You thought about how your cousin will react once she saw Nico. Considering that she was letting you stay the night these next few days, you decided to Iris message her before you arrived. Regardless the fact that Nico had looked at you strangely when you asked for privacy, you explained to your cousin what was happening.

Your head was still pounding since her loud squeals would put a mandrake to shame. Nico watched as you nervously rubbed your palms against your jeans. He grabbed your hand immediately after realizing your uneasiness and you were surprised by his actions. Looking up at him, you observed how his face was turned away from yours. You felt a blush creep up your cheeks and turned away from him also.Stealing a glance over at Sapphrenia, you saw her shake her head at you. You rolled your eyes playfully and sucked in a breath as you saw your cousin's house just a few paces in front of you a few minutes later.

Your h/c fell in front of your face as you timidly looked at the door in front of you. A hand moved your hair behind your ear and you felt heat attack your cheeks as your e/c met Nico's brown ones. You gave a nervous smile and looked over at the house. You dropped Nico's hand, making him frown, as you rapped on the door.

You saw your cousin peek through the window how her smiled when she saw you . Opening the door, she threw herself at you, almost making you fall into Nico's chest. "Y/n! I thought I would never see you again!" She exclaimed as she held you close to her. You heard Nico growl behind you and rolled your eyes. 'What is he, a werewolf?' You thought as you hugged your cousin back. "You've brought a friend! Come in! Come in!" She gasped in a peppy voice as she saw Nico from behind you. "Well, except for Sapphrenia of course, she can go in the stables." She giggled as you nodded your head and headed over to the barn with Sapphrenia's reigns in your hand.

Nico excused himself by saying that he'd go with you to the stables and your cousin happily obliged, running back into the house and screaming about her burnt cookies. You heard Nico's shoes against the leaves and smiled a little to yourself. "I thought you would have went into the house with my cousin while I was with Sapphrenia." You stated as you guided your pegasus into a stall. The sound of fabric rubbing against itself sounded through the stall, indicating that the gloomy boy shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't want to leave you," he whispered as you picked up a brush and groomed Sapphrenia.

A grin broke out on your face and you turned around to toss him an extra brush. "Well, since you're here, you can help me groom this beauty before we go in and eat," you jabbered. Your laugh was loud and hearty once you saw the scowl on Nico's face as he took the brush and approached Sapphrenia. The pegasus became nervous and began to buck as Nico walked close to her. Nico sighed and stopped walking, getting ready to turn around. "Hey! Come back here!" You barked, making the son of Hades stop in his tracks. He turned around and watched you try to calm down Sapphrenia. "Woah! Hey, hey, shh. It's okay. I'm here. Easy, easy girl." You cooed as Sapphrenia began to calm down.

Walking over to Nico, you took his hand and guided him towards Sapphrenia. She protested and began to buck once more. "Hey, hey, shh. It's okay. He's not going to hurt you." You soothed as you took Nico's hand and brought it closer to her snout. "Y/n, I don't think it's a good idea. Children of Hades aren't good with horses. . . ." Nico began before you shushed him and placed his hand on Sapphrenia's snout. She grunted before closing her eyes and began to calm down. A smile graced your lips as you stepped back from the two and watched them bond.

🕱

The house smelled entirely of cookies and you smiled. Many childhood memories came to you as you made your way to the kitchen. You and Nico took a seat at the island and waited for your cousin to turn around and introduce herself. What you weren't expecting was her to turn around with a creepy grin and spatula in hand. "So, how long have you guys been together?" She asked as she put cookies onto a plate. Confused, you and Nico exchanged glances. "Um . . . we're not dating." You answered as your cheeks began to turn red. Your cousin laughed and fired another question at the two of you. "Don't be silly Y/n! You two are totally together!" She exclaimed.

"Look . . . uh. . . ." Nico began, "Mary." Your cousin stated. "Mary. Y/n and I aren't dating. We're just . . . lab partners. You know, for science?" Nico asked as he tried to hide the truth. Mary pouted and sipped her tea. "Hmm . . . . I feel like you're lying to me. " She replied thoughtfully. She leaned over the counter and got into his face, "I don't like being lied to." SHe then turned back around and started humming a familiar tune.

"Uh oh. What's going on in that little head of yours?" You asked suspiciously as your cousin started icing someone brownings. Mary looked up at you and then looked at Nico. "Nothing, just trying to make sense of why you wouldn't tell him about me," she pouted while sticking out her bottom lip and started getting closer to me. Nico snickered as he saw how I leaned away from her and almost fell out of my chair.

"Uh. . . .About that." You stalled as you nervously rubbed your arm and looked up at Mary with a shy smile. "Maybe it's best if you explained to him why you can. . .you know?" Mary nodded and immediately turned her steel-like gaze to Nico. "You are basking in the fabulous presence of a child of Aphrodite. How lucky are you?" She squealed as she poked his nose and shoved his shoulder into yours. Nico and you winced at the sudden contact but became terrified at the look Mary had on her face.

