T/W Homophobia (minor)
Chapter 3: Way Down In The Hole
The roads were different.
That was the first thing that really stood out to Percy as he rode his motorcycle along the stretch of asphalt that led to town. The roads were different. Smoother. Straighter. Less potholes. There were streetlights too, which was another new feature. Orbs of light suspended over him as he rode towards the center of town.
Luke followed him, tailing a little too close for comfort in one of the clans trucks. He honked the horn in a little tone as Percy cocked his eye over his shoulder.
He could practically hear him laughing in the truck.
They pulled into town and pulled up to a very familiar place to Percy. Dionysus' place. The same place he'd been all those years ago when he'd met Zoe. He didn't really want to be there, not at all, but by some miracle every other building that had popped up in town in the last 50 years was either an insurance branch or a general store. So this was still the only bar in town.
Seriously, what kinda town needed 13 general stores...
He pulled off his helmet, shutting off the bike as he kicked the bike stand down and looked up at the building.
It was different. Well, not really. The basic, fundamentals he'd remembered from 50 years ago were still there, but the building had all sorts of new accouterments. Neon signs, bars over the windows, a new coat of paint. It looked like any other run down, dive-bar, shit hole.
Percy already knew Luke was in love.
The blonde man stepped out of the truck, closing the door as a wry, sly vile grin spread across his face. He stuck a comb in a jar of hair gel and ran it over his head, slicking back his hair as he licked his thumbs and smoothed his eyebrows. It was a routine Percy had watched time and time again for decades, and never got any less disgusting.
"Well Perce..." Luke said, shooting him a glance, "...Shall we?"
Percy put his helmet on his bike and pocketed the keys as he unzipped his coat, letting that perfect, Texan, not too hot, not too cold air flow over his body. Not that he could ever really tell how cold it was. He couldn't really feel cold, but he knew. He knew Texan nights, and knew this was one of them.
He turned to Luke, "Yeah. Just... pick someone deserving. Alright?"
Luke flashed him an evil, toothy grin that Percy knew the meaning of by now.
I'll pick whoever I want.
They walked up to the entrance side by side and walked straight in. The place was packed.
There were dozens of people all over the place, scattered about the bar doing various bar activities. Playing pool, drinking, smoking. You name it. Percy perked his eara as familiar sounds rang out. Pool cues striking balls, glasses clanging, laughter amongst conversations, and soft rock on the speakers. He felt his nose twitch as he caught certain smells. Cigarettes, beer, sweat, some blood, and the unfortunately familiar smell of meth coming from the bathroom.
It was a dive. A pit stop. A shit hole. Somewhere no one should go unless they were at the end of their rope.
Percy didn't have to look at Luke to know he was smiling.
The blonde clapped his hand on Percy's shoulder as he leaned close to his ear.
"Not bad, Jackson. Not bad." He glanced across the bar to the pool table and Percy's eyes followed.
There were two people there, playing a game. A punk looking girl with choppy black hair and electric blue eyes in a leather jacket and torn jeans, and a goth looking boy with a leather bomber and long black hair who, even without Percy's super sight, he could tell looked too young to be in here.
The girl leaned forward over the table and the boy leaned back into it as they chatted, very casually. It was pretty clear to anyone that they were friends, and nothing more.
Luke's eyes lit up, if only for a second, and Percy could practically hear his tongue drag over his teeth.
"And there's even a brunette..." He put his chin on Percy's shoulder, "... how'd you know I was in the mood, Jackson?"
"Lucky guess..." Percy replied,turning away from Luke and wandering over to the bar as the blonde devil straightened his jacket and sauntered over to the girl. Percy took a seat at the bar, waving down the bartender and pointing out a bottle of whiskey on the wall, before pointing at the ice box and holding up two fingers.
The bartender nodded at his silent order, pulling down the bottle and grabbing a glass as Percy cast his gaze back over the bar, back towards Luke, as he leaned his back into the bar.
