Children of Loss 43

Chapter 43

“You're a man now. You've grown up on me. Next thing I know, I'm going to be bailing you out of jail for being drunk in public.”

Nico felt his eye twitch as he pried himself from Bianca's grasp. “I'm only seventeen, B.”

Patting him on the head, the boy's sister handed him her present. Nico smiled as he untied the green ribbon. As soon as he recognized what it was, Nico's cheeks flared up. From the box, Nico pulled out a small figurine.

Nico gave his sister an odd look. “This is Mythomagic, Bianca.”

The girl nodded with a giant smile. “It was the only one you never got, remember?”

Jason peered over Nico's shoulder with a raised brow. “What is it?”

“A figurine of Hades,” Nico mumbled. He sighed and scrunched his lips. He liked it, it was thoughtful. But it just made him think of his father. Nico would never understand how his grandparents could name their child after a Greek god. They were Italian, not Greek! Not wanting to disappoint his sister, the boy smiled. “Thank you.”

“Oh.” Bianca dug in her jeans. “Here, I brought you this, too.”

Nico's breath stilled. He could recognize that ring anywhere. The ring was made of pure silver, with a skull on the very top and two rubies for eyes. It used to belong to his grandfather before the man had died. It had since been with their father. Nico looked up with wide eyes. “What are you doing giving it to me? Dad would kill me if he knew I had it?”

Bianca scoffed. “Grandad always wanted you to have it, Dad was just too stubborn to ever give it to you.”

The raven-haired Lost Boy took in a deep breath before he slipped the ring on. He had always loved his grandparents, they weren't anything like his father. Back when they were still alive, Hades took them to Italy once a year to visit. But that had been back before they had died when Nico was like ten.

When Nico looked up, he found that Bianca was giving him an odd look. He blinked. “What?”

His sister frowned. “Are you limping?”

Nico felt his cheeks heat up. He shot Jason a glare when he heard the blond snort behind him. Bianca gave the boy a curious look, but Jason quickly looked away, whistling. As Nico continued to glare, a faint blush dusted over the blond's cheeks. “I wouldn't know how that could have happened,” Nico ground out, still glaring at the blond.

Earlier that morning, Jason had given Nico his present. That present happened to be birthday sex. Twice. Once in the bed, then Jason snuck into the shower with Nico. When Nico had questioned why Jason had done it after they were done, the blond had replied that everyone should get laid on their birthday. When Nico doubted him, the blond admitted that he was a little horny, but didn't want to go to the others to help relieve it. And so began Nico and Jason's awkward friendship.

Daedalus clapped Nico on the back with a grin. “Your brother applied for graduation today.”

Bianca shot her younger brother a knowing look, along with an appreciative smile. “Did he? Well, that's good to hear.” She slung an arm around him. “Now you just need to find yourself a university.”

“Yeah,” Nico muttered.

“But, you know, that other option is still open.”

Nico rolled his eyes. He chose to ignore the confused look from Daedalus. “I'm fine, I swear.”

Nico shot his roommate a look that screamed: help me! The blond chuckled and pulled out his keys. “Well, we need to get back. I think we're gonna throw a small party for your brother before work.”

This was the first Nico had heard of this, but at least Bianca agreed to let him go. She managed in one last hug before Nico could slide into Jason's car. Jason arched a brow at the box containing the figurine in Nico's lap.

“Dork,” he muttered.

Nico shot him a glare. “Jock.”

The blond wagged his brows. “You weren't complaining about it this morning.”

Nico rolled his eyes as Jason drove out of the parking lot. His gaze fell out the window, his lips tilting down. It had been about a week since Bianca had found out that Nico stripped, and he was already worried that she was going to keep persisting that Nico leave the hotel. Deep down, though, Nico knew that he probably should. Should was the key word. But Nico already had a history of bad decisions, so why should he change for this?

No sense in breaking tradition.

Jason tossed his roommate a brief glance. “What was that back there?”

“What?” Nico turned his head to face the blond. “Oh.” Nico let out a sigh. “My father told Bianca that I'm stripping. She wants me to leave the hotel and stay with Daedalus until I graduate.”

Those electric blue eyes shot back over briefly. “So why don't you?” He offered Nico a shrug. “It's not like it'd be bad, you'd be with Daedalus. Minerva would take care of you, she's a good woman.”

Nico's eyes were locked on his ring, twisting it on his finger. “Why don't you leave?” He mumbled.

A chuckle escaped the blond's lips. “And where would I go? Sure I could stay with Daedalus until graduation, but what then? I'm not as smart as you, Nico.”

The boy's eyes grew dull. “You make better decisions than me.”

