Hell And High Water 6

A couple days had passed and Nico had done everything he could to plan out the hit. It wasn't the most elaborate scheme he had ever come up with but it would be harder than hell to pull off, considering the circumstances But, he was hopeful.
Nico was beyond focused and he wouldn't let anything distract him from something so important, not even Percy. But that didn't seem to be an issue since Percy had, thankfully, stayed out of his hair during the planning. The son of Poseidon would usually just watch the cartoons that Nico couldn't stand and laugh at the dumbest jokes they told. As much as the shows annoyed Nico, he really liked Percys laugh. It wasn't a laugh, really, it was more of a giggle. But not an obnoxious girly kind of giggle. It was... cute. Oh gods, why was he even listening to it?
Nico was trying his hardest to make the plan to not include Percy too much. He would have definitely preferred that the older demigod stay away from the dirty stuff in his life and would do whatever he had to do to make sure of that. But, much to Nicos displeasure, the deeper he got into the dirt, the further he pulled Percy.
And that brought up so many other issues. The son of Hades didn't even want to tell Percy anything but he knew the older deserved to know. He would have loved to keep Percy totally in the dark about each and every problem they faced and would face but he knew that was unwise. It took a bit of fighting within himself to finally reach the conclusion that Percy needed to be told what would happen when they got to San Francisco and found Herc. He assumed Percy would be ready, willing, and able to listen but he assumed wrong. He couldn't even get the older boy to turn the t.v. off and pay attention. Nicos patience had been gone days ago and he was mostly just running off the fact that if he lost his temper with Percy, there was really no telling what could happen.
Nico composed himself enough to slowly stand from the chair he was sitting in and block Percy from seeing the t.v. with his body. As soon as Percy was no longer able to see his stupid cartoon, this time it was the Power Puff Girls, he began to shout like a toddler for Nico to move. Nico didn't plan on moving, though, and he stood his ground.
Percy shouted and whined, he threw a pillow at Nico, and even stood from the bed to try and push him away. Nico was not in the mood to deal with Percy so when he stood in front of Nico, he got pushed back onto the bed harshly. Percy was surprised, truthfully, and pouted at the other male in front of him. All he gained, to his dismay, was a scoff and an eye roll from Nico.
That's when the older shouted. "Your mean!"
Nico scoffed. "You threw a pillow at me and I'm mean? Seriously?"
Percy didn't say anything but he squinted his eyes, seemingly in confusion, and looked away from Nico.
"Now that you're not being distracted by your stupid cartoons, I have a few things I would like to talk to you about."
Percy shook his head. He didn't want to know whatever it was Nico wanted to tell him. He didn't really care. All he knew, and, he figured, all he needed to know, was that Nico had made someone angry and now that someone wanted Percy for some reason. He was freaking out enough about that and really didn't need to add anything to it, but, of course, Nico had other plans.
"I wanna tell you what's gonna happen when we get to San Francisco."
Percy instantly stopped his temper tantrum and his face adopted a totally new look. It was one that kind of surprised Nico a little but he was pleased that it wasn't actually as childish as he thought it could have been. "Wait, what?"
"I haven't even gotten to the good part yet and you're already asking questions?" He shook his head. "Anyway, the first thing I would like to do is scope out the hits place for a few days and try to learn his routine. I would like the least amount of casualties as possible so we need to make sure no one else will be there on the day we plan. I say we because you will be with me the whole time."
Percy was pretty confused. He wanted to ask what was going on, he wanted an explanation, and, most of all, he wanted to protest and a throw a huge 'No way!' out there but Nico wouldn't stop talking long enough for him to do any of that.
"I'm not gonna have you do anything, you're just gonna be there so I can make sure you don't get into a mess."
Hearing that he wasn't going to be involved relaxed the older enough for him to take a breath but he still had no clue what was going on. He repeated Nicos words, 'Get into a mess?' to himself and was left speechless. He knew Nico was going to kill someone and Percy would rather be doing anything but talking about something like that. To Percy, killing someone was enough of a mess by itself.
