Woo who... time for a long chapter! I have wanted to write this chapter since around chapter 15 but it wouldn't fit anywhere else. I had to wait until it would seem appropriate for them to discuss things and now that they're in love, I can finally write it. I hope you enjoy this as chapter much as I do. :-)

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

I stepped out of the shadows and into Percy's room. I hadn't been in his cabin since the first day of the quest. It had gotten even messier than it had been but I didn't mind. I knew the son of the sea god wasn't a neat freak. His father was after all, the god of storms. The fairly messy state of the room just showed his personality. Besides, it was more just clothes on the floor and unmade bed then a pig sty like Annabeth used to make it sound.

Once I was in his room I began to feel far more nervous. What would I do if he didn't want me there or even worse, if he thought I was weird for coming to see him in the middle of the night? I had just decided to leave when the figure on the bed turned his head.

A voice whispered to me, "Nico?"

I hesitated for a moment before I stepped towards his bed, "Hey Percy. I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

Percy smiled at me and shifted towards the wall. "No, I was just thinking about stuff. You couldn't sleep either hey?"

I shook my head and tried to slow my heart. He patted the bed beside him and I sat down. Percy put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me down so that we were lying beside each other. My heart was beating so loudly I was surprised that Percy couldn't hear it.

"So what's on your mind my ghost king?"

I smiled and tried to keep myself from blushing. It was amazing how such a simple sentence could make my heart stutter. Hearing the one I loved calling me his made it hard to think. Percy was the only person who could make me do idiotic things...

Like say, "Your ghost king?"

The son of Poseidon shifted on the bed so that I was looking up at him. My breath caught in my throat. He was looking at me in the way he had done so often in my dreams, yet never in reality. Percy's eyes were blazing into mine with both love and passion.

He leaned towards me and captured my lips. The feeling of his mouth moving against mine stopped all rational thought. I was completely swept away by the feeling of his warm lips against my own. He moved his mouth away from mine and began to trail a line kisses down my throat. I shivered at the sensation of his lips on my neck. I didn't think there was anything in the world that would be able to compare to how amazing it felt when Percy kissed me. He lightly nipped at my throat before he pulled back.

My head was spinning from the sensations, though it might have also been from the lack of air. I was fairly certain that I had once again forgotten to breathe.

"Yes, you are mine." The sentence alone would have been enough to make me blush but combined with the breathless quality of his voice, it made me shiver. He gave me a loving smile and leaned in quickly once more to brush his lips against mine, "And I am yours."

I bit my lip and tentatively grabbed his hand, I am his and he is mine? I can definitely live with that...

I looked up at him with a small smile. "That sounds good to me."

The grin he flashed me would have put Apollo to shame. "So, I'm sure you came here for a reason."

I looked down and began to draw swirls on his arm with my fingertips. "Not anything specific. I just couldn't sleep and I wanted to see if you were up."

The son of the sea god tilted his head and looked at me. He nodded as he shifted up so that he was sitting beside me and he used the hand that wasn't in mine to play with my hair. "Okay, so... do you want to play twenty questions then?"

I frowned in confusion. "I don't know that game."

Percy looked surprised but flashed me a grin. "It's easy, pretty much you ask whatever you want. The other person has to answer truthfully and then they get to ask you any question."

I tilted my head. I could understand why he thought it was a good idea. It hadn't been that long since I refused to talk to him. I was still a little nervous about what he would ask but now that he was mine, I didn't have the same fear that used to hold me back.

I leaned up and gave him a quick kiss. "Okay, let's do it. Who goes first?"

Percy smiled. "You can if you'd like."

"Okay," I racked my brain and tried to come up with a question that I wanted to know. I felt my eyes widen as I thought of one. I bit my lip and looked at him apprehensively. "Did you really mean what you said to Hazel? Do you really... love me?"

Percy didn't even hesitate. "Absolutely, I would never lie about that. Though, I am sorry." I could barely hear him. My brain was swimming with the knowledge that he really did love me. "I didn't mean to tell her before I said it to you. That was why I had gone to your room yesterday. I wanted to tell you that I was in love with you. But you started to walk away. I don't know why but somehow ended up kissing you instead."

I smiled at the son of the sea god. He was so sweet; I didn't want him to think that I was mad at him. "You don't need to apologize. It was a very good way to tell me."

Percy chuckled, "Good to know. My turn, do you mind public displays of affection?"

I tilted my head as I thought about it. "It depends. I don't mind holding hands and such but I get a little nervous when there are a lot of people around. I can already tell you don't mind it, so my question is why do you seem to like it so much? You seem to go out of your way to try to hold me or kiss me in front of people."

I saw the son of Poseidon blush. He looked at me and I saw a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. "Well to be perfectly honest, I'm kind of the jealous type. You are mine and I want everyone to know it. I'm proud to have such a wonderful and beautiful boyfriend and I want the world to know it. What about you, are you the jealous type like me or are you more relaxed?"

