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Chapter Text

Percy’s cuff had been an aqua blue, the exact same color as most of the food that his mother made. He had worn it religiously from the day his mother got it for him on his tenth birthday to the day that he and Annabeth kissed on his sixteenth birthday.

He remembered the first time he looked down at the name scrawled out on his wrist. He thought back to the joy, happiness, and relief he felt. But even then there had been something off. Even now, years from then, he finds himself looking down at the flowing silver script in surprise, as if he was expecting something else. Something more. He tries to hide it because, really and truly, he is happy. He ignores it. He wraps an arm around his girlfriend’s shoulder and plants a kiss on the crest of her head. He revels in the lemony sent of her hair. Perseus Jackson is content with his incomplete life.

 

When she was younger, Annabeth always expected to wake up on day with Luke’s name written on her arm. But it never happened. No matter how hard she tried to look for it, she could never find it. Then Percy came along, and even after the first summer, the faintest etching of letters spread across her wrist in aquamarine. She tried to ignore it. It didn’t work. That was when she marched into the nearest department store and bought a bracelet to hide it.

By the time she was fifteen, the name was bold as day and she couldn’t even attempt to hide it. So she didn’t. A year later, they got together. She was truly happy for the first time in a long time. But something was amiss. Both she and Percy knew it. However, she was the one who actually attempted to face it. She did what she did best. She researched. For the first time, she came up with absolutely nothing.

 

Nico di Angelo wore two bracelets, one of which had been Bianca’s. One was silver and one was black. He never took them off; he never knew the name that was underneath one of them (That was a lie. He knew who it was. He knew from the first day that he had seen him with his swords flying in an arch of gold toward the Manticore. He knew on the day that Percy came back to camp, digging the figurine and the faded leather circlet out of his pocket).

Nico di Angelo wore two bracelets and never gave love a chance.

 

After the battle with Gaea, Nico had disappeared. Most demigods thought he went back to the depths of the Underworld. Most people didn’t care. The only ones that he kept in semi-regular contact with were Hazel, and surprisingly, Jason. Percy tried not to feel jealous that the son of Jupiter had somehow managed to gain Nico’s trust when he hadn’t. He wondered where he had gone wrong. He traced over the signature on his right hand subconsciously.

 

It wasn’t until the summer of Annabeth’s sophomore year in college, that anyone saw sight or hair of the child of Hades. The weird thing was that the person who first saw him was Annabeth. She had been walking back to the apartment from the grocery store when she saw a familiar figure in the distance, leaning against one of the pier’s support beams as he stared out at the never-ending sea. Her voice had caught in her throat when she called out to him. She took in the expression on his face. It was an intense look of longing and resigned hopelessness. It sent shivers up her spine. She shouldered the groceries and slowly moved forward. “Nico?”

The young man jumped and spun around, his pale hand flying to the hilt of his sword. His eyes gleamed like the embers of a wildfire. Annabeth made no sudden movements. Instead, she studied the boy’s face. Well, ‘boy’ wasn’t the right word anymore. The past few years had been kind to Nico. His face had filled out and his limbs didn’t have that gangly quality anymore. The only features that remained of the old boy that Annabeth had barely known were his Italian nose, deathly pale skin, and his sharp eyes. There were also the dark bags that stained at the skin beneath his eyes. Annabeth doubted that the teen got three hours of sleep a night if those circles were anything to go by.

“Nico, what are you doing here?” The teen backed away as the college student took a step forward. He moved closer toward the shadows of the pier. He said nothing. He said nothing, but she noticed the way that he swayed from left to right. She dropped her bags in the sand and rushed toward him. She barely caught him before he hit the ground. When she moved her hands she saw that they were covered with blood. The water that was lapping at her feet and knees was being dyed scarlet. Annabeth fumbled with her phone. It took three rings for her boyfriend to answer, “Percy! Come to the pier, now! Will Solace is in one of your classes right?! Bring him too! I found Nico! He’s been hurt!”

 

It took Nico three days to wake up. Percy and Annabeth had given him their bed, with its queen-sized mattress and 100% cotton sheets that consistently smelled like the sea-breeze. They slept on the futon in the small den. They checked on him every couple of hours, giving him the ambrosia that Will had left with them.

When Nico woke up, he first stared at the ceiling for a good two minutes, wondering who in Hades had decided to paint his ceiling such a bright shade of yellow. Then he realized that he was not asleep in the underworld, that the bed was too comfy, and that the last person he remembered seeing was Annabeth Chase. He had a minor panic attack. Curling his fingers in the sheets, he took a deep breath (definitely ignoring the salty twang that hung in the air, totally ignoring it) and tried to rise into a sitting position. It was a bad idea. He felt like he had been hit by a freight-train. He collapsed back on to the pillows, clutching at his side and cursing at himself in Italian. How could he have been so stupid? Orthrus (the monster that his father had dispatched him to kill since it was digging up Persephone’s hydrangea bushes) had been weaker than the bloody Manticore! It should have been a breeze! So why was he here, wrapped up in bandages and lying in a bed that wasn’t his, that Percy and Annabeth had probably had sex on multiple times? It’s because he was weak. It was because the moment that he had seen the two headed dog, he had been reminded of Cerberus, who was often times the only being in the Underworld who was happy to see him. Too bad Orthrus was all but wild and probably a little rabid from his recent jaunts into the Upperworld. He had taken one look at Nico and had deemed the boy to be a wonderful chew toy. Let Nico tell you, being tossed around like a rag doll by a dog the size of a house is not fun. So he had killed the beast and high tailed it out of there to lick his wounds. Except, maybe his injuries were a little more grievous than he had previously thought.

Nico growled at himself and tried to roll over on his side to go back to sleep. Once again, it was a bad idea. He nearly yelped at the pain. At the noise, the writing on his wrist tingled, worried. He glared at it, miserably. Someone came marching down the hall and threw open the door. The moment Nico saw green-blue eyes he dove under the covers. Pain be damned, there absolutely no way in Hades that Nico was going to let Perseus Jackson see him shirtless. “Hey, Nico, you’re up!” Percy’s voice greeted from above the warm covers, “Uh, what are you doing?”

“Go away.”

“Huh?” Percy’s voice went from happy to confused all in one word. He pulled at the blankets, “Hey! Nico, come out of there! You’re going to reopen your wounds! Nico!”

“Go away!” Nico prided himself in the fact that his voice didn’t crack.

“Wha—Nico! We’ve been healing you for close to four days! You can’t just—”

“Nico,” The Ghost King stilled when he heard Annabeth’s voice, “Stop struggling and come out here. The last thing that we need for you to do is hurt yourself.”

The eighteen-year old had gone quiet and still. Percy had stopped trying to pull away the sheets. Finally, Nico spoke up, “Can I at least have my shirt back?” His voice was weak with embarrassment. People did not do this sort of thing. If people had done this sort of thing when he was growing up, it would be nothing short of a scandal. He did not know how to handle this. There were too many people in one room and he was shirtless and Percy was all but on top of him and Annabeth was in the doorway, watching them and he could not handle this. He could not handle this at all.

“Your shirt was kind of ripped to shreds.” Annabeth said.

“So where is it?”

“In the garbage can, along with your socks and shoes.”

“Per favore, Madre Maria, mi salva...” Nico all but whimpered.

“We managed to salvage your jacket and jeans.” Percy added, helpfully.

“Here is a spare t-shirt. It’s Percy’s so it might be a little big on you.” Annabeth said, reaching up under the covers to hand him a Camp Half-Blood shirt that was so faded that the orange nearly looked yellow. Her fingers brushed against the silver cuff on Nico’s right hand. The near-caress seemed to shock him, sending tingles up his arm and through his spine. He jumped, making Percy fall off the bed. He jerked away from the touch and went absolutely still. Once again, the room went silent, only filled with Percy’s complaints about landing on his head.

“Oh come on, Percy, it couldn't have hurt that much. It’s only a foot fall. Besides, you have all that kelp cushioning your brains. I’m sure you’re in the clear.” Annabeth said, but to Nico, the worry in her voice was clear. He heard her walking over to the son of Poseidon. He could imagine her running her hands through his hair, her gray eyes concerned but fondly exasperated at the same time. Nico wondered for what was probably the three-hundredth time if Percy’s hair felt as soft as it looked. He squashed down the desperate wish to card his hands through the other demigod’s curls and bit at his bottom lip. He struggled to put on the t-shirt, not saying a word when the movement of his arms put stress on the wounds. Finally, after he was fully clothed, he popped out of the covers and looked down at the other two young adults.

 

Annabeth was normally not one to notice other people’s appearances. It was one of those things that you learned to do when you were normally on quests getting sweaty with limited access to a shower. But even she had to say that Nico looked adorable with his sleep-ruffled hair, pouting-lips, and bright red expression. She smiled up at him with what she hoped was a welcoming expression.
“It’s great of you to join us.” She said, her smile taking on a playful edge. Nico blushed all the way to the tip of his ears and looked away. Annabeth tilted her head, feeling her long blonde waves free themselves from behind her ears.

“I guess I’ll be going now.” Nico said, inching to the shadowy side of the bed. Both demigods snapped to attention.

“What?! But Nico, you just got here!”

“You at least need to buy us dinner as a ‘thanks for saving my scrawny butt’!”

Nico stopped for a minute, and then dug into his pants pocket. He pulled out a wrinkled twenty and three gold drachma. “Will this be enough?”

