It was the last day that Camp Half-Blood would be at Camp Jupiter. In other words, it was the last day that Nico had left to see Reyna.
Nico wasn't ready in any way. He knew that seeing Reyna how she was now would stir up a lot of unpleasant memories. But he knew he needed to see her. He would regret it if he didn't.
"Will you be okay?" Will asked him.
Nico nodded. "It's just Reyna. It's not like she's a completely different person. She's just a little bit different."
Will smiled at him. "I'll be right here next to you."
So the two of them walked off towards New Rome, where her and the Hunters were apparently staying.
They made it to the group of tents that Hazel had told them that the Hunters were staying in, in the woods. They were just like when Nico was little, the same ones that Bianca had gone inside. And when she came out of those tents, she was different.
Will squeezed his hand before letting go. "I'll go in first and ask for her."
He walked up to the front of the biggest tent, and called out. Moments later, none other than Thalia Grace walked out. She tried to regain her composure, but she looked lost and sad. Her eyes were puffy and her clothes were disheveled.
Nico looked away. He didn't really want to see her. Nico didn't hate Thalia or anything, but he didn't exactly like her, either. As soon as she became Artemis' Lieutenant, she immediately started to recruit more young girls to become Hunters, like Bianca had never sacrificed her life for them. Like she was nothing. That didn't sit well with him.
He could hear the two of them talking:
"Yo. You need anything?" Thalia paused. "You're from Camp Half-Blood, huh? Yeah, I heard you guys were comin' to town."
"Yeah. Will Solace." Nico looked over, and he saw Will shaking Thalia's hand. "I was wondering if we could talk to Reyna?"
"We?" She asked. Then she seemed to notice Nico. "Oh, hey! I didn't know you were still hanging around the Camps!" She called to him.
Nico decided it would be rude to ignore her, so he walked over to where Will and Thalia were standing.
"Yeah, I'm still here." Nico told her.
"I see you're still as emo as ever." She laughed. It was a brittle kind of laugh. Not the laugh he usually heard from the carefree daughter of Zeus.
"Like you're one to talk."
She snorted. "I'm punk, kid. Not emo."
"You can't call me kid anymore. We're biologically almost the same age."
"You're 15 now, huh? Could've sworn you were a year younger. Anyways, I'm still technically-"
"Well technically, I'd be in my 80's. That doesn't work, either." Nico cut her off.
"Good point." Then she gestured to Will. "You know this dude?"
"Yeah. He's my boyfriend."
"Oh, you swing the other way, huh? Same." She winked at Nico.
What? Nico didn't know that.
"So, how do you two know Reyna?"
"I traveled around half the world with her. We've saved each other's lives multiple times. She's my friend, and I wanted to see her when I came here."
She nodded, interested. "Okay. I'll go get her."
She walked over to one of the other tents and called inside. A few seconds later, Reyna appeared. "Hello, Lieutenant Thalia." She greeted her formally.
Thalia cocked an eyebrow. "Reyna, I told you that you don't have to be so formal when it's just us."
Reyna smiled slightly. It was a smile twinged with a hint of sadness. "Habit."
"Well, some boys want to see you." She pointed to Nico and Will.
When Reyna saw Nico, her smile widened.
"Hello, Nico." She said as she stood in front of him.
Thalia took one last look at them, and walked away. "I'll let you guys have some privacy."
Nico looked at Reyna. He could tell she was a Hunter. She had this aura around her, like she wouldn't die easily. She looked....more than alive. And besides the bit of sadness that Nico could tell she felt, she looked content. Happy.
It was just like Bianca.
Nico almost ran away right then and there. It was too much. She reminded him too much of her. He couldn't do this. He couldn't-
Nico felt Will's hand on his shoulder, and it brought him back. Back from wherever he was about to go. Another memory?
All this happened so fast, that Reyna didn't seem to notice. If she did, she didn't let on.
"Um" was all Nico was able to say before Reyna hugged him in her tight grip. After she pulled away, she had pity in her eyes.
"Nico, I know how you must feel about my choice to pledge my loyalty to Lady Artemis. I know how you feel about the Hunters of Artemis."
