Pairings: Hades/Maria di Angelo & Percy Jackson/Nico di Angelo

Sequel to One day, I'll be coming home

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or its characters. They solely belong to Rick Riordan.

This story is found as well on Tumblr.

In Another Life

I gave my life to someone

Not knowing that I lost a part of me in the process

At a young age, Maria di Angelo firmly believed that every form of love has a distinct foundation which allows for it to blossom and grow. Love is like budding roses, taking no definite form which makes it individually unique, yet similarly intricate and delicate within grasp.

Love is simply special and holds no definite security of the future.

She had her own share of love: in her children and their father. Everlasting, they truly are, yet undeniably time-pressed within the limitations of her fate. If her story was ever summed up, it would utterly be justifiable to call it tragic.

Amidst her dwelling in Elysium, she had vowed for one thing and one thing alone: That she would see through the happiness of her children; a happiness that was never hers to own. Her little angels should not have to live through a tragic tale, but there was only so little for her to do than silently watch amidst the confinement of Elysium.

When her Bianca had died at such a young age, her devastation was silent yet immeasurable. Concealed within the dullness of her eyes – the once lively glint within them gone – and in the perfect façade she had mustered, her daughter desperately embraced her sweet croons and kind assurances, unaware how her mortal heart crumbled with every fabricated lie that spilled from her slightly trembling lips.

There was none to blame but her, Maria had long come to terms with that fact.

So when Bianca opted to be reborn, it was with a tight smile that Maria bid her child goodbye. She would never leave Elysium; not until she had seen her beloved son – her little angelic bubble of happiness and life. Or what he once had been.

Suppressing her personal anguish at her son's demise had been much more intense, and she had desperately grasped on slivers of her composure as Nico's life played right before her very eyes. No amount of apologies could take away years' worth of excruciating emotional turmoil – of unrequited love and no sense of belonging, of isolation and loneliness, of mad desperation and moments of insanity breaking through. Maria had watched, a lump in her throat, as her son silently wept with crystalline tears trickling along the immaculate skin of his cheeks at the recollection of the entirety of his life.

You have none to blame but yourself.

When her son approached her, she all but least expect the one thing he did – embrace her form ever so tightly as if she was his lifeline. Decades. Decades had it been since she held this precious being within her arms. It seemed so foreign yet so familiar at the same time, and in her moment of confusion and of being tongue-tied, she could only dazedly listen to her son's words.

"Did I do good, mama? Did I make you proud?" Nico had asked her then, pulling back just enough to look into her eyes and decipher the emotions within her eyes.

"Are you happy with your life?" she found herself asking.

"I wouldn't ask for more." Nico replied with much conviction that she found herself fondly – and naturally – smiling once more after so many decades.

"Then I am proud of you, bambino."

But there was no forgetting her flaws.

Maria remembered clearly the moment Perseus 'Percy' Jackson entered through the gate of Elysium, clad in that signature orange t-shirt of Camp Half-Blood – which many others whom have entered had adorned as well – and a pair of faded blue jeans. She had met him once, seven decades ago so shortly after the demise of her son, swearing to her of a promise that, admittedly, she had not expected for him to keep.

Young love was simply as what the mere two words: Young. It was expected to be short-lived, and with the lack of a foundation, it was inevitable. Or so she thought.

Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Annabeth Chase… Maria had met the demigods upon their arrival in Elysium. They were her Nico's friends, or at least how she classified them simply since her son labelled them, aside from his half-sister, as acquaintances. The son of Jupiter, whom she had come to treat so fondly as he seemed closest to Nico, still complained of which up to this day.

Seven decades slowly took the demigods one by one, and almost every one of their generation dwelled within the walls of Elysium. Some opted to be reborn with the common goal to eventually reside at the Isles of the Blest. Her Bianca – now reunited with her mother and brother – had made that choice just as much decades ago, and was now only one lifetime away from reaching paradise.

