PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Sonny || Chasing Fireflies || Sonny || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO
Title: Chasing Fireflies – The Next Generation of Heroes
Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; post both series
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, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Warnings: shounen-ai, fluff, h/c, mpreg, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, D/s, bondage, masturbation, toys, spanking, rimming, handjobs, magic, knotting, collars, past rape/abuse, (temporary) character death, depression, threesomes, shoujo-ai, hetero
Main Pairing: Sander/Donny, Trend/Derek/Sam and Nico/Percy
Side Pairings: Chris/Clarisse, Piper/Annabeth, Frank/Hazel/Leo, Jason/Reyna, Travis/Connor, Malcolm/Katie, Lou/Miranda, Jake/Will, Kayla/Nyssa, Alabaster/Liam, Tyson/Ella, Paul/Sally, Hades/Persephone, Tempest/Blackjack
Side Pairings OCs: Trend/Sam, Herc/Thea, Joe/Nico, Marshall/Sara, Loki/Blance, Dash/Kara, Vic/Stella/Jonas, Chuck/Melissa, Luke/Thess, Kitty/Percy, Fred/Carry, JP/Milly
Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Clarisse la Rue, Chris Rodriguez, Annabeth Chase, Piper McLean, Hazel Levesque, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Jason Grace, Will Solace, Jake Mason, Katie Gardner, Malcolm Cage, Miranda Gardner, Lou Ellen, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Nyssa Black, Kayla Hein, Alabaster C. Torrington, Thalia Grace, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Octavian Simmons, Ella, Tyson, Grover Underwood, Sally Blofis, Paul Blofis, Chiron, Small Bob, Mrs. O'Leary, Blackjack, Tempest, Arion
Gods: Hades, Persephone, Demeter, Poseidon, Artemis
Own Animals: Shadowchaser (Donny's shadow-pegasus), Trickster (Sander's pegasus), Nightowl (Thea's pegasus), Fighter (Sam's pegasus), Rush (Trend's pegasus), Poker (Jack's pet-bunny)
Own Characters of the Next Generation:
Nicercy: Bianca Maria 'Bia' di Angelo, Hades Poseidon 'Donny' di Angelo, Sally Persephone 'Percy' di Angelo, Theseus Paul 'Thess' di Angelo, James Charles 'Jimmy' di Angelo, Laura Silena 'Silly' di Angelo, Jackson Tyson Jack' di Angelo
Chrisse: Calandra 'Cally' Rodriguez, Chrysander 'Sander' Rodriguez, Charisma 'Carry' Rodriguez
Pipabeth: Theadora Tiphane 'Thea' Chase, Lucas Thomas 'Luke' Chase, Tristan Frederick 'Fred' Chase, Matthew Robert 'Matt' Chase
Jayna: Hercules 'Herc' Grace, Thalia Hylla 'Thyl' Grace, Jupiter Perseus 'JP' Grace
Frazeleo: Esperanza Nicole 'Nico' Zhang, Sammy Marie Zhang, Emily Fey 'Milly' Zhang, Claryssa 'Claire' Zhang
Matie: Amarilla 'Amy' Cage, Anthismos 'Andy' Cage
Louranda: Kathryn 'Kitty' Ellen, Alabaster 'Basty' Ellen
Jakill: Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Mason (adopted; daughter of Apollo)
Stolls: Hunter 'Hunt' Hood, Hayden 'Heist' Hood (adopted; sons Hermes)
Own Demigods: Samuel Raser (Ares), Derek Rhys (Demeter), Trend Austin (Athena), Marshall Mikaelson (Enyo), Sara Mers (Mars), Joanna Foxx (Vulcan), Phylicia Rosenberg (Persephone), Bellatrix la Fey (Ares), Phineas DeVorut (Venus), Melissa Montgomery (Dionysus), Charles Smith (Apollo), Stella Ribeiro (Aphrodite), Jonas Meyer (Enyalios), Victor Kruger (Hephaestus), Erik Anderson (Enyo), Lila Lovegood (Hecate), Rainbow Jordan (Iris), Takara Thompson (Trivia), Sedanur Aykan (Apollo, augur), Loki Murdock (Mercury), Blance Lamour (Chione), Ulrika Schuster (Eris), Arielle Schneider (Triton), Liam O'Riley (Hecate)
Summary: Donny di Angelo never cared about fighting or becoming a hero. Quite the opposite of Sander Rodriguez, who was the greatest Greek hero of their generation. Together with his beloved cousin Nico Zhang and his best friend Thea Chase, Donny faces the hardest quest possible. The one for confidence and love. His biggest support though are his parents and siblings. Being a teenage demigod was hard, being the son of the greatest hero ever was even harder.
