Nico di Angelo thinks that Percy Jackson ought to stop pretending.
He had been to Tartarus. He had seen the horror, heard the pitiful cries that would drill themselves in your brain, beckoning. "Come, son of Hades. Save us!" And then they would say, one after another, "Riches! We offer you all the money you could possibly want!"
Nico would shake his head, he was the son of the god of riches. He had no need for money.
"No no, immortality! You could live forever!"
He would shake his head once more. He had no desire to live forever, to see all the evil the world had to offer.
"Power! Hades could become the new King of the Gods! You'll never be avoided again." Ouch. That had hit a sore spot. He wanted to be known. He wanted to be remembered. Not as the lone child of Hades who lurked in the shadows, listening to loud angry music. He wanted to be spoken of with awe, taken as a Hero of Olympus.
"But you'll never be…" The voices whispered, as though they had read his mind.
He lashed out with anger, but the voices were already fading, only leaving the echo of mocking laughter.
He understood what Percy had been through, in a way Annabeth didn't. She had fell with Percy, but what she saw was the diluted version. Athena had something to do with it, of course. Poseidon was smarter than that. Although it may not seem true, it was. He didn't help lessen the horror of Tartarus. It may seem to you cruel, but Nico knew it pained him to have to watch from the sidelines. Poseidon knew his child would have to face worse. Worse, you ask? Percy was loyal to a fault. Having his friends die on the battlefield, die saving him would devastate him, would be worse than actually killing him. Poseidon knew that Tartarus would make Percy stronger, both mentally and physically. He would be able to wipe his tears away and pick up the pieces.
-Line Break-
Nico stands up. The sun is setting. It is time to go to the beach.
He walks there at a brisk, fast pace, only stopping when sand and a figure's back comes into view. "Hey Perce." He says, dropping onto the sand.
"Hi Nico," Percy answers, lying down on his back.
"So, what's Tartarus doing to you today?"
"Nothing, Nick. Stop asking me that every day."
"But it's true. What has Tartarus done to you, Percy?"
Percy sits up, sea green eyes stormy. "Leave me alone, Nico. I'm gonna swim for a while." He stands up and dives into the lake, fully clothed.
Nico sits and stares at the water for a moment, then walks towards the edge of the lake. He quickly drops a note into the water and leaves before Poseidon decides to blast him or something for being so close to the water.
-Lines need breaks-
Using his water powers, Percy senses something drop into the water, near where he left Nico. He summons water currents to push him forward and sees the 'something'. It's a note, already wet and soggy. He grabs it and dries it instantly. It's written in greek, thank gods. It says, "Nico Di Angelo thinks Percy Jackson ought to stop pretending to be fine when he clearly isn't." How did he know? Frowning, Percy flips it over. On the other side, it says, "Cause pretending never did any good for anyone, especially not survivors of Tartarus."
Percy clutches the note to his chest and for the first time since he came back from Tartarus, Percy allows himself to cry.
Okay, my first one-shot/fanfic done! Tell me what ya all think.
