Of Greeks And Romans (Leo Valdez x Reader)

XV

You

Nico was surprised when he first saw me, but he looked even more surprised when he saw Percy. His eyes went wide, and it looked like he was panicking a little.

I knew what he was thinking. It also made it a little awkward. Nico used to have a crush on Percy a long time ago, and now here he was. On top of that, practically all of camp halfblood was partially looking for him, even though they already knew he was here by now.

Hazel seemed to notice the tension, but still made introductions.

"This is Percy Jackson," Hazel said. "He's a good guy. Percy, this is my brother, the son of Pluto."

Nico regained his composure and held out his hand. Atleast this was a lot calmer than our meeting. "Pleased to meet you," he said. "I'm Nico di Angelo."

Still, the tension in their shoulders when they shook hands was enough to make me nervous. The two of them studied eachother warily, caution as they locked eyes. Hazel was practically bubbling with nervous energy.

Percy scowled. "I—I know you."

Nico raised his eyebrows. "Do you?" He looked at Hazel for explanation. Or perhaps we was just faking it. I could tell his hands were stiff at his side. He was lying.

I leaned over where I was currently sitting. Even though Pluto's shrine was a little creepy, I would prefer it 100 times more than Gaea's freaky shrine. Nico was still studying the other boy.

I whispered loud enough that only he would hear me. "Will's better." I casually leaned back again as Nico stiffened.

"Wait what?" He jolted, and I think that was the last thing he expected to come out of my mouth. I examined him, and it seemed like he refused to meet my gaze. Probably thinking about the possibilities.

Hazel clearly wasn't comfortable with the tension, and I think I was the only one here just to watch. "Um...Percy's lost his memory." She told her brother what had happened since Percy had arrived at the gates.

"So, Nico..." Hazel continued carefully, "I thought...you know, you travel all over. Maybe you've met demigods like Percy before, or..."

Nico sent her a death glare, which was all the more scary considering he was the son of the literal death god.

"This story about Gaea's army," Nico said. "You warned Reyna?"

Percy shrugged. "She seemed to already know."

"That's because I'm the one who hinted at it for long enough. I think she was able to connect the dots," I said.

"Who is Gaea, anyway?" Percy just seemed confused.

Hazel went stiff, looking at the ground. I already knew this was tough for her considering her history.

"She's the earth goddess." Nico glanced at the ground as if it might be listening. "The oldest goddess of all. She's in a deep sleep most of the time, but she hates the gods and their children."

"Mother Earth...is evil?" Percy asked.

"Very," Nico said gravely. "She convinced her son, the Titan Kronos—um, I mean, Saturn—to kill his dad, Uranus, and take over the world. The Titans ruled for a long time. Then the Titans' children, the Olympian gods, overthrew them."

"That story seems familiar," Percy sounded surprised, like an old memory had partially surfaced. "But I don't think I ever heard the part about Gaea."

Nico shrugged. "She got mad when the gods took over. She took a new husband—Tartarus, the spirit of the abyss—and gave birth to a race of giants. They tried to destroy Mount Olympus, but the gods finally beat them. At least...the first time."