#nicobirthdayevent2020

[spasmostar]

Simple Steps - Chapter 2

Now both on my AO3 and my ff.net account :)

If you want to participate, check out the prompts over at @solangeloweek :)

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Prompt: Character flaw/Special trait

TW: Depression, self-loathing, and internalised homophobia.

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Preview:

By mid-November, Nico had built up a routine. It grounded him and made him feel safer than ever before. All in all, things were going well. His skin was starting to look much better, his body looked less like the skeletons he raised, and he was dating Will Solace.

Still, as camp emptied out, Nico couldn’t help but have moments where there was a pit in his stomach, and his breaths felt hollow. His head seemed empty and his steps seemed heavy. He got tired doing nothing; sometimes it was even a struggle to get out of bed. He pushed on when he had those days. Kept himself much more occupied than he normally would because a storm would eventually brew in his mind. Static noise and fragments of thoughts. Flashes of things he didn’t want to think about, and vicious words he didn’t want to be his.

Pushing on made the tiredness worse. It made him irritated and unapproachable, and people looked at him with worry in their eyes. Pity and disgust. Those days, although not necessarily many, had gotten worse, and today was especially bad.

At 6:30 am, he was to wake for his morning jog. He decided to have a cheat day and told Will when he came knocking on his door to jog together. He didn’t wake until 7:45 am, fifteen minutes before breakfast. He threw on his clothes, but his body fought against him. Almost like it didn’t want to move, but he didn’t have a fever. He didn’t feel any different than he had yesterday where he’d been laughing at the campfire with Will and his siblings before bed. It just seemed like whatever warmth was in his body, whatever light feeling was in his head, was gone. Now his body seemed heavy and rigid. Almost like someone had tied sandbags to his limbs and filled his head with lead.

CONTINUE READING

[keiths-socks]

for it’s all we can fear

Prompt: Character Flaw

(note: i’m kinda . . . running? with? this? i’m reaching, that’s what i’m doing. it’s not reaaaalllyy a character flaw per se, but yk.)

Nico doesn’t realize it until the war is over.

Camp Half-blood is in the process of rebuilding, still; Nico, being the smallest one present (out of he, Percy, and Jason, at the time) had been sent to get a couple of ‘‘incredibly important ancient texts’‘ (or, Mr. D’s book collection) from under some rubble. It was easy enough, so Nico agreed.

He shouldn’t have.

The rubble had seemed to close in around him, making the air too thick to breathe and crushing Nico, slowly. Panic had overtaken him, and;

well, Will’s formal diagnosis is claustrophobia, worsened by his PTSD acting up from his time in the Jar.

Jason and Percy were sworn to secrecy, and it’s been two months since.

Nico looks disdainfully at the stain on the table, trying (and failing) for the eighth time to scrub it away. Everyone has chores at camp, and, being the only full-time member of the Hades cabin, it’s his own job to clean his table. Which sucks, because he barely even eats at it anyway, and he can’t even remember spilling something on the table as damn stubborn to get out as this spot is.

Nico sighs, hoping that there’s still some Extra Strength Dragon Spit in the supply closet.

He doesn’t like going in there as it is, but the heat of the Big House in summer worsens it, along with the fact that the closet locks from the outside.

He Definitely Does Not Shake when he goes in.

The closet is dark, but Nico’s been in darker. Casting a glace around and propping the door open with his foot, Nico finally spots the cleaner.

On the top shelf.

Nico curses his shortness, and tries to, futilely, reach for the bottle from where he’s at. Sweat makes his hair stick to the back of his neck, and Nico huffs in frustration.

Propping the door open with a stray bottle of bleach, Nico tries again to reach from the bottom of the shelf, and his fingers just barely graze the bottle.

More than frustrated, now, Nico pulls up a wobbly stool and tries again. Almost, almost, almost-

The stool breaks.

At that moment, the bottle falls on Nico’s head, and the near-empty bleach bottle rolls away. Stars pop behind Nico’s eyes, and he prays that he imagines the slam behind him as he sprawls on the floor.

Nico groans as he sits up, and, no, his eyes aren’t playing tricks on him, the light from the open door is no longer there. Meaning that . . .

gods, no. The door is closed.

Panic is immediate. The closet is hot as it is, but it feels worse and Nico breathes it in. Breath’s come quick and short, walls already closing in. Nico pushes himself against the back shelves and tries to calm down.

He can’t.

Soft noises, next. Quick, panicky whimpers that Nico doesn’t have the mind to be ashamed of. Sweat drips down his back, and the walls are closing in he can’t breathe and oh gods he’s dying he’s dying too much he can’t breathe-

‘‘Nico!’‘

Nico barely registers his name, and he prays it’s not them. Gods, he’s dying, he’s dehydrated, he’s starving, he can’t breathe and this is how he’s going to die. He’s going to die in this Jar and nobody’s coming to save him-

Light floods the closet, and Nico tries to curl further into himself, flinching away. Voices swirl around him, and something begins to wrap his arms around him.

‘‘No!’‘ He screams, flailing, trying to get away. ‘‘Please, please, no!’‘

nonononononononononono not again can’t happen again can’t do this again-

His hair is pushed away from his face, and the cool, wet edge of a water bottle is pressed against his lips. Water, it’s water, and he relaxes a fraction, letting himself drink greedily before it gets taken away, water dripping down his chin.

