Children of Loss Chapter 56

Chapter 56

“No,” Nico grumbled under his breath, fighting the urge to rub his temple as he shut his locker. This was the twentieth time today that he had used that response to the same question. It was also the seventy-eighth time this week. His overall average was somewhere nearing three hundred since his return from Germany.

“But-”

Nico fixed the girl bothering him with a glare. He didn't even know this girl, so why was she so hellbent on pestering him? “I already said no. My answer isn't going to change.” He let out a sigh. “I have no desire to go to prom.”

The raven haired girl in front of him pouted and walked off. Nico quickly shot his worst glare towards a group of girls that had gathered near his locker, who were all probably about to ask him the same question. This was getting ridiculous. It seemed like his only time to be left alone was after school. Not that it was much better, since a certain young man with sea-green eyes was still avoiding him.

Honestly, Nico wasn't sure when all of this was going to get better. In the past two days, Nico had seen Percy just once, and it had been with several others around them. He had barely said two words to Nico. It was frustrating, to say the least.

Would this get better once they moved?

His only good news had been when Will informed him that he was clean of rabies or any other diseases from those rat bites. The blond had suggested that Nico go see a therapist for any trauma that he might have suffered, but the raven haired boy had assured Will that he was fine. Well, as fine as anyone could be in the Lotus Hotel.

When Nico met up with Jason in the parking lot, the blond looked up from his phone and smiled. “I just got a text from Percy,” he said. Nico felt his eye twitch. Jason just chuckled and climbed in the car. “He said that you're still expected to be at the conference tomorrow, so don't forget.”

Nico grumbled under his breath as he buckled up. “Great, I get to go play arm candy and pretend we are just both great and there aren't any problems at all.”

“Well, at least he hasn't broken up with you.”

Nico sunk farther down in his seat. “We aren't, technically, dating.”

“Not with that attitude.” Jason grinned when Nico glared at him. “But, seriously, it could be worse. Percy probably just has a lot on his mind right now.” Jason blinked when his phone buzzed. He glanced down at it and arched his brow. “Also, Kelli wants to know if you'll take her to prom.”

“Isn't she going with Dylan?” Nico asked.

The blond shrugged. “I thought so.”

“Are you going to prom?”

“Yeah, I convinced Piper to go with me.” Jason glanced over at Nico with a frown. “You still not going?”

“Never had any desire to,” Nico mumbled, glancing out his window with his chin propped up on his palm. The boy let out a sigh. “Besides, the only reason any of them are asking me is because of Percy. They probably hope that I'll pick them up in some super expensive limo and then invite their friends back to the hotel for some party.”

When they got back to the hotel, Jason made sure to stop Nico before they got out of the car. “Are you okay? I mean, other than the annoying girls.” The blond leaned forward a little, pushing Nico's hair out of his face. “You look exhausted, and you can't really use work as an excuse anymore.”

“I'm fine.” Nico smacked Jason's hand away and jumped out of the car. “I'm just...not really sleeping that well. I'll be fine.”

Upon seeing his reflection in the window of a car he passed, Nico brushed his bangs back over his eyes. Maybe Jason was right, he did look like shit. It was just that, after his abduction, Nico was still having trouble sleeping. He couldn't help but think that this was all just a dream. Maybe he had died back in that box, and this was just his own personal heaven or whatever came after life. Well, more like hell.

As he dropped his backpack off in his room, Nico stood there and stared at his bed for a long time. His body screamed for him to lay down and get some rest, but his mind kept screaming at him not to. That maybe, just maybe, this dream would end and he'd go back to his nightmare.

It didn't really matter, since Nico did not have the time to rest. “We need to get back downstairs!” Jason called out, jolting the brown-eyed boy back to reality.

Right. Gaea was due to arrive at the hotel at any minute. Nico's brow furrowed as he rubbed his neck and turned off the light to his room, shutting the door as he left. Jason smiled at him and opened the door as the two left their suite.

“Hey,” Nico suddenly said after Jason hit the button to call the elevator up to them.

“What's up?”

The raven haired boy let out a breath, his eyes trained on the metal doors of the elevator. “I was just kind of curious if you knew what you were going to be doing.”

Jason blinked down at his friend. “With what?”

“Um, moving? Or will you be staying?”

