Yay, so much Percico in this chapter... how exciting. :-) haha I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter. I sure had fun writing it.

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.

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Nico POV

Piper dragged me back to her cabin where she had started digging through her clothes. Piper and Jason decided that if Percy found me attractive then they were going to make sure he kept thinking about it. I wasn't sure that I agreed with their plan. Ya, he had said it once but it was more likely a onetime thing. I would have rather just let it go but when I suggested it, Piper smacked me in the back of the head and told me to shut up and do as I was told.

For a child of Aphrodite that girl could be scary.

It made me fairly uncomfortable to learn that Piper and I were practically the same size. I had always known I was scrawny but I hadn't thought it was that bad. Fortunately for me at least Piper seemed to own as many guy shirts as girl ones so at least she wouldn't be trying to force me to wear something pink. I shivered as I imagined her siblings trying to dress me. I drew the line at anything remotely girly.

Eventually Piper had found one of her shirts that according to her 'fit my personality'. I reluctantly took the shirt she handed me and went to change. She had also forced me to change my pants but at least she let me wear a pair of my own jeans.

I stepped out into the hallway and Piper started to circle me. I have faced down monsters so terrifying that the sight alone would be enough to drive most mortals insane but I had never felt as much like prey as I did at that moment. The way she was evaluating me had me resisting the urge to wrap my arms around my body.

"What?" I looked down at myself.

I was wearing my favorite pair of black skinny jeans. They were tight without restricting movement. I had never understood why some people would wear pants so tight they couldn't walk properly. I had always been a believer in comfortable clothing. The t-shirt Piper had given me was thankfully black. I would have preferred it to be plain but I could live with the dark blue graphic designs. It was just an abstract pattern. Though my pants were comfortable I felt that the shirt was a little to snug. I was used to slightly looser shirts and Piper's t-shirt seemed too tight.

"Are you certain that this shirt isn't too tight?"

Piper smiled at me. "Positive. Trust me Nico, you look really good." She stepped up to me and started messing with my hair. I stepped back and glared at her but she just stepped forwards and went back to what she was doing. "Stop throwing a hissy fit, you look hot. Trust me, Percy will appreciate the effort."

I glared at the floor and tried my best not to blush at her comment. "I fail to see why I'm doing this."

Piper smiled at me as she looked me over one last time. "Simple, you want Percy and we want to see both of you happy."

"And this achieves that how?" I felt ridiculous. I looked down at myself and shook my head.

Piper rolled her eyes, "Just say thank you already."

I sighed, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now go talk to your man."

I felt my face heat up as I glared at the daughter of the love goddess. I must have been losing my touch as she just laughed and walked away.

I contemplated running but I knew Piper would just drag me back here.

I walked to Percy's door and took a deep breath. I shook my head and knocked before I could lose my nerve.

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Percy's POV

I woke up to someone knocking on my door. I didn't remember falling asleep in the first place. I looked at the clock and saw that it was almost 7:00 pm. I groaned as I rolled out of bed. I had been having a fairly nice dream involving a certain black haired son of the underworld.

I walked to the door and stretched as I opened it. I wasn't certain as to who I thought it would be but I was shocked when I saw the son of Hades waiting for me.

He looked at me for a moment before looking down with a faint blush on his cheeks. Seeing him brought back the memories of this afternoon.

I dropped my arms and felt myself blush. "Hey." Nico glanced at me and nodded. Oh gods does he look nervous. I sighed and looked away. I needed to apologize, "Listen Nico, I um..."

Nico shuffled his feet, "Can I come in?"

I glanced at him in surprise before I stepped out of the way so that he could enter. I was contemplating leaving the door open in case I needed to make a hasty retreat but I decided I really didn't want the rest of the ship knowing about my idiotic statement. I closed the door and turned to him. I was slightly embarrassed by the state of my cabin and quickly made my bed so that we would have somewhere to sit. We had been flying for less than a day and already my room was a pigsty.

"Sorry about the mess."

Nico shrugged and sat down. "It's okay." I saw his eyes drift to my suitcase at the end of the bed. "I thought you were going to unpack?"

I blushed even brighter as I sat down next to him. "I fell asleep."

Nico glanced at me only to look away again. I couldn't help but think of my observation from earlier in the day. With his attention elsewhere I found my eyes raking down his body just to see if I really did find him as attractive as I had previously.

I had to keep myself from gasping aloud.

I had never seen Nico dress like that before. He usually wore lose fitting t-shirts that would make him look even younger and smaller that he really was. The shirt he had on clung to his body like a second skin. The tight black material made the definition of his muscles rather evident. He still wore the same type of jeans that he normally did but, paired with the form fitting shirt, the outfit looked completely different. I had never been as attracted to anyone as I was to him at that moment. He was more striking to me than Aphrodite. With his slightly messy black hair and pale skin, the combination made him look like an Italian rock star.

The overall effect was quite tantalizing.

