(Nico di) Angelo angst-(one)shots

Scars are your memories...

tw for slight mention of scars and choking/strangling

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"Hey Nico?"

"Hm?" He didn't even bother looking up from what he was doing, Hazel could ask him whatever she wanted without him having to put down his back of shadows. Not in a like rude way, just that he was intent of focusing and it was a pain to gather the darkness back into a back (he'd once told her it was like trying to wrangle cats).

"I was wondering..." okay, that was a little weird to start a sentence like that but he only hummed to show he was listening, tossing the ball from one hand to the other absentmindedly.

"Where did you get the scar on your neck from?" He quite literally dropped the orb of shadows onto the floor in surprise, accidentally letting the floor become covered in pitch black darkness.

"Shit shit shit." Nico scrambled to his feet, opening his palms to reabsorb the void into his body, only sitting back down once everything was back to normal again.

Unfortunately this has drawn the attention of the other campers, all of the seven -and a few others- coming over to see what the commotion was. Including Percy . Oh he was so screwed.

"Hey dudes, what was that all about? I mean- no offense neeks- I've never seen you lose control before?" Could his father just like- summon him at that exact moment to escape the horrible conversation he was likely going to be forced to have?

Of course nothing actually ended up happening so he turned to the group with a sigh of resignation that this was going to be a long discussion that he'd likely not be able to disappear from.

"Oh I was just asking him about one of the scars he has, not to be insensitive or anything by the way bro." He waved her off, he knew that wasn't what she'd meant to do at all, it was just the one she'd decided to ask about was...not an enjoyable experience (to be fair none of them were but this one in specific wasn't...his favorite you could say).

"It's fine haze, but why...do you want to know? I mean, everyone has their scars, you've never been really interested in them before?" So what if he was trying to stall, you can't blame him for not wanting to talk about when his and Percy's relationship was... strained .

"I mean I know most of yours and the rest I could like- guess but I mean how do you get one that's like, right in the center and so thin?" Briefly he glanced at Percy out of the corner of his eye, the brunette still didn't seem to realize what she was talking about. Great .

(Could you tell how not at all sarcastic he was being? He was totally serious.)

"Oh you know...I might or might not have had a sword held against my throat...ha ha..." ya, he wasn't getting out of this one alive...

The group around them gasped in surprise and immediately began crowding his space with their questions, it seemed Percy had finally realized what he was insinuating judging by the ashamed look on his face and how he avoided Nico's eyes.

"Why did you never tell us?! We could've hunted down the person who did it!"

"Ya! I could turn them into a human kebab!" That one definitely sounded like a bad idea considering he was pretty sure it'd only give the fire user more trauma so...he'll decline but, nice of him to offer?

He almost laughed at the increasingly uncomfortable and fearful look that the brunette seemed to carry as the others pushed for him to tell their name so they could talk to the person.

(Not that he and Percy had a bad relationship now, just that it was fun to watch him squirm.)

"Okay, first of all, what makes you think I wouldn't have killed the person myself? During the last couple years I could easily take out whoever would've done it." An eye roll -that was definitely not from Frank- and a couple of quiet murmurs passed through the group as they remembered that no, he wasn't helpless.