Children of Loss 37

Chapter 37

Unlike with Gaea and Kronos, the Lost Kids were not required to show up to greet the other managers. However, since Nico had never even seen them, he stood on the second floor balcony with Ethan and Clarisse, while the three remaining managers entered the lobby.

Atlas had been the first to arrive, and the man had immediately made a lasting impression on Nico. The man was terrifying! He had to be around six-foot-five and with arms that could probably have broken Nico in half. Clarisse had laughed at the pale look Nico had gotten on his face at seeing the man. He even towered over Percy! But that did not stop Percy from smirking and shaking the man's hand after Atlas had dropped his bags.

Demeter had arrived almost twenty minutes later, not intimidating Nico as badly. In fact, she reminded Nico of his grandmother back in Italy. She had even brought some cookies, which she handed over to Percy. Percy had eyed them and then asked something, which had ended up getting him smacked on the back of the head.

Now, Nico was just waiting to get a look at the Asian branch manager, Frank. He rested his arms on the balcony railing and carefully watched the door.

“The most amusing thing,” Ethan mused while watching Leo peek at the cookies that Demeter had brought, “is watching the others freak out when Demeter offers to cook or bake.”

Nico turned his attention to the other Lost Boy. “Why's that?”

Clarisse, who had been chewing her nails, spit a piece of her thumb nail across the lobby. “Because, she has to dispose of bodies somehow.” Nico paled at that. “Not that she's ever fed any of us that stuff, but it makes the others a little nervous to wonder if the next piece of food they eat from her might include a organ or finger.” Clarisse gave a lazy shrug. “I know Kronos and Atlas buys some off of her on occasion, and the two of them and Demeter both offer them to clients they despise.”

Nico made a face at that. “Sounds gross. People don't notice?”

“Not really.” Ethan let out a sigh. “You'd be surprised at the taste of human flesh.”

That made Nico feel a little uneasy. Had Ethan ever tried some of Demeter's special delicacies? That was a little disturbing to think about. He made a mental note to himself to steer clear of anything the woman had to offer. He would rather not take the chance of swallowing an eyeball.

Approximately fifteen minutes after Demeter had left the lobby, a tall young man with a crew cut walked into the lobby with two Asian girls following behind him. He was handsome, with a strong jawline. His shoulders were broad and his physique reminded Nico of some war hero in an action movie. His eyes reminded Nico slightly of a wolf.

Almost immediately, Hazel appeared and threw herself at the guy, who smiled warmly as he hugged her. That would have to be Frank, if Nico had to guess. Frank spun Hazel around as Percy walked over to them. After letting Hazel down, Percy and Frank hugged.

Nico barely was able to catch what was said. “So, about Hazel,” Frank said with a smile.

Percy rolled his eyes. “Not even here a minute, and you already have the nerve to ask.” The American manager smiled and threw his arm around Frank. “Afraid I'm going to have to decline.”

Frank reached out and cupped Hazel's chin. “It never hurts to ask.”

Nico had to wonder how this guy was a manager. He looked like a teddy bear. A teddy bear that could snap Nico like a twig, but the point still remained. Even so, Nico did try to keep in mind how he had been deceived by Percy's appearance as well. If the green-eyed manager could pull off the look of a sad seal, then the teddy bear could probably stab someone through the heart just as easily.

“So, how is Drew treating you?” Frank asked as the three headed towards the elevator.

Percy has caught sight of Nico by now and was staring quite intently. Frank seemed to notice and followed Percy's gaze up to the balcony. Rolling his eyes, the Asian young man gave Percy a shove. Percy returned his gaze to Frank. “What?”

“I take it that is the new kid we've been hearing about?”

Percy motions for Nico to come downstairs. Ethan and Clarisse grinned broadly and patted Nico on the back as he stepped away from the railing. Nico jogged down the stairs until he was standing in front of Frank, Hazel, and Percy.

Percy motioned to Frank. “Nico, this is Frank, the district manager of Asia.”

Frank gave a slight bow before reaching out to shake Nico's hand. “A pleasure to meet you.”

Nico just sort of gaped at the young man. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

The brown-eyed young man chuckled. “Please, don't call me 'sir'. I'm not old enough for that yet.” He did a quick glance over of Nico's appearance. “Ah, but I've been looking forward to meeting you. Not as much as Kronos probably was, but I figure you have slightly less to worry about with me.”

Percy rolled his eyes. “You're all overreacting.”

“We'll see,” Frank said with a smirk. He gave Nico a nod. “Anyways, it was nice to meet you.” Taking Hazel by the arm, Frank and his two girls entered one of the elevators.

Percy slid his hands into his pockets. “So, what are your thoughts on all of them?”

“I'm not planning on trying anything that Demeter offers me,” Nico mumbled, looking over his shoulder to make sure the woman was not nearby.

Percy cracked a grin at that. “I see the others already told you about that.” He reached out to ruffle Nico's hair. “It's nothing to worry about, she isn't out to feed any of you that stuff. In fact, she tends to like most of the Lost Kids that get brought into the business. Aside from the fear of her baking, most of the Lost Kids find her enjoyable.”

Nico took a moment to just stare up at Percy. After returning from spending Christmas Day with Bianca, Nico had not gotten to see much of Percy. Between Nico's work schedule, preparing for the meeting, and Kronos and Gaea occupying most of Percy's time, Nico had barely caught a glimpse of Percy all week. And now it was New Years, which according to Thalia, was a very big night at the hotel. Since the big meeting was the next day, several clients apparently took the opportunity to stop by the hotel to talk arrangements with the big lady herself.

Finally, Nico smirked. “So, I've never really gotten a kiss at midnight before.”

Percy grinned and brushed some of Nico's hair out of the boy's face. He moved forward. And, as he passed by Nico's shoulder, leaned in to whisper, “Don't hold your breath.”

Nico turned to glare at the young man's back. He kept thinking he was getting somewhere with Percy, but it really did not seem like it during times like these. How did anyone think there was something between Percy and Nico, especially when Percy kept doing things like this?

With a quick glance at his phone, Nico silently cursed and jumped in the first elevator that arrived in the lobby. It was almost time for work, and Nico still needed to get a quick bite to eat and get ready for tonight. Since it was New Years' Eve, that meant it was also the night for the number that number that Apollo had been preparing them for, the one that everyone was still slightly ticked off with him about for him getting to head the number with Annabeth.

After an hour of eating and getting ready, Nico slung a bag that he kept his wardrobe changes in and headed up to the top floor. All of the Lost Kids that were performing tonight were dressed the same: the boys wearing simple black vests, some black pants, and bowler hats; the girls wearing golden dresses, lace stockings, and long strings of pearls.

Luke sneered at Nico as he placed his bag down in the corner with the others. “You better not screw up tonight, twerp.”

“Thanks for the motivational speech,” Nico grumbled as he put his bowler hat on top of his head.

The Lost Kids stepped out onto the stage to get into place while the curtain was still closed. While Annabeth had been surrounded by the other Lost Boys performing tonight, Nico found himself surrounded by the other Lost Girls. Nico placed one of his arms on top of his head, where his hand reached out to hold onto his other arm, which was straight up in the air.

The music and lyrics to “Show Me How You Burlesque” began to play while the curtain opened. Two spotlights found their way onto Annabeth and Nico. As soon as the music truly started, the Lost Kids came alive, shifting around Annabeth and Nico. The girls worked to hold onto Nico, all the while leaning back as far as they could. Meanwhile, the Lost Boys knelt around Annabeth and raised their hands up towards her face. During all of this, Nico and Annabeth snapped their fingers along to the music's beat.

