Note: Posted with Permission

Warning: This is rated 'M' for a reason, I don't make light of the rating system, and it gets progressively more mature as these go on.

Summary:Nico never allowed himself to touch, only to be touched, it was better that way. Percy/Nico

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Daring Do-Gooders

Maybe it was a contest of wills. The staring, that is. Oceanic eyes meeting glaceous ones, between those two stares was a rend of space. The air inbetween them was animalistic, if one were to stand and be met by those two gazes from the near twin brothers then that person would have found breathing near impossible from the pure weightiness of their rivaling. Between them was dead space, one so devoid of any goodness it was sure to be the birthplace of some sort of hellspawn.

Then Triton blinked, "I'm still not sure about this," He said. "Dad would be pissed,"

"If we're leaving tomorrow then it would be the perfect opportunity to sneak away," Percy said. "You don't have to stay, none of you do. You can come with me, you don't ever have to try to please him again." That caused Triton to smile; it was a genuine, unhindered smile. The smile of a man who walked the torturous line hatred and spite for the love of someone who would never see him as anything but a burden and Percy saw it in its entirety and he almost felt sorry for his half-brother. Almost. Triton could never excuse any of his actions, he would never blame his father for anything he did, and he would continue to do horrible things because it's just how he was programmed now. He had no control over it anymore, he was just barely suppressing the urge to beat Percy's face in.

"You still don't get it, Percy," Triton said. "I don't want to leave his side on the off chance that one day he might need me. He can beat me, and berate me, call me every name in the book and I'll bare it. I'll bare it all if that means he'll call himself my father." His smile became morose. "I need his approval."

"But you'll get me out of here?" Percy asked.

"You're not good for us," Triton replied. "I'm doing this for Dad's own good. When you're not around anymore he'll start thinking clearly again. When you're gone he'll be himself again and we can go to games together again and go out for women, like we used to." His eyes sparkled with a terrifying undying loyalty. Percy seriously almost felt sorry for him now, but he squelched his sympathy. This was still Triton, the same bastard that had been plaguing him for almost a year now to break up with Nico.

"And the others?" Percy continued, "what about the other kids?"

"What about them?" Triton retorted. "When you're gone they'll just go home for Christmas and Dad'll stop by their houses and drop off their presents, I might even persuade him to drop one off for you," It looked doubtful on his face, but he managed to sound sincere. "I want you gone."

"Then let's go," Percy said.

"We can't," Triton looked around as if the walls themselves were listening in on their conversation. "He's going out later tonight, that's when we'll do it,"

Percy sighed, he could sit and wait a few more hours for that at least. He looked Triton over, the young man was haggard, almost as sickly looking as Poseidon had become. Nothing on his face betrayed any sort of guilt or ill feeling towards what he had done. But, Percy wouldn't push the issue; he had just barely convinced Triton that their father would see him in a better light if he got rid of the thing that was causing that man so much trouble as of late. By get rid of he had quickly had to explain not to kill but to help escape. "Then I guess you should get back to everyone before they start getting suspicious, you don't like me, remember?"

His brother sneered, "How could I forget?" As easily as that hurt had been portrayed on his face it was doubly so replaced by a quick, although lackluster, anger. Triton went to the door and opened it then he stepped into the hallway and without even so much as looking back he was off. Percy watched him go, then he sat against bed. His entire body wasn't throbbing today. It was only his ribs and his leg really. Everything else, while not hunky-doory, was relatively functioning in the way one would expect out of a car crash victim. It wasn't a pain Percy wanted to live with, it was a deadening ache really, but he could bare it just a little longer. He looked up at the door again and standing there was Anataneus, or Tanner as he had so renownly named himself.

"Perseus," He came into the room. Anataneus had the same eyes as their father, cold, calculating eyes that could strip paint off the walls. But, unlike their father Tanner's eyes were touched by kindness and humanity, if only just barely it was more than enough.

"Percy, Tanner," Percy corrected, managing a smile. This home might have been more welcoming and warm under different circumstances, Percy thought. He and his brothers might have all gotten along the proper way instead of being thrown together at the last minute and almost forced to bond.

