Full Synopsis: Nico di Angelo is still in love with Percy Jackson and he is having difficulty coping with his emotions, after his father dissuades him from leaping into the river Lethe he goes on a short journey to find the Goddess Aphrodite in Cyprus. Once there she gives him an impossible choice; destroy Percy Jackson's happiness or live with the intense emotions that are slowly killing him?

Choices

The river sang softly as it rushed past, carving its way through the black soil like a satin ribbon, its song was melancholy and made the boy slightly sleepy. His feet crunched over gravel and pebbles as he inched closer, his black sword gripped in one pale hand as he stared into the depths of the river, the point dragged a line in the earth like the furrow of a plough. Nico took a soft breath, barely audible over the soft murmur of the water.

"It would be unwise to get too close."

Nico spun around, his sword rising into a defensive position at the sound of the voice, he gasped as recognition filled his eyes and he allowed his weapon to drop back. "What do you want?" He asked, turning his back on the dark figure and once again staring morosely into the water, as if it had hypnotised him.

"Want? I do not want anything, Nico."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I sensed you nearby and I had a feeling you needed someone to speak to."

"I'm fine." Nico lifted his gaze again, frowning off into the seemingly never ending distance.

"Hmm." Hades hummed doubtfully and stepped forward, his robes trailing over the black pebbles, barely stirring them as he too looked into the river. "I can understand your wish to forget."

"No you don't." Nico grumbled, his hands clenching into fists, his sword hilt biting into his palm.

"I have been judging the dead long enough to know that mortals have a tendency to prefer the easier path, rather than struggle through the pains and rigours of life. For you, it would be easier to forget, easier for you to return to a life of ignorance, but is that what you truly wish? Memories are important, Nico. They mould mortals, they make them who they are."

"Why do you even care? You were never around! You could have stopped Bianca from-" Hades raised a hand and Nico closed his mouth on his words, glaring in anger at his father.

"You know very well why I could not interfere, child. It was bad enough that Zeus murdered your mother, if I had alerted him to your return he could have taken your life as well, that I could not stand." Hades frowned at the shadows, which seemed to move towards him, being sucked into his robes like moths into a flame. "If you were to bathe in the Lethe you would forget them all, your sister, your mother, myself and…Percy Jackson." Nico flinched as if his father had hit him, he looked down at his feet. "There is not much that escapes my attention, my power stretches far and I see much. You must understand that during ancient times, when we God's were worshipped properly, no one was condemned by who they became attracted to. It was an accepted part of their society, as it will be again one day. Already, the world changes, the time in which you were born is over and a new age has begun, people are changing." Hades paused and considered his son for a moment before lifting his hand and producing a map from a brief flicker of shadow. "Take this, on it is marked the location of Aphrodite's temple in Pathos, Cyprus. If anyone can help you, she can."

Nico gazed at the map in his father's hand for a long time before taking it from him in a shaking hand, he sheathed his sword and looked down at the ancient looking parchment. "What will she do?"

Hades shrugged. "I cannot say, she is an enigma."

Nico put the map in his pocket after memorising the red 'x' that marked the location of the temple. "Why would you do this for me?"

"Why? Because I loved your mother, once upon a time and you are the last living reminder of her…and I owe you an apology, I was remiss when I thought that you had no worth, I regret my rash words." Hades paused, frowning as if every word was costing him huge amounts of effort to speak, finally he continued, "Now go, speak to Aphrodite and decide what path you wish to take."

Nico watched his father disappear into the darkness, he couldn't understand what had just happened, had Hades, the Lord of Underworld, just apologised? He shook his head, preferring to think he had misheard. He took one last look at the river which seemed to call his name before he turned and allowed the shadows to swallow him whole.

His father had given him enough money to buy a plane ticket, since it would be extremely tiring to Shadow-travel that far and going by sea would be too painful. The trip was short and uneventful, he wasn't entirely comfortable travelling by air. He arrived at Pathos airport unharmed but incredibly hot, he shed his aviator jacket and pushed hair from his eyes as he gazed around and tried to get his bearings. Finally he brought out the map and studied it once more before shadows reached up around him and he disappeared.

