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PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || A God Among Men || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: A God Among Men – Life in the Kingdom of Demetria

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; ancient Greece AU

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, gods, magic, fluff, worship, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, bondage, shoujo-ai, hetero, threesome

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Reyna/Annabeth, Octavian/Luke, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Frank/Hazel/Leo, Grover/Juniper, Malcolm/Katie, Chris/Clarisse, Charles/Silena, Jason/Calypso, Poseidon/Amphitrite | Poseidon/Sally, Zeus/Hera, Hades/Persephone, Ares/Aphrodite, Hephaestus/Aglaia, Nico/Drew (one-sided)

Percy Jackson Characters:

Thieves: Perseus Jackson, Luke Castellan, Cecil Rogers, Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll

Royals: Nico di Angelo, Bianca di Angelo, Hazel Levesque, Maria di Angelo, Drew Tanaka

Royal Advisers & Palace Servants: Jason Grace, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Annabeth Chase, Malcolm Cage, Ethan Nakamura, Will Solace, Katie Gardner, Grover Underwood, Juniper

Palace Guards: Frank Zhang, Clarisse la Rue, Thalia Grace, Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, Kinzie Cohen, Zoe Nightshade, Phoebe Burge

Priests: Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen, Piper McLean, Silena Beauregard, Ella, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Octavian Simmons

Blacksmiths: Charles Beckendorf, Leo Valdez, Jake Mason, Nyssa Black, Tyson

Godly Characters: Poseidon, Amphitrite, Triton, Demeter, Persephone, Hades, Hestia, Hera, Zeus, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus, Athena, Enyo, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Aglaia, Feronia, Furrina, Laverna, Calypso

Summary: Perseus is a minor Sea God, son of Neptune and prince of the sea. And utterly bored. Gods, is he bored. Instead of staying bored under the sea, he decides to pose as a mortal and walk the Earth. Throughout ancient Greece, one small island kingdom in particular took to worshiping him, the Demetria Isles. So that's where Percy goes, to see what kind of people worship him.

He runs into interesting people. Lives with thieves, learns from priests and falls for the prince...

A God Among Men

Life in the Kingdom of Demetria

Prologue: The Bored Sea God

Being a god was boring. Utterly and absolutely mind-numbingly boring.

Sure, Perseus could have anything he'd ever want. Sure, there was this whole magical world that was only tangible for the gods. And sure, Perseus loved his family, but still.

Perseus was a young god, compared to others at least. He was the youngest son of King Poseidon and Queen Salacia. He was his father's pride and his mother's little darling. His big siblings were all rather protective of him. Which translated to Perseus leading an utterly sheltered and extremely boring life. Anything of excitement was potentially dangerous. Questing? Slaying monsters? Heavens no, the precious baby could get hurt! Perseus scoffed. The precious baby was already seventeen years old now. By human standards, he would be considered an adult! But no, no, he was far too young for the gods. He needed to be sheltered from the dangers of the world.

Well, no. No, he did not need to be sheltered from the world. He had proven that whenever he sneaked out of the palace for one of his own little adventures. But all he got in return were worried looks from his mother and a scolding from his father, regardless of the human lives he saved or monsters he defeated or even the other gods he helped out. What did they expect of him, really? That he'd stay cooped up in the palace, looking pretty and smiling gently all the time? What kind of life would that be? He wanted to slay monsters, defend the innocent and see the world.

So that was what he was going to do; for good now.

He knew the sea like the back of his hand and it was even worse with the palace. No, it was due time to see something new. Something exciting. He wanted to explore the upper world, where they walked on legs and lived without water around them. He was curious to see how that worked out. The first time he had sneaked to the surface had been at age seven, escaping his parents' watchful eyes. It had been quite troublesome, but if there was one thing that could be said about Perseus – he was stubborn, clever and tricky. Thinking back on it, that little stunt he had pulled ten years ago was most likely the reason his parents were so overly worried now and kept him sheltered all the time.

Well, he had escaped now and there was no going back. Figuratively speaking, obviously, because he could still turn around and go back home without anyone noticing he had been gone in the first place. But his urge to see and experience and explore was simply too strong. He left a letter for his parents, an apology and a promise to contact them as soon as he found a place to settle down, as well as the plea not to look for him and allow him to have this.

The only problem was that the outside world was big. So very big. Where should he go? Where would he be safe? As much as he scoffed at his family's over-protectiveness, he was aware of the dangers of the mortal world. There was only one place he could think of though, as he swam further toward the surface. The Demetria Isles. A small kingdom he has heard from the most.

They were the only kingdom to worship him.

After all, he was still a very young god. Too young for worship, normally. It took decades for a god to earn their stripes, as Poseidon had put it. To do something worthy of worship. Percy had managed that at the age of seven by accident. Well, not by accident, he had chosen to do what he did, but he had not done it to make the people worship him. The queen of the Demetria Isles had been on a boat, there had been a very nasty storm – the weather had been crazy due to another one of uncle Zeus' little fits; he had a lot of spats with uncle Hades and they normally led to very dark and stormy nights. The boat was thrown over and the queen had her youngest daughter tugged securely against her neck as she clung onto the boat, while the middle son held tightly onto his mother, but the oldest princess was drifting along in the vast sea, being swallowed by the waves. Amidst the darkness, Perseus hadn't been able to make anything out properly, but he had heard the girl's screams for help, so he made the waves stop, turned the boat back over once more and made the water lift her up until she was sitting in the boat. He then proceeded to lift the other members of the royal family out of the water and onto the boat. In the darkness of the stormy night, the young prince had called out for him before Percy had any chance to leave for the underwater palace again. The prince had asked him who he was and, as mother had taught him, Perseus introduced himself as Prince Perseus, son of King Poseidon. Not that Percy had known the people he had saved were the royal family. He just saw people in trouble and because he wanted to be a big hero when he grew up, just like his cousin Heracles, he had saved them.

Eternally grateful to him for saving the princess and in effect also the rest of the royal family, the kingdom built a temple dedicated to 'Lord Perseus'. Whispers and rumors spread about a merciful Sea God who was protecting their kingdom and the rumors reached beyond Demetria's borders. It was how word of his existence spread through Greece and the Roman Empire. Though in most places that had heard of him, he was mainly known as the patron god of Demetria. It irked him, just the tiniest bit, because he was still so young and he should have the right to chose his realm himself. He didn't even properly know what he was the god of yet. Among his older siblings, all minor Sea Gods, they had each found their very special purpose – Proteus was the protector of their father's seals, Triton was the patron-god of mermen, Kymopoleia was responsible for violent storms, Benthesikyme had taken over calm waves of the ocean and Rhode was the patron goddess of the Island of Rhodes. Perseus thought being a patron god was kind of boring. He wanted to be something more fun. Something exciting. Like cousin Hermes. Tricksters, thieves, travelers, messenger of the gods – now that was fun. Then again, Perseus was particularly fond of his older cousins. Unlike uncle Zeus, most of Zeus' children were awesome and very nice to Perseus.

So, back on track – the Demetria Isles were the only place where he was being actively worshiped. So why not go there? See what the queen had been up to since he last saw her. See what kind of a realm it was, how the people were. If they were good and kind, if they deserved his protection. If maybe, being a patron god wouldn't be that bad, depending on the kingdom. He wanted to know what his temple looked like and how the people in the kingdom behaved.

The world was a vast and endless place, so why not start on this little archipelago?

Smiling to himself, the Sea Prince reached the shore. The waves carried him onto the beach where he laid and watched the water return back to the ocean's depth, leaving him dry. His sleek azure-blue tail split into two legs as he emerged from the water. They felt a bit weird, especially the tiny ends – toes was what they were called, if he was right. Spreading them far apart, he giggled a little. What an odd sensation. He basically had an additional limb. As a breeze picked up, he yelped, face heating up as he hastily pulled his legs together and up against his chest. Humans were vulnerable. How did they manage, with their privates so exposed? He already missed the protective sheath of his dick and the scales hiding his entrance. Blinking doe-eyed, he decided to get off the sand because the sand was going places where it really shouldn't be – again, missing the scales that would protect his sensitive rear and penis from the assault. Supporting himself with his hands, he slowly stood. He was a bit wobbly on his new feet and stumbled over the sand, nearly landing on his rear again. Once again; how did humans manage? This was so utterly impractical. Wouldn't it be far safer to walk on all four? Less chances of toppling over.

Sure, he was a god and could, with some magic, help himself out, but... This was it, this was the last time he'd use his godly powers for the time being. Because as long as a god didn't use their powers, there was no way to track them down in the mortal world. He would be beyond his family's reach. A grin tugged on his lips. Time for an adventure. First on his list; find some way to protect his privates form the weather, because there was a lot of dangling happening between his legs and it was just awkward. Second on the list; find his way inside the big city on this island.

And from there on out, there would be lots of exploring and even more adventure. His fingers were tingling with excitement as he made his way off the beach and toward the tall city walls.

Chapter Text

Chapter 1: The King of Thieves

Percy was wobbling his way through the sand. He could still see the ocean behind him, but he was already exhausted. His legs were too new, the muscles unused so far. It took him forever to reach the even road leading away from the beach and toward the tall walls that most likely surrounded the biggest city of the Demetria Kingdom. Percy was genuinely exhausted by the time he reached the outskirts of the city. He looked back and was actually shocked to see that it hadn't been that much of a distance. When swimming, he would have managed that distance in two minutes flat. Hopefully, he would get used to his new legs fast. They already ached horribly. He needed rest.

There was a wagon, strapped onto a pretty horse. Percy smiled gently and patted the animal's head. It looked so funny, with the legs instead of the tail. Percy's baby-brother Tyson had a hippocampus named Rainbow. The thought made Percy pause, hand resting on the horse's cheek. Ty was going to be so worried. And so were their older siblings. And of course their parents. But he would be stuck in the palace forever if he wasn't going out to prove himself now. He had to make a mark for himself. But for now, he had to rest a little. And the hay on the cart behind the horse looked comfy. Not as comfy as algae or his giant sponge-bed in the palace, but better than the ground. Yawning widely, he crawled into the cart and curled together, closing his eyes to rest a little.

/break\

By the time Percy woke up, his legs felt like they were on fire, muscles aching. He was in some kind of stables, there were many pretty horses and piles of hay everywhere. He carefully crawled out of the heap of hay on the cart he was on and decided that it was time to keep exploring. Maybe find some place to recharge himself – there had to be water here somewhere.

"Wow...", whispered Percy in awe as he left the stables and saw the beauty outside.

A garden, unlike any he had ever seen. All green and filled with sunlight and colorful, fragile-looking flowers. Nothing like the corals Percy was used to. He gaped even more as he lifted his gaze and saw the palace rising behind the garden. Nothing like Neptune's palace under the sea, but sure gorgeous. And in front of the palace was a beautiful thing that was spitting water into the air to catch it again in a large bowl-thing. Percy had heard about those, but never seen one – considering that everything under the sea was filled with water. Smiling brightly, Percy paddled over to the fountain and climbed in. Closing his eyes, he tilted his head back to enjoy the water on his face.

"By the gods, what do you think you're doing there?!"

Percy blinked and turned to look at the scandalized young woman with the honey-brown hair. "I'm taking a bath. The water is very nice! And the fountain is fun."

"B—But not in the royal fountain!", exclaimed the woman. "Grover! Grover, go call the guards!"

A brunette man with a goatee turned his attention toward them, making a funny yelping sound when he saw Percy. "Juniper, what is going on?! I—Is this another one who sneaked out of the prince's chambers? Should we really cause a ruckus about this...?"

"Oh dear", gasped Juniper and turned toward Percy. "Did you sneak out of Prince Nicodemos' room? Are you one... of his...? Are you drunk, is that why you're naked?"

Percy tilted his head curiously. He had gotten drunk once before when his cousin Dionysus was throwing one of his famous parties that had then gotten him grounded by uncle Zeus. But he was not currently drunk. What a strange thing to randomly ask someone. But apparently, swimming in a fountain was not a thing humans did. Duly noted. The two humans were busy hissing and debating among themselves, so Percy just sneaked out of the fountain and made his way out of the large garden. Time to continue exploring anyway, if he wanted to stay all day in water, he could have stayed home to begin with. No, no, he wanted to see human things. Do human things.

/break\

After a little while of aimless wandering, he found himself at the entrance to something that could only be a marketplace. A human marketplace! Oh, how exciting! But there was one thing he instantly noticed. All the humans were covered. The two in the garden had been too, wrapped into clothes. Well, that was rather an optional thing on Olympus whenever he went there, and for merpeople it was completely unnecessary. Apparently, among humans, it was the norm.

Okay. Percy could totally work with that. Before someone could spot him from his half-hidden place behind the large gate. The first stand he saw was covered with beautiful cloths. Shawls. The fabric was pretty. Percy sneaked over to it and whirled around once, cunningly picking a blue large piece off the rack and wrapping it around himself once. Another elegant whirl and he took a dark-blue shawl off the upper balk, wrapping it around his midsection a couple of times and tying it tightly. Looking around, he noted that this would pass as clothed, apparently.

Good. Moving on. He felt like he was starving. He smiled when he found a stand selling apples. They weren't golden, but they looked good enough. He took one, just to have the stand-owner grab his hand very tightly. Startled, Percy looked up at the nasty man.

"You plan on paying?", barked the man suspiciously.

"...Paying?", echoed Percy a bit surprised.

"With money. For my goods. Or I can call the guards", warned the nasty man.

Those guards seemed to be very popular around here. Everyone seemed so set on Percy meeting them. But something told Percy that it wasn't the best idea. So paying, that was a thing. It required money. Percy had seen it before, on the market. Not that he had ever payed for a single thing in his life, considering he was the son of the king of the sea, as well as the brother of the king of merpeople. Everyone adored him. He had a feeling they weren't adoring him so much here.

"Of course I would pay, but I wanted to inspect the goods first", smiled Percy charmingly.

The man eyed him critically, but he let go nonetheless. Percy made a show of inspecting the apple for a very long moment with a very critical eye before he put it down again with a shake of his head. He had been eying a street dog that was headed his way and passed it up perfectly. With one sneaky kick did he knock one of the boxes leaning sideways against the stand over. The owner cursed the dog that he saw walking past and went to gather his goods. Percy slipped away with three apples on his arm. Grinning to himself, he threw one into the air and caught it again.

"You're good."

Percy startled, nearly dropping his apples. When he turned wide-eyed to the source of the voice, he came face to face with a mischievous looking blonde man with a scar running down his otherwise handsome face. So was Percy going to meet those guards after all?

"Oh, relax, kiddo", laughed the blonde and reached out to ruffle Percy's hair. "I'm not going to get you into trouble. Just admiring your talent. I saw how you practically danced through the stands to get your clothes together. Kinda curious why you didn't have clothes to begin with..."

Percy blushed brightly. Human clothes apparently really were a must. Percy carefully took his newly acquired apple and took a bite. It was surprisingly good for not being golden. Percy started eating with more gusto, walking along with the blonde man still beside him.

"You're hungry", observed the blonde curiously. "Like, very hungry. You didn't have clothes. You're a good thief. That does make me wonder. I'm Lukos, but everyone calls me Luke. Who are you?"

"I'm Perse... Persephonus, but everyone calls me Percy", replied Percy casually.

In the virtually only kingdom that worshiped him, he could not introduce himself as Perseus. Better not to draw any attention to himself. And cousin Phone surely wouldn't mind that he named himself after her; Perseus and Persephone got along really well whenever Percy went to visit her and uncle Hades in the underworld. She would probably coo at him and pat his cheek.

"Where did you learn to steal?", asked Luke, eyes intense as he searched Percy's face.

"From the best", replied Percy with a blinding smile.

Which was totally true; Hermes was one of his three favorite cousins – with Apollo and Persephone – and he had taught Percy how to steal before the young god could even talk. Poseidon had given Zeus such a preaching that Zeus had actually grounded Hermes, even though Zeus wasn't much into the whole parenting-thing. But Percy totally didn't mind, because he loved spending time with his awesome older cousins. Zeus may be a bag of dicks, but his kids were totally awesome.

"Around here, I am the best", stated Luke, one eyebrow raised. "Which only cements my suspicion that you're not from around here. So, where did you come from? And what brings you here?"

"I'm from... somewhere else", answered Percy very vaguely – the royal palace in Atlantis was hardly a befitting answer here. "But I came here because I was curious about... about a god this island seems to worship? A name I have never heard before..."

"Ah, you mean Lord Perseus", nodded Luke with a curious glint in his eyes. "Well, you wouldn't be the first one drawn here for the cult. You came to learn more about him?"

"I... yeah", nodded Percy, allowing the blonde to lead him wherever he was going.

"Well, Lord Perseus is a son of Lord Poseidon", started Luke casually to explain, waving an arm around. "Not much is known about him. A story says that he emerged from the sea when our queen was in danger. He saved her and the princesses and the prince. That's how we even know his name and parentage, apparently he introduced himself. But we don't really know much more. It's said he must be a sea god because of that. A guardian god, I guess."

Percy nodded slowly, eyebrows knitted. Okay, so technically he wasn't the son of Poseidon. Technically he was the son of Neptune. But since his dad was mainly in his Greek form – what with all of his siblings being the children of Poseidon – he was so used to referring to him as Poseidon and not Neptune. He was, however, very peculiar about his mom. Because he was not the son of Amphitrite – she was so much stricter and colder than her Roman form. He was the son of Sally – Salacia – who was far warmer and more loving. Not to mention that Percy was her 'only son', since all other children had been born between their Greek counterparts. It was, at times, a little confusing for Percy to tell apart the Greek and Roman aspects of gods, but Percy most definitely knew that there was a tangible difference between Greeks and Romans. One could say that Percy and his younger brother Tyson were the result of a new era, because very slowly there was a shift from Greek to Roman. But how was he supposed to explain that to a mortal...?

"So, where are you staying here?", asked Luke curiously.

"I...", started Percy before he faltered a little.

Okay, maybe he should have thought this whole thing through some more. He hadn't thought about human customs – like clothes and money – he hadn't thought about a cover-story – like a name or a place of origin or a reason for him to be here – and he sure hadn't thought about what to do here – where to live, what to eat, how to get around this place. He didn't have a plan, not even anything close to a plan. Cousin Athena would probably chide him and hit him upside the head for that...

"That's alright", assured Luke, voice rather gentle as he laid an arm around Percy's shoulders. "I know a lot of kids just like you. Stealing to get around. Not wanting to talk about their past and with no plans or ideas for the future. I think I have just the place for you."

"You... do?", asked Percy with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Absolutely. If that's what you're looking for", chuckled Luke, clearly amused by Percy.

Percy nodded so hastily, he was pretty sure his head should fall off. Luke laughed fondly and ruffled his hair. Luke was nice. He reminded Percy a lot of Hermes. Mischievous, but still very caring for any lost soul he might encounter. Percy decided that for the time being, he would stay with Luke and see this place and those other people. He was curious to meet humans without a past or future. The concept seemed so odd. Everyone came from somewhere and went somewhere, after all.

"Where are we going?", asked Percy curiously.

They had left the broad streets and entered a dark, narrow alleyway. The houses seemed more run-down and poorer, there were thin, sickly looking people sitting at the sides of the houses, watching them with narrowed eyes. No. Watching him with narrowed eyes. They all had a greeting for Luke though, so it seemed they were definitely in his territory. Percy grew a bit uncomfortable.

"What? A bunch of street rats don't live in the palace", chuckled Luke amused.

Percy frowned confused. Why was this place looking so much less... bright and homey than the market and the pretty palace? And what did street rats mean? It didn't sound nice.

"What did you bring home with you there?" - "He's definitely cute."

Percy startled a bit and jumped back as all of a sudden two nearly identical brunettes appeared right in front of him. Luke chuckled and urged Percy on. The two brunettes trailed after them. Through a hole in the wall did they crawl into an empty house, through its cellar and through another wall – and suddenly they were in a completely different place. It was flooded with warm candle-light, there were colorful cloths and curtains hanging from all the walls, covering what must be looking like the run-down houses outside but thanks to the decoration it was far nicer. Blankets and pillows covered basically the entire floor, aside from where there were tables or furniture standing. Multiple hammocks hung from the ceiling. It looked so amazing and comfy! Kind of like an oversized pillow-fort – he used to built those with Artemis and Enyo when they'd be playing against Ares, Apollo and Hermes in a strategic battle. There were three male humans in the comfortable-looking living space, all turning their attention toward the new arrivals.

"Guys! This is our newest stray. His name is Percy", declared Luke. "Percy, those are Connor, Travis, Chris, Cecil and Leo. Part of our crew. Well, the entire current crew, I guess."

"You guess?", echoed Percy curiously as he looked the newly introduced people up and down.

"When Luke started this little crew, it were only him and 'his girls'. But they both... moved on. Got, you know, serious jobs to earn money, got honest and all that", shrugged Chris amused.

Percy looked at Luke's face, catching an interesting expression on it. It was a mixture of pride and sadness. It was a curious mixture and Percy guessed that Luke cared very deeply about 'his girls', whoever they might be. He missed them dearly, but was also proud that they had moved on.

"Hey, I'm on my way to become honest too!", protested Leo with a pout.

Percy tilted his head curiously and directed his attention to the impish looking human. "How?"

"I started an apprenticeship with the local blacksmith!", declared Leo, puffing out his chest.

"And we are very proud of you, kiddo", stated Luke with a smile, ruffling the boy's hair.

Percy smiled a little as he watched them. Right then and there, the two reminded him of Triton and Tyson. Triton always worried and took care of the younger ones. Luke seemed like a caretaker. Percy had a hunch that he could be pretty happy right here. So he was still being favored by the Fates, that was indeed good to know. He had to remember bringing the three ladies pastry next time he went to visit the underworld. Percy carefully ventured deeper into the comfy looking living room space, looking around curiously and ducking underneath the colorful curtains.

"This place is very pretty", stated Percy as he looked around. "I like it."

"Thanks for the approval", snorted Cecil amused. "He's a weird one, Luke."

"Makes him fit right in", declared Leo with a broad grin. "Come on, Percy, I'll show you around!"

And suddenly, Percy found himself dragged along by the excited young human. There was an upstairs – a not entirely roofed upstairs – where there was a small kitchenette and a table with a bunch of mismatched chairs. Leo kept rambling on about the place and their crew and Percy tried very hard to listen to it all and take it all in.

This little band of thieves had started out with Luke and 'his girls' – his girls being Thalia and Annabeth. The three of them had been living on the streets together, somehow got onto a ship as stowaways and ended up on Demetria Island, the largest of the Demetria archipelago. The two smaller islands being Cerelia Island and Desponia Island.

Thalia had joined the all-female elite army of the queen and had made a name for herself.

Annabeth had started studying and was discovered by a loyal adviser of the queen and had been invited to become the prince's tutor due to her intelligence and was by now working as adviser to Prince Nicodemos himself. Which was quite the career, from the street rat to the royal adviser.

Then there were Travis and Connor, who were brothers and orphans. They were already beyond twenty, but they had been with Luke since they were little boys. The very first who Luke had 'adopted' after moving to the island of Demetria. Luke had become a father-figure and especially after Thalia and Annabeth had moved on, the brothers felt even more inclined to stay with Luke.

Chris used to be a solo-thief until he bumped into Luke's crew once too often, until Luke could finally persuade him into joining them. Though Chris had been reluctant about that at first.

Cecil and Leo were the youngest, they were both just sixteen and both of them had been orphans. And while Cecil totally loved life on the streets, he loved stealing and learning from his four big brothers, Leo had found his calling one day when he had been caught stealing by the blacksmith.

"And he did not call the guards? Everyone here seems very eager to call the guards", asked Percy.

Leo grinned sheepishly, arms crossed behind his head. "I thought so too. I was so panicking. It was two years ago, so I was only fourteen and I thought that was going to be the end of me. I pleaded and begged, but Mister Charles actually had... mercy. He told me I could work it off. I was supposed to come back, every day, and work for him. I asked him why he'd let me go – what made him think that I'd return and keep my end of the deal – and he said that he thought I wasn't a bad kid. He trusted me to do the right thing. I was kind of not used to... people trusting me. I only did minor manual labor at first, until he noticed that I'm actually pretty good with the crafts. So he offered me an apprenticeship. I'm learning from him, making honest money."

"...Then why are you still here?", asked Percy curiously. "I thought everyone here is... on the wrong side of the law. If you're making honest money, you wouldn't have to steal."

"I'm not. Well, I am, sometimes, because it's fun. But... I don't want to leave. They're my family, everyone here is my family", explained Leo with a shrug. "And family is important, you know?"

"...I do", whispered Percy softly and averted his eyes in guilt.

"What about you? I mean... What happened to your family?", asked Leo carefully.

"I ran away", admitted Percy as the two of them returned to the basement and sat down on the mass of pillows together with the others. "I... I shouldn't have."

"Then why did you?", wanted Luke to know, voice gentle. "I've met a lot of runaways in my days and never has anyone run away without some kind of reason."

"I didn't have a reason", muttered Percy, guilt written over his face as he stared at his hands. "My parents love me. They provided for me. I had a beautiful home, everything I could want. My siblings love me too. I'm... I'm worrying them... and... I'm being ungrateful..."

"Then why did you run away?", asked Chris skeptically, one eyebrow raised.

"Because I wanted to see the world", whispered Percy and looked up at them with such longing in his eyes. "I wanted to... see and explore, meet people and do things – alone. Without someone hovering, without being sheltered and put under constant surveillance by guards."

"Guards, huh? You royal?", asked Connor, both eyebrows raised.

"So the little birdie got tired of his golden cage", observed Travis curiously.

Percy flushed wide-eyed and panicked, until Luke chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder. "Kid, that was obvious from the moment I met you. The way you talk and carry yourself, your hands have never seen a day of manual work before. It's alright. No judgment, here you're just Percy."

Percy blinked a couple of times and stared at the thieves in awe. He liked being just Percy.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: The Lonely Prince

Prince Nicodemos of the Demetria Isles was generally adored and envied.

He was a handsome young royal, in the prime of his years, living in a beautiful palace and not having a worry in the world. Or so the world liked to think. So the world liked to think about most royals. They were fancy, had everything – oh, what a life to be envied.

It was not.

Well, sure, he had all the riches and food and unnecessary little stuff that no one really needed but everyone really wanted. What he didn't have was what mattered the most. He didn't have love.

It was sentimental, he knew that. But he blamed his parents for that – King Plutonius and Queen Maria. They had what could only be described as true love. Not those arranged, forced marriages, but one chosen by the heart. They adored each other and anyone who met them could see it. The way they looked at each other, the simple gestures between them. Nico longed to have the same. He knew, deep in his heart, that he could never marry someone he didn't love.

"Have you given the marriage proposals any more thought, my prince?", asked one of his advisers.

Frowning, the prince turned toward Malcolm. "Yes, I have given it more thought."

"Wonderful", nodded Malcolm, tension melting from him. "What is your decision?"

"That I'm not getting married", hummed the prince.

Next to Malcolm, Jason snorted. "Sometimes, we hate you, Nico. You know that, right?"

"Sometimes, I think I should behead you after all, you know that, right?", drawled Nico.

Granted, Jason was one of his best friends, but this was just too much. He was often out of line, but then again, Nico was a stubborn prince so he had chosen his advisers to be people he trusted blindly and people who were not afraid to speak their mind. They were also his friends, not just some servants. And among them, Jason was pretty highly ranked. Annabeth heaved a deep, long-suffering sigh, arms crossed over her rather impressive chest as she walked up to Nico and leveled a glare at him. She hopped onto the balcony's balustrade to sit higher than the prince. She really enjoyed looking down on people and most the time, Nico found it amusing. Unless it was aimed at him.

"You're the crown-prince, Nico. You'll have to get married and produce an heir eventually", stated Annabeth, brushing her long blonde curls over her shoulder. "You can't avoid it forever."

Nico glared at her with an edge of viciousness to it. To lay with another man was not exactly frowned upon in their kingdom – it was after all a long-lived and proud tradition for heroes and men of status to take lovers of the same gender. He had some friends who preferred the male gender. But that was where hating being a prince came into play – where Ethan, another one of his advisers and friends – could openly be with the young man he loved, Nico couldn't afford such a luxury. He was the crown-prince, as Annabeth had so kindly pointed out just now. He was expected to produce an heir and for that, sadly enough, a woman was required. A wife. A queen.

"My sister is happily engaged, she will produce an heir. I have no problem pronouncing my nephew the crown-prince when I become king", sighed Nico frustrated.

"You know that's not how the story can end", muttered Jason as he leaned against Nico, bumping shoulders with his prince. "Come on, Nico. The king... would look weak if he'd not have heirs of his own. Hazel and Frank sure will produce a couple cute kids, but..."

Nico grumbled, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned forward against the balustrade, Annabeth on one side of him and Jason on the other. He could hear Malcolm and Ethan sigh behind them. He really didn't care at all. This was about his life; decisions that would affect him to the end.

"You know you can always just... pick a pretty princess to be your queen and bear your off-springs and have a 'manservant' close by for your... needs", suggested Malcolm, clearly uncomfortable.

"Just because I'm not interested in women on a physical or romantic level doesn't mean I don't care. No person deserves to be mocked like that", stated Nico coldly. "Even in a convenient political marriage without love, a queen deserves respect."

Annabeth hummed in appreciation, the irritation easing off her face as she reached out to rest a hand on top of his curls, patting his head. "You're... You deserve happiness too. My personal advise? Enjoy life and freedom while you still can. Some things in life are inevitable."

