Hell And High Water 21 (pt 2)

A continuation... again very very sorry. I got a bit carried away writing...

It was a few hours later when Nico woke up to find Hazel sitting on Percys bed, watching the two boys sleep in Nicos. She smiled at her half-brother before speaking.
"Ya have fun?" Her voice was quiet and a bit shakey, making it obvious she didn't want to talk about what she had heard the night before.
Nico nodded, not caring one bit about what his half-sister might have been thinking. He hadn't noticed before but he and Percy must have moved around enough during the night to have woken in a different position. Nico was laying on his side with Percy pressed tightly behind him, arms wrapped around his waste. He could feel Percy's heart beat against his back... That feeling made Nicos breath catch. But that was nothing in comparison with feeling every inch of the son of Poseidons naked body pressed tightly into Nicos own, half clothed, self.
"Well, then," Hazel said tearing Nicis thoughts from Percy, "this is gonna be even harder to talk about. But, I need you to get up. Get Percy up, too. Shower, get dressed. I need you both ready for the day. It's gonna be a long one." She said nothing more before standing from Percy's bed and leaving Nico to wake the son of Poseidon.
Nico turned around to face Percy, who's head dropped gently onto the son of Hades' chest. He looked at the older boy sleeping next to him for what seemed like minutes on end, but he kind new it was only seconds. He thought Percy was beautiful before but right then, still having in mind what the two had done, Percy looked... just wow. Nico was afraid to wake him; afraid because he feared that Percy might be filled with regret. That it would mean nothing. But he knew Percy would have to wake up sooner or later anyway.
The son of Poseidons head was still resting on Nicos chest peacefully. Percy's own chest raised and lowered with his slowed breathing. Nico really didn't want to wake him. He would have been perfectly content staying that way for a lot longer. But Hazel said he had to get up and his half-sister was the last person Nico wanted to make angry.
The son of Hades ran his fingers softly through Percy's hair, which was a pretty awkward thing for him to do. But, Percy seemed to be bringing out the 'awkward' in the son of Hades. He studied Percy's face carefully, spending extra time on his lips. He brushed his thumb over the bottom one softly and they separated a little. He had such an urge to kiss the older male, but fought it harshly.
All the thoughts of before he had fallen asleep came back into his mind and the hard-on that was almost gone returned full fledged. He moaned to himself and managed to climb off the bed, making sure to keep Percy's naked body covered. He meandered into the bathroom, awkwardly because of his... issue, and closed the door behind him. He planned on showering right away but Hazel was knocking on the door, before he had even stepped away from it, and telling him he only had twenty minutes. Something told him he wouldn't be able to shower, and get Percy through a shower, in twenty minutes. So, he had to make other arrangements.
Nico stripped off his jeans and boxers and sat on the toilet. Without shame, he wrapped a hand around himself tightly and fought back the moan. He wasted no time in begining to pump himself at the thought of Percy moaning because of him. He wished he could take his time and draw out the pleasure but twenty minutes wasn't really that much time. As a last resport, he smeared some of his own pre-cum onto his thumb and used it as a lubricant before he pumped himself so fast it burned. After that, it didn't take too long for him to get off. He had waited so long that he could have finished just seeing Percy naked. But that took the fun out of it.
Hazel came back by the bathroom door again and spoke.
"I'm not sure what you're doing in there, but time is running out very quickly."
As soon as Hazel finished speaking, Nico came into the toilet bowl with a moan. It was kind of embarrassing considering his half-sister was still right outside the door and had heard it. "That was lovely." She sounded nauseated.
Nico shook his head and made sure he hadn't made a mess on anything before he slipped his boxers back on and left the bathroom to gather some clean clothes. He was reminded, yet again, that he didn't have much time left. His biggest concern, in all honesty, was getting Percy in the shower but he wasn't going to let the son of Poseidon bathe at the expense of his own cleanliness.
Nico knelt down next to the bed, an idea forming in his mind. He wouldn't have even thought about it if Leo hadn't locked himself in the other bathroom...
Nico considered his idea to be either a really good one, or a really really bad one. It was too soon to tell, though, and he would let Percy help him decide. He leaned in close to Percys ear and brushed his hair away from it, just one more thing he had never done before...
"Percy?" Oh how he loved the way the son of Poseidons name sounded coming from his lips right then.
It took a few more gentle strokes of his hair and whispers of his name for Percy to actually wake. Right away, his face errupted into a hot blush.
Nico smiled, although he didn't mean to, and greeted the son of Poseidon. "Good morning, goddess." Nico tensed as soon as that word left his lips. He really had no clue where it had come from, but he kind of liked it...
Percy recoiled. He himself tensed and moved away from the other male. He began to panic. That word... That name... That's what Nico had called him during his... Did he say anything to Nico about it? Had something happened that Percy didn't know about? Oh, gods, this was freaking weird... 'Okay' Percy told himself 'Don't freak out. Don't overreact. It's not a big deal. Maybe you heard him wrong.' "...Good morning." His voice came out much quieter than he had expected.
Nico even managed to relax after that. He would have to keep himself alert so he didn't say something stupid like that again. He wasn't one for names like that; nicknames, pet names, whatever people wanted to call them. He had a name and so did everyone else. And that's what he, and they, would be called. So, even if he liked the way it sounded to call Percy goddess, he would never do it again.
Nico cleared his throat. He had been thinking about what words he would use since he formed the idea and hoped he ad chosen properly. "We only have about ten minutes to shower and we both need to. How would you feel about not showering alone...?"
Percy sunk into the sheets. "You mean like... I'd... you... we'd..."
Nico tried not to chuckle. "Do you always get this flustered about stuff?"
Percy shrugged cutely. Why it was so cute to him, though, Nico couldn't understand.
The son of Hades sighed, feeling agitated with himself for finding the action 'cute'. "Yes. That's what I mean. If you're comfortable with that."
