Children of Loss 59

Chapter 59

There was so much blood. Nico's shaking hands had gotten covered in it from clutching Luke's body. He just wanted Luke to wake up and everything to be all right. And it was his fault. His fault. Nico's fault. Luke got shot because of him. This was because of him.

His fault!

“Nico?”

Dark brown eyes snapped open from where he had been sitting on a windowsill. Dark circles were now very prominent underneath Nico's eyes in comparison to his pale skin. He blinked several times as his eyes focused on the rain that quietly hit the window outside.

Slowly, he raised a shaky hand to touch at the glass. The blood was long gone, but it was still fresh in Nico's mind. Taking in a breath, Nico turned to the man that sat in a chair across the room from him, a pen and notepad in his lap.

“I'm sorry, what were we talking about?”

Asclepius was the man's name, and he had been highly recommended by Gaea herself. A month had gone by since the shooting incident, and Nico had been going to regular therapy sessions at least twice a week since then. Percy had quickly become worried when Nico started eating less and not sleeping. And the little he did sleep, Nico often talked or cried while he did. All he could dream about was Luke getting shot and then watching him bleed out. He had barely said a word to anyone since then, not even Percy.

The doctor dropped his pen on the notepad and laced his hands together in his lap. “Have you given any more thought to what we talked about in our last few sessions? Mr. Jackson tells me you're still barely eating, and your sleeping hasn't improved at all.”

“I-I just want it to stop. I can't stop it,” Nico whispered.

Dr. Asclepius arched an eyebrow at him. “Stop what, Nico?”

“Watching Luke get shot. And I... I killed that man. Stabbed him, and then I shot him. I could have just gotten the gun from him and stopped, but I-I didn't... I shot him.” Nico's hands were shaking again. “He- He died...slowly. He couldn't...call for help or anything. I didn't have to do it, but I did.” Nico's eyes flickered up to where the man sat. “It was an impulse. I wanted him dead for what just happened. Luke... That wouldn't have happened if it weren't for me. He was there for me, not Luke.”

The man reached up and adjusted a pair of glasses on his face. “Nico, we've been over this-”

“Just tell me how to make it stop.” Nico curled in on himself and glanced back out the window.

The doctor leaned forward, curious. “Stop what, Nico?”

“I just...want it to stop. There's so much p-pain in this world, and nothing is done about. All of my friends had to suffer, and still continue to. I just want it to stop.” Nico rubbed the sleeve of his shirt against his nose. “Why can't they be happy? Why is there so much pain, doctor? And why can't it ever end? Are we just not meant to be happy?”

“I like to think that we try to enjoy the small moments in life, and that helps us get by.” The man smiled warmly at Nico. “But life can also be hard and unforgiving. We have to make due with the hand we are dealt, and maybe try to make things better. Perhaps for ourselves, or even others.” The man picked his pen back up and scribbled some things down. “Are you ready to talk about pulling that trigger yet?”

For a long time, Nico just sat there and listened to the rain hit the window. “I, um, didn't really think about it.” Nico ran his tongue along his dry lips. “It just happened.” Slowly closing his eyes, the boy shook his head. “I don't know. I shouldn't have, but I wanted to. You read my file, you know what happened with my father. Yet I let him live.” He took in a deep breath. “And now, whenever I look in the mirror, I just don't see the same person staring back. It's like a stranger is looking at me. That probably sounds weird.”

“Not at all,” the man replied with a warm smile. “It's only self-preservation, Nico. The man was going to do you harm, already proving that by what he did to your friend, you just defended yourself.”

“You know, it's just when I think about it, maybe I shouldn't be surprised by the stranger staring back at me. I'm not the same person I was a year ago, and I guess the change in me was just so minimal that I didn't even notice it.” He blinked, swallowing a lump in his throat. “I mean, I did, once. Percy was gone for a while, and I... I started scaring myself.” He shook his head, standing up and turning his back to the doctor. “It's stupid. In the environment I live in, this shouldn't bother me.”

“But it does,” Asclepius supplied for him. Nico nodded his head, biting his thumb nail. “And I think that should let you know that you're still the same person deep down. Perhaps not entirely the same, but your morale compass has just shifted slightly.” He arched a brow as Nico turned his head slightly to stare at the man. “You didn't kill this man because you enjoyed it, you did it because your life was in danger.”

Nico shook his head. “It wasn't for me.” He let out a sigh when the doctor arched another brow. “I let my father abuse me, and never did anything about it until I found him again in the Lotus. I never really cared about what happened to me.” Nico sat back down, frowning. “It was because he shot someone very dear to me. I...” Nico took in a deep breath, fighting back some tears. “I never even wanted to tell my father that I was gay. He hit me that night and Bianca got into a heavily heated argument with him. I was afraid that he was going to hit her, so it just kind of slipped out.”