"Perseus," Tanner said again in a way reminiscent of Poseidon. "I want you to know that I don't hate you." That amused Percy.

"Well, that's good," He almost laughed. "I don't hate you either, I don't have a reason to,"

"After everything we've put you through I think you have more than enough reason to at least dislike some of us," Tanner replied, looking away. "I'll admit that when father informed me of your…sexuality, we'll call it, I was at once disgusted." Percy heard his words and how well articulated they were. He wondered what kind of schooling Tanner had received. It, then, occurred to him that he knew so little about any of his brothers. Even Odysseus, wherever he was, who he was closest to. "I tried to explain it to Moses, but he just couldn't see anything wrong with it. I told Odie it was wrong, but he too just did not understand. Tyson doesn't have the capability to know what I'm talking about and Tony and father immensely hated the idea of you being…the way you are."

"Bi, I guess," Percy shrugged.

"Be that as it may," He wondered what kind of thirteen year old started sentences with "be that as it may" and just shook his head with a small smile. "I am—was—wrong. There's nothing wrong with you, Percy. I've been wracking my brains trying to find something to dislike about you other than the fact that you've got a boyfriend. I couldn't find anything. You're so…" He looked as if words failed him, which Percy thought was funny considering the conversation so far. "Cool." Tanner finished, looking unsatisfied with his verbiage. "Moreover," Ah, there was the Tanner he was starting to get to know. "The thought that Dad wants nothing more than to change the fact that you're," He swallowed, "that you're being intimate with that other guy—"

"Nico," Percy said his name, he said that name as if it were the most important name to be uttered since the stream of time had begun to flow. "His name is Nico."

"Yes, the fact that Dad's only hates your love for Nico and nothing else about you, and then went to these lengths just to separate you, I'm beginning to fear for his sanity." Anataneus closed his eyes. "It's hard to deal with." He finally said after a few moments of silence, he sounded every bit the part of a thirteen year old then, unsure and a bit afraid. "I just want him to be okay,"

"Even the with the way he treats you and everybody else?" Percy asked, almost disbelieving how much fealty Poseidon had from his other sons. It was no wonder he blew a gasket when Percy hadn't just kneeled at his feet from the thought of getting attention from him. He was used to unquestioning and absolute loyalty. Percy must have been a vexation more festering than a terminal disease in his mind. He was not bacteria or germs but he was a dis-ease all same to his father. Percy figured that Poseidon might have wanted to say jump and for Percy to ask how high.

"He just does that cause that's how Grandpa raised him," Tanner said. Percy wasn't going to say that the sins of the father were not the sins of the son, instead he said:

"Are you going to treat your children the way he treats us?" That question seemed to blindside Tanner. He stared at nothing for a few minutes, Percy could see the inquiry as if it were being turned in the well spoken young man's eyes.

Finally, "I hope not," He said decidedly. "I really, seriously hope not."

"Then don't," Percy said. "If I ever have kids I know I'm not going to treat them like Dad treats everyone else. I would never leave bruises on my children," Tanner's hand immediately went up to the side of his cheek and he looked away. "It's almost gone," Percy told him.

"I couldn't see it anymore, I didn't think you'd notice," The younger man, barely into his teens, replied. "It's what I get for talking back."

"No," Percy grabbed Tanner's arm. "No. You have an opinion, and that's more than okay. It's human. You don't have to think the same way he does, that's not something he can force you to do. Even if you were mouthing off, we're teenagers—that's what we do. You'll find that out the older you get. Teenagers yell and scream, we say tons of things we don't mean. One time I told my Stepdad that I hated him and that he wasn't my real father so he couldn't tell me what to do," Percy shook his head. "That was almost six years ago and I still regret it. But, it's a part of growing up. He didn't hit me for saying it, if anything he just looked really hurt himself. Thinking back he should have hit me," Percy smiled. "But that's not the kind of guy Paul is and now I'm so glad he's in my life."

Anataneus was quiet again, then he said, "I can see why Triton doesn't like you, too," But like the last time he had made a comment such as that there was no ill context in his words. It was just an observation. "Because he wishes Dad were more like that, and I think I do too." Percy realized why they tolerated the beatings and the harsh words. He knew it by the look on Tanner's face, the look that minutely touched each and every one of Poseidon's children's faces—perhaps even his own. Poseidon was the only true father they had, he had sired them and they felt eternally grateful for just that. Just the gift of life. Percy had never thought about it like that, but from that angle he could almost understand how on the outside he might look like the bad guy for scorning their father's wishes. From the outside looking in it was almost as if Percy had done everything that he had just to spite their father. "Are you coming downstairs? The others wanted to see you, but their afraid they're getting on your nerves. I came as a sort of…ambassador I guess."

Percy smiled, "I guess I can make it down there," He said good naturedly.

"Dad replaced the Playstation, but we're not supposed to even turn it on so all we can do is watch television since you're not allowed outside." Anataneus informed him.

"Psh, let me show you what we do when there aren't any games to play or nothing's on TV. You guys got any board games? Cards? You ever heard of a little game called poker? I think you'd be pretty good at it," For the first time since he had met the kid Tanner smiled genuinely, it was a smile that could be reflected in the face of every last individual under that roof and Percy felt the slightest bit less original for it, but he kept that to himself.

"I'm sure we can find some," He replied and they made their way down the steps with Percy leaning heavily on Tanner's shoulder. Later, as night fell Poseidon told them that he was going out and that he would be back. Percy looked for Triton, but he shook his head. I can't, he mouthed and left with their father. Percy tried not to let anger bubble under his skin, he tried to keep his head, but he simply couldn't. He shouted and ranted and raved that Poseidon let him go, but the man simply ignored him, closing the door behind his second oldest son.

That was it. Percy would never see his family or his friends again.

When the nighttime came and the adults had resigned themselves back to their rooms, Hades and Persephone sleeping in the guest room, Zeus and Hera having left for their hotel, that was the time Nico and the others began. With all the black they were wearing one might think that they were about to star in some cheesy espionage movie, black toboggans, black turtlenecks, black hoodies, black pants, black shoes, why Rachel even went the extra mile and had two black lines of mascara under her eyes, an imitation of warrior paint. Nico's heartbeat was surprisingly calm, he was surprisingly calm. Grover wondered if it was that calm that happened in the eye of storms, that displacing near-pleasant nature that indicated something so much darker on the way.

"I want to go on record saying how against this I am," Juniper said, she was to be left behind to alert them if anyone woke up. "You guys don't know if this is dangerous or not, I'm pretty sure it is."

"Juni, we're in the Grovermobile nothing bad can happen," Grover grinned, alright, so maybe it was just his Mom's minivan, but he wasn't about to let a little fact like that make it lose its cool factor.

"Zeus said that there are people much better equipped for this situation about to handle it," Juniper protested still.

"About to handle it and actually handling are two very different things," Rachel told her. "While they're still doing paperwork and getting permission we're going to be actually doing something." Jason and Leo nodded.

"We'll be okay," Leo said, and Jason took his hand.

"I still don't like it. Poseidon will know exactly where Percy is when he finds out he's not there, how will you guys even get in?"

"Locks can't really stop me, if that's what you mean," Thalia grinned, it was a shadow of their father's. "I've never had a problem with them."

"Tell me about it, I remember when you used to torture me when I was little by pretending to be the Boogieman. I'd lock my door and then, click, like magic it would pop open." Jason shook his head.

"You're stronger for it," Thalia laughed.

"We should get going," Nico said and they all nodded, going to the door they passed the couches and the sound of someone who was supposed to be sleeping but wasn't alerted them. Odysseus stared at them from the loveseat that pulled out into a bed. He had started sleeping on it since Nico had taken Percy's room so entirely and since the guest room was occupied.

"What's going on?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. "Why're you guys dressed like that?" Juniper flashed them all a dark look and then sighed, going over to the bed. She sat down on it and pulled Odie up to her, patting his head. She really couldn't believe he was eleven, he looked and acted so much younger.

