Second Hand (complete)

Nico ignored a few of the long stares. Nothing had really changed over the few days prior, so he would let them talk. He had had worse before so it didn’t bother him. Amy was still talking to him and that was all that really mattered in his mind.

If only other people could have seen it the same way and minded their own business. Someone crowded him in the hall, blocking his path with a grin. “So you’re ah, Nico Slavin right?”

“Nope,” Nico answered. After all it was true. He still had his mother’s maiden name for a reason, so he still didn’t have the Slavin name.

“Don’t bullshit me, come on. It’s easy enough to connect the dots between our new suddenly fluent in Russian student and some of the scary Russian guys that hang around,” the guy insisted.

“Well, I’m not the only one that has scary guys escorting him around school,” Nico snorted. “If I remember right, there’s a few foreign government kids at our school too.”

“Do you really want to play this game?” the guy huffed. “I just want to know if you can get me in on some things.”

“In on some things?” Nico raised in eyebrow. “I’m not actually in anything.”

“But obviously you know people,” he insisted.

“Yeah, but I make a point not to know what those people do. I’m not involved. I’m just my dad’s kid.” Nico put his hands up. “And I’m not stupid either. I wouldn’t get involved in those kinds of things even if you asked me to.” Nico didn’t really think he could be stupid enough to be asking for anything like drugs, especially so openly.

The guy huffed angrily. “Then what’s the use of you?”

“Nothing apparently,” Nico replied snarkily in Russian, enjoying the look of confusion over the kid’s face. “Leave me alone, alright?” Nico brushed by him and went onto his next class.

He found it more funny than anything really that anyone thought they could get something out of him. Miroslav probably wouldn’t find it so amusing though, nor would his dad. At least when he told Amy about it, she at least gave him a chuckle.

He waited for the school day to end and met up with Miroslav out in the car. “How was school?” Miroslav asked as usual.

Nico just grinned to himself. “Fine, mostly normal.”

“Mostly normal?” Miroslav questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Nico couldn’t help not finding it funny. “Some kid I think thought I would know how to get him drugs.”

“Why would he think that?” Miroslav at least seemed appalled, even though he was a good part of the reason.

“I guess someone found out why I’m so good at Russian,” Nico answered vaguely. “So he wanted my connections.” Nico put air quotes around the last part.

Miroslav swore under his breath. “Hey it was bound to happen sooner or later,” Nico pointed out. He was more surprised it hadn’t come up after everything with Diego. “And it hasn’t really changed anything.”

“Your dad won’t be happy if it interferes with your classes,” Miroslav said.

“Well it won’t. Either no one cares enough or they’re too scared.” Nico settled back into his seat. “Now, I just want to get home and change, and then I want to take you somewhere.”

“Oh really?” Miroslav smirked. “And where would that be, oh mighty teenager without much money?”

“Well it doesn’t cost anything, so it wasn’t a factor.” Nico rolled his eyes. “And I have money… well, you have money that I could use.”

Miroslav chuckled and started up the car. They stopped at the house so that Nico could change his clothes, and Miroslav talked some business with Yakov. That ended up being what took longer, so Nico had to wait until they were done before they could go.

“Where to?” Miroslav asked as they went for the car.

“Don’t suppose I could drive?” Nico joked.

“Do you have a license?” Miroslav countered easily.

“No,” Nico admitted. “I wasn’t really going to anyways, I was just seeing what you would say.”

“I didn’t know you didn’t actually have a license, or I was about to let you,” Miroslav admitted. “I’ll talk to Yakov about looking into that. Anyways, now actually give me a place to go?”

Nico hummed to himself, trying to think of how they would get there without giving it away. “Head downtown,” was all he decided to say. “And I’ll tell you more when we get there.” The longer it took them to get there, the better, after all. It was better in the dark.

