Okay, so first off, I haven't actually written anything in a long time, so I may be a little rusty. And second, I've never written a slash fic, so hopefully this isn't too bad. What inspired me to write a slash fic is "Kiss a Boy in Tokyo Town". If you haven't read it, google it, because it's absolutely amazing. It's beautifully written, and I fell in love with it. Also, I didn't think I'd ever find myself shipping Percy with anyone but Annabeth, but Percy and Nico? I've never shipped anything quite so hard. So please give this a chance, and tell me how you feel about it! (And to anyone who was reading my TMI fanfic, IM SORRY, BUT I JUST HAVENT FELT INSPIRED TO WRITE)
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
(Percy and Nico are about a year or two apart in this story, Percy being almost 18, Nico 16.)
I think the confusion started when Annabeth broke up with me.
"Annabeth… Why? Is it something I did? Because you know better than anyone, my head is full of kelp and—," I ambled.
"No, Percy, I swear it isn't anything you did. Actually, it's the opposite." She gently tugged my arm so I would sit on the bench next to her. My heart was pounding and my vision was swimming. Annabeth, the only girl I had ever loved, had just told me she was breaking up with me. I slowly lowered myself onto the seat and slumped my shoulders.
"Then why?" I whispered, broken.
"Lately, you haven't been boyfriend Percy. You've been best friend Percy, and while I'm totally fine with being best friends with you, I don't think we should continue dating if we're not actually dating. Let's be best friends again Percy. Let's not worry about the whole boyfriend girlfriend thing, and just go back to how things were two years ago."
I lifted my head slowly and looked into her bottomless silver eyes. There was something uneasy about them.
"There's someone else isn't there? Back home. There's someone else."
She shifted, uncomfortable. She opened her mouth, as if to speak, but closed it quickly.
"C'mon, Annabeth, spit it out! Is there someone else or not?" I almost shouted. She flinched. I didn't care.
She looked me dead in the eyes and said, "Yes." She then proceeded to tell me of the boy, Kade, she met in the architecture class that she took at the community college in her town back in San Francisco. She was probably the only person in her high school who was enrolled in college classes already, but that was Annabeth for you. She said he was smart, and she has intellectual conversations with him. She said he works at a daycare when he's not at school, and he volunteers at a nursing home when he's not at daycare. He goes to church with his grandparents every Sunday morning, and he tutors the kids in their architecture class who don't understand.
"He sounds like an angel," I sneered, lifting myself from the bench. "It sounds like you've been taking advantage of this long distance relationship. I really didn't expect it from you, Annabeth, but I guess you never know with some people. I hope you're happy with him, because you've lost my trust, respect, and my love. You've lost me, Annabeth. Goodbye," I spat. She was watching me with wide eyes, and they filled to the brim with tears. It made me so angry. I was so angry that she found someone better than me. It was my worst fear brought to life. She finally realized how much better she could do, and she did something about it.
I was mad for a while, but then reality set in. I had lost Annabeth, probably forever. I ambled around the woods of Camp Half-Blood until it was so dark I couldn't see my hand in front of me. It was a summer night, so it was hot as Hades, and I didn't have any water. I continued to stumble in the direction I thought my cabin was, but a feeling in my gut said I wasn't finding it anytime soon. I tripped over a root of a tree, and when I hit the ground, I didn't move.
"Who cares?" I mumbled to myself. My eyes slid shut, and I don't know if I fell asleep or if I passed out, but I didn't wake up until the next morning.
"Hey hot shot, get the hell up."
I groaned as I opened my eyes. There was something prodding my side. A foot. I glanced up to see the owner of the foot.
"Jeez, Perce. You look horrible." I groaned again.
"Wow, Nico. Kick a man while he's already down, why don't you," I grumbled, pushing myself up into a sitting position. Nico shoved his hands in the pockets of his bomber jacket, the one he never freaking took off, and shrugged noncommittally. I rolled my eyes. He glared.
"So, smartass, what made you think that sleeping a whole 30 feet from your cabin was a good idea?" Nico asked. Thirty feet? What the hell? I whipped my head around, only to see the splintering wood of Cabin 3 peeping out from behind the thick shrubbery. I rubbed my temples with my fingers and let out a strangled moan.
"It was a bad night, man."
Nico stuck a hand out to me. "Well, you can tell me all about it after we get some food into you. I think you might be dehydrated, too," he laughed. I eyed him.
