Nico woke up to a curtain around his bed. Strange, he didn't remember the bed in the motel room being that close to the window. His hearing then picked up on the sound of machines behind his head. When he moved to turn and look at what it was he felt a sharp pain in his left arm. Looking down he saw a thin tube taped to the inside of his forearm. Nico's stomach waved with nausea as his mind screamed one word: hospital. He wasn't sure if he should run from the situation or not. His throat burned and his head hurt. Maybe he had a serious flu? He felt tired. Maybe one small nap and then he would continue the investigation. The next time he opened his eyes he saw Percy.

"Hey sweetheart." Percy said quietly, "How are you feeling?"

Something came over the son of Hades just then. He was scared. He had no idea what was going on and all he wanted right then was Percy in his arms. Upon extending his reach toward Percy, the son of Poseidon gave him a pitiful look and closed the distance between them.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked in that same quiet tone. It made him sound as though he were afraid of being in trouble with the other man, which made Nico curious. The smaller man tried to think back to the last thing he remembered. Percy was standing above him and he was in the water, unable to breathe. Flashes of fish, no, a bathtub; he and Percy making out in the tub, no, they were fighting above a huge fishtank; Percy's hands on his arms, holding him down, pushing him... Nico released the embrace and Percy moved away to look at him questioningly.

"You tried to drown me." Nico said, his voice hoarse.

Percy looked confused, "What?"

"You... You held me under the water..." Nico said, moving as far away from his boyfriend as he could on the bed.

"Nico, you were pulled down by some kind of small cetea."

"No, you held me down."

Tears sprang to those sea green eyes, "What are you talking about, Nico? You- You were held down by that... I thought you were going to die again."

Nico was angry as his mind screamed, 'Liar!' "No! No, you came into the bathroom and held me down in the bathtub!"

"Nico, why are you saying that?" The tears fell freely from Percy's eyes. He wiped at his nose with his jacket sleeve, "How could you even think for a second that I would do that?"

Nico knew what he remembered. Was Percy telling the truth? The other man had no reason to have suddenly gone homicidal, but then what had Nico experienced? His mind raced with memories of fish and bathtubs. Both memories felt so real.

"Nico?"

Percy's voice brought the smaller man back to the present, "I need to think." he said, not looking at those sea green eyes that he knew were still bright with tears. He heard Percy say something along the lines of, "Okay fine." before leaving. When he was alone Nico again looked at his surroundings. The beige curtain seemed standard for any hospital, as did the rough white sheets he was lying in. He looked at the identification bracelet on his wrist and smiled a little. Percy had made up what year he was born. He wondered how the son of Poseidon explained that he didn't have any identification, but then it always amazed him how much he could get away with by essentially not existing. He heard someone move the curtain and looked up to see Percy again.

"I brought you some pudding." Percy said, handing it to Nico and then giving him a spoon from his pocket before taking another pudding cup from his other pocket.

"Thanks." Nico said, softening. He knew in his heart that Percy would never try to hurt him like that, but it didn't explain how those memories had gotten into his head. "I believe you, Percy." he said quietly.

"Really?"

The doubtful tone in Percy's voice made Nico swallow his pudding a little louder than intended. He scraped the rest of the pudding from the cup and shoved the huge glob into his mouth. The corner of Percy's mouth twitched at how terrible Nico was at making an awkward moment less awkward.

"Yes really." the smaller man finally said.

"Do you want to know what really happened?"

Nico bit the top of his plastic spoon nervously, "Yes."

Percy told him everything that had happened. Some sort of water monster had been stirred up by the removal of the urn, which was evidentially how she had gotten into the aquarium. She knew she couldn't touch the son of Poseidon, so she took the next best thing: Nico. She had tried to hold him for ransom and trade Percy for her ancient Greek pottery home.

"So do you have the piece of urn?" Nico asked.

"You were turning blue, so I handed it over."

"You're so sweet." Nico said, trying hard not to smile.

"I like the color blue and all, but not on you."

"So did we fail the quest?"

Percy shrugged,"We weren't even sure that what we were doing was right in the first place. How would we know?"

Nico started to peel the tape from his arm, "We need to get out of here."

