I don't own Percy Jackson or Hercules.

Bold and Italicized from Hercules

If Cupid was right about one thing, it was that love was not fair; Nico realized how true that was almost immediately when he and the other demigods had returned to Camp Half-Blood after their victory against Gaea and her army.

It had always been Percy, the one he loved. The longingly looks, the endless daydreams, the never ending wishing, everywhere he went, the thought of Percy followed him.

But it was simply puppy love and completely one sided at that. Percy never saw him; he never really wanted him, no matter how many times he tried to convince himself otherwise. And finally, he had come to terms with that. But at the worst of costs.

Sitting on a tree stump by the edge of the lake, Nico sighed and rested his chin on his propped up elbow. It was like every other day in July: scalding and bright. The sun shone on the lake and onto the bare arms of campers, all of whom were trying to find some way to stay cool.

Percy had gotten Annabeth to join him in the lake, though the daughter of Athena was not happy about it. Normally, Nico would jump at any opportunity to ogle a half naked, wet Percy Jackson; but ever since coming back to camp, the sight didn't appeal to him like it used to.

Instead, his eyes were focused on a make shift volleyball game, organized by a group of Aphrodite girls just so they could get a glimpse of a few shirtless demigods. Not that Nico was complaining one bit.

On the contrary, his heart did back flips at the sight of a certain son of Jupiter who had just recently gotten rid of his form fitting, orange shirt. As if Nico wasn't hot before, now he was burning a bright red from the sun and the sheer embarrassment he got from just looking at a topless boy.

Yes, blond haired, blue eyed, Roman Superman Jason Grace had somehow wiggled his way into Nico's heart. And oh, how he dreaded it.

How did it come to this? He continued to ask himself this without ever receiving an answer.

After Cupid's confrontation in Croatia, something had changed. Someone finally knew his secret, and it just had to be that damn son of Jupiter. However, to his surprise, and secret delight, not once did Jason tease or make fun of him. The secret was kept a secret, and a new, unexpected friendship was born.

No one saw it coming, and the rest of the group was confused by it. Jason wouldn't let anyone make fun of Nico. Jason wouldn't let anyone hurt Nico. He was like the personal bodyguard that Nico never want.

But eventually Jason grew on him. They got closer and closer, until Nico realized that he didn't see Percy in his dreams anymore. He saw Jason instead.

Somehow, he always managed to fall for a big shot hero with a beautiful girlfriend. He was never one for luck, and this time he really didn't have any.

So, there he sat, head in hands, trying, once again, to get rid of his romantic feelings for someone he couldn't have. But for whatever reason, it was even harder to get over Jason than it was to get over Percy.

Percy, though he had his few brilliant moments, was dense and never looked past his nose. He was blind to anything that wasn't food or Annabeth, and Nico was nothing more than a bother to him.

Jason was nothing if not the complete opposite. He was sympathetic and caring and genuinely concerned for Nico's well being. His smiles were sweeter, his looks kinder.

Nico groaned, shaking his head, trying to get ride of the thoughts. "Why does this always happen to me?" he wondered aloud. "What did I ever do to deserve this?" He knew it needed to stop and that if it didn't, it would be exactly like Percy all over again. It would only hurt him more if he didn't push away his feelings. But nothing he did worked.

"Nico…I've seen a lot of brave things…"

"Stop it," Nico said, shaking his head, hitting his skull.

"But what you did?"

"Stop it," he repeated, voice louder, as if it could drown out his thoughts.

"That was maybe the bravest."

"Get out of my head!" he demanded, banging his forehead on his knees.

"Nico?"

"Get. Out." he continued, punctuating each word with a hard smack to his skull.

"Nico? Nico!"

"What?" he shouted, looking up, angry, upset tears in his eyes. He was met by the sight of a sweaty, shirtless Jason, his abdomen and all of its glory eye level to him. He tried to look up at his face, but it only made it worse; his bright, blue eyes were shimmering in the summer sun, worried and confused. He shook his blond locks out of his face, a few drips of remaining sweat emitting from them. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he looked away, grumbling, "Hey, Jason."

"Are you okay?" the Roman asked, kneeling in front of the son of Hades. "You seemed pretty riled up there."

"I'm fine," Nico mumbled, still refusing to make eye contact.

