Percy's P.O.V.

BANG! BOOM! CRASH!

I woke up with a start, smashing my head on the ceiling above me, cursing loudly in Ancient Greek as a result then flopping back onto the pillow. I rolled over trying to remember the dream I was having.

I sat up and stretched like a cat, intending to go see what the racket was when there was a knock at my door and I just had time to cover myself up before it was flung open by my Cyclops/half-brother, Tyson and my best friend, Annabeth.

"Percy, you need to get out here now," Annabeth said, her tone urgent. I blinked.

"What's wrong?"

She hesitated, a sure sign that it was bad, "It's Nico. He turned up a couple of minutes ago. Said he needed you. Looks like he's been attacked a fair few times."

My heart skipped a beat or two while I let this process. Nico di Angelo was a son of Hades and had a sort of a grudge against me for letting his sister, Bianca, die.

He had dark brown, almost black hair, olive skin and deep black eyes. In my opinion, he was beautiful, as far as guys go (I could feel myself going red at this thought).

I climbed down from my bunk as quickly as I could. I tried not to feel Annabeth's eyes raking across my bare chest but it was hard to keep down the pink tinge from the attention I was receiving. I get embarrassed really easily. Connor and Travis Stoll from the Hermes cabin take advantage of that frequently. I slipped on an orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans, then my black sneakers.

"Good morning, brother! Bessie the cow-serpent says hello and so does daddy!" I tried to smile at Tyson but I couldn't help being worried about Nico. He had been like a little brother to me when he was staying at camp.

We raced to the Athena cabin which had been closest to where Nico had fainted. The building always took my breath away. The Athena campers were all geniuses so they were constantly lavishing all their attention on their cabin. At the time, it was completely hi-tech with steel siding and a vault-type door.

The wheel spiraled open before I could reach it and one of the Apollo campers appeared. Apollo had the best healers so it was natural that they would be there.

"He's stable and awake but don't excite him. He has a punctured lung, four broken ribs, a sprained ankle and multiple scratches on his back," he said in an official tone. I nodded my thanks.

Nico was lying on Annabeth's bunk, the Golden Fleece glittering on top of him. He was breathing heavily and covered in a cold sweat and quickly reddening bandages. I made my way over and sat down on the edge, grabbing his hand to tell him that I was here.

He cracked open one eye, "Percy?" His voice was hoarse. I found myself blinking a lot. "I'm here, man. What happened? What's wrong? Why are you here?"

He took a shuddering breath, "You guys need to call those harpies off. One of them punctured a lung," I sighed in relief a small smile lighting my features. So it wasn't a sphinx or a Scythian dracaenae that had attacked him. Just the stupid harpies, "Got something to tell you."

I shifted my weight on the bed, "You should rest. You can tell me when you're better."

He smiled tiredly, showing his white teeth, his eyes crinkling at the corners, "You're so nice, Percy. So nice..." And he dropped off to sleep. I stood up but was held firmly in place by the hand that was knitted into mine. I landed with a thump on the bed and gazed at Annabeth hopelessly.

"You stay with him. Feed him some nectar and ambrosia when he wakes up. But don't let him get excited." She said with a grin that that told me she knew something I didn't... Ah well.

I made myself comfortable on the lavish bed, lying down on top of the covers. The second my head hit the pillow, Nico let out a contented sigh and curled into my side, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin. I glanced at the boy, my eyes wide and saw that a small smile played across his lips. I wondered briefly what he was dreaming about. I flipped an errant strand of black hair off his face but I didn't move my hand. It was so soft. I wondered how he kept it like that when he was constantly on the run. I stroked it gently, enjoying the feeling under my fingers. His skin was also soft. Completely unblemished.

I ran my thumb absently down his cheek. What was it about this boy that intrigued me so much? I couldn't help being attracted to him, even if he was technically my cousin.

Nico stirred in his sleep and I froze. What would he say if he saw me like this?After some deliberation, I realized I didn't care. Before I knew what I was doing, I had my lips pressed gently against his in a small kiss. I closed my eyes just enjoying the feel of him against me and suddenly, there was movement! Nico's mouth was moving in tandem with my own.

A little gasp escaped me and my mouth opened letting him swipe my tongue with his own. I groaned audibly at that and felt Nico smirk against my lips. He pulled away after a moment, panting heavily.

"I guess I don't need to tell you what I want after all," He said with a smile.

I blushed, "Well maybe I wanted to hear it anyway..."

I pressed my lips to his briefly and smiled. He returned it slowly and whispered four words in my ear, "I love you, Percy."