I would like to apologize to all of my readers. I hit a wall and everything I tried to write was coming out wrong. This was by far the longest break I've ever taken from my writing but I needed it. My stories were beginning to feel like a chore. I started writing for fun and was getting really run down. Three stories are just too many for me to write at once. On the plus side, after a three week break, I'm really excited to get back to writing so thank you for your patience. I hope you enjoy this long overdue chapter.

Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.

Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.

ΩΩΩ

To say that Hades was pissed at his son was an understatement. Usually Nico would have been far more worried about it but since Hades didn't want him around, it meant that Nico was free to do as he wished. He knew that the god of the underworld would have a list of crappy tasks for him to complete later but at the moment, all Nico wanted to do was go and see Percy. The council may have voted against killing the young demigod, but Nico wouldn't accept that he was safe until the boy was standing in front of him. Nico rushed through his daily duties so that he would be free to go and see Percy.

The young god of the underworld emerged from the shadows and looked around at Camp Half-Blood. He had not stepped foot in his old camp since the day he had accepted immortality. He was surprised at how little had changed over the last two hundred years. There were far more cabins and shrines now thanks to Jason's work but other than that, it looked the same as it did the day he first saw it. He shook his head and smiled slightly. He knew he shouldn't have been so surprised. Technology had never been very demigod friendly.

Nico saw that the campfire was coming to end. He stepped further into the shadows of the trees as he watched the children disperse. He smiled when he saw Percy walk out surrounded by a few new friends. He watched as Chiron trotted up to the young demigod. They spoke for a few minutes before he patted him on the shoulder and the group of children walked away, leading Percy towards the cabins.

Chiron turned to look directly at Nico. The centaur smiled and bowed to the god in acknowledgment before turning around and heading back to the big house.

The young god waited in the trees for a few more minutes before he started making his way towards the cabins. Nico smiled when he saw the lights on in cabin three but he wasn't surprised. He had expected Poseidon to claim his favorite son as soon as he had stepped into camp. When a hero chose re-birth, their godly parent remained the same.

The young god of the underworld paused on the steps of the Poseidon cabin for a moment before he raised his hand and knocked.

ΩΩΩ

Percy was fairly certain that he would enjoy the camp. He had only been there for a day but it had been amazing. He hadn't gotten to do much yet. Most of the day had been spent showing him around camp. His new friends had told him about all of the different activities that they got to do. He was really looking forward to the sword training.

Percy was just about to head to bed when he heard a knock on the door. He jumped up to open it. He didn't really know who it could be. He hardly knew anyone in camp yet. His confusion turned to happiness when he opened the door and saw who was on his doorstep.

Percy felt a smile spread across his face, "Nico!"

The black haired man looked surprised at his enthusiastic reaction but returned a small smile. "Hello Piccolo."

ΩΩΩ

After a few moments it became clear to the young god that Percy wasn't going to say anything else.

"May I come in?"

Percy's eyes widened. He blushed as he stepped aside so that Nico could enter. "Sorry. I just didn't expect to see you so soon."

The son of Hades smiled at the boy. "It is alright. How was your first day?"

Percy's eyes lit up with excitement, "It was amazing! This place is so cool. I can't wait to start training."

Nico nodded and let out an imperceptible breath of air. He had been very worried that Zeus would have chosen to extract some form of revenge against Percy for his actions. He was quite pleased to find that his fears had been unfounded.

"I am glad that you like it here young one." Percy bit his lip and looked down. It was quite clear that he had a question that he didn't want to ask. "Is something wrong Percy?"

The demigod looked back at the god, "Is it true?"

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Is what true Piccolo?"

"Are you really a god?"

The son of Hades met Percy's gaze and nodded. "Yes, it is true."

The young demigod's eyes widened, "Really? Is that how you teleported us?"

"Yes."

"Wow! That is so cool! I've never read any stories about you. What other powers do you have? Did you ever meet Hercules? What is your..."

Nico chuckled and raised his hands to signal the boy to stop, "One question at a time Percy."

The son of Poseidon's blush returned full force and he looked down in embarrassment. "I'm sorry."

The son of Hades looked at the young demigod with a soft smile on his face. "It is alright Piccolo."

Percy bit his lip and met his gaze. "You don't mind? I mean, you're a god. I'm sure you have much better things to do that answer my questions..."

"I don't mind at all, young one. I will always try to find time to talk you as often as I am able." Nico sat down on one of the unused bunks in the cabin. "Now, what would you like to know first?"