“Oh.” Jason chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, I picked up an application.” The blond exhaled and gave a nod. “I filled it out. Haven't turned it in, but I filled it out. I think that I—like most of the others—are just wanting a fresh start away from our pasts. My father and brother might be dead, but that doesn't really make me forget.” He gave a soft smile and squeezed Nico's shoulder. “A fresh start would probably do me some good. Plus you'll be there, and it's not like I can trust you to stay out of harm on your own.”

Nico narrowed his eyes and smacked the blond in the chest. “Shut up.”

Jason just smiled. “And maybe you need someone to tuck you in at night and make sure you get enough sleep.” His smile wavered slightly as he tilted his head to the side and stared at Nico's face. “Seriously, maybe you should ask Will to give you some sleeping pills.”

Nico chose to ignore the blond's request, letting the elevator fall into a silence for the rest of their trip to the lobby. He didn't want to ask for help, because the boy did not believe he needed any. If this wasn't a dream, he would eventually realize it, right? There was no need for anyone to feel concerned.

Percy and a few of the others were already standing in the lobby when the two arrived. The green-eyed young man glanced at them for a moment before turning his attention back to the door. Nico's gaze turned dark as his fists clenched at his sides. Jason patted him on the shoulder before he went over to Leo and Piper.

It was Rachel who approached Nico as the boy went to stand by Will. “Nico, why don't you come stand over with me and Per-”

“No,” Nico snapped back, causing the Lost Girl to draw back. “I will stand where I please, and I will only pretend like we are perfectly happy tomorrow. Gaea can get a good look at how Percy's behaving like a child for all I care.”

Apparently, Percy was perfectly capable of hearing that, because he huffed and came over to Rachel and Nico. With a faint grumble, he grabbed Nico by the wrist and pulled the boy to his side. “I understand that you're upset with me,” Percy quickly whispered in the boy's ear, “but it's for your own good.”

Nico shot the young man a glare. “Explain that to me exactly, because I don't really get it.” He yanked his arm free, but did not budge from Percy's side. “Because, as I see it, I could have used you to lean on the past few days, but you weren't there for me.”

Percy kept his lips pressed in a thin line. “I got you out of there. Did you really think I wouldn't come for you?”

“That wasn't what I said.”

A heavy sigh came from Percy. “Look, I have my reasons. If you really had needed me, I felt like you would have come by my room or office.”

If they hadn't been in the lobby, Nico might have hit Percy right then and there. “You mean like the other night, when you had Chris get rid of me?” Nico rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I can tell you're so there for me.”

Percy's lips faltered a little, tilting down into a frown. It looked like he was about to say something, but the doors opened to reveal Gaea and a very intrigued brunet behind her. Eros carried a camera in his hands and was busily looking over every inch of the hotel's entrance and the surrounding city. However, upon entering the lobby, those bright green eyes fell upon a very particular blond.

Before Gaea could even reach and address Percy, Eros shot past her and jumped onto Luke, who barely managed to balance himself in time. The brunet nuzzled against the blond and wrapped his arms tightly around the other Lost Boy's neck.

“Luke, bonjour!” Eros said as he laughed at the blond's attempt to get a grip on the French boy's tan legs.

Luke let out a sigh. “What about buns?”

Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Really? You don't even know a little French?”

Luke glared at her as his brother stared curiously at the brunet in his brother's arms. “Um, who is this exactly?” Octavian finally decided to ask.

“Yes, Luke, who is this lovely boy?” Thalia grinned.

Luke cleared his throat and tried to pry Eros off of him, though the brunet just giggled and held on tighter. “No one.” He glared at the brunet. “He is nobody, but he does need to get off of me.”

Eros pouted up at the blond. “Tu ne m'appelais pas comme ça par textos.” That wicked grin appeared on the brunet's lips. “You were not asking me to get off of you in Germany.”

Travis and Connor popped up beside the arguing duo. “Hello, we haven't been properly introduced,” Connor said with a wicked grin. “My name is Connor. And you are?”

Eros blinked at them in surprise before he smiled and shook the younger twin's hand. “Eros.”

Travis slung an arm around Eros. “And my name is Travis. Pleased to meet you.” He grinned up at Luke. “So then, how exactly do you know Luke?”

“And just how well do you know him?” Connor finished.

The French Lost Boy tilted his head to the side. Before he could open his mouth, Luke clamped a hand over it and glared at the twins. “Do not pester this annoying little French...toast.”

