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anyoneseenadam · 3 years

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Home: Chapter eight

azriel x reader (acotar)

summary: (y/n) is a daughter of Persephone, still recovering from the trauma of her fall into Tartarus and doesn’t have time for a stupid, handsome, annoying, stunning, injured man. But now they’re stuck together in the middle of nowhere and there only chance of getting home is if she can heal him, and fast.

warnings: big spoilers for mark of Athena and house of Hades, also for the acotar series, eventual smut, blood, PTSD, graphic descriptions of violence, injuries and torture, enemies to lovers so az is a bit of a dick to start, swearing

word count: 1.6k

a/n: ahhh this is the last part and I’m kinda sad but at the same time I don’t want to drag it out, I also have a new idea for a dorian x reader so it’s a good thing to finsih one but am still sad. I hope you enjoy I made it extra fluffy (also had a cheeky wee hint back to the first part)

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You were sat in front of a large mirror, taking in your appearance as you listened to the noise downstairs, the hustle and sounds of people speaking as they rushed about in preparation a sharp contrast to the silence of your and Azriel’s shared room. The girl looking back at you in the mirror was beautiful. Her hair was pinned up, revealing a long neck adorned with a simple necklace your lover had gifted you. Your skin was clear as well, any blemishes you had, any scarring from acne you had picked at, was gone, replaced by dewy, glowing skin. In fact everything about you seemed to glow, your hair was shinier, your skin had a new ethereal sense about it, and you looked more like your mother than you ever had before.

You heard a clatter of plates downstairs and bit your lip with a slight smile, running your hands over you dress. It was baby pink, as you had commented that white may be a little on the nose, with a deep V-neck and white and pink flowers trailing down the heavy skirt, you had picked it out with the help of Feyre and Mor who had dragged you out shopping, giggling when you had stared in shock at the sheer number of dresses you only believed existed on Pinterest. You reached over the vanity and picked up the delicate gold dangling earrings that you had ‘bought’ (Azriel had technically bought them but you certainly paid him back) and put them on, gazing wistfully at your now pointed ears.

So much had changed so quickly. Azriel’s family were extremely welcoming, instantly treating you like they had known you forever. You became incredibly close with Cassian and Nesta, much to Azriel’s amusement, as you bonded over books with Nesta and a general love of Azriel with Cassian. Nesta was officially sold on you when she finished ‘Call Me by Your Name’ the day you gave it to her, the two of you discussing it all night as you made promises to find a way to show her the movie. Rhysand and Mor treated you like a sister, the three of you soon teasing each other, Amren genuinely laughing when you let loose your more creative insults. The only one who seemed reserved at first was Elain, but soon the two of you were spending hours in the garden as you taught her about the different needs that different plants had and how to grow them most effectively.

Azriel had never been more in love. He already knew you were mates but now that it was official, and possible, he felt like he was on cloud nine. He was in love with how quickly you feel asleep in his arms. The way you lit up when talking about your passions, hands moving widely. He was in love with the way your eyes sparkled constantly now, only rarely being overcome with shadows, ones that he had learned to help dispel, you were laughing more and had even started showing your back again. When you went to the House of Wind to train with Cassian and Azriel one summer afternoon you had removed your top, leaving you in a simple sports bra, not missing the mix of pride and desire in Azriel’s eyes as you continued your exercises.

“Can I ask what happened?” Nesta had asked late that day, Feyre looking up from her book, Nyx cradled in one arm. You had explained, and after, when you expected to be pushed away, Feyre had simply passed Nyx to Nesta and wrapped her arms around you, holding you for a long while, even when the Illyrians entered the room. When she pulled away you noticed the tears in her eyes and offered her a small smile, as she whispered to you.

“You’re with your family now, nothing like that will ever happen again.” And then you were crying too.

Now you were sat in your low-back dress with your hair up, scars on display for anyone to see. You had been woken at nine am by an excited chorus of fae women and all but shoved into a bath, your hair washed, and skin scrubbed until you felt new-born. You had been brought a strong, dark coffee and some honeyed toast as you sat soaking in the bath, your friends moving about outside tidying your room and fishing out everything you needed, before you were pulled from the bath and forced to dry. When you had walked back into the room, you found Mor wiggling her eyebrows as she passed you a bag which, on further inspection, you found contained an intricate set of baby blue lingerie making you laugh loudly as you thumbed the material. They had then crowded you, Nesta drying and styling your hair as Feyre did your face, treating it alike one of her beautiful paintings, Elain painting and filing your nails as Amren and Mor sat sipping on champagne, both donned in beautiful, dark silk dresses, as they discussed the day ahead. You felt alike a princess when they were done and had commented as much, gaining you a glass of champagne and a comment on how you looked like one too. However they soon left, claiming there was much to sort out downstairs and that they had no faith in the boys to get it sorted.

Now you were sat alone, your gaze had moved to outside your window where light snow had started falling. You stood and moved the open window, perching on the ledge, smiling when a robin landed next to you, flying to rest in your palm, it’s ruby coloured breast not making you flinch. You still had nightmares as you were still part god and probably always would have the dreams you had grown used to; however you were making progress.

“If you’re planning on running away that ledge is too high,” You smiled as you heard his voice, turning to see your beautiful mate smiling at you.

“Maybe Cassian can come and fly me out,” you challenged,

“Ha, ha.” He deadpanned and you giggled, standing to wrap yourself in his arms,

“In my world it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the service,” you whispered into his chest,

“This technically isn’t a wedding,”

“That’s a fair point,” you muttered, and he smiled down at you,

“It would be a shame to deprive me of this sight, you look beautiful princess,” he spun you out of his arms and you giggled, making his heart swell with love.

“It would, wouldn’t it?”

“C’mon, we should go soon, Cassian’s already crying,” you laughed and grabbed his hand as he pulled you along and down the stairs. You gasped when you reached the bottom, there were flowers everywhere, the whole room transformed into a fairy wonderland that made you feel giddy. You smiled when you saw that Cassian was in fact, already tearing up as he stood to greet you, complementing you and thanking you for making his brother so happy, you had laughed and shoved him away in your emotional state, not wanting to cry so early, as you moved to the sink in the room that was spraying a fine mist of water, creating a rainbow.

“Oh Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show me Nico Di Angelo, Camp half blood.” You threw in a golden drachma, the image wavered before revealing your friends and family on the other side, waving, and sending greetings. The inner circle came over and you all conversed for a while before Azriel was rather impatiently tugging on your hand and you moved onto the ceremony, with just your found families present. Having been raised mortal you insisted on exchanging rings, and Azriel was completely happy to oblige, obsessed with the feeling of pushing the ring onto your finger and kissing you, having someone that was wholly his, and who he was completely devoted to.

The rest of the day was spent curled under Azriel’s arm, sipping cocktails, and laughing as you were told all the most embarrassing things the inner circle could dig up. You ate delicious food and laughed with your friends, you heart aching at how naturally this happiness came to you now as you gazed at the man you loved.

You stood outside, breathing in the fresh air, and enjoying the slight chill that came through the thin shawl you had wrapped around you shoulders. Soon you felt a familiar hand press into your hip, pulling you into his side tightly. You looked up at him, still in wonder of how you landed such a beautiful man.

He caught your gaze, brushing a snowflake of your cheek and grabbing your hand, pressing a light kiss into the palm. “Penny for your thoughts?” He asked, gaze so full of love that tears welled up in your eyes.

“I’m just so glad you got stabbed,” you muttered, and he laughed before you continued, “I’m serious, I don’t know where I’d be if we hadn’t met, but you are everything to me and I’m so glad we pushed through, I’m so glad we fought to be together.”

“I love you.” He whispered into your hair as he pulled you in tightly, his scarred hands moving over your scarred back as you sighed, content.

“I love you.” You replied, pulling away and watching as a red admiral butterfly landed on a nearby poppy.

#acofas #acomaf #acotar #azriel #azriel x reader #acowar #heroes of olympus #acosf #acofs #rhysand

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mushroomxfrog · 3 years

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Why I'm disgusted by the Perry Jhonson movie-

Okay, so we all obviously agree. Without further ado, let's get into this:

Let's start with the characters. Okay, Percy's design . For some reason, the actor looks so... un-Percy! He just doesn't give me the 'Percy' vibe. Next, our girl Annabeth! i was so annoyed with her design. In the books, it's clearly given that Annabeth is BLONDE! Like seriously, come on! And Annabeth was just 'the badass love interest'... We didn't get to know anything about her, like she's afraid of spiders, and that her conflicts with her family, so we didn't have any sympathy for her. And Grover. I went mad on the spot and just didn't want to write this, because it actually broke my heart... Grover is supposed to be the cowardly, thin, and can't really defend himself from school bullies. But as the series goes on, he's a loyal friend, and a caring person..Ooops, I mean Saytr. But in the movies, he's just comical relief, and he's portrayed as a ladies' man. And they made him a butt-kicking badass too. In the books, he's far from that. He hardly ever says something funny { That's normally Percy's job } , And he only likes the hunters cuz they're relater to nature. And as i mentioned before, he's NOT a badass. I think, if given the right person to portray, Grover's actor in the movie would have excelled at Grover's personality. It's just fucking stupid. And Luke, he was a monstrosity. Luke seemed too evil, even at the start, he's supposed to be using trickery. Instead, you can already know just by watching the first bit that he's the villain. In the book, Percy and Annabeth hold hope that Luke is under the influence of Kronos or something. But in the movie, Annabeth and Percy immediately just start attacking Luke. Annabeth always holds out hope that Luke can be reformed, and Percy , he still tried to reform Luke in the sea of monsters { Book } but he gave up in the titan's curse. Annabeth still had hope, cos she still had a soft spot for him.

Anyways, let's get on with the plot.

Okay, first of all, where's Nancy Bobofit? Nancy is a red-head Kleptomaniac girl in the start of the books at Yancy academy. She always annoyed Percy and Grover. And not to mention that Yancy is a boarding school. And i just seemed like they were in a hurry at the start. When Percy's mother died, we didn't feel sorry for him because we didn't see how close they were. That's why the Montauk beach scene was included in the books.

Also, how did Percy defeat Annabeth in Capture the flag, when Annabeth has been training for years and Percy was only there for a day or so?

Next, The war and the promise on the River Styx was not a thing in the movie , so Zeus and the other gods knew from the first. And Ares was a second antagonist in the books, and gave Percy a bag with a indirect link , so The lightning bolt would appear once they got to the underworld, and Luke being on the side of Kronos was revealed later . In the movie, the bolt was concealed in a shield that Luke gave Percy .The plot was just over all basic and boring, and they only included the main things.

And Hades was actually a Villain in this, which was just straight up stupid. Seriously, the first movie didn't even include Kronos. My little sister watched the movies with me, and she didn't read the books, so she didn't understand at all. And Percy only consulted the oracle in the second movie.

And they made the characters 16, so that the prophesy would happen when they were 20. This annoyed me.

And the next thing that I'm going to address is the absolutely ridiculous thing that THE GODS COULD DIRECTLY HELP THEIR CHILDREN! Like come on. I liked that the gods couldn't do that, so we'd get only a vague message from them. It seemed more... Godly?

And The gods look horrible. They don't even look like Our leader described them. Where's Zeus's pinstriped Suit? All of the gods are in armor, and they don't look like themselves at all. Their personalities are different.

Hades: Any hope that it would be a faithful adaptation died when Hades revealed himself. I mean give the god a break. He's been portrayed as demonic and hellish in just about every script put to film. He's actually a caring father { iSh } to Nico when he appeared in the 'blood of olumpus'. And then somehow They switch to Kronos as the villan. It's lazy as hell.

Pesephone... this part of the film is set in the Summer time, this undermines a huge part of Persephone's mythology, which dictates that she stays with her mother in the Spring and Summer; only spending the harsher months with Hades, and she isn't supposed to be so, Yk, Badass. And her having a crush on Grover is just.. Well, stupid.

and CHB IS NOT ON A HILL! It's just fucking stupid .And the sets of the best school ever { Hogwarts is in second place }are horrible, WHERE ARE THE STRAWBERRIES? The setting of CHB is described in the books amazingly, but here, it's just weird. And Thalia's tree was not mentioned.

And a lot of things were not here, but were mentioned in the second movie. And , there are many more reasons the first movie was horrible. But then the director , had the god damn nerve to make a second movie. Rick Riordan has made it clear he is not proud of how the movies turned out, and as such the fandom took his word and through their own experiences of reading the books and watching the movies, they can tell that it was bad. Rick Riordan even offered to write them a new script, but the idiot of a director refused.

The acting was a bit dull, it seemed like they weren't exited. Let's compare this to Harry Potter. The actors had a great time on set, and their acting was amazing.

People have said, 'Wow, the Percy Jackson fandom think they're so superior just because they read the books and they get all angry because the movie isn't EXACTLY IDENTICAL as them' But it's not that. While watching it, I felt disgusted, disgraced, and almost betrayed. It felt like they took my fragile, innocent, childhood and treated it like it was some beat-up barbie doll! It did no justice and everything was just WRONG!

the movies are good, if you haven't read the books. If you have, just avoid the movies. If you haven't read the books and are not planning on reading them, go for it. It's not bad. But note that its nothing like the books. So when PJO fans are talking abt PJO, don't butt in. You know nothing. And they will rip you to shreds like a Kindly One

Thank you .

#percy jackson #percy jackson movies #percy jackson series

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percyjacksonfan3 · 3 years

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The Last Olympian Thoughts

So because I have absolutely 0 self-control or restraint when it comes to this series and its characters, and for The Last Olympian in particular, I could not put TLO down. Because of this I figured I couldn’t do the usual photo reaction posts I have been so far, because the spam would just be ridiculous, so I am stealing the idea from @yourstrulytaaay to do a masterpost instead. (Adding a Read More cause this got ridiculously long)

Fun fact, TLO came out right after i finished reading the series for the first time so it's the first PJO book i bought and my only hard cover one for the og series. I checked the year and turns out it was published 2009, which means i was actually 9 when i read the series for the first time. I realize this is not really a fun fact but i thought i was older when I first read the series so it's blowing my mind a little ‘cause now I’m 21 and everything hits different and i still have so much love for this series and the characters Okay onto book thoughts: - i was right that this book is gonna destroy me, the first line alone made me so excited and nostalgic it's ridiculous - I love Rachel and Percy sm tbh. Her being a bit of peace and normalcy in his life without always reminding Percy of who and what he is is so good for him. Just a little escape

- of course by the end of the book that's not the case any more but by the end he's lived his prophecy so he doesn't need it as badly, plus he and Annabeth are solid again - Percy saying Annabeth has been hard to be around lately... Ouch my heart. Luke really is the last thing that keeps them from being together and Percy is so jealous and Annabeth so torn and in pain, i feel so bad for them both

- Beckendorf 🥺🥺 - the telkhine with the Lil Demon lunchbox!! I forgot about him. Percy: 'i left him alive, partly because his lunchbox was cool' is one of my absolute favourite lines tbh - Paul taking Percy crabbing and being imperative in helping Percy kill the giant crab 💖 Paul Blofis is important and deserves the world, okay? - aw Percy, you can't save every demigod bb

- 'i had to fight him eventually. Why not now?... What difference would a week make?' Oh Percy you have no idea - real talk tho, the fact Kronos possessed Luke's body would also mess me tf up. Percy keeps forgetting it's not Luke anymore and yeah, that would be so so hard and confusing af, like what another smart little mind game for Kronos to pull on top of everything else - the fact Percy fights Kronos before getting the Achilles Curse and actually doesn't die within seconds is... Astounding. He kicks him in the chest! And yeah Kronos is weaker and still adjusting to Luke's body, but Percy is having trouble fighting Luke cause they used to be friends - Percy breaks Kronos' time magic!! Like?! Boy is POWERFUL.