Annabeth looked at it with a critical eye, “It would be.” She said, feigning impartialness. Percy just gaped at her, complaints about to spew forth from his lips. She held up a hand and placed a finger against his lips. He understood and went quiet. She turned back to Nico, who looked at her with apprehension and impatience. “It would be, but we still have your jacket hostage. If you want it back, then you’ll have to stay at least for dinner.” If looks could kill, the glare that Nico gave her would have done her in. He stopped moving toward the darkness and instead sat still. He rubbed at the sliver bracelet and bit at his knuckle.

“Fine.” He muttered, his ears still red.

“Good. Also, you need to come and have dinner with us at least once every month so that we know that you are alive.” Annabeth continued, to Percy’s shock and Nico’s annoyance. Nico opened his mouth, but Annabeth would have none of it. “Uh-uh, no dinner, no jacket.” Nico growled but didn’t move. They ended up having Chinese and watching Finding Nemo.

 

So, life continued, much as it had before. Percy still worked at the aquarium. Annabeth still worked on getting her Master’s degree in architecture and ran around like crazy trying to get as many internships as she could while supervising the finishing-construction of New Rome. The only difference was the fact that every Friday, Nico would show up at their door with food and a bottle of Italian wine. Sometimes it was really good food from a bistro in Paris. Other times it was Happy Meals and fries from down the street. Neither Percy nor Annabeth knew exactly when he was coming. They only knew that he did.

So, one Friday, Percy came home and wasn’t surprised to see Nico toying with the radio while Annabeth sat at the kitchen table, highlighting her textbook with a vigor that only came during exam week. He decided to take the less dangerous of two roads. “Hey Neeks, whatcha doing?”

“Don’t call me that.” Nico grumbled as he messed with the dials. Then he plugged in his I-pod (a birthday present from Annabeth and Percy, three months ago) and scrolled through the song list. Percy looked over at Annabeth, who was studying intently.

“You might not want to do th-” Soft, smooth jazz started to play through the speakers. Annabeth tensed up, but then relaxed. She looked up and Percy took in the way that the stress lines on her face soothed ever so slightly.

Nico jumped onto the couch and looked over at her. “Whenever she was stressed, my mother—” he cut himself off for a moment, before he tried again, “my mother would put on a Stéphane Grappelli or Robert Johnson record. She said that it calmed her down.” Percy was shocked that Nico was actually talking about his past. Annabeth was too, if the slight widening of her eyes was anything to go by. The son of Hades went quiet, picking at his nails. Then he got to his feet and all-but stormed over to the radio. “Never mind,” He mumbled, “It was a stupid idea. I have no idea why I even th—” Percy grabbed the Italian’s outstretched hand.

There was a moment of tenseness before Percy smiled. He pulled Nico back into a standing position and proceeded to twirl him while he stumbled. Nico had gone pale in shock, then turned bright red when he realized what Percy was doing. “What the hell do you think you are doing?! Let me go!” Nico nearly yelped, struggling to get away. Percy’s hands were too warm, too soft, and too there. Nico rarely had any interaction with live people, and being touched by one of them was more than slightly overwhelming. Percy just laughed and spun the smaller man again. Nico nearly stepped on his feet multiple times.

“You’re a bad lead.” He muttered, more to himself than to Percy.

Annabeth however, over-heard him, “Thank the gods that someone else agrees with me! Honestly, people assume that he is a wonderful dancer just because he defeated Gaea! It’s like he has flippers for feet!”

“Oh come on, Annabeth, you’re supposed to be on my side!” Percy pouted.

“I’m just telling the truth, Seaweed Brain!” The daughter of Athena said, laughing quietly to herself. Nico watched as she returned to her work out of the corner of her eye. She really was pretty. The perfect companion for Percy. He tried to quash down the lonely sadness that began to boil in his stomach. But it was too late. Percy frowned at Nico’s crest-fallen expression. He stopped moving. “Hey, what’s up? Why the long face?” Nico immediately began to fidget, unaccustomed to having the demigod’s full attention. Percy just continued to smile down at Nico, causing the boy to flush red and try to look away. Percy wouldn’t let him.

“Hey, look at me, not at your feet! You’ll send us both crashing to the ground if you do that.”

Nico couldn’t help but smile, “You’re no help with that! You can barely do the waltz without having to stop and think!”

“Hey, don’t judge my dancing skills! I had to teach myself!”

“And you did a horrible job at it.” Annabeth said.

“Annabeth!”

The beach-blonde laughed at Percy’s expression. She got up from her seat and made her way over to them. “Come on, Nico, let’s show him how it’s really done!” Nico stopped short for a moment. He glanced over at Percy, who was still holding onto his hands lightly. “A-Are you—” Nico trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

“Go on, man, before Wise-girl here gets bored.”

“But only couples waltz toge—whoa!” Annabeth had grabbed onto Nico’s hands, putting one on her waist and letting her fingers intertwine with the other. Nico tried not to blush as he attempted to reassert his lead.

Annabeth snickered, “You’re going to have to try harder than that, Casper.” She laughed.

Nico pursed his lips and pulled her into a pretzel twist. Then he spun her out. “How was that for effort, bella donna?”

“I don’t know. Try again.” And so he did.

Percy watched them with warm eyes. They shined with something that Nico couldn't put his finger on. All he knew what that it twisted his stomach into knots and that he didn't want the other demigod to look away. The son of Poseidon crossed his arms and followed the other two with his gaze. “I don’t know if I should feel left out or not.” He muttered as they passed by.

“Definitely left out! If you don’t step up your game, I’m going to leave you for Nico and try out for dancing with the Stars.”

Percy grinned and caught Nico’s free hand as the teen readied to spin Annabeth. “Not if I steal him away first!” He cackled, twirling away with the son of Hades.

Their words rang in Nico’s head. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to say and the writing on his wrist was humming. Only, it wasn't just his left hand that was pulsing. His right one was as well. It was softer, barely noticeable, but definitely there.
“Let me go.” He muttered. Percy, who had learned to anticipate Nico’s moods and heed his warnings, quickly did as he was pleaded. The Ghost King just stood there for a second, before he rushed down the hallway and made it to the relatively safe sanctuary of the guest room that Annabeth had set up for his arrival.

Percy looked over at Annabeth worriedly, unsure what he had done wrong. The daughter of Athena had a thoughtful look on her face, worry and inquisitiveness molding together to create an expression of deep confusion. Then her gray eyes opened and the stormy expression on her face cleared. All that was left was shock. “Oh.” She whispered, “Oh.” Percy tilted his head at her, hoping that she would explain. But she didn't. She just gave him a strained smile and said, “Why don’t we eat? I’m sure Nico will come out when he is ready.”

Unbeknownst to them, Nico was curled in his room, on his bed, gripping at his bared wrists where two names were written in bold and beautifully colored ink. He stared at them until the letters blurred and tears ran down his face. Even then, he didn't say a word.
Nico stopped coming to the dinners. No one could find him.

Chapter Text

Jason was the first one to come looking. That was putting it lightly. To make it simple, he all-but threw Percy against the wall of his garage and growled, “Talk. Now. What did you do to him?”

Percy, who had no idea what was going on, did the only logical thing and punched Jason in the face. It took Annabeth and Leo ten minutes to separate them, and when they managed to do so, there was nearly eight inches of sea-water on the ground and it looked like a hurricane had gone through the place. “What in Hades’ name is going on here?!” Annabeth yelled over the dying wind.
Jason turned his dark blue eyes on her and she could smell the ozone in the air, “He’s gone. He was supposed to come to Camp Jupiter three days ago but never showed up. He isn’t answering any Iris Messages, and Hazel hasn’t spoken with him for over a week! The last people that he was with were you two.”

“We didn’t do or say anything.”

“Then why is he gone?” Leo was the one who asked this question.

“I-I don’t know, maybe he’s on a quest for Hades or something.” Annabeth shrugged, rubbing at the side of her neck. It had been bothering her for the past week and a half, throbbing painfully every hour or so.

“He would have responded to the IM’s if he was!” Jason ground out, still incredibly unhappy, but calming down somewhat. Now the only energy that radiated off of him was that of worry. He rubbed at the flesh of his palm where Piper’s name was written out in a dark fuchsia. Annabeth could only shake her head.

“I don’t know.” She repeated.

 

Finally, they managed to get Jason to leave, after about three hours of bickering, name-calling, and near brawls. Honestly, it was like the actual gods were there and not their sons. Annabeth had never seen Jason so wound up before. She had thought that he was the mellowest of the Big Trio, but apparently she was wrong. She had just never seen him truely angry.

Percy all-but collapsed on the couch beside her. He was worried; she didn’t even need to have his mark on her skin to know that. The anxiousness and agitation were coming in waves. She carded a hand through his hair before going down to place a kiss on his forehead. “We’ll find him, Percy. Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.” She hoped. Gods, she hoped. She hadn’t realized just how attached she had gotten to the son of Hades until he wasn’t there anymore. Now, she felt as though his absence left a gaping wound in her side. She sent a prayer to her mother in hopes for his safe return.

“We should go after him.” She heard Percy whisper. She nodded, scratching at her neck again. Percy frowned. “Are you okay?” he whispered, sitting up straighter.

“I’m fine.” She whispered, tilting her head so that he could nibble at her ear, “I think I just have a crick in my neck from all of the studying.”

“Hmm. My back has been bothering me too. Wonder if we’re getting old.”

“Percy we are barely in our twenties. Save the mid-life crisis for later.” She leaned over to kiss him deeply, before resting their foreheads together.

“We’ll go out looking for him tomorrow.” She promised him.

