Hell And High Water (Percico boyxboy)

XI

Percy didn't think that he had ever wanted Nicos help more than he did that day. He had no idea what he was supposed to be doing. Whenever he had ever killed anything before, it had always been something that he just happened upon, never something he went looking for. Then there was the fact that this wasn't a something, it was a someONE. People were, usually, smarter than all the creatures Percy had come in contact with over his years as a demigod. How was he supposed to be able to hunt one down?
He had so many questions that needed answers but it wasn't that fact that had him going crazy. It was the fact that he had someone that knew all about this stuff, knew what to do, probably knew where this Daemon was, and had more ideas swimming through his head on how to kill someone than anyone should but wouldn't help him. That's what was really driving Percy crazy.
He had a week. A week to find this guy and to kill him. If he didn't, someone would be after him and Nico to kill them. How was he supposed to find him, though? He didn't have connections in this world to help him through this. He didn't have street smarts. He didn't have anything but someone who could help him, but was refusing to. Percys only real option was to try to convince Nico to help him.
He looked over to the bed where the son of Hades had been laying ever since he hung up the phone almost two hours ago. Hate welled up inside of Percy as he looked at Nico, just laying on the bed. He wondered how Nico could just lay there after pretty much signing Percys, and his own, death warrants and handing them over to Ares on a silver platter. He got that this Daemon guy, or Horme as Nico called him, had been his friend but was he worth dying for? Nico had said they hadn't spoken in over a year so why would he feel any sort of connection at all to him? In Percys opinion, he shouldn't. And yet the son of Hades was choosing this guy over the one he had spent three years of his life trying to find and save.
Percy looked at the clock. It was almost ten and the day seemed like it was practically melting away. He realized he had a week, but he felt like he was going to need every minute of it. He turned in the chair to face Nico. Anger welled up in him again as he saw the slightly younger boy laying, seemingly content, on the bed.
"Nico."
The son of Hades didn't acknowledge Percy and it was only then that he realized Nico had ear buds wedged in his ears. Percy was getting exceedingly agitated with the fact that Nico had basically just left him to die. All of this was his fault and, just like when Percy had gotten shot, the son of Poseidon was taking the fall for it.
Percy angrily ripped Nicos ear buds from his ears. He was surprised when Nico didn't respond with anger. The son of Hades sat up very slowly and crossed his legs. He placed his hands softly on his knees and looked at Percy with a very calm expression. He seemed very docile despite the fact that Percy had expected him to behave like a wild animal.
Nico didn't say anything and just looked at Percy, wondering what was going to come next. That made Percy even more angry.
"How the hell can you just sit there and not care that I have to plan a murder right now?" He managed not to shout, thankfully.
Nico shook his head gently. "I told you. I can't have a part in it. That's why I can just sit here."
Percy was getting even more angry. "You do realize there is no way that I will be able to do this. And, if I don't... when I don't, that guy is going to come after us to kill us."
Nico nodded once. "We will deal with that when that time comes."
Percy put his hand on his face and spun on his heal around in a circle. He had always done things like that when he got agitated or stressed and Nico had always found it really attractive. This time, though, it wasn't quite as appealing. It still was, yes, just not as much. It shouldn't really have been, though, given everything that was going on.
"You got me into this, Nico."
The son of Hades stood from the bed and approached Percy slowly. Percy took a step back. He may have been the one who was overly angry at the moment but he didn't want to push Nico to reaching that point.
"I understand that, Percy." Nicos voice was steady and his tone was calm. "Let me ask you this. If I were sent to kill Grover or Annabeth, would you help me?"
Percy didn't see how that even made any sense. "That's not the same thing." There was growing anger in the son of Poseidons voice.
"How is it not?" Nico, on the other hand, was still very calm. "The only difference is that you haven't seen them in three years when it's only been a little over one since I've seen Horme. You wouldn't help me kill one of them, why do you think I should help you kill my old friend?"
"It's just not the same!"
Nico waited for Percy to say more. When the son of Poseidon stayed silent, Nico coughed a chuckle and shook his head. Percys argument really wasn't a valid point and it seemed as though the son of Poseidon knew it. Nico went back to the bed and laid down on it before plugging his ear buds back in. Before he managed to press the play button on his music, Percy was speaking to him again.
