Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan. I own nothing, but the plot.
This story discusses themes of self-harm, anxiety, and depression. Trigger warning. Do not read if any of these things upset you. Trigger warning!
Criticism is appreciated, but please no hate. Please review and leave suggestions! Enjoy!
Nico's POV:
The time that the Romans had spent at Camp Half-Blood was coming to a close. As was Nico's time. On the day before they left, Nico caught his friends whispering, but they stopped once Nico entered into the room. He knew they were talking about him and his self-harm. All of them knew. Reyna and Jason had both tried to talk to Nico about it, but he stopped talking whenever they brought the topic up. So, they stopped bringing it up. Nico could see the pity all his friends had for him whenever they looked at him. Nico was ready to be away from all of it.
He was saying goodbye to everyone today. Reyna, Hazel, and Frank were taking Arion, with a chariot on his back, to Camp Jupiter. Jason and Piper were joining them, taking Tempest. Percy and Annabeth were flying on pegasi back into the city to begin their second term of senior year. Will would be going to their school in the next week or so to start his second term of sophomore year. Leo and Calypso were staying at Camp, for now, but claimed to be heading on another adventure in the next day or two.
The Camp had already started to clear out anyway, as campers went back home to go back to school. After everyone was gone, Nico would start packing up all of his stuff; there was nothing left for him here.
He emerged from his cabin, blinking in the sunlight. He hadn't eaten anything all day. He didn't want to feel anything, so he chose to be in a state of lassitude. He wanted to feel numb. He wanted to forget. He didn't want any emotions clouding his judgment. Hopefully, his father would be able to help him start to master his nightmares so he would be able to sleep for once in his life without being disturbed. He walked across the camp and over to Half-Blood Hill. Everyone had started to say their goodbyes. He had eight sets of eyes on him as he walked over.
"We missed you at lunch today, Nico," Percy mentioned. Nico looked up at him as he spoke. He had a sympathetic smile on his face. He decided to avoid the question.
"Where's Annabeth?" Her intelligent aura was noticeably absent.
"She had a family emergency in Boston. She didn't give many details."
"I thought you guys had to catch up on school?" Nico asked.
Percy shrugged. "She's way smarter than me. She will be able to catch up with no problem. Me on the other hand... well I offered to go with her, but she vehemently refused. Whether that be her concern about my education or the fact that it was a family matter, I don't really know-" he trailed off. "So, what are you going to be doing?"
"Just working for my father a lot." He didn't want to give them much, but no one seemed to want to pursue any argument with him. Nico sighed, realizing he would have to be the one to initiate conversation. "What about you two?" He asked, indicating to Jason and Piper.
"Starting up school again," Piper answered. "Can't wait to see my father again. And Coach Hedge, Mellie, and their kid."
"How is Coach Hedge?" Nico asked. He was fond of the old goat; they had faced life and death situations together.
"He's good, last time we checked," Jason spoke up.
"Good."
The awkwardness was palpable in the air. They were all silent for a few moments. Their silence was interrupted by neighing. Butch appeared over the crest of the hill, bringing up Blackjack. The pegasus neighed loudly at the sight of Percy. Percy grinned and moved up to meet him.
"Hey, Blackjack," He stopped to listen. "No, I don't have any sugar cubes." He stopped again. "I only have one bag and I promise it's not that heavy." He smiled sadly. "No, buddy, I'm sorry, it's just me. Annabeth had to go on her own." He laughed. "No, we didn't break up. She just had some family stuff to deal with."
He patted Blackjack's neck before turning back around.
"Well, this is my ride." He looked towards Frank. Frank gave him a bear hug. Percy laughed through the pain. "Keep those Romans in line, praetor."
Frank let him go. "Will do."
Percy then turned to Hazel. "I'll miss you." He wrapped her in a hug.
"Take care, Percy." She said.
He let go and nodded towards Leo. "Leo."
Leo did a two-fingered salute back to him. Percy smiled at him and then at Calypso, but the two didn't say anything. Nico sensed that some tension was still there.
"Don't attach yourself to Jason too much while I'm not here," Percy warned Piper. "He's still mine."
"You keep telling yourself that." Piper teased, hugging him.
When they parted, Jason stepped forward and the two boys exchanged a handshake and a hug.
"We will keep in touch," Jason muttered into Percy's shoulder.
"You know it. Still meeting in San Diego for Spring Break, right?" Percy asked.
Jason laughed. "You know it." He repeated Percy's words. "Bye bro."
"See ya, boo thang." Piper rolled her eyes at the boys' antics.
Percy merely shook hands with Reyna. "Good luck."
