Jason

Nico di Angelo sat on the floor of the unoccupied stables belowdeck in the Argo II. Jason sat across from him, and the door was shut. Every single word exchanged was either carefully thought out, or the result of pain and tension that had been building up for years. The thought-out words came from Jason. The rugged words cut with pain came from Nico.

Nico di Angelo wasn't one to cry, but tears slipped from his dark eyes down his pale face. Jason pretended that he didn't notice.

"Just... when they came back. It was... I couldn't... she... they..." Nico trailed off, unable to form a thought. Jason looked upon his friend (or potential friend if Nico ever decided to accept Jason) with pity. He didn't understand how Nico felt, but he knew that Nico was tearing apart inside.

Nico loved Percy. Sure, the words "Love" and "Nico" did't generally go together in a sentence, and Nico had never actually said that he loved Percy. However, Nico had admitted to having a crush on him in the past, and seeing as Cupid mentioned that the person Nico cared about most had been sent to Tatarus, who could that person be but Percy, and what could caring about someone above all others be but love? Now that Percy and Annabeth were back from Tatarus and safely aboard the Argo II, seeing them together was too much for Nico.

Nico cried and talked about Percy to Jason, and Jason listened and tried not to pry. The whole situation was awfully difficult for Jason, but that was okay, seeing as Nico needed Jason now more than ever. The demigod had fought monsters and seen the Underworld, but nothing had ever hurt him as much as watching Percy Jackson be in love with Annabeth Chase.

Percy

Percy walked belowdeck in the Argo II looking for Riptide. Usually, the sword always reappeared in his pocket. Now, however, he was wearing boxer shorts and a blue T-shirt, and had no pocket for Riptide to reappear into. Sure, the obvious solution would be to put some pants on. But Hazel and Frank were near the sleeping quarters where the extra clothes were, and Percy really didn't want to inturrupt them, seeing as they were obviously really into eachother. Plus, he was in his boxer shorts. (Hey, it wasn't his fault. Festus the happy dragon had burned his pants off while everyone else was eating, and Percy had been lucky enough to put out the fire, but unlucky enough to lose his sword and get lost wandering the Argo II in his boxers.)

As Percy wandered below the big ship among all of the humming machinery and weird rooms he hadn't explored, he began to hear what sounded like voices coming from the stables. He paused. It took a while for his ears to adjust, but eventually he heard what sounded like... his name?

He moved closer to the stables and pressed his ear to the door.

"...it's not weird. It's unique, and it's you. Do what you think is right. If you love Percy Jackson, that's you. It's all you."

Percy was confused. Was that Jason's voice? And who aboard the Argo II could possibly love him? Hazel loved Frank, Piper loved Jason, and Annabeth loved him, which he already knew. The only people left were Festus, Leo, and Nico. Now that Percy thought about it, Festus did keep eyeing him. That dragon was definitely hot for the son of Poseidon.

A second voice came from the stables, this one shaky and miserable.

"But... it's not okay. Percy has a girlfriend. I'm really jealous of Annabeth–in fact I almost depise her–but I also look up to her. It doesn't feel right. I feel like I'm betraying both of them. And I'm different, as always."

Instantly, Percy tensed up. He was not supposed to be hearing this conversation. But he couldn't move. He knew that that voice was Nico's. But Nico wasn't...

Oh Gods, Percy thought. I should have noticed that pause in the conversation.

There was a waiting silence from within the stable. Percy knew that they could hear someone at the door, and he knew that he had to get away from the stable as fast as possible. But as soon as he took a step away from the door, it opened from the other side. He found himself staring into Jason's cold, angry eyes.

Inside of the stable, Nico fell against the wall and curled into a ball, looking sick, refusing to look at Percy.

"How much did you hear, Jackson?" Jason demanded.

"I... uh... just... I didn't mean..." Percy stammered.

Jason looked back at Nico, who timidly stared back at Jason, and Percy could feel his hopelessness from across the room.

"So you heard enough, then." Jason shook his head.

Nico sat up and looked at Percy. Percy had seen many terrifying situations, but never had he seen pure terror on someone's face until now.

Jason and Percy stared at eachother for a long time, until it was broken by an unexpected sound; Nico's voice.

"Jason, I think Percy and I need to talk," Nico said. His voice rippled like a pond, and Percy could tell there were tears that Nico was trying to keep inside.

Jason nodded sympathetically and vanished to the upper decks, leaving Percy and Nico alone in almost complete silence except for the humming of machinery that Leo seemed to love. Leo was always talking about how he could communicate with machinery, and Percy wished that he could ask the machines how to handle this. But Percy was alone on this one, and he was terrified that any wrong move could permanently damage his friend.

He decided to start casually.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked. He tried to sound calm, as if nothing were wrong, but his voice cracked. Really? The ghost of puberty's past chooses now to visit?

Nico shook his head. Percy entered the stable and sat next to the son of Hades.

"Nico, I think you're a cool guy."

Nico didn't answer him.

"There's really nothing wrong with this," Percy said.

Nico faced him. The look on his face almost said Really, ocean boy? That's the best thing you have to say?

"You don't get it," Nico said. His voice was harsh, but Percy was relieved that he was speaking.

"You don't understand, Percy Jackson. Just because I..."

There was silence.

Nico

Nico trailed off. He had meant to say, Just because I love you doesn't mean you can't hurt me. But Nico realized that he couldn't tell Percy he loved him. Percy already knew, but that didn't help. The words wouldn't come out of his mouth.

