Day 15: Monday
Nico felt a weight at the side of his bed and turned towards it, instantly wrapping his arms around the other person.
"Really?", came the voice again and Nico hummed.
He found his hand and squeezed it lightly.
"Nico...", he whispered, making Nico sigh.
Then he felt the lips on his own again.
Mmh.
"I need you.", the person muttered quietly, kissing him again.
Nico wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around him and keep him pressed against his body forever.
"But I really shouldn't molest you when you're to 80% asleep.", the person said and pulled back.
Nico wailed, momentarily fighting against the sleep.
The person seemed to notice, for Nico could instantly feel hands on his face, softly caressing his cheeks.
Then he kissed him softly again. "You're so adorable, Nico."
Nico tried to snuggle closer, but the person kept him down in the pillow.
He chuckled again.
Nico liked the chuckle.
"If I lay down next to you, will you go back to sleep?"
Yes. Absolutely.
Anything for that.
He must have nodded or made an approving sound, for he could feel the weight lift off the bed for a moment, just to then lift his blanket and sneak beneath.
Nico's heart raced in his chest.
They were so close.
He snuggled up to him instantly and felt his arms wrap around him.
Mmh.
This felt so good.
Nico hid his face at the person's chest, feeling the chuckle rather than hearing it.
"I love you so much, Nico."
Nico hummed again, rubbing his face against him and drifting off into deeper sleep again.
If only the person would stay forever.
.
When Nico woke up, he was alone in bed.
Though he wasn't very surprised at that.
He looked towards his bedside table, finding the gift and note on it as usual.
It would be so weird waking up after Christmas and not having something lie there.
Then again, by that time he might actually have somebody lying in bed with him, so he didn't mind much.
He took the card gingerly, squinting at it in the dim light around him.
[Dear Nico,
I love you.
I need you.
I want you.
You're the best thing that ever happened to me.
I wanted to write more and a bit more detailed, but a certain someone didn't give me much time to write ;)
You're still a tease.
Hope you liked the skates. You certainly know how to use them now.
Good job.
I hope you'll like today's gift.
Have a nice 15th day of December, Nico.
I love you,
Your secret Admirer]
Nico chuckled and looked at the gift of the day.
He wasn't even going to try to guess what it was.
He would never succeed anyways.
It was soft and light, but rather big.
He shrugged and opened it carefully.
"Ha-ha. Very funny.", he chuckled and held up the blanket.
A note tumbled out.
Colorful dreams, Nico
He laughed and put the note in his bedside table to the others.
Seriously?
It was a big throw blanket in a Christmas red color with green trees and white snowflakes on it.
So much color.
Completely unlike him.
Yet he still found himself liking it.
It felt so nice and soft and instantly warmed to the touch.
He couldn't help but wonder how it would feel to lie beneath it with his admirer.
They certainly wouldn't need clothes anymore.
He blushed and put it down on the bed, resisting the urge to snuggle up in it and going back to bed.
Instead, he got up, checking the time.
It was 6:45am.
Enough time to take a long hot shower and get ready for Percy.
He really wondered what they were going to do.
.
Percy was actually on time.
Knowing Percy, that was pretty unusual.
When he let him in, Percy noticed the blanket immediately and laughed. "Really? Well, it certainly adds some color to this place."
Nico acted hurt.
"I don't know what you mean. This place has plenty of color in it. Didn't you know that black holds all the colors of the rainbow? This place practically sparkles."
Percy first looked at him stunned, then laughed.
Then he grabbed Nico and threw him on the bed, wrapping him up in the blanket and tickling him through it.
Nico laughed and tried to free himself.
"Never. I'm the Ghost King! You can't keep me locked up here."
Percy chuckled. "Watch me."
He kept tickling him until they were both out of breath.
Then they grinned at each other, Percy sitting on top of Nico, Nico just laying there, his arms still stuck inside the blanket.
Percy chuckled and leaned closer over him.
"Ready to go then, Ghost King?", he breathed, inches away from his face, connecting their foreheads slightly.