The Lost Boys picked up Annabeth and carried her over to Nico. The girls scattered and spun around the pair as Annabeth leaned back against Nico and placed her hand around the back of her neck, Nico's hands placed on her waist.

Lights appeared on certain tables out in the audience, and the Lost Kids working the floor got up on them and moved along with the music, shimmying up and down to the guests' great enjoyment. The Lost Kids pointed up to the stage, and in response, the Lost Kids on the stage swung an arm back and forth above their heads.

As the chorus played, the Lost Kids on the stage moved to stand behind Annabeth and Nico. The two had split apart by this point and were standing next to each other. They shot one arm up in the air, followed soon by the other and taking the first one down. Nico and Annabeth curved in their lower backs as they brought each of their knees up, one at a time, to their hip level.

Behind the pair and on the tables, the Lost Kids were spinning their arms in circular patterns above their head, working in running their hands through their hair as they did so. At the end of the chorus, all of them hopped from one foot to the other, while making the 'come here' motion with both of their hands.

The Lost Kids then divided up, the girls going to one side of the stage and the boys going to the other. Slowly the Lost Kids on the stage worked their way towards the edge and shimmied lightly to the audience. Nico placed his hand on Will's back—who was slightly bent forward—as the group of Lost Boys slowly moved towards the Lost Girls, Annabeth doing the same to Hazel on the other side of the stage.

Nico and Annabeth made the 'come hither' motion again to the audience, while slowly turning around to face away from the crowd. The pair placed their hands above their head and jutted their hips from side to side. Moving their faces close together, Annabeth and Nico lip-synced the words, “Here come the ladies, about to give a little show.”

After that, the Lost Kids on the tables, flipped their way onto the stage and everyone stood in a straight line, waving their arms back and forth above their heads. All of them snapped their hands back and forth from their chest to behind them, all the while shaking their asses at the audience.

Everyone circled around Annabeth and Nico, and all of the Lost Kids placed one of their arms above their heads, slowly snapping along with the music. Everyone but Annabeth and Nico crouched down when the beat picked back up and the two pointed out at the audience. Nico reached out and Annabeth took his hand, and the two strutted their way towards the back of the stage.

At the final part of the song, the Lost Kids positioned themselves around Nico and Annabeth again, while they all kicked their knees up from side to side. Spinning around, they all shook their asses again. On the last line of the song, everyone paired up with someone of the opposite gender and grabbed each other. When the final words rang out, the girls tore away the boys' vests and the boys practically ripped apart the girls' golden dresses. The lights immediately went dark on the stage.

The Lost Kids all took a moment to catch their breaths as the audience stood up to clap for them. Annabeth gave Nico a small smile as the two stepped away from each other. “Good job,” she managed to breathe out.

After the curtains were closed, the Lost Kids got off the stage and worked to cool off. Grabbing cold bottles of water, the Lost Kids that had been on the floor headed out the door to get back to work. Nico plopped down on the nearest couch, not caring that his head was on Hazel's leg. The girl smiled down at him and put her cold water bottle to Nico's forehead.

After nearly finishing off their bottles of water, the twins headed back onto the stage for the next performance of the night. Nico groaned and closed his eyes. No matter how many times they practiced that number, it always left him feeling completely drained and sweaty.

“Frank seems nice,” Nico said with a yawn.

Hazel smiled down at him. “He's sweet. I've seen pictures of him from before he got involved with all of this, he looked even more like a teddy bear.” Nico chuckled at that. “But, like Percy, he still has a good heart, even if he has to do some unpleasant things.”

“I guess we all have to do things we don't like around here.”

“You get used to it,” Hazel replied.

Nico shifted on the couch to get a better look at the Lost Girl. “Hazel?” He began. The girl looked down at him. “How hard was it for you anyways, to go from the life you had into all of this? I mean, you escaped it one place, and then just ran back into the same life.”

“Not exactly the same.” The Lost Girl stroked Nico's hair. “Percy's nicer than my mother was, and so is Gaea. Sure they can be cold and can be ruthless when they need to be, but they try to take care of us. That's more than my mother ever did.” She leaned her head back with a sigh. “And, besides, at least I'm getting paid here.”

“That's a sadistic way of looking at it,” Nico mumbled. He rolled onto his side and pushed himself up to sit beside Hazel. “But, I mean, you could leave. All of you could.”

“I suppose.” Hazel dropped her hands into her lap. “But I guess we all just feel like we need to stay here. We feel like we belong here, like we finally have a real family. And isn't that what everyone wants in this world, to feel like they belong somewhere?” She offered the boy a weak smile. “I know someone looking in on us probably thinks us all insane, but we just finally feel safe. Out there, and back where we came from, there was no feeling of comfort, family, or safety. Back at home, I cried myself to sleep most nights. Here? Here I just feel dirty after I'm done with work and take a shower.

“But, to better answer your question, I guess I just got used to it. Sure I had a lot of trouble accepting it when I first came here, realizing that I'd still be selling my body to strangers, but I think we all had issues when we first got here,” Hazel continued. “Ask anyone, especially Percy, and he can tell you that each of caused a commotion on our first day of work here. And, by the time I got here, Silena was already here, and she helped me get through it.”

“Not Thalia, Annabeth, Apollo, or Luke?”

Hazel slowly shook her head. “Silena and I....we could relate.” She glanced over at Nico. “I'll just leave it at that.”

Nico looked up as the twins made their way off the stage. Connor frowned heavily and reached into his speedo to pull out some dollar bills. Looking like they disgusted the brunet just to hold them, Connor shoved the money at his brother.

Nico jumped up, since his performance was next, and walked over to his bag to get ready for his next performance. Travis crouched down beside him and slipped the money the two had accumulated on stage into his bag. Nico glanced over at him. “What was up with that?” He asked.

Travis did not look at Nico, just let his hands drop after placing the money in the bag. He sighed and stood to his feet. “Just another issue Connor has with the job. He's fine accepting his paycheck, but he's never touched the money customers give him personally.” The brunet shrugged. “No big deal, I just put it all up in the bank, so that we can use if we need to ever leave here.”

“I guess that's smart.” Nico yanked his open vest off his body and stuffed it into his bag. Sitting on his butt, Nico pulled off the black pants and swapped them for a pair with suspenders. “But doesn't it worry you, with Connor, I mean.”

Travis was looking at his brother when Nico glanced up at him. The brunet frowned and scrunched his lips. “I always worry about my brother, but we all have issues, Nico, it's nothing uncommon around here.” He cracked a grin and playfully hit Nico's shoulders. “It's the ones that try to act normal around here that you need to watch out for, my friend.”

Nico furrowed his brow as he watched Travis walk off. As he got to his feet, Nico adjusted his suspenders onto his shoulders. Blowing out a breath, Nico slowly walked onto the dark stage and got into place.

The song that he and Apollo had picked out for his solo performance tonight was a bit different than his usual choices, but the blond had been working with Nico pretty frequently to make sure he moved just right with the dubstep song.

As the lights slowly lit up on the stage, Nico started to let his hips bounce from side to side as Nostalgia and Aami's “Bad Machine” began to fill the room light beats. When the lyrics started, Nico slowly worked his arms and hands down from his head, slowly letting them trail down his body. As he turned to face the audience, Nico played with the suspenders on his torso. The main thing he had to remember, as Apollo had told him, was to keep bouncing his hips from side to side.

At the part where the song kept repeating the words “make you”, Nico brought his fists to his chest and popped out his ass to each utterance of the word.

Placing his hands behind his head, Nico arched his back before sliding one of his legs out and crouching down. Biting down on his lip, he reached out and ran a hand along his outstretched leg. As he came up, Nico unhooked the suspender on his left shoulder.

