Chapter Text
Nico had never felt he was worthy of love. Maybe he had when he was younger, still with Bianca, but he couldn’t remember anymore. His father had drilled the truth into him, along with several other phrases.
Maybe he had once loved Nico, but that changed for good when he came out. He didn’t have a word for it yet, but Hades figured it out nonetheless. He got one of his worst beatings that day, 30 lashes of his father’s belt.
Before he had just gotten a few small punishments with it, as he was still young. When he told his father he was a boy, he was eight years old, naively hoping he would react well. He announced it during a family dinner one night.
“Um… Papa?” He asked timidly.
“What is it dear?” Nico watched Bianca’s eyes dart up to his father’s face as he spoke, and for a second he wondered why. He realized soon after of course.
He continued, “I have something to tell you,” by then, Nico was fidgeting nervously under the table. “I- um, I - uh, I think I’m a boy.”
He saw the look of panic on Bianca’s face before he even finished his last word, getting out of her seat and rushing towards Nico, wrapping her arms around him protectively. His father’s previous look of shock had morphed into rage. Bianca noticed, quickly dragging Nico into their shared room, telling him to block the door with the dresser close by. He did as he was told, letting out a few small tears as he heard his sister’s screams and cries from outside the door.
He heard a loud THUD, and footsteps coming towards their room.
The footsteps stopped suddenly, and someone started banging on the door. Nico desperately tried to open the window, breathing heavily. The banging on the door got louder as he finally got the window lock open. They were on the 2nd floor, so the boy hesitated to jump out. That time was all it took for Hades to burst into the room, the dresser that was blocking the door being pushed across the room.
Nico tried frantically to get out of the window, but his father grabbed him before he could get out, yanking him by his hair. The young boy cried out in pain, but surrendered eventually. Hades took him into the study. Nico couldn’t remember much after that, only the yells of his father, the harsh pain in his back, and how betrayed he felt. His father hadn’t been the best guy, but he had never been like this before.
He was 15 now, going into his first year at Olympus high school. He was scared, but he had enough friends to make it through. “Hey! Nico!” His friend Percy called out at the entrance to the school. Percy Jackson was a sophomore. & was showing Nico around. They met in middle school, being forced into the same club by their parents.
“Nico! Cmon dude!” Percy shouted, waving at him. Nico followed him into the building, weaving through the crowd of other confused teenagers. “Ok, show me your schedule.” Percy said, taking Nico’s schedule out of his hands. “Oh, you have math first. That’s just down these stairs and a bit further.” Percy explained.
He took the younger boy by the hand, leading him through the maze of hallways, and into his first period. “Bye Nico, gonna be late!” Percy left down the hallways, leaving Nico at the entrance to the room.
He walked inside, seeing a strict looking woman at the desk. He looked up at the TV, following the seating chart, noting he was sat next to a boy named Ximena Valdez. Part of his mind recognized the name, but he couldn’t remember why.
A little while later the rest of the class arrived, and the woman started taking attendance. “Alessia di Angelo?” “I go by Nico, actually.” He corrected, trying his best to ignore the snickers from his fellow classmates. “Ximena Valdez?” the boy next to him popped up. “I go by Leo.” the class snickering and murmuring again. The teacher continued going through the attendance list, Nico doodling on his desk instead.
When she was finally done, she started to introduce herself. “My name is Ms. Athena, and I will be your math teacher for this semester.” Nico attempted to tune the rest of the class period out, but he couldn’t stop looking at the boy next to him, He had dark brown eyes,(That Nico had to remind himself not to stare at) curly brown hair, (that nico allowed himself to stare at) and a green bomber jacket that looked like the pockets were full of tools. All of it seemed so familiar, in a way Nico couldn’t quite place.
After class, the boy, Leo, Nico remembered, came up to him. “Hey, Nico was it?” Nico nodded “I think I was your neighbor when we were kids, and I just wanted to say hi.” He finished with a shrug and a stupidly adorable grin. It all came rushing back to Nico at once. He had had a neighbor named Ximena when he was 7.
They’d been best friends for the couple months they were neighbors, until one day Ximena told him her family had to move. Nico had been so sad when he found out, but over time, it blurred into almost nothing.
He was snapped out of his trance by Leo waving a hand in front of his face. “Uh, yeah, I remember that.” Nico answered, ignoring the pause. “Wanna meet up at the playground? It’s still there.” Leo nodded. “I’ll pick you up. I’m free Friday. You?”
Nico nodded.