The Temple of Aphrodite was a ruin of white columns, broken walls and arches. It had a stunning view of the mountains and had plenty of tourists taking pictures and wondering around. Nico frowned, he wasn't entirely sure what he was doing there, surrounded by Tourists, and searching for the Goddess of Love. It was stupid, she couldn't help him, no one could. He was doomed to spend his life mooning after someone he could never have, he sighed and walked towards what remained of the temple, its arches and columns still intact, he looked up and sighed heavily, when he returned his eyes to the ground he spotted a woman sitting on a low wall and apparently admiring the view. Instantly his whole body tingled and he knew who she was, she turned and smiled at him, beckoning him over. She was wearing traditional Grecian robes of white, flowing material, her hair cascaded down her back and changed colour as if it was trying to encompass every possible hair colour in the world. Her face moved and changed so often it made Nico a little sea-sick, he had to look away and gazed out over the mountains. Birds chirped along with cicadas and the grounds wobbled in a haze of heat, he lifted an arm and wiped sweat from his brow.

"Nico di Angelo, I have been expecting you." Aphrodite said softly. "I would have come to you but I suspected that you would not have welcomed me." Nico had no response to that so he scuffed his shoe across the dirt and pushed his hands into his pockets. "I like it here, despite the fact that Olympus has moved to New York, this place is almost like my birthplace, it is a true home to me."

"I wouldn't know what that felt like, having a true home…"

"Ah, but you do. After all, home is where the heart is, as the Mortals say." She laughed brightly and kicked her sandaled feet like a little girl on a swing. "You've come to me for advice." It wasn't a question so Nico didn't deign to answer. "Very well, what is it you want, Nico di Angelo?"

"I…I'm not sure." He muttered after a brief pause, still determinedly frowning into the distance.

"I am willing to help you, but you must first know what you want." Aphrodite looked at him, he could feel her piercing gaze on him, like a nail in the heart and his hands clenched on the stone wall he was perched on. Around him the ground trembled, a few cracks began to appear and stones rattled as they danced away from him. The Goddess placed a hand upon his arm and he instantly felt calmer, the tremors subsided and he let out a slow breath. "You are a confused child; I can see that even without my powers." She lifted her hand and a mirror appeared in it, it was golden and ornate, decorated with laurels. "Look into this mirror and tell me what you see."

Nico took the mirror automatically and stared into its reflective surface, at first he only saw himself, a skinny boy with black hair and olive skin. He frowned and opened his mouth to speak but before he could his image changed, now there were a pair of sea green eyes staring back at him, he almost threw the mirror away in shock. Percy Jackson was leaning against a pillar in what appeared to be Camp Half-Blood's dining pavilion, he was laughing at something Nico couldn't see, his black hair falling into his face. The image caused Nico's heart to race, his mouth felt dry and all the old awkwardness and terror welled up inside him, he pulled his eyes away and his hand clenched so hard on the mirror he almost broke it. "You know what I see; tell me what I can do about it!"

"Love is a knife edge, Nico di Angelo. Some call it the most wonderful emotion in the world, others would call it the worst. There is a fine line between love and hate, they generally come hand in hand and it takes a strong person to prevent one from crossing into the other. It can cause intense joy but also abject misery, it can buoy you up until, like Jason Grace, you think you can fly or it can make you fall so hard it could kill you. Then there is jealousy." She gave Nico a knowing look, forcing him to look away from her. "Jealousy corrupts even true love; it also adds a wonderful twist to any story plot." She added as an afterthought. "I do adore love triangles."

