#no thoughts head empty just the di angelo siblings

[merverse]

thinking about how they said grover was affected the most out of everyone bc he was alone and how nico and bianca stayed for 70 years inside that hotel and didn't forget each other bc they were always within reach and how that little detail makes their story even more devastating bc they got through it together and the moment they got out they get separated and then bianca never comes back

[bey0nd-1he-stars]

You owe me at least three days of rest in the infirmary - Solangelo

Masterlists

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

Pairing: Nico di Angelo x Will Solace

Warnings: None

Wordcount: 768

TEN | WILL

- Love those who will love you when you

have nothing to offer but your company -

Will came to hang out with Nico almost every day. There were some days when he was too busy in the infirmary to get time over but at those days, Nico came to visit Will. At first Nico thought it was a terrible idea. Who would want a son of Hades to help out in the infirmary? But Will had insisted and after an hour, Nico found himself enjoying it. He liked to help Will with cutting bandages or getting a wet towel. To get food or a snack for the clients or tell them a story to calm them down. 

Will too enjoyed the time in the infirmary with Nico. They were always having fun and the kids Will took care of seemed to like Nico's company just as much as Will did. He didn't do the big things like fix broken bones or snap back bones that had been dislocated. He mostly got the supplies or food. But mainly he told stories. The young kids smiled fondly and nodded eagerly when Nico asked if they wanted to hear a story. And even though Nico didn't notice, Will loved to hear the stories too. They were always different and new. The other day he'd told a kid from the Demeter cabin the story about Achilles and earlier this morning he softly told about how life was in the 1940s. The kids loved it. 

But when they did get the chance to spend time outside the white walls of the infirmary they were often found near the lake or at Thalia's tree at the half-blood hill. They would just sit together and talk, tell stories and laugh. Sometimes they had a picnic on a red and white checkered blanket in the dusk or a breakfast together at dawn. When whole days passed by and both of them were too busy to come see each other they laid down in Nico's empty cabin to look at the ceiling. The stars that were spread over the dark surface shined and had a calming effect on both of them. 

Now they both had checked out from the infirmary for the day and they sat on the half-blood hill, resting their backs against Thalia's tree. The view from there was breathtaking and even though both Will and Nico had seen it a million times before it was still just as beautiful to look at as it'd been the first time. The green grass flowed down the hill and swept their ankles in the soft wind. The camp's cabins and the messing hall seemed to glow in the orange peeks from the sun. The dark forest seemed calm and peaceful and the dragon that guarded the camp's borders was peacefully lying against the tree with half closed eyes. Nico's head rested gently on Will's shoulder and Will played lazily with Nico's pale hand. They stayed quiet and just watched as the waves rolled in and hit against the glowing beach. Nico's eyes were heavy and he fell in and out of a light unconsciousness. Will smiled down at the small boy and placed an arm around his thin waist. Nico didn't like affection that much but when he was tired and it was Will, he didn't mind. 

Will smiled softly as the son of Hades cuddled closer to him. It was incredible how close the two had become. From not knowing anything more than each other's names to being one of the persons they relied on the most. And Will was happy to have Nico. Sure, his mom was great and loved him to death. His sibling looked up to him and helped him out in any and every situation. His friends from the other cabins were just as amazing. But Nico was something else. They were more than friends. More close to family. They trusted each other, teased each other and had fun. Helped each other out and spent time together. And even though they were so very different they went hand in hand with each other. Will's happy and shining personality and Nico who invited the darkness like a family member. They completed each other. Plus and minus. 

Will pulled Nico even closer, pressed a kiss to the dark locks before resting his head against Nico's. His heart swelled with love for the smaller boy as Nico turned around and cuddled up to Will's side. He made a mental note to tease Nico about it tomorrow and to tell him about his heart's desires.

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the titan's curse

0.5 the weight of the world

warnings : allie argues with a god (what's new?), descriptions of blood and the teensy-est amount of gore, pretty tame chapter ngl

word count : 5.1k

0.5 I Feel a Non-Metaphorical Weight on My Shoulders

During the winter, Camp Half-Blood always looked magical. It's protected by 'weather wards' so it never rained or snowed inside the borders unless Mr. D allowed it. Thankfully, he'd get tired of listening to us wanting snow, so he normally allowed it. 

Frost covered the chariot track and the strawberry fields. The cabins were decorated with tiny flickering lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be balls of real fire. More lights glowed in the woods, and weirdest of all, a fire flickered in the attic window of the Big House, where the Oracle dwelt, imprisoned in an old mummified body. I once wondered if the spirit of Delphi was roasting marshmallows up there or something and I told Luke that thought, but then the mental image weirded us out, so we mutually decided never to think of it again.

"Whoa," Nico said as he climbed off the bus. "Is that a climbing wall?" 

"Yeah," I said. 

"Why is there lava pouring down it?" 

"Little extra challenge. Come on. I'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoe, have you met—" 

"I know Chiron," Zoe said stiffly. "Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me." 

Okay, irritable, I thought. 

"I'll show you the way," Grover offered. 

"We know the way." 

"Oh, really, it's no trouble. It's easy to get lost here, if you don't"— he tripped over a canoe and came up still talking— "like my old daddy goat used to say! Come on!" 

Zoe rolled her eyes, but I guess she figured there was no getting rid of Grover. The Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed off toward the cabins. 

As Bianca di Angelo was leaving, she leaned over and whispered something in her brother's ear. She looked at him for an answer, but Nico just scowled and turned away. 

"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters. He winked at me. "Watch out for those prophecies, Allie. I'll see you soon." 

"What do you mean?" Instead of answering, he hopped back on the bus. 

"Later, Allie, Thalia," he called. "And, uh, be good!" 

He gave us a wicked smile, as if he knew something we didn't (which he did, but that's definitely beside the point). Then he closed the doors and revved the engine. I turned aside as the sun chariot took off in a blast of heat. When I looked back, the lake was steaming. A red Maserati soared over the woods, glowing brighter and climbing higher until it disappeared in a ray of sunlight. Nico was still looking grumpy. I wondered what his sister had told him.

"Who's Chiron?" he asked. "I don't have his figurine." 

"Our activities director," I answered. "He's... well, you'll see."

"If those Hunter girls don't like him," Nico grumbled, "that's good enough for me. Let's go." 

The thing I always found strangest about camp in the winter was how empty it was. I mean, most half-bloods only trained during the summer. Just the year-rounders would be there— the ones who didn't have homes to go to, or would get attacked by monsters too much if they left. But there didn't even seem to be many of them, either.

I was technically a year rounder, but I left a few days a week so I could go to college at Columbia and if I was feeling super suffocated, I'd go to my beach house in East Hampton, but otherwise, I got attacked a lot, so I stayed at Camp Half-Blood. I didn't have to ask Chiron, I'd just leave. I was actually the only one allowed to do that, and if I wasn't the Daughter of Poseidon, I wouldn't be able to. Poseidon's children are very restless, like the sea, so when we are cooped up in a space for too long we get… antsy. 

I spotted Beckendorf stoking the forge outside the camp armory. The only full siblings in camp, Luke and Brylie's brothers, Travis and Connor Stoll (and yes, everyone makes the Stoll/stole joke), were picking the lock on the camp store. A few kids from the Ares cabin were having a snowball fight with the wood nymphs at the edge of the forest. That was about it. Truthfully, it was a relief. The fewer people around, the fewer hearts I had to break when I revealed Luke's fate. He'd been here longer than most and had housed them under his wing before they'd get claimed (if they did). He was pretty much a big brother to everyone. 

And Brylie... it was way too hard for anyone to hate her. She was hardly a fighter and got along with everyone. Everyone loved her. It felt like a sword had just been stabbed in my heart, and I forced down the tears that threatened to spill over. 

The Big House was decorated with strings of red and yellow fireballs that warmed the porch but nothing caught on fire. Inside, flames crackled in the hearth. The air smelled like hot chocolate. Mr. D and Chiron were playing a quiet game of cards in the parlor.

Chiron's brown beard was shaggier for the winter. His curly hair had grown a little longer. He wore a fuzzy sweater with a hoof print design on it, and he had a blanket on his lap that almost hid his wheelchair completely.

He smiled when he saw us. "Allie! Thalia! Ah, and this must be—"

"Nico di Angelo," I introduced, waving at the small boy, who was getting excited all over again. "He and his sister are half-bloods."

Chiron breathed a sigh of relief. "You succeeded, then."

My expression hardened. "Well..."

His smile melted. "What's wrong? And where are Luke and Brylie?"

"Oh, dear," Mr. D said in a bored voice, "Not more lost."

I clenched my fist in reflexive anger at his callous words. I'd been trying not to pay attention to Mr. D, but he was kind of hard to ignore in his neon orange leopard-skin warm-up suit and his purple running shoes (Like Mr. D had ever run a day in his immortal life. I sometimes seriously doubted whether or not he had ever actually been a demigod. He certainly didn't care about us, anyway. In fact, I think he cares even less about half-bloods than the gods who were born immortal do). A golden laurel wreath was tilted sideways on his curly black hair, which must've meant he'd won the last hand of cards.

I frowned, wondering if someone else had gone off to join the Titans. Only a few had, mainly due to me and Luke regularly reminding everyone that there would be no demigods without gods, but some still hated our godly parents enough to choose half-blood extinction in exchange for revenge. Truthfully, I didn't really blame them. I'm honest enough to admit that it's my fatal flaw that keeps me at Camp Half-Blood. I'd grown close to everyone there and even my father, who still didn't fully have my respect, had gained my loyalty. He did save me and Luke quite a few times last summer, I'd give him that. 

Just then, Grover trotted into the room, grinning like crazy. He had a black eye and red lines on his face that looked like a slap mark. "The Hunters are all moved in!" I shoved down a flare of fury that he was so cheerful when Luke and Brylie were missing. 

Chiron frowned. "The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about." He glanced at Nico. "Grover, perhaps you should take our young friend to the den and show him our orientation film."

"But... Oh, right. Yes, sir."

"Orientation film?" Nico repeated, then he frowned. "Is it G or PG? 'Cause Bianca is kinda strict—"

"It's PG-13," Grover told him.

"Cool!" Nico happily followed him out of the room.

"Now," Chiron said to Thalia and me, "perhaps you two should sit down and tell us the whole story."

When we were done, Chiron turned to Mr. D. "We should launch a search for Luke and Brylie right away."

"I'll go," Thalia and I declared at the same time.

Mr. D sniffed. "Certainly not!"

Thalia and I both started protesting, but Mr. D held up his hand. He had that purplish angry fire in his eyes that usually meant something bad and godly was going to happen if we didn't shut up.

"From what you have told me," Mr. D said, "we have broken even on this escapade. We have, ah, regrettably lost Bailey and Liam—"

"Brylie and Luke," I snapped. Brylie had gone to camp for over five years now and Luke had been going for almost seven years, helped me save the world and camp itself, and still, Mr. D pretended not to know their names.

"Yes, yes," he said. "And you procured a small annoying boy to replace them. So I see no point risking further half-bloods on a ridiculous rescue. The possibility is very great that this Bailey girl and Liam boy are dead."

I wanted to strangle Mr. D. It wasn't fair Zeus had sent him here to dry out as camp director for a hundred years. It was meant to be a punishment for Mr. D's bad behavior on Olympus, but it ended up being a punishment for all of us. And how dare he claim that Nico could replace Luke and Brylie? 

"Luke and Brylie might be alive," Chiron said, but I could tell he was having trouble sounding upbeat. He'd raised Luke since he was twelve and Brylie since she was eight. Luke himself considered him the closest thing he'd had to a parent and I wouldn't be surprised if Brylie felt the same way. This had to be difficult for him. "Luke's very bright. If... if our enemies have him, he will do his best to stay alive and keep Brylie alive until they can escape. And they won't be quick to kill them."

"That's right," Thalia agreed. "Annabeth probably still has a soft spot for him. And she'll know if she kills Brylie he'll never side with her."

"In which case," said Mr. D, "I'm afraid they will have to be smart enough to escape on their own."

I got up from the table. "You know—"

"Allie." Chiron's tone was full of warning. 

"— You could at least try to act like you care about us—"

"Allie."

"— Even in the slightest. Do you even—"

"Astraea." 

I froze, my mouth slightly open. Chiron's tone had so much authority in it, I almost didn't want to continue. He never used my real name. It was enough to make me pause, but not enough to make me see clearly. I was about to ignore him further and tell Dionysus just what I thought of him, but I was interrupted when Nico burst into the room, followed by Grover.

"SO COOL!" Nico yelled, holding his hands out to Chiron. "You're... you're a centaur!" 

Chiron managed a nervous smile. "Yes, Mr. di Angelo, if you please. Though, I prefer to stay in human form in this wheelchair for, ah, first encounters." 

"And, whoa!" He looked at Mr. D. "You're the wine dude? No way!" 

Mr. D turned his eyes away from me and gave Nico a look of absolute loathing. "The wine dude?" 

"Dionysus, right? Oh, wow! I've got your figurine." 

"My figurine." 

"In my game, Mythomagic. And a holofoil card, too! And even though you've only got like five hundred attack points and everybody thinks you're the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!"

"Ah." Mr. D seemed truly perplexed, which probably saved my life. "Well, that's... gratifying." 

"Allie," Chiron said quickly, "you and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening." 

"Capture the flag?" I asked. "But we don't have enough—" 

"It is a tradition," Chiron said. "A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit." 

"Yeah," Thalia muttered. "I bet it's real friendly." 

Chiron jerked his head toward Mr. D, who was still frowning as Nico talked about how many defense points all the gods had in his game. "Run along now," Chiron told us. 

"Oh, right," Thalia said. "Come on, Allie." She hauled me out of the Big House before Dionysus could remember that he wanted to kill me.

"Gods, Allie. It's like you want to be killed," Thalia said as soon as we were out of earshot. 

"I mean, it's going to happen at one point or another. At least let me make it fun," I joked back, saying a thought I'd had in my head for a while. I knew the gods were less likely to kill me, mostly because they didn't want to, in turn, be killed by Poseidon. That, however, didn't make me indestructible. Then again, I was first in line for the doomsday prophecy, so that made them more and simultaneously less likely to kill me. 

She gave me a look and I knew I should stop joking about my death, especially with Luke gone. 

"Sorry, sorry. It's just..." We both gazed down at the Hermes cabin where Brylie and Luke stayed (unless, of course, he snuck into my cabin when one of us had a nightmare, which happened quite a lot, actually).

"I know... let's just get this over with, yeah?"

She stopped by the armory and looked out across the valley, toward the top of Half-Blood Hill. Her pine tree was still there, the Golden Fleece glittering in its lowest branch. The tree's magic still protected the borders of camp, but it no longer used Thalia's spirit for power.

"Nothings fair, and I know that," she started. "Sometimes I just wish..."

She didn't finish and she didn't need to. Although she was born before I was, I was now technically older than her. She was basically my little sister and the tone of her voice broke my heart. This prophecy thing was weighing us both down, I knew. She knew if I died it'd be hers, but she also didn't want me going through it. We'd gone through enough late-night talks with that damned prophecy being the main topic.

"We're going to get them back," I said hoarsely. "It's Luke. I'm sure he'll charm his way out of there before we even make it out of New York."

She smiled and laughed at that. "He'd probably just have to smile at them," she laughed harder and I laughed with her. It was a great moment, but it didn't last long. I was suddenly hyper-aware of Luke's camp necklace in my suitcase.

Over at the basketball court, a few of the Hunters were shooting hoops. One of them was arguing with a guy from the Ares cabin. The Ares kid had his hand on his sword and the Hunter girl looked like she was going to exchange her basketball for a bow and arrow any second.

"I'll break that up," Thalia said, gesturing towards them.

"I'm fine with that. I need to go change, anyways. Circle around the cabins once you're done with that, and I'll find you." She nodded and we parted ways. 

Somehow, even though it was always just me, my cabin felt lonelier. It seemed that my subconscious was trying to make it really noticeable that there was no chance Luke would be joining me that night. I’d be alone to deal with my dreams. 

At least I could finally change out of that godsforsaken Mrs. Claus dress. 

I unpacked my suitcase once I was done, just to give myself something to do while Thalia sorted out the fight. It went by much quicker than I wanted it to, though, and now I was left with an empty suitcase and Luke's necklace. 

I was overcome with the intense feeling of needing to cry again, but somehow, I managed to shove it away. Thinking, no, knowing we were going to get them back, I tied his necklace around my neck, just like I did when I fought Ares. It'd given me luck then (or maybe Tyche was feeling generous that day), so maybe it'd give me luck now. 

The cabins were the weirdest collection of buildings you'd ever see. Zeus and Hera's big white-columned buildings, Cabins One and Two, stood in the middle, with five gods' cabins on the left and five goddesses' cabins on the right, so they all made a U around the central green and the barbecue hearth. I hung out there a lot, chatting with Hestia. She was pretty much the only god or goddess I’d ever shown true admiration for, and I always gave her some of my dinners.

After noticing Thalia was taking a little bit longer than expected, I decided to go ahead and start making rounds. I went over to the Hermes cabin, who had already heard the news. Although it was their brother and sister who were missing, they all gave me sympathetic looks when I appeared in their doorway. 

"Chiron says we're having a game of Capture the Flag against the hunters tomorrow night," I said, leaning up against the doorframe and crossing my arms. It was silent for a few seconds and then there were loud groans. 

Travis and Connor hopped to their feet, identical mischievous smiles covering their faces. 

"Oh, gods," I joked looking at them as they walked past me. "What are you two about to do?"

"Oh, dear Allie," Travis patted my head, officially taller than me after it being the other way around the last two and a half years. "You'll find out soon enough." Then he frowned, grabbed my arm and spoke quieter, "we don't blame you for Luke and Brylie. You had to have done everything you could." 

Tears filled my eyes again, with me yet again keeping them at bay. "We're going to get them back. Mr. D. thinks they'll have to find their way out themselves, but if they don't let us go out and look for them, me and Thalia are going out on our own." 

He and Connor both nodded. "Thanks, Allie," Connor said and their smirks returned. "Well, we'll be off." 

I followed them out and then we went our separate ways. After going around to the cabins, I made my way back to my cabin.

My first spoil of war, the minotaur horn, was still hung on my wall where it'd been since I'd first put it up. Surrounding it were the hundreds of polaroids and pictures I'd taken of me and my friends whenever we had the chance. It looked a lot like my room in East Hampton and my apartment in Manhattan, just with another bed. 

I took off my cuff bracelet and activated the shield. It creaked noisily as it spiraled out. Dr. Thorn's spikes had dented the brass in a dozen places. One gash kept the shield from opening all the way, so it looked like a pizza with two slices missing. The beautiful metal pictures that my brother had crafted were all banged up. In the picture of me and Luke fighting the Hydra, it looked like a meteor had made a crater in my head. I hung the shield on its hook, next to the Minotaur horn, but it was painful to look at now. Maybe Beckendorf could fix it for me. He was the best armorsmith in the camp. I'd ask him at dinner. 

I was staring at the shield when I noticed a strange sound— water gurgling— and I realized there was something new in the room. At the back of the cabin was a big basin of gray sea rock, with a spout like the head of a fish carved in stone. Out of its mouth burst a stream of water, a saltwater spring that trickled into the pool. The water must've been hot, because it sent mist into the cold winter air like a sauna. It made the room feel warm and summery, fresh with the smell of the sea. I stepped up to the pool. There was no note attached or anything, but I knew it could only be a gift from Poseidon, given after I’d left my cabin the first time. 

I looked into the water and said, "Thanks, Dad."

The surface rippled. At the bottom of the pool, coins shimmered— a dozen or so golden drachma. I realized what the fountain was for. It was a reminder to keep in touch with my family. 

I opened the nearest window, and the wintry sunlight made a rainbow in the mist. Then I fished a coin out of the hot water. 

"Iris, O Goddess of the Rainbow," I said, "accept my offering." I tossed in a coin and it disappeared.

"Show me Tyson," I requested. "At the forges of the Cyclopes." 

The mist shimmered, and the image of my half brother appeared. He was surrounded by fire, which would've been a problem if he weren't a Cyclops. He was bent over an anvil, hammering a red-hot sword blade. Sparks flew and flames swirled around his body. There was a marble-framed window behind him, and it looked out onto dark blue water— the bottom of the ocean. 

"Tyson!" I yelled. He didn't hear me at first because of the hammering and the roar of the flames. "TYSON!" 

He turned, and his one enormous eye widened. His face broke into a crooked yellow grin. "Allie!" He dropped the sword blade and ran at me, trying to give me a hug. The vision blurred and I instinctively lurched back. 

"Tyson, it's an Iris-message. I'm not really here." 

"Oh." He came back into view, looking embarrassed. "Oh, I knew that. Yes." 

"How are you?" I asked, trying to sound upbeat. "How's the job?" 

His eye lit up. "Love the job! Look!" He picked up the hot sword blade with his bare hands. "I made this!" 

"That's really cool." 

"I wrote my name on it. Right there." 

"Awesome. Listen, do you talk to Dad much?" 

Tyson's smile faded. "Not much. Daddy is busy. He is worried about the war." 

"What do you mean?"

Tyson sighed. He stuck the sword blade out the window, where it made a cloud of boiling bubbles. When Tyson brought it back in, the metal was cool. "Old sea spirits making trouble. Aigaios. Oceanus. Those guys." 

I knew what he was talking about. He meant the immortals who ruled the oceans back in the days of the Titans. Before the Olympians took over. The fact that they were back now, with the Titan Lord Kronos and his allies gaining strength, was not good. 

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked. 

Tyson shook his head sadly. "We are arming the mermaids. They need a thousand more swords by tomorrow." He looked at his sword blade and sighed. "Old spirits are protecting the bad boat." 

"The Princess Andromeda?" I said. "Annabeth and Cody's boat?" 

"Yes. They make it hard to find. Protect it from Daddy's storms. Otherwise, he would smash it." 

"Smashing it would be good." 

Tyson perked up, as if he'd just had another thought. "Luke! Is he there?" 

"Oh, well..." My heart felt like a bowling ball. Tyson, although Luke had been cold to him the first two weeks he'd known him, thought Luke was the coolest thing since peanut butter (and he seriously loved peanut butter). I guess he liked that Luke always had my back and kept me from dying. "Well, no... he's not here right now." 

"Tell him hello!" He beamed. "Hello to Luke!" 

"Okay." I fought back a lump in my throat. "I'll do that." 

"And, Allie, don't worry about the bad boat. It is going away." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Panama Canal! Very far away." I frowned. Why would Annabeth take her demon-infested cruise ship all the way down there? The last time we'd seen her, she'd been cruising along the East Coast, recruiting half-bloods and training her monstrous army. 

"All right," I said, not feeling reassured. "That's... good. I guess." 

In the forges, a deep voice bellowed something I couldn't make out. 

Tyson flinched. "Got to get back to work! Boss will get mad. Good luck, Sister!" 

"Okay, tell Dad—" 

But before I could finish, the vision shimmered and faded. I was alone again in my cabin, feeling even lonelier than before. 

***

I was pretty miserable at dinner that night. I mean, the food was excellent as usual. You can't go wrong with barbecue, pizza, and never-empty soda goblets. The torches and braziers kept the outdoor pavilion warm, but we all had to sit with our cabin mates, which meant I was alone at the Poseidon table. Thalia sat alone at the Zeus table, but we couldn't sit together. Camp rules. At least the Hephaestus, Ares, and Hermes cabins had a few people each. Nico sat with the Stoll brothers, since new campers always got stuck in the Hermes cabin if their Olympian parent was unknown. The Stoll brothers seemed to be trying to convince Nico that poker was a much better game than Mythomagic. I hoped Nico didn't have any money to lose. 

The only table that really seemed to be having a good time was the Artemis table. The Hunters drank and ate and laughed like one big happy family. Zoe sat at the head like she was their mother. She didn't laugh as much as the others, but she did smile from time to time. Her silver lieutenant's band glittered in the dark braids of her hair. I thought she looked a lot nicer when she smiled. 

Bianca di Angelo seemed to be having a great time. She was trying to learn how to arm wrestle from the big girl who'd picked a fight with the Ares kid on the basketball court. The bigger girl was beating her every time, but Bianca didn't seem to mind. 

When we'd finished eating, Chiron made the customary toast to the gods and formally welcomed the Hunters of Artemis. The clapping was pretty half hearted. Then he announced the "goodwill" capture-the-flag game for tomorrow night, which got a lot better reception. 

Afterward, we all trailed back to our cabins for an early, winter lights out. I was exhausted, which meant I fell asleep easily. That was the good part. The bad part was, I had a nightmare, and even by my standards, it was terrifying and awful. 

Luke and Brylie were on a dark hillside, shrouded in fog. It almost seemed like the Underworld, because I immediately felt claustrophobic and I couldn't see the sky above— just close, heavy darkness, as if I were in a cave. 

They struggled up the hill and after Brylie slipped a few times, Luke put her on his back. Old broken Greek columns of black marble were scattered around, as though something had blasted a huge building to rums. 

My eyes widened as I saw Luke's shoulder. One of Thorn's spikes had to have hit him, because it was green and, in truth, looked awful. Blood trailed down his arm. Brylie, one the other hand, looked pale and had a large cut going down her calf. 

"Thorn!" Luke cried. "Where are you? Why did you bring us here?" He scrambled over a section of broken wall and came to the crest of the hill. He gasped. 

There was Annabeth. And she was in pain.

She was crumpled on the rocky ground, trying to rise. The blackness seemed to be thicker around her, fog swirling hungrily. Her clothes were in tatters and her face was scratched and drenched with sweat, I couldn't see what was wrong with her. She seemed to be struggling against some invisible curse, as though the fog itself was squeezing her to death. I clenched my teeth and, although she was dead set on killing us all, I couldn't help but feel slightly bad for her. She was still a fourteen-year-old girl, after all. 

"Luke!" she called. "Help me! Please!" He ran forward and let Brylie down on the ground. 

I tried to cry out: She's a traitor! Don't trust her! 

But my voice didn't work in the dream. 

Luke had tears in his eyes. He reached down like he wanted to touch Annabeth's face, but at the last second, he hesitated. 

"What happened?" he asked. 

"They left me here," Annabeth groaned. "Please. It's killing me." 

"Why should I trust you?" Luke asked. His voice was filled with hurt. 

"You shouldn't," Annabeth said. "I've been terrible to you. But if you don't help me, I'll die." 

Let her die, I wanted to scream. Annabeth had tried to kill us in cold blood too many times. She didn't deserve anything from Luke. 

Then, the darkness above Annabeth began to crumble, like a cavern roof in an earthquake. Huge chunks of black rock began falling. Luke rushed in just as a crack appeared, and the whole ceiling dropped. He held it somehow— tons of rock. He kept it from collapsing on him and Annabeth just with his own strength. It was impossible. Luke was insanely strong, but there was no way he could have been able to do that. I struggled against the force holding me still in my dream, using all of my strength to get free, even if I knew it was futile. 

Annabeth rolled free, gasping. 

"Thanks," she managed. Then she smirked, that evil look her face had gained coming back. Any sympathy I had before disappeared immediately. 

"Help me hold it," Luke groaned, a vein in his neck popping. 

I struggled more, every bit of strength I had fighting against an invisible force. Then, something incredible happened.

I almost threw myself to the floor when the force let up. With a gasp, I regained my balance and sprinted over to Luke and helped him hold it. 

Even in the dream, I could feel the pain. I could feel myself waking up from it. Brylie scrambled to her feet as well and ran to Luke's other side. 

Annabeth smiled, as if our attempts at staying alive were hilarious. She laughed and walked away. Through the pain and my waking conscious, I saw Cody meet her just before they started walking back down the mountain. 

I looked to Luke and Brylie, who seemed to be in as much pain as I was in, and I bolted awake, clawing at my sheets. There was no sound other than the gurgle of the saltwater spring. The home screen of my phone told me it was midnight. But that wasn’t the bad part.

When I sat up, the weight of the sky was still on my shoulders.

*    *    *

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[depressedacadamia]

Make a wish

Paring: Solangelo 

Summary:  Will Solace is celebrating his 17th birthday, he just wishes his boyfriend was there to do it with him.

A/N:  lakjsljgklj: So I SWEAR i will finish wrtiters month, things are just really hectic because the holiday is ending for me soon and I'll be a student once again meaning I'll revert back to my schedule of posting weekly :( That said HAPPY BDAY TO WILL, a character that isnt seen and referenced as much as they should. Absoloute dumb smart person icon and thanks to @solangeloweek. sit back, relx and enjoy Will solace's bday week! <3 from Persephone!

Read on A03      Masterlist

“Happy birrthhdaaayyyy dear Williammm,” the Apollo cabin sang in a - honestly not very- harmonious tune. He cringed as he heard his full name being belted loudly throughout the entire cabin. He was finally 17. He had survived 17 years of life as a demigod and here he was celebrating them with his entire family; everyone who he would ever want on his birthday.

Except for one.

Nico Di Angelo- his boyfriend of 2 years and who was one year his junior- was not in attendance for Will’s birthday party. He had expected as such; afterall, he had been on an important quest for the past 2 weeks and his return was not expected soon.

Nico had brought this up before he left for the quest, telling Will of his worries that he would not be able to witness or be present for his birthday and at the time, Will had seen how desperately this quest needed his boyfriend and so selflessly, without hesitation, he comforted Nico and told him that it didn’t matter.

But now, as the moment was passing, he couldn't help but feel that he was lying. He was so pathetically wrong because deep down, it did matter and what was worse was that Will was almost definite that Nico also knew this.

Alas, he could not dwell on who wasn't here and instead he turned back to his cabin and blew out the candles, masking his face with the graceful smile that he so often forced upon his face, to the point where it had become a second nature.

“Make a wish Will!”

He nodded and smiled and perhaps, perhaps if anybody were to inspect Will’s smile any closer, they'd notice his eyes only creased in an attempt to hide the tears and that his smiling mouth was actually a painful grimace as he closed his eyes and wished for the one person whom he wanted most in the world.

The lights went out, in an epic flutter before the smoke, whilst invisible, made its mark through its tinge in the air, contaminating it ever so slightly. However, to Will- whose eyes were already weltering up with tears- the gentle tinge was all he needed for tears to start rolling down his cheeks.

He couldn't help but attempt to hide his face- he was 17 for goodness sake it was his birthday party! He couldn't cry now, not on a day when he was supposed to be so happy and most definitely over such a pathetically petty reason such as ‘my boyfriend isn't here’.

But no matter what, as the darkness set over him and all the other campers within the cabin, Will couldn't help but feel his mind overwork himself. If Nico was here right now, would they be by the lake? Would he be opening his gift from him? What would Nivo have got him?

He was so wrapt up within his own thoughts that he barely noticed the soft glow emanating from his own skin- it was gentle and solitary- the glow only appeared in one place- the left side of his chest; right over his stylised sun tattoo and more importantly, his heart. The glow seemed to pulse with his heartbeat, slow, steady- and the absolute tune of sadness itself.

Sadness is not fast, is not beautiful nor poetic as poets love to fantasise. It’s harsh like the wind against you as you grip your clothes and its unpredictable like the weather; it can cloud over the sunniest day and it’s sad moans echo through the howls of thunder. Sadness is not the absence of happiness nor is it the direct opposite but it’s like an addiction, it’s not a single emotion but a clamour of the worst- anger, depression, frustration, emptiness.

So when Will’s sad heart beat glowed with every sad beat, it was almost as if he was singing the melancholy melody within the cabin itself. Everyone was aware that Will missed Nico but to see one of their siblings- the one whom the most amount of responsibility was placed one, from such a young age nonetheless- made them all the more eager for the surprise they had in the dark.

“Sunshine?” A soft, slightly concerned voice from out of the darkness whispered. Nico had only seen Will’s heart glow once in his entire life - and that was when…

Tear stained and grieving, Will turned around to find the source of the familiar voice.The lights weren't on, but somehow the candles beside them on the cake were and in the softly illuminated room, Will could clearly see the slightly concerned, slightly smirking and 100% beautiful face of his boyfriend.

Will paused and rubbed his eyes; he wasn't so sad that he was seeing things, right?

“No, I’m not a figment of your imagination, Solace,” Nico clicked his tongue. His hands raised up to hand Will a present. “Happy birthday, sun boy.”

“Ni-co?” Will slightly hiccuped as he attempted to hide his tears, afterall- he looked kinda ridiculous now that NBico actually was here the entire time.

“You missed me that much?” Nico tilted his head, “ Maybe I should make surprise appearances more often.”

“I thought you were on a quest, trying to not die, forgetting the fact that it was my birthday.”

“I don't think you can put those last two facts under the same category as if your birthday and me not dying are even on the same level.”

“Obviously.” Will sighed as he rested his hand against Nico’s cheek. “My birthday is of the utmost importance.”

