A prompt I got for Percico Weekend.
Disclaimer: Characters, locations, etc are the property of Rick Riordan.
Nico lurked in the shadows around the Amphitheater. For once he was glad Lady Hestia wasn't there tending the flames so he wouldn't feel the need to come out and greet her. He wanted to stay hidden for as long as possible, at least until he got to the dining pavilion where he would be relatively safe. Hazel thought it was funny but really it was anything but.
He was considered a hero at both camps now and at first it'd felt good to be recognized and appreciated. He honestly didn't think he did anything very heroic, he was just trying to keep Reyna and Coach Hedge alive. He couldn't help but notice how his current situation was beginning to mirror some things from his past.
Percy always said he never felt like a hero either…
The Roman soldiers that were prepared to attack Camp Half-Blood were now their guests of honor. And Nico had an annoying little groupie. His secret hadn't lasted very long. He blamed Cupid entirely. That arrow the god hit him with left some sort of mark all the Aphrodite kids could see, except for Piper, she really was different from her siblings. Soon the whole camp was whispering about him and Piper said that Dawn started the rumor. No one was brave enough to ask him to his face, especially not with Hazel and Jason shooting everyone glares when they were with him, but the secret was out.
It took a round of pep talks from Jason, Hazel, Piper, and even Annabeth and Percy –though they were kind of doing more damage, but they didn't know it—to make him stay at camp. It wasn't long after that when Seth found him…
Seth was twelve, from Camp Jupiter, and a son of Ceres. He was also crushing on Nico in a very embarrassing and obvious way. He followed him everywhere and stared at Nico with big blue eyes full of admiration. It terrified him. Is this what he'd done to Percy?
He didn't want to hurt the kid but he wasn't the least bit interested and he didn't know how to say it nicely. Hazel was always fighting back giggles when Seth was around and Jason usually looked on helplessly. The only places he was safe were his cabin and the Hades table thanks to the rules of separation.
"Hey."
He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the voice behind him. It was Percy, looking pretty amused.
"H-how did you, when did you…" Nico rambled trying to catch his breath.
"I'm used to you being in the shadows now. I can spot you pretty easily," said the son of Poseidon. His bright green eyes and smile still made Nico's heart skip a beat.
"Why are you hiding?"
"I wasn't! I was just-"
"Hiding," said Percy. "Is it that little kid? Is he bothering you that much?"
Nico didn't say anything, he just looked away and worked on making his best angry expression.
"You should just tell him to leave you alone. You could scare him away if you wanted to."
"I can't. I can't be mean to him like that," said Nico. After all, how would he have felt if a certain someone had treated him like that when they first met?
"Do you want me to tell him?" Percy offered.
"No!" he said quickly. "No offense Percy but you're about as subtle as a hand grenade. I just want to avoid hurting him too badly if I can."
They were silent and Nico was trying not to fidget. He could feel Percy looking at him as he scanned the area for Seth.
"What if you were already with someone?"
"What?"
"It's the best way to show him you're out of reach," said Percy simply.
Ain't that the truth… Nico thought. The irony was eating him alive.
"Too bad nobody else is interested," he said bitterly.
"You don't know that," Percy said shrugging. "Anyway, all you need is for some guy to pretend to be your boyfriend until the Romans go back to California in three days."
"That's the dumbest plan I've ever heard," Nico spat. He knew Percy wasn't trying to but he was making him angry. Find someone to pretend to date him? If he couldn't find someone for real, how could he expect to find someone willing to fake it? And he didn't know if he should be insulted that the person would rather fake it.
"It is not. Look, I'll do it."
Now he was seriously uncomfortable.
"No!"
"I'm trying to help, Nico," Percy said and sighed in frustration. "He's a kid, he'll forget all about you if he sees you with someone else. And once he's back at camp he'll move on."
"You, you can't! Annabeth!"
"Annabeth won't mind," Percy said confidently. "Or do you just hate the idea of pretending with me?"
Nico almost stopped breathing. They were tap dancing near dangerous territory.
"I-I it's weird!" That made Percy laugh.
"We only have to do it for three days, no problem."
"What about everyone else?" Nico asked desperately. "They'll think, they'll think you, that you're…"
"I don't care," Percy said laughing. "And you shouldn't either. You should have seen me the first two summers I was here before I met you. It seemed like there was always a rumor going around about me. I got teased and talked about behind my back so much, I became immune."
"Really?" Nico asked looking at him like he couldn't imagine it. Percy Jackson was picked on here at camp?
"Really. Don't let it bother you, man. Plus, you have us to kick butt for you."
Once again, Percy was helping and hurting at the same time. His advice was great but it went straight to Nico's heart and made him wish for things that were impossible.
"So?" Percy asked smiling at him again. "Can I be your boyfriend for three days?"
Forever would be nice… he thought and gave himself a mental slap. On the outside he only gave a tiny nod and hid behind his bangs because he knew he was blushing.
"Okay, if you want this to work you're really going to have to sell it, okay?"
"…yeah"
Percy reached down and grabbed his hand he immediately panicked and tried to pull back.
"Nico, calm down. Just hold my hand and try to make it look natural."
He gave in and let Percy take his hand again.
"So where are we going?" his fake boyfriend asked.
"Dining pavilion," Nico muttered, his face still completely flushed.
"Okay lets go. And try to look happy," Percy said and led him toward the stone steps.