Archive of Our Own

The first time it was more of an occurring thought than an actual urge to follow through with it. It was a blazing summer day and the sun burned hot on the sky, unforgiving to whoever had duties to attend to outside. Unfortunately, that was Percy's case.

His sword clashed against Jason's in the same rehearsed manner they had been showcasing for the last couple of hours. Despite their better efforts to make it look easy for the younger campers to try it, it seemed as if the more simple they made it, the less those kids understood. 

He lowered his sword in defeat. Gods forbid Percy became a father someday, because he would not know what the hell to do with a child. They stressed him out.

“Fine. You're dismissed.” Jason told them. “But I want all of you to know how to hold a sword properly by the next practice, okay?”

“No campfire privileges for the month if you can't,” Percy added, turning Riptide back into a pen.

The kids nodded half-heartedly before running off to do whatever kids do when no one's watching over them. Jason laughed; they did not take Percy seriously.

“You know you can't actually do that, right?” 

Percy sighed. “Yeah, they're picking up on that.” 

They sat down together, not ready to go forward with their day just yet. After practice, Percy had agreed to teach a few of Hermes' kids how to swim—despite his suspicions of why they wanted to learn that, as they had tried, more than once, to trap the lake's Naiads before—, and, if he remembered it correctly, Jason spent his Tuesday's afternoons helping Leo at Bunker 9. 

“Tired already?” Jason asked.

Percy laughed, leaning back on his elbows. “Never.”

He glanced to his side, where Jason had taken off his orange shirt and used it to dry the sweat off his blond hair. As if out of instinct, Percy's eyes immediately trailed down the guy's torso—covered in battle scars, much like his—to his hips, where a marked V-line was displayed just before his waistband covered it.

It was just an observation, like noting the sky was blue. But then a thought presented itself harmlessly: Jason wasn't complicated. Neither was their relationship. Maybe if he were to just… Well, it wouldn't be complicated.

The guilt was a physical weight on his shoulders as he forced himself to look away. Percy focused his sight on the shimmering lake instead, thinking of Annabeth's tired smile that morning. He pushed the thought down, deep, where it couldn't breathe. It was nothing. It was the heat.

Jason suddenly held Percy's shoulder to get his attention. “You okay, man?” 

Percy glanced down at his hand, then back at Jason. “I'm fine. Just… you know, the heat.”

His friend nodded. “It's so bad, right?” he agreed. “I think I'll ditch Leo today. It's way too hot to be near any machinery. Or near Leo.” He added. “Wanna go to the beach instead?”

There wasn't anything Percy wanted to do more than chill on the beach with Jason. Still, he couldn't. Not right now.

“I'll have to pass,” he said. “I, um… have a thing with some of Hermes' kids already. Teaching them how to swim, the likes.”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “Won't you do that on the beach?”

Percy shook his head. “The lake.” He told him. Wasn't a lie, either. Just a change of plans. “They'll probably die if I take them to the ocean. You know how my dad hates Hermes.”

“Does he?”

“Yeah.” He pushed himself to his feet. “Anyway. See you later, Grace. Don't miss me too much.”

He looked away before Jason could smile and make him change his mind.

. . .

The second time wasn't Percy's fault. He didn't see it as so, at least. 

It wasn't unusual for his friends to show up uninvited in Percy's cabin. They had the place all to themselves and, unlike Jason's, there wasn't a statue of his father staring over them with a stern, judgmental gaze. It wasn't possible in theory, but Zeus seemed to frown whenever Percy came in. Reason he stopped going there altogether.

Tonight wasn't any different. 

Laying in bed with his head twisted to the size, he watched as Annabeth scribbled notes on her notebooks, surrounded by a pile of architecture books or of whatever she was currently studying. 

She looked pretty, Percy thought. With her braids held in a high ponytail to prevent them from falling over her face. He wanted to tell her she looked beautiful, but it'd set her off her focus.

Without a knock, the door opened, and Piper and Leo walked in with their hands over their eyes, as if to avoid catching them doing something inappropriate. That certainly wasn't an issue.

“Are you guys decent?” Leo asked. He peeked between his fingers, then let his hand fall to his side once he saw them simply lying together. 

Piper took the hint and uncovered her eyes as well. She lifted the plastic bag she was carrying. “We brought snacks.”

“And drinks!” Leo lifted his own bag.

Percy rubbed his eyes. “For what?”

“We're having a sleepover, obviously,” She said. “Jason and Nico went after Hazel and Frank. They'll be here in a minute.”

Percy sat straight on the bed. “When did I agree to a sleepover?”

“This morning at breakfast, remember?”

“That just isn't true.” Percy denied. He glanced at his girlfriend. “Annabeth.” He called. “Annabeth, did Piper stop by at breakfast?”

“I don't know.” Annabeth said. “I didn't eat at your table this morning.”

Percy nodded. “Right.”

“Then it's decided. Sleepover!” Leo announced, plopping onto an empty bed. 

That was set then. 

It took little longer before the others showed up as well. Hazel was holding Frank's hand, while Jason walked in behind Nico, as if watching over him to guarantee he'd actually come in. 

