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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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cassieschaosdimension · 3 years

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Okay! Here it is the fanfic some of you have been requesting!

Enjoy it!

"Nico!" Will called to his boyfriend. "Put that sweater on right now! You know you want to!" He starts running after Nico with said sweater in hand. He knows his boyfriend wants to wear it, but the goth message is too strong.

Nico is being chased all over their apartment in New Rome by his overly energetic boyfriend who wants to match for their first Christmas on their own. He would have put the sweater on by himself, but it was too ugly to be seen on anyone. Even Hephaestus and the guy was ugly!

Will stopped all of a sudden and stared at the sweater in his hand. "Nico, it's not that bad! Please wear it! For me!"

Oh no Nico thought as he watched his boyfriend turn on that Southern charm and the puppy dog eyes. He tried to look away, but found he couldn't because Will was advancing slowly towards him.

"William," Nico says slowly edging towards the front door of their one bedroom apartment. "Be reasonable, would you want your dad, the fashion guru of Greek mythology to see me in that?!" The horror is present in his tone. "First off, I would not wear it and you know I would wear almost anything to please you. I draw the line at that thing!"

This gives Will a pause as he considers the question. He stares at the jingle bells stripes and Christmas tree underneath them. The green and gold don't work out and the red of the presents aren't helping the poor sweater's case. He thinks back to the time his dad yelled at him for wearing sandals with socks because he was in a rush after being late for cabin clean up duty. He shudders. He does not want a repeat of his over dramatic father flapping his arms while lecturing him on fashion choices.

Will sighs. "Alright Nico. You win this one. My dad's fashion lectures aren't for the faint of heart and I've had enough of them to last a lifetime. But please dress in green or red okay? You would look really good in emerald green." He starts walking to their room.

Nico grins to himself. He's won this round with his mad reasoning skills. Then again, he almost always wins his arguments with Will. Decades in the Lotus Casino arguing over games will do that to you. Then he registers what his boyfriend requested of him.

He starts to run after Will. "Will! I don't have emerald clothing! I have brown, black, and grey! What are you talking about?! William! Get over here!"

Will cackles to himself while going through their closet. He bought his boyfriend colored clothes for occasions with his father and Nico looks delicious in cool, dark times so that's what he bought. He was lucky he hid them on his side of the closet. He turns to see his boyfriend glaring at him.

Nico stares at his poor boyfriend he only knows wants to help him make an impression on Hades. It was only supposed to be the two of them and Hades and Persephone, but of course Apollo had to invite himself. Rolling his eyes at the memory he turns back to Will with his hands on his hips glare still in full force.

With a pleading look on his face, Will is desperate. They're running late and he doesn't want to leave the three gods alone more than they have to be. "Nico," cue the sigh. "We're already running late and I don't want to find a war going on with your stepmom in the middle. She's scary."

"Will… Fine!" Nico says throwing his hands up and walking to grab the shirt from his boyfriend who is now grinning broadly. He walks to the bathroom and changes into the shirt grumbling about Will and if he didn't live him he wouldn't do this.

Meanwhile Will is getting dressed in a dark maroon, fluffly long sleeve sweater and dark blue jeans with black vans. When Nico comes back from the bathroom his heart stops.

His boyfriend stands slightly slouched, uncomfortable with the attention. The emerald shirt sets off his long lashes, dark eyes, and raven hair perfectly. Will wants to swoon, but they have business to attend to.

"Good you're ready to go. Hades confirmed he's ready for us?" Will says coming next to Nico.

In response Nico nods and they head out the door. "Just so you know," Nico says with an undertone. "I'm only wearing this shirt and making nice with your dad because your mom loves me so now I need to win over your dad."

Will doesn't tell Nico his dad was won over the minute Nicon said hello, I'm only here because Will made me. Maybe he might actually behave. One can hope.

They head to the car deep in each of their thoughts. Nico is worried how long his dad is going to last in Apollo's presence. Will is worried how long Hades can stand to be in his dad's presence because Apollo is overbearing.

They have agreed to meet in the Underworld and Zeus has given Apollo permission to head down there to celebrate with them. As Will starts to drive south, the air in the car turns warmer. They banter and whine about the music choice. Nico wants Green Day and Will wants to listen to Blake Shelton.

They left around eleven in the morning on Christmas Day and it takes them about seven hours to get to Hollywood because of traffic in the LA area. They park the car and walk behind the Hollywood sign, Will grabbing Nico's leather jacket in the way behind the sign because even with a sweater on the Underworld is a child, unforgiving place. There Will grabs onto Nico and they shadow travel down to Hades' living room.

Nico wonders why they couldn't shadow travel in the first place and why Will insisted they drive when they walk in and he immediately knows why.

Persephone is standing by the wall her hands over her head while her husband and cousin are going at it.

"This is my domain Apollo you do not have the authority to say what's going to be served for dinner. I can do that on my own."

"But Uncle, you're serving turkey! It's supposed to be ham! Most mortals use ham!" Turning to his son he implores him. "Will tell Hades most mortals use ham for their Christmas dinner!"

Will is torn between getting the approval of his boyfriend's father and his dad. He ultimately goes for the one that will save his life. "Dad, many mortals celebrate Christmas differently or not at all. If Nico's dad wants to serve turkey then let him serve turkey! We are here as his guests and I expect you to behave!"

Apollo looks torn but nods and says "Will, I know you want to make a good impression on Uncle over there, but I am your father!"

"No dad. Mom raised me to have manners and her manners have taught me to accept all food unless I am allergic to it and I have no food allergies. Now sit down and we can eat." Will turns to Lord Hades. "Please excuse my father Lord Hades. I had a talk about this with him earlier, but it seems to have not rectified in his brain."

Hades nods and strides over to Nico. "Nico. Thank you for coming. I am starting to warm up to the boy, but I still need time."

Nico sighs his left hand clenching in a fist involuntarily. "Father you have been given years to accept Will. And it seems you have, but you don't want me to know. Father, the spirits talk."

Hades looks shocked and now angry. "Now listen here Nico. I may have approved of him, but he must be worthy of Maria DiAngelo's child. Bianca wishes she were here, but she is having fun in the fields of Elysium."

Meanwhile Will and Apollo are having their own discussion.

