Children of Loss 34

Chapter 34

There were times Nico truly had to question his own decision making skills. Why did he keep putting himself into these situations? That was the single question that ran through his mind as he sat on the edge of Travis and Connor's bed.

The twins were pacing in front of him, tapping their fingers to their chins. Nico could only shudder to think what was going through their heads. The days had been flying by rather quickly at the hotel, though his job was not getting any easier. He was just thankful that, in the past week, he had only had to visit the backrooms one time. And now it was the fourteenth of December, exactly eight days before Gaea arrived at the hotel.

“So,” Travis began, “you want to know about threesomes?”

“I-” Nico swallowed a lump in his throat. “I was just curious. I'm not, like, expecting...you know, to have a threesome.”

Connor grinned down at him. “Aw, but, Nico, you'd be welcome to try it out with us.” The brunet lifted the hem of his shirt up to expose his tan stomach to the raven-haired boy. “It'd be fun.”

“Uh...” Nico licked his lips, his eyes trained on the exposed flesh. He quickly shook his head and looked up into the brunet's blue eyes. “I didn't come here to have sex.”

“No,” Travis grinned, “you came to us because you want to have a threesome with Percy and Jason.” Nico's mouth fell open. “Oh please, we're observant, Nico. Percy's been attentive of Jason, and you're jealous.”

Connor crawled behind Nico and draped his arms over the youngest Lost Boy's shoulders. “But, in our honest opinion, it might be better to let Jason get the attention.”

Nico frowned at the boy behind him. “Why's that?”

Travis smirked, patting Nico on the head. “Because, our dear Nico, Percy's behavior as of late will not go over so well with Gaea. As I'm sure you've heard by now, she's not been the happiest with news concerning you. So, keeping the spotlight off of you might not be a bad idea.”

“But I have to be at the meeting with her,” Nico mumbled.

“Just do a good job.” Connor lifted his hands in a shrug. “Show her you can handle yourself. But the real person to watch out for is Kronos.” The Lost Boy ran his fingers through his wavy brown hair. “Kronos loves making people miserable, especially those around Percy. Apollo, Luke, Annabeth; they've all had to endure his torture. But Luke, he has it the worst. Kronos wants to see if he can break Luke, the valiant hero that tries to shield those around him from the problems they have.”

Travis nodded. “You don't want him coming after you.”

“And if he thinks you're making Percy soft...” Connor's eyes flickered up to meet his brother's. “Well, I'd rather deal with Gaea in that circumstance.” He trailed his index finger along Nico's shoulder. “You see, Gaea can be understanding, and tries to be a good mother to Percy. She likes him having people close to him, people that can lighten his mood. But Kronos, he despises people getting close to Percy.” Connor and Nico's eyes locked, the brunet's eyes reminding Nico of a cat. “He tortured Apllo relentlessly until blondie backed off. It's not that Kronos has a crush on Percy, so much as Percy was the only friend he really had as a kid.”

Travis let out a sigh, sitting on the floor, between Connor's legs. “He won't even see you as human. At most, you'll be a toy to him, just like Annabeth and Luke.” The brunet tilted his head back. “But never human, no customer or employee is significant in his eyes. There are only two people that matter to Kronos, Nico: Gaea and Percy.”

Nico fell back on the bed, letting out a heavy sigh. He was beginning to hear more and more about the infamous Kronos, but every bit of information only made him dread the other manager's arrival all the more. He was truly beginning to wish that Percy had not requested him to be the one to sit in on the meeting.

Why not Leo or Rachel, or even one of the other Lost Kids? Sure he knew Percy had good intentions by doing this, he wanted Nico to better his education and understanding of the business world, but it now put him in a threatening position. Besides, surely Leo or Rachel were the most qualified. But no, Nico was going to have to sit in a room with the world's most dangerous people.

Connor laid down beside Nico, smiling over at the brown-eyed boy. “Cheer up, Nico, it won't be so bad.”

Travis chuckled from the floor. “Yeah, you're doing the rest of us a favor. Now, none of us have to go to the meeting.”

Nico's face deadpanned. “You know, I thought all of you loved attending to Percy.”

“Oh, we do,” Connor replied. “However, the meetings are always met with a mixture of emotions. We do hope to be chosen to attend, but we aren't disappointed if we aren't.”

Travis crawled onto the bed and draped an arm across his brother's chest. “Because we don't enjoy having to sit in with those managers. Kronos is the worst, but Atlas is not the most enjoyable to be around either. You should like Athena, though she's a very blunt woman. Demeter is pretty cool, just be careful about what she serves you.”

Nico quirked a brow. “What is she going to serve me?”

The twins suddenly looked rather sick. Connor stuck his tongue out, like he tasted something bad. “Nothing,” the younger twin mumbled. “But most of us really enjoy Frank. He's a big teddy bear, at least if you're on his good side. He's sort of like Percy, and can be formal and informal. His informal side is the best, though.”

Travis patted his brother's stomach. “But now we're off topic. You wanted to know about threesomes, yeah?”

Nico bit down on his lip. “I mean, we don't have to talk about that.”

Both twins grinned. “Nonsense,” they both chimed.

The brown-eyed boy pursed his lips, turning his eyes to the ceiling. “It just seems like a lot of work, satisfying two people at the same time.” Feeling adventurous, Nico decided to press deeper. “I mean, if it involves someone I care about, I'm not sure if I'd feel comfortable sharing them with someone else. How do you two do it?”

The room was quiet for almost a full minute before Travis let out a sigh. The brunet propped himself up on his elbow and looked over at Nico. “I guess we haven't been doing the best job of keeping that a secret.”

Connor reached up and touched his brother's face. “It's just been a habit, whenever someone new arrives at the hotel. You never know when someone might have a problem with our situation.”

“I understand,” Nico whispered. He rolled his head to the side to look at the twins. “But it doesn't bother me, just so you both know.”

They both smiled at him. Travis leaned down and pecked his brother on the lips. It did feel a little strange at that moment, but not because it was incest. Nico had just never seen them openly kiss outside of business hours.

Travis rolled onto his stomach, crossing his arms on his brother's stomach and resting his chin on them. “If it's someone you're in a relationship with, then you both need to be comfortable with the threesome.” He cleared his throat as Connor began running his fingers through Travis's brown locks. “Take Silena and Beckendorf for example. The only person they usually include in their sex lives is Percy, but that is more business oriented.”

“Though, it's not very often,” Connor continued. “Percy understands them. Silena and Beckendorf would be much better off if they left the hotel, we all know that, even if we don't want to admit it to each other.” The younger twin turned to observe Nico, possibly waiting for a reaction. When one did not come, he continued. “They're strained here, and Percy usually doesn't require sex from them that often. And the only time one of us gets involved with either of them is when they are having a major fight.”

Nico rolled onto his side, propping himself up with a frown. “So why don't they just leave?” He did not understand really. “Why stay if they suffer for it?”

Both pairs of blue eyes locked with Nico's brown orbs. “Why do you?” They said at the same time. He would never get used to the way they did that.

“There's a fierce loyalty to Percy inside each of us,” Travis added.

A small smile touched at Connor's lips as he continued to play with his brother's hair. “We can never repay him for helping us, so we all pledge ourselves to this life. We're taken care of here. We feel safe here.”

Nico supposed that was true. There was no room for him to talk, not when he himself was refusing to leave the hotel because of Percy. It just added to the manager's appeal, in Nico's opinion. He was so easy to follow, to commit to. Percy radiated an aura that made others want to follow him.

“And what about when you found out what you'd be doing?” Nico asked out of the blue.

The twins were silent. They stole a glance at each other before looking at Nico again. “You deal with it,” Travis mumbled. “It is hard when you first start out, we can all admit to that.” It was so odd, seeing them this serious. There was a scared look in Travis's eyes, reminding Nico of a small child. “This place is haunted. Our past will haunt us all until the day we die. We all made mistakes, choices that we want to go back and change.”

Connor cleared his throat, and when Nico looked at him, it looked like his eyes were tearing up. The younger brunet let out a small chuckle. “We might have been on the run from the cops when Percy found us. If it weren't for him, we probably would have gotten thrown back into the system, maybe even separated.”

Travis grinned as Nico's eyebrows rose. “We might have broken into some rich asshole's condo while he was vacationing. Yeah, he wasn't happy when he came back to find us sleeping in his bed.”

Nico realized his jaw was hanging open. He blew out a long breath. “So he wanted you arrested for that?”

“Well,” Connor began, “we might have broken his very expensive security system when we broke in.” He chuckled again. “The logo on it said it was the very best, so Travis and I decided to see if it could live up to it's name.”

“It didn't,” Travis added with a grin.

Connor smiled at his twin. “But, anyways, it was very hard for the first month or so, doing what we have to do. Before that, the only person I had been with was Travis. And...” He glanced at his brother, chewing on his lip for a second. “Well, I wasn't really receptive to the idea of being with someone else at the time.”

“I felt disgusted with myself,” Nico mumbled.

