A/N: Here it is uwu.
I've been working on this for a while now. This is the scene in SoN in which Percy met Nico again. Figured that he'd be pretty pained when Percy showed up.
I'm (not) sorry for all the angst
But Nico I freaking love you too much.
~ﾐ(o*･ω･)ﾉ
———
Your eyes they shine so bright
I wanna save that light
I can't escape this now
Unless you show me how
Nico stood on the hill that held his father's temple, staring into space blankly. His fists were clenched tightly by his sides, his brain screaming to hear his voice, his heart bumping double time to see his face. It felt like a rope, tied tightly against his emotions and feelings, making everything red in desire: just to see Percy Jackson again.
How many months had he disappeared already? Nico tried to fight off the worrying feeling he had grown for the son of Poseidon, growing stronger and thicker by second. The breeze ruffled with his black hair, making him look even more miserable than he already is.
"Hey," Hazel's sweet voice rang from behind, startling him a little. "I've brought a friend."
Nico spun around, expecting him to be with Frank or someone. A friend. Hazel didn't have friends here at camp Jupiter—the unclaimed, buff and tall dude was probably her only companion. If it's not Frank, who would it be?
But his heart stopped immediately as he took in the person standing next to his half-sister. The beautiful emerald eyes, the messy black hair and the familiar smile etched on his face. A soft wind tickled his hair, making him seem so natural and graceful with the grass as the background.
Perseus Jackson, the heroic son of Poseidon.
A flood of emotions stormed into his chest. Blame, reassurance, an overwhelming joy. Yes, he's here at last, safe and sound and as beautiful as a heartbreak. Hades, where have you been? Nico thought, a spark of anger and resentment lighting up in his heart. He had missed him so much, a feeling so familiar yet so heart-crushingly painful.
He experienced all of this in a matter of seconds before reaching his hands out towards the other boy. Gods, they were shaking. Badly.
"Pleasure for meet you," he managed, trying to settle down his thumping heart, "I'm Nico di Angelo."
Percy frowned at the name, and Nico looked up involuntarily, studying the crease between his eyebrows. The sun traced his jawline in a holy way, making him look like a saint coming down to earth, despite all the bruises and cuts he has on his face. He was wearing his orange camp shirt, the easily recognizable horse already faded and the words "C P L B OD" printed on them. He was calm, but somehow Nico knew there was a storm of doubt underneath the cover. There's no flash of memory on his face. He doesn't remember you, A cruel voice crept into his ears. Nico clenched his teeth, his heart twisting painfully.
Percy frowned again, making Nico's heart skip a beat nervously. "I-I know you." It was almost impossible to resist a smile at this familiar voice he had craved for months - serene, calm, deep. A sense of relief that Nico had always feared ran down his spine like having some ambrosia after a long battle. Hope splattered in his heart, like a desperate and young bird trying to escape its cage. Nico quickly shut it down - he refuses to get heartbroken again.
"Do you?" He forced out. He moved his eyes on Hazel, studying her electric golden eyes and crazy curly hair momentarily. She seemed hesitant, frowning at Nico's expression.
"Um…Percy's lost his memory." Of course. Hazel went on and explained what happened to him since Percy arrived at the gates. Nico barely listened - stuck in the dark pit of his thoughts again.
"So, Nico…" His head snapped up at the sound of his name. "I thought…you know, you travel all over. Maybe you've met demigods like Percy before, or…"
Nico glared at his sister. Of course he hadn't met anyone like Percy. Brave, kind, confident, beautiful; his first hero, his first…
His thoughts ran to a stop before he could realize it, refusing to reach the darkest part of his secrets. That part of his brain was impermeable, a tangled mess of his darkest thoughts, self-hatred and shame. He decided to change the subject.
"This story about Gaia's army," He said, "You warned Reyna?"
Percy nodded, his black hair flopping. "Who is Gaia, anyway?"
Hazel's expression darkened, letting out a small whimper and the sound of the name. Nico felt a tiny wave of guilt, and sent his half-sister a soft look - well, as soft as a child of hell could manage - but she didn't see it.
Nico sighed. "She's the earth goddess." He looked down, refusing to look at Percy's face again. Self-loathe would wash over him, blinding his insides, blaming him for being attracted to other boy. "The oldest goddess of all. She's in a deep sleep most of the time, but she hates the gods and their children."
"Mother Earth…is evil?" Percy questioned like an innocent kitty, tilting his head sideways out of habit. Nico's heart clenched.
