Honey, I Shrank the Hero

by Takara Phoenix

BoO SPOILERS - Two years after the war, Nico was adjusted to camp, having friends and trying to get over Percy. But his world gets thrown upside-down when Percy gets turned into a little kid by Hebe and he somehow ends up as Percy's babysitter for a week. Everything changes once more when Percy is back to normal. Nico-centered, Nico/Percy slash Nicercy

PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || Honey, I Shrank the Hero || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: Honey, I Shrank the Hero – Nico di Angelo, Babysitter Extraordinaire

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; post both series

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, fluff, hurt/comfort, friendship, Nico-centered, deaging, Percy Feels, PTSD, past (child) abuse, shoujo-ai, threesome, hetero

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Jake/Will, Jason/Piper, Frank/Hazel/Leo, Chris/Clarisse, Thalia/Reyna, Tempest/Blackjack

Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Lou Ellen, Will Solace, Jake Mason, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Thalia Grace, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Clarisse la Rue, Chris Rodriguez, Tempest, Blackjack

Godly Characters: Hebe, Chiron

Summary: Nico is adjusting surprisingly well after the war. To having friends, to not being shunned, to spending time with Percy. At least until news about Percy's and Annabeth's breakup reach him. When he goes to New Rome to investigate, everything somehow goes downhill. Now he's suddenly the personal caretaker of a seven-years-old Percy Jackson, because the boy latched onto him. The rest of their friends is more than happy to dump the deaged hero on Nico so they can try and figure out how in the world this had happened. Nico all the while has to put up with... cuteness.

Honey, I Shrank the Hero

Nico di Angelo, Babysitter Extraordinaire

Nico di Angelo had finally pulled his head out of his ass, as Will liked to call it.

He was staying at camp, he was socializing. He had even made friends. Sure, he was still freaked out about coming out – he was actually still wondering where his boldness had rooted from when he had so bluntly told Percy about his feelings. And okay, he may have lied there, but it was habit.

Will had called him out on that bullshit too. Will was a good friend, Nico admitted in the back of his mind and only to himself. Not that Nico had particularly needed any head-whacking when it came to that part of his life. He knew his feelings for Percy had surpassed a 'crush' years ago – heck, if his feelings for that boy had been strong enough so Hades had picked up on them and so Cupid considered the mere mention of them a worthy challenge, then fuck, that was not a little school girl crush. Nico knew that. He didn't want to know that, but he still did.

But he also knew that Percy was with Annabeth. Telling Percy about his feelings and that he was over them had been Nico listening to his father's advise, or wish rather – to see Nico being happy. For that, Nico needed to let go of the greatest pain there was. And that was his love for Percy Jackson. Every time those sea-green eyes would shine when they looked at Annabeth, it was worse than going through Tartarus. Maybe if Nico came clean, if he'd try hard enough, he could truly, really get over Percy. With Will's help, which the blonde had been all too eager to offer.

It had been why Will was so overly friendly to begin with, after all. Will's gay-dar was well and when he had picked up on Nico's feelings for Percy back during the Titan War, he had tried to befriend the younger boy, to help him through the toughest phase there was. Settling with who he truly was. Sadly, Nico had missed that opportunity at first. Now however he took it, gladly.

Nico had a friend, a gay friend. Someone who at the very least understood that aspect of his life. And Will was great, he had spend hours and days with Nico, mainly on gay rights, marriage and even how far it had reached into pop-culture. There were no gas-chambers awaiting gays any more... at least not in their parts of the world. Will had put much effort into trying to reassure Nico that those who matter wouldn't reject him for who he was.

And they hadn't. Percy was still a little weird and stammered a lot, but never anything mean, he never shied away from Nico or looked grossed out. Hazel had embraced Nico. Reyna and Jason had offered him small, proud smiles when he had said it out loud in front of the three Romans for the first time – I am gay. Because admitting a crush on Percy or projecting his fears onto others was not the same as saying it out loud. And Will was right, every time he said it, it felt easier.

(He practiced it in front of the mirror in the Hades Cabin, right before going to bed – I'm Nico di Angelo, I'm the Ghost King and I'm gay. That's who I am and it's okay. No one was ever to know about that though, because Nico would send them to Tartarus himself.)

But slowly, it became okay. Slowly, he actually grew comfortable in his own skin.

"You are really freaking me out, di Angelo."

He laughed at that. Two years ago, he would have flinched. Three years ago, he would have grown angry and bitter. Four years ago and he would have run, like the stubborn brat he had been. But now? He laughed and flipped his friend the finger.

"Go suck it, Ellen", replied Nico nonchalantly, not moving an inch.

"Yeah, no, I leave the sucking to you, ghosty", snickered the daughter of Hecate.

She was leaning over Nico, hands on her knees as she stared at him in utter fascination. Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, just lazing about in the sun. He spend a lot of time in the sun, just bathing in the light. Most preferably at the beach and if they knew why, then they never commented on it. It had done him good, not just because being in the light had kept him from slipping into the shadows – which had been a hard feast for the first few months after the Giant War, because his body was still short of just fading out. No, it had also regained his olive-skinned complexion. The dark bags from sleeplessness and exhaustion were gone, because now that he was a regular at camp, he had a home to rest and wasn't constantly on the run anymore. The only black around his eyes was the occasional mascara. He had hit a growth spurt and enjoyed patting Jason's hair condescendingly in a nearly perverse way, but after two years of being pampered by the blonde and treated like a little brother who needed protection, it was nice to be the taller one for a change. His hair was longer, even messier than ever before and he had an undercut. He also had a couple of piercings lining his ear, one in his lower lip, a nipple piercing on the left and one in his tongue. Though he still stuck with his black skinny-jeans, he had taken to wearing band-shirts (shadow-traveling saved a lot of money when it came to watching live-music) and leather jackets. Short: He was a punk.

And he blamed Lou Ellen for it. The daughter of Hecate had followed soon after Will and been attached to the son of Hades by the hip. Two children of the underworld with creepy yet awesome powers. They soon became friends and she, with her purple-dyed and half-shaved off hair and her clothes-style and her combat boots, had taken the liberty of taking Nico shopping. Often.

"Whatcha dreaming about, Nico?", asked Lou as she plunged down next to him.

"College", replied Nico easily.

Folding her arms behind her head, she stared up into the clouds too. "Already, huh?"

"I'm sixteen, two more years and I'm done", shrugged Nico casually.

"Good to hear you finally put your education higher on your list of priorities."

Nico cracked his eyes open at that, just for the sole purpose of making a show of rolling them. And then he sat up, for the sake of reaching out and pushing the glasses up that were slipping off his best friend's nose. Jason glared a little at that, flushing. Nico smirked.

"Who would have thought we'd turn into the nerd and the punk?", asked Nico teasingly.

"I'm not a nerd", defended Jason, straightening his glasses some more.

"Dude, you're slaving away for your graduation. You didn't even have time for movie night last week. You are a total nerdy geeky bore!", claimed Lou loudly. "Join us, nerdy, geeky bore."

Jason leveled a glare at the daughter of Hecate, but still obeyed and sprawled out on the grass too. Their heads were practically bumping as all three of them had their legs stretched out away from them. Jason smiled a little as he stared up into the bright, blue sky.

"So, you're thinking about college?", asked the son of Jupiter softly.

"Not where, but... well, what, I guess", shrugged Nico awkwardly.

"And are you going to tell us?", pressed Lou, turning her head to glare at him.

He made a show of looking thoughtful, before smirking and getting up. "Nope."

"He's such a sarcastic little shit", muttered Jason beneath his breath.

"I know, I taught him well", sighed Lou with a grin.

/break\

Two years ago, Will had complained that Nico hadn't visited the infirmary. It was a bit ironic to him that nowadays, he barely got the son of Hades out of the infirmary. While Will did paperwork (why did Chiron even want that? They weren't a hospital or anything, after all!), Nico would be laying sprawled out on one of the empty beds, reading. While the infirmary was bursting with life, he'd sit perched up on Will's desk, with his feet on Will's chair (thanks, man, so considerate. Will liked to sit on Nico's bed with his shoes on in return. Sweet payback).

"Hey, babe", whispered a deep, dark voice.

Will started a little where he was sitting on his chair, head hanging over another file. Twisting a little was enough to earn a kiss on the cheek as his boyfriend wrapped his arms around Will's shoulders from behind, chin resting in the crook of Will's neck.

"Hey", whispered Will back, smiling a little. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like?", countered the dark-haired boy.

"Looks like you're trying to make me puke", commented Nico from the bed beside the table. "Please cease the noises, I'm trying to read. And please cease the making-out, I'm trying to keep my breakfast down. Watching you two is like—like how I imagine watching my parents would be."

"What are you even doing in the infirmary? I swear, you're here more often than I am!", complained Jake irritated as he straightened. "Can't you go into some shady, dark corner or something?"

"Wi—ill, your boyfriend is mean to me", whined Nico, his best fake kiddie-whine.

Will smiled fondly and leaned over to ruffle Nico's hair. This was what he had wanted for years now. Helping Nico with being who he was, being comfortable who he was. He was proud that he had been able to befriend the son of Hades and could help the other boy.

"Little Nikki is learning", replied Will to his boyfriend's question. "Our little boy wants to be a doctor when he grows up, so he's been devouring every biology, anatomy, psychology and what-not book we have. He wants to make sure he can cover it once he has to study it."

"A... doctor...?", asked Jake stunned, leaning against the table to look at Nico. "A son of death who wants to save lives? Not trying to be cynic or an asshole here, just pointing it out..."

"Who's better fit to be a doctor than someone who can sense death?", shrugged Nico, nose back in his book. "I'll know when it's getting dangerous even before any machines can beep."

Jake nodded slowly. That did make sense, actually. And ever since Will and the others had managed to coax Nico out of his shell, he had shown quite the social skills even. He smiled a little.

"Doctor di Angelo, now if that's not going to make pants drop", teased Jake softly.

"Your mind is as one-tracked as your boyfriend's", stated Nico and rolled his eyes.

"Just saying... You're comfortable enough with your sexuality, or at least I think so, but still you've never even accepted any guy who asked you out on a date", countered Will with a frown.

"Why should I?", shrugged Nico, not looking up from his book. "When I see them and they ask me out and nothing... happens, not inside my head or stomach or any other body-part, what good is it?"

"The son of Hades believes in love at first sight", snorted Jake amused. "How romantic."

"Endorphins", corrected Nico, putting his book down with an annoyed look. "The natural chemical reaction when two compatible people meet. It happens in the brain. If the guy can't even evoke the minimal, necessary reaction from my brain, why should I waste my time?"

"People can have a reaction and it fades with time. They can be in love and then drift apart, or they can meet and get to know each other and fall in love", countered Will with a frown.

"Right", muttered Nico and stood, putting the book back onto its shelf.

"Percy and Annabeth broke up", stated Jake softly, earning two stunned looks.

"W—What?", asked Will shocked. "How? When? Why do you know?!"

"Well, I was over at Leo's last week and Percy was crashing there", shrugged Jake.

"That can't be", huffed Nico, grabbing a new book.

