Shattered

Nico

"Now make sure you boys eat your fill," Demeter said as she slid a whole wheat pancake onto his plate. "Your brain can't function properly on an empty stomach."

"Oh? Is that why our youngest brother is such an air-head?" his father joked as he read a copy of The New York Times. "To think all of the problems he caused could have been prevented with a morning meal."

Demeter swatted the back of the lord of the dead's head with the plastic spatula in her hand. "Don't talk about the boy's father when he's sitting right there!"

Jason swallowed down the half a pancake he had shoved in his mouth. "It's fine ma'am. I've uh... heard a lot worse."

Nico looked down at the pancake before him and frowned. Sometimes I forget that Jason has to put up with so much because of who is father is. But then again, I think the three of us all have that weight on our shoulders to some extent. He thought of how Poseidon's uncontrolled lust was responsible for the creation of Medusa and how his rage had kept Odysseus at sea for ten years. At least his own father hadn't really done anything too terrible besides kidnapping Persephone, and Nico had a feeling that story wasn't entirely true.

"Grace knows I mean know harm," his father mumbled as he rubbed the back of his head, his paper clenched up in his other fist. "Besides the man clearly did something right, he made Jason after all."

Demeter huffed as she placed three more pancakes on Jason's plate. "Jason made Jason," the harvest goddess said before ruffling the former praetor's short hair. "Our brother played no part in making Jason the kind, sweet, caring young man he is today."

He laughed as Jason's face turned bright red. Jason responded by kicking him in the shin under the table.

"Ow! Fuck Grace!" he hissed.

"Language Nico," his father chided, without looking up from his paper. "That sort of language is not tolerated in the classroom."

Thanks for the reminded... He took one more bite of his pancake (for a grand total of two) and tried to distract himself from the sense of impending doom he felt. He looked over at Percy, who was absently pushing a piece of pancake around his plate. Percy was doing much better in Nico's opinion, but the older boy still wasn't eating much as he used to. "Those would be better if they were blue, wouldn't they?" he asked the raven haired teen with a chuckle.

Percy shrugged and continued to play with his food.

He looked Percy over to make sure that the son of Poseidon was wearing clothing that was both school and weather appropriate. He didn't want a repeat of Percy wearing shorts in February. The older boy was wearing a loose fitting pair of black jeans and a simple black T-shirt. It was somewhat strange to him to see Percy without his camp necklace, but that had been next to Percy's bed in the infirmary and was most likely lost forever.

Before he could reflect on all the irreplaceable personal items that the three of them had lost with the destruction of Camp Half-Blood, he noticed Percy's wrists.

They were still wrapped in bandages.

"Shit."

"What did I say just say not two minutes ago Nico?" his father grunted from behind his paper.

He flinched at his father's warning, but still had his eyes locked on Percy's bandaged wrists. "Sorry father, just getting it out of my system." He stood up from the table and walked into the hallway. "Perce could you come here? I need your help with something."

"What do you need Neeks? I can help," Jason cried from the kitchen.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Is your name Percy?"