The Legacy of the Big Three

by Takara_Phoenix

Summary:

Twenty-five years ago, the Olympians, led by the so-called Big Three, were the greatest group of superheroes in the world. One by one, they retired. There were still heroes, but there had not been a huge threat in many years.

Now, the sons of the Big Three train at a school for heroes to be.

Jason grew up under the pressure of being the son of Zeus, both from the public and from his father.
Nico grew up knowing who his father was, but no one outside their family knows he is the son of Hades.
And Percy? He has no idea he's the son of Poseidon.

Chapter 1: The End of the Golden Era of Heroes

PJatO || Jercico || PJatO || Jercico || The Legacy of the Big Three || Jercico || PJatO || Jercico || PJatO

Title: The Legacy of the Big Three – Heroes of the Next Generation

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan. 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.

Tags: polyamory (m/m/m), superpowers/superheroes, hurt/comfort, fluff, mutual pining, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, double penetration, m/m, f/f, m/f

Main Pairing: Nico/Jason/Percy

Side Pairings: Reyna/Annabeth, Piper/Hazel, Frank/Leo, Octavian/Luke, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Charles/Silena, Chris/Clarisse, Malcolm/Katie, Grover/Juniper, Bryce/Drew, Paul/Sally | Poseidon/Amphitrite, Hades/Maria | Hades/Persephone, Tristan/Beryl, Zeus/Hera, Howard/Hecate

Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Jason Grace, Thalia Grace, Bianca di Angelo, Hazel Levesque, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, Grover Underwood, Annabeth Chase, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Frank Zhang, Luke Castellan, Ethan Nakamura, Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen Blackstone, Cecil Markowitz, Will Solace, Charles Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, Clarisse la Rue, Chris Rodriguez,Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Jake Mason, Malcolm Pace, Katie Gardner, Miranda Gardner, Nyssa Barrera, Kayla Knowles, Zoe Nightshade, Octavian, Drew Tanaka, Bryce Lawrence, Mike Kahale, Lacy, Mitchell, Juniper, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Ella, Tyson, Sally Jackson, Paul Blofis, Maria di Angelo, Tristan McLean, Beryl Grace, Esperanza Valdez, Howard Claymore, Small Bob, Mrs. O'Leary, Argentum, Aurum, Festus, Arion, Blackjack, Tempest

Gods: Zerberus, Hades, Persephone, Triton, Poseidon, Amphitrite, Zeus, Hera, Hecate, Chiron

Summary: Twenty-five years ago, the Olympians, led by the so-called Big Three, were the greatest group of superheroes in the world. One by one, they retired. There were still heroes, but there had not been a huge threat in many years. Now, the sons of the Big Three train at a school for heroes to be. Jason grew up under the pressure of being the son of Zeus, both from the public and from his father. Nico grew up knowing who his father was, but no one outside their family knows he is the son of Hades. And Percy? He has no idea he's the son of Poseidon.

The Legacy of the Big Three

Heroes of the Next Generation

Chapter 1: The End of the Golden Era of Heroes

/Twenty-Five Years Ago...\

They didn't know it yet, but one day, this time was going to be known as the Golden Age of Heroes. They also didn't know yet that they would become the prime example of what a superhero was. No, they were still young, bright-eyed and filled to the brim with enthusiasm and excitement.

Hades, Poseidon and Zeus – already known as the Big Three, a moniker they had earned from the press. Only a few years ago, they had been solo acts. Poseidon had protected New York, Zeus came from San Francisco and Hades had been a shadowy urban whisper in Los Angeles. What had been vigilantism against small-time criminals grew with the rise of supervillains.

And when the villains started to band together, forming the so-called League of Titans, the heroes knew they had to work together too. All three of them had made a name for themselves at that point and them coming together, it had been a truly historic moment. The Big Three.

They gathered other strong heroes and formed a group known as the Olympian Council. Twelve of the strongest heroes of the United States – Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Demeter, Artemis, Apollo, Hephaestus, Ares, Athena, Dionysus, Hermes and Aphrodite. Side by side, they fought against the League of Titans – and won. The Big Three, Zeus first and foremost, took down Kronos.

World-fame was theirs. And so was a proper headquarters. They took over the Empire State Building, their own Olympus, where the heroes could meet and plan. Even without the League of Titans, the teamwork was beneficial for everyone involved. Backup for a tougher enemy, exchange of information, someone to take over if one hero was hurt or occupied. And with that, the Olympian Council gained more members, smaller heroes, newer heroes. The US and the Olympian Council became a worldwide respected example of heroism.

"Let us celebrate today's victory, brothers!", declared Zeus, laughing loudly.

He had one arm wound around Poseidon's neck, the other around Hades'. Out of the three, Zeus was the most muscular, physically the strongest. His dark hair was combed back and his electric-blue eyes sparkling with the joy of victory. He had a handsome face, a face that had enchanted many over the years he had been a public figure now. His white skin-tight suit with the large golden lightning bolt on his chest and the golden cape made him look more royal than ridiculous, despite the color-scheme treading the line. Since the forming of the Olympian Council, he had become the team's leader and the true All-American Hero. Poseidon was taller than Zeus, but he had the lean musculature of a swimmer, not a boxer. His hair was longer and wavy. his eyes a brilliant sea-green. A different kind but no less of a teen-heart-throb. His suit was different colors of blue – dark and light, in beautiful patterns and he wielded a trident, his signature weapon. The last one was Hades, who radiated goth energy, his pitch-black eyes intense at every gaze and his dark curls softly hanging into them. He wore all black and his power to pull the shadows around him had helped him stay out of the public eye for many years. Some found him frightening, others were enchanted by his mysterious aura and certain bad boy charm.

The three of them could not be more different in personality, and yet they worked well together. Perhaps because they were so different. They complimented each other, even in powers. Zeus ruled the sky – controlling the weather – while Poseidon ruled the ocean – he had hydrokinetic powers – and Hades could control darkness itself and had necromantic powers; he could control the dead like puppets. They wielded such great power that, so far, there was no force able to overwhelm them.

"I'm not drinking with you, Zeus", sighed Hades exhausted, trying to dodge out of the embrace.

"You're so boring, Hades", groaned Zeus. "I'm glad Dionysus joined. He knows how to party!"

"I don't think Hades is boring, I think Hades has... other things on his mind", noted Poseidon.

He cracked a mischievous grin as he spotted the object of Hades' affection. They were walking the halls of Olympus, on their way to a debriefing. There, down the hall, stood Persephone – one of the newer additions to Olympus. She was beautiful, her green skin-tight suit with the dark-green skirt complimenting her figure, her long, dark curls cascading down over her back as she was... watering the plans. She loved plants; controlling them and communicating with them was her power.

"Wait. You like Demeter's girl?", asked Zeus stunned. "I mean, she's pretty, but... damn."

Persephone was Demeter's newest sidekick and Demeter was fiercely protective of her, like a daughter, which was why Hades had been keeping his distance so far. Hades frowned and averted his eyes, his cheeks red in embarrassment at being caught like this by Zeus and Poseidon.

"You should go talk to her", whispered Poseidon softly. "Me and Zeus will distract Demeter."

"We will?", asked Zeus doubtfully. "She's kind of mean."

"I'll pay the tab when we go to the pub later", offered Poseidon.

Immediately, Zeus laughed and wrapped an arm around Poseidon once more. "We will!"

Hades just glared at them. "No, don't-"

But with a wave of his hand, Zeus summoned a gust of wind that pushed Hades up against Persephone, causing both heroes to stumble a little. Thankfully, Hades managed to catch her in his arms before she could fall. She pressed her hands against his chest, staring startled.

"Has Aphrodite been rubbing off on you, mate?", asked Zeus curiously. "Such a matchmaker."

"The only one she's rubbed off on is Ares", muttered Poseidon amused. "What can I say, the engagement has made me... soft for love. You should try it too, you know. Settling down."

"And break the hearts of countless women and men?", huffed Zeus offended. "I could never!"

Poseidon snorted and shook his head at that. Zeus liked his flings, he liked his fame and how it brought him a different person to warm his bed every night. Hades, he had never shown interest in someone before. And Poseidon, oh, he had given his heart away two years ago to the woman he knew to be the love of his life. A mermaid he had met at the shore while fighting off a tsunami. She was – she was special. A literal princess, Princess Salacia, daughter of the king and queen of their sea. And she held powers, the same hydrokinesis as Poseidon. He had never met anyone else with the same power as him before. Mermaids, they were special yes, but they didn't have special powers like those. She was, just like him, a mutant – only of a different world. The two of them had started teaming up with each other, more and more, until she came to join him. Leaving the ocean behind to explore the human world. She took on the hero-alias Amphitrite, to honor the fishes she guarded (part of her special mutation; she could communicate with all sea-creatures).

Life was good. Poseidon couldn't imagine life to be any better than this. Him and his brothers by anything but blood led the greatest team of superheroes, he had a beautiful fiance with whom he fought side by side proudly. The dynamic duo of the sea, they were called. Life was perfect.

/Five Years Later\

"The world needs me!" His voice was booming, echoing through the apartment. He looked worn down, the fighting spirit his words may suggest didn't show on his face. The sky outside their apartment lit up as the storm raged on.

"No", his wife whispered softly, shaking her head. "The world needed Poseidon once upon a time. All the big villains are defeated. There is no fight left."

"There is always a fight left!", argued Poseidon angrily.

"What? Do you want to chase down purse-snatchers and rescue kittens? There are new heroes, younger heroes. It's time for a new generation. The world doesn't need you anymore. I talked to Persephone, her and Hades are thinking about retiring too, you know."

He looked up, surprised. He knew she was still close to Persephone, despite having hung up her own cape nearly two years ago. The thought made him swallow hard. Him and Hades, they've been through a lot together. They were like brothers. Them and Zeus, the Big Three. Did the world truly not need them anymore? Did the age of heroes… just end?

"I'm not saying this to be cruel, my love", whispered his wife. "The world didn't need Amphitrite anymore either. Look at me. I retired, but the world moves on. We inspired new, young and hopeful heroes and they're slowly taking our places on Olympus and in the papers."

Thunder accompanied the lightning this time, the whole apartment bright for the blink of an eye. The thunder was followed by screaming and crying. Poseidon watched his wife leave the hall.

No more Amphitrite. Once upon a time, they were the aquatic duo – what a golden couple of superheroes. Poseidon and Amphitrite. And then she retired. No more Amphitrite, only Salacia Jackson, candy-shop owner, wife and young mother.

"The world may not need Poseidon, but… we need you", whispered Sally. "It was different, when it was just you and me. You and me against villains. Fighting, side by side, throwing ourselves into danger and coming back together. Now, you leave… without me. And I hold my breath, wondering if you'll return to us."

She came back into the hall, carrying the crying and hiccuping toddler. Immediately, Poseidon softened at the sight of his son. Messy, soft black hair on his little head, those rosy chubby cheeks and the eyes. The boy had his father's eyes, sea-green like the entire ocean was trapped in them.

"What do you say?", he asked as he took the toddler from his wife. "No more Poseidon? Only Paul Blofis, high school teacher, husband and… father?"

The baby stopped crying and yelped as he grabbed for his father's face. He reached an arm out to pull his wife close against himself. The age of heroes didn't end, but their time as heroes would be over. Young heroes would take over from hereon out and all all Poseidon… no, Paul… would do was… be a regular guy, with a job and a wife and a hopefully growing family.

/Two Years Later\

Maria di Angelo hummed to herself as she ate breakfast. Everything tasted oddly different these days. And what she was particularly craving was licorice. Today, she was eating buttered toast with licorice and it made her happy, despite the disgruntled and disturbed look on her husband's face.

"It's what your daughter is craving. I am simply the food-delivery system", pointed Maria out.

She rested a hand on her prominent stomach and the look eased off his face. Smiling softly, Maria waved her fingers in swirling patterns through the air and the potted flowers at the center of the table bloomed. There were never cut flowers in the di Angelo home, only grown, living ones. Even though Maria may not take up the name Persephone anymore and had hung up the cape when she and Hades had gotten married, she would never deny her powers and her connection to nature.

"You're awfully engrossed in the newspaper", noted Maria after a moment.

His glare had returned as he was staring at the newspaper intensely. Frowning, Hades looked up once more, searching his wife's eyes before he turned the paper around and pointed at the article.

"Look at that. He's holding that child up like a priced possession", huffed Hades, shaking his head.

Maria hummed softly as she read the headline. Zeus presents firstborn heir – Thalia. She sighed.

"There's a reason Amphitrite retired when she got pregnant", said Maria. "To protect the child."

"Exactly!", exclaimed Hades, slapping his flat palm against the desk. "He's just parading the baby around, even announcing her name. Her and her mother are all over the news. This child will be targeted by every villain we ever put away!"

Maria's eyes softened as she reached out to grasp her husband's hand, linking their fingers. After Amphitrite had retired, Maria had started thinking about it too. Their era had ended, they had come together to defeat the League of Titans and they did and for years after, they still fought villains. Smaller villains. And they grew older, they started... settling down. Poseidon and Amphitrite had their first child, Hades and Persephone got married. Persephone's mentor Demeter had already retired, had passed the mantle on to her so she could live a domestic life with her husband and children too. And Persephone thought that maybe, it was time for them to retire too. More and more of the Olympians stepped down, more and more new heroes came to be, with their own villains to fight. Maria knew she didn't want to raise their potential family in the spotlight.

"It's... his decision, his family", whispered Maria gently. "We can not... control that. All we can do is protect our own, mi amore. We'll keep our daughter safe, together."

"Yes. Yes, we will", agreed Hades with gentle eyes. "Did you consider the name I suggested?"

"We are not naming our daughter Melinoe", huffed Maria, laughing softly.

"Well then, my love, what do you suggest?", asked Hades with the smallest pout.

"Bianca, after my aunt", declared Maria. "What do you think?"

"Bianca di Angelo? I like the sound of that", hummed Hades, nodding to himself.

/Two Years Later\

Paul was rushing into the hospital, his son pressed against his chest as he nearly ran a nurse over. He was in a hurry! He had to get to his wife. He was completely out of breath as he rounded the corner and entered the hospital room, where Sally was laying, resting.

"You're late", complained Sally with a glower, before cracking a smile. "Come meet your son."

"I'm right here, mommy", argued the little one in Paul's arms.

"His other son", corrected Sally fondly. "Your brother. Come here."

"No, thank you", hummed her son, shaking his head. "I don't need one."

"Son, you... will have to get used to him. He's here to stay", chuckled Paul.

He sat down at the edge of Sally's bed, with their older son perched up on his lap. The boy frowned and leaned in, poking the baby's cheek curiously, repeatedly, making his parents smile amused.

"Triton, meet your brother Perseus", introduced Sally, her voice soft.

"That's a stupid name", complained Triton with a pout, still poking.

"That's not very nice", grunted Paul. "We picked that name together."

"Still stupid", declared Triton. "I'll call you... Percy."

The baby blinked his big, green eyes at Triton, not understanding a word, but Triton looked very pleased by his choice, nodding to himself. Sally and Paul exchanged a fond look at that. Paul leaned down to kiss his wife softly before kissing the baby's chubby little cheek.

"He is absolutely perfect, Sally", whispered Paul in awe. "My little Perseus."

"Percy!", exclaimed Triton with a pout.

Paul laughed at that, his eyes sparkling as he looked at his family. He hadn't been Poseidon in what felt like an eternity – but a part of him would always be Poseidon, even if he didn't go out there fighting the good fight anymore. He was Poseidon. Every time he saw the news, saw a disaster or a hostage situation or read about a new villain... His instinct was to put on the mask and the cape. But then he saw it unfold in the news, saw the new heroes – heroes, by now, that he had never actually met in person even – and they... they did their jobs, effectively.

He would always miss it. He'd always miss the excitement, the rush of adrenaline, the satisfaction when he would save someone's life. Even the camaraderie with the other Olympians. It was a special bond, one that would always tie them together, despite those who had died, those who had retired by choice and those who had been forced to retire. And, well, those who still went out.

Many of the younger heroes from his time were still active, some who had started out as sidekicks back then had taken over their mentors' mantles. And then there was Zeus, who still went out there himself, sure the world still needed him. And it did, in a way. He was... more than just a hero, he was a symbol – the symbol of America's freedom. The leader of the Olympians, even if nearly all other members had changed by now. He was getting gray around the temples, he didn't charge head-first into any danger, he led, but even he was aware that many years of heroism were getting to him physically. One day, he was going to have to retire too and Paul wondered what would become of him then. Paul had always had a life, even outside of being a hero. He had been Paul Blofis, school teacher. And then he met Salacia and he became a boyfriend, a fiance, a husband.

Hades too. Paul knew his secret identity, he knew the man was a billionaire, owner of a very famous record-label. It would never cease to amaze Paul, the way the man had juggled the billionaire life with the life of one of America's – no, the world's – greatest heroes. After retirement, Hades – well, Aiden di Angelo (though, Paul smiled, the man had never quite liked his name and always preferred to go by Hades) – could fully focus on his business and his new wife. He had gotten married to Persephone and, if Paul wasn't fully mistaken, they were currently expecting their second child too. Sally was still in contact with Persephone occasionally. Paul, he tried to stay away. For one, because of the temptation – the yearning that thinking about his old hero-life brought with it – and for another for safety reasons. The more time they spent together in their civil identities, the easier it would be for people to figure out their secret. And Sally and Paul, they had agreed to never reveal their secret – not even to their children. Triton and Percy would grow up as normal, happy children.

 

 

 

Notes:

NEW FIC! And since I do already have a Nicercy right now, I figured... it's been a while since I gave the LittleBigThreesome a multi-chapter story. So, here you go - Jason, Nico and Percy as (future) superheroes!

Also, something a little bit different; Percy getting a happy childhood because no Gabe, only being raised by his loving parents. I figured the dual-identity thing would give that a nice spin, after all most heroes DO have a different persona to go with their superhero-alias too. ;D

Next chapter will have all three of our boys as cute, adorable children, because how could I not? I love writing them as kids and I want to give more insight into their upbringing.

Chapter 2: The Very Little Big Three

Chapter 2: The Very Little Big Three

Percy Jackson was a happy child. He was bright-eyed, his smiles lit up the entire room. He liked to play hero, which always made his dad make a weird, proud sound. Percy would tie his blue blanket around his neck and pretend to be a great hero, saving the damsel in distress.

Granted, his best friend Annabeth wasn't very cooperative, because she kept saying that women didn't have to be damsels for men to save. Which made Percy pout and roll his eyes. At least his other best friend, Grover, was willing to play the damsel in distress that the dynamic duo of Percy and Annabeth could save together. That was very nice. And so they would play for hours, fighting imaginary villains, saving the world from things their imagination created.

And after a long, exhausting afternoon of fighting villains, they would collapse on the couch in the Jackson-Blofis home and eat cookies Sally made. Because Sally made the best cookies on the planet. After all, she did own the greatest candy-shop/bakery in all of New York! And no, Percy was totally not biased. After school, he would go to his mom's store and sit with her, do his homework.

His dad used to read him comics as bedtime stories, nowadays he was old enough to read them himself. Comics about the superheroes of the Golden Age. Percy's total favorite was definitely Hades – which was something that always made his dad pout, weirdly enough. Paul always tried to make Percy like Poseidon the most – Look! He can breath under water and talk to dolphins! That's cool, you like water, wouldn't you want to control it? And sure, far as mutant-powers went, that was a pretty cool power. But Percy's favorite was still Hades, because look, Hades had a giant, three-headed puppy-dog, who was large enough so Hades could ride him into battle. And how could anything possibly beat giant, ride-able dog? It couldn't. Besides, Percy always thought that the love-story was way more interesting too. Poseidon and Amphitrite were both water-based superheroes, they met, fell in love, got together, were happy. And they were a badass team, sure, but the story was boring. Hades and Persephone were far more interesting to read! Her, the side-kick and then legacy of Demeter, a superhero who had always edged on with Hades. The accusations of manipulation, the near battle between the Olympians. Also the opposite powers were so cool. Hades could control the dead – real, super creepy skeleton armies – and Persephone brought life – controlling plants, especially flowers; it got her the nickname Spring Queen.

"One day", declared Percy seriously. "One day, I'll be the leader of the New Olympians."

He was laying sprawled out on the grass in the backyard, head to head to head with Grover and Annabeth, all three children staring up into the sky, spinning tales about the clouds above. The blonde girl huffed and shook her head, before tilting it enough to look at him.

"The Olympian council was disbanded five years ago", pointed Annabeth out.

Percy huffed and sat up to look at her properly. "Well, duh. That's why I said New Olympians! I'm gonna form a new council and we're gonna be the New Olympians. You two, me and... nine others. We're just gonna find those nine others first. And grow older. And taller."

"Taller is a good idea for you", agreed Annabeth, straightening up some.

She grinned broadly at Percy, who immediately pouted. He was a few inches shorter than Annabeth, but he was sure that he was going to hit a growth-spurt at one point! His big brother Triton was tall!

"Percy, we don't even know if we have powers. Or what they are if we do", argued Grover worried. "We can't do this if we don't have any powers!"

"I mean, we definitely can", disagreed Percy seriously. "Dad and mom control water. So does Tri. So it's like... really very likely that I will control water too."

He was very optimistic about this. Dad could control water and water-control was really not a rare power – vague elemental control was the most basic of mutations. Both his parents used to play funny little tricks with the bath-water when Percy had been smaller. Triton's powers had started manifesting a little while ago too. But he was also four years older than Percy, so he figured he still had some time to develop his own powers. And they would manifest. He just knew it.

"You're gonna be a whole lotta trouble", declared Annabeth with a sigh as she collapsed backward onto the ground again, eyes on the clouds once more. "You're gonna need me on your team, to keep you alive and stuff. And organized."

"I definitely need the both of you on my team", agreed Percy determined.

The Olympians were the greatest team of superheroes ever. They had come together when great villains had teamed up to attack the United States – it wasn't just one villain and this group wasn't just local to one city or one state, so it needed a different approach from the heroes too. But after they were defeated, slowly, the Olympians became obsolete. The twelve original Olympians started to retire one by one and while there had been many additions – during the war and after peace had come – the original line-up had been nearly completely retired and the bonds that had held them together were no longer there. There was no need for a states-wide network of superheroes, not to that extend anyway. No headquarters for regular meetings was needed anymore, because they all had their own villains to fight in their own cities and states; why waste time on coming over for regular debriefings on issues that didn't concern them. Many states had their local superhero teams, but many superheroes also preferred to work solo (or solo heroes with sidekicks who didn't have hero status). And sure, they had city-wide, or state-wide, fame. But nobody in like Paris had ever heard of whatever hero protected, like, Chicago or something. There were way too many cities in the US, the world didn't care – heck, the rest of the US didn't really care beyond their own state-borders. But the Olympians! Everyone had adored them, had believed in them, been inspired by them. They made people feel safe, they were beloved by all of the US, they had been their nation's big representative superhero group, respected all over the world. Percy knew they had even networked with over great superhero groups from other countries.

Percy wanted that back. He wanted that networking, that trust, that teamwork. He wanted to restore the glory of the Golden Age, a team worthy to be cherished by children just like Percy and his friends, who would inspire the next generation of heroes one day just like Hades and Poseidon and the others had inspired Percy and his friends. One day, Percy believed it firmly. One day.

/break\

Nico's dad was the most embarrassing. All of the embarrassing dad jokes, all of the super embarrassing PDA from his mom and dad, who always kissed and stuff. His dad also worked a lot. He worked so much, running a record-label. When he was little, he always pouted about that. He knew his dad loved them all a lot and he did make time for them, every Sunday, they had a family day. With board-games and family dinner and talking about their past week.

Particularly in recent weeks, Nico had grown to appreciate that, and his father, even more.

He stood awkwardly in the doorway, shuffling on his feet as he watched his little cousin. Hazel was about a year younger than Nico. The two of them hadn't met too often before, because Hazel's family lived in New Orleans while Nico's lived in New York – well, and Nico's dad often flew to Los Angeles for work, for days at a time. Over the summer, they had occasionally visited New Orleans, but not every summer because mamma was from Italy so they spent every second summer in their mother's home-country, living in their summer-home in Venice. And, of course, Christmas. Sometimes, the di Angelos would host it, sometimes, the Levesques would.

But it wasn't much. They weren't neighbors, they hadn't grown up with each other.

All of that changed now, because Nico's uncle was dead. Nico's uncle was dead and his aunt, she had died a few years ago already during an Earthquake. So now Hazel was all alone. And Hades and Maria took her in, as her only living relatives. Hazel's and Nico's fathers were identical twins, they used to fight crime side by side, Nico knew the stories, admired the stories. But then Hades had joined the Olympians and Pluto, well, Pluto didn't – and the two grew more apart.

Yes, Nico knew the truth, the whole truth. His papà and his mamma had never made their identities a secret. Well, they had waited to tell Nico until he was old enough not to just immediately babble everything out. But they never hid their past, they explained everything in words a child could understand. Their powers, how they had become heroes and why they had retired.

Pluto hadn't retired. He kept pushing himself, even after his wife's death – maybe even more then, because she had been another innocent he couldn't save. But especially after Marie Levesque's death, their daughter needed him even more. And now she had... no one.

Not no one. She had Nico and his family now. It was just... different. As wonderful as Hades and Persephone were, they were Hazel's aunt and uncle. They couldn't replace the parents Hazel lost. And Nico, well, he was lost about what to do. How... How did one comfort another kid who had lost their parents? What could he say? There was nothing to say. I'm sorry? What for, it wasn't his fault? I feel bad for you? She had already had enough pity. Everything was going to be alright? No. It wasn't, why lie to her – he couldn't bring her parents back from the dead.

"Hey", whispered Nico after a while of awkward lingering.

"H... Hello, cousin", greeted Hazel, voice wavering from having cried.

"I have chocolate", offered Nico, holding out a bar of his favorite chocolate. "Want some?"

She wiggled her nose, looked ready to shake her head, but then she caught the scent. After a moment, she nodded reluctantly. Smiling at her, Nico approached and unwrapped the chocolate. When he sat down next to her, he held the bar out for her to break a piece off for herself. She munched it slowly, letting it melt on her tongue. The two of them were sitting by the window, overseeing the huge garden behind the house. It was a breathtaking garden – that came from the lady of the house being the Spring Queen. So many flowers, in all the colors imaginable.

"I love auntie Maria's flowers", whispered Hazel softly. "They're pretty."

"Mh, they are", agreed Nico, unsure what else to say.

He was fidgeting, wondering what to do next. Thankfully, that was when Bianca entered the room. She was wearing her riding gear, leather boots, silly hat and all. He had learned not to make vocal fun of her for it; she could kick really well. Hazel perked up a bit in interest at her outfit.

"Hey. So... mom and I... we're gonna go on a ride. And we were wondering if maybe, you wanna come along, Hazel? Do you remember Arion, the foal you met last Christmas?"

"He was pretty", confirmed the little girl, nodding.

Bianca smiled at that. "He grew a lot since then. You wanna see him again?"

Despite not really doing horses, Nico also got up and followed his sister and cousin outside and toward the stables. Last summer, one of his mother's horses had had a foal and when for Christmas, the Levesques had come over, Hazel had been completely enamored with Arion. Nico feared disappointment now though, because the horse had a nasty personality and didn't really like people. He was in for a surprise when his little cousin ran up to Arion, yelling 'horsie' and getting to hug him with no complaints. Even Bianca and Maria looked startled.

"Sweetie, you can't just run at a horse like that!", warned Maria as she gently picked Hazel up to remove her from the horse. "Always approach them slowly so you won't startle them. You wouldn't like strangers running up to you and hugging you either, would you?"

"Mh... no, auntie Maria", hummed Hazel, shaking her head. "Sorry, horsie, I got excited."

"Good idea, sis", whispered Nico to his sister while watching.

"Animals can help. Humans always try to... talk. And it gets awkward. Like it got for you there", replied Bianca with a knowing grin. "But Arion, he'll keep her company and distract her."

Nico nodded in agreement, pleased. He didn't want Hazel to be sad, he wanted to help her. See her smile again. He hoped he would be able to help somehow too, at one point.

/break\

Jason wanted to be a McLean. Honestly, he wanted to be literally anything but a Grace, but being a McLean would be the closest... and potentially happiest... he could be.

But he was Jason Grace, son and heir of Zeus Grace. Jason knew that and... the entire world did too. Because Zeus made no secret out of anything, he lived his life without a mask at all. Zeus was Zeus, civil and hero. He was married, but he had two children out of wedlock – Jason wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but the worse word for it was that Jason and his big sister were bastards. Zeus and Hera had no children of their own, Thalia had been the first child and even though she was not Hera's, Hera had graciously claimed her, and later Jason, too.

Their mom, their real mom, she couldn't handle it all. The press, the pressure, the wife of her children's father. She drank, a lot, and while she drank, Jason and Thalia grew up with Zeus and Hera. Hera wasn't nice. She hated the mockery, that her husband had cheated on her. And she let it out on the kids. On top of the pressure of being Zeus' son.

Thalia rebelled, became a punk, defying their father and stepmother every turn she could. The black sheep. Jason was two years younger than her, he was young and afraid and he couldn't fight them. So he obeyed. He learned hard, fought hard, to become whatever Zeus and Hera wanted.

Not that Zeus cared much; he... The most important thing to Zeus was being a hero. Family? That was what his wife took care of. Surely Hera would be taking good care of the children and their education. Zeus only turned a bit more attention onto them when he stopped being a hero.

Because he got older. Gray. Retire before it became too late to retire pridefully. Instead, he turned toward politics – Hera had set the aim high for him. Become mayor of New York City first, then senator of New York, pave the way to climb up and become president of the United States.

That was the plan. The plan Hera followed. Zeus, he was happy to accept that, because he loved leading, he missed the responsibility and the feeling of changing the world. Or so he had told Jason often before. Whenever Zeus took the time to sit with him at night to tuck him in, he would gush about the past, about the glory days, about the feeling of being the Zeus, leader of the Olympians.

Part of Jason wanted that too. His father's stories made him eager for the life-path Hera and Zeus had set him onto, besides, he would make them proud, his father would actually spend more time with him, they could perhaps share this. He could do... good.

And then his mother sobered up and things changed and Jason, who had ever only known this one life, the life with cold Hera and absent Zeus, learned a different kind of family could exist, learned what a normal childhood might be like – as normal as being the child of two movie-stars was.

Because Beryl had met a man, a good man. Tristan McLean. He had helped her sober up and the two had gotten married and now, sober and stable, she demanded at least shared custody for her own children. Jason had heard Hera and Zeus talk about it, that trying to fight her in court would make them look bad, so a custody agreement was arranged.

Suddenly, Jason found himself packed up and presented to two strangers. The only solace he had was that Thalia was right there with him as the two of them stood in front of the McLean house.

"I am so sorry I left you for so long", whispered Beryl as she sank onto her knees.

She wrapped her arms around Thalia and Jason, pulling them into a tight hug. Behind her stood her husband, Tristan, smiling. And then Tristan had stepped aside and revealed his own daughter.

"Piper, these are your new siblings. Thalia and Jason."

"Hello", piped Piper up, waving at them. "I'm Piper! Can I show you my room?"

That was how Jason first met real kindness and happiness. Which... wasn't something a child should only meet when they were ten, probably. But that summer, that first summer he got to spend with the McLeans, he learned that the way his life had been so far wasn't how it had to be.

/break\

"I'm gonna become a hero too", declared Piper, wiggling her nose in determination.

"Why would you say that, Pipes?", grunted Thalia with a frown.

The three of them were camping outside behind the McLean house. They did that, on the really-really clear nights. Jason and Piper were twelve and Thalia was fourteen. She kept calling them dweebs and teasing them about being kids while she was a teenager, but she still loved them and loved spending time with them. Piper blinked her big, bright eyes at her.

"Because I know your dad is gonna make you attend that superhero-school. Both of you. So I'm gonna become a superhero too so I can go to the same school as you and we can spend more time together than just summers", explained Piper, filled with determination.

Thalia's eyes softened as she wrapped an arm around Piper's neck and pulled her into a tight hug, ruffling her hair. "Don't be so disgustingly cute, it makes me wanna puke!"

Piper was giggling and laughing as she tried to wiggle out from her older sister's grasp. All Jason could do was watch them, smiling to himself. She got to dream. Got to do this because she wanted to – wanted to be with Jason and Thalia. Jason's face fell a little bit.

He didn't want to be a hero anymore. And with every day, he grew more afraid of what he might turn out to be. What if he didn't have any mutant-powers at all? All these years of physical training, what if they were for naught? What if he was going to be a big disappointment?

And, inexplicably just as scary, what if he wasn't?

What if Jason inherited Zeus' powers and was going to be that perfect heir Hera and Zeus wanted him to be. He... was going to have to be a hero and would have to live up to all of these expectations. Being an instant disappointment by not being a mutant at all would get him out of years of having to live up to every single minuscule expectations.

Every single goal Zeus had ever set, when to save his first civilian, how strong he had to be both physically and also in his powers, how high he could fly, how fast he could run, everything.

While it would be absolutely crushing to disappoint them by not being a mutant, it might just make his life so much easier on the long run. He could... He could become whatever he wanted.

"I... wanna be an actor", whispered Jason softly to himself.

"You what?", asked Thalia surprised. "Really?"

"I dunno. It... looks like fun. You get to play all day – play a role. Be whoever or whatever you want to be. And you inspire people and make them happy with the movies and shows you make."

Jason had thought about that a lot and he thought that being an actor was absolutely amazing. He also thought he had the talent for it, maybe. Tristan said so, because when Tristan was learning his lines, Jason often helped him out and Tristan always praised him for it, both for his delivery and for actually memorizing the lines himself too. There was always praise and kind smiles and support.

"I'm sure you'd be a great actor, Jay", declared Piper with a broad grin.

"Well, not like he's gonna be one", sighed Thalia dryly. "What. I mean, neither of us are gonna get the job we want. At least not until we're like eighteen and out of Hera's grasp."

"It's okay. Until then, we can be a team", stated Piper seriously. "Superhero siblings!"

Thalia smiled at that and resumed the ruffling of Piper's hair. "Seriously, the cute is killing me."

But Jason had to smile too, because just maybe being a superhero wouldn't be as bad if he had his sisters with him. They could be heroes together, he could have the support of his sisters and Tristan and Beryl would certainly also back them up with everything. Positive reinforcement, that was what Tristan called it. Jason really liked it, he could get used to it. Every summer, he got to feel that way and when summer ended, he had to return to the Grace home, to be the perfect poster son of Zeus Grace once more and work hard, every single day, under Hera's stern glare.

Notes:

Gosh darn it, I love writing them as kids. They're so adorable. So, next chapter, more of them as kids - the manifestation of their powers and how they learn to control them! ;)

Chapter 3: Blossoming Powers

Chapter 3: Blossoming Powers

When Percy was twelve years old, he accidentally exploded the bathroom in his school. He sat in front of the principal's office like the guiltiest little puppy possible, fearing the consequences.

"Our son exploded a bathroom, Sally!", exclaimed Paul with thundering laughter.

Percy looked up, confused. That... tone of voice didn't match the crime. The look on Sally's face said the exact same thing as she stared her husband down rather pointedly.

"Yes. Our son exploded a bathroom", repeated Sally slowly, with emphasis.

Her tone of voice matched what had happened much more, so Percy leaned heavier onto what Tri liked to call Percy's very effective sad kitty eyes. Just to be safe. Paul was still laughing proudly.

"A bathroom, Sally! Our boy, twelve years old, managed to explode a bathroom!"

He rested a heavy hand on Percy's head, ruffling his hair in praising, which only confused Percy more. The little boy blinked, looking from his dad to his mom, trying to understand.

"...Our small, young son... caused a dangerous explosion", tried Sally once more.

This time, it seemed to sink in. "...Ah. You mean... it's... not a good thing." Paul paused to clear his throat. "I mean, of course is it not good! It was very dangerous. Someone could have been hurt."

Sally smiled at her husband, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. After a moment, she turned toward their son and knelt down in front of Percy, gently cupping his face to make him look up.

"Sweetie, we're not angry with you, okay? It wasn't your fault. No one got hurt and the school is insured for these kind of accidents. But it was still dangerous and from hereon out, we need to start training you to make sure that this doesn't happen again, okay?"

"Right, mommy. I swear I didn't mean to, but Nancy was being mean again and she was trying to pull me into the girls' bathroom and everyone was laughing because they say it's super embarrassing for a boy to be in the girls' bathroom and I got upset and wanted them to stop and then everything just burst and Nancy was soaking wet and so were her friends."

"Nancy, mh?", repeated Sally with a frown. "The Bobofit girl? I'll have a talk with her parents."

She pulled Percy into a warm, nice hug. Mom hugs were the best. Paul smiled at his son as he ruffled his hair again, gaining Percy's attention. He was still trying to figure out why his dad has been so very excited about Percy destroying school property...

"Twelve years old", muttered Paul, shaking his head in awe. "Triton's powers only started manifesting at thirteen! And this strong, at that. My boy! This powerful!"

At that, Percy perked up a little. It was true that he actually was an earlier bloomer than his big brother. Oh, he would so rub that in when he got home and saw Tri!

/break\

"No. You need to concentrate more, Jason!"

Jason flinched a little, furrowing his brows. He was trying. His father didn't have too much patience when it came to training. Sure, he never hurt Jason when Jason failed, but Jason didn't like when his dad got louder because he got agitated. And Jason was already trying his best.

Not to mention, his dad wasn't exactly the best teacher. His dad was a doer, not an explainer. He just... did it. And then expected Jason to see, understand and copy. Only that it wasn't so simply. Just because his dad was up in the air didn't mean Jason understood how Zeus got there. And ever since he had accidentally floated a few weeks ago, his dad had gotten really excited.

At first, Jason had really liked that. His dad had laughed, lifted him up and whirled him around, all proud and excited. Because flying was one of the abilities Thalia didn't display, even though she was older than Jason, so Zeus had come to realize this power might not have passed on to Thalia. To see that Jason had it though, it had made Zeus praise Jason for it.

Now, a few weeks into training, Jason wasn't as keen anymore. His dad... meant well, he wanted Jason to understand, to learn, but he wasn't the best at teaching Jason the how. And then both of them got frustrated when it didn't work. But even that, Jason kind of understood.

What Jason had a pretty good handle on was lightning. It had been the very first power to manifest for Jason – he had accidentally zapped Thalia. By now, he could control it more or less, but he honestly didn't think he could explain how. It was kind of in the gut? A feeling in the pit of his stomach and he channeled it and then lightning happened. So, Jason understood why his dad was struggling with teaching him how to use his powers, because these things were so intuitive, so linked to emotions, that it was hard to boil down to some simple instructions.

"I think that's enough for today, kiddo", sighed Zeus. "Come down here. Go do your homework before dinner, yeah? Otherwise Hera's gonna give us both a hard time again."

"Yes, dad", nodded Jason as he carefully landed again.

He ran off to his room, though he had already finished his homework after lunch. So instead, he threw himself onto his bed and grabbed his phone to text his best friend. Which, it was probably sad that his best friend was his stepsister, but he didn't exactly have a big social circle, what with him being home-schooled by his stepmother Hera and being such a prominent figure. The son of Zeus. So making friends, meeting people, wasn't exactly easy. Piper was his best friend and Jason loved spending the summer at the McLean home, because he got to hang out with Piper and also with Piper's friends. He grinned slightly as he texted her about his day and she replied with a very goofy photo of herself and Leo. Leo was cool, Leo was Piper's best non-Jason-friend and Jason considered Leo a friend too, but since they lived rather far apart, it wasn't that Jason got to spend any time with Leo outside the summers he was visiting Piper. If they'd live closer though, Jason was sure they would be spending so much time together, they would have... so much fun.

/break\

Nico and Bianca regularly had training sessions with their father. He had taught them many basic relaxation techniques to even their breathing and channel their energy. Because sudden, big emotional outbursts tended to reflect in... zombies. Both Nico and Bianca took after their father, they had control over death and darkness. Though Bianca was more prolific in the darkness department and Nico was better at summoning the dead. Both of them could do the other, just not as effectively. The greatest, funnest thing was shadow-traveling – using darkness as a portal to travel between places. That was what Bianca excelled in, she could very easily jump into the shadows and move around, even multiple times. Sure, Nico could do it too, but it drained him, he usually needed excessive time to recharge afterward and he couldn't hop as often as Bianca.

That had seriously bummed him out at first, made him pout. It was his mom who had found the perfect solution for him, to help him out with that. Maria got him a hell-hound puppy. Just like Hades' Zerberus, but this one was all his. She was an adorable, huge black beast with fire-red eyes and he had named her Mrs. O'Leary. The big puppy loved cuddles, belly-rubs and long runs.

In turn, Nico excelled in summoning the dead. At least the physical dead; Bianca was pretty good at summoning ghosts. But reanimating skeletons, summoning zombies? Nico was so good at it, it had even baffled Hades. At that early an age, Hades had summoned his first zombies too, but it hadn't come as easily to him as it did to Nico. He saw a lot of potential in his son.

"Very well-done, children", praised Hades with a smile. "Mh, let's call it a day and see how your mamma and Hazel are doing. Maybe we could order pizza..."

"Ye—es!", exclaimed Bianca relieved. "I am starving."

"Can't we order burgers instead?", asked Nico, using the biggest puppy-dog eyes.

"...I swear if given the option, you would just live off of burgers and fries", muttered Bianca.

"Yes. Yes, I would", confirmed Nico. "But ordering pizza is seriously lame. None ever taste as good as dad's so if we order in, why not something different when dad can't make it himself?"

"He has a point, dad", nodded Bianca after a moment.

Hades laughed, proudly, resting one hand on each of his children's heads. "I'll take the compliment. And make time to make pizza for us this Sunday, how does that sound?"

Bianca and Nico high-fived and cheered at that. Together, the three of them headed outside toward where Persephone and Hazel were. While Hades and his twin-brother used to have very similar powers, much like Bianca and Nico, Hazel's had developed a little more different there, combining her father's and her mother's powers. She could control the Earth, especially to find the things inside the Earth. It was different than Persephone's – because her control of the Earth was about making things grow and helping plants – but it was close enough that she could help the little girl. It gave Persephone and Hazel wonderful bonding time, which helped Hazel settle in. Ever since she had moved in with them, she had opened up more. She even smiled again.

"Hey, Haze, mamma!", called Nico out as they spotted the two.

They were in the garden, the best place to train Earth-based powers. Both Persephone and Hazel looked up at Nico's words, smiling at him. They got up and when Persephone approached to meet them half-way, she pulled Nico into a hug, kissing his forehead.

"Are you done with training for today?", asked Persephone, receiving nods. "What do you say, Hazel, do you want to keep going or wanna go back inside?"

"We convinced dad to order in burgers", declared Nico.

"Burgers!", declared Hazel. "And a chocolate milkshake, please."

"Anything for you, princess", assured Hades with a soft smile.

/break\

Percy was majorly pouting as he stared at his big brother. Triton was going to graduate high school soon. Percy was only fourteen and he would only get to go to high school next year! But Triton was already done with it. And Triton had totally wasted his high school time by going to a regular, normal, boring high school. Why would he do that? He had powers! He could control water too! But Triton had no interest in becoming a superhero. Which, Percy totally couldn't relate to.

"Stop pouting, brat", huffed Triton and ruffled Percy's hair hard.

"No fair, don't!", groaned Percy, trying to dodge out of it.

Triton grinned as he sat down next to Percy on his younger brother's bed. The room was all blue – while Triton preferred green (like a blue-green, actually, but Triton also liked regular green), blue was Percy's favorite color and basically everything Percy had was blue. There was a huge poster of the Olympians on the wall next to the door, illustrated in the style of the early 90s comic run about the Olympians (which was Percy's favorite run; it had focused most on the Big Three, while the more modern run relied heavier on the more minor gods, to draw in a new crowd with new stories. It was working, sure, but Percy's favorite was Hades so he preferred the run heavily featuring him).

"Mom and dad have been talking about this but haven't asked you yet, so here I am, asking: You sure you want to attend Chiron High?", asked Triton with a frown. "Mom's worried about you, because... the path you chose is a dangerous one, you know."

"I know. I'm not stupid, Tri", sighed Percy frustrated and collapsed backward onto the bed. "I know being a hero is a dangerous job. You can get hurt, the people you love can get hurt. That's part of the job. I'm not a little kid anymore, who jumps around with a blanket as a cape-"

"...You literally wore a blanket as a cape for Halloween when you dressed up as Hades."

"Not the point! And it was Halloween", huffed Percy with a flush. But I know this isn't a game. I made this decision for myself. Because I know this is what I want, Tri."

Triton stared at him seriously, like he was trying to check just how serious Percy was. In the end, Triton nodded and reached out to mess up Percy's hair again. Percy glared up at him.

"You're such a little weirdo", muttered Triton affectionately. "At least I have one normal brother!"

He said the second part louder, very much aware of the little boy hiding around the corner, trying to listen in on their conversation undetected. Giggling, their little brother rounded the corner and ran up to them to jump onto the bed too. Tyson Jackson was the youngest Jackson brother, eight years younger than Percy. And absolutely no one could deny the chubby-cheeked kid anything. He had their mom's brown hair, looking generally more like Sally than Paul, where both Triton and Percy had been accused of being 'carbon copies' of their dad, with the sea-green eyes and black hair.

"What do you think, Ty?", asked Percy. "Want your big brother to become a superhero?"

"No—o. I want Percy to stay living here with us forever and to play fun games with me", huffed Tyson with a pout. "I don't want you to move out..."

Ah. There was one problem about Chiron High, it was a boarding school. Percy smiled thinly as he hugged his little brother closer and started tickling his stomach until Tyson laughed.

"Bu—ut the school is just over on Rhode Island, Ty. That's just around the corner. I'll be over all the time, it'll be like I'm not even gone, I promise", declared Percy seriously.

"Pinkie-promise?", asked Tyson tentatively, holding a pinkie out.

"Pinkie-promise. I'll become a great hero, but I'll never forget my number one fan."

Percy grinned as he linked pinkies with his little brother and kissed Tyson's forehead. Triton heaved a long-suffering sigh, before he pulled them both into a hug and unfairly started tickling both their stomachs. Percy yelped, trying to wiggle free, but Triton was just too big and heavy and strong.

"Sto—op it!", exclaimed Percy very pointedly.

Triton stopped. But when Percy turned around, the look on Triton's face was one of wide surprise. Completely unmoved, pausing just... mid-tickle. Percy drew his eyebrows together confused, slowly growing scared. This wasn't Triton pulling a prank on him or anything.

"Mom! Dad! Mom, dad, something's not right with Triton!", called Percy out panicked.

Paul was the first one in the bedroom and it took him only a moment to assess the situation. Sally came running in after Paul and the two exchanged a meaningful look before Sally came to carefully pick Tyson up and carry him out of the room while Paul came to kneel next to the bed.

"Percy, kiddo, look at me", requested Paul gently. "You're breathing too fast. You need to relax."

"I... I don't think me having a panic-attack matters much! Something's wrong with Tri!"

"Percy. Just listen to me. Listen to my breathing, slow yours down. It's okay. It's just... your powers. You control water. You control it... very... very... well. The human body is made of water. You... froze Triton. It's okay, he's not in pain, it's fine, you just have to let it go. And for that, you need to relax, so you can focus on letting it go, okay? Make sense?"

Percy nodded sharply and tried to mirror his dad's breathing until he was calmed down. Paul kept smiling at him reassuringly and then he took both of Percy's hands, squeezing them.

"Remember how you control water. When you're done and let go. Focus on Triton and do that."

Once again, Percy nodded in confirmation. He could control water, he was really good at that – he had even learned to turn it into fun shapes, like make horses entirely out of water and let them gallop around the bathroom to make Tyson laugh. It needed a lot of focus though. And when he was done with it, he had to let go of the control, of the water. He tried doing that now.

"Well, that was a weird experience and I'm glad he didn't learn that sooner."

"Tri!", exclaimed Percy relieved and tackled his big brother in a hug. "You alright? I'm sorry!"

Triton smiled at him and wrapped his arms around Percy. "I'm fine, brat. But... I guess... Chiron High is the right place for you. You're damn powerful."

Percy blinked doe-eyed at that. Triton had never admitted that before. Their dad did, often, telling Percy how talented he was and how proud he was of Percy. Mom did too, always with a soft smile. But Triton usually just teased Percy, how he had been 'way better' when he was Percy's age.

"Wo—ow. I am strong", whispered Percy, blinking slowly. "I'm stronger than dad."

"Hey now, kiddo", chided Paul amused, ruffling Percy's hair.

"Oh, come on, it's enough Tri always does this", groaned Percy.

"But I do have to agree with your brother", sighed Paul. "I think that the teachers at Chiron High will be better equipped to teach you your control and how to use your powers. They're... trained to teach, I... might be a teacher, but not for this subject."

Percy was grinning broadly, vibrating in his seat. He couldn't wait for school to start!

/break\

Nico was only mildly interested in becoming a hero. He partially felt that it was his duty, as the son of Hades. There was a legacy, even if he wasn't in the public eye like the Grace-siblings, of whom the entire world expected to become great heroes one day because they were the children of Zeus, but Nico still felt that legacy for himself. Another part was that his older sister had already gone ahead – she was two years older than him, after all. He didn't like being left behind, so he sure planned on going to Chiron High and make a name for himself too. He had even talked about this with his best friends and while Frank wasn't super keen on it, because he was more of a nerd than a fighter, he had the power to shapeshift into any animal he wanted to and that was the kind of power that should be trained in a safe, professional environment. Will was pretty much on board right away, tough he didn't want to become a hero – he wanted to become support, because he had healing powers. Knowing his best friends were going to be there made things more exciting.

"Not to sound too shallow, but... high school with future superheroes is going to feature hot boys", declared Will with a sigh, laying sprawled out on Nico's bed. "It's the year I'll get a boyfriend."

"For trying to not sound shallow... you kind of failed", snickered Frank.

It was how the three of them had first become friends. They were all gay – well, Frank was bi, but still – and it had othered them, but they had banded together. It was great, making friends who were like him, who were not straight. It sure had made middle school easier.

"I mean, Will's not wrong", grinned Nico. "I call dibs on the cutest guy in school."

"You can't call dibs before school even started!", exclaimed Frank amused.

"I just did", shrugged Nico unimpressed. "Dibs. Can't wait for school to start."

/break\

Jason wasn't keen on going to Chiron High, but there had never really been another option for him. He had still been in diapers when it was decided he would go to Chiron High. The only saving grace was that Thals was already there and that both Piper and Leo had already enthusiastically confirmed that they were definitely going to. Which meant he would get to see his friends every day. It also meant he wouldn't have to live with his father's expectations and his his stepmother's demanding nature anymore. Sometimes, he did feel like Hera loved him, in her own ways, but most of the time, it felt more like he was a means to an end. The picture-perfect son who would help boost Zeus' political career and his image – if his son became as great a hero as him, Zeus would have all the votes he needed for a re-election. The path had been long, Jason knew that, but Hera had planned every single step on Zeus' career path and it had, effectively, led him to the White House. President Zeus Grace. Jason had his role to play in all of that. The role of a good, sweet son who was definitely going to be the next great hero and leader of the Olympians. For that, he had to attend Chiron High. And the first day of school was looming close.

Notes:

They're ACTUALLY going to go to school and are going to meet next chapter! So look forward to their first impressions of each other ;)

Chapter 4: First Impressions (1)

Chapter 4: First Impressions (1)

Percy was nervous and excited, he couldn't sit still. He kept bouncing in his seat. The whole family sat in their car to drop Percy off at Chiron High. Dad was driving, mom was sitting next to him but she kept turning her head to smile at Percy, watching him bounce and listening to him rattle off silly facts about the school. Percy liked to ramble when he was excited. Tyson was listening to his every word, as he always did. And though Triton acted annoyed, he never interrupted Percy or told him to stop rambling. He was so excited. Today was the day, the day he had been looking forward to for so long. He had everything packed that he needed, he was as well-prepared as he could be.

"I wonder who we're gonna end up rooming with", hummed Percy curiously.

"Huh?", asked Tyson confused. "You'll room with Grover, right?"

"Well, yes. We both had it marked down in the forms. Because the school wants us to be as comfortable as possible and if we're signing up with someone we know, we can mark that down. But the dorms aren't just two people", explained Percy, gesturing a little. "The dorm rooms are two bedrooms for two people each, connected with a shared small common room and a bathroom. And Grover and I get to share a bedroom, but we'll share our dorm-room with two third-years. So first-years have someone older right there to get to know and show them the ropes."

Percy knew everything he could possibly know about Chiron High. He was prepared for every possible scenario and he had so many plans. What he didn't know was that there were certain scenarios he hadn't prepared for, scenarios he couldn't have anticipated. Because romance? Romance was not even remotely on Percy's mind. He was sixteen, about to enter high school and all he could think of was the future, his career. Romance didn't even cross his mind as a factor yet.

/break\

Nico knew that he couldn't tell anyone about his father's identity; they had a serious conversation about this before Nico and Hazel signed up for school. They knew Aiden and Maria di Angelo were Hades and Persephone, but unlike Zeus, the two had kept their secret identities a secret. Nico and Hazel understood that as they drove to Chiron High. Hazel was a few months younger than Nico, but old enough to sign up with him. They'd be in the same class and Hazel was really excited about it. She had really blossomed in the years she had been living with them.

"And you two are sure you don't want to be on the same team?", asked Maria curiously.

