asolareclipses

[asolareclipses]

(Previous Part)

After passing through the miserable Manhattan traffic, the roads of rural New York began to calm as they began the long journey to Maine.

Beside Will, Jason was twisting a map around, the paper crinkling with each slight movement he made. “You’d think they would’ve made these easier to read.” He grumbled under his breath.

“Well they sort of did,” Will replied, “Google maps offers great convenience, unfortunately there’s no demigod Google or Apple…or any of the other companies.”

Jason blankly stared at Will for a moment, “I’m going to pretend I understood what any of that meant.”

Will held back a laugh, he had forgotten that Jason wasn’t exactly familiar with modern technology. He was like Nico in that way, maybe that’s one of the reasons they got along so well. “It’s phone stuff, i’m not really the expert on it because I was never allowed to have a phone. But my Mom had one, and the other campers keep me up to date with all that other stuff.”

Jason’s eyes widened for a split second, Will could tell it was because of the mention of his Mom. He was probably surprised because Will typically didn’t mention her. “So your Mom, she’s…” Jason’s voice died off.

“She’s alive, if that’s what you wanted to ask. Her name is Naomi Solace, though I doubt you’ve heard of her. She’s a pretty well known country singer, always busy with tours and concerts.” Will seemed to fall into the past as he spoke about his mother. “I used to go on tours with her, they were chaotic but honestly amazing. Staying up until the late hours eating fast food, traveling around the country. It was great.”

Jason seemed hesitant to speak, but he noticed Will’s smile fading. “Did something happen?”

“Well, turns out monsters aren’t great for tours.” Will sighed as he stared out across the endless roads. “As I got older, more and more attacks happened. Eventually my Mom had to send me to camp, she didn’t want to. I still think she regrets it, but there was nothing she could do. Guess that’s just how it is.”

“Do you still keep in contact?” Jason asked cautiously.

“Yeah,” Will nodded, “I send letters, and Iris messages. Sometimes I even visit, though she’s pretty busy so I never stay long. She would probably let me stay forever if she could, but I wouldn’t burden her like that.”

Jason opened his mouth to speak but he hesitated, unable to find the right thing to say. After a moment he finally spoke, “She sounds nice.”

Will smiled, “Oh yeah, she’s amazing.” He meant it completely, his Mom was truly one of the best people he’d ever known. “But enough about my Mom, what do you think this ‘dark presence’ or whatever it is we are facing?”

Jason frowned, his mind delving into thought, “I’m not sure. What dark creature or thing would be out to get Nico?”

Will paused, a revelation hitting him so hard he almost drove them off the road. “Oh my Gods…how did I not realize sooner?”

“What?” Jason said, his hand was now tightly latched onto the door from Wills lapse in good driving.

“It’s Nyx,” he said the name like it was poison in his mouth. “It has to be. She’s probably still pissed that he embarrassed her.”

“Nyx?” Jason asked, his voice almost incredulous.

“Yeah, we fought her back in tartarus. Guess she’s still holding a grudge.” Will shook his head with an unpleasant look displayed on his face.

“So Nico left to what? Go fight a goddess on his own?”

Will sighed in pure frustration, “Yep. It’s a classic Nico move, I mean he would’ve gone to tartarus alone, again, if I hadn’t forced him to take me.”

“I guess in that way he hasn’t changed, still trying to face things alone.” Jason frowned.

“Right.” Will’s face was now unreadable even to himself, “At least he’s not alone, he took your boyfriend with him remember?”

Jason almost choked, “Boyfriend?!”

Will failed to hold back his laughter, “I guess it’s not official yet?”

“We’re not-he’s not-“ Jason stumbled over his words before giving up at forming a coherent sentence.

“Okay, okay. I won’t push any further, just know, it’s pretty obvious.” Will smirked as Jason tried to regain his composure.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Jason finally spoke with a false look of confidence. “Me and Leo are just-“ He was cut off by a sudden thump against the roof of the car.

Will glanced up in shock, “What was that?”

“I don’t-“ Jason began, but before he could finish there was another thump and sharp claws pierced through the roof.

Will grit his teeth looking ahead, “Hold tight Jason, the rides about to get bumpy.”

—

Bumpy was an understatement. The second Will swerved off the main road, the normal car ride transformed into a death trip. Each turn was so sharp Jason had to cling to whatever he could just so he wouldn’t be thrown across the car. He was convinced that any second now they’d go barreling into a tree. Yet, Will somehow maintained control, his driving was insane but also impressive.

In a particularly harsh turn, whatever had latched onto the car had gone flying off and when Jason turned to see he got a clear view of their attacker—well attackers. Rapidly approaching behind them was a small group of harpies, hellbent on turning them into bird food.

“Uh Will? You might want to speed up,” Jason said as he gripped his sword. There wasn’t much use for it in the small space but it was a good plan b.

“On it.” Will said, as his knuckles latched around the wheel turned white, they began to pick up speed making any movement of the car even more jarring.

Jason kept his eyes on the harpies which were still hot on their trail, “How do we lose these guys?”

“No clue,” Will spoke through clenched teeth. “Maybe you could blow them away?”

Jason perked up, for a moment he’d forgotten about the whole wind powers thing. “Good idea.” He spoke quickly before focusing on the wind beneath the harpies wings. With a slight twist they spiraled away, losing control of the air around them.

Will seemed to relax for a moment, but that was cut short by the cars suddenly sputtering to a slow stop. The extra speed and turbulence appeared to be too much for the old camp be vehicle. “Aw hades!” The look on Will’s face was of pure and utter frustration.

As soon as the car wasn’t moving, Will slung open his door storming over to the hood of the car. With a frown he threw it open and was promptly engulfed in smoke. Jason hurriedly rushed over to him, urging the winds to dispel the clouds of smoke.

As the smoke dissipated it revealed Will who stood there coughing and muttering a range of curses—some Jason had never heard before but he was sure they weren’t positive. “Of course this happens!” Will threw his hands up in defeat.

Jason winced, not sure how to comfort him.

“The one time I go out on an important quest, everything goes wrong!” Will spoke, his anger seemed more directed at himself than the circumstances.

“Every quest has setbacks,” Jason tried his best to sound optimistic.

“Maybe, but we left camp hours ago and we’re already stranded on the side of the road. Who knows what Nico and Leo are doing, and if we’re too late.” Will rambled on as he began to pace alongside the car.

“Will, things happen, I don’t see how this could be your fault.” Jason continued with his reasoning, but it was as if Will had heard nothing.

“What a great idea to send a medic on some important quest, like I could actually be a hero.” Will spoke directly to himself almost unaware of Jason’s presence.

“Will stop.” Jason took cautious hold of Will’s shoulders, a firm look on his face.

Realization passed across Will’s expression as he now understood how he’d been acting. “Sorry..” His voice was almost too quiet to hear.

“This is only a temporary setback, we’ll find away to get to them in time.” Jason spoke with every ounce of reassurance he could gather.

Will looked away, now focused on the dirt beneath his shoes. “Right, you’re right.”

Jason watched as Will seemed to shrink in on himself, embarrassed for showing a slight piece of his troubles. He felt a sense of similarity between himself and Will, he knew all too well the pain of hiding your true feelings.

It was the first time he saw Will not as this bubbly guy who was happy to do whatever whenever, but as someone who faced the same harsh world that met every demigod. Will knew loss, he knew more than he’d ever tell. He would never show that side of himself willingly. Instead, he let himself be portrayed as a calm reliable person with no struggles despite his constant turmoil. It didn’t feel fair.

At that moment Jason knew Will was a true hero, whether he believed it or not. He just had no idea how to prove it to him. What he did know, was that they had to succeed. Not just for Leo and Nico, but for everyone else, including themselves.

Part Seven?

#solangelo #valgrace #will solace #jason grace #nico di angelo #leo valdez #will solace and jason grace #percy jackson #heroes of olympus #nico pjo #will pjo #jason pjo #leo pjo #pjo hoo #pjo hoo toa tsats #pjo series #percy jackon and the olympians #naomi solace #will loves his mom #road trip #road trip gone wrong #will pretends to be okay #he’s bad at pretending #will is more than nico’s boyfriend #jason tries to be comforting

[asolareclipses]

First of all your fic is a delight and every time you post another chapter I’m overjoyed I need you to know that

Second of all I’d never considered Solangelo/Valgrace interactions before reading that fic but now I’m stuck on the mental image of them being in a dark cave or something for a quest and Will starts glowing and Leo goes “Hey, I can do that too” lets go of Jason’s hand and promptly lights himself on fire

Thank you so so much, genuinely I really appreciate you!!! I’m so glad you enjoy my fic and I hope you continue to enjoy it!

Honestly, I hadn’t considered them interacting either until I started writing this. Originally I hadn’t even put Jason in the story, but I wanted Will to have his own separate plot line while Leo and Nico went off to cause trouble. It was important to me that Will could be seen as more of his own character, but him going after them alone didn’t feel right. That’s when I realized it would be perfect to add Jason, that way Leo has his own plot as well and Will can have his own adventure while interacting with another person that’s not Nico (I love solangelo but i’m trying to push the “Will is more than Nico’s bf” agenda). Not sure if that makes sense but it’s how the pieces fell into place in my brain.

I absolutely love that idea though, seriously that is something I would love to incorporate into the story if you’d like that. I too thought about the similarity in the ways of Wills brightness and Leo’s fire, but this concept is amazing and is going to be stuck on my mind 24/7. Especially the image of Leo just randomly combusting into flames, it’s so good.

#solangelo #valgrace #nico di angelo #leo valdez #will solace #jason grace #solangelo and valgrace #chaotic duos #will the nightlight #leo the firework

[asolareclipses]

(Previous Part)

Taking a bus halfway across Maine was not on Nicos bucket list. Yet, there he was in a stuffy bus that looked, and smelled, like it had been made back in the 20’s—which Nico would know, he was there. Next to him Leo sat anything but still, his fingers drumming against the arm rests and occasionally grabbing things from his tool belt to tinker with. Sometimes he looked like a toddler hyped up on too much sugar. His constant movement comforted Nico though, it was a reminder that he wasn’t alone.

Of course he was still mad at Leo for ruining his genius plan to face a goddess alone, or at least he was trying to convince himself he was mad.

“Dude, this bus needs so much work.” Leo said, as he held up his freshly made penguin that consisted of various screws. “I’m not sure how they got it to last this long, it’s like beyond messed up.”

“Probably why the tickets were so cheap,” Nico replied as he watched the screw penguin’s head bobble around.

“I give it about an hour before it breaks down,” Leo suddenly paused, titling his head as if he were hearing something. “Scratch that she’s going down now.”

As soon as he said that the bus sputtered, losing speed as the driver pulled over to the side of the road.

“Sorry everyone, we seem to be having some problems.” The bus driver grumpily announced, he acted as if this were a regular occasion.

“It’s my time to shine,” Leo grinned as he stood up from the seat. “Don’t worry mortals, Leo’s got this all under control.”

“Please ignore him,” Nico gave the few confused passengers a smile as he pushed Leo towards the door. “You can just call people mortals.”