Percy was nervous about Nico leaving the hospital, but he knew they weren't safe there. He was slightly surprised that nothing had come for them yet. He helped Nico out of the bed and into some clothes before they quietly shadowed away. Minutes later found them walking down by an old railroad. The sun was setting and Nico wondered how long he had been in the hospital. Was this a new day?

"Nico, should we maybe rest and then shadow to somewhere with you know... a bed?" Percy's voice cut through Nico's thoughts.

Nico looked around. They were in some kind of vast field. He had no idea where he had showed traveled them to.

"Where would you suggest we rest?" Nico asked, gesturing to the flat, brown grass stretching as far as the eye could see.

Percy caught Nico's condescending tone, but ignored it, "Anywhere. We can take out some clothes and rest on them."

The smaller man switched his weight and considered it, "Fine. Let's just not go too far from the railroad. We're probably on private property and I don't want to get shot."

They made a small area to rest using clothes they had worn. Percy laid down and closed his eyes, but he couldn't sleep, so he just pretended like he was. Nico had just finished eating some fruit from his backpack and was looking at the map.

"So we must have done something right. There's a new thingy on the map."

Percy opened one eye, "Hmm?"

Nico showed him the map, which now had a rollerskate on it.

"Where do we go?"

Nico shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe tomorrow we'll try to get into the nearest town. I have no idea where we are."

"You didn't bring us here on purpose?" Percy sat up, looking worried.

"No. We just kind of ended up here."

"Well great. I was following you assuming that you had some kind of plan."

Nico handed Percy the map, "Where's your sense of adventure? You had one a few hours ago."

Percy looked at Nico. What he really wanted to say was something like, "I'm tired of seeing you nearly dead." He knew that didn't matter though. This was their life; monsters and death and demigods and gods in human form. Instead he went with an easy lie, "Sorry. I'm just tired."

Dark eyes looked at him skeptically, "Okay. I'm going to take a look around."

Percy gave a small wave and turned over to try and rest. His internal clock was completely off; he didn't know what day it was or what time it was or how much sleep he had or not gotten. He was worried about Nico, but that wasn't really a new feeling. He wanted his boyfriend to stay and rest with him. Nico had nearly drowned and he was acting like he was completely okay with it. Percy was nowhere near okay with it. Something was out to get them and he felt like he was the only one fighting against them. In the distance he heard a gunshot and sprang up. He thought Nico had been joking about getting shot. Percy's eyes frantically scanned the flat dry wasteland for his boyfriend. A black dot was coming toward him, growing larger and taking the form of his boyfriend. When he was close enough Percy could hear him yelling, "Run!"

Percy turned around to start running, but had to stop. There was a train coming down the tracks. Did he have enough time to cross the tracks? Even if he did, there was no way that Nico would make it. He stared at the train, wondering what to do and really hoping he didn't get shot while his back was turned.

"We're going to have to jump for it." Nico said, suddenly right next to him.

"Nico, that only works in the movies."

Nico took Percy's hand in his, "We're half bloods, it has to work." he looked down the tracks and found a boxcar with something to grab on to. "Too bad there are only open boxcars in movies." he said, "We'll have to improvise."

"If we get chopped in half, or shot for that matter, I just want you to know I love you."

"Love you too, Percy." Nico said just before pulling on his boyfriend's hand, "Jump!"

Just as they jumped Percy felt something ricochet off of his sneaker.

"Oh shit oh shit. Climb!"

Sea green eyes looked behind and saw an older man with a shotgun. A shotgun aimed right at his head. Percy felt himself get lifted onto the top of the boxcar.

"Lay down." Nico said, pushing the other man's body down.

When Percy looked back again the old man was trying to catch up to get close enough to shoot them, but luckily the train was faster and soon he became a speck of color in the dry yellow landscape.

"And here I thought we only had monsters to worry about." Nico said, sitting up, "Are you hurt?"

Percy sat up and looked at his sneaker, where a small mark was on the heel, "I think I'll survive. You?"

"I'm fine. We're dirty trespassers now. He's probably calling the cops on us."

"Let him." Percy said, not worried at all, "So what now?"

Nico laid back, "We'll need to get off before the train stops. Hitching a ride is still illegal."

"Oh good, I was wanting ankle surgery." Percy said dryly.

Dark eyes looked around, "I might be able to shadow travel, but we'll have to be between cars and at just the right angle to have enough darkness in there. It'll help if we wait for it to get a little darker."

