Children of Loss 23

Chapter 23

Nico opened his bedroom door and headed towards the kitchen. He found Jason already sitting at the island, sipping at some coffee. The raven haired youth walked into the kitchen and grabbed himself a cup and began pouring himself some coffee. His gaze traveled over to Jason, who wasn't making eye contact with him.

The blond had dark circles under his eyes and it looked like he had been scratching at his arms. Nico quirked and eyebrow at him. “Morning,” he mumbled.

“Fuck off,” Jason grumbled.

Nico's eyebrows rose in surprise. Well, he definitely wasn't the friendly blond from yesterday. How irritable was Jason going to be during his withdrawal process? Jason let out a groan and placed his head in his hand.

“Would you like something? Maybe aspirin?” Nico suggested.

Jason spread his fingers to glare at Nico. “You could do me the favor of shutting the hell up.”

Nico glared back at the blond, contemplating flipping him off. He took his mug filled with coffee and went back to his room. He picked out his clothes as he sipped down the warm liquid. He wasn't sure if he was happy or frustrated that it was Friday. It meant that he would be at the hotel, but it gave him an escape from having to answer an endless stream of questions from Daedalus.

Nico still wasn't sure what he was going to tell the brunet. He was also going to have to explain why Jason was missing from school for the next two or three weeks. Letting out a sigh, Nico gathered up his clothes and walked to the bathroom.

He got a quick shower and began getting dressed. As he was drying his hair with his towel, he heard a knock at the door. He stood there a moment, expecting Jason to answer it, but the knocking continued a moment later. He let out a sigh and opened the door. He frowned as soon as the door opened, hearing a lot of racket coming from Jason's room.

He walked down the hall and unlocked the door. The brown-eyed boy opened it to find Percy staring down at him. “Good morning,” he said, ruffling Nico's still drying hair as he walked inside.

Nico shot him a glare as he tried to fix his hair. “Morning,” the pale boy mumbled.

Percy opened his mouth, but a crash from Jason's room drew his attention. “What's going on?”

Nico shrugged. “Don't know. Jason was being irritable this morning, and when I got out of the shower, he was making a lot of noise from his room.”

Percy grunted before heading down the hall, Nico in tow. Jason's room looked like a tornado had gone through it. Clothes, boxes, textbooks, and other objects were strewn all about the room. The blond was currently hunched over a suitcase, furiously tossing things out.

“Jason, what are you doing?” Percy asked, leaning against the doorframe.

“Nothing,” the blond growled back.

Percy's lips formed a thin line as he watched the blond. “If you're looking for your drugs, I had Leo throw them all out when he gathered your things.”

Jason stood up and glared at Percy. “I needed those!” He yelled, tossing a clock at Percy's head, which the manager easily caught.

Percy sighed and tossed the clock on the bed. “You're trying to quit, remember? We talked about this yesterday. I don't tolerate my Lost Kids using drugs.”

Jason growled and went back to digging through his suitcase. After several seconds, he tossed the luggage bag over his head before tearing open a box in the corner. Nico stared at the blond in wonder. He was concerned that he might need to hide the sharp objects for his own safety.

Percy turned to Nico and pursed his lips. “You should get to school,” he whispered. “Just do me a favor and stay out of his way as much as possible, okay?”

Nico nodded his head, his eyes darting back to the blond. Percy ran his hand through his hair and let out an exasperated sigh as he, too, watched the angry blond. Nico's lips tilted down as he watched the green-eyed young man stare at the frustrated blond. He hadn't gotten this much of Percy's attention when he had first gotten here. Percy had handed him over to Leo on his first day at the Lotus.

Nico walked back to his room and gathered up his backpack, phone, and wallet. When he exited his room again, Percy had closed Jason's door and had disappeared into the room. Nico could hear the green-eyed young man's voice coming from behind the door, but couldn't make out what was being said. Whatever it was, it seemed to have calmed Jason down, at least for the moment.

As Nico was about to shut his door, he looked up and froze. Standing in the middle of the hall was Luke and Apollo. He slowly backed into his room and peered out into the hall. Apollo still had on the same attire as he had when Nico had seen him last night, probably having had stayed over with Zoë. His curly blond hair was extremely messy and he looked a little hungover. Luke was clad only in a pair of dark blue pajama pants, which hung loosely on his hips.

“Stop being a baby,” Luke hissed.

“You're one to talk. You're trying to pawn him off on me,” Apollo shot back.

Luke rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Like you did with me when you were planning your stunt? As much as you want to hate the kid, I know you don't mind him that much. You wouldn't have taken him under your wing when he got here if you didn't.”

Apollo's lips thinned as he stared back into Luke's eyes. “You only want this because you're trying to fix things with your brother.”

Luke arched an eyebrow. “How is this any different from what you did? You wanted him away from Percy.”

The curly haired blond scoffed. “And you didn't?” He asked.

The more muscular of the two shrugged. “I didn't say that.” He sighed and ran a hand into his short blond hair. “Just do me this favor, all right? This is how we work.”

Apollo's lips thinned, appearing to consider Luke's words. “Why not one of the girls? What about Annabeth?” Apollo suggested.

Luke's eyes narrowed. “No.”

The curly haired blond's eyebrow rose. “Okay? Well, what about Thalia?”

Luke stared off to the side for a moment. “Fine,” he mumbled.

Apollo nodded. “Okay. I'll go talk to her later about it.” He frowned as Luke nodded his head. “You need to stop beating yourself up over that. It's in the past, and it wasn't even your fault.”

Luke's eyes darkened. “I shouldn't have just left him there,” the blond growled.

Apollo sighed. “You couldn't have known what would happen.”

Luke grunted before turning around and walking back into his room. Nico quickly and quietly closed his door as Apollo shook his head and began walking down the hall towards his room. He waited a few seconds before opening the door again. Apollo was in the process of opening his door. He looked up at Nico and smiled.

“Good morning, grumpy head,” the blond called to him. Nico narrowed his eyes, remembering when Apollo used to wake him up in the mornings. “Oh yeah, don't forget practice today after you're done with school. Don't be late.”

Nico nodded his head and headed towards the elevator. What had all of that been about? Apollo and Luke didn't want to have to take care of him? What made them think he needed to be taken care of in the first place? Still, it had stung a little.

Nico quickly boarded the elevator and headed down to the garage, where he found Calypso waiting for him. “Morning, Nico,” she said in her soothing voice.

Nico gave her a small smile before climbing into her car. “Do you think Percy would let me get my own car if I went for my permit?” He asked as the Lost Girl pulled out of the garage.

Calypso glanced over at him with a small smile. “I'm sure he wouldn't mind. But he'll probably want to make sure you're a capable driver first.”

“I just don't want to have to keep relying on people to give me a ride to school. I feel like a burden.”

“It's not that big of a deal, Nico. But Jason might have a vehicle, so you might be able to get a ride from him, once he's recovered.”

“I guess,” Nico mumbled, turning his head to stare out the window.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Calypso began, drawing Nico's attention back to her. “Luke wanted me to make sure you didn't plan anything tomorrow. He and Annabeth are planning something to do for those who have the day off.”

Nico nodded his head. “I take it you don't?”

Calypso shook her head. “Sadly, no. I think they're taking you to a water park.”

Nico stared at the girl for a moment. Calypso's name had been on the list that Reyna had given him yesterday, and Nico remembered Calypso saying once that Percy had alleviated a problem for her when they had first met. He swallowed, deciding to go through with his question.

“Calypso?” Nico asked, turning his head to look at the carmel haired girl.

She looked over at Nico for a moment before returning her attention to the road. “What is it, Nico?”

“I wanted to ask you something about your past and Percy.”

He watched as the Lost Girl's lips slowly thinned. She took a deep breath as she changed lanes. “You remember our conversation from the time we went to the beach I take it?” She said quietly.

Nico slowly nodded his head. “What problem did he alleviate for you?”

The girl's eyes hazed over and Nico had to grab the steering wheel as they began to drift over. The Lost Girl gasped and straightened out the car, slowing the car down a little. “Sorry,” she apologized. “It was just a hard time in my life, Nico.”

He nodded his head again. “You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.”

Calypso shook her head. “No, it's fine. Besides, Reyna says you're still nervous around Percy.” The girl took a deep breath. “You don't need to be afraid of him.”

“But all of you are,” Nico pointed out. “I've seen it. Apollo was terrified of him after...you know.”

Calypso's lips pursed. “It's different. Percy wouldn't physically hurt us. We know he's dangerous, and I suppose he does want some level of fear to remain in us. But he doesn't want our fear to effect our relationship with him.” She glanced over at Nico. “You don't need to be afraid every time he comes into the room.”

Nico swallowed and nodded. “So what happened?”

The caramel haired girl took a deep breath. “When I came out here for modeling, I didn't make it, like I said,” she began. “The money I had brought with me didn't last me very long, and I couldn't find a job to really support myself with.” She was quiet a moment, and Nico noticed some tears forming in her eyes. “I ended up on the streets for a while. This man eventually found me and offered me some work. Let's just say that I was used to the prostitution aspect of our job when I came to the Lotus.” She paused again, biting on her lip. “He wasn't as nice as Percy. He hit me, abused me, and used me for his own needs.”

“I'm so sorry,” Nico whispered. His mouth hung open slightly. “He raped you?”

Calypso nodded her head. “If I refused to do a job, he would threaten to kill me. He would point guns at our heads and say that he owned us. We were his property.” Calypso sniffled and wiped at her eyes.

“How did Percy find you?”

The Lost Girl took a deep breath. “I had been working a corner one night when he walked by. I tried to proposition him for sex, and he had seemed interested. But, looking back on it, I think he was trying to help me. I had been beaten earlier that day, so I had a black eye and a few bruises on my arm.”

