Hell And High Water (Percico boyxboy)

X

Nico didn't want to push Percy to make a decision, and he himself was still processing the whole thing, so he kept his mouth shut about it. The drive back from the park to the hotel was totally silent and Nico had to keep looking over at Percy to make sure the son of Poseidon was okay, or at least as okay as the situation would allow. Nico remembered how it had been for him when he took his first hit. He was paranoid. And he had been involved with stuff like that before. This whole situation was totally new to Percy.
Things didn't change once they were back in the hotel. For hours on end, Percy sat on his bed, blankly staring at the wall. He couldn't believe what he had agreed to. Sure, he had killed monsters before and that was no big deal to him. But this was a human being. And if he didn't do this, both he and Nico would be killed.
It was getting late and Nico was starting to get worried with Percys lack of conversation and, more shockingly, questions. He had expected a plethora of them after the occurrences of earlier in the day, but there were none. That could, more than likely, be blamed on a confusion that made questions seem pointless. Nico just wished there was something he could do for Percy to help him clear his mind but the only thing that was actually able to do that was... Duh.
"Hey, Percy?"
The son of Poseidon turned his head very slowly to look at Nico.
"Do you wanna go to the pool?"
It took a second for Percy to respond but he finally nodded and stood from the bed. He changed into his swim trunks and the two boys took the elevator to the ground floor.
The pool room always seemed to be empty when they went and this time was no exception. Percy slipped his shirt off and Nico watched as every inch of his bare chest came into view. Thoughts and feelings began to stir in him and he had to force them away, considering the current situation. Still, though, he couldn't deny how perfect Percy looked in a pair of swimming trunks. He had to wonder whether the pool was actually to help clear Percys thoughts or if it was for him to let his own run rampant.
Percy swam for a couple hours before he made his way to the bottom of the pool, like he had done so many times before, and just sat and thought. It seemed to be the only place in the whole world he was able to think, honestly. But, normal thought process  pfor the son of Poseidon had become kind of twisted so, he decided on just sitting on the bottom of the pool for as long as he could.
Percy knew how long he was able to hold his breath but, today, he decided to push his limit. He counted seconds in his head until they became minutes. The first few minutes were easy but when he got to about six, he knew he was getting pretty close to being done. Six turned into seven and Percy felt like he might explode from lack of oxygen. He counted the seconds, still, and pushed himself further than he ever had before. He was almost to eight minutes when he pushed off the bottom and surfaced back at the top. He took a long and heavy, yet shakey, breath and Nico stood from the chair he was sitting in. He had never seen Percy out of breath when he was swimming.
"Percy? Are you alright?"
He nodded and continued to take deep breaths to fill his lungs back up again.
"Tried to hold my breath for too long."
Nico nodded, relieved that it was something as simple as that, and Percy pushed himself out of the pool. He took the towel Nico handed him and dried his hair and torso before slipping his shirt back on. Nico was actual thankful for that because those thoughts were starting to come back.
Before they went back to the hotel, they stopped at the lounge and Nico made Percy eat. He didn't want to. The idea of eating made him sick at the time being. But, he stomached a snadwhich and some water so Nico would let him go back to the hotel room.
Percy showered to rid himself of the chlorine while Nico began to work on a possible plan for the hit Percy had been 'hired' for. It was hard, considering he didn't know who the target was, but Nico liked being prepared for anything.
Percy finished in the shower and just plopped onto his bed and fell asleep. The day had worn away at a deathly slow pace but it was finally over and both were happy for that. Nico, too, put away his notebook and buried himself under his covers to sleep.

The days went by at a well enough pace and Nico managed to hold out until the 19th before he started questioning Percy about the hit. He knew the son of Poseidon really had no idea what he was doing but he wanted to know how he was at coming up with things on the fly.
Percy was flustered when Nico brought it up because it had only been two days and he still had one to think.
"Do you have any ideas of how you might want to handle this?"
The question had really come out of the blue. The two were sitting and eating lunch while Percy played a game on his phone. He tensed when Nico asked but still managed to speak. "How I might want to handle it?" His voice held a touch of distaste.
Nico sighed. Maybe that was too much too soon. He hesitated for a second, trying to figure another way to put it. He forced himself to be gentle. "Percy, look, this isn't the time to over think things. If you have an idea on how you might want to go about things, then we should try to work with it."
Percy didn't want to talk about any of this. He wanted to forget the whole things had even come to be. "Nico, I don't want to do this at all. I have been doing everything in my power to not think about it."
Nico had figured as much. He wished he didn't have to be the one to bring it to the forefront of Percy's thoughts, but Percy wasn't going to do it himself, so...
Nico took a deep breath. "Percy, look. If you don't do this, Ares is gonna have his cronies kill us. I would prefer not to lose my life over something like this."
