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 14: News
It was Sunday morning and Percy woke up in Nico's arms. The sun was tickling his nose, birds were chiming above. It was the perfect morning. Percy smiled as he turned to nose Nico's neck. They had another flight/run last night, but this time, they had come farther than usual, so in the end their group had decided to crash in a clearing. When Percy rolled over, he found Bianca and Hazel cuddled up to each other, the older di Angelo having her wings around her little sister.
"Good morning, Percy! Do you wanna go for a swim?"
Blinking, Percy looked past the di Angelos to see a wide-awake Tyson sitting together with Ella Dare. Ella was adorable. She was also Rachel's younger cousin. It showed in the bright, red hair the most, Percy though. The two were very close, it was cute to see Rachel help Ella with her studies and encourage the younger, because Ella was struggling with the more physical aspects of school.
"Morning, you two", greeted Percy as he slowly sat up and stretched far. "A... swim?"
"Yes! We found a lake around the corner when we were looking for breakfast. Also we found breakfast", declared Ella with a bright smile, her red wings twitching.
"...Berries and bark?", asked Percy dryly.
"Doughnuts and scones", countered Ella, lifting a bag up. "There's a gas station not far ahead."
"O—Oh, that sounds way better", groaned Percy relieved. "Okay, a doughnut and then a swim."
"I bought you a blue one, I know you like blue food", declared Tyson proudly.
It had been admittedly a little weird when Tyson had immediately latched onto him when they had first met and for the first part, it had felt a bit overwhelming to have this kid adore him like that. But by now, after months of getting to know Tyson, Percy had to admit that he had started to look at Tyson as a little brother too. He had always wanted siblings, after all.
"The run on land is always a great exercise, but it leaves you antsy for... more", offered Percy as he finished off his doughnut. "We are meant to race in water, not air."
Tyson nodded wildly and he eagerly followed as Percy got up. The two of them walked over toward what was indeed a beautiful small lake. Eagerly, they stripped down to their underwear and jumped in. It was strange, how much being engulfed in water felt like being home. It soothed and relaxed Percy, it made him feel stronger and more confident. Things that seemed like problems he had to deal with outside the water seemed so small when he was in here, like all the answers were right in front of him and he could solve any problem. He smiled as he saw the fishes swim below. Mh, a doughnut had been a nice start into the day but now he really craved fish. His eyes narrowed on one particularly delicious looking specimen. Nice, big. Enough for him and his alpha. Percy loved how happy Nico always got when Percy brought him food, all proud of his omega's hunting abilities.
He smiled victoriously as he emerged from the water with his prey between his fangs.
"You are really good at this!", exclaimed Tyson excitedly.
Percy laughed as he put the fish down at the shore. "You... have a whole lot of energy. You need to learn to calm down and focus during your hunt, that's all. You'll learn it too."
Smiling, Percy turned to watch Tyson for a bit. Tyson's fur was hazel, without a pattern. Part of Percy was a bit envious that Tyson already had all of that, while Percy had to wait for so long to present and had to learn everything from scratch. The other part, the bigger part, felt bad for Tyson, because Ty had always felt different and always been alone with that. For Percy, the otherness had only come when he already had a support-system and even someone else to mentor him. Tyson, he had grown up in orphanages, all alone, the only Neptunian around, no guidance.
"Race me around the lake?", requested Tyson hopefully.
"Mh... Loser buys lunch tomorrow?", suggested Percy with a broad grin.
Tyson laughed in agreement as the two started swimming. They raced around five, six times, before they called it a draw and sank down onto the bottom of the lake. Both laid with their arms and legs sprawled out, staring up out into the sky through the lake's sparkly surface. Percy loved the view from the bottom of a lake, it gave him such a unique perspective of the world. After resting for a little bit, Percy rolled onto his stomach and started running his fingers through the sand.
"What are you doing, Percy?", asked Tyson confused.
"Looking for something shiny", declared Percy. "Pretty rock. Shell. Sea glass. Love sea glass."
"Hu—uh. Whatcha gonna do with it? Just collect because it's pretty?", asked Tyson.
"For Nico! Well. And collecting. Ever since I presented, I've really enjoyed collecting shiny things I find at the bottom of lakes and rivers. It seems to be instinctual", replied Percy. "I... don't know if Nico really appreciates getting random rocks? But so far he hasn't complained."