“Oops,” Leo shrugged as he hopped down from the last bus step onto the pavement. “Anyways let’s see what’s up with this bad boy.”

Nico rolled his eyes as Leo popped open the hood of the bus to reveal the engine. The driver appeared shocked, as Leo shouldn’t have been able to just open it without releasing the latch.

“Hey kid, what do you think you’re doing?” The driver called out as he slowly made his way out of the bus.

“Just fixing up some stuff, don’t mind me.” Leo didn’t even look up as he pulled some tools out of his belt.

Nico was about to try and mediate the situation when he realized something was wrong. Back in the bus he hadn’t noticed it due to the overpowering musk of age, but the driver was most definitely a monster.

By the change of expression on the drivers face, Nico saw that he too realized they weren’t just regular mortals. Leo was, of course, oblivious to this.

“Looks like I have a rat problem,” The bus driver snarled in their direction.

“Nope, not rats, just a really rusted battery.” Leo offhandedly replied.

“Leo, he’s not talking about the bus.” Nico nudged him, as the mist around the driver began to evaporate, morphing his two eyes into one.

“Then what is he-holy smokes!” Leo dropped his wrench in surprise as he saw the undercover cyclopes be revealed.

“Should’ve known you demigods would’ve snuck in here sooner or later,” The driver clenched his bulky fists as if preparing himself to attack.

Nico scanned the area for any makeshift weapon, he was really regretting leaving his sword behind.

“Hey buddy,” Leo raised his hands in attempt to reason, “I’ll fix your bus for free, how about you don’t kill us?”

“Killing you is much better than driving this piece of junk,” His eye was focused on Nico as he spoke. “Especially you, you reek of the underworld.”

“And you reek of spoiled eggs,” Nico snapped back, “at least I have an excuse, what’s yours?”

The cyclopes didn’t like that, which was made apparent by him grabbing a chunk of dirt and lobbing it towards them.

“Hit the deck!” Leo called, which didn’t really apply to them as there was no ‘deck’ but Nico didn’t point that out. Instead, he dropped to the floor as the piece of earth sailed past their heads.

“Leo, does your tool belt supply weapons?” Nico asked while the cyclopes reloaded on dirt.

Leo rummaged for a moment before pulling out a weird hatchet-hammer tool, which later Nico found out was a drywall hammer. “How’s this?”

“Good enough,” Nico said as he grabbed the hammer thing.

Another mound of dirt flew towards them but it was blasted to dust when Leo shot a ball of fire towards it. “Take that dirt boy!” He screamed.

Using Leo as a distraction Nico bolted off to the side, running around the bus so that he ended up behind the cyclopes. Unfortunately the cyclopes seemed to have predicted this as he quickly spun around, his arm slamming into Nico resulting in him being thrown into the side of the bus.

Before the cyclopes could do anymore damage Leo screamed, “Take this dirt face!” Then a wrench bounced off the back of the cyclopes’s head.

A flash of rage appeared on the cyclopes’s face as he turned towards Leo, grabbing an extra large chunk of dirt. “Oh you’re going to regret that.”

“I am?” Leo asked with a grin.

The cyclopes had forgotten about Nico leaving him the perfect opportunity, “I will crush you-” The cyclopes stopped mid sentence as Nico stabbed the hatchet into his back. Then with a look of shock, he erupted into dust.

“Nice!” Leo called out.

“Yeah..�� Nico winced as he looked down at his arm, the bandages had been soaked through with blood after the hard hit he took.

“Dude, ouch.” Leo’s smile dropped as his eyes moved over the once white gauze.

“It’s fine,” Nico sighed looking back towards the bus, “more importantly. What are we going to do now?”

Leo seemed to realize they were now faced with a bus full of angry commuters, with no bus driver, and still had about 150 miles to go. “Right, looks like we’re taking a ride on the Leo express!”

—

Leo knew how to drive, mostly.

While he’d never taken the time to get an official license, he knew machines better than anyone. A bus was certainly easier to handle than a giant flying ship.

Fixing the engine was also a piece of cake.

The difficult part was the passengers, turns out they weren’t thrilled by the sudden staff change.

“There’s no way we can just let a 15 year old drive!”

“Hey!” Leo snapped at the lady who looked like she was about to demand to speak to his supervisor. “I’ll have you know i’m 18!”

“Do you even have a license?”

“Now now, everyone calm down. Listen, i’m a trained professional.” Leo shrugged with his palms up, “I mean, do you want to stay on the side of the road forever?”

The bus went quiet with defeat.

“Right, well then sit down, get comfortable, because the Leo train is leaving the station!” Leo didn’t get the cheers and applause he expected from that statement, just a few groans and unpleasant mutters.

Soon, the bus was driving smoothly across the roads and Leo barely had to pay attention as he’d fixed up a temporary autopilot gadget. Beside him, Nico winced as he removed the bandages from his scratches. Somehow the wound looked worse.

“Dude, that looks really bad,” Leo frowned as he pulled out more bandages from his tool belt.

“It’s fine,” Nico mumbled, not even looking up at Leo.

“Yeah you keep saying that but I’ve yet to start believing it.”

Nico wrapped the bandages carefully around his arm, gritting his teeth as he tried to hide the pain. “It’s just a scratch, i’ve seen worse.”

That didn’t comfort Leo, in fact in made him feel worse. Of course, it’s only expected that a demigod face some pretty rough injuries here and there—Leo himself had seen quite a few. But Nico’s insistence on ignoring his pain made Leo worried that if it were to be serious, he’d never know.

Despite that, he knew arguing would just make Nico more annoyed, so he tried to liven up the atmosphere. “You know, if we were in an episode of the Magic School Bus right now you’d be Arnold.”

“What the Hades is the Magic School Bus?” Nico looked at Leo as if he were crazy.

Leo threw his head back in exasperation, “You’ve got to be joking! You don’t know the Frizz?”

“The what?”

“That’s it, i’m making a list of all the things you need to watch when we get back to camp.”

“Whatever,” Nico rolled his eyes, “as long as you don’t put Twilight on there i’m happy.”

“Hold up, Twilight?” Leo tried and failed to hold back a smile.

“Yeah, Will told me it was iconic, or whatever.” Nico paused as if remembering something unpleasant, “If iconic means torturous, then it surely was.”

Leo burst into laughter at the thought of Nico actually watching Twilight, “Dont worry, we will not be watching any vampire shows.”

The rest of the ride was spent with Leo determining what things Nico had and hadn’t watched. Turns out Will had caught him up on quite a lot, but Leo still developed a lengthy list of things he would bless Nico with. In a way Nico’s unawareness of modern culture reminded him of Jason, due to his upbringing by wolves he was a bit out of the loop when it came to many popular things. Leo figured he’d do a “modern culture” class at camp, maybe invite Hazel. The idea made him smile, it was something to look forward to.

Eventually, they made it to the bus station, where he and Nico quickly snuck away to avoid suspicion. To their luck no one at the station had realized what happened until they were long gone.

Not to their luck, they still had a five mile walk ahead of them.

They spent a large part of the walk in silence, as it was hard to focus on anything other than the heat. Eventually, Leo got bored and tried to think about anything else, his mind wandering back to their previous conversation.

“I’m really wishing I had a magic school bus right about now,” Leo whined as he trudged forward. The warm air was now unpleasant as the sun beamed down upon him.

“And i’m really wishing I left you back at camp.”

“Hey!” Leo glared at Nico who bit back a smile, “You’re lucky! I blessed you with my company.”

Nico scoffed, “Right, blessed, that’s the word I was looking for.”

“Why does this place have to be out in the middle of nowhere?” Leo asked as he peered into the distance in hopes of seeing the outline of the school.

“Guess they didn’t want any kids running off,” Nico shrugged. “Honestly I don’t remember much about it, I was only there for like a year?” He seemed to think about it for a moment before giving up.

“That was after the casino?” Leo asked, he decided to take this as a chance to ask more about Nico’s past. It was the one topic Nico avoided, or maybe Leo was the one who avoided it, after all he knew how much old memories could hurt.

“Yeah, time felt so messed up back then. I mean it was like seventy years? But then suddenly i’m in the 20th century at some school in a state i’d never heard of before.” Nico sighed, “Not sure how I wasn’t more confused, it just felt normal, or whatever I thought normal was.”

Leo nodded, he was afraid to speak, careful to not scare Nico away.

“You don’t have to be so on edge,” Nico turned to look at him, almost as if he’d read his mind.

“I’m not...” Leo paused, “It’s just you’ve never talked in depth about this stuff with me before.”

“Yeah, I hadn’t talked about it with anyone until Will. But Mr. D says ‘talking is good,’ so might as well take his advice for once.”

The idea of Mr. D being a therapist threw Leo for a loop but he didn’t say anything about it, “Yeah, I guess I never really told anyone about all my stuff until Jason.”

Nico suddenly smirked, “You too seem pretty close.”

Leo’s face flushed red as he avoided Nico’s eyes, “What? No-I mean, of course we’re close, we’re best friends. Totally platonic best friends.”

“Right, and I totally believe you.” Nico rolled his eyes with a grin. There was a peaceful silence for a split second before Nico’s smile faded. Now, in the distance the outline of a large school could be seen.

Nico sighed, a hesitant look flashing across his face before he spoke, “We’re here. Welcome to Westover.”

Part Six

#solangelo #valgrace #nico di angelo #leo valdez #will solace #jason grace #nico pjo #leo pjo #jason pjo #will pjo #percy jackson #heroes of olympus #pjo hoo #pjo series #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo hoo toa tsats #nico x will #leo x jason #my fic #fic #solangelo fic #nico can’t admit when he needs help #leo is pure chaos #nico never gets his references #magic school bus #with the frizz? but swap that with leo #sorry this took so long

[asolareclipses]

Hear me out. Jason Grace would NOT understand meme culture or gen z jokes. Like. At all. This man is a dorky dad in a child's body.

Jason would just do a cool backflip or sumn and Piper would go "oh my gosh slayyy" and he'd get all serious and alert, draws his gladius and goes "Where's the monster I need to slay Piper? Where is it????"

Leo would call him a pookie bear, and Jason would be like "??? Frank's the bear" and "What is a pookie, it is a very peculiar sounding word" with the most adorable clueless puppy face ever.

Piper and Leo would be in TEARS.

Bc. Jason grace, the Son of Jupiter. Child of rome. Toppler of the black throne. Praetor of the twelfth legion. Slayer of krios. The golden celebrity of camp jupiter. Cold intimidating feral boy who most ppl even fear standing next to. Doesn't know what a pookie bear is.

Also, Jason would HATE HATE HATE the "womp womp" jokes (which Leo makes ALOT lmao) it's legit like the Bane of his existence.

Bc he doesn't get it? Like when Annabeth gives them all a very serious Architectural nerdy explanation about the exteriors of the new rome shrines, Leo would just go "womp womp" like so out of the blue.

Annabeth would be fucking furious, and Jason would be like super annoyed aswell bc. dude. What was the point of interrupting such a great nerdy yapping session, like, I was enjoying that. You killed the vibe.

