Hey guys. I know I've been procrastinating on my other stories, but after I finished reading House of Hades this was just begging to be written.

Nico is my precious baby I love him so much.

I'll go back to working on my other stories now.

EDIT:

I'm getting really tired of getting messages about this so let me be perfectly honest THIS TITLE WAS TAKEN FROM A POPULAR HUMOR-BASED PJO FANDOM TUMBLR POST. I'M NOT TRYING TO BE OFFENSIVE IN ANY WAY AND I AM SORRY PEOPLE ARE INTERPRETING IT THAT WAY. SO WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT IF YOU WOULD ALL JUST STOP.

And for those couple of people who keep telling me to change it, no, I will not, because it's getting people to read it, and most of my reviewers and tumblr followers appreciate my ironic use of hella, and find the title humorous. Any more reviews telling me to do so will be thrown into Tartarus. If you don't like it, then leave.

By the way, Nico is actually hella gay

There were many things Percy did not understand about Nico.

He didn't understand his clothing choices. He is the son of Hades, and all, but still, there is such thing as too much black.

He didn't understand his sense of humor. He was pretty sure that Nico's love of pomegranates was his idea of a joke, which he understood, but still. Who would keep eating that stuff willingly?

He never really understood Mythomagic, which Nico still remembered all the stats for but claimed to hate. Yeah. Sure he does. He wasn't fooling anyone, especially Percy.

Above all he didn't understand his relationship with Jason. Like, at all. Ever since they had come back from their quest to the ancient lands, Nico had been a little testy with him. It was almost as if he was trying to gauge their friendship, or something. Piper said she thought something had happened between them during their mini-quest in Split, something that Jason wouldn't talk to her about. Nico was not about to say anything either.

After their fight with Gaea things had gone back to normal. Mostly. The Greeks and the Romans had an exchange program going right now, just to see if the two sides really could get along. It was working so far, but only time would tell.

Nico had started spending more time at Camp Half-Blood. He still remained a bit of a recluse, but he was at least trying to make friends. Jason would usually push him into stupid mixers and stuff, which seemed to make him uncomfortable. Percy swore, though, that he caught Nico smiling sometimes.

Tonight was Capture the Flag, a friendly game between the Campers, and the Legionaries from Camp Jupiter. Reyna and Frank led the Romans, while Percy and Annabeth lead the Greeks. The campers were battle ready. Leo and the Hephaestus Cabin had a new assortment of magic weapons they were ready to test. Leo kept catching himself on fire, he was so excited. Piper had even convinced the Aphrodite Cabin to join in, though he could hear Drew complaining loudly. Jason fought with the Romans, because he didn't think setting three children of the Big Three on the Romans was fair, when Hazel was their only one. It evened out the score a little.

Annabeth was relaying orders to each Cabin. Ares was to take point, attack the Romans directly, and break their formations. The Apollo Cabin was to fire as many arrows as they could into the Legionaries, and take down as many as they could. The other campers were split into groups, flank the Romans, and bring them into the center so they could easily be taken out. That left a small group of operatives to sneak over the border and take the flag. And by small group, she meant Nico and Percy.

Nico was dressed for combat, in the same amour he wore during the Titian War. He had got taller, and fitter, though he was still pretty much a skinny bean pole. He glanced at Percy nervously, and edged away from him. Percy didn't understand that either.

Ever since the Doors of Death had closed, and he and Annabeth had made it out of Tartarus, Nico had gone out of his way to avoid Percy. A hard thing to do, seeing as Percy was a pretty dominating force at Camp Half-Blood. (At least that's what Annabeth told him. He wasn't sure if she was kidding or not.) Not to mention, Percy wasn't about to let Nico avoid him. He wondered if something had happened on the Argo II that had caused Nico to hate him.

Whatever, right now they had a game to win. Time to show those Romans who's boss. Percy approached Nico, who was avoiding his eyes and scowling at a nearby tree, as if being stuck with Percy was its fault.

"Hey man, you ready?" Nico glared at him. They were almost the same height now, Percy noticed. That was so not fair.

"As I'll ever be." his voice was bitter, though Percy thought he caught an undertone of nervousness and frustration.

Percy made a face, trying to diffuse the tension that Nico was creating, "You say that like it's a BAD thing. I'm not that disgusting am I?"

He thought he saw a flicker of a smile on Nico's face, but as soon as it was there it disappeared.

"No, not disgusting…" he said, his voice barely above a whisper. Percy wasn't entirely sure he had heard him correctly.

"Um… right. We should probably go."

They crept into the shadows, Nico's powers doing a pretty good job of hiding them. Annabeth's strategy seemed to be working. The fighting was concentrated in the middle, though that may be due to the giant war elephant a.k.a. Frank.

