**scream* I have been waiting forever to write this chapter; in fact, what goes on in this chap was the first scene I thought of for this fic, and the first piece of it I wrote :3 Of course, I've deleted it and rewritten it four or five times, but this time 'round was just as enjoyable :) Thanks for sticking with me, guys.

(heads up, another reminder this story will get VERY dark coming up (like, really, really, bad, guys), but for now, this chapter has mild violence, and maybe some swearing. Oh, also angst (duh!))**

Nico awoke to the warm and fuzzy feeling of post-sex hugging. He grinned to himself, still half asleep, and Percy wriggled his arms tighter around Nico's waist.

Nico loved being little spoon.

An indeterminable amount of time later, the sound of centurions doing morning marches told Nico and Percy it was time to wake up. Once Percy heard the marches, he set about carefully disentangling himself from his boyfriend who seemed adamant to hold onto him. Nico groaned and whinged, all in the spirit of play, but was secretly wishing Percy's Roman training hadn't affected the mornings. Still, Percy kissed him and left, and Nico listened as the Romans greeted their former praetor belatedly. That made Nico smile. It was nice to know that he was so closely associated with someone who could pretty much do no wrong. Hades, Percy went gay and it was suddenly fashionable! Nico just hoped some of Percy's attitude (mojo, je ne sais quoi, whatever you want to call it) could rub off on him, and not the other way around.

With a possibly over-dramatic sigh, Nico huffed and got out of bed, shrugged on his clothes, and left for Temple Hill.

As he walked, his fingers idly brushed over his wrists. Nico still hadn't decided. Couldn't decide. Gods, the feeling of cutting was such an endorphin rush, but he felt like shit afterwards, especially when (not "if") Percy would see. Having Percy heal him felt great, because it told Nico Percy cared for him, but there was still a not-so-quiet voice in his head that told him Percy was obligated to do it, and that it wasn't anything special to him like it was to Nico.

Telling himself he was thinking too much, Nico tried to concentrate on the day ahead. It was another beautiful day in New Rome, the breeze picking up bits of pollen and fallen straw-like leaves from the fields adorning the hills, though it looked like rain was coming in later, by the dark clouds around the valley. Nico trudged along the path, grateful that he'd left while the centurions weren't marching, and thought about yesterday. Strangely enough, he couldn't help but smile a little. The way Percy appeared out of nowhere, jumping to Nico's defence.

Dam, he loved that boy.

Also, the mania hadn't shown up in a bit, that was good too (this time Nico was able to ignore the cynical little voice in his head that told him silence might not be as good as he thought).

Nico didn't know what was making him so happy today. Probably a little after-effect of Percy's healing. Or maybe because he hadn't suffered a bout of vertigo lately, that was a plus, too.

Nico made it to Temple Hill, and being slightly earlier than yesterday, deigned to wave back to the few demigods who threw him a greeting.

He made it to the torn-down ruins and puffed out a sigh. He definitely had his work cut out for him, but he decided to take it as an opportunity to improve, even though the old Pluto cabin was pretty great.

Though that was probably because of the nice times I spent with Hazel there… I can make good memories in this one too, Nico decided as he began thinking of ideas, and the heaps of bones around the site began to reanimate, pulling usable materials together as they did.

Eventually Nico decided to deviate from the original design a bit. The main doors would open into a foyer as big as the land area would allow it to be, then the wall furthest from the door would have openings at both ends, and behind those walls were the actual camper's (or in the Romans' case, soldier's) sleeping and relaxing areas. Basically, the foyer would be all pretty and stuff, with the offerings dish and fire, and then everything else is hidden by the back wall. Easy.

Nico sent away most of the skeletons to find some good black pumice and obsidian to form the basic structure of the walls, and started thinking about how it would be decorated. Looking around, it was obvious the themes of each temple were in the name, so Nico figured bones and jewels should do the trick in that department. Whatever, it's not like anyone ever really came there anyway.

Just as Nico was arranging the first few slabs of stone, a terrible feeling of foreboding overcame him. He realised his breath had become panicked in pace and memories of that horrible feeling of numbness when Bianca died came to mind. Nico shook them away, dismissing any thoughts about it.

Looking around, the sun was still shining and the Romans were still working, but the feeling only intensified. Nico felt in every part of his body that he needed to be somewhere else.

Shit, there was only one person that would apply to.