"They're going out for a little while," She told him. "Everyone'll be back,"

"Why aren't you going?" He asked her.

"Because someone has to stay here and make sure you get back to sleep," She said and she flashed him a motherly grin, Odysseus' cheeks tinged a dark rouge suddenly and he looked away from her, he looked embarrassed.

"Why does my brother have to have such pretty friends?" He asked, though it was supposed to be a whisper. Juniper laughed to herself and she stood.

"Go back to sleep, Odie, in the morning there'll be a surprise for you," She looked over her shoulder at the departing group of teenagers who were quietly sneaking out of the door. Odysseus climbed back under the sheets and Juniper began to hum. It was a song her own mother had sung for her when she was smaller, it didn't really have words, but just a soft melody. She stroked Odysseus' face and watched him fall asleep again as she heard Grover's car pulling off. She sighed, at times she had felt the least outgoing of their ever expanding group. At times she felt like the "drag" or the most level-headed. She was the person who stopped them from doing dangerous things, like jumping off of bluff or racing Percy's Sonata against Grover's mother's Caravan. She knew she dampened their fun, but she felt like it was for their own safety. Juniper would never be able to live with herself if the one time she let them do something so abhorrently dangerous that she was having trouble breathing and they got hurt. She just wouldn't.

"Juniper?" She looked up, the sound interrupted her humming. Sally was standing in the darkness, her face lit up by the burning cherry tip of a cigarette. "What're you doing still up?"

"Odie woke up," She said. "I was just singing him back to sleep," At least she hadn't lied yet. This was the reason they had left her here. Sally gave her a small smile.

"I don't see how you're all even comfortable in Percy's room, there's more than enough couches and air mattresses for everyone." Juniper looked away, she didn't say anything. "You have a very pretty voice," Sally said.

"Thank you," Juniper replied, her voice just barely above a whisper. She opened her mouth as if she were about to try to keep the conversation going but there was a knock on the door. Oh no! she thought, someone had forgotten something. Her heart began pounding in her chest as Sally said, "Who could that be?" and went over to the door, snuffing her cigarette out a low table as she went. The knob twisted and Juniper knew they were caught, all of them. She had double-checked that they had everything, but whatever it had been it must've been important.

"Sally, don't you look as beautiful as ever?" But, that deep voice wasn't anyone's she knew. Juniper looked up to see the big, foreboding figure of an attractive man with hair that was slightly graying, adding a dignified sort of handsomeness to his already heartbreaking face. His smile was easy and in the moonlight he looked as serene as a priest sitting before the cross. There was a young man beside him and Juniper's heart leapt again, he had brought Percy. Upon further inspection, however, she realized it wasn't Percy but he looked incredibly similar.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sally asked, there was an almost murderous tone to her voice that Juniper had never heard before. "Where the fuck is my son?"

"Our son," Poseidon said, "is spending some time with his brothers, something that he has not had the previous chance to do, he's enjoying himself."

"No way in Hell," Sally scoffed, which caused Poseidon to chuckle, he touched her cheek and she swatted his hand away.

"I always did love that fire," He smirked, calm, cool, and more collected than Triton had seen him in days, let alone the past few hours. He was a different man in front of Sally. "Do you remember it, Sally? How we would make furious, passionate love under the stars on a cold Winter night like tonight? You, me, and a bottle of port to warm our otherwise freezing bodies, I remember it like it was yesterday,"

"What do you want?" She stepped away from him as he reached out again. "Don't touch me, bastard." The cordiality in Poseidon's eyes was quick to fizzle out, he flickered his vision from her to Juniper who was standing a ways behind her. With his elbow he tapped Triton who also looked at the girl.

"She'd be nice," Triton said with a smile, though it faltered when his father looked away.

"Or," Poseidon said. "My other son, where is Odysseus?"

"How the hell should I know? Go check one of your whore's houses," Sally spat.

"I am," Poseidon said, pushing past her, his son standing at the door looking as if he were torn between following or not. Instead he just stayed where he was.

"You can't fucking come in here," Sally grabbed his shirt. "Get out."