Eros arched an eyebrow. Annabeth just shook her head. “Wow, I never thought I'd see you so whipped. And you've known him how long?”

Thalia was cackling. “Seriously, 'toast' was the best you could come up with?” She wiped at her eyes. “Oh, my dear Luke, how the mighty have fallen.”

“Shut up.” While Luke looked angry, the blush on his cheeks said otherwise. “He and I aren't anything.” It wasn't that convincing.

------------------

The next morning, Nico went in search of Eros. He got to see the brunet a little last night, since the French boy kept Nico company while the others were performing. However, it wasn't long after work ended for everyone that Eros took his leave to go get some rest. But since the last place for Nico to really search was a very specific suite, he somehow doubted that the green-eyed boy had gotten much sleep.

Octavian answered the door, groggily rubbing his eyes and carrying a mug of coffee. “It is far too early to be seeing your face at my door,” the blond mumbled before he took a long sip of his coffee.

“Funny story.” A smirk crept across Nico's lips as he tapped a finger to his chin. “You see, I've been looking for Eros, and I can't seem to find him anywhere.”

“Did you try his room?”

Nico cleared his throat. “Well, you see, I went down to find his room number, and was told that he doesn't have a room. So, I came here...where your brother is...to find Eros.”

Octavian rolled his eyes before he took another long sip of his coffee. “Come in,” he mumbled as he stepped aside. The suite was still dark. “Luke hasn't woke up yet, but you're more than welcome to go bang on his door. As far as I know, Eros isn't here.” The blond narrowed his eyes. “Is all that stuff they were saying yesterday true? Is that who my brother has been messaging since he came back from Germany?”

Nico grinned. “Probably.” He let out a sigh as he headed down the hall, where Octavian followed slowly behind him. The raven haired boy banged on the door to Luke's room.

There was a loud groan from the other side, so Nico banged again. “Fuck off!” Came Luke's irritated voice. Nico just rolled his eyes and banged again. “Goddammit! What do you want, Octavian?”

“I'm not your brother,” Nico called back.

There was a deep growl and then feet hit the floor. In a few short strides, the door was swung open and a very naked Luke glared down at Nico. “Why are you waking me up? I had a long night.”

Nico tilted his head to peer past the blond. His eyebrows shot up in amusement. Sure enough, Eros was in Luke's bed, though the brunet was still fast asleep. The covers were messily tangled across him and it didn't seem like Eros had any clothes on either. But it was the dark marks on the French boy's neck and collarbone that amused Nico the most.

He looked up at Luke in amusement. “I sure bet you did.”

Luke glared and grabbed a pair of boxers from the floor before he slipped into them. “What do you want, twerp?”

Nico smiled and ran a hand through his hair. He would need to get it cut soon. Probably before the conference, since a particular asshole still wanted him to attend the event. “I was just looking for Eros, thought I could find him here.” Nico stuck out his tongue at the blond. “It seems I was right.” He chuckled when Luke glared at him. “But I am fine with seeing you and your brother.” His laughter died down and he leaned against the wall. “Are you two going to be okay today?”

Octavian grunted and raised his coffee to his lips. Luke crossed his arms and glanced over his shoulder to the sleeping boy behind him. With a frown, Luke stepped out into the hall, shutting the door behind him. “We'll be fine,” the older of the two blonds replied. “If we're lucky, we can just avoid her.”

“And if you aren't so lucky?”

Octavian let out a sigh. “Then we'll deal with her. I mean, she can't really do anything, not from a political standpoint. If she were to do so, it would just draw attention to what kind of parent she was. She'd probably get thrown out of office for harming her son and the fact that both ran away from home. Not looking for us probably won't do her any favors, nor will the fact that she told people we died.”

Nico gave a nod. “Well, you know, if you two moved, she would be far away from both of you.”

“I know,” Octavian chuckled. He nodded back to his room. “My form is in my room.” His eyes flashed over to his brother, who had his eyes on the floor. “Luke turned his in yesterday.” His eyebrow shot up. “Interesting that it happened after you spent the afternoon with Eros.”

“Just a coincidence,” Luke muttered under his breath. He took in a deep breath and looked up at the two. “Anyways, you needed to talk to him, right?” Nico gave a nod. “Give me a second.”

