Ever since Gaia had been put to sleep, life had gotten better. With Jason's support, Nico had come out of the closet. It sure as Tartarus wasn't easy, and a couple of people still got fidgety or overly cautious around him, but none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered to Nico was that Percy didn't think he was a freak. Especially after Nico told Percy who he'd actually had a crush on for almost four years.
Percy reacted better than Nico had expected. More awkward apology than total loathing and ostracizing. Though they didn't spend time together, Percy understood and didn't bug Nico.
Reyna set him and Hazel up at a boarding school in San Francisco. Annabeth offered tutor them in things they had 'skipped.' It was awkward at first, but Annabeth and Nico needed to spend time together and they both enjoyed it.
They never talked about Percy. They didn't need to.
After freshmen year, Nico hung out at both camps, helping wherever he was needed. And Jason 'encouraged' Nico to socialize: dueling with others, going to mythology classes - even though Nico could give Annabeth a run for her money on Greek History - climbing the rock wall, archery or keeping watch at the entrance to Camp Jupiter. Eventually the Stolls took another personal interest in him after he gambled each of them out of one hundred bucks at their poker game, and the three of them raised all kinds of hell.
Reyna made Nico go to Camp Jupiter once a week that first summer as a sword instructor. While he was there, Hazel forced him to spend to night each time so they could see a movie with Frank and Reyna.
Rachel began giving him art lessons. Not that he was any good, but Rachel told him otherwise, saying that technically there is no such thing as 'good' art, which resulted in an eye roll from Nico, then a smack to the back of his head, and ended in an all-out paint war.
Whenever he could, Nico hung out with Rachel, Leo, Calypso, Jason, or Piper in New Rome. He played Mythomagic with Frank, helped out Chiron around Camp Halfblood, went on quests, played capture the flag, anything but interact with Percy Jackson.
Not that he didn't want to. Percy was constantly appearing in Nico's head, his curved smile and loyal nature. It was just hard to see the Son of Poseidon without Nico's feelings erupt all over again.
Then, one day while he and the Stolls were cleaning out the stables as punishment after a particularly nasty prank on the Ares Cabin, (It took a while for them to rebuild the cabin after it had somehow ended up in the middle of Apollo's poetry slam.) Nico realized he hadn't thought about Percy in days. It made him sad at first, and then the more he thought about it, the more a smile stretched across his face.
Percy continued to come to Nico's mind less and less, and each time the feelings felt less intense and Nico was happy.
Three Years After the End of the Second Great Prophecy...
Hazel and Nico sat at their usual spots in class, listening to some sleep deprived teenager give a presentation on the relevance of... Nico looked down at his paper. Something to do with science. Hazel was taking notes, he would let her copy his English notes later in exchange.
The bell rang and half the class sighed in relief, it being the last class of the week. People shook their sore hands and gathered up their notes.
"Finally." Nico slung his bag over his shoulder and stood up. "Ready?"
"One minute..." Hazel pocketed her pen in her overalls and stuffed the papers in a folder. Then pulled the backpack straps over her shoulders. "Ready."
"Where do you want to go? Jack's going home for the weekend so I'm free," he asked as they exited the classroom in the crowds.
"...Um, how about Joe's? I'll trade you science notes for english notes?" she offered as they turned toward the coffee shop on the edge of campus.
"You read my mind," Nico smiled. "How was your talk last night with... Piper? Anything interesting back in New Rome?"
"It was Piper," Hazel nodded. "And..." She looked at Nico and narrowed her eyes, biting her tongue to study him.
"What?" Nico frowned. "Did bad something happen?"
"Yes it's bad... Well, I guess it's not bad, it's good, because it was bad because it took too long to happen." Hazel shook her head but didn't lose the look. "I'm just not sure if you're ready to hear this."
"You're not making any sense," Nico laughed.
"Annabeth broke up with Percy."
The smile dropped away and Nico stopped short, but it only took a second to start walking again. "Why?"
"Remember when I told you about that dream I had on the Argo II? The one with Frank?"
"Yeah... Leo was told by some god that you were each other's other halves according to a theory by Aristotle, I think."
They jumped back as a bicyclist swept across their path.
"Watch it!" Hazel shouted after the woman. She squinted as they started walking again. "Where was I... Oh, yeah second halves, right. Well apparently Percy and Annabeth didn't actually see each other. They didn't want their love lives controlled by the gods like everything else has been."