"Not till I get what I came for, Odysseus get your ass out here." Juniper looked over her shoulder, the boy was wide awake. His blue eyes shook, threatening tears. He sat up but she put a hand on him and shook her head no. "Odysseus!" Poseidon shouted.

"Oh, what the actual fuck?" They turned, Hades was standing at the portal between the living room and the rest of the house, he was shirtless with a pair of pajama bottoms on. "Did I not tell you to stay away?"

"I concur," Paul said, he looked different without his glasses Juniper thought. More rugged, more intimidating. "But since you're here, mind telling me where my son is?"

"If you've got a brat running around somewhere I'll be sure to be on the lookout for him," Poseidon said, ignoring Hades. "But, I'm here for mine first." He saw Juniper standing obtrusively in front of a bed, but she wasn't dressed for sleep he observed. "Move, girl," He said pushing her out of the way, when she fell she felt herself fall against Hades who righted her and moved past her, grabbing Poseidon's shoulder.

"I think it's best if you leave," He said.

"I do as well," Poseidon smiled picking Odysseus up by the arm. "Let's go, boys." But Hades didn't relinquish him.

"Without the kid," He said.

"Now, see, why would I come all this way just to leave without one of my favorite sons?" The tall man gave a large, misplaced grin. He looked wholly bothered by the entire situation. He was outnumbered by Hades and Paul—who he didn't suspect would be much of a threat, but Hades fists hurt—and that wasn't good for him.

"Because if you don't I'll bloody your nose again, dumbass," Hades said darkly. "Let go of him,"

"Legally I'm his guardian; you can't do a damn thing—"

"Legality be damned, you motherfucker," Surprisingly it was Paul who gripped Poseidon's wrist, wrenching it behind his back and simultaneously making him let go of Odysseus. Poseidon didn't cry out, but his face betrayed how much pain he was feeling. The normally bespectacled man walked him to the door and shoved him, making him stumble and then fall off of the landing hard on his ass. "Don't let me catch you around here again unless you're bringing Percy back, and then I want you to throw yourself in prison for the rest of your life," Resolutely he slammed the door closed.

"Not bad," Hades smirked.

"Yes, well, I was a nerdy kid. Had to learn self-defense or people would have pushed me around," Paul shrugged lackadaisically, as if it weren't that big a deal.

"Juniper," Sally looked at the dark haired girl who was holding Odysseus against her comfortingly. "Where's Grover's van?"

"How the hell did you convince me to let you drive?" Grover was asking, sitting in the back behind the driver's seat. Rachel was speeding, she wasn't just speeding Rachel was recklessly speeding. She had already outrun a police car, one who didn't even catch her the licenses plate number.

"Because I'm an amazing driver," Rachel smirked, not fazed by their speed.

"Take this right," Thalia said from the front seat, she too seemed unperturbed by their velocity. Rachel took it and Grover swore the car almost tipped over onto two wheels. The tires squealed, leaving a thick back trail behind them. "We should be getting there soon,"

"I'm going to be sick," Jason called from the wayback, the seat behind the backseat.

"I'm pretty impressed she's getting this kind of speed," Leo decided. "Considering how old this thing, she's got to be doing at least ninety." The minivan shivered as if to agree with that point. "You're pretty good," He said.

"Tell me something I don't know, Leo, sweetie," Rachel grinned widely. "Where to, Thals?"

"That next subdivision," Thalia said as Rachel swung rapidly into that specific subdivision. "The map says it's that house," Thalia pointed at a rather nice house just down the road, it was large and had at least nine bedroom windows that they could see. The redheaded girl killed the motor as she pulled up into the driveway. "It says we should be here,"

"Alrighty then," Rachel opened her door. "You guys ready to kick some ass?"

"With your leg like that I don't think you'll be doing much kicking," Grover grinned, his stomach had finally fallen out of his throat thankfully with no help from Rachel's driving.

