A/N: Hey guys! Back again for another weekly update!

Thank you.

For what?

Those are the first words that cross his mind as he looks at the slanted writing on the post-it note. He tilts it slightly so the words read straight, though it doesn't help him gain any insight other than the person was probably rushed.

The second thought that crosses his mind is, are they talking to me?

Presumably so, since he's still convinced very few people know that this place even exists. Maybe he'd have a better idea if he knew what they were thankful for. And that brings him back to the start.

He sits down on his chair and ponders over it a bit. Assuming it's meant for him, what has he done recently that someone would thank him for? He held open the door for a girl so rushed this morning that she had yelled her thanks behind her as she all but sprinted. And he told Leo about the bagels by the mailroom. And—

None of that was relevant to The Roof™. That had a nice ring to it. It could be a bar or a club, or both. Like a rooftop one, with the hanging lights and they could totally add more lawn chai—

Also not relevant. Maybe this was another form of the Unproductive Spiraling thing Grover had talked about.

He tries to remember last night when he had come up, what had—

The beer bottle?

He threw away the beer bottle that had been left out last night. Is that what this is about? He makes a face, staring at the note. It's the only conclusion he's been able to reach so far (and also the only relevant thing to The Roof™).

Leaning back further in his chair, he thinks that whoever this is must care a lot about this place to go through the trouble of writing a thank you note over a single beer bottle. But he finds himself nodding in approval. He can respect that. It would've definitely bothered him if he had left something like that over here.

He flips open his notebook to a blank page, pen hovering over the paper. Should he respond?

It's not really necessary, but it couldn't hurt, right? Maybe it'd strike up a conversation? Or at least let the other person know they got the note. That's a pretty valid reason, right?

Before yet another question can enter his mind, he scrawls out his response.

No problem :)

Was the smiley face too much? He wants to be friendly, so that the other person would feel okay continuing the conversation. But then again, he wasn't giving a good enough response to keep the conversation going either. But what else could he add?

Nice choice, I like that brand too?

Shaking his head, he tears out the note and sticks it under the other lawn chair the way it had been when he arrived.

But what if it wasn't towards him at all and actually towards some other third person on The Roof™? And he's just going to look like an idiot for responding to something not meant for him!

His hand is reaching back towards the note when his brain slaps itself and he realizes that this is completely anonymous and no one would even know.

But maybe he should add something about the beer just in case?

And for once his brain does itself a favor and commands his body to exit before more Unproductive Spiraling could happen.

-.-

A smiley face. An honest to god smiley face (with no nose either, she can trust it).

She plops down on her chair holding the paper in her hands. They responded. With a smiley face.

Well, they scrawled words with letters that flowed into each other a bit. And the smiley face. Can't forget that.

She finds a real smile overtaking her face as she stares at the note. She got a response! A response from some unknown other person who also came on the roof. And they seemed very nice, what with the smiley face and all.

Anonymous notes back and forth, it feels like a story from a book, but it's actually happening to her and it's the most exciting thing to happen in...a really long time. She hasn't felt this involved since she busted ass with her team for the final project for her degree.

She wants to respond, keep the conversation going. But their response doesn't lend itself to more conversation either. She snaps open the Pepsi can she's brought this time and takes a sip reflectively.

They probably wouldn't mind a response. They responded to her thank you one when they didn't need to, so most likely they wouldn't mind another note. Probably. But what should it say?

She stares at the second can of Pepsi she's brought on the off chance she stays up here long enough to finish the first one. But let's be real, she's not going to get to it. Maybe she could leave it as a response.

Like, Have a drink on me , with the can on top of it.

But would it even be good by the time they came back? What if they didn't come back for a week? Well, she could check on it, take it away if it's been a day.

But what if it's too hot for it to remain outside? The end of July was bleeding into a somewhat cold start to August, so temperatures weren't that bad. Maybe it would be okay?

But what if they didn't like Pepsi, or had a dietary restriction on carbonated drinks or—

Maybe she's thinking too much.

