Nicercy || PJatO || Pipabeth || The Dream of a Normal Life || Jayna || PJatO || Frazeleo
Title: The Dream of a Normal Life – Attending the Athena University of Applied Science
Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; right after Mark of Athena
PJatO Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, of course. They are all copyright by the old Greeks. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Warnings: shounen-ai, hetero, threesome, shoujo-ai, fluff, memory loss/fake memories, explicit intercourse, anal, masturbation, voyeurism, bondage, cheating
Main Pairing: most main being Nico/Percy, with a-bit-more-than-average Frank/Hazel/Leo, Piper/Annabeth and Jason/Reyna
Side Pairings: Percy/Annabeth (to-be-past), Jason/Piper (to-be-past), Frank/Hazel (established), Thalia/Bianca, Tyson/Ella, Chris/Clarisse, Charles/Silena, Grover/Juniper, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Malcolm/Katie, Lou/Miranda, Shane/Lacy, Gleeson/Mellie, Luke/Leo (onesided), Octavian/Percy (onesided)
Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Annabeth Chase, Piper McLean, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Jason Grace, Gaia
Percy, Frank & Reyna's Sports Major: Hylla Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Kinzie Cohen, Bianca di Angelo, Zoe Nightshade, Phoebe Burge, Thalia Grace, Clarisse la Rue,
Nico's Medical Major: Will Solace, Kayla Hein, Austin Barton, Mitchell Logan, Lacy Hunnigan
Leo & Hazel's Arts and Crafts Major: Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen, Silena Beauregard, Tyson Jackson, Charles Beckendorf, Jake Mason, Nyssa Black, Shane McNabb, Miranda Gardner
Annabeth's Literature Major: Malcolm Cage, Octavian Simmons, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Ella Dare
Piper's Law Enforcement Major: Drew Tanaka, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Juniper Underwood
Jason's Management Major: Luke Castellan, Ethan Nakamura, Chris Rodriguez, Katie Gardner
Faculty Staff: Sally Jackson, Paul Blofis, Howard Claymore, Mellie Hedge, Gleeson Hedge, Lupa Brunner, Chiron Brunner, Grover Underwood, Janitor Bob
Animals & Pets: Blackjack, Arion, Scipio, Tempest, Mrs. O'Leary, Argentum, Aurum, Small Bob
Summary: Gaia had once before send Hazel a vision of how her life could have been and gave her the decision to stay in the dream, have a life at Sammy's side.
Now she has managed to capture the Seven of the Great Prophecy, together with Reyna and Nico, and send them into a shared dream. A dream of a normal life, where they just start college, have to fight with social stands, love, rivalry and tests instead of monsters and prophecies. The problem is, Gaia has robbed them of their memories, making them believe that this dream is reality. That the nine of them are roommates and that most of them have never even met each other. Now they have to handle disturbing nightmares of monsters, strange flashbacks that make them remember faces they should have never seen before and an eerie feeling. Even though Gaia may have left them with their memories of their relationships (Percabeth, Jasper, Frazel), now that they have lost their memories of the adventures and forces that had caused them to be, they start seeing each other in a different light. So on top of the harsh life of students and reality slowly seeping into their dream-world, they start having feelings for their roommates and some start questioning why they have ever started dating each other to begin with (ending Percabeth and Jasper emotionally within the first chapter, because I really can't write that), leading to very much jealousy, some cheating and possibly curse-dream breaking new love-bonds.
The Dream of a Normal Life
Attending the Athena University of Applied Science
Chapter 10: Waking Up to a Nightmare
This was the most awkward date either Reyna and Jason had ever attended. They were just silently sitting opposite each other, staring at each other and drinking too much. Only coke and fanta, but still. Whenever they wanted to say something, but couldn't come up with something to say, they awkwardly grabbed their respective glasses and drank a couple of sips. When they were half way through dinner, Reyna has had enough. Huffing annoyed, she thrust the cutlery onto the table.
"Okay, this is ridiculous. There must be something we can talk about", sighed Reyna.
"I know. It's just... weird. I feel guilty for leaving and every story I have to tell about my life since then involves Piper and talking about my ex on our first real date would be stupid. And I just did it anyway. Just awesome" groaned Jason, hitting the table top with his forehead.
