PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || Number One Fanboy || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: Number One Fanboy – Percico Positivity Project Day II

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; mortal AU

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, magic, Nico is a total fanboy, sort of celebrity crush, fluff, cuteness, hetero

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Jason/Reyna, Frank/Leo, Paul/Sally, Hades/Maria

Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Piper McLean, Lou Ellen, Alabaster C. Torrington, Jason Grace, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Frank Zhang, Leo Valdez, Bianca di Angelo, Maria di Angelo, Ade di Angelo | Hades, Sally Blofis, Paul Blofis

Summary: For the Percico Positivity Project – so there's not just Percico but also some Nicercy in this. ;) This is for today's fill – Character of a myth/story. I kinda interpreted this one a little different than intended, I suppose xD"

In this story, Nico lives in a normal mortal world and loves the Percy Jackson books; Nico isn't part of PJatO, his part is taken by Hazel, HoO doesn't exist. Nico's crush on Percy is really getting on his friends' nerves, so they decide to try some magic and summon Percy out of the books.

Number One Fanboy

Percico Positivity Project Day II

Nico di Angelo was utterly and absolutely in love with Percy Jackson.

The sassy way the boy talked, his silly stupid puns, his charming dorky way, the color of his eyes, the messy hair, the startling physique of a literal Greek hero, the compassion and kindness.

The only problem? Percy Jackson was fictional.

Percy Jackson was the titular protagonist of Nico's favorite book-series – Percy Jackson and the Olympians. He was a demigod son of Poseidon who was destined to save the world with his quirky but lovable hero-friends and under the guidance of his mentor the centaur Chiron.

Nico was obsessed with those books. He had been for years now, ever since he first picked Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief up at a book-store. He had only been moderately interested at the time, mainly just browsing for anything to pick his interest. Sometimes, he would meet with his friends in book-stores and just walk around and look at the displays and at what was in at the moment. He had been engrossed in a conversation with Reyna at the time when he had grabbed the book because the cover looked interesting, but he had only read the blurb because Reyna got distracted by her boyfriend Jason and Nico was left standing. When he read it was about a Greek demigod, Nico was instantly hooked – he loved Greek mythology, had always done so. Him and his best friend Frank were still playing Mythomagic even though technically they were too old for the card-game. It was what had gotten Frank and Nico through middle school; their shared passion for Mythomagic. Stamped as the nerds, they were picked on and made fun of for playing card-games, but the two boys didn't really care about it. Anyway, reading this book was about mythology had Nico hooked and he ended up buying the book to see if it was good.

It was good, it was more than good.

First POV from the sassiest most lovable dork Nico had ever read. Nico bought the other two volumes that were out at the point right away, even before finishing Lightning Thief.

The beautiful thing about the series was that he got to see Percy growing up, from that abused little loner to a confident leader and hero. In Nico's mind, Percy was a gorgeous Adonis with the cutest smile ever. Percy was perfect... and Percy wasn't real.

The last book in the series had been released yesterday and Nico hadn't been able to put it down ever since. He was currently devouring it during lunch break, sitting together with his friends Frank, Jason, Reyna and Alabaster. Frank made a happy sound, which indicated that Frank's boyfriend was closing in on them. Not that Nico had anything against Leo, but the Latino was loud and Nico needed the quiet to read this. Leo was another reason why Nico cared so much about Frank, Frank may not be gay – he was bisexual – but at least he was a non-straight friend.

And Frank read the books. That was so awesome, because even though Reyna and the others let Nico ramble on about them, they didn't really read them – Alabaster had recently started reading them, but Frank had been there all the way, ever since Nico had picked up the first one. Frank shared Nico's love for the books – not for Percy in person, but the books. His favorite character was Hazel Levesque and even though she wasn't a Percy Jackson, she was Nico's second favorite character. Hazel was fascinating and Nico had loved reading the character development of Hazel, after her close childhood friend Sammy had died. The thing was that Hazel, daughter of Hades, and Sammy Valdez, son of Hephaestus, had been stuck in the Lotus Hotel, where Hades had put his daughter for safe-keeping in the thirties. She met Sammy there and the boy came with her when they left the Lotus Hotel. Then, however, Sammy got killed during a quest where Percy had promised to protect him, leaving Hazel heartbroken and furiously angry. It was amazing to read how she found her way back to forgiving Percy and helping him. She was a very amazing character and she had saved Percy's life on multiple occasions, which put her in Nico's good graces. Everything keeping Percy alive was good for Nico.

"Nico's even less social than normally", noted Alabaster's younger sister Lou from Leo's class.

"The new Percy Jackson book was released yesterday", replied Reyna amused.

"If you value your life, don't disturb him", hissed Jason nearly fearful. "I tried to snatch his book away earlier to tease him. He nearly broke my arm."

The others snickered at that and Nico grunted annoyed, wishing for the noise to just go away. Frank laughed amused as he pulled Leo into his lap. The Latino got comfortable and waved his best friend Piper over to join them. She was Jason's younger sister – their parents Beryl and Tristan had met on a movie set, both big time actors. And Piper was the reason that Frank got to meet Leo.

"Have you read it yet, Frank?", asked Leo curiously.

"I'm on chapter five. I'm not Nico", grunted Frank and made a face. "I can put a book down."

"Well, you're not in love with the main character", snickered Alabaster teasingly.

"What about you, have you started reading it yet?", countered Frank.

"Of course!", exclaimed Alabaster. "I'm on chapter ten. I want to know what happens to Ethan, after all. He's like... the most interesting character in that series."

"...Don't let Nico hear that", warned Jason softly and wearily.

"What?! No!", exclaimed Nico all of a sudden, followed by a string of Italian curse-words.

"Who volunteers to ask him what's wrong?", inquired Reyna, looking around.

"Okay, tell us, Nico, what did the fictional characters do?", asked Alabaster, one eyebrow raised. "And please, feel free to spoiler. I don't care either way and Frank?"

"Nah, it's fine. After three years of this, I'm used to it", grunted Frank dismissively.

"They... They kissed", hissed Nico, sounding utterly furious as he slapped the book close.

"Somehow, I expected something more... dramatic", stated Piper disappointed.

"You don't understand!", groaned Nico frustrated. "Percy and... and... Annabeth kissed. Like all of Camp Half-Blood grabbed them and threw them into the fucking lake and cheered for them while they kissed under water! What kind of pre-set and arranged crap is that? Like, seriously? All of camp suddenly has the same shitty idea and Annabeth and Percy are totally fine and roll with it? When the fuck did the entire camp turn into kids of Aphrodite anyway?! Like, seriously, Rick, just because you ship your little main couple doesn't mean you have to enforce it by making all the characters also ship it. That's... so not how real life works. And they just lost so many – their siblings and friends – as if they care about the 'epic romance' of Percy and Annabeth..."