They all settled in with familiarity, taking seats on the beds or scattered around the floor, opening bags of chips and pouring drinks into red plastic cups.

“Never have I ever…” Hazel trailed off in thought for a moment. “Broke an arm.”

They all sat together in a circle to play. Jason drank from his cup, sharing stories of his many falls from the sky when the wind wasn't working in his favour. Frank and Annabeth both drank as well. It surprised him she'd actually closed her books to join in.

Percy leaned back against the wall, sipping a pink drink that couldn't be safe for human consumption. It had possibly enough sweeteners in it to be considered alcoholic.

He didn't feel like playing, so he watched as it came to Nico's turn and he reluctantly mumbled something about never having committed a felony. Percy seriously doubted that.

“Never have I ever ignored all my friends to mope by the bedroom wall.” Leo said after. It took a moment before Percy caught the sharp.

“Guilty.” He said, taking a sip of the pink drink. 

They continued playing, but Percy could feel their brief glances at him every other moment. He looked away when Nico kept staring at him.

Suddenly, Piper stood up on her feet, walking up to Percy to sit beside him. 

“So, what's up, Jackson?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Nothing, McLean.” 

“I don't believe in you.” 

Percy laughed. “Okay, then.”

“What's wrong?”

“Global warming.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re not usually like this. Something's wrong, I know it.”

He reached the end of his cup. “Wow. You must be a genius.”

“I am,” Piper agreed, leaning over to refill Percy's cup with the mysterious pink beverage. 

He immediately drank from it. “So, genius, what do you think is wrong with me?”

“Uhm.” She pretended to think for a moment. “Global warming?”

“No way.” Percy let out a laugh. “Lucky guess.”

Piper shook her head, amused. “So, what's wrong?”

He leaned back on the wall, looking down at her. Piper's hair fell down her shoulders in a messy braid, tied together by a pink ribbon that didn't match her overall aesthetic. Her smile was just like her mother's.

Percy sighed. “Things are just… complicated.” He glanced at Annabeth, who was laughing at something Hazel had said. 

“How so?” she asked.

“I don't know.” Percy shrugged, looking back at her. “I think I've been doing something wrong with… with everything. I'm not good at reading signs or cues, y'know. Maybe I'm missing some hint.”

Piper's smile softened. Her voice fell to a confidential tone. “You’re overthinking it, Percy. It's not that complicated.” 

Piper's words soothed the anxiety in his chest. For a moment, he believed in her. It's not that complicated. It shouldn't be. The thought was bliss.

“Yeah?” he heard himself say. His voice felt distant.

“Yeah.” Piper shrugged. “Most things are really simple once you stop worrying about them too much.” Her eyes held his, and the rest of the room—Leo’s cackling, Jason's laughter, Annabeth's smile—faded into a white noise. The only thing that felt real, that felt easy, was Piper McLean and her all-knowing smile.

“Trust me,” she continued, “I’m sure you'll figure out whatever it is with Annabeth.”

Percy blinked. “Annabeth?”

Creeping realization set to him. The warmth he felt was gone, replaced by sickening clarity. “You're charm-speaking me, Piper? What the hell?”

He jerked back as if she'd slapped him, raising up to his feet and taking a step back. It was enough for his friends' heads to turn in their direction. 

“Get out of my head, dude. Fuck off.”

The smile dropped from her face, turning into a stunned look. The charm-speak was gone, and in its place was just his friend, looking embarrassed and guilty. “Percy, I—”

The humidity inside the cabin skyrocketed, condensation forming on the windows, as Percy felt a sudden dread in his stomach.

He didn't let her speak. “No, Piper. You can't do that. You can't mess with my mind like that.”

Glass shattered, and sticky, pink liquid sprayed everywhere. The room fell silent except for the dripping.

There was a small cut bleeding down Percy's cheek, but he paid no mind to it. Turning back on his heels, the last thing he saw before leaving was Annabeth's expression of worry and dawning disappointment.

. . .

The third time happened the following morning—or dawn, by how early it was, although Percy could not be sure.

There aren't many places to go when you're running away from your own cabin. Usually, Percy escaped to Cabin 3, so figuring out somewhere else to sleep was tricky. 

Jason's cabin would be empty, he thought. But it didn't feel appropriate to go there. Especially when Zeus would grimace at him the whole night.

The Big House was usually open, despite how late it was, but when he woke up, in a best-case scenario, he'd have to explain to Chiron what the hell he was doing there. (The worst-case scenario would be Mr. D. disintegrating him.)

Percy kept walking aimlessly, cabin to cabin. He'd rather crash by the Nymph's trees and rocks than spend another night at Cabin 12. Athena's cabin was… not an option, either.

The dark walls of Cabin 13’s entrance met him. A skull, placed above the doors, stared directly at Percy. Nico's cabin. He wouldn't mind, right? The place was empty, after all. Nico didn't have any Greek siblings, and, as far as Percy knew, he was still back at Cabin 3. Leaving would be too dangerous, considering the Harpies flying over camp.

Fuck, the Harpies. He ran inside the cabin.