They spent two days and nights searching. They found nothing.

On the night of the third day, they were getting ready for bed when she saw it. It was small and cramped on to the small of Percy’s back. At first she thought that it was a stain of some kind or a smudge of dirt. So she walked up behind him, readying to wipe it off. Then she stopped short. The harsh curls and loops formed a crudely written name. She could still read it, even from her place six steps away. Nico di Angelo. There was a swooping feeling in her gut. She reached up to trail her fingers across the tendon that had been bothering her for days. Come to think of it, it had started to ache the day that Nico had left.

Annabeth pushed past Percy gently in order to get to the bathroom. The moment she looked into the mirror she lifted up her hair. Her knees went weak because of course, of course. It all made sense.

“Percy! Percy, come here!”

 

Nico was running, barefoot and weaponless. Monsters chased after him, their jaws snapping at his heels. A blackness that rivaled only that of the Tartarus surrounded him as he stumbled down the jagged path. There was no life, no life anywhere. He normally at least could feel the tug of other fate-strings, but here there was nothing. It was terrifying. Nico breathed in the poisonous fumes that clouded around his face, choking on them as he gasped for breath. He had to get out. He had to escape. He had to get back to Percy. Percy and Annabeth. But there was no door this time. The way was shut. He was trapped. Hopelessness spread through his body, making him numb to the pain that he was being forced through. A hellhound bit at his heel, causing him to fall. He tried to call for his shadows to protect him, but nothing came to his aid. Darkness overwhelmed him. Nico di Angelo stopped struggling.

"Nico!" A voice called out, worried and urgent. Nico knew that voice. That soft female voice that belied great intelligence.

"Nico! Come on! Where are you?!" That was Percy's call. They were looking for him. Warmth filled Nico's core. He tried to open his eyes. Gold light blinded him.

Hands grabbed at his wrists. He met aquamarine and grey eyes. The couple smiled down at him in relief and joy. "Thank the gods! We've been looking all over for you, Casper!" Annabeth chided wrapping the son of Hades into her arms. Her hair smelled like lemons. Nico felt like crying in relief. Then his mind sharpened.

"Percy! The hounds!"

"Hounds?" The son of Poseidon asked, turning to face the darkness. He raised his pen. But it was too late for defense. A roar lit the starless night air and a creature bounded into the clearing. The Manticore charged into sight, teeth and claws glinting in the moonlight. Its mouth twisted into a feral grin.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" He chuckled to himself. Percy clutched at Riptide, but it refused to transform. There was no water nearby. Nico gripped at Annabeth. Her face was an impassive mask, but Nico felt her fear. It was just as clear as Percy's grim determination. Nico felt the draw in his stomach that came with being near someone whose fate-string was about to be cut by the fates.

“Percy, Percy, wait." Nico tried to move forward but something was pulling him back. Something dark and old and apathetic.
"Annabeth, get out of here. Take Nico and get out of here!" The Manticore charged, Percy dodged. The daughter of Athena dragged the son of Hades away. As they ran, the scene shifted.

They were falling. They were drowning in shadows. Nico shouldn't have been scared, but he was. He was terrified because he didn't have control. His element could very well kill them both.

Nico was pulled down, farther than Annabeth could reach. Suddenly she was gone. He felt her life-tread being cut. Their bond burned for a second's time, and then it too was gone. Nico screamed, burying his head in his hands. He stopped falling. He tried to move, only to hit rounded walls. He heard cruel laughter above him and no. No. Not again. He didn't have the pomegranate. He didn't have his weapons. Percy and Annabeth were gone. Nico was truly alone. He did the only logical thing there was to do. He put his head on his knees and waited for death to come.

 

Nico awoke with a scream, slashing blindly at the air with his sword. A flash of blind panic shot through his body his weapon clattered against the granitite wall of the cave that he had been staying in. He curled into a ball and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to control his breathing. He wasn’t in the jar. He wasn’t in the Tartarus. He had his weapons and control over his powers. Percy and Annabeth were fine, surely. T-There wasn’t a monster alive that they couldn’t defeat. The bonds were still humming, quietly and peacefully.

Even though Nico knew all of this to be true, worry still clawed at his insides. He rose shakily to his feet and stumbled outside of the cavern. The moon was high in the sky, shining down brightly. It was late in the night. Nico shivered, wrapping his jacket tighter around himself. They would be asleep. He reasoned. He could just go in and check on them. Yeah, because that didn’t seem creepy at all. Not one bit. Even so, he couldn’t stop himself. He crouched down to the ground and let the shadows carry him away.

He stopped outside of their house and once again tried to stop himself. It didn’t work. The writings on his wrists seem to be pulling him forward. He shadow-travelled again until he was outside their bedroom. He pressed an ear to the door. He heard silence. He bit his lip and reached for the doorknob.

The room was bathed in moonlight and smelled like the salt air at the beach. Nico’s bonds hummed quietly, content for the first time in a long while. Nico felt his knees go weak with relief. He walked forward, keeping his eyes glued to the rise and fall of Percy and Annabeth’s torsos. He slid down beside the bed and breathed in deeply, trying to match his breathing to Percy’s. He buried his head in his hands. His felt his eyes drifting shut and he cursed at himself for not wanting to get up. He just felt too calm and peaceful in his spot. “Merda.” He whispered as his eyes closed. He would only stay five minutes. Only… five… minutes.

 

The next thing that he knew, he was curled up underneath a woolen blanket with a pillow under his head. The morning light was shining brightly through the window. Dread flowed through him. His jacket was missing, as were his shoes. The smell of breakfast hung in the air, making his stomach growl. He couldn’t remember the last time he ate an actual meal.

He paddled down the hall in his sock and entered the kitchen. Annabeth was at the table looking over her notes for her morning classes. Nico snuck in, attempting to snatch one of the blue cinnamon buns that were resting on the stove top. “If you eat one of those then you are going to be stuck here.” Nico jumped at Annabeth’s voice. He eyed the pastries before turning his gaze to the young woman who was staring at him over her textbook.

“How long will I be forced to stay?”

“Six months every year and you will never get your jacket back.” Annabeth deadpanned. “Now eat one and sit down at the table like a civilized human being.” He did as he was told. The moment that he sat down, the girl scooted closer to him. She fixed her grey-eyed gaze on him and took a deep breath. “You ran away.” She said. Nico looked down at his blue sweet. He opened his mouth. Annabeth stopped him with a hand. “You aren’t wearing your cuffs.” Nico froze. He had thrown them into a chasm somewhere in Indonesia if he wasn’t mistaken. Absolute dread clung to him as he looked for any and all exits to get away from the conversation that they were going to have.
“Ah.” He muttered intelligently. He felt nauseous.

Annabeth grabbed at his hand, but he jerked away from her. The hurt that he saw in her eyes was genuine. “You love Percy.” She whispered, her voice soft. Nico’s mouth had gone dry and he could not say anything. All that he could think of was that he needed to leave and he needed to leave now. He moved to get up but Annabeth grabbed his arm. She didn’t let him pull away this time. “Let me finish.” She pleaded. She didn’t sound upset, which confused Nico to no end. Why wasn’t she upset? “You love Percy and you love me.” Nico wanted to melt into the floor. Annabeth was expecting an answer. What did she expect him to say? What did she want him to say?

“I—I would—I won’t ever try to g-get between you two, Annabeth. I never want to hurt you anymore than I have already. I-I’m…” Nico continued to look down at his feet. He stood up. “I-I’ll just go. Leave. I won’t come back. I’m sorry that I bothered—”

“No, no, Nico, that’s not what I—what we want!”

“Then what do you want?”

Annabeth pulled back for a moment, her eyes stormy. Then she leaned forward and placed a hand on his chin. “Don’t freak out, okay?”
She kissed him. It was soft and gentle, with her fingers running slowly through his hair. She tried to show him what to do, because it was pretty obvious that he didn’t have a clue. All of Nico’s thought processes had come to a grinding halt. He was kissing Percy Jackson’s girlfriend. This was not supposed to be okay. This was supposed to be bad. All of the romance movies told him that this was bad! It wasn’t supposed to feel this right!

Annabeth pulled back, an unreadable expression on her face. “You know that you are supposed to kiss back right?” She asked, almost teasingly, “It’s no fun kissing a statue.” Nico opened his mouth to respond but all that came out was a high-pitched, nearly hysterical whine. The son of Hades blushed down to the roots of his hair. Annabeth smiled gently at him and pecked the side of his mouth. “Take a minute to collect your thoughts.” She whispered. She pushed herself away from him and began to clean up her school supplies from the table. Nico watched her, both wanting to stay and to run away. She caught him staring and smiled. “What?” She asked.

“I’m not going to go behind Percy’s back to do anything with you.”

“I don’t want you to.”

“Huh?”

“How would you feel about sharing us?” Nico’s confusion began to turn into anger at those words.

“I don’t want to be some sort of pity-fuck on the side! I am not that desperate!” He yelled, making the ground shake, causing the blown glass decorations on the windowsill to fall and shatter on the ground. Annabeth managed to catch the last two before they hit the ground. She looked up at the Ghost King with a sort of wary apprehension, but not fear. Annabeth had never feared him. That was one of the reasons that Nico could respect her so much.

“We don’t want that either, Nico.”