Connor nodded. “I froze.” Nico looked at the boy in shock. “Yeah, I was hovered over the woman for a good few minutes. She started to get annoyed with me, complaining about how she did not spend good money for nothing.” The Lost Boy's hand had stopped moving in his brother's hair. “I just couldn't do it. Well, I didn't want to. I didn't really have a choice, so I ended up going through with it, after I had a few shots. That was the first night I drank.”

Nico rolled onto his stomach. He pointed his legs to the ceiling as he bit on his lip. “I didn't expect you guys to be so receptive with sharing things like this.”

“It's good for you,” Travis replied. He smiled over at Nico before frowning and tracing a circle on his brother's stomach. “A lot of us talked it over, and we decided it might help you to know what we went through when we first got here.”

Connor nodded. “If it makes you feel better, Neeks, I still freeze.”

“But-” Nico began, but Connor cut him off.

“Expected perfection?” Connor chuckled. “It just takes me a second to gather my thoughts. But there are times that I freeze when clothes start coming off.”

Time seemed to get away from Nico after that. Before he knew it, it was nearing four in the morning. He groaned as he sat his phone down. Travis smirked over at him. Connor had fallen asleep at least half an hour ago, and was now curled up next to his brother.

“I do hope we helped you make a decision on your threesome issue,” Travis whispered, stroking his brother's hair.

“I don't know,” Nico admitted. “Honestly, I was never sure if I would do it, I just wanted to know more about the mental or emotional aspect of doing it.”

The older of the two twins grinned. “Well, if you're curious, Connor and I would be happy to let you experiment with us.”

The tips of Nico's ears began to burn. “That is a very tempting offer, but I'm not sure it's a good idea.” Smart answer, Nico thought to himself, use a neutral response. Though, that would mean that the twins might keep pressing the issue, if the grin on Travis's face was anything to go by. “The thought had just crossed my mind when Percy and Jason were about to have sex, and Percy sort of offered.” Travis quirked a brow at that. “I think it just bothered me because no one has really done anything to Jason.”

“Sorry,” Travis mumbled. “I guess it does sound personal, but it kind of was just for you.” Nico frowned at that. That made him feel loved. “Yeah, sorry. It's...”

“Complicated?”

“No.” Travis shook his head. “It's just that Jason doesn't bother us in the same way. That part is complicated, something Connor and I have talked about before.”

“Talked about what?” Nico's brow furrowed as he shifted on the bed.

Travis pursed his lips. “Nothing, forget it.” Reaching up, the blue-eyed boy ran his fingers through his hair. “You struck a personal chord with all of us, Jason didn't. It's possible that Jason might come to resent you in ways as well. But, as you may know by now, we're trying to move past that.”

“Yeah,” Nico whispered.

The brunet shook his head. “Ah, how can I put this? You made us jealous, and we felt weak.” He smirked at the shorter boy on the bed. “Here comes this kid, who did what we could not and managed to remain himself during his hardships. When you're jaded, you just want to see people like that mess up, fall off their platform.” Nico went to open his mouth, but Travis chuckled. “We were dumb, I can admit that. I mean, I'll deny it if you tell anyone, though. But it wasn't easy, still isn't. You ask us how we survive our jobs, but we want to know the same for how you managed the streets.”

“I...haven't really thought about it,” Nico admitted. And he hadn't, in all honesty. He did not see it as a big deal, not anything important. But now that he knew what he did, Nico did not see it as something to look over so easily anymore. How did he do it? What made him different than the others? Why did they become jaded and he didn't?

Possibly, for the first time since he arrived, Nico realized how much he had been focusing on himself. Sure he wanted to know about the others, to get to know them, but that was not for their sake. He had wanted to be part of them. And even lately, asking the others about their experiences, that had been about himself as well. But what about them? They were suffering as well. If he really wanted to be part of their family, perhaps it was time to show them the same concern they had been showing him the past few days.

There was so much he had been overlooking. Nico had been upset about their stunts all those month ago, but he had not really thought about the importance behind it all. What made them all different from him? Right now, all it did was make him feel worse. Nico didn't want to feel special at the moment, didn't want to stand out. If he did, it could mean more backlash or time with customers.

“But jealousy aside, you don't need to worry about things so much.” Travis's voice brought Nico from his train of thought. When he looked over at the brunet, Travis was staring down at his brother. “I hate watching him sometimes. The way he freezes and his eyes grow dull, it hurts to watch.” He ran a finger down Connor's cheek. The boy mumbled in his sleep and shifted closer to Travis. “You know, the reason we occasionally work clients together was because Percy was concerned about him, as was I. I can be a distraction for him.”

“And he's better with you?”

“A little.” A sad smile briefly appeared on Travis's face. “But, even when it's just the two of us, his eyes sometimes still become dull. Sometimes, it feels like he's not fully there.” Travis's blue eyes drifted down to stare at his brother's sleeping face. “It hurt, you know, watching him change over the year. Sure, I knew I was changing, but all I wanted was to keep him safe. All we had was each other out there, and I failed him.”

Nico remained quiet. A single tear drifted down Travis's cheek, which the brunet quickly wiped away. “Did you two always...?” Nico decided to ask.

The Lost Boy's eyes remained on his brother's face. “No, not until after we ran away from our last foster family. Before that, we were like best friends, with the standard twin bonding. But, when you're out on the sleep, sleeping in boxes, you're left with such little space.” Travis finally looked up and smiled at Nico. “I couldn't really help it when it happened. Connor had been crying one day, his face covered in dirt, and I just leaned in and kissed him. He was a little shocked at first, pushed me away even, but didn't run off.”

“I wouldn't want to leave the only person I had either, especially given the circumstance.” Nico clamped his mouth shut, realizing how harsh that could have sounded. “I didn't mean-”

“I know what you meant.” Travis shrugged. “You don't want to be alone during something like that, and I do feel bad for the others that did.” The brunet slowly got up, making sure to gently place Connor's head on the bed. He motioned for Nico to follow him as he left the bedroom.

When Nico got into the hall, he noticed that the other bedroom had been opened. The light was on, so he stepped across the hall and walked inside. Travis was standing in front of a small cabinet that sat on top of a small shelf.

The room was not as furnished as the other bedroom. It had the standard bed that all the Lost Kids' suites had, though it did not appear to be used that much. There were a lot of storage devices: shelves, cabinets, hampers, etc. From the looks of it, the twins stored most of their possessions in here, and only used the other bedroom for sleeping.

“Does this room really get used?” Nico blurted out.

The brunet let out a chuckle, shutting the cabinet he had been poking around in. Whatever he had grabbed, he placed behind his back. “Only when Connor gets mad at me. I sleep in here when that happens.” He shrugged. “And for the occasional sex with the others. If we do have sex with the other Lost Kids, we don't let it happen in our bed.”

Nico's brow furrowed as he slowly walked around the room. “I'm confused. I thought you two didn't mind having sex with the others. Why define where sex happens?”

“Because, while we might venture out and have sex with the others sometimes, that is our bed.” Serious blue eyes locked with dark brown ones. “I love my brother, more than anyone else in this hotel. Sex with anyone else has no meaning to me, it's just business or for fun. But when it's with my brother, it's special, it means something. And our bed is where we make love.”

“And the others understand that rule?”

The other Lost Boy let out a dry chuckle as he stepped closer to Nico. “Oh yeah. Butch got to learn the hard way to not try and have sex with my brother in our bed.” He shrugged and pulled a small bottle from behind his back. “Here, take this.”

Nico slowly accepted the bottle, eyeing it funny. He frowned and looked up to meet Travis's eyes. “What is it?”

“Hair dye.”

The raven-haired boy quirked a brow. “Um, I like my hair black, but thanks.” He went to hand it back, but Travis shoved it back to Nico.

“It's not for you.” The brunet grinned broadly. “Put a little bit in Jason's shampoo when you get back to your suite.” He tossed an arm around Nico's shoulder, guiding him towards the door. “Now you can't say we never did anything for you.”

“But why are you?”

“You said you wanted us to mess with Jason. Well, I'm giving you a tool to mess with him, and now my brother and I are involved.” He sighed, stopping them in front of the door of their suite. “Look, you're sort of nice to have around.” Travis narrowed his eyes. “Don't tell anyone I said that. But it's nice having you around. It doesn't seem as dark around here since you arrived. And, looking at the others, I can see a little hope in their eyes. There hasn't really been any hope here since Akhyls-” Travis quickly shut his mouth. “Forget what I just said. You never heard that name.”

“I-”

Travis pointed a finger at Nico's chest, backing him against the door. “Don't repeat that name to anyone.”

“I don't understand,” Nico whispered.

“Good,” Travis breathed out. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “There are just some things we don't like to think about, Nico. Reminding ourselves of our failures is one of them. Another would be that we don't want to acknowledge that we'll probably end up like Ganymede, Aphrodite, or Dionysus one day. But there are just some names we don't even talk about in private.”

“I won't say anything.” It was a lie, some part of Nico's subconscious told him. More than likely, he would just end up going to ask Ganymede about it, per their arrangement concerning past information. Nico smiled and held up the bottle of hair dye. “Thanks for this, though.”