"He really hates that couple, doesn't he?", whispered Jason amused before turning back to Nico. "Dude, listen. I didn't read the books, I only know the movie, but even there, it was like pretty obvious they were aiming for Percy and Annabeth to hook up in the end."

"Just because he's the male lead and she's the female lead", spat Nico irritated. "Because that's how things have to work. Urgh. They have zero chemistry and absolutely nothing in common. She's a thinker, a strategist and interested in boring crap like museums and architecture. Percy is quick on his feet and acts before thinking and he's a cute dork. Don't get me wrong, I'm all in for 'opposites attract' and all that, but even opposites need to have some form of common ground!"

"I always liked that difference between them", argued Reyna with a frown. "They make each other better by being so different and by balancing each other out."

"Oh, shut up", huffed Nico with a glare. "It's not like Annabeth even has real feelings for him. She is in love with Luke; has been for so many years. It's so obvious, even Percy who is literally the Captain Oblivious, has had caught on with it when he was twelve. I can show you the exact passage in The Lightning Thief. Even he noticed she was in love with Luke. And love doesn't have some kind of off-switch. Just because Luke betrayed them, Annabeth didn't just snap her fingers and stop loving him. You don't just stop loving someone because it became inconvenient. But oh, the very day Luke dies, she falls into Percy's arms and kisses him. Hello, rebound. Percy deserves better!"

"...Luke does?", asked Jason disappointed. "I hoped they'd manage to turn him good again..."

Nico regarded him with a look that could only be translated as 'you naive fool'.

"I, for my part, totally ship Percy and Calypso", stated Piper offhandedly, earning herself some surprised looks. "What? I started reading the books too. Sue me."

"Calypso?", asked Nico ridiculed and made a face. "Sure. You are also always rooting for the vampire to fuck the teenage girl, right? It's still pedophile, even if the centuries old party looks like a teenager, they are still adults. Way older than adults. And what do they do? Hook up with at least legal adults? No. They go and screw around with teenagers. It's fucking creepy is what it is."

"Piper", started Frank seriously. "Don't... Don't try a ship war with Nico. You will not win. Unless your answer is Nico and Percy, you will not win against Nico."

"But... he does know that Percy's not real, right?", inquired Piper disturbed.

"He's perfect", grunted Nico grumpily. "He's gorgeous and clever in his own rights and a good leader and selfless and strong and kick-ass and dorky and amazing and-"

"Fictional. The word you are looking for is 'fictional'", interrupted Reyna pointedly.

Nico glared at her heatedly, but his ears were a little red in embarrassment. "That... is not my fault."

/break\

"This is officially the stupidest and craziest idea ever", declared Lou suspiciously.

"I know", grunted Alabaster as he dumped five books in the middle of the pentagram. "But Nico's birthday is tomorrow and this, if it really works, is going to be the perfect present for him."

"Yeah. If it really works", emphasized Piper skeptically. "I mean, doing some minor little spells about flickering candles on without a lighter are vastly different from summoning a fictional character out of a book and manifesting them to be real."

"Don't make it sound so hard", huffed Alabaster and rolled his eyes. "We'll manage."

/break\

"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit", chanted Alabaster as he fled upstairs, followed by Lou and Piper.

They barricaded the door to the basement, cussing some more. Managing and actually knowing what to do afterward were two entirely different things, really. While Alabaster busied himself with barricading the door just a little more, Lou was fidgeting with her phone.

"W—What do we do now?", yelped Piper a bit panicked.

"Be grateful that dad's on one or his book tours", muttered Alabaster frantically.

"Also; call literally everyone", added Lou while dialing.

/break\

Nico was not exactly a fan of being woken by a panicked sounding Lou who didn't manage a complete sentence. It was even greater because today was his birthday. Could he sleep in? In theory, yeah, if not for all his friends going crazy. If this was some kind of surprise party for him, he was so not in the mood. Cranky and tired, Nico climbed off his bike and headed for the Claymore-Torrington house. Jason and Reyna stood at the door, looking sleepy and not happy.

"I'm only here because my sister is in there, apparently, and I plan on dragging her back home by her hair so she can get an ear full from mom and dad", grunted Jason annoyed.

Sighing, Nico raised his hand to knock on the door when he saw Frank and Leo rounding the corner. He barely managed to knock twice before the door was ripped open by a... soaking wet Lou? She didn't look pleased and she was dripping on the floor. Not that it bothered the floor, because there were a good two inches of water covering the entire floor already.

"...Maybe you should have called a plumber instead of us?", noted Frank surprised.

"It's not the plumbing", grunted Alabaster annoyed. "Inside. Now."

Frank, Leo, Reyna, Jason and Nico hastily went inside, very confused. Their confusion grew even more when they saw just how barricaded the door to the basement was and how Piper was leaning against the blocking wardrobe, chest and table. Okay, this was officially weird.

"What is going on here?", asked Reyna, voice clearly demanding an answer.

"Remember how me and Lou checked out those magic books for fun when that Battle of the Labyrinth came out?", asked Alabaster nearly sheepishly.

"...I don't think I like where this is going", muttered Frank to himself, holding onto Leo.

"So, turned out... spells work better in three and Piper and I kinda joked about it and I invited her to come along and I don't know, it kind of turned into a fun pastime whenever our dad is out on book-tour and stuff", continued Lou, not minding Frank's input.

"You're... telling us you do magic?", asked Jason incredulously. "Wait. All those scented candles?"

"Yeah", shrugged Piper with a sheepish grin. "Honestly, we were just playing around. We were totally surprised when we actually managed lighting candles with our chants, you know?"

"And now you... magicked a sea into your house?", asked Leo a little lost.

"Uhm...", drawled Alabaster out.

"Let. Me. Out. Of. Here!", called a voice from the basement. "I'm gonna turn you into dust either way, so why not make this easier for all of us and face me, you cowards?!"

"You're holding a hostage in your basement?!", hissed Frank wide-eyed.

"What? No", huffed Lou and rolled her eyes. "No. We were trying to summon a birthday-present for Nico. It... kind of actually sort of worked. We... forgot to think farther than that."

"...Now I don't like where this is going", grunted Nico with a glare. "What is down there?"

"Percy Jackson", replied Piper shortly. "Happy birthday."

There was more pounding against the door and a string of what sounded like Greek curses. Everyone looked different shades of dumb-struck, before Nico burst into honest laughter.