Nico di Angelo was't gay, or at least he didn't think he was. He didn't know what he was. Bisexual? Pansexual? Could he be gay? He didn't know. He had never had a crush on a girl in his life, but then again, he had never had a crush on a guy other than Percy, either. Nico just wasn't exactly experienced in emotions. He always pushed them to the side and tried to forget about them. But Percy was an emotion that he couldn't forget about. Percy had kept him safe when he first came to Camp Half Blood and went on quests. He had looked after him and his sister, Bianca. Though Percy failed to keep Bianca alive, Nico forgave him. He knew he had tried his absolute best, and the failure would live with Percy forever. Unfortunately, forgiveness was another emotion Nico failed to confront. Mabye now would be a good time to change that.

"Bianca," he blurted out.

"What?" Percy asked cautiously. They were now treading on some seriously sensitive ground.

"Bianca," Nico said, thinking about his words. "You tried to protect her. Thank you."

Percy looked stunned. Nico went on.

"I know you did what you could. And yes, I'm sad about my sister. I loved Bianca because she accepted me. But I also love, um..."

Nico trailed off again. Yet again, he had come to another moment to tell Percy how he felt, and yet again he had failed to get the point across.

Percy put a hand on Nicos shoulder, sending a rush that felt like all of Posiden's waves and all of Zeus's lightning bolts through his body and making his fingertips and toes tingle. He really loved Percy Jackson. He just couldn't tell him.

"I love you, too," said Percy.

Nico knew he didn't mean it romantically, and it broke him inside. Percy saw Nico as a friend, and though Percy's feeling towards Nico were kind and he meant the best, Nico wanted so much more. He felt like Percy Jackson was just out of his reach, and he wanted to scream.

The door opened. Of course Annabeth chose that moment to walk in.

Percy

Good Gods, Annabeth, now? Percy thought.

His first instinct was to take Nico's hand. It was what he did to comfort people. When he had been stuck in Tatarus with Annabeth, he had held her hand for most of the journey, and it had made the both of them feel safer. But holding hands with Nico di Angelo was probably not the wisest move. He didn't want to get the guy's hopes up.

Annabeth stood in the doorway.

"What are you two love birds doing?" She asked lightheartedly, obviously unaware of the situation. Percy wanted to scold her, and he never wanted to scold Annabeth. But he wished she would stop.

She wasn't getting Percy's hints, and she happily walked in and sat accross from them. Then she saw the tears on Nico's face. Her face fell.

"Oh, Nico, what's wrong?" Her voice was softer than the Hypnos cabin back at Camp Half Blood.

Percy wanted to crawl into a hole and avoid the whole situation. How could Annabeth be so unaware? She was acting blinder than she was when she had actually been blind in Tatarus.

He couldn't stop Annabeth, so he did what he could and focused on comforting Nico. He ran his thumb across his hand, but Nico tensed up. Percy stopped but didn't pull his hand away. How long had it been since Nico had held hands with someone? Probably too long.

Percy and Nico looked at eachother. Nico sighed and leaned further into the wall, as if to say Fine, tell her. Everyone already knows.

Nico

Nico knew that his chances with Percy had been low, but now they were, like, lower-than-the-depths-of-Tatarus-low. He just gave up. Right then and there, in the stables of the Argo II. He mentally bid Percy Jackson farewell.

Percy looked at Annabeth. "I'll tell you later," he said quietly. "But it's not public information."

Annabeth seemed to understand.

Still, Nico was engulfed in flames of dread. What if word got out and they were all grossed out? He already had trouble making friends (not that he needed to be friends with demigods; people in the Underworld suited him just fine. Although, Percy Jackson was ten times better than anyone he had ever encountered in the Underworld... Gods, Nico thought, I'm supposed to be over him).

Annabeth smiled at Nico and Percy, then stood and left.

Nico was left alone with his only two friends; the boy he loved (who was holding his hand), and guilt. Good.

Percy and Nico sat in silence for a while, until Percy spoke up.

"You know, Nico, nothing has to change."

Nico had assumed that Percy would try to say meaningless phrases that were meant to cheer him up, but when Percy said that nothing had to change, he could tell that he meant it. Even if Percy couldn't love him the same way, they could still be friends. Good. Nico really admired Percy.

Then Percy did something surprising. He kissed Nico's cheek. His nose touched the side of Nico's face. Nico blushed, which was new to him. Nico wasn't a blusher. He smiled a little, but tried not to. He knew that Percy didn't love him romantically, but he also knew that Percy really cared about him and was trying to make sure he was okay.

Percy stood and offered Nico a hand, but Nico declined. Percy shrugged.

"Okay, well I'll see you later then," said Percy, as if nothing had happened. Nico was relieved. He didn't want his romantic orientation to define him.

"See ya," said Nico.

Percy walked out of the stables and closed the door to give Nico some privacy.

Nico leaned back into the shadows, alone with his thoughts.

Maybe he couldn't have Percy Jackson, but hey, there were plenty of other fish in Posiden's great sea. Maybe there was another son of Posiden somewhere, waiting for him. Or maybe he was a son of Hecate. Or Ares. Or Hermes. Or Apollo. Maybe he wasn't even a demigod. Maybe he was a regular human. Maybe they wouldn't even be a guy; maybe Nico would fall for a girl. He didn't know. He didn't care. He felt reassured that he had worth, and that he wasn't hopeless. He had his whole life ahead of him to figure out his purpose and his feelings. Until then, he would stick to shadow travel and things.