- OUCH - honestly Luke, Thalia and Annabeth's family breaking the way it did... Don't talk to me. Poor Annabeth, Luke betrayed them, Thalia joined the Hunters because of Luke's betrayal so she's pretty much AWOL all the time and then Luke dies. Like Rick wtf, my heart can't take it? -Percy and Tyson having each others backs when talking to Poseidon in the underwater palace is the brother-brother relationship we love to see - Percy trying to stick a sand dollar in the vending machines at school 🤦🏻‍♀🤦🏻‍♀ - the whole underwater interaction at Poseidon's palace? Perfection. Awkward family drama and all - Connor falling out of the tree when he sees Percy because he's so excited 😂😂

- 😭💖

- k, ik Clarisse isn't perfect but tbh if i was a child of Ares whose father was disrespected and hated by my fellow campers (ares deserves it but still) and that disrespect trickled down to how the other campers treated ME (which if Percy is reliable here, it obviously does) then i would also be irritated at being used for muscle and nothing else? And just expected to fight with the people who act as if they'd rather not have Ares kids around the rest of the time. Like Clarisse isn't totally wrong - Percy reading the prophecy, seeing he's meant to die and just being like 'i do not see it' and refusing to outright think about it makes me so sad for him - (but it taints every action after and he's super reckless afterwards bc of it- including finally breaking and accepting the Achilles Curse) - (also him taking this as the last straw and finally beginning to show Annabeth how he really feels, cause fuck it, he's dying anyway) - Give me more info about Rachel's backstory and family Rick!! - how did i forget Percy willingly eats chocolates that taste like cardboard because 'i didnt have anything against cardboard' like sir? Ik Silena didn't want them but still? - 'she'd always been cute, but she was starting to be seriously beautiful' STOP, MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT - Percy staring at Annabeth and forgetting what they're talking about cause hes so distracted 👌🏻

- hmm yeah... For some strange reason.... - i forgot how Percy totally bombs this convo bw them and now want to cry 😭 Annabeth is trying to talk about what's important and Percy, you sweet oblivious man, you're shooting her down without even realizing - love that they're both on the same wavelength tho. Percy two lines before, hmm it's cool to date ppl from other cabins, wonder why im thinking that around Annabeth, my best friend in the world, and then Annabeth a beat later, hmm, let me bring up Silena and Beckendorf and how it's important to be with the people you love when you have the chance, no way Percy will miss this huge hint right? - they're the best - k i honestly forgot Percy full on physically intimidates Leneus like that - luke telling his mom if he ran away the monsters wouldnt get her..i can just imagine luke crying when he says good bye before running away because he thinks it's his fault his mom is like that and he cant take care of and protect her anymore because it's too hard - uh oh now i have angsty pre-lightning thief luke fic inspo... Him, Thalia and Annabeth on the run... The ANGST - Rick holds absolutely nothing back in this book and i am in pain - HESTIA!! 💖💖🥰 - actual loml - i love that Rick titled this book after her and that he wrote such a great series about the importance of family (biological, found or otherwise) and home, and that he said actually Hestia is the most important bc shes the most humble and keeps the peace and knows when to fight and when to yield and you protect what you love, which is your home - i just... Adore Hestia - Grover! Missed you babes - Hades is so so horrible to Nico, always comparing him to Bianca :/ - but i do love Hades, Persephone and Demeter together they make me laugh - oh god the River Styx - Achilles 🥺 - Annabeth being Percy's lifeline is, and continues to be, A Lot™ - 'my name was Percy Jackson. I reached up and took Annabeth's hand.' LOL Why am i crying? - Like the fact there is no Percy without Annabeth, and that remembering her literally reminded him of who he is in his very soul... It's fine im fine - i won't even get into the parallels of her being his lifeline now and then later when Hera takes his memories but leaves the memory of Annabeth for Percy to fight to get back to (anyone who wants to yell about it with me... Feel free to message) - badass Percy is my fav Percy tbh - him defeating Hades?? Like? Hades is arguably the most powerful god, okay - i feel bad for Nico but if i was Percy I'd do the exact same, Nico, sorry man but this is a high stakes time crunch deal and Nico is literally the only hope of persuading Hades and distracted by his own internal stuff - flashbacks to Luke, Thalia and Annabeth hurt, ow - George and Martha are the best - damn i forgot Hermes full on nearly kills Percy here, yikes - Luke stop cockblocking Percabeth challenge

- i love!! Percy's love for New York!! So much!! - Percy leaving to live in New Rome in HoO is a lie and this is all the proof i need for why - the fact the entire last half of the book is the battle and aftermath... Such great buildup and pacing. All the tricks and twists and battles in this War of Manhattan? I would not take out a thing, Rick, you legend - of course then the final battle in hoo with the gods is what? Two pages? Ugh, don’t talk to me about my hatred for BoO and HoO - 'no detours you two' is still the cutest thing!!! - THE HUNTERS!! Thalia i missed you - good job Percy, you finally spent your sand dollar - Minotaur!! - 'dont i get a kiss for luck? Its kind of a tradition right?' Percy finds out he's gonna die and is out of fucks to give and honestly I support him - also Michael just standing beside these two while they're flirting like umm 👀 👀 while a monster army marches towards them, nbd - Annabeth taking Ethan's knife meant for Percy!!! Cause she just knows his weak spot without him even telling her! They literally invented love - Feral Percy is so scary omg, i love how well Rick incorporates the Achilles Curse in this novel, with the whole heightened weaknesses and stuff ans the parallels to Achilles arrogance being what killed him and Percy's loyalty, fierceness and protective instinct being his own heightened weakness - the fact that Percy is the one who inadvertantly kills Michael Yew tho, I'll never recover from that - the fact Hades offers Maria di Angelo a golden palace by the Styx like how Poseidon offers Sally a palace under the sea tho. Let's talk about that parallel - the entire talk with Prometheus is so so good - not me picturing young Luke hiding in the closet to get away from his mom when she has an 'episode' -i love callbacks in stories and all of the callbacks to the rest of the series in this book make me very happy (medusa, minotaur, the underworld, Rainbow!! My baby!!, Daedalus and more) - Percy summoning a wholeass hurricane against Hyperion - the Party Ponies! They're so chaotic, i love it - Dionysus! 😁 I can't help it, i love him - Percy absolutely losing it when he sees Sally and Paul asleep in the car 🥺 - Rachel telling Percy he's not the hero screws with him so much :( poor bb - although i really really love how Rick wrote this, it's so refreshing to not have one chosen one save the world, but a combination of people - the drakon, Silena and Clarisse make me cry - the Patrochilles references, im not okay - Annabeth giving up on Luke after hearing what he did to Silena and Percy telling her that doesn't make him happy 😭 that whole interaction makes my heart ache - Percy giving Hestia Pandora's pithos 🥺 - and Hades, Nico and the others coming for a final attack is so badass, i love it - listen im glad the og trio were the ones to confront Luke on Olympus but the fact Thalia got so close and then pinned by a statue of HERA makes me so sad. Ik her and Luke were finished and she coped by cutting him off completely and giving up all hope but i would pay money to know what they would have said to each other to say goodbye - Ethan 🥺 - Poseidon joining the fight against Typhon is so cool, such a great scene - 'PEANUT BUTTER!' - Annabeth you brilliant badass you - RIP Luke, you werent great but you werent the worst either - the gods just rolling up seconds too late, wondering wtf happened in Olympus and who the dead body is - the chapter where the Olympians meet and give out rewards is one of my absolute favourites (again i am incensed we didn't get anything like this in HoO) - will Percy turning down immortality ever not make me scream in glee? No? Alright then - Annabeth being relieved like Percy was relieved at the end of Titan's Curse tho - oh Hermes :/ - its so hard reading all this and knowing what comes in HoO... Like it's such a cathartic, earned and mostly happy and peaceful ending and then HoO comes along and undermines it all - aww Rick let Paul see Olympus somehow pls, he deserves it, he killed a dracanae - (i would also love to see it) - Percy being more upset Rachel took his pegasus than her going to Camp and possibly dying, lol, priorities dude - i honestly think that Rick had other ideas for the second Great Prophecy and how things would go down in BoO, cause the prophecy like... Barely applies to BoO, Doors of Death are in book four, and explabations of it is all so unclear when Rick is usually pretty good with that stuff - PERCABETH - lol Percy complaining about privacy when he and Annabeth are caught kissing literally in the middle of the very open and public dining pavilion, okay - BEST UNDERWATER KISS OF ALL TIME - that's it and im a glass case of emotion - very happy to say that this series remains my favourite of all time 💖

If anyone ever wants to come gush about anything Riordanverse related feel free, because as you can see I have a lot of thoughts about it all

#lau rereads pjo #the last olympian is my favourite book for a REASON #honestly every line is killer #so much subtext to read into #the dialogue #the relationships are dialed up to 11 #every character is so on point #the battle strategies too? are just so interesting?#I just adore it #Tay don't read any of this yet cause it's all spoilers #alright I'm gonna go write fic to express these feelings now #tlo #the last olympian #pjo #pjato #percy jackson

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aiyaar · 3 years

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Merry Christmas everyone!💫💕 Hope you're having an amazing Christmas with the people you love. Here's my Christmas gift for y'all. Solangelo celebrating Christmas 🖤💛🌲💫

Ariana Grande- Love Is Everything

Nico woke up the next morning, feeling so much happiness. Sunlight streamed throught the curtains and shone in his eyes. Apollo had already started his day.

Nico felt a hand in his hair and rolled over, meeting with sky blue eyes.

“Merry Christmas.” Will whispered, smiling at him.

“Merry Christmas.”

Nico lifted himself a little bit, resting his chin on Will’s chest, drawing his finger around the tattoo on his left pectoral.

“Still can’t believe it’s real.” Nico said, raising on elbow and looking Will in the eyes. ”You’re real. And I’m finally home. With you.”

Will lay on his back, entangling his long fingers in the black curls.

“A whole month.” He said, cupping Nico’s face with his hands. “So many things we can do. But all I want is to lie in the bed like this with you.”

“I’d like to spend the whole Christmas day like this.” Nico said, feeling Will’s scent. He always smelled like morning dew, grass and medicaments.

“But we have a lot to do.” Nico felt Will’s chest lifting up a little with a sigh. “Mom’s been calling since 6 a.m. And I promised Kayla and Austin we will visit camp today. Dad will come too.”

“Yeah.” Nico smiled, thinking about Naomi. Will had an amazing mother. “I also need to see Hazel.”

“Then I’ll go and make us breakfast. After that we’ll go celebrating Christmas with our families.”

Will tried to get up but Nico was still lying on top of him.

“Or we can cuddle ten more minutes.”

“Okay.” Will chuckled, lying down and kissing Nico’s forehead. “Ten more minutes.”

Ten minutes grew into an hour, so now they were driving on the highway to see Will’s mother. And they were late

They were wearing the sweaters Naomi made for them last year: Nico’s was black, with a skull in a Christmas year and Will’s yellow, reindeers on his sweater were circling around an embroidered bright sun.

Naomi Solace opened the door, wearing a red dress and an apron. Her auburn hair were gathered in a bun.

“Boys!” She cried, hugging them both. She smelled like cookies and chocolate. “Come in, come in. I have so many things to ask you. Nico, how’s there in Venice?”

Nico always loved that atmosphere that was in the air in Will’s childhood house on Christmas. It was special.

Naomi kept asking about Nico’s college, Venice, Will’s exams. She told them about many Christmas concerts she had. They were talking, laughing, singing.

The camp Half-Blood was always quiet on Christmas. There were like twenty people who stayed and Nico loved that calmness around the camp.

Walking to the Big House, Nico had so many memories. There’s the lake, where he and Will like to go on a canoe date. Here’s his cabin, no one lived there for a couple of years. He looked at the dining pavilion, a hole he made in a Christmas day many years ago, the worst day of his life. He looked at the Big House and could almost see teenagers Will and Nico playing this stupid card game with Dionysus on the porch.

Nostalgia flooded his heart and tears appeared in his eyes as he remembered the first day he saw this mazing place. It was ages ago but he remembered it as if it was tomorrow.

Will took his hand and Nico knew that Will had the same sweet ache in his heart.

Chiron galloped on the snowy meadow, greeting them and wishing merry Christmas. Dionysus looked as grumpy as usual but he felicitated them and gave Nico a candy cane. Nico never understood it but Dionysus had grown to care about Nico as if he was his son. Ever since that Tartarus thing… No, he told himself, don’t think about it.

They met Apollo on the archery spot.

“My boys!” He hugged Will and kissed the top of Nico’s head. Nico got used to this, the sun god has been doing this every time he saw Nico after the battle in the tower of Nero. It was sort of a habit.

“You guys look so good.” Apollo beamed at them. “How have you been? My boy was probably dying there without his cute little boyfriend on his side.” Apollo petted Nico’s cheek. Nico should’ve already get used to it but he still blushed.

After Apollo they met Piper and Leo, who returned to camp to work on some secret project or whatever. Then they met Kayla and Austin and went to the dining pavilion to drink eggnog together.

The next stop were Jacksons. Sally’s greeting was as warm as usual. She almost treated Percy’s demigod friends as if they are her own children. Estelle was already six and she kept clinging to Nico, ranting about everything.

Will and Annabeth were discussing something about colleges, while Percy told Nico about New Rome, the huntresses and all that he missed when he was in Venice.

“Thank the fates there’s no titans, giants and gods who seek for help this year.” Percy said, snatching a cookie from Sally’s tray. “It’s been calm for years.”

“Hey.” Nico slightly hit him on the head. “Don’t jinx it, idiota. “

Percy rubbed his head, pouting a little but couldn’t argue with di Angelo.

They didn’t stay for a long time in Hades place. It wasn’t in the Underworld, no. He had a luxurious house, little gloomy but snug in the living world. Nico always felt uncomfortable when Demeter was around, so he was happy it was only his father and Persephone.

His stepmother wasn’t that horrible now, after all these years she had grown to maybe like Nico and Will, being the son of a son god, had a good effect on her flowers, so she didn’t mind them visiting sometimes. As a Christmas present she gave Nico a whole bouquet of roses and he had no idea what to do with them. The bouquet was two big and Will said it was cute how when Nico hold it, his face couldn’t be seen and roses almost overbalanced them.

It was the most awkward meeting this Christmas. Hades had gave Nico too many presents: the brand new IPhone that came out like yesterday, new watches (Nico didn’t even wear watches) and transferred more money to his bank account. Knowing that Nico, didn’t like driving, he solemnly handed over new car keys for Will, staying that the car was already on the parking lot of their house. Hades gave Will a new car every Christmas, since he was 17 and Will didn’t know what to do with them all. When they tried to sell one, Hades took offense, so they had to keep them.

Besides the present he kept glaring at Will as if he did something bad and even though they’ve been together for five years now, he asked what was his actual intentions, while Persephone gave Nico a lecture about why they should have more flowers in home.

They walked out of Hades’ place embarrassed, as usual.

The New Rome was, unlike Camp Half-Blood, very animated. The Christmas was in the air.

Huntresses of Artemis came by, having a day of. Nico was happy to chat with Reyna but he kept looking for one particular person in the crowd.

Jason told him he’ll come back to America too and will celebrate Christmas in New Rome.

Nico looked around, suddenly yelping when someone hugged him from the back, lifting him from the ground.

“Jason!” Nico laughed.

“Hey, lil bro.” Jason smiled, petting his head. “Hello, Will.” He gave Will a high-five.

“How are you? How’s London.” Nico asked, when they sat down on the bench.

“Everything’s cool. A little busy, though. I won’t be able to stay for too long.” Jason answered.

“Well,” Will faced Jason. “You definitely have to visit us before you leave.”

“Yeah.” Nico said. “Anything new in your…personal life?” Nico asked curiously.

Jason laughed softly.

“Maybe.” Nico squinted at him. “Come on, you know I’d tell you if it was serious.” But Jason looked slightly embarrassed. “Ugh, so… Did you guys see Hazel already?”

“Nah.” Nico said. “Reyna said she and Frank are a little busy now.”

“I wonder what are they busy with.” Will chuckled, making both Jason and Nico’s eyes widen.

“Will!”

A half an hour later, Hazel and Frank finally walked out of their praetor house. Frank squeezed Nico and Will in a bear hug, Hazel kissed Nico on the check and hugged Will.

“Gods, I’ve missed you.” She said, taking Nico’s hand. “How’s college?”

They walked together, Nico talking about his year in Venice, Will about his exams and stuff. Frank told them that he’s been planning to go back to Canada next year. He wants to join an army.

“Really?” Nico was a little shocked. “But what about your praetor position.”

Frank looked around, observing the camp as the stood on the hill.

“There’s a lot of worthy guys. Lavinia, for example.” He sighed. “We were just thinking about trying to have our own life, you know? No war, no gods.”

Will looked at Hazel.

“So you’re leaving too?”

Hazel looked a little sad but a gleam lightened in her eyes.

“I want to go to college. In Canada. We’re planning to move together.” She looked at Nico, as if expecting his reaction. He took her hand.

“That’s great! I’m sure you guys we’ll be fine.”

Hazel smiled at him, resting her curly head on her brother’s shoulder.

They drove back home in silence, a warm feeling in their hearts.

“You know.” Nico started, looking at Will. “Five years ago I couldn’t imagine it’ll be like this.”

Will quickly glanced at him, then returning his eyes on the road.

“What do you mean?”

Nico sighed, closing his eyes.

“I have everything now, you know. And it scares me, how fast the nights are changing. I still remember the Battle of Manhattan, as if it was yesterday. And here we are now. And all this changes, they are… Scary. Me living in Venice, you here, Hazel and Frank leaving to Canada. Even Percy and Annabeth are planning to move somewhere else. And what if with all these changes… we’ll lose each other?”

Will removed one hand from the steering wheel, resting it on Nico’s lap. He slowed down the car a little and looked at Nico.