He had a pool cue in his hands and had put it over his shoulders, gripping either end as he chatted up the girl. Percy scoffed, as he couldn't help but notice how much he looked like Jesus up on the cross in that position.
He silently hoped Luke would burst into flames from the pose.
He heard the glass clink down on the bar next to him and absent mindedly grabbed it with a slight nod, watching as Luke talked to the girl. It was pretty obvious that she... wasn't responsive. She seemed a whole hell of a lot more focused on sinking all he stripes than she did listening to whatever the hell Luke had to say.
Now the boy on the other hand? Well damn, he just about listened to every word he said, and Percy couldn't help but notice.
Percy kept his eyes locked on the group, focusing intensely as did. Enough that the bar around him became a blur. Enough that he didn't really notice the girl next to him until she was tapping him on the shoulder.
"Hey. You alive in there?"
He snapped from his focus, turning to the girl as he did, and... there she was.
The girl, the blonde one, the one who'd shown up at his house when he'd moved in. The Chase girl, that man Frederick's daughter, dressed in the same blue jeans and orange shirt, just with a flannel pulled over it now too. Her hair had been thrown up into a messy bun that she'd tucked under an ancient looking New York Yankees baseball cap. She looked somehow even better than she had this morning. She practically glowed in the light of the bar. Almost like...
An Angel, a small voice said in his mind, but he pushed it aside.
"H'wat?" He asked, accidentally letting his accent soak the word. She smiled a bit as she gestured at him with her chin.
"I said are you alive in there? You've been staring at my friend for the past minute."
He blinked, trying to collect himself so he could answer the girl. He swallowed what he thought was whiskey, but realized we're nerves as he tried to regain his composure.
"Yeah... sorry I just... we've met before, haven't we?"
Her smile grew a bit as she let a laugh breathe out of her nose, "Yeah, I'd hope you'd remember, considering it happened this morning."
Percy nodded slowly as his eyes drew back into a squint, "Yeah, now I remember, you're that Chase girl, right?"
She drew her own eyes back, mimicking his squint. "There you go, all coming back now, huh?" She stuck her hand out towards him, "The names Annabeth."
Percy reached out and shook her hand, taking note of how soft her palm was as he gripped it.
"Pleasure to meet you."
He turned back to the pool table, barely catching a glimpse of Luke and the girl, before Annabeth spoke up again.
"Hold on now." She said, with just a barely there ghost of an accent, "You know my name, only fair you tell me yours."
Percy let his eyes flick back to her, taking note of the fact that she'd been glancing at his tattoo. He rubbed his hand over it as he turned back towards her.
"Ah well... my friends call me Percy." He replied, drawing the same squint from the girl that she'd shown him before.
"Well I can't really say we're friends yet, Percy. So whats your real name?"
He let out a soft chuckle as his gaze met hers.
"Yet?"
She cocked her head, "Beg your pardon?"
"Nothing, just... you said not yet. We're not friends yet." He said with a wry smile.
She let her eyes draw back in a glare, one that really sent a slight shiver down Percy's spine.
"Why don't you tell me your real name, Percy. Then we'll decide."
He let out a breath as he turned back toward the crowd.
"My name's Perseus."
She cocked an eyebrow, "Like the Greek hero?"
He turned back to her, "Yeah, you know about them?"
"Oh yeah," She replied, nodding her head, "Used to read all about them as a kid. Especially Perseus."
He nodded as a small grin spread over his face, "Y'know, I'm pretty sure I was named after him."
"No shit?" She said, taking a sip of her drink.
"Yeah, my mom was always into that stuff, and my dad's name was, believe it or not, Poseidon, so it kinda just fit."
She had at some point leaned onto the counter, resting her hand on her chin in a pose that looked all too familiar.
The one Zoe had made, all those years ago.
He swallowed his thoughts and turned back to the girl with small smile.