"It's... alright", nodded Reyna slowly, smiling despite herself. "Try and relax. We used to be best friends. We used to talk about anything. So just... talk. Even if it involves Piper."
Jason leaned back, relaxing a little. He started talking. About everything. Living with his father and stepmother and Thalia and going to school with Leo and Piper. But the more he talked, the more he felt as though he was spinning a tale. And the more he tried to concentrate on details, the more blurry did his memories get. Like, he tried to remember when and how Thalia had gotten the blue highlights in her hair for the first time, tried hard to focus on the scandalized expression on his stepmother's face, but it was just... a blank. Everything seemed oddly blank and blurry.
/break\
Percy was so short of a mental melt-down. They were having a large and awkward family dinner. He could feel Nico's hand on his knee, caressing it soothingly. They were sitting at the table, together with Percy's younger brother Tyson who had brought his girlfriend Ella, their mother Sally and Nico's sisters with accessory. Hazel sat between her boys, Leo giggling as he talked animatedly to Tyson. And then there was Bianca, next to her girlfriend Thalia who kept bitching about Jason's absence. Percy had already send half a dozen messages to Jason's phone.
"Now, you two make a lovely couple. How did you get together?", asked Sally curiously.
Nico and Percy blushed equally embarrassed as they turned to stare at each other, unsure how or where to start. Especially since whenever Percy started to think of how he met Nico, he had to think of a prom, a school and both of them were younger. Which was ridiculous. Groaning softly, Percy grabbed his head. It hurt, as though he was trying to hold too many memories inside of it.
"Are you alright, mio bello?", whispered Nico, rubbing circles on Percy's thigh.
Grateful, sea-green eyes looked up at Nico. Percy nodded slowly and took a shaking breath. These headaches had gotten worse since he had moved into the villa. He just hoped it wasn't serious. Before he could think any more of it, the doors burst open to reveal Reyna and Jason. Both looked wide-eyed and a little as though they had seen a ghost. And even though both looked as though they had something important to say, they got interrupted by their guests first.
"So you're the girlfriend, eh?", asked Thalia skeptically while hogging her baby brother.
Percy could feel there was a pressing matter behind Jason's and Reyna's outburst. But the Fates seemed set on preventing them from talking, because suddenly they were sucked back into dinner conversation. Wait, Fates? Percy shook his head and tried to focus on the conversation at hand.
/break\
Annabeth was lazily laying between Piper's thighs, both of them naked. A smile was spread over Annabeth's lips as she listened to Piper talking about her grandfather Thomas and her father. It was however when Piper asked about Annabeth's family that the smile slipped. Something about the memories she relied to Piper felt off, like she was talking about the plot of a book. As though it wasn't real, wasn't her real life. Living with her dad and stepmother and stepbrothers, being raised in San Francisco, growing up there, going to school and all.
"Are you alright? Is it another headache? You know, I start thinking that something is in the water, because I've seen Percy having those too", pointed Piper out, frowning worried.
Of course he did. They were linked, had always been linked in a way. Since they had retrieved the Master Bolt. Just as that thought went through Annabeth's mind, she saw the room flicker. Not her vision, because Piper and herself were still clear, it was the room that seemed to flicker.
"D—Did you see that?", asked Annabeth concerned. "L—Like... reality breaking..."
"Okay, this is more than a migraine. Let's get dressed and talk to the others", decided Piper concerned. "Nico must know a good doctor around here somewhere and you are going to see one."
/break\
A broad grin was splitting Leo's face as he sat cuddled between Hazel and Frank on the backseats of Festus. Man, he really loved that dragon. Car. Car, not dragon. There were those jumbled thoughts confusing him these days, ever since all of them had moved in together.
"It's strange", whispered Hazel, her fingers running through Leo's curls. "This feels so... surreal..."
"Yeah, as though it's too good to be true", agreed Leo with a worried frown.
"Man, you're bad at being happy", sighed Frank and shook his head.
"No, it's just... how all of this fits together", replied Leo seriously. "How we all ended up here, in this house that fits all of our specific needs, with my absolute dream car just sitting here and waiting for me, with a university that conveniently teaches all those specific things we study – crafts, medicine, sport, literature, law, management – I feel like such a large university shouldn't be in such a small town like this. It's all just that edge too perfect. Don't you think so too?"
"I'm just glad to have both of you", huffed Frank, leaning over to kiss the Latino.