It took Percy a few seconds to nod his head gently. Nico smiled at him, realizing once again he would get to see Percy naked, and forgetting about his 'cute' behavior, before he stepped away from the bed. He forced his body not to react to the thoughts his mind was forming.
"Get up and grab some clothes. Make it fast, okay?"
Percy nodded and Nico tossed him another smile. He waited for the son of Hades to have his back turned before he got off the bed and wrapped the sheet around his naked waste. He was quick to grab a set of clothes and follow behind Nico, who had just done the same.
The son of Hades left the bathroom door open for Percy and asked him, gently, to lock it upon entering. Percy's face heated up again but he obliged, clicking the lock behind him. Nico turned the water on and checked to make sure it was warm enough before ushering Percy over to do the same. He stuck his hand into the liquid and nodded his head; it seemed like Nico had gotten the water a perfect temperature... Nico placed two towels on the toilet seat and two washcloths in the tub, Percy watching every movement. The younger quickly moved to remove his boxers but stopped when he saw the way Percy looked. It was almost as if he was afraid or something. Nico took his hands away from his waste band.
"Percy?"
Percy perked up and looked at him, still clutching tightly to the sheet.
The son of Poseidon owned an expression that was impossible to read; to Nico, anyway. He seemed like he was feeling so many different emotions that he might explode. Nico wasn't one for asking people how they felt about things and it seemed pretty stupid at the time anyway so, instead of potentially making a fool of himself and making the situation more awkward, he simply said "You can't shower with a sheet on, ya know?"
Percy looked down and thought about pulling away what hid his hips and legs but couldn't bring himself to.
Nico sighed. He knew the two were running out of time very quickly. "I'm gonna get in the shower. If you don't feel like taking one, fine. But you should. When you're ready, feel free to." He turned away from Percy and slipped his boxers down so all Percy could see of him was his butt. But that still felt strange for the son of Poseidon.
Strangely enough, though, Nicos butt wasn't what had Percy feeling uncomfortable. That started when he focused the angel wing tattoo Nico had sprawled over his back. Actually, three pairs of angel wings. One pair folded down his back, another spread out along his arms, and the third pair curved up and over Nicos sholders to frame his collar bones. They looked... angelic. They were beautiful, honestly. They even made Nico look beautiful, too; elegant really.
Percy had seen the tattoos before, but had never taken time to look at them. Now that he was able to, though, he focused on them to see exactly what they looked it. The inkings were rather large, covering over Nicos sholders and part of his arms, as well as part of the way down his back. Percy studied the large tattoos for the few seconds that Nico stood before him. The inking, as a whole, was very elegant and, the more Percy looked at it, the more it seemed to not fit with Nicos hard-core demeanor. Maybe that's why Percy found it so beautiful. He actually had a hard time tearing his eyes from the son of Hades' inked skin once he noticed it.
Nico climbed into the tub and instantly felt the warm water hit his body. He wasn't paying the least bit of attention to Percy or whether or not the older male was going to join him. But he didn't care. He figured Percy would either open up to him or close him out after the night before. Apparently, he had gone with the second option.
Percy considered his options and their possible consequences. Nico had been right when he said Percy should take a shower, and Percy knew it. But, showering with Nico... The only thing the son of Poseidon was really thinking too much about at the moment was the stained skin he had seen earlier. Percy felt the urge to study it, to look closely at it for its every detail. To become as familiar with it as he was with his own body. Maybe that helped him make up his mind...
Nico felt a brush of air across his back and knew he had been wrong. Percy climbed into the tub and let the curtain close behind him again. Nico squirted some of the hotels body wash onto a washcloth and handed it to Percy. The son of Poseidon took the cloth and shoved himself as close to the back wall as he could. Nico didn't really mind that, honestly; he had never actually liked showering with people.
The shower was pretty quiet and both did their best to avoid the other and pretend they weren't even there. Nico couldn't actually pretend that, though, and it was mainly because Percy was humming to himself as he bathed. It was strange to the son of Hades and he was tempted to turn around and give Percy a glare of annoyance but he knew if he turned, things might not turn out so well. The whole situation felt like a time bomb waiting to explode to him. And it could all be blamed on Percy Jackson. He didn't think too much about it, though, and tried to act as if it was just another shared shower.
Nico, being gay, had showered with his fair share of guys, although that made him sound s****y, so it wasn't anything new. Sure, the humming was new, but when Percy shyly asked him to move or hand something over, Nico wasn't feeling as odd about it as he knew Percy was. Percy, being a swimmer, had seen plenty of naked guys in the shower. But, actually showering with one, like this, was different; asking one for help, even if it was just "Can you pass the conditioner", was foreign. Especially after their previous encounter.
Their shower finished quickly, mainly because Hazel kept banging on the bathroom door, and they dressed in silence. The only part of Nico Percy ever let his eyes focus on was Nicos back: the angels wings tattoo. Other than that, though, Percy tried not to let his eyes wander to any place lower than Nicos ribs, and had kept himself calm that way. He felt very confused at the time and didn't know what might happen if he saw anything more than that.
Hazel came by the door again and made to knock when it flew open, startling her a little.
"What?" Nico asked harshly.
Hazel took a second to process the scene that had appeared behind the bathroom door. "Are you done?"
Nico nodded and cocked his head, motioning Percy toward the door.
Everyone was gathered on Hazel, Frank, and Leo's side of the room. The three were eating a small breakfast which both Percy and Nico had turned down. Percy sat on the couch next to Leo, who gave him and small smile, and Nico a smirk. Nico leaned against the wall, not feeling like sitting. He stared at Percy as he and the son of Hephaestsus interacted peacefully with one another. ...Nico still hated Leo.
Hazel took a bite of her breakfast and spoke, the food still in her mouth.
