Disclaimer: All rights to Rick Riordan. I own nothing, but the plot.
Themes of self-harm, anxiety, and depression are expressed in this story. TRIGGER WARNING! Please do NOT read if these themes upset you. TRIGGER WARNING!
Criticism is appreciated, but please no hate. Please review and leave me suggestions! Enjoy!
Jason's POV:
Zeus began the festival. The music started again and the demigods slowly dispersed back into the courtyard. The god shrunk to human size in order to better converse and party with their children. Jason watched Ares go straight to Clarisse and slap her on the back. She grinned as she launched into conversation with him. Hermes joined Connor and Travis, who were both eating. Demeter gave the flower crown she was making to Miranda. Even though some of the demigods did not get recognized, Jason could see that their parents wanted to make an effort in keeping in contact with them.
Zeus would not be making any effort to keep in contact with him after the stunt his friends had just pulled. He looked around for Nico, knowing he had been shaken up by what Zeus had said, but the son of Hades was nowhere in sight. Hades appeared to be looking for his son as well, and stopped to talk to Hazel on his search for Nico. Jason's eyes landed on Percy, Annabeth, Calypso, and Leo, all speaking to each other. He strode over, ready to lecture them for antagonizing Zeus.
"You really did try to save me? You asked the gods to pardon me as your reward for saving Olympus?" Calypso asked. Leo must have gotten her up to speed on what was happening.
"Well of course, what kind of person do you think I am?" Percy asked.
"I don't know, I just didn't think you would do that for me. Nobody ever had. Everyone had someone else they loved."
"It doesn't matter if I loved you, I still cared about you and knew you were a close friend. You saved me after all. I had to return the favor."
"But you didn't return the favor to us, now did you?" Annabeth said, snarkily.
"Excuse me?" Calypso looked affronted.
"When you cursed my name, cursed me to your own fate," Annabeth mentioned.
"What are you- oh my gods how do you know about that?" Calypso put her hand over her mouth in shock.
"Because when we were in Tartarus, we were attacked by arai. Do you know what those are?" Annabeth asked.
Calypso looked at her feet. "Yes."
"I killed one, and I was cursed, I was subjected to your pain, your despair. I was to perish alone and abandoned. I understand that you lived with that your whole life. But you didn't even know me, how could you curse me like that?" Tears were threatening her eyes. Percy rubbed at her back.
"I am so, so beyond sorry, Annabeth, you have no idea-" a tear slid down the former goddess's face.
"You're right, I don't know. What I do know is that your curse almost killed me, and Percy."
"How was I supposed to know? I had been wronged so many times and my heart was broken, so I cursed you. Can you blame me? After everything I went through?"
"Can I blame you? You've been through a lot, but so have we all! Percy and I went through literal Hell and lived to tell the tale. Because of you, I was almost trapped down there, Percy almost lost his life. I am so sorry that I am a little upset about the fact that you cursed me. I'm sorry that you have had terrible trials, but this is the real world. Every single person goes through tough times and is expected to get up and act like nothing is wrong. I have been through so much, I am allowed to be upset and angry with you for cursing me." She finished, face red with anger. Calypso looked ashamed.
"I am so sorry. I had no idea that that was going to happen to you, if I had known, I would have changed what I had done. I went through so much pain, but that gave me no right to curse you when I didn't even know you. Please forgive me, please." Annabeth didn't say anything. Calypso turned her eyes to Percy. "Percy?"
"I know that you didn't know who she was or how terrible the consequences would be. I also understand the trials you went through. But, I also understand what Annabeth went through. She didn't deserve that. That wasn't fair."
"When is anything in life fair?" Annabeth muttered. She looked at Calypso. "Okay, I understand that you are sorry. And eventually I will forgive you, but I need time to process what has happened."
"I understand that. Thank you. I am so sorry, you have no idea." Annabeth held out her hand. Calypso grasped it and pulled her into a hug.
Annabeth started crying, as the weight of what really happened in Tartarus hit her. As they continued the touching moment, Jason lightly cleared his throat. Only Percy and Leo heard him as they looked up at him. He beckoned them to follow. They followed him to a secluded corner.
"What in world were you two thinking, pulling a stunt like that? My father could have killed you! He almost did. What were you thinking?" Jason exclaimed.
"We were thinking that we wanted to right a wrong that was present in the world. She deserved to be apologized to. And it wasn't a hard thing for the gods to do. So, I took a chance." Leo reasoned. "And it paid off, no one got hurt, and I got what I wanted." He smiled.
"Still, that was an insanely risky thing to do. You offended Zeus, Jupiter, whatever. And he holds grudges for quite some time. Now, if we ever try to help my father for help again, he might not be so willing to help us."
"He never fulfilled the promise that he made to me. I wanted to make sure that he did." Percy said. "And someone had to stand up to him. For everything that he has done, and for what he said about Nico, in front of everyone, that was uncalled for. Is he okay?"
"Jason," he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Will. His eyes were filled with fear. "Have you seen Nico? I can't find him."
Jason brought him into the small circle that they had formed. "No, I was coming to look for him when I ran into these knuckleheads."