Nico felt the heat rising in his face and tried to nod tentatively.
There was this certain something in Percy's eyes.
A sort of gleam.
But Nico couldn't identify it.
Percy smiled and pulled back slowly.
Nico found himself moving with him, but then stopped himself, blinking.
What the hell was he doing?
Percy got off him, helping him out of the blanket chuckling.
He didn't seem to have noticed.
Good.
.
They started out normally enough, walking across the Camp, Nico taking a few more shots with his camera.
Since yesterday had been his first time ice skating, he hadn't dared taking it with him, fearing he might break it.
Going by the amount of times he had fallen, that had been a wise decision.
They sat down at Nico's table together, sitting rather close to each other and laughed a lot, talking about old quests and other unimportant things.
Percy had insisted on feeding him bits of his food as well as Percy's.
Nico didn't mind, though he was a bit flustered about the fact that they only used Percy's fork.
Though Percy didn't seem to mind whatsoever.
He just kept talking, feeding Nico and looking rather happy.
Nico could do nothing but smile. He simply looked so endearing.
Afterwards, they went for a stroll around the Camp again, just walking next to each other and talking, chuckling and laughing.
Then Percy walked towards Thalia's pine. Towards the exit of the Camp.
"Where are we going?", Nico asked surprised but Percy only chuckled.
"You'll see. Though we do have to borrow your chauffeur."
Nico only shook his head amazed, wondering what the hell Percy had planned for them.
As they left the Camp, Nico called Jules-Albert and was quite amused at Percy communicating with his zombie driver in hushed voices.
Good thing Jules-Albert didn't say much in general.
They both got onto the backseat, with Percy sitting right next to Nico instead of at the other window.
But Nico found he didn't mind too much.
Percy didn't push himself onto him or anything.
He just sat close enough so their legs occasionally brushed against each other and talked, though Nico noticed how he was doing most of the talking now while Percy just gazed at him and listened, a soft smile on his face.
"But really, where are we going?", Nico asked, looking out the windows.
Percy chuckled. "Damn, Neeks, and you tell me I'm impatient. Just wait and see."
"I already have to wait 10 more days to find out who loves me. That takes up all my patience already, I fear."
Percy chuckled. "Fair point. But I still want to surprise you."
Nico rolled his eyes, but smiled nevertheless.
He was kind of excited.
Maybe that's why Percy wasn't telling him where they were going.
So he could suffer from even more anticipation and excitement and the thrill of not knowing.
It was cruel, really.
Yet Nico loved it.
"Tell me the story with Bessie again."
"Really? I've told you that so many times already."
"You've told me twice, Percy."
"Then why do you want to hear it another time?"
"It's funny. And I love the way you always get all emotional and animated when you talk about that."
Percy shook his head, chuckling. "Fine. So I was sleeping at night, when suddenly..."
"Suddenly Blackjack appeared and talked to you."
Percy laughed. "See? You already know the story."
"It's still amazing. I mean, just think about it. You've had all this work and training and whatnot at Camp during the day, yet you leave in the middle of the night to save animals in need. I just think it's really, really great of you."
Percy gazed at him quietly for a moment, stunned.
Then he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, his ears slightly pink.
"Really, it's not that much of a deal."
"Not to you. But to the animals it surely is. So, Blackjack appeared to talk to you.", he reminded him and Percy chuckled, continuing on the story.
Nico watched him talk with a dumb smile on his face.
He really loved watching him talk.
Whenever he talked about something he really cared about or completely couldn't believe, there was this passionate gleam in his eyes.
Nico could watch him all day.
"And then you named it Bessie."
"Yeah, I thought it was a female. It looked like a cow, after all."
Nico chuckled.
"And then you met male Bessie again at the dam snack bar."
They both laughed.
Then their ride stopped.
Nico blinked.
He had completely forgotten they were going somewhere.
He looked around outside.
Then he laughed. "Really?"
