AN: Uh, don't really know what I should write right now. Maybe something along the lines of 'oh look, Jason is being overprotective again'. Whatever. Enjoy reading, and let me know what you think. Especially about this Will-Annabeth-thing.
Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus are the property of Rick Riordan.
Nico
All chatter died down as Percy and I stepped into the dining pavilion. Drew Tanaka dropped the slice of Pizza she had been holding. Jake Mason's hand stopped halfway between his plate and his mouth. Katie Gardner dropped her fork into the salad she had been eating. Piper winked at me and send me a reassuring smile, Jason gave me a small thumbs-up, and Leo frowned, apparently trying to process the fact that I held Percy's hand, while Calypso reached out to close his mouth, since he used to forget his wide open mouth when he thought about something. Annabeth seemed to realize who it had been Percy had kept thinking about. I hoped she wouldn't mind or try to interfere. But what really surprised me was the fact that Annabeth's arms were bandaged, and that she sat next to Will Solace, who seemed to have been feeding her. And she didn't seem to mind. Huh, look who has found each other, hm?
"Look who is late. Peter Johnson and Nicholas Angel have just volunteered to clean the dishes after dinner." Mr. D, as usual, pretended to not know our names.
Once the silence was broken, everybody started babbling at once. I led Percy to the Hades table and I didn't let go of his hand. It felt so good to hold his hand in public, without having to hide. I even kissed his cheek as we sat down, causing half the Aphrodite campers to giggle. And know what? I didn't give a sh-t about it. As far as I was concerned, nothing beyond Percy's hand in mine existed. A meteor could have hit the camp, I wouldn't have noticed.
I felt relief beyond imagination. Jason had been right. Nobody judged me for being gay, nobody looked disgusted or yelled insults at me. Most people focused on their food again, as if nothing had happened, the Aphrodite cabin giggled and talked in a hushed tone, and a few people looked quite dazed, but that was all. Of course, I had been told that people were much more tolerant nowadays, but I hadn't imagined everybody would be so okay with it.
I shook myself out of my thoughts when Percy nudged me and pointed towards the bunch of food he had piled upon my plate. "Percy!" I protested. He couldn't expect me to eat all this! That was enough to feed an entire cohort of hungry demigods. Percy grinned. "Eat up, Neeks. Can't kiss you when you're famished, can I?" I blushed and hastily began to eat. And although I didn't clean the plate completely, I ate a lot more than usual (wasn't hard, though, since I usually ate close to nothing).
After dinner was gone, our friends surrounded us, congratulating us. Leo seemed to have gotten over the fact that I was gay. Jason hugged me and Percy, while Piper gave us another of these knowing smile. I suspected that she had know about Percy and my feelings all the time, given that she was Cupid's half-sister (uh, don't remind me of this idiot). I caught Mr. D glaring daggers at us, because Chiron had talked some sense into him and convinced him to reconsider his decision to assign us to kitchen duty.
Percy
When the general commotion had died down, Jason took me aside to 'talk to me'. What would probably mean that he would give me a don't-hurt-Nico-unless-talk.
We wandered along the canoe lake when Jason spoke up. "Percy, I totally trust you. I trust you with my life, and I'm sure so does Nico. I trust you to make him happy. And I can see that you two fit together. But be warned. The moment you hurt Nico, I'll be there to protect him. Even from you." He patted my back. "I don't mean to intimidate you, Perce. But I want you to know that I'll be there to watch over Neeks, and that I'll have your head if you hurt him."
I nodded. "I know, Jason. And I am grateful for that. I would worry if you wouldn't have said that. You're the best big brother Nico could ask for. Not that he would ever ask, modest fool he is." I sighed. "I love him, but it breaks my heart to see how low his self-esteem is." Jason nodded. "I know. But if anybody can change that, it's you. Bear up, Perce. You make him feel better, everybody can see that. Keep making him happy and reassuring him, and one day he'll notice how great he actually is."
Lost in thoughts, I walked back towards the cabins. I didn't watch my steps until I accidentally bumped into somebody. I looked up to find that I had knocked Annabeth down. She gave me a dirty look when she got up. I noticed that her arms were bandaged, briefly wondering why that was, but I decided not to ask. I mumbled a short excuse and kept moving.
"Percy!"
I froze, then turned around. Annabeth stood where I had left her.
"I knew it, you know?"
I was confused. "Knew what?" Annabeth sighed. "Use your seaweed brain, Percy. How Nico felt about you. When we met him before the Battle of the Labyrinth, I recognized the look in his eyes. It was the same look I saw whenever I looked into the mirror. He stared at you, trying to be angry with you, yet his eyes were filled with longing. I could have told you, but I didn't. I was selfish and wanted you for myself."
I was stunned. Back then, whenever I had looked into Nico's eyes, I had seen nothing but hate and sadness. Sure, there had been a bit of yearning, but I would've never thought that he had longed for me, me of all people. The person he blamed for his sister's death. If I would have known back then, things might have gone so different…
"Why did you tell me that?" I asked, and I could see Annabeth stiffen. "Percy, I might not like it, but… you two really fit together. I still love you, and I probably always will. But if you two are happy together… never mind me. I have to let go."
This took me aback. "Thanks… I guess."
