Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
You've never seen a Halloween party quite like the one at Camp Half-Blood. The campers just take it way too seriously, and they have magical items to help them in their costumes. In short, if they were to compete with mortals in a contest, it would be totally unfair.
The Hecate Cabin got an increase in demands whenever that time of the year rolled around, with demigods begging for this or that potion, maybe a spell or two. The half-bloods got pretty creative, dressing up as ancient heroes, monsters, TV and movie references or the Halloween classics.
This year every holiday was a little bit more festive, since it completed five years since Gaea's defeat. Everyone was bringing their A-game, and the Aphrodite Cabin was even hosting a Best Costume contest. A few campers from other cabins had joined the jury, so that not only "pretty" costumes got awarded.
Percy liked Halloween. When he was a kid he never was allowed to go trick or treating, and now he knew why. After all, a stumbling demigod wandering alone at night? Monster food for sure. His mother always helped him dress up though, and she always brought home from work enough candy to satisfy his sweet tooth. Then they would spend the night watching movies on the couch, snacking on the sweets.
This year he and Jason had made a deal to go as superheroes. They had debated going for the ones with similar powers (i.e. Jason going as Thor and Percy as Aquaman) but they discarded the idea. For one thing the son of Jupiter was still too clean shaven to pull of that outfit, and he refused to wear a wig. Percy, on the other hand, didn't really feel comfortable with the bright colored spandex. So in the end they agreed the blonde would go as Captain America and he would go as Loki. Not a superhero, but still awesome.
He was finishing up his costume, very satisfied with how it turned out. Jason poked his head into the room, all decked out already, and said:
"Come on, princess, or we'll be late!"
The decoration, courtesy of the Hecate and Hephaestus cabins, was impressive. A mysterious mist swirled low on the ground, while dead trees sprouted up every now and then. The illumination was provided by candles and the flames under cauldrons full of delicious soups. Tables with other types of food and drink (not all non-alcoholic) were scattered around, as well as a few comfy looking couches for people to sit down and chat.
In a corner there was a barrel for apple bobbing and similar holiday games were being held at random points. Near the lake was a stage, presumably for announcing the winner of the contest later on. The Aphrodite Cabin had also set up an Emergency Powder Room, should anyone need to touch up their makeup or costume.
Percy grabbed a bowl of pumpkin and cheese soup and began eating contently.
"You have soup all over your chin, Seaweed Brain" came an amused voice from behind him.
"Annabeth!" he greeted "Nice costume. Who are you?"
She rolled her eyes, like it should be obvious, before answering "I'm Marie Antoinette, wife of King Louis XVI. They were both beheaded by their people, in 1793, when France was going through a very tough time politically and economically."
"Right. Slipped my mind, sorry."
She smiled at him and punched him in the arm lightly.
"How are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm doing good." he answered truthfully "How about you?"
They had broken up three months ago, and were just now tentatively trying to recover their friendship from the wreck.
"I think I met someone" she said, blushing "He does architecture too."
"That's nice" he said, once more being sincere "Roman or mortal?"
Annabeth was pursuing her diploma in New Rome. Although mortals in their universities were rare (usually descendants from legacies) they still existed.
"Roman, son of Venus" she smiled dreamily, and when Percy raised an eyebrow she huffed and said "Really, Percy, you've spent enough time with Piper to know that not all children of Love are shallow and empty headed. Don't you remember Kahale? He could snap you in two with little effort."
"That proves your point of physical strength, not brains" he teased, not contesting her point.
"Oh, shut it." she answered playfully.
"Good luck with that" he said, putting his now empty bowl (and taking a napkin) on the table.
"Thanks. I'll see you around. I'm so winning the contest. The lace on this dress was woven using the technique the French used in the eighteenth century!" he laughed and walked away, still chuckling over her competitiveness.
He saw Nico talking to Jason, gesticulating wildly, a small smile on his face. He was dressed in a typical vampire outfit, complete with a cape with red lining and bloodred lips.
