Nico left his room a bit later, smiling slightly at the smell of cooking meat. Usually, he wasn't big on steak, but now it seemed like the one thing he was craving. As he entered the kitchen, Percy turned his head to look over his shoulder. He was wearing Nico's old apron, which by the way, was too small for the tall man. Nico held back a giggle as he moved to stand by his side.
"You a big steak fan?" he asked, looking over Percy's bare arms, due him having pulled up his sleeves. The steak was cooking on a pan on the stove, which confused Nico, but he said nothing about it.
Percy smiled his lazy smile, "Kind of. My dad really liked it and it was something I used to make for my girlfriend. . ." Nico zoned out after he said the word girlfriend, biting his lip and looking down at the sizzling steak. Was Percy straight, and that's why he 'didn't see anything' because guys' rears weren't something he was interested in? Was he just being nice and trying to make sure he wasn't super upset? Any straight guy with a good heart would make sure their friend wasn't sad, but Nico had hoped. . . well, he had hoped Percy had seen something, which is why he was crying.
He was ashamed of himself, because he felt as though he was taking advantage of the fact that Percy would be in his apartment a lot after he'd taken showers. Nico was snapped back into focus as Percy nudged him,
"You okay, Neeks?" he asked, pressing the steak down and flipping it over.
"Don't call me that," Nico growled, "Is the food almost done?" he asked, avoiding the question. He was unusually close to Percy as he watched him cook, savoring the warmth the fit boy was radiating. He almost leaned against him, before jolting back in place.
Percy studied the steak, "Yeah. Get me a plate big enough for this." he demanded, though his voice was as soft as it normally was. Nico was frowning slightly as he did as he was told, setting the plate down next to the stove. Percy pressed it down with the spatula one more time before transferring it to the plate. He gracefully slid around Nico, grabbing a knife and cutting the steak down the middle.
"Pick your half," he said, leaning against the counter. Nico bit his lip and took the smaller half, moving it onto his own plate. The slight wet sound it made caused Nico to cringe, but he moved out of the way so Percy could grab the other plate and dig in. Nico got them both forks, slowly handing one to Percy. The older boy smiled and thanked him, walking to the living room and sitting down on the couch. Nico watched him curiously as he relaxed onto the couch, taking his sweatshirt off and putting it over his lap as a napkin.
Nico smiled and walked out, sitting next to him. "You know, you're a really good guy." he admitted.
Percy smiled widely at the sight of Nico's rare smile, "Thank you. You're pretty slightly tolerable," he teased, nudging him slightly. Nico bit back a bigger smiled and took a bite of the food. He couldn't help the small noise of delight that left his lips, since he hadn't had quality, real food for a long time.
Percy looked at him with wide eyes, "What was that?" he laughed, taking more bites of his own piece of the steak. Nico blushed darkly,
"I haven't had real meat in so long." he explained, "I would usually just buy fast food or stop at restaurants with cheap steak. . ."
Percy gasped dramatically and held a hand to his chest in mock surprise, "No," he said breathily.
Nico laughed, "Yeah."
Percy scoffed, "You're insane. Absolutely insane. I'm cooking every meal for you now."
"I'm okay with that," Nico snorted, "I don't like doing work anyways." he said, taking a bite of the kind-of pink steak, letting the delectable juices sink into his tongue. He hummed contently, chewing the piece and swallowing it. "God, you're an amazing cook."
"Why, thank you." Percy grinned lopsidedly, eating the last bit of steak he had. "You know, if you really like my food, I can't take you out to a restaurant. What people want at home dinner-dates?"
Nico nearly choked on his steak, swallowing it quickly. "Did you just- are you- date?"
Percy's eyes widened, "I, um." he looked away, his eyes obviously wandering to the clock. "I should go to bed. Yeah, that's why I'm going to my room. Yep."
As Percy stood up, Nico grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down. "Take me to the movies."
"Wh-What?" Percy spluttered, his green eyes wide and his cheeks flushed.
"Treat me to dinner at home, then take me to see Pheonix Forgotten. I heard it's terrifying, and I like horror movies. Take me."
"O-Okay," he nodded, his face and ears bright red. Nico let go of his wrist and relaxed into the couch, taking another bite. He could feel Percy's intense gaze on him as he finished his food, standing up and grabbing both of their dishes,
"Night, Perseus." Nico winked at him, grinning triumphantly when his blush darkened.