"Why?", asked Jake sardonically. "Because you need the heart-ache of their ever-lasting love?"

"Because my sister would have told me if Percy was staying at their place", countered Nico.

"Hazel, Frank and Leo promised him not to tell anybody", said Jake. "Not until he has some stuff figured out and knows how to answer the shitload of questions everyone will throw at him. I only know because I was there and saw him. Maybe if you'd visit your sister more often..."

"I visit her at least once a month", muttered Nico, glaring. "It's not like I have a lot of time with school, camp and dad's odd requests every now and then. Besides, she's fine. She has her boys."

As always, Nico wiggled his nose a little at that. It wasn't that he judged his sister for her choice of lovers – after everything he had put himself through, fearing the judgment of others, he would never do that to anyone, especially not to someone he loved so very dearly – but it still didn't quite sit right with him that his sister was living with two boys. It was more the protective older brother speaking than anything. Still, he knew Frank and Leo made her happy. Damn, he had never seen her happier than the day Leo Valdez had waltzed into New Rome – Nico, Reyna, Jason and Piper had been over for dinner that day and there he stood, in all his tinkering, mischievous glory, like he had never been gone to begin with. There had been a lot of slapping. A. Lot. Jason, Piper, Hazel, they basically took turns slapping the Latino and cursing at him. And then there had been hugging. Even more. And apologizing. Hours of apologizing. He had kept his promise to Calypso, had freed her, had roamed the world with her and Festus for a few weeks, but... it hadn't worked out. Of course it hadn't worked out. The poor girl had been stuck on that damnable island for thousands of years, only getting the company and attention that the gods deemed fit and that got taken away as soon as she developed any interest or feelings. Calypso was a flirt. She relished in the attention that she could get. Not that she had been unfaithful or anything, but she just... enjoyed living. And Leo had realized that, even before her. She finally got the chance to be free, but in a way, he was holding her captive too. So he had let her go. She was now hiking through Europe and he had no idea where to go, so he had gone to the safest place he could picture. Frank and Hazel.

The first couple of months, it had just been a friendly gesture and lots of comforting. But over the past year now, things had grown decidedly more intimate. Losing Leo, thinking they had lost him forever, had made Frank and Hazel reevaluate their feelings for the Latino.

"I think I'll be visiting my sister this weekend", declared Nico as he left the infirmary.

/break\

Thalia was leaning in the doorway, arm against the wall, frown on her face. It was silent, aside from the whimpers coming from inside the room. Heaving a sigh, she turned her back on the room, but left the door open – in case the whimpers would turn into screams and they'd have to come.

"What's the verdict, huntress?"

Despite her now sad mood, a small smile quirked her lips up. Reyna was laying on the bed, sprawled out in all of her gorgeousness, only wrapped into a light, white nightgown.

"No, I... I'm sorry, Lady Artemis sends word from her brother, he can't help with this. It's... nothing physical. Nothing he can heal, even though he'd want to help", whispered Thalia concerned.

"You don't have to be sorry. It's not your fault, Lia", murmured Reyna, folding the covers back. "Come, let's enjoy your stay for as long as it lasts, even though the reason's not... a nice one."

The Latina's eyes roamed Thalia's body in a quite certain way. No demigod would ever be able to heal her heart. Who needed a demigod of they could have a badass huntress? Technically, Thalia had been born a demigod, yes, but when a girl pledged to Lady Artemis, they gave up their legacy wholly – Romans, Greeks, mortals, nature spirits, they all became one and the same. Huntresses. When they had met in San Juan first, it had been a bit electric and very impressive. Meeting again after the war had brought them closer. It had still taken Reyna by surprise when Thalia had kissed her, all of a sudden, one day that the huntresses had been staying in New Rome, recruiting Romans. Huntresses didn't lay with men. Reyna had laughed about two days straight at the mental image of the huntresses being a club of lesbians – then again, the amazons were a club of BDSM freaks, so why was she surprised, really? It was a complicated relationship to maintain, with Thalia running around with her huntresses and Reyna being in New Rome. Thalia had asked her, pleaded really, that Reyna would join the huntresses. Not until New Rome was whole again. Not until her two years would be up. Only a couple more weeks and they would be re-electing praetors. She would resign, she knew New Rome was healed from the Giant War by now. And then she could leave with her lover and be with Thalia for good, fight with her.

"I'll just go to the kitchen and get the chocolate sauce. Before Valdez steals it", grinned Thalia.

She winked at her girlfriend, earning a blush from the daughter of Bellona. Humming to herself, she left for downstairs. The praetors' house, where Reyna and Frank were living. Together with Frank's partners Hazel and Leo. Reaching the kitchen, she opened the fridge, leaning in.

"Not the cousin I had expected to find here."

Yelping a little, Thalia hit her head on a shelf and pulled out, chocolate sauce clasped tightly in one hand as she whirled around to stare at the amused-looking son of Hades sitting at the table.

"Nico. What are you doing here?", asked Thalia stunned, closing the door and walking over to the boy. "Also, damn, I love your new look. Looks great on you, cuz."

"Thanks", grinned Nico, swatting Thalia's hand away as it messed with his hair. "What are you doing here, Thalia? Are the huntresses on a stay in Roman territory?"

"Nope, just me. Staying", answered Thalia shortly. "Requested, actually. You?"

"I've heard some rumors, wanted to... see for myself", shrugged Nico reluctantly.

"Who told you about Percy?", asked Thalia seriously.

"Jake slipped up", replied Nico, glaring. "Why did no one tell me? You know too, apparently."

"It's... personal. I'm only here as a messenger from Artemis, with news from Apollo", sighed Thalia. "Come with me. I guess showing will be easier than explaining..."

Nico nodded stiffly and followed Thalia upstairs. They reached the guest room. Nico could see in the dark just perfectly so he didn't need the lights to see the curled-together son of Poseidon on the bed. He was pressed into the corner of the room, hidden beneath the blanket. Whimpering.

"Percy...", breathed Nico confused. "What's wrong with him?"

"We don't know", sighed Thalia and shook her head. "But that's why Percy and Annabeth broke up. She just couldn't deal with it anymore. She tried for two years now. Tried to coax him into talking about it, tried to help him. She tried to force him into therapy, tried... everything. But he just shied away more and more, because he felt like he was nothing more but a burden to her. He broke up with her, because Percy couldn't handle her heartbroken look every time he would smile and tell her that he was fine. He's also already looking for an apartment, because he doesn't want to be a bother to Reyna and Frank either. Stubborn bastard has PTSD and doesn't want to be a bother."

"Think I can crash on the couch?", asked Nico softly.

"Sure, I guess", shrugged Thalia amused. "Not like I'm living here too, after all..."

There was something Nico had to do. So he went back to the living room and passed out face-first on the couch, waiting for sleep to claim him. There was a dream he had to visit, even though for years, it had been his one forbidden destination, because he knew if he'd ever start entering Percy's dreams, he would be stuck, in a way. There was nothing more intimate than being in someone's mind and thoughts. Allowing himself to do that would have made it even more painful and impossible to get over his feelings for Percy Jackson. But he had to know what was wrong.

/break\

Tartarus. The unique smell was all it took for Nico to know where he was. But other than that, he had a hard time grasping the dream. So much seemed to be happening at once, swirling together to one weird combination. There was Percy, holding Luke as the blonde took his last breath, while Damasen and Bob were battling for their lives in the background, a blind Annabeth, screaming for help as she wandered the depth, but above them hung Annabeth from the cliff, with Percy leaning over them – right before the fall. Monsters were circling in on Percy, but also pre-teens who were calling him names, pointing and laughing. At the front line of those was a redhead with freckles that looked like cheese sprinkled over her cheeks.

Nico was an expert when it came to pain – as Reyna and Jason loved to point out to him with those worried yet scolding looks. But this was too much, even for him. It only got worse when a drunken man, nearly bald aside from the three hair combed over his head.

/break\

"Nico! Nico, wake up!"

Nico gasped for breath as he sat up, coming face to face with his younger sister. Hazel looked concerned as she brushed his hair out of his face. She had grown into a beautiful young woman.

"Morning, sis", yawned the son of Hades. "Uhm, surprise?"

"Having one guest who screams in his sleep is one thing, but two...", sighed Hazel.

"Well, if it is any consultation, Percy and I screamed because of the same dream."

"What in the world does that mean?", asked Leo ridiculed.

Nico blinked a couple of times and turned some. On the other couch were Frank and Leo sitting, Leo stuffing his face with a croissant, while Frank was poking the sausage in front of him. Thalia and Reyna were sharing the love-seat and a bowl of cereals.

"Like my sister, I too have more than just our father's powers. We both also extend into the realms of other gods of the underworld. Hazel with Hecate's magic and I... well, I possess some of Hypnos' powers. I can walk through dreams and control them to some extends", replied Nico with a shrug. "When Thalia showed me Percy, I decided to take a look what was causing his distress."

"So, what's the verdict?", asked Frank seriously. "Because we've been trying to get Percy to talk about it for two weeks now and all we got were smiles and shrugs, like nothing was wrong at all."

"He even apologizes for keeping us awake!", exclaimed Hazel frustrated.

"What is it that's tormenting him like that?", asked Reyna calmly.

"Tartarus, mainly", replied Nico softly. "The death of Damasen and Bob, the monsters they faced, what Annabeth had suffered down there, like he was blaming himself for her pain... But also... school bullies, apparently. Luke's death. And... his stepfather. It was like a spiraling fall through all the pain Percy Jackson has ever been through, all happening at once."

"That's... horrible", whispered Frank with a crestfallen look.

"Tell me about it", muttered Nico beneath his breath. "Tartarus alone is bad enough, but..."

There was an awkward silence at the reminder that Nico too had been to Tartarus. Everyone shifted around, staring at the floor. No one was really sure how to get through this. What to do.

"How did you get over it all?", asked Reyna after a too long stretch of silence.

"Mh?", grunted the son of Hades confused as he stole Leo's croissant.

"It just... You're carefree and even happy. You're relaxed", pointed Reyna out.

"It's a little like you and Percy just... switched places", added Thalia a little confused. "I mean, you're all about friends, hanging out and sharing your feelings and thoughts. Heck, you're on freaking facebook – loved that song you posted yesterday, by the way."

"Yeah? I could IM you when I go to their next concert", offered Nico with a grin.

"There! That's it!", exclaimed Leo, waving his arms around a little. "You socialize and stuff, but Percy... He... at this point, he's all about pulling away and locking us all out, because he doesn't want to burden anyone. The more he suffers, the less time he spends with us..."

"That's why we have been praying to Lord Apollo for help", added Hazel.

"Who contacted his sister who send me to deliver the message that 'No can do'. He would if he could, but this is a mental problem and it won't heal unless he starts talking. No one can help him until he's ready to ask for help", sighed Thalia, chin resting on Reyna's shoulder.

"Annabeth tried, often", muttered Reyna upset. "But... Tartarus is something she can't even talk about herself, so she was probably the wrong choice to make him talk. She was so desperate. She often visited, just to blow off steam, crying in my arms because she felt so helpless..."