The arrival of Percy Jackson in Elysium had been much anticipated. When the son of Hades announced that he was sensing the life of Percy Jackson fading, the demigods that remained within Elysium waited patiently near the gate of Elysium for the son of Poseidon to make – as the daughter of Aphrodite had teasingly phrased – his dramatic entrance. So when the son of Poseidon ever so fashionably crashed through the gate, walking through it as if he owned the entire place, everyone could not hold back their laughter while the son of Poseidon simply smiled sheepishly.

The first one to welcome the young man was his parents, Sally and Paul Blofis. Maria had heard their fair share of stories, of how one major quest that Percy Jackson partook in secured their residence in Elysium. Not that they would have ended up in the Fields of Asphodel, no, but Percy needed to guarantee that he would be with his loved ones even in death.

Paul affectionately patted the boy on his head while Sally embraced her son ever so tightly with tears pooling in her eyes with the immeasurable happiness of seeing her beloved boy after being apart from him for three decades. A motherly love radiated off of her soul and was welcomed in kind as the son of Poseidon wound his arms tightly around his mother's frame, holding her as if he was afraid that she would be gone the moment he let go.

It was understandable, that need of reassurance even in death.

When Sally pulled away from him, Percy Jackson solely had his eyes for one person and one person only. They stood apart by a mere few feet, looking into each other's eyes as if trying to decipher every thoughts and emotions in the other's mind. Nico had mentioned it to her once; the gravity of what it was like to look into those eyes.

It was as if everything else fades in the background, and in those eyes I could only see myself. It was as if I was the only existence in his life and that nothing else mattered than that moment with him.

Maria could never understand the intensity of it. It was special, truly special, and was another thing she was not meant to have.

Percy was the one to break their silent connection, scooping the son of Hades within his arms ever so tightly before lifting him in a full circle, clearly startling the latter as his breath hitched at the gesture. Percy never let go of Nico even as he set him back onto the ground, only pulling him closer to his frame as if their proximity was not nearly enough.

"I'm home." Maria had faintly heard the older teen whisper to her son before he shamelessly kissed the son of Hades right in front of everyone.

Many cheered at the sight, blissfully happy for the long-separated demigods that have finally been reunited. Teasing remarks had been made, followed by a few playful whistles as the two seemed to have forgotten of their companions, their lips still pressed firmly yet innocently against each other.

Then, there was Annabeth, whom silently stood at the side, watching the exchange with unfathomable emotions swirling in the depths of her stormy grey orbs, forcing a small smile to grace her lips in consideration of the moment.

Maria had heard of maiden's tragic story that, for valid reasons, Maria could relate. A supposed blessing from the goddess of love crushed her future with the man she had come to love; a love that was, in the eyes of Perseus Jackson, a fabricated love forged from deceitful lies. The daughter of Athena viewed it in a different perspective with the reasoning that the memories which they have shared were nothing short of a part of the reality. But Percy Jackson could not, would not, return a false love. Not when one truly existed, though grasped too late, in the presence of the deceased son of Hades. Unlike the love that prevailed with Jason Grace and Piper McLean, Annabeth Chase loved no one else in her lifetime but the son of Poseidon. She had repetitively reasoned to herself that it was a hard lesson learnt and that she would not allow herself to experience such excruciating pain again, but Maria could see in those eyes – hauntingly identical to hers – that she was just as much irrevocably and unconditionally in love still with the son of Poseidon. Many years she had wasted, waiting with that faint hope of a love that was never to be returned.

Seeing the reality playing before her eyes was shattering.

"Welcome home," Nico had whispered when their lips parted, only a few centimeters from each other. "Welcome home, Percy."

It was the way he said it, with that unwavering fondness and natural happiness reflecting ever so clearly in those usually guarded eyes that had Maria questioning if she had known what love was all along, underneath such descriptive words that she was forced to acknowledge all her life. Maria did not know the foundation of their love, and what makes it look and seem so special.

She begun to question if hers was even one.

Maria di Angelo had known Sally Blofis for as long as she and her husband had stayed with her and her son since their dwelling in Elysium. It was an arrangement upon the agreement that their sons would simply be inseparable come the time they were to reunite. It would not seem right if either were to give up their son to another household, thus the agreement of living under one household. It was odd in the beginning, trying to naturally progress day by day with a couple of strangers – as lovely as they were – in what was once occupied by her family alone. But, Sally had been a great companion, and in due time, living with the Blofis' couple had been nothing short of natural.