"Hey there, Nico! Nice costume!" he greeted, and noted sadly how his smile vanished and his hands stopped moving, dropping lifelessly to his sides.
"Thanks" he muttered.
"Although I have to say you'll be one of the few vampires here, people don't appreciate the classics anymore." he went on.
"Back in my day we dressed up like this. A few people tried to be original and dress like Mr. Chaplin but we stuck to regular monsters." he shrugged.
Jason laughed and poked the son of Hades' shoulder, saying:
"You sound like an old man."
"I am an old man. Freshly tuned eighty nine. I could retire." he replied, the small smile returning to his crimson lips.
"You don't even have a job, lazy bum" the blonde mumbled.
"I don't need a job, I'm an elderly citizen"
"Then your elderly liver probably won't be able to take on all the vodka you want to drink." he teased.
"Nope. Got a liver of steel, Grace. Mine doesn't wimp out like yours, Italian blood and all."
"Aren't you underage?" Percy inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"What part of I'm eighty nine don't you understand?" when Percy's eyebrow remained raised, the son of Hades rolled his eyes and tried again "I'm nineteen, that's pretty close to twenty one. And in Italy we can drink when we're eighteen, so I am respecting my heritage" he answered, and the son of Poseidon couldn't help but laugh.
"Can't argue with that logic"
A few hours later the buzz had died down. The contest had already been judged (Annabeth did win on the category Historical Accuracy) and everyone was in various states of intoxication. The couples had wandered off to empty rooms, quiet corners, anywhere they might get some privacy.
The music had mellowed out, as if it could sense the mood. Considering the sound system was a gift from Apollo, it probably could. Percy didn't really have anyone to sneak off with, so he simply wandered the grounds with a half finished glass of coke. He never did like the taste of alcohol, and it made his tongue feel like sandpaper.
The elaborate headpiece he wore to impersonate the Nordic God of Mischief was hurting his neck, so he put it away in his cabin. He considered turning in for good, when he caught sight of Nico sitting on one of the couches.
The son of Hades was playing with the tip of his cape, looking at it as if it contained the answer for all the mysteries in the universe. Every now and then the pale boy would smile for no reason, and Percy couldn't help but laugh a little. It seemed Nico had indeed drunk all the vodka he'd wanted.
"Hey there, Nico." he greeted, sitting down next to him.
The younger demigod looked up from his fascinating cape and asked, eyes wide:
"Who are you?" his voice still sounded normal, but the son of Poseidon could smell all the alcohol the other had consumed.
"I'm Percy" he replied patiently.
"No, you're not. Percy had on pretty golden horns, and you don't. He smells like the sea, and you smell like vodka" he huffed.
"I think the vodka smell is coming from you, Nico. But fine, I'm not Percy. Happy now?" he said, amused.
Nico nodded sagely, as if conveying that nothing got through him, no sir. He could see trickery a mile away.
A couple of minutes later, to his surprise, Nico inched a little bit closer, almost snuggling into his shoulder. Percy laughed lightly. Drunk Nico was like needy kitten, so much he had to resist the urge to ruffle his hair and scratch behind his ears.
"You have a nice laugh. You kinda sound like Percy" the son of Hades said sleepily. He was definitely going to crash soon.
That made him smile.
"Thank you, Nico. I'd say the same, but I don't think I ever heard you laugh."
The son of Hades giggled. Giggled.
"I don't laugh because I'm lonely. I have Jason and Hazel and Reyna, but it isn't enough. I talk to myself a lot to make it easier, it helps" the joyful way he said something so offputting made the son of Poseidon frown, but Nico went on "Jason said I'm a little too old to have 'imaginary friends' " he huffed angrily, using air quotes for the last couple of words "They are not my imaginary friends, I know I'm talking to myself" his anger faded and he added quietly "At least they never hurt me. And they keep me company."
Percy could feel his heart ache in sympathy so he suggested : "If you are feeling so lonely, get a girlfriend or something" the moment he said that Nico put two fingers over his lips, shushing him.
