The next few days were the worst in Percy's life.
Next to the fact that the others were kind of disappointed at Percy and Nico not having to fight their way through gods knew what army of monsters to get back alive, he was feeling extremely bad.
He couldn't eat, barely drank anything and stayed in his room most of the time.
Monster attacks came and went, as did Annabeth who seemed to worry about him. He still hadn't found the time to talk to her in quiet and break up with her. But then again, what was the point of breaking up with her when Nico simply upped and left first chance he had?
Percy felt betrayed. Of course it must have hurt the boy to see Annabeth kissing him, but didn't the boy have eyes in his head? Hadn't he seen that Percy had tried to push her away? He sighed and threw himself onto the bed in his room.
He was annoyed.
Annoyed and lonely.
Annoyed, lonely and tired.
He couldn't sleep. On the island, he hadn't really noticed, but he hadn't had any dreams. Now on the other hand they had been crashing down onto him ten times worse than ever before. Whenever he closed his eyes for more than a minute, the nightmares were there, more intense than ever. Maybe to make up for the time he hadn't had any.
Also, the thoughts of Nico kept him awake. He was worried about him. What if he wouldn't come back? What if he had run into some monsters and got hurt? Or even worse, what if he had died? Percy jumped out of bed again at that thought. He had tried to contact Nico via Iris Massaging, but without success. It was as if the call wasn't going through. Which made Percy worry even more.
"Hey, Seaweed brain. Feeling better now?" Annabeth's voice pulled him out of his thoughts, staring out of the small window in his room.
"Yeah. Listen, I..." He began, finally deciding to get this over with as long as they were alone. But Annabeth held up her hands. "You got to know somebody, am I right?" She asked and Percy gulped. In a way, he had gotten to know Nico all over again. And fallen for him. He looked down.
"I...I'm sorry." He said and heard Annabeth draw a deep breath. "I thought so. I mean...you aren't eating, you're avoiding me, and you look like you haven't slept in ages." She said and shook her head, not looking at her boyfriend. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen, Annabeth. But...you and I...I just don't think we are really meant to be..." Then he heard sobbing.
Annabeth had started crying. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn't know what to do. He didn't want to lead her on, making her think they'd still have a chance. "Who is it, then?" She asked, wiping the tears away firmly with her hands, though new ones kept coming. Percy didn't answer. "So you are dumping me for another chick, but you aren't brave enough to name her?" She asked angrily and Percy didn't look at her. "I'm sorry." He said quietly and Annabeth stomped on the ground. "You're sorry? Is that all you got to say? You vanish for a week and come back, in love with somebody else and you tell me you are sorry? How much do you think I worried about you? How much do you think I missed you?"
Percy looked at her. She was still crying, but now her anger took over and she shouted some insults at him. He simply stood there.
"You have never even told me you love me. Whenever I said something about how I felt or whenever I was scared, you acted as if I was mad. We barely even talked to each other and if we did, it was always about your awesome ideas and plans. Gods, how can you throw this whole bullshit at me when you know yourself that our relationship wasn't the best? You only took me because Luke died, anyways." He shouted at her when his patience finally wore out. It got deadly quiet in the room.
Annabeth stared at him, paralyzed. "What? You know it's true. Or did you ever feel all warm and fuzzy when you saw me, thinking 'Oh my gods, he's the one'? No, I bet you haven't. You have never even acted like you at least enjoyed being around me. Now you are acting as if all of this is my fault because I 'fell in love with somebody else'. But you know what? That 'somebody else' showed me how real love should be like. It should be fair and square. People should be feeling at ease with each other, able to talk about everything without feeling stupid. And you know it's true."
She stepped back, her stormy gray eyes narrowing. "Fine. I get it. You never loved me and you think I have never loved you, either. But let me ask you something. That girl you are so in love with, does she know you have a girlfriend? Did she tell you all these awesome things about how love should be?" She hissed and Percy felt his temper rising. "If you are trying to indicate I was being fooled and somebody just tried to break us up, I have to disappoint you. I have realized all those things myself. Nobody told me anything about how love should be, but by now I have a pretty good idea of it."
She spat something incoherent at him and then rushed out the room, slamming the door shut behind her.
Percy sighed and sat down on the bed again. That did not go as planned at all. He had intended to talk to her quietly and then end it in a way that he wouldn't hurt her too much. Instead, they had lost their temper and shouted at each other.
Percy was pretty sure he had hurt her pretty badly. He knew she had tried to make the best of their relationship. And he knew she did care for him, even though he was sure it was nothing compared to how much she had cared for Luke. He laid back on the bed and let the nightmares take over, too fed up with everything else to care.
The rest of the week didn't go much better. Percy and Annabeth avoided each other completely, though she just seemed angry at him, not necessarily hurt.