His doctor remained silent. He didn't write anything down, just sort of stared at Nico in mild surprise. Nico had not even told that to Percy yet. It was just not a night he cared to relive. Finally, Asclepius opened his mouth.

“Have you been out there to see-”

“No,” Nico interjected, still wiping at his eyes. “I can't. I can't see... I don't want to face what happened because of me.” The boy pursed his lips. “Does that make me a bad person?”

“Not at all,” Asclepius said softly. He stood to his feet and moved over to the door. “But I might recommend going. Some closure might do you some good, Mr. di Angelo.”

Nico watched the man move with an almost dead, cold stare. He took in a deep breath before he got to his feet and nodded. His doctor wrote him a quick prescription, probably for some nerve and sleeping pills, and opened the door.

Smiling, Asclepius motioned for Nico to step through the doorway. “I will set up your next appointment with Ms. Dare. Have a good day, Nico, and try to go easy on yourself.”

Nico briefly looked down at the prescription before nodding. Usually, one of the Lost Kids from back home waited to pick him up, but not this time. Today, Percy sat in the lobby, quickly jumping up when he saw Nico standing there. He smiled sadly and ran his fingers through the front of Nico's hair when they were close enough.

“How did it go?” He asked gently.

“Fine,” was the only response Nico gave. Letting out a sigh, Nico shoved his new prescription into Percy's hands before heading out of the building and waiting at Percy's car, while his boyfriend paid the doctor bill for his session.

When Percy finally climbed into the car, he didn't start it right away. Instead, he turned to face Nico, brushing some of the boy's black hair away from his face. “Nico,” the young man said softly.

“I don't...really want to talk about it.” Dark eyes stared down at his lap as Nico sat, unmoving, in his seat. “I'm just sorry.”

Percy's brow furrowed. “You don't need to be sorry, Nico. I don't see you any differently. You did what you had to do.” The young man reached over and took Nico's hand. “Look, I would be a total hypocrite if I had an issue with what you did. I don't even try to think about the number of people I had to kill, but I think that it is important to point out how much this bothers you.” Squeezing Nico's hand, Percy smiled softly. “If I can't see myself as a monster, then you most certainly cannot.”

When they started driving, it took Nico several minutes to realize they were not headed in the direction of the hotel. His brows instantly furrowed as he turned to look at his boyfriend. “Where are we going?”

Instead of answering, Percy just squeezed his hand.

Nico's nostrils flared. “Percy Jackson, you tell me where we are going this instant.”

“Calm down,” the young man replied softly. “I just think that this will do you some good. Like ripping the band-aid off.”

Looking back on things, Nico probably shouldn't have tried to grab the wheel, because they almost went off the road. Perhaps a little harshly, Percy shoved Nico back into his seat with a glare. Nico huffed and crossed his arms.

“Don't do that while I'm driving,” Percy scolded him. “This isn't up for discussion. You'll thank me later.”

Nico glared out the window the rest of the way. When they arrived, Percy got out first and walked around to open the door for Nico. The boy's shoulders slumped as he took the green-eyed young man's hand. He didn't want to be there, he didn't want to see. He just wanted to pretend that it was a dream. If he didn't see it, maybe it never happened.

But it ended up staring him directly in the face. Literally.

Blue eyes snapped up when Percy led Nico into the room, an uncertain look in them. Nico squirmed and waved a little when Eros waved at him from where he sat on the bed. “How did the therapy go, Nico?” Eros asked as he held out a spoonful of mashed squash to the blond in the bed.

“I can feed myself, fucker,” Luke grumbled as he snatched the spoon from the cheerful brunet.

Eros stuck out his tongue. “Ah, but you are such a fragile little thing, I would not want you to strain yourself too much.” With a glare, he got up and yanked the pillow that Luke was using to prop himself up from behind him, roughly fluffing it. “Connard. Maybe next time you won't get yourself shot.”

Luke crossed his arms over his bare torso, which was still rapped in a bandage. The doctors said that the wound would more than likely scar, but at least it had healed. In fact, Luke was going to be released in the next day or two. He probably could have already been moved back to the hotel, but a certain brunet demanded the doctors take extra care of him. And Percy just thought it was amusing at how red Luke's face turned, so he agreed to it.

Finally, Luke's eyes snapped back over to where Nico now stood. “Twerp.”

“Hey,” the boy mumbled softly.

The twins were actually in the room. Which was a little surprising, as they got threatened to be banned from the hospital if they stole another gurney and used them to joust. “Did the shrink diagnose you as crazy yet?” Travis teased, who had his arms wrapped around his brother's waist as the other twin sat in his lap.

Nico shot the older twin a glare, but Percy clamped his hand over the boy's mouth the second it looked like the brown-eyed boy might snap at Travis. “I just thought Nico should pay a visit, so he could get past the guilt and realize that you're not angry with him, Luke.”

Brown and blue eyes met. Reaching up, Luke scratched his cheek. Briefly sighing, the blond turned his attention to Percy. “Give us a minute.”

