Chapter Text
The campgrounds were almost unrecognizable. Linen drapery hung across the entire area between the cabins, forming a large, flowy tent. Grecian couches in all colours formed various circles on the sides. Olive branches and other greenery decorated the large poles keeping up the whole facade. Even the mounted boar’s head guarding the Ares cabin was dressed for the occasion, wearing a neat little top hat.
The silenus, possibly even the Silenus, manning the DJ booth at the far end was already so drunk he was practically sprawled out over the turntables. Nymphs raved to the heavy beat and random scratches under the flute music, adorning guests with wreaths and coaxing them to join. Satyrs with bowties skipped among the hustle and bustle, juggling bottles and fruits.
Demigods of all ages mingled in cheerful chatter. As age increased, the number of limbs and eyes steadily declined. Nico scanned all faces carefully, looking for a familiar one.
“Are you in there?” Logan whispered in his ear, cutting him off on his trail of thoughts.
“No” Nico replied dryly, swatting at his ear. He sighed. “It’s just… I'm kinda hoping we don't run into…” he stopped.
Logan narrowed his eyes. “Will? I thought you told me you guys made up?” he asked. He glanced around.
The nymph next to him froze. She pulled back her wreath to hide from his fiery scowl and backed away.
Nico shook his head. “No, not Will. Nevermind”.
Logan narrowed his eyes further, puzzling so hard Nico could almost feel it. “Jackson? But, you're friends right?”.
Nico closed his eyes and sighed. “It's complicated”. He waved it away with his hand, hoping he'd let it go. He didn't know why he hoped that, of course he wasn't going to let it go.
“Everything about you is always complicated. You manage pretty well, anyway. Why make a big deal out of this one?”.
Nico clenched his eyes shut harder. No more waving, he straight up stabbed the air a few times. “I'm not making a big deal out of it! I'm just hoping-!”.
He stopped himself and opened his eyes. Another nymph hurried away, wreath under her arm.
“Alright, it's just… I've been a massive asshole to him, just a few times too many…” he explained quietly.
“Oh? Are you meaner to him than you are to me? Should I be worried?” Logan pried.
Nico bit his lower lip in annoyance. “Believe me, no one compares to you. You bring out the very worst in me…”.
Logan looked pleased with himself. “So, what's the big deal? He'd probably like to hear from you”.
Nico felt the annoyance build up further. “I'm not gonna talk to him…!”.
Logan side-eyed him. “Let me guess. You're too emo to deal with all your ‘love him or hate him’ feelings, so you're just avoiding him?”.
Yeah… Pretty much… Nico shot him a defeated look. “Sue me”.
Logan returned a reassuring smile. “Look, I get that the context makes it one hell of a mindfuck, but… There's definitely worse ways to find out you're gay than Jackson, right? He's objectively cool” Logan weighed.
Nico thought about it. True. But, that was kinda the point, the ‘context’ was hard to ignore. “Why? Is your gay origin story worse?” he asked.
Logan laughed quietly to himself. “No way. Can't top yours. Nobody died in mine…”. He seemed a little lost in thought. “Guess my weird feelings for the red Ninja Turtle back when I was six don't count, right?”.
Nico huffed. He hoped not… He wasn't exactly dying to share his childhood fascination with the Ares Mythomagic figurine. For many reasons. “No, not good enough” he declared.
Logan thought about it a bit longer. A smile crept over his face. “There was this handsome asshole in middle school. Typical bully. Always picking on me for the way I dressed. That sort of impressed me. Most people didn't dare. He started hitting me at some point, I started hitting on him... Once he caught on, he left me alone right away” he snickered.
Nico smiled. Whatever he'd been expecting, it should have been this. Anyway, nobody died, but still, complicated enough. He got him now. “And if you saw that guy now you'd be happy to catch up with him?” he asked accusatorily. As he said it he immediately realized that, yeah… He probably would.
Logan looked at him like he was stupid. “Yeah! Maybe he could punch me in the face, for old times sake” he said, only barely joking.
“You're proving my point here. You're definitely the weird one this time” Nico concluded.
Logan pursed his lips. “Fine. Maybe”. He nudged him, then made his way into the crowd.
Nico debated staying put. Maybe he could hide behind a tree until the reunion was over? He groaned, then followed after him.
