Hello hello! It's been far too long for this story hasn't it. I was hoping to work on this one more, since I wanted it to be GCBs successor, but that obviously hasn't happened. Now, some of you may have a fuzzy idea what's going on, and trust me when I say it was difficult to keep it a secret. But a lot will be revealed this chapter, hopefully. Just bear with me here.

…

"You know," Nico began, glancing sideways at his surprise guest. "You didn't have to be here for this." Percy grinned sheepishly. Maybe not. But he had to know for himself that he was worried over nothing. Even now, with Nico fully alert, he was still horribly worried, and couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. "That aside," Nico added lowly. "I'm glad you're here. You know how doctors make me feel."

"I know," the brunette replied, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend's shoulders. "It'll be alright," he added, trying to sound reassuring. "It's probably nothing. I'm sure the doctor will agree with me." Nico glanced at his hands, smiling softly. He didn't believe so, but it was really sweet of Percy to try and make him feel better. He watched uneasily as his mother did the paperwork. Truth be told, he was worried about his own health as well. He'd been fine the day of the anniversary, and all at once his health declined. That never happened.

"Nico di Angelo," a nurse called. Nico rose, glancing back at Percy, who would have to wait in the waiting room since he wasn't family. He gave the dark-haired boy his best reassuring smile, waving him on. Nico sucked in a breath, following the nurse back to a room. But first they had to do all of the routine check-up things, like get his height and weight. Then the nurse had him sit on the cold metal table, his legs dangling over the side. Since Nico was on the short side, they didn't quite reach the ground, so he swung them back and forth.

"So far so good," he heart his mom mumble across the room. What he didn't tell her was that in the time between the waiting room and here, he'd drained his energy, and felt seconds from collapse. Also, his headache was making a reappearance. He'd also hidden this from Percy, but he'd found another bruise on his shoulder. All of this just didn't add up right. He really hoped that his doctor would be able to say what was wrong with him.

"Hey Nico," their family doctor, Dr. Tanner, said as he entered the room. He closed the door behind him. "It's been awhile since I've seen you." At that, Nico cracked a tiny smile. He made a point not to come here unless it was absolutely necessary. Dr. Tanner began doing more routine check-up stuff. "So tell me Nico, what seems to be the problem. Deep breath now."

"Well," Nico said as he took a deep breath. "First it started a couple days ago. Percy and I were at the movies when all of a sudden it felt like someone split my skull in half. Then I tripped on the way out because I was so out of it, and I banged my leg. I didn't think much of it, but it bruised fairly easily, which was odd, because I didn't think I hit it all that hard." Dr. Tanner stopped to listen, worry written all over his face. "Yesterday I stayed home with the same symptoms, but I slept all day. Percy found another bruise on my side, which is really odd because I didn't get out of bed all day yesterday."

"Nico, I, ah, have a hunch I know what's going on," Dr. Tanner said slowly. "But we have to run some tests to be sure." Slowly, Nico nodded. "Now, I would like to look at those bruises you mentioned," the doctor continued. Again, Nico nodded, lifting his shirt so the doctor could see the ones on his side and shoulder. Maria looked at the new one with worry. It hadn't been there the night before. Dr. Tanner swallowed hard, trying not to show how worried he actually was. The symptoms Nico listed… Well, they weren't good. "Alright Nico, we need a blood sample," he said at last. Nico lowered his shirt, looking frightened.

"Why?" he asked. Dr. Tanner's heart went out to him. Quickly, he left, only to return with a stunned Percy in tow. "Percy," Nico whispered. The brunette went over and wrapped his arms around him, murmuring softly in his ear.

"We need to relocate to a better place," Dr. Tanner said gently. Percy pulled away reluctantly as Nico climbed off the table. He took the dark-haired boy's hand in his. Dr. Tanner knew he'd made the right call by bringing Percy back here. He'd be able to keep Nico calm. "Alright, let's go boys," he said, leading the way down the hall. Nico glanced around uneasily. He really hated coming to see the doctor. He hate hospitals just as much. "Alright Nico, this is Mara," he said, pointing to a young blonde lady, who waved at him. "She's going to help you get prepped and draw your blood, alright?"

"Alright," Nico said quietly, following her back. Percy trailed behind Nico, sensing his boyfriend's need to have him close. He sat down in a chair next to the dark-haired boy, watching as he got his arm clean and prepped. He also watched as a vial and needle were brought to Mara. At the sight of the needle, Nico looked like he might be sick.

