Sea Green Eyes

The Sun and the Star - Part Three

The next time Nico opened his eyes, everything was blue. A soft breeze wafted over his face, and the stars came into view: tiny pinpricks of light poking through a navy blanket of sky. He wasn't sure which part of the Underworld this was, but he lay there for a few moments, just existing. Until a seagull spoiled it all. When it cawed loudly, Nico bolted upright. He'd somehow made it to the stern of the boat, and his Cocoa Puffs chirped at him as he looked around.

Will and Bob were both awake, sitting together on a bench in the canoe, facing front. That's when Nico figured out where they were because on the horizon the sun was beginning to rise over the Long Island Sound.

They were out of the Underworld.

They had made it!

Well, they could thank Bob for that.

Nico stretched his arms above his head, and Will turned at the sound of him yawning.

"Morning, sleepyhead," he said. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

"Ha-ha," said Nico. "Funny joke."

Will scooted over to join Nico on the rear bench. "You missed Bob's waterworks display."

"Another one?" Nico said, leaning his head on Will's shoulder. "I feel like I need to cry some more to catch up to him."

"You are welcome to join me," said Bob, running his enormous hand over Small Bob, who was curled up in his lap. "This view is worthy of a good cry. I did not think I would see the sun or stars again."

The Titan lifted his head and took a big whiff of the brisk sea air. "To be alive in the world once more ... It is beautiful." He quietly wept while Small Bob purred.

Nico examined Will's face. His boyfriend looked significantly better. His skin was no longer waxy, and the bags under his eyes were starting to fade.

"I'm guessing I don't look like I'm close to death any more," said Will.

"That's right," said Nico. "But I still find you attractive anyway."

"I'm pretty sure I spent the last few days looking like a pile of melted Play-Doh."

"Nonsense. You were more like soggy ambrosia."

"Your little pile of soggy ambrosia," said Will, blowing Nico a kiss.

Nico watched as the north side of Long Island grew in the distance until he could make out details on the shoreline. Trees. Docks. The garish, impossibly huge houses of rich families, their estates sprawling along the coast in both directions. And there, far, far to the west, he could see the outlines of skyscrapers and towering apartment buildings. He couldn't make out the Manhattan skyline, but that didn't matter.

Those were buildings. Buildings constructed by humans. He truly was back in the world of the living.

Bob guided the boat through Long Island Sound to the beach, to Euros Creek southward into camp. Each sight they came upon – from squirrels rushing up the trunk of an oak to reeds wavering on the banks – thrilled Nico.

He wouldn't say he was becoming a nature person or anything like that, but he was overjoyed to be back in a world that wasn't actively trying to kill him or Will. Nico finally let loose his own waterworks when he saw Peleus trotting alongside them in the forest.

They were home.

They were home!

The dragon that watched over the Golden Fleece at Camp Half-Blood kept pace for a while, then darted off into the trees.

Next two dryads cried out in shock at the sight of the boat and its strange inhabitants. They ran off, too, probably to tell the others.

The others.