Yan brightened up when she saw them. The young man in the smart looking polo shirt standing next to her looked horrified as she jumped into Logan's arms.
“Hey, guys!” she said excitedly, dropping back onto her feet. “This is my boyfriend” she said with exaggerated heaviness, carefully readjusting her wreath.
Her boyfriend looked as pissed off as he did terrified while he shook Logan's hand.
Logan gave him a bright smile, maybe as a small peace offering. “Hey, Logan” he stated.
“Yeah, I was afraid so. Hey, Richard” Richard offered in return. The joking tone he tried to put on did not mask the bitterness in it one bit.
Logan’s smile widened a little, a mischievous spark flickered through his eyes. “Funny! I actually already thought you looked like a Dick” he said casually.
Nico and Yan elbowed him from both sides.
“Ha, yeah… I prefer Richard…” he replied, not even trying to hide the bitterness this time.
Nico pulled Logan against him, ready for the Sisyphian task of keeping him out of trouble. Logan immediately put an arm around him, way lower than he was supposed to…
“Nico, Logan's handler” Nico offered. He swatted Logan's hand away before he could travel down even further and reached out to Richard.
“Oh…!” Richard let out. He lit up immediately, smiling brightly. He gave Nico's hand a transparently firm shake. “Great to meet you!” he said loudly.
Yeah, a great relief I bet… Nico smiled back, not fully able to suppress a mean little edge in the corner of his mouth.
Yan clung onto Richard’s arm, smiling nervously. “Hey, so… Want to hear something fun? Richard speaks Italian!”.
Nico perked up. Interesting?
Before he could say anything, Richard snorted. “Well I am Italian, baby” he reiterated, smugly amused.
Nico gave him an inquisitive look. “Ah sì? Da quale parte d'Italia vieni?”.
Richard's eyes went wide for a second. He immediately regained his composure, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Sì, sì… Nonna, uh, bene…”.
Nico nodded slowly. “Molto interessante…”. Another, much sharper edge curled at the corner of his mouth. He glanced over at Yan, looking up at Richard with clear adoration, and obviously clueless when it came to Italian… He looked back at Richard's forced polite smile. Guess it's your lucky day, Casanova. “Let's just stick to English. For the others…” he offered.
Richard nodded, pretending to have the option to even consider it. “Right, right…”.
Logan cocked his head. For a second Nico was afraid he’d caught on somehow. If he had, there was no way he’d keep quiet about it. Nico was sure about that… If he had, he proved Nico wrong.
“I heard you also study art history. I bet that comes in handy”.
Richard shrugged casually. “Yeah, well… Mostly for the dusty stuff. I’m more into contemporary, underground art”.
The rest of the conversation steered towards various artists with very complicated sounding names. Nico had never heard of any of them, and frankly didn’t manage to muster up much interest.
After what felt like a lecture, Richard excused himself. Nico took a last look at Richard’s relieved face as he disappeared into the crowd.
“Lo…?” Yan started carefully. “What do you think?”.
Oof.
Logan shot him a mildly nervous look. Nico returned one.
Logan took in a breath, ready to face her. “Yeah, cute name… Artsy, smart... And he seems a little… How should I say this… Insecure?”.
Yan managed to look angry and embarrassed at the same time. She pouted. “He’s not usually like that! And… I really like him” she said a little desperately, almost pleading.
Logan gave her a genuine smile, putting up his hands. “That’s all I care about”. He reached out his hands.
She smiled through her pout as she pressed herself against him.
“I’ll try harder…” Logan offered.
She squeezed him, then gave Nico a questioning look. The same one she’d given Logan just moments ago.
“I’m not getting mixed up in this” he warned, leaning away a bit.
Yan sighed. “Why can’t relationships be easy?” she complained, letting her head fall back dramatically. “I’m going to say hi to Kayla and Austin” she followed up, still a little grumbly.
“Have fun, buddy”. Logan tugged onto a strand of her hair.
With a hint of a smile, she returned Nico’s short wave goodbye.
Logan shifted uncomfortably next to him. “People can learn to love each other, right?” he asked.
Nico took a deep breath. When it came to Richard? There were many impossible things in this world that he doubted less… But, who was he to make this harder for everyone? Hell, he depended more than anyone on people not holding on to first impressions…
“Sure” he hoped out loud. “And even if they can’t, at least they can learn to speak Italian…” he muttered through the sharp edge in the corner of his mouth.
