Solangelo One Shots

A Bouquet of Forget Me Nots

Warning: this is going to be sad. 

Percy's POV

He found Nico where he usually was on the anniversary of the fateful day two years ago; knelt by the pond, head bowed as he collected forget me nots for a thick bouquet collecting by his side. Percy bit his lip as he watched Nico work, as he watched Nico's hand tremble with the memories and grief that weighed him down like boulders. After a few minutes he crossed the meadow, taking a seat next to Nico and letting his feet dangle just above the clear blue water. When Nico glanced at him, a look of confusion on his face Percy gave him a smile, his eyes filled with pity. 

"Hey, Nico," he said. "How are you?" He had almost said Neeks, out of a habit that he thought was long gone. But the camp knew not to call Nico that, not after what had happened two years ago. 

"I'm fine," Nico said, averting his eyes. His voice was thicker than it usually was, thick with the memories that dragged him down with pain. Percy heaved a sigh. Nico could say that he was fine all he wanted but they both knew the same thing; even years after, Nico would never be fine. There would always be a part of him that had been lost that day. 

"Are you sure? It's two years today, isn't it?" Nico didn't say a word, only reaching down to pluck a forget me not from the ground. Dirt clung to its roots as Nico drew it up, adding it to his collection. 

"You know it is, Percy. Don't act like you forgot. I know the camp has been watching me all day. You're not very subtle."

"We're all worried about you, Nico," Percy said gently, resting a hand on his friend's back. "It's a hard day for you, and we just want you to know that we're all here for you."

"It was a long time ago," Nico said. With each word he plucked another forget me not from the ground, their pale blue petals the color of the sky. "Honestly, it's not that big of a deal anymore. It's just nice to- to remember him." Nico's voice cracked and he looked away, focusing on the flower clutched in his trembling hand. 

"It is a big deal," Percy whispered. "You loved him, and he loved you. You're going to visit him, right?" Nico nodded. As they spoke the bouquet grew bigger, the bank becoming sparse of the blue flowers that had once covered it. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"Do I ever?" Nico asked with a dry laugh. "You asked me the first time I went to visit, and the second, and the third. I don't want your pity. I don't need your pity."

"Nico, come on," Percy pleaded. "You still haven't gotten over what happened, and you still haven't gotten over him. Just let me help you. You've shut everyone out for too long."

"Percy, forget it," he snapped. He pushed himself up, grabbing his cane from the ground next to him. His bad leg trembled to support his weight and he gritted his teeth as he waited for his hand to steady on the handle of the cane. The other hand clutched the bouquet, now thick with dozens of forget me nots tied together with a simple piece of string. 

"Do you want help?" Percy asked gently, standing up to offer Nico a hand. 

"No," Nico murmured, staring down at the ground. "I'm going now. See you later." He moved like an old man, limping slowly toward the edge of the forest. He had the mind of an old man, burdened down with memories that kept him awake until the sun rose over the camp and left him clutching a pillow in replacement of a person who should have laid in his arms. Percy watched him stagger past the boundary of the camp, his cane supporting him as he disappeared into the cluster of trees. There was a sense of pain in Percy's heart as he watched Nico leave, a feeling that told him that no matter how hard he tried, he could never help Nico fix the hole that the day two years ago had left in his heart.

Nico's POV

He passed trees with branches clawing at his shirt, rocks splattered with the bloody memories of the events of two years ago. His grip on the bouquet tightened as he fought to tether himself to the present. He hated slipping back into the memories of that day but Nico knew that today, there would be no avoiding it. The memories still stained his mind, still consumed his thoughts despite the time that had passed. He would give anything, do anything to make them leave him alone but they seemed to be imprinted in his brain, with him no matter where he went. He had learned to live with them but today they were stronger, clawing to escape the box he had built up around them. 

A shudder went through his body as he passed through the forest, the floor the same as when he had walked it two years ago. He froze as he reached the clearing, the clearing with the three gravestones in the middle, their pale gray the color of pain. He had grown to hate those gravestones, the ones etched with the names of the fallen. He took a wary step towards the middle one, his leg throbbing more than it had in two years. He subconsciously reached down to rub at it, the scars underneath his fingers still prominent underneath the denim of his pants. As he drew closer each step became more and more difficult until he collapsed, arms clutching the gravestone in the middle. 

It was difficult for him to open his eyes as he hugged it, the forget me nots lying on the ground next to him. If he didn't see the name on the gravestone than maybe it wasn't real. Maybe he would be waiting for Nico when he got back to the camp, that warm, cheerful smile on his face and his blue eyes filled with love. But Nico knew better. He had been dead for a long time, and there was no changing that. But opening his eyes and seeing William Solace carved into the headstone hurt all the same. 

Nico could feel tears pricking at the corners of his eyes until they were rolling down his cheeks and splattering onto the ground. He tightened his grip on the headstone, putting his head down on top of it as he closed his eyes and let the memories consume him.

The fight had almost been fun, at first. When the border had failed and the hellhounds had come rushing in Nico had enjoyed slashing them down with his sword just before they leapt onto an unsuspecting camper. That was before he had been ambushed. When the hellhound had somehow appeared on top of him, its claw slashing his leg open and making him scream in pain, it had become just a little bit more real. It was through a haze of pain he had seen Will sprinting toward him, his arrows slung across his back and his bow abandoned where he had left it in the tree he had been hidden in. Will knelt down in front of him, shaking hands unraveling gauze from a stash in his pocket. "Will?" Nico had groaned, his leg throbbing and his vision blurring. 

"You're going to be fine," Will promised, his bright blue eyes scanning Nico's body nervously. "Just fine." He wrapped the gauze tighter around Nico's leg as pain shot through his body. His eyes connected with Will's he was met with a sense of home, of love. Will smiled at him, a smile so full of warmth that Nico was so captivated that he didn't see the hellhound bounding over to them with murder in its eyes. His mouth barely had time to open to warn Will until the hellhound's claws were in Will's back, tearing through his back. Nico didn't know when he started screaming. Maybe it was when Will's eyes widened in shock, his hands going limp around the gauze. Maybe it was when his mouth parted, an unspoken 'I love you' still on his lips. Maybe it was when Will began falling, his head hitting the ground next to Nico. Nico was still screaming when his hands moved to his sword a few feet away from him, plunging it deep inside of the hellhound's chest. All he knew was that when the dust had settled and the fight was over, the screams had turned to tears.

The sound of a bird overhead brought him back to reality. When he drew his head up he found that his tears had stained the gravestone, running over Will's name. Nico felt a bitter smile come to his face as he traced Will's name, the grooves so familiar underneath his fingers. He took a shaky breath as he gently picked up the bouquet, lying it down in front of Will's grave. "It's been two years," he said quietly, sitting cross legged in front of the stone. "Two years since I've seen your smile, heard your laugh. I miss you, Will." A fresh tear slipped from his eye. "I miss you a lot. And I still love you, and I'll never stop loving you. No matter how old I get, how much time has passed, I will always love you." A small feeling of happiness passed over him as Will's face came into his head, his eyes the color of forget me nots and his hair the color of sunshine. Nico flicked the tear from his cheek, shutting his eyes and imagining that Will was next to him, talking and laughing like they used to. "I miss you, Will," he whispered, his head tilted to the sky. "I'll always miss you. And no matter what, I'll never forget that you saved my life. I'll never forget your smile, the feeling of your kiss. No matter what, I will never forget you."

Hi guys, I hope you liked that one!  

Nina