Nico nodded. He knew exactly what that was like, so did Hazel; to have their lives decided for them against their will.
"That sucks," Nico said as they approached the coffee shop.
"You really think so?" Hazel asked.
Nico looked at her. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I?"
"I don't know," Hazel shrugged. "I thought you might be happy that Percy is single."
"Percy being single doesn't automatically mean he's gay. Or that I'm single," Nico explained as he opened the coffee shop door for Hazel.
"Thank you!" she said and walked in. "I know that doesn't mean he'll suddenly like boys, but who knows?" She got in the long line for coffee.
"Hazel, I'm with Jack."
"Okay," she pouted. But whispered: "But you never know...!"
"Hazel."
"Alright!" she laughed, and Nico couldn't help but smile. "Do you have any money?"
"I have a ten. I think." Nico felt around his jean pockets before pulling out a crusty ten dollar bill. "Yup."
"Can I pay you back later?"
"Sure. Any more news?" Nico asked as they moved up in the line.
"Well, Percy went back to Camp Halfblood, Annabeth is finally officially enrolled at New Rome University. And..." Hazel snapped her fingers. "Piper changed majors."
"I thought she liked psychology!" Nico said.
"Me too, but apparently she wants to study law and Native American History, so she can help protect reservations or something."
"She'll be back to Psychology by the end of the year."
"Wanna bet?"
"Winner pays for coffee for a month."
"Deal."
By the end of the year...
"...Good morning, Hazel," Nico muttered around a cinnamon bagel with cream cheese. He took the bagel out of his mouth and gave a huge grin to his sister as he slid across her at the picnic bench.
Hazel rolled her eyes and bookmarked her place before shutting the book. "What?"
"Jason iris messaged this morning..."
"Piper's back to psychology, Frank told me, I know," Hazel groaned. She scrunched her nose and glared at her brother. "Happy with yourself?"
"Extremely," Nico laughed.
"Did Jason say why she switched again?"
"No, but he seems happy for her, and terrified for him. I guess she's been trying to psychoanalyze everyone."
Hazel laughed. "So that's what she was doing last night! It was scaring me for awhile! So... what else did you and Jason talk about?"
"Um... He said we need to go to Rachel's art gallery... thing next weekend...?"
"Oh, yeah, Piper and Frank both told me that," Hazel said, taking a bite of her toasted plain bagel with cream cheese. "She's threatened anyone who doesn't go with severe bodily harm. Percy should be there apparently..."
"Yup," Nico nodded, ignoring the Percy comment but remembering it.
"So... Did Jason tell you anything else?" Hazel asked, giving Nico a huge grin.
Nico frowned. "No... What did I miss?"
"Oh my gods I can't believe he didn't tell you!" Hazel scoffed.
"Well, jeez, Hazel, it's not like drachmas grow on trees, and we can't exactly use phones!"
Hazel shrugged and then whined: "I know but still he should have told you THIS!"
"TELL ME WHAT?" Nico demanded leaning forward.
Hazel smiled and let out a small squeal.
"Hazel! What is it!"
"Okay okay okay. Guess who just started... Um, what's the word?"
"I don't know!" Nico threw his hands into the air.
"Well..." Hazel thought for a second. "Oh! Dating! Guess who just started dating!"
"I have no idea," Nico sighed, completely done with this already.
Hazel couldn't stop smiling. "Fine, here's a hint... When was the last time you talked to your old buddy Reyna?"
"A couple of weeks ago... I don't know. We don't need to talk every weekend," Nico shrugged. But when they last talked, Reyna was distracted, and smiley. Reyna was never smiley. When Nico commented on it, she denied it tooth and nail.
Nico grinned. "Okay, Reyna and... Octavian?"
Hazel snorted. "Gods no."
"...Dakota?"
"No!" Hazel took another bite of her bagel and grinned slyly.
"...Percy?"
Hazel burst out laughing. Clutching her stomach, she almost fell back off the bench. Several of their classmates glanced over at them before rolling their eyes to look back at their friends or books.
"No!"
"Okay, FINE!" Nico sighed. "Who is it?"
Hazel bite her bottom lip and giggled for a couple of seconds. "Annabeth."
Nico pulled his head back from the table. "No." He started smiling, he couldn't believe it. Reyna and Annabeth. Especially ANNABETH.