“I know what you mean. Ever since you went to college, it’s been bothering me. But you know what?” Will smiled, squeezing Nico’s hand. “No matter what, we are family. All of us. This Christmas all I can think about is family. My mom, dad, siblings. You. You and your friends, your sister. Even your father.” Will chuckled. “We all are family. And it doesn’t matter where we live and what we do. We’re always together.”

Nico fell silent for a moment, thinking about Will’s words. Then he smiled.

“Right.” He rubbed Will’s hand with a thumb, feeling his warmth. “Family.”

So many years Nico spent looking for something, that will make him feel calm. Happy. He had friends, sister. He met Will. And on this Christmas evening he finally found the right word. They were together, no matter what. Jason, Reyna, Percy. Will’s parents and Nico’s parents. Hazel and Frank. And, most important, Will. He had them all. They were his actual family.

Nico closed his eyes, feeling drowsy as the car wiggled a little. He used to wonder how his life would go if Bianca was with him. But now it didn’t matter. All the things he’s been through was perfectly safe in his heart and he loved them. His life led him to something wonderful.

Eight years passed since the worst Christmas of his life. And today was probably the best Christmas he’d ever had.

Yes, it didn’t matter if he was in Venice, Will in America and Hazel in Canada. It didn’t matter where his family was. As long as love lived in his heart, they are together.

Nico opened his eyes, glancing at Will, who was concentrating on the road. He smiled, closing his eyes again.

Family, he thought as he fell asleep, still feeling Will’s hand in his own.

(Thank you guys for supporting and reading my blog. I've started it few month ago and there's already so many of you! Thank you so much 💕💕💕💕 Merry Christmas guys

#heroes of olympus #percy jackon and the olympians #nico di angelo #percy jackson #pjo/hoo #jason grace #solangelo #will solace #frank zhang #annabeth chase #piper mclean #leo valdez #hazel levesque #reyna avila ramirez arellano #trials of apollo

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pls-let-me-out · 3 years

Text

Invisible String

23rd of December

“Will?” Niccolò mumbled, as the other climbed in the bed. His words were slurred by tiredness and sleepiness. “Did you talk with your family?”

Will nodded, hugging the blankets around himself. It was warm enough to fall asleep in a second. He didn’t want to, not yet, not when they had so little left, so he kept his eyes open, just for a little while. He could only make out Niccolò’s shape in the darkness of the room.

“Yeah. They’re doing fine.” Will’s throat was still dry, his breath uneven.

Niccolò’s voice was little and soft when he said, “Will, have you been crying?”

Will nodded. For a moment, the air around them turned stiff and awkward, then Niccolò turned on his side, and held out an arm. It was scary, how Will didn’t think twice about it, before diving right in. His body fit perfectly against Niccolò’s. It hurt Will’s heart in a way he had never experienced before.

Slow, soft, gentle. Everything Niccolò’s fingers were, when they sneaked to Will’s curls and massaged his scalp.

“Do you miss them?” His words tasted of the minty toothpaste they used.

Will nodded. “Yeah. I just–I think that–can I tell you something else?”

“Of course you can, principino.”

Will took a deep breath. “I don’t talk to my parents anymore. My father is a thoughtless bastard, as you’ve gathered. My mother just–I don’t think she really sees me. I’m just the result of her relationship with my father, and they didn’t really have the best thing going on. They fought a lot, fucked up a lot. But they were soulmates, so they had to stay together, you know? They had to make it work, because it’s your soulmate or nothing. If your soulmate can’t love you, then no one can.” Will sniffled. He snuggled closer to Niccolò, the hand around his hip tightened. “And people look at them, and keep saying that it’s true love, how they finally renounced the pieces of each other they loved, because they were ruining the rest. And maybe it is, maybe that’s what true love is about. But it still hurt me, you know?” His throat was dry when he swallowed. “I’m sorry I hated you before even knowing who you were.”

“You hated me?” There was no hurt in his voice, but Niccolò was good at hiding his emotions.

“I did. I thought you would treat me like my dad treated my mother, or how my mother treated my dad. That we would ruin the people around us. I thought we’d make something horrendous.” The realization hit him suddenly. Or maybe not suddenly at all, as it was a thought that had been building up in his head for days. “I don’t think we did, though.”

“And that’s good, right?”

Will closed his fist around Niccolò’s shirt. His warmth passed through the soft fabric, Will wanted to bury himself in it, let it warm him from inside out. “It is. What did you think about soulmates?”

For a moment, Niccolò’s fingers stilled. “I liked the idea, someone to love you no matter what.” His voice had never been so vulnerable before. “My father and Persephone are soulmates, much to her mother’s displeasure. But he had three children out of wedlock. Bianca was the eldest of us, before Persephone came in the picture. Mom got pregnant with me little before she and my dad broke it off. They did before he and Persephone found each other, but he got scared or some shit, and met Hazel’s mother.”

Will caressed Niccolò’s collarbones. He realized he was doing it only when Niccolò’s breath hitched. He blushed, but didn’t stop. Niccolò didn’t ask him to either.

“I thought Hazel was Persephone’s child,” Will revealed.

Niccolò skin was covered in goosebumps. He hummed. “She is barren. That’s why I’m heir to the throne. She sees a child in Hazel, sometimes.”

“But you lived in Venice not in Elysium when you were little, didn’t you?”

Niccolò took a deep breath. “With my mom and sister. Sometimes Bianca traveled to Elysium. I never did. Persephone could like Bianca. Everyone could, really. She was kind and gentle, but fierce. She couldn’t stand injustice. She wanted to be a lawyer, study the law.”

Will smiled in the darkness. “What did you want to be?”

“Prince. And when I couldn’t be, I wanted to be a pirate.”

Will chuckled around a yawn. “You are prince now.”

“Because there was no other choice. I wanted–when you said you’d be a doctor to make your grandparents proud, I was a hypocrite. When I was younger, I only wanted to be prince so that my father would be proud of me. So he could look at me, and think I wasn’t a total waste of space. And the people of Elysium wouldn’t only see their king’s bastard child in me.” As he talked, Niccolò’s fingertips tapped on Will’s hip. “I lived in exile, and after they took my sister from me, they took me, too. My mother’s body was long since cold when I moved to Elysium. They just made me pack my bags, and now we don’t talk about the fact that I used to have a whole other life.”

“Do you miss it?”

“I don’t remember enough to do that. I spent so much time not thinking about it, that when I try to now, I just can’t recall more than bits and pieces.” His breath shook. “I remember running down Canal Grande in Venice. The sun on my back, and my own laugh. Bianca’s smile when she turned and looked back at me. Our mother shouting. I don’t even know if that memory is real, or if I was so lonely, I created it.” He stayed silent for a long moment, and Will thought he had fallen asleep. “If that was real, then I miss it. If it wasn’t, I miss it anyway.”

Will rubbed his cheeks away against the mattress, hoping Niccolò hadn’t noticed.

“There’s something I haven’t told you,” Will said. “About my parents. About who I am.”

“I know.”

Will’s whole body went stiff. “You know?”

“I know you haven’t told me something. You don’t have to tell me, though.” Niccolò passed his fingers through Will’s hair. “I’ll trust you, if you’ll let me.”

Less than an hour earlier, Will had talked to Drew about Sherman, about dating someone else, but the thought stayed far from his head as he snuggled even closer to Niccolò.

“Thank you,” was all he said. And then he felt something tug in his chest.

Longing. More. He wanted more. He was hugging Niccolò in his bed, and they were alone, and Will hadn’t wanted to find his soulmate, but his soulmate was Niccolò and he had never stood a chance against something so big. His walls had crumbled down, and he had been too blind to notice.

“We shouldn’t do this,” Will said, his words whispered against Niccolò’s skin. “We shouldn’t do this when there’s not a chance for us.”

“Tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll wake up and we won’t do this anymore.”

“It’s already tomorrow.” Will sniffled. “I used to play a game with my brothers, when our–my parents fought loudly. One had to choose a letter, and the others named a city and an animal with that letter.”

Niccolò hummed. “P.”

Will bit the inside of his cheeks. “You need to?”

Niccolò took a moment to understand, and when he did, he broke out laughing. “Stop being an asshole.”

“Alright. I’d like to live in Philadelphia, with a, uh. What animals are there with the letter p? Uh.” Will furrowed his eyebrows, pouting in the dark. “You ruined the game.”

“You just suck.” He groaned, as though he were lifting something heavy. “Paguro.”

“What?”

“It’s an animal with a p. It means, uh, hermit crab.”

“Such a cultured man.”

And Niccolò laughed. They kept on talking for a bit, and Niccolò said he’d like to live in the outskirts of Austin, Texas, and be a farmer. He wanted to have an alpaca.

“What are you laughing at?” Niccolò asked when the silence was broken by Will’s raucous laughter.

“You just make me laugh.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. A lot.”

“But like, are you laughing with me or at me?”

And Will laughed again.

“Persephone called me. There’s a flight booked for you on the twenty-sixth of December. Four in the morning.”

“Oh.”

“There’s still three days before that, though.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“We should do the gift exchange. Between the two of us. We’ll be here on Christmas, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then do your worst. The one who picks the worst gift wins.”

Mornings had never felt as long as the one they spent apart. From the moment they stepped out of the house, Will’s mark began burning slightly.

“I think the bond has settled,” Nico said when they met up in the restaurant for lunch. “For me, at least.”

Will spoke in a breath. “Me too.” He smiled, but it turned bitter quickly. “It’ll hurt when we separate.”

“What if we don’t?” Nico asked. His heart thrummed in his chest, as he leaned forward a little, his elbows on the table. “There will always be a place for you in Elysium, you know?”

“My life isn’t there,” Will said. “I–I don’t want to be a doctor, but I also don’t want to–I have my life in New York.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Nico smiled, but it didn’t meet his eyes. “It was just a stupid idea, anyway. I mean, it will hurt, but it’ll pass eventually. We won’t even remember it’s there.”

“I will,” Will said softly. “I won’t just forget about it.”

Nico didn’t have anything to say to that. They ate in silence.

24th of December

“You can say it when you want something,” Reyna said. “It doesn’t make you selfish. And even if it does, it’s okay to be sometimes, for the things that are worth it.”

Nico clutched the phone tighter. “He doesn’t want to come to Elysium.”

“Convince him somehow. Or you could go to New York, frequent university there. It’s an option.”

“But then what? University doesn’t last forever.”

“What you have with Will, could that be forever?”

“I don’t know. Sometimes–sometimes I think it might be. As a friendship.”

“Are you saying that because friendship is all you both want, or because it’s what people expect of you?” Her soft smile was heard even through the phone, and was reflected in her tone. “It’s your life, live it as you deem, not as people tell you.”

“I know. I just–I don’t even know if he could ever like me like that.”

Reyna huffed. “Self-deprecation isn’t a good look on anyone, Nico. Does he know you like him like that?”

“Oh my God, I don’t like him!”

She groaned, but almost sounded like a laugh. “Nico.”

“Alright, he doesn’t of course. We talked about it once, and we both said we weren’t ready for a relationship. Maybe he even has someone back home.”

“Have you seen articles recently? Because I sure as hell hope he hasn’t, or that if he has you two have talked about it. Someone said you have a girlfriend, probably to cover up the possibility of you and Will choosing to have a romantic bond.”

“He wouldn’t like that. His parents were soulmates, and they fought a lot and–he just wants to be friends.”

“It seems to me, like you’re hiding behind well-crafted excuses.”

“It’s true.”

“I’m not saying it isn’t, I’m just saying that you’re using it as an excuse. You like him, and what if he likes you?”

“Even if he did, we could never be together. He lives in New York, Reyna. He doesn’t want to leave New York, and I can’t leave Elysium. With the bond settled, things just get harder. It will hurt every time we talk and every second we don’t.”

“What is your biggest fear right now, Nico?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you sure?”

Nico took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. “Losing him, I guess. I’m afraid of losing him, and missing him for the rest of my life.”

“It will be hard, but I think you two can do it. I think you can work out a way to be together. You are not the first soulmates to have completely different lives.”

“So I should talk to him.”

“Of course you should.”

“Yeah. Right. Talking. I can do that.”

As it turned out, talking wasn’t so easy.

In the afternoon they took a walk through the city. Everything made Will smile, to the point his cheeks must have hurt. If they did, he didn’t say. Nico realized he was following Will around like a lost puppy, but he didn’t know what else to do. In the morning they had been given a Christmas tree, and now Will wanted to decorate it. Nico huffed and sighed, calling him an overgrown baby, all the while hiding a smile.

“It could become a tradition,” Will said. He had his hands in his pockets, and refused to look up from the stand of handmade Christmas balls they were in front of.

“You ordering me around?” Nico asked, cocking an eyebrow. He clasped his hands behind his back, leaning forward to take a peak to the stand. It was covered in red balls. Even through all the layers he could feel the heat radiating off Will’s body. Even more so when the other leaned back, resting against Nico’s shoulder.

Nico’s breath hitched.

“No, spending Christmas together. No wait, you probably have galas or something. Sorry.” He scoffed.

Nico couldn’t see Will’s face. He immediately missed the his warmth when he stepped forward. With his heart thumping in his chest, Nico did the same, hooking his chin on Will’s shoulder, with the pretense of taking another look.

“I will miss them for you,” Nico said, speaking so quietly it was a mystery how Will heard him.

He did, and tensed up. When he spoke, his voice was as soft as cotton balls. “Would you?”

“I don’t like them much to begin with.” Nico cleared his throat, the tension unbearable. Will’s fingers were shaking. Nico stepped back, taking his wallet from his pocket. “So, which ones would you like?”

They didn’t speak much. They found themselves in a café a while later, with steaming cups of hot chocolate and coffee on the table. As soon as Nico was recognized, they were gifted cookies.

“Something I never understood,” Nico said, trying to break the tension. “Is why they always gift rich people with food.”

Will choked on his hot chocolate, falling forward on the table. He laughed so hard other costumers turned to look at them. Glare at them, more specifically.

“You’re such an old man,” Will finally said, shaking his head. He sighed heavily. “God, my grandmother will love you.”

“Oh, you plan on introducing us?” Nico asked, learning forward, a small smile on his face. “Let me tell you, every mother and grandmother hates me before knowing I’m rich. They think I’m a gangster.”

Will snorted, in a way he would later realize didn’t make him more attractive at all. “Oh, shut up. You’re a marshmallow.”

Nico clasped his lips. “Wow. That I’ve never been called.”

“I find that hard to believe. Don’t you have pet-names with your girlfriends?”

Nico furrowed his eyebrows. “Girl…friends? Like, girls who are my friends?” Reyna’s words came back to him in full force, as he watched Will tilt his head to the side. “You mean like a…a…?”

“A romantic partner who is a girl?” Will tried. His eyes roamed around the room, before setting back on Nico. He tapped his fingers on the table, at the same rhythm as the music passing on the radio. “Don’t you have one now?”

Nico turned red in less than a second. “I don’t. But, like, I also won’t. Never. I won’t ever have a girlfriend.”

“Oh my God, do you still do arranged marriages?”

Will seemed outraged, and for a moment Nico wondered if he was being serious. Was he always so dense? It took him a moment to remember that yes, he was. With no doubt at all.

“Will, I’m gay.”

Will’s eyebrows shot up so fast they should have fallen from his forehead. “Oh.”

He furrowed his eyebrows even more. God. God, had Nico fucked up? Why did he have to listen to Reyna of all people? What did she know? God. Fantastic. Perfect. He would never, ever–

“Is that how you know French?”

Nico looked at him for a long moment. Will, and the smile he was trying to suppress, his lips half-upturned but not completely, and his eyes, they shone so bright, and–

“Oh my God, are you being serious right now?”

And Will laughed.

Will threw himself over Niccolò on the couch. He could start thinking about the future the next day, or the day after. They had turned on the lights on the Christmas tree, and they were now flickering with red, green and yellow.

Niccolò huffed, letting his hand fall between Will’s shoulders blade. “God, are you always so hot?”

Will put his chin on Niccolò’s chest, batting his eyelashes coyly. “Are you always such a flirt?”

“I–” He turned red, his Adam apple going up and down. “I meant warm. Not, like, hot as in sexy. I mean. I mean, you–it’s not like-”

Will laughed. “Sometimes I forget you’re shy.”

Niccolò’s whole face transformed into a frown. “That’s because I’m not. Fuck you, Will.”

Will laughed some more. Niccolò was avoiding his eyes, so he propped himself on his elbows, getting in Niccolò face with a blinding smile.

It was almost anticlimactic the way it happened.

Will was laughing, until he wasn’t. Niccolò was sputtering, until he wasn’t. They had been on their own, until someone had thrown them together, closing them in a house in Livigno. They had been strangers, until they weren’t.

Will had despised the idea of soulmates, until he hadn’t. Because with Nico, with Nico he could envision it. Waking up together, planning a life together. Having a dog, and then another, maybe even a cat. Walking down the streets together, holding each other’s hand. Traveling Europe train by train, without having a route.

