Percy wandered around the house aimlessly.
One of his best friends, Jason, had dragged him to this party. Apparently Jason's girlfriend's mom was friends with the host of this party's dad. Percy wasn't quite sure, but he knew it was something complicated like that.
Percy didn't even want to be there. In fact, he was having a positively miserable time. The three people there that he knew, Jason (the one with a girlfriend), Leo (one of Percy's best friends), and Reyna (Jason's girlfriend), bolted off already, leaving Percy all alone. Jason and Piper ditched him the second they got inside the door, probably to go make out. Leo stuck with him for a while before he started flirting with a girl who had Carmel colored hair and clearly was not interested in him. So Percy was all by himself.
After a few more minutes of walking around aimlessly he saw something that caught his eye. Well, someone. It was a girl with blonde hair and stormy grey eyes. She was standing with a girl who had brown hair and lots of muscles that Percy recognized as a friend of Reyna's that he met once or twice, as well as a girl with blue eyes and black hair.
Percy approached the girls and Silena politely hugged him and introduced him to the two other girls. The brunette was Clarisse and the blonde was Annabeth. Clarisse and Silena wandered off to find their boyfriends, leaving Annabeth alone with Percy. They talked for a while and Percy realized that she was very smart.
Annabeth was very interested in architecture and was half-Greek. She was very proud of this and she greatly admired heroes from Greek mythology. Percy stared at the nerdy, beautiful, quirky, and intelligent woman in front of him and was in awe. At that moment he did something that he would regret not even two seconds later. He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
Annabeth looked shocked, but not in the good way that you hear about in books and movies. She looked shocked in the "that guy is a disgusting creep and he just kissed me" way. She turned around to leave but Percy stopped her by grabbing her hand.
"I'm sorry," he said, "I don't know what got into me. I usually don't kiss people the first time I meet them." Annabeth faced him again and took a deep breath.
"It's okay. At least you weren't drunk," she said, shrugging it off. The two talked until the sun rose and eventually Percy plucked up enough courage to ask her out on a date. Annabeth politely declined but Percy was drunk after so many hours of drinking and he became a bit more stubborn. He insisted on bringing Annabeth to his house, and then she could show him her's the next day.
Annabeth stood up and left the scene, trying to socialize with other guests but Percy followed her until she gave him a slip of paper. Percy didn't know if her phone number was on that paper, or maybe it was her email. Perhaps even her address. But right then he decided to call it a night and passed out on the very spot. Annabeth chuckled a little before heading off to find Silena and Clarisse.
Now, about a week and a half later, Percy stood at the door of an apartment with 6B written on the door. Percy looked down at the little slip of paper in his hand to confirm it was the right place. Yep, apartment 6B, 456 East 12th
Street. He braced himself before raising a fist to knock on the door.
At first nothing happened, it was just his knock echoing through his mind and his thoughts racing millions of miles per hour. Then, the door was opened.
"Who are you and why are you knocking on my door?" The man who opened the door asked. He had dark, almost black, hair and eyes. His skin was an olive tone, which, combined with the dark hair and eyes, made him look mysterious and quite attractive. But he wasn't who Percy was looking for.
"Um, is Annabeth here?" Percy asked quietly, eyes trained on the ground. The boy at the door raises an eyebrow.
"Who's Annabeth? And you still haven't told me your name either, bello." Percy looked up at this. He was pretty sure that "bello" wasn't English. The dark eyed boy smirked and hot a mischievous glint in his eye. Percy gulped.
"I'm Percy," he said while extending his hand for the man to shake.
"Nico," was the only response he got. Percy awkwardly lowered his hand and Nico took the opportunity to try and get his questions answered.
"Who is this Annabeth you're looking for?" Nico asked. Percy gave him a confused look that Nico found absolutely adorable.
"I thought she lived here." Nico laughed, a deep, dark sound that rang in Percy's ears.
"So that's why your here, bello? Well, I'm sorry to be the one who has to inform you of this but she just gave you my address because she's in a relationship and has to get rid of the boys pining after her somehow. She likes to dump them on me for some reason. Probably because she knows I'll scare them all away." Nico said with laughter lacing his voice. Percy deflated, slouching his shoulders down which made Nico sober a little.
"If it makes you feel better it's not because she doesn't think you're cute or anything. Well, it is but she doesn't really find any guy cute. She's a lesbian," Nico attempted to cheer Percy up. When Percy remained silent Nico felt the need to add something more onto that. "And if it's worth anything, I think you're cute." He found himself saying. Both of the boys started blushing upon hearing that.
Nico smiled sheepishly and Percy awkwardly extended his hand. Nico took it in his own before quickly jumping away at the jolt of energy that passed between their hands. It's just static, both told themselves.
They stood there in an awkward silence. Nico stared at Percy, trying to figure out why he had told Percy that he thought he was cute, and then why he had felt such a powerful shock when their hands met. Eventually Nico cleared his throat.
"Um, would you like to come in?" he asked politely. Percy offered him a smile and nodded before stepping inside the house.