It was dark inside, aside from candlelights of Greek fire on the walls that lit the room with a warm, oddly soothing green. The beds were shaped like coffins from a Gothic novel, with crimson red fabric inside of them. Percy wasn't an expert, but, as far as he was aware, Hades’ kids weren't vampires. Well, Nico wasn't. Probably.

He avoided Nico's bed—it was easy to spot by the Mythomagic cards scattered over it, which he didn't know Nico still played—and threw himself on the coffin closest to the left wall. 

Percy never believed in negative energies, but there was something about laying like a corpse that makes you superstitious. Closing his eyes, he sent a prayer to Hades, apologizing for barging into his cabin and promising to give him an offering from his breakfast the next morning, as long as he didn't kill Percy inside of that coffin-shaped bed. 

Lying there, after either a couple minutes or hours, sleep didn't come to him. The place felt separated from everywhere else, as if time was going by either too fast or too slow. There weren't any windows, either, which didn't help. Right now, Percy felt closer to the Underworld than to Camp Half-Blood.

“You look like a corpse.” Nico's tone was morbid. His voice was a sudden sound in the dead-silent room.

“I'm slowly dying.”

“Yeah, that's what happens when mortals sleep here.”

Percy immediately jumped on the bed, opening his eyes. “Am I becoming a ghost?” he checked his hands. “C'mon, not again.”

Nico raised an eyebrow. “Again?”

He slowly calmed down as he concluded that his skin wasn't translucent and he couldn't see his bones. “You were just fucking with me, right?”

“Maybe.” Nico shrugged.

Percy sighed, sitting down straight. He wondered what Nico was thinking.

“I can go.”

“It's fine.” The son of Hades' dismissed. “It's not exactly packed in here, and my bed's over there, so…”

He looked back to where Nico gestured to. “Right… You still play Mythomagic?”

Nico looked surprised by the question. “Um… I mean, I guess. Frank plays it with me sometimes.”

“You never taught me how to play it.” Percy noted.

Nico went silent. He looked down at his feet, kicking the bed weakly. “I tried to when we met, remember?” he stole a glance at him. “You called it stupid.”

“Did I?”

“You did.”

Percy thought for a moment. “I was a stupid fourteen-year-old.” 

The comment made Nico laugh. “You really were.” He said. “But your girlfriend was missing, so it makes sense.”

“Right.” Percy remembered what young Nico had said that night. “Because she was stupid enough to fall off a cliff.”

“Fair enough.” Nico said, embarrassed. “I was a stupid eleven-year-old as well.”

Neither of them said anything for a moment. Percy pushed himself to the far corner of the bed, gesturing for Nico to sit across from him. It took some convincing before he did.

“By the way,” Percy felt the need to add, “she wasn't my girlfriend back then—Annabeth.”

Nico nodded. “Right, yeah. I know that.” He held his knees, embracing himself. “I just… Well, she is, now. Right?”

“I don't know.” He admitted.

It surprised Percy when Nico didn't push further with questions. He simply stared at him in understanding. “Feelings are complicated.”

Percy's lips turned in amusement. “You've never dated before, Nico.”

A red flush crept over Nico's ears. “Doesn't mean I haven't liked someone.”

“Who? Reyna?” he tried to guess.

Nico looked confused. “No, why would you… Reyna? No! Where did you get that from?”

“Astute observation.”

“Well, no, it wasn't… it wasn't a girl.” He mumbled. His grip tightened on his knees.

“Oh. That's cool too.” Percy didn't know how to handle people coming out to him. When Rachel said something about being both a girl and not-a-girl—paraphrasing, by the way, he did not understand it—he just nodded along and said that it's okay to be gay! Apparently, she was saying something else entirely. 

“So… like, Jason Grace, then?” he tried again.

“You, Percy. Gods, I meant you, you idiot.” 

Percy blinked. “What about me?”

Nico stared at him wordlessly, waiting for Percy to connect the dots by himself. There was a clear conclusion to be made, but he couldn't process the information right away.

He hesitated. “You have a crush on me?”

“Past-tense.” 

As much as Percy was surprised, it explained the boy's odd behavior. He'd always assumed Nico's awkwardness came from a boyish crush on Annabeth. But that never quite fit, because Nico didn't really know Annabeth. He knew Percy.

His mind searched for the right thing to say, but Nico must've already known Percy wasn't a bigot. He was, in fact, quite open about his bi-curiosity and celebrity crush on Tristan McLean—although that was mostly to poke fun at Piper. Not having a label didn't affect Percy's identity. Most likely, nothing he could say would affect Nico's, either.

“Okay.” 

“Okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” He repeated. “I mean, I'm stupid for not noticing. I just thought you had a crush on…”

“... Annabeth, yes, I've heard that rumor, too.” Nico nodded.

Percy leaned back on the bed’s headboard. A specific question kept bugging him, demanding to be answered immediately. 

“When did you stop liking me?” he asked.

Nico frowned. “Huh?”

He repeated the question again, clearer this time. Nico considered the answer.

“I don't know.” He shrugged. “Eventually, after you started dating.”

“Fair enough.” Percy said. 

