One Shots (SLOW UPDATES)

Nico x Reyna

Nico di Angelo thought he had found his soulmate. For the first time in his dark life, he allowed the light to shine down upon him, showing him that he could finally be happy with Will Solace. But just like everything else in his life, Will decided that Nico wasn't who he wanted anymore. Just like throughout the rest of his life, his heart was broken. This time, though, he didn't think he would survive. The pain was too much, and he didn't want to live any longer.

Standing on the edge of the bridge should have scared him. The wind whipped around his small, gaunt frame, nudging him closer and closer to the edge and to the water down below. Dim moonlight highlighted the waves that crashed against the legs of the bridge, allowing him to taste the salt in the water. It burned his throat and assaulted his eyes, but he ignored the physical pain. It was nothing close to the pain in his chest.

Every person he ever cared for had left him. His mother, Bianca, Will. They all left him when he needed them most. He didn't blame them, though. He was an annoying little boy, which was why his mother left. He was an awful brother, which was why Bianca left. And Will . . . Nico started being cold and rude to him, which led to Will leaving. Even his own father hated him; Hades would barely check up on him because Nico wasn't meant to be alive. He was an accident. Everything was his fault, and now it was time to take things into his own hands. 

Life was interesting. Nico now could see that it was shorter than what he thought it was. When he was younger, he thought he would live forever. As he grew up, he saw how lives could change in just a snap of a finger, and death was one of those things that could change a life. He knew that he was able to end a life, whether it be his or someone else's. It was that easy. Was it scary? Nico wasn't sure, but he didn't want to think about how scary it was now. He was ready for his life to be over, for the pain to be over. It was time.

Nico scooted closer to the edge, staring down at the water. He could see deep down in the swirling waves. Then, he saw his reflection. It was spinning and shattering and crashing, looking exactly how he felt inside. His heart suddenly started beating fast against his chest the longer he stared down at the swirling water. If he could still feel his heart beating, that meant he was still alive, right? But, soon it would be over, and there would be no heartbeat echoing in his chest anymore. His chest would be completely silent in a few minutes.

Another face joined his reflection, though. Nico jumped up and away from whoever had joined him, raising his sword over to them. "Get away from me!" he shouted over the sound of the waves. "Stay away!"

He had his back to the person, so he wasn't sure if they had left or not. He didn't want to see who was there, though. Seeing anyone - even regular mortals - would ruin his plans of dying tonight. He didn't want that to happen.

"Nico, it's me." That voice sounded familiar. He slowly turned around and saw Reyna standing behind him with her arms reaching out toward him. His sword was pressed against her chest, but he wasn't drawing any blood yet. "What are you doing?"

"You have to leave," he said, his voice strained. "If you don't go, I'll have to hurt you."

Reyna's dark eyes stared at him, a million different emotions going through them. Nico was afraid that she would say something, something that would make him stay. He was also afraid of hurting her. She was one of the only good people in his life, and he didn't want to repay her by stabbing through her chest. 

"Nico," she said, her voice carrying over the waves. "What's going on?"

"What isn't going on is a better question." He barked a laugh, shaking his head. His dark hair fell into his eyes, but he didn't brush it away. Nico didn't want to see anymore. "You really need to leave."

"I'm not leaving until you step away from the edge."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not moving a muscle unless it's when I jump off."

Reyna's eyes widened. She seemed so worried about him. How strange. He thought that no one else cared about him. "What do you mean jumping off?"

"My life is over," he said softly. It looked like she still heard him, which was a good thing. He wasn't about to repeat himself. "Everyone I have ever loved has left me, and I'm tired of it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Will broke up with me."

"And you're acting like it's the end of the world?" She stared at him with a strange look in her eyes. There was something in them that made him slowly drop his sword to his side. She took a step closer to him, so he took a step closer to the edge. "Nico, you're one of the strongest people I know. Who cares if Will broke up with you?"

"It's just like my mother and sister." His eyes were full of tears, but he didn't want to cry. That would be a waste of emotion, especially if he was going to die soon. "They left when I needed them most, just like Will did. And now I'm alone forever."

"That's not true." Her strong voice carried over to him. How could she say that to him, though? She didn't know anything about him. She didn't know what he was feeling. She didn't understand anything. "Your mother and sister couldn't help it. They died, Nico. They would have lived much longer if they could have."

"What about Will? He broke up with me because he was interested in another guy."

"Will doesn't know what he has lost," she said with a nod. Reyna took a step toward him. This time, he didn't move away from her. "If he doesn't know that you are one of the best guys in the entire world, then that's his loss. You deserve much better than what he could give you, anyway."

"I deserve death."

"No, you don't. You deserve life."

"No." 

Nico shook his head. The tears were blurring his eyes so much that he couldn't see anything at all. He shuffled to the side slightly to get farther away from her, but his feet suddenly slipped on the wet bridge. Everything seemed to slow down as he began falling away off of the bridge. A scream echoed around him, but he couldn't really focus on it. All he could focus on was the regret building up in his chest.

His fingers grabbed onto the edge of the bridge before he could fall into the raging water below. They held tight to the edge of the bridge like his life depended on it. And it did. Suddenly, he didn't want to die anymore. Not like this. Not without seeing if his life could turn around and be better than it was before. Scared noises echoed around him; he wasn't sure if it was him making those noises or not. 

"I got you," Reyna said quickly. Her strong hands went around his, and she slowly pulled him up and over the edge. The two of them collapsed into each other, her with relief and him with regret. The ground beneath them felt so good. "You changed your mind."

"Yes."

"It was a good thing you grabbed onto the edge or else you would have been gone."

"Yes."

"Are you okay?"

"No."

She rubbed her hand up and down his back, just like his mother used to do when he was a little boy. The tears in his eyes started streaming down his face. He missed his mother and sister so much. Why couldn't he have joined them for good? Why did she have to save him?

"Listen to me, Nico," Reyna whispered to him. "I know the pain is hard. Trust me, I've lost loved ones, too."

"It seems like that's all my life is capable of doing, taking away the people I love most."

"I promise that you'll find love again," Reyna whispered against his ear. A small shiver traveled down his spine at the intimate touch. The sounds of the waves crashing against the shore had gotten so loud that they had to be tangled together for them to hear each other. "And this time, the love won't leave. It will stay with you for the rest of your life, and you will be happy for a long time. I promise."

He didn't ask her how she knew. He didn't want to ruin the moment and show her that he was farther gone than he wanted to admit. Besides, he actually did believe her. Deep in his soul, he knew that he would find love again. And maybe it wasn't so far away from him. Maybe it was right in arms length from him. Maybe it was the girl that had saved his life just a few minutes ago. Somehow, Nico was fine with that. Actually, he was more than fine; he was delighted that Reyna was his true soulmate.