"But Will, Uncle said he didn't mind me coming!"

"Dad, you invited yourself here, remember? I know what mom saw in you, but really. Your manners need brushing up. For real. Just because Lord Hades is your uncle doesn't mean you can barge into his domain even with Lord Hades permission." Will feels like a dad reprimanding a child.

"William," Apollo strikes a pose. "I am the god of music and medicine. This is a celebration with my son and son in law. I had to come." He dramatically sighs and heads to the table. "Come now Will, let's stuff our faces!

As Will follows his dad he wonders who exactly the child is. He looks over at his boyfriend and his dad. They look like they're still having a heated discussion. Luckily for Will he has Nico's jacket so the chill in the air isn't as bad as it could have been. Nico hasn't noticed the jacket is gone until he brings his hands up to tig it around himself and it's gone. Looking up he mock scowls at Will.

Nico walks up to his boyfriend with an air of I don't care. They both know he cares very much. "Will, give me my jacket."

In response Will sticks out his tongue and says no. This results in a banter fight much like the one back at the apartment.

Will doesn't want to give the jacket back because it's warm and he's freezing. Nico says he can get him another one of Nico's leather jackets. But Will isn't having it. He knows this is Nico's favorite jacket hence why it was in the car, he takes that thing everywhere he goes. He wants to wear his boyfriend's favorite jacket. His boyfriend wants to wear his favorite jacket. The two of them are so engrossed in their argument they don't see the three adults smiling at them.

Persephone was reminded of how she first felt arguing with Hades over the fact she was kidnapped against her will by a much older man. She was intimidated by this man yet she felt some sort of weird connection to him. She pitied him because he was older and lonely down here with no one but Cerberus to keep him company. Eventually she came to care for this man unlike her stepson and his boyfriend who genuinely seem to get along even when arguing.

She goes over to break it up. "Boys, you can have this argument later. Nico, let Will keep the jacket, you can feel him shivering. I'll go turn up the fire. Will dear, come sit and stuff your face as your impatient father has been doing for the past half hour.

At this Apollo looks up turkey gravy dripping from his mouth. They all sigh and hope this is over soon. The dinner drags on and on and suddenly Hades can't take it anymore. While the rest of the group has polite conversation, Apollo finds it necessary to butt in and make it funny when it's not.

Normally Will accepts this behavior with grace, but not on Christmas and not when he is trying to get approval from his boyfriend's father who happens to be Lord of the Dead.

"Hey Dad," Will says from across the table where he has watched his dad pack away most of the food on the table. "I don't appreciate this and maybe I'll tell mom about this little gathering and how your Southern manners disappeared." He raises an eyebrow and Apollo's response is hilarious.

He sits up straight and acts like a Southern gentleman the rest of the time. Will signs in exasperation and turns to Nico and Lord Hades.

"Lord Hades, please forgive my father for his behavior," here he pauses while throwing side glances at his father.

Hades waves his hand in a gesture of peace. "Please boy. This is almost tame for my nephew. Did you enjoy your meal?"

Turning to Nico for reassurance Will answer carefully. "Yes Lord Hades. The good was quite delicious. Thank you for inviting us over for dinner."

"You are welcome boy," Hades says turning to his son. "Now, let's get the gift giving over with so my nephew can go home." The two snicker together and Will tries not to join in. It's impossible though as Persephone is talking to Apollo utterly bemused while he sprouts haikus about the meal.

"Father, here is my gift to you," Nico's voice carries as he hands a gift to Lord Hades.

"Thank you son. I appreciate it." His voice also carries. Apollo is beginning to quiet down and not be so energetic. Now he begins to get downright cocky. He's no longer dramatic.

He heads to their end of the table near the tree Persephone insisted on having. "Ahhhh presents. I remember when I was youn-" Apollo is cut off when Nico hands him a gift.

They're all speechless and Will stares at Nico in shock. Looking around at all of them he asks "what? I can give gifts."

A shocked silence falls over the room when Will throws himself in Nico's arms. He whispers in his boyfriend's ear. "He didn't expect to get one from you Nico. Look, you made him cry. " They look over still wrapped in each other's arms. Apollo is in fact hugging the gift while grinning with happy tears running down his face.

The look on Will's face says it all. Nico grins as he watches his boyfriend watch his dad open the gift. Suddenly Apollo is rushing towards Nico and grabs him in a hug. Stiffening Nico is confused but then reaches around the god and hugs him back.

Hades looks on with pride at his son who with Will Solanc's aid will grow to be a fine young man. He already was, but since he met Will he had grown in leaps and bounds in height and personality. He was proud of his boy.

Will is beaming with pride at the fact his boyfriend was thoughtful enough to get his dad a gift. To their surprise Apollo hands a gift right back to Nico.

The night is just full of surprises and after the gift giving and opening, Will and Nico start to clean up to head out. They had fun despite the rocky start and by the end of the night Hades had laughed out loud more times than Apollo can remember and Apollo hadn't felt the need to be cocky or arrogant. He was the man Will's mom must have fallen in love with.

As Nico and Will get up to leave Apollo hugs each of them, but Nico's is especially long. He whispers thank you for everything in his ear. Nico is absolutely shocked. He didn't think Apollo knew the words thank you. But here he was a mere demigod getting thanked by a god! Wow, Will's dad is full of surprises…

Apollo then goes over and hugs Hades and Persephone. He really is full of surprises today. He goes and leaves. In his wake four very confused people discuss what happened.

Hades wants to know how his nephew behaved all nice and sweet. He almost didn't recognize him! Persephone told him it was because he realized he could be himself and not have to put an image up.

Nico says he doesn't know which Apollo he finds most sickening, earning him a slap on the back of the head from Will.

They discuss it more and the four grow closer. The Christmas dinner really was a success even with Apollo there. Nico hugs his father and stepmother then gathers up their gifts. Will goes up to Hades and shakes his hand thanking him for inviting them. Persephone hugs Will saying he must come back soon when Nico next visits them.

Soon the two fade into shadows with the two immortals waving after them. Will takes off the jacket and puts it back in the backseat of the car with a grin.

"Well Neeks, I'd say it was a success though I was worried for a second." Will says getting into the driver's seat.

