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 21: Family Reunions (2)

It took hours for Percy to leave the ship again. It had been a lot to digest and he wasn't ready to face anyone aside from Grover and Annabeth, who dropped in an hour later with food and drinks. The creepy thing was how people kept bowing to him when he returned to the palace. Seemed that word had already spread. That totally helped with his anxiety.

"If... I'm not bothering, do you think we can... talk?", asked Percy as he found the king.

"Yes!", replied Poseidon, maybe a little overly eager. "I'm... sorry, about earlier. It was a lot. I should have talked to you alone first. I just... this is a lot for me too, you know?"

He had been talking to some knights in one of the too many meeting rooms this palace had, but he quickly dismissed them and turned his full attention to Percy, motioning for him to follow. Together, the two left the meeting room and made their way through the halls.

"I... can imagine", whispered Percy. "So... your highness... no... dad... no that's not right either. Father? Uh. Too formal. Is it okay if I just call you Poseidon maybe?"

"What... Whatever feels right for you, son", assured Poseidon. "Oh boy..."

"Ye—eah", agreed Percy with a sigh. "I mean. I came here, hoping I'd meet my father. But..."

"I'm a lot", continued Poseidon, an amused smile on his lips. "I'm sorry, I don't know where to start. I want to know everything about you. How is your mother? Please tell me she is alright-"

"Yeah, mom's fine. Mom's... She is good. She works for the academy, you know. And she's happily married, to a... very good man, who loves her dearly", replied Percy.

The two entered the garden. They weren't the only ones, many from Percy's crew were around and they all looked at them curiously. It seemed word had spread quite fast. Thankfully, they left Percy and his... father... alone. The garden was beautiful, like a coral reef outside of water.

"What about you?", asked Poseidon. "How... are you? Who are you? I've heard from Rhode about you, I heard that it was you who suggested landing here. You seem like a capable captain. A diligent student. I'd like to hear more about who you are."

While Percy was stiff at first, he relaxed the more he talked about his family and friends.

/break\

Nico had fallen asleep with his head on his mother's lap, her running her fingers through his hair. And when he woke up, his family was still there. They had moved, to the room their parents were staying at, all huddled up on the bed, clearly overcrowding it.

"I can't believe you did something so dangerous and irrational", Hades' voice sounded disappointed and worried at the same time. "You could have gotten yourself, your brother and your sister killed."

"I... I know, father. I'm sorry. I... I didn't want to take them, but they-"

"No, Bianca. You shouldn't have come either", interrupted Hades pointedly. "You are the oldest, they look up to you for leadership. The moment you decided to go, there was no turning back for them either. I understand that you were worried, I understand that you felt helpless-"

"No, you don't!", interrupted Bianca now, sounding angry. "For years, we didn't even know if our siblings were still alive! And now we didn't even know if you were still alive! Years of not knowing, every day could have been the day that you died and we would never know. You don't understand."

Their father fell silent at that and Nico dared open his eyes to watch. She was crying, his sister was crying, and their father was wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into a tight, soothing hug.

"...You're right, I don't know. I'm sorry", whispered Hades. "But what you did was so dangerous and we sent you away to protect you. To have you come back here, putting yourselves – and your friends – in danger like that. I do hope you know just how reckless that was."

"I didn't want to take our friends, but they're... way too stubborn", muttered Bianca.

That was true. Nico smiled to himself at that. They definitely wouldn't have managed any of this without their friends' help. He startled a little when someone tugged on his curls.

"Stop pretending to be asleep", chided Persephone kindly. "Now, I wish to hear about your boyfriend. Who is he? What is he like? Do I have to have serious words with him?"

"No—o, don't threaten my Percy", groaned Nico embarrassed, covering his face. "Please don't embarrass me in front of him, mom. He's... our captain. Percy Jackson."

"Percy Jackson?", echoed Hades interested. "A human? Not that there is anything wrong with that. I am just curious. What is he like? What kind of family is he from? Not that it matters, of course!"

Nico paused at that, blinking slowly. He sat up, noticing that now the whole family was looking at him. His siblings were awake too, Makaria and Melinoe flanking Hazel from either side and doing her hair, very excited to give her traditional Plutonian braids.

