After some twenty seconds, Nico reappeared. "Piper should come in a few minutes" he said. "What happened?" I asked. "What do you mean?" "You look like something shocking just happened, like someone you know appearing without any memory of you" "Fine, something happened. So, when I shadow traveled, I didn't know where Piper was, so I focused on her rather than a location. Sometimes that works. Well, as you know, I sometimes shadow travel to weird places. The list of weird places was just expanded" "By what?" "A bathroom. I will not elaborate"
A few minutes later, Piper showed up as well. As she approached the cabin, Nico shadow traveled away. "Hi guys. Where's Nico" "Probably somewhere where you are not. So, what just happened?" "Well, I was in the bathroom, on the toilet and then Nico just appeared right in front of me. He just told me to come here with my new shirt and then left. Probably the most awkward encounter I've had in a while. Nico, if you hear me, I'm not mad" Nico walked back in through the door. "Hey Pipes, haven't seen you in hours" He said. "So, you wanted to talk to me about trauma." "Pretty much" "I guess you're now members of the Nico protection squad, so I don't really have a choice. I guess I'll start with something most demigods can relate to: the death of my mom" "Mine's immortal" "Immortal" "Mortal, but neither dead nor insane" "Alright I get it. You don't relate to my trauma" "It's probably better this way" Piper said. "Jason often struggles to help me with my trauma, especially flashbacks, because it's also triggering for him" "Then I guess it is a good thing. So basically, the oracle delivered the 'Half-blood of the eldest gods' prophecy and Bianca and I had the audacity to exist. For some inexplicable reason, Zeus didn't want to die, so he decided that Bianca and I would have to die instead." I knew what happened next, I had seen it in a dream years ago, but didn't say anything. "Been there, done that" "Zeus showed up to where we were and I think he blew up the building. It was like seventy years ago, so I don't remember everything. Anyways, Hades showed up to protect us from the explosion, but he was too late to save my mom. I'm not sure why Zeus wanted her dead in the first place but I mean he's Zeus, he doesn't always do logical things" Thunder rumbled in the distance. "But usually he does. Anyways, my mom was killed by an exploding building." From countless conversations with Annabeth, I knew that this was the point in during trauma talk where she'd ask for a hug. Well, usually she didn't ask for it due to trauma and treatment issues which made her hide her needs, but they weren't hidden well enough for me. I looked at Nico. He seemed to be sort of okay still. "I remember the moment to this day. The wall exploding, a black shield expanding around us, debris flying everywhere and hitting my mom." Nico paused for a moment to reach for a hoodie that was on his bed. The bright colors on it, in combination with the fact that it was way too big for him made me assume it was not actually his. "One question" Piper said. "Why'd you put this on?" "Because I was cold" "Nico, it's early September and we are in a black building. It is not cold but whatever. I'm assuming it has nothing to do with the fact that it feels like a hug" Annabeth added. "Maybe" "Hugs aren't that bad, am I right" Piper said. "I guess. Where was I? Right, Zeus killed my mom. Once I had processed that, it was time for a time travel hotel. I didn't really notice what was going on at first, but eventually I noticed that people were very confused about what year it was. Once there was this guy who asked someone what year it was and when he answered the first guy thought the other one was talking about the game. Wait a minute" Nico looked at me. "Was the game 'virtual rifleman'?" I asked "I think so" "So we actually met." "How did it take us so long to notice? Anyways, I'm not here to talk about you, I'm here to talk about trauma. Not that these two things are 100% separate. Actually, everything went mostly trauma free until you showed up. Then the manticore showed up and then the hunters and suddenly Bianca was gone" I hadn't really thought about it before, but Bianca joining the hunt must have been really hard for Nico, even if you ignore what happened a few days later. "She basically raised me, so it felt like losing my mom for the second time. Basically it really sucked. Then, a few days later, that dam mission started and you let her die" "It was indeed a dam mission. Sorry. Also, I didn't let her die. I'm not the type of person who does that" "Seriously Percy?" "Yes. Seriously" "Really seaweed brain?" "Now that you say it, I'm not actually sure. Now stop looking at me like this" "Why would I? I'm kind of enjoying it" "Because it's scary and you are a very good fighter so if you wanted to harm me, which that look says, you could" "That's kind of the point, but I'll be nice. Also, this is about Nico, not us" Annabeth stopped her death glare. She had always been good at it, but since Tartarus it had gotten even better. "Are you two done now?" Nico asked, then muttered something about straight people. "So, after Bianca died, I left camp. After this, I was basically homeless for half a year" "Okay, my turn" Annabeth said. "With the relating to trauma I mean. Or I guess Annie's turn" "Is that one of your personalities?" "That term is misleading, so we use 'alter', but yes."
