Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || The Second Queen of Hades || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy

Title: The Second Queen of Hades – And How Their Prince Fell in Love With the Ocean

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus

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: m/m, fluff, pining, explicit intercourse, anal, f/f, m/f, polyamory (m/f/f)

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Hades/Persephone/Maria, Bianca/Annabeth, Ethan/Alabaster, Charles/Silena, Chris/Clarisse, Paul/Sally

Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Bianca di Angelo, Annabeth Chase, Thalia Grace, Tyson, Ethan Nakamura, Alabaster C. Torrington, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Clarisse la Rue, Chris Rodriguez, Charles Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, Grover Underwood, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Sally Jackson, Paul Blofis, Maria di Angelo, Mrs. O'Leary

Godly Characters: Demeter, Hades, Persephone, Makaria, Melinoe, Zerberus

Summary: In 1920, Hades and Persephone fell in love with a mortal woman. They loved Maria di Angelo so much, they took her to the underworld with them and made her a goddess. The three raised their children, Bianca and Nico, together until the Titan War starts brewing and they decide to send their children to Camp Half-Blood, where they meet and befriend Percy Jackson.

The Second Queen of Hades

And How Their Prince Fell in Love With the Ocean

Hades and Persephone liked to go on vacations during spring and summer time. It was the perfect loophole for them to be together. Demeter, while begrudging it, knew it made her daughter happy. In the year 1920, the two went to Italy – to Venice. A very romantic place, really.

What both gods didn't account for was Maria di Angelo. The beautiful and kind woman they ran into early in their vacation completely captured their attention, and with time, also their hearts. She worked in a small flower-shop by the cemetery and Hades and Persephone found themselves visiting her rather frequently. Chatting with her, flirting with her... falling for her.

But their vacation came to an end and while Hades knew Thanatos could run the underworld without him for a while, he didn't want to burden the other Death God for too long.

The next year came and without even having to talk about it, Hades and Persephone agreed to return to Venice. To see how Maria was doing. When she offered them a blinding smile and greeted them enthusiastically, their hearts fluttered and they knew that she was meant to be theirs.

This summer resulted in a pregnancy and by the time Hades and Persephone returned to Venice in 1922, they were greeted by Maria... and by their daughter, Bianca di Angelo. A precious little girl with large, dark eyes like her father and the curls of her mother. Persephone looked at this adorable little girl and she loved her no less than her own two daughters.

A routine came into the life of the two gods. Every summer, they would visit Maria and Bianca. Two summers after her birth, Hades and Persephone got to welcome Nico di Angelo into their family. The little boy had been born in January and he was no less precious than his sister.

For the following ten years, they got to live in peace. Hades and Persephone wanted to take them to the underworld the more restless Europe grew once more. But Maria, she had her sister and her parents and she wouldn't want to give up the beauty of Venice for the underworld. Especially since little Nico in particular loved the ocean. He loved playing at the beach and splashing in the water.

Maybe a part of Nico's enjoyment rooted from it being summer and summer meaning both papà and ma would be with them and their family would be whole. Ma would play and laugh with Nico at the beach, enjoying the sun and papà would grumble and get a sun-burn while playing games with Bianca and mamma on the blanket on the beach.

Ten years, Nico got to live his life like this before the unrest in the world grew too large. Zeus' anger grew and he saw Nico and his sister as threats to his person. Hades and Persephone took their family to the underworld, rules be damned. They fed Maria a pomegranate and granted her godhood. Maria di Angelo, the goddess of winter, the counterpart to Persephone.

Zeus was not pleased by that, but Hades and Persephone were by far not the first ones to make a mortal lover immortal – Zeus himself had done it before, so why shouldn't they?

The underworld was a safe place for Nico and Bianca to grow up, to have happy childhoods. Or at least that was what their parents intended, until what would later be known as the Second Titan War.

/break\

Nico was a happy child. He loved his family and he absolutely loved living in the underworld. He loved Zerberus, his gigantic three-headed puppy-dog that he could even ride – and that he did ride, exploring the underworld with his canine friend. His three older sisters were very nagging and annoying, but he still loved them. Bianca, who had been born on Earth just like him, and their older half-sisters Makaria and Melinoe, the biological children of Hades and Persephone.

Nico's dad was strict and a little awkward sometimes, but he knew Hades loved them. Persephone taught them all about flowers and nature. Maria taught them how to cook and told them good-night stories. Grandma Demeter, whenever she would visit, would try to force them to eat super-healthy, but uncle Thanatos would sneak them chocolate so it was okay.

"I say he cheats", grumbled Melinoe with a frown.

"You're just bad at it", countered Makaria with a smirk.

"But he also cheats", tagged Bianca on. "I saw it."

"I do not cheat!", exclaimed Nico with a pout, glaring at his older sisters.

They were mainly stupid big sisters, but sometimes they did something nice, like playing Mythomagic with Nico. But mostly the three girls hung out on their own, while Nico went to explore the underworld with Zerberus and sometimes with uncle Thanatos to whom Nico had grown especially attached. Even though technically he wasn't their uncle, but he lived at the palace and was papà's second-in-command so he was uncle Thanatos.

"Bambini, no fighting", chided Maria with a frown.

Nico huffed but he got a kiss on the head from mamma so he was pacified. They were fluent in Italian, English and Greek. Hades and Persephone had said that with Olympus seated in the US, it would be beneficial for the kids to speak English, though Nico didn't really know why. It had been decades since they had last seen the upper world. Sometimes, they got to go to Olympus, but only when Persephone and Demeter were with them and kept watchful eyes on them.

/break\

It was in the winter of 2005 when Bianca and Nico were visiting grandma Demeter that the siblings ran into other children for the first time. Demigods, visiting Olympus over the solstice with Chiron (Nico had a huge fanboy moment when meeting the centaur for the first time).

"You're such a nerd", groaned Bianca embarrassed.

"Who are you?", asked a blonde girl, around their age. "You didn't come with us."

"No", replied Bianca and turned away from her brother. "We live in the underworld with our parents, Hades, Persephone and Maria. The better question is: Who are you?"

"We're... the demigods... from... from Camp Half-Blood. I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena", replied the blonde, staring at Bianca with large eyes. "So you're... gods? I learned about Lady Maria, she's the newest goddess. A goddess of winter."

"Mh... I dunno", hummed Bianca and tilted her head. "I guess we're probably demigods like you, since mamma was still mortal when we were born. What do you do in this camp?"

"We... We learn how to fight, about mythology and we're just... you know... being together", shrugged Annabeth, mirroring Bianca and tilting her head too.

"That sounds like fun", stated Bianca with a smile.

"Bianca! Nico! You know you're not supposed to run off!", called Demeter out irritated.

"Ah. Nonna is calling. It was nice to meet you. Nico! Come on, where are you?"

Bianca grabbed Nico by the hand to pull him along. "But I was just making friends, Bia! Their names are Connor and Travis and they are children of Hermes! They were just telling me about a prank they wanted to play on this Clarisse-girl. Can't we stay some longer?"

"No, you heard nonna call", huffed Bianca.

/break\

"Please, papà. Please, please, please", begged Bianca, batting her eyelashes.

Hades frowned and lifted his newspaper a little higher to not see his daughter. Nico tugged on his arm from the other side. Hades unfolded the newspaper some more.

"Maria! Persephone! Your children", called Hades out.