Jumping around, Nico smacked his ass and threw his head back. Leaning forward, Nico moved his upper body in a crescent arch, making sure to bring his head as close to the floor as he could. After coming up, Nico removed the other suspender and slid a hand along his torso, making sure to bite his lip when his hand ghosted over his crotch.

Nico rolled his upper body along with the music, slowly getting his pants off. When they finally came off his legs, Nico tossed them to the side and turned around to gyrate his ass to the audience. Reaching behind him, the Lost Boy hooked his thumbs under the fabric and slowly jerked the speedo from side to side as. At the end of the song, Nico slid one of his hands under the material of his speedo and turned his upper body. Placing a hand on the back of his head, Nico struck a pose while biting his lower lip.

Nico's bad news came right before the final performance of the night. Leo poked his head through the door and made his way over to the brown-eyed boy. Nico instantly paled, knowing exactly why Leo was there.

Nico slumped his shoulders. “Which room?” He sighed.

Leo gave him a sad smile. “First room on the right.” As Nico turned to head there, Leo patted him on the back. “Don't freak out too much.”

But, before Nico could even ask what Leo meant, the Latino boy had already vanished. Nico let out a little groan and pushed open the door to the back rooms.

The room was empty when Nico arrived, so he just sat down on the bed for a minute. With a quick glance at the cabinet, Nico contemplated if he needed to take another pill. So far, the boy had just waited until he saw the customer to decide. If it was a woman, Nico always took a pill; but if it was a guy, the circumstance depended on what the man wanted.

The bottle of alcohol that was also kept in every room also sounded appealing to him most nights that he found himself in these rooms. Not that he ever drank it, but he admitted that it did sound appealing. What was not to like about getting so shit-faced that he could not remember his encounter with the client? Nico had begun to see the appeal the other Lost Kids had for it.

But, as always, Nico opted against it. With a heavy sigh, Nico leaned back against the wall. He just wanted to get this over with. At least he had managed to stop crying.

Nico frowned when the door opened and Octavian slid inside. “What are you doing here?” Nico asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Octavian narrowed his eyes. “Just giving you a quick reminder of your job.” The blond nodded to the door. “Percy sent me back here, said that Gaea's going to have Kronos sit in the security room and watch. She wants to make sure you're handling your job.” Nico fidgeted slightly, glancing over to the camera in the corner. “So, just do your job. Just remember to get the information out of the client as he or she is having their way with you. That's all she cares about.”

Nico sighed and nodded. “Yeah,” he mumbled.

Octavian rolled his blue eyes. “You're such a girl. This is part of why I've been working with you, so you can do what you're back here to do.” He placed a hand on his hip. “I haven't been doing it to enjoy your company, you know. It doesn't matter that you're being watched, the bottom line is that it's about time you got your act together and pulled your weight. Get what information you can, and show the bastard in the security room that you're not some easy target.”

Nico frowned up at the blond. “That almost sounded like you were trying to help me.”

The blond scoffed. “Please. I just dislike you less than I despise Kronos.”

The brown-eyed boy hugged his knees. “Thanks,” he mumbled. “I'll...try.”

With a small nod in Nico's direction, Octavian disappeared from the room. Nico glanced at the camera again. He did not like the idea of that snake watching him, even if Kronos had saw him naked the other day. All of a sudden, Nico felt extremely vulnerable.

The door opened a little under five minutes later. Nico prepared himself to try greeting the client like he was supposed to, but as soon as he caught sight of the client, Nico froze.

“A pleasure to see you again, Nico,” Senator Johnson greeted him. He smiled at the boy as he removed his coat and put it in a chair that was at the foot of the bed.

Nico closed his mouth and cleared his throat. Smiling back, Nico jumped up and played with the loose shirt on his torso. “So, I see you finally decided to spend some private time with me.” Nico's skin crawled just at having to utter those words.

He did his best not to cringe when the man ran the back of his hand along Nico's cheek.

The senator smiled at Nico again before reaching over to dim the lights. “Oh, I've been waiting for this for some time now.”

Ever since Percy had asked him to sit in on the meeting, Nico had ran dozens of simulations in his head on how he thought it would go. None of them had involved getting his ass groped by Percy, while the manager sat there like he wasn't even doing anything.

Each of the managers had one of their Lost Kids at their sides, while they all sat at the large conference table. All except Frank, who had requested that Hazel attend to him.

Nico stiffened when he felt Percy's finger press against his entrance through the fabric of his pants. Percy actually had the audacity to give a smug smirk, keeping his eyes on Gaea as she spoke to the managers. But the only one who seemed to have a problem with Percy's behavior was Kronos. Though, it did not take long for Nico to realize that the Lost Kids from the different hotels were merely there to serve food, drinks, hand the managers documents, and be their plaything. In all honesty, Nico shouldn't have been surprised, especially since it seemed to easy for Percy to teach him everything that would be covered at the meeting.

“You want to pay better attention,” Kronos mumbled in annoyance.

Percy tilted his head to the side, a small smile on his face. “Have you looked at yourself?”

It was true. Kronos had actually gotten his attendant, a girl named Rhea, to sit across his lap. The young man only made Nico dislike him more by having the girl feed him grapes. How stereotypical of someone with power, Nico thought.

“How much are you feeding that boy?” Demeter said plainly, bringing Gaea's line of discussion to a halt for a moment. “He looks like a corpse.”

Percy looked up at Nico briefly. “I think he's attractive. Just because he's skinny, doesn't mean he's unhealthy.” The young man gave a light shrug. “He eats fine, though his eating habits are not enforced by me.”

Nico's cheeks were a little pink by the time Percy was done talking. This was also not the first time that Demeter had commented on his appearance since her arrival. This time was number three. The second time had been at breakfast, when Nico and Hazel had bumped into the woman at the hotel's restaurant.

“It's just the way she is,” Hazel had told him as they had sat down at their table. “She fusses over everyone. Well, aside from those like Beckendorf and Butch.” She had grinned broadly. “In fact, she nagged Frank so badly about his weight that he started working out. And, well, you've seen the result.”

Nico's eyes flickered over to where Gaea was seated. He did not like being the object of discussion that derailed her meeting. But she sat there calmly, her green eyes staring blankly back at Nico. He wasn't sure what it was about the woman, but she seemed to get under his skin worse than Kronos.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that she was Kronos's mother. Nico had to wonder if she had raised her son to be so cruel. Or perhaps it was due to all the information that Nico had accumulated on the woman since he had arrived. She was powerful, there was no doubt in Nico's mind. In fact, he had to wonder if there was anything she could not achieve, could not make happen.

Either way, her calm demeanor did nothing to make Nico feel safe around her.

“As I was saying,” Gaea finally continued when no one else seemed to want to discuss Nico, or the fact that the boy was being fondled by her adopted son, “I feel like it would be beneficial to the Lotus to offer some specials to the average guests.” She spun her chair to the side and crossed her legs, lifting a sheet a paper up for examination. “Add in a family plan, or something.”

Athena had a finger tapping against her lips. “What about at the main hotel? I feel we could make some profits if we offered the resort area for use to students or their parents. Charge admission to use the pool on the facility.”

The woman at the head of the table waved a hand absently. “See to it that is done.” She looked up at the other managers. “Any other ideas?”

Percy leaned back in his seat, finally removing his hand from Nico's rear. “Zeus's businesses are in our possession now. In their current state, they make a very small profit. Well, at least compared to a lot of our other sources of incomes.” The young man tapped a pen against the table's surface. “We could just shut them down, cut off funding them and let them collapse. Or, we could do some redesigning on them.” He shrugged. “Perhaps turn his old headquarters of operation into something community related.”

“Thoughts?” Gaea asked.