Nico rolled his eyes and gave Will the benefit of the doubt, knowing that only moments ago, Will was seconds from being so heartbroken he would have collapsed. He went on his tip toes and gave him a brief peck on the cheek as he slipped the gift into Will’s hands.

“Happy birthday Sun boy,” Nico murmured against his ear as he watched Will- his smile glowing- hastily unwrap his gift.

[nerdbee]

Sunshine and Shadows- Chapter 1

Watching Nico talking to Annabeth and Percy, Will mentally slapped himself in the face. That conversation had gone about as smoothly as the surface of the moon. There was no chance of Nico ever willingly talking to him if he behaved like an overprotective mother hen, although part of him still wanted to wrap the son of Hades up in a blanket, burrito-style, and hand-feed him nutritious snacks.

“Solace!”

The harsh tone of Clarisse’s voice snapped him back to reality.

“Quit admiring Di Angelo! I know you’d be more than happy to do that all day, so I’m reminding you now! You have an appointment after lunch to give Chuck a check-up DO NOT BE LATE OR YOU’LL BE GETTING AN APPOINTMENT WITH MY SPEAR!”

On that friendly note, the newly-elected godmother stormed over to the Athena Cabin to harass the campers who had offered to weave clothes for the new-born satyr. Gods help whoever stood in the way of her warpath. She adored Chuck and was determined to make his life as perfect as possible. 

Will nodded vaguely, before turning back to watch the son of Hades. He couldn’t help it. It wasn’t his fault that Nico was so gods damned attractive. Nico laughed at something Percy said, the action lighting up his face, making him truly look like the angel his name said he was. He gave Annabeth a high-five before heading back towards where Will was standing in front of the Apollo Cabin. 

Will noticed a blush creeping into his cheeks and quickly turned away, mortified. A moment later he felt a prod at his shoulder and looked up to see the son of Hades regarding him questioningly. 

“Will? We’d better get these 3 days over and done with then, right?”

Startled, Will let out a weird laugh that sounded like a piece of machinery made by Cabin 9, before nodding, turning round, and promptly walking into the doorframe, much to the amusement of Kayla, who was sitting inside, waxing her bowstring. Embarrassed, he quickly changed from his flip-flops into something more suitable for the infirmary before emerging again onto the porch. 

✧✧✧

Nico was waiting for him on the porch, leaning against a post, drumming his fingers against the railing. When Will approached him, he stood up and gestured for the son of Apollo to lead the way. The walk to the infirmary was short, thank the gods, and Will spent the time determinedly staring forwards. A few campers were hurrying around, carrying supplies. Will nodded a hello towards Jake Mason, who  was with a few other Hephaestus kids. The older boy didn’t have crutches any more, but preferred to use a cane when he had to walk around. Typical Cabin 9-style it had several cool additions, such as being able to extend into a fighting staff and, if Harley had anything to do with it, probably a flamethrower somewhere. The scarily muscular 8-year-old was chatting animatedly to his older brother, but he wasn’t at his usual bouncy self. Harley had worshipped Leo, and had been devastated by his loss. It didn’t help that now, closer to the start of school, all of his siblings, save for Nyssa, would be heading home or to college for a while. Will made a mental note to hang out with him more. 

The two boys reached the doors of the infirmary and Will opened one, stepping aside to let Nico in first. Once they were inside, Will made a beeline for an empty bed at the back of the infirmary.

“We save the front beds for anyone that comes in with a really severe injury”,

he explained. He gestured for Nico to sit on the bed while he fussed around, clearing some of Austin’s sheet music away from a chair before plonking himself down on it. He’d have a word later with his brother about working on his compositions in the infirmary. Glancing up, he noticed that Nico was looking rather awkward (and adorable). He kept moving his hands around, as if he weren’t quite sure what he was doing, whilst desperately avoiding eye contact with anyone. Right. Nico wasn’t a people person, and it was currently quite busy in the surrounding area. Will stood up to draw the blue curtain around their area, before turning to address the son of Hades. 

“I know this is primarily for you to get some rest, but I think I should give you a general check just to make sure nothing other than your irresponsible use of underworldy powers is a problem.”

Nico scowled at him but didn’t argue, instead opting for a curt nod. Will continued,

“I’ll start by looking under that bandage on your arm”

He reached out to Nico’s arm 

“Is this ok?”,

he asked. Nico paused slightly, before nodding again. As gently as he could, Will raised Nico’s arm and began to slowly unwind the bandage, revealing several nasty-looking red claw-marks gouged into his skin.

“Werewolf claws”,

mumbled Nico. Will frowned.

“These are definitely infected. I’ll check for a fever and get some ambrosia for you. I reckon these will leave scars.”

He hesitated, then leaned in and brushed Nico’s raven-black hair from his forehead. It felt soft and, to his dismay, Will found his cheeks turning pink again. Holding the back of his hand against Nico’s pale forehead, he noticed how warm the son of Hades was.

“Nico, you’re burning up!”,

he announced before rummaging around in a nearby cupboard for some ambrosia and anything else he could use to treat the wound. He noticed a rather sad-looking Aloe Vera plant. Didn’t his siblings know that Aloe Vera should be placed in direct sunlight and not at the back of supply cupboards? He placed the poor plant in the windowsill, before taking a washcloth and some antibacterial ointment from the cupboard, along with the promised ambrosia. After thoroughly washing his hands, he handed the ambrosia to Nico, who began to delicately take small bites out of it, while he wet the cloth under the tap and started to carefully clean the wound. Nico winced slightly when the cloth made contact with the infected area, but had a slightly dopey faraway expression whilst he ate the ambrosia. Will wondered what Nico tasted when he consumed ambrosia. When Will ate it he tasted the sweet lemonade his grandma made whenever he returned home to visit. He tended to remain at camp most of the time, due to his mum always travelling for work and his insistence not to attend any sort of boarding school, but every now and again, he would fly over with a satyr protector to stay at his grandparent’s house with her. When he left, he would spend most of his time wondering when, or if, he’d ever get to go back. Especially after having 2 big wars in the space of a few years. Of course, his problems were all miniscule compared to what Nico had had to go through. He’d had to face the death of his sister, being alone with only a ghost for company, knowing about Camp Jupiter and not being able to tell anyone, being kidnapped and locked in a jar by crazy giants, and then on top of all of that had to deal with everyone at camp avoiding him, because they thought that he wasn’t normal. It all made Will so angry at the world, for allowing some people so many good things, when Nico could probably count the number of times he’d been happy since coming to camp on one hand, and still have fingers left over to spare.

Nico cleared his throat, and Will realised to his embarrassment, that he was staring again. He sheepishly placed the cloth in the sink, before lightly spreading a thin layer of the antibacterial ointment over the claw marks and murmuring a prayer to his father, while wondering if it would even work, seeing as Apollo was probably at that moment in time in the middle of a long lecture from his father, Zeus, concerning Octavian, the evil stuffed-toy destroyer (Percy had treated the whole camp to a story at the campfire of how his panda pillow pet had been brutally slaughtered). 

He then covered the wound with a gauze pad, finishing by gently wrapping a length of bandage around, to prevent further infection. 

He turned round to clean up while giving Nico strict instructions,

“I’ll talk to Chiron and explain that you are under no circumstances to partake in any sort of training exercises. You should spend most of your time here, getting some much needed sleep, however I think it’s a good idea for you to attend 1 meal a day at the pavilion, which will also allow you to have some healthy time outdoors. The rest of the time I will provide food for you.”

Even though he was facing away, he could imagine the son of Hades glaring daggers at him. 

“I can get food myself. There’s a McDonalds near enough that the shadow travel shouldn’t hurt me.”

Will sighed in exasperation, running a hand through his hair and turning around to face his stubborn patient.

“Really? What part of ‘you can’t even summon a wishbone without melting into a puddle of darkness’ do you not get? I’m not even going to start on the ridiculous lack of proper nutrients in a McDonalds meal. What can they offer you that camp doesn’t?”

Nico raised his chin in a show of defiance

“Does Camp Half-Blood offer snazzy boxes? No I thought not. It also has an over-bearing mamma bear watching my every move. When I agreed to this, I expected gentle rest, not a prison sentence.”

He dramatically flopped back on the bed, his head on the pillow. 

“I’m not even tired! Not one bit!”

Fixing his glare at the ceiling he mumbled

“This is a nice pillow. Soft and squishy.”

On that note, he fell asleep, still muttering about how fully awake he was. Amused, Will shook his head and stepped out of the curtained area into the main area of the infirmary to see Cecil and Austin chuckling in his direction. Austin was in the process of checking Cecil’s strained calf muscle and met Will’s eyes with an amused look.

“Why William my dear brother, I do believe that you have met your match. He’s just as headstrong as you are!”

Disgruntled, the senior counsellor of the Apollo cabin went to the storage closet to reorganise the medical supplies.

[vampiringg]

I have fic, it's already one ao3 but here ya go anyways

The Ultimate Wingman

Summary: Nico goes to Kayla for help on asking out Will, forming two relationships - platonic or not - within the Apollo cabin

No warnings :D

I wrung my hands as I walked across Camp's grounds. This couldn't go too badly… right? The worst that could happen was that he'd say no - then he'd tell everyone I was gay and they'd all hate me and think I was weird and those that I could actually call friends would abandon me and -!

"Ugh!" I said aloud, kicking the dirt. The girl that I had been looking for, Kayla Knowles, spun around. Her short ginger and green hair whipped her face and the quiver on her back slid to the right.

"Oh, hey Nico," she greeted with a smile once she got over the shock.

"Uh, hi," I mumbled. 

"What is it? You seem… stressed," she commented.

"What? No, I'm not stressed," I lied. Her eyebrows creeped up.

"Oh really? I might not be any Will Solace but -" she stopped. I hoped desperately that the warmness of my cheeks wasn't showing. By the looks of it, however, I was more red than Rachel Dare's hair. She set her bow down and pulled off the quiver. Kayla seemed to be torn between smirking and being as kind as possible.

"I believe you wanted to talk to me?"

Oh, how easy it would be to say 'no' and walk away, my secrets still kept to my chest. But that would accomplish nothing. Besides, it wasn't as bad as telling Will. At least if I talked to Kayla it wasn't completely sure Will would ever find out what a loser I was.

"I - I… yes," I said, staring at the ground.

"Would you call it an… important matter?" She was definitely smirking; I could hear it in her voice. I glared at her red converse. I swear this girl lived in bright colours. "Ooh," She giggled before clearing her throat. "Sorry, I've been spending too much time around Lacy." I didn't know or care who Lacy was, though I assumed she was a daughter of Aphrodite, judging by the behaviour Kayla had leeched off her. I hoped I never had the misfortune to meet Lacy, as even this interaction with Kayla had just about killed me - or maybe it was just the circumstances.

"So," she said, jumping up to sit on the table she had just put her bow on. "What is it that you need me, of all people, for?"

"Well -"

"Sit down first," she interrupted, patting the table space next to her. She moved the bow as if it were made of glass and not a weapon made for killing. I hesitated before climbing up. (And, yes, I had to climb up. Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, was too short to get up on a table that even the smallest kid in the Apollo cabin could effortlessly jump onto.) Her bluebelle eyes held the smile that she was repressing. 

"Now we're all cozy -" I shuffled away from her. "Tell me whatcha problem is." I didn't answer straight away. In fact, I didn't answer at all. I just kinda stared over to Camp, occasionally stealing glances to cabin 7. Discreetly, of course, or Kayla might start taking after Lacy again.

Suddenly, she hit my arm. I looked at her, a mixture of surprised and offended.

"There was a mosquito," she shrugged with an innocent smile.

"I hate you," I muttered so quietly I thought she wouldn't hear. But damn these Apollo kids, with their hearing that was too good, even for a demigod.

"That's kind of you,"

"How did you even -?"

"Hear you? Please, dad's the god of music n' stuff, we can't be tone deaf - well, maybe Will is -" she definitely paused just to see my reaction this time. I was disappointed in my inability to control my own blushing. The smirk reappeared on her face. "And he's also the god of prophecy, so I'd like to say that I have a pretty good idea of what's going on around here." I sighed, staring up at the sky. It was fun to imagine Zeus burning up there but I couldn't sink into childhood daydreams right now.

"I know you know -"

"I know I know, too," she said. I glared at her before looking back up.

"So just say it,"

Her smile widened before it disappeared. Shaking her head, she said something completely unexpected,

"This isn't my place to speak. You need to tell me, if you want to,"

I paused, momentarily confused by this sudden change. She smiled a genuine smile, her freckled cheeks faintly pink.

"If it makes you feel any better, I've had a crush on Lou Ellen for, like, ever,"

"Really?" I asked before I could stop myself. She nodded, the amber to green colouring of her hair made it look like traffic lights, her face was also red, making it even more pronounced.

"Well… I guess…" I groaned. "We're going anonymous, here. I have a - I have a crush on one of your half-siblings, right? And I need your help." She grinned. 

"Well, good thing we're both amateurs -"

"How is that a good thing?"

"Shh, di Angelo," she placed a finger to my lips. "It's rude to interrupt a genius at work."

"You're not a genius and you've interrupted me, like, 4 -"

"3," she corrected, then paused, rolling her eyes at herself. "Now it's 4 times."

"Whatever! I just need to find out if Wi - someone in your cabin likes me back!"

"You could just… ask?" she offered.

"No!" I cried, aghast. She racked her brain for another option.

"What d'you like to do, then?" Kayla asked. I looked at her quizzically.

"Raise the dead,"

"Maybe something more… normal," she said. "No offence but an army of skeletons isn't the way to ask someone out."

"Uhh," 

"You literally never leave your cabin. What do you do in there all day? Stare at the wall?"

"Yeah, basically," I shrugged. She seemed taken aback.

"You have a sword, right? What if you challenge him to a sword fight? You know, then get talking after?"

"That could work… I guess…" I mumbled.

"Then it's settled," she said, grabbing my wrist and jumping off the table.

"What're you - no. No no no no no! You cannot -" my foot caught and I ended up with a face full of grass.

"Good thinking! Will - I mean, my siblings like healing! Did you sprain your ankle?"

"I think so," I replied, tenderly poking the injury. "But the last time I was in the infirmary-"

"Will got really pissed because you left before your three days were up? I know. So now you can make up for it!" she said, dragging me along behind her.

"William!" she screamed through the Apollo cabin door.

"What?" Will opened the door, glowing in the fading sunlight.

"I've got a visitor!" she giggled before practically throwing me inside. "Good chat, Neeks!" Kayla slammed the door, leaving us in the empty cabin.

"Uh, what was all that about?" he asked, still staring at the door as he held his hand out. I hesitated before pulling myself up.

"I sprained my ankle," I replied, my voice an octave higher than usual.

"Oh," Will said and pointed at a bed. I sat on the edge of it, my toes grazing the floor. He walked over, his blond hair bobbing with his bouncy step, which was accompanied with the clapping sound of flip flops. He finished a Red Bull, crushing the can and throwing it over his shoulder, where it flawlessly landed in the bin. How hot can you get? 

He gently pulled off my black sneakers - I hoped my feet didn't smell. He prodded around the ankle and I winced in pain.

"Yeah, sprained, all right," he said. It was too quiet, I could hear his breathing. He pulled out an ice pack and wrapped it around my foot. "So, er, you're free to go, I guess." I nodded and replaced my shoe. I limped to the door before turning around.

"I was wondering if you'd, uh, if you'd like to… meet me in the - what's it called?- in the, um, arena tomorrow?" I stuttered.

"Sure," Will grinned. He couldn't be blushing, it was probably just the light. "What time?"

"Um, you pick," I said, not wanting to feel like a control freak.

"Will 11 do?" he asked.

"Of course," I replied. Truth was, I didn't usually get up until then, so I'd have to remember to set an alarm. Or tell Kayla and she'd come bounding into my room and 3 am for 'preparations'.

"See you there," he said. I nodded and left.

***

"Did it work? It worked, right?" Kayla practically yelled, jumping out from behind a bush.

"Yeah! It actually worked!" I answered just as loudly, unable to contain my enthusiasm. She gasped.

"What time are you gonna have the sword fight?" 

I cursed in Greek.

"I forgot to mention the swords!"

"Never mind, you have a sprained ankle anyway," she said, then hopped up and down excitedly. "See? I'm the ultimate wingman! You're going on a date!"

"It's not a date!" I corrected her, though I secretly hoped it was.

"Whatever you say, Neeks," she shrugged. I was too happy to tell her not to call me that.

"But what should I wear?" I asked. 

"Hmm," she mused. "Not the same as today… I'll need to see your wardrobe." She marched off to cabin 13, me in tow.

"Do you own anything that's not black?" Kayla grumbled, throwing yet another skull t shirt onto the bed. "Anyone'd think you're going to a funeral every day of the year."

"Uh," I squinted at a shirt. "That one's… dark grey," She held it up and raised an eyebrow. "... very, very dark grey."

"It's black," she sighed. "Anyhow, it'll have to do. At least it doesn't have a skull on."

"Who knows, maybe Will likes skulls and skeletons?" I shrugged. Kayla snorted.

"Tbh, he could probably name every bone in your body,"

"What the Hades does tbh mean?" I questioned and she grinned.

"Sometimes I forget that you're from, like, ages ago. Times like now, though…"

"Just tell me what it means," I growled as a skeletal hand broke the black carpet. 

"Um, it means to be honest," she answered, her voice squeaky.

"Oh… thanks," the hand retreated back into the ground. "Sorry, I guess."

"Don't worry 'bout it," Kayla shrugged. "Just lemme watch the date first."

My face went red. I was so close to summoning another skeleton to drag her into the depths of the Underworld.

I lay in bed, too nervous to sleep. What if it didn't work out? What if he hated me? What if - oh, the horrors - he was straight? I mean, I had nothing against straights. Most of my friends were (supposedly) straight. Still, when you're tryna ask a guy out, him being straight is not ideal. At all. I rolled over and punched my pillow. I needed sleep. I already had eye bags, I didn't need yet another sleepless night to look even more trashy. I could hardly breathe on my stomach but it, at least, served as a distraction. I mused over shadow travelling across the room and back, just so I would pass out. It was unnecessary, though, as I did (eventually) get to sleep.

"Nico," I vaguely registered someone whispering in my ear. "Nico. Nico. Wake up," they inhaled. I just managed to brace myself, realising what they were going to do. "NICO!" Still, I stumbled out of bed and fell to the floor.

"What?" I hissed at Kayla. She grinned, having successfully screamed in my ear.

"Date,"

About a hundred thoughts passed through my mind at once. Through the jumble, I managed one question.

"What's the time?"

"8, which gives 3 hours to go over your strategy," she answered.

"Strategy? I don't need a strategy," I said.

"Yes, you do. Besides, I've been talking everything through with Lacy last night,"

"How did you even meet? She's, like, two years younger than you,"

"Maybe if you actually left your cabin -"

"Point taken,"

"Drink it," Kayla instructed, pushing a glass into my hand.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Poison," she said, rolling her eyes. "Water, dumbass. Now, drink." I downed it and wiped my mouth on my wrist. There were a few moments of silence before Kayla stood up, grabbing me by the wrist.

"C'mon, Ghostie, let's take you to the arena to find lover boy,"

"Wh - what? Aren't we early?"

"Will's always early, it'll be a surprise," she replied. I nodded and followed her out, trying to resist the urge to sprint, adopt a new identity and forget this whole not-date.

*** 

I never would have thought I'd end up standing behind a bush with Kayla Knowles whilst Will Solace waited for me, yet here I was.

"Don't mess up the eyeliner," she said. "Or Lacy will kill me." I tried to reply, but no sound came out. She smiled lopsidedly, like she understood anyway.

"You'll do great," she inhaled then patted my head. "Will totally loves you."

"I - I - he -" I stuttered. 

"Trust me," Kayla said, grasping my hand, her bitten nails lightly scratching me. She pulled me into a hug from there. I tensed momentarily before doing the same.

"Thanks," I said into her shoulder. "Maybe I could be the ultimate wingman for your date with Lou Ellen."

"Isn't she with Cecil, though?"

"Eh," I shrugged. "I can… arrange something." She pulled back, laughing.

"Will will be lucky to have you, di Angelo. Now, go get him!" She pushed me out from our hiding space.

Will spin around, a grin forming on his face. His camp tank top exposed his golden shoulders, which glowed in the sunlight. He obviously had had some assistance too, as he was wearing jeans and not beach shorts two sizes too big.

"You're early," he laughed; a short melodic note.

"Then what are you?" I retorted good-naturedly.

"Hmm, fair point. But do you like my shoes?" he pointed at his black crocs. "I thought you'd like the colour."

"Oh, yeah, get me some," I said sarcastically.

"Sure!" Will said, his white teeth shining.

"That was a joke, Solace! A joke! I do not want black crocs!"

"Suit yourself," he shrugged. "Now, do you wanna sit down somewhere?"

"Thought you'd never ask,"

[buoyantsaturn]

Bring On The Monsters (7/8)

chapter title: They Find Out The Truth, Sort Of

word count: 3,203

read on ao3

Bianca had flagged down a cab, then pried the credit card out of Nico’s hand when the driver refused to cart around three kids. He still seemed hesitant to take them all the way to Los Angeles, but Bianca had already shoved the two boys into the backseat. 

For the first half of the drive, Will wouldn’t stop asking questions about the 1930s, practically bouncing in his seat and firing off questions so fast that sometimes Nico and Bianca wouldn’t even have the chance to answer - not that they were all too eager to give anything away, anyway. Ever since arriving at camp, neither of them had had much memory of their time before the Lotus. Somehow, though, despite what Nico thought was pretty obvious discomfort on their part, Will kept asking away. 

Bianca finally shut him up eventually, claiming that if he didn’t stop, she was going to throw him out into the desert, and if he was lucky then they’d swing by and pick him up again on their way back to New York. Nico just hoped that their driver didn’t find anything usual about their conversation - at least not enough to alert the authorities. 

They dozed off for about an hour, Nico finding himself squished between two sleeping demigods as he watched the endless desert road out the windshield. Then, sometime in between blinks, Nico fell asleep as well, and woke to the sound of conversation. 

“What kind of responsible adult would I be if I let three kids wander the streets in the middle of the night?” the driver was telling them, twisted in his seat to look at them as he spoke. “Nah, I’m gonna take you to a police station or something.” 

“No, don’t!” Will shouted, and Bianca reached around Nico to shove at his shoulder. 

“What he means is,” Bianca started, “that’s really not necessary. My dad owns this recording studio, and he’s actually waiting for us, so it’s really fine if you just drop us off right here. Promise.” 

The driver still looked skeptical. “This building right here?” He pointed out the passenger window, glancing between it and the demigods. “Alright, but I’m gonna hang out right here until you all get inside, okay? And if you have any problems, I can drive you over to the nearest police station.” 

“Thank you, that’s very kind,” Bianca said as she pushed open the car door. It was a good thing that Nico was already awake beside her, even if he hadn’t done anything to make that clear, because she simply grabbed his arm and dragged him outside with her. Will followed behind out the same door and hurried to catch up with Bianca before she could open the door to the building. 

“Wait!” Will hissed.

“What?” Bianca asked, turning to face him with a hand on the door. “We can’t let that guy think there’s a problem.” 

“But...what do we do when we’re inside?” Will asked. “Aren’t we going to have to pretend that we’re, you know, dead? They’re not just going to let us in otherwise!” 

“I guess we’ll see what happens,” Bianca replied, and ripped the door open. She led the way in, holding tightly to Nico’s hand as she walked inside, then came to a halt in the lobby. It was practically bursting with people despite the late hour, so much so that they could barely see across the room. 

Will stopped beside them and looked around, just as the two siblings were doing, though he seemed more confused than surprised. “It’s so...empty. I know it’s late and all, but I didn’t think it’d be empty.”

Nico and Bianca traded a look, just as one of the people walked straight through them. 

Right, Nico thought. Ghosts.

Bianca lifted her chin and walked across the room, though some of the shades though many seemed to part for them. They acted like they had some form of respect for Nico and Bianca, though they watched Will with confusion and disdain. Nico figured it was probably a good thing that Will couldn’t see them. 

Bianca stepped up to the counter and cleared her throat. “Um. Hello.” 

The man behind the counter raised an eyebrow, amused. “Can I help you?” 

“Yes,” she answered. “We’ve recently found ourselves, um. Dead.”

“Sure you have,” the man replied with a nod. “The di Angelos, right? And...friend. Your dad’s waiting for you downstairs.” He stood, revealing an expensive black suit, and started toward one corner of the room to a set of elevator doors. “My name is Charon. Right this way, please. Can’t keep the boss waiting.” 

“How did you know who we are?” Nico asked as Charon gestured for them to enter the elevator.

“I’ve been expecting you,” Charon replied, as if that was an answer. “And you’re clearly not dead.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, Nico saw Bianca elbowing Will in the side. 

“Hold on tight!” Charon announced as the doors shut in front of them, and suddenly they found themselves knocked off their feet. Nico landed hard on the wood plank seat of a boat, Will and Bianca in single file behind him while Charon stayed on his feet in front of them. He didn’t row the boat at all, just seemed to will it forward toward a black sand beach. 

Nico was distracted, studying the smooth fabric of the hooded robe that Charon’s suit had melted into, and jumped when the man spoke again. He’d turned to glance at Nico over his shoulder, though instead of a man, Nico only saw a skeleton underneath the hood. “Show me your sword, boy.” 

Nico scrambled to unsheath the weapon, holding it out for Charon to take. “This one?” he asked, as if he had another sword to show off.

Charon took it from his hand, and with no hesitation at all, flung the sword into the river. 

“Hey!” Nico exclaimed. “What was that for?” 

Charon turned forward once more, and Nico couldn’t know for sure, but he thought the ferryman replied, “No cursed weapons beyond this point.” 

Nico turned back to Will and whispered, “Did he say cursed?” 

Before Will could respond, the boat shuddered to a stop, and Charon announced, “Here we are. Watch your step. We wouldn’t want anyone taking an accidental dip, now, would we?” 

Nico wasn’t sure, but he thought Charon had looked past him to Will, but it was hard to tell since Charon didn’t exactly have eyes. Nico climbed out of the boat onto a dock, offered a hand to help Will out, then the two boys pulled Bianca out together. 

“Which way do we go?” Bianca asked. 

“The palace won’t be difficult to locate,” Charon answered as he pushed off from the dock, and the boat started back across the river. 

Bianca huffed. “Well, that wasn’t very helpful.”

Will replied, “I don’t think it needed to be.” He was facing away from the other two, and when Nico turned to see what Will was looking at, his jaw dropped. 

The palace was at least a mile away, but massive, made from obsidian and gold. Even from such a distance, it seemed to loom over them - them, and the millions of shades that were filing through the gates of the Underworld. 

“I guess we go that way,” Nico said, and started walking. 

He noticed quickly that, while he and Bianca attempted to avoid any contact with the shades, Will simply walked straight through them. Like he didn’t see them at all. His suspicion was confirmed when they approached the gates after a few minutes and Nico and Bianca froze at the sight of the three headed dog Cerberus. Will, though--

“Will!” Nico exclaimed, lunging forward and grabbing at his backpack to yank him backwards, just as Cerberus’s left head swung down to snap at him. Will landed on his butt on the cracked, dry ground after being pulled off his feet by Nico.

“What was that for?” he demanded as he got back up.

Bianca gestured up toward Cerberus’s heads. “Do you not see the giant dog?”

“Dog?” Will repeated, spinning around with his eyes the size of dinner plates as he searched for the dog. “Where’s the puppy?” 

“Will,” Nico said, drawing his friend’s attention back to him. “Do you not see the ghosts?” 

Will frowned. “Do...you see ghosts?” 

“We don’t have time for this,” Bianca said with a roll of her eyes. “I’m going to try to distract Cerberus. Nico, try to get Will past without letting him get eaten.”

“Cerberus?” Will repeated, his eyes snapping toward the dog, though he still didn’t seem to register the monster. 

“It might be the Mist,” Nico explained. “Just try to focus, Will. Concentrate on seeing through the Mist, and look at Bianca.” 

Will squeezed his eyes shut for a count of three, and when they opened again, they opened wide. “Oh, that’s a big boy.” 

“You can see him?” Nico asked. “Can you see the ghosts?” 

It took a second for Will to tear his eyes away from Cerberus, but when he did, he flinched, then jumped to the side as a shade almost walked through him. “Where did these guys come from?” 

“They were here the whole time,” Nico replied, and grabbed Will’s arm. “C’mon, we should go while Bia has Cerberus distracted.” 

The boys started forward, hesitantly, watching as Bianca reached out toward Cerberus with an open palm. Cerberus placed his middle chin in her hand, and his tail started to wag. “Good boy,” Nico heard her say just before the dog’s right head licked her arm. 

Once they were behind him, Nico called back for his sister. He heard her promise to come back soon, and then she was running to her brother’s side. 

They still had a long walk ahead of them. They wandered through Asphodel, saw Elysium from afar, and walked along a cliffside that didn’t seem to have an end on the other side. 

“What’s down there?” Nico asked, trying to peer over the edge without getting any closer - not that he would have seen anything anyway, not with the thick fog that concealed whatever laid below. 

“Punishment?” Will offered. 

“No, that’s on the other side of the palace,” Bianca replied. “That’s… Whatever that is, it’s worse.” 

Nico moved away from the edge. 

When they reached the palace doors, the pair of skeletal guards outside welcomed them in. If vacant stares and subtle shifting could be considered welcoming. The doors closed behind them with a thundering boom.

They continued straight ahead until they entered a grand throne room, where the floors were a solid black marble and the columns surrounding them were made from skulls of different animals - though, primarily, human. 

Nico wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he met his father, but this certainly wasn’t it. Hades looked like any other person, only deathly pale and wearing a toga so black it seemed to suck the color out of the room around him. He looked...like Nico. He looked like the person that Nico could easily become in another twenty years or so. 

Nico definitely didn’t expect his father to look happy, but that definitely had to be due to the woman perched on the arm of his throne. She was the only splash of color in the room (aside from Will) with a dress that reflected every color of the surface’s summertime, curled auburn hair, and warm skin. She looked like she didn’t belong in such a cold, dark place, and it wasn’t until Nico saw the fond look in his father’s eyes that he realized who she was. 

The trio stopped a short distance from the throne, and Hades finally tore his eyes away from his wife to acknowledge them. “Children,” he greeted, and any kindness in his eyes vanished as he added, “and guest.”

“Be nice,” Persephone chided with a tap to her husband’s shoulder. 

“Persephone?” Will said with confusion in his tone, and he snapped his jaw shut after realizing that he’d spoken out of turn. “Sorry! Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting-- I mean, it’s summer, so I thought-- Ow!” Bianca stomped on Will’s foot, forcing him to shut up.

“It’s alright, dear,” Persephone said kindly, and turned her gaze back to Hades. “I’m just here on a weekend trip to visit my husband while he’s in a mood.”

Hades huffed, not unlike the way Nico and Bianca tended to. “I am not--” Persephone raised an eyebrow, and Hades sighed. “Yes, dear.” Hades turned his attention back to the demigods. “Children,” he said again, this time apparently deciding to ignore Will altogether, “I believe this meeting is far overdue. I am...very happy to see you both again.” 

“Again?” Bianca repeated. “You’ve seen us before?” 

“Of course,” Hades answered. “I helped raise you before your mother...passed.” 

“What happened?” Nico asked. “To… To our mom, to us.”

Will nudged him with his elbow and whispered, “And the bolt.” 

“And Zeus’s bolt,” Nico added. 

Hades took a breath. “I suppose I should start at the beginning. You are familiar with the oath between my brothers and I?” Nico nodded. “I never broke it. Both of my brothers have, and their children have suffered because of it, but I had no desire to put either of you through that pain. The oath was made shortly after you were born, Nico, so Zeus believed that I had broken it. He tried to kill you, both of you, but I was able to protect you just before he struck. Your mother...was not so lucky.” 

Persephone set a comforting hand on Hades’s shoulder, and he covered it with one of his own. Nico found himself surprised by the gesture, having assumed that his step-mother would be upset hearing about her husband’s affair. Maybe seventy years had been enough time for her to get over it.

“I put you in the Lotus to protect you,” Hades continued. “He couldn’t see you there, because that place doesn’t exist in time the same way that the rest of the world does. However, recently, things have been...stirring, and I felt the need to pull you out. The timing wasn’t perfect, I know, but I had also hoped that you two would be able to clear my name after the Master Bolt disappeared.”

“Why couldn’t you just tell Zeus that you’re innocent?” Bianca asked. 

Hades scoffed. “You think anyone listens to me? Of course not! And they certainly wouldn't believe me now that you’ve brought the bolt straight to me.” 

Nico choked on his next breath. “We did what?”

Hades raised an eyebrow, as if surprised that they didn’t already know. “You received a gift on your journey, yes?” 

