As Different as Night and Day

Will

It had been the cutest thing he had done yet. While I had carried him he had snuggled up to me with the arm holding the flag draped outward and started humming under his breath. I am pretty sure that he was humming "You Are My Sunshine" I almost burst out laughing but remembered that he was sleeping and would probably wake up to my chuckling. I didn't encounter any more guards and crossed the creek. The game had been won. I brought Nico into his cabin and set him down on his bed. I grabbed a folding chair and set it next to Nico's bed. I watched him sleep for about ten minutes. As soon as I started drifting off to sleep Nico sat up quickly in the bed his eyes wide. I stood up and sat on the edge of his bed to comfort him. I filled him in on what had happened during capture the flag. He lay back down and tried to get sleep but couldn't. I ran over to my cabin to go get my lyre to try and calm his nerves but I think that my terrible out of tune singing and lyre playing put him on edge more than anything. He sat up in bed and asked if I could sleep with him that night. He scooted over on the bed and I sat down on top of the covers while he was underneath. He leaned up against me and I wrapped my arms around him in a sideways hug. He let his head droop onto my chest. I stroked his head and comforted him the best I could. I looked down and saw that he was fast asleep this time with a smile on his face. I decided that I needed some rest and worried that if I left my little sunshine that he would start having nightmares again so I settled in and decided to get some shuteye. It felt like as soon as my eyes had closed that I woke up to screaming. I looked down at Nico but it wasn't him. He sat up looking groggy and confused. I looked around the room and saw that Percy was standing at the door screaming, hyperventilating, and spazzing out in what looked like a seizure. I jumped up and rushed over to him to check if he was okay. Even though he was older than me I still towered over him and I asked him if he was okay. He calmed down, nodded his head, and then dashed out the door screaming people's names. Nico got out of bed and despite being a little shaky from just waking up he was doing just fine stomping around the room and cursing. I asked him if he had another nightmare and he shook his head no and explained to me what Percy did to new couples or people he thought should be a couple. I shuddered and added few curses of my own then told Nico that he should probably get a lock for the door he nodded grimly then proceed to push me out the door so that he could get dressed. I went over to the Apollo cabin to get dressed and nobody gave me grief about anything as they assumed that I spent the night in the infirmary. I got changed and went over to Nico's cabin and got pulled inside by an arm that seemingly shot out of nowhere. Nico still grabbing my arm pushed me onto a bed and stood facing me crossing his arms.

"I know that Percy will try everything to get us together so we need to avoid each other as much as possible if he asks if we are dating say no that way all he wants to do is get us to date and he won't provoke any unwanted intimacy. While avoiding each other we still need to meet to make a new couple so that he leaves us alone."
"Or we could find a couple that wasn't a couple since when he last came back over the weekend. "
"That's a good idea"
"Thank you but how will we meet without Percy finding out?"
"I was thinking that I could shadow travel to your cabin and then shadow travel both of us back over to my cabin."
"I don't like that idea"
"As long as we pick like a closet or something nobody will notice and report it to Percy and I'll get a lock so that he can't barge in."
"I still don't like that idea. It will drain you and then you have the possibility of fading and I-I really don't want to lose someone else"

I broke down crying and curled up into a little ball. I was being ridiculous. I shouldn't have broken down just from the mention of losing more people but the tears wouldn't shut off. It felt like I had reopened a wound that had just started healing. Nico sat down next to me and rubbed my back. I leaned down and lay my head in his lap. He patted my head and started humming some Italian song. I sniffled, sat up, and dried my tears. I had lost my little sister to a car accident and couldn't stop blaming myself. If only I had been there to push her out of the way and take the blow for her. That was no reason to burst out crying like a baby though.

"It's not your fault."
"W-what?"
"You told me that you lost someone and I know you enough to know that you would blame yourself."
"But it is my fault."
"How so?
"If I had been there to push her out of the way then she wouldn't be dead."
"Who?"
"My little sister Amber"
"Will"
"Yes?"
"If you had been there you could have saved her"
"Gee thanks Nico I feel so much better now"
"But you weren't there. There is no way that you could have known that would happen. It's exactly like...like..."
"It's okay you don't have to-"
"But I do"
"Okay"
"Bianca was the only person who ever understood me. She was my everything. She went on a quest..."
Nico started snuggling into me. His eyes were damp with unshed tears.
"Percy came back and I asked him where my sister was. When he told me what happened I got extremely mad. He promised me to keep her safe yet she had died. I blamed him for everything. I knew-I knew she was...she...was..."

I held Nico close as he wept in my arms. He was shaking pretty badly so I lifted up his chin and looked at his eyes and completely ignoring the fact that he had tears streaming down his face I pressed my forehead against his and my nose against his nose. I stared at him until his tears had stopped and we both with wet faces just stared into each others eyes. His were dark chocolate brown like puppy dog eyes. I took his head in my hands and let go. I then gave him the most ferocious bear hug anyone could ever give. He looked surprised at first then began to hug back stronger than ever. He pushed me back but still kept his hands on my shoulders he brought his face toward mine and I closed my eyes preparing for a brief kiss but what I got was a boop on the nose from the son of Hades as he bolted away laughing as I sat there on the bed startled. I flopped back on to the bed and sighed. Nico came over and laid next to me I turned my head towards him and he turned his head towards me I let him bring his face closer before I did the same. I didn't realize how long we had been kissing and hugging before I looked at my watch and realized that I was late for a meeting that I had set up with Lou Ellen. I told Nico where I was going and rushed out the door but not after straightening my shirt and combing through my hair with my fingers. He had this amused smirk on his face and I stuck my tongue out at him as I left the cabin.