Percy yawned as he rode in the back of the car. His cousin Nico sat beside him. Both were sullen. The man in the front seat of the car looked at them in the rear view mirror. He sighed. He had short brown hair and wore sunglasses. He wore jeans and a black t-shirt. A brown jacket sat on the seat beside him.

"Boys, look, if you answer the questions that you're going to be asked when we arrive, it'll go much smoother. We can get you out of there and find you nice homes and then you can go on with your lives," he said. Percy glared murderously at the mirror, but it was only halfheartedly. He dropped his glare after a few seconds, choosing to stare at the floor of the car brokenly instead. His shoulders were slouched, his hands in his lap. His bright green eyes were dimmed and broken. His cousin beside him sat there, uncomfortable.

"Why are we even going there?" the younger boy asked, glaring at the man. His anger was barely contained and controlled.

"Because," the man sighed. "Before we can put you in the Foster System the Social Security has a few questions for the two of you. Percy, was it? They would like to talk to you first, seeing as you're the older one." The older boy didn't reply, choosing instead to stare at the ground. He barely moved, his finger twitching the only sign of his ADHD. Nico, on the other hand, shifted constantly, but his glare never faltered. The man in the driver's seat shuddered and went back to driving.

When they pulled up to the building, it looked like any other business building. It was in New York, seeing as how that's were the two of them had been found. The building was white and tall. Neither Percy nor Nico really cared to memorize, or even glance, at how it looked, since neither of them wanted to be there. Nico wore his usual black jeans, black shirt, black aviators jacket and skull ring. Percy wore jeans, a teal t-shirt and white high tops. His camp necklace hung from his neck limply. Riptide sat in his hands in pen form. A knapsack was over his shoulder. The boys followed the man inside. Their guide motioned for them to sit. The boys did so. Nico glanced over at his cousin worriedly. Percy sat there, shoulders slouched, staring at the pen as he turned it in his hands. His once lively green eyes had lost their usual glint.

Not for the first time since they had been caught, Nico felt a clawed hand of fear and worry grip his heart. He couldn't wait until he got a phone to call Thalia or Annabeth. They would snap Percy out of it. At least, he hoped they would.

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Tony yawned as he walked out of the elevator of his tower.

"Tony," Pepper began with a smile. "You know how we've been thinking about kids?" Tony gulped, but nodded.

"Well, I've decided that we should adopt for a little while! You know, older kids until we're ready to handle little children," she finished. He stared at her for a few moments.

"Wait, what?" he asked finally.

Pepper sighed. "I think that we should foster or adopt some children, you know teenagers or something, until we're ready to have children of our own. Then we don't have to get anymore."

"Uh... Sure, Pep, whatever you want," Tony agreed.

"But I get to help pick the kid."

"Of course! We both do," she assured him. "Now let's head over for that interview with... Tina Whiles I think her name is. That woman who wanted to interview you about whether you and I were really going to foster a child. She wants to do it with a Foster Care facility in the background, make it seem more emotional and all." Tony nodded blankly, still shocked about the adoption/fostering thing. He blinked.

"Wait, what? Who wants what again?"

"Tina Whiles, a reporter wants an interview with you at the Foster System facility downtown. Hurry and get dressed. Your interview starts in half-an-hour. It'll take us at least twenty minutes to get down there."

Tony smirked and nodded. He scampered off. By the time twenty five minutes rolled around, they were standing outside the facility. Tony and Pepper straightened their clothes and walked inside. Tony was instantly swamped by interviewers and camera men.

Pepper stepped back for a minute and looked around. The facility was nice. It had tall ceilings, decent quality fake marble flooring, white walls. It looked a little plain, but still nice. She was looking around when she noticed the two boys sitting in the corner.

One was hunched over. His shoulders shook with sobs, but she couldn't hear any noise. He had black hair that fell down, covering anything that she might have seen of his face otherwise. He wore a teal t-shirt, jeans and white high tops. A leather necklace with clay beads was looped around his neck. He clutched a cheap ballpoint pen in his hands as if it were important.

The boy next to him looked concerned. He had dark eyes, and black hair. He looked to be about three or four years younger than the boy next to him. His skin was slightly olive, like he had Italian heritage on at least one side of his family. He wore black jeans, a black t-shirt, and a black aviator's jacket. A silver skull ring sparkled on his finger.

