#nico has his own mission and percy is barely a side note in it and he's so bothered by that. it drives him up the wall

[happyk44]

percy needs to be haunted by bianca's ghost more

[purple-urself]

Dream A Little Dream

My first Clovis x Nico fanfic, because I love this ship so much.

For @percy-potter-sideblog, thank you for urging me to write this <3

Day 2/7 of the @lgbtqpjo 3k celebration.

“Since returning to camp and trying to find some semblance of normalcy again, Nico’s physical health had dramatically increased thanks to Solace’s constant badgering and berating. What hadn’t gotten any better over the past few months however, was his sleeping habits, and more specifically, his dreams.“

A03

“Clovis… Are you sure about this?” Nico asked the boy in front of him, who was staring intensely. People say Nico had a weird aura, but he personally thought it was nothing compared to the aura that surrounded children of Hypnos.

“I offered didn’t I?” Clovis replied, not breaking eye contact even as he stifled a yawn. “Besides, your doctor recommended I help you with your dreams.”

“Please don’t call him my doctor, it’ll only encourage him.”

“Encouraging him to help you is something I actively do, Nico.”

And boy, wasn’t that the truth. Since returning to camp and trying to find some semblance of normalcy again, Nico’s physical health had dramatically increased thanks to Solace’s constant badgering and berating. What hadn’t gotten any better over the past few months however, was his sleeping habits, and more specifically, his dreams.

Bad dreams for demigods were a usual experience. Most campers had their fair share of gruesome nightmares ending in pain and misery. But most campers hadn’t actually met the Goddess of misery and lived to talk about it. Most campers hadn’t walked through a place worse than Hell only to be captured by the enemy and stuffed into a jar. Most campers hadn’t stretched their powers so far they were literally fading from reality.  

But Nico had done those things. His body may have healed, but his mind certainly hadn’t.

For the first few weeks after returning to camp, he kept his mouth shut about his nightly trauma, firmly believing that the nightmares would go away on their own.

They didn’t.

After a few weeks of little to no sleep, Nico could barely function enough to join in with camp activities. It got to the point where Solace dragged him to the infirmary to give him a check up. Nico still refused to tell the wannabe doctor about his night terrors.

It wasn’t until Clovis practically dragged him into the Hypnos cabin did he actually admit he may have had a bit of a problem. Clovis pushed him down onto one of the many cloud-like bunks, and simply told him ‘Sleep.’

He was out for 26 hours.

Clovis had made sure he, or one of his siblings, was always present to block the bad dreams, and although Nico was angry at first, he was grateful for the respite from the horror of his subconscious.

Since then, Clovis had made it his personal mission to help Nico block the dreams. Because of this, Nico had taken up residence in the Hypnos cabin for the foreseeable future, sleeping like a log every night thanks to Clovis and his siblings.

But tonight was different.

Tonight, it was Clovis’ turn to trade cabins. The son of Hypnos had insisted that blocking bad dreams was only a temporary fix, that in time, blocking his inner most fears would cause him more pain than do him good. Clovis told him that he’d eventually have to face the horror he’d experienced at the hands of the giants.

Nico thought it was bullshit.

Clovis didn’t care.

“Nico.” He heard the other boy murmur. “You spaced out, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” He insisted. Clovis hummed under his breath, but didn’t say anything more. It was times like these Nico wished he knew what the other was thinking. Clovis was a bit of an oddball, but he was also incredibly intelligent when it came to the Gods and their powers. He was one of the first people to work out what was going on when the Gods were stuck between their Greek and Roman forms. Clovis also had the power to gaze upon the Gods as he slept, something that frankly terrified Nico. Who wanted to see Ares take a shower?

“C’mon we should get to my cabin before curfew.” Nico suggested, turning away from Clovis’ intense stare. The boy trailed after him silently. After spending so much time with the son of Hypnos, his presence was familiar to Nico, maybe even a bit comforting.

They reached the cabin, and Nico let himself in, holding the door for his companion. Clovis looked curiously around the room, probably noting the fact it resembled a vampire’s lair. The coffins had been replaced by actual beds, but Nico hadn’t gotten around to altering anything else about the decor, leaving the cabin not nearly as comfortable looking, nor as welcoming as the Hypnos cabin.