"Yes!" Hazel squealed, nodding.
"Really? Annabeth?"
"YES!" If she wasn't careful her smile was going to split her face in two.
"They're together?"
"Who's together?" a boy slid onto the bench next to Nico and kissed him on the cheek. "Hey babe."
"Hey Jack!" Nico blushed. "Just some old friends of ours."
Hazel took a big bite of her bagel, to hide the fact that her smile had vanished.
"Anyone who goes here?" Jack asked as he set has set a bottle of water and an apple on the picnic table.
"Nope," Nico said, slipping his hand into Jack's under the table.
"Mmkay." Jack used his free hand to start eating his apple. "So what's your first class Nico?"
"It's Thursday, so... Geometry? Right Hazel?"
"Yeah." She stuffed the last of her bagel in her mouth and collected her book. She grabbed the top loop of her backpack. "Sorry, I have to go. I need to meet with Mrs. Sinclair before classes start. See you guys later!"
"Mmkay," Jack said around apple bits.
"Bye Hazel!"
Hazel waved back as she jogged for building B.
"Now that we're alone..." Jack smiled and wrapped a hand around his waist to pull him closer. "How about we skip today? I'll drive us to Pier 39...!"
Nico leaned forward, smiling against Jack's lips. "Sure."
"Where the hell have you been?" Hazel screamed at Nico after he opened the door to his room Monday morning.
Jason and Reyna glared at him from behind Hazel. At least it was probably Jason and Reyna. Maybe it was Piper, or Annabeth cut her hair...?
Nico groaned and pressed a hand to his forehead, squinting to see better passed the bright lights. His stomach was doing jumping jacks. Nico wanted to laugh - jumping Jacks - but last night crawled a little further up his esophagus and Nico clutched his stomach.
Jason - yup it was Jason, Nico thought - Jason's hand was on Hazel's shoulder, keeping her back, but his other hand was clenched in a tight fist. Reyna's arm's were crossed and her glower was better than Hades'. Hazel's eyes were rimmed in red, and from the empty coffee cups on his desk and the dark rings under her eyes, Nico saw that she hadn't slept for a few days. Her screaming just made his pounding headache worse, and Nico flinched back at her volume.
Ugh, he felt awful. Everything hurt.
"I was in San Francisco," he said to the ground.
"FRIDAY?! AND THEN ALL WEEKEND?!"
Nico cringed. It was too bright in here.
"Yes," Nico snapped. Gods all he wanted to do was collapse in his nice warm bed, which unfortunately, was being blocked by two former praeters.
"Nico, do you know how many times we tried to Iris message you?" Jason demanded.
"I don't know Jason. Shouldn't you've been counting?"
"Nico!" Hazel scolded.
"Nico." Reyna grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look at her. "If you were just in San Francisco, why didn't you call us?"
Nico felt something coming up the wrong direction, and shoved Reyna back before doubling over to wretch in the waste basket by his desk.
Jason cringed and Hazel lept back, but Reyna just turned up her lip and shook her head.
Nico groaned before he got up to push past them. He dumped his bag beside his bed and clambered in, pulling the blankets over his head.
"Nico!" Hazel shouted again.
Reyna sighed. "Come on. We won't get any answers out of him in this state."
"Why not?" Hazel asked at their voices started to retreat.
Before the door slammed shut - which Reyna completely did on purpose - Nico could hear her say: "Because Nico's perfect boyfriend got his underage ass drunk this weekend."
After Nico took a nap, drank a lot of water, threw up again, emptied his trash, showered, took another nap, he went up to Hazel's room. When he got there, it was just Reyna and Jason sitting on Hazel's bed playing poker until Hazel got out of her last classes.
When Jason looked around and saw who it was, his gaze hardened and he turned back to his pitiful pair of twos.
Reyna didn't even glance up, just continued rearranging her cards. "Hazel says to inform her lummox of a brother that if he doesn't dump his overrated boyfriend by the time she gets back she will personally silent treatment his butt into Tartarus."
"I'm not breaking up with Jack."
Jason didn't turn around, just snapped: "And why the hell not?"
Reyna looked up at Nico, just waiting for him to say it.
"Because I-"
"Because you love him?" she finished, smirking. She laid down her cards in front of Jason. "Full house."
"-YES, and because he loves me!"