"Alright. A lot went on last night. And I don't just mean here in the room." She eyed Nico, who played up not having any idea what she was talking about. Percy, on the other hand, hadn't even heard her. "Anyway, I received a call last night. An important one. And I learned some stuff that could come in really handy."
Nico couldn't stand when people beat around the bush and Hazel seemed to not even see the bush... He pursed his lips at her, just wanting to know what she was talking about. "The call was from Typhon."
The entire room, minus Leo, tensed. The son of Hephaestsus seemed to not care and kept eating his breakfast like nothing had happened.
No one said anything so Hazel kept talking. "They told me they're willing to back off a little. Under one condition..."
Nico was already shaking his head. "No. Not gonna happen."
Hazel interrupted him. "They want to meet with us. All of us. And I say we do it."
Nicos jaw dropped. "Are you f*****g stupid?! They want us dead and you want to sit down and have coffee with them?! They're gonna try to kill us right then and there!"
Hazel raised a finger. "First of all, they don't want US dead. They want YOU dead. There's a difference. Second, you haven't heard what I have to say."
Nico quieted so he could listen, although it was totally against his better judgment.
"Thank you. Today, I have rented out a shooting range. There is plenty of room for us to do whatever we need to do. But, I have decided, after talking it over with Frank and Leo, that normal weapons and street smarts aren't going to be enough. We need to use something no one else has."
Nico knew right where this was going. And he didn't like it. Hazel was asking him to use his half-blood abilities against street guys. It was illogical, to say the least. It wasn't necessary, at all, and it was beyond dangerous. Not being demigods, or even wise about their existence, Typhon, Manti, and their crew would try to fight in ways that could get Nico, and the other four, killed quickly. Being demigods didn't mean they were immortal.
Percy sat, trying to figure out what was going on. The broken, vague, and unfinished sentences had confused him. He still had a lot going on in his mind. Between the night before with Nico, the meeting with Eros before that, and the poor guy being brutally murdered, Percy barely even had time to care, or think, about what time or day of the week it was. So all of this was a little much for him. He watched Nico, who seemed to be contemplating something detrimental to human exsistance as a whole.
The son of Hades shook his head and spoke "I'll humor you for a moment. We work something out. We train. We get back in touch with our instincts. We become demigods again instead of street thugs. But, when we show up, and they have fully automatic rifles, explosives, tortue tools, the s**t you see in horror movies, what do we do then?"
Hazel swallowed. "We'll talk about that later. But, right now, we have a half an hour before the deal I made for a whole day at a private range is taken back and made void. I realize you don't like the idea but you and Percy are the only ones who have yet to agree. So it's up to you. But there's one thing I wanna talk to you about first. Alone."
Nico nodded and followed Hazel into his and Percys side of the suite. He crossed his arms as Hazel closed the door separating the two sides of the room.
"I wasn't being totally honest."
Nico shrugged. "I figured as much."
Hazel made a displeased face and kept talking. "There's no way we're getting them to back off. They did say that was the point of the meeting but I had other things in mind." Hazel paused and Nico made a face that said he was impatiently awaiting whatever else she 'had in mind'. Then she said it. "A counter attack. They come after us, we go after them, and we battle it out to the end. Just like quests, just like camp, just like life before. I feel like that's our best chance."
Nico groaned and ran his hands through his hair. But he wasn't quite ready to freak out without asking any questions, especially since things had just gotten a little deeper and more complicated. "So what's the point of us meeting up with them?"
Hazel looked away from her half-brother. "I'm hoping to get some of their plan out of them. Learn how they operate on a closer level. If we can do that, we have a chance of being the ones who walk away alive."
Nico tried to contain his anger but Hazel's plan was outrageous. They could learn so much from studying what the two men and their crew had done in the past. That was usually how Nico did things, and Hazel was trying to change them. He understood that going into a situation with a little bit of knowledge was a wise idea but the way she was asking them to try to get it was insane. But there was no point in arguing. Either he agreed and went with them, or he didn't agree and they went alone. If that happened, he would have no clue what was going on. His best bet would be going with them, even if he didn't want to.
"Fine." He was shaking his head but now did see Hazel's point and logic. "But if I don't like the way things start going, I'm getting myself and Percy out of there right away."
Hazel shrugged, signifying she couldn't have cared less either way, and went back into the other room with the others.
Percy had been wearing a smile as he messed around a little with Leo. He shifted his gaze to the door as soon as it opened and his expression disappeared right away. The look on Nicos own face told him something was very wrong. He would have to ask about it later, if he could bring himself to talking to Nico again.

The day began to wear away quickly and Hazel had already made three phone calls, one informing someone that her and the others would be at the shooting range within the hour. The others, though, were made in private and everyone felt nervous that they didn't know what was going on. The daughter of Hades assured them all that they didn't need to worry about it, but that didn't mean they wouldn't.
Before the five left, Hazel suggested that Nico try to inform Percy what was going on, without going into too much detail. She thought the son of Poseidon deserved to know who Eros was, how Nico knew him, and how dangerous he, as well as the men he was working with, was. Maybe Percy even needed to know how dangerous the four demigods were... Whether that be the case or not, she thought Percy needed to know everything the others knew, at least. After all, being kept in the dark was probably worse for him that being involved.
The five left the hotel shortly and made their way to the packed parking lot. Nico led Percy to his car and opened the passanger door for him; not without slapping himself mentally at the action, though. He waited until Hazel pulled away before following her out and driving behind her carefully. It was common sense to drive between two and five miles an hour under the speed limit, to stop completely, and to use turn signals for every corner, unless, of course, you wanted to get arrested. And thats not what Nico wanted. But, it was difficult for the son of Hades since he hated following traffic laws, especially when he had so much on his mind.
The car ride was silent, save for the quiet music playing on the radio, until Nico spoke softly. The sudden noise startled Percy a little but he was somewhat happy Nico wasn't ignoring him, especially after what happened the night before and the awkwardness of the morning.
