Nico turned the gem in his hand, its weight comforting and familiar. Almost too easy the dim light broke in its unique beauty. The demigod barely looked. Instead, he rummaged through his pocket before he offered a single golden coin to the goddess of rainbows. An image of camp Jupiter appeared that slowly zoomed in on a girl and a boy sitting under an old cypress tree enjoying the last rays of sunshine. A hint of a smile hushed over his lips which he professionally suppressed.

"Nico?"

The son of Hades readied himself to bring out the big guns.

"Hi, sis."

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"It's flirting! He is FLIRTING with you, you time degenerated nitwits!" Frank shouted.

Sure it was fun and cute hearing those innocent children of the underworld speculate about the oh so mysterious behavior of the one and only Will Solace. At least for the first 15 minutes. And yes, they were from a different era. He got it, it was hard to decipher the delicate nuance of innuendos between the lines, but after a grueling half an hour of: 'I wonder what could it mean?' and 'Maybe he was hungry?' or the all-time classic 'I don't understand,' accompanied by a pout, Frank couldn't take it anymore. How oblivious could one be? And don't get him started on his beloved Hazel - she wasn't any better!

"Hu?" She dared.

"He has a fucking crush on you," Frank pulled at his hair. "And is terrible, truly terrible, at expressing his feelings!"

"What?" Nico's eyes went unbelievingly wide.

"Yes, for god's sake! He likes you!"

"Who would have thought," the son of hades mumbled, looking at the ground. His black locks covered his face.

"Urgh! I can't. My sanity is more precious than that."

Nico could almost hear the tiny Mic Drop as Frank stormed out of the picture, leaving the siblings behind. He slowly counted the seconds in his head before they simultaneously began laughing.

"Oh my, Nico you are the worst," she giggled. Sometimes he was such a child, Hazel thought and was reminded of how Nico didn't really get to be one.

"And you own me 20 bucks sister dear," he rubbed a tear out of his eyes.

"Stupid Frank couldn't hold it in for another 10 minutes," Hazel grumbled.

"Told you so," Nico grinned. "As a daughter of the god of wealth it shouldn't be too troubling I assume," his voice held a smug tone.

"Says the ambassador of Pluto," she teased and blew a curly strand of hair out of her face. "You're just mad because he beat you in your stupid card game."

"It was a draw!" Nico protested instantly.

"There are no draws in mythomagic!"

"Whatever," this time he pouted for real. A branch cracked in the shadows and the demigod tilted his head.

"So," Hazel asked almost sober in comparison. "What are you gonna do with your sunny Adonis?"

"Not sure yet," he stalled. "But I'll keep you updated."

Hazel didn't look impressed.

"I promise. Uh, I think I got company," he reassured while implying that he had to go. "Say 'Hi' to Reyna from me."

"Will do," she snickered.

"Seriously?" Nico rolled his eyes. "By."

"Love you, Nico." Then she added, "Say 'Hi' to your company from me." Hazel winked through the rainbow.

"Love you too sis," he finished the conversation and the mist faded.

"Are you done listening in?" The son of Hades turned around, arms crossed and walls up. "Come on out."

His eyes met hers in the dark.

"Uh. Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop," Calypso sputtered while exiting the shadows.

Neither of them believed the lie.

"How much did you hear?" The prince of the underworld raised an intimidating brow.

"All of it! Every single word," she squeaked under the pressure of his gaze. "I have super-hearing like Daredevil!"

Nico fought the urge to face-palm. She definitely spent way too much time with Leo.

"Mostly though, the part with the flirting and dimwits." The queen of Ogygia fiddled with her bracelet. "If you want I can help," she offered.

"Is that so?" The boy motioned her to continue.

Calypso squared her shoulders as she explained to the best of her abilities what was up with the child of Apollo. It was rather adorable seeing her stumble over her words.

"Uhm, thanks I guess," Nico replied kind of lame after he was gifted with an entirely different set of cards. The neatly written letters were easy to read. Over every 'i' was a heart instead of a dot and the son of Hades was suddenly a little less sure where it left him in the grand picture.

"I… Why tho?"

"No reason in particular," Calypso bit her lips and rocked slightly back and forth on her heels.

He frowned at the sliver of pink fabric flashing up from under her camp-shirt but ultimately shrugged it off. It was getting late.

"By the way, Hazel said 'Hi'."

"Huh?"

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After the talk with Calypso, the young demigod felt the tension seeping out of his shoulders. Of course, this had Percy Jackson written all over it.