Bianca slid the straps of her backpack off her shoulders and held it out toward Hades. “Ares gave this to us a few days ago.” 

He nodded to the bag. “Look inside.” 

She set the bag on the ground and knelt beside it as she unzipped the main pouch. Bianca reached inside and brought out a cylinder of blue electricity that absolutely radiated power. Her jaw dropped open at the sight, and she looked back to her father. “So… Ares--?”

“Please, as if he’s smart enough to plot something like that,” Hades replied. “No, it was not my nephew. I have my suspicions as to who could have--” He shook his head. “But it’s not possible. I cannot say, because even I can’t believe that it could be true.” 

Nico shifted his weight uneasily.

Hades waved a hand dismissively. “Please, dear, put that thing away. You will need to take it to Olympus right away, and you can’t let anything happen to it on your journey.” 

Bianca returned the bolt to her bag and stood. “But it took us so long to get here. How are we supposed to get back to Olympus before the solstice?” 

“I believe your friend here will be able to direct you,” Hades said, nodding toward Will. 

“Me?” Will squeaked. 

“The Underworld is connected to everything, all across the world. There is even an entrance a short distance from Olympus,” Hades told them. “The same doors that Orpheus used when he attempted to steal back Eurydice will be your exit. Please, children, feel free to use those doors to visit, whenever you’d like, at least until you both learn to master shadow travel. I would...very much like to see you both again. Under less stressful circumstances.” 

“Shadow travel?” Nico repeated. 

Hades hummed. “It would seem that you’ve already tried it once. Perhaps someday I’ll be able to teach you to focus your energy, so that you won’t collapse immediately afterwards.”

“You mean he really did teleport?” Will exclaimed, and Hades’s gaze hardened again. Will took half a step behind Nico. 

“We’ll walk you out,” Hades said as he rose from his throne, and offered a hand to Persephone to help her to her feet. “Please, follow me.” 

Hades started leading them out of the throne room through a side door, and as they entered a long hallway, Will grabbed Nico’s hand and hissed, “Should we be trusting him?” 

Nico frowned. “He’s my dad. He’s helping us.” 

Will didn’t seem entirely happy, but he nodded. He didn’t let go of Nico’s hand. 

“I understand that you don’t have your own cabin at camp, is that right?” Hades asked, glancing back at them over his shoulder. “You should know that if you ever tire of crowding in with the other campers, I have many empty rooms here. You could each have your own space. And you wouldn’t have to stay forever, even just a - what did you call it, dear? - weekend visit.” He opened another door and led them out of the palace. From there, they had a perfect view of the Fields of Punishment. 

They stepped out into a garden, and the pale, skeletal flora and fauna all seemed to turn toward them. Persephone stepped to the side to tend to her garden and allow her husband a moment to say goodbye. 

“Your exit is on the edge of Punishment,” Hades told them, pointing out across the palace grounds. “On the other side of Sisyphus’s hill, there is a set of stairs. Take those up to the surface.” He turned back to the demigods and set a hand on Bianca’s shoulder. “I really do hope to see you both again.” He pressed a kiss to the top of his daughter’s head, then turned to do the same to his son. 

Hades stepped back and held his hands behind his back, gazing down at them sternly. “But do not, under any circumstances, even think about bringing any more sunny Apollo spawn into my realm, unless they are already dead.” 

Will squeezed Nico’s hand and moved to step behind Nico once more, but bumped into someone as he did so. 

Persephone wound an arm around Will’s shoulders from behind and set her chin on top of his head. “Oh, but dear, the plants love him!” she said to her husband, and Nico watched as Will’s cheeks grew pink. “Can’t we keep him a little while longer?” 

Bianca grinned. “He’s all yours!” 

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one ghost king to rule them all

ALRIGHT SO - i finished my self indulgent character analysis of our little gay lord and savior, nico di angelo. 

and let me tell you. THE PAIN really just makes him more gothy and i’m here for it. 

under the cut if y’all wanna read it. your choice. except wendy, she has to read it bc i said so. 

Summary: 

There were many boys at one point. Boys with flames on their skin. Salt water in their hair. Lightning in their veins. And they all mattered…

The one with the animal heart and the one with a halo made of sun.

Each and every single one mattered.

But not like the boy born of shadows.

Never like him.

[Nico di Angelo would never walk a straight and narrow path, Hestia promised him that much. His would always be a journey marred by sadness, distrust and destruction. But sometimes, beauty can be born of hate. And acceptance can be found in even the darkest of nights.]

[An in-depth look at Nico's journey from the cliff of Bar Harbour to the Battle of Gaea]

Read it on AO3. 

There were many boys at one point. Boys with flames on their skin. Salt water in their hair. Lightning in their veins. And they all mattered…

The one with the animal heart and the one with a halo made of sun.

Each and every single one mattered.

But not like the boy born of shadows.

Never like him.

Nico di Angelo remembers the death of his mother.

He was young but still, there is an imprint of the year 1941 on his brain, and the crash that came with Zeus destroying the ceiling.

The faint glow of his father’s power still wakes him at night. A black force field that could only be described as suffocating. The warmth that the Lord of the Underworld could create was never quite inviting though. It licked at you, like hot flames whose only goal was to singe. He had shielded Nico and Bianca from the physical harm, they had survived, but he left them torn.

River Lethe was strong, strong enough to wipe even a Titan’s memories Nico would later find out, but no power was stronger than a mother’s love. The memories of vows of vengeance that Hades swore had faded, the white marble of the Washington D.C. hotel had withered. But Maria di Angelo’s red lips and olive skin will never leave Nico’s mind. Nor will the first moment his father chose to protect him.

For a long time Nico would think it was the last. If only he knew back then how wrong he’d be.

They travelled some with a dark haired lawyer that asked but never listened. And they ended up in the Lotus Hotel.

Nico, even at his young age, heard whispers of The Child of the Eldest Gods and a prophecy to end all prophecies. It was drowned out by the lights of Las Vegas and the inviting doors of the Lotus Hotel.

A month passed for Nico and he and Bianca were swept away by a new lawyer with the same habit of questioning and ignoring. The world outside had changed. Washington D.C. had new subway stations, motorized vehicles had more efficient and ugly, everyone seemed to have something called a ‘cell-phone’.

They were taken to Westover Hall, a military academy in Bar Harbour. Things had changed, Bianca wore a hat and learned everything about this new, modern world that she could. Nico picked up Mythomagic and found himself loving something for the first time since his mother died.

There was so much heartbreak since then.

So many deaths. So many losses.

Nico swore he wouldn’t lose anyone else. Not after his mother had gone so suddenly. So he made Percy Jackson promise to keep Bianca safe.

Percy could do it! Nico insisted to himself. Percy was strong and experienced and he’d been on a quest before. His hair was dark and his eyes sparkled, Nico liked that a lot. Nico knew Mythomagic, he knew what kind of points the monsters would have that his sister would be facing. And she needed someone to watch her six. Someone who knew how.

Percy could do that.

He tried his best to keep his spirits up after the group’s departure.

It was still cool, that Camp Half-Blood was like Mythomagic brought to life. The lava climbing wall and real life land mines made for an interesting stay.

But still…he felt quite lonely.

He’d never been without Bianca before…

He’d never been alone…

On his first lone night, Nico stood apart from the campers gathered around the fire. They sang together off-key and toasted marshmallows as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Everyone seemed happy, everyone seemed at home.

Except Nico.

And that one young girl in a mousy brown dress with eyes like fire.

She stared into the blazes, her gaze softening as it grew with the intensity of the love around the hearth. She seemed so ordinary. Without thinking Nico drew towards her wanting to get a better look at her face. When he did, he noticed it was all together unremarkable. Freckles on the bridge of her nose, brown hair to match her dress but she had flames in her eyes. 

She looked at him and said nothing. Still, there seemed to be an invitation in the air.

He took a seat next to her and stared in the blazes.

‘Your hearth,’ she said quietly. ‘It’s so small.’ Sorrow clouded her voice.

Nico felt vulnerable and naked. His hearth was practically empty. His father would feed him to the dogs, his mother had passed before he could grow old enough to remember her and his sister had left him behind. The coals of his hearth were barely glowing. He felt as if there was only one left and its ember was extinguishing.

‘A small hearth is still a home.’ His voice was as quiet as hers. His eyes never leaving the fire.

‘And home you will always return.’

The smile she gave him was small and the wisdom in her eyes seemed far beyond her years. She looked of Nico’s age but her demeanour betrayed her.

‘You have far to travel, Nico di Angelo.’ Her tone sounded sombre again. ‘You have much to face. But for your kindness you will be rewarded. You shall always find a place at my hearth.’

He wanted to ask her how he knew his name and what exactly she was talking about but a warmth filled his stomach. A sense of calm and serenity washed over him and suddenly it didn’t matter so much that his hearth was small or he had been left behind. This fire was warm enough and a hearth could be rebuilt with time.

His life had been touched by a goddess.

Since his time at Camp Half-Blood, Nico’s powers had grown. He felt the souls passing on, meeting the ferryman at the River Styx. He felt the marble shake with his father’s anger and watched as the flowers wilted when he walked.

But nothing quite made him feel like the Son of Death than when Percy came back without Bianca and only a Mythomagic figurine to make up for it.

Nico had wondered before why his father had such rage built up inside him. Why he couldn’t just accept the life his siblings chose for him? But in that moment, Nico understood.

With every step Bianca took towards her hearing, Nico felt the pang echo in his chest. As if he were standing there with her, he could see the gold masks leering down at him. He felt the ringing in his ears.

The rage exploded inside him like a volcano and sizzled the pity Percy tried to shovel on him. The hero he had in his mind, the greatness Percy Jackson encompassed, had disappeared. The fluttering in his stomach, the butterflies that took flight when he looked at Percy, they withered and died as Bianca was sentenced.

The amorous feelings, as amorous as a ten year old kid could feel, he had towards Percy were marred with darkness and stained with hate. Still… when the skeleton warriors pounced Nico couldn’t help it.

He saw Percy get disarmed. The ringing in his ears increased. He brought his hands to his head, trying to shake away the sound. The darkness grew inside of him, like a ball of energy ready to combust until he couldn’t take it anymore.

‘No! Go away!’

The ground split open and the skeletons were swallowed by flames and earth. One crunch later and not a single bone was left to be found.

Panting, Nico’s eyes moved from the fissure in the ground to Percy. He looked back at the kid, wide-eyed and awestruck. Bianca may have died but Darkness has just risen.

One step forward was all it took for Nico to shout a curse at Percy and run into the shadows of the woods. With this he would leave behind any feelings that Percy Jackson awoke in him.

- 

The road to Daedalus is dark and messy. Minos whispers in his ears with a voice as smooth as silk and provided both comfort and education. The things Nico learned with Minos he will never forget. Shadow travel, raising of spirits, conferring with the dead. It took some practice but eventually Nico made it back from his accidental trips to China and succeeded in summoning a soul.

Theseus’ words were muddled and unhelpful. His gaze drawn constantly to Nico’s ghostly guide, unsettling the young boy. He senses your power. That was what Theseus had said but he hadn’t said who. Darkness closed in again and Nico was alone, no one but Minos and an empty pit.

When he faces Percy next, Nico is disappointed to find that his heart still skips a beat. He likened it to a minor heart attack first and thought perhaps he’d be able to find Bianca that way but when the sensation passed with Percy’s eyes still on him, Nico only looked back coldly.

Your soul is worth nothing to me! He wanted to shout at Percy. How dare he think his soul could be exchanged for Bianca’s? Bianca’s soul was worth thousands of Percy’s. No amount of good looks and boyish charm could save him from that.

‘Let’s ask Bianca.’

That was what Percy had said. As if her appearance would rectify the wrong he had caused her. As if she would appear in front of Nico simply because Percy willed it.

If it were true, if Bianca showed this time, Nico would wring Percy’s neck.

He poured the root beer into the pit and let the words come from the deepest part of him. The chant brought about a mist and spirits followed it to kneel by the depth.

The chanting became forced and as Minos lowered himself and drank.

‘Be gone, Minos!’ He ordered.

The ghost flickered, hesitated and tried to stay. Nico’s voice strained as his power fluctuated and the ghost obeyed, albeit reluctantly.

The figure that followed formed into the glowing spirit of Bianca di Angelo. Silver snowboard jacket, olive skin and sad eyes.

She gazed at Percy and rejected his apology. ‘I made my own choice. I don’t regret it.’

Watching her raised, the words spilled out of Nico. ‘Why didn’t you answer me sooner? I’ve been trying for months!’

His heart breaks when she says, ‘I was hoping you would give up.’

‘Give up?! I’m trying to save you!’

Her hand stretches towards her little brother. He’d grown since they’d seen each other last. His eyes were colder, surrounded by dark rings. He’d become taller too. ‘Don’t do this.’ She said quietly. ‘Percy is right.’

‘You must listen to me,’ she implored, ‘holding a grudge is dangerous for a child of Hades.’ Her hand evaporated as it got close to his face. ‘It is our fatal flaw.’

She cocked her head, asking him for understanding.

‘You have to forgive. You have to promise me this.’

He shook his head like a child refusing to let their parent leave before they fell asleep.

‘You are close to the truth now,’ she told him. ‘It is not Percy you’re mad at, Nico. It’s me.’

The wound he had been trying to cover broke open. The scab felt raw and wet. He felt the hurt leak from his heart through his body until even his toes were drowned in sorrow.

‘You must overcome your anger. Or else it will be your doom.’ She insisted. Don’t do this her soul begged.

‘No! I am the son of Hades. I can.’

 For the second time, a dead demigod spoke of Nico’s power before disappearing. It hurt all that much more because it was Bianca. When the mist cleared there was nothing left in the pit but a leftover smell of root beer and bad barbeque.

It rattled him to his core. The strength he felt surge inside of him. The orb of darkness that pulsed, sometimes so strongly that it forcefully pushed out of him and dark tendrils followed him when he walked. Souls cowered where he went, even nature couldn’t seem to thrive in his presence. Maybe he was destined for a life in the labyrinth. A life filled with darkness and solitude.

He yearned for laughter and peace. He wished he could imagine a life happiness. He thought, if he could picture it, which he can’t but if he could, maybe Percy would be there. Maybe he’d hold out his hand towards Nico and all would be forgiven. Maybe he would know that Bianca would give him her blessing and he would finally rest knowing that he was okay. That he was not deviant. That he was only human…

But he wasn’t.

He felt the darkness move inside of him like a pool of ink staining a white shirt. Noticeable and inevitable. When the dracanae captured him, his only thought was that he hadn’t found Percy yet. Minos betrayed him – not that Nico was surprised. He’d played enough Mythomagic to know who King Minos had been and his power over Darkness was strong enough to know who Minos had become.

The battle started and Nico was pushed to the ground. The iron on his chains bit into his wrists but as he watched the people he knew – his friends? – fight, he felt helpless. Annabeth duelled with her knife, Percy sparring with his sword. They weren’t holding their own. The emotion rammed into his chest and made the Darkness surge. Like iron against fire, the chains melted into smoke as they left Nico’s wrists. This is not how he would go down.

Percy would not die before he had atoned for his sins, not before Nico could understand why his heart still skipped a beat when the dark haired boy looked at him. Minos would not rise again to call himself the ghost king. Luke would pay for his treachery.

He starred at his ghostly former companion.

‘You do not control me, young fool.’ Minos sneered. ‘All this time, I have been controlling you. A soul for a soul, yes. But it was not your sister who will return from the dead. It is I!’

Spirits shimmered around Minos as his body solidified. The whirling energy inside Nico forced his entire body to awaken. His gaze hardened, his look one of ice.

You dare speak to Son of the Dead that way?

‘No.’ Nico insisted. ‘I am the son of Hades. Be gone!’

If looks could kill, Minos would have returned to the grave again.

‘You have no power over me. I am the lord of the spirits! The ghost king!’

A crazed look fell into Nico’s eyes as his dead tilted. He drew his stygian sword with intention and stared Minos in the face.

‘No.’ He held up his sword. ‘I am.’

He plunged the sword into the floor and ran through it like butter. He called to all the spirits that clawed at his feet and his mind. He ordered them to take back Minos and put back where he belonged, under the rule of Hades. The windows cracked and the ground boomed and suddenly the spirits around Minos veered towards him. When the fissure opened in the ground, much like the one that had appeared in Camp Half-Blood, Minos could not struggle against the souls holding him down. He could do nothing but disappear into the depths of the Underworld where he would forever walk with Nico’s shadow over his head. Spending an eternity knowing he had challenged the wrong Darkness.

The energy he needed to banish Minos sucked more out of Nico than he’d like to admit. His olive complexion turned pale, his sword hand could barely lift the weight of his blade. Still, he followed Percy, Annabeth and a strange red-haired girl called Rachel when they fastened him into make-shift wings.

They stopped at a gift shop, attempting to find a way back into the maze.

‘Daedaulus isn’t dead.’ Nico told them when they wondered if the labyrinth was even still alive. ‘That I know for sure.’

Percy thanked him as Annabeth and Rachel walked ahead. For a second it felt like pure adrenaline running through Nico’s body. He pushed the feeling away and muttered something about being even for the fight on the ranch and raising Bianca.

‘Minos was right.’ Percy looked at him confused. They walked in silence for a while. ‘Daedalus should die. To cheat death for so long. It’s not natural.’

‘So you were going to trade Daedalus’ soul for Bianca’s?’ Percy voice doesn’t sound accusing, more like the pieces are finally falling into place and he can see the big picture.

Nico walks in silence wondering if he should bare his soul. He looks at Percy and sees a glimmer of the boy he admired. The one that makes his blood pump faster than usual. He figures, now is as good a time as any – since he’s not coming back.

‘It’s not easy, you know. Having only the dead for company.’ His words are quiet and his eyes downcast. ‘Knowing I’ll never be accepted by the living due to my heritage. Having only the dead respect me, if only out of fear.’

‘You could be accepted.’ Percy answered. And there it was, that naïve optimism that made Percy so attractive. His blind desire to help and save and foster. But good intentions not a good life make.

Look at what happened to Luke. 

- 

Kronos strode towards them, shimmering gold eyes, Luke’s short cropped blonde hair and scythe in his hand – ready to take whatever path he deemed worthy.

Nico knew the only escape would be to venture back into the labyrinth but Kronos’ domineering voice giving orders shook him to his core.

As it always did when he was afraid, the Darkness within him pulsed.

‘NO!’ Nico yelled as Kronos ordered his cronies to target them. He clapped his hands together and pushed his energy outward. If it would have been visible, people would have seen a shadow fall over the fortress. A spire of black rock erupted and tore the building to pieces. Kronos and his servants were left under piles of debris.

And Nico had outed himself. Well, not outed as… he couldn’t even think that. But outed as one of the Big Three.

When Percy had said as much, all Nico could do was shrug. ‘Big deal.’

What was one more person on his tail.

- 

They find their way back into the maze and into the cave of the Nature God, Pan. Nico’s life had been touched by the Gods before but this time, this time it was different. The shimmering form of Pan sat before them, glistening off the ruby and sapphire walls.

His pull so strong that even Nico fell to his knees in respect. Yet, there was something eery about the whole thing. Like Nico could feel the energy being sucked out of the cave and towards nothingness. As if it were only a fragment of a life, a well-kept memory of something already passed…

Only once did the god acknowledge his presence.

‘Dear Grover,’ Pan said, ‘you must accept the truth.’ His gaze moved towards Nico’s bowed head. ‘Your companion, Nico, he understands.’

Nico nodded slowly, looking up at the god. His answer hesitant. ‘He’s dying.’ Grover made a strangled sound. ‘He should have long ago. This…this is more like a memory…’ As Nico said the words, the world seemed to make sense again.

The god had held on long enough for his disciple to find him but still, the years had waned his strength and he was but a collection of hope left over. Fading was a god’s punishment for not staying relevant in the modern world. And the modern world had no place for nature the way it had in the past. The times of forest foraging and daylight dwelling was over, it was replaced with technology and skyscrapers and time running out.

Nico could feel the sand in Pan’s hourglass running out. It was about to let the last granule drop.

He gave each of Nico’s companions a message, a gift of wisdom. Only Nico was ignored. What could Pan teach Nico about nature that he didn’t already know. His power was the most natural of all – to watch life end and return to its birthing place.

Still the god’s words struck a chord with Nico.

The only salvation you must make for yourself. Each of you must.

Some souls have escaped the claws of death but that day, one long over due returned. When the lights faded, the cave was dark and the moss on the walls had receded. As had the holy presence that lured them there.

Nico felt the essence of the god disappear, until not even a whisper of it remained in the undead realm.

There was no time for rest or mourning. Though it seemed Grover would take time for the latter eventually. It took only one uncomfortable pegasus ride for Nico to fall back into his thoughts about Percy. The sea demigod was always protecting him, always bargaining with him, trying to make sure that Nico was safe. It was a selfless act, stupid, but still selfless. And for that Nico had to give him credit. The way Percy had chastised him for revealing his powers to Kronos made him aware of the fact that Percy had kept his secret. He hadn’t told anyone about Nico’s birth right or his heritage. And he had done it to try to save him.

- 

The battle wasn’t over though. Luke’s plan, Kronos’ plan – whatever, had succeeded. They had infiltrated camp and were running rampage on the grounds.

It was quite a sight to see – all the demigods coming together to fight for their lives. A dozen dracaenae were heading towards the cabins when Percy alerted Nico of the threat.

Taking a deep breath, he raised his hands, straining as if an invisible force was resisting their pull upwards. ‘Serve me!’

The earth trembled and parted in the midst of the dracenae. Undead warriors, all answering to Nico, rose from the depths and engaged the enemies. He pushed as much of his power as he could into the corpses, daring them to oppose his will.

He sunk to his knees as the soldiers drew more and more of his energy to stay aboveground.

He gave and he gave and he gave. He watched the lady dragons get pulverized until his vision started to fade and blackness surrounded him.

When he woke, a figure was standing above him with a canteen of nectar. The people in his vision slowly started reforming from their three-fold selves and his sight cleared. Percy was hovering over him with more people fanned out.

His eyes landed on Daedalus.

‘I came to correct my mistake.’ The words struck Nico. The labyrinth could not continue, that much was clear. The only thing left to do was offer up one last sacrifice, a last trade to compensate for the damage the old inventor had caused.

Annabeth protested. ‘You won’t get a fair trial! The spirit of Minos sits in judgement –’

The inventor smiled at her ruefully. ‘I will take what comes.’ He turned to Nico. ‘And trust in the justice of the Underworld, such as it is. That is all we can do, isn’t it?’

Nico’s dark look didn’t waver Daedalus’ spirits. The boy nodded in agreement.

‘Will you take my soul for ransom, then? And use it to reclaim your sister?’

Nico’s eyes lowered and for a second he wished he could act like the boy that he was. But he knew he could not. Instead, he had to act like the son he was born to be.

‘No,’ His answer was firm. ‘I will help release your spirit. But Bianca has passed. She must stay where she is.’ Thus is law of nature.

Daedalus looked at him with reverence. ‘You are becoming wise, son of Hades.’ There was a pause. ‘I am ready to see my son…and Perdix. I must tell them how sorry I am.’

Getting to his feet, with much effort, Nico turned to the old inventor with his sword. He raised a hand towards the forehead of the old man and whispered ‘Your time is long since come. Be released and rest.’

The inventor smiled with relief and released as sigh so deep it seemed to have been held for eons. Slowly his skin became transparent until the gears behind it became visible. The machinery halted its whirling and the old man turned to ash and blew away with the wind.

Nico shared the relief the inventor had felt. Releasing a soul so long overdue and feeling it return to the depths of the earth had granted him some freedom. The souls bound to the mortal plane that evaded the clutches of Thanatos weighed him down more than he had realized.

- 

Post-battle Nico spent a short time in the Apollo cabin’s med-bay where the head councillor prodded his bruises and poked his scratches with very little comment. The councillor seemed wary of him.

Nico felt the vitality in the cabin. There were plenty of campers running around and plenty of patients to be treated. Nico felt the life of each being in the room. There was a plump blonde boy at the back of the room. There was a small gathering around him, a kid maybe slightly older than Nico stood with his head bowed. The kid in the bed was dead. Nico felt his life extinguish on the battle field, still the medics tried to breathe life back into lungs and jump-start his heart with compressions.

It was no use.

Nothing good was going to come of the Son of Death hanging around in a place meant for healing.

Nico got to his feet, using his knees to push himself upwards. He spared a glance at Castor, the fallen demigod, a son of Dionysus if he remembered correctly. He had liked Mythomagic and had a twin. In another life, if Castor had lived and Nico weren’t shunned for his heritage, perhaps they could have been friends.

A sigh escaped Nico’s lips as he turned. He briefly caught the eye of the small boy standing at Castor’s bedside. A mop of blonde hair almost covered his blue eyes but still, they looked into Nico’s, wide eyed and wondering. As if to ask why are you leaving?

The implication of the question stopped Nico short.

He shook the blue eyes out of his mind and turned.

Nico had a lot of work to do. On himself. On discovering who he really was, where he came from and what his purpose was. Camp Half-Blood couldn’t help with that. There was a reason why Hades didn’t have a cabin on the grounds. It was best to keep death as far away from a haven as possible. And Camp Half-Blood was a sanctuary if Nico ever did see one.

He left camp with a short goodbye to Hestia. The goddess didn’t bless his travel or his journey but she did give him some advice.

Wisdom will come to you when you least expect it. And someday you must face your own shadow. Beware, Son of Hades, the path you walk will never be straight but it will lead you home.

He didn’t know what to make of her words but he chose to guard them closely and maybe soon they would become clearer.

He travelled the underworld and began to feel more at home amongst the souls that transcended through the realm. Sometimes Ms O’Leary joined him, more often than not though, he travelled alone. Daedalus’ hearing took place and although Minos pushed for a malice filled punishment, the Lord of the Underworld had other ideas. It was the first time Nico saw his father enact any type of power within his realm. Minos stewed quietly behind his golden mask and obeyed his master. He visited his father at court and found nothing but malevolence boiling below the surface of their relationship. Questions about his mother and the life he led before the Lotus Hotel remained a mystery.

Time passed quickly and before he knew it, days had turned into months.

He became familiar with the happenings of the Underworld and the created a map inside his mind. He placed all the rivers in his model and added in Asphodel and the Fields of Punishment. It was only when he got to the River Styx that he discovered something that may change the way his wind blew.

A plan formed in his mind.

A bargain made with his father.

And then, he went off to return to the one person that scared him the most.

He watched Percy from the bottom of the fire escape . The demigod gently placed a sprig into a small planter box and sprinkled it with nectar. The look on Percy’s face was almost melancholic, it pulled at Nico’s heartstrings. He took a breath and stepped into the shadows, and tried to leave any feelings for Percy at the bottom of the stairs.

‘Nice plant.’ He said, stepping out of the shadows.

Watching Percy Jackson jump was one of the few pleasures Nico had left in life.

‘Sorry.’ He said, not meaning it. ‘Didn’t mean to startle you.’

Percy’s eyes looked greener in the moonlight, the sprig that had grown in the plant box and the way he had handled it made Nico wonder if he’d ever be able to treat something with so much care.

For a mere moment, he wondered if he might, someday, be able to treat Percy with such care.

A compliment was on the tip of his tongue. Instead he said ‘I want to make you an offer.’

All business, all the time.

Over blue cake and soda, Nico explained to Percy what he was proposing. How Percy could save the world, how the tide of the upcoming war could be changed. It was risky and really, really stupid, still Nico was convincing.

But Percy was scared.

For that, Nico could not blame him. Still, he had to push.

He decided what Percy needed was time. And what he needed was answers. So he left Percy in New York to stew over his plan with the intention to return within the month.

It took him much longer than that. Almost a year passed before Nico next contacted Percy to set their plan into motion.

It brought him back to his time in the Underworld. Back when he thought there was no place a son of Hades couldn’t see. He should have stayed home, even if home was a ghastly castle made of black marble that provided a highway for souls to transcend their mortal lives. 

There had been some comfort there though.

There had been Bob…

The most gentle of giants, the friendliest Titan in the world.

‘Time passes quickly.’ Bob had said to Nico as he cleaned the stairs of the palace. Though how that was possible for an immortal Titan, Nico did not know.

Nico sat on the marble staircase and watched the giant.

‘Never quickly enough…’ Nico had muttered under his breath. He had meant not quickly enough to forgo the suffering he was enduring but Bob had misunderstood.

‘You’ll see your friends soon.’ His tone was light.

‘Friends…’ Nico hesitated.

‘Bob would like to have friends.’ The Titan’s expression was thoughtful, melancholy even.

‘You’d need a friend like Percy.’ The worlds rolled out of Nico before he could stop them.

‘Percy…’ Bob looked at Nico curiously.

‘Yeah, you know…’ He swallowed his pride. ‘Someone who looks out for you when you’re in trouble. Who comforts you when you’re down and tells you no matter what it’s gonna be alright.’

‘Your Percy… he does this?’

Your Percy.

It shouldn’t have struck a chord with Nico but it did.

‘Yeah.’ He swallowed hard. ‘He does.’

-

He took the breadcrumbs his father gave him about his mother’s birth and followed them to Olympus. While he was in the area, he headed to Mount Othrys. Any chance to eavesdrop on a Titan was a good chance to take. While he was there he sent a dream vision to Percy, this was the time to push. Time was running out and he was running out of leads.

‘You see Percy?’ His voice barely a whisper. ‘You’re running out of time.’

A change in the air told him to return to his father’s realm. A shift was about to take place.

He followed his impulse back to Styx where he went to speak with Charon, the ferryman of the Underworld. Before he could greet the Spirit of Boundaries a presence drew his eye. Between a small group of people he found the head of tall dark familiar person. Beckendorf looks at him with recognition and regret.

Nico walks up feeling a little numb.

Beckendorf had been the best of them. Always the first to take the lead, the first to sacrifice, the first to comfort. He was in the wrong place. And yet, Nico knew that Beckendorf’s mortal life was over.

‘Hey.’ Beckendorf’s low voice was still comforting.

‘Hey.’

‘Nice place you got here.’ Beckendorf raises an eyebrow in jest.

Nico snorts. ‘Thanks.’

He sobers and turns to his tall companion. ‘Follow me. You don’t have to wait in line.’

Beckendorf walks behind Nico, who leads him to Charon and passes the ferryman with a nod.

They speak little on their journey to the hearing. Beckendorf asks if Percy survived the fall from the Princess Andromeda and for one awful second Nico needs to go searching for his soul and hope to Gods that he doesn’t find it. He breathes a sigh of relief. Percy’s soul has not passed on. He survived the explosion.

He tells Beckendorf as much and mentions that for his heroic sacrifice he will be granted admission to Elysium. Nico brings up rebirth but Beckendorf only smiles and shakes his head.

‘I’m waiting for someone.’

His stance is resolute. His eyes are clear.

‘If you see Percy…’ Beckendorf smiles ruefully. He will never see Percy again. ‘Tell him it wasn’t his fault. That he shouldn’t beat himself up over this. I’m good here. I’ve got something worth waiting for.’

Watching Beckendorf pass through the gates towards the court of judgement made Nico feel dizzy. He had seen demigods fall before, he had felt souls pass on a-plenty but this was different. Beckendorf had been the most competent soldier amongst their legion. And still, he had fallen. It hit close to home.

He needed to protect what little he had left.

He needed to protect Percy.

And he would.

After he found out about his mother.

The plan wasn’t thought through. He doesn’t know why he trusted his father and betrayed Percy. Tricking a guy into an audience with your undead Lord of the Dead father is the best way to get someone to fall in love with you – not. Still, there were some things that took precedent. And the di Angelo history was one of them. One of the few. Okay, the only thing.

The look of betrayal on Percy’s face had Nico looking away in shame.

The throat pin in the cell was definitely deserved.

‘I swear on the River Styx, I didn’t know what he was planning.’ Nico heard the rush of water in his ears as the oath was sworn.

‘You know what your dad is like!’

The anger was real and justified. Nico hadn’t given Percy any reason to trust him in the past and he may have just marred any chance he had of getting Percy to trust him in the future.

But Percy bathed anyway.

Even when Achilles told him to turn back.

It will make you powerful. But it will also make you weak.

Nico watched Percy stare in Achilles’ face and say no. If Luke had bathed, then Percy must too. It is the only way he would stand a chance.

Let the gods witness I tried.

The boys shivered as the wisdom of the greatest mortal hero to ever live rolled down their backs. Achilles disappeared and the river kept churning.

The minutes Nico spent on shore seemed endless. He counted the pebbles at his feet and tried to ignore the river that had swallowed his friend. A son of Poseidon couldn’t drown…right?

This was the only way. This was the right choice.

Nico repeated the words in his mind like a mantra. This will save him. This will set him free.