Nico swallowed as he listened to the girl's story. “What happened next?”

“Percy asked me to take him to my boss so that he could work out a special deal,” Calypso continued. “I didn't think anything of it, so I did as he asked. And besides, I was supposed to be obedient and do as the customer asked.” She shook her head. “So, I brought Percy in front of my boss. He asked rather nicely for me to be handed over into his care.”

“And your boss said no?”

Calypso nodded. “I suppose that was the biggest mistake he had ever made, and I think he realized that as soon as the words left his mouth. Percy's eyes, they changed drastically in a split second. They were so cold that I thought he could freeze hell over with a simple look.” She shrugged. “But before my boss could even get his gun pointed at Percy's head, Percy had shot out of his chair and slammed my boss's head onto his desk.

“He pried the gun from the man's hand and hit him with it before disassembling it. He picked my boss up by his collar and dragged him to a nearby window.” Calypso's lips thinned. “He smashed my boss's face through the glass and hung him out the window.” She took another deep breath. “My boss screamed for Percy just to take me. Percy smiled coldly down at the man before telling him thank you. Without saying anything else, he let my boss go. He walked up to me and offered me his coat before leading me out of the building.”

Nico stared at her with slightly wide eyes. “And your boss?” He asked, his voice cracking slightly.

Calypso pulled them into the parking lot of Nico's school. She stopped the car and turned to Nico. “We were on the tenth story and he crashed into a parked van. He didn't survive.”

Nico felt himself at a loss for words. A faint chill ran down his spine as he slowly climbed out of the car. He wasn't sure if Calypso's story had managed to worsen or ease his nerves when it came to Percy, but there it was. Letting out a long breath, Nico made his way into the school building.

“So, Jason is sick?” Daedalus asked as he and Nico exited the school building. “He seemed fine yesterday.”

Nico blew out a long breath, trying to think of a response. The brunet had been asking variations of the same question since lunch, and Nico was starting to run out of answers. “He just woke up with a really bad virus. I think he was being taken to the doctor,” Nico replied, pursing his lips slightly.

He let out another breath when he spotted Bianca in the parking lot. He smiled at her as she threw her arms around him. “Sorry, I just wanted to see you again,” she mumbled into his hair.

Nico patted her on the back. “It's all right. I didn't get to see you for months.”

The brunette nodded her head and pulled away. “So, I was wondering if we could spend some time together this weekend. Maybe tomorrow?”

“But we were supposed to go on a date tomorrow,” Daedalus mumbled.

Bianca shot him a glare. “Should have thought about that before you failed to recognize my brother,” she grumbled. Her boyfriend let out a defeated sigh.

Nico chuckled. “That would be great,” he said. His eyes widened. “Oh, but I already made plans for tomorrow.”

Bianca frowned at him. “Oh. Well, maybe we could tag along?”

Nico chewed on his lip as he fought off a groan. His sister around the Lost Kids? Nothing good could come of this. “I suppose I can ask,” he mumbled.

His sister beamed at him. “Great! Just let me know the details.”

Nico nodded and his eyes drifted over to spot Percy's car. “I, uh, got to go.”

Bianca let out a sigh. “Already?” She asked. She followed Nico's gaze to Percy's car when her brother didn't seem to be paying attention. “Percy came to pick you up himself? That's nice of him.”

“Yeah,” Nico muttered, slowly making his way over to the blue car.

Before Nico knew what was happening, his sister was making a beeline for Percy's car. “I'll just ask him if it's all right if I tag along.”

Nico's eyes widened as he followed after his sister. As they approached Percy's car, the green-eyed young man looked up from his phone. He locked eyes with Nico and gave him an amused look. “Good afternoon, Bianca,” he greeted the girl cordially.

“Hello again, Percy,” Bianca replied. “I wanted to spend some time with Nico tomorrow, but he says he already has plans. Would it be all right with you or your employees if I tagged along?”

Percy shrugged, eyes darting back to Nico. Nico narrowed his eyes at his boss, seeing how much enjoyment he was getting from this. “Of course,” Percy replied, still locking eyes with Nico. “I'll let the others know to be on their best behavior.”

Bianca waved him off. “Oh, no. Don't worry about that. They can just be themselves.”

“I really don't think that's a good idea,” Nico mumbled under his breath.

Percy chuckled. “Don't worry about it. Nico can text you the details about it later. But right now, I need to get him back to the hotel,” the manager said.

Bianca sighed and nodded her head. She gave Nico another hug before allowing her brother to get into the car. As soon as his door was closed, Nico shot Percy a death glare. Why was Percy torturing him like this?

“What?” Percy asked innocently, pulling away from the school.

“You know damned well what,” Nico growled.

Percy shrugged. “It's not a big deal, Nico. The others know how to behave around outsiders. There's nothing to worry about.”

“My sister isn't stupid.”

Percy chuckled. “I didn't think she would be,” he replied. Nico looked at him curiously. “You're a smart kid, Nico. I figured your sister would be as well.”

Nico felt his cheeks heat up a little and he turned his head towards the window. Damn Percy. Why did he make it hard to stay upset with him? Nico huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

Percy chuckled again and reached over to pinch Nico's cheek. The boy smacked the hand away and glared at the green-eyed young man. “You're cute when you pout,” Percy teased.

Nico rolled his eyes and looked out the window again. “Percy?”

“Hmm?”

Nico scrunched his lips. “Can I ask you something?”

He saw Percy shrug in the window's reflection. “I suppose,” the manager replied.

Nico rubbed his arm, feeling slightly uncomfortable. “How many people have you killed?” He glanced back at Percy.

Percy's lips tilted down, his eyes darting over to Nico. “I don't know. Lost count.”

Nico swallowed. He felt his stomach drop. “W-Well, why did you offer some of the other Lost Kids choices to kill someone for them?”

Percy sighed. “Because, I had the same opportunity given to me, so I was just giving them what I got.”

Nico's brow furrowed. “What's that supposed to mean? Who did what for you?”

“Gaea gave me that same option,” Percy answered.

“With?”

Percy's eyes darkened as he watched the road. “My father.”

Nico swallowed another lump in his throat. “You-”

The green eyes that were usually very warm seemed to turn to ice. “He walked out on my mother, and because of that, he led to my suffering, and hers. My mother wouldn't have died if it weren't for him,” Percy spat venomously. “I hated that man until the day he died, and I didn't have any problem watching him die. The best thing Gaea ever did for me was murder that man.”

Nico let out a shaky breath. He clenched his hands and placed them in his lap, trying to get them to stop shaking. “And your brother? You killed him, didn't you?” He asked.

Percy's eyes flickered over to the glove compartment. “I think that's enough about this for now,” the young man said quietly.

Nico swallowed and nodded. Nico's eyes widened and he felt a chill shoot down his back as Percy reached over and opened the glove compartment. He had once been curious about the object he had spotted in there, but not anymore. The black gun stared back at him from the glove compartment. Nico's breath hitched as Percy reached his hand into the compartment. He tightly shut his eyes and fought the urge to flinch. Why did he have to go asking questions that he knew he didn't need to be asking?

Nico's brow furrowed as he heard a rattling noise in front of his face. He cracked an eye open to find a metal bin in front of his face. “Breath mint?” Percy asked with a raised eyebrow.

Nico let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He quickly shook his head. He watched as Percy's lips tilted down as he stared at Nico in disappointment. Nico pursed his lips, looking away from Percy's green eyes. He felt a little ashamed. The others had told him that he didn't need to be frightened of Percy, but he couldn't help it.

Percy popped a mint into his mouth and tossed the bin back into the glove compartment before shutting it. “I'm sorry,” Nico said softly.

Percy tilted his head to the side. “For what?”

“Just then.”

Percy shrugged as they pulled into the parking garage. “Don't worry about it,” he replied.

Nico opened his mouth a few times, but didn't know what to say. What could he say? He wasn't entirely sure how he was even supposed to feel. Percy parked the car and got out, shutting the door without saying anything further to Nico. Nico let his shoulders slump as he sat in the car.

He glanced up when Percy tapped on the glass. “You coming?” The manager asked.

Nico slowly inched out of the car. He shut the door and Percy locked his vehicle. The brown-eyed boy tailed along behind Percy like a puppy with its tail between its legs. He felt bad. Had he hurt Percy's feelings?

As the elevator door shut, Percy pinned Nico in the corner, placing both of his hands on either side of his head. “Stop your moping. I'm not mad at you,” he said in a low voice. “You have every right to be afraid, but just remember what I've already told you. I'm not going to hurt you. You're not in danger of being murdered.” He grabbed Nico's chin and forced the boy to look up at him. “I promised your sister I'd look after you and I meant it. But, I know you're going to need some time for all of this to sink in, so I'm willing to be patient.”

“I'm sorry,” Nico whispered.

Percy shook his head. “You don't have anything to be sorry about.”

Nico swallowed. “Do you ever get afraid of yourself?”

“No. I know what I am.”

Nico's lips tilted down. “And what is that?”

“A monster.”

Nico felt his heart sink. For some reason, he didn't want to really believe that. Percy wasn't a monster. People like Nico's father were monsters, not Percy. “No.”

Percy shrugged. “You'll see for yourself.”

“I already know you're not.”

Percy stared into Nico's eyes, searching for something. A lie? Nico stood his ground under Percy's sharp gaze. He had nothing to fear in this. He wasn't lying. Sure Percy could be terrifying, but calling himself a monster was a little much.

“Do you ever regret the things you do?” Nico continued.

