Nico Di Angelo Fluff And One-Shots

Safe And Sound

Your P.O.V:

As Percy and Annabeth are welcomed onto the Argo II, you watch on from behind Piper.

The two are immediately bombarded with hugs, questions and soothing words. They look battered; Percy has cuts and bruises all over him and Annabeth has lost her knife and somehow gained a bone blade.

While the others rejoice in the golden couple's return, you glance over them to see Nico. The son of Hades has turned slightly to look at the crowd of demigods. Nico is your younger brother, since you and Bianca were twins. After your sister's death, you tried your best to take care of Nico and make sure he was safe and well. It was hard, since he was stubborn and hotheaded, but somehow, the two of you had stuck together like glue. Heck, you even ended up in the same jar as each other in those giants' circus.

Additionally, Nico had survived Tartarus. You hadn't fallen in, but you had numerous dreams in his point of view in that literal hellhole. And then Percy and Annabeth fell in and you had even more dreams about the two in Tartarus.

Right now puzzled you. Percy and Annabeth had a lot of help in the Underworld and had knowledge, yet they were appreciated and hugged as if they had survived the Hunger Games with their hands tied behind their backs and blindfolded. But Nico . . . he had no help. No one had known he had fallen in except you. His only friend under there was Bob. Yet . . . no one seemingly cared when he came back up. Of course, you cared. You cared immensely and you still do. You sleep in the same bed as him just so if he wakes up, he knows you're still there.

You watch on as Nico walks away.

* ~ * ~ *

"Nico . . ." You call, knocking on the door.

There isn't an answer.

"Nico, it's me, (Name)." You raise your voice a little.

Now, there's a muffled shuffle and silence again.

"C'mon, Nico. I just want to talk." You assure him.

Again, only a shuffle and then silence.

Sighing, you shove the door and to your utter shock, it clicks open with ease. Slowly, you step inside, scanning the room. The bed has been untouched, the floor is spotless and the wardrobe looks newly-bought.

In the corner, you notice a pile of black fabric. Upon closer inspection . . . it's Nico, curled into the fetus position.

Instantly, you rush over to him and place a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Casper," you whisper softly. Nico raises his head. You notice that his eyes are puffy and bloodshot. "Have you been crying?" You query.

The son of Hades gives the smallest nod in existence.

You assume it's over Percy. You are the only one Nico has confided in about his crush. It turned out he was gay. It didn't bother you at all; in fact, it just made you loathe Annabeth's existence a ton more.

Very slowly, you sit down next to him.

Automatically, Nico rests his head on your shoulder. He sniffs. You pick his hand up. Suddenly, a small trickle of crimson travels down his palm.

Immediately, Nico retracts his hand.

"N-Nico . . ." You gasp. You pick his hand up again and shove back his sleeve. There, "no one loves me" is scrawled in spidery letting . . . in . . . b-blood?!

"Nico di Angelo," you purr. Suddenly, Nico bursts into silent tears and his head slides over your shoulder. You 'shh' him and huggle his head close to your neck. Right now, you don't care that he's soaking your shirt with his tears; you merely hope he feels better with you there.

Soon, he is choking words out to you. You can make out most of what he says: "A-after Bianca . . . I-I thought you would leave me . . . a-and th-then Jack-ackson came back-ack and-and . . ."

"Shh, let it all out," You pat his back as he continues to sob. "Nico, know that I'd never leave you. I couldn't if I wanted to."

Eventually, he has shakily stopped.

"S-sing me something." He hoarsely asks.

Nodding, you close your eyes to think of something. Then begin to hum the guitar intro of Taylor Swift's 'Safe And Sound'.

"I remember tears streaming down your face when I said 'I'll never let you go',
When all those shadows almost killed your light.
I remember you said 'don't leave me here alone',
But all that's dead and gone has passed tonight."

Your brother slowly relaxes and his breathing is more fluent.

"Just close your eyes,
The sun is going down.
You'll be alright,
No one can hurt you now.

Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound."

Now, the son of Hades is tapping his fingers lightly on your shoulder.

"Don't you dare look out your window,
Darling everything's on fire.
The war outside our door keeps raging on.

Hold on to this lullaby,
Even when the music's gone. Gone . . ."

Nico is now humming along with you.

"Just close your eyes,
The sun is going down.
You'll be alright,
No one can hurt you now.

Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound."

You 'ooh' the next part of the song and allow Nico to wrap his arms round your neck.

"Just close your eyes . . ."

Your brother does so.

"You'll be alright . . ."

When he's delicately snoring, you lift him to his bed and pull the duvet over him.

"Coming morning light . . ."

You take a seat next to his and gradually lie down.

"You and I'll be safe and sound . . ."

For the remainder of the song, you 'ooh'. When it finishes, you place a soft kiss on your Shadow Boy's cheek. As you softly slip in next to Nico, he automatically curls up into your warm embrace.

And the two of your drift off in each other's arms.