Eros opened his mouth to protest, but Luke roughly shoved him off the bed. Percy chuckled and opened the door as the twins and Eros left the room, the latter cursing furiously in French. Nico took in a deep breath as the door shut behind him. When he looked back at Luke, he noticed that the blond was undoing his bandages.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

Luke arched an eyebrow. “Showing you, so you'll stop being so fucking depressed. You know, you could have at least sent a card for the guy that took a bullet for you.” Grunting, Luke exposed the stitched up area of his chest. He then huffed and patted the spot. “See, I'm alive. Jesus, I asked you to stop being so goddamn depressed when something bad happened, and you couldn't even do that.” He shook his head. “Can't even honor a dying man's wish?”

“You didn't die,” Nico mumbled.

“That's sort of the point.” Luke leaned back in the bed, placing his hands behind his head. “I get why you're upset over shooting the guy, kid, but stop beating yourself up over what happened to me. I shoved you out of the way, I took the bullet.”

There it was. Once again, Nico was just 'kid'. “You could have died.”

“I could have, but I wasn't going to give that French asshole out there the pleasure of being rid of me.” Luke rolled his eyes. “I know you're not weak, like I originally thought you were, so stop pretending like you are. It happened, you shot the guy, now it's time to move on with your life. You're about to go to college. If you don't stop moping, do you really think Percy will let you go to school in America?”

“I-” Nico pressed his lips together. “He probably won't let me now anyways. He worries too much.”

Luke shrugged. “Then I suggest putting that mask back on and acting like you're fine. Deal with your problems in therapy, but you're only hurting yourself right now by acting like this. In a few years, you probably won't even think about what happened.”

Nico really didn't see that happening.

In all his time in this life, Nico had never stared at the performance on the stage as hard as he did on the night Luke got brought back from the hospital. While the blond wasn't performing, he had joined the small group at Percy's table. Luke was downing his third drink. And while his face looked bored, those blue eyes barely left the stage that Eros was performing on with a few of the Lost Girls.

The brunet had half of his torso covered in body paint, accompanied by a crescent moon and a few stars painted around his right eye. All the while, the boy and two girls danced along to Ke$ha's “Take It Off”. They didn't even bother wearing much to begin with, just ripped shirts and some small underwear. Well, the girls still had their shirts, for the most part, Eros had removed his at the start of the song.

The choreography involved a lot of foot work and sliding across the stage. The Lost Kids stomped their right foot along with the chorus, while one of their hands tangled in their hair. Eros stood in the dead center of the stage, his free hand hanging high above his head as his body went along with the song. Eros seemed extremely comfortable to dancing to music like this, but that probably was to be expected, since Nico got to witness the brunet at a club.

When it came to the part of the song where there was briefly no lyrics, their hands moving from their hair down to their asses with three timed slaps. As the song came to its end, Eros smirked and faced his back to the audience. And as the song played the final beats, he swung his hips back and forth, slowly peeling back the top of his underwear for the audience to see. Well, Eros seemed more interested in seeing what Luke thought, as the brunet's green eyes glinted at Luke. The blond just arched a brow and tossed back another shot as his...whatever they were...showed his ass to the crowd.

The two girls did a quick wave to the crowd, while Eros winked and blew a kiss. As they left the stage, Luke grunted and took another drink. “Don't you think you should slow down?” Apollo chuckled as he stared at the other blond next to him in amusement.

Apollo had gotten back almost two weeks ago. He was going to come back sooner, when he heard Luke got shot, but Percy had assured him that Luke would be fine. And, to nobody's surprise, the blond had moved into a suite with Leo.

Artemis had been happy to see her brother again, which had been why Apollo was gone so long. From what Apollo had told them, the two had talked for a very long time about everything. Artemis no longer talked to their father, and had actually come out as asexual a few years ago. She was more than happy that Apollo was no longer seeing Robert, but had also threatened to cut off the man's balls for dumping her brother on the street.

She would be spending Christmas with them in Germany, from what Apollo told them. And she knew what Apollo did. Well, most of it. More of less, it was basically the same situation Nico was in with Bianca. She knew Apollo stripped, but not the rest. It was possibly why Apollo came back and asked for a job doing something else around the hotel. Percy had assured the blond that he would find Apollo something, if it was what he wanted.

“Mind your own business,” Luke grumbled.

Percy leaned back in his chair with a smirk, sliding an arm around the back of Nico's chair. “Why don't you just ask him out? You two are basically dating as it is.”

“We are not.” Luke glanced up to the stage again, even though Eros was no longer there. “It's just sex.”

“Maybe originally, but doesn't seem that way now,” Reyna weighed in. She grinned wickedly when Luke shot her a glare. “Come off it Luke, you two are cute together. He doesn't put up with your bullshit. I think he would make a good boyfriend.”

“Especially if he can whip Luke, without them actually dating,” Apollo laughed, knocking glasses with Reyna.

