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Contrary to popular belief, Nico never despised speaking to others. Even when they were the most disgusting person he ever met, or when hearing their voice made his heart beat faster, he would never say he honestly despised it. You could always learn from what people had to say, even if what you learned was simply that the person was stupid.
Percy was not one of the stupid ones. Rather, his presence was the one that made Nico’s heart react. Still, at first he wanted to avoid Percy at all costs. He never really despised him, but loving him felt like a much worse sin. That was his upbringing speaking through him, though. His internalized homophobia mixed with his belief Percy was straight made a wicked cocktail.
After the wars had been fought and Percy decided to not go to college—he returned to camp to train the younger campers. Nico took no part in that today, as he was helping Will out in the infirmary. It seemed like everyday him and Apollo’s son would get closer, but he wasn’t sure if that actually was the case.
There were some parts of Will that were attractive, but then there were some parts that made Nico hesitant to enter a relationship with him. For example, Nico was attracted to intelligence, and Will possessed that quality. He also was caring, kind… Nico liked those sorts of traits. However, Will thought he knew better than anyone in camp about health.
Though it was not a baseless assumption, it was still annoying enough that Nico had to tell Will multiple times that he knew his shadow travel abilities and how they affected him better than Will ever could. That fight lasted for a day before they both agreed to disagree. Another part of Will that Nico didn’t like was… how could he put this… his control-freak-like tendencies.
It wasn’t intentional—at least Nico hoped not—and he also believed he knew exactly where it stemmed from. Will came into camp young, and his responsibility for a long time has always been taking care of others' health. It’s a purpose, something good he can do for the world and a reason to get up in the morning. Whenever someone told him he couldn’t do anything to treat them or they didn’t want him to do anything to help, he would be denied that purpose.
So that was why Nico didn’t think of Will as a suitable partner, and that maybe their closeness was one sided. He wouldn’t date anyone anyways, not until his feelings for Percy went away completely. They still lingered, and so did Percy himself.
“Nico! I really need your help right now if you’re available.”
Speak of the devil.
Nico turned towards the door of the infirmary to see Percy standing there, panting slightly. He seemed to recover very quickly, his panting stopping near instantly, and yet Nico could still hear it in his head. The sound stuck stubbornly to his brain like glue.
Realizing he needed to reply, Nico set down some bandages he was unpackaging. It was dreadfully boring, especially because Will was at a distant patient’s bedside setting a bone into place. “Uh, sure. What is it?”
Percy sped through his words, like someone had given him a time limit to speak. “I need a sparring partner to show the kids how to do certain moves, and the camper who was going to do it got sick. So now I need someone.”
Being told he was needed… his heart beat got a little faster. He did really need to unpackage these bandages, but he was sure any other cabin member could complete the task. He wasn’t sorely needed for any of his abilities in the infirmary. Really, he was likely here to just be entertainment for Will. A depressing thought, but likely the reality.
But even so, teaching wasn’t really his thing. If this required him to give instruction, he wasn’t sure how it would go. His self doubt was creeping up on him quickly, but thankfully his feelings for Percy came to give him a kick in the ass. He couldn’t say no.
“I don’t know…”
“C’mon Nico!” Suddenly, his hands were being held together by Percy’s in front of him. He froze, unsure of how he could, or rather should, react. “You were the first person I thought of! You can leave the teaching to me, all you have to do is fight with a wooden sword!”
His teeth wore down on his bottom lip as he put some thought in the decision but, again, he couldn’t really say no to this man. “Alright. Let’s go then.”
Percy cheered, letting go of Nico's hands as he led Nico down to the training pavilion. He sort of missed the warmth, but that was normal since he ran pretty cold. It was probably the anemia, that was what Will suggested anyways.
When grabbing the wooden sword, he instantly felt like it would need to be wielded differently. It was so light compared to his normal stygian iron sword. He would need to be careful, otherwise he may whack Percy too hard with it. It would be a little funny, but also he did not want to embarass himself in front of the younger campers, they could be ruthless.
