IMPORTANT NOTE: This story does contain triggering and mature topics, including but not limited to sexual intercourse, drug addiction, self-harm, homophobia, and domestic violence.

It was as if the air around him dissipated, leaving behind a scentless feeling of euphoric emptiness to those who watched and stood near.

Leaving behind nothing but wisps of dying out shadows, Nico di Angelo shadow-traveled away from the dramatic storm his sister, Hazel, was unleashing on him, to Cabin 3 (the Poseidon cabin).

The energy that once surrounded Nico tensely was replaced with nothingness within moments.

"H-hey, Nico! Look away!" Percy shouted.

Nico glanced over at him and immediately blushed, swiveling around until his toes faced the opposite direction of Percy Jackson, who was quickly getting dressed after being ambushed in his underwear by a fleeing son of Hades.

"Sorry," Nico muttered, embarrassed. "Shouldn't you already be in bed by now? It's, like, 1 AM."

Percy sighed, tapping Nico's shoulder so he knew it was safe to look now, "Yeah, well, my nerves had other plans."

Nico lifted an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" He slowly pulled Percy to sit on the lone blue-sheeted mattress adjacent to the tiny water fountain in Percy's cabin, softly falling onto the bed with his hand slipping into his boyfriend's. Talk to me, Nico's eyes urged, and Percy felt more than safe to do so.

"Just... nightmares. About Gabe, and my mom," Percy admitted.

Nico immediately knew what he was talking about. Percy had disclosed to Nico long ago the abuses he and his mom, Sally, suffered at the hands of a drunken, dominant Gabe Ugliano (ugly-ano, Nico often joked to lighten the mood, though that didn't seem right for this moment). They left marks on Percy's soul, marks that Percy didn't quite understand. Percy's a hero, but was taken advantage of in his most vulnerable state--his early childhood. Of course, Nico knowing exactly what trauma and exposure to pain at such a young age could do, and did his best to let Percy know it was okay to feel conflicted inside about it.

Nico rested his chin on Percy's shoulder, leaning up slightly to reach, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Percy shook his head without a verbal acknowledgement. Nico held Percy close, leaning into his chest and stretching his arm across him, basically cuddling the somewhat taller boy into a smothering embrace. He wanted to make sure Percy knew it was okay, no matter what he was feeling, as he dealt with the effects of domestic violence. Which, Percy was grateful for.

Nico leaned up and placed a soft kiss on Percy's lips. He stared up at him, falling in love all over again with the features of his beautiful face--dark hair that briefly touched his eyebrows at different strands, blue eyes that told story upon story, soft pink lips that Nico would always crave to kiss no matter how many times he had already, and a blush flowing across his nose that reminded Nico like a much more angelic version of the River Styx. Nico was absolutely head over heels for him, and wanted to make sure Percy knew every moment of every day that it was true.

Percy cracked a tiny smirk, "Thanks for being here, Neeks. But why are you here?"

Nico glanced away, but met his boyfriend's eyes again, "A mess."