Percy scrunched his lips. “Community center for kids to go to after school?” The young man suggested. Gaea simply scribbled something down on the piece of paper she was holding. “It would need some cleaning up, but it's a nice way of keeping certain politicians off our backs.”

Atlas gave a scoff. “What are they going to do, storm the hotel? With what?” The man grinned wickedly. “We own most law enforcement wherever we have businesses set up.”

“Still,” Percy sighed, “it does help with politicians that aren't so easily bought.”

“And keep them off our doorsteps with annoying comments,” Frank mumbled.

Gaea crossed her arms and swiveled her chair back and forth a few times. “Fine, see to it that it's taken care of.” Percy nodded with a smiled. The woman placed the paper that was in front of her to the side. “Next order of business.”

“Can you get me some water?” Percy whispered to Nico, leaning back slightly so the others wouldn't hear.

Nico nodded and reached behind him to pour Percy some water from the ice-filled pitcher that sat on a small table. The young man smiled when Nico handed it to him. After taking a sip, Percy made Nico sit on the arm of his chair.

Kronos stared at the two of them in annoyance. “We have a few clients seeking protection,” the young man said, finally looking over to his mother.

Gaea was busy reading over a new document. “Valuable ones?”

Frank gave a grunt, scribbling something down on a sheet of paper before handing it to Hazel. “Most of them. All of them are offering large sums of money, though we do have one in the files, as you can see, that isn't as...beneficial as the others. His usefulness has expired, in my opinion.”

Percy flipped through a few files in front of him, stopping on one with a photo of a man. Nico frowned and leaned in. “Is that the man?” Nico whispered. Percy gave a slight nod.

Athena let out a sigh. “He has a bounty on his head?” Athena asked for confirmation. Frank nodded. The woman shook her head. “Cut the loss. He's not benefiting us anymore. Hell, give them his location.”

“Will do,” Frank mumbled, scribbling something else down under the man's photo.

Gaea flipped to the next page. “What about File #138459?”

Percy flipped to the page and found a scary-looking woman with a scar on her chin. “Wanted for treason,” Atlas offered. The man leaned back and crossed his arms. “Wanted for smuggling in both Argentina and parts of North America.”

Percy gave a small chuckle. “I'd hand her over. She's not doing anything for us if she's having to hide all the time.”

“But she was making some good money for us not long ago,” Atlas pointed out.

“True.” Percy looked over to Gaea. “But, in my opinion, she'd be more of a financial loss in her current state. It would take her several shipments of her very, very expensive merchandise to pay us back for erasing her criminal record and having both governments look the other way for her.”

“Not like someone couldn't just replace her,” Kronos agreed, running a hand underneath Rhea's short skirt.

“Fine,” Atlas grumbled as he scribbled something down. “I'll see to it that it's taken care of.”

Kronos pushed Rhea out of his lap, a frown marring his face. “I feel like we should discuss certain events.”

“Not important,” Gaea replied, not looking up from some documents.

“Mother-”

Percy let out a sigh. “We're just worried,” the young man jumped in. All of the managers nodded. “We all think they are brain dead, but still.” Percy rested his chin on his hand. “Surely we can all remember what usually happens when people in power grow careless and feel they can't be touched.”

Gaea cut her eyes over to where Percy sat, silencing him with a cold stare. “I am not underestimating anyone.” The woman waved a hand absently. “They want to try and take all of this? Let them try. I built this, and I'll be damned before I see someone try and steal it all.”

“I could-”

“We both could go,” Kronos jumped in.

Gaea rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. “That will not be necessary. I can manage things myself, thank you both very much.”

Percy and Kronos both smirked, offering no further objections. Nico, however, felt extremely lost. There was no files that he could recall that sounded familiar to this situation. Percy had also not flipped to a particular file, which probably meant there was not one. He wondered if Percy would inform him later.

“Next order of business,” Gaea finally said after a long moment of silence.

The managers all sat up from their lazy positions and flipped through some of their files. “Next meeting location?” Demeter offered. Her assistant, a short Lost Girl that Nico had not caught their name, handed Demeter some documents. The woman passed them to Percy. “I believe Australia would do.”

Nico's eyebrows rose as he took one of the photos from Percy. It looked so gorgeous. Percy rolled his eyes at Nico and took the photo back before passing it down to Frank. “Works for me,” the green-eyed young man said with a yawn.

Nico's eyes widened and his cheeks flared when his stomach growled, drawing attention from most people in the room. Kronos rolled his eyes.

Percy chuckled. “I guess we've been in here a while.”

Gaea's face was blanked. She stared at Nico for a moment before returning her eyes to the contents of the document in front of her. “We'll get him some food on the way to the movie set.”

Nico perked up at that. He looked to Percy, who smiled and nodded. At some point, Percy must have run it by Gaea that Nico tag along to see the movie that the woman was funding. And, apparently, Gaea had agreed to it.

After fifteen more minutes of discussion, Nico was tapping his leg in anticipation. He wanted this to hurry up so he could eat and go meet celebrities. From the cast list that they kept on file, Nico already knew several autographs he was going to try and get. However, the managers kept finding different things to discuss.

Nico nearly fell off of the arm of Percy's chair when the green-eyed young man cleared his throat. The Lost Boy quickly looked up to find everyone staring at him. Atlas was tapping his fingers in annoyance.

Percy raised an eyebrow at him. “Can you hand me that file?”

Nico's face went red as he scrambled up from Percy's chair. “Oh. Sorry.” As he flipped through the files that had been placed behind Percy, Nico realized that he had no idea what he was even looking for. Biting his lip, the Lost Boy turned to look at Percy for help.

The young man sighed and stood up, lightly pushing Nico to the side to simply reach and grab a particular file with a red label across the front. Percy leaned in to Nico's ear. “Calm down, you've been doing fine. The meeting is almost over, just pay attention.”

Nico hung his head in embarrassment as he sat back on the arm of Percy's chair. Hazel flashed him a smile, mouthing “relax”. The Lost Boy was partially startled when Percy grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled Nico into his lap. Percy leaned his chair back and slid his arms around Nico's waist, holding the file out in front of both of them.

Nico's brow furrowed. He had only seen this file once while studying with Percy. After seeing Nico pick it up, Percy had taken it from the Lost Boy's hands and told him not to worry about that file. The only thing Percy had said was to know when to hand it to him, which Nico had managed to fail at. A wonderful way to end his first attendance to one of these meetings.

Gaea laid her copy of the file onto the table, spreading some of the contents out in front of her. “Is everything here in order?”

“For the most part,” Athena supplied. The woman laced her hands together in her lap. “We still need some funding on particular political candidates on the United States' front.”

Nico felt one of Percy's hands slip under his shirt. “Leo's going to be writing the checks later today,” the green-eyed young man added.

Gaea gave a nod. “Good. And the justices that we were going to have nominated?”

“Since someone's president thought he could nominate who he wanted,” Kronos mumbled, cutting his eyes over to Percy.

“Also being taken care of.” Percy stuck his tongue out playfully at Kronos, who rolled his eyes. “And I'll make sure that the senate passes the particular one that we selected to make it through. They-”

Percy stopped in the middle of his sentence when there was a commotion out in the hall. Nico could hear Rachel say something about “not being a good idea”. There was a male voice on the other side of the door, insisting to be let in. After a few seconds, the door opened and Rachel poked her head in.

“Sorry to interrupt, but there's a client here with payment.” Her eyes flashed over to Percy, a hidden message being relayed to the young man. “Should I let him in?”

Gaea closed her folder, and the managers soon followed her example. The woman motioned to the door. “Show him in.”

