Our House Of Glass

Summary: Nico has a habit of running away in times of needed comfort and now with Percy Jackson in Tartarus he needs someone more than ever. Hurt, crushed, and broken, no one notices- no one, but Jason Grace. And all he wants to do is fix what is shattered.

Rating: M for strong language and sexual content.

Pairing: Jason Grace and Nico di Angelo

Jason heard him. When night fell and the lights went out. When it was easy for doubt to creep into your mind. He heard him.

Standing outside the son of Hades' door at two in the morning, only clad in shorts and a thin t-shirt, Jason could fell the chill in the air, stealing his breath and sending spirals of ice through his heart. Through the heavy wooden door that separated them, Jason could make out the soft, nearly inaudible sound of tears. The sound of sorrow being drown in between blankets and pillow covers. Between a shattered smile and a broken promise.

Jason could imagine the boy laying there. He could see the ivory skin, pale as a beacon among the darkness, dashed with a red searing heat. Nico's knuckles would be clenched to the point of bleeding, the skin white and strained under his own pressure. He could feel the mat of tangled hair between his fingers. Thick locks coated in sweat in vivid angst. His short, lithe body would writhe among the sheets and blankets, tears jarring in his throat as he sobbed deeply. Uncontrollably. His movement, so unnatural, so graceful, as his legs mingled under the covers before becoming twisted and locked in place. All this would be leading up to the pinnacle of his pain: His face.

Lips would be pursed, teeth would be clenched, and eyes would be scrunched closed. His throat would be scratchy and aching. His face would be red and blotchy. His entire body would be shaking and convulsing. The entire scene would have wracked the son of Jupiter to the core. And at that moment, Jason realized he had stopped breathing at the thought.

Letting out a long whoosh of breath, Jason stood silently on the other side of the door, listening to the Argo II creak as he pressed his ear faintly against the door to Nico's room. He continued to hear the rushing, out of control cries of the son of Hades, although he made no move to stop them. He had learned over the short time they spent together that Nico could take care of himself and the thing he hated the most was when people tried to help him. He was determined to prove he could care for himself, even if it killed him.

Skewing his eyes closed, taking deep breaths, the son of Jupiter leaned back from the door. His heart was cold as ice.

However much he wanted to hide it, Jason couldn't deny the fact that he had come to care for the other demigod. Deeply. Nico was different from the rest of the seven. He was something more. There was an aged feel to him, making him appear to be older- wiser beyond his years. The moment Jason touched Nico he felt as though he had just grabbed one of those old records from someone's attic. The boy had an energy around him. Something that made him feel ancient, antique. It was a strange concept really- one that Jason didn't fully understand- however, he did manage to sum up the feelings at one point. Nico di Angelo was vintage.

Beside him being different from the others, Nico had also peaked Jason's curiosity from time to time with his actions. He had seen the boy rise, fall, shatter, be repaired, be strong, be wise, and be broken all at the same time. He had seen the worse of Nico and it hadn't scared him away yet. From how Hazel, Percy, and Annabeth described Nico, Jason was expecting someone horrible. Someone cruel, undeniably vain, and, most of all, terrifying beyond all reason. He expected death itself, but instead he was met with a teenager- no, a child. Someone who was closed up, reserved, shy, depressing, and afraid of himself. Where everyone saw Nico as a loner and a vision of abandonment, Jason saw something else. He saw a boy trying to make do with what he had. He saw someone who had been hurt, someone who was willing to go to extreme lengths to protect the ones he loved simply because he had already lost it all once. Jason saw through everything that Nico was trying to put up to protect himself. And that terrified the son of Hades. To the core.

Jason sighed inwards, although he didn't let the noise break passed his lips. He wouldn't give a chance for Nico to hear him. He wouldn't give the boy a single ounce of proof that Jason had been listening that night. However, his heart was shattering. On the inside he felt as though someone was shoving knives under his fingernails. He was choking on his sadness and he just longed to comfort the boy. It was in his nature on one end, but on the other he just had such an attachment to Nico, even when the boy constantly keep him at an arm's length. Nico was something special to him. Someone that he wanted to protect as much as Piper or maybe even more.