The brunet nodded, allowing Nico to open the door. “Don't mention it. And don't worry about what will happen, we'll take care of it.”

Nico wanted to ask what he meant, but Travis had already shut the door. He frowned and stared down at the bottle. What was that supposed to mean?

It was a failure. Apparently, the dye that Travis had given him had not worked at all. Nico frowned at the back of his roommate's head as they rode the elevator to the top floor. Jason's hair was still its normal blond color, completely and utterly fine. And earlier, when Nico had asked Connor about it, the brunet had said just to be patient.

Once out of the elevator and up the stairs, the roommates separated. Jason tossed the raven-haired boy a wave over his shoulder. Nico waved back, now partly thankful it hadn't worked. What had Jason really done to him? A sudden feeling of guilt washed over him as he dragged his feet towards the bar room.

Percy was fair game, meaning Jason had every right to flirt and have sex with Percy. The others did it, and Nico was not trying to spite them. But Jason felt more threatening, even when he was not really doing anything. Perhaps it was the same reason Apollo had acted against Nico, when Nico himself had not been trying to do anything.

And there was also the matter of just having promised Percy a few days prior that he would try to stop acting like a disappointment. And, yet, here he was, trying to sabotage his roommate.

Realizing he was in the wrong in this situation tasted very bitter. Nico let out a breath and sat down on the couch in the bar room, not even caring that Dionysus was watching him. His brown eyes closed as his head fell back against the back of the couch.

“You really need a new hobby, other than trying to torment others,” Nico mumbled.

“Why, Nico, I'm quite offended by that remark,” Dionysus replied. Nico did not believe that for a second. “I just like to take an interest, that's all.”

“Sure, let's call it that,” Thalia snorted. Nico did not even notice her come in. She smiled at him as she sat down beside him on the couch. “I hope you do remember to get a head start on sorting out your Christmas costumes. It'll make it a lot easier when the time comes to deal with them.”

Nico shrugged. “I guess I can do that this week.”

The blue-eyed girl snapped her fingers. “Oh, yes, Rachel wanted me to let you know that she has something you asked for, and those papers you'll need to be looking over.”

“Papers?” Nico's brow furrowed.

“Yeah.” Thalia smiled, tilting her head to the side. “What, you expected to just show up to the meeting and hand Percy a drink when he asked for it?” She grinned cheekily and smacked his shoulder. “Sorry, buddy, but you've got some reading to do before that meeting.”

Nico let out a groan. “It won't be that bad, will it?”

Thalia jumped up, eyebrows raised. “I'd rather read War and Peace,” she mumbled on her way out the door.

That did not make Nico feel good.

And halfway through the night, that was not the only thing causing Nico to feel nauseous.

“Oh shit,” Nico cursed under his breath, the empty tray in his hand nearly falling to the floor. His eyes were blown wide in shock as he gaped at the stage. Luckily, he was not the only Lost Boy caught off by what they were just seeing. Apollo's jaw was literally hanging open as he poured some water into a woman's glass, though he failed to acknowledge that it was overflowing. Butch had frozen while writing down an order from Percy's booth.

Jason's hair was pink. That was all that was going through the brown-eyed boy's mind as he gaped at his roommate, standing there in nothing but a speedo. Not only that, but it was fluorescent. It was literally glowing a bright pink underneath the stage's low lighting.

Jason seemed surprised as well, his ears burning red. He still tried to put on a performance, but was not doing the best of jobs because of the audience's reaction. A lot of whispering was going on, even some snickering.

“Oh shit,” Nico repeated.

“Might I have a word with you?”

Nico's blood ran cold the second the words were hissed into his ear. And this time, he did drop the tray. Quickly picking it up, Nico slowly turned to find a unhappy Percy standing behind him. There was a calm smile on the manager's face, but Nico was not stupid enough to think Percy was anything but upset.

The green-eyed manager slid a hand into his pocket, pointing to the stage with the other. “It seems Jason needs to change shampoos.” His eyes flickered back to Nico. “Very amusing stunt. However, would you care to explain to me why you decide to pull this fucking shit right before
Gaea gets here?”

If not for the loud music, Percy probably would have drawn more attention. Percy did not appear to be as patient as he had been during Apollo's little stunt. In fact, he looked exhausted, almost sick. Dark circles had appeared under his eyes, and even his face seemed to be slightly paler. But his voice was still calm. Well, up until he had decided to throw curse words into his rhetorical question.

Without even letting Nico answer, Percy grabbed hold of the back of Nico's neck and dragged him towards the backstage door. Nico's stomach sank instantly. Great, he thought, now he was going to have to face Jason.

Beckendorf and the twins were snickering as Jason stared frantically at a mirror. Percy shoved Nico forward, snapping his fingers to drawn everyone's attention. The room instantly fell quiet, the laughter died and Jason quickly straightened up.

Percy took in a deep breath. He pinched the bridge of his nose before turning his dark green eyes upon Nico. “I'm not stupid enough to believe he didn't have help. I just saw Jason earlier—and even some when he got on stage for his earlier performances—so I know his hair was fine not long ago.” The manager bit down on his lip so hard that Nico thought he might draw blood. A chuckle escaped the raven-haired young man's lips, though it was nowhere near a pleasant sound. “I am very tired at the moment. Now, I can expect Nico to not be aware of how stressful things can be right now, but I am very disappointed in the two of you.”

The twins didn't seem as bothered as Nico was. Travis just held up his hands, slowly approaching the manager. “Relax, boss, it'll be fine.”

“His hair is pink!” Now Percy was yelling. His eyes nearly became slits as he stared back at Travis, who still remained calm. Connor, however, was beginning to look a little uncertain. “Gaea will be here in five days, and I need you all to look your best. I haven't slept in two days, Travis. Couldn't this have waited until things calmed down?”

Travis was proving just how daring he was. The brunet actually reached out and touched Percy's arm. The other four boys in the room's hitched. “It was just to help out Nico. He's been having a hard time lately, and Connor and I thought we'd throw him a bone. So don't be so hard on him.”

Percy narrowed his eyes, though Travis's words did seem to pacify him a little. “Fine,” Percy finally growled. “However, he's not going to get off with nothing.”

Travis shrugged. “Your call.”

“The same goes for you two.”

Connor frowned. “But it's not even going to last that long. It'll wash out within three or four days.”

A sigh escaped from the manager's lips. “There was still damage done. I punished all of you when you pulled your stunt with Nico's first night, the same will apply here.”

Both twins groaned, but offered no further protest. Percy groaned and rubbed a hand down his face. He really did look exhausted. Nico felt like shit. He only managed to add to Percy's stress load. And, once again, Nico screwed up and Jason was doing nothing wrong.

Percy returned his gaze to Nico. “Come by my room after you're done with work.” He moved to leave, but stopped before he reached the door. “As soon as you're off work. You won't be getting any clients tonight. Apparently, you and I need to have a very long, long...talk.” The way Percy said that made Nico's skin crawl. He had barely gotten the last word out, only managing it through gritted teeth.

“And what about me?” Jason finally spoke up.

Percy let out a small laugh and turned around once again. “Nico, congratulations, you've just nominated yourself as Jason's personal hair washer for the next few days. You get to shower with him and everything” He smiled at Jason. “Feel free to torture him as much as you want, I have no problem with him getting the worst blue balls possible right now.”

Nico let out a quiet whimper as Percy disappeared out the door. This was going to be painful, and he had not even gone to see Percy in his room yet. He turned to look at his roommate, expecting the blond to lash out at him, but Jason just frowned and let out a sigh. Nico was not sure which response was worse, the possibility of Jason yelling at him or the one that never came.

Jason did not say anything as he got ready for his next performance, never spared Nico another glance. It was not helping Nico's nerves.

Connor slung his arm around Nico. “See, now you got to torture Jason a little, and nothing really bad happened.”

Nico frowned. “But he's going to punish me. I can only shudder to think what he's going to do when I go to his room.”

“Maybe it'll involve whips and handcuffs,” Travis teased. Nico gave him an unamused look. The brunet just grinned. “Oh lighten up, Neeks, you'll be fine. Besides, he already gave you your punishment, you get to be tortured sexually by Jason.”

“Then why am I going to his room?”

Connor let go of him. “Probably for a talk, like he said. I doubt he's going to do anything, he's probably too tired.”

“Yeah,” Travis added, “none of us have really been able to discuss business hours with him over the past week now because of how swamped his is.”

“And exhausted,” Connor mumbled.

Nico frowned, wrapping his arms around himself. “So why help me with this if you knew he might get severely irritated.”

Both twins grinned. Travis motioned between Connor and himself. “Because we like chaos, it adds flavor to things. Besides, we know Percy pretty well, so we knew he wouldn't be too harsh. He's too busy right now, so most of our problems have to be overlooked by him during this time.”

Connor nodded in a agreement. “Though, this will probably be the only stunt to happens, so as to not 'poke the bear'. All that is expected of us right now is to do our jobs and go see Circe before the twentieth.”