"Shhh, it's a secret" he whispered, but it was still rather loud.
"What is a secret?" he asked, intrigued. Did Nico have a girlfriend already? A secret one, perhaps?
"Do you promise not to tell Percy? He will be mad if he finds out" Nico was almost asleep now, clearly out of it.
"Sure, I promise I won't tell him" he assured, curiosity burning in his chest.
The son of Hades smiled in gratitude then leaned forward, whispering:
"I don't really like girls."
Oh. Percy thought I did not see that coming. But why would he think I'd be mad about it?
He asked Nico the question (changing the pronoun to "he") and that made the boy giggle again.
"He would be mad because I love him" he was nodding his head, as if agreeing with himself, not noticing Percy's surprise.
"Yup, I love him, I do. He is so nice, and handsome, and brave... he saved me, you know. From the manticore, from the Jar... he's a hero! But that is not why I love him so much" he shook his head, making his point " I love him because he is so loyal to his friends, even someone like me. He could've let me suffocate in the Jar, but he didn't, even after I betrayed him."
He frowned, then looked up, a little bit panicked "I didn't mean to, I swear! My father lied to me" panic was replaced by sadness "I felt really bad about it, and Percy didn't trust me after that. It hurt, a lot." then he smiled again "But he forgave me, because he is nice like that. But he wouldn't be nice if I told him I loved him, nu-uh."
Nico curled closer to Percy, who was still trying to get his thoughts together. He was so glad he hadn't gotten drunk, it was hard enough to process this with a clear mind.
"I love him, I love him, I do." he almost sang, like a lullaby. Then he stopped and looked sad again."He doesn't love me" he said with conviction "He will never love me, and that's ok."
Apparently it wasn't ok, because his dark eyes welled up with tears and he began to cry. Percy watched as the tears silently made their way downwards, bypassing his quivering lips and dripping down to his shirt. The son of Poseidon began to rub circles on his back, trying to calm him down. He didn't even realize he was doing it, but it was painful to see the younger boy like this.
"I'm not good enough for him, I know." Nico sniffled "He has Annabeth, and she is so smart and pretty." he smiled a little "She's really nice too. I'm not smart, I'm not pretty, I'm just me. I have nothing to give..." the smile faded.
"He would never look at me, even though I'm always looking at him." his voice shook, but he went on "I am trying to get over him, but I can't. Even after nine years, I can't. I love him so much, but he doesn't care for me and that is part of why I'm sad" he sniffled and smiled again through his tears "But it's ok. I got used to it. Sometimes I talk to him in my head. It's weird, but it makes me feel better. Pretending only makes it hurt worse, but it's fun." his voice was drifting off, and before he fell asleep he said:
"But it can't last forever, right? Every time I think about him my heart breaks a little bit. But one day there won't be anything left to break. Maybe I will be happy then..."
Percy was left sitting there, the warm weight of Nico pressing down on his chest and shoulder, the heavier weight of his confession presing down on his heart. He was positively dumbstruck, with a dash of self loathing to make things better. Really, the way the son of Hades had so carelessly talked about heartbreak and loneliness was worrysome. He'd said this started nine years ago. Nine. The son of Poseidon was kicking himself for not seeing it, for letting someone suffer so much on his account.
The pale boy in his arms was sleeping peacefully, not doubt due to all the alcohol pumping through his veins. Percy briefly wondered if he'd remember his confession the following day. He hoped he wouldn't, because it would probably make Nico jump into the nearest shadow and get the hell away from there. And really, who could blame him? That is certainly not the way anyone would want to confess to anything, and it seemed unfair that he'd done it without being in control of his mental faculties. Then again, he had drunk all that alcohol on his own...
"There he is! Thank the gods!" Jason said, and walked towards the couch.
"Yeah" Percy said awkwardly "I kinda of started talking to him and he said some... interesting things" he stated vaguely. The son of Jupiter's expression grew panicked.
"Shit, shit, shit! He told you, didn't he?"
