Alright, so this is finally here. I think I talked about this in my other two fics and my one-shot like two weeks ago. This is my new multi-chapter fic, cause two huge projects weren't enough .. Oh, and if you want to know the title, it is latin for 'Only True Love'. One thing before we begin the long author intro note.
Notice: Posting days will be going through some changes in the up coming weeks. I'm about to be working with four stories, so I want to give time to each one. Therefore, I will make separate days for each of them. Sola Amor Veritas (in-universe) will be on Mondays, Children of Loss (new fic) will be posted on Fridays, A Tale of Love and Thrones will be on Tuesdays and I will use Saturday as my extra chapter day, Choke will be on Sunday. So, everyone prepare yourself for those changes. They will start this next week. So not this one, but the next. This one will be normal, and then on Sunday I'll start it by posting Choke. Though, as you can see this won't make a difference for this fic.
This will be completely in-universe. Everything that has happened through the Son of Neptune is canon here. The personalities will be as they normally would in the books, but I took the small liberty of maturing them. Because as we age we change personality wise. This will take place two years after SoN. Also I know in a lot of other fics authors give Nico hellfire. Yea...don't expect that here. Like I said. Canon. Nico doesn't have hellfire, as my beta has pointed out to me many times. Believe me, I wish he did. Cause that is badass. However, it turns out that in Greek culture the idea of the underworld isn't a place of fire and brimstone. So, therefore, he doesn't have hellfire. Believe me, I even tried to convince Braigi to let me by brining up the time Nico opened the earth and fire shot out in book 3. Nope. Wasn't his power. In fact the only time I can make fire erupt from the ground is when Nico opens the earth to the underworld.
Oh, and Percy will be at Camp Jupiter. Why? Because he is praetor, and you can't just stop being that once you are one. He has to serve his term. Sucks for Jason. The idea behind this was originally going to be Percy going to Camp Half-blood for the summer and seeing Nico after not seeing him for a year, but then adapted to this for sake of in-universe. Since, Percy will likely have to return to Camp Jupiter when they are done, if he survives. Cough. Anyways, I thought more about the plot of the story and decided to go with something from Aphrodite. She wanted to make Percy's love life the next epic romance. What if it wasn't with Annabeth? Percy/Nico action go!
Chapter 1
Nico kept his eyes narrowed, glaring at the new kid from Apollo cabin. Apparently the Ares kids were engaging in their daily bullying event. If this hadn't been the tenth time a camper had come up to him, he probably would have been more sympathetic to the kid, but it was starting to get old. The other older campers were still wary of him for being the son of the God of Death, but they had become more accepting of him. The new kids, however, kept away from him after learning his parentage. Until they needed something, like this kid. So, he turned a glare on and let a little fear radiate towards the kid, but the kid wouldn't leave him be. He held a hand up to silence the boy and let out a heavy sigh. "If I go talk to Clarisse about this will you please not bother me anymore about the issue?" The small boy nodded and began to stumble away.
Nico found Clarisse with two of her half-brothers cornering a boy from Demeter. Nico raised his hand as Clarisse took a step towards the boy and a piece of rock shot up from the ground, causing the girl to trip. She looked up from the ground at Nico with a scowl. "Hasn't Annabeth told you to stop bullying the campers? Especially the new campers?" Nico asked with a blank expression. The Demeter boy used this moment to slip away from Clarisse and her friends.
"Stay out of this, di Angelo. You aren't the boss of me. I'm a cabin leader like you."
"Well, that is true, but if you recall, I'm helping Annabeth assist Jason in picking up the slack now that Percy is gone. I'm not one to wave authority around, but I'm just saying that I'd hate to have to embarrass you in front of your two brothers here." Clarisse's nostrils flared. Then her eyes flickered to Nico's hand, which was spinning the ring on his other hand. The grass around the dark boy withered and an eerie chill ran through the air. The girl's scowl fell and her brothers helped her up and they quietly walked away from Nico.
