Oh my gods. (My hero academia/Heroes of Olympus crossover)

Recovery Girl

    He could hear his dad's voice in his head, picking apart every mistake he's already made. 'Freaking out in a tree and throwing up in front of the one man who might help you survive this place' is definitely high up on the list.

    Nico scowled, turning his face away from the man hovering by his side. Aizawa insisted on helping him inside, but as soon as they walked through the doors, Nico forced himself to shove the help off. With wounded pride and a ridiculous amount of effort, he let himself follow.

    He didn't say anything as they passed hallways and stairs and doors, letting the shuffle of his shoes on the tile be noise enough. Luckily, Aizawa wasn't one to talk. Instead, he limited himself to occasionally glancing over his shoulder at Nico, then moving on.

    He wouldn't say it, but the silence was appreciated. Awkward conversations and hidden meanings were never Nico's thing. But the quiet made his labored breathing painfully obvious, and he hated himself for it. He was a fighter, wasn't he? He dealt with death. He's had people collapse in his arms, watched as their unblinking eyes sparkled with unshed tears. He's heard the wails and screams of the suffering souls, and the desperate prayers of the ones wishing for salvation.
And yet, he was brought to tears by dear old dad being mean.

  He was pathetic.

    "We're here," Aizawa cut in, pushing a familiar door open. The action was punctuated with a soft thud. 

     Nico blinked, surprised they reached their destination so quickly. Then again, he wasn't currently the most alert. They could walked a mile and Nico would be too stuck in his head to notice. 

    He stepped in quietly. The bed from before looked the same as before, except for his pile of possessions. His sword, wrapped in some sort of cloth, laid on the pillow. A small pile of gold drachmas and his bag of ambrosia sat next to it.

    This was all he had to his name here, besides the clothes on his back. A twisting, dark thing curled in his chest and wrapped around his lungs. The inhale he took in burned.
 Nobody knew him. No one here would mourn if-

    Nico shook his head, lifting himself up to sit on the edge of the mattress. Feeling sorry for himself wouldn't get him anywhere. Not like he could convince Hades to give him a ride home.

    Aizawa paused in the doorway, halfway in the room. He held up a hand, briefly, then pulled out his phone. With the small click of the lock, the teacher stepped out.

    Nico, now alone, adjusted the strap that carried his sword. Counted the squares of ambrosia. Tucked the coins into his pocket. Folded the cloth that held his weapon, mindlessly, before growing frustrated and tossing it in a heap on the floor. 

    Who knows how long this could take? He could spend weeks here. Months, maybe. And Nico still had no idea how much time was passing at camp.

    What if he came back, and everyone moved on? What if he came back and didn't recognize anyone? If Percy and Annabeth had children, or grandchildren? If Hazel and Frank got married? If he came back and Will had someone new, and the face he'd see, with laugh lines and crinkles around the edges, wasn't one he recognized?

    Nico sighed, gripping the edge of the bed until his bloody knuckles burned.
He'd rather stay here and die than go back to a life he missed. It was harsh, and hell, maybe a little dramatic, but it was true. He barely got used to life at camp. Handling being thrown in time again, and losing the people he considers family, would be too much for him to go through again.

   Luckily, he was interrupted by the growing wave of dark thoughts by the door being crudely pushed open. The old lady from before wasted no time in walking in and shutting the door behind her, efficiently cutting off the small pieces of conversation Nico heard from Aizawa. 

  "Hello, young man! Nico, is it?l"

    He nodded, and that seemed to be enough for her.

    "Don't believe I've introduced myself. You can call me Recovery Girl; that's my hero name." She brushed her gloved hands against the front of her outfit. "If you're as reckless as the class you'll be shadowing, then you'll see me often."
Recovery Girl peered at Nico's hands, still fresh with blood, and turned away with a tut. "Seems like it. Well. That's that, I suppose."

    He stayed silent as she bustled around, unsure of what else to do. Nico did think of using some ambrosia, but he only had a limited supply and he wasn't too keen on sharing the properties of those just yet. He'll have to put some level of trust into these people eventually, even if it's just a surface level lining, but that doesn’t have to be now.

    With a screech, Recovery Girl pushed a small stool next to the bed. 
"You're going to feel pretty tired after this. I wouldn't blame you if you fell asleep again. Seems like you need it."

    He just stared at her. When it became obvious she wanted a response, he nodded, still not entirely sure what exactly he was consenting to. Even so, it seemed good enough for her.

  She leaned up and placed a kiss against his cheek.

    First was the impulse to pull back, paired with pretty obvious shock of being kissed by the school's resident grandmother.
Second was the wave of exhaustion that overtook him. Almost seconds later, he slumped over, struggling to keep his head up. Nico felt the small pride in him shrivel at the realization that he let himself be drugged twice in under an hour. At least he managed to keep himself from falling off the mattress altogether.

    Recovery Girl hopped off the stool, as if nothing abnormal happened. "Yup. You're all good!"

  With heavy eyes, he looked down at his hands. His unburnt, healthy, markless hands.

    "You, young man, can easily fall back asleep now. Or, you can wait till Aizawa eventually comes back to collect you." The last part led off into a grumble, but Nico wasn't paying much attention. The urge to sleep was talking over most of his focus. "Give me a second to bring him back here, and we'll decide from there."

    She left without another word, letting the door shut behind her.

((AN: Hey! Quick note to say happy new year!!! I hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating, be it with friends or family, or chilling with yourself.
Death anniversaries kinda ran me over this year. Or, well, last year. Holidays were kinda a handful too, but I eventually convinced myself to check back here. The overwhelming support and messages propelled me to write this chapter. I appreciate each and every comment and like. It makes my day. Thank you, as always!! Hopefully chapters will start speeding up !))