The Sea Sprite of New Orleans (1/1)
Yeah, this is me, giving in to writing Percy Jackson fanfiction. Something longer than a drabble, I mean. Though it still isn't very long. *rolls eyes at self*
Title: The Sea Sprite of New Orleans
Fandom: the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series
Spoilers for: Titan's Curse, Battle of the Labyrinth, and Last Olympian. Or I could just make it easy and say the whole series.
Rating: PG-13? The f word is only said once...
Warnings: Cussing, angst, and brief mention of prostitution.
Pairings: Nico/OFC; one-sided Percy/Nico.
Summary: Nico, trying to distance himself from Percy, often shadow-travels to New Orleans. Why New Orleans? It's just his kind of town. On an evening of strolling in the French Quarter, he meets a girl he could easily fall in love with - but there's a slight problem.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
Nico wouldn’t call New Orleans his favorite city in the world - that would be New York City and it wasn't because Percy lived there - but it’s pretty damn close. The atmosphere sucked him in and that wasn’t surprising, considering the whole son of Hades thing. There was just something about the place, the filmy veil between this world and the Underworld that was somehow still thriving with life, that struck a chord in Nico and kept drawing him back like a moth to a flame. Annabeth suspected that it had something to do with his fascination of the macabre and constantly told him to stay away. But, as anyone who had ever met Nico di Angelo knew, he always had trouble doing what he was told. Then again, most half-bloods have that trait.
On the night of his fifteenth birthday, Nico once again found himself in New Orleans. He should have been at camp, safe inside the magical boundaries. He should have been in the newly-constructed Hades cabin, surrounded by his friends and presents. In fact, he had been - until Percy and Annabeth walked in the door and had looked perfectly happy together. It wasn’t like their relationship was new. They had been dating since they were sixteen and Nico was twelve. But something about that moment irked him so badly that he had wanted to scream. As soon as the others weren’t watching, Nico had retreated into the shadows and transported himself subconsciously to New Orleans’s French Quarter. And he was still there, aimlessly wandering the streets and wondering when his life had become a soap opera. Aphrodite was probably having a ball.
It wasn’t like he had asked to fall in love with Percy fucking Jackson. Five years ago, Nico could have sworn that he hated the boy. Except, that wasn’t exactly true. It wasn’t Percy Nico had hated - it was the situation and at times, himself. He hadn’t been happy with Bianca for dying and leaving him alone, either, but he tried to forget about that. No, hate hadn’t been what he’d felt for Percy. Annoyance? Sure, that was expected. Percy could be so incredibly dense sometimes (could have been killed by Geryon, but he just had to save the day) that it was hard not to be annoyed by him. Jealousy? Though he loathed to admit it, yes. Percy had everything Nico wanted - a loving parent, loyal friends, and a place to belong. But there was also the flip-side of that coin. Nico had felt some pity for Percy as well, because how had the boy managed to stand under all that pressure? Monsters and gods after his blood, name recognized by half-bloods everywhere, being told at such a young age that he would either be the savoir or destroyer of the modern world… It would have driven Nico crazy. Scratch that, it had driven Nico crazy. Percy hadn’t deserved that burden.
All right, so maybe Nico had been a little bit in love with Percy since the beginning.
"Are you lost?"
The voice was feminine and soft, yet in the silence of the night it had been as loud as a bullhorn to Nico. He spun around in surprise and nearly crashed into the girl who had spoken. She was about the same age as him, with long black hair and clear blue eyes. Her frame was petite and her skin was tan. She had her head tilted slightly as she waited for him to reply, the picture of patience, but her eyes betrayed her restlessness.
"No, I know where I am," Nico finally answered after observing all this. "I just don’t know where I want to go."
"Why did you come here in the first place?" the girl asked straight-forwardly, then winced as if realizing that it wasn’t her business. She didn’t rescind her question, though.
"I was angry and needed time to clear my head."
"I know a great place for thinking. Do you want me to take you there?"
The girl seemed nice enough, but Nico wasn’t a fool. Her clothes were old and tattered and there was a reason she was petite. He wasn’t about to be conned.
"No way," Nico scoffed, walking away from her without a backward glance.
Once he’d gone far enough, Nico found a nice patch of shadows and went back to his birthday party. The resulting shouting match between he and Percy made him wish he’d stayed with the girl.
* * *
"I was just going to take you to the beach, you know. I only work adults."