"I still don't understand that."

Percy glanced in Nico's direction, though in the darkness he was hard to make out.

"Understand what?"

"The giant war elephant. I know that it is Frank, but I'm pretty sure Rome didn't just have a supply of elephants on hand… so why do the Romans even have one?"

It took Percy a moment to figure out he was referring to Hannibal. For once Percy actually had an answer.

"I think the Ancient Romans invaded a part of Africa once, made it a part of their empire. Its probably symbolic… or something."

Okay he didn't really know. He was pretty sure that was at least half-right though.

"I think that last part was wrong," Nico whispered. He pushed aside some branches with the tip of his Iron sword.

"Come on, I think we found it."

The Romans had set themselves up in a small meadow. Hazel and Reyna were guarding the flag, which surprised Percy. He thought they would be on the front line, especially since Reyna was praetor.

Nico didn't seem too surprised though. Rather he seemed to almost expect it. That made some sense though. Nico and Reyna had gone on a quest with Coach Hedge to bring the Athena Parthenos to Camp -which currently stood on Half-Blood Hill until they could figure out a way to move it a better spot. He probably knew Reyna better than Percy did. (Though Jason probably still knew her the most.)

Nico pointed at Reyna and Percy got the message. Take her out first. I'll deal with Hazel.

It made sense. Percy had the most formal training, from both sides, and it was unlikely that Hazel would purposely do anything to hurt her brother. And vice versa.

They crept closer, catching snips of their conversation as they separated, preparing to launch at their targets.

"It feels strange… not having battlements," Hazel said.

Reyna nodded, "It's been a while since I've actually participated in something like this… usually I watch from above."

She didn't mention Scipio, which was probably a good thing. Percy wouldn't have the heart to fight her if she was about to cry. Not that she ever did that. She had nerves of steel.

Hazel glanced nervously around the meadow, like she could sense something was wrong.

Percy came up behind Reyna, still hidden in the shadows, though without Nico it didn't have as much of a profound effect.

Hazel cried out, "Reyna, behind you!" and swung her sword. Nico's blade and her cavalry sword made contact, causing a loud clash. Nico's face was contorted into a smirk, which Percy found rather creepy and unsettling.

Reyna attacked, forcing Percy to duck to avoid being decapitated. His helmet plumes went flying as her sword sheared them off. Percy stood back up, going for an attack of his own. Renya parried it easily, and pushed back, forcing him back towards the bushes and away from the flag. No. That just wasn't going to happen. Percy feinted, catching the praetor off guard, rolled under her raised sword arm, and took off at a sprint. He grabbed the flag, and jumped over the half-conscious form of Hazel, who was groaning. He thought he heard her say something about stupid brothers.

Nico was still standing nearby, looking completely bewildered and horrified as he stared at Hazel. Percy grabbed his hand, and forced him to run. He could work out his guilty brother feelings later.

Percy could hear Nico yelling curses behind him, but Percy was not about to let go. He ran into a crowd of fighting Greeks and Romans, losing Reyna, who had been following them. He knocked aside a Roman sword, trying not to drop the flag since they were in the same hand, and forced a couple more out of the way. Tightening his grip on Nico's, who was trying his best to fight one handed, he broke free from the crowd. The other campers and guests hadn't seemed to notice.

"Hey, Percy's got the flag! Go after him!"

Jason's voice rose out of the crowd, and Percy knew that he had about point five seconds before they were surrounded by Romans.

He glanced back at Nico, who was struggling to free his hand from getting crushed.

"You trust me?"

Nico blinked, confused, momentarily forgetting his struggle "what kind of question is that?"

"It's important."

"You've saved my life multiple times. Of course I trust you," Nico was staring at him like he was in idiot.

"Okay good," the creek was still pretty far off, too far to make it there by running. He could hear the Greeks trying to push back the Romans, but their lines were breaking.

Percy focused on the creek, and felt the churning body of water bend to his will.

"Don't let go."

Nico let out a snort, "Isn't that a movie line?" Percy felt Nico's fingers entwine with his, and tighten. Okay. That didn't happen every day.

Percy let out a yell, and the creek exploded. The water rained down upon the Romans, confusing them. A miniature cyclone of water picked them up, like the hurricane he summoned during the Titian War and launched them towards the body of water. They hit the water hard, and Percy manipulated it to cushion their fall. He floated to the surface, supported by the waves. Nico's head broke the surface next to him, sputtering. Probably should have warned him about that part.

The water spit them out on the Greek side of the shore, and Nico let go of his hand, trying to recover. Percy, who was dry, of course, jumped to his feet, displaying the flag for all to see.