“That's because there's a difference between street smart and book smart. You make better grades than me. Hell, Daedalus says you make better grades than your sister.” He grinned over at his roommate. “You might make poor decisions, but you're good with school. You could probably get into any school you wanted. I think the only people smarter than you at the hotel would be Rachel, Octavian, and Annabeth.” He nudged the pale boy. “Stop selling yourself short, man.”

Nico carelessly shook his head. “Doesn't really matter. Several of the others go to college. Any of them could find a future out of here as well.”

“But they don't,” Jason muttered. He sighed and cast Nico a brief glance. “From what I've heard from the others, there has never been a Lost Kid to leave Gaea's web once they are in it. I mean, look around. Ganymede, Dionysus, and Circe are still in the hotel. Aphrodite has her boutique in the city. We have a bank that caters to our needs, probably because someone in there has worked for Gaea in the past.

“Where do you think all of the Lost Kids go after they reach thirty? Annabeth, Luke, my sister, and Apollo weren't the first Lost Kids, they're just the oldest ones still working here. Thalia told me that one that left last year went on to become a manager up in Canada.” The blond shrugged. “They don't have the stripping and illegal business operations, but this is what happens to Lost Kids at some point.”

The car was silent for an awkward moment before Nico cracked a grin. “Maybe we should just run away together,” the brown-eyed boy joked. Jason arched a brow. “Yeah, just live on the road, just the two of us. We can get fake names and everything. Maybe grow a mustache.”

Jason snorted. “Can you even grow facial hair?”

“Shut up!”

The blond laughed. “And why exactly would we need fake names?”

Tapping his finger to his lips, Nico thought about it for a moment. “Maybe kill Kronos.” Jason frowned at him. “Not like anyone would miss him. The world would thank us.”

Jason sighed. “You don't mean that.”

“No,” Nico sighed, “but I'm pretty sure the thought has crossed most people's minds.” Jason grunted in agreement. “I don't know, I'm not sure I can see myself out of the hotel anymore.”

“But you don't want this life. I know you don't.”

The boy's lips tilted down. “Maybe not, but I don't want to leave. I think I'd miss everyone too much.”

As they neared the hotel, Jason reached over and squeezed Nico's hand. “You realize that we could probably still see you, right?”

Nico's dull eyes met with Jason's blue ones. “Do you really believe that? We don't exactly get much free time at the hotel, aside from the occasional weekend off.” He snorted. “And I doubt Percy or Kronos would let me come upstairs if I left.”

Jason didn't answer, and Nico didn't bother to let the conversation continue. It felt pointless. If he could leave, why couldn't they? Not like it really mattered at the moment, since Kronos wasn't letting them run off. He even kept them pretty restricted during their weekends off. And with Leo's theory that Kronos was going to implant them with microchips, nobody was really willing to chance anything. Nico, however, thought Leo was being an idiot.

When they got back to the hotel, Rachel stopped Nico from going into the conference room. Instead, she directed him to Kronos's office, who apparently wanted to have a word with Nico. Great, Nico thought, it was bound to be the best birthday present he could imagine. Not.

Nico took in a deep breath before he knocked. “Come in,” Kronos called from the other side of the door. Letting out a short breath, Nico stepped inside. Kronos didn't bother looking up from what he was doing. “Yes, celebrations and all that.” Kronos let out a breath before he dropped his pen and sat back in his chair. “As custom, you're getting the night off from dealing with clients.”

Nico felt a wave of relief flood through him at the mere sound of those words. But he did his best to contain his excitement, least Kronos decide to ruin it all for him. “Thank you, sir.”

The manager rolled his eyes and rested his elbow on the desk, propping his chin on it. “Don't get too excited, you're still expected to perform.” Nico gave a quick nod. Kronos leaned back, resting his hands behind his head. “And here I am without a present for you. I suppose the ordeal with your father can be enough of a gift.”

There was a twitch from Nico's lips. “You mean the thing you forced me to do?”

The annoying smirk appeared on the manager's lips as he observed Nico. “I made you? Did I now?” His grin grew, showing off his teeth. “I didn't make you do anything, it was your choice to stab your father.”

Nico's eyes narrowed. “You told me I had to,” he growled. “You told me to stab him or kill him. I'm not going to be a murderer, so I chose to stab him. What other choice did I have?”

Kronos shrugged. “I never saw you try to put down the knife and walk away.” Nico felt frozen. A faint chuckle escaped the manager's lips. “You never even tried to see what would happen if you didn't try either.”

“You said I didn't have a choice,” Nico whispered.