“So… you want for me to…”

Annabeth sighed and scratched the back of her head. She set about cleaning up the three broken ornaments. “There’s not a chance that you know what a polyamorous relationship is, do you?” The daughter of Athena had to giggle quietly at the blank look on Nico’s face. “It was something that was actually quite common in Ancient Greece. It’s a practice of having multiple intimate relationships with the consent of everyone involved. It can be kind of like a permanent threesome, or more if there are more people involved. You know what a threesome is, don’t you?” Nico could only nod, his face beet-red. Annabeth smiled at him and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. Nico took a step closer, noticing that there was something on her neck. Annabeth grinned and tilted her head to the side, inviting him to look closer. His own name stared back at him.

Nico swallowed and stepped forward. He reached out, skimming his fingers over the signature. “W-What?” He whispered. He had thought that he was the only one. He thought he was defective, an abnormal freakshow. He had never heard of anyone with two bonds.

“We don’t want for you to run away again. We want for you to stay. With us.” Annabeth said, holding out her hand. Nico reached out to take it when Annabeth latched on to his wrist. She brought it up to her lips and pressed a kiss to Percy’s name. Nico shuttered, then shook his head.

“What about Percy?”

Annabeth smiled and pulled him over to sit down in the couch. He looked like he was about to pass out or cry. Whichever came first. She kept a gentle but strong grip on the teen’s hand. “As we both know, Percy can be a bit oblivious.”

Nico let out a choked laugh, “A bit?”

"Very oblivious.” Annabeth stopped for a moment, “That being said, I have talked to him about this and he has readily agreed to it.”

“But?”

“But he has a brain full of kelp and wants to make sure that you want this too.”

“A-Aren’t the bonds—” Nico gestured to their arms.

Annabeth shrugged, “Ah, he was worried because something about free will and fate and stuff. And he still thinks you hate him and are just putting up with him because you like me. Just tell him you like him and it will be good.” She got to her feet, bent down and kissed him on the cheek. Nico shivered. “Before we do anything else, you are going to call Hazel and Jason. They have both been worried sick about you.”

 

When Percy arrived home, he was greeted with the sight of Annabeth and Nico playing what looked to be a rather intense game of chess. He greeted Annabeth with a slightly teasing smile. “I thought you had class this afternoon, Wise-girl.”

“Someone had to be here when he woke up.” Annabeth responded, giving Nico a bit of a secretive smile. The son of Hades nodded and rose to his feet. There was a look of fierce determination in his eyes that normally only came around when he was about to fight a monster or eight.

Percy frowned, softly, “Hey Neeks, you alright?” Nico didn’t respond, instead he marched up to the son of Poseidon, got onto his tiptoes, and connected their lips to cut off any more questions. Percy went absolutely still, shock clouding his eyes before he looked over at Annabeth. The girl nodded, as if to give him her permission. Percy relaxed, smiling into the kiss before leaning in, taking the lead. Nico let out a soft whimper, curling his fingers into Percy’s dark hair. He pulled himself closer, letting Percy slot a knee in between his legs.

Annabeth just watched with a knowing look in her gray eyes as the letters on her skin shot pleasure into her veins.

She stood up and walked over to the boys. She draped herself over Percy’s back, waiting impatiently for her turn. It came within the minute. Nico took a step back to watch them. He felt heat begin to crawl up his neck and dip into his core. He began to plant kisses in Annabeth’s hair. “I thought you said that we were going to take it slow.” Percy whispered into her hair.

“I didn’t see the point to waiting.” She gasped as Nico began to trail kisses up her neck, “Mm, I taught him how to kiss you when we were waiting for you to get home.”

“Did you now?”

“Yeah, and Zeus’s sandals if he keeps learning this quickly I’m going get really annoyed.” Nico chuckled as thunder rolled in the background. He trailed his hands down her curves until they rested on her hips. He began to suck at the mark on her neck, adding in just the right amount of pressure and tongue to make Annabeth turn into a melting puddle of happy goo. She let out a breathy giggle, “Did I say annoyed? I meant really fucking turned on. Don’t you dare let stop. Percy, don’t let him stop!” Percy laughed, nuzzling the smaller man. He met Annabeth’s glazed eyes. She nodded. He rolled his hips against Nico’s, experimentally and gently. He wanted Nico to have a chance to back out. The noirette froze. He turned he head to look back at the son of Poseidon. There was a fire in his irises that made Percy’s stomach twist into knots. The fulfiller of the Great Prophecy took a step back. Annabeth did the same. Nico let out a confused noise, trailing after Percy. Percy smiled and nuzzled Nico’s temple. “What do you want?” He whispered.

“You.” Nico responded, his voice equally quiet, but steady and sure, “Both of you.”

Percy’s grin widened and took a predatory edge, “Good!” He cheered, hugging both Annabeth and Nico close to him. Their bonds were all humming with a mixture of contentment and lust. “To bed then!” He grabbed both of them and heaved them over his shoulders. Nico squeaked, while Annabeth could only laugh.

“You have officially killed the romance, Seaweed-Brain! Romance is now dead!” She shouted, pounding at his back.

“Don’t drop me. Oh gods, please, don’t drop me.” Nico muttered, clinging onto Percy’s uniform.

“Aw, come on Neeks, don’t trust me?”

Nico glared at him, “I am the son of an earth god, Percy Jackson. I prefer it when both of my feet are on firm ground.”

“Spoil sport.”

“I am the Ghost King. It comes with the territory.” Percy just laughed and dropped both of them down on their king-sized bed. Needless to say that none of them came out of the bedroom that night.

 

Nico was the first to wake up, though he didn’t move for a long time. It was his first day off in a long time (He had gotten into NYU by the skin of his teeth and had all but fought tooth and nail to get a place in medical school. He now sympathized with Annabeth’s plight. He often took to poking fun at Percy with her since the son of Poseidon had saved the world twice, managed to bag two hot significant others, and could still not find it in himself to complete his undergraduate degree even when he was living with two soon-to-be-doctors) and he was planning on enjoying it to the fullest. Which meant that he probably wasn’t going to get out of bed before two in the afternoon. Besides, it was too warm. Too comfortable. He buried his head into Percy’s shoulder and breathed in. Percy sighed in his sleep and threw an arm around the son of Hades. Then he continued to snore, loudly. Nico chuckled and toed at Annabeth’s leg. The girl groaned and nuzzled closer to him. He closed his eyes and leaned back.

He felt like he was floating. He listened to the sounds of early morning, focusing on the two life-sources that surrounded him. That was always the hardest part of battle: feeling the fate-strings from enemy and ally alike being hacked away at by the Fate’s cruel scissors. That was the hardest part about being a child of Hades. The isolation was painful and the untrusting stares were degrading, but there was nothing worse than the feeling of knowing that someone was about to die.

Nico frowned, shivering slightly. He heard Percy grunt, noticing his discomfort even in his sleep. Percy’s lips pressed against the nape of his neck. He looked down at his wrists and smiled at the bonds. He kissed each of the names, reveling in the jolt that the action sent through him. Nico laughed quietly to himself. Then he stopped short, pondering something that he had just felt. Then he jerked to attention, rising into a sitting position so that he could look down at Annabeth’s sleeping figure. Puzzled, he leaned down to rest his head on her stomach. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Then he felt it. A small and weakly pulsing life force that was most definitely not Annabeth’s but was still there.

Nico’s face broke out into a large grin and he placed a kiss on Annabeth’s exposed abdomen. “Ciao piccolo.” He whispered.

Chapter Text

Nico di Angelo did not like children. In any way, shape, or form. They were loud and messy and overly fond of grabbing onto your hair and not letting go. So, the time that Jason decided to dump Piper and his three-month old, drooling spawn on him so they could go out and have some ‘alone-time’ was not in any way a fun experience for him. In fact, he had been furious, because they hadn’t even asked him if he would be able to. Jason sort of just came over, plopped the child down on his apartment floor in her carrier(Nico was already all-but living in Percy and Annabeth’s house, but he had his own apartment for the sake of appearances and to keep his father at least semi-unknowing) and pleaded pitifully for him to watch her. Now, it is a well-known fact that Jason’s puppy-dog eyes are even more effective than Piper’s charmspeak, so Nico soon found himself watching a sleeping newborn drool into her carrier's sheets, all alone in his living room. He could only stare down at in a mixture of apprehension and relief that she was sleeping deeply.

After about an hour of desperate cramming for physiology, the little bundle that was lying beside Nico’s lap began to whimper. Eyelids opened to reveal startlingly blue eyes that might have been pretty if they hadn’t immediately filled with tears. There was a moment of dead-silence and then Helena Grace began to wail. Nico jumped up from his spot on the table, and just stared down at the little demigod in her bright pink stroller. How could something that was so small make that much noise? He then began to panic because he didn’t know what to do. Jason had not given him any instructions on the fact that, “Once she goes to sleep, she doesn’t wake up for a good six hours. You’ll be fine.”

Nico was torn between going out and finding the son of Jupiter to punch him in the face, and going into hysterics because the baby would not stop crying. So he just sort of stood there, growing more and more panicked and frightened every minute.

And that was the moment that Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase nearly broke down his door because they thought he was being overwhelmed by monsters from the way that their bonds were throbbing. They immediately lowered their weapons, confused beyond belief at the fact that there was nothing there expect for a distressed son of Hades and a crying newborn.

Nico seeking salvation, handed the child over to Annabeth with a, “You’re a girl, fix it! Make it happy again so it can go to sleep!”

“Is that Jason’s kid?” Percy asked, trying to get a closer look without getting too close.

