Art of Deception
Summary: AU, "Don't give me that look! This is all your fault, Son of Hades, don't blame it on me," grumbled Thalia. "Shut up, you think I want to be turned into a girl?" Nico shot back grumpily, stomping forwards. "You think I like being a boy?"
Disclaimer: I do not own PJO—if I did, Nico would've been female and Thalia a guy.
Genre(s): Romance/Humor/Adventure/Family/Friendship.
Pairing(s): Percy/Fem!Nico. Male!Thalia/?
A.N: It's decided, the pairing for Nico, I mean. It's going to be Percy/Nico. Have anyone read the House of Hades yet? Yeah, well, spoilers: Nico's gay, and he's in love with Percy.
This story is dedicated for them- the pairing that will never be -sadly-
Now, read on and support Percy/Nico (whichever gender)!
Chapter Three: Coming To Terms.
All his life as an immortal and a teacher to heroes who had knacks for getting cursed, Chiron had seen many odd things. So, when two of his on-off students came diving into his room from a patch of shadow in the corner, he merely blinked and asked how were they.
He could tell the boy and girl were baffled. He was slightly confused when they rushed up to him, the tall boy rambling and seeming to be very familiar with him even though they'd just met.
Only when the girl punched the boy that he shut up and she spoke up, clearing things instantly.
"Chiron, sir, I apologize for the sudden intrusion," she shot a sultry look at her companion. "to clear things up, I'm Nico di Angelo, son of Hades." She gestured towards the boy. "And this here, is Thalia, daughter of Zeus, I believe the both of you are well-acquainted?"
Chiron set his teacup down before he dropped it.
He turned half-way in his wheelchair, quirking a brow. "Explain?"
Thalia ran a hand through her—his—hair, seething, her eyes were bright with anger. "We went on a quest for Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld," the name was spat with the utmost hate and distaste the girl-turned-boy could muster. "Nico was rude to her and she changed us. We left the Underworld and went to Lady Artemis in hopes that she'd be able to reverse it. No such luck, fucking shit—"
When the child of Zeus started spewing curse words, the child of Hades sighed, deciding to continue their little escapade.
"We went back to Persephone and agreed to help her, and in return she'd change us back," Nico shrugged, sighing again as he shifted uncomfortably. "we were rude, and she told us to get lost. We're stuck like this and we're hoping you know some magic or anyone who could undo the curse."
Chiron pursed his lips.
"Unfortunately, it won't be as easy as it sounds. Do you think curses are easy to lift?"
"Sir, this is Persephone we're talking about."
"She's the goddess of fucking flowers for crying out loud, how strong her curse can be?"
Both cursed children of the Big Three let out simultaneous scoffs. "Please." They glanced at one another then burst out laughing.
Chiron coughed into his fist. "It's attitudes like these that got you two into trouble in the first place," he muttered, causing the two gender-bended demigods to stiffen and sober up. "that's not good. Please do try to restrain yourself."
Nico, the mature one, nodded seriously. He leaned forward, his dark eyes almost as penetrating as Hades'.
"Well?" he prompted. "Is there a way?"
Chiron shook his head. "I need to contact some of my friends and do my own research. I shall contact you when I get any information. Perhaps you can come to terms with it, wait it out and when you think Persephone's in a good enough mood, ask her to help?"
"I'll die before I beg her for help—"
"We'll see," Nico interrupted, shooting a brief glare at Thalia. He nodded politely at Chiron. "Thank you, sir, if you would please excuse us—"
"Wait!" Thalia snatched Nico's hand, her new form's immense strength pulling the poor frail body of a girl into his lap. Nico's face was uncomfortably close to Thalia's, uh, crotch, and from how red the children of Big Three's faces were, both were probably too stupefied to do anything.
Chiron coughed, an uncomfortable tinge to his cheeks had the demigods springing away from one another.
Nico scrambled backwards, his/her face red as the desert sands. "W-what?" he stuttered, momentarily losing his cool composure.
Thalia scratched the back of her head, uncomfortable as she turned her gaze away, swallowing and trying to hide the bright blushed forming.