Nico groaned and rubbed his forehead. “I didn't mean to stress him out more. I guess I should have been paying better attention to him.”

Both twins shrugged. “Guess you should have thought about the consequences of putting the dye in Jason's shampoo then,” Connor mumbled.

Nico sighed and shook his head. Turning around, he headed back to work. It seemed like he was not done screwing up and making the wrong decisions. Why did things have to be so complicated here. He did not think that normal sixteen year olds had to worry about as much as he did. Though, in his defense, most sixteen year olds did not go through what he had, and still would.

Nico was on his best behavior for the rest of the night, not even thinking a smart aleck remark to things customers said to him. He was polite whenever possible, but remained mostly quiet. And his nerves only worsened as the hours passed. By the time he was standing outside of Percy's door, Nico was practically a wreck.

As he raised his hand to knock, the door swung open and Nico was met with Percy's blank face. The manager quirked a brow at him. “Are you planning on just standing in my hall?”

Nico frowned up at him, slipping into the suite. “How did you know I was there?”

“There's no one else on this floor, and I don't have my TV on, so it's fairly easy to hear the elevator ding.”

“Oh.” Nico scrunched his lips. “I'm sorry.”

Percy scooped up a glass of scotch from his kitchen counter before heading into the living room to sit down on his couch. He let out a sigh and spread his arms across the back of the couch. “I'm not really surprised by this point that something like this happened. If this is the kind of behavior I can expect, then maybe I shouldn't let you sit in on the meeting.”

“It won't happen again, I promise,” Nico quickly stated.

“I can't have things going crazy right now, Nico.” The manager sipped on his drink before sitting it down in front of him. “I need you to be on a better behavior. Gaea will be here in just five days, four technically, so I don't need things like this happening. If the dye had lasted longer, you'd be much worse off. I can't tolerate screw ups right now, do I make myself clear?”

Nico rapidly nodded his head. “Yes, sir.”

Percy leaned forward, frowning at Nico. “I know you know better than this. I know you're still young, but I need you to act more like an adult. Especially right now.”

“I'm sorry,” Nico whispered, casting his eyes to his feet. “I wasn't thinking.”

Percy was quiet for a while, much longer than Nico would have liked. But he finally pinched the bridge of his nose and spoke. “I know you've had a rough time this month, so I am going to look over this for the most part.” A dangerous spark briefly appeared in Percy's sea-green eyes before he smirked. “I gave you part of your punishment already, but there is something else.”

The Lost Boy did not like the sound of that. “Um, okay? Extra weekend shifts? Cut my time on stage? Give me a-”

“Bend over my knee.”

Nico's mouth fell open. “What?”

Percy did not even bat an eye before responding. “You heard. Come over here, pull down your pants, and bend over my knee.” He leaned back, spreading his arms across the back of the couch again. “You want to act like a child, you're going to get punished like one.”

The boy's hands shot around to cover his backside. “Percy, you can't be serious.”

“Completely.”

There was no amusement in Percy's eyes as he stared at Nico. The Lost Boy fidgeted for a brief moment before shifting his hands to his waist. Pursing his lips, he slowly pushed down the cloth pants that he had on. Percy arched a brow and Nico let out a groan. He hooked his fingers under his speedo and lowered them to his knees.

Nico was sure his entire face was red. He was so embarrassed. This was humiliating. The only good thing about it was that it was just the two of them to see it happen. With his head down, Nico moved closer, until he stood in front of Percy. When the manager remained still, Nico felt his heart drop again.

With a small whine, Nico positioned himself across Percy's lap. Percy shifted and wasted no time in what he intended to do. A sharp pain spread throughout Nico's ass, soon followed by another. Nico buried his face against the couch as Percy smacked him on the butt. His face was burning. He just wanted it to stop.

Nico blinked. Percy was laughing. He quickly rose up and stared at Percy in confusion. “What are you laughing at?”

“Just enjoying your reaction,” Percy chuckled. He grabbed Nico's waist and shifted the boy into a sitting position on the couch.

Nico frowned and raised his underwear and pants. “That wasn't funny, it was unpleasant.”

The manager laughed again before taking a sip of his drink. “I know. I figured you wouldn't like it.”

“Are you into that, or something?”

A low humming came from Percy, his eyes closed as he rested his head against the back of the couch. “Never really thought about it. Can't say I really have any fetishes.” He let his body relax, lightly rubbing his neck. “I guess dealing with all of the different fetishes of other people sort of deterred me a little bit from developing any of my own.”

Nico frowned and stood up. He peeled back his pants and underwear to inspect to butt. His breath hitched when he found a bright pink handprint across his pale ass. “Then why did you do it!” His arms flailed wildly as Nico sat back down.

Percy shrugged. “Quite a few reasons, actually. First, because of exactly what I said. You want to act like a child? Fine, I'll treat and punish you like one.”

Nico pursed his lips, staring down at his lap in shame. “I'm sorry. I'll do better next time.”

“But it was also to see if you would actually do it.”

The brown-eyed boy's head shot up to glare at the manager. “Are you fucking kidding me?” He shouted.

“Such a potty mouth for a little boy,” Percy mocked him with a stretch. He winked and stuck out his tongue before slipping a hand behind Nico's back to pull the boy closer. “But, also because you need to be more comfortable with things like that happening to you. If a customer wants it, they'll probably get it, as long as it doesn't bring you any harm.”

Nico's head fell onto Percy's shoulder. The boy let out a sigh and closed his eyes, exhaustion hitting him. He cracked an eye open to stare up at Percy, who was taking another sip of his drink. How was the young man not passed out? Nico could not see how the manager was not passed out. Not even the Lost Kids tried to stay up all night. In a place like this, everyone tried to get sleep whenever possible.

Percy caught Nico staring at him and smiled. “Sleepy?”

“Mmm,” Nico replied with a small smile.

The green-eyed young man brushed some of Nico's hair from his face. “You know, as much as I know you won't like it, experimenting with one or two of the Lost Kids might not be a bad idea for you,” the manager whispered. Nico instantly sat up. “I don't mean it to sound like I want you to just go around and have sex every second on the spot. I just know that you're still uncomfortable having sex with people you aren't wanting to have it with. I would also recommend you try it with one of the girls.”

“I'd rather just feel sick after every customer,” Nico mumbled.

Percy shrugged and stood up. “Suit yourself.” He briefly stepped into the kitchen before returning with a second glass, this one a golden color that reminded Nico of syrup. Nico frowned as it was placed on the table in front of him. “Want some?”

The brown-eyed boy eyed his boss hesitantly. “Is this some other test?”

Percy simply shrugged before taking his place beside Nico once again. “I was just offering you something to drink. I know things haven't been easy for you the past few weeks, so I thought I might offer you some.”

“Even after I said I didn't like wine?”

“Well, that's why I said you might like liquor more,” Percy replied casually, picking his drink back up. “No catch, no disappointment, just offering.”

Nico eyed the drink, tapping a finger against his leg. “You're so...confusing.” He looked up to meet Percy's eyes, who raised his eyebrows in response. “This-you said you wanted me to stay innocent, but now you're encouraging me to drink. That's the opposite of what you said.”

A small chuckle emitted from Percy's throat. “I think you've misunderstood what I mean, at least to a degree.” He sat his drink down and shifted on the couch so that his right leg was underneath his other one. The young man sighed as he slouched. “I will be an adult and admit that I was partly wrong, believing that you had to remain as pure as snow. It was an impossible task, and I see that now. I shouldn't have expected so much from you, it was a lot to put on your shoulders.

“But I started to realize that you would never really grow up that way. The world, the experiences that you have during your time on this planet, they define who you are. And I think I am partly to blame for your poor decisions of late. It would be like keeping you as a child forever if you fulfilled what I asked to the letter.” He turned to Nico with a smile before brushing Nico's cheek with the back of his hand. “And you have potential to make something of yourself, Nico. I wasn't lying when I said you're strong. You see, you just might be stronger than all of us.”

It hurt to hear Percy tell him that. Not because it was not because it was something he did not want to hear, but because it felt like Percy, for the first time, was really praising him. “So...what do you want from me?” The boy whispered.

Percy cleared his throat. “I want you to grow up, that's what I want. Can't have you being a kid forever, you'll never get into a good university that way.” The young man smiled again, melting Nico's heart. “I want you to be responsible and get a good education, because that's what you deserve.”

Nico's fingers gripped the couch. “And what...what do you mean by 'keeping my innocence'? If it's not staying a virgin and never drinking, what am I supposed to do?”

“I guess I should have explained things better from the beginning,” Percy sighed. “You see, I saw hope in you.” Green eyes turned upon Nico, piercing through him like a sword. “When I look at you, I see hope in the world. It makes me want to believe that maybe, just maybe, there is still hope for the people in this world. Being here, being around the people that do business on our upper floors, it makes things seem rather dim. And growing up around it and on the streets, I always just thought the world was too far gone and all that you could do was make your life better by doing whatever you needed to.