The elevator came to a stop at Percy's floor. He pulled back and ran a hand through his hair. Nico stared up at him, waiting for his answer. But it never came. Percy simply walked out of the elevator, leaving Nico alone. Nico stared after him until the metal doors closed.

Nico attempted to catch his breath as he pulled out his card. He slid it into the slot and hit the button to his floor. The elevator traveled down a floor and Nico stepped out. For some reason, Nico wasn't sure what he was supposed to do or feel at the moment.

He quietly opened the door to his suite and stepped inside. The place was quiet, so Jason was probably sleeping. Nico quietly made his way to his room, where he dropped off his backpack. He stripped himself of his clothes before searching for some workout clothes. He quickly slipped them on and just stood there for a moment.

Finally, letting out a sigh, Nico exited his room and suite. He made his way back to the elevator and hit the button for the top floor. He rode up in silence, his stomach in knots. He stepped off the elevator when it came to a stop. He hurried up the steps and walked over to the stage, where he climbed up.

The other Lost Kids had already gathered for practice, probably having done any numbers that didn't include Nico. Apollo raised an eyebrow at Nico as he took his place. “Everything all right there, Nico?” The blond asked.

Nico quietly nodded his head, earning a few looks from the others. “Percy hurt the poor baby's feelings again?” Luke asked in a pouty voice, rolling his eyes. Nico's head shot up and stared at the blond with hurt eyes. He thought he had moved past Luke's jerk phase.

“Oh shut up, Luke,” Thalia snapped back.

“Yeah, leave him alone,” Hazel added.

Apollo had his lips pursed. “You feeling up for practicing today, Nico?” He asked. Nico nodded. The blond stared at him for a few seconds before sighing. “All right. Let's keep going then.”

Nico entered the bar and walked over to sign in. Chiron handed him his apron with a smile. “Thanks,” Nico said, forcing a smile onto his face.

“Is everything all right, Nico,” the bartender asked.

Nico sighed. “You'd be surprised at how many times I've already heard that today.”

Chiron hummed in response, picking up a glass to clean. “Would you like to talk about it? I assume this is about Percy?”

“Yeah,” Nico said quietly. “I'm just trying to figure some things out.” He frowned and stared up at the extremely tall man. “What do you think about him?”

“Percy? He's a good man with a good head on his shoulders.” Chiron sat the glass down and slid it off to the side. “Percy is loyal to his family, and if it weren't for him, your life, and the lives of all the other Lost Kids, would have probably ended. He looks out for everyone here.”

Nico bit down on his lip as he contemplated the man's words. “He called himself a monster.”

Chiron sighed and nodded his head. “Percy can be a little hard on himself, in my opinion. He's come to accept what he is and what he has to do.”

Nico frowned. “Then why call himself a monster?” He asked.

Chiron picked up some whisky and poured it into a glass. “That is something only Percy can answer. I'm afraid the workings of that one's mind are so complex that only he can tell you what he is thinking.” Chiron smiled and handed Nico two glasses of alcohol. He directed Nico to a table and sent the boy on his way.

He spotted Drew and Butch already tending to some customers. Nico walked up to the table Chiron had sent him to and set the drinks down. The two customers thanked him and requested some food, which Nico had to quickly scribble down. He looked up as Hazel walked into the bar, giving him a smile on the way to the counter.

As he was walking back to the bar, Nico found Drew standing there, admiring a few of her gold bracelets. Nico arched an eyebrow. He never did understand why some girls obsessed with jewelry. It felt like a way to distract from the person wearing it.

“You have a lot of jewelry,” Nico stated, typing his table's order into the computer.

“One can never have too much,” Drew scoffed.

“If only you'd sink when you swim,” Hazel said on her way by them.

Drew sneered at Hazel's back before flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Beauty is everything, Nico, especially in this business.”

Nico shrugged. “I don't really need jewelry,” he replied.

The Asian girl made a face as she looked him over. “Keep telling yourself that.” She grabbed his chin and turned it from left to right. “You could get some small studs in your ears, maybe a thumb ring.”

Nico swatted the girl's hand away. “No thanks.” He leaned against the bar. “So, is that where your paychecks go?”

Drew laughed dryly. “Oh please. I don't pay for half of this stuff. The clients shower me with it.”

Nico glanced up at Butch as the muscular youth approached. “Do all the Lost Kids get gifts like that?”

Butch shrugged. “Sometimes. Most of us decline them. It's better that way,” the buff Lost Boy grunted.

Drew rolled her eyes. “Whatever,” she scoffed before walking off.

“Why is it better?” Nico inquired.

Butch glanced at Nico from the corner of his eye. “Talk to some of the others, like Apollo.” His eyes shot over to Hazel. “Or Hazel.”

Nico slowly nodded before heading back into the crowd. He walked up to a table full of women and threw on a smile. “Good evening, ladies,” he greeted them with a grin. “What can I get for all of you tonight?”

“Well aren't you adorable,” one of them said. Nico was surprised when the woman pulled out her phone and snapped his picture. She then reached into her purse and handed him a ten. “There you are, sweetie.”

Nico blinked down at the cash in his hands before chuckling and pocketing it. “Thanks.” He tapped his pen to his pad. “So what will it be?”

Time slowly creeped by for Nico. Two hours passed and Nico was finally getting to go on break. Percy hadn't shown up, but Nico wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed. He was a little jealous. He figured that Percy was probably busy with Jason, which only managed to grate at his nerves. Had he gotten this much attention from Percy when he first arrived? He didn't think he had.

Nico stepped into the break room. Inside, Hazel and Drew seemed to be bickering. Drew was leaning on the couch, while Hazel sat on it, her head turned to glare at the Asian girl. “You don't use it, so why not just let me have it?” Drew asked. “At least then it can be used for something.”

“Just drop it,” Hazel retorted. “I'm being responsible with it.”

Drew gaped at the girl in mild disgust. “You want to pawn it all for money!”

“Yes, which is responsible. It's not a good idea to take all of that from those people.”

“They're rich! What does it matter? Think of it as payback for all the shit we're put through.”

“What's going on?” Nico asked, hesitantly stepping further into the room.

“Just go away, Drew,” Hazel sighed, finally tearing her eyes away from the other Lost Girl.

“Fine,” the Asian girl huffed before marching out of the room.

“Sorry,” Hazel mumbled. “She can be persistent sometimes.”

Nico nodded and sat down in the empty chair. “So, how do all of you know Drew and Juniper, if they worked at different hotels?” He asked.

“Well, Drew would tag along with Frank when he would come here for meetings.”

“Frank is the branch manager in Asia?”

Hazel nodded. “He's nice, like Percy. And if Percy had to go to Asia, he would take me along.”

Nico cocked his head to the side. “Why? Is it custom to take a Lost Kid to these meetings?” Nico asked. Were more Lost Kids going to show up when Gaea had her meeting?

Hazel smiled. “Sort of. Usually, Percy takes one of the others, but Frank is a sweetheart who has a little crush on me.” She shrugged. “As for Juniper, I didn't get to see her as much. She would come here sometimes when Athena visited, but that's about it.”

Nico nodded. “So what was that about? The thing with Drew.”

Hazel sighed. “Drew wanted some of the jewelry that I get from customers, and I told her no.”

Nico's brow furrowed. “She said you were going to pawn it?”

Hazel nodded, a smile forming on her lips. “I'm just trying to think smart,” she reasoned. “My mom and I, we didn't have that much money...at least not until...you know.”

Nico nodded. He pursed his lips as he stared at the short girl. “You just want to make sure that you're taken care of?”

The girl nodded again. She stared down at her lap for a while in silence before finally looking back up at Nico with a sad smile. “I know this job won't last forever. I won't fool myself into thinking that.”

Nico scrunched his lips. He stared back into the girl's bright eyes with sadness. “What about that Frank guy?” He asked. “Couldn't he take care of you? Drew mentioned he was asking about you when she first arrived.”

Hazel smiled and touched a small necklace that she wore. “Maybe one day, but for now, my place is here. I owe that much to Percy.”

Nico began chewing on his lip. Could anything like that ever happen for him? Maybe with Percy? He honestly didn't know. He didn't know what the future held for him. Maybe he should be scared and nervous about that, but what could he really do about it?

“Can I ask about these gifts that you get?” Nico asked.

Hazel shrugged, staring down at her lap again. “Not much to say, really. I suppose it should be expected.”

Nico tilted his head to the side, his lips tilted down. “What should be?”

Hazel gave him a timid smile. “In this line of work, it should be expected that some of the customers get a little sweet on you,” she whispered. “Sometimes they give us gifts. A lot of the others just decline, but I want to do something useful with the gifts I get. So, I horde everything that is given to me.”

“And Drew?”

Hazel rolled her eyes. “Drew is shallow,” she mumbled. “It's not a smart idea to do what she does.”

Nico's frown increased. “What does she do?” He asked.

“Manipulation sounds like a good word.” The Lost Girl shook her head. “If Percy wasn't here to protect her, she might end up getting killed. She plays with the emotions of those people. I mean, I don't like them that much, but I'm not going to be cruel about it.”

Nico nodded. “So, she makes them believe they have a real chance with her? That maybe she actually wants them and that they could have something?”

Hazel sighed. She clasped the necklace in her hands. “Something like that. And for some people, that isn't a good thing.”

“Butch mentioned something about Apollo having similar issues.”

Hazel swallowed and shook her head. “I feel sorry for him. He doesn't do it to be cruel. He's a sweetheart, even if that might be hard for you to believe at the moment.”

Nico arched an eyebrow. “Well, what's the problem with him?”

“You should talk to him about it.” She smiled. “He's a bit of a romantic at heart. And as you've already seen, he has a thing for Percy. A lot of people can get drawn to people like him, Nico.” She stood up and stretched. “Well, I suppose I'll get back to work. Enjoy the rest of your break.”

