Nico di Angelo and the Cow Bell
~ 'Jason wished he could put a bell around Nico di Angelo's neck to remind him the guy was there.' ~ - The House of Hades
When Jason Grace woke to the loud dinging of a cattle bell, he knew he was a dead man.
The Argo II had been silent as the now-sleeping Earth Mother for just over a day now, everyone still licking their wounds from the big final battle that had just passed. But the morning before, four of the seven and one son of Hades had gathered in the dining room. This innocent meeting was what stemmed the chaos about to unleash over the Greek warship as it sailed back to New York.
~Nico di Angelo and the Cow Bell~
The Day Before
"Waffles!" Leo shouted, slamming his fist down on the table. He glared at the demigod opposite him, challenging the other to a deadly serious duel over the subject of breakfast.
"Blue pancakes," Percy ground out, clenching his teeth. His hand moved to his back pocket where Riptide was and Leo went for his tool belt at the same time.
"Can't we just work this o-" Frank started.
"No!" Percy and Leo snapped, glaring full force at the son of Mars. Frank shrunk into his chair. Beside him, Jason sighed.
The four boys had gotten up early that morning in the hopes of having a guy-bonding breakfast together to talk about the battle against Gaea and complain about Octavian. The three girls on the ship were in Piper's cabin having one of those 'sleep-over' things that girls likes to do, with romance movies and nail polish. When Percy had scepticalised this in front of Annabeth, she quietly told him they weren't doing any of those things and that he better watch his back for Piper if she ever heard wind of him categorising her into girly girl stereotypes. So Percy had hidden in Jason's room overnight, eventually joined by Frank and Leo, and it turned into a boy's hangout.
The only person missing was one Nico di Angelo.
While Percy and Leo started another demigod Civil War over the breakfast table, Jason thought about the son of Hades. Nico had been a prime turning point in the recent Giant War with his ability to sneak up on anything and kill it before it even knew it was dead. It was this ability too, that freaked Jason out the most. He'd once wished Nico made more noise when he entered a room. He even considered putting bells on his shoes or something. But they were in the middle of a war, and it would suck major Pegasus butt if Nico was pissed at him during a battle.
"Both of you shut up and make toast."
Jason jumped so hard he banged his knee on the table and slid of his chair, cussing all the way. Leo and Percy both got whiplash trying to spin around fast enough to see who'd spoken and Frank just tipped over onto the floor in fright.
Nico was standing there, his face blank as he stared around. He was halfway across the room, walking completely silent towards where the plates were stacked. They'd never even heard him come in.
"By Mars' spear, Nico!" Frank squeaked. "Make some noise when you move!"
Nico picked up a plate and set it down on the table in front of Leo before pushing the son of Hephaestus into his seat and ordering the plate to make waffles. He then motioned to Percy to sit down and ordered him blue pancakes. Then he grabbed a third plate and walked out of the room.
All the boys were quiet for a moment before Percy pouted at his pancakes.
"He didn't put Golden Syrup on them," he whined. Leo jerked up from his breakfast.
"Who eats Golden Syrup," he demanded. "If di Angelo's gonna make me breakfast, he should at least put Maple Syrup on it."
Percy and Leo began another staring contest.
"Golden."
"Maple."
"Golden."
"Maple."
"Maple's disgusting!"
"Golden tastes like cardboard!"
"Does not!"
"Does so!"
"So doesn't!"
"Yes it does!"
"Shut up!"
Jason repeated what happened the first time Nico appeared inexplicably, except with a lot more cussing. Percy and Leo didn't get to do much except sit there and hold their breath as twin jugs of Golden and Maple syrup poured over their heads, glooping their hair together and making it impossible to get air. When they were empty, Nico threw them onto the tables and glared at the two boys before stalking out. Again.
Frank scuttled along the floor and out the door, his crab legs moving fast. Soon, Frank the Crustacean was long gone and there was only hallowed and syrup-thick breathing making a noise in the dining room.
"That guy needs a warning bell," Jason said out loud. Squelching nods replied for Percy and Leo as they tried to swipe some of the congealing syrup off their faces.
"I know just how to make one," Leo spluttered.
~Nico di Angelo and the Cow Bell~
So the rest of the day was spent in Leo's room/workshop making a cattle bell necklace for Nico di Angelo. Percy and Leo had begun as enemies that morning, and now they were fierce allies, helping each other get rid of the syrup in their hair and clothes and deftly working together to get their revenge on the resident son of Hades.
Personally, Jason just wanted to know when the raven-haired demigod was approaching so he didn't have to keep bruising his bum and knees when he fell off chairs.
By evening, it was done.
Leo proudly showed them all what he had created.
It was thick, and almost covered ones' whole neck when put on. It was melded from reinforced steel, Celestial Bronze and Imperial Gold layered one over the other. Virtually impossible to break, unless you had the tiny little key for the tiny little key hole on the back of it. On the front, hanging from a stud in the metal, was a cattle bell made of the same stuff as the collar-y part, so it couldn't be broken off either. It rang loudly at the slightest movement, and Leo even worked a little Hephaestus-curse-magic to make sure it would never rust, and that Nico couldn't just reach inside it and grab the chime. Jason, Percy and Leo were very, very proud of themselves.
"Now, to get it on his damn neck," Leo crowed. He high-fived Percy and Jason, and the three of them set out in search of the son of Hades.
~Nico di Angelo and the Cow Bell~
They found him leaning against the mast inside the birds nest, his eyes closed and his breathing regular and deep. Nico was fast asleep, for once not seeming to be bothered by the winds ripping at his jacket or the nightmares that should plague him. In a word, he looked cute; nothing like the terrifying, silent demigod he was when he was awake.
The same demigod that had evoked his friends fear and poured enough syrup on their heads to warrant a loud, obnoxious cattle bell collar.
Jason held his breath as he gently gripped Nico's skinny arm while Leo gingerly placed the cow bell around Nico's pale neck. Percy had circled Nico's other arm in case he woke up.
Leo wormed himself behind the three demigods and silently slotted the key into place, locking it. Then the three boys made like Persephone, and got the Hades out of there.
~Nico di Angelo and the Cow Bell~
Present Day
Jason froze under his covers. He heard a massive crashing noise seconds later, and a screaming that could only belong to Leo. A dragging sound followed, then a door that seemed to smash off its hinges and a voice that was no doubt Percy yelling. The dragging noise intensified and then it stopped.
Right outside Jason's door.
A polite knock followed, and when Jason didn't get up for fear of being decapitated, the door promptly shattered into pieces to admit a thin, dark form pulling along something else.
Nico di Angelo, his pale fists clutching the backs of two shirts – one red, one blue – that could only belong to the unconscious Leo and Percy, stood in the doorway. Jason tried to quell the urge to huddle under his blankets and cry for Piper.
The clanging of the cattle bell around Nico's neck made him look up.
"It's a nice day, Jason," Nico said. "Would you like it to be your last? Because if you don't take this bell off, it will be."
Jason gave in and huddled under his covers.
I was rereading House of Hades, and I got this idea from the quote I used as the summary. This was way too much fun to write. Just a little one-shot to help my imagination dump : )
I made the cover out of boredom.
Jasmine Out!