"Very," He closed his eyes momentarily, swearing inside at his foolish actions and his sick feelings. "She convinced her son, the Titan Kronos-" Damn it, he still couldn't sort out all the Roman and Greek names. "Um, I mean, Saturn - " Jeez, why does he have to be so awkward? "To kill his dad, Uranus, and take over the world. The Titans ruled for a long time. Then the Titans' children, the Olympian gods, overthrew them."
"The story seems familiar." Nico cursed the son of Poseidon inwardly. Of course it should be familiar. You're supposed to remember. He sighed quietly and stopped himself, before the hatred could wash all over him, blinding everything in front of him. "But I don't think I ever heard the part about Gaia."
Nico forced a shrug. "She got mad when the gods took over. She took a new husband - Tartarus, the spirit of the abyss-" He quivered at the sound of his name, "And gave birth to a race of giants. They tried to destroy Mount Olympus, but the gods finally beat them. At least…the first time."
"The first time?"
Nico glanced at Hazel, seeing the guilt in her eyes again.
"Last summer," Nico continued on, "Saturn tried to make a comeback. There was a second Titans war. The Romans at Camp Jupiter stormed his headquarters on Mount Othrys, across the bay, and destroyed his throne. Saturn disappeared-" Nico caught himself, lifting his head to study Percy's face. He doesn't want to trigger his lost memories - he had promised his father not to.
"Um, anyway," Nico pressed on, "Saturn probably faded back to the abyss. We all thought like the war was over. Now it looks like the Titans' defeat stirred p Gaia. She's starting to wake. I've heard reports of giants being reborn. If they mean to challenge the gods again, they'll probably start by destroying the demigods…" Nico's expression fell dark.
"You've told Reyna this?" Percy asked softly.
"Of course." Nico clenched his jaw. "The Romans don't trust me. That's why I was hoping she'd listen to you. Children of Pluto…well, no offense, but they think we're even worse than children of Neptune. We're bad luck." He stared at the ground gloomily.
"They let Hazel stay here." Percy suggested.
Nico let out a tiny, inaudible sour laugh. "That's different."
"Why?"
"I-"
"Percy," Hazel interrupted him without knowing that she had, "Look, the giants aren't the worst problem. Even…even Gaia isn't the worst problem. The thing you noticed about the gorgons, how they wouldn't die, that's our biggest worry." She glanced at Nico, her eyes determined. Nico glanced back, knowing that she was getting dangerously close to her secret.
"Nico and I," She continued on, turning her head back to Percy, "We think that what's happening is…Death isn't-"
"Hey!" They were interrupted by Frank, jogging towards them up on the hill. Nico glanced at his sister, seeing a tiny blush on her cheeks as the buff Chinese-Canadian approached. Nico clenched his teeth behind his lips quietly. She was normal. He wasn't.
"Hey, Nico…" Frank called out to him, causing Nico to smile thinly. Frank was nice and quiet, and he hadn't even judged Nico once since he arrived here. Nico sort of liked the big dude. '"Frank."
"Reyna sent me to get Percy," Frank said, after giving Nico a tiny wave, "Did Octavian accept you?"
"Yeah," Percy said, pouting, "He slaughtered my panda."
Nico tried to press down the emotions he felt towards the son of Poseidon. Clearly, Percy lost his memory, but not his personality.
"He…oh. The augury? Yeah, teddy bears must have nightmares about that guy." Frank smiled. "But you're in! We need o get you cleaned up before evening muster."
Hazel turned her head to see the lowering sun. She mouthed, oh, and said: "You're right, we'd better-"
"Frank," Nico cut in, "Why don't you take Percy down? Hazel and I will be along soon." He needed to talk to her. About Percy, about this whole mess.
He recognized the fear on Hazel's face. Another wave of guilt hit him. He's her brother. She's not supposed to be afraid of him.
"That's-that's a good idea," Hazel forced out, "Go ahead, guys. We'll catch up."
Percy frowned at Nico one last time, making Nico's heart jerk as he raised his head to face these beautiful green eyes. "I'd like to talk with you some more." Styx, please don't. "I can't shake the feeling—"
"Sure," Nico took over, unable to hear the sentence finish. "Later. I'll be staying overnight."
"You will?" Hazel sounde a little uncomfortable. Nico sighed. Right. A son of Neptune and a son of Pluto on the same day. The Romans are going to love this.
"Go on, Percy," Nico said as sincerely as possible, "Settle in. My sister and I need to talk."
