Bonds

Nico's New Reality

"Alright, I'll be back soon," Sally announced as she tied a second scarf around her neck. "I expect to come back to the apartment still standing and everyone as happy as can be," she added, casting a pointed look exclusively at her son. "Take care of Estelle, and Nico?" He straightened his back up at the mention of his name. "There's a bag of peas in the freezer, why don't you put them against that eye?" And with that, the Jackson-Blofis matron slammed the apartment door shut and disappeared into the harsh New England winter.

Leaving him, Estelle, and Pe- the asshole alone.

A situation that Nico would have traded his soul to get out of, and he could only assume that Achlys was laughing at him from her abode deep within Tartarus.

It could be worse, he tried telling himself, but he was really grasping at straws there. I could be standing next to him without Estelle as a buffer. He could start screaming again. His stomach dropped. He still could, he thought, momentarily glancing at the taller teen from the corner of his eye. Or I could have everyone at camp staring at me, as Wi- The son of Hades rapidly shook his head to stop the incoming intrusive thoughts. He realized that things really could be far worse, as he unconsciously reached up and touched his discolored eye. I just got to keep myself busy so that it looks like I'm fine. Then Father will give me my abilities back and I'm out of here forever... He looked down at the carrier and its occupant and the barest hint of a smile tugged at his lips. At least the company isn't all bad.

Nico reached down with one hand to grab the carrier's large plastic handle, only to collide with Percy's. Instantly, he pulled his hand back with the same intensity of a vampire fleeing from sunlight; he may have even hissed slightly at the touch.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Percy asked, pulling his hand back as well.

Maybe if he was anyone else, Percy's normal speaking voice would have been welcomed in comparison to the previous night's outbursts. But for Nico, it only angered him. The son of Poseidon had said some terrible things that cut him to his very soul, so for him to try and go back to normal was perhaps the most insulting thing he had ever experienced. "I was going to take your sister to her room," he said through clenched teeth, expending great effort to keep his voice neutral.

"Why?"

"To watch her? You know, like your mom said?" he asked. He couldn't believe how stupid the older boy was, and by extension couldn't believe how stupid he had been for routinely risking his neck for him. And looking at Percy now with his scraggly beard and the memories of the night before fresh in his mind, Nico couldn't even believe he thought he had a friend in the son of Poseidon.

"I get that, but why her room? She's just going to sleep most of the time, so why confine yourself to that white and pink hellhole?" Percy asked with a slight grin.

To avoid you! Nico wanted to snap, but he was trying to be the better person; if just to keep Sally happy. Instead he answered with, "Her crib is in there and all of the other baby stuff, so it would make sense to keep them close at hand."

The son of Poseidon scratched at his beard and shrugged. "That would make a lot of sense if this place was a lot bigger, but it takes like ten seconds to walk from the couch to her room." Percy scratched at his beard again and Nico wondered why he didn't just shave the damn thing off. "So why don't we just hang out here and watch some TV, or I have an old PlayStation with two controllers we could-"

"Are you out of your mind!" Nico snapped, making the son of Poseidon jump back in surprise. Nico knew he wasn't what Leo called "tech-savvy", but that was okay by him. Demigods and electrical devices mixed about as well as gasoline and Greek Fire, as an unsuspecting demigod even touching a cellular phone sent a beacon off alerting every monster for miles around of their presence. It was basic demigod knowledge, and yet the idiot before him asking him to play a game? "Do want to put your sister in danger?! What is wrong with you?!"