Hello FFN world! I'm kinda back again.

The idea for this story began festering after rereading a John Green novel and glancing at a Tumblr post. I've no idea where it's going, but I'm hoping for a happy ending. Because I wanted a semi-normal update schedule, all these chapters will be shorter than my normal length. Now, seeing as I feel the need for one this time…

Disclaimer: Excluding the witty plot, obvious headcanons, and character development throughout, I own nothing. Riordan owns my babies…I mean, the characters.. All real life facts have been supplied by creditable websites. If information is incorrect, I apologize ahead of time.

Pairings: Nico/Percy (main) with Bianca/Thalia, Jason/Reyna, and a few more briefly mentioned/hinted at. Both Nico and Percy have past relationships, but let's not give those away just yet.

Coffee Clarity

Americano*

"Why are you being so positive!?"

"Why are you being so negative?"

Nico took a sharp breath. Bianca was complete infuriating, the way she acted so calm. She acted as if there wasn't a problem in the world. She pretended like everything was perfectly fine and she was going to live forever. Well, she wasn't, and couldn't help but Nico worried.

He didn't think there was a time when he wasn't worried about his older sister. Her immune system had always been shit. She was always missing school because of some illness when they were kids. As a child, Nico hadn't been able to stop worrying about her. It was only made worse when Bianca turned twelve and was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease. She'd taken it the best a preteen could and overcome it in the end. That was until she had relapsed.

When he was younger, it was easier for Nico to buy into Bianca's positive bullshit. She was trying to save her little brother from a world of worry and it had worked. Nico had believed his sister was invincible. He believed that she was phasing through something, that she would come back better than ever. She had. When the cancer was gone, Bianca had bounced back.

Nico wasn't naïve this time. He'd done his research. He knew that Bianca's hair falling out wasn't a sign of regeneration, but a side effect of her treatment. He knew what the odds looked like when the cancer came back and he was scared. He couldn't lose his big sister. It didn't matter if he wasn't a child any longer, he would always need her. That was why her laidback attitude was having such an effect on him. Didn't Bia realize that he cared? She acted as if she was okay with dying and leaving them all behind.

He couldn't stay in the same room with her when she was like that. He couldn't listen to their doctor tell Bianca her options and her laugh as if something positive would come out of it. There was nothing positive about their situation. She could die yet she cracked jokes. She told everyone to "stop looking so depressed". She made a party out of it and Nico couldn't pretend to be happy this time. So he left.

The Italian wouldn't be gone long. In fact, Nico had already stolen two coffees from the nurse's station, planning to bring one to Bia as a peace offering. He'd head back, after the doctor had finished speaking with her. Their father could tell him about Bianca's options later. Getting the news from Papa, who saw the seriousness of the situation like himself, would be easier than listening to Bianca wave off the gravity of her life.

Nico glanced down at his own coffee. It was too watered down for his taste, but Bianca would enjoy it. She'd appreciate the gesture, at least, then grumble about it requiring more sugar. That was how his sister had always been.

"Hey. Come on. Look up." Fingers were snapped right in front of his face, causing Nico to stumble backwards and, very nearly, cover himself in coffee. The speaker snickered. "Sorry. Just wondering if you could do me a favor. The nurses are refusing to give me a coffee. Something about eating since my appetite's back. Bullshit, right? Anyway, you've got two cups. Can I have one?"

Nico raised his eyebrow at the teen. He wasn't very impressive. The teen was at least a head shorter than Nico and wobbling on his feet. The guy's skin was an odd shade too, as if it was once that cliché sun-kissed tanned but had paled with illness. The least impressive thing about the guy was his obnoxious grin and blue beanie, as if he was trying to resemble a skater without actually being one.

"Did it ever occur that I swiped the second coffee for someone of importance and not some scrawny wannabe skater?"

"Ah! You wound me so!" Skater slapped a hand over his heart. "I am of importance! Maybe not to you, but I'm of importance to someone else. Don't downplay my importance because you don't know me, yet. Mad, that's what you are. Completely mad."

Nico snorted. "You've been watching too much BBC if you think you can get away with that use of the word 'mad'."

Skater had the audacity to grin. "Yeah, but only a little. I stole my friend's laptop for the day and have been bingeing on Baker's series. Makes the whole hospital shit less annoying when I get to watch the Fourth Doctor solving universal problems. Know what I mean?"

He felt a smile playing on his own face. "Baker's your favorite?"

"He's my mom's favorite, so I didn't have much of a choice but to like him when we've watched his DVD over and over," he shrugged. "Ten's cool, though." He licked his lips. "I could definitely drool over him for hours. Sadly, I don't have his DVD. Yet!"

Nico laughed and shook his head. "Whatever you say. Personally, I'm more of a Nine fan. Eccleston's portal of the Doctor won me over."

Skater nodded in approval. "Yes! Eccleston was great. He was like a puppy in a leather jacket. Ten still wins my favorite for the drool factor, though."

The Italian gave a nod. Okay. Maybe skater wasn't exactly a skater, or a wannabe skater. He wasn't that bad. Nico held out one of the coffees. "You've kept me entertained and therefore earned an offering. Enjoy your illegal drink."

"Yeesssssssss!" Skater eagerly took the cup, drinking it overenthusiastically. "Damn. That's weak, and not very hot." He sneered. "Bring me better coffee next time."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think I'll be bringing you coffee again?" Or that we'll see each other again? Yes, Nico planned on being there every week for Bianca's treatment, but there was no telling if Skater would ever cross his path again.

"Call it Fate. She likes giving me hints sometimes as compensation for fucking up my life." Skater winked. "See you around, Sexy." He took a large gulp of his coffee before walking off. Nico tried to follow the skater with his eyes, but there were too many people and Skater was swallowed in them.

The irrational part of him hoped he would run into Skater again. He could use someone like that in his life, someone that was so carefree and just rolled with the punches. As Bianca had said, he was still a teenager and needed to relax. The rational part argued that no, he didn't need anyone. He needed to be there for his sister if Bianca's cancer decided to nosedive. He wouldn't waste time on silly things when Bianca might not be around much longer.

There was only one thing he was certain of. Next treatment day, he was swiping coffee again.

*Americano-a shot or two of expresso with hot water added

Yes, all my chapters will be named after coffees. Most of the time it'll have a "greater mean" that can be found based on something to do with the coffee. Example. This chapter is called Americano because of how Nico sees Percy, a wannabe skater.