"Well, he's... uh, actually... royal", admitted Nico, swallowing hard. "Turns out he is the son of Poseidon. And a very lovely human woman. He's a strong fighter and swimmer and he's the prettiest omega and he's sweet and amazing and kind and funny and cute and a very good leader-"

"Hold on, what do you mean he's the son of Poseidon?", interrupted Hazel stunned. "What?"

"Yeah. We... put that together a few hours before our parents arrived", confirmed Nico.

"Wow. He must... really be stressed about that", noted Bianca, her eyes wide.

"Well, at least Nico is dating someone of royal status", offered Zagraeus surprised. "Huh. Way to go, pipsqueak. I was so—o sure you'd be some awkward cave-nerd."

Nico huffed offended and threw a pillow at his big brother. Despite the annoyance he couldn't help but marvel at the fact that he could do this – could get annoyed at his brother, could throw a pillow at him. He'd nearly forgotten what it was like to spend time with Zagraeus.

"Well, I'm looking forward to meeting that boyfriend of yours", declared Hades seriously.

The sound escaping Nico was slightly miserable. Not because he didn't want Percy to meet his family, it was more because Percy was already dealing with enough right now without having to worry about the expectations of a whole other royal family.

/break\

"Your hair looks really pretty, I've never seen it like that before? Is that... gems?"

Leo's eyes were wide as he rounded Hazel to take a proper look at her hair. Normally, she didn't like people gawking at her hair, which they already did enough on Earth because by Earth-standards, she looked like a black girl. People trying to touch her hair for looking 'so fluffy!' or judging whatever style she used. That was part of the reason why she hadn't worn Plutonian hair-styles in many years, because people made even more fun of those, for being alien. For years, she'd tried her best to fit in, but wearing her hair in a traditional do like this, having her sisters do her hair – and wear matching hair-dos themselves – felt incredibly empowering to her. She loved the way it had turned out, in three twists pointing upward, decorated with amethyst-like gems and pearls.

"My sisters did it!", declared Hazel proudly.

"Yeah?", asked Frank with a warm smile. "How... was it? Being reunited with them?"

Lunch had come and the royal family had finally left the chambers again together. They joined Neptune's royal family and the crew to eat what was a true feast. A celebration of reunions. She liked the way Leo and Frank had immediately flocked to her and complimented her. The three of them had been friends back at the academy, but the past weeks of traveling together, they had become something more. Something they hadn't named yet, but something that was definitely there. Hazel had never really considered it before, she was an alpha but she never thought about who to pick for herself in such a manner. But Leo was the perfect omega and, much to her surprise, she had found herself falling for fellow alpha Frank. They made her... feel comforted and understood. They had her back during this very intense and crucial time.

"Who—o are those two?", asked Makaria with a mischievous smile.

"Oh, is that cute omega your cute omega?", asked Melinoe as she popped up behind her too.

They peeked over Hazel's shoulders from either side, looking at Frank and Leo with utter interest. Oh no. Did Hazel now have prying siblings who were going to snoop in her private life...? Though she did like the flustered looks on Frank and Leo's faces.

/break\

Bianca was sitting outside at a pond with Thalia and Luke. They had eaten lunch with everyone and there was just so much going on. Everyone wanted to meet the royal family of Pluto and of course the news about Percy's heritage. Bianca's head was swimming with everything.

"I was a real terror, wasn't I?", asked Bianca in a soft voice. "The journey here."

"I mean, you weren't exactly a sweetheart, but... we all knew where you were coming from", assured Luke, gently nudging her. "We all knew that when we signed up for this."

"Yeah. We know what made you rash", agreed Thalia. "And we got your back. So... how do you feel now, girl? Your family's safe. And right here."

"Overwhelmed?", offered Bianca reluctantly. "I'm still trying to take it all in. I didn't... I didn't expect it to be like this. I don't know what I was expecting, but not a... calm reunion at the palace of Neptune. I missed them so much. And... Makie, Melly and Zag are so different from how I remember them? I know that makes sense, it's been years. We are very different from how they remember us too, I suppose."

Thalia reached out, taking Bianca's hand and linking their fingers. The alphas leaned into each other, Bianca resting her head on Thalia's shoulder and Thalia resting her head against Bianca's.

/break\

Nico ducked his head a little as Percy started patting it. Well, not so much patting it as that he was tracing the Plutonian braids he was wearing. Makaria and Melinoe had gone all out on all their siblings for today's dinner. It had also been a great way to keep their hands busy while the family sat together and talked, catching each other up on their lives.