"This is a joke", laughed Nico and shook his head. "Yeah. Great. Good one. Who's in there?"

"As I say, Percy Jackson", repeated Piper and rolled her eyes. "Do you really believe that Alabaster and Lou would go as far with a prank as to flood their own house?"

Nico paused for a moment and regarded the overall state of the house. It was strange, he had to admit that. But... magic? Real magic? Summoning book characters and making them real? Lou heaved a sigh as she realized no one was believing them, so she murmured a couple of Latin words, just to have a green flame dancing around her hand. Frank and Jason jumped about two feet high and away from her with the most unmanly screeches anyone had ever heard.

"Holy shit", whispered Leo wide-eyed. "Whoa. You... whoa. Whoa."

"Okay", sighed Nico, massaging his temples. "Assuming, just for a second, that you actually possess magic and that... you have... P—Percy Jackson locked down into your basement... What... is the problem, exactly? Why is he destroying the house? He's a hero. A good guy."

"Yeah. A good guy who just randomly woke up in a strange place, surrounded by strangers. He thinks we're bad news, so he went on attacking. We have no idea what to tell him", admitted Piper.

Nico took a very deep breath. "Okay. Let me try. Open the door, let me to him."

"He's going to kill you", grunted Alabaster in disbelief.

"If he's really Percy Jackson, he wouldn't kill someone", argued Nico displeased.

"We're all coming with you", disagreed Reyna pointedly. "If he attacks, I do hope that eight to one is enough to at least keep him at bay. Do you have... chains or something?"

"Yeah, sure, just let me get the shackles from the torture chamber... No, we don't", grunted Alabaster and rolled his eyes. "Best we can do are zip ties, somewhere in the kitchen."

"On it!", exclaimed Leo and ran over to the kitchen.

A few minutes later and they were slowly unblocking the door. The moment the door was free, it flew open and the teenager on the other side, not having suspected the door to actually give this time, landed on his ass with a grunt, sword clattering on the floor as it fell from his hand. The boy sat up on his knees and lifted his head to glare into their round. Nico felt the air being knocked out of his lungs. He was perfect. He was exactly how Nico had pictured him – and better. He wore skinny jeans and an orange shirt with Camp Half-Blood written over his chest. The shirt was ruffled from his attempts to escape, revealing a sliver of tanned skin and sixpack. He was lean, but not bulky, with long legs (that looked incredible in those jeans). He had sharp features, a cute button-nose and full, bow-shaped and pink lips. His hair was messy and dark and cute. His eyes however. His eyes were like nothing Nico had ever seen before. Gorgeous. A color Nico had never seen in nature, so blue and green and neither at the same time, as though blue and green were battling for dominance in those ridiculously large and impressive eyes. Damn it. This had to be Percy Jackson, because he looked like he just stepped out of Nico's latest wet dream and then some more.

"Okay. You... got me surrounded", grunted Percy with a glare. "That's nothing. You have no idea what you got yourself into when you abducted me, believe me."

"Because you're Percy Jackson, the savior of Olympus", whispered Nico, trying for casual.

It was hard sounding casual when all he really wanted was to squeal and run over to hug Percy and kiss him senseless and then maybe lock him into Nico's very own basement. Which were all very bad ideas. Thoroughly bad ideas. Instead, Nico slowly held his hands away from his body, fingers spread apart to show that he was unarmed and no threat.

"So... you chose me specifically", grunted Percy with a glare, reaching for his sword.

Nico kicked it out of the way. "Sorry. Shouldn't play with sharp objects when trying to have adult conversations, you know? We didn't kidnap you, Percy."

"You know my name, you... seem to know about the... demigod thing", stated Percy seriously, sitting up a bit straighter. "You brought me here, I don't know where here is or who you are. Yeah, sounds pretty much like a kidnapping to me. So, who are you? Last remains of the rebellion? Pissed off because I ruined your little world domination gig?"

"Wow. It would be so cool to be a demigod", muttered Nico beneath his breath and shook his head. "No. We're not demigods. We're... mortals. You're in the mortal world. Like... the mortal world."

"What does that even mean?", muttered Percy confused.

"You watch Doctor Who?", butted Leo in, getting a couple really weird glances.

"...Yeah?", confirmed Percy reluctantly, squinting at the Latino.

The way his eyes flittered around made it obvious that he was looking for the best way out, or at least a good opening for a fight. "Okay, so you remember that plot with the parallel world? Where Rose's awesome dad was still alive and Rose was just... a puppy her parents were having?"

"Yeah. I liked the idea of a world without Rose", nodded Percy with the faintest grin.

"Me too", grunted Leo before he got elbowed by Frank. "Ouch. Uh. Yeah. So... You kind of traveled through dimensions. The gods aren't real in this world. We don't have monsters. We... don't even have you. In our world, your life is a book series. And you were brought here, uh..."

"Through a portal", offered Lou. "Magic portal created by the books."

"...I'm... a fictional character in your world?", asked Percy stunned before laughing. "Man. This is crazy. Okay, listen up. If you are kidnappers, you have another thing coming, because my friends are fiercely protective. If you're not kidnappers then... this is one hell of a story."

"Wait a second", grunted Nico as he had an idea, opening his bag. "Here. That's the latest book."

Percy actually collapsed back onto his butt as he was handed a book named Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian. There was his name, on the cover of the book. And even though reading hurt and was annoying, he decided to try and decipher the blurb. He grunted stunned.

"Woah", whispered Percy stunned as he skipped through the pages. "This... This is my life! O—Oh gods, there... That just happened! That... That happened just now!" Percy sounded panicked and excited as he pointed at the last page of the book. "Okay. So. Either this is one crazy dream I'm having, or one of you guys is like... an oracle, but a more precise oracle than Rachel and you managed to actually write... very detailed books about my life, in... uh... my POV... Or... what you're saying is actually true. And damn, it's insane that the last option is actually the most... reasonable."

"Yeah, no kidding", grunted Nico as he offered Percy his hand. "I'm Nico di Angelo. Those are Jason, Reyna, Leo, Frank, Piper, Lou and Alabaster. Don't worry if you don't remember all names."

"Percy Jackson", replied Percy with a grin as he took the offered hand. "So... You're what? My... fanboy? Because you carry a book about my life around in your back." At Nico's very bright blush, Percy stared stunned. "Wait. I have... I have... uh... fans?"

"Dude. I gotta show you the internet!", exclaimed Leo excited. "There's a movie about you – but it's like really bad – and a ton of fanfiction and fanarts and like... everything!"