"Do you have any coffee? I could really use a pick me up after that revelation." Percy commented. Nico nodded, a scowl forming on his face. Of course the beautiful man wasn't gay, none of the cute ones ever are.
Nico turned around and started making a pot of coffee, scowling and thinking up sentences to kick the green-eyed boy out of his apartment as soon as he was done with his coffee.
"So, you live here all by yourself, huh?" Percy asked Nico.
"Yeah, it's just me." Nico responded cooly.
"Do you have any family nearby?" Percy asked, unknowingly causing dark thoughts to rush through Nico's head.
"Well, my dad and step-mother live in Hollywood, my younger sister lives in San Francisco, and my older sister is... No longer with me." Nico responded, adding the last part bitterly.
"I'm so sorry for your loss," Percy began only to be cut off by his host.
"It's fine. I've learned to live with it. I lost her when I was ten, back when I didn't know I had a step-sister and my dad ignored, so I went through a pretty dark phase there but I'm mostly over her death." Nico assures the green-eyed boy, even though he is unsure why. Nico usually just thinks bitter thoughts and says something about how "she's in a better place now" or some crap to get people off his back but Nico genuinely wanted to make sure that Percy wasn't worrying. It probably had something to do with the fact that Percy looked like the type of person who was usually smiling, carefree even though they have no clue what they're doing.
Percy nods. He's never lost anyone dear, but he knows what being ignored by a parent is like. For the first 11 years of his life his father never contacted him, so it was just Percy, his mom, and Percy's step-father. Gabe, Percy's step-father, abused him physically and verbally but thankfully nothing more. The only people who knew about that were Gabe and Percy, and Percy never told anyone because they would believe his mother helped with the abuse and Percy loved no one more than his mother.
Percy also never told anyone about the dark thoughts that would occasionally raced through his minds. The thoughts that told him that death would be much better of a solution than just waiting this part of his life out like a coward. No one besides his mother had expressed any affection towards him ever before he met his a best friend, Grover, which is when his life started turning around.
That summer Percy went to a camp for kids with dyslexia and ADHD but it wasn't some lame summer school type thing. Instead of having boring, normal classes they were taught in Greek, which everyone at the camp picked up. And they would have sword fighting competitions with cabins named after all the Greek gods. Percy had no ones else in his cabin that year at camp, but the next year his half-brother was in his cabin.
"That's an interesting life story," Nico commented, leaning across the counter, two cups of coffee in his hands. Percy blushed and took his cup of coffee form Nico, ignoring the fact that he just told Nico some things that no one else had ever heard. Curse his habit for speaking his thoughts out loud!
As Percy sipped his slowly cooling beverage he felt something rub along his feet. He almost tripped and face planted but quickly adjusted his feet so he had better balance. When he looked down he saw a white cat. He picked up the cat and started scratching it.
Percy felt Nico's gaze upon him and looked up at the young man. He had a look of utter peace and happiness on his face. It made him look absolutely gorgeous, which disturbed Percy slightly because it gave him the same urge he had last night. The urge to kiss him.
"I see you've met Bianca." The italian said, disrupting Percy's chain of thoughts. Percy smiled at the sweet cat that was currently rubbing it's head affectionately against Percy's hand. The cat leaped up onto Nico's shoulders and purred into Nico's ear. He laughed and stroked the cat in a somewhat awkward way.
Percy laughed at the scary looking man in front of him stroking a cat. Nico instantly started laughing along. Percy's laugh could do that to anyone, whether they were a joyful baby or a strife-ridden elder. It was a beautiful sound, it was the purest sound Nico had ever heard.
Eventually Percy finished his coffee and handed a Nico back his mug. He said a thank you before quickly hurrying away.
As Percy started to walk back to his own apartment, which wasn't too far away, he digested what just happened. He was given a fake address by a girl he met at a party. This fake address lead him to a house where a young man lived. When said young man opened the door they ended up conversing and Percy was invited in for coffee. They drank their coffee and then Percy left. The chain of events was quite small really, but Percy felt like there was something more there that he wasn't picking up on.
Percy arrived at his apartment building's front door. Suddenly Percy stood a little straighter and realized something. Before the thought left his mind, or his target left their home he started racing back to where he just came from.
Nico slumped down on the couch and turned to news on. There was some dramatic story about a murder going on, and honestly Nico couldn't care less. Nico worked for the police department so he heard about deaths of all kind every day. He was always especially good at telling when a murder was going on and how a victim was murdered, even if it wasn't his job. So good at it, in fact, that some people suspected he was a murderer while others called him "The Ghost King".
He heard a knock at his door. Sighing, he got up to answer it.
When he arrived at the entrance to his apartment and opened the door he was slightly shocked, slightly relieved, and slightly neutral to the face that was standing at his door step.
"Hello again," Nico greeted the man in front of him. He smiled brightly.
"Hello, Nico! It appears I've forgotten something!" Percy said, acting while his courage still allows it. Nico raised an eyebrow.
"And what was that?" he asked.