There was no doubt in Nico’s mind that Percy was the hero of the prophecy. That knowledge both hurt and healed him. He knew the object of his affection was going to be a great hero, was an honourable half blood but the same hero’s hubris may come at too high a cost. Nico would never be the child of the prophecy. It had nothing to do with his father’s taunts of Your sister would have done a better job. And more to do with the fact that Percy was just cut from hero cloth. He inspired loyalty and trust…and love.

And if he took this dip. If Percy came out of the river alive then he would be able to survive the prophecy and he would be saved!

Then we would thank Nico!

Then maybe…

Maybe they could start over.

-

After that night the trust was broken between Nico and Percy and maybe that was for the best. He stayed in the Underworld and attempted to persuade Hades to join the fight.

It was futile.

Their relationship, what was left of it, was strained and strenuous at best. Nico tried to implore his father but to no avail. He couldn’t understand why Hades would rather watch the world burn and him with it than protect what he loved by serving the greater good.

Only when he dug up Persephone’s flower beds and called upon his mother did he begin to understand the god he called his father.

‘Why? What is he hiding?’ Nico had asked Bianca when she took her mother’s place.

‘Pain. Hatred. This knowledge will only hurt you. Remember what I said.’

He clawed his way through her image, it was replaced by a series of scenes like something out of a movie.

He watched his own mother’s death and the destruction of life as he knew it. He felt he couldn’t take it all in until a girl entered the picture and Hades began to chant.

His eyes fully black, Hades looked possessed by an otherworldly creature. ‘I swear as long as my children remain outcasts, as long as I labour under the curse of your Great Prophecy, the Oracle of Delphi will never have another mortal host. You will never rest in peace. No other will take your place. Your body will wither and die, and still the Oracle’s spirit will be locked inside you. You will speak your bitter prophecies until you crumble to nothing. The Oracle will die with you!’

The screams of the girl would make Nico wake up in cold sweat for many years to come. So chilling was it, watching his father enact his rage on an innocent bystander.

Now Nico knew why Bianca had warned him. Grudges were fatal to the children of Hades because they had been fatal to their father. A curse born of hatred had caused the world to fall into chaos and it was their duty, no, only Nico’s duty now, to atone for the sins his father had committed.

 It must have been a miracle that Hades decided to join the war, that Luke woke up at Annabeth’s injury, that Olympus didn’t fall at the hands of Kronos that day.

Hades was welcomed into the throne room with pats on the back and words of welcome. And Nico sat at the foot of his make-shift throne feeling like he might finally be worthy of his father’s attention. The Curse of the Oracle had been broken. Or so it seemed…

The next few weeks are something out of a dream. Nico is welcomed the same way his father was and for a while things seem to be looking up. He built his cabin with style. Obsidian walls and green fire torches. No cabin would compare.

He spent a little time in the med-bay again. This time his wounds were minor but his health had deteriorated due to his shadow travel. He would need to get stronger to shadow travel more often. The head counsellor was nowhere to be seen. The kid he had seen at Castor’s bedside treated his wounds instead. His bright eyes and sunny disposition were jarring. Still there was something calming about the guy.

‘Solace. Will Solace.’

After the blonde, Will, had covered Nico’s wounds in nectar and band aids, he held out his hand.

‘Right uh, Nico. di Angelo.’

He hesitantly grabbed Will’s hand, standing up. To his surprise, Will didn’t shiver or back away from Nico. He grasped Nico’s hand softly and gave it a shake.

‘Nice fighting and all that.’

‘Oh uh thanks.’ Nico, who had never really interacted much with people, became aware that it might be normal to compliment Will as well. ‘Nice… um.. healing and stuff.’

If Will thought his reaction was strange, he didn’t show it. He simply flashed Nico a blinding smile and threw up a peace sign.

‘Thanks.’ He gave Nico a wink. ‘See you round.’

With that he turned and exited.

The people he met – Annabeth, Grover, Rachel … Percy… they all became his friends. They became his reason for continuing his journey. Maybe the curse of Hades really had been broken. Nico finally felt like he had something worth returning to.

-

There were so many experiences that led Nico to becoming the person he was destined to be.  Meeting Percy at Camp Jupiter had shaken him but he had remained strong. His father’s will would undoubtedly win. And his word’s rang true. Go to them. It is important you make this connection. The path was never going to be easy. Hestia had all but promised him that much. Whether Tartarus had always been part of that destiny, though, was unclear. But Nico knew if he could give it back – he would.

The pull of the pit had been too strong. It sucked him in like a black hole and left him feeling naked, empty and helpless. Still, he followed it. He knew he would find the Doors at the end of the burning road. Nevertheless, he drank the fire water and faced the Goddess of Misery, Akhlys. She had congratulated him on his sorrow and whined ‘Child of Hades, what more could I do to you? You are so perfect. So much sorrow, so much pain.’

He could add it to the things that kept him up at night. Her blood streaked face, his distress mirrored in her tears on the shield of Hercules. He would never forget the true face of misery and how it had welcomed him home.

In a way it seemed right for him to be overwhelmed in Tartarus. Overrun by Gaea’s minions. In a way, he had seen it coming. He had prepared for the worst.

The pomegranate seeds he ate had been a last resort. As the air in the bronze jar thinned and his pomegranate supply dwindled, he wondered if this was all he had been meant for.

To be a puppet in another god’s game.

He had been so close. He had found the Doors of Death. He almost saved them.

He had only just gotten Hazel back and now he would be the one that needed finding in the Fields of Asphodel.

He thought suffocating under Rome in a bronze jar would be the worst thing to happen to him since losing Bianca.

And then…

And then he watched Percy and Annabeth fall to their doom.

Lead them there! Percy had begged him. Promise me!

He saw them fall into blackness and almost jumped after them. He clawed at the rocks and bellowed and cried. Not again. Nico screamed until his lungs gave out. Bring them back! Bring them back! Bring them back! He was inconsolable.

Not again!

None of it seemed to matter anymore. He knew Percy could survive Tartarus, especially if Annabeth was with him. Nico just didn’t know who Percy would come out as at the other side.

Gaea didn’t want to give him time to dwell on it but he did so anyway.

He’d stay up late at night and watch the shadows dance against the walls as Coach Hedge walked up and down the hallway making sure everyone was in their own cabin. Not that Nico had anywhere else to go.

The last battle ran through his head like a movie. Some parts were marred by dizziness and fog because he hadn’t completely recovered from the asphyxiation in that moment but still, the outlines of the figures were clear. Percy was standing over him again. Percy was saving him again.

And all Nico could do was lay there trying to catch his breath.

The Death Trance had taken plenty out of him. The black clothes he wore seemed to slowly become one with him as he faded in and out of the shadows. It took his upmost control to not sink through the lumpy mattress he was sitting on in that moment.

He needed to be stronger.

He always needed to be stronger.

Bu there was no time. Every minute Percy (and Annabeth, he reminded himself) stayed in Tartarus was a minute longer they stood in hell. They needed a way out and Nico had to make it to the Doors of Death when they found it.

Nico would make sure that Percy and Annabeth survived their walk through the abyss. But it would be a whole lot easier with an army by his side…

Chasing the Sceptre of Diocletian brought Nico face to face with a demigod he thought he’d never see again. Jason Grace.

He looked different than Nico remembered.

His close cut hair had grown slightly, the glasses on his face (also new) seemed to be permanently askew. His strength hadn’t waned though. Jason still emanated an intense aura. Like that of a lightning storm coming to pass. Close, suffocating and inevitable. Still, he didn’t look so Roman anymore.

Nico had extended a challenge. Go with me to Diocletian’s Palace if you dare. And the son of Jupiter was never one to back down from a fight.

Maybe Jason had become a little more Greek than he’d like to admit.

‘I just can’t imagine how weird that must be, coming from another time.’

It almost made a shiver run down Nico’s spine. You have no idea.  

‘No, you can’t.’ He wanted to end the conversation there but sometimes you have to take one for the team. Jason wasn’t trying to be hostile or interrogative.

‘I don’t like talking about it… Honestly, I think Hazel has it worse. Me…’ a beat. Not just him. ‘Me and Bianca, we were stuck in the Lotus Hotel. Time passed so quickly. In a weird way, that made the transition easier.’

‘Percy told me about that place. Seventy years but it only felt like a month?’

A hitch in Nico’s stride and a darkness that seemed to fall over them.

‘Yeah. I’m sure Percy told you all about me.’

If Nico had known who he would meet in the Palace, he would have never entered in the first place. Let alone taken Jason with him.

What Favonius said wasn’t cruel but it may as well have been because it felt like a sword sharper than his stygian iron one was being pushed through Nico’s heart.

‘I knew eventually you would return to look upon my master’s face.’

What little blood Nico had left in his cheeks drained.

‘The one you care for most … plunged into Tartarus. Still, you will not allow the truth?’

Panic rose in Nico until he felt the gall all the way at the top of his throat. His heart rate quickened and the grip on his sword loosened as his hands became sweaty.

No.

‘We’ve come for Diocletian’s sceptre.’ He struggled to keep his voice level.

The words Hestia spoke to him years ago came back to haunt him.

‘Your trials will be much more difficult.’ Favonius looked amused. ‘If you want the sceptre, you must face the god of love.’

Favonius almost ripped Nico apart by taking him to see Eros. But the grass that wilted at his feet and the blackness of his shadow that snaked out wasn’t only due to unforeseen air travel.

‘I don’t blame you for being nervous, Nico di Angelo. Do you know how I ended up serving Cupid?’

A knot tightened in Nico’s stomach, for a second he regained his stature and stood. ‘I don’t serve anyone. Especially not Cupid.’

 What came next was anyone’s guess. Nico would have never thought that the god of love and the god of death were so intimately connected. But Cupid had been right, sometimes Death was kinder.

Blood ran down Nico’s sword arm, the red arrow lying at his feet dissolved with his wound. Nico’s fear was replaced by frustration.

He watched Jason get thrown around. First hitting the columns, then almost swallowed by a crumbling wall.

‘Stop it! It’s me you want. Leave him alone!’ He stretched out his arms as if standing in front of Jason and covering him would stop the god from attacking his friend.

Still, the taunting continued.

‘And you – what have you risked in my name?’

Anger burned in his stomach.

‘I have been to Tartarus and back,’ Nico snarled, his eyes icy. ‘You. Don’t. Scare. Me.’

For a second it seemed like Nico had found his fight again. ‘Give us Diocletian’s sceptre, we don’t have time for games.’

 An invisible hand rapped against Nico’s cheek. He went flying into a granite pedestal. Head cloudy and throbbing, Nico tried to sit up.

‘Tell him, Nico di Angelo. Tell him you are a coward, afraid of yourself and your feelings. Tell him the real reason you ran away from Camp Half-Blood and are always alone.’

Something inside Nico broke. His eyes were shaking and he lost control. He let loose a terrifying scream as he realized that there was nowhere left to hide. Nowhere that Cupid wouldn’t find him. The ground split open and bodies of passed soldiers clawed their way to the surface until they surrounded Nico.

The darkness rolled off of Nico in waves so powerful Jason almost couldn’t withstand it. Every pulse of energy that Nico released, seemingly unintentional, brought with it a wave of hatred, shame and fear.  

The images his power brought to the surface were ones he tried his best to supress. Percy’s smile, the clap on the shoulder he received after the Battle of New York, the way his stomach flipped when they were together.

To his horror, he realized Jason saw all the same things.

He looked over at the blonde in horror and urged his soldiers forward.

They grappled with the invisible god until he released a cruel, low laugh.

‘I wasn’t in love with Annabeth.’ Nico’s confession is hollow, his eyes downcast. He looks as if he has lost all his strength. The fight, the denial, it all left his body at once.

Nico crumbled to the ground with his soldiers and the darkness around him subsided. All that was left was a boy drowning in his own shame and misunderstanding.

Jason couldn’t believe how young Nico looked in that moment.

‘I hated myself.’ Nico confessed quietly. ‘I hated Percy Jackson.’  Because I loved him.

Cupid’s shape became clear, the white wings and black hair that belonged to the god were startlingly magnificent yet Jason couldn’t help but hate him. Love was cruel and Cupid was a monster.

‘Happy now?’ Nico demanded.

Cupid’s gaze changed, for a moment he seemed to almost pity Nico. ‘I wouldn’t say Love always makes you happy. But at least you’ve faced it now. That is the only way to conquer me.’

With the next gust of wind, the god dissolved and in his place was the sceptre of Diocletian.

It suddenly dawned on Jason that Nico’s story was not an ordinary one. He finally understood why Nico’s past weighed on him so much. To be born in the 1940s, during a time of war, a time where feelings such as Nico’s would have been shunned. It’s no wonder Nico battled so heavily with his secret.

The modern world that he lived in now, where acceptance was more wide spread than before, was not his home. Nico had always felt out of place. And the acceptance that the queer community got nowadays did not feel inclusive to the kid from World War II. 

‘Nico,’ Jason said gently, ‘I’ve seen a lot of brave things. But what you just did… that was maybe the bravest.’

Jason was unsure if Nico’s battle with Cupid had changed anything within the son of Hades but over the next days he saw Nico firm up. His once starved body became taut with muscles though his skin stayed as pale as ever.

And waiting in front of northern coast of Africa was making everyone antsy. Especially Nico.

‘Any word from the king?’

‘Every day, he calls for me later and later.’ Jason sounded frustrated.

‘We need to leave,’ Nico insisted. ‘Soon. Percy is close to the Doors.’

Jason had his doubts. The king of the South Wind was uncooperative, the ship was no where near ready and now with Leo gone…

‘I promised I’d lead you to the House of Hades,’ Nico said, his voice hard as if sensing Jason’s uncertainty. ‘One way or another, I will.’

‘You can’t shadow-travel with all of us.’ Jason had already considered that idea but it was worthless if Nico wouldn’t survive the trip.

Bringing up Nico’s inability somehow made the orb on the sceptre glow. Hanging on Nico’s belt it somehow seemed to throb.

‘Then you’ve got  to convince the king of the South Wind to help.’  Nico sounded angry. ‘I didn’t come all this, suffer so many humiliations…’ He trailed off but his intention was clear.

I did not suffer all these trials and forcefully out myself to you for you to NOT make it.

The dark energy that swirled around Nico and blackened the floor was unsettling. For the first time in his life, Jason thought this may be a foe he couldn’t defeat in battle. And he didn’t want to find out, if he was truly honest.

Jason wanted to be Nico’s friend but he wasn’t exactly making it easy.

The conversation shifted, for an uncertain amount of time it was always going to be about Nico’s coming out. Until he accepted his own feelings, that is.

‘It’s not like you’ve got a choice. It’s just who you are…’ Jason’s sympathetic voice sounded accusing to Nico.

‘Just who I am... What would you know about who I am? I didn’t choose any of this.’ He lashed out with his hands, swiping through the wind. ‘My father, my feelings.’

There was a pulse of energy.

But for some reason Jason began feeling just as frustrated as Nico.

‘I get it, what do I know. But Nico, you choose how to live your life. You want to trust somebody? Take the risk. Find out if I’m really your friend and if I’ll accept you. At least that’s better than hiding.’

The floor cracked, Nico’s eyes were cold and his aura seemed to be sucking in all the shadows from around him.

‘Hiding?’ It was barely a whisper.

Jason’s instincts told him to run, to grab his sword, to fight this threat. But he stood his ground.

‘Yes, hiding. You’ve run away from bot camps. You’re so afraid they’d reject you that you won’t even try!’ He pushed just a little further. ‘Maybe it’s time you came out of the shadows.’

Hestia’s words echoed in his mind.

And someday you must face your shadow. Beware, son of Hades.

 For one unbearable moment, Jason felt like his bones were being pulled towards the Underworld and then it passed. Nico dropped his eyes and the fissure in the floor closed. The ghostly light around the son of Hades faded.

‘I’ll honour my promise,’ Nico’s voice was barely a whisper. ‘I’ll take you to Epirus. I’ll help you close the Doors of Death. Then that’s it. I’m leaving.’

For a second Nico wonders if he and Jason were always mean to butt heads. After all, it was Zeus who had smited Maria di Angelo. How could Nico be sure that Jason was any different than his father? This olive branch was nothing but rotten.

 The journey to the House of Hades was nothing but unsettling, even for the children of the Underworld. Nico marvelled briefly at Hazel’s ability to crumble a house sized boulder into nothing before they continued their journey.

They reached the chalice filled with dark green liquid. Nico felt he was at a crossroads. Hecate was watching. Nico drank and offered it to Jason.

‘You asked me about trust. Well, here you go, son of Jupiter. How much do you trust me?’

Jason’s eyes glinted but he didn’t hesitate grabbing the cup from Nico. Jason drank never breaking eye contact as if to dare him. Next question. He all but threw the goblet at the others.

Nico hid his shock. An olive branch if he ever did see one.

The group continued downward.

A shudder made his way through Nico’s heart. He kept walking. It happened again. He saw Hazel pause too, ever so briefly. He briefly recounted the time. Twelve minutes. The Doors of Death were opening every twelve minutes.

Then Frank saw a ghost and the plan Nico had in his head went down the drain.

They were surrounded. On all sides.

‘Nico, the sceptre!’

He raised it and the dead with it. Not that it was much use though, Jason couldn’t command them and neither could Frank.

‘My rank,’ Frank realized. ‘I’m only a centurion.’

Nico carved through a gryphon with his stygian sword.

‘Well, then promote him!’ He shouted at Jason as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Jason didn’t hesitate.

‘Frank Zhang! I, Jason Grace, praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata, give you my final order: I resign my post and give you emergency field promotion to praetor, with the full powers of that rank. Take command of this legion.’

Then, the battle changed and Nico couldn’t help but smile.

Watching Frank take control of the legion of undead soldiers had Nico thinking: maybe this guy wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe he could trust Frank with Hazel.

They won. Nico could barely believe it but they won.

A glimmer of hope ran through him.

Until, he staggered. His heart panged and he knew something changed.

‘The Doors,’ Nico said. ‘Something’s happening. We need to go now.’

Hazel and Leo were in full battle mode when they arrived. And Clytius was a terrible foe, even Nico had to admit. They attacked as a group. Even Annabeth and Percy had their weapons raised. Every time the giant attempted to tackle them with his dark smoke, Nico stood guard and absorbed the dark energy. For the first time in his life, he understood what it felt like to inhale and feel true air in his lungs. The substance Clytius released did nothing but agitate Nico’s hunger for darkness more.

Still, watching the giant burn to death had been awful but nevertheless, Nico felt a sick sense of relief.

There was hesitation in his step. Being so close to Percy after almost losing him. He couldn’t help but feel slightly paralyzed. He managed a ‘I’m glad you’re okay,’ and kissed Hazel’s forehead. ‘The ghosts were right,’ he said. ‘Only one of us made it to the Doors of Death. It was you, it was always supposed to be you. You would have made dad proud.’

She noticed his eyes were bloodshot and his face was wet with dried tears. Something had broken inside her brother recently and it was all flooding to the surface now. She wished so badly she could give him some peace of mind and some comfort. But she didn’t understand what was going on. And he wouldn’t tell her.

He got goose bumps as he realized Percy was standing behind him holding up Annabeth. Hazel suggested shadow-travel and Nico winced. ‘Hazel, I can barely manage that with only myself. With seven more people –’ I would die. He thinks.

I don’t want to die.

It’s an afterthought, the first time he had ever thought such a thing, but still it rang true.

‘I’ll help you.’ She’s insistent. And so he believes her.

The pain in Nico’s chest intensified as they sat in a circle and traded war stories. He watched Percy lace his fingers through Annabeth’s and felt like the loneliest person in the world.

Jason caught his eye, his gaze sympathetic. Nico couldn’t do anything but turn away in shame.

Later, when the commotion had passed and Nico was rigging up the statue, Percy found him.

‘Thank you.’

Nico stops. ‘What for?’

‘You promised to lead the others to the House of Hades, you kept your promise.’

Nico’s words are curt and guarded. They have Percy hesitating and rubbing the back of his head in discomfort.

‘Also…’ Percy said, ‘you visited Bob…You convinced Bob that I could be trusted, even though I never visited him. I never gave him a second thought. You probably saved our lives.’

Nico’s face darkens. ‘Yeah, well, not giving people a second thought. That can be danger.’

Confusion joins Percy’s discomfort. ‘Dude, I’m trying to say thank you.’

Nico’s laugh is humourless, there is something icy in his gaze. ‘I’m trying to say you don’t need to.’ You’ll never need to.

He made the one decision that made the most sense. The Athena Parthenos needs to go west, so he will take it there. Along with Reyna and Coach Hedge.

 -

The trip was hard.

Not as hard as surviving Tartarus but still, by all means, hard.

There was no comfort to be found on their journey. His gang slept in their tent on the outskirts of a road that seemed endless.

Maybe he would have felt warmed by the fact that Jason prayed to his dad every time he burned an offering. And that Hazel begged for his safe return. He plagued the thoughts of the Seven.

Reyna lent him her power in their moment of need which was good because he barely had any left. With every jump, he felt the darkness spread. It wasn’t like the darkness he had felt with Clytius, that darkness had strengthened him. This one tried to consume him. Until he was nothing left but shadow.

‘It’s not mind-reading,’ Reyna had said about her gift. ‘Not even an empathy link… just a temporary wave of exhaustion. Your pain washes over me.’ Hesitance. ‘I take some of your burden.

Shame and embarrassment washed over him.

‘You should rest,’ was the only thing she told him.

There was a lot of time spend unconscious for him. A lot of time for him to mull over the last few months. Sometimes he saw Akhylis, the Goddess of Misery, other times a vague picture of his father floated around his mind. Most often though, he was tethered down the thoughts of the Seven. He waned past all the usual painful memories and always landed back on his friends. Hazel’s face, Jason’s intense eyes, Frank’s look of determination.  

He had plenty of grief during his waking hours too though. He wished he could find some peace in his sleep.

The most peace he got was when Clovis dragged him off course and into Hypnos’s dreamscape. The detour was annoying but nonetheless helpful. He watched Will Solace, the lanky boy from the med-bay, diffuse a row between Clarisse and Rachel. The combat medic had something of Jason in him. Brave, loyal but the eyes were different. The eyes… bore right into your soul. Even in the dreamscape, Nico had to look away.

When he awoke he had no choice but to follow the burning man into his father’s chapel.

He felt his father’s presence before he saw him. Like a cold shadow that falls over you.

Nodding at the skull lined walls he asks his father dryly ‘Getting some redecorating ideas?’

‘I can never tell when you’re joking.’

‘Why are you here, Father?’

A pulse of embarrassment rushes through him as Hades mentions the sceptre of Diocletian and it’s… exploded state. It had been enough to rouse the god from his confused state. Still, that was not why he had come.

‘So tell me, Father. What do you want?’

‘Can you entertain the notion that I might be here to help you? Not simply because I want something?’

Nico suppresses a snort. ‘I can entertain the notion that you might be here for multiple reasons.’

It turns out Hades can be useful. He tells of Orion, the fallen archer who gave in to bitterness and anger after being scorned by love. ‘You can understand that.’ Hades had said to Nico.

What do you know about what I understand?

‘Still there is more,’ Hades said, ‘Your sister.’ He falters. ‘Your other sister. Hazel. She has discovered one of the Seven will die.’ Nico’s heart stops. It couldn’t be… ‘She may try to prevent this. In doing so, she may lose sight of her priorities.

Would Hazel be safe? Would Jason?

Nico barely notices that now, Percy is an afterthought.

‘Who will die?’

Hades’ eyes face the floor. ‘Even if I were certain, I could not say. I tell you this because you are my son. You know that some deaths cannot be prevented. Some deaths should not be prevented. When the time comes, you may need to act.’

Great, more responsibility.

A softness enters Hades’ face and his tone. ‘My son,’ he said, ‘whatever happens, you have earned my respect.’ Nico swallows hard. ‘You brought honour to our house when we stood together against Kronos in Manhattan. You risked my wrath and guided that Jackson boy to the River Styx.’ For a second Hades reverts back to his old self. ‘Never before have I been so harassed by one of my sons. Percy this and Percy that. I nearly blasted you to cinders.’

There’s a hollowness in Nico’s chest. That feels like a lifetime ago.

‘I didn’t do it for him,’ he insists. ‘I did it because the whole world was in danger.’

Hades allows his son this lie and gifts him the faintest of smiles. ‘I can entertain that you acted for multiple reasons.’

Nico can’t stop his eyes filling with tears. There was something under the surface there, something close to acceptance.

‘You and I rose to the aid of Olympus because you convinced me to let go of my anger,’ Hades reminded him. ‘I would encourage you to do the same.’ Sadness twinges his voice. ‘My children are so rarely happy. I… I would like to see you be an exception.’

‘My son, what you are attempting – shadow-travel across the world, carrying the statue of Athena – it may well destroy you.’ Nico thought he imagined the pain in his father’s voice. But there was nothing to be done about that.

‘I will see you again,’ Hades promised. ‘I will prepare a room for you at the palace. Perhaps your chambers would look good decorated with skulls of monks.’

‘Now I can’t tell if you’re joking.’

Hades’ eyes shimmered. ‘Then perhaps we are alike in some important ways.’

- 

Lycaon followed just as Hades had said he would. And Orion did too. Their escape led them to Old San Juan. It led Nico to realize that maybe Reyna was as lost and bitter as he was. The only memory left of that part of their trip was a Hawaiian shirt and the glowing figures of Reyna’s past.

‘I can’t,’ she pleaded, as if asking the spectres for forgiveness. ‘Please, I can’t.’

Nico raised his hand and stood in front of her. The ghosts dissipated but they both knew they would never truly be gone. He would shield her from this.

‘I don’t want to talk about San Juan.��� She said when they arrived at their next destination.

For the first time, Nico found himself giving out advice. ‘You should,’ he said, ‘That’s the thing about ghosts – most of them have lost their voices.’ He turns to her and shrugs. ‘In Asphodel, millions of them wander around aimlessly, trying to remember who they were. You know why they end up like that?’ She gave no answer. ‘Because in life they never took a stand one way or another. They never spoke out, so they were never heard.’

She takes in his words. And he does as well.  

‘Your voice is your identity,’ he continues, ‘without it… you’re halfway to Asphodel already.’

Damn, he needed to take his own advice.

‘I don’t like talking about it either,’ he said, looking into her eyes, ‘but sometimes, you have to.’

What Nico learned about Reyna that night thoroughly changed his opinion of the praetor. She was strong and resilient and came from such a broken home. Nico listened attentively, rarely commenting, only taking in.

In the end, the PTSD got to Reyna’s father and he became ‘a mania…’ Nico speculated. ‘I’ve seen it before. A human withering away until he’s not human anymore.’

It didn’t help. Tears filled Reyna’s eyes as she confessed her sins to Nico.

‘I killed my own father.’

He shook his head.

‘No. Reyna, no.’ Nico’s words were firm. ‘That wasn’t him. That was a ghost, a mania. What you did, you did out of self-defence. You were protecting your sister.’ And he would never blame her for that.

‘You don’t understand.’ But he did, she just didn’t know it. ‘Patricide is the worst crime a Roman can commit. It’s unforgivable.’

‘You didn’t kill your father.’ Nico insisted. ‘That man was already dead. All you did was dispel a ghost.’

Her tears awoke something in Nico. A protective instinct that usually only flared up around Hazel, and more recently Jason, came to the surface. He knew a little something about pretending to be strong and putting on a face for everyone around you. And then secretly crumbling away inside like a rock slowly being eroded.

If there were ever a moment when Nico would have imprinted on someone like a duckling, it would have been that moment.

And then, Bryce Lawrence decided to threaten his duckling.

‘I am a descendant of Orcus, the god of broken vows and eternal punishment. I’ve heard the screams of the Fields of Punishment first-hand.’ He stared at Nico crazed. ‘And they’re music to my ears.’

Nico was paralyzed as undead soldiers clawed their way up from a grave that he had thought previously was empty. It was the first time someone had used their own power of the Underworld against him.

The skeletons grabbed Reyna and only then did Nico regain his senses.

‘Nico, take the statue and go!’

He looked down at his hands. They were transparent and smoky. Had Bryce been right? Was he losing his grip, literally?

His energy was waning. Even standing in direct sunlight couldn’t hold his molecules together anymore.

His eyes met Reyna’s and a warmth spread through him.

She shared with him her strength and her drive.

Bryce laughed as if he were invincible. ‘I hope they’ll execute you in the ancient way.’ He nods at Reyna. ‘I’ve always wanted to see that. I can’t wait until your little secret comes out.’ He flicked his pilum across Reyna’s face. A trail of blood poured down.

A beat. Silence.

And then Nico exploded.

The air dropped to freezing temperatures and the grass on which they stood withered and died. With a single, glass-shattering cry the darkness poured out of him leaving every living creature to experience exactly what pain and anger were.  

Bryce had challenged Nico. And Nico would teach him.

You want secrets? HERE.

Bryce’s soldiers disintegrated into dust until all that was left was a shivering Roman falling over his own feet. Tortures of Tartarus and Akhlys, a suffocating bronze jar and modern world that didn’t make sense transmuted through the air.

Nico ripped the probation tablet from about Bryce’s neck. ‘You. Are not. Worthy of this.’

It took all his self-control not to hit Bryce across the face with it. Nico’s eyes were black and he didn’t blink as the rocks split and Bryce sank down to his waist.

‘You took an oath to the legion. You broke its rules. You inflicted pain. You killed you own centurion.’

They weren’t accusations. There was no defence. This was not going to be a fair trial.

‘You should have died for your crimes. That was the punishment.’ Nico cocked his head. ‘Instead, you got exile.’ The crazed look Bryce had carried was now mirrored on Nico’s face. ‘You should have stayed away. Your father may not approve of broken vows but I know another god who does not favour escaped punishment.’

The Underworld had no mercy. It only had justice.

‘Please!’ Bryce whimpered. But his beg fell on deaf ears.

‘You’re already dead.’

Bryce’s eyes widened in horror.

‘You’re a ghost with no tongue, no memory. You won’t share anyone’s secrets anymore.’

‘No!’ Bryce sunk deeper into the ground. ‘No! I’m Bryce Lawrence! I’m alive!’ He recounted it as if it were a mantra but his body turned dark and his skin became translucent.

Nico’s cold eyes gazed down at him.

‘Who are you?’

And Bryce couldn’t answer. Bryce was no longer alive. He would forever be a spirit with no voice. Just a nameless spectre amongst millions of others.

Nico swiped his hand through the ghost’s body. ‘Begone.’

And with that, he collapsed.

-

Three days.

That’s how much time they lost with Nico unconscious and his body barely a shadow.

He had been in a shadow coma. And it scared him.

Am I dying?

He expected them to recoil. To feel threatened and paralyzed by him after the show he had put on. He wanted to feel angry towards them for knowing they were judging him. But his anger wouldn’t materialize. He just felt… tired.

‘Why didn’t you leave me? You knew I couldn’t help you anymore. You wasted three days watching over me. Why?’

Reyna looked at him sympathetically. ‘I trust you, Nico. You lifted some of my burden. Your not the only one who lets out the darkness every once in a while. You shared your painful experiences; how could we not support you?’ Her face opened up. ‘We’re friends.’

‘Two days. The Romans will attack Camp Half-Blood in two days.’ Nico shook his head. ‘We have to hurry. I have to get ready.’ Even if it kills me. He realized.

But Coach Hedge relieved him of his burden.

Instead, they took to the sky with pegasi. And then they took a ride with Jules-Albert, Nico’s undead chauffeur.

He bid Reyna farewell with a grip on the arm.

‘It’s been an honour questing with you, son of Hades.’

‘You’re the most courageous demigod I’ve ever met, Reyna.’ The look in her eyes was almost too much. ‘I won’t let you down.’

Nico made it to the battle with two legionnaires and Jules-Albert at the wheel.

‘Leila, Dakota, Jules-Albert will drive you to the legion lines. Get out, talk to your troops, convince them to follow your lead. I need a distraction.’

‘I’m not hurting any of my fellow legionnaires.’

Nico supressed a growl. ‘No one is asking you. But if we don’t stop this war the entire legion will be wiped out.’ He looked at them, his orders clear. ‘I’m counting on you.’

They nodded at him.

‘I’m going dark,’ Nico said and faded into the shadows. 

- 

The second he jumped the shadows he began to dissolve. It wasn’t setting a great precedent for the battle. The voices called out to him Help us. Remember us. Join us.

He did his best to keep them at way and as he faced the sunlight, he answered. No! I am the son of Hades. I control the shadows. They do not control me. He rested his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

A brief look at Octavian’s tent had Nico wondering if maybe an assassination might solve their current problem. He didn’t have time to test his theory though. Will Solace tapped him on the shoulder instead. Nico jumped and almost took his head off.

The son of Apollo muttered through clenched teeth. ‘Nico, what are you doing here?’

