Don't Need a Superman
Angsty Nico. Trying-to-be-helpful-but-failing-Jason. Stuff ensues.
Nico di Angelo was gay. Only one other person knew, and that was Jason Grace. Which didn't make Nico happy. He wasn't happy that anyone knew to begin with, but it was worse since it was Jason Perfect Grace.
Jason just wouldn't let it go.
He wasn't insulting Nico- No, it wasn't like that at all. He was being nicer, and more buddy-buddy with Nico instead.
Which, in a way, was worse.
Nico had told Hazel at least six times that "I can take an insult better than a compliment, or a stab at friendship." It was true, too. The son of Hades could ignore hate. But how do you ignore friendship?
Especially if they won't stop?
It eventually became too much for Nico to handle. So he locked himself up in his room. Really, it wasn't his room. It was Percy's. However, until the son of the sea god came back, Nico had resided in his room.
It smelled of him. It smelled like the ocean, and salt, and sand.
Nico had never been to a beach. He saw no reason to go to the one at Camp Half-Blood. Yet, he somehow knew that this is what a beach smells like. Percy smells like the beach. The beach smells like Percy.
Interrupting his almost poetic train of thought, Jason knocked on the door.
"Nico?" He called, "You okay, man?" Nico huffed in annoyance. He wanted to scream at Jason. He wanted to make the son of Jupiter to leave him alone. He wanted to threaten him, Stygian sword and all, just so he could get some peace.
He opened the door instead.
"Nico!" Jason almost exclaimed. He looked surprised that the door had opened at all, as if he wasn't expecting that of Nico. "Hey. You weren't at dinner, so I figured that you might be hungry or something, so I brought you a plate and goblet."
Nico only stared back.
"You know, dude! One of those where you say what you want and it automatically-"
"You were right," Nico said irritably, "I do know. Thanks, but no thanks." He glared at the older boy standing in his- no, Percy's- doorway. "I'm fine." He made an effort to push past Jason, but the Roman stood still, blocking Nico's hasty retreat.
"Nico, look, we consider you our friend. As our friend, you should really eat with us, or at least eat period." A confused look crossed Jason's face. "Actually, I have only seen you eat a single grape in the whole time I've known you. How are you not dead yet?" Nico rolled his eyes and continued glaring. " If this about the whole being-" Nico cut him off. He didn't know if he could stand hearing him say it.
"Look," Nico started, staring at Jason with cold, steely eyes, " This isn't about that. I'm just not hungry. You can stop pretending to care about me, because I know you don't, and just get on with your life. I'm over it, and him, and I'm over you trying to be so perfect and nice to me. I know I'm a freak, and I scare you guys, even though you and Percy are much more powerful than me, and I know I'm weird, and that everyone would love to have me off this ship. But I made a promise to Percy. That's the only reason I'm still here. As soon as I fulfill my promise, and this war is over, I'll be gone, and you won't have to worry about me. So stop trying to help me, because I don't need a Superman!" Jason was too stunned to speak. This time, when Nico pushed past, Jason let him.
Jason hadn't tried to talk about it quite as much as usual after that. Nico was glad. It seemed that Jason had finally understood that Nico didn't need a Superman.
Nico had always been more of an Aquaman type of person.