“Okay, one, Nico, I’m going to ignore the sexist comment because it looks like you are about to have a panic attack. Two, Percy, yes this is Helena. Three, Nico, why are you watching Helena? I thought you didn’t like kids.” Annabeth said, rocking the child slowly in her arms, trying to quiet her. It seemed to be working as the little girl began to quiet down and hiccup softly.

“Jason wanted to take Piper out on a date, since they haven’t been able to do that since she was born.” He gestured to the child that was in Annabeth’s arms. He refused to look straight at the child, as if he were afraid of her.

“So you drew the short end of the stick and got stuck with her? Harsh, dude.”

“Percy!” Annabeth said, smacking him on the arm. She wasn’t necessarily annoyed, their bond told them that much, but it was pretty clear that she had the potential to get so.

“What?!”

“I think it’s a good idea for both of you to gain some experience with kids.”

Both of the men looked at each other with confused looks, “Why?” The asked in unison.

“Because we might have some one day.” Here was where their reactions differed. Percy’s face broke into a huge smile and he proceeded to act like an over-excited puppy, bouncing all around the blonde woman.

“Really? Really? How many did you think we’ll have? Four? Six? Eight? Whose eyes do you think they’ll have? Yours? Mine? Nico’s?” Annabeth could only roll her eyes and scoff at Percy’s idea of a ‘normal’ sized family.

Nico, on the other hand, seemed to be with-drawing into himself until Percy started listing the numbers. Then he went absolutely pale, with wide eyes. “Y-You’ve got to be kidding! Jackson!” The panic was beginning to hum through the bonds again. Both of other demigods looked at him with concern. He swallowed and went back to the kitchen table to clean his school supplies off. Annabeth watched him with keen eyes.

“Hey, Percy, let’s put on a movie.” She said, smiling at their lover.

Nico jerked to attention, “No wait, Annabeth—”

“Finding Nemo!”

“Holy Hades.” Nico groaned as the son of Poseidon went down on his knees to look through the DVD collection beside Nico’s television.

“If you hate it so much, then why do you have a DVD of it?”

“It’s the only thing that he’ll watch!”

“He watched Sea Biscuit without falling asleep.” Annabeth said, wiggling her finger in the air for Helena to catch. The baby gurgled happily before latching onto the digit with a chubby fist. She proceeded to bring her hand to her mouth to suck on it. Annabeth smiled and played with her dark curls. “Jason didn’t happen to bring over some formula with him, did he?”

Nico gave her a dead-pan look, “He didn’t even tell me where they were going to eat, or how to take care of her. Why in Olympus do you think he would give my baby formula?”

Annabeth smiled at him, a warning look in her eyes telling him to cut down on the sass. “I’m just asking.” She nudged Percy with her foot, “Hey, Seaweed-Brain, go out to the store to get us some baby formula.”

There was a bit of a commotion, as Percy had just started the movie, “But Annie! The movie!”

“You can quote it word-for-word. Go.”

“I can go. I’d be faster.” Nico volunteered, looking eager for a chance to get away.

“Not a chance, Casper; now come here and sit down with me.”

“But Annabeth—”

“No buts, except yours on this seat right now.” She gestured for him to sit beside her, close enough so that their thighs would be touching. Percy watched them with keen interest until Annabeth shooed him out the door with a, “Hurry back, Seaweed-Brain and maybe you’ll be able to finish your movie!”

With Percy gone. Annabeth sighed, turned to the Ghost King and stared at him. “Okay, tell me what’s going on.”

“What?”

“Don’t give me that. You’re more wound up than you were during the week before the MCAT.”

“I don’t know what you—”

“Why are you scared of Helena? She’s cute.”

“I’m not scared of her!”

“Then talk to me. Tell me what you are feeling: I can’t read your expressions as easily as I can with Percy.” Nico kept up staring into her eyes for about thirty seconds. Then he backed down with a sigh.

“I don’t like kids.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, okay?”

“Try to explain.” Annabeth whispered, nuzzling at Nico’s hair, knowing that he liked the physical contact.

“They’re just so…” Nico floundered for the right words, unsure of himself, “fragile. They can get hurt or injured or break within a minutes notice.”

“Why do you think that?”

Nico began to withdraw into himself and Annabeth was about to stop pushing when he began to speak. “Look at her. She can barely lift her head without help. She can’t tell you if you are doing something wrong or if something in her is hurt and yet…” He stopped short for a minute, licking his lips, “…and yet I can feel her life-force just as clearly as I can with you or Percy. She’s so fragile and yet—”Again, he paused, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. He stayed quiet for a minute, looking down at Helena who was still clinging to Annabeth’s fingers.

The daughter of Athena smiled. “Hold out your hands.” She whispered, leaning her head on Nico’s shoulder. Her lips brushed against his ear and he shivered, blushing lightly. He looked apprehensive.

“What are you trying to do?”

“I’m going to teach you how to hold her.” Nico jumped back, readying to get up, because no, no, no, no, no, there was no way in Hades that he was going to put himself in that position.

“Annabeth—”

“Nope! I don’t want to hear it! Sit your butt back down, Death-Boy!” The blonde woman said, rising to her feet and walking behind the couch. She looped her arms around Nico’s head and lowered the child into his outstretched arms.

“Annabeth, I swear upon my father’s throne if you let her go I’ll—”

“Nico, please, stop fretting. I know what I’m doing. I helped raise my youngest step-sister.” With that, she began to talk him through how position his arms and hold himself. She made him raise his elbow so that Helena could have something to rest her head on. Then she placed the girl into his arms and drew her hands away. She let them hover underneath his for a few seconds until it looked like Nico understood what he was doing. Then she watched as he just sat there, having a staring contest with the newborn. It looked like he had a bad case of indigestion.

Finally he spoke up, “She’s so tiny.” He whispered, as if frightened that the lightest of sounds would break the hesitant calm surrounding them.

“Most babies are Neeks.” Annabeth laughed, kissing him on the cheek. Even when Percy came home from the store, Nico was still clutching the little girl as if he couldn’t put her down. Percy smiled as he watched the son of Hades smiled down at the girl. Helena reached up, grabbing fistfuls of dark hair, and pulling.
Percy winced, waiting for the inevitable explosion. Nothing came. Nico just kept his head handing down, laughing quietly to himself. Annabeth caught her husband’s eye and gave him that knowing glance that meant she had something that she was scheming away at in her mind.

He shuffled over to her, hoping to not draw attention to himself, “Whatcha thinking there, Wise-girl?”

“He looks like he belongs here. Actually, they look like they belong here.”

“You want to ask him?”

“Better late than never, I suppose.”

 

Later that night, Jason came, thanked them with a dopey smile on his face that practically screamed, ‘I just got laid!’, and took Helena home. Percy, Annabeth, and Nico found themselves sprawled out on the king bed in the master-bedroom of Percy and Annabeth’s house. Nico had buried his face in the pillows and sighed contently.

“I’m falling in love with your bed.”

“I thought you fell in love with it a long time ago and it was the only reason you tolerated us.” Percy joked, planting a soft kiss on the nape of Nico’s neck. It was one of Nico's most sensitive spots that would without a doubt turn him into a puddle of appreciative goo. The son of Hades let out a soft sigh that could have easily been a moan. Annabeth curled up against him, trailing her hand down the planes of his stomach, only to bring it back up again to cup at his jaw. Nico groaned, fighting down a smile. He kissed her before leaning back.

“What do you two want?”

“Aw, why do you think that we want something?”

“Because you are clinging to me like koalas.” He observed, nuzzling into Annabeth’s hair.

Silence filled the room for a minute, and of course, Percy was the one who broke it. “We were wondering how you felt about kids.”

“What about them?” Nico asked, already standing up straighter.

“Well, we’re married, have a decent sized house, stable-ish jobs, and we're thinking that we want a few.”

“No more than three.” Annabeth butt it.

“Oh come on, not even five? Annie—”

“No.” Annabeth’s tone left absolutely no room for arguments. Percy backed down. Nico brushed his hair out of his eyes with his fingers. Annabeth notice that the digits were shaking somewhat and that there was hint of worry coming from their bond.

“You can do whatever you want, they’ll be your kids.” Nico said, rolling onto his stomach to look at the other two, who looked at each other with exasperated looks. “What?”

“We want you to be a part of the decision-making.”

“Huh?”

Annabeth wanted to rub at her temples. Gods, sometimes Nico was just so bull-headedly blind about things.

“We want for you to move in with us and have kids with us.” Percy said, deciding to take the blunt route. Nico froze, turned bright red, and started to sputter. Annabeth closed her eyes and resisted the urge to hit her lovers over their heads.

“What—but—I—”

“Nico, you went on our honeymoon with us. You have more clothes over here than you do at your apartment. You cook for us nearly every day.”

“Well yes but—”

“We let you teach us how to play Mythomagic on the plane-ride over to Greece. Trust me when I say that we really do know what we are talking about when we say that we want you to stay. We love you. Don’t we Annabeth?” The woman sighed, but nodded with a genuine smile.

Nico swallowed and looked down. “I think… I would like that a lot.” He said finally, his voice the exact same tone that he had used when Percy and Annabeth had first invited him to their bed. Percy let out a small whoop and proceeded to try to squish the smaller man. His hand moved ever so slowly downward, creeping to Nico's naveland then down further. Nico's laughs turned into moans. Annabeth just laughed and ran her hands through Nico’s curls.