Percy grinned pleased as he found one that he liked. It was nearly pitch-black and nicely smooth. Nico was going to like this one. The omega grabbed it and then motioned for Tyson to follow him back up to the surface so they could return to the others. They wouldn't be staying too long at the clearing either – even though Percy, Tyson and Ella had been the first ones awake.
/break\
Jason grinned amused to himself as his roommate returned home with yet another random stone. The look on Nico's face alone was amazing, he looked so proud. Humming to himself, Nico got the wooden box out from beneath his bed. It was gorgeous, with intricate carvings.
"Okay, I gotta ask. What's with that rock-collection? Is that a Plutonian-thing?", asked Jason.
He sat up on his bed, watching Nico. The Plutonian furrowed his brows in confusion, before he understood what Jason was talking about. Laughing softly to himself, Nico got up to sit down next to Jason on the bed, holding the open box so Jason could see the contents.
"It's a Neptunian-thing, not a Plutonian-thing", replied Nico softly.
"...What?", grunted Jason confused. "What... does that even mean?"
"I have been getting these from Percy. It's... courting", explained Nico, blushing faintly. "On Neptune, the omega courts the alpha, with precious stones they find. These... are what Percy deems precious stones on Earth. And... he's... he's been picking them for me and giving them to me."
"Oh. Holy shit. Isn't courting like a big deal? I mean, I don't know anyone who is courting! We're like seventeen, isn't that too young to be engaged?", sputtered Jason. "And it's so sudden-"
"Breathe, Grace", interrupted Nico with an eye-roll. "It's not like that. Courting... Courting is more like... a show of your... feelings for the other. Courting can last for years. And it doesn't have to lead to a matebond – I mean, like an engagement doesn't have to lead to marriage, but still it's... it's different. It just... It means that Percy is developing very serious feelings for me, that he is... thinking of me when he sees something he deems precious and wants me to have it."
"That... does sound nice", hummed Jason, offering a lopsided grin. "Daw."
"Don't get like that", warned Nico pointedly. "Don't be cheesy."
"But you guys are so—o cu—ute", cooed Jason with a snicker.
"Urgh. I hate you", grunted Nico and grabbed the pillow in an attempt to smother Jason.
"Hey, stop trying to murder me-", yelped Jason as he dodged Nico.
Nico simply smirked and opted to hit Jason repeatedly with the pillow. How had he ended up here? With a dorky best friend, with a cute boyfriend who was courting him, just... being happy...?
"So—o, what are you going to do?", asked Jason curiously when they ceased fire.
Both were exhausted and their hair was a mess as they came to collapse on Jason's bed next to each other. "Huh...? What do you mean what am I going to do?"
"Well. I mean. What's Plutonian courting like? If Percy is courting you, shouldn't like... you be courting him back, or... how does that work? Jupiter kind of doesn't do courting", asked Jason.
"I... don't really know. Most of our courting rituals are... avian", sighed Nico frustrated.
"...Heh?", grunted Jason, blinking a couple times.
"There is the courting dance, which is performed airborne. It's... you fly with each other. Can't do that because Percy doesn't have wings. We would groom each other's wings. Which. Again. Can't do that because Percy doesn't have wings. We would create things with... feathers. Ornaments, jewelry. Made from both our feathers. Which..."
"Yeah, yeah, I am starting to sense a theme here", sighed Jason, waving his hands. "So what, you guys don't have courting rituals that don't involve feathers and wings?"
"I don't know", muttered Nico frustrated. "Maria and Marie are both airborne, they courted the classic way. My... birth mother, she is... she is from Ceres, she doesn't have wings. My father, he... he would be able to offer me some insight, if I could... talk to him."
"...I'm sorry, man", whispered Jason softly, pulling Nico into a hug.
"Don't smother me with affection, I don't like this affection", hissed Nico.
"Stop fighting it, bro, you know you love me", laughed Jason, only hugging him tighter.
"...Is there something I should know? Because this is... This looks like I walked in on something."
Both Jason and Nico – ruffled hair, messy clothes, wrestling on the bed – looked up at the door, where a very amused Percy was standing, his eyebrows raised high. Nico immediately bolted away from Jason, motioning awkwardly between himself and Jason while shaking his head.
"I swear it is not what it looked like-", exclaimed Nico quickly, raising his hands high.
"...Well, now I have questions, because to me, this looks like you two dorks were having a pillow fight, but if that's not what it was... tell me what it really is", drawled Percy, eyebrows raised.