"Percy, did you hear a word I just said?"
He had heard it, all right. Every word. And he didn't like a so glee one. And he planned on letting Nico know that. "Are you crazy? There is no way you're getting me to do anything with this. I am not a murderer!" Percy shouted loud enough that he was sure someone else had heard, but he didn't care.
"Well, then, you must be a fool because that's your only option right now and the fact you're fighting it makes you pretty stupid in my book."
Things had just escalated pretty quickly.
"I'm stupid? Who was the one that spent three years of their life getting into trouble and killing people?"
Nico was shocked that came up in the conversation. He was also pretty surprised by the way Percy sounded when he spoke. He didn't sound so childish but it wasn't quite as 'adult' as it should have been, either. For a 'twenty-two year old, that is. Nico put that to the side, although the bite in Percys tone was kind of thrilling, and got on with the argument. "Really? I did that to save your ass. The least you could have done was thank me accordingly."
The okders jaw dropped. Did he not remember Percy thanking him at least once every day?... "Thank you accordingly? What are you talking about? I have said thank you to you so many times, it's ridiculous."
Nico tossed his head back and shut his eyes tightly before looking back and Percy and speaking. At firsr, his voice was low but it was quick to escelate into a yell."Yeah, and so are you ever since you came out of the Lotus!"
Nico froze after he spoke.The last few words, the ones he yelled, had kind of slipped.
As soon as Percy heard that, he gritted his teeth tightly. He tried to hold back his anger. He could feel it bubbling up inside himself. It was a very familiar anger. Like the anger he felt when the gods blamed him for stealing the lighting bolt all those years ago. He couldn't manage to hold it back, though, and it broke the surface and his voice rose even louder than it was before, even louder than Nicos. "Then just send me back!"
"I'm not going to send you back!" Nico retorted quickly, throwing his arms into the air. "All I'm asking for is that you actually make it seem like you appreciate the fact that I spent three years of my life looking for you when no one else cared enough to!"
Percy scoffed a little. "What, do you want a round of applause?" Percy clapped his hands a few times. "Or a trophy or something?"
Nico was growing more angry by the second; he didn't appreciate mockery. But, on the other hand,he couldn't help notice something interesting. Percy seemed to have found his old cleverness and it was really coming out. And it was starting to drive Nico crazy already. "No."
"Then what do you want?" Percy spat.
Nico hadn't gotten into a screaming fight like this since he left the Argo. It was nice, oddly enough. But, more than that, the fact that he was arguing with Percy... The son of Poseidon had a wild tongue and temper and it lit a spark within Nico. Another impulsive thought entered his mind. He had been getting them alot since he snatched Percy from the Lotus but this was the first one he had ever acted on. Before the thought sat in his mind long enough for him to process, it turned to words, rather soft words, and slipped from his mouth.
"Kiss me."
The son of Poseidon was utterly surprised, and confused, at Nicos words. "What?"
Nico clenched his fists. He was angry with himself for even thinking such a thing. And then to say it... But,he didn't really mean it to come out.
The son of Hades may not have really meant to say it, but, he had said it. And he had thought it. So it must have been what he wanted. It didn't take a genius to figure that out, though. Knowing it was too late to take the words back, Nico said them again.
Percy was studdering. "Why?"
"As thanks."
"But-"
Nico cut Percys words off with his own, knowing very well what he would say. "I know, I know. You've thanked me so many times for it. But, those words don't seem to be enough." Nico could hear his voice growing deeper and more grizzly. He couldn't help the feelings that were welling up.
"Are you serious?"
"I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't serious." The younger demigod kind of wished he could stop. But, he couldn't. Nico was going along with the fact that he might have been thinking with his little head,which was something he wasn't too proud of, but it couldn't take it back now. And, besides, there was a real possibility he could get something out of this so he was going to try even if he failed.