Luke grunted and took another shot. “You three can go fuck yourselves. I'm not whipped and we are not going to date.” Perhaps Nico should have been paying better attention, though, because he would have noticed the blond's attention turn to him. “You're being very quiet tonight, twerp.”

Nico jumped a little at the nickname. It stung a little to hear it, after Luke had actually addressed him by name. Perhaps Nico was just over thinking it, though. Luke had admitted to viewing Nico as a little brother, so perhaps it was just the blond's way of showing affection. Bianca did the same thing half the time.

“Just thinking,” Nico finally replied.

It was pretty clear that Luke didn't buy it, but he didn't comment further. Nico rubbed at his temple and looked off to the side. While Percy had bought him a drink, Nico had not even touched it, something that the green-eyed young man now took notice of. He tugged on Nico's shoulder, bringing the boy closer to him.

“Are you tired?” He whispered, kissing Nico's temple. The brown-eyed boy gave a small nod. “Okay.” Clearing his throat, Percy stood up from the table. “I think the two of us are going to turn in for the night.”

Luke continued to stare at Nico while the boy stood up, while Apollo and Reyna smiled and waved. Once they were away from the table, Percy slid his arm around Nico, letting the boy lean into him. It was something that Nico took advantage of when they got down and got a golf cart to ride back to the mansion in.

Nico mumbled incoherently into Percy's shoulder, his arms wound around the young man's neck, while Percy did his best to find the keys to his favorite golf cart. He smiled and wrapped his arms around Nico's waist upon procuring the keys. Nico shut his eyes for a moment when Percy rested his chin on top of the boy's head.

It was a little odd to think about how perfectly he fit under Percy's chin. When they first met, Nico barely came up to the young man's shoulders. Right now, he just wanted to stay like this forever. Well, perhaps in the comfort of their room, which was what got him to let go of Percy and let the young man drive them back to the mansion.

Percy smiled softly as he watched Nico move across the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. With a soft grunt, Nico pulled the chord and let the curtain fall around the bed. As Nico yanked off his shoes, the boy let out another grunt. He pouted when Percy chuckled lightly.

Sighing, Percy yanked his shirt over his head and joined Nico on the bed. Nico blinked from the center of the bed and watched as Percy removed his own shoes. A yelp escaped Nico's lips as the young man practically tackled him.

“Percy,” Nico whined.

In response, Percy pressed a brief kiss to the raven haired boy's neck. “I just want you to smile again,” he mumbled into the boy's pale skin. Strong arms wrapped around Nico's torso and they rolled, so that Percy was on his back and Nico laid his head on his lover's chest.

A long silence followed, wherein Percy passed the time by raking his fingers through Nico's hair.

“Are you changing your mind about where I'm going to school?” Nico asked out of the blue. Percy blinked down at him in surprise. Sighing, Nico slid down into the crevice of Percy's arm. “We haven't talked about it since Luke got shot.”

A heavy sigh came from Percy. Reaching up, the young man pinched the bridge of his nose. “I didn't think there was anything to talk about” Much to Nico's displeasure, the young man sat up, which meant he lost his 'pillow'. “You're still allowed to go to school wherever you want, Nico, I'm not going to change my mind just because something bad happened. You made a point last time we talked: this could happen anywhere. And it did. You were just in the city when that happened, and there was nothing I could have done to make it not happen. Aside from maybe locking you up in this mansion.”

Nico opened his mouth to argue, but Percy chuckled and silenced him.

“I wouldn't do that.” Percy sighed and crossed his legs. “You know what you want and I'm not going to try to make decisions like this for you. If you want to go to school in America, I'll happily support your decision. I'll miss you, but I'll support it. I,um...”

Nico arched a brow at the young man when his ears started to turn pink. “Yes?”

Percy chuckled nervously and rubbed his wrist. “I care about you...a lot, and I just want you to be happy.”

“I know.”

“No,” Percy chuckled, “I don't really think you do. I haven't told you, because you were right again, when you said that I can be unreadable. I mean, I do try to be affectionate with you, but I could tell you more.” He shook his head. “I mean, I could just tell you in general. It's just a simple phrase.” Percy's cheeks were now a bright pink, the color slowly devouring his entire face. “This really shouldn't be this hard.”

Nico cocked his head to the side. “Percy, are you okay?”

Percy quickly nodded, though he briefly buried his face in his hands. With a loud groan, Percy rubbed his face. “Goddammit,” he cursed. “I l-” He coughed, his face now even brighter. What the hell was wrong with him? “Okay, so, I've just never done this before, you know? Never...said this...before. I mean, aside from like Gaea and my mom.” Percy groaned and buried his face in his hands. “Why is this so embarrassing? It's just the two of us.”

“Percy, just spit it out.”

“I love you!” Percy instantly clamped his mouth shut, his eyes going wide. His also resembled a tomato by this point, but at least now Nico understood why. Taking a deep breath, Percy tried to calm down. It was actually rather cute, seeing him all embarrassed. “I, uh, kind of wish you would say something.”