"I would ask what, but judging from your reaction you know exactly what he did. He kind of confessed to having feelings for me for the better part of the last decade."
"I am going to kill the Stolls!" the blonde muttered angrily.
"Um, what do the Stols have to do with anything?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.
"They spiked Nico's drink. I don't know what it was, but they were laughing about how it lowered anyone's inhibitions. They said it wouldn't hurt him, but they probably thought he would just spout nonsense and then pass out. I am going to personally escort them to the Underworld" he growled darkly.
"So Nico didn't end up like this because he got drunk off his ass?" he confirmed.
"Gods, no. Nico barely drinks."
"But he said..."
"That was an inside joke. He talks like he is a big drinker but that's because the first time I got him a drink he spat most of it out and made a face. The vodka bit is because is the one thing he can stomach, but he never drinks enough to get hammered."
"But he reeks of alcohol." Percy pointed out.
"I accidentally spilled my drink on him." he said sheepishly "Give me him, I'll take him to my cabin. Please keep quiet about it, we need to ease him into it. He never meant for you to find out, and by the way you're letting him cuddle you I guess it means you're not disgusted by it or something stupid like that. That's good. But if we just drop this on him he will probably go to China and hide there for fifty years." he shook his head, taking the pale demigod from Percy "This is going to be hell. Rest up, Jackson, we have a lot of work ahead of us. And gods protect you if you hurt him, I will smite you until all there is left of you is singed hair. Got it?"
The son of Poseidon saw that Jason meant every word. Not that he'd intended to hurt Nico, but that made him want to be extra careful. He nodded.
"Good" he adjusted his grip on the skinny boy on his arms "Good night, I'll see you for lunch. There is no way anyone is waking up before noon anyway." he walked away.
Percy sat there, alone, for a while longer, until he too went back to his cabin. When he finally managed to get some sleep, it was already dawn.
He walked over to the table where Nico and Jason were sitting. After so long interacting with the Romans, they had followed their example and abolished the segregated tables, allowing people to sit together regardless of their parentage.
"Good afternoon, people!" he greeted cheerfully. He hadn't slept much, but if he was a grouch Nico could get suspicious. From a single look at Jason he knew the blonde hadn't told the son of Hades anything.
"Not so loud" Nico complained, rubbing his temples "Whatever those idiot Stolls gave me left a monstrous headache"
"What did you do to them?" Percy asked, curious.
"I cursed them. The curse makes them lose money, trip over random bones sticking from the ground and it makes sure their flashlights won't work when they have to. No more nighttime pranks from those two. Well, for a couple of weeks that is. I think I might've been angry enough to curse them for the month" he grinned evilly "And then I raised a couple of skeletons to rip them to shreds. They didn't, of course, but I am pretty sure I scared them enough so they know I'm not one to mess with."
"Wow. I was going to offer to rough them up but you did it just fine." he smiled, and now he noticed the slight blush on his pale cheeks.
"Well, I didn't think it was enough, so I cursed them too. Angry eagles are going to be dive bombing for their food and pooping on their heads." just as he said that one such eagle swooped down and retrieved a sandwich. Percy noted both Stolls were wearing raincoats that were stained white with bird droppings.
"I wonder if I can curse people. I mean, the pegasi would probably antagonize whoever I asked, but how would my curse go? I damn you to a week of exploding toilets!" he said in a gravely voice.
"Man, you guys get all the cool Big Three Powers" he whined.
"Says the guy that can create tidal waves, breathe underwater, withstand ridiculous amounts of pressure, doesn't burn easily, can whip up a storm in no time and can talk to horses. Yup. Totally boring." Nico drawled.
"Well, you can shadow travel, dream travel, talk to ghosts, raise skeletons, see in the dark, split the earth and that's only the stuff I know" he retorted.
"Both of you, shut up and eat" Jason interrupted "And I demand an essay from each of you saying how awesome my powers are, got it?" he teased.
"Please, Grace, as if" Nico retorted "Your best power is getting knocked unconscious in the middle of a fight."