"Right now he's living with us, but he's so determined to find a place of his own so he won't leech off of us", sighed Frank, shaking his head. "We're worried what will happen when he lives on his own, without anyone to help him and take care of him..."

"We've been praying to like every god on Olympus", muttered Leo with a pout. "Percy went and saved their asses two times, but now that he needs help, not one of them came to help."

"Apparently, not one of them can help", whispered Hazel, grasping Leo's hand tightly.

The Latino leaned into the touch, a sad expression on his face. Nico frowned concerned. Percy had always disliked worrying his friends, but just as his condition worsened, that behavior seemed to grow more irrational too. If anyone knew what bottled up feelings could do to a person, it was Nico. And if there was one person who Nico didn't want to watch slipping into this kind of behavior, it was Percy. Nico stood, stealing Frank's bacon and leaving the living room.

"You shouldn't listen in on other people's conversations", pointed Nico out.

"How long have you known that I was there?", asked Percy surprised, staring at the Italian.

Nico leaned against the door frame, arms crossed as he looked down at the son of Poseidon. Percy was sitting just around the corner, leaning against the wall, arms around his legs.

"I'm the Ghost King. I feel presences", stated Nico nonchalantly. "I knew it all along."

"I—I... know they worry about me and I'm... sorry for that", whispered Percy, turning his gaze back onto the floor. "I'll move out soon and they won't have to worry anymore."

"Padre mio", sighed Nico and shook his head. "You're a stubborn moron, Percy Jackson."

Percy looked up at him again, a frown on his face. "I'm fine. There's nothing you can do."

"That may actually be true", said Nico, sounding a little uncertain. "I just wish you'd open up. You need to talk about those things, to accept our help. Otherwise you won't get better."

"Coming from you, that makes me feel weird", snorted Percy and paused. "No offense."

"None taken", chuckled Nico, quirking one corner of his lips up. "But that alone should make you realize how serious your situation is, Percy. I hope you'll realize that soon."

"I could help him realize it."

Both boys looked up at the cloaked, young girl. They had met enough gods to know that this wasn't a normal little burglar. Alarmed by the voices in the hall, the others had joined them boy now too.

"Who are you?", asked Reyna sharply. "I don't appreciate unwelcome visitors."

"I can help him. You have been asking so desperately for help, don't you want it?"

"Yes!", exclaimed Leo eagerly, nodding wildly.

"That's hardly your decision, Valdez", chided Reyna with a glare.

"I don't want to be a bother", declined Percy and shook his head. "I'm fine, really."

"I'll take Leo Valdez' answer then", nodded the goddess thoughtful.

A bright light blinded them all and when they lowered their hands and arms again to look around, they were shocked at what they found. A maybe six or seven years old boy with messy black hair, wearing Percy's clothes, but those were far too baggy on him and he looked like he was swimming in them. He was out cold, laying on the floor and snoring a bit.

"W—What did you do?!", asked Hazel, her voice high-pitched.

"I'm Hebe, goddess of youth", introduced the goddess with a smile. "And I helped."

"H—How is this helping?", asked Leo wide-eyed.

"Well, in a way, I think it does", concluded Reyna thoughtful. "As a child, he has no memories of the wars, or the time in Tartarus. No PTSD without the trauma."

"Yeah, okay, I can see that, but... Percy is a little kid now", countered Leo doubtful.

"How do we reverse this?", asked Frank a bit panicked.

"Turning him into a child was a favor, a thanks for what you did in the war, but I am not handing out free favors. If you want something from me, you have to do something for me", stated Hebe.

Percy stirred, making a face as he curled together, alarming the demigods. Nico glared up at them.

"I'll bring him upstairs again, you... figure something out", ordered Nico irritated.

He gathered the great hero in his arms bridal style, lifting the lithe boy up and cradling him against his chest. Percy grunted a little and snuggled up to his chest, causing Nico to blush a bit. Of course Percy had to be turned into a little kid to be that close to Nico. How was that any fair? Holding the child close, he made his way upstairs where he placed Percy back into the bed in the guest room. Heaving a sigh, he sat down on the ground next to the bed, arms folded on the mattress, chin resting on them so he could take a closer look at the boy. Percy didn't have much childish chubbiness and if he thought about it, Percy had also been unusually light to carry. Rosy cheeks and his messy hair was a bit longer than he used to have it as a teen. One thumb was stuck between pink lips, the other arm folded beneath the boy's head. His blue t-shirt was too large and baggy, looking more like a dress on the small child, the pants having slid off when Nico had lifted him up. Nico frowned at that and grabbed the blanket to tug Percy in so he wouldn't be cold.

"You are one cute child, Percy", mumbled Nico tenderly, caressing Percy's hair.

The son of Poseidon hummed softly and leaned into the touch. Cocking one eyebrow, Nico continued to pat Percy's hair like the boy was some kind of kitten. Nico was even sure he could hear the child purring. His mouth was in an o, thumb laying in it motionless as Percy pushed his head up into the comforting caress, the purring sound growing louder.

"You're a little kitten, mh?", whispered Nico fondly, tilting his head a bit.

"You can't keep Percy as your pet", interrupted Reyna's voice, sounding amused. "A moment?"

Nico nodded and got up, earning a whine from Percy as he let go of the messy hair. Following Reyna downstairs, he noted the lack of Hebe, Hazel, Frank and Leo. Thalia sat on the couch.

"Well?", inquired the son of Hades reluctantly.

"Leo feels guilty for being the one to agree, so he took the quest Hebe bestowed on us. Hazel and Frank accompanied him, they wouldn't let go of their firebug again, not after the last time", replied Reyna. "Hebe said she'd reverse Percy's age back to normal once Leo and the others return. That leaves us with only one problem though. Thalia has to return to the hunt, I have so much to do with my praetor duties, especially so because of Frank's absence. I can't babysit Percy."

"It's alright", nodded Nico, waving one hand dismissively. "I'll take him with me to Camp Half-Blood. I'm pretty sure there are at least a dozen demigods there who'd fight for the privilege of coddling bambino-Percy. Just... contact me if you get any news from their quest, yes?"

"Nico di Angelo, the Great Babysitter", laughed Thalia amused.

Nico huffed, ignoring his cousin as he turned around to get back to the guest room. Now to get Percy back to camp without freaking the little boy out. When he entered the room, Percy was sitting in the corner, legs pulled up against his chest, eyes large in fright as he looked around.

"You're awake", observed Nico, feeling a bit dumb for stating the obvious.

"W—Who are you? Where am I? Where's my mommy?", asked the scared child.

"Sh, calm down, Percy", whispered Nico, hands in his pockets as he approached the boy. "I'm Nico. Your... mother... she had to go somewhere and she asked me to watch over you."

"Why would she?", asked Percy confused, scrunching his nose some. "I don't know you."

"Ah, but your mother does", countered Nico, pulling a pack of jelly-beans out of his pockets and presenting them to Percy. "See? She told me you love blue food so I especially brought you lots of blue jelly-beans. Your mom wants you to be safe, so she asked me to watch you, instead of leaving you all alone with Gabe. I promised her I'd protect you while she's gone."

Percy's face lit up when he saw that the only jelly-beans inside the bag were blue ones. Nico smiled faintly. He always carried blue jelly-beans with him, because they were his favorite. He'd tear through five packs of jelly-beans, sorting everything out aside from the blue ones (for which the Stolls and Lou were always quite grateful because they got what was left over). Then again, the blue ones were his favorite because of Percy. Not that he ate them out of some sentiment because they were some kind of reminder of Percy, but simply because Nico enjoyed their taste most and he had been introduced to that deliciousness by Percy.

"Mh, yummy", mumbled Percy around a mouth full of blue jelly-beans.

"Yes, yummy", agreed Nico amused, popping one into his mouth himself.

He had to get Percy to trust him and what better way there was to make a little boy trust him than convincing him that his mother wanted Nico to babysit him? He could hardly bring Percy back home to his mom, Sally had been through so much already, this would break her heart. They needed to keep Percy away from Sally until this matter was dissolved. After all, it would also hugely confuse Percy to find his mother more than ten years older than she was supposed to be in his mind. So this, this was the perfect lie. Keeping Percy away from Sally and making him trust Nico.

"Do I stay with you?", asked Percy curiously. "Is this your home?"

"No, it's not. I'll be bringing you to a summer camp. Have you ever been to a summer camp?"

Percy shook his head wildly as Nico grabbed him around the waist and lifted him up into his arms. Yelping a little, Percy wrapped his arms around Nico's neck, holding on. Nico adjusted the child and held him tightly in his arms before stepping through the shadows. Percy yelped again, his grip would probably be painful if he had his regular strength. But with the little boy, it was just adorable clinginess. Percy whimpered at the foreign darkness, face buried in Nico's chest.

"Sh, it's alright, gattino, everything is fine", promised Nico softly, stepping out of the shadows.

"Nico! Y—You stole a child! Why would you steal a child?!"

"Is it a camper? Why would you bring a newbie to camp yourself? You didn't mention a quest..."

"Please shut up, both of you", requested Nico as he leveled a glare at Will and Jake.

"Who are they, Nick? How did we get here?", asked Percy in awe, looking around.

Nico sighed and put the child onto a bed, kneeling in front of him to be on eye-level. "I'm... special, I have special powers. We walked through the shadows, you know."

"You have special powers?", asked Percy, eyes bright and sparkling. "Are you a superhero then? Do you have a special superhero name, like Aquaman? He's really cool, he can talk to dolphins!"

"Well, some call me the Ghost King", chuckled Nico amused, ruffling Percy's hair. "Now, those are my friends Jake and Will. Will is like a doctor. I want him to check you through."

Will and Jake exchanged a confused look. So was this a new camper? But normally, they would be informed if someone took a quest to collect a new camper. Nonetheless, this kid was adorable, so Will obliged and walked up next to Nico to look at the child. Jake all the while left to get Chiron.

"Hello there, little one", smiled Will amused. "What's your name?"

"I'm Percy Jackson!", exclaimed Percy brightly, waving a little. "Is nice to meet you!"

Will turned wide eyes on Nico, who just heaved a sigh and made a motion for Will to just play along for now, explanations would follow later. Over the last two years, they had perfected their own way of communicating. And Will knew to trust Nico on those things.

"That's an interesting name, Percy", replied Will. "Would you mind getting your shirt off?"

Nico sat down on Will's table, observing with Argus eyes. After a little while, Jake came back, together with Chiron and Jason. Jason made wide eyes when he saw the sea-green eyes.

"A son of Poseidon?", asked Jason surprised. "B—But how have we not known about him before?"

"We did", replied Nico softly, pushing off the table again. "That's Percy Jackson. Percy, those are Jason and Chiron. Chiron is the director around here."

"Hello, Mister Chiron", greeted Percy, waving again. "Why are you half-horse? Can I ride you?"

"He is one blunt kid", muttered Jake amused.

"How is this possible?", asked Chiron stunned, turning to Nico with an inquisitive look.

"Hebe", was all Nico muttered.

"And what's with all the bruises?", asked Jason with a glare, rushing over.