"I feel like this adventure has a lot of waiting." Percy said, and when Nico looked at him he almost didn't know what to do. He hadn't gotten a look like that in a long time. Before he could think too hard about it, Nico's mouth was on his and small pale hands were clutching at his shirt, reaching down between his legs. The smaller man moved to straddle Percy's waist, nearly falling off when the train made an unexpected jolt. He undid Percy's jeans and pulled him out. Percy couldn't believe that this was happening, especially on top of a train, but he was not about to stop it. He returned the favor of taking Nico out of his pants and the smaller man kissed him hard before grinding their hips together, using his hands to increase the friction. Percy followed the other man's example and dark eyes rolled in pleasure. Percy had to smile. He'd forgotten how fun it was to play with his boyfriend. Nico was holding onto him for dear life with his free hand and Percy could feel his breath on his neck. He thought he could hear Nico saying his name, but he wasn't sure. Soon Nico shuddered against him, his nails digging into Percy's shoulders as he gasped Percy's name loud enough for Percy not to question whether he'd heard it or not. Hearing the smaller man say his name like that sent Percy over the edge and he pulled Nico even closer. They stayed that way for a while, just holding each other. Percy didn't want it to end, but all too soon Nico pulled away and looked at him. They kissed again and Nico made to move off, but then stopped himself and just kept staring at the other man.

"What?" Percy asked nervously.

"Did you grab our bags?" Nico asked, zipping Percy's pants up.

Percy thought for a moment, "Shit."

Nico finished zipping his own pants up and pulled on the hem of his shirt, which was quite obviously soaked. He wasn't sure why he had done that with Percy. Something about being on an adventure again and the two working together and then just the way Percy looked... he couldn't help himself.

"I still have the map..." Percy said, his cheeks lightly pinked, "If that helps."

The smaller man left Percy's lap and started searching his pockets, cursing under his breath. Sea green eyes watched him with curiosity, closing when they watched Nico pull out a cigarette and a lighter.

"Hallefuckinlujah." Nico said, sparking up without so much as a second thought. How quickly he had forgotten the bliss of a post-orgasm smoke. He laid down on the train car and breathed little puffs of smoke into the air, wanting to tell Percy 'Look, I'm a train.' but that was when he realized what he was doing. He looked over at Percy, who was staring at the map. A chill swept over Nico as the breeze hit his wet shirt. He looked at the half finished cigarette, debating on just going ahead and finishing. With a sigh he sat up and took one last drag before crushing the cigarette and then flicking it over the side of the train car.

"I think we should get off. The train is slowing down." Percy said, not looking up from the map.

"Do you want me to try to shadow us?" Nico asked, not looking at his boyfriend. He looked up at the sky. The sun was just starting to set.

"Please."

The two men carefully made their way to one end of the boxcar and looked down. Barely dark enough for Nico to shadow through, but he could make it work. He was terrified of what would happen if it didn't. He carefully made his way down the rungs attached to the train car and then even more carefully managed to get to the other boxcar, leaving Percy room to climb down.

"It's just as well that we lost our backpacks. We couldn't do this with them." He said, trying to concentrate on a vague idea of a roller rink. He'd come to realize that he really wasn't in control of their travels, and even though it scared him, it made it easier to just let whatever was going to happen just happen. He held Percy's hand, knowing that there was no way to get closer at the moment. He could tell that Percy was scared too, but he wasn't about to show it.

'SKATE SKATE SKATE' 'TUESDAY DATE NIGHT TWO FOR ONE!' 'CONTACT US FOR YOUR NEXT PARTY' Percy read the signs as they crept from a corner of the old roller rink to the front of the building.

"Have you ever skated Nico?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, but that was decades ago." Nico said and was about to walk in when Percy stopped him.

"Um..." Percy gestured to their shirts, which were now crusted.

"I totally forgot." Nico laughed, catching a somewhat dismayed look on Percy's face, "Do you think they won't notice before we get to a bathroom?"

"What's plan B?"

"Walk in shirtless."

"Well I guess there's not a whole lot of choice, is there?" Percy said before walking in.

Flourescent lighting. Of course.

"How many?" the young woman at the counter asked.

"Two." Nico said, squinting to see if Mist was involved in any way.