Nico waved away her statement. "It's perfectly fine. It's your life, not mine. If you want to do that, that's your choice. Not mine. I don't have a right to be upset."
Reyna ran a hand through her dark braid. "No, you can be upset. I was upset when Hylla left me to go be with the Amazons."
Nico sighed. "I'm sorry." He looked away, willing the tears in his eyes to dry up.
"It's okay." Will whispered in his ear. "I'm right here."
Nico looked at her again. "I'm glad you're happy."
She tilted her head. "You, too. You seem happy....and sad."
"So do you."
Reyna nodded. "Jason."
Nico's insides twisted up at hearing his name. "Yeah."
"So you know?" She asked him.
"I could sense it when it happened."
"Oh, right."
"I'm sorry." Nico told her. "I know you knew him well."
"I know you knew him well, also."
This was getting to be very awkward, Nico thought.
Nico decided he was going to tell her,
"Reyna? Um, I wanted to tell you.....I got a boyfriend."
She looked from Nico to Will, who was still gripping his shoulder.
"Him?" She pointed to Will.
Will put out the hand that wasn't on Nico's shoulder. "That's me. I'm Will Solace, son of Apollo. I'm so glad I get to finally meet you."
She smiled. "Light and dark, huh?" She shook Will's hand.
Nico rolled his eyes. "We get that all the time."
She turned back to Will, and gave him a very intense look. "You better treat him well."
"Don't worry." Nico told her. "We've already been dating for over 5 months. He's been nothing but amazing."
Her expression softened. "Well, I'm proud of you, Nico. You deserve happiness."
"Thank you."
He heard Thalia calling Reyna. She was walking towards them.
Reyna gave Nico another hug, longer this time. "Goodbye, Nico."
She then turned to Thalia. "Yes?"
"Oh, some of the Hunters wanted to see you."
"Alright."
Nico decided he was going to say something to Thalia. Jason was her brother, after all.
"Thalia?"
She whipped her head towards Nico. "Sup?"
"I'm sorry about your brother. I know it's hard to lose a sibling."
She gave him a sad smile. "Thanks."
"They were actually really close." Will told Thalia. "Jason thought of him as a little brother. He pretty much looked out for Nico and was his first friend. Your brother was a good guy. He supported Nico when he found out Nico liked guys, and stood up for him."
Thalia fixed her gaze back on Nico, her electric blue eyes getting slightly watery. "You and Jase were close, huh? Yeah, that sounds like something my little bro would do. He's always looked out for people, I've heard. Always so kind." She took a shaky breath. "But I'm glad he was able to help you. I mean, it's good you're sticking around, yeah?"
She looked between Nico and Will again. "I'm happy for you, Nico. Good that you're finally over Percy."
"What! How did-"
She turned around and gave him a little wave. "Bye, Nico. Good to see you again."
Nico was still thinking about what Thalia said, when Reyna turned around to look at him one last time. "And Nico? We'll see each other again. I'm sure of it." She nodded to Will, and she walked away with Thalia, neither of them turning around again.
As he watched them go, he could've sworn he saw the 2 holding hands in the distance, but he wasn't sure. They were far away.
Nico dragged himself to a picnic table, Will holding his hand. They were both silent for a long time.
Nico started crying. Why, ever since deciding to stay at Camp, did he start crying so much?
He thought about his life, and he found it funny. He started to laugh.
Will looked at him with concern in his eyes. He probably shouldn't be laughing, should he? He couldn't help it, though. In that moment, it was just so funny.
"Mother, dead. Sister, dead. Nobody for years. Then, I end up actually making friends. Then my best friend dies, and my other good friend joins a group that I hate, a group that my sister got killed in." He was laughing through his tears.
Soon, they turned into heavy sobs, no longer laughing.
Will wrapped Nico's arms around him, and Nico tucked his head in the space between Will's shoulder and neck.
It was one thing after the other.
Didn't he deserve time to at least process everything? It had only been a couple of weeks since Jason.
For once in his life, didn't he deserve a break?