I'm not sure where this is gonna go,
But in this moment all I know
Is the skyline, through the window,
The moon above you and the streets below.
0o0
If you had told Nico three or four years ago that he would be in the situation he was in now, he probably would have punched you. Or something like that.
He never thought he'd have Percy Jackson, so beautiful and so irresistible, standing in front of him, propositioning a polyamorous relationship to Nico. He wanted to be with Nico and Annabeth. At the same time. How selfish could he get? He already had Annabeth and now he wanted Nico, too? And why was Annabeth so okay with this? Nico wasn't an idiot, he knew that Percy loved Annabeth but he couldn't have both her and Nico. No way.
And yet, here he was. Not even hitting Percy for suggesting it―which was what he should have been doing.
Here he was, actually thinking about it. Thinking about what it would be like to wake up in bed with Percy in the morning. To maybe have a real conversation with Annabeth sometime, as he had always wanted. His jealousy always stood as a barrier between them but she did have a brilliant mind and beautiful blonde hair and eyes that showed a million gears turning in her head at once. To watch movies on the couch with Percy and make omelettes in the mornings and not have to be lonely because wow. He would be able to be with Percy. And Annabeth wouldn't have a problem with it. And Annabeth―
"Uh does Annabeth know about this?"
"Of course she does. Do you think I would know what a polyamorous relationship was otherwise?" Percy snorted. "You overestimate me, Nico."
"Annabeth knows about this and she's okay with it?" Nico asked in disbelief.
"First of all, is there even a 'this'? I want to know before I start answering your questions."
"That will depend on your answers to my questions."
Percy smirked, "Okay. Well it was Annabeth's idea." He moved closer to Nico, now only standing a foot away from him.
Nico's eyebrows shot up. "It was?"
"Yeah well," Percy moved closer still, only inches away now, "she knew how much I liked you and she knows that you like me. What do you think? Is she right?"
Nico briefly closed his eyes (which he would deny doing later―it was just a long blink. Yeah. That's right.) and he breathed in deeply, smelling sea salt and ocean air and Percy. And suddenly he couldn't resist.
Nico wound his arms around Percy's neck and yanked him closer so that they were chest to chest. "When is she ever wrong?"
Percy chuckled and hesitantly pressed their lips together. Nico closed his eyes again, enjoying the feeling he had dreamt of for so long. The feeling of Percy's soft lips on his own chapped ones.
Surprisingly, Nico broke contact first, suddenly doubtful. "Percy," he started, crossing his arms. "Don't mess with me. I'm not just some toy you can just screw around with."
Percy looked offended. "Obviously. Why would you think that I wasn't serious?"
"Oh yeah. I should have known. You know, with all of the people coming up to me every day and offering threesomes, it's kind of hard to tell who's serious and who isn't," Nico said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
Percy's eyebrows scrunched together in a really cute way and - okay now would be a good time to shut up, Nico. "Look, Nico, if you don't want this, that's okay. I'm not trying to force you into anything. But don't you think for a second that I would mess with you like that," Percy said angrily. "Do you really think so little of me?"
"You never seemed to care about me before," Nico mumbled, looking away.
"Hey, it's not my fault you disappeared all time," Percy said then winced. "Okay, bad example." Then, seeing the look in Nico's eyes, he added, "Forget I said that."
Nico exhaled loudly. He knew that Percy meant well and that he never actually intended to hurt Nico but he still had his doubts. Nico had known that Percy loved Annabeth since the moment he met him. Percy had been devastated that Annabeth had fallen off of the cliff and Nico had tried to take his mind off of it by asking millions of unimportant questions. Albeit the one about Annabeth not being wise enough to not fall off a cliff was insensitive but he couldn't help himself.
"So how would we go about this?" Nico finally sighed.
Percy cocked his head to the side at first, not seeming to get it. Nico rolled his eyes and stared at him until he understood. "Oh! Wait, you're serious? You want this?"
"I'm willing to give it a shot, I guess," Nico said reluctantly. The offer was too tempting to refuse. He hoped that even though they were technically sharing a boyfriend, things wouldn't be awkward between Annabeth and himself. He really did want to get to know her better.
"Great!" Percy said enthusiastically. "Let's go!"
"Go where?" Nico asked, confused. When had he agreed to go anywhere?
"My apartment, of course! We're going to go play video games!" Percy rolled his eyes like he couldn't believe how dense Nico was.
