𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐢━━Nico di Angelo

40

"What was it like?" Nico asked.

After Ajax and Jason had come back to the ship, they narrated the story. Leo and Piper cheered at the parts where Ajax used his powers and so he would look down, his cheeks tinted pink.

Frank had clapped him on his back and Coach Hedge had told him he was proud. Ajax had tried not to cry.

Nico ignored him mostly. He heard the story of what happened up there and then promptly left. The entire day, Ajax had been trying to track him down- to talk to him, maybe apologize? But Nico had seemingly vanished. He wasn't on the deck, nor was he in the mess hall or Ajax's room.

By evening, Ajax had given up.

But when night fell and Ajax slipped into bed, feeling uncomfortable that half of the bed was empty- Nico entered the room.

Neither of them said anything.

The son of Hades, took off his shoes and his jacket, placing them on the table next to where Gale was sleeping. He petted her on her head and slowly got into the bed.

They were sleeping back to back again. Ajax faced the wall and Nico faced the desk.

While Ajax missed meeting Nico on the deck at night, he had to admit this new arrangement was better. Here they were warm and they were well rested in the morning when they fell asleep while talking.

An hour passed. It was silent, apart from the slight boat noises the Argo II made.

The only sounds were of Ajax and Nico breathing in sync.

In and out.

In and out.

In and out.

Nico had specifically matched his breathing to Ajax's when he came into the room.

That's when he spoke, nearly an hour after he had been laying in the bed with Ajax.

"What was it like?" Nico repeated when Ajax didn't answer. For a moment he thought Ajax must have fallen asleep, but the other boy answered.

"Scary"

They let the words sit between them for a while.

Ajax wanted to apologize, tell Nico he had wanted him instead of Jason, but he couldn't choke the truth out.

"You did it, though" Nico sounded like he was in awe. I knew you could. That's what he didn't say. "Loser"

"Dork"

Nico was angry and embarrassed that Ajax had chosen Jason over him. His feelings swirled inside him in a vortex he couldn't understand. Why did he yearn for Ajax's company so much? Why did he want to go with him? Why did the thought of Ajax choosing Jason hurt so much?

"You missed dinner," Ajax pointed out.

They skirted around their feelings, scared that if they acknowledged how much they had begun to care for each other, the other would leave.

"Frank turned into a turtle"

Nico shuddered. He didn't want to think about Turtles anymore.

Again Ajax had the urge to apologize. But he held back. Too scared, too embarrassed.

"I guess you made the right choice. Jason's powers came in handy" Nico stated after some time in silence. Ajax thought he detected a bit of venom in Nico's voice. His eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Yeah. Couldn't have done it without him" Nico shifted in place when Ajax said that. Why? "You know, he kind of gave me the vibe that he didn't like me at first, but now I think we're cool. Leo made good points, I genuinely thought I was going to fall while climbing up. So having a guy who can fly was handy."