The manager tutted under his breath. “Now that just isn't true, Nico. After all, didn't my brother always give you a choice?” He grinned again, lacing his hands together in front of his face. “How could you possibly know, if you didn't try?” With a roll of his eyes, Kronos pointed a pale finger across the desk at Nico. “You expected me to just throw you over the side of the building for not cooperating? I'm a good brother, thank you very much. I don't break my brother's toys.” Those dark eyes shined in amusement. “How is it my fault that you didn't even bother trying? Now, who is really to blame here?”

Nico clenched his fists. “You're sick.”

A laugh so cold that it sent shivers all throughout Nico's body came from Kronos. His eyes were like daggers, just waiting to be thrust into the boy's throat. “Now, Nico, you really shouldn't go around blaming others for your own problems.” Finally, the young man stood up and walked around to sit on the desk. “But if anything, you should be thanking me, Nico.” The young man frowned, almost passing for sympathetic. It made Nico sick by how scary believable it was. “I allowed you to stand up to your father, and you repay me with this hate? I'm hurt, Nico.”

Taking a step back, Nico narrowed his eyes. “What, you did it to help me?” He scoffed. “I don't believe you have a sympathetic bone in your body. You're a monster.”

He half expected the young man to hit him, but it never happened. Instead, Kronos smirked. “You know, Nico, if this wasn't your first job, I might be harder on you. Hasn't anyone ever told you not to talk like that to your boss?” His hand shot out so fast that Nico couldn't even react. It gripped him by the jaw, pulling him closer. “Unless it's my mother or Percy, I don't help people. Why would I waste my time?” He brought Nico closer, until they were mere inches apart. “But, at least this way, you aren't so pathetic. You need to grow a backbone, you ungrateful little brat, and embrace who you are.”

“And who is that?” Nico practically spat out.

The young man's lips tilted up. “Surely you see what you're becoming. Just embrace it, Nico.” Letting go of Nico's jaw, Kronos fixed some of Nico's hair with a smile. “This is power we're talking about, Nico. Everyone likes power. All you have to do is let go of that conscious of yours, it really just gets in the way. You might think it's wrong, but think about all the possibilities. Nobody would ever bother you again. Your bullies, even your father. They'd all leave you alone forever. You can even dictate their lot in life.”

With a frown, Nico smacked Kronos's hand away. “I'm not like you,” he whispered. He took a step back, reaching for the door. “I don't want to hurt people like you do.”

The grin didn't fade as Nico opened the door. “You mean like Percy?” Nico froze. “Your dear, sweet Percy. If I'm a monster, what does that make him?” Kronos grinned as the color drained from Nico's face. “What, you thought it didn't get to me about what you told him?” He chuckled. “You're so pathetic.” The manager slowly shook his head with a wicked smirk. “You think he hesitates when he kills? You think he didn't enjoy killing his brother? How about how he seized power, not even caring how it effected the person that was selected to take over this hotel before him? You know, your sweet Percy.”

Nothing came out of Nico's mouth. He didn't know what to say. With a gulp, Nico shut the door. Leaning against it, the boy realized he was shaking. He hated being around Kronos, the young man always had a terrible way of getting under Nico's skin. If Percy knew what everyone liked, Kronos knew their vulnerabilities.

Nico quickly made his way out of the office and opened the door to the conference room. “Surprise!” Everyone yelled as the boy stepped inside.

Nico managed a smile as some confetti fell onto his head. “Thanks,” he mumbled.

With the exception of Drew, Octavian, and Zoë, all of the Lost Kids were there. Nico never really expected everyone to be there, since it was before working and three of the Lost Kids had to work the lunch shift at the bar. After his talk with Kronos, though, Nico found it hard to be in a good mood. He already knew what he was going to be wishing for.

“Happy Birthday, Nico,” Juniper said to him, smiling as she placed a chocolate birthday cake on the large table, right next to his pile of presents.

After Leo lit the candles—because he demanded to do it himself—Nico got to blow out the candles. He leaned in and closed his eyes before blowing out each one. “So, what did you wish for?” Leo asked eagerly.

Piper smacked the boy upside the head. “If he told, it wouldn't come true.”

Nico chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. “I don't think it takes a mind reader to know what I wished for.” The others all nodded in a silent understanding. It was nice to have them all together, though Nico could practically feel the tension in the room. Everyone that was fighting stood away from each other, which meant that practically everyone was standing at least three feet from the next Lost Kid.

Due to all the conflict, the room was deathly quiet after the cake was distributed. Nico found himself sitting on the edge of the table with Hazel and Juniper. The Stolls sat a few chairs away, but everyone else practically kept to themselves, save for the small groups that weren't fighting. Surprisingly, though, Nico didn't find himself disappointed. In all honesty, he had expected it to go something like this, since nobody had made up yet.

But the cake was delicious.