Percy was still silent so Nico took the liberty to keep talking. "I am going to kiss you. You will kiss me back. Either that or you will put up with me talking about you being an ungrateful pain in the ass for the rest of forever."
Percy furrowed his brow in complex mixture of emotion. He was a little embarrassed at first but, it was just a kiss. How bad could one kiss be? It would probably just be a simple little peck and that's it. If that's what it took for Nico to stop talking about looking for Percy for three years and saving him from the Lotus, then it was worth enduring.
"Is that all?" Percy was being sarcastic to try to calm himself.
Nico bit his tongue. Percy was tempting every bit of self-control the younger demigod had. But, he knew he had already said more than needed saying. "Yes."
Percy thought for another second about if it was really worth it then said "Fine".
Nico looked unphased about it on the outside but that couldn't be further from the truth. His heart was pounding and his mouth was begining to water in anticipation from hearing just that one, simple word.
The son of Hades swallowed. He looked at Percy, who was pretty close to the wall already, before approaching him slowly to back him up into it. Percy looked to be pretty calm about the whole thing and Nico didn't know whether to be pleased or concerned.
The older demigod took a few steps back so he was against the wall and Nico took a few steps foreward so he could reach Percy. Even if it meant nothing, Nico knew this day would go down in history as being the best day of his life.
When Percy was pinned against the wall and Nico was only about a foot from him, he had a thought he wished he wouldn't have. If he would have acted on it, he'd have Percy pinned to the bed in a matter of seconds. In the blink of an eye, the distance between the two was closed and Nico scooped up Percys lips within his own. Percy yelped a little, expecting a peck and not the kind of kiss Nico was giving him.
Nico, however, was in Elysium. Percys lips were soft as silk and sweet as honey. But, as soon as the kiss started, it ended. Nico pulled away from Percy, feeling pretty stupid.
"I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from. I shouldn't have asked you to do that."
"Why not?" Where had that come from?
"What?"
Percy was the one feeling stupid now. He found words to say even though they just made things... worse?
"It's what you wanted, right? It's what you've wanted for years. You had the chance. You took it."
Uhhhh... okay... "Are you defending my actions?"
Was he?... "I'm just saying that it's understandable."
Nico had another thought. A thought he shouldn't have had. But, he had been having those for a while so what the hell. There was a few seconds of silence before Nico spoke. "I'm going to kiss you again."
Percy said nothing.
Within the next few seconds of silently staring into each others eyes, Nico made the decision to close the gap once again. He wasn't disappointed.
The kiss started as the first had: slow and simple. Their mouths were closed but they were still moving their lips. Nico could feel Percy shake a little.
The son of Hades wanted so badly to take it further. He had been wanting this for five years and now he was getting it. Nothing could have made it better.
Nico didn't want to push things. He knew Percy wasn't gay and he was lucky to even be kissing him. But he couldn't help himself. He began to run his hands slowly up and down Percys sides before moved them rather quickly to the other boys hips and grabbed onto them tightly. Percy tensed but Nico wasn't done yet. He pushed Percy into the wall harshly. Percy let out a whimper and instantly felt really embarrassed. Nico, on the other hand, felt like he was floating through space. He took a small step closer and Percy grabbed onto his arms harshly.
That was it. Nico had been trying to control himself up until that point but he couldn't anymore. He left his hands on Percys hips and began to work with his mouth. Percys lips were still closed and Nico had seriously had enough of that. He began to nip at Percys bottom lip softly in hopes of getting him to open them.
It took a few awkward nibbles for Percy to understand what Nico wanted. He opened his mouth very slowly and Nico wasted no time getting to work. He pushed his tongue in forcefully and Percy yelped again at the feeling of Nicos tongue touching his own. Percy pulled his tongue back and all Nico did was brush his own across Percys bottom lip until he figured the older boy was comfortable enough. Percy let out an airy moan at the tickling feeling it caused on his lip, and the butterflies it set loose into his stomach, and, almost without knowing it, he pushed his tongue into Nicos. Percy tensed up a little more and the butterflies turned into acrobats in the pit of his stomach.