"Me too Will. Your dad actually seems like a really nice guy. I bet it gets tiring putting up a facade all the time," Nico responds through a yawn. "Will, don't drive all the way home. Stop at a hotel okay?"

Nodding Will turns the ignition and starts to drive. They talk about the dinner and how different it turned out from what they expected. Then they start to banter tearing each other with how they expected the night to end up.

"Neeks, you look really good in emerald holy Hera!" Will glances over at his tired boyfriend who is drifting off.

"Will, don't even start you look amazing in my leather jacket. Maybe I'll let you wear it more often." Smiling to himself Nico thinks he'll let only Will wear his leather jacket now. They can share it. His last words before he falls asleep are: "I love you William so pull into a hotel and we'll spend the night there. You're not driving all the way home this late."

Nico's soft snores fill the car and Will can't help but think he and Nico are made for each other. They complement one another perfectly and he thinks back on all the memories they've made together since they got together all those years ago.

Seeing a vacancy sign at a motel he pulls into the parking lot. He leaves Nico snoring away while he goes and asks for a room. Coming back out he rouses Nico and tells him he can sleep in a real bed.

Half asleep Nico leans on his boyfriend for support. The night turned out better than he could ever expected. Maybe next year they could shadow travel or even stay the night.

As Will supports his boyfriend while walking to the room he thinks of how grateful he is to Apollo for catching the eye of his mother so he could he born and also Lord Hades because he made Nico come into existence.

Opening the door, Will walks over to the bed placing the dozing Nico on it. After giving him a forehead kiss he goes to the other side of the bed. "Love you too Neeks."

Both Nico and Will dream about the wonderful Christmas dinner they just had and wonder what will happen next year.

And that's a wrap (lol) on they fanfic! I hope you guys like it! Please let me know what you think of it!

#solangeo #solangelo fanfic #fanfic #short fanfic #riordanverse #hades #apollo #persephone

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gatesofember · 6 years

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Meadows of the Sea: Chapter 5

PJO Arranged Marriage/Royalty AU Part 7

Rating: M | Pairing: Percabeth, Jiper, Solangelo

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

Summary: Prince Percy couldn’t be happier. After years of waiting, he is finally marrying the friend and lover he has been betrothed to since childhood. Prince Nico invites his fiancé to accompany him to the wedding, where he can’t help but dream about his own pending marriage. Prince Jason, who has been unable to secure a new engagement after Reyna’s rejection, may finally find the right woman to make his empress.

Nico was not in the mood to see anyone. He would have gladly hidden in his guest room all day, hiding under the blankets and feeling sorry for himself. Unfortunately, Reyna would not allow it. She arrived early in the morning and woke him up with the announcement that he had been invited to breakfast in Prince Percy and Annabeth’s apartments.

He dragged his feet the entire way there, and no amount of glaring or scolding from Reyna made him behave. Finally, Reyna stopped him and asked if something was bothering him, but Nico brushed her aside. No matter how upset he was, Nico was too ashamed to tell her about how he’d lashed out at Will the night before. He knew that she would be able to advise him on what he ought to do, but Nico couldn’t bring himself to admit what he’d done. For once, pride wasn’t the only thing holding his tongue; what really kept him from speaking was the extreme sense of guilt.

Annabeth and Percy were in the drawing room when he arrived. Nico was disgusted as he eyed their clothes—or lack thereof. Although they were both wearing dressing gowns, neither of them were very covered. Annabeth was the most dressed of the two, as she at least appeared to be wearing a stay and petticoat under her dressing gown. Percy had put on his breeches, but Nico thought he should have had the decency to wear a waistcoat.

When Reyna didn’t join Nico inside, he nearly panicked at the uncomfortable thought of being left alone with the bride and groom. Before he could beg her not to go, Percy greeted him. “Good morning, Nico,” he said.

“Prince Nico,” Nico corrected automatically. He cursed himself when he heard the door shut behind him, meaning that he’d lost his chance to keep Reyna from leaving.

“Would you like some tea while we’re waiting for the others?” Percy asked, as though Nico hadn’t said anything.

He was glad to at least hear that he wouldn’t be having breakfast with the bride and groom alone. “I suppose,” Nico said glumly. He was taken aback when Percy poured the tea himself. In fact, there weren’t any servants in the room at all.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when a door to his left opened and Jason stepped out, covering his mouth as he yawned. Jason was in the same state of dress as Percy and looked as though he had barely woken up. He did not seem surprised to see Nico; he just smiled and wished them all a good morning, and Percy offered to pour him tea as well. Nico looked between the three of them for an explanation, but none of them acted like anything out of the ordinary had happened. He decided not to question Jason’s odd appearance.

“Here you are,” Percy said as he passed out their cups. “The kitchens should bring our food soon, so have a seat until then.”

Percy joined Annabeth on one of the couches and Jason say on another, but Nico was still standing in idle bewilderment when a second door opened and a woman Nico didn’t recognize stepped out. She was even less dressed than the others, judging by the rather free movement of her body underneath her dressing gown. She didn’t even appear to be wearing a corset, much less a stay.

“How many people do you have hiding in here?” Nico demanded, searching the rest of the doors and wondering which would open next.

“Just the two,” replied Annabeth before standing to kiss the woman’s cheeks in greeting. “Good morning, Piper. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, very well,” answered the woman. “Thank you for loaning me your dressing gown.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” said Annabeth. “You may as well keep it; it looks far better on you than it ever did on me.”

By the time Percy offered the woman a cup of tea, Nico’s surprise had worn off enough for his outrage to return. “Who are you?” he demanded.

“Ah,” Jason said, smiling as the woman sat beside him. “Nico—”

“Prince. Prince Nico.”

“—I would like to introduce Piper of Venus, who, with luck, will soon be my fiancée.”

Nico was too shocked to even blink. “Fiancée?” he repeated.

“Yes!” Jason answered cheerfully. “I have found a fiancée.”

“Oh, praise the gods,” Nico whispered. At least Reyna was safe from him.

“Well, hopefully she will be my fiancée,” Jason went on. “We will meet with Athena today to seek her approval. If we have Athena’s approval, we’ll get the approval of the rest of the court, and then we’ll need to sort out the details of the contract before anything is made official. We just met and nothing has been planned yet. So are we friends now?”