Nico pursed his lips. “Yeah, I'll try,” he mumbled, though he didn't look at the girl as she left.

A lot of what Hazel had said did make sense to him, and a lot of things started clicking in his head. The first time he had met Calypso, the girl had a bruise on her wrist. Apollo did seem to get a lot of attention. He could see how emotions could get involved during sex for some of the customers. Even Nico had gotten pulled in by the blond's charms when he had first arrived.

A little after two, the bar began to empty out. Nico stood around with the others, waiting for Chiron to dismiss them. The elevator dinged, much to Nico's confusion. He turned his head as the metal doors slid open. Percy walked out, hands in his pockets and a pair of green swim trunks on his shoulder. Nico frowned. Were those his swimming trunks?

“Everything go well tonight, Chiron?” Percy asked, taking a seat at the bar.

“Of course,” the bartender answered.

Percy smiled and nodded. He grabbed Hazel and pulled the girl into his lap. He whispered something to the girl, which made her smile and nod. Percy's sea-green eyes traveled over to Nico, where he gave the boy a sly smile.

Drew walked up to Percy and ran a hand up his thigh. Nico pursed his lips. “What's up, Drew?” Percy asked.

“I just wanted to see about coming to see you tonight,” the girl purred.

Percy smiled at her. “Sorry, I already have plans.”

Drew huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Honestly, the blond kid isn't going to die if you leave him alone for an hour or two.”

Percy rose to his feet, his arm draped over Hazel's shoulder. “Actually, I made plans with Nico,” Percy replied, raising a brow.

Nico coughed and looked away as the Asian girl's glare was turned on him. Percy smiled and walked over to him. He handed Nico the trunks on his shoulder. “You need to stop breaking into my room,” Nico mumbled.

Percy chuckled. “Do you mind if I go ahead and take him, Chiron?” He asked.

Chiron shook his head. “He's done for the night,” the man said.

Percy placed his arm around Nico and guided the boy towards the elevator. “And what are we doing exactly?” Nico asked, eyeing the trunks in his hands.

Percy only smirked as they boarded the elevator. He pushed the button to the lobby and the doors closed. “I wanted to relax in the hot tub for a little while,” he answered.

Nico bit down on his lip. Alone in a hot tub with Percy? Was this what heaven was like? If so, perhaps he should be more interested in religion. “Um, don't we need to change?” Nico voiced.

Percy smirked and hooked his thumbs into his pants, pulling them back to reveal a pair of blue swimming trunks beneath. He grinned down at Nico, amusement plastered on his face. “I guess you'll just have to change in front of me,” Percy purred to Nico.

Nico glared up at the green-eyed young man. “I hate you.”

“Sure you do.”

Nico sighed. “No peeking.”

Percy shrugged. “No promises on that. Besides, I've already seen you naked.”

Nico grumbled under his breath as the elevator came to a stop. Percy continued to smirk as he stepped off of the elevator. Nico let out a sigh before following after the tall young man. The elevator lobby was relatively deserted, which was to be expected, considering the time.

They entered the pool room, where Percy led them to the far right wall. He opened a door and gestured for Nico to go inside. Nico walked through the door and found himself standing in a room full of hot tubs. Percy walked over to one and stripped himself of his shirt.

Nico fought back a moan as he stared down at Percy's tan and perfect torso. His eyes drifted across every inch of muscle on the raven haired manager's exposed body. His eyes drifted down as Percy bent over to remove his pants. Percy's body should be labeled a drug for the human eyes.

The green-eyed young man lowered himself into the hot tub and spread his arms out along its surface. He looked up at Nico with a smirk. “Are you going to join me?” He asked.

Nico wasted no time in stripping himself of his shirt and pants. He only came to a halt when he was left standing there in his boxers. He let out a breath before hooking his fingers beneath the fabric and lowering it. Percy made no attempt to look away as Nico stood there completely naked in front of him.

“You know, you don't need to put those on,” Percy suggested, “if you don't want to.”

Nico felt his face heat up. “I don't know.”

Percy shrugged. “I can take mine off, too, if it would make you feel better.”

Nico's heart went into overtime as he stood there, still completely naked. As shy as he might be about his body, he couldn't really pass up an opportunity to have Percy naked. He nodded his head and lowered himself into the water, directly across from Percy.

Percy grinned and lowered his hands beneath the water. A few seconds later, his blue trunks were brought to the surface and set on the edge of the hot tub. Percy placed his hands behind his head. Nico sighed and let himself relax in the warm water, his eyes closing. He could get used to this. Perhaps he would need to come down here more often.

Nico's eyes opened when he heard movement in the water. He blinked in surprise when he found Percy sitting right next to him. “So, how was work?” Percy asked casually.

“It was okay,” Nico said, managing to keep his voice calm. His eyes drifted down to try and look at Percy's body beneath the water, but Nico was disappointed to find he couldn't really make anything out.

Percy nodded and ran a wet hand into his hair. “Don't forget to let your sister know about tomorrow.”

“I already did. I talked to Annabeth after practice.”

Percy nodded again. Without warning, he grabbed Nico by the waist and hoisted him up and into his lap. Nico stiffened, in more ways than one, in the young man's hold. Percy let out a sigh and leaned back, pulling Nico with him. Nico let his back press against Percy's chest. He bit down on his lip as he tried to distract himself from the fact that he could feel Percy's manhood beneath his ass.

Percy rested his chin on Nico's shoulder. He chuckled in Nico's ear, causing the younger boy to shiver. “Nico, you seem a little tense,” he whispered. “Is there something I can do to help with that?”

Nico let out a moan as one of Percy's hands moved down to his crotch. “This isn't fair if you're just teasing,” Nico panted.

Percy bit down on Nico's neck. “I never said I was teasing.”

Nico was forced out of Percy's lap, where he was turned around to face the young man. Percy pulled him back down and into his lap. Nico rested his hands against Percy's chest as he rested his ass on Percy's crotch, which he could feel beginning to harden. He let out a quiet moan as Percy pressed his hips down.

Percy's mouth was pressed against Nico's chest, sucking and placing kisses along the pale flesh. Nico bit down on his lip to stifle a few moans, while he ground his hips into Percy's lap. “Percy,” Nico gasped as the green-eyed young man wrapped a hand around him.

“You know,” Percy began, “I think I've figured you out.”

Nico buried his face into the crook of Percy's neck. “What's that?”

“You're like this forbidden fruit, and it only manages to make people want you more.” He pulled Nico's head back and crashed their lips together. Nico moaned into the kiss as Percy sucked on his bottom lip. “And let's just be honest. I'm like the others. I want to corrupt you so very much, Nico. It's just so tempting.”

Nico's breathing had turned ragged as he stared down at Percy with dark, lust filled eyes. He licked at his now kiss swollen lips. “I have no problem with this,” he breathed out.

Percy smirked and kissed along Nico's jaw. “But, I know I can't. And that, my dear Nico, is what makes you so tempting.”

Nico groaned as he pressed their bodies together. “I'm hoping there's another 'but' in there.”

Percy chuckled and kissed Nico again. “But, I suppose it couldn't hurt to indulge a little bit every now and then.”

Nico gasped as Percy stood up. He couldn't help but shiver from the cold feeling his body was now exposed to. Percy laid him down on the ground, his legs still in the hot tub. Percy remained in the warm water, while his arms rested on either side of Nico's body. The green-eyed manager leaned down and ran his tongue from Nico's nipple, down to his bellybutton.

Nico bit down on his lip to mask a moan when Percy's head traveled lower. Percy's tongue flicked against him before pulling back and smirking up at the brown-eyed boy beneath him. The boy shivered as Percy's fingers shadowed across his skin.

Percy suddenly flipped Nico over so that he lay on his stomach, his ass jutting out just a few inches above the water. Nico let out a loud moan as Percy pressed himself against his backside. He buried his face into the ground as Percy's breathing appeared on his ear. “Tell me, Nico, do you know what rimming is?” Percy asked huskily.

Nico moaned and nodded his head, unable to form a single word at the moment. Percy smirked and pulled away. His tongue then appeared on Nico's back, licking down Nico's spine. As he licked back up, he planted a kiss in the middle of Nico's back. Nico let out another moan as Percy's hands began massaging his shoulders.

As Percy worked on his shoulders, he apparently decided to torture Nico further by pressing himself up against Nico's butt. “Are you scared of me right now, Nico?” Percy asked.

Nico shook his head, his eyes half shut. “N-no,” he managed to get out.

Nico shuddered as Percy face, once again, appeared beside his ear. “Good,” the young man whispered.

Percy removed his hands and began kissing a trail down Nico's smooth back. He got on his knees in the water and took Nico's butt cheeks in his hands. He spread them apart just as he planted a kiss on Nico's right cheek. The brown-eyed boy gasped, his eyes opening wide, as Percy began to work on him with his tongue.

“More,” Nico moaned.

And Percy gave him just that. Nico's hands managed to get ahold of his discarded shirt, and were now twisting it tightly. He let out a yelp as Percy pulled back and bit him on the ass. He heard Percy chuckle, but Nico couldn't manage to lift his head up to give the young man a glare.

Percy's phone suddenly went off. Percy let out a sigh and pulled away from Nico, which made the younger boy whine. He lay on top of Nico to reach for his phone. Nico let out a quiet moan as Percy erection pressed against his ass.

“What's up, Leo?” Percy asked. He placed a kiss in between Nico's shoulder blades. Nico bit down on his lip when one of Percy's hands groped his ass. “Well, I was sort of in the middle of something. Is it important?” He let out a sigh. “Okay, I'll be up there in a minute.” He hung up the phone and kissed Nico's back again. “I got to go.”

