I guess… *Spoilers for House of Hades*

This boy cannot leave me alone. ;_; Help me.

The title is Italian for 'the abandonment' because Italian is awesome and I really wanna learn it. D: Also, I might have overdone it on the Italian in this one, but screw it, because it's freaking Italian. Translations in the bottom A/N. :3

Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO/HoO series, because I'm not awesome like that.

L'Abbandono

By: Coqui's Song

Nico di Angelo isn't forgotten. He knows he isn't forgotten. Bianca would never forget her little brother.

But abandon him? Oh, yes. His sister would most definitely abandon him, and that crushes his heart, because if their places were switched, he would never have deserted her. Never.

Non avrei mai voluto abbandonarti, he rages inside himself, as if to project his thoughts into his sister's head, although that would never happen. I never would have abandoned you.

If their places were switched, he would have held on to his sister and never let go, never leave her, always be by her side.

There had been a time when Nico was sure that his older sister would stand by him forever, because they were all the other had. They would both fight tooth and nail for each other. Or so he'd thought, before Bianca had chosen to join the Hunters of Artemis, leaving Nico alone.

(Not totally alone, though, because Percy had sworn to look out for her little brother)

His sister had promised to visit him once in a while at camp, but of course that never happened, on account of her dying on that stupid quest to save Artemis. When Percy had told Nico of her death, he'd felt a mixture of intense rage at Percy because he'd broken his promise (and, well, a bit of loathing at himself for not hating Percy as much as he should have, but his… crush… is a matter for later), crushing grief, and anger at Bianca for abandoning him for good.

For months after he learned that he is a son of Hades, he tried to find her. To contact her in some form. But she was elusive. He never felt her spirit's presence, not until Percy. He still doesn't understand why she appeared to him only once Percy was at his side. She had been avoiding him. The ghostly figure of his deceased sister had even admitted it: "I was hoping you'd give up."

Even now, the memory of those words felt like a stab in the gut to him.

Give up? But I need you, I need you, I need you, Bianca. He needs her understanding, her unconditional love, her support.

She never seemed to think so.

But why? Why? Why?

Didn't she love him?

Of course she did, he scolds himself. She loved me. She loved me. She loved me.

Another part of him wonders, If she loved me, why did she abandon me? His life since he was ten could be summed up with the words 'lonely' and 'abandoned.' Deserted. Forsaken. Left to fend for himself.

A loving sister wouldn't do that.

Things had gotten better, a little, after the Titan War (well, other than the fact that Percy and Annabeth were together). Hades got a cabin in Camp Half-Blood, and Nico would stay there most of the time, but he still went down to the Underworld to help his father.

On one of these visits to the Underworld, he heard a rumor that the Thanatos had gone missing. When he confronted his father about it, Hades confirmed it. His father was trying not to look worried, but Nico spent so much time in the Underworld with him, that Hades was getting easier to read.

"Without Thanatos, souls can return to the Upper World," Hades had told him, his eyes hard. "I need your help to make sure they don't leave, my son."

"Of course, Papà," Nico had replied, playing the part of the obedient son. He would help Hades, of course. It wouldn't be the first time; in fact, Nico is usually happy to lend a hand to his father. It reminds him that there is at least one person that cares about him, even if it's a bad-tempered god of the Underworld. He was just going to take a little detour.

Now, in Persephone's garden, the Ghost King chants, summoning his sister here. "Bianca di Angelo, show yourself!"

The air shimmers with mist, but his sister doesn't appear. He frowns and tries again. "Bianca?"

The mist thickens. A dark human figure bends down to take the offering, and when it straightens, Nico is confused. He recognizes the woman, but… why isn't Bianca…? He blinks at the form of his mother, dressed in the same clothes she had worn the day she died, way back in the 40s. "Mama? Cosa stai facendo qui? Ho pensato che non mi era permesso di vederti."

She smiles gently and reaches out as if to touch his face. Nico, his powers having grown to the point where he can touch ghosts now, takes her hand and places it on his cheek. It does not dissipate like it would have a year ago. Maria's smile widens, her eyes, which are the same color as his, sparkle. "Mio bambino." She laughs, and Nico can only compare it to a summer breeze, gentle and happy. "Your father lifted the, ah, ban after the second Titan War. He is very proud of you."

Such praise from his father. Hades. The god that constantly would keep comparing him to Bianca. But no, he is proud of him, little Nico di Angelo. The thought warms him from head to toe.

"Why did he never tell me?" he demands to know.

"Tuo padre è un uomo molto occupato. Lo sai," she chuckles, then leans down to kiss his forehead. It feels cold, like a flake of snow landing on his face, but he can sense the love and affection in the gesture. "He must have forgotten."

"Well, I'm glad I can finally talk to you, Mama," Nico says, gazing up at her with a dazed expression. He feels so happy, so incredibly happy. He can talk to his mother, he can finally get to know her, know more of his past. It won't exactly be a normal mother-son relationship, but it will do. He fidgets about and looks behind her. "Where-where's Bianca?"