Percy nodded, and scrolled down the hill together with Frank. Nico watched him leave silently, unable to mask out the pain on his face. "You…okay?" Hazel asked carefully, as if she's afraid he might set her on fire anytime.
"Fine." He could almost feel the lie in his mouth. Fine. Heh, hadn't he always been the opposite. Percy disappeared into a tiny orange dot in the sunset.
Hazel looked at Nico worriedly. "Um," She started awkwardly, "Where…"
Nico finally picked his eyes off the slowly disappearing Percy, and nodded at the top of their father's shrine. Hazel actually smiled at that. "Sounds great," She murmured.
Soon they climbed atop of the black roof of Pluto's shrine, covered in bones and diamonds. Nico frowned lightly as her sister shoved the diamonds away in disgust.
Finally, they settled down. Hazel let out a long breath, the soft wind tickling with her curly hair. Nico stared down, his face as dark as Tartarus.
"You know him, don't you." Hazel's voice came from aside.
Nico bit his lip, swinging his legs out of instinct. He and Bianca used to sit on their tavoli, swing their legs, and tell each other stories. The memory was random, but it hurt like a knife was stabbed into Nico's heart.
He watched Percy and Frank on the horizon, longing and a lifetime of suffering visible on his face. "Percy Jackson." He spat out quivery. How could he possibly saw this name without breaking down? "Hazel, I have to be careful what I say. Important things are at work here. Some secret need to stay secret." Nico clenched his jaw. Secrets. "You of all people—you should understand that."
Hazel flushed in embarrassment. Yet another drop of guilt landed in Nico's heart as he remembered how Bianca took care of him. He should do the same for Hazel. "But he's not like…like me?"
"No, I'm sorry I can't tell you more. I can't interfere." His father's gloomy face appeared again and he shuddered. "Percy has to find his own way at this camp." He clenched his left hand nervously. Crap. He nearly revealed the other camp again.
"Is he dangerous?"
Nico smiled thinly. He remembered Percy fighting on the fields of the Half-Blood hill, his green eyes flaring with determination as he stroke one monster after another down. Nico stared at him in awe and respect, setting everything in slow motion, watching Percy take down every enemy standing in his way. He was invincible. "Very." Nico sputtered. "To his enemies." He quickly added. Percy Jackson would never hurt his allies and friends. "But he's not a threat to Camp Jupiter. You can trust him."
Hazel took a moment to digest the details. "Like I trust you," She muttered.
Nico exhaled shakily, twisting his skull ring out of habit again. Bones began to whimper around him, but he paid no attention.
"Look, I know this is hard," Nico said, trying to sound comforting. "But you have a second chance. You can make things right."
"Nothing about this is right," Hazel said. "If they find out the truth about me—"
Nico tightened his fists. He so desperately wanted to shout, Like I don't have secrets myself? But instead, he cut Hazel short. "They won't. They'll call a quest soon. They have to. You'll make me proud. Trust me, Bi-"
His mouth caught himself before his mind could. Hazel looked away, her curly hair hiding the expression on her face. Nico closed his eyes and took a moment to gather himself before speaking again.
"I'm sorry."
Hazel ignored him, another bucket of cold water poured onto his head. "Then it's true about Death? Is Alcyoneus to blame?"
Nico shrugged. "I think so. It's getting bad in the Underworld. Dad's going crazy tying to keep things under control. From what Percy said about the gorgons, things are getting worse up here, too. But look, that's why you're here." He paused for a reassuring smile. His muscles screamed as he did so. "All that stuff in your past - you can make something good come out of it. You belong at Camp Jupiter." Unlike him.
Hazel brushed her hair out of her face, and Nico could see that she didn't believe him.
Nico sighed yet again, turning his head away from Hazel. Pain stabbed his chest as he look out the horizon - he could see Percy speaking with Frank there, his arms crossed and his hair neatly washed. Nico bit his lip. It doesn't matter. He doesn't matter at all to him.
I shot for the sky
But I'm stuck to the ground
Then why do I try?
I know I'm gonna fall down
———
A/N: Yikes.
I do like to add song lyrics at the start and end of the chapter because I'm trash at endings that's why.
Also I can assure you that I copied all the quotes and moves out of the book. So credit to Rick for some of the parts.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Hint: the next chapter will take place in the Mark of Athena. I'm not sure when it'll come out and I'm really sorry for that. Things aren't look so well on my side at the moment.
Hope you have a nice day!
~ﾐ(o*･ω･)ﾉ