Leaning against the wall, holding onto the boards with a sense of tenderness, Jason was brought back from his hazy blur of thoughts in a shock. However, his awakening was short lived as he was nearly hit by the bombardment that came smashing into the wall. It frighten him at first, causing him to fidget and shift his weigh in discomfort, but the greatest moment of his distaste came when he realized the door hadn't hit him. It hadn't even come close. To be more exact the door had slammed on the other side of the wall, being pulled instead of pushed open.

Jason's breath constricted as he realized that Nico was standing in front of him. He would have been terrified in this moment; however, the emotions he was feeling were less of fear and more of distraught. Looking at Nico's face, the way he was shaking, proved that his theory earlier had been damn near perfect.

The younger boy had his hands pressed into the crook of his neck, almost as though he was trying to keep the racing of his heart under moderation. Jason could practically see the pulse pounding through his body. His heart beating through his chest. Nico's cheeks were flushed in a distant blush, red creeping up the side of his face before cascading down his shoulders and tinging the skin there with a bright slather of pink. Eyes were glassy and lost, tears gathering in the corners as though they threatened to spill down his face once more. His lips were pursed open, a frown drawing at the corners.

The rest of him looked no better. His entire body was hunched over, shoulders slouched and back bent. He seemed exhausted to say the least, but if you looked more closely the fatigue could easily become blended with his brokenness. Nico was shattered on the inside and Jason knew it. He knew who this was for: Percy Jackson.

"Jason, what the fuck are you doing?!" Nico hissed out, hands clenching as they were lowered to his sides. Normally, Nico wasn't so vulgar, but in this moment all sense of his moral was given up. Fingers curled inwards, stretching and straining as the boy willed himself to not punch the son of Jupiter.

"Nico….." Jason lost all ability to speak as he stared back into those dark orbs, "Nico…"

"Stop babbling like a fucking jackass and answer me!" The smaller boy roared again, dragging a jagged hand across his face to rid himself of any remaining tears. Jason stared at the boy in sympathy, knowing how bad he was hurting. Regardless of his emotions towards Nico, Jason knew how much he was about to anger the boy. Wrapping his arms attentively around the other's waist, with a soft force and haste, Jason pulled him back into the room listening as the son of Hades spouted out curses.

Jason remembered the day that Nico had warned him to never touch him again. It was the day they encountered Cupid. It was the day when Jason first began to see Nico in a new light. He was in love with Percy Jackson, someone that he could never have. It was something that he shouldn't have keep to himself- something that he shouldn't have had to keep bottled up for years, however, he did. He never spoke a word of his sexuality. Personally, Jason didn't care. He wouldn't mind if the boy was gay, bi, or straight. In his eyes, as long as they cared about the person truly, there was no issue. You can't choice the person you fall in love with. Or their gender.

"Let me go!" Nico's words were jagged, pulling through the other boy's ears like knives. Although the sentence were wicked nothing compared to the way Nico's hands came out, striking Jason vividly across the face. In that moment, he let go, dropping the boy back to the floor with ease.

"I'm sorry! But you were going to wake everyone up. Do you want everyone else to see you like this?" Jason justified as he shut the door carefully with one hand. Nico looked him up and down with persecuting eyes. No matter how hateful those gazes were Jason couldn't bring himself to believe that he had done anything wrong.

"Why were you out there? Just answer me!" The words were once again angry, but the volume was low, being nearly inaudible. Nico sniffled lightly as he rubbed his left eye, sitting down on the edge of his bed as he waited for a reply.

