"Okay, lesson's up!" a voice shouted, "Good job people! Have a nice day!"

Campers murmured and broke off into smaller groups as they left the training arena. Some energetic young ones ran and shouted "Thank you sir!" and "Thank you Percy!" while they whizzed past the trainer. Said-person Percy watched the entire scene with little bemusement. At least the majority were younger than him. He found comfort in that, being a senior and all.

Once he made sure that the place was cleared and cleaned, Percy grabbed his towel and a small backpack from a fallen pillar on its side and gave Mrs O'Leary, who was nibbling a chunk of the dummy armour, a strong ruffle on the head, he headed towards the showers.

He took a peek into the showers. Apparently, no one was around, which was what he expected more or less. With autumn coming around, Camp Half-Blood Hill being a hill had dropped its temperature by ten degrees it made it unfavourable for most to take showers especially in the chilly evening. Still, there were some who would come for a bath if they had been: a) training like him or; b) rolling around in the mud or; c) had been in the Hephaestus or Aphrodite's cabin and wanted to get rid of the oil/perfume smell, or; d) haven't had a bath in a week. He hoped the last one was just a rumour.

Slightly ecstatic, he skipped into the showers and went deeper and deeper – until he reached the marble corridors, and beyond that, a brand new ivory coloured plastic door. He stood before it, and after taking one last check that no one was around, twisted the door knob open and entered.

Actually, there was no need for the snooping around actions. There wasn't any rule that said no one was allowed to enter the new showers – but then anybody (save for some insensitive or impatient ones) would be nervous around the new place. Percy leaned against the door with his heart beating gleefully, taking in the concave-like structure of the room. The ivory-coloured room was like a very elongated egg, or a fat rice grain double its width, with the tips starting from the door he stood till the other side of the room a few yards away. The main corridor was situated in the exact middle (strict orders of a certain perfectionist architect, i.e. daughter of Athena), splitting the room into two identical spaces so they were mirroring each other. Just on his sides were the storing areas completed with wooden benches, public lockers with keys that you can bring into the showers with AND anti-thief/picking-proof locking systems, mirrors and floral pots hung on the walls and (to his utmost impressment) a washing machine. Further down the corridor were the face-to-face showers: thirty plastic cubicles on either side with translucent glass doors armed with locks from the insides. Within each of the four-feet-square cubicle, apart from the newly gleaming single handle faucet in the shower spot, there was a simple box-like wooden cupboard and hooks where one can keep their properties, namely clothes to change into. Clothes can be stashed in without much to worry since there was a pale curtain that separated the Not to mention the Demeter kids' floral arrangements were even in there in the form of potted ivies too, next to the Aphrodite kids' sponsored twelve varieties of soap bars. Sweet.

He grabbed a random locker, chucked Riptide and a few things from his pockets in and walked into the corridor, whistling along the way until he chose a random cubicle to his mood.

He locked the door once he stepped in (no way was he going to get pulled out of this cubicle by the Hermes campers again – which was another incident) and hung his bag of clothes on the hook. He looked at the ivies that were radiant with life, and grinned upon noticing his favourite sea breeze soap bar was still boxy and new.

He twisted the handle to full blast. The strong shower sent him back a few steps, but he managed to stay still after a while and enjoy the cold sensation. Deciding he had cooled down enough, he adjusted the handle till the water was slightly hot against his skin. He didn't notice he was humming while he tore open the soap's wrapping, until two hands snaked around his waist from behind and a voice murmured: "Nice voice."

He almost dropped the soap bar onto the wet floor. He gave a high-pitched yelp and snapped his head to see the intruder he hadn't noticed before. Even then he didn't need to see him; the only person that came in his mind to immediately match the voice was infuriating, familiar – no, exact, enough.

Nico di Angelo gave the son of Poseidon a wicked grin. "Missed me?" he piped.

Percy nearly snarled. "Get out!" he shouted.

"Oh come on, Perce," the son of Hades snickered, "You do miss me, right?"

"Nope!" he snapped, shoving the head away from resting onto his shoulder. "Just only I was having such a great time wondering about how I can spend the time freely, when you had to come along! So no!"

Nico made a face. "You really kill the joy, you know that?"

"I know, but that's because your definition of fun isn't fun to me. Get lost. I don't want to see you."

"Still mad at me?"

"What?" The question stunned him, took Percy by surprise.

Nico looked at him. "You still mad at me, about last time?"

Last time? Yeah speaking of which, when did Percy start to hate this guy, this guy who was supposed to be his adorable little cousin? When?

And something about his voice made Percy panicked.

Then he remembered the night a few months ago, when Nico had pounced onto Percy on his birthday, the night when he first had been boned, being the bottom. Series of shudders shot up his spine. Nico pulled back, surprised at the reaction.

"Percy?"

The next thing he knew he was kicked out of the cubicle, thrown onto the floor no mercy as he face-slammed into the hard, cruel marble floor. "HEY!" he protested.

"Stay gone," was the only reply, very hard and venomous. So obvious it was a miracle no black swirling energy enveloped the cubicle itself. Any sane guy would know not to go back in again.

But Nico, being Nico di Angelo and on top of that, son of the famously named-for-his-looks madman Hades, wasn't sane. He glared at the cubicle.

Inside, Percy was already waiting. He had hastily draped a shower robe over his uselessly wet body, and was now hunched over, his hands resting on the wall behind him: his stance of fighting. The water in the shower had formed into the soldier shape he had once summoned back home in New York, the exact same soldier he decided to use against Nico, to ward the pervert off and away.

And Nico was already half, quarter expecting that as well. He materialized from the thinnest shadows of the cubicle within (which wasn't easy since the density of the shadow was too low), arms folded over his chest with a frowning face. Clearly he didn't like how Percy was mad at him. Although he knew he was to blame.

