*House of Hades Spoilers*

I just want to take a moment to thank Rick Riordan for writing so boldly and so beautifully. *sobs* I want to fangirl so much but ahhhh.

I wrote this instead of writing a Government paper wheeee. Also, I should change my beta profile. No slash? hahahahahaha right I was such a pathetic fourteen-year-old.

Disclaimer: I could never write the pure perfection that is The House of Hades.

The Conch Shell

by: Coqui's Song

Nico comes across it while traveling with King Minos in the Labyrinth, running from Geryon's ranch. Minos is giving him directions: go left, stay straight, turn right, take that passageway. It isn't a very brightly lit area in the Labyrinth, but Nico has a flashlight that's slowly running out of battery and he spots it. It's kind of insane when he thinks about it; how could something so beautiful have lasted in this maze of monsters for all this time, and without even a tiny crack? Surely something should have crushed it to a million pieces by now. But no, it's pure and pristine and placed right in front of him as if it were waiting for him to come by and pick it up.

So he does, not paying attention to Minos. He inspects it and finds that there is a small crack on the shell, and he gently passes his thumb over it, and a tiny piece breaks off, falling to the ground. Not perfect, not pristine after all. It reminded him of Percy; at first glance, he is strong, heroic, but he didn't save Bianca and that flaw glares at him every time he dares to look at the son of Poseidon's stupid face.

But for some reason, he's on his way to save Percy and Nico doesn't understand why. It had been an impulsive response; Minos told him Percy was in trouble, Nico fled the ranch to rescue him. Something about the son of Poseidon makes Nico want to be near him; to protect him as Percy promised Bianca that he would do for Nico.

"What are you doing?" Minos snaps, and the son of Hades looks up. "Put that ridiculous thing down and keep following me."

In a quiet act of defiance, Nico di Angelo slips the conch shell into his aviator jacket's pocket. He understands why Minos is hurrying him along. Percy could be dead by now, and his stopping to pick up a mere, insignificant seashell is wasting valuable time. But it seemed as if the little shell had been calling out to him, and Nico had no choice but to take it with him.

"Okay," says Nico as he stands up. He dips his head to the ghost. "Lead the way."

Ω Ω Ω

It's a trick, it's all a trick. Nico thinks that he's so stupid for allowing himself to be fooled so easily –didn't Percy himself tell the son of Hades that Minos is not to be trusted? But the ghostly king had never given Nico a reason not to until now, and he had seemed so sincere when he'd told Nico that Percy was in danger…

That doesn't matter. Nico's learned now. Ghosts are not always good company. They can lie and have their own agendas, just like any living person.

But he can't pretend to be friends with all those half-bloods back at camp. Ghosts may have their own agendas, they may fear the son of Hades, but at least they talk to him, which is more than the demigods at Camp Half-Blood have ever done, except for Percy and Annabeth.

Mostly Percy.

Because Percy has done so much more than just talk to Nico; he's been kind to him, he has befriended him, he has protected and worried and cared about him. As much as Percy Jackson cares about Nico di Angelo, though, he will never fit in like the son of Poseidon does. He will never be the beautiful conch shell; Nico is instead the dirty, small piece that breaks off of it. Free to explore, to discover, and to come back as he pleases, but never for long. He promises to visit Percy if he finds out anything that will help him in the upcoming war with the Titans.

There may not be a place for him in Camp Half-Blood, but his father allows him to stay with him at his palace in the Underworld. It surprises Nico, but he supposes that Hades, as distant as he is, is concerned about his son. He even has a room, and it's there on his nightstand that he sets down his special little conch shell. It's so out of place in his room. It's a light pinkish-white, it's pretty and fragile, and everything else in his room reminds him of death, but he doesn't care.

He still doesn't know why the conch shell is so important to him; so what if it reminds him of Percy? He doesn't have to be reminded of Percy. The son of Poseidon is always on his mind, him and his prophecy, how a single choice will end his days.

Nico takes a sharp breath as an unexpected pain stabs his stomach. He hasn't been attacked; it's just the thought of Percy being dead… he can't stand it, it hurts him. To hear that high-pitched ringing in his ears and know that that particular buzz means that he has died… Nico can't bear it. He's been surrounded by death. It doesn't usually bother him. When he thinks of dead demigods, he just thinks of traffic in the recently deceased lines. When he thinks of a dead Percy, it makes him feel like he'd been sucker-punched.

He doesn't know why he does it, but he picks up the conch shell from his nightstand and holds it up to his ear. For some reason, the sound of the sea –which he really knows is just the blood rushing in his head –calms him.

And so it becomes a ritual. He thinks of Percy or his prophecy, anxiety gnaws at him, and then he listens to the conch shell. It is oddly reassuring. Percy is not dead and he will not die; he's Perseus Jackson, the son of Poseidon, the strongest demigod Nico di Angelo has ever met and ever will meet.

After they defeat Kronos, he has the absolute pleasure of watching Percy and Annabeth holding hands and kissing and laughing and he's surprised to realize that it hurts him. And he can't explain why, so he runs to his room in the Underworld and does his little routine: listen to the sound of the sea. It calms him down, but not much.

As months pass and it dawns on Nico that whenever he sees Percy and Annabeth together, he's jealous, he spends less and less time at Camp Half-Blood and more time in the Underworld, listening to his conch shell, which is starting to offer less and less comfort. In fact, it's starting to make him feel more pain.

One day, when his little seashell has failed to give him any more comfort, he is infuriated. Tears in his eyes, he throws the damn little shell into the Styx with all of the other useless human hopes and dreams.

Ω Ω Ω

For the past few months, Nico has managed to put his lost conch shell out of his mind. But the moment Percy and Annabeth plunge into Tartarus, the place that nearly made him go mad had it not been for the thought of Percy Jackson, he finds himself missing that little seashell.

If Percy died down there, Nico wouldn't have the sound of the sea to comfort him.

I haven't finished a one-shot for this fandom in forever and when I do, it's a sucky one. I'm sorry. /sobs

… Do I still have followers in this fandom, I wonder?

Reviews are greatly appreciated.

~Coqui's Song