Finally, Percy turned to Nico. Nico had his arms crossed over his chest. Percy looked like he wanted to step forward for a hug or even a handshake, but he held himself back.
"Don't hesitate to call or Iris-message or anything if you need me." He lowered his voice. "If it's about Tartarus or anything... you really helped me that night, and I'm always willing to return the favor."
"Don't think anything of it. See you around, Jackson." Nico bid his farewell.
Percy smiled and turned. He pulled a heavy winter coat on, to protect himself from the elements. He grabbed his duffle and climbed onto Blackjack. He dug his heels into the pegasus' sides and he started galloping. The two took off into the air. The group watched until they were merely a dark spot on the horizon.
Reyna sighed. "I guess that is our cue to leave as well."
Hazel and Calypso embraced while Frank and Leo shook hands. Hazel then hugged Leo while Frank awkwardly nodded at Calypso. Piper came over to Nico.
"Hey, good luck with working with your father."
"Thank you."
Nico uncrossed his arms and gave her a quick side hug. She smiled at him and went to go say goodbye to Leo. Jason, who had just finished saying goodbye to his best friend, with promises of meeting in San Diego, stood in front of Nico.
"Please take care of yourself." He implored Nico.
"We'll see."
Jason hugged him. Nico tried to flinch, but Jason's grip was too tight. "You are one of my closest friends; I don't want to lose you."
"I'll do my best," Nico promised.
Jason released him. "I want to hear from you at least once every two weeks."
"Okay, mom." Nico teased. "I'll think about sending you an Iris message every so often."
"I'll miss you, di Angelo."
"Miss you too, Grace." Jason waved a farewell to go stand with Piper, who had just finished exchanging a few words with Calypso.
Frank approached Nico next. He held out his hand. Nico braced himself as he took the outstretched hand. "It was great to see you again, Nico."
"Be good to my sister, Zhang, and we won't have to see each other soon." Frank looked terrified.
"Oh, he's joking," Hazel reassured. "He's just trying to mess with you." She looked more fully at Nico. "And I hope we will see each other soon."
"I guess I'll stop by Camp Jupiter," Nico mentioned. "I'm sure father with have 'Pluto ambassador' stuff he needs me to do."
Hazel put her hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure you want to leave?"
Nico shrugged her off. "Yes, I am sure. It's what I need to do." Hazel looked into his eyes, making sure that he was sure. Then, she pulled him into a hug.
"Be careful. Please. I love you and want you to be safe." Nico returned her hug as she spoke.
"I will be. I'll try my hardest to stay out of trouble." She released him and went to join Frank.
Finally, Reyna approached him.
"Nico."
"Reyna."
"I thought you had found a home." She stated.
"I did, but now everyone is leaving. There's no reason for me to stay."
Reyna nodded at his words. "I respect that. I wish you the best of luck, and you will come to visit, otherwise, I will hunt you down and drag you, screaming, to Camp Jupiter."
"Yes ma'am," Nico said.
"And if you ever need help, or want to- hurt yourself, or anything, don't hesitate to call," Reyna said.
Nico fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes, I know."
"Goodbye, Nico." She hugged him.
"See you around Reyna." He returned the hug.
She released him and went to join the group heading to California. Hazel and Jason both whistled for their respected steeds. In a flash, the demigods had climbed aboard and disappeared into the ar. Nico, Leo, and Calypso were left standing on the ridge.
"So, what's the plan for the rest of the day?" Leo asked Nico.
His hand came down to rest on Nico's shoulder. Nico stepped forward, out of Leo's grasp.
"I'm going back to my cabin."
A knock on the door woke Nico. He opened his eyes and glared angrily at the door.
"Go away." He grumbled, turning over.
The knock came again. Nico covered his face with a pillow. The knocking didn't stop. He let out a frustrated groan and pulled himself from his sleep state. He walked to the door. He opened it to find Will Solace, framed by the fading sunlight, with a picnic basket.
"Hello. You are having dinner with me."
Nico stared at Will. "I'm leaving in a couple of days."
Will furrowed his eyebrows. "Yes, and?" Nico didn't answer. "Look, just because you are leaving doesn't mean we have to end on bad terms. We are still going to be together, even when you are gone, correct?"
Nico nodded.
"So, why not take advantage of the time we still have left? Until you leave?"
Nico was wary. He didn't want Will to convince him to stay again. "I don't know." Will noticed his hesitation.
"Nico. I- I know where you stand and I'm not going to try to make you stay. I just want to spend as much time as possible with you."
Nico sighed. "Okay, let me just get ready."
