Work Text:
Percy looked handsome in a silver suit. His black hair was slicked back, showing off a widow's peak and highlighting the gray streak near his temple. He was even more handsome because he was one of the few people who wasn’t dressed in red or green. He caught Nico’s gaze from across the ballroom.
Nico still got butterflies just from being looked at by Percy. It was embarrassing, the way he blushed but Nico didn’t look away. Instead, he smiled shyly.
Percy made his way through the throngs of people, making a beeline for Nico.
Nico met him halfway, heart pounding the entire time. He should stop this before it went too far. Then he realized that the notion that merely speaking to each other was going too far was ridiculous. They were just going to talk, right?
Then they were face-to-face. They stood too close, surrounded by other people but only looking at each other. “Hi,” Percy sounded breathless. He smiled down at Nico.
“Hi,” Nico responded. He couldn’t resist smiling back up at Percy. His face was warm with a blush. “Come here often?” Nico could have kicked himself. What a stupid question. It wasn’t like demigods often came to Olympus.
Percy laughed. “Uh, no, actually. I can count the number of times I’ve been here on one hand.” Percy fidgeted. He kept his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “You look handsome. White is a good color on you.”
Nico glanced down at his suit. He’d come here wearing black but Aphrodite had taken one look at him, snorted, and with a snap of her fingers, Nico was wearing white. “Thanks. You look handsome too.” He prayed that Percy wouldn’t notice how the shyness came back to him. Nico wished he was over it, but he’d never really been able to get over Percy.
Percy took a deep breath and pulled something from his pocket. “I have something for you. If you want it. It’s, uh, well it’s not a big deal. It’s actually from me and my dad. I asked for it and, well, he agreed so…”
Nico didn’t think he’d ever seen Percy stumble so much since the time he’d told Percy that he wasn’t interested in him anymore. That had been years ago. Nico was eighteen now. He cocked his head and looked at Percy’s closed fist. What in Hades did he have in there? Something that he had to ask his dad for…
Percy audibly swallowed. He opened his hand and there was an oyster shell. He ran his fingers over the ridges. “Dad and I are very impressed with you and I thought that since I can access the Underworld any time, you should be able to access, er, underwater anytime. Whenever you wear these, you’ll be able to breathe underwater.” Percy opened the oyster shell.
It was cleaned out except for a bracelet of teal and black pearls, strung together in an alternating pattern. Every single pearl was perfectly shaped. Their surfaces seemed like something was moving between them, some sort of magic that Nico could see but not feel. Poseidon’s magic. What did Percy have to pay to get this?
“May I?” Percy asked, gesturing to Nico’s wrist.
Nico nodded, mouth dry. He held out his wrist. There were so many thoughts going through his head but the loudest one was what the hell? What the hell was Percy Jackson doing giving Nico Di Angelo jewelry? What the hell did Poseidon think he was doing by giving Nico the keys to his kingdom? But he held his tongue, wasn’t sure he could speak even if he tried.
Percy very carefully slipped the pearls onto Nico’s wrist. It was a perfect fit but he spent a few extra moments adjusting the way they sat on Nico’s wrist. He ran his fingers over the pearls, over Nico’s skin. With what seemed like great reluctance, Percy let go. “There. Perfect.”
“Thank you,” Nico breathed. What the hell was he supposed to do with such a gift? This was more than anything that Nico could ever expect. What the hell did it mean?
Percy moved to Nico’s side and stood close enough that their shoulders brushed. His face was turned towards the ballroom floor but his eye was on Nico.
Nico knew, because Nico was looking back at Percy. His eyes kept moving from between the pearls around his wrist to Percy’s face. He touched the pearls with his other hand, was impressed at their smooth texture and perfect form. The colors were gorgeous. This was a gift from both Percy and Poseidon and it showed that both of them had put thought into it. Nico wondered, suddenly, if Poseidon agreeing to give him this was permission to court Percy.
Then again, it was December, which meant Christmas and they were at a Christmas party. Well, the gods called it a winter party because they didn’t like Jesus Christ, but no one was fooled. Especially when they invited the demigods to Olympus to celebrate.
A group of laughing demigods and nymphs drifted by and Percy took the opportunity to get even closer to Nico. Their arms were firmly pressed together from shoulder to elbow. Percy gave up trying not to look at Nico. “Do you like it?”
“I do,” Nico said. The pearls were cool against his skin. He leaned just a little bit against Percy, an experiment of sorts. Was he reading this wrong? He didn’t think so. They were both single, had been for at least a year. Now would be a good time.