"Do you need to rent skates?" the woman asked, mimicking Nico's squint.

"Yes." Percy answered.

The woman eyed the two men with their dirty shirts, "Meeting someone?" she asked as the tickets printed off.

"Possibly." Nico said, ripping the tickets from the dispenser, "Thanks bye." he said, quickly entering the darker area of the roller rink. He looked around for a bathroom, grabbing Percy's hand when he found it. They made their way over, being very cautious, knowing that this was the next challenge from the map.

"Wow, we look like caca." Nico said, looking at their reflection in the mirror. His hair was wild with curls from sweat and the dip in the aquarium. Their faces were dirty from the train ride and thankfully their shirts looked more filthy than just sexed up. Percy was going to reply when Nico stripped off his shirt, putting it under the running water and also washing his face and attempting to tame his hair. Percy was nervous about someone catching them, but he too stripped off his shirt and put it under the water. The water calmed him as it ran over his hands and forearms. He heard Nico shaking his shirt and cursing.

"I forgot that we'll look even more strange walking around with wet shirts."

"Maybe we'll start a trend." Percy said helpfully, pulling his shirt from the sink. Nico just gave a half smile and held his shirt under the hand dryer. The door was pushed open and both men looked up.

"Come on you guys, my favorite song is on." a younger man with brown curly hair said, speaking as if he had known the two men for years. He grabbed their arms and pulled them out of the bathroom with the kind of strength he shouldn't have. When the two men were out of the bathroom they noticed that their shirts were completely dry and put them on. The boy pulled them to a bench and presented them with roller skates. Nico's were black with a little skull and crossbone pattern on them. Percy's were blue with waves stretching from the heel. The two men looked at each other. The challenge had begun. When they looked up the boy was gone. They made their way to the rink and watched the crowd going around and around to some top ten hit. Without warning someone pushed them forward and the two men fell onto the rink floor. Nico looked up and saw the boy grinning at them.

"Nico, get up!" Percy said urgently, pulling at the smaller man's arm. Nico looked just in time to see the crowd of people coming at them. He tried to run, forgetting that he had skates on and fell forward. He felt Percy lift him again.

"Have you ever worn skates?" Percy asked, facing Nico and taking his hands, beginning to skate backward. People passed them with a few glances, but so far nobody was attacking.

Nico scowled, "I told you I have. It's just been a really long time."

"Will you be okay if I let go?"

The other man blushed. He hated feeling weak in any way. He nodded even though he really wasn't sure. Percy let go and turned back around, keeping a slow pace as the other man started moving on his own. Slowly he started to get the hang of it and he smiled at Percy.

"Why are you so good at this?" Nico asked as they rounded the first corner.

"I'm actually better with rollerblades, but when I was growing up skating was the shit."

"The what?"

"It was the cool thing to do. I went to a lot of birthday parties with skating. I was only ever invited because the whole class got invitations, but I liked it. I didn't mind skating on my own."

A slow song started and Percy took Nico's hand, "I always wanted to do this."

Nico looked around, wondering when the monsters were going to get them, when he noticed that many of the other people were holding hands during the song. Speakers overhead announced, "Couple skate time. Grab a partner." over the music. 'Too late' Nico thought. The two men picked up speed as they became comfortable on the skates, going round and round together to the song. When the song ended Nico let go of Percy's hand. The other man didn't say anything. They continued going around and around, wondering what the point was of all of this. A few songs later was another couple's song and they joined hands again. They parted when the song was over and continued skating around and around. Nico's heart speed was getting a little uncomfortable, but he didn't want to tell Percy and get a lecture on the horrible effects of smoking. He slowed a little and let Percy go ahead of him, moving to the side of the rink to catch his breath. He was stopped about six inches from the edge of the rink. It was like an invisible force was keeping him from exiting. Before he could panic a child whizzed by and clipped Nico's skate, sending him to the floor. Another skater rolled over his hand as if it weren't even there. The skater didn't even look up as he skated by. He saw Percy pass him and called out to him, but the Sea Prince didn't hear him.