Nico heaved a sigh, eyes unfocused as he watched his garden. The beautiful flower-garden of his mother with the roses and the exotic flowers father always got her whenever a ship from a new kind of place harbored here. The large fountain – wide and deep enough so one could actually bathe in it (Nico and his sisters had done so often during the summer-heat). The gorgeous naked boy walking toward the fountain. Wait. Frowning, Nico leaned in some more, eyes focused on the naked beauty. A boy – young man – about Hazel's age, so a few years younger than Nico himself. He was gorgeous. His skin was pale, nearly luminescent. Long, elegant legs on which he walked very unsure of his steps – was he perhaps drunk, that would at least explain why he was walking around the palace garden butt-naked? His hair was long and black, some strands falling into his face while others seemed tied together in the back, falling to his shoulder-blades, as Nico saw now that the young man was turning his back to him. Oh, that view was simply magnificent. Never before had Nico seen such a perfectly sculpted butt, it looked truly inviting. Even the dip above it was beautiful, the way his spine bent, the narrow of his hips and the broad of his shoulders. He looked perfect. Absolutely breathtaking. Nico felt instantly enchanted in a way he had never been before.

"Is... Is... Nicodemos, tell me this one didn't escape from your bedroom", hissed Annabeth.

"What? No. Also, what's 'escape' supposed to mean?", asked Nico offended.

"Where else would a naked boy come from!", exclaimed Annabeth, pointing at the stranger.

"His room!", countered Nico, pointing at Ethan accusingly.

"Alabaster and I are trying to focus on ourselves right now. No inviting alluring playthings, even though I could see my Ally-cat getting excited about this one", hummed Ethan casually.

"T—Then maybe the priest! Everyone knows Apollo's high priest has a weakness for men too", continued Nico with a frustrated glare. "Or our palace's head-healer. He prefers them too."

Jason snorted and shook his head. It was true, Apollo's high priest and their healer too seemed to prefer the male gender and no one had seen them with women so far. But Jason doubted this one to be Will's; Will was discrete about his desires, clearly not as promiscuous as their dear beloved prince. Will wouldn't let a fling wander the palace gardens naked. Octavian on the other hand... that bastard would probably do it to entertain himself with it.

"Should I send the guards down to... escort him out?", asked Ethan curiously.

"Oh, yes. Wonderful idea, let's put a completely naked guy on the streets of the city", drawled Nico unimpressed. "Make sure he gets clothes and a meal."

"You are too generous, my prince", hummed Ethan, sounding nearly mocking.

/break\

Nico decided that he needed to clear his head. Talk about him getting married always agitated him. So he decided he needed a sweet treat. And Priestess Silena had the sweetest treats. The priestess of Aphrodite had a small stand on the market and sold chocolate-treats there. Something rare and delicious that the ships from overseas had brought to their kingdom months ago. It was a bit of a hobby and pastime of hers – and it was greatly appreciated by the prince. People smiled and bowed to him as he passed through the marketplace. Nico's people loved him, for he was always fair. He also always had spare coins for those in need. When he passed two small children begging at a corner, he handed each two gold coins, smiling at the large, grateful eyes of the children.

"You will be a wonderful father one day, Prince Nicodemos."

"Speaking from experience, father of the strays?", drawled Nico unimpressed.

He turned toward the mischievously smirking street rat. Lukos, with his sparkling blue eyes always hiding a wicked plan, the messy blonde hair brighter thanks to how much time he spent out in the sun. The leader of the island's largest groups of rag-tag thieves was leaning against a wall.

"Don't be so sore, princess", chuckled Luke amused.

"I just hope you're being careful. Annabeth would have my hide if I'd be forced to throw you in the dungeon", muttered Nico and shook his head as he bought silvery owl-feathered earrings for said adviser. "You know she's always worried about you. And the others."

"Mh. Yes, yes. Annie has always been a worry-ward", laughed Luke lightly.

Nico frowned over at him. Luke was a very special kind of person. He was an honorable thief. Nico was still dubious about that concept. He knew that Luke had practically raised both of Nico's best friends – Jason and Annabeth. Luke and the siblings Thalia and Jason had been on the run together when they had found Annabeth. Jason had barely been a toddler when Luke had met the siblings. He literally was the only father Jason knew. And while Luke always referred to Thalia and Annabeth lightly as 'his girls', he very rarely talked about Jason. Something that confused Nico.

"Any new stray puppies you took in lately?", asked Nico lightly as he picked more jewelry.

He could never pass through the market without buying something pretty and valuable for his girls – Bianca and Hazel, his sisters, as well as Annabeth. He saw from the corner of his eyes how Luke snatched a couple items while Nico paid for his things. There was no way to change Luke.

"Not particularly, but... you never know", hummed Luke amused. "See you around, princess."

Frowning, Nico lifted his gaze as he stashed the jewelry in his satchel. By the time he looked up, Luke was gone from his side. Sighing, Nico continued on his way to Silena's stand. He was used to the thief's habits. He was like a stray cat. There one moment, sneaking out on soundless feet the next. As the future king, he should probably not spend as much time with the thief, but as a friend to Jason, Annabeth and Thalia, he wasn't going to let Luke rot in a cell, if he could help it.

"Prince Nicodemos", greeted Silena with a bright smile. "It is so good to see you."

She was a gorgeous woman, maybe ten years Nico's senior. The wife of the local master blacksmith and also the head of the priestesses of Aphrodite. She wore soft pink robes that highlighted her curvy figure. She already reached for all of Nico's favorites, knowing what Nico preferred.

"Likewise, priestess", returned Nico with a short nod of his head. "How is your husband?"

"Charlie is wonderful", assured Silena happily. "When will your parents return to the kingdom?"

Nico heaved a sigh and shook his head. It was hard to pinpoint when exactly King Plutonius and Queen Maria were in the country. They always seemed to be on diplomatic missions, while their children were left to lead the city with their advisers. Sometimes they were gone for months, sometimes for weeks. But they rarely left home during spring and summer. Spring was Nico's favorite time of the year, because mother and father would be here and very often, his grandmother would come and visit them, sometimes staying for weeks.

"They had to leave on important business. Father was... not very forthcoming", sighed Nico.

They had been worried. Furious even. They had left this morning in a haste, without much explanation. Silena nodded in understanding, a compassionate look on her face. She handed him the sweets and he handed her the coins – more than would be necessary because he knew she had taken in two and a half orphans she took care of (one of the orphans being a mischievous youth called Leo whom Silena and Charles shared custody with Luke, actually). With a brief goodbye, Nico turned away again to head back to the palace. He got distracted on his way though, his mind was wandering as loud cussing and growling interrupted him. Gabe, one of the fruit venders, was loudly screaming at a stray dog while collecting his goods from the ground. Nico didn't like the man, there was something sleazy and uncomfortable about him. Nico chose to take the long way around, especially when two of the guards – Zoe and Phoebe – approached to see what the fuss was about. They'd surely report to the palace if they saw him out alone again. The royal guards were so fussy. As he tried to avoid Gabe, he caught a glimpse of something. Something pretty. The first thing he saw was bright blue silk, swirling and shining in the last rays of sun before the boy disappeared into the shadows. The black long hair, the luminous white skin. It was the boy from the garden. The naked boy. Well, now clothed. Nico tried pushing through the masses to get to him, to get to see him up close. But by the time Nico could find his way through the people, the boy was gone.

/break\

"They're beautiful, Nico. Thanks."

Nico smiled faintly as he watched Annabeth. She stood in front of a mirror, with the new earrings dangling from her ears, feathers blending into broad blonde curls. Nico and Annabeth were often at odds. She was bossy and stubborn and defied him every chance she got, always knew everything better than he did. Basically, she was like a third sister to Nico.

"How are you feeling, Nico?", asked Annabeth's 'best friend' from the bed.

A beautiful and fierce warrior and member of the guards by the name of Reyna. The two women were 'very close friends', to anyone in the palace. Training together and reading together. Nico knew they were also doing entirely different things together. It wasn't too unseemly for two men to be together, but the women still preferred to keep it hidden behind closed doors.

"Like your traitorous girlfriend wants me to get married", replied Nico dryly.

"The kingdom wants you to get married", corrected Annabeth very unimpressed. "With how often and how randomly the king and queen are out and about... You're the crown prince, Nicodemos. You have a responsibility toward your people above all else."

Nico resigned himself to not answering. The girls respected that. Nico was trying. He went out and mingled with princesses of neighboring countries, he tried to feel something – anything – for them. But he couldn't even make himself feel sexually attracted to them. The thought of kissing and touching them beneath the clothes, of having sex with them. It was so gross, disturbing. He knew he only desired males, the kind of spark of arousal he felt when just watching some of the male guards train, all sweaty and delectable. It was more than he could ever picture himself feeling for a woman. He didn't want it. He didn't want to spend a single night naked and sweaty with a woman, more mortifying was to think that what if she didn't get pregnant on first try? He would be forced to repeat the whole ordeal until it caught. He would be forced to spend his life with someone he didn't desire and someone he would never be able to love. The thought made his heart ache.

"All I want is the kind of love my parents have", whispered Nico beneath his breath, longingly.

Annabeth, who had just returned to sit on the bed with Reyna and Nico, turned to look at the prince with pity in her eyes. Reyna wrapped a possessive arm around Annabeth's waist and pulled her blonde close so the two of them were curled around each other.

"We know that, Nico", assured Reyna, voice soft. "Everyone wants that. The kind of love that's warm and true and makes you feel whole. Not... everyone gets that. Even if you will defy the law and continue on your pursuit of men, you can't know if you will ever find that one true love. You might end up as heartbroken and lonely as you will when entering a political marriage. Or you might find a true best friend in your wife, a confidant, someone you can trust and respect even if you can't love her. You have to make a choice, Nico."

Nico sighed and looked at them enviously. Oh, he knew that either of them would instantly drop the relationship to marry a man if that was what it would take to help the country, if it served a greater good, because they prioritized the happiness of many above their own. In a way, he envied that and in another way, the mere thought terrified them. How could someone who had found this kind of rare love willingly give it up just for the sake of someone else...?

/break\

To avoid his sister's scolding, Nico sneaked out of Annabeth's room through the balcony and headed straight back to the city. He knew Zoe and Phoebe probably reported to the head of the guard. Bianca, firstborn child of the king and queen and Nico's older pain in the ass. Oh, he loved her dearly, but she was so overbearing especially when their parents were gone. She had joined the all-female royal guard. The army may consist of men only, but their in-land force was all-female. Queen Maria had brought this tradition with her, often spoke of a younger sister of hers who led an all-female fighting force that was stronger than any male army she had ever seen. It was one of the rare times where the queen spoke of her home or family. Nico had met her mother, his grandmother, but he had never been to her kingdom before. It was all a bit ominous, but he had always chalked it up to his mother missing her home and family because he had to uproot to be with her husband.

Nico made his way to his favorite place in the city. The temple of Perseus. Whenever he felt down, felt like life was unfair, he would go and pray to Lord Perseus, to his very personal savior, and remember that things could be so much worse. He could be dead. Or worse yet, he could be alive while Bianca was dead. A god had graced them with his mercy, had saved their lives.

The statue of Lord Perseus was perfect. The best artist of the kingdom had done it and even though Queen Maria had given a startlingly accurate description of the young god, despite the fact that it had been stormy at night and it had all happened so fast, the artist himself had not seen the god, so there was only so much resemblance left. Not that Nico really remembered; it had been ten years and it had been a very dark and very stormy night, after all. But he liked to entertain the idea that the young god had grown up into the most beautiful god, even rivaling Aphrodite – who knew, maybe they were related in their realms since Perseus had risen from the sea too. Nico liked to think that maybe, the young god was still watching over them. Burning an offering, Nico knelt in front of the statue and closed his eyes in desperate prayer.

"If you are still... watching over me and my family", whispered Nico to himself, voice gentle. "Please tell me what to do. Please save my life one more time, in a different way. I don't know what to do. I want to be a good son and a good future king, but... I can't marry someone I don't love. It isn't fair. Not to me and not to whoever I might marry. Please, tell me what to do."

"Well, you shouldn't get married to someone you don't love. That's really-really wrong."

Nico was startled out of his prayer and looked up at a curious and mischievous looking young man. With glowing skin, long black hair held back with four smaller braids tied around it. He was still dressed in the blue robes that Nico had seen in the marketplace, but now that he actually got a good look at his face, Nico noticed something even more remarkable than the butt he had seen in the garden. The boy's eyes were such a bright, brilliant blue-green that looked as though someone had captured the sea itself and locked it into those two shining orbs. They seemed eerily familiar, like something out of a faded dream that Nico barely remembered. He couldn't place them.

"W—What?", asked Nico a bit startled, blinking slowly.

"Oh my gods, I am so sorry, Prince Nicodemos!", yelped Leo next to the gorgeous stranger, tugging on the green-eyed beauty's arm. "Percy. No. You can't just interrupt praying people! Especially not him. He's the crown prince of our kingdom! Sorry, my lord. Percy is new around here and he was curious about the temple so I decided to show it to him. We meant no disrespect."

Nico nodded slowly and blinked again, eyes not leaving the newly named Percy. "A strange name."

"Persephonus", supplied Percy with a bright smile. "Nicodemos is a pretty name though."

"Prince Nicodemos! Prince!", corrected Leo and elbowed Percy hard.

But Percy was too busy ignoring Leo and returning Nico's surprised stare. At least until Leo started vehemently pulling on Percy's arm and guiding him out of the temple and away into the streets.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: The Priest of Apollo

The prince was really very pretty. Percy had never seen someone so pretty before. With his olive-skin wrapped around taunt muscles, the adorable fluffy curls and that honestly lost expression on his face as he was kneeling before that semi-accurate statue of Percy, praying to Percy. Leo kept chiding him, but how was Percy supposed to not answer when a pretty prince was asking him for advise, really? And oh, then the prince had opened his eyes. They were so warm and deep and beautiful and Earthy-brown, nearly black. He was a real looker! Oh, he was.

"So, I hear you met our prince", drawled Luke amused.

"Oh, he is magnificent", whispered Percy in awe as he looked up at Luke. "He has those—those eyes! And he looks quite strong. And he has a nice voice too!"

"Hey there, slow down, kiddo", laughed Luke and ruffled Percy's hair. "Is someone having a crush? After only meeting him once? Well, he left quite the impression, huh?"

Percy blushed brightly and ducked his head. He knew he was being ridiculous. He had only just met the prince once, after all. But, well, he was the youngest god out there. He had grown up with everyone he knew and they were his cousins and used to change his diapers. His parents kept him very-very sheltered from everyone who wasn't a council member of either Olympus, the underwater palace, or the underworld. It was so boring. At home, he really only had his siblings. And on Olympus, he was friends with the muses and with his cousins – Persephone, Artemis, Apollo, Hermes, kind of with Athena, Ares and Enyo too whenever they played war-games, maybe Dionysus depending on the day of the week, also Hebe and Eleithyia but they kind of still treated him like a little child. So yes, technically, he didn't really have friends, only family that thought he was adorable enough to be allowed to follow them around. And he sure as Hades didn't have any potential love-interests! Everyone he knew was family and family he had grown up with, at that. He knew that kind of everyone was family when it came to the gods and marrying your cousin could already be considered 'distant' family. Still though, Percy didn't see himself ever falling in love with one of his cousins because, as previously mentioned, they all used to change his diapers.

"I've just never met anyone like him", admitted Percy flustered and ducked his head.

Technically, he had never met anyone like Luke or Leo or the others either. But Nicodemos was so... different. Not just because he was pretty to look at. Percy had felt him inside. The prayer, it had touched Percy's heart, because it had been aimed at him. He had connected with the prince's heart and mind and seen how pure and good and troubled (and naughty and flirtatious) the prince was.

"No one's ever met anyone like Nico", laughed Luke amused.

"Nico", echoed Percy, blinking owlishly. "You know the prince well?"

"A little", shrugged Luke, grabbing an apple and cutting it into slices before pushing one slice into Percy's mouth. "Eat. You've barely eaten all day. Don't get so distracted by Leo's sense of adventure. And then I'll tell you more about Nico, mh?" Percy took three slices of apple at once and stuffed his cheeks, lips spread wide around them as he grinned up at Luke, prompting Luke to snort. "Well. You certainly have some talents that Nico's going to appreciate." Percy blinked confused at him, making Luke laugh. "No, forget I said that. You're too sweet to be tainted. Nico is a... very promiscuous kind of guy. I suppose he's trying to enjoy it while he can, you know?"

"I... don't", admitted Percy with a confused frown. "I know promiscuous. It's what mom always calls my uncle because he can never keep it in his toga. But what do you mean 'while he can'?"

"He's the crown-prince. His older sister joined the army and he will be the next king", explained Luke gently, looking a little sad. "As the king, he needs a queen to give him an heir."

Percy opened his mouth to protest, but then he shut it hastily. Human males couldn't give birth. It had been on that biology embarrassment class Aphrodite had given him when he became a teenager. How he needed to 'use protection' – some overly sweet herbal mix he had to drink with hot water that would stop him from falling pregnant. Because Percy was a born merboy and with merpeople, both males and females could impregnate or fall pregnant, depending on their secondary nature. But for humans, there was only female pregnancy. How bothersome.

"But the prince wants a prince consort at his side and not a queen?", inquired Percy thoughtful.

"Yeah. He... tried. Being with women. It just... it goes against his nature, which is sad considering that it will be overlooked if he has a male lover as long as it's not serious", sighed Luke, kicking back some and grabbing a second apple to cut for Percy. "You seem confused by the concept."

"My... home country is... different. It doesn't matter who you're with", admitted Percy with a shrug.

"Lucky you", chuckled Luke playfully. "Then again, lucky me too. I'm a no one, I can be with whoever I want to be. Guess that's part of why I prefer being a street rat."

He winked at Percy while handing him another apple slice. "Leo said your friends are working at the palace, right? Do you think you could get me into the palace? I wanna talk to the prince."

"...What part of our conversation gave you the impression that that would be a good idea?"

Percy shrugged and looked up at Luke mischievously. "I just wanna meet him."

"I like you, kiddo", stated Luke with a shake of his head. "Okay, you're lucky. I have a date with my own personal boy toy tonight and he's living at the palace. I can get you in, but you'd have to find your way around on your own without attracting the guards."

"Guards bad, yeah I got that", nodded Percy obediently, smiling brightly.

"Atta boy. Well, I guess Tav should meet my newest stray", grinned Luke. "Okay. Be good and go eat something else aside from an apple. I got another job with Chris and Cecil, you wait here. No wandering around the city alone, I think that's still a bit too dangerous for you. And when I get back, I'll take you to the palace. Does that sound like a deal?"

"Sure", grinned Percy a bit amused. "You know, you fuss as much as my big brother."

/break\

Percy was kind of impressed and totally not impressed at the same time when he met Luke's lover. Octavian was a self-centered, arrogant asshole – and as someone who grew up with uncle Zeus and aunt Hera at every Sunday's family dinner, he was not impressed by arrogance like that. What was however very impressive about the tall, lanky blonde with the blue eyes was his aura. He was surrounded by a beautiful golden-yellow glow. Percy bit his lips hard as he stared at it.

Percy had learned to read an aura from his uncle Hades. Considering that Persephone adored him, Percy had spent some weekends in the underworld and since uncle Hades would do everything for his wife, he decided to bond with his nephew the only way he could. Through the underworld. He taught Percy how to train hellhounds and how to read auras. He said this would be helpful for a 'hopelessly naive brat' like Percy, to allow him to see whether someone was a good person or not.

What Percy saw around Octavian, he knew. He knew that aura, it was not the aura of a human. It was the blessing of a god; the same yellow-golden aura that his cousin Apollo had. This wasn't just a priest, this priest had the blessing of Apollo himself.

"...Another one, Lukos", sighed Octavian agitated.

"I think he's adorable. Like one of those stray kittens, with the wide eyes", noted Thalia.

"I think I saw him naked in the fountain yesterday", drawled Annabeth dubiously.

"Oh yes, the fountain was very nice!", nodded Percy with a bright smile. "It's nice to meet you."

Annabeth was gorgeous, with all the right curves and with long, golden-blonde hair falling around her frame in curls. She eyed Percy critically. Thalia next to her was taller and more muscular, with wild black hair and intense electric-blue eyes. There was a teasing, cocky grin on her lips.

"So you're the reason Grover and Juniper called for my guards?", chuckled Thalia. "What were you doing in the fountain? No one knew where you came from."

"I took a bath", replied Percy with a smile. "Fell asleep on a wagon and woke up in the stables. Then I wanted a bath, so why shouldn't I have used the fountain? It's great for baths!"

"You're ridiculous", muttered Annabeth and shook her head.

"I know! I've been told that before", grinned Percy broadly.

"Look, I have a meeting with my guards. You, try not meeting my guards", ordered Thalia, ruffling Percy's hair in passing. "And don't cause too much trouble for Luke, you hear me?"

"Yeah, I was actually on my way to finding Malcolm and Ethan", sighed Annabeth, regarding Percy with a last doubtful look. "Please try not running around the palace naked."

Percy frowned at that. "You people are no fun at all. 'Don't bathe in the fountain', 'Don't cause trouble', 'Don't run around naked'... Seriously. What do you do for fun around here?"

"Oh, things are definitely going to be fun with you around, kiddo", laughed Luke and shook his head. "Now, why don't you run along and explore the palace? There was someone you wanted to meet, wasn't there? I'll meet you back here in an hour. Don't be late, Percy."

"Meet? Oh no. No, Lukos, no", growled Octavian with a glare.

But Luke was faster and he was sly. He grinned mischievously at his lover as he hooked one leg around Octavian's waist, one hand resting on the other blonde's chest as he looked at him.

"You could go after Percy and stop him. Or you could forget about it and spend your energy better and more productive... here. With me", purred the blonde in a voice that put Aphrodite to shame.

Percy's ears were dark-red as he fled the room. Oh, this was going to be so exciting! He already knew three kinds of palaces – Olympus, the underworld and of course the underwater palace. Now he was going to see what a human palace looked like. He did as Luke had asked though and kept to the shadows, avoiding people whenever he heard steps. Now all he had to do was find the prince's room. His eyes narrowed as he contemplated his options. Be good and listen to Luke, or get to the prince's room nice and fast and without causing problems...?

"Hello there. Are you lost?"

Percy blinked extra doe-eyed as he looked up innocently. A pretty blonde guy approached him. He was wearing a blue robe, held together by a pin that depicted Apollo's staff with Martha and George wrapped around it. Another priest of Apollo? Didn't matter right now though.

"Ye—es", drawled Percy with a childish giggle, batting his eyelashes.

"And... where is it you were heading to?", inquired the blonde dubiously.

"I was waiting in the prince's room because he had to go somewhere and then I got bored and I wanted to look around because I got hungry but now I seem unable to find my way back?"

He briefly contemplated what Aphrodite would do in this situation, so he giggled a little more and allowed his robes to slip a little off his shoulder to make him seem more believable. The blonde groaned and cussed beneath his breath as he gently grasped Percy's arm.

"Damn it, Nico", grunted the blonde, barely audible. "I'm Will. Come along, pretty boy, I will escort you back to the prince's chambers and then you will stay there, you understand?"

Percy just smiled charmingly at Will and allowed the blonde to bring him exactly where he wanted to be. Ah, humans could be so helpful if given the right motivation. After all, Luke had said that Percy would be the prince's type, right? Will looked at him rather sternly as he left Percy alone in a giant bedroom. With wide, curious eyes did Percy look around. Oh, it was beautiful. A gigantic bed surrounded by black nearly see-through curtains, large shelves filled with vases and scrolls and jewelry and funny looking objects. Wooden and made of metal, some looking like animals, others like fantastic monsters. They reminded him of the toys his little brother had. Really endearing.

/break\

Nico was tired and his muscles ached by the time he finally got to return to his chambers for the day. Or rather, for the night. He absolutely detested whenever his mother and father left for business trips and Nico got to pose as the acting crown-prince. All the boring meetings and activities, not to mention his regular training too. Which was where the aching muscles rooted from. Frank and Jason were his personal trainers and sparring partners – it was why Frank had the privilege of being considered a royal guard regardless of his gender. After all, the elite of Demetria was all female, so he wasn't an official member. All Nico wanted right now was collapse on his bed and be alone. Okay, so that was a lie. He wanted to do what Jason had done after training. The blonde got to return to his room where the love of his life was awaiting him. Someone who adored him, worshiped the very ground Jason was walking upon, someone Jason was oh-so willing to carry on his arms and cherish for the rest of his life. Share love and laughter and his very life with. Someone to welcome him with warmth and make the lonely, cold nights feel, well, less cold and lonely.

"Ah, finally! And here I started thinking I'd have to leave without talking to you!"

Nico startled so much, he nearly knocked his nightstand over. He blinked slowly and stared at the gorgeous creature on his bed. The soft-looking, unblemished skin, the ridiculously bright bluish-green eyes, his long, silky-looking black hair that contrasted so beautifully with his pale skin. All Nico could think just how perfect this beautiful boy looked right there on Nico's bed. Like it was the place where he belonged to. Nico kept staring at him, standing there unmoving. The boy was offering Nico the brightest, most dazzling smile Nico had ever seen, making him feel warm all over.

"...Are you... a... servant of Lady Aphrodite?", asked Nico very slowly.

"Am I a what now?", asked the beauty confused, blinking his sparkling eyes at Nico.

Percy. The beauty's name was Percy, he had said so at the temple, hadn't he? Nico stared at him.

"A servant of Lady Aphrodite. You are... far too beautiful to be of this world", whispered Nico in awe. "And you seem to be... everywhere. This morning in the fountain, at noon in the market place, in the afternoon at the Temple of Lord Perseus... and now, in my bed."

"Coincidences, I assure you", stated Percy with a pleasant smile. "Well, aside from the bed. I didn't accidentally end up here. Uh. Not that your bed was the destination. It's just the most comfortable spot in your room. I was waiting for you. I wanted to talk to you. What you said at the temple..."

"Was supposed to be a private prayer, aimed to my lord alone", grunted Nico irritated.

And okay. Maybe he was a bit possessive of Lord Perseus – but Lord Perseus had saved his life and the life of his big sister, so there must be something special about them for the god, which meant the god was also very special to Nico. Percy's cheeks dusted a pretty pink at Nico's words.

"Well, I heard it and it sounded like you wanted to talk. So. I decided to visit you and talk", smiled Percy kindly. "In my experience, people who turn to the gods are in dire need of someone they can talk to. So... if you wanna talk, I've been told I'm a pretty decent listener."

Nico must have gone completely mad, because he sat down next to the pretty boy and actually considered talking to the stranger. Something about Percy felt so warm and honest. So unlike anyone he had ever met before. Nico felt as though he could pour his entire heart out to Percy and there would be no judgment, only kindness and warmth. It was a strange feeling.

"I'm the prince. As you might have noticed since you broke into the palace to talk to me", started Nico, fidgeting with his hands. "And as such, I am expected to become king one day. A king is nothing without his queen. But... I'm not sure if I could... love a queen, not the way she would deserve it. And that just... seems so unfair. I don't care if that sounds childish."

"It doesn't", interrupted Percy gently, grasping Nico's hand to squeeze it. "That you want love is... not something childish. Not ever. Have you ever told your parents about how you feel? Maybe they will understand. Maybe you mustn't marry a princess then?"

"I can't disappoint them like that", sighed Nico and shook his head slowly. "I am the heir. I have to produce an heir. I can not be a failure. My father is the greatest king there is. I have to live up to his expectations. I can not disappoint my parents, or my kingdom."

"I understand...", started Percy, voice soft and filled with sorrow, giving Nico's hand a gentle squeeze. "I understand not wanting to disappoint your parents, but... Do you truly believe they would be proud and happy to see their beloved child miserable?"

Nico paused and stared at Percy in awe. Somehow, the way he said all of that, it sounded as though Percy was speaking from experience, as though he knew exactly what Nico was going through. And what he said made sense. Nico knew his mother loved him so very dearly, she would probably feel bad if Nico lead a life of misery and loneliness. It might just break her heart.

"Thank you, Percy, you were... very helpful", whispered Nico with a small smile.

"I'm glad then", smiled Percy, tilting his head, just before his eyes widened as he looked out of the window and suddenly jumped up. "Oh dear! I'm late! I—I'm sorry, Nico, I have to go!"

"No, wait-", tried Nico, but the fascinating boy simply ran up to the balcony and jumped out the window. "...I don't even know where to find you. Or when I can see you again..."

/break\

Octavian glared pointedly out of the window, one arm leisurely wrapped around his sweaty, naked lover, fingers gently carding through sandy-blonde, messy hair. He loved and hated his position as the high priest of Apollo to equal parts. For one, it put him into the high council of King Plutonius and Queen Maria, he was living in the palace, everyone feared and respected him. Otherwise, it was rather annoying. He had to deal with the other priests of Apollo – like irritatingly nosy Rachel. He also had to deal with the royals and their other advisers, of course. But literally all of that paled compared to the fact that living at the palace had introduced him to this beautiful, irritating creature in his arms. Lukos was what Octavian had never thought possible; perfect.

"Lukos, your pet returned", grunted Octavian irritated.

Percy, sitting on the windowsill like a crazy cat or something, just grinned broadly and waved at Octavian. This one was going to be a problem, Octavian just knew it. The priest wondered briefly whether or not the troublemaker had just been thoroughly fucked by the prince and that was the reason for his seemingly chipper mood. Octavian wouldn't put it past Nico. But the priest didn't think it quite that good an idea if the prince got involved with one of Luke's pet-projects.

"You're not a nice person", stated Percy, blinking his wide eyes at Octavian like it was something completely okay to say. "But Luke is a nice person and he seems to care about you, so I am curious to see what you are hiding behind your mean attitude, priest of Apollo."

Octavian paused, staring slowly at the street rat. The way he said it – priest of Apollo – it held authority, it wasn't just a job-description, it wasn't even like those worshipers who saw him as their leader. It sounded the way the king and queen would address him. Something about this boy was off. And Octavian didn't like it. He didn't like not controlling something. What made it worse was that Luke was going to take this odd little creature home with him. Octavian didn't like the idea of Luke being alone with this weird boy. As innocent and small and harmless as this boy looked – he had an aura of danger and destruction and devastation. Like that cooling, peaceful breeze that would pick up into a horrifying storm that would have the citizens scramble for safety. It was unsettling.