Two things: either Nico was to do a skip of a heartbeat at the erotic sight of wet-Percy-in-half-open-bath-robe (he very nearly yelped at the surprise); or he was to let his knees go jelly at the sight of the gigantic, mighty water-Hans warrior that loomed over, fists already slamming ready to punch the living lights out of the enemy.

He did both, anyway. And Percy, who was known for being an impossible person, didn't wait.

He brought the fist down onto the son of Hades.

The door of the cubicle rattled at the force, and if anybody was out there they could have seen thousands of water droplets splashing out above the cubicle like rebounding water in a cup that was slammed onto the table by its bottom.

Luckily, Nico stood a chance.

He was still drenched form head to toe though, aviator's jacket stuck to his body and all. His head hurt like hell – clearly the act of his head getting the full force of one-and-a-half tonnes of water was just plain neck-snapping-breaking bad. He would've fainted if a little more pain was applied. Now his only problem was that he couldn't get up; using the shadows to protect him was de-energizing enough, and the drenched jacket which had become ten kilos was pulling him down.

Percy was still angry but seemed stunned. "Ha?" Confusion and disbelief wrote all over his face. His eyes also caught something odd about Nico's posture, like his hands and legs were still submerged in water and looked unnaturally long, but it didn't register in his brain yet.

Between waves of dizziness, Nico grinned. "New power," he said, pointing uncertainly to the random shadows behind, "I get to merge with them more efficiently, so my enemies, even if they attacked a visible me, couldn't touch me. Like a ghost."

Percy regarded this information and scowled. Nico was able to partially merge with the shadows and become a holographic shadow himself so things would go pass him. But it was still under practice so he still felt a little of Percy's attacks. Great, now he can't harm him. But that still meant he could pummel the kid full force without worrying about him dying; not unless the kid was drained of energy.

While Percy pondered ahead Nico popped an ambrosia cube into his mouth, chewing the stew-taste medicine while he tried to regain all his strength. Within moments he was able to stand up.

The flurry of movement caught Percy's eyes and he whipped his attention back only to see his little cousin already standing with the help of leaning against the wall. He was compelled to use the water and swipe Nico's helping arm off-balance from the wall and splash back down, but something about his cousin seemed funny…

Then he froze. He stared at his little cousin, who no longer looked "little". In fact…his mouth dropped, eyes going round at utmost disbelief.

"Are you a bamboo shoot?" was the best intelligent phrase he could come up with.

But he was right; Nico was like a bamboo shoot – he'd shot up to one foot since the last time Percy saw him. Now he was taller than Percy by half a head. The son of Poseidon could not believe he'd just missed that obvious fact before. Fear threatened to jump out of his throat vocally.

"Okay, this is one horrible nightmare," Percy concluded, getting dizzy, "I'm out of here."

He made a grab for his changing clothes but was stopped. Nico gripped his outstretched arm with his – the exact nightmare he had just pictured one microsecond before dashing: long limbs that outsmart his. If Percy thought his only advantage against Nico apart from water attacks (which was already proven non-effective anymore a moment ago) was longer body and limbs, now even that was executed.

He let out a shriek, unable to restrain himself.

Nico rolled into a ball covering his ears in agony. "Do you have to scream? Before I even answered, on top of that?" he whined.

The son of Poseidon, who was also pulled down since Nico did not loosen his grip, merely burrowed his head in his knees and cursed every bad aspect in life: Why me why me why me why me why me why me why me why me why me why me why –

"Perce?" Nico asked, peeking into his face after recovering. He studied Percy's expression then sighed. "Fine."

He released his grip. "You can have your shower. I'll wait."

Said person's head shot up, unable to believe him, but willing to take any chances. "Swear it?"

"That can't do."

Percy glared. Nico shrugged. Shit, he thought, I've forgotten about the Styx.

He could've said so then and there, but Nico couldn't quite trust his hormones right now – and he wasn't going to take the chance of letting his hormones be the reason of his death. Hell no.

So after one minute di Angelo finally muttered, "I'll take my showers in another cubicle alright?", his finger pointing the door, "It'll take me five minutes even for the shortest one."

"That doesn't buy my security," Percy pestered.

Nico almost scowled. Didn't he give Percy his message last time? That he loved him? If this was Percy's way of things, he's going to have to work hell hard to get Percy's love in response. Life isn't easy. He wanted to throw an arrow to Aphrodite or perhaps her son Eros.

He decided to play a rough way out. "Percy, you're asking the impossible. You know I can't promise that. Didn't I tell you I loved you?"

That did the perfect trick. Nico was kicked out of the cubicle again. This time the kick was a thousand times more merciless in strength, since Percy had exploded a shriek in mighty embarrassment. Nico flew out and smashed into the cubicle linearly opposite Percy's. His nose didn't come out safe and he was bleeding by the time he stood up.

Glaring at the cubicle, but patting himself on the shoulder for being such a genius – hey, Percy did forget about the swearing thingy, didn't he? – He skidded to a random cubicle far from his cute cousin's, somewhere he considered far from earshot. Nico wasn't offering any advantages for Percy to knock on the cubicle wall and yell for his forgotten promises.

The son of Poseidon stood under full blast hot-and-cold shower as if he was trying to rid his memories along with all his hair and the entire scalp that concealed them. Halfway, he remembered he forgot to demand Nico to swear. Turning the current off, he yelled, "If you're out there, then swear it!" knowing his cousin understood if he heard.

But from the sounds of another shower going off somewhere far, Percy had his doubts that Nico heard. Shrugging it off, he turned the current on. He was exhausted fighting off a pervert.