Pairings: Percicobeth, Jasper, Will/Mitchell
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I don't own Heroes of Olympus
Tags: Periods, Puberty, Plato, Trio, Reincarnation
When Hazel came to Nico, tears streaming down her chocolate-colored cheeks, he never thought it would end with him getting a date.
It all began one July morning. Nico was curled in between his darks sheets so that only his nose poked out for air. He knew it was late, but he had no plans of moving, not when he could be sleeping. Just as he was drifting off, he heard the familiar whoosh of an Iris Message. Out of curiosity, he poked his head out of the covers, wondering why Hazel was in the mist.
He stared up at her, alarmed by her puffy eyes and disheveled appearance. "Hazel?"
"Nico," she sobbed. "I- I think I'm dying."
"What?" He bolted out of bed, pulling on pants and immediately shadow-traveling toward her life force. As soon as he got out, he nearly collapsed. He face-palmed for shadow traveling on an empty stomach. But before he could collapse, Hazel threw herself in his arms, sobbing and hiccuping.
"Hazel," he asked tentatively, "what's wrong?"
She whimpered. "I'm bleeding. It won't stop. Nico, I'm going to bleed out. I tried taking unicorn draught, bandages...everything, but nothing is working!"
"Did you go to the medics?"
"...No. All of the female medics are out for training with Asclepius. And I couldn't go to a boy because of where I'm bleeding."
"Where are you bleeding?" he asked, looking her over for scratches, but not finding anything.
"Um... from my..."
"Where, Hazel?"
She whispered in his ear, and he didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or blush. He remembered when Bianca had first explained it to him, and he cringed. Some things brothers really didn't need to know about their sisters. He composed himself before continuing the conversation.
"Oh, I think I know what's wrong. Come on. I'll take you to Annabeth since Reyna is on a quest. I'm sure she can explain."
Hazel took his hand hesitantly, still not sure how Annabeth could help, but she allowed Nico to pull her into the shadows.
Seconds later, she found herself on the green grasses between cabins at Camp Half-Blood. Nico was already making his way toward the door of the Athena Cabin. He knocked on the marble, and then turned, tapping his foot impatiently against the shiny stone step.
When Malcolm answered the door, he was clearly not expecting to see the son of Hades. Honestly, he was probably barely awake if his messy blonde curls and bleary eyes were anything to go by, but he just asked, "What can I help you with?"
"Can you get Annabeth please? It's kind of urgent." Nico blushed at the thought of seeing the blonde, but that wasn't the main problem at the moment.
Hazel wasn't feeling any less alarmed, and she still felt like she might be dying. The body aches and blood dripping out of her certainly didn't help her stay calm while they waited three minutes for Annabeth to appear. In that time, Nico had grabbed a chocolate chip muffin so he didn't pass out. He was just picking at the top when Annabeth came out, wearing a coffee-stained pair of shorts that were a little on the short side and a tank top that left little to Nico's imagination.
She'd probably been studying something judging by her coffee jitters and the pencil tucked behind her ear, but she smiled at the underworld siblings. "What can I do for you guys?"
Nico blushed, but steeled his resolve. "We have a little problem." He whispered in her ear for a minute, and her silvery eyes widened and then softened into something a lot like pity as she looked at Hazel.
She ducked back into her cabin momentarily, returning with a little bag in her hands. "Nico, why don't you take Hazel to your cabin, I'll be over in a minute with some books and Piper. Oh, and give her this," Annabeth ordered as she tossed the little gray bag at Nico. "And explain how to put it on, please."
He caught it and grimaced, but he did as she told him.
Ten minutes later, Hazel was sitting on the floor after returning from the bathroom. She seemed to be slightly relieved, but she kept twirling her hair around her fingers, a nervous habit Nico had started to mimic up on during their time on the Argo II last year.
Nico almost bolted to the door when he heard a knock. When he opened it, he sighed in relief as Piper and Annabeth walked in with about a dozen books and several other items in bags.
Annabeth settled herself on the black velvet couch across from Hazel, and Piper perched on the armrest beside the blonde, both were looking sympathetic. Nico was just about to sneak out when Annabeth's voice made him freeze.
"Nico, don't you dare leave, your sister needs you right now, so sit your butt down."
Nico glared but settled himself on the floor, feeling bad when Hazel looked at him fearfully.
"Hazel, first thing's first. You aren't dying," Piper soothed. Nico was pretty sure she was using charmspeak because he felt himself being lulled into comfort. "What's happening to you is a normal part of growing up. All girls get it at some point, and it's completely expected."
