Well, that's one thing down, but a thousand things left unexplained. Obviously the Bianca/Jason thing needs to be explored further, in addition to the hidden depths of Nico di Angelo. I will try to get to that in addition the parade around Berlin. Also, Jason's age was supposed to be fifteen, not fourteen. So he would've been a freshman like Percy and Nico.

…

Percy's POV

…

"Can you please explain to me about the whole you fucking my cousin thing?" I asked Bianca. We were seated around a small table in our room, enjoying the finer parts of Germany's culture. Germans apparently enjoyed breakfast very much, and there was an array of cheeses, meats, fish, and of course, bread around us. Honey and jams were also present, but rather than coffee we were having tea. My head still throbbed painfully from time to time, but it was manageable. No more alcohol for me. Nico and Bia were welcome to it. Nico was currently spreading strawberry jam on a hearty piece of black bread. It was interesting to watch. Nico and Bia seemed to know what they were doing.

"Oh," Bianca said, capturing my attention. "Jason and I dated for a very brief time his freshman year." That one was a surprise. Jason never dated anyone. Said it tied him down. "That would've made me a junior," she continued. "I always thought he was kind of cute, in a lower classmen way. He was like an excited puppy. He took a liking to me right away and we kept a steady conversation over a couple of months. Out of the blue one day, he asked me if I wanted to go out with him. I thought it was rather cute, so I said yes. Jason and I dated for two months before we decided to do it."

"What made you first decide to do it?" Nico asked, abandoning his breakfast. Apparently he hadn't heard the full story either. "That's a big step in a relationship."

"Oh, Jason made it sound like it would be a good idea," she replied. "So I went with it. Afterwards, as he was dressing, he couldn't even look me in the eye. He then softly told me that this wasn't going to work. He was too young for a steady relationship. He's kept in contact though. Every now and then, I'll get a text from him. Or I'll use Nico's phone." Nico nodded. That part he knew. I turned to Nico.

"So all those times Jason texted you, it was really your sister?" I asked him. He seemed to ponder that one.

"Probably a handful of times it was me," he replied at last. "Jason was friends with me too you know. But he still had the hots for Bia. That's why he came with us everywhere in addition. It was just an unfortunate coincidence that I ended up crushing on him. He was nice enough about it though. I'm pretty sure Jay is bi, because you should've seen the way he gazed at me on the yacht when I came out of my little cabin with nothing but my swim trunks on." I tilted my head thoughtfully to the side. "Don't get me wrong, it was always Bia he was after. He just sort of struck up a friendship with me."

"How come you didn't as Jay to come with us?" I asked Bia, and she froze, a piece of bread with meat and cheese suspended half-way to her mouth. "If you like Jay so much, why didn't you ask him to come with us on the trip? Jason loves travel. He would've readily agreed."

"It's not that simple Percy," she responded after a minute, setting her bread down. "Jason talks to me yes, but not very often. Nico is the one that invites him places, but he already invited you. I don't blame him for it though. You're his boyfriend; you should come with us. I just can't work up the nerve to ask him to come with us. Even if I did, he'd get this funny look and try and make up some excuse to not go."

"Jason still loves you," I said quietly, the pieces now clicking together. "Jason never loved any girls besides the ones in his family, so I don't think he wants to admit it, even to himself. But he loves you. Jason's never been good at hiding his feelings, so that must be why he doesn't want to talk to you very often, or see you for an extended period of time. If he did, he wouldn't be able to hide how he really feels."

"Are you sure Jay loves my sister?" Nico asked, leaning forward in his chair. "Because if you're just saying that to make her feel better, I will tear you to pieces. You may be my boyfriend, Percy, but don't mess with my sister." I don't know if I wanted to laugh or cower in fear. Nico was three years younger than his sister, but here he was, fiercely protecting her. I tapped my chin thoughtfully, then an idea lodged itself in my brain. I pulled my phone out. Man, I hoped I got international coverage. I punched in Jay's number and set the phone on the table, turning it on speaker phone. I motioned for the di Angelos to be quiet.