"I think it would be better if we just got Percy and got out," Nico said opening the sliding van door. They all piled out. "Anyone think it's strange that Poseidon's car isn't here? I know that one is Triton's," He pointed at the Chevy in the driveway

"He must've stepped out then," Thalia said clicking around on her PDA; she had downloaded Zeus' entire hard-drive onto it. "We should hurry, his car is on its way back here. I'd say if we're going to do this we've got about seven minutes,"

"He must have been right behind us," Nico said darkly.

"Either that or he's speeding faster than Rachel was," Jason said, looking green from the very thought.

"Well," Grover smiled and Rachel did as well.

"What're we waiting on?" She finished for him. Thalia put her PDA away and pulled out a bobby pin from her long, black hair as they walked up the steps to the door. She kneeled down to the keyhole and inserted the bobby pin. Grover watched with admitted jealousy as she tinkered around with the thing for a good thirty seconds, then reached into her back pocket and pulled out a card sliding it through where the door latched. She pushed it open with no protest, pulled the bobby pin out of the keyhole and quickly replaced it in her hair. "That was kinda hot," Rachel grinned.

"Yeah, I know," Thalia said. They entered.

Inside they were surprised, it didn't look like the house of a kleptomaniac, in fact, it looked like the house of a perfectly sane individual—overlooking the large, gaping hole in the wall beside the television. But, that wasn't what really surprised them. What surprised them was that one Percy Jackson was curled up on the couch with a toddler in his lap and four other kids sitting around him, two beside him on the couch and two at his feet. There was an older guy seated in the recliner but he didn't even look up when they came in, his eyes were trained on the movie they were watching, How To Train Your Dragon.

"Guys!" Percy said.

"Okay, you're entirely too comfortable for someone in mortal peril," Thalia told him.

"Can't you even try to be look a little more damsel in distress-ish?" Rachel agreed.

"Percy," Nico was the first one forward, throwing his arms around Percy and kissing him deeply. The boys gathered around their brother watched with open awe as Nico ferociously attacked Percy's mouth. Tears were suddenly streaking out of the young Italian boy's eyes and Percy hugged him close. "I thought I would never see you—"

"We don't really have the time for this," Thalia said loudly glancing at her PDA again. "Save it for when we get back. Posedion'll be here in like a minute and a half."

"Grover," Percy said as Grover and Jason came over and hoisted him up, he put an arm around both of their strong shoulders. "You drive the Grovermobile?"

"I didn't drive it personally, but it's out there," Grover nodded.

"Guys, come with me." He said to his brothers. "We'll all get away from Dad." Dadaelus stood, Orpheus stood and even Morpheus got up, but Anataneus only smiled, and all Tyson could really do was smile, so instead he watched Hiccup fasten a wooden tail onto Toothless and laughed.

"You guys go on," He said. "I'll explain to Dad what happened, he's sure to be upset."

"Tanner—"

"Go Percy," Anataneus grinned and Percy saw that he was not very used to smiling, it's what set their grins apart. He pushed his siblings towards Percy. "Just go, me and Ty'll be okay. Someone's got to watch over him." Percy stared for a few seconds, seconds he knew he didn't have. He could feel time ticking away and he nodded.

"You're going to be a great man one day, Tanner."

"And you're already a great man, Percy," Anataneus chuckled. "Nico," He extended his hand and Nico took it, though he didn't know this kid. "It was nice to have finally met you."

"You too," Nico replied, unsurely. Then they all turned and closed the door behind them, gathering into the van tightly. Rachel turned the engine over and back out of the driveway, pulling into the one behind it and idled the car.

"What're you doing?" Jason asked, she shushed him.

"It would look weird if Poseidon saw a car leaving his house," She said, "I'm going to wait for him to go inside then I'm going to pull away." Before anyone could say anything a sleek car pulled into the driveway they had just been in. Poseidon and Triton stepped out of the car and slowly made their way to the door. The older man was verbally assaulting the younger one, Nico held tightly to Percy's hand as they watched him swing and land a blow to the side of Triton's shoulder. The young man gripped it tightly but made no move to defend himself. Poseidon shook his head and unlocked the door opening it and stepping inside. It was at that exact moment that Grover's mother's minivan came to life. Rachel gunned the engine and sped down the street leaving a thick black trail of burnt rubber behind.