He was talking more with Frank and Leo instead and trained whenever he had nothing to do and no monsters to fight off. He was still thinking about Nico. Now that he had broken up with Annabeth, one would think they could be together.
But Percy was scared. He wasn't sure why, but what if Nico found somebody else now? What if Nico hated him now for thinking he had only used him? What was Percy going to do when he saw him next? Would Nico be happy to see him if they met by chance?
Things like that kept running through his head, distracting him. He had lost weight and felt dizzy, but that didn't make him eat more. He missed the fish Nico had made. Even though he had been kind of irritated by having to eat fish day after day, but Nico had done his best to make it taste different and Percy had found that so cute of him.
He sighed, thinking about the younger boy while staring off into the horizon. "So...what are you doing here?" A voice behind him asked and he looked around. It was Jason.
"Oh. You." Percy still hadn't forgotten Nico worrying about the guy and telling him about Jason being so nice to him and all. Jason frowned. "You really don't like me, do you? I wonder why that is." He said and leaned against the ship's rail next to Percy.
Percy only shrugged and really didn't feel like talking to the son of Zeus/Jupiter. "So...what really happened on that island? Between Nico and you?" Percy's hands twitched. "What do you care about him?" He asked, but noticed it sounded more like a threat.
Jason laughed. "He's my friend, of course I care about him. I also know about his feelings. And something tells me that he's confessed to you." Percy looked stubbornly at the sea. "You aren't really good at masking your emotions, Percy. Do you want to talk about it?"
Percy sighed. "Maybe he did." "And what did you do?" Percy blushed and looked away. Jason raised his eyebrows. "Oh..." Was all he said and then he turned towards the sea as well.
"So...is that why you broke up with Annabeth?" He asked casually and didn't look at Percy. Percy looked down at his hands. "Kind of. I don't know. It's just...we weren't meant to be..." He muttered and Jason glanced sideways. "That's a pretty big statement. What makes you think that?" Percy shrugged. "I had quite some time to think on that island. And I simply realized some things there, I suppose."
Jason grinned and Percy frowned. "What's so funny?" Jason shook his head. "You really fell for him, didn't you?" Percy didn't answer at first. He tried to sort his feelings out. "I don't know. I mean...all I know is that whenever I looked at him, my insides went all fuzzy. I couldn't think properly and all I wanted to do was wrap my arms around him and-...well you get what I mean. Now all I do day in and out is think about him and worry myself sick, wondering where he is and what he's doing. If that isn't love then I don't know what is."
Jason looked at him oddly for a minute. "A simple yes would have been fine as well." He then muttered and chuckled at Percy's exasperated expression. "But yeah, I think you can say that's love. Latest you notice is when you look at the person and think 'This is the one.'." Percy sighed. "Yeah...but now he's gone. What if he won't come back? What if he...what if he finds somebody else...?"
At that, Jason laughed. He patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry. Nico has loved you for so long, he'll keep loving you, even if you were to stay with Annabeth for the rest of your days." Percy looked away again, unsure whether he was feeling better now or not.
He was woken with a start two days later as the whole ship lurched sideways, making him topple out of bed and almost getting crushed by his bedside table. He stumbled to deck and faced at least twenty venti and some other monsters trying to tear apart both ship and crew. He pulled out his ballpoint pen, uncapped it and rushed into the fight with Riptide.
Why did those monsters always come in such big herds at the same time? It was like a freaking fast food restaurant in the city. It was either completely empty or completely crowded.
He slashed two of the venti in half, trying to get an overview of the situation. Frank and Jason were in the air, fighting off more and Leo was trying to get his Wii-controller for the ship back that something dark and fuzzy seemed to be knocking around. Hazel was nowhere to be seen and he could hear Piper using her charmspeak on some of the venti while slashing at them.
Somewhere to his right he could hear Annabeth swear under her breath and behind him was Coach Hedge using his club on another one of the dark, fuzzy creatures. Percy slashed wildly at the monsters around him, dodged some attacks here and there and tried not to listen to whatever they had to say.
Even though he was pretty occupied right there, his mind still trailed off to Nico. He kept looking around for him to see him fight as he had done in the past, but kept reminding himself that Nico wouldn't be here. He spun around, stabbing at a venti and blocking another attack, then went to help Piper since she only had her Katroptis to fight with, next to her voice. But his mind kept trailing off, getting him nearly skewered at least five times. "What the hell are you doing?" Annabeth yelled at him as he narrowly missed another venti trying to pulverize him with lighting. He wanted to say something, but was cut off as he felt a stinging pain in his shoulder. One of those dark fuzzy things that looked a bit like cows had attacked him and he had been so busy he hadn't noticed. Pain shot through his body as he watched his shirt tearing and blood oozing from the wound.
