PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Thalyna || The Aftermath || Pipabeth || PJatO || Frazeleo || PJatO
Title: Blood of Olympus: The Aftermath – After the War, into the Love
Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; post Blood of Olympus
Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Written: 11/01/2014
Warnings: shounen-ai, jealousy-issues, fluff, hurt/comfort, slow-build every-ship, matchmaker!Nico (Nico ships Thalyna), many feels, character study-esque, shoujo-ai, threesome, hetero
Main Pairing: Nico/Percy, Frank/Hazel/Leo, Thalia/Reyna, Piper/Annabeth
Side Pairings: Percy/Annabeth (to be broken up), Jason/Calypso (hinted), Jake/Will, Tempest/Blackjack, Paul/Sally
Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Calypso, Jason Grace, Annabeth Chase, Piper McLean, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, Thalia Grace, Will Solace, Jake Mason, Nyssa Black, Lou Ellen, Sally Blofis, Paul Blofis, Blackjack, Arion, Guido, Tempest
Summary: Taking everything – aside from that very last chapter with Leo's POV – into account. Take it as my sequel or epilogue to Blood of Olympus. So, obviously, heavy spoiler-alert.
Percy is trying to cope with Nico's blunt confession, Nico is trying to get over Percy with Will's help, Reyna is still trying to figure out how she is going to find love but not with a demigod. And Leo has a promise to fulfill (though this is where I take liberties with canon, so let's start with Leo). Everything changes now that the war is over and things calm down. They change.
Blood of Olympus: The Aftermath
After the War, into the Love
Chapter 2: The Emotional Aftermath
/Frank&Hazel&Leo&Calypso\
"You're late."
"Yeah, well, dying kind of has the tendency of making one run late", countered Leo.
He was grinning broadly as he climbed off Frank's back. The Canadian shook himself and turned back, from dragon to human. Hazel came to stand slightly behind Leo, glaring fiercely at the way too pretty brunette – if Calypso at least wouldn't be so pretty! Still, Leo had said he didn't have feelings for her any longer. She just had to believe him. When they hugged, she had some trouble.
"Who are your babysitters?", inquired Calypso, locking eyes with Hazel.
"Those are my Frank and Hazel", answered Leo, before his ears caught a little fire. "I mean, those are my friends. Frank and Hazel. Frank is Hazel's and Hazel is Frank's. Yeah, I'll shut up now."
"We're here to bring you, well, wherever you want to go", stated Frank seriously.
Calypso took a moment to look from Leo to Hazel and then to Frank. It only took her seconds to realize something. Something those three didn't know, not fully and not yet. A pained and sad smile graced her lips as she pulled Leo into another hug. At least he had kept his promise.
"Thank you, Leo Valdez. You are a hero", whispered Calypso, kissing his cheek.
Frank glared, not liking the way Leo blushed at the praise. Not that a blushing Leo wasn't the cutest thing ever, but he disliked that this Calypso was the one making Leo blush like that.
"Where to?", asked Hazel curiously.
"Camp Half-Blood for now?", suggested Leo, turning toward Calypso.
"As good a place to stay as any", shrugged Calypso with a smile. "Anywhere but here."
"Camp Half-Blood it is", stated Frank and turned back into a dragon.
/Nico&Reyna&Thalia&Hylla\
Reyna looked uncomfortable as they landed in San Juan. Why would Nico bring her here, of all places? What kind of plan did he have? Because that look in his eyes surely showed that he had a plan. But they didn't go anywhere, they were just standing there, waiting for something.
"Little cousin. What are you doing here?", asked a sudden voice from behind them.
Reyna turned a little to see Thalia Grace, grinning brightly and ruffling Nico's hair. The son of Hades made a face and dodged her. It was hard not to stare at the strong, confident huntress. They were soon joined by another female, one who came to ruffle Reyna's hair.
"Hylla", stated Reyna, a bit surprised. "I... What are we doing here?"
"How should I know? I didn't know you'd come", said her older sister.
"Reyna needs a vacation. Frank will be able to handle New Rome on his own for a while, with the help of my sister. She'll stay with you guys for a while, exorcising some old ghosts", said Nico.
"Old gho—Nico", hissed Reyna and grabbed Nico by the arm.
Hylla and Thalia looked a little confused as they watched Nico and Reyna walk away enough to have some privacy to talk. Nico stared at Reyna neutrally, waiting for her to say something.
"What are we doing here?", asked Reyna in a low voice.
"You need to face your demons, Reyna", said Nico seriously. "Otherwise you will never get over them. The huntresses are staying here for a while, it seems. Until all are healed and physically and mentally ready to leave. I though maybe you'd like to spend more time with Thalia."