For once in his life, he could imagine it all.

Nico had a light stubble from the day, and Will wanted to touch it, run his fingertips over the curves of Nico’s face. Touch his skin where it wasn’t so perfect, where Prince Niccolò met Nico. Remind himself that, after all, Niccolò was just Nico, who liked black coffee and sputtered when he was nervous.

And then they were on the ground. Will’s arm had given in under the weight of his body, and he fell to the ground. Nico’s limbs were tangled with his, so they fell together. Nico’s head touched the carpet with a loud thud.

“Oh my God!” Will shrieked. He tried to stand, but only entangled himself further in the blanket that had been covering Nico. “How’s your head? Oh my God, can you even hear me?”

Nico groaned, making no move to stand. He covered his face with his hands. “With the frequencies you’re speaking at, I’m also probably losing my hearing.”

“Fuck, I’m getting you some ice.” He bolted to the kitchen, and a new sound of despair echoed through the house. “Do we even have ice?”

Nico took his phone out of his pocket, and sent a message to Reyna.

I almost kissed him and fucked up.

She responded after a few moments.

I bet you didn’t talk about it.

Nico huffed.

You don’t say.

With some dizziness, he stood and reached the kitchen. He sat on the counter, watching Will roam through the freezer, and only come back with a bag of iced peas.

He must have not heard Nico, for when he saw him sitting there he completely paled, almost dropping the peas.

“Careful, those are sacred around here,” Nico said.

Will nodded, with a little smile on his lips, that didn’t seem natural at all.

Nico chewed on his lower lip. How did he bring it up? Sorry I tried to kiss you, I was just vibe checking? Was that something normal kids these days said?

“You know about the soulmate ceremony?” Nico blurted out, reaching forward to take the bag of peas from Will’s hands.

“Yeah?” Will prompted, sitting on the other stool and swinging his feet.

“Well. We’ll have to choose a color palette. One day. When we actually have it.” Nico nodded. “Well, that was it. All I had to say. Yep.”

Will snorted through his nose. “Is that really all you have to say?”

Will leaned forward, taking the wrist of the hand in which Nico was uselessly holding the bag, and brought it to Nico’s temple. Nico adjusted his grip on it. Will’s hand seemed to linger forever, and if Nico were honest, he would have admitted he wished it would.

“No.” Nico’s heart stopped beating. It literally stopped beating, then did so hard it broke his chest. “It’s not all I have to say.”

“What else is there, then?”

Oh. Oh, Will’s eyes. They had resumed their puppy resemblance, or maybe puppy eyes should have just been called Will’s eyes, because Nico was pretty sure he had invented them. There was no other explanation of why he would ever look so good with them.

“Before the ritual, we have to decide what we should be. Platonic or romantic.”

“You’re gay, I’m bi.”

Nico’s breath resembled a sob. “Yeah.”

“But you’re a prince.”

“Yeah.”

Will’s eyes were still so sweet, even with the hurt so clear in them. “We don’t really have a choice then, do we?”

“I can’t offer you a relationship.” Nico shook his head; he couldn’t bear Will’s knowing gaze anymore. He looked away. “If I keep seeing you, then I’ll fall in love. But even then, we’d have to sneak around, keep being in secret.”

“Just–I just have a question. Why can’t you be gay? Are your parents homophobes?””

“Not my parents. They know. But it would cause problems if I were to create a scandal. My sisters, my mother, my father’s past… everything would be thrown right back on journals. I have to keep quiet, so I can live peacefully. And I can’t ask that of you. You deserve to be loved in the open.”

Will’s smile turned bitter. “So do you.” Slowly, oh so slowly, his hand covered Nico’s. His skin was soft and warm, much like he was. “You deserve to be happy.”

“Our happiness doesn’t overlap, does it? I’ll be a prince for the rest of my life, famous forever.”

“I know.” Will gripped his hand tighter, and Nico let the peas bag fall to the counter. He tried to smile again. It looked more like a grimace. “Star crossed lovers, aren’t we, my darlin’?” He tilted his head to the side, causing the blonde curls on his head to move, and the perfume of his shampoo to expand through the air. “If you could be selfish just for this one moment, this one night, what would you do?”

Nico didn’t hesitate. He stood, and cupped Will’s jaw. Was Will’s mark pulsing as his own was? Could he feel the sparks where they touched? Nico leaned forward, and kissed him. The first kiss was little more than a lingering peck, but it was followed by another, and another again. They separated, keeping their foreheads resting against one another’s. One of Will’s hand was on Nico’s shoulder, the other on the small of his back.

Their breaths mingled. Nico was sure that, if he looked away, he’d never have the force to meet Will’s eyes again. So he didn’t. He didn’t have to either, because Will kissed him again, and it was heated and perfect, and their marks were really pulsing this time.

Spending Christmas Eve with a stranger hadn’t been on Will’s to-do list. As he lays in bed later the same night, he wonders whether Nico has ever been one at all.

25th of December

Will has never spent a Christmas quite like this. He sits in front of the TV, with Nico’s chest against his back, Nico’s own back against the sofa.

“What time is the flight, again?” Will asks. His voice is low, a bit raspy.

“Five in the afternoon. They’ll come pick us up around three, I think.”

Will rests his head on Nico’s shoulder, dropping a little to the ground, and looking up at him.

“We have to open the gifts,” Nico says. He makes to move, but Will is quicker, and puts his hand on Nico’s knee, stopping him mid-movement. But Will doesn’t know how to start when his heart is beating like this, and Nico looking at him like this. “Will?”

“Remember when I said my name wasn’t William?” he asks.

“Yes. What has that to do with now?”

YouTube is open on the TV, and Taylor Swift’s Christmas Tree Farm playing quietly. In the music video are some photos of her childhood, and Will finds the force of turning to look at Nico by seeing little Taylor fall in a pile of snow.

“If I tell you the truth, will you forgive me for not telling you sooner?”

Once again, Nico doesn’t hesitate in cupping Will’s cheek with his hand. His touch is so tender it shouldn’t be legal. Eve and Adam must have felt like this, when they ate the forbidden fruit. “Everything that happened between us, happened with me knowing you were keeping something from me.”

Will nods. “But I–it might change what you think of me.”

“Unless you tell me you’re an assassin sent to kill me, then I don’t think we’re in that kind of trouble.”

“My name.” Will wraps his fingers around Nico’s wrist, keeping it there. He wets his lips, almost laughs at the way Nico blushes. “You know Apollo’s real name?”

Nico furrows his eyebrows, tilting his head to the side. He still seems so confused. “No? Don’t they say it’s one of Hollywood’s best kept secrets?”

The warmth of Nico’s skin against his and the softness of the carpet underneath them are the only things keeping Will’s head above the waters his mind has turned into.

“Lester Papadopolous. That’s his name.”

Nico still doesn’t understand. “Were you a groupie or something?”

“God, no, I–listen.” Will sits straighter, without even thinking of letting Nico go, with the fear of his touch never coming back. “People don’t know where his children ended up, right? But he had a lot.”

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t really keep up with Hollywood gossip or whatever, but I don’t get where you’re going with–”

“My name,” Will interrupts him. “My name now is Fitzwilliam Andrew Solace. But it used to be Fitzwilliam Andrew Papadopolous.”

Nico is silent for a long moment. His hand slips from Will’s cheek, passing through his fingers, wrapped too loosely, and to the ground. It makes the same thud his head has the night prior. His face is unreadable.

“You are his son,” he finally says.

God. Why is his voice so carefully blank? Will doesn’t want them to be careful around each other, not after they’ve got so far.

Will nods. “His and Naomi. They–I didn’t really want to stay after what happened with Lee and Michael. I had a big fight with my father.”

“Yeah. Yeah, it makes sense.”

What? What makes sense? Will wants to scream, tear his own hair out, but he can’t. He’s not a child anymore.

Will sniffles. “Well, we can open the gifts now that that is in the open, anyway.” He claps his hands, willing the knot in his chest away. When he can’t, he starts ignoring it. “Just felt like you should know and everything.”

He uncrosses his legs to stand, but Nico’s fingers wrap around his wrist. This time it’s him trying to keep Will close.

Nico takes a deep breath, and talks so fast he could be an undercover rapper. “You know I don’t think any different of you for that, right? And I hope I didn’t do anything to make you feel pressured to tell me, although I am glad you did, and I think it might help to know in the future.”

Will stares dumbfounded at him. “Future.”

“Yeah. I still want to know a lot about you.” He turns as red as the jumper Will has found in the back of the wardrobe, and forced on him. In Will’s defense, Nico hasn’t put up that much of a fight, and red really suits him. “Even when we go back to platonic. You’re wonderful as Fitzwilliam Andrew Solace, I’m sure you were wonderful as Fitzwilliam Andrew Papopolous.”

Platonic. They were good when they were, so the thought shouldn’t hurt Will so much.

“Papadopolous.”

“Yeah, that.”

Will laughs. And then he cries.

It’s dark outside when a car pulls up in the driveway. They have already brought their luggage downstairs. Nico’s phone pings with a new message, and after he checks it, he stands in front of the window to wave at the driver. In silence, they put on their coats. Will has left his gloves in the pockets. Nico takes one of the scarves from the coat hanger, and then puts the other on Will. They stand there for a long moment, looking at each other, no one wanting to go out, meet the outside world again.

“I’ll miss you,” Will says, so quietly he isn’t sure Nico will hear.

“So will I,” Nico responds. And then it’s silent again.

Will wraps his arms around Nico, and the other reciprocates. Will swallows, shutting his eyes and willing the tears away. Why does it feel so much like a goodbye?

26th of December

Will’s siblings and Drew are waiting for him at the airport. He smiles, laughing at Drew and Kayla’s intertwined hands, wishing he and Nico were allowed to do the same. He looks down at his finger, the way the artificial light catches on the ring Nico has gifted him. As they pass the Brooklyn Bridge, he looks East, and in the way the sun shines on the surface of the river, he almost thinks he will forget Nico.

#solangelo #solangelo fic #riordanverse #rick riordan #will solace #nico di angelo #solangelo au #soulmate au

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vidimillion · 4 years

Note

Okay, so jasico hcs, umm, what about their wedding?

i got very carried away with this, since "wedding" is rather broad. we'll get to the actual wedding part eventually, i swear.

i asked @/ariihen a while ago about who would propose and her answer is 100% accurate to me

nico spent a rather long portion of all his relationships kind of believing that they would one day end

the past few years of his life have done a pretty good job at slowly undoing that mindset, but old habits die hard

nico knows jason had the same problem. for the longest time jason had never been secure in his relationships, from when his mother gave him up to when his family at camp jupiter didn't search for him

nico hated doing the laundry, so jason normally did it with no qualms

on a random, insignificant day, nico noticed jason waking up every morning dead on his feet, either going to do homework for his college course or work on building more temples. being the good boyfriend he is, nico decides to lessen jason's workload by doing their laundry

putting jason's laundry away, he finds the ring box stuffed into a pair of clean socks. months later he'll tell jason it was a pretty good idea on his part— jason's socks have got to be the only thing he owns that nico doesn't steal

nico doesn't even register what it is until he opens it in confusion. later on, he described the sight of the ring as a punch to the fucking face

jason was left behind by his own mother. he was left behind by his sister who believed he was dead. he was left behind by his camp which he had been serving dutifully for his entire life. he was left behind by his two best friends when he was dead for a year

but he was brave enough to buy nico a ring. he still had so much love pouring out of his heart, for people he was never sure would stay. he was brave enough to let himself believe nico would stay. he loved nico enough to brave through his insecurities about himself, to let nico know he wanted this to last forever.

nico doesn't know how long he cried but afterwards, he felt tired enough to fall asleep. he hid the box right where jason had put it, hoping he wouldn't notice something off.

he doesn't know if he should wait for jason, but something tells him he should buy him a ring too. he doesn't see how it would be a bad thing, so he does.

it's a few months later and the whole group is together. the seven + reyna, dakota, the stolls, and a few more. nico was too happy to see them all together to wonder why jason put so much effort into wrangling everyone up.

waterworks started before jason even got on one knee, because he'd already told everyone he was planning to propose. nico knew jason would've told them, so he didn't tell anyone he bought jason a ring too.

the proposal story is one for another day, but let's say everyone had a chance to both cry and laugh.

nico wanted connor and travis to come because they mean a lot to him. they were his first friends at camp back when he was ten, and they were the only people who greeted him when he was going in and out between ages ten to fifteen. they treated him like a brother and never stopped.

will was invited, because he and nico got on amicable terms after their breakup. nico thinks will is always gonna be a good friend to him— they weren't the one for each other, and they didn't need to be. they were best friends, will being one of the first people at camp to be his friend. it's better if it sticks to that.

do i even need to mention reyna? she was one of the first five fuckin people on the guest list

jason and nico tried to keep the guest list small and personal. they did not realize how many people they actually liked and were friends with.

(nico oddly enough became rather good friends with sadie kane and anubis, so the egyptians were invited. he and jason also became friends with magnus, alex and sam— the whole event was very inter-pantheon)

the only gods that were formally invited were hestia, hades and persephone. that didn't stop the wedding being broadcasted to the entire godly world over hephaestus tv, but at least the small and subtle cameras weren't very intrusive.

hades insisted on funding the most beautiful wedding the godly world has ever seen. for once, nico didn't fight him on the money because he wanted everything to be as perfect as possible. all jason cared about was getting married.

nico plans most of it. the color scheme stays classy, with white cream colours, minimal bits of gold. there's a little bit of red too, in the flowers and tiny details— nico says it's because jason looks damn good in red. he's right, of course, but there's another reason.

red was the di angelo family signature color, back in the 1930s. nico remembers most of his life before the casino now, and even if there's nothing he can really do about it, he wants his family there. even just a little bit of them would be enough.

they get married at dusk in the most beautiful park in new rome. they have the ceremony in the grass, tall greek pillars squaring the area off from the rest of the park. billowy white fabrics hang from above but leave the setting sun visible. the only lights are persephone's special flowers, glowing softly in every color of the rainbow and scenting the air with ambrosia.

nico and jason both get to walk down the aisle, but nico goes first. he wears a black three piece suit, complete with a subtle gold collar link and lapel chain. it's a little tight, but that's kind of the reason he picked it. he slicked his hair back for this too.

he couldn't pick a best man for this, so there isn't one. by his side are connor, travis, will, and frank— and hazel and reyna, in red suits.

on the other side of the altar, jason's side, there's percy, leo, dakota, piper and annabeth.

nico's mother was a singer. her music was italy's treasure, almost hidden from the rest of the world. they play one of her most beautiful songs as they walk down the aisle, one nico can faintly remember her singing to him. her voice is like a siren's, like a goddess's— otherworldly, ethereal, elysian.

but the music stops when he sees jason.

he wears a white three piece suit that cinches his small waist and stretches over the broadness of his shoulders. he wears a boutonniere of small, light blue hydrangeas and a gold collar link that matches nico's.

everything about him matches nico. matches him, compliments him, completes you in the perfect way your opposite tends to complete you.

nico thinks "opposite" sounds too aggressive— like they were enemies. jason wasn't his enemy. jason was his soulmate.

#percy jackson #jasico #nico di angelo #jason grace #pjo #Percy Jackson and the Olympians #percy jackson and the heroes of olympus #wedding #my writing

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lifeofroos · 3 years

Text

Part 11. Still Hades. Shoutout to this background music generator.

In short: Nico gets therapy from Dionysus. The rest is here.

This might be crazy - part 11: Sweet Iced Tea

I wasn’t going to sleep tonight, I could feel it. Instead, I got up, grabbed a juice box from my closet and shadow travelled out of my cabin, to the Big House. A few minutes later, I was at Denny’s with Dionysus.

‘I thought it would be a good idea to make use of this time instead of just laying in my bed and thinking about tomorrow.’

‘Yeah, sure, but there is a tomorrow for me as well. A tomorrow in a very busy camp filled with teenagers.’

‘I mean, we don’t have to…’

‘Yes, we do. You want to talk right now, and there are important things for you to talk about.’

‘Hades.’

‘Yes, Hades.’

‘Can I just begin?’

‘If you feel like you know what to talk about, you can begin.’

‘Than I will not hold you up,’ Mary, our regular server, piped in. She put down a sweet tea, winked and dashed back to the counter. I looked at my sweet tea and took a breather. Alright. I got this. ‘So, last time… last time we got to the point where I actually had to live with my dad. And how he… was not the nicest to me.’

‘Yes. We talked about that.’

