Author's Note:
This is the first of multi-part oneshot of the book! I thought it would be fun to also write oneshots for this book! I am not taking requests as of now. But I might in the future. These are not part of the preferences. The oneshots have their own stories. I don't want to write oneshots based on my preferences storyline. Enjoy!
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Loneliness was all Nico felt. It was all he had known his entire teenage life. No one accepted him for who he was and no one loved him the way he wanted to be loved. His life was an endless cycle of rejection and sadness. The seven had tried to help him and be his friend, but Nico was too stubborn to accept it. He thought he wasn't destined for companionship or love. He accepted that wronged truth. So much so that he left both Camps and moved to the rural state of Tennessee. Where no one would find him. Or so he thought.
----------Time Skip----------
He had walked around the forest that surrounded his property several times before. But each time he did, it always felt like the first time. Peaceful, serene, and uplifting. It gave him the ability to think about miscellaneous topics, like what to get at the grocery store or how much rent was going to be this week. Walking around the forest gave him the chance to forget his hellish origins and focus on mortal issues. It made him feel at peace.
But the loneliness of it all had started to take effect on him. He began to long for Camp and the seven with each passing day. Some days he regretted leaving and others he contemplated giving his friends a call. To let them know he was still alive. But his pride always got in the way of such actions. He told them that he wasn't going to contact them and to not waste any time trying to contact him and he truly thought at the time that he never would. Now, he wasn't so sure anymore. He had matured over the ten years he had been away and he now knew that it was him that was pushing people away, not the people pushing him away.
Nico now scoffs at the mindset of his younger self and often wondered what had made his younger self think that way. He knew that the years of feeling unloved was a huge factor, but it wasn't the full explanation. No, it was something deeper that caused him to topple over the edge and leave the place he called home. He just didn't know what it was. At least, not yet anyway.
Over the long ten years of living in solitude and cooperating and communal affairs, Nico had learned to lighten up more. He was still a huge introvert and often didn't like socializing, but he enjoyed talking and laughing with his neighbors and hosting barbeques with his mortal friends. He now dressed in lighter colors and his attitude changed from being completely cynical to sarcastic and easy going. Nico had even taken up watching the neighborhood kids while the adults either went to work or had a well-deserved date night. It surprised him the first time he volunteered to watch the Widow down the road's kid when she said she needed to take her mother somewhere and had no one to watch her young son. To say the long break from demigod affairs had done him wonders was an understatement.
But now Nico was contemplating visiting Camp again. He had been contemplating this for over two years. But the constant 'what if's' were what was keeping him from going. He knew it was time to own up to his mistakes and be an adult. He was able to admit his mistakes now unlike ten years ago when Nico's pride was easily breakable. However, like ten years ago, he still let his fear motivate his decisions. He was afraid of The Seven's reaction to him returning and he feared facing Chiron again. He swore to himself that day he left that he would never return and Chiron knew that. He feared his old mentor's response to his return. And it wasn't until his closest mortal friend, Amari, knocked some sense into him and was why Nico was currently walking around the forest surrounding his property
He needed to do this out of mortal view and this was the perfect time to get this done. There would be no one around and no animals to interrupt. All of them were either in hibernation or migrated to someplace warm, except the damn deer that hang around like fucking locusts. And hunting season had ended a month ago. The perfect time to call Chiron in the nearby river with no interruptions.
The small irrigation creek gurgled with fresh water leading into nearby farms and Boone Lake. No humans were around other than Nico and the only wildlife around were small birds holed up into their nests. Little bugs milled around everywhere and moss was growing on every surface in an eye's view. Nico approached the creek slowly with a drachma and a spritzer. Nico couldn't do this at home because the water would get everywhere and if he did it out in his yard, a driver could easily spot him and Chiron through the rainbow message. The mist here was very dense and practically non-existent as not many people lived in this area let alone demigods.
Nico opened the spritzer and carefully put some of the creek water into it. He quickly sealed it and stood up. Nico held it up about ready to call home when the 'what if's' began to invade his mind. 'Wait a minute, what if Chiron doesn't let me come back? What if things go back to the way they were before? What if- No. I need to stop thinking this way. Your not fifteen anymore, Nico. You're a mature adult that needs to face their fears' With that thought, Nico began to spray the water.
The rainbow materialized and the all too familiar voice requesting a drachma filled the air. Nico's chest tightened at the familiarity. He knew that once he officially came back to visit that nostalgia would hit him like a train, but he didn't know that hearing the Iris message voice would send him mourning for Camp. Nico didn't know how much he had missed Camp until that very moment. He didn't know how much he longed to see The Seven and Chiron. He didn't know how much he missed going on repetitive quests until he encountered something from the past he used to want to forget. With that in mind, Nico quickly tossed the drachma in and said the words he'd never thought he'd utter again.
"Chiron. Camp Half-Blood." The rainbow quickly warped to the Big House and there in all his Centaur glory was Chiron playing pinochle with Dionysus.
"Chiron." Nico said with hesitation. Chiron jumped and quickly turned his head towards the message. Shock, relief, and curiosity gleamed in his wise eyes as he looked at Nico. Chiron did know that Nico would contact him again at some point. But he never imagined it to be this soon. Nevertheless, he was happy Nico had decided to finally reveal himself.
"Nico, my boy, I thought you wished to be left alone," Chiron said. Nico sighed and replied.
"I did. But I think it's time to visit home. It's been..." Nico paused a moment, "way too long.
"Yes, it has indeed. But why the sudden change of heart?" Chiron asked. Nico hesitated a moment. He didn't know whether or not to tell Chiron the truth. In the end though, what was really stopping him at this point other than his own stupidity and pride?
"I was a fool to believe that I wasn't wanted. I was too wrapped up in my own selfishness that I couldn't see my true family in front of me. I now realize my mistake. But I think a break from the demigod world was what I needed. It made realize a few things about myself that I never in a million years thought was possible. What I'm trying to say is, I want to visit Camp. I want to see my family again. If you'll have me, of course."
Chiron sat there stunned a moment. He knew Nico had been blinded by his past and pride as an adolescent. But he never knew that time away from Camp would force him to mature. Nico's obvious hesitation to speak of his experience in the mortal world is a sign that he's matured. It warmed Chiron's heart to know that Nico considered Camp his home and his old friends his family. Never has he seen the amount of restraint the Nico has shown in blocking his pride. And it proved to Chiron that Nico was ready to come home and fix any past mistakes.
"Of course I will have you. I believe a celebration is to be held for your return and I am certain a certain group of seven will be thrilled to see you once again." Chiron said with a smile. With that, Nico sighed in relief and smiled back. He was finally coming home for a visit after ten long, excruciating years.