Nico managed to get up and started skating toward Percy. The crowd on the rink floor seemed thicker now. Nico couldn't get through to catch Percy. Another slow song came on and the crowd thinned as they partnered up. Nico had nearly caught up to Percy when he watched in horror as his boyfriend took the hand of someone in a suit. Who wears a suit to the skating rink? Nico wondered, ignoring the burn of jealousy in his stomach. He tried to speed up, but it seemed the harder he tried the slower he went. He was starting to feel like he was skating through honey. Percy and the man had gotten off of the rink just fine, and Nico saw them meet up with another young man, who Percy hugged in recognition. Nico rounded the rink to see them again, all the while trying to leave, but unable to. It was like he was stuck in a thick river. He was determined to save himself. He was not weak, he was not the victim. He would win, and he would do it without help.

Meanwhile Percy was laughing at a table with his two ex boyfriends. Daniel, the lawyer, was telling a story while Ethan, the dreamer laughed with Percy and ate a slice of pizza. Daniel asked to taste Percy's soda and offered to swap his own. Percy nodded and switched, though he couldn't remember even buying a soda. He also wondered why his ex-boyfriends were hanging out together, but it was kind of nice to see them again. Daniel was sure of himself in a refreshing way. Percy didn't have to worry about who was in charge or being sure to pay the lawyer compliments to keep his ego up. Ethan had a carefree way about him that made Percy feel that even though things were bad, it didn't matter. He just had to chill out and things would happen the way they should. The way that Daniel kept his hand on the back of Ethan's neck made Percy wonder if they were together. That would be weird.

"Come on Percy, we have something to show you." Daniel said, standing up. Percy put the soda down and followed the two men past the rock climbing wall and the jungle gym and into a birthday room. They all sat in the corner on some beanbag chairs. "So how have things been since we lost the case?" the lawyer asked, absent-mindedly running his fingers through Ethan's black locks while the other man took Percy's skates off.

"They've been pretty good." Percy said, not really able to remember anything about his life just then.

"All people do is talk." Ethan sighed, "I want to have some fun." he said before crawling onto Daniel's lap and kissing him. After he had finished with the lawyer he moved over to Percy's beanbag, running his hands up Percy's thighs, "I liked it when we had fun." he said and then kissed Percy. The Sea Prince pushed him away. Something didn't feel right. Ethan's black hair and black band shirt reminded him of something, of someone, but he couldn't pinpoint it. He just knew that something wasn't right.

"Here, have a treat." Daniel said, eyeing Percy warily and handing him a small pink cookie. Percy shoved it in his mouth without thinking, but the familiar taste brought some memories back for just a moment before they were washed away. He was starting to feel good, and even though he couldn't remember anything about his life, he knew that he hadn't felt relaxed like this in a long time. The way Ethan was rubbing his shoulders made him feel wanted and taken care of. It was a wonderful feeling.

"Let's lay down." Daniel said, moving the bean bags to reveal a soft blanket on the floor. Percy fell face first onto the blanket, loving the way the soft fabric felt on his skin. It was soft and cool, sensations he hadn't felt for a while. He also felt Ethan's small warm hands carressing his back. Papers showered down on them and sea green eyes scanned over them. He didn't like these papers. They were the subpoenas and transcripts from his trials in court. He made a face and Daniel picked them all up. He watched as the lawyer ripped them up and the pieces fell upward, dissolving into sparkles. The young lawyer then knelt on the other side of Percy and rubbed his back, his strong hands joining Ethan's softer ones.

Nico finally managed to break from from the crowd. He had tripped on some little kid on a tricycle and rolled to the center of the rink. There he ripped his skates off and threw them into the crowd in frustration. Nobody tripped on them, which confused Nico. Instead there was a gap in the endlessly rotating parade. It was just wide enough for Nico to jump through. He waited for the space to come around again, hoping his timing was right. He leapt through. He made it out of the rink, but stumbled on the edge and felt arms pulling him backward. Not even looking at them he pushed forward until he was free from the rink and the arms grabbing at him. He looked around for Percy and found no sign of him.

"Percy!" the Ghost King called. He couldn't see his boyfriend anywhere. His eyes found the curly haired boy playing on the jungle gym and he crossed the arcade area to get to him. The boy was too quick and was gone by the time Nico had gotten there. Dark eyes caught a glimpse of something down the hallway where the party rooms were. Nico walked over and picked a door.