The day went on like that, the three boys sticking together and talking about random topics. It was a lot easier to talk to Nico now that he knew what to avoid talking about. The son of Hades had a dark sense of humor and teased people mercilessly. Percy quickly learned that the other two had about a million inside jokes, some they explained others remained a mystery. The son of Poseidon could guess why, it probably involved some part of Nico's so called secret. In any case, they were having dinner before he knew it.
"I had fun today. I vote for a repeat tomorrow, we can swim to an island there is nearby, it's really nice. We can take food and make a holiday of it." Percy said.
"My, Percy, are you taking me for a romantic picnic? I have a girlfriend, you know." Jason said jokingly, batting his eyelashes in a ridiculous manner.
"Are you kidding me Grace? With your ugly mug? I'd rather ask out Mrs. O'Leary"
"I'm sure Annabeth won't be pleased with being replaced by a hell-hound" Nico said with a small smile.
"Oh, didn't you hear? Annabeth and I broke up weeks ago. I can ask out any hell-hound I want! I should probably stick to the ones that are trained, though. Getting my head bitten off is not on my list of fun things to do on a date"
Jason noted the slight tightening of Nico's shoulders, signaling his discomfort, so he decided to quickly distract the younger demigod with some (bad) humor:
"Then what type of dog snack are you giving her on your first date? It had to be something special, right?"
Gladly Percy caught on quickly and amended:
"Yeah, I'll get her fifty pounds worth of Milk-Bones. That should be like a bonbon for her, right?"
The son of Hades smiled minutely and they knew they had succeeded. They finished eating and went to the bonfire, still making bad jokes.
"So how are we going to to this?" Percy asked, fiddling with the zipper of his hoodie. They were at the dining pavilion, having just finished breakfast. Nico wasn't with them, he'd briefly stepped out to talk to Chiron about something or other.
"I don't know. It's been a week and he suspects nothing. But we can't ignore it, Nico has let his bad feelings fester and that will blow up on his face someday." the son of Jupiter sighed, running his fingers through his hair "Have you decided how you feel about him?"
The son of Poseidon blushed, and Jason had to make an effort not to laugh at this turn of events. Finally, he answered:
"I like him. This week has been really fun and I just like spending time with him, even if you're there" he teased, then went on "And when he had to go run that errand for his dad I kept wanting to tell him things, hoping to make him laugh, just to remember that he wasn't there." he frowned at the memory "I won't say that I love him just yet, but he really means a lot to me. I probably wouldn't have considered him in that way if he hadn't spilled his guts on Halloween, but now it just seems obvious." he smiled.
"Good. So you can go and tell him that."
"What? I'll have to do it alone?"
"Yes, princess, unless you are planning on leaving a love letter in his locker like a lovesick middleschooler, you'll have to grow a pair and tell him. Be nice, be gentle and don't blurt it out like you have the tendency of doing. Go somewhere where you can't be overheard, somewhere he'll feel safe. If he looks like he's about to bolt, grab him or he'll be halfway to China before you can say 'Wait'. Got it?"
"Yeah, Mr. Love Guru." he said sullenly.
"C'mon, Perce, it would be very awkward if I was there when you confessed your undying love" he said teasingly.
"Undying love for whom?" came a different voice.
"Nico!" Jason greeted happily "That's my cue to leave. I was waiting for you to join us so I could go see Piper. She's complaining I give you guys too much attention, so I have to go spoil her a bit. See ya!" without even waiting for an answer he walked away, leaving them alone.
"Undying love for whom?" Nico repeated, tilting his head like a confused puppy.
"Um, yeah, we have to talk. Do you have a minute?"
Nico raised his eyebrow ans replied:
"Sure. Shoot."
"No, I meant can I talk to you somewhere private?" Percy clarified.
"Ok. We can go to my cabin, I made it soundproof."
That made the son of Poseidon give a sly smile.
"And why would you soundproof your cabin, Nico?" he said teasingly, and laughed when the boy blushed.
