Nico

I woke up to a feather tickling my nose.  Will was no longer laying behind me, holding tight against his chest.  Although, I could tell that someone was sitting on the bed beside me.  I slowly opened my eyes and found russet colored feathers in front of them.  They seemed to be attached to a big wing.  I sat up in shock and realized that Zephyros was the one sitting beside me.  He had his back against the headboard and his broad chest was bare.  His legs were stretched out down the length of the bed with a pair of tight fitting jeans on them.  As he was smiling at me, I realized that my chest was exposed.  I quickly pulled the blanket up to my shoulders to cover myself.

"No need to be modest Nico, your body is nothing to be ashamed of.  Besides, it's not like I haven't seen it before."  The God of the West Wind put his hands behind his head and flexed his muscular arms.  "It's been good to see you doing so well with your life.  That husband of yours is definitely quite a catch and I've heard good things about your art works.  Lord Hades has been raving about them to everyone."

After I realized that Zephyros sees everything which means that he's probably seen me naked, I slid the cover back down.  I made sure that it was wrapped the whole way around my waist though.  I haven't seen the God since my run in with Cupid and I had forgot that he had an interest in my life.  Also, I forgot how stunning he looked.  Even though I wasn't into bulky guys, he was definitely nice to look at especially like this.

"It's good seeing you again Zephyros.  To what do I owe the pleasure and where is my husband?"

"I just stopped by to say hi and see how you were doing.  As for Will, he left the room right before I got here."  He took his hands from behind his head and crossed his arms across his chest, right below his thick pecs.

The God of the West Wind doesn't just stop by to say hi out of the blue.  Something was definitely going on here.    However, I knew from past experience that wasn't going to just spit it out.  Zephyros was know for being helpful, however, he liked to have his bit of fun while he was at it.  I guess that him being on the bed like this was his way of torturing me.

"I find it hard to believe that you took time out of your busy schedule to just stop by.  Especially on a day when we have to be on Olympus in a few hours."

"How did you two get lucky enough to be invited to the big meeting," he asked?  "I can never get an invite to it."

"Zephyros..."

He cut me off right after saying his name.  "Nico, please call me Zephyr.  Zephyros sounds so formal and this obviously isn't a formal setting."

He pulled his left leg up and crossed his ankle across his thick thigh.  Zephyr wasn't wearing any shoes either and his knee was closer to my groin than I liked.  With the way that he was now sitting, his large package was very visible.  It looked like something was slowly snaking it's way across his thigh.  If Zephyr wanted to play this game, I think that I could to.  I reached for the glass of water that I left on the nightstand before going to bed.  I could feel my torso becoming more exposed and I knew that my bush was fully visible.  Luckily, nothing else was exposed in the process.  I returned to the way I that I was sitting, but didn't bother adjusting the blanket.  As I took a sip of the water, I could tell that it was having the desired effect.

"Anyway," he said looking flustered, "the real reason that I came to see you was to deliver a warning.  Not even I know exactly why you were summoned to Olympus today.  However, I can tell you that both of you need to tread with caution.  The events that are unfolding have bad written all over them.  I know that you and Will are very capable, but I would hate to see harm come to either of you.  I'll try to keep an eye on you guys as much as I can, but my ability to intervene will be limited."

"Thank you Zephyr, we appreciate it."

"Maybe the next time that we meet I'll have a chance to introduce myself to that strapping husband of yours.  Until next time my young friend."  Zephyr dissolved into thin air and tousled my hair as he left.  I got out of bed and went to the bathroom to relieve myself.  While I was in there, Will opened the door and came back in the room.  I could smell the food as soon as he opened the door.

"Sorry I was gone so long angel, there was quite a line at the restaurant."

"It's okay baby, I had a visit from Zephyr while you were gone."

"The God of the West Wind paid you a visit and you're still naked?"

"Yeah, pretty much, it's a long story."

I sat on the bed across from my husband as we ate our breakfast.  While we were eating, I told Will about my visit from Zephyr.  I even told him about the incident Jason and I had with Cupid.  That was the last secret that I ever held back from my baby.  I hadn't really thought about it in a long time, but it still felt good getting it off my chest.  After we finished eating, Will and I got our joint shower.  I kept Will in the shower as long as I could.  When we were finally done, we got out and got dressed for the day.  It was getting close to check out time, so we packed our things up and headed down to the lobby.  After checking out, we left the hotel and started walking downtown.

The summer air was nice and hot, I was glad that I put shorts on today.  Of course, Will was in shorts and a tank top.  We walked the few short blocks to the Empire State Building.  Once we arrived at the towering building, we went inside the main doors.  We walked through the grand lobby and went to the main elevators.  After passing all of the other elevators, we ended up at the elevator at the end of the hall.  There was a man standing in front of it wearing a black leisure suit.  He didn't look all too happy to be standing there.  We walked up to him and he didn't even look at us.

