AN: I rather like this chapter...what about you guys?

Nico glanced over at his sister, who was sitting at the desk in their shared hotel room in Rome, voice-calling Frank on Skype. She appeared to be describing a sketch of the Coliseum she'd done earlier that day for him. (They had attempted video calling in the first few days of the trip, but the lag was atrocious and it was so terribly blurry that they'd given up.)

He sighed, quietly, so that he could be sure she would not hear.

Should he tell her?

Should he tell her his big secret?

Tell her about his sexuality?

He sighed again.

It probably wasn't a question of should anymore.

Jason knew.

Reyna knew. (She'd worked out something was off about him not long after he told Jason, and in typical Reyna fashion, confronted him.)

Piper...well, Piper certainly suspected something. She probably knew, just because she had a knack for these things.

And he'd told Percy and Annabeth just before they'd left, simply because he had to get it off his chest. (Keeping a secret for so long was simply unbearable.) Besides, it'd been a good time. He was going to be gone for a whole month. He could ignore all of his friends for a whole month, with minimal guilt and need to explain.

Nico glanced down at his phone, looking at the two Facebook messages he'd discovered when he'd arrived at the hotel, fresh off the flight from the US.

One from Annabeth, one from Percy.

Nico, I hope your journey went well and you've arrived safely.

You were very, very brave to reveal your homosexuality to Percy and me. I want you to know that I wholeheartedly support you, and if anyone gives you any trouble, please inform me (or any of our other friends for that matter) and we will help you in any way we can.

I'm extremely sorry that we essentially gave up on you as our friend a few years ago. We all made mistakes that time; you pushed us away, but we also didn't push back. We should have been there for you, and we should have refused to let you push us away. For that, I'm sorry.

But it is unwise to get caught up in the past. This time around, I think I speak for both Percy and myself when I say that we're going to be better friends to you. You're not getting away from us again, so don't you dare push us away again!

I promise that I won't tell anyone until you decide to tell them. It's your decision. I'll make sure Seaweed Brain keeps his blabbermouth shut.

Oh, and fair warning- Piper might have worked it out by now, but if you tell her, she'll probably force you to come along to our 'bitch about men' nights. (Even though that doesn't make much sense, since regardless of who you are attracted to, you are still a man...but sometimes logic isn't Piper's strong suit. Don't worry; they're not terribly frequent anyway.)

Anyway, have a nice trip! The architecture in Italy is just spectacular, you'll find some prime examples of...Well, I'm probably boring you.

Annabeth

P.S: If Seaweed Brain hasn't messaged you or has said something insensitive, tell me. I'll make sure he gets a few good-quality head-slaps.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M NOT YOUR TYPE? I THOUGHT I WAS EVERYONE'S TYPE!

But seriously, man, I'm cool with it. Like whether you like girls or guys or both or neither or whatever, it's fine with me. Love is love. And you're still grumpy, kind of anti-social, wears-black-everywhere-but-has-a-heart-of-gold Nico di Angelo anyway, whoever you're into.

And no hard feelings about you crushing on me. I'm supremely attractive, after all. As long as you're not trying to steal me away from Annabeth, I'm good. :P

And yeah, I've had a think about it, and I was a pretty shitty friend to you all those years ago. I shouldn't have let you push me away like that. We shouldn't have let you. I'm really sorry, Nico, and I promise to try and make up for it! (I'll come meet you at the airport and bring you some blue welcome home cake! That is, if that's what you'd like...)

And yeah, don't worry, I won't be telling anyone if you don't want me to. (You don't want me to, right?)

Anyway, have fun in Italy, and say hi to Hazel from me, okay?

P.S: Please tell Wise Girl I sent this, or she'll hit me and it'll hurt. Please?

(We're good, right?)

He'd messaged Percy back with a 'we're good', and sent a brief message to Annabeth in reply.

He wasn't really completely over Percy, but his crush had definitely faded, while his friendship with both Percy and Annabeth had greatly improved.

Things were looking up on that front.

Nico sighed again.

But Hazel still didn't know.

She was his sister, and she still didn't know.

Hazel was probably his best friend, too, in a way (if your sister could be your best friend). She knew almost everything else about him; she was usually his number one confidant.

She knew about Bianca and his mother and his feelings towards their father...but she didn't know this.

He felt terrible for keeping it from her, particularly when he'd told some of their friends already...but he couldn't bring himself to tell her.

He could handle his friends rejecting him.

He couldn't handle Hazel rejecting him.

She was his sister. She was probably the only person in this life that he genuinely loved right now. She was almost all of the good and light in his life (Though, the proportion she represented was decreasing slowly. Not that she was becoming less good or less important to him, but because he was slowly coming to value the others more and more as his friends.)

But if she didn't accept him for who he was...he didn't know what he would do.

A voice that sounded like Bianca and Hazel at the same time admonished him.

She's your sister! She loves you! She's kind and accepting and you know that she's not going to reject you because you're into guys! Do you really think she cares? You're her brother, and that's what you've always been! It won't change a thing about how she sees you!

Nico sighed again, running a hand through his hair and flopping back onto his bed.

He did know that.

But since when were feelings and fears rational?

'Nico, are you okay?'

He blinked, and found Hazel's concerned face looming over him.

Shit.

He'd been so caught up in his own thoughts, that he didn't even notice her saying goodbye to Frank and paying attention to him.

Well, it did force his hand.

Perhaps it was the push he needed.

He sat up, and took her hands, looking her in the eye.

'Hazel...I have something to tell you.'

She sat down beside him, eyes earnest, a little concerned.

'You can tell me anything, Nico.'

He sighed.

'Hazel...I...I had a crush on Percy.'

Her eyes widened.

'You mean you're-'

He interrupted her. Somehow, he felt like he had to say it himself.

'Yes, I'm gay.'

He winced.

He hadn't meant for that ashamed note to come through.

(The path to self-acceptance was a long one.)

Hazel gave him a long, scrutinising look, with a hint of disapproval.

His stomach did flips.

Was she disapproving because he sounded ashamed of himself (Hazel would be upset because of that) or was she disapproving because he was what he was?

Then she smiled.

He let out the breath he'd been holding.

'Well, who else knows?'

That was not the response he'd expected.

'What?'

Hazel let go of his hands, and flung her hands up in the air.

'So I can talk to them about who your type might be, so we can introduce you if we meet someone who might be your soulmate!'

Still in shock, Nico replied numbly.

'Well, Jason and Reyna know, and I think Piper might...and so do Percy and Annabeth.'

Hazel's face fell. When she spoke, her voice sounded hurt.

'You mean you told almost everyone else before me? I'm your sister!'

The guilt was back with a vengeance.

Part of him wanted to say that Leo and Frank didn't know yet, so she wasn't last, but he didn't.

Instead, he nodded, looking down before meeting her eyes again.

'Yes.' He took a deep breath. 'I'm sorry, Hazel, I really am...but I was so scared of what you might think...of how you might react...'

Hazel frowned and poked him hard in the chest.

'You shouldn't have been. You're my brother, you've always been here for me, and nothing changes that. Please don't be ashamed of who you are. You're the best brother I could hope for.'

And she flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

He returned her hug, feeling lighter and happier than he'd felt for a long time.

'You're the best, Hazel.'

He felt her smile, and answered it with one of his own.