The longer they talked, the hotter Nico's cheeks grew. Piper was talking about cramps and exercise and chocolate, and Nico learned that Annabeth was pretty much a superhero. She always got the cramps, the stomachaches, headaches, soreness, bloated feeling, mood swings, cravings, etc. He shuddered to think what she might like if pregnant. Wait, never mind. That was irrelevant. He wouldn't be there anyway when she and Percy were delivered a baby. He was pretty sure she only carried on normally by sheer force of being Annabeth freaking Chase. He was pretty sure his ear were as red as Drew's lipstick when he was suddenly startled back into the conversation by Piper asking, "Do you know where babies come from?"
Hazel shook her head, her caramel curls bouncing. Nico paused, "Don't babies get delivered by Hermes?"
Piper started laughing, but stopped when she realized he was being serious. Annabeth stared at him, her startlingly gray eyes boring into him. "Where did you hear that?" she asked.
"Well, Dad gave me the talk last year. He said that when two people, a man and a woman, love each other very much, they are delivered a baby by Hermes. He said the woman incubates the baby like with chicks, and then when it is big enough, it emerges when she throws it up. It didn't make a lot of sense, but hey, that's a lot like the Olympians, and look at Athena's birth."
Annabeth groaned and buried her face in her pen-stained hands. Piper burst out laughing. "Oh my gods," she cried, "Hades really said that!?"
Annabeth turned her gaze back to Nico. "What do you know about puberty?"
"I know that guys get more body hair, certain urges, and..."
"And what?" Annabeth asked.
"Nothing, that's it."
"Are you sure?"
"Voices get deeper?"
"I'm getting Percy," Annabeth announced.
Nico flushed crimson. He didn't know a lot about puberty, but he knew enough to know that he did not want Percy explaining bodily changes to him.
Unfortunately, Annabeth was halfway to Cabin 3 before he could bring himself to move again. Nico was about to shadow-travel away, but Piper grabbed his wrist. "Nico, you need to learn this stuff. You're fifteen."
At the moment Nico really did not feel fifteen, he felt like a five-year-old who wanted to stamp his foot and ignore them. Annabeth was coming back with Percy in tow, and Nico started panicking.
"No! Please, not Percy," Nico whined, still fighting Piper's iron grip.
Piper sighed. "Would you rather it be Jason?"
"No! Your boyfriend would just get overly enthusiastic about it! I do not want him doing this either."
"What about Will," Piper suggested. "He's a doctor."
Nico grimaced. "No way. He'd be way too eager and show me all these diagrams and books. Besides, he's staying at Mitchell's house this summer, so he's not even here."
"Really? I thought you two had a thing."
"No. He is a good friend, but he doesn't see me that way. And he's not my type."
"Oh, just like Percy isn't your type," Piper added with a wicked smirk. Nico turned an unfortunate shade of vermillion just in time for Percy to walk into his cabin, bickering with Annabeth.
"Annie, why do I have give him the talk? I'm not his dad," Percy whined.
"His dad is part of the problem. Who tells their teenager that Hermes delivers babies?"
"But..."
"No buts, Seaweed Brain. Nico needs you. And maybe...," she trailed off and whispered something in Percy's ear that made him grin.
"Okay. I like that plan," he said, giving her a quick kiss. "C'mon Neeks, we'll leave the girls alone and hang in my cabin." Percy threw an arms around his shoulders and started leading the Ghost King away.
"Don't call me Neeks. And why am I being kicked out of my cabin?" Nico asked while pushing Percy's arm off.
"Trust me, there are some things you really don't want to know about your sister's body. Now I should still have the stuff from last year when I gave Tyson the talk."
"Isn't he eleven?"
"Yes, that's how behind you are."
Nico groaned but trudged into the cabin, settling awkwardly on the floor in front of Percy's bunk.
Percy returned from the back of the cabin a few minutes later with two books and a sigh. He plopped down in front of Nico, and motioned for the younger teen to join him on the bed.
Nico took his sweet time to settle at the foot of the warm bed, definitely not taking note of every little scent or texture.
Percy looked like he was fumbling to find somewhere to begin. "So, let's talk about sex," he finally got out, but it sounded more like a question than a statement.
Nico turned such a bright red, Ares's eyes would have been jealous. Percy cleared his throat, and hid his face. Nico was surprised to see the Chosen One blushing as well.
"So, sex has different definitions, it depends on the people involved. The way a baby is made, is when a man and a woman come together... um, hold on." Percy grabbed one of the books (a scientific one) and proceeded to go over sexual reproduction. He also went on to talk about alternative methods for same sex couples to have biological children. Afterwards, he discussed sex for purposes other than reproduction.
After discussing masturbation at length, he taught Nico how to shave, and other things that would be important.
Finally, he got to something that startled Nico. "So, I know that in Plato's stories, they mentioned how people used to be combined, like siamese twins, I guess. What Plato didn't know, is that not all of these combined humans were only two people, more specifically male and female. Some were two men, some were two women, some were neither male or female, but something else. And some were three, some were four, and some were more, but Hera doesn't like for people to know that because she only supports marriage to one person, even if the people involved are missing a piece, or pieces."
