Nico barely remembered his mother. I mean, sure, he had a few memories of her. Her smile, the way she saw the good in even the darkest things, how she sang to him on stormy nights. But they all drifted through his head meaninglessly, like scraps of a dream he couldn't fully recall. Only one memory of her was fully restored to him. Her death.
He remembered when he was little, playing with Bianca in a nice hotel, his parents seated in the main lobby. They spoke quietly to one another as he and his older sister giggled and squealed, so young, so innocent, not yet tainted with the sorrows of a demigod. His mother, the beautiful Miss di Angelo, stood and walked gracefully to the stairwell, beginning to mount the steps. Panic suddenly filled his father, Hades's, face. He dove for them and a strange force-field thing wrapped around them. Nico remembered the fear as Bianca held him tight. He remembered the metallic smell of the air, now filled with electricity. The side of the building blew apart from a great bolt of lightning. When the dust settled, the force field was gone. Hades knelt on the stone-riddled carpet of the hotel, the broken figure of a women in his arms. Nico's mother.
Another boom of thunder made him jump back to the present, the sound mingling with the distant memory of his father's enraged cry.
Chiron was allowing storm clouds into the camp to water the strawberries. Now if that had been all, Nico would have been fine, but no. Jason just had to put on a show for the campers! As the thunder rumbled through the sky, Nico curled tighter into his ball of fear, the memory of how his mother died leaving the deep scars that led the way to his fear.
You're the son of Hades! You've been through Tartarus, for crying out loud! Stop being so afraid and enjoy yourself.
But as another boom of thunder, this one louder than the last, met his ears, he found he couldn't face this fear. It was too painful. He couldn't cry either. If he did, he wouldn't stop. So he sat there, fear bottled, and waited for the storm to pass.
"Hey, Percy? Have you seen Nico?" Will tapped the son of Poseidon on the shoulder to get his attention, tearing it away from the dazzling lights as they streaked through the sky.
"Hm? Oh, uh, no. I thought he was with you." Percy admitted. Annabeth turned to Will. She was beside Percy. They were seated on a blanket by the lake, their hands intertwined.
"You should check the Hades cabin. He's probably in there. You know how he is with social situations." She suggested, gently.
Will simply nodded and stood.
"Thanks, anyway." He called over his shoulder as he ran along the shore of Long Island towards Nico's cabin. To be perfectly honest, Will was worried. He was always worried, of course, considering his nature as a healer, but for Nico especially. Just don't tell Nico! He wasn't really ready quite yet to reveal he had a crush on the 1940s kid.
Jogging to the main clearing, he trotted apprehensively up to the pitch black mass that was the Hades cabin. The torches outside, lit with an eternal Greek fire, were still going, the flames guttering and flicking in the rain. Will shouldered his umbrella and nocked lightly on the front door.
When Nico heard the knock, he jumped, afraid Zeus was there to smite him as he intended to do so many years ago. But then he realized a few things. A) Zeus would certainly not knock. B) The sound was gentle and almost… caring? And C) gods were not allowed to interact with demigods directly, a rule decreed by Zeus himself, so he couldn't break it unless he wanted all the other gods to start breaking it. Nico didn't answer the door, though. It was already open. So upon the knock, the door creaked open just a bit. Nico couldn't bear to see who was there, so he buried his face in his knees instead.
When Will knocked, he was surprised to find the door simply cocked open for him. He nudged open the door and peeked inside. The first thing he noticed was Nico di Angelo, curled on his bed, face in his knees, shoulders hunched, fingers clutching his black jeans as if he was afraid. But what could he possibly be afraid of?
A rumble of thunder echoed across the sky and he noticed Nico jump and the grip on his jeans tighten. Will gave a sharp gasp as a story Percy once told him came flooding back. Nico's mom. Percy had dreamed of when Nico discovered how his mom died, telling him just as a warning. Lightning. Oh gods!
Will shut the door, abandoning his umbrella and rushing to Nico's side. He wrapped his arms around the son of Hades and held him like that for a moment in silence. Then he found a soft hum beginning to escape his lips. A lullaby that his mother used to sing to him. As he hummed, he rocked the 14-year-old gently.
"It's okay," He murmured instinctively, "He won't come for you. You're safe."
Nico sniffled a little bit. "Really?" He asked, voice barely a whisper.
"Mhm. He wouldn't dare. And you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because he knows you have friends who would whoop his sorry… err, butt, for even laying a finger on you." Will hummed some more, and this time Nico melted into his embrace.
Nico smiled just a tiny bit at Will's correction. The goody-two-shoes couldn't even swear. But it was just another reason he liked the healer so much. He was the light and Nico was the dark. The light needed the dark to survive. The dark needed the light. But don't tell Will! Nico was a little uncertain about saying anything to the son of Apollo over his crush. He didn't even know if Will was gay or not.
The boy pushed aside his thoughts and held Will back. His shoulders began to shake, and for the first time in a long while, he allowed himself to cry. He hated showing weakness around others. But Will seemed special, like Nico could trust him.
When the thunder piped up next, Nico didn't jump.
(Somewhat) Epilogue
Nico and Will had a new bond of trust after that. They started dating a month later, the entire thing set up and planned by Jason and Percy, of course, since the two would never do anything about it otherwise. Nico no longer felt afraid of thunder and lightning afterwards. Instead it reminded him of Will and how much he cared about the son of Apollo. Will got just that much more protective of Nico, but now he trusted the younger boy (or is he older, technically, since he's from the 1940s? You know what, forget I mentioned it.) to tell him if something was wrong and help him out around the infirmary. And they lived fluffily ever after. The end. No! No, Apollo, no! Don't you dare start another series! WHAT DO YOU THINK FLUFFILY EVER AFTER MEANS?! –Please stand by, we're experiencing technical difficulties-
A/N: sorry if the line breaks confused anyone. This is to make up for the sad crap I wrote. Hope you enjoyed this one-shot because I won't be writing more for a while. And Furious, would you please stop bothering me IRL about the hiatus? It's happening! Live with it for a while. Just wait until I have my own fanfiction section. Anyway! Reviews are very much appreciated. They're food for the soul. Have a nice day, guys!
Good luck and good exploring,
Curious Pines