Logan shifted again, all in frustration this time. “I fucking knew it…”.
“I don’t think we should tell her. She’s clearly crazy about him” Nico urged.
Logan gave him an agonizing look. “I have to”.
“No you don't” Nico assured.
Logan scowled, opening his mouth to protest.
“No, no…” Nico interjected, waving his hands. “I mean, I'll do it”.
Logan smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Spooky” he muttered with an affectionate jab in the upper arm. “You’re the best”.
Nico smiled faintly, hoping Yan would agree enough not to downright hate him after spilling tea all over her boyfriend…
Loud laughter pulled his eyes onto a tall young man in the centre of a large group. Though not quite as young as he remembered, the messy jet-black hair and pretty sea green eyes left no doubt just exactly who he was. He proudly held up a baby, short blonde curls with sea green eyes. The infant squeaked in glee as he blew a raspberry on its tummy.
“I’m going to find Yan” Nico threw over his shoulder, going the opposite direction. He didn’t hear a response, over the sound of his heartbeat in his ears.
It took him a while to find her. In fact, since he couldn’t really focus on looking, it was her who found him.
Yan grasped his wrist. “Hey!” she chimed, pulling him to a stop. She looked him over. “Are you okay?”.
“Yeah!” Nico assured, trying to forget the first predicament so he could brace for the next one. “But, uh. Yan, I need to tell you something…”.
Yan’s expression turned serious. “Well, first I need to tell you something”. She turned deadly serious. “If you hurt him again, I'll kill you…”. She put up three fingers. “Three arrows”. Her finger went down from her eye, to her heart, to her… Oh.
Nico put up his hands in surrender. “Yan, I promise. If I do, you won't even have to. I'll do it for you”.
She pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips in contemplation. “Okay. Good!”. She clapped her hands excitedly. “Aaah! I'm so excited for you guys! And now that that's out of the way…!”. She stopped herself, put up her hands and shook her head.
“What?” Nico asked.
Yan's lips curled into an evil little smirk. “Nooo… It's just, uh…”. She inspected her nails, pouting smugly. “Called it… You liar”.
Nico sighed a sigh fit for theatre. “Yeah, yeah. You're a genius. I didn't even mean to lie. You just knew before I did…”.
Yan cupped her ear. “Wait, I didn't catch that. What did you just call me?”.
Nico snorted, leaning in. “This is beneath you, genius” he scolded. “And just so you know, we call you that all the time behind your back” he added with feigned venom.
Yan cocked her head, clearly touched. “You do?”.
Nico half smiled. “Well, in our defense, It's true”. His half smile filled out. “So… Is that why you asked if I was coming? So you could threaten me and gloat?”.
“No!” Yan screeched in offense. “I missed you!”.
“Sorry, I know that” Nico chuckled. “I missed you too. Seriously, it’s your fault I showed up here…”.
Yan smirked proudly. “So, what did you need to tell me?”.
Shit. Time to ruin the moment. “Right” Nico started strongly. “About Richard…” he went on much much weaker. Man, he hated doing this to her…
Yan shifted a little nervously. “Hm?”.
Nico followed her example, twisting his ring a few times. “Here’s the thing. His Italian… It’s, uh”. He wagged his hand at her a few times, trying to come up with the right words. “Well, it’s dogshit…” he offered in the palm of his hand.
Yan popped her lips, nodding slowly. A bright pink blush seeped into her cheeks. She glanced up at him. “Does Lo know?”.
Nico sucked in his lips.
Yan deflated, almost letting her shoulders drop to the ground. “Noooo~! He already doesn’t like him…” she groaned.
“Well… But, he didn’t use to like me either, right?” Nico countered.
Yan pursed her lips as high as she could, the corners of her mouth twitched into the smallest little smile. “Nico, I swear to the Gods, if Lo steals my boyfriend… I’ll rub those words in your face every single day for the rest of your life”.
Nico put a hand over his heart. “Ha! Sure! Yan, I promise. If Logan runs off with Richard I’ll marry you right then and there”.
Despite the scathing sarcasm, he truly meant it. One of the easiest promises he’d ever made. After all… He might as well promise to never become a pug breeder.
