Finished the last two seasons of the Soul Eater anime today then read some Kid/Soul yaoi and I'm back on track! ^-^" Yaaah! I'm so freaking happy!
Warning: There is a little stronger language in this chapter than I normally use. Just a warning.
My Weeks in Hell
Burdens
Percy giggled. Bubbles, who would have thought that would be his weakness. He was laying on Nico's bed—well, it was his and Nico's bed now that he was trapped—blowing bubbles. Like, the little kid bubbles that you could buy at any local Walmart. No matter what kind of bubbles they were, Percy loved blowing and popping them.
"You're such a little kid," Nico rolled his eyes. He sat on the end of his bed.
Percy blew another bubble then rolled his head on its side to glare at Nico. "You're the one who got me these bubbles for Christmas," he smirked. "Therefore, you are the one who is inspiring me to be child like."
Again, Nico rolled his eyes. "Here," he tossed Percy something, which Poseidon's son caught, while trying not to spill the container of bubble sod. "Hermes brought that for you. My father asked me to deliver it."
Scrunching his eyebrows together, the sea's heir closed his toy—setting it aside—and looked at the small package. It was no larger than the size of a pack of cards and covered in sparkly blue paper. If it was held into the light, the paper would glare back at you, like the sea. "It's from my dad," Percy decided. He tore the covering off, not caring that it was beautiful, trying to find the treasure that was inside. The sea prince held up a necklace.
"Your father sent you jewelry?" Nico question, raising an eyebrow.
Percy shrugged. "I guess." He ran his fingers over the shark's tooth weighing down the string. His fingers moved to the smooth, multicolored coral beside it. It really was a beautiful piece of jewelry. "I think it's Poseidon's way of telling me not to lose hope. That if a shark's tooth can look beautiful, anything is possible."
The ghost king glared at that said necklace. "Yeah," he muttered, clenching his teeth together. "That's Poseidon's way of telling you never to lose hope." Just what he need, his sea prince's father telling him that he would get out of here soon. Out of the underworld and away from the ghost king.
Percy sighed and wrapped the necklace back up in its paper. He put it into the nightstand's drawer and closed it away. Poseidon's son then preceded to blow bubbles again.
"You're not going to wear your father's gift?" Nico asked.
The green eyed halfblood shook his head. "No," he blew another bubble, "I already wear my camp necklace and another one will just get into the way." A storm of bubbles went into the air, which the sea prince proceeded to pop, a childish smile and laugh coming from him.
Nico smiled, so he wouldn't lose Percy as quickly as he had thought. "What would you like to do for New Year's?" He laid beside Percy and played with the soft hair, which had become a favorite passed time of his.
"I'd like to watch the ball drop with my mom, but since I can't do that I suppose I'll just hang out with you," The sea prince offered Nico a smile, to show he was only joking. "Really, though, I'd like us to just hang out. I don't want to go to another party in Elysium, I don't want to hang out with your dad and Persephone, I especially don't want to see Luke again. Just you and me, Neeks."
"Of course," Nico nodded. He really wanted to ask about the Luke thing, though. It was obvious something had happened, from what the traitor had said and from the fact Percy was bringing it up. His black eyes twinkled as he thought of the perfect place to go to celebrate the new year. "I have an idea."
My Weeks in Hell
"You don't have to blindfold me again, right Nico?" Percy asked. He finished buttoning up his coat. Or—a better description would be—Nico's old coat, why'd he have to get so freaking big?
Nico chuckled and put a hat on his sea prince's head. "No, but you'll have to bundle up. It gets cold in the Underworld at night," Nico zipped up his own hoodie.
Percy frowned. "Why don't you have to wear a big coat like me?" He whined. Now, more than ever, was he feeling like a little child. Nico had insisted that Poseidon's son put on layers, even a hat that covered his ears, then the ghost king wore nothing but a hoodie and black beanie hat.
Hades' son couldn't keep the smile from his face. "I'm used to the cool temperatures, you are not. Now, stop complaining unless you want me to treat you like a child," he chuckled. Nico took Percy's gloved hand. "Now come on, I will show you one of my favorite places in this realm."
