Nico glanced inside my room. His eyebrows furrowed. "Is that...is that blue birthday cake?"
He sounded hungry, maybe a little wistful. I wondered if the poor kid had ever had a birthday party, or if he'd ever even been invited to one.
"Come inside for cake and ice cream," I said. "It sounds like we've got a lot to talk about."
-Battle of the Labyrinth, page 361
"Hi, Ms. Sally," Nico said softly.
Don't get me wrong, Nico's like my little brother after how far we've come, how much we've been through, but even now, his looks decieve me sometimes. Sometimes, I question on how the heck he pulled off the Romans-and-Greeks-both-knew-him-but-neither-knew-a bout-the-other thing. Then I have to remind myself all the times that's he's tricked me, in both good and bad ways. But all in all?
Nico looks like a harmless, if a little gothic, kid.
Nico is a son of Hades that can summon the dead to kill you. He rivals me with a sword. He's scared the living daylights out of me. He's tricked me, betrayed me, tried to kill me once or twice, and yet he fought for Olympus, he fought against Kronos and the rest of the Titans, he fought against Gaea and Tartarus and the Giants, and he has my infinite respect for going up against Gaea alone. He's a child of the Big Three. He's my cousin. And familial ties are very important to demigods.
And by some bizzare fluke, we became friends, not just cousins. Then best friends, then brothers.
Nico's soft spoken, with a light, lilting accent. He's lean, but because of the excessive 'training' that all Big Three demigods go through. He's shorter than I am, by about a full inch. He doesn't look or sound very dangerous, but if you've never heard of a panther, panther's don't really seem all that dangerous, either. I've been on his bad side before. I really don't feel like going there again. I've seen Nico mad, and he then looks dangerous, and he is dangerous.
"Hello, Nico!" My mother welcomed us both with open arms. I smiled as I breathed in her scent, a sweet air tinted faintly with the musty smell of books and moonlace.
Unashamedly, it's my favorite scent in the world.
"Nico, what's your birthday?" Mom asked suddenly. I was suddenly aware that I hadn't an idea, either.
Nico stopped dead in the hallway, a weird look on his face. I ran into him, knocked him over (on accident), and tripped over his body, so I was down with a heavy thump as well.
Mom laughed as she pulled me off of Nico, and then helped Nico up. "Jeez, Nico, you can't stop like that!" I said, rubbing my head.
"Sorry," he muttered, still with that weird, blank look on his face. I waved a hand in front of it.
"Earth to Nico!"
"The 28th of January, 1924," he suddenly said.
I blinked. "Why are you saying a random date?"
"It's my birthday," Nico said hollowly, staring at something I couldn't see.
I stopped, and pushed Nico into a seat. I knew from past experience that remembering stuff from before the Lotus Casino meant that Nico would be out of it for a little bit, ranging from an hour to a full day depending on how big the memory was. "Get some water, an advil, and some nectar, please," I said softly to Mom, kneeling next to Nico.
"She—she made me a cupcake for my birthday, once," Nico said, his voice so soft that I had to strain to hear his voice. "She was so pretty, in her white dress, shimmering with all those colors. She talked in such a soft voice to me when I was little..."
I assumed that he meant Bianca, since Nico was like two when Zeus killed Maria. "I can't believe..." he mumbled. His arms wrapped around himself, like he was cold, and I had to remember that he was sixteen-ish, really just a kid.
Then again, I was sixteen when I fought in a war. He was twelve. Ish. Maybe. Like, eighty-four. Arg! Whatever.
"Nico?" I asked gently.
"OhmigodsPercy," he said so fast that it was one word, his eyes flying wide, suddenly gripping my shoulders like I was the last thing on Earth.
"Yeah...?" I asked warily, unsure of what he was going to do.
"Ihavetotellher."
Then he got up, faster than I could almost comprehend, and darted out the door. Exasperated, I followed. "Tell who what?!" I yelled after him, trying to catch up. Dang, Nico could compete with the Hermes cabin and win.
We ran to Central Park. Nico was still ahead, and I was yelling profanities at him, asking why is he taking us here, and what did he want to tell who.
Still running, Nico took out his Stygian Iron sword, pointing it at a boulder formation that looked familiar. "Part! The son of Hades commands you!"
I raised an eyebrow, panting, both of us hurtling towards those rocks at full speed. The rocks suddenly rolled out of the way, and Nico disappeared down the staircase, taking it three stairs at a time. I rolled my eyes and climbed the banister, and slid down, finally catching up to him. "Why are we going here?!" I asked, yelling over the howling of hellhounds and screaming of tortured souls.
"I have to tell her!" Nico panted, nearly taking a header on the staircase.
"Tell who what?!" I repeated my earlier question, exasperated. "Gods damn it, you're harder to get answers out of than the old Oracle!"
He didn't dignify that with a response, only hurtling towards the Underworld and breakneck pace—literally, as I was afraid he was going to break his neck going at this pace down stairs. I hauled him up on the banister with me after watching him nearly trip again. "Who are we going to see?!" I yelled in his ear. He nearly jumped off the banister, but I grabbed his shoulders and steadied him.
"Persephone," he mumbled, but I caught it.
I raised an eyebrow. "The goddess of spring that turned you into a dandelion?"
Nico laughed. "Uh-huh."
I was at a total loss on why he would find that funny now. Personally, I wouldn't like getting turned into a dandelion, but maybe that's just me.
Nico jumped off the banister just before I did, rolling when we hit the ground, and then Nico started running again, making a beeline for his father's palace. I remember the last time I saw Persephone in winter: pale, dark hair, and a white dress that shimmered with color...wait a second.
"Persephone made you a cupcake when you were little?!" I yelled incredulously.
"She raised me and Bianca for eight years!" Nico yelled back.
"What?" I squeaked. Persephone hated Nico with a burning passion!
"I didn't spend eight years in the Lotus Casino," Nico yelled, sounding irritated. "I spent three weeks! Who else do you think raised me?! Zeus?"
"That explains your obsession with the moonlace," I muttered to myself.
Nico burst through the doors of Hades's palace with no hesitation. I swore to myself and followed. The doors banged against the walls from the force of Nico's entry. Now I could hardly track him, he fit in so well within the palace. I followed the sound of his quick, quiet footsteps. Nico navigated through the palace with practiced skill, knowing when to use his skill of skidding to turn corners. I kept up with a lot of swearing in Ancient Greek and English, as well as crashing into walls every once in a while. Nico ran right into brass double doors, and they swung open without hardly a creak.
Hades jumped as the servant's door (I was guessing) came crashing open, revealing two demigods, one who was now hugging Persephone, who looked rather stunned, and the other leaning against the doorway, panting.
"Ohmigods," Nico muttered. "I'm so sorry for forgetting..."
"...Mom."
A/N:
Who saw that coming? *snicker* I can just imagine you guys' faces, and it's pretty funny. I'll probably elaborate later.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PERCY JACKSON! *blue fireworks exploding in the background* Here's a blue cupcake to celebrate another year of surviving, Percy! \**/ ( psst—that was supposed to be a cupcake)
Arrivederci!
-Winter