"...wife and two kids and I work in a button factory..." a man at the other end of the room was saying. Nico saw that this appeared to be some sort of exercise class. Did skating rinks normally have exercise classes? A woman in yoga pants came up to the smaller man and led him to a mat. He stood on the mat and watched as everyone mimicked what the man was doing.

"Okay, ready? Let's turn this up!" the flamboyant man said before starting to sing song, "Hi. My name is Joe. I have a wife and three kids and I work in a button factory-" he started, turning his left wrist and his right wrist, Nico followed along with the others, "One day, my boss came to me and said, 'Joe, are you busy?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'Push this button with your right foot.'" The man began tapping his right foot while continuing to turn his wrists. Nico followed along. He understood this game. He had played something similar when he was a child. The man continued.

"Hi. My name is Joe. I have a wife and four kids and I work in a button factory..."

The game continued, adding the left foot, right knee, left knee, right elbow, left elbow. When it got to the nose Nico felt ridiculous. The game had to end soon, right? He tried to look around at the others, but he couldn't change his movements. He was stuck poking his nose out and flailing around like an idiot!

"Hi. My name is Joe. I have a wife and eleven kids and I work in a button factory..."

Now Nico was pissed. He was sticking out his tongue, poking out his nose, moving his elbows, knees, hands, and feet. How much longer could this game go on?

"Hi. My name is Joe. I have a wife and twelve kids and I work in a button factory. One day, my boss came to me and said, 'Joe, are you busy?'-"

Nico knew it was coming before it happened. He remembered this part of the game.

"-I said, 'YES!'"

Chaos broke out. The men and women lunged at each other, throwing elbows, pushing people down. Nico was defending himself against the woman who had led him to the mat. A sharp clap was heard and everyone stopped. They all went back to their mats and stood still.

The man was in a different outfit, but he began again, "Hi. My name is Joe. I have a wife and one kid and I work in a button factory..."

Nico didn't move. He looked at the door, wondering if he could escape. Everyone was staring straight ahead, following the man's movements. Nico observed the people. He now saw men in suits and women in dresses. There was a woman with a diaper bag next to her. There was a man with a rifle on his back. Nico carefully slipped past them, creeped out by the way they didn't even glance in his direction. As he opened the door he braced himself for attack, but none came. He closed the door behind him, still wary that something might happen. He chose another door.

It was pitch black inside. Nico could sense things moving above him. He could also sense something in front of him.

"You're adorable even when I can't see you, you know that?" Percy's voice made Nico jump. The Ghost King stayed quiet. He was smart enough to know that Percy wasn't really there. He could hear shuffling noises and barely make out the sound of breathing.

"I love you. And that's really scary to me." Nico heard his own voice say.

"I love you. I don't want us to fight anymore." Percy's voice said in the darkness.

Nico remembered this night and his heart sank as the conversation continued.

"But we're going to."

"Yeah, but I hope you don't run away anymore."

Nico mouthed the words he remembered speaking that night as they sounded through the darkness.

"I won't. I promise."

He heard the sound of kissing and he knew what happened next. He knew the sound he made as Percy entered him.

"You okay?" Percy whispered, voice full of love and concern.

"Yeah. It's...good."

Nico felt for the door and left the room, Feeling like a voyeur in his own memory. Out of curiosity he opened the door again and was greeted with flourescent lighting and a party table. He closed the door again, replaying the conversation. He was such a liar. He ran away all the time. Even worse, he had broken his promise to the man. He really was a terrible boyfriend. He sighed. Now was not the time for a pity party. He had to find Percy. He opened another door. This time he saw himself puking on the ground. Right next to that was another Nico making an O face and ejaculating as an invisible person brought him to orgasm. Though that one made him blush, Nico's least favorite was the one right in front of him. That Nico's throat was being slashed and his stomach was ripping open, spilling a fountain of blood at his feet. The Nicos performed over and over again like gifs. Nico's eye caught less unpleasant ones as he looked around the room. There was a Nico who was smiling and laughing. Even the Nico crying didn't disturb him, even though he realized he was an ugly cryer. Were these supposed to be his emotions? If they were, he could tell that some were missing. Realizing that Percy was not in this room he left it and closed the door behind him. He approached the next door, half wondering if he had opened it already. He should have kept the other doors open so that he wouldn't get confused. He opened it anyway.