"Nico, wait."
The son of Hades pulled his head phones back out and placed them gently on the bed before looking at Percy.
The son of Poseidon shook his head gently and cranked his neck back so he was looking at the ceiling. He let out a sound that resembled a mix between a growl and a moan and dropped his head to face Nico again.
"I need your help. I get he's your friend. I get you have a history with him. I get that, I do. But I need your help. I have no clue what I'm doing. I am scared out of my mind. At first, this all seemed so fake. I thought that, maybe, I would wake up this morning and it would end up to be just one, huge, twisted, dream. But it wasn't. It was real. I don't want to do this any more than you do. But, you said it yourself, I'm not losing my life over this. Please just help me."
Percy was pitiful when he begged. Like a small child, or a puppy, desperate for something. He was desperate. He was desperate for help. For guidance. Nico could help him. He just wished he would have thought about all of this a lot sooner. He had already gotten the son of Poseidon into so much trouble, and this was just icing on the cake. But he couldn't just leave him to fend for himself. He had to help. Just like when Percy had gotten shot. This was his fault, and he had to help. He had convinced himself of that with very little trouble, but admitting that to Percy, that was something else.
Nico resituated himself on the bed a little before clearing his throat.
"I want you to listen and listen very carefully. I will help on one condition."
Percy stared at him, waiting to know what this 'one condition' was.
"I planned on at least staying by your side through all of this, just not helping. I have decided, against what's left of my better judgment, that I will help you plan for this. Plan and that is it. When it comes time to carry it out, I will be nowhere near you."
Percy was actually kind of confused. How could Nico find it okay to help plan a murder but not find it okay to participate in one? Despite the fact that Percy felt totally lost and was frightened beyond belief, he slowly nodded his head in agreement.
Straight away, Nico began pulling notebooks and file folders from his bag. Ever since he started this life, he had kept files on everyone he had dealings with. There were some he didn't keep, like the ones of the people who had been killed or had fled the country and didn't plan on returning, but he had most. He had Daemons and that seemed to be the only one that mattered at the time, so he was good.
He handed the file to Percy as he stuffed all the others back into his bag. Percy stared at the outside of the manila folder for a moment before Nico told him to open it. Inside, was a slew of information about the person Percy had been hired to kill. Most of the sheets of paper Percy saw were typed but had an obscene amount of hand written information sprawled out over what was already there.
"What am I supposed to learn from this?"
Nico sighed. Percy really had no clue about any of this...
"Everything there is all you will ever need to know about a person in oder to hit them. (He couldn't force himself to say kill) There likes and dislikes. There fears and dreams. I have taken more time than you could ever imagine studying the people I work with and jotting down everything I learn about them."
Percy couldn't imagine Nico ever spending that much time on anything but he hadn't seen the son of Hades in three years, so, who knows?
For the next few hours, Percy went through the file and gawked at what he was reading. This Daemon guy, or Horme, as Nico was now requesting he be called, was... interesting. He had had military training in counter interrogation and hand to hand combat. He had been involved with a gang of hitters and dealers as their own personal body guard and, basically, brass balls. From what Percy was reading, he would do just about anything. He had walked into a bank, with no face mask or any kind of disguise for that matter, and robbed the place without a seconds hesitation. He had a weapons dealer, or at least did at one point, that could get his hands on military grade weapons. Along with all of that, the guy was a skilled bomb maker and MMA fighter. Percy had a feeling that he was not a guy to mess with and was seriously the wrong person to try to kill.
Even with all the file told him, Percy felt like there should have been more. Everything he read was telling him the guys strengths, not his weaknesses. And if Percy even had the slightest bit of a hope in killing him, he needed to know those things. He looked at Nico who had been impatiently pacing the floor for over four hours.
"Nico."
The son of Hades took a few more steps before he came to a stop in front of Percy and looked up at him.
Percy started panicking. He didn't know how to word such a thing in a way that wouldn't make Nico flip his lid.
"There's a lot of information in here, but..."
Nicos expression grew a little darker. "But what, Percy?"