‘Me? What are you doing here? Getting yourselves killed?’

He surveyed Will and his two companions, dressed in black with matching face paint.

‘You’re dressed in black with the sun coming up. You painted your face but didn’t cover that mop of blonde hair. You may as well be waving a yellow flag.’ He scolded. Will’s ears turned red.

Nico inquired about Coach Hedge making it in time for his baby’s birth. The group nodded.

Will grabbed Nico’s hand unexpectedly ‘My hands are still shaking. See? But I delivered it. A very cute little satyr boy.’

Nico pulled his hands away, ignoring the electric current that ran through his body.

He was going to go back to his assassination plan until Will spouted some nonsense.

‘No more shadow-traveling. Doctor’s orders.’

Nico wanted to make a comment about how Will’s ‘doctor’s orders’ didn’t really mean much since he went into the OP with his a scrub shirt, khakis and flipflops but it didn’t seem like the right moment.

Not worth it.

‘Whatever. You follow my lead.’

Nico revised his impression of Will on their way to manipulating onagers. Talented, yes. Cool-headed, yes. Stubborn, double yes. Aggravating, unbelievably so.

In the next minutes Nico learned he could add reckless to that list too. Will, with the intention of creating a diversion, sprinted off and engaged six Romans at once. He needed an assist.  

‘Six at once, not bad.’ Will punched him in the shoulder.

‘Not bad?’ Nico asked blandly. ‘Next time I’ll just let them run you down, Solace.’

‘Ah, they’d never catch me.’ He shoots Nico a blinding smile.

They were moving towards to last onager when they were spotted.

‘Do we run?’ asked Lou Ellen quietly.

‘No,’ Nico said. ‘Let’s give them what they want.’

He raised his hands and called upon five skeletons. Watching the look on the Roman’s faces was almost worth his falling back and being caught by Will.

‘Idiot.’ Will held him up. ‘I told you no more.’

‘I’m fine.’

‘Shut up. You’re not.’

The spat with Will caused him to miss the entrance of the entire First Cohort. Octavian at the helm. His purple robes shone in the sun, jewellery glittering around his neck. On his head he wore a crown of laurels.

He watched Will let out a piercing taxicab whistle and suddenly Octavian didn’t seem so high and mighty anymore.

‘My – my elite guard!’ Octavian spluttered helplessly like a complaining child. The dog-men crumbled at his feet. ‘Did you see what he did to my elite guard?’

Regaining his posture, Octavian marched right up to Nico and to his credit he didn’t seem the slightest bit scared. Nico felt Will tighten his grip, staring Octavian down over Nico’s shoulder.

Up close Octavian looked sickly and bare. A descendant of Apollo but only evident in the shade of his hair. The arrogance and lust for power, that wasn’t a child of Apollo. Octavian was nothing but a watered down copy of Will Solace. Whatever it was that made a child of Apollo special, that made them glow the way Will did, Octavian didn’t have it.

‘Tell me son of Pluto,’ hissed the augur, ‘why are you helping them? What have they ever done for you?’

Nico’s hand itched to reach for his sword. He could do it now. Assassinate Octavian. He could probably even manage before the First Cohort intervened… it would be worth it.

Still, he hesitated.

If he committed this act of murder and died – he wouldn’t mind so much. For the good of the world and all that. But Will, Cecil and Lou Ellen… they would become casualties of his plan.

It wasn’t right.

Octavian intervened in Will and Nico’s quarrel. ‘What do you mean you’re leaving camp?!’ If they lived long enough, they would be able to hash out whether Nico should stay at camp or not.

‘I see ruthlessness in you,’ Octavian encouraged. He looked greedy. ‘And I appreciate that. Step aside and allow the Romans to win.’

‘Don’t do this, Octavian.’ Will shook his head. ‘Don’t force your people to choose. This is your last chance.’

There was sympathy in Will’s eyes. As if the gift of prophecy had been granted to him again, as if Apollo’s head had finally cleared.

The clearer Will’s eyes got, the more crazed Octavian’s seemed in comparison.

‘I will SAVE ROME!’ He explained. ‘Now, Romans, follow my orders! Destroy these Graecus scum!’

‘Don’t be stupid!’ Will yelled, his voice almost as loud as the second taxicab whistle he’d let ring to stop the Greek armies from waging against the Romans.

He pointed to the sky. Nico couldn’t believe his eyes.

Reyna was flying on Guido with six pegasi hauling the Athena Parthenos behind her.

Reyna’s voice boomed. ‘Greek demigods, Behold your most sacred statue. I return it to you now as a gesture of peace.’

An intense energy emanated from the statue all across the Greek camp. Everyone stood dazed. The statue seemed to be speaking out to each of them individually.

Nico felt his throat close as the voice whispered. ‘You are not alone. You are part of the Olympian family. The gods have not abandoned you.’

Reyna asked for the help of the demigods. Unite, please, so that we can all thrive.

‘Listen to her!’ Nico insisted, marching forward. ‘Reyna risked her life for all of you! We brought this statue half way across the world, Roman and Greek working together. We must join forces –’

And then Gaea woke. 

- 

When the battle started, it didn’t seem to end.

Nico found the Seven or well… Six (Leo was no where in sight) on the hill. Nico hadn’t felt his soul pass… still, there were too many casualties to be sure.

‘He’ll be fine.’ He met Jason’s eyes.

‘Sure.’ Jason sounded unconvinced.

‘But…just in case… For Leo.’

Jason nodded. ‘For Leo.’

Fighting with Jason was almost like a dance. It seems although they were made from separate cloth, their threads were very much intwined. They fought in harmony like they had been doing it all their lives.

And then Will Solace ran up to Nico. He said one word into Nico’s ear.

‘Octavian.’

On their way to the augur they felt the Earth shake. Festus snatched up Gaea and soared away with her. Stunned only for a moment, they continued on their way.

As they got closer, Nico saw Octavian furiously messing with an onager’s levers. He kept glancing up at Festus. It seemed his intention was to shoot the bronze dragon out of the sky.

‘Octavian!’ Nico yelled.

With a start, the augur turned, not noticing his flowing purple robe getting caught on the trigger. He looked crazed, hungry.

Will walked forward with his hands raised. ‘Octavian, get away from there. It isn’t safe.’ He spoke in calm, quiet words. As if psst-ing at a frightened kitten.

Nico nudged Will and looked at Jason soaring toward Festus with Piper in his arms.

‘If you fire the onager, you’ll kill Jason and Piper and –’

‘Good!’ Gods, it was hard to reason with him. ‘They’re traitors. All traitors!’

Will tried again. ‘Listen to me. This is not what Apollo would want. Besides, your robes –’

When Mike Kahl showed up, a bruised bump on his head, Nico thought he’d have to draw his sword. The soldier only surveyed the scene and looked at the Centurion.

‘Are you certain, Octavian?’

‘Yes!’

‘Are you absolutely certain?’

‘Octavian, don’t.’ Will pleaded.

He stepped forward only to be stopped by Nico’s hand. ‘Will, we can’t stop him.’

He saw the dread in Will’s eyes, the pain of causing another human being harm. But Hades had been right, some deaths cannot be prevented. And some…should not be prevented.

Octavian cut the release and disappeared into the sky. The flaming fireball landed in the middle of the storm and exploded.

He had achieved his goal. He had saved Rome.

The only sound that Nico registered was Will’s shark inhale.

Nico felt a new soul join the ranks of the Underworld and it wasn’t Octavian.

No.

- 

There was no time for rest and recovery. At least not for Nico.

He watched over the dead and honoured them with the proper funeral proceedings. So many casualties…

Many would be remembered as heroes. Even Octavian would have his place in the stories. But Leo was going to be the hero that no one forgot. The greatest sacrifice.

An oath to keep with a final breath.

Nico wondered who Leo had sworn to and if it was worth it.

They recounted the tales of bravery. Nico never thought he would see the day that Greeks and Romans sat around the campfire singing together. Even if it was a song of mourning.

Reyna stepped up and looked at the faces in front of her and thanked them. For their bravery, for their loyalty, for their loss.

‘We could have chosen hatred and war. Instead, we found acceptance and friendship.’

She turned to Nico with the warmest look he had ever seen and pulled him towards the flames of campfire.

‘We had one home,’ she said. ‘Now we have two.’

Nico didn’t notice but if he had, he would have seen Will’s approving gaze on the two of them. And even a little ways behind him stood Hestia. Disguised as a teenager, she looked out from under her headwrap and nodded. Your path has led you home, don’t you see?

Maybe staying wouldn’t be so bad after all…

- 

At midnight, still awake, Nico saw a blonde tiptoe. His heart jumped but settled when a framed face came into view.

‘Jason.’ Nico greeted.

Nico knew he came to ask about Leo. There was no comfort Nico could give him. They hung their heads together. Jason wanted to convince him to stay. The more he blabbered on, the more endearing he became. ‘I probably can’t change your mind about leaving but I have to try –’

Nico’s ‘I’m staying,’ had Jason blinking so hard that he had to shake his head to clear it.

The joy was so prevalent in his face that Nico even granted him a hug. Soon, Jason was off talking a mile a minute about sharing a table and teaming up and, and, and. The fact that it was midnight didn’t seem to wear on Jason’s enthusiasm.

There was a tiny sense of peace that settled in Nico’s heart.

A true friend.

So that’s what it felt like.

- 

Lucky.

That’s what Nico thought when Will ordered him to the Apollo cabin to rest.

Someone to look out for you. That’s what it seemed like.

In the midnight moon, Will’s hair seemed to shine brighter than usual.

‘I told you, no more Underworldly stuff, doctor’s orders. You owe me at least three days of rest in the infirmary.’

Will held up three fingers with an insistent look on his face.

Nico agreed self-consciously. Still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Will had asked where he had been. That he had been looking for him, that he had wanted to see Nico…

‘I hope you got over all that nonsense about leaving camp.’

Nico looks up with a start. ‘I – yeah. I did. I mean,’ he shrugs, ‘I’m staying.’

‘Good. So you may be dense but you’re not a complete idiot.’

Nico wants to threaten Will or say something back but he doesn’t get the chance.

‘You make yourself an outcast.’ Will told him. His tone would have been accusing if his demeanour hadn’t  changed. He looked tired now, worn. Like someone that had seen hardship and wished it away.  ‘How will people ever accept you if you don’t let them know you?’ It was the first time Nico had ever seen something resembling anger on Will’s face. His eyes were hard and his ears red.

A bout of confusion hit Nico. ‘Who would want to ever be around me?’ His voice is quiet, as if he were truly asking himself that question because he couldn’t comprehend it.

‘Me.’ This time Will’s eyes look open and honest. And a little hurt.

Nico felt reprimanded.

‘I don’t understand.’ Nico whispered, looking confused.

‘Then learn.’ Will insisted.

‘…okay.’

Will huffed as if a weight had been taken from his shoulders. ‘Okay.’

[chameleonwritess]

Feels Like Home (Ch2)

Myriad of Stars

Not-So-Secretly in Love

Feels Like Home (Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3)

Forever Starts Today (Epilogue)

Extras:

Infirmary Duties

Fandom: Percy Jackson

Pairing: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace

TW: bad dream, mentions of Tartarus, panic attack depiction. There's a new character in this chapter, too! I hope you like her

Word Count: 9948

Read the whole Myriad of Stars series on AO3

Nico had originally intended to ask Chiron for permission to leave Camp at the weekend. That was until Chiron forced all of them to work ten times harder on rebuilding everything and fulfilling Jason’s promise to Kymopoleia now that there were only a few campers left.

Camp felt surprisingly empty and yet Nico was surprised to find that he didn’t feel all that lonely.

Cecil would hang out with Nico during the day and Nico would still find himself dropping into the infirmary to chat to Austin and Kayla now that he’d grown quite close to Will’s siblings. If he couldn’t sleep, Nico often wandered over to the Hypnos cabin to wake Clovis up to chat, too, and whenever he wasn’t hanging out with other people, Nico was summoning hoards of skeletons to assist with the building work.

Every time Nico summoned a new wave of skeletons, he smirked slightly, knowing Will would be chastising him for overusing his powers and force him to sit in the Hospital Wing for the next few hours. Really, Nico knew it was just another excuse to force him to help Will with his job. And, of course, to spend more time together.

Still, Nico was beginning to wish they hadn’t spent quite so much time together before the end of summer. Every night, when he finally got to sleep, Nico dreamt of warm arms wrapped around him, the smell of summer fruits and sunshine and the feeling of soft blond hair tickling his nose.

When he woke up, he had to remind himself that Will wasn’t right there, after all. It made Nico feel empty.

Of course, once he got himself out of bed and started about his daily business, sword fighting, climbing the climbing wall without being doused in lava, taking Mrs O’Leary for walks and countless other things, Nico managed to push the feeling of emptiness out. There was still no denying that he really missed Will, though.

Luckily, weekend really wasn’t that far away. Will had left Nico with his address and so Nico only had to pack a bag with some spare clothes and shadow travel to Will’s. Friday night arrived soon and Nico still hadn’t mentioned to Chiron that he was leaving for the weekend.

In fact, he was completely trusting that Cecil would tell Chiron where he was and that he wouldn’t be assumed dead and return to find his cabin ransacked. In hindsight, Nico thought that perhaps he should have entrusted someone like Austin rather than the son of Hermes.

Nico didn’t have time to dwell on it too much, though. He was far too excited to finally see Will again.

In fact, he was that excited that when he melted into the shadows, he reappeared in a tree suspended at least ten feet above the ground.

“Oh shoot,” Nico muttered to himself before he fell through the branches and landed in a back garden he severely hoped was actually Will’s.

“Nico?” a luckily familiar voice called out. Nico sat up and massaged his head just as a door burst open and his vision was filled with tanned skin, blond hair and a mass of freckles.

“Did you just shadow travel into my tree you imbecile?” Will asked impatiently. Nico’s vision was going blurry but he could still just about make out Will’s face. He grinned and reached up to touch it.

“Hey, Will,” he said woozily before passing out.

When Nico next opened his eyes, he was led on a settee inside someone’s living room. He was pretty sure he didn’t recognise it and wondered how exactly he’d managed to find himself inside it. Maybe a monster had somehow lured him in.

Suddenly panicked, Nico jolted upright and reached for his sword. His hand returned empty. The monster had taken his weapon.

“Woah, Nico, relax, are you feeling okay?”

Oh. He remembered now. He was at Will’s house.

Will was lounging in a single seat just across from where Nico was led but he’d jumped to his feet to prevent Nico from attempting to slice up his sofa with his non existent sword. The first thing Nico noticed was that Will wasn’t wearing camp clothes, instead sporting a green plaid shirt, opened over what Nico assumed was the t-shirt of a band, paired with slim blue jeans. He looked good. Really good.

“Yeah, sorry. I forgot where I was and panicked,” Nico explained embarrassedly. Will chuckled and came over to sit next to Nico on the settee. Nico moved his legs out of the way but Will insistently moved them back.

“You’re not going anywhere yet. You banged your head pretty hard on the fall and you were weak from shadow travelling anyway. Have you been overusing your powers again?” Will scolded. Nico rolled his eyes.

“No,” he lied. In fact, he’d already summoned at least fifty undead builders that afternoon and the shadow travel all the way across New York definitely hadn’t helped.

“I’m not an idiot, y’know. I can tell you’re lying. What were you even doing?” Will asked, shaking his head. Nico rolled his eyes. He should have known he could never get away with anything when Will was around.

“Chiron wanted me to raise the dead to help with building,” Nico explained.

“Chiron is going to get a scalpel shoved where the sun don’t shine if he makes you use your powers too much again,” Will growled in annoyance. Nico couldn’t help but laugh. He’d missed Will so much.

“I’ve missed hearing that laugh a lot,” Will sighed, turning his head in to face Nico.

“I’ve missed you a lot,” Nico added. He hadn’t necessarily intended to be so honest but the smile it put on Will’s face was completely worth it.

“Good,” Will murmured and he leaned his face in closer to Nico’s. Nico felt his heart rate increase. He hadn’t kissed Will all week. He hadn’t realised how much he missed the taste of Will’s lips on his- the comfort of having him right there under his hands with no chance of anything bad happening.

“Will? Nico? Did I hear your voices?” a female voice called out, causing Will and Nico to spring apart from each other as if they’d been electrocuted.

“Oh, yeah, Nico just woke up, mom,” Will called back. Nico released a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. He didn’t think he would have been able to cope with the shame of falling into the Solace’s tree, passing out and waking up on their settee and then being found making out with Will by his own mother.

Nico was at least relieved that he had met Naomi Solace before arriving here. Otherwise, he definitely would have been immediately Shadow Travelling out of the house. He would take monsters over mothers any day.

“Nico,” Naomi’s grinning face peered around the corner of the room, “how are you feeling? I made sure to give you a quick check over and Will explained your Shadow Travel to me. He’s healed the injury on your head and found some ambrosia to stop you from fading.”

“Oh,” Nico said weakly, “thank you.”

“I warned you,” Will muttered quietly under his breath so only Nico could hear. Nico let out a huff of laughter. Will had indeed informed him that his mother was very concerned over health, being a medic herself.

“What are you muttering about, William?” Naomi asked sternly, placing her hands on her hip. Nico let out another laugh.

“I’ve never heard anyone call you William before,” he smirked.

“What, you didn’t think my name was just Will, did you?” Will asked with a grin. Nico rolled his eyes.

“Of course not,” he said, “no one ever calls you William, though. Not even Chiron.”

Will shrugged, “I’m pretty sure it’s just my mom and teachers that use it.”

“Generally when he’s in trouble,” Naomi noted. Nico realised she was wearing an apron and wondered if she’d been cooking. That’s when he realised that he had no idea what time of the day it was and how long he’d been passed out for.

“Which is pretty frequently, I imagine,” Nico added cheekily as his eyes scanned the room looking for a clock. He found one on the far end of the living room, sat among a bunch of photos- most of a much younger looking Will, usually grinning and sometimes stood next to his mother, varying in height drastically from photo to photo.

Nico couldn’t help himself from smiling at them. It felt strange to see pictures of Will from before he’d even arrived at Camp Halfblood and known who he was. Nico did get a weird feeling inside him as he realised he didn’t have a single photo from when he was a child. After all, he’d grown up in a completely different time to Will had.

Nico wondered if anyone had any photos of him anywhere at all. When everyone that knew him was dead and gone, would there be anything at all to remember him by?

Nico’s spiralling train of thought was luckily interrupted when Naomi Solace followed his gaze.

“Oh, if you want to see even more embarrassing photos of Will, I have a whole book of baby photos,” she said, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

“Mom, that’s the one thing I told you to absolutely not do!” Will complained. Naomi shrugged her shoulders and ran out of the room.

“So that’s where you get your inability to follow orders from,” Nico pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, shut up, you,” Will said, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Gods, Nico really wanted to kiss him.

“What were you thinking when you were looking at the photos?” Will asked suddenly, drawing Nico’s attention away from his mouth and up to his solemn blue eyes.

“Oh, nothing much,” Nico shrugged. Will raised an unconvinced eyebrow.

“That’s a lie. I saw your face fall. Is everything alright?” he asked. Nico really wished Will didn’t know him so well, sometimes.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Nico continued to lie just as they heard the sound of the returning footsteps of Naomi Solace. Will flashed Nico a concerned look that unmistakable read ‘We’ll have this conversation later’.

Nico knew Will was a firm believer that a relationship required communication and so far, it had always worked. However, Nico also knew that he had a lot of issues, some very inbuilt that had plagued him for years. He didn’t want to burden Will, the kindhearted sunshine boy he was, with all of that. How was he ever supposed to help Will if he himself was a mess?

Luckily Nico didn’t even need to begin explaining any of that out loud, because Naomi came back into the room.

“Will’s going to kill me for this,” she grinned at Nico, “would you like a warm drink whilst we chat? Then the two of you need to get some sleep before tomorrow.”

“What time is it?” Nico finally asked.

“It’s nearly ten o’clock. You only passed out for a couple of hours,” Will added helpfully. Nico rolled his eyes.

“Wow, thanks,” he muttered, “could I have a hot chocolate, please?” Nico added to Naomi.

“Of course! Will, go put the kettle on,” she ordered in response. Will huffed and stood up, immediately leaving Nico’s side feeling cold.

“Yes, mother,” he sighed dramatically, walking out of the room, presumably to where their kitchen was. Nico tried not to feel too awkward about being left alone with Naomi.

“Will was a really chubby baby,” Naomi began, opening the album to show Nico the first few photos. The Naomi holding the baby had dyed red and straightened hair, completely different to the soft brown curls she sported now. Nico vaguely remembered Will mentioning that his mom had been an alt country rock singer when she’d met Apollo and that it’d been Will’s own affiliation with healing that had sparked her interest in a medical career. The photos themselves were pretty adorable as far as Nico’s knowledge of baby photos went. Will had a tuft of blond hair that only grew in length from each photo to the next.

“He’s always had freckles,” Nico noted, not realising he’d said it out loud until Naomi looked at him with a sparkle in her eye. He flushed red as he turned the page, hoping to distract her.

“This was Will in elementary school. He loved to play tennis back then. It’s a shame they don’t have any tennis courts at Camp,” Naomi sighed wistfully.

“We have volleyball,” Nico added, “but that’s about the only non-life-threatening sport.”

Nico wasn’t entirely sure how accurate his statement was. To consider any normal event as ‘non-life-threatening’ at Camp Halfblood, you clearly hadn’t participated with the Ares or Athena cabin.

“Maybe you two can go to the park tomorrow and play on the courts,” Naomi suggested. Nico tried not to let his panic be visible. He hadn’t thought of the possibility that he’d have to leave Will’s home and spend the day in the mortal world.

Nico had pretty much always spent his time in the demigod world ever since the age of eleven. Even prior to that, he’d been trapped in the Lotus Casino which whilst he hadn’t realised it at the time, was also not exactly a mortal attraction. He’d forgotten that he wasn’t just behind the times in which year he’d been born in but also in how to act in pretty much any social situation.

“I don’t know how to play tennis,” Nico finally said, realising he’d been a bit too quiet for too long. Naomi merely smiled kindly at Nico and he suspected she had sensed his panic after all.

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to go. Will told me you weren’t actually born in this era. I imagine it must be pretty daunting leaving Camp and having to spend time in the mortal world,” she said.

“Oh, uh, yeah. It is a bit,” Nico mumbled. He hadn’t expected Naomi to have known that. For some reason, it made him feel a bit more relaxed.

“Two hot chocolates and a tea,” Will’s cheerful voice rang out as he reentered the room, balancing three mugs precariously. Nico automatically jumped to his feet to help, used to seeing Will struggle holding so many things at once in the Infirmary.

“Thanks, Will. Come and join us, we’ve not even made it to the worst photos, yet,” Naomi grinned, flashing a wink to Nico. Nico smiled appreciatively. He knew it was her way of saying she wouldn’t mention anything to Will about his small panic.

“This is the worst,” Will complained although he didn’t seem too hesitant to jump back onto the sofa and throw his arm over Nico’s shoulders as Naomi flicked through the photo album, explaining all the photos of Will to Nico.

Nico allowed himself to relax back into Will’s hold as the panic gradually released its tight grip on his ribcage. With Will’s familiar warmth pressed against him, it was just that bit easier for Nico to breathe again.

“I don’t know about you boys, but I’m getting tired and I have work tomorrow,” Naomi finally announced after a good half hour of laughing over Will’s photos, “Nico, we’ve set up a bed for you in Will’s room. Will can show you the way.”

“Thank you,” Nico said gratefully. Naomi got to her feet and threw her arms around Nico, much to his surprise. It was a relief that Nico had become so accustomed to personal contact as of late, or he suspected he may have fallen off the settee.

“Sleep well. I’ll make you both breakfast in the morning,” she promised, releasing Nico to pull Will into a hug, planting a kiss on his forehead before waving one last time and heading back up the stairs.

“Your mom‘s really nice,” Nico said, “I hadn’t expected her to approve of me.”

“Don’t be silly,” Will rolled his eyes, “I already told you she’d love you.”

“Yeah, but I’m not exactly the kind of person most people would want to introduce to their mothers,”   Nico protested.

“Hate to break it to you, Mr Doom and Gloom, but you’re not as intimidating as you like to pretend,” Will said cheerfully. Nico pouted at him and tried to glare but Will just leaned forward and touched his nose to Nico’s.

“You’re like a cute little puppy.”

Nico jerked his head away.

“You’re the worst,” he commented.

“Fine, you’re sleeping on the air mattress then,” Will shrugged before jumping to his feet, extending a hand to pull Nico with him, “but not until you’ve had the grand introduction to my room!”

Nico wasn’t sure what he was expecting Will’s room to look like but based on the fact that Nico had only ever seen Will sleep in the Apollo cabin- a room that literally glittered gold- and the Hades cabin that looked more like a morgue than a place a living person should sleep, he supposed he should have guessed it would be something in the middle.

Will’s walls were painted pale blue but not much of the paintwork was visible underneath the mass of posters covering his wall. Nico didn’t recognise many of them but of the ones he did know, they were of bands, films and TV shows that were popular enough, Nico had actually heard of them.

A large Harry Potter poster was surrounded by some smaller Disney posters, a Lord of the Rings poster and two Star Wars ones. On the wall opposite, there were a selection of bands represented: Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco, My Chemical Romance and Green Day.

The remaining walls were taken up by a large wooden wardrobe and a window that overlooked the garden Nico had shadow travelled into only a few hours previously.

Nico wasn’t surprised at how tidy Will’s room was, though. All his books were piled neatly and there wasn’t a stray item of clothing in sight. On a bookshelf there was a tall pile of medical books that caught Nico’s eye. He hadn’t realised Will actually had to learn things for all the healing he did at Camp- he’d assumed it was inherited knowledge from Apollo. Nico felt a warmth grow in his chest at the thought of Will studying the medical books into the night, desperate to help an injured camper.

“So, what do you think?” Will asked, flopping down onto his own bed, covered in a deep blue space duvet.

Nico tried to think of a way to describe the room. It was just so… Will.

He allowed a smile to creep its way onto his face.

“I love it,” he admitted. Will beamed and motioned for Nico to sit next to him on the bed. Nico obliged and couldn’t help but sit a little closer to Will so that their legs were touching. After all, it had been a week and he hadn’t been left alone with Will for all of that time. He missed the privacy, not that they got much at Camp anyway.

“What were you thinking downstairs when you were looking at the photos?” Will asked, “I saw your face fall a couple of times and when I returned with the drinks you were definitely more tense than usual.”

Nico observed the concerned look on Will’s face. His eyebrows had scrunched together and Nico really wanted to smooth the crease lines out with his thumb.

“I’ll be fine, I promise. You don’t need to worry,” Nico assured. Will chewed his lip and Nico unintentionally followed the movement with his gaze.

“I do worry, though. I was the one that asked you to come here and I don’t want you to feel panicked or trapped or anything. I just wanted to spend time with you. Maybe I was being selfish,” Will huffed but Nico grabbed his wrists where his hands had been gesturing as he talked.

“Will, that’s not it at all. I chose to come here. I don’t feel trapped at all and your mom is really lovely. Downstairs I-“ Nico paused for a second and allowed Will to intertwine their fingers where his grip had loosened on Will’s wrist, “I was just thinking that no one had ever taken a photo of me. Because, you know, my mom and sister aren’t alive. It just made me think that there’s nothing to ever remember me by. It’s stupid, I know-“

“No it’s not,” Will cut Nico off, “Nico, that’s not stupid at all. Photos have always been a big part of my life. They always help me remember happy moments and keep me connected to the mortal world. I promise you we will take so many photos together this weekend because I always want to have something to remember you by.”

Will leaned forwards to rest his forehead against Nico’s. Nico sighed. He’d felt sort of silly explaining why he’d felt strange earlier but as always, Will never thought Nico was being annoying or stupid or a nuisance or anything. He was always just there to support him.

“I love you,” Nico choked out, not having expected his voice to have sounded so strangled. It didn’t matter, though because the next thing Nico knew, Will’s lips were pressed against his and gods of Olympus Nico had been wanting to kiss Will all evening and now he finally was and Will’s lips were sliding over his urgently and Nico was leaning up into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Will’s neck and pushing forwards so hard that they both fell backwards onto the bed, giggling slightly before returning their mouths to one another’s.

Nico pushed himself up on all fours above Will but Will didn’t let that break the kiss, instead leaning upwards to capture Nico’s lips again and pull him straight back down, his hands sliding over Nico’s back, into his hair, over his arms, cupping his face, tracing the slither of skin along his stomach that had been exposed due to the fall.

Nico reciprocated with his own actions, letting out a small gasp, running his own hands through Will’s tousled blond hair and pressing his body against Will’s as he tugged on Will’s lower lip with his teeth, pressing more fervent kisses to Will’s mouth.

Nico wasn’t sure how he was going to last for the rest of the time Will was at school for. If he had missed kissing Will this much after a week, he was going to be almost embarrassingly clingy when the few weeks before Christmas rolled around and Will returned.

Will finally detached his mouth from Nico’s much to his disapproval and pressed his lips instead to Nico’s hand.

“We should probably get to sleep. I never get a lie in, even on weekends,” Will explained. Nico had to try hard not to pout.

“I suppose. We could just stay in later, though,” he suggested. Nico hated waking up early and going to bed early. Will laughed at the proposition.

“I literally can’t. As soon as the sun rises I can never get to sleep again. I’m pretty sure it’s my dad’s fault,” he explained. Nico winced at the thought.

“That sounds terrible,” he said.

“I’m pretty used to it now,” Will shrugged, “however,” he added, leaning closer to Nico again so that Nico wanted nothing more than to continue kissing him, “I still need to get early nights. Do you have pyjamas? You should probably take a shower and make sure there’s no tree stuck in your hair, too.”

“Why, do I smell that bad?” Nico teased, glad he’d managed to find his voice again. Will crinkled his nose up comically.

“No comment,” he said. Nico pushed him lightly in the chest.

“You didn’t seem to mind a few seconds ago,” he retorted. Will gasped.

“I hope you drown in that shower, di Angelo,” Will said. Nico laughed.

“I’ll come and haunt you as a ghost if I do,” he promised. Nico slid off the bed and went over to his bag he hadn’t previously realised was sat in the middle of the guest bed.

“I can’t tell if you’re joking or not,” Will muttered under his breath. Nico just chuckled in response as he fished his pyjamas out.

“Which door is the bathroom?” he asked.

“Second on the left,” Will instructed cheerfully. Nico nodded and made his way to the door, smiling to himself as he left.

One day, Nico was going to learn that irony wasn’t just something that happened in fiction. Just as he’d been thinking he was going to enjoy the weekend at the Solace’s house, he had to have his first nightmare about Tartarus since the war with Gaia.

Sure, Nico had had nightmares since- nightmares of being trapped in the jar with only a few pomegranate seeds, feeling like he was slowly suffocating to death with no way to escape; the nightmares about coming out to camp and Will rejecting him; nightmares about fire, storms, giants, monsters and death: the demigod usual- but he hadn’t had a nightmare about Tartarus yet.

In all honesty, Nico wasn’t quite sure how Percy and Annabeth had survived Tartarus. Even Percy himself had commented to Nico that he’d had Annabeth with him- he hadn’t been alone- but Nico knew it hadn’t quite been the same for him as it had been for the two of them.

Nico spent a lot of his time in the Underworld already. Nico imagined Tartarus for him just felt like the Underworld for other people.

Sure, it was terrifying, felt like death and Nico had nearly lost his life several times despite only being in there for a short time before being flanked by Gaia’s minions and captured, but he also had the advantage of being the son of Hades.

He had seen the form of Tartarus that Percy had seen, though. That was what the most terrifying thing of all had been.

That’s what Nico dreamed of.

It was just after Gaia’s followers had captured him. Nico normally would have been able to put up a better fight but he wasn’t in the Underworld, he was in Tartarus and that was their domain. Nico was captured by the two giants, Otis and Ephialtes, and forced to stare into the horrific form of pulsing purple muscle and writhing flesh that couldn’t possibly be a living thing and yet was so alive Nico could feel its very existence crawling under his skin.

It wasn’t just the jar that was suffocating, too- being in Tartarus made Nico’s skin itch and his chest feel tight. There was no medical grade oxygen down in the pits of Tartarus. Only a small fraction of the air that burned when inhaled was physically able to keep Nico alive. He could remember the feeling better than he thought he could. It made him feel weak- helpless.

If the giants had left him in there for any amount of time longer, he would have gone insane, died, or perhaps both at the same time. He wanted to scream out, to summon an army of skeletons, to shadow travel very far away.

He could do nothing.

‘Ransom’ he was told he was being kept for. Only one thought went through Nico’s head. He possibly even let out a cold laugh there and then.

As if anyone would fall into the giants’ trap to save him.

