PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || The Prince of Pluto || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: The Prince of Pluto – A Journey to the Stars

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus

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: m/m, scifi AU, aliens, alpha/beta/omega dynamics, hurt/comfort, fluff, pining, explicit intercourse, oral, anal, knotting, f/f, m/f, polyamory (m/m/f)

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Reyna/Annabeth, Nyssa/Piper, Octavian/Luke, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Frank/Hazel/Leo, Jason/Calypso, Grover/Juniper, Charles/Silena, Chris/Clarisse, Malcolm/Katie, Bryce/Drew, Paul/Sally, Tristan/Beryl, Maria/Marie, Hades/Persephone, Poseidon/Amphitrite, Thanatos/Triton

Percy Jackson Characters: (by planet/asteroid of origin)

Sun: Will Solace, Octavian Simmons, Austin Lake, Kayla Knowles
Mercury: Luke Castellan, Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Cecil Markowitz
Venus: Piper McLean, Silena Beauregard, Michael Kahale, Drew Tanaka, Mitchell, Lacy
Earth: Perseus Jackson, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Ella, Ethan Nakamura, Tyson, Sally Jackson, Paul Blofis, Tristan McLean, Beryl Grace, Maria di Angelo, Marie Levesque
Moon: Calypso Nightshade, Zoe Nightshade, Phoebe
Mars: Clarisse la Rue, Frank Zhang
Vesta: Charles Beckendorf, Leo Valdez, Jake Mason, Nyssa Barrera
Pallas: Annabeth Chase, Malcolm Pace
Bellona: Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Hylla Ramírez-Arellano
Ceres: Katie Gardner, Miranda Gardner, Juniper
Jupiter: Jason Grace, Thalia Grace
Saturn: Kronos (King)
Chiron: Chiron, Grover Underwood, Gleeson Hedge
Uranus: Gaia (Queen), the Giants
Neptune: Poseidon (King), Amphitrite (Queen), Triton, Proteus, Kymopoleia, Benthesikyme, Rhode
Orcus: Bryce Lawrence
Pluto: Nico di Angelo, Bianca di Angelo, Hazel Levesque, Mrs. O'Leary, Small Bob, Hades (King), Persephone (Queen), Thanatos, Olethros, Makaria, Melinoe
Eris: Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen Blackstone

Summary: The moon-landing had changed the course of history when human made first contact. It opened Earth up to space-travel, exploring the solar system and their now allied planets. Chiron Academy is the leading high school training future space explorers.

Percy Jackson grew up dreaming of one day traveling the stars. When he gets into the academy, he makes a lot of new friends, among them his new crush the half-Plutonian Nico.

Things change when Nico confides in his friends that he is actually the prince of Pluto – and that Pluto is in the middle of a horrible war. Together, the group of their close friends, they decide to ditch school, steal a space-ship and go out into space alone and unsupervised to help.

The Prince of Pluto

A Journey to the Stars

Chapter 6: The Princess of Neptune

"I'm so proud of you. I mean, I always knew you would be fine. I always said that, right Marie?"

"Always, from day one", assured Marie amused, not looking up from her plate.

Nico was blushing and trying to squirm out of Maria's hands. She was squeezing his face and peppering his cheeks with proud kisses. At home, this would be fine. But in the cafeteria at his school, where he had a reputation to uphold...?

"Maria! Marie! It's so good to see you, ladies!"

Finally, Maria let go of him to instead hug the woman who was approaching them. Jason's parents, his mother Beryl Grace and his stepfather Tristan McLean. Considering that Bianca and Thalia had been friends since basically their first week at the academy, Nico had seen their parents a couple of times already. Beryl was one of their best friends by now. Jason was cackling at Nico.

"You do know that you have a huge lipstick stain on your cheek yourself, right?", asked Nico.

He stared unimpressed, while Jason blushed and started rubbing at his cheek furiously. Jason was closely followed by his sisters, Thalia and Piper arguing among themselves.

"Our boys are roommates", sighed Maria pleased. "Look at them."

Both Nico and Jason rolled their eyes at their moms. Nico smiled faintly as they all sat down together at the table. The exams were over and to celebrate the end of the semester, before the two week break, parents were invited to tour the campus, eat and talk and make connections.