The sparring match did go well. At first, he was hitting a little too hard. He needed to limit himself, use less force, so he held the sword less tightly.
When Percy demonstrated how to disarm an opponent and the wood easily flew out of his hand, he felt a little embarrassed. He heard the kids laugh… but all he could focus on was Percy’s wooden sword tip meeting the front of his throat, and Percy’s grin.
Percy offered him his excuse for a sword back, and then they continued their demonstrations.
Nothing else about that event was noteworthy. Percy said he owed Nico his dessert at dinner after everything was said and done. Nico got a free cookie. It was a good cookie, but the real reward was getting to talk to Percy. Will seemed to dislike how enraptured they could get in each other's company. Nico noticed him glaring out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t care.
Not even Tartarus could scare him away from Percy Jackson. Will’s glaring was nothing compared to everything he has been through and fought for, really. It was easily ignored.
After sitting through the entirety of the campfire sing-along session Will was having, he felt he should go sharpen his actual sword. Swinging a dull wooden blade at practice reminded him, and he dragged himself to his cabin to attend to it when he heard a voice from behind him. “I thought you wanted to get over that guy?”
Taking a breath that was deeper than he intended it to be, he turned around to see the head of the Apollo cabin. “Will, it’s not so easy to just drop feelings like that. I can’t simply stop loving him, I can’t choose. Love isn’t a choice. It just… happens. It sticks too.”
Will rarely was angry. If he was, he’d usually storm off and wait to cool down so he could come at things with a level head. It was a part of him that Nico admired. Yet when he said what he did next with such conviction—it contradicted his usual character. “You’re letting it stick! You’re always saying how hopeless it is to like him, so why do you? I don’t want you to get hurt.”
His heart beat fast in his chest, but this time it wasn’t because he had a crush on the man in front of him. He took a step back towards his cabin, and Nico swore he saw regret in Will’s expression. His face softened, but Nico still didn’t want to be around him right now. “…It’s just not a choice. It’s not so simple. Please leave me alone now, goodnight.”
The next morning, he avoided Will at breakfast. He ended up quickly grabbing an apple and retreating to the shore of the lake at camp.
Of course—being near water—Percy came around.
He was almost finished with his apple when Percy climbed over the log he was sat on and settled beside him. After seeing Percy’s grin, Nico decided it would do serious psychic damage if this was a Mythomagic game. “Nico! Didn’t see you around at breakfast.”
Nico held up the core of his apple to show he did eat something before chomping down on it, flicking the stem into the grass. He watched as Percy’s eyes followed the tiny stick. Though people were usually unnerved by him eating apple cores, Percy didn’t give any significant reaction at all.
“I see… An apple isn’t a full meal though,” Percy said. He seemed a little nervous to say what Nico already knew. An apple wasn’t really a full breakfast, but Nico had survived on way less for way longer. He didn’t like three meals a day usually, it felt like too much. Substituting breakfast for an apple worked just fine for him.
“Ugh, you sound like Will.”
“Is that a good thing…?” Percy asked hesitantly, stretching out his words.
“Will when he’s in doctor or lecture mode,” Nico amended. He looked out at the shimmering surface of the lake. In the mornings, the sun would hit the ripples in a way that was nearly blinding. Never could he look directly at it for long periods of time without his eyes starting to hurt, but he liked to.
“Ah,” Percy shrugged. “You don’t like when he’s like that then?”
Before answering, Nico looked down at the ground to think. Caring for people, giving them advice, all of the stuff Will did—it wasn’t inherently unattractive. But to Nico, it was when directed at him. He didn’t like being coddled, he had grown up too fast and could handle himself. So Will’s incessant need to think he knew other’s health better than them just didn’t sit well with his maturity.
Will was still a good guy, but he would likely never be anything more than a friend to Nico.
“Not really. Maybe it’s attractive to someone out there, but not to me.”
They sat in silence after that, both staring out at the water. Sometimes, Percy would flick his hand up and cause the water at the shoreline to retreat. A small smirk would appear on his face every time as he let the water flow back into place. Nico was comfortable with this quiet, he so rarely got it at Camp Half-Blood unless he was holed up in his cabin.