His lips moved as he spoke to the older boy beside him. He set a hand down on the boy's arm hesitantly. The older boy instantly gripped his hand and clutched it, like his friend would vanish if he let go. He buried his head into the younger child's shoulder, his shoulders shaking harder. The other boy blinked, surprised. He frowned nervously as he wrapped his arms around the older boy's shoulders in an awkward hug. The boy glanced around the room, looking for something.

When his eyes settled on Pepper, she saw a broken, desperate, fearful look in them for a second before that hardened into a defensive glare. His face almost dared her to comment on the scene before her. She smiled kindly at him, making him look away. He chose to glare at the ground instead. Pepper walked towards them. The older boy pulled back from his friend, wiping his face on his sleeve and rubbing his eyes.

"Sorry," she heard him tell the other boy. His friend tried for a smile.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I know what it's like." The boy looked at the ground, looking guilty. The younger boy's eyes flashed with panic.

"Hey, it wasn't your fault!"

"Yeah it was! I shouldn't have let her go. And now she's gone." There was a pause before he continued, "I shouldn't have let either of them go." He put his head in his hands. The olive skinned boy ran one hand through his hair in both frustration and anxiety.

"Look, when I blamed you I was a dumb kid. I didn't have the full story. I don't blame you! She made her own choices. You had nothing to do with it," he insisted. Pepper frowned for a moment, pausing as she heard them talk. Then she shook her head and put on a smile. She walked towards them, letting her footsteps alert the boys of her presence. The younger turned to look at her. His friend continued to slouch and ignore her.

"Hi," she said with a smile. "My name's Pepper, what's yours?" The boys didn't reply. The younger one eyed her critically.

"Does it matter?" he asked finally. His voice was filled with venom, but an under tone of grief made it apparent that he was only being protective.

Pepper resisted a sigh of relief. "Well, I told you my name. Why don't you tell me yours?"

" 'Cause I don't want to," he replied.

Pepper chuckled. "How long have you been sitting here?" she asked instead.

"A couple minutes," he replied with a shrug. Pepper noticed he kept a close eye on his friend, as if searching for any signs of something. "You just got here," the boy said when she opened her mouth.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Cause you came in with him," A nod of his head indicated Tony. "And that's when all the noise started." She chuckled once again.

"Yeah, he has a tendency to start up a fuss wherever he goes," she agreed. The boy rolled his eyes.

" 'A fuss.' That's one way of putting it." He studied her critically for a moment before offering his hand. "I'm Nico." Pepper smiled as she shook his hand.

"I already told you, but I'm Pepper. That's Tony," she added, nodding in the billionaire's direction. They were just starting to talk in a friendly manner when a man walked up. He was tall and slightly muscular, nothing spectacular. He had brown hair and wore shades. He wore a black t-shirt, a brown jacket, and jeans.

"Percy? They're ready for you," he said kindly, looking at the older boy. Pepper noted his name and felt a pang when he stood up, his moves emotionless. Nico frowned angrily as he stood up quickly, standing by his friend, Percy.

"He doesn't go anywhere without me," he said firmly. The man sighed, as if he were an annoying student who wouldn't follow instructions.

"They'll talk to you next Nico. They want to talk to Percy here first."

"They can talk to us both at the same time, or not at all," he growled.

"That's not how it works," the man replied.

"Then how does it work?! All you've said since we've got here is how they want to ask us questions, but you won't say what about, you won't say why we had to be brought here, you haven't even offered us a damn phone to call any friends or family we may have!" he snapped, blocking the man from coming any closer to his friend.

"Nico, don't do this. Just let Percy come and talk to the social workers, then you can talk to them. Then we can find you guys nice homes and-"

"Homes?" Percy interrupted. Pepper noticed the worry and surprise in the boy's voice. It was the first time he'd spoken since she had come up. "As in plural?" he finished.

Nico's eyes widened with anger. "You're gonna split us up?! No way! I won't go!" There was an unfinished, yet implied "he's all I have left" hanging in the air. Pepper could practically hear him say it.

"You won't have to," Pepper interrupted. The boys looked at her as she stepped forward. "Tony and I would be happy to foster them," she told the man loftily. Nico and Percy's eyes widened.

"What?" they asked.