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The twenty-first century was weirder than Nico could have ever imagined, but at the same time not. People had invented "lattes" but not flying cars. And yet, everyone had tiny phones with screens that could fit in a pocket. He decided that people were confusing.
Nico slumped onto a bench, breathing in the smell of New York in the summer, which really was not a good idea and something he immediately regretted, but it wasn’t too bad in the middle of Central Park. He came here often with his boyfriend, Will Solace. Chiron had given them permission to have a day in the city, as they usually stayed at camp. Will had insisted on getting coffee so Nico had promised to meet him here, at their favorite spot outside of camp.
A few miles away, Nico could sense the Door of Orpheus leading to the Underworld, but he firmly ignored its presence. That was one entrance to the Underworld he never wanted to see again. He still vividly remembered guiding Percy Jackson there, years ago, so he could try to gain more information about his early life. And then Percy had jumped into the Styx and just when Nico thought he was gone, Percy had come surging out of the water and promptly decimated Hades and his army.
With a shudder, Nico turned his thoughts away from the Underworld and back to the world of the living. He ran a finger down the sleeve of his aviator jacket, which he always kept with him no matter the season or temperature. That jacket had seen many battles, even going through literal hell. One of the larger holes in the jacket had been sewn up with a rainbow patch to cover up the ‘scar’. A daughter of Athena and daughter of Aphrodite had both hyperfixated on sewing which had led to a contest, making everyone brace themselves for the Athena girl to curse the Aphrodite girl as Athena had to Arachne, but instead the contest had ended with a tie and a brief rivals-to-lovers arc. One, or both, of them had decided to repair Nico's jacket for him. It had been unexpected, but Nico wasn't going to complain if they could save it from the horrors of werewolf scratches.
Nico looked up, past the trees, where the city skyline could be seen. Stark Tower, or the Avengers Tower or whatever it was called now, was the clear focal point of the view. Everything about it screamed, “Look at me, I cost a ton of money, look at how much space I take up!!”. The alien invasion and formation of the Avengers had happened in the months between Jason popping up at CHB and Percy waking up at the Wolf House. Everyone had been focused on the creation of the Argo II to pay much attention to the fact that aliens were real and attacking and social media would not shut up about how hot the new superheroes were.
Now that everything was over, for the time being anyway, there had finally been time to relax and dig up the latest stories from the regular world. Camp had been buzzing with gossip about the superhero group for weeks on end. The Aphrodite kids managed to create a shipping war in just two days. It had been shockingly bloody and Will had been stuck working in the infirmary for ages. Remembering the first three days he had spent with Will in the infirmary, Nico would periodically bring Will snacks and make sure he wasn’t overworking himself.
Nico sighed quietly to himself and shifted to a more comfortable position, closing his eyes as sunlight warmed his face. Unbidden, a memory sprang to mind from a long time ago. Maria, Nico’s mother, would hold him and sing him a lullaby every night, even after they had moved to America.
Nico realized he had started to hum the lullaby, but didn’t bother stopping. He continued to hum as he let memories of his childhood wash over him. He didn’t remember Italy very much, mostly just flashes, but he did remember America. He had only learned later that Hades had convinced Maria to move to the states for protection, and so the family had ended up in Brooklyn, New York. Brooklyn then was nothing like modern Brooklyn. Nico could still remember walking down the street with Bianca at his side…
Nico was snapped out of his thoughts as an odd prickling sensation rushed down his neck. He abruptly stopped humming, eyes opening and body snapping upright. Two adult men were sitting on the opposite bench, joggers if Nico had to guess. Both were tall and muscular. One was blond and blue-eyed, uncomfortably reminding Nico of Jason, and the other had brown hair pulled back in a small ponytail.
“Can I help you?” Nico asked warily. If they were monsters disguised as humans, they probably would have attacked while he had his guard down. That would mean they must be mortals, but why would random humans stop and stare at him? Unless the Mist was making them see weirder-than-usual things, there was no reason for people to go out of their way to gape at him. But he hadn’t heard them approach, and mortals seemed to go out of their way to be noisy, along with most of everyone at camp, so really that wasn’t saying very much. His train of thought was cut off as Blondie cleared his throat.
“Sorry, you just-” he paused as though gathering his words and then continued. “That song reminded me… Nico?”
“How do you know my name? What do you want?” he asked sharply. He shifted on the bench, muscles tensing, and reached for his sword. Yes, he did bring a deadly weapon on a date. He wasn’t going to take any chances when it came to leaving camp.
“It is you…” the Jason look-alike whispered. His buddy just stared at Nico with a glazed look in his eyes. Yep, Nico decided, these folks are crazy.