"Mh? Ours?", asked Maria confused, looking at Persephone.

The two goddesses sat on the bench opposite Hades, with Maria having her legs thrown over Persephone as she braided Persephone's hair. "I don't see our children anywhere. Look like the children of Hades to me, considering how they cling to him."

"Yes, darling", agreed Maria with a smile, kissing Persephone's cheek. "Definitely his children."

Melinoe and Makaria snorted amused as they continued with their breakfast. Nico made a small, pouty sound as he held up his Chiron figurine, poking Hades in the side.

"Please, papà. I wanna learn from Chiron! All the great heroes learned from Chiron! How can I become a proper hero if I'm not trained by Chiron?", complained Nico.

"I want to make friends, papà", tagged Bianca on. "Always just playing with Nico and Makaria and Melinoe is boring. I want to make friends my own age who aren't my siblings!"

"Maria? Persephone? Some help here?", asked Hades.

"I think it's a wonderful idea", offered Persephone unapologetically and shrugged. "Camp is nature, the sun, the green, the forest. Our children can't live in the underworld forever, dear."

"I agree", hummed Maria. "This camp, it's supposed to be safe, right? And four years ago, Zeus' little demigoddess ran around up there. He broke the oath, so he really does not get to lay a single finger on our children that were born before that oath."

"It's entirely not that simple", grumbled Hades with a glare. "My brother has misplaced his precious lightning bolt and he accused our children of stealing it."

"That sounds like all the more reason to send them to camp to train though", argued Maria with a frown. "To defend themselves. And I do have to tell mamma to have some serious words with your brother. He needs to stop blaming others for everything that goes wrong in his life."

Persephone smiled mischievously, knowing that her mother had taken quite the liking to Maria ('Such a wonderful woman! And she cooks. Healthy too', while side-eyeing Hades). Demeter surely would give Zeus a serious talking to if Maria requested it.

"It's just for the summer, dear", argued Persephone. "The sunlight will do them good."

"I'm the king of the underworld, yet I have no say in my own home", muttered Hades lowly. "Fine. Fine. Go and pack up, your mamma is going to drop you off."

"Thank you, papà", chorused Bianca and Nico, kissing his cheeks from either side.

/break\

Hermes Cabin. There wasn't even a Hades Cabin or a Persephone Cabin, much less a Maria Cabin. They had three godly parents, but they ended up staying in Hermes Cabin. Bianca was not very impressed by that, but Nico was super excited – because Connor and Travis were Hermes' children. At least the cabin-head seemed very nice. Luke Castellan. He took them under his wing, showed them around. Maybe him – and the rest of camp – were surprised that a ten-year-old boy and a twelve-year-old girl were absolute experts in hand-to-hand combat, swords-play and archery, but the two had been living in the underworld for seventy years. They had seventy years of training under their belt. With that, they quickly became rather popular.

Bianca befriended Clarisse la Rue, the greatest warrior of the camp who was very impressed by her skills, and also Annabeth Chase, the girl she had talked to at the solstice. Nico all the while made friends too – Connor and Travis, of course (they loved his shadow-travel, it was very useful for pranks – and so was his summoning of zombies), but also Ethan and Alabaster. Ethan was a son of Nemesis and Alabaster was a son of Hecate, Nico knew both their mothers personally and found it interesting to befriend other underworld-children.

They didn't stay the new kids for long though, because in June, Grover Underwood came and brought a newer new kid around. Nico, who had been here since spring and got very used to camp and thus he got curious about the new guy, so he snuck into the infirmary.

"What's his name?", asked Nico curiously.

"Percy. Percy Jackson", replied Grover, who barely left the other boy's side.

Nico tilted his head. He took the cloth from Percy's forehead to dump it in the cold water again before putting it back on Percy's forehead. That was what his mothers always did when he was sick.

"He slayed the Minotaur", whispered Nico very softly. "He's untrained but he slayed the Minotaur. He has to be special, right? I saw how he slayed the Minotaur. That was... awesome."

Grover paused for a moment and stared at Nico thoughtfully. The son of Hades.

"Yeah. Yeah, he is pretty special and really awesome. You could look after him for a while", suggested Grover with a smile. "I think you could be great friends."

Nico looked determined at that. He loved being useful and this now gave him a sense of responsibility. Annabeth in the doorway huffed and rolled her eyes amused. It figured. She had been curious too about the new kid, but she guessed he would be in good hands with Nico, so instead Annabeth returned to her own di Angelo; she had a sparring-session with Bianca waiting for her.

/break\

The first thing Percy saw when he woke up were large, dark eyes and then a smiling face. "Hi. I'm Nico. You're safe here. How do you feel?"

"Like I got run over by a bus", muttered Percy and grasped his head. "Ouch."

"Not a bus. A Minotaur", replied Nico with a broad grin.

What followed was the craziest day in Percy's life so far. Gods. Demigods. Satyrs. Centaurs. His head was spinning, but all through it, Grover and Nico were at his side. He was grateful when he was assigned a cabin so he could just lay back and digest. Which was exactly what he did after he got a bed assigned. Nico sat on his own and curiously looked down at him.

"It's okay. It's a lot to take in", whispered Nico gently. "When I first learned the gods were real, that was... that was really a shock. Do you have like any idea who your godly parent could be?"

"I don't know. Mom said my father died at sea", replied Percy with a frown. "I... I don't... I don't want to think about it now, Nico. I just wanna sleep..."

"Oh. Okay, yeah", nodded Nico. "I'll wake you when it's dinner?"

"Okay. Thank you", whispered Percy and curled together, eyes closed tightly.

/break\

Hermes Cabin was a cool place. Luke was nice, he acted like a big brother to everyone in the cabin. Nico was always at Percy's side during the next week, explaining everything to him that he had questions about and sparring with him. Nico's older sister Bianca, who was the same age as Percy, and her best friend Annabeth were also always close by.

"You're a natural", praised Bianca with a smile.

She was sparring with Annabeth, while Nico was sparring with Percy. Percy managed to muster half a smile at that. He missed his mother, he still couldn't believe she was gone and that this was his life now, but... at least he had friends who were on his side.

"Don't give the squirt a big head, di Angelo", warned Clarisse gruffly.

She was big and intimidating, but she was friends with Bianca and Annabeth so she cut Percy some slack – or so he had been told. It was okay though, Percy was used to way worse from Nancy and people like her. At least Nico stepped in when Clarisse pushed too far.

"Let's catch a break, guys", called Bianca out. "Hit the showers, get ready for dinner."

Percy headed to the showers with Nico and, as always, when the hot water hit his body, he felt revived again. Water had always made him feel better. He was still feeling down, but at least he was feeling physically better. After getting changed, he followed Nico back to Hermes Cabin, he found Connor, Travis, Chris, Ethan and Alabaster playing poker.

"You know how to play, Percy?", asked Connor.

"He's like 10, of course he doesn't", huffed Alabaster.

"I'm twelve. And I do", grunted Percy and squeezed his way in.

Nico frowned at that but followed to watch. He had seen the older kids at the cabin play a lot, mostly for candy. When Percy saw that there was a candy-buy-in, he deflated a little, so Nico went for his secret stash and handed three candy-bars to Percy. If playing poker could distract Percy some from having lost his mom, then Nico was willing to sacrifice his candy.

"Really?", asked Percy surprised.

"You can pay me back when you won", shrugged Nico with a grin and sat down next to Percy.