"I don't think..."Oh he really did not have to want to say this, and to Nico of all people. "I don't think there's enough for me to be able to..."
It seemed as though a switch inside of Nico went off with those words. "Seriously? Do you have any idea how hard a guy like Horme is to gather intel on, even when you work with him?"
It was apparent that Nico had expected a respone. "...No."
"Then don't tell me you don't have enough to go on." He spat back. "You're lucky you have that much."
Percy swallowed hard. He didn't doubt, for a second, the he was indeed lucky. But that didn't help him at all.
Nico had gone back to pacing, clearly unwilling to actually be of any service. Percy hung his head a little and picked up the notebook and pen Nico had dropped onto the bed next to him. He looked back at that the file folder and huffed. There was a lot of information, yes, but he didn't know what to do with it. He couldn't see how any of it would do him any good. Despite that, he started scribbling down all sorts of notes. He wasn't sure if any of it was relevent or not but he tried. He remembered back to school when he had done 'close reading'. They were supposed to read through something and try to figure what the author had meant when they wrote it. That was kind of what Percy was doing now. He would read a few things in type about one particular topic and see a couple of notes in hand writing about the same thing. It obviously must have been important, or else it wouldn't have popped up so many times, so it went in the notebook. As he kept going, things began to make more sense. Seemingly simple connections became revolutionary and important. More and more, Percy was finding ways to get at Horme. He was learning his fears. He was learning his weaknesses.
Some of the things Percy had managed to learn were the very few allergies Horme had, although knowing he was allergic to bees and seafood seemed unimportant. Along with that, he learned that Horme was good with guns but not knives. He could  snipe someone from ridiculous distances and make bombs with simple household cleaners and some copper wire. Percy leanred he could fight someone to the death with his bare hands and even hide by using walls to hold himself to a ceiling and then jump on unexpecting victims, which was a little frightening. But, Percy still wasn't sure how any of that could be useful.
"Nico?"
The son of Hades had finally sat down on the floor and was leaning against a wall. He opened one eye when he heard Percy say his name. It sounded oddly elegant coming from the son of Poseidon lips...
"You told me you would help me plan it out..."
Nico nodded his head before pushing himself from the floor and making his way over to the bed. He picked up the notebook and sat down next to Percy. His heart fluttered when he accidently placed his knee on top of the son of Poseidons thigh. Percy had clearly noticed it, because he looked down at it for a split second, but he didn't say anything or try to move either one of their bodies, so Nico let it go and tried not to let it bother him. He looked down at the notebook and began reading over what Percy had written.
Percy watched Nico intently as the son of Hades read through his notes. He made a few faces but Percy couldn't tell what emotions they were supposed to be indicating. At one point, Nico even let a small chuckle resonate in his throat. It concerned Percy a bit and made him wonder how badly he had messed up, but Nico didn't say anything so Percy figured it couldn't have been too bad.
Finally, without looking up from the notebook, Nico spoke. "You have some seemingly well thought out plans, but, my concern is... can you actually carry this out?"
Percy didn't say anything and Nico shifted his eyes to look at the son of Poseidon. There was a very evident fear plastered on his expression. Nico sighed and dropped the notebook to the bed.
"Look," he pointed to something Percy had written. "I can tell by all of this that you don't want to get physically close to him in order to get the job done. I don't blame you. But I know from experience that it's pretty difficult to carry out a hit from a distance. So all this about using water to drown him but flooding his car or appartment," Nico shook his head "It's not gonna work."
Percy didn't understand why it wouldn't. He was the son of Poseidon and could do anything with water. Why not kill with it?
Nico sighed. He was starting to get annoyed with having to spell everything out for Percy. "Water is a great tortue tool, but it takes too long to kill someone that way, especially if you plan on not getting close to your target. And you never considered that, in the file, it says he's a skilled diver."
Percy flipped back through a few of the pages and scanned them as he did, looking for that important piece of information that he somehow overlooked. When he found it, his sholders slumped foreward in defeat. Nico smiled dryly at him, his face  forming into a slight smirk.
"You've highlighted his allergies. I can see where you're coming from but, unless you plan on treating him to a date at Red Lobster or a bee farm, knowing that isn't going to do you any good."