"I love Haze. She's like my sister. Which is why I don't want to be on a team with her. I want to be my own hero, not... not a team-up with my little sister – no offense", huffed Nico.

"Absolutely none taken", replied Hazel with a smile. "Not keen on being in my big brother's shadow either. I... I'm going to make friends and we're going to become a team."

Hazel hadn't really made friends so far, she had stuck to the family, not wanting to get attached. Her now wanting to make friends, it made Maria smile proudly at the girl. Their family was on their way to the welcoming ceremony; the principal was going to say a few words and afterward, everyone could bring their first-year children to the assigned dorms. They had gotten the room-numbers in the invitational letter for the ceremony. Nico and Hazel were both nervous but excited and it was very cute to Maria. She was holding her husband's hand as they walked in.

"Ha... Aiden. Aiden di Angelo. I can't believe I'm meeting you here! Today!"

Hades and Persephone froze up and turned slowly toward the very loud laughing voice. Their expressions changed, softened, as they saw who it had been. Paul Blofis. Poseidon.

"Brother!", laughed Hades, pulling the man into a tight hug.

"Brother?!", echoed Hazel, Nico and three others.

The young di Angelos turned toward the other kids who had spoken up. One was a young brunette boy, one like a young adult, college-age, and the third a teenager. While the kids looked at each other, the wives hugged each other tightly too, kissing each other's cheeks.

"Not... Not blood-brother", laughed the other man, turning toward his own children. "Don't worry, he is not an uncle I never told you about. Aiden and I go way back, we're..."

"Paul and I were in the same fraternity, you could say", offered Hades amused. "There was a time we were practically inseparable, like brothers. I didn't know one of your kids would be old enough to join Chiron High this year, but now... yeah, sixteen years, huh."

"Time flies by, my friend", laughed Paul, a fond sparkle in his eyes. "Are these yours?"

"Nico and Hazel", confirmed Hades, motioning at the kids. "My oldest, Bianca, is already attending the school. She will be joining us, she came here yesterday like the other third and second years."

"It's wonderful to meet you kids. These are mine, my oldest here, Triton, he's joined the fire academy. Wants to be a fire-fighter. Percy, he's joining the school, and Tyson, our youngest."

"Fire-fighter, mh?", asked Persephone curiously. "How do you like that, Sally?"

"He kept saying he doesn't want to be a hero and then he reveals well he only meant no superhero. Instead, he wants the job where you run into burning buildings", sighed Sally, shaking her head.

Nico narrowed his eyes as he watched the family. His dad's reaction. And he had never actually been in a fraternity. Which meant this was an awkward cover-story. Was this other guy – this Paul – a superhero too? Interesting. Nico grew more curious and turned toward the kids, especially the one who would be a first year now too. Suddenly, he made a little o.

"I called dibs", whispered Nico absentmindedly. "Remind Will that I called dibs."

"What are you talking about?", asked Hazel confused.

"Hi. I'm Nico. Nico di Angelo, apparently not your cousin", offered Nico with a charming smile.

The beautiful boy laughed and it was a beautiful sound. "Good. I'm not much of a fan of sudden new family members. That's just strange. I'm Percy Jackson, nice to meet you."

"How about we go and take seats together?", asked Paul excited, an arm around Hades' shoulders. "We have so much catching up to do and we can do so while we wait for this to start."

Nico smiled pleased by that. This worked out nice, he would get a chance to talk to the beautiful boy with the beautiful laugh. Percy Jackson. That sounded beautiful too.

"Holy shit!", whispered Percy suddenly, tugging on Nico's sleeve.

Startled, Nico turned toward Percy and followed his line of sight. As did everyone else in the hall, because Zeus and Hera Grace had just entered the building, with the son of Zeus standing between them. Jason Grace. Nico tilted his head. Admittedly, among all the masses of first years with their families that came flooding in, he was the most interesting. Even before signing up, Nico had known Jason Grace would be in the same year as them.

"Jason Grace, son of Zeus", whispered Nico, narrowing his eyes again.

Competition. Nico wanted to make a name for himself. Being in the same year as the son of Zeus was going to be tough though. Looking at Jason Grace now, it... felt off. Nico hadn't been obsessively stalking the guy, he had just at random heard things about him. Everything made it sound like he was the second coming. Standing there, in the doorway, was not the second coming. A fifteen year old blonde twink fidgeting with his hands, avoiding anyone's eyes, that was what stood there in the doorway. Not some grand second coming of any sort. Just a cute, nervous first year.

"Mh... You have a competitive spirit", noted Percy with a grin.

"I... uh... I do", admitted Nico, ruffling his curls.

"Then don't look at him", declared Percy, the playfulness fading into a tone that was to be taken seriously. "Look at me. I'm your biggest competition among this year's first years."

"That's... That's a bold statement", grunted Nico surprised when their families sat down together.

"It's an honest statement", shrugged Percy. "I'm powerful and I've been training for four years now. He may have the legacy, but I have been working my ass off to become the best. So, don't look at him just because he has the name. Look at me."

Oof. Beautiful boy with beautiful laugh had a competitive spirit and definitely knew his own worth, because his tone wasn't bragging, it was factual. He had put the work in. He was this strong. That only made him more interesting. Nico smiled as Percy sat down right next to him.

"Okay, Percy Jackson. It is on", declared Nico, offering his hand.

"To a good rivalry, Nico di Angelo", replied Percy with a grin.

/break\

Everyone kept staring at Jason. He was used to it, all his life, eyes had been on him, because he was the son of Zeus. Photographers, reporters, fans of his father's. Occasionally even fans of his mom and stepdad – since both of them were big actors. No one... No one ever looked at Jason and just saw Jason. Not Jason Grace. Just... Just Jason. Just the scared kid he was. Sure, he was fifteen, bordering sixteen, but he was still just a kid. A scared kid, because now he was at a boarding school filled with kids training to be heroes – kids who wanted to be heroes, unlike him. Kids who knew nothing and yet everything about him; they knew his powers, his training, his linage. And they all judged him according to that. Because he was the son of Zeus and he... wasn't anything more.

"Ja—ason! Jay!"

Jason startled and then he was being hugged. Leo's hugs were always warm, he ran hotter than the average person because he had fire-powers, and his hugs were all-consuming. Jason liked Leo-hugs. He got them very rarely, because Leo lived all the way in Los Angeles, where Piper lived, where Jason only got to see them every summer and not more often. Carefully, Jason smiled and returned the hug. He would get more Leo-hugs now, because despite all the dreadful things about this school, there were good things too. Leo was one of them. Leo and Piper, who were both also here.

"Hey, Leo", greeted Jason slowly. "So... Are we... Did we..."

He held up the letter of invitation, because words failed him. He dreaded sharing a bedroom with a stranger. He had stolen his application from his stepmother's drawer to fill in one more field. Because he wanted to room with Leo. It had been horrifying – sneaking into his stepmother's office, opening the letter and resealing it afterward. But he really wanted to room with Leo.

"Ye—es!", exclaimed Leo excitedly, jumping up and down. "Same room! C'mon! Let's check who we're gonna share our dorm with! Come along, McLean!"

Jason smiled faintly at that and allowed himself to be tugged along by his friend. Leo always called him McLean, because he knew Jason would rather be a McLean than a Grace. The two came stumbling into their assigned dorm-room. The common room was small, a corner-couch and a desk, a shelf, even a TV. It was nice, not big but it didn't need to be. It was supposed to give the four students who lived here a common space to talk with each other, study, bond.

"They arrived! Our first-years to dote on! C'mon, Trav."

Leo and Jason remained in the common room and waited, until two nearly identical brunettes came stumbling in through one of the bedroom doors. Their eyes were filled with mischief.

"Hey. We're the Stolls. He's Connor, I'm Travis, no one can tell us apart. No, we are not twins. I'm actually a year older than him", declared one of the two brunettes with a smile.

"Hello. I'm Leo Valdez, this is Jason McLean, we're happy to be here", declared Leo.

"...Grace", sighed Jason after a moment. "It's not gonna fly. Everyone knows me already. I'm Jason Grace, the son of Zeus everyone's been gawking at all day."

"Huh, cool", nodded Connor. "So, that over there is your room. Get comfortable, settle in and give us a call when you're done so we can show you around the school?"

"Huh, cool? That... That's it?", asked Jason confused.

"Kiddo, if you expect to be fawned over, then go to someone who hasn't attended the same classes as your big sister for the past two years", chuckled Travis, ruffling Jason's hair. "We're third years. Just like Thalia. We've been learning here with her for two years now. You're not that special."

Huh. Why did it feel so good to be called not special? Jason bit his lips and nodded sharply before he carried his luggage over into the empty bedroom. It really wasn't big, two beds and two desks with two chairs, a shelf over each of the beds, for books and things. Barely any space at all. And somehow, Jason liked that. He had always hated how big everything was at the Grace manor.

"Thank you, for the offer", called Jason out, seeing the two brunettes poke their heads in. "But... uh... before we have a tour, we wanna go looking for my sister's room, check in with her?"

"We can show you where Thalia's room is", offered Connor.

"Other sister. She's also a first year", replied Leo with a grin. "My other best friend."

"Gosh, you first years are adorable", sighed Travis. "Do you remember being that young and energetic, Con? Aren't they just precious?"

"They indeed are, Trav. Our own little first years. Very precious", confirmed Connor.

Both were grinning at them and Jason had to smile a little. He had a feeling that living here would be pretty cool. The Stolls seemed very nice. With that thought, Jason put his suitcase down on his bed and then quickly made his way out of the room, because if their dorm-mates were nice, he really hoped that Piper's dorm-mates were nice too. Leo was hot on his tails as they ran down the hall. Jason hated that he hadn't gotten to sit with Piper during the ceremony, because Hera wanted to elevate herself and her husband, the Graces sat together. The McLeans sat somewhere else, together with Leo and his mom. Jason would have loved to sit with them instead.

"Kay, this should be it. Knock on the door", declared Leo, nudging Jason.

Jason bit his lips, always catching that little scar on his lip when he got nervous, and then he knocked. Moments later and a brutish looking brunette with broad shoulders and an annoyed glare on her face opened the door. Part of Jason wanted to immediately leave again.

"Girls' dorm", grunted the brunette, raising one eyebrow. "You brats lost?"

"I... uh... I'm... I'm looking for... my sister?", asked Jason slowly. "Piper?"

"Jay! Clarisse, please let them in! He's my brother, they're my friends."

Jason sighed relieved when the scary brunette stepped aside and revealed Piper sitting on the couch in the common room, together with a blonde girl and two boys, one of them brunette and the other with black, messy hair. The black-haired one was staring straight at Jason. Not really gawking, not fanboying, more like he was trying to read Jason. Curiously, Jason stepped up.

"That's my brother Jason and that's my best friend Leo", introduced Piper. "Guys, this is my roommate Annabeth and her friends Grover and Percy. They came by to check on Annabeth."

Now Jason regretted how long he had been held up by the press with his parents, because otherwise he would have checked in with everyone else and he could have been here before the strangers. And now Piper was sitting with strangers, talking to them. Jason didn't do well with strangers, because of all the gawking that people tended to do. Offering an awkward smile, Jason came to sit with Piper.

"Jason Grace", hummed Percy, tilting his head.

Jason held his gaze. He had been taught not to flinch and not to give an inch. This kind of situation, the weaker one gave in first. Graces were never the weaker ones. So he held Percy's gaze. And then Percy just grinned broadly and offered him his hand. Confused, Jason took a moment.

"Nice to meet you. I'm in the habit of forming rivalries today, so—o brace yourselvf, Jason Grace, son of Zeus, I am here to fight my way up to number one", declared Percy, still grinning.

Rivalry? No! Jason didn't want a rivalry. He just wanted to be here and have fun with the people he loved. Be away from his stepmother and his father. No rivalry, no fighting. He didn't want that.

"Barking up the wrong tree there", commented Piper with an amused look on her face. "Jay's not here to become a big number, he's here because his parents pressured him."

"Piper!", hissed Jason wide-eyed, elbowing his sister.

"What? You wanna start off your school career with a 'rival'? That's only gonna give you a stomach ache again, Jay", huffed Piper with a shrug. "Just, let the guy know that this is gonna be a one-sided rivalry, it might make both your lives easier."

"Hu—uh?", asked Percy confused, looking from Piper to Jason.

Jason wasn't keen on sharing his life's sorrow with total strangers, but Piper did have a point. Maybe this would stop the other boy from trying to be his rival. Which sounded horrifying.

"My boy Jason here is gonna be the next big Hollywood star!", exclaimed Leo proudly, wrapping his arms around Jason. "Jason McLean, remember that name, you will see him at the Oscar's!"

"More huh", offered Percy, though now he was grinning a little bit. "Like, what I'm hearing here is that you want to be an actor. Not a superhero. Which, fair career choice and you definitely have the looks for a teen-heart-throb, but... this ain't an acting school."

Involuntarily, Jason blushed at the compliment. He didn't have enough contact to other people his age to get complimented by anyone, not like that. Especially not with such a smirk.

"I'm the son of Zeus", offered Jason, head tilted down a little. "Every... Everyone... expects me to be a hero. There is no choice. That's the path set out for me."

"Well, that sucks", grunted Percy confused.

"Perce!", chided Annabeth, nudging him.

"What? I dunno what to say to that! This is Jason Grace! Literally the last thing I expected to hear from the guy, if I ever met him, was that he doesn't even want to be a hero!", exclaimed Percy.

"Please don't say that. Ever. To... to press or... or my father", whispered Jason pleadingly.

"I'm not really talking to the press a lot", snorted Percy, raising one eyebrow. "And I don't see a reason to tell your parents anything. It's your life. Your choice."

That would be nice. If it was his life, or his choice. There was something kind and genuine in Percy's eyes. Very pretty eyes, that were. Kind of green and kind of blue. Jason blinked a few times.

"It's okay. We're gonna... keep your secret", offered Grover kindly. "And Percy is gonna dial back his competitiveness. You have to excuse him. He's wanted to be a hero basically since the day he stepped out of the womb. And he's been talking about becoming the leader of the New Olympians since we were like... four years old. So, the son of Zeus, well-"

"Makes for a pretty big rival there, since Zeus was the leader of the first Olympians", concluded Piper, nodding slowly to herself. "Well, my brother is not his father."

"Huh. I mean, I can work with that", shrugged Percy and tilted his head, before turning toward Jason. "Jason McLean, future big-shot actor. It's nice to meet you."

He thrust his hand out, again, and this time Jason took it reluctantly, shaking it. "Nice to meet you, Percy Jackson, future leader of the New Olympians."

"So, the three of you are a team then?", asked Leo curiously.

"We've been a team since first grade", confirmed Annabeth with a nod. "Percy here had our entire lives planned out since he could write, basically. Sign up to this school together, share a room with Grover, become a team in the hero-program, graduate on the top of his class, form the New Olympians. Percy is the man with a plan."

"Amazing", hummed Leo. "I don't know what I want yet. I'm mostly here to be with Pipes and Jay and to learn full control of my powers – they started manifesting a few months ago. But... a job? I don't know if I want to become a hero, or... or a mechanic, like my parents, or maybe an actor, or a sailor, who knows. I admire people with a plan. You got... superhero parents who influenced you?"

"No", grunted Percy with an amused grin, shaking his head. "I just... grew up on the comics of the Olympians and I really admired them. I want to change the world. Help people."

Jason tilted his head as he watch Percy be so enthusiastic about becoming a hero. He had never met someone like Percy and he'd like to get to know him, and to see him succeed.

Notes:

Lotta characters, so not all first impressions made it into this chapter! Next chapter, Nico and Jason get to seize each other up ;D

Chapter 5: First Impressions (2)

Chapter 5: First Impressions (2)

Nico first met Jason Grace face-to-face when he went to check up on his sisters. They had managed to arrange for Hazel to be rooming with Bianca. Despite her having settled in really well with the di Angelo family and in Los Angeles, they still worried how she would adapt to the changes of living in New York, in a boarding school, so they had requested that Hazel could live in the same dorm as Bianca, so her older sister could keep an eye on her.

After dumping his things at the room he was sharing with Frank now, he had decided to go and check on his sisters, Frank hot on his heels. Frank was basically Hazel's best friend too. He spent more time at the di Angelo mansion than at home, probably – his father had been a soldier and fallen when Frank was still a baby and his mom was still active on tours, his grandmother took care of him but she was an elderly lady, so usually the di Angelos ended up inviting them over a lot. Frank had practically grown up in the di Angelo backyard.

"Haze, you there?", asked Nico as he knocked on the door.

It wasn't closed so he opened it even as he knocked. Yet the first person he saw inside the dorm wasn't either of his sisters. It was Jason Grace, sitting there, looking all... soft and happy. He was laughing at something, looking startlingly bright. Nico had been looking Jason Grace up a few times, he admitted, checking the tabloids and news and such. The blonde always looked kind of tense and like he didn't want to be wherever he was; uncomfortable, unhappy. Nico didn't think he'd ever seen pictures or footage of Jason looking happy. But laughing – smiling like this – it actually suited him pretty well. He looked very different and it startled Nico a bit.

"Neeks! Fratellino!", exclaimed Bianca as she got up from the couch and hugged him.

She sat on the other couch, with Thalia Grace. He hadn't even noticed, because Jason's laughter had distracted him. The next moment, Nico was engulfed in a tight hug by his big sister. For all the teasing, he knew that she loved him dearly. Grinning, he hugged her back.

"Hey, sis. Figured I'll check in on you and Hazel. I wanted to see her roommate."

"Hazel and her roommate are in their rooms, getting settled in", replied Bianca. "Thals' little brother also came to check on her. Don't we have adorable little brothers?"

"Precious", agreed Thalia with a deadpan, pinching Jason's cheek.

Jason's face turned bright-red. Again, Nico tilted his head curiously. It was going to be an interesting experience to get a close-up of Jason Grace, son of Zeus, in a way the press had never shown him before. On a conceptional, logical level, Nico had known that the picture in his head was not real, it was a construct created by the narrative of both the press and the Grace parents. Yet it still was the picture in his head and it was hard to move away from that. Do not judge a book by its covers, that was what his mom used to tell him – and his dad used to drive it home by pointing out how some people quite literally had dual identities. Hades and Aiden di Angelo presented very differently, whoever looked at the caped, dark hero would not expect the gentle, caring father and the same went for the other way around. A public persona and a private truth were different.

"Oh, Nico? Hey, how are you settling in?", asked Hazel as she poked her head out.

She was smiling, that was a good sign and made Nico relax a little. Returning her smile, he approached her to check out her room. It was the same as his, of course, they were all the same in the outlines. There was a girl with long, black hair sitting on one of the beds, looking up.

"Hello. I'm Reyna. You are the other sibling?", guessed Reyna.

"I am the other sibling", confirmed Nico, waving at her. "You can call me Nico."

Hazel was bouncing on the balls of her feet, looking proud. "I am looking forward to this so much. Have you met your roommates yet? What are they like?"

"I don't know. Their room was locked when we got there, so we just dropped our stuff off in our room and then headed here", replied Nico with a shrug. "Guess we'll meet them later. Bu—ut Frank and I got to room together, so that's great. Will's with Cecil, he texted me their room-number."

"...You people travel in packs, huh?", asked Reyna curiously.

"We just all knew we wanted to go here", shrugged Nico. "What about you?"

"Eh", was all the reply he got with a shoulder-shrug. "Let's not get into that."

Nico frowned at that intrigued and accepted it for now and instead returned back to the common room where Hazel and Frank had by now sat down with the others too. Nico decided to join them, sitting down just next to Frank, with the perfect view on the now increasingly more uncomfortable looking Jason Grace. Seriously, what was with this guy? Something felt off, not just in the private versus public persona sense. It only made Nico more curious.

"You know, my brother came here to become the best", stated Bianca, patting Nico on the shoulder. "So just because the great Jason Grace is here doesn't mean your brother will take over the school in a storm. He got serious competition for that."

Thalia just laughed, ruffling Jason's hair. "Don't worry about that much. He's just here for the base training, he doesn't wanna make waves. Which is gonna be hard, all things considered."

"Jason Grace, not making waves", muttered Nico with a snort.

"I don't want to make waves, I just want to attend classes and have fun being in high school!", exclaimed Jason, looking frustrated. "First this intense guy with the cocky grin and now you! People need to stop coming to me like I want to be involved in some intense, fated rivalry! For all I care, you and Percy can wrestle it out between the two of you, I really don't care!"

Nico stared surprised and Jason stared back at him just as surprised, before quickly sitting down again with his sister, looking a bit bashful and embarrassed. That was nearly cute, making Nico huff before what Jason had said caught up with him in detail and he laughed out loud.

"So you met Percy too! He is kind of intense, isn't he?", chuckled Nico.

"Ye—eah. But like... in a nice way? He changed course pretty quickly when I told him that I'm not interested in having any kind of rivalry and he was all smiles then", offered Jason reluctantly.

"See, he was all smiles after I told him that I'm going to become his rival", stated Nico.

"Who is this Percy?", asked Bianca with furrowed brows, looking at Thalia.

"Percy Jackson", offered Nico, still getting a blank face from Bianca. "He seems to be the son of... a fraternity brother... of dad's? He's definitely ambitious."

"Interesting. Gotta check that boy later", noted Thalia curiously.

Nico was still smiling because of the memory of Percy, though his eyes found Jason. He wasn't sure what to make of the blonde yet, but he was going to keep an eye on him to see.

/break\

"You can't be that intense with people, dude", declared Frank with a heavy sigh.

He clapped Nico on the back, causing Nico to stumble a little from the force. "What? Why?"

"You scared the poor guy", huffed Frank amused. "I swear Grace looked ready to hide somewhere. You're gonna get a reputation within a week if you continue like that."

"That's fine. That's the goal", stated Nico with a small smirk.

"You're awful", grunted Frank, shaking his head. "Gotta rethink joining a team with you."

"Shut up, you love me!", huffed Nico, shoving the bigger boy.

Frank laughed and put Nico in a headlock to ruffle his curls. "Sure I love you, pretty boy."

"Of course you do. When you're close to all of this, how could you be gay and not want it?"

Nico was grinning smugly up at him, motioning at himself. Frank's laughter increased and he ruffled Nico's hair even harder, causing Nico to yelp and try to wiggle out.

"I'm bi, but I have taste", declared Frank with a cheeky smirk.

"Oh, the offense", hissed Nico. "You do know you sleep in the same room as me now, right? Your guard will be down when you sleep and you will regret your words."

"...You people do realize that these are... the halls. The very public halls. Of the dorms. Right?"

Both Frank and Nico looked up like two children caught by their parents, looking up at a boy, probably also a first-year like them, with the wildest curls and almond eyes. He looked mostly amused as he poked his head out of his own dorm-room to look at them. Frank immediately let go of Nico, who hadn't expected that and found himself collapsing onto the ground. Glowering, Nico sat up and turned toward his best friend to bitch about being dropped like that, but Frank was way too busy blushing and trying to smooth his shirt and his hair down. Furrowing his brows, Nico turned from his best friend over toward the amused looking curly-haired boy.

"Sorry bout that", offered Frank sheepishly. "I'm Frank, this is Nico, we're first years."

"Leo! Leo Valdez. Nice to meet you. And it's okay. It just... looked a bit weird to walk into?"

Frank blushed even more. Nico furrowed his brows more intensely, narrowing his eyes on Frank, before they widened in realization. Frank thought the guy was cute! Frank! Frank had never had a crush before for as long as Nico had known him! Sure, Frank would be a mess about fictional characters, but never about like a boy or girl in their classes? Nico grinned to himself.

"Fra—ank. We wanted to go to Will, unless you want to... get to know... Leo... better?"

"Why is your voice doing this?", hissed Frank with a frown. "Stop doing that, it's weird."

"It's okay. Seems like we'll see each other again anyway, because we're all first years. And live in the same hall in the dorms", offered Leo with a smile. "See you later?"

"Yes", replied Frank just a bit too quickly and too eagerly. "I mean. Yeah, see you... later."

Nico snorted and snickered to himself all the way to Will's dorm-room, knocking rapidly. A blonde with glasses and an annoyed pinched look on his face opened the door. Glaring for a split-second, he stepped aside and decided that these two were not of interest to him so he returned to his room. Didn't matter, because as soon as the guy was gone, Nico had view on the blonde he had come for, Will and Cecil sitting on the couch with a dark-haired guy.

"Frank has a crush!", declared Nico as soon as they stepped into the dorm-room.

"Oh my god, we have been at this school for two hours, how did he even have the time-?", asked Cecil with a groan, shaking his head. "We like barely unpacked our stuff."

"I do not have a crush!", exclaimed Frank red-faced. "I just—he looks cute. I just noticed that he looks cute and that is all, I don't even know him, I am not having a crush!"

Nico simply grinned at him broadly, teasingly, before flopping down on the couch with Will. He sighed, resting his head against Will's shoulder. Had it really only been two hours...?

"He already challenged Jason Grace to a rivalry and accepted a rivalry-proposal from some guy named Jackson", declared Frank, nearly defensively, as he pointed at Nico.

"Well, seems like you both have been busy", grunted Will amused, patting Nico's head.

"He—ey, gotta establish who's gonna be top dog", declared Nico.

"That's a weird choice for a superhero-name", noted the stranger in the room.

"No, Jake", laughed Will and shook his head. "Not superhero-name, just his ridiculous life-goals."

"Don't call my life-goals ridiculous, Solace", warned Nico with a pout.

"Oh, sweetie, you want to take over the world. Other people are here like 'I want to join team x', or something – I'm here to become a good on-field medic for a superhero team", chuckled Will.

"...I gotta ask... how literal is 'taking over the world'...?", asked Jake worried.

"Yes, I have infiltrated Chiron High to become a supervillain", drawled Nico dryly.

"Would not be the first time", called the other blonde from the other room.

"Malcolm's right", declared Jake. "It happens more often than you'd think. Using the skills for the Dark Side, getting an insight into how heroes work."

"Okay, for the record, I do not want to become a supervillain. I am going to become one of the greatest heroes of our generation", declared Nico seriously.

Jake stared at him curiously for a second, like he was trying to see just how serious Nico was, before he laughed and nodded. "Okay, so you're going to be the interesting trouble kid this year."

"I think I resent that", grunted Nico with a glare. "I am going to do this."

/break\

Percy already loved his dorm-mates. Charles Beckendorf and Luke Castellan. Both gave that kind and caring energy off, like they immediately wanted to adopt their new first years. Luke had already promised to mentor them and help them with anything they would need help with, while Beckendorf had promised to show them the workshop later on. Not that Percy had much talent on that department, but apparently Beckendorf was really enthusiastic about building gadgets and Percy knew there was going to be a basic class introduction into gadgetry for everyone, though many would end up majoring in it. There were so many career choices – even beyond being an active fighter in spandex and a cape. Those who invented weapons and gadgets, designed costumes, tech experts, communicators, medics, so many more choices.

"Do you guys have any experience with heroism?", asked Luke curiously.

The four of them were laying sprawled out in their common room, Grover and Beckendorf on the couches and Luke and Percy on the ground, on the comfortable carpet, staring at the ceiling.

"No—ope", replied Percy. "Mom owns a bakery, dad's a teacher. The most heroic thing either of them ever did was when mom heimliched that one guy who choked on a muffin once."

"My family owns a gardening shop", said Grover. "I'm only here because of Percy, honestly. He can be very convincing. Me, I think gardening sounds much safer."

"What about you guys?", asked Percy eagerly, turning toward Luke a bit.

"I...", started Luke, with a faint, quirky smile. "Guess it were childhood delusions that drove me here, but I like the here where it got me." That got him an even more curious look from Percy. "Well, my dad, he ditched us when I was a baby. So, as a kid, I did what most kids in that situation, stuck in a shitty home, probably did. Imagine that dad was some grand superhero, out there, saving the world, keeping me out of it for my own safety's sake so no villain would seek me. That was, of course, a load of bullshit, he was just not interested in having a family, you know. Tracked him down a few years ago, he's a mailman. Just... a regular Joe who didn't want to be stuck with a mentally ill woman and a crying toddler. But at that point, that image of following my imaginary father's footsteps was so established in my mind that I decided to go through with it regardless. Maybe to spite the real man, maybe to outdo the fictional version."

Percy raised his eyebrows at that. He couldn't even imagine what that must have been like, to be abandoned by a parent, left in an unstable, unsafe home. He's never really thought about how lucky he was with his normal, average parents who loved him so very dearly and were a picture-perfect American family. Closing his mouth slowly, he laid back down, hands folded on his stomach.

"Don't look so sad, you look like a drowned kitten", huffed Luke. "It's okay. I just like to start off on the right food. Beckendorf, it's your turn before the first years cry."

"My dad designs weapons and gadgets for superheroes", offered Beckendorf with a small smile. "I always admired him for it and helped him out, figured that'd be... what I want in my life too."

"Wait. Beckendorf. Like BD Gadgets?", asked Percy excitedly and sat up.

"That's the one. Gotta take over the family business at one point", confirmed Beckendorf.

Percy whistled impressed. Being as obsessed with superheroes as he was, of course did he know the biggest supplier of all things a superhero needed around their wits and powers.

"You are gonna love his girlfriend", declared Luke with a smug grin. "Wait until you put one and one together when you meet her. Say, where is your lovely better half?"

"Probably fawning over her own first-years", grunted Beckendorf with a soft smile.

He looked incredibly in love as he said that and Percy felt himself melting a bit, though now he did wonder what was so special about his dorm-mate's girlfriend. So he quickly sat up.

"Introduce me. I want to meet her", declared Percy.

It took Beckendorf half a second to be at the door, clearly pleased by any excuse to go and see his girlfriend. Well if that wasn't the kind of love Percy wanted! Curiosity piqued, even Grover got up to follow them. Percy grew more curious as they neared Annabeth's room. Beckendorf knocked and Grover and Percy exchanged a surprised look. Was Beckendorf dating the scary brunette...?

"Charlie!" The high-pitched voice was accompanied by a blonde jumping Beckendorf.

Her long curls bounced around as she hugged him and wrapped her legs around his waist, easily being carried by him. The tips of her hair were dyed an aggressively bright neon-pink. Beckendorf smiled brightly at her. Huh, so Beckendorf was dating the scary brunette's roommate.

"Hello, love", replied Beckendorf with a chuckle. "My roommates want to meet you? And I figured, check out your first-years. Percy, Grover, this is my girlfriend – Silena Beauregard."

Now Luke's words made more sense to Percy and he squeaked a little. "Wait, are you telling me that the heir to BD Gadgets and the heiress to BeaureGardian are dating? Wow."

BeaureGardian was the most sought-after designer for costumes and armor, what protected the superhero. It went hand in hand with BD Gadget, really. Every great superhero got equipped by them. Percy himself planned on being equipped by them. His eyes sparkled eagerly.

/break\

"Kay. House-rules: Go buy earplugs. We fuck. A lot. If you're bothered by that, that is absolutely not our problem because we are your seniors and this is our home."

Both Nico and Frank exchanged a surprised look with their eyebrows raised. When they returned to their room, their dorm-mates had emerged. A tall Japanese guy and a lanky brunette white boy, very pale with freckles and apparently an attitude. He had just sat them down and opened like this.

"Uh... we... uh... We do not have problems with you being gay?", offered Frank awkwardly. "I'm bi, he's gay. But... can we please... uh... not walk in on you?"

"No promises on that", grunted the brunette dryly.

"Alabaster", interrupted his boyfriend exhausted. "I'm sorry about him. He's cranky because we had the whole dorm to ourselves for the summer. I'm Ethan Nakamura, this is Alabaster Torrington, welcome to Chiron High. We're going to be your seniors. If you have questions-"

"-Bother E and not me", interrupted Alabaster seriously. "I have no time to babysit you guys, I have my own little sister to babysit this year."

"It's okay, I will be you gay Obi-Wan", assured Ethan amused.

"I like this one", whispered Frank softly. "The other seems scary though."

"Clever boy", commented Alabaster dryly.

Ethan huffed, nudging his boyfriend a little. This could... actually be the most exciting part for Nico, if he was being honest. Sure, he was out – to his family, at school, online. And he had Will, who was gay, and he had Frank, who was bi. But they were the same age, they were all three equally lost as they were, trying to make heads or tails of things, trying to educate themselves, trying to find out how to know if a boy was open to flirtation or not. They never had any queer older people in their lives – well, those two were only two years older than them too, but still, it felt like so much seniority. And it was more than they ever had. An openly gay, seemingly happy couple? Amazing. Exciting. Nico wanted to get to know them, to befriend them, to learn from them, just to... talk to them. Which was stupid, he was here to become a superhero and that should have him the most excited, but this? He hadn't seen this coming. This was new. Unexpected. Exciting.

Notes:

Next chapter, they're gonna get to show off a little, showing their powers to their classmates!

Chapter 6: Power Test

Chapter 6: Power Test

Jason was mentally preparing himself for the first day of classes. Last night had been good, he had slept well. Somehow, not sleeping in the same house as his father and stepmother helped tremendously in his sleeping schedule. Leo snored, but only lightly. The next morning, Connor and Travis took their senior-duties very seriously and accompanied Leo and Jason to the dining hall. They even sat with Leo and Jason during breakfast, talking them a bit through class. It was going to be fine, or so Jason told himself while washing his face.

"Ja—ay, are you done soon? You're already pretty enough, stop staring at yourself in the mirror."

"Shut up, Leo, I am not staring at myself in the mirror", grunted Jason.

Though, technically, he was. But Leo didn't need to know that. Heaving a slow sigh, Jason splashed one more round of water into his face before he made his way out to join Leo so the two of them could get to class. The first day was particularly anxiety-inducting, because all first-years were going to meet up, to test their powers, so Chiron knew what he was dealing with. Who had what powers, how much strength and potential. While they had regular classes like math and history and stuff, the hero-classes were the ones that needed to be chosen wisely. And Chiron needed to know how well-prepared the kids were, who was how powerful. Which was why Jason, son of Zeus, dreaded it. A public display of his powers – that was one thing that he had never done, even Zeus himself had put a lid on that, even he had known that was too much pressure. And sure, it wasn't necessarily public, but word would be out because teenagers talked and gossiped and might tell their parents and the press would know and then they would start to speculate about him again and he didn't want that. So he took a deep breath and got ready for this, because there was no way around it. He's show what he got to his peers and then they would judge him. Sure, he had managed to make Percy stop wanting a rivalry with him and he guessed he might have succeeded with this Nico guy too, but there were more than just the three of them. And Jason was basically the main target for anyone their generation, already the big household name that others competed with without even knowing Jason. Now they were going to know Jason and they were going to know what they were actually up against. So Jason took another deep breath.

/break\

Percy was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as him and Grover entered the special training area where they would get their powers tested today. They quickly spotted Annabeth and her roommate Reyna and sat down with them. As soon as Percy saw Nico entering the gym, he started waving him over. He was pleased when Nico reacted and walked toward them.

"Who's that? How do you already know people?", asked Annabeth warily.

"That is my frival!", declared Percy with a nearly smug grin.

"What in the world is a frival?", asked Reyna doubtfully, looking past Annabeth at Percy.

"My friend-rival! Frival", replied Percy in a perky manner.

"That's what happens when you raise a kid on superhero comics", chuckled Grover, patting Percy's back. "This here has been dreaming about finding a worthy rival. But not one of these... we fight to the death rivals. The kind who go out for drinks afterward. Like Poseidon, Hades and Zeus."

All Reyna did was stare at Percy with raised eyebrows, but that was okay because then, Nico and another guy approached them. Nico sat down next to Percy, the other one on Nico's other side.

"This is my roommate Frank. Frank, this is my...", started Nico before pausing. "...Percy."

"You have your own Percy? How interesting", hummed Frank, a teasing smirk on his face.

"Oh, do shut up", grunted Nico gruffly. "I... don't know what to... I mean..."

"Frivals", offered Percy, grinning at Nico. "Friend-rivals. Frivals."

"Oh. Oh, I like that. I'm gonna borrow it", nodded Nico pleased, holding a hand out. "To a frivalry."

"To a good frivalry", confirmed Percy, shaking Nico's hand.

"Amazing", muttered Annabeth. "There's two of them."

"Hello, children." The booming voice and clapping of hooves interrupted them.

Chiron had a physical mutation, his lower body-half was a horse. Mutants of this kind were usually called centaurs. He was a legendary trainer, he had been growing up during the time of the Olympians, was a hero of their generation. And when he retired, he opened this school, to teach the future, because he wasn't quite ready to hang up the bow entirely. Percy was practically radiating excitement as he watched Chiron step up in front of them. He was closely followed by the vice-principal, a giant white wolf. Lupa, a shapeshifter who shifted back into human skin in front of them to show off a little. Some first-years gasped surprised, making Percy chuckle.

"Here's a thing we like to do with the first years, so you guys can get to know each other a little and seize what kind of competition you're up against, while we get to see how far along you are."

Percy bit his lips, leg bouncing in raw excitement. It wasn't that he was looking forward to showing off or anything; that wasn't his intention at all. But he wanted to be seen. He wanted to be good. To be impressive, he wanted to leave a mark. Because if he couldn't even leave a mark here, how would he ever be able to reanimate the Olympians? He had to be impressive.

"You are going to come up here, one by one – unless your power requires a partner to work off – and then you will just briefly introduce yourself and show us what you got. Professor Lupa and I are going to monitor you and we are recording every performance so we, the entire staff, can evaluate you. Do not worry about this, it is a normal procedure so we won't ask too much of you. Classes are going to be assigned based on your power-level. Some of you may be farther ahead in your powers than others, some may not have presented any powers at all, or simply just not yet. Now, there is no reason to pitch someone with no physical abilities against someone who can fold steel, right?"

Some chuckled or laughed there. Some seemed nervous and others were excited. Percy's eyes found Jason Grace, who seemed to try and hide away. The guy looked like he dreaded this.

"Barrera, Nyssa", called Chiron out before he stepped aside, clapping for her.

A Latina girl with a bandana holding back her hair stepped up. "Hey, I'm Nyssa, I'm a technopath."

She grinned at them before twirling her fingers in the air, causing the lights to flicker. Everyone looked up curiously at that and then suddenly, the electric doors started opening and closing, until finally every phone went off at the same time. It was kind of creepy to see just how much technology they had all around themselves and how scary it could be if someone else could control it, could access it within the blink of an eye. That was also quite impressive.

"You don't need anyone else on your team, right?", asked Nico curiously.

"Mh? Yeah, no, we're three. Grover, Annabeth and me", declared Percy proudly. "What about you?"

"Well. We're four. That's the problem", shrugged Nico, frowning a bit. "Frank here, me, Will and Cecil. So we figured we'd split up in two teams of three. Find two additional people."

Percy hummed at that, nodding slowly to himself. "Sounds like a good plan. Good luck."

/break\

The second girl piqued Nico's interest. Lou Ellen Blackstone. Purple-haired witch. Witches interested Nico, because their powers were – while not the same, still on the same spectrum as Nico's. Third up, Percy next to Nico started cheering ridiculously loudly, because it was Annabeth's turn. She had the power of invisibility, which was not the most powerful of abilities, but in a fight it sure came in incredibly handy and gave the team an advantage.

"She's also a genius. Not to brag but... yeah, no, I am so gonna brag about my best friend. Because she's a genius", declared Percy, perked up like a proud parent.

That made Nico grin just a little. The one directly before Nico was harder to demonstrate, because apparently she could see the future, so Chiron volunteered for a sooth-seeing. Rachel Dare, pretty impressive, though not very useful actively out on the field, Nico guessed.

"Nico di Angelo", called Chiron out next.

Nico swallowed hard, hands fisting his jeans. Suddenly, Percy reached out for him, patting his hand. Nearly on reflex did Nico relax and turned toward Percy, seeing the other teen smiling at him.

"You got this. I may not know your powers, but you got this. Now, show them to me."

That made Nico actually smile just a little in return. Percy was oddly soothing.

/break\

The scary guy who had threatened him with a rivalry was up next. Nico di Angelo. Guy still looked kind of scary, wearing all black, even black make-up – eye-shadow and eyeliner. He was pretty. No. No, Jason was not thinking about how pretty the scary guy was.

"Will you relax, at least a little?", whispered Piper next to him, taking his hand. "It's gonna be fine."

Jason nodded sharply, doubting her words. Nico's powers were as scary and impressive as he was. With one smirk did he turn the entire gym pitch-black. And then there were ghosts and zombies stepping out of the darkness, the darkness that was so all-consuming. Jason squeezed Piper's hand tightly. He had never seen anything like it. It was no less impressive than reading actual superhero comics. There were so many impressive heroes out there, but he had never seen anything like this outside of the comics. They were so amazing, but also terrifying.

"I don't like dead things", whispered Jason, swallowing hard.

"I know, but... move past that. Holy shit, look at the number", hissed Piper. "Look at how many zombies he summoned, he's fifteen like us and he did all of this?"

Jason blinked at that and nodded. She was right, this was even more impressive considering this was a first-year just like them. Now it really made sense to Jason why Nico looked at him as competition, because if Jason was in this for real, then yes, Nico was absolutely competition.

"He's cute. In like, a scary way", whispered Leo on Jason's other side.

"He is, but don't say that", grunted Jason, elbowing him. "The guy's actually scary."

He was cute and scary, but Jason somehow felt like he'd get his butt kicked by a zombie if he were to say anything like that to him. Besides, who knew if Nico was even queer, so the ass-kicking could actually be really painful. Jason winced. Nope. No getting a crush on the scary zombie-lord.

/break\

Directly before Jason Grace, there was a plant-controlling girl called Miranda Gardener. It was a cool power with a lot of potential, but she was a 'G' and by then, everyone was simply waiting for Jason Grace to come up. Percy felt kind of bad for that. He felt even worse for Jason when the blonde came up. There was a carefree grin on his face and he stood straight with his chest out, but Percy could tell that it was face. After what he had seen from Jason so far, he had a hunch that the blonde was two seconds from throwing up in nerves. Far as first impressions went, he sure had one of Jason. Nico next to Percy huffed a little, a judgmental huff.

"What? You don't like the guy?", asked Percy curiously, turning toward Nico.

"I mean... It's not that I dislike him, I don't know him. But someone with that power and legacy to waste it like that, I just...", replied Nico with a half-shrug. "He's like a... look at him."

"Looking at him", confirmed Percy, turning back to the stage where Jason was currently flying. "He is like a little puppy. I'd say Golden Retriever. So even if you are annoyed with him, do not pick on the puppy. The puppy is officially under my protection. No one should kick puppies."

At that, not just Nico gave him a glance. It was Annabeth who snorted and shook her head. Well, she wasn't wrong – it must look weird for Percy, just a regular little first-year, to claim to protect the Jason Grace. But Percy was a well-trained hero-to-be, Jason was a terrified actor-to-be.

"Cute puppy. You know I have a weakness for puppies!", exclaimed Percy defensively.

A thunder-cloud gathered above them and lightning hit as he said that. Everyone gasped and clapped as they watched Jason pull a typical Zeus. No one knew about his actual powers and this was firm confirmation that this was actually, truly the legacy of Zeus.

"I have a puppy", offered Nico suddenly, startling Percy a bit.

"What?", asked Percy confused, eyebrows drawn together.

"Puppy. You said you like dogs. I have one. She gets to live on campus too, because she has powers and goes along with my powers so... Uh. I have a puppy. In case you wanna meet her."

That made Percy perk up a little, but it also made him grin, because he did love dogs. However, now he was curious because if the dog went along with Nico's ridiculously awesome powers? Percy could not imagine what in the world that meant on a puppy dog?

/break\

Grace wasn't much of a surprise; he did what Nico had expected the son of Zeus to do, though Nico suspected that the brave face and charming grin weren't genuine. Which only rubbed him even more the wrong way. Still, Percy claimed that 'the puppy' was under his protection and Percy was someone Nico wanted to be on the good side of, so Nico was going to just take a step back. Jason didn't want a rivalry, Percy wanted him to take a step away from Jason, so two reasons to just let the boy be and more on from that. Well, he was absolutely going to keep an eye on the blonde, because curiosity killed the cat and this cat was really hoping for some satisfaction to come out of that.

"Do we have any idea what kinda powers he has?", asked Frank when Percy stepped up.

"...Actually, no", hummed Nico, shaking his head. "I have a few things I suspect, but..."

"I could tell you guys, but it is so much more fun to see it", declared Grover.

And damn, the guy looked really excited about his best friend. Which, Percy had also been excited about Annabeth so that seemed to just check out for those three. They were friends who supported each other, something that Nico found very nice to watch.

"The way you blurted out about Mrs. O'Leary though", noted Frank, a teasing grin on his lips.

"Shut up", grunted Nico embarrassed. "I just... I was trying, but the guy is intense and it is hard to find a good angle to... speak. Urgh, please shut up, do not speak of it again."

"You are super shitty at flirting, dude", laughed Frank, nudging him.

"I did not flirt! I am trying to make a friend. Frival", huffed Nico. "Besides, like you are one to talk! The way you stammered around that Leo guy yesterday!"

"Hey, guys. I'm Percy. Not Perseus, please. And... enjoy the shower."

Percy's words weren't necessarily what interrupted Frank and Nico, it was the moment the sprinklers all turned on and doused them from above. People groaned and yelped. Some complained about it and yet up before them, Percy laughed and lifted his arms – and with that one motion, all of the water lifted off them again, the same pearls, like someone was reversing time. That was what everyone thought at first, before they realized that they themselves could move freely. It was only the water and when it was above them all, it looked like a reverse-lake. Then, Percy drew his hands closer to himself and the water came whirling in around him, until it levitated him, lifting him up.

"Hey, I'm Percy, my power is hydrokinesis and I am going to do great things one day."

For a second, Nico actually forgot to breath as Percy visualized that greatness with his next trick of manipulation. The water rose into his hand, in the shape of a trident, covering his body like a hero's armor and even topping it off with a crown. He looked like some mystical ancient god of the seas, ready to be worshiped by his loyal followers. Nico was sure to sign up for that cult.

"I think I wanna marry him", whispered Nico in awe.

"...Maybe don't blur that one out like you did the dog-thing. You've known the guy for a day."

Nico glared and elbowed Frank for that one. He hadn't even meant to say that, but... Seeing Percy down there, like that, so filled with confidence and so powerful, for just a split-second, Nico had this image of the future in his head, a future of being a power-couple of superheroes en par with Hades and Persephone, or – holy shit. Poseidon and Amphitrite. Of course. Nico swallowed hard as he put together who Percy's parents were. A 'fraternity brother' of Hades', not just any, but one he seemed to have been really close to. Water-control. The wife seemed to be close to Nico's mom and Nico knew that Persephone and Amphitrite used to be close friends.

Percy Jackson was the son of Poseidon. Poseidon had a son. And no one knew. Well, no one aside from Nico, probably. Maybe. His eyes wandered over toward Grover and Annabeth. Did they know? Actually, Percy wasn't the only son of Poseidon. There were Triton and Tyson too. Poseidon had three children and, just like Hades, he had managed to keep them out of the press.

Inevitably, his eyes wandered to look at Jason again. For a moment, Nico wondered if that was where he could have ended up too, if he had been in the public eye? He had never quite considered how it had affected his life that his parents had kept him out of the spotlight.

/break\

Jason felt like throwing up when he got off the stage. Everyone was staring at him after. And then Percy came on and Percy was amazing – Percy was right, he was incredibly powerful. Not just in means of strength; raw physical might was one way to measure power, but precision was the other. And the level of detail on the armor Percy had created out of water? Controlling water, just holding it, already demanded a lot of concentration. He hadn't just held a blob of water, he had formed a shape with it. And, more than just that, more than just a precise shape, he had added detail – ornaments – on the armor and the trident. Jason, sitting in the first row had seen it. The details, he formed water like it was play-dough and it wasn't just that he could form it however he wanted it, he formed it with great talent. Jason could only guess just how many hours of training must have gone into this kind of detail. He also doubted that anyone else in the gym – aside from the teachers – had any idea just how absolutely mind-blowingly impressive this really was. They just saw the knight's armor and the trident and thought it was cool, they didn't understand that details were what really showed talent and dedication. Percy Jackson had the raw might and the talent and dedication.

"I have never been impressed by a hero before, but wow", whispered Jason softly to himself.

"Aw, don't tell me you're having a crush on the guy?", asked Leo teasingly, elbowing him.

"What? No! I just... Percy is... a lot", muttered Jason, flushing just a little. "He is... a lot."

Piper huffed and shook her head, tugging on Jason's sleeve when the next one was called on. "Levesque di Angelo? That is like the scary guy, right? Are they related?"

Now, Jason's attention was drawn too, watching the perky girl come up next. "Hi, I'm Hazel. And I control the Earth itself, so hold on for a bit of a ride."

She meant that. She literally shook the ground between them. Piper yelped, clinging onto Jason.

"Wow, cute perky girl packs a punch", declared Piper. "Seems that family is a power house."

"Seems neither Nico nor Percy were kidding when they declared themselves powerful", muttered Jason beneath his breath. "And they're not the only ones in this year."

"Hey, at least you get a buffer for anyone else?", offered Leo after a moment. "I mean, anyone who wants to challenge you, just redirect them toward these two to fight instead."

That idea made Jason laugh softly. He could do that and those two would probably thank him.

Notes:

In this chapter I played Oprah "YOU GET A CRUSH AND YOU GET A CRUSH AND YOU-" xD That was fun! Also, damn I love writing powerful!Percy who knows his own worth. Next up, first day of classes for our heroes-to-be

Chapter 7: First Day of Classes!

Chapter 7: First Day of Classes!

Percy was bouncing on his chair essentially as soon as he sat down in the cafeteria. He was sitting with Grover, Annabeth and Annabeth's roommate. Piper, if Percy had remembered that correctly. So Percy guessed that Annabeth had bonded with her roommate, otherwise they would have gone separate ways. Percy craned his neck to look around for... He didn't know who.

"Hey there, Sea Prince. Your show was impressive. Want to see your future?"

A bit startled, he turned to face a redhead. She had just sat down next to him, a caramel-haired girl hot on her heels. The other girl was now sitting next to Grover, smiling at him and saying hello.

"Wait, you're the sooth-seer, right?", asked Percy after a moment.

"Rachel Dare. My roommate, Juniper Chios", replied the redhead with a nod.

Juniper, right. Plant-powers, specifically trees. Percy had taken notes on everyone from their grade, abilities and how strong they were. He just struggled with placing the faces with the names a little, because there were decidedly too many people to tell apart just yet. Rachel smiled at him and took his hand, turning it palm up and pressing her own hand against his.

"Whoa, nope", yelped Percy and pulled his hand away.

"Really?", asked Rachel curiously. "You talked so big, figured you wanted to know if you succeed."

"Where's the fun in that?", countered Percy. "I work hard for what I have achieved and I will continue to do so. If you tell me I'll get it, that'd just make it feel as though... it was always at the end of the road and I didn't earn it. And if I don't make it, well, that'd just make the fight for it more frustrating – because it definitely wouldn't make me stop trying."

Rachel hummed and raised her eyebrows at him. "You. You intrigue me. I will keep an eye on you."

"You have such a strange way of making friends, Percy", commented Annabeth dryly.

"You were so cool yesterday. Like, seriously, that was amazing!"

Percy yelped slightly at the eager voice and turned toward its owner. A pair of punks stood next to him, a guy with turquoise hair and a girl with purple hair. The girl seemed more relaxed than the guy, who was all up in Percy's face. They were followed by a pretty blonde.

"Cecil, you can't just...", grunted the blonde with a head-shake. "Hey, I'm Will, that's Cecil."

"And I'm Lou Ellen and I approve his message", declared the girl, pointing at Cecil. "Dude's right, you were massively impressive. I've seen water-users before, heck this year had like three of them. But your skills? You're a sorcerer. Are you taken?"

"Uh... I, uh, I'm currently single, but-", drawled Percy with red cheeks.

"Dude, no. Lesbian", grunted Lou Ellen amused and rolled her eyes. "I mean, do you have a team yet? I'm without connections here but I figured, I'd want a strong team."

"I'm strong", offered Cecil, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Speedsters, not overly powerful", countered Lou Ellen.

"Well, regular speedsters, but I'm-", started Cecil, just to hold up a wallet. "-also a thief. And a trickster. I have swift hands that aren't just fast."

"...So you're a thief. That's not very heroic", argued Annabeth with a judgmental look.

Lou Ellen, Cecil and Will all sat down with them. Percy grinned amused and leaned back, enjoying his chocolate croissant. This was going well; he had wanted to make friends here. Some people came in overly competitive and while a good rivalry could strengthen someone, there was more to it. He wanted a network, he wanted to create a superhero network – for that, he needed to be on good terms with the other great heroes of his generation. Chances were many of them were among this group of people, all the other teens who would start their first year at Chiron High today.

"You look at thievery as something bad, but now imagine me using those skills to steal the weapon out of the villain's hands before they can ever even shoot it. To free the captives before the villains know what hit them", countered Cecil with a broad grin. "Powers aren't good or bad. The people who use them are and it depends on how you use your powers. Like, you can turn invisible? That's great for bank-robberies and stuff! But that's not where you're gonna take them either, is it?"

Annabeth wasn't the only one looking impressed by that, Lou Ellen had one eyebrow cocked too.

"Will! Cecil! We've been looking for you, I though we'd sit togeth-"

Percy was already able to recognize the voice, which probably meant a lot. He turned to watch Nico approach them, the other boy immediately pausing when he recognized Percy, looking surprised.

"Grab a chair and join us? Or, well, grab another table and join us, it's getting crowded."