Yan cupped his cheeks, throwing her head back dramatically. “Oh! That’s the most romantic thing anyone’s ever said to me~!”.
She puckered her lips at him, pretending to go in for a kiss. Nico squeezed them between his fingers. She laughed through his grip.
Nico noticed a young woman walk up to Logan and greet him excitedly. He seemed happy to see her too. She hugged him. He hugged her back. They must know each other, Nico reckoned.
Nico smiled to himself. He was happy he wasn't a jealous person, because this young woman was particularly beautiful, her smile especially. She seemed to be doing that a lot, smiling. That made sense. Logan was kind of a sociable person in his own way, they probably had a lot of catching up to do.
With the alleged amount of Logan's previous escapades it wouldn't be healthy to worry about it anyway. And he didn't, he trusted Logan completely… She leaned in to Logan and whispered something in his ear. He seemed happy to hear it.
Nico decided to go introduce himself. He turned to Yan, gesturing at them. “I'm just going to…”. Her knowing grin pulled him out of his facade. “Yeah, shut up…” he huffed as he walked off.
He moved to Logan's side casually, put his hand on his chin, turned him to him and gave him a quick kiss. Just slightly harder than he'd actually meant to.
Logan seemed a little surprised but almost instantly regained himself. “Speak of the devil!” he chuckled. He pulled Nico against his shoulder and gestured at him with his other hand. “So this is Nico” he said proudly.
Nico felt his face heat up.
The woman smiled her beautiful smile at him. “Hi! I'm Kim! An old friend of Logan” she said cheerfully.
Nico stuck up a hand. “Hi, nice to meet you!”. Now that he had Logan's arm around him, he meant it. He was so distracted by that arm, in fact, that the rest of the conversation was kind of a blur. Kim seemed nice though.
She leaned in a bit, looking at Logan intently. “There's some other people I have to tell” she said in a hush tone.
Logan smiled back at her. “Yeah! I bet! It was great to see you, Kim” he said warmly. “Tons of luck” he added.
She smiled, looked at Nico and seemed to mull something over. She quickly flashed a ring with a very promising, sparkly rock on her finger. She signaled to keep quiet, and winked. Nico smiled widely and stuck up a thumb. Kim sped off.
“She seems nice” Nico declared.
“Oh, she is. She's great” Logan replied “I'm happy for her!” he added with a smile.
Nico looked at him for a second. “Old friend?” he asked.
“Yep” Logan replied with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“Lucky you” Nico said, trying to sound sly.
Logan narrowed his eyes a little. “... Are you… Jealous?” he asked apprehensively.
Nico kept a poker face, the heat in his cheeks started melting it. He looked away, making Logan laugh.
“Oh, Gods. You're giving me so much ammo here” he teased.
Nico turned around with a painful look before he could stop himself, visibly stunning Logan.
“Hey, I'm sorry” Logan started. Nico hated how serious he sounded. “I won't go there” he assured, throwing up his hands. His eyes quickly darted to a few women scattered among the crowd, his fingers rapping against his arm.
Nico sighed. That poor sweet moron. “No, I'm sorry. I wish I wasn’t this weak” he sighed. A genuine smile took some of the weight off of his words.
Logan smiled back. “Right, weak is probably the last word I'd use to describe you” he said, slapping Nico on the shoulder.
Nico inhaled deeply. “Just so you know, I'm fine with everything and everyone from your past. I'm also glad you all still get along. It's even fine if you talk about it, I'm happy you do actually… But please just don't use it to mess with me. That's all”.
Logan nodded. “Promise”. He grinned, staring at Nico for a bit.
“What?” Nico asked warily.
“Just proud of you” Logan shrugged. “Confronting people, sharing and setting healthy boundaries” he said with some exaggeration, nodding along. He held out a fist for a fistbump.
Nico closed his eyes in annoyance and took a deep breath. He quickly nudged his fist with his to get it over with. “Yan took it pretty well, by the way. We might be getting married next summer”.
“Good!” Logan said brightly. “Am I invited?”
“Only if you take Richard” Nico told him sternly.
“Pass” Logan scoffed, all brightness out of his smile.
Nico held up his hand and clenched his fist dramatically. He hissed in feigned disappointment. “Guess we’ll have to cancel the wedding…”
Yan wedged herself between their elbows. She glanced up at each of them, mild concern in her smile. “What’s this about cancelled weddings? Are you guys okay?”.