"Whoa", whispered Percy wide-eyed. "I want to see that. All of it."

"You don't", assured Lou, one eyebrow raised. "No. Seriously. You don't want to see all of that. There are some really nasty and naughty smut fics about you." At the look she got from Nico and the blush on Percy's cheeks, Lou shrugged casually. "What? I ship Luke and Percy."

"L—Luke?", yelped Percy high-pitched before sputtering. "W—What? Me? Him? Together?"

"How about we all move to the kitchen, maybe have a little snack and sit down?", suggested Piper softly. "I know I for my part am always starved after doing magic. You must be too, since you were... uh... magicked here. And thirsty. You must also be thirsty, right?"

"You know my name, you know I'm... a demigod, you know Luke... So it's still kind of fifty fifty if you're from a parallel world or if you're left-over traitors trying to kill me", stated Percy.

"What do we have to do to convince you?", asked Nico hopefully.

"These books, they're... are they... really all written from my POV? So, you should be able to tell me something... something only I know", offered Percy doubtfully. "Because all you said so far, you could have as well gotten out of being part of Kronos' army."

"Grover Underwood was your very first friend, you were mainly picked on as a child, because of your demigodly blood and how it made you different. You protected him from bullies, like Nancy Bobofit in the year you learned about your heritage from Chiron, who was posing as Mister Brunner, your favorite teacher", started Nico listing off. "Your mother, Sally Jackson, raised you basically on her own. Her parents James and Laura died in a plane crash when she was young, she was raised by her uncle Rich, but he died of cancer, so she never had any family to support her. She had a crappy husband, Gabe Ugliano, who was... not what she deserved. Or what you deserved."

"Your mother took care of him though, with Medusa's head which you gave to her, which was totally wicked, by the way", added Jason with a grin. "Favorite part of the movie."

"I don't need every detail of my life!", exclaimed Percy with something akin to pain in his eyes.

"Your friend Rachel Elizabeth Dare threw a plastic hairbrush at Kronos when he first possessed Luke Castellan", stated Piper with a grin. "Saved your ass with that. That was after you went to Ogygia, meeting your 'biggest What If' in Calypso... who would be a better choice than Annabeth!"

"Wait. Oh gods. You guys... read about me and Calypso and... and my thoughts and all?! That is so embarrassing!", yelped Percy loudly, blushing a bit.

The others snickered as they slowly gravitated toward the kitchen, where Nico easily went ahead to put something easy and fast together for them all. His heart was racing. He couldn't believe that Percy Jackson was real. Right here, behind him, sitting at the table, with a cute blush because he was embarrassed. There was nothing cuter than an embarrassed Percy.

"This is really kinda cool", commented Jason, looking Percy up and down. "I mean, you're a fictional character, but here you are, alive and in the flesh. Real. Man..."

"...Thank you, I guess", drawled Percy out, giving the blonde a pointed look. "So, why me?"

"Mh?", grunted Alabaster confused.

"Well, if you got the magic to summon any character from any book – why me? I know I would have gone with Fred and George, because they're awesome and the united powers of the Weasleys and the Stolls would be wicked. Also, I'd get to save Fred's life", declared Percy with a frown. "So, am I like Harry Potter to your world, or what? Because that'd be something to brag about."

"Uh, sorry, you're not exactly Harry Potter", said Frank with a grin. "I mean, you're popular, but not that popular. It would be kind of cool to summon Neville Longbottom though..."

"Okay so then, why me?", asked Percy again.

"Today is Nico's birthday and to Nico, you are a hundred times better than Harry Potter", offered Alabaster amused. "So we wanted to surprise him, giving him the chance to meet you."

Nico blushed embarrassed as he served the penne carbonara to the others, causing Percy to squeal in delight. That only made Nico blush harder. So he had put some blue food dye into the sauce, because this was Percy Jackson and everybody knew Percy liked blue food.

"Oh my gosh, it's blue!", yelped Percy happily and turned to grin at Nico. "You are so a fanboy. Wow. I have fans. Man, this world is seriously crazy."

"Says the boy from a world with actual monsters and powerful gods", countered Nico.

"What can I say? That's at least a crazy I can handle", sighed Percy with a shrug. "So... How are you guys going to bring me back to my world then? I hope I don't need to cut my hand for a blood sacrifice or anything, because I bear the curse of Achilles, so..."

"...Oh", muttered Alabaster and made a face.

"I don't think I like that letter", grunted Percy and turned to glare at Nico. "I don't like it."

"We kind of weren't planning on sending you back", admitted Lou, lifting her arms in defense as Percy glared dangerously. "It's just... the whole portal-thing that Leo said earlier? Not really true."

Alabaster left the kitchen for a moment and returned with five books. Percy blinked as five books bearing his name on them with different titles were dumped in front of him.

"Wow. I have five books?", asked Percy with a grin and opened The Lightning Thief, just to frown very confused. "Why... are they empty? Are they like... diaries or something?"

"Those are the books we used to summon you", explained Alabaster slowly. "You... You're not real. Your memories may feel real to you, but your world isn't a kind of parallel world, it's a fictional world. You were made using those books. The essence of those five books created you. There... is no world to send you back to. You're real now. We can... dissolve you again, put the words back into the books, but it's... not different from simply killing you. There is no life waiting for you, unless your author decides on a whim to write a sequel series... which is a shitty idea, always."

"Yeah, let's face it, even if he decides to write a sequel series, it's probably going to be about Percy's kids or grandkids, because there's no realistic way that the next Great Prophecy will come true during Percy's days", agreed Frank thoughtful. "I mean, this one already took like centuries to unfold, right? So... I don't think there's... more coming. Wouldn't make any sense."

"...You mean I'll never see my mom again?", asked Percy confused and heart-broken.

"..I—I'm sorry", whispered Lou and averted her eyes.

"No!", spat Percy angrily and jumped up. "No, you're not! You just... just play around with magic like it's a fun toy! It's not! It's not fun, it's dangerous! You play with outer people's lives without any regard for... for them? For their feelings and safety?"

Percy rushed out of the room and Nico was instantly behind him – there was no telling what an angry demigod in a mortal world would do. But damn, Percy was fast. Thankfully, Nico had his bike. He drove after Percy until he caught up with the other boy.

"Percy. Wait. Please", called Nico out as he parked his bike.

They were at Central Park. Percy paused and turned to glare at Nico. At least he had stopped running, but he looked so furious and angry and... yes, still heartbroken.

"Percy... I... I'm sorry", sighed Nico as he walked up to Percy.