"Pre—etty", whispered Percy in awe. "You never do anything with your hair. Just wild curls everywhere. This looks really hot on you though."

That made Nico flush a little, wings twitching. The compliments made him weak. What alpha wouldn't be weak for some compliments from his beautiful omega. Smiling, Nico reached out to cup Percy's cheek, slowly running his hand down his neck toward to the collar of the very beautiful Neptunian ceremonial robes Percy was wearing. They were dark-blue, falling down to his ankles, with light-blue, nearly see-through shawls wrapped around him, pinned with jewelry.

"You... look like a real prince", whispered Nico equally in awe. "I mean. You are. Huh. But..."

"I look more like a prince than you do", teased Percy with a grin, leaning in to peck Nico's cheek. "You look like the peasant who snuck into the palace to seduce the prince."

"Mh... I could work with that", Nico drawled cheekily, taking Percy's hands.

"And what is going on here?"

The two quickly jumped apart, startled, and turned toward a stern-looking Triton. The second-oldest son of Poseidon had his arms crossed over his chest, a glare on his face as he narrowed his eyes at Nico. Oh. Right. Nico had now gained a whole set of overprotective future siblings-in-law.

"That's my boyfriend, Nico. Nico, my new brother, Triton. He looks grumpy but he's actually really nice, we've been talking all morning long", introduced Percy with a smile.

"Boyfriend. Right", Triton grunted unimpressed, narrowing his eyes even more at Nico.

"Son, stop trying to frighten our guest", requested Poseidon as he stepped up behind them. "Why don't you go and find your sisters? They are running late for dinner."

Grumbling, Triton left. Poseidon laughed and rested a heavy hand on Nico's shoulder, the other arm wrapped around Percy's shoulders, guiding them both toward the royal family of Pluto.

"Hades! Look at our sons!", called Poseidon out, sounding very happy. "Aren't they cute?"

Persephone covered her mouth to hide her chuckle, while Amphitrite covered her eyes and sighed. Hades simply shook his head, a nearly fond and amused looked on his face.

"I'm sorry, boys", Amphitrite apologized. "Poseidon has tried to cement the good relations between Neptune and Pluto for many years now. He tried to match Triton, Benthesikyme and Rhode with Zagraeus, neither really worked out. Kym and Proteus with Makaria or Melinoe."

"And now, fate has delivered me another son! And an omega, courting the son of Hades!", declared Poseidon joyfully, ruffling Percy's hair. "My boy has good taste!"

"...No pressure, Percy", assured Amphitrite with a sigh. "You are just a kid, with your first boyfriend. Don't mind your father in the corner writing the wedding invitations."

The look on Poseidon's face was completely unapologetic. It made sense, Nico supposed. Good relations between planets were best established by weddings. Though his cheeks heated up at the thought of Percy in ceremonial wedding clothes.

"Stop embarrassing the boys. Let's go and eat", ordered Hades pointedly.

/break\

"Dad? Can we... talk...? Just. You and me?", asked Nico a little nervously.

The feast had gone on for hours, was still going on. But Nico had found his father outside, leaning against the balustrade and watching the garden. Hades turned toward him curiously.

"Of course, son. I'm sorry, I just needed a little air."

"You... don't need to apologize for not being glued to my side, dad", Nico huffed a little, smiling strained. "I missed you. All of you. But we don't have to make up for it all at once. I... I mean, I don't know how things are gonna go from here? I just..."

"We – the adults – are already talking about this, at length. We don't want to share it with you just yet, not while it's not ironed out. For now, we want you kids to... relax. The past weeks have been very straining on all of you, this journey... We just want you to know that you are safe and taken care of right now, okay?", replied Hades with a kind smile. "Is that what you wanted to talk about?"

"No. I mean, kind of that too yeah. But I, uh... What... King Poseidon said..."

"Oh, don't mind him", Hades chuckled a little. "He means well and he has been thinking about a way to make this happen for a long time. But don't feel pressured into anything because of his big expectations. He is used to failure. All his other kids didn't oblige either."

"No, that's not what I wanted to talk about either", Nico heaved a frustrated sigh. "It... I... Mom isn't Plutonian either. How did you... How did you court her? All our courting rituals are aerial. But... my chosen omega... kind of isn't aerial at all... I just..."

