Yay, triple update. That's got to make up for the sad chapters, right?

Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.

Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.

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Nico POV

I refused to let Percy see how much he had hurt me.

I knew that it was coming but like the fool I had always been, I allowed myself to hope. I had hoped that he would stay. I had hoped that he wanted to be with me. I had hoped that one day he could, maybe even, love me...

I should have known better. Hope kills with more certainty than celestial bronze.

I wanted nothing more than to avoid him the rest of my life. I wanted to leave and never look back. I knew that my dad wouldn't mind me moving back with him. Yes I would have to endure Persephone, but I would never have to look into those stupid green eyes again...

But I couldn't. As much as I wished that I could leave, I had to stay. I owed it to Leo to help free Calypso.

I had talked to Jason. He wanted to go beat the crap out of Percy but I refused to let him. If I wanted Percy beat to a bloody pulp, I could do it myself. Besides, no matter how many times he hurt me, no matter how many times he cast me aside like yesterdays garbage, I simply couldn't hurt him. As much as I wished it otherwise, I loved him.

Jason did however, change the work schedule. I was sure Percy noticed but I doubted he cared. He certainly didn't comment on it. I wasn't certain why I had ever believed that he liked me. I guess I was just so desperate to believe it, that I took it at his word.

I shook my head. I had been a fool.

I was sickened at how easily I had been played. The hero of Olympus gives me the slightest bit of attention and I fall at his feet. I was acting no better than one of those air-headed girls back at camp.

I was disgusted at how weak I felt.

I had always been strong enough to survive on my own. Just because I had seen how the rest of the world lived, didn't mean that I was incapable of being the same man I used to be. I was just as powerful and self sufficient as before. I was determined to do it again.

I would show everyone that I was a force to be reckoned with. Not for Percy but for me. To prove to myself that even if I made idiotic choices, I was still able to stand on my own. I had been alone since I was 10 years old and something as insignificant as a broken heart was not going to stop me.

Instead of going back to sleep after he had come to see me, I decided to get to work. I quickly spoke to Jason and went back on deck to keep Hazel company.

It wasn't my best choice. I should have known if anyone would see how deeply I was hurt it would be my sister.

Fortunately, she knows me well. She didn't try to force me to talk, she didn't say everything would be okay; she just wrapped me in a hug and told me that she loved me. I really did have the greatest sister.

The afternoon passed in a blur. After dinner I found myself working with Ryan. I had to admit; when he wasn't flirting with me he was an okay guy. He actually had a really good sense of humor. Plus he had the whole, 'not the son of Poseidon' thing going for him. That automatically made working with him more bearable. Plus, out of the whole ship, he was the only one who didn't seem to care that Percy and I broke up, if you could even call it that.

Truthfully I didn't know how to term what the two of us had. We had never specifically said that we were a couple but at the same time I didn't know what else to call our relationship. I tried to ignore the thought. I was doing my best not to think of him but I had never been very good at it.

I was actually fairly grateful to be working with Ryan. If anyone could get my mind off the son of the sea god, it was him. As we scrubbed the showers he was telling me idiotic jokes to keep me amused.

"So a guy walks into a bar... Ouch."

I rolled my eyes. "That joke is even older than I am."

"Well I don't hear you telling any. If you can't make a joke, then you have no right to insult my comedic genius."

I shook my head and suppressed a smile, "Fine. Knock, knock."

He looked at me in surprise. "Who's there?"

"No one."

"No one who?"

I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. It took him far longer than it should have before he started to laugh.

"Oh, that was lame, I love it. I have to tell that one to my siblings."

I felt the corner of my mouth twitch at his reaction. "It wasn't that funny. Hazel told me it a few weeks ago."

Ryan shrugged and leaned against the shower he had been cleaning. I had no idea how he had already finished. Once you got past the lazy attitude and actually got him cleaning, he was a pretty good worker. "Hey, what can I say? I love cheesy jokes. And Chuck Norris jokes. You can't go wrong with a good Chuck Norris joke."