Nico tilted his head to the side as Luke stepped back into his bedroom. Luke slowly knelt on his bed and stared down at the brunet. It was almost endearing to watch the scene unfold, at least until Luke woke Eros up.

In one swift move, Luke shoved Eros off of the bed. Eros shot to his feet a second later, his face full of anger and not even caring that he was naked. “Sale con! Mais mec, pour qui tu t'prends? Genre je te sucerais la bite après ça! Va t'faire voir salaud!” Eros yelled out. Octavian and Nico stared on with wide eyes, while Luke smirked triumphantly. Well, at least for a few seconds, until Eros shoved him so hard that the blond fell backwards and hit his head on the floor. “Stupid American.” Huffing, Eros stepped over the blond on the floor. “You can sleep on the couch tonight.”

Luke rubbed at his head with a frown. “This is my room!”

Pursing his lips, Eros bent over to retrieve his underwear from the floor. “Je m'en bats les couilles. Si jamais tu me réveilles comme ça encore une fois je t'jure que ça va barder.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “He wanted to see you,” the blond grumbled, pointing over to where Nico stood in the doorway.

A huge grin overtook Eros's face as he turned to face the raven haired boy. “Nico!” He said happily as he flung his arms around said boy. Nico laughed and stuck his tongue out at Luke when the blond glared at him. “What do I owe such a pleasure?”

Nico let out a happy sigh and chuckled again. “You know, it didn't take that long after seeing each other again to wind up in bed.”

Eros scoffed. “That happened right after I got here, when I came up here to drop my luggage off.” He grinned at the blond behind him, who had finally gotten off the floor. “Someone couldn't keep his hands off my ass.”

“Please stop telling him things,” Luke grumbled.

The brunet grinned and placed his hands behind his head. “We also cuddled last night.”

Luke shot forward and covered Eros's mouth with his palm. “Stop talking. Now.” He glared at Nico and his brother. “Neither of you heard that, it was clearly a lie. I don't fucking cuddle. I-” Luke cut himself off with a soft moan.

When Nico looked down, he found that Eros had his butt pressed firmly against Luke's crotch, which was only separated by two pairs of underwear. Octavian shook his head lightly. “Do we need to give you two a moment?” He rolled his eyes when Eros giggled. “I think I'm going to try to find some earplugs today.”

-----------------

Nico smiled and squeezed Butch's arm. “I'm happy that things are working out.” He playfully gasped for breath as the muscular Lost Boy enveloped him in a big hug. “Just try and stay in touch, okay?”

“Will do,” Butch chuckled.

Nico glared as Butch ruffled his hair, carelessly reaching up to smack the hand away. After getting his hair cut, Nico had bumped into the Lost Boy down in the lobby. Butch would not be joining them in Germany, choosing instead to stay in Los Angeles to be with his mother. Whether he'd stay on at the Lotus was undetermined, but Nico was just glad that things had become mended between child and mother.

It was sort of sad, knowing that some of the family that Nico had come to love would be separated from him soon, but their happiness was far more important. And the good news was that he would at least have some of the Los Angeles Lost Kids with him in Berlin, since the ones there did not seem to be as close.

After the two parted ways, Nico ran upstairs to change into something that wasn't a black T-shirt and baggy shorts. So, instead of the faded T-shirt, Nico stared at several polo shirts that had been dropped off for him. He frowned down at the bright blue one that Percy, apparently, wanted him to wear. With a grunt, he tossed it over his shoulder and slid himself into the black one. After stumbling into a pair of pants that pretty much conformed to his ass, Nico grabbed the shoes that had been dropped off for him.

Taking in a deep breath, Nico inspected himself in the mirror. He would never get used to this sort of life. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to dress up like this on a regular basis. Better just get this over with, Nico thought to himself as he left his suite and headed for the elevator.

When he got downstairs, Nico found Percy and Rachel waiting outside the door to the conference room. Percy glanced up from his phone and just kind of stared at Nico for a moment, blinking every few seconds. Rachel barely managed to catch the young man's phone from falling to the floor.

Eventually, Percy cleared his throat. “You're late.”

Rolling his eyes, Nico crossed his arms over his chest. “At least I'm here, even though I'm not sure why you want me to be.”

“Glad to see you two are working things out,” Rachel sighed, handing Percy back his phone. She cleared her throat and opened the door. “Do try to act like you're in love with each other.”