Will smiled. It was dazzling. He closed the door. He went to his dresser and pulled out a black shirt. He pulled off his current skull shirt and replaced it. His black jeans were fine. He laced up a pair of black converse. He pulled on his aviator jacket and opened the door. Will was leaning against one of the pillars on the outside of the cabin. He was lost in thought. His face was weary. Nico hadn't noticed how exhausted Will had been, but he could see it now. Now that Will wasn't hiding it. The bags under his eyes were obvious and dark. His whole aura was dimmed, hiding his usually bright persona.
Nico closed the door which shook Will out of his reverie. His face brightened, but Nico could still see the dark thoughts brewing. Will was under a lot of pressure. More than Nico realized.
"Ready?" Will asked, holding his arm out.
Nico reached out his hand. Half of finding happiness was accepting it. He allowed himself to be escorted by Will. They crossed through the cabins, around the canoe lake, passed the climbing wall and to the beach. There was already a blanket laid on the sand. A fire burned in a pit near the blanket.
"What is this?" Nico asked.
Will shrugged. "I wanted to have a beach picnic with you."
"It's the middle of January."
"There's a fire. We're fine." Will reasoned.
Nico decided to go with it. He sat down on the blanket, pulling his legs towards his chest. Will sat down beside him and opened the picnic basket. Nico peered inside.
"Shut the fuck up," Nico exclaimed as he pulled out a bag with a golden arch on it. "You got me McDonald's?"
Will laughed. "Well, I know it's your favorite meal."
But Nico wasn't listening. He opened the bag and pulled out a Big Mac box. He flipped open the lid and the greasy goodness that was McDonald's filled his senses.
"I think I'm in love with you." Nico murmured under his breath.
"I love you too," Will replied.
Nico didn't notice the son of Apollo gazing at him softly. He was too focused on his meal. He took a bite of the Big Mac.
"Oh my gods it's so good-" he groaned with a full mouth. Will merely laughed again as he pulled out his own meal: a healthy chicken salad. Nico scoffed as he saw it. "-if you're going to order from McDonald's-" he swallowed his food down. "At least order something unhealthy."
"I like having clear arteries." Will joked. Nico looked at him seriously. "I love eating burgers, but I was in the mood for a salad tonight."
"Well get your leafy-green nonsense away from my Big Mac."
Nico took another bite. And another. There was something that was so satisfying about eating a huge burger. After eating the burger, he immediately attacked the large fries, taking sips of his soda in between.
He finished in minutes, sighing contently. He hadn't eaten very much in a while and his stomach was full. He felt satisfied. He laid back on the blanket, looking at the sky. The color was slowly bleeding out, but traces of orange and pink still sprawled across the sky. It was beautiful. It was starting to get cold as the sun disappeared, but the fire got warmer as well. He turned on his side to look at Will. He was slowly eating his salad, deep in thought.
"What's up?" Will blinked and looked at Nico.
"Just thinking."
"About?" Nico asked, balancing himself on his elbows.
"Everything. I don't know. I have this bad feeling in my stomach. Something is coming."
Nico knew exactly what Will meant. He was feeling the same thing. "Yeah, I sense that too. But what? And when?"
"I don't know," Will admitted. "I'm sorry, let's not worry about that right now. We are supposed to be enjoying ourselves."
"I did thoroughly enjoy my dinner." Nico reminded. "But you haven't finished yours."
"I was hoping to move onto dessert." Will flirted, looking at Nico suggestively.
Nico smiled but ducked his head. He didn't know how comfortable he was with contact with Will yet. Will put his hand on Nico's shoulder.
"Hey." Nico looked up into Will's eyes. "It's okay. You don't need to feel rushed about anything. Whatever you feel comfortable with."
Nico considered this and decided to go out on a limb. He sat up and carefully put his hand on Will's face. He leaned forward to connect their lips. The pressure that he had been feeling was lifted as Will returned his kiss. Will sighed deeply. Nico broke off the kiss and Will pouted. Nico grinned as he leaned back in, deepening the kiss. Will slowly leaned backward, bringing Nico with him until they both were horizontal, Nico propped on his arms above Will.
"Gods, I've missed this." Will groaned when they broke off for air. Nico didn't say anything. He just lowered himself down again to recapture Will's lips. Will broke the kiss off again. "It's getting late; what about cleaning harpies? What if we get caught?"
"Will, do me a favor?" Nico asked. Will nodded, attentively listening. "Shut up and kiss me."
Will reconnected their lips. Nico groaned in desire as Will slowly turned him over onto his back. Will took control as his tongue danced with Nico's.
The two boys enjoyed the next hour making out before both of them drifted off into sleep. Little did they know that a mortal named Lester Papadopoulos would soon arrive to disrupt that peace.