"This is funny?" I deadpanned.
"Actually, yes. Son of Poseidon, dehydrated? Classic."
I reached out to take his offered hand, but instead of lifting myself up, I yanked him into the dirt. I swept the leaves off of the seat of my shorts as I stood up, Nico grumbling to himself behind me. We walked off to the dining pavilion. I scarfed down my food as fast as humanly possible, which Nico watched with bulging eyes. When I finished I yanked him up by the collar of his shirt and dragged him all the way to my cabin.
"I wasn't finished yet!" He complained. I just stared at him with a look that said 'I really don't care about your problems'. Nico huffed and straightened his jacket before entering my cabin behind me. He slid off his jacket and hung it on one of the empty bed railings. He perched on the edge of the bed and watched me expectantly.
"So, what has your pink panties in a twist today, Percy Jackson?" Nico teased. I rolled my eyes at him and turned toward my dresser. My shirt was seriously disgusting from my slumber party with the forest floor, so I plucked a blue t-shirt from the drawer.
I ignored the panties jab. "It's about Annabeth," I sighed, lifting my shirt over my head and tossing it into the hamper by the bathroom door. Nico cleared his throat and adverted his eyes. I slid the new shirt over my chest and hopped onto the bed he was perched on. I put my arms behind my head and sighed again.
"What about Annabeth," he asked quietly, still not looking at me.
"She cheated on me, and then broke up with me. We were by the gazebo in the woods last night when she told me. Hence my little nap with the trees."
Nico stiffened a little bit when I said she cheated on me. "Why would she cheat on you?" He asked. He was staring straight forward, his black eyes stuck on the wall. His body was stiff; I could see the muscles of his back strained beneath his black t-shirt, and his biceps bulged as he crossed his arms. When had Nico di Angelo gotten so beefy? He was still skinny, but he was filled out with long and lean muscles. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts.
"Because he's smart. Because he's in college. Because he has a job and he goes to church on Sunday."
He huffed. "Lame. You saved the world."
I laughed. "That's what I'm saying!"
We were silent for a few solid minutes. I sighed and sobered up.
"She said I wasn't acting like 'boyfriend Percy'. And to be honest, I didn't feel like 'boyfriend Percy'. Not that I would ever tell her this, but it's like I wasn't even attracted to her anymore. We even went down to the lake the other day, and she was in a bikini and everything! But there was nothing there. I mean, she looked pretty, she always looks pretty, but it just didn't do anything for me. It was so strange," I mused, half asleep. Nico shifted so he was sitting with his back against the headboard and his knees bent. He hummed in response, and I didn't mind. He didn't have to be here, listening to my problems, but he was. All I needed was someone to listen.
Nico and I had never exactly been close friends. He was quiet, he was moody, and he was pretty unapproachable. But ever since the day he poked me awake in the woods, we had been kind of inseparable. Annabeth had left Camp Half-Blood for the rest of the summer because she was taking some summer classes, and honestly it made me relieved. There was no more fear of walking past her at the dining pavilion, no more awkward encounters during cabin leader meetings, and thank god there were no more devil glares from her and her friends. I didn't quite understand why they were glaring at me either, especially since she cheated on me and then broke up with me. But thank the gods that was over.
I had Nico help me with the sword class that I taught to the younger campers. Most of the campers my age either taught classes or just sat by the lake drinking the wine the Stolls stole from Mr. D. I did both, but for the time being, I was teaching sword class. The kids would run around, trying to maim each other with swords that were much too large for them, and Nico would chase them around, screaming, "NO, I SAID HIT THE PRACTICE DUMMIES, NOT YOUR FRIENDS!" Once he would finally catch them and assign them to a dummy, he would lean into the wall next to me and say, "You're just using me because you don't feel like chasing these runts around all day." I poked him in the stomach and teased, "You need the exercise more than I do." Nico rolled his eyes and shoved my head.
At the end of the class, I gathered the kids into one big circle, everyone sitting criss cross, and I made them each say one thing they learned. Most of the answers were silly ones that you'd expect from a bunch of eight year olds, answers like, "I learned that Sarah has a crush on Bobby!" followed by, "YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T TELL ANYONE!" Then Sarah ran up to Nico, and she hugged him tight, burying her face in his shirt. Nico looked at me with raised eyebrows and an open mouth. I shrugged and mouthed, 'figure it out yourself' to him. He awkwardly patted her head and asked what was wrong. Sarah then proceeded to tell Nico about how her and Megan, the girl who told everyone that she liked Bobby, weren't friends anymore. Nico sat down on the ground and pulled Sarah down with him so they were sitting opposite each other. Sarah watched him with wide eyes.