“I've done...a lot of bad things in my time after coming into Gaea's care, and even some before that. Because it needed to be done, and some because I wanted to put the people you see here in their place. It's what Gaea promised me when we first met, that I would look down at all these rich and powerful people and be able to completely shatter their lives with a single command.” Percy leaned his head back and ran his hand through his hair. “But having you around gives me hope that not everyone is corrupt in this dark, dark world.” Nico blinked as Percy reached across the couch and placed his index finger against Nico's chest. “And what's what I want you to hold onto, Nico,” the manager whispered. “It's not about refusing sex anymore, it's about doing what's right and being hopeful, seeing the good in people.”

There was a swelling in Nico's chest, as well as the desire to cry. But it was not because he was sad, not completely anyways. It was sad, hearing these things from Percy. It had to make him wonder how dark and hopeless this hotel was before he got there, or even what went on through Percy's mind over the years of being brought up under Gaea's care. The hardness that Nico found in Percy's eyes spoke more words than anything the young man probably ever could.

Swallowing a heavy lump in his throat, Nico nodded. “Okay,” he whispered. Percy's eyes widened as Nico leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the young man. “I won't.”

Nico sighed and stretched his legs, pulling the bottom of his shorts down to cover more of his pale legs. He placed his hands behind his head after adjusting the sunglasses he wore on his face. Everything seemed so much better today, but that could be because he was done with school until after New Year's Day. And, as far as he could tell, he had done exceptionally well on all of his midterms.

So, to reward himself, he had gotten a smoothie from Ganymede before heading to the pool to relax. Apollo and Silena were lounging on either side of him, caring about as much as Nico was about what was going on around them. Which meant they did not care at all.

For the first time in a very long time, Nico was not feeling overwhelmed while at the hotel, and it was glorious. Now if only he could get a tan. The boy lifted his sunglasses and stared down at his torso. Nope, still as pale as ever.

The only bad thing that currently came to mind was what came tomorrow. Tomorrow all of the Lost Kids would be taken to Circe and be styled to perfection before Gaea's arrival. Which brought him back to another reason he felt the need to relax. If Nico was going to die tomorrow, he meant to enjoy his last day on this earth.

Nico opened his eyes when someone cleared their throat. Clarisse was standing in front of Silena. Nico and Apollo had to stop for a second, both boys raising their shades to get a better look at the girl. Clarisse was dressed up...like a girl. Well, she still had jeans on, but her hair was brushed and her shirt did not have anything masculine on the front of it. She even looked like she might have makeup on.

“I'm about to leave,” Clarisse mumbled.

Silena jumped up with excitement. “Okay. Just make sure to tell me all the details when you get back.”

“Clarisse, I didn't know you were a girl,” Apollo joked, earning him a glare from Silena and the bird from Clarisse. The blond chuckled and reclined in his chair.

Nico frowned as Silena dragged Clarisse away from the two Lost Boys. “Do you know where she's going?” He asked, turning his head to look at the blond.

“Probably out with Chris. I saw him earlier, smelled like he was wearing cologne.” The blond shrugged. “About time they went on a date, they've been trying to flirt long enough.”

Nico supposed that made sense for why Clarisse got upset after Chris's promotion. He sat back in his chair, bending his knee upwards. With a brief glance over to the girls, he noticed that Silena was being very animated with her hands as she spoke. “What's up with Silena?”

Apollo did not even move to look, simply shrugging. “Just the way she is. If she thinks there's even a shred of a chance that something might come of two people, she'll latch onto them and play matchmaker. But, she also likes Clarisse, has since Clarisse first got here.”

“So why hasn't she tried to fix you and Le-” Nico shut up when Apollo glared at him over the top of his sunglasses. “Um, never mind.”

“Because,” Apollo began, “she doesn't know.” The blond relaxed again, shifting to get comfortable. “And let's keep it that way. I'd rather not have her lecturing me before giving me tips for trying to 'swoop Leo off his feet'.” Nico frowned as the blond stretched his arms above his head. There were two girls sitting across the pool, giggling as they eyed Apollo's half-naked body over, though the blond chose to ignore them if he noticed. “Like I said, she needs to think there's hope for things to work out in order for her to jump in. I mean, why don't you think she's tried fixing you and Percy up?”

Nico had to frown at that. “Thanks a lot,” he mumbled.

A lopsided smile appeared on the blond's face. “Just being real. So, I hear you got yelled at?”

“Well, not exactly.” Nico sat up more, rubbing his arm awkwardly. “He was very upset, though he did yell at the Stolls.”

Apollo finally looked over at him, his eyes shining like sapphires over the top of his shades. “It was amusing, if not a little amateurish and juvenile.”

“It wasn't my idea.”

“Yes, well, the Stolls don't care as much about being caught,” Apollo admitted.

“I think he was just stressed out, Percy that is.” Nico let out a sigh and twisted one of the laces on his trunks. “I mean, he never yelled at you when you pulled your stunt.”

When he was met with silence, Nico glanced at the blond. Apollo's mouth slightly hung open. The blond shook his head, as if he was coming out of some trance. “Oh, that's right, you don't speak French.” The blond blew his lips. “Well, he brought up the deal I had made with him not long before that.”

“Thanks, by the way.”

Apollo arched a brow at him.

“For at least trying to take it back,” Nico explained.

“Ah.” Apollo shrugged. “Didn't really make a difference in the end.” He let out a sigh and rolled onto his side to get a better look at Nico. “But I was terrified when Percy talked to me that night about screwing up your performance. To you, it might have seemed like he was just having a cordial conversation with me, but you didn't understand him. You see, in reality, he was letting me know what would happen to me if I ever tried jeopardizing the hotel's business again.”

“Like what?” Nico whispered, leaning closer to make sure no one overheard their conversation.

“Um, well, to understand that, you'd need to know that this hotel works a little different than some of the other branches. Percy, Frank, and Athena run things nicer than the other branch managers.” Apollo removed his shades, allowing Nico to see his eyes better. “You see, there are just some requests that Percy has to turn down out of the goodness of his heart. But, people like Kronos, might be open to allowing these certain requests. Perhaps things like hunting other humans for sport, or finding them a live body to perform acts of torture on.”

Nico suddenly did not feel so good. He was hoping Apollo was not about to suggest what he thought the blond was going to. “And Percy was going to...allow people to...torture you?”

“No...” It was all the blond said for a while. Apollo chewed on his lip, sitting up and pulling his knees to his chest. Finally, he let out a sigh and buried his face in his knees. “He's promised to keep all of us safe, so he would never permit me to be physically harmed like that. I wouldn't be getting tortured, I'd be doing the torturing.” He looked over at Nico, licking his lips and moving to sit on Nico's lounge chair to be able to talk quieter. “You see, some people that go to the kink rooms in other hotels, very much enjoy watching torture, but don't like getting their hands dirty.”

Nico had to swallow a lump in his throat before he could speak. “Percy was going to make you torture someone for a customer's enjoyment?”

Apollo nodded his head. “He also mentioned that it might involved me spending some time in the Middle East, at Kronos's hotel, so that I could do that.” He sighed and laid down next to Nico, placing a hand on the boy's stomach. Nico glanced at the two girls, who did not seem as pleased anymore. “So, yes, now you know what Percy told me that night.”

Apollo's skin was very warm and soft. It was also a little distracting. Nico soon found his hand resting against the blond's abs. “You know,” Nico whispered, “if you hadn't pulled your stunt, you might have been my first time.”

The blond grinned and began tracing his fingers along Nico's stomach. “Oh really? Well, it seems I'm not as crafty as others like Octavian or Annabeth.”

“But, perhaps it was for the best,” Nico continued. “Though, either way, I probably would have ended up where I'm at now.”

“I used to think you had a real crush on me.”

Nico chewed on his lip before looking up to meet Apollo's eyes. “I did,” he admitted. “I might have considered dating you, if things had continued like they had, instead of me getting hurt.”

“Then it's for the best, because I wouldn't have deserved it,” the blond mumbled. Nico frowned at him. He reached up and pushed the blond's curls away, but Apollo would not look at him. Instead, the blond was distracting himself with the hemline of Nico's trunks. Nico probably should have stopped him, but he also knew that Apollo was not being serious with his current action. “It's something that I've thought about ever since we had our talk on the balcony.”

“What's that?”

Apollo let out a heavy sigh. “Just that maybe you would have been better off the way things were, and maybe it was better that Percy was trying to resist you. I still would like you to leave, and try to find a better life for yourself. Every day you stay here now, I feel the guilt. It's not the same as before, where I felt bad because I was not able to keep myself together while on the streets.” Nico blinked as his trunks came undone. Perhaps he had been wrong as well. Apollo's palm rested just underneath his trunks, flat against his pelvis. “But now I just feel guilty because it was my request that made that deal, and now has you in this situation. Somewhere along the way, I realized it would have just been better for you to leave than have you be like us.”