Not that Nico and Frank stayed alone at the table right next to them; Will and Lou Ellen took their chairs there too because the table really was over-crowded by now. And then Piper whistled loudly and waved two guys over too – Percy grinned at that. Jason Grace. There was an awkward stare-off between Nico and Jason before Jason finally actually sit down, mostly so because Leo just immediately sat down and started talking to Frank very animatedly. Or, at least Leo was talking animatedly, Frank just stared at Leo and nodded in appropriate places, flushing every now and again. How adorable, someone was not a morning person and didn't know how to deal with morning people and also definitely had a small crush on a morning person.

"So, are we in the same classes in anything?", asked Nico, leaning closely into Percy.

Percy felt his cheeks warm up at how close Nico was now, his chin nearly on Percy's shoulder. "I... would assume so. Elemental powers class. That's not like literature or math that everybody has to take. There's only one course. And while your control over shadows is only your secondary power, compared to your necromancy, I'm assuming you'll be in that course too."

That made Nico look peculiarly pleased. Well, Percy knew how to assess powers. While Nico's greatest strength was definitely magic – necromancy – he also had secondary powers. Shadows and, even smaller than that but still there, Earth-related powers.

"Also geokinesis. I assume. Your sister Hazel and your mom – I saw her after the ceremony on the grounds – both have geokinetic powers. There was a slight shake to it when you summoned the dead, it was nothing compared to Hazel's, but it was definitely there", continued Percy thoughtfully before smirking at Nico's reaction. "Hah. I'm right. I like when I'm right."

"I feel as though your powers go beyond hydrokinesis too", countered Nico with narrowed eyes.

"Well, wouldn't you like to know, Ghost King?", asked Percy teasingly, winking at him.

"Ghost King?", echoed Nico, eyebrows raised. "I... I like that. That sounds good."

"Will you two stop flirting? Like, not in front of my cereals!", exclaimed Leo annoyed, waving at them with a butter-knife. "The sexual tension can be cut! Stop it."

"Mh... my professional opinion, as a sooth-seer is, they won't", offered Rachel casually. "Ever."

She smirked at Percy and Nico, who were both blushing. That wasn't flirting! Percy was establishing a rival-relationship here! Not flirting! Granted, every framework he had to work with when it came to rivalries usually ended with him on AO3 reading 50k slow-burn Enemies to Lovers fics. So just maybe he wasn't working with the right material to learn how to have a proper rivalry.

"How are you gonna hold up, Blue Lightning?", asked Percy curiously.

"...Jason. Jason, he is talking to you", grunted Leo, elbowing Jason in the ribs.

The blonde sat up straight at that, looking adorably confused. "...Blue Lightning?"

"Yeah, I think we're assigning Percy the name-giver of our class", hummed Piper, head tilted. "That's a really good one. Paints a visual picture, it's dynamic, energetic. Definitely better than 'Zeus Junior'. Seriously, your father should not be allowed to name things."

"You know what, that's fair. He wanted to name me Herakles, since he knew his wife was going to be pissed about the second bastard kid. Thankfully, mom got to my birth-certificate first", grunted Jason and made a face. "Imagine getting the boy-version of your stepmother's name..."

Percy made a face before laughing. "Okay, but back to my question: You gonna be fine?"

Jason blinked slowly, eyes large, staring at Percy. "...Yeah, sure. I... I'm strong."

"Oh, honey, that wasn't the question", hummed Rachel bemused. "We all saw you're strong. But he asked if you'll be fine. That's two entirely different pair of shoes."

Now Jason turned to stare at her doe-eyed. The guy really had no poker-face, Percy wondered how long it'd take Jason to adjust to this new normal. Considering how often he had to face the press and public scrutiny, Percy really thought Jason would be more schooled in handling himself when backed into a corner, but if Percy had to hazard a guess – Jason wasn't used to having peers. Dealing with paparazzi was one thing; dealing with people his own age, in school, that was a setting Jason wasn't used to, having been home-schooled. It would take some adjusting.

"My boy Jason is going to be just fine, because I'll be right there with him", declared Leo with a light-hearted smile, patting Jason on the back. "Fire-user, and all."

Percy hummed, smiling a bit to himself. It was nice that Jason had someone in his corner. Though Percy didn't know why, he felt kind of protective of Jason. Then again, he wanted to become a hero, protect the innocent. This kid, who was doing something dangerous because his parents pushed him into it and not because he wanted it, of course did Percy feel protective. It was his duty as a hero to protect someone like that. That was it, right? It had to be.

/break\

"Okay, I'll see you guys after class? Leo, watch out for our Jay."

Piper hugged Jason tightly, which gave him a boost. The very first class Jason was going to head into was actually Elemental Control 101 and he could not be more nervous. Why not math, or chemistry, or literally anything normal where he wouldn't be specially gauged at...?

He wished he could be in class with Piper too, but her powers weren't elemental; hers were considered magical. Powers were at large split into three categories; elemental, magical and physical. Taking a deep breath, Jason let go of Piper and watched her go before he turned to follow Leo toward their classroom. It was great of course, Jason knew on a theoretical level that this was an incredible opportunity, even for him. Because his father, as powerful as he was, he was not a good teacher. This school though, everyone was trained. They had various guest-teachers who took turns teaching these special power-classes, so as many students as possible would have the chance to see their own powers manifested in their teacher and so the teaching didn't get stuck on one power alone; as much as an ice-user could break it down to the essentials so a fire-user could apply it, a teacher with only one set of powers may not be able to teach the greater nuance on another and since it simply wasn't feasible to have specific classes for ever element – or every sub-set of powers in general – the class took on rotating guest-teachers. Most of these guest-teachers were retired, or occasionally even active, superheroes. Jason prayed to every deity listening that his father wouldn't have the glorious idea to guest-teach just because Jason was at the school now.

The moment Leo and Jason entered the classroom, it fell silent. Just to nearly immediately start whispering very not so subtly. This... This wasn't fun. For the first time, Jason was actually thankful to his stepmother, for having homeschooled him. He didn't know if he could have lasted through his entire education with this kind of pressure. He took a very deep breath.

"Ja—ay! Leo! Come sit with us!", called Percy out loudly from the other end of the classroom.

Well, there was one guy who absolutely didn't mind drawing attention. No, he just grinned like a cat and waved at them. Leo didn't seem to mind, he immediately headed over. Then again, Leo was the kind of person to easily make friends. After all, Leo was absolutely lovable and kind. How could anyone look at Leo and not want to befriend him? Jason forced a smile and sat down next to Percy. On Percy's other side was Grover, bouncing in his chair a little, looking nervous, or anxious.

"I'm not a fighter, I'm a lover", muttered Grover beneath his breath as he noticed Jason's gaze.

"...Well, I can relate to that", whispered Jason back with the smallest smile.

"I am so looking forward to sparring with you though", declared Percy, looking at Leo.

"Yeah? Because you'd have an easy time winning, Water Boy?", huffed Leo.

"...Yeah no, you're not good at giving names", laughed Percy, shaking his head. "And no. I mean, sure, I have a Pokémon type advantage here, but fire is powerful. Water's no good if you get overwhelmed. And you seemed pretty powerful."

Jason tuned them out as they started geeking out about Pokémon, instead he scanned the room to see who else attended this class. He saw Nico and Hazel sitting more in the back, there was Juniper from this morning too. That were all the people he actually recognized.

"Good morning, class. I am Chiron Brunner. I'm going to be your main teacher in this course and, if you have read up on the school, you already know that this class will feature various guest-teachers, specialized on individual elemental powers."

Chiron Brunner was an impressive form. What with his bottom-half looking like a horse. Which made it all the more peculiar that he taught this class, of all classes; his power was physical.

"Now, some of you may wonder why I am teaching this class. I'm the coordinating teacher of this class. Because you kids need someone you can talk to and because I have experience teaching superheroes of all kinds of powers, back in the days before we even categorized powers. Before there ever even was an actual school for superheroes. Imagine if you had to go out into the world, to find a mentor for yourselves?"

Chiron chuckled bemused at some of the students' reactions. Jason, he already knew this. Chiron had trained Zeus himself – among other big names. One of the good things his father had done, Jason supposed; Zeus had largely bankrolled this school, together with many of the other former students of Chiron's. While being a superhero itself didn't bring money – everything with their image did very much earn them part of the money it made. Comics, cartoons, books, merchandise. The former Olympians got pretty rich on that alone over the years, especially with current movie-deals and live-action TV shows about them. People were obsessed with the glory of the past.

"We've seen you all display your powers in your own... pace, so to speak. Showing off. What I need is for you all to show me your limits. I need to know how strong you are, how much you can handle and when you reach your limit. There is absolutely nothing wrong with reaching your limit, do not push yourselves farther than that. Seeing as these kind of things tend to make kids uncomfortable when their peers are watching, I will be setting up individual appointments with each of you throughout this week. Today is going to be very boring for you, because we will just go through technical terms and classifications of powers."

A groan went through the class collectively. The only one sighing relieved to himself was Jason. He had feared that the limit-display would be public too. Though it figured that Chiron was aware of how much kids liked to pit themselves against each other, which wasn't always healthy. Not everyone took it as well as Percy and Nico did when someone wasn't up to a rivalry.

"This class it only occasionally taking place indoors", offered Chiron as consolation. "Due to your powers, it will take place outside. Where there is actual Earth to manipulate and you don't run the risk of burning down the entire school on accident. Or flooding it."

That made most of the class laugh and even Jason felt himself relax. Something about Chiron was very reassuring. Maybe, just maybe, this class could actually be fun. Jason admitted that he was looking forward to having someone actually teach him his powers.

"I do wanna spar with you too", whispered Percy, leaning very closely into Jason. "All in good humor, okay? I promise I won't wipe the floor with you."

Jason flushed a little at just how close Percy was. The other was just... cute and kind and made Jason's heart flutter a bit? He turned, on instinct, when he felt eyes bore in the back of his head. Nico di Angelo was staring at him with an unreadable expression. Those two, Jason had a feeling, were going to be the defining factors of Jason's high school experience.

/break\

Class with Chiron was surprisingly boring. Facts and figures. Nico had hoped for some action – and also for a show. He craved to see Percy use his powers again, it had been truly inspiring, like a work of art. And, admittedly, also Jason. The blonde intrigued him, though he also kind of rubbed Nico the wrong way? Both? Which was very confusing, if Nico was honest.

"Oh my everything, you are the sweetest and cutest!"

If Nico closed his eyes, he could imagine Percy saying these words to him and not to Nico's dog. He had figured it was time to introduce Percy to Mrs. O'Leary, because during Chiron's class, Percy had mentioned the stables – they had facilities taking care of animal companions. So Nico had decided to tag along and show off his dog. Mrs. O'Leary immediately took to Percy, tackling him, whining and licking his face. Nico smiled as he watched, though then his attention was drawn by two other dogs who came sniffing along as they heard Mrs. O'Leary's barking. The dogs were peculiar; one was golden and the other was silver. Following them was Hazel's roommate, Reyna.

"Mh. Another dog-person. Very nice", hummed Reyna pleased. "That is a big, beautiful one."

"She is. Though yours are... really special too", countered Nico, tilting his head.

"Powered dogs. They're hounds who can shift their skin into metal. They have been trained and listen to every command from me", offered Reyna. "What can yours do? Aside from... just... sit on a villain and flatten them effectively. Seriously, that is one big dog."

"She is a hellhound, she can travel through shadows", replied Nico.

"Ah. You're compensating. Clever. Shadows are a part of your power, but not your dominant one."

Nico hummed in confirmation, side-eyeing Reyna. He liked her attitude. Him and Frank were still looking for a third team member. Being a dog-person was a must for that and adding two more dogs to the team definitely appealed to Nico. If he remembered correctly from the introductions, her powers were physical. Super-strength. That could be handy.

"You don't have a team yet, if I remember that correctly, right?", asked Nico after a beat.

"No. I actually came here alone", confirmed Reyna. "But according to Mr. Brunner, we got a month time before we have to form teams."

Which was true, since not everyone already knew someone. And even after that time-period, students would be allowed to change teams throughout the first year, nothing would be set until then. Teams were supposed to be three people – the Golden Trio formula. To teach the heroes of tomorrow to work with others; be that an actual superhero team, a side-kick or simply coordinating with local law-enforcement. Team-work was key for a hero, one couldn't push through as a lone wolf. Even solo-superheroes would be required to cooperate with others.

"More dogs! Amazing. I love this place!"

Both Nico and Reyna turned toward Percy and couldn't help but laugh as the boy was buried beneath three dogs now, playing with them all. Being a dog-person was also very essential for Nico's future boyfriend. He startled and barely managed to duck as Mrs. O'Leary suddenly bolted off. Frowning, he quickly turned around to watch his dog tackle someone. Okay, that was something he needed to teach her not to do. She just loved cuddles so much and generally, she had good instincts on who to go to and who would give her good cuddles.

"Wo—oah, you are the biggest puppy I have ever seen. Oh, and you are cuddly? Good dog, very good dog, yes you are. Oh, I always wanted a dog."

Nico frowned as he watched Jason Grace ruffling Mrs. O'Leary's fur and look... genuinely happy for the very first time. Just, carefree and happy. Percy made an offended noise and got up to follow Mrs. O'Leary, putting the hellhound into total bliss at getting double-cuddles.

Notes:

Next chapter, we're going to peek into class and look at how well they're going to do!

Chapter 8: Magic and the Elements

Chapter 8: Magic and the Elements

Reyna had known it would be hard to enter this school all on her own. But her older sister Hylla had joined the army and Reyna was... alone now. She couldn't stay home. Boarding school was the perfect solution. And she wanted to do good with her powers. The military just wasn't for her. Not that she certainly knew that being a superhero would be for her yet either, but at least she was going to learn control, she would get to finish high school and she'd get to do so away from home.

Still, she was alone. And being alone kind of scared her. All her life, she at least had Hylla at her side. Now, she was all alone with her new start. At least her roommate was nice; Hazel. Reyna turned to look at her roommate, who was scribbling away in her notebook. They had already had English literature and math with each other. And afterward, Reyna's last class before lunch break, she had attended Physical 101. Among everyone, rather outstanding, was Frank Zhang who did not just have the pure physical strength, like Reyna, he could also shapeshift into animals. Two powers for one was a good deal. They had talked some and Reyna had learned that Frank was actually Nico di Angelo's best friend, he fawned a lot about the guy. Reyna had gone to the animal daycare to check in on her dogs. They weren't allowed in the dorms, but the school had an entire facility for the animal partners of the students. After the break, Reyna had spent all of biology thinking about Hazel's brother and his proposal. The di Angelos sure were absolute power-houses, that much had become apparent when they all had to perform in front of their peers.

"Your brother asked me to join his team", stated Reyna thoughtfully. "What do you think? You know him well. Would you recommend me to do it? It's just... You're his sister, but you aren't joining his team. So, what's wrong with the guy that you aren't?"

"Nothing's wrong with Nico, aside from being a giant nerd", laughed Hazel as she looked up from her notebook. "The reason I don't want to team up with him is that he's... he is incredibly powerful. Being his sister, I'll be compared to him anyway, but if I were on his team, I'd always be in his shadow. So I decided that I'll start fresh here, find my own team, not team up with my brother or his friends – which, they're my friends too, but they were his first. I want... my own thing here."

Reyna hummed and smiled to herself. That, she could relate to. And, admittedly, he had really impressed her in the display. He was strong, powerful. Hazel would be in direct comparison to him, but Reyna wouldn't. She could benefit from having him on her team. And considering how Frank had spoken of Nico, she guessed they were a package deal. From what few interactions she has had with both of them now, she thought she may get along well with them. They could be a good team.

/break\

"I wanna come with yo—ou", whined Percy frustrated.

"Your powers are elemental, not magical", sighed Annabeth. "You can't just attend Magical Powers 101 for the fun of it. Why don't you use the free time to, I don't know, study?"

"It's the first day of classes, what do you want me to study?", huffed Percy. "C'mo—on."

Annabeth rolled her eyes amused, patting his cheek before parting ways with him. She had her roommate flanking her from the other side, Piper chuckling to herself as she watched Percy pout.

"He's adorable. You two seem really close. Is he like your boyfriend?", asked Piper.

"What? No. I'm a lesbian", grunted Annabeth and made a face. "He's like an annoying little brother, which... I have two of those so I know what I'm talking about."

Piper hummed and grinned to herself. It may only have been day three of living together, but Annabeth could already tell that she'd be able to be good friends with Piper. She also assumed that what they shared was the responsibility to babysit a very powerful elemental user. Even if Jason Grace didn't want to become a big hero, unlike Percy.

"A pretty large number of students are magical in nature this year", noted Annabeth as they entered the classroom together. "Wanna sit together? Pretty sure we'll be required to pair up or something."

"Sure", shrugged Piper, eyes finding someone. "Wanna sit close to the di Angelos? They interest me. I wanna see what they're capable of here, beyond their elemental powers."

"Good thinking", hummed Annabeth with a pleased grin.

She too was very curious about the di Angelos, especially the one who kept flirting with Percy. There was a vetting process – Percy was sweet and had too big a heart, he needed someone to watch out for him so he wouldn't end up with the wrong person. Annabeth smiled in greeting as she and Piper sat down next to Nico and Hazel. While Nico greeted them both, Hazel just kind of... stared blankly at Piper. Nico was tapping his fingers against the table.

"Nervous?", whispered Piper in a nearly teasing voice.

Nico narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm not nervous. I'm... eager? I sure hope we're doing more here than we did in Elemental 101... That sure was... stale."

Nico's eyes wandered through the classroom. It was weird having neither Percy nor Jason in this class. He supposed that he had a bit of an edge on them, by having both elemental and magical powers. Piper McLean had charmspeak powers; she had made Chiron dance in a circle. It'd be interesting to know just how powerful her charmspeak was. Annabeth Chase could turn invisible, the question was if she could only turn herself invisible or if she could also turn other people or objects invisible. Then there was Lou Ellen Blackstone, who had an actual variety of what was the most obvious kind of magical powers, she interested him a lot.

"Haze, who has your attention?", whispered Nico, frowning as he saw his sister just staring right through him – right through Annabeth, eyes on the girl on Annabeth's other side. "Hazel? Hello?"

His frown deepened when she startled out of whatever trance she was in. What, did Piper have some mind-control powers even without using her speak? Because Hazel sure looked hypnotized.

"W... What did you ask? I was just... uh... in... thoughts."

"Who among our class has piqued your interest so far?", repeated Nico patiently.

Her eyes widened and she looked flushed as she peeked a glance at Piper once more before quickly looking away again. "I... uh... I think the witch is interesting, she seemed very powerful. And the sooth-seer, the redhead? I'm interested in her. For... For my team, I mean."

"A sooth-seer?", asked Nico surprised, eyes wandering to find Rachel Dare.

"Mh. I'm the power. I'd like another elemental on the team for the fighting-power, preferably one of the plant-controllers – there are quite some in our year. And having a... voice in the ear, someone to have your back? I think a sooth-seer is quite the good pick for that", shrugged Hazel.

Nico raised his eyebrows very impressed at that. In his mind, she would always be his cute, little sister, but that she had grown up? Sometimes, he forgot. She actually put a lot of thought into this, into what kind of team she wanted, not just not wanting to be on a team with him.

"I'm Professor Kate Claymore, but you may know me better as Hecate. I will be your main teacher for this class and I will coordinate with a variety of guest-teachers who specialize in powers that differ strongly from my specialty, to allow you all the most well-rounded education possible."

The entrance was sure extraordinaire; she appeared in a puff of purple smoke. Hecate herself! She had been one of the first heroes, even predating the Olympians by a few years. A lone-wolf though. Nico's inner nerd got even more excited, not like being in this class didn't already do that. That simply, Nico's entire attention was grabbed and he didn't quite notice his sister or the way she kept sneaking glances past him, because – this was Hecate.

/break\

Nico was startled when the door to their room was practically ripped open and his little sister came stomping in, looking clearly agitated. She assessed the room critically, looking mildly annoyed that Nico's bed was occupied with both him and Will. It was obvious because frustrated Hazel had a tendency to run into his or Bianca's bedrooms and throw herself heavily onto their beds. Frank's bed was occupied by both Frank and Cecil, looking up startled as they watched her. Nico scooted over enough to allow her to throw herself onto her bed, though with less dramatics than usual.

"Well, good. Will is here too", grunted Hazel as she looked over at the blonde. "Your input will be valuable too. And Frank's. Cecil is gonna be useless though."

"Think I take offense to that", hummed Cecil amused. "What's going on, princess?"

"I think I might now be a lesbian!", exclaimed Hazel frustrated, throwing her hands up in the air.

"...Come again?", requested Frank stunned. "What?"

"There was... There was this girl in power class", started Hazel, arms outstretched and spread like she wanted to illustrate something. "And she was just everything. Like, she made me forget how words work. And I don't just mean that I forgot how to talk to her, I couldn't even think proper words! My brain was stuck on 'pretty'. I've never felt this... dumb before, even when I thought a guy was cute, I could still articulate myself! Am I a lesbian now?"

The four boys exchanged looks at that, Nico trying to process what Hazel had just said. Wait, so was that why she had spent Magical 101 staring at... at Piper McLean? But before he could find anything to say to that, Will beat him to it, with a huff and an amused twinkle in his eyes.

"Simple question: If Tom Holland came through this door right now, told you he loved you and wanted to run away with you and marry you, how'd you feel about it?", inquired Will.

Hazel blinked dazed, staring up at the ceiling. "...Mh, okay, not a lesbian."

"You know, there's bisexuals too", suggested Cecil, motioning over toward Frank.

"Congratulations to joining the club", offered Frank amused.

"Bisexual, huh?", grunted Hazel thoughtfully. "I just... I don't know. I always thought that's something that'd happen... like... parallel? But I've always only liked boys! Never girls!"

"Circling back to Tom Holland; girlfriend, this isn't sudden. You've joined our Marvel movie nights often enough before and your crush on Zendaya is at least as big as your crush on Tom Holland", said Will in an understanding and gentle voice.

"Ah, yes. Bi culture is having a crush on both, Tom and Zendaya", sighed Frank softly.

Nico rolled his eyes fondly before he took over. "It's easier to dismiss when you're attracted to celebrities. 'He's so handsome, I probably think this because I want to grow up to be this handsome', dismissing it as just... admiration. Celebrity worship. It's what happens when you're being raised in a heteronormative society. I thought, for the longest time, I just wanted to be like Poseidon, until I realized I actually had a very huge, very gay crush on him. Sometimes, it only becomes... real and graspable when you develop a crush on an actual person from your life."

"Okay", whispered Hazel, taking a deep breath and nodding to herself. "I... am... bisexual? Okay."

"Good on you", chuckled Will fondly, patting her arm. "Now, what do you wanna do?"

"...Rewatch the Spider-Man movies?", suggested Hazel after a moment.

"Oh, I am in. Can we also put The Greatest Showman on there?", asked Frank hopeful.

"Zac Efron and Hugh Jackman? I'm too gay not to", grunted Nico pointedly and got up. "Come."

They headed to the common room, grateful Frank and Nico's roommates weren't there so they could actually end this very exhausting first day of classes on a nice movie marathon with each other.

/break\

Jason was out of breath, hands on his knees, clawing into his jeans. This had been more brutal than his dad's lessons, yet also less stressful because there wasn't his father's intense gaze on him, heavy with expectations and potential disappointment. Chiron Brunner simply stood there, taking notes.

It was the third day of classes and today, Jason had his own power-evaluation. Thankfully, that was a one-on-one thing, so there was no peer-pressure at least. Anticipation built up in all of Jason's body as he tensed and stared at Chiron, waiting for his evaluation.

"You're incredibly powerful, Jason", started Chiron kindly. "But you already know that. You've been told that since you first wielded lighting. Would you like to know how you did compared to your sister Thalia when I evaluated her two years ago?"

"...No", whispered Jason, shaking his head. "We've been pitched against each other enough."

The smile on Chiron's lips seemed nearly pleased as he motioned for Jason to sit down. "You have the raw power, but you do not have the control yet. That includes you being unable to access your full power – there is a lot of untapped potential in you. I'm assuming it's due to your father's teaching? I remember Zeus, he was always over-eager. Wanted everything and right away, no patience. No sense for technique, just... following his guts. It made him an overwhelming fighter, but I suspect it does not make him a very qualified teacher."

"...Yeah", whispered Jason, ruffling his hair a little.

"I can teach you how to access your full potential, how to channel it safely and directly. The question is... do you even want that?", asked Chiron, his eyebrows raised. "You seem incredibly... uncomfortable. I've watched you, in the past few days. Tell me if I'm out of line. But... do know that you can also tell me if I'm right; I promise nothing you say will get back to your parents."

Jason hesitated, opening his mouth a few times, before he sighed. "I... I do want to learn how to control my powers. I don't want to be a danger to others, because I know my powers can react to my emotions. If I get angry, really angry, I can make lightning strike. I don't want that. I may not... I may not want to be some... big name hero, that does make me uncomfortable, but... I do want to learn how to control my own powers, how to control myself."

That made Chiron smile and nod. The man reached out to rest a heavy hand on Jason's shoulder.

"You're a good kid, Jason. This school raises heroes, sidekicks and... civilians who simply desire to control their powers. It's all about you, not your father", stated Chiron earnestly. "If you feel cornered or something makes you uncomfortable, feel free to come and see me, okay, my boy?"

A sense of relief filled Jason at that and he offered a nearly shy smile as he nodded. There was so much sincerity in Chiron's voice, his eyes were so warm and reassuring, it made Jason trust the man so easily and believe his promises. How strange and silly was that...?

/break\

"Hello there. Are you just browsing or do you actually have a pet?"

Percy offered a friendly smile as he caught up with Jason. The blonde seemed distracted as he headed toward the actual stables-part of the pet day-care. The horses drew Percy in; when he had been here yesterday during his lunch-break, he had gotten so very distracted by the magic puppies. And, honestly, who wouldn't. They were puppies, but with magic. Especially Nico's was incredibly impressive. She was so huge, there was so much to cuddle. Alas, even yesterday he had come here because he had heard of the actual stables. Stables. With horses.

"I... uh... I do have one", offered Jason after a moment. "A pet, I mean."

"O—Oh. Show me. I met Nico's already. Let's see if yours is as impressive."

"Not... Not everything is a rivalry, Percy", noted Jason with a frown. "And I do think that it is very unfair to pit any animal against a gigantic, cuddly puppy-dog."

Laughing, Percy wrapped an arm around Jason's shoulders. "You. I like you. A man of taste."

He noticed the faintest little blush on Jason's cheeks. It was so cute how unused Jason was to these kind of interactions – everything flustered him so easily. Percy kept grinning as he was being led toward the stables. Wait. So Jason actually had a real horse?

"Percy. Meet Tempest", announced Jason with a nearly proud note to his voice.

He opened the door for Percy and for a second, Percy actually forgot how to breath, because oh wow he had never seen anything like this! He just stood frozen to the spot, staring at the beautiful, mystical horse that seemed to dissolve into thick, dark clouds. It looked as though lightning was lighting up its very eyes. Majestic and terrifying at the same time.

"You're gorgeous. Can I... Can I touch you?", whispered Percy with unsure words.

"Honestly, I don't know", sighed Jason frustrated. "He's really... stubborn."

"You may. You smell... interesting", replied Tempest as he stepped up.

"Thank you. You smell interesting too. Like rain", chuckled Percy.

"Why do I feel like I'm missing something?", asked Jason rather confused.

"Oh. Right. I can talk to animals, but like only... some animals? Horses. Fishes too."

He ran his fingers through Tempest's mane and simply stood amazed. That was what clouds felt like? Wow. He grinned broadly to himself as he caressed the beautiful storm-spirit.

"My... father created him. I am technically capable of that too, of creating storm-spirits, but I can't yet", offered Jason after a moment. "He made Tempest to be my companion."

"So—o much envy", sighed Percy with a pout. "I mean, I know, I know, it must be hard being the son of Zeus and all. But holy shit. Your dad made you a storm-cloud horse."

A few times, Jason blinked, before he attempted a small smile. That was true. Sometimes, with all the expectations that he felt like he failed, he forgot about the good. His dad wasn't a bad man – not just because he was a hero. Jason knew, deep down, that Zeus loved him, even if the man struggled with expressing it. And something like Tempest surely was... one of those attempts.

"What about your parents?", asked Jason curiously. "I mean. You are incredibly powerful. And I'm not saying that to flatter you; I've been up close to power all my life. What you did on the display, I don't think anyone else in the room aside from me and Chiron – and maybe Nico, because the guy seems to know a lot – actually know just how impressive what you did was. The level of detail you put into the armor you summoned, just how precise your concentration is. That's... You have a huge amount of raw power and you know how to use it in very precise ways."

"I... guess so", Percy shrugged with his head tilted. "Honestly, I don't know. Maybe my parents are powerful? I've never really seen them use their powers much, beyond for household chores."

"I think you should look into your family-tree", offered Jason. "I mean, of course it's not just something that is passed down. Just because your parents are powerful doesn't mean you have to be powerful, and vice versa. Maybe it's all you. You are incredibly dedicated, after all, so perhaps you are just... so incredibly powerful because you put in the work. So, yes, forget what I said."

He felt himself blushing in embarrassment at the rambling, but the grin on Percy's lips made it worth it. It seemed as though Percy liked hearing that Jason acknowledged Percy was the driving force, that Percy made himself powerful. Why did such a grin from Percy make Jason's heart flutter so much? Neighing interrupted the moment. Though not Tempest. Some horse sounded incredibly angry and – dangerous. The kind of sounds that kept a rational person far, far away from its source. Naturally, Percy immediately turned and started walking toward it.

"Wait, Percy, where are you going-?", asked Jason, already knowing the answer.

"He's in distress", grunted Percy with a frown. "I gotta see..."

What they found were three caretakers trying to wrangle an actual pegasus. And what a mighty one. Pitch-black, muscular, tall, with a wide wing-span. It was beautiful, and clearly wild.

"Ah, children. Please stay away", advised Chiron as he stepped out of the box, blocking the entrance. "This one was freed from captivity nearby. Until someone qualified can take care of him, we're going to house him since we have the room, but he is... dangerous."

Percy wanted to protest, but Jason pulled him away. Best not to argue with the principal on day two.

Notes:

Blackjack enters the game! Next chapter, lotta Little Big Three bonding ;D

Chapter 9: The Dark Horse

Chapter 9: The Dark Horse

The first thing Nico saw when waking up was... the face of Jason Grace. He blinked blearily and very confused. As more of his surroundings came into focus, he noticed a glowering Alabaster looming behind Jason. If glares could kill, Nico would have died on the spot.

"Your boyfriend kept pounding the door. If he ever wakes me again, I will turn him into a frog."

Nico got to watch Jason's eyes widen and his cheeks turn dark red as both boys answered simultaneously. "Not my boyfriend!"

All Alabaster did was snort and roll his eyes before he left the bedroom. Yawning widely, Nico sat up and ruffling his curls, his focus on the still blushing Jason who was now staring at Nico in a more aware kind of sense. Like he was only now aware that Nico was wearing a rumpled shirt and boxers with tiny skulls on them. Rolling his eyes again, Nico cleared his throat.

"Why did you wake me at-", Nico's eyes drifted over to the clock on his nightstand and a string of Italian curses followed. "Screw that. I am getting Alabaster back in here to turn you into a frog for waking me at this hour! It's still dark outside, I don't care what you're doing here at all anymore because whatever it is, it should wait until the sun rises, cagnolino cattivo." [Italian: bad puppy]

There was a confused look on Jason's face at the Italian, large, blue eyes blinking at him much like a confused puppy and damn it Percy was getting into Nico's head. All he could now see was a giant Golden Retriever when he looked at Jason. Sighing, Nico rubbed his face.

"I don't know what that means but I'll take it as an insult and I am not here for fun", Jason huffed. "But I think Percy is going to do something reckless and potentially dangerous and I don't think I can stop him on my own so I came here to get backup."

Nico processed this and then he frowned at the blonde. "Why me. Why not Percy's friends?"

"Grover seems like a bit of a push-over when it comes to Percy, like the good-willed best friend who enables shenanigans. And Annabeth scares me too much. You were next on the list."

"...Annabeth scares you too much", Nico echoed stunned. "Invisible Barbie scares you too much so you come to me, the less scary necromancer who can summon an army of zombies. I can not express with words just how much this offends me."

Much to Nico's surprise, Jason snorted at him and pointed an accusatory finger at him. "I saw you with your puppy, baby talking her and cooing at her. You're all soft and gooey on the inside, that's not scary. Your glowering bad-boy persona is just an act, you're a softie on the inside."

Nico made an offended noise, struggling with words. Before he could find the right ones, a heavy pillow hit Jason square against his head, startling him enough to make him stumble and land on Nico's bed. Both of them turned toward Nico's roommate.

"Stop bickering. Get to the point and get out, or I will get Alabaster back here to hex you both!", growled Frank annoyed. "It's too early for whatever this is and I need my sleep."

At which point the actual reason why Jason had come here seemed to fully sink in with Nico. "Wait what do you mean Percy is doing something dangerous?"

In a show of surprising sass, Jason rolled his eyes at Nico. Seriously, how did Nico lose all of the respect earned through fear? Just because Nico treated his dog right and wasn't a cold-hearted bastard didn't mean he wasn't scary or intimidating! The audacity of this brat.

"Where is he and what kind of danger is he putting himself into?", Nico asked with a sigh.

/break\

It was quite before dawn, the sky was still dark but in that hazy-gray of pre-dawn that heralded the rise of the sun in the next hour or so. No one was awake yet. Over the past few days, Percy had already observed that even the early risers – the ones that went jogging or something before class – didn't get up before dawn. Grover was still soundly asleep as Percy got dressed and quietly slipped out of their room. No noise from the other bedroom either. Very good. The halls were dark and quiet too. It was strangely appealing, this kind of quiet. Peaceful. Everyone else still asleep, the whole school seemingly belonging to him. Maybe he could sneak out early in the morning more often.

Though, admittedly, the grounds themselves were a bit terrifying. The long shadows, the fog over the grass like a gray and heavy blanket. Creepy.

Percy was as quiet as a mouse as he sneaked his way into the stables. Before he headed to his actual destination, he took a tiny detour to look at the giant puppy. He might positively be in love with Mrs. O'Leary, she was such a good girl, such a huge dog and so cuddly and happy and excitable.

"He—ello, precious. I bring you a snack. But don't tell your human", whispered Percy.

He had put some bacon aside yesterday at breakfast for her, because he remembered that Nico had said she loved bacon. A girl with taste, truly how could he not love her. Her tail was wagging so hard it caused a gust of wind as Percy fed her the bacon. Laughing, he ruffled her fur.

"Good girl. You are such a good dog, aren't you? Yes, you are", cooed Percy pleased.

"...He looks neither reckless nor in danger, Grace. You will yearn to be turned into a frog."

Well, that just made entirely no sense at all. Frowning confused, Percy turned toward the source of the voice, finding a very sleepy and unusually grumpy Nico. And considering Nico's normal grumpiness-levels, this was saying a lot. However, next to Nico stood Jason. Which seemed like an odd pair, if Percy thought back toward how their first week had gone. Nico didn't seem fond of Jason and Jason mostly seemed kind of intimidated by Nico (which was fair, honestly, Percy could see why Nico would make people uncomfortable, Percy however also preferred to see the good in people and he could definitely see a lot of good in Nico).

"Hi. Wha—at are you guys doing up here? And why does Jason want to become a frog? If you are going for any animal-turning-magic, you should totally consider dog. You would make a magnificent Golden Retriever, you know."

"I'm not, I don't-", Jason interrupted himself by heaving a deep breath. "Never mind that, Percy. We are here because I had a hunch after yesterday that you would do something reckless and stupid like trying to sneak into the stables at the crack of dawn to get to the murder horse."

"Murder horse?", echoed Nico baffled. "What in the world is going on?"

"That's offensive", Percy huffed with a glare. "You don't even know him. He hasn't murdered-"

"Seriously, someone use more words or I am going back to bed after dragging you both with me."

"...Why would you drag us to your bed?", asked Percy confused.

Nico stared at him wide-eyed, his cheeks decidedly darker than before. "N... Not my bed! I would drag you back to the dorms and drop you at your own rooms!"

Wiggling his nose, Percy regarded the other boy. "I would like to see you try drag me anywhere, Ghosty. See who wins. Death or water."

That made Nico glower at him even more, both inching closer toward each other, until Jason forcibly pushed between them, resting a hand on each chest and pushing them apart.

"Enough now, stand down. Both of you", ordered Jason seriously. "You two can go toe to toe at another time. I know you're itching to try each other out because you're both weirdos. But how about we move this out of here, mh? No need for all of us to get in trouble."

Weirdos? Huh. Someone has gotten decidedly more comfortable. Percy liked that. Grinning amused, Percy took a few steps back. So the nervous awkwardness wore off quickly once Jason got comfortable around someone, huh? The blonde glared pointedly. He was cute like that.

"How about you two move it out of here and let me continue doing what I came here to do?"

"What did you come here to do? Because if it was just to sneak Mrs. O'Leary bacon then the only danger that comes from that would be that you may become her new favorite human and I am doomed to take second place with my own dog", wanted Nico to know.

Percy perked up at that and patted Mrs. O'Leary's snout. "Not the main plan, but a sub-plot."

"What is the main plan?", inquired Nico impatiently, tapping his own arm.

"There is a pegasus here", Percy sighed after a moment. "Principal Brunner said they freed him from captivity and are only gonna keep him here until someone can take him off their hands. But he is clearly troubled and needs help! I want to help him!"

"Okay. Get to the 'murder horse' part", urged Nico on. "I want to go back to bed."

"He's dangerous. He's wild and untamed and ready to kick your ribs in if you get close! I find Percy much better with his ribs not kicked in!", exclaimed Jason frustrated.

"A—aw, love that you care so much, Jay-Jay!", cooed Percy with a grin. "Don't worry about my ribs though, I am very much going to be okay, mh?"

He patted Jason on the head like he had done with Mrs. O'Leary earlier, making Jason huff. Without further words, Percy left the secluded area to head to his actual destination. What he really didn't need was for those two dorks to try and talk him out of something that was perfectly safe.

"Sto—op following me like lost puppy-dogs", ordered Percy with an amused look on his face.

Because yes, he was being trailed by both Jason and Nico. Nico looked more awake now than earlier and less annoyed about being here – though still plenty annoyed. At this point, Percy guessed, he was annoyed because Percy didn't listen to them. Well, tough luck.

"Percy, Percy stop. Percy, Jason is right, that sounds like an awful plan", grunted Nico.

"Hah. Look, he agreed with me. And so far I had the impression that he would rather eat his metaphorical hat than agree with me!", Jason yelped triumphantly.

"...That is... not wrong", admitted Nico awkwardly, clearing his throat. "Percy, please."

"While I totally love the sound of that, I gotta say no to that. You're adorable, really you are. I appreciate the worry. Very sweet. I don't need you to worry though, like, seriously. This is like me worrying about you going out during a lightning storm, Jason. Or you – uh, I don't know, going to a haunted graveyard? I will be fine, boys."

"I feel like I need more input", requested Nico in confusion. "How's the horse related to you?"

"He's my second cousin twice removed on my mother's side", quipped Percy immediately.

"...You think you're so cute and funny but you are not half as funny as you think."

"Mh. I see the way you only pointed out that I am only half as funny, yet not that I am only half as cute", observed Percy pleased, smirking at the way Nico glowered and blushed simultaneously.

"What I meant-", Nico stated frustrated. "-was how exactly a horse relates to your powers the same way that a storm relates to Jason's or a graveyard relates to mine. Horses are not made of water."

"Astute observation, Nico", Percy praised with a nod. "You have multiple powers, like your necromancy and some light Earth-control. I have more than one power too."

"And your secret other power is... being the horse whisperer?", asked Nico incredulously.

"No, he's actually a Disney princess", offered Jason. "He said he can talk to horses and other animals. Percy's a real-life Disney princess, singing with the birds and bambis."

"Actually not because neither birds nor deer – they are not called bambis, Jason – are among the animals I can talk to. I dunno, it's kinda random? I can talk to horses, fishes, some others too, like I had a great conversation with a turtle once and I like talking to the seals at the aquarium. Penguins tend to be very polite and sweet. But I've never heard a bird talk before. Maybe they can't."

"...I am fascinated by you", whispered Nico curiously.

"I know, I'm pretty great", Percy chuckled with a wink.

"So great, in fact, that I don't want to see you get eaten by a murder horse", interjected Jason.

"Your grasp on horses troubles me", muttered Percy disturbed. "Horses do not eat humans-"

"Yes they do, don't lie, it was all over issue-", started Jason offended.

"Oh no, you nerds are not having a comic-book-fight", groaned Nico, putting his hands up. "So the Olympians battled flesh-eating horses before, okay, but not all horses eat humans."

"This one might. He is aggressive", argued Jason frustrated.

"No, he will not and that is why I have to talk to him! Because he deserves a chance."

Percy ended the conversation by opening the stall where a big sign warned DO NOT ENTER. AUTHORIZED PERSONAL ONLY. Inside was the beautiful black pegasus from yesterday. He neighed, stomping his hooves in warning. Mighty, black wings were raised high in warning.

"Hello, gorgeous", whispered Percy gently, lifting his hands up carefully. "It's okay. I'm not here to hurt you. You are... Are you alright? Are you in pain?"

"Not yet. But who knows how long that'll last with you humans?"

Percy bit his lips and nodded slowly. "And I get that. Humans hurt you in the past. Now they captured you and locked you away for no reason. And you don't deserve that. I'm sorry."

"...You can understand me...?", asked the horse warily.

"Yes. Yes, I can. Hi. I'm Percy. I brought you a snack, I thought you might be hungry."

Carefully, he reached into his bag to get the next snack out. An apple. The neighing slowed down and the stomping stopped as the pegasus sniffed the air curiously, clearly wanting the apple.

"I'm not here to hurt you, I want to help you. If you are in pain or need anything, I could help you get it. I can talk to the adults for you. I can be your voice. But for that, you gotta talk to me."

Percy held the apple out for the horse to sniff. He stayed patient, waiting for the pegasus o be ready. In the end, hunger must have won out because he took a bite.

"This is good. Do you have any more?", asked the pegasus eagerly.

"Of course. Bu—ut. For the next one, you gotta tell me your name."

Slowly, Percy pulled another apple out of his bag. He raised his eyebrows at the pegasus, waiting.

"My name is Blackjack. Give me the apple", ordered the impatient horse.

"Blackjack. That's a cool name. Hello, Blackjack, it is nice to meet you."

He handed the apple over to Blackjack and smiled pleased as he watched the pegasus eat. Such a majestic, beautiful creature shouldn't be abused and locked away. Carefully, he reached a hand out to caress Blackjack's side, making sure the pegasus had clear sight of all his movements at all times, moving slow so Blackjack could follow his motions. The pegasus looked wary but he still allowed the touch, albeit reluctantly and only for a short moment before he stepped away from Percy.

"Okay. Enough touching. Message received. Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for, human?", asked Blackjack confused.

"For allowing me to touch you at all. And for telling me your name. I'll come back. We can talk more. I promise I'll bring more apples, okay?"

"...Bring doughnuts", requested Blackjack after a moment.

"Doughnuts?", echoed Percy surprised.

"I had them before, where I lived, when there was no other food but human food and I managed to steal some because I hadn't eaten in days. They are delicious."

"Doughnuts. I can do doughnuts", agreed Percy with a pleased nod.

When he exited the stall, both Jason and Nico still stood where he had left them, though they also both looked baffled. They really were adorable. Grinning, Percy reached out his arms to pat them both on the back and steer them away from the stall and out of the stables.

"C'mon. I know a nice café just across the street. I have doughnuts to buy and I'll buy you guys breakfast, see it as a thank you for worrying, okay?", offered Percy.

/break\

Jason loved sweet baked goods. He rarely got them, because Hera held up a strict diet in the Grace-home. Everything, including snacks, had to be healthy. Some of Jason's favorite memories of his father were of him sneaking doughnuts or cake past his wife to share with Jason. At this point, Jason couldn't tell if he just loved baked goods, or if the kind memories he associated with them were what made them taste so good. Perhaps it was both.

"So—o you can talk to horses. That's... weird", offered Nico before sipping his coffee.

Nico had a chocolate croissant and a black coffee in front of him, while Jason had a piece of pie, a brownie, a muffin and a doughnut on his plate. It wasn't that he had meant to take advantage of Percy, but he had stood there at the display making big, hungry eyes at everything to the point that Percy had just started pointing at them and ordering them for Jason. How could he say no after they were ordered? Still, he was a bit embarrassed by the tall heap of food. At least Percy had ordered about the same amount for himself, plus a large milkshake.

"Yeah, that's mom's side of the family", replied Percy casually, twirling his straw in his milkshake. "Her dad was a water-controller and her mom could talk to animals. She can only talk to fishes though, but she suspects that it just... came on stronger with me. Like the majority of it just skipped one generation or something? I don't know."

"I love that topic, the genetics of powers and how they are passed on, the theory behind how each generation is only going to become stronger, more and more people without powers are having children with people who have powers, which leads to more powerful kids being born and the people with powers mixing their powers in their kids and-"

Jason quickly shut up as both Percy and Nico stared at him in surprise. He flushed and ducked his head a little, but then Percy just laughed and patted him on the back lightly.

"That is the most I have ever heard you talk. That's nice. You should do it more often, you got a lot of passion. And you don't need to stop talking, you know."

Percy's words were encouraging and they made Jason's heart race ten miles an hour. Swallowing hard, Jason took a large bite from his doughnut to stop himself from saying anything embarrassing.

"Ye—eah, what he said", agreed Nico after a beat. "I gotta admit, that's a topic that interests me greatly too. Ever since our powers manifested. I wondered why Bia's connection to the shadows is stronger than mine, how it came that she had no geokinetic powers at all while mine are weak but Hazel could potentially move mountains one day."

"Hazel...", started Percy slowly. "She... has a slightly different last name than you and uh she kind of... doesn't share too many features with you and Bianca..."

"She's our cousin. Our fathers were brothers, but we took her in after her parents died", offered Nico, slowly stirring his coffee.

Jason bit his lower lip at that. He'd guessed that something in Nico's past must have made him so grumpy and defensive. Losing family like that, seeing what this loss did so very directly – seeing the effect that losing her parents must have had on Hazel.

"I'm... so sorry", whispered Percy with knitted eyebrows.

"It's been a long time ago. Which, doesn't mean that she is over it, but it means that we all learned ways to cope with the loss and it's not a fresh wound anymore", assured Nico. "But just. Don't... make a big deal out of it in front of her. And... she is my sister. She may have been born my cousin, but she has been my sister for years now, she is my sister as much as Bianca."

"I get that", hummed Jason with the smallest smile. "Pipes and I may not share blood at all, but her dad and my mom got married so long ago and her dad is... a dad to me too and she's as much my sister as Thals is."

"That's nice", Percy grinned, nodding a little. "Siblings are awesome. Even the ones that are a huge pain in your butt. Tri may annoy the living daylights out of me, but I still love him. Mostly."

"Mostly, huh?", echoed Jason, laughing to himself.

"When he steals the last piece of mom's blueberry pie, I am ready to give him up for adoption."

Jason grinned at that, eyes drifting from Percy to Nico and back. This was... nice.

Notes:

Poor Nico, losing all tha hard earned respect ùû°°° Next chapter, Nico gets the chance to talk to his dad about Poseidon!

Chapter 10: The Son of Poseidon...? (1)

Chapter 10: The Son of Poseidon...? (1)

Nico was pacing in his room, motioning around as he muttered beneath his breath. Practicing what to say. How to say it. Whether to say it or not. At this point in time, he had grown incredibly attached to Percy Jackson. Yes, rival. Definitely his new rival. But also... a friend. When Jason and him had cornered Percy in the stables a bit over a week ago, seeing Percy with the pegasus, and then when the three of them had gone to the café. The first time they just sat down together and genuinely talked with each other.

"My boy. I missed you so much."

The pacing paused as he was being suffocated by a hug from his mom. Not what he had expected. He had expected his father, who was over in New York for business. Maria smoothed down Nico's curls and smothered him in kisses until he started squirming.

"Mamma, what are you doing here?"

"I am happy to see you too, bambino", Maria grunted pointedly.

"Mamma. It's been a week. You're acting like I've been gone for a year", Nico huffed a little. "Besides, I didn't even know you would be coming too!"

"I missed my children. I'm taking Bianca and Hazel out shopping?"

"No. Not gonna happen. I love you, but no. Besides... I... wanted to talk to papà."

Maria raised one eyebrow, waiting a beat. When Nico didn't speak again, she leaned in and kissed his forehead before leaving the room again. On her way out, she was passed by her husband. Nico tilted his head as he regarded his father. The look on his father's face mirrored his own, most likely. Not knowing what to expect from this conversation. Nico had just texted his dad and asked to speak to him while he was in New York. Bit short and vague, open for interpretation.

"I missed you too", offered Hades and pulled his son into a hug. "What did you want to talk about?"

Nico motioned for his dad to take a seat on the couch and then closed the door. Alabaster and Ethan were out on a date, Frank was over at Will and Cecil's to play video games. No one there to hear them speak. Still. He wrung his hands and returned to pacing.

"What did you want to talk about, son?", asked Hades once more, eyebrows raised.

"Your friend, Mister Jackson..." Nico paused for a moment. "He's Poseidon, isn't he?"

Hades remained completely quiet, unfazed by his son's words, his gaze steady. The face of a man who had professionally lied for decades now. Nico held his gaze just as steadily, until his father cracked. There was no point in lying to someone who knew the truth.

"We were too awkward in our cover-story weren't we?" Hades chuckled softly.

"It helped that I know who you are, papà. Between that and your awkwardness, it wasn't that hard to figure out... So I'm right then. His son doesn't know though, does he?"

"Poseidon and I didn't exactly stay in touch", admitted Hades, looking a little ashamed. "Occasionally, we would call each other up. But months, sometimes even years, would pass. We are reminders of the past to each other and... staying in contact just gives more context to figuring out our identities. I don't... I don't know how he handles parenthood, to be quite frank."

"He doesn't", repeated Nico once more, this time more firmly. "There's no way he knows his father is Poseidon. Percy is... he's an honest person, I don't think he is that smooth a liar."

"You're upset with that", noted Hades curiously. "The kid, Percy you say... you're close?"

"I... uh. We're friends, I guess", admitted Nico, trying hard to fight his blush. "But it's not just that. It's... I could be him, papà. You told me. But if you hadn't, if in some weird attempt to shield me from it all, you hadn't told me... I don't know how I would feel. The longer Poseidon waits to tell Percy, the more he's going to break his son's heart. The more he runs the risk of alienating his son. Because that's how I would be feeling."

Finally, Nico had sat down, opposite his father. There was a thoughtful look on Hades' face. After a moment, the man nodded, heaving a deep sigh. When he got up and passed Nico, he ruffled his son's hair, a small smile on his lips. He could see his son's point.

/break\

Tyson had been fussy all week. He was clearly missing Percy. They all were, but their youngest was not making it easier for the rest of the family. Sally heaved an exhausted sigh as she made her way to the door. Someone seemingly wanted something very urgent.

"Yes?", asked Sally an edge annoyed, freezing as she looked up. "...Aiden."

"Salacia. It's good to see you", offered Aiden di Angelo with a charming smile.

"Sally, please. No one calls me Salacia in New York", Sally chuckled a little. "It's good to see you."

She reached for the man and pulled him into a tight hug, causing him to grunt. "Still strong I see."

"Naturally. I might not lift busses anymore, but that doesn't make the powers go away. Come in."

Hades nodded as he followed her invitation. He looked around the house, a very small smile on his lips when they walked inside, his eyes trailing over the pictures on the wall in particular. Baptisms, birthdays, graduation, first place at swim-tournaments, Paul and Sally's wedding. A normal life, laid out in images. Sally could hear Tyson outside with his best friend Ella Dare. They were playing villains and heroes in the fort again.

"...That is an impressive tree-house", noted Hades stunned when they reached the living room.

Perfect view on the backyard and the playing children. "Paul built that for Triton when he was seven, I think. You should have seen Triton and Percy, when Triton was a young teen and Percy started being old enough to climb it. So much fighting over the 'castle'."

"Is your husband home too?", asked Hades as he looked around some more.

"Mh? No? He's still at work. Parent teacher night, opening of the school year and all that", Sally smiled politely at him. "Can I... offer you a drink, or something...? I'm sorry, don't take offense to it, but... what are you doing here? You have... never visited our house before. I haven't seen you since... since your brother's funeral. And now, two times in two weeks?"

Hades chuckled dryly. "I had a conversation with my son. And... I think... I felt like I needed to talk to you, and your husband, about this."

Sally went to the kitchen and got the bottle of wine that she had just opened for herself. When the sun was setting, she liked to grab a book, a glass of wine and sit in the living room to read, one eye on the kids in the backyard. She took two wine-glasses with her and returned to the living room. Hades was standing at the fire-place, looking at the pictures on that too.

"I bring wine. Now tell me what this visit is about", prompted Sally gently.

"My son figured out your identity", stated Hades as he accepted the wine-glass.

"Cutting right to the chase", Sally grunted and took a big gulp of her wine.

"I didn't have to tell him. Between him knowing our identity and... Poseidon and my awkward reunion at the school, which we both might have covered better had we expected to meet each other, it was not hard for him to piece together. Not with your son's powers. I looked at the footage, while I was at the school. I admit, I was curious", Hades tapped his fingers against the arm-rest of the couch. "Your son... is incredibly powerful. He might just surpass Poseidon at his age."

