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 22: Exploring Neptune

Neptune was a lot. The royal family was also a lot. Percy felt kind of smothered. Not necessarily in a bad way though; he'd never had siblings before and now there were four of them, hovering close-by, asking questions, wanting to learn more about him, get to know him, introduce him to Neptune and to Neptunian culture. In short; a lot. He was trying his best though.

Kymopoleia was loud and cheeky and liked to get into fights. There have been parallels drawn between her and Percy, though Percy and Kym both denied it, then looked at each other and high-fived. Benthesikyme was very sweet and friendly and also into gossip – she was getting along rather well with Silena and wanted to know everything about Percy's love-life, much to Percy's embarrassment. Proteus, the oldest, seemed a very rational man, not exactly a big talker though. Triton managed to be overbearing but also kind of caring. Technically, there was also Rhode, with whom he definitely got along best. He missed her. He also wondered... about that.

"What are you thinking about, guppy?", asked Triton with narrowed eyes.

"Shut up", Percy grumbled and glared at his new big brother. "I'm thinking about Rhode. I mean, she... she spent so much time with me? I don't... how did she not see it?"

"Let's ask her", suggested Triton, wrapping an arm around Percy's shoulders.

Squirming, Percy allowed the taller prince to steer him along. Triton had a great way of making him feel like the pipsqueak little brother, which was bothersome. It had been a couple of days now. They wanted Percy to have the chance to get to know his family, they also wanted to give the royal family of Pluto the time to plan their next step. It wasn't like the kids really had a rush of getting home; they just had trouble waiting for them there. Getting expelled and probably grounded.

"What are we doing?", asked Percy as he was pushed down onto a chair in a room.

"Calling Rhode. No one has told her the good news yet. We thought you wanted to, once you... returned to Earth. But this is something I would like the answer to too", offered Triton.

He typed away and moments later, the call connected. Rhode's face popped up on the big screen in front of Percy. He didn't even know what room they were in. It looked like a bedroom. Was this Triton's...? Shaking his head, Percy turned to instead focus on Rhode.

"Percy! You landed in one piece! I'm glad", Rhode heaved a relieved sigh.

"I... did", agreed Percy, unsure what to say. "Uh... There's something I... should? Tell you. We kind of figured out who my... father... is... And I was wondering, I mean how did you not know?"

"Slow down, Perce", interrupted Triton, grasping Percy by the shoulder while making eye-contact with his sister. "Look at me. Look at me and look at Percy. Very closely."

After a moment, Rhode heaved a sigh and seemed to visibly deflate. "I... I'm not blind... I did see a lot of Triton, of dad even, in you, Percy. But... I thought I was projecting – I missed you so much, Tri, all of you. And not just all of you. I didn't have any Neptunian community in New York at all. So when one of my students turned out Neptunian, I thought I... was projecting that onto Percy. And it can't be, can it? Dad would never cheat on our mother!"

"He didn't", said Triton in a calming manner. "They were broken up. They... didn't tell us that they took a break and I think... we all didn't really want to see it for what it was back then. We accepted their lies of diplomatic missions to keep them apart."

"...Oh", Rhode whispered and averted her eyes. "So... So you're really our brother?"

"I... am", confirmed Percy. "Hey, sister."

"Oh, I'm so looking forward to you returning here!", exclaimed Rhode, getting excited. "...Assuming you are returning to Earth and not... taking your place at the royal court?"

Silence stretched on between them as Percy let those words sink in. Right. He was going to leave again for home, of course he was, but that would mean leaving his new-found family behind... He was barely just getting to know them. Furrowing his brows, he started fidgeting with his hands.

/break\

Nico ran into three of their couples who were on a date. Luke and Octavian, Charles and Silena, Clarisse and Chris. They were out on the market together, buying souvenirs, sharing food. Octavian looked annoyed, as he usually did. Silena was dominating most conversation.

"Nico! Where is your better half?", asked Silena when she spotted him.

"I think out with Grover and Annabeth, but I'm not sure", replied Nico, his attention on the merchandise displayed in front of them. "Which of these do you think matches Percy's eyes the best? This one is the right shade of blue like his eyes when he's happy, but this one has the right shade of green that Percy's have when there is mischief going on behind those eyes. Damn them for being so complex and having so many shades of blue and green."