It made him wonder and, suddenly; the question forming itself slowly, harmlessly, was what if. But the knowledge that Nico di Angelo was nothing if not complicated followed right after.

“Why do you ask?”

Percy continued his line of thought. “If I hadn't started dating back then,” he avoided mentioning Annabeth's name, “would you have asked me out?”

“What?” Nico's eyes widened like a skittish cat, avoidant of confrontation. His nails dug into his pants. “No.”

“Why not?”

A grimace formed on Nico's face. “I don't know, Percy. Maybe because every single girl on camp had a crush on you. Maybe because you're Percy Jackson. I mean, why does it matter? You would've said no.”

“What does that even mean? That I'm Percy Jackson?” he asked, unsatisfied by the answer. “Because there was some stupid prophecy on my name you think I would've rejected you?”

“Why does it matter, Percy?” Nico repeated.

“Maybe because I could've said yes, Nico!”

The weight of the words themselves was enough to silence the both of them. Percy himself couldn't believe in the implications of what he'd just said out loud. 

Athena was right, Percy thought. He should've stayed away from her daughter. 

“I should go.”

He pushed himself out of the bed, hurrying to the cabin's exit. However long he'd spent there, he couldn't be near the Underworld and Nico di Angelo any longer. 

“Percy.” Nico called out.

“I'm sorry, Nico. I shouldn't have brought you into my bullshit.” He apologized. “You're a nice guy. You'll find a good boyfriend someday. That shouldn't be me. You're above that already.”

Despite not explicitly saying, he hoped the message was clear. Percy Jackson wasn't above Nico di Angelo, but on the contrary. Nico was above him. And so was everybody else.

. . .

The fourth time was the consequence of an ambush led by squirrels. About a week after the confrontation with Nico—if it can be called so, when Percy literally ran away from the conflict—during a game of capture the flag between campers and the Huntresses, he hid behind a tree to catch Thalia by surprise. 

Percy wasn't sure why they were visiting this time around. The last time they did, years ago, the goddess Artemis had been kidnapped by Titans and they had to stay temporarily at Camp Half-Blood. That was followed by arguably the worst couple of days of Percy's life. That far into it, at least. Everything that happened after that quest felt like a competition of the gods on who could make Percy more miserable. As much as Hera seemed to work for that award, however, right now, two other goddesses were taking the cake.

After saving Olympus twice in under two years, he'd expect the gods to give him a break and, maybe, spare him of smaller issues, such as wild animals and trouble in paradise. Unfortunately, neither Demeter nor Aphrodite were on his side today.

Percy's grip on Riptide was tight as he stood poised to strike. Obviously, he didn't plan to actually stab Thalia or anything—they were cool now!—, but if she decided to stab him, well, he was prepared.

The attack came from above instead. A sudden noise coming from the branches was his only warning before an avalanche of frantic claws tumbled down on him. A dozen squirrels swarmed over his shoulders, scratching at his face and hanging for dear life on the fabric of his shirt. When he tried to pull one away, two more climbed up his legs, their tiny nails catching and tearing at the threads. 

“Get off of me!” he yelled, uselessly swinging Riptide around.

“Found you!”

Thalia appeared from the treeline, set for a fight. Her eyes widened when they met Percy, and she lowered her sword. She let out a snicker before she doubled over, her laughter echoing through the clearing.

“You okay there, Jackson?”

“Shut up, Grace,” he kicked a squirrel away, “and help me out. These things are killing me.”

“Is Alvin hurting you?” she asked.

“Matter of fact, yes.” A squirrel hanging on his curls was covering Percy's eyesight, but he could tell Thalia was smiling. “And Alvin is a chipmunk.”

“Tomato tomato.” Thalia walked up to him, scaring the squirrels away with her shield. How exactly they recognized Medusa, he wasn't sure. “Shoo, shoo.”

The small creatures ran off to the bushes, disappearing into the woods. 

Percy blinked, expecting to see Thalia. He didn't. 

“By Artemis, man, are you okay?” Thalia asked, the playful tone gone from her voice. “Your eyes are, like… red.”

“It happens when my inner-wolf comes out.” 

His jokes didn't last long once Percy's eyes started to ache. His vision was covered with his own blood, and he could barely make out Thalia's figure standing in front of him. 

“You should go to the infirmary.” She provided.

“Yeah, I'll… I'll do that.”

Turning on his heels, he hit face-first into a tree. 

Thalia's voice had a hint of amusement. “You want some help there?”

“I'll figure it out.”

The infirmary was surprisingly quiet for a summer afternoon. Most campers were still playing capture the flag, which left the rest of the camp unbearably quiet. Percy was used to the noise by now—the Hermes' kids trying to outsmart Athena's, the Greeks arguing over the Roman exchange-campers or simply the universal hum of conversation that was a quiet, constant background noise that you learned to filter out with each pendant added to your necklace.

He was holding his hand over his eyes, trying to guide himself by muscle-memory alone until one of Apolo's kids thankfully kept him from knocking down a table.

“Woah there, easy.” Will Solace’s familiar voice cut through the wincing inside Percy's head. “What happened, Percy?”