Nico flushed, while Jason laughed. "Yeah no that was exactly what it was."
"Great. I bring baked goods from my mom. Wanna have some, or do you have to finish your duel to the death first and only the winner gets food?", asked Percy amused.
He sat down at the foot-end of Jason's bed and immediately had both alphas' attention on him. It was cute, the way they looked at him like eager puppies waiting for treats. Grinning, Percy opened the box and let both of them take what they wanted.
"How was dinner with your parents, amore?", asked Nico gently.
"Well, as always, awesome. Though dad's refusing to help me cheat on his exam", sighed Percy with a fake pout. "How am I from this family of goodie-two-shoes? I am his only son! You would think he'd want to help me succeed!"
"Well, he does. But actually have you succeed on your own merits, not by cheating", argued Nico.
"Urgh. Another goodie-two-shoes", hissed Percy playfully.
"All I'm hearing is 'Nico fits perfectly into your family'", offered Jason with his mouth full.
Both Nico and Percy blushed at that, making Jason snort in amusement.
/break\
Hazel was making friends. And Bianca was... happy for her. She smiled to herself as she watched her younger sister in the gym; Hazel, Ella, Lou Ellen and Miranda against Tyson, Leo, Frank and Cecil in a game of soccer. Hazel was laughing so freely and brightly, it made Bianca smile.
"Hey there. No slacking off to watch your baby sis."
She jumped slightly as she was gently tapped on the head by a wooden staff. Turning around, she faced Thalia, who started at her in utter bemusement. For the most part, Thalia understood what Bianca felt – she too had a little sister and a little brother she loved, who were both at the academy. There was just one aspect Thalia could never understand – the royal aspect. A part of Bianca had never been able to shake the royal palace off; keep your guard up, you can't just befriend everyone. Another part was so deeply worried about their secret, to keep it... Sure, she had befriended Thalia, Zoe and Phoebe too, but very, very reluctantly. Nico, she knew, had just been... dragged into it all, somehow. But Hazel? People were flocking to her.
"She reminds me of our mom. Our... birth mom", whispered Bianca with a wavering voice.
Thalia frowned at that and stepped up closer to Bianca. She put the staff on the ground with one tip and leaned herself onto the other side, tilting her head as she also watched Hazel and the other first semesters. Well, for now. The semester was nearly over, they would be second semesters soon.
"That's what the queen's like?", asked Thalia curiously.
"Seriously, did my siblings put an add up when they joined-?", asked Bianca annoyed.
"Girl, you don't think that my brother figured things out after rooming with yours for a few months and I didn't figure it out in two and a half years?", snorted Thalia amused, elbowing Bianca. "I mean, I admit, it took me a while, but not that long. So. Tell me about your mom."
"She... She is so bright. Her smiles lit up the room. Everyone adored her. She wasn't even Plutonian herself, but all of Pluto loved her. She inspired people, made them want to follow her."
"Sounds pretty special", hummed Thalia, voice soft.
"She was. Is. She is", replied Bianca, voice breaking just a little. "I... I miss her so much. When Hazel smiles like that, when she has everyone flock around her like that... I see mamma in her."
Thalia sighed and wrapped an arm around Bianca, pulling her closer. "Little siblings, huh."
"Ye—eah", laughed Bianca, swallowing the tears back down again.
/break\
Nico groaned and kicked back as he laid sprawled out behind the ships with his friends Alabaster, Ethan, Reyna and Jason. E and Al had raced them with their team. It was part of training, they had to learn control at high speed. High speed chases through obstacle courses, because they might always end up on the run, they needed to know how to navigate through asteroid fields.
"Well, that was surprisingly exhausting despite us being in a ship", grunted Alabaster.
"When it's a race through dangerous territory, that's an all hands on deck situation. No time to just laze about, you know", huffed Reyna amused. "It's high-stakes."
"I think I'll start looking for a different, calmer job after all", drawled Al.
"No, you won't", snorted Nico amused. "I know you're committed to this."
"Eh, don't call me out like that", grunted Alabaster and rolled over to hide in Ethan's chest.
"Had anyone seen my Nico?", called Percy from somewhere.
"Here", chorused Jason, Reyna, Alabaster and Ethan immediately.
"I am so—o tired and I need some Nico-cuddles for recharge before I go after my captainly duties of comparing notes and debriefing with the instructor", groaned Percy.