It was my turn to blush. Hearing what Percy though of me had my heart stuttering. I couldn't believe he really liked me as much as he seemed to, "I'm the jealous type too." The thought of anyone touching Percy sent a wave of protectiveness through me.

The son of the sea god laughed, "Well it seems that we are quite compatible. No one understands a jealous boyfriend like his jealous boyfriend." Every time Percy called me his boyfriend I felt a rush of bliss go through me.

"My turn again." I rather liked playing twenty questions. It meant that no matter what I asked him, he would answer truthfully. "Does it scare you that I can summon the dead?"

Percy shrugged. "I will admit, sometimes it freaks me out a little bit. But it's just part of who you are. Everything that you like, or hate, or do affects your personality. You wouldn't be my ghost king if it wasn't for that side of you." The son of the sea god smirked at me, "Besides, it's dead useful."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "That was a terrible pun."

Percy laughed, "Oh come on, that was punny."

I couldn't stop myself from smirking, "You should consider a job in stand-up."

The son of Poseidon kissed my temple, "Really? Do you think? Just remember, you're my boyfriend so I will expect you to come to every show."

I faked a shiver of disgust. "I've changed my mind, don't do it."

My sea prince just laughed and gave me a kiss. He smiled at me before he adopted a very solemn expression. "Time for a serious question..." I felt myself still. I had never seen Percy look so sombre before. "Do you like Finding Nemo?"

I blinked for a second before I broke down in laughter. "That's your serious question? Whether or not I like a children's movie?"

Percy adopted a mock offended expression, "I will have you know it's a lot more that a children's movie. It is a beautiful story of parental love, determination, and bravery. It is my favorite movie. I'm just not sure I could trust someone who doesn't love Finding Nemo."

As much as I loved Percy, he could be such a child at times. But I supposed that the same could be said about me. I smiled and answered his 'oh so vital' question. "I don't know. I've never seen it."

The son of Poseidon looked stunned. "Never seen... We have to fix that ASAP. As soon as we get back to camp I'm going to talk to my mom about you coming over for the weekend. I can't believe you've never seen it." Percy shook his head and I smiled at him.

"That sounds good. Now, what was your first impression of me when we met?" Percy winced and looked at me. I felt my heart clench a little, "That good hey?"

He gave me a sad smile and shrugged. "I was thirteen and you talked nonstop. I thought you were hyper and a little annoying." It hurt to hear him say that. I knew that he hadn't instantly developed a crush on me like I had on him, but I was sad to hear that he hadn't even liked me.

"Hey," Percy wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him. "I'm sorry Nico. I didn't really know you." He leaned down and kissed my cheek. "I didn't think that once I started to get to know you. That was just my first impression."

At least he was honest...

I sighed and shook my head. "It's alright. You can't change what you thought. I understand."

Percy seemed to pick up on the fact that I wanted to change topics, "My turn. Other than your father, who is your favorite Olympian?"

I raised an eyebrow at Percy and smirked, "Are you trying to get us vaporized?" The son of Poseidon just smiled. "Okay fine, probably Hestia."

Percy looked surprised but pleased. "I like her too, and Artemis."

I frowned at the mention of one of the twin gods. It made me remember the other one. "My question, what do you think of Apollo?"

Percy looked confused by the question. "I think he's pretty cool. He's helpful when he wants to be but he's super conceited." I felt a weight I hadn't even know existed lift off my shoulders. However it made me more curious than ever to know what the two of them had talked about.

"Are you happy that you stayed at camp after the final battle rather than running away?"

I smiled, "You have no idea how happy I am. It was one of the best decisions I ever made." I leaned up and gave the son of Poseidon a quick kiss on the cheek. "So my question, what did Apollo want to talk to you about?"

I tried to keep my voice curious but it came out a little bitter. Percy blinked in surprise before he grinned at me. "Nico, are you jealous of Apollo?"

I glared at the green-eyed man beside me, "No."

Percy started to laugh and gave me a disbelieving look. "Okay, so you weren't jealous." The son of the sea god tried to stifle his laughter. "Well if you were, then I would tell you that there was nothing to worry about. Apollo wanted to talk to me about why he helped us out. Turns out it was a favor to a certain goddess of love."

I frowned, "Why would Aphrodite care about our quest?"

Percy smiled and tweaked my hair. "She didn't care about freeing Calypso, she care about the other lines."

I frowned as I recalled the lines of the prophecy. "The ones about love? But we nearly died because of Apollo."

Percy nodded and kissed my neck. "Indeed. However I will admit if it wasn't for the fact that you nearly died, I never would have discovered how I felt about you."

I felt my jaw drop. "She risked all of our lives for love?"

Percy frowned, "Yes. I don't agree with her plan but she told Apollo that it was the only way for me to 'see both paths' as she put it."

If I had been surprised before, I was stunned then. I was the new love...

"Oh... but what does that have to do with Apollo visiting you?" Not to mention what he was doing putting his hands all over you.

Percy laughed and raised an eyebrow. "That would be because of you." I frowned and raised and eyebrow I question. "Well it seems Aphrodite was ticked that you were ignoring me so she sent Apollo to see if he could make you jealous."