Halfway through his cake, a blue box was dropped in Nico's lap. He blinked at it for a moment before he looked up. Luke stared down at him with a blank expression. Slowly, Nico opened the box. He practically choked when he pulled out a Nintendo DS, which contained several games underneath it. With wide eyes, Nico looked up at the blond.

The youngest Lost Boy got up to hug the blond, but Luke held out a hand. “Don't go sentimental on me, brat, it's just a present. Maybe now you'll have something to do, rather than bother me all day.”

Nico just smiled and gave the blond a small nod. There was a flicker of happiness in the blond's eyes, relief that Nico had actually liked the present. But after Luke walked off, Nico shook his head. Luke really didn't need to spend that kind of money on him. Something simple was fine.

Will was next. The boy held out a small box, which made Nico's heart stopped. It looked like it came from a jewelry store. Sure enough, it was jewelry. A silver necklace laid within. Two angel wings that hung down, practically forming a heart. Nico looked up in a mixture of surprise and confusion.

Will grinned sheepishly. “Your last name means 'of angels', right?”

“Something like that,” Nico chuckled. Will moved forward and fastened it around Nico's neck. The younger Lost Boy held it out to look at. “Thanks.” When he looked up, the blond leaned in and pecked Nico on the cheek.

The gifts that Nico received were a pretty wide array of different things, ranging from different sizes to different prices. Thalia had gotten him a pair of brass knuckles to defend himself with, just in case Nico had anymore trouble at school. Annabeth had bought him a bound copy of all of Edgar Allan Poe's work. The most embarrassing had been from the twins: an actual dildo. When Nico had said it just meant that he'd just be less likely to have sex with any of them, Will punched Travis in the arm. Jason had purchased the two of them tickets to Disneyland, which the blond said they'd go see on their next day off.

He found himself surprised when Clarisse handed him a small box at the end of the party. Most of the others had left, and the few that remained were cleaning up. Clarisse was probably one of the least likely people he had been expecting to get a present from, Drew having achieved the most unlikely. It wasn't really that much, just a gift certificate to the mall, but it was still nice. Honestly, Nico probably would have been fine without any form of celebration.

He smiled up at the girl. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, don't mention it.” The girl frowned down at him. “Bring back memories from home?”

“Ah.” Nico scrunched his lips. “Not really.” He let out a dry chuckle. “My dad didn't really bother too much with presents...you know, since I was just a disappointment to him. My mother and Bianca were the ones that gave out presents. And, well, I wasn't really popular at my old school, so I didn't really have any friends. Saved some money as far as parties went, though.”

The Lost Girl grunted. “Sounds like my school.”

“Must have been hard,” Nico sighed.

Clarisse gave a shrug. “Got left alone, punched anyone that tried to bother me.” A grin spread across the girl's lips. “Not that my mother liked it very much, but screw her.” She kicked the tip of her boot at the leg of Nico's chair. “Most of us find holiday and birthdays more enjoyable here, compared to our old lives.”

Nico shrugged. “It could have been better if everyone wasn't fighting.”

“Eh, screw that. It's good to get let people know how you're feeling.” She grinned wickedly and swiped her thumb across her nose. “You know what my mother gave me for my seventeenth birthday? Nico shook his head. “Kicked me out of the house.” Clarisse grunted. “Not that I was planning on staying, the woman was unreasonable.”

Nico put the gift card with the rest of his presents. He slowly turned his head back to Clarisse with a frown. “Your mother kicked you out? With nothing?”

“Yeah, well, my dad was the only person that could keep us from tearing each others' throats out.”

“Oh.” Nico's brow furrowed. “Didn't Percy say you act like your father? Did he know your father?”

Clarisse's lips tilted down. “No.” Her hands dug into her pockets. “My dad was in the army, died two years before I got kicked out.” The girl gave a casual shrug. “She eventually remarried, didn't like the guy. Kept getting in fights and talking back in class, so my mother and I started fighting.” The Lost Girl chuckled. “That's when my step-dad decided that he wanted to try his hand at parenting. So he hit me. And, well, I hit back. Ended up breaking his arm.”

Nico's mouth fell open a little. “Y-you broke his arm?”

“Not that my mother caught the part where he hit me first, but she did see me snap his arm.” The Lost Girl shrugged. “Kicked me out. Never really looked back after that. Didn't even try to bother having Percy look into either of them. As far as I'm concerned, they're dead to me.”

Judging from what he already knew of Clarisse, Nico wasn't all that surprised by this turn of events. But it did feel unfair to him that Clarisse got kicked out over a misunderstanding. He didn't feel as sad about it, though. But perhaps that was due to Clarisse's lack of emotion when she had told the story. It didn't really seem to have bothered her, unlike with everyone else. Even Luke had endured a hard time reliving his past with Nico. If anything made him feel bad for her, it was how little Clarisse seemed to care.

