They were stuck on that island for another week. Of course, if they had wanted to, they could have went through the doors occasionally popping up at different places, but somehow those only appeared when only one of the two was around. And when they had gotten the other one to look, too, the doors had disappeared.

So they went for a swim every now and then, tried to build chairs out of the wood in the forest (which they had given up on after two days of frantic trying and loud swearing and laughing at each other's failing) and were finally sleeping in one bed together. Percy was trying to restrain himself, trying to sort out his feelings first.

He didn't know why, but every time he looked around at Nico, his heart started to flutter like mad and he felt the urge to grab and kiss the boy. Now it wasn't necessarily because Percy was turned on or because Nico did something really cute. Percy just had to glance over at Nico when he was just sitting there, staring off into space and Percy just wanted to snuggle close to him and feel whole again.

Loved.

Ever since their underwater sex they hadn't really done it anymore. When they had first slept together in the bed, it had come pretty close, with Percy not being able to control himself and touching Nico all over the place, but they had only gotten each other off with their hands and then fallen asleep snuggled tightly together. And ever since then, they had come to a mute agreement that when they fell into bed in the 'evening', they would wrap their arms around each other and just enjoy the comfortable feeling and sleep.

Percy was sitting on the patio on their 14th day, just staring off into the distance, when Nico sat down next to him quietly. "What are you doing?" Nico asked after a while and Percy looked around at him, looking into his big brown eyes, resisting the urge to wrap his arms around him. "Just thinking..." He muttered and looked straight ahead again.

"About...your friends?" Percy looked around at him again, smiling. "Our friends, Nico. But yeah, somewhat. Just wondering how they are doing right now and if they made some progress on their journey. Bet they are really helpless without the two of us around." He said grinning and Nico smiled for a second too, before looking serious again. "I hope they are alright too. Especially Jason."

Percy made a face. "Jason? Why him?" He asked rather harshly, looking at Nico almost offended. Nico blinked. "Well...since you aren't around they are probably going to travel by air more than sea, so he'd probably have to fight off monster attacks 24/7..." Percy still scowled and pulled Nico closer to him.

"If you say so." He only said and put his nose into Nico's hair, taking in his scent and closing his eyes for a second. Nico had never mentioned Jason before. To be honest, Nico had never mentioned anybody from the Argo II. before, next to Annabeth. The fact that Nico had now mentioned Jason made Percy feel extremely uncomfortable.

What if Nico was bored of Percy and was now interested in the son of Jupiter/Zeus instead of him? A rather sour feeling went through his insides and his grip around Nico tightened. "Percy? Are you ok?" Nico asked frowning and pulled away from Percy, looking him in the face. "Hey, what's with that sour expression? Did I say something wrong?" Nico asked, now worried.

Percy looked away, suddenly annoyed. "Wait...are you jealous?" Percy's ears turned red and he spun around. "I don't know what you're talking about." But Nico only grinned at him and Percy looked away again. „Jason is just a friend Percy. He was nice to me when...well...when I had to admit to Cupid that I was in love with you..."

Percy's face softened and he wrapped his arm around Nico again. „You never told me about that before." Nico only shrugged. „I didn't think it was important. Percy?" „Hmm?" „I love you." Nico said bluntly, straight in Percy's face and gave him a peck on the lips.

Before Percy could say or do anything, Nico had dropped sideways, putting his head down on Percy's lap and closed his eyes. Percy looked down at Nico's dark hair, stroking through it with one hand and then gazing off into the distance again.

„Yeah...I think I do too..." He mumbled, more to himself than to Nico. „Hmm?" Nico asked, lifting his head slightly. Percy shook his head and sighed. „Nothing."

He watched Nico sleep for what seemed like hours. He himself wasn't really tired. More like, his body might be, but his mind was wide awake.
He was thinking about his friends and the quest.
About Annabeth and Nico.
About Gaea and her forces.
About Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter.
About good and evil.
About Tartarus and Elysium.
And even more about Nico.