The little boy, who was only wearing his boxers, flinched a little when Jason touched one of the bruises littered the child's body. Chiron and Jake joined them in a half-circle around Percy.

"Smelly Gabe doesn't like it when I play loudly", mumbled Percy, wiggling his nose.

"His stepfather", whispered Nico darkly. "He's back to the mental and physical age of... well, six or seven I'd guess. So he looks the way he did back then. Including his stepfather's abuse..."

"Now, Percy. One last thing. Open up wide and stick your tongue out", interrupted Will loudly.

He managed to distract Percy from the mention of his abusive stepfather. Percy obeyed, mouth open wide and pink tongue sticking out. As Will put the wooden stick onto the tongue, Percy crossed his eyes curiously as he tried to look at the stick on his tongue. A flash followed.

"What?", asked Jake at the glare from Nico. "He's cute. Had to take a picture for later blackmail."

"Send it to me too", ordered Jason, kneeling down next to Percy. "So adorable."

"There. All done", announced Will, putting the too-large shirt onto Percy again. "You're all fine. Aside from the bruises, obviously. But no more serious injuries than that."

Nico nodded relieved. When Percy hadn't remembered him and he had conjured the lie about Sally, he had seen a fearful reaction at first, which he had countered with telling him about protecting him from Gabe. The relief filling those sea-green eyes had given Nico an inkling.

"You did good, gattino", praised Nico, ruffling Percy's hair.

"Can I take a nap now? I'm still tired?", requested Percy, looking up at Nico with wide eyes.

"Of course. I'll go and talk to the other adults, you just rest", nodded the son of Hades.

"Nighty-night", yawned Percy and curled together.

Chiron, Jason, Will, Jake and Nico left the infirmary to give the boy some space to sleep and have some privacy for this conversation without confusing the poor child. Everyone turned to Nico.

"I don't have the patience to explain it all, but Hebe turned him into a child. His body and mind are stuck at this age. He doesn't remember any of us. Leo, Hazel and Frank took a quest from Hebe to reverse this, while Reyna send me to bring Percy back here", explained Nico. "We just have to pretend we never met him before. I told him Sally assigned me to be his babysitter."

"Very well", nodded Chiron thoughtful. "Percy seemed to have already formed a bond with you, so I think sticking with your story will be the best. You'll stay with Percy and watch over him."

"I'll bring him to Hades Cabin then", sighed Nico, earning a look from Jason. "What? I am not staying in the Poseidon Cabin and he doesn't know either of them anyway. We can hardly leave a little child all alone in a cabin and be his own cabin-head."

"Nico has a good point", agreed Chiron. "Very well, for now, Percy should stay in your cabin."

Nico nodded sharply and returned to the infirmary, where Percy was already deep asleep again. Being turned into a child must have been quite exhausting for the son of Poseidon. Will followed.

"I don't think this is how you pictured getting Percy into your cabin", joked the blonde.

"I told you, over and over again, I'm over him", sighed Nico annoyed, gathering the sleeping child.

"You can't fool yourself, you can't fool me", shrugged Will casually. "Maybe the others, but now me. I know you may be ready to move on if someone would pick your interest, but as soon as Percy's attention is on you, you'd glow and drop everything else."

Nico just huffed and carried the sleeping boy out of the infirmary. This day had been too exhausting already without Will and his nosiness. The Hades Cabin only had two beds, separated by two large ebony-shelves, one facing Hazel's side of the room, the other facing Nico's, for the sake of Hazel's privacy. For now, it would be Percy's. Placing Percy on the bed, he tugged the child in again.

"We need to go shopping for you, gattino", pointed Nico out, reassuming his place next to the bed.

He started caressing Percy's hair again, getting more of the purring from the little child. Like a kitten. A fond smile found its way onto Nico's lips as he kept massaging Percy's skull.

"Yeah, no", grunted a female voice from behind.

"Hey, I ran into Piper. She wanted to see it for herself", explained Jason sheepishly.

Of course the son of Jupiter had decided to follow Nico. He really was like a lost puppy, following Nico around a lot. Granted, it had settled over the past two years once Jason realized that Nico really was there to stay and not to run off again. Piper yelped delighted as she rushed over to them and knelt down next to them, staring at Percy in total awe, before freezing.

"Is he... purring?", asked Piper stunned, tilting her head and listening.

"I think it's more like him snoring, but it does sound like purring", nodded Nico amused.

"Cute", cooed Piper, biting her lips as she reached out for Percy too.

"That why you called him gattino?", inquired Jason curiously.

After the Giant War, Nico had picked up to get back into his mother tongue. It was the last thing he had to remind him of his mother and sister, so he started reading Italian novels and soon enough Jason had gotten interested in it. He had asked Nico if the Italian could teach him some. It had been a good practice and finally gave Nico someone he could talk to in Italian again.

"He reminds me a lot of a kitten", nodded Nico in agreement. "And... I just can't call him Percy."

"It's weird, yeah", agreed Jason with a frown. "I mean, that right there is a little kid, he doesn't even remember us anymore. He's not Percy Jackson, not our Percy Jackson anyway."

"Where's Annabeth?", inquired Piper at that, looking around.

"They... broke up", sighed Nico and shook his head. "But I don't know any details."

Or rather, he really didn't feel like relaying the details. He didn't feel like talking abut Percy and Annabeth. He stopped when the sea-green eyes fluttered open, revealing those pools of childish innocence. Percy hastily sat up, staring at Nico and then at Jason and Piper.

"That's Piper, she's our friend", introduced Nico. "Piper, this is Percy."

"Hello, Percy", greeted Piper amused. "You're a little cutie, you know that?"

"Uhu", nodded Percy, smiling brightly. "Mommy always says so. And Nick said so too."

Nico blushed a bit as Jason looked at him amused by this. Percy offered Piper another smile before turning his full and undivided attention onto Nico. All Nico had ever wanted, really. But not like this. How messed-up was his life that now, so close to Nico moving on, the Fates had to throw all of this at him? An affectionate, little Percy, who stared at Nico like Nico was his biggest hero. It made Nico wonder, was this how Percy had felt the very first time they had met...?

"Can I have more jelly-beans, please?", asked Percy with flushed cheeks and begging eyes.

"I don't know if so much sugar is good for you...", countered Nico with a frown.

But then the begging eyes turned into those sad baby seal eyes that were just undeniable and Nico caved. Taking the jelly-beans out, he handed Percy five of them before putting the others away.

"Only five?", asked Percy, staring down at the treats in his hands.

"How about, every time you behave well, you can have another one?", suggested Nico amused.

"He's not a puppy. You can't train him with the promises of treats", chided Piper.

"I don't care, as long as I can have sweets", stated Percy, munching on one of the jelly-beans.

"You're no puppy, you're a kitten. Piper got that wrong", chuckled Nico.

"Meow", said Percy, making an especially cute face.

"Can we please just video-tape everything he does?", requested Piper with sparkling eyes.

"Nick, can I have pants?", asked Percy with a frown, looking at his legs.

"It's Nico. Ni-co", corrected the son of Hades a bit irritated. "But yes, we'll go shopping."

"As I said, no", huffed Piper and rolled her eyes. "Look at you. With your questionable fashion-sense, you are not shopping clothes for this poor, defenseless and impressionable little child."

"I'm not poor", frowned Percy confused. "Why do you say that?"

"She didn't mean it like that, gattino", assured Nico, ruffling Percy's hair. "Okay, fine. You come along too. All of us together and then you get new clothes, mh?"

"Okay, Nick-oh!", agreed Percy brightly.

"No, that's even worse", sighed Nico. "Stick with Nick if you can't pronounce Nico."

"I can call you Ghost King!", exclaimed Percy, saying the name with nearly worship on his tongue before he turned toward Jason and Piper. "Did you know Nick is a really-real superhero with superpowers? Like the X-Men! Oh, are you a mutant? Or an alien like Superman? Is everyone here superheroes? Is that why Mister Chiron is a half-horse? Like Beast or the Thing or-"

"Slow down, kiddo", laughed Jason and shook his head. "You could say everyone here has special powers, yeah. We're all... superheroes. Now come, let's get you some clothes."

Percy nodded obediently, spreading his arms out for Nico to take him again. Nico sighed and wrapped his arms around Percy's waist, lifting the child up into his arms. Percy hummed contently as he snuggled up to Nico again, grabby fingers playing with Nico's ear-piercings.

"You have lots of jewelry, like a girl", stated Percy confused.

"Thanks, brat", muttered Nico with a glare, flipping Percy's nose.

"What do you do?", asked Percy curiously. "Mommy sells candy. All adults do boring jobs."

"I'm not that old. You really are a brat", huffed Nico. "But I want to be a doctor when I'm older."

"Oh!", yelped Percy, eyes back to sparkling again. "Doctors are cool! I love all eight Doctors! Which one do you wanna be? I dunno if you can wear vegetables, they won't go well with black..."

"Not the Doctor, a Doctor", snorted Nico amused. "Those in hospitals."

"Oh", mumbled Percy and deflated. "But you have special powers and can travel really fast everywhere like the TARDIS can, so you could be the Doctor. You'd be a great Doctor!"

Jason and Piper exchanged a grin as they walked up to them and grabbed Nico's shoulders, holding on tightly as Nico shadow-traveled them to... somewhere. Frowning a little, they looked around.

"London", replied Nico with a shrug. "I guess... Percy distracted me."

"London?!", gasped Percy, face flushing with excitement. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!"

"Wow...", snorted Jason staring at the son of Poseidon.

Nico knew that Percy was a little Whovian. He knew that Percy and Sally used to watch classic Doctor Who on the weekends, when they could have some peace of mind. Whenever the stepfather was out for his poker-games on Saturdays, Sally and Percy would watch reruns of Doctor Who. It was why Percy loved the new series so much, because it reminded him of the happy times in his childhood. Nico was aware that most episodes were shot in Wales and not in London, but they still took place in London, so for an innocent little child and fanboy like Percy, London was the epitome of Doctor Who. Nico yelped slightly as lips were pressed against his cheek.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!", chanted Percy, kissing Nico's cheek again in a sloppy way.

"Hey there", grunted Nico, putting the boy down. "Calm down some. Let's get you some clothes."

Piper leaned in and whispered something into Jason's ear, causing the blonde to laugh. Nico pointedly ignored them as he headed into the next store that sold clothes. They could hardly keep walking around with Percy only dressed in a shirt, after all. Once inside, Percy basically turned into a doll. The three of them stumbled over each other with eagerness at all the cute clothes they got to put onto the little child and Percy obediently let them pull on him. A lot of photos were snapped of Percy in an Aquaman shirt, a Superman shirt and of course, on Nico's insistence, a Batman shirt. Nico dressed Percy up as a tiny punk, which earned him a scolding from Piper. Not that he cared much, because seeing a kiddie Percy dressed like that was just adorable.

But at one point, Jason, Piper and Nico must have gotten too caught up in their battle to find the perfect, most adorable clothes for Percy, because when they returned to the changing cabins where they had left Percy, the little child was gone. Panic spread through the three teens as they started to run through the store, shouting for Percy with panicked voices.

