A/N: Hey faithful readers. Thank you for continuing this journey with me. Please Review. Whenever I get a review it really validates the time and hard work I put in this piece. Other than that I hope you enjoy the ride we have embarked on together. Shout out to my good friend Athena Boy. Great writing, great friend. Double threat. Ha Ha. Thanks for all the favorites, follows, and author favorites and follows I have received over the last two weeks or so. It really means a lot to me as I become the writer I want to be. Who knows maybe some of you will enjoy my original works as much as you enjoy my OC. Well, I'll shut up now. Enjoy!

Chapter 17

*NICK*

I was the first to wake. No surprise really considering I was the first one out. Nico was not too far from me, his hand stretched out as if we had held hands during the night. Wait, was it even morning? It was difficult to tell in Hades's Realm. As I sat up leaning against the cavern wall, two thoughts circled my mind. Both clamoring and competing for attention like a clown on a unicycle. Both horrible and fascinating simultaneously. The first made me groan and ignore it defiantly: I could really use a cup of coffee. The second was more arbitrarily abstract. It was a line from a poem that had stuck with me: I wake to sleep and take my waking slow.

I couldn't remember where I had read the poem or who had wrote it, but the thought of the implication of that poem sent a shiver down my spine. It spoke of futility and death.

"Are you okay?" a voice as heavenly as an angel pulled me from my dark thoughts.

"I'm fine Nico, just thinking. I didn't know you were up." I said quietly, still trying to wake without the aid of caffeine. This hadn't been a problem when I first came to Camp, but my body was entering the withdrawal stage. Not good.

"I just got up." Nico replied nonchalantly rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He looked so cute when he first woke up, I thought as my lips curled into a small smile.

"What are you smiling about?" Nico inquired quizzically.

"Aren't you a good enough reason to smile?" I asked him playfully.

Even just waking up Nico's mind was alert and he blushed crimson.

Nico mumbled, "Ed è per questo che ti trovo così affascinante."

I frowned. I knew a little Italian, hell I knew a little bit of many languages, but not enough to really do anything with. It wasn't hard to construct a basic idea of what he was saying.

"Aww. I didn't know you spoke Italian. I didn't catch all that, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say you think I'm enchanting?" I said smiling at him in a way only possible when happy and content with life in that moment. Nico blushed an even deeper red. Perhaps, he expected me not to understand his musing mumblings.

"Don't worry Nico, I find you mesmerizing as well, and your secret is safe with me", I said winking at him. Just then Percy groaned and sat up. Looking around blurrily, he wiped drool from his lip and, at the very least, appeared to wake up much quicker than Nico or I could achieve.

"Well…" I said standing up and brushing off my black jeans, "Shall we get going?"

Percy groaned again, a bit defiantly.

"Merda! Don't even go there Fish Face, it was your idea to use Nico and I as a taxi." I said hotly.

"Fine. Let's go then." Percy replied grumpily.

I walked forward and gripped Percy roughly by his wrist.

"We'll meet you at LAX on the runway. Number thirteen." I said looking at Nico.

He nodded before melting into the shadows.

I immediately swept my leg around and kicked Percy's feet out from under him. He landed with a smack on his back.

"Oh. That was so uncalled for." Percy said slowly as if he had hit his head too.

"Perhaps…but what you did was also uncalled for. We will settle this later. At Camp. Just between the two of us." I said dead serious. I quickly leaned down and placed one hand on Percy's chest. And darkness filled my vision.

When my senses returned, we were, well I was standing in front of my Mother's private jet. Percy was still spread out on the ground. A sexy Nico diAngelo was arguing with the pilot.

"He's with me!" I shouted. Nico and the pilot looked up. Nico looked at me questioningly as I removed my hand from Percy and stood up walking towards the duo. The pilot immediately opened the jet and went into the cockpit at the front of the plane. I nodded at Nico to get on the plane.

He did, but only after glancing back one more time at Percy. Who had taken the time to stand and then walk most of the way to the jet. I entered after Nico and waited for Percy before pressing the button that sealed the jet.

"Well, make yourselves at home. We have a long flight ahead of us. Video games, anyone?" I said motioning to an entertainment center on the far wall.

A/N: I have the next chapter finished already and will begin work on the next soon enough. I'm going to try something I haven't done before. If I get feedback or reviews of some kind I will post the next chapter sooner than I have intended. Those of you waiting for some development between Nick and Nico will definitely be happy. Unless your expecting something graphic, which in that case you will be disappointed, because that's still a bit of a ways off. Until next time.