Her dark eyes turn sad. "She didn't tell you." She gazes at him for a moment, taking in his confusion, before shaking her head. "Bianca ha sempre avuto buone intenzioni, ma è troppo avventata."

"W-what do you mean?" he wonders, taking a nervous step away from his mother.

Maria di Angelo sighs. "Nico, mio caro. She has chosen to try for the Isles of the Blest. She is not here. She is gone. She is not Bianca anymore."

He starts breathing fast and hard and steps back more. "No. No. She wouldn't. Not without telling me." Nico feels tears sting the back of his eyes and blinks hard to drive them away. How could his own sister abandon him? Again? For the third time?

"Nico," his mother tries to comfort him, but he barely knows her. He needs Bianca, he needs Percy, he needs someone he loves, really, truly loves, but Percy is in the Upper World with Annabeth, and Bianca is the cause of his grief.

"Why does she keep leaving me alone?" he asks, filled with fury. He wants to punch something, he wants to kick, he wants to scream. None of it will help, though. "She knows I'm not –she … She… why doesn't she love me?"

He could have handled her joining the Hunters. He had moved on after her death, content to just talk to her once in a while. He could even have handled her going to try for rebirth.

But not like this. She never told him about her plans to do so, she never told him, and now he'll never see Bianca again. Bianca, his older sister, the one who shaped his whole world.

Perché non mi vuoi bene, Bianca?

He starts to sob now, and Maria floats over to him and gives him an embrace that holds the chill of death, but it's oddly comforting.

"Why doesn't she love me, Mama?" he asks quietly, between sobs. "Is it because I love… because I love Percy?" He had told Bianca about his feelings, but she'd been supportive… None of this makes any sense at all to him. Why would she leave him?

"No, mio caro, she loves you. She loves you more than anything in the whole world, no matter what. As do I. She just wanted…" Maria hesitates. "She thought that you could look after yourself now."

"I can," he murmurs in reply, "but that doesn't mean I don't still need her sometimes."

"Nico, we are dead," she states flatly. "If you were not a son of Hades, you would have to let us go, whether you wanted to or not.

"But…" he sniffs. "She never even told me."

"Who knows when they will die? Who knows when their loved ones will die?" his mother shakes her head.

Her cold, ghostly form is starting to make him shiver, and Maria seems to notice this. She backs away and gazes at him as if trying to decide on something. "Listen. I don't want you to be alone. Your father may be angry with you for taking a soul out of the Underworld, but… your father told you of Camp Jupiter, correct?"

He nods, unsure where this is leading.

"You have another sister, a daughter of Pluto, about your age. Perhaps a little older. I'm not sure. Her name is Hazel Levesque. She is in the Fields of Asphodel. Go take her to Camp Jupiter, Nico. She has an important fate. "

He's sure that his mother doesn't mean it, but he feels like, once again, he's skimmed over. He's just little Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades who isn't important, isn't loved, isn't looked after. He is nothing compared to Bianca, who died to save Percy; or even to this Hazel Levesque, who has an important fate.

Nico will still find Hazel, though. She's his sister, too. She'll understand what it's like to be an outcast. He can finally have a real family again. The offer is so tempting, and it seems as if that it won't have any repercussions beyond his father being angry with him for allowing another soul to escape. He nods in response to his mother, who gives him one last tender smile and disappears.

The Ghost King turns to the Fields of Asphodel and begins to walk purposefully toward it, dark eyes blazing with determination.

He's not Bianca, he promises himself, he's not Bianca. He will never, ever abandon his family. No matter what.

Non importa cosa.

Translations (I used Google Translate, so please let me know if it's wrong so I can fix it. Google Translate sucks).

Edit: Shout-out to my Italian peep for helping me!

*Non avrei mai voluto abbandonarti: I never would have abandoned you

*Cosa stai facendo qui? Ho pensato che non mi era permesso di vederti: What are you doing here? I thought I wasn't allowed to see you.

*Mio bambino: My baby

*Tuo padre è un uomo molto occupato. Lo sai: Your father is a busy man. You know that.

*Bianca ha sempre avuto buone intenzioni, ma è troppo avventata: Bianca has always meant well, but she is too rash

*mio caro: my dear

*Perché non mi vuoi bene, Bianca?: Why don't you love me, Bianca?

*Non importa cosa: No matter what

Yeah I overdid it on the Italian. XD It's just. I knew Nico is from an Italian mother the moment his last name is mentioned in The Titan's Curse. But once I learned he actually speaks it because he was actually born in Italy I just. I can't stop it with the Italian. ._. Help me. I have a problem.

Anyway I used to like Bianca but then I realized that she never told Nico that she was trying for Isles of the Blest and I imagined how Nico must've felt and yeah this came out. I mean, Nico worships his sister, and she just… leaves. Ouch. I'm sure she has her reasons, but. Ouch.

Reviews are much appreciated. :)

~Coqui's Song