Rachel stepped aside and a tall, thin man brushed past her. A pair of glasses rested on his nose, the light in the room reflecting in them to hide the man's eyes. He wore a red bow tie with his grey coat and black shirt. The hair on the top of his head was grey, though Nico could see that it was starting to thin out. In his hand was a briefcase.

Gaea stuck her nose up at the sight of the man as he walked around the table to stand closer to the woman in charge. As he was halfway around the table, Gaea held up a hand to make him stop. The man placed his briefcase on the table, next to where Kronos was sitting.

Kronos looked like he had just been touched by something diseased, scooting his chair a few inches away from the man. The way Kronos looked at him, it was like he was staring at a rodent. To Nico's surprise, this was the reaction the man was earning from all of the managers in the room.

“Dr. Thorn,” Gaea said with a great distaste in her voice, “what do I owe the pleasure of your interruption on our very important meeting?” She looked the man over before lacing her hands together in her lap and spinning her chair slightly to the side. “Your situation has already been discussed, I'm afraid, and we've already come to a decision.”

“Ah, well, I was hoping I could just have a moment of your time.” The man nervously reached for his briefcase, opening up the locks on it. “Perhaps I could persuade you to change your minds. I know business has been bad lately, but I think I can give you something valuable.”

Atlas snorted and elbowed Kronos, who leaned back in his chair and watched the man with amusement. Percy leaned his cheek on his palm, which was propped up on the arm of his chair. Nico fidgeted lightly in Percy's lap.

The room fell silent when a bag of pure white powder was pulled out of the suitcase. Nico did not have to be a genius to know what it was. The hair on the boy's arms stood up as he glanced around at everyone else in the room. The Lost Kids were deathly silent. Rhea gulped and leaned in to whisper something to Kronos, who moved his chair farther away from the man and allowed Rhea to get out of his lap to stand in the corner of the room. Even Hazel looked nervous, looking stiff and refusing to look up from the floor.

Several managers had their jaws locked. Percy, for his part, had a fire of annoyance in his eyes, as if to say: you have the audacity to bring that here? Nico looked down when he felt Percy's hand slide along his head. Percy reached for something under the table, and Nico's eyes widened drastically when he saw the back of a gun. Percy let it rest on his knee, his finger on the trigger.

“You're not very bright, son, are you?” Demeter said, breaking the silence.

Dr. Thorn chose to ignore her. He slid the briefcase down the table, where Gaea could get a better look at it. As the briefcase came to rest in front of her, Gaea drew her hands away from the table, like the object carried some disease. All the while, Dr. Thorn was grinning, like he was very pleased with himself.

Gaea's jaw locked and she reached out to pick up one of the many bags of white powder inside the briefcase. “Ah, yes, your best merchandise.” Her eyes grew hard as knives and she dropped the bag back into the suitcase, placing her hands into her lap. She let out a sigh and looked out the window, bringing one of her hands up to prop up her chin. “This is why I hate amateurs, they never know how to pay properly.”

“Huh?” Dr. Thorn drew back, stunned. “But this is some of the finest-”

“I get that by the truckloads, son,” Atlas sneered.

With dull eyes, Gaea reached out and picked up a back of powder. “I take money, Dr. Thorn. It's my businesses that sell this stuff, and I don't care to have more of it as a form of payment.” Dr. Thorn's eyes widened as Gaea tore the bag and poured its contents onto the rest of the pile. “Does this look like cash to you?”

Dr. Thorn placed his hands on the table, his face red in anger. “What are you doing? Do you know how much that bag was worth?” He demanded.

“Not even half of what we make in a month,” Kronos mumbled, inspecting his fingernails. With a dark look at the man, Kronos reached underneath the table.

Nico stiffened when Percy's finger tightened on the trigger and he began to lift it above the table.

Nico was startled when a loud gunshot filled the air, his ears now ringing. He sat there, stunned, as Percy placed his unused pistol onto the table. Dr. Thorn now lay on the floor, blood gushing from his neck as he gasped for breath. Kronos sighed and placed his cheek into his palm, grumbling as he placed his unused gun on the table as well.

Confused, Nico looked around to try and find which of the managers had shot the man. With snake-like eyes watching the dying man, Gaea stood to her feet, a gun in her right hand. She placed it on the table and walked behind her to get herself a glass of water.

Once she was satisfied, she sat back down and took a sip. “Percy, could you get someone in here to remove this filth?” She asked, motioning to the man on the floor.

Percy nodded. He looked to Rachel, who nodded and stepped back outside. A moment later, Ethan and Clarisse came in and picked up the guy, dragging him out as blood trailed behind him. Nico gulped as the door was closed.

Percy sighed and shook his head. “Now I'm going to have to redo the carpet.”

The meeting continued for nearly thirty more minutes before Gaea called it to a close and said that everyone was dismissed. After that, Nico had gone to his room to get things he felt he would need to go see a movie set: pen, some paper, and his phone for photos. He also used this time to a a break freakout over the first murder he had ever witnessed.

Percy showed up a little before it was time to go, and just shook his head and told Nico not to freak out when he met the actors.

And now Nico found himself in a limo with Percy, Gaea, Athena, Rachel, and Kronos. Just looking out the window, Nico was in awe. There were so many people running around, so many props being moved around. They even had a safe being lifted up on a crane to be loaded in a truck, though it looked like the driver was taking a break.

As they got out, Gaea let out a sigh and placed a pair of sunglasses over her eyes. With a purse of her lips, she leaned in towards Athena. “Remind me to fund them some more money.”

Rachel chuckled when she caught the confused look on Nico's face. “She's not too pleased,” the Lost Girl supplied.

What? This was amazing, how could anyone not be impressed. Nico just continued to stare up at everything as they walked through the studio lot. It was so magical, even though it was just an average workplace for these people. Percy slipped his hands into his pockets and nudged Nico along when he thought the boy was slowing down.

As they walked, Nico turned to Percy. “So, can I ask something?” He asked quietly. Percy gave him a nod. “What was up with that final topic back in the meeting? I mean, you can't seriously guarantee that those people will take office, can you?”

The young man tilted his head to the side and arched a brow. “No, they will definitely be taking office, most within a year.” The green-eyed Adonis smirked when Nico stared up at him in confusion. “I don't think the world, politics especially, works the way you think it does, Nico.” He gave a casual shrug. “Money makes things happen, and it's important to keep people in power that can benefit your interests. Political parties don't even matter, in all reality. Either candidate for whatever position they are going for can be of use. You think your vote actually matters?”

“Well that's just corrupt, especially since America is supposed to be about freedom.”

Percy shook his head with a smile. “You have the freedom to believe that your vote counts for something. You have the freedom to go about your day and pretty much do whatever you want. You can do a lot with this 'freedom'. However, no one is truly 'free' on this planet. People in power, no matter what country you are in, decide just how 'free' you are.”

Nico let out a sigh and looked over to watch someone direct around some men carrying large props. “And what happens to these politicians when they have outlived their usefulness?”

Nico jumped when he felt someone grab his shoulder. Letting out a yelp, he spun around to find a grinning Kronos. Percy chuckled and shook his head. Kronos smirked creepily. “They get removed. Permanently.”

Percy shook his head. “Don't scare him,” the manager said. He smiled down at Nico. “Not always, but some do give us problems when they are being taken out of power.” Percy reached up to scratch his brow. “Where do you think a lot of political assassinations come from? Or perhaps a senator gets into a automobile accident, and he or his family doesn't make it. Simple threats can work just as good as putting out a hit on them.”

Nico's brow furrowed. “I wouldn't call making someone wreck a 'simple threat'.”

Percy smiled down at the boy and pulled Nico closer, which did not seem to please Kronos very much at all. “That's cute, Nico. Don't worry, you won't ever have to worry about things like this.”