"Percy, do you have any idea what's going on?"
Percy thought about the question and realized he really didn't know. He had no clue. He shook his head.
Nico sighed as his heart beat a little faster. Telling Percy wasn't what he wanted to do today but he knew he didn't have a choice. He had to tell Percy; he knew the son of Poseidon couldn't have things kept from him anymore. At least not by Nico. And he knew if he didn't tell Percy, one of the others would and Nico didn't want that.
The son of Hades nodded gently. "Okay. The first thing." He sighed and shook his head. "I've told you plenty about Typhon and Manti. You know of some of the things they've done and what they plan on doing."
Percy turned to face away from Nico. The conversation had taken a turn down a road Percy didn't want to walk. He had heard it from their own mouths and currently felt like he knew a little more than Nico did. He had all the juicy details...
Nico spoke again. "They are more than capable of pulling off whatever they have planned, no matter what it is. And you can be sure of that." Nico hesitated and spoke his next words slowly. "But, that's not my biggest concern."
Percy sat, staring at Nico expectantly. He imagined the conversation having a point, and, so far, it really didn't. But, he couldn't imagine there being anything more serious than what he had already been told.
Nico kept talking. "That guy that you went to see and get the weapons from works with them, you know that."
Percy nodded. He recalled quite well shaking the hands of the two men who currently wanted the son of Hades dead, as well as that of their associate, Eros.
"Well, he used to work with me, and I have a feeling Typhon and Manti might try to use him against me now." Nico had never thought that before but the possibility seemed reasonable.
Percy didn't see reason in it, though. He was lost... "Why?"
Nico shook his head. He knew there was only one choice when it came to explaining and that was just to come right out and say it. But he feared he might offend Percy, or disgust him, or maybe even just rub his skin the wrong way. "Don't be mad about what I say." Nico still had no clue why he really cared if what he said bothered Percy. There was just some reason, though, that he didn't want to offend the son of Poseidon. "Listen, take it in, and then forget about it. Understand?"
Nicos voice and tone had darkened and Percy was afraid of where this was going but he nodded anyway.
Nico swallowed down another deep breath, as well as his pride, and spoke again. "There was a time that I stopped looking for you." Why did that hurt to say? Why did it make him feel sick to his stomach? The son of Hades ignored the feeling and spoke on. "I didn't care if I found you. You seemed to stop mattering to me. And it was because if him." Nico paused. He had gotten it all out, but this could be where the problems begin, if he wasn't careful. "He was the only one who was ever able to make me forget about you, even if for only a short time. But he left."
Percy heard the words and took them in bit by bit, like Nico had requested. He didn't fully understand them right away but after a couple more minutes of silent driving, he thought he had it figured. "So... if he left... I'm his replacement?" Percy didn't know why, but that bothered him. It actually kind of made him angry. Maybe it was because of what happened the night before, what Nico did and said to him. Percy had felt odd the whole way through but had enjoyed every second of it. And, now, it seemed he was being told that it wasn't a big deal. That Nico had just done it to do it. The closeness Percy had felt since the night before disappeared. It faded away like fog. And the way he was feeling about it showed through in his venomous speech.
"No, Percy, you weren't the replacement." Nico thought Percy's reaction was strange. He expected disgust, but not anger. And he definitely hadn't expected Percy to mention a 'replacement'. But, that's what had happened. Percy seemed furious at the fact that Nico had gravitated toward someone else. This was agitating, to say the least, but Nico still tried desperately to clear things up. "If anything, he was the replacement because I couldn't find you."
Percy turned to face Nico quickly, anger bubbling in him hotly. "So, you used him. And then followed up by using me."
"What? No!" This was begining to really piss the son of Hades off. "Percy, you're not understanding." He had already spent more time on this topic than he had intended; he had something much more important to tell Percy. But, he had to sort this out first.
"No, Nico," Percy interrupted, much to Nicos surprise. "I think I am. You couldn't find me so you got what you wanted from him. Once he left and you found me, you got what you wanted from me. All you want is a body, isn't it?" It felt like everything was starting to fall into place. Everything was starting to make sense. Percy was seeing Nico as a user. "It doesn't matter who's it is, you just want a body. It didn't matter what guy you used, you just wanted someone to play with." It was slowly starting to clear itself up more and more. Percy silenced for a split second and thought, and, from there, he really exploded. "It doesn't matter that I went three years without as much as a hand shake and all of all sudden get that!" The son of Poseidon felt now that he knew why he was so upset, and there were two reasons. One, he had ached for contact and gotten it from someone who had replaced him once. Two, he had never been used before. He felt like a little kid being told by an older sibling that he would be paid for cleaning their room, although he had never experienced that before. But he could figure how it felt, how small it made people. He felt like he had been used like old gym shorts.
"Per-"
"No!" Percy spat. "I don't want to hear anything from you." Nico went along with Percy's request, knowing he would be done shouting soon enough. But, as of now, he was still going. "How could you do that to someone? How could you do that to me? I never did anything to you!" Percy had never intended to get that upset but once his words started flowing, they wouldn't stop. "It's been three years since I've even hugged or kissed someone and I had missed it. I see Hazel and Frank and I wanted nothing more than to feel as close to someone as the two of them were. You made me feel human, not that drugged up crazed lunatic that had been doped up on Lotus flowers for three years." Percy had never had a way with his words, or to that extent anyway, but he was angry and this is what was coming to his mind. "You had no idea. I didn't care who you were. The fact you're a guy didn't matter. I needed contact and you gave it to me. To me, it meant something. It meant that there was a point in letting you take me from the Lotus. I used to hate you and now you're the one who gave me something no one else could. I can't imagine anyone making me feel important. Feel needed. Everyone thought I was such a hard a*s but I was no different than anyone else who craved attention. You made me feel important! And now you're telling me that you gave up on me before I even knew you were looking for me. You're telling me you replaced something you never even had. I felt like you gave me something I needed, something I craved, and now I'm hearing that everything you said, and did, last night had been done to someone else just because you gave up on me."