A roar went up on the Greek side of the Camp. Annabeth threw her arms around him, kissing him. Piper and the Aphrodite Cabin were watching them, and he was pretty sure he saw money exchange hands. Leo was doing a little victory dance, his hair smoldering. Clarisse was glaring at him, despite the grin on her face. Reyna was supporting Hazel on the Roman side of the Creek, giving him a smile. He thought he saw a challenge in her eyes, telling him next time Jackson.

Nearby, he saw Jason help Nico to his feet. Jason said something to him, and the other boy's eyes darkened dangerously. He pushed him away, angrily, and stalked off, ignoring Jason's calls after him.

At the celebratory campfire, a tradition when the Romans came around, Nico still hadn't shown up, and honestly, Percy was worried. It was heard to enjoy a victory when the other half of the team wasn't there. He glanced over at Jason, who was holding hands with Piper, and discussing something with Hazel. They both seemed as worried as he was.

He took Annabeth's hand, and made his way over to them. He sat down next to Hazel, pulling his girlfriend down next to them. Hazel handed them both some hot chocolate, and leaned in, struggling to whisper over the noise of the obnoxious singing.

"Jason and I are worried about Nico. We haven't seen him since Capture the Flag,"

Percy took a sip of his hot chocolate, "Same. He seemed kinda upset," it wasn't uncommon for Nico to disappear, which drove Percy insane, since they could never keep track of him.

Hazel glanced over in the direction of the beach, "I think you should go talk to him…"

Percy blinked, "Me?"

"Yes you. I doubt he wants to see Jason or me right now, and honestly, I think you're the only one who can convince him to come back."

Percy had no idea why that would be. As far as he knew, Nico didn't hate him, but they weren't exactly friends either. Not to mention with the way Nico had been treating him lately, Percy had his doubts.

"If you say so. But where is he?"

Hazel pointed towards the ocean, "he's over there."

"How do you know?"

"I can sense his sword. And he's my brother. I know these things."

Percy glanced over at Annabeth for help, but she shook her head.

"It wouldn't hurt to try," she said, pecking his lips. "Go."

Percy downed the rest of his hot chocolate and stood up.

It took a solid twenty minutes to find Nico, which was like a world record, considering how easy it was for him to hide in the shadows. But he wasn't hiding. He was up against the water, illuminated in moonlight, his shoes half submerged, throwing rocks in the water.

"Stupid," he threw a rock, "clueless," he threw a larger rock, "good-for-nothing," he grabbed some sand and flung it at the ocean, "attractive," his voice got louder as he flung another stone into an oncoming wave, "son of a sea god" he was shouting now, though he had run out of ammo. He spread his hands, and screamed at the water, "What in Hades do you WANT FROM ME?"

Percy was completely bewildered, and suddenly filled with the desire to turn around and walk away. He had never seen Nico get this angry and frustrated before… not since Bianca's death. He had no desire to face Nico while he was upset. He had firsthand experience with that and did not want to repeat it.

But instead something compelled him to speak.

"I get stupid, clueless, and maybe even good-for-nothing, but not attractive. I'm definitely not that."

Nico spun around, breathing hard. His eyes widened, and his hands clenched into fists.

"How…how long have you been standing there?"

"I saw you scream at the ocean…"

Nico let out a hissing noise and grabbed his hair. Percy had never seen him this agitated. He reached out unconsciously, wanting to help but not sure how. Nico slapped his hand away, leaving behind a painful stinging and a couple drops of blood. He had actually cut him. Little punk.

"Don't. Touch. Me."

Percy held up his hands in the universal calm down expression, ignoring the cut on his hand.

"Look, man, I just want to help."

"Help?" Nico sneered, and Percy had to resist the urge to take a step back, "You don't even know what you're talking about."

Percy sighed, "Then why don't you tell me."

Nico scoffed, "Yeah. That'll happen."

"Come on Nico. We're friends aren't we?"

Nico seemed confused, which Percy found incredibly annoying "Friends."

"Yeah last I checked…"

Nico narrowed his eyes, "Why on earth would you want to be friends with me?"

Percy considered this. Nico was definitely not the ideal friend. He was moody, hard to understand, with conflicting loyalties. On the other hand, they had been getting somewhere after Nico finally stopped hating him. They had gone on some adventures together, and had come out alive. Their relationship had been getting better. Capture the Flag had been the closest they had come to acting like the old days, before both their trips into Tartarus. They made a pretty good team, when they wanted to be. Besides, if there was one thing Percy did understand about Nico is that he always alone. He'd felt that before, and he didn't wish it on anyone.

Percy didn't voice that though. It wasn't what Nico wanted to hear. Any sympathy or pity would probably just push him farther away.