"I, uh, just wanted to ask..." she spluttered, cursing. "We're going out like this? Tell the campers what happened to us?" Her face reddened even more at the thought. "We'll be laughing stocks!"
Nico frowned, turning to Chiron for guidance.
The old centaur was tempted to tell them to bear with it, but he knew that children of Big Three had their pride and ego the size of the ocean; he might as well be asking them to kill themselves.
"Adopt a new identity."
"Temporary identity," Nico corrected him patiently. "I might slip up if I use an entirely different name," he admitted grudgingly. "Nick can be my first name," he murmured to himself, a hand under his chin in thought. "Collins."
Thalia snorted. "That's lame."
Nico reddened. "Well," he spluttered. "what sort of name do you have in mind?"
"Thor... Grant."
Nico snorted even louder, turning away as he slumped back into his seat. "Please, you have no right to criticize me."
Thalia—Thor—glared.
Chiron cleared his throat to draw their attention. "Now, now, children, peace. Thor and Nick are fine names, besides, it's not permanent. You just have to endure it a few weeks at best, then you'll be able to return to your original life. But for now, I advice the both of you to stay here."
Nico frowned, nodding. "It's not like I want to see Persephone anytime soon," he murmured darkly. "I might do something... unpleasant."
Thalia sighed, running a hand through her spiky hair.
"I would've paid a million golden drachmas to see what you do to her," she muttered.
"Oh, Thor, Nick?" Neither acknowledged the name and Chiron had to clear his throat a few times before they looked up at him. "It would be better if you try to think yourself as... um, your body's gender. Try to synchronize your mind and body."
Nico's frown deepened—if possible—but he nodded, albeit reluctantly.
Thalia glanced out at the door. "Once we step out of here, we're no longer Thalia Grace and Nico di Angelo..."
xXx
Nico hated her new body.
Especially the hormones running wild, the female hormones which found every guy within a mile radius attractive and worth talking to. It didn't help that the males in sight were of godly heritage. The gods were good looking and they definitely passed on their looks and charms to their kids.
Nico stumbled back when an Apollo guy, almost as tall as Thalia—no, Thor now—bumped into her.
She blinked, finding herself facing a very bare and muscular chest. Her cheeks flamed.
"Oh, sorry, miss...?"
"Nick," she muttered, her cheeks feeling like they would melt when the son of Apollo flashed her a blinding grin. His green eyes were bright and full of mirth.
"New here?" Nico hesitated before nodding. The blonde male smiled even wider. "Cool. Maybe I can show you around? My name's Austin by the way."
Nico darted a quick glance at Thor, who had his arms crossed, looking at their interaction intently with an eyebrow arched. Austin's eyes followed where the child of Hades was staring.
The son of Apollo winced when he saw the other male who towered over him. The taller male's eyes were unreadable, but were stormy and Austin surmised that he was probably angry he was flirting with his girlfriend.
He threw them a weak grin. "Sorry, seems that you're preoccupied already, see you guys later!" He offered them a half-hearted wave, a gesture neither party returned, turned and fled the scene lest he became that guy's punching bag.
Thor stared after the smaller boy's fading back with amusement. He slung an arm around his female companion, a friendly gesture that onlooking campers mistook as protectiveness.
"You're a good actor, Nick."
Nico flinched. Thor didn't notice as he stared after the son of Apollo, a smirk of amusement playing on his lips. "You played him real good, acted like a total chick," he laughed. "Just don't go hooking up with guys, yeah, that would be so weird since you're actually a guy—"
Nico slapped his arm away with surprising force.
Thor blinked in surprise, glancing down—his chin nearly touched his chest, since he was a skyscraper with his six feet four and his companion was a mere five feet two—at the upset Nico.
"What's wrong—" he stopped, his voice dying when he saw Nico's far too bright eyes.
Tears, the child of Hades wanted to cry.
Before the son of Zeus could address the problem, the daughter of Hades had already pulled herself away and darted down the hill, disappearing into the forest.
Thor wasn't particularly worried, he knew Nico was more than capable of caring for herself, and the monsters should be worried instead.