Silence filled the car. An uncomfortable one, too. Nico had nothing to say. He was dumbfounded by Percy's reaction and, suprisingly enough, pained by his words. He hadn't used Percy like the son of Poseidon thought. Nico had used someone else, he had used Eros and couldn't figure out why it had bothered Percy so much. But, the hurt expression Nico hadn't seen on Percys face in so long had returned. He was feeling that nothing he could say would even come close to fixing this.
The car in front of them stopped shortly at a large, well cared for establishment and Nico pulled his own in after them. As soon as the vehicle was in park, Percy jumped from it and slammed the door shut behind him. Hazel gazed questioningly at him and had the feeling the car ride hadn't gone too well. But, in all honesty, she didn't really care.
Nico got out of the car after Percy and said his name quietly. Percy just ignored him.
"Percy, you have to understand this." Nico wished he could stop trying to explain himself because he didn't have the time to go through the whole story, from start to finish, in order to fill Percy in. All the son of Poseidon needed to know was that Eros had been the replacement and now that Percy was around, Nico couldn't care less about the other guy.
Hazel approached her half-brother. "Whatever the beef is that got chopped up in that car, you need to grill it up and eat it cause we don't have time."
Nico glared at her. She was not helping. He looked around for Percy and didn't see him anywhere. Nico cursed to himself. Why did he have to open his mouth? Today or last night. If he would have just shut up and kept himself controlled, none of this would have happened. Why did have to bring it up to Percy? Damnit!
Nico continued to look around for Percy and found him entering the building with the other two males. He was relieved Percy hadn't bolted or something but a part of Nico wanted to keep the son of Poseidon as close to him as he could. And as far away from Leo as possible.
Hazel waited until everyone had entered the building and started walking them through everything she hoped to accomplish. She had it all put together, from start to finish, and all the details in between.
She started by splitting them up; Frank, Leo, and Percy and then herself and Nico. She allowed Frank to explain everything to Percy and Leo, too, since he paid such little attention to what the others said during the initial planning.
Frank led the two boys to a separate room and began talking to them. "Here, we'll be focusing more on fighting at a distance with your demigod... powers, I suppose. I'm not gonna be doing much with this, considering I don't think I'd find a reason to turn into an animal." He chuckled and looked back and forth between the other two. "We've got fire and water here. Have a blast." Frank walked away from the two and lit himself a cigarette. He watched them as Leo pulled a lighter from his pocket and flicked it.
Leo chuckled. "Where's your water, Jackson."
Percy looked around for a second before holding up a finger, signaling Leo to hold on. He made for the table Frank was leaning against with a motion that was a mix between a run, skip, and gallop. Both other males weren't sure what to make of it... It was Percy, and the action was not like the son of Poseidon at all. For a split second, they felt like they were dealing with a much younger version of the demigod. But one neither Frank nor Leo had ever encountered before.
Percy ran quickly to the table and grabbed the son of Ares' bottle of water. He opened it carefully and laid the cover gently on the table. Leo shook his head at Percy and clicked his lighter instantly. Without hesitation, he had readied himself to have a go at the son of Poseidon with the flames. He couldn't care less if he hurt Percy during the confrontation so he didn't plan on taking it easy.
But Percy was ready. However, he figured things would go fine, not being able to imagine it being too hard to spar with Leo. It was fire and water, not a big deal. But the son of Hephaestsus was so quick to throw a ball of flame from his lighter toward Percy that the son of Poseidon lost it. He ducked out of the way and sprayed the contents of his water bottle all over the room. But Leo had no intentions on stopping there. He threw another ball of flame in Percys direction. Percy was lucky enough to move his head out of the way before it flew through the air at that point. Percy gave Leo a look of anger to which the son of Hephaestsus smirked. And the spar continued on.


Nico had a lot on his mind still but Percy didn't even register at the moment. Well, he did, but only what he might be thinking and doing. Nico hadn't even considered letting thoughts of the previous night enter his mind. Truthfully, someone could have brought it up and he wouldn't have had a clue what they were talking about right away. He had so many other things on his mind and his half-sister was not helping.
Hazel and Nico were in a completely different room than the other three teenagers, working on something as equally important as demigod capabilities. Hazel was attempting to coach Nico through it since it was definitely something Nico needed working on...Communication, and he hated it.
The son of Hades had never been good at talking to people and, in order to interact with people who want you dead, you need to be. Hazel was hoping to accomplish something but, so far, nothing was coming of it. Every situation she placed before her half-brother was responded to in the same manner, and it wasn't the way they needed to be. Nico just kept threatening to kill someone if they ever spoke to him the way Hazel did. The daughter of Hades couldn't get him to understand that not everything could be solved with violence and killing things.
Hazel shook her head. It had only been a couple of hours but she was already growing so bored and annoyed. "Look, you need to be logical. Think before you answer. You've been out here for too long not to know this stuff. You're too smart to be acting so stupid. Now, someone is threatening Percy, how do you respond? And I swear to all the gods, if you say you'll kill them, I'll kill you."
Nico scoffed. He had never reacted any other way than violently. He had never even considered 'logic', as Hazel was calling it. He had always just taken care of the problem before it escalated too far. But, this was a 'communication exercise', again Hazel's words. And that apparently meant he had to talk his way through it. But, how was the trick. That's where Hazel came in. If there was one thing her half-brother would learn that day, it was how to use words to get himself through a situation.
She first walked him through keeping his voice steady, despite how he was feeling. She told him a steady voice was imperative, even if he was facing death. And maybe even especially then. If he were to lose it and yell or shout or say something that didn't quite fit, he would be dead sooner than he processed his own words, even if he didn't know it right then. But, no matter how many times she told him such things, he didn't seem to get it. He stayed responding with violent words.