"Thanks for that." Nico turned at the sound of Jason's voice. He stood a few feet from Nico with his arms crossed. Nico wasn't sure how to describe their relationship. They weren't exactly friends, but Nico had been helping him take care of running the camp for the past year. Having lived at Camp Jupiter for most of his life, the son of Jupiter hadn't adjusted to their way of life at camp entirely, and he had felt a little overwhelmed at the idea of being responsible for camp here. Nico couldn't help but feel a little cold towards the boy. He partly viewed it as Jason's fault Percy wasn't at Camp Half-blood anymore, even though he knew Percy was praetor at Camp Jupiter now. It wasn't Jason's fault, but Nico felt better with someone to blame. "I was just on my way to find Clarisse myself about their bullying," the blonde said after a moment of silence.
"Don't mention it," Nico mumbled. Jason frowned a little at the boy. Nico knew Jason was attempting to be friendly with him, he was thankful for the help Nico and Annabeth had been giving him. However, at the same time, he was still a little upset with Nico for lying back during the war. Nico had known who Jason was. So, Nico had stopped going to Camp Half-blood, out of fear of what would happen when the blonde remembered him. Annabeth had been mad at him too, for not telling her Percy's location. Well, that last one wasn't exactly his fault, since he had gotten captured by Gaea for discovering the Doors of Death.
Needless to say, when they had found Nico in Rome, it hadn't been a warm rescue party. Even Percy had been mad at Nico for lying to him. Nico had begged Percy to forgive him during their entire trip to Greece. It was only when Nico brought up the fact that Hera probably would have smote him if he had told Percy who the boy was that Percy had forgiven him. Nico was happy to know that the son of Poseidon was at least concerned for his wellbeing, if that didn't show from Percy coming to save him in Rome. Though, that could have been partly for Hazel.
It still made him smile inside that he mattered to Percy. It had all started out innocently enough, he had looked at Percy like a hero, mainly because he was one. It was around the time of the battle with Kronos that he started to notice a change in his feelings. By the time he had gone to collect Percy to take him to Luke's mother, he had come to accept that he was crushing on Percy. He had told himself he would hide it, but Percy had made him blush. It was just a simple question of if Nico had been there to see Juniper, but the truth of the matter made his cheeks burn. He had been there to see Percy. It was for business purposes, but it didn't change the fact he was spending time with the older boy.
When Percy had vanished, Nico had nearly gone crazy. He traveled the lands of both the living and the dead to search for the missing demigod. It wasn't until Jason had appeared at Camp Half-blood that Nico had suspected where Percy might be. He watched Camp Jupiter, but unfortunately the boy hadn't shown. Then one day Nico had gone to see Hazel, and there Percy was. It hurt Nico so much to lie to the boy. He wanted to tell Percy who he was, but he knew he couldn't defy a goddess in her plans to stop Gaea.
Jason nodded at him and Nico decided to walk off. He wanted to head back to his cabin, but he figured he should stop by and tell Annabeth that he took care of the Clarisse issue. He didn't really get along with the daughter of Athena, either. He felt resentful towards her because she got Percy, when he knew he could never have the green eyed sea prince. He suspected the girl might be on to his crush, but he never could get proof. Annabeth was just as secretive as he was, sometimes. It was just something in her eyes that sparked whenever Percy's name was mentioned around Nico. It was that knowing look that she was famous for.
He hadn't even seen Percy since the son of Poseidon had returned to Camp Jupiter after visiting his mother in New York. That had been a little over a year ago. Nico wanted to go visit Percy, but between helping with Camp Half-Blood and visiting his dad to see if the God of Death had any work for him he was pretty busy. It wasn't the same here without the green eyed boy, no the man. Percy was nineteen now, technically he'd be a man. A young man, but a man nonetheless. Another reason Percy would never be with him, Nico was still fifteen. Even if by some miracle Percy did like guys, Nico was still underage. He let out a long sigh as he entered the big house where Annabeth seemed to be using an Iris message. It sounded like someone was yelling. "Annabeth," Nico called to her. She looked at Nico from the corner of her eyes before returning to the Iris message. She finished up her conversation quickly and waved her hand through the mist.
She looked close to tears as she approached Nico. "What is it, Nico?" she asked, with a hint of a sniffle.
