Percy's always been a pain in the ass (specifically Nico's), but here he is, a month later with a pretty girl around his arm and a goofy grin plastered over his incredibly stupid face.
"Nico. Annabeth and I have come to receive your blessing." The grin is still there and Nico sort of just wants to close the front door and go back to watching Polar Bear Cafe.
"Pleeeeaase," Percy whines out in a really long syllable and clasps his hands together. The blond girl looks just as annoyed as Nico does.
"Blessing?" She asks and then sighs, "I thought you just came to introduce me to your friends."
"And get Nico's blessings. It's really important because he's super judgmental and nit picky about—"
Nico slams the front door and Jason runs down the hall asking who it is.
"Solicitors," says Nico and he goes back to his room to finish his show.
But then Jason can hear wailing from outside and he figures that Percy's got a new girlfriend.
"I take it that you two are officially over now?" Jason asks a month later when Percy accidentally sends him a sext meant for Annabeth.
Nico shrugs and spits out a pomegranate seed at Jason's face because it's a meter too close to his own. He and Percy were exclusively/unexclusively fucking and even when Percy got new girlfriends, they'd last a week tops and then Nico'd get his boy toy back. Or maybe it was the other way around, Jason wasn't too filled in on the details of their relationship.
The younger male only pops more seeds into his mouth and stains his fingers in the process and Jason ignores the gay urge to kiss all the sour stains off Nico's entire being. Totally gay. Really gay. Flaming gay.
"I'm gonna go for a walk." Jason announces and Nico sort of doesn't actually care because he doesn't care at all, really.
He doesn't acknowledge Jason's presence anymore even when the big oaf is still standing a meter too close, waiting for Nico as if wanting permission from his master.
When he doesn't get it, Jason silently grabs his keys and takes that walk. Nico will be Nico no matter what, he concludes.
What he doesn't conclude is to find Nico a few days later, laying in the middle of the dingy living room floor, blending in with the carpet at three am.
"Is this some new form of meditating?" Jason asks hesitantly.
"I think…" And Nico's eyebrows knit together in the darkness, an expression completely new to Jason. He looks like he's struggling with his words, as if he doesn't know what he thinks. Jason sort of wants to hug him, or maybe Eyebags will settle for one instead.
"You know that you can talk to me, right?" Jason asks and he wonders if this has to do with the Percy thing.
"We're not girls. We don't talk about our feelings." Nico's eyebrows seem more furrowed; more confused and unsure.
"I'll put on a wig and we can pretend." Jason suggests, he thinks Leo left one in their bathroom (he's not sure why, but it's Leo).
"Pretend." Nico says the word and it's like the taste of it hits him and registers in his mind that it's something he likes, maybe even more than Mythomagic.
"Is this a yes to the wig thing or—"
"Grace, shut up for a sec, I'm thinking." Nico announces and stares at the ceiling for a really, really, really long time.
At some point, Jason thinks, "What the hell am I even still doing here? I could be sleeping."
And when he's about to tell Nico that, the younger male lifts his arm and gestures for Jason to join him, which almost makes him both jump for some kind of glee and groan in absolute misery. The floor's fucking dirty.
But he goes over and lays next to Nico anyways, shoulders pressed lightly next to each other's.
"Percy wants to marry Annabeth," Nico says after a long while later, Jason's only half awake by now. "How long have you known?"
"They've uh…" Jason squints his eyes in the dark and tries to think. "Been a year, I think."
"Did he tell you not to tell me?" Nico asks, clearly taking advantage of Jason's sleepy delirium.
"No," is the immediate answer. "Percy doesn't deserve you, but you don't deserve unhappiness."
Nico shoves Jason's arm — hard.
"Oomph." Is the sound Jason makes when he rolls all the way over to the coffee table, his head hitting one of the legs and waking him up completely. "What was that for?"
"You're stupid," Nico stands up and dusts his backside off. "Goodnight Grace."
"What?" Jason asks dumbly and rubs his head, figuring he shouldn't sleep if he has a possible concussion.
But it's too late because Nico's already half way down the hall and feeling less inclined to talk anymore anyways. Jason's roommate is the most confusing person ever but then Jason figures that's only because Jason is the most oblivious person ever and it'd take a dunce like him eons to figure out Nico di Angelo.
He concludes he has time.