"Hey, guys. Uh. The cafeteria is kinda full, you think we can sit with you?"

Immediately, Nico perked up when Percy and his parents approached them. He quickly pushed Jason out of the way before the blonde could take the seat right next to Nico. Huffing offended, Jason scooted over, allowing Percy to sit with them.

"Oh. You must be the di Angelos", whispered Percy as he looked at Nico's moms. "I'm Percy. Percy Jackson. It's such a pleasure to meet you, ma'ams. Nico talks a lot about you."

"Percy", stated Marie and got up, looking him up and down. "That Percy? The one you talk about nonstop, with the cute smile and them dimples? Oh, I can see that smile."

Nico groaned and covered his face with his hands, sinking down in his chair more. He had never mentioned having an actual crush on Percy, but apparently every time he talked to his moms about school, he accidentally ended up talking about Percy. Not that he meant to.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Percy. Nico told us all about his friends and you seem to be a very important friend to our son", offered Maria with a polite smile.

"And... who's that?", asked Percy curiously when he noted there was one more person.

"Hey, I'm Hazel. The sister, well, the other sister. Younger sister. I'm going to start the academy next year", offered Hazel with a smile, reaching a hand out for Percy to shake.

"Oh, that's cool", grinned Percy as he shook it.

Nico watched with dread how his moms got acquainted with Percy's parents, praying that Marie was not going to expose him and his crush. He awkwardly sank down lower in his chair. Even more so when he noticed just how much Maria kept staring at Percy, very intensely so. Even while the parents talked among themselves – most questions directed toward Paul, since he was a teacher.

"Does... one of your moms not like me much?", asked Percy softly. "She keeps staring at me."

"I... honestly don't know", admitted Nico with a shrug.

"No, sweetie, that's not why I'm staring at you. And I'm sorry, I do know better than to stare."

Feeling caught, Percy turned toward Maria. "Uhm so... what's the staring about then...?"

"It's been a while since I last saw a Neptunian, I suppose it makes me feel nostalgic."

Maria laughed at it, like she was feeling sheepish. However, her laughter and Marie's soft chuckle at it were the only sounds as Bianca, Thalia, Piper and Nico all turned to stare at Percy. Sally nearly dropped her fork at it, before she held onto it more tightly.

"I'm not... I...", started Percy before he faltered. "I'm... Neptunian...?"

"What kind of question is that?", laughed Maria confused, exchanging a look with her wife.

Sally cleared her throat and put her cutlery down. "This is not... necessarily something I discuss with people on the first meeting, but... we don't know about his father's background."

"Oh", whispered Maria as she sobered up. "So you do not know you're Neptunian?"

"I... H... How do you know?", asked Percy and looked up at her.

"Oh, it's all in the eyes", replied Maria with a smile, waving at her own eyes.

Nico frowned confused at that, turning from his mom toward Percy. He knew that Plutonians – aside from their wings – had their eyes. Silver, nearly liquid, irises and black eyeballs. Slowly, Nico leaned in closer to look at Percy's eyes. He knew Percy had pretty eyes, unique eyes, but...

"They move", whispered Nico stunned, jerking back some.

Percy yelped a little when he was gently yanked into the other direction so his mother could look him closely in the eyes. She gasped softly, a nearly vulnerable quality to the look on her face.

"They didn't do that last month", stated Sally quite firmly. "They... how long have they...?"

"I dunno? I don't even know what you guys are talking about. It's not like I spent a lot of time staring into my own eyes. Or having someone else stare into my eyes like that", huffed Percy.

"The color in your eyes, it shifts. Not like Piper's with the rainbow colors and all, but like mine. Like liquid", explained Nico, motioning wildly with his hands. "The blue and the green, they move around and clash, like waves crashing inside of your eyes, making the turquoise of them shift between very dark and very light, very green and very blue. It's like-"

"Like you have the ocean in your eyes", supplied Maria, a patient smile on her lips. "That's it. That's the... most prominent trait about Neptunians, the one you can't hide. They can change their skin, but not their eyes. And while they vary – between green and blue, not everyone has the exact same shade of eyes, naturally – they all look like the ocean captured in an orb."