Nico shadow-travelled to an alley that was close to where Percy and his team were working. Rushing out, he strained to get a view.

Everything was fine, Percy was up on the main aqueduct, holding off the flow of water while the other Romans worked to mend the rest of the stone path and the pillars holding it up. Nico cringed when he saw Percy standing on a surface which an hour or so ago was probably wet cement. Still, everything looked okay, and the bad feeling started to fade.

Nico heaved a sigh of relief as the workers scrambled away from underneath the aqueduct and Percy let the now-huge wave of water loose. Nico just about screamed when he saw the ton of water hit Percy front-on, and his boyfriend made no effort to move out of its way like everyone else did.

Though of course, Percy was just fine. The water rushed past and left Percy standing exactly where he was, not even wet. Nico had to turn away to wipe at the tears that had escaped.

Percy hadn't been doing that the last time Nico spi—watched him (that didn't sound any better, did it?). It must've been because of the rain, causing problems for the foundations to solidify or something.

Taking deep breaths, Nico resolved himself to trust Percy in that he knew what he was doing. Still…

'Percy!' Nico called, walking briskly toward the works. Percy looked around in confusion for a moment before seeing it was Nico on the ground calling to him. Percy waved off the workers so that he wouldn't have to hold the water back, and knelt down to see Nico.

'Yeah, babe?' He yelled, perhaps a little louder than necessary. Amused giggles filled the air, and Nico tried to hide his blush.

'Have lunch with me?' Percy grinned.

'Sure thing, just one more round and I'll get this pillar covered up for now, yeah?' Nico smiled back and nodded, stepping back a few paces to give the Romans their space.

'Alright guys, rain's coming back so lets get G and D tarped up, then we're done for today!' Percy shouted, and the Romans nodded, a few joyous whoops echoing in the chatter. Percy yelled for someone named Franny to take care of pillar Gamma, while he'd make sure pillar Delta was secured.

Percy stopped the flow of water onto the broken pillar below, and four workers swiftly climbed up the sides, two of them lugging a huge tarpaulin sheet between them. The sheet was thrown over the top with surprisingly accuracy and the four set about hooking it onto the metal rings that adorned the entire pillar in neat lines.

'Secure?' Percy called down, his voice sounding a little strained. Nico looked up to see the mass of water he was holding back was huge. Far away thunder cracked, and Nico saw the rain had begun high up on the hills, meaning some rainwater must've made it to the aqueduct already.

'Secure!' Was called twice, and two workers scrambled down the pillar.

'Not secure!' One called, while the last was silent. A few more seconds passed, and Nico started fiddling nervously by how pained Percy looked.

'Secure?' He called again, outstretched hands starting to drop.

'Secure!' The previously quiet one called, and quickly dropped to the ground.

'Not secure!' The kid called again, and Nico wished he was closer to the other side so he could see exactly what was stopping the boy.

'Troy!' Percy yelled, panic clear in his voice.

'It keeps slipping!' Troy yelled back.

Nico had just looked from Troy to Percy when the wave dropped. Nico saw Percy take a step back and hold his arms up to his face in order to protect himself somewhat, but when the water cleared and was a steady trickle again, Percy wasn't there.

'Percy!' Nico screamed, instantly shadow-travelling to where Percy used to be. 'Perce?!' His voice broke as he turned around and his vision was caught on the drenched pillar-top just below him. Nico jumped the few metres to land beside Percy, and tried to wake him up. Percy was just lying there, and Nico was panicking too much to know what to do. His pleas for Percy to wake up were silenced by a faint yet steady stream of blood coming from the back of Percy's head to mix with the water still draining from the unevenly set tarpaulin.

'Somebody help!' He screamed, hot tears dripping off his chin to land on Percy's pale face.

~ O ~

They kept telling him to rest.

They didn't understand. They were just being stupid, and if they could leave him and Percy alone, then maybe Percy would get better rather than all these idiots draining the life force around here. Of course, "around here" being New Rome's hospital, and "these idiots" being the medically trained students of Asclepius.

Still, it was Nico who was beside Percy's bed, holding his hand and constantly monitoring the state of his soul, pulling it as close to Percy's centre as it could get when it thought about straying even the tiniest bit.

'Nico.' A soft voice chimed from the doorway. Nico glanced out of the corner of his eye, and in the slight sudden glare of the sun, could've sworn he'd seen Annabeth.

