First things first, I don't properly ship this. As a BROTP, heck yeah.

This is a pirate AU, as the summary says.

Based on a fanart. (I really tried to find the owner, but the link in Google or Bing wasn't the original/had the right page. So it's the cover art, but it does not belong to me.)

Have a great day tomorrow.

Fez.

The Argo II was sailing in grey, choppy waters, mist hanging low. The sail was full, and the crew was hoping to reach land within a few days.

They had spotted the ship sailing towards them a few hours ago, Aaron had seen it first, yelling out details of the ship as it sailed closer in the fog.

Maybe it was the fog's fault when Aaron declared he had lost the ship, until a few minutes later, a cutlass had sliced his head clean off, his yelp alerting the rest of the crew.

Percy had looked over at the body and the dismembered head of Aaron. In the kerfuffle, the man's cap had rolled off his head and released a mane of long blonde hair. Percy realised Aaron wasn't a male.

But that thought was driven out of his head by a grinning face walking out of the mist.

The Ghost King wiped his blade on Aaron's coat, before glancing up at Percy.

"A woman? They tend to be bad luck." He spoke calmly, with a faint Italian accent.

Percy couldn't even speak as he drew his cutlass, too furious over Aaron's death.

"You attack my ship, Di Angelo?" He snarled.

The shaggy haired pirate shrugged, a smirk on his face as his crew thunked down on the deck beside him.

"Why, yes." he spread his arms as his crew, a ragtag group of people, including a boy with frizzy light brown hair, a hulking man with an unpleasant twist to his mouth and a blonde-haired boy in a tacky orange over-coat and a sword over half the size of him.

"I think I do."

Less than an hour later, the lump of muscle was towering over him. Percy had learnt his name was Frank.

Scrabbling away from him, he tried to get closer to his sword, Riptide. The awfully-dressed man kicked it away from where he was standing behind Percy. Afro-kid was slouched on the other side to him.

From where Percy was in an undignified crouch, he could see Aaron's body, along with Jason, Leo and Grover's.

He was the last one remaining.

The Ghost King sauntered over to him, slowly like glue.

"Jackson."

"Di Angelo." the man laughed, hand on his cutlass sheath.

"Call me Nico." and he whipped the blade out of his belt, and held it to Percy's neck.

He swallowed, really wishing Riptide was in his hand.

"I'm Percy."

Nico smiled, a shark's grin, eyes latching onto Percy's.

Drawing the sword dangerously close to Percy's neck, almost stroking him with it, he spoke, hardly louder than a whisper.

"Where is the gold?"

Percy, unable to help himself, glanced over at the globe on his table, untouched by all of the fighting.

Nico got even closer to his face, dark circles under his wide, dark eyes, eyelashes an inkblot of the paper-white of his skin.

"Will, check the globe."

What the hell, this guy was good.

Will, the horribly-attired man, walked over to the globe and sliced it in half, taking out one single gold coin from the inside. He held it up to Di Angelo who looked confused.

But it was replaced with anger and he whipped around, hardly an inch away from Percy's face and growled "Where is the rest?"

Percy tried to ignore the closeness and how suddenly warm it was.

He put on a shaky smile and shrugged. "The recession hit us hard?"

Nico gave a shout of anger and flung his sword into the stuffed octopus Percy had killed less than a month prior.

With a rattle and several clings, a stream of money poured out. Frank raised an impressed eyebrow.

Nico smirked back at Percy. "Thank you for your co-operation. For that, we shall not kill you."

Afro-kid looked upset.

"Light 'em up." Nico pointed at Will, who dashed out of the room and Percy heard the snick of a tinderbox.

"Wait-"

"Grab the money."

"Boss, what about... Him?" Frank gestured with a curled lip at Percy, who was looking around for Riptide.

Percy missed Nico's smirk as the other pirate captain snickered. "He won't be following us anywhere."

At Nico's order, Afro, Frank and Will went running back onto their ship, pouches and pockets heavy with coins.

Nico stalked towards Percy, the smell of burning wood filling the room.

"Well, King of the Water," Nico hissed, steadily getting closer, as Percy's heart beat faster and faster. "They told me it would be hard to bring you down. But..."

He tutted and sighed, looking away from Percy.

"Fire and water don't mix." they were only a few centimetres apart, breathing in each other's exhale.

Just as Percy thought Nico would turn away, run to safety and gold, he leaned in, mashing their lips together. Percy could hear the crackle of burning wood, but the pounding of blood in his ears blocked it out.

Minutes later, Nico pulled back and stood, a dopey smile on his face. Percy was even more spaced out than he was, eyes unfocused, staring somewhere around Nico's torso.

After a second, his hazy eyes blinked and he straightened.

"I win." and he dashed out the room, Percy, still floating in some headspace, didn't notice until smoke started curling in through the door.

He scrabbled to his feet, swiping his sword up as he went, running to the deck, trying to find the pale man.

"Fuck you!" The roar echoed across the water, utterly empty, save for two ships.

Well, more accurately, one ship and a burning heap of timber.

"Maybe later, Jackson!" Crowed the Ghost King, swinging away from the fast sinking ship in a length of rope secured to his ship, blowing insolent kisses across the hissing water.

The Argo II was sinking, burning and disintegrating. Percy knew there was no way to save it as he stood on the last unburnt piece of deck.