What stunned him and baffled him beyond comprehension was the tears; why would Nico be so upset over a mere remark like that?
He crouched, brooding over it, unaware of the strange stares he was getting, but even if he noticed, he didn't care either way.
"Hey," someone tapped his shoulder; blinking, Thor turned and glanced up. A 12-year-old looking girl with blonde pigtails and brown eyes hovered over him.
He frowned. "What?"
She flinched, fiddling shyly with her dress. "Um... I was just wondering what's wrong."
"Why do you have to be so nosy?" he snorted, springing to his feet, surprising the small girl. He scratched the back of his head, cocking a brow. "Well?"
The girl didn't dare meet his gaze, gazing at her feet and shuffling them awkwardly. "I'm a daughter of Aphrodite, you see. So, it's sorta our unspoken duty to see what's wrong with couples at Camp and try to help them. We match them up and help them get together."
"Oh," Thor muttered. He didn't know such a useless association existed. "So, yes, I have a problem."
The girl beamed up at him. "I'm Lacy, and I'm glad to be of service to you! I'm just a newbie so I'm trying to gain experience by helping!"
"So you know about people's reactions to certain things, then?"
Lacy considered this carefully, before nodding. "Yes, especially if that person reacts to something concerning love, sexuality, lust—"
Thor's eyes lit up. "Well, what if this someone gets upset over people saying that it'd be weird if he hooks up guys—"
"Is this someone a guy?"
Well, Nico was technically a girl now. But mentally... he nodded. "Yes," he added.
"Then that's a very insensitive comment you made," Thor bristled, opening his mouth to protest but Lacy beat him to it. "This person who's upset, could be, um, homosexual and you're saying that he's a freak for liking people of the same gender."
Thor's jaw dropped. Nico was...? What!
"There's nothing wrong with that at all," Lacy defended, pouting down at him. "There's rumors that the Hunters of Artemis are also homosexual"—Thor's jaw was practically nailed to the ground, he didn't know even though he'd spend nearly a year with the chicks, what the Hades—"and do you see the gods condemning them?"
He shook his head numbly. "You're not... uh, disturbed?"
Lacy smiled, shaking her head benevolently, as she clasped her hands together; Thor swore he saw some sort of light shone down on her, as if the sun was specially providing her spotlight for her declaration.
"Love is universal, it comes in all forms, regardless of the race, god or mortal, gender, creature—"
Thor felt like gagging at the speech of love. "Uh, sure, thanks." He sprang to his feet, hurrying down the small hill, picking up Nico's trail, ignoring the daughter of Aphrodite's cries.
Time to find his wayward cousin.
xXx
The moment she found herself surrounded by a canopy of trees, no annoying bastard of a cousin in sight, Nico instantly felt like cursing herself.
So much for being the calmest among the children of the Big Three.
She sighed, slumping down onto the rock; not too far away, she heard the rush of creek, could hear the water pouring over the rocks and she instantly thought of Percy.
Her cheeks reddened at the thought of him, her chest churning uncomfortably.
She'd cursed herself for feeling the slightest swell of hope when she thought about her predicament. She thought she might have a chance with Percy with her new form. Her mouth tasted bitter.
Even if I have this body now, Percy's still head-over-heels in love with Annabeth, idiot.
Then there was Thor...
Nico grounded her teeth at the thought of that son of Zeus. She didn't think she could face him ever again. Her reaction to his harmless statement was too much, he'd definitely know now and he'd isolate her and she'd have no one ever again—
But I'm used to it, Nico reminded herself, her nails digging into her palms. In this world, the only one who accepted her and loved her for who she was Bianca and Bianca alone.
Stupid, just because she had a new body, she thought she'd finally be accepted by Percy—
"Hey?"
She turned, her dark eyes widening in panic when she saw the current dilemma of her problem. She paled even further, stumbling back from her perch on the boulder.
The son of Poseidon furrowed his brows in concern when he saw the fearful reaction.