Percy looked down and blushed slightly, feeling pretty stipid that he had thought those things were important.
Nico moved his finger to point at another thing Percy had jotted down.
"This could work, though."
Percy read what Nico was pointing at but wondered how knowing the guy wasn't good with knives would be any more helpful than knowing his allergies. Nico could see Percys confusion again and he sighed; having though to pretty much spell it out for the older male.
"You're good with a sword. If you can somehow get him away from a gun, or get the gun away from him, you could have a serious chance."
Percy hesitated for a moment, letting what Nico had just said sink in. "Are you suggesting that I use Riptide to kill him?"
There was that 'kill' word Nico would have really liked not to have heard... He tried to keep his cool, though. "Yes." Was Nicos very flat reply.
Percy stared at him, blinking his eyes in awe. He didn't say anything so Nico continued speaking. "Now the only problem is getting to him. That's the hard part, though. Knowing he doesn't have many weaknesses, you have to try to use one of his strengths. He has plenty so you get to be picky about it." Nico chuckled a little but Percy didn't find his comment the least bit humorous. Percy moved on the bed a little, reminding both boys that their knees and things were resting on one another. They way Percy moved sent a shiver along the underside of Nicos upper leg to a place where it really didn't need to go. He coughed awkwardly but didn't move for fear of it having the same result. He tried to focus on the task at hand.
"Where were we?"
It was clear to see the son of Hades was distracted about something and, given the fact he was staring at their touching legs just seconds before, it didn't take much for Percy to figure it out. He blushed slightly, and wondered why, but didn't move.
"A way to get to him?"
Having his memory jogged and his mind torn from his previous thoughts, Nico smiled lightly. "Right. We work with his strengths. But we need to work with yours, too." Nico fell silent for a second before a brilliant idea, or at least what he thought resembled a brilliant idea, entered his mind. He smiled. A truly devious look that made Percy a little nervous. "I may be against you using water as a weapon, but I am not against you using it as a ruse." He was smiling widely.
Percy stared at him, slack jawed and wide eyed. "I don't understand."
Nico huffed. "Of course you don't."
From Percys expression, Nicos comment had offended him.
For the next half hour, if not more, Nico went through a plethora of brilliant ways that Percy would use water to get to Horme. Each one seemed more outrageous than the last but, Percy figured, that was why they would prove effective.
Nico found himself smiling and smirking more than he thought he ever could in his entire life at the ideas he was coming up with. Not even once during that time did he consider the fact that these ideas were being fed to someone who could potentially kill his longest time friend. He was actually kind of curious as to how the hit would end and why he hadn't been able to come up with these ideas like these when he could have really used them.
Nico went through and wrote down so many different ideas for Percy to choose from. A lot of them were simple, but seemed like they could work, while some were intricate and confusing to Percy. Nico figured Percy would be able to figure them out himself, considering he had a week, so he didn't spend much time trying to explain them.
Soon, the morning had wore on into afternoon and Percy felt absolutely drained. His head hurt from everything he and Nico had talked about and come up with and he felt as if he hadn't eaten in days. The two ordered lunch from room service and had it brought to them because neither one really wanted to leave the room. It wasn't until the food arrived and Nico stood from the bed to answer the door that they both learned how much of a mess they had made. There were file papers all over the bed and floor while the blankets and pillows had been tossed over by the door and Nico had to step over them to reach the enterence to the room. There were balled up sheets of notebook paper with unrealistic ideas and useless notes written on them scattered throughout the room since neither had bothered to find the trash bin. Neither cared, though.
Once Nico received the two boxed sandwiches they had ordered and paid the room service deliverer for them, he sat back on the bed with Percy and the two ate in silence.
As Nico savored the last of his lunch, a thought entered his mind. "How much do you hate guns?"
"What?" It was an odd question to be asked whilst eating lunch but, seeing as how it came from Nico, it wasn't as shocking.
"Back at Apollos, you said you didn't like guns. How much do you not like them?"
Honestly, Percy hated guns. He hated everything about them. Growing up in New York City meant that he was no stranger to the sound of them expelling ammunition or hearing about the damage they could cause on the morning news. He had always hated guns. Always. But how was supposed to tell a hitman that carried one with him wherever he went that he couldn't even stand talking about them?
