Sorry if there was any confusion about who is going on the quest. It is Percy, Nico, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, and Ryan. :-) Don't worry; I'm not done with our two favorite demigods just yet, this quest is going to be fun. This is a super short chapter but it's also a fun one. Enjoy.

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

Nico POV

We spent two days making sure that everything was ready. The Hephaestus cabin had agreed to let us use the Argo II. At first they were hesitant to lend it to us but Jason and Percy had convinced them. Leo had built the ship, and by using his ship to free Calypso, it was as if Leo would be coming with us.

The Hephaestus Cabin had repaired the Argo shortly after our return. Leo was an extraordinarily gifted mechanic, even by Hephaestus standards. They had tried their best but the Argo II would never be quite the same. Leo was the only one who could have fixed everything. They had fixed most of the issues; it was only little things that would never again work, like how the mess hall no longer played scenes from around camp.

I dumped my bag in the room I had been assigned and headed up to meet everyone else on deck. Looking around, I could sense a wrongness in the air. I had never really been a close friend of Leo but it still felt as though something was missing. Judging by the faces of the remaining members of the seven, they felt the same.

Leo had made sure that everyone who was on the ship could fly it. He had even forced me to learn during the trip from Rome to the House of Hades. The only one who was coming that was unable to fly the Argo was Ryan.

I sighed and glared at the floor. I had really wanted to speak up and not allow him to come. I didn't believe he knew the meaning of the words 'personal space'. I was not exactly what anyone would call a people person and Ryan liked to disregard my personal bubble. The only thing that had stopped me from speaking up was my gut. I had a feeling that if we did need an Apollo camper, Ryan was the one that would be able to help us.

I watched as Ryan strutted his way out on deck. His dark brown hair was artfully styled and the white t-shirt he was wearing made his bright blue eyes even more noticeable. He saw me looking and gave me a smirk. I had to roll my eyes and look away. One glance and you could tell he was the type of guy who spent just as, if not more, time on his appearance than the Aphrodite girls.

"Hey Nico," I frowned. We hadn't even taken off yet and already he was standing way too close for comfort.

I took a step away and turned towards him. "What do you want Ryan?"

Ryan smiled and leaned against the mast. "I just came to say hi, is that so wrong?"

I rolled my eyes. I was not in the mood to deal with the arrogant son of the sun god. "Why don't you go bother someone else?"

"Why would I want to do that when you're right here? Besides you're my favorite person to bother." For a moment I seriously considered the pros and cons of tossing him overboard. He sighed. "Listen Nico, I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot. I really like you, I know you are with Percy right now but who knows what the future will bring. I'm just saying... don't write me off until you know me. We are going to be hanging out in close quarters for a while at least, what better time to get to know someone?" He gave me a genuine smile.

"I'm sorry but you're not my type."

I couldn't help but compare him to Percy. They seemed to be opposites. Percy was loyal to a fault, the fact that Ryan didn't care if I had a boyfriend showed that he really didn't care that much about loyalty. Ryan was very charismatic, and while people would follow Percy without question, no one would ever say Percy had a silver tongue. Even their looks were on opposite ends of the spectrum. I would, grudgingly, admit that Ryan was fairly attractive, in a pretty-boy kind of way. Percy however was extraordinarily attractive but more in a surfer, outdoorsy kind of way.

All in all, I definitely preferred Percy.

I couldn't stop my eyes from turning to door that lead below deck. We were just waiting on Percy and Hazel to come up before we took off. I wished that Percy was standing where Ryan was.

"How do you know I'm not your type if we've never even had a proper conversation?"

I turned back towards Ryan. "How do you know that we would be good together if we've never even had a proper conversation?" I countered.

Ryan laughed, "Touché, but at least I'm willing to get to know you. I'm willing to chance being wrong, are you?"

I raised one of my eyebrows, "I'm with Percy; I'm not looking to date anyone else."

He shrugged, "Who said we have to date? Why not just try getting to know each other first?"

I gave him a disbelieving look. "So all you're looking for is friendship?"

"For now at least. Give me a chance; get to know me before you decide that you want nothing to do with me."

I frowned. I hated when people judged me without even trying to get to know me. If I refused to even attempt a friendship with Ryan, I would be doing the same thing to him that others did to me.

I had a feeling I was going to regret my decision. "Fine, we can try."

Ryan smiled, "I'm glad to hear it."

He tried to step even closer to me. I narrowed my eyes and drew my sword. I had it against his throat before he was able to finish a single step.

"Be warned though, I am with Percy. I am happy with Percy. If you continue to try to flirt with me, I will impale you."

Ryan's eyes went wide and he took a step back. As soon as I lowered my sword his smirk came back. "I shall keep it in mind."

ΩΩΩ

Percy POV

When I came up from the cargo hold the first thing I spotted was Nico with his sword at Ryan's throat. I was slightly embarrassed at the pleasure the sight gave me. At least I knew that Nico wouldn't put up with Ryan's constant flirting.

As soon as he put away his sword, I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. I felt him stiffen in my arms for a moment before he realized that it was me. I felt Nico relax and lean against my chest.

"See you around Nico." Ryan smirked at me and walked off.

I sighed and rested my chin on his head. "He really annoys me." I felt Nico pull away to look at me. I couldn't understand his expression. He looked very surprised but also like he couldn't quite believe me. "What?"

Nico smiled slightly and shook his head in disbelief, "Percy... are you jealous?"

"No," I'm not jealous, am I? I blinked in shock. I thought about it and realized that I kind of was. I didn't like when Ryan flirted with him. I didn't want to tell him that but I couldn't lie to him either. I felt myself blush, "Well, I mean... maybe a little."

Nico looked down but I could have sworn that there was a blush on his cheeks as well. He hesitantly reached out and put his hands on my shoulders. I felt my own blush brighten at the contact. He looked up at me hesitantly. "Trust me Percy, you have no need to be jealous. He's not my type."

I felt my heart flutter a little when his gaze locked with my own. I gulped and slowly leaned down towards him. I saw his eyes widen in shock but he didn't pull away.

Right before my lips met his I heard someone gasp. We pulled back blushing and saw Piper looking at us in shock. "I uh... Hazels ready to go. We're getting ready to takeoff."

I nodded at her and awkwardly nodded at Nico before we all went our separate ways to prepare for takeoff.

ΩΩΩ

I stood at the helm. I was the one who would be steering for the first watch. As I looked over the deck I could see Nico double checking all of the sails to make sure they were properly attached. Piper and Hazel double checking that we had everything that we thought we would need for the quest. Frank was in the form or an eagle and was helping Jason to untie the mooring lines and raise the anchors. Ryan, well Ryan didn't seem to be doing anything. He was just sitting on the deck enjoying the sun.

I rolled my eyes. Oh ya, he was a good choice, I sighed.

At Jason's all clear, I began the process of lift off. We had decided that we would head over land. It was a far shorter distance than it would have been if we tried to sail. Besides, after I had told them the whole story of how I landed on Calypso's Island they began to think that air travel might be the only way to get there. We had Leo's astrolabe attached beside the steering wheel. We hoped that once we reached 'where the sun is risen,' it would help us. At the moment all it did was spin in a lazy circle.

For the beginning of the trip we had decided to just head east. We all agreed that we could work on figuring out exactly where to go once we reached the Pacific.

Everyone had gathered on the left side of the ship for one last look at our camp. I looked out and saw camp half blood beginning to get smaller and smaller. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, our quest had finally begun.