This time no one did come for him, though. The giants didn’t even take him out of Tartarus. He was trapped, with no help on its way, no weapon to defend himself with, his skin burning and his lungs feeling raw. There was no escape. He was going to die alone and no one would care. He had never been so useless before.

A hand wrapped around Nico from behind and he cried out in alarm, suddenly able to twist himself free of the chains he was bound in.

Nico came face to face with a very concerned looking Will Solace. His face was paler than Nico had ever seen it and he looked like he had tears streaming down the front of his face. Nico pulled an arm free from underneath him and patted his own cheek. He was crying too.

Then Nico remembered where he was. He was in Will’s room. Will had his arm around him. He was safe. Hazel and Percy had brought the others to come and save him. He was alive.

And Will Solace was right there with him.

Nico didn’t know what else to do. He buried his head into the front of Will’s night shirt and sobbed.

Will wrapped his arms around Nico slightly tighter and pulled him closer under the covers.

“Shh,” he whispered, “you’re safe. No one’s hurting you. I’m here. Gods, Nico, you’ve been through so much but you’re okay now. You made it through. You’re so strong. You’re the strongest person I know. I love you so much, okay?”

Nico cried harder as Will ran his fingers through his tangled, dark hair. He let Will’s words comfort him, reminding him where he was, who he was, who was with him. Will was right- he was safe.

“I-I’m sorry,” Nico choked out.

“Hey, you have nothing to apologise for,” Will said sternly yet softly, “every demigod has nightmares. This was just a particularly bad one. You’ve been through a lot, Nico.”

“I was back in Tartarus,” Nico began to explain, feeling as if he owed Will the explanation. To his surprise, Will shushed him again and pushed him back slightly to look in his eyes.

“I don’t want you to have to relive it just to explain to me,” Will insisted, “just hold me. I’m here, okay?”

Nico nodded into Will’s shoulder and for once, made no complaint about following his instructions.

It took a while for Nico’s heart rate to steady again and for the tears to stop flowing. Will held onto Nico like he was his lifeline- like Will was the one who had had the nightmare, not Nico.

“Feeling better?” Will asked when he noticed Nico had stopped shaking, relenting his grip on Nico’s shoulders a fraction.

Nico nodded and wiped his hands under his eyes.

“Thank you for being here. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been,” Nico admitted, “I haven’t had a nightmare that bad in a while.”

Will smiled at Nico and ran his fingers through his hair again, just as he’d been doing when calming Nico down.

“I was actually really scared,” Will said softly. Nico looked at him puzzled, silently telling him to continue. He did, “I was just waking up anyway because it’s practically morning when suddenly you seized up in my arms and started shaking. Your breathing rate increased and your pulse shot up and I kept trying to wake you but you wouldn’t. Then you started to cry and call out and I hugged you but you fell limp in my arms.”

Nico stared at him in shock.

“I thought you’d settled down but then you started shaking again, only this time you weren’t fighting me. I released my arms but you stayed still, crying and shaking. I kept calling your name and reached out to try and shake you awake when you finally woke up. I hadn’t realised I’d been crying too until you wiped your own tears,” Will finished.

“Will, I’m so sorry-“

“Stop apologising,” Will interrupted harshly, “you’re allowed to have nightmares and you don’t have to be sorry for upsetting me. I was just really worried about you, okay. I hate seeing you that upset.”

Nico breathed out, his heart pounding. If Will could be there for all his nightmares, Nico had a feeling he might just be able to cope with them a little bit easier. Of course, he’d rather never go through them again- that way both he and Will could get a peaceful night’s sleep.

“Thank you,” Nico gasped, “but really, I am sorry for putting you through that.”

“Nico, it’s okay, really. I want to share the pain with you if I can. No one should have to go through that alone,” Will insisted before pulling Nico back into a hug, “I’m a healer. I hate not being able to heal mental scars. Being here is the next best thing I can do.”

Nico was pretty sure Will was going to make him cry again. What had he done to ever deserve someone as incredible as Will?

He thought back to what he’d been thinking last night- that he didn’t want to unload all his troubles onto Will. However, this morning, he was wondering if it might lighten the burden, being able to tell someone else.

“Will,” Nico said slowly, “can I- tell you about the dream?”

Will drew back and raised an eyebrow at Nico. “Do you want to?”

“Yes,” Nico spluttered, “but I don’t want to unload everything on you if it’s going to be too much. Just… tell me if you need me to stop, yeah?”

Will nodded solemnly and before Nico knew what he was doing, he was describing the feeling of being in Tartarus, the monsters he’d encountered, his fear, pain and suffering over the years, losing Bianca and how it had made him snap inside, feeling so much for Percy that he could hardly differentiate the love from the hate, feeling like he’d never belong anywhere and could never be loved.

Will listened intently, holding Nico. He was opening up to Will more than he ever had before and even though he knew Will well enough by now to know he’d support him through, anything, it was still almost unbearably terrifying.

“Thank you,” Will said when Nico finally finished.

“What?” Nico asked, more out of confusion than surprise.

“For telling me,” Will expanded, “I- I never knew you’d been through quite that much so thank you for telling me. It means a lot to me. I just don’t know how you manage to stay so strong. If it was me-“ Nico felt Will shiver against him.

“I wasn’t okay,” Nico said, “for a long time I just shut people out. You know what I was like on top of the hill the night I returned. I wanted nothing to do with you. Apparently, my heart thought differently. You’ve helped me a lot, Will. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to do half the stuff I can without freaking out and running away.”

Nico rolled his eyes at the end but Will just smiled at him.

“You’re secretly a bit of sap, you know that?” he smirked.

“Shut up, no I’m not,” Nico complained, wriggling out of his arms, “I try and be nice and this is the thanks I get?”

“Like a said- you’re a sap,” Will teased, poking Nico gently in the side.

“I’m not,” Nico insisted, nudging Will back.

“Are,” Will argued.

“Not.”

“Are.”

“Do I smell pancakes?” Nico interrupted their argument as his nose caught scent of something very welcoming. Will grinned.

“My Mom’s Special. Come on, let’s get dressed for the day. I want to take you out into the town to see all my favourite spots,” Will grinned, “if you’re okay with it, that is.”

Nico knew Will had spotted his face fall a tiny bit but he steeled his nerves. If he could get through Tartarus, he could get through a day in the mortal world.

“Yeah, let’s do it,” he agreed.

As promised, Naomi Solace’s pancakes were incredible. Nico was pretty sure he’d never eat Camp’s pancakes again because they would never compare. Naomi had had to head off to work shortly after, so she had dropped the two boys into town beforehand.

Nico suspected she knew about the nightmare because she gave him gentle shoulder touches all through the morning even though she didn’t say anything. Nico was grateful for that but he also suspected Naomi didn’t quite know what to say to her son’s boyfriend after he’d had a demigod nightmare. He couldn’t blame her- it wasn’t exactly something they prepared you for in a parenting course.

Now Nico and Will were alone in a town Nico had never been to before and Nico was feeling just slightly nervous.

Okay, that was an understatement. Nico wasn’t sure why exactly he felt so on edge but his eyes were darting around everywhere, constantly searching for monsters or danger of any sort.

“Hey,” Will said gently, slipping his hand into Nico’s upon noticing his discomfort, “you don’t need to worry, okay? Do you want to sit down somewhere?”

Nico shook his head and gripped Will’s hand a bit harder. Then he realised he was holding a hand with a boy in public and pulled it away quickly.

“Nico?” Will asked.

“I’m sorry- I-“ Nico nearly teared up. He was panicking. Why was he panicking?

“It’s okay, just take deep breaths. You know no one will mind if we hold hands, right? The world isn’t as homophobic as when you were born, I promise,” Will explained. Nico nodded and allowed Will to take his hand again. He was still panicking. He wasn’t really sure why.

“How about we sit down?” Will suggested, “there’s a café I know quite well just around the corner from here. We can go and get a hot chocolate.”

“Y-yeah, okay,” Nico agreed. He felt bad for Will. Will had just wanted to spend a normal day out with Nico and here Nico was, doing the one thing he’d promised himself he wouldn’t do- panicking.

“Don’t worry, okay? You’re allowed to panic,” Will promised.

“I don’t deserve you,” Nico muttered under his breath, leaning against Will as a tall man walked close past him. Will chuckled gently.

“Personally, I’d suggest it was the other way around. Now, come on, Lord of Darkness,” he smirked. Nico managed a very small smile in return as Will led him inside a brightly lit coffee shop.

“Hey, Will! The regular?” a boy around their age asked as soon as the door opened and Nico and Will stepped inside.

“Times two, please, Jared,” Will smiled at the barista. Nico felt his nerves relax very slightly at being inside. He logically knew a monster could still attack him but somehow, not being out in the open had helped.

“Coming right up,” Jared said, glancing between Nico and Will and flashing Will a wink. Will tugged at Nico’s hand and pulled him towards a table.

“You seem calmer,” Will observed, “what’s going on?”

“I’m sorry,” Nico apologised, “I panicked. I was trying not to, but being out in the open-“ Nico shivered.

“I understand. Your scent is stronger than mine to monsters so I imagine you’re probably a bit more likely to be attacked than me. We can take them, though, if they find us. Together,” Will promised. Nico smiled back.

“Two hot chocolates,” Jared arrived at their table a minute or so later, “you going to introduce me, Will?”

“Oh, of course,” Will suddenly realised. Nico raised an eyebrow at him curiously. “Nico, this is Jared. He goes to school with me. Jared, this is Nico. I know him from the Camp I go to.”

“The one you can’t tell us any details about but disappear halfway through the school term to return to?” Jared asked with a smirk. Will laughed.

“That’s the one,” he grinned, “Nico’s my boyfriend, by the way.”

To Nico’s surprise, Will had rushed the last bit out as if he struggled to say it. Nico recognised that. Apparently, whilst Will was very open about his sexuality at Camp, his school friends weren’t quite as aware of it.

“Oh,” Jared smiled, “that’s cool, man. It’s nice to meet you, Nico.”

“And you,” Nico said politely, “your hot chocolate is good.”

“It’s the only reason I come here,” Will teased Jared.

“You mean it isn’t my dashing looks and witty banter?” Jared asked in return.

“I’m still waiting on both of those orders,” Will said wryly. Nico chuckled gently even though he was slightly jealous that Will was teasing someone other than him. Nico had never thought he would be the jealous type but apparently that was before he met Will. He supposed Jared was ruggedly handsome. He also didn’t have demigod nightmares and a fear of monsters following him. Maybe Will would be better off with a mortal after all.

“Well, I’ll let you two get on with your date. Don’t want to be a third wheel,” Jared said, winking at Nico. Nico rolled his eyes a bit. Unlike the winks Will gave him, Jared’s seemed casual and friendly. Will’s had always seemed more intimate, somehow.

“Thanks. I’ll see you on Monday,” Will smiled back and leaned over the table to enclose his hand around Nico’s.

“You doing okay?” he asked as soon as Jared had left. Nico’s heart stuttered in his chest. Maybe Will did still think Nico was okay, even if he could most likely do better.

“I suppose,” Nico shrugged, “better than when I came in. The hot chocolate’s helping.”

Will laughed, “Nothing like a warm drink to help you feel better.”

Nico was about to respond when he noticed a flash of movement out of the window. His attention immediately snapped towards it and he could have sworn he saw ram-like horns.

Will’s head also snapped in the direction Nico was looking the second a high pitched scream was heard.

“Monster?” Will asked, turning around to catch Nico’s eyes again. Nico nodded his head solemnly and reached his hand for his side. As always, his stygian iron sword was slung through its scabbard on his belt.

“I think it’s following a half-blood. Let’s go,” Nico insisted, jumping to his feet. Considering all the fear he’d been feeling about running into a monster, now that there was a strong possibility he had, he didn’t feel all that scared at all.

With his free hand, Nico grabbed Will’s outstretched one and pulled him to his feet, darting out of the café and following the direction he’d seen the monster go in.

“There’s an injured girl in that back alley,” Will said suddenly, pulling Nico’s hand in the direction he was pointing.

“How did you know?” Nico gasped out as he ran.

“I don’t know,” Will called in response, “I just sensed it.”

Nico wondered if Will could sense injuries the same way he could sense death.

“Nico, I don’t have my sword,” Will called out again as they rounded the corner and appeared at the top of the alley. Sure enough, a creature was looming over a small girl- unmistakably a half-blood- with a large gash on her leg and smaller cuts on her cheeks.

The monster was almost serpent-like, with two large ram horns and a smaller set of horns underneath. Its legs were short but it could clearly move at a decent speed. Nico unfortunately recognised it.

“Cerastes,” he identified.

“Good or bad?” Will asked in a slightly panicked voice. Nico squeezed his hand, suddenly realising that Will wasn’t quite as accustomed to fighting monsters as Nico was.

“Not that bad. They usually lure their prey so they aren’t as much of a threat when they’re visible,” Nico explained, turning back to look at Will’s face which was pale and aghast with fear. Nico smiled, “don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

Will nodded and released Nico’s hand as he stepped towards the monster.

“Help me, please,” the small girl begged as she noticed Nico. The monster was unfortunately smart enough to notice Nico’s presence at the girl’s words. It turned around and roared at Nico, blowing an unpleasant smelling wind through his hair. Nico gritted his teeth and swung his sword out before him, diving towards the monster.

He’d anticipated the Cerastes’ move. It rammed its horns at him, intending to skewer Nico on the end, but he rolled and came out to the side of it. He attempted a jab in its long, serpent-like neck.

Unfortunately, the Cerastes was quick and moved its neck out of the way, causing Nico to only just graze the side. Golden ichor trickled out of the wound, distracting the monster enough for Nico to run past it and towards the girl.

“It’s bleeding gold,” the girl whimpered. Nico crouched down next to her.

“Don’t panic- I’ll take care of the Cerastes for you. Do you see the boy over there with blond hair? That’s Will- he can heal your wounds for you and we’ll make sure you’re safe. When I say go, can you run towards him?” Nico explained. The girl looked at him in shock with wide eyes and nodded her head.

“Yeah,” she agreed, slightly dazed. Nico knew the feeling well but this time, he had to be the one protecting her. Unfortunately, during their chatting, the Cerastes had recovered from its shock and was rounding on Nico and the girl again. Nico jumped out of his crouch and readied his sword in front of him again. The Cerastes looked at the stygian iron and hissed in annoyance. Nico had a plan and he could only hope it wouldn’t fall through.

The Cerastes lunged towards Nico, its horns bared forwards, and began to charge towards the two.

Just as it did so, Nico yelled, “Go!” at the young girl and she darted out to the side of him and around the monster, just as asked. She was brave, Nico would give her that.

Nico waited a few seconds longer for the Cerastes to come towards him and just as the tip of its Ram horn was about to barrel into Nico’s head, Nico dived to the side, allowing the Cerastes to ram its horns into the alley wall right where Nico’s head had been.

Nico didn’t hesitate to haul himself onto the scaly neck of the Cerastes and, before it knew what had hit it, slice its head clean off its body. His sword went right in past the hilt, smearing golden ichor across Nico’s hand.

The girl made a strangled cry behind Nico as he jumped off the Cerastes before it could disintegrate. Nico swung his sword back into its scabbard at his hips and wiped his hands on his torn black jeans. That luckily hadn’t been too difficult. However, he and Will now had a demigod girl to take to Camp which was sort of frustrating.

Nico walked back over to where both the girl and Will were staring at him in shock.

“Do I have ichor in my hair?” he asked, puzzled at their agape stares. Will shook his head.

“No, you look amazi- fine!” he spluttered, “you look fine.”

Nico raised an eyebrow at him curiously as his heart stuttered slightly in his chest. They had more pressing matters, though.

“What’s your name?” Nico asked the girl.

“Cordelia,” she responded.

“Nice to meet you, Cordelia,” Nico tried to smile, “I’m Nico and this is Will, as I said. Has he healed your wounds?”

Cordelia nodded.

“It was like magic,” she said, “and you killed the monster, too. Are you superheroes?”

Will chuckled lightly next to Nico.

“Just heroes,” he smiled, “do you mind me asking who your parents are?”

Cordelia frowned at that, although Nico had sort of been expecting that.

“I don’t know my daddy. My mummy isn’t very nice. She thinks I steal things. I don’t though, I promise! I-I’ve run away,” Cordelia explained. She looked up at Nico and Will pleadingly, “please don’t take me back!”

“Hey, don’t worry, we won’t,” Will said gently, placing his hand on Cordelia’s shoulder, “we do know a safe place we think you should go, though. Have you had many monsters following you?”

She shook her head.

“There was a really big angry dog once but it left me alone when I went inside a library. This is the only one that’s attacked me,” she explained.

“How old are you, Cordelia?” Nico asked.

“Eight,” she responded. Nico nodded. Her scent wouldn’t have been too strong yet, but now that she’d spent time with Nico and Will, she’d definitely have more of an idea of who she was. They had to get her to camp.

“This is going to sound really strange,” Will began, “but have you ever heard of the Greek gods?”

Cordelia screwed her blonde eyebrows up in confusion, “Like Zeus and Poseidon and Hades? I don’t know much about them, I’ve just heard their names.”

“Well, you’re about to learn a bit more,” Nico said dryly before turning to Will, “I can Shadow Travel her back to Camp and then join you again.”

“No way, you’re not leaving my side. Doctor’s Orders,” Will insisted.

“Will, we have to take her. You know she’ll only attract more monsters if we don’t,” Nico huffed. Will ran a hand through his hair and stared at the ground, clearly deep in thought.

“We can take a bus?” he suggested. Nico shook his head.

“Not enough time. I’ll Shadow Travel you, too, so you can heal me when we get to Camp or whatever,” Nico conceded. Will chewed his lip in consideration.

“Fine,” he relented before softening his tone and turning to Cordelia again, “do you trust us to take you somewhere safe?”

Cordelia looked uncertain for a few seconds. Her eyes flickered between Nico’s and Will’s. When they landed on Nico’s again, he tried to give her a smile. He’d never been very good with children. They always seemed scared of him. It was natural, he supposed- he was a son of Hades, after all and he’d just killed a monster right in front of her.

“Okay. I don’t want to see any more monsters,” she decided. Nico breathed a sigh of relief.

“Alright, both of you take my hands,” he instructed, “I hope you don’t get motion sickness.”

“Wait what?” Will spluttered before Nico stepped the three of them forwards into their own shadows and dissolved into darkness.

For the first time in his last three Shadow Travel jumps, Nico landed in exactly the spot he’d intended with no passing out or falling through trees. He released Cordelia and Will’s hands upon landing and turned to face them. Cordelia’s eyes were shining and she was grinning, practically jumping up and down in excitement.

“That was so cool,” she grinned, “can we do it again?”

“Absolutely not,” Will said. He didn’t seem to have taken the Shadow Travel as well as Cordelia and was looking slightly pale, “oh gods I need to sit down. So do you,” he added, pointing a stern finger at Nico. Nico rolled his eyes.

“Come on, let’s just find Chiron and introduce him to Cordelia,” Nico said. The three demigods made their way to the Big House which luckily wasn’t far from their landing spot. Chiron was sat inside his office, listening to classical jazz music.

“Chiron,” Nico said to gain his attention.

“Mr di Angelo, I don’t suppose you’d care to explain why exactly you disappeared from Camp last night?” Chiron said sternly before he turned around and spotted Nico’s company.

“Ah, I see,” he mused, “It’s good to see you back, Will, although I thought you still had several more weeks until you returned for Christmas. It is still only September.”

“I know,” Will said, “it was sort of an emergency.”

“You’re a horse!” Cordelia suddenly realised, making her presence clear at last.

“Centaur, my dear,” Chiron corrected, “I presume this was the emergency?”

“A Cerastes found her in an alley,” Nico explained, “her dad’s one of the gods. Cordelia, this is Chiron. He’s our mentor here at Camp.”

“This is a Camp?” Cordelia asked with wide eyes, “what sort of Camp? Did you say my dad’s a god? Is that why you asked me about Greek gods?”

Chiron chuckled at her questions.

“Don’t worry, my dear, everything will make sense soon. How about I give you a tour around Camp so we can leave these two to get on with their date,” Chiron suggested, looking pointedly at Will and Nico. Nico felt his face flush in embarrassment as Cordelia turned around to look at the two of them with a cheeky grin.

“You were on a date?” she giggled.

“Th-that’s not important,” Nico spluttered, “thanks, Chiron. Cordelia, I’ll be back here in a couple of days. I hope you settle in, in the meantime.”

Cordelia nodded and looked slightly sad to see them go.

“Thank you for fighting the monster. And thank you for healing me!” she added. Will smiled at her and ruffled her hair.

“It was no problem. We were happy to help,” he promised.

“Come now, Cordelia, do you like archery?” Chiron asked and he led Cordelia out of the Big House to explore the grounds.

“Ready to Shadow Travel back?” Nico asked.

“No!” Will spluttered, “it felt like being squeezed through a tube that was way too tight.”

Nico shrugged and smirked, “You’ll get used to it.”

Before Will could protest again, Nico grabbed both his hands and tugged him forwards into the shadow that had formed over the porch, dissolving into it.

When Nico and Will reemerged, Will fell forwards into Nico’s arms and clung onto him.

“How do you do this without throwing up?” Will asked breathlessly.

“You’ve managed,” Nico pointed out. Will managed to straighten himself up and regained his bearings.

“I suppose so, yeah,” he noted, “please can we sit down, though?”

Nico chuckled but agreed. After two bouts of Shadow Travel, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t feeling weary himself.

“How’s your panic doing?” Will asked.

“The monster worked as a pretty good distraction, actually,” Nico noticed. He’d completely forgotten about the panic attack. He supposed it was kind of ironic considering meeting a monster had been what he was panicking about in the first place, “I sort of forgot to panic.”

“Yeah, well,” Will shrugged, “I think you passed it onto me. Sorry I sort of froze up when we saw the monster. I’ve never really met one without being surrounded by loads of other demigods. I’m glad you were there, too.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. Be glad you haven’t had to meet one by yourself before. If you had your sword, you would have been fine, I promise,” Nico insisted. Will shrugged so Nico took the silence as an opportunity to continue. He could still feel adrenaline coursing through his veins from the fight- he needed an outlet to drain it.

“Is that why you looked so shocked at the end, too, when I killed it?” Nico asked. To his surprise, Will’s face flushed red.

“No, er, that was less to do with the monster,” he explained, “more to do with you.”

Nico suddenly realised what Will was meaning. Or at least, he was pretty certain he did.

“Oh really?” Nico teased, “then maybe I should find a few more monsters to kill around you, then.”

“Oh, shut up,” Will grumbled, nudging Nico with his shoulder.

“What? I don’t have a problem with you watching me fight monsters,” Nico shrugged, allowing a sly grin to edge its way onto his face.

“I think I’ve decided I like you better when you’re panicking- you’re not teasing me then, at least,” Will huffed, “I’m allowed to think my boyfriend looks good when he’s using a sword, okay?”

Nico chuckled.

“Stop complaining, Solace,” he whispered as their faces drew closer together. Will really did stop complaining when Nico connected their lips.

Nico wished he didn’t only have a weekend with the Solaces but when Sunday evening rolled around, Naomi told him he was welcome back any time he liked and Nico thought he might just be tempted to take her up on the offer.

Will gave Nico a lecture about making sure he didn’t use his powers again for at least twenty-four hours after the Shadow Travel back before pulling him into a tight hug that Nico melted into. He wouldn’t be seeing Will again until a few weeks before Christmas and he’d be lying if he even pretended that he wasn’t going to miss the son of Apollo immensely.

“Promise you’ll Iris message me, right?” Will begged.

“Of course,” Nico rolled his eyes. As if he’d pass up any opportunity to see Will again, even if only through a rainbow.

“Don’t go having too much fun at Camp without me, though,” Will added with a laugh.

“I’ll let you know if Cecil finally manages to get someone killed,” Nico promised.

“Stay safe, Nico. Thank you for coming over. It’s been lovely meeting you,” Naomi smiled.

“Thanks for your hospitality,” Nico replied, “it’s been really nice. Your pancakes are very good.”

Naomi chuckled and ruffled his hair.

“Well, I’d better be going now,” Nico said, shouldering his bag and heading towards the shadow he intended to travel through.

“Wait, one last thing,” Will blurted out as he jogged forwards towards Nico. Nico looked up at him with a small smile and raised an eyebrow.

“Yes?” he said. Will smiled back and cupped his face before bringing their lips together in one final, chaste kiss- Will’s mum was watching, after all.

“I love you,” Will added. Nico tried to act embarrassed but he was struggling to hide his grin.

“Yeah, love you too or whatever,” he grumbled, “Don’t go getting attacked by monsters before I next see you, okay?”

“I promise,” Will agreed before stepping away and leaving Nico to melt into the shadows.

When Nico next opened his eyes, he was back at Camp Halfblood, stood in the woods he always went to with Will in the shadow of a tree. He took a deep breath in, smelling the freshness of the forest and the dampness of the canoe lake. He was going to miss Will a lot.

Still, Nico had things to do at Camp as well. Jason’s building project was still underway, Kayla had plenty of teases about him and Will up her sleeve upon Nico’s return and Cordelia was overjoyed to see Nico again.

“Nico, Nico, I got claimed!” she said excitedly. Nico raised his eyebrows and smiled at the small, blonde girl.

“Really? Who’s your dad?” he asked.

“Hermes!” Cordelia grinned, “Cecil’s my big brother. And Connor and Chris and Julia and Alice.”

“I bet they’re keeping you on your toes, then,” Nico chuckled.

“Watch it, Death Boy,” Cecil retorted, elbowing Nico.

“Cecil’s funny, though!” Cordelia argued enthusiastically, “he has funny jokes.”

“Hey, Nico, listen to this one,” Cecil grinned as he crouched down, allowing Cordelia to climb on his back after a few attempts of her jumping up to reach herself, “why are mountains so funny?”

Nico looked at him.

“They’re not?” he pointed out.

“That’s right,” Cecil said, “they’re hill areas.”

Cordelia promptly burst out laughing and Nico had to try hard to resist a smile himself.

“Get it? Hill areas: hilarious?” Cecil chuckled, nearly falling over with the combined weight of his own body plus Cordelia’s.

“I hope Lou Ellen returns soon,” Nico rolled his eyes, “I don’t think I can cope with you on my own.”

Cecil merely laughed louder at this and Cordelia joined in, despite Nico’s doubts that she had any clue who Lou Ellen even was. Cordelia seemed happy, though and that was what mattered. She was already seeming so different from the small, frightened girl he’d found cornered by the Cerastes.

Maybe the wait for Will at Christmas wouldn’t seem so long, after all.

[marcodiangelo]

hi, hello, i’m dana! i’m from the gmt+8 timezone and my pronouns are she/her. this is my emo edge boy lord, marco! under the cut are some stuff about him, but you can also look at his pinterest board too. LIKE THIS and i’ll slide into your dms for plotting!

( shawn mendes, cismale ) hey ! have you seen MARCO DI ANGELO around ? HE works as a BELLHOP at big bear resort, but they must be off their shift by now. well, if you do see them can you let me know ? they’re 21 years old & they’ve been working here for TEN MONTHS. they tend to be +ASTUTE & +CUNNING, but can also be -IMPULSIVE & -RETICENT. the other employees have labeled them THE ENIGMA. thanks a lot ! ( sketches filling up a notebook, empty wine bottles, messy hair, texts at 3am, white lines on credit cards ) 

PINTEREST

BACKGROUND

the diangelo family left italy 60 years ago in hopes of a better life  in the united states. in the 1960s, their pizzeria boomed with plenty of people constantly flocking to their pizzeria in new york, however as more businesses opened around them, it was getting harder for the family to generate stable income.

in an effort to salvage their pizzeria, the family had to resort to other means – it started with an illegal gambling den in the basement, and then they quickly moved into drug trafficking, and then arms trafficking. the diangelo family almost became the stereotypical mafia family, but it was all to keep the family and the pizzeria afloat.

now, the diangelo family has been concentrating on their italian restaurant (of course, pizza still being their specialty), but some of them are still thriving in the drug business. marco’s parents have tried to keep him and his siblings away from their family’s involvements in organized crime, but there are some things that just can’t be helped.

marco has always felt out of place in his own family. his mom is very loving and supportive, which balances out how calloused his dad can be. at the age of fifteen, he really bonded with his cousins who were heavily involved with the mafia, which is why his parents got really worried about him getting into trouble, so they made him stay with his aunt & uncle in big bear when he was seventeen. although he’d still do anything for his family, he feels really shunned about it 

HEADCANONS

marco is peak sad boy edge lord™

loosely based on steven hyde, bojack horseman, patrick verona from 10 things i hate about you, and basically any bad boy with a soft side from every young adult novel you’ve read

OOOF lmao he became a bell hop because of this pic and the hotel staff was like ‘oh damn you look like you can lift a LOT????’ but he’s like an asshole to sUPER RUDE GUESTS but then again he also likes his job bc people who think he’s cute gives him $$$$ 

art is his greatest love. it had always been an escape. he wanted to study fine arts, but his dad told him to take something practical, which is why he’s taking architecture instead. (troy bolton vibes but with art)

an observer by default, marco doesn’t talk much when he’s around acquaintances and new friends, but over time, he starts to warm up and can be good company. he’s like...an onion but with wayyyy too many layers but his softer side is a real nice side of him

he’ll never admit it, but he tends to present himself to a people in a way that he thinks will make them like him more. identity??? he doesn’t know her

might come off as an asshole sometimes??? but that’s just because he’s really blunt and occasionally honest

incredibly non-committal whether it comes to plans or relationships

marco doesn’t really know how to deal with feelings, so he tends to self-medicate with alcohol and drugs. it’s becoming a problem.

he honestly just feels lost all the time – he doesn’t know how to make his parents proud and how to be happy at the same time, he’s heading for a downward spiral, really.

not a lot of people know about his family’s activities. when people make mafia jokes because he’s italian, he just laughs it off

WANTED CONNECTIONS

hALF-COUSINS???? maybe not from the mafia side lmaoooo

long-time on-and-off girlfriend. i really wanna play out the deterioration of a relationship ya feel but also kinda the jackie to his hyde???

customers. he deals drugs sometimes, and he’s quite good company.

ex-girlfriends. he’s the worst at relationships, so yikes!

close friends. a handful of people he can confide in.

a good influence. someone who can soften him up.

someone he can be a bad influence on.

hookups. helps with filling the void.

partner-in-crime. buddies who go on a downward spiral together stay together!

enemy. someone who HE REALLY does not get along with.

unlikely friends. they’re complete opposites and they never thought they’d work as friends, but they’re one of the best

salt mates.  someone who he rants with a lot and they just get along because of how salty they are akjsja

[headcanonsforstuff]

Solangelo Head Canons

So I already typed up like half of this and then tumblr crashed and I lost it so...yea...it’s not as long as i wanted it to be, sorry*sigh*. Anyways, there may be a few repeats of stuff I said in my Nico Di Angelo Head Canons post from a few days ago but I’ll try to not repeat too much.

Nico and Will are both terrible at taking care of themselves but make up for it by taking really good care of each other. Nico just doesn’t take care of himself because when he does it makes him think of everything he’s done wrong(or things he blames himself for but really it wasn’t his fault *cough*Bianca’s Death*cough*) and then he feels like he isn’t worth it so it just turns into beating himself up. Will actually likes to take care of himself but between taking care of Nico and taking care of injured/sick campers he just runs out of time or forgets and then when he realizes what he’s done he realizes that he doesn’t mind because the fact that others are good and healthy is enough for him but That’s usually not enough for Nico so Nico often will end up hovering over Will in the infirmary to make sure that he’s taking water breaks and stopping to eat lunch when necessary.

Nico disappears randomly a lot and no matter how often it happens Will always freaks out. After years of being alone Nico just doesn’t think to let people know he’s leaving so he often just wanders of without even realizing what he’s doing or how long he’s gone until he gets another Iris-Message from Will asking where he is and if he’s okay and then every time he gets back Will gives him a full checkup and if he even has a small scratch Will overreacts and gives him a lecture about why it’s unsafe to disappear like that.

Nico still has terrible nightmares about Tartarus and evertime he wakes up Will has to comfort him while Nico listens to his heartbeat but Will really doesn’t mind it, as much as it hurts to see Nico in pain that way it’s good to know that Nico trusts him enough to be around him when he’s so vulnerable.

If Nico has a nightmare when Will isn’t in his cabin(which is very rare, Will almost always stays in Nico’s cabin but occasionally he has to work a night shift at the infirmary or just wants to spend some time with his siblings) then Nico will do just about anything to get to Will, he’s snuck into the Apollo cabin and the infirmary in the middle of the night multiple times to find his boyfriend.

