Just got the idea for this a while ago. Little mindless fluff.

Nico rested his back against the tree, taking comfort in the night air around him. The full moon shone down on him, and he took a deep breathe, allowing the clear, crisp air to fill his lungs. But it still did nothing to calm him, or to ease his nerves.

Around him, the normal world carried on. They had no knowledge of the hidden world right in front of them, shrouded by a layer of mist. The monsters next to them would have sent them running, screaming for their mothers as the creature took it's pleasure in devouring them. But it was all hidden by the mist. And Nico sometimes wondered if he could borrow that mist.

But it wasn't as if that mattered. Nico huffed as the thought occurred to him. It wouldn't matter if he summoned mist to hide him from the world or not. Because there was a simple truth of his life that he had finally come to realize.

He was alone.

Yes, he was true. He was a child of Hades. One of the Big Three. He was suppose to be loved and respected by all the mythological world he was now a part of. Demi-gods and monsters, Gods and Titans. He was high in the status ques for the simple fact of his parentage. The lord of the dead himself, with him as his son. Legions of the dead would rally to his call, and yet Nico couldn't free himself from that simple truth.

He was feared. He was an outcast. Only the dead he commanded held any semblance of respect or devotion to him. And they did that only out of fear of him, his power, his ancestry.

He was so powerful. And he was so alone.

Bianca. How he misses her. Maybe that thought had occurred to him because of the Moon. She had joined those damned Hunters, forsaking men...forsaking him.

You know that's not true, his inner thoughts said.

But she was gone. Dead and had moved on, her spirit reborn. Nico grit his teeth at the memory. First he had tried to summon his mother's spirit, and she had stopped him then. And now she was gone, and he would never see her again.

Percy may be an only son, but he had Tyson as a brother. That cyclops was just as devoted a brother as any mortal, even if he wasn't the usual package. But what was usual in this world of his game, Mythomagic, brought to life?

His thoughts went back to the adventures he had gone through ever since that fateful night at the military academy. All the monsters, all the fighting, all the pain. In his mind's eye he saw all the faces of those lost, and of those gained. Artemis recruiting his sister, for which he had still not forgiven, Percy and Annabeth reunited, together and in love.

Love. So powerful an emotion. So simple and yet it held the power to destroy stars...

And the power to light them anew...

Maybe he should have a talk with the Love goddess, Aphrodite about it. Love was a strange sensation for him. He never gave it much attention, and yet, with all the losses and pain, he felt himself desperate for a release, someone to finally share it with, who would not tense and be uncomfortable with him.

But with his...preferences...something he can not control, the chances of that were slim. In his home time period, he would be scorned and attacked, an abomination fit for damnation.

But it seemed that many things had changed in this new time, many things ever since he and Bianca left that casino. Could there be...hope for him? Someone like him that he could share it with? The Love and the Pain? A companion that did not fear or hide from him like so many others?

As he lay there, and felt footsteps approach. He looked up and saw the face of Will Solace, the Apollonian he had grown a certain liking to.

"Hey Nico, what are you doing out here?" he asked. Nico shrugged.

"Just...thinking. Getting away for a while."

Will stared for a moment and then slid down next to him. Nico moved over a few inches to allow him next to him and Will snuggled in, his body warm against Nico's. If it was some sort of move toward something Nico didn't acknowledge it.

"What's on your mind?" Will asked. Nico shrugged again. "You can tell me. I won't judge you."

He won't judge me? Nico had been judged his entire life. Who was this boy to tell him otherwise? But something about Will made him...safe. He made him comfortable. Nico turned to look at Will and for a moment was lost in his eyes, soft in the light. Nico gulped.

"It's just...a lot has happened in the last few years. I needed to just sit down and think."

"You know, you might feel better telling someone about it all."

"I wouldn't want to bore you."

"Not at all. Please...I want to hear it." Nico gave him a look and Will nodded. "All of it. Just let it all go."

And so Nico told him. About losing their mother. About the casino. About meeting Percy and the Hunters. About his sister leaving him foer the Hunters and thwen leaving him forever. His hatred of Percy at first, and his sister's spirit soothing his rage. About finding Percy again, about the door's of death, everything he could remember. Nico bared it all for this guy, and found himself snuggling up against him as he did, with Will not saying aword the entire time.

Afterward, Will was lost in thought. Nico could almost see the gears turning i his mind. Then he looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks for telling me all this. I like the honesty." Nico nodded.

"What are your plans for tonight?" he asked Nico. Nico thought for a second.

"I didn't actually have any..."

"That's cool. I was...I was just wondering...I'll be the only one in my cabin tonight. If you didn't care, I thought you might be able to come over after dinner. Maybe talk some more."

"Just talk?" Nico asked, his mind wondering. Will gave a a grin and winked.

"If that's all you want, then sure. Otherwise, I'm sure we could find something...else to do."

Nico smiled and slowly got up, following Will with his stomach erupting in butterflies. And his heart warming inside.

Maybe he wasn't so alone after all...

I hope that was worth the quick read. I actually sympathize probably the most with Nico personally. We both were the "odd man out". Feeling differently than the rest and being an outcast because of it. Except for the "preferences" in romantic interests, we were both very similar, and felt alone. So this really just had to be written on my part.

I hope you enjoy. And by the way, just to get the news out, my "Brotherhood Of The Hunt: Until The Light Dies" story is being updated again, after all this time. If you haven't read that and are interested, read "The War Of The Hunters" and then "Brotherhood Of The Hunt" first, to understand. I am thinking of going over my previous stories to fix some grammar issues I constantly made in those stories as well, and maybe some extra detail.

Have a good un'!