Oh. Nico was still a little stunned from the confession. He quickly blinked and took in a breath. Okay, wow, he had not been expecting that. “I, uh...” His mouth felt incredibly dry. “Well, you already know how I feel.” He just kind of stared at Percy for a moment, who looked a little sick. “I love you, too, Percy, you already know that.” His lips slowly tilted up and he wrapped his arms around Percy, crawling into his boyfriend's lap. “But I've been waiting to hear that for a very long time.”

Percy tilted his head up and sealed their lips together. He gave Nico a lopsided smile when they pulled back. “Well, I mean, I guess I have for a while now. It just kind of took me some time to realize it.” He motioned in between them. “This is just rather new for me. I've never been in love...or a relationship, for that matter.” He let out a breath. “But you mean a lot to me, Nico. I would do anything for you, and I hope you know that.” Leaning up again, Percy kissed the boy in his arms. “And I managed to get you to smile.”

Nico stared at the grinning idiot for a moment. Reaching up, he touched his face. To be honest, he had not even realize he had been smiling in the first place. “I guess you did,” Nico said quietly. Leaning back in, he shared a slow kiss with his boyfriend.

It was finally time.

Summer had finally come to an end, which meant that Nico had to leave Berlin and go to university. It had not been an easy morning, or night for that matter. While packing, he had changed his mind several time. Each time, Percy had just told him that he would support Nico's decision, no matter what he chose. He had not gotten any sleep, to be honest.

But here he was, in the middle of the airport. Beckendorf had gone ahead to prepare Percy's private jet. The downside was that Percy would not be getting on the plane with him. They had agreed that, if this was what Nico wanted, it would be easier this way. So, even though he had packed everything, Nico still, technically, had the opportunity to change his mind. To be honest, the thought was constantly running through Nico's mind as he stood there with some of his bags.

The others had accompanied Percy and Nico to the airport to say their goodbyes, even though it wasn't really “goodbye”. Nico would still be coming back to Berlin whenever he got the chance, mainly in between semesters and on holidays. Still, it meant going weeks, or maybe even a month or two, without seeing his friends. Percy was a different story.

The young man had assured Nico that they would see each other at least once a month, even if that meant that Percy would fly out and visit. Unfortunately, Percy's place was in Berlin, so he couldn't just be with Nico the whole four years. Which Nico was already planning on shortening down to three, if he could pull it off.

A hand eventually squeezed Nico's shoulder.

Taking in a deep breath, Nico turned around to face Percy and the others. “I think I can do this,” he said nervously.

Percy smiled down at him. “You'll do great.”

Piper and Silena moved forward and embraced Nico on either side. “Take care of yourself, make sure you eat all your meals,” Silena said, squeezing him awfully hard.

“Come back to us in one piece,” Piper added.

Even though they would see each other again, it felt like a goodbye. Nico shut his eyes and let the girls hug him. It was like seeing them for the first time flash behind his eyelids.

There he was, the scared little boy, when Piper and the twins had come in. The three had instantly become curious about him and introduced themselves. Piper had been the one to prevent the twins from overwhelming him.

Silena and Beckendorf had fought a lot, but somehow Nico always felt like they would pull through. Something about them just felt like they were tethered to each other, perhaps even destined to be together. And now they were going to get married and start a family. Nico knew that Silena would make a much better mother than the one she had.

The twins appeared behind them, launching confetti. Nico wasn't even irritated. He shocked them a little by embracing both of them. Connor patted his head. “Whoa there, don't need to go making this so emotional, Neeks.”

“Yeah,” Travis chuckled. “We'll see each other again.”

And there they were, back in Los Angeles. The twins were up to some prank, causing terror throughout their floor. Travis was back on their bed, watching his brother sleep and talking with Nico. Their faces were seared into his mind, just like everyone else would be. They were his family. It would always be their impish grins that he would picture when thinking about them.

Next was Will, who stepped sheepishly away from Cecil and Lou. Nico smiled at him and the two hugged. “Hurry back to us, the hotel won't be the same without you,” Will mumbled into Nico's ear. Nico could feel him smile. “Thank you. For everything.” He pulled back, his hands still on Nico's shoulders. “I'm not sure if I can get used to you not being around now.”

Nico hugged him again. “I'll be back before you know it.” Nico gave the blond a friendly kiss on the cheek and smiled. “Take care of yourself while I'm gone.”

There they were, back on Percy's couch during the movie night. Will's smile had stuck out in the dark, and it had made Nico's heart do a flip. They were on the beach and Nico just listened as Will talked about surfing and how he loved the ocean. And the first time they met, Will just leaning against Apollo's car as they got ready to go to the beach.