ΩΩΩ

Nico was incredibly busy. He couldn't find much time to see Percy. In addition to his normal duties, Hades had in fact prepared a list of boring tasks for the young god of the underworld to do. He was only able to stop by for a few minutes now and then, just to say hello and make certain that the young demigod was alright.

Percy seemed to be flourishing at Camp Half-Blood. He was just as well liked as he had been the last time he had gone there. The forgotten memories of Percy's last life certainly affected his sword fighting abilities. It wasn't long at all until the son of Poseidon was one of the best fighters at camp. He wasn't quite up to his formal level but as he was twelve, it was to be expected.

Before Percy had finished his fifth month at camp, he had been assigned his first quest. The goddess Khione was refusing to stop the snow. It was already May and thought spring should have already had a firm hold on the earth, the snow goddess refused to allow the flowers to grow.

Nico was nervous during the entire quest. The young god of the underworld had to force himself not to interfere when Percy ran into the Hydra. The only thing that kept Nico from saving the demigod was Zeus's promise to kill the son of Poseidon if he interfered again. Between Percy and the son of Hermes he was traveling with, they were able to distract the Hydra long enough for their friend, a daughter of Demeter, to encase the Hydra in vines.

The son of Hades didn't breathe properly until Khione had been dealt with and the three demigods returned to the safety of the camp.

Nico's desire to protect Percy only seemed to have grown since his rebirth. It was increasingly hard to keep himself from simply kidnapping the boy to keep him safe. The son of Hades was not used to watching the young hero without being able to help him.

The young god of the underworld knew that if he was to keep himself from interfering, he would have to avoid watching over Percy's quests in the future.

ΩΩΩ

Nico found that time as an immortal seemed to pass differently than it had when he was a human. It slipped by without his knowledge of its passing. Spring would become fall before he had even realized that summer had come. The only way for him to properly notice its passage was by watching the lives of mortals.

It seemed to him that it had only been a few months since he had brought Percy to camp. Yet when the young god of the underworld knocked on the door of cabin three, he was greeted by a fourteen year old son of Poseidon. Percy looked almost the exact same as he had when Nico had met him for the very first time.

A smile split the face of the teenage demigod. His sea-green eyes lit up in delight, "Nico!"

The son of Hades smiled slightly at the greeting. He was always taken off guard by the enthusiastic greetings. "Hello Piccolo. May I come in?"

Percy nodded and stepped aside, "Of course!"

Nico stepped into the cabin and cast a curious look around while Percy closed the door. His eyes caught on a half packed bag sitting in the middle of his bed. "Going on a quest?"

"I just got back actually. The Chimera was loose in Seattle. It was going on a killing spree. Chiron sent us to slay it."

Nico furrowed his brow. He could vaguely remember Apollo saying something about Seattle in the last council meeting. "I take it you were successful then?"

The son of Poseidon nodded, "Ya. It wasn't just me though. Jesse and Lizzy helped. I couldn't have done it without them."

Nico took a seat on an unused bunk and smiled. "So tell me then. How did you do it?"

The young demigod sat down across from the god. "I got help from a black pegasus. On our way to Seattle, we came across this circus. The carnival thought he was just a regular horse. We found Shade, that's his name, tied up to one of those stupid pony rides that just go in circles. All of the animals were kept in these tiny, dirty, cages. We couldn't just leave them there. So Jesse picked the lock. We freed all the animals but Shade wanted to come with us. Anyway, once we got to Seattle, finding the Chimera wasn't hard. Lizzy came up with a plan. She and Jesse led the monster to a park and then they distracted the beast. Once the Chimera was preoccupied, Shade flew me behind it and I cut off its tail. After that, it was just a matter of killing it. Shade helped me do that too."

Nico nodded, "That was a good plan. You were quite brave to kill the Chimera. That is no easy task."

The son of Poseidon looked down with a light blush on his cheeks, "I couldn't have done it without my friends."

Even in his new life, Percy wanted to make sure that everyone got the credit they were due. The son of Hades smiled at the demigod. "Be that as it may Piccolo, you were still brave. Not many heroes could accomplish such a feat."

Percy's blush grew. He looked up at the young god and smiled. "Thank you."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Percy glanced up in surprise before he flashed Nico a sheepish look. "That will be Lizzy and Jesse. I forgot that they were coming over to hang out."

The son of Hades nodded and got to his feet. He was a little upset about losing his time with the son of Poseidon. It was not often enough that he was able to find the opportunity to see the demigod. "It is no problem young one."