‘Yes. I also told you he… told me he had wanted Bianca to survive, rather than me.’ So. That. ‘But… I do not think he fully meant it. I think he was grieving, or disappointed because he thought his plan to let his children save the day could not go through. He…’ I bit my lip. ‘He… he definitely wanted that last thing. He even locked Percy Jackson into a dungeon in his palace, because he wanted me to get up and do what Percy was slated to do. That…’

‘Telling you that he would rather have Bianca survive than you is unacceptable, no matter what he was feeling or what his intentions were. I already said that last time. Even if he did want one of his kids to succeed so that they would be respected, he could have done that by actually training you instead of releasing you from the Lotus hotel when he thought your time was ripe to be useful. And locking Percy Jackson in a dungeon, no matter how attractive, is also a terrible way of solving things.’

I thought about that. ‘Yes. But, at some point during those months I was there, he seemed to… comply with the fact that I was what he had. He, and Persephone…’ Oh, man, Persephone. Help me gods. ‘And… and Demeter, she was also there… at some point, they decided to listen to me and helped with defeating the army attacking Olympus while the other gods were off fighting Typhon. That.’ I looked at the table. ‘I mean to say that he began to listen to me. After the war, I got my own cabin in camp Half-blood and the other campers began to accept me, but I was still not in camp very often. Some of the time, I was in camp Jupiter and sometimes in the Underworld. The contact with my father… became less as when I lived in the Underworld for an entire year, of course, but we kept it up. Now, I am in camp half-blood more often, but I still go to the Underworld now and then. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes not. He… Hades… he gave me a French taxi-driver. He is dead. The taxi driver. I… don’t know if that means anything.’

‘He did not coach you more? About your powers, or just as a father?’

‘No. I think he is trying to be a better dad now, but he is not really sure how to do that. But…’ I shrugged and took a long sip of iced tea. Dionysus took a moment to think about what had been said. ‘Do you want to forgive him for how he treated you?’

‘I don’t know.’ I have been defending him and I would actually like a relationship with my father, but...

‘Nico, whether you forgive him or not is completely up to you. I won’t tell you how I feel about the situation. As long as he does not hurt you anymore and if you really think he changed his ways, or at least tries to do so… it’s up to you.’

Hm. This was one of those moments where it would have been easy if he had done all of that thinking for me. Alas, I nodded. ‘I’ll have to think about that some more.’

‘Take all the time you need. It is not something you need to rush to a conclusion for.’

‘No. Until that time, I… I just mentioned Persephone. I want to say something about her as well, now that I am talking anyway.’

Dionysus nodded. ‘That’s okay if you want to.’

I swallowed. The talking was more difficult this time than it had been last time, even if what we were saying had mostly been said before. ‘I don’t know when Persephone learned that we existed, but when she did, she ignored me until I was moved into the palace and she simply could not do that anymore. Which, can I give her credit for that?’ It seemed weird, giving someone credit for ignoring me. But it was better than being hunted down.

‘I wish I could say you could not.’

I showed him a small smile. ‘Well, I am. While I was living in the Underworld… she still ignored me. From the few words she did say to me, I could make up that she did not like me, but she accepted that I was in the palace. She was not going to punish me for what my father did. That, or she was afraid that he would get angry if she tried to touch me.’ I looked at my cup.

‘I could not tell you which one of those is true, but I can tell you that Persephone was never a harsh stepmother,’ Dionysus filled in.

‘Hm. In the time after the titan war, she did once get fed up with my presence in the Underworld, so she changed me into a dandelion.’ He was trying not to laugh. I was telling about my trauma and he was trying not to laugh. ‘Hades found out quite soon and ordered her to change me back. Afterwards, she did give me the pomegranate seeds that saved my life while I was in the jar that the twin giants put me in. I think they were meant as a make up gift, and at first I thought it was worthless, but boy.’ A few loud-talking people passed the restaurant. I looked over my shoulder until they were gone. ‘So, it might seem like Hades and Persephone are kind of… they both try. Hades to sort-of be a good parental figure and Persephone to accept me, or at least not make my life more difficult. But both…’

‘It is the same thing as I said before. They are both trying now, and it is up to you if you accept that or if you find that it is too little, too late. But it does not erase the fact that they hurt you in some way. In order to really work through that, you’ll have to talk to them as well.’

‘... Alright. But…’

My sentence was cut off by a herd of drunken twenty-somethings hurdling into the Denny’s. I turned around so I could take a look. A few of them were laughing, one was crying and what seemed to be the least drunk guy of the bunch winked at Mary. ‘A stack of three waffles for each of the boys, please.’ Mary sighed. ‘Coming right up. What kind of toppings do you want?’

‘Nothing but you, darling.’ He winked again and I cringed. That almost physically hurt.

Mary was completely unfazed by it. ‘Alright, that will be six plain waffles. Do you want anything to drink with that?’

‘Nothing but your…’

‘Alright, alright, I know you can go on for the entire night, but that is more, more than enough.’ Dionysus stood up and walked towards the herd of drunken men. The ‘leader’ looked at him from head to toe. ‘And who do you think…’

‘Actually your lord and savior, seeing how you are drunk in a Denny’s at the moment, but I really wish I wasn’t.’

‘My… what?’ The guy was just drunk enough to get confused by that statement, it seemed.

‘I’ll give you this.’ Dionysus tapped the guy on his forehead. His pupils grew creepily wide. ‘You go to the door. You’ll just wait outside, aghast, until your friends have finished their waffles. Then, you will never be able to find this place again. Your pals will know about the restaurant, but you won’t. You’ll never know what they are talking about and it might make your mind break in the future - who knows!.’ He twirled the guy around and pushed him in the back, towards the door. ‘Now leave.’ The guy left without a look around.

Mary arched her brow. ‘I assume that is just five stacks of waffles, then.’ Dionysus smiled at her. She rolled her eyes and disappeared to make the waffles. I picked up my iced tea, stood up and walked over to Dionysus. ‘That… I mean…’

‘There are loads of people who make the party scene unsafe for the other party-goers. It is quite literally my job to root those people out. They, again quite literally, ruin my health.’

‘Right.’ I drank my sweet tea until there was no more. ‘Is the session over?’

He nodded. ‘Just one more thing: Do you want to talk to Hades?’

‘I’ll have to think about that.’ I put my cup on the counter. ‘But I might.’

‘If you decide that you want to, I’ll make sure you have extra free time.’

‘Does Chiron agree to it, then?’

‘Chiron finds it just as important as I and your sunny boyfriend do that you get proper help.’ He gave me a reassuring smile. I nodded, after which I yawned. ‘Alright.’

‘Good, then we can go back. But first…’ he pointed at the waffle makers. The next moment, five plates with plain waffles were standing on the counter.

Mary came walking back, with her eyebrows raised. ‘That’s special.’ She looked at Dionysus. ‘Well, thanks.’ In reaction, he put a fifty dollar bill on the counter.

‘No, you thanks. For letting us sit here, for serving us and for putting up with scum like that.’ Mary looked at the money. Then she smiled the warmest smile I had seen from her yet. ‘I am really, truly glad to be doing it.’ She waved us goodbye, while Dionysus transported us back to camp.

A/N: next chapter, he won’t be talking about, but with Hades. Thanks to Rickandrowling28 for that idea! I also hope I did not skip anything that happened between Hades and Nico. Fandom wiki had been a real help, but it does not erase the fact that it is at least three years ago that I read the books (I got the first one from a friend on my fourteenth birthday and binge read the rest in three weeks or so after that).

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happyk44 · 4 years

Text

Sadie Has Some Thoughts And They’re About The Sad Greek Boys She Knows

dedicated to @waltstoned - who gives me lovely fluff content and in exchange I throw buckets of sadness at her because I cannot function without a little angst. You’re great and also, I am sorry.

Sadie was lounging in the living room when a mass of shadows bundled out from the wall. She barely raised an eye as Nico stepped out, empty-handed, with little sheds of darkness clinging to his clothes. Part of her always wondered if his clothes had had previous colour and constant shadow-travel had just leeched it all away.

He seemed less guant this time. His skin had a healthy little glow about it, hair fluffy than slick and matted down with oil. She actually wanted to touch it rather than shove it under the nearest stream of water with a pair of gloves on and more shampoo than anyone would ever need.

She slid up from where she was sprawled on the couch and grinned at him. It wasn't snowing outside but there had been a strange chill to the late summer air. Barely noticeable but there. Persephone must've snuck home again.

He always looked like a living person when she was.

"Hey, Nico." She grinned, baring all her teeth. "What are you here for?"

He didn't look at her because the answer was obvious.

Percy.

When he used to appear it was only when Walt called. He'd appear in a cloud of shadows, terrify everyone but Felix for some reason then vanish off with Walt to help him train. At first, it was simple things. Summoning skeletons, summoning ghosts. It had expanded from there once he'd gotten a handle on it. Learning how to get a handle on his ability to age something so fast it turned to dust in his grip had been one of Walt's biggest issues and something that had taken the longest to master.

Sometimes he'd stay for dinner but he'd linger so far out on the outskirts of the group, Sadie would forget he was there until she'd look up and catch sight of black eyes watching her and everyone around her.

It would have been creepy if it hadn't been so sad.

But ever since Carter had moved Percy in, he'd been showing up much more frequently with lies about why he was there hissing through his teeth. Percy never said anything about it. How could he? He wasn't there for the first four years of Nico only showing up at Walt's behest. At him only hanging around casually for a couple hours at best before he vanished before anyone could ask him to stay just a little longer.

For some reason, the younger kids adored him. They were always sad when they turned and he was gone.

Nico treated the Nome both like a second home and a place of his own entrapment. He never asked permission to use anything but the moment he was able to leave, he left.

So it was fascinating, and obvious to the reason why, when he'd started showing up in frequent bursts and lingering just long enough that Sadie was finally gathering actual information about him direct from the source and not just passing anecdotes from one of her boyfriends.

It was nice too, to see Percy around someone that wasn't just Carter. Honestly, he followed Carter so much and so close on his heels, he seemed like a bloody security guard just seconds from asking Carter to empty out his pockets. With Carter, he was easygoing, calmer. With everyone else, he was spooked and nervous. Especially the children.

Sadie hadn't realized the reason why until she passed by his room one night and peeked inside, curious why the door was open. Cleo had been choking on her knees, Percy's eyes so blue they were glowing in the dark.

It had been so confusing. They were separated by half a meter but Cleo was so obviously dying and it was very clearly Percy's fault.

Sadie had punched him fast, reacting purely on instinct and sisterly panic. He snapped out of it. Panicked. Apologized so much as he both fretted towards and away from Cleo and Sadie. Then he crawled out a window before she could stop and question him and vanished on them for two weeks before Nico brought him back, poisoned and bleeding out.

Cleo didn't go near him for the following two months. Percy didn't approach her or anyone that wasn't Carter for just as long. He barely made eye contact and when he spoke, he sounded strangled yet quiet.

It must've been strange. To be raised always feeling alone and then be introduced to people who understood you, people you grew to love and then find yourself straddling the border between protecting them and killing them all.

Carter was easier. Whether that was because Percy always immediately recognized him as a friend instead of a threat was up for debate. One could have said the same about Nico but Percy had still jolted awake one evening, Riptide slicing through the spot where Nico had been.

That had been kind of cool to watch, if not utterly terrifying in the moment. Nico's entire body had shimmered, as though displaced from reality, and solidified when the blade had fully exited his person. Walt had begged him for days to teach him how to do it before Percy had pulled him aside and explained something he wouldn't tell Sadie no matter how many times she asked. From his pinched eyes and the deep frown that would cover his lips at the thought of it, it clearly wasn't a good thing.

So she relented and instead tried to cultivate more reasons for Nico to come visit. Unlike Percy, the offer to stay wasn't extended to him but there seemed to be an unspoken rule among all the gods, not just hers, that Nico had a presence in all their lives whether they wanted it or not. Anubis commented on it once or twice and it had been so interesting to find out that, well, they really weren't alone. He would never tell her how many of them were real and how many weren't. Or how they overlapped each other without bringing the world to a war every day.

Something about the way his eyes blackened made her think that it was very difficult. Though, given Nico's propensity to just show up and hand either one of her boyfriends gifts or letters from his dad for her dad, she had a feeling that maybe Underworld gods were a bit more chill.

It made sense.

Everyone died eventually. With all the people in the world and all the people already dead, did it really matter who went where? If it were her, she'd be more than happy to have someone pick up a handful if it kept her space a little clearer.

She sat up to her knees and leaned against the back of the couch as Nico approached her. He was tentative, like a stray cat, but as soon as he cleared enough space, he relaxed and smiled softly at her.

He had such a nice smile. She wished she could see it more.

“You dyed it again.”

She ran her fingers through her hair. She'd gone for a washy purple this time, light enough and patchy enough that her blonde pushed through. Anubis had ran his fingers through it obsessively for hours when it dried. “Ah, yeah, the colour was fading out.” She dropped her hands and leaned up and close into his space. “You want me to do you?”

He blinked at her owlishly then shrugged. “Maybe next time.”

A wide grin split her mouth. He scowled at her face and she toned it down. Well. As much as Sadie could tone down anything about her.

“Nico!” Percy’s face brightened up as soon as he saw him. He had thrown on a pair of shorts but still wasn’t wearing a shirt, having just woken up if his bedhead was anything to go by. Sadie watched Nico’s skin burn. “Hey! What are you doing here?”

“Persephone wanted me to give something to Walt for Anubis,” Nico lied. His hand, hidden behind his back, dipped into his shadow along the couch. In a second, he’d pulled out a cut lily made from gold with a ruby glittering where the pollen should be. He showed it off. “She thought he’d like it.”

“You know. Since Nu gives me, like, everything, you should just-” Sadie reached. “-give me the flower. I’m probably gonna get it anyway.”

Nico shot her with a side-eye and smacked her hand away. When they both turned back to Percy, he was only a couple feet away and approaching quickly. Flustered he ran a hand through his hair. His smile was dropping ever so slightly. “Uh, I think Walt’s on the roof. My window’s open and I’m pretty sure I hear him swearing at Freak.”

“Ah, yeah.” Sadie gestured loosely. “Carter’s visiting the First Nome with Zia this week. Everybody’s on duty. Except me. Because I “will use him for crimes”.”

Nico snorted and Percy rolled his eyes. “You will use him for crimes.”

“Sneaking into a museum to steal back artifacts is not a crime because the initial theft was a crime so it balances out and also-” She snapped her fingers into fingerguns. “Fuck you, white boy.”

He grinned wide and slowed to a stop beside Nico. Reaching out, he ruffled her hair. “Yeah, yeah, whatever, weirdo. At least I have a reason for standing out in these photos. What’s yours, blanquita?”

Cleo watches One Day At a Time one day a time, and suddenly that’s all they were calling her for months. She swatted his hand away from her head and rolled off the couch, springing to her feet. “Bitch.”

He just laughed and looked back down at Nico. His happy demeanour slowly shifted away. “Uh - well, I can bring the flower to Walt if you want.”

“I can wait.”

He smiled softly again. “That- that’s cool. You wanna get something to eat?”

As Nico murmured something soft and they delved into near silent conversation, Sadie squatted to check out the rest of the DVDs. Since Percy was up and teasing her, she was going to throw on The Little Mermaid and make him sing every song even if he did have the voice of an undignified seagull.

She grabbed the case with vindictive glee and swung around. “Don’t grab the container with the-”

Her entire body stilled. Percy had leaned down, Nico slipping up to his tiptoes to meet him, their faces less than a millimeter apart. If one of them had been wearing glasses, it surely would’ve fogged with their breaths.

Nico shoved Percy back, skin flushed red. “Uh, I-” His voice caught and he shoved the flower into Sadie’s hand. “I- I have to go.”

“Wait-”

He was gone before either one of them could stop him.

“Oh my gods, Percy.” She stared at him. He was watching the spot where Nico had plunked through the ground with forlorn disappointment. “I am- I am so sorry. I didn’t- I didn’t know you were- with Nico and I- I had a feeling but I didn’t-”

“It’s okay,” he said quietly. She knew he was lying but she didn’t call him out on it. He didn’t need that right now. “I mean. It was dumb. Right? He told me I’m not his type.”

If any other scenario, she would have laughed, loud and obnoxious until he was scowling at her. Percy was everyone’s type. Tall, muscular and soft hair. Instead all she could muster was a weak, “I’m pretty sure he was lying.”

He let out a sharp bark of a laugh, more animal than man, more misery than the sound was supposed to have. He shoved his hand through his hair and looked away from the spot, from her. “I don’t know if I’m more hopeful that that’s true or if I’d rather he just still be hating me because that’s easier to understand than anything else.” He let out another laugh and dropped his hand. “Um. I’m- I’m gonna get a headstart on your laundry.”

His body language, arms pulling into his side, head ducked, eyes refusing to meet hers no matter how much she stared at them - he wanted to be left alone. And she didn’t want to do that.

But she didn’t want him to run from somewhere he felt safe by becoming overbearing so she nodded. “Remember - just throw everything in at once. I don’t care about colour bleaching.”

He nodded and turned around, leaving a cold wash of air in his wake.

