Let's have a Percy and Nico shopping spree! Percy did say in the last chap he wanted to go shopping with Nico anyway, and just because he has his bottle of special cologne won't stop him. Let's have fun with this, shall we.

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Percy's POV

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"Wake up sweetie," I said, letting myself into Nico's cabin. Nico grumbled something and curled up on his side, pulling the blanket up over his head. I chuckled and settled myself beside him, rubbing his back. "Sweetie, Chiron says we can go on a shopping spree today. I want some new things and I'm sure there's some things you'd want to pick up too." That seemed to wake him up, or at least he pulled the blanket off his head.

"Where are we going to go?" he asked, staring up at me. Nico had a lovely sleepy voice, and if I wasn't about ready to boil over with excitement I doubt we would've left the cabin. He slowly climbed out of bed, and I blinked when I realized he had no shirt on. He'd slept in basketball shorts, and they hung kind of low on his hips. He stretched lazily and once again I got a great view of his abs. "Prince?" He glanced down at himself and a knowing smile appeared on his face. "Admiring the view huh?" he teased gently.

"That's for my eyes only," I said, wrapping my arms around him. If this was how the day was turning out then it was going to be a fantastic day. "Now why don't you get dressed and ready for travel time. Don't forget to brush your teeth!" I called after him as he disappeared into his bathroom. "I'm such a mother hen," I said to myself as a stretched out, adjusting me blue tee so it covered my stomach.

"It's okay," Nico said in response to what I'd said to myself, and I wondered, not for the first time, what kind of powers my little Prince of Shadows really had. "Again, I've never had someone fuss over me before. It's nice." He dug around in his dresser and produced dark jeans and black t-shirt with a silver skull on it. I smiled at him as he shamelessly got dressed in front of me. He had nothing to hide. In fact, I think he was doing it purely to tease me.

"About where we're going," I replied, snapping myself out of my little daze. "I don't know. First I thought we could grab a bite to eat. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

"I could eat," he replied, spritzing on some of that new cologne of his. When he wore it, he smelled amazing, but I couldn't place what it smelled like. I know I'd smelled it before… "And why are you staring at me now?" he asked, a playful smile tugging at his lips despite his attempts to keep a serious mood.

"I'm trying to figure out what your cologne smells like," I replied truthfully, turning pink. "I've smelled it before, I'm just not sure where. Or how." I wrinkled my nose in concentration. "I can't place it."

"Neither can I," he replied, frowning. He picked up the bottle and studied it. "I'm not even sure what it's called. Jason picked it out for me. I was a little leery of the black bottle, but so far it's worked out." He set the bottle back on top of his dresser and turned to me, slinging a backpack over one shoulder. "Are we ready to shadow travel out of here?" Smiling, I grabbed his hands.

"Yeah," I replied before I saw nothing but black.

…

The best part about shadow traveling with Nico (in my opinion) was that I got to squeeze his hands the entire time. I'm sure it was only a few seconds we were actually doing it, but it felt like a life time. We landed by Central Park (which I found odd). Nico straightened and smiled at me while I gagged and dropped to one knee. I would've kissed the smile right off of him if I hadn't been so busy trying to keep my meager breakfast in my stomach.

"It's fun watching people's reaction when they do that," he said. "Where should we start?" I shrugged. I knew where I wanted to go, but I was in no hurry to get there. It was late morning, meaning it was about lunch time. I looked into the park. There's nothing like a picnic in the park.

"Wanna grab a bite?" I asked, motioning to some of the food carts set up." Nico nodded enthusiastically and lead the way inside. "I was thinking hot dogs," I said, and once again he nodded. We came across a hot dog stand, ordered two with all the works, and sat down on a bench to enjoy our meal. Ketchup dripped onto Nico's shirt and he groaned, swiping at it with a napkin.

"Stupid ketchup," he mumbled, taking another bite. I grinned at him and finished mine, sitting back and enjoying the lazy afternoon. It was warm today, and I was glad I decided to wear a t-shirt, because it would've been too hot in anything else. Nico looked content in his black clothing, despite that black soaked up heat like a sponge. People passed by from time to time, and some even smiled at us. Don't say everyone in New York is unfriendly (although between you and me it was mostly the moms that smiled at us). "What a great day," Nico said, stretching up beside me and balling his napkin in his fist.