"What's up baby cuz?" Jason asked as soon as he picked up. "Where were you man? Coach is gonna have a barn when you don't show up for practice." Bianca covered her mouth like she was going to either laugh or cry.

"Oh, I'm going to be out for a few days," I replied. "We have no meets, so it won't be a problem. Though I do have a question for you. It's about Nico's sister, Bianca." There was a long pause, and for awhile I thought Jason hung up on me.

"What is it?" he asked, though now he sounded guarded. I grinned a little. So far this was going just as I'd planned.

"Do you love her Jay? I've been hearing through the grapevine that you guys used to date, then you just didn't." I heard Jay's intake of breath, but I forged on. "I was just wondering what happened between you guys. But it seemed like you really cared about her." I glanced over at Bia, who was staring at the phone, the traces of tears in her eyes. Nico was rubbing her shoulder.

"I did care about her," Jason responded. "I still do. Something about her…it's the same reaction you had when you met Nico for the first time." Nico grinned sheepishly at me and I nodded at him. "I wish I could take that awful night back." Bia turned away from the phone, her shoulders shaking. "But I can't. The one thing I do regret about it is walking out on her. If I could do one thing in my life over, I would make sure I stay by her side after we did the unthinkable. Or I'd punch my past self for doing it." Jason chuckled lowly, but now he sounded sad and wistful. "Is that all you called to ask me about Perce?"

"Yeah," I said, swallowing the lump in my throat. "But you never did answer my question. About if you love her or not." Jason gave a short bark of laughter.

"Of course I do," I replied. "And you're supposed to be the smart one. I love her. I'll shout it from the top of the Empire State Building if I have to. I, Jason Grace, love Bianca di Angelo. And nothing about that will ever change."

…

Nico's POV

…

I didn't know how I felt about hearing Jason announce his love for my sister, but I was kind of glad he did it. Bianca was shocked to actually hear him say it. Percy seemed a little triumphant, but also a little sad. He was probably wishing he could do something for his cousin. Bianca left shortly after that to meet dad for his meeting, so Percy and I got the room to ourselves. I grabbed a mineral water from our hotel fridge and twisted the cap off. Mineral water in Germany is what soda is in America. They practically worshiped the stuff. But that's okay, because it was healthy. Percy always gave me shit about how I tried to fatten him up. I sat cross-legged on one bed while Percy sat at the desk, frowning at me.

"Wie geht es dir?" he asked me slowly. Then he threw his hands in the air. "I did it!" he exclaimed. "Wie geht es dir Nico?" I laughed.

"Ich bin gut, danke," I replied, and he pouted at me. "That's how you say 'I'm good,'" I told him. "Ich bin gut." I was attempting to teach him some basic things. "Oh, I know one you'd want to know," I said suddenly. "Ich liebe dich."

"I something you," he said. "Oh, that's I love you, isn't it?" I laughed again.

"Someone catches on quick. That's why you're my fescher Junge." He beamed at me. "Let's see, I'll teach you I'm lost, because you'll probably need to know that. Ich habe mich verlaufen."

"Ich habe mich verlaufen," Percy repeated obediently. "This isn't so hard when you get some of the basic pronunciations down."

"That's a lot of what German is," I replied. "Unless you go to the south. They have a different dialect." Percy groaned and smacked his head on the desk. I offered him a bottle of mineral water, which he took from me. He twisted the cap off and took a swig. "What else would you need to know?" I asked, mostly myself. Percy shrugged and set his bottle aside. "Well, people you probably call you an Amerikaner. That's almost an insult. It means American, obviously." He nodded. "Don't let it bother you. Just say 'Ich kann ein bischen Deutsch sprechen.'"

"I'm guessing that means I can speak a little German," Percy said. "Cause that's what it sounds like." I nodded. He caught on quick. That's why he's so smart. "Anything else I need to know before we go out?" he asked me.