"You're not in love with Jack." Jason threw down his cards down in exasperation from losing for the third time, and Nico's stupidity.
"How would you know that Jason?" Nico snapped, crossing his arms and leaning back on the doorframe.
"Because I know you Nico, you wouldn't have gotten drunk unless you were pressured by someone like Jack. If he loved you he wouldn't've put you in that situation! Did he offer you the alcohol?"
The bell rang in the distance.
"Hazel will be back soon," Nico told them.
"Nico," Reyna said, kicking herself up from the bed. "You just want someone else to love you, and you're willing to do ridiculous shit to get them to love you back. It didn't work with Percy, and Jack is just using that side of you because he can see you're vulnerable."
Nico tensed and looked down at the ground. "You don't know that," he whispered fiercely.
Jason swung his legs off the bed. "We do know Nico," he insisted. "Did you want to call Hazel? Did Jack tell you not to?"
"NO," Nico lied, glaring at Jason, but his lower lip quivered.
"Really?" Reyna snapped, crossing her arms again. "Then where was Jack when you were about to fall over from veisalgia? Huh?"
Nico frowned and Jason cocked his head.
"Gods, sometimes I forget I'm not talking to girls," Reyna sighed. "Hungover!"
Nico looked away. "He was going back to his room! We both weren't feeling well."
Jason snorted: "I'd be scared of Hazel too, if I was him."
"True," Reyna conceided. "But my point is, he shouldn't have let you face her alone, especially if it was his fault you were intoxicated to begin with!"
"And how did you get back?" Jason suddenly added. "Did he drive you back?"
Nico didn't answer.
"He drove you back when he was drunk?!" Jason sat down on Hazel's bed and Reyna clenched her jaw.
Behind him, the knob turned and the door pushed open, forcing Nico to stumble forward.
"Good. You're here," Hazel snapped. She dumped her school supplies next to the door and turned to Reyna, pointedly ignoring Nico. "Reyna, did you tell him?"
"Of course."
"And?" Hazel prompted as she removed her shoes.
"He's in love with Jack," Reyna said, staring at Nico.
"Fine. Tell Nico I'm not speaking to him until he apologizes for being stupid and not calling me. Just to tell me he's SAFE and not killed by some monster or off on some quest. Then he breaks up with Jack because he got a minor intoxicated."
"Nico," Reyna said slowly.
Nico rolled his eyes.
Jason slapped his hand to his forehead. "I can't believe I'm missing classes for this," he muttered.
"Hazel would like you to know that she's not going to talk to you until you apologizes for being stupid and not calling her. Just to tell her you're safe-"
"I got it, Reyna," Nico said.
Reyna smirked and kept on going. "And not killed by some monster or off on some quest. Then you break up with Jack because he got you - a minor - intoxicated."
"Thank you Reyna." Hazel nodded, then purposefully, stepped in front of Nico so her back was to him. "Do you guys want dinner? I'll pay since you came down here, even though it turned out to be a giant waste of time when someone could have just called his sister and let her know he was alive, instead of getting drunk off his skinny underage butt."
Reyna shrugged and picked up her duffel bag and jacket. "I'm in. Jason? Something to eat before we hit the road?"
Jason still had his head in his hands at the complete ridiculousness of what was happening. "Gods yes." He grabbed his backpack and sweatshirt, and practically ran out the door.
"Reyna, please tell Nico he's not invited," Hazel politely requested as she followed Jason outside.
Reyna grinned. "Nico-"
"I got it!"
Two days later, Nico sat in his usual spot in English by the window, but Hazel was sitting next to Tom and Christina. She was taking this shunning thing pretty seriously, even going so far as to leave her room early to miss Nico knocking on her door to pick her up so they could get coffee or hot chocolate like they always did.
Nico could feel Hazel's glare on the back of his neck, but he kept his eyes locked on the video on Romanticism the teacher was playing.
He still felt a little nauseous, but maybe it was the fact that he hadn't eaten in almost two days, or Hazel ignoring him, or not seeing Jack since yesterday morning.
Nico rubbed his eyes. He wasn't sure what to do. True, Jack had offered him the beer, but Jack wasn't the only one drinking, and Nico was the only person who wasn't, so why not? It wasn't as fun as Jack said it was, sure, and it definitely wasn't worth the next day, but he was with Jack.
The bell rang, and people started to collect their things.