"We need to go to the 600th floor please."

He looked at us and with a stern face he said, "access is restricted today."

I reached into my pocket and took out the invitation that Zeus had sent us and showed it too him.  After he read it, he said to us, "very well."  He handed the invitation back to me and stepped off to the side.  I pushed the up button beside the elevator and the doors opened.  We stepped inside and Will pushed the button for the 600th floor.  The doors closed and the elevator started shooting upwards.  I reached around and found Will's hand by his side.  It was nice to be able to hold it again, it had a calming effect on me. 

When we reached the top, the doors opened and we stepped out of the elevator.  The doors closed behind us as we stood in front of Mount Olympus, which happened to be floating a mile above New York City.  This time, it looked even more magnificent than it did when we were here last.  The weather was picture perfect, a warm sunny day with just a light breeze.  We walked across the almost translucent golden bridge from the elevator to the courtyard.  Most of the pathways were made from varying colors of marble.  There were small areas spread throughout with grass and beautiful flowers of all varieties.  Some even had some small trees and fountains.   Most of the buildings and temples looked like the construction work had been completed on them.  The finished buildings looked even more spectacular completed than they did in Annabeth's designs.  They were built from marble, some had gold covering the fronts of the pillars and arches.  Most of the tops of the façade's had some kind of pictures on them, chiseled out from the marble.  Unlit torches lined the paths and little gardens, at night they would be lit with green Greek fire.  I had always thought that the summer solstice was a busy day on Olympus, but the whole place seemed eerily quiet.  At least this time we were prepared when the nymph came over to us.

"Mr. and Mr. Solangelo I presume?"

Will responded to her, "that would be us."

"You two are a tad bit early for your audience.  Please head up to the Temple wait to be called.  I'll take your things and hold them for you in the meantime."

"Okay, thank you."

The nymph didn't respond, she just nodded and took our bags from us.  After she left us, we took our time walking up the road that led to the Temple.  The road was marble, just like all of the other walking paths. Tree's lined both side with an occasional shrine along the way to some of the minor Gods.  They were part of the deal that Jason had made with Zeus to make sure that the minor Gods were recognized as well.  Unlit torches also lined both sides of the road.  This place had to look awesome when it was lit up at night.  Part way up the hill, we stopped for a minute so Will could take his tank top off.  His torso was gleaming with sweat in the afternoon sun.  I started to wonder if mortals fornicating on Olympus was allowed or not.  I'd probably get a lightning bolt up my ass instead of what I really wanted.

When we reached the top, we found a nice sized tree to sit under in the shade.  Will sat down with his back against the trunk of the tree.  Before joining him, I took my shirt off as well.  Normally I didn't complain about being hot, but it was even a little too warm for me.  I sat down between Will's legs and rested my bare back against his sweaty chest.  He wrapped his arms around me as we waited there for our time to see the Gods of Olympus.

...

I woke up to Will lightly smacking my rib cage.  I must have dozed off while we were sitting there.  When I looked around, there was still nobody else to be seen.  I glanced at my watch and saw that it was a few minutes before two.  We both got up from where we were sitting and put our shirts back on.  Will put on a t-shirt that he had stuffed into his cargo short pocket.  We couldn't appear before the Gods dressed like complete slouches after all.  After we made ourselves look presentable, we walked over to the steps in front of the temple and waited.

The Temple of the Gods had to be one of the most impressive buildings that I had ever seen.  The towering façade was easily fifty feet high.  Golden columns lined the front supporting the roof that jetted out, covering the thirty feet tall doors.  The front of the overhanging roof had images of the Gods carved into the marble.  In the very middle of the images was the Greek symbol for 'omega,' Ω.  The front of the Temple had to be at least one hundred feet wide.  Just before two, one of the gigantic doors opened enough for the nymph that we had spoken to earlier to come outside.

"The Gods will see you now."

We walked up the stairs and followed the nymph inside.  As if the outside of the Temple wasn't spectacular enough, the inside was even more breathtaking.  Thirteen thrones in a 'U' shape ran around the middle of the room.  Each throne was designed to represent the God that it belonged to.  In the center was a hearth, which only had a small fire going in it.  The floors and walls were all made from marble and granite.  Covering the roof was an image of the night sky with the constellations floating through it.  Every one of the thrones had it's respective God sitting in it.  All of them were in their God size, which was about twenty foot tall.  We looked like a couple of ants compared to all of them.  The nymph led us to the front of the 'U' and introduced us to the council.