"Love-sick fool", commented Clarisse dryly. "Let me guess, courting jewelry?"

"Well. Yes. I figured... it would be nice to get him a piece of courting jewelry from Neptune..."

"You're such a sweetheart", declared Silena and kissed his cheek.

"Take both", suggested Beckendorf amused. "If you think both gems suit him, take both. Give him one now and one later. I'm sure he's gonna love both."

Nico hummed pleased and nodded. Wise advise from a man who had already courted an omega he loved. Nico picked both the bracelet and the pendant. After he had paid, he noticed the three couples had waited for him. Curiously enough it was Luke who fell in line with him when walking.

"You're really serious about courting him, mh?", asked Luke amused. "I've seen you sneak out to the pool every single day, twice at least, what are you doing there?"

"...Training", admitted Nico. "I've been training for the past week."

"Week", echoed Luke slowly. "We've been on Neptune for two weeks now."

Nico could hear the unasked question. When were they going to leave? The prince heaved a sigh. About five days ago, they had spotted patrols from Uranus. It would be too dangerous to leave right now, even though that had been the plan. They had to wait until the ships would be away and it would be safe for them to leave. Until then, they would be stuck on Neptune. Not that Nico was protesting to that; it gave his boyfriend more time to get to know his family.

/break\

"Up left", called Kymopoleia out before attacking.

Percy grunted, barely able to dodge. She's been training him. Sure, training at the school had been good, but it was general fighting techniques. Kym could teach him Neptunian fighting techniques. Things Rhode couldn't because she wasn't a fighter. The two were in the water.

"That's enough, you're gonna run our precious baby brother ragged", called Benthesikyme out.

She was waiting for them with snacks. Both Percy and Kym quickly swam up to her and accepted the raw fish sandwiches. Another amazing thing about Neptune was all the Neptunian food! Sure, the academy offered Neptunian cuisine too, but that was like pretending Italian cuisine was limited to spaghetti and pizza. There was so much more. Percy licked his lips.

"I'm gonna miss you", noted Kym, staring ahead.

They were outside the city, sitting on a hill and staring at Atlantis. "I'll... miss you guys too."

And it wasn't even that he had anything to add to that. Once, the dream had been to become a space explorer. Graduate the academy, join a ship, travel the stars – visit Neptune. Those dreams, he could now kiss goodbye. And he had no one else to blame but himself. He had chosen to go with Nico – not that there was much of a choice, really. He didn't regret that. He knew the di Angelos would have never made this journey on their own. And Bianca would have made them travel straight to Pluto, where their parents wouldn't even have been, which meant Pluto was all the more dangerous.

"I mean, Rhode's living on Earth", offered Benthesikyme. "We could always move there too. Frankly, with the way the war's going, I..."

"What?", prodded Percy when his sister fell silent.

"I think dad's going to send us with you", admitted Benthesikyme in a soft voice. "The war's coming closer and closer. Neptune might be safe, but I know dad is worried."

That thought hadn't even crossed Percy's mind. His eyes widened at that thought.

/break\

"I think your body-guard is flirting with my brother", noted Percy curiously.

He was standing at the balcony of his room, arms crossed and leaning forward. Moments later and a wet Nico joined him (Percy liked him wet, having just come out of the shower, only wearing a towel). Percy immediately turned toward Nico to kiss him slowly.

"Don't distract me with your mouth", chided Nico annoyed. "Who's flirting with whom?"

Laughing, Percy motioned down. "The hunky, delicious one is flirting with Triton."

"...Thanatos. Please use his name, I do not like what you just called him", Nico growled a little.

"Mh... Jealous alpha", Percy's eyes hooded a little. "I like that."

Nico huffed, though he wrapped his arms around Percy's waist and rested his chin on his shoulder, watching the clumsy attempt in which Thanatos was flirting with Prince Triton. Thanatos was one of the two royal guards who had accompanied king and queen to Neptune; Thanatos and Olethros. Olethros was an angry, grumpy one – as could just be seen by the way he stomped over and demanded Thanatos' attention elsewhere, pulling him away from Triton.

"Interesting", Nico grunted to himself, nuzzling Percy's neck. "Kitten... I was thinking... Could we go on a date tonight? Just you and me? I thought maybe... swimming, outside the city?"

"Swimming? Are you sure?", asked Percy surprised.

