing back toward the brushes with a faint grimace. disappointing. elio definitely wouldnât love that. at least the girl helping him was cute. âno, no tourist,â nico said with a laugh, shaking his head. âiâm nico. i work at the art gallery and iâm elioâs cousin.â he assumed she knew who that was. his smile tugged a little higher as he looked back at her. ânot a tourist either. local?â
âelby, that place is going to be packed.â nico looked at his cousin in disbelief, like he couldnât believe she was even entertaining the idea. âiâve been trying to get lunch at birchâs for weeks, and itâs always busy. there is no way it wonât be insane today.â