She slid to a flop on the couch and fingered the pretty gold flower in her hands.

Were they all this dumb or was it just them - a boy desperate to be loved and understood without any of the pain of his former life clinging to him like a vice and another boy too scared to try just in case he might get burned?

#sadie kane #percy jackson #nico di angelo #percynico #tkc #pjo #pjo fanfic #tkc fanfic #my writing #my fanfic #happy talks pjo #percico

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empathy-lynx · 4 years

Text

The Last Olympian Timeline (SPOILERS) -Made by Yours Truly-

2009 (Year 4 in Riordanverse)

January

• 28th - Nico turns 12 (not stated in book)

July

• 12th - Annabeth turns 16 (not stated in book)

August [TLO BEGINS]

• 12th - sunset = Percy and Rachel on the beach; Beckedorf interrupts; Rachel kisses Percy [>.<] before they leave; night = Percy and Beckendorf sneak on the Princess Andromeda; Percy distracts monsters (one being giant crab) while Beckendorf sets explosives; Percy gets caught and tries to fight Kronos and finds out their mission was a trap; Beckendorf gets caught, then detonates the explosives and Percy jumps in water to escape explosion and blacks out (Beckendorf doesn’t make it off the boat [cries]); Percy has dream of Mount Tam and Nico saying he needs to make a decision soon

• 13th - Tyson wakes Percy up underwater and tells him about the boat, Beckendorf, and that he’s at Poseidon’s palace; Percy meets Poseidon’s wife and son, then talks with Poseidon and he says to tell Chiron it’s time to hear the full prophecy; afternoon = Percy returns to camp and brings the bittersweet news of the explosion; Percy and Annabeth go to the attic to get the prophecy [Percy states that he didn’t realize it then, but that would be the last time he ever visited the attic]; at the head counselor meeting, Percy reads the prophecy to everyone, most of them (Percy included) hearing it for the first time; Percy learns of Typhon’s escape; night = percy has dream of Rachel and her painting past & future events

• 14th - Percy and Annebeth do cabin inspections; they have burial ceremony for Beckendorf [cries again]; Percy tries and fails to convince Clarisse to fight in the upcoming battle; Percy talks to Juniper and Leneus about Grover missing, then to Nico about the plan to give Percy a fighting chance against Kronos; night = Nico and Percy take Mrs. O’Leary to go visit May Castellan; after their visit they talk with Hestia and then she transports them to Percy’s apartment (Mrs. O’Leary included); Nico and Percy talk with Sally and Paul and get Sally’s blessing for their plan; Percy, Nico, and Mrs. O’Leary shadow travel to Central Park to get to smaller Underworld entrance; they find Grover and tell him he’s been missing for two months; he then opens up the gate to the Underworld

• 15th - early morning = Percy gets tricked by Nico and they talk with Hades; Percy gets locked in the Underworld dungeon; Percy has dream of Rachel on vacation and the gods fighting Typhon; Nico helps Percy escape; Percy bathes in the River Styx; fights Hades’ army and the god himself, but when Percy pins Hades to the ground he fades into nothingness; late afternoon = Percy meets other campers (40 including him, Ares cabin excluded) at the Empire State building; they all go up to Olympus; Hestia greets them, then shows Percy a flashback of when Thalia and Luke met Annabeth, then of them coming up on Luke’s house, then the vision stops; Hermes shows up, and Percy & Annabeth talk to him while everyone else scouts for anyone left on Olympus; they realize that Morpheus has put all of Manhattan to sleep and that the invasion has begun; while they’re planning tunnel blockades, 30 Hunters join the fight; night = Percy makes a deal with the East and Hudson rivers to help them defend the city; on Williamsburg bridge, Percy joins the Apollo cabin and fights the Minotaur and the rest of the army it was leading across

• 16th - early morning = they push them back, but then Kronos joins the fight; Percy and Annabeth fight shoulder to shoulder, then she gets stabbed by Ethan Nakamura protecting Percy’s soft spot; Blackjack gets Annabeth out of there; Percy fights Kronos and destroys the bridge, killing monsters and pushing the army back (Michael Yew didn’t make it of the bridge) [cries yet again]; Percy and Will Solace go to the hotel where they made a base to treat Annabeth’s wound; Jake Mason tells Percy the enemy army retreated at sunrise; Silena leaves to try to convince Clarisse and Ares cabin to join the fight; Percy and Annabeth talk, Percy shows her his Achilles spot, and she tells him about Luke visiting her house the previous year before BOTL; Grover tells Percy he’s rallied most of the nature spirits in the city; Percy, Grover, Thalia, and Jake talk about the spy; Percy goes to rest, and has a dream about Nico learning about his past before the Lotus Casino [totally forgot that Hades had Alecto the Fury wipe their memories in the Lethe before taking them to the Lotus Hotel] and about the curse Hades put on the Oracle; then Percy’s dream changed to show Rachel on the shore and she wrote something in ancient Greek in the sand but Percy only saw his name (Perseus) before it got washed away, and Rachel convincing her father they had to get back to New York immediately in order to get a message to Percy; late afternoon = Thalia wakes Percy up; they go outside to meet Prometheus (a titan), a hyperborean (Morrain), Ethan Nakamura, and an empousa; Prometheus tries to talk Percy into surrendering, then shows him the rest of Luke’s past, continuing from what Hestia showed him; then Prometheus gives Percy Pandora’s Box; when they get back to the hotel, Percy and Thalia talk briefly, then Percy sleeps some more; he has a dream of Tyson and Cyclopes fighting in battle at Poseidon’s palace; dream switched to Ethan and Kronos talking about Annabeth getting stabbed and protecting Percy, then Ethan asks if Luke is still fighting Kronos; dream changed one more time to reveal all that happened to May Castellan when Luke was a baby; evening/night = battle in Central Park; Percy fights Hyperion and creates personal hurricane; they defeat Hyperion, but then Kronos unleashes his surprise: the Clazmonian Sow (giant flying sow); Percy activates lion statues to defeat giant pig; Percy helps Annabeth kill a Hyperborean; late night = they fought and fought until they were backed up a block from the Empire State Building from every direction; they’re about to retreat to the doors when the Party Ponies join the fight

• 17th - very early morning (still dark) - they push back the Titan army, then regroup; Chiron fills Percy and Annabeth in on Typhon’s progress, how Mr. D is missing and Hephaestus is too injured to rejoin; morning = Percy and Annabeth talk for a bit; Percy looks around at all the injured, then is suddenly transported to a “dingy bar”; Percy talks with Mr. D and he warns that if the gods are defeated the entirety of Western Civilization will come undone; then he admits that the Olympians need heroes; Mr. D warns that Kronos’ current form is temporary, and by the next day he will burn away his host (Luke) and his very presence will incinerate anyone who's near him and he will make the other titans more powerful; Mr. D returns Percy (it’s as though he never left) and he sees his mom and Paul asleep in their car; Rachel shows up in a helicopter and Annabeth saves her from crashing after the pilot falls asleep; Percy and Rachel talk about what’s been happening with her (visions and such), and she tells him the message in the sand was “Perseus, you are not the hero”; Rachel and Chiron go and talk while Percy takes a nap; he has a dream about Nico trying to convince Hades (in the presence of Persephone and Demeter) to join and fight in the war; the dream changed to Kronos talking with Ethan and Prometheus and telling them to unleash the drakon immediately; afternoon = Percy wakes up and warns them and they try their best to prepare (down to 16 campers, 15 hunters, and 6 satyrs in fighting shape, and a lot of drunk Party Ponies); Percy and Mrs. O’Leary charge the drakon, and Percy stabs one of its eyes; 30 Ares campers join the fight, with “Clarisse” leading them; the real Clarisse shows up after the fake gets sprayed with poison, then Clarisse defeats the drakon single-handedly; the fake Clarisse is revealed to be Selena Beauregard, and she confesses to being the spy, then dies from her injuries [cries one more time but definitely not the last time]; Clarisse then fights and drives back the enemy with the blessing of Ares; they regroup in Empire State building and Percy sends Mrs. O’Leary on an errand; Percy, Annabeth, and Grover go up to Olympus and into the throne room; Grover and Annabeth leave Percy and Rachel to talk with Hestia; Percy gives Pandora’s Jar and Hope to Hestia; Percy sits on Poseidon’s throne, gets his attention, and convinces Poseidon to come help defend Olympus; evening/night = Thalia comes in and says that the enemy is advancing with Kronos leading them; when they get down there, Chiron and Kronos are having a stare-down, then the two of them fight; Chiron gets thrown into a wall and buried under rubble; as Kronos is about to attack again, Mrs. O’Leary and Nico join the fight, along with an entire undead army, Persephone, Demeter, and Hades himself; Kronos seals himself, the demigods, and the Empire State Building off, collapsing the magic around the rest of Manhattan; all Hades breaks loose [pun intended]; Paul and Sally join the fight; late night = Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover head into the building and up towards Olympus, following Kronos; Annabeth almost falls to her death (MoA parallel); Thalia gets pinned under Hera statue; Percy fights Kronos and Annabeth and Grover fight Ethan Nakamura; Annabeth gets knocked aside, Percy tries to reason with Ethan, then Ethan attacks Kronos, but he gets injured then falls through a hole in the ground made by Kronos and dies; Percy and Kronos fight more, then Kronos freezes time and shows Percy images of the fight going on and of Typhon approaching; Poseidon and his army join the fight against Typhon and they defeat him

• 18th - Percy turns 16; early morning (probably still dark out) = Annabeth gets through to Luke, Percy gives Luke Annabeth’s dagger, then Luke stabs himself, defeating Kronos; after some final words, Luke dies, shortly after the gods come in and Percy says they need a burial shroud for a son of Hermes; next few hours: the gods repair the throne room, Zeus lights up the Empire State Building blue for Sally, Percy greets those who survived, Nico and Hades were welcomed on Olympus as heroes, Percy talks briefly with Mr. D and Grover, Poseidon’s army comes into the throne room and Tyson tackle Percy; Poseidon congratulates Percy and gives him a hug; Olympian council takes place; they call up Thalia, then Tyson who’s appointed general, Grover who becomes a member of the Council of Cloven Elders, Annabeth who is assigned with redesigning and rebuilding Olympus; then Percy is called up and offered immortality, but he turns it down, requesting instead that: the gods claim *all* their children by age 13, Calypso and other peaceful titan-kind b e pardoned, and that the Big Three oath be undone; Percy talks with Hermes; as he’s leaving, Athena talks briefly with Percy; afternoon = when him and Annaebth reach the lobby, they’re greeted by Sally and Paul, then Nico runs in and says that Rachel took Blackjack to CHB; Annabeth, Percy, and Nico get to camp as Rachel becomes the new Oracle; then Rachel spouts the Prophecy of Seven [Apollo says it may not even be in Percy’s lifetime… HA, how wrong he was, as it takes place not even a full year after]; the rest of the day: campers came back from Manhattan, the dead were given proper funeral rights at the campfire, and dinner was lowkey; night/dark = after dinner and the crowd had lessened, Annabeth sat next to Percy at the Poseidon table and gave him a cupcake (made by herself and Tyson) and wished him happy birthday, and he realized that he hadn’t realized that it had been his birthday; they talk, she kisses him, then they get thrown in the lake and kiss some more

• next two weeks (camp went two weeks longer, leading right up to the school year) - new demigods popped up all over the place, all were claimed and brought to CHB with help of satyrs; new cabins for Hades and minor gods being built

September

• 1st [exactly 2 weeks after Percy’s birthday, but it’s in the middle of the week, so this exact date is unknown] - last day of camp; late afternoon = Percy talks with Poseidon [dude, Poseidon jokes about claiming all his other kids and sending Percy some siblings then he gave Percy one of his inside joke winks and Percy still wasn’t sure if he was serious or not. I know that Rick probably won’t make another Poseidon kid, but you never know]; evening = last night at camp and bead ceremony, the bead having a picture of the Empire State Building and all the names of the fallen campers in Greek

• 2nd [?] - Percy, Annabeth, and Rachel stand at the top of Half-Blood Hill; Rachel says goodbye; Percy and Annabeth talk briefly before racing each other to the road; “And for once, I didn’t look back.”

[TLO ENDS]

• within the next week - Percy starts 10th grade

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TLO / PJO Prophecy

A half-blood of the eldest gods

Shall reach sixteen against all odds,

And see the world in endless sleep,

The hero’s soul, cursed blade shall reap

A single choice shall end his days

Olympus to preserve or raze

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Lightning Thief Timeline

The Sea of Monsters Timeline

The Titan’s Curse Timeline

The Battle of the Labyrinth Timeline

PJ & the Sword of Hades (Short Story) Timeline/Summary

PJ & the Bronze Dragon (Short Story) Timeline/Summary

HOO Timelines (leads to TLH)

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takaraphoenix · 4 years

Note

“I didn’t want to tell my friend who my real date last night was so I just pointed at a random stranger (you) but now they’re storming over to interrogate you and you’re playing along??? Okay” AU - Apollo/Percy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, E. I hope you’re having a great day!

"Hey there. Are you alright? Can you tell me where you are?"

"...Heaven. There's an angel carrying me around. Definitely heaven."

"Not exactly. You inhaled a lot of smoke and you were unconscious, so, seriously, do you know where you are and who you are?", asked Percy amused. "Fire-fighter, not angel."

"I'm Apollo. This is... was... my studio. You're still an angel though."

"Ap... Apollo", sputtered Percy, stumbling just a little bit.

Apollo was like... the most listened-to musician these days. He was on the radio all the time. And he was really good. Still, that out of anyone who could have been at the studio when it burned down, it had to be Apollo. And now Percy was carrying him out into safety.

"The one and only, cutie", grinned the singer with a wink.

Despite being the one carrying Apollo bridal-style, Percy blushed brightly. Did the billionaire musician just flirt with him? Once outside, he closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

"What do we got here, Percy?", asked their medic – Annabeth Chase.

"Smoke inhalation, he was passed out when I found him", offered Percy. "Take care of him."

"No—o, come back, angel", gasped Apollo dramatically as Percy walked away.

"There, there. Another case of SPCS", sighed Annabeth, gaining Apollo's attention.

"W... What...? What is that? Is it bad?", asked Apollo concerned.

"Savior Percy Crush Syndrome", applied the other medic. "I'm Grover, that's Annabeth and the 'angel' who just walked away is Percy. Don't worry, developing a crush on the fire-fighter who saves them. Completely normal, especially with Percy, hence us having a name for it. Now, let's get you to the hospital and thoroughly checked out, okay?"

"...Okay", whispered Apollo, eyes on the retreating fire-fighter.

/break\

"You've been sighing miserably for days now, brother. It's time to change that."

"And you think cakes can do that?", huffed Apollo with a glower.

Admittedly, he was pining and thus sighing a lot, but in his defense? This time was different! The fire-fighter had saved his life. And looked insanely hot and cute and what was Apollo supposed to do? He had sent flowers and chocolate and also an entire barbecue to the fire house. The barbecue for the entire house, though the flowers and chocolate specifically for Percy to thank him.

"When have sweets ever failed to cheer you up, brother?"

Apollo smiled thinly and looked gratefully at his sister. Among his siblings, Persephone was the one he was closest to – it also helped that her husband owned the record-label that had signed him on and given him his great break-through. She owned a flower-shop, where Apollo had gotten all the flowers he had sent Percy to (and all the flowers he had sent to past crushes. He tended to fall in love quite easily, it was his biggest weakness and his biggest strength – his biggest hits were love-songs, ballads, songs about broken hearts, these kind of things).

"Very well, something sweet surely can't hu-", started Apollo just to pause.

He was in disguise, wearing a hoodie, hood up to cover his golden hair, sunglasses over his eyes. He looked just like a regular guy, not the suave charming musician, because he didn't want to immediately be recognized by everyone. However, it took him a moment to recognize the man behind the counter too. Without the fire-fighter uniform and instead in soft blue pastel...

"That's him", hissed Apollo, tugging hard on his sister's hand.

"Who's what?", asked Persephone confused, looking at him.

"The cutie behind the counter!", exclaimed Apollo, pointing. "That's the fire-fighter!"

Persephone blinked a couple of times and turned from Apollo over toward the baker behind the counter. "Percy? Wait. You mean Percy is the fire-fighter you're obsessed with? Percy?"

"Why do you say his name like that?", hissed Apollo confused.

"He's friends with my step-children", explained Persephone. "That's how I know the store. Bianca showed me, she's been bringing pastries home every Sunday for family dinners. And Nico used to have the hugest crush on him, back before he met Jason."

"...Huh", whispered Apollo. "Well. Yes. That's the Percy. The fire-fighter, I mean. The angel."

Persephone hummed, a smile on her lips as she tugged Apollo along toward the counter. "Percy, dear. How are you doing and what special thing did you make today?"

