"I'm leaving," the two words hung in the air, breaking the quiet.
"What?" Percy's head jerked around so quickly he almost got whiplash. "You can't leave," he said, rubbing at his neck. "You're a hero. You helped Reyna bring back the statue."
Nico shook his head, avoiding the light of the dying campfire. "You guys will be better off without me. No one wants a Son of Hades hanging around."
"What about Hazel?" Percy asked, quietly. "She could use your help."
"She has Frank," Nico let out a tiny, derisive snort. "And don't go asking me about Jason or Piper or Leo or any of them. None of you need me anymore."
Percy watched him for a long moment, the changes evident even in the deep shadows. Gone was the bright-faced kid that chattered about myths and gods like they were only legends. A young man stood in his place, so thin he was almost a shadow himself, with eyes that had seen myths and gods and knew they were monsters. "Where will you go?" he found himself asking.
The boy shrugged. "Back to Hades. He can always find something for me to do."
"That must be lonely though."
Nico grinned a wide, sickly grin. "I'm the Ghost King. I can always find friends in my father's realm." Then he sobered, his face falling. "Percy-"
Percy held up a hand. "Wait. I want to say something first." Nico blinked at him, then closed his mouth, nodding. Percy sighed and raked his hands through his hair. "Okay. So. When I was in Tartarus, there were these old grannies. The arai, they called themselves. Curse givers. When I killed one of them, I was given a curse that someone who I had hurt or killed had made. And the whole time, part of me was waiting- was almost hoping- to feel something from Bianca." Nico stiffened, and Percy tensed to grab him in case he tried to leave, but the demigod didn't move. "But I didn't," Percy continued, letting himself relax a bit. "I must have killed at least twenty of those things, but not a single curse from Bianca. And I mean, I guess she didn't have and grudges towards me in the end, but it was still my fault she died, and I just wanted to say I'm sorry, N-mmph!" he was cut off by the sudden press of lips against his own.
Nico broke away, a hand wiping over his lips like he had just done something disgusting. "It wasn't your fault," he muttered, careful to stay in the shadows so Percy wouldn't see his expression because if he did then Nico would never be able to leave. "So stop blaming yourself for it. Good bye, Percy Jackson." He started to fade into the darkness, let it wrap around him like the comforting blanket he knew it could be when a strong hand closed around his forearm.
"Whoa, wait," Percy pulled him out of the shadows and into the dim light of the dying fire. "You can't just kiss me and run off like that."
"Oh yeah?" Nico practically snarled, wrenching his arm out of Percy's grip. Of course he couldn't just let it be! How stupid could he be, doing something like that, and then hanging around long enough for Percy to snap out of the shock and do something about it? Stupid, stupid, stupid. "Watch me." He stalked back towards the darkness beyond the circle of light.
"You don't have to be ashamed, you know," Percy's voice echoed after him, soft as shadows.
Nico wheeled about. "Oh no?" he advanced on Percy, and the older demigod shrunk back. "Not only am I a son of Hades, the most hated and feared god, but I also happen to have fallen in love with my sister's self-professed killer!" he spat the last few words, hate glowing in his eyes. "Tell me, what haven't I to be ashamed of?"
Percy stared at him for a moment, then his gaze fell. "Look, I'm sorry, man. I didn't know."
"Would it have changed anything if you did?" Nico asking, surprising himself with his boldness. He crossed his arms for good measure.
"No. Maybe?" Percy shook his head. "I honestly don't know. But," he looked at Nico with those sea-green eyes, making his traitorous stomach flip over. "You are still my friend, if you want to be. That isn't going to change. And you might be a son of Hades, but you're one of us." He gestured to the trees that hid the Camp Half Blood cabins from view. "You've got a bed whenever you want one, and friends that are willing to help with anything you might need help with. All you have to do is ask."
"I don't need help," Nico snapped, but oddly enough, he didn't want the ground to swallow him up anymore. He felt tired for the first time in weeks- the sort of tired he'd forgotten people could feel. It was a bone-deep, safe sort of tired. The kind that you just sort of knew would be as dreamless as any demigod's sleep could be. "But," his arms dropped, hand automatically going to the sword at his side. "I guess I'll sleep here tonight. Don't get me wrong!" he burst out to counter the smirk he knew would appear on Percy's face. "I just don't want to shadow travel when I'm this tired. It's dangerous."
Percy shook his head, hiding a smile. "I wasn't going to say anything." He stepped forward and ruffled Nico's hair. "You know where your cabin is," he said, heading off to his own. "Oh, and Nico?"
"Yeah?" Nico hurriedly dropped his hand from his head.
Percy smiled. Not a smirk, but a tired, true smile that made him feel warm all over. "Thanks for telling me." Nico nodded mutely, and Percy turned back to the trees. "See you in the morning!" he called with a wave, vanishing beyond the reach of the fire.
Right. The morning. Nico turned back to the flames, letting shadows curl around them with a clench of his hand. They flickered and dimmed even more, darkening to coals. He let them go with a sigh, but they puffed out instead of flaring back to life, leaving him to be bathed in starlight. Briefly, just briefly he considered his original plan. Shadow-travelling to Hades' palace, escaping the coils of mortal life, and not having to deal with people or feelings. But that would be the easy way out. And Percy was right, Nico thought, turning toward the circle of cabins. He was a hero.
And heroes didn't take the easy way out.