After ten or so minutes of wondering through the halls of Hades' palace, Percy became agitated. "Are we there yet?" He whined. "All these layers are getting hot!"
The ghost king looked back at the other and rolled his eyes. "You're such a child," he turned to open the door. "That I love," Nico muttered under his breath.
"What?"
Ignoring the question, Nico pulled open the door. "We're here," The black eyed demigod smiled.
Percy gasped. "I thought plants couldn't grow in the Underworld," Poseidon's son mused as he walked out on the path of shiny black rocks. The demigod pulled off a glove and reached out to touch a purple flower that he didn't know the name of. "So soft," Percy purred.
"Yes," the son of Hades walked up behind his crush and plucked a blue flower. "This is recent, within the last century actually. Persephone figured out how to grow them down here and my father immediately went to work at making this space for her." He pulled off Percy's hat—forgetting the cold air—and placed the blue flower behind the other's ear. "I'll show you what Persephone's garden was before this when you're finished looking."
The sea prince nodded, looking up to meet his friend's eyes. As he glanced into the deep black eyes, he couldn't stop himself from staring. Nico's eyes were a sight-to-see, or at least Percy thought so. Darker than Tartarus brown—almost black—and so deep they could hold space. The sea prince had learned to love them, even before he became this confused.
But Percy still felt that nagging piece of manhood in the back of his brain telling him that this was weird. Telling him to stop acting like a girl.
The sea god's son decided to change the subject. "I wish I knew the names to all these flowers," he still found it impossible to pull away from those eyes, "My mom would know all of them."
Nico smiled, nudged the sea prince's shoulders. "I bet she would," he chuckled, taking it as his duty to be the first to look away. "I knew you'd be into all this flower stuff. You're too much like Persephone." The ghost king walked passed Percy, brushing his shoulder.
The son of the sea god turned red while he tired to catch up with his best friend. "You're saying I'm like a girl?" He asked. Nico just shrugged, stuffing Percy's hat into the coat's pocket. The red on the sea prince's cheeks deepened. "I'm a girl, right?"
Hades' son let out a snort. "Perce, you're a guy. I am one hundred percent sure of that." The Italian threw a grin over at his friend, who he was slowly getting taller than.
An imaged of himself in a skirt with Nico holding him popped into Percy's head. "Too bad," the sea prince muttered to himself. "Guess that options out."
Nico raised an eyebrow at the other halfblood. At the mention of the sea prince being a girl, his best friend suddenly became sad. It worried the ghost king. "Do you want to be a girl?"
This time, it was Percy's turn to shrug. "If I was a girl maybe those stupid fantasies would make sense," he whispered, just low enough for the ghost king not to hear more that jumbled words. Just go with it, his gut kept telling him. Well, Percy knew his gut wasn't usually wrong. "Where are we going now?"
"Persephone's first garden," Hades' son nodded in front of him.
Again, Percy's eyes widened and he gasped. "They're flowers. Made out of jewels." He turned to his best friend, green eyes large. "How is that possible?"
Again, the ghost king found himself laughing at the older male. "Anything is possible when the gods still exist," he chuckled, taking a seat in the solid gold swing. The son of Poseidon sat beside him, running his ungloved hands across the gold chain.
"I never thought I'd touch real, solid gold," he said, before turning his attention to Persephone's gem flowers. "I'm afraid to touch them." His free hand, the one still running on the smooth bench part, wondered to Nico's. He firmly gripped onto the son of death's hand, offering it a squeeze.
Nico smiled, but otherwise didn't acknowledge the sign of affection. It was obvious the sea prince was shy, and still trying to deny what his heart was obviously starting to feel. Percy just needed time. "If you ever wanted to see some kind of gold or silver or anything like that I could have showed you. My father is the god of riches and everything beneath the earth as well as the dead."
Poseidon's son meant Nico's eyes, then smiled. "I guess I forgot," he laughed. Percy throw his head back, feeling carefree for just a few moments in time. "It wasn't as great as if you and I went to New York and saw the ball drop, but this was fun. Thanks for showing me."
A Cheshire cat's grin fell on Nico's face. "Oh, but this isn't all. I have one more plan for our night." The ghost king squeezed Percy's hand before pulling him off the swing. They took off running down the black pebble path, the sea prince smiling softly as he saw the carefree Nico he missed.