Percy grinned broadly. "Yes. Yesterday I taught you how to skate with tons of people around. Today, I'll skate with you alone."
They were at a frozen lake in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees.
How Jules-Albert had found a road to here, he had no idea.
Well, there definitely wouldn't be any other people around.
He looked around at Percy's backpack.
"Now I'm not surprised you hung back at my cabin, telling me you need to redo your shoelaces."
Percy grinned sheepishly. "I didn't want you to notice me packing your skates. So, how about it? Ready to go?"
They did.
It was a beautiful place, what with the trees around it and the sun in the sky, making the snow glitter.
Though the place gave Nico a weird, intimate feeling.
They took their time walking around first, exploring and taking pictures of everything around them as well as each other and some pictures together
Then they even tried walking on the ice with their shoes.
It felt weird.
Percy of course had no trouble with it, but Nico found himself holding onto Percy's arm slightly as they tried walk across the frozen surface of the lake
Percy didn't mind, putting his arm around Nico's waist to keep him steady.
Then he randomly ran off.
"Percy! You're so mean!", Nico called after him, being left alone in the middle of the lake.
But Percy merely laughed and gestured for him to come to him.
Nico rolled his eyes chuckling, trying to walk over there or at least act as if he was skating, just without the skates.
Actually, it worked out quite well.
Just that he didn't know how to stop and slid straight into Percy, knocking them both into the ground.
"Hehe, not bad, Nico. As I said, you're a really fast learner.", Percy praised him as Nico laid on top of him.
Nico chuckled. "Really? I just knocked you down."
"Nah, I could have caught myself if I had really wanted to."
"Of course."
Then Nico noticed they still hadn't gotten up.
"Isn't this getting really cold for you?", Nico asked, beginning to move.
But he found Percy's hand on his lower back, holding him there.
"Not at all."
There was something in Percy's gaze again.
Nico found himself getting lost in those sea-green eyes.
Their faces inched closer.
Nico's gaze dropped to Percy's lips for a moment.
They sure did look inviting.
He looked back into his eyes.
There was something hungry, wanting in them.
Yes.
His gaze hushed back down to Percy's lips.
They were only mere inches apart now.
He blinked.
Wait.
What?
No!
He pulled back, growing red in the face.
"Erm...should we get the skates on, then?", he asked, breaking the moment and trying to get up.
He felt Percy's arms on his for a moment, keeping him there.
Their eyes met.
Percy took in his startled, flustered expression.
He let go of Nico slowly, looking maybe a tad disappointed.
"Yeah, sure.", he replied, easily getting up as well and helping Nico.
His touch was gentle and timid, as if he was worried Nico might scram.
Nico didn't.
They went back to the place where they had dropped off the skates to really start skating.
Nico found he already managed much better to get onto the ice now.
At Camp, the first thing he had done was stumble over and fall, kissing the ground.
Now, he managed to get onto the ice no problem, tentatively stroking forward.
He actually kept his balance easily.
Percy was instantly behind him, grabbing him by the sides and grinning down at him.
"Good job.", he whispered, pushing them both forward.
Nico smiled and they began skating together in unison, Percy behind him.
It really didn't get boring whatsoever.
Nico might have thought it would be, because after all it was just like walking around on your feet.
But it really was just fun taking turns skating backwards or skating into opposite directions, high-fiving whenever they came across each other again.
Once they even started playing tag, which had resulted in Percy running into him at top speed, knocking them both flat to the ground and Percy's face at the crook of Nico's neck.
He had actually liked that.
He had also liked how Percy had pushed himself up with his arms, smirking down at Nico.
He hadn't pushed himself onto Nico whatsoever.
Then again, he wasn't Will.
And he was straight.
After several hours, Nico decided to just flop down in the middle of the lake and lay down on the ice.
"Uff...Percy, I am so not going to be able to move tomorrow...", he muttered, staring up at the sky
Percy chuckled and came over, sitting down next to him.
"That's ok. We can just watch Pirates of the Caribbean again in your cabin and give you food. Like when you pouted about your admirer not staying with you to let you see him."