Sally pressed her lips together, nodding slowly. "We've been training him, honing his skills. Especially his concentration. Focus is the most important part. Everyone can do overwhelming power with no skills. But especially with a dangerous power like ours..."

"He doesn't know who you are, does he?", asked Hades softly after a moment.

Slowly, Sally shook her head, her eyes trailing over to the backyard, watching Tyson run around the tree, yelling loudly. He looked so carefree and happy. Lifting her glass up, Sally took a slow, long drink from it. Taking her time to sort her thoughts before answering Hades.

"We considered it. We... We spent years talking about it, debating it from every angle. We saw it on the news. Zeus parading little Thalia around like he was holding his cub up over Pride Rock to have all animals bow down to them – Tyson is in a Lion King phase, excuse me."

"Lion King is a good one to obsess over", Hades chuckled fondly. "Nico had that phase too."

"We saw all the... pressure on the kid. And while we aren't public with our personas, the way Zeus is, there would still be pressure. Internal pressure. Over the years, we have seen Thalia and Jason being covered by the news, their growth... that still didn't seem to be enough for the news. I don't want my children to feel like they have to live up to the names of Poseidon and Amphitrite. I... At first, it was too early. Of course you can't tell little kids, Tyson right now, he would just babble it all out. When would be the right age? We spent all that time wondering, debating, considering."

"I understand that", assured Hades. "Maria and I have talked about it endlessly too. When Bianca and Nico were still toddlers, we wondered about it. We too followed the news."

"And... how did it work out for you?", asked Sally with furrowed brows.

"We told them all the same time. When Bianca was thirteen. We waited so they're old enough to understand the gravity of our secret and that they had to hold their tongue about this."

"And did they take it well?", wanted Sally to know.

Hades laughed loudly. "Nico practically imploded. He got so excited, firing off a billion questions at once. He was... so precious when he was small. Now, he has this whole cool, broody, untouchable edge going on. I miss my soft little boy with the sparkly eyes who didn't try to impress others with his coolness. But the children took it well. They also understood why we didn't tell them when they were little. And... Hazel... my brother's girl... she finally understood why her parents died."

Sally averted her eyes at the mention. She'd known both Hades and Pluto. "Seeing what had happened to Pluto and his wife, seeing the orphaned, little girl crying into her aunt's lap at the funeral, that was... that was the last thing Poseidon needed to stop being bitter about giving up the mantle, because it was so easy to imagine that being Triton or Percy. And unlike your Hazel, there are no... aunts and uncles to take our children in if something happened to us. You would have."

At that, Hades raised his head and his eyebrows, gaping just a little bit. "Excuse me?"

"You and Persephone were our closest friends once upon a time. If something were to happen to me and Paul, we wanted you to raise them", replied Sally with a faint smile. "Nothing happened to us. And after, Paul finally truly settled down with his retirement. There was still a certain sense of anguish to it, especially when the kids started reading the comics..."

"Nico had the hugest crush on Poseidon when he was small", Hades chuckled to himself.

Sally lifted a finger up, a mischievous look on her face, before she led the way upstairs. Curiously, Hades followed her toward Percy's bedroom. Still grinning, Sally opened the door and motioned inside, toward the huge poster of Hades hanging over Percy's desk, another poster of the Olympians over his bed, with Hades, Zeus and Poseidon front and center.

"Percy idolizes you. It is Paul's greatest source of despair. Our son, idolizing you more than either of us", Sally laughed softly and shook her head. "He wants to be a hero. Triton didn't, not like this. A fire fighter, a different kind of hero. But Percy, he... he wants to revive the Olympians."

"Your son has grand dreams", noted Hades surprised.

"Plans", corrected Sally a bit more soberly. "Dreams are fantasies, unlikely to come true. Percy has every intention of making this come true. He has been working toward this for a decade now. At first, we too thought it was just... a cute dream. But he has been serious about this. Is serious about it. He is going to do it, Hades. He's going to bring back the Olympians."

Hades crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the doorway and looking at the youthful image of himself hanging on the wall. "The world may not need it for there are no huge super-villains, but... the people may need it. There is no truly inspiring symbol of hope anymore. But... don't you think he might have an easier time doing it if he knew the truth?"

At that, Sally remained silent. Her hand was wandering over the top of the desk, gently. Missing her boy. She was also considering his words. Sighing, she bit her lower lip.

"I don't know", admitted Sally. "I've... been thinking about it too, a lot. I don't know. He is already working so hard, what if knowing who we are will put even more pressure on him...?"

"Or it might relieve some pressure, knowing he has someone on his side who has experience."

"Your son... he's not going to tell Percy, right?", asked Sally worried.

"No. He knows better than to spill other people's secrets. But I do think that you should reconsider. Especially now that he's at the school, that he is actively on the path of following into your footsteps. He's not alone, he wouldn't be alone. He would have Nico. The two are friends, you know. Our sons are friends now. Really following our footsteps."

Sally made a thoughtful face and then heaved a sigh. "He now knows the children of Zeus. And also your children, not knowing they're your children. I'm going to talk to Paul."

/break\

Jason's new favorite place was buried under a pile of fluffy dog. Mrs. O'Leary whined and licked his face, giving him a new hair-style. Laughing, he wrapped his arms around Mrs. O'Leary's leg.

"First, you lose all respect toward me because of my dog, now you steal my dog."

Slowly, Jason turned toward the source of the voice, seeing Nico leaning against the wall, arms crossed and an unimpressed eyebrow raised. With a sheepish smile did Jason hug the dog tighter.

"She is very precious. I'm not stealing her though. I just like spending time with her", argued Jason, patting her nose. "...Or... do you really mind...? I can... go?"

Nico heaved a very deep sigh at that and shook his head. Bloody puppy-dog eyes. How did anyone ever deny that damn blonde anything? He was half convinced there was some kind of superpower going on there too. Mind-control. Hypnosis. Something like that.

"Just... don't sneak her food. Percy started doing that and between that and me and Bianca and Hazel, it has become too many snacks. That only makes her throw up."

"Okay. Thanks, Nico", replied Jason, smiling softly.

Nico nodded, waiting. Lingering. Considering what to say next. During that, he simply watched.

"You here to take your girl out for a walk? Am I in the way?", asked Jason after a beat.

"No, I actually came to check on Percy and his murder horse. Then I heard voices from my dog's stall and figured I'd check that out first", answered Nico with a shrug.

"Wait. Percy is with the murder horse again?" Jason immediately let go of the puppy.

Instead, he grabbed Nico's hand and pulled him along out of the stall and toward the stables. Nico blinked surprised as he stumbled after Jason. He knew the magic words would get Jason's attention.

"Percy, no", Jason groaned as they reached the restricted area.

Percy stood there, with a bag of doughnuts, hand-feeding the black pegasus. He was... even caressing the horse's flank. That was new. Nico and Jason exchanged a surprised look.

"What? I keep telling you, he's not a murder horse", stated Percy firmly. "Blackjack's a good boy. He just needs someone to be patient and gentle with him, mh."

"While I do appreciate your patience and eagerness to give him a second chance, I would appreciate it even more if you would heed the warning signs that said to stay out, Mister Jackson."

All three boys turned to face the principal. Mister Brunner shook his head pointedly. Percy made a face, regretfully stepping away from Blackjack, who whined confused at that, stomping his hoofs.

"Mister Jackson, I will see you in my office tomorrow. With your parents."

Mister Brunner watched how Percy left the stables and then he locked them, ushering all three boys out into the open once more. Jason wrapped an arm around Percy's shoulders, steering him away from the stables. The pout on Percy's lips got to both Jason and Nico.

"C'mon, you knew this would happen, Perce", offered Nico pointedly. "A miracle it hasn't happened earlier though. You've been sneaking in here every day."

"I kno—ow. But he's calling my parents. I'm in actual trouble", Percy groaned.

"Will... Will they be angry?", asked Jason concerned.

That changed Percy's attitude some and he shook his head, a small smile on his lips. He knew Jason had issues, he knew Jason would be in a world of trouble if Hera had gotten called on the scene and Jason was the one who got into trouble. Reaching out, Percy ruffled Jason's hair.

"No. I mean. They might be upset that I did something potentially dangerous", replied Percy, before he heaved a deep sigh. "I'll just... be sad that I won't get to see Blackjack again. Then again... I... won't soon anyway. End of the week, they're going to... take him away... to some shelter or something for unwanted magic creatures. Where he'll be all alone, because who's going to buy an 'aggressive murder horse', as you like to put it... and you are right, he is aggressive, but... that's not his fault. He was abused all his life. He doesn't trust humans. He needs someone patient."

Jason's eyes glassed over thoughtfully as he watched Percy.

/break\

"My boy!", his father's voice was as booming as ever. "Calling on your own. That's rare. You're lucky, you just caught me between interviews. How are your studies going? Are you top of the class already? Everyone adores you, don't they? Of course they do!"

His father laughed loudly. Despite himself, Jason smiled just a little. As usual, his dad took both sides of the conversation, filling in the blanks himself. Still, it somewhat felt as though his father meant well, right? He asked. He wanted to assume the best, for Jason.

"It's going well, dad. I... I'm calling, because I want... I wanted to ask for a favor."

"Anything, my boy. You know that. What is it? Something strike your fancy?"

"Uh... Kind of? There's this... horse here. A pegasus. Mighty one, you'd like him. He's only staying here temporarily, someone's going to take him to a shelter. I... I want him, father. Before he's shipped off. I want him to stay here, not be moved, not be sold to someone else. I know you'd have to get in touch with the people who'll pick him up and it's gonna be-"

"No problem", interrupted Zeus, suddenly raising his voice. "Ganymede! Get in touch with my kids' principal. There's some horse staying there. Jason wants it. Jason gets it. Make it happen."

Jason smiled faintly at that. Being filthy rich and influential could get quite handy at times. And Percy seemed to really love that horse. Percy should get to keep that horse. Though Jason didn't like asking his parents for favors, especially not ones that were so very out there. But this wasn't for him, this was for Percy. He just hoped that Percy was going to appreciate the gesture and not think that Jason was a total weirdo for doing this. Which he absolutely was.

"Ah. Gotta go, my boy. Next interview awaits. Talk to you soon."

With that, Zeus hung up the phone. Jason sighed a little, smiling a bit sadly. His dad never had much time for him. There was always a city to save, an interview to be had, an event to visit. Being Zeus was a full-time job, had always been. Just like being Zeus' heir.

"Jay? You coming? We're waiting on you", called Leo out. "What are you doing?"

He stuck his head in, frowning at Jason. Quickly pocketing his phone, Jason headed out to follow Leo toward the library. Study-date, meeting up with Piper and Piper's roommate Annabeth. That was a great way of spending even more time with Percy, because where Annabeth was, Percy wasn't far behind. Jason smiled and waved as he saw them all sitting together at the table and he quickly took his seat right next to Percy. For no special reason at all. It just had good lighting. When Percy smiled at him in greeting, Jason's stomach felt all happy-queasy.

Notes:

As you may have noticed, this chapter says (1), because well, there's gonna be a part two next time, where Percy actually learns the truth about his heritage!

Chapter 11: The Son of Poseidon...? (2)

Chapter 11: The Son of Poseidon...? (2)

Percy squirmed a little as his father loomed over him with a look of both disappointment, exasperation and maybe also an edge of despair on his face. "Please tell me Principal Brunner called us only two weeks into the school year, because you're such an outstanding student."

"Ye—eah. Sure. That totally must be it", Percy cleared his throat awkwardly.

"At least tell me it's not an exploded bathroom", Sally covered her face with a sigh.

"No exploded bathroom!", exclaimed Percy proudly.

"...No need to be that proud, it's usually normal not to explode bathrooms", noted Sally amused.

"Mister and Missus Jackson. Thank you for coming on such short notice."

Chiron offered a kind smile as he opened his door. The adults shook hands and Percy closed his eyes for a quick prayer. Second week and his parents were already called to the school. That much for his great ambitions. The best of the best should not get in trouble, especially not this soon.

"What happened?", asked Sally concerned, looking at Chiron. "Why are we here?"

"Your son snuck into a restricted area of the school", supplied Chiron, not sugarcoating it.

"Percy", Paul groaned in a drawn-out manner.

"I have a defense-", started Percy quickly, straightening up, just to see the look Chiron gave him.

Sally heaved a sigh, rubbing her forehead. "What exactly happened?"

"Your son put himself in danger, that is why you're here. There was no damage and no one got hurt, but what he did was dangerous and risky", stated Chiron, arms folded in front of himself. "We have been housing a... dangerous pegasus. Your son has been sneaking into the clearly marked, restricted area where we have been keeping the animal."

"I'm sorry, you're telling me you put a dangerous animal onto school grounds and my son is in trouble for that?", asked Sally pointedly, straightening her back and glaring the principal down.

Chiron cleared his throat. "That is not entirely the point. Our students are old enough to read a sign and obey it. Your son included. There aren't many facilities equipped to house pegasi and trained to take care of them. Your son has been warned to not go there."

Now, Sally turned to look at her son, silently questioning him. "There was only a brief window of opportunity! I knew they'd send him away again, so I had to get in and talk to him first, try to help him. That's what heroes are supposed to do! Help the helpless."

"That is a nice sentiment, Percy. But you are not yet a hero, you are a student. And a first year student, at that. You can't just go wherever you want and bend rules because you think you know better", Chiron raised both his eyebrows pointedly as he stared Percy down.

Slowly, Percy sunk down lower in his chair. "I just... wanted a chance to help, before he leaves... He doesn't deserve to be shipped off to some shelter where he'll be locked away for good."

"Well, that is not going to happen, it seems", stated Chiron with a sigh. "He has been... bought."

"Bought? What? So he's going to someone who, what, collects pegasi?" Percy sat up straighter, a worried look on his face. "They don't even know what they're getting into! I need to-"

"You need to stop getting involved", interrupted Paul. "You're here for your education. Not to get in trouble by getting involved in things that aren't your business, son."

"Like you haven't done your fair share of animal rights activism in your youth", noted Sally.

"Babe, that is not the point and also not helpful", Paul grunted, a bit flustered.

"Yes, I do think we're getting off-topic here", agreed Chiron, though he looked amused. "I need you to start listening to the rules, Percy. And to make sure of that, I felt your parents need to know. Also because the pegasus now has an owner. And sneaking into restricted school areas is one thing, but sneaking around to someone's pet could get you into serious legal trouble with the owner."

"Wait, he was bought by someone on campus?" Percy perked up again.

"See, this reaction is why I called you here", Chiron heaved a sigh, looking at Paul and Sally.

"Pe—ercy", Paul groaned and rubbed his face. "My beloved main source of my gray hair..."

Again, Percy sank lower on his hair. "...Who bought him, Mister Brunner? If I ask their permission, I could continue visiting Blackjack, right? No trouble then. I visit Mrs. O'Leary all the time!"

"Who is Mrs. O'Leary?", asked Sally confused – was that a teacher?

"Mrs. O'Leary is this really huge really pretty hell-hound!", exclaimed Percy excitedly, gesturing to indicate her size. "She belongs to Nico – uh, Nico di Angelo. He's... kind of... a friend?"

Sally and Paul exchanged a look at that name. It reminded them of Hades' words, words that Sally had shared with her husband last night. They had laid up all night talking about them.

"Zeus", interrupted Chiron, drawing the attention of the Jacksons. "Mister Grace bought it."

Poseidon drew his eyebrows together at that. Why would Zeus buy a pegasus? Him and his children could all fly. He turned to look at Percy, who looked thoughtful only for a second before perking up.

"Jason!", announced Percy with a stunned look on his face. "Uh. Other friend of mine."

"Jason? Jason Grace? The son of Zeus?", asked Sally stunned.

Their son really had gone ahead and befriend the sons of Zeus and Hades? Poseidon shook his head a little bit in amazement. Percy could befriend everyone, he knew that. Lovable, cheeky, precious boy he'd always been. People flocked to him. Still, this... was reminiscent of the past.

"...Yes. If you have the owner's permission, you can visit the horse", Chiron heaved a sigh. "Though that was entirely not the point of what I was trying to teach you here, Percy."

Both Sally and Paul had to hold back a smile as they saw the way Percy was practically bouncing in his seat. He had definitely not learned the right lesson here. Sally could see so much of her husband in Percy. Always finding loopholes to get what they wanted.

"Percy... What you did does require punishment. You're going to be cleaning out the community stables for a month. And I do expect that you are going to listen to the rules from now on."

Percy did a great impression of a guilty, regretful school boy. "Yes, Mister Brunner."

Both his parents profoundly apologized to the principal and also promised something like that would never happen again. Together, the Jacksons left the office in silence and then made their way down the hall, toward Percy's room. Percy bit his lips, waiting for the berating to come once they reached his room. He was somewhat relieved that his roommates didn't seem to be there.

"In my defense-", started Percy as soon as he closed the door behind them.

"You have a very big, bleeding heart and when you see someone in distress, you want to help", finished Sally, a fond smile on her lips. "Why did you think the pegasus needed you?"

"Because he did! He was only aggressive because he'd been abused before. So he doesn't trust humans. And... other humans, they're so ignorant of an animal's need. They just judge their behavior and don't ask where it roots from and what they could do to change it."

His father reached out to ruffle his hair, huffing amused. "My son, through and through."

At least his parents understood where he was coming from. He sighed relieved before he sank into his mother's arms for a tight hug. Much more at least, Percy motioned for them to sit on the couch, before he went to the fridge and got them all something to drink.

"So you have been making friends...?", asked Paul slowly.

"I have!", Percy offered his parents a slight grin. "I made... a bit of a splash at the powers show-off. Nico might be the strongest of our class, obvious legacy of Zeus excluded. He's really impressive. Uh. Both of them are. Nico and Jason. Though, Jason... mh..."

"What does 'mh' mean?", asked Sally with her eyebrows raised.

"He doesn't want to be a hero", elaborated Percy, motioning around a little with his hands. "He hates the pressure that comes from being, well, the son of Zeus. And... now that I know him, I guess I get it. For him, his whole life was pressure from the public, being paraded around, having to live up to some impossible standard set by Zeus being Zeus."

"Really?", asked Paul surprised, sitting up a little.

"I never looked at it from that angle", admitted Percy, running his fingers through his own hair. "I just always saw... the opportunity. The glamour. The importance. Kid of Zeus, he was on the right path to become what I wanted to become. It never occurred to me that the son of Zeus might not actually want to become a hero. And that all of that was...not fun for him."

"Being a child of one of the Big Three might open a lot of paths", conceded Sally after a moment.

As she said that, she locked eyes with her husband, glaring pointedly. Paul started squirming. Now? Really? Now was the time? Well. It wasn't like there was a perfect time that would announce itself or anything. And they had been delaying this for too many years now.

"What would you do?", asked Poseidon slowly. "If you were the child of one of the Big Three?"

"Are we playing What If now?", Percy grunted amused, before he adapted a thoughtful look. "I don't know. I don't know how that'd affect my life. Like, being paraded around the way Jason was as a kid...? Though... I would use and rely on the resources it'd bring me. The connections to heroes of the old – and through that, maybe, their heirs. Having the kids of the original Olympians in my new team would of course sell some nostalgia and... familiarity to the public, endear them to us."

Sally turned toward her husband, taking his hand and giving it a firm, pointed squeeze. Poseidon made a face, still not quite convinced. He thought they were putting a target on Percy's back, even if Percy seemed aware of the pressure. However, Sally saw more perks than downsides, especially now. Percy wasn't a little boy anymore. He was also attending a school for heroes in the making. He had a set plan to become a hero and on that path, knowing who his parents were would help him.

"Percy, sweetheart, there is something we have to tell you..." Sally's smile was wavering.

Percy frowned as he picked up on the change of mood. "...What is it?"

"I know we might have owed you the truth for a long time now, but it is hard to find the right time for this. When you were a child, well, you were a child. Too young to understand the responsibility of this secret. Then you got older, but... we feared there would be too much pressure. It's... hard to know how to say this, or when to say this", Sally knew she was rambling.

"What is... going on?", asked Percy confused. "Just... tell me?"

"I... am Poseidon", stated Paul, the words sounding unsure even to his own ears.

For a moment, Percy blinked, before he then laughed. "Okay. That was actually funny, dad."

"It's not a joke, Percy. I am Amphitrite. Born Princess Salacia of Atlantis", offered Sally seriously. "I met your father when we were young. Young heroes. That's... why you have never met my side of the family before, because they live under the sea. And... don't... like humans."

The laughter died as Percy looked from his mom to his dad. He didn't know what was going on anymore. They were... joking, right? After another moment of Percy simply staring at them, Paul got up. He heaved a sigh and closed his eyes. Percy yelped and jumped a little when the faucet just turned itself on and water was pulled toward Paul, surrounding him and slowly forming around Paul into armor. The iconic armor of Poseidon, even the trident formed in his hand. He stood tall and proud, chest puffed out. And though he was older, salt-and-pepper hair, like this... it was hard to deny. This was Poseidon, standing right before Percy. He swallowed hard, because... this was his dad. But that couldn't be. Helplessly, he turned toward his mom, but... she had done the same as his dad, summoning water into shape of Amphitrite's armor.

"Holy shit you gotta be kidding me", Percy whispered and sank down on the couch. "What..."

"We saw what being the children of Zeus had done to Zeus' kids. We never... went public with our secret identities. And considering we were retired by the time you were born, we thought there... was no point. Children... It'd have just... You couldn't have kept it a secret if you knew. But... it is hard to know when that line shifts, when you are old enough to keep that secret", said Sally.

"I can't... I... holy shit... holy shit...", was all Percy managed to say.

""We're sorry for lying to you", offered Paul, letting the water go back to the sink. "We didn't know what to do. When to tell you. But you're... at this school now. Friends with the sons of Zeus and Hades. On the path to become an Olympian one day. You have the right to know, as they do."

"Right. Yeah. That makes sense. Here, as a hero, being friends with the-", Percy interrupted himself, a confused frown on his face. "Wait, did you just say I'm friends with the son of Hades? Hades doesn't have a son, not to the public. I would know if I were friends with the son of Hade—holy shit Nico is the son of Hades. Holy shit."

"Your vocabulary starts troubling me, son", noted Paul with furrowed brows. "And... You... did not know this? Seeing as the boy approached his father, who came to us about this, I had assumed he told you that he's the son of Hades."

All Percy could do was shake his head and run his fingers through his hair in surprise. "He did not. But this makes... just... all the sense. His necromancy and control of darkness, Hades' powers, but the geokinetic powers of Persephone. And of course. Hazel is the daughter of Pluto, Hades' twin-brother. This makes just... Wait, so he knew? He knew I was... How did he know-?"

"It seems Hades and I were not... very subtle in our reunion", admitted Poseidon embarrassed. "And since the boy knows his parents' secret identity, me being a 'fraternity brother' of Hades' and you having hydrokinetic powers... he put one and one together."

"Better than me", Percy muttered beneath his breath, burying his face in his hands. "How stupid am I? You both have water powers. I never met mom's family at all. I read all the comics, multiple times. And how pouty dad's always been that Hades was my favorite hero!"

Poseidon flushed at that and cleared his throat. "You are not stupid, Percy."

"We did everything to hide this from you and your brothers", whispered Sally and reached out to brush Percy's hair back. "We never displayed just how great our powers are. Water control is... a very common power, there was no reason to link us to being Poseidon and Amphitrite just based on that. We were never active heroes during your lifetime. You never... suspiciously saw us run out while our counter-parts saved the day, or saw strange injuries that could give us away. You just know us as Paul and Sally, as your... very normal parents. A teacher and a candy-shop owner. That's not what anyone would expect two of the greatest heroes to be. Why would you?"

"Wait. My brothers", Percy looked up wide-eyed. "Does Triton know?"

"No. We never told him either. And since he chose... a different career path, we didn't see a reason to", admitted Sally. "Though now that we have told you, he have to tell him too."

"But, just for the record, I knew first? So I can rub that under his nose", Percy smirked.

"Percy", Sally heaved a sigh and shook her head. "Yes, but... you two are horrible."

Percy just grinned and shrugged half-heartedly. "I... still can't believe this though. You guys..."

"You can tell the children of Zeus and Hades, since I assume they know our secret identities already", offered Paul gently. "Though... you do have to know how important it is you keep this secret. For all of our safety, including Tyson's."

"Of course", Percy nodded quickly, frowning. "Nothing to go public about. I get that."

"And Annabeth and Grover", amended Sally after she shot Paul a look. "We know how important they both are to you, and will be to your future as a hero."

Percy offered her a small, relieved smile. Grover and Annabeth were two people he couldn't lie to. He would have, because he knew he'd owe that to his parents, but it'd be incredibly hard. Heaving a slow sigh, Percy leaned back against the couch. The day had only barely started and so much had happened already. His head was swimming. Which was ironic, all powers and origins considered.

"I'm the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite", whispered Percy amazed. "Holy shit."

"There it is again, the limited vocabulary", Paul grunted and shook his head.

"It's a lot! It reduces me to a limited vocabulary!", Percy exclaimed with a pout.

"Are... You're not angry at us?", asked Sally tentatively. "I... We... would understand if you did feel angry about us lying to you for so long."

"I love you guys. And I know you love me. And I... get it. This isn't something you tell a kindergartner. I would have run around the playground, screaming it proudly at the top of my lungs. I get that. I'm not... angry. I do wish you had told me earlier, but... even I don't know when the exact right 'earlier' would have been", admitted Percy with a frown.

He offered a half-smile as he got up and walked over to his parents to pull them into a tight hug. They seemed to relax and return the hug just as tightly. The air between them felt cleared and somehow, Percy felt so much closer to his parents now.

"Just, you do have to tell me when you told Tri so I can gloat", noted Percy finally.

"You're awful. I raised an awful ball of mischief", declared Sally playfully, ruffling his hair.

/break\

Annabeth was with Grover in the greenhouse when Percy practically tackled them both. The boy was radiating nervous energy – even more so than usually, and that was saying a lot. The blonde frowned a bit annoyed, because she had been categorizing poisonous flowers with Grover, a project for their herbology class – a very important class in a world where you could be attacked by plant-powered supervillains at every moment. They needed to know what was poisonous and what was a potential cure for it. One of the reasons why Grover was a very practical teammate to have.

"Percy", Annabeth huffed. "What is going on? You look like you're about to explode?"

"Something important I have to tell you!", Percy's voice was an excited whisper.

His eyes darted around, noticing that at this hour, they were the only ones in the greenhouse. Perfect. A giant grin spread over his lips as he pulled his friends even closer, down in the corner. Just to be sure, even if there was no one else here right now.

"So my parents came by earlier, right?", Percy's voice dropped even lower.

"Oh yeah. How was your conversation with... wait, why are you this happy and excited? Don't tell me you didn't get into trouble?", asked Grover confused.

"Well. Actually, I kind of didn't? I'm on stable-duty for a month, but Mr. B doesn't seem to realize that that's just... more time with horses. Also, Jason apparently bought Blackjack so I get to continue seeing him", replied Percy with a thoughtful frown before shaking his head. "But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about! My parents! They told me—holy shit I don't know how to say it."

"What? What's going on? As excited as you are, did they give Triton up for adoption?"

"Wishful thinking", Percy huffed amused. "No. But... they're... They're Poseidon and Amphitrite."

"Is this some kind of joke? Are you...?", started Grover confused.

Annabeth heaved a sigh and shook her head. "No, he's serious."

"...You knew?", asked Percy surprised and mildly offended.

"I'm a genius. It's my super-power. I mean, literally. Knowing them up close, but not as close as you – your judgment was clouded by only seeing them as your parents", offered Annabeth. "And no, I did not tell you, because this most certainly wasn't my secret to share."

Percy shrugged at that. That was true; he wouldn't want anyone to share his own secrets either. Huffing, he collapsed backward against the wall. Grover and Annabeth were quick to follow, sitting down on either side of him. Annabeth reached out to pat his knee.

"How do you feel?", asked Annabeth, a note of concern.

"It's a lot. It's... so much. I feel both like it's super surreal but also like it was totally obvious all along and I really should have seen it earlier", Percy heaved a deep sigh. "I just... Poseidon and Amphitrite. They're... I'm... holy shit, I'm a legacy. A huge legacy."

"Damn", Grover grunted stunned. "Poseidon and Amphitrite."

Percy hummed in agreement, nodding his head. He planned on digesting this for a bit longer, before talking to Jason and Nico tonight. He was super excited about that.

Notes:

Finally, Percy knows the truth! And I know, some of y'all expected him to be angry or hurt, but... he wasn't really in canon either, even though his mother had lied to him all of his life too, and with much dire consequences, so I don't think that being angry at his parents for keeping this secret would be in line for him. Next chapter, he's gonna tell Nico and Jason ;D

Chapter 12: Time to Tell the Truth

Chapter 12: Time to Tell the Truth

Jason had had a great day, actually. His dad had called this morning to tell him that he had bought the pegasus and that Blackjack had been moved to a private stall for Jason. And Zeus even had a couple of minutes time to just talk to Jason. He hadn't had any power-related classes today, just normal ones that he could participate in without stress. During lunch-break, he'd been with Piper and Leo when Percy found him and demanded for Jason to come over to the stables that night.

Was that like a date? After dark, just him and Percy? Jason's heart was racing ten miles per minute at the thought. Why at the stables? So they would be... alone? A date could happen during the day, he could have asked Jason out to dinner or something, but the stables alone at night? Did... Did Percy want to...? No. Right? Percy was so sweet and innocent, he wouldn't hook up in the stables, would he? Percy wasn't that type, was he? Jason's face was dark red at the mere thought of it. He couldn't have his first time in the stables! And he would want to take Percy out for proper dates first! And what about Nico? No, wait, what was Nico doing there?

Actually, seriously, what was Nico doing there? Did Jason feel guilty because there was something between Percy and Nico, or did Jason feel bad because he wanted Nico there...?

At which point his mind basically felt like it was about to melt. Did he seriously not have figured out to whom he'd want to lose his virginity? That... That was something he should have figured out, right? There should be that one special someone he really liked, he thought about kissing and being with and sharing that with. But, somehow, there were two. He liked both Percy and Nico.

So, Jason's day had been great until Percy had made ominous demands at lunch that made Jason fall down into an existential crisis about sex, romance and what he actually wanted, or rather who.

Jason knew he was bisexual. At least Percy hadn't given him a sexuality-crisis. No, he knew that he was attracted to both Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner. Still, everything else was a mess.

"Hey. Hey. Jay. Slow breaths. Close your eyes and focus on my voice and on my hands. Squeeze."

Jason obeyed his sister's request, slowly inhaling when she told him to, squeezing her hands while he held his breath before exhaling. He has had his fair share of anxiety attacks in his life and Thalia was amazing, she was his anchor, she had figured out how to ground him. When he opened his eyes, she was smiling at him. They were in Jason and Leo's dorm-room.

"Feel better?" asked Thalia with a small smile.

"I... Yeah," Jason took a deep breath and tilted his head back.

"Wanna tell me what got you so rattled?" asked Thalia softly.

She pulled her legs up, sitting opposite Jason. Waiting patiently. Jason knew he could always talk to his big sister, she was always there for him. He pulled his own legs against his chest to mirror her position, wrapping his arms around his knees.

"Percy asked me to meet him at the stables tonight and... and..." Jason flushed brightly. "I freaked out, because why would he want to meet me that late, he's super cute and I like him a lot, apparently maybe more than just a friend and what if he likes me more than a friend too and meeting late like that and not at a café or restaurant or whatever, what if he wants to... to... hook up? And that freaked me out even more because I don't think I'm ready for that and isn't that lame I mean I'm fifteen, other fifteen year olds are already having sex too, right and-"

"Okay, time to breath again," interrupted Thalia. "You liking Percy Jackson is... okay. He's not the worst choice to make, honestly. And freaking out about sex is also okay, especially because you are only fifteen. Sure, some fifteen year olds have sex, I... had my first time with Zoe back then and it had been a regrettable drunk hook-up after Luke managed to liberate some beer from the teachers' lounge. Everything about that was a mistake."

Jason looked at her curiously, waiting for her to continue. "When and how you have sex for the first time is your choice, Jason. If you're actually ready at fifteen, that's good for you. If you aren't, then that is perfectly fine, you don't have to feel pressured into anything. Percy is a nice kid and you two are getting along, but do you really know each other well enough for that? If you think so, then okay, but... take your time, really get to know him. Wait until you feel safe and comfortable."

"Are you... sure?" asked Jason with furrowed brows.

"I wasn't Zoe's first. She's had sex before, with this... cool older guy. A total douche. He'd just wanted sex and then left and she regretted it. I regretted hooking up with one of my best friends without there being anything romantic between us. Luke's had his first time with the guy he loved, after they were well into their relationship. He doesn't regret it. Al's lost his during a hook-up too, but he doesn't regret it because for him, it didn't mean anything, it just meant he gained experience that he could then use when he found someone he genuinely cared about. Everybody's experience is different, Jay. Everybody has to figure out for themselves when and how is right. And no one gets to tell you if your decision was wrong, because it's yours. Okay?"

"Okay. Thank you, Thals. You're the best," he leaned in to hug his sister tightly.

"Just... promise me to be safe, use protection, okay?" Thalia cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Y... Yeah. Yeah, that. Definitely," Jason blushed embarrassed.

"So... what are you going to do tonight?" asked Thalia with a grin.

"I... I will go. And I will... see what he wants. I know it's probably all in my head anyway, I mean he isn't the type to hook up in the stables, I'm just... that was just my anxiety-brain, jumping to conclusions," Jason grinned sheepishly. "Honestly, it was probably totally stupid."

"No, of course it wasn't stupid, Jay. You've always had to deal with expectations and with multiple possible outcomes. Your brain's used to running scenarios. And... honestly, hormones are kind of raging wild around here, I mean I have walked in on Ethan and Alabaster in various states of undressed five times already and we are only two weeks into the school year."

Thalia always knew what to say to him, how to make him not feel stupid. She was the only person in the whole world who could even understand what his life was like and she did and she was always there for him. She was his big sister, the one constant he had in his life.

/break\

"I'm telling you, you have made the right choice," Nico smirked pleased.

Reyna raised one eyebrow at him at that. "It hadn't been too much of a choice. You are one of the strongest magic users we have in our grade. Your powers are interesting. And so are Frank's. A shapeshifter, that's rare. I think we could be a powerhouse team together."

"As he said, right choice," Frank laughed pleased.

They were outside, training together to get a feel for each other's bodies. So they could move better together. The way to fight together laid in knowing how to move together. Not to mention the three dogs – Reyna had her two metallic dogs and Nico had Mrs. O'Leary. Mrs. O'Leary absolutely loved her new playmates, she was chasing them around with a wagging tail.

"So, Percy wants to meet you tonight?" asked Frank, not the least bit casual.

"He does. He probably just wants to pet Mrs. O'Leary," Nico snorted. "He knows he's not allowed to sneak her any snacks, so he probably wants me there so he can give her snacks. He's been trying to lure her away from me. And he's quite effective at that, I'm fairly sure Molly might love him more than me already and that's just rude..."

"Or he wants to confess to you?" Frank elbowed him. "The two of you have been spending so much time together in the past week. I'm sure it's not all about the dog."

"You two are horrible gossips, can you focus?" Reyna heaved a sigh.

"Oh come on. Tell me you haven't set your eyes on anyone yet?" Frank raised his eyebrows.

For a moment, Reyna paused, before she shook her head. "No, I am not indulging you in this."

"Oh come on, look around. We're at a superhero school and way too many people here are good looking. You must have found someone you think... at least attractive. Not talking about love of your life, happily ever after, married with three kids," argued Frank.

Reyna huffed and rolled her eyes. Yes, there were attractive people. She liked both Grace-siblings, actually. And both Annabeth and Percy were also very nice to look at. But right now, Reyna had other things to focus on, romance didn't matter that much. Though she had to admit that talking so casually was nice. Making team-mates who could actually be friends.

/break\

Frank had gotten into Nico's head. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind. Now all he could think about was what if Percy was going to confess to him? It made his palms sweaty and his stomach fluttery in the best way. Huh. That was one way to figure out that he was really into Percy.

"...Jason?" Nico frowned confused as he saw Jason walk toward the stables from the other side.

"W... What are you doing here?" Jason looked equally confused.

"Percy wanted to meet me after sundown," replied Nico with a shrug.

"...Me too," Jason furrowed his brows curiously. "Did he say where? He just said stables to me."

"Yeah to me too," Nico heaved a sigh. "Didn't even occur to me to ask him where, I thought he wanted to meet at Molly's. Wanna go check if he's there?"

Jason perked up at that and nodded wildly, making Nico huff out a laugh. Of course. That blonde puppy was as obsessed with Nico's dog as Percy. What was it with Mrs. O'Leary and being a guy magnet? Cute boys just flocking to her. How was Nico jealous of his dog?

"Pe—ercy? Perce, where are you?" called Nico out. "You asked us here, you know!"

"With my favorite puppy, since you guys kept me waiting!"

Rolling his eyes, Nico headed toward Mrs. O'Leary's stall. "It would have helped if you had given us an actual, concrete time instead of 'after dark', you ominous dork."

"He—ello, girl!" Jason's whole face brightened when the hell-hound came into sight.

Yes, Nico was truly jealous of his dog. He shook his head as he watched Jason and Percy cuddle up to Mrs. O'Leary, who looked absolutely blissed out at all the attention. Nico would too, if two cute guys paid attention to him like that. He closed the door behind himself and then sat down on the bench next to the door, watching them patiently.

"Okay, I would understand you telling me when you want to cuddle my dog, but I'm confused as to why you invited Jason along. So... do you have... anything to say, or...?"

"Oh, right. Sorry. Got distracted by the incredibly fluffy, good girl here, right?"

"Don't baby-talk her, she is a grown woman," Nico glared pointedly.

Percy just stuck his tongue out at him, before sitting up straighter. "Right. Yeah. I saw my parents this morning, when I had to go to Mister Brunner because of yesterday..."

"I forgot about that! Are you in a lot of trouble?" Jason looked so concerned.

"More or less, it's totally okay, stable-duty isn't really much of a punishment," Percy shrugged. "That's all good, this is about other, far more important matters. First of all, thank you for saving Blackjack, because I genuinely doubt that you suddenly grew fond of him."

"Oh no, he terrifies me, he is all yours, I expect you to take care of him, I think I might die if I have to feed him and brush him, no, thank you," Jason shook his head wildly.

"I totally will and I plan on visiting him after this, but I first needed to talk to you guys."

"At this point in the conversation, I am mainly confused and also lost why I'm here now?"

"Ri-ight you missed that. Jason's dad bought Blackjack!" Percy looked so happy.

Oh. That would have been an option. Nico frowned, annoyed that he hadn't thought of that. He could have bought Blackjack for Percy! His eyes wandered over to look at Jason. Though he was weirdly pleased by how proud and happy Jason looked right now.

"That's not why the both of you are here either," Percy laughed. "I mean, I definitely wanted to say thank you to Jason, but I also wanted to tell the both of you something amazing!"

"Okay, so there is something else that you wanted?" asked Jason curiously. "What is it?"

"I... am... the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite," Percy stared at them so intensely.

He was waiting for their reactions. Nico considered faking it, but Percy had been lied to enough. Instead, he too turned to look at Jason, wondering if Jason had put the pieces together himself.

"W... Wha? You? What? Poseidon? Like, dad's old colleague?" Jason blinked slowly.

Okay, so this one hadn't put the pieces together. Confused Jason was very cute. If Percy came clear, it was probably only fair if Nico did too. He heaved a deep breath and stepped up some.

"I'm the son of Hades and Persephone," offered Nico after a moment.

"What? Okay. This is some kind of prank. You guys are making fun of me."

Now, Jason didn't look as cute anymore, he looked like a cornered animal. Nico was lost on what to do with that, so he turned toward Percy, hoping the other was better at this. Nico wasn't the greatest at social interactions like this; comforting people. That just wasn't his thing.

"No! No one is making fun of you, Jay!" Percy lifted his hands up, smiling a little. "When my dad and Nico's dad met at the opening ceremony, they were apparently super clumsy and..."

"I figured out that his dad is Poseidon," Nico took over. "They introduced each other as 'fraternity brothers', but I know my father was never in any fraternity. He is Hades, I've known this for years. So when I saw Percy display his powers... it wasn't hard to figure out."

"And then he went to his dad, who talked to my parents and... Yeah, I literally learned this morning that my parents are Poseidon and Amphitrite," Percy seamlessly took back over again. "I didn't know. They never told me. They wanted to... protect me, and my brothers. They aren't like your dad. They kept their secret identities... well, secrets. They retired when my older brother was born. They separated their lives and they just... never told me. Until now. They thought they should, now that I know the sons of Zeus and Hades. They also allowed me to tell you guys. Though Nico already knew. But. Yeah. I'm... I'm the son of Poseidon."

Jason simply stared at at him, taking his time to process this. His gaze shifted, focusing on Percy and then on Nico. They were... How was this possible...? He frowned as his gaze focused on Nico.

"But you have known," Jason didn't mean to make it sound like an accusation.

"I... have," Nico nodded slowly. "Yes. I have. My parents told me their identities and taught me to keep their secret. But... if Percy is blurting his secret out like that and with yours... not even being a secret, I suppose, it is only fair to tell you too now."

Slowly, Jason leaned back against Mrs. O'Leary, trying to breath deeply. He'd always been alone. Thalia was the only one who could understand. And even now, their experiences were vastly different from Jason's – neither had ever been in the spotlight like him, there was no pressure. Still, they were children of the Big Three. All three of them. That was something... different.

"This is weird and I do not know what to say," admitted Jason after a moment.

"Mood," Percy walked over to sit next to him, bumping shoulders. "Seriously, I said 'holy shit' like about ten times when my parents told me. But it's... actually real. I'm the son of Poseidon."

"Holy shit," Jason grunted, shaking his head.

It made Percy laugh. That was a nice sound that Jason liked a lot. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Nico approach them both. He sat down on Jason's other side, also leaning against the dog.

"Just to make this perfectly clear, neither of you can tell anyone, okay?" Nico looked serious.

"Obviously, yeah. Big secret. No sharing it," agreed Percy.

"I... I, yeah. I promise," Jason nodded slowly. "Thank you for telling me."

"Of course. I feel like this weirdly connects us now," Percy grinned and ruffled Jason's hair. "I mean, we're legacies of the Olympians. We gotta stick together, right?"

"I like that," Nico smiled faintly as he looked at the other two boys.

/break\

"I don't understand. I thought I was going to leave. But they only moved me to a different box. I think I like this box more, it's very fancy and bigger. But... Why?"

Percy casually held up a bag of doughnuts, quickly distracting Blackjack. After putting it down, he got two doughnuts out – one for Blackjack and one for himself. The two started eating together.

"My friend, the blonde one who was so scared of you, kind of... made this happen. You get to stay here. And I will be taking care of you from now on, is that okay?"

"Long as you bring me doughnuts, you are allowed to stay," conceded Blackjack.

The biggest smile spread over Percy's lips. Once the doughnuts were gone, Percy started brushing him. This new daily routine was going to be great. First he finished his chores, cleaning out the common stables, then he got to Blackjack's stables and cleaned them, fed and brushed Blackjack.

"Do you think that maybe... at one point... we could go out together?" asked Percy.

"On like a date? Because you're not my type. Too scrawny, too few legs."

"Ha, ha, ha..." Percy rolled his eyes. "No, I mean... on a walk. They kept you locked in here, because they didn't trust you. But now that you're my companion, I could take you outside. You don't have to let me ride you, but I thought you might want the fresh air."

"...That sounds nice," admitted Blackjack after a moment.

That put a soft smile on Percy's lips. Okay. He could work with that.

/break\

Hazel had bonded with Juniper Chios in the garden. They both had ground-based powers; Hazel over the Earth itself and Juniper over the plants. They worked in sync. Hazel came to the garden every other day and she started noticing Juniper. After the third time, they started talking. By now, Hazel felt like she had actually made a friend. Which was incredibly exciting, because Hazel had never made a friend of her own before, she always just kind of adopted Nico and Bianca's friends.

"Would... Would you like to be on a team with me?" asked Hazel nervously.

Which was silly, it felt like she was asking the other girl out. Which she definitely wasn't. Yes, Juniper was pretty, but she wasn't the girl Hazel liked. Thinking of Piper made her face feel all hot. Not that Hazel had actually had a full, proper conversation with Piper yet.

"That'd be nice, but I have also already been asked by someone else, so if you don't mind, Rachel Dare would be in that team too then?" Juniper brushed her hair behind her ear.

Rachel Dare was the oracle? That actually worked perfectly. Hazel beamed at Juniper and nodded.

"That would be great! Oh, I'm so relieved, actually," Hazel heaved a sigh.

"Me too, kind of," Juniper laughed a little. "We've been thinking about who else to add to make it three. It's so hard! Like, teenage social circles aren't hard enough already, especially in a new school, but this is so much pressure. I'm not used to that. And I feel like so many here are so... competitive? I don't quite know if I can do that..."

"I feel you on that," Hazel offered a half-smile.

On the one hand, she did feel competitive. Living in Nico and Bianca's shadows, she did want to stand out, but she also wanted to just... live a normal high school life and have genuine fun at this school, with friends. Making memories, a life of her own.

"Come on, we should go meet up with Rachel, she's going to be so excited!"

Hazel grinned from one ear to the other as she nodded in agreement.

Notes:

And the cat's out of the bag! Next chapter, they are getting their superhero suits!

Chapter 13: Time to Suit Up!

Chapter 13: Time to Suit Up!

While the first few weeks had been a phase of adjustment and finding their footing for everyone – in their new environment, with roommates, classes, finding their own teams to work in.

And then things finally got really interesting, because they got their own costumes.

"Courtesy of BeaureGardian, you have all been fitted with costumes that were designed to compliment your individual powers. I want you all to get changed and best wear them for a couple hours at least to get used to them. Test them out a little. Tomorrow, you will have your first training session in them, as teams. Tomorrow, your real training starts."

Most of the first-years cheered loudly and excitedly as they accepted their costumes. They were simple, not individualized in design just yet; it would be asking a little too much even of BeaureGardian, to actually design detailed costumes for first years. Just simple full-body, skin tight suits designed to accommodate their powers. At least they got to request a color scheme though, back when they took their measures on day two. The real deal, a costume specifically designed for them, was something they would get in their third year. The costume they would get to use after their graduation, when they became sidekicks or apprentices, or even dared to open up their own agency. Not something highly recommended, because this business operated on connections and starting your own agency fresh off school could very easily tank.

Percy was giddily jumping up and down as he clasped his new uniform to his chest and basically bolted back to his and Grover's room. Percy's uniform was dark-blue like sapphires, with ice-blue fringes at the sleeves and collar, azure-blue boots. He turned around in front of the mirror so often, he got dizzy trying to see himself from every angle. Grover laughed as he watched.

"Percy. Stop it, I am getting dizzy watching you," Grover shook his head amused.

His uniform was dark-brown with light-green accents. Grinning, Percy bounced on the balls of his feet. He had a uniform. First step to becoming a real hero. When the two headed out of their room, they found Beckendorf and Luke sitting in their common-room, both smiling at them.

"Congrats to your uniforms, kids," Luke regarded them both. "Looking good."

"Thanks! I'm going to test this baby in the water. See you some time later."

"I predict we won't be seeing him for the rest of the day," noted Beckendorf with a chuckle.

/break\

Nico's uniform was pitch-black with silver accents. It was made of shadow-material, allowing it to blend into shadows more easily. Traveling through shadows was something that drained Nico a lot, this uniform was made to help him, make this easier for him. It allowed him to channel shadows and darkness in a way he hadn't been able to before. He'd been doing it all day yesterday. Traveling all the way to Tokyo and New Orleans and Venice and he was barely tired in the evening.

"You're having way too much fun with this," Bianca huffed softly to herself.

"Shut up, I could totally beat you now," declared Nico stubbornly.

He'd met up with his sisters that evening, to catch up. They didn't really spend as much time with each other here. Which was understandable, they all had their classes to attend to and Hazel and Nico were still getting used to it all. Hazel bounced a little in her seat, wearing her black and dark-purple suit. The colors suited her really well.

"I have found a team," blurted Hazel out, a broad grin on her lips.

"Oh? Really? Who did you pick?" asked Bianca, perking up a little in interest.

"Rachel Dare, an oracle, and Juniper Chios, she can control plants," replied Hazel happily. "We've been getting to know each other in the past couple days and I really like them."

"Good for you, sis," Nico grinned pleased. "You know your roommate joined my team, right?"

"Yeah, and you have me to thank for that," Hazel smirked. "She asked me if she should. And I recommended you, so be grateful to me."

Mh. That made sense, that Reyna would ask her roommate who happened to be Nico's sister first. Still, wounded pride. For the next hour or so, the three siblings sat together on the roof-top of the school (perks of knowing how to shadow-travel were that they could get into restricted areas), until someone landed – or more crash-landed – in front of them. Jason Grace, apparently testing his new uniform too. Jason's uniform was the same white and golden color-scheme as Zeus' and it also had a wing-span between his sides and arms, allowing him to soar more easily. Flying was something that came relatively hard to the children of Zeus, Nico had already noticed that. Right now, Nico was noticing just how well that uniform fit Jason. It... It fit him very well. Those long legs. Nico stared dumbly. Even dumber when Jason turned some and oh. Oh no. Jason had a really cute ass. Stop noticing that, brain. Nico closed his eyes for a moment and breathed deeply. He could not be attracted to Jason Grace, this was ridiculous. The one thing he had known when coming to this school was that Jason Grace was definitely going to be his rival, because he was the son of Zeus. A nice, pure rivalry. Not this nonsense that felt out of a shounen manga, where the rivalry was so blurred most viewers just interpreted them as soulmates. Nico frowned at Jason. How dare he look this hot in that uniform. This was going to make things so much harder. Literally.

"Oh. Uh. So, I'm not the only one coming up here?" Jason ruffled his hair awkwardly. "I like using the roof to jump off for a boost for flying. The getting up is the tough part."

"Not when you can walk through shadows," Bianca smiled curiously. "Sit with us, have a drink."

"It's lemonade," added Hazel at Jason's hesitant look.

Now, he gladly accepted the chilled bottle and then just... sat down next to Nico. Wow. Nico truly had lost all of the blonde's respect. His eyes were still traveling over Jason's body curiously.

"Your sister used to do that too, in her first year," the smile on Bianca's face took a nostalgic turn. "Used to ask me to get her up here and then jumping off the roof to train her flight. She really hated flying, but everybody expected her to. The daughter of Zeus had to be able to fly. Had to."

At that, the look on Nico's face softened. He watched Jason's face now, saw the worried frown on it. The terrible thing was, Nico wanted to ease that frown off Jason. He was attached.

/break\

It had never really occurred to Jason how much pressure Thalia had been under. She was the oldest. She had been the first to sign up here, having to prove herself. He swallowed hard as he watched his sister from a bit afar. Thalia was sparring with Clarisse and Zoe, all three going against each other. Their movement was so fluent; strong kicks, elegant dodges.

"This is a gym. Come and actually work out if you're here," someone sounded playful.

Frank, Nico's friend. Jason hadn't really spent much time with the guy yet, sometimes they would all sit together either in the library or at the cafeteria. Still, Frank always seemed nice, so Jason found himself accepting Frank's hand and his offer. He needed to get used to moving in the suit too. Many first years were at the gym that evening, well actually all day – this was the first time things seemed to ease up a little, finally. The two grinned at each other as they started sparring. Jason was so focused throughout, he didn't even notice Percy close by, not until they finished up. Panting hard, Jason went to grab his water-bottle. While drinking, he noticed Percy.

Pretty Percy in the blue uniform that made his butt look ridiculously perky. Flushing furiously, Jason tried to look anywhere but at Percy's butt. The distraction caused him to swallow his water wrongly though, so by the time he turned away from Percy's butt, he was coughing so violently, Frank came to pat him on the back roughly, help him dislodge it, while Percy and his sparring partner paused to check on him too. Concern was written all over Percy's face.

"Hey there, you okay, Jay?" Percy stared at him with furrowed brows.

Jason nodded sharply, awkwardly. Well, that had been smooth. He flushed and turned toward Percy fully, checking out who Percy's sparring partner was. Mike Kahale, a handsome guy from their grade. Jason had noticed him before too. Muscular and charming.

"We done here, or do you wanna go another round, Perce?" asked Mike.

"Nah, I think I'm good for now, thanks. We should do this again though," Percy smiled at Mike.

"Anytime you want," the way Mike smirked was flirtatious.

Which made sense. Percy was very strong and very pretty and also incredibly charming and cute and precious, so of course people would be hitting on him pretty early on. Jason did not like that. He frowned confused at that new feeling in the pit of his stomach.

/break\

"You look absolutely ridiculous."

"Thanks, dude. You know what, I think I'll eat these doughnuts myself."

Percy pouted and took a huge bite of his doughnut, causing Blackjack to whine in protest. With a half-smile did Percy hold the rest of the doughnut out for the pegasus. The two had been building trust over the past two weeks since Jason's dad had bought him and Percy really felt like they were friends now. Like Blackjack trusted him.

"You... wanna go out today?" asked Percy softly. "It's okay if you don't-"

"No. It's... okay. Just walk. No flying," Blackjack narrowed his eyes at him.