"I…I hero worshipped him…"

"Indeed, and who wouldn't? Percy Jackson is a strong and capable hero; he even managed to capture the romantic interest of Annabeth Chase who I had always assumed was too in love with buildings to see anything else." She made a face of distaste at the thought of someone being uninterested in love and desire. "You must make a choice, Nico di Angelo, I can help you if you want me to." She lifted her hand and once again something appeared in her palm, it was a vial of pink liquid. "This is a love potion so powerful too much of it can kill even a demi-god. If you were to give just a drop of this to Percy Jackson he will fall instantly in love with you, he would be yours forever. Just a single drop in his food or drink will do the trick, any more and he will explode like a helium balloon."

Nico took the vial, his heart hammering in his chest so hard he was afraid it may just tear right through his ribs and flee towards the mountains. "What…what will happen if I give him this?" He whispered, his voice barely audible over the low chatter of the surrounding tourists who seemed utterly oblivious to the thin boy and stunning woman sitting on the low wall.

"Oh, Annabeth Chase would be heartbroken, of course, I do enjoy heartbreak, it adds a bit of dramatic flair."

"No, I mean, what will happen to Percy?"

"Why, he will fall head over heels in love with you!" Aphrodite exclaimed, smiling broadly. "Isn't that what you want?"

"I…I'm not sure." He stared at the garish pink liquid within the flask as if it were a vial of Greek Fire and would explode if not handled carefully. "Will there be any side effects?"

"There's always side effects, child of Hades. As I said before, Love is a double edged sword, it can go either way. It can cause obsession and that is unhealthy, it can even become dangerous. Then, of course, you would have to live with the knowledge that you forcefully took away Percy Jackson's true happiness and replaced it with something false. This is your choice, you must either take what you want or allow Percy to live his life in happiness. What do you want for him, Nico?"

Nico frowned down at the potion in his hands, he turned it slowly and sighed. "Why do I always have to choose? No matter what I do my choice is going to cause pain, whether to myself or others."

Aphrodite smiled, "That is the way of unrequited love, Nico. Now, I shall help you return to America where I will enjoy watching your story play out."

Nico frowned but before he could speak his eyes felt heavy, he fell backwards into a deep sleep.

XXX

When he next opened his eyes he found himself gazing up at the star spattered sky, he blinked and coughed, water poured from his lungs and he shivered as he realised he was soaking wet.

"Nico? Are you all right?"

"Huh?" Nico turned his head and found himself face to face with Percy Jackson who was gazing down at him with concern written across his face, his black hair fell across his forehead and his sea green eyes looked strange in the moonlight. "What happened?" Nico muttered, slowly sitting up.

"I don't know, I was woken up by someone telling me to come to the beach and I spotted you drifting around in the surf, unconscious and half-drowned."

Nico turned and looked out to sea, his shoes were soaked through, his jacket drenched and he felt as if he had been doused in ice water. He shivered, teeth chattering as he sent a few select curse words to Aphrodite, finally he returned his attention to Percy and wished he hadn't when his heart seemed to skip a beat. "Well…I guess…thanks…" He muttered, averting his eyes and glaring furiously at the sand. Percy was wearing a pair of pyjama bottoms, his chest seemed to glimmer under the moonlight and it made Nico's face burn, when Percy moved to help him to his feet he shrugged him off violently. "Don't touch me!" He snapped and forced himself into a standing position, using his unsheathed sword as a crutch to steady himself. Percy raised both hands, backing off a pace, a small smile dancing around his mouth. "I…I must have annoyed someone…"

Percy looked him up and down, a frown creasing his forehead. "Um…what in the gods' names are you wearing?"

Nico looked down at himself slowly and felt horror sink its icy blade into his gut, Aphrodite had decided to re-dress him before dumping him unceremoniously into the sea. Instead of his usual aviator jacket he now wore a light weight pale coloured jacket with a pair of blue jeans. He made a face of distaste before spotting something black hanging on the branch of a tree, his eyes lit up and he moved towards it, Percy following curiously, he yanked it down and realised it was his own well loved aviator jacket. "She gave it back." He muttered to himself as he shrugged off the pale jacket and replaced it with his own, he was instantly warm again.

"She? Who's 'she'?" Percy asked, his confusion written plainly across his handsome face.

