"Nico keep your elbows in when striking and try to not make your swings so wide." Percy called lunging toward the younger demigod. Nico blocked Percy's attack and stumbled back.
"Damn" Nico's shoe lace had come undone; he was tripping over his shoelaces now. Percy moved his feet quickly and circled Nico, he lunged forward once again. He was almost successful at taking down Nico, but Nico dodged his attack- not on purpose, but by stumbling. Percy flinched, his body moved forward and he caught the smaller demigod in a one arm scoop.
Nico dropped his sword and grabbed on to Percy's shirt. Nico was scooped toward Percy's chest; he could smell a mixture of axe body wash and the salty ocean. Nico shuddered.
Percy released his sword, making a soft thump on the grassy earth. He clenched his free hand around Nico's arm and held the younger demigod steady. "You ok?"
Nico looked up at Percy quickly he regained his composure and pulled away from Percy "yeah I'm okay."
Percy watched Nico he could see he looked uncomfortable. He reached toward Nico and grasped Nico's arm in his hand. A soft pink glow appeared on Nico's cheeks. "What? I said I was okay", Nico tried to protest but he was not very convincing.
Percy felt his heart pounding and his breathing was shallow- he couldn't tell he was out of breath because of the exercise or because how close he was to Nico. "Nico...what would you say if—someone told you they liked you."
Nico's ears perked up, he tried to hide his excitement from Percy. "Depends who the person is."
"What if it was me?"
Nico stared at Percy, his body turned to face him, he moved in closer. "I thought you preferred girls."
"It's hard to connect with girls the way we connect. I feel like I have to- one way or another- put on an act. I feel like I can be my true self when we're together. I've never had this type of connection with anyone before. It feels comforting; it feels welcoming…it feels right."
Nico was silent, he gave Percy this look that automatically asked 'what about Annabeth?'
Percy knew what Nico was asking with that look he was receiving. "What Annabeth and I had was special, but I still feel empty. Like I have this hole within my chest and it drags me down. Nico- I know this is cheesy but- you fill this empty feeling and I care about you more than I had about anyone else."
Nico stared at Percy, his whole body felt numb but warm. He reached for Percy's cheek but was stopped with Percy taking his hand in his own and bringing Nico's hand toward his lips to kiss it softly. Percy closed his eyes and kissed the top of Nico's hand. He then moved his kisses to each knuckle.
Nico could feel his heart swelling with every breath he took, 'he's not lying'.
Percy looked up at Nico, after kissing the last knuckle. Percy stroked the back on Nico's hand with his thumb and smiled softly at the son of Hades.
"Percy-I-like-you-too." Nico stitched his sentence into one word.
Percy smiled and engulfed the younger demigod in a hug. Nico buried his face within Percy's neck and returned the hug; his fingers tightened their grip around Percy's orange Camp Half-Blood shirt.