"Oh my God, these lemon brownies are fucking amazing!" A small pale man with black hair was saying.

"Told ya." Percy said across the table from him.

"Where did these come from again?" A man in a suit asked as he shoved another one in his face.

"Percy."

Three pairs of eyes turned to the pale man in the doorway. Percy smiled and walked over to his boyfriend, giving him a kiss. Nico could taste the lemon on his lips.

"Who are these guys?" Nico asked.

"I'm Daniel, the lawyer who fucked Percy over a desk. Twice." The man in the suit said.

"And I'm Ethan. I guess I just got Percy stoned a lot and made him forget about the real world." The small pale man shrugged.

Nico blinked, "Really? You just say it like that?"

"Would you rather we lied to you?" Ethan asked, putting another brownie in his mouth.

"No..."

"Maybe just a half truth or an omission, then?" Daniel asked, pushing the plate toward Nico.

"What did you put in them?"

"We didn't put anything in them." Daniel said, and Nico somehow knew it was the truth, but he also had a feeling that someone did. "Try one. They'll help you tell your secrets."

Nico crossed his arms, "Then they wouldn't be secrets anymore."

"What are you afraid of someone finding out?" Ethan asked, standing up, "Why are you so terrified of someone knowing you?"

The Ghost King's lips tingled where Percy had kissed them and he could feel words pressing behind them, but he swallowed. Instead he went for a roundabout approach.

"To know me is to kill me."

"Too late for that." It was the first time Percy had spoken. The lovers looked at each other and Nico felt his hands get sweaty.

"I honestly don't have an answer." he said quietly.

"Eat one of these and think about it." Percy grabbed the plate of yellow treats. Nico could smell them in front of his face.

"Please don't make me do this." Nico pleaded, "Not in front of them."

"Would you do it even if we were alone?" Percy asked, also using a quieter voice.

"Have you ever asked me?"

"I ask you to tell me things all the time."

"No. You tell me to. I understand why you want to know, but sometimes I just wish you would ask me instead of tell me."

"That's a stupid reason."

"See? I actually open up and you tell me I'm stupid. Why would I even bother?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to call you stupid." Percy put the plate of treats down.

"I promise we'll talk sometime and I'll tell you everything." Nico said.

"I've heard that one before."

"Please trust me. Just... let's get out of here." Nico said, looking at the other two men, who were watching the exchange intently.

He was slightly surprised when Percy didn't protest. He was equally surprised when they left the room without a problem. The Ghost King was getting confused with the lack of fighting they were doing.

"What were you doing in there?" Nico asked.

"They tried to be all seductive, but I just fell asleep. When I woke up we ended up just talking and those brownies appeared and it was actually just a good time. What about you?"

Nico didn't really want to tell Percy, especially about the room that had echoed their conversation in the darkness, but he wanted to prove to Percy that he could be open and honest, so he relayed the story.

"What do you think it all meant?" Percy asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I'm just kind of disturbed by it." They walked out of the roller rink and Nico realized something, "Hey Percy, where are our shoes?"

"Probably still under the bench. I'll go grab them." When Percy went to open the door he found that it was locked. It was then that Nico realized that it was daytime again. He walked backward to get a better look at the roller rink as Percy continued fighting with the door.

"Hey Perce..."

Percy came to stand next to Nico and looked at the roller rink. The ticket window was boarded up and the signs were broken and faded. Grafitti spread across the cement beneath their feet and weeds sprouted from beneath the parking lot. This place hadn't been open in a long time.

"Bloody magic." Nico grumbled, "Always fucking with us."

"So... does this mean we don't have backpacks or shoes now?"

The smaller man saw the worried look in Percy's face and pulled him into his arms, "We'll be okay. I'm sure it's all part of the plan. Plus, look what I still have." he pulled out the map.

"What's next?" Percy asked, looking at the map.

"Just looks like a big building."

Percy looked at the image that had just appeared, "Could it be a hotel?"

"I'm not going back to the Lotus Hotel." Nico said quickly and defensively.

"I don't think that's what it is." The two men thought for a while. Percy looked up into the sky, wondering what time it was. He didn't bother wondering what day. As his eyes scanned the skies his eyes caught a billboard.

Comic Con.

The date felt like it was probably going on right now, though again Percy didn't know what day it was.