"No one." Nico replied sharply. In his pocket his fingers closed around the vial of potion, it felt warm beneath his touch like the gentle heat from a candle flame. He cleared his throat and turned his back on Percy Jackson, attempting to gather all his thoughts and order his feelings.

"So…do you know why this 'she' sent you to Camp?"

"I…I think I do." Nico replied slowly, unsure just what he was supposed to do now. Percy waited in expectant silence; finally Nico turned to him and looked him right in the eyes. "Do you…do you want to take a walk?" He asked, forcing the words out from between his teeth so that they came out far harsher than he had intended.

Percy grinned. "A moonlit walk on the beach? How very romantic of you, di Angelo!" He laughed and gestured for Nico to go ahead of him.

"Shut up, Jackson." Nico muttered, glaring at Percy who looked a little crestfallen that his joke hadn't amused him. He was here to make his decision but he still hadn't made up his mind, he wanted Percy to be happy but Percy's happiness depended on Annabeth who wasn't Nico. He also wanted Percy to like him, to return his feelings, but that would open up a whole new terrible vista of strange possibilities that he wasn't sure he was ready to deal with yet. He walked with his hands in his pockets, his scabbard moving softly with each step he took and leaving damp footprints behind in the sand. He could feel Percy's burning curiosity, almost like a physical weight between his shoulder blades and it made him extremely uncomfortable. He had hoped that he would have had more time to contemplate his next move before he had to encounter his crush for a while but Aphrodite obviously had other ideas, he could easily imagine her curled up on some celestial sofa with Ares and a bowl of popcorn, watching his fumbling progress avidly as if his life were a stupid TV drama. It made him sick and angry so that as he walked bones began emerging from the earth around his feet, he kicked an unfortunate thigh bone into the sea where it disappeared with a soft splash.

"So…where are we going?" Percy asked, stepping up to Nico's side and looking at him curiously.

"I…I don't know." Nico replied, unable to find words to fully explain himself, so instead he gazed down at his feet and moved on in silence.

"Ok then." Percy seemed to be ok with the odd situation, he walked and looked out at sea with a slightly wistful expression as if he were thinking about something close to his heart. The sight made Nico feel breathless like some giant was standing on his lungs and suffocating him, so he followed Percy's gaze and came to an abrupt halt. Percy walked into him, sending Nico stumbling forward a pace. "What's wrong? Why have we stopped?"

Nico frowned at the sea, he could swear he could see a man in a small fishing boat, standing in the prow and glaring directly at him. He shivered, wrapping his arms around himself in unconscious protection. "Don't…don't you see that?"

"See what?" Percy frowned as he followed Nico's gaze, slowly he seemed to focus on what Nico could see. "Oh that's-Dad?" The man in the boat flickered and disappeared as if he had never been there, Percy blinked and frowned. "What was that all about? Why didn't he at least come and say Hi?!" The bitterness in Percy's voice was something Nico could relate to, in fact most demigods could relate to, the bitterness of an absent parent who only visited when they wanted something from you. But Nico also knew that Poseidon had not been there to visit his son, somehow he knew that it was a warning. The bottle in his pocket grew warmer as he closed his fist around it. How could Poseidon know about his issues? How could he know what Aphrodite had given him? Could Nico have any secrets that weren't instantly known by the whole of Olympus? He sniffed and kicked at the ground where sand began to dribble into little cracks in the earth's crust.

"Come on, let's go." Nico muttered, feeling bitterness and anger welling up inside him like a tornado. He shivered and lowered his head, hiding beneath his hair.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked, taking a small step away from his companion and eyeing him warily as black and purple began to swirl around him like a weird wind storm. "Why are you really here, Nico?"

"It doesn't matter, I was being stupid, just go back to camp-" Once again his feet came to a halt when he spotted a strange collection of items that sat on the beach before them. There was a blanket with a picnic basket and everything else needed for a romantic moonlit date, Nico groaned inwardly, the picnic was placed far enough away from the shore so that the waves wouldn't ruin it but Nico was pretty sure they were giving it a good go as they crept closer and closer at unnatural speed.