"I-I was just going to tell you that I dealt with Clarisse and her cabin." She nodded at him. The two of them stood there for a moment awkwardly. She wiped at her eyes and cleared her throat.
"Thanks. Sorry, I was just talking to Percy."
Nico perked up at the son of Poseidon's name. "Oh. What about? You don't look happy like you usually do when it's about Percy."
"It's nothing to worry about, I'll be fine. He and I will both be fine. It was for the best." She brushed past Nico and headed for her cabin, leaving a confused Nico staring after her.
"You're really going to do this through Iris messaging?" Percy asked as he looked away from the image of Annabeth. He wore a slight scowl and his jaw tightened.
"It's not like coming out there is easy, unless you want me using Nico as a taxi service. The distance is the problem, Percy. You are still at Camp Jupiter. Have you forgotten where your real home is?" Annabeth replied. She was starting to get annoyed.
After the war with Gaea and the Giants, Percy and the others returned to Camp Jupiter for a celebration feast before the Greeks would return to Camp Half-blood. However, Octavian was quick to remind everyone that Jason was no longer praetor, since Percy now claimed that title. Jason had been a little resentful of that fact when he learned he couldn't have his place back. Jason had ended up leaving with the Greeks, he had wanted to stay with Piper anyways. So, he and Percy had stuck to trading places. Percy couldn't just stop being praetor, so he stuck it out. He missed his friends back home, but he also had responsibilities here.
It had taken almost an entire year to complete the war with Gaea. Percy had turned eighteen while he had been away. He had asked Reyna if he could go back with the Greeks so that he could see his mother. She had granted him the request, since the woman hadn't seen her son in almost two years. His mother had broken down in tears when she had seen him, relieved that he was alright. She was sad, but understood the fact that he had to return to Camp Jupiter.
She had talked to Paul about the two of them moving, and Paul set off to look at job offers nearby New Rome. It actually hadn't been that hard, as Reyna pulled some strings with a veteran she knew and the man got Paul a really good job. Though, the veteran said that they were happy to have Paul, with his qualifications. They probably would have taken him without the assistance. Close to two months later, Paul and his mom had moved to Berkeley, so visiting was easy for them. Paul started his job teaching at the University of California Berkeley. His mom came and visited Percy on days he was swamped with his duties. It was weird seeing his mom on camp grounds, but Reyna said, as his mother, she was allowed to do so.
"I can't help that I have responsibilities here, Annabeth. I want to see you, but like you said, it's not that easy. We are both running camps now. I wish I could be there, I really do. Maybe I'll return once my term as praetor is over."
"Percy, those terms last a long time."
"Then why don't you move out here? Life is good out here. Demigods can actually have a normal life here. Don't you want that?"
"Percy, I want to be with you, I really do. I just have responsibilities here. Jason can't manage all of this by himself."
"He's not by himself. Chiron is there. You also have Grover and Dionysus. The other cabin leaders help out too."
"It's not that simple, Percy." Percy turned away from her again. "You had the most responsibility while you were here, and now that is falling onto Jason's shoulders. He's not used to it. He's still adjusting to our way of life at Camp Half-Blood. So, I've taken up more responsibility to ease the burden on him."
Percy let out a long sigh. He ran a hand through his dark hair before he sat down on his bed and stared back at the image of Annabeth. "This isn't fair. I don't want to have to break up. Can't you get one of the others to help Jason? What about Nico? You said he's been busy helping with the slack."
"He has, and I don't feel comfortable putting more on to him. He's only fifteen, he should be enjoying camp, not trying to help run it." Percy had been surprised to learn that the son of Hades had spent more time at Camp Half-Blood. It hurt Percy a little that the boy had started going more after Percy was no longer there, but he didn't voice this. He hadn't even seen his friend in the year that had passed since they returned from the war. "I'm sorry, Percy, but I don't see us working out like this."
Percy rubbed at his forehead. There was a slight pain in his chest, this hurt. "We've been through so much together, though, Annabeth. It feels like you are throwing all of that away. What about Rome?" Annabeth pursed her lips at the memory of what her and Percy went through while they were in Rome.