Reyna frowned confused and turned toward the two other girls. By the looks of it, Hylla and Thalia were bickering. Rather passionately. Thalia was strong and fierce, the character trades Reyna valued the most. But... what was Nico implying? When Reyna turned to look at Nico, the son of Hades was serious, but there was also a certain softness in his eyes.
"I'm... aware I have my own demons, that's why I hope you listen to me. I know what I'm talking about. If you cling to the past, you will never have a future to look forward to", advised Nico.
"And what about you?", asked Reyna, raising one eyebrow.
"We'll see", shrugged Nico. "Now, I should leave. Not a boys-friendly environment."
/Percy&Annabeth\
Annabeth was leaning against the door-frame of Percy's room, arms crossed over her chest as she watched him. She had wanted to keep going like they were for a few weeks or months longer, however long it would take Percy to settle some, but it seemed breaking up with him would be the better solution right away. She had a feeling that it was putting even more of a strain on Percy, who was already at his limits, to act as the nice, smiley, good boyfriend. For now, he really needed to focus on himself and not on how to be a good boyfriend.
"Percy, how are you feeling?", asked the daughter of Athena as she approached his bed.
He sat up, looking surprised, embarrassed and bewildered. It was the middle of the night, after all. Annabeth had initially been on her way to the kitchen to fetch herself a glass of water when she had passed his room. He had been whimpering in his sleep, curled together in a tight ball, obviously being shaken by a nightmare of sorts. Now he was awake and staring at her.
"Y—Yeah, sure. What... uhm... Annabeth, it's three in the morning", stated Percy confused.
"Percy... please...", stated Annabeth, her voice strained, before she took a deep breath. "I want you back. I want my best friend back. I want back what we had before we got together. When you trusted me and told me when you were afraid, when you hurt, inside or out. When we relied on each other. I feel... I feel like you put walls up since we got together, like you're trying not to burden me. But I want to be there for you, or... or at least I want you to feel free not to pull walls up around me. I think we should break up, I don't... You're hurting, Percy. You changed. Everything that happened to you changed you and I think... You don't know how to talk to me anymore. I hope that maybe, if you don't... feel obliged to be my boyfriend anymore, maybe then you'll learn to trust me again."
"I don't... understand...", admitted Percy confused.
"When I come close to you, you put up those smiles like you expect that to be the thing I want from you, but... I miss the times you could be sad around me and talk to me. You're not the person I got together with anymore", whispered Annabeth, cupping his cheek. "And I think that right now, you need to focus on healing and not on trying to be the person you think I want you to be."
Percy was just looking at her confused and like a hurt puppy. But deep down, he knew that she was right. Back on their first month anniversary, he had tried to bend every way to make everything perfect for her. He always tried to be perfect for her. Because he was so afraid of losing her, so desperate to cling to the feeling of being loved. He stared at her, with those large, sad eyes.
"Are we... still friends?", asked Percy lowly.
"If you want to", nodded Annabeth, a small smile on her lips. "If you let me. You've been shutting me out for a while now. If you want to be friends, you need to let me in, Percy."
"I'll... I'll try", nodded Percy slowly, frowning a bit. "I'm just... not sure how..."
"Talk to me, for starters", sighed Annabeth, leaning against the wall. "What's on your mind? What... The nightmare. What was your nightmare just there about?"
Percy reluctantly joined her, leaning against the wall too. "Tartarus..."
/Piper&Jason&Calypso&Leo\
Calypso was living in the Big House for the moment, but she had a flock of followers, seeing as she was beautiful, clever and had a lot of tales about old heroes to tell. At first, Leo had been nervous if she would settle well at camp, but she took to it easier than anticipated. Right now, Leo was sitting at the lake with her, Jason and Piper. He had been a bit baffled to return to camp to learn that his best friends had broken up. But apparently both of them were fine with it, so he would be too.
"As fun as this has been, I gotta go. I have stable duties with Nico", announced Jason.
He offered the other three a smile and left. The son of Hades had returned to camp only hours after Leo and the others had arrived back here, sadly enough also sending Leo's Frank and Hazel away, something about Reyna taking a well-deserved vacation. It disappointed Leo, he had hoped to spend more time with all his favorite people. He sighed softly, face between his hands.
"Why didn't those two friends of yours stay longer, Leo?", asked Calypso, looking after Jason.
"They're Romans. They have their own camp", replied Leo, pouting a little.
"And why didn't you leave with them?", continued Calypso, causing Piper to stare surprised.
"Why should he? Leo is Greek", questioned Piper confused.
"For a daughter of Aphrodite, you're not good at reading emotions", smiled Calypso amused before turning to Leo. "They're the reason why you left my island again. You said because of a war and such, but... I know my own curse, Leo. The gods never send me a hero who would actually fall in love with me and the conditions for you to leave again were that I fell for you, but that you had your true love waiting for you at the shore. Don't waste time, not if you have a chance at love, Valdez."