Miroslav didn’t seem thrilled about driving without knowing much about where he was going, but he gave in. Nico gave him turn by turn directions as for how to get there—it was different being in a car when he used to walk to it. He got Miroslav to park and they walked up to the front gates. “What is it?” Miroslav still asked.

“A sculpture garden,” Nico beamed excitedly. “Come on, we’ll go around back.”

“But the front gate is right here,” Miroslav responded matter-of-fact, pointing at the small fee box.

“I told you it doesn’t cost anything… as long as we sneak in, that is.” Nico insisted. That was how he had always gotten in before—never had the five dollars to spare actually paying.

Miroslav rolled his eyes and pulled out his wallet, shoving a twenty into the fee box and dragging Nico in anyways. “Well this time we can actually contribute.” Miroslav stopped and eyed some of the twisted metal sculptures like they had stabbed him. “Why are we here?”

“Because this is one of my favorite places,” Nico admitted, crowding closer to Nico as someone came the opposite way on the narrow cobblestone path. “Especially at night, though. They have Christmas lights set up everywhere.”

Miroslav softened slightly and started to take an actual look around. Some of the sculptures were new to Nico, and the plants were overgrown on the garden part. Most of the pieces were abstract or interacted with the environment, giving places for vine-like plants to grow or to provide partial shade to flowers that didn’t like too much sun.

There was one in the back corner that Nico had fallen asleep in more than once—after hours and after the garden had technically closed. “It’s nice,” Miroslav had to agree, looping his arm through Nico’s as they strolled around.

There weren’t very many other people, and anyone they past usual kept quiet. There was only some music playing from a few shoddy speakers to give some “atmosphere”. Nico just tried not to grin at the occasional stare that they got, either between the way they were walking arm in arm or whenever one of them spoke Russian.

He had started to notice that Miroslav only spoke much English with him, and more when they were in private. If there was any bystander to overhear, Miroslav immediately went into Russian. Nico had only started speaking in Russian earlier because he had been talking about trying to sneak in and didn’t want to be given away.

“How did you find this place, anyways?” Miroslav asked, briefly rubbing a leaf between his fingers to see if it was real.

Nico squirmed under the question, not really wanting to answer. “When I was hiding from some people one time. I jumped the fence and hid in the sculpture over there.” He pointed to the back corner. “And from then on I would always kind of sneak in, even when it was closed in the winter. Most people don’t even know it’s here, so they just ignore it.” It was in something like a plot of an old building that wasn’t there anymore; there was still a building on either side, and it faced the street, but the fences were so tall that no one could see in unless they climbed.

“Getting into trouble, as usual,” Miroslav teased lightly.

Nico just shrugged, having to remind himself that Miroslav had probably been in a similar place, before Yakov had taken him in. Even at the same age almost, too. He leaned in closer to Miroslav’s side. “What happens if you ever get arrested?” He asked again. He couldn’t help the thought of it.

Miroslav shrugged at first, his lips tightening. “Obviously I try and get out of the charges best I can… if not that, then the shortest sentence. We’ve always tried to keep a low profile, but we’re getting more attention than we’d like.” He sighed. “And for me, there isn’t much getting out. I’ll always be connected here, even if your father allowed me to drop everything and leave. But then I’d be pretty useless at anything else.”

Nico frowned to himself. “If I’m not allowed to think like that, than neither are you. You could get your GED if you don’t already have it, or go back to school in some way. Or, you know how to run a business. You have experience in management.”

Miroslav chuckled. “Yes… experience in managing organized crime. Exactly what to put on my resume.”

Nico elbowed him in the side. “Well don’t look at it like that.”

“Either way.” Miroslav shrugged again, glancing briefly at Nico. “Would you be willing to wait through something like that? Years.”

Nico didn’t like that kind of question. He scowled at Miroslav for it but answered anyways. “I would.” It wasn’t like he could be comfortable with anyone else even if he tried looking.

Miroslav petted the back of his head without another word as they walked around the sculpture garden until closing.