"So there you go. Perseus, you can call me that if you like." He said.
Annabeth pouted her lips and gave her head a shake.
"Nah, Perseus is a bit of a mouthful." She said, swirling her drink as she did, "I think I'll just stick with Percy."
Percy let out a soft smile as he turned back forward, "So that means we're friends?"
She squinted after him again, "Beg your pardon?"
"Well, I said my friends call me Percy, you said were not friends... yet..." He said, shifting his glass from side to side, "... Now you're calling me Percy, so I'm guessing..."
He turned back to her, his sea green eyes meeting her storm grey ones.
"...I'm.guessing that means we're friends."
She was silent for a moment, an agonizing moment, before she slowly shook her head, a slight smile spreading over her face.
"You're slick, you know that? Damn slick, Percy."
He gave her a shrug and a smile, "I try."
She let out a soft laugh at that, looking down at the ground before her eyes flicked back at his.
"Hey, do you... do you wanna get out of here?"
He felt his jaw tighten and his smile fade as those far too familiar words floated into his ears. He subconsciously rubbed his neck tattoo as he answered her.
"Y'know, the last time a girl asked me that..." He said, turning back to her with his hand still over his neck, "...it didn't exactly end well."
Her eyes widened as she caught what he was tossing.
"No no, I just meant... go outside for a walk or something. Talking to you is... well, pretty damn fun. I'd like to do it without all the bar noise."
Percy looked at her for a moment, before his eyes grazed back over to the pool table, back to Luke who was still chatting up the girl who was paying him absolutely zero attention.
Annabeth followed his gaze and let her eyes settle on the group at the table, specifically the girl.
"Oh..." She said in a quiet tone, "... got your eyes on her?"
Percy shook his head, "Not her. Him."
Annabeth looked back over at the table and the blonde man that stood there, watching as he continued to desperately get the girls attention.
"Friend of yours?" She asked.
Percy clicked his tongue on his teeth, "You could say that."
Annabeth looked the man over, before she looked back at Percy, silently understanding what was going through his head as a smile pulled at her lips.
"I wouldnt worry." She said, drawing a glance from Percy, "I know her, Thalia. She's... let's just say she doesn't swing that way."
Percy let his glance become a look as his eyes widened a bit and he pulled his mouth into an o shape.
"In that case..." He said, slapping a wad of cash on the table, "...got any places in mind to talk?"
She let her smile spread over her face again.
"A couple."
In hindsight maybe Texas had gotten a little colder since Percy had died.
Annabeth was trying her best to hide it, walking along the sidewalks of halfblood with her flannel now buttoned up and her arms drawn over her chest, but every time a gust of wind blew in their direction he could see her tense up from it.
"You alright?" He asked her. She clenched her jaw to stop the chattering of her teeth.
"Never better." She grumbled back.
He let out a sigh and pulled his jacket off his shoulders, wordlessly slipping it over hers as she looked up at him in slight confusion.
"You sure?" She asked him, "It's freezing."
He shrugged and smiled all while wearing nothing but a white t shirt, "Cold never bothered me anyway."
She squinted at him as she slipped the jacket over her body and stuck her arms through the sleeves.
"Quoting frozen now, are we?"
His smile fell as he gave her a side eye.
"I don't know what that means."
He'd gaze snapped up to his, "You've never seen frozen?" She asked, in a tone more matter of fact than anything.
He shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets as his spurs clinked with every step.
"I don't watch a lot of movies."
She shook her head with a sigh, "Alright. I guess I know the first thing we're doing together, then."
He couldn't help the smile that spread over his face, "Planning a date now, are we?"
She put on a heavy frown as they crossed the street int he center of town together, "No, I don't believe I said date. Just... an activity."
He brought his hands up and rested them behind his head with a wider smile.
"An activity?"
"Yeah, an activity." She said, "Like what friends do, since we're friends now."