Nico's eyes continued to watch the blond's hand. It was not moving lower, so he was not in immediate danger of being groped by the other Lost Boy, but it still made him feel better to keep an eye on it. His breath hitched when Apollo buried his nose into the crook of Nico's neck. “Um, Apollo?”

“Hmm?” The blond mumbled against his skin.

“I'm not sure if we should be doing this in public.”

“It's fine,” the blond assured him. “The two girls that have been staring over here probably think we're dating now.” He pulled back to look Nico in the eye. “We're not completely unlike you, you know. Some of us, most of us, don't always like receiving attention from the people around here.” He sat up and pulled Nico against his chest. “Though, normally, when I wanted a distraction, I'd find one of the other Lost Kids and have sex. However, I don't feel like making you a distraction anymore. You do deserve better than all of this, Nico.”

Nico adjusted himself until he was sitting in Apollo's lap, his hands pressed against the blond's chest. “Are you about to confess your love for me? Because that's what it sounds like.”

That got a laugh out of the blond. “No, no, nothing like that. Like you said, you're like a brother to me. A very sexy brother that I might like to get naked, but a brother nonetheless.”

“How touching,” Nico said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

The corner of Apollo's mouth tilted up in a smirk. His hands rubbed against Nico's hips. “You know, I do recall that you might let me have sex with you one day.”

Nico's eyebrows rose at the blond. Biting down on his lip, he rolled his hips into the blond's crotch. When Apollo moaned, he leaned in to whisper in the blond's ear. “Emphasis on the one day.” He chuckled and pulled back. “And I did say maybe, which does not guarantee you anything.”

Apollo leaned back and chuckled, placing his hands behind his head. “Careful now, I might start thinking you're becoming like Percy if you start teasing like that.”

“I don't think I could do what he does,” Nico whispered. His eyes roamed across the blond's flawless skin, trailing his fingers across the Lost Boy's tan chest.

Both boys nearly jumped when someone cleared their throat. Nico slowly turned around to find Rachel standing there, arching her brow at them. “Am I interrupting something?”

Nico's cheeks flared up and he jumped off of a laughing Apollo. “We weren't doing anything,” he mumbled.

“Of course not.” The way Rachel smiled made it seem like she did not believe Nico. “Either way, I have some documents for you.”

Nico's face scrunched up. “Don't want them. I just got out of school, and now I'm having to do more studying.”

The red-haired girl pulled a briefcase from behind her and shoved it at Nico. “Trust me, you'll miss school by the time you're done with this.” She glanced over Nico's shoulder, at Apollo, before returning her eyes to Nico. “I also have that other thing for you.”

“Oh.” Nico tapped his finger against the briefcase before turning around. “I need to talk to Rachel about these documents I need to study, so I'll talk to you later.”

Apollo looked between the two of them before shrugging. “Sure, I'll catch you later.”

The two walked until they got up to the second floor lounge. Nico sat the briefcase down on a table that the two decided to sit at before opening it up. He felt sick just looking at it. “I have to read all of this?” Nico nearly yelled.

Rachel patted the two stacks of paper with a smile. “It won't be that bad.” She reached in and pulled out a handful of papers. “Look, I even marked the more important ones for you,” she said, flipping through until she found one with a post-it note on the corner. “You'll have to bring those with you to the meeting and hand them to Percy when he asks for them. Just make sure to keep the note on the paper so you know which one he is talking about fairly easily.”

Nico groaned and picked up the top sheet of paper. “I feel like he should have picked someone else for this. Anyone would have been a better pick than me.”

“Well, he's not wrong in assuming it would be a good experience for you. Sadly, you won't be able to use it as extra credit in your business classes.”

The boy let out a sigh, placing the paper back in the briefcase. “How long do I have to study all of this?”

Rachel smiled and put the papers she had picked up back where they belonged before taking a seat across from Nico. “The meeting will either be January the first or the second, depending on Gaea's mood. You'll know by Christmas Day.” The red-haired girl reached over and patted his hand. “Don't worry so much, Nico, I'm sure you'll done fine.” From a small pocket in the briefcase, Rachel pulled out a small envelope. “And here's the other part of Percy's present.”

At least that made Nico smile. “Thanks,” he mumbled.

“I'm sure he'll like it.” Rachel smiled again before standing up again and patting her hair. “Though, he'll probably question how you got your hands on all of it.”

If he didn't, Percy was probably going to be upset. Nico was going to hope that he made the right decision in this present. That would just be the icing on his cake of the worst December of his entire life.

Nico let out a groan from where he had face-planted onto the bar. Without even pausing from the drink he was making, Chiron reached over and patted the boy on the head. One afternoon of reading those documents had left Nico with a migraine. How was he supposed to have all of this studied with only two weeks to do it? There were hundreds of documents in that briefcase, all in small print and multiple pages.

On the bright side of things, he was working the bar, which meant a less stressful environment for the night. But on the downside, it also meant that Gaea would arrive in a little over twelve hours.

Nico rolled his head to the side to be able to see the bartender. “I'm going to make a fool out of myself, Chiron.”

The man smiled and pushed the drink he had been working on across the bar to a customer. “You worry too much, my boy.”

Perhaps he did, but Nico also felt he had good cause to do so. If Gaea did not strike him down, Kronos would probably do it himself. Nico's stomach was in knots. He had barely managed to eat anything at all for dinner, too nervous to hold anything down.

By the time Nico got to take his break, he felt like a nervous wreck. He collapsed on the couch in the break room with a loud groan. Will chuckled at him from the chair next to the couch. “Rough time there, Nico?”

“I don't want to talk about it,” Nico mumbled.

The blond Lost Boy hummed and slipped over to the couch, lifting Nico's legs and placing them in his lap. “You know, you can always tell Percy you don't want to sit in on the meeting.”

The thought had crossed Nico's mind. However, he would also feel like a disappointment again if he did. “I can do it,” Nico whispered. He yelped when Will smacked him on the ass.

“Good, 'cause no one likes a quitter,” Will chuckled.

Nico lifted himself up to glare at the blond. “Sir, that is my property.”

Will bit down on his lip, leaning towards Nico. “Maybe I want it to be mine.”

The brown-eyed boy stuck out his tongue. “Too bad.” Will continued to grin at him, though. Nico sighed and rolled onto his back, propping himself up so that he could see Will better. “You know, there's something I'm still confused about with you.”

The blond winked at him. “How did I get this sexy?”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Conceited. No, that's not it.” Will smiled and shrugged, rubbing Nico's legs. “I don't get what happened with you. When we met, you were just friendly, and then Apollo pulled his stunt and you seemed to despise me, and now you seem to have a crush on me.”

“I do have a crush on you,” Will chuckled. He sighed and slouched on the couch. “Why must everything have an answer with you?”

“Because I know there is one.”

Will's blue eyes sparkled as they stared at Nico. “I suppose that is true. It was a little out of the ordinary for all of us, I will say that.” He shrugged and leaned his head back. “Sure some of us found others that we didn't like that well in our ranks. I mean, look at Octavian and Annabeth, or Luke and Beckendorf.”

Nico scrunched his lips. “Leo and Apollo?”

The blond snorted. “Sure, if you want to believe that.” When Nico gave him an incredulous look, Will winked at him. “What? Apollo tells me everything. Well, for the most part. He was still mad at Ganymede when I got here and got roomed with blondie, so Apollo turned to me for a shoulder to lean on.”

“But why the change from back then?” Nico sighed.

Will frowned and ran his hand under the leg of Nico's pants. “You know, sometimes I wish that we had met under different circumstances.”

Nico's eyes drifted down to where Will was rubbing his leg. “Why is that?”

“Because, I think things would have been different between us. Maybe I'd have a better chance with you.” Blue eyes flickered up to study Nico's reaction. “You remind me of someone I used to know. This boy from the orphanage, he was really sweet. I was around...fourteen or fifteen, I think, when we had our first kiss. He was my very first, and I was very happy. Even if the place sucked, it wasn't that bad with him around, and it was much better than when he left.”

“What happened to him?” Nico whispered.

Will sighed and removed his hand from Nico's pants. He smiled and patted Nico's leg. “He got adopted.” The blond's lips tilted down. “Though, after I came here, I found out that he had later died. Apparently, his foster parents had abused him.”

Nico frowned as Will got up and wiped his eyes. “I'm sorry,” Nico whispered. He reached out and grabbed the blond's hand before Will could leave. “What makes me remind you of him?”

Will gave him a sad smile before cupping Nico's face. “Because, even in a bad place, you want to see the good in things. He was what kept me going, and it got so hard when he was taken. Up until I found out, I just imagined that he was living such a good life. And now...now I just wish he was still living.” He smiled at Nico again. “But, to answer your question, I realized I shouldn't blame you for not being like us. That's not your fault, and you shouldn't be held accountable for it.”

Nico got up and wrapped his arms around the blond. “Will...”

He felt the blond's arms rub against his back. “I'm fine,” the blond whispered. “And you'll be fine as well.” Nico shivered as he felt Will's breath against his ear. “You see, I'm not going to let you end up like him. That's why I want you here, because I'm scared your father will end up getting you and then something bad might happen.”