Nico was really getting tired of being snuck up on. What was the ADHD good for if it didn’t alert him to someone’s presence?
"Did you even move?!" Nico snapped at the girl, for she appeared to be in the same spot as three weeks prior.
"On occasion," she replied flatly, not amused by his hostility. "But this is my corner, so I near stray far."
It took a moment for that information, and her provocative change in wardrobe, to set in. Nico stared at her incredulously.
"But last time, your clothes-"
"You caught me on an off night."
"How old are-"
"Seventeen. Younger girls have done it."
He didn’t know what to say to that.
"If it were just me, I wouldn’t be doing this," the girl tried to explain, now looking slightly embarrassed. "But my best friend and I have been on our own for months and I can’t let her starve."
"Does she know?"
"Yes. She isn’t happy about it, but that’s never stopped me. I’ve been told I have a hero complex."
Nico felt his stomach flip at that, because oh. Black hair, blue eyes, tan skin, quick to anger and quick to forgive, hero complex… It would be just his luck that he’d run in to the female equivalent of Percy.
"What’s your name?" Nico asked, digging the hole deeper.
"Narissa Hess," she answered with mild surprise, noting his subtle change of attitude (he was looking very unsettled, because Narissa meant sea sprite in Greek). "Most people call me Isa."
"Is that beach offer still open?"
Isa’s eyes lit up and Nico had to remind himself to breathe.
* * *
She even loved the ocean like Percy did. But she loved the supernatural and jazz music and obscure fifteenth centuries poets, too, which was definitely not Percy’s style. Nico thought she might be perfect for him - and yet, she was completely wrong. In some fairy tale world, he might have fallen for her and lived happily ever after. But in reality? His love for Percy couldn’t fade that quickly and her similarities to the hero just made Nico ache for him more.
* * *
"Nico?"
"Yes, Percy?"
"Where have you been for the last month?"
"Three months, you mean."
"Huh?"
"Forget about it. I’m back now and I promise not to run off again."
"Good, because Annabeth was getting worried-"
"Shut up, Percy."
"But I was just-"
"Shut up, or I’ll stick a sword in your Achilles spot."
"…"
"That’s better."
-The End-
Author's Notes: Hm. I don't know if I like it or not. I probably should have elaborated on things more. Oh, well. That was just me getting the idea out of my system.
Title: The Sea Sprite of New Orleans
Fandom: the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series
Spoilers for: Titan's Curse, Battle of the Labyrinth, and Last Olympian. Or I could just make it easy and say the whole series.
Rating: PG-13? The f word is only said once...
Warnings: Cussing, angst, and brief mention of prostitution.
Pairings: Nico/OFC; one-sided Percy/Nico.
Summary: Nico, trying to distance himself from Percy, often shadow-travels to New Orleans. Why New Orleans? It's just his kind of town. On an evening of strolling in the French Quarter, he meets a girl he could easily fall in love with - but there's a slight problem.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
Nico wouldn’t call New Orleans his favorite city in the world - that would be New York City and it wasn't because Percy lived there - but it’s pretty damn close. The atmosphere sucked him in and that wasn’t surprising, considering the whole son of Hades thing. There was just something about the place, the filmy veil between this world and the Underworld that was somehow still thriving with life, that struck a chord in Nico and kept drawing him back like a moth to a flame. Annabeth suspected that it had something to do with his fascination of the macabre and constantly told him to stay away. But, as anyone who had ever met Nico di Angelo knew, he always had trouble doing what he was told. Then again, most half-bloods have that trait.
On the night of his fifteenth birthday, Nico once again found himself in New Orleans. He should have been at camp, safe inside the magical boundaries. He should have been in the newly-constructed Hades cabin, surrounded by his friends and presents. In fact, he had been - until Percy and Annabeth walked in the door and had looked perfectly happy together. It wasn’t like their relationship was new. They had been dating since they were sixteen and Nico was twelve. But something about that moment irked him so badly that he had wanted to scream. As soon as the others weren’t watching, Nico had retreated into the shadows and transported himself subconsciously to New Orleans’s French Quarter. And he was still there, aimlessly wandering the streets and wondering when his life had become a soap opera. Aphrodite was probably having a ball.