Chasing Fireflies
The Next Generation of Heroes
34. Being on a Ship Together
When Sam woke up, he was more well-rested than in a long time. Maybe it was because the fever had finally gone down completely and he actually felt healthy again. Maybe it was because he had entrusted his darkest secret to Donny, had finally shared the one thing he feared the most and received kindness and comfort. Or maybe it was the simple fact that he was laying in Trend's arms, once again. Probably, his mind supplied, it were all these things together. He felt relieved and comforted, he knew that he had Donny at his side and somehow it helped to hear it being said by someone – that it hadn't been his fault. Still, bringing all these memories back had also brought all those horrible feelings back. With Trend, it was okay. They had watched both Mulan movies – the second one more so to mock it and poke fun at it – and they had joked and talked until the sun had started to rise and until, somewhere in the middle of their conversation, they had both fallen asleep together. Now he was awake again, his cheek against Trend's chest, Trend's arms around his waist as he was laying half on top of the blonde. Sam had been pretty adamant on not sleeping after he had faced Leroy again yesterday, but with Trend at his side, he had felt strong and safe enough.
"Khan? Khan, you awake yet?", mumbled Sam, poking Trend's cheek. "Come on, I need to pee and you're holding me way too tight. I'm not your teddy bear, you know."
"Shut up, Mushu", yawned the son of Athena, shifting some. "We both know that if you really had to pee that urgently, you could free yourself from my grasp without any problems."
"Maybe I just enjoy annoying you", grinned Sam and sat up. "See you for breakfast."
/break\
When Donny woke up, he felt cranky and exhausted and like he hadn't slept in days. His eyes were heavy and sticky with sleep and tears, his head was buzzing with the aftermaths of nightmares – dark dreams about all the things he wanted to do to Leroy. And his heart was heavy.
"Donny?", whispered his boyfriend softly, pressing his lips against the top of Donny's head. "Are you awake? You've been trashing all night, my love. I... What happened yesterday?"
"I can't talk about it", muttered Donny displeased, curling together at Sander's side. "I promised."
"Did something happen to you?", asked Sander worried, caressing Donny's dark curls.
"No!", exclaimed Donny and shook his head hastily. "I swear. I'm alright. It's not about me. Nothing happened to me. I just... know of a secret now and it makes my heart feel heavy..."
"Okay", nodded Sander slowly and relaxed some, pulling Donny closer to himself. "If you can't tell me, then that's that. But I want you to promise me that if something happens, if you don't know how to deal with this anymore, then you'll come to me, okay? Like you did last night. I don't want you burdened with anything on your own. I love you. I want to help you."
Donny's eyes softened as he looked at his Sander. He knew the brunette would do anything for him, because they shared trust and love. Smiling tenderly, Donny sat up some so he could lean down to kiss Sander. As he sat there, straddling Sander's hips, a bright blush spread over his cheeks.
"It seems you're happy to have me with you", whispered Donny in a nearly teasing voice.
Sander blushed even darker than Donny and groaned, trying to hide his face behind his hands. It wasn't his fault that Donny was so cute and hot and the curve of his ass had been pressed against Sander's crotch for most of the night. How was he supposed to not have an erection?
"You are so cute", giggled Donny and kissed Sander's nose. "You don't need to be embarrassed."
"I think I do", muttered Sander and glared at the metal box next to his bed. "Your mom gave me a herbal mix to prevent you from getting pregnant. Your mom thinks we'll be having sex during this quest. How am I supposed to not be embarrassed about such things?"
"So... you don't want to have sex with me...?", drawled Donny, tilting his head curiously.
"What? Of course I want to have sex with you!", exclaimed Sander, maybe a bit too loud, before continuing in a lower and more embarrassed voice. "But I don't want to rush into things. I'm happy the way things are right now and you're... uh, well... I don't..."
"I'm a virgin. You can say it, San", laughed Donny, very much amused, before leaning down and pecking Sander's lips. "You're sweet. I love you for that. And you're right. I enjoy just being with you too. I don't... want it to go further just now. I'm content with having you."
With that said, Donny laid down again, his head resting on Sander's shoulder. The truth was that Donny was actually quite curious about sex, but he was just as afraid. Sander was way more experienced and Donny didn't want to disappoint him. That aside, he also wasn't sure it would be good that early in their relationship. He wanted them to go slow, to thoroughly enjoy every step.
