the emotions or conduct of friends; the state of being friends

"Is that . . . is that blue birthday cake?"

Holy Hera.

He was in Percy's room, eating blue cake (yeah, he had to ask about that), with Percy grinning widely at him, sitting right next to him on the bed. Percy had invited him inside to get a slice of blue cake and introduced him to Sally (who almost made him cry with the amount of affection she was giving him, he hadn't felt so much love since Bianca). It turns out it was Percy's birthday, and Nico felt embarrassed for arriving out of nowhere and without a gift.

"I, um, sorry for not bringing a present. I didn't know."

"Hey, don't sweat it. But tell me what you think of the cake. Then you can tell me whatever it is you needed to say." Percy said, blue crumbs around his mouth, pointing at the plate in Nico's hand with his fork. Nico nodded.

The cake was moist, sweet and overall delicious. How long had it been since he had something so good and filling? It also smelled good.

Almost like Percy, he realized. Nico blushed. It's not that he went around smelling Percy, it was the son of Poseidon who always smelled like the ocean blended with the warm scent of a bakery. Not that he was complaining, it was a very homey aroma.

"So, how have you been these past months?" Percy asked.

"I had planned on finding more about my family but to no success." Nico admitted. It was true, he had been pestering Hades to reveal any information about his past. But his father hadn't said anything, and Nico was worried about pushing his luck with the impatient god. They desperately needed to work on their father-son relationship.

Nico felt unloved. He lost his sister and had come to terms with her death. But it still hurt, yet he knew it was the right thing to do. He had a father who hated him and a stepmother who despised Nico's very existence. It was horrible, but that just made the desire to have Percy as a friend much stronger. He would love to be with him, but he longed to be his friend even more.

"Don't worry, you'll find something. Heck, you want me to help, I'm here." Percy gave him a grin, and it took a lot of strength to fight the blush that was creeping up his cheeks and smile back at him.

"I, yeah. I'll keep it in mind,"

"Well, what's this thing you mentioned?" Percy asked. Oh, that.

"Yeah, as I was, you know, finding more about my family, I discovered something about Achilles."

"You mean the dude who died from an arrow in his heel?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Nico continued. "So you already know the story, he was basically invulnerable everywhere except his heel. It was his only point of weakness." Nico explained. He desperately hoped Percy wouldn't hate him for suggesting what he was about to bring up.

"Mhm." Percy hummed, mouth full of the sweet desert.

"And I thought that would help us with the war against Kronos," Percy was about to say something, but Nico beat him to it. "Yeah, you can become invincible too. According to myth, it's said that Achilles's mother, Thetis, dipped him in the River Styx holding him by the heel, and that's how he became invulnerable everywhere but his heel."

"Oh,"

"Yeah,"

"So you're saying, all I have to do is swim in this river? I mean, it sounds easy, but..."

"Yep, there's a but," Nico stated.

"The River Styx, I've seen it before, and let's say, it wasn't a pleasant view." Nico was surprised but didn't show it. He only heard small things about Percy's quests years ago, but none of them mentioned the River Styx. He was actually a bit shocked, he had assumed that Percy knew little of the dangers of that river, and to be completely honest, he had secretly hoped to impress Percy with all his knowledge.

"Wait a minute, is this how Luke prepared his body to host Kronos?" Nico's perspective on Percy changed. He knew that Percy outsmarted his enemies many times, but he still acted quite childish. But now, he was proving to be very observant and intelligent. Of course, he's still the most oblivious person in the world, Nico thought to himself.

"Yeah, I'm assuming this is how he did it."

"There are risks though right?"

There are always risks, Nico thought bitterly.

"Yes, you might not survive. This river, well, many people have tried swimming through it, and many don't make it." Why did he have to phrase it that way, Nico scolded himself. He didn't want to scare Percy, especially when this could be his only chance at survival. He didn't want him to...

No, don't finish that sentence.

The atmosphere was tense. Percy just sat there glumly. Nico was mentally panicking. Percy was going to hate him for bringing this up. He almost regretted telling him this, but no, Percy had to do this. It was his only chance against Kronos, he had to survive. Otherwise, Nico didn't want to think about it.

"Is this, is this our only chance at survival?"

Nico nodded.

"I don't know, I'll have to think about it." This slightly soothed Nico's nerves. Okay, he would think about it.

"Percy, please do so. This is your-I mean our only chance at winning." Like he said before, he had been looking for information on his past, but he had also spent a large portion of his time trying to find a way to protect Percy. He knew he shouldn't mess with prophecies but he also knew that Percy was meant to make a choice that either saved or doomed Olympus. This could mean his death. He couldn't care less about the gods, but Percy meant so much to him.

So he had set himself on a journey to find some way to protect him. And he found one. And he was going to take it if it meant Percy's survival.

Percy smiled at him. Nico hesitantly smiled back.

"I don't know if this is something I want to do, I'll definitely have to think about it. But thank you. With the war and school and just life in general, I haven't found the time to look after myself. Thank you Nico." Percy did something that surprised him. He stretched his arms out and wrapped them around Nico.

Nico tensed up. His arms were pinned to his sides from Percy's tight hug and it took a few seconds for him to realize what was happening. His face was flushed, but he slowly returned the hug. Nico hadn't been hugged in such a long time, he had to swallow the sob that was building in his throat.

"I-no problem,"