"I—I can't just—They're together!", stammered Leo embarrassed, catching a little fire. "And why are you giving me advises on love?! Aren't you angry with me or something?"
"I may have fallen for you, but you're forgetting something", replied Calypso, looking at Leo softly. "I am used to getting my heart broken, having people leave again. When you left, I tried not to cling to hope, I did what I always do. Try to move on from the person who left me. Granted, you came back, but... time is different in Ogygia. You were with me for a couple of hours of the outside world's time, but on Ogygia it were weeks. What do you think how long I was waiting for you during those 'two weeks' as you said it had been?"
If hours were weeks, then days were months and two weeks could easily be a year. Leo stared stunned at her. Of course she wasn't exactly in immediate mourning for their love if over a year had passed since then. He was still gaping at her, with Piper patting his back amused.
"Maybe she is right", offered Piper amused. "Maybe you could go and visit the Romans for a little? I'm sure Cally will be alright with me showing her around, right?"
"Of course, Piper", grinned Calypso. "I'm sure you can tell me if Jason Grace has a girlfriend."
"C—Come again", stuttered Leo and Piper wide-eyed.
"Son of Zeus, pontifex maximus, former praetor, stunningly handsome... That is the kind of hero that always made me swoon", sighed Calypso. "Maybe dating works out better for me here?"
Piper and Leo just stared at her doe-eyed, blinking in slow-motion.
/Jason&Nico&Will&Jake\
After stable duty, Jason found himself comfortably sitting in the hay together with Nico, Will and Jake. Not that Nico looked all that willing, but it had become the one thing Nico could not fight off – the combined force of the two blondes. Right how however, Jason's focus wasn't on Nico but rather on Jake and Will. After what Piper had told him, he had started to observe them more closely and what he saw made him wonder if he had been blind. They weren't too obvious, like holding hands and heatedly making out in public, but it were the small gestures that could be noticed if someone was to watch out for them. That did put a damper on Jason's plans though. When Will and Nico had started to get along so well and had conversations about being gay and coming out, Jason had thought that Will could be Nico's way to get over Percy. Sure, Jason too had heard how Nico had confessed to Percy, but it had been as true as his confession to Jason. Long over it, just a tiny crush. Jason knew what that was, it was nothing more than a heartbroken boy trying desperately to get over an unrequited love. Jason could see through that, just like he had seen through Nico when he had confessed in front of Cupid. A protogenous god like Cupid wouldn't challenge a 'already over it, small crush'. Jason's eyes wandered over to Nico thoughtful. He was still in love with Percy and there was no one to help him get over the other boy. Not that it had been Jason's brightest idea. Just because two gay guys got along didn't mean they had to hook up instantly. Besides, after what Nico had been through during the war, Jason didn't really think that he needed something completely new, but rather something comforting that he knew and loved. Percy Jackson.
/Piper&Annabeth\
Time passed fast, or so it seemed to Annabeth. Mortal high school was something new and strange, but it also felt oddly... normal. It was what Annabeth needed right now. That and the support of a family. Sally and Paul had accepted their breakup and were still there for her, they didn't blame her for it. It even seemed as though they understood. The war had changed them both and it was okay for them to want something for themselves now. Annabeth smiled softly as she watched Piper through the rainbow. The daughter of Aphrodite was telling her something in a loud, high-pitched voice, too agitated to be quite coherent. But that in itself was already cute enough to make Annabeth smile. Listening to Piper was a nice distraction from the nightmares. The life she had build up for herself right now was just what she needed. Two parents to love her, a normal school education, a proper home to return to, friendship and love. She sat up some, grinning.
"Do you want to be my girlfriend?", asked Annabeth, in the middle of Piper's rambling.
"-but I don't think Calypso is the ri... What?", stammered Piper once she caught up with Annabeth's interruption. "What? Did you just... But you and Percy. Where did that come from all of a sudden?"
"I broke up with Percy, because we were both clinging onto it, forcing it. That's not what either of us need right now", whispered the daughter of Athena, tilting her head. "What I need is the person who made me laugh and smile even in the middle of the war, who made me forget the bad things happening around us, the one who completes me. You with your unbreakable faith into emotions, stopping me from over-analyzing everything. You're... You're exactly what I want. What I need."
"That was... so not how I pictured or panned this", huffed Piper and blinked a couple of times. "I had all these amazing plans on how to woo you and make you realize that you love me. Seriously, we had like three dozen different plans at the ready and now I can't use any of them!"
"We?", repeated Annabeth, raising one eyebrow.