Nico's mouth floundered as he gaped at the Lost Girl. As brown-eyed boy looked up, Percy coughed and looked away, sliding a hand into his pocket. Rachel sighed and moved forward, looping Nico's arm through Percy's.

The conference was so boring. Nico didn't know who half the people there were, nor did he really care about the other half. Even when he wasn't attached to Percy's arm, most of the people in the room only managed to irritate the raven haired boy. Because, honestly, Nico wasn't going to delusion himself into thinking that any of the people were nice to him other than the fact that he was dating Percy.

There were a few that he recognized from previous encounters, like Mrs. Castellan and Robert. The latter moved around a lot. When he stopped to talk to Nico, however, he actually asked if the boy had seen Apollo. Nico hadn't, but he probably wouldn't have told Robert if he had.

May had not come over to Nico. She had briefly talked to Percy while Nico had been getting something to drink, but it only been for a few seconds. Not that he really minded. Nico did not really care about talking to the woman, but he did keep an eye on her.

Percy acted completely normal with Nico, like they hadn't even been fighting. He smiled and even kissed Nico's cheek once, but it did not make Nico any less aggravated than he already was. Nico attending this conference was a bad idea. All it did was cause the boy to become even more bitter. Unless Percy was going to act like this after the conference, he didn't appreciate the young man doing it now. It was a lie.

“So, I see things have developed between the two of you after all.”

Nico spun around to face Senator Johnson. The man caught him off-guard briefly before Nico managed a smile. “I suppose they have.”

The senator nodded. “And I hear you aren't...employed anymore.”

“No.” Nico's eyes drifted over to where Percy was making small talk with some important people from Europe and Asia. “Everything is great.” He couldn't help but sound a little bitter as he sipped his punch. Shaking his head, Nico harshly placed his glass back on the table, causing a few heads to turn his way. “Excuse me.”

Mr. Johnson raised an eyebrow at him, but let the boy go. Nico pushed his way through the crowded room, heading for the door. Right before he could get to the exit, however, a hand clamped onto his arm.

“Where are you going?” Percy asked.

“Away.” Nico ran a hand through his hair. “I don't want to be here, and I don't think you want me here either. Quite frankly, I'm starting to wonder why you even came and rescued me.”

“What?” Percy retorted, his voice slightly raised. More heads turned their way as Nico shoved through the doors of the conference room. Percy followed after him, quickly pinning Nico to the wall and placing both of his hands on either side of the boy's head. “I came for you because I care about you. I get that you are mad at me, but this is not the place for us to argue. You have to look happy.”

“I don't want to.” Nico shoved Percy away. “I don't belong in this world.”

“But this is what you signed up for when you said you wanted to be with me.” Percy let out a sigh. “I'm not going to drag you to every event that I attend, but I do expect you to appear happy when you do go to one.”

“You mean lie. Are you just expecting me to never be happy with you then?”

Percy arched a brow. “I don't know, you tell me. Are you happy with me?”

Nico grunted. “Not at the moment,” he said slowly.

The green-eyed young man sighed, but before he could respond, the door opened and Gaea stepped outside. “Is everything all right?” She asked, holding a glass of champagne in her hand.

“Yes,” Percy nodded. He rubbed Nico's shoulder with a faint smile. “Nico here was just feeling a little overwhelmed. Give me a second and I'll be back in there.” Gaea nodded and disappeared back into the conference room. Percy gave a heavy sigh and turned to face Nico. “Look, I'm not going to force you to go back in there if you don't want to, but give me a minute and I'll be right back. I was sort of in the middle of a very important business discussion.”

Nico rolled his eyes and sat down on a nearby chair. “What, bombing a small village in Africa? Handing out guns to local gangs?” Nico sighed and shot Percy a glare. “By all means, go complete your important discussion.”

Instead of firing back with a comment, Percy locked his jaw and flung the door open before he went back into the conference. Nico grunted and slumped down in his chair. Maybe he was being a little harsh on Percy, but it didn't change the way Nico felt. It was like all the frustration he had felt towards Percy the past few days was just rising to the surface.

After a minute or two had passed, Nico got tired of waiting and got to his feet. Kicking at the carpet as he went, Nico aimlessly walked around the second floor, slowly making his way towards the elevators.

He didn't quite make it there.

