Disclaimer: I could never come up with the beautiful world of Percy Jackson.
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Nico stood over the black water, watching as it flowed and splashed off the curves of the shore. Millions of unfulfilled dreams swirled past him. Diplomas, deeds, pictures— all forgotten and discarded.
They only served as reminders.
He squeezed his eyes shut as another flashback overtook him.
Suddenly he was surrounded by screams and flashes of bloody skin and t-shirts. He could do nothing to prevent the image of the young body writhing in pain from searing through his head.
The worst thing was that there was nothing he could have done.
It wasn't his fault, and he knew that, but still the nightmares plagued him.
Once Nico had fought back the images, at least for now, he continued down the river bank.
Ahead the river bent away from him, heading towards the darkest pits of hell. The now useless junk piled up on the outside of the turn.
A single picture flew out of the water as the river smacked off the shore.
Nico's eyes followed it as it drifted through the hot air to land at his feet.
He paused for a moment, conflict tearing through him.
Should he look? Should he continue on? Was it really his business to look at the physical evidence of some poor soul's misery?Could he handle what he might see?
Nico closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Whatever it was, it couldn't be worse than the images plaguing his mind. He squatted down to study the photo.
He was wrong.
This picture was worse.
He couldn't handle it.
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The palace was darker and more ominous than Nico remembered.
It had been a long time since he had gone to stay with his father.
Nico didn't miss it.
Everywhere Nico looked everything stank of black.
The walls were obsidian, the floors where the darkest marble, even the drapes were constructed of the darkest souls to ever die.
He had loved the extreme dark, the shadows, the isolation of it all. He'd loved the feel of death and doom around him. He had relished his time in the underworld, when he didn't have to face the brightness of the world above.
But now he loved the big windows of his New York City apartment. He loved the bright furnishings and the sweet, open (though out of place) smell of sea water. Most of all he loved the man he had thought would never love him.
But now all of that was probably over.
Over because Nico had screwed up.
He had turned away for just a second. He had only wanted to buy her one of those stupid Bugs Bunny popsicles that she loved. He had just wanted to make her even happier as she played on the playground.
But he had forgotten where he was. You can't turn away for one gods-damned second in New York. Not. One. Freaking. Moment.
The sickening sound of that gunshot echoed through Nico's head as he collapsed in Hades' marble foyer.
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Percy sat on the couch in his mom's apartment. He couldn't believe that it had actually happened.
Wait. No. That's not entirely true.
He knew there was a damn good possibility she would die young. She was the daughter of a demigod for Zeus' sake.
But not this young. Not this way.
And of course then Nico had to go and sink into the closest shadow the moment an opportunity presented itself. Hades only knew where he was now.
Tears burned in Percy's eyes and he struggled to blink them away.
Nico had taken her to the park. He should have been paying more attention to her.
No.
Percy swiped at his eye with the back of his hand.
It wasn't Nico's fault. It definitely wasn't Nico's fault.
It was Percy's.
Nico didn't grow up in this world. He wasn't used to the dangers. Especially in freaking New York.
Percy should have reminded Nico. He should've been there.
Percy's shoulders shook with a sob.
"Oh, Percy," Sally whispered, setting a mug on the table in front of her son and sitting beside him on the couch.
Percy leaned into his mom as she wrapped her arms around him.
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Nico walked along the River Styx once more, this time away from the palace.
He needed that photo.
Already he was starting to forget what she looked like when she was happy and healthy.
He just kept picturing her lying in the mulch under the swings. A hole in her left side, just under her ribs. Blood staining her favorite blue dress.
Nico shuddered and paused mid-step, squeezing his eyes shut.
Stop.
Stop thinking about it.
Nico pictured her on her last birthday. Her black hair in braids, her green eyes lighting up as Percy cut into the blue cake Sally had made.
Nico smiled sadly and swallowed, continuing slowly.
The pile-up of papers and other memorabilia was just ahead of him.
But, wait—where was the picture? Where was it?
Nico kicked through piles.