"Like we're gonna lose", snorted Travis and puffed his chest out.

"You really shouldn't bet against Hermes kids", warned Chris, both eyebrows raised.

He came to regret those words an hour later when, much to their surprise, Percy had completely whooped their asses. Percy laughed happily as he high-fives Nico and handed him five candy-bars.

"With interests", explained Percy with a broad grin, thinking he could get used to this.

/break\

But things changed, again, when Percy was claimed by his father. Poseidon. And suddenly, Percy was forced to move out of the Hermes Cabin, suddenly he was forced to live all alone in this large, empty cabin that was dusty and unused. It made him feel oddly small and alone.

"Hey. I brought McDonald's."

Percy yelped and fell off his bed when Nico just stepped out of the shadows, holding two bags of Happy Meals. Frowning confused, Percy looked around, trying to see if there was a hidden door.

"H... How... Where did you come from? And where did you get those?", asked Percy.

"Oh. Right. Son of Hades, can travel through shadows", explained Nico with a grin. "I'm not supposed to leave camp, but... as long as Chiron doesn't know... And I figured you could use a pick-up after moving in here. It's... lonely here. Can't imagine living all on my own."

"Neither can I", whispered Percy and sat up on his bed again.

"Your... mom was your only family, right?", asked Nico very softly.

"Yeah", nodded Percy, trying not to think of Gabe but not managing. "No... I have a... stepfather."

"That's good", nodded Nico with a smile. "So you can go back to him after the summer is over."

Percy shook his head very rapidly, his right hand clutching his left arm. Nico frowned confused. He remembered that Percy had a very large, nasty bruise there when he had first been brought into the infirmary. But... Nico's frown deepened at that and he pushed one bag to Percy.

"Here. Eat. And drink. I bought milkshakes. Everything's better with a milkshake, that's what ma always says when she sneaks us McDonald's", offered Nico gently.

"Sneaks?", echoed Percy with a frown.

"Yeah. Nonna – my grandma – she always wants us to eat healthy and papà is too afraid of her to disobey. Mamma doesn't really care either way, as long as we eat enough homemade Italian food that her mamma taught her to cook when we still lived in Venice", replied Nico. "But ma really loves fast-food and she regularly sneaks it in for us."

"Wait", grunted Percy and paused. "You... have two moms? And a dad?"

"Yeah", nodded Nico with a shrug. "Son of Hades, right? And Hades has a wife. Persephone, you might have heard of her if you know some mythology. And my mom, like my biological mom, her name is Maria. Hades and Persephone fell in love with her uh... seventy years ago. And then took her and me and my big sister down to the underworld where we've been living until a few months ago when Bia and I insisted on going to summer-camp."

Percy looked taken aback by that, nodding slowly. "Wow... That's... That's cool."

"There's a lot of envy here", hummed Nico casually. "And, like, I get it. Most demigods here at camp have never even met their godly parent. Some, like you, haven't even been claimed. But... my mom, she even got made a goddess. And it's not really unusual for the gods to then take better care of their demigod kids too, you know? Dionysus' consort Ariadne used to be mortal and their kids have been made gods too. My nonna Demeter's husband Karmanor used to be mortal and their demigod kids got made immortal too and Demeter actually parented uncle Eubouleus and auntie Chrysothemis. So... yeah. Hades and Persephone fell for my mortal mom and made her a goddess and as soon as Bianca and I can properly prove ourselves, we'll be made immortal too. That's how the gods have always done stuff. When they actually find a consort."

Percy nodded slowly as he munched his burger. He wondered, if his dad would have actually fallen in love with his mom, like really in love, then Percy could have had a family too. His mom would still be alive and he wouldn't be here now and he'd be happy and would have never met Gabe...

"It's going to be okay", whispered Nico gently. "You're not alone."

/break\

That sentiment ran particularly true when Percy decided to take a quest, to return the stupid Master Bolt so Zeus would shut up. Percy had been officially claimed by Poseidon and realized that he was being blamed for the theft because he was Poseidon's son. But true to Nico's words, Percy really wasn't alone. Nico and Bianca were right there with him, taking the quest with him – because they too were blamed by Zeus. The children of his brother must be at fault.

It was a strangely easy quest, but then again, thanks to Nico's shadow-travel, they could quickly reach their next destination and didn't need elaborate traveling plans. Also, Nico was an expert with the sword and Bianca was an expert with bow and arrow. While Percy was a natural with Riptide, he still only had one week of training under his belt. So having backup, people who truly knew how to fight, was a huge relief. And having the children of Hades made it even easier.

"Father! You can't just kidnap the mom of my new friend! That's not okay!"

Because apparently, Hades had kidnapped Sally Jackson, or so Ares had told them when they had met him at a diner (which was still very surreal for Percy). He had gotten angry when he first heard this, but Bianca had tried to calm him down and Nico had immediately opened the shadows to go to the underworld and investigate, also known as Nico screaming at the Lord of the Dead.

"Calm down, calm down, calm down!", huffed Hades and lifted his hands up. "So I might have thought it could be beneficial for me, but after your mothers realized that you befriended the woman's son... Well... they're in the living room, watching some baking show."

Hades grunted and made a dismissive hand-gesture. Percy tilted his head confused but Bianca and Nico grabbed him by the hands and pulled him along toward a... modern-looking living room where his mother and two very pretty ladies were indeed sitting and watching a cooking show.

"Percy!", exclaimed Sally as she jumped off the couch and ran up to her son. "Oh, Percy, I missed you so much. I'm so sorry I worried you. I'm so glad you're alright."

"Why didn't papà release her when you realized that Nico befriended Percy?", asked Bianca.

"Oh, that was actually on us", replied Persephone. "I still remember how my father tried to smite Maria after he realized Hades had two demigod children. With the rampage Zeus is on right now and how he's accusing you three of the theft, I thought it would be safer for her to stay with us a little longer, just until that stupid toy of his is returned."

"So... those are your moms?", asked Percy as he peeked over his mother's shoulder.

"Maria and Persephone", nodded Bianca. "Moms, that's Percy. I feel like we're gonna see a lot of him around here. Nico's like... glued to his side."

"Am not!", protested Nico and stuck his tongue out at his stupid sister.

"Now, you three, I believe, have a quest to finish", interrupted Maria, hugging Nico and Bianca before turning toward Percy. "Your mother will be safe here with us. When you children return, we will bring her back to the surface world. You won't have to worry about her."

Percy nodded, gripping Riptide in newfound determination to end this stupid quest. He was still afraid of that one line in the prophecy about a friend betraying him – and when Ares had taunted him at the diner, Percy had feared it might be Bianca and Nico. Now, he was left... confused.

/break\

Confusion had been better than knowing that Luke was a traitor. As summer came to an end, after Percy, Bianca and Nico had returned victoriously from their quest, Luke tried to murder Percy. Percy... was not really okay with that. Poisoned and left for death at the edge of the forest, he was found by Nico and brought to the infirmary to get healed.

Nico never left his side. When he had been curiously sitting next to Percy out of boredom at the beginning of summer, now he was sitting here out of concern for his friend and anger toward the one who had betrayed them and tried to murder Percy. Nico vowed that he would let no one harm Percy again, not as long as Nico was around.

"So, what are you going to do?", asked Grover softly.