"Jason, Leo and Calypso helped me", admitted Piper sheepishly.
"We could do that. Some long-lasting courting process with awkward glances and blushes, but... honestly, I am tired", sighed Annabeth, frowning a bit. "The war was draining, Tartarus was draining. I don't want to go through the motions. I know what I want and I want you."
"You make love sound way too rational", sighed Piper and shook her head. "You really need me, to fix your emotional problems right there. I'll romance you, Chase."
"That sounds like a threat", laughed Annabeth.
Piper smiled at that. She loved the way Annabeth laughed and she loved that she could make Annabeth laugh, had been able to even during the war, even with Tartarus still hanging fresh in the blonde's mind. Piper knew that she had Annabeth's trust and she knew she would always value that.
/Nico&Percy\
Nico was soaked in cold sweat when he woke up in the middle of the night from yet another nightmare. Normally he had his dreams under better control. Groaning exhausted, he collapsed back onto his bed. He had IMed Reyna earlier and the praetor was still angry with him for dumping her at her home, but honestly, he knew it was for the best. She had a lot of anger she needed to let go of. She also still had her big sister, unlike Nico, and she shouldn't let their past get between their relationship, because she would regret that one day. Nico knew he had a lot of regrets concerning Bianca, more than just her death. And he hoped that Thalia would work out for Reyna. Not that he had ever been interested in other people's love-lives, but the pain his own had put him through had taught him one thing: He didn't want his new best friend to suffer any longer and she had already been through a lot of heartache. The time in the infirmary had been boring and he had spend it thinking. Who would be a possible love-interest for Reyna, but 'not a demigod'? It made him remember something he had learned when his sister had joined the hunt. There were demigods, mortals and nymphs in it alike, but those labels didn't matter to them anymore. They gave their heritage up and exchanged it for being a huntress. And in a way, this attempt at bringing Reyna and Thalia together was also Nico's attempt at getting over his feelings for the huntresses. He needed to let go of the things that tormented him. He needed to heal. To get out of the shadows.
Admitting his feelings to Percy had been the first step. The second step had been to talk with Will, about things like coming out, coming to terms with his own sexuality, how things even worked for gays in this time and age and outside the underworld. Thirdly, friends. Like Reyna, Will, Jason, Lou and Cecil. It felt weird to have friends, but it also helped.
Still, four weeks after the war and Nico still had that nightmare. The one about Percy falling into Tartarus. The son of Hades had been through Tartarus himself, he knew what it was like. The nightmare was about all the gruesome things he had to suffer through in Tartarus, but instead of himself suffering through them again, he had to watch Percy enduring them.
Closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep, Nico did something he had taken to doing. He visited Percy's dreams. Out of three reasons. One being that after his own nightmares about Percy being tortured, he needed to make sure that Percy was alright. Secondly, he used his powers over dreams to keep Percy's nightmares at bay – and he suspected that his excessive use of those powers was the reason why they weren't working properly on him anymore. And the last reason being the most surprising one, at least for him. After the first time of being in Percy's dreams, he noticed that in there, he had an easier time talking to Percy and Percy, thinking it to be a dream and Nico to be a fragment of his mind, was actually opening up to Nico. It was always the same, more or less. Nico would visit the dream, find Percy stuck in his own nightmare, he'd help the son of Poseidon and then they'd just sit together and talk with each other. Tonight was just the same.
"Drowning the goddess of poison in her own poison. Impressive", commented Nico.
He knew this had happened, had really happened, but in Percy's nightmare, the goddess was winning, was poisoning Annabeth to the point of her dieing. So Nico helped and by the time the goddess collapsed, the nightmare around them faded in defeat. When a nightmare was conquered it faded to reveal a beautiful dream instead. Most of the times, those led them to a beach in Montauk.
"Why do I always dream of you?", whispered Percy as they sat together at the beach, their toes buried in the sand while the waves washed over them. "I mean, Nico told me he used to have a crush on me. Is it that? Because it generally always confuses me when someone confesses their feelings to me. Rachel, Calypso, Annabeth, all very confusing."
"Maybe", answered Nico vaguely, wishing to change the topic. "But I don't think that matters now."
"Guess not", sighed Percy, leaning against Nico, his head on Nico's shoulder. "Thank you. I mean, I know you're not real, but... this feels nice. Having someone to rely on."
A horrible blush spread over Nico's cheeks as he reluctantly laid one arm around Percy's waist, feeling the Sea Prince snuggling up to him even more. He'd never get over Percy like this...
Author's note: Writing this is really weird, because somehow Frazeleo and Nicercy are taking a backseat in this one... And that's happening all on its own... Well, next chapter will have more of those five too, promise. It'll also have all the other getting-togethers.