(We all know it's canon that Jason and annabeth love yapping and geeking out in cursive together, so they BOTH hate the womp womp jokes with a burning passion BC IM TRYNA TALK HERE)

#THIS #he was raised by wolves so it makes sense

[asolareclipses]

So I wrote this poem in my writing class, and I, obviously, wrote about Solangelo. I’m not really good with poetry so it’s probably not great, it’s in the format of a Sestina (it’s what the professor wanted) so I hope it makes sense. It’s pretty much my first actual attempt at writing a poem, so don’t judge too much. Anyways it’s in Nico’s POV and I haven’t decided what to name it.

Hair that shines the color of gold,

matched with watercolor eyes so blue.

He is to me the sun,

that dispells the depths of my shadows.

No longer am I lost in a world so alone.

For where I go he follows, now I know love.

Before him I had feared the word love,

to me it was no treasure, no ruby or gold.

I hid from all I lost, I was best alone.

Until I met an ocean and drowned in its blue.

Thrust out of my home, deep in the shadows,

I began to look up and face the sun.

Never did I think I could know the Sun,

nor did I believe it was him I could love.

When he did not run so far from my shadows,

I realized his heart was truly that of gold.

Now I can imbrace this sky of blue.

Now with him I am no longer alone.

For most of my life I lived so alone,

hiding from the world and its sun.

I feared to let myself fall into the blue.

I feared it could not accept my love.

Still I reached out to touch hands more than gold,

afraid to be consumed once more with shadows.

This life of mine has been completely in shadows.

A solomn existence, fearing to be forever alone.

In those dark halls, I never found gold.

In those dark halls, there was no sun.

A loss all consuming, I couldn’t fathom love.

With an oceans rejection, I despised that blue.

Yet still my true love transformed from his blue,

ridding the darkness of my following shadows.

My life knew pain but now there’s love,

with the truth that im no longer alone.

I walk now with, alongside the sun,

into a world that wishes us gold.

Incomprehensibly accepting and loving its gold.

For who would think a star could love the sun?

These blue eyes and shadows, no longer alone.

#solangelo #nico di angelo #will solace #the sun and the star #tsats #nico di angelo and will solace #nico x will #nico pjo #will pjo #percy jackson #pjo series #poetry #poem #sestina #i don’t write poetry #is it even good? #i just wanted solangelo poetry #poetic #solangelo poetry

[asolareclipses]

Leo’s the type of guy to play basketball with Jason tell him ‘this one’s for you’ then completely miss

#100% #i’m convinced he’s done this #he definitely pretends to love sports

[asolareclipses]

(Previous Part)

Will stared at the spot Nico had disappeared from for what felt like centuries. His body was coursing with a tornado of emotions; he felt pure fear that Nico might never come back, followed by a rush of anger so strong it took full control of him.

“Are you proud of yourselves?” His voice was cold as ice as he turned to the group that had gathered, everyone was utterly silent.

“Will we didn’t mean to-“ Dana began to say but he couldn’t stand to hear another word.

“Nico has saved this camp, more times than I can count.” Will’s voice was rough in exasperation. “But that’s not good enough for you is it?”

This time he was met with blank stares and ashamed looks from the ones who had joined in the accusations.

“None of you could ever do even half of what he had to do,” Wills hands trembled, whether it was in rage or despair, he couldn’t determine. “Yet you judge him? Pathetic.” He laced that last word with more anger than he’d ever felt, before storming off back towards the big house. He was vaguely aware of Jason following behind him, and the fact that Chiron had witnessed the whole event. He didn’t acknowledge either of them until he entered the big house, slamming his hands against the table as he muttered a few choice words under his breath.

Jason seemed to hesitate before approaching, “Hey…you okay?”

It took all of Will’s energy to not snap at him, “Yep, totally fine.”

“Would you perhaps like to explain what has your tunic in such a bunch Solace?” Mr D was so surprised by Will’s demeanor that he forgot to mispronounce his name.

“Nico’s gone, he ran off or something. I don’t know,” Will sighed in frustration, raking his hands through his hair.

“Ran off?” A tense look displayed itself across Mr D’s face.

“It seems as though di Angelo has decided to take our disturbances into his own hands.” Chiron said, his voice was calm but was laced with undertones of sadness.

“Now why would he do that?” Mr D spoke again, this time his voice sharper as he dug his nails into the table.

“Because he thinks no one trusts him, like he has something to prove.” Wills anger had dissipated, his voice was now struck with frustration. “I don’t blame him either, they all turned their backs on him, just like that.” It was something Will couldn’t understand, he’d never feared Nico; Nico was a hero, yet it seemed like only a few people could see that.

“After everything he did,” Jason’s eyes looked as if they were reflecting a storm, “I can’t believe that’s how they treated him.”

“I believe Nico knows he still has many people on his side, however some of the others mistrust has led him to take on a burden that should not be solely his.” Chiron had a far away look shown across his face, “Fortunately he is not alone.”

“Not alone?” Mr D seemed to be the only one confused as he had not witnessed the earlier events.

“Right,” Jason frowned, “Leo went with him.”

“Great, out of everyone he could’ve taken with him it had to be Valerie,” Clearly Mr D went out of his way to never say Leo’s name correctly.

“We have to go after them,” Will said as his face shone with a sudden sense of pure determination.

Jason agreed as he turned to look at their directors, it was clear he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“Okay,” Chiron agreed, “but Rachel will arrive tomorrow morning. Seek her advice first, she may be able to point you in the right direction.”

Will wanted to argue, the idea of Nico being out there doing Gods knows what was eating him up inside; but he knew he had to wait if he wanted a better chance at finding him. Jason seemed unnerved too, his usual brave facade was falling apart as a more unraveled version of himself made its way to the surface.

After reluctantly agreeing on the plan they left the big house, walking towards the cabins as a heavy silence formed. In front of them, the sun continued to set across the horizon, filtering the colors of summer across the camp. But despite the warmth an abnormal breeze had stirred up, it seemed to dance around Jason like a visual depiction of his nerves.

“We’ll find them,” Will said his voice boasted by a false confidence he was instilling within himself.

“Right.” Jason’s voice agreed yet his face was still plagued with worries.

“You’re scared, I get it. But you know, Nico and Leo are really strong, they can handle themselves.” Will wasn’t sure if he had the right to comfort Jason when he himself was on the brink of collapse, but he knew that one of them had to be strong.

Jason sighed, stopping in his tracks as he looked up at the darkening sky. “Yeah, it’s just last time…” His voice trailed off as storm clouds rumbled across the reflections in his eyes. “I almost never saw him again.”

Will had nearly forgotten all that had happened with them, how Jason had lost Leo just to find out he was alive. But soon after Leo had to lose him too. The two of them had been in a constant cycle of losing and finding each other, always wondering if the pattern could be broken.

“Maybe it’s not the same but I know what it’s like for someone to disappear,” Will took a breath of the warm summer air before continuing, “The first time I met Nico we were both so young, I was thrilled to meet someone my age but then, poof, he was gone. Years later he showed up again, he looked like a completely different person, yet it was still him. I thought he’d stay again, but just like before one day he was just gone. I think i’ve lived every day fearing he would disappear again, now that’s it’s happened…I just need to have hope that i’ll find him. He’ll be okay, both of them will be okay.”

Will left out the part about how he lost his brother, how one second he’d stood on that bridge and the next he was gone. Whatever was left of him had never been found, it was as if he were never there. He left out how the constant loss of his siblings only burned his fear of loss deeper and deeper into his bones.

“You’re right,” Jason’s eyes seemed to clear even if only just for a moment. “They’ll be okay, they have to be.”

“They have to be.” Will repeated, putting all his hope into those words, all his fear and anger. He was going to find Nico, and everything would be okay.

Everything.

—

That night the Zeus cabin had never felt colder.

As Jason tossed and turned the spot next to him only become more hollow and empty. Without Leo’s soft breathing the room was eerily quiet, without his precence it was impossibly cold.

Jason tried to pry his mind from the old memories, yet he was always led back to that fated day, hearing Leo’s lasts words repeated over and over. The pain still felt fresh, the pain of losing him and then losing himself.

Leo had sacrificed everything to get him back, he’d gone through the underworld and back all for him. Jason could still feel the darkness surrounding them as he followed Leo into the light. A journey never meant to be completed, something said to be impossible was accomplished all because of Leo. From then on Jason knew he’d follow Leo anywhere. But now he had no idea where Leo was. It sent him into this constant state of panic, wondering if he was okay, if he was coming back.

He needed Leo to be okay, he needed him to come back. Otherwise, what was the point of everything that had happened?

It was safe to say Jason didn’t sleep that night, because every time he closed his eyes he saw Leo’s face as he said goodbye.

Morning couldn’t have come sooner. Jason now waited anxiously at his cabins table, unable to stomach much breakfast. He kept looking for signs of Rachel, he could tell Will was just as anxious. He seemed to be having a somber conversation with his siblings who all donned dark expressions. The missing member from the table really seemed to stick out, maybe Nico wasn’t someone you’d really think of as “bright” but he had really brought life to the Apollo table.

Jason almost screamed in joy when he’d heard the sound of helicopter blades suddenly approaching, of course leave it to Rachel to have a dramatic entrance. Both he and Will hurried over to where she was landing, wasting not even a second.

She seemed surprised as she stepped out of the helicopter, “Woah woah, looks like somebody’s happy to see me.”

“Rachel,” Will said in a dire tone, “we need your help.”

“Great.” She sighed, grabbing her bags as she waved off the pilot, “Let’s head to the woman cave shall we?”

After explaining the situation to Rachel her attitude seemed to change, “That’s not good. You know, I have been having some strangely dark dreams.”

“Any of them suggest where they could’ve gone? I mean Nico seemed on edge, he must’ve known something..if only i’d just asked.” Wills voice was quiet, almost as if he felt ashamed.

Rachel closed her eyes for a moment, “A light house.”

“What?” Jason and Will gave each other a puzzled look.

“I keep getting the urge to draw a lighthouse, or lighthouses? Also I saw this school, it must’ve been a boarding school.”

“Do you remember the name?” Wills eyes started to dance with a nervous energy.

“West..um..west something, I don’t know.” Rachel frowned as she tried to recall the name.

Will flinched as she spoke, hesitating before finally saying, “Westover?”

“Yeah, that’s it!” Rachel met his eyes, “How did you know that?”

“It was Nico’s last school, he went there for a while before he came to camp.” The memory seemed to bother Will as he explained, “It’s in Maine, which would explain the lighthouses.”

“Right,” Rachel nodded in agreement, “I knew I recognized the area.”

“So we have a place now right? Westover, wherever that is,” Jason said, the fact they now had an actual location to find gave him a spark of hope.

“It’s our best bet,” Will agreed, yet he didn’t look very pleased. “Let’s go talk to Chiron.”

It wasn’t a long talk, they didn’t even receive a formal quest, it was more like a recovery mission. Chiron seemed reluctant to allow them to leave but he knew the two of them were bound to go no matter what.