"It's not your fault", muttered Percy. "It's theirs. I just..."

"I can't imagine never seeing my mother or my friends again", admitted Nico with a frown.

"Camp... Camp will be fine without me. They got Annabeth. But... my mom...", whispered Percy, clearly refusing what Alabaster had said about his world not being real. "I don't... I can't..."

"How about you come stay at my place? Sleep tonight, let's talk about everything tomorrow again, see if maybe the others can talk some sense into Lou, Ally and Piper?", offered Nico. "It's already... nearly early morning. And you must be tired, right?"

"I guess", sighed Percy with a forlorn look on his face as he stared up into the stars. "Thanks. You're... kind. First you make food, now you offer me a place to stay. The penne were awesome, by the way. You're a great cook. And the sauce was blue."

"Well, I am kind of... your biggest fan, so I know you like blue food", shrugged Nico embarrassed.

The two of them walked back to Nico's bike where Nico offered Percy his second helmet. The son of Poseidon looked a bit skeptical, but he obediently climbed onto the bike behind Nico, clinging onto him for dear life once Nico started the bike. The Italian was grinning like a maniac at the feeling of Percy Jackson pressed against his back like that.

/break\

"Nico, tesorino, I told you I am quite alright with you being gay and bringing a boy home, but... sneaking out in the middle of the night to get said boy and then sneaking him into your room is very much not what I meant when I said that."

Nico yawned widely, still dead tired because he and Percy had returned at nearly five in the morning and then Nico still had to grab a blanket and pillow and clothes for Percy. Oh. Right. Percy. Nico's eyes snapped open and he came to stare into the scolding face of his mother. Very slowly, Nico turned his head to look at Percy sleeping on the ground next to his bed. He was drooling onto his pillow, curled together around it, the blanket only half covering his legs, revealing that Percy was down to his boxers and shirt, which must leave a great impression on Maria.

"Oh my gosh, little Neeks has a boyfriend!", exclaimed Bianca, cackling loudly as she pushed past their mother to see for herself. "Wow. I didn't expect you to actually have taste."

"Bianca", chided Maria with a stern glare. "Stop teasing your brother. Go and alert your father that breakfast is ready. Don't... mention the boy in Nico's room, please."

Tension left Nico's body as he turned toward his mother again. Maria di Angelo was the kindest, most gentle soul on this planet and she was amazing. Ade di Angelo however was a bit more old-fashioned and rather stern. Not that his dad had anything against Nico being gay, but if Ade would catch a boy in Nico's room without Nico even having asked permission for any kind of sleepover beforehand, well, Nico would never hear the end of it and would be grounded until graduation.

"Well, tesorino, who is your... friend?", asked Maria gently as she sat down on Nico's desk chair.

"Percy is... an exchange student", replied Nico after a beat. "He's staying with the Torringtons, but Lou called last night, they had a horrible plumbing disaster. The entire house is flooded, starting in the basement. And... uh, well, Percy was staying in the basement, so... they asked me if he could stay here, at least for a night, and then we could see? Lou and Alabaster are staying with Piper and Jason. I—I'm sorry I haven't said anything, I swear it was a total spur of the moment thing!"

Maria sighed and looked down at the still sleeping boy on the floor. "Well, at least he's not laying in your bed. You would be in a world of trouble then, believe me, young man. For now we will tell your father I allowed it yesterday and forgot to tell him when he came home, si?"

"You're the best, mamma", sighed Nico and went to hug her.

Maria smiled and kissed the top of his head. "Of course I am. Now wake your friend, there's a big birthday breakfast waiting downstairs. Happy birthday, my precious little boy."

"Thanks, mamma", mumbled Nico embarrassed as she kissed his forehead again.

Nico nodded sharply as Maria left the room. "You mom seems real nice."

Blinking a few times, Nico turned to look down at Percy, who with the most adorable sleepy expression possible looked after her retreating form. His hair was even messier than yesterday, something that Nico had not thought possible, but damn it was adorable.

"She... is", replied Nico softly. "Good morning. You should get dressed. Breakfast is waiting."

"Right. So... give me a short something to work with downstairs. I'm guessing 'I'm a demigod who was magicked out of a book' isn't going to work", requested Percy as he grabbed his jeans.

For a moment, Nico was stuck in silent gaping as he watched Percy getting dressed and stretching to work out the kinks in his back. "Eh... Uh. You're an exchange student, okay? And you were staying with Lou and Alabaster – they're siblings. Their father, Howard Claymore, he's a professor and author and he's often on book tours. He's been gone for two weeks now, so... even if papà decides to check in, Howard wouldn't know anything about it. There was a plumbing disaster yesterday, which is why the house is flooded and why you're staying here. Alright?"

"I can work with that", shrugged Percy casually. "Now, your family. Tell me about them."

"My father is half-American, he met my mamma when he was investigating his Italian roots. Mamma is from Venice and... she made my father fall in love with her, he moved to Venice to be with her. It's where my big sister Bianca and I have been born, but the family business forced papà to move back to the US, so... we moved here", answered Nico slowly. "My mother's name is Maria, my father's name is Ade. He's a lawyer, long family tradition. I'm doomed to become a lawyer too."

"That's nice", whispered Percy, shrugging at the weird look Nico gave him. "A normal life. You're 'doomed' to take a job like a regular mortal, in your family business once you're grown up. I didn't even think I'd grow up. So... even now... I have no idea what... I'm gonna do with my life. School is already hard enough with monsters and all; college and work...? It's... impossible to balance."

Nico frowned. "Sorry. You're right."

"No", laughed Percy and shook his head. "My mom usually says that... Regardless of your own problems, others have problems too and the size of your own troubles do not nullify the troubles others have. So just because I was supposed to die at sixteen doesn't mean you being doomed to work in a law firm isn't a matter of annoyance, Nico. But now I want breakfast."

/break\

Once Nico was dressed, he led the way downstairs to the kitchen where the rest of his family was already sitting at the table. Bianca was grinning mischievously at her younger brother, a fact Nico decidedly ignored. Maria and Bianca were both beautiful, with olive-skin, black eyes and black curly hair that fell way below their shoulders. They both looked very much like Nico and Percy instantly saw the family resemblance. Nico's father however looked only a little like Nico – the sharp cheekbones and even sharper dark brown eyes – but other than that, Ade looked very frightening. Pale, grumpy and creepy. He gave Percy the chills, in the same way he was used to by Lord Hades. Which was so not a good sign, he guessed.

"Happy birthday, Niccoló", stated Ade firmly, but with a certain tenderness in his eyes. "Sit. Presents will wait until after breakfast, however."