Eventually, Nico tried to take his presents upstairs, though he was quickly stopped by Rachel. “Don't worry about that, Nico, I'll have them taken up to your room,” she assured the boy. Turning with a grin, she snapped her fingers at Luke. “Hey, you want to help me drop these off?”

The blond, who had been wiping down the table, narrowed his eyes. “I'd rather swallow dirt.”

Rachel smiled sweetly. “I'm sure that can be arranged.”

Luke sighed and shook his head. “Fine, whatever.”

Rachel smiled and grabbed a handful of boxes before heading out the door. Luke grunted and walked over to take a few more. “So, Luke,” Nico began, “what would you want for your birthday?”

The blond stared at him for a moment before picking up three boxes. “That all depends.”

“On what?”

“Are you going to be around for another year?” Luke asked. Nico blinked at him. “My birthday was at the beginning of the month.”

Nico gaped at the blond. “What? How come we didn't have a party? Nobody said anything!”

Luke just shrugged as Nico held the door open for him. “I guess we were just distracted with other things.”

Nico tilted his head to the side. “Why what happened?”

Luke let out a breath. “It was the day Percy left the hotel.”

“Oh.” Nico felt his blood run cold. “I'm sorry,” he whispered.

“Don't worry about it,” Luke mumbled as he boarded an elevator.

Nico groaned and hit his head against the wall. That had to of been the worst birthday ever! He needed to make it up to Luke. The blond had been a good friend to him, even if he didn't like to admit it, so Nico needed to fix Luke's lack of a proper birthday. He practically jumped out of his skin when a hand came down onto his shoulder.

Apollo chuckled at him. “Did someone get put in timeout?” He chuckled. Nico shot him a glare. Apollo slung an arm around the younger boy, pulling him onto the elevator. “Come on, Ganymede said he got you a little something.”

Nico frowned. “Apollo, why didn't we do anything for Luke's birthday?”

The blond sighed. “We tried. Annabeth tried to convince him, but Luke was in a pretty bad mood that day.” He shook his head. “The guy insisted that we not do anything.”

Except, Nico never made it to Ganymede.

The two Lost Boys made it to the cabana area, sure, but Nico found someone else there. Mrs. Castellan sat at a table between where Nico stood and the actual cabana. Deep down, Nico knew it would probably be best to just ignore her, but something in him wouldn't let him do that. Without even knowing the woman, Nico felt anger towards her. This would be one of her last days at the hotel, and something in Nico felt compelled to talk to her.

“You go ahead,” Nico whispered to Apollo. His eyes never left the woman. “I'll be over in just a second.”

Apollo frowned, following the boy's gaze. “Nico, I don't think-”

The brown-eyed boy finally looked up and smiled. “I'll be fine, I promise. I won't say anything stupid.”

Apollo stared at him for a long time before he nodded. The blond left the boy standing there to go over to the cabana. Taking a deep breath, Nico took the first step towards the woman. From the way she dressed, Nico would have never imagined her to be so crazy. Nico stood by her table a moment, going unnoticed by the woman.

Eventually, Nico put on one of his fake smiles. “Excuse me,” the boy began. Mrs. Castellan looked up at him. “Are you Mrs. Castellan?”

The woman shifted in her seat, so that she now faced Nico. “I am. What can I do for you?”

Nico's smile never faltered. He rubbed his arm shyly. “I'm just a big supporter of your work, and I just wanted to come over here and thank you.” There was a smile on the boy's face, but his eyes were full of venom.

Mrs. Castellan wiped her hands on a napkin before reaching a hand out to shake. Nico smiled brightly as he shook it. “It's so refreshing to see our youth supporting the cause.” She let out a sigh as she draped an arm across the back of her chair. “I tell you, it seems like more and more these days, our youth are turning towards this ungodly lifestyle.”

Nico quickly nodded. “I completely agree,” he lied. Placing his hands behind his back, Nico smiled again. “Do you have an children yourself, ma'am?” This was why Nico wanted to talk to her. He wanted to know what she told people about her two sons.

There was a long silence, where the woman seemed to be thinking about something. Her lips formed a thin line as she reached for her glass of water and raised it to her lips. “I used to, but they are no longer with us.” She shook her head sadly. “There was an accident, claimed both of my sons' lives.”

Her entire demeanor made Nico want to throttle the woman. She was lying, like it didn't even matter. She didn't have the courage to tell people she had driven her own children away? Did nobody know that her own craziness had caused her own children to run away? Nico's nails dug into his arm from behind his back. He felt a deep desire to tell the woman that he knew her children. Or perhaps that Luke was good in bed. That would have surely been a sight to see on her face.

