𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐢━━Nico di Angelo

106

"Tada!" Ajax whispered.

Nico understood why he was whispering. There was a certain spell to the place, making it seem like time didn't exist there. He was afraid if he spoke too loud, did something wrong, they would break the magic.

Ajax had led him into the woods, not far from where campers usually played capture the flag. Nico had been to the woods before, but he was sure nothing like this had ever existed until now. Dozens of glowing mythical creatures floated everywhere. Old fashioned lamps were hung in the trees, casting a warm yellow glow in the small clearing. It smelled like spring which made sense since there were flowers growing in a circle around the blanket in the middle. The only thing Nico could hear other than his own breathing was the sounds of the night- the insects chirping, tree branches shifting in the wind and the sound of waves. Wait what? Waves?

"It's called an ambience, bitch" Ajax smiled, "Apparently, if you whine a lot and annoy people a lot, the Hephaestus cabin will make you anything"

He gestured to the device near a tree, it looked like a metal cuboid, but the sound of waves and wind was definitely coming from it.

"It's called a white noise machine or something. The mortals use it to sleep, but it reminded me of-"

"The Argo II"

Nico didn't trust himself to say anything more. He was dumbstruck, speechless, lovestruck, whatever you want to call it.

"How- when- why-"

"Why?" Ajax raised an eyebrow, "Because I love you that's why. And you deserve this, you deserve to be loved"

Nico choked back a sob. He didn't want to ruin the moment, that was usually Ajax's thing. He wanted to do so many things, live a lifetime with Ajax, kiss Ajax, hug Ajax, punch Ajax... he just wanted Ajax.

"Thanks"

"Thanks?"

"Oh I'm sorry, that wasn't dramatic enough" Nico cleared his throat, "As the son of hades, I've only known darkness, death and destruction. Oh, how fortunate you must feel to have captured the affection of the illustrious Son of Hades. Yes, I, the brooding and enigmatic soul with a heart as cold as the depths of the Underworld, have decided to grace you with my love... Rejoice in the fact that amidst the swirling shadows and the echoes of despair, you have managed to awaken a semblance of emotion within me. How utterly remarkable! How tragically ironic! I wasn't even aware I was capable of loving someone until you popped up- and I swear you must have done some magic because I don't think I have or ever will love someone else as much as you"

Nico thought he began sarcastically, but as the words poured out, they only got more and more genuine.

Ajax seemed to think so too. He sniffed a little and looked away, "Well, then don't. Don't love anyone else after me"

"Ajax-"

But he was already pulling Nico to the blanket in the middle of the clearing. It wasn't a lavish dinner or anything, since Nico rarely ate a lot, but it was mostly things Nico had mentioned off hand- a deck of mythomagic cards, two wooden pirate swords, corn on the cob. Nico didn't even know someone would actually care enough to memorize these little details about him. So long he had spent thinking he was unlovable and here was Ajax, loving him like it was breathing.

"There's a story," Nico began, because he didn't trust himself to say anything else, "That when Prometheus created humans, he made them with two heads, four arms, four legs and then Zeus split them into two. I always felt left out in that story, because I didn't have this so called 'other half,' 'a soulmate' or whatever you want to call it-"