“Sorry about the…” Nico gestured towards the assortment skeleton themed ornaments around the room, but Clovis just shook his head.

“That’s alright. I’m not uncomfortable around things related to death, my Father lives in the underworld, you know?”

“I… didn’t know that actually.” Nico told him, surprised.

“He likes the peace and quiet down there. Way less noisy than on Olympus.”

True enough, Nico thought.

The two boys got ready for bed, Clovis not having to do much since he practically lives in his pajamas.

Nico climbed into his own bunk for the first time in what seemed like forever, Clovis standing beside him.

“Are you ready?” The blond asked, and Nico could already feel his eyes beginning to close.

“Mhhmm.” He intoned his agreement, and felt Clovis’ soft hand brush across his forehead, before falling into unconsciousness

The smell was what hit him first. The stench of burning charcoal and rotting flesh permeated the air, nearly causing him to gag. He opened his eyes, blinking at the desolate mist surrounding him. He was laying on his side, his body screaming in pain. Broken ribs, shattered wrist, bruises all over his body. Familiar injuries, and no less painful that the last time his brain had recreated them in his sleep.

The dreams weren’t all like this; some would revisit his meeting with Misery, others would have him fading out of reality, no one knowing or caring about his absence. All of them did the same thing though. They terrified him.

He was laying in the dirt of Tartarus, with no chance of survival. No help would come. No knight in shining armor would rescue him this time.

Everything hurt, and the fog surrounding him was getting thicker by the second. The repulsive smell was clogging up his airways, sticking to the back of his throat causing him to cough and splutter, which only made his injuries hurt more.

His breaths came out in short pants, not able to do much more. He was suffocating. He was dying.

“Nico.”

His name was spoke softly, juxtaposing his surroundings so vividly he almost wept.

“Nico, look at me.”

He turned his head slowly, and yet the pain was still so immense he nearly lost consciousness. As his eyes focused again, they came to rest on a familiar looking boy; round features, soft hair, kind eyes. The boy sat beside him, watching him closely.

“Clovis.”

And just like that, he remembered.

He wasn’t in Tartarus anymore. Clovis was here. Clovis would help him.

“Clovis… please.” He began to say, sputtering at the fog entering his lungs. “Help me.”

Clovis looked sad at his words, staring down at him with those navy blue eyes.

“I can’t Nico. I can’t help you.”

Can’t? Nico wanted to yell, what did he mean can’t? Clovis seemed to understand his thoughts, because he continued.

“This is your dream Nico. Your challenge to overcome. I helped you block these nightmares so you would regain the strength you had lost, but now you have that strength back, you must fight them with all you have.”

Nico trembled at his words. Fight? There was no fighting this place. No human should ever step foot here. No human had ever committed a crime so terrible to deserve the fate he’d chosen for himself.

Soon, the giants would find him. They would force him to drink from the river Phlegethon, and then stuff him in that godforsaken jar. And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

“Hey,” Clovis caught his hand, dragging his thoughts back to the present. “I’m not asking you to fight the war again, or even to fight the monsters you faced when you were down here. I’m asking you to fight the dream.”

Again, the son of Hypnos has seemingly read his mind, and Nico wondered if they had some sort of telepathic connection here.

“How?” Nico rasped.

Clovis looked at him fondly, and Nico felt his chest twinge in a different way.

“You’ve met me in dreams before Nico, what have we done those times?”

Nico felt his lips twitching at the memories of taking Clovis around 1930’s Venice, or hanging out with him in central park on a summer’s day.

The other boy’s eyes sparkled with amusement, probably knowing what Nico was thinking about.

‘You did that’ Nico tried to communicate through his thoughts instead of having to talk.

“Did I?” Clovis asks, humming at the thought. “I suppose I may have contributed a fair amount to our little outings together, but a lot of it was you. Do you think I could have recreated Venice in the 1930’s? Or the memory of your favorite ice-cream flavor? No, that was all you.”

Nico hadn’t really thought about it before, but he supposed that made sense. His memories had influenced both of their dreams, even though he couldn’t actually control them.

