Before Nico had left that summer's day, Percy had pressed a piece of paper into his palm as he shook his hand. It was his phone number and a note saying to call if he ever needed anything. Percy never expected him to call and he had all but forgotten about the note almost seven years later.
When he had given Nico the note, he did it because he cared about him, and he knew that one day, Nico might need him. Percy didn't expect that day to be so far off into the future. He had almost forgotten about the broken boy that was Nico di Angelo, what with a young child and a hard job, and he would have forgotten about him had Hazel not kept bringing him up. It's not that he didn't care anymore; he just didn't have time to care.
Whenever Hazel brought Nico up, Percy felt guilty for forgetting about him again, as he had done when he was only sixteen. Hazel didn't bring him up often though, she said it hurt to think about him as he almost never visited, but he did call often.
Percy was asleep when he got the phone call from the boy that had went his separate way all those years ago. His mobile buzzed on the table next to his bed and he reached sleepily to answer it. He didn't recognise the number.
'Percy.' A deep voice said on the other end of the phone, the voice was broken and desperate like the owner had been crying, and was still crying. Percy didn't recognise the voice, but the voice knew him as it had said his name. 'Will you come pick me up? Joe kicked me out and –' the voice continued, it sounded reluctant, like it didn't want to ask for help and it didn't want to tell Percy these things, but Percy cut it off.
'Hold on, who is this?' he said.
The voice sobbed. 'It's Nico. I'm sorry. I know its late. You're my last option Percy, Joe kicked me out and Hazels not answering her phone and' Nico's voice broke. 'My dad won't let me in. I've spent all the money I have on me calling you. I'm sorry, I couldn't think of anything else to do. I'm sorry.' Nico sobbed into the phone. Percy didn't bother asking who Joe was, he didn't care right then.
'Shh, it's okay. I don't mind. I'll come pick you up, tell me where you are.' Percy said soothingly.
'I'm. .. I'm just outside San Francisco. I'm as close as I could get.'
'What do you mean you're as close as you could get?' Percy asked calmly.
'I – I - without passing out. I can't shadow travel any further.' Nico panicked.
'Okay, okay. I'm coming to get you. Tell me exactly where you are.' Percy said. Nico did, with sobs and sniffles and hysteria in-between it all.
'Don't worry. I'll be there soon.' Percy told him and Nico hung the phone up.
'Who was that?' Annabeth asked from beside Percy in bed.
'Nothing you need to worry about. Go back to sleep.' Percy kissed her on the forehead and she did. He didn't want her worrying and he certainly didn't want little Daisy worrying.
Percy grabbed riptide from under his pillow and his car keys from the drawer with a little bit of money. It was about two in the morning. He walked out of New Rome and into the car park complex on the edge. He got into his little car and drove to find Nico. He found him sure enough, sat on the curb with his head in his hands. He picked him up and helped him get into in the car, and he held him while he cried.
They sat there, idling on the curb while Nico cried into Percy's shirt and Percy whispered words of comfort. Nico had grown up, but seeing him cry was like seeing the poor vulnerable eleven year old he once was again.
They hadn't seen each other in almost seven years, and Percy felt bad for thinking this, but he was glad everyone had decided that tonight was the night they would shut Nico di Angelo out, because it meant Percy got a chance to let him in, and show him that even after all these years, after all they'd been through, he really did care. He really, really did care.
Percy's heart hurt for Nico, who had lost so much and gained so little. He didn't know what he'd been doing the past few years or where he'd been, but he didn't care about that, he cared that Nico was there, now, and in his arms – he was safe, something Percy doubted Nico knew the feeling of.
'It's okay. I'm here.' Percy whispered into Nico's mop of black hair.
Nico sobbed into his shirt even more. Percy could feel it getting wet but he didn't care about his shirt. He was still in his pyjama bottoms for god sake. 'I didn't think you'd actually come.' Nico sobbed.
'Of course I came.'
'I thought you might have changed your number. It was a long shot – calling you – but the only shot I had left.'
'I told you to call me if you needed anything, and you needed me – so I came.'
'Thank you. Thank you so much Percy.' Nico sniffled.
Percy let him cry, and eventually, Nico calmed down. He wiped his eyes with a tissue Percy supplied for him and he looked at Percy with red rimmed eyes. 'Why did you do this for me?' Nico asked him, staring into his eyes as if he was reading his mind, but he wasn't, he just had that effect on you when he looked at you with those big brown eyes, a glint of madness, or one might say evil genius, ever present in them.
'I did because I care about you, and I want to make all those times you helped me and I ignored you, I want to make it up to you.' Percy admitted. 'I'm sorry about that by the way. I wanted so bad to make it up to you, but I didn't know how.'
'You don't need to make it up to me.' Nico told him.
'I do. Can we – can we start by being friends? No more going away or disappearing.' Percy held out his hand to shake and Nico nodded gratefully, and he took Percy's hand. The two boys, well men now, shook hands in a little car, in the dark, at three o clock in the morning on a back road in san Francisco. And right there and then, they both agreed to be friends, Percy silently agreed to be there for Nico and Nico silently agreed to stay – or to come back soon if he ever did go.
'Can we, can we forget everything that happened, and start again?' Nico asked Percy. Percy nodded, happy to agree because really, that's what he wanted too. He hugged Nico, Nico who smelt of death but in a comforting way and Nico who had grown so much taller but hadn't put on any weight, and Nico who would now be twenty years old, an adult, but who was still so, so, so very vulnerable.
After a moment of silence, Percy remembered the phone call Nico had given him earlier on. 'Who's Joe?' Percy asked him quietly.
Nico didn't say anything for a minute. Then he whispered ' He – he was my boyfriend. He kicked me out yesterday. . . he – he said I had too much baggage and he couldn't deal with it.'
'Did you love him?'
Nico shook his head. 'I thought I did, but really, I didn't. I don't think he loved me either. The sex was great but there wasn't much there emotionally.' Nico admitted.
Percy made a face. 'I don't want to know how great your sex was, I wanted to know if you loved him.'
Nico laughed at that. 'Well, you got your answer.' He said.
'I didn't know you were gay.' Percy said.
'Not many people do. I don't like to bring it up.' Nico confessed. I struggled with accepting myself for a long time, and I thought – if I can't even accept myself, who else is going to accept me?'
'We're Greek Nico. Did you really think all of us could be straight?' Percy laughed.
'But it had to be me.' Nico sighed, a slight glint of humour in his tone. 'Different in two ways, might aswell go all out and add a third.' He joked.
'Hey, it doesn't matter that you're gay. You're not different. Not any different from before.'
Nico laughed without humour at that. 'Whatever you say.' Percy could tell Nico didn't really believe him.
Eventually, they drove back to New Rome and Percy took Nico to his and Annabeth's house. He got him some spare clothes, pyjamas and some blankets and set him to sleep on the sofa. He showed him where everything was and told him to help himself. When Nico laid down, Percy tucked him in to which Nico said 'I'm twenty years old, don't baby me.' Grumpily, but Percy did it anyway.
'Goodnight Nico.' He said as he went to bed himself. Percy knew that in the morning, Annabeth would wake up before him and find Nico on the couch, or Daisy would go through to the living room and see Nico sleeping on the sofa and poke him in the face or something that toddlers are likely to do, or right in the back of Percy mind was fear, that in the morning, Nico would be gone, a he had a tendency to disappear. Percy didn't think he'd leave before breakfast, where would he go anyway? Percy hoped he wouldn't leave before breakfast.