He stood behind Nico, watching the son of Hades curiously. Bianca and Annabeth sat on one of the other beds; Bianca still recovering from the quest and Annabeth hovering with the angriest glare. She had wanted to go on a quest for so long and now her friends had gone – and without her.

"I told you, Annie. It was the quest for us, the three children of the Big Three", argued Bianca. "Look. I... I promise I'll take you with me on the next quest, okay?"

Nico rolled his eyes at his sister and returned his attention to the satyr. "I... dunno? I mean. We go back to the underworld, as soon as Percy is awake again. And then... we'll return next summer. This is a summer-camp, after all, right?"

"Right", confirmed Grover. "Wait. What does Percy have to do with your stay?"

"We're taking him with us", answered Nico like it was the most obvious thing.

"You... You can't just keep him? He's not a pet!", argued Grover.

"Of course not", huffed Nico and rolled his eyes. "But he's my friend. Also, his mom's in the underworld watching baking shows with my moms, so at the very least, we go to bring him back to his mom. But they can stay some longer!"

"Nico", interrupted Bianca in a warning, tuning into their conversation. "Grover is right, you can not keep him. Really now. It's enough you keep bringing home stray hellhounds."

"But the man they're living with was hurting him", argued Nico with a glare. "I talked to him! He said he has a stepfather and when I said that that was good because he would still have someone left, even when we thought his mom was dead, and he just shook his head really hard and grabbed his arm. I saw his arm when he was in the infirmary. He was hurt there, had a really bad, dark bruise. Not from the Minotaur. His stepfather hurt him!"

"You don't know that", countered Bianca, though she sounded weak even to her own ears.

"I don't care!", exclaimed Nico angrily, the room darkening significantly. "Percy is my friend now and I will not let anyone hurt him! I won't let anyone hurt my friends, Bianca!"

Bianca stared in surprise at her brother as his powers rolled off of him in waves.

"I'll talk to Chiron and tell him", sighed Annabeth in defeat, before looking at Bianca one last time. "You... You are coming back to camp in summer, right?"

Yeah. Promise. I'll IM you regularly, okay?", offered Bianca with a grin.

/break\

"Oh, this wasn't necessary, Maria", argued Sally as she looked around. "Persephone."

"Nonsense. Our husband kidnapped you, it's the least we can do", chided Persephone.

Sally bit her lips, smiling a little. It had been a while since she had last made... friends. Not since Gabe, because she didn't want to risk anyone realizing that he was abusing her. But... she hadn't known Gabe was hurting Percy too. Nico did though. Nico had noticed and told his moms and insisted that Sally and Percy should stay for 'a while'.

They had given them a suite, two bedrooms, a large bathroom and a shared living room. -everything was in shades of blue, beautiful decorated and spacious. Percy was running around, looking into every room with Nico at his side, looking excited.

"Really, you're doing us a favor", stated Persephone with a smile. "Nico is a handful and he does seem to love spending time with Percy. If our son would have a friend here, that would be nice."

"Of course", chuckled Sally, side-eyeing the two goddesses a bit amused. "Truly, thank you."

/break\

The underworld was fun. There was no Gabe, there was no school – well, he still had to learn, but Maria, Persephone and the other underworld gods who took care of Bianca and Nico's education were very patient and gentle in their teaching. Also, no school bullies. Percy's room was like trice the size of his old room and all of his stuff was in it already.

Sundays were family dinners and it was weird. Even Demeter and occasionally her husband would be over. The underworld family was kind of nice. Percy got to know Nico's other two sisters, Makaria and Melinoe. He also met Nico's 'puppy'. Zerberus, a gigantic three-headed dog. Percy loved him! They could actually ride the puppy and explore the underworld like that.

Which was what they did, a lot. Nico wanted to show off every corner of the underworld, excitedly babbling about myths and explaining all the divine punishments whenever they passed one.

It was only a few months later in winter that they invited Annabeth, Ethan, Alabaster, Connor and Travis to the underworld, so they could celebrate Christmas with an actual family too, because they all were year-rounders but they were also Bianca and Nico's friends.

"This... wasn't necessary", noted Ethan wearily.

"Shut up, E. It totally was", argued Alabaster, eyes sparkling.

The Christmas tree was large and beautiful and dinner had been prepared by Demeter, who barely so allowed Persephone, Maria and Sally to help. They sang Christmas songs off-tune, ate way too much, exchanged presents (Maria had made sure to also get gifts for the visiting children) and then watch a Christmas movie together before parting for bed.

"This is better than what Luke wants", whispered Alabaster lowly.

He was sharing a room with Ethan, while Connor and Travis shared a room opposite theirs. Annabeth got to stay in Bianca's room. Ethan grunted in acknowledgment, staring at the ceiling.

"What are you saying? Just because we got one Christmas dinner, we should betray Luke?"

"No. I'm saying that Percy is our friend, he's just a twelve-year-old kid and Luke straight-up tried to murder him, without even giving him a choice", argued Alabaster and sat up with a glare. "Luke's losing his fucking mind! He was making a lot of sense in the beginning, when it was about a revolution, about equality for us. But now? With... With crazy-talk about Kronos and trying to murder our friends? Look at Nico and Bianca! They... They are our friends, they have been for months even before Percy came and Luke was still willing to murder them too! Nico's ten, E!"

Ethan paused and stared with a frown. He knew Alabaster was somehow right. Luke was losing his mind lately, his plans grew more ridiculous and dangerous and bad... He frowned deeply.

"Let's go see if anyone else is awake", sighed Ethan and sneaked out of the room with Alabaster.

The two made their way on their tip-toes just to find Percy in the middle of sneaking into Nico's room. The son of Poseidon paused and smiled brightly as he waved at them, motioning for them to follow him inside. Nico too perked up when he saw them.

"Hey, guys. Couldn't sleep either?", asked Nico and got his secret stash of chocolate chip cookies.

"We've been... thinking. Talking, about... Luke", started Ethan slowly.

"I can't believe he betrayed us", muttered Percy put-out.

With a pout on his lips did he collapse onto Nico's bed and steal a cookie. Ethan and Alabaster walked over to them too, to sit with them. They exchanged a slow glance while Percy and Nico started eating cookies. Tentatively, Ethan turned toward Nico and Percy again.

"Do you... Do you think things will ever change?", asked Ethan straight-forward. "For us. The children of gods who aren't Olympians. That's... what Luke wants. Wanted."

"Of course", huffed Nico with a surprising amount of conviction. "I'm the prince of the underworld and I totally don't appreciate that so many of my friends have to sleep on the floor! I'm gonna change it somehow. I dunno how yet, but I'll figure something out."

"Yep, I'll help", agreed Percy, smiling at Ethan and Alabaster. "Everyone at Hermes Cabin was... was so welcoming and nice to me. And now I have a whole entire cabin all to my self just because my dad's Poseidon? That's stupid. And Artemis Cabin and Hera Cabin and Zeus Cabin are just... empty. That's the dumbest thing ever, really. We'll figure something out."

Alabaster turned to look at Ethan and nodded slowly, making Ethan sigh in surrender. Luke's ways had changed drastically lately and maybe, even if those two were very blue-eyed about it, Nico and Percy could actually find a better, more peaceful solution...?

/break\

Sally and Percy left the underworld in the spring of 2007, after Hades had graciously organized them an apartment. It was beautiful and Sally wanted to decline it, but Hades insisted, telling her that it was not so much from him but more so from his brother. Percy was mildly surprised that his dad would do that, but then again, he didn't actually know the dude. One conversation about how Percy had to go and save his ass by clearing his name really didn't count as parenting.

