Shining Light- Nico Di Angelo and Will Solace meet the Avengers

Pancakes Fix Everything

Nico's POV

-Dream-

I'm at the temple of Kronos again. 

The obsidian black walls, the smell of smell of sulfur, and the red tinge to the air that was in all of Tartarus. I was at the side of the temple, up to my neck in the burning water of the Phlegethon. It was ironic, as I had seen many evil souls punished this way in the underworld, but I never thought I would be made to go through the everlasting pain.

It healed me as it burned me, an endless cycle of near death and relief. I had woken up here, with a shady memory of being overrun by monsters and knocked unconscious. I noticed my Stygian iron sword hanging on the opposite side of the temple. 

At the front of the temple was a large statue of the Titan king himself. short for a titan, but with an evil grin that gave most people shivers. 

I heard footsteps coming closer, and finally, a tall, red-haired figure with pure black eyes emerged. 

He looked about 20, like a popular kid at college who was out with his friends. He had a white button up shirt that hung loosely around this muscled frame and blue skinny jeans. His fiery red hair was very long and tied back in a messy man bun at the back of his head. But his eyes were pure black, filled with liquid hatred, and his expression was cruel.

He looked down at me in the river of fire, as if I was his new 'plaything'. 

"I am Moros, son of Nyx and god of Doom," he said in a clear deep voice. "And you are the first demigod I have ever seen."

I frowned. Most gods, even minor gods, had demigod children or at least had used demigods to do their bidding. 

He smirked lightly. "I have never been out of the cavern. This is where there is most doom."

I could agree with that. "What is this place?" I mutter croakily.

"Kronos's temple. Time runs differently here. This was the gift he left behind, a place where a day in here is an hour in the mortal world."

-Dream finish-

"Nico? Nico, wake up!" Will was shaking me. 

I noticed he had a hand clamped over my mouth, and when he noticed I was awake he quickly drew it away. 

"Nico, it's just a dream. It's not real. You're not there." He said calmingly.

I closed looked around and noticed the room was covered in shadows, and not the natural ones. I had probably created a mass of darkness around me as I slept. 

I hated that place so much. The campers believed that Percy and Annabeth had been in Tartarus longer than I had, but only Hazel and Will knew I was put in Kronos's Temple that stopped time. I hadn't even told them what happened in there. It was too painful.

I take the blanket off my legs, and tell Will I'm getting up now. He understands that I'm not going to be able to sleep again, and lets me go.

I find myself going back to the living room/kitchen that I had met the rest of the Avengers in. I look at a digital clock and find the time; 4:28 am. I look in the draws and find a pan and some ingredients; the flour, the eggs, the salt, and the milk. 

I mixed them all in a bowl and turned on the stove.  I placed a frying pan over the hot stove, and added a teaspoon of butter to make the pan not sticky. I then added a spoonful of mixture to the pan and waited for it to form bubbles.

Percy's mum, Sally Jackson, had taught me how to make pancakes. She had been very kind to me, as for a while I was a travelling homeless demigod. She gave me a house, and food, and friendship. She is the closest I have to a mother now.

I flipped the pancake expertly and waited for it to cook on the other side. I then got a plate, and lifted the pancake onto it and found some strawberries and maple syrup to drizzle over it; not too much, but enough to taste the sweet flavour. 

I got out a knife and fork, and cut a piece off, testing my creation. It was delicious. 

I heard the sound of footsteps and noticed the blonde figure of Steve Rogers groggily walking over to the kitchen. He stopped suddenly when he noticed me as if forgetting who I was for a second. 

"Oh hey Nico," he said quietly. 

"Hi," I say, not looking up from my pancake. "There is pancake mixture next to the stove, feel free to use it." 

I start to get up, but he looks over at me intently. "Do you want to come for a run with me?"  He asks experimentally.

I was very suprised at the offer. I would have expected him to question why I was up so early, or ask about the night before. But instead, he was still stying to be friendly, which I appreciated. I didn't know what to think about this man.

"Sure," I replied, finishing off the remains of my pancake. "I'll go and change now."