"You're sure? Because you know, you can always tell me if something's wrong or if someone is bothering you or-"

"I said I'm fine," Nico said through gritted teeth, ready to give him a glare to send him away. But the sad, puppy dog look that he was all too familiar with made the glower melt right off of his face. "Really, Jason," Nico continued, all angriness in his voice gone. "Nothing's wrong."

Though not entirely convinced, Jason nodded slowly. "If you say so. What're you doing over here all alone? Don't you wanna hang out with the rest of us?"

"You know how children of Hades are. We like to be alone," Nico answered, shrugging. "Sometimes, it's better to be alone."

Frowning at that statement, Jason stood up, only to take a seat next to Nico on the tree stump.

"What are you doing?" Nico asked, raising an eyebrow, as he tried to scoot away from the shirtless boy as much as he could.

"No one should be alone," Jason answered simply.

Rolling his eyes, Nico nudged his friend with his elbow. "Go play your stupid volleyball game, Grace. Your team is shit without you." It wasn't a lie; the group was a miserable mess without their star captain.

"Nico-"

"Don't worry, little brother," a new voice interjected. Thalia threw her arm around Jason's shoulder, smirking down at the duo. "I'll keep the Ghost Prince company."

"Thals? When did you get here?" Jason asked with a large smile.

"The Hunters and I thought we'd drop by for a little visit. Plus, I thought I'd come see my favorite brother."

"I'm your only brother."

Thalia chuckled. "I wouldn't be too sure, Jace. Our father is a horn dog." The sky rumbled, and Thalia threw her hands in the air and shouted, "Why're you getting mad at me for telling the truth? Yell at me when you don't mount everything with legs!"

As Jason scolded his sister, Nico watched in amusement at their argument. He wondered if that would be him and Bianca if she were still alive. He pushed that thought away very quickly. He had Hazel now, and she was enough to keep him as happy as a son of Hades could be.

His thoughts were interrupted when Thalia pushed Jason to the ground, planting her boot on his chest. "You're not gonna win this fight, little brother," she smirked. "Now, go back to your game. I wanna talk to Nico."

"Me?" Nico asked in disbelief. Since when did Thalia Grace show any interest in him?

Jason looked between the two before shrugging. "Alright," he said, sprinting back towards the court. "Be nice to him!" he commanded his sister loudly over his shoulder.

Grinning at her younger sibling, Thalia took a seat next to her cousin, crossing her arms. "How are you, Nico?" she asked.

"Fine," he said, monotone. Once again, he stared down at the court, watching as the campers went up against a group of Hunters. It was silly to think that Camp Half-Blood even stood a chance against them, but if it allowed Jason to remain shirtless, who was he to protest?

Snap out of it, he told himself. That's the exact opposite of what you need to be thinking. Think about Dad in his underwear, Dad in his underwear…

He shuddered, finally looking towards the daughter of Zeus. He cocked his head to the side, motioning to her hair.

"I didn't know you were blonde," he commented, noticing spurts of blonde mixing in with her usual black hair. It was weird, seeing Thalia almost blend into a situation.

She tugged on a strand of her hair, groaning. "I keep forgetting to get it dyed. I hate when it's this light. Too…normal."

"You look like Jason," Nico blurted before he could stop himself. He let his jaw clamp shut, looking away once again.

"Yeah, that's what genetics will give you," she said with a laugh. "You and Bianca looked alike too. Same eyes, same hair, same face-"

"Is this what you came here to talk to me about?" he asked, a hardness in his voice. "Because you can forget it."

"No, no," she said, waving him off with her hand. "That's not it. I just had a question for you. And now that you brought up Jason, it's the perfect time."

Scrunching his eyebrows together, Nico gave her a confused look. "What about Jason?"

"Are you two…how do I put this?" She shook her head, pushing her blonde fringe behind her ear. Looking to the ground, she rested her arms on her knees, smiling sheepishly. "Gods, this is awkward. Are you and Jason…you know…going out?"

Eyes bugging, Nico sat up straighter. "What…What gave you that idea?"