As he passed by the hotel's gym, Nico came to a stop. He could have sworn he saw something from the corner of his eye. He backed up and turned to peer into the little workout room that the Lost Boys had first worked with Nico in.

Apollo had his back pressed against the wall, his head down and off to the side, while Robert stood in front of him with his arms loosely crossed. Even from here, Nico could see the tears that had formed in Apollo's eyes. So, without thinking, Nico opened the door.

Robert's head jerked in his direction. “Oh, Nico.” He cleared his throat and motioned to Apollo. “We were just talking. If you'll excuse us...”

“No,” Apollo quickly interjected before Nico could even budge. The curly haired blond let out a breath. “Nico, stay. I want someone to hear this.”

Nico gave a nod and leaned against the wall. It was best to stay silent, so the boy did his best to stay out of the way of the two. He wasn't stupid, Nico knew what this was about. Robert wanted to know Apollo's decision.

“You know,” Apollo finally began after a long pause, “I would have given anything for you to tell me you left your wife a year or two ago. Hell, even maybe a few months ago. I probably would have jumped at the news and had my bags packed within the next hour.” His voice was soft, just barely above a whisper, but his eyes were hidden behind his blond curls. “Maybe that was just me being young and stupid. You...really hurt me. A lot. You dragged me away from home, after talking me into coming out to my father, and then just tossed me aside.”

“I know, and I realize what a mistake that was now,” Robert said gently.

Apollo slowly nodded, his eyes finally coming into view. They looked devastated, shattered. “I know.” He closed his eyes for a moment before refocusing them on Robert's face, hardened and angry. “But it doesn't make it okay. You could have sent me home, or even called my sister. But what did you do? You had Percy come find me, knowing what he was going to make me do. Why did you do that? Was it because you still wanted to see me, and you knew you could just pay to have sex with me?”

“Apollo-”

The blond Lost Boy shook his head in disbelief. “You fucking sick son of a bitch.” He laughed, wrapping his arms around himself. “I don't want to go with you. For the first time in a long time, I'm happy. And I realized that I did exactly what you did to me with Leo, except I didn't keep coming back for sex with him. I stayed away. Because, deep down, even though I was messed up and hurting at the time, I knew I had hurt him.”

Robert locked his jaw. “You're just going to stay here? I can give you a new life. You don't need this place anymore. I can put you up in a nice house, where you'd never have to worry about things like this again.” Robert shook his head in disbelief. “You can't be serious.”

“The only difference,” Apollo continued, “is that I apologized to Leo about what happened. Sure, it might have been a year, but it's more than you actually gave me. You've never really apologized, at least never meant it. The only apologizes you ever gave me was right when you were trying to get me naked upstairs.” Taking in a deep breath, Apollo placed a hand on Robert's chest, putting some distance between the two of them. “I don't love you anymore, Robert. I can't really believe I'm going to say this either, but I think it's best if we don't see each other again. In fact, I'm making sure of it.”

Robert's brow furrowed. “What does that mean?”

From his back pocket, Apollo unfolded a form for transfer. “I'm going to move to Berlin when Percy moves. Leo is going to be going to be moving there to oversee the maintenance of the hotel, and we did a lot of talking about things between us. And I came to the conclusion that I would feel a lot better if you and I didn't have to see each other again, so that I could have a fresh start.” The blond pursed his lips and looked up at Robert. “I'm sorry.”

There was a long silence before Robert finally spoke. And the second Nico saw the older blond move, he moved forward a few steps out of reflex. Robert glanced over at him for a moment before turning his attention back to Apollo. “If your mind is made up...” He pressed his lips together and glanced down. “I wish you had told me this before I left my wife.”

“You kind of sprung that on me,” Apollo reminded him. The curly haired blond leaned back against the wall. “Besides, you made your choice, and we must all live with our consequences.”

Robert slowly nodded. “You're right, I did.” Reaching out, Robert cupped Apollo's chin and tilted the blond's head up. “You're really beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Apollo whispered.

Sighing, Robert shoved his hands into his pockets. “Well, if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.” Apollo smiled up at him and nodded. Nodding back, Robert headed for the door. “I hope you'll be happy.”

“I hope you can mend things with your wife. Take care of yourself.” Apollo let out a long sigh when the door shut. He slumped down until he was on the floor, and then he pulled his legs up to his chest. Those blue eyes seemed so far off, at least until they took notice of Nico sitting down beside him. “Hey.”