It didn't take long for Percy to read between the lines and twist Nicos words around. "So you're worried about losing your own life? What about my life, huh? Or does that not matter to you?"
Nico sighed in growing agitation. "That's not what I meant."
Percy's response was explosive. Nico wasn't sure where the anger had come from or even why Percy was showing it. But Nico did know that, once Percy got started, it would be hard to get him to calm down again. "It never is! Every time you ever say anything that offends anyone it's never what you meant! I am getting so sick of it! You pulled me into all this shit and now I'm being asked to commit murder because of you!"
Percy was shouting pretty loudly and Nico knew that the walls of the hotel weren't very thick. If there was anyone in the rooms on either side of their own, they would hear Percy talking about committing murder. "Would you keep your voice down? What if someone hears you?"
Nicos pleas were pointless. Percys anger was overpowering. He wanted to shout. He kind of wanted someone to hear him. He wanted someone to know what was going on. Who cares if they called the police? If they did, Percy would get arrested and wouldn't have to go through with what he was facing. That idea gave him a whole new spark to start a fire with.
"Let them hear me! Let them do something about it! I don't care! I'm not doing what you're asking me to do! I won't be like you! I won't k-"
Nico knew what word was coming next and there was no way he was going to let it tumble from the son of Poseidons lips. Before Percy had the chance to say it, Nico lunged foreward and did the only thing he found logical: shut Perct up by sealing the son of Poseidons lips with his own.
The kiss wasn't really much of one, but it did what Nico hoped it would do. Percy fell silent right away, other than a few muffled sounds that got lost on Nicos lips. Once Percy was totally quiet, Nico pulled away.
It took a second for Percy to process things but he started shouting again quickly. "What the shell was that for?!"
"I told you to stop shouting. Since you didn't, I had to find a way to shut you up."
Percy was totally dumbfounded. The kiss took him by complete surprise and the reason for it was a pretty crappy one, to say the least. He grew pretty angry at the way that Nico just stood and stared at him awkwardly. How could Nico just stand there like nothing had happened?
How could he? He could because Nicos own mind was buzzing. He should not have kissed Percy. As he did, he realized that he found Percys outburst of anger to be quite hot and kissing him, even being the simple, but long, peck that it was, was already proving to be a bad idea. In his mind, Nico had gone much further than that... He shook his head to stop the scene from unraveling before him in his thoughts. He turned his back to the son of Poseidon and wiped a hand over his face. He had much bigger things to worry about at the time.
Nico made his way over to the desk and slammed his fists onto it. All of this was too much. He thought for a moment about alternatives to actually having Percy carry out the hit. There were plenty that ran through his mind. He could do it himself and tell Ares that Percy had done it. After thinking about it for a little longer, he realized the idea was a stupid one. Ares was smart enough to know that there was no way that could have been true. He was pretty familiar with Nicos style and had been able to tell people, more than once, that it was the son of Hades that had done a job. That meant he would know if it was Nico who had done it instead of it being someone else. Nico could always try to change the way he worked but he didn't really have enough time to cover all of the bases and make something like that believeable. Then came another thought. He could drag Percy back to the Lotus and force him inside. If he did that, Percy would have no idea what was going on outside of the walls of the building. It would have been easy enough, to be honest, and that way he could tell Ares that Percy had split and that he himself would carry out the hit. The idea only played in his thoughts for a few seconds before he figured it would actually be pretty stupid. There was no way Nico would be able to get Percy to willingly go back to the Lotus and he wasn't dark enough to figure a way to force him. The only idea that actually seemed to make even the least bit of sense to him was the one of helping the son of Poseidon. He knew he would be able to help Percy figure out a plan and get all the details worked out. He would have to let Percy add his own flare, if he was capable, to make it so that no one was able to blame it directly on Nico. He had to think for a few minutes about it but he figured it was really the only way to go.
Nico knew that Ares would call as soon as the sun was even threatening to rise the next morning and he wasn't going to risk not having an answer. He would push Percy as hard as he had to to get the son of Poseidon to tell him whether or not he was actually planning on agreeing to the hit.
"Percy, I don't want to seem insensitive but you need to decide if you're even going to do this."
Percy sighed and dropped his head into the pillow on his bed. "Do I really have much of a choice?"
Nico shrugged. "If you don't mind dying, yes, you do. If you'd prefer to keep all of your body parts intact and your heart pumping, no."
Percy groweled quietly and closed his eyes. He tried to sort everything out and focus but that seemed to be damn near impossible. "So what do I do then?"
Nico breathed deeply. "You have about twelve hours before Ares expects his answer. He will call us, most likely, as soon as the sun rises. It may sound like a lot of time, but it isn't."