Nico grumbled under his breath and let Percy lead him farther into the studio lot.

Nearly two hours later, Nico emerged from one of the buildings with a big grin on his face. Percy shook his head lightly as Nico thumbed through all the autographs he had gotten. Rachel handed the boy back his phone, just having taken a photo of the boy with Emma Stone.

“I will treasure this one forever,” Nico sighed contently.

“I'm going to begin questioning your sexuality,” Rachel chuckled.

Nico held the phone close to his chest. “What? I would totally go straight for Emma Stone?” The boy narrowed his eyes when he spotted Percy snickering at him. “She's hot!”

“She also has a vagina,” Percy pointed out.

“Okay, so there would be some issues that would have to be worked out.” Nico sighed at the photo. “Also, her boyfriend is hot. I might have that threesome.”

Rachel nodded sagely. “He was very hot in that Spider-Man costume.”

Nico looked up at Percy. “So, what's the name of this movie going to be?”

Athena beat the young man to it. “Gangster Squad.” She was reading over something on her tablet. “It's based on a true story, in fact.”

As they walked back to the limo, the group fell into a silence. Percy walked beside Nico, looking over the boy's shoulder as he kept flipping through photos of himself with the celebrities that had been on the set. He was so distracted that he did not even hear the low groaning noise coming from above him until there was a loud scream.

The next thing Nico knew, he had the wind knocked out of him as Percy came barreling into him, sending the boy flying through the air. Nico's eyes widened as he landed on concrete, though the hard impact to his head never came.

His eyes became filled with panic a second later when the large safe he had seen on their arrival came crashing down where he had been standing just a second ago. Nico just laid there in shock, his body shaking. His face was pressed against Percy's shoulder, the young man's arms in a vice grip around Nico's body.

A second later, the two were surrounded by the rest of their group, with quite a few other people running over to check on what happened. Kronos was yelling down at Percy, though Nico was still in too much of a shock to make out what the young man saying. The only words he could decipher were “you idiot” and “worthless trash”.

And then Percy pulled back and allowed Nico to see his face. Nico was frozen by what he saw. There was pure panic in Percy's green eyes, his eyes wide as he looked Nico over. Kronos reached down and jerked Percy to his feet, though Percy only continued to stare down at Nico, like Nico might actually not be laying there unharmed. It was also then that Nico noted that the back of Percy's hand was bleeding, having taken the impact instead of Nico's head.

Gaea was eerily quiet, letting Athena and Rachel handle the crowd around them, and letting Kronos yell at Percy for how stupid that was. Nico just laid there, unable to get his legs to work for him. He gulped and jumped a little when Rachel reached down to help him up.

“You okay?” She asked, looking Nico over.

Nico gave a shaky nod, his eyes still locked with Percy. It wasn't until Gaea insisted they head back to the hotel that Nico looked over to the safe. It had smashed into the ground, and Nico could have been underneath it, if it had not been for Percy.

As they walked back, Percy kept his head down and his eyes hidden behind his bangs. Nico frowned, though he was not able to get near Percy, due to Kronos glaring daggers at him any time he even took a step in the young man's direction. Even in the limo, Kronos demanded that Nico sit as far away from Percy as possible.

As the limo pulled away from the lot, Nico looked out the window. This felt bad. He had been so scared of something happened, so determined and self-assured that there was nothing for anyone to worry about. He had wanted everyone to see that there was nothing there with him and Percy, that Percy was not in fact changing over him. But Percy had thrown himself in harms' way for Nico, and the boy had a feeling that was not going to end well for either of them.

The ride back was deathly quiet. Percy refused to even look at Nico, his eyes lowered the entire time. At the beginning of the ride, Kronos had been snapping at Percy, but soon gave up when he saw that Percy was not going to say anything. Nico shifted uncomfortably, fully aware that Gaea was switching her gaze between Percy and Nico, almost as if she was making a decision.

As soon as they were back, Kronos jerked Percy's arm and dragged him out of the limo. Gaea quietly got out and headed into the hotel. Rachel followed after Athena, shooting Nico a sad look. The brown-eyed boy bit his lip, trying to fight back a wave of tears. Something bad was about to happen, he just knew it.

And would all be his fault for not paying attention.

They rode the elevator up to Percy's floor. Nico had gone to push the button to his floor, but Kronos had smacked his hand away from the button. The other managers are waiting there when they arrive, all of them immediately demanding to know what happened at the movie set.

Without saying a word, Percy is ushered into the conference room by Gaea. Kronos crossed his arms and walked in beside the green-eyed boy, sitting down on the edge of the table. But when the other managers moved to go inside, Gaea blocked their entrance.

“I need to talk to Percy privately for a moment.”

“But Kronos is in there,” Atlas grumbled.

Frank rolled his eyes. “You sound like a child.”

Atlas shot the young man a glare, but shut up when he noticed Gaea's cold eyes. “All of you can go find something else to do until I'm done,” she stated. Nico looked down and slowly turned to head down the hall, hopefully back to his room. But Gaea's cold voice stopped him in his tracks. “Not you, Nico. You and I need to have a word when I'm finished with this talk.”

Nico felt a chill run down his spine, but he managed to nod in response. While the other managers dispersed, Gaea shut the door. Nico slid down the wall and planted his butt on the floor. He felt like he was sitting outside the principal's office.

It did not take long for word to spread to the Lost Kids, apparently, as Annabeth, Connor, and Hazel came down the hall. They stood in front of the small window and watched inside. As the windows were bulletproof, as Nico had been informed before the meeting, they were not able to hear what was going on inside.

Connor turned to Nico. “What happened?”

“I was being stupid,” Nico whispered. He managed getting to his feet and stood beside them to look at the three inside the room. “I nearly got crushed today, and Percy pushed me out of the way. Well, tackled me, if you want to get technical.”

The Lost Kids were silent, choosing to watch what was unfolding inside the room instead of commenting on what Nico had just said. Nico frowned and did the same.

Percy sat on the opposite side of the table from Gaea and Kronos, facing towards the window. He kept his head down, unmoving. No matter what Gaea said, Percy did not look up at her. When she apparently got no response from Percy, Gaea got livid. She slammed her hand down on the table and yelled something at Percy. The glass was very thick, as Nico could only hear that she was yelling and not what she was actually saying.

Kronos sat there, smirking as he watched everything unfold, like he had just won something. Though she does not look, Gaea pointed in the direction of the window as she continued to lecture Percy. Even so, Percy continued to sit there like a statue.

Finally, Gaea let out a sigh and sat back down in her chair, rubbing her temple. Whatever she said, it caused Percy to finally look up and shoot out of his chair. He went to say something, but frowned and looked away. When Gaea said something else, Percy's fists clench.

Percy shook his head, finally answering Gaea. He motioned with his hands a lot, his eyes wide and pleading. Gaea just shook her head. She walked around the table and cupped Percy's chin. She seemed calmer now, as did Percy. The young man looked up at her with a look of unhappiness still in his eyes.

Percy lowered his gaze and said something to Gaea, which she nodded to. Percy finally looked up and gave the woman a nod. Kronos grinned wickedly as he stood up. Percy narrowed his eyes and pointed his finger against the surface of the table, looking as if he was demanding something from Kronos. The pale young man held up his hands and smiled, responding calmly to Percy.

Kronos walked over to the door and opened it. As Percy came out, his eyes met with Nico's for a brief moment, a sad look filling his beautiful green orbs. Behind him, Kronos grinned wickedly, like he had won whatever they had discussed. In silence, Percy walked towards his suite.

“Nico, please come in here,” came Gaea's calm voice.