Pcery too came to a halt, his eyes wide as he stared at the picnic, something seemed to flicker behind them, as if he was starting to realise something. "N-Nico…what…why…I don't quite…"

Nico felt panic surge in his chest, he grabbed Percy and pulled him away from the picnic only to find that it had appeared behind them. He was obviously not going to escape Aphrodite's machinations. Now a few candles had been added to the scene for 'romantic atmosphere', Nico shuddered. "I think we're…we're being messed with." He whispered, glaring at the picnic basket as if it was insulting him.

"I think you might be right." Percy said with a small, uncertain smile. "I honestly have no idea what is happening but there's no point in letting good food go to waste, is there?" He shrugged and moved warily over to the basket which was pink with twin doves engraved in the clasp on the front. "Well, this is unusual…Nico, why is Aphrodite's symbol on this basket? Is this her doing?"

Nico shifted uncomfortably. "I have a feeling that this is her idea of-of a prank…or something…" He looked away, unable to hold Percy's gaze for long.

"I see, well, I'm up for a midnight snack if you are?"

Nico looked back to see Percy open the basket and start rummaging through it, he pulled out junk food, drinks and all kinds of varieties of candy. Nico inched closer, drawn by the alluring smell of food as he realised he hadn't eaten in a long time, the burgers and fries were still steaming hot and his stomach grumbled. He sat down on the very edge of the blanket and gazed up at the candles, shadows reached upwards, making Percy leap back as they extinguished the candles. Percy shook his head, smiling. "You could have done that by hand, you know."

Nico shrugged listlessly and drew his knees to his chest. "It was easier to put them out all at once." He replied tonelessly.

Percy handed him a burger. "Eat." He insisted gently. "You always look like half a skeleton, I do wonder what you eat down there in the Underworld."

Nico couldn't help the small smile that graced his face as he took the food and began to unwrap it. "I can't eat anything, remember?"

"Oh…yeah."

"I come to the surface for food and supplies, my father isn't the best host."

They ate in silence, Percy staring out to sea with that soft frown as if he knew something about his future that no one else did. As if he knew that somewhere there was going to be a monster he couldn't defeat. Nico pushed that thought aside, it was too much to bear to imagine Percy dying, on that score he was certain Annabeth and he agreed. For a while the silence was companionable, Nico tried not to relax, he kept his shoulders hunched and a dark brooding frown on his face as he ate methodically. He tried to ignore that Percy was close to hand, he could hear him shifting and couldn't resist stealing covert glances at him that made his chest ache worse than ever. The waves crept closer, until they were touching the tip of Nico's shoes, he drew away from them but he felt as if they were warning him away. Percy frowned at the waves which had left a large dry patch where he was sitting to specifically target Nico. "Why is the sea trying to get you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"I…I don't know. Maybe it's another Godly joke or your father wants to murder me for some reason." He kicked out at the water and stood up, Percy waved his hand and the water reversed its course, returning to the main body.

"I don't think so somehow." Percy looked at Nico carefully. "Aphrodite's symbols, a romantic picnic by the beach, my father sending you not-so-subtle warnings…what is going on here? You know something, don't you?"

"Kind of…" Nico breathed, giving Percy a pained look. "It's a private matter, a joke, you could say…from…from the Gods. I-I…I don't really want to talk about it."

"Hmm." Percy's frown evaporated and he smiled. "This 'she' you were talking about earlier, is it someone you like? Is that why Aphrodite left out this food?" He leaned close, so close Nico could smell him, he smelt like the sea but with a hint of humanity, his eyes held a glint of mischief and he smiled brightly. "Were you supposed to meet someone here and go on a date?"

"Um…you could say that…" fear and embarrassment made him flush, his cheeks burned and he knew he must have been as red as a tomato.

Percy drew away again, much to Nico's relief. "I'm sorry they never turned up, Nico."

