Waves of Hope by .Butterfly
I do not own the Percy Jackson characters, Rick Rordan does!
It all started when Nico was sixteen. The di Angelo family had just moved to a small town in Florida called Half-Blood. The reason they were moving was to escape Nico's father, they don't use his name. So, standing in front of their new home, Nico clung to his sister's hand, Bianca, and a box labeled Mythomagic. Their mother, Maria, came up from behind and gave them a hug. She gave them both a reassuring smile and went to go help the moving men. Bianca tugged on Nico's hand and led him inside. The house was nice. It was on the beach and was a soft, creamy white. There were huge windows with soft billowy curtains that blew gently in the wind. Inside was empty apart from the huge boxes. The floor was a light brown wood and the walls were a gray-blue. Traveling around the house Nico saw most of the flooring was either a light brown wood or a white tile. All the walls had tropical colors like sunny yellow, sky blue, a fresh green, or white.
Nico was overwhelmed with it all. The house was huge and open. The aura was definitely tropical and peaceful. Being on the beach gave them a stunning view and Nico saw some caves he was sure to explore. The whole place gave off a feeling of safety and hope. It was…odd to say the least for him. He had come from New York City, a cramped, cold, loud place inside of its own fast paced world. His old home had been a small apartment that reeked of cigarette smoke. That place wasn't home, it was hell. Now, here he stood in a warm, open, quiet world. His new home was open and free. He loved it. He let go of Bianca's hand as he attempted to gather up some dignity. She simply smiled knowingly. They walked up a spiraling staircase to the second floor. His sister pointed to the room at the end of the hallway.
"That one is your new room," she said with a grin. In their old apartment they had to share a room or he'd get pissed. Now, they'd be separated, Nico didn't know if he should be overjoyed or sadden. Bianca was his best and only friend. Censing his distress she said, "Hey, it will be alright. We need to be independent, but that doesn't mean we'll lose each other. I promise." Nico took a shaky breath and nodded. "Good," she gave him a hug then pushed him to his new room. "I picked it out just for you!" she called as she entered the room next to his.
A soon as the door opened Nico's eyes grew to the size of saucers. The room was ginormous. The floor was the same brown wood as downstairs and the walls were a royal blue and had clearly been painted within the last few days, Bianca. He grinned and put the box down. There's a king sized bed in the right hand corner with a huge comforter. There was a dresser and book case that lined one wall as well. He laughed in pure joy as a smile broke out across his face. Then, his eyes landed on two French doors. No way, he thought. But still he ran forwards and opened the doors and pushed the flow-y curtains away to see a big balcony. He walked towards the railing and leaned over. The water was stunning. Blue and green clashed and waves danced on the surface. There was a boy by himself surfing. From what Nico could see he had black hair and was really muscular. The guy seemed his age and quite clearly knew what he was doing out there. Nico sighed happily and went back inside.
Back in his room he saw Bianca and his mother had brought all his boxes in. How long had he been outside? Ignoring that, he quickly set to work on unpacking. He opened the box labeled 'Nico's Clothing' first. It was all new stuff; he had saved up and bought everything new. He made sure to leave his old clothing at some donation center. He didn't want them; they held the smoky reminder of him. No matter how times he washed them he still couldn't bare the sight of them. For the most part he raided Hot Topic and some shoe store. After he was done with that he looked to the three big boxes full of his books. He loved reading; his old life had been too painful to survive on his own so he fled to another world. Nico happily put his old books into their new home. Then he had picture of Bianca and his mother that he taped to the door. He pulled out a door mirror and attached it. When he was done with the other little things that would now reside in his room, he grabbed a book and went to the balcony. He pulled out his headphones and blasted the band 'Good Charlotte' and started 'Gone' by Michael Grant. It was actually really good, so good that he only looked up when a small rock hit him in the head. Startled, he pulled out his headphones and used them to mark his page until he found an actual bookmark. With that he rushed over to the edge and looked down.
There stood the boy who had been surfing from before. He had ruffled black hair and eyes that mimicked the ocean. He was wearing an orange muscle shirt and battered shorts. In his hand he held a pile of rocks. He grinned up at Nico, "Hey, was wondering if you'd ever move." He said jokingly. Nico looked back sheepishly and saw a hand full of rocks.
"Sorry, I get into books really easily." He said rubbing his arm. The boy laughed and dropped the rocks. Nico was confused as to what this guy was doing until he started to climb up the side of his house. "What are you doing?! You could fall!" Nico exclaimed rushing over. It hadn't mattered because the boy ended up inside the balcony and gave him a triumphant grin.
