Nico sighed irritated, falling backwards onto his bed. He had just arrived back in the underworld and given his parents the bad news. Percy was not with the Romans. Hades had left for Olympus right away to gather all the gods and left Persephone with Nico to bring the demi-god with her. Though the boy was ordered to rest for now. All the shadow-traveling he did these days started to take it's toll on him. So here he was, laying in his bed with his stepmother sitting next to him, watching him with mischievous, observant eyes. It was unsettling, to say the least.
"Is there anything I can help you with, 'Phone?", asked Nico curiously after a while.
"Well", drawled the goddess with a grin. "I wanted to talk to you about the sons of Hermes."
"Hermes got quite a few kids. You think you can narrow it down a bit?"
Nico's eyes narrowed, watching every twitch of Persephone's lips as she smiled at him knowingly. He had a very bad feeling about this. But he also had no idea what she was aiming for.
"Those Stoll brothers, what were their names? Tom and Jerry? Fred and George?"
"Travis and Connor", growled Nico protectively. "What is it you want to talk about exactly?"
"Oh, Aphy and I just noticed that you seem to be awfully close", hummed the goddess.
"Sure", shrugged the Ghost Prince confused. "We're friends and we share a boyfriend."
"And Travis Stoll was your first station after you knew that Percy wasn't in New Rome."
"Camp Half-Blood was my first station", corrected Nico. "Because Annabeth and everyone else are just as anxious about Percy as we are. So I thought it only fit to also talk with Travis..."
"And falling asleep in his lap fits, how exactly?", chuckled Persephone.
"What is it that you want to say, 'Phone?", pressed Nico, gritting his teeth with red ears.
"That I want you to be happy, stupid", smiled the Spring Goddess softly. "And regardless of how much you love Percy Jackson, you will always have to share him with the gods. And with those Stoll brothers. I thought you need someone only for yourself. So you're not lonely while Percy is on Olympus or wherever else. But with you already having Percy, Aphy and I figured that this could be a bit complicated. Not everyone understands this. Two boys who have the same arrangement as you, on the other hand... They understand. And they certainly have the same problem, with the jealousy and the longing whenever Percy is away... I suppose that it would be the perfect solution."
"Let's get this straight", interrupted the Ghost Prince a bit dumbfounded. "You and the goddess of love decided to set me up with the two most troublesome, mischievous idiots of camp?"
Persephone looked thoughtful for a second before she grinned and nodded. "Yes."
"What in the world gave you two that idea?", groaned Nico, hiding his face in his pillow.
"Threesomes are so much more fun than average couples", hummed the Spring Goddess and shrugged casually. "And the dynamic between you is incredible. Percy is good to coax your protective side out, to get you into fighting mode. But those two brothers seem capable of getting your more softer side out. And I haven't seen enough of that. So it's a perfect fit."
"Gods... why do they have to mingle in my love life?", muttered Nico exhausted.
"You should rest until your father calls", smiled Persephone softly. "And think about my words."
She left the bedchamber, but her words stayed. Nico turned onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. He loved Percy. He loved Percy so very, very much. But with high school and his parents and camp and Olympus and Atlantis and the underworld, there were just so many places Percy needed and wanted to be that it was hard to really have much alone time with the Sea Prince. Sure, they saw each other practically every day. But always only for a couple of hours. Scarcely with the whole waking up next to each other, lazily cuddling for a few hours before eating breakfast together and then spending the afternoon just talking. After he had fallen asleep on top of Travis yesterday though, he had also woken up next to the son of Hermes...