"Hey, Phone", greeted Percy with a smile on his lips. "Today's special is mango-quark cake."

"Perfect. That and your chocolate cake for my brother here. Polly, say something."

"Why would you do this to me, Phone?", complained Apollo distressed, slowly lifting his hood.

"Oh. Oh", whispered Percy surprised, looking between Apollo and Persephone. "How have you never mentioned that your brother is a famous singer?"

"It never came up in conversation", chimed Persephone with a shrug. "Come along, Polly."

She tugged Apollo along to sit and wait for their food and drinks to arrive. Apollo continued glaring and throwing longing glances at Percy. He looked so soft in his pastel clothes. Apollo was weak...

/break\

"How did the Apollo become a regular at my bakery?", whispered Percy distressed.

"First of all, our bakery. Second of all, because he has a giant crush on you", replied Grover.

Being a fire-fighter was fun and made money, but... not that much money. Two years ago, Percy and Grover had, with some silent partners from their fire-house, bought a coffee-shop. They sold a variety of sweets – including vegan treats, thanks to Grover's cunning abilities.

"He... He's a billionaire superstar, he is most definitely not crushing on me", laughed Percy amused.

Annabeth, who occasionally helped out as a barista, simply gave him the most scorching look at that. "I know for a fact that you aren't stupid, Jackson. Why would a billionaire come to a small bakery like that every week, multiple times. He tips you a fifty usually. He still brings you flowers."

"Because I saved his life", argued Percy confused and turned to look over at Apollo.

"Go on and ask him then if you know better than us", huffed Annabeth. "Go. Ask him."

She pushed the large coffee at Percy and raised her eyebrows at him. Sighing, Percy took it and the piece of cake Apollo had ordered and went to bring both to the superstar. Apollo looked up with a blinding smile, putting down his pen. He was always writing when he was here.

"What... are you writing, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Songs. This place is ideal for song-writing", stated Apollo. "Very... inspiring."

Percy smiled and nodded at that. So that was why Apollo came here, to write songs. Not whatever Annabeth and Grover were imagining. He put the food and drink down and returned to work.

/break\

Apollo came in with a stunning blonde. A model. Percy was pretty sure he had seen her on a cover or something. The two talked loudly, but suddenly after a little while, the beautiful woman ran up to Percy, excitement sparkling in her eyes as she pressed her hands against the glass and leaned in.

"You are so gorgeous. What a handsome face and those eyes are brilliant."

"Uhm... thank you", muttered Percy confused, blinking a couple times.

"Aphrodite, no. Please stop it, leave him alone", groaned Apollo as he came up behind her.

"Shush it, Polly. He is so pretty. I have a right to meet your new sweetheart."

"Why don't you uh order coffee and give me a moment with him?", pleaded Apollo.

Aphrodite sighed and obeyed with a pout, while Percy continued staring in confusion. "What?"

"Aphrodite is very obsessed with romance. She just asked me who my last date was and I got... flustered and just... pointed at you because I didn't want to tell her the truth. Please play along."

"Only if you tell me the truth", argued Percy, one eyebrow raised and blush on his cheeks.

Apollo glowered, his own cheeks dark-red. "I haven't had a date in months, that's it. Okay?"

"You... But... You literally just got this amazing new love-song out?", asked Percy confused.

"That's exactly why she is bugging me too", sighed Apollo, rubbing his forehead.

"C'mo—on. You've been a regular here for... for months now", offered Percy, at first teasingly but then slowly growing doubtful. "You come in... like... trice a day... to... write... your songs... oh."

Apollo bit his lip and glared at little at a doughnut to not look at Percy. "So I may have a slight... crush... on you. That's it, okay? But if I tell her that, she's just going to get pushy and try to set us up and... I wanted to spare both of us this embarrassment..."

"Huh", whispered Percy, blinking a few times and tilting his head. "So... Annie and Grover are right? You... really have... feelings for me. And here I thought they were imagining things."

"How could I not?", asked Apollo bewildered, pointing at Percy. "Look at you. Strong, cunning fire-fighter and soft, gentle baker at the same time!"

Percy could feel his cheeks heating up again and he ruffled his own hair awkwardly. "Uhm... so... you... fine just watching from a distance, or do you wanna take me out on a date, huh?"

Apollo stared wide-eyed and unmoved before he blinked a couple of times. "I... I... what?"

"I mean, you told your friend there that we are already dating, so how about we... date for real and you won't have to lie to her anymore?", suggested Percy with a cheeky grin.

Again, Apollo simply stared at him. Like he was trying to figure out if this was an awful or a brilliant idea. Percy simply continued smiling and waited, even as Aphrodite returned to them.

"Your cakes re amazing, Percy", pointed Aphrodite out. "But don't you spoil Polly too much. His personal trainer would torture him for it. Well, it was nice meeting you. Next time I come over, I demand details but for now I'll have to rush, I guess."

"No worries, next time you come over, I'll be able to tell you everything about our first date!", chimed Percy with a bright smile, flustering Apollo in the process.

Apollo sputtered, but he was definitely not going to argue with this. He... had a date.

#elements1999 #Apercy #Apollo #Percy Jackson #PJOverse #Phoe's Tumblr Drabbles

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gatesofember · 4 years

Text

Frailty and Fortune: Chapter 10

PJO Arranged Marriage/Royalty AU Part 10

Rating: T | Pairing: Solangelo

Prev | AU directory | Read it on AO3 (Recommended) | Arranged Marriage AU Masterpage

Summary: A few months have passed since Prince Nico’s wedding to William of Solace. Even with his husband at his side, Will sometimes feels lonely as he settles into his new life. He misses his home, his family, his friends, and his studies in Venadica. Meanwhile, Nico is uncertain how to help him, awkward about expressing himself, and he wonders if he’ll ever be able to truly make his husband happy. As time goes by and Will continues to feel lost in his new home, Will and Nico must both learn how to make their marriage work.

Nico was pacing. He had been pacing outside Will’s door for at least ten minutes, and before that, he’d been pacing inside his room.

“You’ve gone over everything you have to say,” Reyna reminded him, not for the first time. Nico could hear the clipped impatience that was starting to creep into her voice as she grew frustrated with him. “Just go in and talk to him.”

“Right,” Nico said. “I know what I have to say. I can do this.”

He came to a stop in front of Will’s door, reached out to knock, and then stopped.

“I can’t,” he said, for the fifth time. “I can’t do this.”

“Yes, you can,” Reyna insisted. “All you have to do is apologize and talk to him.”

Nico nodded. “Yes. I can. I can.” He took a deep breath, reached out again, and—

“But what if he’s busy?” Nico asked, pacing away again. “Perhaps I ought to wait until after supper.”

“Your Highness.”

“You’re right...you’re right...unless...what if he doesn’t want to talk to me? What if it’s better to wait for him to approach me?”

“Your Highness, if you don’t go in there right now and talk to him—”

“It’s hopeless. He hates me, I know it.”

“For the love of Rhea,” Reyna muttered, storming over to Will’s room. She made a few quick raps on the door, and when Will’s voice called permission to enter, she looked at Nico and waved for him to go inside. Nico shook his head and took a step back, but before he could escape, Reyna grabbed his arm, opened the door, and said, “His Highness is here to see you,” then she practically threw Nico in the room and shut the two of them alone inside.

Will’s room was bright in the afternoon sun, with the light from the windows sparkling on the gold in the walls and ceiling. Will lounged on the seat in one of the windows, holding a book in his lap. His face was the only thing in the room that was hidden in shadows, but Nico could tell he was watching him.

Nico cleared his throat. “I have come to apologize,” he said, just like he’d rehearsed, but his voice quivered in spite of his efforts to keep it steady. “I have not handled this argument well and I have been rude to you.”

Will said nothing. He did not stand. He only continued to watch Nico.

“I have cooled my temper and I’ve thought about this carefully,” Nico went on. “So if you’re willing, I’d like to talk now.”

Will closed his book and set it on the floor next to him, but he did not get up or offer Nico a seat. “Then let’s talk,” he said.

Nico brushed his hands down his coat and shuffled a few steps forward to stand in front of Will. When Will didn’t speak, he cleared his throat. “I—”

“I am furious with you,” Will cut in. “I have never been this angry in my entire life, did you know that? I have never felt more insulted than I did when you told me that I was only your consort. Do you understand why?”

“Because it made you feel useless,” Nico said quietly.

“Useless, powerless—and I already felt useless and powerless enough. I have been so miserable here, Nico. I don’t feel like the consort of a prince. You won’t ask me to help you or advise you—save once in Phrygia, and we both know how that ended—and you turn me away any time I try to be involved. I don’t feel like a consor, either. I’m not practicing medicine or studying. The court physician hates me and I don’t even know why. Nico, I don’t even feel like a husband . I feel like I’m less than a courtesan. An entertainer, perhaps.”

“Will,” Nico said, his chest clenching painfully.

“And then you told me that I was ‘only’ a consort,” Will went on. “You. My own husband. You are supposed to support me, but instead, you took everything that I have feared, every insecurity, and you threw it in my face.”

“I know,” Nico said quietly.

“And that’s not all,” Will continued. “I don’t know anyone. I don’t have any friends. My family and everyone else I know are far away. I’m in a city that I’m unfamiliar with. I don’t understand how the palace is run and I always feel like a burden. Nico, I’m not happy here.”

“Will, I....” Nico started. I didn’t know you felt that way, he considered saying. But he should have known. He’d wanted to make Will happy so badly, but he’d completely failed.

Very slowly, Nico stepped closer to Will, hesitantly touched his shoulder, and knelt on the floor in front of him. He noticed Will’s eyes on him, the whites turned pink like Will was trying not to show his tears.

“Did you know that I didn’t always want to marry?” Will suddenly asked. “I was willing to, but I wanted to be like a soror. I wanted to stay in Venadica and study, or return to Diana and be an advisor for my brother or a tutor for his children. I always thought that if I married, I would have to give up on my aspirations as a consor. I would have new duties as a husband, and perhaps as a father, too. But then my aunt told me I might have the chance to marry you and all that changed. Do you know why?”

“Because you admired me as a child?”

Will’s lips pursed. Nico couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or amused and he spent so long trying to figure it out that the intensity of Will’s eyes overwhelmed him and he had to look down.

“That wasn’t what I meant,” Will said. “Marrying a prince would be different from marrying a minor noble. If I married you, I wouldn’t have to sacrifice my aspirations. I would be close to Venadica. I could be a royal advisor. A prince’s consort has a great deal more authority than a simple consor, even one with my connections to the Matestra. If I married you, then I could use my education and influence to make a difference in the world.”

“But you don’t have that,” Nico said, his voice shaking and his hands trembling in his lap. “So you’re unhappy. I’m so sorry, Will. I’m so sorry.”

Recognize what you did wrong and acknowledge the way he feels , Persephone had said.

“I know I’ve done things wrong and that I’ve hurt you,” Nico said. “I made you feel alone and powerless when I should have supported you. I know that I’ve done this before, too—in Salacia and in Phrygia. You deserve much better than the way I’ve been treating you. And you are brilliant, Will. You are as brilliant as you are kind and you have so much to offer. I should not have taken that for granted. I’m so sorry, Will.”

Will was still quiet. His silence terrified Nico. Did Will not believe him? Or was it too late and Will had already grown weary of him?

Then Nico finally heard him move. He was shocked when Will leaned down to wrap his arms around him. Nico quickly returned the embrace and pressed his face against Will’s coat to breathe in his calming scent. How was it that he had become so desperate to feel Will’s arms around him after only a few days without?

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Nico said against the fabric of Will’s coat.

“I know,” Will whispered, releasing Nico far too soon for his liking. “Sit next to me. Let’s keep talking.”

Nico struggled to his feet, his legs feeling wobbly beneath him, and Will moved to the side of the window seat to make room. When Nico sat next to him, Will reached out to fix a lock of Nico’s hair—a short gesture of affection that filled Nico with guilt more than it did with hope.

“This isn’t the first time you have lashed out at me,” Will said with unnerving calmness.

“I know. I have a terrible temper and—”

“If this marriage is to work, you must learn to control it,” Will interrupted. “I have allowed this for too long. It ends now.”

“Yes,” Nico agreed. “I know. My temper is...it’s something I’ve been working on for years. But lately....” Nico swallowed. Once again, he remembered what Persephone had told him: listen to the problem, apologize, and propose ways to fix it. “I can do better. I will do better. I’ve already...I sent a letter to Venadica for help yesterday.”

“Help?”

Nico stared at his hands, clenching and unclenching in his lap. “My emotions. I sometimes...get overwhelmed.”

“Oh,” said Will, softly and quietly, with gentle understanding.

“I used to take special lessons,” Nico went on. “It was kept very quiet, but when I got back from the countryside, your aunt sent me a soror to guide my adjustment.”

“And did that help you?” Will asked.

Nico shrugged, then nodded. “Sometimes,” he said. “She helped me make sense of everything that happened at the Lotussium and taught me some ways to manage how I felt. I did try to use those the other day—she taught me that sometimes when I’m angry I should walk away and calm down. I tried to walk away when I got angry after seeing you and Reyna working on city plans, but...it didn’t work out. I should have told you that I needed time to myself. If I had, I’m sure I would have been able to think more clearly about it. I shouldn’t have been so angry.”

“No, that’s not true,” said Will, shaking his head. “You had every right to be upset about that. You were right—I went to Reyna because we’re both Venadi and I excluded you because you’re not. That was wrong of me. I have to apologize, too.”

“Oh,” Nico said dumbly. “You don’t need to apologize.”

“Yes, I do,” said Will. “I was wrong and I hurt you. I understand why you were so angry. What you said to me afterward was not acceptable, but you were not wrong for feeling angry after I insulted you. And I’m sorry that I didn’t realize you needed time to yourself. I’ll try to be more observant next time.”

Nico swallowed. “Next time?” he asked.

“You and I are very different people—of course we’re bound to argue every so often,” Will said. “I am not so naive as to think it will be fixed by one conversation. But we’re married now. We have to keep working on this together.”

Nico’s gut churned. “There is another option,” he whispered. “You don’t have to stay here.”

Will frowned. “What?”

“It’s not too late to annul our vows,” Nico continued, his voice sounding like a croak. “By Plutonian standards, the marriage hasn’t been consummated.”

“I...I don’t understand,” Will said. “Plutonian standards?”

“We can talk about the details another time,” Nico said. “The important thing right now is that we can still annul the marriage if that’s what you want.”

For a long, terrifying moment, Will was silent, then, in a soft voice, he said, “Is that what you want?”

Nico took a deep, shaky breath. “I don’t want you to stay because you think that you don’t have a choice. I want to be a good husband and that means I have to give you the freedom to leave. I won’t force you to stay in this marriage if it makes you unhappy.”

“Nico,” Will whispered, and suddenly his hands were on top of Nico’s, holding them firmly, yet gently. “You really think I’d want to leave?”

“You said you never wanted to marry in the first place,” Nico said. “You have dreams of staying in Venadica or returning to Diana to stay with your family. And you’re miserable here, Will. I don’t want to be responsible for that—”

Suddenly, Will’s arms were around him again and Nico’s nails were digging into the fabric of Will’s coat.

“I’m not leaving,” Will said. “I have new dreams now—dreams that you’re a part of. I want to work through this with you. This is where I want to be.”

Nico’s eyes burned and he pressed his face against Will’s shoulder. He clung to Will’s back tightly, willing himself not to cry or tremble. “I want you here, too,” he whispered.

“But I’m still angry and I need things to change.”

“I know,” Nico said, pulling away from Will’s arms to fish through his coat pocket. “I’ve done a lot of thinking about that. I already told my father that I plan on making you an official advisor. I wrote down some other ideas, too.” He found the paper in his pocket and took it out, unfolding it and handing it to Will. “My mother suggested that you should work with Hedge to plan your own security. She said that it would make you feel like you had more freedom if you were in charge of your security.”

“Then you’ll allow me to go to the city whenever I want?” Will asked, looking up from the scribbled notes that Nico had given him.

Nico shifted uncertainly, but said, “I’m beginning to realize that it’s not my place to ‘allow’ you to do anything. But...I’ll trust you to make your own security plans, yes. Please just promise me you’ll be safe.”

“I will. And maybe sometimes you can accompany me.”

“If you’ll have me,” Nico agreed. “I also had some ideas for medical work you could do, since Akhlys has made it clear she won’t work with you. You could be a veterinary consultant. My father also said we might hire a new pharmacist, if you’re interested in the job. We can look at the pharmacy later.”

“I’d love that,” said Will. “And I have some ideas of my own, too. There are public health projects I’d like to work on with Divitia, beginning with sanitation.”

“Then you will accept the position as my advisor?” asked Nico.

“Yes, of course I will. And from now on I won’t leave you out when I’m making plans. You were right—you should be a part of that.”