"Oh, okay then." He answered holding his breath as Mary squealed again and enveloped him in a hug. He awkwardly patted her back before she pulled away and gave him a bright smile. He smiled back and you couldn't help but see how he seemed different ever since the beginning of the quest. As if he were . . . happier. You pondered this as Nico and Mary began to make small talk. You were snapped out of your trance when you saw someone wave their hand in front of your face. "Huh?" You asked as Nico and Mary laughed at you. "You really need to pay attention more, Y/n." Nico said laughing.

His laugh rang through your ears as he smiled at you. "I still have no idea what you said." You stated as they had another round of laughs. "See, I told you! Once she's thinking about something she tunes the world out. She does it quite often, it gets very infuriating." Mary said matter of factly. You rolled your eyes and excused yourself from the kitchen. "Where are you going?" Nico questioned as he wrapped his fingers around your wrist and tugged you toward him. You sucked in a breath and bit your lip as you turned and snuck a glance at a fangirling Mary.

Your eyes eventually met his and you gave him a small smile. "I'm going to go unpack my belongings and head off to bed," you informed him as you got lost in his dark eyes. Something flickered in his eyes before he spoke, making you wonder what it was. "I'll go with you," he said as he rubbed his thumb against your skin softly. You held back a shiver and cocked your head as you raised as brow at him. "You're going to help me unpack?" You asked quietly. Mary laughed, making the two of you turn towards her. "No, he's probably just wanting to watch you sleep like a creeper." Nico's face turned red and he quickly let go of your hand to reassure your cousin that that was not his intention. "I didn't mean it like that!" He sputtered as he frantically waved his hands in the air. You giggled and told him that she was only joking before bidding a goodnight to Mary and heading to the guest rooms.

🕱

On the outside Nico was smiling, but in the inside, he was dying. He was still grieving over Bianca's death even though it was a few years ago. He blamed everyone for it. He still was upset at Percy. But for some odd reason, he always found himself in a better mood when you were around. It's as if you illuminated his world, making it brighter each and every day.

🕱

Nico blushed when he saw you take off your cover shirt that revealed your spaghetti strapped tank top. You caught Nico staring and fought back a blush. "What? Do you like what you see?" You teased tilting your head and putting your hand on your hips sassily. Nico blushed and shook his head while looking away. You laughed and it sent shivers down his spine. You giggled and saw his face turn even darker.

"When I said that I'd go with you, I didn't expect to help you unpack." Nico said quietly as his cheeks finally returned to their pale color. You stuck your tongue out at him and laughed at his defeated expression. "Well, now you're helping me unpack. Beggars can't be choosers." You retorted as you turned around and took your hair out of its ponytail. It was a little wild, but you didn't care how it looked at the moment. You took a stack of clothes out of the trunk you brought into the house and put them away neatly inside of the dresser next to the bed.

Nico sighed as he took some shoes out of the trunk and placed them in the closet. "I just have one question, how did you get to where I was and how did you know where I was?" You asked him as he stopped helping you unpack and turned towards you. His shoulders were tense and he muttered something under his breath.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" You asked as you stepped closer to him and looked at his lowered face. "I shadow traveled," he repeated. You gasped and smacked him in the back of his head. "Ouch!" He cried out as his hand automatically went to the back of his head and rubbed it. "You shadow traveled!" You shrieked as he winced at how high your voice got. He nodded his head and slowly looked up at you. "Will's going to kill me." You screeched as you grabbed a fistful of hair.

"Hey, hey, calm down," Nico soothed, "He released me from the hospital." "And from his life," he muttered lowly, almost so quiet that you could barely hear what he said. "Nico?" You asked quietly as you stepped closer to him. He looked up, tears brimming his eyes. "Oh Nico." You choked out as you covered your mouth with your hand and saw him break apart in front of you. Turning around and closing the door behind you, you made your way over to him and set him down on the bed. "He said it wasn't working out for him. He didn't like how I was spending so much time with you and he made me chose." Nico croaked out as he wrapped his arms around you stomach and laid his head in your lap. "And?" You asked already knowing the answer but wanting to see if it was true. You hoped that you weren't the reason for them breaking up.

"I chose you," he replied as he wept and buried his face into your stomach. You put your hand through his hair and played with it, trying to calm him down. "Shh. It's okay. You're okay, I'm here. Just breathe." You soothed and eventually he fell asleep. A soft knock came from outside the door and you told Mary to come in.

"Hey," she said as she stepped into the room and looked at the sleeping boy in your lap. "Is he okay? I heard crying earlier." You nodded your head and continued playing with his hair. "Yeah, he's okay. Just going through a hard time." You replied as you say Mary nod her head and head out of the room. "Y/n, just so you know, you never cease to amaze me and I love you for it."

You smiled at her and thanked her for the compliment, returning the affection also. You watched as she closed the door behind her and you let out a sigh. "Oh Nico, how am I going to help you? I've never dealt with this before. . . ." You said as you shifted slightly and drifted off to sleep.