He held up his hands in a placating manner. "You... you're new here, right? I've never seen you before, I know. This forest is dangerous for newbies, it's full of monsters and stuff. I'll guide you out of here, come on..." he approached the strange girl with careful placating steps.
He scrutinized her carefully; he supposed she was a beauty, and was probably about thirteen or fourteen. She looked slightly familiar with her dark eyes and hair and pale skin, but he couldn't place it.
Who did she resemble again?
Oh, right, Bianca. He shook his head, trying to dislodge his mind of the girl who's death he'd caused.
He held out his hand towards her; he could empathize, he knew how terrified a demigod would be once they found out of their true heritage and he really wanted to help.
"Hey..."
"Yeah, hey."
Percy stiffened, turning around to see a taller guy who jumped down from the hillside to join the two. He rested an elbow on the son of Poseidon's shoulder, smirking at how tense he was.
No way was Thor letting this great chance of teasing Percy go.
"Who're you?" The son of Poseidon demanded guardedly.
"The name's Thor," the son of Zeus responded coolly, he directed a pointed smirk at Nico who gaped at him. "and, you happen to have something of mine."
Percy's fists curled into a ball. "She's not an object!"
"I never said she was," Thor said, nearly rolling his eyes. "What business is it of yours anyway?"
"It's no business of mine," Percy admitted, eyes narrowing. "But when you're obviously mistreating her, as a senior camper, I have every right to interfere. No bullying allowed in Camp."
Thor had to bite his lip to keep from laughing out lout. As it was, he could barely hide his smirk. Gods, Seaweed Brain was so much fun to tease!
Nico's back dug into the bark of the tree harshly, even she had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. Well, Percy never failed to made her cheerful—she stopped herself, disgusted. Ugh, what was wrong with her?
Thor scoffed, glancing at his small cousin. "Come on, Nick, let's leave this guy alone."
"Are you sure you want to go with him?" Disdain colored Percy's voice and Thor knew why. His mother had been abused by an abusive husband before he was offed by Medusa's head, and the son of Poseidon had no tolerance for assholes like his first stepfather.
Thor refrained from rolling his eyes, only Kelp Head could still keep it in mind that he was some sort of abusive boyfriend. And they call Zeus' kids dramatic. Please.
Thor grabbed Nico's arm, for the show measure—he loved playing Percy like this—and dragged her away before Percy could say anything.
Once they were sure they were out of earshot, Thor burst out laughing and even Nico's lips curled into a small smile.
"Oh, gods, Percy's so... so stupid," he laughed, shaking his head and rubbing the tears of mirth from his eyes. He smirked at Nico's smile, but noticing his glance, Nico's smile dropped to be replaced by a frown.
"Why did you come?" she asked coldly.
"Uh, I didn't know you had... that sort of dilemma," he mumbled, unused to apologies as he patted the girl's shoulders. "Just so y'know, I'm with you all the way, little buddy."
She bristled. "You don't know what I'm going through—"
Thor shrugged. "I can try. You're my friend, and I'm not going to let something as sexuality get in our way of friendship. Besides," he laughed, tugging on Nico's hand as he led them out of the forest. "I'm your boyfriend!"
Nico rolled her eyes, slightly disturbed at the exclamation but since Percy could be eavesdropping, she figured her friend was just playing it safe.
Her heart warmed slightly; Thalia just called him a friend, he had one more friend, the feeling was... nice.
Quickening her pace slightly, she caught up to Thor.
The child of Hades glanced at the child of Zeus from the corner of her eyes, her hand remained firmly in his. It had never occurred to her until now how permanent Thalia/Thor was in her life. Since she first stepped foot into the world of the Olympians, she had been terrified and nervous but Thalia had been there.
And now, cursed and her deepest and darkest secret out, Thor was here with her. He didn't ridicule her (yet) and for now, it was more than enough.
xXx
Author's Note:
Nico has always been my fav character—and his whole life had been one tragedy to another, losing his mother and sister than he had such a father. Tsk, tsk. And then his doomed love life.
He really needs the love man.
Review to show your support for NicoxPercy/Fem!NicoxPercy/Fem!PercyxNico!