Many months had gone by as Nico picked up the pieces of his life, he had decided to retake his senior year to make up for his lost grades. Frank had helped him get a new job at his place. He started working out again out and stabilizing his body and schedule.

The teachers were sympathetic as he started producing exceptional work and then some; life was getting back on track for him as he started living in each day instead of just surviving. He didn't move out of his dumpy apartment, but he did improve his lifestyle exponentially, and Hazel came back to live with him. They would always take care of each other now. The solution was so simple, trust in others was all that he needed to claim a better life. He stopped beating himself up and blaming himself for everything, he came to love himself.

Jason was given a sentence of 6 years, rape crimes weren't that punishable in length apparently. But he would have a restraining order against Nico once he was released. Either way Nico pushed the information far into the back of his mind, Jason was no longer his concern. Jason couldn't hurt him any more and had no room in Nico's life.

It was a Saturday morning when Hazel was out with Frank however when Nico had gotten the news paper. He sat down at his table and stared at it. He seemed to be doing that a lot, just staring. He folded it and put his head in his hands, sighing deeply. He looked up at the window, there was a lovely hue of cool blue reflecting around the walls, and the pattering of light rain was soothing. He stood up, grabbed a jacket, threw his hood on and went out for his usual run.

On his table the newspaper headline read

Inmate commits suicide in jail cell. Horrifying details.

As more and more time passed, Piper, Frank, Percy, Annabeth, Hazel and Nico grew very close during his new school year as he retook it with Piper. Nico learned that she had suffered as he had earlier predicted, she had a baby with Jason and chose to keep it after their breakup, Jason had no idea. She had hid it well during school and left during the last trimester, but she spent several months grieving because her baby was born with Edward's syndrome and died instantly in her arms as she wept over it.

Who knows what that baby would have grown up to be if it had lived. It could have received Jason's psychopathic disorders or grown up to be an amazing individual regardless. Despite whatever they could have been, it had been Piper's baby and she loved it dearly and grieved heavily over it. It was malformed and too small as it died in her arms and taken a part of her soul that she could never get back. But she was recovering, like Nico was recovering. They were there for each other and would never again force themselves to be on their own when they suffered, life wasn't worth having all the worries in the world with no one to lean on. Nothing heals if you cover it up.

And he had finally opened his heart to Hazel, he stopped hiding away from her.

He sat with Hazel on a hill in the park at the end of a great week, watching everyone play soccer down below. There were little light sprinklers everywhere as the kids laughed and struggled to kick the ball around in the dark. Couples and families populated the park everywhere as colourful lights danced about.

"It might sound creepy Hazel, but I don't think I could ever love anyone the way I love him.." Nico stared at Percy laughing with his friends down there on the field.

"You know... I even tried to love Jason once.. just so we would stop feeling so much pain," Nico laughed out sadly.

"I tried so hard to, it's rare to find someone who loves you so deeply for yourself the way he loved me. Jason.. Jason always had this strange way of staring at me like he could see something so amazing in me that I never understood.. like I was the world to him and everything else around him didn't exist."

Nico frowned. "But I couldn't... I just couldn't love someone like him back. After everything he did to me... All I could think of was how much I loved Percy and how different they were.. I thought that if I stayed away from Percy I would stop loving him.. But I never did. I couldn't shut off the way I feel for Percy. He's been the first and only person I've ever loved, I've never met anyone like him.. Ever since we met him as kids my feelings just kept growing..and they never stopped."

Hazel frowned sadly. In a way she understood, she couldn't imagine ever loving anyone else the way she loved Frank... but their love was mutual.

"And even if I tried to love someone else.. It wouldn't be fair to them anyways. I can't pretend, I can't act.. and I don't... I don't think I want to move on from Percy, Haze.. I can't pretend to love someone else more than I love him.. I can't lie to people, I have my pride."

"Nico.." Hazel whispered. "I wouldn't want you to pretend to love someone else..I just want you to find someone else that you'll love more than him..that'll make you so happy you'll forget how much you loved him."

"But I don't want to forget," he wrapped an arm around his sister.

"I don't need that to be happy Hazel, I'm fine just being with myself.. I used to mind it but... I really don't anymore. I mean that. I'm used to it after all."

Hazel looked down at her hands and thought it sounded sad, but she was happy that Nico was secure with himself, after all, you need to be happy by yourself and love yourself as you are first.

"He's perfect with Annabeth," Nico sighed sadly. He came to accept that fact a long time ago.

"All I want in this world is to see him happy… I'll watch him get married and have kids and then grand kids and he can grow old and chubby and I'll always love him, and I'll always love that he's happy. I'll love that he has a loving family to care for him. Even if it isn't with me." Nico said as a tear slipped out of his eye and smiled a genuine smile.