"Wha...?", yawned Luke and looked up, smiling when he saw Percy. "Ah. You weren't captured and thrown into the dungeon. I'm proud of you, Percy. Good boy. Did it go how you pictured?"

"Thanks", grinned Percy proudly. "Yes! I like the prince. I decided to keep him." Both Octavian and Luke stared at him a little dumbly at that and only then did the boy seem to notice that what he had just said was not normal. "I mean, to keep visiting him. He's interesting to talk to."

Octavian squinted at the boy. That was not what he meant, most certainly not. Something was very, very not normal about this boy and Octavian was set to find out what it was.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: The Perseus Protection Squad

"My. Son. Is. Gone."

The roaring of the Sea God's voice was echoed by the violent crashing of the waves beneath. Poseidon's fists were shaking as he paced the throne room on Olympus. The other Olympians were present – and not just them. Hera looked not too impressed, her and her nephew were not on the best of terms, and for once, she and her husband seemed to be conform with each other, because Zeus was really not a fan of Percy and his antics. In Zeus' humble opinion, Percy meant nothing but trouble and he usually pulled Zeus' children into his messes. The two sets of twins were arguing loudly – Ares and Enyo having practically a battle with Apollo and Artemis over what would be the best approach to find their lost cousin. Dionysus didn't look too fazed as he lifted his head.

"Oh, he'll be fine", assured Dionysus bored. "He might just be on a party. Laying under a table too hung over to return home. Your curfew is too hard. How is the boy supposed to have fun?"

"Him being drunk somewhere does not help ease my mind", snapped Amphitrite angrily as she kept shifting between Roman and Greek form, torn by missing her Roman son. "He is gone."

"And you're sure you checked the whole palace?", asked Hermes, earning twin glares from king and queen of the ocean. "What? He learned how to hide from me. Maybe he's still there."

"We checked", growled Poseidon, slowly growing impatient. "Triton and his siblings are leading search-parties throughout the ocean to find my child, but not a fish can tell where he might be."

"So you think Perseus is on Olympus?", asked Hephaestus with a slight frown.

He wasn't very good with children. They were small and breakable and he would prefer not to interact with them, but his wife was too fond of Percy and often brought him over. Aglaia had started cooing over Percy together with Aphrodite when Aphrodite had started dating Ares and started spending more time around Olympus and the royal family there. Aphrodite, he kind of understood. She was a child of the sea too, after all. But somehow, the two Beauty Goddesses were hard to separate and if Aphrodite had an obsession, so did Aglaia. And against better judgment, Hephaestus had actually grown a little fond of the bright-eyed, curious child. Percy loved Hephaestus' inventions, the way his eyes would sparkle with wonder when he received a new toy from Hephaestus, it made the blacksmith puff his chest out a little. It was hard not being fond of Percy, the boy just had this way of worming his way into someone's heart.

"We... We don't know", sighed Poseidon as he sat down, suddenly seeming drained.

"We will scout the Earth, uncle", assured Artemis as she straightened her back. "Me and my huntresses are the best trackers, I will make sure my mascot is returned home safely."

"He's not a pet", grumbled Apollo beneath his breath. "And if anything, he's my mascot!"

It would be archers against war, as Ares and Enyo had always been quite competitive with Apollo and Artemis. Percy didn't have a heart of war, but he had brilliantly unorthodox plans. He made the war games between Enyo and Ares so much more fun; an element of surprise. The idea of Percy down there, where real, dangerous wars were happening, it didn't sit right with either War God twin.

"We are going to find him first", declares Enyo, narrowing her eyes at Artemis.

Ares grunted in agreement and puffed his chest out. Even though personally, Ares wasn't as fond of Percy as Enyo was, he also had another motivation. He knew his girlfriend Aphrodite loved the boy to bits and pieces. The way Aphrodite smiled pleased at him and kissed his cheek from his other side told him that if he was the one to find Percy, there would be a reward waiting for him.

"I will alert my nymphs, Sally", added Demeter, taking Amphitrite/Salacia's hand to squeeze it in support. "We will find your missing child, my dear. All of us will do everything in our power."

Demeter turned to glare very pointedly at Hera and Zeus to make both of them nod in agreement. She knew what it felt like to have a child disappear, to be alone and searching relentlessly. Her eyes automatically found said child. Persephone shifted a little in guilt at her mother's glare.

"He's not in the underworld, stop glaring, sister", grunted Hades irritated. "I didn't start a collection of my siblings' children down there. But we will help looking for him."

Persephone giggled just slightly at the insinuation. She wouldn't mind keeping Percy around in the underworld, he was always cheerful and bright and fun. What little time she got to spend with her cousin, she thoroughly enjoyed. She did wonder what might have happened to the boy. He was naive, yes, but not dumb. So there was a chance he might have ended up endangering himself, but she was also confident he would find his way out of it alive again.

/break\

The meeting had run late, because quite frankly it was just too large, with too many arguing parties. Persephone gathered her very own meeting afterward, because she knew who was cooperative.

"Okay, girls. I think we all know it's up to us to find Percy", declared Persephone.

"Excuse me!", exclaimed Apollo and Hermes with matching glares aimed at her.

"As I was saying, girls, our precious Percy is missing and it's up to us to find him", repeated Persephone pointedly, giving Apollo and Hermes a look.

Apollo and Hermes huffed and pouted a little as they sank down in their chairs, because yeah, they had somehow become honorary girls. They couldn't even tell which one of their sisters was at fault for this – Enyo, Persephone, Artemis, take your pick. Those three were in the conference room too, not the least bit impressed by the two pouting males. Additionally to the five of them, there were also Aglaia and Aphrodite, the two Beauty Goddesses braiding each other's hair while simultaneously contributing to the conversation at hand, because if there was one thing they were good at, it were make-overs and multi-tasking. There were three other goddesses with them however, three who didn't have relations to the Olympians. Three minor goddesses who didn't even exist to the Greeks. Exclusively Roman minor goddesses and Percy's best friends.

Feronia, the free-spirited goddess of water, freedom, wildlife and fertility. A jumpy Nature Goddess with the attention-span of a fly and the heart of a lioness.

Furrina, also a goddess of water, but also of travelers and death. She frequented the underworld and was friends with Persephone's Roman side too, as well as Hermes'.

Laverna, the goddess of cheating, thieves and tricksters – and one of Mercury's best friends.

While Percy had met Feronia and Furrina in Atlantis, where the Water Goddesses, just like most water deities, liked to go shopping in mermaid form. The three had instantly bonded over being exclusive Roman gods; it was always a little hard on gods to be exclusives, he had met Laverna during one of Hermes' poker-nights of tricksters and mischief makers (which were basically always a disaster, especially when both Seth and Loki showed up).

"He's a tricky, slippery little fish", mused Laverna, half amused. "He stopped using his godly powers. That makes it downright impossible for us to find him in the mass of mortals."

"Not entirely", argued Furrina with a frown. "Mercury and I are gods of travel. He is traveling. Between realms, at that. From the sea to the land. It won't be impossible."

"Just very hard", offered Hermes with a sigh. "Not that we can't, but... it might take some time."

"Oh, I'm sure he'll be fine", assured Feronia in a chipper mood. "He's always been a freedom-seeker and it goes against my realm and my morals to bring him back so he can be locked into a golden cage. I think we should allow him to roam the Earth and explore."

They were the same age – Feronia, Furrina, Laverna and Percy. New and young gods, exclusive to Romans. The three girls had always backed Percy up and they always would, the other gods knew that. Persephone frowned at the young goddess a little.

"He could be in danger", pointed Persephone out gently.

"Oh, he's strong. I trained him", argued Enyo now, glaring. "Percy beat my brother when he was only twelve years old. A feat I am still most proud of. He will be fine."

Persephone sighed and wavered just a little. Aphrodite smiled gently as she placed a comforting hand on Persephone's shoulder, gaining the Spring Goddess' attention.

"Maybe it's love?", offered Aglaia with a smile. "Just like it had been for you. Maybe he met his true love and because of his over-bearing parents, they decided to run away together to be happy."

"Yeah and I still live to regret that", stated Persephone sternly before flushing. "Not that I regret Hades, but the running away part. It was immature and it hurt my mother badly. She literally still keeps me grounded every couple months as punishment and it's been decades!"

"But she's slowly forgiving your husband", argued Aglaia gently. "I mean, she does spend time with you at Hades' even during spring and summer, right? So it can't be that bad."

"She's still too over-bearing", sighed Persephone with a slight pout.

"Sounds like something Percy would say about Poseidon", pointed Apollo out casually.

"So we're actually thinking he ran away for love?", asked Artemis doubtfully.

"Oh, just because you don't recognize the finer things in life doesn't mean others don't!", huffed Aphrodite as she straightened up to full height, glaring at the eternally virginal goddess.

Persephone clapped loudly before Artemis and Aphrodite could fall into their favorite argument yet again. "Very well, girls. We'll search the Earth, the sea, the underworld and Olympus until Perseus is found again! I will not have my cousin make the same mistake as I did. He will live to regret the pain he's putting his parents through. For now, me and Hades have to return home. We left in such a haste, it might just have caused some problems of its own."

"We'll stay in contact though", offered Hermes, the messenger.

/break\

"You worry for Perseus", noted Hades gently.

He was tenderly fastening Persephone's robes, beautiful sapphire and ruby flowers intertwined by pure golden vines elegantly weaving their way along her neck. She heaved a sigh and continued attaching golden and silver flowers to her hair, the light-brown curls framing her face beautifully.

"Of course I do. He's my baby cousin", whispered Persephone back. "He has always looked up to me and idolized me, you know that, love. The goddess who defied her over-bearing mother and ran away for true love, falling for the baddest boy of all bad boys. Defying what everyone would expect from a Flower Goddess. I know he always aspired to be like me, defying expectations and finding his own freedom of sorts and love with someone he didn't grow up with."

Hades had to smile a bit, as untypical as others might claim that to be on him. He had first met Persephone when she was seventeen, a rebelling teenager who was tired of her over-bearing mother Demeter, her negligent father Zeus and her abusive stepmother Hera. She had fallen hard for his bad boy charm and for the fact that he wasn't one of the family members she had grown up close with. She got to be herself around him – all head-strong and fierce – without him associating her with some kind of little girl he had helped raise. Back then, Hades truly hadn't spent a lot of time on Olympus and he had been surprised when he had met the Spring Goddess. She was so unlike anyone he had ever met. Like a breath of fresh air and Hades hadn't realized how much he needed that air to breath until he met her. Hades knew Perseus shared a lot of characteristics with Persephone. He was just as fierce and head-strong and stubborn and determined and beautiful. Hades knew that the boy would one day break a lot of hearts and Hades would make sure that only someone worthy would get to Percy, because Hades knew first-hand how valuable, precious and breakable a golden heart like that could be. Hades would never admit aloud how much he cared for his nephew, so he would continue denying it and claiming he would be looking for the boy for the sake of his beloved wife Persephone and his beloved brother Poseidon. Sighing, Hades leaned down to place a gentle kiss on Persephone's neck.

"We will find him, my love", promised Hades, voice deep. "And if any god or monster thought it a good idea to abduct my nephew, they will come to face the wrath of the underworld. And if someone thought to seduce the naive lad, they will also be in a lot of trouble."

"The protective dad thing suits you, love", giggled Persephone gently, kissing him. "I did kind of miss that when Makaria started dating, you know. To think you'd pull it out for Percy."

"Makaria is a strong young woman and her chosen one is already scared out of his mind from me", chuckled Hades with a sadistic glint in his eyes. "I'm just glad Melinoe is more responsible."

"I think Zagraeus is the one we really have to worry about", mused Persephone with the slightest frown as the couple teleported to their palace. "He's... His heart is undecided."

Hades hummed deep in his chest as he started leading his queen along the halls. He knew his wife was worried about their son, but quite frankly, Hades wasn't too worried. He had been the last of his brothers to find a wife, it had taken him long to settle down and find love. He was certain that if given time and direction, then their son would be just fine too.

"M—Mother? Father? You're back already! You left in such a haste the other day!"

Hades' face lit up as his beloved youngest child ran right into his arms and he got to hug his daughter tightly. Her golden eyes sparkled in relief that her parents were home already. Makaria was a strong, beautiful young woman, but worry for her family easily made her crumble. It was where her older sister Melinoe came into play, because that girl could always keep a leveled head and cool mind. It was why they had put her in charge of their army.

"Where are your siblings, my princess?", asked Hades gently.

"The dining hall, I believe. I was on my way myself", replied his daughter with a smile.

"Perfect. I am starving", sighed Persephone relieved as she took their daughter's other hand.

They made their way to the dining hall and as the doors opened to reveal the unexpected king and queen, everyone straightened their backs some and someone cleared their throat to properly announce their entry. Personally, Hades found those kind of procedures unnecessary.

"Returned from their journey, King Plutonius and Queen Maria, as well as Princess Hazelina Makaria", announced Malcolm in his serious voice.

Their other children, Bianca Melinoe and Nicodemos Zagraeus, stood to greet their parents. Hades nodded at them in greeting, face neutral as he observed curiously. There was always an edge of tension between his two older children whenever Hades and Persephone had to leave for a while.

"That was a fast return, father", whispered Zagraeus with a curious frown.

"It was... a short debriefing of sorts before all parties went their own ways", replied Hades.

He reached a hand out to smooth Zagraeus' wild curls down. Nico. The boy preferred to be called Nico, much to Hades' dismay. Zagraeus was a strong godly name. Nico? Not so much. Why were teenagers so rebellious, really? Then again, the boy didn't really know of his own godly heritage. None of their three children did and Hades and Persephone – or Plutonius and Maria, the human identities they had taken on twenty years ago – knew of their true heritage.

The Demetria Isles had started out as a little place of vacation for Hades and Persephone. She needed nature, she needed the world above. The underworld had been suffocating her. The islands had been under no certain guidance and the two gods just decided to keep them. Named them and formed them and within the shortest time, thanks to some godly magic, it grew into a flourishing kingdom, it became more than just a vacation place. It became kind of their pet-project.

The dead were one thing and Hades liked ruling them most of the time, but they were dull and, well, dead. Here? Everything was alive. Families, children running around and laughing, young love blossoming. Hades got to be the king of the kind of kingdom he had always wanted.

And when their first child was born, both Hades and Persephone knew that they did not want to raise her in the underworld. The underworld was no place for a child. Not to mention the pressure and danger of being the first child born to Hades, one of the Big Three. No, Hades wanted for Bianca Melinoe to have as much a normal life as possible for as long as possible. The same went for Nicodemos Zagraeus and Hazelina Makaria. They were supposed to grow up as human as possible, for there were values in humans that Hades respected and found lacking in the gods. Not to mention, their existence was a secret to the gods and thus kept them out of harm's way. Hades knew how vindictive Zeus could be, how dangerous the titans and giants and even just other gods could be. Growing up human would keep the three children far safer and happier than growing up in the underworld ever would, Hades and Persephone agreed on that. Even if it meant that they had to leave their children alone very often. Many things could easily be solved by teleporting to the underworld briefly multiple times a day, sometimes the king and queen had to leave for a few days, in more extreme cases a few weeks. But overall, Hades knew he could trust Thanatos and Olethros to keep the underworld as well in check and running as he would. Everyone down there was dead, after all, so there wasn't too much drama and riot to be expected on a daily basis.

"If I might ask, what urgent business did you have to attend to?", asked Bianca Melinoe.

"The... The son of a close friend has been abducted and the king asked for our help. We met them half-way at a camp-side to offer our aid", replied Hades.

"I'm so sorry", whispered Bianca concerned.

"It will be alright", assured Persephone with a small smile. "They have strong allies willing to help them find their child and we offered our resources to help too."

"Tell me when to assemble the Royal Guard and debrief them on the situation", offered Bianca.

"Later", sighed Persephone, still unsure how to properly approach the subject just yet so she decided to change the topic at hand. "Dinner first and after dinner, I would like to go and visit the temple of Lord Perseus. Would any of you care to join me on the visit?"

"Of course, mother", chorused all three of their children instantly.

Persephone smiled a little at that. She knew her children worshiped Percy above all others, after all he had been the one to save them years ago. Something that had only made her love her adorable little cousin even more and something, she was pretty sure, that had forever earned Percy a permanent place in Hades' heart too (not that the big softy didn't already cherish his nephew as it was, regardless of how hard the 'big, bad Death God' tried to deny it). She briefly wondered what her children would say if they knew their beloved god was missing. The small smile on her lips took a soft, amused turn as she imagined Nico throwing on his armor and polishing his sword while readying everything to go into war and save Percy as though the god was a damsel in distress. Persephone knew her son was desperately looking for a way to prove himself, in any way possible. Saving a god? Being a great hero like the heroes Persephone had told him bedtime stories about? Oh, Nico would so love that. Part of Persephone suspected that Percy would love that too, though he would probably also slap Nico for assuming he needed saving in the first place.

Persephone's face darkened again. What if Percy needed rescuing? What if he had indeed been abducted by a villain? There were so many countless Sea Gods and about half of them resented Poseidon for being the king. Taking revenge by going after Poseidon's son? It would be a possibility. Persephone also knew that Percy could easily be lured in by promises of humans and their culture. The boy was concerningly obsessed with humans. It was why Persephone had wanted to take him to the Demetria Isles for years now, thinking that he would love this pretense of being mortals just as much as Hades and Persephone did. Sadly, Hades didn't trust Percy to be able to keep a secret. Not out of malice, but simply because Percy was an honest, gentle soul who wouldn't like having to lie to his mother and father like that. Now however, Persephone wished she had taken him nonetheless, because then Percy would at least have a guide through the mortal world. Right now, Percy was out there, somewhere, all alone, maybe exploring the mortal world all on his own.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: The Magical Priests of Hecate

Two weeks into his stay with Luke's crew and Percy felt utterly and absolutely at home with them. Travis and Connor had already adopted him as their new little brother who needed to be taught how to maneuver the city and how to manipulate Luke into getting whatever he wanted (which really wasn't hard because Luke adored Percy already). Chris and Cecil were cool too and Leo was practically attached to Percy's hip and Percy adored Ella. Ella was the youngest of the bunch, only a little girl. Percy only got to meet her on his third day in the Trickster Tribe. Apparently, she had been staying with her tutor Rachel, a priestess of Apollo who had taken her to a retreat.

"Oh, you got cake. Ella loves cake", gasped Ella softly, eyes large.

Smiling gently, Percy knelt down in front of her and handed her a piece of the cake him and Leo had stolen from the baker. Percy kind of loved living here, with the group of thieves. For the first time in his life, Percy didn't feel like he had to live up to some kind of great expectations. He knew his parents loved him dearly, but he was the son of Neptune. Everyone expected certain things from him. Here? He was just Percy, he was just one of them. It was liberating.

"So, what's the plan for today, kids?", asked Luke as he walked into the room.

"Ella wants to go to the library. Will dad go with Ella?", asked Ella hopefully.

And Percy could see Luke's heart melt at that. He hid a small smile as he watched how Luke lifted Ella up into his arms, rocking her a little and smiling gently at the little girl. Luke was such a good dad and Percy was amazed that there were humans like Luke, who took care of others even though those others weren't even related to him – unlike the gods, where they often didn't even take care of their very own children. Sighing softly, Percy curled together some.

"Of course, sweetie", smiled Luke gently, kissing her cheek. "What about you, boys?"

"Leo will go to the Perseus temple with me again", chimed Percy happily.

"Leo will only do that if Percy stops answering when people are praying!", exclaimed Leo.

Percy frowned confused at that. "Why? They keep asking questions. Why shouldn't I answer?"

Leo groaned in that exhausted way he kept doing when Percy asked particular questions. Somehow, Percy was still trying to understand this whole being human thing. Apparently, when you are being asked a question, you shouldn't answer because that was impolite...? How did that make sense?

"Percy, questions asked at the temple aren't meant to be answered by humans", replied Luke patiently. "I think most people just use it to... mull things over. Putting them into words like that, to give them time to think it over again and come to a solution."

"That's weird", frowned Percy confused, tilting his head a little.

"Technically", drawled Cecil out, throwing a nut at Luke. "People pray because they want the gods to answer. Our cynical den dad over there just has a hard time believing the gods are real."

"Wait, what? Seriously?!", asked Percy scandalized, staring wide-eyed and in utter betrayal at Luke.

"Wow, stop looking at me like I killed your puppy", grunted Luke stunned. "I just... I don't understand how we can believe in those all powerful beings that do nothing for us. Look at them, worshiping war. War should not be worshiped. Whenever something doesn't go their way, people blame the gods, when something good happens, oh the gods must be on their sides. Personally, I think that people should own up to their own actions, whether they're failure or success."

Percy continued staring at Luke like a kicked kitten, because Luke didn't believe in him. That kind of hurt. Which was an odd feeling. With his lower lip quivering, Percy cuddled up to Leo, who very firmly believed in the gods and kept praying to Lord Hephaestus.

/break\

"You're such a sweetheart, Percy", smiled Silena as she patted his hair.

Percy smiled and looked up at her while munching chocolate. Whoever had invented that should totally be tracked down in the underworld and then be pronounced a god, because this stuff was definitely godly! He was really happy that Leo had requested to stop by his kind of secondary caretakers on their way to the temple. Silena was such a sweet and gentle woman and she made this magical stuff. He turned back to watching Leo and Charles. Charles was a broad, intimidating looking man, who was just as gentle as his wife. The two looked at Leo the same way Neptune and Sally looked at Percy. Like parents adoring their child. Percy felt a pang at that, longing for his own parents and feeling guilty about leaving them and worrying them.

"What's wrong, honey?", asked Silena concerned as she noticed his look.

"I just... I...", started Percy and sighed. "You and your husband love Leo like parents, right?"

"Yes", nodded Silena without missing a beat. "Him and Piper are like children to us. Piper is a young sorceress and priestess I took under my wing when she came here, you see. Around the same time as we met Leo. They're still so young and impressionable and innocent."

"I miss my parents", admitted Percy softly at that. "I... I ran away. And now I wonder if they'll... ever forgive me for it, if they hate me now for running away..."

"Oh, honey, they're your parents, they will always love you", chided Silena gently, pulling Percy into a tight hug. "You plan on returning to them? You do regret leaving them? Then they'll forgive you, I'm sure. They'll just be glad to have you back. But... why did you run away?"

Percy offered a half-shrug and averted his eyes awkwardly. "I... wanted to see the world. They keep me so sheltered, I never get to do anything without them or someone assigned by them hovering about. I just want to feel free, make my own decisions for once in my life."

Silena hummed in understanding and patted his hair. "They'll understand, Percy. I'm sure."

"Perce! Come here, you need to meet the others!", called Leo suddenly, interrupting them.

Blinking slowly, Percy got up and walked over to Leo and Charles where two others were standing. A woman and a gruff looking guy. Percy tilted his head curiously as he looked at the mortals.

"Those are Jake and Nyssa, my other apprentices", introduced Charles. "This is Leo's friend Percy."

"Pleasure to meet you", grunted Jake with a nod. "Listen, Charles, I just came by because Will asked me to pick something up and deliver it to the palace for him?"

"Will really has you wrapped around his little finger", snorted Nyssa, making Jake blush.

Percy perked up some. Will at the palace? Was it the helpful blonde who had led him to Nico's room? That had been very kind of him! Percy needed to remember to bring the nice blonde some chocolate the next time he went to the palace. Oh, Nico was probably going to love the chocolate too. He was going to have to get a lot of chocolate there...

/break\

Nico felt far more at ease ever since his parents had returned from their emergency. Yes, he worried for the safety of their friend's son and prayed he would be returned safely, but Demetria definitely was better off with Plutonius and Maria there, with their people. It also helped that Nico didn't have to feel so much like the stand-in-king while his dad was there.

"I think it's very nice of you to accompany me to the temple", stated Hazel with a bright smile.

Nico grunted and nodded shortly. She frequented the temple of Lady Hecate, because she bore the gift of magic. A blessing, was what they called it. Nico knew their mother was a bit freaked out about it. She worried for it, though why, Nico didn't know. Thankfully, there was a small gathering of sorceresses led by the high priest of Hecate and they were eager to teach Hazel control.

"Ni—ico. Why didn't you bring your pretty adviser with you?", whined the high priest.

Nico raised both of his eyebrows in a very unimpressed way. He was fond of Priest Alabaster (he had lain with Priest Alabaster, not that either wanted to make that public). Alabaster had little qualms being public about his desires for men and his affliction with Nico's adviser Ethan. Then again, Alabaster was already feared and avoided for his magical abilities, so why should he bother to pretend to be something he wasn't to appease people who didn't like him?

"Ethan is busy. He actually has work to do. Not that you'd know what that means", snorted Nico.

"Princess, you're here!", exclaimed two excited female voices.

Lou and Piper came running up to greet her eagerly before they turned toward Nico and bowed respectfully to the young prince. Nico watched them fondly and returned the greeting. He was glad his younger sister had friends she could trust, friends who shared her abilities and burdens.

"You're... unusually excited", noted Nico curiously.

"Silena brought my brother and chocolate", declared Piper happily.

Nico snorted and rolled his eyes a bit amused. Though if Silena brought chocolate then Nico was maybe sticking around a little longer. He followed the sorcerers into Lady Hecate's temple and to the backroom where they usually meditated and trained. Nico froze in stunned silence as they entered that room and Silena was not the only one in there. With her were two young men.

"Guys, this is my little brother Leo!", exclaimed Piper as she wrapped her arm around one.

"...Persephonus", whispered Nico in awe, staring at the other young man.

Percy smiled brightly up at him, seemingly very pleased. "You remembered. That's nice. Hello, Nico! I didn't expect to see you here. That's also very nice."

"Prince Nicodemos. Percy, you'll be the death of me", hissed Leo scandalized.

"Who is your friend?", asked Piper intrigued, tilting her head.

"This is Percy. Percy is Luke's newest stray", sighed Leo, rubbing his face. "He's also my newest headache. I dunno what kingdom he's from, but he has the worst manners possible. It's like... human society is something new to him. Very stressful for poor, little me."

"You still adore me", hummed Percy knowingly smiling and taking some of the chocolate Silena had brought. "You are all magic-users then, yes? And you serve Hecate?"

"Lady Hecate", corrected Leo, elbowing him.

Percy giggled at that in amusement. His eyes however were still trained on the group of five, aside from Leo and Nico. It was amazing. They were wrapped around this glowing, magenta aura. The aura of magic, of Lady Hecate. It was exciting for Percy. He knew there were sorcerers out there – like Medea and Circe, Percy had heard their stories, had been in awe of them.

"What do you use your magic for?", asked Percy intrigued.

"Well... we... We mainly just try ourselves on smaller spells", admitted Piper after a moment.

"We try to help the people of our kingdom", added Hazel with a charming smile.

"T—That's... Y—You're...", stammered Leo, cheeks beet-red as he stared wide-eyed.

"Princess Hazelina", nodded Hazel, eyes sparkling with warm amusement as she looked at the boy. "And you're Piper's brother? She talks a lot about you. I was looking forward to meeting you."

"I—I'm not that special. She's exaggerating", smiled Leo shyly.

"I'm not. You're amazing", chided Piper seriously, nudging him.

"Yes, he is", agreed Percy with a genuine smile.

Leo flushed brightly and ducked his head at all the praise and with the way the princess was looking at him. The princess! First he ran into the prince because of Percy and now into the princess. Really, what was it with Percy? That boy was going to be the death of him. Percy had been eager to meet Leo's 'sister' and when Silena had said she was meeting with the other sorcerers, Percy had asked to join and meet them. And Piper had been begging Leo to come and meet her friends for a while now, but Leo wasn't really good with social stuff and he was also a street urchin, really. He wasn't like Piper, living with Silena and Charles as a respectable member of society. He was still a street rat, because he just couldn't decide between Charles and Silena and Luke and the others.

"Leo's working at Charlie's forges. He's Charlie's most talented apprentice", smiled Silena, looking to all the world like a proud mother. "He makes the most beautiful jewelry, you know."

"Really? I do have to visit and see for myself then", stated Hazel, still looking at Leo.

"It's not that special", tried Leo modestly, earning him chiding glares from both Piper and Silena.

"It's beautiful, princess, and you should totally come! Leo's creations would really improve your wardrobe", declared Piper with a cheeky grin. "They're so beautiful!"

"I—I should go back to the forges. I have work to do", muttered Leo, far too embarrassed to stay any longer. "Your highnesses, it was an honor. Percy, are you coming?"

"Oh, if you have to go to the forges, then you can go ahead. I wanted to visit the temples", hummed Percy with a frown. "I mean, I heard that Charles asked you to help him some more, but I really wanna visit the temples. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I swear."

"I don't know if I should leave you alone, Percy...", sighed Leo with a concerned frown.

Percy smiled gently, touched by his human's concerns. He adored Leo for that. But Percy was still an all powerful god, deep down, so if things really got dangerous, Percy would still be able to defend himself and he would be able to handle it. Alas, he couldn't say that aloud...

"I will accompany you, Persephonus", offered Nico chivalrously.

Everyone turned to stare at Nico in surprise at that, while Percy looked utterly pleased. "That'll do. See, Leo? I will be fine. No one would arrest me or hurt me if I'm with the prince, right?"

"Of course not. I will guarantee your safety", promised Nico with a smile.

Before Leo or anyone else could protest much more, Percy grabbed Nico by the arm and pulled him along, breaking into a sprint and giggling happily at it. Nico stared at the energetic boy with wide, amazed eyes. Percy was so different from anyone Nico had ever met.

"What temples did you wish to visit, Persephonus?", inquired Nico when they finally paused.

Percy wiggled his nose. "Percy, please. I really prefer to go by Percy, if you'd please."

