Darkness & Sea Go Hand-in-Hand [Hiatus]

9

As the small clock in the dashboard flashed to 11:48 PM, Nico looked in the rear view mirror at the other boy sleeping soundly in the back seat, then at the girl sleeping beside him.

When Percy was getting too tired, Annabeth had insisted she drove instead. But judging by the bags under her eyes and the brief yawn she had, she probably would've passed out at the wheel.

So here Nico was, driving the car, hoping that no cops or anyone noticed a 14 year old was driving.

He rolled down his window, letting the cool summer night air fill the car.
Something about the air, specifically at night, in the summer smelt...different. Felt different. Like he came into a mystical world.

Well, a different kind of mystical than the world he lived in now. Just...safer. Happier. Calmer.

As he turned the radio up, Goodnight Demon Slayer by Voltaire played, the music washing whatever sorrow, whatever doubts, whatever anger he had, away.

He kept his eyes focused on the road ahead, but his mind wandered;

To Percy, who laid possibly dreaming of camp.
What their future would hold. Would and could they be together? Could they make it work?
He really hoped so. If he couldn't get Bianca back, then, gods, please let him have the guy he likes...loves.

To the quest, to his sister.
What would he do if it's not really Bianca there? How could he be 100% sure?
Did he want Bianca to be there? Or hope she actually did move on to another life, and this was just a decoy.
A part of him was scared that Artemis would turn her into an animal, if she decided to leave the Hunters, if she's still a part of them after death.
But if it was her, where has she been this whole time, for him to believe she moved on? Was she being heald captive even then?

To Annabeth, who just...gave Percy up. Quickly.
But anger will consume the mind of one, caused by the pain making them run.
That was a part of the prophecy.
Nico wasn't angry.
Well, not by anything making him run, anways. What he wanted was so close within his grasp, all he had to do was move forward. He certainly wasn't running from Minthe holding his sister in tortures captivity.
And he couldn't think of anything causing so much anger, it caused Percy to run.
Annabeth...ya, she was supporting the both of them. She left Percy for him to be happy with Nico. She was doing all she could to help them both in this game of love, and with the quest.
But that didn't necessarily mean she wasn't heart broken.
Nico knew a thing or two about hiding broken pieces begind a smiling facade.
So was the final two lines of the prophecy about her?

Nico sighed, thoughts now invading his mind.
He tried turning the radio up ever so slightly, careful not to make it too loud as nit to wake the two others up.
Goodnight Demon Slayer had ended, and another song, one he'd never heard before, began to play.

Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am home again.
Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am whole again.
Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am young again.
Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am fun again.

However far away, I will always love you.
However long I may stay, I will always love you.
Whatever words I say, I will always love you.
I will always love you

Squeezing the steering wheel, Nico looked at Percy for a moment, the memory of holding hands with him on the hotel rooftop fresh in his mind, that beautiful smile when he confessed the feelings were returned.

Percy was laying across the seat, an arm dangling as his hand grazed the floor.

Hesitantly, Nico reached back, his heart beating in his ears, and he gently heald Percy's hand, his other hand on the wheel.
He felt Percy's fingers curl around his hand, fire flooding his veins like a needle of lava was just injected into him.