"That was brave, what y'all did. Brave, but stupid." Will pointed out.
"Yeah, we already got the lecture from Jason. You were pretty brave too, Will. Defending Nico like that. After everything that has happen." Percy praised him.
"Well, I still love him. And that's why I want to find him. The things Zeus said about him, Nico didn't want to be exposed like that." Will said, obviously worried about the son of Hades. He was twisting the bracelets on his wrist.
"And that offer Hades made him, it's a lot to process. You need to find him." Jason surveyed the room as he spoke. Where was Nico?
"At least Athena convinced Zeus to agree. When you think about it, none of the other gods on the Council seemed to have a problem with us standing up to Zeus." Percy realized.
"None of us did," they all turned as Poseidon, Athena, and Hephaestus approached the group. Poseidon went on. "My brother needs to be put in his place sometimes, even by insignificant demigods." He said jokingly, winking at Percy. Percy smiled, nodding back.
"And I'm sure that Mr. di Angelo could succeed and accomplish great things as his father's second-in-command." Athena grey eyes scanned the group, before landing on Will. "With the proper care and support." She held the eye contact for a minute, before blinking and looking away. "Now, where is my daughter-ah I've just located her, thank you boys."
She walked away, looking regal. Jason was shocked at the similarity between her and Reyna. He was surprised the goddess of wisdom wasn't Reyna's mother.
"Yikes, she's intimidating. That would a rough dinner if you had to go meet the parents, Jackson." Leo nudged Percy.
"Yeah, trust me, she hated me at first. I think staying with her daughter through Tartarus kinda showed her that I actually have her daughter's best interest at heart." Percy watched as Athena and Annabeth spoke. Athena brushed away a tear from Annabeth's face. That was the first time Jason had truly seen Annabeth break down, and while it shocked it, he was surprised it had taken so long. She had dealt through so much. As had Percy. And Nico.
Poseidon moved next, grasping Percy's hand and pulling him into a hug. Percy looked shocked, as Poseidon started talking about how proud he was of him. Hephaestus went for a handshake and Leo went for a high five. They both stopped and ended up doing an awkward fist bump. Jason and Will backed away so they could give their friends time with their parents. Time that neither Jason nor Will would get that night.
"Let's go find Nico and make sure he's okay." Jason directed. They walked around the courtyard and they came across Piper and Reyna.
"Have you seen my mother? I haven't seen her since the meeting ended." Piper asked.
"No, I haven't. We are looking for Nico, have you seen him?" Jason asked her.
"We haven't seen him. He got pretty shaken up in there. You two need to find him." Reyna said seriously. Her eyes moved and looked past Jason. "And Piper, I think I just found your mother."
Jason and Will turned to see Aphrodite coming back up to the courtyard. She smiled serenely. "Piper, my love! How are you?"
"Mother, hello."
She spotted Jason. She grasped his arm. Her beauty overwhelmed him. "And you must be Jason. Oh, I'm so excited to finally meet you."
"Yes, it is very nice to meet you. Will and I were in the middle of something that we need to-" Aphrodite cut off Jason's rambling.
"Nonsense, Will doesn't need you when he goes to get his boyfriend back." Everyone's eyes got wide. "Don't all look surprised. I'm the goddess of love, I know these things." She laughed. "In fact, I just finished talking to him. What a sad demigod. He's in one of the empty palaces down the hill if you want to go find him." She told Will. She pulled him to the side. "And you might want to hurry, he's planning on taking off soon. And we can't have my favorite couple officially spilt up."
"I-thank you. I'll go find him." Will said, starting to move. Aphrodite stopped him.
"Be gentle with him. He's going through a lot." She said, concern flooding into her beautiful eyes.
"Of course. I'll do my best."
"You'd better. Get to it boy." She turned back to the gathered demigods, raving about how great love is and how cute Will and Nico were as a couple. Hopefully, Will could convince Nico to continue being a couple. He jogged down the mountain, and to the empty palace that Aphrodite had pointed out. He hoped his plan would work.
Nico's POV:
After Zeus had adjourned the council, Nico had rushed out of the throne room. He hurried through the courtyard, begging himself to stay calm. He was surprised by what his father had offered him, he couldn't wrap his mind around it. His mind started racing along with his heart. Was he even qualified to be his father's second in command? Zeus didn't believe so. Which meant that most people didn't think he was right for the position either. Why had Zeus called him out in front of everyone? Everyone probably thought he was weak, even the gods.
He ran into an abandoned palace a little farther down Mount Olympus. He paced the room that he entered. He was panicking. He was weak. He wasn't mentally stable to be his father's second in command. He couldn't control his powers, much less his emotions. He couldn't eat half the time; how should he be expected to help run the Underworld. What was wrong with him?
He just wanted to be strong enough. He wanted to be powerful. He wanted to be able to protect those he loved, without having them need to protect him. He hit a wall out of frustration. Maybe he would take his father up on his offer and leave Camp Half-Blood and live in the Underworld. That could work. There, he wouldn't be able to cause any pain, or make any mistakes that could cause harm to his friends. His friends. They all, if they didn't already know, probably thought he was insane. And broken. And weak. He had to get away from it all.