At that, Hades paused, blinking a couple of times. "I... So you are serious with this boy?"

"Yes", replied Nico, blushing brightly. "I love him, I really do, I don't think I can imagine a life without him. I wouldn't have been able to do this journey without him. He's been learning Plutonian for me. He... I... He's perfect, dad. He's the perfect omega for me, there could not possibly be anyone more perfect for me than Percy Jackson. I know I'm young and I know you'll probably not take that seriously, because courting is a big deal, but-"

"I knew your mother was the right one the first time I saw her. She was fourteen, I was sixteen, we met at this incredibly boring gala that your grandparents dragged me to. I snuck out of the party and ended up in the garden, where she was. She stood under an arch with Cerelian roses in all shades all around her, her dress was light green and whooshing in the wind, her hair was loose and brighter back then, she used to dye it as a teen. She was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen and in that moment, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life looking at this woman."

Nico just stared, surprised. He'd never heard this story before, not like that. He had heard that his parents had met at a gala, but the look on his father's face as he recalled that night. This was one of the things that he had missed desperately. Hearing his father talk, how much his dad loved his mom.

"So no, I am taking you seriously, Nico. If you know, you know", stated Hades.

And oh did it feel nice to hear his dad say that and look at him like that, believing him. "Okay. Thank you. I just. How do I court him...? How did you court mom? Moms didn't know, I asked them about it but... courting is such a private thing, they didn't know."

"I did it her way", replied Hades after a moment. "I... spent weeks studying the Cerelian way of courting and then I courted her according to Ceres' traditions."

"...Oh", Nico grunted surprised, blinking a couple of times. "I... should have... thought of that. That's a good idea. I don't know, it's just so..."

"Counter-intuitive. Your instincts are Plutonian, you want to court your future mate the Plutonian way. That's only natural. It was hard for me too, believe me", Hades chuckled softly, reaching out to rest a hand on Nico's head. "I do think you have another option though."

"I do?", asked Nico confused. "How? What?"

"Your chosen omega is Neptunian", stated Hades and turned around, to face toward the door, watch the guests inside – specifically Percy, who was laughing and dancing with Leo. "We have our courting chase. So do they. We have our aerial dance and while that might not work on the ground, I do think that... diving and flying give you equally free range to move."

Translating the airborne rituals to underwater? That... thought hadn't even crossed Nico's mind yet. It wasn't ideal – water resistance and that pesky little problem about Nico needing air to breath came to mind. But perhaps, with diving technology and some training to move under water remotely as smoothly as he did in the air? It could work.

"That... is an amazing idea, dad", whispered Nico with wide eyes. "I love that. Thank you."

The next moment, he collided with Hades' chest, hugging his father very tightly. The king laughed startled and wrapped his own arms around Nico, returning the hug.

"You're welcome my boy. I'm... I can't express how glad I am to be here, to get to give you advise on this. I... we missed to much time", replied Hades, pressing a kiss to Nico's head. "We both, your mother and I, want to be there for you, we want to... be a part of your lives again."

All Nico did was grunt and bury himself deeper in his father's chest, inhaling the soothing scent. The two remained hugging for a few moments and when they parted, Nico felt more relaxed than he had before. Not only did his parents not disapprove of his choice, they also supported him.

"Now, I have another piece of advise for you", started Hades as he took his son and led him back inside. "When there is a grand party that your omega is beautifully dressed up for, don't spend the night sneaking away to talk to your boring, old man. Go and dance with your omega."

He gave Nico a slight nudge toward Percy, causing Nico to stumble right into his boyfriend's arms. Percy blinked curiously as he caught Nico and pulled him close. The curious look turned into a pleased smile as he nuzzled his alpha's cheek, kissing him gently.

"There you are. I've been looking for you, pretty bird", whispered Percy.

"I was... talking to my father. But now I'm... all yours, kitten", offered Nico.

He smiled warmly and held out a hand for Percy, waiting for his boyfriend to accept. The look on Percy's face was so excited as he took the offered hand and the two of them made their way onto the dance-floor. It felt unreal, to dance like this – two princes, at a real gala. It was amazing.


Author's note: Next chapter, Nico's going to put Hades' advise to good use ;D