Disclaimer – I still own nothing of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians…

Sorry I haven't updated in so long, I got distracted with my reading and school work and completely forgot I had a fic. Good thing you don't have to feed them.

Due to the recent revelation of House of Hades, I'm thinking about making this a slash fic. I'll admit I love Nico/Percy. I'll see how this chapter goes.

_Zeus' Beard_

Chapter Two – We've Got a Beautiful Bromance

Percy woke up several hours later. He glanced around his room and saw that Nico had, at least, left his room. He stood up and stretched, grabbed some clothes and walked to the bathroom. At least being the Son of Poseidon meant he didn't have to pay a water bill.

After he had washed the day away, Percy walked into the kitchen. Nico had helped himself to some of his coffee.

"Hey Percy, I got a question," Nico broke the silence.

"Ask away."

"How in the world do you get electricity in a place with no road?"

"I know a demigod who works for the power company who doesn't mind flying on a pegasus," Percy grabbed himself a cup of coffee and settled down in the chair across from Nico. "How have you been, Nico?"

"Living in the Underworld," Nico said it like it answered everything.

"Well, that explains where your tan went," Percy smirked. Then he realized something that should have been apparent as soon as he saw Nico, "Oh, that is so not fair."

"What's not fair?" Nico's eyebrow was raised.

"You're half a foot taller than me now!" Which, this was saying something because Percy was six foot even. Not only that, but the last time Percy had seen Nico, which was only a couple months ago, Nico had been several inches shorter than him. What was Hades feeding him?

"Yeah, so?" Percy wanted to slap Nico upside the head. It wasn't fair! Compared to Nico now, Percy was a midget. Well, maybe not a midget, but still!

"Don't make me hit you, di Angelo. I won't be responsible for the brain cells you lose," yes Percy was pouting, but it just didn't seem right when the younger cousins were taller than the older ones.

"Bring it, Jackson," Nico smirked as Percy mumbled under his breath about egotistical little cousins.

"What did you want to talk about?" Percy stood up to go get some more coffee.

"Ah, yes, the Apples of Immortality do more than just grant a long, long life. They allow you to be able to function as a god would. For example, I can now summon and control the dead almost as well as my father. My stamina has increased and I can do things that you usually only see in comic books," Nico smirked.

"As long as it's not flying, I'm okay," Percy sat back down and sipped his coffee.

"No, no flying. Thank the gods," Nico looked a little green at the suggestion. Percy could understand. While Zeus didn't mind as much these days, Percy still refused to fly in planes. The very thought made him want to barf.

"So, when do we start?"

"Well, I only really need to be there to observe. Most of it should come naturally to you as you already had abilities. I just need to make sure I'm there to catch you when you faint, as you will inevitably do because you don't know when to quit," Nico grinned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Percy glared at him.

"You know what I mean."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Percy growled. He got up and walked over to the refrigerator and looked in it. It was practically empty. The only things in it were a jar of blueberry jam and a green brick that had probably once been cheese, "First, I need to go to the grocery store."

"Great idea, you will need food after you get done training. I know I ate enough food for three people after each session. We'll shadow travel. It'll be quicker," Nico walked towards the front door.

"Who died and made you boss?" Percy raised his eyebrow.

"I don't think Blackjack is in any condition to fly anywhere," Nico pointed to the open garage door where the pegasus was muttering in his sleep about giant sugar cubes and stingy ants.

"Alright, fine! We'll do it your way," Percy loved shadow travel, but his cousin was already taller than him. He couldn't just give in.

"Good," Nico gently grabbed Percy's forearm and headed for the nearest shadow.

_ Hades' Underwear_

They popped out of the shadow in an alley beside the local grocery store, nearly causing a stray cat to have a coronary. Percy headed to the front of the store, closely followed by Nico.

"How long will you be staying? Is there anything you want?" Percy glanced over at Nico as he scanned the breakfast cereals. Percy grabbed a box of Boo Berry and put it in the basket. His favorite and it was blue, can't go wrong with that.

"I'll stay until I'm sure you can handle your new powers," Nico picked up a box of Trix. Percy couldn't help but smile at Nico. Percy then headed to the pasta section and picked up several packs of spaghetti noodles and jars of tomato sauce.

"You know how to cook?" Nico looked at him skeptically.

"Of course I know how to cook. My mom taught me when I was a kid," Percy continued to go around collecting ingredients for several different kinds of meals, "I would make the sauce from scratch, but their tomatoes are never ripe."

"Well, color me impressed," Nico teased.

"Shut up," Percy said with no real bite. He headed for the check-out counter.

"Hey, Percy! I was wondering when you were going to come and get your weekly groceries," the girl said. Courtney, according to her name-tag. Percy smiled at her politely.

"Yeah, I was out of town for a while. Just got back this morning," Percy watched as she bagged the food. She had, several times, crushed the bread or eggs under the milk, so he didn't trust her to not break something.

"Oh, where'd did you go?" she continued to smile at him in that way that made him uncomfortable. It made him feel like he was about to be lunch, and trust him he knew that look. He had seen it on enough monsters to know it when he saw it. Nico must have sensed his unease.

"That's not really any of your business, is it?" he snapped at her. Her expression immediately went sour.

"I didn't ask you, goth boy!" she shouted at him. Percy saw red. She had no right to talk to his cousin like that!