Hazel shook her head. They had been working for a few hours already and she was seriously growing annoyed with her half-brother. "We are getting nowhere with this."
"I'm glad we're finally on the same page." Nico was clearly growing agitated, too, and he spoke with sarcasm. He wasn't really 'glad' about anything at the moment.
Hazel looked at him with displeasure and decided to take a different approach. "How are you at reading people? Specifically when they talk?"
He shrugged. "Better than I am at talking."
That wasn't saying much, seeing as how, in Hazel's opinion, a todler was better at talking than Nico was. But there was still slight hope.
Hazel sat across from her half-brother and began to speak to him. He knew she wanted him to read between the lines and figure her out and he felt he would be able to. The conversation consisted of a number of statements and Nico was to process and determine which were lies. The whole thing was pretty simple, mainly because the lies were so apparent that Nico felt Percy would have figured them out. But, it got harder when the topics deepened. Nico was okay with simple things, like knowing when an 'I don't know' or an 'I don't have it' was a lie, but when it came to figure lies about locations and specific people, Nico fell short. Hazel had already made the decision that listening to people would be her job and she would leave the dirty work to Nico and the other boys...
It was another few hours before the first aspects of the practice were through with. Hazel ran Nico through a number of generic responses and hoped they would stay with him. She told him he could change the words around a little, so long as they still fit and didn't let people grow wise of what was going on. But, over all, she asked him to keep his mouth shut until he needed to speak. Nico tried not to let that offend him.
Percy and Leo had managed to make a total mess of the room they were in. Plenty of things had been burned, including the son of Poseidon, and he had almost drowned Leo in retaliation. The two were wrecking balls, to say the least. Percy was quick and Leo was irrational. It wasn't a very good combination. Frank was surprised by many of the things the two did, especially Percy. He had been around Leo for three years and knew how he operated but watching Percy was different. It seemed the Lotus hadn't effected his judgement and Frank was happy for that. He definitely had the feeling he could use Percy in hand to hand, as long as he had water at his disposal. He seemed to thrive in that aspect.
It was only a short time before the five demigods met up in the room that Hazel and Nico had been occupying. The son of Hades looked mentally exhausted as he munched slowly on some of the food Hazel had brought, but the daughter of Hades seemed ready for whatever was coming next. She gave the others something small to eat and waited, rather impatiently,
for them to finish.
Just as Percy swallowed down his last bite of granola, Hazel stood from her stool and moved it from the middle of the floor, speaking as she did so.
"I know Percy has used Riptide recently,"
That simple phrase was enough to bring back to Percys memory what he had done and how it had effected him. He wished Hazel wouldn't have said anything; he was just beginning to come to terms with it. He was accepting it as a quest, as a Greek creature that had threatened his life. But, Hazel mentioning it made it hard to see things that way.
The daughter of Hades spoke on. "But the rest of us haven't even considered delving back into the practice of swordplay. That being said, that's where we're headed next."
Everyone, including Frank, gave her a look. The same look.
"Are you serious?" Nico questioned."These guys have guns and explosives and you're asking us to go at them with swords and knives? Doesn't that seem a little ... 'illogical' to you?" The son of Hades was using his own half-sisters words against her. Maybe he wasn't as thick as she thought when it came to communicating...
"You underestimate people's abilities and operations." But, Hazel would always be more clever and quick to come up with comebacks. "That's a very dangerous thing to do, Nico." She threw a smirk at him, knowing she had outsmarted him. "Either way, I want you" She was still talking to Nico, "and Percy to spar. I don't care how it turns out or how it gets there. Just show me what the two of you are still capable of."
Nico looked at Percy. The son of Poseidon seemed to be liking that idea less than Nico himself was. The younger shook his head. "No. Not gonna happen."
"Why not?" Hazel questioned.
"Really? Why not?" His tone was seeping with sarcasm and fury.
Hazel stared blankly.
"Just do it. I don't care." The anger in Percys own voice was truly unexpected. Nico had no idea what went on in the other room, and he hadn't cared until then. But, he now wanted to know, seeing as how he didn't think Percy was that mad at him. He would wait until later, though, when things cleared up a little, just in case it was him the older was mad at.
The son of Poseidon already had Riptide drawn and readied for a spar. Nico hated that he had to but he drew his Stygian blade and swung it before even thinking. He was relieved when Percy blocked the blow.
The spar began easily: simple combinations of attacks and parries to avoid them. But things escalated very fast. The two seemed to be fighting instead of sparring. They were both clearly angry and the other three had a feeling they knew why. They figured both were angry about the same thing. Or relatively the same thing, anyway. And, if that was the case, they knew it had to do with the conversation the two must have had on the drive there. It wasn't like any of them really cared, though.
The upper hand of the spar would switch often and it was sometimes hard to tell who held it. Nico would at first and then Percy would do something and take it back. More times than one, they would have sword tips to their throats. But, they didn't stop. It seemed like each passing minute gave both more of a drive to continue the fight.
It was pretty brutal for a spar, truthfully. Neither was giving the other much room to breath and they were quick with their attacks. Both used whatever means they could, including some hand to hand, in the hopes of being called victor in the end. Although, the son of Hades had no interest in 'winning' the spar. All he really wanted to do was talk to Percy. But, if this is what had to be done, so be it.
Things continued to escelate as time went on. Both Percy and Nicos modes, mediums, and means of sparring changed so they could adapt to the fight. The hand to hand become more frequent and they even began using the butts of their swords as weapons or just to push the other back if needed. Percy did that more often than Nico and the son of Hades was sure he would bruise if he didn't start trying to block the blows. But he had been going easy on Percy. He was more used to fighting than he figured the older was at the time. But Percy was pushing him to his limit. The son of Poseidon was drawing on his energy and pushing his buttons and all Nico wanted to do was finish with the spar.