"Well, every time I've come here before, you two haven't even spoken to each other. And now, all I've heard about is my little brother hanging out with this son of Hades all of the time, and I don't exactly know of another son of Hades…so I just sort of assumed-"

"You assumed wrong," Nico shot back at her, standing up. He clenched his fists, standing stiffly as he glared at her. "Jason and I are not dating, and we never will be. Understand?"

Her puzzled, bewildered look disappeared and changed into one of understanding. She sent him a cocky smirk. "Oh, I understand," she said, clicking her tongue. "You like him." The only sense of movement Nico made was a twitch of his mouth. He wanted to scream; he wanted to hide. "You like him a lot. Maybe even love him. That's why you're getting so mad."

"I-I don't," he said, but he wasn't even convincing himself at that point.

"Who do you think you're kidding?" Thalia asked, standing up. She towered over him as she stared him down. "Let's be honest here, Nico. He's the earth and heaven to you. Trying to keep it hidden? Honey, I can see right through you."

Nico pushed past her, bottom lip quivering as his body filled up with anger and frustration. He could make it stop. He could avoid getting more preoccupied with Jason. He didn't have to be in the same situation he was in with Percy before. No, he could stop it.

"You can't conceal it!" Thalia shouted after him. "I know how you feel and who you're thinking of!"

"No chance!" Nico stopped and turned on his heal, yelling back towards the girl. "No way! I won't say it! No!"

"Nico…"

"No!"

And with that, he ran away, straight towards an empty Hades cabin.

After Thalia's confrontation, Nico tried even harder to get rid of his feelings for Jason. At first, it seemed like it could work. Everything was settling back to how it was before Gaea had been a threat and before the war had started.

But then a group of Romans from Camp Jupiter came to visit, and it was as if Jason had turned into everyone's teddy bear. They all wanted hugs from the blond superhero, and in turn, Jason wanted hugs from everyone else. Including Nico.

A week had passed, and everyday, he was attacked by Jason, crushed into a heart-stopping hug, and then left alone once again. He didn't understand the boy's logic or how his mind worked, but it made the feelings he had for him reappear; and he hated it.

He didn't have the heart to tell him to stop. He could only give him meaningless threats and glares but nothing more.

So, as the boy sat at the Hades table in the Big House, he jumped a bit when he felt strong, toned arms wrap around him from behind and squeeze his torso.

"Jason," Nico warned, distinctly smelling what could only be the son of Jupiter: pinewood, grass, and campfire smoke. "What did I tell you before? I don't like being touched."

"But, Nico," Jason whined, nuzzling against the other's shoulder. "You're so huggable."

Squirming, Nico tried to push him away but failed; Jason was just too strong for him. So, he settled with being held, and a bright blush crept onto his face.

When he pulled away, he patted Nico on the head and left for the Zeus table without a word. Without even realizing it, Nico stared as he scampered off.

"Nico," a voice sang in his ear. "I think it would be better if you just took a picture. It'll last longer." He was shaken out of his daze by Hazel, one of the Romans visiting, only to register that he had once again been thrown into a never-ending cycle of thoughts about one certain blue eyed demigod.

"Huh? Oh, hi, Haze," he greeted, looking up at his sister. "How are you?"

"I'm good," she replied, taking a seat next to the other. "And by the looks of it, you seem pretty good too." She wiggled her eyebrows and nudged her thumb towards Jason. "Is he as good of a kisser as Piper said he was?"

"What?" Nico squeaked. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Don't give me that, Nico," Hazel said teasingly. "The hug, the staring, it's so obvious that you two are a thing!" She fanned herself happily, something only she did in the twenty-first century.

"I'm not dating Jason," Nico said.

"But of course you are! I'm so happy for you! And now that you're in an era that accepts stuff like this, it's even better!"

"Hazel," Nico said, grabbing her chin between his fingers to keep her head still. "Listen very carefully. Jason. And I. Are not. Dating. Got it?"

When he released her face, she pouted. "But then why would you stare at him? And why would blush if you weren't-" Her pout turned into a wide smile. "Aw, Nico!" She threw both arms around him in a bone-crushing hug. "You've got a crush on Jason!"

"Hazel!" he hissed. "Not so loud! And I don't have a crush on Jason." Perhaps, in the moment, he did. But if he could convince other people that he didn't have feelings for the boy, maybe he could convince himself.