Nico gulped and walked forward. Kronos grinned and bumped the boy's shoulder. Leaning in, Kronos whispered, “What would you like inscribed on your coffin?”

Nico looked nervously around the room as the door was shut behind him. Gaea sat there, watching him patiently. But when Nico just stood there, she motioned to the chair in front of her. “Sit,” she ordered.

And Nico did as he was told.

Gaea crossed her arms, arching her brow at the boy. “You can relax now, Nico, I'm not going to yell at you.”

Nico gulped. “Y-yes, ma'am.”

A small smile touched at her lips. “I'm just concerned, that's all,” the woman explained. “I've never seen Percy put himself in danger like that, aside from some small accidents when he and Kronos were younger and Percy shielded Kronos.” The way she watched Nico, it was like she was studying him for dissection. “I am not mad at you, it was not your fault. I just do not like Percy endangering himself in such a way.”

“I'm sorry,” Nico whispered.

The tall woman let out a sigh, pushing her chair away from the table slightly. “I do hope that Percy decides to settle down some day, I really do.” She laced her hands together in her lap. “I want him to be happy, as any parent would wish for the child they raise”

Helped raise, Nico thought to himself.

“But, I'm also not sure if Percy's what is best for you.”

Nico was a little startled by that. “Excuse me?” He said quietly.

You are a problem for Percy, which makes you a problem for me as well. However, I'm not quite sure how bad this problem is just yet.” While her face was blank, Gaea looked very intimidating to Nico as she sat there staring at him. “I'm just not sure if you should be with Percy. Perhaps you should look to leave the hotel, perhaps stay with your sister's boyfriend and his family.”

Nico found himself at a loss for words. Normally, if someone had said something like that to him, he probably would have found himself angry. However, Nico was fully aware of who he was talking to at the moment.

“Ah, perhaps I should explain.” Gaea leaned her chair back. Nico swallowed a lump in his throat, already certain he would not like where this was going. “What I just said was, in fact, not about Percy at all, but rather what is best for you, in my opinion.” Her head slightly tilted to the side as she observed the silent boy. “You remind me a lot of him, in some ways. Some of your choices, they reflect similar choices that he made.”

Nico clenched at his jeans. “Is it true?” He decided to ask.

Gaea blinked at him. “Is what true?”

“Kronos-” Nico bit down on his lip. “Kronos said a lot of confusing things, a lot that contradicted things that Percy had previously told him.” Gaea gave a simple nod. “Like how old he was when you found him.” His brown eyes found their way to his lap. “Or that he chose to do the things he did, and wasn't forced into it.”

“Ah,” was all that Gaea said at first. She stood to her feet and walked around the table, letting her fingers trail along its surface. She came to sit down next to Nico, turning her chair to face the boy. “Percy's childhood was very traumatic for him, and he still has trouble remembering a lot of details the way they actually happened.” She smiled and brushed some of Nico's hair to the side. “It does not make him a liar.”

Nico looked up at her. “So, what is the truth?”

A light smile touched at her lips. “The stories are true about you. Curious little thing, aren't you?” Nico just swallowed a lump in his throat. Gaea sighed. “He was eleven when I found him on the streets. A poor, sick thing, just lying there. And, yet, when I crouched down to get a better look at him, I could see a fire in his eyes as he grabbed at a broken knife he was using as a weapon. After I had him taken care of at the hospital, forging a few birth certificates along the way, I took him back to Germany with me.

“Kronos took to him right away, though he did look at Percy like a new toy when they first met. I think Percy was just in awe at everything, and so he did most of what Kronos asked him to. Even after I told him he did not have to, Percy insisted that he did not mind.” Gaea shook her head with a sigh. “The two of them were such a handful, always getting into trouble and causing the staff to chase them down. Never ask Athena about the office incident.” She chuckled as she thought back to the event. “But he never wanted for anything during this time. I gave him everything he could possibly want, and more.”

“So,” Nico quietly began, unsure if he even needed to say anything, “what happened?”

Gaea let out a long breath and looked back at Nico, like she was coming out of her memories. “Several months after he turned fifteen, Percy came into my office one day and demanded that he go to work for me.” She shook her head. “I told him that it wasn't necessary, but the boy was very persistent and determined. And, as you've probably seen by now, it's hard to say no to Percy...especially when he pouts.”

Nico did know, all too well.

“I never asked, though I felt I did not need to, but I'm quite certain that, in Percy's mind, he felt like he owed me. Which, of course, is preposterous, as he has never owed me anything.”

“Then why did you have him murder a family?” Nico blurted out. He quickly clamped a hand over his mouth.

Gaea just smiled, her eyes not as pleased. “I see Percy has told you some things.” She ran her fingers through Nico's dark hair. “That was a different matter, a test of loyalty. It was before I even told him that he would become a district manager, but I already had the idea in mind. And it wasn't anything uncommon, as every manager before him had to do similar trials.”

Nico let out a huff, his brow furrowed. “But if you told him that he didn't have to do all of this, why did he keep insisting?”

She raised a brow at him. “Why did you demand to be a stripper?”

Nico opened his mouth, unable to find the right answer. He frowned and thought for a moment, until he came up with only one answer. “Because, I felt like I owed him,” he whispered, his shoulders slumped.

Gaea slowly nodded. “And now you have your answer about Percy. As you might know, Percy is fiercely loyal to his friends and those that he calls family.” Standing up, Gaea rested her hands on Nico's shoulder. “And perhaps now you see why I see similarities in you and him.” She hummed lightly. “But will you turn out like him? There's so much uncertainty about you. You're not like most that come through the doors of this hotel to be placed into the role of a Lost Kid.” She smiled and brushed his hair to the side. “I think I'll keep my eye on you.”

Nico looked up at her with a gulp. Slowly, Nico got to his feet and headed for the door. His legs felt like jelly as he struggled to stay on balance.

“Oh, and, Nico?” Gaea called out to him as he was about to shut the door. “What I did was for the best.”

Nico stared at her in confusion, but the woman was already looking out the window, done with their conversation. Swallowing a lump in his throat, Nico shut the door. What had that been about?

The rest of Nico's night showed no sign of improvement. When Percy had come up the stairs to the top floor with the other managers and Gaea, Nico had barely taken a step before stopping. Kronos shot him a venomous look, daring the Lost Boy to serve their table. He had already experienced the pleasures of serving a table with Kronos when the manager was in a good mood, Nico was not brave enough to attempt his luck with it with a pissed off Kronos.

The Lost Kids were uncertain about what they thought about the day's events. Most said that Nico didn't need to worry, and that Gaea had probably just told him to not put himself in danger again. But the unreadable looks from Luke, Octavian, and Annabeth did not allow Nico to relax. While none of those three had said anything, their silence had caused Nico's nerves to plummet.

And as if his luck was not already bad enough, Nico ended up serving a table with Robert. The blond man had a drink already in hand, looking partially intoxicated. His eyes were trained on the stage, where Apollo was dancing along to some club-like music.

“I see you already got a drink,” Nico said as he came to stand next to the table.

Robert smirked. “Just came up from the bar, thought I'd watch the show.” The man returned to his staring at the blond Adonis on stage, watching as the blond Lost Boy ran his hands all along his body. “Still flexible. Apollo was very good in bed.” He smirked over at Nico. “Though, perhaps you already know that, if the lot of you really do have sex with each other.”

“Afraid not.” The brown-eyed Lost Boy placed his hands on the table. “Can I get you anything?”

Robert held up his drinks. “Just keep them coming.” He tilted his head to the side, eyebrows raised, as Apollo bent forward and peeled back his speedo. “Surprise me, just make sure it's got a lot of alcohol.”