He let his smile pull a bit harder as they stopped at a crosswalk, hitting the button to turn on the walk signal.
"Is that what this is, miss Chase?" He asked, leaning towards her a bit with the slyest of grins, "An activity?"
She let a glare flick up to him as she pursed her lips, "Yes, this is as a matter of fact an activity, Mr..." She paused, realizing she didn't know his last name.
"Jackson." He said, noticing that the cross signal was on and walking across with her close in tow.
"Jackson?" She asked, "Sounds familiar..."
"I've got family here..." He quickly answered, "distant family, but... yeah."
She let her gaze wander back up to his face, finding it hard not to stare now that he was lost in his thoughts and wouldn't catch her. He was... certainly something. Sharp jaw, strong neck, cute face. Now that his jacket was off she could pretty damn clearly tell that he'd spent at least some time doing manual labor. At least from the look of those forearms she couldn't take her eyes off of...
She snapped back into focus when he loudly cleared his throat and glanced back at her, slipping his hands in his pockets as he did.
"So." He began, letting his eyes rest on her face, "Where are we going, anyways?"
Annabeth blinked as reality suddenly flinged itself back into her brain. Crap. She honestly had no idea where they were going. She'd really just been walking along and had hoped he wouldn't notice this was just an excuse to spend time with him.
"Uh... well we're..." She struggled to find an answer but stopped looking when she heard a soft chuckle from him.
"It alright, we don't gotta go nowhere." He said in his thick accent, turning back forward, "Just talking to you is the most fun I've had in months, honestly."
She couldn't help the blush that spread over her cheeks as a smile quickly followed. This guy, Percy Jackson. He was... well, he was certainly something.
"Y'know..." She said, drawing his gaze as her eyes flicked up to meet it, inadvertently making her heart pick up its pace.
"I don't think I've ever met a guy like you before."
He stopped. In his tracks, and Annabeth noticed. Watching as his hand almost subconsciously went up and rubbed over the tattoo he had on his neck, almost like her words had sparked a memory in his mind that he didn't want to have. She turned toward him, reaching out as a look of regret spread across her face.
"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"
He opened his mouth to answer, trying to force a smile, before his eyes drifted over and he realized where he was.
The motel. Somehow in their little trip they'd managed to make their way there. Back to the motel, the motel where he'd gone with Zoe, all those years ago.
He stared at the building, the dingy little one story structure that stretched down the road. He looked at the doors, at the lights over them, and at the numbers that sat on them, letting eyes work their way across them until he got to the number that was all too familiar to him.
Number 07.
He was focused on it, too focused on it, to the point where he really couldn't even make out Annabeth's voice as she spoke to him.
"Percy? Percy?"
He snapped from his fugue state and looked back at her, taking in her features as he felt reality creep back into his mind in the worst way possible.
He was here, at the same motel he'd been turned at, with a girl. A girl who, by all means, he could probably convince to go in that room with him. He'd slip that jacket off her shoulders, lift her chin to face him, press his frigid lips to hers. They'd kiss, they'd touch, he'd pull off her clothes and rip off his. One thing would lead to another, and he'd bury his fangs right into her-
No.
He stopped his thoughts right where they were and threw them aside all while Annabeth kept staring right into his eyes, a look in hers that held so much concern that it really hurt not to keep her with him forever.
Maybe she'd want that, though. Maybe she'd understand and accept that-
No.
He shook his head and cleared his throat, focusing back on her gaze as he gave her a gentle smile. Her face didn't change as she looked up at him.
"Percy... are you okay?"
He forced a grin, "Yeah, im okay." He said, before the smile fell from his face and he looked down. She was holding his hands, and God above hers were so warm.
He cleared his throat and let go of her palms, burying his right hand in his pocket while his left hand rubbed his tattoo.
"It's, uh... it's getting late." He said, flicking his eyes up to her, "And I get the feeling it's only gonna get colder."