“Squirrels happened.” He explained, letting Will lead him to a cot. He sat down on the stiff mattress, keeping his hand pressed over his stinging eyes. Percy's world was recused to his other senses: the texture of the vinyl material crinkling under his weight, the sound of drawers being opened and the smell of antiseptics that filled the air. “They ganged up against me, a dozen of them.”

Will hummed in understanding. “Let me see your eyes.”

Percy hesitated. A gentle hand wrapped around his wrist, guiding it away from his face. Reluctantly, he uncovered his eyes. Once he struggled to open his eyelids, the sting of the air against the scratches made him flinch.

“Okay, look at me.” Will instructed. 

His vision was a blur of unclear shapes as he searched for Will's face. “Can't really see you, Solace.”

“That's alright. Just try to keep your eyes open.” 

A penlight clicked on, and Percy winced at the bright light going straight into his eyes. “Yeah, those are some nasty scratches. Right on your corneas, too. A Demeter kid must've really had it for you today.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Percy agreed, leaning back on his hands and watching as Will's form stepped out of his eyesight. “So, what's the diagnosis, doc’? Am I going blind? Maybe they'll stop giving me quests if I do. Fingers crossed.”

Will laughed somewhere in the room. “I thought the gods gave you a break after Gaeia.” 

“Yeah, well, see how long it'll last.” Percy sighed. 

Will's voice grew closer as he stood in front of him again. “I'll give you some nectar, just in case.”

He took the small lid Will handed him, downing the sweet medicine. The food of the gods, yadda-yadda. Whatever it was, it tasted like homemade cookies. 

“Feel any better?”

Percy blinked repeatedly, before taking a good look at Will. He could make out his face now, although his features were too soft, blurred together.

“Sort of,” he answered.

Will's blurry form shifted. “The nectar should do most of the work, but let me do something for the swelling as well.”

Percy nodded, listening to the sounds of Will moving around the infirmary. The constant, low-grade anxiety that had been humming under his skin for the past weeks felt distant here. Muffled by the sterile quiet; maybe the nectar.

“Okay, stay still for me.” Will returned.

A damp clot pressed gently at Percy's temples, wiping away the dried blood. He let his mind wander, focusing solely on Will's quiet concentration and the pressure of his fingers as he tilted Percy's head.

“There,” Will said, “that's better.”

His vision was slowly clearing, enough so that he could see the freckles over Will's face, the light blue of his eyes and how he bit his lip in focus. He looked kind. And he was looking right at Percy.

Suddenly, the space between them felt like it was too little. Will's hand was still holding his jaw, and his thumb rested just below Percy's cheekbone. He wasn't pulling away. If anything, he seemed to be holding his breath too.

Percy let himself get closer, when the infirmary's door swung open with a bang.

“Will, can I get some nectar?”

Leo's sudden voice cut into the silence. They were both just out of his sight from where he stood by the doorframe.

Percy jerked back instinctively. His eyes flew open, his vision now painfully clear. He saw the shock on Will's face, the flush on his cheeks.

The world crashed back in, loud and cruel. 

“Thanks for the nectar, Will,” Percy stammered, jumping to his feet. “I’ll, uhm… See you around.” 

The cot dragged against the floor. He couldn't look at Will. He certainly didn't look at Leo.

“What's up, Percy?” his friend greeted him, unknowingly.

He just shoved past, out the door, into the blinding afternoon sun, away from his bad decisions. Unfortunately, he had a terrible feeling they would follow him wherever he went.

. . .

If Travis Stoll didn't leave his side immediately, Percy didn't trust himself to not start a fight. 

The younger campers had already left for their cabins, while the rest sat together around the campfire, singing a Cardi B song that Drew Takana, along with the rest of the Aphrodite cabin, had suggested. Piper excluded, of course. Sitting beside Annabeth, she made her the victim of a speech about modern music's objectification of women. 

Percy wasn't that familiar with the Stoll brothers. Annabeth was friends with the older one; Connor, maybe, but Percy could barely tell them apart. However, for whatever reason, Travis had decided to sit next to him tonight, explaining how he managed to steal top quality wine from the Big House, trying to convince him into buying it for a ridiculous price.

Any other day, Percy would tell him that no, he doesn't drink and, yes, he is sure he's a teenager and that, no, it has nothing to do with being a son of Poseidon. Right now, though, the stupid sales-pitch made him want to punch the kid's nose.

“I don't want it, Travis.” He tried his best to maintain a calm, reasonable tone. “Go scam someone else.”

“It's not a scam!” Travis argued. “Where else will you find wine approved by Dionysus himself?”

“I don't know, and I don't care. Go away.” 

Travis rolled his eyes. “Fine, whatever, didn't realize you're so boring.”

“I'm boring? Fuck off, dude.” Percy snapped.

“Whatever,” Travis sneered, turning away. “Go mope by yourself. No wonder everyone's avoiding you.”

No wonder everyone's avoiding you.

“What the hell did you just say?” he asked, already on his feet.