It wasn’t like he had asked to fall in love with Percy fucking Jackson. Five years ago, Nico could have sworn that he hated the boy. Except, that wasn’t exactly true. It wasn’t Percy Nico had hated - it was the situation and at times, himself. He hadn’t been happy with Bianca for dying and leaving him alone, either, but he tried to forget about that. No, hate hadn’t been what he’d felt for Percy. Annoyance? Sure, that was expected. Percy could be so incredibly dense sometimes (could have been killed by Geryon, but he just had to save the day) that it was hard not to be annoyed by him. Jealousy? Though he loathed to admit it, yes. Percy had everything Nico wanted - a loving parent, loyal friends, and a place to belong. But there was also the flip-side of that coin. Nico had felt some pity for Percy as well, because how had the boy managed to stand under all that pressure? Monsters and gods after his blood, name recognized by half-bloods everywhere, being told at such a young age that he would either be the savoir or destroyer of the modern world… It would have driven Nico crazy. Scratch that, it had driven Nico crazy. Percy hadn’t deserved that burden.
All right, so maybe Nico had been a little bit in love with Percy since the beginning.
"Are you lost?"
The voice was feminine and soft, yet in the silence of the night it had been as loud as a bullhorn to Nico. He spun around in surprise and nearly crashed into the girl who had spoken. She was about the same age as him, with long black hair and clear blue eyes. Her frame was petite and her skin was tan. She had her head tilted slightly as she waited for him to reply, the picture of patience, but her eyes betrayed her restlessness.
"No, I know where I am," Nico finally answered after observing all this. "I just don’t know where I want to go."
"Why did you come here in the first place?" the girl asked straight-forwardly, then winced as if realizing that it wasn’t her business. She didn’t rescind her question, though.
"I was angry and needed time to clear my head."
"I know a great place for thinking. Do you want me to take you there?"
The girl seemed nice enough, but Nico wasn’t a fool. Her clothes were old and tattered and there was a reason she was petite. He wasn’t about to be conned.
"No way," Nico scoffed, walking away from her without a backward glance.
Once he’d gone far enough, Nico found a nice patch of shadows and went back to his birthday party. The resulting shouting match between he and Percy made him wish he’d stayed with the girl.
* * *
"I was just going to take you to the beach, you know. I only work adults."
Nico was really getting tired of being snuck up on. What was the ADHD good for if it didn’t alert him to someone’s presence?
"Did you even move?!" Nico snapped at the girl, for she appeared to be in the same spot as three weeks prior.
"On occasion," she replied flatly, not amused by his hostility. "But this is my corner, so I near stray far."
It took a moment for that information, and her provocative change in wardrobe, to set in. Nico stared at her incredulously.
"But last time, your clothes-"
"You caught me on an off night."
"How old are-"
"Seventeen. Younger girls have done it."
He didn’t know what to say to that.
"If it were just me, I wouldn’t be doing this," the girl tried to explain, now looking slightly embarrassed. "But my best friend and I have been on our own for months and I can’t let her starve."
"Does she know?"
"Yes. She isn’t happy about it, but that’s never stopped me. I’ve been told I have a hero complex."
Nico felt his stomach flip at that, because oh. Black hair, blue eyes, tan skin, quick to anger and quick to forgive, hero complex… It would be just his luck that he’d run in to the female equivalent of Percy.
"What’s your name?" Nico asked, digging the hole deeper.
"Narissa Hess," she answered with mild surprise, noting his subtle change of attitude (he was looking very unsettled, because Narissa meant sea sprite in Greek). "Most people call me Isa."
"Is that beach offer still open?"
Isa’s eyes lit up and Nico had to remind himself to breathe.
* * *
She even loved the ocean like Percy did. But she loved the supernatural and jazz music and obscure fifteenth centuries poets, too, which was definitely not Percy’s style. Nico thought she might be perfect for him - and yet, she was completely wrong. In some fairy tale world, he might have fallen for her and lived happily ever after. But in reality? His love for Percy couldn’t fade that quickly and her similarities to the hero just made Nico ache for him more.
* * *
"Nico?"
"Yes, Percy?"
"Where have you been for the last month?"
"Three months, you mean."
"Huh?"
"Forget about it. I’m back now and I promise not to run off again."
"Good, because Annabeth was getting worried-"
"Shut up, Percy."
"But I was just-"
"Shut up, or I’ll stick a sword in your Achilles spot."
"…"
"That’s better."
-The End-
Author's Notes: Hm. I don't know if I like it or not. I probably should have elaborated on things more. Oh, well. That was just me getting the idea out of my system.