Their silence was broken when Percy kicked a rock into the lake and spoke. “Want to go canoeing?”
“What? Why?”
“You don’t want to be around Will today, right? I’m guessing something happened between you two.” Percy stood up, stretching his arms above his head. This gave Nico the glorious view of Percy’s midriff as the camp shirt shifted upwards, but he looked away. “He won’t be straying too far from his job in the infirmary, so canoeing is a decent option.”
It was, but it also wasn’t Nico’s only one. If Will was right about anything, he was trying to get over Percy. He didn’t really have a chance, and staying around him only selfishly strengthened his feelings. “I was planning on helping the Hermes kids clean their cabin…”
“They have plenty of help! Besides, I want to spend time with you.”
How the fuck could Nico say no to that???
“A-alright. Let’s go.”
After agreeing, it was only a short walk to the canoes that were parked on the nearby shoreline. He wondered if Percy and him would be on the same one, or maybe they could race in seperate ones? The two of them did like to get competitive, they were the sons of Hades and Poseidon after all.
But the son of Poseidon would definitely win, he could control water for god’s sake. In any race involving it, there would be no beating him.
Percy got into one of the canoes only meant for solo riders after taking his pants off and revealing he was wearing swim trunks underneath, because of course he was. He left his pants on a rock with a great amount of nonchalance. Nico felt a little bit of disappointment in his gut at the fact they wouldn’t be sharing a boat. Oh well, teamwork wasn’t really his forte anyways.
He got in his own canoe before they set off, rowing out into the lake with no fear whatsoever. Nico remembered how, even knowing how to swim as a Venetian, he used to be so fearful of the water. It was so destructive, so suffocating, he could never imagine actually being comfortable in it like Percy was.
One day, a long time ago, he and Percy were at the lake. It was hard for Nico to explain to Percy why he was fearful of the water. He felt Percy wouldn’t understand, the boy was so at home in the water after all. Nico ended up ‘admitting’ to him that he didn’t like the water, and he lied by saying it was because he couldn’t swim.
The reason he could be so confident now was on that day Percy swore on the River Styx that Nico would never drown while he was around. He would save Nico in a heartbeat, no matter the circumstances. Nico believed him.
As they calmly rowed along, Nico snorted as Percy kept pulling ahead and slowing down. “You’re usually much faster than this, are you staying back for me?”
Internally, Nico freaked out. He didn’t mean to sound like he was flirting, but it sounded like it! He was worried about how Percy would react. Percy never acted weird about Nico coming out, but being in love with someone who is straight was a whole different beast.
His worries were for nothing though as all Percy did was laugh. “You know how easily I could get from one side of this lake to the other—but the effort makes it fun, you know? My powers are cool and all, but sometimes the journey is more important than the end result.”
Nico, personally, kind of wanted to see how fast Percy could actually get from one shore to the other. “It would still be cool to see you travel so fast, if you really can.”
“Want to bet?”
“Sure.“ Nico stopped rowing after turning his canoe towards Percy, setting his paddle on top while still holding on with both hands “I bet my dessert you can’t get from one side to the other in 15 seconds.”
Watching a mischievous smile spread on Percy’s face, he was barely able to prepare himself before Percy turned his canoe into practically a jetski and used water to propel himself towards the shore. Issue is, like mentioned before, there was no time to prepare.
The water moving so suddenly caused his canoe to flip over, and suddenly he was submerged under water. His heart leapt out of his chest, and he instantly panicked. He got himself out of the capsized canoe, but before he could even kick himself towards the surface he could feel arms wrap around his torso and pull him up.
He gasped and instantly held on to whoever grabbed him with an arm. Their hold was firm and Nico felt pretty safe. Feeling the action was a little pathetic, but needing to do it, he wiped his eyes with his other hand as he opened them.
Percy had ‘saved’ him, and that was a little embarrassing.
