All's Fair In Love And War

Distracted

"Reyna, are you listening?"

I blinked, pulling myself back into the present. "Huh?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "You haven't heard a word I said, have you?"

I smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I was zoning out."

"Thinking about something?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"It's cool. What were you thinking about?"

"You ditching me." 

He sighed. "I'm sorry, and I sent a replacement. I'm sure from the amount of bruises he has that you got just as good of a workout as you normally do."

I opened my mouth to retort, then closed it. "Better, probably." 

Nico put a hand to his heart. "That hurt..." 

"You're a big boy, you'll survive." I bit into my BLT.

Nico stuck his tongue out at me and I took the opportunity to grab the squeeze bottle of mustard at our table and squirt it.

"Ack!" He frantically spat into a napkin. "Reyna!"

I laughed. "That's what you get."

He made a face, then chuckled as well and went back to picking at his sandwich. 

"Really though, what were you thinking about?"

"Honestly, I was thinking about the fight. Percy's pretty competent. I nearly knocked him out and he still got back up and kept fighting."

"Was this before or after you broke his nose?" Nico asked.

"After."

"Yeah, he's a fighter." Nico mused. "But he doesn't like to hurt those close to him."

"Who is he?" I set down my sandwich. "He's always around during the mixers and I've seen him in the shadows during the eliminations. He's always by you guys but never with you, y'know?"

Nico glanced around the small diner we were in. There was an old couple in the corner, smiling at each other over their food, and a waitress with one earbud in as she cleaned the counter.

"He's not supposed to even be alive, honestly."

I frowned. "Why not?"

"Well, the Big Three made this vow after World War II that they wouldn't have any kids. Hades was ashamed of what Hitler and Stalin had done and Zeus and Poseidon were angry at him for his children's actions anyway. But of course, being the gods, they broke the promise. Zeus had Thalia and Jason and Poseidon had Percy. Being the king-"

"What about you?" I asked.

"I'll explain that later," Nico waved me off. "As I was saying, being the king of the gods, Zeus protected Jason and Thalia, to some extent, but Poseidon didn't have the power to keep Percy safe from his brother. 

"Jason and Thalia had been working on the band idea, and when they found me and Hazel they pulled us in, grabbing Piper and Leo. Jason was friends with Percy so when he found out that Zeus was going to execute him, he was furious. He argued with Jupiter for hours about it and they finally came to an agreement."

Nico took a deep breath. "Zeus won't kill Percy as long as Jason and Thalia and I keep him in line and out of the public eye. As long as no one ever speaks of Percy Jackson en masse, he's safe."

I stared at him. "You can't be serious?!"

"I am, unfortunately. Thalia and Jason got a little caught up in the craziness of being famous and they kind of just drifted off. Percy got left in the dust, and I make sure that he doesn't get into trouble and get struck down by lightning."

"That's awful. He seems so happy, but he has to deal with that?"

"Yeah." Nico sighed. "Anything else you wanna know?"

I thought back through his explanation. "Why didn't you list Hades as breaking the oath?"

"Ah yes, that. I'm not actually from this time, is the best explanation."

"What?"

"Hazel, Bianca and I were born in the 1920s. Through Hades magic, we were put in a place where time stands still. When he decided that the time was right, he brought us out and sent us to a military academy. Jason found us there and that's when he and Thalia formed the band."

I nodded slowly. "That's cool."

"You think so?" Nico looked surprised.

"Definitely! Why wouldn't I?"

He shrugged. "Most people think it's weird..."

"I don't. Then again, I lived in this place where there were women from all times live."

"What do you mean?" Nico asked, leaning forward. Our food lay forgotten as we talked.

"I came here from Circe's Island. When ships land on her shores, she turns the men into guinea pigs and lets the women live there."

"That's so cool. Were you one of the women?"

"I started out as one, then I decided that I wanted to work. My sister Hylla and I were kind of like attendants and greeters mashed into one. We'd lead new people to Circe and then do whatever else she asked us. When we had time off we could relax and do whatever we wanted."

[A/N there's my story behind Percy for this one XD enjoy!]