"Thanks, papà", grinned Nico as Bianca leaned over and ruffled his hair.

"Little Neeks, seventeen already", cooed Bianca teasingly.

"Neeks?", echoed Percy, making a face at the awful sounding nickname.

"Yes. Please refrain from ever calling me that", grunted Nico.

"Ah, the... guest", drawled Ade out, glaring pointedly at Percy. "Good morning."

"Hello, Mister di Angelo. Thank you for having me", smiled Percy brightly and bowed down a little – manners Rachel had practically beaten into him ever since they were attending school together. "I'm Percy... Blofis. Sorry for being a bother, I guess."

Ade raised one eyebrow. "A boy with manners. Color me surprised."

"Ade, behave", chided Maria with the slightest giggle. "Oh, it's alright, Percy dear."

"Maria tells me you're an exchange student? What country are you from, boy?", asked Ade while filling his cup with coffee. "Pass the butter, Bianca, if you please."

"Of course, papà", smiled Bianca and did as she was told.

"Greece", replied Percy smoothly, smiling brightly. "I'm from Athens."

"You're speaking perfect English", commented Ade.

"My mother, she's American. It's why I did this student-exchange thing", answered Percy.

Nico observed impressed, because Percy was really quick on his feet and he was damn charming when doing so. Breakfast actually passed in a very civilized manner and much to Nico's shock, Ade seemed to like Percy. Then again, it was Percy, so that shouldn't be so shocking. How could anyone not like Percy? Percy was perfect and amazing and... maybe Nico forgot to eat because he was too busy watching Percy instead. But it was okay, because wow was Percy adorable.

/break\

"I swear, if Nico mentions one more time how adorable Percy Jackson is, I'm going to put those books where the sun don't shine", grunted Alabaster annoyed.

Him, Lou and Piper had come over to talk about the magic thing again. Nico was glad that Percy was currently downstairs – he had gotten roped into baking the cake with Bianca and Maria. Nico blushed as he glared over at his friends. Okay, so maybe he was a broken record when it came to Percy, but that was hardly his fault. His friends had made Nico's every wet dream come to life.

"Okay, so... What are you guys gonna do about bringing Percy back home?", grunted Nico instead.

"There is no home for Percy. I was pretty sure that I made that clear last night", countered Alabaster with a pointed look. "He wasn't real. Now he is. For the first time, he has free will and isn't forced to do whatever his author wants. Turning him into a book again is literally going to kill him."

"But...", started Nico with a frown. "I mean... He..."

"Like we said, we... really didn't think any farther than summoning him", admitted Lou, sounding clearly ashamed. "But there's no changing it anymore. All we can do is make the best out of the situation. Find some kind of arrangement for Percy and all."

"We told my parents that he's an exchange student from Greece, who's staying at your house, so until we find a solution he's going to have to stay at your place", stated Nico a bit sour. "I'm still due to opening my presents, getting some cake and then Percy and I will come to your place."

"Sure. Uh... We'll figure... something out", nodded Alabaster awkwardly.

"You better", growled Nico, giving his best death glare. "Because an upset Percy makes me upset and I will make you suffer if Percy is stuck here, being unhappy."

"Sure thing, boss", grinned Lou a bit amused. "I kind of have half a plan, actually. Just... give us a bit of a head-start and we'll work something out. See you later, Nico!"

The three practically ran out of Nico's bedroom, leaving the displeased Italian alone.

/break\

"Please stop looking like a kicked puppy. It kills me. And ruins my birthday."

Percy huffed and turned toward Nico, glaring pointedly at the Italian. "Cheap shot."

"I know", shrugged Nico casually. "So... Can you at least try not to kill my friends? Give them like... a chance? Lou sounded like she had a plan of sorts earlier. Please don't drown my friends?"

Percy gritted his teeth, cheeks a bit red. Why did Nico have to be so ridiculously cute when looking at Percy like that? Like Percy could deny that, really. He had always been bad at saying no to people anyway. And Nico had been nothing but kind and sweet to Percy so far.

"Fine. No drowning the mortals", sighed Percy, making it sound like a great suffering. "Take it as my birthday present to you, di Angelo."

"Very gracious of you, Jackson", countered Nico cheekily.

Percy huffed and glared up at the Italian. "Why are you taller than me anyway? It totally ruins the effect, you know? Gods, I hate being small. Annabeth used to tease me about it all the time when she was still taller than me. I was already happy enough I hit a growth spurt that made me barely taller than the girls... most of the girls... Clarisse is still taller than me... But... Urgh. Frustrating."

Nico had the cheekiest grin on his lips has he reached out and patted Percy's hair, making the demigod blush brightly. "There, there, little Sea Prince. It sure must be hard."

"H—How dare you make fun of the savior of Olympus!", yelped Percy and tackled Nico.

Nico grunted as he hit the grass not far from the Claymore-Torrington home. He stared wide-eyed up at Percy, straddling his waist. There was a wicked look on Percy's face as he suddenly started tickling Nico. Nico gasped and squirmed beneath them until he could get a hand in himself, sneaking beneath Percy's shirt and feeling those incredible abs for himself, stroking them teasingly until Percy was a squirming and giggling mess himself and Nico was able to roll them over. Once he had the son of Poseidon pinned beneath him, he grinned victoriously.

"Do you give up, little hero?", asked Nico teasingly.

"Y—You win this battle, but you shall not win the war", gasped Percy breathlessly, laughing.

"...You guys want to come in, or do you need another minute?", called Lou out, sounding amused.

Nico flushed brightly as he climbed off of Percy and helped the demigod up before the two walked into the house. Lou had a proud look on her face, one that made Nico mildly suspicious.

"So, how's bringing me home coming along?", asked Percy a bit coldly.

"Well, again: There is no home for you to return to. But we figured... you could make a home here."

"I can't-", started Percy with suppressed anger.

"Oh, Percy, honey, I was so worried about you!"

Percy paused and looked surprised as his mother came running out of the living room, tackling Percy in a hug. Paul came up behind her, looking very confused but being there.

"What... is going on here? Who are those people?", asked Nico disturbed. "And are you alright?"

Piper and Alabaster were laying on the couch, completely exhausted and Lou walked over to join them. Piper grinned lazily up at Nico and gave an okay sign. Nico was still a bit lost.

"We can't bring Percy back home, but we can bring his home here. Well... Honestly, I'm pretty sure this was it. We spent practically all the magical energy we have on recreating the spell two times", replied Lou. "We're not able to bring... everyone here... But... I hope your parents are enough?"