Nico shook his head in confusion. “I...what?”

“In Venadica, you promised we would be friends if I found someone to marry,” Jason explained.

“I did no such thing!”

“I think he’s happy for you,” Percy said.

“Thank you for your support, Nico,” Jason said, then he bitterly added, “Of course, all of this is assuming that Athena can behave herself.”

Annabeth muttered a few rude words into her tea. Percy and Jason beamed at her in approval. Nico was even more perplexed.

“Athena’s a bitch,” Percy said in response to Nico’s expression, as though that explained everything.

Nico’s bewilderment gave way to indignation. “You Neptonians and your revolting use of language—”

“Yes, we Neptonians are wonderfully scandalous,” Percy said dismissively. “Anyway, do you have Neptonian blood, Nico? You have some Neptunian features—the shape of your nose, for one.”

Nico almost dropped his cup. His birth mother, Lady Maria, had been Venusian. In appearance, Nico took after Hades, so no one found it suspicious that Nico didn’t look much like Persephone. In fact, people often imagined that they could see bits of Cerese blood in him and compared him to Persephone. “Neptonian?” he asked, pretending to be indifferent. “Going back several generations. But we all have mixed blood; your eyes are Plutonian.”

“So is your personality,” Percy replied in such a casual voice that Nico didn’t realize it was a taunt until Jason snorted.

“Personality...?” Nico asked.

“You fit the stereotype,” Percy commented.

“What stereotype?” Nico demanded.

Percy is calling you a prude,” Jason said.

“A prude?” Nico repeated in outrage. “I have a sense of decency, unlike you Neptonians!”

“Is that so?” said Percy. “But you know, I think that we vulgar Neptonians are starting to rub off on you. With all those kisses you gave your fiancé yesterday, I fear that you will soon become just as delightfully debauched as me.”

Part of Nico felt horrified by the idea. Part of Nico feared that he had already become as licentious as Percy. But most of Nico felt miserable, because he didn’t know if he’d even have the opportunity to kiss Will again.

Percy’s eyebrows drew together like he realized he had gone too far. “I meant that in jest, Nico. I apologize if I offended you.”

“I am offended,” Nico said, intending to seem angry but only sounding pitiful.

“I did not intend to sound like I was belittling your people,” Percy said. “It’s true that we are very different and I don’t completely understand Plutons, but I do not look down on—”

“That’s not it,” Nico mumbled.

“Then why...oh. I see.”

A second of silence ticked by. Annabeth was the one to break it.

“Piper, come with me and I’ll help you dress,” she said, putting aside her tea and standing. She offered Piper her hand and led her through one of the doors. Nico was not sure what made Annabeth think that he wanted to be alone with Percy and Jason, but, strangely, a piece of him enjoyed the privacy.

“Is everything alright with you and Will?” Percy asked when the women were gone.

“Everything is fine,” Nico mumbled.

“Annabeth and I have argued plenty of times,” said Percy. “Perhaps I can help.”

Nico looked from Percy to Jason, taking in their identical expressions of concern. He reminded himself to keep his feelings private. It was inappropriate enough that he had acted the way he had the night before. There was no need to share it, and he certainly should not burden anyone with such things.

And yet, Nico found himself blurting out, “I shouted at him. I said some things that I shouldn’t have.”

“Such as?” Jason asked.

Nico shook his head. He couldn’t bring himself to repeat it. The words he’d said were so cruel and thoughtless—he was even more ashamed of what he’d said to Will than he was of his obscene desires.

“I didn’t mean it,” Nico mumbled without offering an explanation. “I was just...nervous.”

“Why were you nervous?” Jason asked.

“Because he started to tease me!” Nico hissed, jabbing his finger in Percy’s direction.

Percy looked taken aback. “You mean...about kissing Will? That upset you?”

“Of course it upset me!” growled Nico. “I shouldn’t...it’s not...it wasn’t appropriate. I shouldn’t have done it.”

Percy sighed and shook his head. “Nico, I should have known better than to tease,” he said. There wasn’t even a hint of a taunt in his voice, but it still took Nico a second too long to trust that Percy was being honest. Nico wanted to be angry, but Percy’s apology was so obviously heartfelt that Nico couldn’t even bring himself to feel more than mildly annoyed.

“You weren’t at fault,” Nico sighed. “I was already overwhelmed.”

“So what did you say to Will?” Jason asked. “That you didn’t want to kiss him?”

“Or that you regretted kissing him?” Percy said.

“Something like that,” Nico mumbled. What he had really said was worse, but Nico couldn’t bring himself to repeat it. “I didn’t mean it,” he said again.

“Did you tell him you didn’t mean it?” Percy asked.

“I tried,” Nico grumbled. “But he just apologized and told me that he wasn’t offended and he’d be more careful in the future. But I don’t want him to be more careful! He didn’t even kiss me when we said goodnight and now he’ll never kiss me again and it’s my fault for losing my temper and—”

“Slow down, Nico,” Percy cut in.

“Prince Nico!”

“Prince Nico. I’m sure Will would love to kiss you. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit yesterday. All you have to do is talk to him and sort this out.”

“I’m terrible at talking,” Nico mumbled. “Things always go horribly wrong and everyone ends up hating me.”

“Jason and I don’t hate you,” Percy said. “I wouldn’t have invited you to my ritual bathing ceremony if I didn’t like you at least a little bit.”

“Have you not noticed how hard I’ve been trying to get you to like me?” Jason added. “I find your company quite enjoyable.”

Nico scowled. He might have blushed.

“All you have to do is be honest with Will,” Jason went on. “Just explain how you feel.”

“How am I supposed to do that?” Nico snapped.

“Tell him what you told us,” Percy said. “Say, ‘Will, I apologize for last night. I was upset because that idiot Percy started teasing me about how much I like you and I didn’t mean what I said. I like kissing you and I think you are very handsome and I love you.’ Then all your problems will be solved.”

“I cannot say that!”

“Yes, you can,” Percy said. “You’re just afraid to.”

Nico sniffed indignantly and folded his arms.

“Do you love him, Nico?” Jason asked.

“Prince Nico,” Nico corrected weakly, but he nodded.

