Solangelo Oneshots

Asexual

As Will and Nico stood chatting with Percy and Annabeth, Nico couldn't concentrate on the conversation. It wasn't because of his ADHD, like usual, but instead because, rather than having an arm draped over Nico's shoulder or around his waist, Will's hand was resting innocently on the small of Nico's back. It left a funny feeling. It felt uncomfortable.

Nico was forcing his brow not to furrow, struggling to keep the grimace off his face and fighting the urge to slap Will's hand off or jump away. He cursed himself for wanting to. It was just a hand. He'd been working really hard on being okay with people touching him and Will was who he was most comfortable with but he didn't like this and he couldn't understand why.

When Annabeth and Percy left, Will's hand pulled away and an intense feeling of relief settled over Nico. Will pecked his lips, mentioning something about a shift in the infirmary. Nico nodded, not listening properly, kissed Will again and waved goodbye before heading to the Aphrodite Cabin. If anyone knew something, it would be Piper.

He hesitated before knocking on the door. He wasn't sure if he was being ridiculous. Nico took a deep breath and knocked.
Piper opened the door, smiling widely when she saw Nico, and ushered him in. Nico sat awkwardly on her bed. The Cabin was pretty much empty but Nico still felt embarrassed being around them. He fixed his gaze on his lap, fidgeting with his hands. Piper lay a hand on his shoulder, sensing something was wrong.

"Alright, Nico?" she asked gently. Nico frowned and shook his head. Piper waited patiently for him to talk and the other Aphrodite kids left the Cabin to give them some privacy.

"I was with Will earlier," Nico began in a low voice, "and we were talking to Percy and Annabeth and his hand was here" - he touched the place - "and it felt wrong and I don't know why. I thought I was okay with touch now and it's Will. It shouldn't bother me."

Piper pursed her lips, sitting beside him and crossing her legs. She leant forward and met Nico's eyes, which were wide with confusion and fear.

"Maybe," Piper started carefully, "it was because it's a bit more intimate."

Nico blinked. "Is it intimate?"

The gears were turning in Piper's head as she said, "Well, think of it like this: I can touch your shoulder and it's fine, right? Now, tell me if this makes you uncomfortable."

She rested her hand lightly where Nico had put his and Nico shook his head rapidly and allowed himself to jump up. Piper hastily retracted her hand and smiled, sympathetic to Nico's dilemma. Nico's frown deepened.

"But why would it bother me?"

"Nico, have you ever head of the term asexual?"

Nico shook his head, sinking back onto the bed. Piper bit her lip.

"Well, it's a spectrum. Let's start with the term allosexual. That means you experience sexual attraction in the typical way. You see someone - anyone from friends to strangers to celebrities even to fictional characters - who you find sexually attractive and you want to have sex with them."

"No one thinks that," Nico objected, scrunching up his nose.

"They do. You give someone a picture of a random person they find sexually attractive and tell them that that person is in the next room and, given the opportunity, they'll bang them."

Nico's eyes widened. "And that's most people? You? Will? Percy? Annabeth? Jason?"

"That's the vast majority," Piper said. "I don't know personally but I'm allosexual and I think Will and Percy are. Annabeth and Jason aren't. Annabeth is something called demisexual. That means she doesn't find someone sexually attractive until she gets to know them. Once she's closer with them, then she feels the urge to have sex with them. Jason is greysexual. Greysexual people find very few people sexually attractive but (and it depends on the person as to how often) occasionally they find someone that they want to have sex with."