"Percy", nodded Nico slowly. "Percy, then. What god did you wish to address?"

"None!", exclaimed Percy hastily, eyes large, before he caught himself. "I mean... I just... I wish to admire the beauty of the temples. Your kingdom is beautiful and its temples are amazing."

Nico nodded slowly, a small smile on his lips. Percy was amusing and he was beautiful. Properly offering Percy his arm, Nico led the way over to the nearest temple, which happened to be Poseidon's. As a kingdom on an island, they majorly worshiped the god of the sea. It was strategically placed right next to the temple of Perseus, of course.

"Would you mind telling me more about the kingdom you're from?", inquired Nico curiously. "Leo made it sound quite... different from the Demetria Kingdom."

Percy paused tentatively. He couldn't keep avoiding the question forever. The others kept asking him that too, he needed to come up with a story to tell them. Something believable, so it perhaps was better to stay as close to the truth as possible, to avoid major slip-ups in the lie.

"We're... our kingdom is surrounded by the ocean too, I guess it's why I feel so much at home here", hummed Percy with a blinding smile as he looked around. "It's beautiful and very... free. We have a fair king and a gentle queen. I guess we just have... different traditions. You all take... hierarchy rather seriously. Leo always nearly has a heart-attack whenever I forget some kind of fancy title."

"I'm more than okay with you calling me Nico", offered Nico with a smile of his own.

Percy looked very pleased at that. "Nico. That's good. So, tell me what does a prince do for fun around here? Aside from sneaking out from the palace that is."

"I do like to visit the temples", admitted Nico thoughtfully. "And the... tavern, even though my parents do not approve of that. I like to spar with my advisers and friends. To go out and hunt with my sister Bianca. And sometimes, just roam the streets of my kingdom, I guess."

"And to sleep around with men", added Percy shamelessly, causing the other prince to stumble and stare at him wide-eyed. "...Right. That is not a thing that this kingdom likes too much. Still not really sure about the policy about love around here."

"Y—You're being too nonchalant about this", grunted Nico, voice breaking a little.

"Because it's not really an issue in my kingdom?", supplied Percy with a frown. "I mean... it is why you were at my—at Lord Perseus' temple, asking for advise, right? Because you want to be with men, but as the prince, you can't be with men. Have you... come to any... decision there?"

Nico stared at the other in slight mortification and utter awe. Percy was definitely different and odd but he was also kind of fascinating. Nico wished he could be so blunt about things, wished he wouldn't have to adapt a strong front and pretend to be something he wasn't.

"Lovers of the same gender aren't... hunted down in this kingdom like in some other kingdoms, but... they do try to... not make a big fuss about it. Two men or two women can't get married, them walking together would be perceived as two good friends walking together and no one would correct them. It's a policy of... not showing and not looking", explained Nico and heaved a sigh. "In the end, as the prince, I will have to take a princess as my bride. Whether I want to or not."

"I still believe you should talk to your parents about that", stated Percy firmly. "If they love you, they will understand, was something someone told me today – and it's true. Parents do, don't they? When they love their children, they'll do everything they can to make their children happy."

Nico smiled faintly at him, admiring Percy's conviction and the way the other was practically glowing with optimism as he said this. If only life would be as simple as Percy painted it.

/break\

Frank sighed exhausted as he walked down the hall with Clarisse and Reyna after a long day of training. The two women chuckled amused by his exhaustion and he tried to ignore him. He had been no more than just a mere guard when he had fallen in love with the princess and it was his duty to protect the princess – his princess – so he trained as hard as possible.

"You look like Lieutenant Zoe tortured you again."

Frank smiled faintly as he closed the door behind himself and walked over to the bed where Hazel was sitting. He face-planted on the bed, yawning widely. She cooed at him and started gently caressing his hair. Humming contently, Frank snuggled up to her.

"Yeah, she was murderous. Like always. Did you have a good day, Haze?", asked Frank softly.

"It was very... interesting", hummed Hazel with a mischievous smile. "I think that my brother has picked a new interest. He's rather... quirky, I guess. I just hope it won't get Nico into trouble."

"Oh, but your brother is cunning, he'll be alright", assured Frank gently. "Anything else?"

"Mh", nodded Hazel, eyes sparkling. "I saw something interesting too."

"And that would be?", inquired Frank with a confused frown.

"A pretty little jewel", offered Hazel, playing with Frank's hair. "It's a... diamond in the rough, I think. But very cute. I want to have it, Frank. Can I have it?"

"Well, why didn't you buy it?", asked Frank, confusion growing.

"...The pretty little jewel works at the forges?", supplied Hazel sheepishly.

"The... oh. Oh, Hazel. Hazel", sighed Frank and shook his head. "No, you can't... I... With your brother's escapades, with your sister's unwillingness to settle down, you and I, we have the duty to be the golden couple of the kingdom. We can't get pretty little accessories for our relationship."

"But Fra—ank, he's really cute", whined Hazel with a pout.

"No. Hazel. No", grunted Frank firmly. "...He is?"

Hazel grinned mischievously, knowing she was slowly softening her fiance's resistance. "Can't we at least go and meet him? Just you and I, we could go and... pick out jewelry together?"

Frank heaved a very deep sigh, though there was no denying Hazel's pleading, golden eyes. "Very well. I was planning on getting you something nice tomorrow for our anniversary anyway."

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: The High Priestess of Perseus

"And you really think I should just ask him out?", asked the pretty gardener.

"Yes. Totally. If this scholar is so nice to you and keeps bringing you flowers even though you are the gardener, chances are he's into you. You should totally try, Katie", confirmed Percy seriously.

"Thank you", smiled Katie, pushing her dark-brown hair out of her face. "You know, I came to the temple of Lord Perseus to ask for safe passage for my sister's journey. I didn't expect advise on my love-life. But thank you. It was good to hear that, for once."

"No problem", grinned Percy before the grin softened to a smile. "And your sister will be fine."

Katie paused and looked up at him in wonder. The way Percy said it, it was impossible not to believe him. She smiled gently at him and nodded before heading out of the temple. Percy smiled where he sat with his legs folded right next to his own statue. He really enjoyed hanging out at the temple of Perseus, answering people's prayers and helping them out with their problems.

"Percy. Just the person I was looking for", chimed a happy voice.

Percy tilted his head and looked at Piper. The priestess of Hecate was heading toward him with two other females and with Octavian, who glowered suspiciously at Percy. Percy vaguely remembered meeting the females at the palace, but he really wasn't good at this whole remembering people's faces and names thing just yet. There were so many new faces.

"Did your brother send you to scold me?", asked Percy with a bright smile.

Piper snorted and shook her head. "No. Though Leo does fret a lot about you going to the temple alone and talking to people who want to pray in peace. But no, I was looking for you so you could meet my friends. Those are Reyna and Annabeth. Reyna is... part of the guards."

Reyna looked him up critically and Percy stiffened just a little. "I'm not here to arrest you. But... there have been a lot of whispers in the streets. About a young man who seems to have a close connection to Lord Perseus and whose predictions come true."

"I guess I just give good advise", smiled Percy innocently.

"Or you have a connection to the god", argued Annabeth as she stepped up to him and looked at him so intensely. "There is something strange about you. And if your premonitions keep coming true, it might just be that you have a special link to Lord Perseus."

"It would explain why you spend so much time here", offered Piper with a grin.

Percy had been 'human' for four weeks now and he had taken to coming in and answering prayers in his temple whenever he wasn't out with the thieves or at the forges with Leo or trying to sneak around with Nico and talk to the prince who just kept fascinating Percy more and more.

"So... why are you people here?", asked Percy very confused.

"We want to see if you have the... potential to become a priest", grunted Octavian.

He looked like the words gave him physical pain and that was just hilarious to watch. "Wait, what?"

"Octavian is here because he doesn't think you have the potential. He thinks you're a fraud", supplied Annabeth casually. "I am here because... the link to the gods fascinates me. And Reyna is here as your official escort. You've been called to the court to meet the high priestess of Perseus."

Oh. Oh, Percy had a high priestess? How awesome was that? He sat up straight and giddy. He couldn't wait to see who was dedicated enough to him to become his high priestess!

"Ye—es. I totally wanna meet her", declared Percy and jumped off the statue.

/break\

"Where are you going, Hazel?", asked Nico curiously as he looked up from the scrolls.

Hazel smiled gently and innocently at her brother, telling Nico very clearly that whatever it was she was up to was neither innocent nor going to be good for Nico's overall health. Frank next to her kept blushing and fidgeting, which was even more of a bad sign. Sighing, he shook his head and waved them off; he did not need that. He had enough on his mind without whatever it was his sister was up to. He had important business to focus on, but all he could think of were sea-green eyes. Over the past four weeks since the ethereal beauty had first crossed his path, Nico had been unable to shake Persephonus from his mind. Oh, truly, he was worthy of his name.

"Sweetie, what is it that has you spacing out so much lately?"

Nico blinked and looked up as his mother entered the room. Maria was a true beauty, the fresh flowers woven into her hair only added to the youth and liveliness that she emitted. He smiled as his mother approached him and sat down next to him. She was always kind and attentive to her children and he knew she had been eyeing him suspiciously for two weeks now. Two weeks had passed since he had run into Percy at the temple of Hecate. The first time the two of them had actually been able to spend some quality time with each other. They had walked from temple to temple and talked for hours. Nico was completely enamored by the boy.

"I... have met someone", started Nico cautiously.

"Oh?", asked Maria, sitting up straighter as she scooted closer to her son. "Tell me more."

"H—She... is named after Lady Persephone", continued Nico, fidgeting with his hands a little. "And... the name suits h—her. Truly, she shares many trades with Lady Persephone."

There was a mischievous and fond look on Maria's face as she looked at her son. Nico blushed, if just a little. The tale of Hades and Persephone had always been Nico's favorite bedtime story. It had always been the kind of love that Nico sought; someone to complete him like that, his other half, the light and life to his own serious darkness. The king of the underworld, who had been so lonely, until this bright and beautiful spring goddess had walked into his life and captured his heart. The obstacle they had faced – the disapproval of Zeus and Demeter – was something he could kind of relate to, with his fear of his own desires being disapproved of. Yet Hades and Persephone prevailed, the gods with the strongest, most loyal relationship. It was what he wanted too.

"Tell me more about this Persephone", requested Maria, her voice gentle and caring.

"S...he is more beautiful than any flower in your garden, mother", whispered Nico, a far-away look on his face as his thoughts drifted off to Persephonus; to Percy. "But at the same time... not. There is a wildness to him. Like the sea, calm and beautiful but dangerous at the same time. So kind and... and caring. And gentle. He listens to me and to what troubles me with gentle understanding."

Maria's eyes widened in sudden understanding and then they softened in pain. He, mh? Was that it, in the end? The big thing that had been driving Nico away from his parents in recent years. And here Hades kept saying it was about 'teenage hormones' and 'boys being boys'. More like 'boys being into boys'. And this boy named after her, Persephone needed to meet him. Because the look she saw on her son's face? It was the same look Hades still gave her to this day. The look of a man whose heart had been captured and stolen for good. It seemed that Persephone – no, Queen Maria – would have a full plate of investigating to do before she could properly deal with this.

/break\

Leo was fretting about Percy. He has been doing a lot of fretting ever since Percy had entered their lives. The boy was just so incredibly different from anyone Leo had ever met, really. He was very innocent – half the time, he didn't even understand why stealing was bad. Not in the same way as Travis, Connor, Cecil and Chris, who just thought that they were entitled to it and as long as they could, why shouldn't they? No, Percy was genuinely baffled that there were starving people who were not allowed to just take the food they wanted. He had no concept of why that was a thing.

Leo was seriously dying to go and visit Percy's home-country. Wherever it was. Because that boy was as vague as possible. Leo wasn't stupid, he knew Percy was hiding something. Luke had already established early on that it was obvious that Percy had some kind of royal blood; it would also explain why the boy had no understanding of the concept of poverty. But then why had he run away? Had he been forced into some unwanted marriage? Had he been hurt? It was Luke's theory number one, that Percy had been married off to someone abusive who treated him badly. The theory only made everyone in the den even more protective of the innocent, naive boy.

"Hello, Piper's pretty brother."

Leo blinked very slowly. He was Piper's brother. But... pretty? Carefully, Leo looked up from his work to see... oh. His cheeks were aflame as he stared at the youngest princess.

"Y—Your highness", stuttered Leo surprised and bowed hastily.

"Hazel, please", offered Princess Hazelina like Leo wasn't just some commoner. "And this is my fiance, Frank. Frank, this is Piper's precious brother Leo. The one I told you about."

Pretty? Precious? What was wrong with that princess? Leo peeked past Hazel to look at this Frank. His eyes widened at the tall, broad, strong-looking guy. Damn, that princess had taste. Frank looked like he could bench-press an elephant or something. Leo blushed again.

"Uh. Can... I do something for you?", asked Leo carefully.

"I was... looking for jewelry for my fiance", nodded Frank, voice soft as he stepped up.

"Oh. Well, we got plenty of those", stated Leo, smiling and relaxing a little as the fell into a territory where he knew what to do with. "What did you have in mind for the lovely lady?"

Hazel blinked surprised and smiled a little at the young smith's words, while Frank laughed. "I honestly don't know. I'm not good with... jewelry. What would you recommend for her?"

"Definitely gold", started Leo as he looked Hazel up and down with a professional intensity, unaware that despite its professionalism it was flustering the princess. "Gold goes not just with those... fascinating eyes, but also with the princess' skin-complexion. Color-wise... mh... Considering that you prefer purple clothes, my lady, I think that purple sapphires might go along with that well. Mh. We don't have anything with purple sapphires right now, but Charles and Jake will leave to get new shipments of gems. I could put them on the order and... make something?"

"Yes, that sounds lovely", smiled Hazel please.

"I want you to go all out on it", confirmed Frank, looking Leo up and down. "Whatever you think would be best for Hazel. Because she only deserves the best."

"Of course she does", nodded Leo hastily. "Will get onto it right away!"

He saluted and missed the fond amusement with which Frank and Hazel regarded him.

/break\

Nico felt really relieved as he sat together with some of his advisers. Jason and Ethan, as well as their respective lovers. Malcolm had been with them too, but then Katie the gardener had approached them with flushed cheeks and requested to speak to him.

"Three gold-pieces that Mal and Katie are boning right now", declared Alabaster with a grin.

He was laying sprawled out with his head on Ethan's lap. Ethan rolled his eyes and gently ran his fingers through Alabaster's hair. Nico watched them with silent envy. Though he truly did feel better now that he had talked to his mother. Maybe not about everything, maybe he hadn't yet been ready to admit his particular desires, but telling her about Percy, it had made things a little easier. How come this beautiful stranger kept drawing him in more and more...?

"No way, Malcolm is far too emotionally constipated for that", chuckled Jason. "If anything, they'll talk about their feelings. Maybe, with any luck, set up a date."

"Where are Reyna and Annabeth?", asked Nico thoughtfully, noting the lack of two of his advisers.

"They're on a 'special assignment'. But they'll come back", grinned Jason mischievously.

Nico raised both eyebrows and then he frowned at the blonde. Jason was one of his best friends, one of the greatest heroes Demetria had, yes, but sometimes the blonde was a weirdo. Shaking it off, Nico decided to relax for now and let the comfortable conversation wash over him. Something to distract him from his too frequent thoughts of Percy. He knew it was unhealthy, how attached he had grown to the other. What had started out as pure fascination – truly, Percy had looked like a divine sighting the first day Nico had spotted him – had moved on to physical attraction, because that ethereal beauty was very unique, but then Percy just kept showing up, being so blunt and honest and yet still also kind, sweet and helpful. With Percy, Nico felt as though he had finally found someone willing to try and understand him, willing to help him.

"There you are. Why are you here and not at the temple of Perseus?", sighed Annabeth.

She looked a little grumpy as she entered Nico's room. But her glare was not aimed at Nico, which Nico totally booked as a success. Instead, she was glaring next to Nico where Jason and his girlfriend sat together, both of them turning toward the irritated female.

"Excuse me for not always constantly being at the temple", huffed the high priestess of Perseus.

"You knew we were going to meet your girlfriend", grunted Reyna as she glared at Jason.

"Oh, what was I supposed to do? It's not like I can magically talk to you guys while you're out in the city", huffed Jason defensively. "I didn't know she was planning on visiting me."

"Uhm, hello, guys, totally confused little me here", chimed another voice.

Nico blinked as Percy stepped up between Reyna and Annabeth. His heart beat just a little faster as he looked at the beautiful young man. He turned to look at Nico and once Percy spotted him, he smiled brightly, clearly happy and pleased to see him. Another reason why Nico was so hooked on Percy, probably. Yes, everyone was always pleased to have Nico around them since Nico was the prince, but with Percy he felt as though it was never about Nico's status, it was always about Percy just wishing to be in Nico's company. Nico couldn't help but return the smile.

"This is Percy. He... seems to have a close connection to Lord Perseus and his wishes and approvals", elaborated Annabeth slowly as the others all stared curiously at Percy. "Percy, this is the high priestess of Lord Perseus. Calypso, this is Persephonus."

There was a strange moment, one where not just Nico but also the others could feel the tension as Calypso and Percy stared at each other with wide eyes, like two people sharing a secret.

"H—He is...", started Calypso before she started laughing hysterically.

"Cally? Are you... alright?", asked Jason carefully, patting Calypso's back. "Love?"

"He's the one you want as a priest of Perseus?", sputtered Calypso, shaking her head.

"I do agree with how ridiculous the notion is", grunted Octavian on guard as he stepped up from the shadows like the damn creep he was. "But... you see it as a bit too hilarious."

"Ca—Calypso... can we... can we talk? Outside?", squeaked Percy wide-eyed.

She sobered up and nodded and the others could only watch them. Nico frowned as he turned toward Jason, searching for his friend's eyes and for an explanation. The high priestess of Perseus was normally a very strict and serious woman, he had never seen her act that... frantic before. Something was not right here and Nico did not like it at all.

/break\

"Oh my gods, Cally, how long have you been off Ogygia?!", exclaimed Percy.

His voice was hushed and in a hissing tone as he lunged at Calypso the moment the two of them were outside on the balcony and out of earshot. She started laughing again, this time a little less maniacally as she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him closer.

"Oh, Percy, I'm so happy to see you", whispered Calypso as she nearly crushed his ribs in her hug.

"Ouch, titan strength, watch it, woman", hissed Percy. "I'm just a breakable, tiny god, you know?"

She laughed again, burying her face in his neck. "I know. Which does make me wonder: What in the world are you doing in the mortal world? Here, of all places?"

"Oh no, I asked first", argued Percy, poking her side.

"I...", started Calypso and flushed a little, eyes wandering to the curtain behind which Jason and the others were sitting. "Jason, he is a great hero of this kingdom. He was on a quest. A storm caused his ship to sink and he was stranded on Ogygia. But unlike the other heroes who come and go, he... he was so strong, so determined. He didn't give up. He saved me from that island. My hero."

Percy smiled gently and went in for another hug. "I'm so happy for you."

And he was. He was immensely happy for her. He had first met Calypso when he was just a little boy, curious about humans even back then. He ended up on her island, only fourteen years old. She had been nothing but kind to him. They had become friends, even though it had only been a few months he had stayed with her – well, days in the real world, but time went differently on Ogygia. He had promised her he would help her, but he was just a young boy; no one took him quite seriously. The Olympians still pinched his cheeks like he was an adorable toddler – it was one of the reasons he had run away. Because he was tired of not being taken seriously.

"So, wait, this Demetrian hero comes, swoops you off your feet, brings you here and you decide to become high priestess of my temple?", asked Percy after a moment to digest.

Calypso smiled at him gently, caressing his cheek. "You were sweet. Kind. The only god to ever show me kindness. When I stumbled into this strange kingdom, this new world so different from my isolated, little island... I often sought out your temple because you were... a familiar face. And then I somehow became priestess and later on high priestess, yes. Now, truthfully, what are you doing here? And why does Annabeth think of appointing you to be a priest of, well, you?"

Percy grinned sheepishly and ducked his head. "I... kind of... ran away from home. I was tired of being patronized. Of living in my very own Ogygia. So I left, to explore the mortal world. And, well, since this place seems so fond of me, I wanted to meet those people so fond of me. So... I'm not Lord Perseus. I'm Persephonus, just a random commoner."

"A random commoner who has spent so much time at the temple of Perseus that I have heard a lot of you. Many approached me and asked me about you, thinking you to be a priest because you spoke with so much conviction about the god's will", stated Calypso seriously.

Percy blushed and ruffled his hair awkwardly. "Well, I mean... they ask questions! How can I not answer them?! That's just rude! I wanna help, if it's in my powers."

Calypso shook her head, gently grasping his face to make him look at her. Her eyes were piercing and stern. "Percy. You're treading a very fine line there. Hiding as a mortal among mortals is one thing, but if you keep being so obvious, someone will grow suspicious. You need to lay low. Not associate with the royals and priests and making a fuss at your own temple."

Percy frowned with a pout. "I... I know. I try. It's just... hard. And learning more about the way humans perceive us gods, it's... it's kind of amazing. Please don't rattle me out. Please."

"Who to?", snorted Calypso and rolled her eyes. "The gods who banished me onto that damned island? Why would I? Oh no. I am here. I'm happy here. And if... if my only friend would be here with me, I would be even happier, Persephonus." She smirked a little. "Honoring your cousin?"

"You know I adore Phone", shrugged Percy and wiggled his nose. "She's like the only god who might just not disapprove of what I'm doing here. And I had already introduced myself as Percy..."

"Very well, Persephonus. Let's go and see if you're up to the challenge", chuckled Calypso.

Percy's eyes sparkled in gratitude. Calypso had his back. Of course she would have his back. He leaned in for another hug, because having someone who knew – someone who knew the truth – it felt so much better than just having the others coddle him and having to lie to them, even though he cared so deeply about them all at this point. The lies, they were eating away on him.

"Okay, let's go. You have to introduce me to your hero", declared Percy with a grin.

Chapter Text

PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || A God Among Men || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: A God Among Men – Life in the Kingdom of Demetria

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; ancient Greece AU

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, gods, magic, fluff, kink for powers, worship, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, bondage, shoujo-ai, hetero, threesome

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Reyna/Annabeth, Octavian/Luke, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Frank/Hazel/Leo, Grover/Juniper, Malcolm/Katie, Chris/Clarisse, Charles/Silena, Jason/Calypso, Poseidon/Amphitrite | Poseidon/Sally, Zeus/Hera, Hades/Persephone, Ares/Aphrodite, Hephaestus/Aglaia, Nico/Drew (one-sided)

Percy Jackson Characters:

Thieves: Perseus Jackson, Luke Castellan, Cecil Rogers, Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll

Royals: Nico di Angelo, Bianca di Angelo, Hazel Levesque, Maria di Angelo, Drew Tanaka

Royal Advisers & Palace Servants: Jason Grace, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Annabeth Chase, Malcolm Cage, Ethan Nakamura, Will Solace, Katie Gardner, Grover Underwood, Juniper

Palace Guards: Frank Zhang, Clarisse la Rue, Thalia Grace, Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, Kinzie Cohen, Zoe Nightshade, Phoebe Burge

Priests: Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen, Piper McLean, Silena Beauregard, Ella, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Octavian Simmons

Blacksmiths: Charles Beckendorf, Leo Valdez, Jake Mason, Nyssa Black, Tyson

Godly Characters: Poseidon, Amphitrite, Triton, Demeter, Persephone, Hades, Hestia, Hera, Zeus, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus, Athena, Enyo, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Aglaia, Feronia, Furrina, Laverna, Calypso

Summary: Perseus is a minor Sea God, son of Neptune and prince of the sea. And utterly bored. Gods, is he bored. Instead of staying bored under the sea, he decides to pose as a mortal and walk the Earth. Throughout ancient Greece, one small island kingdom in particular took to worshiping him, the Demetria Isles. So that's where Percy goes, to see what kind of people worship him.

He runs into interesting people. Lives with thieves, learns from priests and falls for the prince...

A God Among Men

Life in the Kingdom of Demetria

Chapter 7: The God Who Was His Own Priest

Percy had a serene smile on his lips as he sat in the backroom of his temple, eyes closed and head tilted a little, enjoying the gentle fingers running through his hair and the gentle humming coming from Calypso behind him. She was braiding his hair – two braids, one on either side of Percy's head, small braids to be braided together in the back of Percy's head to hold his hair back. Barnacles and pearls were decorating his hair and he was wrapped into expensive, soft, dark-blue robes.

He was officially starting as a priest at his own temple today and he was so excited.

"You really are something else, Perseus", sighed Calypso gently, a smile on her lips.

"Says the Titaness who's now the high priestess of a god", challenged Percy teasingly.

"Point taken", laughed Calypso and shook her head. "No truly though. I wonder who taught you to lay low, which is quite the key-point when you're trying to hide, my lord."

There was so much sarcasm dripping from her words that Percy couldn't help but laugh. This was so freeing, considering how tense he had been in the past weeks of trying to hide who and what he was. To have someone to confide in had been immensely helpful in the past two days.

"I learned from Apollo. So it's entirely not my fault. He is the flashiest", argued Percy with a pout.

"So adorable", cooed Calypso, kissing the top of Percy's head. "Just... watch out, will you?"

Percy smiled gently as he tilted his head to look at her. "Yes, I will. Promise."

"And don't sleep with the prince", continued Calypso.

"...Can't promise you that", hummed Percy earnestly, cheeks flushed. "He's so handsome. Which was a nice start but is not all I need from a guy. He's also so sweet and kind and broken. He's in so much pain and I want to help him and I feel like he really appreciates me? That's nice. I'm so used to being the little brother or cousin no one takes seriously. In Atlantis, on Olympus, in the underworld. Everywhere I go, I just get my head patted and not taken seriously. It's frustrating."

"And Prince Nicodemos makes you feel appreciated?", asked Calypso softly, still braiding.

She looked surprised, both of her eyebrows raised. The prince was mainly known for extravagant parties, lots of drinking and even more sex. Granted, he was a good leader whenever he was put in charge, he was wildly beloved by his people, he socialized a lot with the people. He was a good person, Calypso knew that too, considering she was engaged to his best friend.

"Ye—es", confirmed Percy with a small, dreamy smile. "He sometimes seeks me out to bounce ideas with, asks me for my thoughts. He takes my advice seriously. And he looks at me... that way."

"What way?", inquired Calypso confused.

"That way", repeated Percy, waving his hands vaguely. "Like... like uncle Hades looks at Phone. As though he'd totally paint the underworld pink for her. Which he literally did one time, you know? I mean, not paint, but he put up so many colorful flowers that parts of the underworld literally were pink. It was for their anniversary and it was the cutest thing ever and I... uhm... am not to ever mention it to another soul that that even happened... Promise not to tell?"

Calypso laughed and shook her head. "Of course, Percy. I won't tell. Who would I tell?"

"Good", nodded Percy pleased. "Now finish up, I wanna get to work."

Calypso shook her head once more, this time in gentle fondness.

/break\

"Love, as much as I appreciate all of this, I've reached my breaking point. What is it that you are buttering me up for? Does Bianca want another ridiculously dangerous quest that I will feel inclined to deny and that you will argue your sister Artemis would be so proud of? Has Hazel proposed another silly thing that she demands for her wedding?"

Hades sat rigidly in their large bathtub, flower-pedals swimming around him as Persephone was hand-feeding him pomegranate-seeds – because it was their thing. She smiled innocently at him.

"Whatever are you talking about, beloved husband?", asked Persephone, batting her eyelashes.

"My love, I've known you long enough to know when I'm being charmed", snorted Hades.

Persephone smiled brightly at him and kissed him gently. "You know how my brother Apollo has had all of those... male lovers, right? Which, granted, never ended too well."

"I know", nodded Hades slowly, both eyebrows raised. "He literally has a garden with former lovers. You keep telling me about how pretty they are..."

"Well, it did create a lot of new plants", argued Persephone before shaking her head before resting it on Hades' chest. "I mean, what is your opinion on the matter? That he has never taken an official female consort and seems more inclined toward male lovers...?"

"It's none of my business?", offered Hades, still frowning. "If it makes him happy... which it doesn't, actually, considering all of his lovers end up in a garden..."

"But I mean the general idea. Of a god perhaps taking a male consort instead of a goddess as their bride", elaborated Persephone curiously. "I know my dearest stepmother is not quite a fan, which granted, after father took his male lover, made him immortal and blatantly put him into the bedroom opposite theirs... I do understand the animosity she has."

"Oh, I couldn't care less", sighed Hades with a dismissive gesture of his hand. "We're gods. We tend to not die, so there really is not too much need for heirs to begin with. And Zeus alone is having enough off-springs to cover all of Olympus. If a god decides he'd rather have a male lover than a wife, then he shall go ahead. Look at the women. Athena, Artemis, Hestia, they just completely forsake dating and marriage. What would be the bigger problem? Now, why are we talking about this? Has Apollo finally settled down and found someone who didn't turn into a plant?"

"No", laughed Persephone and shook her head. "It's not about my brother. He was just an example."

"Then... please do get to the point, my love", requested Hades, both eyebrows raised high.

"Our beloved son confided in me the other day, about liking someone. He told me about this beautiful young lady named after me – the goddess me, not the mortal me. But... half-way through, he started slipping up and referring to the young lady as 'he'. I think Nico didn't even catch on with that", explained Persephone gently. "He wasn't aware that he was telling me about his infatuation with a young man, but I'm positive that this might just be what has been driving him away from us. He has been so very tense lately and you kept blaming his teenage mind for it. I think it is that he is more interested in men than he is in women, but in this society, he feels obligated to like women, particularly since he is our heir, my love."

"Mh", grunted Hades thoughtfully, frowning as he tilted his head.

"And do you mind?", inquired Persephone, looking at her husband.