"I know you've been exploring Neptune with your siblings, I thought maybe you could show me some of what you've seen", suggested Nico, peppering kisses along Percy's shoulders.

"Mh... I'd love that", whispered Percy, closing his eyes and leaning back against Nico.

/break\

Annabeth breathed deeply, smiling to herself. The air on Neptune smelt like the ocean-side but with a hint of... strawberry, if she had to find an Earth-equivalent. Her fingers were linked with Reyna's as they were on a double-date with Nyssa and Piper. The past two weeks had been so refreshing, relaxing. Sure, in the back of her mind she had the pressure of what would become of them all once they returned to Earth, but right now, they were stuck here and right now, that was where she lived. In the now. After the past weeks of traveling here, this chance to relax was nice.

"Do you think Percy is going to stay here?", asked Piper as they walked through the gardens.

Annabeth had a sketch-book under one arm; she'd been sketching the local architecture every chance she got. They'd all taken the time to explore – how often did they get the chance to actually be on another planet? Finding a good spot, Annabeth sat down, before answering.

"Never", replied Annabeth, sharpening her pencil. "Sally and Paul are on Earth. He'd never just turn his back on them, even though he wants to get to know his... new... additional family."

"What about Nico?", argued Nyssa next, sitting down comfortably with her girlfriend.

She leaned against Piper, both stretching their legs out and relaxing on the blue grass. Well, it wasn't technically grass, but it was similar enough. It felt softer, a bit like cotton-candy, just not as sticky.

"I think that the royal family might just come with us", offered Reyna, reaching out for Annabeth's hair to braid it while Annabeth sketched. "Plead their case in front of the council to get military back-up from the alliance. The SSC has its official seat on our moon, since unlike any other moons, it is not a colony of its corresponding planet. Neutral territory, more or less. But close to Earth. Traveling with us makes the most sense to get there."

Piper and Nyssa hummed softly in agreement at that. It made sense; Reyna and Annabeth had talked about it at length. Though the royal family themselves hadn't given input yet. Reyna worried, of course she did, she was one of Nico's closest friends. Turning some, Annabeth kissed Reyna's cheek gently. She had found a very good and thoughtful alpha there.

"I don't know about you guys, but I dread our return", Nyssa sighed, resting her head on Piper's chest. "My mom is gonna hand me my ass for this stunt..."

"You and me both, babe. It took me so much to convince him to even let me join the academy", Piper brushed a kiss against the top of Nyssa's head. "Said it's too dangerous. Said I'd be taken care of with the money he makes by being a famous movie star and all that. But that's not what it was about. It was about connecting with my heritage. My mother's Venusian but I have no connection to these roots. My dad and grandpa made so sure to connect me to their side of the family and I explained to them how important it is for me to find some way to connect to my other family and how they would feel if they had no means to connect to theirs. So he agreed."

"And now you've thrown it all away for a reckless potential suicide mission", offered Reyna. "Yes."

"Only that it's not just that. I helped a friend", argued Piper. "I helped him reconnect to not just his heritage but his direct family. And I hope, I wish, that if I were separated from my dad like that, someone would help me that way. And I hope that argument is gonna convince dad too."

The other girls laughed at that and once Annabeth finished her sketch, she put her book aside and instead leaned more comfortably against her girlfriend, enjoying her alpha's soothing scent. Just a little more, a little more time together, in peace, here. No worries, for just a while longer.

/break\

"This is... This is beautiful", whispered Percy in awe.

Nico took the bracelet out of the box and put it on Percy's wrist. This was really pretty, silver with a thumb-sized stone at the center and pearls around it. Made Percy's gift seem kind of... plain and cheap. Biting his lips, he tried to shove it back into his own bag.

"No, no, no", interrupted Nico, grabbing Percy's hand. "What is it? You have something too?"

Nico leaned in, very closely, nosing Percy's cheek. Flustered, Percy pulled it out. It was just a rock. A pitch-black one, smooth, the size of his palm, vaguely triangular. The smile on Nico's lips though, it looked as though what Percy had given him was as valuable as that bracelet.

"Perce... courting rocks are a Neptunian tradition", argued Nico. "Everyone can just... buy jewelry. But what you did was instinctive, thoughtful. This is a very pretty rock, love."

He leaned in and kissed Percy on the cheek, making Percy smile. "Okay, good."

"There... There is something... uh... slightly embarrassing... that I wanted to..."