I rolled my eyes and turned my back on him. "You're weird, you know that right?"

"Yep," He made sure to pop the 'p'.

I felt a small laugh escape. Ever since I had begun spending large amounts of time with Percy I had found it harder to keep my expressions under wraps.

"Oh my goodness, did I just make Nico di Angelo laugh? Alert the media, this is breaking news." I rolled my eyes and ignored him. As annoying as he was I did sort of enjoy his company. "So how much longer, do you think that it will take, before we get there?"

I rolled my eyes. I instantly picked up on his use of a haiku. He seemed to have the same strange obsession with them that his father did. However, neither of them was very good at writing haiku's. I looked him in the eye and smiled. "I cannot be sure, it's sure not to be today, likely tomorrow."

His eyes widened and he smiled at me. "You made a haiku!"

I shook my head at his enthusiasm. "There really not that hard. It only takes a few seconds."

In hindsight, playing along with his bad poetry was a poor choice. I had been enjoying myself until that point, but he had a little too much of his father in him. He seemed to think that if someone so much as glanced at him, that they must want him. Before I could react he jumped forwards and hugged me.

The action was so similar to how Percy had held me that for a second, I froze. A small part of my mind randomly started to wonder if maybe I should give someone else a shot. Ryan was a good guy, albeit a little to affectionate for my taste.

I came back to myself and pulled away. No matter how nice of guy Ryan was, he wasn't Percy. His arms around me just felt strange, unlike when Percy held me. Percy's arms around me felt perfect, like I had been made to be in his arms. I sighed. I had a feeling that if the two of us had never started our relationship, I could have eventually found someone else. Now that I knew what it was like to be held by the one I loved the most, I would never be happy with another. I would always be subconsciously comparing them to him.

I sighed dejectedly. I stepped away and looked up to tell him off. I noticed that Ryan was glaring at the door. I turned around and I felt my eyes widen.

Percy was watching us with a look of surprise.

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Percy POV

I turned and walked away without a word.

I had no idea why I was reacting like I was. It had been my choice to walk away. I had always known that Nico was never as excited about our plan as I was. It shouldn't have come as a shock to me when he didn't care that I had ended it.

When I first told him, I had regretted it. I had believed that he was in as much pain as I was. I could have dealt with my own pain, but not his. Loyalty was my fatal flaw. I had gone to see him to make sure that he was okay.

I had done my best to stay focused on my chores but I was pretty much useless. I felt like my heart had gone missing all over again. When she had left she took my heart with her. Nico eventually helped me get it back. Walking away, I lost it all over again.

Ever since I discovered that I had feelings for the son of Hades I had felt my heart getting a little better each day. I had never been happier than I had over the past three days.

Then I had my dream and I freaked out. I had spent the entire day trying to convince myself that breaking it off had been good idea. The death glares that everyone was sending me sure weren't helping my resolve. I already felt like crap, but I could deal with it. It was my own fault for being an idiot.

But the way that my friends were treating me, it had led me to believe that Nico was in as much pain as I was. I had gone down to the bathroom in the hopes of talking to him. I wanted to make sure that he was alright.

Seeing him in Ryan's arms had hurt more than I thought it would. I had waited thinking that maybe he would do something but he just stood there and let it happen.

I locked myself in my cabin. I closed my eyes and ran my hands through my hair.

I had no right to be jealous. I tried my best to stop the feeling but it didn't work. I couldn't seem to get that image out of my head. I was disgusted with myself. I loved Annabeth, I wanted to be with her. I missed her more and more every day. But the thought of Nico with anyone else hurt me as badly as the thought of leaving Annabeth did.

If I cared about Nico the way I said I did, wouldn't I be happy that he was able to move on so quickly? I should be the supportive friend that he needed. I grimaced at the thought. I didn't think that I would be strong enough to encourage him to find someone else.

I sighed and tried to clear my mind. I had made my choice and now I had to deal with it. I should have been happy that Nico wasn't going through the pain that I was. It should be making me feel better, not worse.

So why couldn't I get that image out of my head?