"Why should I?", sighed Hades and shook his head. "Bianca is most likely going to join the hunt as soon as she learns about her own godhood. I know where she's been heading. So if my daughter can forsake men and romance in total, why should I hold it against my son to find love with a man? I am however weary about him falling for a mortal, as I have been weary about Frank."

Persephone hummed gently. "Well, there is always godhood. Gods are known to grant godhood to their lovers. For now, I really want to assure our son that he can trust us."

"We can agree on that", nodded Hades thoughtfully. "Let's talk to the boy after dinner."

"I love you", smiled Persephone pleased and kissed his cheek.

/break\

Travis and Connor were lurking. They were also doing their best to look like thugs. But when their precious little Leo had come home and started dreamily talking about the princess and her handsome fiance, they had to investigate. So on the day Leo came to present the finished jewelry – Leo had barely done anything aside from designing and forging the beautiful piece – to the princess and the guard, Luke ordered them to keep an eye on Leo. It wouldn't be the first time some rich person thought they could buy a street rat for cheap sex. And Leo was naive and sweet, he would only notice what was going on when it was already too late.

"Oh, this is beautiful", whispered the princess in awe as Frank laid the necklace around her neck.

It truly was beautiful. An elegant golden flower, the petals made of purple sapphires. Hazel smiled delighted as she turned a little to look at it in the mirror. Leo was blushing proudly at the praise.

"You truly did amazing work there", agreed Frank gently. "You're a true artist."

Leo's blush brightened and he ducked his head. Both Travis and Connor softened as they looked at their baby-brother. Leo took immense pride in his work and whenever he was being praised by someone for it, he'd always react shyly and sweetly. Frank fished out the bag of gold for Leo and when Leo looked into it, he yelped. The look on Travis' face sharpened again.

"T—That's too much", argued Leo with a frown.

"A thanks, for how fast you worked. You must have worked on it all night, you don't look like you slept at all", disagreed Frank, gently grasping Leo's chin to tilt his head. "You earned it."

"And we will definitely come back for more. You're a genius", smiled Hazel brightly.

And then she leaned in and kissed his cheek and Connor was pretty sure Leo was going to faint.

/break\

Nico was smiling softly as he watched Percy from afar. Oh, this boy had truly stolen Nico's heart. He had watched Percy's introduction as an official priest of Lord Perseus. And he looked so truly breathtaking, in the dark-blue robes, with his hair slightly braided and decorated with shells and pearls. He was a sight to behold. Since the ceremony ended, Nico had been watching Percy interact with the followers of Lord Perseus, talking softly with them and giving advise and guidance.

"My prince, you are creeping in the shadows like you belong to the temple of Lord Hades."

Nico turned slightly to look at the smugly amused high priestess. "Calypso. I'm not creeping."

"No, of course not, my lord", chimed Calypso smoothly before she turned to watch Percy. "He's good with the masses. They seem to adore him quite a lot already."

"He... has that way with people", sighed Nico softly.

Calypso smiled knowingly at him and nodded. "Shall I tell him you wish to speak to him?"

"No. No, I... have somewhere to be anyway", grunted Nico and sneaked out.

He kicked stones as he made his way back to the palace, sneaking up to his room.

/break\

Neptune was furious as he was pacing his throne-room. His son had been missing for weeks. His beloved, precious little Perseus was just gone. And not even Artemis herself seemed able to track him. This was unacceptable. If someone had abducted Perseus, there would be blood and ichor all over the place. He was willing and ready to wage war against whoever took his son.

"Love", sighed Salacia, gently grasping his arm. "Please calm down."

"Sally, no. How?", growled Neptune, hands trembling.

"Our children are out there, looking for him, the other gods are out there, helping us", whispered Sally as she forced the king to sit down on their bed. "Please, you only make Tyson upset."

Neptune's face softened as he looked at their youngest. Tyson had started sleeping in their bed ever since Percy had disappeared, crying about his big brother. Percy had always been Tyson's go-to person. To have him gone was really getting to the little one.

"His friends are looking for him. They will find him", promised Sally as she pressed a kiss against the corner of his mouth. "My love, if there is one thing we both know about our son, it's that he is so strong and stubborn. He will be fine. I'm sure wherever he is, he's fine."

"...You don't think he got abducted", muttered Neptune in realization.

Sally smiled, a little sadly, as she cupped Neptune's cheek. "I know you mean well, but you... smother our boy. I think he might have just... gone out there, for an adventure. And when the time comes, he will return to us. He has always been seeking his freedom."

"He spends too much damn time with Proserpina", muttered Neptune beneath his breath. "That niece of mine is a bad influence on our son, I tell you."

Sally laughed fondly and kissed him properly. "I know he will be fine."

/break\

Persephone sneezed and then she frowned. Hades raised one eyebrow at his wife, but she dismissed it. Maybe just a bit of dust in her nose or something. The family was just wrapping up dinner. Bianca basically fled to get some more training done, Hazel disappeared with Frank, her fingers wrapped around the gorgeous new jewelry hanging from her neck.

"Son, wait", stated Hades seriously, causing Nico to freeze. "We'd like to speak to you."

Nico stared wide-eyed at King Plutonius, his heart in his throat. Whatever had he done to deserve that? But Maria was smiling at him in a reassuring manner, resting a hand on Nico's arm. Nodding stiffly, Nico slowly followed his parents outside to the garden of his mother, where the three of them sat down on the bench beneath the pomegranate tree.

"What... do you wish to speak about with me?", inquired Nico softly.

"Your mother tells me that you two had an interesting conversation about... someone, who piqued your interest. Would you care to tell me more?", asked the king, voice low and gentle.

"She is... a very beautiful and gentle soul", admitted Nico, cheeks red as he stared down at his feet. "Kind and caring to everyone. She became a priestess of Lord Perseus today, actually. And the people adore her already. She has been... listening to my worries for a few weeks now and never made me feel like my problems are small, she makes me feel like she truly cares."

"And those... worries you have, are they related to the fact that the girl you like is a boy?"

Nico was positive his heart stopped as he stared fearfully at his father. "F—Father... I..."

Hades stared at Nico with soft, nearly pained eyes. So his son was truly afraid of their reaction? Despite himself, he grasped the boy and pulled him into a firm hug, smoothing his curls down.

"Nico, my boy. You are our son and we love you. We always meant to make you pick your consort yourself. We would never set you up with someone you do not love. And... if you can never see yourself loving a woman, then we will not make you marry one", stated Hades seriously.

"But... I'm your heir...", argued Nico weakly, frowning. "The people expect to have a queen. The people expect to have princes and princesses running around my feet."

"I firmly believe that Hazel and Frank would be more than willing to provide little princes and princesses running around this palace", laughed the queen fondly as she too hugged Nico and kissed his forehead. "All we want for all three of you is to be happy. If Bianca's happiness lays with the army and not with a husband and children, then we will not stop her. And if your happiness lays with another man, then we will not stand between that either."

"Now, will you tell us more about this boy?", asked Hades when they settled more comfortable.

"What I said is all true", shrugged Nico, a small smile on his lips as he stared at his hands. "He... Oh, he will be gloating so much about this. He's been telling me for weeks now that I should talk to you, that I should... admit to my desires and that I don't want to marry some pretty princess. I've been telling him that my duty is more important than my heart."

"I like this boy already", grunted Hades with a frown as he looked lovingly at Persephone. "Your heart... is so very important. Before I met your mother, I thought like you. I thought my duty as the king is the only thing important for me, nothing would ever matter more than my kingdom. Then this angel entered my life and brought an entirely new light to it."

"We want to meet him", blurted Persephone out as she looked at her son. "Tomorrow evening, we will set up a nice, private little dinner at the beach and you will invite this boy."

"W—What? No!", squeaked Nico mortified, staring at his parents. "No."

"Yes", countered Hades amused. "You seem to truly care about him. And if he is that important to you. Just a casual meeting, son. You say he is now a priest of the temple of Perseus, yes? Well, you know that we personally care about this temple in particular. Tell him the king and queen wish to formally meet the newest priest of our country."

Nico groaned and buried his face in his hands. He took it back. Percy hadn't been right. This was so much worse than if his parents just set him up with a stranger. He hadn't even admitted his feelings to Percy yet or knew where it was going. This was going to be a nightmare.

/break\

"You have been watching me today", chimed Percy happily as he climbed through the window.

"I have a door", groaned Nico where he had his face buried in his pillow.

"...Are you quite alright?", asked Percy, happiness replaced by concern as he sat down next to Nico on the bed. "You look... like you hope your bed will swallow you whole."

"I am", muttered Nico as he rolled onto his back to stare at Percy. "I... talked to my parents."

It should be weird that Nico had, at this point, gotten used to Percy breaking into the palace and just randomly showing up in his room. It was definitely troublesome that it didn't worry him at all.

"And they didn't take it well?", asked Percy concerned as he rested a comforting hand on Nico's.

"They took it startling well", muttered Nico beneath his breath, eyes wide.

"...Huh?", grunted Percy very confused, brushing a braid out of his own face.

"They want to... to meet you", sighed Nico, burying his face in his hands.

"Why would they want to meet me?", asked Percy, his confusion growing even more.

Nico took a deep, shaky breath as he sat up and looked very seriously at Percy. "Because they want to meet the new priest of Lord Perseus, since the temple is very important to our kingdom."

Percy raised one eyebrow in disbelief. "...And how did that come up?"

"...BecauseIkindofreallylikeyou", mumbled Nico beneath his breath.

"I beg your pardon?", huffed Percy, a slightly amused smile on his lips as he leaned in.

"I said... I... kind of really like you. And I might have told my mother about you and might have slipped up about your gender, which is how they found out and now they want to meet you."

Percy started giggling. He couldn't help it. For one, he felt euphoric that Nico seemed to like him so much that he talked dreamily to his mom about Percy. Percy's feelings were being returned! And secondly, Nico looked far too adorable, all wide-eyed like a fearful little bat. When Nico's face fell in rejection, Percy grasped him by the toga and did what he had seen Triton do every time Thanatos did or thought something silly. He pulled the other down into a brief kiss. It was awkward, considering Percy didn't know what to do, aside from press his lips against Nico's, but thankfully Nico seemed to know what to do because he started moving against Percy's lips. Percy slowly started to mirror Nico until they found a pretty good kind of rhythm and Percy got more into it.

"I thought we should have at least kissed before I meet your parents", offered Percy cheekily.

Both were panting as they parted and Nico stared at Percy wide-eyed. This boy truly was something different and it was completely enchanting. Smiling at Percy, Nico pulled him down into a second kiss. If he had to sit through dinner with his parents and Percy, he deserved a second kiss.

Chapter Text

PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || A God Among Men || Nicercy || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: A God Among Men – Life in the Kingdom of Demetria

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; ancient Greece AU

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, gods, magic, fluff, kink for powers, worship, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, bondage, shoujo-ai, hetero, threesome

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Reyna/Annabeth, Octavian/Luke, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Frank/Hazel/Leo, Grover/Juniper, Malcolm/Katie, Chris/Clarisse, Charles/Silena, Jason/Calypso, Poseidon/Amphitrite | Poseidon/Sally, Zeus/Hera, Hades/Persephone, Ares/Aphrodite, Hephaestus/Aglaia, Nico/Drew (one-sided)

Percy Jackson Characters:

Thieves: Perseus Jackson, Luke Castellan, Cecil Rogers, Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll

Royals: Nico di Angelo, Bianca di Angelo, Hazel Levesque, Maria di Angelo, Drew Tanaka

Royal Advisers & Palace Servants: Jason Grace, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Annabeth Chase, Malcolm Cage, Ethan Nakamura, Will Solace, Katie Gardner, Grover Underwood, Juniper

Palace Guards: Frank Zhang, Clarisse la Rue, Thalia Grace, Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, Kinzie Cohen, Zoe Nightshade, Phoebe Burge

Priests: Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen, Piper McLean, Silena Beauregard, Ella, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Octavian Simmons

Blacksmiths: Charles Beckendorf, Leo Valdez, Jake Mason, Nyssa Black, Tyson

Godly Characters: Poseidon, Amphitrite, Triton, Demeter, Persephone, Hades, Hestia, Hera, Zeus, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus, Athena, Enyo, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Aglaia, Feronia, Furrina, Laverna, Calypso

Summary: Perseus is a minor Sea God, son of Neptune and prince of the sea. And utterly bored. Gods, is he bored. Instead of staying bored under the sea, he decides to pose as a mortal and walk the Earth. Throughout ancient Greece, one small island kingdom in particular took to worshiping him, the Demetria Isles. So that's where Percy goes, to see what kind of people worship him.

He runs into interesting people. Lives with thieves, learns from priests and falls for the prince...

A God Among Men

Life in the Kingdom of Demetria

Chapter 8: The Royal Family of the Demetria Isles

Percy chimed happily as he cleaned up the lair a little. Chris observed him cautiously. Percy had been insanely chipper all morning. Sure, Percy was a very happy and carefree person by nature, but this was ridiculous. Chris half expected the birds to chime in and fly around him as they broke into song or something. Raising one eyebrow, he turned to look at Connor and Travis. The two of them were also observing Percy. In the end it was Luke who approached him.

"Percy? You're... in a good mood today", drawled Luke. "Did something good happen?"

"Ye—es!", chimed Percy with a bright smile. "Nico wants to introduce me to his parents!"

"...Nico? Like Prince Nicodemos?", grunted Leo doe-eyed.

"I think that now that we kissed, I really am allowed to just call him Nico", mused Percy.

"You kissed the prince?", asked Cecil, falling out of the hammock. "Seriously?!"

"Yes. When I visited him in the palace yesterday", grinned Percy. "He told me his parents want to meet me because he's been talking about me because he likes me. So I kissed him."

"...Damn, kid", muttered Luke amused and shook his head. "For someone who's trying to lay low, you really suck at that, you know that, right?"

"Yu—up", grinned Percy delighted. "But I don't care. I like Nico. A lot."

"You'll be the death of me", sighed Leo and shook his head.

"Says the one having a princess wrapped around his little finger", muttered Cecil lowly.

Leo frowned confused, completely oblivious to what his friend was talking about. The older boys smiled at Leo in a patronizing way and patted his head while Percy continued cleaning.

/break\

Persephone frowned concerned as she stared out of the window of their palace, watching the high waves crash into the island. The weather had grown unbearable. Ships had a hard time coming through. Most crashed, few survived. The number of ships even attempting to come had gone down considerably in the past weeks. They were running low on many things, the merchants from the market had come before the king and queen repeatedly now, worried.

"This storm needs to end", whispered Persephone.

Hades grunted in agreement, a parchment of paper in his hands. "Yes. We lost another shipment of corn and dried meat from the main land. Desponia is running low on medication and the ship we sent... it crashed in the cliffs, the doctor on board died. Cerelia too is running low on corn. At least one ship came through to Demetria, though I'm unclear on the intentions of a ship from Venia"

Persephone heaved a sigh and leaned back against her husband's strong chest. Hades wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head. They loved their islands, their little kingdom. Yet they could not use magic on everything, not if they wanted for it to remain theirs. A secret from the gods. But if food and supplies ran any lower, there was no other way to keep their people healthy and alive if they didn't use their godly magic. All they could do was hope that Poseidon would soon find his son – not that they didn't hope so anyway, Perseus was a precious boy, after all.

"For now, let us look forward to tonight and to meeting our son's beloved", suggested Persephone.

Hades chuckled fondly at that. He was truly curious about this boy that had captured his son's heart.

/break\

Nico frowned displeased, rubbing his temples as he was being escorted along by Zoe, Phoebe, Bianca and Thalia. Apparently, a ship from Venia had arrived and since his parents were 'very busy planning tonight's banquet', his mother had sent him to greet the guests and see what their intentions were. Bianca kept giving him intense and curious looks that made him uncomfortable.

"Mother formally invited me to a 'small gathering by the beach' tonight. For the family", stated Bianca after Nico ignored her for too long. "Hazel went to buy a new pair of earrings for the occasion. She's been spending a lot of her money on jewelry lately. Anyway, do you want to tell me what this is about? Because I have a feeling you already know."

"It's...", started Nico before pausing.

His words and brain came to a full-stop as they reached the harbor and he saw just who was exiting the ship from Venia. His eyes widened and his heart slowed down so much that he was pretty sure it stopped completely and he died. Which would be a mercy compared to the utter mess he had maneuvered himself into. How did one human being screw up that badly on his own...?

"Nikki, dearie! I came as fast as I could!"

Nico's stomach knotted as the princess of Venia jumped him in what was a romantic move where he was supposed to whirl her around. He barely managed to catch her – and with her, the full impact of his own stupidity. How could he forget that he got engaged?!

"P—Princess Drusilla", whispered Nico, swallowing hard.

"Please, call me Drew", replied the princess of Venia with a smile.

She was truly beautiful. It had been a few years since Nico last saw her. But it had only been a few months since he had last written to her. In a desperate attempt to better his public image. He was seen as a playboy, other kingdoms had started whispering rumors about him because he had not yet chosen a bride. And back then, the tensions between Demetria and Venia had still been thick enough to cut. It had been a very drunk night that was mostly a haze and part of Nico had hoped it had only been a drunk nightmare when he had written that letter to Venia, proposing a political alliance between their kingdoms. Princess Drusilla of Venia – Drew, apparently, or rather his fiance, to be a bit more precise – had gladly kept in touch with the prince over the years. After all, she herself was not next in line of succession in her own kingdom, so marrying into another royal family would be her best move. Nico would be her best move. And she would be his, he knew that.

For the prince of the Demetria Islands to marry the princess of Venia – the biggest harbor kingdom on the main land that was easiest reached for Demetria – it was a perfect match. To ease years of tension between their kingdoms and secure better trading between them. Demetria mainly took it upon themselves to take different routes, to harbors farther away and thus delaying every delivery for weeks at a time, just because they had those age-old tensions.

They had started back when the king of Venia thought himself entitled to Desponia, the island farthest away from Demetria and closest to not just the main land but also Venia. But Nico's father had claimed both Cerelia and Desponia and turned Demetria into an archipelago of three islands.

"It's... wonderful that you could make it, princess", replied Nico stiffly. "Zoe, Phoebe. Do show the princess and her entourage to their rooms in the castle. I'm sure the princess wishes to rest after the long journey. Have the cook prepare a meal for them."

Drew smiled, clearly pleased by how Nico took charge and seemed to worry about her. This was a mess. An utter mess. Nico felt ready for the Earth to open up and swallow him whole as he watched Zoe and Phoebe escort the princess toward the castle. Bianca and Thalia were staring at him with serious and confused looks. Really, if the Earth wanted to swallow him, now was the time.

"What just happened?", asked Thalia, cocking her hip a little and arching her eyebrows.

"I... I might have... proposed... to the princess...", whispered Nico horrified.

"Oh. So that's what dinner's about?", inquired Bianca curiously, tilting her head.

"No!", exclaimed Nico, panic slipping into his voice as he turned toward Bianca and grasped her by the upper arms. "I swear I will figure this mess out, but whatever you do, please, please don't bring this up tonight during dinner. Please, Bianca, I beg you."

"...Nico?", whispered Bianca concerned. "I promise, but... what's going on?"

Heaving a shaky sigh, Nico buried his face in his hands. "I... I like boys. Not girls. And I might have a... male lover, that I cherish very much. Tonight... Tonight is about mother and father meeting him. Because we had a long conversation about my... preferences and they want... they want to reassure me that they love me, despite my... choices. So they told me they want to meet this boy I like so much. And I was planning on telling you and Hazel tonight, about... him."

Bianca hugged him tightly all of a sudden, burying her face in his neck. "Nico, I'm so proud of you. I've been so worried about you, but I didn't want to push you. I knew mother and father would understand. But... Wait... What about Princess Drusilla?"

"I wrote to her weeks before Percy entered my life, when I was... deeply desperate to bury who I am and what I like, when I thought that my responsibility laid with the kingdom and that I had to pick a bride to be a good king to our people one day and I thought she was a good political decision", rambled Nico a little panicky as he clung onto his older sister. "I messed up, Bia."

"I... can see that", chuckled Bianca dryly as she gently caressed her younger brother's back. "It'll be alright, Nico. I promise not to mention the princess. I'll even do you one better, have my guards occupy her and keep her away from our parents and from dinner. But after dinner, you have to confront this situation with our parents, do you hear me?"

"I love you, Bia", mumbled Nico with a small smile.

/break\

While her siblings were hugging at the harbor, Hazel had made her way to the jewelry store. She was supposed to meet Frank here, but she could not find him anywhere outside or inside.

"May I help you with something, princess?", asked Nyssa with a smile.

"Yes. Has... my fiance arrived yet? And... is Leo in today?", asked Hazel softly.

"Both in the back", nodded Nyssa amused. "Your fiance came in earlier and asked for Leo too. I sent him to the back and he... didn't return. So I'm assuming Leo has him occupied. It's hard to make Leo shut up once you get him started on a topic, so they're most likely talking. Go ahead."

Hazel nodded gratefully and made her way to the backroom, wondering what the boys might be talking about. Only that when she found them, they were not talking. Frank sat on the floor next to the fireplace, with Leo's head in his lap. The little tinkerer was peacefully asleep, smiling as Frank carefully ran his fingers through Leo's hair. The picture was far too endearing.

"Frank...", whispered Hazel fondly as she approached.

"Hello, love", smiled Frank happily. "I came here to talk to him, but I saw him curled together in front of the fireplace like a sleeping cat. So I took the blanket, to cover him. And when I sat down to tuck him in... he just immediately claimed me as his pillow. Like he was a magnet for the nearest source of warmth. And I... couldn't bring myself to push him off. Look at that happy face!"

Hazel laughed softly as she sat down next to Frank and looked at the content smile on Leo's lips. The little tinkerer truly was too adorable for words. Smiling softly, Hazel brushed his curls out of his face and settled down more comfortably against her fiance.

"But I do have to be on the beach in time for dinner", warned Hazel amused.

/break\

Nico was fretting. He had been straightening the tablecloth ten times already. Resetting the silverware. A long table had been brought out to the beach, Hylla and Kinzie standing not far away as guards. The table was set for six and Nico and his family were already there. The king and the queen sat at one side of the table and Nico and Percy were supposed to sit opposite them. Hazel and Bianca each sat at the heads of the table, curious to see where this was going.

"Nico, sweetie", started his mother gently. "Don't you want to say a few words to your sisters first?"

"...Did Nico do something?", asked Hazel suspiciously.

"Kind of", offered Nico with a nervous smile, his fingers playing with the tablecloth. "I... You know I... don't... like women, in the way other men do. And... I told our parents. They... said that I don't have to chose a queen if I can not love a woman. That... That if it's where my heart lays, I can... chose a male consort. That... it only matters who I love not who they are."

Hazel jumped off her chair to hug him tightly and he smiled and buried his face in her wild curls before they parted again. "So did we come here together to celebrate the news?"

"No. We're, uhm...", drawled Nico out, just to be interrupted by someone grabbing his hand.

Turning to his side, he saw Percy smiling up at him in that bright, heart-warming way of his. Nico just stared into Percy's eyes and got lost in them. All words were lost on him, because here he was, the first person who made Nico feel fully understood and supported and dare he say it cherished. Without even consciously making the decision, Nico instinctively leaned in to kiss Percy very briefly on the lips. The smile he got for it when they parted was worth the gasps from his sisters.

"Percy?!", squealed Hazel happily. "Oh, that's amazing! I approve!"

"...Percy?", echoed their mother curiously.

"Ah, yes. Persephonus. But we call him Percy", nodded Nico and took a deep breath as he and Percy turned toward the family. "Family, I would like for you to meet my... my Percy. He's a priest at the temple of Lord Perseus. Percy, this is my family. King Plutonius, Queen Maria, my parents. And my older sister Bianca. You already met Hazel."

"Perse... phonus?", echoed his mother once more, her eyes on Percy.

"Yes! I'm named after... af...", started Percy with a chipper voice before breaking off.

His eyes had locked with the queen's and the two of them stared at each other with stunned expressions. There was a long, awkward stretch of silence in which the two just stared at each other and Nico felt panic rise in him. What was happening here? Helplessly, he looked at Bianca.

"After Lady Persephone, I'm sure", offered Bianca with a gentle smile. "We have a beautiful temple dedicated to Lady Persephone, right next to that of Lord Hades. But I'm sure you visited them both already considering your status as a priest. How is that going for you?"

The spell was broken and Percy turned with an easy smile toward Bianca, engaging in conversation with her. Nico pulled the chair back for Percy and they all sat down to eat. But things still weren't the way Nico had pictured it. There was tension. And neither his mother nor his father spoke to Percy at all. In fact, the king even kept glaring thoughtfully at Percy. Nico's stomach was in knots. Did they disapprove after all? Was this about Percy being a boy? Was this about Percy being a priest? Or was it just generally about Percy? Nico grew more anxious the longer dinner lasted and it only got worse when he noticed that Percy decidedly avoided as much as looking at the king and queen. He only engaged with Hazel and Bianca, both more than eager to talk to him.

/break\

Hades tried to ease the glare off his face as he watched Percy. That utter brat. Persephonus? Hah. Perseus. He hadn't even bothered altering his physical appearance much – granted, he was missing the blue hue to his skin and the scales, but it was still their Percy.

Pardon him, Nico's Percy. Had Percy known? Had he sought their kingdom out knowing Hades and Persephone were here? What were his intentions toward Nico? This was risky. Percy was not exactly good at keeping secrets and this – all of it – needed to be a secret.

Not to mention. Poseidon's son, here, at Hades' court. If this would be public knowledge, it would be a disaster. Poseidon could wage war, thinking his son had been kidnapped by Hades just like Zeus had accused him all those years ago about Persephone. And if Poseidon stayed calm, then Zeus could perceive it as a threat. Both, Hades' hidden children as well as the fact that Poseidon's son was with Hades. The fact that their two sons were currently secretly holding hands under the table was not helpful either. There, right in front of Hades, set a reason for Zeus to rain death and destruction upon them all because his little brother could act irrational when feeling cornered.

As dinner ended, Bianca kicked Nico under the table, glaring decidedly at her brother. Great, that looked like even more trouble on top of everything. Bianca and Hazel smiled pleasantly as they hugged Percy goodbye while Nico awkwardly approached his parents, opening his mouth.

"Why don't you go ahead to the palace with your sisters?", suggested Hades before Nico could say anything. "Your mother and I would like to talk to your lover for a minute."

Nico looked frightened by the prospect, but Persephone kissed his forehead and Bianca and Hazel grabbed him by the hands to pull him along. Leaving Hades and Persephone alone with Percy, after the queen dismissed the guards to go and escort the princesses and the prince back to the castle.

"Oh, Percy, I'm so glad you're safe", sighed Persephone as she pulled Percy into a tight hug as soon as everyone was out of sight. "We are all so worried for you, little cousin."

"I... I have no idea what's going on here", grunted Percy as he returned the hug. "Phone? Hades?"

"Yes, nephew", drawled Hades with a pointed glare. "What are you doing here?"

"I... came here because, uh, well, I wanted to see the human world", admitted Percy, shifting like a guilty child knowing he was going receive a chiding. "And I knew this place worshiped me. So it made me curious. I swear I wasn't abducted or anything. I just... I just wanted to breath. You have to understand that. Of all the gods, you have to, Phone! Please don't rattle me out!"

Persephone's eyes softened as she ran her fingers through Percy's hair. "Sweetie, I... I think I do. It's why I ran away all those years ago too, to explore the underworld. But, oh, Percy. Your parents..."

"I know", interrupted Percy and averted his eyes, playing with his hands. "I know. I don't... mean to hurt them. But they don't let me do anything on my own. I... I'll come home again. I just want some freedom. I want the chance to... to... fall in love... I..."

"And... you did?", asked Persephone, eyebrows raised. "With... my son?"

"Oh my us, he is your son", blurted Percy out mortified, eyes wide. "I mean, he really is? What... What is going on here? I don't understand. You're Hades and Persephone. I thought you just... pretended to be Plutonius and Maria. B—But if Nico and... Oh my us, Nico's a god."

"Sh!", interrupted Hades firmly. "Not another word, Perseus. It is... all of this is our secret. This is mine and Persephone's happy spot. This is where we keep our children safe and away from the dangers of the godly world. They can not know what we are. What they are."

"...Nico... doesn't even know he's a god?", asked Percy stunned.

"I know it's a lot to take in, Percy, sweetie", sighed Persephone and cupped his face. "But please. You need to promise us to keep this a secret. From everyone, including our children. Please."

"We will not tell your parents where you are", added Hades with a sigh of his own.

"...I don't like lies", muttered Percy with a crestfallen look. "I... I don't like lying myself and I don't like making you lie. But yes. I just... want to stay here. With Nico. For longer."

"...You truly do love our son, don't you?", asked Persephone gently, tilting Percy's head up.

Percy's cheeks were aflame as he stared at his cousin/aunt. "Yes. I think. Maybe. I don't know. He makes me feel like... no one else ever did. I feel valued, like my opinion doesn't just matter but actually impact him. I feel... needed by him, like I am supporting him and he's valuing that. I feel respected and... happy, when I'm with him. I want to explore this feeling, this... thing between us."

"Then stay", nodded Hades slowly. "Stay and... explore. But... a relationship based on lies..."

Percy averted his eyes once more and Hades felt for the boy. Not only was Percy hiding who and what he really was, now he also had to hide what Nico truly was. It was a heavy burden for someone so young. But the way Percy spoke of Nico and Nico spoke of Percy... they would prevail.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9: The Jewel of the Forges

Leo didn't understand why his siblings were constantly teasing him about his friendship with the princess and the princess' fiance. He thought it was amazing that those rich, important people were being so nice to him, that he got to spend time with them like this. Have fun with them.

"Why are you looking so gloomy today?", asked Hazel curiously while braiding Leo's hair.