“Are you alright?! Fuck, I’m sorry I forgot you couldn’t swim and I didn’t even mean to do that to your canoe—”
“Percy.” Nico coughed once before swallowing. He was unprepared to be dunked, so he did cough up a bit of lake water. “It’s fine, really. I’m fine.”
“No it’s not. Here.”
The water to their left pushed the canoe back upright, and the water inside the vessel instantly vacated. Nico stared at the boat, and mourned the fact that Percy would likely dump him back on instead of holding on to him. He was supposed to be getting over his crush on Percy Jackson, but it was starting to feel more and more impossible.
After he was placed back in the canoe and Percy used his powers to get Nico mostly dry, Percy let a much gentler push of water guide Nico’s boat to the shore. When they got back, Nico felt a little wobbly as he stood back on solid land. “I think I owe you dessert now.”
“What?!” He watched as Percy went over to his pants and started putting them back on with his back turned. ”I owe you! I knocked you into the water!”
“But you pretty much proved you could travel incredibly fast across a lake too. So, I owe you dessert.”
When Percy turned around he had a smirk on his face, and Nico couldn’t help but wonder what the hell the man was planning. He sure as hell hoped it wasn’t going to be pushing him into the water again.
“Even so, Nico. I have a trump card. You may be familiar with it…” He watched as Percy put a hand in his pocket and pulled out something hidden by his hand, until he revealed the back of it. A Mythomagic card?
Before he could even react, Percy flipped the Mythomagic card to show it was Hecate. It wasn’t just any Hecate card, but a card of magical reversal. This would make any attacks or status effects reverse back on your opponent. But why would Percy be so smug about… oh. It took a while for Nico to get jokes sometimes, but this one didn’t take long for him to recognize.
“Did you just Uno reverse me with a Mythomagic card???” Nico asked in disbelief while Percy started laughing his ass off.
Percy handed Nico the card, and Nico wondered if he should throw it away or keep it in his pocket forever. It felt like his feelings for Percy would never go away, so he tucked the card in his pocket. “The Stoll’s got me one! Guess this means I owe you another cookie now, huh?”
“Mythomagic cards don’t apply to real life… but fine, I’m caving.” Nico rolled his eyes, though a small smile appeared on his face. “Who am I to deny a cookie from the almighty hero, Percy Jackson?”
“I wouldn’t use that logic—since we’re practically equals—but sure.”
How were they equal at all? Maybe they had the same fighting capabilities, but Percy was much more daring and had many more achievements under his belt. Nico could hardly compare to that. He ran his hand through his wet hair, decidedly damper than Percy’s.
“You… you think we’re equals?” Nico muttered.
“Of course. You should be considered a hero just like me, Nico.“ Stepping closer, Percy patted Nico’s shoulder as he moved past him, walking towards the Dining Pavilion. “Give yourself some credit.”
Watching him walk away, Nico responded before even thinking about it. “I could say the same to you.”
He swore he could hear Percy laugh in the distance just before he shadow traveled away. A pleasant sound, he swore any part of Percy—even his laugh—could be addicting. Using a tree’s shade, he was able to get to his cabin and take a shower in record time.
The rest of the day was dedicated to Capture the Flag, and sadly Percy and him were on different teams because of balancing. He watched as Percy chatted to Chiron for a very long time before the game began, and he only caught the tail end of the conversation as he got too curious and approached.
“The decision is final, Percy. You and Nico will be on seperate teams, the game will commence in a moment.” He watched as Percy stalked back off to the other team. Was Percy really fighting to be on his side? Why? Did he want to win the game so badly, or did Nico dare to dream there more to it?
Percy won the game anyways, but afterwards he approached Nico. “Want to go pegasus riding tomorrow?”
Pegasus riding didn’t sound particularly fun to Nico. Horses were part of Poseidon’s domain, and the sky was Zeus’. That’s 2/3rds of the Big Three, and he wasn’t sure if horses or the sky would take a liking to him. Most horses were even afraid of him, from what he experienced years ago. He hasn’t approached a regular horse or pegasus for years now, relying on their skeletons if he had to ride any.