"Why does it matter?"
Nico really hated Percys habit of avoiding questions. "Would you just answer the damn question?" His voice was a little harsh but he didn't bother apologizing for it like he had before.
Once Percy recoiled from his shock of Nicos sudden change in tone, he shook his head lightly. "I can't stand them."
"Why not?"
Percy had remembered that Nico had gotten angry with him when he was asking questions and wondered how this wasn't the same thing. He wasn't about to say anything about it, though.
Percy took a deep breath before he forced his thoughts to focus on his past.
"I grew up in New York City. If you didn't know, it's kind of a crime haven. Before I even started school, I was so familiarized with the idea of guns and how easy it was to kill someone with them. I was walking home from school one day when I was about eleven. I saw a man rob a family owned deli. In broad daylight. He not only killed the owner, but he killed the man's wife, and his young daughter, too. She was my age. That was the very first day I ever saw, in person, what a gun could do. And that was the very day that I started hating them with everything I had in me. Oh, and don't forget that I was shot not too awful long ago."
Nico sighed and looked away from the son of Poseidon. He had expected Percy to bring up being shot but the other thing... He had never expected something like that to be the reason. That just made the idea he had seem even worse than it did when it popped into his head. But, he felt as if he needed to do it. He wasn't about to let Percy go through with what they had been planning without at least knowing how to use a gun.
Nico licked his lips and Percy watched as the wet muscle peeked out of the son of Hades' mouth. He shuddered at it... "Have you ever used one before?"
Still wondering about his own reaction, Percy shook his head lightly. It took a few seconds for his mind to really process what Nico had asked and even more for an idea of what he was getting at to sink in.
The son of Hades stood from the bed and slipped his sneakers on before grabbing his car keys. "Get up."
"Why?"
"Don't question, just do it." For the first time in his life, Nico felt kind of parent-like... He didn't like it.
Percy stood and slipped his own shoes on before following Nico out of the hotel room, and the hotel altogether, and getting into the son of Hades' car.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll find out."
They drove for a while before Nico finally stopped the car. About an hour had passed and when Percy lifted his head from the window to look around, he regretted not being more adamant about being told where they were going. Percy froze when he saw the sign on the small, ratty looking building.
"A firing range?" His voice was shakey as he spoke. "I thought we've already established that I don't like these."
Nico dropped his head into seat behind him. He didn't look at Percy before he started speaking. "I'm gonna teach you how to use a gun."
"No."
He sighed and looked at Percy. "Percy, you can't go after someone to kill them without knowing how to use a gun."
"I don't care. I'm not doin' it."
Nico was wishing that Percy would have just gone with it, or that he himself wouldn't have had the idea, or that the son of Poseidon wouldn't have been hired for a hit, or... there were too many things he was wishing at the moment to actually go through them all. But, that didn't mean he was going to let Percy go after Horme without knowing how to use a gun, even if he would prefer not to.
Nico climbed from the car and closed his door before approaching the passanger side. He opened the door for Percy  and expected him to get out, but he should have known better. Percy was just as stubborn as he himself was and had no plans of getting out of the car. Nico rolled his eyes and sighed. He peeked his head into the frame to look at the son of Poseidon.
"Percy, get out of the car." He was, once again, struggling to keep his cool.
Percy never took his eyes from whatever he was staring at outside the front window. "No."
Like always, Nico was growing more impatient by the second. "I'm not giving you a choice."
Percy neither moved nor spoke. He had no intentions on getting out of the car, or using a gun, or anything. If he would have known what Nico was planning from the get go, he would've fought it then, too. There was no way he was going to let the bratty little emo kid from Camp Half Blood tell him what to do... Nico may not have been that person anymore, but that was how Percy chose to see him at the moment.
Percy didn't respond to Nicos demand so Nico figured an ultimatum. "If you get out of the car, go inside that firing range with me, learn how to use a gun, and carry one with you on your hit, I will promise you that I will never do anything to put you in any kind of danger ever again."
Percy scoffed. "That's one hell of a promise you can make to someone who's having an extremely hard time trusting you right now."
