Hi everyone! I don't know if you guys have read Blood of Olympus, but that's what inspired this story :) Enjoy!

Nico had known from the start that cleaning up the mess Gaia left behind her wasn't going to be easy.

Two months on, though, he was really beginning to appreciate the scars that Gaia had left. Monsters and demons all over the world were still actively terrorizing demigods and even mortals; more and more patrols were being sent out to capture and kill them. Various volcanoes showed signs of increased activity as a result of the aftermath and, frankly, the ghosts were getting to be a bit of a nuisance.

It wasn't all bad news, though. The minor gods and goddesses who had chosen the Earth Mother's side had made peace with Olympus. Reconstruction of Camp Half-Blood was well under way by now. And of course, Camp Jupiter had evaded damage of any sort; besides, of course, the damage it had sustained when eidolon-possessed Leo had accidentally fired on the city.

Nico inhaled and breathed in the crisp air. Winter was fast approaching, and the weather was turning chilly fast. He stood on the top of Half-Blood Hill, looking out on the mortal world, next to Thalia's pine tree. Since the war, the Golden Fleece had been returned to its rightful place, and as he looked at it now, it seemed to glimmer with late afternoon sunshine.

Turning around, he gazed at Camp Half-Blood. Reconstruction was well ahead of schedule. He could see the earth healing already. Eventually, it would look as if nothing had happened here.

"And it'll be soon, too," Nico murmured to himself as he trudged down the hill and into camp.

He made his way through the camp to the infirmary.

The rebuilding of the camp was going well. The craters in the earth were almost gone now, and what little damage remained was looking great thanks to the Demeter kids and their magic. In the woods, the dryads were dancing and laughing for the first time in what felt like forever. And, of course, there were a lot of shrines being built. It seemed, even after the Titan War, the Olympians had only fulfilled their promise to the most major of the minor gods and goddesses. As Nico watched, Jason emerged from the Big House, where he'd probably been discussing plans with Chiron. His glasses twinkled in the sunshine as he walked away from the Big House, his brow furrowed in thought as he examined a blueprint held out in front of him.

As Nico approached, he looked up and grinned. "Hey."

"What've you got there?" Nico inquired.

"A blueprint for a shrine."

"Another shrine?"

Jason crinkled his nose. "Yeah. A shrine to Kymopoleia."

"Who?"

Jason sighed. "Daughter of Neptune – I mean, Poseidon. Goddess of violent sea storms. One of the minor gods who never got the recognition she was promised by the Olympians. Percy and I met her on the way to Athens. It wasn't pretty."

Nico nodded, knowing better than to ask Jason to elaborate. "I'm on my way to the infirmary."

Jason frowned. "Again? You're spending a lot of time there these days."

"Yeah, well, the Apollo kids need help running it."

Jason grinned. "Well, I'd best be on my way, then."

Nico watched him head off, once more engrossed in the blueprint. Jason was one of the few demigods who hadn't judged him for being a son of Hades. Even when Cupid had forced Nico to divulge his most painful secret, Jason had kept it and constantly offered support, friendship and love. And then, after the war ended, he'd asked Nico to stay on at Camp Half-Blood. Jason was a decent guy.

The war had taught Nico a lot of things, Nico realized as he walked on. It had taught him to appreciate the people around him who were offering to help him and love him. And demigods never knew when the people they loved would be killed, so every moment had to be cherished.

As he stepped into the infirmary, Nico was hit by the now-familiar scent of fresh medicinal herbs. He inhaled it and sighed.

Gathered around a table in the front of the infirmary was a group of demigods wearing purple shirts with SPQR tattoos emblazoned on their arms. The free exchange programme between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter was unfurling rapidly and with great success. Greek and Roman demigods crossed the country to each other's camps, usually in groups of ten or more, to learn each other's fighting techniques. Already, the camps were sending out joint quests to hunt down particularly troublesome monsters, and there were rumours that Chiron and the praetors at Camp Jupiter were planning some sort of joint disco night sometime soon.

These particular Romans, though, were currently learning about Greek medical formulas, and judging from their expressions it was probably a compulsory part of the trip which they otherwise would've avoided. But Nico wasn't really interested in the Romans.

Will Solace was lecturing them on the importance of catnip. His shaggy blond hair caught the afternoon sun as it streamed in through a nearby window. It was clear that he truly cared about what he was teaching: his face was alight with passion as he described the recovery process.

When Will finally managed to catch sight of Nico standing by the door, he packed up and said, "I think that's all for today, guys." With barely concealed relief, the Romans filed out of the infirmary, probably off to do combat exercise with the Ares kids. Nico almost pitied them.

Will headed Nico's way. "Somehow, I don't think that was the highlight of their day."

Nico laughed. "I came to rescue you from boredom."

Will grinned happily. Since the end of the war, Nico and Will had grown close. They hung out a lot – not always, but a lot, starting from that first dinner after the end of the war, when Will took pity on Nico sitting alone at the Hades table. Defying the rules, he'd taken his tray and sat down right next to Nico, ignoring how the other campers had stared. And from there, they'd just gotten to be very close friends.

The two of them walked out and went to sit on the bottom slopes of Half-Blood Hill. The sunlight used to make Nico uncomfortable, but not anymore. Again, it was another sign of how much he'd changed during the course of the war against Gaia. A few months ago, he would never have sat with someone on a hill.

I guess I'm more trusting now, he thought to himself.

"Did you ever think we would lose the war?" Will asked as the two of them relaxed.

Nico blinked. "That was random."

Will laughed. "No, it's just – I don't know. I was pretty sure we'd lose."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I mean, Gaia resurrected all the giants. She turned all those monsters loose, and then the Romans showed up – I guess I couldn't believe we were fighting the Earth Mother herself."

Nico was quiet. He could understand that. The prospects had seemed bleak and hopeless on more than one occasion. Angrily, he shredded a tuft of grass. Stupid gods. Why did they need mortals to fight their battles for them? Two wars in two consecutive years…

"If there's another war next year, I may just strangle Zeus," Nico said out loud.

Will laughed.

They fell silent, and then Will turned to Nico.

"I'm thinking of heading into the city sometime next week. I don't know, it might be nice to have a look and see how mortals live. I'll probably end up living in the mortal world anyway." He cocked his head. "Care to join me?"

Nico's pulse sped up despite himself, and he managed to say casually, "Sure, why not? Sounds like fun."

"Okay, awesome." Will grinned, and stood up, brushing off his pants. "I'd better head back to the infirmary. If I'm not there, the Hermes kids will probably seize their opportunity to ransack the place."

Nico watched as Will headed off. His heart was still hammering in his chest. What was this feeling inside him?

Oh, right. The exact same feeling he'd once felt towards Percy Jackson. And that had turned out so well, hadn't it?

Shaking his head, Nico scowled and stood up too. You're being stupid, he told himself as he headed back to the Hades cabin.

Please leave me a few reviews! I'm intending this to be short, about seven or eight chapters, but depending on the response I get it might be lengthened :)