He felt something for him he couldn't explain. It felt so good, though. Percy didn't want to miss that feeling. He wanted to stay with Nico. He didn't care if he was jumping into a relationship or anything. They had gotten to know each other over the past fourteen days and it had been the best fourteen days of his life.

Somehow, breaking up with Annabeth didn't seem like such a bad idea after all this time, either. He had spent two weeks with Nico and realized he had made so many mistakes. Maybe jumping into a relationship with Annabeth was simply one of them.

She was pretty and smart, but something between them just hadn't been right. She was always so uptight and he could never let his guard down around her, either. Whenever he would mention something that bothered him, she looked at him with that weird face, as if he was a coward or something. As if he had failed her. Being around her had been fun when they had been friends, but ever since they had started dating, things simply hadn't been like that anymore.

Percy wondered vaguely if that would happen with Nico as well. If they dated, would they change like that as well? Or would he still feel happy to see him, still want to snuggle him close to him?

Thinking back, he had never felt that way for Annabeth in the first place. She had been the one pushing herself onto him when he had first come to Camp Half-Blood. She hadn't even liked him, just wanted to use him to get her quest. She had been the one kissing him. He had to admit thinking of her joining the Hunters had upset him, but maybe he had just wanted to not be left alone with Grover traveling around the world to look for Pan and Tyson at the forges.

Maybe he had never really loved her after all and only thought he had, because he hadn't known what real love was.

Percy stroke Nico's cheek. He was pretty sure if there was such a thing as 'true love', it would feel something like this.

His legs had fallen asleep, his body was tired, yet just looking into Nico's face was all it took to make him completely happy and content. He bent down over Nico, kissing his cheek softly.

The boy moved a bit and his mouth opened slightly. Percy chuckled. "Percy..." Nico mumbled and Percy realized he was talking in his sleep. "I love you so much, Percy..." Percy smiled.

"I love you too." He said and his whole body became extremely warm.

He couldn't believe he had just said that, but at the same time he couldn't deny it was the truth. He had seriously fallen in love with the boy. He grinned to himself and looked into the distance again.

Then he saw something weird floating towards the beach. It looked like some sort of raft. He frowned and decided to better wake Nico before the raft thought otherwise. Shaking him softly, the boy opened his eyes sleepily.

Percy grinned and ruffled through the boy's hair, making it stick off at weird angles. "You are so cute when you are sleeping." He said and got up.

Nico looked at him irritated. "And you woke me up to tell me that?" He asked and yawned. "Nah, look there. Looks like a raft, doesn't it? Maybe it will take us back." Nico looked in the direction Percy was pointing and suddenly, he was wide awake. "Then we better hurry. Wait, I'll get my jacket. You think we need any fish or water?" Percy shrugged and saw Nico hurrying off into the house.

For a second he wanted to tell Nico he loved him. But then he decided against it. He should first properly end it with Annabeth. Nico was back within a few minutes and they ran towards the water. "You think it will get us back?" Nico panted and Percy shrugged, which was quite difficult while running. "No idea. Hope it does." He added and they stopped short at the shore, looking at the raft around three feet away from them.

"Well...here goes nothing." Percy said and stepped into the water. For the first time, it worked. There was no invisible wall pushing him away anymore. Nico couldn't help but grab Percy's hand as he followed him closely. He was scared of now getting parted from Percy. He didn't want to be left back alone somewhere.

Percy looked around at him and smiled warmly. Nico felt his fear melt away and felt Percy's hand holding his tightly. They both stood in front of the raft now. It was bigger than they had expected and seemed to hold their weight as they climbed onto it. "So...what now?" Nico asked uncertainly, still holding onto Percy's hand, which he didn't seem to mind at all. "I'm not sure. Maybe we just tell it to take us to the Argo II.?" As he said it, the raft started moving on its own. They both looked at each other and then Percy pulled him closer to himself.