Percy nodded. He licked his lips. “It’s not...too presumptuous, is it?”
Oh, Nico thought, this is a courting gift. Nico looked up at Percy through his lashes. He wasn’t fourteen anymore. He’d had his first boyfriend - his practice boyfriend, though he’d never say that out loud to anyone - and it was time for the real deal now that he had some experience under his belt. “I don’t think so.”
Percy held out his hand. “I’m not very good at dancing, but would you do me the honor of dancing with me, Nico?”
Nico was sure that his face had never been so red, not even when Cupid forced Nico to confess his feelings in front of Jason Grace all those years ago. “Okay.” He put his hand in Percy’s hand. Percy’s skin was warm to the touch.
There was relief in Percy’s eyes as he led Nico to the dance floor. He faced Nico and lightly rested his free hand on Nico’s waist. “Is this okay?”
Percy’s touch was so warm. The pearls around Nico’s wrist gleamed in the lighting. Nico nodded. “It’s good.” He added, “You’re good, Percy.”
Apparently that was all Percy needed because he set his hand more firmly on Nico’s waist. He drew Nico close and led him in an imitation of a slow dance. Nico suspected that neither of them actually knew how to dance but this slow, spinning sway was good enough. What mattered was that they were close.
Spinning around on the dance floor with Percy, Nico felt far away from any expectations or judgement. He thought that he would very much like to kiss the son of Poseidon.
They danced through two songs before stopping for a break. Percy kept his arm around Nico’s waist as they went to the buffet table. He was warm against Nico’s side, solid and comforting. And, Nico noticed, Percy couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of Nico. He would look at Nico, look away when he was caught - or smile until Nico looked away - then look at Nico again.
It had Nico’s heart hammering in his chest. There were butterflies in his stomach. He was wearing a gift from Percy Jackson that allowed him into every body of water, ever. It was complete and total access to Percy in a way that Nico hadn’t had before. Drowning was still a thing that the son of Hades could do. But not now. Not with this gift. Nico wanted to kiss Percy very, very badly. He thought his heart might explode if he didn’t kiss Percy. The urge came on so strong that Nico suspected Cupid was behind it. Again. Or maybe this was just what love was; dancing with each other and kissing each other afterwards.
Something about Percy’s expression changed as he watched Nico. He set his plate down with most of the food uneaten. He slipped his hand into Nico’s hand and squeezed. “Let’s...go outside for a minute. Get some fresh air.”
Nico nodded helplessly. He had an iron grip on Percy’s hand, nothing would tear him away except for word from Percy himself. They went onto the balcony, away from the party. It was quieter out here, and they were as alone as they could be while in public on Olympus.
Percy leaned back against the high wall of a fountain and pulled Nico close enough that the toes of their sneakers were touching. He held both of Nico’s hands in his. He searched Nico’s face, his expression anxious and hopeful.
There was nowhere else to look except at Percy. The entirety of Olympus was spread out behind him and it was beautiful and breathtaking but not nearly so much as the demigod before Nico. He tapped his toes on top of Percy’s toes. No one could ever call Nico Di Angelo a coward; unless you were Cupid but seriously, fuck that dude. All Nico needed was nineteen seconds of wild bravery.
“Nico,” Percy started.
Nico cut him off, talking fast, “I know I said that you aren’t my type but I was wrong and can I please kiss you, Percy?” He held his breath after that, and waited for the response. He told himself not to regret asking. It was years later, years after he should have asked.
Percy clicked his tongue. “Damn. You beat me to it.” He looked amused, happy, relieved.
Nico blinked. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes,” Percy said. He leaned forward and kissed Nico. His kiss was sweet and shy.
Nico thought he was going to get cavities from how sweetly Percy kissed him. He took his hands back and threw them around Percy’s neck. His body fit against Percy’s so perfectly. He tilted his head and kissed Percy with everything he had, poured all of his love into the kiss. Nico wanted Percy to know exactly how he felt.
Percy’s hands came around Nico’s waist and held him close. The kiss turned from sweet to heated in moments, with Percy’s teeth scraping at Nico’s lips and his tongue sliding across Nico’s tongue.
When they broke apart they were both breathless and red in the face. Nico looked into Percy’s sea glass green eyes. “Percy, will you be my boyfriend?”
“Yes,” Percy agreed. They kissed again to seal the deal.