"Which is another thing that's just too perfect!", added Leo, dodging the kiss. "I mean, in what weird reality does someone like me get someone like you – especially since you were already such a perfectly happy couple to begin with! I just feel... as though this is a dream and any second, I'll wake up and be all on my own again and have nothing of this..."
He stopped mid-sentence as Hazel tightened her grip on his waist, looking frightened. "Look..."
And look they did. Outside their car, it looked as though there was nothing. A large, black pit of nothingness. Like the world outside their little bubble had ceased to exist. Leo yelped fearfully.
/break\
Even though Percy, Nico, Jason and Reyna had been engaged in smalltalk, that didn't last all too long. Percy's headache kept getting worse the more they talked. But he wasn't the only one. Nico couldn't stop staring at Bianca and he felt as though every time he looked at her, her image flickered to one far younger, in a silvery robe and nearly see-through.
During dessert, Reyna was the one who couldn't keep it in any longer. "This isn't real. I didn't grow up in Puerto Rico, not during this time period. None of this is real. Nothing."
"I didn't grow up with Thalia, or our parents", added Jason, grabbing Reyna's hand tightly.
"It's all... fake...", whispered Percy wide-eyed. "All those... things... in my head..."
Nico growled as their surroundings flickered out of existence. He wrapped his arms around Percy nearly automatically, holding the other boy close. But they didn't fall. Everything around them turned pitch-black yet there seemed to be some kind of ground beneath them, shaking. Percy looked around with fearful eyes, just to see that his mother and Tyson and Ella and Thalia and Bianca, they all had faded too. But him and Nico weren't alone with Jason and Reyna. Piper, Annabeth, Leo, Hazel and Frank were with them. The nine of them huddled together instinctively.
"Do you... remember it too?", asked Percy nervously, locking eyes with Annabeth.
"The kiss in the lake, the date in Paris, h—how Hera abducted you. All our real memories", whispered Annabeth back, not noticing the flinching of Piper and Nico at those specific mentions.
"Little demigods, you were faster than I anticipated", growled a dark voice, echoing from everywhere. "But that is fine. You can not get out of here. Only if all of you want to break free."
"Well, no problem with that", snarled Jason, pushing forward some. "We have a mission. We will save the world, we'll kick your godly ass. Why in the world should any of us chose to stay here?"
"Yes!", yelled Hazel, holding hands with both, Frank and Leo. "As long as we're together, it doesn't matter where we are. We'll stick together and we'll win, because we have each other."
Leo looked wide-eyed and hopeful at her words and at her tight hold of his hand. He remembered, remembered the real world. The world where he indeed didn't have anything. Neither Hazel nor Frank. But the way Hazel held onto him, the way Frank stood protectively in front of both of them, it made him feel hopeful. His eyes wandered over to his best friends.
"You may think so, but I build an... insurance in for myself", drawled Gaia's voice amused.
"What's that supposed to mean?", yelled Reyna annoyed.
She had build a front, together with Jason, Frank, Percy and Nico. Leo and Hazel were behind Frank, Annabeth and Piper somewhere between Percy and Jason. The Earth shook again and as though on reflex, Percy did what he always did. He grabbed Annabeth before she could fall.
"That right there", stated Gaia. "Nico di Angelo is my insurance."
The demigods were confused, but when they turned toward Nico, a stunning realization hit them. In this world, this dream, Nico had gotten together with Percy. Because he loved Percy. Had probably loved him for a while. And the hurt in Nico's eyes while he stared at Percy and Annabeth nearly made those looking at him choke. Percy hastily let go of Annabeth, blushing embarrassed. But Nico had already averted his eyes, turned away from them. Gaia laughed cruelly.
"Three years of watching the boy he loved with a girl he tried very hard not to hate. Years of hiding who he truly was and what he really felt. Son of Hades, if you decide to stay here, in this dream, I can fix it. With your help, I can wipe all of your memories of the real world forever. You can live happy here, never having to fear rejection or taunting again, having the boy you love at your side forever. Having your dear, dead sister back. How could you abandon her? It would be like letting her die all over again, this time at your hands. She could have a life here, if you decide to stay."