"Hey," Percy said softly, and Nico turned to look at him. Percy briefly glanced over, and saw Mara sliding the needle into his arm. "I love you," he sat to Nico, leaning over and kissing his cheek. Nico smiled brilliantly at him, albeit tiredly.

"I love you too," he replied. "So much. And thank you." Percy blinked, caught off guard.

"For what?" he asked, watching the needle be extracted. He watched Mara put a Band-Aid on his boyfriend's arm.

"Just for being you," Nico replied, finally glancing over. The relief on his face was all too evident. "For being worried about me."

"Of course," Percy replied. That awful feeling had returned. He really couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. They wouldn't have brought Nico down to get blood drawn unless it was something serious. "Of course I'm going to worry about you baby boy," he said, drawing a kiss from him. "I always will." Percy looked up to Dr. Tanner and Mara talking quietly over in the corner. Neither looked pleased, and Percy's stomach sank. Oh god, what was wrong with his baby boy?

"So," Dr. Tanner began when he walked back over. "It would appear, after some close observation, that you have an abnormal amount of white blood cells in your system right now. That being said, this isn't a bad thing to worry about within itself. But we need to run one more test just to be sure, and the results won't be in for a few days. Because our lab needs time to really study the sample."

"Sample?" Nico asked. "More blood?" But Dr. Tanner shook his head.

"Bone marrow," he said quietly. Nico's expression showed his confusion perfectly. All the emotions that had built in Percy's chest felt like they were going to explode. "To be perfectly honest Nico, all of this is very serious." Nico gulped, squeezing his boyfriend's hand.

"How…how serious?" Nico asked. Dr. Tanner looked at the scared boys in front of him, feeling a pang in his chest. God they were so young.

"Well…" he said slowly, not quite sure how to tell them. But at Nico's silent plea, he sighed. "Nico… we're running tests for cancer."

And that was when Percy's world came crashing down around him.

…

"Cancer?" Nico asked in disbelief for the thousandth time. He and Percy lay in his bed, wrapped up in each other's arms. They weren't even sure who needed who more right now. "Percy I can't…it can't be cancer. It can't…" Percy squeezed Nico to himself. He ran his fingers through his hair. It'd been hours since they got back from the doctors, and neither one had moved since arriving home. "I thought childhood cancer was rare," Nico continued quietly. "I thought…" He trailed off. Honestly, he wasn't sure what he thought.

"Shh, it's alright baby boy," Percy whispered, even though everything was most decidedly not alright. "Dr. Tanner said that acute childhood leukemia is very treatable. With some chemo, you'll probably get over it." Still, it did almost nothing to calm Nico's jangled nerves. "I know nothing I say can really help," Percy continued, rambling without really meaning to. "But really baby boy, you could have something even rarer than this."

"But cancer?" Nico asked quietly. Percy's fingers stilled in his hair at the broken tone his boyfriend used. "Percy, cancer is so damaging. Even if I do get over it, there's a chance that it'll come back. Again and again. I may be okay for a while, but there's a chance I'll never be the same again." The tears began to flow, and Percy did his best to wipe them away as the fell. "I might never be the boy you fell in love with again."

"Now shush," Percy scolded. "Nico, I hope you realize that I'm not leaving." At that, Nico was truly shocked. He wasn't sure if he would stay with someone like him. Not if they were truly sick. "Besides, nothing is set in stone yet. You may just have a spike in white blood cells and that's it. There's a chance that you may not have cancer at all." Nico looked up to his boyfriend's face, and knew that he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince him. He stifled a sigh, burying his face in Percy's chest.

Out of all the possibilities that he imagined, leukemia hadn't been one of them. Honestly, who thinks of cancer when something like a headache and fatigue come on" But now that it was a real possibility, Nico was scared. He was scared beyond belief. What if he didn't respond well to treatment, if he had to go? Dr. Tanner pulled him aside to talk to him quietly, and told him about treatment options. Since leukemia didn't produce tumors, surgery wouldn't work. So it was either chemotherapy, or radiology. Chemo was the recommended treatment, and it had a very high success rate. But, in a small number of cases, the treatment failed, and there was very little they could do. And, since they believed Nico was in the late stages of acute leukemia, if he didn't respond well, there wasn't a lot they could do.

Meaning Nico had to hope and pray that he would do well if he really did have cancer, or he would die.

"Nico." Nico blinked and stared up into Percy's worried face. "Don't disappear into your thoughts baby boy," Percy continued, kissing his forehead. "How are you feeling right now? Both with your health and your emotional state."

"I'm tired, and my head hurts a little, but that's about it," Nico replied. "I'm horribly confused and upset otherwise, why?" Nico gasped when Percy lifted him out of bed. "Percy, what are we doing?" Nico asked, wrapping his arms around the brunette's neck.