"Well, that solves that mystery", grunted Jason stunned. "Neptunian, huh."

"Now I feel stupid", sighed Piper and leaned forward. "Like, eighty percent of your diet is Neptunian food. It feels like we should have been able to piece that together ourselves. And the swimming! You got me and everyone else beat at that. Neptunians are the best swimmers in the solar system. That really should have given it away..."

All Nico could focus on was the dazed Percy next to him. Was he going to be okay with all of this?

"Perce?", whispered Nico gently, resting a hand on his arm. "You alright? Do you need a minute? Come on, let's go outside, get some fresh air, mh?"

Percy nodded sharply, blinking rapidly as he let Nico lead him out of the cafeteria building. As soon as they were outside, Percy sank down against a wall, taking shaky breaths and trying to blink away tears, by the look of it. Carefully, Nico knelt down in front of Percy.

"How are you holding up? Need me to get something, or someone?", asked Nico gently.

"No. No, I just... I just need a minute", whispered Percy and closed his eyes.

"Wanna be alone, or is it okay if I sit with you?"

"Stay", requested Percy, his fingers digging into the sleeve of Nico's leather-jacket.

Smiling a little at the action, Nico came to sit down next to Percy. They stayed out there in companionable silence for a couple of minutes, just people watching. Percy's breathing slowed down and he looked more collected after a while. He didn't let go of Nico's wrist though.

"I don't know why I reacted like I just did", muttered Percy, sounding frustrated. "I mean, it's nothing, right? I just... I don't know, my father was always just a name. Just one name and that was it. I used to picture him looking like John Travolta, you know."

"...I'd love to hear that", prodded Nico, grinning amused.

"Just something about the story, how mom told it, I guess", shrugged Percy. "You ever seen Grease? It's kind of like that. Was supposed to be just a summer fling, only that my parents didn't magically meet again to live out their epic romance. It stayed a summer fling and the only thing my mom took home from it was, well, me. But yeah, that's the picture I always had in my head."

"He was hot in that movie", offered Nico after a moment, making Percy laugh.

Which was at least worth something, right? Carefully, he slipped his hand free from Percy's grasp so he could properly take Percy's hand, linking their fingers. There was a blush on Percy's cheeks, but instead of pulling away, he just closed his eyes and leaned his head against Nico's shoulder.

"At least you now know where you came from. Can prepare for what to expect, for yourself."

/break\

Their second semester was about to start and Nico had a huge problem. Mainly that he was head over heels in love with Percy Jackson, but also that he had a gaggle of friends now. He had been so determined not to make any friends. Sit through the academy to get the qualifications he needed to leave the planet and actually also be useful once he left, not just some spoiled prince who had never seen a day's worth of honest work before in his life.

Instead he was stupidly invested in Jason's love-life – Jason had visited the Nightshade family during their two week break, Calypso officially introducing him to her parents and grandparents. Grandpa Bob was apparently a huge fan of Jason already. He valued Reyna and Annabeth in a similar way that he did with his sisters; the two had become maybe his closest friends here. And even outside of that weird group that was forming around Percy – and yes, definitely around Percy, because he was the one who had orchestrated them to try and gather a team together – Nico had made friends all on his own. Alabaster Torrington, Ethan Nakamura and Will Solace.

Ethan was Terran, while Alabaster was from Eris – the neighboring planet of Pluto. Both were betas, their worlds not having secondary genders. Will however, Will was an omega. Well, so was Annabeth so it wasn't that special – but unlike Annabeth, Will doubled down on the nurturing and fussing side that being an omega occasionally brought with it (Nico could not for the life of him picture Annabeth being nurturing). Sometimes, it was a little overbearing. However, Will was also specializing in healing – and that had pleased Percy very much. It was genuinely scary at times how Percy really did plan this whole thing through. A good scary though, because it was working for them. They had created a system, they relied on each other and they got each other through the academy together, compared to many others in their year who were struggling.

"What are we even doing here?", groaned Alabaster. "We all got no talent for this anyway."

"That's exactly what we're doing here, babe", pointed Ethan out, nudging his boyfriend softly.

