Hell And High Water (Percico boyxboy)

XIII

The rest of the week seemed to fly by without warning and Percy was growing more and more fearful for Friday. He couldn't get the plan he had out of his head. It had been like a Playlist on repeat ever since he came up with it the few days before. Was he really sure that he wanted to go through with it? The idea that he and Nico would lose their lives if he didn't was what pushed him to see this as no different than anything else he had ever killed, and just do it.

Percy would have woken up earlier than normal Friday morning, if he would have actually slept the night before. But, since he didn't, he dragged his exhausted, sleep deprived body from the bed and grabbed some clothes before he made his way to the bathroom. He didn't really know what he had on his mind until he was turning the shower on and stripping his clothes off. Even just the sound of running water was nice but the shower istelf was refreshing and it seemed to wake him a little.
Like he had done so many times before, Percy zoned out as the warm water cascaded over his body. He leaned against the shower wall and let his thoughts, fears, memories, and cares just fade away. Not a single thing resonated through his mind. It was the best feeling in the world. But, as always, the best things never last. Percy was brought back to reality by a loud banging on the bathroom door. He jumped and knocked the shampoo bottle off the shelf. He cussed quietly to himself and bent to pick it up. He gave himself a moment for all of his proper thought processes to begin working correctly again before answering the knock.
"What?" The word came out slightly harsh and it hadn't intended it to.
"Hurry up." Nico tried to be calm and patient but talking to Apollo about hisnoldest friend beong killed was not the best way to stary ones day. "Apollo is on the phone and he has some more information for you."
Percy sighed and felt a piece of him sink at the idea. He was really considering backing out and telling this Ares guy there was no way the hit was gonna happen. He couldn't do it. He couldn't even think about it without feeling guilty. But... his life... Nicos life... Those were what mattered and Percy felt like he seriously owed it to the son of Hades.
Percy finished with his shower as quickly as possible and didn't bother dressing himself for fear that he would agitate Nico or Ares, and he didn't want that to happen. With a towel around his soaked body, Percy left the bathroom and accepted the phone Nico was handing to him. He never spoke a word as he put it to his ear.
'Kid?' Even Apollo sounded slightly dreary. He cleared his throat when Percy didn't respond. Still not a word slipped from the son of Poseidons lips.
'I'm assuming it is you, given the silence. It's fine. You don't have to say anything.' There was a slight pause before Apollo took a deep breath. For some reason, the sound seemed to sooth Percy. His comfort was short lived, however, and vanished as soon as Apollo started speaking. 'The hit is due today, you know that. Neither one of us have done much of anything to try to locate Horme until the fact that we literally have no clue where he is entered my mind a couple hours ago.'
He silenced again. It seemed as though he was waiting for Percy to say something. But, Percy didn't plan on saying anything.
Apollo continued. 'From what I've heard and read, he has a meeting with some fellas on the streets about the problem that's going on with drugs. At this point, it's cheaper to make them yourself than it is to buy them on the street. Not that you needed to know that.' He fell silent once again, if only for a moment, as he waited for Percy to say something. Anything. Just to give any sort of indication that he was still listening. The son of Poseidon remained silent still. 'Anyway, the meeting is to be held at a house in the... not so friendly part of town at around nine tonight. Horme is usually one of the last to show, to  make people wait for him, and the absolute last to leave because he is so important and needs to keep up his rep. So, if you manage to get to that house and catch Horme before he is gone and outta there, you should have him hooked.' Another silence ran between the two ends of the phone call. Apollo sighed. 'Did you hear what I just said?'
Percy took a moment. "Yes."
'Good. You know what you're doin'. You have a solid plan. You'll pull it off. I know you will.'
Another silence. Percy drew in a shakey breath. He knew Apollo was trying to reassure him, but he really could not have done a worse job at it.
'Good luck, kid.' And that's where Apollo ended the phone call.
Percy hung up the phone and handed it back to Nico. The son of Hades studied Percys face for a moment, soaking up every fear his every feature showed. Nico shook his head, wishing there was another way. He had been trying his hardest to convince himself that Percy could do it, but the dream he had had kept making him doubt the son of Poseidon. He didn't want to doubt Percy. He wanted to believe that Percy was just as capable of taking a human life as he was at taking the life of a Greek creature. But, Percy wasn't the same person he was before. Nico wasn't sure if the son of Poseidon would now even be able to do what he had done three years ago.
Percy stood and swayed lightly back and forth in the middle of the room. The fact that he was standing, soaking wet with a towel around his waste in the middle of a hotel room never entered his mind.
Nico had kept his eyes glued to Percys face as his expression grew gloomier by each passing second. Within only a few of those seconds, though, Nicos eyes unwillingly shifted to Percys chest. He took in the son of Poseidons collar bones, then his chest muscles, then the hardened nubs. He paused there for a moment and he could feel his mouth salivating and his heart beating faster as a heat began to run through his body. He shifted his eyes lower to Percys ribs. He wondered if the son of Poseidon was as sensitive there as he himself was. Nico could feel his pants getting a little tighter. He willed himself to stop his eyes from wandering but they continued to shift lower. They focused on Percys abs and Nico traced every single one of them with his eyes, like he had done almost every single time he saw Percy shirtless. His heart began to race as he wondered how it would be to run his fingers along them, to feel them in his own hands. His pants continued to feel tighter as the thoughts continued on. That's when he moved his eyes a little lower, no longer trying to fight the urge to let them wander. He let them fall on Percys hip bones. They seemed to stick out and beg Nico to run his thumbs across them, to sink his teeth into them. And, again, his eyes moved. To the towel. He wanted nothing more than to rip the fluffy, white fabric away from Percy and see what was hidden beneath it.
Nico let his eyes linger on the towel for a few seconds before he wondered whether or not Percy knew what he was doing. He darted his eyes to Percys and saw that he still held a blank expression. But that wasn't what caught his attention. It was the goosebumps that errupted on his skin. Nico imagined knowing what it felt like to run his hands along them, to cause them to show up on Percys skin with his own fingers. Or, even better, with his tongue.
Nico forced himself to finally stop as he felt his hard on making itself more prominent.
"Get dressed. I'm gonna shower."
Nico ran to the bathroom and left Percy alone. Percy had heard the son of Hades' words so he began to move toward his bag. He pulled out a set of clothes to change into as he heard the water turn on.
Nico had stripped himself as fast as he could. He removed his pants to see something he knew had formed. He moaned quietly to himself, knowing he needed to learn to control his hormones. He ran his fingers lightly over that part of his body and let out a breath as he did so. He climbed into the tub so he could shower, as well as fix his hard on. He knew it was not the time or place to let something like that happen. But, come on... it was Percy Jackson for Zeus' sake.
Percy got dressed and sat on the bed as the plan began to run through his mind yet again. The shower he had taken seemingly only truly removed that one thing from his mind. He was happy with that, though. But, now, it was back. He felt his heart beat race just thinking that, by the end of the day, he would become a murderer. Hopefully anyway... He had never hoped for such a thing.