"It's not like that, you perv!" he sputtered, then sobered and explained "I didn't want to wake people up with my nightmares. I used to wake up screaming at the top of my lungs, and nobody needs to be bothered by it." he shrugged. Percy felt awful, and an apology was already making it's way through but Nico stopped him.
"No, it's alright. The first time it happened you were at your mom's, and everybody burst into my cabin, thinking there was a monster, when really it was just me having a panic attack." he smiled sadly "They were worried, a little bit scared, but thankfully Jason was there to shoo them out and calm me down. The next day I asked the Hephaestus cabin to make it soundproof, it took them half an hour." they got to his cabin and he went in.
"Jason didn't like it. He said that if I was having nightmares that are bad enough to make me scream someone, aka him, should be able to listen and come rescue me. We fought a lot about it, but we compromised. I asked the Hephaestus cabin for one more favor, and they installed this" he pointed to what looked like a doorbell on the wall above his bed "I promised him that if I had a nightmare I would ring it, it's connected to Cabin one. I pressed that and it would wake him up."
"That's clever" he commented.
"We thought so too, until the first time I rang it the idiot almost got himself murdered by the harpies. So we needed to fix that little blunder."
"What did you do?"
"We considered having me shadow travel to his cabin, him borrowing Annabeth's invisibility cap and about a million other things, but we decided on something simpler" he kicked the floor, catching a small silver knob, and a trapdoor opened with a thud "We had Hazel make a tunnel between our cabins. It's actually very wide and well built, she is really talented. She even fashioned inexpensive lamps using jewels to refract the light, so Jason could see where he was going."
"Jason has a trapdoor in his cabin that leads to yours?" he summed up disbelievingly.
"Yeah, Jackson, try to keep up. I would ring, he would run, and that was that. We barely use it anymore, I've gotten better. For the most part anyway."
As awful as it was, thinking of Nico waking up terrified, it made him see just how far they'd come: Nico would have never told him about this a week ago. Encouraged by this progress, his resolve strengthened.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" the son of Hades interrupted his inner pep talk, sitting on the edge of his bed.
"Oh, right. Here's the thing..." he trailed off and Nico looked up at him expectantly.
"Fuck" he swore, running his hands through his hair, then tried again "Look, you have to promise you won't shadow travel away from this, ok?"
"Why would I want to shadow travel away from this?" he asked warily, tension settling on his shoulders.
"Just promise you will let me finish speaking, and then you can go. Please?" he pleaded.
"Sure. I won't swear on the Styx, but you have my word. Just tell me when you're done so if it really is that bad I can leave without breaking my promise. Now spill it, you're making me anxious."
"Ok. Remember Halloween, when the Stolls drugged you with whatever?"
"Yeah" Nico said slowly, tone urging Percy to continue.
"So it kind of made you 'drunk' and I ran into you. Actually I thought you were hammered, from the way you were acting" he rambled nervously "Anyway, you sort of told me you didn't particularly care for girls, and that you had been, uh, in love with me for the last nine years. Then you kind of crawled on top of me and fell asleep."
Nico was looking horrified, mouth hanging open. The son of Poseidon waned to smack himself, he had blurted it out just like he was warned not to do.
"Percy, I'm so, so, sorry" his voice was strangled, like it hurt to speak "If you don't want to be around me anymore, I understand, and..."
"Nico, please let me finish" he interrupted gently, and the other boy bit his lip and nodded, not meeting his eye. "A couple of minutes later Jason showed up to put you to bed. He figured out what had happened pretty quickly and threatened to kill me if I hurt you. I wasn't planning on it anyway" he shook his head, trying to focus "but that is beside the point. We both agreed not to tell you just yet, and I had all of last week to spend with you. Honestly, if it bothered me I would have avoided you, not taken you swimming, watching movies and all the other stuff we did. Nico, please look at me." he asked.
The pale demigod just shook his head, gaze still on the floor. Percy sat beside him, and the other almost jumped out of his skin.
"Nico, I am trying to say that I like you. And I kind of really want to date you, to do all the stuff we did without Jason third-wheeling. What do you say, do you want to be my hell-hound?"