‘‘Nico,’‘ It’s soft, sweet, unlike the gruff, mean rasp of the giant’s. Nico lets himself fall back into arms, an instinct to trust taking over. ‘‘Nico, baby, hey, hey, hey, you’re okay, it’s okay. I’m Will, remember? We’re at Camp Half-blood, in the Big House.’‘

The fog lifts from Nico’s eyes, and Will’s face looms over him, catching gold in the sunlight. Nico blinks.

‘‘ . . . Will,’‘ His voice is hoarse, like he’s been screaming. Will nods, frown pinching his eyebrows together.

‘‘Yeah, that’s me. You back?’‘ Will brushes a cool hand over Nico’s sweaty forehead, running a hand up and down his back. Nico nods.

‘‘’m’sorry,’’ Nico’s exhausted, adrenaline high ebbing and hands shaking from where they’re curled in Will’s shirt. Will shakes his head.

‘‘Nothing to be sorry about. Do you wanna head back to your cabin?’‘ Nico shakes his head. The Hades cabin is unbearable in summer, and the idea of dark is terrifying right now.

Will bites at his lip. ‘‘Wanna lie down in the infirmary, for a little bit? I can stay with you.’‘ Nico nods again. Will smiles.

‘‘I think that’s doable.’’

-

????

[spasmostar]

Simple Steps - Chapter 4

Day 4: What is home?

Find the prompts here :)

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Preview:

“Hey Nico!”

The voice was familiar, and for a moment, Nico thought his ears had deceived him. First of all, because the communication at camp was starting to go haywire, and second of all, because the owner of the voice should really be studying, unless he wanted to face the wrath of his girlfriend.

Nico turned around and found that, no, he had not heard wrong. Standing by the big house was none other than Percy Jackson. He was wrapped in a comfortable looking jacket, painfully reminding Nico he only had a decently warm zip-up hoodie to keep him warm in the chilly December weather. He should really look into getting a new jacket as soon as possible.

“Shouldn’t you be studying to get into University, Jackson?” Percy looked forlorn and Nico raised an eyebrow. “Does Annabeth even know you’re here?”

Percy’s smile stretched. “Of course she does. She’s here with me.”

This had Nico almost short circuiting. “No way. Last I heard she was spending all of her energy on her own studies and bullying you into studying just as hard.”

“I’m bullying him now?” Nico turned around, met with a raised eyebrow and an amused smile. “Hi Nico.”

“Hey, Annabeth.” Nico tried for a smile. It was much easier today. “A day off. What gives?”

Annabeth shifted and exchanged a worried look with Percy. “We haven’t been able to contact anyone lately. We were getting a bit nervous about it, so we came to ask Chiron if he knew anything about it.”

KEEP READING

[spasmostar]

Simple Steps - Chapter 5

The final chapter of my Nico birthday fanfic. I know it’sn late, but I’m quite happy with it :)

Even though the event is over, you might still get inspired by the prompts :)

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Day 5:  Happy birthday!

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The rest of December passed without much of a hitch. Of course, Nico had a terrible day on the anniversary of Bianca’s death, but with his friends around him to help him through the day, it didn’t feel as hopeless and empty as usual. Even if his gut felt hollow and all of him was cold, and even though he dropped the temperature around him, people still included him without commenting on it. They treated him the same, and gave him space when he needed it, and let him talk as much or as little as he wanted about Bianca, and her life and her death.

By the end of December, just a few days before New Year’s Eve, Chiron gave them news on the communication situation and let them know the oracles were out of commission as well, cementing how connected this was to Apollo’s disappearance.  It definitely dampened the mood before and during New Year’s Eve, although they did their best to keep it light-hearted enough. Sherman Yang’s poor attempt at that sounded like something Nico might have once said himself: It can’t get any worse than this.

New Year’s Eve passed, and the new year started. Cold and dark, with campers who felt unsure and slightly unsafe but still filled the day with activities for some semblance of normalcy. It was odd to navigate in camp like that when it was usually more lively, especially when Nico’s mood got very affected by it, and the returning sad and bad thoughts about this never being a home got harder to fight with unhappy campers around him. But he tried, as much as he knew everyone else around him did.

CONTINUE READING

[spasmostar]

Simple Steps - Chapter 3

Late update, but I’m glad I could find the energy for it :)

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Prompt: Past/Future

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Preview:

By late November it had gotten colder, but Nico still enjoyed being outside despite the chill. The grass was often dewy from the lower temperatures or the night’s frost, so Nico had brought a blanket to sit on by the lake. Will had a day off, and Nico felt like taking him out to the lake to just enjoy the view and enjoy the serenity.

The sun hung low on the sky, hidden behind clouds. The horizon was painted in soft purple and indigo hues. Will leaned against Nico with closed eyes, humming lowly to himself. It didn’t sound as bad as Will claimed it did, but since Nico knew Will wasn’t particularly confident in his musical abilities, it made him feel warm and happy that Will trusted him enough to be comfortable with humming around him.

They had shared a handful of life stories, worries, and insecurities between them, and grown closer. When in public, they mostly showed affection by playfully bickering, and Nico still marvelled at the level of comfort and ease he had around Will Solace. He never knew, or thought, he could have this.

“I want to tell you about my childhood.” Nico hadn’t realised what he was saying until it was out there; hanging in the air between them.CONTINUE READING