Percy made a whole dramatic show of pulling a slip of paper and pen out of his pocket.
"Your number."
Nico didn't object when the two objects were shoved into his hand. He was too busy trying to sort out his own emotions on a practically-stranger asking for his number. A cute one at that, too.
Percy waited eagerly and snatched the slip as soon as Nico finished writing it. Percy then ran off without giving Nico a chance to question him. The owner of the apartment sighed and went back inside to the tale of murderers and other drama.
About three weeks later, as Nico was just settling down for bed, his phone started ringing. It was a number he didn't recognize, and being a member of the police he was immediately suspicious.
"Hello." Nico was greeted with. He knew he had heard that voice somewhere before, but he didn't know quite where.
"Who is this?" he asked, not beating around the bush. He also used his scary police voice. "I am a member of New York's Police Department."
He heard laughter on the other end. It was a beautiful laugh that made Nico want to laugh along and then suddenly the memories that had been shoved to the back of Nico's mind, only to come out in the dark if the night were there. The memories of the boy that Annabeth undoubtedly thought was cute so she attempted to set him up with Nico. It appears that, for once, she may have actually succeeded.
"Hm, so that scary-sexy aura surrounding you not only suits your looks but your occupation? Interesting..." Percy teased. Nico gaped at the phone.
"But-but you were hitting on Ann- I thought you were straight!" Nico shouted.
"Ah, yes, you see, I thought I was too. But upon further investigation I believe I have discovered that I am pansexual. I've always been attracted to men as well as women, and you have been the first person to make me realize that I wasn't completely straight." Percy explained his theory. Nico nodded.
"Okay," he responded quietly. Now it was Percy's turn to be shocked.
"Okay? You're not even going to ask what pansexuality is? I had a sideshow prepared and everything!" he whined. Nico chuckled.
"My sister is pansexual. She has two boyfriends, one of which is pansexual and the other is bisexual." Nico said, ready to defend his little sister at any moment, but was greeted with acceptance.
"If she's happy, then sure, why not?" Percy responded, shrugging.
There was a silence between the two for a few seconds before Percy remembered why he called him up in the first place.
"So, what about you?" he asked. Nico was startled at the sudden sound. He took a few seconds to register what Percy had said.
"What about me?"
"What's your sexuality?" Percy prompted yet again.
"I'm gay." Nico said feeling a little self-conscious even though he was speak in with someone who's sexuality didn't even exist to a fair amount of the American population.
Percy smirked.
"Hm, gay means you like boys. I am a boy. And I'm pretty sure boy is a gender, and I am 'gender blind' so... Would you like to accompany me on a date?" he asked. Nico blushed furiously and nodded frantically for about half a minute before releasing that this was a phone call.
"Uh, yeah. That'd be nice."
Five years later two raven haired boys stared each other down over a sea of people's heads. They were on a beach, the waves were crashing on the shore making a nice ambiance. The sun was shining directly above them in the sky.
Many faces stared at the boy in a white tuxedo, which contrasted with his dark eyes, as he stepped up to beside his fiancée. If they turned their heads slightly they'd see all of their family and friends staring up at them and anticipating the kiss to seal this whole thing.
As the two men stared into each other's eyes they both thought of their relationship's past. They thought of the night when Percy proposed to Nico. They thought of the day when they first picked up their little baby girl from the orphanage, too eager for a family to wait for gay marriage to be legal. They thought of all the adventures they've shared leading up to this moment.
It's time for the kiss and the two can't unite themselves any quicker. The whole moment seems to be in slow motion. They anticipate the feeling that they get whenever they kiss, the slight shock, the taste of the others lips, and amazement at how they fit almost perfectly together. But this time something's different. Maybe it's the fact that they actually do fit perfectly together this time, maybe it's the cool metal of the ring pressing onto each other's hands, maybe it's just the sheer thought of finally being official. But something's different.
The moment they've been waiting and yearning for for five years lasts all of a millisecond, but that doesn't matter to the two. All that matters is that they can finally call themselves husbands like they've always wanted to. They feel their little girl run into their side and hug them. They see their friends' and family's eyes glistening with tears of joy. The feel the complete serenity of the moment and how nobody ever wants it to end.
And to think, this all started with a wrong address.
So, did you like it? If you're new to my account because you're only in the PJO fandom or just haven't read my other stories (which is very likely) then hi! Hello! I'm Oz! And before the Solangelo and a Percabeth shippers kill me and make it look like an accident (or any other shippers for that matter) I would just like to state that I ship anything that ends in Nico being happy, and I also ship a Percabeth. I was just in the mood for Percico so I wrote Percico. M'Kay?
Anyways, that was by far the longest thing I've ever written at 3,095 words! Good job self! It took me a while to write it but I really love it. Especially the wedding part. I was listening to Arms by Christina Perri on respect for that bit so I got the feeling of love. Yup.
Oh, and since I have an idea that needs a second opinion on a certain question I will ask a question of the day!
QOTD: Do you like THG Christmas fics or PJO Christmas fics better?