She held his gaze for a moment before her eyes fell with very clear emotion. Disappointment.
"Oh... well, if you'd like your coat back..." She began, reaching up to pull it off, but he stopped her.
"No, it's alright." He said with a smile, "I think you need it more than me. Plus... it looks better on you anyways."
She blushed at his words as she looked up at him.
"You sure? It's a nice coat, Yknow." She said, zipping it back up as she spoke with a soft smile, "Not too sure when you'll get it back."
He smiled as he fished out his cell phone, a bootlegged scam fueled thing the Stolls had gotten him.
"How about you stick your number in this, and I'll let you know when I want it back."
She smiled as she took his phone, swiping to his contacts and putting in her name and number, before sending herself a text.
"So I can save your number too." She said to him as she handed back the phone.
He smiled again as he took it, pocketing it as he did, before the smile faded a bit.
"I'll uh... text you soon." He said as she turned away to leave. She shot him a look over her shoulder as she got farther away.
"Miss me already?" She called, to which he let out a chuckle.
"Maybe I do." He called back.
"Well... then maybe I'll text you tomorrow." She called back, as he let out a chuckle.
"Sure you'll get home safe? It's a long walk." He called to her.
"I'll catch a cab." She replied in a teasing tone.
He let out a soft chuckle, trying not to pay attention to how hard her heart was beating as he walked towards the bar.
Percy was in a good mood.
No, scratch that, good didn't cover it. He was in a terrific mood. He'd started the night thinking he'd just be playing bodyguard to whatever poor broad Luke decided to rip open that night and instead spent it having one of the best, most comfortable, nicest conversations he'd had in... shit, probably the last twenty, if not thirty years.
He slipped his phone out of his pocket, admittedly taking a bit longer than any other 22 year old man would to get to his texts, but then again he wasn't any 22 year old man, was he? Phones had only gotten... smaller, and with more things on them, and it had already taken Percy a good five years to figure out a blackberry before Travis had stuck an iPhone in his hand calling it the "new hotness".
He really hated how old those twins made him feel.
He swiped through his apps, eventually landing on his text tab and clicking the number at the top. The number that had already been listed as Annabeth and had already been sent a text.
Friend :)
He couldn't help but smile at that.
He walked back to the bar with a pep in his step, his spurs clinking eagerly as he softly kicked his legs out in front of him. Shit he was even whistling, and he never whistled. Zoe always hated the sound of it, even though-
He froze in place, and all of a sudden reality came crashing back into picture. Zoe. The clan. His life. Him.
All of a sudden that number in his phone made his pocket feel a lot heavier, and the feeling he'd felt in his cold, dead heart made it feel like it weighed down in his chest.
He realized he was stupid. His thoughts, however loose they were, just barely stringing together what could be discerned as emotion, were a pointless waste of time.
Why bother getting excited over this girl, Annabeth. Sure she was sweet, sure she was kind, sure she made him feel a way he hadn't felt in years, but what was the point? He'd be gone in a few years anyways, off to some new town before people could realize he wasn't aging and then it'd just be him, and the clan, and Zoe again.
Sure he could turn her, but that wasn't an option for him, and never would be.
He sighed, stuffing his hands deep in his pockets as his steps suddenly had less pep, his smile fell from his face, and his whistling stopped. He felt a different feeling now, one that had waited until Annabeth was well and out of his presence before it reared its ugly head.
Loneliness.
He shook his thoughts away as he approached the bar, taking note of how there weren't any more vehicles parked outside, besides his bike and Luke's truck. He grimaced at the sight of Luke's vehicle, knowing that either meant a girl had taken him home or he was having his meal in an alley behind the bar.
Percy sighed as he walked up to the building and wrapped around the back, and sure enough there was Luke.
With his hands wrapped around the throat of the kid from the pool table.
Percy admittedly froze for a second, not really.expecting what he saw, before a slight frown tugged at his lips.
"What're you doing, Luke."