Nicos thoughts began to run wild. He was wondering how far he could take this. He had opened his eyes and saw that Percys were closed and he wondered if the son of Poseidon was enjoying it. He wondered if Percy would let Nico touch him. He wondered if Percy would let Nico do more. That's when he pulled away. He knew that if he didn't, things were bound to get much much worse.
Silence filled the room and Nico slowly took his hand from Percys hip. He regretted doing what he did, but, at the same time, he didn't.
Without saying anything, Nico walked away from Percy and went to his bag. He grabbed clothes to sleep in and went to the bathroom to change.
Percy was left in the room alone, dazed, and confused. He knew what had just happened but he hadn't really quite figured it out yet. He had allowed Nico to kiss him... twice. Why hadn't he stopped him the second time? That was seriously a question Percy couldn't answer.
Nico was having a hard time with what had just happened, too. He really shouldn't have asked that of Percy. He knew what was going to happen. And it had happened. Nico turned the water on for a shower, seeing as how he felt like a scum after pretty much taking advantage of Percy. Just because nothing had really happened didn't mean Nico couldn't feel like an ass for it. Granted, taking a shower couldn't get rid of feeling like a douche, but he had to do something.
Once he had scrubbed himself down, not without fixing the serious hard on that had formed, he turned the water off and dressed quickly. He was really ashamed for what he had done. He shook his head at his own reflection and brushed his teeth before heading back into the room.
Percy hadn't moved. He was still standing against the wall, staring out at the room. Nico shook his head and went to his bag again. He didn't really want to talk to Percy at the moment but the son of Poseidon looked like he didn't even know what planet he was on. Nico shook his head and said Percys name to grab his attention. He kind of hated the way he just rolled off his tongue after what he had just done. And to make matters worse, he had to say it again because Percy didn't seem to hear him. That time, though, the word sunk into Percys ears and he turned to look at the son of Hades.
"You should sleep. Tomorrow's gonna be a long day."
Percy managed a nod before he grabbed his pajamas and headed for the bathroom. Nico let a huff of air escape his lips before he covered himself and turned his back to the bed Percy would be climbing into soon.
Percy changed and brushed his teeth. He considered sleeping in the tub again but it had made him ache the last time and he knew he couldn't just run from his problems. He decided to just go out into the room and ignore Nico to the best of his ability. It wasn't hard considering he was already in bed. Percy tried not to look at him and just climbed into bed before turning the lamp off and curling up in the blankets.

When Nico woke up the next morning, the rest of the room was empty. He started to panic a little thinking that Percy had left sometime in the night for what had happened. He started to mentally beat himself up at the thought that he had just screwed Percy over. If he had gone out in the open, there was a possibility he could be dead before the next sunrise. Then he heard the water running in the bathroom and he relaxed himself. He put on some clean clothes before heading to the hotel lounge and grabbing some breakfast.
By the time Nico returned with the food, Percy was out of the bathroom and sitting on his bed with morning cartoons on. Nico tried not to scoff but the sound still slipped from his lips and Percy heard it. He gave Nico another hurt expression and Nico had to turn away. He was honestly a little surprised that Percy was sitting on the bed instead of hiding like he had been doing every time Nico would come into the room, but his surprise was short lived.
He sat the plate of food next to Percy and planted himself on his own bed to eat. Percy shut the t.v off and picked up the plate. He didn't really want to accept anything from Nico at the time but he was pretty hungry.
"You could have left the t.v. on." The words actually kind of hurt leaving Nicos mouth. Number one, he hated cartoons and would rather be watching anything else. Number two, it was hard talking to Percy after the occurrences of the night before.