Nico rolled over as Percy pulled away to grab his swim trunks. “Why?” He asked, pouting at the green-eyed young man.

Percy climbed out of the hot tub, drawing Nico's eyes to his lower extremities. “Sorry, but Jason's condition is getting a little worse. I need to go check on him.” He bent over and grabbed his pants. He slipped them back on and did the same with his shirt. He slung his wet swim trunks onto his shoulder and crouched down in front of Nico. “I'll see you later, all right?”

Nico sighed and nodded. “Yeah,” he mumbled, not bothering to hide his disappointment.

Percy gave him a lopsided smile and ran a hand into Nico's hair before standing up. He walked towards the doors, where he disappeared from Nico's view. Nico let out another sigh before lowering himself back into the warm water. He groaned and let his head fall back onto the edge of the hot tub.

Why did Jason need so much attention? It wasn't like someone else couldn't look after him. Couldn't he have waited a little longer, so that Nico and Percy could have finished what they were doing? But, no, his roommate couldn't give him that.

After about five minutes of sitting there in silence, Nico climbed out of the hot tub. He grabbed his trunks and slid them on. He grabbed his shirt, boxers, shoes, and pants before heading for the door. As he pushed through the door, he maneuvered back into his shirt.

He froze when he noticed someone in the pool. He walked closer to see who it was. The swimmer finally stopped, and Nico could finally make out the side of Luke's face. The blond seemed to notice him, as he turned his head towards the raven haired boy. His lips tilted down as he went back to swimming.

Nico walked to the edge of the pool and sat down, depositing the clothes in his hands behind him. Luke stopped swimming again to glare lightly at Nico for a few seconds before diving under the water. Nico's eyes traveled over to Luke's towel in a chair. He got up and walked over to it.

Luke resurfaced by the edge of the pool, and Nico held the towel in front of his face. Luke's icy blue eyes narrowed at him before pulling himself out of the water and snatching the towel from Nico's hand. “Thanks,” he mumbled.

“Don't mention it,” Nico replied, sitting down beside the blond on the edge of the pool. “I didn't see you yesterday.”

Luke grunted at him, busy drying his hair. “I was busy.”

“Oh.”

Luke arched an eyebrow and tossed the towel behind him. “What, didn't have anyone else to bother? Did I miss a sign on me that says that I want to be bothered? Because you've been hanging around me an awful lot lately, brat.”

Nico frowned at him. “You don't have to be a jerk. I thought we were past this.”

Luke scoffed at him. “There is no getting past who I am,” he retorted.

Nico sighed. Why was Luke being rude again? He hadn't done something to offend the blond, had he? “I wanted to talk to you about something,” Nico mumbled.

“Joy,” Luke droned.

“Why didn't you and Octavian come here together?”

Luke's body stiffened. “None of your fucking business,” he growled. He turned his head away from Nico, and Nico saw him reach up to touch his scar. He turned his chilling gaze back on Nico. “I saw Percy walking out. You must have sucked, seeing how fast he walked out of here.”

Nico glared at the blond. “It didn't have anything to do with me. He was going to check on Jason.”

Luke laughed at him. “Sucks for you, kid. I guess you just can't hold his attention.”

Nico frowned up at the blond, his eyes reflecting his hurt feelings from the blond's words. “It's not like he would actually do what I wanted him to.”

Luke smirked and shoved Nico onto his back, pinning his hands above his head. “And what is it you want him to do?” He asked. He pulled himself completely out of the pool and spread Nico's legs. “Something like this?” Nico stared up at him with wide eyes. Luke narrowed his eyes at him and jerked away, like Nico had actually burned him. “Stop looking at me like that.”

Nico sat up and tilted his head to the side. “Like what?”

Luke glared at Nico from the corner of his eye before getting to his feet. He snatched his towel from the ground and walked over to pick up his shirt before storming out of the pool room. Nico sat there, not really sure what had just happened.

He slowly picked himself up and silently walked over to where he had dropped his clothes. He picked them up and exited the pool room. Luke must have already boarded an elevator, as Nico didn't see the blond again. Nico leaned back against the wall of the elevator, letting out a long sigh. He truly didn't understand the others at times.

The elevator finally came to a stop, and Nico exited it. As he headed down the hall, he could vaguely hear noise coming from one of the rooms. He stopped in front of his door and stared down the hall. Will and Apollo's door had been dead-bolted so that it was kept open. Nico could hear explosions coming from the room, followed by gunfire. He arched an eyebrow and headed down to the room, knocking on the door.

“Come in!” Will yelled from the other side.

Nico pushed the door open and peered inside. Will sat on their couch, game controller in hand. The game that Nico had been hearing turned out to be the second Borderlands game. Apollo and Thalia stood in the kitchen, the blond clad only in sweat pants. They both had a bottle of green apple Smirnoff in their hands.

Will paused his game and looked over at Nico. “Hey there, Nico,” the blond greeted him.

“What's up, dude?” Apollo added. “A little late for a visit, isn't it?”

“I was just getting back to my room,” Nico answered.

“Good thing you weren't in your room,” Thalia mumbled.

Nico cocked an eyebrow at her. “Why?”

Apollo blew out a breath. “Jason doesn't seem to be doing so well. We heard him yelling earlier, had Leo call Percy,” the blond answered.

“Sounded like he was being murdered,” Will added, going back to his game, but turning the volume down.

Thalia sighed. “I tried going over and talking to him, but he kicked me out,” she said. She finished off her drink and sat the bottle down before smirking at Apollo. “I'll see you tomorrow, blondie.”

Apollo nodded at her. “Take it easy,” he said as the girl walked past Nico and out the door.

“You want to play?” Will asked, glancing at Nico.

“Um, I don't know how. I've never played it,” he chuckled.

Will shrugged as Nico took a seat next to him. “You can be the distraction.”

Nico frowned and smacked Will's arm, which made the blond grin. Apollo stuck his finger in front of his mouth and acted like he was gagging. “Please, if you two end up banging tonight, keep it down. I have to work early tomorrow,” the curly haired blond said.

“So do I, bitch.”

“Do I need to go so you two can sleep?” Nico asked, looking between the two.

Apollo shook his head. “Nah. We're going to be up for a little longer,” he said.

Nico checked the clock. “But it's after three.”

Will chuckled and handed him a controller. “Not that big a deal. We'll just take a nap between shifts tomorrow,” Will explained.

After about fifteen minutes of attempting to kill things with Will, Nico sat the controller down. “I think I need to get to bed,” he decided.

“You can sleep here, if you want,” Will said, turning off the game. “Right, Apollo?”

Apollo, who had sprawled out on a chair to their right, looked up from a book. “Yeah, whatever. Probably don't want to go back to your room anyways,” the blond mumbled.

Nico rubbed his arm. “I don't know,” the raven haired boy said uneasily.

Will smiled and jumped to his feet. “It's cool, dude. You can crash with me,” the straight haired blond said. “I promise I won't molest you in your sleep.”

“Don't let him lie to you,” Apollo sighed, closing his book. He stood up and stretched his arms above his head.

Will shot him a dirty look. He turned his head back to Nico and smiled, holding out his hand for Nico to take. “Come on. I promise I won't bite,” he winked at Nico, “much.”

“How charming,” Nico muttered, taking the offered appendage.

Will chuckled. “Besides, I did promise we could talk.”

Nico scrunched his lips, contemplating the offer. “I suppose.” He glared at Will. “No sex.”

Will winked at the shorter boy. “Whatever you say, Nico.”

Nico sighed and followed the blond to his room. It was quite different from his own, more decorations. Nico supposed he should invest in getting more stuff for his room. The blond had a laptop on his bed. Another TV sat on the dresser opposite his bed. A few clothes were littered across his floor, but that was the extent of his mess. He had a surfboard in the corner by his closet, which didn't really surprise Nico that much. He had a few posters on his wall, including one of Legolas from Lord of the Rings. There was another dresser with a mirror on it. The blond had a few bracelets and a first-aid kit sitting on its surface.

“I, uh, need to change,” Nico said, waving his boxers in the air.

Will chuckled. “And what were you doing that got you out of those?” He teased.

“I was relaxing in a hot tub.”

Will nodded. He opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of track shorts, tossing them to Nico. “I figure you'll want something else to sleep in.”

Nico nodded and exited the blond's room. Apollo exited the bathroom, giving Nico a smile before heading into his room. All Nico was able to make out in the curly haired blond's room were band posters and music sheets on his bed. Nico stepped into the bathroom and shut the door.

He quickly changed and headed back to Will's room. Will had changed into his own track shorts by the time Nico had returned. He had rid himself of his shirt, and now sat cross-legged on his bed, watching TV. Will yawned and looked at Nico. “You can toss your stuff anywhere,” he mumbled, waving around the room.

Nico sat his stuff in a pile beside the door before sitting on the edge of the bed. Will slid up the bed and put his legs under the covers. Nico continued to sit there, slightly uncomfortable. Was this really a good idea? This seemed like a perfect opportunity for one of the Lost Boys to try and seduce him.

“You can get in the bed, you know,” Will chuckled.

Nico chuckled nervously and climbed into the bed beside the blond. Will groaned as he muted the TV. He climbed out of bed and walked over to turn off the light. When Will climbed back onto the bed, he hovered over Nico's body.

“Can I help you?” Nico grumbled.

Will grinned down at him. “Well, I can think of a few things that you can do,” he purred, leaning in closer.