As Chiron handed them the keys to a camp owned car and some cash he said, “Be careful you two, I expect you to come back as four, alright?”

Will nodded, “We will make it back, all of us.”

Chiron smiled, and whether it was true smile or not Jason couldn’t tell; nonetheless it was still reassuring.

“Well Jason,” Will turned to him, dangling the keys off his fingers, “Ready for a road trip?”

(Part Five)

#solangelo #valgrace #nico di angelo #leo valdez #jason grace #will solace #nico pjo #will pjo #jason pjo #leo pjo #percy jackson #heroes of olympus #pjo hoo #pjo series #pjo hoo toa tsats #percy jackon and the olympians #my fic #fic #pjo fic #solangelo fic #valgrace fic #jason and will go on an adventure #will has faced so much loss #jason thinks about leo 24/7 #will is scary when he’s mad

[asolareclipses]

(Previous part)

The room full of eyes burned into to him, and Nico imagined this is what ants felt like under a magnifying glass. Everyone looked at him expectantly, as if he knew everything about darkness. Something’s dark? Yeah just ask Nico he’ll definitely know. That didn’t really bother him though, because he didn’t blame them. If someone were to mention storms he’d look at Jason, probably. What bothered Nico was the fear that lay behind some of their eyes, a traitor was in camp, one hiding in darkness. It was only human to be suspicious.

“…I’m not sure what it is.” Nico said, it was a half truth. He had a hollow feeling that he knew who was behind this chaos, but it was a feeling he wanted to ignore for as long as he could. But the spirits he spoke to that morning had only confirmed his deepest worries.

“Well someone wanted you dead,” Dana said, “unless..”

“Unless?” If eyes could shoot daggers, Wills eyes would be shooting swords.

“Im not insinuating anything, but my mother’s Athena so I was taught to see the bigger picture.” She seemed hesitant as she spoke, “It would be a genius plan.”

Nico’s heart stopped. He felt like his did all those years ago as he watched, behind a dream, his friends debate whether he was worth saving. As accusation of trust which had destroyed him, despite him never speaking of it. He’d hadn’t even told Will, keeping that memory locked away as it slowly ate away at his sanity.

“You can’t be serious,” Will stood up. His voice was cold and harsh as ice, as his fists clenched in a sense of rage.

“No,” Nico stood up, he put his hand on Wills arm. Will had always fought tooth and nail for him, Nico wished he didn’t have to. Every time Wills gentle demeanor turned to that of anger, it made Nico feel an all consuming sense of shame; if only he could be more simple, more easy to handle. “It’s fine, if that’s what you think.” He tried to keep his voice steady, each breath he took brought him back to that table, that ship, that jar.

The room suddenly felt suffocating, the air felt too stale, he felt trapped again.

Will turned to him, his brows knit in utter concern, “Are you okay?”

His words felt muffled beneath the ringing in Nico’s ears, “Y-yeah..I just need a moment.” He didn’t want to, but his body took over as he rushed out of the front door. A second longer in that room had been unimaginable.

As his shoes hit the grass, it withered. He cursed under his breath as he tried to steady his hands.

“You’re not in that stupid jar, pull yourself together,” He muttered leaning against the wall along the side of the big house. Whatever breathing exercises Mr D. had taught him dissipated with his panic. He knew how stupid it was, running away as soon as someone accused him. That was probably the most suspicious thing that someone could do. ‘Oh are you the murderer’ ‘No, bye!’

Still, his stomach felt like as if it had been tied into several knots, corroding him from the inside out with painful moments from the past. He felt like he was there again, watching the two people he was closest to now, debating his life. Nico had never blamed them, he’d never hated them. It was never them who hurt him, it was himself. He hated himself.

Nico would’ve stayed there, drowning in his thoughts forever, if it weren’t for the sudden sounds of clashing that echoed through the camp. It sounded as if something was skittering across the ground, followed by metal scraping against rock. His hand instinctually went to where his sword would be, but unfortunately he’d left it in his cabin. Despite that he still headed towards the strange sound, attempting to be as silent as possible.

When he peeked around the corner he saw Mae, a new camper who had shown up with her younger brother Sam a week ago. They had been claimed as children of Hecate the night they showed up. The two of them reminded Nico of when he and Bianca first came to camp, he couldn’t decide if that was more painful or comforting. Unfortunately the sound wasn’t just Mae sword practicing, as a large shadowy creature stood infront of her. It was similar to a scorpion, but its form flowed with a wobbly consistency.

Mae stood there, sword in hand as she faced the creature. Her hands shook as she trembled in terror, Sam was hiding behind her. Nico could almost picture himself, that day at Westover, cowering behind Bianca as their Vice Principal turned into a monster.

The scorpion thing moved forward to strike and Nico rushed to intercept, it was incredibly stupid as he didn’t have a weapon, but still he charged ahead. Just as it thrust its claw towards Mae, Nico willed all the shadows it was made from against it. The darkness seemed to fight him, barely remaining under his control.

He bided enough time to grab the sister and brother, pushing them out of the way. “Mae, take Sam and run to the big house.” Nico said as he took the sword from her hand. His words were rushed as he could feel the scorpion regaining its control behind him.

“But I can help!” Mae’s eyes were filled with the same bravery Bianca’s had once shown.

“You don’t have to be a hero just yet okay? Just make sure Sam is safe for now,” He didn’t allow Mae to protest and she agreed, grabbing her brother by the arm and running off towards the big house.

Nico almost breathed a sigh of relief until he turned and was face to face (or what he presumed to be its face) with the creature. Up close, its shadows swirled and shifted like each was breathing on its own. Its claw lifted and swung at him, and Nico lifted his sword in an attempt to block the attack, but the sword passed through the creature like it was made of air. The claw kept going unbothered and Nico barely managed to move in time to not get chopped in half, unfortunately the sharp spikes along the claws managed to slice into his arm.

Nico reminded himself to never leave his cabin without his sword again as his arm began to drip with blood.

“What is that?!” The counselors from the big house had all began rushing out towards Nico, along with them, more campers rushed over too.

The scorpion turned towards the others, its void-like claws snapping. Nico knew there was nothing their swords could do to kill it; so in a last ditch effort he slammed his foot against the ground, a large crack spreading and swallowing the creature whole. A second later the crack sealed up, leaving a barren scar along the grass. The satyrs were going to hate him for that.

“Oh my Gods Nico what was that?” Leo had rushed forwards with Jason and Will.

“I don’t know,” Nico said through heavy breaths, the pain from the creatures claws was overpowering as it seemed to seep throughout his whole body.

“Your arm,” Wills face was pale as he gaped at the wound.

“How did that thing get into camp?” Connor asked as he stared at the large gash along the dirt.

“It shouldn’t have been able to get through the boundaries,” Chiara said.

Suddenly a lot of suspicious eyes were on Nico, again.

Will seemed to notice as he snapped towards the small group of campers gathered around them, “You can’t be serious!”

“Will we’re not saying anything it’s just…” Dana seemed reluctant to continue.

“Who else could conjure up something like that?” An Ares camper called out, Sherman quickly turned glaring towards the person who’d spoken.

“Give me one good reason why Nico would do that!” Jason yelled, and as he did the air seemed to turn electric.

The campers went silent, they all seemed to have a thought on their mind yet no one spoke it aloud.

“I get it..” Nico said cutting through the silence, his voice like a knife. “I’ll figure this out myself.”

He stepped backwards into the shadow behind him, the last thing he saw was Will eyes widening as he called out, “Wait Nico!”

Nico didn’t wait, he disappeared into the shadows, but not before Leo could manage to latch onto his arm, following him into the shadows.

As the world faded to black he heard a sharp sickeningly familiar voice in his head, Strike one little demigod.

—

Leo wasn’t sure if following Nico was incredibly smart or incredibly stupid, but with his track record it was probably the latter. His body had reacted before he’d thought about his decision though, and he was quickly pulled into the shadows. As he entered the darkness he was hit by a sense of cold from every direction, it was as if he were surrounded by nothing. He’d forgotten what shadow travel felt like, and he’d forgotten how much it sucked.

He was never more glad to see the sun when they stumbled out of the dark. They were in some park, with a vast assortment of trees spread throughout the grass. The air was warm and fresh, providing a comforting breeze as the sun shined above them.

“Valdez i’m going to-“ Nico began to say something in his usual angry tone before he doubled over onto the ground. The grass around him withered and black smoke seemed to trail off of him.

“Nico are you-“

“Shut up.” Nico cut him off, speaking through gritted teeth. Leo felt guilty, just standing there, but after a moment Nico managed to steady himself.

“Dude are you okay?” Leo asked, unable to convey the pure amount of worry he felt.

“It’s fine.” Nico took a shaky breath, struggling to stand.

Leo wanted to reach out and help him, but he had a feeling it would not of been appreciated. “That didn’t look fine.”

Nico eyes snapped towards him, “Why did you follow me?”

“Because I wasn’t going to let you run away all on your own like an idiot?”

“Who said I was running away?” Nico looked at Leo like he was stupid.

“Huh?”

Nico sighed, wiping the dirt off his hands, “I was going to try and find what’s been causing all of this. If I can find it and stop it then this whole mess will be over.”

Leo gaped at him for a moment, he felt a rush of sadness and then anger, “You thought you could just go out all on your own? By yourself?”

“I don’t want anyone else getting hurt, this is my mess.”

“First of all,” Leo felt himself heating up, literally as the tips of his hair began to smoke. “You can’t just try and solve everything on your own like that, you could get hurt, or maybe worse..secondly, how is this your mess?”

Nico paused, a hesitant look passed over his face. “Because I think I know who’s doing this.” He paused before speaking again as Leo waited for him to continue, “Nyx.”

“Nyx as in Night? Why would Night be specifically attacking you?”

“I guess I hurt her pride back in tartarus,” Nico said. Leo thought about how casually he’d said that, like that fact he’d been there twice was no big deal. “Or..”

“Or?” Leo couldn’t imagine how it could get worse.

“She’s trying to rise. I mean after Gaea rising and the Giants attacking, there must of been a lot of time for her to gather her power. She’s a goddess after all, she might be trying to rise like Kronos did.”

“Great, that’s amazing.” Leo sighed, there it went, getting worse. Unsurprisingly, they couldn’t go more than a year without something very bad happening. “So she’s coming after you first, for what, a grudge?”

“That..or it’s because i’m the only one who can really stop her, if she gets rid of me first she has a better chance of taking down camp.”

“So you go out to try and face her, on your own?” Leo felt his patience running thin, “Isn’t that exactly what she’d want?”

“I wanted to stop her, before she could hurt anyone else.” Nico looked down, he wouldn’t meet Leo’s eyes anymore, his focus now on the withered grass.

Leo felt a tinge of guilt as his anger dissipated, “You don’t have to do everything by yourself you know that? This Nyx lady, she loves darkness?” Leo’s hands sparked into flames, “Then i’ll show her some real light.”

A hint of a smile creeped onto Nico’s face, “I’m not convincing you to let me do this on my own am I?”

“Nope!” Leo’s flames turned to smoke as he reached into his tool belt, pulling out some bandages. “Now let’s get you all fixed up before we put ourselves in any further danger.”

