Room 313 | Tuesday Afternoon

[deaths_demigod]

Radio was a useful tool sometimes, offering warnings and reminding Nico that sometimes things didn't turn out as expected. Which was why he'd given his roommate just a little bit of space until he spotted him in class and well, people could say what they wanted about Nico, but he was no coward

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[trickydemigod]

Luke came in at some point in the afternoon after a session in the salle, Backbiter in tow. He barely spared Nico a glance at first but he was well aware that he was in the room. Luke had been grateful that he had been given space over the last few days but the time spent away from his cousin didn't make Luke forget just how pissed he was.

He didn't say anything at first when he came in, just put his sword aside and started shucking off his practice armor. He was trying to decide if ignoring his cousin was the way to go or if punching him in the face like he wanted to was a good idea.

[deaths_demigod]

Nico paused his game after a few moments, turning to check out the sword (yes, just the sword) and see if they were going to have that inevitable talk now or save it for later.

"It's good to have you back," he said finally. And it was true! Even if Luke wanted to kick his ass.

[trickydemigod]

"Really?" Luke said, tossing his armor aside. "Hiding from me is a weird way of showing that."

[deaths_demigod]

"After hearing you and Percy got into it first thing I figured you could use a day," Nico admitted, having thought that wasn't exactly a good sign.

[trickydemigod]

"Me and Percy aren't me and Percy anymore," Luke said, sounding like he was listing off a fact he had read from a book. "I'm gonna need you to stand up."

[deaths_demigod]

Oh yeah, this was not going to end well.

"Sorry to hear that." He got to his feet, managing not to say anything resembling how he'd called that way back when. "Are you gonna fight me now?"

[trickydemigod]

"You think you don't deserve it?" Luke didn't really wait for an answer to that question because, let's face it, he didn't really care.

He swung his fist towards Nico's face, using enough force to hurt him and to maybe make up for the punch he never got to deliver to Percy on Sunday.

[deaths_demigod]

The bad thing about trusting Luke was that Nico really wasn't prepared for that blow. At all.

But oh, the blood that exploded from Nico's mouth as Luke's fist knocked him off his feet and had him spitting what seemed to be part of a tooth on the floor. "Fucking...fuck!"

A human would probably have been knocked out entirely by that hit.

[trickydemigod]

Unfortunately for Nico, Luke had spent the last few weeks running the Princess Andromeda. Monsters needed a more forceful hand than demigods and the mindset had stuck. He barely flinched when he saw how much he had hurt Nico, though he was sorry about that bit of tooth.

"I suppose I don't need to tell you what that was for?" Luke said as he shook out his hand. He wasn't too worried about Nico. He was sure a demigod had felt worse.

[deaths_demigod]

"Yeah," Nico grunted, wiping the blood off his chin and feeling where his own teeth had split his lip. That gash inside his cheek was just gonna be bleeding a while.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything, Luke. But you can't say I didn't try!" He'd hit Percy in class; that counted in his mind.

[trickydemigod]

Luke rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, basically offering to help me kill my boyfriend was a great attempt at trying, Nico."

And since he had given Nico the punch he deserved, Luke decided to be kind (er) again and snapped his fingers to bring up a bag of ice to hand over to his cousin.

[deaths_demigod]

"I wasn't exactly looking at it that way," Nico answered, thankful for the ice even if he wasn't saying it as he lightly leaned his face against the accepted bag.

[trickydemigod]

"How were you looking at it then?" Luke asked. "Percy said the only reason you didn't say anything was because you don't think I can be anymore than this. Whatever that means. Pretty sure he meant it as an insult since he was going all suffering martyr on me by then."

[deaths_demigod]

Oh gods. "Dude, Percy has no idea what he's talking about. I mean, it's not like there isn't stuff I have to keep from him, too. I'm helping you because what you're doing needs to be done and you're the closest thing I have to family, gods!"

He felt like an idiot, but whatever, Percy didn't know what loss was like. At least not yet.

[trickydemigod]

"I am your family," Luke said quietly. He truly believed that, at least, and now Nico was the only family he had left.

Luke sat down on the edge of his bed and put his head in his hands. "I really had no idea it was gonna end up like that. I was so pissed that you two knew all along what I'd have to do."

[deaths_demigod]

"I'm sorry," Nico said again, readjusting the ice on his face and moving to lean against his bed. "I really am. I thought maybe Percy would warn you, but then I wondered if he was trying to test you or something. See if he made some difference."