The son of Hades had been staring at him slack jawed, but at the last words he couldn't help but smile:
"Do I get fifty pounds of Milk-Bones on our first date?" he joked, but there was still fear in his eyes.
"No, that'll give you a stomach ache." he declared quite seriously, leaning in "You'll have to settle for regular chocolate. Is that ok?"
"It'll have to do" they were so close that Percy felt Nico's breath brushing past his lips.
He closed the millimeter wide gap between them, in their very first kiss. Arms slipped around waists and necks, pulling them closer to each other. The son of Poseidon tugged on the strands of dark hair, making Nico gasp. He took that as an opportunity to deepen the kiss, tentatively exploring his mouth. The younger demigod was unsure of what to do,but quickly grew confident and began doing explorations of his own, running his hands down Percy's body, touch soft and fleeting.
They broke apart a few minutes later, breathing heavily and smiling. Percy pulled them down so they were laying on the bed, instinctively entwining their legs as they faced each other. Nico inched closer so he could tuck his head under the other boy's head, and the older demigod wrapped his arms around him, sighing contently.
He absentmindedly rubbed circles on Nico's back, as if trying to soothe his pain and sorrow. After a couple of minutes he felt his shirt getting wet, and pulled back to see that indeed, Nico was quietly crying into his chest.
"I'm sorry" he hiccuped, and wiped at his face, moving away. Percy was having none of it, and pulled him back towards him.
"No need to apologize, just tell me what's wrong. Did we go too fast, are you uncomfortable, did you change your mind?" he asked, worrying frantically.
"Nothing's wrong, I just... had accepted that I would never have this." he hid his face on Percy's chest, and his voice became a bit muffled "I was so certain I would die alone, hanging off Jason like a leech for any sort of human interaction that I don't really know what to think now."
"Then don't. Don't think. I went through something similar, when going through my breakup. I had thought for so long that I had already found the one I was going to spend my life with, only to have that shattered when it all ended. It's a little bit surprising, a little bit scary but honestly?" he cupped Nico's face, lifting him from his hiding place "I'm glad it turned out that way." he kissed him sweetly on the lips.
They settled back into an easy silence, just enjoying their closeness. After a while Nico giggled and said:
"Did you really ask me to be your hell-hound? What the heck is that supposed to mean?"
Percy felt his face heat up from embarrassment and replied "I was nervous, and had no idea what else to say. The first thing that came to my mind was that, it's not my fault."
"Well, it makes sense, I mean it is one of our few inside jokes... we have to hang out more so that we can have more of those. I love inside jokes, they confuse people" he laughed evilly.
"Well, you're cute and cuddly like the one hell-hound I know... I wasn't that off."
"Really Percy? Comparing me to a monster? What happened to 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day'?" he teased.
"I wouldn't compare you to a summer's day, it doesn't really suit you. Maybe an autumn's day? Do you want me to get the Apollo cabin to write sonnets comparing you to the seasons?"
"Gods, please no." he snuggled closer to him, breathing in his scent.
The silence lasted for a while longer, until the son of Poseidon blurted out:
"I want a trapdoor too!"
"What?"
"I mean, could you get Hazel to connect my cabin to yours? And get a doorbell thingy? I want to be there for you too."
Nico felt his heart do a couple of flips, and beamed at him.
"I can ask her, but I rarely have bad nightmares anymore."
"Rarely isn't never" he said, then added in a lewd tone "Besides, I can think of a few other things to do sneaking into your sound proof cabin at night, can't you?"
Nico blushed so hard he wondered if he was actually glowing. He hid his face on Percy's chest, which was becoming his favorite place to hide. So he felt rather than heard the son of Poseidon's laughter.
"You really are easy to tease" his tone became unsure " But I, um, didn't mean that we would be doing anything that soon I was just kidding and..."
"Percy" he interrupted.
"Yeah?" was the hesitant reply.
