A/N: Thank you for the reads, follows, favorites, and reviews! This chapter was mainly written by me.
The silence was killing Nico. He and Percy weren't talking. They'd been like this for a while, just sitting there in the cool air, watching the waves roll in and out. It was relaxing, but Percy looked kind of angry, and that killed the mood.
This wasn't one of the comfortable silences where neither party felt that they really needed to talk nor was it one of those awkward silences where neither knew what to say next. This was an empty space, void of communication, where both parties were isolated from each other mentally. It felt as if there was a giant brick wall between their minds.
Nico previously hadn't dared try to talk to Percy. He knew what the son of Poseidon could get like when he was angry.
He hoped that enough time had passed so that it was acceptable to try to talk to Percy. He turned his head to look at him, gathering up the courage.
"Percy," Nico said softly. "C-Can we talk now?" The older boy looked to him, and sighed.
"Yeah, but can I go first?" he asked. Nico nodded. "I'm sorry, I overreacted." Percy looked down at his lap. "I shouldn't have been so harsh. I was just… I was just worried." He gave a lopsided half-grin-half-grimace. "I guess that's my fatal flaw coming into play. I was ready to rip the heart out of that thing with my bare hands, strangle it, cut it into pieces, and burn it because you got hurt. But I'm calm now, I guess."
"I'm sorry for not telling you where I was going, and what I was doing." Nico found it hard to meet Percy's eyes. "I should have just told you. I was an idiot, thinking that I could deal with the snake on my own, quickly, without you finding out. I should have known that my father would tell you." He smiled bitterly.
"The truth? I would have done the exact same thing," Percy confessed. "I guess I know how my friends and loved ones feel when I do something idiotic like that. I shouldn't have been so harsh on you. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw rocks, eh?" Nico snorted.
"Yeah." He glanced up to look at Percy's face.
"Now I know that I shouldn't worry the people I'm with when I do that." Percy's voice got quieter. "Nico, I was really worried."
"I know that I shouldn't have done that to you." Nico sighed. "And I'm sorry."
"While I was getting bandages, I ran into your father." Nico cringed as Percy said this.
"Whatever he said, I'm sorry," he blurted out. Percy chuckled.
"I wasn't finished," he said, a grin taking place on his lips. "Anyway, Hades told me that he'd intended for the two of us to work together to kill the Ular, but you'd gone to do it alone. I was shocked, but then I knew that I had to go help you if your father was telling me this. He then rudely asked why else he would give you the money for this trip for both of us if he wanted you to do it alone, and called me a few rude things in Ancient Greek. Then he left, and I took that as my signal that I should go after you, which I did. And you know the rest." Nico groaned covering his face.
"Oh, gods…" He moaned. "I'm so sorry about him." Percy merely laughed.
"It's fine," he assured Nico. "I'm used to it."
"Are you still mad?" Nico asked.
"I'm not pleased that you tried to defeat a monster without me and got hurt, but no, I'm not mad anymore," Percy assured him, his hand sneaking over to Nico's, which rested by the younger boy's side. The older demigod's hand covered it, and the two clasped hands.
Nico bit his lip, and with his other hand, reached to scratch the back of his neck.
"I'm glad you're not angry anymore," Nico murmured. Percy turned to look Nico in the eyes.
"It's not easy to stay mad at you, Nico." Percy smiled faintly. Nico bit his lip again.
"Should… Should we head back?" He asked.
"Yeah… We probably should… Marni must be worried," Percy said, smiling wider at Nico. The two hopped down from the rock and began the trek back up the cliff.
The two were winded by the time they got back up. Nico's pants were wet, but luckily, they were black, which made it far less noticeable. The same problem was with his shirt, though that was harder to hide because it stuck to his skin. Percy decided, since his clothes were completely dry, that he should walk in front of Nico, but hold his hand so that they didn't get separated.
Most people, if they did stare, focused on the fact that they were holding hands. Nico blushed when they realized that this was what they were looking at. They probably thought that he and Percy was a couple… He wished that were true.
When they finally found Marni, the man asked them where they'd been, and informed them that they'd been gone for over an hour. Percy and Nico exchanged guilty looks when they heard this. They apologized for making him worry, and explained that they hadn't been very aware of the passage of time. Marni merely laughed at this and said that being young was for having fun and enjoying yourself.
In the back of the car, the two of them stayed holding hands, but for no reason either of them specified as they gazed out of their respective windows. They didn't need to look at each other. They were closer now. After Percy had saved Nico's butt from the Ular, and the two had an honest heart-to-heart, of course they were closer. Why wouldn't they be? Nico wondered what kind of potential this newfound closeness had. The kind that would let him have what he wanted, a romantic relationship with Percy. Or would it leave him stuck at the sidelines as a mere friend again?
When that thought occurred, Nico felt a sinking feeling in his gut, but pushed it away. Right there and then, he would live in the moment with Percy holding his hand. There was no place or time he'd rather be than right there. Tired as he was, the raven-haired closed his eyes less than a minute and sleep had already stolen the moment away from him.
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