Nico was just about done with Percy...If something like that didn't work, then maybe Nico would have to go at it a different way. He crouched down so he was about eye level to the male sitting in the car. He was thinking on the fly and he really hoped this idea would do him some good.
"Percy, do you miss your mom?"
Percy scrunched his face up in confusion and slight disgust and turned to the son of Hades. "What the hell kind of question is that?"
Nico felt as if he had hit a nerve... "If you want to see her again someday, you need to do everything in your power to stay alive. And, at this point, that kind of entails knowing your way around more weapons than just Riptide."
Percy was getting really annoyed with Nicos way with words. He huffed and swung his legs out of the car. Nico smiled in victory and closed the door behind the son of Poseidon. He led Percy to the door of the firing range and opened it before ushering him in.
The building was small and musty smelling, almost as if it hadn't been used in years.
"How did you even know about this place?"
"I saw it on our way here. I never figured it would come in handy. Guess I was wrong."
The two made their way down a hall and to a decent sized room where a number of targets were still set up, awaiting to be shot at. Nico pulled the gun out of the back of his jeans and made sure it was loaded before he handed it to Percy. The son of Poseidon looked back and forth between the gun and the person holding it. Nico took a step closer to him and nodded his head. Percy stretched a shaking hand toward the gun, remembering what Nico had said to him about seeing his mom again. That was the only reason he was doing this. The only reason.
Percy slowly wrapped a shaking hand around the handle of the fire arm Nico was offering to him. He gripped his fingers onto it tightly and looked up at Nico. He caught the son of Hades' eyes so he could see the fear in Percys own. All Percy received as a response was a single nod of Nicos head and a fake smile. If anything, that made his more leary.
Nico slipped the gun out of his own hand so all of its weight was in Percys. The son of Poseidon made no indication that he would attempt to drop the fire arm or give it back to Nico so the son of Hades took a few steps back. He waited a few seconds and saw that Percy was just staring at the gun in his hands. Nico took a deep breath, once again trying to maintain his patience. He remembered, now, why he had promised to never work with amatures.
Nico walked back so he was standing behind Percy and he turned the son of Poseidon so he was facing the targets. He never moved from behind the other boy as he reached down to meld their hands together on the gun. He lifted it into the air and positioned Percys hands and arms, with the help of his own, in the proper way to fire a gun. As he went to move Percys finger to the trigger, he put his body closer to the son of Poseidons than he knew was humanly possible. He felt Percys breath hitch and heart beat quicken as their bodies continued to get closer and Nico rested their fingers on the tigger. He paused for a second, relishing in the way it felt to have Percy so close to him. He thoughts trailed off and he forced them to find reality again by telling himself that Percy was just scared. It kind of hurt to have to admit, but still. That's when he backed away from Percy and looked at his stance for a moment, trying hard not to focus too much on the person himself, and spoke a few simple words.
"Breathe."
He saw Percy take a shakey, deep breath.
"Relax."
He watched as Percy allowed his sholder muscles to loosen and droop a little.
"Aim with both sights, front first."
Percy tilted the gun a little in his shaking hands so that the front of it was lined up the center mark on the target before lining the back aim up with the front.
"Squeeze the tigger, don't pull it."
...What was the difference?...
"Shoot. And don't move until you know you've hit the target."
Without thinking too much on what he was about to do, Percy squeezed his pointer finger and the gun let go of a bullet that ripped through the air and found the target. He hadn't done a very good job of keeping his hands from shaking and he feared that he had completely messed up. But, when the sound stopped echoing through the room, Percy lowered the gun. Nico ushered him to follow and the two approached the target. Percy hat hit pretty close to center, but there was still plenty of room for improvement.
Nico looked up at him, in slight shock. "To be honest," Nicos voice sounded frightening soft conpared to the gun shot from a moment ago, "I would have never guessed you afraid of guns."
Percy said nothing.
"I want you to try again. Empty the clip this time." He turned and walked back to the spot where Percy had been standing before. When Percy met him there, the son of Hades indicated he wanted Percy to shoot at a different target.
Percy lined himself with the target the same way he had done before, making sure his stance was identical to his previous one. He had kind of expected Nico to walk him through it again, but the son of Hades stayed totally silent.