When Nico sneaks in to find Will after a nightmare Will always makes sure he’s well taken care of even if they are in the infirmary, he’ll lay down with Nico in an empty bed to help him calm down and will comfort him until his breathing steadies out and then he’ll get him some water and extra blankets so he can just stay there with Will Incase another nightmare comes up.

Will went to a family dinner with Nico once and he and Hades got along strangely well.

Nico and Will have weekly movie and mythomagic nights where they curl up in bed with hot chocolate and tea and then enjoy some movies while playing Mythomagic(I know it’s pretty self explanatory but I felt like elaborating so shhhh)

They played monopoly once and then didn’t talk for a week, after that Austin and Jason made them promise to never play monopoly with each other again

Nico likes to curl up next to Will while he reads when it’s raining out and it’s literally their favorite thing to do.

They got married as soon as they both turned 18, obviously it wasn’t legal since Nico technically didn’t even exist in the eyes of the law/government but they saw it as official and so did everyone at CHB and Camp Jupiter.

Austin was the best Man

Hazel, Jason and Piper were “‘bridesmaids’”

Nico was technically the bride since he walked down the aisle.

Both Hazel and Hades had offered to walk Nico down the aisle but in the end he asked Percy to do it, he knew it was pretty untraditional but Percy was the one who helped him figure himself out and just felt like Percy was the right person to do the job

Leo and Apollo planned the after party for the wedding

Will wanted a proper house but Nico wanted an apartment. In the end they agreed to start in an apartment and move into a house when they had kids

When they finally adopt kids Nico is super scared to ask Will about naming their daughter Bianca but before he’s even able to ask Will is just like “hey, what do you think about the name Bianca? Like after your sister?”and it just makes Nico start crying so then Will thinks he did something wrong and Nico just had to reassure him that nothing is wrong and that he was just very happy and then obviously...they name their Daughter Bianca and later they had a son named Lester(they thought it’d be funny but Apollo was not amused) and then another daughter named Maria.

Nico teaches all of their children Italian and Will teaches them Ancient Greek so between their dads and growing up in the US(So their first language is English)they end up being trilingual

[maraistyping]

Paper hearts

Rather cold drops of sweat rolled down along Will’s cheeks as if trying to imitate the tears that the blond was sure would eventually spill if he didn’t manage to get his emotional state in check. A more than simply unlikely scenario that would probably not occur in that said plane of reality, especially with all the endless bad possibilities his brain seemed to find join on imagining for him and the growing sense of mixed nervousness and anxiety he could swear was making an endless pit on his stomach.

The blue eyed forced a deep breath of air to fill his lungs as he sloppily passed his forearm across the thin line that marked the start of his face, where messy blond locks laid tiredly, in an attempt to stop the sticky liquid coming from making him feel even more out of place, thing that he didn’t quite believe that possible but he didn’t really feel like pushing his luck at the time being. A weird sensation of roughness gluing itself to his forehead, causing him to quickly order his arm to retreat from its position, his glance catching a flashy glow of fuchsia glitter spread along his freckled limp whose skin could have make an example of how to, poorly, make scale like figures for a rushed Halloween costume. He wondered what other things he might have missed when he looked at himself in the mirror before heading out to school.

Will hadn’t really been planning on pulling an all-nighter when the full moon rested above his head the previous day, he hadn’t really foreseen that possibility, the wild idea just presented itself to him as if it owned the room in an unexpected way at what most people would consider an ungodly hour. In all honesty, the more his mind decided to show him images of his decision making, the more nervous he could feel and possibly look on the outside as well.

It had been a considerable time before midnight, at least for people who considered two sets of sixty minutes to be somewhere near decent, when the little bulb inside his head lighted up. After such a, even though rather lazy, tiring day, he had been ready to slip into bed and let dreams cloud his mind and wash his senses; his awake mind, however, forced his eyes open as a feeling of motivation spread through his chest, warming up his interior.

The blue eyed didn’t actually do much to celebrate Valentine’s Day, not anymore at least, the days in which a small child of blond locks rushed around the halls of the house while clutching small rectangular cards written in messy handwriting and addressed to all of the members of the household were long gone in the abysm of the past. He wasn’t really certain what happened, what made him stop making those most likely poorly executed details. Perhaps it had been the anxious thoughts that occasionally rushed through his head as he stood in a room that featured a lot of people directly staring at him, maybe it simply was the stress that came with homework and responsibilities.

The reason, the blond supposed, didn’t matter anymore, especially since he was about to bring said tradition, if he could in anyway actually call it like that after having neglected it for some years, back. It would, however, have some changes that could enter in the categories of either great or minor, and hopefully in the later “a decent appearance” could be added.

A slight variation that he considered to be of some importance was who he was going to gift something to. In the past, it had been mainly just his family: Valentine’s had always been for him an occasion to celebrate the relationships that one had with others, the ones that had made a really valuable impact on one’s life, and he still stood for that; however, perhaps he should add something most of people related with the date that year.

The reason? One that hadn’t been born out of nowhere but some feelings that had been born a while ago; and although he couldn’t quite pinpoint the exact time, he could name the individual who had caused all of those incomprehensible emotions inside his younger self.

Nico di Angelo, that short-tempered, considerably stubborn and, in his own way, rather adorable Italian he became best friends with during their second year of high school after the blond had stalked him, at least according to the dark haired who never failed to remind him of those first months whenever Will decided to make a comment on his people skills.

The boy had been usually alone at that time. Never really talked to anyone, not even when it came to intervening in class or when it was time to do group projects, even then he was void of company, almost as he lived in a ghostly plane of reality. It didn’t matter when the blue eyed were to look, the other wasn’t approached by no one, being either listening to music or frenetically moving the point of a pen over the surface of a paper without a care in the world around him.

He wasn’t really certain the exact explanation he gave to himself, that could have been convincing enough, to walk towards the silent being and try to engage into conversation, a considerably awkward judged by the face the owner of the chocolate irises had pulled, a mental image that sometimes still made him chuckle to that day.

Back then it didn’t take him longer to realize that, not even the other’s body language, seemed to come up with a proper response to the sentences Will spoke to try to make the conversation flow. The situation progressively started to change with time though, going to some extend that, on some days, Nico would be the one trying to put a topic on display for them to talk about. Progress wasn’t made in a day, but the blond would be lying if he were to say that he didn’t think it worth it when even a little smile forming on the other’s face would make his heart warm up.

That’s when he knew that perhaps, just maybe, friendship wasn’t the only type of love he might hold for the dark haired that had more sarcasm in his body that possibly half of the world population. Probably some people would have seen a problem with that: how to act on those feelings; his problem was a little bit difficult, his was more about if he really should take a shot.

Sure, it didn’t sound that problematic if he were to just think it like that, overthinking, however, was pretty much a thing that haunted him in a lot of occasions, the said one included. Just walking towards the other being, looking them straight in the eye and telling them what they want said person to know might work for others, but not for him. It would be way too easy, nothing in life was as simple as that.

That was possibly what surprised him the most to be honest: the fact that he had decided to do something about the situation, if the best he could do to get it out of his chest was a cheesy Valentine’s card then so let be it.

He spent his night, and a considerable amount of the morning trying to make a decent looking product with all the materials he could find at home, all while trying to make as less noise as possible, not wanting to interrupt his parents nor his siblings’ sleep, partially because someone being awake other than him would mean interrogation hour full of questions he didn’t have or didn’t want to give the answers for.

So there he was now, walking down one of the halls of the school he attended to, his glance shifting its attention from the path in front of him to the weirdly shaped heart card courtesy of both his lack of proper rest and his inability to proper cut with scissors while a debate of what to do took place inside his mind.

A deep breath of fresh air entered through his mouth as he fixed his stare on the object he carefully grabbed between his shaky hands. He knew that if he looked at it too much, he would end up giving up on the idea as a whole whatsoever but he couldn’t help it. His blue irises analyzed the rather sparkly front not completely covered in glitter, the small holes of emptiness showing the red coloration the paper had originally.

Will briefly considered opening the letter, rereading its content as he had done before placing a foot into the building, but decided against it. The blond had the feeling, although it was more of a factual thing since his sleep deprived self was the one who had written the message after all, it would only worsen the sensations traveling through his nerves without a care in the world nor bothering at all about his own well-being.

His fingers tightened their grip slightly as he found himself getting closer to the cafeteria, area full of tables in which the person he was looking for, and considering avoiding at the same time, usually sat down until the classes were to begin. Never in his life, had the blue eyed had feel as anxious when standing in front of a door not by much bigger than him, one that he knew meant no threat and that simply hid a room in which he most likely could talk alone with the dark haired. For some reason that mere thought made his muscles tense on the spot, almost freezing him in place.

He couldn’t quite understand it, not from a logical point of view anyway. The blond was aware that he was most likely being dramatic in a way, that his thoughts were just messing with his emotions, he couldn’t help it though: knowing small details like those didn’t stop the headache that he could feel lurking around.

Will forced his lungs to take in a new current of fresh air, letting the rather hot breeze around him enter through his nostrils as he tried his best to make his muscles relax. He let his eyes fall shut as he took another deep breath, trying to ignore the pressure he felt right above his eyebrows. It would be alright, wouldn’t it be? He probably shouldn’t go asking himself questions like those, he wasn’t in the mood to taste the universe.

His eyelids uncovered his blue irises, which stared at the slightly opened door with a new sense of determination. He was doing this, he was truly doing this, he hadn’t invested so much time into thinking about the whole thing to not go for it at the end.

There’s no going back, the blond said to himself mentally as reassuringly as possible before he placed one sparkly hand against the surface of the door, pushing it open with probably more force than necessary judged by the way the piece of wood flew open, a side ending up banging aggressively against the wall. The loud sound made him unconsciously wince, although it couldn’t really compare to the shiver passing along his spine when he noticed two pair of eyes had decided to glue themselves to the direction that originated the noise.

The blond bitted his bottom lip little, gesture that, even if mostly unnoticeable from the place the other beings were sitting down, showed his nervous state. He forced his feet to take a couple of steps forward, cursing on his insides the small wave of heat that he felt spreading near his cheekbones. He could do this, he had already attracted some attention to himself…too much for him to turn around and just simply leave.

In all honesty, there were a couple of things he hadn’t been expecting from the particular scenario in front of him. First of all, he hadn’t been counting on having someone else other than Nico at that exact time, not when he would have rather like the humiliation, if it were to come, to have as less witnesses as possible.

Will didn’t had anything against the owner of the electric blue eyes, he really didn’t, especially since it demonstrated, in a way, how Nico had progressively started to get out of his shell, getting more comfortable with his own skin. Besides, Jason, even if slightly older, was someone he looked up to, and, even though not out loud, thanked for being there for the dark haired.

The second thing, and something he hadn’t picture on his imagination while he practiced briefly on his head what to say, were the rather big pile of pink and red laying on the table in a rather uncaring manner. The blond felt the lump blocking his throat getting thicker.

He wasn’t certain of what he was expecting but, the more he thought about it, the more sense the situation made. Nico, even though he didn’t approached people not he looked that approachable most of the time, especially after a rather sleepless night, had a mysterious air around him that made a lot of people inclined towards him. If the blue eyed had to be truthful, he couldn’t really blame them because that was what the owner of the brown irises was: a field full of magnetic energy that attracted whatever object that entered in proximity to him. Will had walked straight into the danger zone willingly and knowingly, he couldn’t say he regretted it.

His glance stopped over the pile of the bunch of Valentine’s cards on display, he suddenly felt himself shrinking at their presence. They all looked different from the other, no design repeating itself twice, giving each of them an air of individuality and uniqueness that only got disturbed by the fact that they all had, in one way or another, a heart for everyone to see. All of them got another thing in common though: their fancy look made his not that great made present look pathetic in comparison.

His legs continued moving closer to the other two boys in autopilot as a hurricane of wild thoughts invaded his brain, full of so many emotions that trying to identify one was more than a simple challenge at this point. He was glad that the two sitting down had stopped glancing at him to discuss something between them. What it was? The blond couldn’t know from where he was yet since their voice came out as barely more than a fain whisper.

Before he could properly register, he was standing in front of the plastic looking table partially hidden under a bunch of feelings translated to disposable pieces of paper, the feeling of nervousness presenting itself as strong as it had been since the time he left his house. He passed a chunk of saliva that was settling down at the base of his throat preventing him to speak out as he mentally prepared himself to say at least a variation of the words he had kept inside him for some while now.

His lips parted opened as sentences organized themselves in his head and… Nothing. That was all that took place, or rather what didn’t. Perhaps it was the way his brain had found to warn him that the possibility of him screwing up was pretty much still a thing, that all the time he had spent assuring the dark haired that he could trust him, all the time it took for the other to get closer to him could go down the drain as easily and just as fast as the though.

He had had enough though, enough of leaving those feelings caged inside his being. He had had enough of hiding and, if he had to pay a price to pay for that to happen…he would at least try to make the words coming out of his mouth worth that said price.

“Hey, uh, I… I have this for-” The blue eyed began to say as he hesitantly extended the handmade card towards the Italian, whose eyes widened at a rather unnatural speed as soon as his glance stopped on the object he was carrying.

“Are you serious?” Nico interrupted, his brown irises carrying a murderous look in them that would probably have caused a change in the temperature of the rom if it weren’t for the heaters distributed around the area. “I don’t get why people can’t just leave you all out of this or at least stop giving me papers I really don’t have interest in keeping.”

Will took another deep breath to try to calm himself down, to get him emotional state under control, to give himself the force necessary to let his message be heard the way he wanted it to be. “This is not… You are not understanding correctly.”

“Maybe I don’t want to!” The dark haired practically shouted, making a whimper unconsciously left his mouth due to the unexpected of the other’s action. He was about to speak up again but all of his possible lines were interrupted by the brown eyed once again, whose voice almost sounded void of any heartwarming feeling and emotion. “Just…toss it into the pile, alright? Or give it back to the person who told you to give it to me.”

The blond bitted the inside of his cheek lightly as he silently pulled the card closer to himself, almost as if wishing it would blend with his clothes, preventing anyone else to look at it, to look at the reminder of the fact that every action had an equal opposite reaction that, in most cases, isn’t the one an individual would rather prefer. He would honestly like to leave that reminder behind, the images plastered on his memories were enough already.

He was about to make an excuse, one that sadly couldn’t come faster to him, the blue eyed would take whatever poorly constructed sentence as long as it meant a ticket away from that awkward situation. He was that desperate, state that only got worse as soon as he caught up the fact that the boy sitting close to the dark haired was staring at him.

Will was about to crack, what would probably come out as a rather tense, smile, he stopped himself, however when he realized what Jason had been stared specifically: the faint reddish sparkles on his arms that matched the style of the card he was holding. It was almost as he could see the engines of thoughts working on the other’s head, his eyes wide open as he a sudden realization hit him like tons of bricks.

He shook his head in a quick, but close to unnoticeable, gesture, almost begging the slightly older being to keep his mouth shut, to not say what nobody else needed to know, what could be better forgotten under the fog of oblivion. Judged by the stare he received, it was almost safe to assume that, just because silence would remain, it didn’t automatically mean it had approval.

The blond didn’t wait for the other to continue his quiet pep talk, turning around rather quickly as soon as the knock on his stomach lessened in terms of pressure. He somehow felt as if he was bounded to the room though, trapped forever in there to relive those seconds, the most torturous ones he had ever experienced

“Where are you going?” He head Nico’s voice ask, a hint of rather obvious curiosity surrounding his words. Will never thought he would utterly dislike hearing the brown eyed talking to him as much as he did at the time.

It wasn’t him being resentful, not quite, he just couldn’t stand being around others at the time. All he wanted was to be alone, to have some time for himself, to think, to reconsider, to just…get away.

The blond didn’t turn his head to glance at the other, he was afraid that he would snap, that he would break. He took a rather shaky breath, his bottom lip trembling slightly as he tried to contain the ragged sounds that threatened to crawl out of his throat. “I just have to pick something up, I’ll be back in a while.” He said, actually surprised by the fact that he had managed to sound alright, as okay as one could manage to sound in that particular scenario at least.

The blond slowly started to head towards the exit door, his pace becoming faster as the only way of escape seemed to get further into the walls. He couldn’t resist it anymore. The room suddenly started to hold less air, looking smaller and smaller every time he dared to step closer towards his objective. He really needed to get out, he had to, he just couldn’t bear, didn’t know how to, with the situation.

“Will?” Someone, a voice he knew rather well, pulled him out of his thoughts, transporting him back to reality.

“Yes?” He couldn’t help but to sound hopeful, although that small fire glowing as dim as an ember in the cold winter died pretty quickly as the brown eyed spoke once more.

“If someone else asks for you to give me another ridiculous heart shaped card, tell them I’m not interested.”

His glance moved to the paper heart on his hand, its edges showing wrinkles and imperfections whenever he were to look, from the way the corners had been cut to the small pieces of papers that simulated badly made spikes that had refused to be wiped out of existence. Ridiculous. The blond shallowed rather loudly, although he could bet that the sound of his blood pumping organ shattering in million pieces would have been easier to detect.

“Don’t worry, will do.” Will breathed out before pushing the door, only for it to not open as he would have liked. He cursed under his breath as he pulled from the handles with desperation, trying his best to ignore the rather confused glances he could feel fixed on his back. It wasn’t needed right now, it all lacked of importance.

Valentine’s Day was overrated anyway, at least in the purely romantic way to celebrate it. It was all surrounded by consumerism and the idea that said day had to be the one when one had to say how much they cared for a partner, instead of simply just saying it and showing it all the time, even if only with little things. Besides, there was no way to deny the fact that chocolate and sweets were rather expensive during said date.

Besides, even if he really wanted to touch the topic on the, for some reason unknown to him, proclaimed day of love, the holiday wasn’t going to stop existing from day to day, the month already found itself surrounded and tangled with the holiday with no chance of escaping. There was still time, there would always be another occasion.

He could always try again next year, or the one after that, or even later on or…never again.

[gaylotusthatexists]

Christmas At Will’s

yo @orangegiraffe7​, i’m your secret santa for the @percyjackson-secretsanta​! i wrote a cute little solangelo fic for ya. merry christmas dude!

Description: After having been dating for over a year, Will and Nico head up to visit Will's family for Christmas - a family that Nico had yet to meet. But Will has a surprise up his sleeve...

Word Count: 1566

ao3

The fire flickered on the other side of the room, illuminating the area and filling their bodies with warmth. Will wrapped his arm around Nico, pulling him closer so that their bodies were just touching. They had just gotten back from doing all their Christmas shopping - which really wasn't too difficult, since all they needed was a few presents for friends and for Will's family. It couldn't have taken more that two hours. Still, it had been snowing the whole time, and the two were slowly starting to freeze to death. But as they shared warmth with one another, it surely wouldn't take long for them to return to their usual selves.

"Hey, Neeks," Will began, breaking the comfortable silence, "can I talk to you about something?"

Nico glanced up at him, slightly skeptical. Was it something bad? Would it be something that he wanted to hear? What was Will planning? Despite these thoughts, he somehow found himself saying, "Yeah, sure."

"My dad wanted me to spend Christmas back home," he announced.

Nico nodded. "Okay." That wasn't that bad. He could deal with that.

"And, like, I know that you're not going to your dad's," he continued.

"Yeah..."

"So, my dad said I could bring you round with me, if you wanted to come?"

Or maybe it was that bad. Maybe he couldn't deal with that. They'd been in a relationship for over a year now, but Nico still hadn't actually met Will's family, and he hadn't exactly been looking forward to it. What if they didn't like him? What if they found him too weird? What if they didn't approve of his relationship with Will? What would they even think of him?

"You don't have to, if you don't to, of course," Will reassured him, "but it would be nice, y'know?"

From what Nico had heard though, Will's family was nice. He had a lot of siblings, and as far as Nico knew only Will's dad lived there. Plus, he could have sworn that Will had mentioned at some point that his dad was bisexual, so he probably wouldn't have any problem with Nico. Perhaps a visit could be fun.

"I'll come," Nico said, before he could change his mind. "I mean, it's probably about time that I met your family."

Will grinned. "Thanks, Neeks!" He pulled him into a tight hug, circling his hand around Nico's back, and planted a kiss on his forehead.

--

A young girl came running up to Will as soon as the two stepped through the door, reaching out her arms for a hug. Will laughed and reached his arms out too, picking the girl up so that he held her at eye level. She kissed his cheek.

"Hi Will!" the child greeted. "Who's the dude behind you?"

Nico had been standing awkwardly by the wall as this exchange carried out, until the girl looked directly at him. He quickly shot her a smile, unsure of how else to react. He had never really understood how to deal with children.

"This is Nico," Will introduced.

The girl grinned. "Is he your husband?"

Will laughed. "Not yet."

"Will he be your husband?" she asked.

"Maybe one day," Will said, before giving her a quick kiss on the forehead and putting her back down. "Where's Dad?" 

"In the kitchen!" the girl announced. She took one more look at Will, then smiled at Nico, then turned around and ran away, deeper into the house.

"That was my little sister," Will explained. "Lucy." He took Nico's hand, and began to walk in the same direction as Lucy. Nico walked alongside him.

When the two arrived in the kitchen, Nico's first thought was just how much Will looked like his dad. They had that same sun-kissed skin, curly golden blonde hair, and eyes that seemed to hold the entire sky. His dad stood by the oven, presumably getting dinner ready for tomorrow. Since it hadn't been eleven until Will and Nico had arrived after the long journey, they assumed it would be too late to have dinner on that night. Besides, they had already stopped off for something to eat at a service station on the way.

"Son! Merry Christmas!" Will's dad exclaimed, approaching the pair. He gave Will a hug, patting him on the back, before pulling away and looking at Nico. "And this must be your boyfriend, right?"

"Nico di Angelo," Nico introduced, holding out his hand to shake. "And, yeah, I'm Will's... boyfriend." Instead of taking his hand in return, Will's dad pulled Nico into a hug as well, which he didn't protest against. Now Nico knew where Will got his talent of good hugs from. "It's very nice to meet you, Mr Solace."

"Please, call me Apollo, or 'Dad', if you want."

Nico tried his hardest not to blush. "Uh, okay, sure."

"Stop teasing him, Dad," Will said, pulling Nico towards him. The familiar heat from Will's hand on his arm was comforting. "Thank you for inviting us, though."

"You’re my son, Will, you don't need to thank me for inviting you to your own home," Apollo replied.

"Thanks for inviting me, then," Nico chimed in.

Apollo just smiled. "Well, you boys should probably get up to bed, you've got a big day tomorrow." He glanced over at Lucy, who was stood in the corner. "Will, can you take Lucy up to bed, as well?"

"Sure, Dad."

Will let go of Nico's arm and made his way over to Lucy, picking her up again. He made his way out of the kitchen and up the stairs, with Nico following closely behind. Before they reached Will's old room, they turned into Lucy's room, which held a few beds, one of which was empty. Nico assumed that the rest of the children sleeping in here were Will's other siblings. He watched Will go over and put Lucy into her bed, tucking her in and giving her a goodnights kiss, and couldn't help but smile.

The two left the room, and Nico followed Will into his old room. A double bed sat in the centre of the room, with light blue sheets and matching pillows. Fairy lights strung from the ceiling illuminated the room in a faint glow, making the various movie posters just visible on the painted yellow walls. Will smiled as he looked around at all the memories, and whispered, "It's exactly how I left it."

Five minutes later, they had gotten changed and were tucked into bed, their bodies intertwined. It didn't take long for them to fall into a peaceful sleep.

--

The next morning, Will and Nico found a spot on the sofa whilst his younger siblings opened their presents. Nico had already given Will his present as soon as they had woken up - a Christmas sweater with the words 'You Are My Sunshine', and an image of the sun with a woollen hat, scarf, and snow falling all around, which Will had immediately put on.

"Will!" a girl shouted, running up to him. It was the girl that Nico had met the night before - Lucy. "Will, I got a paper cut opening a present." She held out her finger, displaying the tiniest cut, but Will didn't seem to acknowledge how insignificant it probably was. Nico's supposed that, to the child at least, it was significant - the small tears in the corners of her eyes was enough to prove that.

"Oh no!" Will cried, gently holding her finger. "Don't worry, Lucy. I know how to make it better." He produced a small plaster from his pocket, with a snowflake pattern running down it, and wrapped it around the wound. "There, you're okay now." His voice was soft and calming, and watching the scene made Nico fall in love all over again.

Lucy smiled, and wiped away her tears with her other hand. "Thank you, Will." She returned to opening her presents.

"Why didn't you tell me that you're so good with kids?" Nico wondered, looking up at Will with admiration.

Will just laughed. "I guess it just never came up."

The two continued to watch the children, until all the presents had been unwrapped and the two were left in the room alone as Apollo returned to the kitchen to continue preparations for dinner and the kids went to play in another room. Nico looked over to the tree, spotting something that shouldn't have been there.

"Wait, there's still a present left," he said, standing up and making his way over. It a small box, wrapped in a silver wrapping paper covered in green Christmas trees, different to the red wrapping paper covered in various cartoony characters that the rest of the presents had been wrapped in. He picked it up, turning it around in his hand.

"That one's for you," Will said. "From me."

Nico looked Will directly in the eye, and smiled. His gaze then returned to the present and he began to carefully open it, revealing another small, black box.

"Open it, then," Will invited.

Taking a deep breath, Nico took the lid off the box, and stared down at the shimmering diamond ring.

"Nico di Angelo," Will began, standing up and taking Nico's hand, "will you marry me?"

Nico stared down at the ring, holding back tears, and then up at Will, giving him the biggest smile ever. “William Solace, you don’t even need to ask.” 

i hope that y'all enjoyed that :D and a merry christmas to you all, or if you do not celebrate, happy normal day in december <3

[thebluesideofmyworld]

Emotions: Care - A Solangelo Fic

Summary: care (v): 1. to feel concern or interest 2. to be interested in someone and want them to be well and happy

Word Count: 2800 words || Rating: Teenage and Up Audience || Read on AO3 

***

Nico just could not take it any longer. Will had been overworking himself again. And Nico hated that. He hated how Will’s smile looked hollow. How his eyes looked empty. And most of all, Nico hated how Will blamed himself, how Will kept on carrying this guilt for not being a more useful demigod.

Because it was not true. It was totally not true.

Will might not be the best in sword fighting. He might feel like he wasn’t as good in archery as well as what an Apollo camper should be. But Nico would fight anyone who would dare to even think that Will was useless.

But it was Will himself who kept on saying that he wished he had had a more useful power, anything more useful than just healing power.

Well, Nico didn’t want to fight him.

But at the same time, it hurt him to see how Will felt so low like that.

So Nico decided that he needed to do something. And that’s what he told Austin and Kayla when they were hanging out in the infirmary’s front office.

“I want to take Will out. To somewhere nice.”

Kayla and Austin both turned their heads to Nico. Nico himself was too busy thinking about this vague plan that started to form in his head as he read the article in the magazine. He didn’t even see how Austin and Kayla exchanged looks, as he skimmed the list of places that someone could go in New York City. After a few seconds passed by, he realized that neither Austin nor Kayla responded. He lifted his gaze up from the magazine, and found both of Will’s half-siblings staring at him with a weird look in their eyes.

Nico’s eyes darted from Austin to Kayla.

“What?” He asked.

Austin and Kayla exchanged looks again before they stared at Nico. But it was Kayla who spoke first.

“What do you mean you want to take him out? Why?”

Nico let out a huff and closed the magazine. He threw it to the desk, then he crossed his arms over his chest. With his legs propped on the desk, crossing on the ankles, he balanced the chair that he was sitting on two legs, leaning against the wall.

“Will has been overworking. Again. He needs a break.”

Austin raised his eyebrows while Kayla lifted a hand up, palm facing Nico. “Wait a second. So when you said that you want to take Will out, what was in your mind exactly?”

Nico shrugged his shoulders. “Just like what I said. I want to take him out so he can have some good time to relax. To take his mind off from all the stress.”

“I thought you are taking him out for a-“

Austin was cut mid-sentence by Kayla who elbowed him on the rib.

Nico furrowed his eyebrows but after a second of strange coughing, Austin continued his sentence. “I mean, I thought you were also going to take us too!”

Kayla’s eyes widened as Nico stared at Austin.

Well, yeah, Austin, Kayla and him had become closer for the last few weeks, ever since those three days in the infirmary. It wasn’t something unusual for all of them do whatever together. But somehow, Nico kind of wanted to spend the time with just Will.

And yes, Nico could provide some justification for that. His main reason for taking Will out was to take Will’s mind off from the stress of his work in the Infirmary. What if Austin and Kayla started talking about infirmary-related things? What if Austin and Kayla, in any way, did something that only made Will regret not being in the infirmary? What if Austin, Kayla and Will had this inside joke that only the Apollo kids would understand, and then they would-

Nico scratched the back of his ear. “Well, you know. That would be nice. But, I mean,” Nico said and paused to clear his throat. “I mean, if all of you, are taking a break at the same time…Who would be in charge of the Infirmary? And your cabin?”

Nico didn’t know why he felt the tips of his ears were burning. And the amused look that Austin had didn’t make it any better.

“Yeah, sure,” Austin said, giving him a half-nod with a small smirk on his lips. “Whatever you say, dude.”

“That’s actually make sense,” Kayla said. “I’m pretty sure that one of the reasons why Will wouldn’t want to leave the camp, was him over thinking about his responsibilities in the camp. But we can handle it, right Austin?” Kayla turned her head to Austin, who gave them a thumb up.

“Yeah. We’ll take care of the infirmary and the cabin. You take Will out, dude. Go entertain him.”

“Well, that settles it then,” Nico said. A feeling of relief washed over him.

“Where are you going to take him?” Kayla asked.

Nico sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. He brought his chair back to the normal position.

“I’m not sure yet,” he said. “What do you guys think? Where should I take him?”

Kayla shrugged her shoulders. “Lunch or dinner sounds nice. And Will is not that picky about food. Just take him to somewhere fancier than McDonalds, and he’ll be happy.”

Nico nodded. The vague idea in his head started to get clearer. He leaned forward to grab a pen and one of the small yellow post-it on the desk.

“So, a nice meal,”  he said as he was scribbling the words lunch/dinner on the post it. He tapped the pen on his chin. “What else? What other things that you think can make Will feel more relaxed?”

“You can take him to see a movie. Either before or after the movie,” Kayla said. “I would suggest you to do it before you have your meal, though. So you can talk about the movie during the meal.”

“That’s a great idea,” Nico said, scribbling the word movie on his list. He looked up at Austin and Kayla. “Do you guys have recommendation on the movie?”

“I know Will has been wanting to watch 'La La Land' for a while,” Austin offered his idea. “I know that it might not be the kind of movie that you like-“

Nico waved his hand dismissively as he jotted down the title of the movie. “It’s fine. As long as it’s something that he likes, I’m okay with that.”

With his eyes fixed on his list, Nico didn’t see the way Austin and Kayla exchanged glances of amusement.

“Any other ideas? Movies? Places to go? Anything?” Nico looked up again at the two Apollo kids.

Austin had a small teasing smirk on his lips. “You’re really taking this seriously, aren’t you?”

A strange heat rushed inside Nico as he crossed his arms over his chest. He leaned against the backrest of his chair,  schooling his face into a nonchalant expression.

“Of course I do. I care about Will. He’s my friend, and I hate seeing him all stressed out like that.” He glared at Austin and Kayla. “You two supposed to care too! He’s your brother!”

Austin snorted before he answered. “Hey, we’ll be taking care of the Infirmary and Cabin 7 while you’re taking him out!”

Nico rolled his eyes, but he looked back to his list.

“You know, even though he’s often being nosy about eating healthy food, Will can never say no to ice cream. It’s like one of his guilty pleasures,” Kayla suggested.

“Really?”

Kayla hummed as she nodded. “Or, maybe frozen yogurt. Probably it will make him feel less guilty because he would consider it to be a bit healthier than ice cream.”

“I’ve never had frozen yogurt before,” Nico said.

“Then maybe it’s time for you to try some,” Kayla said.

“Well, yeah. But do you think Will would like it?”

Kayla laughed. “Sure. Don’t worry about it. Just remind him that frozen yogurt has less sugar and fat than ice cream, and he wouldn’t say no.”

“Okay,” Nico said, adding frozen yogurt into his list.

He studied his list, started planning the day out.

“Do you think the Hephaestus cabin would let me borrow their laptop and use the internet connection they have?” Nico asked them again. “I need to do some planning,” he said, brushing his hair from his forehead.

“Sure,” Kayla said, standing up from the chair. “I can go there with you.”

“Cool!” Nico stood up from his chair. He slid his list and the pen into the pocket of his jacket as he quickly followed Kayla who already walked to the door.

“Yeah. Sure. Just leave me all alone here while you go planning your date, di Angelo,” Austin said, more like mumbling to himself.

Nico was already too far away to hear it.

And even if he heard it, he was already too excited with the plan to care about what Austin just said.