Nico rolled his eyes, looking at the deep gashes along his arm. Something about the cuts was abnormal, yet Leo couldn’t figure it out. It was yet another moment where he realized that he could fix any machine, but when it came to humans he was seriously lacking. Again, he wished he was a doctor like Will or something, magic healing powers would be great right about now. Even ambrosia would’ve been nice, but of course the most he could give was papery bandages and some screws and bolts.

He did an extremely poor clean up job on the wound before stopping to ask, “Maine is a pretty big state, where to first?”

A dark shadow seemed to pass over Nico’s face as he met Leo’s eyes, “Westover. Me and Bianca’s last school.”

(Part Four)

#solangelo #valgrace #nico di angelo #will solace #jason grace #leo valdez #nico pjo #will pjo #jason pjo #leo pjo #percy jackson #heroes of olympus #pjo hoo #pjo series #pjo hoo toa tsats #percy jackon and the olympians #nico di angelo and will solace #leo valdez and jason grace #leo valdez and nico di angelo #my fic #fic #percy jackson fic #solangelo fic #nico and leo are besties #nico cannot catch a break #part of him is still in that jar #will is about to lose it #nico has a lot of friends who trust him but there’s dark magic at play #this one’s shorter next is jason and will the blonde duo

[asolareclipses]

If anyone knows why a certain post would just randomly not appear in tags please let me know. I know it’s not an account issue as everything else I post appears in tags, just not that one post. I tried deleting every tag and that didn’t work. I also got rid of links, and even checked to see if I used any words against policies. But none of those seemed to be the issue so i’m just not sure, maybe it was just that post?

#tumblr #tumblr help #tags not working #any ideas? #tumblr issues

[asolareclipses]

(Previous part)

Nico awoke in darkness, a complete void of light. 

Except he wasn’t awake, he could feel the dreamlike state of the world around him. It swarmed around him transforming into a nightmare. 

The air was cold and silent. No matter where he turned, his eyes were only met by utter darkness. No shadows, just the deep, empty color of black. Fear began to seep throughout his body, coursing through his veins like a powerful wave. It was all consuming. 

Nico ruled the shadows, but the darkness ruled him. It ruled his fears and desperation. It ruled each and every memory, darkness was apart of him yet it was what scared him the most. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to go in this empty void. He wanted to scream but his voice seemed to betray him. 

He was helpless. 

Then he woke up. Gasping and shaking as his eyes adjusted to his surroundings. He was in his cabin, in his bed. Next to him lie a mess of blonde hair tucked underneath his blankets. 

A sense of calm washed over him as he absorbed the image of Will. The light filtering in from the corners of the curtains, highlighting his peaceful face as he slept. He represented light, he represented everything that was good in the world. 

Nico was safe. He knew that now as he calmed his breathing, moving closer to his sleeping boyfriend. He leaned his head against Wills back breathing in the sense of security. Will squirmed, turning over to wrap his arms around Nico with a contented sigh. The warmth from the hug made Nico forget about his dream as he immersed himself in Wills presence. 

“What time is it?” Will mumbled, his voice muffled and groggy. 

“Im not sure,” Nico paused. “Shouldn’t you know Mr sunshine?” 

“Sorry the sun powers are out of commission, it’s too early and my brain is still asleep.” Will spoke as he pulled Nico closer to him, if that was even possible. 

“I think your brain is always asleep,” Nico smiled, earning a small nudge of protest. 

“Not nice,” Will said even though his voice portrayed a smile. 

“Well the N in Nico doesn’t stand for nice.” 

“What does it stand for?”

Nico paused, “Um…naughty?” 

Will giggled, a warm sound that went straight through Nico’s heart. “Like Santa?”

“What’s Santa?” Nico asked titling his head to look up at Will. His blue watercolor eyes sparkled as he looked down at Nico in surprise.

“You don’t know Santa?” Will almost appeared offended. 

“Is that some movie character? Please tell it’s not another Star Wars thing.” 

Will opened his mouth to speak before closing it, he ruffled Nico’s hair. “It’s not, you know what? It’s actually quite unimportant.” 

“Whatever,” Nico rolled his eyes before forcing himself to sit up; it took all his willpower as his body begged to just lay in bed with Will all day. 

Will seemed to follow suite, sitting up before snaking his arms around Nico’s waist, and pressing his face against the back of Nico’s neck. His soft breath sent a chill down Nico’s spine. 

“Enough funny business Solace, you better get back to your cabin before breakfast.” 

“Breakfast is overrated, we should just stay here.” Wills voice was muffled as he talked against Nico’s skin. 

“And get caught breaking the rules again? Nice try but i’m not in the mood for another lecture,” Nico leaned back in an attempt to move Will, but it didn’t seem to affect him. 

“It’s not breaking the rules if you have a doctor’s note,” Will hummed.

“You’re not a doctor.”

“Not literally, but I could be.” 

Nico scoffed, his fingers dancing along Wills soft hands, “Yeah and I could be a mortician.”

Will broke into laughter after a moment, the sound reverberating through Nico’s soul. He took a moment to steady his voice, leaning his head against Nico’s shoulder. “Okay, point proven.” 

“Off you go then,” Nico shrugged off Wills arms, turning so he could nudge him in an attempt to make him stand. 

“Fine..fine,” Will sighed as he dragged himself out of the bed. He pouted, looking back at Nico with impossibly shiny eyes, as he slowly trudged to the door. Nico had to take a mental screenshot so that he’d remember that expression. 

“I’ll see you in less than an hour,” Nico said standing up and placing his hands on the back of Wills shoulders so he could guide him to the door. 

Will turned just as he reached the doorway, slipping his arms around Nico’s waist again. He pressed a warm kiss against Nico’s lips, so warm Nico felt as he were about to melt into a puddle of tenderness. 

He pulled away, leaning back with a smug expression, “Don’t miss me too much.” He winked before he turned and slipped through the door. 

Nico stood there for a moment, his brain seemed to temporarily malfunction. He felt the blush burnt across his face and the presence of the kiss still lingering. “I’m going to kill him,” He muttered with an unbelievably fond smile across his face. 

—

“So…” Nyssa began, “noticed you weren’t in the cabin last night. Would you care to tell us where you were instead?” 

Leo’s faced flushed as he poked at his pancakes with his fork, “Um…I was-well..somewhere.” 

“Right..” Nyssa nodded, unconvinced. “Any specifics about this somewhere?” 

“Y’know here, there,” Leo stuttered as he failed to come up with a decent response. 

“Where is somewhere?” Harley asked, “Is that like a country?” 

“Something like that,” Leo wanted to shrivel up to avoid the stares he was receiving from his siblings. He played it cool, trying to act unsuspicious; until he reached for his cup and missed, knocking it off the table. 

“Really grace-ful,” Nyssa snipped. 

Leo felt like he was going to implode; he’d been sure he wasn’t being that obvious, but Nyssa had seen right through him. He couldn’t think of a response so he just silently stared at his food, ignoring the heat displayed across his face. 

To Leo’s luck Harley brought out one of his newest inventions, causing chaos to break out at the Hephaestus table as the others convinced him not to demonstrate its abilities during breakfast. Clearly they weren’t eager for a repeat of last time. 

Leo took the moment to look over at Jason who sat alone at his table, a pang of guilt rushing over him. He thought the rules were stupid, why should Jason have to sit there and watch as everyone else talked and sat together. Leo felt jealous of Will, debating if he should become a doctor so that he could write his boyfriend a note too. Well, not his boyfriend, more like boy-that-is-a-friend. But whatever. 

Jason turned and met Leo’s eyes, promptly sending Leo into a panic as he quickly turned and pretended to be looking at anything else. He hoped Jason hadn’t realized he’d been staring like a creep. 

Amidst his panic he noticed Chiron and Mr D. in what looked to be a serious conversation. Chiron said something, earning bone chilling look from Mr D. before they both got up silently to leave the pavilion. Normally, the campers weren’t unsupervised at meals, so the discussion must have been really important. And Leo had a bad feeling he knew what it was about.  

As he watched the silhouettes of the two directors fade while they headed to the big house; Leo decided this was his chance, silently slipping away from his cabins table. 

He casually sat infront of Jason as if he’d always sat there; instead of focusing on the potential trouble he could get in, he reminded himself he was a born troublemaker. If there were rules, he could break them. 

“What’s a handsome man like you doing here all by your lonesome,” Leo said, mimicking the voice of one of those old tv characters from the shows his mom used to occasionally watch. They were nowhere near as entertaining as telenovelas, but they had their moments.

Jason probably didn’t understand what he was referencing but he was used to Leo’s antics, “Better question is why are you here. I don’t remember you being a child of Zeus.” 

Leo placed his hands on the table, donning a serious expression. “Jason..I have something to tell you..I am your long lost brother.” 

Jason tried to look unimpressed but Leo could see he was biting back a smile, “Right, and pigs can fly.” 

“Actually, they can! Ever heard Percy’s flying pig story, it’s great.” 

Jason raised one of his eyebrows, his cute look of confusion always sent Leo spiraling. “Huh, never heard that one.” 

“Well, flying pigs aren’t important right now.” Leo said, “Something’s up with Mr D. and Chiron.” 

Jason frowned, as if not eager to change the topic. Leo couldn’t blame him, he would much rather ignore it if that would make it go away. “Right, they seem uneasy, that’s not good.” 

Leo nodded, his hands unconsciously tapping against the table. He’d tapped a few lines of morse code before realizing, then quickly redirected himself to fiddle with some screws from his tool belt. “We should talk to Clovis A-S-A-P.” 

A breeze flew past, rushing through the curls of Leo’s hair, sending a chill down his spine. He looked to see if Jason noticed but his eyes were clouded in worry as he remained far away in thought. 

“Jace,” Leo’s voice stuck on the nickname. He wasn’t sure when he’d started using it, but something about it just felt right. “Don’t get too worried just yet, okay?” He smiled, giving his best attempt at being reassuring, yet he could see through himself. 

Jason met his eyes, the striking blue storm swirling amidst them seemed to part for a moment. His lips twitched, curving slightly into a small and Leo felt the world turn upside down. Here he was sitting across from the most gorgeous person on the planet and he somehow had to keep his cool? Yeah, all was not well in Leo world. 

“You’re right,” Jason took a deep breath sitting up taller to feign confidence. “We need to figure this out calmly, no one needs to know that anything is wrong yet.” 

—

Will knew it was over the second he’d heard Austin open his mouth.

“Connor told me that the chariot was sabotaged?” 

Will and Nico stared blankly at each other, somehow shocked that the camp gossip had caught wind of yet another secret. “Uhm, well…” 

“It could’ve been an accident,” Nico cut in, sparing Will from his poor attempt at lying.

“Greek fire is no accident,” Kayla added. She had a scowl on her face which was quite unnerving, even to Will. It was a sign that she was truly mad, clearly the attempt of harm towards Nico was not taken likely. 

“We don’t know,” Will sighed. He’d decided the only course of action now was to be honest. Once a rumor spread through camp there was no stopping it, truly it spread like wildfire. 