"I acted the same way when I first started to like Frank. But the more I denied it, the more I realized I liked him. Now, are you sure you don't like Jason?"

"Yes," Nico said, trying to sound as sure as he could.

"Uh huh," Hazel said, crossing her arms as she nodded at her brother's unconvincing response. "Alright, then look at Jason and tell me you don't like him."

"Hazel-"

"Go on," she urged. "Look at him."

"Fine, if it'll get you to shut up," Nico grumbled, slowly peeking over at the Zeus table. Jason was quietly chewing as he laughed at something one of his Roman friends told him. Seeing him smile made Nico's typical frown turn into a small grin, barely there. But Hazel still saw it.

"You swoon, you sigh. Why deny it?" she asked quietly, prodding him slightly with her elbow.

"It's too cliché," he found himself whispering. He shook his head, glaring daggers at his sister. "I won't say I'm in love."

"Nico, really, it isn't that bad!" Hazel assured him. "It's normal to have these feelings about someone."

"No!" Nico said, jumping to his feet. "I don't have any feelings for Jason. None!"

With that, he stomped away, throwing the door to the Big House open angrily.

I thought my heart had learned its lesson, he thought, wiping furiously at his tearfilled eyes. It feels so good when you start out.

He thought back to all of the times he and Jason had sat together on the ship and just talked and occasionally laughed when they could. It was only the beginning, but it felt so nice to talk to anyone at all.

My head is screaming, "Get a grip! Unless you're dying to cry your heart out…"

He tugged angrily at his dark curls, growling at himself. He needed to stop this.

Running back to his cabin, he got inside as fast as he could, slamming the door. Sliding down the wall, he hugged his knees to his chest. People were slowly figuring out that he liked Jason. But you don't like Jason, he told himself. You don't.

Jason wouldn't like him either way. He was dating a daughter of Aphrodite, and who would leave her for him? A fool, that's who. And, unlike Percy, Jason was no fool.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Too distraught to answer, Nico ignored it, burying his face in his knees.

"Nico?" he heard the person ask. Reyna. Why did it have to be her?

After carrying the Athena Parthenos with her all the way from Greece back to Camp Half-Blood, he had gotten to know her a bit more than he thought he ever would. She was kind of like him, he supposed; she was a broken hearted victim of Jason Grace, and he was becoming one, not that she knew that at all.

"Nico, we saw you run out of the Big House. Are you okay?" Annabeth. Why did the daughter of Athena have to be so damn observant?

"Nico, if you don't open this door, I'll break it down!" Reyna called, and he knew she meant it. Sighing, he opened the door, meeting two very anxious demigods.

"I'm fine. Now, leave," he told them, about to close the door in their faces. But Reyna was quicker; she slapped her hand to the door and allowed herself in, Annabeth following.

"Want to tell us what's going on?" the daughter of Bellona asked, taking a seat on his bed.

"No, not really," Nico retorted, leaning against the wall. "I do want you to leave though."

"Not a chance. I spent enough alone time with you to know when something is wrong, di Angelo," Reyna pointed out. "Now, tell me. Why're you so upset, and what does Jason have to do with it?"

Gapping, Nico stuttered, trying to find the right words to say. How in the world did she even figure that out?

"Oh, don't give me that look. I've been here only a week, and I've noticed that something is different between you two."

"I've noticed it for months," Annabeth added. "And it's nothing you should be ashamed of, Nico."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Nico said weakly. But this was a child of Athena; nothing got past her.

"You do," Annabeth responded, a softness in her voice. "It's better for you to acknowledge your feelings than to push them away. Trust me, I've tried. And look where that got me." She held up a gold, heart shaped locket Percy had gotten her as a late anniversary present after they returned to camp.

"Nothing is going on between me and Jason," Nico repeated, hoping that the girls would accept the answer and leave him alone.

"You keep on denying who you are and how you're feeling," Annabeth said, patting the space on the bed between her and Reyna. Figuring he had nothing left to lose, he sat down, looking sadly towards the floor. Sniffling, he bit his lip to keep from crying. He would be damned if he cried in front of anybody, especially those two.

Sensing his sadness, Reyna brushed a few curls out of his face. "Baby, we're not buying. Hon, we saw you hit the ceiling."

"What are you talking about?" Nico murmured.