 

It was six days later, Nico was throwing a ball for Cerberus on one of his rare breaks. An Iris message glimmered in the mist surrounding him. He soon found himself face-to-face with his father. Hades took one look at him, “Come to the throne room.” There was a moment’s worth of hesitation, “Please.” He added before cutting off the connection. Nico felt apprehension build in his stomach, until he almost felt nauseous. He soon stood outside of the main-room for a minute, before taking a deep breath and entering.

“Father?” He asked, approaching the throne that held the Olympian.

Hades just stared at his son, before rising to his feet. “There has been word going around Olympus about you and…” He stopped for a minute, as if trying to spit out the words. “certain upstart demigods.”

Nico licked his lips, trying to formulate a response that a) wouldn’t have him and his lovers spontaneously combust, or b) have him be sent to Demeter’s with Persephone for the weekend in Hades’ stead. He decided that there was no way to do this well. “Yes. We are… together?”

“Why did you pause?” Hades’ voice was as cold as ice.

“Huh?”

“You paused and sounded unsure of yourself.” Hades frowned, his eyes flashing. “Are they treating you well? They are not just using you for fun, are they? I will send their house crashing to the ground and damn all that they love to the Fields of Punishment if they are. Are they?” With every word, Hade’s voice increased until it shook the walls of the palace and made the ground quake.

Nico stood straight back and proud through the whole display. “No.” He muttered, “No, they aren’t. We are bonded together.” He said, rubbing at his wrists. Hades watched him with a burning intensity.

“I don’t like the son of Poseidon.” He said, and held up a hand before Nico could interject, “Let me finish, boy. I do not care for Perseus Jackson or Annabeth Chase-Jackson by extension, however, if they make you happy, I will let them be.”

Nico felt his lips draw together into a small smile. “Thank you, Father.” He turned to walk away.

“Nico,” He turned back around. There was something almost akin to pride mixed with resignation on the god’s face. “If they hurt you, there will be Hell to pay.”
Somewhere on the upper-world, Percy shivered at an unexpected chill and it went through the bond so Nico repeated the action. But as he walked out of the palace, he was more curious at the expression that had been crawling up his father’s face.

 

Nico was lying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling when Percy got home. This was a bit of a shock to the son of the sea god, as Nico was due back for another week and three days. Still, it made him smile. He trudged over to the boy and waited expectantly. Nico stared at him for a moment, before sitting up obediently. Percy plopped himself down in his spot and turned on the television to the History Channel (One of Nico’s favorites). The Italian boy leaned back down so that his head was resting in Percy’s lap.

The older man smiled and began to card through the other’s hair. Nico moaned appreciatively and closed his eyes. Percy chuckled and added that reaction to his list of reasons why Nico’s spirit animal is a cat. “So,” He drawled, hesitant to break the comfortable silence, “Why are you back so soon? Miss us?”

“Yes. But that’s not the reason.” Nico mumbled, his tongue drawling out the syllables of random words in a way that wasn’t quite an accent or sleep.

“Oh?”

“Talked to my dad today.”

“Oh.” Percy repeated, already feeling regretful for asking instead of just enjoying the surprise.

“He says that if you hurt me, then he will throw all who you love into the Fields of Punishment.”

“Well, at least I’ll be taking you and Annabeth with me.” Percy whispered into Nico’s curly hair, planting a kiss on the demigod’s temple.

“Oh goody. Can’t wait.” Nico muttered, opening his eyes again to look into blue-green irises.

“You know what else I can’t wait for?”

“Movie night?”

“Well, yes, that too, but also for Annabeth to get home.”

“Hm?”

“She’ll be so excited to see you. We won’t let you get out of bed for the next two days.”

“Mmm…” Nico hummed, “We could get started without her.”

“She could get angry.”

“Perseus Jackson, I have been in the Underworld for eight days. I could hear my father in bed my step-mother every night. I would like to get those noises out of my head as soon as possible, preferably now. So, please,” he lifted his hands up to tangle them in Percy’s hair. He brought the other man’s head down to kiss him senseless. “get on with it.”

By the time Annabeth got home, both of her boys were completely naked, intertwined in each other, smiling giddily. Nico was humming an Italian stanza into Percy’s ear. Annabeth raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow, dropped her purse and books. She strutted away from the living room, taking two steps into the hallway. Both boys watched her with half-hooded eyes. She peered at them from over her shoulder. With far too much ease and grace, she pulled her shirt over her head. Her shoulders shook with silent laughter. “Are you going to leave me hanging here?” She called back to them. They shared a look before they jumped up to follow her, pushing at each other to get to her first.

 

Six weeks later, Nico and Percy came home to a more than slightly flustered Annabeth, who proceeded to wave around a thin contraption around the air. It took them a minute to see the small blue ‘x’ that had caused her excitement. Percy had lifted her into the air and kissed her breathless. Nico, who had forced himself to remain silent and semi-calm until the Annabeth noticed, (if there is one thing that you don't want to do to with a child of Athena, it's let them know that they figured something out after you) immediately grasped her hands tightly and pulled her into a waltz, all the while kissing at any patch of her skin that he could reach. She could only laugh at their antics.

 

Eight months later, a small, fair haired child rested in the crook of Annabeth’s arms as she lay in a bright white hospital. Percy took one look at the baby and instantly fell in love with her. Her little fists beat at the air until he let her grasp at his fingers.

Nico was more hesitant, but came prodding over to his lovers with a giddy smile etched upon his face. Annabeth motioned for him to open his arms, and carefully placed the small being in them. Nico could only look down at the child in absolute wonder. “She’s so small.” He whispered, more to himself than to the others. His trepidation leaked through his bond.

Annabeth grinned up at him, tired but happy. “But she’s ours.” She whispered as Percy kissed at her forehead. Nico looked over at her, his black eyes glittering. He looked back down at the newborn baby girl in his arms. “You are ours.” He said, chuckling softly, “Tu il nostro, Il mio piccola soldata, mio prezioso gioiello. Mio gemma.”

Annabeth stirred to look at him lazily, “Gemma?” She whispered, “Gemma. I like that name. Gemma.” Nico could only smile at her before he handed the baby off to Percy, something that made Annabeth sit up uncomfortably. Nico kissed at her brow to soothe her. “I’ll watch over them, amore mio, get some rest.” Annabeth hummed as she closed her eyes. Percy placed Gemma back into her arms, though as he did, she stirred. For a split second she blinked up at them with eyes that were as black as onyx.

Nico felt Percy kiss at his neck. “She’s yours.” The son of Poseidon breathed into his hair.

Nico shook his head, “She’s ours.” He hummed.

Chapter Text

Percy was awoken to full-blown panic coursing through his veins. He jumped to attention, readying to grab Riptide, when realized that the room was dark and silent, that both Annabeth and Nico were still sleeping beside him. In fact, the only thing that was even slightly off were the whimpers that escaped Nico’s mouth every couple of seconds.

Percy sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He leaned over to trail his fingers down Nico’s right arm, gentle but reassuringly there. “Shh, Nico, it’s alright. You’re safe. We’re all here. It’s okay.” Nico began to still, his breath going even as Percy continued to talk. He closed his mouth and sighed deeply, turning over in his sleep to bury his face in Percy’s side. The son of Poseidon smiled gently, before settling back down in the sheets. He carefully wrapped an arm around the smaller male, pulling him close in a way that he hoped would let Nico feel his heartbeat. It seemed to work, as the younger man calmed even more, bringing his legs up to rest against his chest in a way that Percy knew was his default sleeping position. Percy nodded contently and leaned back against his pillow.

He should have known that it wouldn’t last. About two hours later, he jerked awake when a scream slashed through the air. He threw off the covers and jerked around, nearly getting tangled in the sheets. Nico di Angelo was sitting up, curled in upon himself, his arms covering his ears, his eyes staring blankly at the space in front of him. His mouth was opened. He was trembling. He was muttering Italian phrases under his breath, unintelligible fragments intertwined with broken, “Percy”s and “Annabeth”s.

Percy met Annabeth’s grey-eyed gaze. They both had the same agitatedly worried look on their faces. Annabeth crawled forward, stopping when she was three inches away from the teen. She knew better than to try to touch Nico when he got like this. The first time it had happened, Percy went into work with a black-eye that didn’t fade for a good week and a half. Nico had never looked so miserable as he did when he took in the damage that he had caused when morning’s light came.

So, she sat in front of him, speaking to him in the most soothing of whispers, telling him about the progress that she had made on her last project, or the way that one of her step-brothers had gotten into a magnet-school for the arts, really, just anything that could take the biting edge off of the panic that she knew he was going through.

After all, both she and Percy had had these types of episodes before: nightmares where scenes from the Tartarus haunted them, unwilling to let them escape from its dark clutches, even after years of breaking free from it. They had it easy: they had had each other to lean on while making their way through that hellish place. Nico had had no one. They didn’t know all of the details to what had happened during his time in the Tartarus, for he had never told them and they knew better than to press the issue. They just knew from their own experiences that it wasn’t ever going to leave him.
After about thirty minutes of hysteria, Nico began to calm down. He stopped shaking and the glazed look in his eyes focused slightly. He looked up at them before casting his eyes down in slight shame. “Sorry,” He mumbled. Annabeth frowned and took his face in her hands. Percy was the one who started talking as he rubbed gentle circles into Nico’s back.

“There’s nothing to apologize for. Nothing at all, Nico.”

“But it’s just a dream. All a dream. I know that I’m not still there. I know that you are—” He cut himself off with a shake of his head and buried his face into the juncture of Percy’s neck and shoulder. The room was quiet for a minute. It took Percy a second to realize that Nico was listening to his heartbeat. The son of Poseidon could only smile sadly and kiss at Nico’s temple.