Jason shifted lightly, crossing his arms over his chest. Looking down at the son of Hades, taking in the boy's face, his tousled hair, and pajamas, Jason sighed before sitting down beside him. Nico's face flickered for a moment, going into a cross between embarrassment and worry, before he plastered that hard, emotionless mask one once more.

"Listen to me, Nico. I….. Whenever I can't sleep I walk around at night. It helps me think, helps me clear my mind, and helps me burn off energy. I do it a lot, but I don't know how I'm supposed to have a clear head when I walk passed your door and you are bawling your eyes out. It hurts me to see you like this. You've been doing this for the last five nights and now… I can't take it anymore."

"Why should you care?" Nico spat as he moved further away from the other boy. With a look of utter disgust Nico rolled across the bed, moving to the other side and facing the wall with a blank gaze.

"Nico, don't do this!" Jason hissed as he grappled for the son of Hades' shoulder and pulled him back. Nico, in a whirl of movement, attempted to strike the son of Jupiter once more, but Jason grabbed his hands with wicked speed, "I do care about you. That's why I'm concerned. I don't want to see anything happen to you. You said it yourself- you're over Percy Jackson. I know he's lost right now. I know he's in Tartarus, but you went through the same thing. It hurts like hell to know what he'll be going through, but you can't do this. Crying over him every night is just going to make you sick. It's going to make you tear yourself apart until there is nothing and I mean nothing left. I don't want that to happen to you."

"But why?" Nico asked as his voice cracked. For a split second, Jason's hands loosened. The grip he applied was lighter as his mouth opened in concern, eyes following the trails that seemed to bleed down the younger boy's face. Tears brimmed over his cheeks, hot and burning, as he began to sob once again. Jason had never seen Nico cry. He may have heard it, but he had never witnessed it himself. Nico had never broken in front of him.

Sitting up straighter, barely able to speak through his choking tears, Nico continued, "Why do you care about me? What did I do to make you care about me? I don't want you to! I'm not good for anyone! It's not like I have anything to offer to you! I can't give you anything; I can't help you do anything. I'm weak, I'm pathetic, I'm nothing! So why do you bother with me?"

Jason watched in shock as Nico's head dropped forward, his body falling, and lay down against his own chest. Nico face buried in his shoulder as he cried harder.

The boy was broken and now Jason realized how deep this had cut him. Nico had never shown so much emotion in front of anyone else. He had always showed his pain in private, however, now he was just letting go of everything. And there was nothing that Jason could do about it.

"Nico, I can't stand it when you cry. Please, just calm down." Jason let the sentence out in one breath, gasping harshly at the feelings that roared around inside himself. He had no idea what he was doing. He had no idea how to deal with this. Nico was so close, breath coming out in a hot puff against his shoulder, hot tears dripping and soaking through his t-shirt. Before the boy could protest Jason grabbed Nico's cheeks, forcing his face upwards to meet the son of Jupiter's eyes.

"Jason…."

"Do you think I can take this? I know you don't like me. I know you hate me with everything you are! But I still care about you. I never want to see you hurt. You mean too much to me! You can say I don't care, you can say I shouldn't care, however, you and me- we need to work together on this because if someone doesn't listen to you that you're going to do something you're going to regret. I couldn't deal with it if something happened to you. I need you!" Jason's words cut off suddenly as found himself rambling. A blush etched on his cheeks as he notice that Nico had now stopped crying, face gently pressed against the other boy in a warm pressure.

"I don't hate you, you know that?" Nico admitted, "I really, really don't."

Jason shifted as he found the other's eyes searching him, now facing him with a look of waiting. Nico's face was suddenly calm, showing nothing more than gentle curiosity.

"Than what do you feel for me?" Jason asked with a sudden heat pooling in his stomach and chest.

"I care about you. A lot." Nico admitted heatedly under his breath as he trembled, a sniffle and hiccup coming from the back of his throat. He had a sense that seemed apologetic, but Jason ignored it, moving close so that his face was inches from the other's. For a moment Jason considered just diving in without think, however, his heart told him he shouldn't dare. Nico was in love with Percy and if the other even dared to try anything the backlash would probably be crippling.