"Well, being homeless wasn't exactly easy. I had to somehow get food-" "Looks like Annie really wants to come out. Want to meet her? She's really nice" "I usually hate meeting new people but fine I guess" "Okay. This might take a bit" Annabeth spent the next two minutes or so dissociated. I watched her carefully to make sure nothing bad happened. Eventually, she looked around the cabin, probably trying to figure out where she was. "We are in the Hades cabin and everyone here knows about the DID" I informed her. "Good, I'm Annie. Who are you" "Nico." "So, Annie, why are you here?" "I heard someone was talking about being homeless. I have a lot of experience with that" "You didn't tell me she was a kid" "Hey, I'm almost eight. I'm a big girl. Usually." "Fine, you're a big girl. I heard you defeated a Cyclops" "Yes, I stabbed him in the foot. Then I saved Luke, Thalia and Grover. That was a bit scary." "Just a bit?" Nico asked. "Fine, I was super scared. I still get scared when I think about it" "Then I better distract you with my own trauma" "Oh, self-destruction to protect others. I've heard you do that a lot" "Did I seriously just get psychoanalyzed and lowkey judged by a seven year old?" "Annabeth helped. She's close to front as well" "That doesn't really make it better. So, my trauma: I once had this encounter with an empousa. She first tried to charm speak me, but that didn't really work because gay. Anyways, she instead just kicked me, which is far more dangerous with hooves than with normal human feet. I ended up killing her with a shard from her bronze leg, but I almost died that day" He tried to wrap his (Will's?) hoodie around himself more tightly. "Nico, you look like you need a hug" Annie said. "I kind of do too, so it's perfect timing" "So you're saying we should just hug?" "Please? You'll feel better" Annie gave him her best puppy eyes which I have to admit were a lot better than Annabeth's. Nico finally gave in. "Fine. I guess you can come up here" Annie jumped on Nico's bed. Nico inched a bit closer to her. "You know, I've also been homeless for a while. I wasn't alone though. There was a time when we were homeless alone, but that wasn't me. So, what else happened?" "To be honest, starvation was probably the biggest threat, especially during the initial weeks. Eventually, I got better at finding stuff to eat and monsters became my biggest worry. After a while, Minos found me and we started going into the labyrinth. I think you know what that did to me." "Did we go there Percy?" Annie asked. "Yes, around two years ago." "Let's say a lot of scary stuff happened in the labyrinth. I once met this guy in an arena collecting skulls. He also couldn't really be killed" "I know that guy. He's my brother and he can't be killed as long as he's in contact with the ground" "Would have been good to know back then. Well, I got away from there as fast as I could. The part of the labyrinth I ended up in after that really sucked. It was constantly changing and there were traps everywhere and I kept getting lost deeper and deeper" Nico's voice began to shake. "I didn't get a chance to rest for like two days. I barely had time to-" He stopped. Remember when I said that we had reached the part where Annabeth usually wanted a hug? This was the part where she needed it. Annie seemed to notice as well. "Hey Nico, I think you really need a hug" She opened up her arms for him. "Maybe I do" He moved towards her until she was properly hugging him. This was the first time I had seen Nico let anyone this close. It was probably the combination of him talking about something very traumatic, thereby creating a strong desire for comfort and Annie just being cute as Hades and almost impossible to not hug. Whatever the case, the scene only lasted for a few seconds before Nico pulled away. "Whoa, what was that?" "Affection and comfort" Annie explained. "Great if you struggle with any symptoms related to trauma." "I'm not so sure I liked it. On the other hand, how could you not want to hug her? She's adorable" "I am" Annie confirmed, her dagger in her hand. She had drawn it so quickly I hadn't even seen it. I guess that's the kind of skill you develop after months of having to be constantly ready to fight monsters. "Cute but dangerous. An especially deadly combination to be honest. Like, I would expect no harm from you, so you could easily do some good damage." "I've never considered that advantage, probably because I was already good enough without it." "I guess you are pretty good if you survived for this long" "I had help. But before that I survived alone for a while. Do you want to continue?" "With the trauma talk or with the hug" "Either one" "Then I'll go with trauma. Eventually I escaped the labyrinth, at least the really bad part. I eventually learned to shadow travel and to raise ghosts with happy meals. By the way, that name is a scam. I tried one and I was still depressed. Anyways, things started getting better after a while and by the next summer I wasn't about to permanently move in with my dad." "Your Dad? Oh, right, Hades. Wouldn't want to permanently move to that guy. I prefer my own dad, though I've barely spent time with him. I've only really seen him co-con. The last time we visited him, I think only Luisa and Annabeth were out." "That must suck. Being so close to your dad but not being able to see him" "It wasn't that bad. I don't really feel attached to him since I don't have memories of the time with him. I only formed on the way to camp, maybe even at camp, I'm not sure." "If you say so. I think I was at the point where I got better. Eventually, you showed up in the labyrinth. By that I mean Annabeth, Percy, Grover and Tyson. When Percy showed up, I was also a bit scared because the last Di Angelo that he had been on a quest with was now dead."