"Look Nico…" Percy paused, thinking over what he wanted to say, "I don't what your problem is, or why you've been going out of your way to avoid me. But you can't spend your whole life running away…"

Nico glared at him, "I've been doing pretty well with that so far, thank you very much."

"Yeah, but are you any happier? What good has that done you?"

Nico blinked like he was caught in cross fire. He toyed with the hilt of his sword, and stared at his feet, like they suddenly became way more interesting.

"No… I guess not."

"Exactly," Percy tried for a smile, "Maybe you should take a chance. I want to be your friend Nico. But friendship works both ways too. You have to help me out."

Nico glanced somewhere over his shoulder, and it was pretty obvious he wanted to be anywhere but having this conversation.

"Hasn't it ever occurred to you that I go out of my way to avoid you for a reason, Percy?"

"Of course I have. I just don't know what it is."

Nico seemed relieved by that, "its better if you didn't."

"No," Percy hadn't meant for that to sound so harsh but he was tired of Nico shutting him out, "If I'm doing something to make you avoid me then I want to know what it is."

Nico looked him straight in the eye, which unsettled him. He could almost feel the frustration rolling off of him.

"You're not doing anything, Percy. Aside from being yourself."

"Then why?" Percy was aware that he was probably coming off as whiney. But he was being serious. He really did want to know.

For a long while Nico didn't say anything. He seemed to be studying Percy, gauging what he was about to say.

"Look Percy… I'm not…" Nico sighed, and Percy could sense some of his walls coming down, "I'm not normal."

"Demigods aren't supposed to be normal…"

"That's not what I meant," Nico interrupted. He turned to face the water, watching the waves. Percy was a little bothered by that. Whatever he wanted to say must me really bad if he couldn't even look Percy in the eye.

"I'm gay, Percy," Nico's shoulders sagged, like he had just let go of a huge burden.

Percy didn't really see what the problem was, or why that would warrant Nico's behavior.

"There's nothing wrong with that…"

"I've had a crush on you for years," Nico wasn't looking at him, wasn't even facing him, "That's why I've been avoiding you."

Oh. Well that made more sense.

Percy wasn't sure how he should react. What was he supposed to say? He got the feeling sorry wasn't going to cut it.

"When you… when you fell," Nico kicked the sand, still avoiding his eyes, "and we went searching for the Doors of Death, Jason and I ran into Cupid while on a quest. Up until then I had been avoiding how I felt… Cupid forced me into a confession and after that… I just couldn't stand to look at you anymore."

Percy reached out and touched Nico's shoulder. He could feel the other boy tense, like he was about to bolt.

"Look at me Nico, please." Nico reluctantly turned to gaze at him. Percy could sense the son of Hades' walls going back up, but his eyes betrayed him. At that moment Nico looked conflicted, and vulnerable.

"I'm sorry. It sounds stupid, but it's true. I had no idea what you were going through."

Percy paused to let that sink in. Nico looked like he wanted to say something, but was still trying to process his words to come up with anything intelligent.

Percy took that as a sign to keep talking, "But just so you know this doesn't change anything."

"It doesn't?"

Percy shook his head. He wondered what Jason had said to him earlier after capture the flag. He decided he'd better not mention it. He'd pushed Nico enough for one night.

"It doesn't. You're still stuck with me as a friend, so you better get used to it. And no more avoiding me. It's driving me insane."

Percy wasn't sure he has said the right thing, but Nico, despite his initial confusion, started to smile. A genuine smile, not the forced smile he gave that made him look all creepy. He almost looked like a regular teenager, without all of the pressures that came with being a demigod.

"If you say so. I'm not exactly good with the whole friend thing though."

"I never said it would be easy," Percy grinned, "but I'm not giving up on you."

Nico pushed Percy's arm off his shoulder, which he hadn't noticed was still there. They locked eyes for a moment, and Percy understood.

"Thanks. I… I needed that."

Percy smiled, and gestured back to the camp fire, where the other demigods were still singing and making smores.

"We should get back. The others are probably worried. In fact I KNOW Hazel is."

"I'm not singing."

"Wouldn't ask you too," Percy laughed. He struck out towards the campfire, and Nico followed him. He still seemed wary, but Percy figured it would take time before he would get really comfortable with being around him… or people in general. Percy was okay with that. They had all the time in the world, unless the apocalypse threatened again. Somehow Percy doubted that would happen anytime soon, but the gods had this thing with making his life miserable.

Percy glanced over at Nico, who seemed perfectly content to walk in silence. Percy got an idea, and bumped his shoulder, catching him off guard.

"What are you-?"

"Last one there is a rotten egg!"

Percy started running, and glanced back at Nico, who, after recovering, was now chasing after him.

"You're an idiot, Percy."

Percy laughed and poured on the speed.

It was a start.