Percy Jackson sat on his bed, his face buried in his hands as the light music played on in his room, the familiar frame beside him still fast asleep as he finally slipped out of bed. He walked onto the balcony, everything was so jumbled within his head, he loved her still to this day despite it all, despite her being gone forever. Annabeth Chase had been his first love, but the Gods had seen fit to take her from him forever and even now, five years later, his heart still ached when the dreams of her came, there was nothing that could stop the pain, that could heal the scars her death had caused. A pair of strong arms wrapped around his waist and he closed his deep blue eyes, leaning back into the familiar embrace that belonged to Nico di Angelo.
Nico had been there since the moment he lost her, the moment he had felt her slip away within his arms, and though the love he now had for the younger man would never replace how he had felt for Annabeth, it was all that kept him going at times. "It still hurts to dream about her," he whispered before turning to face Nico, their eyes meeting as Nico offered Percy a soft smile.
"I know, when I dream of Bianca I still wake crying, nothing can ever take away the pain Percy, all we can do is live each day honoring their memory and hope that we are making them proud," Nico said softly, gently wiping the tear that slid down his lover's cheek. He had tried his best to be there for Percy, ignoring the feelings he had had for him for so long, never acting on them because of the heartbreak he was having to endure. "Time is always slipping away, and the whole world is watching," he whispered as Percy lay his head on Nico's shoulder.
Percy breathed him in deeply, he had never expected to feel for him the way that he had, but somewhere along the lines the support that Nico had given him made him fall in love. He had pushed the feeling away the best he could, convinced he was dishonoring the memory of Annabeth and all they had once shared together. In the end, it had been Rachel Elizabeth Dare that had made him see that Annabeth would not have wanted him to be miserable forever just because she was gone, that she would want him to carry his head high and keep going until they met in Elysium once more. He had kissed Nico a week later, and the whole thing had fallen into place from there, and though he still woke in tears some nights, the son of Hades had always been there to wipe away his tears and hold him through the night. "I don't deserve you, you know that right?" He whispered, kissing Nico's jawline softly.
"Don't start that again Jackson, we have been through this, you deserve the world that I can never give to you," Nico said softly as he closed his eyes and held Percy tight in his arms, content for whatever time they had together before death finally claimed his lover and toom him back to Annabeth.
"Let's go to bed," Percy said softly, taking Nico's hand in his own as his free hand traced the tears that ran down his lover's face, his turn to comfort him through the night as the music played on. Comfortable in one another's arms once again, they breathed one another in as the night passed them by and the world continued to watch them.