After returning with the man's drink, Nico tried to stay away from Robert's table as much as possible. On the fifth drink, though, Robert grabbed Nico's arm.

“Get me Leo or Rachel, I need to make an arrangement with Percy,” Robert said.

Nico stared back for a moment, casting a glance in the direction of the stage. Apollo was performing again, this time with Silena and Thalia. “If he'll even let you.”

Robert smiled at Nico. “You know, you've got the same lip and dark look in your eye that he had for a few months after living here.” The man leaned on the table. “You've already changed a lot since the first time we met, I have to wonder how much more you might change with a few more months under your belt.”

Nico narrowed his eyes down at the man. Even if he was a client, Nico did not like being talked to like that. And that was the second time today that he had been told that he reminded someone of another person at the hotel. Was it too much to ask that he just be his own person?

“But,” Robert continued, “you're still very attractive in your own way, Nico.” The man patted Nico's hand on the table. “Perhaps I'll be requesting some time with you in the near future.”

Nico smiled a cold smile and stood up straight. “I'll be right back with Leo,” he said, forcing the words out of his mouth.

Nico caught Leo as the Latino was weaving his way through the tables. “What's up?” Leo asked when Nico grabbed his arm.

“Robert wanted me to fetch you. Apparently, he wants some time with Apollo.”

Leo glanced over Nico's shoulder with a nod before heading over to where Percy and the others were sitting. Nico sighed and shook his head, making his way to another table. His was already feeling exhausted, but during his break, Leo and Rachel had gone around and announced that there would be a meeting around three, to allow for everyone to finish up with work and clients.

Nico groaned. That meant that it could be after four before he got to see his bed.

When Nico went into the bar room to pick up an order, Dionysus stopped him before he could take the tray. “I was so relieved to hear that you weren't crushed today, Nico. That would have been most unfortunate.”

“You know, if I didn't know you better, I'd think you might have tried to have me killed,” Nico mumbled. Dionysus smiled and sat down in his chair. “But that's not your style, at least not from what I can tell.”

“And what would be my style?”

“Mental and emotional abuse,” Nico grumbled as he headed for the door. “I can see why you and Kronos might get along.” He heard Dionysus laugh as the door swung shut.

Nico slowed down a little when he noticed Apollo leading Robert towards the back rooms. His brow furrowed as he watched Apollo smile and take his ex-boyfriend's drink from him. Nico stared darkly at Robert's back as the two disappeared from sight.

Once he had the drinks dropped off at their respective tables, Nico caught Leo again. “I thought Percy didn't let Robert have time with Apollo, unless there was punishment involved.”

Leo typed something into his phone before pocketing it and letting out a sigh, his eyes staring over to the door that led customers to the back rooms. “Depends on Apollo's mood.” The Latino Lost Boy locked his jaw with a shrug. “They say you never really let go of your first love, and I suppose that's the case with Apollo.” He rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he mumbled, though his eyes were once again on the door.

“Oh.” Nico rubbed the back of his neck. “I just didn't think Apollo would want to.”

“It seems he's horny tonight,” Leo grumbled. He arched a brow at Nico. “I'd lock your door, if things don't sour his mood by the time we all get to go to bed.”

Nico slowly nodded. “Wasn't planning on it. I was just surprised Apollo even had a choice. I mean, I just thought Percy-”

“Percy didn't okay it,” Leo said plainly before leaving Nico standing there.

Nico's brow furrowed as he stared after the Lost Boy. What did he mean by that? Percy had the final say on these things, didn't he? Or perhaps Gaea was making the decisions while she was here. Either way, Leo's words felt a little odd to him.

Luckily for Nico, he didn't find himself with a client tonight. However, that just meant he was stuck in the conference room with most of the other Lost Kids, while they waited for the rest and Percy to join them.

“So, I see you're not a pancake,” Will said, grinning as he sat down in the chair next to Nico and propping his feet up on the table.

“Lucky me, since I'm obviously just a damsel and need someone to protect me,” Nico mumbled with a yawn.

“Maybe next time, Percy won't save your ass then,” Luke grumbled as he took a seat with his brother, glaring across the table at Nico.

Will rolled his eyes. “Don't mind him.”

“Someone's panties seem to be in a wad tonight,” Thalia chuckled as she entered the room. Jason came in behind her and sat down on the other side of Nico.

Will leaned forward. “So, Jason, you still on for a small basketball game tomorrow?”

“You take me surfing and make me embarrass myself, and you take him to play a sport he's good at?” Nico narrowed his eyes at Will, who grinned at him.

“It's not a date.” Jason smirked and shook his head. “We were just talking about some recent NBA games, and we decided that it might be fun to play a little one-on-one.”

“In jockstraps and nothing else,” Will added with a grin. When Nico perked up a little, he chuckled. “Nah, but I'm sure you'd enjoy watching that. Perhaps we can do that for you another time.”

“You know,” Jason began, “we could probably make that into a performance.”

Will snapped his fingers. “I like the way you think, Grace.”

Nico shook his head with a sigh. He looked up when the door opened again and the remainder of the Lost Kids poured inside. Apollo sat down a few chairs away from Nico with a long yawn. Leo and Rachel were the last to step inside, and they closed the door behind them. The two did not look as calm as most of the other Lost Kids, and Annabeth quickly noted this.

“What's going on?” She asked.

Rachel shrugged casually, taking a seat. “Nothing,” the Lost Girl said simply.

“Something you want to share with the rest of us?” Luke growled. “Because, some of us get the feeling that we're not about to get the best of news.”

Rachel let out a breath. But, before she could say anything, the door opened again and Percy stepped inside. The Lost Kids fell quiet as the manager shut the door and walked around the table, though he did not sit down anywhere.

“We're all getting raises, aren't we?” Travis said with a grin, placing his hands behind his head.

Percy remained solemn, chewing on his lip and deep in thought. He sighed and sat down on a small table against the wall. Several of the Lost Kids straightened in their chair, all of them realizing there was about to be some bad news.

“Not a raise then,” Connor whispered.

Thalia's brow furrowed. She stood up. “What's going on, Percy? You haven't looked this serious since Akhlys died.”

Percy rubbed his hands together in his hands, as if he were cold and trying to get warm. When he looked up, his eyes reminded Nico of a river or pond after a heavy rain. The young man ran his hand through his hair, causing it to become disheveled. Letting out a sigh, he began.

“There is something that I need you all to be aware of, some news that will change some things around here.” The room was silent for a brief pause, no one even moving an inch. “I'm not sure how you guys will take of it, but I trust that you each will find a way to make due.” He let out a sigh. “As of tonight, I will be stepping down as district manager of this hotel and the North American branch for an undetermined amount of time. I will be returning to Germany with Gaea until that time comes.”

“What?” Was yelled by several Lost Kids.

“You can't!” Annabeth shouted, jumping to her feet and placing her hands on the table.

Clarisse clenched her fists. “What the hell, Jackson?”

Luke glared over at Nico. “Is this because the twerp nearly got crushed?” The blond jumped to his feet as well. “What the fuck, Percy, you can't seriously have agreed to this?”

There was a lot more yelling, though Nico remained silent. His hands were shaking, but he did not care. He stared over at Percy, but the young man refused to look at him. He cradled his head when Jason and Will got to their feet to join in the angry yelling.

“Who's going to be in charge while you're away?” Annabeth yelled over the commotion.

Percy held up a hand to get everyone to settle down. It took a moment, but Luke yelled very loudly for them all to “shut the fuck up”. The green-eyed young man let out a sigh and looked down, his eyes becoming hidden from everyone's view. What Percy said next left the room in complete silence.

“Kronos will take my place while I'm away.”