Though Nico more than regularly dropped by via shadow-travel, mostly with Happy Meals. Sometimes, with left-overs from Demeter's cooking. Always with blue candy of sorts.

Percy was happy at the new school he had been enrolled in, because he made a friend there, a redhead named Rachel, and one of the teachers seemed to support him a lot; Mister Blofis. Also, Percy had met and befriended Tyson, who had kinda-sorta moved in with them because Sally couldn't let a seven-year-old live on the streets. So Percy now had a little brother, which was cool.

All in all, 2007 really had a promising start. Percy just hoped it would last the summer too.

/break\

The summer however had Percy pouting a lot. There was a quest, someone had poisoned Thalia's tree. Clarisse got the quest – and she didn't pick Percy! He wanted to go too. Instead, and not surprisingly so, Clarisse took Bianca and Annabeth with her. A strategist who knew her myths and the shadow-traveling daughter of Hades. Ares and Hades together bestowed a crew of dead soldiers upon them. Percy would have loved to go too, but quests were best for three people, it was Clarisse's quest and they even had a whole crew on their manned ship.

"But I wanted to see the Sea of Monsters too", sighed Percy frustrated.

"Stop your whining", commented Beckendorf amused. "You're thirteen years old, Percy. And your experience is limited to one quest. You have had one summer of training under your belt, whereas Bianca has... literal decades and Annabeth had six years of training already."

Heaving a sigh, Percy squared up to face his duel-partner Ethan. Beckendorf was of course right. They couldn't send basically untrained children out on important missions. Still.

"Don't be so hard on the kid", chided Silena gently.

Her eyes were soft as she looked at her boyfriend, causing Beckendorf to adapt a very flustered expression. Percy grinned broadly... and nearly got hit by Ethan, who scolded him.

"Don't get distracted by your surroundings, Perce", chided Ethan.

"I kno—ow. They're just so... cheesy", giggled Percy.

"You really are a child", chuckled Ethan and shook his head.

"Shut up!", huffed Percy offended and launched at Ethan with a counter-attack.

"You going to join Ally, Nico and me at the lake earlier, or are you too busy pouting?"

"Of course I'll come!", exclaimed Percy with a glare.

Okay, so maybe... the idea of having just a summer with fun and friends was actually kind of nice too. He had never been to a summer-camp before, after all. He grinned as he dodged Ethan again. Not to mention that he now had a little brother; Tyson had been officially claimed by Poseidon. And while a child of Poseidon, Tyson was also a cyclops and felt particularly happy at the forges under Charles Beckendorf's guidance, which was why Percy was now spending more time with Beckendorf and his girlfriend Silena. Percy side-eyed Beckendorf, who was sparring with Tyson right now and teaching him some basic fighting skills.

/break\

With Tyson and the closer contact to the Hephaestus Cabin, Percy and Nico decided to kick off something that they had planned this winter, together with Bianca and Annabeth. They had been planning this since the summer they met, but the planning phase and getting it approved took them nearly a year. After all, they wanted to fundamentally change Camp Half-Blood.

"Annabeth did great on those plans", grunted Beckendorf in approval.

"I still can't believe you got Chiron and the gods to approve", muttered Ethan in disbelief.

"Well, I mean, it was my mom – Persephone's – idea to ask her aunt and... together, Hades and Demeter pressured the other Olympians a little, but generally everybody loves Hestia so denying her would have been nearly impossible and Hermes was of course totally on board", replied Nico.

They were building Hestia Cabin. The goddess of hearth and home was now officially the patron of the unclaimed demigods and the campers in Hermes Cabin would no longer have to sleep on the floor, because if only the children of Hermes remained, everybody would actually have their own bed, while the unclaimed ones had their own cabin all to themselves too.

After Persephone had asked her mother to talk to Hestia about it, Annabeth had immediately launched into planning the cabin. Her passion for architecture actually paid off for once.

And since this summer, the campers could use a distraction from the dying tree of Thalia, everybody working together to build Hestia Cabin seemed like the perfect plan. Charles Beckendorf was supervising it, the Hephaestus cabin was coordinating those who didn't know what to do but wished to help. It was really exhausting work, but honestly, after Percy moved into Poseidon Cabin, he knew something had to change at camp, because so many empty cabins while some children had to sleep on the floor? That really couldn't stand. And the argument that this was one of the reasons why Luke had grown angry enough to betray the gods might have held some weight too.

/break\

"So... Thalia Grace, huh", hummed Percy cautiously as he looked into the infirmary.

"Seems that way", whispered Bianca next to him.

Nico was flanking him from the other side, with Tyson looming behind the three demigods. A child of Zeus, back to being alive, that interested the other . The quest had been successful and the Golden Fleece had not only healed the tree, but also turned Thalia back human. Annabeth was sitting at her bedside, not having left it since Thalia turned back.

"Was it fun?", asked Percy curiously. "I mean, the Sea of Monsters?"

"Fun...", muttered Bianca and shook her head. "You and Nico would have probably had a blast. I'm glad Nico wasn't there. Don't glare, Neeks, you're my baby brother."

Nico narrowed his eyes annoyed at her and turned toward Tyson. The cyclops grinned happily at Nico; he had come to really like Nico during this summer, Nico having taught him Mythomagic.

"We should give them some privacy", suggested Percy softly. "Let's get something to eat?"

"Mhmh", nodded Bianca reluctantly, with a last glance at Annabeth and Thalia.

/break\

"Mom has a boyfriend", declared Percy as he threw himself onto Nico's bed.

"Huh", grunted Nico, throwing a blue gummy-bear at Percy, who immediately caught it. "And... And do we like him, or do I have to get Zerberus to eat him...?"

Percy laughed, nearly choking on the gummy-bear. "No. We like him. I mean... It's Mister Blofis."

"The Blowfish? Really?", asked Nico surprised and sat up.

"Ye—eah. He's a... He's a good teacher. A good... guy, I guess", nodded Percy slowly. "He makes her happy, you know. She's... I've never seen her smile like that before."

"That... That's good", nodded Nico with the smallest smile.

And he definitely meant it. Sally was an awesome woman and she deserved to be happy and she deserved to not be with someone abusive who hurt her and Percy. But the thought of Sally having someone make smile like never before made Nico think of... Well, he would like to be the one to make Percy smile like no one ever before. He had been harboring a crush on Percy since maybe the moment they met, but it had gotten progressively stronger over the past year. Especially during the time Sally and Percy had lived in the underworld, Nico had grown very attached. The problem was just that Nico didn't quite know what to do with that...?

"Neeks, you gotta bring me back to the surface world. I'm going to the movies with Rach."

"The... movies...? L... Like... Like a date?", sputtered Nico horrified.

"What? No", huffed Percy very confused. "Like two nerds who wanna see this movie?"

"...Oh", grunted Nico a little embarrassed. "Uhm. Sure. I'll drop you off."

"Thanks", grinned Percy amused.

/break\

"He thought you and I were on a date. Is that good or bad?"

Percy frowned thoughtfully as he licked on his ice-cream. They had just gotten out of the movie and were now getting ice-cream. Leaning forward, Percy pouted just a little bit. Rachel chuckled.

"It could be?", offered the redhead. "I mean, maybe he was jealous?"