“We can also talk about organizing trips to Venadica, if you’d like,” Nico said. “I’ll support you if you choose to accept Midas’ proposal of sponsorship, but he’s also not your only option. We can find other ways, so you don’t have to feel pressured if—”

“I wrote to Midas and declined a while ago,” Will interrupted. “I only waited to be polite—it would have been rude to refuse him without at least pretending to consider his offer. I thought you understood that?”

“I...I didn’t want to assume. I was trying to respect that it was your choice.”

“Well, we had the same opinion on the matter,” said Will. “I don’t want to be associated with that man.”

“What about your studies?” asked Nico. “I know you’ve said that you’re not comfortable accepting Angelean funds, but my offer still stands and my father offered his support, as well.”

“Thank you, Nico,” Will said. “Perhaps someday, but as your new advisor, right now I suggest that royal funds should be used to benefit your people, not to show favoritism to your husband. Besides, there’s no reason I can’t continue my studies here. You have wonderful libraries and tutors.”

“If you need something more or something newer for your studies, we can talk about it,” Nico added. “And you can wear whatever you like—if you want to walk around with a green coat and orange breeches, I won’t say a word.”

Will frowned. “What’s wrong with wearing a green coat and orange breeches?” he asked.

Nico blinked. “I...uh...nothing. Of course there’s nothing wrong with—”

“I’m joking,” said Will. “I’m aware that I have no eye for fashion. Do you realize why I was so upset that you told me to change the other day?”

“I thought...” Nico started, but trailed off and shook his head.

“It was because you told me to change out of my consor clothes.”

“Oh,” said Nico. “And you already felt like I was denying that part of you, didn’t you?”

“Exactly.”

“Then from now on, I promise not to do that. Wear consor clothes as often as you like—or clashing colors. What you wear is your choice. I’ll respect that.”

“But...perhaps I’ll take the feedback when we have guests,” Will said. “Not everyone is so accepting.”

“I understand,” Nico said. “Are...are we alright now?”

Will squeezed Nico’s hand. “I think we will be. We have a lot to learn, but I believe that from now on, it’ll be easier.”

That evening, Nico tentatively approached Will and asked if he’d like to share a room for the night, quickly adding that he wouldn’t mind if Will would rather not. Will accepted Nico’s invitation—he and Nico didn’t always share a room, but they did so frequently enough that Will had grown accustomed to the warmth of another body beside his while he slept (another three bodies, if he included Asterion and Bonnie). They spent the night with Asterion at their feet and Bonnie dozing on her back between them while they whispered more about their fight. Nico opened up about the adjustment lessons he’d taken after spending so many years of his childhood secluded on the countryside, and Will admitted to his own newfound struggles with anger, frustration, and loneliness, and confessed that he wasn’t sure how to make sense of his feelings, either. When Nico suggested that Will could take adjustment lessons, too, Will was surprised, but after a few encouraging words from Nico, he agreed that it was a good idea. By the time they fell asleep late that night, Will felt warmer, more comfortable, and like he and Nico understood each other better than before.

In the morning while they were still lying in bed, Will once again asked Nico about what he’d meant when he’d said that their marriage was unconsummated. Nico went red and stammered through a vague half-explanation, but Will understood his meaning regardless of his clarity and flushed just as dark as Nico.

“Did you want to do that?” Will asked.

“I did, but not...right now,” Nico answered haltingly. “Consummation makes marriage very, very permanent, and that scares me. I’m not sure we’re ready for that. We’re barely even adults—maybe we need to grow more and settle into our marriage before making such serious commitments. I think waiting could be good for both of us.”

“I think that’s very wise of you,” said Will. “And I agree—maybe it’s best we wait.”

“Of course, if the...physical aspects make you uncomfortable, we don’t have to consummate it at all,” Nico added. “No one will know unless we tell them.”

Will wasn’t sure how he felt about the physical aspects yet. It had shocked him and even sounded a little bit frightening. He certainly didn’t want to do it right away, but maybe one day, he’d feel more comfortable. “Let’s set that discussion aside until we feel like we’re ready,” Will decided.

Asterion got out of bed a moment later and lumbered to the door, so Will stood up to let him out. Bonnie bounced after Asterion, and then Will went back to sit on the edge of the bed and comb his fingers through Nico’s messy morning hair. “I’m going to get dressed,” Will said. “You stay here as long as you like.”

Nico leaned into Will’s hand. “I’ll get up in a moment,” he said. “I’m taking you to the pharmacy before breakfast.”

With a light kiss to the top of his head, Will left Nico to go to his own room. After he dressed, Lityerses’ letter caught his eye. He picked it up and reread it, then sat down at his desk to draft his reply. He gave feedback on Zoë’s health, offered a few words of advice and encouragement for dealing with Midas, and then requested information on Phrygian sanitation.

“I’d also like to thank you for the concern you expressed in your letter and to assure you that your influence has not upset any balances that didn’t need to be upset,” Will wrote. “The truth is, I have been having a hard time—both in my marriage and in adjusting to life in Divitia. I’ve felt lonely, bored, and unappreciated. Your words gave me the push I needed to confront my husband about some issues we’ve been having. Unfortunately, neither of us handled the discussion well and we only ended up having another argument—a particularly bad one, at that. But after taking time to cool our tempers and think about what went wrong, we tried speaking again, and that time, it went extremely well. The Prince has made me an official advisor and he’s offered me the position of palace pharmacist. Although he can be stubborn and short-tempered, he also has a good heart and he cares for me very, very much. He will do whatever he can to make my life here a happy one. That is why our marriage will work—the arrangement was convenient for both of us, but the convenience is nothing compared to my love for him and his love for me.”

Will read it over again and, satisfied with what he’d written, signed the bottom of the last page and blew on the ink to make it dry faster. Just as he was folding the paper, Nico tapped on his door and peeked inside.

“Oh, Nico,” said Will, turning around in his chair to greet him. “Wonderful timing. I wanted to ask what you thought of these clothes?”

As Nico looked him up and down, cleared his throat, smiled, and said, “They’re...colorful.”

“I think that purple and green go together wonderfully, don’t you?”

Nico kept smiling. “Yes, it’s lovely.”

“And I do love floral patterns,” added Will, running his hands over his waistcoat.

“They look beautiful on you,” Nico agreed.

“Did you notice my shoes?” Will asked, sticking out his heels for Nico to see them—pink with blue ribbons.

“Very good,” said Nico.

“I was thinking of adding a hat. Wouldn't that be nice?”

“Um. Indoors?”

“Of course.”

Nico’s eye finally twitched, but he said, “I’m sure it would look handsome.”

“Oh, excellent—I was thinking of wearing the one with the lace, but was worried that it wasn’t colorful enough.”

Nico made a choking sound, then his eyes widened. “Oh gods, you’re joking,” he said. “You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”

Will laughed and rose from his desk, then he shed his green coat in favor of the lavender one he’d left out on the bed. “Yes, I’m joking,” he said, turning back around and holding up his arms for Nico to inspect his new ensemble. “Much better, right?”

When Nico hesitated, Will frowned and looked down at himself. “Is it not?” he asked. “What did I do wrong? The coat and breeches are both purple.”

“Well...they’re very different purples,” said Nico. “It’s really not so bad, though—I promise. Besides, you can wear whatever you want. What matters is that you like it.”

Will looked at his clothes a moment longer, trying and failing to see the difference between the purples, and decided that he was happy with his outfit.

“So, are you writing to your family?” Nico asked.

“No, to Lityerses,” Will answered, looking back up from his clothes to watch Nico’s reaction. When Nico’s shoulders tightened, he asked, “Are you still jealous?”

“Maybe a little bit,” Nico admitted. “But that’s alright—I’m working on it. You don’t have to keep asking me if I’m jealous or worry about my feelings.”

“Are you sure?” Will asked.

“I’m sure,” Nico answered. “So is it a social letter or are you going to ask him for details about Phrygian sanitation?”

“Both,” said Will. “I mentioned you.”

Nico’s head tilted to the side. “What about me?”

Will grinned and stepped forward. “I said that you are stubborn, short-tempered, and that I love you very much.”

Nico frowned. He didn’t say anything.

Will touched his arm. “Nico—”

“You haven’t said that since we fought.”

“What?”

“That you love me.”

“I—”

“I love you, too.”

Then Nico’s arms were around Will’s waist, and Will hugged him back. It felt warm and right and Will was glad to have it again.

“I also wrote that we had a fight,” Will said.

“Oh,” said Nico. “That’s good.”

Will pulled away to look at Nico. “Is it? Because I understand if you want to keep that private.”

Nico averted his eyes. “When I was living in the Lotussium, I couldn’t send many letters to anyone outside Minos’ estate because of the quarantine and...well. Later I found out that Minos may have been purposely cutting off my communication with anyone else, as well. When things started to get bad, I didn’t have anyone outside to talk to or ask for help. So yes, I think it’s good that you can tell someone that we fought—particularly someone who’s nearby but isn’t my family or my family’s staff.”

“Nico,” Will said sadly, reaching out to touch Nico’s cheek.

Nico caught his hand and held it instead. “It’s alright. All that’s over now.” He kissed Will’s fingers. “Come on, let’s go see the pharmacy before Jules-Albert arrives with breakfast.”

Nico led Will out of their apartments by the hand, down the stairs and past the infirmary, then opened the door to the palace pharmacy. Barely any light came in from the dirty windows, but what little did caught on dust particles floating through the air. Something smelled stale and something else smelled acidic, and a hundred other smells that Will couldn’t identify meshed together into an olfactory nightmare. There was a pile of broken glass shoved away in a corner, the floors had stains, papers were strewn across every surface, and drawers were half-open or falling out of the cabinet.

“What do you think?” Nico asked from behind him.

“Nico...it’s awful,” Will said. “Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a filthy pharmacy. You store medicine here?”

Nico looked around the room with an uncertain frown. “I thought all pharmacies were like this?”

“Gods, no,” said Will. “It’s horrible. I’ve wasted months that I could have spent organizing! How did Akhlys let it come to this?”

“Then you do want to work here?” Nico asked in a tentative voice.

“Nico, I need to work here. It’s dusty and dirty and the floors are stained and for the love of Rhea, what are all those smells?”

“Akhlys doesn’t like the cleaning staff to meddle,” Nico said.

“She doesn’t want the pharmacy cleaned? Well then, I suppose you might as well stop cleaning the kitchens, too.”

“Will—”

“I need to change out of these ridiculous clothes into something more manageable,” said Will. “Where’s Mellie? I’m going to need her help.”

“Then I suppose we’re eating breakfast here?” Nico asked.

“Eating here? Gods, no! There’s no telling what sorts of substances are tainting the surfaces. We’d poison ourselves if we ate here.”

“Then how about we go back to our rooms, just for a little while,” suggested Nico. “After breakfast, we’ll spend the day here organizing.”

Will looked at Nico in surprise. “You’ll help?” he asked.

“If you’ll let me,” said Nico, his hand sliding into Will’s. “Come on, let’s go eat.”

In the end, Nico was not very good at helping when it came to tidying up the pharmacy, so he was confined to a desk and chair where he was tasked with stacking papers and writing new labels while Will and Mellie handled the cleaning. Reyna entered at some point in the afternoon, presumably to take Nico to his lessons, but after watching them in the doorway for a moment, she entered the room and offered her help. By evening, the room had been dusted, the broken glass had been swept up, the windows had been washed, and the stains had been mopped, and Will had started looking over the inventory. It was dark outside when Nico put his hand on Will’s shoulder and convinced him to rest for the night. “It’ll be here in the morning,” he promised.

Will nodded and let Nico pull him away.

“Are you happy?” Nico asked as Will readied himself for bed.

Will looked over his shoulder and saw Nico sitting on the edge of the bed and blinking back at him, his spine straight and hands folded in his lap. He looked nervous, but hopeful, too.

“Yes,” said Will. “I’m happy.”

Nico let out a breath and his posture relaxed. “Good,” he said.

Will smiled and approached him to put his hand in Nico’s hair. “Thank you for listening to me.”

“And thank you for listening to me,” Nico answered. He kissed Will’s wrist. “I’ll do better from now on.”

“I know,” said Will. “We both will.”

#arranged marriage au #solangelo #Will solace #Nico di Angelo #my fic

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flightfoot · 4 years

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i feel like you made a post about what gods would vote for apollo to be brought back to olympus/not to kill meg or something, and i'm trying to find it to use for something, but i can't find it? it's not in your analysis masterpost, and that thing is LONG.

Um... it’s not EXACTLY what you’re asking for, but is this it? If not I can make a new analysis of a specific question.

Of course, Olympus hasn’t stopped existing through all of this. There is no longer a King of the Gods, at least officially. Instead, the Olympians form a council of equals, like Hera suggested in “Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods”, when she, Apollo, Artemis, and Athena tried to overthrow Zeus the first time.

Now, this probably wouldn’t work on its own - the gods squabble so much, they need someone to help them get along. It worked in this case though, because of a complicated series of alliances and friendships.

Apollo, Artemis, and Hermes have the strongest alliance, forged from bonds of family and friendship. They work together to make sure that demigods get to camp safely. Without Zeus enforcing his stupid “we can’t help demigods, but they have to do whatever we tell them without complaint” laws, they are all far more proactive in picking up any demigods who seem to be in trouble, and transporting them to safety. Apollo especially keeps an ear out for any demigods with grave injuries or illness, and tries to at least send ambrosia and nectar to them, if not actually heal them. When the three of them DO disagree, they always do their best to make sure the others know WHY they disagree.

Now for most of these others, the demigods come in handy. A lot of the gods care about their children more than they used to, and their kids are louder and more demanding about their parents actually growing up and getting along. Remember that whole headcanon I posted awhile ago, where Apollo makes a sunbeam bracelet for Nico and Hazel, to help prevent them from fading into shadow? (I think I just listed Nico initially, but I figure they could both use one). Between that help Apollo gave, Nico dating one of Apollo’s sons, and Hades just generally being glad that Zeus isn’t in charge anymore, he’s actually a pretty firm ally for Apollo. Plus Nico and Hazel tend to yell at him when he’s being a butt.

Poseidon and Hephaestus are generally very reasonable in the Riordanverse, so while they occasionally serve as dissenting voices, they usually have good reasons behind their concerns. Percy is especially adept at convincing Poseidon to change his mind, if the need arises.

Demeter hasn’t really been fond of Zeus since he allowed Hades to get away with kidnapping Persephone, plus Meg will often try to talk her around (or rather, tell her she’s being stupid and explain why). She’s rather pleased that Zeus got his comeuppance for incinerating Meg. She usually isn’t too hard to convince.

Hera doesn’t like most of the gods on the council, and most of them don’t like her, but she IS glad that they’re getting along. Plus they’re more proactive than they were under Zeus, which Juno is very happy about.

Hestia gets along with everyone. She and Apollo are especially friendly these days.

Athena may not like being on the same side as Poseidon so often, but after Percy willingly fell into Tartarus to be with Annabeth, she’s pretty much resigned herself to getting along with him. Her favorite daughter is with his favorite son, and they’re clearly never going to be willingly separated. Athena’s smart enough to see that this new council is working out better than the old one anyway, and does her best to help thoroughly explain different sides’ arguments, if they have good arguments but aren’t necessarily the best at articulating them. She’s glad that she can finally do so without fear that Zeus will blow up. He may have been most reasonable with her, out of all his children, but that’s partly because she knew exactly how far and in what ways she could push him.

Ares and Aphrodite are both pretty contrary and unreliable, and tend to not listen to everyone else. That’s not all that different from before, though. They don’t listen to their children much either, so they often can’t persuade them.

Dionysus may pretend to hate the demigods, but he’s secretly fond of them - fond enough to not want them to die at least. He’ll try to avoid most votes that make it clear how much he cares for the demigods, unless he has to serve as a tiebreaker. That hardly ever happens though, most of the council are pretty on-the-ball about trying to keep their children alive. He can be fairly contrary by nature, but he and Apollo have always gotten along pretty well, since Apollo is so fond of parties, plus he also tended to be punished harshly by Zeus. When Apollo really needs him, he usually comes through.As for the minor gods, most of them like Apollo. He’s always treated them decently (flirted with a decent amount of them too).

Apollo tries his best to fulfill Jason’s promise ,and make sure all the minor gods are honored. He personally ensures that all of them have shrines, and whenever he has a concern about something that falls within their Sphere of Influence, he makes a point of consulting all gods that have relevant power or knowledge, and thanking them for their help. He lets them know that they can talk to him if they have concerns, and asks them to tell him if they have demigod children who need help. So while the exact nature of each god’s relationship to both Apollo and the council as a whole varies, they’re generally pretty happy with the new arrangement. Certainly happier than when Zeus was in charge.

So gradually, without really intending to, without any formal announcement, Apollo becomes the leader of Olympus. Not through fear and overwhelming power like Zeus did, but instead through kindness and friendship.

#trials of apollo #ask

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