Nico slumped over his desk and groaned. Maybe Reyna was right, as usual, maybe he did want to be loved too much and he was willing to crazy stuff to get their attention. He needed to call Annabeth, or maybe Piper. But since Reyna and Jason had been there, they probably wouldn't be so unbiased. Then... Rachel, he should call Rachel.
Nico sighed and dragged himself out of the desk, and trailed behind his classmates to History.
This was going to be a long day.
A couple hours later, everyone was heading for the cafeteria for lunch, Nico ran back to his room. As soon as he got in and dumped his stuff in the corner, he rummaged through his top drawer for a spare drachma. After he found one in his pencil case, he grabbed his flashlight and ran for the bathroom. He opened the window to let the light in, turned the flashlight on and set it in the windowsill. Then he turned on the shower, and the light hit the perfectly so that the combined light from the window and the flashlight created perfect rainbow.
Nico stepped back and tossed the coin throw the mist.
"Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me Rachel Dare."
The rainbow shimmered and suddenly music was blaring through the mist. Rachel was standing in her apartment in front of a blank aisle and canvas, rocking back and forth to some screaming alternative band.
"Rachel!" Nico shouted.
Rachel turned and saw him. She raised an eyebrow and held up a finger, then she disappeared from the mist and the music shut off.
"If it isn't our resident delinquent!" she smiled as she reappeared. "What's up Nico?"
Nico looked down. "Hazel won't talk to me."
"I heard," Rachel nodded and turned to her canvas. "But I also heard it sounds like you deserve it a little bit."
Nico grimaced. "Yeah."
"She's just looking out for you." Rachel got some blue paint on her brush and lifted it up to the canvas before hesitating.
"I know."
"Did you call just to talk about Hazel?" She dragged the blue across the page and stepped back.
"No, I need advice on what to do about Jack."
Rachel sighed and she set her brush and palette down "Well this painting doesn't seem to want anything else right now. This is going to be a long one, so in the mean time, what advice do you want about Jack?"
Nico rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know. I just don't know what to do..."
"You want to break up with him, but you don't want to look like you're giving into what Hazel wants?" Rachel asked, cleaning her brush in a jar.
"Um..." Nico frowned. "No. I don't want to break up with him..."
"Yeah, I think you do." Rachel smiled.
"No," Nico insisted, "I don't."
"Do you even have anything in common aside the fact that you both like boys?" Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow.
Nico opened his mouth to snap yes, but he froze, his mind reminding him of all the times they had disagreed on what to do or what movie to watch, or even who to hang out with.
"No, but that doesn't matter."
Rachel nodded "You're right, but do you fight about what you don't have in common, or have you just let him get what he wants because you don't want to fight?"
"Yeah..."
"So are you sure you don't just want to be in love with Jack?"
Nico looked at his toes.
"See?" Rachel said, wiping the paint off her hands. "I think you just want what Hazel has with Frank, and Jason has with Piper, Leo has with Calypso, and - I think - Reyna has with Annabeth, so you're willing to put up with this jackass-" Rachel paused and then laughed.
"Jack-ass," she muttered.
Nico chuckled and tried not to smile.
"-You're willing to put up with this jerk who doesn't deserve you and just wants to get in your pants," Rachel finished.
"Yeah," Nico nodded, remembering Jack's habit of wandering hands.
"It's not like you won't find whatever you're looking for. Reyna did, and she's three or four years older than you. Percy and Annabeth took years to admit they didn't work, and look how that almost turned out. Just take your time Nico. Just because because they set the bar super freaking high, for the rest of the world doesn't mean you have to fall in love with the first person you meet...
"So dump his ass before he gets what he wants!" Rachel's face went blank for a second, then she burst out laughing.
"What?" Nico asked, confused. There wasn't anything funny about what she just said.
She held up a finger but she couldn't stop and eventually she fell out of view, presumably rolling on the floor.
After a couple of minutes she pulled herself back up, still giggling. "You really don't want to know."
"Okay..." Nico said, frowning. "Thanks Rachel, I think."
"You bet your ass thank you," Rachel said, biting back another fit of laughter. "Oh! And you better be at my gallery opening this weekend." She pointed her paint brush at him threateningly. "It's bad enough Percy can't make it anymore..." she growled.
"What?" Nico asked, but the bell rang in the distance, and Rachel's apartment door slammed shut.