“Ahh, now you’re getting it.” Clovis told him, smiling. It wasn’t often the other boy outright smiled, and Nico felt a swell of pride at seeing it. “Remember how it feels to be in camp, running after Percy, or fighting Jason. Remember how your body feels when it’s at it’s peek, full of energy and life. Remember how it feels to stand at the ocean and breath the clean air. You have to remember.

At his words, the memories of Camp came flooding back to him. He remembers batting Solace’s hand’s away, insisting he’s fine, because this time he actually is. He remembers shadow traveling across the dining pavilion to grab an apple and not feeling nauseous afterwards. He remembers waking up one morning in the Hypnos cabin, only to find a sleeping Clovis passed out next to him. He remembers watching the boy, not really sure why, other than the fact that he could. He remembers it all, and he gulps in steady breaths of clean air as his pain vanishes.

He scrambles to sit up, immediately checking over his body for the injuries he had felt mere seconds ago. But they weren’t there.

He looks to Clovis, who has a light blush on his face, and is smiling fondly at him. Nico flushes in embarrassment as he remembers the last thought he had before his miraculous recovery.

“You did it.” Clovis congratulates him softly. Only then does he realize they aren’t in Tartarus anymore.

The hard dirty ground of Tartarus had been replaced by soft sheets, the disgusting stench was now subtle hints of lavender. They were in the Hypnos cabin back at camp.

“Are we still dreaming?” Nico asked in a hushed voice, even though the cabin was empty.

“Yes.” Clovis said gently.

Nico nods, letting out a huge sigh, face in his hands. That was intense, like nothing he’d ever experienced before. He felt like he could sleep for a week, and yet, he was already sleeping.

“Why do you think us Hypnos kids sleep all the time?” Clovis chuckled, and Nico realized the other boy could still hear his thoughts.

“It’s because in the physical world, I’m touching you right now.” Clovis answered his unasked question with a grin, and Nico felt himself beginning to blush.

“You’re sleeping with me in my bed?!” He asked, panicking a little.

Clovis laughs again, shaking his head.

“No, it’s nothing like that. I’m just sitting beside the bed, holding your hand.”

Oh. That must be uncomfortable, Nico thinks.

“I’ve slept in weirder places, believe me.”

“Stop doing that.” Nico tells him, not wanting the other to delve too deeply into his mind.

“Then we should wake up.”

Before Nico could say another word, he finds himself blinking awake in his own cabin, a warmth engulfing his left hand. He looks to the side of the bed, finding a very sleepy Clovis blinking up at him.

It only takes a second of indecision, before Nico is pulling the other boy into bed. Clovis looks shocked at the event unfolding, before shrugging and closing his eyes without a single word.

“Don’t get too comfortable, sleeping beauty, this is a onetime thing.” Nico tells his new bed-mate gruffly, before settling down himself, very careful not to touch the child of Hypnos.

And if they they wake up spooning together, well, no one is there to prove it. 

[happyk44]

#she doesn't even have to do it herself #he is just trapped in the horror of watching someone die and never recovering from the guilt that follows #like i thin we should talk more about how she was the first permanent death of the series and the first death he really witnessed #i think he should be more deranged by it tbh #painfully devoted to nico's health and happiness in a way that skips the border of unhealthy and jumps straight into fucked up

#even better if bianca doesn't care. and nico has moved on. so the only person who is stuck in this void of misery about it is percy #and he can't emerge. no matter what he does no matter the time that passes she is always there in the back of his mind #a reminder of the first time he failed to protect someone else. #a reminder of his selfishness. his inability to follow through on promises. of his powerlessness. his uselessness.

#in tbotl he finds out that nico doesn't care about him or his soul. he doesn't want percy dead. and percy is weirdly gutted by this #he needs nico to hate him and it freaks him out that nico doesn't. he's clearly upset but percy isn't centered in it the way you'd think. #nico has his own mission and percy is barely a side note in it and he's so bothered by that. it drives him up the wall #how selfish is it to be upset with someone for not hating you because you got their sister killed? #he hates himself so much. he wants to die so bad. but he can't. he has to keep going. for nico. for bianca. he doesn't have a choice

i love when i go insane in the tags. like yes bro speak more about percy's declining mental health and self-loathing

percy needs to be haunted by bianca's ghost more