Wow, thanks for all the reviews. :-) I'm glad to hear that you all seemed to like the chapters. So I have decided to write what happened at the council meeting. (That's why this chapter took so long. I'm working on the short story too.) I will tell you all when it's finished. In the meantime, I hope you 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.

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Percy POV

I spent the rest of the day trying to decide as to whether I should Iris message my mom or tell her in person. I knew that I wanted to tell her in person but at the same time I knew that my dad was right. If I waited and my mom found out from someone else, she would be hurt. I wished that I could have had the extra time to prepare what I wanted to say but after everything that she had been through, she deserved to hear it from me. Besides, I didn't exactly trust a certain god of the sea not to tell her simply because he wanted me to tell her sooner rather than later.

It wasn't the best day to be so distracted. We had more monster attacks than on any other. By the time the evening had rolled around we had destroyed ten storm spirits, six griffins, and twelve harpies. We had to call Jason and Ryan to come and help us.

I still didn't particularly care for the son of Apollo but even I had to admit that when he wasn't freaking out, he was an excellent shot. He had taken out three of the six griffins by himself. As soon as he came on deck he had taken up residence in the crow's nest and spent the day picking off monsters with his bow.

When it finally came time for Frank, Hazel, and Piper to relieve the four of us I was ready to pass out from exhaustion. A sleepless night combined with emotional turmoil did not put one in top form for taking on swarms of monsters. I couldn't remember the last time that I had wanted to be back at camp so desperately. I was excited to get back so that I could enjoy a little bit of peace and quiet with my boyfriend.

The downside to being off shift was that I no longer had any excuse to put off talking to my mom. I wasn't afraid of how she would react to the news. I knew that she only ever wanted what was best for me. However, I was a little nervous to tell her. I knew that she would be shocked.

Nico came up beside me and entwined his hand with mine. "So have you decided whether or not to call her?"

I ran a hand through my hair. "I know that I should, but I'm still nervous..."

The son of Hades gave me a small smile and leaned his head against me chest. "I understand. It's not every day that you have to tell your parents that you like boys."

I frowned and shook my head. "That's not it. I know my mom won't care about that." I tried to figure out how to put my fears into words.

Nico looked up at me with an indescribable emotion in his eyes. "Is it me? Are you worried what she will say when she finds out it's me?"

I felt my eyes widen and I pulled the black haired boy closer to my chest. "No. She loves you; you should hear her talk about you. She thinks that you are the sweetest boy on the planet. It's just... She thinks the world of Annabeth too. She thought that the two of us would be together forever. What if she's disappointed in me?"

Nico scoffed, "That's dumb. I've met your mom Percy. She wouldn't care if you decided to date a god as long as it made you happy. Just because you and Annabeth aren't together anymore doesn't mean she's going to be let down. I don't think there is anything you could ever do to disappoint her. She loves you and we both know it."

I blushed. When he put it like that, it did sound a little silly.

I let out a resigned sigh. "I suppose there's no reason to wait any longer."

Nico leaned up and kissed my cheek. "Would you like me to be there for the call?"

I nuzzled my face into his hair and took a deep breath. "I would, but this is something that I need to do by myself. I owe it to her to give her a chance to ask whatever she needs to ask."

The son of Hades gave my hand one last squeeze before he stepped away. "Alright, then go make that call." I nodded and turned to walk away when he called me back. "By the way, I love you."

I felt myself blush. It would take me a while to get used to hearing that. "I love you too my ghost king." I gave him one last wink as I went below deck.

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The sunlight beamed through the open window into the shower stall.

I stood in the bathroom trying to gain the courage to turn on the water. It was silly. I could face down a monster without batting an eye but at the thought of disappointing my mother, I balked. I spun the golden drachma between my fingers and took a deep breath.

"Might as well get this over with," I turned on the shower and threw in the coin before I could lose my nerve. "Oh Fleecy, do me a solid. Please show me my mom."