“Have you told him?” Percy asked.

Nico shook his head.

“Then I think you need to. Will might not understand.”

Nico sighed. “Right. Yes, I...I ought to talk to him.”

Percy’s entire demeanor changed. His concern melted away and he grinned, his expression lighting up in satisfaction. “Well, I’m glad you agree, because I invited him to join us this morning.”

“What?” Nico squeaked.

“He should be here soon,” Percy went on. “I asked Reyna to bring you early, but he’ll arrive about the same time as our food.”

Before Nico had recovered enough to say anything, Annabeth and Piper reemerged as if they’d been waiting for the conversation to end. Annabeth had helped Piper into a stay and petticoat under her dressing gown. Nico was relieved that she was at least wearing that much.

Percy’s manservant arrived with their platter a moment later, followed shortly thereafter by Will, who was so hopelessly handsome in his pale blue suit it made Nico miserable. Will looked a bit surprised by the state of everyone else’s dress, but did not comment on it. When Percy directed Will to sit beside Nico, Nico tried to smile.

“You look stunning,” Nico blurted out. Will’s cheeks turned pink and he returned the smile, and Nico began to hope that maybe he could fix things with Will.

“I’m flattered, Your Highness. I think you look stunning, as well.”

But Nico’s hopes were dashed when Will barely looked at him throughout the meal. Will hardly joined the conversation, and Nico was too distracted to listen to what the others were discussing. He nudged Will’s foot with his own and even tried to hold his hand, but Will did not respond. By the time that breakfast was over, Nico just as miserable as he’d been the night before.

Reyna returned when they finished to escort them to the hall in order to prepare for the gift-giving ceremony. Will offered Nico his arm, but he still felt stiff and unreachable. Nico could sense no warmth or feeling through the hand he had placed on Will’s arm. It was more like being escorted by a statue than by his fiancé.

“Will,” Nico said, quietly enough that Reyna would not overhear. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Yes, Your Highness?” Will asked.

Nico felt even worse when Will addressed him with the same polite, gentle voice he always used. “About last night,” Nico forced himself to say. “I wanted to talk about last night.”

Will nodded like he had expected that answer. “You have my apologies, Your Highness,” he said. “I forgot my place.”

“You already apologized,” Nico said. “I don’t require your apologies.”

“Then you have my assurances that it will not happen again.”

“No, that’s...I wanted to...I’m the one who ought to apologize. I went too far. You didn’t deserve that.”

“Not at all, Your Highness,” Will said in that same infuriatingly kind voice. “Had I not behaved the way I did, there would not have been a problem.”

“That’s not...I...I should not have reacted the way I did, Will.”

“If you insist upon it, your apology is accepted,” Will said.

That didn’t make Nico feel better, but he lost his confidence and fell silent when they reached the crowding hall where the gift-giving ceremony would take place. He doubted that his talk with Will had accomplished anything.

* * *

Gift-giving ceremonies were dangerous affairs. A simple misstep, like a forgotten present or an improper show of favoritism, could start a war that lasted for decades. Of course, it had been centuries since a scandal of that magnitude had occurred, but gift-giving ceremonies were still filled with tension. Everyone was on edge, praying to the gods that they would proceed into the evening’s ball without incident.

Knowing how much Percy and Annabeth loved to cause a scandal, Piper should have expected at least one blunder.

It came in the form of Percy’s unbridled enthusiasm for Prince Nico’s gift. The Plutonian Royal Family was known for dog breeding, so naturally their prince presented the couple with a magnificent breed of bandog called a Plutonian Mastiff. She was primarily bred and trained to guard, Nico explained, but was also skilled in large game hunting.

Percy leapt from his seat to greet the dog with an embrace, so obviously happy that he was nearly in tears. The massive dog looked ferocious enough to rip out Percy’s throat without difficulty, but she proved to be surprisingly patient when she allowed Percy to coddle her. Percy gave the dog the very odd name of “Mrs. O’Leary” and commanded her to sit by his side, then he spent the remainder of the ceremony cooing over her. Annabeth just shook her head and sighed with resigned affection. She thanked Nico for his gift with the decorum of a proper bride while her husband was busy sobbing with joy over his new favorite dog.

Thankfully, no one seemed overly offended, or at least not offended enough to declare war. Nico looked embarrassed more than anything else and Percy’s expression was too endearing for anyone to feel very upset.

Fortunately, that was the only scandal to occur during the ceremony. It passed without further incident, and by that afternoon the guests were scattered throughout the dining halls for a late lunch. Jason and Piper were both invited to join the royal family, but Jason and his sisters were seated at the opposite side of the room from Piper and her mother.

“I assume last night went well,” Aphrodite said, her tone betraying her satisfaction.

“I didn’t stay with him, if that is what you mean to imply,” Piper grumbled. She certainly wouldn’t have minded spending the night with Jason, but she doubted he was ready for that yet. “But other than that, you’ll be glad to know your plan is working. We planned to speak with Athena about our engagement today. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that she is in the best of moods.”

“Athena is notoriously temperamental,” Aphrodite said, tapping the rim of her wine glass in thought. “I shall join your meeting. Surely between the two of us, we will be able to sway her.”

Piper nodded her gratitude. She knew what a skilled speaker her mother was and considered herself fortunate to have her as an ally at that moment. She didn’t always like being used in her mother’s schemes, but for the time being, Piper was willing to be a part of the plan.

After the meal, Jason wove through the crowd to meet her, bringing Athena with him. They had managed to exchange a few words that morning and came up with a plan for confronting his sister, but Piper could tell that Jason was just as nervous as she felt—if not more.

“Let’s get this over with, shall we?” Athena scowled.

Jason sighed. “Athena—” he started.

“As I said before, Jason, I see no reason why you think this match is so beneficial,” Athena said.

“Lady Athena, I can assure you that the house of Venus can prove to be a very lucrative ally,” Aphrodite said, her voice just barely tinted by a sultry purr as she ran her finger over the rim of her glass. It was a subtle enough tone and an innocent enough statement, but Piper knew her mother well enough to recognize when she was beginning to charm someone. Aphrodite was still trying to gauge her prey’s weaknesses before she really attacked.

