Felix caught me about a hall before Travis' office, "You think you can get away with getting me in trouble?"

I halted, "Are you kidding me?"

"You've gotten me in trouble and there is no way I'm going to forget that." He took a step toward me.

This was where things would get interesting.

He was stronger, more experienced fighter. Fast, with some of his father's abilities. Taller, longer reach.

I was small, and fairly fast, with some of my Papa's abilities and wit.

I was at a serious disadvantage, and we both knew it.

My only advantage was my unpredictable reactions. It wasn't a very good advantage, especially since I couldn't use my abilities here. My options were to try and fight, yell for help, and shadow travel away.

So I was either an idiot or a coward.

Because there was no way Felix would be talked out of it.

His punch came out of nowhere, catching me in the stomach and knocking my breath out of me.

I fell to the floor, shocked at the sudden impact.

Thankfully, I saw the kick coming and managed to roll out of the way.

He caught me by my hair, and dragged me up and into a headlock, "I'm going to make your life miserable, and you'll just have to watch. Speak of this to anyone and I'll make sure to crush you. So, enjoy your brief time of happiness, because I will get back at you. And it will turn your world upside down."

I was gasping for breath, trying to figure out what he was going to do.

Then he was gone.

I tried desperately to catch my breath, sitting there on my hands and knees.

Ana would have cried. Echo would have immediately gone and told the adults after consulting Mel and Gar.

I clenched my fist, hating that I would have to be weak. Hating that I would have to go to the adults and be labeled a snitch, a coward.

Small feet stopped in front of me, "Are you okay?"

I looked up at Riley, "I'm fine, I tripped."

"That was quiet the trip, then. That ghost sure didn't help." He said dryly.

An eight year old who knew sarcasm. He had to be related to me.

"Ghost. Yeah. Riley—"

"I didn't see Felix Grace choking you or hear him threatening everyone you love?"

I stared at him, "You are way too old for your age."

He hugged me, "You're in way over your head." He took my hand and walked with me to his Dad's office. "It's no fun to have a threat over you. Trust me."

I looked down at him. I had been thinking yesterday that he had seemed relatively unaffected.

He had looked so content with his father and cousin.

Then again, I had seen him cuddling with Echo on the floor yesterday morning, so he was definitely used to a certain lifestyle.

He was limping still.

I opened the door, "Uncle Travis?"

He looked up from his desk and smiled at us both, though his eyes examined me critically. "What happened?"

Riley hobbled over and climbed onto the small couch Travis used for talking to parents. Or naps.

"What—"

"Your hair is a mess, and you have that look on your face like you got hit by a truck. Your face is a bit red and I can tell that someone had you in a headlock." Travis folded his arms, leaning back in his chair. "What happened?"

I sat down in the chair on the door-side of his desk. "Nothing new."

"Felix?" Travis guessed.

I sighed, "I have to deal with it myself. Anything else could make things worse."

Travis studied me, "You should at least talk to Jason."

I nodded, "I will. If I can manage to do so without causing more problems, then I will. But…"

"Right, let's get to work sorting then." He handed me his phone. "I'll get the files, you call that number, and I'll show you how to sort the files."

I looked at his phone, realizing he had Jason's contact pulled up.

I sighed, then hit the call button.

This would not be fun.

—~~—

I collapsed on the grass, staring up at the clouds.

"Mind if I collapse with you?" Gareth's head appeared above mine.

I grinned at him, "You're welcome to if you like."

He got down next to me, "Mom's super excited about my magic." He was quiet. He must have been tired.

"How'd you sleep last night?"

"Didn't. Again. Dad's worried, Mom's worried, Maggie is all over me. The bed is too soft, I can't stand the pillow, my room is stuffy…" He sighed, "I miss being on the run. I hate that I miss being on the run."

"Two years of school to catch up on, and college to get ready for. We have to go back to figuring out our lives." I grabbed his hand, holding it lightly.

He entwined our fingers. The way he squeezed my hand showed me how upset he really was. Stressed. Even more than when we were running for our lives and living of what we could forage, steal, pay for…

"Gar? Are you okay? I know you liked Gypsy." I finally asked.

I felt him flinch.

"I'm fine. She was a friend…and maybe I did like her…I don't know." He sat up, still holding my hand tightly, turning to face me. "I feel like someone through me a life jacket and then sailed away, leaving me in the ocean."

I sat up as well, rubbing his hand with my free hand.

"Dad…he and Mom fought this morning. Something about people being different from machines. All I could do was try to breath. I was frozen." He shook his head. "I feel like the weight of the world has suddenly dropped on me and I…I'm freaking out."

I blinked at him, realizing that he was stressed. Anxious. "When we get official check ups, you need to tell Dad."

He pulled me so he could hug me, "Do I have to?"

"Yes. If you don't, I will." I told him as I curled so my head rested on his shoulder.

His head rested on mine, and his shoulders relaxed a bit. "Fine, I'll tell him. But he better not tell my parents. That would be even worse."

I nodded slightly, satisfied. "I've noticed that music is really cathartic for me."

He made a soft sound of acknowledgment, but I could feel him relax and fall asleep.