"We could hear Hazel," Annabeth said, leaning in closer to him. "Nico, it'll be better if you just admit it."

"Admit what?" he tried, hoping he could still pull off the oblivious, I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about act. But it was too late for games and he knew that.

"Nico, face it like a grown up. When are you gonna own up that you've got it bad?"

"No," Nico said, shaking his head. "No chance. No way."

"It'll be better if you come to terms with it and admit it," Reyna said.

"That's what people keep telling me!" Nico shouted, falling onto his back. "But it's not true! He doesn't like me! Who would? Who would strive for this?" He motioned towards his entire body.

"Nico, a lot of people would…" Annabeth said quietly.

"Really? Cause no one has yet, so why would he?" Sitting back up, he stormed to the door. "So, no. I won't say it."

Reyna was a fighter; everyone knew it, including Nico. So why he thought he would win this argument was beyond him.

"Give up, give in!" Reyna cried. "We can see how you look at him! We all can see it! We've all come to terms with it! So why can't you?"

"Because it's not true, Reyna! I don't like Jason!"

"Check the grin, you're in love!" she yelled at him, shaking so violently that her hair was flying around her shoulders.

"This scene won't play!" Nico retorted loudly. "I won't say I'm in love!" He closed the door so forcefully that it shook in its hinges.

Days passed and Reyna and Annabeth's words still wouldn't leave Nico's mind. He kept telling himself that he didn't like Jason, but really he didn't want to be hurt again. And if he took the girls' advice, he would be. He couldn't come to terms with it. He refused to.

No one else confronted him about it. There was silence over it to the point where Nico believed that they had all gotten over it. But how wrong he was.

While he was sitting in the comfort of the shade in the forest, lying back against the trunk of a tree, he heard a crunch of a stick echoing from the distance. One eye popped open, but he ignored it, relaxing back again. More branches snapped under people's feet, but he figured it was just a bunch of first year campers who had wondered aimlessly into the woods.

But suddenly, both of his arms were grabbed, along with both of his feet. Eyes snapping open, he was surprised to see Thalia and Hazel holding onto his arms, Annabeth and Reyna doing the same to his legs.

"What in the name of Hades do you think you're doing?" he shouted, attempting to writhe out of their grips. No luck. He was stuck being carried, waiting to see where they were taking him.

Within a few minutes, he got his answer; they were taking him straight to the Zeus cabin, much to his dismay.

"Hey, cut it out!" he demanded. "Let me go!" They disregarded his wishes. Alternatively, they set him down aggressively on the small porch right in front of the door.

"We're giving you one last chance, Nico," Annabeth warned, "to come to terms with how you feel."

"Really? This is what this is about?" He tried to dash away, but they surrounded him in a tight semicircle with no outlets. "You're out of your minds!"

"We'll let you go, if you just admit it!" Thalia tried.

"Admit what?" He wasn't going to give any of them the satisfaction in being right. Which they weren't, he reminded himself.

"You're doing flips, read our lips," Hazel began, only to have her and the other three finish, "You're in love!"

"You're way off base, I won't say it!" He shot them all glares. He expected this from Reyna and Thalia but Annabeth? And his own sister? Honestly, were they that bored that they had enough free time to invest in his life? "Get off my case! I won't say it!"

"Then you leave us no choice," Thalia sighed. Once again, they picked him up. Opening the door, they threw him inside, only to have him land harshly on the wooden floor. He rubbed at where the wood hit his head, hissing in pain.

"Don't be proud," Reyna murmured to him, closing the door behind the four of them. "It's okay you're in love."

"But I'm not!" he whined loudly.

Before he could escape, he heard someone whisper, "Nico?" The only occupant of the cabin looked up from their bed. Sad blue eyes met Nico's angry brown ones.

"Jason, I really don't want to-"

"Are you mad at me?" he asked softy.

Taken aback, Nico stood up, stepping closer to the distressed demigod. "Why would I be mad at you? If anything, you're the only person at camp I'm not mad at, at this point.

Rubbing the fabric of his sheets between his thumb and pointer finger, Jason mumbled, "You haven't talked to me all week. You keep avoiding me. Did I…Did I do something wrong?"

Feeling his throat clench, Nico was at a loss for words. What was he supposed to tell him? The truth? That would only make things worse.