At one point, Nico seemed distracted by something and Percy took the opportunity to slam the butt of Riptide into the son of Hades' chest. The younger male stumbled back a few steps and was instantly gasping for air. The other four people in the room just stood and stared. None of them cared, really, that he might be hurt. A broken rib was an easy fix and happened all the time in their lives. There was no doubt that Nico had already broken a few on the streets. But it still hurt to get hit.
Percy placed the cap back on his sword and turned away. In his mind, the spar was over and he had won. That's how it looked to the others, too. But looks can be deceiving.
Nico ran back at Percy and tackled him to the floor. The other three demigods stood from their seats and watched at a distance as the two attempted to engage in a fist fight. Their were plenty of fists flying, sure, but not one of them made contact. No matter who was trying to do the punching, their blows were either deflected into the concrete floor beneath them or blocked by grabbing onto a wrist.
Nico was trying his hardest to get Percy to relax so he could speak to him. He wanted to know why Percy seemed so angry and on edge. It took him a few moments, but he managed to pin the son of Poseidons arms to the floor, knocking Riptide from Percy's hand. The son of Poseidon panicked slightly as the pen rolled across the concrete.
Both boys were sweating and out of breath by this time and the others were shocked it had gone as far as it had.
As soon as Nico actually caught his breath, he spoke. "Why the hell do you seem so angry at me?"
Percy spat back a response. "Because you lied to me!" The son of Poseidon hadn't noticed, but Riptide had returned to his pocket. It was a good thing he didn't know, though, because he probably would have drawn the weapon again and tried to use it.
Nico was angry enough to chew bricks, so a verbal argument was an unavoidable given between the two. "I never lied to you, Percy! Just because I didn't tell you, doesn't mean I lied. Did you ever consider the fact I was trying to protect you?"
The other three still stared on in awe.
"Protect me?" Percy was quick to add his own escalating anger to the argument. "By not telling me you tried to forget about me? Really? I hate you right now! You got me to let you do that last night just because you don't have him anymore, didn't you? That's the only reason you even came after me! Because he left you! Well, he left you because you're an a*s hole! And now I see it!" Percy didn't think he had ever felt more degraded in his life, and there was a good reason. At least he thought there was, anyway. "You made me feel important! And now I feel like s**t because I let you do that and you told me about him! I feel like I mean nothing! I can't stand feeling like that! That's why I left the Argo! Because you showed up, opened your mouth, and I started feeling like an unimportant piece if s**t to everyone. Just because you couldn't control yourself!"
Nico wanted to stop the argument, but couldn't make himself. It wasn't in his nature. He may not have been good at communicating, but he would argue until he was blue in the face. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry I made you feel like that, Percy! That's not what I had in mind. I wanted to help you relax! I thought I had managed and you would be alright to know who Eros was! I was wrong! I fucked up and I was wrong!"
Percy literally spat an aggressive response. "You're damn right, you fucked up! Now get off of me!"
Nico hesitated a second, Percy's words getting to him. He pulled himself off the older and stood from the floor after only a few seconds. The son of Poseidon stayed laying on the concrete, in agony. He physically hurt, yes, but that was nothing compared to how his head ached from anger, hatred, confusion, and even slight disgust.
Nico was running his hands through his shaggy black hair, trying to make sense of things. He shook his head and knew he was being watched. He also knew his watchers were waiting for him to be the bigger man and to say something that took out the tension. None of them cared for their sake; it couldn't have mattered less. But, Nico needed that to happen and so did Percy. The five couldn't have the two so mad at one another.
Nico shook his head and spoke, back still turned to the son of Poseidon. "I know it'll mean nothing, and you can hate me all you want, but I didn't use you. I didn't intend to make you feel like I had, either. You were the one who needed replacing, not him." Nico had lost the ability to stop his words, although he was no longer yelling. "Before I even had you, I needed to replace you. He came into the picture and I was able to forget about you for a while. But I found you, and you became the replacement. But you were what I wanted in the first place." Nico shook his head and really hoped he wasn't going too far but he needed to say everything he had on his mind. "I wanted you from the start. But I couldn't have you. So, I took him. He left, you showed up, and everything seemed... perfect." Saying that was so far from typical Nico Di'Angelo speech that he himself was confused. "Last night... last night meant something to me, too. It was the best day of my life. I know it sounds cheesy but I'm not kidding." He felt the need to cover for his awkwardness. "I had you, even if for only a short time. And now I feel like I've lost you." He paused. He actually felt kind of stupid for his words. He had never said anything like this before in his life and he just hoped he was going about the apology properly. "I'm not asking you to forgive me, or to let me do anything else, or whatever you might be thinking." He groweled and shook his head. "What I'm asking is that you forget anything ever happened, and I'll do the same. Otherwise, this s**t'll happen all over again. Alright?" He turned around to look at the son of Poseidon and see him respond. And that's when he noticed he hadn't been speaking to anyone. Percy was gone. "Percy?"
Just that one word had all the others in the room looking around, dead silent. Nico let a string of curses leave his lips. Hazel turned to Leo and began speaking but Nico couldn't hear any of her words. He was too busy thinking about where the hell the son of Poseidon had gone.
Everyone but Nico kicked into street logic mode and ran through the typical ways to find someone in their world, as long as you could see them. Frank went to the nearest window and looked through it, hoping to see something. Hazel pulled a hat out of her bag and tossed it to the son of Hephaestsus. "Find him!"
And Leo was gone. He ran out the door, although he didn't feel the need to look for the other demigod. But he understood that it would be a bad thing for him and the others if the son of Poseidon was seen. Hazel sat on the floor and pulled out her laptop. She plugged a flash drive into it and began to type and click on things, installing a hacking program within seconds.