"Oh…yeah…" Nico gave a nervous laugh, his eyes landed upon a lonely can of soda, it was sat close to hand and he picked it up as Percy went back to gazing out at the waves.

"I brought Annabeth here once." He muttered, seemingly to himself. "We went for a walk and sat on the beach holding hands." His face lit up with a smile, it was the most beautiful thing Nico had witnessed, his heart seemed to treble it's speed. He also felt a dull pulse of resentment and anger, he had known Percy would mention his girlfriend, it was a perfectly normal thing to do for a guy who was as obviously in love as he was but Nico hated it. It seemed to sap the tiny amount of joy he had been feeling out of the whole situation, he glared at the drink in his hand and opened it, before Percy could look around he put in a single drop of the potion. His movements were swift and precise and the potion was back in his pocket before Percy turned around. "Hey, is that soda blue?"

Nico looked down at it and, sure enough, the liquid inside was blue. He frowned in confusion, he had assumed it was a normal soda, maybe the potion had changed its colour? "It seems so."

"How did you know?" Percy asked, his grin widening brightly. "Blue food and drink is my favourite thing, kind of a running joke between my mom and I." He plucked the soda out of Nico's numb fingers and brought it to his lips, Nico felt terror tear down his spine as guilt fused with all his wild emotions. The ground rumbled dangerously as he leaped forward, snatching the drink from Percy's hand and falling on top of him. They struggled a little before Nico pushed himself up onto his hands and looked down into Percy's confused face. "What is going on? I mean, really Nico, you can tell me."

Nico shook his head, his breathing catching in his throat and his eyes drifting helplessly to Percy's lips. He swallowed a lump in his throat before forcing himself to sit up, he looked down at the half-empty can in his hand before throwing it into the sea where a wave leapt up and swallowed it whole. "I…I'm sorry…I have to go…" He struggled to his feet, stumbling backwards as panic obscured his thinking, he adjusted his clothes and drew his sword. "This is why I need to stay in the Underworld." He muttered, mostly to himself.

"What…because of me?" Percy's hurt expression made Nico's guilt worse, he stamped his foot in frustration and lifted his hand to his hair.

"No! No! Yes! I-I…I don't know!" he screamed, causing the earth beneath his feet to groan and shadows to reach towards him. "I'm sorry Percy, I have to g-go!" He turned and made to run into the woods but Percy grabbed his arm, swinging him around so that they were face to face.

"Not again, I'm not going to let you just disappear!" He growled angrily. "Just tell me what's up and I can help you! If you're in trouble or-or-"

"No! Let me go!" Nico yanked himself free and took several steps back. "You belong with Annabeth, you're…you're perfect together, I see that! I know that! I'm so…so stupid! I shouldn't have come at all! What was I thinking! Ti amo e non posso dirvi, perdonami!*" He looked at Percy intently, his eyes conveying nothing but regret and pain. "Io sono un cretino!*" He spat furiously before looking away, trying to calm himself enough to take control of his emotions but it was hard, there was so much confusion, so much hurt and anger in him that he couldn't seem to get a proper grip on himself. "I-I…I'm going now." He managed to whisper, turning and fleeing towards the forest where the shadows embraced him like a mother's arms.

*Basically Nico just confessed his feelings to Percy but in Italian, knowing he wouldn't know what he was talking about. I used an internet translator (not Google, I KNOW that's dodgy) as I don't speak Italian, despite my love of the language. I apologise if I have got this wrong in any form, I hope it makes sense to those who speak it and I hope it's not something really stupid. I'm British but I have tried to use American terms for items such as 'candy' and 'soda' and I'm not used to writing like that so if I made a mistake I apologise (just in case, lol). This is my first (and probably ONLY) Percy Jackson fic, it's short and probably not that exciting but I love Nico so much and I just HAD to write something about him. I will also apologise if the characters are a little OOC because, although I tried very, very hard to keep them in character, I probably didn't do it justice. Anyway, I hope enjoyed, despite my many failings. Any reviews would be most welcome. :)