"There's something I need to tell you though", muttered Sander, sounding a bit more nervous. "When I fed the pegasi last night, I found Nico and Herc lurking in the stables. They decided to come along and I thought I'd wait until morning with telling everyone else because if I had said something right away, Trend would have been too inclined to obey the rules and bring them back."
"Nico and Herc?", frowned Donny unsure. "Well, I'm sure we can use the backup. I guess."
/break\
Thea stretched sluggishly as the smell of fresh strawberry jam and warm croissants invades her nostrils. Licking her lips, she opened her eyes to face a sheepishly smiling Hercules with a tray of breakfast in his hands and the head of Esperanza poking over his shoulder.
"Morning, sunshine!", exclaimed the Latina with a broad grin. "We bring breakfast. As a peace offering. Well, and I also brought a Herc. I figured, if breakfast isn't enough, I could sacrifice him."
"Mh...?", grunted Thea and stretched some more, turning to look around.
Her ma's old cabin on board the Argo II. Which made her question one thing; What were Nico Zhang and Herc Grace doing here? Giving them a strange look, she stole a croissant and dipped it into the strawberry jam before taking a huge bite. The two Romans looked nervous.
"You decided to attend a quest not even given to you", pointed Thea out. "You risk your own lives for something that has not even been given to you by the fates. And you may possibly risk our lives too because it is our quest. You know what happened the last time someone decided to poke their heads into a quest that had not been theirs to have? Donny's aunt Bianca died. Challenging the fates and the orders given by gods and oracles is nothing to be taken lightly."
"We're sorry", mumbled both of them, suddenly very crestfallen and guilty.
"Now that that's said", sighed Thea and lifted the cover. "Get in here, Hercules. And keep me warm. This ship is bloody chilly in the morning. You, tinkerer, go and wake the others. Tell them breakfast and plans in half an hour in the mess hall. Get going!"
"Yes, ma'am", chuckled Nico and fled the room.
/break\
The scent of milk and honey clung to Trend's favorite hoodie as he put it on. And then he remembered that Sam had been wearing it the past day. Taking another sniff and humming contently, Trend decided to go and check on the son of Ares. He had been odd last night, at least until they were half way through the first Mulan movie, before the worries seemed to slowly melt away from him. And this morning, he had been back to his usual banter, albeit it seemed a little softer. Not a single insult had been thrown at his head so far.
"Sam? Sam, you in there?", asked Trend as he knocked on the cabin's door.
As he didn't get an answer, he simply opened the door and sneaked inside. What he found was the least worrying possibility. For a second, he had feared Sam had gone back to being depressed like yesterday, but it seemed he had instead taken his normal course of coping. Fighting. A shirtless and sweating son of Ares was doing some minor routines with his celestial bronze and imperial gold sword. It was an impressive sword, two-edged, one side golden and the other bronze, swirling to a beautiful mix in the center. A powerful weapon, given to Sam by his father after the son of Ares had first fulfilled a quest for the War God. Trend remembered the quest three years ago, given to him by Ares and Aphrodite and rewarded by Ares after the Goddess of Love had urged him to. The sword was nice to look at, but its wielder was even nicer to be looked at. Sam was shirtless and sweaty, his strong arms flexing with every move of the sword, little beads of sweat running down his toned stomach. And those jeans again. They surely were magical artifacts because they made the strong legs look longer than Trend remembered them to be and the way they underlined Sam's finest trade – an ass any quarter would bounce off from. He also enjoyed that most of Sam's new jeans were gray in color and not camo colored. Somehow, in a weird way, his favorite color on Sam was like a silent, victorious claim. Trend closed the door behind himself and leaned against it, staring in utter fascination at the disciplined and focused way Sam was fighting his invisible opponent. For all the foolish banter Sam liked to engage in, he was steeled to perfection when fighting.
"Need a sparing partner?", offered the son of Athena after a couple of minutes.
Sam didn't even jump or show any signs of surprise. He merely glanced Trend's way for a second before nodding and halting, waiting for Trend to unsheathe his own sword. Smirking at the brunette (and watching a little too closely how deliciously the skin glistered with the sheet of sweat covering it), Trend twirled the amulet around his neck and pressed down on the silvery stone in the middle, turning the round talisman with the owl-imprint on the front and the moonstone above it into a long imperial Gold sword. The Owl's Feather. His own pride. His father had told him that it had been the only thing with him when he had found Trend at his doorstep as a baby. A token of Athena's affection for her son, he guessed. He always held it dear, even before he had known of its power.