But when Piper glimpsed at the unforgiving expression on Athena’s face, it was the first time she could sense that Aphrodite was bound to fail. In that instant, she knew that no matter what any of them would do or say, the meeting was not going to end well.

Athena turned to Aphrodite with a vicious snarl. “Spare me, Duchess. I know when I’m being baited. Do you think that you are the first to attempt to sway my judgement?”

Aphrodite looked shocked. It lasted only a moment before she fixed her expression. She opened her mouth to reply, but Athena didn’t give her the chance.

“Jason, this is a waste of my time,” Athena snapped. “I don’t need to hear more than I already have. I know this house’s reputation; Venus has nothing to offer but shame.”

“Lady Athena—” Aphrodite began, anger now creeping into her voice.

“I know what sort of games you like to play, Your Grace,” Athena interrupted. “I am not my father. If you think that your petty attempts at seduction will be as effective on me as they would be on Jupiter’s whore of an emperor, then you are sorely mistaken.” She sneered at Piper before turning her glare back to Jason. “I thought you were better than this, Jason. I did not believe you could be captured by such an ambitious, unprincipled house, but it seems that you’re no better than your parents. I should have known that you were off in some harlot’s bed when you didn’t return to your room last night. You were bound to be seduced by a filthy upstart like her.”

Athena didn’t allow anyone the chance to speak before she turned on her heel and stormed away, her shoes clapping loudly against the floor.

“What a wretched bitch,” Aphrodite growled before Jason and Piper’s shock wore off. “She ought to be honored that I even considered bedding her! How dare she speak to me like that? Piper, darling, you know that I adore you, but I have standards. No matter how much she begs, I will never allow her into my chambers. And believe me, my dear, I will make her beg. This is far from over. No one talks about my daughter that way.” She turned to Jason and looked at him through narrowed eyes. “You will marry Piper, Your Highness. And when you do, you will ensure that your sister never speaks to her that way again.”

Aphrodite turned and stomped away with just as much rage and melodrama as Athena, smashing her wine glass against the floor and staining her skirts red to demonstrate exactly how furious she was. A few servants stared at her in bewilderment before they hurried forward to clean the shattered glass and spilled wine.

“Piper,” Jason said, reaching for her hand.

“Jason, I told you, I wasn’t trying to seduce you,” Piper said quickly. “It’s true that my mother asked me to, but it was never my plan to do anything that would unfairly sway your judgement. I wanted to do this the right way. My mother doesn’t have the cleanest reputation, but—”

“Piper, I know,” Jason interrupted. “You were honest with me from the start. You have my trust.”

“But Athena....”

“I didn’t realize how angry Athena was after fighting with Annabeth last night. I should have waited. I’ll talk to her again; she’ll be much more reasonable when she calms down.”

“And if she isn’t?” asked Piper.

“Then I’ll have to leave Neptune immediately,” Jason said. “As influential as she may be, Athena is only one member of the Imperial Court. The best chance we have is if I return to Jupiter and win over the rest of the court before Athena makes it back.”

“You don’t have to do this for me,” said Piper. “Like you said, you haven’t made me any promises. We both knew that this might not work.”

Jason shook his head. “This is the first time in years that I have felt excited about marriage,” he said. “I’m not letting this go so easily. If I can’t make Athena see sense, I’ll find another way. I am going to marry you, Piper. I swear it.”

* * *

When he finally got a moment of freedom just before the evening’s ball, Percy wasted no time practically skipping up to Nico and showering him with thanks for Mrs. O’Leary. Nico grimaced adorably.

“So have you spoken to your fiancé yet?” Percy asked when he finished rhapsodizing about his new dog.

Nico glared, but he didn’t last long before breaking. “I tried, but I can’t,” he said. “I’m no good at that sort of thing.”

“Of course you can do it,” Percy said. “It’s easy. I tell Annabeth that I love her all the time.”

“That’s different,” said Nico.

“Maybe,” Percy admitted. “It was hard the first time. But if you love Will, you have to be honest with him. He needs to know how you feel.”

Percy expected Nico to scowl or snap at him, but instead, Nico looked miserable. “Percy?” he said in a pathetically vulnerable voice. “I-I suppose that if I need to be honest, I ought to practice.” Percy almost melted at Nico’s use of his given name. He wanted to keep Nico in the palace and raise him with Annabeth as their son.

Nico took a deep breath, scuffing his shoe on the floor and playing with the ends of his coat sleeves. “I...um...when we were children...I admired you.”

Percy blinked in shock. “You did?”

Nico shrugged vaguely.

Percy was silent before: “My gods, Nico, that is the most adorable thing I have ever heard.”

“Prince Nico!” Nico corrected with his usual indignation.

“I am so flattered, really, I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“Don’t let this get to your head—”

“Although I have to tell you that I am completely, monogamously in love with my wife—”

“I don’t feel that way anymore—”

“I hope you’ll understand—”

“Gods above, I was a child—”

“Because I do value our friendship—”

“I am not your friend!”

“But I must have you know that I am honored by your feelings—”

“There are no feelings! I want Will!”

Nico obviously didn’t realize what he’d said until his rage simmered down and he found Percy grinning at him victoriously. Then he blushed and started to stammer excuses, but Percy wasn’t having it.

“You’d better go find your darling fiancé,” Percy said, shoving Nico’s shoulder good-naturedly. “You have something to tell him, don’t you?”

Nico blushed even harder. He opened his mouth like he meant to say something, then he hurried away. Still grinning, Percy went in search of Jason to brag about being Nico’s favorite.

Instead, he nearly ran into Athena, who looked even more sour than usual. “Pay attention to where you’re walking, Your Highness,” Athena snarled.

“I was looking for your brother,” Percy said, trying to control the anger already simmering in his stomach. “Pity that I found my least favorite of the siblings instead.”

“Watch your tongue,” Athena snapped. “Don’t you think you’ve made enough scandals for one day?”

Percy smirked even though he wanted nothing more than to rip Athena’s face to shreds. “You ought to know better than to ask. I love a good scandal, as you are aware.”

“Yes; that was quite the scene you made earlier,” Athena said, her tone and her glare like sharp ice. “Fortunately for you, the guests are familiar with your...eccentricities.”