"Or it means that he's not even considering the possibility that I actually like him and no one else?"

"You're so dramatic, Jackson", sighed Rachel and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but being dramatic is my gods-given bisexual right", grunted Percy offended.

"You suck", laughed Rachel. "Have you considered just asking Nico out on a date?"

"I don't know", frowned Percy. "I mean... I... I have no experience with that stuff?"

"And you'll never get it if you never ask someone out", countered Rachel. "Come on. You totally like him. When we first became friends, he was like 50% of everything you said. How he and his family took you and your mom in and helped you and how cute he is when he nerds out and-"

"I know!", exclaimed Percy embarrassed, cheeks red.

"You really are a disaster", smiled Rachel kindly.

/break\

There was a fond look on Maria's face as she helped Nico pack. As in every instance since meeting Percy Jackson, he was very eagerly packing and rambling about his summer-plans.

"We're gonna beat Al and E this year though", grunted Nico determined.

The four boys had a bit of a competition going on, Maria knew that. She smiled as she put Nico's dark-blue favorite hoodie into the bag. Nico had been wearing more blue ever since last summer.

"I'm going to meet up with Sally for breakfast next week", noted Maria casually.

She and Persephone had really befriended Sally during the time the woman had lived with them. And she had to admit, she also really adored Percy. The boy was precious, mainly so because Maria could see just how much Nico adored Percy. Whether that just was because they were best friends, or some kind of hero-worship, or perhaps an actual crush, Maria didn't know.

"What... do you think about Sally's new boyfriend?", asked Nico after a moment.

"Oh, Paul seems like a wonderful man", assured Maria before she paused and saw the weary tenseness in Nico. "He would never hurt Percy. Your father already ran a background check on him, on mine and Persephone's insistence. He's a good man, he will not hurt them."

"Okay", nodded Nico, clearly relieved.

"You... care a great deal about Percy", pressed Maria gently.

"Of course. He's my best friend. He's my... Percy", shrugged Nico with a frown.

"Your Percy, mh?", chuckled Maria knowingly.

/break\

"Thalia this, Thalia that, Thalia told me about this great thing, Thalia taught me that great thing..."

Persephone smiled amused to herself as she folded one of Bianca's dresses for her. "Thalia has been Annabeth's oldest friend, of course is she excited that Thalia is back."

"Ye—eah. I get that. But...", started Bianca with a halt before sitting down next to Persephone. "Mom, it used to be like... all about... well... us. What we would do next summer and what we did last summer and what the boys are up to and how we can judge them for it. Now it's all about this girl that... that I don't know and this part of Annabeth's life that... I know nothing about."

"Bambina", started Persephone gently and cupped Bianca's face. "Have you considered that maybe, when you first got to know her, you talked a lot about Nico? About the underworld? About your family and a part of your life that Annabeth knows nothing about?"

"I mean... I... I guess", shrugged Bianca hesitantly.

"See, and... now imagine you thought that Nico was dead", whispered Persephone decidedly. "But suddenly, you get to be reunited with him, after years. Would you not... tell everyone about your little brother and find absolutely every silly thing he does completely endearing... because it's something you thought you would never get to see again?"

"I... guess", nodded Bianca with a frown.

"See", nodded Persephone with a gentle smile. "This Thalia, from everything you told me, she was like a big sister to Annabeth, she and Luke took Annabeth in when she had no one. And then she thought Thalia died. Now her big sister is alive again and she is excited about that."

"I mean... I guess it's... nice that Annie wants to share that with me", whispered Bianca softly.

"See", chuckled Persephone knowingly.

/break\

Percy smiled as he watched Nico play with Mrs. O'Leary. The giant hell-hound had immediately taken to Nico, the moment he returned to camp for the summer. And seeing Nico play with her was adorable. He startled a little when someone sat down next to him.

"You wanna talk about it?", asked Silena gently.

"W... What about?", sputtered Percy and ducked his head, knowing she knew the truth.

"I can see the hearts in your eyes", smiled Silena amused. "Now stop deflecting and tell me about how you realized that you like Nico."

"I... think it was because of Tyson", admitted Percy softly. "I mean, Ty's a cyclops and I guess after so many of the campers being rude about it... seeing Nico not even bat an eye at that and just immediately launch into 'hello, Percy's brother, let me tell you how awesome Percy is'... that... that was super cute and he taught Ty how to play Mythomagic and... and... I guess that's when I realized that I really like him? A lot? What do I do about it, oh wise daughter of Aphrodite?"

That made Silena laugh a little. "You could talk to him. Personally, I've never been one for playing games and wasting time. If you like him, you should be honest and tell him and see how he feels."

"That is a horrible no good plan", muttered Percy mortified. "What if he doesn't like me?"

Silena's eyes sparkled as she looked over to Nico and caught his eye, the son of Hades watching them curiously. "You should trust the daughter of Aphrodite on this one."

/break\

"This is not how I imagined my summer to be!", exclaimed Rachel wide-eyed.

"But it's fun", argued Tyson with a laugh. "A quest with my big brother!"

Grover grumbled as he pushed past the cyclops. "Nearly dying is not fun, Tyson!"

Percy was just cackling like a maniac as he ran with them before this part of the labyrinth blew. The labyrinth of Daedalus. They had found the entry of it early into summer and of course did they go on a quest into the labyrinth. They ran into Rachel, Percy got to share his secret with her, Tyson was having a total blast, Bianca and Annabeth kept complaining about how irresponsible they were, they ran into Grover. Clarisse would have come along, but her boyfriend had been found hurt, so she was now at his side and Bianca and Annabeth had rather fiercely promised vengeance on her behalf. Thalia had declined to tag along, because underground and child of Zeus didn't mix very well.

"This is insane", panted Annabeth as she sank to the ground. "We need a break."

"Agreed", grunted Bianca. "We're going to make camp here. Eat, sleep. There's no point in us running around like sleep-deprived headless chickens."

Percy sighed exhausted as they all settled in for the night an hour later. He just collapsed on his back, staring at the ceiling. Tyson was snoring loudly and using Grover as a cuddle toy, who seemed happy enough about the warmth. Rachel, Bianca and Annabeth slept a little away from the boys. And Nico—Percy yelped a little as he turned onto his side to see Nico far closer than anticipated and also very much awake and staring at him.

"Nico, what the Hades", grunted Percy. "Don't startle me like that."

"I... thought you were asleep", muttered Nico.

"...You staring at me a lot while I'm sleeping?", asked Percy doubtfully.

He paused when he saw an actual blush on Nico's cheeks. "Wait. You are?"

Nico shifted awkwardly at that. "No. Not... really. I mean, you're just... I'm just... You're cute when you sleep because you wrinkle your nose sometimes."

"You just called me cute", whispered Percy beneath his breath, cheeks aflame.

"Because you are cute", grunted Nico, borderline defensive.

"You're... cute too", whispered Percy back, tilting his head a little.

"Uhm. Oh. Okay. Uh...", nodded Nico, unsure how to proceed. "So... I... like you? Like, as... more than a friend. That's why I think you're cute. Do you..."

"Like you as more than a friend too? Yes", replied Percy with a wild nod.

"Oh. That's...", started Nico, lost for words. "Can I... kiss you then?"

"Yes!", exclaimed Percy enthusiastically before his blush lit up more.

Nico grinned happily at that before leaning in. Their noses bumped awkwardly at first before they managed to adjust properly. Still, it was only a gentle press of lips, but it left both boys smiling.