Nico made a face. "Well, I was upset, ok? I was, like, SO close to finding out who he was."
Percy snickered. "I think that you wouldn't have looked. Even if you'd been completely awake, you probably still wouldn't have looked."
Nico blinked. "What makes you say that?"
Percy shrugged. "I don't know. It's just a feeling. You know how much it means to him to do this for you. And I know you always think of other people first. I just don't think you'd really look, even if he was there with you when you woke up."
Nico gazed at the floor for a moment.
Thinking about it, he probably really wouldn't peek.
He sighed, defeated. "Fine, fair point. I probably wouldn't."
Percy chuckled. "But you're serious about him, aren't you? I mean...you'll give him a try, won't you?"
Nico frowned. "Of course I'll give him a chance. Whoever he is, it takes a hell lot of a person to pull something like this off."
"You bet. Got a hunch yet who it might be?"
Nico hesitated.
Then he sighed. "I try not to think about that. I like all three of you. Of course, I try to not think of you in that way since you're pretty much straight and all...well, except Will, I suppose, but same difference."
Percy chuckled. "You're so clueless."
Nico blinked.
Clueless?
About what?
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing. Aren't you getting cold?"
Coming to think of it, he kind of was.
He sat up and found Percy brushing a strand of hair out of his face gently.
Nico found himself smiling slightly.
Percy smiled back and then got up, reaching out his hand to him.
Nico took it.
"So, ready to go to the next stop?"
"Wait, there's more?"
Percy laughed. "You didn't really think I'd take you out skating all day, did you?"
"Erm...actually..."
Percy made a face and Nico chuckled.
Then he pulled him with him, getting them off the ice
Ten minutes later, they were back in the car, Jules-Albert driving them to another surprise destination.
It was late afternoon by now, so Nico really didn't know where they'd be going.
He just hoped it wasn't something where he needed to actively do anything, for else he would really not be able to get up tomorrow.
Of course, he didn't tell Percy.
He didn't want to upset him in case he had indeed planned something like that.
But his worry was for nothing.
"A cinema? We're watching a film?"
"Yup. And we still got half an hour time. Enough to get some popcorn and nachos."
"What are we watching?"
Percy only winked and pulled him inside. "I'm fairly sure it won't be to your taste completely, but I'm also fairly sure you'll find it pretty amusing."
Well, at least it wasn't a romance or the like.
Percy ushered him through the place and made him pick whatever he would like to eat while getting the cards and then coming over to grab himself a popcorn and nachos, as well as pay for it all.
"You...you really don't have to pay for everything, Percy.", Nico mumbled, flustered as the lady at the cash register looked at both of them in turns and smiled broadly, winking at Nico in that 'You got a cute boyfriend there' type of way.
He hadn't had a chance to correct her, though, for Percy had pulled him onwards with putting his hand on Nico's lower back.
Which kind of seemed to equal 'Yes, this is my man, bitch', for the woman had squealed as they had walked away and ran over to her coworker, talking excitedly and pointing at them.
Nico had never really seen anybody react like that to a gay couple, but he certainly preferred it to the usual expressions of disgust.
Though he had been pulled out of his thoughts by Percy, who had been oblivious to the whole scenario and poked him in the ribs, asking what he was looking at.
Bless that idiot.
They were watching 'The Santa Clause'.
When Nico realized this, he wasn't sure whether he should be groaning or laughing.
At least it wasn't 'Finding Nemo'.
He knew Percy could watch that film, like, every day.
All day.
For an eternity.
They put all their food in the little space between them, trying to fit it all.
Percy had the nachos and a medium sized popcorn, as well as a coke (though not blue), while Nico had picked himself vanilla popcorn, another coke and a box of crunchy M&Ms that he usually ate at home as well when they watched film.
As they watched the film, Nico became more and more aware of the fact that Percy was getting closer slowly.
He had even managed to put an arm around him too at some point.