"Nick! Look, look, look!", interrupted an excited son of Poseidon suddenly.

Nico came to an abrupt halt just to find Percy standing carelessly around in the men's clothes section. Irritation nicked on his mind as he looked at the brightly smiling child.

"What were you thinking?!", exclaimed Nico loudly, shaking a little in anger.

Percy's smile dropped and he took a tentative step back. Nico huffed irritated, teeth clenched.

"You can't just run away like that!", continued Nico and made to grab Percy to pull him back.

But before Nico had a chance to grasp the boy and drag him back to Piper and Jason, Percy flinched away and lifted his arms to shield his face as he started sobbing loudly. Nico froze, confused.

"P—Please don't hurt me", whimpered the little boy.

And with that, all of Nico's anger dissolved to be replaced by a sickening feeling. "W—What?"

"G—Gabe always screams too before he hurts me", sobbed Percy. "P—Please don't hurt me..."

Taking a very deep breath, Nico forced himself to calm down as he knelt down in front of Percy so he wouldn't be looming so threateningly anymore. He reached out again, this time slower.

"No, Percy", whispered Nico softly. "I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, gattino. I'm sorry for screaming, but I Was just very... worried about you. When Jason, Piper and I returned and you were gone, I was afraid something had happened to you, bambino. But I would never hurt you. Never."

"R—Really?", asked Percy shyly, lowering his arms.

Nico reached out and grasped Percy's face, rubbing the tears away with his thumbs. "Promise. Even if I'm angry, I won't ever hurt you. Not you, gattino. Listen, how about I promise you never to scream again and you promise me never to run off like that again? Because you scared me too."

"I'm sorry, Nick. I didn't mean to scare you", mumbled Percy, biting his lower lip.

"So we got a deal, then?", asked Nico, offering Percy one of his pinkies.

"Okay!", nodded Percy, hooking his own pinky with Nico's. "Promise!"

After that, Percy threw himself at Nico in a hug, relieved that the Italian hadn't hurt him. Nico made a mental note to never raise his voice again. Of course the abused, little child would be scared by that. Still, he had been so afraid himself when Percy had been gone. Had a monster eaten him? Or just some regular perv, snatching up little boys? Nico had no idea which one was more scary.

"Now, wanna tell me why you ran off?", inquired Nico, still with a serious look.

"Oh, I found a shirt for you too! You keep stuffing me into clothes, I wanna dress you up too!", declared Percy, bright smile back in place as he proudly held a shirt up. "For you, Nick! You like?"

It was TARDIS-blue, with white print stating TRUST ME I'M THE DOCTOR. Nico snorted a little. That boy was going to be the death of him. Offering Percy a small smile, he took the shirt.

"Thank you, gattino. It's very thoughtful of you", said the son of Hades amused.

Percy made to run off back to where they came from, but before he could, Nico grabbed his hand firmly. Percy turned to look up at Nico confused, but the teen wouldn't have any of it, only tightening his grip as he held onto the Sea Prince's small hand.

"Oh no, bambino", chided Nico sternly. "Naughty boys who think they can run off whenever they want to can't be trusted to walk on their own. So from now on, you'll only walk on my hand."

"Okay", nodded Percy obediently, adjusting his hand to hold onto Nico's.

/break\

By the time the four of them returned to camp, it was already getting dark outside there. Percy was asleep once more, had fallen asleep after dinner at McDonald's. The four had spend some hours in London – after all, how often did they get the chance to be there (Nico excluded)? So they had tracked down a Disney-store and a Doctor Who shop that was relatively close-by. Now Jason was carrying two bags with toys and two bags with clothes while Nico was carrying the sleeping Sea Prince. Piper smiled as she lifted the gigantic baby-Bambi-plushie they had bought in the Disney-store up into the bed. Once Percy was placed next to it, he turned to hug it tightly.

"You are like completely unable to deny him anything, huh?", teased Jason.

"Shut up", grunted Nico with a glare. "You're the one who bought him a TARDIS."

"He had those begging-kitten-eyes", whined Jason embarrassed, blushing a little.

"You are both going to be horribly spoiling dads", noted Piper teasingly.

"After all the shopping and shadow-traveling, I'd like to go to bed too", interrupted Nico. "Get out."

Piper and Jason laughed amused as they left the Hades Cabin. Nico heaved a relieved sigh and went to undress Percy. Also not how he had pictured it. He put the The Little Mermaid pjs they had bought at the Disney-store onto the child and tugged him in. How was this any fair? How had he ended up being stuck with babysitting the love of his life? Stripping down to his boxers himself, he collapsed face first on his own bed. After not too long, he was out cold. After all, his day had been exhausting. And he would have slept until noon without waking if not for the uncomfortable feeling of someone climbing over him. He grunted when a clumsy knee hit his kidney.

"Ouch", grunted Nico and opened his eyes irritated.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you", mumbled Percy, sitting on Nico's chest like a guilty kitten.

"Then why did you wake me?", inquired the son of Hades, rubbing the sore spot.

"Had a nightmare", confessed Percy, looking upset.

Nico noticed the tear-traces on the boy's cheek. Wasn't this why Hebe had turned him into a child to begin with? To make the nightmares stop? Nico glared, angry at the goddess, before pulling Percy into a hug. The little boy let a sob escape before clinging onto Nico.

"It's alright, bambino", cooed Nico softly, caressing Percy's back. "You can stay here with me, if you want to. Wanna tell me what it was about, mh?"

"Smelly Gabe was hurting me", sobbed Percy. "A—And then he hurt mommy, but he's not allowed to hurt mommy. No one's allowed to hurt mommy, because she's the best... a—and..."

While Percy started to ramble on about his nightmare, Nico realized something. Yes, Percy had been tormented even as a child, but back then, his inhibition about sharing hadn't been that great. He had nightmares, but unlike his adult-self, he wasn't afraid to crawl into someone's bed and ask to be held and talk about the nightmares. The Percy from this morning had just shrugged his nightmares off with a smile, not wishing to concern the others with it.

/break\

Nico was pretty grateful that Percy was at a stage of life where he was relatively independent. Like, going to the toilet, brushing his teeth, getting dressed. There were just some things he wasn't sure if he could handle. Percy smiled brightly as he stood expectantly in front of Nico, dressed in black jeans and a black Nightmare Before Christmas shirt. Percy Jackson, all in black. Nico grinned pleased as he grasped Percy's hand and led the boy to the mess hall. Word about who the child was must have spread since last night since everyone was in awe as they stared at the boy.

"Good morning, you two", greeted Jason with a grin as he waited for them at the Hades table.

After the Giant War, Nico and Jason had taken to sitting together during the meals, regularly switching between their respective tables. Percy politely greeted back as he sat down next to Nico. It was just too sweet to see how happy Percy was about the blue food he could summon.

"Haven't seen Percy that happy in a long time", sighed Jason after a while.

"Why do you say that? I only met you yesterday!", exclaimed Percy confused. "And I'm always happy! Mommy calls me her little sunshine! Nick, Nick, Nick, what are we doing today?"

"How about... we go to the lake?", suggested Nico with a grin.

/break\

Nico was laying on a blanket at the beach, wearing swim-shorts while reading one of the medical books from the infirmary ('If it's wet and ruined when you bring it back, I'll send you to your father – the other way!', had been Will's threat). He was watching with one eye how Jason and Percy teamed up against Clarisse and Piper in a game of water ball. Chris was documenting it all on camera ('I will be teasing Jackson with this till kingdom come', had been Clarisse's threat).

"Why aren't you in the water with them?", asked Lou as she sat down next to him.

"I'm not too fond of water. You know that. The whole Big-Three-realms-thing", answered Nico, returning his attention to the book. "Besides, there is only a certain amount of Percy Jackson that any sane human being can endure. Especially when it's a Percy on a sugar high."

"Sugar high?", repeated Lou amused.

"Oh, please, auntie Piper, can I have a cupcake? Only one more!", said Nico in his best mock-child-voice. "And one turned into two and three and four and five... She is seriously unable to deny that brat anything when he turns his sad-kitten-eyes on her. It's kind of pathetic."

"Says the guy whose cabin is currently Doctor Who-themed because he bought nearly a whole store of merchandise. Also, Disney. And don't even try to blame Percy for that Tramp-plushie with the fez and the bow-tie. Percy doesn't remember the eleventh Doctor", countered Lou with a smirk.

Nico had the decency to blush, but he refrained from giving her any vocal counter. "Percy is happy with it, so what does it matter? It made him giggle because it looked so cute."

"Yeah, you'd do everything to make Percy happy, huh?", whispered Lou.

Nico opened his mouth to protest and to tell her to cut it with the teasing, but then he noticed that there was no teasing in her voice. No taunting. Not the usual jab. She even looked quite serious.

"No idea what you're trying to get at, Lou", muttered Nico confused.

"You still love him. Honestly, I was foolish enough to believe you when you said you were over him, but you aren't. You only said that out of the very same reasons as you've done basically everything else involving Percy. To keep him safe, happy and alive", answered Lou.

"No idea what that has to do with anything", grunted Nico, putting his book away.

"It's simple. You had been pulling away from him, as a friend. And that hurt him. Hurting him is the last thing you wanted to do, but you knew as long as you kept this secret, you wouldn't be able to stay his friend, so in order to keep him happy by not making him think he abandoned yet another friend, you tried to bury your feelings and came clear", shrugged Lou casually. "But seeing you today with him, the way you nearly ripped that newbie Ares kid apart for making fun of Percy... The way you'd light up whenever he'd disregard whatever happened around him just for the sake of staring at you with all adoration. You're soaking up his attention more than you were absorbing the sunlight ever since the war. He is your sunlight."

Nico flushed and wanted to protest, but Percy's obnoxiously loud voice interrupted him. "Nikki! Nikki! Nikki! Look! I made a friend and he's all pretty and awesome! Look, look, look!"

A grunt escaped Nico's throat at the full force of Percy knocking into him, arms and legs around Nico and clinging onto him for dear life, all the while pointing at... Oh. Nico blinked a couple of times as he stared at an irritated looking Tempest. Jason, Piper, Clarisse and Chris followed.

"He asked me what my 'superpower' war so I summoned Tempest", shrugged Jason sheepishly.

"The boy practically had a heart-attack when he saw a horse materializing out of the storm", snorted Clarisse, cocking one eyebrow. "That brat is ridiculous. Even worse than Chuck."

"Oh! Auntie Clarisse told me that Chuck is a baby-goatie-boy!", exclaimed Percy, again excited. "Can I meet him too? Is it like Mister Chiron? Oh, auntie Piper says I have superpowers too!"

"Calm down, gattino", murmured Nico, smoothing Percy's wet hair. "Yes, you have superpowers."

"Like understanding horses", supplied Tempest, glaring at Nico. "Why does he not remember?"

"What do you mean, remember?", asked Percy confused, turning toward Tempest.

"Percy, sweetie, what did Tempest say?", asked Piper softly, sitting down next to Nico and Percy.

"He wants to know why I don't remember. What don't I remember?", wanted Percy to know.