"Those children said... a lot of things that didn't quite make sense", stated Paul with a frown. "Percy, what is going on here? Where are we?"

/break\

So Sally and Paul Blofis were now also real. And as much as Percy was going to miss all of his friends, he – and his parents – weren't going to miss the monsters, or the gods (aside from Poseidon, that much was clear to Nico). With a little less-than-legal help, the Blofis family now actually existed, even on paper. It took a mental chant of 'This is like moving away, this is a new start' to get them through it – and Nico and his friends pulling a few strings – to kickstart their life here.

Beryl and Tristan had a couple of apartments all over New York, clever investment for the time that would come when they wouldn't be big time stars anymore, and with a bit buttering-up from Jason and Piper and a sob-story about Percy and his family just moving here but having been scammed so the apartment they had picked beforehand was sort of gone now. Long story short, the Blofises had an apartment with a generous land-lord and land-lady who were giving them some leeway with rent until they found work in New York, because 'all their savings went into this apartment they got scammed out of and thus lost everything'. Alabaster's and Lou's father, who as a professor sometimes gave guest hearings at their high school, had spoken to the principal and gotten Paul a job as a teacher there. Sally all the while had applied to a couple of stores before she ended up in a small bakery. And Percy was being enrolled in Nico's high school.

So one could say that it took about a month and some adjusting on all parties, but Sally, Paul and Percy were now just regular people, living a regular life in New York. As long as Percy would manage to keep his powers on the down-low. It was all that Sally had ever wanted for her son, after all. A normal life. No monsters trying to eat him, no gods sending him onto ridiculous and dangerous quests. Just high school, followed by college, followed by a normal, good life.

"I can't believe Percy Jackson attends school with me", whispered Nico during math.

He was dreamily staring ahead at Percy, who was sitting two rows in front of him and currently talking to Jason. Alabaster next to Nico snorted and elbowed his friend.

"It's been a week now that he's attended our school. It's been over a month now that he's been real. When are you going to stop being all fanboy about his presence?", asked Alabaster.

"When he stops being amazing", countered Nico annoyed and rolled his eyes.

"And when are you going to ask him out?", asked Alabaster teasingly.

"Are you insane? He's Percy Jackson", hissed Nico annoyed, glaring darkly at his friend. "I'm not gonna ask him out. He's straight anyway. And look how he's being swarmed by all the pretty girls."

Nico made an annoyed and dismissive hand-gesture toward where Drew Tanaka was basically throwing herself at Percy and batting her long lashes. Nico accidentally broke the pen in his hand. Nico would have preferred for it to be Drew's neck.

/break\

"So, your undying love for Percy, does it root from him simply being drop-dead gorgeous, or from him sharing a name with your very first wanking fantasy, or from him being as obsessed with those books as you are?"

"...How long until you graduate and move out?", countered Nico annoyed.

He didn't even bother looking up from the drawing he was busy with, but he could feel Bianca right behind him. She snickered as she rested her arms on his shoulders and chin on his head.

"It's cute how every Percy Jackson you now draw looks exactly like Percy Blofis", chimed Bianca teasingly. "It is because he's as obsessed with those books as you are, right? Whenever I see the kid, he's holding one of those books, or browsing some wikia. And when you first had him over, he was wearing this ridiculous, hideous orange shirt, one of those that you ordered online too even though it completely clashes with your usual all-black wardrobe."

"Why did you never contemplate the all girl boarding schools for which I have been leaving pamphlets around the house for seven years now?", asked Nico aggravated.

Bianca laughed and ruffled Nico's hair. "Who else is supposed to drive you insane then? Anyway, if I were you, I'd put the cute little love letter drawings away now, mh?"

"...Why?", asked Nico suspiciously.

"Because Percy came to visit and he's about one conversation with mamma apart from entering this room and seeing your embarrassing little drawings of him as some big hero", chimed Bianca.

With wide, panicked eyes did Nico hastily hide everything in a drawer and force it closed. Percy was here. Why was Percy here? Nico didn't remember having any plans with Percy. Sure, they had hung out a lot over the past two months, but that was because Nico and Nico's friends were the only ones who knew who Percy really was and they were generally the only ones Percy knew so far.

"Ni—ico!", called Percy out as he jumped into the room a moment later. "Hello!"

Percy smiled at Nico and as always, that smile didn't fail to turn Nico's brain offline again. The smile turned into the brightest grin possible as Percy started rummaging through his bag – he was carrying a bag, why was Percy carrying a bag around – just to produce two DVDs.

"...Hello, Percy. What... are you... uh... doing here?", asked Nico slowly.

"Movie night!", exclaimed Percy delighted. "I am finally caught up with at least those two... books. So I wanna see the movies. And Alabaster said the best place for movie night would be your place."

"...Really? How come I'm the last to learn? And... who else is coming?", asked Nico suspiciously.

"Everyone", replied Percy with a shrug as he sat down on Nico's bed.

"My parents don't even know about that. It's not like I can just randomly invite half a dozen people without my parents' knowledge", argued Nico weakly.

"Alabaster said you'd say that, that's why he send me first to talk to your mom, because your mom adores me", declared Percy with the broadest most pleased grin. "She said it's totally okay because your dad has a conference in Los Angeles anyway."

Nico snorted and got up to sit down next to Percy on the bed. "So wait, you're telling me you read two of the books in only a month? Uh, that sounded kind of offensive..."

"Nah", laughed Percy and shook his head. "I mean, you know about my attention span and my dyslexia, so the question is totally legit. No, I didn't read-read them. I listened to them. Reyna was kind enough to show me the audio books. Mom and I listen to them together."

"And now you want to watch the movies? With us? Not... with your mom?", asked Nico confused.

"No", grunted Percy wide-eyed. "Frank said the movies are totally 'inaccurate' and that they even make me seventeen – I'm not even seventeen now. So I'm kind of afraid, because I know Hollywood and love stories and sex scenes between hot people are like their bread and butter, so... if there's like... a sex-scene between me and Annabeth I need to know where to skip forward because that's an embarrassment I am not going to live through otherwise."

"No sex scenes", blurted Nico out, a little green.

"Thank the gods", sighed Percy and sagged down in relief. "I mean, seriously. It's weird enough hearing about your life in such detail, but knowing there's a movie about it? One that's not even keeping close to your life? Totally freaks me out."

"Understandable", snickered Nico amused.

/break\

Two hours later and Nico was pretty sure he was going to lose his mind. Frank and Leo were curled together next to the bed, so were Jason and Reyna. Piper was laying sprawled out in front of the two couples, while Lou, Alabaster and Percy were cramped onto Nico's bed, with Nico. Only that the Torrington-siblings were taking up far more space than they needed to, which meant Percy was squished against him. Percy's head on Nico's shoulder, all that Percy pressed up against him.