It had to be there
He hadn't imagined it. Had he?
No.
No. It was there.
It was there.
It was around here somewhere.
He just had to look.
It was under something.
Something else had gotten out of the river.
Had covered it up.
Yes.
That must be it.
It must just be under something.
But under what?
Where was it?
Oh, gods, where was it?
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Percy sighed and pulled his keys out of his pocket reluctantly.
The elevator dinged open on his floor.
Percy trudged out into the hallway.
The last thing he wanted to do was go back into that apartment.
That apartment was her home. The only home she had ever known.
Her toys would be all over the floor and the couch. Her breakfast dishes would be in the sink where Percy had tossed them before he went to his job interview. He knew Nico hadn't washed them before they'd left for the park.
Percy paused at the door, leaning his forehead next to the peep hole.
He remembered Nico explaining to her what that hole in the door was for. How he had told her she wasn't allowed to answer the door until she was tall enough to look through that hole first.
Percy groaned.
He wanted to do anything but open that door.
But he had to open that door.
He hadn't seen Nico in a week. Not since they stood side-by-side in suits. The first time they'd done so since their wedding.
Of course, the latter was a far more enjoyable occasion than the former.
Hopefully Nico would be on the other side of that door.
Then they could talk. They could work everything out.
They would be okay.
As okay as they would ever be again.
Percy pulled himself off the door and jammed the key in the lock.
He took a deep breath and turned the knob, pushing the door open.
Nothing.
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Nico woke on the hard ground.
Something tugged on his foot.
He groaned and kicked at whatever the source was.
His feet burned. Couldn't they just leave well enough alone?
A girl shrieked.
Nico blinked his eyes open and lowered his eyebrows in confusion.
He was the only demigod in the underworld.
He was the only living soul in the underworld.
Even Hades had gone to Olympus for something.
"Nico!" The girl shrieked.
He knew the voice.
But he didn't care.
"Stop fighting me!" The girl yelled.
She jerked his shoe off his foot.
Hazel.
Hazel!
Nico jerked up and looked into his sister's face.
Hazel glared back at him, tears in her eyes.
"Don't you dare die!"
Nico pulled his eyebrows even lower over his eyes. His brain churned sluggishly.
"Why—"
Nico's voice cut off.
He cleared his throat and looked down at his feet.
Oh.
That's why his feet burned. Why Hazel was upset.
Why he felt like he was going to die.
"Help," Nico croaked.
His vision dimmed.
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Percy sat down on the couch with his tablet and a box of tissues.
He had picked up all of her toys and put them in their basket beside the television.
He had washed the syrup off her pink Minnie Mouse plate.
He picked her favorite blanket up off the floor and folded it, placing it on the back of her favorite chair. The one where he or Nico would hold her and read her a story every night. Her favorite started, "The Friday before winter break, my mom packed me an overnight bag and a few deadly weapons and took me to a new boarding school."
Percy paused a moment before he tapped the fourth digit of his pass code. The little girl smiled up from the blurred background of the screen.
He sighed and tapped the six. The screen flipped to a litany of colored squares.
Percy selected the photo app and navigated to the biggest file.
A sad smile graced his lips as rows of tiny images, all of the same tiny face, shown up at him.
Just as he tapped on an image, the shadows shifted in the corner of the living room.
Percy stood quickly, dropping the tablet on the couch.
"Hazel?"
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Nico moaned and shifted, trying to find a comfortable spot for his feet.
They burned like hell.
Nothing helped.
He moaned again, this time voices answered him.
"Holy Hera."
"I couldn't take him with me."
"I've got it."
Liquid splashed on Nico's feet.
Nico slowly opened his eyes and glanced at the figure holding a flask over his feet.
He squeezed his eyes shut once more.
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Percy wrapped bandages around Nico's feet and Hazel hit him in the head with the empty packaging.
"Wake up."
Nico groaned and pulled his head away.
"Nico, wake up."
Nico scrunched up his face and pulled his foot away from Percy slightly.
"No."