Nico remained quiet, not knowing how to respond. How did one reply to that? He did not even know the answer himself. Would he stay here, or would he try to find a life away from all of this? Truth be told, he knew things might be better if he went to live with Daedalus, but at the same time, he did not want to burden them.

All too soon for Nico's liking, his break was at an end. With a smile from Will, the two headed back to work. At least he only had a few more hours to go before his shift was over. Though, given the circumstances, Nico knew he would probably be up even later, just reading over those documents.

As Nico was passing by, he caught sight of Piper laughing and chatting with a female customer, sitting alone at one of the tables. He slowed down, slowly looking the woman over. She did not look that old, possibly early thirties. And friendly, unlike most that Nico had the displeasure of meeting. Her dark hair had been tied up into a tight bun and a pair of glasses sat over her warm brown eyes.

Nico took the table next to the woman, doing his job, while being able to watch Piper at the same time. Piper smiled and handed the woman back her card before leaning in for a hug. It surprised Nico a little. Aside from Mr. Boreas, Nico had never seen a customer that the others had liked, and they did not even hug Mr. Boreas.

So, as soon as the Lost Boy was done taking his table's order, he quickly darted over to where Piper was heading for the bar. “Piper,” he called out to her.

She turned around and smiled. “What's up, Nico?”

“Um,” he motioned over his shoulder, where the woman was getting up, “who's that? I've never seen any of you be friendly with a customer before.”

“Oh.” Piper's eyes widened a little. “That's Mellie, and I've known her since I was about thirteen.”

“She knew your parents?”

Piper rubbed her arm. “Well, my mom walked out on my dad when I was real little, but Mellie there works for my dad. She's his personal assistant.”

Nico turned to raise a brow at the woman's retreating form. “Aren't you...I don't know, worried that she might relay this to your father?”

The Lost Girl nearly snorted. “Oh, that's funny. Well, firstly, she's not going to. She's more scared of Percy than she is loyal to my father. Secondly, my father probably wouldn't give a damn.” She sighed and went to start walking again, but Nico grabbed her arm.

“Wait, what does that mean?”

The girl sighed and shook her head. “This isn't the best time, Nico. I'll just say that there is more than one way to abuse your child.” She gave the boy a nod before turning and heading over to Chiron with Mellie's signed receipt.

At the end of the night, Nico was so bored. Maybe it was just the holiday, but it seemed like the hotel had slowed down a little. But perhaps this was a good thing. If it was going to slow down for a few days, then Nico could relax a little. However, the others were not acknowledging it, so perhaps it was not something to get excited over.

After leaving the bar, Nico headed back to his room, where he was greeted by a surprise visit from Percy. The manager and Jason were standing in the living room, and it seemed like they had been in the middle of a conversation. Jason was still smiling when Nico opened the door, though he frowned upon seeing Nico.

To say the last few days had been unpleasant for both of them was an understatement. It was so awkward, at least for Nico. Sure he had been curious about Jason's body, but he had not wanted such an intimate and up close experience with the blond's junk.

But at least Jason's hair was already blond again. The twins had not been lying when they said it was temporary. Still, the blond narrowed his eyes upon seeing Nico.

“I see you two have been having fun,” Percy chuckled.

Nico let out a sigh. “Am I off the hook yet?”

Percy hummed and tapped a finger to his lips. “I don't know, perhaps a few more days. Maybe if something happened in the shower, I'd end it on the spot.”

Nico's jaw practically hit the floor. “I'm starting to wonder if you're into voyeurism.”

The green-eyed young man shrugged. “Actually, I was thinking about both of you.” He motioned to Nico. “You're not comfortable with having sex with anyone but me.” He then turned and glanced at Jason, who was scowling at Percy. “And you're still not over associating sex with bad emotions. So, I thought I could kill two birds with one stone. Jason finds you attractive, and you find Jason attractive. I don't see the problem with this.”

Nico felt his eyebrow twitch. “You have some serious issues.”

The manager scratched his cheek. Looking at the young man, he reminded Nico of an innocent toddler, though Nico was no fool. “It was just a thought. Think about it the next time you're in the shower. I need both of you to be more comfortable with sex and other people. Now, if you both can do that without sex, then by all means, don't have sex with each other. I figured it might be easier this way, rather than picking Lost Kids at random.”

This was a nightmare. The two roommates glanced at each other, eyeing each other carefully. Jason reacted first, shrugging casually. Nico let out a sigh and nodded his head. “Fine, if something happens, we'll go with it,” the brown-eyed boy mumbled.

Percy let out a sigh and smiled. “Well, now that we have that settled, Jason, you need to get to bed. Both of you do, but you have an early appointment with Circe tomorrow, so I guess Nico gets off the hook for another day. And Nico, you need sleep as well, but I wanted to talk to you, and I know you're going to make me proud by studying some of those documents before you sleep.” He flashed Nico a bright smile before stepping aside to allow Nico to pass by him.

“I hate you sometimes,” Nico mumbled as he walked by the raven-haired young man. Jason laughed as he disappeared into his room and shut the door. When Nico turned around from shutting his own door, he found Percy laying down on his bed. “Can I help you?”

The young man grinned mischievously. “Well, we haven't really discussed hours yet.”

“Too tired.”

Percy only continued to grin. “That's actually what I was wanting to talk about,” the young man said. Nico tilted his head to the side, not following. He sat down and began to take his shoes off. “I've noticed something about you, Nico, as of late.”

“What's that?” Nico sighed, tossing his shoes aside and undoing his pants. Once he was out of them, he sat back down on the bed, near Percy, and pulled his legs up to his chest.

“It's that...as of late, I haven't really seen you trying to have sex.” The young man sat up and sat cross-legged, facing Nico. “No major blushing when someone makes a pass at you, no requesting to have sex with me, not even much of lustfully gazing at the other Lost Boys. I'm not sure if I should be impressed, happy, or worried.” He smiled when Nico glared. “But you're still cute when you do that. In all seriousness, though, I'm just surprised, but in a good way. I mean, you even turned me down for sex the other week. I'd say I'm pretty happy with your development in that regard.”

Nico's eyes fell to his sheets, where he simply shrugged. “Just haven't really wanted it.”

“I guess I'm also surprised you didn't come to me for some comfort after all of that.”

Brown eyes flickered up to meet the young man across from the Lost Boy. “Comfort doesn't always have to involve sex. It was just nice having you around.” Percy smiled at him so brightly that Nico could feel his heart begin to melt. Percy was just too much sometimes. “Or maybe even just to be held.”

Before Nico could even blink, Percy had slid in beside him under the covers. He smiled and pulled Nico close to him. “I don't have a problem with cuddling or holding you whenever you might need it.” He rested his head on top of Nico's, taking in a deep breath. “Actually, that's all I had intended to do after your mother's funeral.”

Once again, Nico found himself face to face with his failures. If only he had put more thought into his actions, perhaps he would not be in this mess. The boy's eyes slowly closed. He could hear Percy's heart beating in his chest, and the sound of it was mesmerizing. There in Percy's arms, Nico felt like the most important person in the young man's life. He knew that was not true, which only made it hurt more.

“You know,” Percy said, “I've been thinking about something else.” The young man's voice rumbled in his chest, vibrating against Nico's ear. “Aside from not fully comprehending why you like me, I don't understand why you see me as perfect. I don't really like it either. It's like a verbal slap to the face when you say that about me.”

Nico's fingers tightened in Percy's shirt. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “If it makes you feel any better, I'm starting to not think that as much.” He leaned back, allowing himself to get a better look at the young man beside him. “Being perfect means there's nothing to improve upon and without flaw. And to be human, you're going to have flaws. And that's what you are, human.”

The young man smiled and started stroking Nico's hair. “Well, I can rest a little easier now that I don't have all that expectation to live up to.”

“You are attractive, probably the most attractive person I've ever laid eyes on, though.” Nico felt his cheeks burn as Percy grinned at him. Why did he have to stick his foot in his mouth sometimes? But it seemed that his mouth had developed a mind of its own. “I know you're not perfect, I see that now, but I don't think the things you do make you a bad person. A bad person would not carry guilt with them, would not seek to help people. You're still desirable, even if you choose not to see it. You're human, and I think that's better than perfect. If you were perfect, I'd have to drown in my own sorrow because I'd have absolutely no hope of having a chance with you.”

Percy chuckled and continued playing with Nico's hair. “Well, I'm glad you decided to tear down the pillar you managed to place me on.” He shifted their positions, so that one of Percy's legs was resting between Nico's own legs. A hand slipped up Nico's shirt, where it traced circles around the boy's bellybutton. “Though, who said anyone had a chance with me to begin with?”

Nico had to let out a groan. Leave it to Percy to ruin the mood. “You couldn't just let me have that, could you?”

“Why, Nico, I take pride in torturing you, I'll have you know.”

A more true statement had never been said.