Travis turned around lazily. “You heard me, Jackson. You think people are blind? Not even your girlfriend sits with you nowadays. It’s pathetic.”

He didn't think, he moved. Two long strides, and his left hand shot out, grabbing a fistful of Travis' shirt, yanking him off balance. He saw the surprise in Travis' eyes as his right fist pulled back, then dove forward. Percy's knuckles smashed into Travis' jaw, sending a sharp joint up to his shoulder. 

They went down together, hitting the hard ground with a thud that took the air out of Percy's lungs. A fist connected with his ribs, and he gasped, drawing his arm back for another swing. 

He was aware of the shouts behind him, but it felt like a distant scream, muffled by the flood in his ears. All he could focus on was the word pathetic spelled out on Travis' face.

“Somebody do something!” one of the campers called out. 

“Go, Percy, go!” someone else chanted. It sounded a lot like Leo.

Finally, a feminine voice spoke over the others:

“Percy, what is wrong with you?”

A beat. 

He stopped mid-punch, unclenching his fingers.  

There was a hand on his shoulder, holding him back. Turning his head around, he saw Jason staring at him.

Maybe Jason said something. Knowing him, he was probably more worried about Percy's well-being than Travis Stoll writhing on the ground with a broken nose. But Percy wouldn't know, because everything else seemed to fade away when he stood up and met Annabeth's eye.

What was wrong with him?

Cabin 3 was quiet but for the soothing melody of the fountain's flowing water. If he were alone, he'd send an Iris Message to his mother, ask her to spend a couple of days back in New York. Maybe he'd convince Rachel to tag along. Grover, if he happened to find him somewhere in the woods. 

Anyone he met apart from Annabeth. 

After a fight ensued, the campers were usually sent to the Big House to talk things out with Chiron. That should've been the case with Percy as well, but when he made his way back to his cabin, no one was willing to stop him. 

He knew he was only delaying the consequences—and whatever devious prank Connor Stoll would pull on him for messing with his brother—but he couldn't find it in himself to care. The only thing that mattered was Annabeth standing in front of him. That was enough consequence already.

“Are you going to explain yourself?” 

“What do you want me to say?” he asked.

“I don't know,” Annabeth shrugged, “Maybe why you decided to punch Travis Stoll? He's half your size.”

Percy scowled. “Why are you acting like I attacked him? He was the only talking shit to me.” 

“What could he have possibly said to make anything you did reasonable, Percy?” 

Percy thought back to the conversation. Travis couldn't possibly know why Percy avoided alcohol like the plague or that he was actually having issues with Annabeth. The guy barely knew him, he just happened to say all the wrong things at the worst possible moment. 

“He called me pathetic.” 

Annabeth crossed her arms. “That's it?”

“Yeah, that's it.” He repeated.

“I—”

Percy interrupted her. “I know you want us to break up, Annabeth.”

The words hung heavy in the air between them. The frown on Annabeth's face softened. She opened her mouth to speak, before changing her mind. He was right. 

“Why?” he asked. “Did I do something wrong?”

Her eyes were bright with an unfamiliar reflection. When she started crying, he felt an urge to hold her onto his arms. Not being able to only made it worse. 

“You didn't do anything, Percy. We…” She hesitated. “We just don't work well together.”

“We've saved Olympus together twice,” he argued. “We've always been a team. Us against the world.”

“That was war, Percy.” Annabeth reminded him. “There are no steaks now, no gods to be saved. Now that we're at peace, I'm finally seeing we were never meant to be together.”

A tear shredded down his face. “But I love you.”

“And I love you so much, Percy.” She shook her head. “But I don't want to live happily ever after with you just yet. Don't you want to try new things? Meet different people?”

Percy's guilt hit him all at once. He was speaking before he could talk himself out of it. He couldn't escape his mistakes any longer. 

“I tried to kiss Will Solace, Annabeth, I'm sorry.” He admitted. “I should've… I should've talked to you instead. This past couple of weeks I've been so inside my own head, I kept pushing you away while wondering why our relationship wasn't working out, I'm so, so sorry…”

When Annabeth closed the distance between them, Percy expected her to slap his face or punch his nose for the sake of dramatic irony. Instead, she held him tight.

“Why… why are you hugging me?” he hesitated.

“We're both charlatans, Percy.”

He blinked. “Huh?”

“I kissed Reyna.” Annabeth said. “That's why I've been avoiding you.”

Neither of them said anything for a while. Percy's hands held Annabeth's waist, while her arms were wrapped around his neck. They had held each other this same way more times than he could remember, but it was different now. Once they let go, there was no coming back.

“Do you like Will?” she eventually asked over his shoulder.

Percy sighed. “No, I shouldn't have done that.” He repeated her question: “Do you like Reyna?”

“Maybe. I'm not sure.”

“That's… cool. She's great, Reyna.” He nodded. “She asked me out once, y'know.”

Annabeth laughed, leaning back to see his face. “Shut up.”

“Just saying, maybe you have a type.” 

She rolled her eyes. “That's rich coming from the guy who almost kissed Will Solace.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“The blond hair?” she provided.