Percy's entire face brightened at that and he nodded enthusiastically. He led the pegasus out. It was still very early, because it always was when he finished cleaning out the stables and taking care of Blackjack. The longer this lasted, the more he got used to the incredibly early mornings.

"He—ey, isn't that Percy? What is he doing up so early?"

Percy turned to see Reyna, Annabeth and Piper jogging toward him, wearing sweatpants and tank-tops. He smiled and waved at them, though motioning for them to stop a little farther from the now nervous pegasus. Percy patted Blackjack's neck before stepping up to the girls.

"His 'punishment' for breaking the rules is to clean the stables in the morning," replied Annabeth.

She was panting and uncapping her bottle, emptying it over her head. Her curls clung to her face and neck now, the water glistering on her skin... and Reyna's eyes basically glued to her. Percy suppressed a grin as he saw the way Reyna's mouth opened just a little and her pupils blew. Someone had a crush on Annabeth! Though Piper's eyes were drawn too, but less like she was appreciating Annabeth specifically and more like a queer girl with appreciation for sweaty, well-trained girls. Percy snickered a little to himself.

"And you guys have to go the extra mile to make us look bad, don't you?"

"Gotta stay on top of our game," replied Piper with a smirk, patting her stomach. "Keep it tight."

Percy hummed softly in appreciation. Her top was cut short, showing off her abs. Much more appreciated sight than Annabeth, for Percy's personal tastes. But also because Annabeth was like a sister to him, they had grown up together.

"If you ladies would excuse me, I have a pegasus to walk," Percy smiled.

"Sure. Go on walkies with your pegasus. You do know they can fly, right?" Reyna looked at him.

Rolling his eyes at her, he returned to Blackjack and walked him around the stables once before heading back inside. Just a small tour. He didn't want Blackjack to be overwhelmed. After returning Blackjack to his own stall, Percy automatically turned headed for Mrs. O'Leary.

"Hello, girl. Okay, here's the deal: I have a bacon doughnut left if you want it, but you can not tell Nico, okay?" Percy's voice dropped to a whisper as he held up the bag.

Just to have the bag snatched away from him. When Percy turned, he was regarded by a very unimpressed Nico, who then opened the bag, took the doughnut out and took a bite from it.

"Thanks for the doughnut that you were definitely not going to sneak to my dog."

"A—Absolutely. I would never do such a thing," Percy nodded seriously.

He walked over to bury himself in Mrs. O'Leary's fur, sighing contently. "You are a bad influence on my dog, I don't know if she should keep seeing you."

"Ru—ude," Percy pouted, looking at Nico as pleadingly as he could. "You're up early."

Nico grunted, though he didn't reply. Instead, he glared darkly. Okay, something was on Nico's mind. Percy wanted to ask, but instead he decided to wait a bit, knowing that Jason would be by soon too. They were both very easily baited by the big cuddly puppy. As if on cue did Jason walk in, holding a bag that Percy just knew to contain bacon.

"Oh, Jay, you brought bacon for Nico, how nice!" exclaimed Percy quickly.

For a moment, Jason frowned, before his eyes widened and he noticed Nico. "Oh, yeah. Totally."

"You are both awful," Nico grunted, but took the bacon from Jason.

Jason raised both his eyebrows as he saw how deep the frown on Nico's face was. He went to join Percy, looking at him quizzically. All he got in return was a shrug. So Percy knew as much as him.

"Uh... Everything alright with you, Nico?" asked Jason slowly.

"No. Yes. I..." Nico glowered, stuffing some bacon into his mouth. "I hate Lawrence."

Oh. Good. Well, Percy had no idea what he was talking about, but at least he was talking. He checked with Jason to see that no, Jason didn't seem to know either. Lawrence didn't ring a bell.

"Who... is that and why...?" wanted Percy to know.

"Bryce Lawrence. He's an arrogant bastard, is who he is," Nico growled darkly.

"Oh, I think I got math and literature with that guy," Jason nodded and made a face. "He's kinda... Weird and uncomfortable. Not exactly hero-vibes he's giving off."

"He's a competitive bastard. Who has strong magic," Nico was gritting his teeth now.

And oh. Nico had another rival. Well, that was just awkward. That was Percy's role, how dare this other guy showed up, trying to snatch his Nico away! The only one he was willing to share Nico with was Jason, but also because Jason wasn't really competition. Jason was Jason. They... Percy didn't know how to put it, but they belonged together. They were the sons of the Big Three, that was some kind of bond. And they were all kind of rivals, even if Jason didn't mean the competition. To the outer world, Jason was the top of the game and everyone else was competing with him.

"How dare you go and get another rival! Cheating on me!" gasped Percy dramatically.

Nico looked so startled, but it was adorable and he flushed. And at least he got a small laugh from Nico once he gathered himself some. Adorable. Finally, Nico came to join Jason and Percy in laying on the fluffy dog, relaxing a little. There, that looked far better on him.

/break\

Bryce Lawrence was arrogant and boastful. He was also a powerful sorcerer, which just made it all the worse because Nico couldn't even say he wasn't all that. Which only irritated Nico more.

"You look like you are about to have an aneurysm, Nico," commented Piper amused.

They shared magic class together and had somehow grown closer during that. Nico didn't always want to team up with his little sister. Maybe partially because Hazel had a crush on this girl and just perhaps also because this was Jason's sister and for some reason, Nico wanted to be on good terms with Jason's sister. Surprisingly, Nico actually liked her a lot.

"I just hate Lawrence," whispered Nico. "He has such a... fake attitude..."

"Ye—ah, agreed," Piper groaned and leaned back. "I'm not keen on Tanaka, to be honest."

Two peas in a pod, really. These two had started dating a couple days ago and were all over each other. Nico's eyes wandered toward Drew Tanaka, She was a major queen bee, she had been collecting a bit of a following. Which made sense, Nico supposed. She was relatively strong, but...

"She got nothing on you, Pipes," declared Nico, nudging Piper.

"Yeah?" Piper cracked a grin. "Well, Lawrence got nothing on you."

That actually made Nico smile a little. He definitely liked her.

/break\

Jason had had a hard, exhausting day. He hated having to prove himself. He had to be at the top of his class, or at least one of them. Even though he would quite honestly rather curl together on the couch and watch a show than train his ass off at the gym. He groaned as he collapsed backward onto his bed without even looking, all he needed was some rest.

"I know I'm irresistible but usually people don't literally throw themselves at me."

With wide eyes did Jason roll over to face Percy, who was laying on his bed, right beneath Jason, with Jason's head now resting on Percy's abdomen. All of Jason's blood shot into his head. What.

"W... Why are you in my bed?" Jason noted his own lack of moving.

Percy raised his eyebrows, looking a little amused by him. "Feel free to stay put, I know I'm comfy. But yeah I came here looking for you but you weren't there and I got really bored after a while, so I got comfy and borrowed one of your comic books."

He held up said book, grinning. Finally, Jason managed to get up. Damn, he could get used to laying on Percy, he indeed was quite comfy. Again, Jason flushed, then he waited until Percy sat up.

"And... what did you want from me?"

"We're gonna have the big Halloween dance coming up before our break and I need a great costume," declared Percy, ducking his head a little. "Annabeth doesn't give a damn, Grover already got a costume. So—o I figured I'd ask if you wanna go costume shopping with me?"

The thought of Percy in cute, funny or dare he think it sexy outfits made Jason blush again. "Me?"

"You were raised by Zeus and two movie-stars. You have taste. I need someone with taste. Besides, it could be fun. Unless you already have plans with someone else?"

"I mean, I wanted to go with Leo and Piper, but you can tag along, if you'd like."

Percy looked so very pleased by that, nodding wildly. "Okay! Tomorrow after school then."

That sounded like a date. It wasn't a date. Leo and Piper would come along. Just... friends-stuff.

/break\

Piper laughed, leaning against Leo in support. They were out buying costumes and Percy had come with them. She had noticed how much closer Percy and Jason had been growing lately, which was confusing because Piper had thought there were vibes between Nico and Jason. Her and Leo had a bet going; Leo had his money on Percy, Piper had hers on Nico. Now they just needed Jason to pick one of them. Though Piper suspected that Jason hadn't noticed either way.

"What? I make a great Little Mermaid," declared Percy with a grin.

He was wearing a green skirt looking like a mermaid-tail, a purple shell-bra and a red wig. Jason was too busy staring at Percy's bare abs to laugh at how hilarious the whole get-up was. Percy went back to get changed into something else, having only picked this one for the laugh.

"So—o... does anybody got an actual date for this dance?" asked Leo curiously.

"I asked Annabeth out," replied Piper with a half-shrug. "Don't look at me like that, it's just a date."

"I don't see it," Leo grunted and shook his head. "What about you guys?"

"Uhm, well, Mike asked me out," Percy shrugged and flushed.

And Jason deflated, looking like a kicked puppy. Piper hoped this would shake him into action.

Notes:

Who wants to join Leo and Piper's bet? Will Jason get together with Percy first, or with Nico, or neither and we start out with Nico/Percy? If you stay tuned for the next chapter, you will actually get an answer to that question ;)

Chapter 14: Happy Halloween

Chapter 14: Happy Halloween

Will heaved a deep, longing sigh as he stared at Jake across the room. Jake was sitting with his teammates Malcolm and Katie, laughing and talking. He was so handsome. With another sigh did Will pick his cup up to drink slowly. Jake was dressed as a fairy tale prince and Will would very much like to be swept off his feet. Alas, Will had not had the guts to ask Jake out himself. So instead, he was attending the Halloween party with his friends. Lou Ellen was dressed as a witch, Cecil as Robin Hood, Frank as bisexual icon Shang Li (his own words) and Nico as a vampire.

"Stop whining, Solace, you're bringing down the entire table," stated Nico annoyed.

Will groaned and leaned his head against Nico's shoulder. "But look at him. Look at him."

"Yeah, not my type," Nico shrugged, looking around. "Where are..."

"Jason's not here yet," offered Frank amused. "Neither is Percy."

"She has a date," Hazel's voice was a soft whine as she came to join them.

She sat down on Nico's other side, using Nico's other arm to lean his head against him for comfort. Frowning confused, Nico tried to figure out what his sister was talking about. Just to spot Piper, holding hands with Annabeth Chase. Oh, that was disappointing.

"I'm so sorry, sorellina," whispered Nico, wrapping his arm around her.

"Right back at you, I'd say," commented Cecil, his eyes on the door.

Nico made a confused noise before he saw. Percy. Walking in holding hands with some guy. The pit of his stomach started feeling heavy and twisted and Nico really didn't like that. He was... He was jealous. Because someone else was with his Percy. Damn it, Nico really did like Percy.

/break\

Honestly, Jason would much rather not be at this party. Piper actually had a date, so he couldn't even just hang out with his sister. Leo had made other friends at this school too, while Jason had been distracted by Nico and Percy so he didn't actually hold that against Leo, but those were people Jason didn't know so he felt like an awkward fifth wheel there too. Percy had a date. Unsure what to do with himself, Jason let his eyes wander. He could go a round and then leave again...? People would have seen him, but he'd get to be in his room again quickly. That was when he spotted Nico, sitting with some of his friends. Jason knew Frank and Hazel. He'd actually feel less lost there. Perking up, he made his way over to them and took the seat next to Nico.

"Hi. Are you... Dracula?" Jason grinned a little, tilting his head.

"I'm a vampire, yes. You're..." Nico actually turned toward him and trailed off.

"I'm Jace Herondale, hero of the Shadow World," declared Jason proudly.

"I don't know what that means," admitted Nico. "But you, uh... look good."

For some reason, that made Jason blush. He was wearing tight, black pants, a black shirt, leather jacket and Piper had drawn the runes on him – the visible ones poking out of the shirt, at least. No need for any others. No one was going to see him shirtless at this party.

"So—o... Percy has a date," Jason drawled out the words, kicking his feet back and forth a little. "That... I mean, that's great, isn't it? For him, I mean. I guess. Right?"

"It sucks," grunted Nico beneath his breath, glowering a little.

"It... uh... does?" Jason turned to look at him in surprise.

"I like him. I should be dancing with him," Nico growled, motioning over at Percy and Mike.

"...You do...?" Jason's voice was soft and confused.

Confused, because he simultaneously did not like the fact that Nico liked someone else while also thinking about how pretty Nico and Percy would look together. This was a very confusing new emotion. Furrowing his brows, he turned to watch Percy instead. No, that felt different. Seeing Percy with Mike was just the first feeling, the upset. Not the intrigue. Huh.

"Would... you like to... dance with me? I know I'm no Percy but-"

"Okay," interrupted Nico, though he looked a little flushed.

And again, huh. Jason tilted his head. He liked that little flush and the fact that he had put it there. Smiling, Jason got up and offered Nico his hand. Honestly, he couldn't believe he had just said that. Just asked Nico to dance. His heart was racing nervously and that nervousness got worse when Nico actually accepted his hand and then followed him to the dance-floor.

"Don't make yourself out to be some... consolation price," whispered Nico into his ear after a few minutes. "You're... not second rate, Jason. Okay?"

Jason swallowed hard, not trusting his voice as he nodded and let Nico lead the dance.

/break\

Percy smiled to himself as he was dancing with Mike. The other was nice, handsome, kind. Percy was having a good time. Then why did his eyes constantly wander over to Jason and Nico? Even more so now that the two of them were dancing together. Very closely together. Not just like two friends swaying to the music; Nico had his arms wrapped around Jason's waist, holding him close. Percy couldn't tear his eyes away. He was not just jealous, he was feeling left out.

The two of them sat together, eating, talking and laughing, but the whole time, Percy's attention was drawn more toward Jason and Nico than staying with his actual date. By the end of the night, when Mike offered to bring him to his dorm-room the long way around – the party was held in the gym, all decorated for Halloween, and the two of them took a detour to walk through the garden.

"I... had a good time," offered Percy softly, holding onto Mike's hand.

"But we're not going to have a second date, are we?" Mike smiled knowingly at him.

Flushing, Percy averted his eyes. "I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't... mean to..."

"It's okay. No harm done," Mike chuckled a little, though he did look saddened. "I didn't think I stood a chance with you to begin with, so tonight was more than I expected."

"You're a great guy, Mike," Percy offered Mike a small smile. "You deserve someone who can give you their undivided attention. And that's not me. I'm... sorry."

Mike cupped his neck and pulled him in to kiss his cheek gently. "Thank you for tonight."

When he pulled back, he made his way toward the dorms, leaving Percy in the middle of the rose garden, cheeks flushed a dark, bright red as he stared after Mike.

/break\

"So this was fun, but..." Annabeth's eyes wandered around.

"I think we work better as friends?" concluded Piper with a crooked grin.

"Yeah. That," Annabeth laughed a little. "I don't know, there just wasn't... a spark?"

"Friends then?" offered Piper, holding out a hand.

"Friends," Annabeth smiled and went to hug Piper.

It was late already, the party had ended. The two of them were some of the last ones left behind, helping with the rough first clean-up at least. Annabeth had been excited and flustered when Piper had asked her out for tonight. She'd changed costumes seven times before settling on a princess dress, just because it felt special to her. Piper was dressed up as a pirate captain and Annabeth had melted a little. Physical attraction wasn't a problem, really, but over the night, it just hadn't felt right, not the way Annabeth had imagined romantically being with someone should be.

"Do... you have any plans for autumn break?" asked Annabeth as they continued cleaning up.

"Jay, Thals and I are going back home, yeah," replied Piper with a grin. "What about you?"

"I'm staying at Percy's. Staying at the school seems... depressing. Percy's parents insisted."

"That's nice," Piper smiled. "So... Percy and Mike, huh?"

"I don't know," admitted Annabeth with a shrug. "Percy told me about it, but... Honestly, it surprised me? I thought he had different interests. But I guess if they don't make the first move..."

Piper hummed curiously at that. Well, at least she won her bet with Leo, because the way Jason and Nico had been dancing with each other? She grinned a little to herself. Jason had looked happy.

/break\

Jason was biting his lower lip, dragging his feet. Once they parted ways, it'd be too late to talk. But he also didn't entirely know what to say or how to say it. Tonight had been special, it left his heart racing. Having Nico's arms around him, holding him, what Nico had said when they had danced...

"I... I had a lot of fun," whispered Jason softly. "But... What... does it mean?"

"What do you want it to mean?" countered Nico curiously, not looking at him.

There was a faint blush on Nico's cheeks, it gave Jason a boost of confidence. "Boyfriends?"

"Boyfriends?" echoed Nico wondrously and turned toward Jason. "Really?"

"I... I like you. A lot. I... would like to... Yes," Jason's face was dark-red.

Nico reached for Jason's hand, linking their fingers and pulling him closer until their faces were really close. Very close. So close, Jason could count the shades of brown in Nico's eyes. He held his breath and waited, until Nico's lips pressed gently against his. Only then did Jason's eyelids flutter shut. This was not the outcome Jason had expected for tonight, but it was most definitely better than ditching the party early and reading comics in his bedroom.

"That was... nice," whispered Jason when they parted, slowly licking his lips.

"Yes," agreed Nico, swallowing hard. "Do you... What are you doing during break?"

"My sisters and I are headed for LA tomorrow evening," replied Jason with a frown.

"Okay. So I could... take you out for lunch... tomorrow?" asked Nico hopefully. "Like a... date?"

Jason's blush returned though he nodded eagerly. "Yeah. Yes. I would... like that."

A grin formed on Nico's lips, pleased and more sure of himself. "Okay. I'll pick you up at noon and we have lunch at our regular café, off campus? Does that sound good?"

Jason nodded wildly before he leaned in and quickly pecked Nico's lips one last time.

/break\

Percy stood frozen to the ground as he watched from a short distance how Nico and Jason kissed. He'd meant to go to the stables, cuddle with Mrs. O'Leary for a little bit, but in front of the stables, he saw Nico and Jason. And then the two kissed. Really kissed. Slow and deep and long and the pit of Percy's stomach turned as he watched them. He didn't like that feeling. Instead of running into them and having to articulate anything, he turned around and headed back to his dorms.

"Hey there, kid. Had fun at the party?" asked Luke with a smile.

He was sitting straddling his boyfriend's lap, Octavian's hands on his ass. Percy quickly closed his eyes and turned away from the sight. Octavian looked very displeased at the interruption. The blonde was wearing a devil's costume and Luke was dressed as an angel.

"I... uh. Sorry for disturbing, but also you have a bedroom," pointed Percy out.

"Beckendorf is in there, asleep. He has a very early flight tomorrow," replied Luke. "So? Party?"

"Oh. Yeah. It was... great. I see your party was great too," offered Percy. "I'll... be in my room. With headphones on. Listening to very, very loud music and not coming back in here."

"Very reasonable," commented Octavian unimpressed. "Now go."

Percy nearly ran into the wall before grabbing the doorknob and heading inside. Grover was sprawled out on his own bed, with headphones on, staring at the ceiling. At least until Percy put himself into his line of sight, waving a hand. Grinning, Grover removed his headphones.

"Hey. You left the party before me. Where... were you? Did you and Mike-?"

"What? No!" Percy flushed brightly. "No. We just... walked through the garden. And I... told him that... this isn't going to work out. That he deserves better than that. After, I just... went on a walk. Clearing my head and all. I guess I have serious feelings for Nico... and Jason..."

"Ah. That," Grover nodded slowly as he sat up. "You going to confess to... one of them? Or both?"

"They were dancing all evening and when I left, I saw them... kiss," Percy groaned and threw himself onto his bed. "No chance there. So I'm just... I'm going to focus on me. And my career here. Training and all that. No more boys driving me crazy."

"Ri—ight," Grover didn't sound as though he believed Percy.

"What about you? I saw you dance with Juniper?" Percy rolled over to grin at him.

Now it was Grover's turn to flush. "I... Yes. I guess. It was... She... I don't know."

That made Percy laugh. Cute. He knew Annabeth's date hadn't gone as planned either, so Percy was glad at least one of them had had a successful evening. And Juniper seemed nice, from the few interactions Percy has had with her. Grover deserved to be happy like that.

/break\

Part of Percy was really glad about autumn break, because it gave him a solid excuse to avoid Jason and Nico. Which wasn't meant to sound that way. He didn't want to avoid-avoid them. It was just a lot to digest for Percy – his own feelings for both Jason and Nico, the fact that Nico and Jason were now apparently an item – and those things would be easier to digest if Percy didn't have to see them every single day, for multiple hours at a time. Autumn break was only a week, but Percy was confident that would be enough for him to be fine so he could be genuinely happy for his two friends without looking like a 'sad, kicked kitten', as Annabeth had accused him of.

"Mo—om!" Percy practically jumped into her arms.

"I missed you too, sweetie," Sally placed a gentle kiss on top of his head.

"Hello, Sally. Thanks for having me," Annabeth waved at her as she walked past.

After greeting Paul and Tyson, she headed straight upstairs to Percy's room to dump her backpack. Percy went to hug his little brother. As soon as Tyson saw him, his mouth was going a hundred miles an hour, trying to catch Percy up on everything he had missed in the past nearly two months. Being the good big brother that he was, he obediently tried to listen and made noises of shock and or agreement depending on when they seemed appropriate.

"Tyson, sweetie, slow down," requested Sally after a few minutes. "Let Percy settle in. You have a whole week to tell him everything, let's not tell him everything at once."

"...Right," Tyson wiggled his nose with a small pout.

"It's okay, Ty. I'll be right here all week," promised Percy, kissing his brother's forehead.

"Let's finish up the cookies, mh?" suggested Sally. "We wanted blue cookies for Percy..."

Suddenly, Percy seemed uninteresting again as Tyson ran off to the kitchen, closely followed by Sally. Leaving Percy and Paul alone in the room. Putting his hands in his pockets, Percy slowly walked over toward his dad. Paul awkwardly looked at a point over Percy's shoulder.

"I feel guilty," admitted Paul softly. "About how long we lied to you. Part of me was afraid if you would even come here for your break, or stay at the school with your friends..."

"I... I told you, dad. I'm not angry with you guys," Percy sighed a little, taking his hands out of his pockets to hug his father. "I really am not. I... I get why you waited. Yeah, you waited... longer than you should have, but... I understand why you did it, dad."

Paul grunted, hugging Percy tightly. "Okay. Why don't you go to Annabeth, get settled in?"

Percy nodded sharply before he ran upstairs. By the time he entered his room, Annabeth had already unfolded the sleep couch Percy had for when Grover or Annabeth would sleep over. She was laying on it, with her arms behind her head, staring up at the poster on the ceiling.

"Are you going to spend the entire week sulking about Nico and Jason?" asked Annabeth.

"I'm not... sulking," argued Percy with a pout.

"You have been sulking all morning and on our way here," countered Annabeth with a heavy sigh.

He let himself sink onto his bed, turned toward her. "Nope. I am spending this week catching up with Ty and not thinking about school or boys or any of that. Just family and fun."

"Good," Annabeth offered a small smile. "I heard something about cookies?"

/break\

"How are you holding up, brat?"

Percy turned to glare at his big brother as Triton climbed into the tree-house. Annabeth was out shopping, Tyson was visiting Ella and Percy was feeling nostalgic. He remembered just how often him and Annie and Grover had played heroes and villains in the backyard, making the tree-house their fort. Now, they were training to become actual heroes.

"What are you doing here?" asked Percy. "You don't have permission to enter the fort."

"It was my fort before it was your fort," argued Triton and sat down next to him.

For a while, the two of them sat in silence. The tree house had changed since either of them used to play in it. Pictures were pinned to the wall, Tyson's drawings of his and Ella's fantasy world and favorite heroes, Tyson's toys everywhere. It was nice, to see it still used and cherished.

"Our parents visited me a month ago and told me... that they're Poseidon and Amphitrite. Because they told you. I... had no idea," whispered Triton softly, staring blankly ahead.

"Ye—eah that was my reaction too," Percy chuckled a little. "It's a lot, isn't it?"

"I'm glad they didn't tell me when I was your age," admitted Triton, his voice more serious than it usually was when speaking to Percy. "It might have... affected my choices. I might have gone to that school of yours, felt obligated to become a hero for the legacy. What about you?"

Percy hummed, unsure what to say to that. "It's a lot. But also... A lot of responsibility, yeah. Even if no one knows it, I do feel like I have to live up to them now."

"I'm... sure you'll do good, brat," assured Triton, roughly ruffling Percy's hair.

/break\

"You have been smiling a lot," noted Maria teasingly. "And staring at your phone much more than usual. Are your old parents so boring that you crave the entertainment of the internet?"

"It's not the internet. It's the boyfriend he keeps on there," commented Hazel.

That made even Hades lower his newspaper to stare across the post-breakfast table. All food was gone, Bianca was cleaning up while Maria finished her tea and Hades his coffee. And Nico kept staring at his phone, smiling an unusual amount of times. Slowly, Hades folded his newspaper.

"A boyfriend? Why haven't you mentioned that before?" asked Hades intrigued.

"Because it's still new. We got together on the Halloween party," Nico flushed embarrassed. "We were only on like one and a half dates. Don't make a big deal out of it."

"And who is this young man who makes my only son blush like that?" asked Maria curiously.

"...Again, don't make a big deal out of it, but it's... Jason Grace," Nico tried to hide his face.

"Grace? The son of Zeus?" asked Hades surprised. "Really?"

Nico sunk down in his chair, trying to disappear. This was not how his break was supposed to go...

Notes:

First of all, congratulations to all the people who picked up on the Percy having a date as a clue to Nico/Jason getting together first, you win the bet ;)

Next chapter, we're going to dive more into the Nico/Jason of it all! And they'll return to school. ALSO, good news for the impatient people; the next chapter will be in three weeks and not in four, because another story of mine ended and I started a new Shadowhunters fic and I don't like those being in consecutive weeks, I'd rather alter, sooo Legacy got pulled forward one week to be between the two Shadowhunters fics!

Chapter 15: Back to School

Chapter 15: Back to School

"So—o... my parents know about us," announced Nico as he fell onto Jason's bed.

His words had the opposite effect of what he wanted, because he had sat down next to Jason to be close to his boyfriend after the past week of autumn break. However, Jason immediately got off the bed and started pacing after hearing Nico's words. Was it very bad that Nico found his boyfriend incredibly cute when he paced nervously...? Biting his lips, Nico tried not to grin.

"That's awful. Your parents. As in, Hades. The Hades. Knows that I'm dating his son."

Suppressing the grin failed horribly and Nico got more comfortable on the bed. "Jason. Jason, stop pacing. You do know that my father is a hero, not a villain, right? What are you afraid of?"

"I'm not... I'm not out," whispered Jason with urgency and panic. "And we only just got together, that's too much pressure for a new relationship. I'm not ready for people to just... know."

Nico bit his lips with furrowed brows at that before sitting up. "Jason. I... I'm sorry. I definitely didn't mean to out you. Well, I didn't anyway, Hazel told them. Because..." Nico walked over to him and grasped Jason's hands. "If you wanted this on the down-low, we should not have gotten together during a very public dance. We danced for over an hour, tightly embracing. Everybody who attended the party knows, or at the very least suspects."

The look on Jason's face was absolutely horrified, before he groaned and buried his face in Nico's chest. "You're right. I didn't even... What do I do now, Neeks...?"

Neeks? Nico made a mortified face. How did one control their boyfriend and prevent awful nicknames? But then Jason tilted his head to look up at him with those large, sky-blue eyes.

"Take a breath?" suggested Nico gently, caressing Jason's cheek. "I... I get that there's more pressure on you, because you're a public figure. But there's nothing that can change the past. All you can do is take a breath and then think about... the present. Your sexuality, our relationship. And then seize control of your own narrative. Come out when you're ready."

Nico breathed slowly and deeply, having his boyfriend mirror his breathing and slowly calm down. With a heavy sigh did Jason lean forward again to rest his face against Nico's chest. Smiling a little, Nico wrapped his arms around the blonde and held him tightly.

"You wanna talk about it?" asked Nico. "Your... sexuality, I mean."

"My sexuality is bi," grumbled Jason, nuzzling against Nico. "I know that. I've known that since I first watched Pirates of the Caribbean, you know."

"Okay," Nico nodded slowly, running his fingers through Jason's hair in a soothing motion. "But you haven't come out yet? I mean, to no one or just not... in public?"

"Piper and Thalia know," replied Jason. "And Leo, because Leo is Leo. But that's it. Then again, that is basically everyone I knew before coming here, so there is that..."

"Okay," Nico played with the soft hair at the base of Jason's neck. "Wanna run the scenario with me? What will happen if you come out?"

Slowly, Nico moved them toward the bed and sat down, a bit surprised by how naturally Jason just took a seat on Nico's lap. Nico hid his blush in the crook of Jason's neck, pulling the blonde closer.

"I don't know," admitted Jason slowly. "Everything I do falls back onto my father. My father is a big name from a generation... that in large parts still thinks very backward. My father symbolizes the American way, Christian values. He doesn't, but that's what people associate with him because those were the values held high when he was at his height. His only son and heir being a bisexual deviant? There will be an outrage. And it'll be my fault."

"Okay. You're right," agreed Nico, running his fingers down Jason's spine. "Now the positive."

"Yeah I'll need your input on that," Jason grunted and adjusted to rest his chin on Nico's shoulder.

"Your father is a symbol of peace and justice for the pearl-clutching boomers. You could be a symbol of hope for the closeted queer kids of our generation," offered Nico. "Even if you don't become a hero in the end, right now you are a hero in training and you represent the future of heroism in the US. For others to know that the son of Zeus is bisexual... It'd help other queer heroes to be to feel confident enough to actually become heroes."

"You think so?" Jason brought enough distance between them to look at Nico curiously.

"I'm gay," offered Nico with a thin-lipped smile. "I grew up on the comics about the Olympians. Sure, Artemis is an ace lesbian and now I know that, but the comics entirely cut off any queerness to her girls club, made her own team, the huntresses, look like they were just a women empowering club, not a queer women empowering club. And her brother Apollo? Every time the comics dedicated time to his queerness, the stories were decidedly tragic. Whenever they'd introduce a gay love interest for him, that man would die tragically and Apollo would be heartbroken and pull away. Many of his female love interests ended badly too, but the narrative around actually displaying the relationship was far brighter, much more optimistic. Because these comics, made in the 80s, wanted you to know that being a man and being with a man is wrong and will only hurt you and others. If you have the option to be with a woman, then you should, because that is the normal, good kind of relationship that you, as a bisexual, can choose. That's the narrative on bisexuality. You know that."

Of course Jason knew that. He remembered reading the comics. He remembered how much it had broken his heart the first time one of Apollo's lovers had died. He also remembered going to his dad and asking him about it. Zeus had laughed and shook his head, telling him that it had by far not been as dramatic as the comics made it look. Not all of them had died, certainly not as tragically as the comics portrayed it. The comics were fiction, they portrayed the narrative that generation, the more closet-minded members of that generation, wanted to show.

"My dad is pansexual," whispered Jason after a moment.

"What?" Nico blinked baffled, tilting his boyfriend's head up. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. When I asked him about Apollo and Apollo's relationships, my dad told me that... He used to have male lovers too. Actually, he has one right now. But yeah... He told me that he knew that part of his private life would reflect badly on him, or so he had been told by his PR agent and his wife. The women he slept with before marrying Hera? Make him look like a strong manly man. And while they try to keep the affairs on the down-low, they even found some dramatic, rose-colored narrative for my dad's affair with my mom, some grand, tragic romance. Not just... my dad being a manwhore who will sleep with everyone. Don't tell him that I said that."

"...Believe me, I had no plans to do so," muttered Nico stunned.

"You really think that I could change the narrative?" asked Jason reluctantly.

"I don't know. I know that you would give others hope. I know I want to give others hope. I will be very gay, very out and very heroic. But I know that when I was a little boy, those comics discouraged me. They made it look like only good, upstanding heterosexuals can be proper heroes. There was no place for someone like me. Someone like me needed to be saved, in one of those tragic AIDS centric storylines. I want to be an Olympian. And when my story is told, I want it to be inspiring and hopeful. I want gay kids reading the comics about the new Olympians to see a gay hero who can also be happy and in love and that doesn't make him less of a man, or less of a hero."

"You're pretty amazing, Neeks," whispered Jason, kissing Nico tentatively.

Nico's cheeks flushed brightly, not just at the nickname. "I just... have a very distinct life-plan."

"Which is pretty amazing," Jason grinned a little.

"I thought you had a life-plan too? You want to become an actor, don't you?"

"Yeah, but how realistic is that?" Jason's grin turned more sad.

"Sign up for drama club," prompted Nico after a moment. "See if you have fun, or talent for it. See how realistic it is for you to actually act on a stage."

"That... That's actually a great idea... Thank you, Neeks."

Jason leaned down again, resting his cheek against Nico's shoulder and relaxing. Was this what it meant to have a boyfriend? Someone to hold him and calm him down when he was freaking out, give him advise and listen to him? Also, very good for cuddles. When he had first met Nico, he would not have expected the grumpy, scary boy to be this gentle and cuddly.

/break\

"You're pretty amazing," commented Percy as he dodged a vine.

Juniper smiled pleased. The plant-element was a good counter for Percy's water powers. There was little point to fight against someone he had the advantage on. Besides, he wanted to get to know Grover's new girlfriend. Apparently, the two had gone on three dates over autumn break.

"You're a challenge," countered Juniper. "Which is good, we grow on challenges, but wow I should have the advantage on you and you're handing me my... Well, you know."

The two called it off for now and Percy went to get them both cool water bottles, handing one over to Juniper. The green-skinned girl smiled gratefully and opened her bottle. Both walked over to sit on a bench next to each other, under a tree. They'd been sparring outside, since both their powers worked better (and less messy) in the open space.

"So... You found a team too, right?" asked Percy awkwardly, unsure what to talk about.

"Yes. Rachel and Hazel. We spent the break hanging out a lot, team bonding," confirmed Juniper. "What about you? I mean, I know you've been set on your team with Grover and Annabeth since before you guys came to this school. Grover told me. I mean, are you excited about the upcoming team exercises? Chiron said they would start this weekend."

"Oh, I am bursting with excitement," confirmed Percy, his eyes sparkling.

"Of course you are," Juniper chuckled a little. "Grover also told me just how eager you are."

"I have a dream," Percy shrugged in an unapologetic manner. "What about you? I mean..."

"Oh, I don't intend to become a superhero," flushing a little, Juniper rested her hands on her lap. "I want... I want to run a botanical garden. A very special one. For that, I need control."

Percy nodded at that. Many were here to learn control and nothing more. Casually, he leaned back, one arm over the backrest of the bench and relaxing some. The sun was shining onto his face, warming him. How nice. Sunny autumn days were amazing.

"You're serious about it, aren't you?" Juniper's voice was a soft whisper. "About... starting the Olympians. When I first heard that, I admit I laughed. I thought it was a joke. A big dream. Who doesn't aim the highest in their dreams? But you truly don't consider it a dream. You consider it... the future. A fact that is yet to come, don't you?"

A few times, Percy blinked, while considering this. "Yes, I do. I've been working hard for this for a long time now and I intend to keep working hard for this."

"Good luck," Juniper smiled encouragingly at him.

/break\

Annabeth was in the library with Reyna, Hazel and Thalia. It had been Annabeth's idea to go to Thalia and ask her for some help studying for the upcoming exams. Thalia's two dorm-mates who were also first-years had perked up and decided to tag along. Not that Annabeth minded. A study group sounded like a nice idea. Thalia had given them a list of books she recommended for it and the others split up to go pick them up. When Annabeth returned with her stack of books, only Hazel was back at the table they had claimed for themselves. She sat with her head resting on her hand, elbow propped up on the table and eyes focused on the window.

"Hey," whispered Annabeth as she sat down next to Hazel.

"Ah. Hello," Hazel offered her a thin smile.

There was a weirdly awkward silence stretching on between them for a bit, while Annabeth busied herself with sorting her pencils and markers by color. It was Hazel who cleared her throat.

"So... you and Piper...?" Hazel trailed off and looked like she regretted speaking already.

"What?" Annabeth frowned for a moment. "Oh. The party, right. Heh, sorry, the past two weeks since then... I nearly forgot. No. No, it was just one date. Which was nice. I mean, I've never really been on a date with a girl before. But... the two of us didn't click."

Curiously enough did Hazel look relieved at that. Before Annabeth could investigate that, Thalia and Reyna returned too and the four of them started studying.

/break\

"Percy! Hey!" Jason's entire face brightened when he spotted Percy.

Percy's smile was only an edge forced as he caught sight of Jason and Nico holding hands. There was a twinge in his heart when he saw the way Nico looked at Jason. The two of them looked so happy together. Also so good, as in physically appealing. Jason sat down next to Percy, pulling him into a hug, while Nico simply waved at him with a friendly smile.

"Hey. How was your break?" asked Percy while they were waiting for class to start.

"Kinda boring, but the good kind," admitted Jason with a shrug. "Mom and Tristan just made everything... normal. I mean, we played board-games, we even had regular family dinners. Mom left for France two days before we returned to school."

"Sounds good to me," Percy grinned at that. "And like what we did at home too."

Chiron walked in and clapped loudly, gaining their attention. "I hope you all had a relaxing week and are ready for some action. Welcome to your first team exercise!"

Percy was practically vibrating on his seat. No, he actually was, to the point that Jason reached out and grabbed his thigh, trying to stop his leg from bouncing. Large, sea-green eyes stared at the hand on his thigh while Percy tried not to blush. Jason was the first one to blush and then to quickly pull his hand away as though he had gotten burned, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"You're making me all... nervous," whispered Jason in explanation.

Grinning sheepishly, Percy tried not to bounce his leg. Which obviously didn't work.

"How is this going to go?" asked Annabeth after raising her hand. "There are a lot of teams here."

"There are," confirmed Chiron. "Each team is assigned a number and we're going to draw numbers to randomize the order. One team at a time will perform an equally randomized task."

"And the others... wait their turn and be alerted?" asked Mitchell curiously.

Percy turned to look at the other boy and paused. Mitchell sat with Lacy and Mike, because the three were a team. He hadn't seen Mike since their date. This was awkward. They hadn't really been friends before, so there was no going back to being friends. Could they now become friends, or was a failed date one of those things that rather meant to steer clear...? Shaking his head, Percy instead focused on Chiron again. The man was pacing, his hooves clapping on the floor.

"You won't need to be alerted, you will be here. This is not your average ninety minute class," replied Chiron with an amused look. "Each team will get a turn and you all are going to observe and review each performance. I want you to make notes on how the teams handled the situation, what you would have done differently, questions you have as to why they did something. Each team has fifteen minutes, then another fifteen minutes on talking it through after. We're going to take multiple breaks in between, but you are going to spend all day today here. Now, if there are no more questions, we're going to assign the numbers and draw our first scenario and participants."

"O—Oh, I am so excited," whispered Percy, eagerly leaning forward.

"Yes. We can tell," commented Nico, though he sounded fond.

/break\

Jason smiled brightly as Nico came back and sat down next to him. The way Nico wielded the shadows, used skeletons as back-up to defeat the minions (played by their upper-classmen) while Nico, Reyna and Frank could focus on locating the hostages and free them. That was hot. Jason hadn't had a crush on a hero in a while, but seeing Nico like that – and in that stupidly tight uniform. Of course, they were tight for practical reasons, so nothing got stuck anywhere. They just didn't help Jason's hormones. The way Nico's thighs looked in that black uniform...

"You did amazing," whispered Jason, actively holding back from kissing his boyfriend.

He wasn't ready to be public about their relationship just yet, even if everybody assumed that the two of them were together. Nico sighed and leaned back, closing his eyes for a moment.

"I don't know," grumbled Nico. "We should have gone in differently-"

"Oh, shush," Percy huffed and reached over to slap Nico's thigh. "You were awesome. This is all our first times trying to actually do this. Coming up with plans in theory is one thing, but executing them actively, while someone is opposing you, moving on their own volition. That's hard."

"Says the guy who aced the exercise," Nico turned to side-eye Percy.

Percy blushed a very appealing pink and scratched his cheek innocently. "No need for false modesty, Percy. It really shows that the three of you have been working together for years."

At that, Percy offered Jason a soft smile. The blonde's words were true. So far, out of the seven teams that had gotten a turn, Percy's team had been absolutely outstanding. The trust between them that came from their years of friendship, their teamwork based on how long they had been working together, Annabeth's planning, Grover's distraction, Percy's fighting-style. They had fit together perfectly and worked so seamlessly, they left some of the upper-classmen in their dust, staring startled. Everyone had cheered loudly for them after and they got piled with praise for their performance. Of course it wasn't entirely perfect, there was room for improvement. That didn't make it any less impressive, especially for a first try.

"A big mistake was the excessive energy-waste," stated Bryce Lawrence annoyed.

Nico stiffened and sat up, a frown etched into his features as he stared at the other magic-user across the room. He truly hated the other. While Nico grew more annoyed, Jason took his hand.

"Why is that and how would you have handled it differently?" asked Chiron.

"He barged in basically on his own," elaborated Bryce. "Using his powers to control shadows and summon skeletons, instead of relying on his two human team-mates. That was an unnecessary power drain on the team's power-house. If this had been a serious threat, then he would have been too exhausted to actually battle the real endgame villain."

"Those are excellent points," agreed Chiron. "You three need to work on your trust and communication. And you, Nico, need to work on your stamina and on dividing your energy and learning to prioritize on what to use them. What advise do we have for Reyna and Frank?"

Nico sank lower on his seat, hating that the point made was right, hating that Chiron agreed and, above all else, hating that it had come from Bryce, of all people.

"Hey," Jason reached out to link their fingers, tugging Nico a little closer.

"You were a total badass and there's nothing wrong with relying on yourself," continued Percy when words failed Jason. "You know yourself. You know your powers. You... barely know Reyna. You know Frank, but not in a situation like that. It's okay to rely on your own abilities. You'll figure out how to fight with Frank and Reyna, even if it'll take a bit."

That made Nico feel warm and comforted. He smiled gratefully at Percy and pulled Jason's hand close enough to kiss it very quickly before dropping their linked hands between them again. He needed to stop liking Percy and feeling this way about Percy, because he now had Jason.

Notes:

Seeing as the next update is December 25th, we're going to theme that a bit Christmas-y ;)

Chapter 16: Winter Break (1) Merry Christmas!

Chapter 16: Winter Break (1) Merry Christmas!

Jason didn't actually mind the team-exercises. After the very first one, they became a regular part of their schedule. For now, every two weeks, considering they took up nearly the whole day due to the size of their class. He'd been afraid of those, when Thalia had first told him. But actually they felt more like playing games. Play pretend, with Piper and Leo. It reminded him of his childhood.

"Oh my god, how is he this-" Jason interrupted himself with a strangled noise.

He didn't even know what word to use for this, or what he was feeling right now. Percy's team was up and he wasn't holding back at all. The team opposing them were Beckendorf, Silena and Clarisse. While Clarisse and Annabeth were engaged in hand-to-hand combat, Percy's water was fighting against Beckendorf's fire. They were in a blaze of water and fire and it was amazing. Percy wielding water was one of the hottest things Jason had ever seen. The power and authority he commanded when he did so, just how self-assured he looked. He knew how powerful he was and it showed and it was hot. Jason made a strangled little noise. He startled when someone took his hand, linking fingers with him. It was hard to tear his eyes away from Percy, but he managed. His eyes met with his boyfriend's and suddenly, he blushed in embarrassment. He shouldn't fawn over Percy at all, because he now had a boyfriend, but he definitely shouldn't do it while Nico was right there.

"Yeah, he really is something else," commented Nico with a fond little smile.

Jason swallowed hard and turned back to watch Percy battle with Beckendorf.

/break\

Percy heaved a soft little sigh as he stared over at Nico and Jason. The couple was sparring at the gym. They looked so good together. They were so good together. Over the past weeks, Nico had really helped Jason build up his confidence. The two sparred a lot, Nico helping Jason with his technique and with feeling more sure about himself in his body.

"You said you wanted to focus on your school work," commented Annabeth unimpressed. "Not pine for them. You and those sad puppy-dog eyes are killing me, Jackson."

Sticking his tongue out at her, Percy turned his back on Jason and Nico. No pining. She was right. He had big life plans, he didn't need romantic distractions, especially not when said people he liked were in a happy relationship. They didn't need him. He needed to focus on something else.

"Are you going home to your parents for Christmas?" asked Percy, blocking a hit from Annabeth.

"Unavoidable," Annabeth heaved a sigh. "But I'm leaving again after Christmas."

"Oh?" Percy furrowed his brows. "Where to? If you want, you can-"

"No, I have plans. Plans that don't involve watching you pine for Nico and Jason," Annabeth interrupted him with a teasing glint in her eyes. "Thalia, Zoe, Clarisse and Bianca are going on a hiking and skiing trip. They invited me, Reyna, Piper and Hazel along."

"Okay that sounds cool," Percy gasped as she landed a kick against his ribs.

"Mh. You should try doing something fun too. Something... different. We spent all of autumn break together, mostly at your parents' house," commented Annabeth. "Clear your head. Refocus your priorities so you'll be ready to start the next year more focused."

"Great plan. Any suggestions on how to do that?" Percy offered a crooked grin.

"You're the son of Amphitrite," whispered Annabeth as she pinned Percy to the ground. "Have you ever actually considered the meaning of that part yet, Percy?"

Percy blinked a couple of times. His mom was... Oh. No, he hadn't thought about that yet. Huh.

/break\

"We should talk about Percy," commented Nico, his arms crossed over his chest.

Jason winced at that. The two of them were in Nico's room, Frank was out training with Clarisse. Was Nico going to break up with him now because of Jason's obvious pining for Percy...?

"I'm sorry," blurted Jason out before Nico had a chance to clarify.

"You... What?" Nico blinked a couple of times, thrown off what he had planned to say.

"I'm sorry about... the... uh...mooning over him," Jason flushed brightly. "I really like you a lot Nico, I do. I just... I... kind of also like him a lot too..."

"I know that," Nico blinked more rapidly, staring at him stunned. "Did... Did you think I didn't know that you have a huge crush on Percy? Is that... something you are trying to hide?"

The blush on Jason's cheeks darkened even more as he looked wide-eyed at Nico. "What?"

"You. With the sparkly eyes, the blushes, the longing gazes," commented Nico, motioning up and down Jason's body to indicate all of him. "You're... very bad... at hiding your crush, babe. I've known about that since before we got together. But I figured we should talk about our mutual... mooning over Percy, as you like to put it."

"Mutual mooning?" Jason perked up a little, though he also looked confused.

"Cieluccio," Nico's voice was soft and amused as he spoke the endearing nickname. "We literally got together when I was brooding over the fact that Percy had a date and you offered to dance with me to distract me from my irritation. You must know that I like Percy too."

Right. That made perfect sense and on a vague concept, Jason had known that. His ears were burning at the nickname though. Nico had started calling him that shortly after autumn break. It was Italian for 'little sky', which was super cheesy and precious and personal and it made Jason's heart race. Ducking his head, Jason leaned in to kiss Nico's cheek.

"Okay. So we are both mooning over Percy. What does that... mean?" Jason tilted his head.

"I don't know," admitted Nico as he wrapped his arms around Jason's waist and pulled him down into his lap. "It means we are both guys with exceptionally good taste. And that we can, at least, talk to each other about Percy. We don't... have to hide it, not from each other."

"He's so hot," Jason groaned and buried his face in Nico's chest. "Did you see him beat Beckendorf like that? So hot. Also with that uniform. I hate those uniforms so much."

"Me too," agreed Nico dryly, running his hands over Jason's spine. "Have you seen yourself in your uniform? Your ass looks... It is very distracting, very, very distracting."

Nico seemed to be pouting, but Jason was too hung up on the fact that he had the same effect on Nico as Nico and Percy had on him. That was... a nice feeling. Jason flushed and smiled pleased.

"Like you are any better," countered Jason cheekily, pecking Nico's cheek.

/break\

The three of them were sitting around Mrs. O'Leary, something they hadn't done a lot since Halloween, because every time Percy walked past the stables and saw the two, he didn't want to interrupt them. They were a couple now and certainly wanted to spend time alone.

"What are you doing for winter break?" asked Nico curiously. "Celebrate any holidays?"

Jason groaned a little and buried himself more in Mrs. O'Leary's fur. "Hera is throwing a grand Christmas gala that me and Thalia will be forced to attend on the 24th, but we're spending the 25th with Tristan and mom and Piper. But then I'll be ditched by my sisters."

"Same," Nico chuckled mildly.

"Oh, yeah, Annabeth told me about that. Your sisters are going on a hiking trip. That sounds so—o cool," Percy groaned frustrated. "I want to go too, but it's a girls only thing..."

"What if we do something?" Jason turned to look at them both.

"Like what?" Percy frowned and looked from Jason over to Nico.

"I don't know. A road-trip, maybe?" Nico tilted his head thoughtfully. "Frank, Will and I had planned on going on a road-trip since forever."

"...We're sixteen, we don't have a driver's license," commented Percy before sitting up. "Luke does though. We could invite him along too. We'd just need a really, really big car for that?"

"We can rent a camper, which makes much more sense for a road-trip anyway because we can sleep inside the car comfortably," suggested Nico. "Big, comfortable. Not crammed."

"I like that," Percy sat up interested. "We gotta pause at the ocean though."

"Quite obviously," Nico chuckled fondly. "Can't take oceanuccio on the road without showing him the actual, big ocean, can we now, Jason?"

Jason tilted his head at the sound of the nickname. Oceanuccio. Little ocean. That complimented his own nickname very well. Jason's attention was drawn to Percy to seize his reaction. He looked a little confused and a little flustered. Oh, that looked pretty on him.

"Okay. I'll ask Luke if he wants to go with us," declared Percy eagerly. "I love that idea."

This idea was the opposite of what Annabeth had meant when she had suggested for him to do something, because this idea was putting him into very close proximity with Nico and Jason. That was not going to help Percy's pining any, but also he didn't care. He wanted to enjoy this time. And this sounded like it was going to be a lot of fun with friends. Especially if they took more people than just the three of them. Puffers. To make it more of a hang-out and less of a third-wheeling.

"...Wait but a camper is expensive, right?" Percy frowned, a little pout on his lips.

"You forgot the part where I'm rich? I mean, on all sides of all of my parents kind of rich. I can pay for a camper for us. Considering mom and Tristan are paying for Thalia and Piper's equipment for the hiking trip too, they would probably be eager to know I'm doing something with friends."

"That last part made it kind of sad," noted Nico amused. "And also, I'm rich too. I can pay for a camper for all of us too. I don't need my boyfriend as a sugar daddy."

"Neither do I," countered Jason with narrowed eyes and a teasing grin.

"Well, I'm not saying no to the sugar," offered Percy. "Pay for me, I'm fine with that."

There was a weird and strangely flustered expression on both Jason and Nico's faces. Percy was only partially joking. Yes, his parents had taught him the value of his own hard work. However, he would also definitely not mind being spoiled. Because he had also learned that it was important to accept things, when they could benefit him. Saying no out of principle was ridiculous; it denied one opportunities. His allowance would definitely not cover for a fourth of a camper and if the two rich boys offered to throw their money at this, he would be stupid to say no.

/break\

Nico was uncomfortable in the suit. The bow-tie felt ridiculous and like it was trying to suffocate him. But this was a stupid, fancy gala, so he had to look stupid and fancy. After all, his boyfriend has asked him, very nervously, to come to the gala too. Since Aiden and Maria di Angelo were influential people and both knew Zeus and Hera, they had been on board.

"I do want to meet that boyfriend of yours," Hades smirked teasingly at his son.

They'd taken a private flight to spend tonight in San Francisco and take an overnight flight back to New York so they would be back home by Christmas morning. Hazel was very excited, she loved the purple dress she had bought for tonight. A real gala, an opportunity to feel like a princess.

"Nico! You made it!" Jason beamed excited.

"You... look so hot," whispered Nico in awe, staring at Jason in the white suit.

Jason flushed and ducked his head. "So do you, you clean up surprisingly well."

Nico was wearing a black suit and a red dress-shirt. He grinned, puffing out his chest a little. Hades and Persephone stepped up behind Nico, both staring intensely at Jason, like they were holding back the billion questions they wanted to ask. Nico winced and gently took Jason's hand.

"Mamma, papà, this... is my boyfriend, Jason. Jason, meet Aiden and Maria di Angelo."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir, ma'am," Jason shook their hands and bowed his head a little.

"The pleasure is all ours, sweetie," Maria pulled him into a tight hug.

"I'll be on the balcony, hanging out with Thalia," informed Bianca. "Have fun."

"Ha—Aiden!" Zeus' voice thundered through the hall. "It is so good to see you, my brother!"

The man laughed and hugged Hades, lifting him up into the air a little. Hades looked nonplussed but endured it; he was used to it. Remembered it from his youth. Jason, growing nervous now, grasped Nico's hand for support. Nico gently ran his thumb over the back of Jason's hand.

"Ah. Our kids are friends, aren't they?" Zeus laughed, slinging one arm around Hades' shoulders. "The girls are going on some trip or something, right?"

"They are," confirmed Hades, trying to squirm out of the grasp.

"And I see our boys are friends too. Splendid," Zeus chuckled. "P... Paul, you know if he has kids?"

"Actually," interrupted Jason before Hades could answer. "We're not friends. We're... boyfriends."

Zeus stared at his son in surprise, then turned to look at Hades' son curiously. "Huh. Okay."

"That... That's it?" Jason frowned confused. "Aren't you worried about what... it'd do to your reputation, or something, if people knew that your son...?"