“But you’re going to find out, right?” Kayla asked, her hands gripped the table anxiously, turning her knuckles white. 

Will nodded, “We’re going to try at least. Just try to keep this somewhat under wraps. Though, I assume the whole camp knows by now, still it’s best to maintain peace.” 

“Yeah maintain peace that’s easy,” Kayla’s voice was riddled with sarcasm, a disguise to hide her anger and anxiety. 

“Are you okay?” Gracie’s eyes were trained on Nico who’d been awfully quiet. 

Nico almost looked surprised when she asked, as if his false act of calm had been easily seen through. “I’m..I’m okay, yeah.” The hesitance in his voice felt like ropes strangling Wills heart, he could see the worry shadowed in Nico’s dark eyes. 

Gracie nodded, not letting on if she were or weren’t convinced by his words. 

Will sighed, as if his breath could expel all of the fear that had been building inside him. “You guys do damage control on the ‘rumor’ me and Nico will go see if we can figure this out.” 

His siblings nodded, though there wasn’t much they could do, they were determined to try. 

Will held Nico’s hand as they walked to Hypnos cabin, his hand that was delicate and cold, always like ice. His hand that was rough, with many scratches and grooves that almost seemed to tell a story. Will always admired Nico’s calloused palms; unlike his own which he’d taken specific care of, as they were his most important tool. He used his hands to heal, so whatever scratches he’d obtained would heal themselves as he healed others. His story was erased and given to others, he was the healer not the hero. 

That poisoning feeling of jealousy made him ache with guilt, he knew he shouldn’t wish to be the hero, the hero always suffers. But he suffered too. 

Nico leaned against him, dispersing the cloud of thoughts Will had been lost in. “What happens if this is serious, like end of world bad?” His voice was quiet as he looked upon the grass beneath them, keeping his eyes low.

“Then we will save the day per usual,” Will squeezed Nico’s hand, hoping to send some sense of comfort to him. “Whatever happens we’ll be okay.” 

Nico’s eyes were still focused on the ground, his eyes and presence felt so distant yet he was standing right there. 

“Nico,” Will stopped, turning so he stood in front of him. He gently lifted Nico’s chin, so the dark eyes filled with a swirling void of thoughts met his. “I can’t promise that nothing bad will happen because our lives have never been simple; but you can’t keep thinking about the worst case scenario, just be here with me, in this moment. Okay?”  

“Okay,” Nico’s voice was still soft, but he met Wills eyes with a sense of warmth, his dark eyes were beautiful; they didn’t radiate darkness, they reflected light. 

Whatever moment they were having was shattered by Leo’s sing-song voice, “Nico and Will, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g.”

Nico’s eyes snapped with a sharpened glare in Leo’s direction, “Valdez you are dead.” 

“Try me, I’ve already died once. What’s one more time,” Leo grinned but behind him, Jason frowned at the joke, clearly he didn’t have great memories surrounding that particular situation. 

“Right, I could kill you out of embarrassment though.” Nico turned to Jason, “Hey Jason, would you like to hear about the time Leo tried to make an automated shower?” 

“What-?”

Leo cut Jason off immediately, “MOVING ON,” he glared at Nico as his face turned a deep shade of red. The ends of his hair slightly steamed, “We should go talk to Clovis, lots of important stuff to do, we can’t dilly dally.” 

“But what about-“

Leo cut Jason off again, “Chop chop, no time to waste!” He harshly turned towards the Hypnos cabin, marching off quickly. 

Jason followed suite attempting to question Leo but he was busy rolling out excuses. 

Will laughed, nudging Nico, “That was evil.” 

Nico smirked, evidently proud of himself. “That’s what the E in di Angelo stands for.” 

—

“…five more minutes..”

“Clovis, we’ve asked you the same question three times already.” 

“Yeah…later..” Clovis’s eyes barely opened to acknowledge them. 

“CLOVIS!” Will yelled, despite his gentle appearance Jason noticed his patience could run thin quickly. 

Clovis’s eyes shot open as he looked at the four demigods that were standing around him expectantly. “What did you say again?” 

“Have you felt anything weird, lately, or sensed anything wrong? Like a darkness?” Jason asked, struggling to find the words as he himself didn’t understand what was going on. 

Clovis paused, he seemed to ponder something for a moment. Jason thought he was falling asleep again until he spoke, “Actually, there has been something..”

The four of them perked up, Jason could feel the tension in the room growing. 

“There’s this whispering, I can’t tell what it’s saying, someone or something could be messing around with dreams, or visions. But every time I try to find the source, i’m met with nothing, just darkness, like a literal wall of darkness.” Clovis seemed unsettled as he explained. 

Jason looked at Nico, hoping he’d know something. Maybe it was a wrong assumption to think he knew everything about darkness, but at this point Jason was grasping at straws. Nico didn’t say anything though, his face was unreadable, he seemed deep in thought, a slight scowl carving its way into his face. 

“How long has this been happening?” Will asked, he was tapping some rhythm unconsciously with his foot. 

“About a week, I didn’t think too much of it, maybe just a bad week for dreams. But if you’ve noticed something too then that can’t be good.” As Clovis spoke, Jason realized that was probably the longest he’d stayed awake during a conversation. 

“Right so big bad darkness that abuses dreams, sounds great.” Leo sighed, he’d made a tiny pegasus from screws and bolts. Jason found it quite adorable, wait, impressive that Leo hadn’t even noticed what he’d made. 

“There’s definitely something going on,” Jason frowned. Of course just when everything had calmed down, there was another thing that was going to try and kill them. 

The initial awareness seemed to be wearing off as Clovis’s eyes began to droop, his head swaying. 

That was until Lou burst into the cabin, “You guys need to get to the big house, now.” 

Great, Jason thought. Here we go again.

When they entered the big house they were met with a swarm of arguing. 

“How do you know it wasn’t an accident?”

“No one would use greek fire as a prank, that could’ve killed them!” 

“Of course you’d know that since you’re the expert of pranks.”

“Is that an accusation?”

“Campers settle down!” Chiron yelled out stomping his hoof against the wooden floor. “We are currently investigating this concern, there is no need to point fingers.”

“Sir, there is a potential traitor in camp and you are asking us to be calm?” Chiara asked. 

Chiron grimaced, “That may not be the case.” 

“Then what else would it be?” Chiara was pretty riled up which wasn’t rare, but it was clear she was serious. 

Chiron sighed, “As I said we are looking into it.”

The room broke out into a mess of arguing again, no one seemed to notice the five (well four now since Clovis found a seat to doze off in) of them now standing by the door. 

Jason stepped forward nervously, “Um guys.” All eyes snapped towards him and his voice caught in his throat. 

Leo noticed the tension and quickly cut in, “Is this where the partys at?” He laughed awkwardly, earning plenty of frowns from those at the table. 

Will glared at Connor, “I assume you’re discussing the chariot incident.” 

“Incident? Will your boyfriend almost died!” Chiara snapped.

“You think I don’t know that?” A dangerous look appeared in Wills eyes and Chiara seemed to quickly regret her words. Whenever Will got angry the room would quiet, it was so unlike him, or unlike what people thought of him. 

The rage in Wills demeanor died when Nico lightly touched his arm, “Sitting here and arguing isn’t going to help, so everyone calm down, and help us figure this out.” His voice was surprisingly calm, Jason wondered how he managed to pull that off. 

“The biggest concern is who did this,” The temporary head counselor from the Athena cabin, Dana spoke. She’d recently stepped up after Malcom left on a trip. “They had to of known what the greek fire would do, and where to put it.” 

Eyes scanned the room, landing on Connor and Travis. “Hey! I told you I wouldn’t do something like that, yeah I like a good prank, but i’ve never even once pranked Nico. I would never try to catch him on fire!” Connor raised his hands in defense and Jason noticed how he didn’t say anything about Leo. 

“I’m all for pranks too,” Travis said, “but I don’t mess with greek fire like that.” 

“He’s right,” Lou added, “I saw them messing with the Ares horses before the race, they wouldn’t have had time to mess with their chariot too. 

“Hey!” Sherman glared at the Stoll brothers who became suddenly interested in the walls as they avoided his eyes. 

“I can’t imagine someone at camp actually doing something like that,” Valentina spoke with a sad expression. 

The table was quiet as everyone seemed to agree, or at least almost everyone. 

“Since, this is now a public discussion,” Mr D. spoke for the first time since they’d entered the room. He looked at Clovis who was now fast asleep before looking at Jason, “What did Clover say?” 

Jason ignored the typical mispronunciation, “He said he’d been feeling a strange darkness. Whatever it was, stopped him from viewing it in his dreams; he described it as a wall of darkness.” Jason spoke carefully, he didn’t want to cause a mass panic, but he was starting to think it was too late for that. 

“A darkness?” Chiara asked. 

Everyone’s eyes turned to Nico, like suddenly a spotlight had been shone on him. 

Jason regretted saying anything. 

(Part three)

#nico di angelo #solangelo #valgrace #will solace #jason grace #leo valdez #nico pjo #will pjo #jason pjo #leo pjo #nico di angelo and will solace #leo valdez and jason grace #nico x will #leo x jason #heroes of olympus #pjo hoo #pjo series #pjo hoo toa #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #my fic #fic #things are about to go downhill #enjoy the fluff while it lasts #will has no chill #leo thinks hes funny (he is) #tags not working

[asolareclipses]

Don’t know if anyone saw, but I struggled for an hour to post part two of the chariot racing fic and it did not work. I’ll try again tomorrow!

#solangelo #valgrace #i have no idea how to use this app

[asolareclipses]

More Nico and Hades 🖤

#best father and son duo #they have the same sense of humor it’s great

[asolareclipses]

I’ve had Tumblr for like two years but i’ve just realized how I have no idea how to use it. I tried to reblog something, ended up reblogging someone’s reblog. Do I understand what that means? No. There’s like tags you can add to reblogs too, I need to figure that out. Also replying to reblogs is so difficult. I feel like a grandma figuring out technology for the first time.

Anyways that’s my difficulties of the day.

#tumblr #i have no idea what i’m doing #i wish i started using this app years ago so i know how it all works #what is a read more???? #is this how nico and hazel felt when they had to learn all the new tech

[asolareclipses]

Jason Grace

creds r in the photo man

[asolareclipses]

i'm conviced they never get back dry. it's impossible.

[asolareclipses]

“Isn’t she a beaut?”

“A what?”

“Gods Nico, you never know what i’m talking about.” Leo sighed, turning his attention away from the chariot he was just boasting about.

“Maybe because you never make any sense,” Nico rolled his eyes anticipating the next comment about to leave Leo’s mouth.

“Or…you’re just an old abuelo,” Leo failed to hold back his smirk.

Nico glared at him, he didn’t speak spanish but he’d heard that word enough to know what it meant. “Call me that one more time fire boy and you’ll wish you died the first time.”

“Holy smokes! Someone’s feisty today,” Leo raised his hands signifying a truce. “Anyways, moving back to the important things, just look at this masterpiece!” Leo gestured back to his creation.