"Please don't make this about me. I'm not throwing everything away. We just can't really make this work when we are so far apart. I'm sorry, Percy."
Percy shut his eyes. "Please, just stop saying sorry!" Annabeth flinched at Percy's raised voice. Percy heard someone call Annabeth's name in the distance.
"I have to go, Percy." She paused for a moment, eyes trained on Percy's. "I'm so-I just can't do this anymore, Percy. We're breaking up." With that she cut off the Iris message. Percy fell back on his bed. He stared up at the ceiling of the praetor's house, his house. Annabeth had been angry with Percy when he first told her he was going to be staying at Camp Jupiter as praetor. She had talked about breaking up then, but Percy convinced her they could make it work. How wrong he was.
Percy just wanted to lie there the rest of the day, but he knew he had responsibilities to worry about. He had started college at New Rome when he came back from New York. It had been Annabeth's wish that he try and stick with his education if he was going to live out there, and she agreed that a college for demigods might be better for him. He spent all of his other time fulfilling his job as praetor. This meant spending more time with Reyna, and the two had actually become pretty good friends considering her feelings about him after the whole Circe incident. He finally stood and grabbed Riptide from its place on his nightstand and slipped it into his pocket. He made his way outside and headed for the Principia.
Reyna smiled at him as he took his place in the chair next to her. He let one of his hands go down and rub one of her dogs behind the ear. "Are you alright?" Reyna asked, having noticed Percy's sour expression. He just nodded and kept his eyes forward. This part was probably his least favorite of his duties as praetor. Partially because he would be listening to Octavian for the next hour or so.
Percy tried to drown out most of what Octavian was saying, as his heart was not in the mood for this today. He did notice the glares Octavian would give him every now and then from Percy's bored and emotionless expression. Percy just crossed his arms and slumped down slightly in his chair. Finally, Octavian cleared his throat to draw Percy's attention. The dark haired man tossed Octavian a dark glare, but straightened a little. They spent some time discussing the next war games, and possible new quests. There weren't any major ones these days, and it seemed life had finally come to be at peace. Well, as much peace as you can get with monsters still trying to kill demigods. There just weren't Titans or Giants trying to destroy Mount Olympus.
Finally, Percy was excused. He bolted for the door as soon as Reyna called an end to the meeting. He was in such a hurry that he bumped into Hazel and the two of them tumbled to the ground. Frank leaned down and lifted the two of them back up by their arms. "You ok, Percy? You seem to be in a hurry." Frank asked. Hazel looked at him with concern as she brushed herself off.
"I'm fine," Percy mumbled.
Hazel's eyes widened for a second and a smile formed on her lips. "Oh, I almost forgot I had something I wanted to tell you."
"What's up?"
"Guess who is coming to visit for my birthday." Percy thought for a moment. It really shouldn't have been that hard, considering the lack of people Hazel would get excited over getting a visit from. Percy smiled to himself a little. Well there was some good news today after all.
"When is he getting here?"
"Well, he is still busy today, so he said he would pop in tomorrow. I told him I figured you would be happy to see him." Percy nodded. He waved at the couple and headed back to his praetor house. He may have gotten good news about a visit from his friend, but that didn't change the fact that he had just gotten dumped earlier. Reyna would come get him if he was needed. He just wanted to be alone as much as possible today.
So, how was that? The scene where Nico blushed was actually in the books. The part where he comes to get Percy to take him to see Luke's mom. I'm going to try and keep the things between SoN and this fic vague, since Mark of Athena isn't out yet. I thought it would be good to have Nico already crushing on Percy. Percy is more in shock than depression at the moment. Next chapter, breakdown. Also next chapter, reunion! I'm just going to say I'm not too sure how the posting schedule will go. Me and Braigi agreed on an every other posting day thing. It'll probably be 30 chapters, at most. If I see I have plenty of time to write a chapter, along with my other three stories, I'll consider moving it to every week. That is if Braigi agrees. I don't want to overload him with having to beta four stories on a weekly basis. Posting day was made so me and him could have down time. Anyways, I'll see you in chapter 2, not sure when it'll be out like I said. Just keep an eye out for it.