"If Megan is a true friend, then you have nothing to worry about. Your friends will always make mistakes, but if they're a true friend, they will always fix what they've done wrong."
"Do you promise?" She whispered.
"I promise." Nico stuck out his pinky, and Sarah latched hers onto his. The sight made my heart beat unevenly, and I couldn't look away from Nico, who was staring at the little girl in front of him like she was a diamond in a pile of coal. Nico looked up at me and caught me staring, and I whipped my head away, clearing my throat awkwardly.
He sent Sarah back to sit with the rest of the group, who were happily chattering, and Nico came to lean back against the wall next to me. His arm brushed mine, and I tried not to notice.
"I didn't know you were good with kids," I said in a hushed tone.
He gave me that little shrug that was just so Nico and said, "Neither did I."
The annual Fourth of July lake party had finally rolled around, and man was I ready to party. None of the younger campers were allowed to come, and not just because we had alcohol (thank you Stoll brothers), but because it was a privilege. It was one of those things that you see happening as a young camper, and you think to yourself, "I can't until I'm old enough to go to that," and when you finally do, it's like a dream come true. I remember the first time I went to the lake party, and I thought I was the coolest shit that had ever graced the earth. I had Annabeth on my side and a red cup filled with cold beer in my hand, and I had just saved the world. Everyone was talking to me, or running up to me, asking me to tell the story. When the sun finally went down and everyone gathered around the campfire, I was asked yet again to tell the story, and Annabeth rolled her eyes with good humor. I threw my arm around her shoulder, and told the story of how I defeated Kronos with great animation. Everyone gasped when the story got tense, and everyone cheered at the end. I felt like I was walking on air. It was a magical night, and the annual Fourth of July lake party was officially my favorite day of the year.
And I wasn't letting the fact that Annabeth and I were no longer together get in the way of that. Though, this was the first time I would be attending one without her by my side. Luckily, I had Nico.
When the sun finally began to set, I tugged on the sleeve of Nico's shirt. "What?" He snapped, in the middle of listening to Clarisse tell a story about that one time she got dared to walk through the drive through at McDonalds naked. I shivered at the thought.
"Let's go swimming," I said, tugging his shirt again. He rolled his eyes, but smiled. "You're such a kid sometimes, Percy." I laughed and shoved him lightly. He set his cup down in the sand and pulled his shirt over his head. My breath caught in my throat. It wasn't like I'd never seen a guy take his shirt off before, but there was something about Nico with his shirt off that struck me funny. I shrugged my shirt off as well and took off down the wooden dock. He was jogging to catch up to me, and it gave me a chance to notice the muscles of his stomach. I also noticed the swirling black pattern that wrapped around his side and onto his back. A tattoo? When had Nico gotten a tattoo?
Nico stumbled a little bit when he got to the end of the dock. He was watching me with careful eyes, which I decided to ignore.
"Jeez, Nico, how much have you had to drink?" I teased him. He smiled tightly.
"Ha ha, you're hilarious, dude. This dock is just wobbly," Nico huffed. I laughed.
"Yeah, okay."
Nico let a laugh brake through, and he shoved me off the dock. Luckily, I had the fast reflexes to grab his wrist and take him in with me. We both broke the surface and laughed, shoving water back and forth at each other. We finally died down, and I floated on my back with my eyes closed. I think Nico was doing the same.
"You can see all of the start tonight," Nico pointed out after a long silence. I hadn't even realized that the sun finally set. I hummed in response, never opening my eyes to look.
"When did you get a tattoo?" I finally asked.
"Hmm?"
"Your tattoo. When did you get it?"
"Oh. I got it when I turned 16. In honor of Bianca." He answered.
"Oh. That's cool, dude. I've always wanted a tattoo."
"Yeah? You should get one," Nico said.
"Maybe I will."