As Nico’s eyes move to scan over the chariot, he had to try not to be visibly impressed. It was incredible. Each wheel had hundreds of gears all lined with celestial bronze and steel. The sides and rims danced with various contraptions, every piece was delicately crafted with the upmost detail. It looked as if it was built to withstand whatever may come in its way.

“You built this in a week?” Nico asked, hoping his awe wasn’t evident in his tone.

“Yeah,” Leo shrugged. “Perfect for the race don’t you think?”

Yeah? Nico almost sang his inner praises to Leo at that moment. But he knew if he were to boast Leo’s ego like that, he wouldn’t see the end of it for days.

“It’s not bad..” Nico spoke carefully.

Leo smirked, “Finally glad you decided to be on my team?”

“I didn’t decide anything,” Nico said. “You begged me for weeks and weeks on end until I said yes, just so you would leave me alone.”

“Hm, funny. I don’t remember that happening.”

“Leo-“

“Anyways- You said you had the horses taken care of?” Leo masterfully changed the subject.

Nico nodded with a sigh.

Leo stared at him, before looking around as if he were expecting something. “Well…where are they?”

“Right, you might want to step back.” Nico suggested.

“Step back why would I-“ Leo was cut off by the ground beginning to rumble, kicking up dust and small rocks. “Right that’s why,” he hurriedly stepped backwards.

The grass shivered and after a moment of rumbling, a bone popped out from the ground. It was then followed by another and another. Soon several bones came together forming two skeletal horses. They moved similar to regular horses, if regular horses had no skin or organs.

Nico stepped back, admiring his work. In the back of his mind he imagined the future lecture he’d receive from Will. ‘What did I say about unnecessary power usage?’ Still, looking at the horses, Nico figured it was worth it.

“Woah,” Leo smiled. “That’s so much cooler than a regular horse, or even a robot one.”

“More durable too, any attack and they’ll just reassemble.”

“Dude!” Leo was now practically jumping up and down, “we are so going to win this!”

Part of Nico wanted to join Leo in the excited jumping. But the other part of him thought that would be out of character; what this ‘character’ of himself was though, he didn’t know. Nico had struggled with displaying his excitement, every time he felt that burst of joy. That buzz of happiness. It reminded him of when he was younger, first arriving at camp with that same feeling. He wondered where that little boy had gone.

A horn blew, drawing Nico out of thoughts.

“That’s Chiron,” Leo said. “Time to head to the starting line.” A devilish grin appeared on his face that made Nico a little nervous. Clearly Leo’s chariot was armed with machinery that would even make the Stoll brothers jealous.

As they stood in the chariot at the starting line, Nico rethought all his life decisions. Why had he agreed to do this race again? At the time it seemed like the only way to get Leo to leave him alone, since he had been profusely begging Nico to team up with him every day. Now Nico couldn’t decide which one was worse, and annoying Leo or a brutal chariot race. Suddenly a cold chill ran down Nicos spine, he couldn’t place it but something was wrong.

Before he could dig deeper into this feeling, Chiron blew his horn again, signaling the beginning of the race. The chariot promptly took off, immediately blasting ahead with the upmost speed. Nico had to grip the railing just to not go flying off, struggling as the winds made it hard to keep his eyes open.

The Athena chariot tried to launch a net from behind them in an attempt to catch the chariot, but it wasn’t fast enough. Instead, the net came flying back at their chariot getting caught in the wheels and sending the campers into a panic. At the same time the Stoll brothers were shooting some contraption they’d made at the Ares cabin. When resulted in both chariots veering off track and into the woods.

As they continued to speed up, Nico watched as all the other chariots got farther and farther away. He’d began to think this was going to be a lot easier than he’d initially thought.

“Works just like a dream!” Leo yelled over the winds.

Nico nodded, pointing to the floating finish line, Chiron had decided the chariots needed to not just be fast but be able to account for height too. Of course for Leo that had been an easy task. For the others, well they had to hope their pegasuses were strong

Sooner than expected they were nearing the finish line, and Nico waited for something to go wrong. He was sure the others would catch up and give them a hard time, but when he looked back the other chariots were still lagging behind.

Then a hint of smoke began to fill the air, slowly becoming stronger. Nico looked around, the chariot was shaking now. A deep rumbling that shook his whole body. More smoke started pouring out from the golden edges, polluting Nico’s lungs.

Leo looked shocked, rushing around as he tried to find the culprit of the smoke. “I don’t get what’s wrong?”

A fire sprung up and danced along the rims of the chariot, Nico stepped away, coughing as his lungs begged for clean air. He looked at Leo with panic in his eyes at the same time Leo seemed to realize that Nico wasn’t immune to smoke.

“Oh gods what do we do?” Leo called out.

Turns out Nico didn’t need to answer that question because in a blast of light the chariot exploded, sending them both flying.

The world went black.

—

Why did every creation of his blow up? That’s what Leo wondered as he plummeted from the sky. He figured he would turn into a Leo pancake when he hit the ground, splat.

The idea would’ve made him laugh if he weren’t currently falling to his death. Leo could still see the flaming chariot above him, another masterpiece blown to pieces. Maybe that would be his legacy, the demigod who destroyed everything he made.

The wind was fast as he fell, blowing through his hair and stinging his eyes. It was eerily familiar, probably because it wasn’t the first time he’d fallen from the sky. As he fell further, Leo tightly shut his eyes, expecting to hit the ground any second. But instead he felt something hit him. Well, less like hit and more like grab. When he opened his eyes, he almost jumped out of his skin.

Jason had caught him, he was now face to face with him. Startlingly close. All Leo could see were his striking icy blue eyes. He felt Jason’s arms tightly secured around his waist, and he felt the breath of relief Jason sighed when he realized Leo was safely in one piece.

Why Leo obsessed over each of these small incriminate details, he would never say.

“Thanks superman,” Leo grinned nervously. He hoped the blush across his face wasn’t as noticeable as it felt.

Jason glared at him as they began to descend to the ground. “Next time i’ll let you fall.”

Leo was about to make another comment when his heart dropped, “Nico.”

Jason’s eyes widened as he looked up at the chariot. They seemed to flicker across the sky, as he tried to locate the other chariot rider. “Oh gods.”

Splash.

Just in time Leo turned to see Nico plunge into the lake, Jason had been too far to reach him seeing as they’d somehow been blasted in two different directions.

Leo’s shirt was still smoking from the explosion and his bones felt like jelly, but it didn’t stop him from rushing to the lake as soon as they touched the ground.

Will had gotten there first, he’d always managed to get there first. He began dragging Nico from the water, a crowd of panicked demigods forming around them.

As soon as Nico was pulled to shore Leo stumbled his way over, pushing through the crowd. “Is he okay? Is he breathing? Oh gods this is all my fault.” He stuttered and tripped over his words as the guilt built up inside his stomach like rocks. He shouldn’t have made Nico join this stupid race, he should’ve known it would go wrong. Everything he did always went wrong.

“Leo, don’t say that.” Jason stepped forward putting a hand on Leo’s shoulder.

Leo wanted to believe him but the guilt was overpowering it consumed his mind.

He silently watched as Will hummed placing his hand on Nico’s chest. Leo didn’t know what he’d do if Nico didn’t wake up, but luckily he did. Shooting up, coughing and spluttering, Leo recognized the look of relief that flashed across Wills face.

Jason’s hand gripped Leo’s shoulder tighter as he remembered to breathe. Suddenly his adrenaline rush crashed and so did he. His knees went weak and he would’ve fallen if Jason hadn’t caught him, again.

“You okay?” Jason asked softly. A warm tone that felt delicate and strange, yet it reassured Leo every time he heard it.

Leo nodded, looking back at Nico who was smothered in a hug from Will. He seemed to be repeatedly telling Will he was okay, despite him being dripping wet with several burnt holes in his shirt.

Nicos seemed to search the crowd until he locked eyes with Leo, he figured Nico would be incredibly pissed off at him. But he wasn’t, his eyes flashed a look of concern before he mouthed you okay?

Leo nodded as convincingly as he could, overly aware of Jason’s warm presence behind him, being the only thing holding him up.

The crowd was dispersing as Will managed to pull Nico to his feet, draping his arm across his shoulders. “Both of you,” he looked towards Leo, “infirmary. Now.”

On the way, Jason did most of the walking, as Leo’s new jelly legs hadn’t regained their sense of feeling yet. His whole body was aching by the time they’d reached the infirmary. Turns out, being exploded hurts. Shouldn’t have been surprising as he’d been exploded before.

As Leo sat on the infirmary bed his mind was spinning. He thought through every piece of bronze, every gear, wondering what had gone wrong. He had double, scratch that, triple checked to make sure everything was in tip top shape. Yet something still went wrong, seemingly out of nowhere. He replayed when the fire broke out, despite his frantic waving and patting down of the fire it didn’t extinguish. The realization hit him like a semi truck.

“Greek fire,” he said out of nowhere while Jason and Will rushed around; checking that he and Nico weren’t severely injured.

“What?” Jason said, his hand freezing in place as he picked up a bandage.

Nico inhaled sharply, looking at Leo as if he immediately understood. After hanging out for so long Nico had learned how to understand whatever thought process Leo was on, “That’s what it was, that’s why it kept burning. Why was it in the chariot?”

“I don’t know,” Leo sighed. He racked his brain for any contraptions that would lead to the emergence of greek fire. But he was sure that it wasn’t built into his chariot at all. “I never used greek fire, I don’t get how it would just erupt like that…unless…”

Jason’s eyes widened, “Do you think someone put it there on purpose?”

Leo met his eyes, he knew an accusation like this was dangerous. It meant that someone intentionally sabotaged their chariot, in a way that could only be intended to kill.

“But why would someone try to hurt you with fire?” Jason asked.

Leo felt his heartbeat stick in his throat, “Maybe I wasn’t the one they were intending to harm.”

He looked over at Nico whose face was now unreadable.

“You’re saying someone tried to kill Nico?” Will asked, his tone laced with anger.

“That or they meant to injure him severely, I guess they didn’t account for the explosion preventions I had in place.” Leo replied.

“Explosion preventions?” Jason asked, his eyebrow tilting up in the way it always did when he was confused.

“Yeah, I figured with my track record i’d add an extra layer of protection. Something that would lessen the impact of a possible explosion. That’s why we went flying away and not…well everywhere.”

“First of all, that’s impressive.” Jason spoke, “Secondly, who would intentionally try to hurt Nico?”

No one answered. None of them could fathom the idea that someone in camp would deliberately do something like this. Leo grasped at straws to find meaning, to find an excuse as to why this happened. But there was nothing. He knew Nico had never done any harm to cause this, he’d been nothing but a hero. He thought that everyone knew that, that everyone should know that. So why did this happen?

“We should talk to Chiron,” Jason said, breaking the heavy silence that filled the room.

—

Will was fuming. Almost literally. He was sure if he’d been Leo his whole body would be aflame. The idea that someone had targeted Nico in such a way, was impossible for him to swallow. His anger felt hot, it bubbled up like a volcano inside of him. He could feel it ready to erupt any second as he dug his nails into his palm.