Percy shook his head, to Nicos relief, and the two ate in silence. Once they finished, they gathered together all of their things and took the plates back to the loungr. Percy was really wondering how Nico could stay so calm when he knew he would be killing someone shortly. Then Percy wondered how he himself wasn't completely losing his mind. From the lounge, the two made their way out of the hotel and to Nicos car. Everything stayed dead silent and the younger demigod was not looking forward to the six and a half hours of uncomfortable silence he knew would accompany the drive.
Percy plugged a set of headphones into his ears right away and listened to the music he downloaded onto his phone at the mall. Nico kind of figured that, at some point, he and Percy would be able to talk about things but Percy clearly didn't want to talk. Nico turned the radio on and switched it to the rock station so he could have something comfortable to him in all the chaos.
The hours passed by slowly, almost torturously so, and Nicos ADHD was showing itself and becoming almost unbearable. He just wanted to stop the car and hit something or shoot something or... something. He was nervous about the hit and the long, silent car ride didn't help.
Nico kind of zoned out a little bit and he didn't really realize that he was hungry until he looked down at the clock. He had been driving for about five hours and he was begining to get a little achy. He figured he would stop and grab something to eat and stretch out a little before continuing on.
When he looked over at Percy, he wasn't sure if the son of Poseidon was sleeping or not. He wondered if he should nudge him to find out or say his name or just leave him. He didn't really want to touch the older boy so a nudge was out of the question. He didn't really want to say his name, either, after how it felt to the last time, so that option was gone, too. What he decided on? Getting out of the car and knocking on Percys window to get his attention. Percy looked up and Nico motioned for him to get out of the car. He followed, but never took his heahphones out.
Percy tagged along behind Nico into the rest stop and to one of the many fast food restaurants that resided within it. The only time he ever removed his ear buds was when he was ordering his food, and got hit on by the young lady that handed it to him. All the younger could do to cover his disgust was roll his eyes when Percy smiled at her.
Nico had really hoped food would kind of lighten the mood between the two and allow them to speak to one another. But, like breakfast and the entire car ride, lunch was dead silent.
Nico was getting even more agitated than he was before at the son of Poseidon. He considered leaving him in the rest stop and continuing on without him, maybe he would ditch him with the girl at the counter. That thought was wiped away quickly, though, when he realized how much of a child he was being.
Nothing changed after lunch; the car was still as silent as a morgue and it was still driving Nico crazy. He liked silence but this one was unbearable. He just turned the music up a little louder and tried to drown out his thoughts,
A couple more hours passed by and Nico was ecstatic when he saw the 'Welcome to San Francisco' sign ahead of him. Percy didn't care that they had finally reached their destination, even after listening to the same songs over and over again.
The two checked into a hotel right away so Nico could cool off from the drive. It wasn't even close enough to night to consider going to bed so Percy told Nico he was going to go to the pool, which was the first thing he had said to him pretty much all day, and went to the bathroom to change.
Nico sat in silence for about thirty seconds before his phone started to ring. There was no Caller ID but he knew it was Ares. Right away, after he answered the phone, Ares was throwing questions and information at him. Nico stayed silent and listened carefully as the man told him where he could find Herc (a flat not far from the state line), and how he thought Nico should try to carry things out. Only when Ares had finally stopped speaking did Nico start and tell the man what he had planned.
"The man is crazy afraid of fire and you can bet your ass I'm gonna use that against him. I'm not gonna tell you all the juicy details but I can assure you that when I'm done, no one will be able to tell who that bastard is."
'Who's to say it'll work?' Nico could tell the man wasn't amused. But that was okay. Nico wasn't going for amusement. But, to Nico, Ares didn't sound so enthused, either.
"I've been working on it since you hired me. I'm not just gonna walk up in there with a gun and expect to be able to shoot the guy. I'm not stupid."
Ares' voice was steady and monotonous. 'So, you're gonna burn him to death?'
"No," Nico said through a sigh.
That's when Percy came back out of the bathroom.
"The fire will be a way to get him to do what I want him to."
Ares let out a heavy sigh. 'Where's this going, kid?'