I made sure he didn't fall over, shifting slightly so that his weight was on me, then slowly lowered him so he was laying in the grass. We'd had a few night where we had to lean on each other for sleep, so we were both used to finding ways to make the other comfortable. I knew that if I left him, he would immediately stir, so I just rested with my head on his shoulder, looking up at the sky.

Papa came out about an hour later, arching an eyebrow when he saw us.

"He fell asleep while we were talking. If I move he'll wake up and he hasn't slept since…" I made a negative gesture, "I don't even know right now. He's really anxious and…"

Papa made a 'calm-down' gesture, "Alright, so he needs sleep. I understand. You two are close. I'm just wondering how close."

I blinked at him, "Papa…please don't go down that road. Not right now."

"Echo…I just…I want to make sure…"

"Papa, stop. Please. Gareth doesn't think of me like that. We're practically siblings." I objected in a whisper, trying not to get too loud.

He nodded slowly, "He doesn't think of you that way. But you think of him that way, don't you?"

I closed my eyes, "Why don't you ever just stop?"

"Echo…I get it. I saw it as soon as you two were back. I just…I don't want you to hurt like I hurt." Papa's eyes were sad, "I fell so hard, that I almost didn't get back up. If it hadn't been for your Dad, Reyna, and Jason…I don't think I'd be here today."

I looked back at him, "It's a stupid crush, Papa, not love." Why are you trying to make me think about this? I do better when I ignore how I feel and focus on what they feel. He felt I was his sister, so I was his sister.

The sorrow seemed to deepen, but he said, "Okay."

—~~—

Nico kissed Echo's hand and went back inside, his mind a mess as he tried to sort the mass of emotions. He wanted to protect her, to shake her and try to make her understand how painful it could be for her if Gareth didn't feel the same way, he wanted to hold her tightly and keep her away from the cruel world that had already hurt her so much, he wanted to punch Cupid in the face. Of course he was seeing history repeat itself, of course it was within his own family. Forget punching Cupid in the face, he wanted to blow Cupid's face off with a combination of Greek fire, acid, and a cannonball of Styx water.

But he had to content himself with furiously cooking dinner and glancing outside to make sure Echo was still there and to see if that rat-faced boy was still unconscious in the yard with her.

He didn't even realize Will was home until the taller man kissed his head.

He jumped and turned to his husband, "When did you get home?"

Will smirked slightly, "Been home for about fifteen minutes, talking to you. Then I realized you hadn't responded in any way to what I've been saying."

Nico winced, "Sorry, Will. I was just…distracted." He glanced out to see if the two kids were still there.

It was just Echo, sitting in a tree and writing in a notebook.

"Nico!" Will said in an exasperated tone, jabbing him in the side. "You did it again!"

Nico looked at Will and realized that he was definitely sleeping on the couch if he didn't start paying attention soon, "I'm sorry, try again, I promise I'm listening."

Will folded his arms, the hurt look on his face only mostly hidden, "Are you sure I should try again after you finish your love affair with the sauce pan?"

"I"m sorry, Will." Nico said in a gentle tone, "I was just thinking about Echo. I'm listening now." He took Will's hands.

Will sighed, looking at their feet, "How are the twins getting home?"

"Travis is giving them a lift because Rory's helping him today." Nico answered, cautiously placing a kiss on Will's jaw. He never could gauge how upset Will was with him. In general, he usually could, but when he was involved…well…there had been some serious penance for some of his crimes. Not that Will didn't mess up too, Will just was better at fixing the messes he made.

Will nodded, looking outside. "Jason called me."

Nico placed another careful kiss on Will's cheek this time, "Oh?"

"Apparently Rory called him on Travis' phone. We aren't supposed to know as far as she's concerned."

Nico realized that this must have been what Will had started telling him when he zoned out the second time, "Oh?"

"Felix threatened her. Apparently from what Travis told him…Felix had her in a headlock, and apparently punched her. Threatened to make her life miserable, turn her world upside down, make her watch." Will was tense. Angry.

"And what did Jason say?"

"He and Piper are trying to figure out where they went wrong, what they can do to fix it. He thought we should be aware in case Rory starts…"

"Scaring us senseless?" Nico finished.

Will had a hint of a smile, "Pretty much."

Nico buried his face in Will's shoulder, "Two kids with bullies. We rescued Echo from hers, and now we're friends with the family of Rory's. How did a child of Jason Grace and Piper Mclean-Grace—the two of the most anti-bully people we know, though Percy does rank higher than them—have a kid who's a bully?"

"How does our family keep getting the brunt of life?" Will snorted, "How come I want to take you to bed right now but I'm not? How come I'm a healer and not a poet?"

"You're trying to tell me that the answer to this question is more than the universe is capable of answering?" Nico guessed, grinning.

"Better yet, nobody wants the universe to answer. For all we know it could be something weird like, I should have made you go on a date with a girl to appreciate me more." Will rolled his eyes, "Nobody wants answers to certain questions, we just like asking them because we want to know that other people have the same questions."

Nico pulled Will's chin down so he could plant a seductive kiss on his husband's lips, "Why aren't you taking me to our bed?"