She shakes her head and takes another sip. No, she should push herself. This kind of opportunity might never happen again, she might miss out on talking to the potentially only other person to find this place.

And if there is one thing Annabeth needed right now, it's a new experience. Something different. Something that feels like progress.

She writes out her note and leaves the second Pepsi. She'd check back tomorrow.

-.-

Percy is barreling through the small hallway that leads into his building, so it's not a surprise that just as he gets to the stairs, he almost crashes into another human being coming down at the same time.

Luckily, they're quicker than he is (or just have way less momentum) and manage to side step just in time, effectively preventing a collision, but causing him to trip up the stairs.

At least his momentum is stopped in time for him to turn bright red in embarrassment. He makes a face as he turns around to apologize.

"Sorry…" and oh fuck she's really pretty. Her face has naturally defined features framed by long blonde hair. Her lips are quirked up in amusement and he flushes again because he successfully managed to look like a complete idiot in front of her.

She waves aside his apology. "Oh it's alright, are you okay?"

He nods, rubbing the back of his neck (an old habit formed out of either embarrassment or nervousness, he can't tell).

"Yeah, I'm fine, just in a rush."

It's kind of awkward and she's looking at him like she's trying to figure something out and he's looking at her wondering if her hair is naturally curly.

"Wait, were you the one who held open the door for me the other day as I ran through?"

He remembers the incident, and there was blonde hair involved, so it's a safe bet.

"Yeah, I guess so, didn't really see you properly with you being in a rush."

She nods. "Yeah, sorry about that…"

He waves it aside. This conversation is going on longer than it probably should and he has a rooftop to check, but he's not going to lie and say he's complaining.

"Well, we're even now, I guess," he jokes back.

She laughs and it's very nice. To hear her laugh. It makes him smile. It means nothing. Probably.

"Well, thank you anyway."

"No problem." He smiles back.

It feels a little like deja vu even though he's sure he has never met her before. It's a little weird. She's looking at him like she's thinking the same thing.

So with vague words of goodbye they go their own ways.

-.-

It's apparent enough to make Nico glance up from his video game and raise an eyebrow when he walks in.

"What happened to you?" he asks.

Percy shrugs in response, mumbling something incoherent even to himself in hopes to turn Nico away from conversation.

It's a far-flung hope, but he'll be damned if he doesn't try.

"What did you even say?" Nico asks and he knows it's a lost cause.

He sighs, giving in. "I almost crashed into a girl on the stairs on my way up."

Nico lets out an amused smile. "Nice going Perce."

He groans as he kicks off his shoes. "It was so embarrassing."

"Was she mad?"

"No, she was mostly amused. But I literally tripped up the stairs." He undoes two buttons on his shirt.

"I'm sure it was endearing?" Nico says, probably in an effort to reassure, but it comes out more of a question.

Percy shrugs and starts to head towards his bedroom door when Nico stops him.

"Hey, you want to play a round?" he asks, holding out another controller.

He actually sounds a little unsure, as if he's worried about the response he'll get and it's this tone that causes Percy to turn around. And as much as he just wants to go into his room to change then check the rooftop again, Nico looks nervous and he's not going to say no.

"Sure, let me just change real quick."

Nico looks...relieved?

It's enough to make him worried, and put on his Star Wars pajamas inside out in his rush to get back to the living room. (It's even more concerning, once he sits down and realizes they're inside out, that Nico doesn't even make a joke about it).

"Apex?"

Nico nods and hands him the controller and holy shit when was the last time he sat down and played a video game?

He's still getting used to shooting while they wait in the lobby for a game when Nico speaks up. "So how was your day?"

He proceeds to miss the target on five separate tries. "Tedious, and boring, the usual."

Nico offers a sympathetic smile, and whether it's for his job or the fact that it took him eight tries to hit one target is unclear. "Still? How long is this one?"

Percy shrugs and picks up another gun. (The gun was definitely the problem). "Until the end of the year, but hey, a job is better than no job so I'll take it."

Nico nails the target on the first try and luckily they get placed in a game before Percy shames himself further. "That's true."