"Fi—inally!", exclaimed Rachel a bit farther into the cave.

"Shut up, Dare!", groaned Percy and threw a shoe at her.

/break\

"So you're my stepson's boyfriend?"

"So you're my boyfriend's mom's boyfriend?", countered Nico seriously.

He had his arms crossed as he seized Paul Blofis up the same way the mortal did. He had recently learned the truth and apparently also taken it way better than anticipated. With him in the loop, it was time to officially introduce Nico, after all Percy and he had been dating since this summer.

"Ye—es. That's my Ghost King. Stop glaring at him", declared Percy. "And Neeks, stop glaring at Paul. Both of you sit down, dinner is nearly ready."

Sally smiled amused as she watched them. She had come to truly love Paul and when first telling Percy, she had been nervous about how he would take it. What she had not expected was for half the underworld to give protective speeches on her account. Yes, she very much was aware that Maria and Persephone had cornered Paul before and Nico was glaring the man down. Honestly, Sally was happy that Percy had gotten together with Nico. The two had been so in tune with each other for so long already and Nico cared a great deal about Sally's son.

"Percy is right. Sit down", prompted Sally. "Or Tyson is going to get your dessert."

"I'd be fine with that", declared Tyson happily.

Paul and Nico huffed and hastily sat down with them. "Now, explain this... Ghost King thing?"

"Well, there was a prophecy about a Ghost King this summer and we like... assumed it was Minos, who is a ghost and a king, but it was actually my super awesome boyfriend here who can totally control all ghosts and dead because he's the son of Hades and you should have seen the proud look on Hades' face when Nico actually did that", declared Percy proudly.

Nico looked adorable proud and happy as he listened to Percy talk about him like that. Sally smiled gently. Really, those two were incredibly smitten with each other, it was adorable. It was exactly the kind of puppy-love that Sally had wished for her son. Her eyes found Paul's at that thought. She never thought she would get such a love. Not after she had been with a god and left with a child, not after... Gabriel. Yet here she was, with an absolutely wonderful and kind man, who loved her and accepted her demigod son and his absolutely insane life and even her adopted cyclops son.

/break\

Recent developments were curious and rather unexpected to Hades. When he had sent Bianca and Nico to Camp Half-Blood, knowing Zeus was blaming them for the theft and giving them the chance to clear their own names, he had somewhat expected them to want to return there. But Hades could have absolutely not foreseen that his son would fall for Poseidon's child.

"You look like you're scheming, love", accused Maria gently.

She got on her toe-tips to kiss his cheek while giving him a look. He attempted to smile in a pacifying manner, but it only made his wife more suspicious. When Hades failed to explain himself, she called for reinforcement. Within moments did Persephone materialize on Hades' other side.

"You're not upset with Nico for dating a son of Poseidon?", asked Persephone.

Shaking his head, Hades stared down at Nico, who was happily playing with Zerberus and Mrs. O'Leary just outside the palace. "The contrary, my loves."

"Really?", asked Maria surprised and exchanged a look with her wife.

"Poseidon and I haven't seen eye-to-eye in... centuries", mused Hades. "But here he is, my heir, and Poseidon's favorite son. Being all... lovey-dovey. For the first time in a long, long time, Poseidon and I have a common interest. Our sons' happiness."

"So you're being... supportive and scheming?", concluded Persephone.

"Hey", huffed Hades. "There is nothing wrong if my son's choice of lover actually one ups me to Zeus for a change and if I happen to enjoy that."

His wives heaved a sigh and exchanged an amused look.

/break\

"Happy couples are the worst", stated Annabeth casually.

Thalia hummed in amusement, also staring down at the scene in front of them. Charles and Silena were on a double-date with Chris and Clarisse. Apparently, Annabeth found it highly frustrating that Clarisse now had a boyfriend and got distracted so much. It didn't help that Nico and Percy were now being cutesy too, though Thalia had to admit she found the dorks kind of adorable.

"You could just get yourself a girlfriend and even the playing field", countered Thalia.

"A... A... A what", grunted Annabeth.

"A girlfriend. I'd suggest the sulky daughter of Hades who's always in your shadow."

"Bianca is my friend! We're not-", started Annabeth, cheeks aflame.

"Annabeth, don't try to lie to me", snorted Thalia and rolled her eyes.

"Okay so when Nico and Percy got together, I kind of... figured that... maybe", shrugged Annabeth and ducked her head. "But I'm a brains-girl, not a heart-girl. I tried asking her out and somehow I ended up inviting Rachel, Percy and Nico along. And... And it happens every time. I just... panic and invite whoever is the closest physically to also come along."

"You're a disaster. I'm not surprised", nodded Thalia amused. "Okay. I'll do it for you."

"Do... Do what for me?", asked Annabeth, staring wide-eyed as Thalia ran off. "Do what?!"

Thalia cackled a little as she sped toward the Hestia Cabin. The di Angelos were both inside, Nico sitting on the floor with Ethan and Alabaster, playing a card-game while Bianca read a book.

"Di Angelo! Not you, nerd, keep playing cards", grunted Thalia. "Come with me."

"The disrespect", muttered Nico beneath his breath.

Bianca frowned as she followed Thalia. "Where... are we going?"

"You are going on a date with Annabeth", declared Thalia with a smile.

"I... I'm sorry, what?", asked Bianca slowly, blinking doe-eyed.

"She's been trying to go on a date with you for months, but she's a huge failure at that, so as her honorary big sister, I gotta help her out. You will use your fancy shadow-travel and take the both of you out to her favorite downtown restaurant", ordered Thalia.

"She... but... That explains so much", whispered Bianca in awe. "I thought it was wishful thinking! That I imagined her trying to ask me out, since she always invited other people too."

"Yep. Like I said, big failure", grunted Thalia seriously. "Annabeth, get off your butt, you have a date to go on. Chop, chop, you gotta be back by six for dinner."

Annabeth just stared slightly dumbly at both Bianca and Thalia. With a bright blush did Annabeth get up and approach Bianca, who looked no less flustered. Thalia smiled proudly as Bianca grabbed Annabeth's hand, interlacing their fingers, and leading her through the shadows.

/break\

"This is an important mission", whispered Percy, pecking Nico's lips. "Be safe. Listen to Beckendorf. Don't cause trouble. Be back in one piece."

Nico huffed and rolled his eyes, though he then leaned in for a proper kiss. "I shadow-travel us onto the Princess Andromeda, we place the explosives, I get us out before anyone notices. Piece of cake, Percy, just stay here and continue planning the next big step."

Percy sighed as he watched Nico and Beckendorf leave for their mission. Silena rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. She knew that despite it being a 'piece of cake' mission, they were both worried about their respective boyfriend. Shaking his head, Percy turned toward her.

"Okay. We got a war to plan", declared Percy and straightened his back.

"We do", whispered Silena, looking concerned. "Clarisse and the others are waiting for us."

They were planning the final strike. The peak of war was slowly approaching, they could all smell it in the air. Percy's stomach was in knots, he was so nervous. He was glad that he had Nico now though. Their relationship was fully based on trust and sharing with each other. All the fears they had, the ones they didn't want to admit to their friends or family, they shared with each other. They were both just teenagers, after all. They were teens and they were facing their own potential deaths and the potential end of the world. It was normal to be scared, but for others, they had to be strong. With each other, they could curl together and cry, leaning onto each other for support.