Oh gods, so much blood. He slashed at it just as Leo set it on fire and Jason let lighting crash down onto it. As it vaporized, it gave off a weak neighing sound, almost making Percy feel sorry for it.
Almost.
His shoulder hurt too badly to really feel sorry.
He slashed at some more venti, but felt his energy quickly draining. There were just too many. They were only eight, after all. Since they were at least 3.000 feet above the ocean, he couldn't really use water to help him, either. He slashed around some more, his condition worsening through the pain at his shoulder. Then, suddenly, one of the venti got his sword flying out of his hand and another one grabbed him, holding him in place. "Percy, watch out!" He heard Piper scream and knew what was coming.
Everything happened so fast.
While one held him in place, another one concentrated on the air and he could see the lighting bold crashing down.
In his last second, his mind was wiped completely blank. "Nico...I'm sorry..." He whispered and there was a giant explosion on deck.
The sound of a lightning bold finally connecting with something.
Wood splattered everywhere and for a second, they didn't see a thing.
Jason had cut through three venti at once and looked down in terror.
Everybody looked around at the spot Percy had stood at a second ago.
There was silence.
"You IDIOT!"
Somebody yelled and Nico pulled Percy by the scruff of his neck out of the hole in the ship. Percy, as well as the rest of the crew and all the monsters stared at them. "What the- Nico! What are you doing here?" Percy asked, both in shock and awe at the same time.
"Saving your sorry ass, what else?" Nico foamed with anger. There he was, sitting in his room in the underworld, minding his own business, when suddenly Percy's voice popped up and he could feel that tugging sensation in his gut, telling him Percy was going to die. So he had jumped off the bed and through the portal, popping up on the Argo just to see Percy standing there uselessly, about to be insta-grilled by lightning.
A venti came slashing down on Nico, but he pushed his sword up without looking and stabbed right through it. That seemed to wake the others from their daze and the fight continued until the last venti finally vaporized into dust.
"Nico..." Percy came rushing towards the younger boy, who refused to look at him and backed away, creating another shadow portal. He really didn't want to talk to Percy. He didn't want to hear what he'd have to say. But then Percy grabbed his hand and Nico couldn't help but stop. "What is it?" He asked, still not looking at him. "Nico...I...we..." Percy stammered and his grip on Nico's hand tightened.
"You promised you wouldn't run away!" He suddenly said indignantly and Nico's head shot up. "What?! Well, I wouldn't have, if you had at least bothered to not make out with your girlfriend the first five seconds you see her after knowing how I feel!" The rest of the crew fell deadly quiet. Percy stared at Nico, speechless. "I did not!"
"Wait...you broke up with me because of HIM?" Annabeth's voice sounded almost revolting. Nico's eyes widened. "Well..." Percy muttered and started kicking around with his feet nervously. "You...did what...?" Nico asked, paralyzed, staring at Percy with his big brown eyes.
"So you are telling me you are GAY?" Annabeth shouted at Percy and went towards him in a rage. Percy looked from Nico to Annabeth and back, suddenly not knowing what to say to whom.
"Erm...look, Annabeth. I...and Nico..." He tried to explain and Annabeth stared at him in disgust. Percy could hear Jason ordering the others around, trying to stop them from staring at the commotion. Annabeth suddenly turned to Nico. "YOU! You made him that way! What the hell did you do to him?" She hissed and Nico blinked, backing away as she edged closer.
Percy stepped between them. "Hey, leave him alone. I fell in love with him by myself. He didn't do anything." She glared at him. "So you are telling me you were gay from the beginning and you just went with me to cover up?" She hissed and he blinked. "I...I don't know...I don't think so..." He mumbled and looked over at Nico. "All I know is that I love him now. I don't care if I was gay before. I know I am now." He said shrugging and Annabeth gaped at him.
Then she pushed him hard against the chest, making him stumble backwards. "You ASSHOLE!" She screamed at him and rushed under deck. Percy grabbed his shoulder in pain, the wound now hurting even more. Nico hurried toward him. "Percy!" Percy looked up at Nico, instantly feeling better even though the pain was still there. "Nico...I...I'm sorry..." He mumbled and wished he could just bend over and kiss the boy.
Nico shook his head and examined Percy's shoulder. "That doesn't look too good. Wait, let me get you some ambrosia fast." As he turned to leave, Percy grabbed hold of his hand again.
"No...don't...don't leave..."
Nico could hear a tinge of fear in Percy's voice and stopped dead. Then he turned around and hugged Percy. Hard.
He could hear Percy drawing a sharp breath and was about to let go, when he felt Percy wrapping his arms around him as well. "Nico...I have to tell you something..." He whispered in his ear and Nico tried to look up at him, seeing Percy gaze at him with a soft, glad expression on his face. Nico slowly got out of the hug. "You...You broke up with Annabeth..."