The image of Bianca flickered back to life, smiling brightly and waving at Nico, beckoning him over. Jason gulped hard. Sure, here he had a close relationship with Thalia, but once they woke up again, she would still be alive and he would still have a chance to get close to her again. Once they woke up, he had a chance to rekindle his relationship with Reyna too. But Nico? Bianca was dead, long gone. A secret he had kept inside for so long now was out in the open, but in this dream-reality everything had been fine, now what was to happen in the real world? Would people be as kind and accepting? All those fears related to the time he came from must have hit Nico full-force again, judging by the pained look in his eyes. And Percy. Nico had been so sure to never ever face Percy and confront him with his feelings, but in this dream, he could the son of Poseidon. In this dream, the loose relationship between Annabeth and Percy had just been a teenage high school romance. Now their memories were back – memories of battles shared, kisses in the lake, months of searching and finally finding each other again. In Nico's mind there was probably no way that Percy would ever chose him over Annabeth, not with their shared past and not with the past between Nico and Percy, the betrayal and wrong decision both had made. Here, they had a clean start again.
"Nico...", started Jason unsure, worried. "Please. Come with us. This... This is not a solution. Everything will be fine. We'll be fine. We're with you, dude. We're friends. Right, guys?"
"Nico, you're my brother. Why did you never tell me you're... gay? You didn't think I'd reject yo, right? You're my brother and I love you and I will always love you!", interjected Hazel.
Nico frowned confused as the crew build a half-circle around him and he found himself between the demigods and the image of his dead sister, older and alive. His eyes swept between Bianca, smiling at him and beckoning him over, and Percy, who stood there, looking confused, overwhelmed and like a kicked puppy. Sea-green eyes looked from Annabeth to Nico and back again. And that hurt.
"N—Nico...", started Piper unsure, probably feeling unsettled by this as the daughter of love.
"Oh, shut up", snarled Nico annoyed. "Don't pretend that you guys care or know what I'm thinking or what I'm going through. Because you obviously don't know anything about me if you think that I'll stay here and sabotage the quest out of selfish reasons."
"W—What do you mean?", asked Annabeth surprised, taking a step back.
After what she had witnessed over the past few days was only a climbs of just how much Nico truly loved Percy and that much was obvious. Would he truly abandon this world where he had not just his dead sister but knew Percy at his side, as his boyfriend?
Nico drew his sword and turned around, back facing the demigods as he stared at the image of his sister and the direction Gaia's voice had come from. "You misjudge me if you think I put myself first. There is one person I put first, one person I will always put first. And that's Percy. In this world, he may have chosen me because he is miserable and weak, weakened by all the years with his stepfather. And if there would be a way for me to take even a single day Percy had to spend with this man away from him in the real world, I would move Olympus and Elysium to do so. So I will not selfishly force him into a life where he had to stay years longer with this man, just so I can have him. I will always, always, chose Percy's safety and happiness over my own."
At that, he charged. He knew where to go, because as the son of Hades, he had a connection to the earth, not as strongly as Hazel since he was move on the dead-department, but he could still feel where the earth felt different from any other black spot in this pit. It must have worked, somehow, because in a flash, all nine of them blacked out as the spell was broken by the collective urge to wake up from all nine powerful demigods. Percy's mind was fuzzy and hazy and his head hurt when he woke up again. The night was clear and the air fresh, but he could see the Argo II nearby and his friends. Hazel was fussing over Leo, who was being supported by Frank toward the Argo II. Reyna was already climbing up the latter, following Nico who was already up on deck, far away from the other on the ground. Jason was down next to the latter. Annabeth and Piper sat together, looking uncomfortable, confused and worried. Percy decided to join them.
"So...", drawled Piper, staring from one to the other. "The Golden Couple back on, now that you remember all those amazing, unique things you shared and all? Because I just... want that out of the way before I get back up onto that ship and before we continue this journey."
Percy and Annabeth locked eyes, staring long and deep into each other's souls. And then they smiled. They didn't need any words exchanged, they just smiled at each other, knowing what the other was thinking. Taking a deep breath, Percy turned around, leaving the two girls to talk things out. He had a Ghost King to catch. Jogging up to the ship, he passed even Jason and climbed up as fast as he could. By the time he reached the deck, he could only see Reyna. He frowned.
"Where did he go? Where's Nico?", asked Percy nervously, looking around frantically.
"He went below deck. What few things he has are still in your room, as far as I know."