“Alright, cut the act. Who the Hades are you?” Yeah, Nico was definitely weirded out by this whole thing. He was going to spend a nice afternoon with his boyfriend and now some weirdos were acting like weirdos.
The man with brown hair slumped back on the bench, disbelief written all over his face. The other one leaned forward making Nico instinctively lean back.
“Nico, it’s me, Steve,” the man said. “We met in an alley in Brooklyn, a long time ago. Do you… remember?”
Nico melted from his tense position as another memory hit him.
He and Bianca were walking home after going shopping and had cut through an alley. A group of older boys had come out of nowhere and surrounded the siblings. They had clustered around Bianca and cornered her. Nico had thrown himself at the gang leader but was tossed aside, hitting his head on the wall. Just when one of the boys put a hand on Bianca’s shoulder, a new voice shouted. The boys turned and Nico saw a kid a few years older than himself standing just inside the alley. He was skinny and sickly pale but held his head high. That was all Nico had time to notice before the boy ran straight at the gang and managed to land a punch to the startled gang leader's face. But he was badly outnumbered and disappeared from Nico’s sight as the boys descended on him like vultures.
Nico almost missed another, taller and healthier, boy ducking into the alley and racing straight to Bianca. He muttered a few words that Nico couldn’t catch and gently wrapped an arm around her, guiding her away from the fight. Bianca suddenly tore herself from his side and ran over to where Nico lay. He could feel blood dripping from his forehead and his vision was turning hazy.
The brown-haired boy also crouched next to him and softly said, “It’s okay, my friend and I are here to help you. Do you think you can stand up?”
Nico gingerly nodded and started to struggle to sit up. When he did, Bianca threw herself into a hug. It was a little uncomfortable, but Nico wasn’t going to complain so he gently wrapped his arms around her and melted in her familiar embrace.
He heard a few curse words and looked up. The brown-haired boy was looking at the "fight", which had turned into the older boys kicking and jeering at the blond kid, who was now lying on the ground. That didn’t stop him from spitting at the leader’s feet, looking him in the eye, and saying, “I could do this all day.” The other boy just sighed and shook his head.
“I gotta help Steve, so just stay here for a second, okay?” Without waiting for a response, he walked over to the gang and started to pull the guys off Steve, leaving many bruises and most likely a broken nose. When he was done, he hauled Steve up, who was shouting at the defeated gang that they would really get it if he saw them again and that was just a warm-up.
Nico and Bianca shared looks of disbelief, Bianca more cautious and Nico brimming with excitement. “That was so cool!” he started to gush, despite his pounding head. He waved an arm dramatically as he continued, “You just ran in there and beat them all, no problem! I wanna fight like that too! Can you teach me, pleeeease?”
Bianca gave him a mortified look before lightly elbowing him and hissing at him to remember his manners, before turning to the two bemused boys. “Thank you very much,” she began in accented English. "My brother and I are extremely grateful.”
The memory became blurry after that. Everyone was smiling and the boys introduced themselves as Steve and James, “But you can call me Bucky.”
Steve and Bucky would walk with them home and never once commented on their mangled attempts at long English words and even introduced their mothers to Maria, who all became fast friends. Steve and Bucky were Nico’s first friends in America. Really, they were his first friends ever. Nico always had a hard time finding people who had anything in common with him, but Steve and Bucky had clicked into his life like missing puzzle pieces.
But then the war started and the apartment collapsed, swiftly killing Maria di Angelo. Hades appeared and then Nico and Bianca were at the Lotus Hotel and Casino and then they weren’t and everything was different and foggy and why did it feel like he hadn’t been able to say goodbye to someone and then there was a monster and Percy Jackson stood there in all of his heroic glory and Nico felt déjà vu but couldn’t place the scene and then he was living in a dream turned nightmare as the heroic Percy Jackson was there, telling him everything he already knew, that Bianca--
Nico pulled out of his memories with a gasp. He stared at the strangers who might not be the threat he thought they were. But…
“There’s no way,” Nico declared out loud. “My friend Steve did not look like that.” His friend had been small for his age, bones sticking out and constantly wheezing. He also had a Brooklyn accent. This Steve was tall and strong, with a powerful voice and no sign of a New York accent. “Steve's” shoulders slumped for a moment before he confidently said, “You loved pirates and wanted to be one.”
“Bianca gave you that skull ring and you never took it off,” the other man spoke for the first time. Nico glanced down and realized he had been fidgeting with his silver skull ring. Nico lifted his head to study the man’s face. He looked like no one Nico knew but those eyes were just so familiar.