As Will stepped back, Juniper wasted no time in jumping in to hug her friend. Nico clung to her tightly. Out of everyone, she had probably been the nicest overall. Not once had she really hurt him. The others had their small spat with Nico during the early days, but never Juniper. Granted she wasn't there when it happened, but Nico couldn't really picture her being a part of it anyways. Nico breathed in the smell of the Lost Girl's lavender shampoo.

She had been so excited to meet Nico, calling him adorable. She wasn't quite like the rest, keeping her sadness and bitterness bottled up inside, instead of trying to take it out on the world. It had been heartwarming to see the way she smiled when she saw Grover over Christmas. It made Nico feel good, knowing that the two would be together soon enough.

“So, I made you this shirt to wear while you are at school,” Leo said, holding up a horribly made shirt with the words 'Property of Percy Jackson' on it. “You know, to keep all the suitors off of you.”

Nico just rolled his eyes and accepted the shirt before pulling the Latino boy into a one-armed hug. “I suppose I'll miss you.”

He could remember Leo's face, staring at him as Percy carried him into the hotel. He looked so concerned, like he was worried about bringing Nico into the pit of wolves. There were all the times Leo and Apollo had fought. Back then, Nico had just thought they severely disliked each other. Perhaps they did. But not now. He smiled, watching as Leo stepped back beside the curly haired blond that he had been so angry at once upon a time.

Apollo smiled down at Leo and stepped up to Nico. “Well, I guess you're leaving after all. Just not in the way we talked about a long time ago.” He hugged Nico, lifting the boy up in a bear hug. “Try not to cause too much damage on any Lost Kids you encounter while you're at school.”

The first time he had laid eyes on Apollo, Nico had developed such a crush. It was not really hard to imagine, because Apollo was beautiful. Percy was gorgeous and hot, but Apollo had a beauty about him that could not be matched. Nico remembered how scared the blond had gotten when Percy scolded him after humiliating Nico. And then there was when they finally made up, as Apollo fixed the tie that Nico wore. From that moment, Apollo had just been his big brother. Nico couldn't help but laugh upon remembering the feeling of triumph when he got pulled off Apollo, a piece of the blond's shirt still in his hand.

“I don't think I could damage them as much as I did your face,” Nico joked.

Apollo smirked and ruffled Nico's hair.

Clarisse surprised Nico by shoving the blond out of the way. She stared down at him with an angry look. “Here,” she grumbled.

Nico nearly choked when he noticed it was a folding knife. “I don't need that!”

“Well, you're going to take it.” And the Lost Girl shoved it into Nico's hand. The boy quickly pocketed the blade. “And if some bastard pulls some shit on you again, you better damn well use the goddamn thing.”

Well it was Clarisse. She had been very intimidating the first time that Nico saw her. To be fair, though, the entire situation had been terrifying. He had been where he was not supposed to be, on the floor that would later be where he worked. And, of course, her and Ethan had gotten Percy, which had only scared Nico even more. Nico felt a slight pain in his hand at the memory of the time Clarisse and Ethan took him to shoot a gun. Nico had known right then and there that he did not like guns.

When it came time for Rachel to say her goodbye, the girl snapped a quick picture of Nico on her phone before shooting forward to embrace the raven haired boy. “I know you'll be fine and you'll do great at school. But you better call Percy whenever you get the chance, or he will probably start moping.”

“Hey!” Percy whined.

Nico smiled sadly and hugged the girl again. He couldn't help but think about all the knowing smiles she had given him. She knew how Percy felt about him, even before the green-eyed young man did. The way she had smiled at him in the elevator that one time, it was clear now that she was scarily intuitive. All the advice she had given him. If only he had listened to her more. She had told him to not act so childish. If Nico had just listened to her, he could have avoided a lot of arguments with Percy.

Octavian rolled his eyes and yanked Rachel backwards. “You might be needing this,” the blond grumbled, handing Nico a very thick book. It was the DSM book that Nico kept running across for the required textbooks for his courses. “Hopefully, you don't make a habit of getting yourself into bad situations. Not that you'd listen, since you never do.”

That was more than true.

Nico had not even been a blip on Octavian's radar the night they met. He had flat out ignored Nico, for the most part. Most of the time they talked, it involved a snippy comment at Nico. He had helped Nico, even if it was merely because his brother had asked him to. If it weren't for Octavian, Annabeth probably would have crushed him into the dirt without Nico even suspecting anything of the blonde. The first time that he had even seen the blond Lost Boy smile had been at Daedalus's house, when they had met Perdix.

Next was Reyna, who wasted no time in making sure that Nico checked in with them on a regular basis. “And if you don't,” she said with a firm look, “I will fly over myself and kick your ass.” She then smiled at him and hugged the shorter boy. “Take care of yourself, Nico. We'll all miss you, but I'm sure you already know that.”

Reyna had been very distant and hard to read when the two had first met. Perhaps a little angry. If Nico had not been so blind to things, he would have realized that she had basically told him that Percy did kill people. As they days passed and Reyna had started to open up more, Nico found her to be a very reliable friend.