Now that she mentioned it, Percy did start to see a pattern. Annabeth, then Calypso, back in the day, Jason, and, finally, Will. The only exception to that rule was…

“Nico.”

“What about him?”

“Did you know he had a crush on me?” Percy told her. Logically, he knew he shouldn't be telling her something so intimate about Nico, but he needed to share it with someone else. 

“Did he?” she seemed surprised. “I thought he liked me, actually.”

“Yeah, so did I.” 

There was a moment of silence.

“Well, is there a reason why you're telling me this?”

“I'm not sure.” 

Annabeth took a step back, finally breaking apart. That was it. And it didn't hurt as much as Percy expected it to. 

“You should go talk to him,” she said. “If you think that's what you should do. And I'll… Yeah, I'll go talk to Reyna. We'll both handle this maturely.”

“As friends?”

She smiled tiredly. “Always.”

Percy wasn't sure of what led him to the beach that night. 

More often than not, the gods weren't on his side; even when he was actively trying to keep them from collapsing. Years ago, while in a quest to go save Annabeth herself, Aphrodite promised to make his love life plenty interesting. After trial and error with two different girls, a brief puppy-crush on Luke Castellan, and multiple life-or-death situations with Annabeth, he expected the goddess to be done with him. The past couple of weeks proved the opposite.

But while making his way to Cabin 13, way too late for any campers to be out of their cabins—including Percy himself, who was just suicidal like that—a teeange girl walked up to him. She was wearing the same bright orange t-shirt as him, and, although Percy had been more focused on the masculine side of the coin lately, she was extremely beautiful.

“I know you don't always understand my choices, Percy Jackson.” Aphrodite's voice was unmistakable. “But I hope you finally understand what I've been trying to say.”

She took his hands, smiling like a caring mother. “I took a liking to you from the very first moment I saw you. It infuriated me that you kept coming back to Athena's daughter, no matter how many times I tried to lead you to a different path.”

“You’re just as stubborn as I am.” Aphrodite told him. “I would know, we both came from the same unpredictable waters. And the ocean doesn't like being restrained.”

There were few things he despised as much as the gods’ cryptic warnings. Part of Percy wanted to violently shake her by her shoulders and yell: You should've told me that years ago, c'mon! 

The other part knew he wouldn't have believed in her. Without realizing, he spent years competing with the Goddess of Love herself, seeing who'd give up their own stubborn nature first. 

“Are you expecting me to say that you were right the whole time?”

Aphrodite smiled. “Partly.”

“I won't say that.”

“I knew you wouldn't.” She shook her head fondly, taking a step back. “Now go do what you have to do. And then work things out with my daughter! She was not one of the options I was laying out for you.”

After speaking to Aphrodite, Percy decided to change his course. Although his conversation with her didn't do much to ease the growing anxiety inside his chest, it made him think of all the times he chose to not trust his own instincts. 

Dating Annabeth was a strategic decision, it was the logical thing to do. The sea, however, didn't follow any rules.  

Percy walked to the beach, the moon his only guide on the dark night. The sound of waves soothed the tension in his shoulders, and he took a deep breath of the familiar shore.

“Percy?” Nico's voice called out.

He turned around, watching as Nico walked up to him. He wore a jacket, hiding his hands inside its pockets, looking completely out of his element. Percy wanted to laugh; there was barely even a cold breeze.

“Hey.” Percy waved. “I came here to see you.”

Nico looked confused. “You came to the beach to see me?”

“You're here, aren't you?”

“I guess.” He said. “I wanted to check up on you, I heard what happened.”

Percy frowned; there was no way he knew of the break up already. That would completely mess up the script he'd been reciting in his head since he left his cabin.

“You don't usually pick fights with other campers.” Nico concluded. “Travis' nose is pretty fucked up.”

Right. Another name to the list. Along with Will Solace and Piper McLean, he added Travis Stoll to the people he owed an apology to.

“Can we… not talk about Travis?”

“Yeah. Sorry.” Nico apologized. “Don't worry, he'll be fine. They sent him to the infirmary to see—”

Percy wasn't listening. “Have you ever met Aphrodite?” he suddenly asked. “In person?”

The sentence died on Nico's lips as he interrupted himself. “Aphrodite? I don't think so. Why?”

“I just ran into her. Outside my cabin.” He told him. “She looked a lot like you.”

Nico pointed to himself, raising an eyebrow. “Like me? Are you sure you met Aphrodite? It could've been Eros, you know, that guy's weirdly obsessed with me.”

Percy felt tempted to ask. “Why would Eros be obsessed with you?”

“Why would Aphrodite look like me?” Nico asked.

Fair enough, Percy thought.

“I don't know.” He said. “But it probably means something, since she's the goddess of beauty and all.” 

The moonlight lit Nico's face, highlighting the flush appearing on his pale skin. “Are you trying to call me beautiful?”

Percy's breath hitched. “Maybe.”

Nico hesitated, his dark eyes searching for Percy's. “Shouldn’t you be saying that to your girlfriend?” 

“I don't have a girlfriend.” Percy ran a hand through his hair, the words tumbling out of him. “Annabeth and I broke up about an hour ago.”