“...Bucky?” Nico hesitantly asked. The man smiled and Nico would have recognized that smile anywhere. Steve, because how could it not be Steve, looked offended. “He recognized you but not me?"
Bucky snorted. “Don’t be so surprised. You’re lucky I recognized you after you went and gained all that muscle the minute I left you alone, Punk.”
Steve muttered “Jerk” but didn’t say anything else. Instead, he turned back to Nico, scrutinizing him. “How is this possible?” he marveled, shaking his head.
“Long, complicated story,” Nico replied with a smirk. “You?”
“Long, complicated story,” Bucky said, wincing.
“Well, at least explain that,” Nico wrinkled his nose, looking pointedly at Steve. Steve had been a shrimp before and now he was tall and muscled, like a superhero. Warning bells went off in Nico’s head at that thought. He was missing something… That perfect face looked oddly familiar but he just couldn’t place it.
Steve and Bucky exchanged looks before Steve turned back and sheepishly said, “Science experiment gone right?”
Nico raised a skeptical eyebrow and opened his mouth, but something else caught his attention. Bucky’s hand resting on Steve’s thigh, Steve’s hand brushing against it.
Well then.
Nico raised his other eyebrow and glanced from the hand to Bucky. Bucky noticed the look and snatched his hand back, blushing. Steve’s brows started to furrow before realization spilled across his face and he scooted a few inches away from Bucky. He opened his mouth but that was as far as he got before another person joined the conversation.
“Nico!” Will Solace jogged over to them, insanely sugary coffee drink in hand. He plopped onto the bench next to Nico and wrapped an arm around his waist. He leaned over to whisper, “If these people are bothering you, I can cause a distraction while you knock them out, and hOLY HERA, IS THAT CAPTAIN AMERICA??”
Will’s eyes had gone wide as he stared at Steve, who was blushing bright red. But Will wasn’t finished. “And if you're Captain America and that guy has a metal arm… Oh my gods, it’s the Winter Soldier!”
Will was clutching Nico’s arm, about to go into a fanboy attack. Will was a huge Hawkeye fan, for obvious reasons, but he also loved Captain America. Nico switched his gaze to Bucky, who was staring at his hands. Nico had been so preoccupied with finding his old friends, he hadn’t even thought about the suddenly very obvious metal arm.
“You-” Nico floundered, speechless as he stared at the two men. Just like that, it was so obvious. Steve from Brooklyn, who had many health problems but a kind heart, willing to help anyone in need, was suddenly an adult in the future with muscles and no risk of illness. It was clear in Nico’s mind but it refused to connect. His friend from before, when everything was normal, turned around and became a hero whose legacy had lasted even when he was thought to have died 80 years earlier, only to come back and save everyone all over again.
Will squeezed Nico’s hand, bringing him back to the present. “It’s okay, Nico. Just breathe. Take your time, it’s alright.” Nico took a gasping breath and leaned into Will’s warmth and he continued to speak softly. This had happened several times in the last few months and it still scared Nico just as much now as it had the first time.
An unknown amount of time later, he opened his eyes and sat up. “Better now, Death Boy?” Will asked with a small smile. Nico just nodded and gave Will a quick kiss on the cheek before standing up and marching a few steps closer to Steve. Bucky and Steve had been looking on, concerned but not knowing what to do.
Steve looked up at Nico. Nico slapped him.
“You idiot!” He started quickly spiraling into a lecture. “What were you thinking, joining the army in your state! Oh wait, you clearly weren’t. Gods, what new asthma medication were you on? Don’t think I haven’t heard about all of those dangerous stunts you pulled. Jumping on a grenade! Crashing a plane! Running into battle with little more than a fake helmet! Jumping out of planes without a parachute! How are you still standing? All of these things you get yourself into… how has your stupidity not killed you?”
Bucky looked sharply at Steve. “You… jumped on a grenade?” he said slowly. Steve flushed pink but didn’t say anything and stared at his shoes.
Nico nodded and continued his rant, fumbling for words. “You- you son of Hera! If only you knew half of the thing I've heard. Gossip travels fast, you know. I even heard about how you attempted to rescue a cat from a tree just last week!”
“We don’t talk about that,” Steve interjected and got ignored.
He didn’t miss Will loudly sip his drink, watching with great interest. Nico finally took a deep breath and dropped back onto the bench next to Will.
“So…” Bucky said awkwardly after a beat of silence. “You gonna introduce us?”
Nico blinked as he was hit with the realization that he had never introduced his boyfriend. “Oh yeah. Steve, Bucky, this is my significant annoyance, Will Solace. Will, these are my friends Steve and Bucky. We met in an alley in Brooklyn years ago.”