Later that night, everyone spread their blankets or towels out on the shore, getting ready to watch the firework show. Everyone was giggling and drunk, people had run off into the woods kissing and unable to keep their hands off each other, and it was just fun to watch everyone like this. Everyone having fun, like our world didn't have so many problems, like we weren't going to get shipped off on some life threatening quest. Everyone right here was happy.
I wasn't so sure if Nico was drunk, but the gods knew I was. I was still in control, but my thoughts were hazy and my vision was swimmy. I plopped down on the blanket that Nico had rolled onto the sand from himself.
"Dude, get your own," Nico sighed, not actually meaning it. He scoot over and made room for me. He hadn't put his shirt back on, and it gave me a chance to look at his tattoo. I ran my fingertips over the swirly design. Nico twitched, but didn't exactly pull away.
"Percy, what are you doing?"
"I just want to see it." I didn't sound as alcohol laiden as I felt. Nico sighed and rolled onto his side, giving me a better view of the black ink etched into his skin. He was facing me now, and his eyes roamed my face, my body. It made me squirm, but not necessarily in a bad way. His eyes were smoldering as they made their way back up to mine. His hair was so black it gave night a run for its money, and it was swept back, out of his eyes.
Our blanket was concealed by the trees, not quite on the shoreline but not in the forest yet either, so it made what I did next a little bit better.
I leaned into Nico, placing my hand flat onto the swirl of his tattoo, and I planted my mouth on his. I forced his lips open with mine, and the kiss was hot and searing. Nico grunted and rolled onto his back, dragging me with him. I settled between his legs and pulled his bottom lip with my teeth. He let out a strangled sigh, and that sigh traveled straight through my body and set into a tight coil at the bottom of my stomach. I grabbed onto the back of Nico's neck and broke away from his mouth, leaving a trail of hot, opened mouthed kissed all the way down the base of his throat to his collar bone. Nico gripped my hip and leaned his head back, giving me access to more of his neck. I ran my nose up the strong muscles and sank my teeth into the hollow beneath his jaw. That seemed to be the wakeup call to us both, because the moan that came out of his mouth was like a slap in the face.
I pulled away from Nico completely, and I shoved both of my hands in my hair. What the hell was I doing?
Nico leaned back on his elbows and tried to catch his breath.
It was silent for a few moments.
"Percy, are you okay?" He whispered.
"Yeah. I'm fine. I'm just drunk. Really, really drunk," I said, more to myself than to Nico.
"No. No, you're not." Nico said, voice firm.
"Dude, how the hell would you know?" I snapped.
"You're just trying to use that as an excuse as to why you kissed me."
I closed my eyes. That's exactly what I was trying to do. How else was I supposed to explain it. I heard Nico shift in front of me.
I opened my eyes to find Nico sitting directly in front of me, inches from my face. I sucked in a sharp breath. Nico laughed.
"I'm actually surprised you didn't figure this out already, but because you're so dense, I'll just say it. I'm gay. Have been for years. Just about everyone knows except for you."
"You're gay!?"
"No shit, Sherlock. When was the last time you saw me trying to get with a girl?"
I searched my mind, trying to think of a time I ever saw Nico with a girl.
"Exactly," he said, almost like he was sensing the blank thoughts I had on the subject. "Perce, it's okay. I am the last person to judge you. I won't tell anyone. I swear." Nico whispered. I closed my eyes tightly.
"I'm not gay, Nico. I dated Annabeth for two years. Just because we shared some stupid, drunken kiss doesn't make me—."
Nico's mouth was on mine, and the words disappeared from my mind. He pushed me back onto the blanket and ran his hands up my chest. I shivered at the friction, and I tugged him down until he was flat against my body, bare chest to bare chest. And that's how we spent the night of the annual Fourth of July lake party. Our mouths curved together as one, and our bodies pressed soundly against one another.
I wasn't thinking about if I actually was gay, or why I enjoyed kissing this dark, moody boy who had been my best friend for the past two months. I wasn't thinking about those things. I was thinking that I wanted to be happy, like all of my friends who were chasing each other around the shore throwing sand at each other, and the ones stealing kisses beneath the moon. And in that moment, I was happy. I was happy, laying beneath the bright colors of the fireworks being set off by the children of Hephaestus, sharing kisses with the boy who can bring the dead back to life, and I was okay with that.
That's not exactly how I had planned that fanfic, and it was a little short, but please let me know how you liked it! Should I write more, or not? LET ME KNOW PLEASE:P