Since Bianca's death, the younger demigod had been withdrawn and depressing. Sure, in the last few months Nico had been more open, if only to Percy, but still more open. The sea prince hadn't understood it completely but welcomed it eagerly. Poseidon's son liked when his best friend would come to camp and hang out with him, falling into the background when anyone besides Rachel or Clarisse came by. Even more, Percy loved when Nico would pop up in his bedroom after school. Annabeth didn't know about it, but the two boys would spend ours just hang around New York then eat dinner at the Jackson home.
The son of Poseidon had come to a point where when Nico didn't show up every few days he would become worried sick. His mother would tell him it would be fine, Nico was just wondering like always, even though she was secretly worried too. The ghost king would show up on Percy's fire escape the next day with something extremely cool, his way of silently apologizing for disappearing.
Even though Percy would act as if he didn't care, that it was okay for Hades' son to do that, even though it wasn't at all. Whenever Nico would disappear for more than three days Percy's heart would speed up and he'd fail more test than usual. He would pace his room and not answer when Annabeth tried to call. It worried his mom to bits, even thought she understood why. No matter how much Percy begged, Mrs. Blofis wouldn't tell her son why he acted this way. "You'll understand soon."
"Persephone told me the same thing," Percy muttered to himself, forgetting about Nico entirely. "Maybe I need to rethink some stuff." The sea prince could feel the depression he'd had when he'd first arrived in the Underworld falling onto him again. Maybe, hopefully, his ghost king would be able to pull him out of this too.
A chill went down Percy's spine, causing him to look up. His blood ran cold. "Nico."
"Yeah?"
"Why did you take me here?" The sea prince asked as he looked out at the broken dreams of the river Styx. A freezing breeze seemed to run over his body, even though no wind blew. Percy tugged on his coat, huddling into himself and subconsciously took a step towards Nico. Now, the sea prince understood why he'd been told to put on so many layers. This section of the Underworld would freeze even the warmest hearts.
"Did you know the word 'styx' actually means hate," Nico cocked his head to the side. "It's the river of hate. It's filled with the lost dreams and broken hopes of all mortals who have ever crossed it. I guess that's why I brought you here. I know you carry a lot of burden, can see it in your eyes, and want to get some of it off your shoulders."
It took Poseidon's son a moment, but he realized what Nico wanted. "You want me to tell you what happen between me and Luke." For once, Percy didn't feel in the dark. He wasn't missing the obvious. He understood what his best friend wanted, and didn't want to give it to him.
"That's one of them," the ghost king shrugged. "You've never told anyone the truth about that, have you? You've carried your secrets by yourself for so long." Nico looked over at his friend, waiting for Percy to meet his eyes. "I will not tell anyone, I swear that. You can trust me Percy, I haven't lied to you about something this serious yet and never plan on it. I just want to help you."
The sea prince sighed, closed his eyes, opened them again, then sighed again. He sat down on the rocky shore, looking out at the dark waters. Nico quickly followed his lead, sitting beside the boy. They stayed silent, with Hades' son staring at Percy, who was staring at the water. A crystal glistened at the corner of Percy's eye, falling down the tanned cheek and dropping onto dark rocks. It was the first time Nico had actually seen Percy cry.
"I'll never say this again," the hero whispered. "I'll never admit it to anyone else, I'll never talk about it again. I'm telling you this once, and only because it is almost midnight and it would be nice to not feel so much pressure anymore." Sad green eyed looked over at the ghost king's. "Got it Nico?"
The Italian nodded. "I understand. I won't ask about it again after now." He offered Percy a hand, a source of comfort. The sea prince only shook his head, muttering "not now."
After another few minutes of silence, Percy took a deep breath. "I lied, to a lot of people. Annabeth wasn't exactly my first romantic relationship." He started fidgeting with his fingers, as if just the thought made him uneasy. "I'm not sure how it started, but it did. Luke was just that kind of person, you know? He swept me away and I was on cloud nine. I didn't get down until he tried to kill me at the end of the summer, even then I still didn't want to believe it."
The ghost king eyed the older halfblood suspiciously. "What happened, exactly, Percy?"
