Silence is Golden (Percy Jackson AU)

Special Edition! Nico

Needless to say, the family dinner nights had started as a way to reunite the siblings with their mother. Nico couldn't, wouldn't ask her to skip anymore than he could ask her to saw off her leg and eat it.

"What about you?" Thalia asked, "Hazel and your parents around?"

"Dad and Persephone are off on a cruise. Celebration of their anniversary. Hazel was meeting with Frank, Piper, and Percy at the hospital." Nico licked whip cream off the lid of him cup. "Annabeth gets released today. They're throwing a party."

She nodded, knowingly. Annabeth and her spent time together just a bit after rehab, when Jason had been busy and Nico balancing having a sister and finishing eleventh grade. As far as Nico knew, they got along well. Annabeth with her knowledge anything and everything, and Thalia with her cynical sense of humor when lectures came around.

"Tell her I said congrats." Thalia said, "Wait, I'll just call her myself. I'll be the first phone call she answers!" She looked proud to coming up with that. But then snuck a glance at him, "Why aren't you going?"

Nico shrugged.

"Don't give me that, Shadows," she mocked, "Come on what's up?"

"Parties... parties aren't really my thing." He responded, trying not to think about the smell of alcohol and the feel of Castor's body and the sound of the DJ station crashing under the boys weight.

"What about Christmas? You had fun then right?"

"I think I was high on medication for my broken arm."

"Ah yes, blame it on the meds, Di Angelo." She smirked, "You should go anyway."

They let the matter drop after that. A mix of annoyance and laziness on both their parts. Nico wasn't willing to bring it back up, Thalia knew he didn't want to talk about it.

(Part of Nico was frustrated that by changing the topic he was more persuaded to go than if she had pestered him into agreeing.)

Thalia talked about a job she had gotten at a winery, where she lead tours of rich people with too much time through the process of making wine. She had gotten fired for punching a man who had been a bit too forward with her, even after she had displayed the ring Nico had gave her calling it a "wedding ring". Nico was just glad it got usage. Apparently she had knocked the man so hard that the ring had left indents in his jaw.

Nico told her about his summer experience with helping at a camp. It had sucked--he wasn't really a kid person-- and he had spent most of the days, helping prepare meals and clean in the kitchen.

"You got paid right?" Thalia asked, "That's all that matters. Who cares if you're acting as a glorified lunch lady?"

Nico cared.

"Are you free on Wednesday?" Thalia asked, "I'm going to take you shopping."

"Shopping?"

"Yes, I'm buying you clothes." She stood up, "You know like a good older sister."

"You're not my sister!"

Nico flinched so hard his hot chocolate spilled. "I don't think-"

"Okay fine, I saw a jacket I really liked in the window of a shop and I want you compliment me." She waved flippantly.

Nico tried not to appear too relieved.

"Oh, is that all?" He snarked.

"And don't tell me you're going to the hospital tonight dressed in that." She waved at his outfit, as if he had dug it out of a dumpster instead of a laundry basket that morning.