For a moment, Zeus looked thoughtful, before he reached a hand out to ruffle Jason's hair. "As much as my wife and the world like to look at you as a mini-me, you are actually your own person. I lived my youth without a care for my own reputation. I slept with men, women, whoever I wanted. Who am I to tell you who you should spend your time with, for the sake of my reputation? You gotta think about your own life and your own reputation and decide based on that, kiddo."

Huh. His dad would never cease to surprise him. Jason blinked a couple of times, trying to make sense of the words and also their meaning. It was his life and his reputation that he had to make decisions for. Somehow, that felt heavier even than being his father's proxy, because there had always been that puffer. His dad. People perceived him through that lens, bad and good. And there was a lot of good will there that softened the blow of the bad. If he stood as his own person, he would also have to build up the good himself. That thought was surprisingly scary.

"Now you, kid," Zeus was smiling as he walked over to Nico, wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulder and ruffling his hair slightly forcefully. "Your ma's a proper lady, I'm sure she raised a solid boy. But I gotta make sure you know that if you hurt that boy of mine, I can literally pulverize you on the spot, you get that, right?"

Nico stared startled at the man and swallowed hard. Being threatened by Zeus. That was... unexpected. There was a manic but very determined look on Zeus' face. He meant it.

"Y... Yes, sir," Nico swallowed again, hoping to be saved.

"Atta, boy," Zeus laughed, slapping Nico on the back encouragingly.

Hades and Persephone were simply shaking their heads at the man. Jason watched in awe. Had his dad just given his boyfriend a shovel-talk? That... might have been the most normal dad thing he had ever done. And though Nico looked short of a heart-attack, Jason felt incredibly happy about it.

"You are sitting at our table," declared Zeus, motioning for the di Angelos to follow him.

They mixed it up; Hades and Persephone finding their places between Zeus, Hera and Tristan and Beryl. Thalia sat next to Bianca, Jason and Nico of course were next to each other, which then also paired off Piper and Hazel. It was unusual to see Piper in a dress, pink with dazzling stones. Her hair was put up in an intricate do and Hazel stared at her in awe. She looked so pretty. But also so uncomfortable. Piper's normal style was more tomboyish and she looked far more comfortable with it. Piper turned to grin at Hazel, looking her up and down too.

"You look gorgeous, Haze," commented Piper.

Hazel's cheeks felt hot as she nodded jerkily. "Thank... you. So do you."

"I look like a clown," countered Piper with an eye-roll. "But Hera wants to play house, parade around how accepting she is of even the stepsister of her husband's bastard children. Everybody gets along so well, aren't we a big, happy family?"

Hazel laughed softly, covering her mouth. Snarky Piper was so cute.

"Well, I'm glad she dragged you here, because that way we could see each other before Christmas," declared Hazel boldly, her heart thumping in her chest.

Piper smiled, a gentle expression, as she nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'm looking forward to the trip, after Christmas. I've never really been hiking. You?"

"Not really, no. I hope it'll be... fun," Hazel frowned worried.

"Oh, you'll both be fine, don't get your panties in a twist," interjected Thalia pointedly.

/break\

"Merry Christmas, Ty," Percy grinned broadly, bouncing on his feet.

Ever since he had gotten a little brother, the giving of gifts had become more exciting than the receiving. Whatever he got Tyson, the younger Jackson would be so happy about it and it was so precious. Tyson gasped as he ripped open the package to find a stuffed bear, but instead of hind-legs it had a blue fish-tail. Tyson lifted it over his head and whirled around with it.

"Adorable! I love her, she is perfect!" Tyson exclaimed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You could literally give him a rock and wrap a bow around it and Tyson would proceed to carry the rock around as his most treasured possession for the next year," commented Triton. "Why does that boy worship you so much, brat? I am clearly the superior older brother."

"Nope. You are boring and stuffy and stuck up," countered Percy. "Merry Christmas."

He handed Triton a box and the oldest Jackson son huffed out a laugh as he opened it. Inside sat a rock with a bow glued to it. Triton had been giving this exact same speech so often over Christmas, birthdays and Easter that Percy felt it appropriate to give Triton a special rock.

"You are such a brat," muttered Triton, ruffling Percy's hair.

Percy offered him a cheeky grin in return as the two older brothers walked over to sit on the couch. Tyson was busy with the presents from mom and dad, with Paul filming the boy's reactions.

"Dad said something about you spontaneously wanting to go on some trip...?"

"Mh? Yeah. My friends suggested it a few days ago. A road-trip. And I convinced one of the upper classmen to come along too, because he actually has a license," Percy grinned, kicking his legs back and forth. "It's going to be awesome. I thought... maybe, while we're at the... beach. I could..."

"You could...?" Triton drew his brows together deeply.

Percy's grin turned more crooked and he shrugged. No need to alert his fussing older brother about his plans. He knew his family would probably not approve of that. Getting up, he walked out of the room and got his phone out of his pocket, dialing Ghost King.

"Hello? Percy? Merry Christmas," Nico sounded surprised but happy.

"Is that Percy? Gimme, gimme," Jason's voice was muffled. "Merry Christmas, Perce!"

"Oh. You... You guys are... together?" Percy looked confused as he sat down on the veranda. "I mean, just because you said you had to be on some gala and...?"

"We were yesterday. Both of us. I could... introduce him to my dad. Which went better than expected. And since our parents know each other, dad invited them to stay for Christmas so... they're staying today for Christmas dinner," replied Jason happily.

Oh wow. Meeting the parents. Spending Christmas together, with both their families. The two seemed much more serious than Percy had expected. There was a heavy feeling settling into his stomach, even though he was trying to be happy for his friends.

Notes:

Happy holidays! I hope you enjoyed this little Christmas treat ;D Next chapter, the second half of their winter break, featuring the hiking trip and the road trip!

Chapter 17: Winter Break (2) Fun Vacations!

Chapter 17: Winter Break (2) Fun Vacations!

Eight of them ended up on the road trip together – Nico, Frank and Will, as Nico had said this was always a dream of them, Percy and Jason, Jason's best friend Leo, Chris and Luke, their designated drivers. Apparently, Chris was bored with Clarisse on the hiking trip so he'd decided to go with them. Besides, two people with a license sounded safer.

"Holy shit this is one luxurious camper," Percy whistled amazed.

There were stairs. Leading up. There were cabins up in the top half actually, four of them. They had to crawl up here, because otherwise this camper would be way too high. Downstairs was a sitting area, a kitchenette, the bathroom and the front cabin for the driver and passenger seat. Everything looked shiny and nice, the carpet dark-red, the counter-tops black and actually shiny.

"Two people will have to share a cabin each," informed Nico. "But we didn't want to get something even more ridiculously large... And the cabins are spacious enough for two, I'd say."

Percy crawled in and pulled the door aside to peek into one. The mattress was let into the ground, a wooden panel on either side of the mattress. Next to the panels were shelves up the walls, while opposite the door was the window stretching the entire length of the cabin. Small but cozy.

"Are we going to draw lots or how do we decide rooming arrangements?" asked Percy.

"I feel like Jason and Nico are a given," replied Luke. "But I'm okay with any arrangement."

"I'll share with you, Luke," requested Chris. "If we're driving and alternating in that, that means chances are I get the cabin all to myself when I actually want to sleep."

"You know what, that's actually a good idea," agreed Luke with a nod.

"Dibs on Frank then. No offense to both of you guys, but I've known Frank for years. If I gotta share a bed, I'll share with a guy I've been cozying up during sleepovers as a kid already," said Will.

"Guess that leaves you stuck with me, Percy. That okay?" Leo called out.

"Sounds good to me. I claim cabin three, by the way. Putting my stuff in already."

Once his clothes, chargers, laptop and what else entertainment he had brought with him were put into the shelf, he crawled out again and made his way down the stairs. Leo, Frank and Will were sitting around the table. Jason and Nico were filling the fridge, while Luke and Chris were familiarizing themselves with the cockpit, discussing plans.

"What is the plan, anyway?" asked Percy, hopping onto the table. "I mean, where do we go?"

"You really just heard 'road trip' and said 'okay', huh?" Chris chuckled amused.

"Ye—ep," Percy offered the broadest grin. "I wanna get out. I love vacations. And I was promised the beach so whatever else is on the way, I'm all in for it."

"Destination's Miami," offered Luke, turning to face them in the back. "We figured we'd take multiple breaks along the way obviously. Washington, maybe Jacksonville, who knows what else."

"Sounds good to me," Percy nodded pleased. "This is the first time I'm going on a vacation without my family. Kinda feels... grown-up? Or is that silly?"

"It's not silly, but it's adorable, kiddo," commented Luke amused. "Well then, children, buckle up. Mommy and daddy are gonna take you on a fun vacation!"

"For the record, if I have to, I'll be dad. Not mom," Chris' voice was flat.

/break\

"I have regrets," Piper groaned exhausted. "All of the regrets."

Annabeth and Hazel turned toward her, offering their hands. Smiling at them, she accepted both their help in pulling her up. Hiking was torture, actually. Climbing up a mountain was not fun. It was both exhausting and dangerous. Thalia, Zoe, Bianca and Clarisse were in the lead, Reyna not far behind them. Piper knew she was forming the rear end here.

"Can't believe our sisters do this for fun," groaned Piper when they finally hit a flat spot again.

Horizontal walking! Wonderful. Much better than the climb. She turned to look at Hazel.

"I don't mind it," Hazel grinned with a shrug. "I love nature. Feeling the Earth under my feet, I love mountains actually. Yes, it's exhausting, but... look at this view. Isn't that reward enough?"

Piper followed the motion of Hazel's hands, staring over the edge, down the mountain. Okay... That was beautiful. The dark forest below, the lake, farther away a city. It felt... untouched. Pure.

"I guess so," whispered Piper in awe. "Still hope we're at the campsite soon."

"We will be. If you stop staring and start walking again," barked Clarisse.

The three of them quickly picked up the pace and jogged up to the rest of the group. Thalia grinned teasingly and ruffled Piper's hair, knowing exactly that Piper did not like the walk.

"How did you come to do this?" asked Reyna curiously, looking at their upperclassmen.

"Was my idea," offered Zoe. "I've always gone on camping trips. Hiking. Hunting for yourself. And Thalia and I have been friends for years. We've gone on these trips before."

"I joined them when Thalia and I became roommates in our first year," added Bianca.

When they turned to look at Clarisse, the older girl shook her head. "First time for me too. Ever since I started dating Chris, I've spent decidedly less time with the girls. Been so busy with studies and Chris and if we did something, mostly couple things with Beckendorf and Silena, or Luke and Octavian. It's time to do something without the boyfriend. Though I couldn't convince Silena to join us... She's not going to risk her manicure out here."

"And we're really going to do it all on our own, huh?" Annabeth looked intrigued.

"Fishing, hunting. Gathering herbs to season the food. We brought salt, pepper and bread with us, but yes. The plan is to live in the land and from the land," replied Zoe with a smile.

"That... actually sounds nice," Hazel smiled as she let her gaze wonder.

Piper stumbled just a bit. She hadn't noticed just how beautiful Hazel was until now. Hazel was cute sure, but Leo was also cute, puppies were cute. Cute didn't necessarily mean attracted to. But ever since the gala, seeing her in make-up and a dress that made her look like an actual fairy tale princess... Piper felt like looking at her differently. And out here, in nature, the way Hazel looked at it, moved in it. That took Piper's breath away.

/break\

"Percy. Percy, are you asleep already?" Leo's voice was a whisper.

They had decided on sleeping in shifts, so at least two others would always be awake to be company for the current driver. Unless they actually parked so all of them could sleep. Grunting a bit, Percy rolled over to look at his cabin-mate. Leo was laying on his stomach, arms folded under his chin as he looked out the window. After another moment, Percy copied his pose and also looked out. It was pitch-black outside, but they could see the stars and some scenery.

"What do you wanna talk about?" asked Percy softly.

"I dunno. We haven't really hung out a lot so far? Specially not alone. Figured we could... get to know each other," Leo shrugged awkwardly. "We're mostly around each other when Piper and Annabeth, or Jason, are around us too. So... I dunno, what do you like?"

Percy raised one eyebrow and turned to look at Leo again. "I like... swimming?"

"Because of your powers?" asked Leo interested.

"Mh... I don't actually know," admitted Percy after a beat. "I've always been around water. And I guess that is due to my parents' powers. We spent a lot of time at public pools, we have a pond in the backyard of our house that's not super big but big enough to swim a little bit in a circle. We go to a cabin in Montauk every summer, all five of us. Most my really cherished memories of my childhood feature water in a way, so that... always made me like it more too."

"I'm... different there," whispered Leo softly. "I was... always afraid of my powers."

"How come?" Percy frowned concerned, looking at Leo earnestly.

"When I was a kid, when I didn't have control of my powers yet," Leo started playing with his hands, eyebrows furrowed. "I... accidentally set a fire. It burned our entire shop down, our apartment... my dad barely got my mom out in time... I was... I was so afraid of what I could do..."

Oh. Percy had never quite considered that. Yes, he knew that many came to this school to learn control over their powers, not to become a hero. But he had never thought about those who had to learn control because their powers posed a danger to themselves and others.

"I'm... sorry to hear that," Percy's voice was a compassionate whisper.

"It's okay," Leo turned to offer him a weak smile. "Mom took me to a child psychiatrist after to deal with it, help me learn to not fear my powers. But yeah... it was... tough."

"What about your parents? I mean, what are their powers? Could they help?"

"My mom can talk to machines and my dad controls fire. And I... have both their abilities. They both taught me, but dad's not really the best teacher I guess? And my powers kicked in unexpectedly back then," Leo rested his cheek on his hands, looking at Percy. "Mom's a great teacher though. And even after my parents got divorced, dad stayed in touch, tried to teach me."

"So... are you just at the school to learn your powers then, or do you want to be a hero...?"

Leo hummed in a drawn-out way and rolled onto his back, tilting his head back so he could look out the window upside-down. "I honestly haven't decided yet. I came here to learn my powers but also because of Jason. You might have noticed, he has some issues. I'm... here to help him."

"You're a good friend, Leo," Percy smiled a little. "Jason's lucky to have you."

/break\

They put their tents up next to a water-fall with a smaller lake that then led into a river running down the mountain. Fresh water, flat ground to put their camp-side at, a clearing in the dense forest where they would then be able to hunt. It was also beautiful. The problem at hand was that there were eight of them and they had four tents. Thalia and Bianca quickly claimed a tent for themselves, Zoe and Clarisse took one together too and then Annabeth smiled and asked Reyna to share a tent. Leaving Hazel to room with her crush. Cruel and unusual punishment.

They knew that eight people hunting would just chase the prey away – and Hazel didn't much like the idea of taking a life. Zoe and Reyna had gone together, Zoe as the expert and Reyna wanting to learn from her. Piper, Thalia and Clarisse had gone to gather firewood, leaving Hazel alone with Annabeth to go gather herbs and mushrooms. She kept side-eyeing the blonde suspiciously.

"I expected you to share a tent with Piper," admitted Hazel after a while. "What with you being roommates at the school too. Not that I'm complaining, it's not that I dislike Piper-"

"You like Piper," interrupted Annabeth with a knowing grin.

"W... What?" Hazel's eyes widened and she tried to turn away from Annabeth.

"The way you asked me if me and Piper are a thing, before the trip," Annabeth looked at her in a pointed manner. "You weren't exactly subtle in your relief. But you didn't seem interested in me. So I've been... paying attention to you around Piper and... girl, you're so bad at this it's a miracle Piper hasn't figured it out yet, you stare at her like she's a supermodel who just stepped out of the ad."

"Not entirely off the mark," muttered Hazel beneath her breath. "But I still don't get-"

"I thought sharing a tent would allow you two to, I don't know, bond? Talk some? You're so bad at getting a full sentence out around her, maybe it'll help," Annabeth shrugged.

Hazel made a distressed noise at that. She couldn't do that! How did one talk to their crush?!

"...How do you talk to your crush?" asked Hazel softly. "I never really... did that. And she's a girl. I definitely never talked to a girl that I liked. I've never liked a girl that way before."

Annabeth paused at that and sat down on a log to face her. "Oh. So you're new to all of that, huh."

"Yeah," Hazel tucked her hair behind her ear, looking at her feet. "I guess I'm bi, but I never knew."

"I'm a lesbian," offered Annabeth after a beat. "I mean, I don't think I've explicitly told you so yet. And... I didn't know at first either. Thought I was in love with Percy, or should be in love with Percy, because we were childhood friends and if a girl and a boy are friends, they have to be more. It was in middle school that I realized that I couldn't make myself feel a certain way and... that I might have these kind of feelings for someone else. For a girl. I freaked out at first too, didn't know how to talk to them, or how to know if they even liked girls. You got one advantage here; you already know that Piper is interested in girls too. Talk to her about that, maybe try figuring out her type or what she likes, or if there is anyone she currently likes."

Hazel nodded slowly, listening to her with attentive ears. Okay. Maybe she could do that. It helped. She knew Nico, Will and Frank had tried to help, but somehow it was different talking to another girl? And Annabeth was better at explaining things.

/break\

Sleeping in the same bed as Nico was nice. It had Jason so nervous he didn't sleep at all during their first night, he just laid there stiff as a board, staring at Nico. Watching every little movement. The way he'd wiggle his nose in his sleep was really adorable. Day two had been easier, maybe because by then Jason had been completely exhausted. On day four, when they finally reached Miami, Jason was able to fall asleep in Nico's arms, cuddled up close.

"Where's Percy?" asked Nico when him and Jason got down from the cabins.

"He left at dawn," supplied Will. "He said he had something... important that he wanted to do."

"I was looking forward to a day at the beach, with all of us," Jason pouted a little.

"Well. Breakfast now and then the seven of us can go to the beach," offered Luke with a smile.

While they ate, Jason and Nico exchanged a concerned glance. It was unlike Percy to storm off on his own. Though he had been excited or even anxious about something lately.

"Hey, babe," Nico's voice was a soft whisper. "I'm sure he'll be fine. He's Percy."

"Exa—actly," agreed Luke. "The kid's got plans for... most things. I'm sure whatever he has planned here is thought through. And we can ask him all about it when he returns tonight."

Jason nodded, but wasn't entirely convinced. Something about this felt off.

/break\

Hazel was moisturizing, her eyes on Piper all sprawled out on her own sleeping bag. The blue shirt was riling up a little and Hazel couldn't help but look at the sliver of skin. Quickly, she averted her eyes, trying hard not to be a creep. Piper was just so pretty. The past few nights had been hard.

"Do... uh..." Hazel swallowed, trying for the nth time to follow Annabeth's advise. "Do you have anyone you like? I mean, since you and Annabeth didn't work out, I was wondering..."

"Eh," Piper shrugged and tilted her head to look at Hazel. "Things with Annabeth didn't work out because we want different things, I think. I'm not really... in love or anything. Wasn't with her either. She's really hot and I liked her so I figured it was worth a try..."

"So... So is there anyone else you think is really hot and you like?" asked Hazel nervously.

For a moment, there was silence between them as Piper looked at her. "Are you like... flirting with me? Because I noticed that you don't talk that... nervously... with the other girls at camp fire. But when you talk with me you get all... I don't know, nervous, I guess?"

A distressed and embarrassed noise escaped Hazel and she covered her face. "Annabeth was right, I am bad at that, at hiding it, gah, what do I-?"

"You're cute," offered Piper with a grin. "And nice. But you would have to get over the nervous stammering around me if you want to date me, okay?"

"...What?" Hazel stared at her wide-eyed. "What?"

With a shrug did Piper sit up. "I don't think that romance should be complicated. If I like you and you like me, why shouldn't we try to see where things go? And if they don't work out, no harm done. At least we didn't miss any chances and won't have regrets, right?"

As she spoke, she slowly leaned in closer toward Hazel. So this could be that easy? Really? Hazel always expected the pining phase to be long and the confessing to be convoluted. Maybe she needed less romantic drama shows. Maybe she needed more of Piper's attitude. Closing her eyes tightly, Hazel waited, unsure how to even behave. She'd never kissed someone before. Piper rested a hand in her neck, guiding her carefully and kissing her gently. Okay.

/break\

It was late in the evening when the weather changed. A storm suddenly started brewing over the ocean. Completely unexpected, no signs of it just ten minutes before. They quickly gathered their things to carry them back into the camper. Jason and Nico volunteered for a second round run, because they hadn't been able to carry everything – they'd prepared a barbecue on the beach, enjoying the sunshine. The scary thing about the storm was that it was quiet. No thunder, no lightning, just sharp, cold rain and the billowing of the waves. The water seemed to part and Nico pulled on Jason's hand to make him stop and turn around. The blonde was annoyed, because they were already soaking wet and he wanted to return to the camper, but when he followed Nico's line of sight, he actually dropped what he had gathered in his arms.

Percy came walking out of the ocean as it parted before him, his head tilted down. The storm... wasn't natural. It was his doing. He was the center of it, the intensity came from him and eased off the farther away from him it was. As he was close enough to them to see his face, they saw tears running down his cheeks, masked well by the rain but not being able to hide from them.

"Percy! Percy, what happened? Where were you?" called Jason out.

Both of them ran the past few steps between them and quickly pulled Percy into a hug. As soon as they held him, he broke down and started sobbing. Carefully did Jason and Nico go into their knees with Percy, embracing him tightly. He buried his face in Nico's chest, clinging onto Jason.

"What's going on, oceanuccio?" whispered Nico gently. "C'mon. Talk to us."

"I though... I wanted to..." Percy interrupted himself with sobbing. "I'm not just the son of Poseidon. I'm also the son of Amphitrite. Princess Salacia of Atlantis. I wanted... I wanted to meet them... the royal family. My family. My grandparents. Aunts. Uncles. I wanted to use this trip to go and meet them for the first time, but they turned me away... They told me they never want to see me near Atlantis again. Called me a... a half-breed. A mistake their disowned daughter made, for being with something as impure as a human... I don't... I can't... I'm not a mistake..."

"Of course you're not!" exclaimed Jason heatedly. "You're amazing and your parents love you. And those... those strangers are totally wrong, they have no idea how great you are."

"Or how great your mom is," added Nico after a moment. "She chose to be a hero. She abandoned the crown and the cozy royal life to help others. She also chose you. She chose your father, your brothers and you. And she stands by that, by her family. She doesn't see you as a mistake, you know that. That's what matters. Not what people that have no idea say."

Though Percy continued sobbing, the storm around them started to ease off, the rain no longer as biting or intense and the waves calming. It was scary to see just how powerful Percy was when upset. It was also terrible to see Percy this upset.

Notes:

Next chapter will be all about comforting Percy and all about our three boys. Who knows, maaaybe something will happen? ;)

Chapter 18: The Little Big Three

Chapter 18: The Little Big Three

Percy woke up cranky but cozy. His throat was dry and his eyes crusted over with dried tears. He'd cried himself to sleep. He remembered getting out of the water and... Jason and Nico. They'd been outside, on the beach. Then why was Percy so cozy right now.

"Hey there," Jason's voice was gentle. "You awake?"

"Mh... No..." Percy grumbled, burying his nose in Jason's chest.

"Okay," Jason chuckled softly. "Then sleep some more, yeah?"

"No—o," Percy groaned and rolled over, bringing some distance between them. "Why am I in bed with you? I'm sharing a cot with Leo. What... happened?"

"You nearly fell asleep at the beach," replied Jason carefully, reaching out to tuck some of Percy's hair behind his ear. "Nico and I brought you here, we... helped you dry up and you kind of fell asleep during that and refused to let go of me. We didn't want to wake you, you'd been... so exhausted and sad... So I volunteered as your pillow."

"Hey, cieluccio, is he still asleep?" Nico spoke in a low and soft voice as he entered.

He crawled into the limited space, his eyes finding Percy, Percy staring right back at him. Blushing, Percy backed into the corner, trying to make space for Nico. Jason followed Percy, allowing Nico to squeeze in behind Jason, wrapping an arm around the blonde's waist.

"I am... so embarrassed about this," Percy groaned and covered his face.

"There... There is nothing embarrassing about this," Jason spoke in a firm voice, his eyes hard in determination as he looked at Percy. "You were very... upset and talking in a rushed voice, so I don't know what happened exactly, but... people who should be your family rejected you and... That's nothing you have to be embarrassed about. They should be embarrassed."

Percy offered him a weak, small smile. "I... I just didn't expect it..."

"If you want to tell us what happened, we'll listen," whispered Nico gently.

His eyes were warm as he looked at Percy and suddenly, Percy felt flustered. He wrapped his arms around himself, feeling small and lost. It didn't help that Nico and Jason were cuddled together like that, because it highlighted that those two were in love, were a couple. He wasn't part of that.

"Annabeth gave me the idea... and I know she didn't mean for it to turn out this way either," Percy sighed and rolled onto his back, to stare up at the ceiling instead of the other two boys. "That I've been so focused on the legacy of Poseidon that I carry that I forgot... and I did... I forgot that Amphitrite, in the comics, is a princess of Atlantis. I didn't really put that together with my mom. But after Annabeth's words, I dug a little and... Sally... Princess Salacia of Atlantis... I got stupidly excited. I thought I had just... magically unlocked more family..."

"You went to... Atlantis? The actual deep-sea kingdom...? How?" Jason raised his eyebrows high.

"Well. I'm the son of Amphitrite," Percy grinned, this time for real.

He turned toward them and lifted a finger to pause them. He grabbed the blanket to cover himself before shrugging out of his swim-shorts. Jason made a high-pitched noise, covering his face with his hands, despite the blanket covering Percy. Another high-pitched noise when Percy pushed the blanket off, just for Nico to poke Jason in the ribs to get his attention.

"Holy shit," whispered Nico in awe as he stared at Percy.

Percy self-consciously rubbed his scales. "It... happened, when I got deeper and deeper and it got darker and darker. I didn't even do it consciously, the thought of me having this power hadn't even crossed my mind, but when I was too deep for my human physiology to endure it anymore, it... changed. My body changed into this and with that, I got faster and could see in the dark."

Nico swallowed hard, grateful that he was laying behind Jason and his very obvious erection was not visible to Percy, because wow. He was quite sure he'd never seen anything more beautiful. Percy's skin had turned a soft shade of blue all over, but where his legs used to be, there was now a sleek fish-tail, its scales darker than Percy's skin, nearly an azure blue toward the tip, with baby-blue fins that were see-through. Percy tapped with his fingers against his... well, the part of his tail that would have been his thighs. Thicker now than before, narrowing down toward the fins. His nails were claws, tipped a dark purple. His pupils oval slits, reminding Nico of a shark, making him wonder if they too could do that cat and snake thing. When Percy grinned at them, they could see his round, human teeth had turned sharp and pointy like a shark's too.

"You're a merman," whispered Jason, voice fading toward the end.

"Ye—ep. Mom's son," Percy chuckled dryly. "Genuinely did not see that coming. Guess mom and dad didn't either, otherwise they would have tried to prepare me for it. I guess it really was the pressure, the... uh... live or die situation of the pressure that I... admit I did not calculate in when I started my journey to Atlantis. But now that I know how it feels to change, I... can channel it."

"That's... amazing," Nico swallowed again, trying not to have dirty thoughts.

But everything about the pretty predator in front of him was a turn-on. His fingers dug into Jason's waist, trying to hold onto his boyfriend to keep from touching Percy. Jason proved not to be helpful, because his blonde pushed back against Nico so Nico now had a perfectly shaped ass pressed against his hard erection. Not helpful. Jason grabbed Nico's hand on his waist, holding onto it.

"Why... are you guys staring so intensely? Do I look that freaky?" Percy sounded nervous now.

"You're gorgeous," blurted Jason out with wide eyes. "We're enjoying the view! There is so much going on with you like that. Let us digest this for a bit, mh?"

"G... Gorgeous, huh?" Percy blushed – he blushed purple now.

As Percy looked at them now, his pupils did do that cat thing. The black widened, eating all the blue-green color slowly until they were nearly all black. Like a kitty cat ready to pounce. His nose twitched as he tilted his head and a horrifying thought crossed Nico's mind.

"Can... you... smell..." Nico didn't dare to finish the sentence.

"That you're, uh, horny? Yeah. Yeah, I can smell really well in this form. It's even better in the water but... apparently works just fine out of the water too," Percy's blush darkened (purple. Cute).

"What," Nico cleared his throat. "What happened when you reached Atlantis?"

Change the topic. Something that would stop him from being horny. People treating Percy badly would absolutely cancel out his boner. But wow, those teeth and claws... Nico had not known he was into this kind of thing, but apparently he was. And he was into dangerous predators. Merpeople were the most dangerous predators of the ocean and ranked very high on the overall scale too. And, inexplicably, Nico found that incredibly hot. Then again, he'd known he was attracted to powerful beings, Percy and Jason considered. Still, this was new.

"People welcomed me... kindly, at first. Thought I was just a... visitor, from another colony. But when I asked for an audience, when I reached the palace and, uh, kind of barged my way in to track down at least one member of the royal family..." Percy's eyes returned to their green-blue color and they seemed to be filled with infinite sadness. "They scoffed at me, when I told them who I was. Brought me to a more private meeting room and gathered the rest of the royal family. They... told me in no uncertain terms that I was not welcomed in Atlantis, for my mother was not welcomed in Atlantis. I'm not... wanted. They called me a half-breed, said... awful things about my dad, about humans in general... How ashamed they are that their daughter, who used to be a hero to Atlantis, betrayed her own kind to lay with a filthy human... to have bastard-children..."

"Percy-" Jason reached out to grasp Percy's hand, holding it tightly.

Percy averted his eyes, not looking at either of them. It made Jason's heart clench and without even thinking about it, he pulled Percy close by the hand, until he could wrap his arms around Percy's waist to hug him close. For a moment, Percy laid surprised in his arms, before he wrapped his arms around him too. Nico reached over Jason so he could join their hug, resting an arm over Percy.

"They have no idea what they're talking about," stated Nico sincerely. "You're a wonderful person, a strong hero, a good son. Not a... What they said isn't true, not about you, not about your mother. She is a fierce and strong hero, who has saved the world many times and they should be proud of her."

Nico was better at words than Jason. All Jason could come up with was a tight throat that refused to speak words, because he was suffocating with compassion. He knew what expectations and disappointment felt like. Percy didn't deserve to feel this way. Closing his eyes tightly, Jason pressed a kiss to the top of Percy's head as the merman curled against him tightly.

"I'm sorry they were too stupid to see how amazing you are, because you're just so amazing Percy," whispered Jason when he found his voice again. "You're one of the most amazing people I've ever met and I know you'll be one of the greatest heroes this world has ever seen."

Percy in their arms was shaking with tears, face hidden in Jason's chest. All the blonde could do was gently caress Percy's back. He was cold, very cold. Well, part fish right now. So pretty. Like something out of a fairy tale, or the enchanting sirens from old that would lure sailors into their certain death, because Jason sure knew he'd run straight into a cliff to try and reach Percy right now, completely enraptured by the merman. Like Percy hadn't been pretty enough as a human!

"Thanks for saying that, Jay," whispered Percy, sniffing a bit.

"No, I'm not just saying that. You're... You're a force of nature, Percy," Jason grasped Percy by the shoulders to bring enough distance between them so he could look him in the eyes. "You... Look at you, you can turn into a merman at will. And the storm you summoned yesterday!"

"Storm?" Percy furrowed his brows in confusion.

"When you emerged from the ocean," supplied Nico, lifting his hand to cup Percy's cheek. "You... You summoned a storm. A huge storm, icy rain that flooded the streets within minutes, the waves were so bad, they licked ashore so much, we thought they'd take the camper with them. You were so upset, you... affected mother nature with your feelings, Percy. I've never seen something like that in real life, only in adaptations of the comics about our parents."

Percy swallowed nervously at that. "Oh... Uh... So... Does everybody know I did that?"

"I'm fairly sure Luke put it together, but I don't think the others did," offered Jason. "But the strange weather phenomenon has been all over the news since last night, yeah."

"Okay. Let's... keep that one under wraps, please?" Percy ducked his head. "Didn't even know I had weather powers. Thought the ocean itself was a bit too much to control..."

"Your father's nickname was not Sea King for nothing and your mother was the heir to the ocean's throne," argued Nico in a gentle voice. "You're powerful. You come from two incredibly powerful parents who unite different aspects of the same kind of power. You unite them."

"I mean, if you say it like that, it sounds kind of logical, but still," Percy wiggled his nose cutely.

"The others do know that something happened though," Jason spoke softly. "We... If you don't want to tell it again, we can give them the cliff-notes and tell them not to ask questions."

"I... Yeah. I'd appreciate that. I don't think I want to think about this again," Percy sighed.

The three laid in silence for a few minutes, Jason and Nico drinking in the sight some more. They both marveled at Percy's beauty and found an appeal to the feral nature of this form. Nico sat up, just a bit, and reached out a hand, pausing a few centimeters from Percy.

"Can... I touch it? Or is that weird?" asked Nico, eyes fixated on Percy's tail.

"Oh, yeah, no, sure," Percy shrugged and flipped his tail.

It swatted at Jason to lay square over Jason and Nico's legs. Both boys sat up as much as the low ceiling allowed it and eagerly reached for the beautiful tail. It wasn't just blue, as they noticed now that it was closer. It shimmered in what looked like a hundred shades of blue. Beautiful. Jason's touch was gentle as he ran the pads of his fingers over the scales. They were soft. Felt like a fish's skin, but softer somehow. And cold to the touch. It twitched as both Nico and Jason ran their hands over it. Jason reached for the frilled fins that reminded him of a fighter-fish, beautiful and a sign of just how deadly Percy could be. Because that was what he would be in this form. Deadly.

Percy gasped breathlessly all of a sudden and both Nico and Jason turned to him, worried they had accidentally hurt him. The fins in particular were so thin, surely they might rip easily if one wasn't careful with them. Neither of them wanted to hurt their merboy. The look on Percy's face though, it was hard to read. His cheeks were lit up a dark purple, his pupils narrow.

"Uh. Your... hand... Nico..." Percy pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes. "Not there."

Nico's hand had wandered up toward Percy's waist without Nico paying too much attention to it, but looking at it right now, he would be cupping Percy's ass. He'd been drawn by the way the scales had felt softer here. Not just soft to the touch, like smooth marble, but actually soft, giving in. His fingers had followed the scales where they slowly got softer and softer.

"Nico! Don't just-" Jason made a high-pitched noise, his own cheeks heating up.

Slowly did Nico remove his hand, unsure what he had done wrong. Percy smacked his tail at Nico lightly while the color started to face from Percy's cheeks, calming down minutely.

"You gotta like... study up on mer-anatomy," muttered Percy, not looking at Nico. "Merpeople's genitals are hidden beneath the scales, in the back and front, and uh, can be detected by it being... softer, giving in. Just... google it, or something, I am so not giving you a sex-ed class."

Nico made a horrified noise at the implication. Had he just accidentally touched Percy's privates? Closing his eyes, Nico slowly laid down on his back, hoping he would just fade into the shadows.

"I am so sorry, I didn't know," Nico covered his face with one arm.

"It... It's okay, Nico," Percy chuckled awkwardly. "I can tell it was an accident."

But also, now all Nico could think about was exploring Percy's body. Sex with a merman, what a wild thought. His cheeks turned dark red and he hoped neither of the tow boys could see it.

"Wow, you are really into the monsterfuckery, huh?" Percy blinked surprised, sniffing the air.

"Percy!" exclaimed Jason with wide eyes. "You're not a monster!"

"It's sweet that that's the part you got hung up on, Jay," Percy offered a soft smile. "I didn't mean monster like that, but monster like... I mean, come on. Look at me. I have fangs and claws and scales. Totally counts for monsterfucking, dude. And you should have gotten hung up on the part where your boyfriend seems to be into that. Jealous or something."

Jason turned toward Nico to exchange a look with him, because with Percy's nose, there was absolutely no getting out of the fact that Nico was definitely sexually attracted to him. It seemed like a better idea to come clear and actually tell Percy the thing Jason was deadly afraid to tell him, because he'd rather have Percy know that they were in love with him than have him think they were just perverts lusting after him now that he was a hot merman. Somehow, Jason seemed able to convey all of that in one look, because Nico nodded as though he understood exactly what he had wanted to say. Taking a deep breath, Nico ran his fingers through his hair.

"I mean, yeah, I am definitely surprisingly much into this," admitted Nico, embarrassment coloring his cheeks. "But I was already into you as a human, Percy."

"And I'm not jealous because I know that he likes you," added Jason with a small smile. "And... And because I like you too. Us liking you is... kind of how we got together."

"...Huh?" Percy blinked slowly and flapped his tail in confusion.

"So, funny story," Jason chuckled awkwardly. "I kind of wanted to ask you out for the Halloween party but you already had a date by then. And Nico kept glaring jealously at you and Mike during the party, so I asked him to dance with me instead and... that's how we got together."

Percy made a high-pitched noise in the back of his throat. "Wait, seriously?"

"Seriously," confirmed Nico with a small nod. "I was so jealous when you danced with Mike."

"One date! I go on one date because a guy actually asks me out and that's why the two guys I actually have a crush on started dating each other? Seriously?" Percy threw up his hands.

Then he winced because he hit the low ceiling. Nico and Jason exchanged a surprised look.

"Did you just say crush?" asked both of them at the same time.

"I mean, yes. Pathetically so," Percy pouted. "Annabeth is super annoyed about my pining."

"Okay, okay, okay," Jason lifted one finger, blinking repeatedly. "You have a crush on both of us and we both like you. Can... there be kissing now...?"

He licked his lips, a bit embarrassed about how he had just phrased that but honestly, that was the only thing he could think about. How much he wanted to kiss Percy, how long he had wanted to kiss Percy. The merboy blinked repeatedly at him, his cheeks a soft lavender.

"Kissing sounds good," Percy nodded enthusiastically, looking at Nico for permission.

"Kissing sounds good," echoed Nico eagerly.

With the smallest grin did Percy lean down and then press his lips against Jason's. They moved gently and only bolted apart when they opened their mouths to deepen their kiss. Jason winced and touched his now bleeding lip while Percy looked guilty and embarrassed, cupping his mouth.

"Fangs. I'm so sorry, I should have turned back first," whispered Percy.

"What. No. I totally want to kiss the hot merman," argued Nico with a pout.

"Monsterfucker," muttered Percy affectionately, leaning over Jason. "Watch out for the fangs."

"For now, I'm just a monsterkisser and a monsterlover," argued Nico with a teasing smirk as he slowly leaned toward Percy too. "Though I do hope I'll be a monsterfucker at one point."

Percy made a small noise at that, though anything he wanted to say was swallowed by Nico's lips. Jason huffed at just how cheesy and dorky that line had been. Honestly, he didn't entirely know if he wanted to have sex with a merman, but he definitely knew that he wanted all of Percy to be his.

"Okay, kneeling is weird and awkward with a tail," noted Percy when they parted.

"Okay, you can turn back now," Nico was panting after their kiss, pupils blown.

"Horn-dog," muttered Percy, though he sounded fond.

Grabbing the blanket, he wrapped it around his waist and then turned back human. He struggled to put his pants back on before shedding the blanket. He fidgeted with his hands as he looked at Jason and Nico as though he was considering what to do now.

"C'mere," whispered Jason, opening his arms.

Didn't even take Percy a second to dive into his arms and snuggle up to the blonde again. "Okay."

"Well... that was easy," Jason laughed softly and kissed the top of Percy's head.

"What... uh... time is it?" asked Percy after a few minutes of snuggling.

They'd shifted so Percy was laying in the middle and both Jason and Nico got to hug him and enjoy that they actually got to hold Percy now. Something that Percy seemed to be soaking up. Jason reached out for his phone to check the time, seeing that he got a couple messages from Leo, expressing concern about Percy, in the name of the others too.

"It's four AM," whispered Jason after a moment. "You didn't actually sleep all that long."

"Yeah, that is totally what I feel like too," Percy heaved a sigh.

"If you want to, you could stay here with us tonight," offered Nico. "I'm sure Leo is already asleep too anyway and you'd just wake him if you went to-"

"You could just say 'Percy, babe, I really wanna cuddle you all night long, will you stay?', you know?" offered Percy with a broad, teasing grin on his lips.

"Percy, babe, I really wanna cuddle you all night long, will you stay?" asked Nico.

A small noise escaped Percy and his cheeks turned pink. "Okay, So apparently I like being called babe. Interesting. Let's file that away for later and go to bed now, yeah?"

"Sure thing... babe," Jason grinned as he kissed Percy's cheek.

"Hey. No teasing your new boyfriend, that's rude," Percy pouted at them adorably.

"Babe, sweetheart, darling, doll, cutie..." Nico listed, watching Percy's reaction.

"Stop teasing our new boyfriend," chuckled Jason, a happy expression on his face.

Percy grumbled as he buried himself in both their embrace, still pouting.

Notes:

LOOK! They're officially together! Only took me, fuck me, 18 chapters. Ooops. xD Also, neither merman!Percy nor monsterfucker!Nico were planned. Those just... happened.. xD" Next chapter, Percy's going back home and he has things to tell his parents

Chapter 19: End of the First Year

Chapter 19: End of the First Year

Paul and Sally exchanged a confused and curious look before they returned to watching their son pace. The boys had returned from their road-trip today and after unpacking, Percy requested his parents to come to the living room to talk and, apparently, he had also texted Triton.

"You never willingly want me to come over," commented Triton pointedly. "What's wrong?"

"So... When I was..." Percy paused and licked his lips. "Did you guys watch the news? A couple days ago, the... freak weather incident in Miami?"

"Of course," Paul frowned. "The current theory is a new villain, who controls the weather."

"Well, uh, I'm not a villain?" Percy ruffled his hair.

"That... That was you?" Sally blinked repeatedly. "But that storm, that was something Poseidon would use in his prime. You could just... do that? Did you mean to do that?"

"Well... no..." Percy averted his eyes embarrassed. "I... I did something stupid. I went to visit... Atlantis. Your family. And... they... weren't happy to see me. Apparently, I was very upset when I emerged from the ocean and my mood... affected the weather."

Within a split-second, Sally was out of her seat and pulled Percy into a tight hug. He clung onto her as he felt tears welling up in his eyes again. His mother cooed softly, caressing his back.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie," whispered Sally, eyes squeezed shut. "I'm sorry they hurt you. I always hoped... I hoped they would never get the chance to hurt my children the way they hurt me..."

"I'm sorry I snuck around behind your back," Percy buried his face in her neck. "I just... I thought... But I should have told you that I'm... I shouldn't have gone..."

"No, no, no. It's not your fault," Sally's voice was firm. "It is not your fault that you wanted to meet your family. That you thought... they would be better people than they are. It's not your fault that you believe in people. You're a good person, Percy. A kind person."

"The... powers..." Paul cleared his throat. "I'll teach you how to control the weather, now that we know you have this power. I... didn't think you would. It's always been a secondary power for me."

"Uhm... So on the power thing... There's something else going on," Percy blushed. "That's why I wanted Tri to be here too, so maybe he can check his own power-range too."

"What else could you possibly do? I'm pretty sure you have a check-mark next to every power of ours at this point," Paul looked exasperated. "That's... There's not much left."

"Yeah... I turned into a merman when I swam to Atlantis."

"I want that power too," stated Triton with a surprised look on his face.

"It kind of just... happened, when I dove too deep. Like my body reacted on autopilot."

"I really didn't think you could do that," admitted Sally surprised. "I had the hopes. When I put you boys into the bath for the very first time as toddlers, I thought turning would be instinctive. It's... Part of the reason why we go to Montauk every summer was that I had hoped this would come to you at one point, but it never happened and I gave up on that..."

"Yeah, apparently, it needs deep pressure to trigger the body to do it, but... once you do you, it's actually really easy? I can do it on command now," replied Percy with a grin.

"That's... That's amazing, sweetie," whispered Sally as she smoothed down his hair.

"And uh, something else happened?" Percy blushed furiously.

Paul looked mildly mortified. "What else? You were gone less than a week!"

"I think I now have... two boyfriends..." Percy ruffled his own hair.

"Two? How? Two?" asked Triton stunned. "Who?"

"Uhm... So... Nico di Angelo... and... Jason Grace...?" Percy ducked his head embarrassed.

"That's... That's the sons of Hades and Zeus..." Paul trailed off slowly. "...I don't know what to say."

"As long as they treat you right and make you happy, sweetie," said Sally with a smile.

Finally did Percy relax. He leaned into his mom, getting another hug from her and from Paul.

/break\

Nico was surprised when he opened his dorm-room's door to find an unexpected son of Poseidon in front of him. Triton Jackson stood in front of him, a deep glare on his face, arms crossed over his chest. When Nico simply stared for a couple seconds, Jason approached him from behind. The two had been busy making out while waiting for Percy to arrive. Their new boyfriend had texted them that his big brother was dropping him off at the dorms on his way home.

"Uhm... You... What can we do for you, Triton?" asked Nico after another few moments.

"You two," Triton sounded surprisingly threatening. "If you hurt my baby brother, if you make him sad or cry, if you do anything to upset him, I will end you. Am I understood?"

"Y... Yes, sir," forced Jason out, swallowing hard.

"Tri, why are you here? Go home. Shoo, those are mine."

All three of them turned to look at Percy as he came jogging down the hall toward them. Instantly did Triton's demeanor change. He looked non-threatening and smirked teasingly at his brother.

"Just wanted to meet the new men... well, boys, in your life," replied Triton and ruffled Percy's hair roughly. "Have to warn them that their taste in men sucks and that you're an annoying pipsqueak."

"Stupid big brother," Percy grunted and swatted at his hands. "Go away!"

Nico and Jason exchanged a long, meaningful glance. Though then they got distracted by their boyfriend, because Percy grabbed their hands and pulled them inside before kissing their cheeks, first Jason and then Nico. The smile on his lips was so bright and happy, it made them forget everything else. Instead, they just leaned in to kiss Percy's cheeks from either side.

/break\

The rest of the school year seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Aside from exams, they seemed to stretch on for at least three years. But now that they had a routine to things, classes came easier, training came easier. The teams grew closer, learned to fight alongside each other. Even Nico learned that he could share his burden with Reyna and Frank, rely on them.

The weird thing was that their relationship seemed to come so easy to them too. Or at least that was weird to Percy. He had never really had a boyfriend before, much less two of them. But being with Nico and Jason was so easy. Just being with them, in their space, made him feel better. Stronger. He hoped he gave them the same feeling, but every time Jason would rest his head on Percy's thigh and sigh contently, every time Nico pulled him into a kiss and wrapped his arms around him and seemed to relax for the first time of the day, Percy thought he might.

"I can't believe we survived our first year," whispered Percy in awe.

They were at the di Angelo mansion to celebrate the end of their first year. Not just Percy and his boyfriends, but also their other first year friends. Grover and Juniper were inspecting the beautiful roses Maria di Angelo kept out here in the garden, both holding hands and whispering softly. Rachel laid sprawled out on a sun-chair, wearing a yellow bikini and enjoying the sun, with Lou Ellen, Annabeth and Reyna next to her, doing the same. Will, Cecil, Frank and Leo were in the pool playing water-ball. If Percy remembered it correctly, Hazel had led Piper off to the stables about ten minutes ago to show her horse to her girlfriend and maybe to make out. Though they had been dating for five months now, Hazel was still easily flustered, which was kind of cute.

"I can believe it. We're pretty great," offered Jason with a broad grin.

Jason was on a yellow air mattress, with Percy having his arms folded on top of it, the rest of him in the water, kicking his legs back and forth. With a grin did Percy lean in to kiss Jason softly.

"Where's our Nico?" asked Percy curiously, looking around.

"Your Nico is bringing sandwiches and more drinks," announced Nico as he approached them.

Percy cheered as he swam over to climb out of the pool. Nico put down a cooler with bottles of drinks and then he put a plate stacked high with sandwiches onto the table. Before grabbing a bacon sandwich, Percy pecked Nico's cheek. Food was a good way to bribe him.

"Ah, you're the best, Nick," Percy grinned pleased. "You're so thoughtful."

"What's everybody's plans for the summer?" asked Grover as him and Juniper approached.

They grabbed sandwiches and sat down together. Even the four ball-players got out of the water. After a while, food just sounded like a great idea. The group relaxed with each other as they ate.

"The same as every year," stated Percy. "My family always rents a cabin in Montauk."

"We're going to New Orleans," replied Nico. "Mom and dad try to not let Hazel lose her connection to her parents and to the old friends she still has there, so we try to go regularly."

"Hera wants me to return home for the summer to train under my father some more..." Jason sighed. "But... I... I told her no. And that I'd be spending the summer with mom and Tristan."

"You... told your wicked stepmom no?" Leo stared in surprise and nudged his best friend. "Good for you! I'm so proud of you, Jay. You gained so much confidence since coming here."

Percy smiled proudly at his blonde, though then his smile faltered just a little. That meant Jason would be all the way in Los Angeles and Nico in New Orleans, out of reach. No seeing his boyfriends. Ever since they had gotten together, they had gotten to spend every single day together. Somehow, Percy didn't entirely know if their relationship could last through not seeing each other for two months. A weird sense of anxiety overtook him at the thought. They were so used to being in each other's spaces. What if they couldn't make it work when they didn't see each other...?

"This is nice, we should do it more often, not just to celebrate the end of the year," declared Rachel. "Just, come here and hang out occasionally. It's not that far away from the school."

"Agreed," Reyna sighed as she laid back down on the sun-chair. "The pool is a nice touch."

"Hey, you're all welcome to hang out anytime," offered Nico with a grin.

"Oka—ay. Now that I am sated and happy, time to swim!" declared Percy eagerly.

He stuffed the last piece of sandwich into his mouth and then jumped into the pool, quickly shuffling out of his swim-pants and changing into his mer-form. Closing his eyes contently, he sank to the bottom of the pool for a couple of minutes, just enjoying the feeling of the water.

"Perce, I will never get over how cool your merman form is," declared Leo when Percy emerged.

Laughing, Percy jumped high into the air, flipping his tail. Of course did his friends know about his merman-form, but only them. He didn't want it to be public knowledge just now, because he feared that it might accidentally give away his parents' secrets.

"I want to be updated on everybody's summer while I'm stuck in New York, bored out of my mind," demanded Leo after a while. "I had plans on visiting my dad, but I guess it'll just be... me helping out mom at the shop. And with all my friends gone, I will die of boredom."

"Not everyone will be gone," offered Frank, a light flush on his cheeks. "I'm not leaving."

"Oh," Leo blinked a couple of times. "So... We could hang out during the summer then."

"Yeah. Yeah, we could," Frank offered him a small grin.

The rest of the afternoon seemed so slow and lazy but fun. One by one their friends left, until it were just Nico, Percy and Jason. Even Hazel had left, offering to bring her girlfriend back to the dorms, which was dorky and cute, but it left Nico all alone with his boyfriends.

"You look so gorgeous as a merman," whispered Nico as he jumped into the pool.

Percy paused in his endless swimming of circles. He allowed the Italian to corner him against the pool's wall, Nico's hands on either side of him. When he turned around, he was surprised to see Jason sit down on the edge of the pool, with his knees on either side of Percy's head now.

"You know how horny Nico's been all afternoon, watching you swim in your mer-form?" asked Jason teasingly, running his fingers through Percy's hair. "He's been whispering dirty, dirty filth into my ear for like two hours now. And... I think... This is the first time the three of us are all alone while you're a merman, you know? And... There's things... Nico wants to do that I wouldn't mind... watching, you know. If, uh, that's okay, of course."

It was cute to see Jason flush. They'd done plenty of stuff in the past five months. Hand-jobs, blowjobs, they'd even had sex, though only like trice maybe. This, however, was different.

"You look like you would be very into that," noted Percy, staring straight ahead.

Staring at Jason's dick tenting the blonde's swim-pants. The blonde blushed embarrassed, which was really cute because they had done this before. Making direct eye-contact with Jason, Percy slowly reached into the blonde's pants and freed his dick, jerking it a few times to get it fully hard.

"I would like to suck you off right now, but genuinely don't think that is a good idea while I'm a merman," offered Percy, smiling brightly to show off his fangs.

"Y... Yeah. Yeah, let's maybe not," agreed Jason with a blush. "Uhm. Yeah. I'll take a hand-job."

Percy laughed softly and pushed himself up some, arms on Jason's thighs, fingers still around Jason's cock and jerking him faster now. He turned his head to look at Nico behind him.

"And you... really want to fuck me looking like this? I mean... I know I've been teasingly calling you a monsterfucker, but..." Percy licked his lips slowly. "I'm not opposing it, I just..."

"I want to so badly," whispered Nico longingly. "Can I? Please?"

Grinning like a sated cat, Percy pushed his ass back against Nico. They were in the shallow end of the pool, so Nico could stand behind Percy and didn't have to concentrate on keeping himself afloat. Slowly, Nico cupped Percy's ass, letting his fingers wander toward where the scales grew softer and softer until he found the spot. The messaging grew more intense, rubbing hard against it.

"I... I've been reading up on it," admitted Nico with a flush. "Uh, mer-anatomy."

"Studying, or reading porn?" wondered Jason, earning a glare from Nico. "What? Valid, right?"

Nico kept glaring but he also blushed, so both his boyfriends knew the answer was 'both'. Percy had always wondered if he'd end up with someone kinky, or if he was kinky, because he had practically no experience at all. But he had most definitely not expected monsterfuckery. Or to be the monster, in this fuckery. Not that he minded. Honestly, he was quite curious how it'd feel in this body too. He knew what his boyfriends' dicks felt up his ass and in his hands and his mouth, but this? New.

"Relax for me, oceanuccio," whispered Nico darkly, pressing into the soft scales.