“Just scaring away some ex-girlfriends” Nico assured, gesturing at Kim jumping for joy alongside another young woman.
“Exes? Kim? No~! She was Logan's first kiss. They were like… Thirteen” Yan said reassuringly.
Nico grinned. “She's the one you cut up with your braces?” he asked, turning to Logan.
“Yep, and she didn’t even care! What a trooper…” Logan said fondly.
Yan giggled. “Yeah, just like every other girl that dared to kiss you!”.
“Ha!” Logan scoffed. “What about all the poor guys that you made sit through hours of improv theatre?”.
“You can't talk to me that way! I supported you even with your stupid tongue piercing!” Yan complained, poking him…
Logan shot her a menacing grin. “That's nothing! I stuck with you through your whole ‘scene’ era. Even during the crimped, racoon tail sidebangs!”.
Panic shone through Yan's pokerface. “Those were iconic. You were so honored to witness that”.
Logan's grin turned straight evil. “Okay then! Let's honor everyone else too. I still have the pictures”. He took his phone out of his pocket and went to work.
Yan grimaced and clamped onto him, desperately clawing at his phone.
He held it up, slightly out of reach. “You really thought I'd let you destroy all evidence?! These are going to be passed on for centuries!”.
Nico took a step back just to be safe…
Yan jumped up as high as she could a few times, gave up and climbed onto Logan. She aggressively shoved her hand in his face and pushed herself upward, grabbing the phone. “Ha!” she wheezed out, dropping herself onto the ground. They watched her run off, laughing maniacally.
“Does she have your code?” Nico asked.
Logan shoved his hands into his pockets. “Yeah” he said, suspiciously unbothered. “But, she has no idea how many backups I have”. The evil grin returned to his face.
Nico looked at Yan squatting behind a couch in the distance, feverishly at work on the phone. Poor thing…
They weren’t the only ones watching her. Nico looked away from her to glance aside the same time Will did, meeting his eyes.
Oh. “Hi…!” Nico greeted awkwardly. He gestured to Logan. “So, uh… You've met at camp before, right?” he asked nervously.
The air was tense. Will glared at Logan. Logan smirked demonically and walked closer. A little too close. Way too close. He stopped right in front of his face.
“Logan…” Will spat.
“Will… Long time no see” Logan mused. He grabbed Will's shirt right below his neck.
“Not long enough” Will responded, unsheathing a dagger.
“Woahah! Hold on!” Nico stammered, throwing up his hands.
Will and Logan broke eye contact and burst out laughing. Logan slapped Will on the shoulder amicabally, almost knocking him over. He grinned widely and turned to Nico. “You should have seen your face”.
Will smiled at Nico, rubbing his shoulder. “We talked earlier, we figured we'd play a little prank on you” he said apologetically.
Nico was at a loss for words, too relieved to think straight. Then he got his nerve back. “You guys are the worst. No wonder I dumped both of you” he quipped.
Will pursed his lips “That was a mutual decision!”. A tone of hurt rang through his voice.
Logan turned to Will. “He broke up with me through a piece of paper” he said with distaste.
“No way!” Will said in disbelief. He gave Nico an astonished look. “You didn't tell me that when you came crying to me that night!”.
Crap! His attempt at getting back at them was backfiring spectacularly.
Logan looked at Nico, then at Will. It seemed to hit him. “Right! You're the one that got him to come crawling back to me!” he said excitedly.
“Darn right!” Will responded with glee.
They gave each other a high five.
“Alright, alright!” Nico said, putting his hands up. “You two are getting way too chummy”.
Will put his hands in his sides, pleased with his results. “So” he started. “How’s Aphrodite’s mission going?”
Nico took a deep breath. He sighed out his entire answer.
A thick bunch of brown curls on a tall frame stuck out above the other heads. Nico’s suspicion was confirmed when two cold grey eyes found his. Amira marched right over. People instinctively made way.
“Hello” she greeted. “Good to see you” she added with a faint smile to both of them.
“You too” Nico replied with a smile. “How are you doing?”.
“Still alive” she reported. “How about you two?”.
“Same” Logan returned.