Probably when he had bent over to pick up the lid to his M&Ms that Percy had dropped by accident.
Now he wondered if he had actually dropped it 'by accident'.
He glanced at Percy out of the corner of his eye, his eyes intently on the screen, grinning at the scene.
Nico had to smile just looking at Percy grin.
Great, it was official: He was pathetic.
He looked straight ahead again, trying to focus back on the film.
It wasn't half bad.
Actually, he had laughed quite a few times already.
He looked down for a moment, stealing one of Percy's nachos.
He probably didn't even notice.
"I saw that.", Percy whispered in his ear.
Nico stiffened, feeling his breath on his skin.
Wah, so close!
Though he wasn't going to let that show.
He put the nacho in his mouth, looking around at Percy.
The dark-haired acted aghast and pinched him in the side.
"Percy!", Nico hissed, chuckling against his will.
Damn it, why was he so ticklish anyways?
Percy snickered and let off him, instead taking some of Nico's popcorn and eating it.
"Really? I took one chip."
"Yeah, you did. And one before that. Another one before that. And two more before that. I only took three pieces of popcorn. Let me get two more."
Nico chuckled and let him.
He would have guessed they'd go back to Camp Half-Blood after the film was over.
They didn't.
Instead, Percy took him to McDonalds.
"Really?", Nico asked, astonished, though pretty pleased about it nevertheless.
It'd been ages since he had last had something to eat here.
Percy scratched the back of his head awkwardly, chuckling.
"I thought you might like it…not good?", he asked hesitantly.
Nico gave him an exasperated sigh. "It's great. I've been graving McDonalds for ages."
Percy beamed at him. "Well, then we better get you something."
Percy paid.
Nico wondered faintly where he'd gotten the money from.
He had thought Percy was broke?
All they had done today was amazing, but wasn't it also a tad expensive?
He kind of felt bad about it a bit.
His dad was the god of riches as well after all, so money wouldn't have been a problem to Nico.
Though he kind of liked the notion.
It was as if they were actually on a date.
Nico devoured his cheeseburger, pleased to note that it was definitely freshly made.
He watched Percy eyeing his fries wistfully and raised an eyebrow, pushing them over to him.
If Percy already paid for his food, he might as well share his fries with him.
Percy chuckled. "Nah, it's ok."
Nico glared and picked up a fry, holding it in front of Percy's face.
Percy blinked for a moment, then smirked and opened his mouth, letting Nico feed him.
Nico had to laugh at that, continuing eating his burger while feeding Percy some more fries.
It felt so nice, spending time with Percy like this.
Just the two of them.
He had really enjoyed his day with him.
They had taken a few good pictures as well.
He admitted he had momentarily forgotten he even had his camera with him since he had taken it off when he got on the ice.
But as he had zapped through the pictures on their way to McDonalds, he had noticed Percy must have taken some pictures.
How, he had no idea, especially since there were even some where they were both on the ice.
Did his camera have a timer or something? He had never actually checked.
They had also done a few in the car, Percy making the funniest faces and pressing Nico against him, making him all flustered and red in the face.
He definitely had to delete those when he got home and on his laptop.
He really liked his laptop.
The thought reminded him of his admirer.
He looked up at Percy.
What would it be like if he was the one?
He shook his head, smiling pained to himself.
No use thinking about that.
There was no way it was Percy.
Percy tilted his head. "Something wrong?"
"Nah, just thinking."
"Bout what?"
Nico sighed.
"Oh, I know that sigh. You're thinking of your admirer, aren't you?"
Nico blinked.
How did Percy guess that?
What did he mean by 'I know that sigh'?
He always sighed.
Hundreds of times a day.
Percy laughed.
"Don't give me that face, Neeks. You have developed a unique sigh for when you're thinking of your mysterious lover. It sounds pained, hopeful and exhausted. Like you're thinking of something that you know you shouldn't think about but still can't help it."
Nico blinked again.
That…was surprisingly accurate.
He made a face and pushed some more fries into Percy's mouth.