"Tempest!", chided Jason with a glare. "It's not... It's complicated. Later."

"Tempy says he has a mate!", stated Percy, attention back on Nico seeing as the others bored him.

"Uhu", nodded Nico slowly, fingers still combing through Percy's hair.

"What's a mate?", wanted the son of Poseidon to know.

"Oh no", groaned Nico, eyes squeezed shut. "I'm not gonna give you any talk about that."

Clarisse snickered and took the camera from her boyfriend to take some pictures of an embarrassed Nico with a curious, little Percy on his lap. Those would be worth thousands. Chris snorted and sat down next to her, one arm around her waist as he enjoyed watching Nico blush and stammer.

"Look, it's like in the fairy tales", stated Chris after a while, having mercy. "When the princess sees the prince and they kiss and live happily ever after. That's like mates. True love forever."

"Oh! Can I have a mate too?", asked Percy giddily. "And can I meet Tempy's mate?"

"Please stop calling me Tempy", grunted Tempest annoyed, nudging Percy some.

Nico sighed and grabbed a towel. He started rubbing Percy dry, tickling the boy's sides. The boy was a giggling and squirming mess as Lou and Piper eagerly joined the tickle-fest.

"S-Stop!", gasped Percy, trying to fend them off as he was breathless from laughter. "Meanies!"

"Can we please make him stop being so ridiculously cute?", muttered Clarisse in awe.

Percy was laying there, with flushed cheeks and a brilliant smile, laughing loudly. He was the most innocent and adorable sight any of them had seen in quite a while. Once Percy had calmed down some, Nico handed him his shirt back and then the son of Hades stood.

"Come on, I'll take you to the stables and then you can meet Tempest's mate", offered Nico.

He held his hand out expectantly and Percy obediently took it, looking up at Nico adoringly. Which earned them a lot of cooing from Chris, Lou, Piper and Jason and gagging noises from Clarisse.

"Auntie Piper, can I have blueberry muffins when we get back?", asked Percy as he turned around one last time, giving Piper the begging-kitten-eyes. "Pretty please?"

"You're one manipulative brat", snickered Clarisse, ruffling his hair.

They all had noticed that Piper was the weakest to Percy's begging eyes and apparently, so had Percy. Somehow, that seemed to be Percy's very own way of charmspeak and the strongest charmspeaker was the weakest to it. The irony of that. Piper cooed and nodded.

"Of course you can, sweetheart", sighed the daughter of Aphrodite.

"Yes!", exclaimed Percy, jumping happily. "Thank you, auntie Piper! You're my favorite aunt!"

Nico snickered and tugged Percy along. He was wondering if Percy would be able to remember any of this once he would be back to his old self. The poor boy would probably never be able to look Piper in the eyes again (or he'd make excessive use of the sad-kitten-eyes from now on).

"Gattino, can you tell me why Tempest is following us?", inquired Nico after a while.

"You somehow broke the little prince, I'm not risking you breaking my mate, death breath."

"That's not a nice thing to say", chided Percy with a frown before turning to Nico. "He says you broke some little prince and he doesn't want you to break his mate. Who's the prince? I always wanted to meet a real prince or a real princess! Can I meet him?"

Nico smiled and shook his head. It wasn't a wise idea to reveal the whole demigod-deal now. Too many questions, too much explaining, too much risk. Nico was glad when the stables came into view, because the little boy had a worse attention-span than Leo Valdez.

"Horses!", exclaimed Percy and wanted to run, but stopped after a step, looking over at Nico.

Wow, only a day and Nico already had Percy trained to stay in step. The son of Hades led the way inside and up to Blackjack. Tempest passed them to nudge his mate.

"The death breath broke the little prince", stated Tempest irritated, caressing Blackjack.

"What does broken mean?", asked Blackjack confused, turning to look at Nico inquisitively.

"Wow! He's beautiful", gasped Percy, eyes about half the size of his whole face as he stepped up to Blackjack. "Hello, pretty flying horsey! I'm Percy, I wanna be your friend! Can we be friends?"

Blackjack blinked slowly and tilted his head. "Why's the boss a foal? Is that how he broke him?"

"Yes. Death breath somehow turned the little prince into a foal that doesn't remember us", answered Tempest with a nod. "Do you wish for me to fry death breath for you?"

"You're the prettiest thing I've ever seen!", exclaimed Percy and threw his arms around Blackjack's neck, hugging him tightly and placing excited, sloppy kisses on the black mane. "Can we be friends, please? I'll be all nice to you too! Do you wanna have apples? I can get you apples! Or muffins! Auntie Piper will get me lots of muffins, I can share them with you!"

"Do you have doughnuts?", asked Blackjack intrigued, nudging his head against Percy. "And my name is Blackjack. You're a very cute foal, boss. But you smell like death."

"I can ask auntie Piper, she'll get some", nodded Percy determined.

"Don't fry death breath. I like the boss-foal", decided Blackjack with a whine.

"Nikki! What's a boss-foal?", asked Percy confused, craning his neck. "Can we ride with Blacky?"

"I'd suspect that you're the boss-foal", concluded Nico and grabbed Percy by the armpits. "And if you want, we can ride with Blackjack. As long as Tempest doesn't threaten me."

"Yey!", yelped Percy, sounding way too excited as he was placed on Blackjack's back.

"Very well", sighed Tempest after Blackjack gave him the big, brown eyes. "But watch out for our foal. You know the death breath has ill intentions toward the prince and now that he's only a foal we have to protect him from the death breath, you know."

Percy giggled delighted, hugging Blackjack again. "Nikki! They say I'm their foal! What's a death breath though? They say he's ill and they have to protect me from him..."

Nico frowned a bit irritated as he climbed onto the pegasus behind Percy.

/break\

It had been four days now since they had been shopping in London and Percy and Nico had fallen into their very own routine. In the mornings, Nico would have to kick Percy out of bed way before dawn because ever since Percy learned of his own 'superpowers', he enjoyed showering even more. They'd go to breakfast hand in hand because Nico still didn't trust the brat not to run off – he had tried to run into the forest once, so since then Nico's grip had tightened some. They ate together with Jason, who had by now become Percy's favorite uncle (Percy had already made Piper and Jason blush incredibly by asking if he could be the flower boy on their wedding).

Percy attended camp activities, where he enjoyed the same things he had as a teen. Canoeing and stable-duties were his favorites. But training with Clarisse had soon become one of his favorites too. At first, they all had been a bit skeptical. After all, it was a futile thing to do. Once Percy would be back to his own age, he'd remember all his training anyway. But Clarisse was sucking this up – finally, she was the one in charge and Percy was actually a little brat. And that brat adored her. He took every word she said to heart, even going as far as to say that he wanted to be as good a fighter as Clarisse when he grew up. It was hard not to fall for the little brat, even Clarisse had to admit.

Percy would spend lunch together with Nico, telling him every little detail of his day in a rushed and excited voice. And whenever he learned something new, he'd look at Nico expectantly, waiting for praise. When he got that praise, his whole face would light up with a toothy smile.

Afternoons were spend with more activities, or together with Nico. May it be with Jason and Piper, or Clarisse, Lou, or in the infirmary. Percy would just trail after Nico like a stray kitten waiting for fish. Later on, mostly before dinner, Nico and Percy would curl together on Nico's bed and watch Danny Phantom (because if Nico had to watch cartoons, they had to at least be about ghosts and heroes). Percy sneaked into Nico's bed every night, crying after a nightmare. Nico would hold him and sooth him and listen to Percy telling him about the nightmare.

"What are you drawing there, kiddo?", asked Will as he returned to his desk.

It was one of those afternoons where Nico was laying on a bed in the infirmary, reading one of the medical books. He had finally found a way to distract Percy. With crayons and paper. So Percy was sitting at Will's desk, drawing and humming away random Disney songs.

"I drew Nikki! Look!", replied Percy, showing his drawing off.

It was a stick-figure drawing of a smiling punk. Will snickered and took the drawing. He then took one of the pins from the pin-wall and pinned the picture over his desk, which made Percy smile brightly and proudly. Nico huffed embarrassed, but he still reached out to ruffle Percy's hair.

"That's a nice drawing, gattino", praised the son of Hades. "Thank you. Can you do one of Will?"

Will made a face and Nico just smirked at him – payback. Percy was eager to obey the request and took the yellow-crayon to start working on Will's hair. Nico went back to reading.

/break\

It was two days later when Nico enjoyed a calm minute alone in the infirmary. Percy was training with Clarisse and as much as Nico enjoyed Percy's adoration, it was also quite exhausting. The whole infirmary was by now covered in pictures made by Percy – of Nico, Jason and Piper, Clarisse and Chris, Will and Jake, Nico and Percy on Blackjack's back, Chiron and everyone else Percy had met ever since he came to camp. It was rather adorable, really.

"Nico! Nico! You need to come!", called Jason out of breath as he burst into the room.

"What is it now?", sighed Nico annoyed, putting his book down.

"It's Percy!", answered Jason and that was all Nico needed.

He jumped out of the bed and ran after his blonde friend until they reached the arena. When Nico saw the unconscious form of a nineteen-years old Percy Jackson, he had mixed feelings. He was glad for Percy's sake, but he could also feel that empty feeling. The loss. He had grown overly attached to Percy over the past week and he didn't want it to end. But now it was over.

"We should get him to the infirmary so Will can check him", stated Clarisse concerned.

"Y—Yeah, we should...", nodded Nico stiffly.

/break\

Percy had woken up a few hours after the incident in the arena, about an hour after an IM from Reyna reached Camp Half-Blood – informing them that Leo and the others had succeeded. There was a big celebration that night and Percy was all smiles and laughter. But not those bright and blinding smiles he had to offer over the past week. It were those smiles from after the war, the ones meant to reassure everyone that he was fine while in reality, all he probably wanted to do was cry.

For the first time in two years, Nico slipped back into the shadows. Sure, he hadn't really pulled back from Percy after the war, had stayed in touch, but never as close as he was with Lou, Will, Jason and Reyna. And right now, he was having conflicted feelings, so he needed some time. Time to sort his thoughts out. He had tried to emotionally distance himself from Percy over the past two years, but one week of having Percy attached to him and depending on him so much, it had been breaking his walls down. The walls that had made him so happy over the last two years, had allowed him to make friends and move on. Somehow, he felt set back two years.

That night, Nico fell into a fitful sleep. He missed the Danny Phantom marathon with Percy. Missed their ritual of brushing teeth together and joking around in the bathroom. He missed his gattino.

So when, in the middle of the night, something tickled his nose and woke him from that already displeasing sleep, Nico grunted annoyed and swatted at the offending thing. He earned an 'ouch'. Frowning confused, he opened his eyes to notice that the tickling had come from hair. Pushing the thing away, he looked down to see that it was Percy. Laying in Nico's bed, looking embarrassed.

"P—Percy?", stammered Nico surprised.

"I... uhm... h—had a... nightmare...", confessed Percy embarrassed, running one hand through his hair and making to get up. "Sorry. Shouldn't have come. Just... guess I got used to it."