He turned to leave, but was blocked from leaving by a very beautiful woman. Aphrodite.
"Your ladyship," Nico inclined his head in greeting.
She waved it off. "Oh, none of that, what's going on? Why aren't you with Will? You guys are so cute together!"
"We- I broke up with him. We aren't together anymore." Nico said, expressionless, though his heart clenched as he spoke.
"I know that, but why?"
"I-that's my business, not anyone else's." Nico crossed his arms over his chest defensively.
"Honey, that is exactly what my business is. It's my job. I promise, it's in the job description." Aphrodite sweetly smiled. Her eyes were the exact color of Will's. Her hair, an identical hue to Will's. It was distracting Nico, making it harder to focus. He longed for the son of Apollo, but he knew that that was something he could not have.
"Well, I don't really want to talk about it, so you are fighting a losing battle."
"Oh, but fighting for love, that's the best part. It shows that you are passionate about what you want. The thrill of the chase is half the reason why people fall in love in the first place."
"I don't love him. He doesn't love me." Nico said feebly.
"That's a lie and you know it. Of course he loves you. And peering into your mind, I know that you love him too." Warmth and understanding flooded from Aphrodite's eyes.
"I just don't exactly have the best track record with love." He kicked at the ground.
"Are you talking about Percy? We both know that was just you longing for someone you knew you couldn't-oh, you are talking about Cupid. My son. That's what you're talking about?"
"I did love Percy at one point," Nico didn't know why he was opening to a goddess he barely knew. She was just so easy to talk to (probably because she was emulating Will). And she already knew all of this anyway. "But, the worse thing about love is what your son made me do. Face it. Admit it."
"You are so used to keeping things bottled up, huh, son of Hades?" Nico nodded in affirmation to Aphrodite's question.
"It's what I do. It's what I was expected to do, back when I was younger, when being gay wasn't an accepted thing. So, I learned to keep things to myself. I've had so many experiences that others don't understand or can't fathom, so I keep them to myself. I don't like being exposed in front of people. Which is what Zeus did today, and it was humiliating." Nico looked at his shoes. He was letting all of his emotions out, and his heart felt a little lighter.
"I know it seems like it was really embarrassing, but all your friends looked ready to attack Zeus for saying that private information in front of everyone. It was uncalled for. But, tell me, why are you so afraid of people knowing things about you and letting people in?" She was getting to the roots of his problems. Stuff he didn't like talking about.
"I don't know-"
"Nico, don't lie-"
"I just don't! And I don't know why I'm even telling you any of this, I barely know you!" He yelled.
He dropped down in a chair that had a sheet draped over it, head in his hands. Aphrodite waited.
"I guess I'm scared of rejection. I'm scared that people will not like who I am, as a person, and will not want to deal with all my problems. I don't want people to think that I'm weak or discover that I'm weak and take advantage of that. I don't want those people to think 'oh hey, it's the kid with depression and anxiety and who has panic attacks' and either leave me, or just not talk to me at all. I don't want to be isolated, because I have been for a long time, so I isolate myself so no one else can. I just want to be happy, but I can't even allow myself that. I destroy every good thing in my life! I'm responsible for the destruction of my own happiness. I break everything I try to control my life, but I can't always control my powers and emotions. They overwhelm me. And everything falls to shambles. "
Aphrodite daintily sat next to him. "But not everything needs to fall to shambles. Your friends will not abandon you. They love you, trust me, I know! To be happy, you have to allow yourself to become happy. You have to open your heart up and let people in to help you. You have to open your heart to love and understanding. I know you've been wronged by people who you consider your friends, but that doesn't mean everyone will hurt you. You sometimes just have to take a leap of faith."
"But, sometimes I hurt them. And I don't want to hurt them or make them suffer." Nico revealed.
"Sometimes, in friendships and relationships, we inadvertently hurt the ones we love. If someone truly loves you, then they will forgive you for hurting them. They will understand what happened. You just have to have faith, trust, and understanding. All key factors to relationships and friendships." She really knew what she was talking about. They were silent a moment, before Aphrodite stood. "Now, I have really, genuinely enjoyed our conversation, but I really have to join in the festivities. Care to come with me?" She held out a hand. Nico shook his head.
"No, I'd rather be alone for a while." While Aphrodite had been convincing, it hadn't been enough. A plan was still forming in his mind of when he was going to take off. She sighed.
"Hey, I know you want to leave and isolate yourself once again, but can you do one thing for me?" Nico nodded. "There is a very special demigod who needs to talk to you. I know you don't want to, but can you please just hear him out and try to understand where he's coming from? For me? Before you leave?" Nico hated to do it, but Aphrodite had really helped him.
"Of course."
She clapped her hands in delight. "Fabulous! It was really wonderful to talk to you Nico!" She exclaimed, grasping his hand.
"You as well." She released him and flowed out of the palace. He put his head back into his hands. He had just exposed his deepest fears with the goddess of love. A goddess prone to gossip. If Zeus was bad, this would be ten times worse. What had he done?