Apparently, the two of them had gotten together over the break. Nico had only been mildly surprised by that; many in their year had started pairing up over the last two months of the first semester. And it made sense, in a way. New environment, new challenges, new friends, all that change made many feel like they needed some more change in their life.

"We're mainly here so Will can drool all over Jake", corrected Nico after a beat.

Will hissed – genuinely hissed; Solarians were very snake-like – and slapped him on the arm. Jake Mason was one of the Vestans, also known as 'top of the class in mechanics'. While Nico, Will, Ethan and Alabaster... sucked at it. Nico wasn't good with technology in general, Will was more into biological life-forms than mechanical ones, Alabaster hated that technology was immune to his magic and Ethan just had two left hands. However, everyone was required to have the most basic know-how to understand the workings of the ship and understand the most common and easily fixable problems themselves; one never knew in what situations they may end up where their mechanic was out of commission or they were stranded on another planet all on their own.

"Hey, you guys. There you are. Okay, so I asked Nyssa and Beckendorf to help out because... I'm not really that good at explaining stuff? You okay with that?"

Will was nodding very wildly, his long, blonde hair bouncing in the little bun he wore it in. Nico snorted amused. At the very least he could control himself around Percy and didn't make that much of a fool of himself... right? Oh gods, he hoped so.

"Wait. Aren't those three the ones who blew up that glider last semester?", asked Nyssa slowly.

"I... I mean... that was... an accident?", offered Nico sheepishly.

Him, Alabaster and Ethan looked appropriately chastised while the three Vestans got everything set up. Nico straightened up. He was ready to get a head-start for this semester. He wanted to do better. Less struggle. He wanted to prove something. Prove that he was worthy of being a part of that team Percy was putting together, because it was going to be an excellent team and Nico wanted to be a part of it – together with Percy, Jason, Grover, Reyna, Annabeth, Piper and Rachel.

/break\

Percy sighed softly as he settled into his seat of the one class he cared about the most in his second semester. Even though, at the same time, he also kind of really didn't want to be here. He startled when the seats on either side of him were suddenly being occupied. Turning to one side, he saw Nico and Piper, while on his other side were Grover and Annabeth. They were followed by Jason and Calypso, holding hands as they walked past them to sit in the row behind, together with Juniper, Reyna and Rachel. Percy blinked a couple of times. He had never had a class with all of them.

"W... What are you all doing here?", asked Percy confused. "Didn't you wanna take Saturn this semester, Annabeth? And I know you wanted to take Solarian History, Rach."

"Perce. You just learned that you're half-Neptunian like three weeks ago", offered Grover, nudging Percy a little. "We got your back. We're gonna be here for you while you learn about... yourself. We're ready to learn with you. We all had the privilege of learning about the history of our home-planets and our heritage from our families. Not in some classroom, but lived history. And if you can't have that, then you'll at least have us at your side, okay?"

"Like you always say. We're a team", agreed Annabeth, an honest but serious look on her face.

Percy bit his lips to keep from saying anything sappy. He shuffled a little, nudging Grover next to him softly in gratitude. Smiling faintly, Percy felt himself relax a little more.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Miss Rhode, I'll be your teacher for Neptunian History 101."

In came a blonde woman with glasses. She had a sunny smile on her lips as she approached the board and wrote strange letters on it. It took Percy a moment before he realized it must be Neptunian. Perking up a little, Percy grabbed his pen, sure he was going to take a lot of notes.

"Y'all know what qualifies me for this job? Not a trick question, a genuine one."

"You're... Neptunian?", offered Percy carefully after a moment.

He was sitting in the first row, the closest to their teacher. He could see her eyes from this distance – and if that was what his dad's eyes looked like, then Percy started to understand why his mom was so hung-up on them in particular. They were vibrant, even without leaning in real close, Percy could see the glowing sea-green. His own were in the middle of changing, supposedly – he was still a couple months off from formally presenting, apparently. But hers? That glow.

"Yes, gold-star for the boy in blue", confirmed Miss Rhode with a bright smile. "I'm not just Neptunian though. I'm Princess Rhodessa, fourth born heir of King Poseidon Enosichthon and Queen Amphitrite Cyanopis of Neptune."