Sally shared a fair deal of her precious son, reminiscing of days before he had been involved in the whole demigod ordeal. Percy had once been a troubled kid, Maria was displeased of that. But, to judge him would only make her a hypocrite as her children were just as much, if not a little more troubled.

Nico had slight trouble adjusting to their presence, despite the motherly nature and overwhelming kindness and doting Sally showed him. It was not that it was unappreciated. The setting was simply… odd since it was admittedly like living with your in-laws. Not that either family would care to admit of it.

Percy took the setting rather fairly well, not wanting to be separated from the younger demigod for great periods of time. Much time had been lost in making it to the end of his lifetime, and a second more away from the son of Hades would kill him further. Though it bothered Maria that her son would be situated in the same room as the older teen, her lips remained tightly pressed, reasoning with herself that traditions had to be altered to pave way for the modern changes.

"Your dad was looking at me while I was under judgement, like he was thinking of cheating through and dragging me to the Fields of Punishment," Percy had groaned in the midst of a conversation, their family and demigods alike, settled down on the grass with the son of Hades seated upon his lap. "Believe me, I tried every single thing to persuade your father to approve of me being with you! I even courted Lady Persephone with gifts so I can be on her good side because, let's face it, she's the only one capable of making your father agree."

The true wife of her beloved had always been a sore topic for Maria. Lady Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter. How amusing it was that any connection to Zeus seemed to cost much for her. The love that she had shared with Hades was short. Blissfully sweet, yet painfully short. And in her death, in her journey towards Elysium, she had greatly wondered why Hades did not see her through. For a decade, she waited for him every single day, watching the gates for any signs of his presence – of him – coming to see her.

But he never came.

And she let her hope die.

"Lady Persephone was not buying it either. She was all, 'I know what you're doing, and I don't want to be dragged into your nonsense'. Can you believe that? Lord Hades was all, 'You can't have my son. You'll wound up on the Fields of Punishment before you do'. Luckily, most of the gods pulled through by warning your dad. I think Lady Aphrodite's threat of painting his whole palace permanently with hot pink got him to comply," Percy continued, gesturing wildly and poorly imitating their voices while the demigods laughed at the story. "You should have seen him! He was pulling this stunt of looking like the Grim Reaper."

Maria could not help smiling a tad bit at that, though with a hint of sadness.

You hide behind such walls, Hades. If only they actually know the real you, they would not treat you ill.

"Are you alright, Missus di Angelo?"

The concerned tone of the son of Poseidon – her son-in-law though she would not admit that for a long while – snapped her from her musings, causing her to raise her eyes from where they were fixated on the ground. Sea-green eyes gazed into her own dark brown hues with genuine concern and wonder, as if the teen was pondering if he had said something wrong that the Italian woman found offensive. Nico gazed into his mother's eyes, if only briefly before promptly looking away. There was only one person whom could cause much sadness to his mother, and as much as he wanted to inform of Percy that, his mother would feel genuine guilt if Percy would be spending his whole day apologizing to her.

Don't look at me with those loving eyes. It reminds me of him too much.

"I would be if you keep your hands above the waist of my son, boy," Maria answered almost monotonously, arching one of her brows as she pointedly looked at the demigod's slightly wandering hands.

The others howled in laughter while the two looked utterly embarrassed.

I'm alright. Nico and Bianca are alright.

There was only so much that Maria was allowed to know, and so little time to process every single detail. There is much of the world and of the circumstances which she could question, and only receive a few answers to appease her sheer curiosity in the end. One of the mysteries she wanted to decipher had always been her son's questionable relationship to the son of Poseidon.

Love does not prevail. It has always been humanity's greatest misconception to deceive the population. Everyone is bound to a responsibility, of higher value than what emotions could provide, that are only escapable through death. Few people attain love in its purest form, and some lose it in that brief moment of madness to grasp it. Love does not bloom in a second or an hour or a day. Not the supposed love her son and the older teen share that is.