Percy smiled and leaned forward. Just because he couldn't suck Jason off didn't mean he couldn't lick it. Jason gasped when Percy's tongue licked over the head of his cock while the son of Poseidon jerked him off. Nico all the while slipped a finger into Percy, feeling how soft and wet his insides were. He wiggled his finger around carefully, easing his way in deeper. Only when Percy started moaning did he add a second finger. It wasn't much different from fucking his human boyfriends, be careful, ease him open. Though the hole opened easier than either of their asses, this one quite literally being made to be taken. Nico could easily add a third finger to open him up.

"Look at you," whispered Nico in awe. "Look how well you're sucking me in, babe."

Percy moaned, pressing a kiss to Jason's cock. With a gasp did Jason come. He had a thing for Nico dirty-talking and if he also had Percy's hands and mouth on his dick like that... That was too much. Though he blushed embarrassed when Percy tilted his head back to look up at him, face covered in Jason's cum. The white looked really pretty on his blue skin. With a predatory grin did Percy lick his lips, licking the cum that pearled on his dark-blue lips off.

"I'm sorry, I should have given you a warning," Jason covered his face in embarrassment. "God, that looks way too hot. Which, I am also sorry for, but damn."

"Perverts, the both of you," muttered Percy affectionately.

And then he whined, because Nico pulled out. Turning his head, he glared at the other boy. Nico blinked repeatedly as he now got the view on Percy's face, covered in Jason's cum like that.

"Yeah, no, Jay's right. That is way too hot," agreed Nico. "And don't whine at me, I can't really fuck you while your hole's full with my fingers, can I?"

"You're so crass," muttered Percy. "But fine, yeah. You're right."

Nico grasped his waist, appreciating the way Percy's scales felt beneath his finger-tips. And then he finally got to ease his dick into the pretty merboy. He was slow and gentle, which took him a lot of self-control, because it felt so fascinating. Wet and kind of cold, but good. Tight. Nico startled a little when Percy wrapped his tail around Nico's leg to hold onto him. Right, merpeople entangled their tails during intercourse. Nico grinned, finally bottoming out, flush against Percy.

"Move," hissed Percy, pushing against Nico. "Move, Nick, please."

"You're so pretty when you beg," Nico sighed with a small grin.

"And you're so much kinkier than I expected when we first got together," commented Jason dryly.

In reply, Nico offered him a shark-like grin and then snapped his hips. Percy gasped out in surprise, wrapping his arms around Jason's waist to hold onto the blonde desperately. Nico started thrusting hard, enjoying the feeling of Percy's scales rubbing against his skin.

"What does it feel like, Perce?" asked Jason, playing with Percy's hair. "Different, or the same?"

"D... Different. Much... more. It feels more," Percy gasped out. "Harder, Nico, please, harder."

Nico happily obeyed, thrusting hard and deep, loving the way Percy squeezed down on him, until he came deep inside the merboy quickly. Percy's tail tightened around his leg, clinging on for dear life as the merboy came untouched. He collapsed forward, resting his cheek on Jason's thigh.

"I'm gonna miss you two so much," whispered Percy without meaning to. "During the summer."

"Hey. Summer's not that long," Jason smiled down at him. "I'll miss you too, but we can call and text and have video-chats and you can send us pictures from the beach."

"That's not enough," groaned Nico, face buried between Percy's shoulder-blades. "I want to touch you, to kiss you, to fuck you, how am I supposed to survive two months without you?"

He was still inside Percy, enjoying the feeling even though he had grown soft. Percy wiggled his butt teasingly, turning to look at him amused so he could watch Nico pout. At least he wasn't alone in his worries about missing the others. Maybe they would be fine even with the summer.

/break\

Frank looked around the shop curiously. He'd never really been to a car-shop before, what with him not having a car and all. The place was surprisingly neat, somehow he had expected clutter. A tall, beautiful Latina woman with broad curls and strong arms stood leaning over the hood of one car.

"New customers usually wait in the shop, kid," commented the woman. "And you're a bit young."

"I. Uh. I'm Frank. I'm... a friend of Leo's. We wanted to... hang out," Frank flushed.

The woman turned to face him and Frank noticed she had the same almond eyes as Leo. "Ah. You're the kid my son can't shut up about. I'm Esperanza Valdez, Leo's mom."

She wiped her hand off on her pants and then shook Frank's before turning toward the back of the garage and shouting loudly. "Leo! Your boyfriend's here! If you finished your parts, you can go on your little date, but be home for dinner, okay?"

"Not a boyfriend! Not a date! Mo—om!" Leo came running toward them flustered.

At that, Esperanza frowned confused and looked Frank up and down. "Why not? What's wrong with this one? He seems fine to me. Or wait. What do you think is wrong with my son?"

"N... Nothing is wrong with Leo, ma'am, he's awesome," Frank flushed awkwardly.

"Mom, stop being embarrassing," Leo groaned and covered his face. "Come, Frank. Quickly."

"It's okay if you want to introduce me to a boyfriend, you know," called Esperanza after them.

Leo continued groaning, as flustered as Frank while the two of them ran out of the shop. Frank's heart was racing at the thought of Leo's mom thinking he was Leo's boyfriend. Maybe one day.

Notes:

It was due time their first year gets wrapped :D" Next chapter, we're going into year two!

Chapter 20: Year Two

Chapter 20: Year Two

"This is the best thing ever!" exclaimed Tyson in bright-eyed excitement.

He was swimming circles around his dad at such a speed that Paul gave up trying to follow. Instead, the former hero simply laughed in amusement. They were spending their summer at Montauk, in their vacation home. And thanks to their private patch of beach, their sons could truly experience their mer-forms. So far, no opportunity had arisen to test it for Triton and Tyson – they hadn't told Tyson at all at first, because they knew the boy would want to try it right away. But the summer, the ocean, it was perfect. And it turned out that all three of their sons were blessed with the ability to shapeshift into mermen. Then again, it made sense. Sally wasn't any mere mermaid, she was of royal, strong blood. They were half-mer, not some long-lost descendants. Paul smiled proudly.

"You're adorable, Ty," Percy laughed as he grabbed his brother around the waist.

Tyson's scales were a color somewhere between orange and brown, with patterns like a carp. Triton's tail was turquoise, the scales darker and the rest of his skin a soft teal-color.

"You looking forward to your second year, sweetie?" asked Sally.

She looked amazing. Percy was so happy that he finally got to see his mom's mermaid-form too. He'd known that Amphitrite was a mermaid, had seen it in the comics, but it just had not occurred to him that his mom was a mermaid, until he himself turned into one. Her colors were pink, vibrant, with purple squiggly stripes down her sides. Sally smiled at him, smoothing down his hair.

"I'm looking forward to seeing my boyfriends again," stated Percy with a pout. "Video-calls are not the same as seeing them in person. Also, year two means we get to visit Olympus and learn from real heroes, observing them. Any chance Amphitrite comes out of retirement for a lesson?"

Sally tilted her head and tapped her chin thoughtfully, a mirthful expression on her face. "Mh..."

"Wait, seriously?" Percy perked up in excitement, offering large eyes to his mom.

"We'll see about it. It wouldn't be unheard of for retired heroes to guest-lecture at the school, after all. And as far as I know, there aren't any water-based superheroes currently active in this state. Flying someone in from somewhere else will only be expensive and cost the hero too much time..."

"You are the best, mom," Percy grinned as he threw himself at Sally, hugging her tightly.

/break\

"Ne—eks," Jason gasped out as his back hit the door. "I missed you too, but ouch."

Nico had him pinned, kissing along his jawline and nibbling a little. "Been too long. Missed you. Missed touching and kissing you. Missed our Percy too, but he'll only get here tomorrow..."

A soft laugh escaped Jason and he bared his neck to his boyfriend. The next moment, Nico was tugging on his shirt urgently. Jason's smile turned into a pleased grin as he lifted his arms. They had talked nearly every day, or at the very least texted. But after having spent the first five months of their relationship seeing each other every day, Jason found himself yearning for their touch. It had been such a natural part of their relationship, Jason would sit curled together on Nico's lap while studying, or lay with his head resting in Percy's lap while napping during a break. Kissing, caressing each other, fucking. Jason gasped strangled when Nico pulled down his pants.

"God, I love you so much," whispered Nico as he kissed along Jason's chest.

"I love you too," Jason's ears turned red. "But what about your roommates-?"

"They are all either out or haven't arrived yet," replied Nico, a shark-like grin on his lips. "You and this room are all mine. Now, what do you want...?"

Oh god, what did he want? He wanted his boyfriend, right now. Jason groaned and pulled Nico into a deep, hungry kiss, his fingers clawing at Nico's shoulders. Suddenly, his lover jumped a little and gasped into their kiss. Jason quickly pulled his hands back and blushed embarrassed. Sometimes, he'd give his boyfriends slight electric shocks when he was too excited to contain his powers.

"It's okay, cieluccio," whispered Nico with an amused smile. "But... maybe bed?"

Jason nodded sharply and struggled with his clothes as he stumbled toward Nico's bed. He landed in a heap as he stumbled over his boxers while shrugging them off. Nico made an appreciative sound as Jason landed ass-up. Getting a little more comfortable, Jason also parted his knees, wiggling his ass in invitation. Nico licked his lips slowly as he knelt behind Jason after getting the lube out of his nightstand. He was already painfully hard just thinking about being inside one of his boyfriends again, it had been far too many weeks since he last got to be intimate with them.

"Relax for me, babe," whispered Nico when Jason tensed up after he put a finger in.

He was careful in his movement, crooking his finger and easing in another. When he first brushed against Jason's prostate, the blonde started relaxing beneath him – and started moaning sweetly. Smiling, Nico kissed Jason's right butt-cheek. And then he bit it, because it was so tempting.

"No biting," hissed Jason annoyed with a glare, cheeks flushed.

With the most unapologetic smile did Nico pull his fingers out and instead lube his cock up. He loved the way Jason looked like that, on all four, with his hole gaping greedily. Licking his lips, Nico lined himself up with that hole, gently easing the tip of his cock in. His eyelids fluttered shut as more and more of his cock entered his lover. The patience didn't last long, because it felt just too good to be inside Jason. He gripped Jason's waist tightly as he started thrusting with sharp, hard motions. Jason started moaning again, louder and deeper this time, fingers clawed into the pillow.

"Ne—eks," Jason whined sweetly for him. "I gotta come, I really gotta come."

Grunting in confirmation that he'd heard his blonde, Nico let go of his waist with one hand and wrapped his fingers around Jason's dick to jerk him off in time with his thrusts until Jason was moaning shamelessly. He loved those sounds. Loved it even more if he got a duet of Jason's moans and Percy's whines. They sounded best together. All too soon did Jason come into Nico's awaiting hand. As he felt Jason squeeze down on his dick, Nico couldn't hold back any longer either. With a final, deep thrust did he fill his boyfriend with cum, moaning hoarsely. Jason made that cute little squeaky noise he always made when Nico came inside him. Grinning, Nico kissed his shoulder.

"I missed you a lot, blondie," stated Nico as he pulled out, admiring his handy-work for a second.

Pleased with himself did Nico lay down next to Jason on the bed. While the blonde cuddled up to him, Nico took his phone to take a quick picture of the two of them, shirtless and looked pleased, sending it to Percy with a quick 'look what ur missing out on'.

"That's just mean," Jason huffed amused, kissing Nico's cheek. "I missed you too."

/break\

Nico smirked a little to himself as he observed Frank, all flustered as he held hands with Leo. That had been a curious outcome of the summer. Apparently, having no other friends to hide behind, those two finally confronted their feelings. It was cute, they were both so flustered around each other. Nico returned his attention to his own boyfriends after a moment. They still weren't very huge on PDA, because Jason had come out as bisexual and his relationship with Nico had already been public – the winter gala last year had been a prominent event, after all. But a polyamorous relationship seemed a bit too daring to be public. Sometimes, Nico worried if Percy was really okay with that, but the son of Poseidon kept reassuring them that he was. They wouldn't keep it a secret forever, but Jason was still getting comfortable about being out.

"The seventies were an offense against mankind," stated Nico dryly.

"Mh... I don't know. The white-golden suit with that deep cut... I think Jay would look hot in that."

"No, Percy, I will not wear my dad's dreadful disco era costume," declared Jason in a firm voice.

They were on Olympus, because that was something second years did. Learning hands-on from active heroes, visiting agencies and public-known headquarters to familiarize themselves with the inner workings of what a hero's life really looked like. Chiron cleared his throat, gaining the attention of his students. They were currently in a public section of Olympus – there was a museum that had been established two decades ago already, displaying old costumes, weapons, trophies from fights. What Percy was looking forward to was getting to the off-limits parts though.

"I'm sure many of you have already been to the Olympian Museum," started Chiron as he paced in front of the displayed costumes. "But today, we're going further than civilians are usually allowed."

Percy was bouncing on the balls of his feet, clinging onto Jason's arm and tugging a little. The blonde smiled fondly at his boyfriend, so very tempted to just kiss Percy right here and now. Then Chiron started walking and they all followed and the moment was gone, thankfully enough. It became harder and harder to not be public with Percy, now that the summer was over. Before that? It had been kind of easy, or easier, because they had only been together for five months and Jason had been so nervous about being out as bi already. The two months of summer, of not being able to have physical contact with either of them, only made the yearning harder. Not to mention that the majority of shit he had gotten for coming out had calmed down over the months. Sure, there would always be bigoted people who couldn't accept that Zeus' son was queer, but the brunt force of it, the initial shock so to speak, had passed. Maybe, just maybe, he should talk to his boyfriends about where they wanted to take their relationship going forward. If they, all three of them, were ready to be out about it. Because he really wanted to be able to kiss them both whenever he so desired.

"Welcome to the headquarters of the Olympians," announced Chiron after opening a secret door.

Hand-scan, iris-scan, a code to be typed in. It sure was secure. Jason clung onto Nico's hand and gaped in surprise as he saw who was waiting for them inside. Seriously?

"Ahahaha. Those are our youngsters then? The future?" Zeus laughed delighted.

And then he zoomed in on Jason, his laughter picking up as he went to ruffle his son's hair. Urgh, how embarrassing. Jason flushed and ducked his head, trying to get out of the ruffling. Meanwhile, his boyfriends just wandered off to check out the meeting hall of the Olympians.

"There aren't many of the original Olympians still active," stated Chiron. "The team has come apart many years ago, as you are surely all aware. Nowadays, Olympus serves as a headquarters for whatever team is visiting New York, and as a means of coming together for temporary team-ups."

"Hello, children," greeted an elderly man as they continued to the next room. "I'm Howard Claymore. I'm one of many communications agents working on a rotation on Olympus, to keep the channels open for heroes all over the US. I'm fairly sure you know my son, Alabaster."

At that, Nico turned toward the man. So that was Alabaster's father? He had to get a moment alone with the man, see if he could get any embarrassing childhood stories about his dorm-mate.

"You're all second years now," stated Chiron loudly, causing all chatter to cease. "In your first year, you have started to form teams and learn to work together. Now, you will learn from the pros. You will come here once a week, in sets of three teams each. You all got your schedule so you know when it's your turn. While you are here, you will listen to whatever agent is in charge that day. You are strictly here to observe. Don't touch anything, don't bother the heroes. You'll use your time here to listen in on real heroes making attack plans before going on a mission, you'll observe the fights in the control center here, on the screens, and you'll sit in on mission debriefings. If the heroes on call feel up to it and open a conversation, you'll get to ask questions afterward."

"Not every hero is very social or into training the next generation," added Howard. "So this isn't a given. Sometimes, missions are also very... hard on the heroes."

"Do you all understand these rules?" asked Chiron seriously.

"Yes, sir," chorused the entire class, some more eager than others.

/break\

"Okay. I'm going to post it now," whispered Jason tensely, finger hovering above the button.

Nico was on one side of him, Percy on the other. Jason was holding his breath as he hit 'post'. A picture of the three of them together, Jason in the middle, with Percy nosing his cheek from one side, smiling brightly, and Nico on his other. Captioned me and my boyfriends persea_jackson nico_di_angeLOL hanging out #polyamory #boyfriends #legacy. As soon as he post it, he quickly closed the laptop and collapsed backward, covering his face with both hands. He'd done it. They'd done it. Nico and Percy quickly followed in lying down on either side of him, snuggling up to him.

"So I can have kisses in public now too?" asked Percy with a small smile.

"You can have all of the kisses that you want," declared Jason and stole a kiss from Percy.

"So... on a scale of one to ten, just how bad are you at being on Olympus, Perce?"

"Shut up," Percy glared at Nico, though he blushed brightly. "I'm really trying, but it's super hard not to ask questions when real-life superheroes are right there! And I have so many questions."

"You're so adorable," Jason laughed softly. "You went full fanboy on Apollo, I heard."

Percy's face turned tomato-red and he buried it in Jason's chest. "Shut up, you're both awful."

"I love you so much, you nerd," whispered Nico as he leaned over Jason to kiss Percy.

"I just wanna learn," Percy pouted softly. "I want to know everything I'll need to know."

"I know, future leader of the Olympians," Jason smiled proudly at him. "You'll do great."

"I'm so exhausted," muttered Percy after a few moments. "I always knew it'd be a lot of work, becoming a hero. But I'm feeling kind of stretched thin. The second year is... so much harder."

"Yes, it is," agreed Jason with a tired sigh. "And I don't even want to be a hero."

Most who only were here to learn how to control their powers did one year and then changed school, because they had no use for the harder hero training. Jason did not have that luxury. There was telling his dad he wasn't going to be a hero and then there was dropping out of hero school before graduation. And it wasn't impossible. Besides, he had his boyfriends and his friends here. Their relationship would definitely be tougher if Jason went to a different school, because the hero course had such a hard load. No, for now Jason wanted to enjoy the time with the others.

"I'm missing the third years," whispered Percy softly.

"Yeah, I wonder how they're doing," Nico rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling. "I mean, I know Bianca and Thalia are having the time of their life backpacking through Europe."

"I would like to be backpacking through Europe too," Jason sighed. "Did you hear from others?"

"Mhmh," Percy adjusted himself to lay half on top of them both. "Luke took an internship with the Detroit speedster. Silena and Beckendorf started working at their respective parents' businesses."

"Makes you think more about the future too, mh," Nico frowned thoughtfully, running his fingers through Percy's hair. "Everyone's starting to think about what they want to do after graduation."

"Can't believe how close it feels," Percy blinked in awe. "I mean, in the blink of an eye, our second year is going to be over? And then we will be third years? Kinda terrifying."

Both Nico and Jason hummed in agreement at that, huddling closer together.

/break\

"You're in a foul mood today," whispered Percy as he leaned closer toward his best friend.

"Broke up with Nyssa," muttered Annabeth with a glare. "It didn't work out."

"You are really bad at this whole relationship-thing," commented Percy. "No offense."

"Offense taken," Annabeth heaved a sigh. "I just want... I don't know what I want. Someone who understands me, who challenges me intellectually. Someone..."

She trailed off and made a vague motion, a frustrated look on her face. Before the two of them could continue their conversation did Reyna put a book down on Annabeth's desk, pushing it toward the blonde and grinning at her. Annabeth made a small noise as she accepted the book.

"After our conversation yesterday, I thought that this book would hit the spot," offered Reyna.

"That is so thoughtful, I meant to read this for a while, thank you," Annabeth smiled blindingly.

Percy raised his eyebrows as he leaned back. How long was it going to take Annabeth to realize that a gorgeous and brilliant bisexual was buying her books? That was nerd courting times ten, come on!He had no plans on interfering though; her love life was Annabeth's and she needed to figure out who she liked and who she wanted to spend time with romantically.

"Welcome to your hero course, kids," the class fell silent as the guest teacher entered. "I'm Amphitrite. I used to be an allied hero to the Olympians, the partner of Poseidon."

It was very hard to contain his glee at seeing his mom in her superhero suit – she'd been super proud when trying it on to see if it still fit. A coral-colored suit that looked similar to a dive-suit, with purple shell decorations along the collar and one shell on her forehead, on the mask that covered the upper half of her head, with purple-glassed goggles set into the mask. Percy knew they had different settings, like night vision and infra red. Knowing in theory that his parents were Poseidon and Amphitrite was something different than actually seeing one of his parents in costume.

"I hear that you have an exceptionally strong water-user among you," stated Amphitrite, looking subtly at Percy. "So I decided to check your grade out myself. Today, and for the next two weeks, we are going to learn how to fight in water. Water resistance is something many heroes do not calculate with and even as non-water-users, you are going to face dangers in water. Since today's the first day, we're going to the pool for now, but we will be going to the beach starting next class."

Percy was buzzing with excitement. That sounded so amazing. His mom hadn't shared with him yet what exactly she had planned for the class she was going to teach. Honestly, this class was his favorite anyway? They had a rotating roster of teachers, of heroes both active and former, who taught them in the classroom. Percy was grinning the whole way to the pool.

"Teacher's pet," whispered Grover teasingly, elbowing his best friend.

Percy ducked his head, flushing a little. They got changed and came to find Amphitrite in the pool area, standing on top of the water. She smiled at them and waited until everyone was gathered.

"Which one of you is the water-user?" asked Sally, not looking at her son.

"Me! That's me, ma'am!" Percy nearly fell over in his eagerness. "Percy Jackson, that's me."

"Slow down and then come to me," Sally smiled, trying her best not to look fond. "Can you walk on water, Mister Jackson, or do you need me to come to you?"

If he'd stop being nervous for just a second, he could actually concentrate enough to do it. It wasn't any different than summoning his armor or trident; solidifying water. While he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm down, he could feel Jason pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"You got this, babe," whispered the blonde. "Go be a badass example for us."

Percy bit his lips hard and flushed before walking over to his mom. Not his mom right now. The famed, amazing hero Amphitrite. She straightened up and looked him dead in the eyes. There was a seriousness to her that Percy wasn't entirely used to, but he supposed his mom had slipped into her superhero mind-space. Percy had to focus on being a student right now, not a son or fanboy.

"Help me lift the water up to reach our shoulders," instructed Amphitrite. "I want to demonstrate some basic underwater moves so everyone can see them, okay?"

Percy nodded sharply and helped his mom lift most of the pool to surround them from all sides. Fighting in the water was something even Percy didn't really have much experience with, because he had no one to spar with that way and honestly, it hadn't entirely occurred to him yet? He took the water to fight with it, but to fight a villain under water? That... was definitely something he was going to do in the future, as a hero of the ocean. Even if the royal family of the ocean didn't want him. He was going to make them regret their words and show them his power.

Notes:

Look at Percy, getting to train with his mom! And yes, Annabeth is being kind of a useless lesbian :/ She's book smart, not emotionally smart, okay? v_V

Chapter 21: The Final Year

Chapter 21: The Final Year

The second year was much tougher than the first year. Even Percy, who had always straightened up and faced this head-on knowing it was a challenge, knew that. Or maybe it was just that tough for him because he actually took this seriously?

"Many have taken it much more chill than you," confirmed Leo amused.

"How?" asked Percy baffled, turning toward the firebug. "I mean, genuinely, how do you take this chill? This is hero business. It's such a huge chance. We're learning hands-on from actual heroes, people who make the news regularly, who save lives every day."

The two of them were at the Valdez car-shop. Because Percy was getting a car for his seventeenth birthday – but it needed work first. That was his dad's condition to him getting the car. So he'd used the baby seal eyes on Leo and the two worked on it together. Since the school year was over and the Jacksons were going to leave for their summer vacation tomorrow, this was the last time Percy got to work on it. The first day out of school after the second year wrapped.

"Dude," Leo pushed out from underneath the car so he could stare pointedly at him. "You have high ambitions. Most here will be fine with just a job at a free agency, or going into law enforcement. Many don't even want to be heroes at all. It's enough to do what's expected, but you go above and beyond, you're super diligent which is kinda terrifying to watch."

Percy shrugged awkwardly at that. He wouldn't really say that. He'd never really seen himself as that much of a hard worker, he just did what was asked of him. But okay, perhaps, he was putting more pressure on himself by not wanting to let anyone down. With a groan did he collapse backward onto the hood of his blue car. He really needed a break. This break; summer break.

/break\

"You. Are. Such. A. Cheat," Percy punctuated each word with a kiss.

"I know," whispered Nico back with a cheeky grin. "Hey. I can travel through the shadows. No need to stay away from my boyfriends for too long. And I've gotten stronger over the past year."

A year ago, they had to stay apart during the summer. But Nico truly had gotten better control of his powers and his stamina also improved. He could travel to Montauk through the shadows, stay for an hour or two to be with Percy before returning back to his family before dinner. A year ago, he couldn't have done that, he could shadow-travel maybe once a day, because it drained him so much – and they didn't take Mrs. O'Leary onto vacations so there was no using her either.

"Ye—es. Stronger," agreed Percy, giving Nico's biceps a squeeze. "Much stronger."

"Horny bastard," Nico sounded so fond as he kissed Percy. "I'll go see Jay tomorrow."

"Give him lots of kisses and a blowjob from me," requested Percy with a pout.

"Don't pout. You'll get to see Jay again once summer is over too, it's not that long."

"Perseus!" Triton's voice thundered through the door as he knocked. "Get dressed and kick your boyfriend out. Mom prepared a picnic for us, we're leaving in five."

Percy flushed brightly and ducked his head. What a mood killer. When he peeked out again, he pouted at his boyfriend, because Nico was getting off the bed, ready to leave. Summers would be less hard if they didn't get to spend every single day together at school, because they were so used to being together, it was such an integral part of their relationship. Percy stole a last kiss from Nico.

"I love you," whispered Percy. "Tell Jay I love him too."

/break\

Jason's eyes widened when someone knocked on his door. Without even thinking on it did he shove Nico off himself. The son of Hades landed on the floor with a grunt and Jason winced in guilt.

"Jason, my boy! I have an hour before my next interview, I thought the two us could spar some."

"Go," mouthed Jason, waving his hands around. "I love you, but go!"

"Keep getting cockblocked by my boyfriends' families," muttered Nico beneath his breath.

He dissolved into shadows just as the door opened and Zeus walked in. Jason stared up at his dad like a deer in headlights, quickly trying to smooth his shirt and his hair. Though as soon as Zeus looked him up and down and grinned broadly, it became apparent that that hadn't worked out.

"Ah. Was that kid of Hades' here?" Zeus chuckled amused. "To be young and sneak around."

Jason bit his tongue on the comment about his dad very much still sneaking around. Instead he cleared his throat and tried to once again smooth his hair. Zeus smiled and sat down next to him.

"So you're still with those two boys, mh?" asked Zeus, sounding a little awkward. "You... really like them a lot, huh? I've seen what the media threw at you. You came up in more than one interview."

Ah. Jason had seen those. People prying into Jason's private life, when interviewing his dad. It was utterly mortifying. But to his credit, Zeus had not let anyone talk shit about Jason in his presence. Ruffling his own hair, Jason avoided looking at his dad.

"I love them a lot," admitted Jason, his heart hammering. "I can't imagine being without them."

The look on Zeus' face told him that his dad didn't entirely believe that. Not even in a malicious manner, but in this 'I am an adult, I know that you are still young and that's why you think so' manner – Jason had faced that from multiple fronts over his life. Nowadays about his sexuality, his relationships, but back in the day it used to be about his career. He didn't want to be a hero, oh, that would change once he was older. Jason knew himself, he knew what he wanted. He knew he wanted Nico and Percy, he knew, deep down, that he would always want them.

/break\

Percy could hear the thundering of steps running down the hall – or maybe also real thunder considering one of the people running down that hall was Jason Grace. With a wince did he sit up, a hand going down to his flank right away. Try and look tough and good and not like he was in pain.

"Percy! Percy, are you alright? I heard from Leo that you're in the infirmary!"

"You should have called them yourself," whispered Will softly, glaring at him.

He was wrapping the last bandage around Percy's waist. Last year and Will was finally getting some practical hours in the infirmary, because he wanted to be a team healer one day. Percy tried to reach for his shirt to put it back on before his boyfriends came in, but it was too late – the doors burst open and both Nico and Jason came storming in, closely followed by an apologetic looking Grover and a slightly smug Annabeth. Yes, she had told him so. Percy rolled his eyes.

"I am perfectly fine, look at me, I am conscious, not actively bleeding, all organs and bones are inside the body where they belong!" Percy was quick to list. "Totally fine."

"He says inside the body. Not unbroken. Just inside," pointed Jason out with narrowed eyes.

"Three bruised ribs and he definitely stretched a ligament in his leg," informed Will.

Percy turned to look at him in utter betrayal. "Doctor-patient confidentiality?"

"Not a doctor yet, so that doesn't apply," replied Will with an innocent smile. "I'll leave you to it."

While Will walked out of the room, Nico and Jason took their seats on either side of Percy, taking his hands to kiss his palms and knuckles. Both looked so concerned and Percy felt guilty.

"C'mon," Percy sighed and slowly leaned back. "I... Don't make me feel guilty about this."

"This is the third week of our final year! We've only been allowed to go on missions for three weeks, how do you manage to land in the infirmary already?" asked Jason distressed.

"Do you really have to ask?" Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "He's Percy! He threw himself head-first into danger, trying to save a little girl, who'd gotten too curious..."

"It wasn't really Percy's fault," tagged Grover on. "It's not like he was being deliberately reckless, but the little kid broke free from her mom because she was a big fan of Hecate-"

"Yes. And I should have been more watchful of my charge."

The teenagers turned toward where Lady Hecate entered the room, with her husband Howard Claymore. Alabaster's parents. Which was still very wild to Percy too (and really made him want Alabaster on his Olympian team). Third years got to go on missions, supervised and only smaller scale, but they got to go out and gather real life experience. Hecate approached them and cupped Percy's cheek to tilt his head up and make him look at her.

"It's not your fault either, Lady Hecate," Percy sighed. "The kid was a kid and kids do reckless things, I was the closest and I got there in time. Nobody is... seriously hurt. So it's fine."

"There's gonna be a lot of paperwork," commented Howard, offering Percy a playful smile.

He'd supervised the teams a lot over their second year and Percy liked the man. He always indulged Percy whenever Percy rapid-fired questions at Howard, about what it was like being a hero, being married to a hero, supervising teams. As Hecate's husband, he had close insight into the hero scene post Poseidon and Amphitrite. Sure, since learning the truth, Percy has squeezed every ounce of information about the Olympians out of his parents, but after they retired, they lost connection to the hero-scene – and Percy needed to know the lay of the current land. He also wanted to know about the transitioning phase between then and now. Howard was always open to answer him.

"You'll be right as rain in a few days," assured Hecate as she took a bottle out of her pocket. "Here."

Magic healing potion. Nice. They usually tasted icky, but still. Jason crawled into the bed with him and Percy happily curled against Jason. Nico sat down on Percy's other side, leaning against the wall behind the bed. They both worried so much about him and it was sweet, really.

"You have to learn to prioritize your own safety too, Percy," advised Hecate in a gentle voice. "You want to save lives, but... a dead hero does not save anyone. Remember that."

/break\

Annabeth sat on the small hill overlooking the training field. In her lap was a note book, but her eyes were on the sparring parties below. Reyna, Nico and Frank were going against Nyssa, Kayla and Miranda. Nyssa was her ex, technically, they had dated so briefly, Annabeth wasn't sure if it even counted. So at first, Annabeth had thought it was about that, that she was watching the girl whose body she'd explored herself. But her eyes kept drifting toward Reyna. Her thoughts kept drifting toward Reyna, more and more often these days.

"You should just ask her out, you know."

Annabeth startled and turned to look at Hazel as the other girl sat down next to her. Hazel wore her hair in dreadlocks these days, since the school year started, and she'd worked the bi flag colors into them too. Annabeth thought it suited her well. It felt a bit like Hazel was coming into her own more. She used to live so much in Bianca and Nico's shadows, she also had struggled with her attraction to girls, but now she owned herself more. She had made a name for herself too; to the new first years, she was Hazel, she was a hero in her own rights and a cool amazing third year.

"I remember the deer in headlights expression you offered me when I gave you similar advise about Piper," commented Annabeth with a small smile. "I don't know how I feel about her yet."

"You like her. Everybody with eyes can see that," Hazel heaved a sigh. "Come on. You wanna go to our final prom with the right girl. Don't waste our last year in the library. Waste it sneaking around with your girlfriend in the library. I can greatly recommend the sports journals section."

Annabeth huffed out a laugh at that, shoving Hazel gently. When had the littlest di Angelo turned so wise? She definitely had a point. Life was going to get more serious after graduation and she had no idea where life was going to take Reyna. Maybe it'd take her away from here.

/break\

Even though Jason didn't want to be a hero, there was something intense about actually saving lives. It helped that they were only doing small low-risk missions and that there was a real, professional hero with them. In theory, Jason knew that it was the adrenaline rush.

"He—ey," Percy laughed softly as he got tackled onto the bed by Jason.

"Nico wasn't in his room," Jason struggled getting words out between kisses.

"Nico is still at a debriefing, he had a mission with Apollo—oh," Percy gasped when Jason reached down between his legs. "So I take it, the mission was a success, mh?"

The grin on Percy's lips was sly and pleased. He liked how much an adrenaline rush got Jason going. Jason liked that part too. Capturing Percy's lips in another kiss, Jason struggled with Percy's pants. Percy's mouth was very distracting, but on the third try, he managed to get them open and push them down. He broke the kiss and rolled Percy over some, until his boyfriend was on all four. Jason pushed the shirt up and over Percy's chest, kissing every inch of skin that he freed. Salty. Percy must have come from a training session or something too. One of Jason's hands cupped Percy's ass, squeezing, before his fingers slipped between the crack.

"I love you," whispered Jason, voice muffled by Percy's skin.

He dragged his lips along Percy's spine. Before getting together with Nico and Percy, he'd never really thought much about sex. Now, he thought about it a lot. Sex with Nico, sex with Percy, topping, bottoming, getting a blowjob, giving a blowjob – there was so much. And he loved that he got to explore them all with the two boys he loved more than anything else in the world. Not that he had said that aloud to them yet. Part of him feared it might chase them away. They loved him, he knew that. But he also knew that he loved them in a forever kind of way and he didn't know if they felt as strongly about him, or if he was thinking too far ahead. If he was too much in his own head.

"Love you too, Jay, now please," Percy groaned frustrated, grabbing his pillow.

He spread his legs a little and Jason had better access to his hole, carefully poking it. A soft hum escaped him when he had an easy time slipping a finger in. Carefully, he added a second one.

"What? Don't judge. Nico got horny before his mission. And we couldn't find you."

Jason huffed out a small laugh at that, pressing an open-mouthed kiss to Percy's shoulder. That made prepping his boyfriend easier. He pumped his fingers in roughly, spreading them. Percy's hole gave easily, gladly accepting him in. Always greedy for them. After Jason pulled his fingers out, he shrugged out of his own jeans and boxers. He was already painfully hard and he felt like electricity was running through his veins – which meant he needed to take a moment and calm down, because he did not want to accidentally electroshock his boyfriend again. They'd explored kinks together and this was not really one of Percy's. The view of Percy on all four, ass pointing at him, was not entirely helpful in calming Jason down though.

"You are way too gorgeous, how's that legal?" Jason asked himself, shaking his head.

Grabbing Percy by the hips with one hand, he took his dick with the other and carefully eased in. Percy's tight hole embraced him and Jason's eyelids fluttered shut at the pleasure. He'd pretty early on realized that he enjoyed both topping and bottoming equally much, but it depended on his mood. Some days, he liked being pampered more, other days, he was so wired and wanted to be in charge.

"Ja—ay," Percy gasped out, awkwardly adjusting himself to grasp his own dick.

He started jerking off while Jason thrust into him. The blonde tried to hit his prostate as often as possible, but he was also pretty unfocused and distracted by his gorgeous and amazing boyfriend. Jason's orgasm was quickly building up, his nerves on fire and his stomach curling in that pleasant way until it all snapped into place and he came, hard. He collapsed forward against Percy's back.

"...Oh, come on. I was as quick as I could with the stupid debriefing and I still missed everything."

The two of them collapsed sideways and looked at the glowering son of Hades who had just entered Percy's bedroom. Which meant they both had forgotten to lock the door when getting in. Jason was very relieved that the two first years who were sharing a dorm with Percy hadn't come home and they hadn't scared the poor kids and embarrassed themselves. Nico got out of his shoes and shed his jacket before joining them in the bed at least, kissing first Percy and then Jason.

"Well, you were too slow and missed all the fun," chimed Percy cheekily.

Nico was really adorable when he pouted. It made Jason smile. He knew he wanted to spend every day for the rest of his life with them, waking up in the same bed as them, falling asleep in that bed. He wanted that, more than he'd ever wanted anything in his entire life. And that thought scared him just a little bit, because he knew he was young. He knew this was a lot.

/break\

"He's so impressive," whispered Frank in awe. "Look at him. He built a dragon."

"Okay, okay. I will give it to your boyfriend, he made a dragon, that is impressive."

Nico grinned just a little bit, nudging his friend. They were sitting in a secluded study room in the library that they had reserved for a Mythomagic session. Lou Ellen, Cecil and Will were with them. However, Leo was outside, on a test-run with his new dragon. Because yes, Leo Valdez, in his third year of superhero school, had honed his mechanical skills – and his powers of talking to technology – into creating a semi-sentient dragon robot. He could talk to the dragon, control it. More or less, hence the test-run. There was still some fine-tuning needed, but this Festus project was interesting.

"As impressive as your boyfriend's dragon is, I thought we wanted to focus on fictional dragons here," pointed Cecil out and tapped the table. "Concentrate on the session, please."

Frank flushed embarrassed and tried to turn away from the window. It made Nico grin just a bit. Honestly, he was glad that Frank had found a cute boyfriend who made him happy. And he was genuinely impressed by the dragon. Still, their final year was halfway over and Nico wanted to get the most out of it. He knew that Lou Ellen had plans on moving in over to Las Vegas, where Alabaster was living. The siblings wanted to work together. Will had med school ahead of himself and he was probably not going to stay in New York for it.

"So—o, where is life going to take you after graduation?" asked Lou Ellen, before she got kicked under the table by Will. "What? Nico's got that wistful look again, I know that's his 'musing about the future' look. He's been getting it more and more frequently in the past months."

"Life's taking me wherever Percy goes," admitted Nico softly.

That made Frank frown in confusion. "Percy? What about Jason?"

"Jason wants..." Nico licked his lips. "Jason has a plan for himself and I think it's going to take him to LA, but wherever it takes him, Jason will still be ours. But Percy and I, we have the same plans, so we have to... I want to go wherever Percy goes to get this started. We haven't really talked about it and while I am guessing that he's going to ultimately settle for New York, because he wants Olympus, I don't know where he wants to start out. Maybe we could go wherever Jay goes."

"But you're not worried?" asked Cecil curiously. "I mean, sounds potentially long-distance."

"I've been with them for nearly two years now. I know we get whiny when we can't be together," Nico blushed embarrassed at that, scratching his cheek. "But I also know that we are strong enough together to get through it, even if we end up in different states, or even continents."

"Says the one who can literally walk through shadows," pointed Will over, raising one judgmental eyebrow at him. "I'm just saying, you can go and see them whenever you want. But maybe you should actually talk to Percy and Jason about what they want and where they want to go, both in their lives and with your relationship."

Notes:

Next chapter, our boys are going to make plans for their future!

Chapter 22: What Comes After?

Chapter 22: What Comes After?

"We... should talk," Nico rubbed his hands over his thighs. "About, you know."

Jason furrowed his brows and turned to look at Percy in confusion. "No, I don't know? Do you?"

Percy ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. "I have no clue, my brain is filled with all of the things. Like, exams, the last mission debriefing, just... everything."

With a sigh did Nico lean forward and kiss Percy's forehead. "You're too stressed. And I wanted to talk to you guys about... what comes after graduation."

That made Percy put down his pen and sit upright. A conversation that had been on the minds of all three of them, but none had really brought it up so far. Percy, for his part, had his mind more on the thing that came before graduation – the final exams. He was struggling with those kind of things. The practical exams? All his hero courses? He was excelling in those. But his dyslexia gave him a hard time on the written exams. And he'd be damned if literature and math and stuff dragged him down when he was doing good on all the subjects that actually mattered.

"I don't..." Jason trailed off and wiggled his nose a bit. "I do know what I want. But I don't know... I still haven't told my dad about it. I talked... I talked to mom and Tristan. They're encouraging. A friend of theirs leads an acting school in Los Angeles and they'd put in a good word for me, arrange for an... interview. Apparently, you have to audition for that school. And... it's LA."

"Which would mean you'd get to be close to your parents again," pointed Percy out.

"Yeah..." Jason swallowed hard. "But... I assume... it'll take me away from you guys."

"Probably," agreed Percy as he crossed his arms. "I... uh... I have a couple... options."

"You do?" Nico perked up surprised. "I mean, you haven't really said anything?"

"Because I'm not sure yet," replied Percy in a soft voice. "Apollo offered me an apprenticeship at his agency. He's... apparently... been very impressed with me during this final year. But... uh... Hecate also offered. She is even offering two options for me. To work with her, or with her husband. Professor Claymore thinks that it'd do me good to learn under him, learn about the tower more and about coordinating multiple heroes, since I don't just want to become a hero, I want to lead a team of heroes and knowing how to coordinate them and how to deal with many headstrong people would do me some good."

Jason smiled softly. "Okay. That... I mean, that sounds great, Percy. I'm happy for you."

They both turned to look at Nico now, since he had started this conversation. But he was just pacing back and forth. He did that thing where he waved his hands a little around, a habit for when he was mentally preparing what he wanted to say. It made Percy smile and lean against Jason as both of them patiently waited for Nico. When he stopped pacing, they knew he was ready.

"I think I want to go overseas," admitted Nico. "I never really... I've been thinking about what I want for the past couple weeks. I always knew I wanted to be a hero, but it was always just... a vague concept, I never had that same kind of concrete plan as you do, Percy."

"Okay..." Percy leaned forward and patted the place next to him on the bed so Nico would join them. "So, tell us, what's... overseas? I mean... Why..."

"My father didn't start out in the US," explained Nico in a soft voice as he finally sat down. "He started out in Venice. As a small time hero, protecting his neighborhood. I... We regularly go on vacations there. But I feel... I speak fluent Italian, but I feel a disconnect to my roots. I... I feel like I need to know where I came from to know where I'm going. I want to live in Italy for at least a year. I want to start out as a hero in the city my father was born in."

"Okay..." Percy trailed off, looking like a miserable, kicked kitten. "I... I get that. I think. But I..."

"But you hate the idea of me living on a whole different continent from you guys," Nico smiled thinly. "I know. I hate that too. I think that... I think that hating that is why I never... genuinely considered this for myself before since we got together. I made all my plans center around the two of you and what you want and I wanted to make my plans fit yours. But... I don't... I think that I shouldn't make my dreams fit yours, I think that I should live my own dreams too."

"Of course you should," Jason looked at him like a kicked puppy. "We never-"

"I know," Nico interrupted him quickly. "I know you never asked me for it, but I just... I hate the idea of being away from you guys too. But I also feel like... I want to tackle my dream with the same determination the two of you are tackling yours."

"I'm sure we can make it work," Jason smiled as he took Nico's hand. "We can. I want you to follow your dreams, Nico, I wanna support you a hundred percent with that, okay?"

"We both do," added Percy determined. "And we will make it work. Even if we all end up living in different cities, right? Between your shadow-travel and Mrs. O'Leary... We'll make it work."

Jason looked so relieved at that. Part of him had been so worried that he might be more invested in this than them. But the conviction with which they both also assumed that the three of them would stay together after graduation, even if they ended up living in different cities...

/break\

Reyna wiped her brows, an annoyed frown on her face. Going out on proper missions was exhausting. It was rewarding and she felt much surer about her own future, but it was also annoying at times. Being supervised felt so restricting, they weren't allowed to do everything they wanted to. Too often, they had to step back and let the senior hero take charge.

"How are things going with the upcoming final exams for you guys?" asked Frank.

The three of them were washing up on Olympus after the mission. Reyna took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall, tilting her head back so she could stare up at the ceiling.

"Frustrating," replied Reyna. "I've been studying a lot with Piper, Hazel, Rachel and... Annabeth..."

"Have you considered that maybe she is just incapable of understanding when a girl flirts with her?" offered Frank curiously. "Maybe you gotta be more direct. Ask her out, in a full sentence."

"Or maybe she is just not that into me," countered Reyna. "And she's letting me know that without having to let me off the hook... I just... Maybe I should stop."

Nico watched her with a thoughtful look on his face. "I don't know. I mean, graduation is coming up. Prom is coming up. I'd give it one last shot if I were you. Ask her out to prom. If she really isn't into you, she'll let you know and at least you have a definite answer. And then school ends soon anyway and you'll be spared the embarrassment of seeing her in class."

"And if she says yes, then... graduation is still happening," Reyna muttered beneath her breath.

"So what. Graduation isn't the end of the world. Leo and I, we're gonna make it work too. I've been applying to colleges in New York, I'm gonna stay here. And we'll get to stay together."

Frank looked so determined as he spoke. Which was kind of adorable. It made Nico smile to see his friend so happy. And while he admired that Frank could find a way to make his future plans work around Leo, Nico also knew he needed something else, outside his relationship with Percy and Jason. He'd talked to his parents about it too and his dad was incredibly proud and supportive.

/break\

Jason took a deep breath and straightened his back, raising his eyes. Since no exams were scheduled those days, Chiron had given him permission to miss two days of school so he could make the audition at the academy in Los Angeles. His phone rang, startling him out of his thoughts.

Jason smiled as he saw a picture of Percy flash on before picking up. "Hey, babe."

"Nico's with me! So, so, so! Tell us, how did it go? Did you rock it? Did they fall on their knees and beg you to join their school?" asked Percy in rapid-fire speed.

Laughter escaped Jason and the tension he was carrying melted away some. "They didn't fall on their knees and beg. But they seemed impressed and told me that I'd hear from them in a month's time. Though one of them – the friend of my mom's – when I was getting ready to leave, she approached me and told me that I had left an impression with her colleagues and that my chances were good. And yes, mom and Tristan's names do weight in there too, I'm aware."

"They weighted in to get your foot in the door, but you still gotta convince them with your talent. Which you seem to have done," argued Nico, who had apparently taken over Percy's phone.

"Thanks, guys, I appreciate it. I really do," Jason took a few more more steps. "Listen. I... I gotta hang up, okay? There's... uhm... I'm seeing my dad."

"Oh," Percy sounded like he knew exactly where this was headed. "Good luck, babe."

"Thanks. I'll need it," Jason heaved a deep breath. "I'll see you Sunday. I love you."

After, he hung up and pocketed his phone. He'd texted his dad before, to make sure he could see the man. The audition had been Friday morning, so he had to leave for LA on Thursday. And now, after, he had taken the next flight to San Francisco to talk to his father, make use of the weekend.

"Jason," Hera looked at him with a mild smile. "How nice of you to come by."

She seemed in a good mood. That helped. If Hera was in a foul mood, then Zeus would also be in a foul mood. Jason smiled at her and hugged her for a moment before having her lead him inside.

"I... wanted to talk to you and dad. And I figured I shouldn't do it over the phone."

Hera raised a curious eyebrow but didn't comment. "Zeus! Your son is here. Come downstairs."

Moments later and Zeus came down the stairs. Together, the three headed into the living room, Zeus ruffling Jason's hair affectionately. While his dad and stepmom sat down on the couch, Jason remained standing, right in front of them. Time to face the music.

"So... You guys know that graduation is coming up... And I wanted to talk to you, about after."

"You're doing it, yes?" Zeus perked up in excitement. "You'll take the sidekick job I offered you?"

That was Zeus' dream. Zeus and Golden Lightning, his son, sidekick and legacy, going out there together and saving lives. Jason knew that his dreams meant he was going to destroy his dad's dreams. But then, Jason remembered something his dad had told him during his first year.

"Dad, do you... Do you remember what you said to me when I told you that I'm bisexual?" asked Jason instead. "Because I... I remember it. It was some of the most important advise I've ever gotten and it really helped me make this decision, actually."

"I told you to live your own..." Zeus trailed off and raised his eyebrows. "You're not taking my offer, mh? Okay. Then what is it you want? Tell me, son."

"I... I was nearby, that's why I came here. I was in Los Angeles. For an... audition."

"Audition in Los Angeles?" Zeus frowned confused. "Who's in San Francisco...? Enyo?"

"No. No, not..." Jason fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. "It's an... acting school. The Melpomene Academy of Acting. Mom and Tristan got me the audition. And it... it went well. Really well."

"I know that school," Zeus looked thoughtful. "That's where your ma went, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Jason smiled softly. "Yeah, it is."

"That was a tough school to get into. High standards," Zeus stroked his beard and leaned back. "So does that mean you don't want to become a hero? At all?"

"No, I don't," confirmed Jason – and it felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. "I know you always wanted me and you, working together. But I don't... I don't want to be a hero. I never wanted to be a hero. But you never wanted to listen to me. None of you did. You said I'd change my mind when I got older, but... I didn't. I only grew more passionate about acting. I've been in the drama club for the past two years, you know. And I love it. I feel free and excited on the stage. I think that that's how you feel about being a hero, every time you save a life. This is how you described it to me when I was a kid. That I'd love being a hero for... for all the reasons I feel when I go on stage. I don't feel that when I go out into the field, for the hero courses. I'm mostly anxious and scared and I feel under so much pressure. But when I act? That's... That's who I am, dad."

Zeus heaved a deep breath and Hera remained completely quiet. "I can't say I'm happy with that, son. I did always picture... one day, retiring, and seeing you take over my legacy. But you're right. This is your life. I stepped out of my father's shadow, I suppose... you have to step out of mine."

Hera huffed and got up. She walked out of the room without a word. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that his dad understood. He wasn't happy, he looked pretty miserable actually, but he understood that Jason had to take charge of his own life.

/break\

Annabeth bit her lower lip hard. Today was the day. Prom was coming up fast and Reyna seemed to keep getting prettier and Annabeth was not going to be a fool who would let it slip away from her. Prom was going to be that one night she was going to feel like a princess, it was the last big thing before they would become legal adults, sent into the world to make their own paths.

"Reyna," called Annabeth out as she started jogging so she could catch up with the other girl.

"Ah, Annabeth," Reyna smiled. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Me first," requested Annabeth. "I want to. I wanted to ask you to... go to prom with me."

For too long did Reyna simply stare at her, making Annabeth nervous. "I mean. You don't have to."

"No, no," Reyna quickly jumped in, eyes wide. "I just... I wanted to ask you too."

"...Oh," Annabeth was at a loss for words. "Okay."

Again, beats of silence, before Reyna jolted out of it. "That's a yes. Just, to be clear. I'm saying yes to you asking me out. We should... We could... Do you have a dress already?"

"Uhm. No. Silena's in town and she asked me and Piper if we wanted to go dress-shopping with her, she misses the interaction and the girls time. You could... come with us. If you wanted to."

"So we could coordinate our dresses," Reyna smiled. "Not in a cheesy matching clothes manner. Just to not have them clash, perhaps be in a similar style to go together, mh?"

Annabeth smiled pleased and flushed slightly. "I'd... I'd like that, a lot."

/break\

"Aaaah! I am so happy to see you girls again! It's been far too long!"

Silena ran up to them and hugged them one by one, radiating excitement. After everyone was hugged and greeted, the girls headed into the store together. Juniper, Rachel, Piper, Hazel, Reyna and Annabeth had all decided to go dress shopping together. Half of them had absolutely no idea what to get and weren't exactly fashionable so they appreciated Silena's help.

"How's it going at BeaureGardian?" asked Piper while they browsed dresses.

"It's going good. I'm still a trainee, I'm going to school for fashion-design and engineering, but I appreciate the time I get to spend in the agency, the first-hand experience. How about you girls? What kind of plans do you have post graduation, if you have any yet?"

"I got a couple offers for an apprenticeship," replied Piper while holding up a blue dress.

"Oh, you have to try that one on, babe, I think it'll suit you!" exclaimed Hazel before she turned toward Silena. "I'm taking a page out of my brother's book. I'm going to college in New Orleans. Aiden and Maria always did their best to keep me connected to my... old home. But... It's tough. They're doing their best, but it's just not... I want to live there, maybe not forever but... for college. Reconnect with my childhood friends, our old neighbors. Feel close to my birth parents."

"Yeah, I've been... eyeing the apprenticeships in Louisiana," tagged Piper on, looking flustered.

"That's cute," Silena cooed with a pleased smile.

"Grover and I are going to look into gardening stores and flower shops around New York, earn the money we'll need to finance our own flower shop down the road," was Juniper's reply.

"I'm looking into becoming a hero, I've applied for an apprenticeship under Artemis. She has her mechanical wolves, I have my dogs. I want to learn from someone else who employs sentient robot animals. It's not... I don't see myself becoming a huntress, like Thalia did, but I think it'd be a good spot to jump off and into the landscape of the hero world."

Annabeth looked surprised at that before she caught herself to give her own answer. "I'm... I've applied to Harvard, Stanford, some others. I want to become an architect. I don't want to work in a hero's lair, I want to design them. I've always been obsessed with architecture."

"I accepted Apollo's apprenticeship. He also has seer abilities and I think he can really help me hone my skills so I can be really helpful to active heroes," replied Rachel while taking a yellow dress. "I gotta admit, Percy's idea of a revived Olympus... I like it. I want to be a part of it. But I know I have to improve a lot to be ready for that. What do you girls think about this one?"