But Nico knew that he couldn't do that. He wouldn't let the woman know that her children was somewhere in the hotel. So, instead, Nico just smiled synthetically. “I'm sorry for you loss then.” He shook her hand a final time. “Well, I just wanted to come over and say hello, I'll let you get back to what you were doing.”

“Thank you,” Mrs. Castellan said. “Keep up the good fight of spreading the cause.”

“Will do,” Nico mumbled, his smile faltering once he had his back to her.

By the time Nico got to the cabana, Apollo and Ganymede were already in the middle of a conversation. The ex-Lost Boy leaned against the counter, a slightly annoyed look in his eyes. Apollo frowned back at the man. “You need to let this go. How can you not see that you have something better waiting for you right in front of your face?” Nico came to a quick stop at Ganymede's words.

Apollo looked away, still frowning. “Because it's stupid and pointless.” He straightened on the stool with a sigh.

Ganymede rolled his eyes as Nico sat down beside Apollo. The youngest Lost Boy blinked. “What are you two talking about?”

“Nothing,” both of them quickly stated.

All Nico wanted to do was go back to his room and sleep. The rest of the night had been exhausting, but at least he didn't have to worry about dealing with a customer tonight. However, it seemed that Nico was to be subjected to being alone with Dionysus for a short amount of time.

Like most nights, the few Lost Kids that were lucky enough not to go deal with customers helped clean up the top floor. Nico helped out by taking the dirty glasses to the bar room. Unfortunately, this gave Dionysus a brief window to speak with Nico. Like clockwork, the man didn't fail to disappoint.

“And how was your birthday, Nico?” The man asked as Nico was about halfway towards the door.

Nico came to a stop with a sigh. “It was okay, just like any other day.” The boy turned around, regarding the man carefully. “Why?”

“Well then, that's good to hear.” The man kept his back to Nico, too busy washing glasses and plates in the sink. “Nasty business with your father, eh? To think, it was Persephone that your father was seeing this whole time.” The man's lips tilted up. “Who could have ever seen that coming?”

Nico crossed his arms. “You. But, then again, I'm not surprised. You love seeing everyone squirm, it's why you get along with Kronos.” The boy narrowed his dark eyes. “I can't wait until Percy is back. Because dealing with you and Kronos at the same time is quite the headache.”

At the mention of the green-eyed young man's name, Dionysus's lips tilted down. “Yes, your little golden boy. Everything is always better with him around, isn't it?” Scoffing, Dionysus picked up a drink he was still drinking and swallowed the contents of the glass. “He's nothing to worship. It's disgusting how he can just charm anyone with just a smile. 'Oh, he's such a hero.'” The man scoffed. “It was sickening to listen to people talk about him when he first arrived here.”

Nico's brow furrowed. “What's your problem with Percy? He lets you run your little business here and puts up with you. Yet you dislike him.” The Lost Boy's lips tilted down. “I doubt he's even done anything to you.”

The man pointed a finger at Nico. “You see, that's where you're wrong. He stole everything from me.”

There was a perplexed look on Nico's face as the man turned back to washing the dishes. “I don't see-”

Nico fell silent as Dionysus's back straightened. Without saying anything, the man bent over and pulled out a neatly wrapped box from beside the chair he usually sat in. “I almost forgot,” the man said with his normal smile, “this is for you.”

Frowning down at the box, Nico turned it over. “You got me a present?”

The corner of Dionysus's lips tilted up. “Don't be silly, Nico.” The boy blinked up at him. “It's from a customer, of course.”

Slowly, the color drained from Nico's face as he stood there, frozen. A chill crept across his body, slowly rising from his feet. “O-oh,” Nico stuttered. He gulped and slowly backed towards the door. “Um, thank you for...giving it to me,” the brown-eyed boy whispered.

The man only grinned back at him. “Always a pleasure, Nico.”

Nico was gone from the room a second later. His pulse was racing as he stared down at the box. This was the last thing he had been hoping for. Ever since the incident with Silena, Nico had hoped this day would never come. Not paying attention to where he was going, Nico tripped down the stairs.

Letting out yelp, Nico went flying through the air. The next thing he hit was hard, but not the ground. Pale hands tightened around his shoulders, straightening him out. Icy blue eyes stared down at him in annoyance. “Why don't you watch where you are going, twerp?”

Nico sighed in relief, simply thankful that his feet were once again touching the floor. He nodded his head. Luke's eyes flickered down to the box in Nico's hand. “Um, thanks,” the raven-haired boy mumbled.

Luke rubbed his jaw. “Where'd you get that?” Icy blue eyes flickered back up. “I thought everyone already gave you their presents?”