Percy tried to stay calm as all of that sunk in. It was still a lot to process and, to be honest, Percy had kind of hoped the whole thing had been a bad dream or a big joke. A really big, dark joke. He hadn't been so lucky. He took a breath. "What do you suggest?"
Nico nodded once before he started speaking. "We work to your strengths. Being a demigod, you have plenty. I don't suggest doing anything with water, unless of course Ares has some sort of information he's trying to get. If so, we can do some sort of water board tortue sort of deal."
That wasn't what Percy expected. "What?"
"This'll go so much easier if you don't ask any questions, alright? I need to make sure that Ares knows that it's not me who carried it out. He knows my style so that means that I can't do this for you. I wish I could, but I can't."
Percy was staring blankly at the son of Hades.
"Going from what I know of you from before, you're good with a sword. No one uses swords. So, if you do, no one will be able to try to peg it on someone else. Is this making sense?"
Percy thought for a second. He really couldn't believe this was happening, he couldn't believe it was real. It wasn't a nightmare, he wished it was, but it wasn't. It was actually happening. He had heard Nico ask his question and, despite the fact that it really wasn't making sense at all, he nodded his head.
"Okay. That brings me to my next point. We need to plan this out so it will be absolutely flawless. I may not be able to kill whoever it ends up being for you, but I can play a part."
"Stop." That was the first thing Percy had really said the whole time and Nicos heart skipped a beat when he heard Percys voice. It sounded so solemn and down, even a little hurt and scared.
"What is it?"
Percy looked at Nico for the time during the conversation. "We don't even know who he's gonna send me after.How am I supposed to plan out how to kill someone, when I don't even know who that someone is?"
Nico rubbed his face. Percy had a very valid point. Nico had never had to plan a hit that he didn't know the target of. This was new for him, too.
For the next few hours, he and Percy did everything they could to come up with as solid of a plan as was actually possible. They left room for alterations if they were needed later on during the actual hit. Nico found himself getting very agitated at Percy for how much the son of Poseidon didn't know. He was trying to be patient and take his time with his explanations so they made sense. The thing Percy seemed to have the hardest time grasping was the idea of tortue if it was necessary. Percy kept repeating the fact that Ares hadn't said anything about it to begin with but, Nico knew there was a chance he would spring it on them.
Percy may not have really known what was going on, but he managed to get himself through it with Nicos help. He was still more confused about the whole thing than he had been about anything before, even when he learned he was demigod. After all, this was a whole lot different.
Percy managed to keep focused and listen to what Nico said well into the night. He practically had to beg the son of Hades to stop talking about the hit and let him go to bed. He was exhausted already and Nico could tell. He hadn't finished going over things, though, and he really wanted to have everything covered before Ares was supposed to call the next morning. As soon as he looked at Percy, though, he could the son of Poseidon had definantly had enough for the day and was totally wiped. Nico told him he could go to bed but he had better not sleep through the phone call the next morning. Percy was visibly relieved and he moped sleepily into the bathroom to take a shower.
The water was so soothing and relaxing that almost everything faded from his thoughts. The hit, the plans, Ares, Herc, the kiss... kisses... not a single thought ran through his mind. For the first time in a long time, Percy felt somewhat at peace.
His thoughtless state came to an end, though, as a single thing entered his mind and made him think a thousand of thousands of others. The thought: his father.
He thought back to all of the quests he had gone on and remembered that Poseidon had been there, telling him what to do. He wondered if this would be the same. He hadn't bothered to even think about his father until then,honestly, and he felt pretty stupid for basically ignoring the man that was the reason, in many different ways, that he was alive. So, in order to calm himself a little and keep his conscious from making him lose it, he tried to call on his father.
Percy let the water continue to flow over his body as he spoke to Poseidon in his thoughts. He went through pretty much everything he could remember happening and the things he knew were to come. He had never considered talking to Poseidon 'praying'; he may have been a god, yes, but, to Percy, the fact he was his father was more important. He wasn't sure if he should expect a response or not. His father had always been pretty silent when Percy called on him. The only time he found it necessary to speak to his son was when it was on his accord, not Percys.
Percys thoughts fell silent for a moment as he waited to hear something from Poseidon. As the quiet seconds wore on into minutes, he grew very angry. His own father wasn't responding to his pleas for help in his current predicament.
After many futile attempts to communicate with his own father, Percy climbed out of the shower, dried off, changed, and left the bathroom.The city outside the hotel was a little calmer than normal and Percy stood by the window to stare out at it. The lights on the building and streets made night sometimes seem like day in big cities but, tonight, they seemed to not shine as bright. They seemed to be a little dimmer, a little duller. Percy felt the city was a reflection of the way he himself was feeling...

