This is not a sequel to my other work, but I might write a sequel to this one too. I have a good idea for the sequel to 'What About Nico?', so that should be written soon probably. Have fun reading it.

Please read and review.

At ten years of age, Nico watched as his Mother was struck by lightning meant for him and his sister.

At the age of ten years old, Nico Di Angelo was forced to bathe in the river Lethe to cleanse his mind of his memories.

At ten years of age Nico Di Angelo entered the Lotus Hotel and Casino.

" Bianca?"

" We're leaving Nico. Someone's come to collect us." Bianca told him, her voice unsteady.

" Leaving?" Nico asked, eyes glazed as if the words were foreign to him.

" Come on Nico, be brave."

Bianca reached a hand out, and Nico smiled as he took it with his own. She smiled down at him as they stepped out of the front of the hotel. Nico wasn't worried, he would be brave. He had his sister with him. He was safe, safe as long as he had Bianca.

How wrong Nico was.

Barely six months later, he was alone. Bianca had left him to become a hunter of Artemis and the betrayal made his heart pang, and then she had sacrificed herself for her friends. She had died for people she barely knew, and Nico was alone in the world.

The pain, the pain was unbearable.

He was ten years old and he was alone in the world. No one was there to love him.

As Percy informed Nico of what happened he could feel his powers boiling beneath his skin as he was overcome with emotions.

He had lost Bianca and his Mother, and he was living in a time he did not understand. He was seventy years on from the time he knew, and he was no longer in his beloved Venice, but instead in the United States.

Nico was alone, and he was sure that he was going to be, for the rest of his life.

You are alone.

You are unwanted.

You are unloved.

It was shortly after his rescue from the bronze jar and the giants that Nico first heard the mention of soul mates.

" What?" Nico asked, speaking out for the first time since he was rescued.

The five other demigods broke their conversation to stare at Nico as if he had grown another head. He hadn't moved barely since his rescue, and this was the first time he showed that he was still there, or at least part of him still was.

" Soul mates?" He questioned, looking up at them slightly from his position on the deck of the Argo II.

" Have you not heard the story of soul mates?" Jason asked, slightly bemused.

The Italian merely shook his head.

" Can you explain?" Jason asked Piper.

" Sure."

Piper moved to take a seat on one of the benches provided and turned to look at the son of Hades who was curled up on the floor.

" Are soul mates real?" He asked quietly.

Hazel turned to look at him with a hint of sympathy in her golden eyes.

" They are. Everyone has a soul mate, even full mortals have them, however they manifest differently to mortals. Mortals and soul mates are people who find someone who they love dearly. They know they're soul mates, or what they call soul mates, but it's different to how demigods find soul mates."

" In what way?"

" Demigods know who their soul mates are. It's sort of intrinsic to us, more so to children of Aphrodite of course. To a demigod, their soul mate completes them, whether their bond is platonic, familial or romantic."

" And everyone has a soul mate?"

There was a slight pause, and Hazel bit her lip. She knew what Nico was thinking. She had known him just over a year, but she knew that his self worth was lacking. She wanted to hug him and not let go.

" Everyone." Piper told him, and she looked teary.

" How do you know who your soul mate is?"

" It's difficult to explain..." She began.

" With me, it was sort of once I began conversing regularly with Piper I realised. Everything Piper did drew me to her. I knew she had faults, but every single one of them became endearing to me. It was as if my world shifted and she was the most important thing to me, which she is. There's one way to cement it, to know for sure though."

Nico raised an eyebrow.

" When you first touch your soul mate, you'll know. A sort of energy will surround the two of you. Sometimes it is tangible to the other people around you, sometimes it is just an internal thing within those involved, but it is unmistakable."

Nico paused, considering this information before nodding.

" Thanks."

" No problem."

The idea of a soul mate despite not being on the forefront of his mind constantly resided in a small corner of his brain and heart. The idea of his soul mate brought with it the idea of hope for the future, but Nico tried to quell it.

He knew that people supposedly had soul mates, but he was the son of Hades. He was perhaps an exception. Aphrodite had never particularly held him within high regards of love before, the Gods seemed to be constantly against him, unwilling to let him have a normal life.

Nico continued to squash the idea.

The world was against him. Hell, the Universe was against him, there was no way that anyone would take pity on him and allow him to have a universe.

Who would even be unlucky enough to be paired with him anyway?

Nico squirmed at the thought that his soul mate would be cursed to be with him and would hate him. Perhaps his soul mate would believe Nico had trapped him, Nico was sure it would be a him. The idea of his soul mate hating him invoked emotions within Nico that he was unaware he still even possessed.

As the weeks passed, and the final battle with Gaea drew closer, Nico practically forgot about the idea of his soul mate. With transporting the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half Blood, and shadow travelling Reyna and Coach Hedge, Nico was barely conscious half of the time.

It was at the final battle between Camp Jupiter and Camp Half Blood when it was with shocking reality that it finally dawned on Nico.

Will Solace.