"Shut up"
Nico reached up and pulled him down for a kiss, reveling in the sensation and the fact that he could to that now. He found the other boy's concern very endearing, and it made his heart swell on his chest. He rolled him onto his back and crawled on top of him, shivering when he felt Percy's hands run down his spine.
"I take it the talk went well." said an amused voice.
They jumped apart and looked at the doorway with matching expressions of embarrassment. The son of Jupiter laughed heartily and said:
"Dinner is in half an hour. I advise you to take a cold shower and show up, because I am dragging you out of here regardless of your state of undress. Got it?" they nodded dumbly "And for future reference, use protection, kids!" he spun on his heel and left.
"I think I just proved that dying from embarrassment is impossible" Nico muttered "Either that or Thanatos is being lazy" Percy laughed at his remark.
"It wasn't that bad..." he tried.
"Percy, it would only be worse if Hazel had caught us." he shuddered.
"Anyway, the mood is dead and buried, we should shower. I'll come pick you up when I'm done, ok?"
Nico couldn't help smiling and blushing like a kinder-gardener, nodding eagerly.
"Gods, you're adorable" he said and leaned in for a quick kiss "Don't use that power for evil"
The son of Hades giggled and nodded again. Percy got up, regretfully letting go of Nico and moving towards the door. With one last smile, he left.
They had managed to keep it a secret from the rest of the camp for a month. Some people were already growing suspicious, what with them being together all the time and the son of Hades looking happy for once.
They had told Hazel over and IM, and she rode Arion as soon as possible to give them both a hug and threaten Percy. She also connected Cabin 3 to the Nico's cabin, and warned them not to abuse the privilege while blushing furiously.
Now they had movie nights at Nico's, sometimes with Jason, sometimes without. The newly made couple was getting used to each other, and so far they'd managed to not indulge in PDA, keeping their relationship a secret. Not that Percy would mind the others knowing, but he guessed Nico was a bit uncomfortable with telling people. So they kept quiet about it, until one fateful lunch.
Nothing was out of the ordinary, they ate in companionable silence, occasionally making small talk. Then it was time for desert, and while Nico had ordered some chocolate mousse, Percy had gotten his hands on a mouth watering cake complete with blue icing. It looked really good, so Nico made his eyes wide, silently pleading for a bite. Or the whole thing. Percy noticed, and sighed.
"How do you expect me to not compare you to a hell-hound when you keep doing the puppy dog eyes? It's not fair, you know."
"It looks so good... switch with me?"
"Nope. Just order yourself a slice."
"But then my mousse would go to waste, and if I have both I'll have a tummy ache." he whined.
"Tummy ache?" he repeated mockingly "Who even says that anymore?"
By that time their playful banter had gotten the attention of most of the dining pavilion.
"I do. Got a problem with that?" he replied, but his smile ruined any sort of threat he was hoping to make.
"Nope. It's cute. Here, you can have a bite, because I am that generous. Would that make you happy?"
Nico smiled and nodded, reaching for his fork. But instead of offering the plate to him, Percy simply got a piece with his own fork and fed it to Nico, who didn't even think twice at the gesture until he heard the gasps and whispers.
"Don't freak out" the son of Poseidon said, concern shining in his eyes " But I think they pretty much figured us out"
Nico froze for a moment, then asked quietly:
"Does it bother you?"
"Hell, no. I wanted to scream it from the rooftops since day one, but I thought you would mind it."
The son of Hades smiled and said:
"If you don't mind, neither do I. I might have in the beginning, but I had enough time to get used to it. Used to you. Now give me another piece, this cake is perfection. You can have some of my mousse. Please?"
Ignoring the chatter and catcalls, he fed his boyfriend another bite.
Hello!
Let's pretend that I posted this on the 31st, shall we?
Anyway, I have no idea where this came from, it was supposed to be a short angsty drabble about Nico drunkenly confessing to Percy and then Halloween got thrown into the mix and I completely lost any sort of control I had over this.
I hope you guys liked it, and if you have any comments/suggestions/criticism it's all very welcome! Have a great day!