"My Lords, may I present Nico and Will Solangelo."

Will and I both got down on one knee and bowed our heads to the Gods.  At the same time we said, "it is an honor to be in your presence my Lords."

"You may rise," Zeus said, "it was us after all that invited you here.  We are glad that you both could make it today.  I know that you must be curious as to why we summoned you here today, so we'll get right to it."

The room went almost pitch black, even the fire was reduced to a slight flicker.  Then a pinpoint of light appeared in the middle of the room.  It lasted barely a second before there was a loud bang.  Will and I both fell back on our asses as we watched what happened in front of us.  All kind of stuff was coming out of that one small point.  Huge rocks, large balls of glowing gas, and a lot of dirt was whizzing the air above us.  After the event had slowed down, a dark cloudy sphere stayed in the middle where the light was.

One of the Goddesses started to speak, I think Athena.  "At the very moment of creation, from nothing came everything.  What you are witnessing is what the humans refer to as the 'Big Bang.'  The last thing that was formed from the void was the first primordial God, Chaos."

The scene above us started to change.  The newly formed cosmos raced over above us.  When the scene stopped, a galaxy was quickly forming in front of us.  We still sat there on our butts, watching what looked like the Earth develop.  The Sun came to life and our little planet took on its blue and green look.

"Chaos remained in control of the universe until Gaea and Ouranos were born and became the patron Gods of Earth."  Athena continued, "as the newly born Gods took control of their domain, Chaos took a backseat to what happened on Earth.  From time to time, Chaos would rear its ugly head and try to cause unrest on our world.  However, it has always been overcome by reason and understanding."

The scene faded from above us and the torches came back on lighting the room.  As we stood back up Zeus started to speak again.  "We now know that the God helping Hyperion with the attack on Camp Jupiter was indeed Chaos.  I would imagine that the two of you have seen the riots and uprisings breaking out around the world.  Chaos cannot do any direct damage by itself, only plant the seeds of anarchy in others.  That is why we have asked for you both to be here today."

"Lord Zeus, what could we possibly do help with this?  This seems like it is beyond the control of two measly demigods."

Zeus replied, "when the two of you bonded and destroyed the Titan Hyperion, you inadvertently set a chain of events in motion.  Unfortunately, it has taken us quite some time to figure everything out.  Both of you now represent the master links in a chain to stop Chaos from causing enough unrest to destroy this world."

Will, still holding my hand asked, "is there a prophecy to go along with this?"

Apollo responded, "not yet my son.  Lord Zeus has lifted the ban on my oracles prophecies this afternoon, however, nothing has come as of yet."

Hephaestus was next to speak, "may I suggest that you seek the help of one of my sons, Leo Valdez.  I believe that he can help you along your quest.  Once the prophecy has been revealed, your part in this should be more clear."

"Be careful on your journey young heroes," Queen Hera said.  "Chaos can strike anywhere and without any warning."

I looked over to where my father sat in his throne of skulls and bones.  He had been sitting there with his arm holding up his head the entire time that we were in front of the assembly.  I was getting the feeling that something was bothering him, but I couldn't quite figure it out.

As Zeus began to speak, I returned my attention to him.  "We will continue to keep an eye on the situation and help if we can.  As you know, we are not suppose to interfere in mortal affairs.  However, in certain situations we might be able to lend a hand.  Go now and hopefully the prophecy will be delivered soon."

"Thank you Lord Zeus as well as the rest of the council."

Just as we turned around and started walking back to the door, Hades spoke.  "Brother, may I have a minute to speak with my son and his husband?"

"Very well," Zeus replied.

Hades stood from his throne and walked toward us, shrinking down to mortal size on the way.  "Nico, I am sorry that you and Will have to do this.  Believe me, I don't want you two doing this quest anymore than you do.  I give you one final warning, be careful who you trust.  Chaos has a way of appearing in the last place or person that you would ever expect it."

"Thank you Dad, we'll keep our guard up."

Will and I both gave Hades a hug before leaving the chamber.  The huge temple door opened up for us and we walked back outside.  The temperature was still sweltering as we walked back down the temple steps.  As soon as we were off of the temple steps, Will took his t-shirt back off and put his tank back on.

My baby took my hand once again and said, "well, it looks like we're going to Camp Half-Blood this summer after all."

"Yeah, it looks like we are.  I hope that the Hades cabin is vacant at the moment."

Will looked at me and gave me one of his mischievous grins.  Once again, his arms and shoulders were already getting a sheen of sweat covering his skin.  Not even the events from today we're going to stop me from being with my man later tonight.  As we walked back down the road to the elevator at the bottom, I was glad that I had my lover by my side.  Regardless of what was about to happen, we were in this together.