Son of Fire

Fifteen

I stared at my food, swirling it around my plate, then Leo lightly bumped me and I looked at him.

"You gotta eat, man." He said and I nodded, forcing myself to eat the food that tasted like cardboard.

"Look, it's him." I heard one of the Hermes girls say, thinking they were talking about me, but Leo grabbed my arm and I looked at him, seeing his eyes were locked behind me. I turned then stared as I saw Nico there, looking just as beautiful as he always did, but the sight of him broke my heart.

"Andy, do you wanna go?" I looked at Leo then shook my head, but Percy came over and smiled.

"Come on." He said and grabbed my arm, forcing me to stand.

"Percy-"

"No choice, Andrew Price." He said and I smiled as my friend led me out, past the angel who had broken my heart.

"Andy-"

"Please, Nico." I pleaded as he tried to talk to me, but he stopped and Percy got me away from him.

"I didn't think he'd be back yet." Percy said and I nodded, looking at the ground as we walked.

"Hey, I'm gonna head to the forge." I said and looked at him, but he looked worried as he nodded.

"Don't forget to come out and eat, alright?" I nodded then went to the forge and started to draw what it was that I wanted to make. Granted, it wasn't exactly the manliest thing ever, but I didn't care. My angel, my fantasma wasn't all that manly.

Nico's POV
I sighed as I walked back to the cabin, but I slowed as I saw smoke coming from the forge and knew, based on how I hadn't seen him at all today, it was Andy inside. I went in then saw him in the back working at his station, though it looked like he was making something small.

"Andy?" I called and saw his back tense up. He lifted his head then turned to me and I saw he was working on some sort of necklace.

"Can I see?" I asked and he looked in front of himself then nodded, prompting me to walk over and see what he was working on.

"It's beautiful." I whispered then went to touch, but he caught my fingers and I looked at him.

"It- the metal, it's a bit hot still." He said and I nodded, pulling my hand back.

"Andy, Will and me-"

"I don't want to hear it-"

"We're not together." I said and looked at him, seeing he didn't believe me.

"That night you saw us, that was- it was a one time thing and I-I was using him, honestly. I thought that the guy I love was straight, so I slept with Will. He doesn't really care who's his partner, as long as he knows them well and trusts them. I wanted him to be someone else, which is pretty shitty. Then, at the Roman camp, he had been there to help Reyna so he stayed on my couch. Hell, I had been there for about two and a half weeks before he showed up. When he did, he was always out or always sleeping. So, even if we were together, we wouldn't have had time for each other." I said then reached over and brushed a sweaty lock of hair away from his face.

"That night you saw us, Andy, I screamed your name." I whispered and his bronze eyes went wide.

"I had prayed to Aphrodite that you would realize my feelings, that maybe you were actually gay, but I never got any proof or anything, so I figured you were straight or didn't care about me. When you showed up on my doorstep in Jupiter, I felt like my entire world had brightened." I whispered and watched him stand, standing a whole head above me.

"Andy, I love you, not Will." I whispered then he leaned down, stopping before his lips touched mine.

"Please, Andy." I begged then grabbed his shirt, pleading with him to just kiss me. When he finally did, I felt the fantasy sparks in my mouth, the butterflies in my stomach, the stampede of my heart. I moaned as his big hands grabbed my hips then he pulled me against him, pressing his mouth against mine even harder and shoving his tongue into my mouth. I hugged his neck then choked as he lifted me, sitting me on the table and moving to stand between my legs, tilting his head and deepening the kiss.

"HEY! NO SEX IN THE FORGE!" We broke apart then I saw Leo and he grinned as he saw us.

"Go to the death cabin for that, dammit." He said then Andy put his hair to shame, but looked at me as Leo left to go to the back of the forge for something.

"Your cabin?" Andy asked and I smiled, nodding as I played with the hair on the back of his neck.

"Yeah, my cabin." I whispered then felt my heart jump as he effortlessly lifted me off the table, grabbing the necklace he was working on, and dragging me to my cabin. When we got there, he shoved me onto the bed then I watched him go and lock the door, silently telling my dad to keep his eyes to himself. You know what, fuck it. Let my dad watch. I love this man.

"Andy." I breathed then he climbed over me and kissed me, slipping the necklace around my neck and moving back to look at it.

"Perfect, in every way." He breathed then I smiled.

"It is-"

"I meant you." He said and I stared at him in shock. No one had ever considered me perfect.

"Andy-"

"Nico, you're perfect in every way. No one can convince me otherwise." He said and sat up, pulling his shirt over his head and showing off his muscles. I damn near moaned at the sight of his body, which I now had permission to touch. When he got my shirt off, I watched his eyes roam my body, but the look of hunger within them didn't fade as he leaned down and softly kissed me.

"My perfect fantasma." He breathed on my lips and I smiled, kissing him and holding him close, creating scars of my own on his skin.