"I wasn't trying to avoid you," he said. "I was trying to avoid everyone else. Your sister, my sister, Annabeth, Reyna…they've been on my case a lot lately."

"About what?" Jason asked.

"Nothing," Nico shot back swiftly. "Just them being girls."

"Why won't you tell me the truth?" Jason asked, moving to stand in front of the shorter boy. "You're upset, and you won't tell me why!"

"I'm not upset! I'm just annoyed! For weeks, the girls have kept asking me if you and I are dating and I keep telling them we aren't and they're never satisfied and they want me to come to terms with my "feelings" and I- Jason?" He was stopped as he saw the blonds' eyebrows crinkle. "What's wrong?"

"But…a-aren't we dating?"

That was the last thing Nico expected to come out of Jason's mouth. Dating? Them? Why would Jason even ponder something like that?

"I-I…n-no," Nico started, trying to sound sure of himself.

"I just thought…with how close we were getting…how you didn't push me away anymore when I hugged you…" Jason trailed off nervously, sounding unsure.

"I mean… you're dating Piper," Nico reminded him, at a loss of how one could forget their own significant other.

"We broke up right after we came back to camp," Jason corrected. "We decided it would be better if we were just friends."

"Oh…"

Jason's sad, perplexed stared switched to kind-hearted. "Nico, do you like me?"

"Don't turn into your sister!" Nico exclaimed, taking a step back. "I don't like you! And even if I did, you wouldn't return my feelings!"

"Wouldn't I?" Jason chuckled. "Nico, I just told you I assumed we were dating. If I had a problem with that, do you honestly think I would be so open about it?"

"No…but that still doesn't mean that…that I have feelings for you!"

It was so hopeless at this point to deny anything. What was he losing? Jason liked him, but his stupid pride and stubbornness kept getting in the way.

And it still didn't mean that Jason wouldn't hurt him. He could break his already too fragile heart, and that was the last thing he needed. He had lost so many things: his mom, his sister, his entire family. He didn't want to lose his one true friend as well.

"Nico," Jason said, seriously but comfortingly. A hand found its way to rest on his cheek, tilting his head upwards. "I like you."

"No, you don't," Nico replied. "No one likes me."

"I do," Jason said, stroking his pale skin with his thumb. "A lot actually."

"Why? Why would you like me of all people?" He laughed hardly. "I'm nothing."

"You're everything," Jason answered. "To me, anyway." Cheeks heating up, Nico looked away. This wasn't supposed to happen; he wasn't supposed to be falling like he was. "The Nico I know is different than the Nico everyone else knows. You put on this emotionless shell for people to see. But I know that's not you. You're a fragile person; you have so many emotions that you don't know what do with them or how to act. You've been hurt. And you don't want to be hurt again." Jason's free hand grasped Nico's smaller one, fingers intertwining. "I would never hurt you."

Those were the words that brought tears to Nico's eyes. "But you will," he said, voice shaking. "They always do in the end."

"I won't," Jason promised, squeezing his hand lovingly. "It's the last thing I'll ever do."

"Then what's the first?" Nico asked so quietly it was almost inaudible.

With a hint of a smile, Jason leaned in closer, pressing his lips gently against Nico's, lingering there. When he pulled back, he said, "That. I would like to keep doing that. But that's up to you."

Nico blinked, his entire face bright pink. How could he deny any feelings he had after that? And why would he? Jason liked him; he had made that very clear. At this point, he just needed to take a chance and hope that, for once, the gods would give him a little bit of luck.

"Okay," he agreed with a slight nod. "I would…I would like that."

The rest was a blur as Jason picked him up and hugged him tightly. He didn't want to pull away this time. Instead, he leaned into the embrace, letting out a breath he had been holding for far too long.

At least out loud, he thought to himself, as Jason connected their lips once more. I won't say I'm in love.

A/N: I love Jasico so much.

Thalia having natural blonde hair is a head canon from Tumblr user gayreyna, and there's a picture of it by Tumblr user minaelli. Go check it out!

Also, I love Percy, please don't doubt that. This is all Nico, and I fully believe that Nico still loves Percy, just no longer in that way. PERCY IS MY FISHY BABY AND I LOVE HIM, TRUST ME.

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