When it came time for Eros to bid Nico farewell, the brunet hugged the raven haired boy while he rambled incoherently in French. Pulling back, Eros kissed both of Nico's cheeks. It reminded Nico of the first time that they met. He hoped that by the time he finished school that Eros and Luke would stop dancing around each other and actually get together.

Eros had been like a whirlwind, blowing into Nico's life out of nowhere. And now he couldn't imagine not having the brunet around. He had been so excited the day he took Nico to get outfitted for dinner with Percy, the way he grinned at the brown-eyed boy through the mirror. But there had also been the nightclub, where Nico got to witness the more worrying side of the French Lost Boy. Or when Luke had confessed that Eros had an eating disorder. But then he could turn it all around again with times like when he looked so proud after he and Luke got discovered for destroying the pinball machine and golf cart. But perhaps Nico's fondest moment of the brunet had been when he had encountered Luke's mother. The look of horror on the woman's face would always be priceless.

Jason offered Nico a lopsided smile as he stepped forward and opened his arms for Nico to embrace him, something Nico wasted no time in doing. He closed his eyes and clung to the blond for dear life. “I'll miss you,” Nico whispered into the blue-eyed boy's chest.

“Will's not so bad, but I think you're still my favorite roommate.”

Nico could feel tears building up in his eyes now as he took hold of the back of Jason's shirt. He didn't want to let go. The first time he met Jason felt like so long ago, in another life perhaps, but it was still clear in his mind. He had no idea who Jason was when they met at school, but he knew there was something so familiar about Jason in comparison to the Lost Kids.

Finally there was Luke, who had to be shoved forward by Eros. He sighed and rolled his eyes when he bumped into Nico. “Watch it!” Popped into Nico's head, the very first words that Luke had ever said to him.

Nico had been such a scared little kid back then. It had nearly given him a heart attack to bump into Luke, who looked like he wanted to murder Nico right then and there. Their relationship with each other had been so different back then. Luke had seemed like his enemy, someone who wanted nothing more than to see Nico fail. He remembered the cocky smirk on Luke's face when Nico wanted to try working on the top floor. And then Nico got the shock of finding out that Luke had actually tried to protect Nico by making a deal with Percy. Or how could Nico forget the night he jumped on the back of Luke's motorcycle?

It had nearly broken his heart to hear Luke's story, about how he got that scar. Luke had given up on being happy back then. And then he met Eros. Nico smiled at the memory of when Luke first laid eyes on the feisty brunet. The look in Luke's eyes when Nico had almost fell out of their raft at the water park flashed briefly through Nico's mind. Luke had started out looking like his enemy, but it was funny how all that changed. Because, as it turned out, Luke was probably Nico's best friend during all of this, whether he would ever admit it again or not.

“Just...don't go getting into trouble. I won't be there with you, so I can't really take another bullet.” Luke rolled his eyes when Nico pursed his lips. He glanced over his shoulder and glared at the others before turning back to Nico. “Look, you'll be fine. Stop worrying. Grow a pair and go knock 'em dead.” Those icy blue eyes almost sparkled as they met Nico's brown ones. “Take care of yourself, Nico. Not that I'll miss you or anything, but I'm sure all the other losers I have to associate myself with are going to start whining that you're not around.”

And the dam broke. Tears streamed down Nico's face as he hugged Luke. It was his name that did it. Luke was his best friend, his brother, always looking out for him. He just didn't want people to think he was a softie.

A hand laid softly on Nico's shoulder and the boy was slowly removed from Luke. Wiping at his eyes, Nico looked up into Percy's sea-green eyes. The young man cupped Nico's face and gave him a quick kiss. “As much as I want you to stay, which is what I know you're debating right now, I also know you'll hate yourself if you changed your mind right now.” He held on tight to Nico. The smell of the ocean instantly filled Nico's lungs as he shut his eyes. “We'll be here, waiting, when you get back.”

And there he was, back on the streets on that first night.

His legs screamed in pain as he tried to walk again. His body was so tired. Just curl up and die, he thought again. It would be easier, and his parents wouldn't miss him. Nobody would. He collapsed against the wall of the hotel, slowly sliding down it until he sat on the ground. He pulled his knees up to his chest and began to cry again. He buried his head into his knees so people wouldn't see him cry. He heard a door swing open, but didn't look up. He looked underneath his arms at the person that walked out, only seeing up to the stranger's knees.

“No, everything is going fine.” It was a guy. “Yes, he dropped the package off a few hours ago. I'll ship it over to you if you want.” The guy sighed. “No, it wasn't like that.” Another pause. “No. He tried grabbing her ass while she was on stage. There was no negotiation with me.” He paused again. “Yeah, I...informed him as to the instability of his company's stocks .”

Nico scolded himself for picking this spot to collapse. He didn't want someone to see him like this. People passing by were different, this was someone up close. Something about the young man's voice pulled Nico in, though. He wanted to look up and see who was talking, but didn't want to chance him making eye contact. He would rather the stranger just ignore him and go back inside.