Nico scratched his neck. He looked incredibly embarrassed. That only made Percy more curious.

"Whatever it is, babe... you can tell me. Or show me. Or whatever. I love you, you know."

That seemed to relax Nico a bit and after taking a deep breath in his diving suit. High tech, thanks to the Neptunian royal family. Very... sleek. Form-fitting. Percy sure enjoyed seeing Nico in it. Curiously, Percy leaned back and watched as Nico started to... huh. Looked kind of like dancing. Just a little awkward and slowed down due to the water resistance. Though it was kind of beautiful, unlike anything Percy had ever seen. And then Nico suddenly grabbed him by the hands and pulled him up. Not knowing the steps, Percy had to let Nico take the lead – and he did so well. It was easy to follow and it felt strange. Like they were moving as one. Both were out of breath when they finished and Percy found himself cursing the stupid suit because of course did it cover Nico's face so there was no kissing Nico despite just how much he wanted to kiss him right then and there.

"What... What was that?", asked Percy curiously, pressed chest to chest to Nico.

"A... A traditional Plutonian courting dance. It's performed in air, but... since you... lack the wings to do that... I figured... Dad gave me the idea to do it underwater", explained Nico.

"...Oh", Percy blinked a couple of times. "That... That's very thoughtful. And sweet."

He smiled and kissed Nico's cheek, his heart racing with joy. That was so huge. Not just sweet. Nico had put thought into doing this for Percy, to share this with Percy. His smile grew even more.

/break\

"I... know we haven't spoken much since you got here and I do hope you don't take it personally."

Percy looked up at his stepmother in surprise. The family was supposed to meet here, though Percy had been the first to arrive. Soon followed by Queen Amphitrite. The two... hadn't really spent time together yet. They had exchanged polite pleasantries and she had been with them when Percy had bonded with Poseidon. Smiling politely, Percy sat up straighter.

"No. I mean, you're the queen and uh we brought a lot of baggage with us when we got here", assured Percy with an awkward smile. "And... I guess that suddenly discovering your husband has a teenaged son is a lot to digest too. I'm not taking that personally."

Amphitrite smiled thin-lipped. "You can say that. But that's not your fault. Or his, for the matter. Heaven knows, not all of our children were exactly planned either. ...Don't tell them that."

"You... seem nice", offered Percy after a moment. "I mean, my siblings adore you. Poseidon loves you. Your people do too, I've seen and heard enough to know that."

"You seem nice too", countered Amphitrite gently. "Your people adore you too. And Rhode has spoken of you with so much kindness and love. You... seem like a very nice boy. Your mother did a wonderful job raising you, you know. She must be a remarkable woman."

"She totally is", declared Percy, a crooked grin on his lips.

Thankfully, the rest of the family filed in soon before things could get more awkward. Percy got it, really. She didn't mean it badly, but it was a lot to digest and he felt no less awkward about what to do with her than she must be feeling with him. Benthesikyme sat down next to Percy, nuzzling him gently. Scent-marking him, like family did among each other, especially omegas. It was nice to have other omegas in his family now, in Benthesikyme and Triton.

"As you know, the Princess Andromeda is soon to leave", announced Poseidon. "And... Percy with her. However, your mother and I spoke and we have decided that Percy is not going to leave alone. Triton is going to accompany Percy to Earth."

Percy raised his head in surprise at that. Kym and Benthesikyme both made protesting noises that their mother tried to silence, thought not very successfully. The only one not surprised was Proteus.

"Hades and Persephone will go to plead to the SSA. Triton will go with them to represent Neptune and strengthen their case, because this war... if not for our reinforced protection, it would already be on our planet. For now however, we think the rest of you are much safer here, so stop protesting."

Triton reached out, wrapping an arm around Percy's shoulders. It was set then. They were about to leave Neptune. Percy's stomach was knotted up at the thought of leaving his new family behind.

"Hey. We're not out of the world", declared Proteus seriously. "We will see each other again."

"...Right. Yeah. It's just... I feel like I only barely got to know you", whispered Percy. "I'll..."

"We'll miss you too", stated Benthesikyme, kissing his cheek. "A lot."

Part of him wanted to get back home, missing his parents. But now here was an entire new family and he wanted more time. How could one person feel this torn...?


Author's note: Next chapter is going to cover the journey back!