“Um...” Nico looked between the present and Luke. “A customer, apparently.”

Luke seemed to understand, probably from the look of terror in Nico's eyes. “It's nothing to worry about.” His brow furrowed. “Just keep someone posted if a client starts acting funny around you.”

Nico nodded. “I ran into your mother earlier,” the boy confessed. Luke instantly frowned. “Did you know she tells people you and Octavian are dead?”

Luke snorted and gave a nod. “I'm aware.” He rubbed the back of his neck as the two started down the stairs. “It was actually on the news. That woman should be on Broadway with all those tears she was able to put out.”

“How could they just say something like that?”

The blond shrugged. “Don't really care. As long as she stays away from me and Octavian, I'm happy.”

Luke ended up stopping to talk with Ethan at the podiums, while Nico went on to the elevators. Lucky for him, the twins had just boarded one and he managed to catch a ride with them. He was also aware that they were staring at him. Connor grinned from where he had his head on Travis's shoulder.

“You know, Nico,” the shorter brunet began. His blue eyes sparkled over at the raven-haired boy. “Our offer for teaching you about threesomes still stands.”

Travis wrapped an arm around his brother, pulling Connor closer. He grinned at Nico from where he perched his chin on Connor's shoulder. “We can give you the hands on method.”

Nico rolled his eyes and snorted. “I bet you would.” Travis just grinned and nuzzled his brother's neck. “I just don't understand why you two just sort of have sex with others? I mean, aside from customers.”

Connor shrugged. “Sex and romance aren't the same.” He patted his brother's cheek. “I love my brother. I love the others as well, just not like I love Travis.” At this, the older twin leaned in and pecked Connor on the lips. “But that's not to say some day we might decide otherwise. We're young, we want to enjoy our youth.”

“Then why did you two fight before?”

Travis hummed quietly. “That was a different matter. More of a misunderstanding, really.” He hugged his brother tighter. “But there are days where we decide that we don't want the other having sex with someone else. It doesn't usually bother us when this happens, though. It's just sex, after all.” He smiled over at Nico. “You just have to remember to keep the person you care about in mind. That's especially true for when threesomes come into play.”

Nico gave a slow nod as the elevator came to a stop. “As long as you two are happy, I guess.”

The twins bid Nico goodnight and headed down to the end of the hall. Nico slipped into his suite. Jason's door was open. The blond sat on his bed with his laptop, headphones in his ears. He looked up when he noticed Nico, tossing the pale boy a smile and a wave. Nico smiled back before going into his own room.

Turning around, Nico froze.

There, on his bed, sat a large box with an envelope on top of it. The box itself was green, while a deep blue ribbon sat on top. Nico frowned and stepped closer, putting the mystery customer's present down. He slowly reached out and removed the envelope from the top. His fingers closed around a small card attached to the box. His name was on the top portion, while the name at the bottom made Nico's heart stop.

It was from Percy.

Taking in a deep breath, Nico untied the ribbon and opened the lid. His heart shot into his throat. It was a jacket. An aviator's jacket, to be precise. Nico reached inside and pulled it out. It was still in good condition, and also looked like an authentic World War II aviator jacket. But it didn't make sense. Why would Percy give him a jacket from a war? He frowned and tilted his head to the side.

Then it hit him. It was the jacket that Percy had mentioned in one of their conversations, the jacket that had belonged to Percy's actual grandfather. Nico's throat tightened. Why was Percy giving this to him? None of it made any sense. Nevertheless, though, Nico felt a pain inside his chest. His fingers tightened around the jacket, wishing that Percy was there to give it to him, instead of having it delivered by someone else. He really missed Percy.

Taking in a deep breath, Nico sat the jacket aside. His eyes fell upon the envelope before picking it up. The Lost Boy frowned as he heard Jason's feet move down the hall. The door to their suite opened, and then there was silence. With a sigh, Nico unsealed the envelope and pulled out a letter. It was also from Percy, but what it said only hurt all the more.

Nico,

I hope that this found its way to you okay. I instructed Rachel to bring it to you if Leo forgot.

I write this, knowing full well what I'm about to go down the hall and talk to you about in that conference room. I just wanted to make sure I remembered to put together your present, so you would have it after I'm gone.

Ever since earlier today, my mind has been racing. But it made me realize how much I didn't want something bad to happen to you. I'm not sure what's going to happen while I'm in Germany, but I'm glad that you are still in one piece. I don't know when I'll be back, or even if I will be coming back, but I want you to know that none of this is your fault.

I hope you like your present. And, also, I might have realized something in that moment after pushing you out of the way. You were right.