Nico figured he should get up, try to get away unnoticed. When he moved to stand, his head began to spin and he collapsed on to the pavement. His cheek was now throbbing, but he didn't care. He just wanted to lay there. His eyes became heavy and he let them fall shut.

Nico let out a groan as he blinked and found the figure leaning over him. He felt a warm hand brush his bangs out of his face. “Are you okay?” He heard the voice from a moment ago ask.

The door opened again and Nico could make out a smaller figure come out and approach the previous stranger. “Percy, Luke was asking for you. What are you doing out here?”

“Talking to the boss.” Nico felt arms reach under him. “Can you get the door for me, Leo?”

The smaller figure stood back up and moved over the door. Strong arms wrapped around Nico and pulled him up to the stranger's, who's name must be Percy, chest. “Sure, boss, but what are you doing with him?”

Nico groaned again, blinking up at this Percy. His face was lifted, so Nico couldn't really make out many features, other than dark hair. “Taking care of him. He looks like he needs food and a place to sleep.”

“But-”

“No buts. You act like this is something uncommon around here.”

Nico made out the figure of Leo. He was around the same height as Nico. He was of some Hispanic origin. His eyes were peering up at Percy. Percy made his way into the hotel and Nico had to screw his eyes shut from the bright lights above him. Nico heard an elevator ding open and figured they had stepped inside of it. He unconsciously shifted closer to the warm chest that he was being pressed against. Nico blinked his eyes open for a moment. They were in an elevator. Leo looked over at him, giving him a friendly smile. “He's conscious.” Nico looked up at his rescuer. Percy glanced down at him. Nico's eyes began to shut again. The last things he saw were warm green eyes staring down at him.

It was a memory that would forever stay with Nico, the first time he had ever looked into those sea-green eyes. He had felt safe, a feeling he would always associate with Percy Jackson. They were always meant to end up here, weren't they? No matter what. Even when Nico kept almost getting killed, just like the day on the movie set.

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.

That day was the day that Nico really and truly realized that Percy did care for him. Perhaps he didn't know just how much back then, but it did show that Percy cared. And now the young man had said the three little words that Nico had waited so long to hear. And how did Nico repay him? By going to school halfway around the world.

“I could always just-”

“No,” Percy firmly cut him off. “You will be fine. I'll see you every month and you'll be spending your breaks back here. We will make it work. It'll suck, but it will work. You'll do fine and I'm going to be proud of you. Well, more than I already am.” He smiled when Nico blushed. “And it's good to know that I can still make you do that.”

Nico laughed a little and tried to wipe his remaining tears off of his face. “You promise?”

Percy nodded and kissed Nico's forehead. “I'll see you soon.” He leaned in and rested his forehead against Nico's. “But I will miss you. I really do love you, Nico, and I am very proud of you.”

Nico pressed his lips tightly together and nodded, willing himself to not cry again. He wrapped his arms around Percy's neck and pulled the young man down for a long, searing kiss. They got a few whistles from some of the Lost Kids, but the two ignored them. Right now, it was just the two of them. When they separated, Percy smiled warmly back at Nico.

Taking in a deep breath, Nico slowly removed himself from Percy's warm embrace. He reached down and picked up his backpack and one other thing of luggage. He smiled weakly and gave the group a small wave before brushing some hair behind his ear and heading in the direction of his flight.

He stopped abruptly and turned to look over his shoulder at the group watching him. Percy stood in the center of them and they all smiled at him. Nico felt a lump in his throat as each of them waved at him. This was his family. This was the end of the road. Perhaps not literally, but it felt like it. The closing of a chapter and the beginning of a new one.

His eyes slowly moved across each of their faces before making the decision to run back. He fell into Percy's arms again, listening to the laughter that escaped the young man's chest. The others circled around them, embracing Nico in a long group hug. He never wanted to go, even though he knew he had to. The future was uncertain, the right now was not.

When they finally let him go, Nico knew that it was time to leave. There was no more stalling. He bit down on his lip to keep from crying and waved at the group again. This time he did not look back. He did not look back until he was on Percy's private jet and secure in his seat.

Nico turned and stared out the window, at the airport. He smiled a little when he found everyone standing at the window inside the airport, waving excitedly at him. He could do this.

“Ready to go, Nico?” Came Beckendorf's voice, startling Nico.

Nico smiled and turned to look up at the Lost Boy. “As ready as I'll ever be, I guess.” He let out a sigh and glanced back out the window, swallowing a lump in his throat. “It isn't really goodbye, after all.”

Beckendorf smiled and walked towards the front of the plane. Soon enough, the plane began to move away from the terminal and they got into the air. Nico stared out the window, watching as the ground fell away from them. He let out a breath and nodded.

This wasn't the end, only the start of the next chapter of his life.