"This reminds me a bit of Calypsos Island." He muttered and Nico snuggled against him. "You never really told me much about that. How was it there?" Percy shrugged. "It was quite peaceful and no monster attacks or such. I guess pretty much like here." "Just with better company, huh?" Percy looked at him oddly. "Nah, you are the best company I could have wished for." He then said and kissed Nico's forehead, making him all tingly inside.

That was the sweetest thing he had ever heard.

He felt himself blushing and pressed against Percy slightly. For a while they just enjoyed the peaceful quiet around them and watched the water flow around them. "What will happen when we get back to the Argo II.?" Nico asked slowly after a while. Percy still stared off into space. "I don't know. But promise me you won't run off and disappear to somewhere, ok?" Nico stayed quiet. He didn't know what he'd do when they got back.

Percy was probably going to get back with Annabeth and everything would turn back to normal, the way it had been before those fourteen days. But now, Nico had those sweet fourteen days to think of. That should be enough for him. Of course, it would probably tear him apart to see the golden couple reunited, but maybe Percy would take his feelings into consideration and keep away from him.

But did Nico really want that?

Nico had thought to simply shadow-travel his way out, now they didn't need him anymore, after all. He didn't even know himself why he had stayed on the Argo II. after Percy and Annabeth had returned from Tartarus. Then again, he had a feeling he had wanted to watch Percy a little while longer.

"Promise? Please..." Percy repeated and looked at Nico with those pleading green eyes. Nico sighed. "Fine. I won't..." Percy wrapped his arm around him, grinning happily to himself and they stayed like that until they fell asleep, still sitting next to each other, their heads slumped together and Nico's hand still holding Percy's hand, while Percy's other arm was wrapped around Nico and his hand tugged inside the pocket of Nico's jacket.

When they woke up, they were still on the water, but no fifty feet away from them was the Argo II., slowly sinking itself into the water. Suddenly, there was Jason on the raft as well, looking at them, beaming. "We thought you were dead! Come, let Frank and me fly you over." Nico and Percy blinked and looked at each other, but before they could say anything, Jason had grabbed hold of Percy and flew off, leaving Nico to be picked up by Frank, who had turned into a massive eagle.

When Percy set foot on the Argo II., his friends all jumped at him, wrapping their arms around him. "Oh my god it's SO good to see you again!" Hazel smiled and Piper nodded grinning. Leo shook his hand and said he definitely had to tell them where the hell they had been for the last week, making Percy wonder why one week since they had been missing for two weeks, but he didn't point that out.

Then there was Annabeth, who wrapped her arms around Percy and pushed her lips onto his – something he had kind of not expected. He only looked stunned at her, then concentrated on his feelings. Nothing.

He felt her lips on his lips but that was pretty much all he felt.
No heart leaping, no dizziness.
Nothing.

He wanted to push her away, but somehow he had forgotten that girls had breast.

Someone around him, he believed it to be Leo, said 'Whoa, get a room you two!', but Percy only frowned and managed to get Annabeth off him, who hadn't seemed to realize what was going on and smiled at him widely.

Percy on the other hand looked around for Nico, but when he did see him, his heart clenched in his chest.

The boy was standing where Frank had put him down, looking at Percy with such sad, heartbroken eyes that Percy could almost feel his pain.

Then a dark portal opened and Nico stepped backwards into it. "What?! You promised you wouldn't-..." He started, but then Nico had already vanished.

Percy's world shattered around him in a thousand pieces.

"Hmm? Why did Nico leave? What's wrong Percy? You feeling alright? You look extremely pale. Where the hell have you been, anyways?" Annabeth chattered and put her hand on Percy's forehead. He let her, feeling irritated and hurt at the same time.

The others were still standing around him, grinning at him, relieved to see him alive. So he took a deep breath and smiled back. "Yeah, we-...I'm back. Nico and I somehow got stranded on some weird island and it took us a while to get away. How long did you say we were missing?"