Percy nodded slowly. "Nico, I...back on that island..." Nico locked eyes with him and Percy could see the hope shimmering in those beautiful brown eyes. "I...you know..." Nico chuckled. "Percy, just finally say what you want to say. I can't stand not knowing!" Percy put his hands on both of Nico's cheeks. Then he took a deep breath.
"Nico, I love you!" He blurted and pushed his lips onto the younger boy's ones. Nico's world was spinning. He could feel his mouth open slightly and felt Percy's tongue sliding inside, could feel himself returning the kiss and felt how Percy started to relax and wrap his arms around him. His whole body was tingling and his insides seemed to be dancing Samba. "I love you." He mumbled into the kiss, leaning into it some more and wrapping his arms around Percy's neck.
The older boy put his hands on Nico's butt, making Nico chuckle into the kiss happily. Percy smiled and as they parted, both being out of breath, they looked deep into each other's eyes, their foreheads touching. "I love you, Nico." Percy whispered and Nico could feel the happiness surge through his body once more, making him shiver. "I love you too, Percy." He said softly and then they kissed each other again.
They had forgotten they were on the Argo II. and others were watching until Jason cleared his throat next to them.
They looked around, both embarrassed and flustered, but at the same time Jason could see the glow in their faces, showing how truly happy they were on the inside. "I just thought you might want to take this before you die of blood loss." Jason said and gave Percy some Ambrosia. He took it, grinning at the blonde boy for the first time ever. "Thanks." "You're welcome." Jason said and winked at Nico, mutually telling him something like 'Who would have thought'.
Nico grinned at him, blushing slightly and shrugged, then turned to Percy again and tried to take his hand cautiously, but Percy was already grabbing his and pulled him after him below the deck. "Nico, I definitely need to lay down. Let's go to my room." he announced and as Jason looked after them, he could tell Nico was blushing hard.
Then Jason turned around to Leo, who was grinning broadly and shaking his head a few feet away. When he saw Jason staring, he immediately went all serious again and looked at the hole in the ship. "Look at that damage! What am I going to do with all of you? Always destroying my ship!" He ranted, but Jason only chuckled and ruffled through Leo's dark brown hair. "Yeah, yeah." He said, then bent down and gave Leo a kiss on the lips. The boy eyed him suspiciously. "What are you thinking about, Jason?" He asked and the blond boy's grin widened. "I'm thinking we can spend the night in your room this time. Maybe you'll get a great idea about how to make this ship damage-proof while I take care of you." Leo blushed furiously and let Jason push him towards the rooms, looking forward to what they'd do tonight.
In the meantime, Percy and Nico had the best sex in their life.
They touched, groped, kissed, gnawed, licked and sucked, never parting for more than a second at most, always so close to another it seemed like they couldn't live without each other.
From the second they had closed the door behind them they had started taking their clothes off, telling each other those three little words over and over and over again while all the while kissing and touching until Percy had sat down on the bed and Nico had sat down on top of him, facing him, touching him all over the place. Their minds were blank with pleasure, their bodies hot and sticky, rubbing against each other for dear life. When Percy thrust into Nico in that position, the boy had moaned so loud that they were sure they'd be heard, but neither cared.
They found their own rhythm, Percy thrusting upwards, while Nico was pushing downwards, their arms around each other tightly, their mouths connected, tonguing each other frantically. Then Percy grabbed hold of Nico's dick as he thrust deeper into him, starting to stroke him between their hot chests rubbing against each other. Nico moaned into his mouth, his eyes half closed, his dick throbbing in Percy's hands.
"Percy...!" Nico whimpered and Percy groaned at the sound of his voice, quickening the pace of his thrusts and strokes, making Nico go numb with pleasure. "N-Nico..." Percy quivered and put his finger on the tip of Nico's dick, pushing down on it as he had done back on the island.
Nico's body trembled, a sweet cry of pleasure escaping his lips as he started to spasm and let the orgasm take him over, shooting white strings of cum out of his dick at their chests. Percy groaned and pushed Nico down on his dick, cuming harder than ever before into the boy and groping onto his butt as the orgasm rolled over him, making his whole body shiver with pleasure.
They panted heavily, cum all over their bodies, but they didn't care, this just meant they'd have to take a nice, long shower later.
Percy pressed his lips onto the boys, feeling Nico wrap his arms around his neck again and their upper bodies rubbing against each other, feeling completely connected.
Then they dropped sideways onto the bed and breathed heavily, stroking strands of sweaty hair out of each other's faces, smiling at each other happily, chuckling every now and then and whispering sweet words into each other's ears.
All the while, Aphrodite was watching them from safe distance, grinning to herself. "That went quite well, I got to admit. Took him a while to realize his real feelings, though. Wonder if I should tell them I was the one putting them on Daedalus' islands?" She was contemplating for a minute, then shook her head. Better not.
THE END