Percy POV

The waves lapped against my feet monotonously as I stared out to sea. The beach was where I felt most at ease, where I was connected to my father's domains. But it didn't seem to be helping.

It had been a week since I had slain Kronos in his throne room.

Honestly, I don't remember what happened for the first few days. The first thing I remember was waking up in the infirmary back at camp and Jason telling me I'd been out for three days.

Apparently, Kronos had managed to miss my major organs when he stabbed me, and Apollo had been able to patch me back up. I had been kept on Olympus for 36 hours before being released to the care of the camp.

I was lucky to be alive.

If Poseidon hadn't found me when he did, then well... I'd be dead.

Behind me I could hear the thrumming of loud music and the noise of the party. The demigods had all travelled back to their respective camps, but the Romans had come to Camp Half-Blood for the celebrations.

They were celebrating the end of the war and our victory. The gods had even flashed in at the start to say a few words, but they were long gone.

I grabbed a handful of sand and watched as it fell through my fingers like golden rain. I didn't feel like celebrating.

In the four days since I had woken up there had been so many funerals, so many shrouds to burn. I could barely keep track of the amount of people who had died.

But they were all I could think about.

It didn't matter to me if they had died on the field or fought bravely against Kronos, I felt responsible for every one of them. If I had just managed to escape Tartarus before he found me none of this would have happened.

And even then, if I had managed to get a message to the gods or escape. There must've been something I could have done. It was all my fault.

A tear rolled down my cheek as I flopped back on to the sand. I stared up at the stars, remembering all those who had died in the war.

In my time at the camp I had met a few people and been reintroduced to my old friends. But I would've liked to consider a few more of the demigods my friends. Everyone had been so kind to me, from the medic Ethan to the campers I had taught. None of them had been cruel, only kind and now many were dead.

I couldn't help thinking about them all, from the youngest who was only 9 to Annabeth who was 118. All of them died too young. And I knew I could've done something to stop it.

So many people had died to stop the titans rising, and many more had been prepared to sacrifice themselves.

I remembered the fierce look in Nico's black eyes as we had charged in to face Kronos. He hadn't even left me when Kronos explained his plan to win. Nico had been the reason I won.

The image of him crumpled against the stone wall burned across my mind.

More tears fell.

I was broken from my melancholy thoughts by the sound of shoes crunching against the sand. I hurried to wipe the tears from my face and rolled over to see who it was.

My heart settled slightly as I looked at him.

He was dressed for the party in black sneakers, tight jeans and a t-shirt that said 'This is my party face' on it with a picture of a skull. His dark hair was tousled as if he had just escaped from something.

"Do you know you have glitter in your hair?" I asked him as he sat down in front of me.

The son of Hades scowled. "Jason." He cursed. "He said I looked too gloomy, so he held me down while Leo did it. I've been trying to get it out." He moaned.

I laughed but quickly stopped when he glared at me. In truth I thought it looked great; it was reflecting the light from the party behind him and making his hair sparkle. "It's cute." I told him. That just made him scowl more.

After a few moments of brooding over his ruined image he said, "Why aren't you at the party? Everyone is looking for you."

"Maybe it's because everyone is looking for me." I sighed, flopping onto my back again. Nico shuffled closer and I put my head on his leg. He seemed startled by it, but didn't move away.

"Everyone keeps coming up to me and congratulating me. But it doesn't feel like we won." I told him. "Yeah, technically I sent Kronos back to Tartarus, but I couldn't have done it without you guys. I couldn't have done anything without you." Nico opened his mouth to say something, but I carried on.

"And then there are all the people who died. I can't help but feel responsible. I should've done something sooner; I should've been braver. I should've..." A pale hand fell over my mouth, effectively stopping my tirade.

"I don't want to hear another word." Nico told me sternly. "You did everything that anyone could have asked and more. It is not your fault that people died, they were all willing to lay down their lives for what they believed in – just like you."

"And besides if you want to blame anyone, blame the fates. They chose to cut the strings of life, not you." Thunder rumbled overhead but the son of Hades ignored it. "Not everyone is your responsibility."

"But you almost died." I told him, sitting up and facing him. My vision was blurry with tears as I thought about his condition when I first woke up.

Nico was still supposed to be on Olympus with Apollo, but he was given permission to come to the party. He was walking but had three broken ribs and a broken leg. It was only thanks to the god of medicine that he could walk now - and even then I could see it hurt him.

"I am my own responsibility not yours." Nico told me softly. "I knew that I could die going in there, but I wasn't letting you face him alone. You didn't ask me to help you. I just did." He paused for a moment. "I did it because I love you Perce."

His pale face flushed red and I could feel the heat rising in my own cheeks. I realised that was the first time he had said that. Without warning, I pressed forwards. My lips met his and he tumbled back onto the sand with me on top of him.

The kiss was passionate and fiery, each of us desperate to make the most of the moment. When I eventually pulled away, Nico's lips were slightly swollen from the kiss and we were both panting hard.

"I love you too." I told him as soon as I had enough air.

The words had barely passed my lips before he pulled me back down to him and back into the kiss. It seemed to last a life time. The passion and pure desire in the kiss making it truly the best moments of my life.

Nico's hands slipped into my hair and stopped me leaving his embrace for a long time but eventually, when he released me, I rolled off him and onto the sand. We were both panting hard, but a huge grin was spread across the son of Hades' face and I could tell that there was an identical one on my own.

Nico's eyes were still sparkling with happiness when he turned to me and said, "We should get back, someone will start to wonder where we have gone." He stood up and offered me his hand.

Reluctantly, I grabbed hold of it and allowed him to pull me to my feet. As soon as I was up, he led me away from the beach and back towards the party.

With him, I decided, maybe it could be fun.

So, that is it. My first fanfiction is over. I hope you have all enjoyed the story and are satisfied with the ending, I know that I am certainly pleased to have given them both a happy ending and have them be together.

Just because the story is over doesn't mean I don't want reviews, so if you want to please feel free to write me them. I will always be checking as I get notified when you review and if you have any questions or say anything that I would have answered I will send you a message.

For now though, thank you so much for reading. It means the world to me.

Reviews from chapters 30, 31 and 32: