Nico was getting suspicious. Estelle had been ominously quiet for the past half-hour, and while he didn't mind the peace and quiet, he couldn't help but wonder what, exactly, his girlfriend was up to. Setting down his worn copy of Hamlet, Nico rose from his green armchair, leaning curiously towards the bathroom Estelle had vanished into.
He crept forward, knocking on the door gingerly with his first two knuckles. "Stel? Everything okay, sweetheart?"
Estelle's voice was muffled and deceptively calm. "Oh, yeah. I'm chill."
Nico's eyebrow rose sharply. "Chill?"
"Cool. Calm. Easy gooooooing, man."
"You sound like a hippie hotboxing in a Porta-Potty. Seriously, what's going on? Do you need-- like, help?" Nico stumbled, remembering at last second that she was in a bathroom. "Or like--"
"Don't give yourself a migraine, honey," Estelle teased.
Nico jiggled the handle. "Can I come in, please. What are you even doing in there?"
It was silent. Nico waited for an answer, staring at the door dumbfoundedly. What was she doing?
"Estelle?"
"It's embarrassing," her voice came quickly, caught in her throat. "So please don't come inside?"
"Are you hurt?" Nico demanded, plants curling up his collar with agitation. He batted them down, regretting his decision to wear an ivy necklace.
A beat.
"Sorry, I shook my head. Forgot you can't see me. No, I'm not hurt, I'm just-- emotionally constipated."
"That's a real cute mental image, thank you," Nico said dryly, pushing the handle down. "I'm coming in."
Estelle shrieked, followed by muffled bang against the door. "Stop! I can't be seen like this!"
"Stel, I saw you barf raw salmon on the New York City sidewalk. And then I watched you step into it by accident. I think it can't get worse than that."
She sighed, loud, blowing a raspberry. "Okay. Fine. But you can't laugh, you hear me?"
"Okay."
"Promise."
"Pinky promise."
"Swear on the River Styx."
"Estelle, don't be ridiculous," he pushed on the door.
A few seconds of shuffling, then the door creaked open. Estelle glared up at him from the floor, where she had braced her back against the door. Nico's jaw dropped at the sight of her.
"Don't," she warned, sliding away from him.
Her hair was a furious, bloody crimson. It was wet with dye, sticking to her head in clumps. Her Camp Half-Blood shirt was soaked in red, hands bright crimson up to her elbows, fingernails stained with the color of blood.
The bathroom was twice as bad. Red painted the walls in vaguely handprint-shaped swipes, the sink was a veritable pool of watery pink dye, and the bathtub looked like a murder scene.
"Estelle Jackson," Nico whispered in awe. "What in the Hades--"
"STOP!" she shrieked, laughing, covering her ears with her red-stained hands. "I know, I know, don't tease!"
"What did you do?" Nico cackled, staring at the bathroom in amazement. "I don't even know what to say to this."
"I'll get a mop and help you clean up, would be nice," Estelle suggested.
Nico shoved her head to the side. "You nut. Why on earth did you--"
"I don't know!" she cried, kicking at an empty bottle of dye. It spun across the red-streaked floor, spinning. "I was bored."
"You are unhinged," he laughed appreciatively. Crouching down, he cupped her cheek, imploring her silently.
She blew out a breath, leaning into his hand. "I don't know. It's stupid."
Nico sat down, cross-legged, jeans dragging in the puddles of dye.
She laughed helplessly. "I just-- I'm so sick of this. I literally look like a mini-Percy, and that's all people think of when they see me. And some part of me thought if I was more colourful people would stop... ignoring me. It's dumb."
"No," he shook his head, black curls ruffling. "No, it makes sense."
"Halfway through I got cold feet," she said reproachfully, rolling her eyes at herself. "And then the bottle exploded. Typical."
Nico studied the bathroom. "Well, I'm not opposed to painting the walls red. It's like the Ares house."
"Yeah, we can perpetually shit on Ares everyday," she snorted.
"How about we clean this up, and then I'll go to Target and get a new dye," Nico suggested, tucking her red-stained hand into his. "Then we can go to Home Depot and buy some paint."
Estelle buried her face in her hands. "You're too nice to me. What happened to the shithead I used to know?"
"He fell in love," Nico grinned. "Also, his girlfriend makes the best fucking cookies I've ever eaten."
"The way to a man's heart is through his stomach," Estelle laughed. "Thank you, Nic."
"Of course, sweetheart," he kissed her hand. "Also, maybe you should shower up before we go outside anywhere. You look like you murdered multiple states."
"That was actually next on my itinerary."
"As long as we get New Jersey, you can do whatever you please," Nico said grimly.
She cackled. "Deal."
original story: deep end/fortune favours the bold by me
I discontinued both deep end and fortune favours the bold because they were such big plots that i had in mind, and i lacked so much inspiration for them. but maybe when the show drops i'll revive it, because honestly, the characters are some of my favourites. cyrus, cedar, nico, gil, all of them live in my head constantly. nico was an application made by hobgoblinne, and i fell in love with him instantly. estelle and nico have a rough initial relationship, but i always thought of them as an old --albeit sassy-- couple. also, i wrote this while i was sitting in the bathroom waiting for my own red hair dye to set, so that was fun imagining the chaos i could've caused. but i didn't.