 

For the next week, Annabeth would wake up to Nico already in the kitchen, cooking breakfast. Now, this might not be so much of a problem, except for the fact that she got up at six to get ready for her classes, and by the time she got down to the kitchen, there would be at an all-out feast waiting for her. She could only eye Nico warily, taking in the darkening circles around his eyes. He was getting paler. Still, he smiled at her as though everything was normal when he set a plate in front of her and kissed her on the cheek. So she didn’t comment about the worry that was toiling in her stomach. Slowly, it got better.

 

Then it got worse. Started back up when Percy was sent off to get an eleven year old half-blood and her brother. It had all started out so well. Percy was working with Jason and all was going smoothly. After all, they were pros at this sort of thing by this point. They had already met the satyr who had been watching her and would be back at Camp Half-blood by nightfall. So, Annabeth didn’t worry. At least, she tried not to. It was a little difficult, as Nico was as jumpy and tensed as a caged animal.

Annabeth managed to take that new development in stride, and about seven hours after Percy left, she had Nico sitting beside her on the sofa as they both studied. Nico was a sophomore at NYU and was very unhappy with all of his prerequisites. Mainly, he was just confused with history, because when had China gotten so strong and what was this about Russia and Cold Wars? She ran a gentle hand through his hair, making sure to never hit any tangles. She could only smile at the soft noises of contentment that he was making as he highlighted yet another line about the Civil Rights Movement. Suddenly, the air froze and both went immediately still. A burning sensation of pain crawled up their spines from their bonds, choking them. Nico gripped at Annabeth’s hand, his dark eyes wide and terrified. “Let’s go.” She whispered, rising to her feet and grabbing their swords. Nico trailed after her like a shadow. She took his hand and let him pull her into an embrace. His heart was beating just as frantically as her own.

Annabeth swallowed as the shadows overcame them. “Can you find him?” She asked before she felt the shadows enclose them.
“R-Right now I can.” Grey eyes met black.

“He’s Percy, he’ll be fine.” She thought that she sounded pretty convincing. Nico didn’t look convinced. He just looked scared as he nodded for her benefit.
Within three seconds, they were back on the shores of Lake Erie, or at least what remained of them. What remained of the soft sand and green plants had been charred to coal and glass. Before either one of the had time to look out to the water, Jason came flying by them, a small girl clutching tightly to his shirt as he fended off creatures that looked like a mixture between Victoria’s Secret models and pythons. They slithered after the son of Jupiter, not recognizing the potential danger that came with two more experienced half-bloods. “Give usss the girl, Half-Meat!” one particularly foolish one hissed, reaching out for Jason with a, out-reached claw. Annabeth’s drakon-bone sword cut her hand clean off at the wrist. The Lamia only had the time to look at Annabeth before Nico’s blade was thrust into the middle of her bare chest. The son of Hades kicked the corpse off his sword before it had even had a chance to turn to dust.
These actions got Jason’s attention; however, they also got the other Lamias’ full focus. “What are you guys doing here? Did Chiron send you as backup?” Jason called over his shoulder as he fended off a very furious-looking brunette who had an unhinged jaw and wicked looking fangs.

“Where is Percy?” Annabeth demanded as she pulled Nico out of the biting range of a blonde. Jason looked to the water, his eyes worried.

“There’s some sort of sea monster in the lake! Hannah was trying to swim with her brother when it decided that it was hungry. It capsized their boat!”

Nico looked around, “Where is the brother?” Jason looked like he was about to respond when a Lamia grabbed at Hannah’s arm. The little girl looked at the creature for a minute, and then screamed. Nico and Jason had to jump back when the child burst into flames. The Lamia let out a pained screech and dropped the girl. Hannah ran to where Jason was and held onto his pants-leg, unaware that her hands were burning holes into the material. Nico took out two more monsters with one deadly swing of his Stygian iron long-sword. He noticed Jason’s worried gaze at the water and managed to put two and two together.
“He went after the sea monster by himself.” The son of Hades growled, which caused Annabeth to look up with a frightened look.
“What?!” She asked, her voice nearly high-pitched with hysteria.

“Percy decided to take a dip with a sea-monster!”

Annabeth took off running to the water. Nico, who decided that he had had enough, slammed his foot into the ground. Then with a deep breath, his stabbed his weapon into the ground. The earth split and cracked, groaning in protest and anger as it swallowed up one Lamia after another, heedless and uncaring of their screams. Fire licked at their hair and tails as they tumbled down to Hades. Nico stumbled to his feet as he pulled the blade out from the ground, closing the portal and bringing silence. Jason let out a low whistle before they both took off after Annabeth.

Annabeth had already jumped into the water, suddenly very happy that Percy had forced her into so many diving lessons. The icy water prickled at her skin like hundreds of needles, and it burned when she forced her eyes opened. A frantic naiad rushed by her, pointing downward. She was scratched and bleeding gold into the current. Annabeth followed her, but she was moving too slowly for her liking. The Naiad grabbed the daughter of Athena’s arm and dragged her down to the dark bottom. Slowly, the water was turning from the clear blue, to a murky green, to a pink and then a scarlet. It tasted like copper and salt. Her ears popped as her lungs began to hurt. She knew that she couldn’t handle much more of the building water pressure. The water assaulted her eyes, stinging and burning. Still, they kept going down. Bubbles of air escaped her mouth and rushed to the surface, desperate to be freed.

Fear gripped at her heart as the naiad pulled her into a small grotto. The cavern was dimly lit and damp. It reeked of blood and rotting flesh. Annabeth groped blindly at where rock formed under her feet. She all-but drank in the stale air, not caring about the smell until her mind registered what it might mean.
“Percy!” she called, fear gripping at her heart. Nico’s bond clouded with worry and fear at her panic. Percy’s didn’t respond. “PERCY!” The naiad looked on worriedly from her spot in the water. Annabeth stumbled forward into the darkness, gripping at the bones of fish and animals and maybe even people to pull herself up. Suddenly, Percy’s bond hummed ever so minutely. A very shaky, very small whimper of, “A-Annabeth?” echoed through the cavern.
Pure relief flooded Annabeth’s veins, before fear took over again. “Where are you? Percy, where are you?”

“H-Here.” She nearly tripped over him. Annabeth’s breath caught in her throat when she looked at him. He was gashed and scrapped in numerous places, cuts were strewn across his arms with the same frequency as his sun-kisses and freckles. But they weren’t what caught her attention. What did was the child in his lap. Or at least, what remained of Hannah’s brother. The unmoving and grey-skinned little boy who was probably not even eight years old. His eyes stared out in glossy terror. He was missing a hand. Annabeth felt sick. She covered her mouth with a hand. Percy didn’t seem to notice her.

“He’s a son of Hephaestus. I-I think he…” Percy gulped, “… he drowned on the way down.” Annabeth went still. It was common knowledge between her, Nico, and Percy that the Titan War had left Percy with a strong fear of drowning, due to what he, Piper, and Jason had been through. He had hated the powerlessness that came with being over taken by the thing that he had trusted the most, the element that he had felt he had total control over. For about a year after the war, Percy had refused to even go near the ocean. It was only after they moved that he had given in and walked on the beach with Annabeth. Even now, he would wake up in the middle of the night, coughing and sputtering.

“Percy,” She whispered, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend. The water around them rippled as a deafening roar shook the cavern. The naiad that had helped Annabeth squeaked and dove out of the grotto. Annabeth released a shaky breath. They were trapped. Percy snapped to attention. Annabeth looked at him, “Have you managed to injure it?” She asked, a pleading note in her voice. She was beat from the plunge. Percy shook his head.
“I was too busy trying to revive him and administering CPR.” He whispered. “Besides, when I got here, it was gone.” Another roar was heard, and they both felt Nico tense through their bonds. He had heard the commotion too and was now probably frantically searching for them.
A large fin broke the surface of the water, giving way to a scaled tail. The beast lifted it head from the water, shark-like features glittering in the light. It was easily the size of a small house. Its head scraped at the ceiling of the cave. Rows upon rows of serrated teeth came into view when the Ketos opened his mouth. Percy rose to his feet, laying the child down on the ground gently. He rested hand on Annabeth’s shoulder, a fierce determination flowing through them both as they placed their weapons in front of them.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them shook again, though this time was not because of a roar; or any type of animal at all. They watch on in shock as the ceiling of the cave began to chip away, revealing bright sky. The Ketos let out a guttural as stalactites crashed into it, sending it into the depths. Nico di Angelo looked down at them in obvious relief from the opening that was easily thirty feet above their heads. He looked like he was ready to jump down before he thought twice. He shadow traveled down to them and threw his arms around. He was shaking. Percy was too. They both nuzzled into her neck and tried to breathe in deeply. They were safe. They were okay. Annabeth finally let herself relax.

 

Within two hours, they were all huddled into a booth at a local diner. Hannah was fast asleep in Jason’s lap. She had cried herself to sleep. They couldn’t find her mother, either. Apparently they had all been on a boat that Ketos had capsized. Percy tried not to think about that as he concentrated on running his hands through Nico’s hair. The son of Hades had fallen asleep the minute that he had sat down. When they had entered the diner, he had barely been able to stand up. Percy chided him the entire way there for using too much of his powers. When they found a table, it was by shear chance that he had leaned against Percy before he had fallen into Hypnos’s domain. Both Percy and Annabeth were glad he had.

