'I can go?' Zara looked up, shocked.

'I can see no amount of sitting will make you listen to me,' Chiron sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 'You might as well go and have an off day.'

He didn't even get to finish his sentence before she sprinted out the door with not another word. She can't believe it, her first free day since Nico left for his quest! She knew exactly how she wanted to spend the day. She raced over to the dark Hades cabin and she stopped at the door, panting slightly. The part of camp the Hades cabin was in was quiet and rather gloomy, seeming to be the only place the sun didn't touch in the entire camp. She reached a hand into a small, shadowed hollow by the door and pulled out a dark metal key, inlaid with jewels. "My Skeleton Key," Nico had once said jokingly. She inserted the cool key into the lock, twisted it and pushed open the door, which swung open noiselessly.

She stood in the doorway and gazed around the gloomy cabin. She had been planning to clean the cabin up for a week now, ever since Nico left some time ago for another personal quest, which was approved by Chiron. Chiron approved anything and anywhere Nico wanted to do and go, being the one and only son of Hades with innumerable quests he could never tell of. She swept her eyes around the desolate cabin, deserted since his last night in camp. She was trying to figure out what to do first.

Bronze sconces with their everlasting flames burning low did a poor job of lighting the inside but what little light it gave off showed that the inside of the cabin looked like it was hit by a bomb. Clothes in various dark shades lay strewn on every available surface, looking like ragged corpses in the dim light and the only bed in the entire cabin looked messier than hers and Percy's combined. She made her way over to it and smiled quietly to herself, remembering what made the sheets into such a state of disarray.

Shaking herself out of her reverie, she went to the windows and threw them open, to air the stuffy cabin. She then began to pick up the clothes, folded them roughly and placed them in one on the mahogany chairs, deciding to pick which ones to wash later. It took awhile but after she picked up all the clothes, she noticed small knick-knacks she bought for him when she traveled all on the floor as well. She bent down and put them where they were supposed to be, straightening things as she did, now with a manic grin on her face at the memory of what caused such a mess surfaced in her mind's eye.

She was so engrossed with her tasks that she didn't realise that someone was in the cabin with her until a pair of hands circled around her shoulders. She stiffened and was about to twist around to face the stranger, fists at the ready, when a head dropped onto her shoulder and she instantly relaxed herself. She reached up and stroked the messy dark hair she loved so much, reveling at how soft it felt against her fingers. 'Welcome back, Nico,' she said warmly, relieved that he was safe and by her side again.

'Say it again,' he mumbled into her shoulder.

She quirked an eyebrow. 'Wel-'

'No, just my name.'

She was silent for awhile, wondering where he was going with this. Taking a short breath, she opened her mouth. 'Nico.'

She felt him smile into her shoulder through her orange CHB T-shirt and it made her smile just a little wider. 'How I love the way it sounds on your lips,' he muttered as he kissed her shoulder tenderly. He rested his head on her shoulder wearily, inhaling and exhaling softly, breathing in her scent; of the lake, the sunshine and just a tinge of sweat. Most of all, it smelt so...alive. How he felt like he could drown in that scent.

'How was it?' her voice broke the silence.

'Tiring,' came the short reply. Slowly, she turned around to face him, careful not to disturb his hands around her shoulders. She positioned his head back on her shoulder and placed her arms loosely around his hips, feeling his rough scabbard against her left arm. She just held him that way, lending him her strength silently. Waiting for his cue. She peered at him. As usual whenever he returned, he was slightly more disheveled than usual, with his T-shirt rumpled, stains covering some other jacket he salvaged somewhere. His hair was messy, covering his eyes. It was also slightly greasy. He needed a wash and a cut, she decided.

After awhile, he gave a small sigh and lifted his arms off her shoulders, only to place his hands on both her cheeks in a tender caress. 'Il mio amore,' he whispered quietly as he placed his forehead on hers, their breaths mingling.

Taking that as her cue, she lifted her head the fraction of an inch required and placed her lips on his gently. She felt his uncannily soft hands on her cheeks tighten infinitesimally and he gripped her face tighter as he returned the kiss.

Their tongues clashed in their own battle as she placed her hands in his hair, gripping fistfuls of it, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss, making him sigh and kiss her again with more fervour.

Finally, she pulled away. 'I've missed you,' she sighed.

'Mi manchi,' he sighed back. 'Troppo.' She was about to ask what that meant when his lips crashed against hers, silencing her in the best possible way.

Zara felt herself being gently pushed backwards and allowed it, knowing where they were headed. She landed on the bed with a muted thump, their kiss left unbroken. She put a hand on his cheek again and he covered it with his own hand and they lay down on the still somewhat messy bed. After awhile, they broke away for breath and she peered into his face as he did the same to her. She studied the contours of his face, noticing the mask of weariness and fear. Her heart clenched painfully when she noticed the look of dejected loneliness on his face and she kissed him again, hoping to erase that look. He placed a hand on her hip, lifting her T-shirt up an inch as he traced circles on her bare skin with his thumb.

Finally, they broke apart for the last time, both panting softly. 'What a welcome. Shouldn't that be from me to you?' she joked.

'I was so afraid of returning to another empty cabin,' he said quietly, not meeting her eyes. 'Imagine my surprise when I finally got here and I see you, filling the place with your light, like an angel. I couldn't help it, I just-' his voice broke.

'Shh,' she soothed him as she sat up and drew him to her. He placed his head on her lap, his arms circling her waist. She smoothed his messy hair soothingly.

'Please don't ever leave me,' he said softly, almost too soft for her to hear. 'Ti voglio molto bene.'

'Nico,' she matched his soft tone. 'You know I can't understand Italia-'

'I love you. Very much.'

'Oh.'

'Just, please. Don't...leave...me...' his soft voice drifted off as his weariness set in, slowing his breathing and sleep took over.