It's Okay to be a Kid

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

As I walked up the steps of the New York condo, I hesitated before knocking on the door. I hadn't seen Percy in three years. I had refused to come to Annabeth's funeral, I had refused when Leo had Iris messaged me and told me I needed to come back to Camp last summer and see Percy. I had refused everything, completely blocked everyone out.

And now, here I was, about to see Percy again, that is, if he'd see me. The two small metal statues were secure in my jacket pockets. Why I'd even listened to Leo this last time, I don't know. Maybe it had been the tone of his voice when he told me that Percy needed someone that finally made me listen.

The door creaks open to reveal Percy's step-dad, Paul Blofis. He smiles at me, his eyes crinkling. "Hello, Nico. Long time. I assume you're here to see Percy?" he asks.

"Yes, sir." I say, nodding.

"Come on in." he says, moving aside to let me in.

He leads me down a hallway with pictures lining the walls and then gestures to a door painted the color of storm clouds, the color of Annabeth's eyes. I wondered if it had always been that color, or if Percy had painted it that color after Annabeth had died.

Paul leaves and I knock on the door. A few seconds later, a tall, skinny boy with shaggy black hair opens it. His sea green eyes were sunken in and there were dark circles under his eyes. He looked ragged and weary, like he'd just battled three giants at once.

"Nico." he says, his voice rough.

"Hi, Percy." I say, taking in the sight of him.

"What are you doing here?" he asks. I could tell by the tone of his voice that he wasn't quite pleased to see me.

I move past him and enter the room. Food wrappers and empty bottles of coke littered the floor, along with dirty clothes and various pieces of armor. The bed was unmade and messy.

I kick a pile of clothes and trash away from a portion of the floor and sit down. I pat the floor and Percy rolls his eyes and sighs, closing the door and sitting down across from me.

"Where have you been, Nico?" he asks, his voice like venom.

"I—Percy, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I haven't been here for three years, I'm sorry I haven't been here for you. It was just too hard." I blurt out.

He looks a bit shocked that I had apologized. His walls deteriorate and the angry expression on his face crumbles. His lip trembles slightly and tears brim his eyes.

"It was so horrible, Nico." he sobs, pulling his knees up to his chest. I was shocked, I had never seen Percy cry before. It wasn't something I liked seeing either.

"I know." I say, my voice soft, surprising myself at how gentle I sounded.

"We got out of Tartarus and then we battled Gaea. We won, we came home, the war between us and the Romans had been settled, everything was perfect, and then Annabeth got sick and she—" he chokes.

"I know. I know what it's like, Percy, loosing someone you care about." I say.

"And then you left, and you wouldn't come back, no matter how many times everyone begged you to. You left us, like we didn't mean anything to you anymore. Why did you leave, Nico?" he asks, looking at me with red-rimmed eyes.

"I—I'm here to make up for that now." I say.

"How can you make up for three years?!" he yells, standing up and looking down at me, his eyes burning.

I look up at him, completely calm, even though he looked like he was about ready to snap and kill me. I take his hand and pull him back down to the floor. He was shaking badly.

I take the two statues out of my jacket and force one into his hand.

"Nico, what the hell is this? I'm not a kid, I don't play with action figures anymore." he says.

"One time, a long time ago, someone told me that it's okay to be a kid every once and a while." I say, looking at the Hades statue in my hand and smiling slightly.

The eyes of the statue seemed to glimmer, as if saying, "You're doing good, Nico. You're doing good."

I look at Percy and he meets my eyes. A small, watery smile comes to his lips. "Alright." he says, smacking the Poseidon statue into mine.

I grin and fight back, making battle sounds like swords crashing against each other and battle cries. If someone were to walk in right now, they would be very confused finding a twenty year old and a seventeen year old playing with action figures.

I knew at that instant that I was going to help Percy get back to himself. I'd be his friend and encourage him on. It'd help him, and it'd help me. We'd be alright.

A/N:

I had the idea of doing this little one-shot a few months ago, but I just now got the inspiration to do it. I dunno if this would ever actually happen in the books, Annabeth dying and Percy deteriorating without her. But I'd like to think that if it ever did, and I pray to the gods it doesn't, Nico would be there for Percy, help him get back on his feet.

XOXO,

Mrs-diAngelo25