Then a light touch pulled him from his inner turmoil. A cold hand had slipped its way between his fingers, releasing the tension. Will looked over at Nico and felt a wave of guilt, he hadn’t thought about how Nico must be feeling now.

Years ago Will had told Nico that he was welcome at camp, that no one had pushed him away. Now someone had tried to kill him.

His guilt was followed by fear. Will tightly squeezed Nico’s hand, pouring every ounce of assurance into the touch and praying in his mind that this situation wouldn’t influence Nico to run away again. Just the thought of Nico suddenly disappearing like he had years ago made his heart feel like it was being suffocated slowly. He had to remind himself Nico was okay, he was right by his side.

Explaining what had happened to Chiron was the easy part, it was Dionysus who was difficult.

“We must find this traitor at once!” Mr D. stood up slamming the table, vines began to crawl up from the floor and around the table legs.

Will had never seen him so mad. Of course, if it were anyone else he’d probably just shrug it off. But this was Nico. So Mrs D. was reasonably pissed.

“We have to handle this carefully,” Chiron said; his eyes were filled with a deep sense of sadness and disappointment. He too couldn’t imagine why someone had done this.

“Carefully?” Mr. D asked, his eyes glowed with a dangerous hue of purple. “I say we round everybody up and unrelentlessly interrogate them until the rat comes out.”

“We cannot tortue innocent campers in hopes of finding the culprit,” Chiron calmly explained.

“We can’t. I can.”

“Then you would be punished by several angry gods.”

Mr D. had no response this time, sighing as he sat back down. The vines following suite as they shrank back into the floorboards.

“I don’t understand who would’ve done this, and why now?” Jason said, his eyes seemed to be clouded in worries.

“Leo, is there anyway this could’ve been a prank taken too far?” Chiron asked, there was a sort of desperation in his eyes.

“I really wish it was, but there’s no way they couldn’t of known about the precautions. I added the explosion barrier last second. The greek fire must’ve been somewhere near the engine, whoever put it there wanted the chariot to catch fire and explode. Midair,” Leos voice was somber, he leaned listlessly on his elbows which set on the table.

Jason watched Leo carefully, his face seemed to analyze Leo’s every movement, every word. Will recognized his attentiveness.

Chiron sighed, “We will investigate this. Perhaps there is someone, something, whispering things to the demigods again.”

“We can talk to Clovis,” Will added. “If it’s something to do with dreams or visions he might be able to help.”

Chiron nodded, “Just be careful. I don’t know how whoever did this will react if they catch on that we are suspicious.”

Will nodded, he couldn’t help but notice how silent Nico had been. He seemed to be lost in thought. Will wish he could crawl into his brain and disintegrate all the negative thoughts.

It appeared Mr D. was also concerned, his face flashed with worry as he looked over at Nico.

“We’ll talk to Clovis tomorrow,” Will made the executive decision. “You two need rest.”

Jason agreed, not allowing Leo to protest by quickly grabbing him and dragging him out the door way. “Let’s go hotshot.”

It was dark, a cold breeze blowing through camp as Will and Nico walked; a blanket of silence lay between them. Nico seemed to be trapped inside his mind again, his eyes dancing with unspoken worries.

“You okay?” Will asked as softly as possible, reaching out to touch Nico’s shoulder.

Nico nodded, “I guess.”

Will frowned, “You guess?” He expected Nico to lie and hit him with a ‘I’m fine’ like he normally did.

“I’m not sure what to think to be honest.” Nico replied, he began chewing on his bottom lip; a nervous habit Will had taken note of several times.

“Yeah...” Wills voice was quiet, his racked his mind for the perfect thing to say, but came back with nothing.

The two of them kept walking as Nico slightly leaned into Wills touch, despite his uncertainty he still sought comfort.

“I’ll stay in your cabin tonight,” Will paused, “to protect you.”

Nico face spread into a smile, a smile that punched Will right in his stomach. He felt a sense of relief to see him smile, “Yeah i’m sure that’s the reason.”

“What?” Will raised his hands in false defense, “It’s a perfectly reasonable excuse.”

“Uh huh, super convincing.” Nico’s voice was coated with sarcasm, which was a stark contrast to the smile that danced across his face.

“It’s an excuse that would hold up in court, you know i’m not a lawyer but I know these things-“

Nico cut him off by grabbing his hand, “Come on sunshine.” He tugged Will lightly towards his cabin, it was obvious he didn’t want to be alone. That’s not to say Will didn’t want to stay with him on his own accord, obviously it was a little bit for himself. But mostly for Nico, mostly.

—

“Gods Leo use your legs.”

“I can’t they feel like jello, my arms too, and my-my everything!” Leo whined as he let himself be dragged along by Jason.

“You sure you didn’t hit your head in the explosion too?” Jason feigned annoyance. He was intentionally bantering with Leo, trying to boost the mood. Anything that could distract him from the fact of a potential murderer in camp was good, and Leo was really good at distracting.

“I think the explosion hit everything,” Leo stumbled. Jason quickly caught him, snaking his hand around Leo’s waist. He hoped Leo couldn’t hear his heartbeat which was pounding so loudly in his ears.

“You’re clearly incapable of walking,” Jason sighed. He figured he was getting quite good at acting as he almost believed his own false annoyance. “Just let me carry you or at this rate we’re going to be eaten by harpy’s.”

Leo smirked, “If you insist.”

Leo was a light weight against Jason’s back as he locked his arms around Leo’s legs; and when Jason walked, Leo’s arms dangled from around his shoulders. Then with a sigh he rested his chin on the top of Jason’s head.

“Dang the weather is pretty nice up here,” Leo said, his hands absently drumming against Jason’s shirt.

“Enjoy it while it lasts,” Jason replied, earning a small thump against his chest.

Leo paused as he noticed where Jason was headed, “Correct me if i’m wrong, but this does not look like the way to my cabin.”

“Well..” Jason almost panicked looking for any excuse, “I figure you need to be watched over. You know, with your jello legs and brain.”

“Aww,” Leo teased, “are you scared?”

Jason tried to bite back a smile when his lame excuse succeeded. “Yes, terrified.”

“Don’t worry Jace, I’ll protect you from the big bad scary Zeus statue.” Leo giggled as he tightened his arms around Jason.

Jason smiled, he didn’t say the real reason he’d wanted Leo to stay with him. He didn’t say it was because he worried about his safety, that he didn’t want him beating himself up with guilt. Or that he’d seen Will sneak into the Hades cabin and felt a sense of envy.

Jason contentedly carried Leo on his back into the cabin; and as they entered Leo seemed to shrink against Jason whispering, “He’s looking at me,” before bursting into giggles.

“Now you know how I feel every night,” Jason complained. He walked over to his bed, where he’d recently gotten a divider; placing it so that his view of the statue was obscured. When he reached the bed he turned and promptly dropped Leo onto his bed.

“Ouch,” Leo said, sprawling out on the bed with his eyes closed and tongue stuck out as if he were emulating roadkill.

“Looks like jello boy died, what a shame.”

Leo opened one of his eyes and when he saw Jason was still staring at him he closed it again; a grin began spreading across his face, though he’d tried to hold back.

“You leave me no choice,” Jason rubbed his hands together, creating a harmless amount of static electricity. “Clear!” He called out thrusting his hands towards Leo.

A small shock was produced and Leo sprung up falling onto the floor with a yelp, pieces of his curly hair stuck up in the static.

Jason burst into laughter, almost doubling over as his whole body shook.

“What the hades man,” Leo looked up at him with wide eyes.

“I resurrected you,” Jason said between giggles. He’d laughed so hard his eyes began to water.

Leo stood up, patting down his hair. “Okay, i’ve been resurrected before and it did not feel like that.”

Jason shrugged, “What can I say? I’m too good.”

Leo shoved him lightly, pretending to be mad although he was still smiling. “Whatever, because of that you’re sharing the bed.”

“Fine.” Jason pretended it was an inconvenience. In reality he was desperate to be near Leo, to be by his side in any way possible. As close as possible. Leo emanated this warmth in a way Jason had become addicted to. It was a warmth that filled his bones and soul completely and fully.

So when Leo curled up next to him, it took all of Jason’s willpower not to wrap his arms around him and bask in the warmth. Just being beside him had to be enough, yet still he yearned for the full closeness.

Soon he heard the soft breathing from Leo next to him, the moonlight from the window filtering in and sparkling my across his face. His eyelashes look so delicate in the light and the splash of freckles across his face started to resemble a constellation. Jason almost hoped that the moment would last forever; that tomorrow wouldn’t come. He didn’t want to face the harsh truth that someone in camp had tried to hurt his friends. He didn’t want to leave Leo’s side. Not again. The fear of losing him was always so strong because he’d lost him before, they’d both lost each other. Now they were together again and Jason prayed that they could stay that way.

But he doubted anyone was listening to that prayer.

(Part Two)

#nico di angelo #heroes of olympus #nico pjo #pjo hoo #pjo series #solangelo #percy jackson #valgrace #leo valdez #leo pjo #jason grace #jason pjo #pjo hoo toa #will solace #will pjo #percy jackon and the olympians #tsats #pjo hoo toa tsats #trials of apollo #nico di angelo and will solace #my fic #fic #because we were robbed of valgrace and solangelo interactions #jason is alive because i said so #he ressurected or something #leo’s in love with jason #can you tell i was trying to be funny while writing in leo’s pov? #should i do a part two?

[asolareclipses]

True I guess it comes down to whether it only applies to the big three as they have this “big rivalry” or whatever, but Poseidon does seem a lot more chill so maybe it’s not an issue at all.

Here’s a headcanon I literally can NOT stop thinking about:

So i’m not sure if anyone’s brought this up before, but you know how Percy hates traveling in air as Zeus doesn’t like Poseidon (including his kids) and all that?

Well wouldn’t that be the same for Nico? Maybe even more so as Hades is one of the most hated on gods by the olympians. I imagine it’s the same in water too, Nico probably has bad luck in air and water.

While it’s never been mentioned (or at least I think it hasn’t let me know if i’m wrong) in the books, I feel like it would make sense.

It’s like…

Percy: No luck in air

Jason: No luck in water? (Roman gods could differ?)

Nico: No luck in air nor water

Of course Hazel too with air and water (her sea sickness?) though again i’m not sure if the Roman gods differ in this aspect.

And then pretty much no demigod has luck in the underworld unless they are a child of Hades/Pluto.

—

Adding on to this comes the head canon that Nico might not be welcome in Olympus unless it’s on a solstice, or he’s with his dad (like that time after the battle in manhattan).

It’s just the thought of Nico being afraid to go to Olympus because he feels like he wouldn’t be welcome. I could picture Zeus being unpleased by his presence since he already seems to dislike Percy so Nico might have it worse.

I can’t imagine he’d need to go to Olympus not on a solstice though, because most times they visit are on solstices (or after crazy battles with gods being there) but still it’s a thought.

I don’t know, maybe none of this makes sense but i’ve been going over all these rules for the big three and wondering how they affect the demigods.

Let me know what you think..