"So you don't have feelings for Apollo then?"

Percy smiled and shook his head, "Not at all. Actually I was quite freaked out because I thought he was coming on to me. I was worried that I would spend the rest of my life as a shrub."

I laughed in relief and Percy changed topics. "So where is your favorite place to go?"

I shrugged. "I don't really know. I like most places I've been but I really liked Venice."

Percy smiled, "I wish I had been with you when the Argo went through."

I grimaced, "No you don't. I was turned into a corn stalk."

The son of the sea god raised an eyebrow, "I was in Tartarus. I would gladly have accepted being turned into a veggie."

We went quiet for a few minutes. I had a feeling that we were both thinking of our trips through the darkest pit of the underworld. I looked over and saw a pained look on Percy's face. I had to ask, "Do... do you still have nightmares about that place?"

The son of the sea god closed his eyes, "Yes. I don't think that they will ever go away. I now have normal dreams from time to time but most nights I still dream about being down there."

I nodded. I hated thinking about it but I had a feeling that it would help to talk to someone else who had gone through the deepest pit of hell, "Me too. I... I thought because I was a child of the underworld that I could do it but... I was weak."

Percy looked at me in shock and shook his head. He pulled me up so that I was sitting on his lap. "Don't talk like that Nico. You were incredibly brave. You survive Tartarus on your own. I know what it was like down there. Even with..." Percy sighed and shook his head. "I barely made it through. I would have died on my own."

We were silent for a little longer before Percy spoke again. "Do you want to know what the worst part was? When we went to get the death mist, I nearly killed a goddess because she wanted to kill us. I was going to do it. The only reason that I didn't was because I looked at Annabeth, and she was looking back at me like I was a monster... In a place full of the worst monsters in the universe, she still thought that I was a fiend."

I leaned my head on his chest and kissed his neck. "It's okay. You did what you had to do to survive. There was nothing else that you could have done."

The son of the sea god buried his face in my hair for a moment before he let out a pained sigh. "What was the hardest part of the trip for you?"

I winced, "Everything was painful. The part that hurt the most though was when I was stuffed in the jar. At first I tried to convince myself that everything would be fine, that someone would save me. Then days past and the air got stale, and I knew I was going to die. I had nearly given up hope before you saved me."

Percy winced and pulled me even closer. His grip was beginning to get almost painfully tight but I didn't mind. Both of us needed the comfort. "I wish I could have been there sooner. When we opened the jar and you didn't move... I was so worried for you. I thought I had lost you, I nearly did." Percy looked away.

"Hey, it's fine. You saved me. If it wasn't for you, I would have been dead years ago."

The son of the sea god gave me a pained smile. "I could say the same thing about you. When everyone else had already committed me to die, you found a way to save me."

"I could never give up on you." I needed to change the topic. It was easier to talk to Percy about everything but it was still hard. "So, Marvel or DC?"

Percy chuckled weakly and shook his head. "Now who's asking the childish questions? I have to say, I'm a Marvel fan."

I smirked, "Good. I love DC as much as the next guy but I don't think I could date someone who didn't like Marvel more."

Percy raised an eyebrow, "So you would have left me if I had said DC?"

You could have said 'what are those' and I wouldn't have gone anywhere...

"Well you answered correctly so you will never have to worry about that."

Percy laughed and rested his chin on my head. It was absolutely Elysium to be held like that by the one I had wanted for so long. "I'm glad you feel that way. It's my turn. Why did you forgive me?" I pulled away from the hero of Olympus so that I could see his face. "Don't get me wrong, I am happy that you did. I was a jerk and I certainly didn't like having you mad at me. I'm just curious as to why you forgave me."

What does he mean forgive him? He thought I was mad at him? Hurt yes, but not mad. I mean he should know why, I...

I felt my eyes widen. I couldn't believe it but I looked back through the conversations we had and realized I had never said it. I felt my face heat up as I realized that I would actually be able to tell him what I had wanted to say for so long. I felt the nerves starting to flutter in my stomach. I had kept it a secret for so long and now I had to admit it. I didn't think that I would be able to simply tell him straight out. I took a deep breath.

I looked up at him and bit my lip, "Percy?" He tilted his head and looked at me in confusion. I wrapped a hand around his neck and pulled him towards me.

I pressed my lips to his and tangled my fingers in his hair. It didn't matter how many times we kissed, it still drove me insane. I flicked my tongue out to taste his lips. I felt his body shiver beneath mine. He opened his mouth so that I could deepen the kiss. I felt his tongue brush against mine in a silent request for control and I willingly gave it to him.

While his tongue explored my mouth his hand explored my back. The feeling of his strong hands tracing my sides had my heart racing. He did something with his tongue and I couldn't stop the moan of pleasure that was ripped from me. Upon hearing the sound his fingers clutched me harder and I shivered.

I had to break away for air. I looked up into his eyes and my heart contracted. He was looking at me with so much love in his eyes; I found the courage to admit the secret that I had held in my heart for so many years...

"I love you Percy."