"So, how did you like your day?", Percy asked as they got back to the car, stuffed with food and rather content.
"It was great. I'd have never expected to have so much fun ice skating. Thanks a lot, Percy. For everything."
Percy beamed at him, sitting down right next to him in the car again.
"No problem, Neeks. I'm glad you enjoyed it. And you're really pretty good at ice skating."
Nico chuckled and found himself leaning against Percy slightly.
Before he could pull back, he felt Percy's arm around him, keeping him there.
Nico felt his ears getting hot but tried to push it down.
His heart was fluttering madly in his chest.
Their gazes met for a moment.
Percy was smiling down at him, his gaze gentle.
Nico felt all warm and fuzzy inside and looked away again, looking out of the window instead.
"In summer, I'll definitely have to take you to the beach."
Nico chuckled. "Really? The beach?"
"Yes. It'd be so much fun. I could take you down to the bottom of the sea and take walks with you and we could look at all kinds of fishes and reefs. Maybe scare some kids as well, playing shark.", Percy suggested and Nico could feel him gently caressing Nico's shoulder with his arm around him.
It felt nice.
Way too nice.
"Why am I not surprised? Though, I think I'd really like that. I mean the bottom of the sea part. Not the kid scaring. I'll leave that to bullies like you."
Percy chuckled and Nico snuggled slightly against him.
He wrapped his arm tighter around him and placed his other hand on Nico's thigh.
"Where would you like to go?", Percy asked him after some time.
"Hm…dunno. I never really thought of going to a lot of places. Kind of visited most when I practiced shadow-travelling, didn't I?"
The car was going pretty slow.
Looking outside, he noticed they were in some sort of traffic jam.
Good think the car had darkened windows.
Nico wouldn't have liked it much if people were watching them like this.
He felt Percy unbuckling the seatbelts.
"Come here.", he muttered, pulling him towards him so Nico's back was against his chest, while moving backwards so they took up the entire backseat.
Then Percy wrapped his arms around him from behind, keeping him close.
Nico couldn't even think of anything to say or do, other than to look up at him, slightly pink in the face.
Percy smiled reassuringly at him.
Then Nico slowly started to lean back against him, feeling himself relax slightly.
"This is nice.", Percy said quietly after some time, gently stroking Nico's arms and placing his face in Nico's hair.
Nico moved slightly, trying to look up at him again.
Percy smiled gently at him, a soft gleam in his eyes.
Those eyes.
Nico felt his gaze travelling down to Percy's lips.
His heart thumped.
No, he shouldn't think like that.
He really shouldn't.
"Nico…", Percy breathed and Nico felt himself shudder at the sound of his voice.
Percy's eyes narrowed ever so slightly and Nico could swear his face was getting closer.
He swiftly turned his head away again.
Percy chuckled. "Are you uncomfortable with this?", he asked quietly, though Nico thought he could detect a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
He hesitated.
If he just said yes, they could break this off and go back to their normal sitting positions and just get home without anything awkward.
That's what Nico wanted after all, right?
He felt Percy shift nervously.
"Nah, it's ok.", he muttered, cursing himself.
What was wrong with him?!
He fumbled with the end of his scarf again, noticing the camera around his neck.
"W-Want to take a few more pictures?", he asked tentatively, moving slightly.
Percy shrugged, letting him out of his hug, looking slightly disappointed.
Nico turned around to face him, turning on his camera.
"Did you know it has an option to take, like, 40 pictures in a row on a countdown?", Percy asked and Nico blinked.
"It does?"
Percy chuckled and also leaned forwards, showing Nico how to look through the options available.
If only he had known!
"Want to try it out?", Percy asked, grinning at him.
Nico hesitated, then nodded.
Percy took over the camera.
"Hey...", Nico complained, but Percy only chuckled.
"Come on, Neeks, I got longer arms than you do."
Nico made a face but gave in, getting closer to Percy, putting their heads together for the pictures.
But Percy had other plans and pulled him back into a hug.
"Really?"