"Do... do you want to meet them?" Nico looked over to decline only to see Percy looking at him with the most hopeful expression in his eyes.

The young god of the underworld felt his heart soften. Percy was looking at him with his 'baby seal eyes' as Piper used to call them. There was very little that he could deny such a sweet and innocent expression, "Alright."

The look of pure joy that Percy gave him with was quite worth it. He rushed to the door and opened it. "Hey guys. Come on in, I have someone I want you to meet. Lizzy, Jesse, this is Nico."

The son of Hades nodded to the young demigods. The boy, Jesse, gave Nico a fairly unfriendly look. The look confused the young god but rather than focusing on, it he turned his attention to the girl.

Lizzy smiled at him and held out her hand. "It's really nice to finally meet you. Percy talks about you all the time. I'm Lizzy, the daughter of Demeter. My unsmiling friend here is Jesse, son of Hermes."

Nico shook the proffered hand. Looking at the daughter of Demeter, his heart gave a painful twinge.

Nico could see how the girl could easily become Percy's new Annabeth. She had an intelligent gleam in her eyes. The young god remembered Percy saying that Lizzy had come up with the plan that they used to defeat the Chimera. She even looked a little like her. She had long blonde hair and sky blue eyes.

The son of Hades felt a wave of jealousy rip through him at the thought of having to watch Percy in the arms of another. He had already seen him spend one lifetime with someone else, he didn't want to watch Percy grow old again and never be able to call him his own.

He tried to tame his jealousy with the knowledge that Percy was still only a child but he could clearly remember Cupids words to him...

'He won't always be. Give him another 12 years and you will see him differently.'

The god of love had been right. It had already been 9 years. Three more years wasn't that long to an immortal...

ΩΩΩ

Nico couldn't forget his revelation. Percy had always seemed like a child to him, still the same little boy he had found crying over his mother. Yet now, whenever he found the time to go and see him, he could tell that Percy was already well on his way to becoming a great hero. Every successful quest, every slain monster, Percy became one step closer to the hero he had been in his last life.

By fifteen the son of Poseidon was already the celebrated champion of Camp Half-Blood. In the Olympic Games between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter, Percy led his fellow campers to victory.

It seemed every time Nico stopped in to see him, he had a few girls following him around. Nico wondered if he should be worried about them but Percy never seemed to notice their existence and when he did, he seemed ignorant of their intentions. Nico couldn't help but shake his head at the obliviousness of the demigod. Whenever he showed up to see the son of Poseidon, Percy left whatever he was doing to go and talk with the young god.

Nico could only hope that Percy's oblivious nature towards the girls who liked him lasted for a few more years...

ΩΩΩ

The young god of the underworld appeared at Camp Half-Blood just as the sun was setting.

He had made a bet with Thanatos about what Hera would do when she found out about Zeus's newest fling. Nico had bet that she would turn the girl into some form of animal where as the god of death had bet that she would simply vaporize her. Nico won. Hera turned the girl into antelope. As the loser of the bet, Thanatos had to finish all of Nico's duties for the day, leaving the son of Hades free to go and see Percy.

He went to knock on the door of cabin three only to find Percy sitting of the porch with his head in his hands. Nico's eyes widened in concern as he went over and took a seat next to the demigod. The son of Poseidon looked up in surprise which changed to joy when he saw who was sitting beside him.

The son of the sea god smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes, "Nico!"

The young god nodded at him. "Hello Piccolo." The two of them lapsed into silence for a few moments before Nico decided to break the stillness. "What is wrong Percy?"

The son of Poseidon looked up at Nico with a highly unconvincing innocent expression, "I don't know what you're talking about."

The son of Hades had to hold back a chuckle at the obvious lie. Instead he raised an eyebrow and fixed him with a piercing look, "You shouldn't lie to me Percy. I am a god after all."

The demigod flushed darkly and looked down with a guilty expression. "I'm sorry Nico. I'm fine though. I don't think that you can help me."

Nico tilted his head slightly and furrowed his brow. "What makes you say that Piccolo?" The son of Hades had thought the demigods blush couldn't get any darker but Percy's face reached a new level of red. Nico's eyes widened and he had to keep a blush of his own from appearing on his face when he realized what Percy was probably confused about. "Oh... Is this a girl problem?"

"Kinda... but not really," The son of Poseidon kept his gaze averted.

The son of Hades felt a sharp stabbing pain in his chest. He looked away and took a deep breath before he could speak again. "Is it about Lizzy?"

Percy's head shot up. He had confusion written all over his face, "Lizzy?"

