Solangelo Stories

Chapter Forty Five - Weak

"Weak."

Nico halted at those words and turned to his soon-to-be ex.   "What? Me?"

"Yes, you. It's not that hard to tell people Nico it's the 21st century."

"I heard you, I wanted to make sure I heard you correctly." Nico gritted through his teeth.

"It's not that hard to tell people. All you have to say is that we're dating."

"Why? Why is it a necessity to go around telling people? They don't need to know and nothing changes if we do."

"I'm tired of hiding!" Will yelled. "I'm tired of it! Every time I leave with you I want to hold your hand! I want to be able to kiss you! I want to be able to tell the world that I love you!"

"Why?! I don't understand why those things have to be displayed! I grew up differently than you Will! I didn't have the luxury of watching love the way you did. To me, it's not constant touching or constant affection. There's more to relationships than kissing and holding hands!" Nico expressed himself as best he could, he was unsure why PDA was such a big deal, he was never one for that and he wasn't planning on changing now. 

"You cannot compare childhoods if you barely had one!" Will argued, and that's when Nico finally snapped.

"God Damn it, William! Unlike you, I was born in Nazi Italy! I remember- you can NEVER forget the scenes that were seen there. I watched as gays were linked together with murderers and shot in mass graves. I remember how two men holding hands in the streets caused them to be pelted with stones to death." Nico stepped closer to Will, pointing his finger at his chest. "I was only ten! I remember those horrors! So excuse me, Mr. Perfect, for not growing up with a Sing Songy mom who has a bunch of siblings and the literal sunshine of a dad! Excuse me for being stuck in a fucking casino for centuries before my father literally pulled us out to help fight his familial rivalry and then said he wished my sister had lived and not me. 

A sister who was killed by your fucking people. The gods you worship and the people you wish for me to be vulnerable with killed my sister, ruined my other sister, created wars, outcasted me, wished me dead, fear me, and yet you want me to want them to accept me?" Nico scoffed.

"Nico I-"

"I am not done!" Nico exclaimed, cutting off Will. "These people... they've done nothing for me. Why must I sacrifice what we have when I've finally felt at peace? Why are you asking me to give up the relationship we have so that these people must know whether or not we like to take it up the ass?! They have not done shit for me since I first arrived here, I built this fucking cabin myself because they wished me gone. Who saved their asses against Kronos? Me, I brought the army. Who saved their asses when the labyrinth exploded? Me, I took half the army alone. Who brought that enormous statue to fight against Gaea? Me! I did, I was already dying from walking through Tartarus alone! I did that! And every time without fail, I get thanked for two days before being side-eyed, before being outcasted again." 

"That stuff happened almost ten years ago!" Will retorted, "They don't hate you. They've all accepted you, you just haven't cared to notice if you are too caught up in your head. They do care about you! They don't want you gone. Coming out isn't for them, it's for us. It's for us to be ourselves in front of them."

"You're wrong Will." Nico replied, sticking up his nose, "they haven't. Not willingly anyway. Every time, every time there's a goddamn war they suddenly need me. Once my powers prove to be useful they grovel at my feet, thankful that I saved them. But the second it's over, it's not my name they're chanting, it's a nose bleeding Baffoon every time!
           So no. I don't owe them anything both wars, you half-bloods would have died without me. You outcast my father so much that you don't realize it. You're discriminatory. Only looking out for the hot demigod with strong fighting abilities.
           The second you see a pale, frail demigod with a similar powerful fighting ability it's suddenly horrifying! He can summon hurricanes and you guys hurrah, I summon skeletons or turn enemies into ghosts and you guys run for cover. Do you know what that is? Bias, Hades was right! You don't need us. You only need our help when it benefits you and trusts me, William, I'm not as weak as I look!"