The door to their shared room was just slightly ajar. Though their physical embodiments were of teens, their mentality were that of adults and both parents of their families respected that. It was in that vast space which Percy and Nico could isolate themselves from the rest of the world, and bask in how the other's presence simply completes their entire being unlike any other.

Maria quietly peeks through, silently taking in the sight of the couple, decently so on their bed. While her son seemed to be in a state of rest, the son of Poseidon was fondly gazing at the younger teen, occasionally pressing kisses to any part of the unmarred features while his arms tightened around the sleeping form.

The Italian woman held great respect for the son of Poseidon, though that was something she had yet to vocally admit. In the past seven decades that Perseus and her Nico were separated, the former had done his utmost best partaking in every quest he could with no regards to the danger, using the favors he received of the gods to meet with the son of Hades, even if just for a short while. With every meeting did their longing to be with each other grew, and more so did the desire not to leave the Underworld manifested within the older demigod. Somehow, they had managed to pull through and while Maria still had difficulty on grasping the fact that she had to give her son away far too soon for her liking for him to be with his beloved, she would not be selfish enough to deny the greatest source of happiness her son rightfully deserved.

"I love you, Nico. I love you so, so much."

The words were repeated like a mantra by young Perseus as he cradled the younger teen closer to his chest, pressing delicate kisses on every expanse of skin his lips could reach, and treating Nico so… so special as if he was the very breath that keeps him intact. And when Nico did open his eyes, gazing amusedly at his other half as the teen continued to press kisses to his skin, Maria could only focus at the intensity of love and affection and adoration their eyes held within each other's gazes.

"And I you," Nico laughed, noting the barest hint of pout and displeasure on Percy's face when he returned his confession in such a formal manner. He added,

"You complete me."

And Maria had to wonder if that was what love simply was: a sense of completion.

She knew what content is, but she had never felt complete.

When Maria decided that the time was right for her to leave Elysium, it was a year after Percy Jackson had arrived in Elysium. It was with the assurance that her children were happy, and that they would meet once more in the afterlife that she had decided that it was time for her to finally, finally, move on with her life.

She had expected for her children to cry, and what happened was nothing short of that expectation. They wept, truly they did, but there was that acceptance and understanding that it was what their mother had to do for herself. She did not expect for the young Perseus though to launch himself at her, to embrace her tightly as if he was her own child and her, his own mother.

"Take care of Nico for me. I'll see you again, son-in-law."

While Percy had been embarrassingly pleased at that, all he could do was promise to her as he once did before allowing for himself to let her go.

Her children were content, and in a sense, that made her content. But being content and being complete were two different things, and she had a chance at living once more to figure what lacked of her life.

It was what existed between her son and young Perseus.

It was what existed now in Bianca after coming back from her second life.

"I didn't think you would leave Elysium. I… Not that soon, at least."

Maria allowed for herself to gaze up, looking at a figure whom her memory only vaguely remembered once as a distorted figure. Decades had made her forget of his face, but that voice… that voice she could never come to forget.

"Hello, Hades. What brings you here?" Maria had greeted him politely, casting her eyes down to the ground as she felt his piercing eyes on her form.

"I came to escort you. I sensed that you were leaving," Hades answered in a monotonous voice, and Maria could not decipher any emotion from it.

"That is very amusing of you to say, considering that you have not even once visited me here in Elysium," Maria responded, lifting her eyes to meet jet-black eyes. "I believe any of your servants can do just that."

Silence permeated the air as neither of two dared to voice a comment. Maria had looked into those eyes a thousand times to know the emotions welling within that the god would not dare to voice out. The booming sound of laughter startled the Italian woman, partially distracting her as she gazed fondly at the sight of her protesting son being lifted up in the air by an overly enthusiastic son of Poseidon as the other demigods chased after the pair.

Truly, she would miss the sight of her son's smiles and the sound of his laughter, but she had to move on for herself and for them.

"It had to be that Jackson kid," Hades commented with unconcealed displeasure, glaring directly at the demigod who seemed to stumble for a second, lifting his free hand to clap the back of his neck as if to protect it from the unseen danger that was the Lord of the Underworld.