Moments later and the omega collapsed face-first on top of Nico, burying his face in his alpha's chest. Nico smiled pleased as he wrapped his arms around Percy's waist, pulling him close and burying his nose in Percy's soft hair. Nico prided himself on how Percy found comfort with him.
"The bureaucratic parts are what I do not envy you about", drawled Jason.
Percy glowered at him but didn't argue. That was what he didn't like about all of this either, after all. The mission itself had already been exhausting, but for him to have to deal with debriefings was really frustrating. Yawning, Percy stretched out, rubbing his nose along Nico's collarbone.
"Today was good though", offered Nico, playing with Percy's hair. "We're... on top of the class."
They were. Percy could feel Drew's eyes boring into him from across the room; she liked to be on top and while Percy did really enjoy the competition – genuinely did, because working hard to surpass someone else and constantly improving themselves – sometimes, it was tiresome.
/break\
Percy and Nico had been out on a date, dinner and a movie. Nico loved when they did something so... incredibly normal. Something he would never be able to have on Pluto, as a prince. The two were holding hands as they reached Nico's room. The soft smile on Nico's lips slipped when he opened his dorm's door to find his sisters both sitting on his bed. It was weird to have them wait for him after a date, but even more so... with those looks on their faces.
"Bia? Haze?", asked Nico slowly, drawing his eyebrows together.
Percy closed the door behind them, looking confused from one of the siblings to the other. Then Hazel sobbed, turning toward Bianca, who immediately wrapped her arms around her sister.
"Wh... What is... What is going on?", asked Nico, dreading the answer.
"It's been all over the news for the past hour. You... Our parents. Kronos... took over Pluto."
"What do you mean took over? What happened to our parents?"
Nico's voice grew louder, more demanding, his wings raising on their own. What was Bianca talking about? This was impossible. The war had always been close, but... no.
"We don't know. The news, they didn't... they only showed what Kronos presented. He captured our parents. We don't know what happened beyond that", replied Bianca.
Nico's eyes were wild as he looked around the room, at his sisters – crying, devastated – at his boyfriend – confused, trying to figure out how to help out – and then to the door. He couldn't. This couldn't be true and he couldn't be with his sisters right now. He ran out, just ran for a while, until he collapsed, right in front of their ship. Well, it was their home away from home for now – they had traveled with it so much. For now, he made his way to his cabin and curled up on his bed. With shaky fingers did he get out his phone to look up the news. To see that there was a mistake. That his sisters were wrong. The war. The war hadn't reached Pluto itself yet, it hadn't taken their parents.
It had been so long since he last saw his parents' faces. To see them like this, bruised, bound, in the background of a maniacally laughing King Kronos of Saturn...
Nico didn't feel like he could breath, he threw his phone away so it hit the opposite wall and landed on Jason's bed. The room seemed to spin around him so he closed his eyes tightly, tried to slow down his breathing but he couldn't because all he could think was that his parents were taken.
"Nico. Hey. Nico. Come on, focus on me. Look at me."
Slowly, Nico felt himself come down as Percy gently talked him down from his panic attack. He turned to look at his boyfriend, who sat in front of him, looking at him so softly.
"I'm... I'm so sorry, Nico", whispered Percy. "Tell me what you need."
"I... I...", choked Nico out, shaking his head.
"Do you want a... hug?", offered Percy.
Percy seemed as lost as Nico felt. He wanted to help his boyfriend, but he didn't know what to do either. So Nico just nodded, because honestly he didn't know what he needed either, but generally, he felt better and safer in Percy's arms, surrounded by his omega's soothing scent.
"I'll do anything to help, love", promised Percy, kissing the top of Nico's head.
"Don't say that", croaked Nico out with a grimace.
"I mean it, Neeks. I... I can't imagine. I just... I want to help you, whatever way I can. Anything."
"No, I mean it, Perce, don't say that", whispered Nico, his voice growing calmer. "I know what I'm going to do. I love you, but-"
"Nicchodaemeous. I know", interrupted Percy, sounding as serious.
Nico raised both of his eyebrows as he heard his name, his actual name, in proper Plutonian pronunciation. Nicodemos was close enough for Earth, but... that Percy had ever actually learned his name and how to say it right? And... what did he mean with that?
"Percy", grunted Nico one last time. "I'm going to leave for Pluto and rescue my parents."
"I know", whispered Percy. "And I'm coming with you to help."
Author's note: Aaand next chapter we are officially having take-off from planet Earth!
