something about jason being a friend to nico for no other reason than wanting to help him, to befriend him, to protect him. no ulterior motive or malicious intent, just a desire to help out a troubled kid. trusted nico for his character and resilience, not because he needed anything from him. jason sticking up for nico even amongst the other quest members. jason seeing past the stigma of hades and death and the underworld and seeing a kid who needed someone in his corner.
something about nico becoming a friend to jason because of who jason is as a person. not because of who his parents are, or his heroic feats, but because jason was privy to a traumatic event, knew nico's best-kept secret and chose to stick by his side. nico trusting jason to keep his secrets to himself until he was ready for everyone to know, and jason sticking to it with no hesitation. nico seeing who jason was and being his friend because he saw jason's character and compassion.
something about jason and nico being each others first genuine friends. jason and nico chose to befriend one another when no narrative or underlying intentions pushed them together. nico could have hated jason, but he didn't. jason could have been terrified of nico, but he wasn't. they just... chose to stick by each other. jason, whose entire support structure was decided by juno and the prophecy. nico, who had never really had someone choose to stick by his side before.
nico losing his first genuine friend and being so distraught and gut-wrenched, he can't share this grief with anyone else. nico feeling, once again, abandoned by the first person who chose him.
2087
gummygunk
ellievsbear
andulkaphoto
snowghoul
jbbartram-illu