Circe had to be a witch. That was really the only explanation that Nico had for how a woman could make each of the Lost Kids look so good, even him. Nico tilted his head to the side and ran a hand down his cheek. Circe's girls had just finished giving him a facial, something he had been very much opposed to, but was not minding it so much now. His skin felt so soft...well, softer than before. His nails were perfectly manicured and his hair had been done to near perfection.

His bruises had disappeared, thankfully, leaving Nico with a face even had him looking stunned. Circe was smiling behind him as she continued to primp his hair. “Now, I let you keep a slightly messy look to your hair, while making sure it is acceptable for Gaea's liking,” the woman told him. “Make sure that you spend a little extra time in front of the mirror in the mornings until Gaea's departure. As I'm sure you've been made aware by now, you need to look your best as long as you're out of your suite.”

None of this was helping Nico's nerves. Percy and Rachel had left just over an hour ago to wait at the airport. The boy's brown eyes kept flickering over to the clock, watching it slowly tick and move. On the bright side, he had around half an hour before his life potentially ended.

He nearly jumped when Circe's hands squeezed his shoulders. “Well, I believe you're all done here. Scamper along and brace yourself for the coming storm.”

“Thanks,” Nico mumbled, shooting Circe a weak smile.

Jumping out of his seat, Nico nodded in Circe's direction before heading into the rest of the hotel. He stopped and looked around, debating on where he should go. It would not be long until he had to come back to the lobby, so his room seemed like a bad idea. Swimming was out of the question, unless he wanted Circe to decapitate him in his sleep. And most of the other activities around the hotel would involve getting sweaty, so Nico opted for getting a snack from the cabana.

As luck would have it, Ganymede was still there, and not off getting ready like most employees were. Though, the man was cleaning up, which meant he was probably going to temporarily close until after Gaea had arrived.

Ganymede looked up with a smile when Nico sat down across from him. “Well hello there. What do I owe the pleasure of your company on this beautiful day?”

Nico rolled his eyes, though he could not hide the smile that covered his face. “Just waiting until our guests arrive.”

The man wagged his eyebrows and leaned forward. “I bet you're just so excited about that.”

“Oh, you have no idea. I'm just plain ecstatic.” Nico leaned his elbows on the bar. He watched as Ganymede went back to cleaning and organizing. It was probably for the best, seeing as how everything needed to be absolutely perfect. “Is Piper's father famous?”

The ex-Lost Boy stopped and turned around to blink at Nico. “Um, if you consider being a well-known actor famous.” He tilted his head to the side when Nico gave him a confused look. “Piper's last name is McLean, yes?”

“Yeah?” Nico nodded, not following the man's words.

Ganymede rolled his hand slowly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You know, like Tristan McLean, the movie star.”

Nico's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Okay, so maybe it should have been obvious. “That's her father?” He practically yelled.

The man chuckled, nodding his head. “Yep, that would be her father. Though, I wouldn't try bringing him up or asking for an autograph.”

That was very curious, though. Piper had to have been brought up in a fairly luxurious life. So, how did a girl like that go from movie premieres and fame, to stripping under Percy's hotel. Why choose this life over something like that? Yet, Piper did not seem too happy to talk about her father last night, which truly made the question that much more confusing.

The dirty bond-haired man slapped his hands onto the counter, nearly causing Nico to fall off his stool. “So,” Ganymede said with a bright smile, “I hear you're going to be Percy's little assistant boy during the manager meeting.”

“Unfortunately,” Nico mumbled.

“How goes the studying?”

Nico let out a groan, burying his face in his palms. “I don't understand why he would pick me. Sure it's some good educational experience for my classes in school, but I'm pretty sure any of the other Lost Kids would be better suited for this.” He shook his head in sorrow. “They all know this stuff better than me, especially Leo and Rachel. I mean, I was even shocked to learn that the hotel rooms here were decently priced.”

Ganymede smiled and patted Nico's shoulder. “Well, you have to keep in mind that a lot of the guests here are just that, guests, and they don't know about the other things that go on here.” The tall man shrugged. “But then you also have people that simply come here to eat at our restaurant or get an appointment with Circe. You'd be surprised at some of the simple sources of income that Gaea's hotel chain has.”

Nico simply shrugged in response. His shoulders were slacking a little, but that would probably be because of his nerves and depressed mood. Something was going to go wrong, he could just tell. “I just don't know what to expect from this.”

“Well, I got to sit on a meeting once,” Ganymede replied. Nico brightened up a little. “Actually, it was the first time I ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on our dear Percy.” The man smiled when Nico leaned forward. “He was maybe a year younger than you at the time. He was just so...beautiful. Though, he was fairly quiet during the meeting. I did have the honor of having him wink at me when he caught me staring.”

“He had never come with Gaea before during her visits?”

Ganymede shook his head. “No, not really. And, during the rest of their time here, Percy was practically attached to Kronos's side, which helped deter most of us Lost Kids from trying to speak to him.” At the mention of Kronos's name, Ganymede made a face as if he tasted something sour. “They may seem similar, in a lot of ways, but Percy and Kronos could not be more different. Like, if Percy were the color white, Kronos would be black.”

Nico slowly nodded his head. “So, did anything else happen during their time here.”

Ganymede nodded, lightly chewing on his lip. “Oh yeah,” he replied. “You know, but they could never prove it had anything to do with Kronos. And now that Percy is manager, nobody would dare ask, because that would be like insulting Percy himself.”

Nico checked to make sure they were alone before turning back to Ganymede. “What happened?”

“Well, we've had similar cases before and even after this happened, but this is possibly the first time it was caused by someone from within the hotel system. At the time, Kronos was probably around sixteen, perhaps seventeen; you know, not really the age where you'd suspect something.” Ganymede let out a sigh. “Well, there was this girl at the time, pretty young and fairly fragile. In all honesty, I didn't see how she was going to make it.”

“I don't like how you keep saying 'was'.”

The man shrugged in response. “Were you expecting anything other than a tragic ending? I mean, do I need to remind you of where you're at?”

“No,” Nico sighed. He motioned for Ganymede to continue.

The ex-Lost Boy checked his watch before looking up at Nico. “Let's just say that Kronos is known to have a way with words, and can be fairly persuasive. Which, if you are aware of that about Percy, then you already know what I'm talking about.”

Nico nodded.

Ganymede cleared his throat. “I don't really want to get into great detail about it, but Aphrodite swore she saw Kronos and the girl talking. And then she turns up dead, though everyone is fairly certain it was suicide.”

“Do you believe that?”

The man rubbed at his mouth. “It probably was, though I feel confident in saying that Kronos probably said something to her to make her do that.” This was not helping Nico's nerves. “Just be aware of Kronos while he's here, okay? He's very good about getting into your head and making you do what he wants.”

“I-”

Nico was cut off by the sound of his phone. And it seemed that Ganymede had also got a text, as the young man reached down to pull his phone out of his pocket. Nico's eyes flickered down to his screen. The text was one word from Leo: Lobby!

“Well,” Ganymede chuckled, “looks like that's our cue to get into position.”

There was a heavy lump in Nico's throat, one that he could not manage to swallow. He was no longer sure who he should be more nervous about meeting. Both seemed pretty intimidating to him at the moment, though.

He was so rigid as he walked. Ganymede just laughed, tossing an arm around the boy to speed him up. As they walked, Circe came bursting out of her spa like a bomb was about to go off. “Hurry, hurry!” She called after them as she took off towards the lobby.

“You'll get used to this,” Ganymede assured him. Nico was not so sure if that would be the case.

The other Lost Kids were already standing in the middle of the lobby when they arrived. Even Chiron, Dionysus, Esperanza, and Chris were there, though they stood at the back. Nico gave Ganymede a pleading look before he was pushed away by the laughing blond.

Staring at his feet, Nico took his position next to Jason, who was practically bouncing on his heels. Which Nico could understand in all honesty. Jason was, after all, the son of Gaea's late rival. The others, however, could not have looked more relaxed unless they were given pajamas and a bed.

Leo came bounding out of the elevators, shuffling rapidly towards them with his cell phone in hand. He took a deep breath as he positioned himself at the door. Nico felt the color drain from his face as soon as Leo turned towards them. The Latino raised a hand to his mouth before he yelled, “Gird your loins! This is not a drill!”

Several of the Lost Kids rolled their eyes, but all the humor was lost on Nico. He felt his shoulders tighten and his stomach do a flip as the Latino boy slipped his phone into his pocket and placed his hand on the door.

There, in front of the hotel's front door, was a long, black limousine. Percy emerged first, with Rachel following quickly beside him. The young man dashed around to the other side and opened the door, while smiling at whoever was on the other side of the door.

Reaching out, Percy took a feminine-looking hand. And out from the door came a dark green high-heel. Nico's stomach plummeted. There was no more waiting, there was no more time to prepare. His fate had been sealed, though that had probably happened the moment he had been brought into the hotel. Nico could think of a million of other things that he would rather happen at the moment, some of which included one of the several terrorist customers the hotel had showing up and threatening to blow them up. But none of that really mattered at the moment because of one simple fact.

 

Gaea was here.