"He is… adequate," Maria commented fondly, clasping her hands firmly.

A snort.

"He is childish and oblivious and undeniably an idiot," the god replied, one of his brows arching.

"He makes our son happy," Maria responded almost immediately, a small smile lifting her lips at how true the statement was.

"It's been a long time since I have seen you smile, mio amore," Hades murmured, earning once more the attention of the woman.

Maria pursed her lips, not looking at the direction of the god.

"How could you call me that? All these years, you never showed up and I have come to think that I matter so little to you. So why are you here now after all these years? I do not need a farewell party. Not from you, especially," Maria whispered, voice laced with the pain she had been trying to suppress for years.

Hades casted his eyes to the ground, masking his expressions from the woman, not that she could have seen.

"If I did, Persephone would have gone after our children," Hades answered slowly, taking in the back of the slightly trembling soul. "If I visited you even once, Persephone's jealousy would have had placed them in danger."

"You know that that is just an excuse. You are the Lord of the Underworld. This is your domain. I do not hate your wife," Maria stated, slightly forcing the last word out from her lips as she turned to face the god. "She has every reason to be jealous if her husband were to have an affair outside of marriage, so do not include her in this. Stop making excuses and tell me: Why did you not come to see me?"

Hades breathed deeply, taking in the paradise that was of Elysium before he directed his gaze to the woman before him, whose features had long contorted to pain. This was not what he had wanted to see even after decades of losing her. It reminded him painfully of the day he had lost her; her disfigured body cradled ever so delicately within his arms, and the tear streaks that had adorned her cheeks in the last few moments that she had struggled to stay alive.

The mere sight of her haunted him. Eternally.

"I had allowed you to die. I caused your death. Did you ever think that I could have ever forgiven myself for allowing you to die?" Hades breathed, a slight manic glint fleeting in his eyes for a second before he gestured towards the paradise before them. "There was so much that I wanted for you and our children. This… All of this was not what I wanted for our family."

A pair of cold hands grasped his cheeks gently, thumbs running delicately along the expanse of his deathly pale skin. Despite how the contact seemed to bite his skin, it was comforting; it was a grasp of sanity that he had long lost grasp for decades.

There was an inner turmoil within her heart.

"Did you ever come to visit and hear my thoughts? That I do not blame you for my death?" Maria questioned, watching as those eyes drifted close underneath the caresses of her hands. "But no, you did not. And you mistreated our son. Tell me, Hades. Was it because he looked like me? Was it because he bore too much of me that you cannot even look at him without seeing me dead?"

The silence that greeted her for a whole minute was enough as confirmation.

Before her was the man whom she thought she understood completely with all her heart, and before him was the woman whom he thought he understood completely with all that he had to give. She thought, he thought. Both had lived under assumptions and drowned themselves in their own sorrows.

He was her world once, she was his world once. But they were never complete beings to begin with. They were merely broken pieces.

"I have always loved you. And I will still love you with every broken piece of me," Maria whispered to him, standing on her tiptoes to place a feathery light kiss on his temple.

"But you are leaving."

It was a statement, not a question.

"I have been here for more than a hundred and forty years. Isn't it time that I move on?"

Was it not the time for her to find herself for once?

"I will look for you once again." Hades grasped her hands against his cheeks, lifting them to his lips as he delicately pressed kisses to her knuckles.

"And I shall wait once more. Maybe our fate would not be as tragic in my second life."

Maybe I would know you much better by then. You, beyond the tip of the iceberg. You, that I have devoted all my life to and so much more. Maybe if I understood you and you had understood me, fate would have been different for all of us. But, the death cannot mourn for the past. So, I have to move forth, just as our children have. And maybe, in my next lifetime, we can be together once again – even just a while – and maybe things could be right for once. For both of us.

"Come, mia moglie."

Hades offered her a hand, silently asking for her to trust him to lead her beyond the gate.

And she took it.

I can't say if I will come back whole

Because I have always been alone

But I will always come back

If you lead me back home

finisce l'amore