PJO/HOO one-shots

A Little Death - Percico (LIGHT SMUT! ANGST!)

"I want you to touch me there,
Make me feel like I am breathing,
Make me feel like I am human."
- A Little Death by the Arctic Monkeys
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(This fic is how I imagine the reunion would go for Nico and Percy after Nico has been rescued from Tartarus, back on the ship.)
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The moment they got back aboard from saving Nico from the depths of Tartarus, Percy pushed past everyone and grabbed Nico's hand before they could bombard the poor Ghost King with unending questions about the predicament he was just rescued from. "I'm going to get Nico settled in so he can rest, I'm sure he's exhausted. Is there any ambrosia left?" He turned to Annabeth and she nodded, already focused on how to chart their course back with Leo. Hazel looked over at the two males holding hands with her brows furrowed, obvious concern evident on her face for her little brother.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Hazel reached out as she placed a gentle hand on Nico's shoulder. The black haired boy flinched momentarily but remained still as his grip onto the Sea Prince's hand tightened.

"I'll be fine." It was clear how drained the son of Hades was. Hazel gave a curt nod and a sympathetic smile as she released her hold on her brother, letting Percy take the younger male below deck.

"We don't have any extra rooms...but you can have mine," Percy said as he opened one of the doors. The pair went inside. "Sit down on the bed. I'm gonna get you some clothes, okay?"

Without a word, Nico let go of the elders hand and sat. "Are you going to try to ask me anything about what happened?" The Ghost King hesitated to ask.

Percy chuckled as he rummaged through his drawers. "Honestly, I don't care what we talk about or if we talk at all. I can leave you alone if you'd like. I'm just so glad that you're back. I missed you, Neeks." He made his way back to the bed, dropping a pair of grey sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt onto the son of Hades lap. "I don't own anything black, but it's better than wearing something that's blood stained."

Nico stared up at the son of Poseidon, his expression blank as he just kept repeating in his mind, "He's glad I'm back...he missed me..."

"Earth to Nico? Hello?" The brunette began to wave his hand in front of the younger boy's face. "I'll turn around while you change or I can go if you don't want me peeking." He waggled his brows as he let out another light chuckle.

The son of Hades face began to feel warm, a soft blush rose to his cheeks. "Just turn around, Jackson. Don't make this awkward." The son of Hades gingerly took off his shirt, audibly wincing as the blood-soaked shirt stuck to his wounds.

Percy couldn't help himself but to gawk at the fragile pale frame of the Ghost King. Lacerations covered his torso, running all the way down to under the hem of his pants. Cuts, burns, scratches. Wounds upon wounds, some even overlapping, covered Nico from the collarbone down. The dark circles under his eyes became more evident and the son of Poseidon became overtook with worry. "Nico...what did they....nevermind." He stopped himself before he could finish asking, knowing that Nico didn't want to relive the hell he was trapped in so soon. He left the son of Hades on the bed as the brunette went to his bathroom. He came back with a damp wash rag and a piece of ambrosia. "Eat this because what I'm about to do is going to sting."

Begrudgingly, Nico stood and ate the godly medicine as Percy took the cloth to Nico's back. The muscles on the younger males back began to spasm as he yelped quietly in pain. It felt like an eternity to get all the crusted blood off of the poor boys skin. Percy grabbed the white shirt that was on the bed. "Arms up," he demanded.

Nico was taken aback. "Excuse me?"

"I said..arms up." He gestured to the shirt in his hand. Before Nico could argue Percy grabbed the Ghost King's wrists, extending the arms as he gently placed the shirt on him. It felt as though a spark of electricity coursed through the son of Poseidon's fingertips every time he would brush against the pale boys flesh. Once the shirt was fully on, Percy hesitated to let go. Instead, he pulled Nico in for a hug.

Nico's body went rigid, tense. The son of Hades wasn't one for physical affection, but after the literal hell he had gone through... it wasn't terrible. Especially at the hands of his crush. Slowly, his body started to relax. His jaw loosened, his shoulders slouched, and he let himself fall into the son of Poseidon's chest. For that moment, they both thought to themselves how perfect they fit in each other's arms.

"You have no idea how worried I was..." Percy whispered softly. Moments passed before the Sea Prince spoke up again. But as he spoke, Nico's shirt progressively got more wet with tears. "I thought you were dead... I thought I lost you... I lost your sister already...I can't lose you..I c-can't..." The son of Poseidon pulled back without letting go of his hold, just enough to gaze into the dark chocolate eyes of the Ghost King. "Please... don't leave me like that again.."

Something inside of Nico broke once he saw those beautiful sea green eyes rimmed with tears. All he wanted to do was take away the hurt that Percy felt. Yet as words failed him, his body did not. Without hesitation, the son of Hades grabbed the Sea Prince's face with both hands and planted a kiss on his lips. To the Ghost King's surprise, he felt Percy begin to kiss back. Just as Nico had always dreamed it would be, his kiss was salty and sweet. It started as a peck, but then gradually deepened as a hunger that neither of them knew they had made it's presence known.

Each kiss was electrifying, every nerve in both males body tingling in anticipation. Just as Percy licked Nico's bottom lip, begging for entry, Nico pushed him away. "Wait, wait...this is wrong..."

Percy was in a haze. He couldn't possibly fathom anything wrong in a moment that felt so utterly right. "W-what?" The son of Poseidon managed to gasp out, the Ghost King's kisses making him breathless.

The black haired male took a step back as his hands fell to his sides. His dark chocolate eyes appearing guarded as a fog clouded them. "Annabeth..."

A chill shot down the son of Poseidon's spine. How could he have forgotten about his girlfriend? Who was just above their heads trying to get them home? But once their eyes locked again, all that went out the window. "Ana-who?" The Sea Prince thought. He stepped closer, effectively closing the gap between the two as he wrapped his arms around the pale boy's frame. He looked towards the door that was already locked and back into the dark chocolate pools of the Ghost King's eyes. "I don't see her, do you?"

Nico's brows furrowed as he quickly glanced away, but the sea green orbs drew him back. His stomach lurched in anxiety and excitement. He had always wondered how it would be to feel the son of Poseidon. Under his fingertips. On his lips. In him... He didn't let himself think much more past that before their lips met again with fever. He figured if he was going to keep escaping death - it'll eventually find him so he might as well enjoy the moment while it lasts.

It wasn't too long until clothes were strewn across the bed. Soft, curious roaming touches quickly turned from innocent to something more. The two had felt as though an eternity had passed and neither wanted to let the other go.

After they laid down, holding each other close, Nico felt a sting across his torso. He lurched forward, jumping out of the bed as he yelped out in pain. He scrambled to pull the covers off of him as he felt his torso burning. Across his chest and even over his right shoulder, a gash appeared instantly dripping with blood. The wound smoldered as the son of Hades cried out again. This time, the skin began to bubble as though he had been burned.

"Wouldn't want you to die from an infection before we get your punk ass friends," Percy spoke. Except it wasn't Percy. It wasn't his voice.

Nico looked at the older male bewildered. "What? What did you just say to me?" He blinked and his vision began to distort. The bunker he was in began to fade away and by the time he blinked again, the Argo and Percy were gone. There he sat once again, in that bronze jar with pomegranate seeds scattered around his feet. He had never been saved. He may never be saved. He realized once again, he was alone with nothing else around him besides the seeds that could trance him and the dark figures that lashed at him.