Nico shrugged in agreement. Amira nodded. They stared at each other in silence… They kept staring. In silence. Nico sucked in his lips, not nearly as comfortable as Logan or Amira seemed with the awkwardness.
Amira turned all her apathy to Logan. “Megan asked how you were doing. She seemed nervous”.
Logan cocked his head. “Megan? Nervous…? I mean, I'm not great, but that's got fuck all to do with her. I haven't seen her in ages. How is she doing?”.
Amira’s eyebrows lowered a notch. “I don't know. Busy, she told me”.
Aha… Even the awkwardness itself fell silent.
Yan stepped out of the crowd. They looked at her. Nico couldn’t tell if she was looking at them, her glasses were fully fogged up. Tears ran down her cheeks. She was obviously not alright.
“Are you alright, Yan?” Nico asked anyway.
“I broke up with Richard”. Her lip trembled.
“Oh…” they all responded.
Nico sucked in his lips and bit down. Shit! Why did he have to tell her…?! He looked at Amira. She looked as stoic as always. Yeah… No help there. Logan just frowned. Aha. Not much help either, then… Nico looked back at Yan. What do you even say…?
Not much apparently. Logan got up and stretched out his arms. Yan waddled into his embrace, burying her face in his chest. Logan picked her up and pressed her against him, putting his chin on the top of her head. “Now why'd you do that if you like him so much?” he asked.
Yan started sobbing, her legs dangling listlessly. “He ~ Cheated ~ On ~ Me” she hicced.
Oh… That fucking-!
Logan's expression went dark, a low burning fire in his eyes. “Did he now…?” he growled.
Yan grasped at his back, holding him tightly.
“I'll rip his head off if you want” Logan grumbled, obviously not completely joking. “Or his nuts” he added, letting up a little, but still probably not joking as much as he should be.
Yan let out a wet sounding laugh.
Amira grabbed Nico's wrist and gestured to the other side of the tent. He nodded. They should probably give them some privacy, they weren't really helping. Amira stuck up a thumb to Logan. He gave them an apologetic wave.
Nico blew out all tension. Amira looked at him in stoic agreement. Nico didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t. Amira kept looking at him in even more stoic agreement.
“I’ll go and get Shane” Amira offered. She strutted off without even waiting for a reply.
Yeah. Alright. That would be a relief, actually. Amira and him didn’t really complement each other when it came to small talk he’d found out.
Nico waited. He waited faster. What’s taking Amira so long? His workplace is right there…! He stared at the dilapidated little hut off in the distance through a slit in the drapes.
The distance started shrinking.
Before he knew it, he’d knocked on the door. No response. Were they even there? He pushed on the doorhandle and let himself in.
He obviously wasn't supposed to.
Amira and Shane pulled their faces apart to look at him. She sat on top of him on his wonky deskchair, straddling him between her thighs. Shane's shirt was up to his chin. Amira's hair was a mess. She raised two thin eyebrows in just a hint of surprise and firmly grasped the top of her blouse, pulling it closed. Shane quickly moved his hands off her hips, hiding his nipples under them.
Nobody said anything. Nobody kept saying anything.
“I'll wait outside” Nico croaked out. He took a step back and shut the door so quickly he almost slammed it in his own face.
Amira came out, her blouse buttoned up like nothing happened. “I’m sorry. I got sidetracked” she offered flatly.
“Yeah…” I noticed. Nico almost couldn't keep a straight face. “Uh… Sorry for barging in on…” his hands tried to finish the sentence, then gave up.
Amira seemed unfazed. When Nico didn't continue, she did. “I like them happy and easygoing” she stated. “Much more obedient”.
Nico sucked in his lips. “You really don't have to explain…”.
Amira nodded. “We’ll be right over. We still have to sanitize the-”.
“Yeah, cool!” Nico quickly interrupted with a dismissive gesture. He closed his eyes trying to shield himself from the mental image of whatever mess they might have to clean. He walked off.
Yan’s still puffy face greeted him with moist, pink surprise, waiting where he’d stood only minutes ago. Gods was he jealous of Nico from minutes ago….
“You look like you've seen an eidolon!” Yan chirped hoarsely out from under Logan’s arm.
Nico snorted. “I fucking wish! I saw something much worse. I saw Shane and Amira… Doing it…”.
He got two puzzled looks back.
“Them…?” Logan asked.