"I'm not the son of Poseidon. I can't be as perfect as you want me to be. I'm not Percy Jackson." Jason claimed in an apologetic manner, eyes darting away as he refused to look Nico in the face.

Long, pale digits dug under Jason's neck as Nico forced his face forward, lips lingering inches apart, "You're not Percy Jackson. I know that. And I don't care. You are perfect to me."

The son of Jupiter was once again caught off guard by the sense of closeness. The sense of lovingness in the other's voice. Coming from a boy who hardly showed care for anyone other than Hazel, it was a shock that he was getting so much attention. In fact it was odd in a way.

"Nico….," The name was lost as Jason surged forward in slow motion, pushing the smaller boy back onto the bed and pinning him to the stiff mattress. Nico's nose crinkled in distaste at the weight that was placed on him. Jason had to weigh about two times as much as Nico, being all muscle and height. He was bulky, tall, and strong where Nico was lithe and barely compared. The difference between the two was uncanny.

A strangled, cracked cry came from the younger, thin arms wrapping around the son of Jupiter's neck, as Jason bite down on Nico's shoulder, lips kneading into the ivory flesh. Teeth and tongue carved out the dark red mark that etched out on the smaller boy's neck. Jason indulged himself in the pleasurable delight that was Nico di Angelo- his ghost king. Sweet skin expanded out into a wider canvas as Jason pulled the neck line of Nico's t-shirt down, stretching it passed his shoulder until the flesh was exposed. The son of Jupiter once again pounced, attacking the skin with that same treatment as before. He wasn't harsh or careless with these actions. In fact it was completely and utterly soft, gentle to be more exact.

In a single action Jason crawled off of Nico, sitting on the bed beside the boy as he waited for the son of Hades to join him. Looking up curiously, Nico followed the action with eyes half lidded and a blush on her cheeks, sitting up before Jason quickly pulled him into his lap. With the younger boy now straddling him, Jason went back to his neck.

"Jason." Nico panted out in a deep breath as goose bumps rose up on his arms. The larger boy only complied as he began to hike up the hem of Nico's shirt, dragging the top from his body with much disapproval from the other at the loss of his love's lips.

"Please."

There was a moment of silence, the obscurity being filled with Nico's harsh pants and the quiet drumming of rain, as Jason just stared at the boy awestruck. He had never seen Nico look so weak, not even when they had faced Cupid. Now, only being clad in his pajama bottoms, chest exposed, eyes cringed shut, and blush evident, Nico was given that innocence and amateur look that made him seem younger than his years. Jason already knew the reason for this, but he wouldn't voice it- not now at least. The entire thing must have been a soft topic for Nico and there was no way he was going to bring up the fact that the boy was so inexperienced.

"You're so perfect." Jason claimed in a lusty sense of haze as a single hand run up the boy's chest, carving into the simple curve of his hip before running along the boy's stomach. If Jason was given the time he would have examined every piece of the sweet demigod before him- he wanted to savior every ounce of Nico's flat stomach, the dip in his hips, the faint scar across his side, the softness of his skin.

"Gods…. Gods." Jason trailed off softly as nudged his head forward, planting gentle kiss against the younger boy's chest, going from the crook of his neck to the his chest. Softly he dipped downwards and took one of Nico's nipples into his lips as his left hand danced along the other. His tongue darted outwards softly to lick the rosy bud, hoping to get a reaction from Nico.

"Jason!" Nico jerked back at this extensive sign of contact as though he had just been burned. The way the boy pulled away, the way he was terrified of the touch- it hurt Jason. Badly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do anything wrong." Jason justified with a look of inward hatred. Nico also had the same look, although his was more intense.

"Don't be." He clarified in a faint voice. Surging forward Nico's lips met Jason's own, pushing harsher and more vibrant than Jason would dare.