Nico hesitated, “I promised to help Will in the infirmary…” It was true and, surprisingly, not an excuse. He made the promise a week ago. If he could turn back time, he would change his decision, really. Damn it.
“From what I’ve seen, you’ve never even participated in one class in the entire time you’ve been at camp. You should learn, I could teach you. There are plenty of Apollo kids to take care of injuries.”
“I didn’t participate because the horses hate me.”
That assertion gave Percy pause before a grin appeared on his face again. It was a particular one that meant that Percy had gotten what he deemed to be a good idea. “Blackjack won’t! At least—as long as I ride with you. If I trust you, he will too.”
He crossed his arms, staring up at Percy. They had both gotten taller, but Percy was still a few inches above him. Nico knew he used to wish he would grow taller than Percy, he imagined it would give him more confidence to… nevermind.
“I guess I’ll trust you on that. Fine, tomorrow then.”
With an excited bounce, Percy spun around to look towards the dining pavilion. “Race you?”
He couldn’t help but roll his eyes again, but Nico nodded and stood beside Percy. When Percy finished the countdown, they both sprinted off. Percy ended up beating him, but also gave Nico props for not using his shadow travel to beat him like he used to do just to get on Percy’s nerves.
It was never to get on Percy’s nerves, it was so Nico didn’t have to see him running away like in his nightmares. But Percy didn’t need to know that, those thoughts were a secret Nico planned to keep to himself till the end of time.
Damn, Percy was making getting over him really hard!
It was official, horses still hated him.
Whenever Nico would approach one, they would race away, pegasus or not. He bit at the inside of his cheek and looked back at Percy.
“See? This won’t work.”
Percy shook his head no and took Nico’s hand, dragging him towards a black pegasus Nico had been intentionally avoiding. “You haven’t tried approaching Blackjack.”
He didn’t want to try with Blackjack and get the same result. Percy and Blackjack were close, and if Blackjack didn’t like him, that may hurt his relationship with Percy. It looked like he didn’t have any choice now, however, so he let himself be brought over to the stallion.
“Hey Blackjack! This is my friend Nico! Remember him?” Percy said loudly as they got closer. Blackjack neighed, but didn’t stomp his hooves or flap his wings or rear back or move away from Nico like the other horses did. That… was a good sign, at least in Nico’s opinion.
He watched Percy’s face flush as they stood in front of Blackjack, and he let go of Nico’s hand. “That’s not what’s going on. I want to show Nico what it’s like to ride on a pegasus. Would you let him ride on you?”
Blackjack neighed and stomped a hoof.
“…He says only if you ride with me. Apparently he doesn’t like catering to amateur riders unless he has to.” Percy easily transferred himself from standing beside Blackjack to getting on his back. “So do you want the front or back?”
“Oh, um. Front?” He answered quietly and quickly, and Percy then looked at him expectantly.
How was he going to get on Blackjack? He wasn't as tall as Percy, and he had always used horse skeleton ribs as footholds when he got on one of those. There was no sturdy exposed bone to step on here, unless…
Summoning a skeleton, he stared down at the eyeless skull. “Help me up,” Nico commanded. The skeleton obeyed, positioning its hands as footholds that boosted Nico up onto Blackjack. He got steady, his front pressing embarrassingly on Percy’s back. After he was sure he would not need any more help, he snapped his fingers to call off the skeleton.
“I could have pulled you up, y’know.” Percy leaned forward a bit, likely trying to secure his position on Blackjack without the use of a saddle. “Summoning a skeleton is cool, but maybe a bit overkill for just getting on a pegasus.”
Nico stared at the back of Percy’s head, and then one of his dazzling green eyes when his head turned. “…You think it’s cool?”
“Yeah? Of course. Your powers are epic, Nico.” Reaching backwards, Percy grabbed onto both of his hands. Nico was stunned for a moment before his arms were moved to wrap around Percy’s waist. Oh, this was just so he didn’t fall off. Not anything romantic. It was just his brain tricking him into thinking this was anything romantic, really. “Now hang on, we’re going to fly.”