"Don't worry about me princess." Nico flushed at the name. The boy walked over to the railing and looked out at the ocean. "Great view," he commented. Then the boy spun around and held out his hand. "Percy Jackson."
Nico cautiously took his hand, "Nico di Angelo."
Percy grinned like it was the easiest thing ever. "You're new here," he stated simply, "Where from?"
Nico shifted his weight, "Manhattan."
Sea colored eyes popped, "Really?! That's so cool!"
"Not really," Nico whispered. Images of bloody nights and crying flashed through his mind.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Not your fault." Then Nico found himself being crushed into Percy's chest. "Ah, um, Percy? I can't breathe."
Percy laughed and let go. "Wanna got to the beach? We can swim," he offered. Nico looked back, Percy didn't seem too bad.
"Sure, let me get changed," Nico said softly. Percy fist-bumped the air and laughed. Nico darted inside and closed the door and curtains. He pulled out a pair of black swim trunks and a black skull t-shirt. Nico got changed quickly and ran to Bianca's room. His sister was in the middle of unpacking. "Hey, Bianca, um, this kid just climbed into the balcony."
His sister looked alarmed, "Are you okay?!" Probably not the best way to tell her he was leaving…
"Yeah I'm fine, he seems nice." She did NOT look convinced. "We're uh, going down to the beach. Bye!" He ran out and back to his room. Nico walked out onto the balcony. "Back," he said softly.
Percy grinned, "Great." Then he climbed up onto the railing and jumped. Nico raced forwards and saw Percy laughing in the sand. "Jump!" Nico shook his head.
"Are you crazy?! I'll die!"
"I'll catch you!" Percy swore.
Nico hesitated, "Promise?"
"Promise." Was the reply. Nico nervously stood on the railing. "Three," Nico was grateful and hateful for the countdown. "Two," Nico inhaled sharply. "One!" Nico jumped and landed safely in Percy's arms.
Percy now stood holding Nico bridal style with a smirk on his face. Nico struggled weakly against him, "You can put me down now," he told the taller. Percy didn't look pleased, but complied. Nico had his handed grabbed as Percy bolted towards the water line.
"Come on! We can't swim for too long or sharks will be out!" Comforting, real comforting, Nico thought. They ran past seashells and palm trees to the peer. Nico's house could still be seen but it looked much smaller. The two ran onto the peer and stopped at the couple of old wooden chairs. Percy stripped out of his shirt and Nico nearly fainted. Percy had a tan six pack and strong arms that seemed more defined now that he was completely topless. Nico quickly looked away to hide his blush. Percy then started pulling at the hem of Nico's shirt.
Nico slapped at his hands. "NO! Wait!" But it was too late; Percy had the shirt up and over his head. Nico's eyes filled with tears. Percy's eyes widened. The smaller grabbed his shirt and went to run. He was stopped when Percy grabbed his arm.
"Who…who did this to you?" Percy asked in a voice just above a whisper.
Taking a deep breath Nico opened his mouth to explain. "My dad…" Percy pulled Nico into a hug and pet his head lovingly. "That's why we left. He was abusive, so that's why I have…these." He pulled back and jestured to the bruised that covered his abdomen. "It was me or my mom and sister. I let him beat me," Nico said looking down.
"Hey," Percy's fingers lifted Nico's chin up so he was looking at him. "I'll protect you."
"You don't even know me, why would you even care?" Nico asked in disbelief.
"Because, you're not like anyone else. You're too busy reading and protecting people to live. You save everyone, but then who saves you? It's one thing to be alive but another to live. I saw you before, while I was surfing. You looked so relieved; there was no one back there that you miss. No friends, family, nothing. You need someone. I'll show you how to live. I promise."
Nico's eyes were full blown. How had he known? Silently he hugged Percy and let the tears roll down his cheeks. "Thank you," he whispered.
"Of course, you're real lucky that you showed up the first day of summer. Now I have the whole summer to show you what it's like to live. Now come on, let' swim!"
Percy ran and jumped in. Nico stayed back. Percy gave him and expectant look. "I-I can't swim."
"You won't drown, I promise!" He said sincerely. Nico knew he wasn't just talking about swimming.
Hello, this is my first fan fiction on , so I'm very excited. I hope you guys like it. I will try and update as soon as possible. This is completely AU and I have messed with the character's ages. This will be for the most part an angsty fic. There will be lots of fluff as well. Please, R&R!
~ .Butterfly