0o0
Percy was taking a marine biology course at a nearby college while Annabeth was studying Advanced Architectural Design. So basically, their New York City apartment looked like a paper hurricane hit. Their textbooks and research papers were all over the place―on the coffee table, on the bookshelves, on the countertops, and even on the floor.
Percy and Nico hung their jackets on the coat rack when they came in, their cheeks rosy from the cold. Percy told Nico that Annabeth was at the library writing a paper and Nico wouldn't admit it, but he was kind of relieved. He didn't want to talk to Annabeth about this just yet. He needed a couple of days to get used to the idea of them both having the same boyfriend.
Percy cleared a space on the couch for them to sit and handed Nico a controller. Nico weighed it in his hands, contemplating. This game controller was like a metaphor, Nico decided. He could start to play the game with Percy―the video game and the relationship game―or he could simply set the controller down and leave, never to think about Percy Jackson again. But right away, Nico knew that this wasn't really an option. He would never be able to stop thinking about Percy and he knew it. So did Percy.
So Nico sat down next to Percy and played video games with him for three hours.
0o0
When Annabeth returned to her apartment that night, she was mildly surprised to find Nico and Percy asleep on the couch, Nico's head on Percy's shoulder and Percy's head resting on Nico's. She smiled slightly, setting a book she had checked out on the kitchen table, along with her laptop. She tip-toed over to the couch and whipped out her cell phone, snapping a quick picture for future uses (blackmail, definitely). Then she shook Percy's shoulder, trying not to wake Nico.
"Percy," she whispered, louder than she intended. Percy jolted and sat up quickly, forgetting momentarily about the sleeping boy next to him. But, to his credit, Nico did little more than grumble a bit and curl up on his side, resting his head on the armrest of the couch. Annabeth looked back at Percy to find him gazing at Nico with definite affection in his eyes.
"Seaweed Brain," she whispered, softer this time, trying to regain his attention. Percy tore his eyes away from the son of Hades to look at his girlfriend.
"Hey Annie," he said tiredly, rubbing his eyes, his hair rumpled. He looked so adorable that Annabeth couldn't find it in herself to even pretend to be annoyed at the nickname.
"Why don't you take him to bed?" Annabeth suggested quietly, glancing over at the smaller boy next to them.
"Good idea," Percy agreed, standing up and turning to Nico. He tilted his head to the side, as if contemplating how to go about moving him. Finally he just shrugged and slid his arms beneath the boy, scooping him up and cradling him to his chest. Nico mumbled in his sleep and turned his head into Percy's chest, inhaling deeply.
Percy stood up straight and started toward the bedroom when Nico called out, "Percy?"
"Yeah?" Percy answered, entering the bedroom and placing Nico gently on the bed.
"Percy," Nico said again, more insistently.
Percy and Annabeth shared a look of confusion before Percy turned to Nico again. "Yeah, Nico?"
"Where are you, Percy?" the son of Hades sounded so lost and it broke Annabeth's heart. She realized that he was still sleeping.
She was just about to tell Percy this but he seemed to know exactly what was going on. He sat down on the bed next to where Nico was laying. "I'm right here, Nico," he said, carding his fingers through Nico's hair.
Annabeth suddenly felt like she was intruding. She was about to leave, maybe go to the bathroom and get ready for bed, when Percy's other hand reached out and grasped hers. He looked up at her, a clear message in his eyes. Don't leave.
She wasn't sure Nico would appreciate her staying and watching him have a nightmare or whatever this was but if Percy asked her for something, she would be hard-pressed to deny him.
She sat down next to Percy and turned her attention to Nico. He was still mumbling things and his eyes were squeezed shut. Apparently Percy decided that he should wake Nico up because he was shaking the other boy's shoulder, just as Annabeth had done to him earlier. "Nico, wake up."
Nico's eyes snapped open and he sat up, nearly banging his forehead against Percy's. "Wh-what? Where am I?" he demanded, looking around the room, his eyes landing on Annabeth.
"You're still at my apartment, Nico," Percy said quietly. "Do you want to stay here tonight?"
"No, no. I'm okay," he said, standing up and looking around awkwardly. "I have to go."
"Where?" Percy raised his eyebrows challengingly.
"What do you mean?" Nico asked, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. Annabeth was struck, then, by how alike Percy and Nico were. They acted and reacted the same way, they even sighed in the same cute little breathy way when they were tired.