"What? You let Solace take pictures like this."
Nico opened his mouth in complaint, but then closed it again, not finding a suitable argument.
Damn it.
He sighed and dropped back against him.
Percy chuckled and held up the camera, putting his face right next to Nico's.
Right as the camera started taking pictures though, Percy moved.
He kissed Nico on the cheek.
Nico blinked, looking around at him in surprise.
Percy grinned wickedly at him and leaned down, rubbing their noses against each other.
Nico blushed and he pulled back.
"Percy, what...", he muttered confused and found Percy chuckling quietly.
His gaze dropped to his lips for a second.
He gulped, looking back up into Percy's eyes.
He shouldn't think of that.
He really shouldn't think of that.
Absolutely not.
His gaze dropped to his lips once more.
Percy watched him with an unreadable expression, slowly coming closer.
Nico moved backwards, back towards his original seat, his gaze still switching back and forth between Percy's eyes and his lips.
His heart was beating so fast in his chest he thought it would leap out any moment.
Percy had a rather seductive smile on his face right now, still approaching him mercilessly, easily getting between Nico's legs.
Nico felt the door behind him, realizing with a jolt that he was cornered.
Percy snickered, gently touching Nico's cheek, caressing it.
"Are you uncomfortable with this?", he asked, his voice a mere whisper.
Nico gazed at those beautiful lips as they spoke.
He knew what he should say.
He knew what he had to say.
But he also knew what he wanted to say.
"I...I...", he muttered, his voice shaky, his breath uneven.
He looked up into those mesmerizing sea-green eyes again.
They narrowed ever so slightly.
And then Percy reduced the space between them, bringing their faces together.
Nico felt the rapid rise and fall of his chest as his heart kept thumping loudly, his insides on fire.
Their lips were inches apart from each other.
Then they touched.
Nico practically melted against Percy, returning the kiss instantly, his mind empty.
Percy huffed, taking his face in both hands and deepening their kiss, seeming elated.
Nico's arms wrapped themselves around Percy without Nico actually intending to.
He felt his body getting pushed down into the seat, instantly wrapping his legs around Percy, getting them closer together.
Percy huffed into the kiss, his tongue now asking for entrance.
Nico parted his lips, too lost in the sensations surging through his body.
Gods, it all felt so good.
As Percy's tongue slid inside, challenging his own, he hesitated for a second, unsure how to react.
He tried to tentatively play with Percy's tongue and found Percy smirking into the kiss, turning the kiss slowly into something more sensual, cautious, taking Nico's inexperience into consideration.
He taught Nico how to move his tongue with challenging it every now and then, starting a dance.
Nico complied only too willingly, huffing into the kiss.
French kissing was weird, but in an awesome way.
He felt Percy's body pressing against his and sighed contently, feeling the car move again.
That's when he realized where they were and what the hell they were doing.
He gave a start, pushing Percy backwards.
"What the...", he muttered, horrified, his face turning dark red.
Percy looked rather surprised. "Nico?"
Nico stared at him, his face flushed, his breathing worse than after hours of training.
"I...I..."
Percy reached out, but Nico instantly recoiled.
Percy looked hurt. Really hurt.
He pulled his hand back, looking at Nico with an expression that reminded Nico of a beaten dog.
"I'm sorry...", Nico stammered, unsure what else to say
His mind seemed to be working so fast as to not allow him to get his thoughts together.
What had they done?!
Percy didn't meet his gaze, looking down.
Guilt washed over Nico.
Tears came to his eyes.
This was all his fault.
Hadn't he learned anything from the incident with Will?
A tear ran down his cheek.
He sobbed.
Percy's head shot up.
"Nico, don't.", he came rushing forward, wrapping Nico into a hug.
Nico tried to push him away, but it was pointless.
"Shh, Nico, it's ok. I'm so sorry. Please...", Percy muttered, stroking his back.
Nico still kept sobbing. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have...we shouldn't have...I'm so sorry, Percy...", he cried, hiding his face at Percy's chest.
