A/N: Hey guys! I am so sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I'll try to be better about it, especially since I'm starting to get more ideas for future chapters. Also, remember if you guys want to see anything in the story just ask and I'll see if I can incorporate it in somehow. This chapter contains Percy x Hades/Uncle x Nephew bonding…sort of. Enjoy! (And please check out my poll if you haven't yet. I'm not quite sure how much longer I'm going to keep it open.)

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.

Family Bonding

Chapter 21

PERCY

It had been silent for a long time. From outside, nothing stirred. Sometime earlier I had heard one of the tents open and close, but after that there was nothing. Inside the tent, Thalia had fallen asleep next to me; her cheeks were still glistening from the dried up tears. I laid on my back looking up at the ceiling in deep thought. It felt like forever since I had heard anything. I had no idea what time it was, but from the position of the sun and the heat of the air, I could tell it was mid afternoon.

With a sigh, I sat up and opened the tent. I slipped my shoes on as I stepped out and took a breath of fresh air. As I popped my back and neck I realized how dry my mouth felt. Lazily, I reached for one of the goblets and it immediately filled with ice cold water. I plopped onto the bench ungracefully.
As I played with the water, twirling my finger and making a small funnel, I heard voices. I looked over my shoulder and saw the figures of my dad and Hades, approaching through the woods. They were chattering as if they were the best of friends, laughing every once in a while. When they saw me, my dad waved. I gave a weak one in return.

"Where is everyone?" Poseidon asked as he looked around.

I gestured towards the tents with a nod of my head. "I think they're all asleep."

"So Zeus and Thalia…" my dad muttered hesitantly. "They haven't…"

"Nope."

He sighed. "I see."

I glanced at Hades and found that he was staring at the tents. As if feeling my gaze, he turned his attention back to me.

With a heavy breath, my dad grumbled, "I'm going to see how Zeus is doing."

And with that, he slipped into the blue tent, leaving me alone with Hades. Awkwardness weighed in the air. I quietly took a gulp of water. Hades shifted from one foot to the other, a look of contemplation crossing his features. He let out a deep breath.

"Perseus," he called and gestured with a quick snap of the neck. "Walk with me."

I stared at him, unsure of what to do. My brain momentarily stopped functioning, unable to register the words that left his lips. I considered what he had said carefully. Biting my lip, I glanced at the tents before reluctantly following him.

"Took you long enough," I heard him grumble ahead of me.

He led me to the edge of the forest. His gait was slow and tedious, yet graceful. He stopped just under the shadows of the trees and began walking along the edge as if there was an invisible wall between the light and dark; I stayed in the sun. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his black jeans and scrunched up his shoulders as if it were cold outside. It was obvious he was uncomfortable.

I opened and shut my mouth repeatedly, not quite sure what to say. Finally,I just spit out, "What did you want to talk about?"

"I do not recall saying I wanted to talk," he snapped irritably.

I felt that annoyed irk in my gut whenever I was around Hades. "Usually when someone says to walk with them, they're implying they want to talk. Am I right?"

His expression turned sour. "Well, aren't you a know-it-all? I had no idea a child of Poseidon could be smart."

I sent a glare his way. "If you have something to say, spit it out already."

He seemed slightly taken aback, as was I, by the amount of attitude I was sending him. "I have nothing to say."

"Right, so all of a sudden you just want to take a walk with me for no apparent reason."

"You can be such a pain, you know that?" he growled.

"So I've heard," I muttered. "But can you please just give me a straight answer?"

It got quiet all of sudden. I glanced over to see his face become a blank slate. His eyes burned as if he was in deep thought. Then his expression turned into one I had seen once before, one I had seen on Olympus.

"Are you trying to thank me for something?" I asked, trying to hide the laughter in my voice as my lips quirked into a smirk, noting how his face had brightened a bit and not in a good way.

"No," he snapped deadpanned.

I whirled in front of him, stopping him dead in his tracks, no pun intended. He pursed his lips into a thin line before attempting to move around me, to which I countered by blocking his way. I guess from the outside, this scene would have been quite comedic considering he was at least half a foot taller than me.

"This isn't the time to be playing games," he grumbled.