There was loud murmuring at that. Percy just stared at her in surprise. He had never met royalty before and now he was supposed to be taught by one? He furrowed his brows a little.

"So what does qualify a princess to be a teacher?", asked Annabeth. "No disrespect intended."

"No, it's a fair question", laughed Miss Rhode. "As I just said, I'm the fifth born. I'm quite far removed from being heir to the throne, I'm not a warrior like my brothers and one of my sisters. I'm a scholar, have always been. Buried in the books, neck deep in the history of my people. I came to Earth for uncle Chiron – Mister Brunner, he was a scholar my parents had hired for me and my siblings to learn about the galaxy when we were little. When I heard he was building a school, I wanted to be a part of it. It felt like something I could genuinely contribute to, much more useful than sitting on a throne and looking pretty."

Percy stared at her in utter fascination. A real princess. For him, who he had grown up on Disney movies, this felt somehow in a very silly way like a fairy tale. And she did give off some major Belle vibes. In that kind and reassuring manner. Percy was looking forward to learning more about his own heritage from her, as jarring as that felt.

"While you're gonna learn most about physiology in your biology classes, one big thing I want to address – and open this class up with – is our natural shapeshifting ability. I know that the majority of you have probably never met a Neptunian before in person; Earth is not necessarily the number one immigration destination for Neptunians. Now, our shapeshifting is different from that of say a Venusian, who can shift into any humanoid race. Neptunians, we look like this, normally." She took a twirl, showing how much she looked like any other human. "However, we're natural predators. Maybe the most dangerous ones this solar system has to offer."

Some Martians huffed; their physical strength far outdoing anyone else. But Miss Rhode twirled again and when she faced them once more, she had changed. Her skin was covered in a thin layer of fur – yellow tiger-striped – when she smiled, she bared strong fangs.

"We may not be the fastest, like Mercurians. We may not be the strongest, like Martians. However, we are both land and sea predators. We're the fastest swimmers. We can endure extreme cold, freezing temperatures even. The fur for warmth and speed in water. Our reflexes are top-notch."

Percy would have fallen out of his chair, if not for both Nico and Grover reflexively reaching out for Percy's chair to stop it from falling over backward. Percy knew, in theory, about this. Even the fur. But seeing it? Actually seeing it live, like this?

"I'll be able to do that too", whispered Percy, swallowing hard. "Will I?"

"Depends on how much of your heritage comes through", whispered Nico back. "You will be Neptunian to a certain degree. We'll have to wait and see."

"Would I be yellow too?", asked Percy doubtfully. "I don't think that's my color."

"...Really? That's his take-away from this?", grunted Annabeth and shook her head.

"If the first row could maybe tune it down some", requested Miss Rhode, sounding mildly amused.

"Uh... sorry, I... I just freaked out a little bit?", offered Percy sheepishly.

"Oh, no worries. I'm used to shocking poor Terrans", laughed Miss Rhode.

"No. I'm... h... half-Neptunian. I freaked out at the idea of being able to do that too."

And that was it. That was actually the first time he had said it aloud. He hadn't put it to words yet, not outside of his own head. But he was. He was half-Neptunian. His eyes widened at the way that had tasted on his tongue. He turned a little when Nico reached out to take his hand and squeeze it.

"Oh! Oh, I didn't know there were any Neptunians in this grade!", exclaimed Miss Rhode excited.

"Neither did we until like three weeks ago", offered Jason nonchalantly.

"...Oh", whispered Miss Rhode, now looking concerned. "Well, if it's like that. If... you want to talk, or have any questions that exceed our curriculum, please know my door's always open, Mister..."

"Jackson. Percy Jackson, ma'am", supplied Percy quickly.

"Percy Jackson", echoed Miss Rhode with a smile. "Well now, let's get started with class."

She turned back to her human-looking form and turned her back on them to continue writing notes on the board as she started talking. The same intro like Paul last semester, really. How Neptune was pulled into the middle of a a war with Saturn, though a cold war for centuries now. Percy eagerly took notes, far more than in any other class, soaking up everything the princess had to offer.


Author's note: New semester, new classes! Now let's see how well Percy and his new teacher get along ;)