Don't Fear the Reaper

38) Nico Be Hearing Mad Voices RN

A/N: I am super unmotivated rn and am behind on writing for tDtMD, so you get this one now lol. ALSO! I really like this chapter tbh so please comment a lot because it makes me happy to read your reactions :)))

The wind ripped through Nico, the cold seeping into his very bones. He asked for this, so why was he so scared? He stood on the dock, far closer to the land than he was the end, and he waited. The sun was long below the horizon, but shitty street lamps from behind him lit the wood slats of the dock in their flickering light.

Nico's fingers itched to spin the ring on his finger, the phantom grip of his old nervous habit washing over him like cold water. He wanted to reach for the finger it had always on, despite knowing it wasn't there anymore. The ring was a gift from his father, a reward for being a hero, but as he left camp, he didn't feel like one any more. He didn't want to be one any more, so he threw the ring away, along with his old life. The phantom weight of it remained for a time, the urge to twist it still constantly gnawing at him, but Talia made sure to rid him of the habit.

There is no time for nervousness when you dealt in life and death, or, at least, that was what Talia had taught him. "You are the Reaper— the line between those worthy of life and those not is drawn by your hand. You are singular. You are above. You do not get the luxury of emotions," she had instilled in him. He knew the words to that mantra so well that it might as well have been branded into his skin.

Nico kept his hands at his sides, his silhouette like a stone statue in the shadows in front of him. He was there for a reason and emotions would only get in the way.

The water in the bay was motionless. The moon and stars reflected on the glassy surface, but that wasn't what he looked at. There was no point in staring at the stars anymore— he had no want or need to be reminded of the past. Nico just looked out at the bay in waiting, knowing what was to come.

After what felt like a year, but was probably only about an hour, it finally moved. Its smooth surface broke as a figure rose from the water, stepping out of a wave and onto the edge of the dock, perfectly dry. The water returned to its smoothness, not even a ripple on the surface giving proof that it had moved mere moments before.

"Nico?" The figure said hesitantly, piercing sea green eyes looking to almost glow with the reflection of the street lamps. "Is that you? I uh... I got your letter."

Nico felt his lungs tighten, the fear from hearing his own name filling him in an instant— a painful reminder of his failures.

You do not get the luxury of emotions, Talia's voice whispered in his mind.

"It's me," Nico said, his voice empty of emotions.

"Oh my gods," Percy whispered, a smile breaking out on his face as he moved to get closer to the son of Hades, but he froze when he saw that every step he made was matched with a step backwards from Nico. "Nico-"

"Give up," Nico said, forcing his voice to be steady and harsh. "I won't come back, so you can stop trying already."

"Nico-"

"You left so that you could move on with your life, so move on. I don't need you to protect me any more than you need me to protect you. You don't have to feel guilty anymore about leaving. I'm fine, so you can let it go already."

"No." Percy looked at him with remorseful eyes. "I shouldn't have left. It was selfish of me to leave you with that burden, especially after you'd just lost-"

Nico didn't need to hear her name to be reminded of what he had lost— he already saw her in every nightmare. "Don't." Anger broke through the surface of his dead voice, forcing its way out despite his wishes. "I know what happened, I don't need a reminder."