Multi Fandom One Shots And Short Stories

(NICO DI ANGELO) Headstones

TW- mentions of Tartarus, death of a sibling

Word count: 2117

"Hey, Percy!" the young camper yelled. She sprinted up to the son of Poseidon, ignoring the fact that he was hacking into a practice dummy with his Celestial Bronze sword. The poor dummy looked about ready to give up the ghost!

Percy Jackson turned to the girl, wiping the sweat from his face.
She didn't know if it was simply her imagination, but his eyes looked sadder today, as though something was weighing heavily on his mind.

"Yeah, what's up, Skye?" He panted.

"Oh, ya know! Nothin' much," she said. The daughter of Demeter squinted up at him, silently cursing her uncle for making the sun so darn bright, and Percy for being so freaking tall!

"Is there something I can do for you?" Percy asked, capping Riptide.

Skye watched in awe for a few moments before snapping back into reality, "Yes, actually, there is." The 13-year old bit her lip, embarrassed. "Uh, you haven't seen a certain son of Hades lurking anywhere nearby, have you?"

Nico Di Angelo had been Skye Walters' friend since he and his sister had first gotten to Camp Half-Blood. The night he'd disappeared had set off a flame of worry in the then-10-year-old girl. It had only been exacerbated when he'd disappeared again, this time to Tartarus, for heaven's sake!

Both times, she'd cut herself off from the other campers. She hardly ever ate and when she did, she just threw it back up. The nerves never truly left, making her stomach churn and her limbs shaky.

When Nico had, at last, come back home, he was different. He suffered regularly from nightmares, flashbacks, and panic attacks. Skye knew the truth: it would be a long time, if ever, that Nico would come back from Tartarus.

Although Skye had a reputation for being bubbly and sweet, she had very few people who she could actually call friends. Most of the campers picked on her or just tried to avoid her. Skye didn't know why, but she didn't like it.

The only people she could actually call friends were the Seven, Nico, and her half technically cousin, Will Solace. The Stoll brothers always pranked her, but she knew they loved her. She would admit though, Reyna was growing on her.

And now, she couldn't find Nico anywhere! She'd checked all over the camp but to no avail; Nico seemed to have vanished!

Percy's demeanor changed almost instantly. He shifted from foot to foot and asked, "Where have you already checked?" He seemed genuinely worried about the younger boy.

"Well," Skye explained, "I've checked his cabin, the beach, Strawberry fields, even the fringes of the woods!" She rubbed her face worriedly, "Percy, I've checked every possible place he could have run to!"

Percy's eyes became stormy, his brows furrowing. He quickly slipped Riptide into his pocket and took Skye's hand. Without another word, he began to lead her up to the Big House.

"Uh, Perce?" Skye said, "Why are we going to the Big House?"

"I just need to ask Chiron if I can take you out for a bit. I'm pretty sure he'll want to know where we're going." He paused, then asked, "Today is the 19th right?"

Utterly baffled, Skye responded, "Yes? Why does that matter?"

Percy was quiet for a ways before whispering, "Because three years ago today, I lost a friend... Nico's sister."

No more needed to be said.

••••••

Skye knew what had happened to Bianca. She knew that the daughter of Hades had died on a quest with Percy and that Percy held himself responsible. She didn't know much more than that. She never liked seeing any of her friends upset, especially Nico; he was already so sad all the time!