“Being eccentric is not a crime, Lady Athena,” Percy said. He tried his best to keep his voice calm and clear, but he could hear his own fury reverberating in his ears.

“No. But idiocy ought to be.”

Percy’s fingers tightened into fists. He took a deep breath, then another, and then a third. He wanted to recommend a law requiring citizens to have a basic capacity for human emotions, but he knew he shouldn’t fight with Athena during the wedding more than was strictly necessary; he couldn’t do that to Annabeth. Besides, it was far from the first time that Athena had made derogatory statements about Percy’s intelligence. He could tolerate it for a little while longer.

“Weddings are supposed to be joyful occasions, Lady Athena,” Percy said. “I was simply expressing my happiness. I apologize if I went too far and offended you.”

“I see no reason for this wedding to be a ‘joyful occasion,’” Athena growled. “This marriage was a mistake, and yet you seem to be determined to cause even more atrocious marriages. I hear you encouraged my brother to accept the advances of that girl?”

For a second, Percy’s surprise rendered him speechless. He was used to Athena reminding him of exactly how much he inconvenienced her, but it took him a moment to realize what Athena meant.

“Wait— Piper?” Percy said.

“And now he’s trying to marry that harlot,” Athena sneered.

“Piper is one of Annabeth’s dearest friends,” Percy said furiously. “What you just said was an insult to my wife.”

Athena scoffed. “I have never heard of this before. Annabeth doesn’t even know that girl.”

“If you’d been at all invested in Annabeth’s life, you would have known that they met years ago, and if you had arrived to the wedding on time, you would have known that Piper attended Annabeth’s bathing ceremony. If you don’t believe me, then ask your ward. But personally, I think you have broken Annabeth’s heart enough. It was Annabeth’s choice to stay with me. Annabeth decided to befriend Piper. You may not think much of me or of Piper, but are you so uncertain of your ability to raise and educate your ward that you feel you cannot trust her judgment?”

“Your pathetic excuse for an argument is designed to aggravate me rather than to make a valid statement. Once again, you have demonstrated that your mind is only capable of the simplest feats of faulty logic. Annabeth requires a spouse with more intellect. She has sentenced herself to a lifetime of misery.”

“Has she?” Percy asked coldly. “I may be a simple-minded fool, but from what I’ve observed, it seems as though Annabeth is most miserable when she’s with you. Unlike you, I care about Annabeth. I will make her happier than you ever could.”

Percy knew how much Athena loved to have the last word and a dramatic exit, so he made sure to steal that from her. He would have loved to stay and scream at her for the rest of the evening—she was a pathetic excuse for a human being and Percy wanted nothing more than to let her know that—but Percy had other guests to greet and every last one of them was more pleasant company than Athena.

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jflashandclash · 6 years

Text

The Fall of the Sun (Traitors of Olympus IV)

One: Will

A Stroll in the Dark

Will had only shadow traveled with Nico a few times. Although he didn’t like to dwell on it, he used to be afraid of the dark like the rest of his siblings, but, he always knew Nico would take care of him in the shadows. Despite Nico’s insecurities, Will knew Nico was strong and courageous, even if he did need the occasional reminder to floss his teeth.

Now, Will needed to do more for Nico than a quick dental exam. Hades’ words echoed over the scream of air around him, You can bring Nico back from the shadows and stop Melinoe.

Unfortunately, Hades wasn’t big into How To guides, something Will had been trying to change.

When Will saw Melinoe, the Greek Goddess of Ghosts, suspend Nico in a shadow state—Nico’s mouth quivering with a scream, his limbs writhing as her ghouls phased through Nico’s torso like it was no more than a sewer gate to crawl out of the Underworld, Nico’s skin dimming in and out of the darkness—Will took the only course available.

His sister, Kally, had nodded to Will and said, “I’ll sustain you two! Go!” and Will ran towards the son of Hades. He went to shadow travel.

In the past, Will had compared shadow traveling to riding in the sun chariot at full speed without a windshield. Percy had once described it as “going so fast that it feels like your face is peeling off.” This was different.

Normally, Mrs. O’Leary sprinted through the shadow realm or Nico would take Will’s hand and pull Will full speed—often forgetting that Will was faster and liked to tease him about it.

Now, everything slowed down. No map. No guide. No objective exterior to Nico.

One moment, he was running at Nico. The next, everything muddled to black. He could no longer see the undead army charging Camp Half-Blood with Reyna leading a dismally small dispatch of Romans to defend its fallen borders. He could no longer see Melinoe laughing beside Phobetor, the ghastly God of Nightmares with a terrible taste in bowties.

Will tried to stumble to a stop, but it felt like he’d wadded into an icy maelstrom. There was black tar everywhere, swirling thickly around him, like the shadows wanted to maul him. From his previous travels, what he’d mistaken as a blast of cold air was really their fingers desperately clawing at him. What he’d mistaken for the whistle of speed was their screams. Thousands of screams.

This is what he feared entering the dark would be like when he was a child: smothering, eternal, inescapable, cold.

Was this really what Nico went through every time?

A mounting sense of panic twisted Will’s insides. He’d never find Nico here—in this vast expanse of nothingness and torrid shadows, with no sense of direction other than—

Warmth gently tingled his back.

Will exhaled.

When he turned around, he could see a dim shaft of light piercing through the blackness. He remembered when Hades had cracked the ceiling of the Underworld, to give Persephone a ray of sunshine for her garden, killing hundreds of people for a few moments of her smile. He remembered Hades asking Will if he’d do the same for Nico. Will had hesitated.

Will had no idea why there was a ray of familiar sunshine cascading through this darkness. Dawn shouldn’t hit Camp Half-Blood for another ten minutes. While Will really didn’t want that sunshine to come from the death of hundreds—as he had no control over it—he would be sure to write a haiku for them if that was the sacrifice.

With the sunshine acting as some directional orientation, Will could take a calming breath.

He was undead now. He focused on everything Nico had taught him over the lazy months of summer—what Will could remember from when he’d been plotting over how to get the son of Hades to open up to him. From what he could recall, Will should be able to become one of these shadows to move around and turn back into a typical ghost after existing in shadow form. Shadow travel should be safe for him.

Will stepped forward, the world feeling less like a maelstrom and more like a lake of pudding.