Conversation ceases once they're in the game. Except for calling out guns and ammo, it isn't till they're situated in some bunker does Percy continue.

"What about you? How was your day?"

Nico shrugs, though there is a slight tension in it that Percy wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't looked up just then.

"Alright, pretty average day," he responds. His character is running around for no reason on screen and Percy stays silent, hoping to prompt more conversation. Clearly, there was more to the day than he's letting on.

"There was one guy who stuck around for ages trying to choose a guitar," Nico continues after a beat.

"Maybe he likes you," Percy teases, trying to follow Nico's erratic character. (He was not going to die alone when he inevitably gets shot down by an opposing team).

"I hope so, he was cute," Nico responds, jumping off the roof of a building.

A second later they're being shot at and Percy is pretty useless the whole time, even more useless than normal, perhaps because Nico just did the equivalent of a mic drop and he's too blindsided to shoot properly.

(He makes up for it by providing med packs).

Nico headshots the last remaining guy and wins the game. The guy is on a roll.

Percy lets out a slow whistle. "Nice job dude."

Nico doesn't even enjoy his victory (or gloat about it) and queues them up for another round, still silent after his last statement.

"Hey, you know it's alright right? Like I'm cool with it, I...thank you for telling me," Percy eloquently speaks up in support. (It's moments like this when he wonders if he is truly a writer).

"Thanks man," Nico quietly responds, nailing the target three times in a row. And honestly, Percy is more affronted at that than his coming out.

"I just, I didn't know how to tell you...we...we haven't really been hanging out lately and you should know 'cause you're the closest friend I have and—"

Percy feels a wave of guilt as Nico continues to ramble nervously. He puts a hand on his shoulder to cut him off.

"I'm so sorry."

"Wha— "

He cuts Nico off again. "I'm sorry I haven't been around lately, but please know that I still and always will support you. And you can tell me anything."

Nico nods and Percy can see him blinking back a few tears. How long had he been holding this in?

The guilt deepens. "You're like my best friend Nico, I'm sorry you've felt like this. I hope you know I'm totally okay with whoever you like, it doesn't change anything."

Nico nods and Percy manages a slightly awkward side hug.

"Your best friend?" Nico asks quietly, the corners of his lips turning up.

"Well, you and Grover, but Grover is in Maine and you're my roommate so..." Percy shrugs.

Nico laughs at that and it's so good to hear him laugh. It reminds him of when he was younger, carefree and wild, before...well, before he had to grow up too fast.

Percy smiles back, but it's tinged with guilt. "I'm sorry I've been so distant, I guess…"

He trails off. He's been caught up with writing recently, and the newfound roof and...days go by quick.

Nico stays quiet and he knows he's being given space to talk. That's one of the best things about Nico, he truly listens and gives him the space to say things.

Percy lowers the controller. "I guess I should tell you something about myself since you've taken a big step and came out."

He holds up a hand to silence Nico's dissent. "No, I want to tell you what I've been up to…" he pauses.

He's never told anyone other than Grover about his writing and it's strangely making him a little nervous.

"I've been...writing. I, um, am trying to write a book. I usually write like short stories and shit but I'm trying to write something, um, well longer, like a book. It'd be cool, you know, to have written a whole book."

He stops himself and Jesus Christ. New drinking game, take a shot every time he says book. He's not showing off any prowess of being a writer but Nico takes it stride and nods.

"That's really cool, dude." Nico responds casually and it's the response Percy didn't know he was looking for. No pressure, no questions, just acceptance.

He feels like a weight has been lifted off his chest and smiles for a minute before realizing that he stayed still too long and died to an enemy team who just got a really easy kill.

Nico laughs, Percy shoves him, and the night is one of the best in a while.

He doesn't even realize he didn't check the roof like he had planned until he's seconds away from sleep.

A/N: So what did you think? Some more Nico feels in this one as the plot emerges! I hope you guys are liking the direction this is going!

Please Review! I'd love to hear your thoughts on all this!

And as always, thanks for reading!

See ya! :)