-Percy

A wet spot formed on the letter, just above Percy's name. Nico reached a hand up, only to realize that he was crying. For some reason, it hurt more reading the letter, than it had talking to Percy over Skype. Percy had actually taken the time to write him a letter before their meeting that night? But the last thing in the letter, it didn't make any sense.

Nico flipped the letter over, hoping that there was more, but there wasn't. What did it mean? He was right? Right about what? Another tear fell from Nico's cheek. He sat down on the edge of his bed, pulling the jacket into his lap. Nico's fingers tightened around Percy's letter, clinging to it like it was keeping him from dying. His eyes scanned across each word that Percy had written several more times before he heard the shouting.

Frowning, Nico looked up. There was a commotion from the hallway, but he couldn't make anything out. But there was definitely shouting. He slowly got up, putting the aviator jacket back on the bed. His eyes widened when something broke. Nico opened his door and stepped into his suite, where he found the front door open.

Wiping his eyes, Nico headed for the door. It sounded like their entire floor was out there, and all of them were fighting. Which was completely accurate. Once Nico was in the hallway, he found ever single Lost Kid standing in the hall, some still in their work clothes and others in their pajamas.

A picture had gotten knocked off of the wall, which was what Nico had heard break. It had also barely missed Ethan, who was on the ground in a pile of broken glass. Nico covered his ears. It was so loud. Everyone was yelling and in each others' faces. No longer was anyone excluded either, as the twins, Juniper, Ethan, and even Hazel had somehow gotten dragged into it all.

“Why don't you actually grow some balls and get involved,” Clarisse sneered down at Ethan.

Luke threw a punch at Apollo, barely catching the other blond in the jaw. “You can't fucking bruise him!” Leo yelled at Luke. “He has to be able to work.”

Luke sneered. “Yeah, I'm sure that's why you care.”

“You fucking whore!” Piper yelled, probably directed at Drew.

Nico shut his eyes, his hands clinging to his head. Everyone kept yelling, and it all started to jumble together. Why did they have to fight? This wasn't solving anything. If anything, it just made it all worse.

“Don't fucking touch him!”

“Bitch!”

“Gonna cut my throat, like she cut your mother's?”

Nico's eyes snapped open at that one. He zoned in on Zoë, who had directed her comment at Annabeth. The blonde glared back at the other Lost Girl with a burning hatred. “Well it's not my fault that you kicked my roommate out of your room because you can't accept the other half of her!”

Nico let out a sigh as the situation continued to dissolved. He felt so helpless, nobody was even paying him any attention. Perhaps that was a good thing, though, since he really didn't want to fight with anyone. But this needed to stop, it had to.

“What do you even know?”

“Why don't you go cry to your mommie while she's here?”

And then, “Shut up!”

The entire hall fell silent. Nico slowly opened his eyes, only to find everyone staring at him in shock. He blinked a few times before he realized it had been him that had said it. His cheeks darkened slightly. This was bad. Several of the others were even glaring at him.

“What did you just say?” Clarisse growled.

Nico's throat felt dry. “Um,” began Nico. He closed his mouth, pursing his lips. Panic filled his eyes as he stared back at the others. His hands tightened, which was when he realized what he was still holding. Percy's letter. Taking in a deep breath, Nico relaxed. “We need to stop fighting.”

Luke looked at him dully. “Just stay out of it, brat.” Octavian gave him a shove, which caused Luke to glare at his brother.

The boy's eyes darkened. “No!” He shouted. Nico rubbed the back of his neck at the dark look he got from Luke. “It's just that...no one is really helping the situation. We need to calm down.” His fingers tightened around the letter. “Don't you guys see? This is what Kronos wants.” He shook his head. “You guys said it yourselves on the day Percy left, but it's like you forgot. We need each other if we're going to survive the rest of our time with him. We're stronger together, we can have support. Fighting isn't the answer. Letting our differences and arguments cause this much conflict within our ranks just gives Kronos satisfaction. He's the real enemy here, not each other.”

Nobody said anything. Nico bit down on his lip. He just waited for someone to drag him into the middle of their turmoil. They weren't going to listen to him. Why would they? He had done nothing but screw up, so why would anyone want to take his advice? Nico looked down. He should have just kept his mouth shut.

“We should-” began Apollo.

Luke nodded. “Cool off.” The blond reached up and ran a hand through his hair, his eyes locking with Nico's. “Everyone go back to your rooms, take the night to cool off.”

There was a lot of mumbling, but everyone slowly did as they were told. On his way to his room, Apollo shot Nico a small smile and nod. Eventually, Nico was left alone in the hall with his roommate. The blond nodded towards their suite. Nico gave a nod and followed Jason inside.

“This has been a really exhausting day,” Nico muttered as he shut the door.