A harsh laugh made its way out of the sea prince's smooth lips. "Isn't it obvious? I could have even figured this one out." He turned to Nico, green eyed hard and pained. "I was a naive little boy and Luke was the older guy who showed me what was right. Put two and two together Nico and what do you get."
"He hurt you." It wasn't a question, the ghost king knew now.
Percy snorted. "I put it on myself. I was practically asking to be fucked."
At that point, Nico knew the real pain that his sea prince was feeling. Percy never cursed, never. The older demigod just couldn't find it in himself, no matter how much the Stolls brothers or the ghost king himself slipped cuss words into conversations. The son of Hades pulled his friend into a hug. He didn't care if Percy resisted, he would not let go of the sea prince now, he needed to be reassured that it wasn't his fault.
"Perseus Jackson, don't you dare talk down on yourself like that," Death's son ordered. "You are not some used toy. Percy, you are a lot fucking more than that. You're a hero. You saved millions of people. Not to mention you saved me." The sea prince lifted his head, tilting it to the side in confusion. "You never gave up on me Percy. No matter how much I wanted you dead, or how much I blamed you. Even when I put you endanger you still had faith that I would do the right thing in the end. Your faith in me made me see the light again. It pulled me the right way."
The sea prince's mouth opened, then shut again, then fell open. For a second, he looked like the fish that commonly spoke to him. "I never knew you felt that way," Percy finally settled on. Nico shrugged, another cold blast shot threw them. Poseidon's son shivered and pulled himself closer to the other demigod. "Thank you for this but can we go now? I'm really cold."
The ghost king nodded then kissed Percy's head. "Let's go back now, you've had enough for tonight." Nico lifted Percy up like a child, one arm under the knees the other under the neck. The sea prince wrapped his arms around his friend's neck, not wanting to fall.
My Weeks in Hell
Percy curled up closer to Nico. Since they had left, the temperature of palace had dropped drastically. The two boys were still in their hoodies and jeans as they huddled under the blankets, trying to share as much body heat as possible. The cool air seemed to affect the sea prince more than it did the ghost king, though. The older one shivered, clawing at Nico's jacket and pushing his face into the warm chest.
"Yyyooour dddaadd's an ass," Percy stuttered, teeth chattering from the cold.
Nico sighed. He reached over and grabbed a heating blanket he'd found. The ghost king pulled it beneath the comforter and wrapped Percy in it. "Better?" The sea prince nodded, resting his head on Nico's chest. Hades' son smiled and rubbed circles into the other's back.
"You never," Poseidon's son yawned, "told me any of your burdens." He yawned again.
"You wouldn't want to know," his hands ran through the silky hair.
Another yawn. "Of course I do," his voice showed how tired he actually was. The heat was really affecting the sea prince. "Tell me one of your burdens, a secret you haven't told me yet."
The ghost king nodded. "Alright, if you really want to know." He couldn't deny Percy anything. The kid, he would just be the death of him. "I'm in love with you," Nico finally said after a minute.
He waiting for Percy to shot up. Waited for the sea prince to pull away and say how disgusting that was. Remind Nico that he had a girlfriend. When it didn't happen, the ghost king worried that maybe the older demigod was in shock.
Then he heard light snoring and knew what had happened.
Percy had fallen asleep before Nico had gotten the courage to actually say it. His secret was not revealed, the sea prince was still in the dark. All was right in the world again.
Yet, the ghost king wished Percy hadn't been so tired. Maybe then his burden wouldn't crush his chest as much anymore. The sea prince would know Nico's true feelings and he'd either accept them or hate his best friend for them. Either way was better than this lie.
The clock on the nightstand glowed twelve. Midnight. A new year. A new chance. "Happy New Year Percy," Nico whispered. He kissed the demigod's forehead. "I promise, I'll tell you how I feel this year. I swear on my sister. Goodnight now." Nico closed his eyes and allowed Hypnos to take his consciousness and Morpheus to allow the ghost king to be lost in dreams.
This chapter kicked my freaking ass! Until today I had about six paragraphs done! Wow, am I ever greatful for inspiring yaoi...
Thanks for reading!
~Goddess of the Multiverses