"This is ridiculous", groaned Percy and hid his face in Nico's chest. "This dude doesn't look anything like me! Who thought d'Artagnan would be a good choice to play me?!"

"You're right. You're way cuter", agreed Leo and reached up to pat Percy's ankles.

"Thank you!", yelped Percy in agreement, nodding wildly.

It was a casual shift, a very casual and slow one over the following hour, but Nico had his arms now wrapped around Percy's waist and Percy had his legs thrown over Nico's lap. Because Lou and Alabaster were taking up so much space. Not. Percy smiled to himself, ear resting against Nico's chest so he could listen to the steady heartbeat. Percy liked Nico. He liked Nico a lot.

Nico was such a cute dork and when he went all fanboy on Percy, it was the most endearing thing Percy had ever seen in his entire life. Nico was charming and sarcastic and very gorgeous. He was also very kind, the kindest since Percy had arrived in this world. Nico had done everything so Percy would feel at home at this place and whenever Percy felt particularly sad because he missed his friends, Nico would try whatever it took to cheer him up.

There was a thing Alabaster had said that first day, about Percy's free will and how he wasn't forced to obey the will of his author anymore. Percy's love-life had always felt weird and forced to him. Annabeth, taking an interest in him regardless of her feelings for Luke which had not truly died just because Luke had died. Rachel, who hadn't liked him at first but then suddenly kissed him and seemed to so not get along with Annabeth... just because of Percy? Calypso, sweet Calypso on her damned island. And Luke. Luke, who he had been developing a crush on but before he even had a chance to contemplate his feelings or their meaning, Luke had betrayed him and tried to kill him twice. Percy had thought it was Aphrodite's meddling, that the goddess was screwing up his life like that, using him like a puppet and pushing him around. But was it the author all along?

Either way, maybe now Percy had a chance... to have an easy, uncomplicated life? Here, in this very weird and normal world. Maybe... with this very weird and normal boy...?

/break\

When Nico woke up the next morning, it was because he had Alabaster's foot in his face, with a toe in his nose. Grunting annoyed, he swatted the foot out of the way and instead focused on the Percy sprawled out on top of him. Percy Jackson, clutching him like he was some kind of teddy bear. Sure, the demigod was leaving a giant drool-stain on Nico's shirt, but Nico really didn't mind. Smiling dumbly, Nico ran his fingers through Percy's hair and pulled the son of Poseidon closer.

"Mornin'...", yawned Percy as he woke up, instinctively snuggling closer to Nico.

"M—Morning?", offered Nico slowly, pausing with his motion.

"No, don't stop the hair-thing. It's nice", whined Percy with a cute pout.

"Gods, how are you so adorable?", asked Nico before his brain-mouth-filter activated.

He took in a sharp breath and stared wide-eyed down at Percy, praying the powerful demigod wasn't going to strangle him. Percy blushed a bit and stared doe-eyed at him before sitting up some. He leaned over Nico, licking his lips very slowly – Nico's eyes followed the motion closely.

"Yeah?", asked Percy softly. "You... like me. As... just a kind of... celebrity-crush, or...?"

"Or", confirmed Nico embarrassed, nearly swallowing his tongue. "Very much of the 'or'."

"Oh, for fuck's sake, just tell him you love him, you dork", groaned Alabaster and kicked Nico.

"Yeah, because when the two of you are busy kissing, you won't be talking and we can keep sleeping", agreed Lou while yawning wildly before throwing a pillow at them.

"Kissing sounds good", declared Percy, perking up a bit. "What do you think?"

"I've been dreaming about kissing you for years now", admitted Nico, eyes fixed on Percy's pink lips. "But... I gotta admit that desire has been growing ever since I got to know-know you. Not just... your thoughts and life through the books, but... interacting with you. You're... perfect."

"I'm gonna kiss you to shut you up now", warned Percy embarrassed.

Nico grunted surprised at the force with which Percy was kissing him. Under the tired cheers and 'yay's of his – no, really, at this point their – friends did Nico wrap his arms around Percy's waist.

"Oooh. That much for him not being your boyfriend, Neeks?"

Percy and Nico bolted apart and turned to stare wide-eyed at Bianca, who was just passing Nico's room on her way to the bathroom, towels in hand and teasing grin on her face. Nico groaned and rolled over so he could hide his face in Percy's chest this time.

/break\

Nico smiled faintly as he sat at the beach in Montauk, with Percy on his lap. The waves were lapping at them and every time they did, Percy would pull the water a bit closer, occasionally form animals out of the water and make them prance around. The Blofises had decided to go on a family vacation and due to a by now rather close friendship between Sally and Maria, the di Angelos had tagged along and both families had rented cabins next to each other. It was nothing like how Percy remembered it from his world, but he still liked it. It was still the sea, after all. Even though it felt different than the seas Percy had known, because these here didn't belong to a god.

"They belong to you now", whispered Nico into Percy's ear. "We have no gods in this world. But you, as a demigod, are... kind of the new deity of the sea then, huh?"

"Dork", snorted Percy with a slight blush.

Nico hummed in agreement. Even after half a year of dating Percy, he was still completely overwhelmed by how magical, powerful and amazing his boyfriend was. Even after all this time, even in years to come, Nico would probably still fanboy about dating Percy Jackson.

"So, the third movie about you hits theaters in a couple months", drawled Nico out, kissing along Percy's neck. "What do you say? We go and laugh at it?"

Percy laughed softly and craned his neck enough to kiss Nico properly. "Sounds perfect."

"Boys! Barbeque is ready! Please come before Paul and Ade start arguing about rare and medium rare again!", called Sally loudly as she emerged from between their cabins.

"Coming, mom!", called Percy with a happy smile – a truly happy smile.

For the first time in his life, he was truly happy. He was safe, had his family, new and good friends and he also had Nico. Yes, he missed his old friends, but he couldn't change that. All he could do was live in the now and enjoy the life he had – the love he had. And that, he enjoyed a lot.

~*~ The End ~*~

Author's note: I feel like this should go without saying, but since administrator-san is worried about pairing bashing and some people do love to take things the wrong way and feel offended out of principle; Nico hating on Percabeth and basically any other pairing involving Percy/other-person-than-Nico represents the character's opinion, not the author's and is in no way meant as bashing. Quite obviously does a person not exactly like when the one they love is in a relationship with someone else, so Nico has a few choice words about it.