Frank had yet to see anything outside the building, Leo was still gone and hadn't returned or called, and Hazel continued to click and shuffle through security cameras, stop light cameras, anything she could. She used any means she could as the minutes quickly clicked away.
Nico had taken a few seconds to come to and he looked back and forth between the son of Ares, who was running from window to window, and the daughter of Hades, who sat on the floor staring and clicking on her computer.
Just when Nico was begining to find the silence unbearable, Hazel spoke. "There! Police station, three quarters of a mile southeast!"
As soon as Nico heard the words, he was gone. He ran out the door, into the darkening day, pulling his keys from his pocket, and climbed into his car. He started the vehicle before he even had the door closed and whipped down the street, leaving black rubber on the grey pavement. The only thought he had in his mind was getting to Percy. The son of Poseidon was heading toward a police station, no doubt to tell them what was going on, and that was the last thing they needed. The three would get arrested, the police would hear Percy's story and put him in a mental hospital, Typhon and the Manticore would continue to go around doing whatever they wanted, and all those the three street wise demigods had worked with over the three years would be in serious danger. There would be a number of crimes, explosions, murders, and kidnappings and it would all be because Percy had lost it and told the police.
Nico didn't care, at all, that he was out during one of the most dangerous times of day for a street runner: night. The sky was dark and the danger was higher now than it was any other time. But, the police were just as dangerous for him as the night was.
All those thoughts came to Nico in only a few seconds and, when they were gone, he began to pay attention to what was going on around him. He saw Percy, walking along the sidewalk, heading in the direction of the police station; actually almost to the driveway of the parking lot. He hadn't gotten there yet but he was close, and Nico was close to totally losing it. He was angry that Percy had been so stupid but he had to keep himself controlled. He needed to get the son of Poseidon into the car but he had to make it look like he wasn't forcing Percy in. He couldn't get out and drag him, or else he would be seen; he couldn't do anything that would harm Percy, being in front of a police station; and he couldn't begin yelling and screaming at him unless he wanted people to hear and form a crowd. That left the son of Hades with very few options.
Nico sped up a little as to reach the son of Poseidon and then slowed down to the males walking pace. He was relieved Percy was okay and hadn't yet done something too stupid, but he still felt angry seeing the son of Poseidon. His anger increased when he noticed Percys eyes, threatening to spill with tears, and his expression, threatening to burst with frustration. Both made Nico feel like he wanted to overflow with fury because of the son of Poseidon; why the hell should he be so angry? He was the one who left and scared the others, or at least Nico, half to death! Gods, Percy had been making Nico feel so many emotions he was once able to hide and he was not liking it, at all.
"Percy!" There was that oh so familiar 'frustration'.
Percy ignored the male in the car and kept on his way. He wanted nothing to do with Nico at the moment and was on his way to tell the police he had been kidnapped and didn't know where he was. The idea hadn't taken too long to come up with and he just hoped the police would believe it. He wanted to go home and forget everything that had happened over the past few months.
"Percy." Nico forced his tone to soften.
Again, Percy ignored him and that in and of itself was enough to make the younger want to stop the car and beat the living daylights out of the son of Poseidon. Nico, in his anger, stopped caring if anyone saw him or got the wrong idea from anything they saw. He pulled up quickly and turned the car side ways in front of Percy, keeping him from being able to walk any further.
"Get in." His voice was barely audible but still full of anger.
Percy never looked at him and instead made to walk around the car. Nico groweled and pulled up a little further, once again stopping the older male. This time, though, Percy looked up at him with daggers for eyes.
"Get your a*s in the car!"
Percys glare deepened and darkened. He wasn't going to let it be that easy. He was angry and he wanted Nico to know it.
The son of Hades put the car in park and stared at the son of Poseidon expectantly. He didn't think it would be that difficult to get the older male into the car. But Percy was more stubborn than Nico thought.
Another car pulled up behind Nicos and Hazel rolled her window down.
"Percy." She spoke very softly. "You can come with us."
The son of Poseidon looked back at Nico angrily before approaching the other car. He didn't want to go anywhere with any of them but thinking through going to the police, Percy changed his mind. They wouldn't believe him, they'd think he was crazy and he might just end up in a mental hospital for a short time. And then he would have to wait even longer to go home.
Percy slid into Hazel's car next to Leo, who greeted him with a wide smile, and let Hazel drive him back to the hotel. The drive was quick and quiet and he was the first out of the car when they arrived.
The day had worn away quickly and Percy was exhausted. He went straight to the bathroom and wasted no time in climbing into the shower, alone, while Frank and Leo went to the lounge to get food. After they ate, and everyone else had gone to bed, Hazel sat down with Nico and, tried at least, to talk about things. She was well aware of what had happened the night before, and she knew some of the things that had gone on between the two over the past three months, but what she had seen earlier that day was not something she had expected.
"Would you care to explain?" Hazel knew Nico would know what she talking about.
The son of Hades shook his head. "Not particularly."
"Let's try this again." Maybe giving him an option wasn't the best of ideas. "What the hell was that?" Her tone was gentle despite the fierce words.
Nico scoffed. "I opened my mouth."
Hazel had a few thoughts from Nicos words and felt like they all could have been reasons for Percys earlier outburst. But, she went with, what she saw as, the lesser of two evils. "I take it you told him about Eros."
A simple nod came from the boy.
"Well," there was really nothing for Hazel to say and she thought for a second before saying anything more. "Forget about it for tonight. We've been out for hours and it's been tough. Just don't talk to him for a while."
Nico nodded his head gently, accepting his half-sisters judgment about the subject. The two went their separate ways and went to bed. Nico tucked himself under his blankets and stole a glance at the other boy in the room. He cursed his own stupidity silently before turning away from Percy and willing himself to sleep.

Author's Note

I feel pretty terrible for writing such a long part but as I said before I got carried away. Please forgive me...