One Too Many Heartbreaks

XVIII. Memory Lane? More Like Memory Battlefield (Nico's POV)

"Hello, dear," Aphrodite said. She held up a white buttondown to Nico's chest.

Nico didn't waste any time on formalities. "What the hell do you want?" He spat.

Aphrodite pouted, looking at him with charcoal eyes as she played with her dark braid.

"What, you're not happy to see me?" She nonchalantly toyed with the zipper on her silver jacket.

"Would you change out of that form?" Nico asked angrily.

"I know it hurts," Aphrodite said, nodding. Nico opened his mouth to tell her off, but her appearance started to change.

Nico watched as her hair darkened and shortened, became messy, and her eyes lightened to a beautiful green.

"Now, I wonder if you would look good in silk."

"Are you kidding me?" Nico asked.

"What? You dont like silk?"

"Why are you torturing me?"

"Oh, come on, silk is- oh, you mean the form. Listen, Neeks-"

"Don't call me that," Nico hissed.

"Okay, Nico, listen up. I don't control my form. You do. You know that I look like whatever my audience deems perfect. Shadow travel won't work while you're dreaming, by the way."

Nico stopped trying to leave, though regretted it as she put a fedora on his head. He threw it off.

"I'll never get to tell you anything if you're so hostile." She said.

"I'm just returning the favor," Nico deadpanned. "Your son was plenty hostile to me."

Aphrodite looked confused for a moment, but then understood. "Ah, you mean Eros," she said, her hair changing from black to blond. She looked at Nico, her eyes lightening to blue. "He's actually what I'm here to talk to you about."

"What do you mean?" Nico asked, glad they were finally getting to the point.

"Well, he shot you, didn't he?" She asked, scratching a freckle and draping a scarf around Nico's neck.

Nico shuddered as he remembered that arrow sinking into him, almost more piercing than Cupid's blood red eyes.

"I'll take that as a yes," Aphrodite said. She pulled off the scarf and held up a turtleneck. Nico's eye started to twitch.

"Your point?" He asked, pushing the sweater away.

Aphrodite smiled sadly. "You've already felt the affects of the arrow begin, dear boy."

Nico frowned. "No I haven't," he said stubbornly, thinking of Will. He was not in love with him.

"I'm not talking about Will Solace," she said, snapping Nico out of his denial.

"What?" Nico said, confused instead of annoyed for once. "Who else-"

"Look at me, Nico. Who do I look like?"

Nico observed her face. Aphrodite changed form to fit the ideal of beauty of the viewer, but what she looked like now didn't make sense.

She had wild, dark curls framing her face. Her skin was tan and her eyes were red-brown like melted chocolate or a fire.

Fire...

"No." Nico said. "No," he insisted. "No way. Not by the S-"

"Don't say it, boy," Aphrodite snapped. She regained her composure and looked at Nico.

"There's not much about you to change," she sighed, her clothes for him all vanishing.

"You do love him, and you know it," she told him.

"No thanks," Nico said. Aphrodite was the goddess of love, not romance, and he had had his heart broken enough times in his young life.

Aphrodite stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on his face. Nico planned to shake her off, but (strangely enough) started crying instead.

Aphrodite looked at him, tears in her eyes as well. "I never meant for you to get hurt," she whispered. "I had a happy life planned for you. Damned Fates ruined it all."

Nico was crying too hard to respond. Aphrodite held him until he fell asleep, and when he woke, she was gone.