What few things he had? Sea-green eyes widened as he sprinted as fast as possible below deck and toward his room. Nico was just fastening the belt with his sword, jacket on. Percy did what he did best, he acted instinctively and threw himself at the son of Hades, knocking him down. Nico grunted as he hit the hard floor and glared up at Percy, who had his wrists pinned to the ground and was straddling his waist, holding him down and glaring just as irritated.
"Get off me, Jackson", warned Nico. "I'm not that weak. I can throw you off."
"Do it", nodded Percy, his brows furrowed. "Do it and leave. But if you leave now, you don't need to come back. If you run away from me now, I never want to see your face again, di Angelo. I'm sick of you hiding and running away from me. We need to talk. So either you run or you talk, but if you decide to run, you never need to show your face to me again, I'm serious."
"Percy", sighed Nico defeated and stopped struggling. "I don't want to talk. What do you want me to say? That I've loved you since the first time I saw you, that I never could hate you, not even after Bianca's death, because I just loved you too much? That I spend years, watching over you from the shadows to keep you safe because losing you would break me? What does any of this matter? You have Annabeth. You are you, you aren't the you from this dream-world. You are a hero, you go on adventures with your girlfriend Annabeth and do horribly cheesy stuff like kissing underwater. You willingly fell into Tartarus for her. What do my feelings change about all of this...? Please, let it go."
"No!", exclaimed Percy frustrated. "No, I won't let it go! Because you don't get it! My dream-self may have been different, but so was yours. I—I... I was different, because I didn't have all this pressure on me. Annabeth was... simple. She was the easiest choice for me. Ever since I met her, everyone pushed us toward each other, I mean, come on, they dumped us in that lake, together, because they expected us to kiss. It was just so much easier to give in to what others expected from me than to... to think about... my feelings for you. B—But in this dream, I didn't have the pressure and maybe not having our fucked-up past helped too, but it gave me the free choice to take what I want, instead of what others want me to want. And I want you. I want you, whether you're that Italian playboy in your big-ass villa or your regular kick-ass Ghost King-self. I want all of you."
With determination, honesty and love shining in his eyes did Percy lean down. He kissed Nico, full-force on the mouth, hard and demanding and passionate. Nico was completely overwhelmed, but he knew one thing to do. He held onto the Sea Prince, arms around Percy's waist. Both were panting hard when they parted again, a blush gracing Percy's cheeks, lips pink and swollen from the kiss.
"Did... you just call me an Italian playboy?", asked Nico dumbfounded.
"Oh come on, you were so aggressively hitting on me!", justified Percy, his face aflame.
"So... this means that... But you and Annabeth...", started Nico skeptically.
"Me and Annabeth will always be best friends, but... we got forced into this relationship and we just settled for the cards the Fates had dealt us. But she's not who I desire, who I want to cuddle with and kiss and... uhm, well...", Percy interrupted himself, blushing once more.
"Are you... sure?", asked Nico and sat up some. "Sure that you want me – after all the mistakes I made, the times I disappointed you and betrayed the trust, all the bumps on the road?"
"All those bumps and edges are what makes our relationship so special, because regardless of how often either of us screwed up, we always orbited around each other and in the end, we always fought together and not against. Because in the end, we belong together", whispered Percy.
He yelped as he got pushed off and for a split second, he feared that Nico was not yet done hiding and running. But then Nico pulled him up, against his chest, arms laying leisurely around Percy's waist. The Ghost King's lips were half an inch apart from Percy's as he guided them over to the bed.
"I love you, Percy. I love you more than my own life. I will always belong to you", said Nico softly.
"Good", smiled Percy and captured Nico's lips in a kiss. "Because now you're officially mine and no one can change that again. And if someone gives you a hard time about being gay, just shut them up and tell them that your Savior of the World boyfriend will kick their asses."
Percy grinned, looking proud of himself. Nico snorted. This was such a Percy-thing to do. Worrying if anyone would give Nico a hard time, not thinking about himself. Caressing Percy's hair softly, he pressed the son of Poseidon against his chest. What Nico feared was that some of Percy's admirers would turn their backs on Percy. But Nico wouldn't allow anyone to badmouth his Sea Prince.
Author's note: Next chapter is already the last and will have all the respective couples talking things - read: the dream - out with each other. And Nico and Percy are FINALLY going to have sex!