"It's not your fault, Neeks. I pushed it too far..."
"That's what Will said, too."
Percy stiffened for a moment. But then he continued stroking his back soothingly.
"It's ok, Nico. Just calm down."
"That was my first tongue kiss...", Nico admitted, his cheeks burning though he didn't know why he was just randomly thinking of that while being pressed against Percy's chest, sobbing.
"It...it was?", Percy muttered, surprise in his voice.
Nico didn't know whether he should be chuckling or crying now.
He nodded against Percy's chest.
"Well...you certainly weren't bad...", Percy tried in an encouraging type of voice.
It didn't really work.
"I...I'm a horrible person...I don't even deserve..."
What?
This?
The admirer?
Everything?
Anything?
Percy stiffened again.
Then he kept stroking Nico's back.
"It's ok, Nico. Everything is ok."
"Now things will get awkward between us."
"No, they won't."
"I don't know what to do..."
"Calm down, Nico. Just try to relax. I won't do anything."
"I'm not worried about you doing anything. I'm worried about myself doing something."
Percy hesitated for a moment.
Then he chuckled. "Gods, Nico, you're so...there aren't even any words to describe you.", he muttered, pulling back, laughing.
Nico looked at him rather upset.
He had stopped sobbing somewhat, though he still felt single tears rolling down his cheeks.
He wiped them away quickly, but Percy was too busy laughing.
"Really?", Nico asked, quite hurt.
Percy looked around at him, trying to push it down.
"Sorry, but you just...that just...gods, you're so clueless."
Nico tried to glare at him.
Percy snickered, reaching out and brushing a strand of hair out of his face.
"It's ok, Nico. It really is."
"What about the admirer, though?"
Percy chuckled. "Hey, for all you know, it could be me."
Nico glanced at him quickly, then away.
They were almost back at Camp Half-Blood.
"Percy...you're straight...how could it be you...", his voice was barely audible, but he knew Percy had heard him.
For a moment, there was silence.
"So, you'd be upset if it was me?", he then asked in a low voice.
Nico's head shot around. "No! No, I'd...I'd..."
What? Love it?
Yes...yes, he would...
He looked away again, red in the face, closing his eyes shut tightly, trying to push the images out of his head.
"There's...there's no way it could be...do you know how hard it is for me NOT to think of you three like that?! Stop...stop saying stuff like that!"
Percy blinked. "Why couldn't it be me?"
"You're straight! You don't write! You HATE writing! You aren't the romantic type – ok, today was actually really sweet, but that's not the point! You...you...you don't even...like...me...that way...", as he spoke, his voice turned from loud to a meek whisper.
Hurt spread through his body.
He felt himself tremble.
Jules-Albert stopped the car as they reached Camp Half-Blood.
"Nico...", Percy started, but the second Nico realized they were back, he was out the car and gone.
Great.
His time with Will alone had ended with them kissing and him running back to his cabin.
His time with Percy alone had ended with them french kissing and him running back to his cabin.
How the hell was his time alone with Jason going to end? With them having sex?!
He raced to his cabin and ran straight against the door headfirst, fumbling for his keys.
But his body was already numb so he really didn't feel a thing.
He pushed his key in the lock and ripped open the door, storming inside and barricading everything again.
He vaguely wondered how his admirer had gotten in the last time.
Would he be able to get back in this time again?
Doubt gnawed on him.
Then guilt.
The way he was, he didn't even deserve his admirer.
He slid down at the door, cowering into a ball.
Why did his days with his friends by themselves always start so great and end so horrible?
Why couldn't he just control his freaking emotions for once?
He opened his aviator's jacket and pulled his legs up, wrapping jacket and arms around himself, staring off into the darkness of his cabin.
He hated the darkness.
As his vision adjusted, he saw the Christmas blanket he had gotten as a gift today.
He wished he could grab it and wrap himself up in it.
It looked so comfortable too.
Instead, he tightened his grip around his legs and closed his eyes, crying himself to sleep.