She had asked him to and it was really hard to say no to the gorgeous, kind princess. And her fingers were really cunning and felt great in his unruly curls. Frank sat with them, sharpening his arrows and occasionally watching them with a small smile. It was nice spending time with them like that. It was different than being with his siblings in the hide-out or at the forges. He was always that cute little young one that was being cooed at and not really taken seriously. Hazel and Frank seemed to truly value his opinion and treated him as an equal, even though he really wasn't.

"Not gloomy. Just thoughtful", hummed Leo, leaning his head against Hazel's thigh.

"Thoughtful about what, firebug?", inquired Frank curiously.

"Percy is dating Hazel's brother", blurted Leo out, blinking slowly. "I mean. How... I told him time and time again that it is so not a good idea to be so... so him. But he just continued being him and now he's happier than I've ever seen before. And it's... odd. I mean, he's just a... street-rat and Prince Nicodemos is, well, the prince. This seems so... unrealistically strange, you know?"

"No. No, we don't know", hummed Hazel. "I can understand my brother. I mean, Percy is a very sweet guy. And with a very sweet guy, I don't really think that the background matters. Whether he's a prince or a priest... or maybe a blacksmith. Who cares?"

"...That was oddly specific", grunted Leo confused frowning.

"What can I say? I'm awful at being subtle", laughed Hazel with the slightest flush.

"I always tell her it comes from being a princess and being used to getting whatever she wants. Even if that 'whatever' happens to be a very cute little jewel-making artist", chuckled Frank.

"Uhm. I...", drawled Leo, blinking slowly as he looked around at them. "I... Me...?"

"Yes, you. If you want to", confirmed Hazel gently. "But if you don't want to, then you don't need to feel... obligated or pressured, Leo. You don't have to do anything just because I'm the princess."

"B—But why? Why me?", asked Leo wide-eyed and stunned.

"You're cute and sweet and brilliant and adorable", listed Frank thoughtfully. "More?"

"What's he talking about?", asked Leo, turning to look at Hazel.

"You, silly", laughed Hazel gently. "We like you. Do you like us?"

"Ye—es. A lot", nodded Leo, blinking slowly. "Uhm. I... Really?"

Hazel smiled and leaned in very slowly, cupping Leo's cheek. He eagerly leaned in too, until their lips met in a gentle kiss. Leo squeaked happily, staring doe-eyed. But then he was already turned around to face Frank, who also leaned in for a sweet kiss. This was officially unreal.

/break\

"Tyson!", roared an angry two-tailed merman through the ocean.

A cute young merboy jumped slightly, his hazel-brown tail twitching. The little boy looked up with large eyes at the turquoise merman swimming up to him with a scowl on his face.

"It's enough that Percy ran away. But where do you think you're going?"

"To find him!", declared Tyson defensively, glaring up at his older brother. "No one finds my Percy, so I will! A—And you can't stop me! I'm gonna go and I'll find him and bring him home, Tri!"

Triton's eyes softened as he looked at his younger brother. He heaved a sigh. He knew where Tyson was coming from. For weeks, Percy had been missing and no one seemed able to find him. Tyson was, among their siblings, the one closest to Percy and the boy was suffering the most.

"Ty", sighed Triton gently as he leaned down. "I understand that you miss our brother, but... You can't go alone. You know how much mom and dad already worry." Tyson's face fell and he looked down at the ground far bellow them. "So I will come with you and we'll look together, okay?"

Tyson's head snapped up to stare wide-eyed at Triton. "Really? So we do this together?"

"Yes, little one. And we won't rest until we drag his stubborn tail home", confirmed Triton.

He gently caressed Tyson's hair as the two of them swam off. Tyson had tried to swim off for weeks now, trying to search for Percy on his own. It had their mother worried, so Triton had promised her he would take care of this. Turning back toward the palace, he could see the queen at a window, watching them. For a brief moment, their eyes locked, then Triton and Tyson left.

/break\

Percy looked around his temple, a pleased expression on his face. That only intensified when he spotted the prince. Though his stomach knotted with the conflicting feeling of hiding something from Nico – something about Nico, at that. He had promised Hades and Persephone last night that he would not tell Nico and he planned on keeping that promise, even though he still couldn't quite grasp what was going on or what it all really meant.

Nico was a god. Nico was the son of Hades and Persephone. Hades and Persephone were playing humans in their free time. And they were actively hiding their children here. So many questions.

"Hello, my prince", grinned Percy pleased as he approached him. "Did you come here to pray?"

Nico smiled, a slightly conflicted expression on his face. "I... came here for you."

A confused frown found its way onto Percy's face at that. Somehow, Nico looked really troubled, as though he was trying to hide something. But Percy was the last one who'd have a right to comment on that or call him out on that, so he just smiled charmingly at his boyfriend.

"A—and what can I do for you?", asked Percy amused.

"Go on a date with me", blurted Nico out, eyes wide. "I want to take you out on a proper date. After all, you literally already met my parents. I though, uh, perhaps you and I could take a basket of food and make our way up the mountain together. The view is magnificent. And then we eat there."

"That... sounds wonderful", whispered Percy with a smile.

"Good. Good. Okay. Uhm, should I pick you up after your... service?", asked Nico.

"No, I should really go home and tell Luke and the others so they won't worry", smiled Percy. "How about we meet half-way? You say up the mountain, so let's meet at the foot of the mountain by sundown? Does that sound okay, Nico?"

"Yeah, perfect", nodded Nico with a relieved sigh. "I'm looking forward to it."

He kissed Percy briefly on the cheek before leaving.

/break\

Nico was aware that Jason and Reyna were giving him disapproving and judgmental looks. Annabeth, who was leaning against Reyna, wasn't even looking at him anymore. He shifted, guilty.

"I know I screwed up", blurted Nico out tensely.

"Yes. It would be wonderful if you'd explain why and how", drawled Annabeth pointedly.

"I sent her those letters far before I met Percy. When... When this crisis in my head had reached its peak. When I thought I had a serious problem that needed fixing and being with a woman would fix it. Would fix me", sighed Nico, running his fingers through his hair. "A—And now..."

"Now you have the guards set up to keep Princess Drusilla away from your parents, who still don't even know she's in their palace", stated Reyna, gently caressing Annabeth's hair.

"Which, in itself, seems to be a miracle to me", grunted Jason. "I mean, sure, your parents have been very distracted since dinner last night, but I don't think they even thought about the ship from Venia. Did... dinner really go that badly, man? You've been miserable, your parents have been stoically silent since then too. I thought they said they're alright with this?"

"I honestly don't know", sighed Nico, running his hands over his face. "They said they were alright with me being with a boy. But then they met Percy and... dinner was just so awkward and tense? They didn't talk to him once, but then they talked to him alone after dinner and I still don't know what they talked about. Which is why I asked Percy out on a date for tonight. So I can talk to him about what my parents wanted from him and if... if we are alright."

"And to talk about your fiance", suggested Annabeth casually.

"Ye—eah", sighed Nico, massaging his temples.

"Have you spoken to Princess Drusilla yet?", wanted Reyna to know.

"No—o", groaned Nico, burying his face in his hands. "I just... what do I even say?"

"Okay. Here's the game-plan. You talk to Percy tonight. You talk to your parents afterward and then you talk to the princess and clear all of this", ordered Annabeth firmly. "Understood?"

"Yeah. Thanks", grunted Nico with a shaky sigh.

/break\

Percy was swimming in the ocean. He just couldn't help it. He missed the water and even though he didn't use his tail, it was still so good to be in the water. Even though he knew it was also dangerous. The fishes could recognize him and might rattle him out and merpeople close-by might smell or sense him. It was just utterly impossible to stay away from the sea for too long. He had found those little moments occasionally over the past weeks.

This time however was too much. Too long. He paused when the surface broke and he was being tackled by his little brother. Wide-eyed, Percy stared at Tyson. Tyson, who was here.

"Big brother! I knew I could find you!", exclaimed Tyson happily, hugging him tighter.

"W—What are you... doing here...?", asked Percy mortified.

"We're here to bring you home, Perseus", declared the disapproving voice of Triton.

And that was just great. Ty alone would be okay to handle, but Triton was going to drag him back kicking and screaming, that much was for sure. Ducking his head, Percy stared up at his older brother with the most innocent eyes possible. Triton glared unimpressed.

"I'm not going with you", declared Percy as firmly as he could.

"B—But big brother?", asked Tyson softly, eyes large and sad.

Percy hugged him tighter and kissed the top of his head. "I'm sorry. I have... something very good here that I don't want to lose just yet. I missed you guys so much and I'm sorry for worrying you, but I can't lose this before I even had it. I have to... I have to stay a little longer, please."

"Why?", asked Triton seriously, arms crossed over his chest. "Give me one good reason, Percy."

"Love", replied Percy honestly, looking at Triton desperately.

"You... fell in love...?", asked Triton stunned, blinking slowly. "With a human?"

"No. I don't know. That's why I need to stay", stated Percy firmly. "I... I think I could fall in love with him. I want to see where this is going. If... If he could be my Thanatos."

He glared firmly at Triton, utter defiance in his stance. Triton flinched and made a face at that. It was an open secret that Triton was in love with the god of Death. Things were a bit complicated between them, but if someone had taken this love from Triton before it had a chance to blossom...

"How much longer?", asked Triton seriously. "I need something, Percy."

"Just... Just a few more weeks, for now, please", pleaded Percy. "I—I promise I'm safe here, I promise I will return home, but I can't leave just now, please don't make me."

Triton looked conflicted and turned his head some, a thoughtful expression on his face. "For now, Tyson and I are looking for you. Who knows how long we will have to look for you. There is a beautiful cove on this island and I think Tyson and I will stay there for now."

"You are officially the best big brother on this entire planet", whispered Percy in awe.

He jumped up to hug Triton tightly though the older Sea God still looked stoic. "Two weeks. I will give you two weeks to figure this out, Perseus. And then we will return home, all of us, even if it's you to just tell mother and father that you will stay here. But they worry."

"We all do", hummed Tyson, face buried in Percy's stomach. "We miss you, big brother."

"I know. I'm so sorry", sighed Percy with a conflicted look. "I'm sorry I cause so much trouble..."

"We're used to it by now", sighed Triton, ruffling Percy's hair.

/break\

Nico smiled, feeling completely at ease as he sat snuggled up to Percy at the top of the mountain. They shared food and whispered softly to each other, feeding each other. Percy felt so warm and solid and right against him. All day, Nico had felt so confused and lost about this whole situation, but right now, he was happy. Just genuinely happy, with Percy right next to him.

"You make me feel... safe", whispered Nico softly.

Percy smiled and ducked his head, snuggling up more to Nico. "You make me feel understood."

Nico wrapped an arm around Percy's waist and pulled him closer. In that moment, the world was perfect. He didn't know how to fix things yet, but right now they felt like they already were fixed.

/break\

"Mom and dad left with a ship while you were gone", were the words greeting Nico.

He had been feeling strong thanks to Percy, ready to face his parents. But Bianca just completely deflated him. Frowning, Nico looked at his big sister and sat down heavily next to her.

"Where to? Why?", asked Nico frustrated.

"Desponia", replied Bianca, a somber look on her face. "After the ship crashed with the healer... Things on Desponia are tense and mother and father decided to use the good weather that you used for your picnic. They took a ship, a healer and medicine to assure the people things will be fine."

"Wonderful", muttered Nico and rubbed his face frustrated. "Okay. Yeah. I'll... hide in my room."

"You can not hide from your fiance forever", pointed Bianca out seriously.

"Not forever. Just... a little longer?", grunted Nico and made a face.

It would be so easy to confront all of this if it wasn't political. Literally the reason Nico had chosen Drew was because of the tension between their kingdoms, to mend things and make his parents proud. But if he were to reject her – that tension would not just grow. It might escalate into a war and that would be fully on Nico. He couldn't face that reality, not just yet. Especially not without his mother's counseling. For now, he was going to hide in his room and pretend the world was good.

/break\

"Another date? You went on a date yesterday and you went to meet his parents the day before that and now you're going on another date?", asked Luke amused.

He was curled together on Octavian's lap, the priest not looking pleased to be here among Luke's little strays, but the topic at hand was certainly fascinating. His eyes were trained on Percy.

"Not to mention, you spent all morning at the beach again", pointed Chris out.

"I... uh...", drawled Percy sheepishly. "I like spending time at the beach and with him. Bye, guys!"

Before he could be interrogated any more, he dashed out of the room. He would be early to the date, but that would be fine. Leo hummed with a carefree smile as he watched Percy dash off while preparing lunch. With Percy out of the room, everyone's attention turned toward Leo. Luke raised one eyebrow as he watched how not worried Leo was. Travis and Connor just snickered.

"So, Leo, wanna share something with the group?", asked Cecil casually.

"Mmmh?", drawled Leo while cutting cheese.

"You haven't fussed over Percy's relationship with Nico in over a day. Percy literally just left for a date and you had no words to say", pointed Chris out while sharpening a knife.

"Oh. Uhm. Yeah", grunted Leo awkwardly.

"Leo?", asked Luke sharply in his best mom-voice. "What are you trying to hide, young man?"

"I might have kind of kissed my own royal heir?", mumbled Leo embarrassed.

"...What is wrong with the strays you pick up, Lucos?", asked Octavian seriously. "Are you secretly trying to infiltrate the palace and take over the kingdom? If so, you should have told me."

"...Terrifying thought. King Octavian", muttered Travis beneath his breath.

"Worst thought: Emperor Octavian", added Connor with a slight snicker.

"You two will be the jesters at my court", grunted Octavian flatly. "And if you do not amuse, you will be executed for public entertainment."

"Tav. We talked about this", sighed Luke. "We do not execute family."

"Ca—an we get back to the part where Leo's snogging a princess? Which princess?", asked Cecil.

"H—Hazel", mumbled Leo embarrassed. "...And her fiance."

"...Yeah, I'm out of this conversation", sighed Luke and shook his head. "Tav, come."

Octavian grunted in relieved agreement and gladly followed Luke outside. He did have better plans with his lover than playing mom and dad to the orphaned strays anyway.

/break\

Percy paused as he reached the palace garden and saw Nico standing there with a beautiful princess. She had her arms around his neck, slowly pulling him down. Percy blinked slowly, confused.

"Uhm, Nico...?", asked Percy softly as he approached them.

Nico pushed the princess away, wide-eyed. "P—Percy. You're early."

Panic rose in Nico. He had not meant for Percy and Drew to meet, but the princess, after having been avoided for two days, was not having any more of this. And he completely understood that.

"Who might that be, Nikki?", asked Drew, looking at Percy with disapproval.

Percy frowned and tilted his head. "I'm his boyfriend. Who might you be?"

"I'm Princess Drusilla of Venia. His fiance", stated Drew sharply, looking unimpressed. "And those little... things will have to stop after the wedding, Nikki. I will not be made a fool of."

"Oh...", whispered Percy, throat dry.

Percy gulped as he stared at Nico, only one thought passing through his mind – Was this what it felt like to have his heart broken? A little thing? The wedding? Fiance? Apparently, Percy was the one who was being made a fool of. He stared at Nico with betrayal written all over his face. He should have known better. Right from the start, he should have known better.

Humans were fragile creatures with a fragile sense of moral and Nico had been raised as a human. Percy should have known that Nico's deep-seated fear of his own sexuality wouldn't be magically cured by Percy having feelings for him. He was stupid to think so. Stupid to go and seek a human lover to begin with. He should have stayed under the sea, where taking a male lover didn't send a guy into an identity crisis. Percy smiled bitterly as he turned around.

"No, Percy, I can explain!", called Nico out, watching Percy go. "...I just don't know how yet."

Shaking his head, Percy ran out of the palace's garden, trying to get away from this all.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10: The Princes of the Ocean

Nico rapidly banged on the door of the hide-out, praying that Percy was there. His heart was racing. He needed to explain himself somehow. Even though there was no way to explain himself. There were no good words that didn't make him look like a total idiot, or cause war.

"Wha—at do you want, princess?", drawled Cecil unimpressed.

"Percy", panted Nico, breathless after the run. "I need to talk to Percy."

"He's... on a date with you", pointed Cecil out, one eyebrow raised. "Why don't you know where Percy is? He should be with you. Good explanation, or I'll sic Luke at you."

"I... Never mind, I'll go and look for him myself", sighed Nico and shook his head.

He turned his back on Cecil and left, but that didn't make Cecil go back to his hammock to return to his nap. He rounded Travis, Connor and Chris up to go looking for Percy themselves. Their first stop were the forges, they knew that Percy liked to sit in and watch Leo create jewelry. The only thing they found there were Leo, Hazel and Frank, the latter two nicely curled around behind Leo, watching the jewelry-maker create a necklace. Cecil glowered.

"Your brother", grunted Cecil, looking at Hazel. "Did something to upset Percy and now he lost Percy. You know that if you do the same to Leo, not even being princess will protect you."

"What do you mean he lost Percy?", asked Leo confused and got up. "I literally only left the hide-out ten minutes ago. How did the prince lose Percy that fast?"

"Oh boy", sighed Frank. "Okay. Let's go and try help, mh?"

Travis and Connor gave him curious but approving looks.

/break\

Percy was trying to catch his breath as he paced in front of his own statue. Part of him wanted to go back to the hide-out, but he knew the others were already there. And right now he needed a moment to himself. The temple was perfect for that; it felt like home.

He just needed a moment to himself. That was all he needed. To think thoughts. Urgh.

Nico was engaged. To a mortal princess. Okay. Those things happened, especially among royals. He just didn't understand why Nico would have started dating him? Or was that what Nico thought was okay? That Percy could be a cute little side-piece, or what? Had all of Percy's speeches about Nico being free to chose who he loved fallen on deaf ears after all?

It wouldn't be a surprise. Percy was a god, he knew of humans. He knew that humans had a hard time learning something new. Athena had taught him this lesson repeatedly. Regardless what the gods did to teach humans something, the humans would always repeat their mistakes. Over and over and over again. It took too long for the truth to sink in and for thoughts to change.

Percy understood that, on a rational, abstract level. That just because Percy said a few pretty words, Nico's hard-wired brain wasn't going to reconnect all the synapses into realizing that Percy was right. Internalized fears were some of the hardest to overcome, Percy also knew that, he had learned that lesson from Aphrodite and her children – Harmonia, Deimos and Phobos.

He just didn't really understand where he stood right now. Where this was supposed to go. But it helped to sort his thoughts like that. Try to distinguish between the hallow, bad, awful feeling in his chest because he couldn't have the boy he wanted, from the knowledge he had. The knowledge he had tried to bury very deep and forget. Humans and how they acted. How this world worked.

"Percy! There you are. I've been... looking for you."

Percy sighed and looked up from the very interesting patch of marble he had been staring at for the past couple minutes. He had sat down at his own feet – the statue's feet. Nico stood in the entrance to the temple, looking like a very sad, abandoned puppy. Connor, Travis, Chris, Cecil, Luke, Octavian, Leo, Frank and Hazel were behind him. Percy frowned, confused by that.

"What... is going on here?", asked Percy, tilting his head some.

"We were looking for you", grunted Luke, glowering a little. "The prince showed up at our doorstep, apparently, and got everyone worried. Tav suggested that you might be at the temple."

"What happened, Perce?", asked Leo concerned, stepping up.

"Can... you guys give me and Nico some space?", requested Percy, frowning at them all.

They awkwardly shuffled away, out of hearing-range but staying in sight so they could step in if something happened. It was endearing. Percy was really going to miss them. His heart ached.

"Percy, I can explain", started Nico in a pleading voice. "I—I sent her the letter months before I even met you, I swear. I... I had forgotten all about it. I had proposed to her, as a political alliance. Because back then, my... my fear of who I am and what I wanted was at its peak. And I thought I would never be accepted by a single soul, I thought the only purpose I had was to become a good king to my people and I thought the only way to do that would be to marry someone worthy."

"And is she worthy?", asked Percy softly.

"I... Things between our kingdoms had been tense for many years now. Her kingdom is the harbor city closest to Demetria. It's... important. Good relations between our kingdoms would be mutually beneficial. They might finally put the threat of war aside and calm things down", continued Nico. "She is... a beautiful princess from a good family. Groomed to become a good queen to someone's kingdom one day. She has the potential to strengthen... me. She would be a worthy queen for Demetria, she would be a great ally in this partnership."

"So... she would be a good match", nodded Percy. "And... now? What do you want?"

"I... I want you", whispered Nico desperately, reaching out for Percy to hold his hands. "I... never felt that way with anyone before. You make me feel like nothing else aside from you and me matter. You make me feel like it's you and me and no one else."

"And that's not... good", whispered Percy in realization.

Nico averted his eyes, looking as heartbroken and sad as Percy felt. "It's not. Despite my parents' approval, despite the pretty words you said to me... I'm still the future king. I can never be the person that matters most to me. I will always have to put my people and their safety first."

"What does that mean? For us, Nico?", asked Percy and looked up into Nico's eyes.

"She... came here in good faith. And I meant it, when I proposed to her. Back then, it was the best future I could picture. Right now, the best future for me that I could picture... would be with you", whispered Nico, looking at Percy pleadingly. "I think... I think I'm falling in love with you, Percy. But if I turn her down – for the sake of... of a boy, at that – it would mean war for my country. My people would die a pointless death for the sake of my selfishness."

"You can't break the engagement", read Percy between the lines.

Nico averted his eyes, gritting his teeth. He had come to that conclusion pretty early on, but he had been denying it, even to himself. He knew that breaking the engagement would insult the princess, would insult Venia, and insulted, that kingdom would declare war. They would take the whole engagement as a mockery and Nico would cause the death of his people.

"I... don't see any way to break it without breaking the fragile peace between our people", confirmed Nico, unable to look at Percy. "I'm sorry. I made a mess. I don't know how to fix it. But... you made me... you made me forget my responsibilities. I—I'm not blaming you, Percy. I've never been happier than I was with you. But I have... things that are more important than my own happiness. And that is the safety and happiness of my people."

"I get it", nodded Percy, giving Nico's hands a squeeze.

"You... do?", asked Nico surprised and looked up.

Percy smiled, but the expression didn't even half-way reach his eyes. "I do. I know what responsibility is. I'm just... good at avoiding it. But maybe you're right. Maybe this... fun needs to end and we need to act like proper adults and face our responsibilities, mh?"

"What... do you mean?", asked Nico, frown etched into his features. "What... responsibilities?"

Percy knew a lost cause when he saw it. He even understood where Nico was coming from. He had made this decision in a moment of fear and now he had to face the consequences. Just like Percy had made his decision to run away in a moment of rebellious selfishness and it was now due-time to face the consequences. Percy also understood what Nico was saying. War was never nice. Percy wasn't a fan of war either. If there was something Nico could do to prevent it, he should. Percy knew what Nico thought he had to do and he understood that, at this point, he might even have to.

"I'm a prince too, Nico", chuckled Percy and tilted his head.

"I... uh... suspected that, somewhere in my mind, but...", drawled Nico stunned. "Where from?"

Percy took a step back and smiled, a nearly pained expression. "I'm the prince of Atlantis. I... didn't really give you my real name, you know. But I think... before I leave... I don't want secrets between us, not from my side at least. My name isn't Persephonus. It's Perseus. I'm the son of King Neptune and Queen Salacia, heir to the ocean and all its realms."

Taking another step back, Percy closed his eyes and allowed the godly glow to take over. He could hear the gasps from his friends lingering at the temple's entrance, some startled yelps from those who had come to the temple to pray and... a heavy sigh from Calypso. The high priestess had entered the temple to check on what was going on.

"W—What... you... but...", stuttered Nico stunned, staring at Percy.

Percy's clothes, the ones stolen and put together with a little help from the other street-rats, changed into shimmering azure-blue robes with silver embroidery, held together with a brooch of a purple shell with green pearls. The same green pearls decorated Percy's hait that now had more of a shine to it. His formally pale, nearly luminescent skin that had turned such a beautiful sandy-gold from the exposure of the sun was back to the pale glow it once had only that it now had a soft-blue hue to it. Those sea-green eyes sparkled, shining more than ever before. He looked exactly like the statue behind him. Now, with the matching skin-tone, Nico could finally truly see it. The features, albeit ten years older, were so similar. The shade of green in his eyes matched that of the marble statue, the black shiny hair, now the blue skin made it even easier to see the similarity.

"You're... You're a... god", whispered Nico in utter disbelief.

"I am", nodded Percy, a small, a bit more genuine smile on his lips. "See. This between us? Was never meant to last anyway, Nico. I have to return to the sea. I have to return to my family, my godly responsibilities. I was never meant to stay here. What we had... it was an escape, for the both of us, from our lives. Now... Now it's time to get back to the real world."

"You're a god", repeated Nico once more gulping hard.

Percy grinned a little amused as he stepped up to Nico and grasped him by the neck to pull him close and into one last kiss. One last kiss to remember Nico by. Someone in the background squeaked and he didn't know or care who it was. When they parted, Nico looked even more dazed. Percy stepped away from him, averting his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at Nico. Instead, he headed toward the exit where his friends stood, all gaping at him. He paused in front of Calypso, who stared at him with sadness in her eyes. He just smiled and shook his head.

"Do me proud, high priestess", requested Percy with a crooked half-grin.

"Of course, Lord Perseus", nodded Calypso with a half-bow.

Then, Percy turned toward his still slack-jawed friends, offering Luke, Connor, Travis, Cecil, Chris and Leo genuine smiles. "You were kind to me when you didn't have to and you gave me a home when I was lost. I'll never forget that. Thank you."

With those last words, Percy parted and left the temple, everyone too stunned to follow him.

/break\

Tyson didn't really understand it. They had found Percy, thanks to the fishes leading them on the right way. No one ever asked the smallest ones. They kept asking the sharks and merpeople adults, but Tyson? He asked the smallest ones because he knew what it was like to be small. To be overlooked. And they had sent them on the right track. Triton and Tyson had found Percy, had gotten to hug Percy... but they hadn't gotten to take Percy home with them. And Tyson really didn't understand why. They should have just left for home.

Triton had explained that Percy was happy here and had something here. That they would wait for Percy to sort things out. And okay. Tyson could do the waiting. Probably. After all, at least Percy had visited them every day so far and kept hugging Tyson, which was already super important. Still, Tyson would prefer to go back home, with both his big brothers.

"Perseus", stated Triton curiously, gaining Tyson's attention.

Tyson looked up from the hippocampus he was playing with to see Percy approach them. Only that Percy was not so weirdly human looking. His skin was bluish and he was wearing royal robes. Tyson's face brightened. That had to mean that Percy was going home with them, right?

"Big brother! Are we going home together now?", asked Tyson eagerly.

"Ye—eah, Ty. We are", nodded Percy with a small, sad smile. "Time to go home."

Triton regarded them skeptically, but he nodded briefly to himself and led the way.

/break\

"So... Nico was dating a god and dumped him in favor of Princess Drusilla", muttered Jason stunned, one arm wrapped tightly around Calypso's shoulders. "Can't believe it."

"Y—You should. We saw it", sputtered Hazel, eyes wide and stunned.

They had parted with Leo's group, everyone rather overwhelmed by the reveal. Nico had requested to be alone, so Hazel and Frank had decided to go with Calypso and talk to the others. Reyna and Annabeth were curled together next to Frank and Hazel, Ethan and Alabaster were on Calypso's other side. Hazel took a shaky breath and ran her fingers through her hair.

"And did he look... smitey?", asked Alabaster, earning himself a few dumb looks. "I mean. Gods don't particularly like being rejected. So, did he look like he wants to smite all of us?"

"He... looked sad", whispered Calypso softly, leaning more into Jason. "Heartbroken, as though he knew he had to leave something behind that... had the potential to mean everything."

"You must know the feeling. I mean, you're an nymph who was imprisoned on an enchanted island", pointed Annabeth out curiously. "That... it must have hurt."

"It did", confirmed Calypso, pain in her own eyes as she linked fingers with Jason. "It... leaves a bitter taste. And the taste will take some time to go away. But he's not vengeful."

"You say that with a lot of certainty", snorted Ethan amused.

"Because I know him", admitted Calypso as she looked up. "I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you. But... I knew who he was from the moment I saw him, because I've met Perseus before."

"Y—You knew this whole time?", stammered Frank in utter disbelief.

"You people forget that I'm more than just a nymph. I'm the daughter of a titan", supplied Calypso. "I'm... well-versed in the godly world. Yes, I knew. But he pleaded with me not to tell you. He just wanted to know what it's like to be... to be human."

"Why?", asked Alabaster stunned, getting elbowed by his lover. "Ouch, Ethan. Stop it."

"I know being a god sounds so fancy to you humans", chuckled Calypso fondly. "But it's not to the gods. And to Percy... to Percy, the human world had always held an appeal. Like a realm of fairy tales. He wanted to know what it's like to be human."

"And... now?", asked Jason with a frown, playing with Calypso's curls.

"Now he returned to the godly world", whispered Calypso, throat feeling tight. "And his... fairy tale came to an end. Not the end he had hoped for, but... not everyone finds their glorious hero."

Jason flushed a little as Calypso turned to smile at him like he meant the world. Ducking his head, he kissed his girlfriend, accompanied by the cooing sounds of their friends.

"Poor Nico though", sighed Reyna and shook his head. "He's... in quite the mess."

"That he is", grunted Annabeth in agreement, frown in place.

/break\

Hades sat there in stunned silence. He had already expected to come home to some kind of news, considering the ship from Venia that no one had explained to them yet. But when Persephone and Hades returned from Desponia, to be sat down by Nico for a serious conversation, things took quite the different turn than expected, if he was being honest. He turned to look at his wife.

Nico had given them a recap of the last three day. Starting with the arrival of Princess Drusilla of Venia, just before dinner, moving on to dinner itself and how Nico had thought their odd behavior was due to Percy and them disapproving of Nico's choice after all. And from there on all, everything apparently came apart by the seams. Nico got engaged, without telling anyone. Forgetting about it until his fiance arrived. Now he didn't know how to call the engagement off without causing war, leading to him breaking up with Percy to man up and own his mistake, which inevitably lead to the reveal of Percy being Lord Perseus, causing Nico to have a minor melt-down for dating a god.