"Then just answer my question," I demanded.

"I am not trying to thank you for something."

"Then explain to me why your face looks just like Zeus' when he was thanking you and my dad for helping protect Olympus."

He had stopped trying to get passed me and was staring down at me. His eyes were dark and misty, and, strangely enough, they were softer than usual. Then he pulled his eyes away from me and brushed passed me.

He briefly stopped with his back to me and quietly admitted, "Thank you…for helping me realize…what's important."

And with that, he continued his slow, steady steps. I was frozen in my place for a minute or two before running to catch up with him.

"What do you mean by that?" I gasped out when I had caught up to them.

"And here I thought you knew all the answers," he quipped.

"Well I don't, so please explain."

"Think about it," was all he said.

And so I did. "You mean Nico?"

His silence was all the answer I needed. Again, my mouth opened and closed like a fish on land, trying to find the right words to say.

"Um…" I stammered, "you're…welcome?"

Apparently he found this amusing in an irritating sort of way, because he let out a loud breath through quirked lips as he shook his head slowly. "You are simply brilliant."

"Thank you." A strange feeling rose in the pit of my stomach. It was an odd sense of comfort.

"Just like your father," he whispered, though I think it was more to himself than to me.

After a moment of consideration, I asked, "How close are you with my dad?"

He glanced over at me curiously. "You mean how close we used to be…"

I tilted my head slightly to the side. "But when you two came into camp, you guys were laughing and—"

"Remembering what we once had. Nothing more." He said it with such finality I almost resisted to comment further.

"Well?" I encouraged.

"He used to be my best friend," he mused. "And then Zeus came."

I quietly gestured for him to continue.

"Despite him being my frivolous little brother, he was the only person I felt I could talk to—well, Hestia too, but mostly Poseidon…" His voice had gone unnaturally soft to the point where I had to strain my ears to hear. "Then I was banished from the world above…never to see those I love again for the longest of times…"

The way he spoke, the tone of his voice almost made me feel sorry for Hades. I had always understood why he had been so bitter, but hearing it from him was a whole other story. He sounded so heartbroken, filled with such intense pain.

After a few steps in relative silence, I wondered, "Is this why you hate Olympus so much?"

"I don't hate Olympus per say… I just hate Zeus." The softness in his voice immediately turned into a snarl. "He is an unfitting king."

"What did he do to make you hate him so much?"

"Besides ruin our great home thoroughly into the ground on multiple occasions?" he questioned through gritted teeth. "He took everything I had ever known from right under my feet."

I patiently waited for him to continue. When he didn't, in a very subtle way, I gently nudged him.

"I practically lost my entire family, my friends…and the woman I love." He had gone quiet again, and it was starting to scare me.

"You mean Persephone? But you get her half—"

"I do not mean Persephone. I mean—" He quickly caught himself and abruptly stopped. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sucked in a sharp breath. "Forget I said anything."

A heavy, brooding feeling filled the air. It felt like I was being constrained by tension. It was an extremely uncomfortable sense.

"I believe you have asked enough questions," he grumbled. "Now it is my turn. What is your relationship with Nico?"

I was caught off guard by his curtness, but answered none the less, "Um…I guess he's kind of like a little brother to me…an annoying little brother that gets me in interesting situations—" I subconsciously glanced his way—"but…I care about him and would protect him if necessary."

"Then, would you care to explain why he seemed so distraught when he left your tent?" he asked tightly.

I swallowed hard. "I'd rather not."

A shock of unbelievable pain shot up my arm when he gripped my arm with tremendous force. His face had contorted into a sneer. The mad intensity had returned to his eyes. He was the Hades I knew again.
"Answer me, boy," he barked lowly.

His power was curling into my joints, making me feel weak and vulnerable. I stammered, "We just had a…disagreement about something… That's all."

"About what?"

"About…" I questioned telling him or not.

"Well?" he snapped impatiently, giving my arm a quick squeeze.

"About you and your intentions, and if we should trust you or not," I gasped out without thinking.

He quickly released me as if I had some sort of deadly disease. I could have sworn as he walked away, he muttered, "You Olympians are all the same."