Hazel smacked him upside the head. Nico flinched away and opened his eyes to look at her, scrunching his eyebrows together.
Hazel sat beside him on the banks of the Styx, her arms folded across her chest.
"Even you can die in the Underworld, Nico."
Nico sighed and looked away from her.
He knew that. Of course he knew that.
He just… wasn't sure he cared anymore.
After all, he was responsible for her death.
"Hazel," Percy whispered gently.
Hazel nodded and grabbed Percy and Nico's hands.
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Fingers combed through Nico's hair. He sighed and snuggled into the hand.
Somehow Percy always woke up first on the weekends. Nico should enjoy that hand while he could. Soon little feet would be running down the hall looking for food.
Nico bolted upright and immediately fell to the floor.
Percy sat on the arm of the couch above him, smirking sadly down to Nico.
"Morning."
Nico sat up and looked down at his bandaged feet. Percy was the last person he wanted to be alone with right now.
"Morning," Nico whispered.
Percy sighed loudly and ran his hand through his own hair.
Nico looked up at him, concerned.
Percy slid off the arm of the couch and down to the floor.
"I'm sorry, okay?" Percy said, his voice raw as he stared into Nico's eyes. "It's all my fault. Can we please just talk?"
Nico looked up at Percy.
What did he mean his fault?
Percy hadn't even been there. He had gone to a job interview that morning.
There was no way it was Percy's fault.
"It was my fault," Nico whispered. "I shouldn't've left her alone."
"You don't know New York like I do."
Nico rolled his eyes and looked away from Percy. He could be such an idiot sometimes.
"Don't be ridiculous, Percy. My life was in just as much danger as yours was growing up."
Percy said nothing else. He pulled his knees up towards his chest.
Nico nibbled on his lip. For the first time in years, he didn't know what to say to Percy.
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The burns on Nico's feet had finally healed, although the skin was still pink and raw.
He and Percy had been avoiding each other in the apartment. One of them always slept on the couch now.
Hopefully that would change today. Today was her birthday.
Today was the day that Nico would take Percy to the Underworld.
Nico walked down the hall into their bedroom.
Percy stood quickly from the bed, his tablet in hand. His eyes were tinged pink and he flipped the cover over the screen.
Nico's heart dropped. He felt tears sting his eyes. They were just so broken.
"Do you need in here?" Percy started walking towards the door. "I'll just—"
Nico shook his head and blocked the doorway just before Percy slipped through it.
They stood silently for a long moment, just a few inches away from each other, closer than they'd been in months.
Nico breathed in the salty sent that was Percy. She had smelled just like him.
All thoughts of how to actually talk to Percy disappeared. The tears he'd been fighting for months finally leaked out of Nico's eyes.
He just wanted them to be okay again.
He leaned forward and buried his nose in the salty shirt, wrapping his arms around Percy's waist.
Percy hesitated for a long, painstaking minute. Nico panicked momentarily. Should he have spoken first?
The rectangle that was the tablet dug into Nico's spine and Percy was hugging him back.
They held each other tightly, crying together for the first time since it happened.
Nico rubbed his cheek into Percy's shoulder and then carefully pulled back a few inches, just enough to look into Percy's raw sea-green eyes.
There was a question he had to ask Percy. A question that had plagued him since he had come back to New York.
"Perce," Nico whispered. "Why do you spend so much time looking at your tablet?"
Percy let go of him, bringing the tablet between them. He flipped it open and started to unlock it.
"Because I have four years' worth of pictures on here."
Nico looked up from the screen full of tiny pictures of the little girl. Percy's eyes stared intently into his.
"Her whole life."
Percy nodded.
Nico grabbed the tablet out of Percy's hands and locked it once more. He walked over to the bed and set it down gently.
He made a mental note to download all of those pictures to his own tablet later. Then make a trip to get all of them printed. All of them. Regardless of cost.
Nico turned back to Percy. "I want to look through every one of those pictures tonight, all right? And actually sleep in the same room as you for once."
Percy laughed softly and nodded in agreement. "Okay."
"But first I want to take you somewhere. Show you something."