"Nein, du bist gut, weil du Deutsch kann sprechen," I replied, giggling at his expression. "That one's complicated," I replied. "You don't need to know that one." (Though I'll tell you guys what it mean. It's 'No, you are good, because you can speak German'). Percy pouted at me some more, but there was no way I was going to tell him what it meant. He didn't need to know about weil just yet. Weil was a complicated thing, and even Bia and I still struggled with it, and we'd been speaking German since she was eight and I was five. "It's really nothing you need to worry about bambino," I said at last. "It's just something that takes years of practice." He sighed.

"Alright," he responded. "You'll just have to keep teaching me that one then." He moved to the other bed and flopped back. He looked comfortable enough, and it was still early in the day, so I wasn't interested in moving him. The only thing I really wanted to show him was the baklava stands, and that's about it. Oh, and a gift shop so I could get him a little trinket from his first international visit. Something with the German flag colors was always popular. Or chocolate. German chocolate was to die for. Maybe I could get him Kinder Űberraschung. That's a fancy way of saying a chocolate egg with a plastic capsule inside, usually containing a small toy. I had a small collection of the toys myself. The chocolate eggs were delicious and the toys were usually comical. They'd be a great surprise treat for Percy. "Whatcha thinking about Neeks?" he asked, looking at me.

"Where we're going to go today," I replied. "I have a little surprise in store for you in addition to the baklava." His sea-green eyes lit up and he sat up, leaning back on his hands.

"Really?" he asked. "What is it?" I shushed him and laughed.

"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, would it?" I asked him gently. He frowned and shook his head. "That's what I thought. It's nothing you need to worry about, and it's nothing fancy." Percy grinned easily at me.

"It doesn't matter," he said, standing. He strode over to me and cupped his hands under my chin. "The point is it's from you. That's all that matters. You could give me a wadded up piece of paper and I'd love it just the same." I think I was going to burst into tears if he kept talking to me like that. I really hoped he could forgive me for the previous night. It seemed he was slowly forgetting. Maybe that was a good thing. "And you don't have to buy me anything," he finished.

"Oh, but I want to," I replied. "And you know how stubborn I can be when I have my mind set."

"Tell me about it," he mumbled, his lips seeking mine. He shoved me roughly back and settled down on top of me, furiously kissing me. I circled my arms around his waist and kissed back just as furiously. All the while I couldn't believe he was laying on top of me. He pulled away and sat up, running his hands through his hair. I noticed he'd gone a little pink. "Well, that was intense," he said, giving me a pained look. I shot him one back, saying he was the one that started it. He held his hands up at his sides and smiled. "Point taken," he replied to my look. "Let's try not to make a habit of that."

"So what?" I asked irritably. "We can't kiss anymore? Is that too much of a temptation too?" I was behaving like a bratty toddler, but I didn't care. I didn't want to have to tip-toe around Percy again. We were finally getting comfortable with each other. What was the point of having a relationship with him if, every time we took a step forward, all we did was take two steps back?

"That's not what I said," Percy protested. "Not kissing you would be one of the hardest things I'd ever have to do. The first one was having to stay away from you completely." I opened my mouth to rebuttal, but I came up with nothing. "I want to kiss you Nico. But if I ever shove you like that again, stop me. That could lead somewhere we don't want to be." I sighed and flopped back down.

"I'm tired of tip-toeing," I said softly. Percy gazed down at me sadly. "Percy, what if we aren't meant to be boyfriends? Every time we get a step ahead, we have to backtrack two steps. That's not the kind of life we want to live. It certainly isn't the one I want to." Percy stared dejectedly at the mirror. His mirror image stared back, just as dejectedly.

"Nico, something tells me we are meant to be boyfriends," he replied. "There's just something things preventing us from taking any more steps forward. We'll have to take baby steps, but we can make it work." He laid beside me and wrapped his arms around me. "I'm not losing you again." I twisted and buried my face in his shirt. I didn't want to lose him either. But there was still one question bouncing around in my mind. If we aren't meant to be, how could he be The One?

…

Jolly (that's my new favorite word). Now Nico will have that on his mind during their trip into the heart of Berlin. That's going to be good for them (no).