The blond man sneered, at the boy he was choking and Percy too somehow, as his grip tightened around the young man's throat.
"He scared em off, Percy. The girls."
Percy shook his head as he walked towards the man, "Luke, what the fuck are you talking about?"
Luke's expression didn't change, "I said the little queer scared em off, Jackson." Luke said, his voice sharpening at the word, "Made em think I was one of em."
Percy felt a scowl all his own tug at his lips as he watched the colour start to fade from the boys face.
"Luke. He's a townie. You know damn well better than this."
Luke shook his head, "I don't give a shit, Jackson." He said as the boys eyes fluttered closed and Luke's fangs came out, "Maybe he'll do for a good appetizer before I go find a proper meal, like that blondie you were chatting up at the bar."
Percy felt something snap, right in his mind. Something that made him whip his fist out into Luke's jaw, sending him flying back into the wall of the bar as the boy fell from his hands. Percy gently caught him, laying him on the ground before turning to Luke, who grumbled as he tried to sit up.
"Fuck you think you're doing, Jackson? You outta your-"
He couldn't finish as Percy grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up and slamming him intot he wall of the pub, cracking the brick as he did.
"We're you not paying attention in the house you dumb sack o' shit?" Percy snapped, his accent coating his words like a thick sauce, "Did I not say no townies? The hell you think is gonna happen if some kid goes missing, Luke?"
Luke grumbled, lifting his head to catch Percy's gaze.
"Fuck you know about anything, Jackson?"
Percy felt a sneer tug at his lips, "Enough that I know if you didn't have me, your ass would be serving a life sentence in Idaho right now. One that you damn well know would never end."
Luke was quiet for a moment as Percy's words sparked a memory in his mind, before he shrugged Percy's hands off him and stormed off. Probably to find some lady of the night, like Luke always did when he struck out.
Percy sighed and shook his head as he watched Luke hop in his truck and peel off, before he turned back to the kid who was running his hands over his throat as he struggled to catch his breath.
Percy watched him for a moment before he sighed again and walked over to the boy, towering over him as he laid on the floor.
"What're you doing here, kid?"
The boy looked up at him from his position on the ground, his hair falling over his eyes as he stared up at Percy. He was skinny, a lot skinnier than that leather bomber had let on when Percy had first seen him. The kid looked down.
"I was just... hanging out with some friends..." He mumbled. Percy put his hands on his hips, toeing a rock away from his boot as his spurs jiggled.
"You mean the punk? Choppy black hair? Blue eyes?"
The boy nodded, "She had some family shit to get to, left me here..." Nico looked up in dhe direction Luke had drove off in, "...thought he was into me..."
Percy shook his head with a sigh, "Kid, there's exactly three things Luke's into." He held up his hand, "Guns, cheap liquor, and loose women..." He said, extending a finger with every selection, before he leaned towards the kid a bit, "... in that order..."
The kid let out a sigh from the floor, "Well silly me, then..."
"Yeah, well..." Percy stuck his hand out to the kid, "... you live and you learn."
The kid was unmoving for a second as he stared up at Percy. Percy gave him a soft smile.
"Don't worry, kid. I don't bite... much."
The kid let a small smile spread across his face as he grabbed Percy's hand and let him haul him up to his feet.
Percy dusted him off, slapping his shoulders to get the alley grime off his coat.
"Nice jacket." Percy commented, "Where'd you get it?"
The kid tightened it over his chest, "My sister."
Percy let out a nod, "Think she can come pick you up?"
The kids face fell a bit and he let his gaze drop.
"She's... not around anymore."
There was a moment of silence as Percy figured out his words, before Percy brought his hand up and clapped it on the kids shoulder.
"Sorry to hear about that, kid."
The boy steadied himself, letting gaze flick back up to Percy's with a slight frown.
"Y'know, you're not even that much older than me. You're what, 22? Im 18, can't really say it's fair to call me kid."