When they lifted off, things were smoother than Nico expected. It felt a little freeing to fly just under the clouds and above camp, seeing all the other campers below. He never realized how large the cabins were compared to them until he was up high like this.
The smoothness of the ride made him chuckle nervously, this experience wasn’t as bumpy as riding a horse on land, or a skeleton horse with wobbly bone legs. They must have been taking things slow, because the beating of the wings was steady and so was their trajectory, until Percy’s voice rose above the peaceful silence they held for so long.
“We’re going to be turning now,” Percy said loudly as he glanced over his shoulder, “I just wanted to let you know. He’ll be dipping down too.”
Nico squeezed his eyes shut as soon as they turned and dived downwards, because the air was assaulting his eyeballs. He thought about how pathetic he must look right now, clinging onto his unrequited crush because at this moment he was his literal lifeline.
Their descent seemed to slow, and he took a peek to see Blackjack had adjusted so they weren’t going down so steeply. He was a little grateful.
“So? How does it feel?” He heard Percy ask with joy in his voice.
“Like I need goggles and reins,” Nico groaned, loosening his grip on Percy.
Percy laughed as they landed. That was the only significantly bumpy part of the whole ride, Nico clung on once more before they settled. He didn’t really want to let go, but at the risk of being weird, he let go and leaned back.
“Blackjack doesn’t like reins, but goggles would be fine. Maybe you could borrow some from the Hephaestus cabin?” Hopping off of Blackjack, Percy offered him a hand from where he stood. Nico hesitated. Shouldn’t he just get off himself? He didn’t want to seem needy or incapable. He could just get off on his own but… that hand was tempting him the more he stared at it.
When he took it and got off, he found himself stumbling, and suddenly the side of his face was pressed against Percy’s chest. His heart beat fast, and he hoped Percy couldn’t feel it despite their closeness.
“Spending time with you has been amazing, Nico.”
This was when his brain started working overtime, for some reason.
Percy really was spending so much time with him lately, and this time had strengthened his feelings for the son of Poseidon—so why couldn’t he bring himself to do anything about it? Percy must like him to want to spend so much time with him. Maybe not in the way Nico wants him to, but significantly enough that if he confessed… maybe Percy wouldn’t react badly.
That was the highest hope he could allow himself to have. That maybe, just maybe, Percy wouldn’t send him down a dark depressed spiral if he admitted what he had kept hidden for years.
Who was he kidding? What was the point then? If Percy would never love him back, why would telling him change anything? Nico, at least deep down, had a dream that Percy would love him back. It was there, but obscured by self-doubt and trauma.
Maybe it was time to push through that. With Percy’s arms wrapping so safely around him with only Blackjack, it felt like a good time.
“I think I love you”—Nico let himself say—“more than as a friend.”
He held his breath, not daring to meet Percy’s eyes. Instead, all he could see was his lower face and body. The bright orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt assaulted his eyeballs, but the color looked good on Percy so he didn’t mind it.
“Oh?” Percy grinned. “Well, maybe I do too.”
Was that the feeling of a butterfly fluttering in his chest? No, it was probably just nerves. A butterfly couldn’t get in his chest cavity. He needed to calm down, especially because Percy’s face was getting closer to his.
“Actually, it’s not a maybe. I’m certain. Why do you think I’ve wanted to spend so much time with you lately?”
“Because you knew I felt out of place in the infirmary and didn’t want to clean the Hermes cabin?” Nico couldn’t help his sarcasm, it was a part of him. Him and Percy were similar in that way.
“No. Well, sort of, but that’s not the only reason!” A hand went under his chin, nudging his face up to look at Percy’s fully. Then he saw those eyes… Percy was beautiful to him, there was no doubt in his mind about it. “The other reason is because I’ve realized you are the most important person to me.”
He couldn’t believe Percy Jackson loved him. Nico was in complete disbelief; this felt like a dream. “Really?”
“Yeah. I love you, Nico.”
“…I love you too.”
Percy stole Nico’s time, but Nico stole his first kiss.