Child of Hera (A Reader x Nico Di Angelo Fanfic) ~ON HOLD~

Eros Is a Dick Part 2 (Eric's Past)

(F/n)'s POV

Before I could respond, Eros snapped his fingers. We weren't in the hotel room, but we were standing in a beautiful throne room. Beautiful polished marble decorated the room. Eros, once standing next to me, was now laying on the golden polished throne.

"Where are we?" I asked confusedly, looking around the throne room.

"The former throne room of my lovely wife," sighed Eros with a dreamy dazed look on his face.

"Psyche...? The goddess of the human soul...?" I asked, trying to remember my Greek myths.

"The fairest maiden in all of Ancient Greece! Loved by lots and envied by many! My mother, Aphrodite, got very jealous when mortal men became to worship Psyche, instead of her. She wanted me to make Psyche fall in love with the most hideous beast in Ancient Greece, but I ended fall in love with her instead," said Eros dreamily, as he retold me the myth of Psyche.

"So what did you bring me to her former home?" I asked, trying to change the subject. Eros snapped out of his daze and cleared his throat awkwardly. He then answered, "This was the first place that came to mind..."

"Oh...okay...so what do you want to talk about?" I said with a lopsided smile.

"That little love triangle between you, Eric Riki, and Nico Di Angelo!" Eros chuckled. He then added, "It's the best love triangle since the one between Oenone, Paris, and Helen!"

"Oh...that..." I mumbled. Of course the god of love wanted to talk about that. Eros then said, "It's all the rage up in Olympus! Even the Twelve Olympians are divided up on the subject of Team Eric and Team Nico!"

"Gods, this sounds like Twilight..." I softly groaned to myself.

"It's soooooo funny! Artemis is the only god that's neutral, since she hates men and stuff!" Eros laughed with tears in his blood-red eyes.

"...who's on Team Eric or Team Nico...?" I asked with a bit of interest.

"Ummm...Hestia, Ares, Hera, Apollo, and Demeter are on Team Eric," stated Eros. Crap, if I pick Nico, who knows what Hera will do to me. Eros then added, "The gods that are on Team Nico are the Big Three, Athena, Hermes, Aphrodite, and Dionysus!"

     I began to weight the pros and cons. If I chose Eric, then I would have to face the wrath of Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Athena, and the goddess of love herself, Aphrodite. I would be dammed to Enteral Punishment in Hades' realm, the Underworld, or Aphrodite would to something horrible to Eric.

     "Are you making me chose?" I asked Eros.

     "The Fates demand it," stated Eros in a serious tone. I gulped in fear at him. Eros then said, "I'll you a moment to think about it, okay?"

     "Okay..." I mumbled to the god of love. I then thought about the pros and cons of choosing Eric. I probably have to face the wrath of a couple of the most powerful gods in existence. This was difficult since I loved them both...or at least I think I love them both. I don't even know anymore, to be honest.

     "I know it's hard to choose, (F/n). Your fatal flaw is softheartedness. You don't want to hurt anyone, even if you have the choice to," stated Eros. I bit my bottom lip and stared at the love god.

     "I want to show you their pasts, maybe that will help you!" Eros suggested to me. He closed his eyes and mumbled something in an old forgotten language. A large cloud, all of a sudden, appeared in front of me. In the cloud, a scene unfolded. A young boy with familiar features stood next to a man. That man had dark brown small almond-shaped eyes, neatly-trimmed jet black hair, and dark tan skin. The man was dressed in an army combat uniform with a small red cross on the left sleeve of his uniform. They were standing in front of an airplane gate.

     "Daddy, when will you be back?" the boy asked the man, who I presumed to be the boy's father.

     "In a few months, Ricky. Just have to help treat the wounded soldiers that are stationed where the Al Anbar Campaign is taking placed," answered the man with a sweet smile. I then realized that the little boy was Eric.

     "You promise that you'll be home for my birthday, right?" Young Eric asked his father. The man chuckled and exclaimed, "Of course, Ricky! I would NEVER miss my little soldier's special eighth birthday!"

     Young Eric giggled and embraced his father in a tight embrace. The man squatted to Eric's level and hugged him back. A lone tear trickled down his left cheek. I had a feeling that something bad was going to happen to Eric's dad in Iraq.

     "Sergeant Daniel Riki," a rough voice said. A tall muscular African-American man entered the scene. He was also dressed in an army combat uniform. Eric's dad kissed Eric's head before standing up.

     "Sergeant Major Giovanni Jackson," stated Eric's dad as he saluted. Sergeant Major Jackson nodded and said, "It's time to go, Sergeant. Please say your goodbyes."

     Eric's dad looked at Eric with a soft smile. No wonder  a goddess like Eileithyia would fall head over heels for a man like him. Eric's dad said to Eric, "I don't like goodbyes. I prefer see you later, right my little soldier?"

     Eric let out a cheerful 'yup' and his dad hugged him one more time. He then ended the hug and walked over to Sergeant Major Jackson. Eric's dad then said, "See you later, my little soldier Ricky."

     "See yah later, Daddy!" Eric giggled happily. His dad shot him a smile before he and Sergeant Major Jackson boarded their flight. Eric waved them goodbye until they disappeared from his eyesight.

     "Let's go home now, Ricky," said a high-pitched voice. A medium-sized woman entered the image. She had jet black hair tied up in a bun with small almond-shaped mud brown eyes and pale skin. The man was dressed in a black dress and lacy black high heels.

     "Okay, Auntie Janice!" Eric giggled. His aunt then grabbed his hand and he accepted it. Eric and his aunt then walked away and the scene changed. Eric, who was dressed in all black, stood in front of a closed casket. A picture of his father stood in the center of the casket.

     "Daddy...you promised!" Eric sobbed at the casket. His aunt, who was also dressed in all black, watched from the distance and stood next to an undertaker. She said softly to him, "A heroic death. Daniel...my baby brother...what a hero."

     "The Al Anbar Campaign resulted in many casualties for the United States. He managed to help hundreds of wounded soldiers and medics escape to safety when those barbaric insurgents infiltrated that makeshift hospital," stated the priest softly. Eric's aunt nodded and sniffled a bit. A few tears escaped her eyes, but she quickly dabbed them away with a small handkerchief.

     "I'll see you tonight, baby," whispered Eric's aunt before quickly pecking the undertaker on the lips. He nodded and Eric's aunt walked over to Eric. He was still wailing and Eric's aunt picked him up. As they walked away, Eric screamed and cried for his dad.

     "Eros, please stop!" I sobbed with tears streaming down my face. He snapped his fingers and the cloud disappeared. Eros then said, "I guess I'll sum it up for you, my dear (F/n)."

     "O-O-Okay..." I choked out of my throat.

     "Eric's dad died during the Al Anbar Campaign in Iraq when Eric was seven. Janice, Eric's aunt, and the undertaker, Hank who was Janice's husband, adopted Eric. At age ten, Janice died in a car accident, leaving Eric in Hank's care. Hank then became a drug addict after Janice's death and abused Eric. When Eric was twelve, he ran away and was attacked by a hellhound before getting rescued and taken to Camp Half-Blood," said Eros. That made me cry even more.

     "You are definitely softhearted...time for Nico's past!" Eros exclaimed with a cheerful smile.