Morning didn't seem to wait for long and Percy woke to Nico shaking him and saying that Ares was calling. Percys eyes lulled open and he looked around the room for a second before focusing his eyes on the son of Hades.
"Wake up!"
He nodded and shooed Nico away a little. "I'm awake."
Nico answered the phone call, quite inpatiently, and put the phone on speaker so Percy could hear what was going on.
'Good morning, boys. I hope you have made a choice.'
Nico looked at Percy, who was wide awake now, and swallowed when the son of Poseidon nodded his head.
"He wants to know who he's after, first."
Ares chuckled sickly. 'You think you're so clever. That's  not the way it works. First, you accept, then you get a name. Do you accept?'
Nico looked at Percy once again and the son of Poseidon nodded.
"He'll take it."
'I want to hear him say it.'
Nicos eyes shot to look straight into Percys. The worry was very evident on the son of Poseidons face. Nico nodded once to tell Percy he would alright and that he needed to say it.
Percy took a few seconds but he opened his mouth and a very shakey and quiet "I accept" left his lips.
'Good boy.'
Nico wished he could reach through the phone and wrap his hands around Ares' neck and choke him to death right then and there for the tone he said those two words in.
'Your target is someone that you friend knows quite well. I know he will be giddy with excitement when he hears who it is.'
"Just say it." Nico gave Percy a look after the son of Poseidon said that.He wasn't angry that Percy had spoken. He was actually more shocked than anything else.
'Well, well. You are a fiesty one. Alright, I'll tell you. Seeing as how you don't like to let the suspense build. His name is Daemon. You remember him right, Hades?' The last word was filled with a very clear distain.
Nico let out a sound that was a mix between a sigh and a growl. "Yes."
Ares chuckled. 'I thought so. Anyway, you have until next Friday to find and kill him. Do you understand me?'
Percy looked at Nico and saw that the son of Hades was still fuming from hearing the name. It was clear to him that Nico knew this person. It was also clear that it had to be him that spoke to Ares from that point on.
"Yes."
'Good. If I find that you somehow neglect your duty, whether it be by running or by pushing the hit off on someone else, I will find you and kill you. If it turns up that the job is satisfied and I find that you were not the one to carry it out, it will be the last thing you ever do. Are you hearing what I am saying? Is it sinking in?'
Percy looked back over at Nico. The son of Poseidon still looked a little dazed.
"Yes."
'Good. Have fun, kid.'
The phone clicked, indicating that Ares had hung up.
Percy looked at the son of Hades for a moment and studied his face. It seemed like his features had frozen in place. His expression was hard to read. He had always looked so hard and angry but something about the expression he wore at that moment was different. It wasn't a happy one, but it wasn't angry either. It was confused, scared even.
"Nico?"
He turned slowly to face Percy.
The son of Poseidon knew that his change in demeanor was due to the name of the guy Percy was just hired to kill.
"Who is Daemon?"
Nico took a breath and swallowed it down before he even tried to speak. "His street name is Horme, god of impulse and violent actions. It fits. He was extremely impulsive and always ready to pick fights and be violent for any reason he could find. We met when I first came to the streets. We sold drugs together for a while and he became my first friend in this world."
Percys jaw dropped open.
"I haven't spoken to him in over a year but that doesn't mean I want him dead." He looked at Percy as he said that and Percy could tell he was trying hard not to get emotional.
"If you don't want me to do this, I won't."
Nico shook his head vigorously and stood from the bed. "I will not let you risk your life just because You were hired to kill someone I used to know."
Percy stood after him. "It's not fair that you have to help me kill someone you used to know."
"That's just it, Percy." Nico turned and tried to ignore the fact that Percy was clad only in a pair of boxers. Now was not the time for thoughts like that.
Percy was giving the son of Hades a look that was plagued with 'What do you mean?' and 'I don't understand.'
"Percy, this is all on you now. You plan it, and you carry it out. I can't have a part in it."
Percys mouth fell open and he stood in shock as Nico walked into the bathroom.
Nico closed and locked the door behind him before he slid down it until he was planted on the floor. He dropped his head into the door and closed his eyes. He took a breath. There weren't many people who could be called 'good friends' in this world but Horme had been one of them. And Nico had unknowingly helped plan his death...
Percy flopped back onto the bed. He had wished over and over that Nico would have just left him in the Lotus and he was wishing that harder than he ever had before right then. He was actually kind of angry, for the first time, that Nico had 'saved' him from the hotel. He had been angry about the things that had unraveled since then, yes, but this was different. This was even worse than when he had gotten shot. That had been an accident. This was, technically, Nicos fault and Percy had no problem blaming him for it.
He flopped onto his bed and just wished he could wake up again and have it all be some big joke, like he had wished before. Now, though, it seemed like the situation has worsened. The plot had thickened and the only one he was blaming was Nico.