Nico was surprised when Will actually pressed his lips against Nico's. The raven haired youth's pulse picked up as the blond's lips moved against his. His body had originally gone rigid, but relaxed a little. He kissed the blond back for a few seconds before rolling his head to the side, breaking the contact.

Will chuckled. “Well, at least I got a kiss out of it,” he teased. “If it makes you feel any better, I won't go bragging about it to the others. You know, if you wanted to kiss again.”

Nico turned his head back towards the blond, staring into his blue eyes for a moment. “We'll see.”

Will grinned and rolled off of Nico. He slid under the covers and faced the pale boy that lay beside him. “So, what did you want to know about me?” He asked.

Nico rolled onto his side so that he could face the blond. “You said you were in an orphanage?”

Will swallowed and lowered his head. His eyes flickered up to stare at Nico from behind his short bangs. “Do we really have to talk about that?” He gave Nico a smile. When Nico first got to the Lotus, he might have been fooled by that kind of smile, but not anymore.

“You can't tell me anything about your time there?”

Will shrugged. “I spent most of my life there, until I ran away,” the blond answered casually.

“Why did you run?”

Will's smile finally faltered. “What else do you want to know about me, Nico?”

Nico pursed his lips. Obviously it hadn't been a pleasant experience for the blond. “What about your parents? What happened to them?”

Will shrugged. “They're fine, last I checked,” the blond said. He rolled onto his back, his hand resting behind his head.

Nico's brow furrowed. “They're still alive?”

Will nodded. “Yeah, why?”

“Then why did you live in an orphanage?”

Will's lips thinned. “Not everyone's parents want them, Nico.” He let out a sigh. “My dad was a bit of a playboy, I guess you could say. At least in high school he was. He was sort of like Percy, just not as smart.”

“And he knocked your mom up?”

Will sighed again. “Yeah, pretty much. After I came to the Lotus, I asked Percy to look into my parents for me. I went and visited my mother first. She told me all about my father. Honestly? She was obsessed with him. She said my father had the looks of a god in his youth, and when she saw me, she commented on how much I looked like him.”

Nico placed his hand under his cheek. “What happened to them?” He asked.

Will blew out a breath. “Like I said, my dad was a playboy. He knocked my mother up after their graduation. I guess he freaked out when he found out she was pregnant, because he disappeared after that. So, my mother, a little scorned by his actions, gave me up for adoption.” He swallowed as he stared up at the ceiling. “I sometimes wonder if things would have been better if she had just had an abortion.”

Nico gaped at the blond. “You can't mean that,” the raven haired boy whispered.

Will shrugged. “It doesn't matter, can't change the past.” He shook his head. “But she definitely still had a thing for my father. She had his picture up all around her house. But he had never contacted her again after finding out about her pregnancy.”

“Did you ever find your father?”

The blond nodded. “Yeah, though I'm not sure I should have. He was a vain asshole. He moved up to northern California at some point. Apparently, he had knocked up another girl, but this one had managed to get him to marry her. There were quite a few kids there.” Will chewed on his lip for a moment before continuing. “My father, he made me sick. I actually hated the way I looked for a long time after meeting him.”

Nico frowned. “Why?”

“When I met him, all he wanted to talk about, all he seemed to be proud of me for, was that I looked just like him when he was younger. That was my big accomplishment for his life.”

Nico reached over and touched the blond's free hand. “We don't have to talk about it anymore if you don't want to,” he whispered.

Will gave him a small smile. “Maybe another day?”

Nico nodded. Will slipped a hand beneath Nico and pulled the boy up against him. Nico glared up at the blond, who only smiled and rested his cheek against Nico's head. Will picked up the remote and turned off the TV. Nico huffed and rested his head on Will's bare chest. It wasn't long until Nico drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Nico scrunched his face up when he felt something wet hit his cheek. He mumbled something incoherent and buried his face into his warm pillow. He sighed and hugged his pillow closer to him. When he felt the wetness again, he cracked an eye open.

Will grinned down at him. A droplet of water from the blond's wet hair hit Nico on his forehead. Nico's eyes slowly traveled down, realizing that Will was clad only in a towel. His eyes shot back up and blinked at the blond. “Good morning, Nico,” Will moaned out, biting down on his lip.

“Five more minutes,” Nico mumbled before rolling back onto his side.

Will chuckled. “But you need to get up. You're going to be leaving in a little over an hour.”

Nico groaned. “Fine. I need to get a shower.”

Will trailed his fingers down Nico's bare torso. “Maybe I should have woken you up earlier then. Or you could always go join Apollo in his.”

Nico glared up at the blond. “I think I'll just go back to my suite.”

Will shrugged and climbed off of Nico. He stood up and pulled out some boxer-briefs from his dresser. Nico's face turned completely red as Will unfastened his towel, letting it fall to the floor. Nico's mouth fell open a little as he stared at Will's perky butt. The blond bent over, giving him a better view, and slid on his underwear.

Nico mentally slapped himself to get himself out of his daze. He swung his legs out of the bed and sat there, ruffling his messy hair. He stared up when Will came to stand in between his legs. “You're cute when you sleep,” Will said, winking at the boy.

Nico sighed. “Shut up,” he grumbled.

Will smirked and leaned towards Nico. “You should sleep over more often.”

“If I do, we still won't be having sex.”

Will bit down on his bottom lip. “We'll see about that.” He cocked his head to the side. “I don't suppose I could get another kiss? You have nice lips.”

Nico cleared his throat and averted his gaze from the blond's blue eyes. “I don't know.”

Will pouted at him. “Just a quick one?”

Nico sighed. He stood up and leaned up to press a quick kiss to the corner of Will's mouth. But before Nico could slip away, Will grabbed his face and crashed their mouths together. Nico's eyes went wide. He opened his mouth to protest, but the blond only used that to his advantage, slipping his tongue inside. Nico kicked himself when he let out a moan.

“I hate you,” Nico mumbled when Will pulled away.

The blond grinned down at him. “Why, because you enjoyed it?”

Nico glared at him. “You said a quick kiss.”

Will shrugged. “Just be thankful I didn't get you naked in your sleep.”

Nico rolled his eyes and slid out of Will's track shorts. The blond's eyes raked across Nico's exposed flesh, until it was covered by his swim trunks. “Bye,” Nico said, finally looking back at Will. “Thanks for letting me crash here.”

Will smiled and shrugged. “Like I said, feel free to crash here any time you want.”

Nico nodded and opened the blond's door. He walked down the hall and exited the suite. The Stolls were walking towards the elevator when he came out. “Hurry up, Nico,” Travis called back.

“Don't want to be late,” Connor added.

“Or Luke will come after your ass,” they finished together.

Nico sighed as he opened his door. He still hated how they did that. It made him feel like he should be riding on a tricycle, down a creepy hallway. Did all twins do that? Nico closed the door to his suite and stopped.

Percy sat at the island in the kitchen, already sipping at some coffee. “Yes, you can help yourself to that,” Nico said sarcastically.

Percy chuckled. “I didn't think you'd mind,” he replied. He arched an eyebrow as he took another sip. “You didn't sleep here last night?”

Nico shook his head. “I crashed with Will.”

Percy's lips tilted down as he sat his mug down. “I see. I trust that everything stayed family friendly?”

Nico cocked an eyebrow. “Jealous?”

A sly grin spread out on Percy's lips. “Just seeing if I need to change your work schedule.”

Nico pursed his lips. He swallowed a lump in his throat. “No, nothing happened,” he grumbled. “Will and Apollo just suggested that I sleep there, since Jason was screaming his head off.”

Percy nodded. “All right. Well, you should get ready. You'll be leaving soon,” Percy grinned, “and I doubt you want your sister to be alone with the others.”

Nico paled. “Shit,” he muttered under his breath. He quickly headed for his room, ignoring the laughter echoing from behind him.

He kept his trunks on, while he gathered some clothes to change into later. He grabbed a second shirt to put on after his shower and headed for the bathroom. He quickly washed off, not wanting to chance his sister arriving before he could get to the lobby.

When he was done, he quickly dried his hair and brushed his teeth. He put on some deodorant and slipped into his trunks and shirt. He ran back to his room and got a pair of sandals. He grabbed his phone, wallet, and spare clothes, and headed out the door.

As he made a beeline for the front door, Percy grabbed his wrist. The smaller boy was pulled back and forced to face Percy. “What?” Nico asked. “I'm in a hurry.”

Percy frowned. “Yeah, well, it can wait a moment. I'm sorry I had to run like that last night.”

Nico shrugged. “It's fine, I guess.”

Percy tugged at the hem of Nico's shirt. “And I was rather enjoying myself, as I know you were.” He gave Nico a wink.

Nico's cheeks turned pink. Why was Percy so charming? Nico learned by this point that one look from those green eyes, and he would probably give Percy anything he wanted. It really wasn't fair. “I, uh, need to get going,” Nico fumbled, nodding his head towards the door.

Percy smiled down at him, removing his hands from Nico. The brown-eyed boy swallowed the lump in his throat and stumbled backwards, his back coming in contact with the door. Percy chuckled at him before he disappeared out of the suite.

When he arrived in the lobby, he was horrified to find Bianca and Daedalus sitting in the lounging area with the others that were going to the water park. He hurried over to them. “Bianca, whatever they said, don't listen to them. They are compulsive liars,” he said.

Bianca blinked at him before raising a brow. “They were just telling me how much they enjoy having you here,” she replied.

Nico glared around at the other Lost Kids. Luke and Octavian sat on the opposite couch, with Annabeth squished between them. Travis sat in a chair between the couches, with Connor sprawled out across his lap. Juniper was perched on the arm of the chair, where Connor had his feet resting in her lap. Silena, Reyna, and Zoë stood off to the side. All of them grinned innocently at Nico.