Percy moved steadily closer as he told Nico the story. "When the gods split these people, Aphrodite and Hera warred on what would happen to the polyamorous lovers. For many centuries, Hera has stifled the odd person. In quartets or groups with an even number, things could work out, but they would all feel something was missing. In trios or quintets, there was always someone who came along later, and would be left out. Despite Eros and Aphrodite's attempts to bring them together, the third person usually ended up miserable and alone."
Percy paused, his aquatic eyes aimed at the comforter. "Do you remember what I wished for, Nico? After the Giant War?" Percy stared intently into the wide, onyx eyes of the younger demigod. "I wished that Hera would quit meddling with love. I don't want to lose you, not in this life, not again."
"Not again?" Nico whispered, noticing how close he and Percy were. Percy's sweet breath ghosted across his lips.
"We have lived many lives before this one. You, Annabeth, and I. The first time after the split, you were the Patroclus to my Achilles, and Annabeth was our Briseis. Most recently you were Alan Turing, I was your Christopher, and Annabeth was your dear friend, Joan."
Nico stared at Percy, his mind not believing it, but his heart singing, 'I belong.' He wanted so hard to trust Percy, but could he really complete anyone?
Percy continued, trying to get Nico onboard. "To be brought back to this world so soon after the last life, maybe it's time we got to live the way we were meant to: together. So many times, we got so close, but every time, happiness escaped us, and not every life we lived was heroic."
"Together?" Nico questioned. His mind froze after thar word. "You mean...?"
"I love you, Nico. I also love Annabeth. You are both irreplaceable."
"Do you love me the same way you love her?" Nico begged. His eyes were wide, hopeful, and so fragile.
"No." Percy kissed Nico's brow.
Nico pulled away. "Oh, I see..."
"Listen first. If I loved you the way I loved her, I wouldn't be loving you. I love you in a different, but equal way. If you want, we could be together, for the first time, we could actually live openly in love."
Percy leaned in, so close that Nico could feel the older demigod's heartbeat. Percy stopped just short of Nico's lips, letting the younger decide what would happen. Nico closed the gap with the slightest tilt of his head. His chapped lips moved against Percy's. Slow, careful, and natural. It felt like the most amazing thing Nico could imagine, and yet it felt so nostalgic, like it was an old memory.
Nico pulled back for air a few minutes later. He looked in Percy's swirling eyes, seeing flashes of the Trojan War, fire, knights, paintings, statues, his time at Bletchley Park. He threw himself back into Percy's arms.
"How do I know that we aren't just doing this to fulfill our destiny?"
"Because I make my own destiny, Nico. And so do you, so does Annabeth."
"Will this be our chance for happily ever after?" Nico whispered against Percy's chest.
"I'm not sure, Neeks. I'm not sure. But I do know something else."
"What's that?"
"Demigods are best in threes." Nico laughed as he clutched Percy's shirt.
Suddenly, a thought struck Nico. "Does Annabeth know? About our past lives?"
"Yes I do," she answered from the door.
Percy and Nico jumped, making her laugh. She sauntered over with her baseball cap in hand. She took Nico's hand, slowly weaving their fingers together. "You, Nico, are our missing piece. If you are willing, we would like you to join us."
"Yes," Nico said. He smiled more brightly than he had since Bianca left as they each kissed his cheeks.
Annabeth smiled and placed a sweet kiss on his forehead. "Hazel is all taken care of, she's just about to head back on Mrs. O'Leary. After we send her off, how about lunch, boys? I know a great little place next to a garage that just opened up. It's the hottest new restaurant around."
Somewhere on Olympus...
"Aphrodite!" Hera screeched.
"Yes, your royal peacock?" Aphrodite drawled lazily as she worked on ship names for her latest set of lovers.
"What did you do?!"
"Oh, yes. I suppose you're referring to Pluto's girl. It was about time for her to become a woman, but I don't see why a girl getting her period bothers you so much."
Hera fumed. "Not the girl! You- You...! You planned this, didn't you?! Making a mockery of a relationship!"
Aphrodite whirled, her kaleidoscope eyes flashed in a deadly way. Hera stepped back in alarm, having never seen the usual airhead look so serious. "I'm making a mockery of a relationship? What do you call your marriage? Those three have literally been to hell and back, and yet you, a loveless matron, cannot allow them happiness. In case you had not been informed, I, am the goddess of love. All love, not just heterosexual monogamy. Get your head out of the dark ages. These three belong together; they were literally made for each other, and still you bitch about tradition. Get out of my palace, now!"
Hera stood perfectly still, her spine rigid before disappearing from sight.
The goddess of love crumpled back into her seat. She waved her hand through the air, conjuring the image of the trio. She looked at them. "Yes, Nico. This will be your happily ever after," she whispered with a smile as she blew a kiss at the image. "Live well, heroes, and may you reside together on the Isle of the Blest."