***

It was after lunch on Thursday when Nico marched to the table where Apollo kids were sitting. Will was standing up from the bench, ready to leave the dining pavilion when he saw Nico.

A smile light up his face, even though Nico could still see faint shadows below his eyes that looked a bit tired.

“Hey, Nico! What’s up?”

“Can we talk?”

Will raised up his brows, clearly surprised.

“Yeah. Sure,” Will said, even though he sounded unsure. He glanced at his siblings who started leaving the table. A few of them were stealing glances at Will, looking curious. But Kayla quickly jumped off the bench, and herded the younger kids to walk out of the dining pavilion, giving instructions for them to follow her to the Arts and Crafts Centre where they would have their next camp activity.

Nico turned his head to the group of Apollo campers that were leaving the pavilion, and caught Austin smirking at him. Austin winked, and gave him a thumb up before quickly joined his siblings.

“Uh… Where do you want to talk?”

Nico turned his head back to Will.

“Here is fine,” Nico said, slumping himself down on the bench. Following him, Will sat back to bench, the wooden table separate them.

“What’s your plan for tomorrow?” Nico asked.

For the second time, Will’s brows raised up in surprise. But then he shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing in particular. My shift tomorrow at the infirmary started at-“

“Cancel it.”

Will froze. He stared at Nico, his blue eyes were wide. He blinked, then he asked Nico.

“What?”

Nico folded his arms on the table, and leaned forward a little.

“Cancel your afternoon shift in the infirmary. You’re going out tomorrow. With me. To New York City.”

Two or three heartbeats passed in silence before Will finally said something.

“What?”

Nico huffed.

“I said, we’re going for a day out tomorrow. To New York City. You and me.”

“But… The infir-“

“Austin would be the one taking charge in the infirmary tomorrow. And Kayla will take care of the Apollo cabin.”

“But they-“

“It’s about time for them to do it, Will. You need to learn how to share responsibilities. It’s not just good for you, it’s good for them too.” Nico cut Will again.

“What would-“

“I’ve asked Chiron and he gave us permission to.”

Will blinked.

“How would-“

“Jules-Albert will pick us up. So you don’t have to worry about me using shadow travel, and we’ll get back to the Camp before the curfew.”

Will stared at Nico with confusion in his blue eyes. After two or three second passed without Will saying anything, Nico started to shift uncomfortably.

“But, why?”

Nico took out a deep breath and let it out in a long exhale. “Will, you’ve been working a bit too hard. You need a break. That’s why I am taking you out tomorrow.”

Will held his gaze at Nico, like he was trying to process what Nico just told him.

“So…you’re…taking me out so I can have a break?”

Nico gave Will a small smile that he hoped was an assuring one. “Yeah. That’s the main intention. So you can catch a break and relax.”

“Why?”

Nico raised an eyebrow at Will. “Why not? Everyone deserves a break, Will. You deserve some time to relax and do things that you enjoy.”

Will shook his head. “No, I mean. Why you’re doing this?”

“Because I care about you, Will. You’re my best friend, and I hate to see you not taking care of yourself.”

There was a mix of emotions on Will’s face. Will looked confused, surprised, and his cheeks were blushing. But for a fleeting second, Nico thought he saw something that almost looked like a slight disappointment. But perhaps it was just the lights playing trick or nothing but Nico’s imagination, because it was already gone now.

“Are you sure?” Will asked once again.

“I’m sure, Will. I’ve already had everything planned out for tomorrow.”

The tips of Will’s lips were curling up slightly, forming a shy smile.

“Oh,” Will said. He looked away for a second as he tucked some rebellious strands of his hair to the back of his hair. When he looked back at Nico, he had a shy smile and the look in his blue eyes was soft.

For a second, Nico felt strangely breathless.

Will nodded. “Okay,” he said, almost whispering, like he himself still couldn't believe it.Without even thinking, Nico smiled back at him. He didn’t know why but it was like his heart was jumping around in his chest.

“Great,” he said. “So, tomorrow? At 2? So you still have some time after lunch if you want to…you know, get ready or anything.”

“Cool,” Will said. “Should we meet at the-“

“I’ll pick you up at your Cabin.”

Will’s mouth left opened for a second, then he coughed a little. Nico felt heat creeping in on his cheeks as he cleared his throat.

“I was the one asking you-“ he paused and cleared his throat again. “I mean, this was my idea? So I guess… Somehow it only feels right for me if I pick you up at your cabin? Then we can walk to where Jules Albert will be waiting…” Nico paused, peeking up at Will.

Will was biting his lower lip, like he was trying to hold back a smile.

“Okay then,” Will said. “I’ll be.. uhmm… waiting in my cabin.”

“Great,” Nico said, knowing for sure that he was grinning but at the same time, he felt like he couldn’t care less.

“So… I need to go to the Infirmary now,” Will said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh, yeah. Sure,” Nico said, standing up from the bench. “And I have a sword-fighting class to teach.”

Nico slid his hands into the pocket of his jacket. He shifted his weight to his heels. “So. I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

Will’s smile was soft and for a second, Nico thought of how he liked it so much when Will smiled like that.

“Yeah,” Will said, nodding as he rubbed the side of his neck. “Tomorrow.”

“Great,” Nico said. “Tomorrow. At 2. I’ll pick you up. At your cabin.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

“So. Uh. Bye, Will. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Will let out a laugh and finally, after it’s been gone for days, the light in his eyes came back, twinkling as he smiled at Nico.

(Gosh, Nico just like it so so very much when Will smiled like that at him.)

“Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow, Neeks.”

Nico turned on his heels, and walking away from the table with wide steps. When he reached the doorway, he turned around to look at Will. Will was still sitting on the bench. His elbow was on the table, propping his chin as he was watching Nico. When he saw Nico looking at him, he smiled, and raised his other hand to give Nico a small wave. Nico waved back at him. Then he turned around, and walked out of the pavilion.

Nico was feeling a bit giddy as he made his way to the sword fighting arena. He had tomorrow all planned out, and he could not even lie to himself about how excited he was about it. He could not wait to take Will out, could not wait to make Will relax and have some great time.

Because at the moment, there was nothing that Nico wanted more other than to see that genuine smile lighting up Will’s face back. Just thinking about how tomorrow would make Will feel happy already gave Nico a pleasant warm feeling inside of him.

He just wanted to make Will happy.

Because Nico cared about Will. So so very much.

***

Author’s notes:

Comments and feedbacks are always loved!

I feel guilty that it took quite a while for me to update this. So really, i even feel more guilty to tell you this. It might even take longer for me for the next update. I am at the very last stages of my degree now. My professor is reviewing the draft of my dissertation (that has been sitting on his desk since... oh, i don't know, November 2017?), and since the deadline to have a defense if I want to graduate this semester is on April 20, let me just say that the next few weeks would be...intense, to say the least. And even after that, I still have to deal with moving back to my country so I need to deal with packing and paper works and basically, stuff... So yeah. You get the idea. I will try to write another chapter for the other Solangelo fic that I have on-going right now (the Musician!AU one) but then after that, I'm sorry to say that it might take a few weeks before I finally update my fics. But don't worry, I am not going to abandon my fics. Honestly, at this point, fics and my football teams are the only things that keep me sane. So yeah. Once again, I apologize for this.

Also, on a side note, regardless of whether it's healthier or no, I personally like frozen yogurt more than ice cream. I think Nico would prefer Gelato, though. He's Italian, after all

[loisinherlane]

Title: Monachopsis

Summary: It’s been a year and a half since Bianca joined the Hunters. A year and a half since Zoë Nightshade died and Thalia Grace took over. A year and a half since Nico di Angelo came to Camp Half-Blood, and year and a half gone unclaimed. He never expected this.

Notes: This is somewhat of a snippet from a fic I will at some point develop fully. Basically, the premise is that the prophecy in the Titan’s Curse went a little differently, and Bianca didn’t die. (Don’t be too happy yet. She does still die. :( But I have another AU in which she lives that I’ll probably delve into eventually.) In this, Nico has lived at Camp Half-Blood year-round and grown up a bit. Because this does involve changing the timeline a bit, imagine this as the beginning of the Battle of the Labyrinth. At some point, I’ll establish the timeline more neatly, but for now, don’t worry about it too much. I’ve left it a little rough, as I wanted to get it out today, so forgive me if anything is off. Dedicated to @rainelinde @adreamingsongbird for her birthday, because we both relate to Will in this fic.

The day started off like any other. Like every day, the Hermes cabin seems a little emptier.

When Nico first arrived, people had warned him that the cabin was perpetually crowded. “It used to be worse,” Connor Stoll had confessed, “but a few people have followed--”

No one at camp ever said his name directly. It was like they were scared of invoking something. Nico figured it was a weird Greek thing anyway, the avoiding of names. Reminded him a lot of Harry Potter, in a way. (Percy had brought those books during one of his visits, saying he couldn’t quite get as into the story as before, being the whole potential prophecy kid. Nico got it a little, but he also thought Percy was doing the same thing Annabeth did, trying to replace Bianca as an older sibling figure. It didn’t work, but it was nice enough.) Nico went along with it though. He never knew the guy, and the whole rhetoric didn’t affect him much.

It did affect the older campers, the ones who’d waited longer to finally be claimed, the ones who felt left out and cast aside. Nico understood their pain, but he didn’t understand why they’d give up all of their friends at camp. The gods may not have been good, but camp was. Nico loved camp.

Mainly because he had great friends. Cecil and Clovis both stayed in the Hermes cabin, though Cecil was the only actual Hermes camper in their crew. Somewhere in the past few months, they’d picked up Will Solace from Cabin 7. A lot of their stunts usually ended with some sort of injury, and Will Solace was the one to patch them up most often, so in spite of the healer’s standard to hang out with older kids, especially his siblings, he’d been roped into a few schemes from time to time.

Nico really liked Will, even though he was kind of stuffy half the time. When he smiled, things seemed to light up, and occasionally, he relaxed, and then he was just the most fun to be around. Unfortunately, that wasn’t often, and besides, he normally stuck with his cabin for camp activities. Most of the time, Nico was stuck with Cecil and Clovis, in the sad little Hermes cabin where he didn’t even have a real bed.

Maybe he’d get one soon, though. That morning, Nico saw a few of the mattresses on the floor were completely empty. Travis and Connor seemed to notice as well, but they didn’t say anything.

“Rise and shine, kids, it’s time to canoe,” one said, to which the other added, “And we don’t mean canoodle, so stay away from the Aphrodite cabin.”

Nico winced at the terrible pun. Cecil laughed. Clovis yawned.

“Morning already?”

The cabin was always in a rush to get ready in the morning, but it didn’t take too long until the entire camp was lined up at the dining pavilion. Will had to sit with his siblings, but Nico, Cecil, and Clovis got to sit together and talk about the day--or more accurately, bug one of the Stoll brothers into telling them the rest of their schedule.

They didn’t succeed. They were dragged off to canoeing, where Clovis and Nico tipped their canoe when Clovis fell asleep. Next, it was time for sword practice, which Beckendorf taught. Nico loved that. Swords were about the only thing in camp he could handle. The day continued in the same manner, just as always, until the Hermes campers were released for free time, and Cecil dragged Nico and Clovis to walk around in the forest. Cecil was talking a lot, like he always did, but Nico could hardly pay attention. His mind was wandering off once more.

That feeling was back. The feeling that he didn’t belong.

Camp Half-Blood was the greatest place on the planet. It was basically Mythomagic come to life--minus the ancient Greek aesthetic and fashion sense, plus the camp tradition of friendship bracelets. (Nico currently had five: one from Cecil, one from Clovis, and three from Will, because Will had seven on each arm, and he didn’t want Nico to feel left out.)

Fighting with swords, riding pegasi (even though they didn’t seem to like Nico), exploring the forest, Nico loved it all. Being the kid of a Greek god was awesome.

Except that he had no idea who his parent was. That would have been nice. For as long as Nico could remember, it had just been him and Bianca. Without Bianca he was alone. Knowing a little more about his family would have been nice. But Nico couldn’t really complain. He had good friends, and when the Hermes cabin was overstimulating, Will’s brothers Lee and Michael didn’t mind if Nico hung around.

Really, Nico loved camp. So it sucked that he had that feeling.

Nico had first mentioned it to Grover privately on the trek to camp. Maybe Bianca was a demigod, and Nico was her entirely normal half-brother? But Grover had dismissed his worries.

“You and Bianca both smell very strongly. You must have great powers.”

Besides, that theory was completely destroyed when they arrived camp and Nico could pass through the barrier. Both di Angelo siblings were half-bloods, and half-bloods belonged at Camp Half-Blood.

If only it were that simple.

When Nico spoke to the Stoll brothers, they just assured him that most new campers felt like that. Finding your got parent made things easier. You knew where you belonged. They didn't mention that some were never claimed.

Will usually just advised Nico to find something he was good at and stick to it. “I was claimed when I reattached Drew’s pinkie toe,” he confessed. “I promised her I wouldn't tell, but it's okay, ‘cause it's you, and no one can tell it came off anyway.”

Nico had to try really hard not to stare at Drew Tanaka’s feet the next time she wore flip-flops.

In any case, none of this really helped Nico figured out who his godly parent was or why the camp didn't feel right to him. Nico just grew used to the camp not feeling quite right and enjoying life.

Maybe if he'd paid more attention, he wouldn't have been caught so off-guard.

Nico made a face.

“What's wrong?” Cecil asked.

“My ear is ringing,” Nico said. He reached to cover his ear to see if that would help. It didn't.

Clovis mumbled something sleepily.

“Oh,” Cecil said. “Is it that bad? Can we keep going?”

Nico was about to nod when a sudden pain wracked his body. He clutched his chest and tried to catch his breath. Something was wrong. It wasn't that he didn't belong. It was worse.

He heaved and stumbled forward. Cecil tried to catch him, yelling, “Clovis! Help!”

She was on a boat. The boat rocked enough to make her seasick. She'd never liked water. Strangely, this water didn't make her feel ill. It was calm.

“You said said my passage was completely paid for?” she asked for the third time--just to check.

The boatman huffed. “Yes, miss. Two gods vouched for your passage. There was absolutely no leaving you on the other side.” He sounded a little put out, as if vouching wasn't payment. She wished she had something to offer, but she always used all of her coins to message her brother. All she could do was tug at her braid and hope for the best.

“Will! Will!”

Nico came back to his senses just in time to see Will Solace stumbling over from the stables where his cabin was having lessons. Clovis’s arms were wrapped around Nico’s waist, and Clovis seemed surprisingly alert. Cecil dragged Will down the hill.

“Something's wrong with him, see?”

Nico vaguely recognized that Cecil was gesturing at him, and he absently narrowed his eyes, wanting to protest that he was fine, and Will Solace totally didn't need to check him out, when the ringing resurfaced and his chest tightened.

“We’re here, miss,” the boatman said. She maneuvered through the crowd on the boat--they part for her, really--and hopped off onto the shore.

“Where do I--?” she asked the boatman, but he was already turning around.

“I’ve played my part, miss. You had your passage. You’re not my problem,” he said shortly. The already dark cavern seemed to lose its light. He winced. “Wait right here, miss.”

She frowned. “Wait? For what?”

“Your father.”

“Nico? Nico, deep breaths.”

Will’s voice was already cracking, a little deeper than most of their friends, but at the moment, it was smooth, soft, soothing. He was shining his pocket flashlight into Nico’s eyes, and he winced and blinked. Will gave a tiny breath of relief.

Cecil glanced at him. “Do you know what’s wrong with him?”

“You said he didn’t have any blunt force trauma?” Will confirmed. “He’s not quite responsive, but I think it’s just a panic attack.”

“What caused it?”

Will shrugged. “It’s hard to determine the triggers. He might want to speak to one of my siblings about mental health. His file says he and his sister were in an accident and lost their their memories. It could be some of that resurfacing. But that’s just speculation.”

Clovis remained silent behind him.

Will hummed as he tucked his flashlight away. “Nico, can you speak? If not, just shake your head. We’re in no rush,” he said, voice as warm and perfect as ever. Nico almost thought it was better than Percy’s.

Nico took a rough breath. “Bi--”

Will’s smile faltered. “What?”

Nico doubled over.

A tall man pushed through the thousands of people making their way forward. Most took care to avoid him, but a few bumped into him and practically recoiled. She didn’t feel the same urge to back away. In fact, when she caught his eye, she saw the same look her little brother got when he was ready to a win particularly tough match of Mythomagic.

His face was colder though. He didn’t smile, even as he approached. She straightened her back, feeling so bare without her bow.

He opened his mouth.

“Nico,” warm, breathy in his ear. Whose shoulder was he leaning against? Clovis was a bit back, dozing on a tree. Cecil was--

Fluffy blond hair brushed his cheek. “Hey, breathe. Everything is okay. We’re at camp. We’re safe.”

“Bianca, my only daughter,” he said sadly.

Her throat caught. “Papà . . . .”

“You died a hero. I will give you three options,” he said.

Nico lurched away from Will Solace and ran farther into the forest.

Bianca.

Bianca.

She was dead. Papà--

He let out a yelp.

“Nico?” Worried. Hopeful. They were looking for him. He had to go farther. Beneath his feet, the grass turned brown, then froze over. The death rolled towards the trees--the dryads. No. He had to rein it in.

Nico continued running until he smacked into a wall, catching himself with his hands against the stone.

Suddenly, he knew what to do. He opened the passage and stepped inside.

The passage was dark, but he knew where to go. He walked to the end of a hall, where a ghost smiled to see him.

“Master Nico,” he said brightly. “Your father has sent me to guide you.”

-

When he emerged from the labyrinth, Nico only had to take a few steps before someone caught him. It was Charles Beckendorf. They must have sent all the head counselors to look for him. Great. Just the attention he needed.

“Nico,” Beckendorf heaved. “Thank the gods. The forest can be pretty dangerous.”

“Yeah. We saw the trail of a monster,” said Katie Gardner, walking up behind him. Her face was beet red, and she placed her hands on her knees to catch a breath. “You should know you’re not supposed to run off on your own.”

“He had a panic attack,” Will Solace piped up, running up behind his older brother Lee. “He can’t be held accountable for poor decisions.”

“That’s not entirely true, Will,” Lee warned--his specialty in healing was mental health, and he always seemed to be on Will’s back any time he tried to say anything on the subject. “But since this is his first, I think we can agree he didn’t know what he was doing.”

Nico bit his tongue. No. He couldn’t tell them what he say. Not a thing. Anything he said would just make it worse. It was better to let them worry he had issues than to admit the truth--the truth he’d tried to avoid for so long.

He had no place at Camp Half-Blood.

[jflashandclash]

Attrition of Peace

Five: Reyna

Do You Wanna Go Punch Stuff… or Something? Part II

  Upon realizing they were at the praetor’s house, Axel did something Reyna didn’t expect: he blushed.

Reyna kept the décor in her house simple. She was rarely in it, so she didn’t feel the need for anything elaborate. Most of the decoration looked more like a barrack’s. Her favorite weapons covered one wall, a collection of blades from all over the world. There were rewards and homemade trophies scattered on mantels, ones that the Second Cohort had stubbornly shoved at her throughout her career.

A line of zombie bunny ninjas decorated her coffee table, just beyond the entrance. Piper had been sending her those over the last few months, saying they seemed right to liven Reyna’s room.

Above her cot’s mantel, on the far wall, was a flag. It depicted a skeleton with a spear in one hand and a glass in the other. The spear was about to pierce a heart floating up in the lower right corner of the flag.

“Blackbeard’s flag,” Axel whispered upon stepping inside. Though his voice was even, his normally tan cheeks had gone bright red. Like before, his eyes darted to account for all the weapons in the room and Reyna couldn’t shake the feeling he’d seen the praetor’s house before.

“You know your pirate flags,” Reyna said. Aurum and Argentum padded into her house. Within the comfort of their home, Argentum padded right up to Axel and started sniffing him. Aurum seemed as curious, but the golden greyhound kept further back.

Reyna was surprised; their suspicion of strangers usually overweighed any curiosity.

“I know this flag,” Axel said. He glanced down at Argentum and stooped to a crouch beside the dog.

“I wouldn’t—” she started.

Axel offered the dog one of his hands to sniff, staring directly into its ruby eyes. She’d seen recruits get mauled for less, but Argentum averted his gaze. Axel rubbed him behind the ears. “I used to wrestle with a jaguar named Juana,” Axel said, smiling sadly. “But I’ll bet you two could give me a run for my obsidian, couldn’t you?”

Aurum growled.

Axel looked up at her. Now that they were closer, she could make out the designs of his facial scars. They were impossible not to notice, systematically decorating his cheeks, temples, and jaw with asymmetrical swirls, dots, and lines. There were different from the haphazard battle scars scattered over his body, though most of those were visible due to the poor condition of his dress shirt.

When he’d knelt down, she could see the bumps of lash marks along his back. Before they left the principia, a healer had patched the bullet wound on his shoulder, though he’d rejected any unicorn draught to help the healing process.

His body markings were a story to themselves.

“This is as private as it is going to get,” she said stiffly. She stepped over to the couch and sat down, withdrawing her dagger to twirl the blade on her coffee table. She had to replace the table every six months when she was in here more often. “Why did your brother think I was going to kill you?” she asked.

Axel sighed and stood. He gestured to a seat across from her. “May I?”

Reyna was so used to her campers standing without question, she was mildly surprised, but Axel had always talked to her with the confidence of an equal and the respect of a warrior. She nodded.

Once he was seated, Axel frowned. “Ajax is… wary of something else happening to our family. From what was said and what I remember, I’m pretty sure Euna killed Santiago and Kouta, our biological father and eldest brother. Ajax had hope that they could change to be better people.

“And, when the gods sent us here, our… we—um…” He sighed again. “We live out of our van. We had a lot of memories tucked away in secret compartments, old weapons, pictures, circus costumes, Hunnie and Baller…”

Reyna raised an eyebrow.

Axel chuckled. “Ajax’s two pet weasels. They were gifts from Hecate. But… I don’t know where our van is, so that’s all lost too. Matthias—our mechanic—programmed it to go wherever we considered home in the event we got separated… but the Mayan temple wasn’t home.” Axel touched a section of the giant scar that stretched from his pant line up his torso. His eyes looked distant. “Our old camp was obliterated and I doubt the van will show up in Belize with Chiich…[1] Ajax just doesn’t want to lose anything else.”

“I’m sorry about your brother and father,” Reyna said softly.

Axel’s feeling of helplessness and guilt fluttered back into Reyna’s senses. She wanted to tell him that he could talk to her about Joey, that she understood how it felt to carry the weight of dead soldiers. But, she had to remind herself that Axel was an enemy to New Rome until proven otherwise, and the Little Tiber definitely wasn’t on his side. “Why do you think the gods…” She noticed he used the plural whereas his little brother had only referred to Phobetor. “sent you to New Rome?”

Axel’s dark gaze sharpened. “I wanted to kill my father. I suspect these particular gods know that Rome isn’t friendly towards patricide.”

Reyna almost dropped her dagger. He said it so casually and candidly, she wanted to snarl at him to keep his voice down. She thought about the ghosts in San Juan and tried not to tremble.

“Unlike Rome,” Axel continued during her stunned silence. “I recognize that blood ties shouldn’t prohibit you from destroying something warped and horrible. If anything, those blood ties put the responsibility more solidly on the closest kin…” He clenched his jaw. “It shouldn’t have fallen to Euna and Joey…”

Reyna swallowed. She didn’t realize she’d embedded her dagger an inch into the wood. Alarm threatened to drown out all the questions she had for Axel. Memories of San Juan kept flickering in and out: the smell of the warm, ocean breeze, the taste of piragua, and the sound of Hylla’s shaking voice when her father lost his temper and came after them.

No one knew about that except Nico Di Angelo, Hylla, and Gleeson Hedge. Axel couldn’t.

Reyna suddenly wished that she’d kept Frank or someone nearby to continue this interrogation.

Forcing her voice not to tremble, she whispered, “That shouldn’t have been enough to make the Little Tiber try to kill you.”

Axel shifted his eyes back to hers. For a moment, she felt like he knew everything about her father. Instead, he lifted a hand up to brace against his chin. “You know exactly why the Little Tiber was trying to kill me,” he said.

Reyna had her suspicions. When she’d met him outside Camp Half-Blood, he’d said he was recruited into an army that wasn’t Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter and ascended to a position of leadership, likely a low ranking Lieutenant or Captain. That army was obliterated about a year or two ago. He had Mist manipulation skills, akin to the children of Hecate. His little brother called upon the Titans for prayers and curses. He knew more about New Rome than he should.

Some part of her knew he was a soldier from Kronos’s army.

Neither of them wanted to put it to words, since she’d have to put him on trial. Though, both of them should already be put on trial for attempted and successful patricide.

“Take off your Mist mask,” she commanded.

Axel puffed up his cheeks and popped them. He opened his mouth, shut it, and ran the hand on his chin up his face and through his hair.

As his fingers brushed past his mouth, she could see white fangs, the length of her pinky. When his palm passed over his eyes, the Mist mask cracked. His eyes glistened a brilliant gold, the white disappearing to huge irises. His ears vanished, replaced by a layer of smooth, oddly patterned black hair.

Once his hand ran over the top of his head, a different set of ears appeared: triangular and fur-tufted. They remained flat back on his head when he dropped his hand. She recognized that expression from Aurum and Argentum: ashamed. Although Axel could masterfully control the slight frown on his lips, those ears gave away everything he was feeling.

His fingers now had short white claws. Obsidian blades were latched onto his forearms, previously hidden by the Mist. Upon further examination, she realized his calves had an animalistic arch.

He looked even more exhausted now, like dropping the magic mask was more difficult than keeping it up. She could tell he was waiting to see if she’d kick him out of her room or call animal control. This guy clearly hadn’t seen enough of Frank.

Reyna wasn’t sure what to say. This definitely wasn’t what she had expected. She was surprised to find, despite the animalistic features, he still looked ruggedly handsome. Just a little like something that belonged on a monster hunting show.

Axel released a shaky laugh. “Chiich said jaguar babies were a symbol of good luck. The village elders all thought it was a sign of favor from the old rain gods when Nilley gave birth to me. Jaguars are prevalent in Mesoamerican culture and…” He glanced at his hands. “I haven’t had anyone who can give me direct answers. Some of the elders said it was a gift from the Gods of the Underworld. Others thought it was a rebirth of Xbalanque.”

He shrugged. “You once asked me if I was a demigod or a legacy. I’m neither, but I never had answers and… after what Hecate did to me, I was even less sure. I am descendent from the Mopan line of kings, but none of my siblings are like me. Ajax is a Greek demigod. My little sister is an Egyptian magician, my little brother is a Japanese monk, and Kouta was a North American shifter.”

Reyna must have ripped her dagger out and set it down when he took off his mask. Her hand felt empty. Again, the fact that there were other mythological creatures running around didn’t bother her, but…

“How many people know about this?” she asked.

Axel shook his head. “Other than my family? I think it’s just Kally, a few of my old recruits that are still alive, and several gods. I’m not sure who else was conscious last time I lost control of my Mist.”

Reyna felt herself laugh. She didn’t intend to. All this time, she had suspected Axel might be a reincarnation of Luke, or a vengeful Krios, or Kronos. Not some Mesoamerican cat-guy.

“No wonder Frank said you smelled weird,” she said finally.

He cracked a smile through his fangs. “I get that a lot. I’ve been told I drive nature spirits crazy. I’m glad it didn’t startle you, though you don’t strike me as the type to startle easy.”

Reyna quieted her laughter to a serious tone. “You’re not scary,” she informed him.

“I would hope not, for a praetor of Rome. Else your troops would be in a bit of a bind when they confront real monsters,” he said. He relaxed noticeably. Slowly, his ears perked up.

Reyna wondered how afraid he’d been of showing her his real features. Although she’d been hoping that would answer a lot of her questions, it only clustered a set of others.

Axel leaned his chin on his hand again, examining her face. “You can touch my ears if you want.”

Reyna raised an eyebrow at him. “Excuse me?”

He shrugged. “You’re staring at them.”

She had been staring, but it was hard not to. She was used to the homeless fawns that wandered around Camp Jupiter and other hybrids. She wasn’t used to seeing someone she thought was human sprout animalistic features. Well—Frank didn’t count. He fully turned into the animals.

Axel stood up. Now that his Mist mask was gone, she could see that the curve to his legs made him several inches taller. He must have been well over six feet. Aurum and Argentum watched him carefully as he stepped around the coffee table to kneel beside her and expose his ears: an act of submission and something that left a warrior completely vulnerable.

This was not how Reyna had expected this interrogation to go. She thought about his attempted patricide, about his previous loyalty to Kronos, and the way the Little Tiber tried to drown him.

When Aphrodite’s words drifted through her memory, Reyna felt her chest get heavy. “No demigod will heal your heart.”

No. Someone from Kronos’s army wasn’t someone she should get close to. And the warning on that note, something you know you desperately desire and don’t know that you already hate. What could that mean? She’d handled Jason’s and Percy’s rejections. They’d never really shown an interest. But Axel… he wasn’t a praetor of Rome. He wouldn’t make a logical or useful ally. He was just someone who had made her laugh with a circus performance and had helped her beat up the Ares Cabin last time she went to Camp Half-Blood.

Despite her wariness and reservations, Reyna reached out. She needed to know. The thought of not trying made her chest ache.

Axel’s ears twitched violently when her hand got near. He clenched his jaw. “That tickles,” he muttered as she felt the soft fur that intermixed with his coarse human hair. His ears stopped twitching when she settled her hand. Axel leaned into her touch.

“Do you have malicious intentions for New Rome?” she asked.

Axel shook his head under her hand. “No… not anymore. I just want Ajax and the others to be safe.”

Not anymore…

“If you pose any threat or slip up once, I’ll kill you,” she said.

Axel laughed softly. “I would expect no less. But you’d have to be able to kill me first.” He looked up at her. Although he still looked exhausted and sad, his eyes held the smallest gleam of playfulness. As he raised his chin, her hand fell from between his ears to touch the scars on his face.

You’re a praetor of New Rome, she reminded herself, and withdrew her hand.

Reyna stood and scowled at him.

“We have some of the best grief and PTSD counselors available here,” she said, making her voice as chilly as she could. “While we don’t normally serve those exterior to the legion, I can make an exception while you’re here, especially for Euna. We’ll make sure everyone is properly cared since you are guests, and we’ll get you on your way to Chiron as soon as possible. However—” She lifted her dagger and slipped it into its sheath with a snap. “—you will be carefully watched, especially you and your brother. If you step out of line, the senate will try and punish you accordingly.”

Axel sighed and his ears drooped back against his hairline. She was annoyed how much the sight upset her. It was like when Aurum or Argentum thought they’d done something wrong when she accidentally bumped into them.

He stood up beside her, rising to his full height and pulling his shoulders back as best he could. He was well over six feet tall without the Mist making him look shorter. For a moment, she thought he might collapse, but he managed to maintain his balance. Once up, he muttered a few words in Mayan, rubbing his face.

With each motion, the fangs, gold eyes, claws, and ears disappeared, replaced by dark eyes, human ears and normal teeth. Now that she knew what he actually looked like, the Mist mask blurred between his actual features and the illusion.

Once done, he stood at attention. “Thank you, Praetor. I hope to one day be able to pay you back for your kindness.”

They paused for what would have been a respectful amount of time for two leaders to recognize one another. Then Axel puffed up his cheeks and popped them. “Last time we met, we made a wager for a rematch,” he said. “I know the conditions aren’t ideal, but do you want to find out which one of us owes the other hot chocolate?”

“Are you going to fight one handed?” she asked, examining his shoulder.

“If it comes to it.”

Reyna debated internally for a moment. “Very well,” she said. “I train with some of the more impressive soldiers at five in the morning tomorrow. I don’t think anyone would complain if there was some new meat.”

“I’ll do my best not to disappoint.” He smiled and, for a brief flicker of broken Mist, she could see his ears perk up.

Reyna was more exhausted than pleased about how giddy the movement made her. She didn’t want Axel to make her giddy. This Mayan had done nothing to earn her trust, or the trust of New Rome. Until she found out what was actually happening between him, Phobetor, these other gods, and his friends, she couldn’t let herself do this.

However, judging by how much more he opened up when they were alone, maybe a date over some hot chocolate would be the fastest way to more answers.

 [1] Yucatec Mayan for Grandmother. I’m sorry guys. There are a lot of dialects of Mayan, and until I can get back to Belize, you’re going to get a nasty bastardization of all of them for the Pax brothers.  I expect all you Mayan speakers out there to yell at me for this :P

Thank you so much for reading! :D I hope you enjoyed! It’s weird having romance in this book... well, that isn’t comical and Pax-screwing-up-worthy. Or is it going to be...?

Also, @traitorthot, delivered as promised XD Just half a year later than we discussed!