Nunchi

Portuguese; the ability to gauge mood of others, read the atmosphere, and react appropriately.

A Percy Jackson Story

Disclaimer: Rick Riordan's. Not mine.

A/N: Yes, I think I said that the previous story I uploaded will be the last but I cannot resist, you know. My current exams are over, and I am just awaiting the return of my papers next week. The papers were killers, though. As much as I want to say I was prepared and did well… Anyway, I was hesitating to make this a PJ fanfic. It was a battle between Alex Rider and PJ and I guess PJ had more potential. Heh.

On with the story.

Hazel

"Hey,"

"Hey yourself."

"Percy…" Hazel rolled her eyes before giving Percy a great smack upside on the head.

"What's that for?" Percy exclaimed, while he rubbed his head, "Why are you here for?" Percy grinned as he shuffled more to the side, allowing Hazel to sit next to him on the beach.

"Why are you out of the camp? Everyone else is looking frantically for you," Hazel asked, slightly leaning into Percy. It was extremely cold on the beach. Despite that, Percy only had a thin shirt and his acid-washed jeans on. Hazel, on the other hand, had one long sleeved jacket and below that was SPQR purple shirt and underneath that… was another thermal wear.

And, she was still shivering.

"Well, I'm just thinking."

"Thinking about?" Hazel enquired curiously.

Percy glanced sideways at her and laughed, "Nothing really. Just about Nico."

Hazel inhaled sharply. What could Percy be thinking about Nico for? She kept her silence, knowing that if Percy wanted to, she would definitely tell her. So, she waited, looking at the sea waves crashing on the shore.

"He told me he liked me."

Hazel inhaled sharply again. She kind of knew about this but there was no confirmation from both sides. Ever since Nico and Jason came back from visiting Cupid, they were pretty odd. Nico avoided all topics about Percy and every single time Percy's name was mentioned, Jason would give a side-ways glance at Nico, subtly. But Hazel noticed it every time. She did not answer or reply to Percy's statement. It was odd… It was surprising, yet not so much.

Percy waited. She knew he was waiting for a response. Waiting for her to be ready to accept that his brother was gay.

"I see."

Percy sighed, "I didn't knew till he told me last week. Right after the war. I couldn't believe my ears, to say."

Hazel found herself nodding, "Well, me too."

"I thought you knew… you know," Percy turned and look at her in the eye before turning towards the sea again, "Being her precious sister and all…" Percy laughed, but it was not his usual light-hearted laugh. It was tensed and even sounded forced.

"I've hurt him, over and over again, Hazel."

Hazel looked down. Have Percy really done that? If he did not know that Nico, her brother, liked him, was it Percy's fault?

"It's not your fault, Percy," Hazel managed to maintain some calmness in her voice. She reached out to pat Percy's shoulder.

Percy glanced at her, some worry and sadness lingering in his sea-green eyes, "It is, Hazel."

Hazel waited, again. Percy was not yet done and if she spoke now…

"I've hurt him over and over again by being so intimate to Annabeth in front of him. He was only a kid, Hazel… He loved me, even if I was the one who killed his sister…"

"That's not true, Perseus Jackson!" Hazel stood up quickly, glaring down at the boy that was looking up at her shockingly, "Bianca's death wasn't your fault! Neither is it your fault that Nico loved you!"

Percy laughed, less forced now, "Sit down, Haz."

And only Percy can call her by that name without her being embarrassed. Hell, when Frank first called her Haze, she hated it. Why would she want to have a pet name that was similar to that heavy fog that covered the city? When Percy laughed it off when she demanded to be not called Haze, she was shocked. He laughed again, before saying, "Then how about Haz?"

"I was just speaking my thoughts, though. I do know it is not my fault, probably—" Hazel made a small noise at this point, "— But I just can't help it, you know…"

And Percy knew Hazel knew. It was like that with Leo Valdez as well. She could not have helped it if Leo looked exactly like Sammy, or that Leo liked her. She could not have been that pretty, yet Leo and Frank took a liking towards her.

She have been blaming herself when Leo kind of expressed his liking for her and that she rejected him. It was even worse when she became even more intimate with Frank. She…

Oh gods…

She even kissed in front of Leo…

She might have had her usual shocked look. The type of look that she have when she discovered something that she have yet before. Percy was silent and observing her, not saying anything. After a few minutes of silence, where Hazel was still deep in shock and Percy had been observing the sea waves for a while, Percy spoke.

"Hey, Haz, wanna go diving?"

/

Hazel was terrified. Utterly terrified. She was the daughter of the underwater. So, like Percy, they do not go into any of the other big Three's realm. Percy was scared of flying and she was scared of water. Simple as that.

Yet, when Percy asked her whether she wanted to go diving with him, she could not refuse. Those deep sea-green eyes… She was mesmorised and did not even realised she nodded her head until Percy carried her, bridal style, and started for the sea. She had grabbed onto Percy's neck so hard that her knuckles went white and her eyes clenched so tightly when they went underwater.

She.

Could.

Breathe.

"Haha! Haz, open your eyes!" Percy exclaimed as he placed her gently down on her feet. She was touching floor.

Holy Hades.

Right in front of her were a lot of sea creatures. There were fishes. Different kinds of fishes. Even sharks. And, hippopocampi.

Lots of them.

"Wow… Percy, this is…" She turned and faced Percy, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Paradise, isn't it?" He laughed when a shark came over and nuzzled into Percy. Hazel panicked internally. The air bubble is going to burst!

"Nah," Percy laughed again, stroking the shark near its fin. The shark leaned towards his touch and Percy giggled.

"Nah, what?" Hazel asked bemusedly.

"The air bubble won't burst," Percy smiled, chasing the shark away before sitting down on the sea bed. Hazel followed suit.

"It looks like a mini aquarium, doesn't it?" Percy smiled, sticking his hand out of the bubble with a pop and feeling the cool water.

"Yea, it's warm in here, compared to the sea breeze."

Percy looked right at her, raising his eyebrows, "Ah, it's just the air bubble. I'm maintaining the temperature over here. I knew you were cold."

Now it was time for Hazel to look at him.

"Well…" Percy raised his hand to rub his head absentmindedly, "you were kinda shivering and you kept rubbing your arms."

"Oh," Hazel did not realise she was mid-way rubbing her arms at that point and quickly put her arms by the side before tittering, "is that why you brought me here?"

Percy shook his head, before smiling sadly, "I reminded you of things."

Hazel's mouth formed a small "O".

Percy continued, "I knew they were kinda unhappy too. And when I'm unhappy, I look at the sea. Well, we were kinda already looking at the sea… So, I figured you might want to experience behind in a sea aquarium."

Hazel laughed, "You're good. Thanks."

"Bet it's your first, isn't it?"

Hazel nodded, looking up at the sharks and fishes that were circling them, "Are they talking to you?"

Percy nodded, "Some weird things like 'Oh great, mighty Son of the Sea, please help us' or like 'Son of the Sea, please play with us!' Things like that."

"Sounds kinda fun."

"Nah, ain't that fun when a bunch of them speaks at the same time though."

And at that point in time, Hazel understood. She understood what it means to have a friend, a brother, that can read your minds and do whatever he can to make you feel better.

To her, Percy Jackson was great. Even greater than ever.

Next chapter: Frank