The boy was a son of Apollo, the son of light and was the polar opposite to the son of darkness that Nico was, and yet Nico found him endearing in the brief moments he actually held a conversation with the boy.

However, whilst the two of them tried to talk to Octavian, to persuade him of the right choice to take, that it happened.

The two stood, pleading with the son of Apollo from the Roman legion, that Nico ducked and stumbled slightly to avoid an arrow and that was when it happened.

He knocked in to Will.

His bare arms brushed against a tear in the midrift of Will's shirt as he caught him, and as their skin came into contact, it was as if energy was pulsating around the two of them. Octavian seemed to have noticed as his eyes widen staring between the two of them.

" Nico." Will uttered softly.

Nico urgently shot him a look, and the message was clear. They needed to stop Octavian, they could talk at lengths later.

The rest of the battle happened so quickly and Nico worked as if on auto pilot. Physically he was there, but his mind was elsewhere. His mind was with Will.

What if they didn't live through the battle?

What if one of them died?

What if Will died before they could talk?

The possibilities of how cruel the Gods could be made Nico's heart clench. He silently prayed to his Father as he fought a giant that both he and Will would make it through.

When the battle was finally over Nico still didn't have the opportunity to talk to Will. As head of the Apollo cabin, and therefore head healer, Will was rushed off his feet.

The adrenaline that had been coursing through his veins during the battle had disappeared and the exhaustion was clinging to the Italian boy, but his mind was running fifty miles an hour and would not allow him to stop.

It had been three days since the end of the war, and it was only the night before that Nico had even attempted to sleep, and in that attempt he had failed drastically.

It was Piper who ended up pushing him to do it.

It had taken him a while to build up the courage to talk to the daughter of Aphrodite, but once he had revealed what had happened to him with Will and she had listened, he was glad it was out in the open. Piper was a great listener.

" Oh my Gods Di Angelo! Go and talk to him."

" Are you sure? I mean-"

" Yes! Now go."

It was clear that she had slipped charmspeak into her words in order to encourage the young Italian as he found himself walking towards the infirmary. He had barely got half way there when he was greeted by the sight of Will Solace.

" Where have you been?"

" Erm...around, I er..."

" I've been in the infirmary helping out for three days and you didn't even come by to lend a hand or anything?!"

" You want the son of Hades around sick and dying people?"

Will pinched the top of his nose.

" We need to talk."

" Erm… yes, yeah we do."

They ended up sitting on a sofa in the Hades cabin, being the only place they could really get some peace and quiet. They sat awkwardly for a moment, but the silence didn't make Nico feel uneasy, but rather it gave him time to gather his thoughts.

" Do you know what soul mates are?" Will asked Nico abruptly.

" Yeah. Piper explained them to me."

" Okay."

There was silence again, and Nico's heartbeat began to increase in pace. Will seemed tense. Was he trying to think of a way to tell Nico that he didn't want a soul mate, and even if he did, then there had been a mistake, and that surely he couldn't be placed with someone as bad as Nico. He hadn't stopped Octavian from killing himself. Nico knew he was a terrible person. How could someone as great as Will possibly like him.

" During the battle did you feel it?"

Nico nodded.

" I'm glad."

Nico relaxed his muscles.

" You-you're glad?"

" Yes. I'm glad your my soul mate Nico."

Nico didn't understand. His breathing hitched.

Was Will making fun of him?

" Nico? Nico? Please Nico you need to calm down." Will said, reaching out but thinking better of it as he spoken in a soothing tone.

Nico's vision was swimming and his chest was tight and constricting.

" Nico breathe with me okay? In for four and out for six okay?"

Nico attempted to do as Will instructed, and it seemed to take a lifetime before his breathing was normal again and the room had stopped spinning.

" Are you okay?" Will asked worriedly staring at him with his blue eyes.

Nico nodded.

" Are you making fun of me? Why would you want to be my soul mate? Why would you even want to be arrowed me? I'm a son of Hades! I'm an outcast. No one wants me around and..."

" Woah, woah Nico, hey calm down. Of course I'm not making fun of you. We are destined Nico, as cheesy as that sounds. What's wrong with being a son of Hades? Chiron is the son of Kronos and yet he isn't an outcast. How is that different?"

Nico paused, not having an answer, and Will grinned knowing this.

" Sure, we don't know each other that well, but hey what does that matter? We can get to know each other. The war is over, we have all the time in the world."

Nico looked at him, wanting to be brutally honest.

" I'm not good at talking, not really..."

" We can work on it."

" I've been alone, properly alone for four years, I am stubborn, I..."

" I don't care. I can be overbearing, annoying, I can't whistle to save my life… we all have flaws Nico, but everyone has positives too."

" I don't."

" You do. I don't know much about you Nico, and that will change, I promise you, but I've never met someone without a redeeming quality, and I know from what I've seen you have many, and no longer how long it takes I will prove it to you. I'll prove that I'm glad that I'm your soul mate."

" Promise?" Nico asked, his voice cracking.

The Italian boy had aged too fast and created a shell around him to protect himself.

" I promise."