A/N: I've been grappling with the grief of knowing that Nico is forever out of the market of available guys. (Rick, how could you be so cruel?) So to help me move on, here's a light story about Nico coming out of the closet (in more ways than one). It was going to be serious, but it didn't really turn out that way. The characters are sort of OOC, too, just as a warning.

Disclaimer: I'm not the writer of a highly popular series, so therefore I am not famous, nor am I Rick Riordan, nor do I own any of his works.

Nico knew it was inevitable that Percy would find out. Jason knew, and he would inevitably confess to Piper, who had the mouth of a leaky sieve. Now that the war with Gaea was over, she'd unleash that mouth upon everyone. By the end of the week, Percy was bound to know.

Nico needed to tell Percy before that happened. He didn't want Percy to find out from another source.

He closed his eyes and pictured the Jackson residence. The shadows brought him there, icy cold tendrils gripping his skin and leeching away his energy. When he opened his eyes, he was in China.

Oops.

He closed his eyes and thought harder, focusing on Percy's apartment. The fire escape, to be more specific. That was his usual meeting place with Percy. This time, when he opened his eyes, he was there.

He looked around the fire escape. The shimmery plant that Percy had been planting when Nico had first appeared here was still present, but now it had multiplied. He wondered what it was - Percy had never told him. Then he told himself to stop stalling for time. Nico was more nervous than he had been when he'd faced Cupid.

He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and opened the window, glancing around Percy's room cautiously. No one was there. Nico climbed out of the fire escape and into the room, listening. He wondered if Percy was home, or if this trip was a complete waste of time.

He heard more than one set of footsteps coming towards the room, and, thinking quickly, he threw himself inside the closet. He wanted to tell Percy when he was alone - he didn't want any prying ears - so he decided to wait for the other person (people?) to leave before coming out.

"Your mom is so nice, Percy," Nico heard a girl's voice say. Annabeth? Things couldn't get any worse. He'd always been slightly uncomfortable around her, and besides, he doubted she was going to leave anytime soon.

"Um...thanks?" Percy said. He sounded nervous, and Nico pictured him running his fingers through his hair like he always did.

There was a creaking sound as they sat on the bed. Nico shifted in the closet awkwardly, hoping this wouldn't take long. He felt like a creeper, hiding inside a closet. He nudged the door open a bit and peeked through the crack.

Holy. Hades. Nico felt his face turning red.

They were making out.

Percy had his arms around Annabeth, and they were pressed so closely together that they almost looked like conjoined twins. When he heard Annabeth moan, Nico wanted to die.

Things only got worse. They broke apart, panting heavily, and then Annabeth reached for the hem of her shirt. She couldn't be about to take her shirt off, could she? Nico's face felt like it was on fire.

"STOP!" he shouted, crashing through the closet.

Percy and Annabeth stiffened and stared at him, both their faces turning the same shade of red Nico knew his own face was. They looked mortified.

"Nico?" Annabeth said, attempting to sound like she wasn't just about to take off her shirt. "What were you doing in the closet?"

"I...er...wanted to tell Percy something," he muttered.

"In the closet?"

Nico couldn't think of a reply. An awkward silence ensued.

"What did you want to tell me?" Percy said, scratching the back of his neck, face still bright red.

Nico swallowed nervously. This was it. This was the moment of truth. "I...I'm coming out of the closet."

"You just did," Percy said, looking confused.

"No! I mean, *the closet.* Not that closet."

"What?"

"He means he's gay, Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth snapped.

Nico stared at her. Percy stared at her. Annabeth looked embarrassed.

"...Oops," she said. "Sorry, Nico. But Percy, it was obvious! He wears skinny jeans. Skinny jeans! How could you not tell?"

"Excuse me?" Nico said. "Just because someone wears skinny jeans doesn't mean he's gay!"

"But you have good fashion sense, too! Remember when we went shopping in the mall together? You gave Piper good advice."

"Hey! Now you're just stereotyping! So what if I have good fashion sense?"

"You even borrowed Thalia's eyeliner when you left yours at home!"

"You wear eyeliner, Nico?" Percy said, confused.

"Those dark circles he has? Obviously not natural," Annabeth replied. "How much of a Seaweed Brain can you be, Seaweed Brain?"

This was not how Nico wanted it to turn out. He'd pictured having a mature conversation with Percy. He'd confess that he'd had feelings for Percy, but they were gone now, and he was moving on. Maybe shed a single beautiful tear. Percy would break out into a solemn violin solo, and the rain pouring down from the heavens would soak them both.

Okay, maybe that wasn't very realistic.

"Wait, let me get this straight," Percy said. "Nico's gay?"

Nico's hands started sweating. He swallowed nervously. "Yes?" he said, his voice an octave higher than it usually was. He remembered vaguely how before he'd gone to the Lotus hotel, when he'd lived with his mother and Bianca, homosexuality had been something no one talked about. It was frowned upon. People were disgusted by it.

Would Percy be the same way?

"Oh. Okay. Uh, congratulations on coming out of the closet," Percy said. Then his eyes lit up with understanding. "Oh! So that's what you meant before! Sorry, I thought you were talking about the actual closet!"

Nico resisted the urge to smack himself. He told himself to keep calm. "I hope this doesn't change anything between us," he said. "Can we still be friends?"

"Sure," Percy said. "Why do you even have to ask?"

Nico stared at him for a moment before smiling. All his nervousness disappeared as if it had never been there before. "Thanks, Percy." This was easier than expected. He was partly glad that he'd been brought to the Lotus hotel and to the twenty-first century. He was even glad that Annabeth was here.

"I know some guys I can set you up with," Annabeth said, probably thinking she was being kind. "To help you move on from Percy."

"What?" Percy said, eyes wide.

Or not.

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