“You okay?” Nico asked.

Apollo didn't answer right away. He glanced over to the door once, chewing on his lip. “I think I will be. It's just weird, because he's been a part of my life for so long now. But I realized that it's time to move on. There's a lot of history between me and Robert, but that's also why we can't work anymore. I'd never really be able to let everything that he did go.” Apollo ran a hand through his curls. “It wouldn't be fair to either of us. Besides, I meant what I said, I don't love him anymore. He was never who I was meant to be with, he was just the person that helped me get to where I was supposed to be.”

Nico couldn't help but smile. “That's a nice way of looking at it.”

Letting out a sigh, Apollo got up. He wiped at his eyes before smiling at Nico. “Well, I think I need to get back to the conference. Are you going back?”

“Um, I don't know.” Nico cringed a little. “Percy and I...”

“Gotcha.”

They had barely parted ways when Nico bumped into Percy. Well, technically, he found Percy waiting for him at the elevators, and he did not look happy. Percy's eyes grew dark when they spotted Nico. “Where have you been? I already texted Leo and asked if he's seen you. For all I knew, you could have gotten abducted again.” He shook his head. “I thought you were going to wait for me?”

All that anger seemed to come back real quick. “Excuse me?” Nico growled. “You're one to talk, since you've been avoiding me for the past few days!”

Closing the distance between them, Percy glared down at Nico, his eyes ablaze. “Did you ever stop to think for a minute that I did that to try and protect you? That guy came for you because of how close you are to me, because he wanted to hurt me!”

“Great idea,” Nico fired back. “And yet you didn't ban me from coming to this conference. Instead, you have me stay by your side the entire time.”

“You came at Gaea's request.” Percy's nostrils flared at the glare he got from Nico. “This isn't what I wanted. I put you in danger, and nearly got you killed. Your sister would never let you go to Berlin with me if she knew that I let you get kidnapped. I failed you and her both when I let my pride get the better of me, thinking that nobody would be able to touch you while I was around.”

Nico shook his head. “And how exactly have you been planning on keeping me safe when I'm here in America for university?”

Rubbing his jaw, the anger faded away from Percy's face. “You're not.”

“What?”

“You heard me.” Percy's brow furrowed. “You will not be attending school here in America. You are going to attend a university in Germany, somewhere close by.”

Fuming, Nico clenched his fists. “You can't be serious! Are you just going to make me a prisoner?” He huffed and stepped back from Percy. “You can't be around to watch me forever, so you might as well let me live my life.” He quickly held up a hand when Percy went to speak. “It'll be easier for me to go to school here. I don't speak German, Percy.”

“I'm just trying to keep you safe!” Percy boomed so loudly that it made Nico draw back. “I will do anything to keep you safe.”

“Like shooting someone, even when you knew I would ask you not to?”

Narrowing his eyes, Percy leaned closer to the pale boy. “I showed him mercy,” he hissed. “If I had my way, I would have had him suffer as much and as long as possible.” When Nico looked into those sea-green eyes, he found that they were near slits. “Then, when he could finally take no more, I would finally put him out of his misery. He got off easy compared to the cop that handed you over to him.”

Nico blinked in surprise. “What?”

“I held him downstairs,” Percy said coldly, rubbing his jaw. “I told him that I found you and he begged to be let go. Instead, I had molten aluminum poured down his throat, and then tossed the body into the ocean where it sank.” He let out a long breath and brushed some of Nico's hair behind his ear. “So, yes, you should be thankful that I showed mercy, and it was only because you were standing right there.”

Unfortunately, Nico never got a chance to reply.

“Mr. Jackson!”

Percy closed his eyes and let out a low growl at the sound of May Castellan's approaching voice. Taking in a deep breath, Percy turned around with a smile. “What can I do for you?”

Nico rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the annoying woman. His mouth fell open when he noticed Luke and Octavian being dragged along by some of Mrs. Castellan's security. And to top it all off, Eros had followed after them, demanding that they release Luke and his brother.

“What is the meaning of this?” Mrs. Castellan asked, motioning towards her sons.

Percy slipped a hand into his pocket. “I'd assume it would be obvious, they are my employees.”

“And it just happened to slip your mind that my sons worked for you?”