Percy took a few breaths before he pulled the trigger once. The bullet flew from the barrel of the gun and he didn't wait for the sound to die off before he fired a second shot.
Nico hadn't watched Percy the first time but, now, he felt like he couldn't tear his eyes from him. Just a little over a month ago, Percy had hidden in a bath tub when Nico had entered their hotel room. Now, he was firing a gun, the thing he said he was most afraid of, without hesitation.
Nico marveled at how Percy looked standing being his gun. Watching someone shoot, no matter who it was, had always excited him. But now he was watching Percy shoot. He literally could feel his blood pump a little faster.
Percy emptied the cartridge and paused for a second to look at the target before him. He shifted his eyes slowly from the target to the gun in his hands and examined for a few seconds. Then he turned to Nico and noticed that the son of Hades was intently staring at him. Something inside his stomach fluttered when he saw the look in Nicos eyes.
"Nico?"
At the sound of his name leaving Percy lips, Nico almost ran at him and gripped onto his sholders. He steered Percy harshly toward the nearest wall and pushed him into it, no longer having any control. Percy felt so confused that he couldn't help the whimper that escaped his lips and faded into the air around him, but not before it reached Nicos ears. When he heard it, he slammed his lips into Percys without care of whether Percy wanted this or not.
Instantly, Percys eyes shot open and he put his hands on Nicos sholders in an attempt to push the son of Hades away. That urge only lasted a few seconds before Percy relaxed under Nicos kiss. He had no idea what was going on or why he was letting it but he wasn't stopping it.
Nico was gentle with him for a few moments before he deepened the kiss, pushed Percy harder into the wall behind him, and started nibbling on the son of Poseidons bottom lip, trying to get him to open them. After a few of the soft bites, Percy separate his lips enough for Nico to slid his tongue over them. That's when he pulled back.
He was instantly apologizing. "I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."
"Stop talking."
"What?"
Percy didn't know where the words were coming from but that didn't stop them from forming. "Kiss me."
Nico only looked at Percy with a confused expression for a second or two before he closed the space between them again and attacked Percy lips for a second time. Percy was already opening his mouth to Nico, to the shock of both boys, allowing him to have access. Nico didn't argue, though, and shoved his tongue into the open space and licked across Percys teeth, almost as if he was counting each and every one with the wet muscle. Soon, his own tongue found Percys and the son of Hades slammed them together, eliciting a sound he did not expect from Percy. He pulled back to look at the male who had just moaned because of him and smirked when he saw how red Percys lips had already become.
Nico resealed the kiss quickly and, right away, the two boys let their tongues battle for dominance. It was only a short set of minutes before Nico bit onto Percys to let the son of Poseidon know who was in charge. Percy moaned out but let Nico have the dominance he was asking for.
It didn't seem to matter to Percy that the set of lips he was allowing to caress his own were those of a male. The kiss was like nothing he had ever experienced before. Yes, he had been kissed like this before, but this was different. There was something in the way that Nicos lips connected with Percys that made him feel a whole new sensation in his being.
As that processed, Percy could feel Nicos fingers begin to glide gently over his sides. He could feel them tickling him through his shirt and he sighed into Nicos mouth at the feeling. It seemed as though all self respect and care for what he had been told about how 'wrong it was for two guys to be together' had been washed down the drain.
Nico smiled against the son of Poseidons lips at the sound of Percy sighing into his mouth. He felt as if he no longer had to feel awkward for the way he felt about Percy. Without really thinking, Nico moved his hands a little lower on Percys body and groped his thighs firmly. Percy let another moan slip passed his lips and fall on Nicos before the son of Hades used his grip to lift Percy up. Instantly, Percy yelped but wrapped his legs tightly around Nicos hips. Through their jeans, Percy could feel the hard-on that Nico was developing. His cheeks redened significantly and his heart began to beat faster than it already was as his breath hitched once again. Nico was grinding into him and he was starting to feel a warm butterfly sensation in his stomach.
