Nico sighed as he finished making the cookies, though they were burnt. He'd never had a talent for baking, and whenever he had people over (which was like, never), he always had to just give them vegetables. Hopefully, if Percy decided to move in, he'd have some sort of skill for cooking so they didn't always eat absolute cancer and chocolate milk. If he had the money, Nico would usually just use his extra money to buy some expensive food for every dinner, just eating pre-made salads for lunch. Breakfast was quite non-existent due to his usually busy schedule, but now he was working at the shelter for free and he didn't have the heart to skip breakfast. After all, it was one of the only things that actually entertained him.
When he heard a loud buzz!, he stopped trying to make the cookies look presentable and hurried to the door. He said a quick greeting, followed by 'Come in' as he unlocked the door. Nico held his breath until Percy got up to the door, knocking. He waited a whole five seconds before opening the door and smiling at him, pretending he hadn't been loitering at the door and waiting for him to knock. Before words could leave his lips, though, he actually saw the guy in front of him.
He hadn't seen anyone as gorgeous as the guy, who was looking at him with a lazy grin. His hair was messy and long, but not long enough that it grossed Nico out -because honestly, who likes guys with long hair- and he had the most delicious tan. Nico's jaw dropped to the floor, but he quickly picked it back up again, taking a deep breath. "Hi," he seemed super oblivious to him having checked him out, as he just smiled. "Hey. You are Nico, right?" he asked, looking kind of nervous. When Nico nodded, amused, Percy blushed, "Sorry, I just always go to the wrong place somehow. I'm not sure exactly why, but I always get directions mixed up. I'm not stupid, I promise." he rambled, obviously nervous.
"It's okay, I didn't think you were," Nico said, kind of frowning. "Uh, anyways, come in. You're welcome to look anywhere, I don't have anything to hide."
"No dead bodies?"
"No dead bodies," he confirmed, sitting down on the arm of the couch as Percy entered, closing the door behind him. The guy seemed endlessly curious as he wandered into the kitchen, not even noticing that Nico was staring at him as he did so. His hair seemed like the type that'd get greasy, but it looked perfectly fine through the bright lights of the kitchen. Nico was sure he didn't want a roommate with body-odor and greasy hair, but Percy smelled perfectly fine and the Italian would be perfectly fine with running his fingers through his seemingly silky hair.
"How many bathrooms do you have in here?" the green-eyed boy asked, peering at him curiously.
"Uh, two. There's one connected to my room and one right there," Nico pointed at a door on the other side of the living room. "I had money to pay the rent for this thing when I bought it a few years ago, but I lost my job and stuff, so I needed a roommate. It's not a bad place and it's honestly not expensive for what it actually is."
Percy smiled and leaned against the kitchen counter, "And my room?"
"Right next to mine, so, right down there, the furthest one to the left."
"When can I move in?" He asked casually, strolling back over to him. Nico blinked and squirmed awkwardly under his bright gaze,
"Soon as possible, I hope. A few things, though. . . I can't cook for crap." he admitted, "So, if you have any experience there, that'd be nice. I'm fine with buying all the food, I just can't. . . cook it. I clean a lot, so that's mostly going to be on me, but please don't make a huge mess. Dishes on the coffee table is okay, just make sure to pick them up before you go to bed so I don't feel overwhelmed in the morning when I have to go to work. I don't like coming home to a ton of responsibilities. Also, don't force me to wash your clothes, I bought a washing machine for a reason: so I don't have to go pay and make everything more difficult because I don't want to put the burden of my personal items on someone else."
Percy was staring at him, his hands stuffed in his sweatshirt pocket by that point. "I can cook. I do it a lot. In fact, I used to work at a restaurant." he replied, shifting where he was standing. "So, um, if I was in by tomorrow night, would you mind? My mom is getting exasperated at me being there because I always wake up in the middle of the night, and it wakes up my baby sister. She's an unnaturally light sleeper, so don't think I'm super loud and I'd wake you up."
Nico narrowed his eyes slightly, "I should let you know, I'm not as nice as I am right now. I just needed a roommate."
"Oh," Percy said quietly. "That's all right, I can leave you alone. I'm in the same boat as you-,"
"Okay." Nico said bluntly, causing Percy to frown.
"Okay. I'll be back tomorrow,"he said awkwardly, walking to the door.
Nico watched him as he left, letting out a sigh of relief. He felt he wasn't himself as he talked to Percy, so when he left, he was relieved to have his own space back until the next day. He wasn't sure how living with Percy would turn out, but he knew it'd take a tremendous amount of stress off of his shoulders.