"Oh, that is just perfect for you," agreed Silena. "We're so getting our hair done after this, right?"

"Ye—es, absolutely!" exclaimed Hazel."We're making it a whole girls day. We deserve it."

"After those exams? Yeah, totally," Piper groaned softly to herself. "I feel like I died."

/break\

Percy cleaned up nicely in his blue tux and he looked even hotter hanging off Nico's arm (Nico looked more like a mortician in his black tux, but Percy still dug it). And Jason! Jason, in a white tux, oh, he looked so gorgeous, like a groom. He'd been looking forward to this. It was silly, he knew, they just... danced in the gym, after all, but it still felt special and it had been the thing Percy had looked forward to while dreading the exams. Now he had it, a whole night of feeling like a prince, with his two knights in shining armor devotedly dancing with him.

"So Reyna and Annabeth worked things out, mh?" whispered Percy, arms around Nico's neck.

Nico turned to look at the two girls. Annabeth in a silver dress, Reyna in a red one, dancing closely. A pleased grin spread over Nico's lips. He knew that'd work out if they'd just start talking to each other. His arms around Percy's waist tightened and he leaned in to kiss his boyfriend.

"And you really don't wanna tell me and Jason where you're going this weekend?"

"Nope. Because I don't know if it'll work out and I don't even know if it's a good idea yet."

Percy grinned broadly at him and leaned up to kiss Nico, deeper than the previous kiss. Distracting. And then Jason came to join them – he'd been dancing with Piper, until Hazel came to steal her – and he was the ultimate distraction. Good. Tonight was just about tonight, not about the future.

"I still can't believe we actually... finished this. I mean. We're going to graduate," stated Jason.

"Yeah, we are," Percy looked pleased with himself. "But not right now. Right now, we're dancing."

"Why does it sound like he's distracting me from something? Nico?"

Nico pouted. "Just tried to make him tell me about his mysterious date this weekend."

"It's not a date, you dork," Percy huffed and shoved Nico and then he turned to instead wrap his arms around Jason's neck. "It's just... nothing I'm going to share with you until it's finalized."

"Finalized, huh? Sounds so grown-up," Jason wiggled his nose. "So we really are grown-ups now? Proper... legal adults? I don't know how I feel about that."

"Ye—eah, same," Percy sighed and rested his forehead against Jason's shoulder.

"Real world here we come," declared Piper as her and Hazel danced up to them.

"See, I think I like her attitude much better," Nico chuckled.

He took both Percy and Jason by the hand to integrate himself into their dance. Ah, yes. That was much better. The three of them together. Another reason why Percy liked to stay in the now, because he dreaded when they all would be living in different cities.

Notes:

I am accepting bets on what you guys think Percy is up to! Don't worry, you will learn what it is in the next chapter ;)

Chapter 23: Graduation

Chapter 23: Graduation

The smile on Percy's lips was pretty and there was a skip in his steps. Partially did Jason and Nico understand the excitement. They were currently in San Francisco to look at apartments, for Percy and Annabeth. The part they didn't understand was why it was San Francisco though.

"So you're... not just moving here because of Annabeth, right?" asked Nico softly.

He knew the two were best friends and that Percy would prefer to stay close to Annabeth, but Nico couldn't imagine Percy would change his plans to be able to stay close to her, particularly when he considered the fact that Percy hadn't wanted to change plans for Nico and Jason.

"No," Percy turned to smile at his boyfriends. "Remember the thing I didn't want to tell you about until I would be sure that it'd actually happen? So it happened."

Annabeth was in the bathroom, going through a check-list of things she wanted to make sure worked and were in good condition. Percy had left most these things to Annabeth. With a gentle smile on his lips did Percy take Jason and Nico's hands, facing them patiently.

"So, I... took an apprenticeship. In San Francisco," Percy sat down on the windowsill.

"I thought you were going to work with Howard Claymore...?" asked Jason confused.

"No, I actually-" Percy was interrupted by someone barreling into the apartment.

"This place? It's too small, that won't do," declared Zeus Grace with a judgmental frown.

Jason turned around startled and watched his dad briefly glance around the living room. Once he seemed satisfied – or rather, unsatisfied – Zeus walked over to the boys and laughed as he started ruffling Jason's hair. What was his dad doing here...?

"Dad, this isn't for me. This is going to be my boyfriend's apartment."

Because Jason's best guess was that Zeus thought they were apartment hunting for him. Zeus laughed at that and wrapped his free arm around Percy's shoulder, pulling the boy closer.

"Of course! I know that, that's why I'm here," replied Zeus. "And this won't do. No sidekick of mine can live in a shoe-box like this. No, no. Hera contacted someone, she got an appropriate list."

Percy visibly winced and threw an apologetic look at his boyfriends. "... So I took an apprenticeship with your dad, Jay. That's why I'm moving here, to San Francisco."

"Oh... You haven't told..." Zeus motioned between the boys and cleared his throat. "Ah. I'll wait downstairs by the car. But do hurry up, you know I always have a tight schedule."

He quickly walked out of the apartment, having the sense that this was a conversation best had between the throuple in question. With a sheepish look on his face did Percy ruffle his own hair.

"I just, you talked about it so much, how disappointed your dad was because he was looking forward to getting an apprentice he could impart his wisdom on..." Percy trailed off for a moment. "I just. He's Zeus. He's the greatest hero our country's ever seen. He's been the leader of the Olympians for actual decades. I figured, it'd be like a... three birds one stone situation? If your dad got an apprentice, he'd no longer be as disappointed. And I'd get the insight. Plus... I would, you know... maybe leave a good impression on my boyfriend's dad."

Percy looked so adorably flustered at that and all Jason could do was kiss him deeply. "That is absolutely adorable of you. And I'm actually relieved, because you're right, if he gets a sidekick, he would be less disappointed about me not joining him. But are you sure...?"

"I am," declared Percy fiercely. "I really do think there is special knowledge that I can not gain from anyone but Zeus. I still want to learn from Howard Claymore too at one point, but I think that being an active sidekick would be the best starting place for me. Before I can learn the theories of how to lead and delegate, I gotta gather the real world experience myself."

Nico hummed at that and tilted his head. That was an interesting angle. He'd been wondering where life would take Percy. A smile spread over his lips as he pulled both his boyfriends close enough so he could kiss them one by one. Their graduation ceremony was next week and then life would pull them physically apart – but Nico knew, for a fact, that it wouldn't part them emotionally.

"Annabeth," called Percy out. "Zeus is here with a car and better apartments."

"Thank heaven," Annabeth heaved a sigh. "There is so much to repair at this place..."

/break\

"Jackson, Percy," called Chiron out with a proud smile.

Percy quickly adjusted the cap on his head and ran over toward the principal, nearly stumbling over his own feet in his eagerness. His boyfriends already got their diploma and were waiting for him on the other side of the stage. With the diploma in hand, Percy aimed a smile at the crowd and posed for his parents, who were eagerly taking pictures, Tyson cheering the loudest.

"I'm proud of you," whispered Chiron as he patted Percy's shoulder. "You were one of my best students and I can't wait to see what great things you're going to achieve now."

"Neither can I," Percy laughed and ran off toward his waiting boyfriends.

Once the whole class was through, they went toward their parents. Paul and Sally were ready to embrace their son, but before they had a chance, Zeus pushed past them and wrapped one arm around Jason and the other around Percy, easily lifting both boys up in the hug.

"I'm so proud of you, son," Zeus as he put Jason down first. "And you have such great taste! Look at him, my sidekick, top of his graduating class at the finest superhero school in the US."

Poseidon cleared his throat and nudged Zeus aside so he could hug his own son. "We're very proud of you too, Percy. You always aimed high, but you actually stuck with it."

"Yes, sweetie," agreed Sally as she gently cupped his face. "You did so well."

"Yes, yes, the boys graduated and with good grades too," Hades sighed as him and his family approached. "Can we perhaps move this along? You know I don't fade well in this heat."

Nico perked up eagerly as he saw his family. Bianca had come for their graduation too. She'd changed since he last saw her, with a side-cut and ear-rings lining her bare ear. She had also gained some muscles and overall seemed... more grown up, though Nico couldn't fully put his finger on it.

"We made reservations at a wonderful restaurant to celebrate you kids," said Beryl with a smile, one arm wrapped around Jason's shoulders and the other around Piper's.

They strategically placed the Jacksons between the Graces and the McLeans, because Hera and Beryl should not be left too close. These kind of all family meetings always knotted up Jason's stomach, but then Nico took his hand and rubbed a soothing circle on his thumb. Jason took a slow breath and offered a grateful smile to Nico. Sadly, his other hand stayed empty, because Percy had both hands full with Tyson, arms wrapped around his midsection and carrying him. Even though Tyson was already ten, he still enjoyed being carried around by his big brothers.

"Can't believe you pipsqueaks are gonna be let out into the world now," Thalia huffed, a teasing smirk on her lips as she looked at her brother and at Nico.

"And you're sure about going to New Orleans?" asked Bianca concerned, eyes on Hazel.

"Yes. I mean... I'm a bit nervous, but ever since Piper got accepted into the local college, I... feel a bit better about it," admitted Hazel. "Going all on my own... would have been a little scary."

They all had their goals they were working toward and now that graduation was over, the excitement for what was yet to come buzzed all the brighter in their minds.

/break\

"I'm gonna miss you so much. It's gonna be weird not seeing you every day live, but we can totally do long distance, right? We can make this work, we absolutely can."

Jason and Nico exchanged a fond smile before they turned back to watching Percy and Grover hug. It was moving day for Percy and Annabeth, which meant leaving New York behind. And since Grover had found a local flower shop to work at, his life stayed in New York.

"Boys. Less hugging, more helping," called Paul out, two boxes in his arms.

"Yeah, I am not wasting my day off helping you move while you just have tearful goodbyes," agreed Triton with a pointed glare. "Though I gotta admit, I like the new place."

Nico and Mrs. O'Leary were making the move from New York to San Francisco quicker with their shadow-travel, but since that still exhausted Nico when he did it too much, the son of Hades was laying on the couch, with his head resting on Jason's lap. The place really was great and far from anything a first year college student would be able to afford. While both Paul and Sally had protested, Zeus had insisted on paying for Percy's place, since Percy was going to be his apprentice.

"What about you boys?" asked Sally as she brought them two glasses of fresh lemonade.

"I gotta dust down the place in Venice," replied Nico. "Dad always kept the family home, we go there on vacations, but... well, that leaves it dusty. But I'm covered. I guess... I guess I'll be moving within this week too. It's gonna be... a change, I guess."

"School only starts in October, so I have the next three months all to myself," Jason grinned a little. "I'm probably going to alternate it between staying here and in Venice. And then I'm... gonna move to LA. I gotta admit, I kinda envy Percy for having his live-in best friend..."

Annabeth walked past them carrying a box labeled books and sparing them a glance. "Don't envy him too much, I'm going to make sure he does his chores and keeps this place clean too."

"Yes, ma'am," Percy chuckled and saluted her. "I'm not that much of a mess, you know?"

/break\

It didn't take long for living alone to feel lonely. The first couple of weeks, Nico had kind of enjoyed it. After thoroughly cleaning the villa, with his boyfriends and sisters' help. He could go to bed whenever he wanted, eat whenever he wanted. He also had to buy groceries and cook the meals himself though and especially after he found a job, that grew into being more and more of a chore. After settling in, he started looking for a job and ended up working at a restaurant. Take his night time job on top of that, protecting Venice as the Ghost King, and his schedule was pretty full. After work and before patrol, he didn't really have a lot of energy to cook.

Hey babe, you missed our video chat? Hope you're fine. If you don't text in the next two hours, we WILL march in with backup and assume you're in a hospital somewhere. Love, Jay

Nico smiled lazily as he read the text before typing out a quick reply. Fell asleep on the couch. Stopped a robbery late last night. Sorry I missed it. Miss you. Love you.

Meowing closed in on him and moments later, his new companion jumped onto the couch and climbed up to curl together on his stomach. Because living alone was too lonely. So he had gotten himself a pet. A skeleton cat, courtesy of his father. Mrs. O'Leary wasn't staying with him all the time, since she helped Jason and Percy too. Right now, she was in LA with Jason.

"Hey, babe," Nico tilted his head back, the phone stuck between his ear and the couch.

"You sound sleepy," noted Jason. "Are you okay? Perce and I got worried."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. And I don't want to make missing calls a habit. I just... This is a lot and I'm still adjusting to it, I guess," Nico sighed and rested his free hand on his forehead. "How was your day? How are classes going?"

"It was good. Fine. I mean, you know, struggling. Because it's a lot more than being part of drama club," Jason sighed, sounding exhausted himself. "When I get home, I just... want to be with you. But time differences and your and Percy's own life... it's frustrating."

It was. It was very frustrating. While Jason and Percy got to live in the same state, Nico in Venice had a whole different time-zone. Jason had the luxury of not having to work, because he had four rich parents who insisted on helping him out financially, and Percy was getting paid by Zeus for his apprenticeship, which covered the rest of his own living cost, since the apartment was taken care of by Zeus too. Sure, in theory, Hades and Persephone had offered to help Nico out too, but he'd come to Venice to make his own path and while he too didn't have to worry about rent because the villa belonged to the family and he didn't have to worry about college tuition because there was none, he still needed to cover food and running regular costs. And he wanted to earn that himself. It was just exhausting, trying to juggle all of that plus the long distance relationship.

/break\

"How you holding up, newbie?"

Reyna startled a little. She'd had a bad night, sleeping in tents all the time was something that needed adjustment. Running her fingers through her hair, she turned toward Artemis' lieutenant. Zoe Nightshade, Thalia's best friend. One of the reasons Reyna had gone with the hunt was because there were people she already knew – Zoe, Thalia, Bianca.

"Adjusting to a new camp-site always takes some time," admitted Reyna. "It's okay if we stayed at a place for a while, but getting settled in is..."

"Yeah," Zoe chuckled. "I remember. It gets better. C'mon, Thalia and Bianca are returning from the hunt with tonight's lunch and after the battle this afternoon, this is going to be a celebration."

There were perks to being a hunter, Reyna had to admit. Beyond the people she knew. There was a feeling of sisterhood in a manner she had never quite experienced before. In a world dominated by men – the biggest percentage of heroes were men, growing up, Reyna got to barely see any female heroes she could look up, so to learn in this group of women was empowering in a manner Reyna hadn't been able to imagine. Not to mention, they traveled. Most heroes were localized to one city, but the hunters traveled throughout the states, even to Canada. Reyna got to see places, encounter other heroes and fight various villains while many only had their 'regular' rogues.

"Rey!" called Thalia out, waving her hands. "C'mon, help us prepare dinner!"

/break\

Festus made a small cooing noise, but didn't move from his comfortable spot in the corner of the garage. He took up as much space as a whole car and Esperanza had given Leo an exasperated glare at first, but it was quickly overshadowed by excitement about this amazing achievement.

"Hey, Valdezes, I bring you dinner," called Frank out as he entered the garage.

Ah, so Festus had sensed Frank. Leo grinned, perking up when he saw his boyfriend carrying two bags of take-out. Esperanza pushed herself out from underneath the car and wiped her forehead.

"Gotta say, that boyfriend of yours comes in handy," declared Esperanza.

Frank was working at a restaurant and when his shift ended, he often brought them takeout to share. He'd basically become a part of the Valdez family and considering that he had no family of his own anymore, after his grandma had passed, he was grateful for it. Grateful for having a place with them and for being accepted like that by his boyfriend's mom. Frank didn't know if he wanted to become a hero, he was still unsure, but since he kept in touch with Nico and knew how determined Nico was to still become a hero, Frank had to admit, he liked the thought of it. Of new Olympians.

"Did Leo tell you yet?" asked Esperanza, sounding excited. "Tell him, Leo. Tell him."

She kept nudging her son. It was cute, whenever Frank noticed a similarity between mother and son. They could both be so eager and the way their cheeks dimpled when they got excited.

"So, I kinda took a lucky shot, asked Charles Beckendorf to maybe put a word in with his dad? So I could start and learn at BD Gadget and... I got the acceptance letter today."

While Leo ducked his head, Frank couldn't help but jump his boyfriend and kiss and hug him. "Oh, I'm so proud of you, that's absolutely amazing! You're gonna do so awesome."

Leo laughed, his arms wrapped around Frank's shoulders. "Yeah. Yeah, I hope so."

/break\

New Orleans was beautiful, it was vibrant and filled with so much life and energy. Piper had never imagined living here, but every morning she woke up with Hazel laying next to her in the bed, she was happy that she had taken this one. After all, there had been multiple colleges that would be an opportunity, so it wasn't like she had changed plans for Hazel, more like Hazel had directed where Piper's plans would take her physically.

"Babe," whispered Piper softly. "C'mon, we gotta get ready for breakfast."

Hazel hummed and rolled over, pulling the blanket over her head. Piper huffed amused and slipped out of the bed to go and get coffee started. They were both studying to become heroes one day. Not yet, though some people started out as vigilantes right out of high school and others started with an apprenticeship as a sidekick with a seasoned hero, they wanted to take advance classes at college.

"Morning," greeted Reyna, already sitting wide awake at the kitchen table.

Her previously long hair was short now and in an undercut, she'd adjusted her style some to fit into the more punk-themed group of the hunters. For the past couple of months, she had been running with the hunters of Artemis and when a mission brought the group to Louisiana, Reyna decided to drop by and visit them. Piper hadn't seen Reyna since graduation. They texted occasionally, but it was nice to see her in person again. Piper sat down next to Reyna and caught a glance at Reyna's phone on the table, a picture of Annabeth and Percy in the chat.

"Aw, did Annabeth drag Percy to another dam?" asked Piper amused.

"She did," Reyna chuckled fondly. "Honestly, I... didn't expect us to last? The long distance thing and we'd only gotten together so shortly before graduation..."

"Annabeth is stubborn," Piper laughed. "And she is stubborn about you."

"Your better half still asleep?" asked Reyna instead, trying to avoid getting flustered.

"She stayed up late studying," Piper couldn't help the fond smile. "I'll let her sleep in. How long are you going to stay? I could wake her, if it means she gets to spend more time with you."

"Honestly, I don't know," Reyna frowned, tapping her fingers against her mug. "It's... It was good, what I learned from them. But I don't... I don't think it's my place. I think I gotta look for something that feels more like... me. Something that makes me feel like I found my place."

/break\

When Jason collapsed into his bed, his bed grunted. Looking up, he saw that his bed was already occupied by Percy, sound asleep. Smiling, Jason leaned up to peck Percy's cheek. And then he took his phone and took a selfie of himself and Percy, before sending it to Nico. It had been five days since he last saw Nico, but it'd been nine days since he last saw Percy.

"Hey," whispered Jason when he noticed Percy waking up. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, it's why I took Mrs. O'Leary to visit you. We promised not to let more than a week pass without seeing each other," Percy pouted as he snuggled up to him.

"Plans are different than life," argued Jason. "Even with shadow-travel, we're busy and... we need alone-time too. It's okay if we miss a date-night or something. But I'm glad you're here."

He wrapped his arms around Percy's waist and snuggled up to him, kissing Percy's neck. Sometimes, this was all they needed. Just being together, without even doing anything.

Notes:

After much consideration, I came to the decision that there won't be any chapter updates in August, because I can't manage the Writer's Month prompt challenge AND that. So the next update will be on September 3rd.

I also have an important question to ask you all, because this story is nearing its end and I've been considering how to end it. The original plan was to wrap it up with chapter 25 being a jump forward in time to the established Olympians and their future life together. But I kind of want to continue the plot, focusing on the new Olympians and how they come together. So, my question now is: Is there interest in a sequel to this story that focuses on the forming of the new Olympians and the boys' adult life?

Chapter 24: Hiccups and Break-Ups

Chapter 24: Hiccups and Break-Ups

Percy stretched, feeling incredibly tired. Today had been long. Chancing a glance at the clock, he realized it had been more than one day actually. Closer to two. It had started normal enough, with him and Zeus going through paper work and then going on patrol. And then things had escalated.

Which, come to think of it, was actually normal enough. After all, Percy was working with the most well known hero of potentially the entire world. So things were usually very exhausting, very straining, very dangerous. Very thrilling and educational too though. Percy loved it, he loved going out and helping people, he loved the real world experience he was currently gathering.

He was just in the middle of stripping down to maybe take a quick shower before hitting the bed when his phone buzzed. Heaving a sigh, he walked over to get it, seeing NICO big on his screen.

"Yeah?" Percy couldn't even fake the enthusiasm to hear his boyfriend's voice.

Nico took a moment to answer, sounding tentative. "Is it... a bad time, amore?"

"It's past midnight on a Friday, Nico. Yeah it's a bad time," Percy sighed and sat down on his couch. "Look. I just got home from a near two day shift with Zeus. I'm tired."

"...Right," Nico started to sound frustrated now too. "I just, damn it... I miss talking to you."

"Well, it was your choice not to have enough time."

Percy regretted saying it nearly the moment the words were out of his mouth. This wasn't an argument he wanted to have, especially not today, he really was tired. And the longer this went on, the more weight that thought in the back of his mind got. The more spiteful it felt.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nico sounded defensive now.

"Oh please," Percy huffed out a sarcastic grunt. "You missed out on three calls in the past two months. You... Me and Jay are being so damn patient and understanding about it, but it's exhausting. It's frustrating. Because you chose this and at one point, hearing sorry just... it gets irritating."

"I chose this?" Percy could hear the glare on Nico's face. "That's not fair, Percy. I came here for my future. Like you went to San Francisco for your future and Jason to Los Angeles for his."

"Only that it's different, isn't it?" Percy glared as he sat up straighter. "You... You're making it unnecessarily complicated and harder not just on yourself but also on us. I live in San Francisco, I took an apprenticeship with Zeus that's being paid. He even pays for my apartment, because he wants to take care of his apprentice. Jay lets his parents take care of things so he can focus on his studies. But you. You don't... You decided to do it all on your own when you didn't have to."

"It's Jason's decision if he wants to accept his parents' money but I want to make it on my own."

Percy huffed annoyed and got up to head toward his bedroom. "There's a difference between making it on your own and being a stubborn mule, Nico!"

"That's not fair-"

And no, Percy's had it, he had been swallowing this for months and with every delayed or canceled date, he grew more frustrated. "You moved to another continent. And Jay and I were supportive of that. We figured we could make the time-difference work. But you also decided against taking a government sanctioned apprentice-ship with a licensed hero that would actually pay, instead you chose to do cloak and dagger vigilante work. Which is also your choice and we supported you. But then you chose not to accept your parents' money because you want to 'make it on your own'. Which would not have been a problem if you had taken a paid internship. Instead, you're on the other side of the world, you're juggling your vigilante work, college classes, work to make money and our relationship and it's... it's incredibly frustrating, that Jay and I come more like an afterthought because you have so much going on. Much more than you would have to! It didn't have to be this hard for you but you chose to make it hard for yourself... and also for Jay and me."

There. He said it. He finally said it. The thing that's been brewing under the surface for months, cooking hotter and hotter with every passing week. A small, frustrated noise escaped him as he ran his fingers through his hair and threw his head back in his neck.

"I love you, Nico," Percy whispered into the silence. "I really do, but... For some fucked up reason, you think you gotta 'make up' for growing up as a privileged rich legacy by making it unnecessarily hard for yourself and that's... that's not admirable, it's just stupid. I'm sorry, but... but it is. And it's frustrating, because I'm juggling a lot too, okay? I have classes and an apprenticeship with one of the most demanding heroes possible. Jay is working trice as hard as anyone else at his academy. But we're accepting what we deserve. I deserve to be paid for the work I do for Zeus. Jay knows he wants to focus on learning this trade because he's years behind most others who'd known they wanted to become actors when they were preteens, he knows he can't afford to waste extra time on getting a job, so he accepts his parents' help to make it easier. You... You could make your life, and our lives, easier, but you chose not to. You have to see that that's frustrating."

"Percy..." Nico trailed off like he didn't know what to say.

"I wanna shower and gotta get to bed, I have a class on deescalation early in the morning. Night."

He hung up before Nico could say anything more, because he didn't feel like arguing. He was just frustrated and pent up with that frustration. Right now, he just wanted a shower and his bed.

/break\

Nico frowned annoyed as he stared at his phone, even after the call had disconnected. He wished he could say that Percy's irritation with him was unjustified or that Percy was being unreasonable, but if he was being very honest with himself... Percy was right. Nico had made his life more complicated than it had to be, just because he wanted to prove something to himself. Heaving a sigh, he let himself fall backward onto his bed. Great. What was he supposed to do now?

Honestly, he didn't feel like groveling. Or justifying himself. And Percy probably wouldn't pick up for him right now either. Okay. Okay, right now, Nico needed a distraction.

Nico dialed a different number. "Hey, Rey. Did I wake you too?"

"No. I was awake already," Reyna didn't exactly sound happy.

"I... I think I just had a fight. With Percy," Nico's face screwed up. "I didn't think it was possible to fight with Percy. It's Percy. I just, urgh. I just need... some distraction, you know?"

Reyna made a little noise at that. "Yeah, I do know."

"How are you and Annabeth making it work? The long distance thing?"

"We're not," Reyna paused. "We broke up about a week ago."

"Oh," Nico sat up straighter. "I... I didn't know."

"We haven't talked in a month, Nico," Reyna clearly tried to sound kind. "And it's okay. We're not in high school anymore, working on the same team and seeing each other daily. We're both busy."

"I'm sorry, still," Nico frowned. "Why did you break up?"

"Because I decided to date an incredibly ambitious woman," Reyna sounded fond, not angry. "College is a lot, especially with all the courses she's taking. And I'm busy with my own life too. It... It wasn't like we had a big fight or anything, we just... we both realized we weren't making as much time for each other as we should. We both have different priorities in life right now and it wouldn't be fair to pretend that we can still be each other's priorities."

Nico's stomach twisted at how much that sounded like his own fight with Percy.

/break\

Reyna blinked surprised when the shadows in the corner of her room opened up. Out of the shadows stepped Nico and Frank, both holding a lot of stuff. What was that...?

"I bring Frank and I bring ice-cream," Nico straightened up as he looked at her. "And really bad, old horror movies that we can make fun of while eating ice-cream."

There was fond amusement in her eyes as she looked at them. "I don't need that."

"Nonsense," Frank put a box of ice in her lap. "C'mon. It's been ages since we last hung out."

With a friendly smile did he sit down next to Reyna and by the time Nico joined them, he'd gotten three spoons from Reyna's kitchen. Though she hadn't wanted to mope around, she had to admit that it was... nice, spending time with them again. She hadn't since moving to Seattle.

"Okay, fine," Reyna offered the smallest of smiles. "What movies did you bring?"

"Revenge of the Nightmare Duke VI, Morning Break on Midnight Lane III and of course the best of them all, Knife Time 2 – T(w)oo Many Knives," Nico grinned and waved the DVDs a little.

"Amazing," Reyna said dryly. "True cultural classics. Absolute must watch movies."

"E—Exactly," Nico nudged her with his shoulder.

And as the horribly obvious special effects of the Nightmare Duke started to roll, Reyna found herself relaxing between the guys. She'd missed that, hadn't even realized how much.

/break\

Jason looked uncomfortable as he opened his door to find Nico in front of it. Which in itself was frustrating, because seeing his boyfriend shouldn't make him uncomfortable.

"Chocolates, huh?" Jason accepted the box in Nico's hand.

"I know you're probably on Percy's side in all of this-"

Jason's face screwed up at that. "I don't want to be on anyone's side, Nico. I hate this."

Which was true. The worst part about being in a relationship with two people was being between the chairs when they had an argument of any sorts. Opening the box, Jason took a piece of chocolate out to pop into his mouth, before he walked back into his dorm-room. While he'd accepted his parents' financial aid on groceries and all things around, he didn't want them to pay for a place too. Jason wanted to live more or less normal, enjoy the college experience. Including a roommate at the dorms. Nico followed him inside and toward the couch.

"Will it help if I say that Percy might have been... right?"

Raising his eyebrows, Jason turned to face Nico. "That sure makes things interesting. Go on."

"After our fight yesterday, I went to see Reyna and Frank. We... watched dumb movies and talked and... Did you know that Reyna and Annabeth broke up?"

"Yeah," Jason sat down on the living room table, so he could face Nico. "Yeah, she told me. And I heard from Percy, from Annabeth's side."

"I don't want that to be us," Nico looked up, the picture of a sad puppy dog left outside in the rain. "I don't want us to grow apart because we have so much else going on in life. I have so much going on in my life. And... And Percy... is right, that I'm maybe..."

"Try definitely," Jason muttered beneath his breath.

"Okay, fine," Nico sighed frustrated. "I am definitely making things harder for myself than I have to. Which would just be my problem if it wasn't all three of us. I affect your life too. And I make it harder for you than it has to be. And for that... I'm sorry."

"...Okay..." Jason frowned carefully. "So, what does that mean?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Nico ran his fingers through his hair. "Maybe... We could find a compromise. Maybe I could... I have been working as a vigilante for half a year. Maybe I could apply for an apprenticeship for the... remaining half year, before returning to the US? It'd relief me of the night-time going out part. I wouldn't need my job anymore because I'd have income."

"It'd also ease my mind," Jason bit his lip, playing with the little scar on it as he always did when he was thinking about something. "I... I didn't say it out loud to you yet, but... I've been really worried about your vigilante activities. Percy is with my dad. And it's not just because he's my dad, it's because he is an experienced hero, who will step in and help when it becomes too much for Percy. You go out alone. If something goes wrong and you are... unconscious and bleeding in an ally, nobody will be there looking for you. You may not be found in time. And it's been... eating me up."

"I... didn't know you were worried about that."

"Because I didn't want to affect your decision. Because it's your decision, Nico. But yes, I do."

Nico sighed and wrapped his arms around Jason to pull him into a tight hug, pressing a kiss against the temple of his lover. Jason found himself relaxing a little into the hug.

/break\

"I'm taking the flowers. And the Jason. But I don't know if I want to continue our fight in person."

Nico huffed. "You can't have the Jason if you don't let me in too."

"...You guys do realize that I can speak for myself?" Jason raised his eyebrows looking from Nico to Percy and back. "Let us in, Perce. Nico is here to apologize, okay?"

Before stepping in, Jason stole a kiss from Percy. With his own eyebrows raised did Percy watch Nico squirm. Interesting. Nico was a stubborn bastard, much like Percy himself. Which was why their fights tended to last and get loud. Neither liked backing down.

"I... ran my current schedule by Frank and Reyna, who both think I am insane for piling all that on for myself and trying to expect that I can manage a relationship with two people," Nico shuffled in front of Percy, looking guilty. "It might not be the healthiest for me either. And it's not good for the two of you, for our relationship. I don't want us to grow apart. I'm sorry."

"Okay," Percy tilted his head and cupped Nico's cheek. "I'm sorry for snapping at you too. I... shouldn't have let that irritation build up. I should have talked to you about how I feel earlier."

"So are we no longer mad at each other?" Jason looked hopeful. "Can we just... cuddle on the sofa and order takeout and be together? Ple—ease. I'm sore all over I just wanna nap."

Percy and Nico kissed, an ever so short lingering of lips, before both pulled apart with a smile. Exchanging a look, they nodded and headed over to join Jason on the big, comfortable couch.

"I love you guys," Percy smiled to himself and snuggled in between the two. "I really do."

"We do too," Jason returned his smile, wrapping his arms around Percy's waist.

Nico hummed his agreement, his face buried in between Percy's shoulder-blades. These small moments, they all had missed. Just being together, holding each other. Smelling each other's scents – the mixture of laundry detergent and shampoo that each used.

/break\

"You're... much more impressive than I thought you would be. And I admit I had high expectations from you, son of Poseidon and Amphitrite," Zeus was stroking his beard thoughtfully as he leaned back in his seat, regarding Percy. "You have your parents' powers, your mother's intelligence and your father's stubbornness. You're going to make a huge impact."

Percy paused mid-bite, with his mouth open, just holding the sandwich. That was a bigger compliment than he'd expected to ever get from Zeus. Clearing his throat, he put the sandwich down. They'd bought lunch after stopping an armed robbery just opposite that sandwich shop and were sitting on a rooftop together, overseeing San Francisco.

"I... uh... thank you?"

"No, kid," Zeus chuckled and rested a heavy hand on Percy's back. "Thank you. I can't deny that I was disappointed when Jason declined my offer and said he wants to do... acting. I always thought one of my kids would one day carry on my legacy. Guess I was wrong."

"The thing about legacies is that they're a burden and often, that's... too much," Percy licked his lips, licking the sauce off the corner of his mouth. "I gotta... I gotta admit, I don't know how I would have handled being in Jason's shoes? If my parents' identities were public knowledge, if I had to live up to the legacy of Poseidon in the public eye like that."

"I honestly never thought of it like that," Zeus frowned and turned to look at the sunset. "The public's been a part of my life since I was Lightning Lad. I don't know anything else. I never could do that secret identity thing your parents are doing. So I never... thought about it."

Zeus paused for a moment, the frown on his face deepening. "Guess I wasn't exactly a great dad, huh? I treated Jason less like a kid and more like... a future to be shaped."

"You did," Percy paused surprised at the laugh that came from Zeus. "Well, I'm not gonna sugar-coat that. I love Jay and I want him to be happy and I know the pressure and lime-light are a huge factor in his anxiety. But... I think what matters is that... you're learning?"

"Yeah? You really think so?" Zeus turned to face him again.

"I don't know, I can't speak for Jason," Percy clarified quickly. "But yes, to me, it does matter. Everyone makes mistakes, what matters is how we act afterward and how we behave in the future. What I do know means a lot to him is that you're standing up to bigots for him. It'd have been easy to disown and move on, after he didn't want to become a hero at that. But you're sticking up against people who mock him for being bi, being with two guys, for choosing the acting career. I know that he always lights up when he hears you on the news speak up against shitty comments."

"Mh," Zeus reached for a second sandwich, unwrapping it while deep in thought. "I know I'm not... a role-model on romance. But it'd never mattered to me if I was with men or women, even if I never claimed a label like you kids did. Who you go to bed with doesn't define you."

"Wish others would see it that way too..."

/break\

Jason took a deep, content breath and fell backward onto his bed. The dorm-room wasn't huge, but he'd never needed a lot of space or things, despite how other people may claim he was a spoiled brat for being born with a golden spoon in his mouth. Classes were exhausting, especially since he had decided to go not just into acting. He wanted to be well-rounded. He'd found a passion for musicals in high school. So he had dancing and singing classes on top of his acting classes. But weirdly enough, it didn't feel that much like work, because he was having so much fun. He was finally doing what he loved, instead of what others expected him to do.

"Are you back, Jay?" Thalia called out from the bathroom.

She had decided to visit him and was crashing on their couch (after Jason's roommate had given his okay). Sitting up, Jason watched Thalia enter his bedroom, towel around her shoulders, hair damp.

"I like you like this," Thalia grinned a bit. "You look happy. I mean, you look shit exhausted and bruised, but damn, you look really, really happy."

"Ye—eah, bruises are what happen when you don't remember the steps," Jason pouted. "But I am. I mean, I could be happier, if Percy and Nico were in the same city as me, but... Now that Nico cut back on his responsibilities, I get to at least see him more often than before."

Thalia sighed and sat down next to him, ruffling his hair. "You've grown up so much."

"Well, one of us had to," Jason smirked teasingly. "Ouch, don't bruise me!"

"Bruise," Thalia huffed and elbowed him again. "Don't be such a baby."

"Oh, I thought I was so grown up, just a second ago."

"Maybe I was wrong with that," Thalia laughed, ruffling Jason's hair.

The Grace siblings collapsed back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling together in silence. She was right, Jason knew that. He'd matured so much since entering high school.

Notes:

Aaand we are back to our regularly scheduled updates! Though in the case of this story, the month long break was very good, since I was considering whether or not to do a sequel and after landing on yes for that, I had some minor planning and reshuffling to do, since this and the next chapter were supposed to wrap things about the future up but all of that is now going to be in Legacy of the Olympians (coming to a fanfiction site near you this October!).

I figured not everybody should end up with their high school sweetheart so there is going to be a mild reshuffle there, as seen by the Reynabeth break-up. But I haven't entirely decided where to go for them, so if you have suggestions for Reyna, Annabeth and Piper ships, drop them in the comment section (I do already have plans for Hazel ;D)

Chapter 25: The Future Is Now

Chapter 25: The Future Is Now

Nico's boyfriends had been right. Not that this should surprise him, he had two very thoughtful and brilliant boyfriends. Now that he was doing things the official way, a load had been lifted from him. He got more regular sleep, he got to relax, to study betters – his grades had gone up – and he had only missed like one video call date in the past month and it had been due to the internet being down in Venice thanks to a villain attack earlier that day.

"So, how are things going?" Hazel asked. "Miss the states yet?"

His family was over. Hazel had a break from classes and Hades and Persephone had decided to make it a family vacation to Venice. They used to come here so often, all of them. Even Bianca had managed to make the time. She was laying sprawled out on a sun-chair, wearing a bikini and large sun-glasses, both in black. It was nice, seeing all of his family at once again.

"The states not so much. My boyfriends? Very much..."

"You don't have to finish college here," pointed Maria out.

They were setting the table together, dad behind the grill starting the flame. Finally did Bianca sit up to check if she could help with anything. Then again, she'd been on a mission in Rome before coming here so perhaps she deserved a little bit of rest. Just a tiny bit.

"It's only one more year," argued Nico. "I don't want to leave and then get settled into another college somewhere, learn what the professors are like and make new friends. I really do like it here. And the apprenticeship is going well too, I think."

"Good," Hades turned to smile at him. "We're very proud of you, Nico."

And he was proud of himself too. He hadn't known if he'd be able to pull this off.

/break\

"No, don't leave me," Drew gasped, reaching out for Jason. "Not for her."

"I'm sorry," Jason's eyes were filled with sorrow as he took another step back. "It can't be."

Drew relaxed and nodded pleased. "Okay, that was better."

"You two still busy or do you wanna take a break? I bring pizza."

Both turned toward Percy, who stuck his head into the room. Jason's face lit up and he walked over to pull his boyfriend into a kiss, while Drew went to take the pizza from Percy. With the pizza did she sit down on Jason's couch. In high school, she used to watch her weight, now she was just happy when she had time for some real food between classes.

Then again, in high school, she had also been kind of a bitch. Wanted to be queen bee so badly. Now? At the Melpomene Academy, there were already queen bees – multiple ones. That had taken her down a peg. She had to work so hard to prove herself and she'd felt so... isolated, until she reconnected with Jason – or more accurately, connected with Jason for the first time. The two of them didn't really have much to do with each other during high school. But here? Here, he was a familiar face in a sea of strangers. They'd become kind of friends.

"You two are doing great, huh?" Percy grinned and reached for a slice of pizza.

"We are," Drew smiled pleased. "We are nailing that final project, I'm telling you. Your boyfriend's got more talent in his little finger than most these losers in our class combined."

First year came to an end and they had decided to work together for this year's final project. They'd even agreed on something pretty quickly. It was surprisingly easy working with Jason.

"What about you, Jackson?" Drew took a second slice. "How's hero life treating you?"

"Honestly, I'm having a lot of fun," Percy grinned, a carefree grin. "Classes, college, I'm struggling a bit with at times, with the theoretical classes and stuff. Exams were never my thing. But the apprenticeship with Zeus is going really well. I've... learned a lot from him."

"I swear, dad's planning the wedding," Jason's voice was dry and unimpressed. "He is Percy's number one fan now. Keeps sending me pictures of Percy and when we talk, he tells me how great my boyfriend is and what great taste I have and how he will be a 'mighty-fine Grace' one day."

Drew snickered as she watched Percy blush brightly. He should wear that with more pride. The Grace family was prestigious on all accounts; Zeus the great hero and former president of the United States, and Beryl, the great actress and still rising star.

"I'm sure you two are going to make scarily powerful babies one day," teased Drew.

It effectively made Percy's blush darken even more. He was adorable like that.

/break\

SeaBabe: You are a rude and mean tease how DARE YOU

Nico snickered to himself and spontaneously opened the shadows. He had tomorrow off, he could just spontaneously visit his boyfriend. When he stepped out of the shadows, he was in Percy's apartment in San Francisco, really hoping that Annabeth wasn't home.

"There, is that better, amore?"

Percy, sitting on the couch and visibly pouting, turned around startled. His eyes darkened when he saw Nico, shirtless, in his apartment. Now that. That was a sight to behold. Smiling pleased, he wrapped his arms around Nico's neck to pull him into a slow, deep kiss. His hands wandered down to cup Nico's pecks and mh. Nice. Someone had been training very, very hard and it showed.

"Ye—es, very much better," Percy purred and trailed kisses down Nico's neck. "Any chance you can get me an additional Jason to go along with the Nico I already have...?"

"Mh... You would have to let go of me for that, Perce."

"I... do not... like that," Percy pouted and pressed a last kiss against Nico's left peck.

Nico chuckled and opened the shadows, thinking hard about Jason. He only stepped through them for a second, leaving the portal open. When he returned to Percy's side, he was carrying a startled Jason. Startled and flustered. Heh. That was a very, very good look on Percy's Jason.

"Hey," Nico glared. "You're having selfish thoughts again, I can tell, by the pervy grin."

Percy gasped at that, laying a hand on his heart. "How da—are you. Now gimme my Jason."

"See. I knew it. Selfish thoughts," Nico huffed and dumped Jason on Percy's bed. "Our Jason."

Finally, Jason spoke up. "I was doing in the middle of doing stuff!"

"Yeah, and the problem with that is that I'm not stuff," argued Percy. "Let's change that."

"I... You..." Jason heaved an exasperated sigh. "Why is he like that?"

Nico shrugged and walked over to Percy to help him out of his shirt. "Is he wrong though?"

Another exasperated sigh. This one accompanied by just the tiniest smile. Jason crawled over to grab Percy by the wrist and pull him down onto the bed and into a kiss. Percy eagerly crawled up on top of him and deepened the kiss. Sneaky hands wandered beneath Jason's shirt to get rid of it so all three of them were shirtless. By the time Jason and Percy turned around to face Nico, their boyfriend had actually lost his pants too and stood in front of them in naked glory.

"Mh... Okay, maybe I don't mind being kidnapped after all," Jason grinned. "C'mere."

Nico was happy to oblige. He went to join his boyfriends on the bed. For a couple of minutes, they just kissed each other, making out. Hands wandering all over, touching, squeezing. Percy was rock-hard already. He'd also lost his boxers somewhere along the way.

"Can we move o—on?" Percy groaned, rubbing his hardness against Jason's thigh.

"Good idea," Jason had one hand digging into Percy's ass, the other entangled in Nico's hair.

"Okay," Nico smiled. "What do you want to do, loves?"

"Mh..." Jason furrowed his brows, looking between his boyfriends. "Perce, how you feel about getting doubled? Because it's really been a while and I miss... being inside you and feeling Nico right next to me, that's so great? Can we do that?"

"Ye—es, that sounds great," Percy grinned eagerly. "Lube's... uh... under the pillow."

"Someone's been having fun last night without us?" Nico teased.

"Hey. I can't shadow-travel every time I get horny," Percy pouted. "A guy needs some relief."

Jason nibbled along Percy's shoulders while Nico lubed his own hands up. A gasp escaped Jason when Percy returned the favor and bit the blonde's neck. Eagerly did Jason bear his neck for Percy to work, his fingers digging into Percy's ass. He pulled his lover's cheeks apart in invitation for Nico. An invitation Nico gladly took. He eased a lubed up finger into Percy, gentle and careful as he wiggled in. But he could feel that Percy had played with himself last night.

"I would have loved to be there and watch you," whispered Nico.

"If you had been there, I think Percy might not have masturbated," Jason grinned amused. "He'd have had used something mu—uch more fun than Big Blue."

"Big..." Percy made a small noise. "Did you name my dildo?"

An unapologetic shrug from Jason. "That can I say, when I'm in bed alone, I like to think about you and Big Blue too. There's only so much fun to be had with memories of the three of us. Gotta get a bit more creative than that. So yes, I named him."

"You're such a dork," Percy grinned and kissed the blonde. "I love you."

Nico grunted his agreement. Adding a second finger, he started scissoring Percy. Very thoroughly, if they wanted to double him. His lips dragged over Percy's back, noting some new scars that hadn't been there the last time. Theirs was a very dangerous profession and injuries were a part of it.

"Can I have more?" Percy bucked back into Nico. "Please?"

"You can have Jason, as a treat," Nico grinned against Percy's neck.

"Thank you," both Percy and Jason chorused.

Jason's hands slipped down to Percy's thighs, pulling him closer. Nico helped position Percy, easing him down onto Jason's dick. The way Percy clung onto him, gasping softly. Jason had missed that. They made time for dates, but they didn't always have time for sex. A couple of times, Percy just rolled his hips, slowly lifting himself off Jason's dick and coming back down.

"So much better than Big Blue," whispered Percy with a grin.

After a few minutes, Nico slipped a finger in beside Jason's dick to loosen Percy further. His own cock hung heavy and hard, aching to join Jason. Especially with that amazing view he had right now, watching Jason's cock slip in and out of Percy. It got him horny like few other things.

"What do you think," whispered Nico. "Think you can take me too already?"

The enthusiastic nodding from his lover was all the answer he needed. Chuckling to himself, Nico pulled his finger up, making a little room to squeeze his dick in alongside Jason. And yes. Jason had definitely been right, he had missed this too. It was the most connected he could feel to both of them. He started peppering Percy's shoulders with kisses before moving very slowly.

"Oh, I like this. I like this a lot," Percy sighed and leaned back, resting his head against Nico's shoulder. "Ye—es. Now move. Move, move, move."

"So bossy," Jason huffed and smacked Percy's flank playfully. "Try with a please."

"Where's the fun in that?" Percy grinned. "C'mon. Be good for me."

He was pawing at Jason's chest like a needy kitten. It was always so hard to deny Percy, though cheeky Percy always did make Jason want to deny him, just a little bit. To tease him. The kitten eyes were aimed at him and Jason gave in, as always. He thrust up, giving Percy what he wanted.

"You're so gorgeous between us," Nico smiled, his hands on Percy's hips.

He also pushed harder now, thrusting into Percy and lifting him up a little off Jason's dick. And then bringing him back down full again with a small push from Nico's hands on Percy's waist. It was Jason who wrapped his fingers around Percy's cock to jerk their boyfriend off.

"Nico's right with that," Jason grinned. "You're so pretty. I love you."

"Aw," Percy smiled softly, before interrupting himself with a moan. "Love you too."

Between Nico and Jason pushing against his prostate alternately and Jason jerking him off, Percy felt like he was on a special kind of high. He just melted between his boyfriends, groping Jason's chest with one hand and slinging the other around Nico's head from the front until his fingers could entangle in Nico's curls. Turning his head some, Percy even got a kiss from Nico.

"I'm close," Percy whispered against Nico's lips.

"Yeah?" Nico grinned, increasing the pace some more. "Hold it just a little longer, okay?"

A small noise from Percy, but he held on for a couple thrusts more before he came into Jason's hand. As his muscles contorted around Jason and Nico's dick, making the tight fit even tighter, he was driving both Jason and Nico over the edge too. They came hard, filling their lover.

"Oh, yeah, that is one thing Big Blue can't do," Percy grinned like a sated cat.

"You're awful," Jason huffed but pulled Percy into a kiss. "C'mere, both of you."

Nico and Percy were happy to oblige and ignore any clean-up. That could still wait until later. For now, Jason just found himself sandwiched between his boyfriends, laying in Percy's very comfortable and large bed. Closing his eyes, Jason rested his head on Nico's chest.

"I can't wait for this to be our norm," stated Percy. "Just, us, being able to fall asleep together."

"Just a few more precious months," Nico promised, placing a kiss on top of Jason's head.

"Right," Jason snorted. "More like eighteen months..."

"No. No, your math sucks, babe," Percy blinked at him. "Hero course is a two year program. Nico and I are wrapping up in six months and graduating."

"Yeah, but acting is a three year degree," argued Jason. "So it'll still be a year more."

"Until you graduate. Not until we can live together though," Nico frowned and exchanged a look with Percy over Jason's head. "I'm coming back to the states after graduation."

"...Right," it was Jason's turn to blink a couple times. "I don't think that has really... We haven't exactly talked about what comes after you guys' graduation... Huh."

"We're moving to Los Angeles," replied Percy without missing a beat. "Your dad's taught me a lot, but there's more things I want to learn. And I'm okay with learning in LA."

"Same," Nico shrugged. "I mean, we... we kind of expect you to move to New York with us when we restart the Olympians, but... until then, we will be where you are, okay?"

New York had been a given, Jason had always known it. That was one of the reason he had put more workload on for himself, because LA was where movies and TV shows lived, but New York? That was where the Broadway lived. And now, studying it, Jason had a lot of passion for it. That was where he wanted his career to go, while Nico and Percy were going to be busy with the Olympians. Somehow, he had kind of expected Percy and Nico to go to New York right after graduation, getting things started. He hadn't expected for them to take another year off.

"But... are you sure about that?" Jason furrowed his brows. "I mean, you could..."

"No. No, I don't really think we can," Percy interrupted him. "Babe, I'm twenty. I don't have the life experience to start the Olympians yet. I learned as a sidekick from your dad, but there's so much more to being a leader. I want to go to a bigger agency to get an idea of what's going on behind the curtain. I'm not just doing this for you. Yes, I'm doing this in San Francisco for you. But I do think that I need at least another year of training before I can even think about this."

"Yeah," Nico grunted softly. "I know that things in Europe run very differently from things here in the states. I've been learning a lot from Buona Fortuna, but there are things she can't teach me. Things I will have to learn in the states to work here."

"Wait," Jason's face brightened as he sat up. "That means five and a half months from now, I could have both of you? With me? Every day?"

"If you'll have us," Percy grinned before being smothered in kisses. "Think that's a yes."

"Definitely looks like a yes," Nico chuckled and then got jumped himself.

/break\

"Thank you. For everything you taught me, sir," Percy held out his hand.

Zeus just grunted and pulled him into a bear-hug. "You're a good sidekick. And a good kid."

When the hug broke, Zeus wrapped an arm around Percy's shoulders. They were at Percy's graduation and of course had Zeus just pushed both Paul and Sally aside to hug Percy first. Now however, it was on Tyson, jumping his brother. Not that easy anymore, he wasn't a little boy. He was a teenager by now, lanky and so tall. It should be illegal for younger brothers to get taller than their older brothers. Percy laughed, accepting hugs from his parents and Triton too.

"You know, now that you will no longer be my sidekick, I do have a graduation gift for you..."

"Zeus," Poseidon's voice was sharp, a warning.

Zeus just lazily waved a hand at him, dismissing him. "Shush, you were not asked. See, since my own son declined it, I figured I could give him a gift by giving you a gift..."

"It's an apartment, isn't it?" Jason looked unimpressed.

"Seeing as both Percy and Nico successfully graduated from college, yes, I am giving your boyfriends an apartment in LA where they can live together, with their other boyfriend who... oh so happens to be my son," Zeus looked very smug. "Now, what do you say, boys?"

"We're saying yes," Percy stated, before Nico had a chance to argue. "I'm not stupid enough to decline a free place, I don't even want to imagine what rent in LA is like. Yeah."

Sally smiled amused at that. They had never been poor, Poseidon and Amphitrite had made enough to save them up a nice cushion, and both Sally and Paul were still working now, even as they were retired as heroes. But they definitely didn't have the money to spare to just spring for an apartment like that. Though Percy knew to accept a gift and not to be foolish enough to decline help if offered.

"That's so..." Jason glowered at his father.

"What?" Zeus feigned innocent confusion. "If you want to move in with your boyfriends, that is entirely your decision, you can also stay in the dorms."

/break\

Percy was going to miss living with Annabeth, to a degree. She was kind of a neat-freak so it would also be nice not to have her Glare Of Disapproval aimed at him at every little thing still laying around (and Zeus had confirmed that he would still be paying for the apartment for Annabeth, until her graduation next year, so she wouldn't have to move out. Because money really was the last thing Zeus Grace worried about). But as he put down the box in the huge bedroom of their new fancy apartment in Los Angeles, Percy couldn't wait for this new phase of his life to start.

"I'm going to miss Venice," Nico whispered, sitting down on the bed. "The... life, the people."

"I mean, we can regularly go over for a vacation," offered Jason. "Make it... an us thing? Like, how your family used to go to Venice for summer break?"

"A tradition for our family, eh?" Nico grinned, a small and teasing grin.

Jason flushed at that. "None of that! I haven't even graduated college yet!"

Percy laughed and tackled Jason from the side, so both of them landed on the bed with Nico. They all turned toward the large window-front, overseeing all of Los Angeles. And it was beautiful.

"Okay, I admit, living here with you two is going to beat the dorm room and George."

"Gee, he likes us more than George, I feel so flattered," Percy chuckled, before kissing both his boyfriends on their cheeks. "Here's to the next phase for the three of us"

~*~ The End ~*~

Notes:

Aaand this is the end of this story. So the sequel can fully focus on the Olympians. So watch out for The Legacy of the Olympians on October 29th, coming to a fanfiction site near you!

As always, thank you for reading and thank you even more for commenting, I'm happy y'all took this journey with me and I hope to see you in the comment section of the sequel! ;)

Notes:

As always, you can find my updating schedule on my profile - and come visit me on tumblr at takaraphoenix, I've been teasing this story over there for like a month before posting and I tend to do that sort of thing over there! ;)

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of The Legacy of Jercico