"Yep," I agreed, looking up. The tall buildings of New York stretched over us like jungle trees, our own suburban jungle that is. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. New York was my home. I stood up on that happy note, hauling Nico to his feet. "Let's get this shopping day started sweetie. Where do you want to go first?" My little shadow prince tapped his chin, thinking hard.

"I want to go back to the shop where I got the cologne," he replied at last, grinning. "I want to stock up while we're in the city. At the rate I'm going with it, I'll need more." I grinned and wrapped him in a quick hug.

"Sure sweetie, whatever you want," I said as he lead the way to Fifth Ave.

…

"This is great!" Nico exclaimed, holding up the little bag with two bottles of his new cologne in it. I don't know how he got the money to pay for them, but he just reached into his backpack and, viola, money. I guess when your dad is the king of untold riches mortal rules like budgets don't apply. "Can we go try on clothes?" he asked, giving me the puppy dog eyes. Even without them, I would've said yes, but now I laughed and nodded. "Goody!" he said, zipping off. I followed him at a slower pace and soon lost him. I fought the panic rising in my chest. He had to be here somewhere.

"Nico!" I called, my voice cracking. "Nico!" He rounded a corner and stared at me like I'd lost my mind. I didn't care. I was so relieved to see him I ran to him, swept him up, and hugged and scolded him at the same time. "There you are sweetie. Don't you ever give me a heart attack like that again or I'll stop talking to you for a month! I'm glad you're okay," I hugged him tighter, and I could tell he was trying to stifle laughter.

"Geez Prince," he said, finally wiggling out of my grasp. "I was just looking at some new shirts. I wasn't that far." He pointed to a rack a few feet away, and I noticed now he was shorter than it. No wonder I hadn't seen him. "I wanna go to jewelry anyway," he decided. "Let's go!" He grabbed my hand and hauled me over to the jewelry section of the store. "Look at the rings!" he exclaimed, examining them through the glass. I chuckled and walked away a little, but keeping him in my sights. He seemed busy oohing and ahhing over the rings, so I turned to look at necklaces. I found the one I wanted, the one I'd run across when I was out shopping last with my mom.

"Are you admiring the nice necklace?" the salesman asked, smiling kindly at me. I nodded and examined it more. It was kind of feminine, but then again so was Nico. It was sterling silver inlaid with red rubies, and the metal was twisted into an N. It was the perfect gift for my little shadow prince. "Excellent choice," he said, stooping to pick it up.

"If you don't mind," I said quietly. "I would like it gift wrapped. I also would appreciate it if that little man didn't see." I motioned to Nico, who was examining gold bands now. The salesman nodded once and did a good job of hiding it while he rang up the price and wrapped it in a little white box. It cost me three hundred dollars (actually it was a little more than that), which was about all I had. But it was worth it for my Prince of Shadows.

…

"You didn't buy much," Nico commented when we got back to camp. I had a couple of bags with some nice white dress shirts in them, but other than let I left Nico to do the shopping. He bought some more black shirts, varying t-shirts and good shirts, as well as a skull ring. It seemed fitting for him. I'd managed to hide the box with his necklace in it all day, and now I couldn't wait to show it to him.

"That's because I bought a big item early in the day and didn't have a terrible amount of money left," I replied, reaching down into my bag and pulling out the little box. "This is for you Nico." He glanced from the box to me as he took it. "Go on, open it, my precious Prince of Shadows." I watched his face as he carefully lifted the lid. His jaw went slack as he gently lifted the necklace out by its silver chain.

"Percy, it's beautiful," he said, gazing at it fondly. I took it from him, moved around behind him, and gently clasped it around his neck. He fingered the silver and ruby N, looking at me. "How much did this cost you Percy? This is real silver and rubies."

"It was a lot," I admitted, and I saw the pained look he gave me. "I don't care Nico. Money is just a thing. The point was I bought this for you because I love you, and now you'll always remember that and this day. It's been the perfect day indeed." I embraced him and pressed my lips to his ear. "I love you Nico, my precious Prince of Shadows."

"I love you too Percy, my darling Prince of the Sea," he replied, fingering the necklace again. "Thank you for this wonderful gift and the perfect outing." I smiled at him. It was no trouble at all. In fact, I think it was the best day I've ever had.

…

Awww, that was a cute chapter too! Which means something really bad is going to happen! Cause nothing that good lasts forever. What did you think of Percy's surprise for Nico? I think it's sweet to get him something like that (but that's just my opinion). As always, R&R and I'll see you next chap!