Will gave his blinding son of Apollo smile. “Nice to meet ya.”
Nico had been expecting a bit more fanboying on Will’s part, but Nico guessed some of the awe wore off when the subject of said fanboying had just been smacked and lectured by his small Italian boyfriend.
“Nice to meet you too,” Steve politely said while Bucky just nodded. Something in his expression reminded Nico of how he would scowl at Steve when he was still out of it from his asthma medication and trying to pick a fight with someone three times larger than him. Bucky looked… protective.
Oh no.
Nico had already gone through this with Jason and Reyna and then Jason again but that time he had brought Percy and Annabeth, who had brought Piper, who had brought Leo. And that wasn’t even counting the time it was Hazel who had brought Frank with her to intimidate Will. Here we go again…
“So, how did you two meet?” Bucky asked. His tone was cheerful but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. If Will noticed, he wasn't concerned.
“We go to the same summer camp,” Nico hastily interjected.
Steve nodded along. “I was wondering where you were living, you know, since it's been so many years.”
No way was Nico going to tell them he wasn’t legally alive and it was thanks to the Mist he had been able to briefly go to that awful military school.
Steve kept talking, “How are you still here by the way? I mean, now you know why both of us are here, so it’s only fair.”
Nico desperately wanted to make a comment about the fairness of life but stopped himself. They were his friends and deserved a very, very basic version.
“Bianca and I, we got sent to Las Vegas, to the Lotus Hotel and Casino. Actually, now that I think about it, that place was oddly kid-friendly for a Vegas casino. But anyway, time is weird there. You go in for a few hours, you leave and days have gone by. At least, that’s if you manage to leave. Bianca and I were there for a month.”
Steve quietly gasped and Bucky’s eyebrows shot up. “How is that even…” Steve started and trailed off while Bucky started to frown.
Nico tensed slightly. There was no way a trained assassin who knew, had known, him so well would miss the bitter edge in his voice when he said Bianca’s name. Bucky’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. He slowly asked, “And Bianca, is she doin' alright?”
Nico braced himself before bluntly saying, “She’s dead. Died a few years ago, just months after we left that gods-forsaken place. It… it was an accident.”
He had been waiting for that question and had given the simplest answer but still, his voice cracked and his eyes felt hot as they started to water. It hurt so much, hurt every day, but it hurt now more than ever. Since the end of the Second Giant War, Nico had ever so slowly let his guard down. He let himself feel. He let himself grieve for all that was lost. But because of that, his eyes stung and his throat ached as he let himself remember.
Will leaned over and gently wrapped his arms around Nico, not saying a word. Will kept Nico grounded, no matter what. When he thought the shadows and the dead would finally consume him, Will had been there with his sunny warmth and wouldn’t let go. No matter what, Will’s calm brightness was always there for him and kept him in the world he had become fond of, or dare he say, love.
Normally Nico would have been more self-conscious about being so close, so touchy with his boyfriend, especially in public, but he was too tired to care. He had thought today was going to be just another day, a nice day out with his boyfriend and instead it had turned into… this. Nico didn’t even have the words to describe the situation and mess of complicated emotions.
Steve was blinking rapidly, staring at the ground without seeing it as he clutched Bucky’s hand. Bucky had his eyes closed, forehead pressed to Steve’s shoulder.
An extended silence passed over the group as each silently mourned. Nico could tell Will was thinking about his older brothers, Lee Fletcher and Michael Yew, who had both died in less than a year and left him head counselor of the Apollo cabin.
Some unknown time later, Steve cleared his throat, grabbing Nico’s attention. “It’s getting late,” he said softly.
Nico looked up and was surprised by how far the sun had moved. He gingerly stood and stretched, watching the others stand too.
“We should get together sometime soon,” Steve said. He then clearly got an idea, judging by how he lit up with excitement like a puppy. “Do you have a phone? Me and Buck got phones!”
“You have a phone that you shoved under your bed, I have a phone and make use of it,” Bucky dryly commented.
Nico pondered for a moment before he suddenly had an idea. “No, I don’t have a phone,” he started slowly, “but I do have an email.” A small smile was slowly stretching its way across his face.
“You’re going to threaten Leo, aren’t you?” Will sighed, not even surprised.
“Nooo, I just have plenty of blackmail.”
Will gave Nico a deadpan look that had Steve and Bucky smirking and snorting, respectively.
Apollo’s chariot streaked across the sky as the friends said their goodbyes, not wanting to leave just yet but knowing they would see each other again very soon.