From the door, Annabeth shouted: "Rachel? You here?"
"Gotta go!" Rachel said, and waved her hand through the mist.
The next day Nico arrived at Hazel's room thirty minutes early to catch her leaving. As soon as Hazel opened the door and saw Nico, she marched out like she didn't know he was there.
"Hazel," Nico ran along side her. "I'm sorry okay? I didn't call you, and it was inconsiderate and I know it probably made you think I was hurt or captured or killed, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was gone or where I was-"
Hazel stopped to stare up at Nico, with her eyes narrowed.
"And I'm sorry I came home with a hangover - I don't even know why I did that - and I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry I was rude when I got back instead of just saying sorry to begin with, and I'm sorry."
Hazel's expression didn't budge.
Nico sighed. "I broke up with Jack last night."
Hazel's glare broke into a smile. "Apology accepted. And I'm sorry I gave you the silent treatment... even though you deserved it a little bit."
Nico grinned, "Apology accepted."
"Do you want to go to Joe's?" Hazel asked as she started walking.
"Sure! You're buying though."
"What?! Why?" Hazel demanded, jumping over a dandelion.
"Because Piper's majoring in Psychology...!" Nico said, nudging her shoulder.
"Oh! Right. Dang it," Hazel pouted. "How long was that for again?"
"One month."
"Really?" Hazel shook her head, but she was grinning slightly. "I'm fairly sure it was one week."
"It was a month and you know it!" Nico laughed.
"Fine." Hazel rolled her eyes. "So... How did Jack take it?"
Nico's smile faded, and he cleared his throat. "Um, I think I beat him to the punch... If... You know..."
"Oh, Nico." Hazel hugged Nico from the side as they walked. "I'm sorry."
"You were right, he was a jerk," Nico said, wrapping his arm around her.
"That probably doesn't make it hurt any less though, huh?" Hazel asked, squeezing her brother.
Nico chuckled sadly. "No."
"Yeah."
After they settled at a table, Nico with pitch black cup of coffee and Hazel with a cup of hot cocoa topped with whipped cream, Nico finally voiced the question that had been bugging him all of yesterday afternoon, night and early that morning:
"So... I heard, um, Percy isn't going to Rachel's art gallery opening this weekend... Do you know why?"
Hazel glanced up from from slurping her hot chocolate. She had a whipped cream pencil 'stache, and Nico tried not to grin.
"Um... Yeah," Hazel said shaking her head. "Uh, Percy left Camp Halfblood."
Nico pulled back his head in shock. Everyone knew Percy had 'retreated' to Camp Halfblood after him and Annabeth had broken up, but no one said anything about him leaving anytime soon.
"What? Where did he go?"
Hazel shrugged, staring down into her mug. "That's the thing, no one knows."
"What?!" Nico demanded. He started to get up. "We have to go-"
"Nico-" Hazel laid her hand on his, and hesitantly, Nico sat down. "I wasn't going to tell you until Friday, because... Well, you just broke up with someone, someone not that great, and I know you're probably going to fall back on your old feelings for Percy..."
Nico looked away.
"So... I know you might take this personally, but don't, because it has nothing to do with you," Hazel assured him, squeezing his hand gently.
Nico nodded carefully, bracing himself.
"Percy doesn't want anyone to know where he went," Hazel told him. "He was kind of stuck after the break up, and, I guess Annabeth finally got him out of it. He's going to college somewhere. He'll be back, but... Not any time soon."
"Oh," Nico said in a tiny voice. Hazel was right, he did feel responsible for some reason. "Okay."
"Nico, please don't blame yourself," Hazel begged. "You haven't even seen Percy in almost a year and you guys haven't even talked in probably three years! And Percy wanted to leave! Annabeth said he needs time alone, without us! Not that he wanted to get away from us-!" Hazel sighed and slumped back in her chair.
Nico smiled. She was right, it wasn't him; it was just Percy being Percy. "Thanks, Hazel."
Hazel smiled too. "You're welcome Nico."
"...You have a whipped cream mustache."
"What?! How long has it been there?!"
"Um..."
"Jerk!"
"Hey!"
Note:
To anyone advocating for anything as I write: I'm trying to keep the characters as close as I can to how Rick Riordan wrote them. If it appears that I'm leaning toward Percico OR Nicery, it's unintentional and DEAL WITH IT.