Which, okay, they were definitely going to delay the 'You're a god and so are we' speech a little more, because apparently Nico was handling things not very well. He looked exhausted and shocked, completely overwhelmed. Persephone reached a gentle hand out to caress Nico's cheek.

"Sweetheart", started Persephone, unsure where she was going with this.

"No. I mean, even if you... if you truly approve of me being with a man... I was blind to think that this was all it would take. I am your heir and... and I am the future king", stated Nico firmly, looking at them square. "I... I made this decision in a moment of weakness, but I will own it. I will not back out and I will not cause our people any pain."

"Nicodemos", sighed Hades lowly. "You do not need to marry the princess. We can..."

"We can't, father. And you know that", interrupted Nico, holding Hades' gaze firmly. "Our army is not even half the size of Venia's. The king has disliked you for many years now, he has been waiting for a reason to declare war. If we – if I – insult him like that, then... Father, I know what I'm doing."

"I do not doubt that, son", sighed Hades as he got up and pulled Nico into a brief hug. "If this is the choice you make, we will support you. But know that what we told you was the truth. We would support you if you chose to be with another man."

"The 'other man' turned out to be a god and I still don't know how I feel about that", grunted Nico numbly as he buried his face in Hades' chest. "I need something normal. This... is. I think."

/break\

"My boy! Oh, my precious little boy!", exclaimed Salacia as she hugged Percy close.

"Sally, don't hog the boy", chided Neptune next to her, trying to get in on the hug. "It goes without saying that you are grounded for the next five-hundred years, but I'm glad you're safe."

Percy sighed as he was squished between his parents. Safe. Yes. Not happy, but safe.

"I'm sorry I worried you", whispered Percy softly. "I never meant to hurt you. I just... I just wanted to see the human world. I just wanted an adventure. I'm really sorry."

He clung onto them and closed his eyes, trying to shake the image of Nico and the princess off.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11: The Wedding of Demetria and Venia

Laverna, Feronia and Furrina exchanged concerned looks as they sat at Percy's bed. The king and queen had rejoiced when their son had returned. Atlantis threw a big gala and all the gods of Olympus were invited too. The only one not in a festive mood seemed to be Percy. So Salacia had gathered up Percy's three best friends and sent them up to Percy's room to cheer him up.

Laverna, as the goddess of tricksters and cheats, had engaged the other three in a card-game. But only Feronia and Furrina were really into it, Percy was just going through the motions. Out of the three, Feronia understood best what was going on – as the goddess of water but also freedom. Yet so did Furrina, to an extend, because her realm included travelers. They understood that Percy was seeking freedom, that he longed to travel and see the world.

"Perce...", started Laverna as she put down the poker-cards. "What's really bothering you?"

"It's a boy, isn't it?", asked Furrina gently. "Your behavior reminds me of Proserpina. She left, met Pluto, fell deeply in love with him, was dragged back home and grounded for half a year by Ceres and she was just moping the entire time. So. It's a boy, right?"

"Ye—eah", whispered Percy softly, looking up at them. "I just..."

"Tell us all about him", prompted Feronia excitedly before frowning. "Wait. Did he break your heart? Is that why you're so down? Why you returned? What happened?"

"He... didn't do it on purpose", whispered Percy with the smallest, saddest smile as he shook his head. "I'm not angry with him. I just... I mean, it was never going to work anyway. I had to return home. That was always inevitable. Listen guys, I don't... I don't feel like gossip, okay? I'll... I'll just go and see if Enyo and Ares already arrived. Maybe one of them is up for sparring."

"Su—ure, Perce", nodded Laverna with concerned eyes, watching him leave.

/break\

Nico was sitting between the feet of the statue of Lord Perseus. Percy. He still – even three days later – hadn't digested the fact that he had dated and dumped a god.

"Would you mind a piece of advise, Prince Nicodemos?", asked Calypso gently.

"I'm tired of advise", admitted Nico with a heavy sigh.

"I understand that", nodded the priestess with a small smile. "But... Are you truly committed to this wedding? Your... bride is putting together quite the spectacle, you know. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to bail out of it. So, are you truly committed to pulling through with this? To... never finding your own true love, never being in a loving relationship?"

"I've made my peace, High Priestess", stated Nico calmly. "You'll have to accept that."

Calypso sighed and turned her back on Nico. Straightening her posture, she made her way to the palace, sneaking in through the back-entrance. She had two gods to talk to and she always knew where to find Lady Persephone. The queen of the underworld sat beneath her pomegranate-tree, a lost look on her face as she was deep in thought. Calypso sighed as she approached the younger immortal. Blinking, Persephone turned to lock eyes with the Titaness.

"It's rare for you to visit", stated Persephone observantly. "So it must be about Perseus."

"And Nicodemos", added Calypso as she nodded slowly. "Are you sure you don't want to intervene? I know you're keeping a low profile here, to keep the island safe, but... what about keeping your son's heart safe? Marrying the princess won't make him happy."

"Not marrying her won't make him happy either though", pointed Persephone out with a knowing look. "He's... right. In a way. Even though Hades and I are glad to accept him and support him even if he doesn't take a female lover, a queen, the other kingdoms will still see it as a weakness. And... this mess he maneuvered himself into in his panic... I genuinely don't see a solution that doesn't lead to some kind of war, Calypso. I want to find a better solution, without revealing who we are and without it leading to war. I'm desperately looking for a better solution, but I don't have one."

"I... understand that", sighed Calypso, the look in her eyes heavy and sad.

"I'll try to talk to Percy tonight, there is a gala under the sea. Perhaps... if he were to come back... I don't know", sighed Persephone and shook her head. "I genuinely don't know."

"Tell him he's missed", smiled Calypso. "Not just by me. My new priests in training too."

Persephone raised both her eyebrows as she regarded the high priestess. "Who?"

"Travis, Connor and Cecil. They had a sudden burst of faith when they witnessed that Percy is a god", chuckled Calypso. "Luke and Leo have been at the temple frequently too."

"Understandable. Percy is truly... something else", agreed Persephone.

/break\

Leo sat in the corner, absentmindedly playing with Ella. Rachel had come to drop her off at home, just to find an assortment of very distracted street-rats in the hide-out. Instantly, she found her way toward her best friend's boyfriend. After all, Luke was their leader.

"So, Percy is a god. And Percy left. And Nico's getting married to Princess Drew. Sure. I'm gone for one weekend and all Hades breaks loose", grunted Rachel stunned. "Wow. Just... Wow."

"Ye—ep", grunted Luke, taking a long drink of his wine before passing it on to Rachel. "Here. Helps. At least a bit. Not with the whole this-making-any-sense part, but hey."

Rachel accepted the wine, but the frown won't leave her face. "Somehow... I'd have... hoped for a happier ending for them, you know? I mean... I don't know. Nico has potential. He could... go out, slay drakons and save dames and earn himself godhood, sweeping Lord Perseus off his feet?"

"That's a nice thought", whispered Luke with a small smile.

"This wedding is going to be a wreck", stated Rachel calmly.

"Speaking as a wise woman, or an oracle?", asked Luke amused.

"As a girl who has read enough romantic stories by now", replied Rachel, taking another drink.

"Ah. That", chuckled Luke and took the wine back from her. "Well, to the wreck then."

/break\

Percy was panting hard as he stood over Enyo. The goddess gave him an impressed and amused smile, just before her twin-brother attacked Percy from behind. Percy noticed from her look, so he just barely managed to dodge Ares. Making a back-roll, Percy reached for his sword and got it up just in time to block a hit from Ares. This was good. Hard training to the limit left his mind blank. That had always worked. He wasn't one of the best soldiers of Atlantis for nothing.

"You'll be a worthy general of your father's one day, brat", grunted Ares.

"Yes, he will. Now quit playing around, children. Time to get ready for the ball."

The three young gods turned toward Queen Amphitrite. The queen was leaning against the wall, an amused smile on her lips as she watched them. Enyo and Ares turned to exchange a look before leaving so mother and son could talk for a moment. Sally's eyes softened as she watched Percy and how he gathered himself off the ground. He avoided looking at her.

"I'm not angry with you, Percy", whispered Sally. "I understand it. I really do. I know your father is very... smothering. And if we had given you more free reign over where you go and what you do, you wouldn't have run away. But... something is wearing you down right now. Tell me what. Please, Percy. I'm your mother, I worry about you. Something happened wherever you were."

"I... met a boy. A prince. I... really liked him. Things didn't work out. The end", sighed Percy.

"That sounds more complicated than what you're saying", observed Sally.

"He's... now getting married to a princess so his kingdom won't get involved in a war and I kind of love that he puts the happiness of his people before his own but I also kind of hate that... that it can't just be him and me", admitted Percy, swimming up to his mom and accepting the hug she was offering, burying himself in the warmth and love of his mother's arms. "I just wanna abduct him and keep him down here under the sea where we could be happy without responsibilities?"

"Oh, sweetie", laughed Sally and shook her head. "I'm sorry this didn't work the way you wished it would, but... there are plenty of fish in the sea, you know?"

"I don't want a fish, mom", grumbled Percy. "I... really wanted him."

Sighing, Sally kissed his forehead. "Come on, let's get you ready for the gala."

/break\

Percy was spotting a thin-lipped smile as he was dancing with Apollo. The Sun God was whirling Percy around, smiling at his younger cousin. Percy liked Apollo, definitely one of his favorite cousins. Also definitely trying to cheer him up right now, which was sweet.

"I hear whispers of you having a male lover", commented Apollo after a few whirls.

"Oh my us, please tell me mom didn't set you up to give me like The Talk about gay sex", groaned Percy flustered, throwing his head back. "I will literally drown myself if she did."

"...No", laughed Apollo amused. "I heard it from the girls. You know Laverna and Hermes are close friends, she told Hermes and Hermes told me and said that I should talk to you because maybe you'd be more likely to open up to me since I'm such a literal sunshine."

"You are", noted Percy with a fond smile. "But I'm fine."

"You know, my lovers have a tendency of being turned into flowers", drawled Apollo, a far-off look on his face. "So, if you... I don't know, need gardening tips because someone turned your boyfriend into a flower, me and Persephone figured out real great ways to keep the plants healthy."

"He's... not a flower", chuckled Percy dryly. "He's... marrying a princess."

"Oh. Okay. I have something for that too. Constellations. Wonderful way of getting rid of a traitorous lover. Did that with Coronis", suggested Apollo brightly. "Generally, ask Hera for ideas on punishment though. She's the scary expert when it comes to those."

Percy snorted amused, a small but genuine smile on his face. "I'm not a fan of punishment. And it's not his fault. But I appreciate the input. I'll be fine, as mom said."

"Do you mind if we switch partners?", asked Hades with a pleasant smile.

Apollo gasped and batted his eyelashes at Hades as he took the underworld king's hand and allowed him to whirl Apollo off, leaving Percy and Persephone alone. She smiled as she rested a hand on Percy's shoulder, allowing him to lead her. He sighed at his cousin.

"If you want to offer advise or comfort, I will scream", warned Percy frustrated. "I'm tired of it."

"I'm here to ask what happened", supplied Persephone gently. "I mean, I know what happened from Nico, who is, by the way, heartbroken. And... when I look into your eyes, I see the same expression. You're suffering just as much as he is. And I can't quite... grasp that, sweetie."

"We'll be fine", chuckled Percy with a thin-lipped smile. "He made a grown-up, responsible decision and he will live with it. I'm... hurting, but I also respect his decision. You and me both know it's the best for your kingdom. He'll have a good bride at his side and will live a normal, respectable human life. Who knows, maybe in a century or two..."

"Oh, sweetie", sighed Persephone and kissed the top of Percy's head. "I like you far more than Drew. She's been a complete nightmare about this whole wedding, bossing everyone around. She's very selfish and rude and... while she has been groomed to be a queen one day, but... I'm not sure if she will be a good queen. The quality I admire in my son is that he puts the kingdom before himself. I see that same quality in you, Percy. When you... left, instead of throwing a fit or demanding to have Nico all to yourself. She... does not share this sentiment."

Percy hummed, frowning at that. He had hoped he at least left his Nico in good hands, that was all he wanted. For Nico to be taken care of and cared for. Sighing, he leaned more into Persephone and the two of them danced in silence until the song ended and someone else came to tap in.

"May I have this dance?", asked Poseidon, looking at his son.

Percy smiled faintly and accepted the dance. "I'm sorry I worried you."

"That is going to be your new 'hello' for the next century, isn't it?", chuckled Poseidon and shook his head. "My boy, you worried us a lot. But your mother made me realize that perhaps... it was not all your fault. Perhaps I was at fault for your behavior. Perhaps I... made you run away by being too overbearing. And I'm sorry for that, Percy. You're my son, I love you. I just... want you to be safe. It had been a few centuries since I last had a baby in the family before you came around and maybe I was a little overwhelmed. I just saw everything that ever went wrong with your older siblings and desperately tried to fix it all by controlling too much of you life. I'm sorry."

"So... I'm not grounded anymore?", asked Percy half-hopeful.

"Oh, you are so grounded for at least a century. Then, we might re-negotiate", grunted Poseidon.

"Okay, dad", sighed Percy in defeat, hanging his head.

/break\

At first, as Triton and Tyson returned Percy to them, Poseidon had been very pleased. The sea and storms around the world calmed as Poseidon calmed down. His chest swelled with pride and his heart with love for his children. He was proud at how well-behaved and obedient Percy was.

At least for about a week. Then he started growing suspicious. With the second week, Poseidon was officially tense and suspicious. He started getting concerned, because this wasn't Percy.

No sassy backtalking, no pranking, no attempts at sneaking out and getting into trouble.

Poseidon started watching Percy closely and he saw the boy absentmindedly sitting in the stables, taking care of the hippocampi, but without his usual warmth and happiness. Often, Percy would be sitting at his window, just staring out of said window, into the distance. And it was downright scary to see Percy be so still and subdued. He also ate less and he didn't take much joy from the things he used to love. This looked like Percy, but he didn't act like Percy.

"What is wrong with our son?", asked Poseidon with a frown as they got ready for bed.

Amphitrite hummed confused. "I think Proteus has just reached his parental limit. Theoclymenos and Eidothea have reached that rebellious phase and them hanging out with Apollo so much, for the sake of prophecies and oracles... It's exhausting, I understand Proteus there."

"Not that son", sighed Poseidon and shook his head.

"I think Triton is just in a bad mood about how busy Thanatos is", supplied Amphitrite.

"...Not that son either, love, are you doing that on purpose?", grunted Poseidon pointedly.

"Tyson is-", started Amphitrite before chuckling. "Okay, okay. Percy. Yes. I'm sorry. It's just... really very obvious, my love. And that you even have to ask..."

"Tell me, woman", requested Poseidon frustrated. "My son is not happy and I don't..."

"Since when has he been miserable?", asked Amphitrite casually.

"Since... he got home, but...", drawled Poseidon before heaving a sigh. "He truly cares about this boy, doesn't he? The prince? Oh, don't look at me so surprised, woman. You know no place on, above and below the Earth is as much into gossip as Olympus. I've heard about Percy's little adventure two weeks ago already. But I thought he would forget the human and move on. If anything, he keeps getting more miserable with every single day. My love, what do we do?"

Amphitrite looked up at him with soft, loving eyes. "I don't think there is anything we can do. The prince is getting married to a princess, to save his kingdom from a war. And Percy, he... is proud of his prince for doing that, for putting the kingdom before himself. We might have to give him... time. Just to get over it, to... heal and move on. It might take him some time though. A lot of time."

Poseidon frowned as he turned toward the window, seeing Percy sit in the coral reef garden they had, absentmindedly watching a squid. "...I don't want to have to watch him suffer."

/break\

Nico heaved a sigh as he stood in front of the mirror. He wore the traditional robes of his kingdom, with the traditional jewelry of Venia. Leo had forged it, but he had kept glaring viciously at Nico every time he showed up at the shop. Today was the day. After all the preparations and planning, today was the day Nico was going to get married to Drew. He had gone to the temples of Lady Aphrodite and Lady Hera, praying to find at least platonic love and mutual respect in this marriage. He hadn't been able to stop himself from visiting Lord Perseus' temple too, simply staring at the statue of his former lover with sad eyes. Nico's fingers found the brooch on his toga. A present of Percy's. Well, not the brooch, but the purple shell the brooch was made of. Percy had found it as the two of them were on their first date and Percy had given it to Nico with a bright grin. Remembering the purple shell brooch on Percy's outfit as the god had left the island, Nico realized why Percy had been so excited about it. Nico had requested Leo to create a brooch similar to Percy's.

"Nico? It's time", announced Frank with a concerned frown. "You coming?"

Nodding, Nico followed his friend outside. They reached the beach, where everything was set up for a large royal wedding. Everyone had worked hard for this. Smiling thin-lipped, Nico made his way over to Silena, who in her function as the high priestess of Aphrodite was going to officiate the wedding. She frowned at him, but he avoided her eyes. The whole kingdom was present – Venia's royals too and at least half of Cerelia and Desponia had come to attend the grand wedding. Nico straightened his back, ready to face his responsibilities and his future. His parents and siblings stood in the first row and like everyone else, they were watching him intensely. Part of Nico had insisted on the wedding being held at the beach in hopes that maybe, Percy would come and maybe everything would somehow work out. His eyes continuously drifted over to the ocean, until Drew came to stand next to him, smiling brightly at him. He knew she didn't care about him, she cared about the title, the throne. That had become abundantly clear in the past weeks. Which was okay, because Nico wasn't in for the fuzzy feelings either. They were using each other.

"We have come here today together-", started Silena.

She was interrupted by the roaring of the sea, startling not just her. Nico's heart leaped in hope. The sea rose into high tidal waves that crashed into each other in obscure and abstract patterns that did not look the least bit realistic. The sky above them darkened and ice-cold rain started hailing down on them. The king and queen tensed as they stepped up to Nico, together with Bianca and Hazel. Drew started yelling about her ruined hair and outfit. Nico watched the waves in anticipation. The waves were higher than the palace itself, crashing against one another and as the water returned to the ocean, it left behind a larger-than-life man. Black hair, black beard, sun-kissed skin wrapped in what looked like dark-blue silk. His eyes were eyes that Nico knew – that Nico would never forget. And in his right hand, he held a trident taller than the highest tower of the palace.

"Is... Is that... that is... he...", stammered Frank nervously, trying to hide Hazel behind himself.

"Lord Poseidon himself", whispered Hazel in awe, peeking over Frank's shoulder.

"But why? Does he want to smite Nico on Lord Perseus' behalf?", asked Bianca curiously.

"Prince Nicodemos", roared Poseidon, his voice rolling over them like ice-cold waves. "I have come for the prince of this country. Where is the prince?"

"I... I am here", stated Nico bravely but nervously as he stepped forward. "Lord Poseidon."

Chapter Text

Chapter 12: The God of Lost Travelers

Nico watched in mortification how the King of the Ocean stepped forward, his size slowly shrinking until the man standing before them was 'only' 10 meter high. He still loomed over Nico in a frightening manner. And Nico just knew, this was how he was going out. This was how he was going to die. And he made his peace with that. The entire kingdom watched him.

"You have caught my... attention", roared Poseidon, looming threateningly.

"What did you do?", asked Drew, turning toward Nico.

"Who are you to question a god?", interrupted Poseidon irritated. "I am King Poseidon. I do not have to justify myself to you, mortal. This kingdom, if it wants to stay in my favor and under my protection, will hand me over its prince without arguments."

"No! We can't-", started Bianca angrily.

"Bianca. Silence", ordered King Plutonius firmly, grasping her arm.

"Father!", hissed Bianca in utter disbelief. "W—We can't give Nico up like that!"

Queen Maria took a shaky breath as she pulled Nico into a tight hug, kissing his forehead. "My boy, please... please don't make this worse. Please. Don't do anything to anger him."

Nico frowned confused. Anger him? He was literally going to be drowned at the hands of Lord Poseidon, what would angering him more even look like or lead to? Drew gasped next to him.

"Y—You... What does this mean?", asked the princess, angry and confused.

"It means", roared Poseidon impatiently. "That this kingdom will have to learn to live without its prince and that you, Princess of Venia, and your people will travel safely back to your kingdom, for that is the will of the gods. And you will stay there, where you belong. Now give me the prince."

"I love you, my boy", whispered the queen, kissing his forehead. "I'm sorry."

"No, mother. I... I'm sorry", replied Nico, hugging her and his sisters tightly. "I broke Lord Perseus' heart. I was a fool to think there would be no repercussions."

Poseidon bent down and grasped him by the back of the toga and under the frightful screams and screeching of the people around – Drew the loudest screeching and Bianca the loudest screaming. Nico's heart was racing as Poseidon walked toward the ocean, rain still hitting them hard. The last thing Nico saw before being dragged down into the depth of the sea were the terrified and sad faces of his family and friends. He closed his eyes as he braced himself for the sensation of death.

"Oh, stop it with the brave face. Couldn't you have at least acted a little more frightened so I could have more fun? You being a self-sacrificing hero takes all the fun out of it", huffed Poseidon.

Nico frowned confused. Why did he hear the god? Why did the god complain like that? Why could Nico breath? Blinking slowly, he opened his eyes. But the sea-water didn't burn in his eyes.

"W—What is happening? Why am I not drowning?", asked Nico confused.

"Drowning you would completely defy the purpose of kidnapping you", grunted Poseidon with a frown, the god having shrunk down to normal human size by now.

"...Did you kidnap me to torture me?", asked Nico, only a little fear slipping into his voice. "I swear, I did not mean to hurt Percy! I love him! I... I love him... I should have told him that."

"Good. Good, that is a relief to hear, because otherwise I would have been forced to do the torturing", nodded Poseidon pleased. "I do have a cell prepared for that case and there would be an eternal loop of drowning, being resurrected and drowning again if you didn't. But that was more the Plan B. The Plan A is a different one for you, prince."

"I'm afraid to ask", muttered Nico nervously.

"To the human world, you are now dead. Gone with the gods, heh", chuckled Poseidon. "You will come to the palace with me and you will fix my son's broken heart."

"W—What?", stuttered Nico in disbelief, staring at Poseidon.

"He has been miserable. I will not stand for my son to be miserable", growled Poseidon displeased. "And, believe me, if you did not mean so much to my boy, I would have just flooded your entire little island kingdom and drowned everyone. But that will only make my son more miserable and he will hate me for it. If I bring my boy the prince he wants, then Percy will be happy and Percy will be happy with me. You see, our relationship has been a bit rocky in recent years. You are a... present to mend things. You will make my son happy. The reason my son didn't come after you is because he didn't want to cause trouble for your kingdom. Quite frankly, I couldn't care less about that but apparently it matters to Percy, so there is that. If the Venians threaten war, I'll flood them. After all I did make myself pretty clear up there. I mean, I did, right?"

"Y—Yes, you did", nodded Nico nervously, but also rather confused.

"Good. Do you understand what you have to do?", asked Poseidon.

"...No", admitted Nico overwhelmed.

"Make my son smile again", ordered Poseidon seriously. "My son has the brightest smile in my entire ocean and he hasn't smiled in three weeks. I spent years bemoaning the shenanigans he has been getting into, but... seeing him unhappy and subdued is so much worse."

Nico's head snapped over to stare at the god in utter disbelief. The thought of Percy unhappy and subdued was an awful thought, the idea that Poseidon had literally just abducted him so Nico could 'fix Percy' was utterly mind-blowing and also confusing. And the mind-blowing just didn't stop, because they approached a beautiful palace under the sea, mighty and shining from within. Fishes and merpeople were swimming around, whispering curiously as they saw Nico. Poseidon headed toward his destination with determination behind every push.

"If you upset him further, I still do have the cell", warned Poseidon firmly.

They reached a door and Poseidon knocked. Nico was too dazed to even talk. A flat 'Yes?' was called out and Poseidon opened the door to enter the room, dragging Nico behind him.

"Percy, my boy", called Poseidon out. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine, dad", sighed Percy, staring out of the window longingly.

"In... case you aren't, I brought you a present to cheer you up", offered Poseidon softly.

"Da—ad", sighed Percy frustrated. "I'm really tired of people trying to cheer me up. Ares tried cheering me up the other day. He suggested he could start a little war between the two kingdoms and I could swoop in, kill the princess who's in my way and then abduct the prince as my spoils of war. That is just really not my style. War isn't my style. I try not to use force."

"Oh, you won't have to", assured Poseidon, giving Nico a push.

Nico stumbled over his tails. Oh. Blinking slowly, he looked down his own body and realized that the reason he could breath and understand Poseidon still even though they were under water was because the god had turned him into a merboy. Nico needed a drink. A strong one.

"P—Percy, please. I... I need something sane that makes sense right now, please be that."

Percy whirled around and stared at Nico with wide, surprised eyes. "N—Nico? W—What? Father, what did you do?! Why does no one respect my choices?! I didn't want to get involved, I didn't want to endanger his kingdom! Dad, how could you?!"

"Hey", huffed Poseidon offended. "I was totally smooth, okay? I went there, I kidnapped their prince and made them believe I drowned him and then I threatened that other kingdom to go back home and if they return, I'll flood them. There won't be war, the kingdom will continue on in peace but you get to live happily ever after with you human pet."

"...D—Dad", whispered Percy confused and surprised.

Poseidon swam up to his son and pulled him into a hug, kissing the top of his head. "I know I'm strict with you, Percy, but I love you. I want you to be happy. If having this boy makes you happy, I want you to have him. Please stop being sad, my boy."

Percy blinked repeatedly, trying to fight off the tears. Poseidon smiled at him before he left the room. Taking a shaky breath, Percy turned to look at Nico again. His eyebrows disappeared in his hairline as he took in the gorgeous appearance of Nico as a merman.

"I am so sorry for my father?", offered Percy mortified. "I... I don't know what to say."

"You and me both", grunted Nico with an amused huff. "Your... Your father – the king of the ocean – just showed up at my wedding and abducted me to offer me to you as a present. I think I need some time to digest this. He... said you're miserable and that I ought to fix you."

"Tha—at's dad for you", sighed Percy, rubbing his face. "I'm so sorry. I-"

"No", interrupted Nico firmly, grasping Percy's hands to hold them, startling Percy with that moment of realization as they touched for the first time in three weeks. "Do not apologize. I... I've been just as miserable. I've never been that miserable before. All I could think about was you, Percy. I missed you so much. Missing you made me realize how much I already fell in love with you. I... I love you, Percy. I should have never let you go. I should have... I don't know what I should have done, but something, anything. I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"So... you're not mad my dad abducted you?", asked Percy, slowly leaning in.

"Well, I mean, when he appeared, I thought he was going to smite me, so... the abduction? Definitely better", drawled Nico amused, also leaning in. "Can we... kiss? Is that..."

"Exactly why you're here", hummed Percy and kissed Nico.

He smiled into the kiss, a warm and genuine smile, for the first time in weeks. And Nico smiled just as much, arms sneaking around Percy's waist to pull him closer, both melting int othe kiss.

/break\

Hades and Persephone didn't manage to sneak away from Demetria until late in the night, when they requested some 'alone-time to mourn'. They both had giant headaches. This was going to be their demise. Once Poseidon tried to drown Nico, Nico's godhood would be revealed simply by self-preservation. Even suppressed magic didn't stay suppressed when it would endanger the host.

Poseidon would know of Nico's godhood, who knew what he would do with that. Hades and Persephone needed to get to the underwater palace, but first they needed to talk this through together. The Venian royals had left immediately, intimidated by Lord Poseidon. Which, okay, one good thing. There was no way the king would dare declare war after that threat.

"Hello, big brother. I think we need to talk."

Hades blinked as he spotted Poseidon sprawled out on Hades' throne in the underworld palace. Persephone grasped her husband's hand and Hades squeezed right back. Poseidon stared at them utterly unimpressed. This was not going to end well.

"You saw us", sighed Hades as he approached his younger brother.

"Indeed", hummed Poseidon. "I was confused, at first. Then I saw the godly glow around the prince and the two girls with you. You're... hiding your children in the mortal world."

"We... are", sighed Persephone. "It started out as a hobby, of sorts. The kingdom, but then... When I fell pregnant, we... decided to hide our children. For safety reasons. My father can be... dangerous when angered and sometimes it's hard to tell who's angering him with what."

"Do they know?", inquired Poseidon with a frown. "That they are gods?"

"Not yet. But... now that you abducted Nico, we'll tell our daughters", replied Persephone. "Because right now they're grieving the loss of their brother. If we tell them, they will at least know their brother is safe where he is. But... What did you do with our son, uncle? Is he... alright?"

"Oh, he's more than alright", snorted Poseidon. "The last time I saw him, he was making out with my son behind the corals. I did not abduct him to harm him, I abducted him so he would fix my son's broken heart. And he's been doing a tremendous job of it in the past few hours."

Sighing, Hades rubbed his forehead. "We will take care of our daughters and we will visit Nico as soon as possible. Could you perhaps tell Percy to tell Nico the truth? Maybe it will soften the blow."

"I will", grunted Poseidon with calculating eyes. "Though I have to admit, the brat being your son is infinitely better than him being an entitled mortal prince."

Hades snorted and shook his head, watching his brother disappear.

/break\

"So, I'm a god. Okay. Sure", grunted Nico thoughtfully, watching a hoard of seahorses.

"Yo—ou're taking that better than I anticipated", hummed Percy where he was curled together on top of Nico's chest, his light-blue tail teasingly running its fins along Nico's pitch-black tails.

"My love, in the past month, I came to realize I only loved men, I found acceptance in my family, I fell in love with a beautiful young man, I learned that beautiful young man is actually a god – that was where I had my biggest freak-out so far – and then I was kidnapped by the king of the ocean", stated Nico casually. "And turned into a merman. So... somehow... Yeah, I'm fine."