Jason was looking at them with a thoughtful expression. “So,” He said, finally breaking the silence, “you three actually are a thing. I thought Piper was just joking.” There was no accusation or distaste in his voice. There was only slight hesitance. Annabeth still found herself staring him down.
“We are.” She said, stirring her drink.

“He seemed happier the last time I saw him.

“We’re all happier.” Percy commented. He didn’t look it at the moment, but Annabeth knew that it was true.

“He was really worried about the two of you. He nearly took off after Annabeth before he remembered that he couldn’t swim well. After that, he was running all around the beach, sending out tremors to see if he could find out if you were in an underground cave. I’m surprised that he didn’t bring down Erie dam with all the cosmic activity.” Jason said. Percy and Annabeth blink. Sure, they had both felt Nico’s panic, but they hadn’t thought that he would, well, come close to flooding an entire county in New York trying to find them. Annabeth’s feet entangled themselves in Percy’s. Nico woke up when his hamburger came, digging in greedily, stealing a one or two of Jason’s fries every minute or so. The blond didn’t seem to mind. He was just happy that Nico had finally gotten his appetite back. He still remembered when Nico would only eat a handful of grapes a day. Jason rubbed at the pad of his palm where Piper’s name was written out clearly. He bit his lip.

He waited until Nico was busy distracting Hannah before he said anything else, “Just take care of him, okay? We all know how much we’ve all been though.” Neither Percy nor Annabeth made any move to acknowledge that he had said anything. They just both walked forward so they could take one of Nico’s hands. Jason smiled.

 

The camp was a flurry of activity when they finally reached Camp Half-blood. Hannah was taken to Chiron by Jason, so the kids of Apollo could heal up any remaining injuries that the nectar and ambrosia couldn’t. Percy, Annabeth, and Nico all dragged themselves into Poseidon’s Cabin to get some well-deserved rest. Nico took his customary place at the foot of Percy’s bed before a certain daughter of Athena dragged him up to be squished against Percy’s right side, while she snuggled in on his left. There was a cup of nectar by the bedside table for Percy once the aches and pains started to settle in. Percy buried his face into Annabeth’s hair and tangled his legs together with Nico’s.

No one moved until noon the next day, when Piper and Hazel burst into their room with all the excitement that young women can have when they are faced with their friends’ new relationships.

After that, all Hades broke loose; as Nico had started flailing the moment his eyes met Hazel’s. He proceeded to bury himself underneath the covers in an attempt to hide. Percy jerked awake at that Nico’s panic. This caused Annabeth to fall onto the floor and hit her head against the wall. Percy was then faced with the difficult of calming both Annabeth and Nico down, while trying to get a cooing Piper and a scandalized Hazel out of the cabin.
After that eventful wake-up, Nico got up and threw on a pair of Percy’s worn jeans and a t-shirt that could have been either his or Percy’s. The other two watched on in interest as he slung his dirk around his waist and opened a shadow-portal. “Where are you heading, Casper?” Annabeth asked as she pulled her sneakers back on.

“To find Johnny,” after a minute of blank looks he explained himself, “Hannah’s brother.” The air of the room turned somber. “I-I was just thinking that I could convince my father to give him an express-pass to Elysium.”

“Will it be hard to find him?”

Nico shook his head, “Not really. Often times it is pretty easy finding people. Besides, if I can’t find him, then my dad can.”

 

Nico was quite accustomed to the lines that were ever increasing as more and more souls poured in to be judged. It hadn’t been that hard to get his father’s approval (Hades had a soft spot when it came to dead demi-gods. Nico was almost certain that it had come from Bianca’s death, not that he or his father ever talked about it). It also wasn’t hard to find Johnny Gresham. The boy was looking around, trying to take in everything that he was seeing. His ADHD could handle all of the new sights and sounds that came with being a part of the Underworld.

“Johnny?” The boy looked up at Nico when the teen called his name.

“Who are you?” He asked.

“I’m Nico. I’m friends with the guys that were sent to find you and your sister.”

“Is Hannah okay? Are you dead too?”

“Hannah’s fine, and no, I’m not dead.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I’m the son of the guy who runs this place. He says that it’s okay for you to skip the lines and come with me.”

“Where are we going?”

“Elysium.”

“Will Hannah be there?”

Nico’s smile grew strained, “Not yet.” He said, “But I think your mother might be.” The boy grinned up at him and grabbed onto his pants leg. They soon stopped at the entrance to Elysium. Before Johnny walked in, he turned to look back at Nico.

“Hey, Mister, can you do something for me?” He asked. Nico nodded. “Tell the person that went after me that it’s okay he didn’t get to me in time. I’m just glad that Hannah’s safer!” With a parting grin, Johnny Gresham ran into Elysium. Nico just stood there for a second, too stunned to say anything.

He remembered Bianca’s smile and whispered, “I’m just glad that you are safe.”

“Yeah,” He whispered, “I definitely will.”

 

When Annabeth came home from her last class, she found Percy stretched out on the sofa and Nico lying on the floor at the foot of the sofa, reading yet another history text book to try to gather an unbiased opinion on what really happened at the Bay of Pigs Invasion. He looked at her with pleading eyes, as if asking her how humanity could be so stupid. “I still don’t get it.” Nico groaned, pouting slightly as he looked up at the ceiling. “The Cold War was not a war, nor was it cold. It’s just powerful people trying to show off how they could destroy humanity with a click of a button. I don’t understand why you would want to do that. It’s my father’s worst nightmare. He was already having problems with the increasing mortality rates. ”

“Didn’t it have something to do with Ares and Eris getting into a fight?” Percy asked, proud of himself that he remembered such a thing. Percy had also hated history, for the simple fact that there were far too many essays due for it and he had accidentally turned in a term paper in (completely literate) Ancient Greek, only to get a zero.

It’s not really that hard to understand, Nico. Gods do that all the time.” Thunder rolled in the distance, “What? It’s true.” Annabeth responded, glaring up at the ceiling. She looked back down to see both boys smiling at her. It was clear that they were still healing, both physically and mentally from the quest. But slowly they were getting better. Annabeth finally let herself breathe out a sigh of relief.

She walked over to the couch, taking care to step over Nico and plopped herself down on Percy’s feet. Nico rolled over so that he was resting against her legs. She sighed and reached down to twine a hand in his hair. Annabeth bit her lip and began to say what had been on her mind for the past three days. “I was scared.” She muttered, looking over at Percy. The son of the sea god turned to look at her, scooting closer. “When you didn’t respond, Percy, I got so scared that I could barely move.” Nico gave a grunt of agreement, pressing a kiss to her leg. Annabeth continued, “Over the years, I’ve come to think that we are all at least sort of invincible. I guess that it was my pride in our accomplishments that led me to think so. I let myself believe that I could create a plan for every situation that would be able to get us all out, safe and sound. But when you didn’t respond…” She trailed off, unwilling to say anymore. Nico heaved himself to his feet and sat down between them. His dark eyes were scanning over her face, trying to find any signs of distress or panic. There was none. That was the thing about Annabeth: she normally only stated things that she knew were facts, even if they were painful for her to admit.

Percy sighed, his green-blue eyes serious and glum. “We are half-bloods, Wise-girl. There’s always going to be monsters and accidents. Both Nico and I are children of the Big Three; we aren’t really supposed to live until twenty—”

“Don’t say that.” Nico growled, his eyes sharp and dangerous. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence.”

Percy blinked and managed a smile. “Sorry.” He whispered, “Don’t know what inspired me to talk like that.”

“We are all tired.” Annabeth said, trying to get those words out of her mind as quickly as she could. Sleep-deprivation made people say all sorts of weird things. That had to be the logic behind it. “Why don’t we go to bed early?”

 

The moon was high in the sky when Annabeth woke up. She blinked blearily, trying to figure out what had woken her up. She turned around and noticed that Nico was sitting by the window. “Casper.” She called, her voice quiet so as to not wake up Percy. “Come back to bed.” Nico did as he was told, though the minute that he crawled underneath the covers; he clung to Percy like an octopus. Annabeth understood his worry and agitation. “He was just venting.” She whispered to him. “He’ll be okay. We’ll be okay. Just you wait and see.”

“I don’t want either of you two to die.” Annabeth startled slightly, remembering the nightmare that had happened a couple of weeks ago.

“We don’t want anything to happen to you either, Nico.”

The teen shook his head, stress turning into frustration, “You don’t understand! I-I can’t even go to sleep without… without—” He breathed shakily and tried to continue, “Everyone I have ever loved has been taken away from me before I was able to tell them goodbye. If that happened again… I don’t know what I would do.” There was so much raw truth in that statement that Annabeth had to swallow before she was able to respond.

“It won’t. I won’t let it.” Finally, she understood it. They were all terrified of being useless, of being unable to do anything when the time came. They were all scared of letting the others down. “We won’t let it. I promise you, Nico.”

The Italian teen shuddered, “Don’t make promises that you might not be able to keep.”

“Would you like for me to swear on the River Snyx?” Annabeth asked, serious. Nico recoiled. Percy’s eyes opened in shock at her statement. She had to wonder just how long he had been awake. Slowly, Nico relaxed slightly.

“No.” He said after a moment of hesitation. Annabeth smiled at him over Percy’s shoulder. Percy rolled over to take Nico in his arms. After about ten minutes, both Percy and Nico were asleep, calmer and relaxed. Annabeth just looked at them.

She would have sworn it. But, perhaps, their trust in each other and their abilities would be enough. Enough to overcome their insecurities and fears. Just maybe. Finally, Annabeth let herself go back to sleep. Just maybe.