His eyes met Nico's, who didn't say anything. Finally, he let out a humorless laugh. “Sounds like you're having a busy night.”

Percy sighed. “I am.” 

Nico bit his lip unsurely, as if steadying himself for the answer. “And you wanted to see me?”

“I did.”

“Why?”

Percy considered his next words.

“It’d be a hell of a lot more romantic to say Aphrodite sent me to find you.” He said. “But I was already on my way to you when she showed up. Annabeth thought we should talk.”

“About what? Your breakup?”

“No, not that. I mean… not entirely.” Percy let out a frustrated breath, annoyed by his own clumsiness. “Gods, sorry, I had a whole speech planned, but it's all gone. I'm not really used to any of this.”

“What is this, exactly?” Nico asked, his voice flat.

“An apology.” Percy said, but the words felt inadequate. “A love confession, maybe. I'm still not sure.”

Nico took a step back. “Don't,” he interrupted, “don't do this.”

“Nico—”

“No, Percy.” The words felt too loud on the quiet night. “Your ex-girlfriend and a goddess you don't even like tell you we need to talk and, what, you suddenly remember I exist? That night at my cabin, you let me say all that just to leave me there by myself. And then you tried to kiss Will? Who the hell does that?”

Percy flinched. “How do you—”

“Will’s my best friend, Percy! Of course he told me about it. He felt like an asshole for almost letting it happen.”

The silence that followed was only filled by the crashing of the waves behind them—agitated, as if sensing Percy's own troubled mood.

“You're right,” he said. “You’re right, I'm sorry. I was being a total self-pitying idiot.”

“You were,” Nico agreed.

“And I should've talked to you, but I didn't. I ran away.”

“You did.”

He took a temptative step forward. “So can we please talk now?”

Nico studied him for a long moment. Thankfully, he gave a small, barely perceptible nod. “Fine,” he agreed. “Go ahead.”

“Thank you.” Percy took a steadying breath. “Look, Nico, I… I loved Annabeth. Still do. And saying I've moved on from my relationship with her in only an hour is ridiculous, but it's also the truth. That's the reason Aphrodite visited me, I think. The winter we met was the first time I saw her. She promised me to make my love life ‘interesting’ and, gods, I was fourteen and Annabeth was missing. I just assumed she was talking about her. For years, I thought she meant Annabeth, or… or Rachel and maybe even Luke, at some point—”

Nico's brow furrowed. “Luke Castellan?”

“I know, it sounds insane. I was just a kid. But tonight, when I broke up with Annabeth… she was there. And she looked just like you. For gods’ sake, Nico, Aphrodite has been guiding me to you since I was twelve at the Lotus Cassino and, even if I hate the idea of destiny, doesn't it make you want to give it a try?”

“‘Give it a try,’” Nico repeated, incredulous. “Percy, you just broke up with the love of your life an hour ago. How am I supposed to know this isn't just… you being impulsive? That you won't wake up tomorrow and realize this was a mistake? That I'm a mistake?”

“This isn't—” He started, but Nico wasn't done.

“It definitely looks impulsive!” his voice failed. “Do you have any idea what it was like? Getting over you? It took me years, Percy. I just… I can't be the guy you use to figure things out.”

Percy closed the distance between them, his hands coming up as if to hold Nico's face, when he hesitated, letting them fall down his sides. 

“You think this is me figuring it out?” he asked. “Nico, I have figured it out. This is it.”

He shook his head helplessly. “Look, you're the most… frustrating and infuriating person I know. You have never, ever been easy. That's not why I'm here. I'm here because that's where I always end up—with you.”

When Nico didn't pull away, Percy took it as his cue to continue. 

“Lotus Cassino, Westover Hall, the Labyrinth, the Underworld, fucking Camp Jupiter, somehow. Everywhere I go, you're always there. And I'm not sure if it's Aphrodite, The Fates or a third, more mysterious force I'm not aware of that keeps leading us together, but, right now, Nico, it's just me. So, please, give us a chance.” 

Nico held his gaze, a flicker of shock in his eyes. Despite his suspicions, his features slowly started to soften as he took a moment to think. 

Placing his hands on his hips, he narrowed his eyes.

“If you change your mind, I will send you to my father. The old-fashioned way.”

Percy smiled. “Of course. I didn't expect anything less.”

“And do not, ever, compare me to Annabeth. I'm nothing like her.”

“I can see that.”

Nico crossed his arms. “Fine. Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Surely, there were more things to discuss. But with the double-confirmation and the way Nico's lips turned inward, in a reluctant smile, all Percy could think of was kissing him. Kissing Nico, his—sort of—boyfriend. 

Were they at that stage already? Probably not. It didn't matter.

Leaning in, he let his hands hold Nico's waist and pull him closer, bringing their faces together. Nico met him halfway.

Nico’s mouth was colder than Annabeth's. Because he’s a boy, Percy thought, and then: No, because he’s a ghost.

He wasn't a ghost. He was just a child of the Underworld. No, it wasn't that. He was just a boy.

Percy Jackson was kissing a boy.

He was kissing Nico di Angelo.