/break\

The peak of war was the Battle of Manhattan and it was the most brutal fight any of them had ever faced, but they faced it as a united front. They were beaten, battered and bruised in the aftermath. Many had died. Too many had died. The infirmary was packed afterward, yet technically not so packed that two had to share a bed. That didn't stop Percy from crawling into Nico's bed though. They had nearly lost each other, both had come short of dying and both needed to feel each other close. Percy rested his head on Nico's chest, eyes closed as he listened to his boyfriend's heartbeat.

"You're alive", whispered Percy softly.

"So are you", replied Nico, kissing the top of Percy's head.

"We're all alive and kicking in here", grunted Clarisse. "But I think that watching you two be sappy is worse than death, so what are my chances of being released early?"

"Not good at all", countered Silena and swatted at her. "You got severely hurt!"

"Silena is right, babe", agreed Chris from the other side of Clarisse's bed.

He was sitting next to it, holding her hand, while Silena sat on Clarisse's bed, fussing over her injuries. Percy smiled as he watched them. Clarisse looked grumpy, but he knew she enjoyed having her best friend and her boyfriend fuss over her like that, because deep, deep down, she was just as much of a sap as Percy was. Contently, he snuggled more into Nico.

"I love you, Ghost King", whispered Percy gently.

"I... I love you too, Perce", replied Nico.

/break\

"All hail Lord Perseus", whispered Nico teasingly as he kissed down Percy's neck.

"You do—ork", groaned Percy embarrassed. "You're a god too, you know."

"I know, but I had it coming for nearly a century", hummed Nico, kissing along Percy's collarbone. "That... That you accepted godhood after the war, to be with me... Besides, you're worth worshiping so let me worship you like the god you now are."

Nico smiled gently as he grabbed Percy's shirt by the hem. It had been two years since the war had ended. Both Bianca and Nico had gained the recognition they deserved for what they had done during the war and considering their mother had already been made immortal, this was really just the formality Hades, Persephone and Maria had waited for. A heroic deed to earn them godhood. But they were not the only ones and while not having the special circumstances of his mother already being a goddess, Percy had still been such a major key to victory that he too was granted godhood. Though Percy delayed his godhood. He wouldn't want to leave his mom just yet, he wanted to finish high school since thanks to now being in a school where Paul and Rachel were, it was actually fun. They helped rebuilding Camp Half-Blood and Percy dutifully graduated before accepting godhood and still spending a lot of time visiting his mom and Paul, who were currently expecting a baby, as well as visiting Camp Half-Blood.

"And you're sure about staying here? I mean, here?", asked Nico gently.

He pulled Percy's shirt off. Percy leaned back, though not without grabbing Nico's shirt and getting it out of the way too. Both shirts landed discarded on the floor of their new chambers. Theirs, shared. Now that Percy was a god, he had moved into the underworld to be with his boyfriend. Smiling, Percy stretched out some. It caused Nico to just stare at him in awe. Even after two years, Nico still marveled at Percy and how beautiful his lover was. Spreading his fingers out, he pressed his hand against Percy's stomach, feeling the inhale and exhale of his breath, the taunt muscles beneath warm, soft skin. His fingers ran gently over the edges of every single scar Percy had gathered over the course of the war. They followed the dips of Percy's six-pack, causing Percy to arch into the teasing touch. While exploring Percy's chest with one hand, Nico opened his pants with the other. Leaning over, Nico pressed his lips against Percy's chest, gently kissing and then lazily dragging his lips over to Percy's left nipple. Enclosing it with his lips, Nico sucked gently, until Percy made that cute little sound that Nico loved so much. Smirking pleased, Nico rolled the nub between his tongue and lip, while his free hand worked Percy's other nipple.

"You're a te—ease, di Angelo, stop it", groaned Percy and bucked up.

His crotch collided with Nico's, causing both of them to moan as their half-hard members brushed against each other. Percy reached down, greedy and impatient, to tug on Nico's jeans and boxers. It was awkward and took them a bit, but they managed to free themselves of their last pieces of clothing. Nico's lips found their way up to Percy's pulse again, leaving a warm wet trail of kisses behind that made Percy shudder as the cold air hit it.

"Why? We're celebrating your graduation here", grinned Nico teasingly.

"Urgh", groaned Percy frustrated and grabbed Nico to pull him into a demanding kiss.

Nico was a little startled, but he gladly complied. The kiss was filled with hunger and need, just how much they craved one another. As soon as their kiss broke, Nico traced Percy's lips with two fingers. Dark sea-green eyes stared at Nico before Percy opened his mouth and sucked them in. He held eye-contact with Nico while sucking vigorously on his fingers, twirling his tongue around them. Groaning, Nico started to palm his own erection as he watched Percy. After a little teasing, Nico pulled his fingers out of Percy's mouth, trailing the digits down Percy's torso until he could slip them behind Percy's balls and to his hole. A drawn-out moan spilled from Percy's lips as Nico breached him, pushing two fingers in and scissoring him. Nico loved the feeling of Percy's tight, velvet-soft hole stretching around him, loved watching the way Percy would squirm beneath him.

"You are so gorgeous, amore", whispered Nico amazed, kissing Percy deeply.

"Like you're one to talk, Ghost King", hummed Percy, his own hands greedy on Nico's chest.

Over the past years, the formerly scrawny kid that Percy had first met six years ago had filled out quite a bit. Licking his lips, Percy ran his hands over Nico's shoulders to hold onto his biceps.

"That's enough teasing, Nico", grumbled Percy, nudging Nico a little.

Nico gave him a brief glance, but the two of them were in-tune enough that Nico knew. Pulling his fingers out, he replaced them with his cock, slipping it ever so slowly into Percy's loosened hole. He groaned at the feeling of Percy surrounding him like that. Closing his eyes, Nico leaned down to kiss Percy's jaw, sucking a hickey to it as he started to thrust into Percy. His movement was shallow and slow, in just the tempo they both loved. Percy groaned softly every time Nico hit his prostate, his own hand wrapped around his own cock, jerking himself off lazily.

"I lo—ove you", groaned Percy blissfully, eyes closed.

Smirking, Nico reached a hand down, around the curve of Percy's body to cup his ass, lifting him up a little and squeezing. The new angle made him hit Percy's prostate dead-on, getting a louder sound from his lover. With a satisfied look on his face did Percy come into his own hand. As his muscles squeezed down on Nico's cock, the son of Hades also came, deep inside his lover.

"Happy graduation", panted Nico as he collapsed next to Percy.

"Best present so far", grunted Percy with a grin, rolling onto his side to kiss Nico's cheek.

Nico smiled and wrapped an arm around Percy's shoulders to pull him closer. Sometimes, Nico wondered what his life could have been like had his papà and mom not decided to make Maria a goddess, to bring them to the underworld. The most horrifying part of that thought-process was that, in the 1930s, Nico would have never met Percy Jackson. And the thought of a life without Percy in it was so incredibly frustrating and unrealistic to Nico. No, being the prince of the underworld, it definitely only had perks. And one of those perks was his boyfriend 'from the future'.

~*~ The End ~*~

Author's note: This story was prompted by an ask on tumblr (come visit me at takaraphoenix) about a Nicercy fic where Hades/Persephone/Maria would be in a happy poly relationship. And I really liked that sooo obviously did I have to write it ;D