The water vapors swirled and I found myself looking at the kitchen in our apartment. My mother was just taking something out of the oven. I couldn't tell quite what it was but I decided that it would probably be best to let her put it down before I called out. Nothing sucks more than dumping boiling hot food on yourself because you were surprised by an Iris message.

I watched her carry the pan to the table. I couldn't help but notice that the table was set for two. There were flowers in the middle of the table. The vase was flanked by two long thin candles. I could just make out the bottle of wine on the edge of our counter. I smiled as I realized that she and Paul were clearly going to be having a romantic dinner.

I felt myself blush slightly at the scene. The table reminded me of the non-date I went on with Nico. I suddenly wondered if my mom would be able to give me pointers when I took him on our first official date...

I shook myself out of my reverie. My mom set down the pan and stepped back. I took a deep breath and spoke, "Hey mom."

I watched her jump a little at outburst. I was glad I waited for her to put the food down. She turned around and smiled when she saw me, "Percy, what a surprise. How is the quest going? Are you alright?" She looked me up and down checking for injures.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. How are you and Paul?"

She crossed the kitchen to stand closer to the message. "I'm great. I just got a call back on my latest book." She beamed, "They want me to come in to talk to the publishers next week. Paul is doing fine as well. He just had to make a quick run to the store. He should be back soon." She looked at me and her smile faded a bit, "No why don't you tell me what's bothering you?"

I tried to keep the shocked expression from my face. "What do you mean?"

The look my mom gave me told me that I wasn't very successful. She raised one eyebrow and smiled at me. "I know you Percy. I can see that something is wrong. What is it?"

I bit my lip and looked down. I guess this is the moment of truth... I rubbed the back of my neck and met her gaze. "I'm seeing someone."

My mom looked surprised but a huge smile spread across her face. "Oh baby, that's wonderful. Who is she?"

I winced, "Well, actually... it's a he."

To her everlasting credit she didn't even bat an eye. I was slightly nervous she would start questioning me about my sexuality but she never did. Her smile simply grew and she gave me a look of utter acceptance. "Is he mortal or demigod? Do I know him? What's his name?"

I smiled and laughed, "One question at a time. He's a demigod and yes you know him."

"Well, don't keep me in suspense... who is he?"

I felt my cheeks flush with color. "It's Nico. I'm going out with Nico."

My mother didn't look surprised in the slightest. "That's wonderful. I'm so happy for both of you."

I raised an eyebrow and shook my head, "How is it that you don't seem surprised?"

She laughed, "Call it mother's intuition. I always had a feeling that Nico thought of you as more than a friend."

I felt my jaw drop, "You knew he liked me?"

"I had a feeling. He always seemed to care about you a little more than one would a friend. I never said anything because it was something that he was clearly fighting with."

I bit my lip. I didn't want to ask but I knew I needed too. "So you don't mind that I'm dating Nico?"

Her eyes softened and she gave me a genuine smile. "There is nothing that you could ever do that I would not support. I don't care if you like boys, especially Nico. He's a sweet boy. He found a way to keep you alive when you fought Kronos. From what you have told me, he is also the reason that you survived Tartarus. I will always be thankful for that. As far as boyfriend go, you could do a lot worse than the son of Hades. He seems to genuinely care about you. That's all I want for you, someone who loves you that you can love in return."

I couldn't believe that I had ever been nervous. I should have known that my mom only wanted me to be happy.

I chuckled softly and shook my head. "You are the best mom ever, you know that right?"

I heard a door open in our apartment and saw her glance at it before turning back to me. "Paul is home. Would you like to say hi to him?"

I smiled and shook my head. "No that's alright. I don't want to interrupt your dinner. Besides, I think I will be coming home for a weekend soon. I promised Nico that we would watch Finding Nemo."

"I love you Percy. Tell Nico that we said hi."

"I will, I love you too mom."

I waved my hand through the mist and dissolved the connection. Now that both of my parents knew, I felt lighter. I smiled as I shut of the water and walked out of the bathroom to go find my boyfriend.

I had to tell him that he was right.