Jason had given him too much unwanted attention and Percy gave him a severe amount of under attention. But he had never once complained about it, he had adapted to it. He was adapted to being around people who thought only of themselves.

"Even if that means being alone, Nico?"

"Yes. I'm happy like this. And I have you." He chuckled, something in his voice sounded deeper and more mature. He wasn't the same Nico anymore.

"Nico.. you're allowed to love Percy. That's fine. But you deserve to have what he has. You're not some lone wolf that can only mate with one person in your life time, Nico. You'll find love, I know you will."

"..Right now my heart tells me that I won't..that I'm only allowed to love him. And that's okay with me, I don't want that to change. I'm happy Hazel..In my own way," he said softly.

Hazel chewed at her lip."But what if there's something better for you out there Nico? Will you let it in?"

Nico paused for a moment and looked up at the sky as if trying to imagine it but couldn't. Whenever he looked at the sky, he'd see Percy's face, no matter what time of day it was. He couldn't stop his mind from painting that face on the sky's canvas. Whenever he had wanted to block Jason out he would just look to the sky and it would turn into a sea that flooded his mind of Percy.

"Maybe one day my feelings will change.. but not right now..," he said as he saw Percy in the stars and the clouds, swallowing him in as he heard the sea.

He looked back at Hazel, "all I really want is this right here..this moment."

Today was the most Nico had ever spoken as he kissed her head and she knew he was telling the truth this time.

And although Hazel wanted to continue to argue with him, she just hugged him back. They sat there on their little hill and gazed off at the fireworks to where Percy was playing soccer with his friends.

It was the happiest day of his life. He found the beginning to his happy ending on his place on that hill with Hazel in his arms and a fresh new year to start a better life.

"Hey guys! Get over here!" Percy and Frank cried out to them and they ran down to countdown and celebrate.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" they all shouted.

TBC

There be a sequel up called "Saving Percy" and there will be a lot more to learn about Jason in there, he isn't out of the picture yet. And Nico has a new torment to conquer in the sequel.

Umm there's also gonna be a loot of sex in it... the plot will probably be drowned out by too much sex actually.. but there is a good reason for it..

Summary: 15 years have passed since Jason's violent abuse and Nico has transformed a lot. He and Percy finally have a talk about Nico's feelings as a closure before Percy marries Annabeth. (Warning: lots of sex, M/M) Percy&Nico bromance.

A.N

Thanks so much to the reviewers! Especially the ones who stuck through it and took time to review each chapter telling me what they liked, I loved reading all the long ones and your thoughts.

This Nico was loosely based off the giving tree story; about a tree that gave everything she had to this boy and never received anything in return but was happy. Some of you probably know it.

I'm so sorry to the folks who were expecting a couple ;( It was never meant to be percy/nico or jason/nico, otherwise I would have put 'romance' as a category. I wanted to write a selfless nico fic just coming to terms and dealing with hardships and accepting himself as he is portrayed in the book, rather than finding love. But lets cross our fingers that he doesn't die and that he will find love in the books xO

I wanted to keep everyone's personalities as canon as possible too, which is why Percy would love Annabeth truly and Nico would be a loner who's awkward with love and touch. The only person I didn't try to keep canonized was Jason, but who knows? He's pretty mysterious and awk in da books, maybe he really is a psychopath x) I also wrote the ending before the beginning so a couple was never planned, and I didn't feel like there was any other realistic way to portray the end without having Nico die. Coz that's the only way he can escape Jason, and Jason would never stop his abuse unless death or jail caught him. And my version of Nico also wouldn't have had stockholm syndrome or be capable of murder. I think Nico deserved a happy end, and for this version of him it felt right. Just being able to watch and love Percy from the sidelines and being with his sister is all he really wants.

But it was totally cool to see what you guys were rooting for, it's inspiring me to make an actual romance fic where Jason and Nico fall in love. I didn't expect so many people to actually root for jasico in this fic, and that was really interesting. But I hope that was just for entertainment titillation, please don't settle in to abusive relationships if that ever happens in your life. No one deserves that and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone to fall into abusive or toxic relationships. I say that out of love and understanding, always look for a way out and love yourself xP Sorry if the ending felt rushed and boring, I wanted to wrap it up this month and work more on the sequel xO And I hope some people caught some of the symbolisms and connections to the books I tried to sneak in to each chapter xP

Wow I rambled too much. Anyway, thanks so much for sticking around and reviewing once again, i'd love to read more on your thoughts. Hope it was fun! Thanks for reading! Have a great new year!