Solangelo Oneshots

Flags

Nico just narrowly escaped the crowd. Campers running in every which direction, collecting supplies to take what was rightfully theirs. Chiron had announced that  the big house needed to be repainted, and everyone had to help.

"However," he added "Whoever creates the best Camp Half Blood flag will get to sit out on this day. You have 36 hours to design and construct your flag. 1 submission per cabin."

Nico had a dark secret. He made flags in his free time. He could win this contest easily, but then everyone would know. He was thinking about his predicament when Will knocked at his window. Nico opened it for his boyfriend to climb in.

"Nico." He whispered. "I need help."

Nico nodded solemnly as he moved his bed to reveal a secret room. "Come on."

Will could barely believe his eyes. He knew Nico made flags, but he had no idea the extent of his flag obsession. On the walls of the underground room were flags folded perfectly, put gently in frames.

"Woah." Will spoke softly. "You made all these?"

"Yes. It's my deepest shame." Nico responded, walking over to his sewing machine. "What kind of flag do you need?"

"And, you're quite certain that you didn't get any help?" Chiron questioned suspiciously. Kayla and Will nodded eagerly as Chiron held up the beautiful Apollo flag. It was a gorgeous flag, black as night and serene as a glistening pond. The design looked as if it was made of pure gold, a Pegasus glittering in the warm sunlight. It was even more gorgeous than the Athena flag. Chiron was ready to announce the winner.

Everyone presented their flags. Hephaestus's shot lasers at random bystanders. The Ares cabin's was made entirely of pulled pork. Nico's was a grey towel taped onto a stick. He used minions duct tape for the top. Staples were sticking onto the bottom half, along with crime scene tape.

"Nico," Chiron asked, "Why do you have crime scene tape?"

"Don't ask if you don't want to know the answer." Nico responded.

"Nico?" Will whispered to his boyfriend. "Why does your flag suck? You're great at making flags?"

"That's a secret. You're the only one who knows about my flags." Will felt honored that Nico trusted him with this. "Plus," Nico added, "This competition is stupid. Let's go vote for our favorite!"

"And the winner is..... The Hades Cabin! Wait, what?" Chiron announced. Everyone groaned and shouted.

"I object!" Nico shouted. "I made that flag bad on purpose! Why did any of you idiots vote for it?" He knew why. If you had to vote for a flag that wasn't your own, pick one that no one else could possibly like. It was a smart idea. However, almost every camper had the same idea. So they all decided to burn it.

"Burn it! Burn it!" They all chanted as Leo lit it on fire. But the towel and stick did not burn it. That heinous minions duck tape did not burn. It. Did. Not. Burn. And everyone was horrified. How dare this monstrosity exist? How dare Nico create it? Why would it not burn?

"Oh," Nico said, "Yeah. It never fully dries. I found it in an abandoned apartment in Brooklyn. There's more to that story, but I don't feel like going into detail right now. I'll just make a good flag. It'll take me, like, an hour. Be right back."

True to his word, Nico came back about forty minutes later with the most beautiful flag.

"Wow!" Will exclaimed. "That's even prettier than the flag you made from our cabin!" The look of realization spread across his face as he fully processed what he had just said. The rest of the Apollo cabin groaned in frustration as Chiron stamped his hoof and shouted, "I knew it!"

AN/// I promised you guys I would tell the story (it's been in my head for a long time) a while ago but I had completely forgotten.