Percy let out a sigh as the kid commented on his age. If only you knew, he thought to himself.
"Alright then, kid. What's your name?"
The boy was silent for a moment, Percy let out a soft sigh as he took a step back.
"Look, I ain't gonna call you a queer or something. That's Luke's bullshit, won't ever be mine."
The boy held his stance for another moment as Percy stuck his hand out, before a smile pulled at his lips and he reached out his hand, tightly gripping his palm as he gave it a shake.
"I'm Nico." He said, "Nico DiAngelo."
Percy smiled as the kid gripped his frigid hand, "Nice to meet you Nico. I'm Perseus. Perseus Jackson"
Nico let out a small frown, "Bit of a mouthful, mind if I call you Percy?"
Percy opened his mouth a bit, before he closed it into a smile, "Sure thing... kid."
Nico flicked a glare in his direction as Percy's smile grew a little. Percy shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked over his shoulder.
"Got an address you can give me? Cuz I got space on my bike for two, and I can take you home, but I like to know where I'm going."
Nico looked down as he shoved his own hands in his pockets.
"I... I don't."
Percy turned back to the kid, taking note of his body language as a sad smile pulled over his mouth.
"Little young to be a drifter, aren't you?"
Nico didn't move his head, he just kept his gaze pointed at his shoes as Percy sighed. For a second, he considered taking him to the den. By all means, the kid was perfect. Young, no family, and from the type of small town where kids like him, the drifting kind, the ones with nowhere to run and nowhere to go, probably disappeared all the time. Percy could just give him two punch marks in his neck and-
No.
Percy shook the thoughts from his head as new ones took their place.
"Look, if you don't got anywhere to go... I know a place." Percy said, a sad expression pulling at his lips as a certain memory nestled it's way into his brain.
Nico looked up at him, a small smile spreading over his face.
"You do?"
Percy nodded, "Yeah," Before a sarcastic frown pulled over his face, "But I best not feel anything poking my back while we ride, alright?"
Nico let out a quiet laugh as he let his gaze rise back to Percy again. "I wouldnt worry... you ain't my type, Percy."
Percy let out a small smirk, "No, I get the feeling your type is blondes, ain't it?"
Nico blushed a little as he glared at Percy.
"Yeah, well... so is yours, considering how you were chatting up Annabeth."
He caught him, and he probably knew it. If Percy were physically capable of blushing, he would be right now.
"You know her?" He asked the kid as he led him to his bike.
Nico nodded, "All my life, practically. She's... certainly something."
Percy let a small smile spread over his lips, "Yeah, you're damn right about that." He said absent mindedly, drawing a snicker from Nico. He snapped a soft glare at the boy who held his hands up in mock surrender, drawing a smile from Percy yet again.
They got to his bike and Percy hopped on, throwing his leg over the hog as he held up the helmet for Nico. The boy hesitated.
"You sure?" He asked, to which Percy gave him a grin.
"Yeah. Can't have you flying off and dying, now can I?"
Nico was silent, before a smile pulled at his lips and he took the helmet, strapping it over his head and hopping on Percy's bike.
He grabbed the seat behind him before Percy sighed and shot a look over his shoulder. Nico softly smiled before he wrapped his hands around Percy's midsection, holding tight as Percy started the bike.
"So where are we going, anyways?" Nico shouted over the engine, "Hope it's not that shithole next to Annabeth's... no offense." He added as Percy glared ahead of him.
"No." He said in a cold, strained voice, slipping out the bike stand, "We're going to... an old friend."
With that, he peeled out. His bike driving them both away from the bar, away from town, and out into the darkness.
There we go.
Feeling good in this one, feeling like it's coming together well. Sorry for the queer thing by the way. Villains say villainous things.
Shoutout to all the early reviews. I see some familiar faces from Godless land in there, and I'm glad you guys are still reading even though it's not what you might expect after that.