Shattered

Nico

Despite his insistence that he was going to sleep in from the previous night, the second the sun's rays peaked through their bedroom window, the Son of Hades was up. Not out of bed, but up. He closed his eyes tighter, arched his back, and stretched out his legs, while enjoying the feel of Percy's warm breath on the back of his neck. It was moments like these that made him almost forget what had transpired only a little over two months prior.

Almost.

He, and the rest of the world, were still processing what the mortals called Revelation Day. In the span of twenty-four hours not only had the world learned about the existence of their world, but decided that it needed to be wiped out. But he couldn't blame them for that, not given the circumstances of Avalon's big reveal. Billions in damages, trust in world leaders destroyed, and hundreds of thousands dead in mere hours.

To many people, it seemed to be the end of the world.

Nico included.

Hazel and Frank died that night, the latter by his own hand. The pain in his heart surpassed the pain from the injuries of that fight, and in the days that followed it had nearly consumed him. If it hadn't been for his father, mom, Percy, and Jason's constant love he would have reverted back to his old, miserable self. Thanks to them he realized that it wasn't his fault, that their suffering was now at an end, and that Avalon was to blame.

But then again, so was Olympus...

When he regained conscious the following day, he found himself in his and Percy's room surrounded by his loved ones. They all wore somber, depressed expressions, and strange, white bracelets on their wrists. They of course smothered him with hugs when they realized he was awake, his father needing to literally drag Persephone and Percy off of him, and then they told him the news. They told him of Zeus' and the other Olympians' plan to prolong their life by harvesting the souls of the dead and of those that chose rebirth. The news hit him hard, as while he had already made peace with never seeing Will again, he wasn't ready to hear that his soul had been destroyed.

And then they told him that the war with Avalon was over.

And they had lost.

Now they were forced to wear bracelets that gave them immunity to the mortal weapon, and tracked their every movement. Every few weeks they would spot an unmarked, black SUV scoping out the farm. Sometimes the leader of Avalon would even call and speak with Jason; the strange old man for some reason considered the son of Jupiter a friend. Then at his and Percy's graduation, Merlin and several of his goons attended, casting an unwanted shadow on what was supposed to have been a great day.

Nico pushed the thoughts of the past aside, that was enough unpleasant memories for one day.

He rolled over and smiled as he gazed at the sleeping son of Poseidon's face, and even after being together for months, his heart soared. Unable to resist, he closed the distance between their face, and kissed the raven-haired teen on the lips.

Percy, who could sleep through just about anything, was quick to awaken and respond, wrapping one arm around the son of Hades and pulling him close to the point that their bare chests touched. "Mmm," the green-eyed teen hummed when the kiss ended, "I love waking up to that. And, I love you."

"I love you too, Percy," he replied, the son of Poseidon's words still sending a wave of bliss through his body. Nico set his head down on Percy's pillow and grinned at his lover. This. Moments like this are what keeps us going.

Percy stretched out with a loud yawn, and wiped the residual drool from his face. "How are you feeling? Need me to get you some Tylenol?"

Nico laughed. "I'm a little sore, but good." Shortly after Revelation Day, his father moved into Persephone's room to be with his wife, as if they were going to be mortal forever, the former king of the Underworld didn't want to waste a moment apart. And with his father gone, and their room the only bedroom on the ground floor, his and Percy's sex life really took off. At first, they did it every opportunity they got, but that left the son of Hades sore for days. Eventually they only fucked on the weekends so that he had a chance to recover. But now, now that they were both more experienced and his body was more accepting of Percy, they were back to whenever they felt like it, which was still every chance they got. "Work is going to be fun though," he said with an awkward chuckle.