Luke stood up. “Now that you're here, we can get going,” the blond said, giving Nico a look that let the raven haired boy know he was annoyed with him for being late. “Annabeth, how many cars do we need?”

Annabeth sighed and rolled her eyes. “I swear, you can be so lazy sometimes,” she grumbled. Her grey eyes did a quick scan of everyone around her. “Three people to a vehicle. So, three, if you want to divide evenly.”

Luke shrugged. “Doesn't matter to me. Someone can always sit in someone's lap.”

“That might be good,” Juniper piped in, “so that our guests don't have to drive.”

“It's not a problem,” Daedalus said.

Luke shrugged again. “Okay, but I think we were just trying to help you with your lady,” the blond said. Daedalus tilted his head to the side.

“By getting her to sit in your lap,” Travis said with a grin.

Daedalus's face turned a little pink, while Bianca coughed and looked away. “Can we just go?” Octavian grumbled.

Luke grunted and pulled out his car keys. As they all walked to the elevator, Nico fell into step beside Luke. “I'd prefer you not help someone get into my sister's pants,” he hissed.

Luke smirked. “Someone in your family needs to get laid,” the blond replied.

As they rode down in the elevator, Silena attempted to make small talk with Nico's sister. He heard the Lost Girl complement her on her hair. In the parking garage, Nico clung to his sister. He wasn't about to let them be alone with her, not on his watch.

“How do you want to split up?” Luke asked Annabeth.

The blonde shrugged. “Doesn't matter to me,” she replied. “I can take Juniper, Nico, Bianca, Daedalus, and Reyna.”

Those that Annabeth listed off climbed into the blonde's car. Nico sat in the backseat. Juniper sat on his right, while Daedalus sat on his left, with Bianca in his lap. Annabeth cranked her car, while Reyna attempted to find something to listen to. “Why must you have nothing to listen to?” The dark haired girl complained. “All you have are these lectures from all these important smart people.”

Daedalus seemed to perk up, and Nico figured he knew which Lost Kid the brunet would be talking to during the day. Annabeth just rolled her eyes before pulling out of her parking space. She followed Luke's car out of the garage, and they were on their way.

The one thing Nico was disappointed about with having his sister and her boyfriend in the car was that he couldn't talk about some of the things he wanted to. “Where is this water park anyways?” Nico asked.

“San Dimas,” Annabeth said plainly.

Nico blew out a breath. Well, they were going to be stuck in the car for at least half an hour, probably close to double that. Great, Nico thought. And as if he knew what Nico was thinking, Daedalus went and opened his mouth. “So, Juniper, do I pick up on a British accent?”

The girl smiled at him. “You do. I just moved here recently,” Juniper replied.

“You look really young,” Bianca pointed out. “How old are you?”

“I'm nineteen.”

The two of them nodded. Nico caught Annabeth staring at them in the rearview mirror. “Well, what brought you out here? Parents move you, or was this your decision?”

Nico noticed the amber haired girl's lip twitch as she tried to maintain her smile. “No, my parents are back in England.” She glanced up at Annabeth. “Percy asked me to make the move.”

Bianca nodded her head. “I wanted to thank all of you for helping to take care of my brother,” she said, patting Nico on the leg. “He actually looks better and healthier than when he was at home.”

“It's not a problem at all,” Annabeth said from the front seat. “He takes care of himself, for the most part. And he's not that much trouble.” Nico glared at her through the mirror, which she chose to ignore.

The rest of the car ride was, for the most part, uneventful. Nico and Juniper ended up falling asleep, using each other as pillows. He was eventually shaken awake by his sister. “What?” He grumbled.

“We're here, brat,” she replied.

Nico narrowed his eyes at her. “You know I don't like being called that.”

“Just making up for lost time.”

Nico sat on the edge of one of the pools with Juniper. Reyna and Octavian were nearby, bickering about something. Suddenly, Reyna rolled her eyes and shoved the blond's shoulder, pushing him into the pool. Octavian popped his head back up and sputtered at the dark haired girl. Reyna cackled at him, and the blond used this to his advantage by yanking on Reyna's leg and pulling her in with him.

“Your sister seems nice,” Juniper mused.

“Thanks,” Nico said, smiling. He stared over at his sister, who was hopping red and yellow circles in the middle of the pool with her boyfriend. Nico let out a sigh. “I just worry what will happen if she finds out.”

Juniper squeezed his hand. “I doubt she'll hate you. She loves you.”

“But she wouldn't approve of what I'm doing. She wouldn't even approve of my infatuation with Percy, if she knew what he was really like.”

Juniper's lips tilted down into a minute frown. “And what is Percy really like? I thought he was the sweet and charming guy that we all know and love,” she retorted.

Nico frowned at her. “You know what I mean. If she found out he has killed people, that he'll probably kill again, she would throw a fit with me living anywhere near him.”

Juniper shrugged. “What's she going to do? If Percy doesn't want to hand you over, she can't really do anything about it. But, then again, I suppose it comes down to your decision. If you don't want to leave, Percy isn't going to let her take you.”

The brown-eyed boy sighed and looked out at the pool, watching the others enjoy themselves. Luke and Silena were talking, which seemed to draw Octavian's attention from time to time. Travis and Connor had seemingly disappeared, which had Nico slightly worried. Not for their safety, but for what they might be up to.

“Am I stupid for liking Percy?” Nico asked, turning back to Juniper.

The girl shook her head. “I don't think so. He seems fond of your company as well.”

Nico shrugged. “I just know that nothing can really come from it. He's right, he can never give me what I want.”

Juniper gave him a sympathetic smile. “You never know.”

“But he can't give me a committed relationship, even if he did like me. All because of his stupid method for handling the Lost Kids.”

Juniper's lips tilted down. “It's not stupid.” She pursed her lips and kicked at the water. “It's better than some alternative methods that the other managers use. You should hear some of the stories Grover has to tell about Kronos.”

Nico tilted his head to the side. “Who's Grover?” He asked.

Juniper's smile returned. “He's a sweet guy. He works for Kronos, like Leo and Rachel work for Percy. He should be here for the manager meeting.”

Nico smirked at her. “Do you like him?”

The girl's cheeks darkened slightly. “Maybe,” she mumbled. She frowned and shook her head. “But, nothing can come of it.”

“Why not? You could just move to Kronos's hotel.”

Juniper shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “I don't want to, and Grover won't let me.”

Nico's brow furrowed. This Kronos didn't sound like a very good person. Ever since Nico had heard his name, it had been a lot of negative things, except from Percy. “What's this Kronos like?”

The amber haired girl chewed on her lip. “I don't want to talk about him. He's like the mirror opposite of Percy.” She swallowed. “Just know that Percy's methods are preferred by those of us that know what some of the other managers do.”

“Juniper!” Zoë called. “Can you come here for a moment?”

The amber haired smiled at Nico and patted him on the back as she stood up. Nico sat there, staring at the water. He checked his arms to make sure he wasn't burning. He had put on sun tan lotion, but he was pale enough that he felt he needed to worry about his skin. He frowned and stood up, yanking up his trunks. He let out a sigh. Even though he had gotten back to his normal physique, he was still extremely skinny.

He yelped as he was picked up and tossed over someone's shoulder. He lifted his head to glare at the back of Luke's head. “What do you think you're doing?” Nico growled at him.

“Your sister wanted to go on the Dragon's Den,” Luke grumbled.

“And? What does that have to do with you going caveman on me?”

“You need someone to ride with you.”

He finally sat Nico down in front of his sister. She arched an eyebrow at them, which earned her a glare from her brother. Damn Luke, he was going to give his sister ideas about the two of them. The blond just arched an eyebrow at him and grabbed a raft for the two of them, holding it behind his back.

“He's cute,” Bianca whispered in his ear.

Nico's cheeks tinged pink. “Shut up,” he muttered under his breath.

When they reached the front of the line, Daedalus smiled and sat down in his and Bianca's raft before helping his girlfriend to sit down in front of him. Nico watched as they disappeared down the slide. “I'm surprised,” Luke said once they were gone.

Nico sighed and turned his head to look at the blond. “About what?” He asked.

“Your sister is actually tolerable. Why can't you be like her?”

“Ha ha ha. You're so funny.”

Luke smirked and sat the raft down. Nico glared at him while he took his place in between the blond's legs. “While you're down there...” Luke said with a grin.

Nico turned his head to give Luke a death glare. “If you want to keep your manhood, shut up.”

Luke chuckled before shoving them off. They laughed as the raft shot down into a drop. They shot through the dark tube, until they emerged in a large bowl, where water was being poured in from several corners. They slowly drifted around the bowl. Nico's pulse slowly picked up as the raft turned around in the water, so that they were now going backwards.

He laughed and yelled as they hit the slide, where they descended rapidly. When they hit the bottom, however, they hit a bump upon reaching the end of the slide. Nico's hands slid loose from the handles on the side and he flew a few inches into the air.

Nico's eyes widened as he hovered there for a moment. It was only for a few seconds, though, until a strong arm latched around his chest and pulled him back down. His heart pounded in his chest as he tilted his head to look up at Luke. His blue eyes looked slightly panicked, until he realized Nico was staring at him. He then mumbled something under his breath and looked away from the raven haired boy.

Luke shoved Nico out of the raft before standing up himself. They climbed out of the water, via some steps, while the attendant picked up their raft. Bianca smiled at him, possibly not having noticed what almost happened. “Wasn't that fun?” She beamed.

Nico smiled and nodded his head, glancing at Luke as he brushed past. “It was something,” Nico mumbled.