"I don't know about you, but I can't sit here any longer," Percy said, walking down the hall with Nico in his arms. "Let's go get ice cream or something. Neither of us have eaten much today." Now that Percy mentioned it, Nico was very hungry. His stomach growled, and Percy chuckled. "I thought so."

"Are we going to invite anyone?" Nico asked. Truthfully, he wanted some other company. He just wanted to take his mind of things. Percy glanced down at his boyfriend, feeling overwhelming love and sadness all at once.

"We can if you want," he replied, setting Nico down on his own two feet and whipping out his phone. He sent a quick text, inviting some of the basketball boys out to ice cream. He saw the need for distraction. Hell, he himself needed a distraction right about now. Cancer. The word sent shivers down his spine. "Are you ready?" he asked Nico.

"Yeah," the dark-haired boy replied, swaying from side to side. Percy sighed quietly, leading him out of the house. They decided to just walk, since neither felt safe enough to drive. Nico slipped his hand in Percy's, mostly for comfort, but also so he wouldn't topple over. "Do you think we should tell everyone what might be wrong?" Nico asked suddenly.

"Only if you want to baby boy," Percy replied, turning to look at him. "Personally, I think we should wait until I know for sure what is wrong, that way we don't worry them for nothing."

"Okay," Nico agreed softly, watching the sidewalk pass under his feet. His grip on Percy's hand tightened. "God Percy I don't even know if I can tell my dad or sisters about this now. What are they going to think?" He glanced sideways at his boyfriend. "What do you think?"

"What do you mean?" Percy asked, looking around for familiar cars.

"Are you going to leave me?" Nico asked. Percy turned to him with a shocked expression, but the tears in Nico's eyes stopped any questions he had in their tracks.

"God baby boy no," he said, gathering him into his arms and holding his close as the tears fell. "Why would you ever think that?" Percy smoothed back his hair. He was very aware that they were in the middle of a sidewalk, and any old passerby could witness a private moment. But the only thing that mattered right now was Nico was in need of comfort, and he was going to give it to him.

"Percy, I'm going to be very blunt," Nico said. "If it is cancer, and, let's be honest, what else could it be at this point, then I have to go through treatment. Best case scenario, the treatment works and I have a weakened immune system and possibly go bald while they do it. Worst case scenario…" Nico paused, glancing up at Percy. But the look the brunette gave him was all he needed to know. He knew. "Percy, I couldn't live with myself if you dated me and I…and I…"

"Nico," Percy interrupted. Nico stopped and looked up again. "I don't care. I mean, obviously I care about this, but I don't care about…that particular part of it. If I get to love you for three months, three years, or thirty, it doesn't matter to me. The point is I got to love you a little longer. And even if the worst does happen, you're not alone. I'm not leaving. And if the worst happens, and you do…you know…I'm so incredibly happy I got to know you and love you for as long as I have."

"Percy…" Nico mumbled, blinking away the tears that threatened to fall. "How did I get so lucky to have you in my life, huh?" At that, Percy smiled, gently wiping away his boyfriend's tears. Nico took a deep breath. "You ready to go talk to our friends?" Nico asked him.

"As long as you are," Percy replied. "I can tell you this; they'll be behind you as well. Never think you're alone, because you're not." Nico smiled. Yeah, he knew. He did like his friends, but he loved his boyfriend the most. Percy meant everything to him. He really was a lucky guy. Some days, he really didn't deserve the love that Percy gave him. But he wouldn't trade the last five years for anything.

"Hey guys," Malcolm greeted them when they entered the ice cream parlor. "Wow, you look awful." Percy glared at his cousin, who flinched. "Sorry," he apologized. "But you really do. What happened at Nico's appointment today anyway?" The brunette and dark-haired boy exchanged a quick glance. They weren't sure what to tell them.

"We'll know more in a few days," Percy said at last. "They had to do some lab work." Collectively, there were nods all around. They accepted that answer. Percy breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure if he could take it if he needed to tell them today. His whole world was already crumbling around him, slowly but surely. He didn't need to make it any worse.

…

Tada my big reveal. Yeah… Just remember, you love me. Also, I actually did my research. All the symptoms listed are actual symptoms of acute leukemia, the death thing is very real if treatment fails, the two treatment options are the real ones, the tests they did are the tests they actually use, and the symptoms can appear before it's too late, and acute leukemia spreads rapidly. I'm not stumbling into this blindly. I spent hours looking up diagnoses and symptoms and treatment options.