I swallowed and looked away. The usual cute looking Nico was nowhere to be found. The way he looked right now was 100% the sexy Nico from earlier. It was going to be a lot harder to keep myself from blurting out idiotic things if he kept dressing like that.

I took a deep breath and tried to derail of that train of thought.

I glanced at him but had to look away again. My mouth felt went dry. I was surprised by how nervous I felt around him suddenly. I started playing with a loose thread on my comforter just so that I wouldn't have to look at him when I spoke. "I... I'm sorry for earlier. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." My mouth sometimes gets ahead of my brain...

"It's okay, I...didn't mind."

I looked up at him and saw that he looked just as nervous as I did. I felt a pang of guilt in my stomach. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't seem to stop doing foolish things around him. "No, it's not okay. I told you when we decided to continue, whatever this is, that I wouldn't do anything that made you uncomfortable. And I broke my word." I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I could never seem to do right by the son of Hades. Why did I always end up acting like an idiot around him?

"Trust me Percy; I am not holding that against you." I risked a glance as him and saw a faint blush on his cheek.

Great, like he needed to look any more appealing...

No wonder I always ended up acting like an idiot. Lately whenever Nico came around my brain seemed to think that it was the perfect time to take a break. I couldn't control my thoughts around him and I couldn't figure out why. I had never gone through this stage with any of my previous crushes.

I looked at him before I realized that he had asked me something. I shook my head; I would have to think about my reaction at a later date. "Sorry, what did you say? I zoned out for a moment there."

Nico tilted his head slightly and our gazes locked. His eyes were such a dark brown that I could hardly see where his iris ended and his pupil started. His eyes were so incredibly deep; they seemed to go on forever. I felt myself beginning to get sucked into their depth and had to look away. I coughed and hesitantly looked back at him, forcing myself to not zone out again.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

I felt the blood rush to my face. Hum, to lie or to tell the truth... I winced. Neither option was very good. I sighed, "I doubt that you want to hear it."

I saw him frown, "Why would you think that?"

I chuckled humorlessly. "Please, let's just change topics? I think I've embarrassed us both enough for today."

He was silent for a moment before he shrugged. "Alright, I will let it go for now, but honestly Percy, I want to hear everything you have to say." By the time he had finished his statement his face was even darker than mine.

I smiled at him, "Somehow I doubt that. So what can I help you with? I'm sure you came here for something."

Nico looked down and bit his lip. "I just wanted to talk to you. You ran away earlier before I had the chance." He looked up at me and I had to force myself to remain still. The urge to lean towards him was fairly strong. "I just wanted to make sure that you knew that I... I didn't mind what you said."

I frowned at him. I truly wanted to believe him but I couldn't. "I'm sorry but I don't believe you. You looked incredibly uncomfortable when I said how... when I said that." I felt a faint blush appear on my checks. I had nearly told him again just how sexy he looked.

"I swear I am being honest, it's just that I'm not really used to compliments."

I thought about what he said and I could understand that. Too many people judged him simply based on who his father was. "Oh..." It aggravated me to hear that, Nico had so many great features. "That's unfair. You shouldn't be so unused to compliments that you feel awkward when you receive one."

He shrugged, "Its fine, I'm used to it." I frowned and looked at him intently. He may have thought that was fine but I didn't. My thoughts must have been pretty clear on my face. Nico rolled his eyes, "Forget it, I said I'm fine. Come on Percy. Let's go grab dinner."

I sighed and stood up. I reached out a hand to pull Nico to his feet. When he grabbed my hand I felt a strange stirring begin in my chest. I was trying to figure out what it was but Nico gave my hand a tug and pulled me towards my door. It was just another thing to think of when I found the time.

I reached around him to open the door and he turned towards me with a smile.

I felt my breath catch in my throat. The way he was smiling, combined with the way he was dressed, nearly overcame my self-control. Having him standing that close to me with his back against the door, I wanted nothing more than to feel his lips against mine again.

I found myself tracing his cheek bone with the tips of my fingers and felt my gaze drop to his mouth.

I licked my lips. I could feel myself leaning towards him. His eyes went wide but he didn't even try to move. I could still feel his lips against mine from the first time I had kissed him. I wanted to try it again. It had lead to many discoveries about how I felt for him. I wanted to kiss him; perhaps it would help me figure out my current feelings...

I hesitated for a moment. That wasn't right. I shouldn't have wanted to kiss him to discover my feelings. It wouldn't be fair of me to play with his emotions that way.

It took all of my self-restraint to pull away. I took a deep breath and stepped back. I looked at him and saw something that almost looked like disappointment in his eyes. I swallowed against the feelings in my chest.

We couldn't start anything right then. The two of us had things that we needed to discuss and I knew that I wasn't sure how I felt. I refused to risk hurting him. I found myself making a silent vow that I would not kiss him again, not until I knew exactly what I felt for him.

I took a shuttering breath and grabbed his hand. "Come on, they will be waiting for us."