"Where do you have to go?" Annabeth clarified, looking at Nico the same way Percy was.
"Oh, uh, back to the Underworld, I guess," he replied, stretching his arms over his head. Out of the corner of her eye, Annabeth saw Percy staring hungrily at the strip of Nico's skin his stretching had exposed. She smirked.
"What's the rush?" she asked, getting off the bed and grabbing a water bottle from the desk on the other side of the room. She drank some water as Percy talked.
"Yeah, why can't you stay?" Annabeth had to stifle a giggle at Percy's plead. He had brought out his best puppy dog eyes and Annabeth knew there was no way Nico could resist.
"I, uh, don't have any extra clothes," Nico was grasping at straws now and they all knew it. Annabeth frowned to herself. Why was Nico trying so hard not to stay? Did they really make him that uncomfortable? Annabeth knew that Nico was always a pretty private person, especially after his sister died, but she was really beginning to worry. How would this relationship work if he didn't feel comfortable them? Or was it just her?
"Annabeth, are you okay?" Percy asked, looking mildly concerned. Both he and Nico were looking at her oddly.
She shook her head to clear it and raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, why?"
"Well you've already emptied out all of that water bottle onto the floor and you looked kind of upset. What's wrong?" Percy got up from the bed and walked over to her.
Annabeth looked down in surprise at the puddle of water on the hardwood floor of their bedroom and glanced around for a towel. "Shit, sorry. I was just thinking and―"
Percy chuckled and brushed some of her hair out of her eyes. "It's fine, Annie." He made a quick gesture with his hand and the water flew back into the bottle in her hands. Annabeth barely had enough time to say 'don't call me that' before he took the bottle and left the room, saying over his shoulder, "I'm just gonna throw this out."
Annabeth turned her gaze to Nico, who had been staring at her the whole time. Annabeth had sensed his jealousy from the way he was looking at her and decided that they needed to talk before anything else could happen.
Not taking her eyes off of Nico to make sure he didn't disappear into the shadows as he does so often, she called to Percy, "Nico and I are going to take a walk!" And, before he could protest, Annabeth had the son of Hades by the arm and was leading him out of the apartment. As she shut the door, she heard a faint, 'be careful!' from inside.
Nico did not say a word and did not attempt to leave even though Annabeth had released his arm as soon as they exited the apartment. She led him to the park across the street and sat down on a bench, patting the space next to her for Nico to sit. He hesitantly did so and Annabeth studied his face for a moment, seeing his confusion.
"So I'm assuming Percy talked to you about this arrangement." She decided that that was a good place to start.
"Y-yeah. And he said you're okay with it which I really don't understand but if you changed your mind then don't worry about it, I can just go and-"
Annabeth cut him off, "Shh. Calm down." She placed her hands on his shoulders, hoping that he wouldn't pull away. He didn't. "Look, I think this is a good idea. Percy's been pining for you for months and I've known since I was fourteen that you liked him."
Nico's eyes widened and his mouth popped open in shock. "Sorry," he muttered, looking in his lap.
"Hey―what are you apologizing for?" she asked, placing her index finger under his chin so that he would look at her.
"For... well having a crush on your boyfriend, I guess," he said, looking back down again as his cheeks reddened.
"If I had a drachma for every time someone had a crush on my boyfriend..." Annabeth trailed off bemusedly before turning her attention back to Nico. "It's awful, isn't it? Having a crush on Percy?"
Nico looked up again, nodding quickly in agreement. "He is so oblivious."
Annabeth laughed and shook her head muttering 'seaweed brain'. She was suddenly serious again, though. "Look, Nico, if this is going to work, you can't get jealous every time he looks at me. He's our boyfriend now and you'd better get used to it," she bumped her shoulder with his lightly.
"Yeah, I know. Old habits die hard, I guess," Nico smiled slightly. And that in itself was good enough for Annabeth.
"So, let's go back inside because it's fucking freezing out here," Annabeth said, standing up. "And when we go back inside we go straight to bed. You can even have the side of the bed closest to the heater," she persuaded in a sing-song voice. "Percy likes sleeping smack dab in the middle of the bed, anyway." Annabeth rolled her eyes. "What do you say?"
Nico just shook his head like he couldn't believe he was agreeing to this and followed her back to the apartment.