'Rachael.' He said, voice cracking from misuse. Rachael slowly went and sat down on the other side of Percy's bed and looked at the two with forlorn eyes. There were a few minutes of silence as Rachael tried to think of what to say, if anything. Percy was pale, his skin waxen. His face was lacking the vibrant buzz it always had, and frankly the sight was terrifying. Nico was a sore sight too— skin pale, yet flushed and irritated from scrubbing at tears of frustration. His hands trembled as they squeezed Percy's hand, and Rachael knew her face was showing all the pity she was feeling.

'Octavian's cleaning stables for the rest of the year for that little stunt he pulled.' Rachael blurted out, internally smacking herself with a certain hairbrush. Nico looked up, sniffed and nodded tearfully. Rachael looked into her lap for a moment, and when she looked back Nico was resting his head against Percy's bed, pressing Percy's fingers into his hair, shoulders shaking still and the occasional hiccup lighting the air.

Sudden wetness on Rachael's wrist alerted her to tears of her own. She cussed quietly and wiped them away. Taking a deep shuddered breath, she saw Nico hadn't responded. She hoped he was asleep, poor kid.

Everything was still for a few minutes, and just as Rachael was beginning to relax in her seat, a sound cut through the silence. Nico's shoulders shook, and his hands grabbed Percy's, then relaxed, then tensed again, over and over, as if he was trying to squeeze some pulse, some life back into his beloved. His choked sobs made Rachael jump and in that moment she felt like she was looking at twelve year-old Nico, crying because his only constant in the world had been taken from him.

Rachael heard him mumbling something, and suddenly felt like she was intruding, so she ever so quietly excused herself to grab some ambrosia.

Nico pushed Percy's chilled hand to his forehead and prayed like he never had before.

Dad, godsdamnit, please. I need some help. I don't know what to do and I don't know if I can do anything, you're the god of death and you said you want your kids to be happy. Please dad, he makes me happy. I can't lose Percy. Please help me, tell me what to do.

Nico received a splitting headache. His dad was shutting him out, and rather forcefully so, he realised.

Before he knew it, an ugly sob wracked through his body, and Nico was bawling. He hadn't felt so alone in such a long time, he'd grown used to being loved and always having his loved ones around him. He thought it wouldn't happen again.

But it seemed the Fates just had it out for him. Percy was going to be taken from him.

Nico couldn't even visit him in Elysium.

Please, Nico begged as he felt Percy's life force slipping through his fingers, please, not again.

**So, what goes on in the next chapter was originally meant to be in this chapter, but I realised the word count up to here was alright, and it was a good cliff-hanger, so I'm gonna let y'all stew for a while.

What's that? You love and adore me and my writing choices? Oh, you guys. ₍₍ (ง Ŏ౪Ŏ)ว ⁾⁾

As always, love, TJ.

Also, let's answer some reviews:

rawashell987- that is so flattering, I actually took shot of your comment and sent it to my dad to brag about. Really, thank you. :*

IcyandMidnight- I fucking hate and love you too, Midnight. Here's your update, I hope you haven't exploded in the time it took for me to post this. 3

alexanderchastionsalt- I'm glad you like the prequel, guywhosenameIdon'tknowhowtoshorten. I'm posting this the night before my last day of school term, and I'm not going away for the holidays, but I am meeting up with my family, so let's all hope I get some good angsty-inspiration to write faster, yeah? :)

Jeramy-Toombs- Dude, I am so with you on that. Honestly I was so tempted, (so, so tempted) but I decided I like torturing Nico more. Sorry. Maybe in the next fic :P

funkdaddy2012- Alright, you win best review, sir. Everyone else go home (kidding, I live on reviews... I'm serious. It's problem. Send help.) I'm glad you think Jason would cause some angst, with so many BigThree shippers I was worried that wouldn't be taken so nicely. Also I'm so glad there're no errors, my inner Grammar Nazi is screaming "Ich sagte Ihnen, es sich lohnen würde!!" as I read that. No translation available at this current time. Overall your comments really made my day- Hades, my month! Long-ass reviews are the best kind, Hun :*

Animegirl9929- Really? Well thank you, after reading that I actually got pretty insecure and attempted learning new words to keep up the vocab-interest, but it's late and IDGARA. ("I don't give a rat's ass"). Hope the content made up for it ;)