/break\
"Urgh, you two really are disgusting. Stop making googly eyes at each other and get dressed. Thea said we're having a meeting in less than half an hour", commented Nico as she entered Sander's cabin and stared at the snogging couple. "You're horribly sweet, it gives me cavities."
Donny and Sander had the decency to blush brightly as they looked up at Nico. The Latina rolled her eyes while Donny hastily pulled his hands back from beneath Sander's shirt and Sander's hands flew off Donny's ass as though he had burned himself. Those two were so awkward, they deserved each other. Deciding to give them some more privacy to get sorted out, she left again.
"That was embarrassing", muttered Donny, resting his head on Sander's chest.
"Why did she have to interrupt?", huffed Sander with a pout. "Your hands are brilliant."
"If the sounds you made are anything to go by", grinned Donny delighted, tracing Sander's sixpack from above the shirt. "Well, we'd have to delay our little... exploring."
"Donny the Explorer", chuckled Sander and kissed Donny's nose. "Can't wait for it."
/break\
Both of them were sweating and panting, overly exhausted after an hour of dueling. They were both too schooled and knew each other's moves and body language too well to give in easily. In the end, it mostly was exhaustion that made them end their fights. They were both on their knees, grinning at each other satisfied. This was how many of Trend's fantasies had started, to be honest.
"Shower?", croaked Sam out, coughing as his mouth was dry after the ordeal.
And this was how they normally continued. Trend blinked doe-eyed over at the brunette.
"Water on the ship is limited. Warm water even more so. The engine will take time to heat more up and if we all take our separate long showers, we'll soon run out of fresh water", noted Sam.
"Wise thinking", nodded Trend slowly and gulped. "A shower sounds good."
A shower with Sam truly sounded good. Bathing together in the lake had been one thing, but they had also shared it with Donny and Sander and it was a bigger space. The bathroom in the ship was not at all big and the shower stall even less so. The son of Ares gave him a cheeky grin as he led the way out of the sleeping cabin that had once belonged to Frank.
/break\
There was a broad and happy smile on Donny's face as he was tugging on the collar of the too big turquoise shirt he had stolen from his boyfriend. After Nico had called for them, Sander had – with bright cheeks – suggested that Donny could get dressed in his room. As in; getting dressed in his clothes. It was adorably possessive of Sander and the happy sparkling of his eyes upon seeing Donny wear his clothes was completely worth the snickering he now received from Thea and Nico. He liked it, liked the way the clothes smelt like Sander.
"Did you two actually do the deed or are you just trading clothes?", asked Nico curiously.
Her eyes were fixed on the cup of tea in Donny's hands. She knew the smell of her mamá's tea very well by now and she knew of the implication. Still, she wasn't sure if she appreciated that her two cousins were actually being that intimate with each other. Donny was too sweet to be defiled like that. Both boys blushed at her bold question and stared at her wide eyed.
"W—We were just fooling around", replied Donny. "You know, cuddling. We didn't have sex."
"Good", nodded Nico, pleased by the answer. "I doubt uncle Nico would be pleased if he'd learn that an evil and horny trickster had taken his beloved son's virtue like that."
"You women folk are evil", pointed Sander out and glared at Nico and Thea.
The two girls grinned broadly and high-fived. Hercules was wise enough not to comment and continued to serve his girlfriend any food or drink she liked – it had been her demand, that he would be her servant while imposing on her quest. And he was fine with it, as long as she didn't send him away and gave him a chance. She smiled charmingly at him and opened her mouth for a strawberry.
"Didn't you go and wake Sam and Trend?", asked Donny with a frown.
"They were under the shower. My poor eyes suffered enough by watching the two of you groping each other. I don't need to watch two naked boys getting nasty in the shower", huffed Nico.
"Sam and Trend?", snorted Herc ridiculed. "They're probably just sharing because of the limited water. And judging by that, they will soon join us anyway."
/break\
Trend was just standing there, under the water. He was far too distracted by the nakedness of Sam to shower himself. The way the soap bubbles ran down the sun-kissed skin and hard muscles, the delicious curve of Sam's back and the roundness of his ass. Long legs smooth, just as the rest of his body. The son of Ares had always been quite obsessed with his looks, always kept his body trimmed to perfection and Trend had always been one to appreciate that. His musings on Sam's body were interrupted as he suddenly had a bottle of body wash shoved into his face, staring at it confused.
"You said you like the way I smell", grunted Sam and rolled his eyes. "Here."
"I like the way you smell on you", huffed Trend in reply and took his own body wash.
"You really are a weirdo", snorted the son of Ares amused and shampooed his hair.
He turned away from Trend when he felt his cheeks heating up. Trend liked the way he smelt? Not just the scent of his body wash? For a brief second, he wondered why he was there at all, in the shower with Trend. Normally, whenever the nightmares of Leroy would emerge again – and that was sometimes the case – he would lock himself into his room and stay as far away from anybody. But right now, he didn't want to leave Trend's side at all. He had felt good when he had woken up, but after peeing and going to his own cabin, the feeling of loneliness had gripped his heart again.
"What...", started Trend slowly, as though he was unsure of his next words. "Whatever happened yesterday, you know that if you want to talk about it, I'll be there for you, right?"
Sam froze and turned to look over his shoulder at Trend, who was by now facing the other wall, as though he tried to avoid this inquisitive glare. The son of Athena never inquired and now, of all times he had to offer such a thing? Asking him about that while they were naked in the shower? Not that Sam would ever admit to that. Not in front of anyone who would think him weaker. Donny, he had bared a more vulnerable side to before. But Trend or Sander or Marshall or Sara or Hercules? They were heroes, they knew him strong and proud. What would they think if they knew? That he was some defenseless victim, not capable of protecting himself. Then again, weren't the weaklings the ones Trend liked? The dudes in distress? The thought that it may be what may make Trend see him in a way that could offer them a chance nearly made him laugh harshly and shake his head.
"It was nothing, dick-head", snarled Sam defensively. "Just a... nightmare. Nothing to talk about."
/break\
"So glad you could join us. You've been in there so long, I think you spend all hot water."
"Well, we seem to suddenly have a tinkerer at our hands to supply us with more hot water", countered Trend, looking at Nico a little unimpressed. "I knew there was a dangerous spark in your eyes yesterday. I would not have thought you foolish enough to stay on board though."
"What can I say? Foolishness runs in my family", grinned the Latina wickedly.
Sam huffed and rolled his eyes, passing Trend to lean against the table – or rather over it – to reach the plate with bacon that Hercules was hogging. Trend was relatively sure that Sam wasn't doing it on purpose, but the way his ass was sticking out was way too tempting and inviting to not be intentional. Shaking his head, the son of Athena walked over to join the others, sitting down next to Sander. Sam, once he had gained the plate of bacon, came to sit next to Trend, grinning victoriously. Trend raised one unimpressed eyebrow as he took the horn and summoned cereals for himself. The son of Ares was still grinning broadly and licking his fingers.
"What? Don't look at me like that, dick-head. I have bacon", grinned Sam pleased.
"My bacon", whined Hercules with a pout, glaring at the son of Ares irritated.
"Hush. You're not even supposed to be here", snorted Trend. "No right to have bacon."
"Oh believe me, he knows he doesn't have any rights for now", smiled Thea gleefully, patting Herc's head as though he was a very obedient puppy. "Still, we need to plan our on going, whether we're five heroes or seven heroes. Where are we to go once we reach Europe? Where are those bloody fireflies that had trailed after us when leaving the park?"
"They're in my cabin", replied Donny and shrugged. "They were tired after the long flight. Don't forget, their wings are far smaller and more fragile than a pegasus'."
"Fireflies?", asked Hercules, completely confused.
"You missed an awful lot of fun", nodded Sam with his mouth full of bacon.
Trend sighed and summoned fresh and hot bread and eggs sunny-side up, shoving them over to Sam. "You can't only eat grease like that. It's unhealthy."
The son of Ares huffed, but still he obeyed and took the hot bread while Donny and Sander nearly stumbled over each other, trying to tell the Romans everything about their stay in Alaska.
Author's note: Sooo... Seeing as this story keeps growing, I added some characters to the character-list. Like Leroy. And the Stolls! I decided I need them too so they and their adopted sons/brothers are going to get into this too (I made them adopt two orphaned sons of Hermes *grins*). Said sons of Hermes are the ones responsible for Jack having to go to Chiron, btw. Oh, and I decided on a love-life for Nico - and I decided that Trend will get a pegasus too, later on and with the help of Sam. Most added characters are there because I decided that aside from the occasional "Parental Life"s I want some "Camp Life"s too now that they're on a quest and camp life does require the occasional background demigod here and there. And others are needed for the quest's later stages, as in: reaching Europe. First Camp Life will be next chapter with Jack winning Capture the Flag, because the way I read your reviews, you like Jack, so... I hope a chap with him and his adorableness will be appreciated!