"Wait!", exclaimed Nico hastily, grabbing Percy' wrist. "Wait. I was just surprised. You don't have to go. Stay. If... you want, you can... tell me what you've been dreaming about."

He lifted the blanket and waited only for a moment before Percy crawled back in and snuggled up to Nico's chest, fingers clawed into the TARDIS-blue shirt (Nico had kept it and liked to use it for sleeping, since there was no way he'd wear something so nerdy outside). For a long while, Percy just laid there and Nico started to think the son of Poseidon had fallen asleep.

"I—I was... back in the underworld", whispered Percy, his voice barely audible. "When you took me to the River Styx. I saw what I had seen back then, Annabeth and how she helped me out of the water, but this time just as I reached for her, s—she got pulled away and I was all alone and I was... I was drowning and there was just... nothingness everywhere and I was... alone..."

"You're not alone, Percy", murmured Nico and started to caress the older boy's hair. "You'll never be alone. You have all of us to back you up, if only you'd ask for the back-up. We would never let you drown, Perce. Just... reach out and one of us will help you..."

He could feel the faint movement of Percy nodding his head. After that, they fell silent until they both were asleep, arm in arm. Nico just held Percy close and safe until morning came.

"Hey, how are you feeling?", whispered Nico, pushing some of Percy's hair back.

"Better", admitted Percy honestly. "Thanks."

"No problem. Like I said, if you reach out, one of us will be there to help", assured Nico.

"Not... Not just for last night", clarified Percy as he got out of bed, ruffling his hair and stretching some. "F—For... well, uhm, last week. And even before that, when you came to check on me, before Hebe interrupted. That was... nice. I haven't seen you in months."

"You were busy with college, I was busy with high school", shrugged Nico. "No big deal."

"You have like three more piercings than the last time I saw you", countered Percy with a teasing grin. "Oh hey, think I can use your shower and get a change of clothes? Not keen on walking through camp in my boxers just to get back to my cabin, you know?"

"Sure", nodded Nico and went to the shelf with his clothes. "Just go ahead."

The son of Poseidon was of course unable to fully close a door. Why should he be able to do such simple and obvious tasks? Huffing irritated, Nico carried a set of change to the bathroom and wanted to scold the son of Poseidon, but somehow his words were lost on him when he saw the naked form of Percy entering the showers. Nineteen-years old Percy, with the lean muscles, the sun-kissed skin, that cute bubble-butt, the long legs and generally speaking all that deliciousness.

"I... I'll leave the clothes on the toilet-seat", croaked Nico out and fled the bathroom.

Half an hour later and Nico was still flustered and couldn't get the image of naked Percy out of his head. But the son of Poseidon apparently had no idea what kind of effect he still had on Nico, because he was happily smiling as they went to leave the cabin. Nico's face, finally rid of the irritating blush, lit up once more when Percy just casually grabbed his hand and linked their fingers. Right. Percy did remember the last week and considering that Nico hadn't let him go anywhere without leading him by the hand, that habit must still be stuck to Percy's mind. Still, it was a weird sensation to hold Percy Jackson's hand. Hot, adult Percy Jackson, not cute, kid Percy Jackson.

/break\

Two days passed and Nico was starting to freak out, really. Instead of being back to his regular, old self, somehow that past week must have influenced Percy's behavior. He constantly sneaked into the Hades Cabin at night with his nightmares and by now, he wasn't even reluctant to talk about them anymore. He's still often insist on holding Nico's hand when they went somewhere, or asking Nico's permission to do something (which was earning Nico a shit-load of teasing from basically everyone). They had also resumed their Danny Phantom marathon when Percy had claimed – with a rather whiny voice and the sad-kitten-eyes – that he wanted to know how it ended, considering they had barely watched the first two seasons. Sure, Percy didn't do most of the childish things anymore, like his drawings, or his overly affectionate behavior toward everyone. His speech was back to adulthood too, thankfully. No loud exclamations and short sentences. His attention-span, still short due to the ADHD, had improved too though. Yes, he had slipped an 'auntie Piper' once or twice, much to his own embarrassment, but he remembered his friends and their adventures again.

It was like Percy Jackson was back, yet the bond Nico had formed to little Percy had still remained. And so had Percy. He didn't seem in a haste to leave camp again, to hunt for a place anymore.

"Percy?", asked Nico as they were laying curled together on his bed.

Nico was sprawled out left to right on the bed, with Percy's head on his stomach. Olive-skinned fingers were combing through Percy's hair, causing that adorable, nearly-purring sound. The son of Poseidon seemed drowsy, only half paying attention to this episode of Danny Phantom, even though it was one with Dani, who had soon become Percy's favorite character.

"Percy?", repeated Nico, a little louder. "...Gattino?"

"Mh?", mumbled Percy, yawning a little and stretching rather cat-like. "Huh?"

"How... long will you be staying at camp?", inquired Nico softly.

"Oh...", whispered Percy hollowly. "Right. I have... college and stuff... in... New Rome..."

"Yes", nodded Nico in agreement. "I'm just asking. You've been here for nine days now and the last two, you've also been back in your own body. And age."

"Dunno...", shrugged Percy with a frown, snuggling up to Nico again. "I'm tired, can't we talk tomorrow and sleep now? Clarisse is being a hard-ass again now that I'm not a kid anymore..."

"Of course", nodded Nico and turned the television off.

He refrained from commenting on the fact that this time around, Percy didn't even make any attempts to return to the Poseidon Cabin for the night. Then again, the last nine nights, he had been sleeping in Nico's bed, so really, why any pretense at all? This only saved time.

"Night, Nikki", whispered Percy, head resting on Nico's chest.

"Night, gattino", replied Nico, arms wound around Percy's waist.

/break\

They didn't talk the next day. Well, they did talk, a lot, but not about Percy moving back to New Rome. It was just another day of Percy soaking up camp-life and being with his friends. He started to blossom, really. It reminded Will and Jason a lot of Nico after the Giant War. He started to hang out with his friends again, laugh – and that honestly – and enjoy himself. He started to slowly get back to the Percy they knew. Not the Percy who had been tormented by his memories for two years. Though they didn't know why – they didn't know that every night, Nico and Percy would spend hours just talking. About Tartarus, the Titan War, Percy's time without memories, how devastated Percy was at having destroyed his relationship with Annabeth with his inability to open up. Just generally everything. And talking seemingly truly helped.

It was another day later that, just before the bonfire when Percy came from a late training session with Clarisse and Nico came from the infirmary after another late afternoon of reading, that Percy grabbed Nico's hand. That was something everyone had gotten used to by now, earning them teasing grins from Chris, Will and Jason, fond eye-rolls from Piper and Lou as well as annoyed huffs from Clarisse and Jake. Though this time around, Percy paused just before they could reach the bonfire. It was dark, the light seemed nearly romantic and Percy Jackson was nearly jerking Nico's arm off with a simple tug. Nico did miss Percy's childish not-strength.

"Ouch", commented Nico with a glare. "Yes, Percy?"

"Can we... skip bonfire?", asked Percy, not looking at Nico. "I think we need to talk."

"Oooh, busted, man", grinned Chris, clapping Nico on the shoulder.

"Whenever Will says that, I'm in trouble", stated Jake with pity.

"Jacob", growled Will, his voice a warning. "I think we need to talk."

The others laughed as they trailed after the son of Apollo and toward the bonfire. Nico and Percy remained. The son of Hades was a little confused as he followed Percy back to the Hades Cabin.

"Okay, what's wrong?", asked the Italian concerned.

"You asked me if we could talk and... uhm, well, I took some time to think about it...", confessed Percy, hand ruffling the hair at the back of his head. "About New Rome and all, you know..."

"Okay. So, what do you want to talk about?", prompted Nico curiously.

Percy was staring down at their still-linked hands. "I'm sorry, Nico. For the trouble."

"I told you not to apologize for that", chided Nico, hitting Percy upside the head.

"No, just let me finish", muttered Percy, glaring a little. "I'm sorry that... I may have abused your help from the previous week this week, when I sneaked into your bed and stayed close to you and borrowed your clothes and kept holding your hand and..."

"Basically, you're sorry for me offering you comfort?", inquired Nico confused. "Percy, we're friends. I told you, if you reach out, we'd help you. I'm glad you're finally ready to accept help and comfort. I'm glad I could offer this to you, Percy. I want to help you."

"I know. That's why I'm sorry", stated Percy, slowly loosening his grip on Nico's hand. "T—Two years ago, you figured you should tell me something so our friendship could continue. I guess... I now owe you the same truth. Last week, when I was at my most vulnerable and weakest, you were there to protect me and you just... You accepted me, even though that over the past two years, I had trouble accepting myself, because I started to hate myself for all the trouble I put everyone through. But you were just there and did all those amazing things just for me. A—And when I turned back to, well, myself... I went to your cabin on autopilot. I wasn't even consciously thinking about it and I was so embarrassed when I realized I had crawled into your bed, but you just... still offered me that comfort, didn't judge or even look bothered. And it was so... easy talking to you, even though it had been practically impossible for me those past years. But somehow you wormed your way in when I was a kid and I... it's so easy to trust you. To tell you everything. It's so easy spending time with you. You make me feel safe and not like I'm a burden, even though I always felt like I needed to protect everyone, even from my own problems. But with you, it feels like you're honored and happy that I share my troubles with you and that makes it so much easier and..."

"Percy, please. What are you trying to get at?", interrupted Nico softly.

"I think I fell in love with you", blurted Percy out, blushing. "When I got back to myself, but still remembered all the sweet things you did for me the week before, I was very... touched, but over the last few days, when you still continued to be so sweet, I... I think I fell in love. I know you don't feel the same way, you already told me two years ago that you got over your crush on me, but I still... I wanted to tell you, before I go back to New Rome."

Nico stared down at Percy stunned – yes, when he had hit his growth-spurt, he hadn't just trumped Jason but also Percy. How could this be true? After all those years, all the time he had spend trying to kill that last inkling of hope. This couldn't be true. Not possible.

"P—Percy...", whispered Nico surprised. "That's... I..."

"I know", sighed Percy and averted his eyes. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I know I've been... overly affectionate since I turned back and it's probably awkward for you..."

Nico heaved a sigh and rested his hands on Percy's waist, pulling him up against his chest. "Yes. Yes, you were making me uncomfortable and it was awkward. Because... I lied to you. To you, everyone else and also to myself. Because I was trying so hard to get over you, but I never could. Regardless of how hard I tried, I just love you too much to let go of you. Even when it was the one thing that hurt me the most, I just... couldn't let go of my feelings for you. I always loved you and I still do. I'm in love with you, Percy Jackson."

Percy stared up at him in utter disbelief and with those large, sea-green eyes. "R—Really?"

"Yes. And I honestly have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of you having fallen in love with me, after six years. Granted, half that time it had only been a crush, yes, but... for the longest time now, it had been love", whispered Nico softly.

"Well... I guess... I needed someone to break down my barriers the way Hebe did to let... someone in. And now that you're in, I... don't want to let you go again", admitted Percy a bit embarrassed. "I want to keep you to myself, I want to sneak into bed with you every night, with you holding me and making me feel safe and listening so tentatively to my nightmares and just... being there..."