"You have a thing for her don't you?"

The son of Poseidon wrinkled his nose and stuck his tongue out. "No, gross. She's like my sister."

Nico's heart lightened for a moment before he realized that Percy still had feelings for someone else. He caught Percy's gaze, "If it's not about her, then who is it about?"

Percy's blush returned full force. He tried to look away but Nico wouldn't let him. The demigod took a deep breath and bit his lip. "It... it's about Jesse."

The son of Hades was completely lost, "The son of Hermes?"

Percy nodded, "Ya. He... he asked me out."

Nico's eyes widened and his spine automatically straightened. "You're gay?"

It was better than Nico had hoped for. If he was gay, then Nico stood a chance...

Percy looked down at his hands and nodded. "I'm bi." He hesitantly looked up to meet Nico's gaze once more, "That's... that's not a problem is it?"

It took a moment for Percy's question to pierce through Nico's shock. He immediately shook his head. The god wasn't certain what his face looked like but when Percy's expression crumbled in pain, he hurried to explain himself. "No Percy, That's not a problem at all. I would never judge anyone for loving someone of the same sex."

If it wasn't for the seriousness of their conversation, Nico was fairly certain that he would have been laughing at the irony.

Percy's entire face split into a relieved smile, the way he slumped his shoulders made it look like he had just been relieved of the burden of Atlas. He gave Nico a slightly guilty look.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make it seem like I thought you would judge me. You've always been incredibly nice to me but I know that some people aren't as open minded. I was just worried that you would think there was something wrong with me."

Nico couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. His heart was lighter than he could ever remember it being. "There is nothing wrong with loving whoever you love, regardless of gender. It's not something you can control."

The son of Poseidon blushed and looked down, "Thanks Nico, that means a lot to me. Now I just need to figure out what to say to Jesse."

Nico's joyous thoughts came crashing to a halt. He had thought that the idea of seeing Percy with his friend Lizzy had been hard, but it was nothing compared with the idea of seeing Percy with another man. It hurt far more to think of the possibility of Percy being attracted to men and still rejecting him.

"Do you like him?" Nico spoke in a steady voice but he could pick up a slight undertone of the inner pain he was feeling. It was hidden well enough though that he was certain Percy wouldn't hear it.

"I don't know. I've never thought about him like that. I mean, I like him, he's my best friend, but I'm in..." Percy fidgeted with his hands and his entire face turned bright red. "I'm just not sure if I like him like that. But I don't want to ruin our friendship. What if I tell him no and he hates me for it?"

The son of Hades sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He had honestly never thought he would be having this conversation with Percy Jackson.

"I understand what you mean Piccolo. It is never easy when one friend confessed their feelings for another. There is a chance that he will walk away if you refuse him but if he does, not only does he not truly love you, but he is not a true friend. A real friend would stand by you, even if they knew their feelings would never be returned. You can go out with him if you think that is best but you would stand a far greater chance of hurting your friendship with him if you were to agree to go out with him without having feelings for him. Love is not something that can be forced. You may discover feelings for him but more likely, you will both end up hurting each other."

The son of Poseidon dropped his head into his hands. "I really don't want to lose his friendship. Why did he have to confess? Wouldn't it have been easier if he hadn't said anything?"

The son of Hades winced at how close to home that comment hit. "Keeping ones feelings hidden is much more difficult than people would believe. Maybe for a little while it would have been better, but keeping a secret like that locked inside, it can cause much greater pain in the future. There are some things that shouldn't remain secret. You should never keep your feelings hidden in the hopes that they will go away."

Percy sighed, "I don't want to hurt him."

"I know Piccolo but at this point, if you don't return his feelings it is better to simply tell him so. Loving someone, hoping they can love you back, is even more painful then loving someone who you know doesn't return your feelings. Hope keeps his love tied to you. If he knows the truth, then he will be free to pursue another who can return his affections."

The son of Poseidon nodded. He bit his lip and leaned into the young god. Nico hesitate for a moment before he wrapped a comforting arm around the now sixteen year old. Percy shifted so that he could wrap his arms around Nico's waist and lean his head against his chest.

The son of Hades tried not to think about how perfectly the young demigod fit in his arms, but Nico was only sixteen himself when he became a god. He usually adopted the guise of an eighteen year old but at heart; he was still only a teenager. There was only so much he could do to keep his heart from dancing at the knowledge that, however temporarily, he was holding Percy just as he had always wanted to.

He silently made an oath on the River Styx. He would not allow himself to miss his second chance...