Trying to meet the other's sudden criteria Jason began biting down on the younger's lip, nipping and sucking on the area softly. Nico moaned inward to the kiss, feeling the pleasure and a hint of nervousness bubble up in his stomach. With a sudden urgency, Jason edged the kiss forward, trailing his tongue along the boy's lower lip as he begged for entrance. With a soft sigh to comply, Nico allowed those pale lips to part. The son of Jupiter wasted no time as he dived into the other's cavern, tongue exploring every inch of the other's mouth with haste. Once again a deep, throaty moan left Nico, escaping his lips in a single move as Jason continued his action.

Within moments the two of them were separated, breathing wickedly as they grappled for air. A single strand of saliva expanded between them before it was severed by their bond being broken further. Jason smiled quaintly, lustfully, at the other boy as he caught a glimpse of Nico's face in the faint light.

Dark locks of ebony hair were tousled, being splayed in an unruly manner. The son of Hades lips was swollen and red from the roughness of their kisses, pink tongue etching outwards jaggedly to lick his battered mouth. Deep inky black eyes seemed to be a void of nothingness as they were enhanced by the overwhelming lust. Pale skin was splashed with color, pink dancing along his face and shoulders as well as his back, with sheen of sweat to top it off. In Jason's eyes nothing could compare to Nico. Nico di Angelo was perfect. He was everything at that moment.

Before he could muster up a single thought, a single voice of reason inside his head, Jason admitted something that he swore he would never say to anyone, but Piper. Something that made him feel sick to his stomach when he applied it to the girl across the Argo II's lower deck now rather than Nico.

"I love you." Jason's words were barely audible as he shoved Nico back, taking his lips captive once more. Through the smacking of their lips and unmistakably ruffle as the rest of their clothes were removed, Nico tried to draw out the words he had wanted to say. The words he had meant to say a long time ago. Although he was simply repeating Jason's sentence, Nico's words were lost, being over whelmed by a body racking moan as Jason began to dig in. In that moment of haze, Nico barely managed to link only two fingers within Jason's own.

Jason watched as Nico sat down beside him, fiddling with the zipper on his aviator jacket. There was no sign of acknowledgement between the two as neither of them spoke. Leaning against the railing of the Argo II, face towards the wind, the both of them kept quiet although there was closeness between them. Piper looked on with a strike of worry.

"Everything alright between you two?" She asked Jason in a hushed tone, voice low as she tried to be inconspicuous.

"Fine," Jason admitted lightly, "Everything is fine."

And in complete honesty they were. As the day trailed on Jason and Nico never spoke a word, never made a noise to the other, and never caught the other's eyes, however, they stayed close throughout ever event of the evening. Never had any other on the Argo II seen the both of them act like so. There was something off, something wrong between them, and everyone acknowledged it. But no one had the courage to speak up. No one paid enough attention to see what was really going on.

In the silent moments of the day, when no one was looking and they were close enough, Nico and Jason would link two fingers. Either behind their backs, under tables, where no one could see- it didn't matter. It was the way they stayed connected. Without their words and actions this was how they showed each other love until the nights on the Argo II. After dark they completely belonged to each other.

After that day Nico never felt as though he was alone again. Even when he was away, even when he was sitting by himself in the darkness of his own bedroom, Nico knew that where ever he was the son of Jupiter was holding out two fingers for him. It didn't matter if he could reach them. As long as they were there the son of Hades knew the other loved him.

A/N: Hey you guys! Just wanted to thank you all for reading. I hope it didn't completely suck. I was feeling a little nonproductive today so I decided to write a quick little short story. This took me about two hours to write. It hasn't been edited, check, and tweaked like I usually do with my writing before publishing it, but oh well. I just wanted to do something quick, fun, and something that is just kind of raw, without editing or revising. I hope you all like it anyways. Thank you once more for reading and please leave a like or comment.