"I think we all have our fair share with scary experiences with Percy, but I'd say Annabeth takes the cake" Piper said. "Why, what happened to her" Nico asked. "If I tell you, I might trigger a flashback for Annabeth and maybe even Percy. Maybe I'll tell you some other day when they're not there." "Thanks for doing that" Annie said. "Why would I knowingly trigger you?" "I don't know. People are mean." "But we're not" "Why do you constantly interrupt me?" Nico asked. Like seriously, I can barely say three sentences." "You just say a lot of relatable things that make us want to share our own experiences" I explained. "Okay, makes sense. Let's continue: I was scared of Percy. However, those weren't the only feelings I had towards him which already put me in a conflicting situation, even if you ignore the homophobic culture I was brought up in." "So, you liked Percy? Like like like?" "Maybe" "He's mine. Well, he's Annabeth's boyfriend, not really mine, but he loves and takes care of all of us, right?" "Right. Also, there's nothing between us now since I'm apparently not his type." "When will you shut up about this" "On Thalia's sixteenth birthday" "Seriously Percy?" "Yes. Seriously. And this time you don't have Annabeth with you to make me take it back" "I don't need her. I just want to continue. So, I spent some more time in the labyrinth but other than that, I kind of got a break until almost a year later when I had to go to the underworld with Percy to get him his curse of Achilles. He kind of almost killed me, but I also kind of almost tricked him so my dad could get him so it's kind of almost justified. Then came the battle of Manhattan. I think we all have at least a bit of PTSD from that. At least the ones that were there, Piper of course doesn't. I think I did pretty well in that battle, with the whole army of the underworld thing" "Yes, but did you get all the Olympians to join the battle?" "No, just one God. I thought hubris was Annabeth's thing" "I recruited more gods than you did. That's an objective fact and has nothing to do with hubris" "Technically, you also personally recruited just one god, who then helped the other gods, making them available for battle" "But the Good I recruited was an Olympian, yours was not"
"Anyways, a few months later, the doors of death opened and I thought I could maybe get Bianca back. Finding out I could not since she had chosen rebirth was not really traumatic, but still a shock. But hey, at least I got Hazel. Then she went to free Thanatos, which could have killed her so I was obviously very scared for her. I didn't want to lose another sister. And having Percy with her didn't really help that fear." "Will you ever let that go?" "Will you ever let the 'not my type' thing go?" "fair point" "Well, Hazel returned safely and with a boyfriend. The jury's still out on whether or not I approve of him, but his chances are good. While Thanatos might have been free, the doors of death were still open, so I decided to close them. Percy? Annie? Can I talk about it?" "I don't think that's a good idea" I said. "He's right. I don't even want to think about it. I'd rather go cuddle with Percy." "I'll stay here" Piper said. "I have a lot of experience with comforting people in regards to this specific trauma" "Then I guess it's just gonna be the gay royals" "Just the gay royals" Nico confirmed. "See you later then" Piper said as we left Nico and her alone for us to go cuddle somewhere.