Over summer, he had struggled to remind Nico that he was always there to listen if Nico ever wanted to talk about Tartarus, or being captured by Giants.

But, looking at all of this that Nico handled so casually, Nico deserved so much more than a smilie band-aid or a happy sticker that Will swiped for him from the infirmary.

As the pounding of Will’s heart quieted, and he stepped directly away from the light, he discerned the faintest echo of a sob over the shrieks of the shadows.

Nico was crying in front of him.

The shadows seemed to weave into the flickering form of his Death Boy. Unlike outside, where Nico was suspended upright by Melinoe’s powers, here, Nico knelt by the dim figure of a gravestone. No—he didn’t kneel by it. He was half-way melded into it. His hazy silhouette—the crazed, black hair, those hollow eyes—intermeshed with the shadows around them.

Will could barely make out his features.

The part most in focus was the gravestone’s etching, recording the names and dates of three people: Maria di Angelo, Bianca di Angelo, and Will Solace.

Will opened his mouth to shout for Nico, but choked.

Persphone’s instructions. He’d almost forgotten her warning—You can’t talk to him. You can’t acknowledge him. If you fail to ignore him, you’ve damned you both.

At the sound of Will’s choke, Nico’s fading outline glanced up. “Will?” Nico asked. Even his voice sounded detached, like an old recording.

Will turned away. He clenched his fists, trembling.

“Will?!” Nico repeated, his voice more desperate.

The pain in Nico’s voice made Will bite his lip. Will wanted to reassure Nico, to hug him, to tell him that he wouldn’t leave, that he’d somehow find a way to undo his death and the current threat to the camp. But he had to get Nico out of the shadows first. How was Will supposed to lead Nico out of this if he couldn’t talk to him?

You need to have faith that your love will be enough to bring him back and defeat his despair.

Will took a step towards the dim ray of light.

“Stop—please!” Nico sobbed, “Y—you’re the only one left th—that has time to care about me—”

The screams of shadows withered to nothing compared to Nico’s quivering voice. Will wasn’t sure if it was because the son of Hades had command over shadows, or because the terror in Nico’s voice sounded worse than anything the other shadows could produce.

Like the sound was amplified for twisted assurance, Will could hear Nico stumble once after him. He tried not to envision it: Nico half crawling from that tombstone. “You’re the only one that hasn’t l-left me. N-no one else has time for me. I know they’re all good intentioned. B-but Reyna’s a praetor. Gleeson has a kid. Percy’s getting ready for college. You’re—you’re—you’re d—”

Will was hoping Nico would run after him.

He froze in horror when something dropped behind him. No more footsteps. Nico must have collapsed.

Will closed his eyes, grinding his teeth to keep himself quiet. His body trembled to turn around and run to Nico, to assure him everything would be alright. But, he couldn’t do that. If he turned around, everything wouldn’t be alright.

They could do this. They had to be able to do this. He wasn’t about to let Nico disappear into shadows. He wasn’t going to let Melinoe use Nico’s body as a conduit for an undead army to destroy Camp Half-Blood. The original hero who tried to return someone from eternal darkness, Orpheus, had failed his quest. Orpheus had doubted his and Eurydice’s love and violated the conditions of the quest by looking back. But Will wasn’t Orpheus. And Nico wasn’t a wood nymph or a daughter of Apollo…. Fortunate since that would be very weird.[1]

Will visualized the first time Nico had kissed him: running late for archery class, Will scolding Nico for not getting enough sleep the night before, Nico leaning up and surprising Will before rushing toward the archery range. For the rest of the day, Will couldn’t stop singing. Nico kept complaining it was embarrassing, especially since campers kept high-fiving them and giving them congratulatory gifts. But Will loved Nico’s blushes and the way he pretend to be angry and Will had to express—

“Every time you kiss me it’s like sunshine and whiskey,” Will sang aloud to himself.

The shadows seemed to silence their wails.

Will remembered how Nico’s blush extended all the way to his ears when Nico parceled out the words the first time.

“Alright, you hit me like fire, shot me like a bullet.

Burned me up and down, no way to cool it—”

Nico’s sobs stopped.

Will couldn’t hear Nico get up, nor could he hear Nico’s footsteps. But Will continued towards the dim ray of light piercing through the blackness. He felt like Persephone was testing him with the silence. Yet, somehow, Will felt calm. He knew they could make it through the darkness—their love would be enough.

Come on Death Boy, he thought as he continued to sing. Let’s get you some sunshine.

Will stepped forward, leading Nico toward the illusion of safety: a camp under siege by two gods with no plan of what to do when they got there.

Author’s note: I’m baaaaaccckkkk! XD

Sorry for the delay, and those *ehem* cliffhangers.

For those of you who might be new: Welcome! This is the fourth and final book of the Traitors of Olympus series. If you enjoy being flummoxed, not knowing what’s going on, and to further empower Eris (our beautiful goddess of chaos and strife) then please continue to read without catching up on the others books in the series and be sure to throw your computer/tablet/phone/printed out copy (*author fans self at the idea of printed-off copies*) across the room as hard as you can each and every time you read a name you’re unfamiliar with or find a plot point that confuses you. Eris will assuredly flutter down on her black wings and give you little Discordian welcome stickers and appreciate your contribution to her cause. Otherwise, if you liked the writing in this chapter and like to keep order in the world, feel free to check out the rest of the series before you read this one!

To those of you returning: Thank you for coming back to put up with this series’ nonsense! It has been a rough past six months, and your comments and support have really helped pull me through. You guys are awesome and I want to give each of you a personalized hug! (complete with adoring attack weasels!)

We should be back to weekly updates for the rest of summer with the occasional short! I hope you guys enjoyed and are ready for next week’s chapter: Kalypso—I Run to the Dumbest Spot Possible.

[1] Pax: *pouts* Must be nice not to have creepy siblings.

Eris: *pats his back* Welcome to godhood, my son!

#Traitors of Olympus #Heroes of Olympus #Percy Jackson and the Olympians #PJO #HOO #Fanfiction #Will Solace #Nico Di Angelo #Kally #Weird start--but eh--we'll catch up with Kally in the next one :D #*tries to remember where Jack put the Pax brothers*

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