Okay first of all; thanks so much for all the really nice reviews and favourites for the few crappy oneshots I posted, especially The Fall Of Rome. If I'd known so many people would have liked it, I would have rewrote it! At the moment it's sadly a work of fiction from two-year-younger Zoe and I only really put it on at least attempt to stop the ever increasing backlog of fanfics clogging up pretty much eveyrthing I write on.

Anyway this is going to be a (fingers crossed) big series of drabbles about Nico di Angelo, especially since over the last few years I've kinda created like a whole new Nico in my head (complete with life experiences, houses, pets, jobs, family and friends.) and I've actually become really close (I need to get out more) to these random fictional characters I invented to accompany Nico on all his imaginary adventures and thought "Hey! What better way to get other people to like them than to publish them?"

Disclaimer; There is no more original ways to do this so I shall just boringly say I don't own Nico di Angelo or anything associated with PJO or the HOO. Unfortunately.

Song I was listening to while I wrote this; Safe & Sound by Talor Swift

Don't you dare look out your window,

Darling, everything's on fire

The war outside our door keeps raging on

Hold on to this lullaby

Even when music's gone

Eventually, they stumbled into a weeping willow glade, the long leafy branches that trailed on the ground gave perfect protection. It hardly mattered anyway;since they were practically half-dead from exhaustion, they hardly cared at this point. It could have been an abandoned cottage with ghostly clowns creeping about and a skeleton nailed to the doorway; they still would have welcomed it with open arms.

The night was an ominous, shadowy black but pinpricks of light turned the deep darkness into a starfield. In the horizon, splashes and flares of orange light lit up the sky every thirty seconds before fading, practically the only sign of the screaming explosions they had just spent eleven hours escaping from, the distant booms comfortingly far away.

As soon as they hit the deep part of the glade, all the tree trunks packed in like the undergroud at rush hour, their velvety stems grazing the ground gently, Momus just collapsed right there on the floor, while Apate and his brother forced themselves another few drowsy steps until they were under the canapy of branches, hidden from view.

Oizys found a little niche between two large trunks and promptly succumbed to sleep as her sister ran her fingers suspiciously across the trunk, wary until sleep became too much of a priority and she snuggled in next to her slumbering sibling.

Stumbling along almost drunkenly, her eyes fighting to droop shut, Eris pulled Nico behind her until they came to a spot surrounded by heavy trunks and trailing branches, disguising them perfectly.

The wispy ground looked so inviting that Eris almost crumpled up right there, if not for Nico catching her.

Mumbling a sleepy thanks, she sank softly to the ground, sighing in contentment, pulling Nico next to her, who was as good as asleep.
Deciding that he would be too tired to protest, she curled up next to him, watching the black sky light up.

It looks like fireworks, she thought drowsily.

Snuggling closer, she smiled softly as she felt the rise and fall of Nico next to her. It had been so long since they'd been out like this properly, sleeping under the stars, eating what they can, tracking and fighting often for weeks. The liberty and freedom of it all always lit up a strong, independent side of herself that wasn't always present usually and she liked it; although the constant danger was something they all could sorely do without.

"Nico?"

He sighed and, noth bothering to open his eyes, muttered,"What?"

Even his tone lacked the usual moodiness it would usually posses.

"When do you think the bombs will stop?" Even though she tried hard to hide it, her voice cracked, showing the terror she was so desperately trying to disguise.

Nico lay silently, before answering gloomily,"No idea. Probably not anytime soon, I should think."

'One of the best things about Nico,' Eris thought drily, 'Is that he never honey-coats things. He'll tell you the truth, even if it's not what you want to hear.'

"But they won't come near us again, right?" She mururmed hopefully.
Nico sighed.

"I really don't know. They shouldn't for a few hours, at the very least."

Eris digested this information silently. She sincerely hoped they would give up and decide to go for tacos instead, but her pessimistic side doubted it.

"Nico?"

He groaned quietly.

"Are we gonna talk or sleep?" He demanded.

Eris smiled slightly, but it died as soon as it reached her lips.

"I don't want you to die." She said despairingly, her words spontaneous and garbled from tiredness.

"I'm not going to."

She raised herself up in her elbows and gave him the most incredulous look she could manage using minimal facial muscles.

"Yet."

Eris sighed, flopping back down.
A great feeling of melachony despair wafted through her thoughts like smoke, blurring all the good memories and leaving only dread.

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss me too."

She gave him a shove. Admittedly a very weak shove, but still a shove nonetheless.

"I'm serious!"

"Can we discuss the cheerful subject of my impending death at a more reasonable time? I feel like I might literally go into a coma if I don't get some sleep soon."

"We can't have that." Eris spoke sourly.

She felt Nico smile, and decided to rest. She can always stress about his life later.

"Night Nico."
"Night Eris."

She smiled widely and snuggled further into Nico, draping his arm around her.

Maybe she might get a good nights rest for once.

Sidenote: Eris and Nico aren't going out. They're simply best friends, like cousins. All these new characters are probably a bit confusing but I'll introduce them all later. They're all siblings and all (very) minor Gods and Goddess from the Underworld, but they pretty much have just a bit more than the powers of an ordinary demigod so they're not like another Zeus.

Thanks for reading! As usual it means a lot and if you have any scenarios you want me to write, put them in a review and I will do my level best to do them. And as always, review anyway because it makes me day everytime I read another one and you guys are always so lovely aw aw :3

~Zoe~TheInternetGoblin~