"I love you", laughed Percy and leaned up to kiss Nico. "Oh, your parents are actually Hades and Persephone, you know. King and queen of the underworld."

"...That makes so much sense", whispered Nico surprised. "Mom's garden always prospers, regardless of the weather. She's so vague about her past. We've never been to grandmother Cerelia's kingdom – oh... grandmother is actually Lady Demeter then, isn't she? And the giant temple dedicated to Lord Hades, no other realm does that kind of thing. Wow. I... Anything else?"

"Mh... nope. That's it when it comes to odd news", chuckled Percy, kissing him again.

"Okay. Sure. Good to know. Very.. good to know", grunted Nico.

/break\

His sisters took the truth only slightly worse. They freaked out and even as Hades and Persephone explained it all and assured them that Nico was safe, they still continued with a mild panic. The kingdom all the while continued mourning its prince. After a few days of repeatedly answering their daughters' questions in calm, soothing voices, Hades and Persephone suggested for them to visit Nico together, shielded with Hades' and Persephone's powers. Because they put much emphasis on the fact that Bianca and Hazel could not use their powers if they wanted to keep their mortal lives. Once the truth got out, the whole family would have to relocate to the underworld.

"Oh, brother, you're alive!", exclaimed Bianca as she pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

"Y—You're here", whispered a startled Nico as he was sandwiched between his sisters.

"Yes, mother and father thought we should... see for ourselves", whispered Hazel.

"So... you told them too, huh?", grunted Percy where he stood with Hades and Persephone.

"They thought Nico was dead. They deserve to hug their brother and know the truth", sighed Persephone concerned. "I'm still worried about how they'll take it in the long-run, but..."

"Let me talk to them", hummed Percy and swam up to the other teenagers.

"Percy! Who is also a god", grunted Hazel, seizing him up.

"So... How's being a god working out for you guys?", asked Percy with a small smile.

"Just great", grunted Bianca with a deadpan. "Our parents aren't who they said they are. We aren't who we thought we are. Our brother, though not dead, is now a... merman... Just great."

"They didn't lie to hurt you, they lied to protect you", said Percy softly.

"Su—ure", snorted Hazel, still clinging onto Nico for dear life.

"Hazel", started Percy, voice firm but gentle. "They did it to protect you, to offer you the unique chance to experience a human life. You have all of eternity to learn how to be a god and to lead a godly life, but never again will you be able to feel... human. Not even when you run away and try to pretend to be one. It will never feel real. You had the chance to be fully human, to have normal childhoods. You don't know what it's like to grow up, being taught how to fight by the always critical Ares, to learn strategy from Athena and never be good enough, to endure summer vacations with aunt Hera and uncle Zeus. Being a god is... exhausting and it is so much harder than your royal lives have been so far. You can be bitter with them, but sooner or later, once you've experienced the godly world to its full extend, you're going to realize how much you'll miss the human world."

"I don't know about that", muttered Hazel with a slight glower.

/break\

"I know the loss of your brother weights hard on you, love, but please talk to us."

Hazel blinked dazed and turned toward her two lovers. Frank and Leo were laying on her bed, watching her with concerned eyes. Sighing, she got up and walked over to them. It had been two weeks since Nico's 'death'. Since she learned that she was actually a goddess.

"I'm... fine", whispered Hazel softly.

"You're not. Of course you're not", huffed Leo and sat up to pull her into a kiss. "But we're here to help you get better, okay? You just... have to talk to us."

"I just miss him, I guess", sighed Hazel, that not being far from the truth.

She knew that while they were still able to hide their truth from the rest of the godly world, Bianca and Hazel would have to stay away from Nico. But it was not forever and they knew Nico was happy where he was, with Percy. It still hurt. Everything hurt. She buried herself in her lovers' embrace, soaking up their warmth and comfort. If she had been raised a goddess, she would have never met Frank and Leo. But... she was a goddess and thus, she would eventually lose them. Her grip on them tightened and she hid her face in Frank's neck. Why did the truth always have to hurt?

/break\

"Didn't expect to see you back here, kiddo", stated Luke amused.

"I brought flowers for Nico's grave", hummed Percy softly where he was crouched down.

"How is he?", asked Luke curiously when he approached the god. "Oh, don't look at me like that, Perce. You wouldn't have allowed for your father to kill Nico. You stole Nico."

"He's... fine", admitted Percy. "But you can't tell anyone!"

"Not going to", chuckled Luke amused. ""Kiddo, you saved yourself and Nico from heartbreak and you managed to prevent a war. Venia is finally standing down. They are too intimidated to even think about attacking. Things haven't been that peaceful between our kingdoms in... ever. It all worked out in the end, I suppose. Lucky little god, you are."

"So lucky", grunted Percy with a small smile, turning to fully face Luke. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me. I keep secrets, it's what I do", hummed Luke.

"No. For taking me in without asking question. You were suspicious from the start, you knew I wasn't just an orphaned, poor kid, but you gave me kindness", chuckled Percy, a crooked grin on his lips. "I swear to you on the River Styx that I will never forget that kindness and I'll repay you."

"Repay me?", asked Luke amused, one eyebrow raised. "How?"

"I found out my realm, you know. After all those years", grinned Percy impishly. "Lost travelers. Those yearning for their own paths. May it be at sea or on land. So if you ever lose your path, I will be there and help you, Lucas. And that's a godly promise and I won't break it."

"Thanks, I guess", hummed Luke curiously, tilting his head. "But my path is pretty even."

"Maybe", hummed Percy cryptically. "Let's see what the future brings. Be good to the others. Watch over them, especially Leo. He really needs the love. I'll... never forget you guys."

Chapter Text

Chapter 13: The God of Lost Souls

Percy sighed pleased as he hung in the blue silken bonds. They were rather comfortable, though they did prevent him from touching the hot underworld god in front of him. Nico lifted his head just then, smirking knowingly at Percy before diving right back in. Nico had spent the past two hours kissing every single inch of Percy's body. Thoroughly nibbling and biting and kissing and licking every part of Percy's body. Percy took a shaky breath, writhing beneath Nico.

"A—are you quite done worshiping me yet?", grunted Percy impatiently.

"You're the only altar I'll worship at", whispered Nico lowly. "Now, don't interrupt my service."

Percy huffed frustrated, bucking his hips up, his straining and leaking erection brushing against Nico's sixpack. Nico made a chiding sound and pinned Percy by the waist, continuing with the kisses. He thoroughly traced Percy's sixpack, kissing and licking along it.

"So gorgeous and perfect and beautiful. My gorgeous, beloved god", whispered Nico lowly.

Percy made a soft choking noise. "Ple—ease, Nico. I'm horny. Be nice to me."

Nico laughed, but he found it impossible to disobey Percy, so he finally allowed his lips to wander down to Percy's cock. Percy gasped relieved as the warmth engulfed him and his lover started sucking him off with as much gusto as he was used to. Over the past decades of dating, Nico had truly perfected the art of sucking Percy off. Fighting his bonds, Percy arched his back and came down his lover's throat. Breathlessly, Percy collapsed back against the bed, knowing this wasn't over. Nico was very thorough and he loved having his mouth all over Percy. Slowly, Nico licked Percy clean of all the spilled cum. That tongue was so thorough and tender as it once again made its way all over Percy's body, tracing Percy's muscles with hunger and awe.

"Love you", mumbled Percy sleepily as Nico untied him.

"I love you too, my beautiful consort", whispered Nico pleased, kissing Percy on the mouth.

"You taste like my cum", complained Percy and wiggled his nose.

"We need to get washed up so we can get ready for dinner", suggested Nico gently.

"Ye—eah. No", grunted Percy and snuggled up to his lover. "You know how exhausting it is to just lay there and let you praise all of me and kiss all of me and lick all of me? Very, I tell you."

"Love. Please. Bianca is visiting", pleaded Nico, nosing Percy's hair. "Please?"

"Always with the blackmailing puppy-eyes", huffed Percy, swatting Nico's face.

"Come o—on. I don't get to see her often", continued Nico, peppering Percy's face with kisses. "And you are the most understanding and loving consort imaginable and you wouldn't want me to miss her now that she's actually back in the underworld for a visit, right my love?"

"You're so cheap, I wonder why I love you", huffed Percy, elbowing Nico.

"I don't know. Sixty-four years ago, a beautiful stranger appeared on my island and stole my heart, shortly thereafter his father stole me and six years later, I married the beautiful stranger", hummed Nico, stealing a gentle kiss from Percy. "Must have done something right there."

"Ye—eah, you must have. Was the ceremony nice?", asked Percy teasingly.

"Beautiful. Under the sea, coral reefs decorated with valuable gems. All of Olympus and the underworld visiting to see the union between the sea and underworld. And it felt not the least bit like we were trying to save our asses from Zeus' wrath", snickered Nico.

And yes, it might have been part of the reason they got married. Because the strong union between Hades and Poseidon – strengthened by marriage between their children – was a far better protection for Nico and his siblings as they were revealed to the godly world, but still, it had mainly happened out of pure, true love. Over the six years Nico had lived with Percy down in the underwater palace, their love had blossomed and flourished. Percy had helped Nico learn to navigate the sea.

But decades later, as Hazel moved to the underworld, so did Nico. And with Nico, his husband. Though Nico and Percy did make it a point to visit both places and live in the sea as much as in the underworld. Both were their homes by now and belonged to both realms. It had Hazel, who as fake-aging grew too tiresome and it started to be suspicious – as she had already buried both of her lovers – she decided to abandon the mortal world. And Nico and Percy came to comfort her.

"Okay, okay, okay. Let's get cleaned up", sighed Percy in defeat. "But you owe me. The Thing."

"I owe you the thing. Fair enough", chuckled Nico pleased.

The two of them washed up together and headed downstairs to the dining hall, where Hades, Persephone, Hazel and Bianca were already sitting. Percy smiled softly as he watched Nico and Bianca hug. The whole godhood thing, Bianca hadn't taken to it as well as Nico and Hazel. As the opportunity arose, she joined Artemis' hunt, taking two of her fellow guards – Zoe and Phoebe – with her. She regularly did visit the underworld, but the distance definitely helped her get a grasp on things. Hazel all the while was fully dedicated to her new role as the goddess of the riches of the Earth. A part of Hades' duties that the king had never fully prioritized for himself; he was quite a busy god, after all, so he was glad to hand over the responsibility to his daughter. Hazel smiled at them, looking absolutely stunning in her purple robes. She still wore the pendant that Frank had given her all those years ago, the one made by Leo through which they had met him. Her fingers also often touched it, when there would be a longing look in her eyes.

"Good to see you, Bia", grinned Percy as he sat down next to Hazel.

"You too, Percy", smiled Bianca gently. "So, tell me, how are things down here?"

"Good, good", nodded Percy innocently.

"Inviting a trickster god to live in my realm was the worst idea I ever had", sighed Hades.

Percy smiled sharply, yet still with an edge of innocence. Yes, decades ago he had realized that he was the god of lost travelers, ocean and otherwise. He was also a minor trickster god though – something that Hermes in particular had called since Percy was four. The trickster of the sea, was what they called him. Percy really enjoyed it. The leader of sirens. After all, they tricked humans, made them lose their paths – and lost paths, well, that had become Percy's realm.

Percy smiled gently as he linked fingers with his husband. It was beautifully poetic that Nico had become the god of lost souls, helping the souls that chose rebirth to find their new lives, guiding them into their new bodies. Together, they were a total power-couple, if Percy may say so himself.

/break\

"The world is changing", whispered Percy as he stared up at his old temple.

The color of the marble statue had long since faced, one arm had broken off. Everything laid in ruins around them, the kingdom once prosperous and beautiful had turned into ruins to attract archaeologists. Archaeologists and curious gods missing their pasts.

"That is quite a weird thing to say", chuckled the leader of the expedition. "But true nonetheless."

"I just... I'm sorry, Doctor Kane", laughed Percy sheepishly. "Seeing ruins of old civilizations always makes me nostalgic, wondering what the people back then were like. Acted like."

"I understand the sentiment", chuckled Doctor Kane thoughtfully. "It is why archaeology became my calling too. The secrets of the past. Oh, what its witnesses would have to tell us if we could speak to them no. Reading the imprints they left on our worlds is the only way we'll ever know."

Percy offered a thin smile at that and nodded. If the good doctor only knew that he was speaking to a witness of those times. Oh, Percy hadn't even meant to return to Demetria. Not like this. Then again, he hadn't meant to get involved with an archaeologist either. Percy and Nico had run into Doctor Kane by pure coincident in 1888 in London. The two gods had gone there together to investigate a series of cruel murders – due to Nico's duties, the two of them often entangled with humans because they couldn't keep out of it. And when a series of lost souls started to reach the underworlds, the lost souls of young women who had previously lost their paths in life, Percy couldn't sit still. The two of them left for London to find the man they called Jack. And during their investigations, they met Doctor Kane and befriended him. Doctor Kane was particularly interested in the former Demetria Kingdom for it was the only cult of Lord Perseus and the good doctor wanted to investigate, to learn more. Percy and Nico couldn't stay back.

"It's beautiful", mused Nico as he stepped up behind Doctor Kane and Percy.

He looked good in his black suit and with the high hat. Though Percy wasn't too attached to this new modern hair-style with the sideburns. It looked odd, in Percy's personal opinion. Sure, better than that odd phase of white-powdered wigs, but still strange. Humans were so amusing.

"Can you tell us more about the kingdom, Doctor Kane?", inquired Percy curiously.

Percy and Nico had offered their 'wealth' to support the doctor's next expedition and the doctor had gladly agreed to let them tag along. Doctor Kane smiled and straightened his jacket.

"The last historically noted royals were Emperor Nicodemos Antonius the Third, better known as Nicodemos the Mighty, and his wife Andromeda Drusilla of the Venia Kingdom. Under them, the kingdom reached its peak", started Doctor Kane enthusiastically. "It was how the king became an emperor. Formally, he used to be king, but as he united Demetria and Venia, he grew greedy and became an emperor, soon too power-hungry for his own good. They had nine children together. All of them were slaughtered, together with the queen, as the empire fell. Legend has it that the emperor died of grief and insanity. Supposedly, the name is cursed, you see."

"The name?", asked Nico with a frown, one eyebrow raised. "How come?"

"Nicodemos", nodded Doctor Kane solemnly. "Prince Nicodemos the First died, though the causes are unknown. The legends woven around his death tell of the god Poseidon rising from the ocean and striking him down for an undocumented offense to the gods. Right at the day of his wedding to the princess of Venia – the first attempt to unite the two kingdoms. As the only son of King Plutonius – the first documented king and supposed founder of the Demetria Kingdom – he left the throne vacant. His sister Queen Hazelina Makaria and King Franciscus took over the throne, followed in succession by their daughter Queen Sperantia Nike, the mother of King Nicodemos Franciscus. And after King Nicodemos Franciscus came, well, Nicodemos the Third and with him, the end of the Demetria Kingdom. According to myth, the sea rose and angry storms didn't allow for people to return to the ashes that remained of the kingdom after the emperor fell."

Percy grasped Nico's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Queen Hazel and King Frank had ruled side by side, strong and brave. And as Frank had died and Hazel couldn't bear staying in the mortal world, their mortal daughter Sperantia Nike took over. The gods kept watching their family, the mortal tragedy unfold. It had taken Hazel long to overcome said tragedy.

"Truly a fascinating subject of history", whispered Nico, voice strained with emotions.

/break\

The history that followed was so much worse though. Only two decades later and Percy was mortified to watch the Great War unfold. It was really hard to keep out of that one. Triton, Proteus and Tyson kept Percy occupied under the sea during that phase, because the gods could not intervene. There was a lot of sparring and a lot of trying not to get in touch with the mortal world.

Not even his immortal brothers were enough to distract him from the Second World War.

That one took Nico – because Nico too needed to distract himself. He was just so angry at his mortal half-brothers and the mess they were causing in the mortal world. And while the Big Three were fighting and quarreling, Nico and Percy were essentially fucking throughout the underworld.

"Pe—ercy", growled Nico angrily.

"No—ope", chimed Percy wickedly.

He had Nico restrained with the water of their oversized salt-water pool. The underworld god growled again, disliking the feeling of being restrained and not in power. Percy smirked at him.

"You promised me to do the Thing if I stayed out of the United States", drawled Percy.

Huffing, Nico relaxed in the bonds. He naturally disliked being surrounded by another god's realm. There was a certain appeal to it too though, having Percy's water surround him like this. Percy ran greedy hands down Nico's chest, until he used his control of the water to lay Nico down flat on the ground. Percy greedily climbed on top of Nico, straddling his waist. Nico groaned hoarsely as Percy sank down on him, the tightness of his lover embracing Nico's cock. Nico tried to pry his hands free from the water that held him as though it was made of plastic. There was a certain appeal to Percy displaying just how powerful he was. Percy's fingers were greedy as they traced Nico's sixpack.

"Gorgeous husband of mine", whispered Percy lowly, kissing Nico deeply.

Percy was riding Nico for all Nico was worth, hard and fast, but as Percy came close to his orgasm, he suddenly let go of Nico – even with his powers. Percy leaned back on his husband, eyebrows raised. Smirking darkly, Nico snapped his fingers. The shadows behind them snaked up around Percy's arms, tying them above his head while Nico's hands finally got to explore Percy. Percy knew how much Nico loved touching his husband all over, worshiping every patch of perfect skin. His fingers dug in, eager to leave bruises, to mark his territory. The shadows tied Percy as the water had tied Nico before. In their relationship, Percy was the one who had always preferred being restrained, but he also enjoyed using his powers on Nico. Which was why this was their special thing – it featured things both of them only partially liked while the other loved them. A weird combination, but they thoroughly enjoyed it (even though it had once before wrecked the palace, much to Hades' dismay). Nico smirked as the shadows pulled Percy up into a standing position, leaving him helplessly dangling from his bounds. Tied-up was a look that thoroughly suited Percy, in Nico's humble opinion. Grasping Percy's thighs, Nico spread them and wrapped Percy's legs around his waist before gently easing back into his lover. Percy moaned, a broken sound as Nico hit his prostate for the first time. Encouraged by that, Nico started thrusting hard and sharp into his lover.

"My beauty", whispered Nico darkly, kissing along Percy's collarbone. "My salvation. My lord."

"Still the only altar you worship at", chuckled Percy fondly.

"Always", promised Nico before capturing Percy's lips in a siring kiss.

"Always", agreed Percy, rolling his hips. "Now get on with it."

Chuckling amused, Nico picked up the pace. He knew his consort preferred a rougher, merciless fucking over gentle, sweet love-making – and that suited Nico just fine too. He fucked Percy hard against the wall, the shadows caressing Percy and holding him in place.

"Ni—ico", moaned Percy, rolling his hips. "C'mon. Make me come, please?"

Nico smirked against Percy's neck as he kissed and marked that. "You can do that better, love."

"I'm your lord", huffed Percy offended. "How dare you deny your lord like that! That much for me being the only altar you worship at. Huff. I miss my cult, they were far better at worship—oh."

Nico silenced him with a firm grasp on his dick, jerking him off with firm, cunning motions while kissing Percy very hungrily to stop him from complaining. Percy hung boneless in his bonds, allowing Nico to thoroughly fuck him and jerk him off until Percy came all over his husband's stomach. Nico grunted amused, pushing deeper and harder until he also orgasmed, deep inside of Percy. He kissed Percy once more, though this time a lazy dragging of their lips.

"My beautiful lord", whispered Nico lowly. "The one I will always worship."

"O—Of course", hummed Percy pleased. "Now call back your shadows and carry me to bed."

"As you wish, my lord", smirked Nico and snapped his fingers.

His hands grasped Percy's firm bubble-butt tightly, squeezing it as he held onto it to carry him out of their bathroom and over to their bedroom. Percy looked absolutely ravished and wrecked as Nico spread him out on the bed. Truly, even now that Nico had known all of those gods for so long, Percy would always be the perfect picture of a true god to him.

"Ye—eah. We need to go another two rounds at least", drawled Percy with a frown. "Still thinking about the shit-fest going on upstairs. I can't believe..."

"I know, my love", sighed Nico, gently brushing his lips against Percy's forehead.

"Human wars are definitely what I hate most about being a god", sighed Percy.

With a pout in place did Percy snuggle up to Nico. Nico smiled faintly and ran his fingers through Percy's hair in a soothing manner. The two of them laid in silence, simply staring up at the ceiling.

"The next time", promised Nico lowly, barely a whisper breathed into the shell of Percy's ear. "This is the second Great War within fifty years. This can not stand. If the quarrel between the Big Three rises to such a level again, I will not hold you back and I will not allow anyone from holding us back. I'm tired of those useless fights endangering the lives of mortals. I'm tired of greeting the lost souls of innocent victims in a fight that is not theirs. I'm... tired."

"I know, my love. I know", murmured Percy soothingly, kissing Nico. "But I'm sure things will calm down now, right? Once this war ends, there will be peace for centuries to come."

/break\

Percy was unnecessarily optimistic and he was aware of that. The middle of the 1980s smelt like war – and over the centuries, Percy had learned what an upcoming war smelt like. It was a very distinguished scent. So he could be found perched up behind Nico as Nico sorted through the souls. They were beautiful to look at – shiny, shimmering orbs, all in various shades, kept on the shelves lining the high tower where Percy and Nico lived. Lining all of the tower. And the tower was high.

"May Castellan", whispered Nico thoughtfully, browsing the shelves. "She... had the potential to become the oracle of Delphi, but... Well, she's Hermes' lover. Come on, little trickster. Help me pick a soul worthy of the big trickster. This one's special. Feels special."

"How about...", whispered Percy lowly, reaching for a turquoise glowing orb. "This one?"

He cradled it carefully, gently. It glowed brighter as Percy held it. Nico stared at him in surprise.

"Are you... Are you serious?", asked Nico stunned. "But those... they are... we... we didn't..."

"We've been saving them for a good third run", hummed Percy amused. "I think it's time."

The shelf housed their friends from Demetria. Once before, Nico and Percy had tried to give them a second run, hopeful that they would rise to become heroes and earn themselves godhood. Yet that one, well, it had been a bit of a mess. They had promised themselves to wait.

"The circumstances are special. The... shift, in the air", mused Percy softly. "Something is bound to happen. Something big. Potentially bigger than the last two wars this century had. And you and I, we agreed. Next time and we'll meddle. So... let's meddle, my love."

"By putting our friends in harm's way?", argued Nico with a friend.

"By giving our friends the chance to become heroes", disagreed Percy.

The smile on his lips looked scary as it was illuminated by the glow of the globe. Nico frowned as he took the container holding Lukos' soul. The orb reacted to him too, glowing a darker green.

"Lukos Castellan, son of Hermes", mused Nico thoughtfully.

"Too old-fashioned. Lucas, how about that?", suggested Percy with an impish grin.

"More hung-up on that second part, my love", pointed Nico out unimpressed.

"Oh come on, Luke's soul is the perfect fit for a son of Hermes", declared Percy with a broad grin. "He was a thief, a trickster and he took in the strays who needed help."

"Mh", grunted Nico softly. "Demigods, then. Perhaps that will help make them heroes."

"They will be glorious", grinned Percy wickedly, eyeing the shelf. "All of them. And so will we. You know, I heard rumors that Chiron is in dire need of a bit assistance at Camp Half-Blood... What do you say, my love? One more round? Let's be gods among men."

Chapter Text

Epilogue: The Heroes of Olympus

It all truly started when Luke Castellan ran away from home. Percy gave him a little nudge onto the right path, or at least he tried. The nine-year-old was frightened and alone. A truly lost little traveler. And there was just no way Percy could accept that. Percy had been keeping a watchful eye over Luke Castellan, making sure the boy was safe even as he was alone on the streets. By then, Nico had managed to inconspicuously infiltrate Camp Half-Blood as a trainer, which meant that this was the path Percy wanted Luke on, because those silly children shouldn't live on the streets – even though Luke had done a tremendous job of that in his last life.

"Hello, Luke", whispered Percy softly as he materialized next to Luke.

The little boy looked startled as he stared at Percy wearily. "W—Who... What are you?"

"I'm a god", grinned Percy mischievously. "The god of lost travelers. And you look lost."

"Why should I trust you?", snorted Luke defensively.

It was so strange, to see his old friend again, after such a long time. To see him so young and lost. Now it was Percy's turn to give him a home, to finally pay a debt that was long overdue.

"Because there is a safe place for you to live at. A home", smiled Percy warmly. "It's called Camp Half-Blood. You will learn to control your abilities, to fight. You will be safe and together."

/break\

Two years later, Percy did not stand by as Juno tried to take a defenseless little toddler away from Beryl Grace. Oh, he was not going to let that happen. Last time she intervened with the life of one of her son's husbands, well, Hercules was still in therapy with Psyche because of all the labors and pain Juno had put him through. It was endearing how gods were not supposed to intervene with the demigods, but if it were the Olympians then all bets were off and they did as they pleased.

So Percy decided to be sneaky instead. He brought the matter to the public eye, earning Juno a lot of trouble with the Olympian council. Employing a very eager Venus, Percy did his best to fix Beryl Grace's mess of a life. She had been a huge movie-star in the eighties, just like Aphrodite's former lover Tristan McLean. Venus had giggled at the suggestion – and a year later, Beryl and Tristan were the happily married parents to three young demigods.

/break\

Percy found himself a little distracted with everything going on. He knew that Thalia, Jason and Piper were safe with Tristan and Beryl for now, before their journey would lead the three siblings to Camp Half-Blood. Luke and many others were protected under Nico's care and guidance at Camp Half-Blood all the while. His husband was making him proud as a trainer for the Greeks, while Percy kept a close eye on New Rome, considering he was a Roman-exclusive god.

Things were going smoothly, the children were allowed childhoods and training and a family in their own rights. It only happened five years later that Percy received news of Esperanza Valdez' death. That was when Hazel got involved. And angry.

"You brought my Leo back into the world! And didn't tell me?!", barked Hazel viciously.

"Kinda both of them?", admitted Percy innocently and shrugged. "Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus. Frank Zhang, son of Mars. Frank's... seven. And Leo is six. Frank's happy though, he's living with his mom and grandmother in Canada. And we didn't know Esperanza would die that early, okay?"

Hazel's eyes were burning as she grabbed him by the throat and pinned him to the wall. "If something happens to one of my boys, I will show you how much underworld I have in me."

"Hazel", whispered Percy gently. "I promise. I have a plan. A path to set him on."

Hazel squinted at him suspiciously but she let him go. A month later, famous movie-stars Tristan and Beryl McLean adopted a young, poor little orphan. With Tristan's help and love, Beryl had recovered from her alcoholism well and their children were happy. Leo was the perfect addition to that family and he truly deserved that love. Only that Thalia was fourteen now, Jason and Piper were seven and Leo was six. They started attracting monsters.

/break\

"I like the way this is turning out", whispered Nico over a glass of wine.

Percy hummed contently as he leaned against his husband, soaking up his warmth as the two of them enjoyed their alone-time. Bianca had come into the life of the Grace-McLeans and Thalia had joined the hunt at age fifteen, before she could become the child of the prophecy Percy and Nico feared so much. Her three siblings all the while found their ways to Camp Half-Blood and Nico was pretty proud of them. Piper had come to adore her cabin-head Silena, while Leo followed Charles Beckendorf around like a lost, endearing puppy. Amusingly enough, Jason had found his mentor in Luke, who completely thrived in that role. Luke had his most loyal little minions in Jason and the new at camp arrived Annabeth Chase. The demigods received the training they deserved under Nico's guidance – not just physical fighting as they used to. Nico, as someone who had only learned of his own godhood in his late teens, knew how important it was to get a grip on your unique powers too. Chiron was very proud of Nico and Nico? Nico actually enjoyed the job.

"Hazel's hovering though", pointed Percy out.

"It's understandable. If it was you, out there, about to face a great enemy, only a child. I wouldn't like it either, Perce", grunted Nico displeased, tightening his grip on Percy. "Sure, Frank is still happily oblivious of this world, living with his family, but Leo? He's doing good. He's being adored by his whole cabin and him and Beckendorf are building the most fascinating things. It's Luke I'm worried about. I'm glad I insisted that he takes Clarisse and Ethan with him on his quest to steal a Golden Apple – quests in sets of three, it's a rule for a reason. And it was a close call, even so. But they returned successfully. And bonded nicely. I think that under Luke's leadership, Jason could become a great hero. And judging by the looks Calypso has been giving me the last few times we went to visit the underwater palace, I really hope so."

"Still don't understand why he declined godhood", sighed Percy with a shake of the head.

"I do. It was only him. He couldn't go without his sister, or Reyna who was essentially like a sister. He wanted to be reborn, for another chance together", hummed Nico. "Speaking of Reyna..."

"Nearly was lost at sea", chimed Percy. "But, well, you can't be more in my realm than that. I safely maneuvered Reyna and Hylla to Camp Jupiter. Octavian wasn't a fan, but when is he ever a fan, unless it involved Luke...? Mh... Imagine Octavian and Luke finally reuniting – and uniting the Greeks and Romans. It'll be the most epic love-story since, well, us."

He leaned up to kiss Nico's cheek. These days, Percy was frequenting New Rome. After all, he had safely delivered the ship-wrecked daughters of Bellona to New Rome personally, giving them his blessing. Great excuse to drop by occasionally. He got to watch proudly how Reyna made her own path in New Rome. Octavian, augur and eager to become praetor, could really use someone to reign him in a little, at least until the paths of Romans and Greeks crossed. Jason – the Roman living with the Greeks – was now nine and endearing, but one day he would 'reach sixteen against all odds'. And they already knew that this would be huge. Fighting it on two fronts made no sense. They needed to unite Romans and Greeks before that. But Percy wasn't very worried about it, because Nico and Percy would help their friends to win this war, as the gods fighting alongside demigods.

~*~ The End ~*~