“I didn't really consider it relevant, since you didn't seem to want anything to do with them.” Percy cracked his neck, raising an eyebrow over at Luke. “I don't really think they consider themselves your children anymore. They are also both of legal age, which means that they are free to do as they please.”

“I wouldn't go home with you anyways,” Luke growled.

May eyed her son. “Unless you've given up your homosexual lifestyle, you would not be welcome there.”

The older blond gave a grunt. “I'm bisexual, not gay.”

“Same difference.”

“No,” Octavian said, “it really isn't.”

Luke shrugged off his mother's security guard. “You were a horrible mother.” He shook his head, motioning to his brother. “I don't even care about what you did to me, but you were a horrible mother to him. You shoved him into things he hated, wouldn't let him do the things he liked. And for what? All because you thought he might be gay? Well guess what? He wasn't. So go fuck yourself, you Bible thumping whore!”

Percy held up a hand to silence them. “She's not taking you anywhere, not if you don't want to go.” He frowned down at the woman. “And if you're going to be a problem, I don't expect I'll be allowing you to continue to stay at any of our hotels.” He leaned in with a glare, not even caring that the woman's security guards were right there. “And trust me, Mrs. Castellan, I'm not someone you want to piss off.”

“I can handle this, Percy,” Luke said. Percy stared at him for a moment before he nodded and took a step back. When May turned to face her eldest son, she held her head up high. Luke just shook his head at her. “You are so blind and consumed by your religion...that you let it come between you and your family. It was more important than your own children. And I hated myself for so long, for everything. Even for being bisexual. I thought that, maybe if I had been the way you wanted me to be, then we could have just been a happy family.”

May opened her mouth, smiling a little.

“But then I realized that wasn't my fault,” Luke continued, his eyes like ice. “It wasn't my fault, none of it.” His eyes shot over to where Nico stood. “It just took someone with a little sense to knock that fact into me. You failed us both. But I think I hate you most of all for what Octavian had to go through. If you had just been a decent mother to him, he would have never ran away to come and find me.”

Octavian touched his brother's arm. “She's not worth it, Luke. Don't talk to her.”

May looked a little surprised. “You don't want to talk to me?” She took a step towards Octavian, but the younger blond stepped back. “You're not the abomination, Octavian.”

“Don't call Luke an abomination,” Octavian growled at his mother. “God, you don't even see how crazy you are. Do you even hear yourself? And Dad...he's not even here. Probably off screwing his secretary, right? How many did you catch him with? I guess he isn't happy with you either.”

“Octavian, I am your mother! You will show me some respect!”

“No,” Octavian shook his head. “Luke was more of a parent to me than either of you ever were. And you're the reason he doesn't smile anymore. All I wanted, since the day you hurt him, was to see him smile like he used to, but he doesn't. I can't forgive you for destroying our lives.”

Rage filled the woman's eyes as her face turned red. “If you think that I am just-”

May fell silent when Eros popped up in front of her eldest son, a bright smile on his face. She blinked at him a moment, mouth agape. Even Luke looked perplexed by the boy's actions. What was he about to do? Considering who it was, there really wasn't much that Nico could think of that couldn't possibly happen.

“Bonjour, Madame Castellan!” The brunet exclaimed, shaking the woman's hand vigorously. Not once did his smile waver, not even when Luke began to glare at the shorter boy. “Puis-je juste vous dire que, vous et votre mari, vous avez vraiment mis au monde un enfant magnifique. Et sa bite... Mon Dieu! Qu'elle est grosse! Compliments à celui qui lui a passé ça.” Judging by the perplexed look on May's face, she did not understand the French boy, not that Nico did either. “En plus, il sait s'en servir. Après notre première fois, j'ai même commencé à boiter. Nan mais, c'étais vraiment très, très excellent.”

“Um,” Mrs. Castellan floundered. “Thank you? I'm pleased to meet you...I think.”

Eros just giggled and released her hand. With both of his hands, he held them apart several inches. “Very big.”

Oh. Nico began to cough when he realized what Eros had probably been talking about. And, just to confirm it, Eros turned around and tugged Luke down by the collar, shoving his tongue into the blond's mouth. Luke's eyes shot open wide when the brunet's hand squeezed his crotch. May looked scandalized, while Percy just snorted and looked away to hide his laughter.

Needless to say, May didn't stick around any longer.