Percy lowered his eyebrows and tilted his head cautiously.
Please don't question me, Nico prayed.
"Trust me," Nico whispered, holding out his hand.
Percy willingly secured Nico's hand in his own.
Nico's heart soared involuntarily as he stepped backwards towards the shadowy corner of their room.
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"Daddy!" A little voice squealed.
Percy hadn't even opened his eyes yet, but he already knew exactly who that voice came from.
He slowly opened his eyes, preparing himself to wake up to a white ceiling, to have imagined her call once again.
Instead, he stood in a massive, ominous cavern. Nico's hand held his tightly.
Two familiar silhouettes stood a few hundred yards away from them. One tall and seemingly grown-up. The other considerably shorter and bouncing up and down. Percy knew them each well; loved both dearly.
His heart ached as the two continued to walk towards him and Nico. The little girl tugged on Annabeth's hand, urging her to hurry. Annabeth laughed.
Percy looked at Nico beside him, trying to convey his appreciation with just a look. He failed, of course.
Nico stood unmoving. His face looked even paler than usual as he stared straight ahead.
Percy smiled and tugged on Nico's hand, wanting to meet the girls half way.
Each duo stopped within just a few feet of the other. Percy squatted down to the height of the little girl. Nico sat quickly on the ground beside him.
The little girl grinned and moved to tackle her fathers in a hug. Annabeth held her back by her hand.
"No touching, remember?" Annabeth prompted, sitting across from Percy and pulling the girl into her lap.
The girl scowled and nodded.
Percy laughed and swiped at his eye with the back of his wrist. Nico bit down on his lip and looked over Annabeth's head at nothing.
"Hi, sweetheart," Percy said softly.
The girl's lopsided grin returned. "Hi, Daddy."
Nico looked back at his daughter.
"Have you been having fun?"
She nodded eagerly. "Annabeth's really nice. She reads me books all the time and tells me stories about you and Daddy."
Nico groaned, Percy shook his head, and Annabeth smiled. All three promptly laughed.
"Nothing too bad, though," Annabeth whispered, her hands covering the little girl's ears.
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Percy climbed back under the covers beside Nico, his scavenged snacks in hand.
"We really need to go grocery shopping and stock up again."
Nico nodded and flipped to the next picture on the tablet. He was gradually making progress through the thousands of pictures. He had started with the most recent picture, the one that he remembered most clearly in his mind, and was working backwards through her life. He had finally made it to her first year.
Nico looked up from the screen and into Percy's eyes. "Do you remember the day she was born?"
Percy smiled. "Better than the day I met you."
Nico rolled his eyes. "Of course you do, Annabeth had disappeared off the side of a cliff just before we first talked."
Percy shrugged. "Do you remember how terrified we were when our surrogate called to tell us she was in labor?"
Nico grinned. "You panicked and couldn't find your keys."
Percy scoffed. "I believe you dropped the stack of plates you were supposed to be putting in the cabinets."
Nico studied Percy's eyes for a moment. "Are we going to be okay?"
Percy combed his fingers through Nico's hair and nodded. "I think so."
Nico nodded back.
Percy stared intently at Nico, worry coating his face. "Just don't keep running to the Underworld every time something bad happens."
"I won't," Nico promised.
Percy grinned. "Especially since you always smell like death when you get back."
"Shut up," Nico growled and moved his lips to Percy's.
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A picture tumbled out of the Styx as it turned around another bend.
It caught in the faint breeze of a monster's wings, skidding face up down a small hill.
A little girl smiled up into the darkness.
Her braided hair shined in the summer sunlight of the photograph. It was just as dark as that of the two men in the picture with her.
Her green eyes glittered as she looked into the obsidian ones of the sunburned man facing her. He smiled back at her, reaching out to help her up. Both drenched, they sat in a puddle of wet sand with a melted sandcastle between them.
The taller, tanned man stood over them holding a bucket turned upside-down, his green eyes sparkling with mischief.
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Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think!
[153 Days to Blood of Olympus]