"Shut up and I'll tell ya." Nico shook his head. "I'm gonna get in there at some point when he's sleeping and drug his ass. As much as I don't want to, I'm gonna use the kid I got with me to help me drag him out of the house and to the car-"
That's all Percy heard before his ears started to buzz and his head started to spin. It almost felt as if Nico had been speaking in a different language, although he hadn't been, and Percy had just misunderstood him. He couldn't really mean what he said. Percy couldn't figure why Nico would want to use him. ...Was Nico really going to use him?
...Yes. He was. He hadn't wanted to but he had the feeling it would honestly be better if he did. At least he would be able to make sure Percy wasn't going to split on him.
Once the ringing in his ears stopped, Percy tried to listen and stay relaxed.
"I'll check for a warehouse or something and then get to work and try to find out where the Manticore and Typhon are."
'Is that where the fire comes in?' Ares' tone was still one of discontent and displeasure.
"Very good." Nicos tone was a pretty sarcastic one. "Yes. It'll be a... persuasive item."
'So... tortue?'
Percy saw Nico shrug. "I wouldn't call it tortue exactly." Nico finished off his sentence with a sickening chuckle.
Once again, the son of Poseidons ears rang. Tortue? Percy really didn't want to have anything to do with it now. He made his way slowly back to the bathroom and found his way back to the tub. He closed the curtain around it and sunk into the corner. Percy had been noticing that things weren't bothering him as much as they were in the beginning and he was seemingly starting to get used to everything and even adjust to it. But, here he was, hiding in the bathtub yet again; it was becoming the only place he could actually feel safe.
The son of Poseidon dropped his head into his knees again. That single word rang in Percys ears. Nico wouldn't really tortue someone, would he? He really wouldn't include Percy, would he? Percy had been pretty panicky ever since he came back from the Lotus, but this... This was different.
Just the thought of being included in torturing and, no doubt, killing someone was enough to make anybody afraid. Percy really didn't know what had happened to the world. He really didn't know what had happened to Nico. The kid had always been dark and creepy and maybe even a little sadistic, but this was unpredictable. It was unnatural. And Percy was scared. He was scared of Nico.
There was a light nock on the bathroom door and when Percy heard it, he buried his face in his hands and closed his eyes tightly. He now knew what Nico was capable of, to an extent, and he wished he didn't.
"Percy?"
Percy didn't want to answer him. That 'unnatural and unreasonable fear' was back. But, Percy didn't think it was unreasonable. Nico was a murderer. A sadistic murderer.
"Percy? Are you ready to go to the pool?"
Percy gathered his courage yet again but his voice still cracked when he spoke. "N-no."
"Are you.. are you okay?"
Percy closed his eyes tightly and leaned his head back into the wall. Not five minutes ago, Nico was talking about using Percy to help him carry out a murder and now he was asking if Percy was okay. That scared him almost as much as helping Nico with a murder did.
"N-no. I don't feel very good."
Nico was a little confused. Percy had felt fine half an hour ago and now he was sick? Whatever. Nico didn't bother with it. He had more important things to worry about.
Nico went to his bed but sat up for the next few hours. He was thinking about if he should really try to carry out the hit. Every guy that had ever went after Herc had ended up dead. Herc was strong and smart and he never went anywhere without being totally prepared for anything. He had access to military grade weapons and he had been trained very well in counterattack and counter interrogation. Not to mention his hand to hand combat training and street smarts. Nico was pretty much screwed, and he knew it.
A few hours passed and Percy was begining to consider going back out into the room. But, he couldn't do it. No matter how much he didn't want to sleep in the tub again, he saw it as his only option. He had gotten used to the fact that Nico was a hard ass hitman but now he was going to use Percy in it. And what was it with the fire? Was he going to tortue someone with fire? No way. Percy was scared. He was scared of Nico.
Night crept up quickly and Percy fell asleep in the tub. He had thoughts on top of thoughts running through his mind and it was tiring. It had only been days and Percy was ready to get away from Nico Di'Angelo. Very far away.