Nico moved to Percys neck and began to leave small kisses on the skin that covered it before a set of thoughts he wished hadn't entered his mind. This was the first time Percy had ever really made out with Nico, and probably any guy for that matter; he had been locked up for three years without knowing that much time had passed; and Nico was already getting hard. He knew he had to stop it before it went too far.
Nico detached their lips and dropped Percy back to the floor once his legs loosened their grip. They looked at one another for a few minutes before Nico hung his head slightly.
"We should go."
Percy nodded and licked across his bottom lip. He was really testing Nico.
As the two walked toward the door, Nico found himself speaking again.
"I'm sorry, Percy."
Percy shook his head. "Why do you keep apologizing?"
"Because I feel bad."
"Don't."
The drive back to the hotel was pretty quiet until Nico pulled his phone from his pocket. He had told Percy that he couldn't help him beyond planning and he wasn't about to go back on his word. But, he could try to find someone that would help him.
Nico dialed Apollos number and told Percy to hang on when the son of Poseidon looked at him questioningly.
As the dial tone sounded, Nico put the phone on speaker and handed it to Percy. The look on the son of Poseidons face was still on view as the dial tone sounded. It only rang a few times before a familiar voice could be heard greeting Nico with a hello.
"Apollo, man, I got a favor to ask of you."
'Is that all I'm good for?'
Nico chuckled lightly. "Kind of."
Percy could hear Apollo return the light laugh before asking 'What can I do for ya, kid?'
"You no doubt heard that I screwed up the Hercules hit, right?"
'Who hasn't?'
Nico huffed somewhat angrily and began to tell Apollo what happened with the hit and what was going on now. He asked a  fair amount of questions as Nico explained everything to him. He made a few noises that sounded as if he was hurting or in some sort of distress which made Percy even more afraid than he was to begin with. When he got to the point where he told Apollo who Percy had been sent after, the line went silent for a moment.
Finally, Apollo spoke again. 'Where is this kid?'
Nico looked over at Percy and nodded.
"Here."
'Do you have any idea what you're doing?'
Percy had to be honest... "No."
'Do you have a plan?'
"Sort of."
Apollo was silent again but Percy could hear clicking in the background that sounded like computer keys.
'Alright. Since you're driving right now, I would prefer not to tell you anything. I will find as much as I can tonight and, if you call me in the morning, I'll tell you what I have. And, even though he didn't say it, I know Nico is asking me to walk you through this so he doesn't have to. I am more than happy to do that. I owe Nico a lot anyway.'
Percy looked over at the son of Hades who was intently staring at the road in front of him as they drove.
'Nico, get him a Bluetooth or something so I can talk him through it as it goes down.'
Nico heard but said nothing. He face looked pretty somber and Percy knew he was struggling with something.
'There's not much I can say now so I'll say goodbye and get to work.'
"Thank you."
'No problem, Nico.'
That's where the line went dead.
They made it back to the hotel at a decent time and Percy instantly hopped into the shower. As per usual, the water made every care and worry seem to fade away, as long as Percy stayed under it. As soon as his shower was finished and the water was turned off, everything hit him like a ton of bricks.
Percy left the bathroom to find Nico already curled up in his blankets, fast asleep. It didn't take long for Percy to do the same.

A couple hours passed and Nico was woken up by the sound of his phone vibrating madly on the table next to his head. He groped around for it until he was able to grab it and put it to his ear.
'Nico.'
"Apollo, I thought I told you never to call me this late."
'I know but you gotta know this.'
"What?" Nico sat up and glanced at Percy to make sure he was still asleep.
'I've been keeping an eye out for potential problems for you since you brought your friend around and were asking questions.'
"Okay. Thank you." Nico was speaking rather sarcastically. "If that's what this is about, couldn't it have waited until morning?"
'That's not what this is about. I just spotted Typhon, the Manticore, and a shit ton of their cronies on the security camera of a gas station not far from the hotel you're stayin at.'
Nico sat up in bed, wide awake. "Please tell me you're kidding."
'I wish I were. I know they're after that kid. Man you got a shit storm on your head.'
Nico didn't say anything but he sat in silence for a few seconds before he heard Apollo cough awkwardly. He hung up his phone and dropped it on the bed, looking back at the sleeping Percy in the bed next to his own. Things had just gotten a lot more complicated...