Yan wasn’t as good at these types of puzzles. “Doing what?”.
They both looked at her, she looked at both of them.
“... It” Nico reiterated.
Logan's dirty grin seemed to help her find the final piece. “Oh! Oh, ew! Are you serious?!”. Another tear ran down her disgusted expression.
Logan pushed her back onto the couch behind her. She curled up on it, lifting her cheek on his lap when he sat down next to her. Nico carefully dropped down on the other side.
Shane’s awkward grin appeared in the slit in the drapes. It turned even more awkward when he took in Yan’s lack of composure. He stopped and quickly glanced at Nico for answers, raising his eyebrows. Nico slowly shook his head. Don’t ask, he projected into him with his eyes. Shane held up a hand in quiet understanding and pushed himself up on the back of the opposite couch. He lost a shoe halfway through his barrel roll over it. The couch wheezed loudly with his landing.
Amira marched in and set herself down next to him. She turned sideways and stretched out her legs, firmly placing her feet in Shane's lap.
Everyone stared at her.
She rested her cheek on her hand, gazing over them with an extra sharp eyebrow. “I know all of you know by now”.
Shane leaned back, resting the back of his head against his hands. He gave them a proud smile. “Go on, congratulate me” he said, beckoning them with a hand. He took a pair of sunglasses out of his back pocket and slowly put them on, letting out a low, smug laugh all the while. It would have looked more impressive if one of the lenses hadn't fallen out…
Amira put a foot under his chin, nudging him in a clear warning. Shane shut up immediately.
“So… You two?” Logan asked with a grin.
Shane grinned back at him. “She likes that I'm good at following instructions” he shrugged. “And I like being told how much she likes that” he added with a dirty grin. He sat up straight. Then moved his hand down in front of his face, revealing a stoic expression, one raised eyebrow and his lips in a straight line. “Very good” he stated without any emotion.
They all burst out laughing.
Even Amira’s usually cold grey eyes showed a glint of amusement. “The ‘very’ is an embellishment, and you’ll have to work extra hard next time” she stated, pulling her feet off of him and hugging her knees.
Yan crossed her arms and dropped down on the couch between them, pushing them further apart. “I can't believe you guys are making me a fifth wheel… I've been around the longest! I'm the glue!” she huffed.
Amira gave her a stern look over. “What are you talking about? Shane and I are not together, he is just my sexual partner” she stated.
Shane reiterated her words with a nod and a shrug.
“Yes, but still…” Yan said disapprovingly.
“You're free to join” Amira offered without any emotion.
Shane wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Yan's face turned to stone. “Actually, fifth wheeling is great… I'm really starting to like it” she replied breathlessly. She quickly got up from between them.
Logan pulled her into his lap. “You'll always be my favourite girl” he soothed.
She curled up against his shoulder and pouted.
Nico rubbed her knee apologetically. “Sorry, Yan…”.
She put her hand on his and smiled through her pout.
“So… since when?” Nico asked, turning back to Shane and Amira.
“The summer Shane left camp” Amira replied.
“No way! That’s more than two years ago!” Logan shouted.
“And-!” Yan started. “And…! You were still a huntress of Artemis back then…!?” she stammered.
Amira’s stoic expression turned a little cold. “Yes, they weren’t very happy about my reason to leave. But, in the end it was their choice. I would have stayed had they been more open minded”.
Yan looked at her in disbelief. “Shane is why you left the hunters?!”.
Amira shook her head. “No, them forcing me into arbitrary, lifelong vows as an uninformed child is why I left. I was eighteen when I joined, I barely knew anything about the world or even myself at that point. No, Shane was just a vehicle” she declared.
“Vroom! Vroom!” Shane interjected happily.
Amira continued, unbothered. “Besides, I still believe they stared themselves blind on a technicality. I swore off love. All of them interpret that as staying away from men altogether, and I respect that choice just fine, but I don’t agree with it. Ironically, they all just turned out to be a bunch of hopeless romantics who don’t see the difference between intimacy and physical needs. I saw no need to align myself with that anymore. Not that I was welcome to stay, after bringing up my concerns… Lady Artemis was very clear”.
Yan seemed lost. “You gave up your immortality for sex…? I can’t believe that’s why you left…”.