"Excuse me?" Percy asked in a voice that would have made Kronos think twice. Courtney turned and looked at him. She had the sense to look apologetic, but that would not soothe Percy's anger. He was tired of people judging Nico on his appearance and, when at camp, his parentage. Nico had no say in who his parents were, nor what he felt comfortable wearing.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize-,"

"No, you didn't. If this is how you treat people you don't like around here, then you will no longer get any of my business after today. He has done more for this world in one year than you will probably do in your entire life," Percy growled at her. He put the money on the counter for his groceries, grabbed the bags in one hand and grabbed Nico's hand with his free one and marched right out of the store and back into the alley. As soon as they were in the alley, Nico pulled his hand from Percy's. Percy turned and looked at him with a questioning look.

"You didn't have to do that, Percy," he said, but Percy could tell he was shocked that someone had stood up for him. With a start, Percy realized this was the first time Nico had heard Percy stand up for him. Percy used to do it all the time at camp.

"Yes, I did. She had no right to assume anything about anyone," Percy snapped at Nico. Percy sighed, he really needed to help Nico get his self-esteem up.

"Thank you, Percy. No one has done that since…"

Percy knew exactly what Nico was trying to say. Bianca had been the only other person who had stood up for Nico. It was probably hard for Nico to imagine that someone else cared for him. Percy, however, had no idea what that felt like, so he didn't know how to help him.

"Nico, you are not only my cousin, but my best friend. Now, let's get back before the milk goes bad," Percy felt awkward. He usually was not one to share his feelings, but this was a special circumstance. That still didn't mean he was good at this stuff.

Nico was shocked, but he had learned how to hide his emotions. He reached out and grabbed Percy's forearm for the return trip and headed straight for the nearest shadow.

_Poseidon's Hat_

Percy walked in and started to put the groceries away. Nico went to help and pretty soon the kitchen was in order. Percy put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta.

"I'm going to go straighten up the guest room," Percy headed towards the room next to his. This is where Nico stayed when he came over, so it was decorated to his taste. Percy had taken the sheets off the bed to clean them and had been too lazy to put them back on, so since he felt that Nico needed some time to take in Percy's recent confession he decided to do said task.

Nico, meanwhile, was sitting in the kitchen, trying to figure out the enigma that was his cousin. Percy had always been his role model, and he had to admit that he had always had deeper feelings for his cousin than friendship. Even when he had blamed him for failing to protect Bianca, he had never truly been mad at him. Percy was the only one who wasn't freaked out about him being the Son of Hades, except Thalia. Percy could even understand his problem to an extent, him being a child of the Big Three. For now, though, he would only be Percy's brother, until he could explore his feelings a little more.

Percy walked back into the kitchen, and got started on dinner. He hadn't realized that he had slept that late. Nico seemed to be absorbed in his own thoughts, so Percy couldn't ask him if he even wanted spaghetti for dinner tonight. Nico is Italian, so he has to like spaghetti, right? Oh, well, if he didn't he could just eat a bowl of cereal or go to bed hungry. Percy sighed and glanced at Nico over his shoulder. At least he wasn't as skinny as he looked during the war. Percy had hated seeing how unhealthy his cousin looked. It still upset him and it was two years after the fact. Well, Percy thought he won't go hungry in this house. Unless, he doesn't like my cooking, then all bets are off.

"What are you making?" Nico's voice cut through Percy's thoughts, making him jump.

"Ummm, spaghetti," Percy answered, trying to calm his now erratic heartbeat.

"Spaghetti's good," Nico's stomach gurgled at the prospect of food. He hadn't eaten since before he had gotten to Percy's this morning.

"It should be ready in a little while," Percy smiled at Nico, over his shoulder.

"Fantastic. Why don't we start training in the morning?" Nico asked.

"Sounds good. We can watch a movie after dinner," Percy said.

"Do you still have Disney's Hercules?"

"I though you hated that movie. What are you always saying? 'My dad looks nothing like that!' News flash, neither does mine. Zeus is pretty accurate though, except for his personality. The storyline is messed up too, but it still entertains me. 'Somebody call IX-I-I!' Whoever wrote that line was a genius," Percy knew he was rambling.

"Percy, you are ridiculous," Nico grinned.

"Come fix your plate, Death Breath," Percy grinned at him.

"Shut up, Water Boy," Nico grinned back, as he fixed his plate and sat back down.

_The Dam's French Fries_

"Percy, that was the best spaghetti I've had in a while," Nico grinned over at his cousin.

"Thanks. So, movie time?" Percy asked.

"Movie time," Nico agreed. They moved into the living room and Percy put on the movie. Pretty soon they were immersed in the wonderfully, inaccurate plot of Hercules. Halfway through the movie, Percy felt his eyes closing and his head leaning towards Nico. His eyes closed the rest of the way and he was out cold, his head falling to rest on Nico's shoulder.

Nico felt something hit his shoulder and glanced over to see Percy had fallen asleep. Nico couldn't help but grin and wish he had a camera. He turned back and tried to finish watching the movie, but soon felt himself falling asleep as well.

_TBC_

I think I like the slashy direction and if you don't, please turn back. Reviews are welcome and creative criticism is nice, but flames will be used to help with my holiday baking.