"You've got to be kidding me." Nico said when he saw what Percy was looking at.

"Have you ever been to one?"

Nico laughed and sea green eyes looked at him, "Percy, I never wanted you to know just how big of a nerd I am, but yes. I've been to one or two... or four."

"Thank you for telling me the truth." Percy said and Nico looked away.

"Anyway, I suppose we should be headed to that city. Now that I think about it, the thingy on the map is probably a convention center."

"We don't have shoes."

Nico took the money out of his pockets. There wasn't a whole lot left. Would they have to buy tickets to the convention? Did they have to be in costume? What about sleep? They definitely didn't have enough money for a hotel. Nico twisted one of his rings off of his finger.

"Nico, no."

"It's all we have, Percy."

"But-"

"I'm a jeweler. I can make another amethyst ring."

Percy frowned. He knew how important Nico's rings were to him, "Okay."

They found a pawn shop not too far away from the roller rink. The man eyed the shoeless men suspiciously, but upon seeing the quality of the ring he decided that he didn't really care what kind of men he was dealing with. Upon receiving the money Nico counted it. He sighed and looked at Percy before removing another of his rings. This one had a garnet in it. The man smiled a greedy smile and handed Nico some more cash after he took the ring.

"Your rings were worth a lot more than that." Percy pouted when they left the shop.

"Maybe to other people. Percy, they were just things."

"But they were your things."

Nico studied Percy. He couldn't understand why the other man was so upset about the rings. It wasn't like Percy had given them to him. He didn't feel like asking because he wasn't in the mood for drama, but something told him that it was now or never.

"Why are you so upset, Percy?"

Percy made a face as though he weren't expecting the question, and as if he hadn't realized that he was acting upset. He acted as though he were going to say something, but then he stopped himself, then he tried again. Nico wanted to point out that he wasn't the only one bad at saying how he felt, but he knew better.

"You'll just think it's stupid. It is stupid."

Nico put his hand on Percy's arm, "Please?"

Percy sighed. What better way to encourage Nico to open up than to lead by example? He felt his skin heat up. "It's just that... You so easily gave up things that are special to you, that you've had for years, it just kind of made me wonder about me."

The smaller man hadn't expected that. He agreed that it was a ridiculous thought, but he could see that the question genuinely bothered his lover. Worse was that the simple question opened up a big bag of secrets Nico had kept. To comfort Percy he would have to tell one, but that might make things worse.

"You really think I could leave you so easily?" Nico asked quietly.

"You already have. I think that's what's really bothering me."

Nico looked away. He had just sold the rings so that he could buy his boyfriend some shoes. He didn't know it was going to turn into all this drama.

"I haven't gone anywhere since we got back together." he weakly offered.

"Feels like it. You still shut me out. Sometimes when we're in the same room is when I feel the most alone."

Despite Percy's words, Nico felt himself shutting down anyway. He wasn't sure that he could feel things even if he wanted to just then. He knew that Percy knew what he was thinking, but the Sea Prince wasn't going to beg him to open up. Nico could feel it in his chest, in his throat, but that's where it died. He started curling and uncurling his fist, trying to calm down. He hated the piteous look Percy gave him.

Percy pulled Nico into a hug, "I wish you could talk to me." he said in a defeated tone.

"Me too." Nico said, and he meant it. It scared him that he couldn't say anything to Percy in that moment. It was like the story of the Pleases. A little boy never said please, so his Please left to get some fresh air, but then when the boy wanted to say it he found that he couldn't. The Please didn't exist for him anymore, even if he wished it would. A shiver went through Nico. What if he was totally incapable of telling Percy anything? It was those moments when he was glad Percy seemed to know what he needed. He couldn't say a damn word, but his body had been screaming for Percy to hold him. He wished they had more moments like this. He also wished he had a cigarette.

That selfish thought seemed to break whatever moment the two men were having and Nico pulled away. Percy protested and held Nico tighter. The smaller man's instinct was to stiffen, and he hated that. He forced himself to relax and let Percy keep holding him. After a moment the taller man finally let go.

"Come on Percy, let's go buy some shoes." Nico said, gently touching his boyfriend on the back of his shoulder.

x.x.x

I took a lot of liberties with this chapter, but I figured it's my story, so that's allowed. Thanks for reading and I hope you like it.