Logan shrugged. “I can”. Shane bent forward to give him a fist bump. “Wasn’t about you specifically, but sure bud..” Logan muttered. They couldn’t reach each other.
“Exactly. I’m a free woman. I can do with my body as I please” Amira reiterated. “I won’t give anyone that power over me. Not even lady Artemis”.
Logan gave her a reassuring smile. She responded with a nod.
“I can’t believe you guys kept this a secret for two years…” Yan complained.
Shane side-eyed Amira. “Don’t look at me. I wanted to send out a mass e-mail”.
She seemed unimpressed. “It has nothing to do with any of you. It made no sense to make a scene” she said firmly. “Not that I mind that you know. If any of you would have asked, I wouldn’t have lied” she added. “Well, It’s getting late. Good night everyone” she commanded. She lifted a foot and looked at Shane expectantly.
He held it and kissed the top of her ankle. She gave him a faint smile before straightening up and striding off.
“I'm just using you for sex!” Shane yelled after her.
The rest of them groaned.
“Shane! Gross!” Yan shouted at him, pressing her hands against her ears.
“I know… But, I can’t let her know how much power she has over me…” he muttered, still looking at the door. “Anyway, how lucky am I right?” he asked dreamily.
“You don’t mind that it’s casual?” Nico asked.
“Nuhuh. Totally cool with me. I ain’t stupid enough to try to wife that woman, but I sure ain’t stupid enough to turn her down either” Shane replied cheerfully, weighing two invisible options in his hands. “As Aristotle famously said, it’s all about finding the golden mean between the extremes”.
They all stared at him.
“I don’t know what’s more disturbing, you knowing literally anything about Aristotle, or you trying to use him to defend your weird situationship… Just… stop it…” Yan warned sternly.
Nico felt the corner of his mouth curl up a little, threatening to turn into a sharp little edge. “So… Pick up artist, what move did you use?” he asked threateningly casually.
As expected, Shane took the question completely seriously, visibly going over the events in his head. “Wouldn't know, actually. I’m not any good at these things… I've only romanced like, three people” he processed. “Glasses, Blondie, Mole butt…” he calculated on his fingers. “Yeah, three” he concluded.
Nico pursed his lips. “... And Amira, right?”.
Shane grinned. “Yeah, I counted her”.
Oh, Gods… Gross.
“Four. You forgot Lo” Yan corrected with a mean little smile.
Shane's grin died down. “No, I didn't forget him either…”.
Logan slowly turned to Yan, looking worried. “Please tell me you're not Glasses…?”.
“No~!” she screeched. “This fifth wheel is still rolling strong!” she added dramatically motioning her arms like train wheels.
Shane gave Nico a serious nod. “I get why you‘d think I would have more luck with the ladies. Me being in one of the hottest bands out there…”.
Nico didn’t even dare to ask.
Shane didn’t let that stop him. “You know? Skazon! The Hephaestus cabin Ska band! I play the trombone!” he explained proudly.
Yan looked at him in astonishment. “You know how to play the trombone?!”.
Shane looked at her like she was an idiot. “There's no such thing as knowing how to play the trombone, sweetie… You just blow it, if you know what I mean”. He wiggled his eyebrows, pursed his lips and jerked his hand towards his face a few times. Obviously miming… Playing the trombone.
Yan's face turned to stone.
“Besides, when it comes to good Ska, the only thing you really play is the fedora anyways. The rest is just filler” Shane explained further, his tone disturbingly serious all of a sudden. He got distracted by a satyr with a platter of mini hamburgers. “Murica!” he chanted loudly, punching the air. He swiped several before the satyr could escape.
“Shane, aren't you technically Polish?” Yan asked reluctantly. “As Polish as apple pie” Shane replied proudly, mouth full of hamburgers.
Nico saw a nervous young man walk up to them, eyes fixed on Yan. He knew that guy… He knew that polo shirt… Logan must have noticed too, because he got up to face him. The young man's eyes widened right before he made a sudden beeline for the bathroom.
“You owe her a pair of nuts, Dick!” Logan yelled after him.
Richard sped up his pace. Yan grabbed onto Logan's arm and pulled him back down.
“I wasn't going to do anything!” he hissed defensively.
Yan sighed, and shook her head. When she turned back to the conversation Nico could see a faint smile on her lips. It stayed there entire rest of the night.