"I will always be there for you", assured Nico, resting one hand on Percy's lower back and lifting the other to rest against Percy's cheek. "But... it started out about your moving back to New Rome."

Percy averted his eyes. "I was... kind of expecting you to reject me, which is why I wanted to tell you now, before getting back, so I could, well, not be tempted to sneak into your bed again due to the long distance. So... uhm... I... I don't know. I mean, my semester break is like another month, so I guess I could just stay longer here and... I honestly don't know what afterward..."

"Or we could just go back to New Rome and start looking for an apartment", suggested Nico softly, leaning down slowly until only a breath separated their lips. "Together. You and I."

"B—But you have school", protested Percy, blushing a bit at their proximity.

"I can finish high school in New Rome", shrugged Nico casually. "Now, let me kiss you."

Percy nodded a little, tongue darting out to wet his lips in a nervous habit, but due to their closeness, he ended up touching Nico's lips accidentally. That was all the confirmation Nico needed before he lowered his lips onto Percy's in a tender kiss. Percy reluctantly laid his arms around Nico's neck, pulling the Italian closer until the kiss deepened. Nico's one hand slipped from Percy's cheek to his neck to deepen the kiss even more while his other hand, quite boldly, slipped down to cope Percy's ass, caressing it once tenderly before squeezing. Percy yelped into the kiss.

"Don't complain", whispered Nico with a shark-like grin. "Or am I not allowed to...?"

"Well, uhm, no, of course, I mean, I'm just... well, not... used to that?", answered Percy embarrassed. "Annabeth and I, we were always more... well... innocent when it came to those things. We never groped each other or something like that!"

"More information than I needed", pointed Nico out and wiggled his nose. "And you probably also only had vanilla sex. Well, now you're with me and not with Annabeth. Unless you want..."

"No!", interrupted Percy hastily, shaking his head widely. "I don't... I don't want to get back together with Annabeth. I think maybe it was... a sign, that I couldn't talk to her about those things. I want you, I want to be with you, Nico. I love you."

"That's all I ever wanted to hear", smiled Nico tenderly and leaned in for another kiss.

Percy practically melted into Nico's embrace and kiss.

/break\

"What in the world do you think you're doing, di Angelo?"

Will stood behind Nico, his hands on his hips. Jason and Lou were flanking him, seeing as he had gone to collect them after he had found Nico in the infirmary ten minutes ago, going through the shelves. Because he had asked the exact same question back then and the answer he had received had been a simple one – Packing. I'm leaving. Which had alarmed the son of Apollo so he had dashed off to gather the two other best friends of Nico who were within reach.

"Packing, still. You should get your brain checked if your short-term memory fails you."

"Why are you packing?", inquired Jason wide-eyed.

"I'm leaving camp. I'd like to borrow some books until I get around to buying my own."

"Like shit you're leaving camp!", exclaimed Lou irritated. "Is this because of Jackson?!"

"Look, if that's true, if having Percy around like that made you uncomfortable again, Percy will be leaving for college again and things can get back to normal...", tried Will soothingly.

"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm packing", stated Nico casually. "I'm leaving with him."

"Why?", chorused all three of his friends confused.

"Can't leave my boyfriend alone when he needs me", replied the son of Hades with a grin.

A dopey, happy, idiotic grin. The love-sick kind. The one all three of them had longed to see on Nico – not the heart-broken love-sickness, but the happy, true love kind. Requited love.

"A—Are you... serious?", stammered Jason surprised.

"Oh for father's sake, stop packing and turn around to face us!", exclaimed Will unnerved.

Nico turned around, grin still in place. "Yesterday, when Percy stopped us before going to the bonfire, we talked. He confessed that over the past two weeks, he started not just to trust me, but he also apparently fell in love with me. So... I won't let him leave again. Not now that I have him. I just can't. I need to be with him. I'll go to New Rome, finish high school there."

"Wow", muttered Lou in awe. "You... finally got... him... I can't believe it..."

And the next second, Nico crashed onto the table behind him because three bodies knocked into him, hugging him tightly. All three were laughing and babbling on about how happy they were for him. He just accepted the hug and the words, letting them ramble.

/break\

Reyna was brooding a little as she sat at the table with Frank, Hazel and Leo. It was always that post-Thalia's-visit mood of hers, the one that made her long for the end of her praetorship.

"Oh, dinner. Nice. Can we have some too?"

The four were startled by the sudden voice and turned toward the source of it. Percy Jackson, together with one amused looking Nico who was carrying bags. Leo smiled brightly and jumped up to hug the life out of Percy. The son of Poseidon grunted a little but returned the hug. The other three soon joined, everyone taking turns hugging the Sea Prince.

"It's good to see you so old", grinned Leo, ruffling Percy's hair.

"It's good to remember you all again", smiled Percy.

"Is that why you stayed at camp for days? To recover your memories?", asked Frank surprised.

"And now you brought him back, Nico?", wanted Hazel to know, turning to her brother.

"So should I get the guestroom ready then?", sighed Reyna and stood.

"Not for long, I promise", stated Percy. "I won't be staying for long, really."

"We told you, you can also stay here for good", countered Reyna with a disapproving look.

"No, really not", grunted Nico and shook his head. "I'm not sharing a house with my sister and her boyfriends. We're getting our own place. That much is for sure."

"Your own place? Together?", asked Hazel surprised.

"Yes", nodded Percy and blushed, averting his eyes some, his hand catching Nico's in a gesture Nico had come to associate with insecurity. "I... uhm... we're sort of... I guess..."

"Dating?", supplied the son of Hades softly, nudging Percy.

"Yes", nodded Percy hastily, blush intensifying. "Dating. Nico and I. Each other."

"And now try forming a sentence", suggested the Italian, highly amused.

"Nico and I are dating each other now", mumbled Percy, his embarrassment growing stronger.

"For... real...?", asked Leo in awe, gaping. "Like, seriously?"

"Yes, seriously", grunted Nico and rolled his eyes.

"Awesome, man!", exclaimed Leo, being the first one to throw himself at the young couple.

Nico braced himself, knowing he'd once again end up at the bottom of a human pile of hugs and congratulations. Seriously, the people he cared about were way too emotional and clingy.

/break\

It took Percy and Nico about half a month before they found the perfect apartment and another week before they were finally moved in, thanks to the help of all their friends. Sure, they still had some cardboard boxes standing around in the halls and the study, but the most basic and important things were all in place. Like their bed, the kitchen, the couch and the TV.

Right now, they were curled together on the couch, Nico behind Percy and with his arms around the Sea Prince's waist to keep him pressed close against Nico's chest. They were watching the final two-parter of Danny Phantom – due to moving, they hadn't gotten to finish their marathon just yet.

"Nick?", inquired Percy softly, just before the big show-down.

"Mh?", grunted Nico in acknowledgment.

"I love you."

"I know", grunted Nico, now a little confused.

"Yeah, I know that you know, but I just... felt like saying it", shrugged Percy, blushing a bit. "Just... laying here with you, like that, it... makes me just love you so much, I guess..."

"That's cute", grinned Nico, kissing Percy's cheek. "You're adorable, gattino."

"What does that mean?", asked Percy hastily. "I meant to ask that for a while now!"

"It means 'kitten'. Because you reminded me so much of one when you were shrunk", explained Nico, kissing Percy's earlobe. "You were so affectionate and you actually purr."

"I snore. I don't purr. I'm not a cat", objected the embarrassed son of Poseidon.

"Yeah, no. You're my kitten", declared Nico with a smirk.

"You're so horrible", groaned Percy flustered.

"Your fault. You make me horrible", countered Nico with a soft laugh.

/break\

"Babe? Are you home?", called Nico as he entered the apartment, holding his backpack in one hand and a book he was reading in the other hand. "Gattino? Hello? Kitty-kitty-kitty-cat!"

"Oh stop it, you-", started an annoyed voice from the living room.

Grinning teasingly, Nico dumped his backpack at the door and continued on. It had been a year of dating and living together and things couldn't go better. Percy truly had blossomed back to that heroic, gorgeous and happy boy Nico had first met all those years ago. He enjoyed hanging out with their friends again, was more open about sharing his feelings again, not just with Nico. Even though Nico was still his most trusted confider, especially when it came to Tartarus or his past abuse.

"Mh, such a good, little student", teased Nico amused as he found his boyfriend on the floor.

Percy was laying in the middle of what looked like an intense study-session. Multiple books and notepads and notes spread out all around Percy, as well as one plate of blue chocolate cookies from Sally (to make the hard studying easier). Percy sat up some, enough to reach out for Nico. The son of Hades knelt down next to him to steal a kiss and then a cookie.

"How was the praetor-meeting?", asked Percy, licking his lips.

"Good, I guess", nodded Nico and got more comfortable. "Exhausting, I guess. But our new augur is a sweet thing. Rather young, but Danny seems like a good girl."

After Reyna had retired to join the hunt and travel, fight and hunt with her girlfriend Thalia, Nico had been elected praetor, much to his own surprise. The Romans had been joyous to find the ambassador of Pluto who had helped save them all back in their midst. Nico had accepted.

"Still worried how being praetor will affect your school-life", pointed Percy out, frowning.

"Babe, the only thing affecting my school-life are you and your naked body waiting for me in our bed in the evenings", whispered Nico amused, licking his lips hungrily.

Percy blushed, as he often did when that pierced tongue did pretty much anything. It only reminded him of all the naughty things that tongue and that piercing could do to him. His face darkened.

"Oh, shut up", muttered the son of Poseidon embarrassed.

Nico laughed loudly as he watched Percy's facial color. He had to admit, making Percy blush was one of his favorite pastimes. He shifted enough to be really comfortable, folding his arms over Percy's smaller back and resting his chin on top of them as he watched his lover.

"You're so cute", grinned Nico, trailing his pierced tongue along Percy's neck.

"D—Don't do that", hissed Percy irritated. "I'm trying to study."

"Yes, I'm just testing your concentration", hummed Nico. "Oh come on, don't be such a nerd."

"Don't be such a rebel. I have to finish this", huffed Percy.

"Sorry, it's just... you're driving me completely crazy", whispered the son of Hades.

"Well, the feeling is mutual, though right now, it's not meant as a positive thing", grunted Percy.

Nico just grinned and hummed. Percy was so easy to tease. Cuddling up to the older boy, Nico just stayed silently at his side and watched Percy work. The day had been exhausting. School and then praetor-duties. By now it was already pretty late, but as long as Percy would be waiting for him at home, he always had something to look forward to.

He still often visited Camp Half-Blood, or his friends would come over. Lou would be graduating this year and she already promised she'd be moving to New Rome for college too. His plan however was still to become a doctor and Percy was more than supportive of this – always with red ears and flushed cheeks. Nico knew exactly what kind of thoughts were running through Percy's head when he thought about Doctor di Angelo. Which was all the more motivation to reach his goals.

"We're still on for dinner with my sister today though, right?", inquired Nico.

Percy just smiled in reply, pulling Nico into a kiss. Yes, life was perfect.

~*~ The End ~*~