After that, they met back up with the others and headed for food. They found a spot and moved two tables together. Nico wasn't sure if the twins had made up or if they were just putting on a show for Bianca and Daedalus, but they seemed to be getting along. Now that he thought about it, since yesterday, he really hadn't seen any of the Lost Kids fighting.

Nico sat beside his sister, sharing some of the ice cream that she had gotten. As predicted, Daedalus had begun to converse with Annabeth about things that Nico didn't really understand. All he knew was that there were a lot of big words being exchanged.

“You want some, Con?” Travis asked his brother.

Connor made a face as he stared down at the food in front of his brother. “You put hot sauce on it. No thanks,” the other brunet mumbled.

“Don't be a baby.”

Connor frowned at his brother. “You know I don't like hot sauce on my food.”

Travis picked up a nacho and waved it in front of his brother. “Come on. This one doesn't have that much on it.”

Connor sighed and opened his mouth, allowing his brother to shove the chip into his mouth. Nico's eyes traveled back to his sister, who was watching the twins from the corner of her eye. She cleared her throat and turned to face the girls. “So, how is it that only Silena has a boyfriend? All of you are so pretty,” she assessed.

“Men are jerks,” Zoë mumbled, poking at her salad. Her eyes darted over to Daedalus. “No offense.”

The brunet shrugged. “None taken,” he assured her.

Annabeth threw on a fake smile, so well done that even Nico had a hard time seeing through it. “We just haven't found the right guy yet. Or maybe we have, and they just haven't realized it yet,” the blonde answered.

Bianca gave her a sympathetic smile. “I'm sure he'll come around. You're very pretty, and smart. A guy would be an idiot not to like you,” she replied.

Nico frowned as he took another bite of ice cream. Annabeth liked someone? Why hadn't he noticed? Maybe she didn't want anyone to know. Did any of the others know?

The table was quiet for a few minutes, until Luke sneezed. “God bless you,” Bianca said.

Octavian tensed next to his brother. Annabeth's eyes flickered over to the blond beside her, trying to catch his eye. However, the blond had his icy blue eyes burning a hole through Bianca. “Fuck your god,” he barked before abruptly standing up and walking off.

Bianca's mouth hung open as she stared after him. “I-I didn't mean anything by it. It was just a habit,” she fumbled.

Annabeth shook her head as Octavian quietly got up and went after his brother. “Don't worry about it,” Silena voiced. “You didn't know.”

Bianca chewed on her lip. “Nico, would you go make sure he knows I didn't mean to upset him?”

Nico nodded and stared over at Annabeth, silently asking if it was a good idea. The blonde shrugged and Nico let out a breath. He walked off from the table, heading in the direction he had last seen the blue-eyed blond. He spotted the two brothers sitting on an empty table, Octavian busy trying to get his brother to talk to him.

“Hey,” Nico said quietly.

Both of the brothers turned their icy blue gazes on him. “What do you want?” Octavian spat venomously.

“Bianca didn't mean anything by it,” Nico continued, ignoring Octavian. “It was just the way we were raised.”

“I've never heard you say it,” Luke grumbled.

Nico shrugged. “I sort of stopped caring about religion after realizing my sexuality.”

Luke chuckled. “Maybe you're smarter than I thought.”

Nico hesitantly sat down on Luke's other side. “You don't like religion I take it?”

“What gave it away?”

“Luke,” Octavian hissed.

Luke held up his hand, still facing Nico. “It's fine.” He frowned at Nico. “Your parents were religious?” Octavian frowned, but looked at Nico, waiting for his answer as well.

“Yeah, you could say that,” Nico answered. “They were a little different. My mother was more spiritual than religious. I don't think she cared that much when I told my parents I was gay. It was just my father. He's a very intimidating man.”

The brothers continued to stare at him, lips both set into thin lines. “What about your father?” Octavian asked.

Nico chewed on his lip before letting out a breath. “He was an Italian immigrant. I guess you could say he's a traditional Catholic. I never cared much for it as I got older,” the brown-eyed boy continued. “My sister isn't really religious either. What she said was just an old habit.”

Luke turned his head to look at his brother, who frowned back at him. Luke arched an eyebrow and Octavian shook his head. “Fine,” Luke muttered.

Nico leaned back on his hands. “I take it your parents were religious?” He asked.

“I think it would be best if we got back to the others,” Octavian said cooly. He stood up and placed his hands on his hips.

Nico frowned at the thin blond. Octavian had a slightly similar build to that of the twins. He wasn't muscular like his brother. He did have a lean torso, but didn't quite have the abs that some of the other Lost Boys managed to have. His skin was around the same tone as Nico's, seemingly enhancing his hair and eyes. He was tall like his brother, having long legs.

Luke sighed and stood up as well. “I suppose we should. Come on, brat,” the blond agreed.

Nico rolled his eyes and followed the other two back to the others. The three of them looked up when they heard thunder. Dark clouds were moving in above them. When they arrived at the table, Annabeth had already tasked herself with getting everyone else ready to leave.

On their way back to the cars, it started to pour down rain. And by the time they reached the vehicles, they were all soaking wet. They placed their towels in the seats and climbed in, deciding to wait until they got back to the hotel to change into dry clothes.

After a long, boring, and quiet drive back, they pulled into the parking garage of the hotel. Nico asked Annabeth if it would be all right if Bianca and Daedalus came up to their floor to change. Annabeth and Luke looked at each other, and the Lost Boy pulled out his phone.

“Percy?” Luke said. “Yeah, we just got back. Is it all right if Bianca and Daedalus come up to change?”

Nico glanced over to his sister, who was talking with her boyfriend, unaware of the conversation being had about them. He didn't want them to feel unwanted around the hotel, so he was thankful she wasn't hearing this. But at the same time, he didn't want to risk them seeing something they didn't need to.

Luke nodded. “Yeah. Okay,” Luke continued on his call with Percy. He finally hung up and shrugged. “He says it's fine. Jason is passed out, so you should be fine in your suite. Just don't let them go into the blond's room.”

Nico nodded. They boarded the elevator and headed up to their floor. “Wow,” Bianca breathed out as they reached the Lost Kids' floor.

Percy came around the corner as they were exiting the elevator. He pursed his lips to hide his amusement at seeing them all soaked. “Don't say it,” Zoë growled.

Percy smiled. “Don't be like that, Zoë,” he chuckled.

Zoë rolled her eyes and shoved Percy away. “Not right now. I need to dry off.”

Percy only grinned wider. “Playing hard to get again?” He followed the girl back to her room.

Nico sighed and led his sister and Daedalus to his room. He opened his door and stepped inside, relieved to hear complete silence. “Your boss seems like a flirt,” Bianca pointed out.

“Maybe a little,” Nico replied, a forced smile on his face. He gestured to the bathroom. “Bathroom is straight back.”

Bianca nodded and headed to the bathroom. “Where can I change?” Daedalus asked.

“Um.” Nico rubbed the back of his neck. “My room? I can get changed in the closet.”

“There's a joke in that, I'm sure of it,” the brunet joked. Nico laughed lightly before leading his sister's boyfriend into his room. “Damn. This really is a nice place.”

Nico nodded. “I'm still getting used to it.”

He stepped into his closet and shut the door. He flipped on the light switch and proceeded to strip himself of his clothing. He went ahead and dressed himself in his work clothes, since it was getting close to time for him to head up to the bar. He knocked on the door.

“I'm decent,” Daedalus called.

Nico opened the door to find Bianca in the room. “Can you give us a minute?” She asked her boyfriend. The brunet nodded and stepped out of the room.

Nico licked his lips to wet them and sat down beside his sister on his bed. “What's up?” He asked.

“I didn't want to ask this, but then I saw the razor in your bathroom. I know you don't shave, Nico. So what is it for?” She asked. “I'd have to be blind to not notice that the hair on your arms and legs is missing.”

Nico swallowed. He shrugged his shoulders. “It's not a big deal. There's no real reason behind it.”

Bianca pursed her lips as she searched his eyes. “The other boys didn't have body hair either.”

Nico shrugged again. “It's just a trend around here, I guess.”

His sister sighed. “I'm just worried about you. You're staying in this place without any adult supervision.”

“A few of the other Lo-” Nico cut himself off. He cleared his throat. “Others. A few of the others are twenty-one, or older.”

Bianca narrowed her eyes. “How old is Percy? If he's in charge around here, I expect him to be capable of taking care of you.”

“I don't think that is a problem,” Nico mumbled. He coughed and looked away from his sister. “He's twenty.”

Bianca's mouth fell open a little. “Twenty?” She hissed. “This place is being run by children. You might as well be living in Neverland with Peter Pan, or the Children of the Corn.”

Nico glanced off to the side. If only she knew the half of it. “It's not a big deal, B,” he assured her. “I'm fine. Percy is very mature for his age.” He frowned to himself. Sometimes, he added in his head.

Bianca sighed and placed her hand on top of Nico's. “If something happens, anything that might make you uncomfortable, let me know.”

Nico shrugged and shook his head lightly. “And what will happen? I can't come home,” he reasoned. “Nor do I want to, not as long as dad is there. I don't want to see him again.”

“I can figure something out. Maybe you could live with Daedalus.”

Nico frowned at his sister before glancing at the door. “I'm fine here, I promise.”

Bianca let out a long sigh. “If you're sure,” the brunette whispered.

“I promise that I'll let you know if that ever changes.”

But would he? Would he let himself be taken out of this place? He didn't know. Even if Percy scared him at times, he wasn't sure he wanted to away from the green-eyed young man. The young man had become a prominent figure in Nico's life, as all of the Lost Kids had. And even if they were dysfunctional at times, they were his family now. Nico couldn't help but think back to Percy's haunting words.

 Once a Lost Kid, you never leave.