Nico-

Sunday morning. I sat up and stretched, my eyes still adjusting to the light. Percy was gone and

I lost a little comfort. Making my way down the stairs, I smelled coffee and...was that pancakes? Hurrying past the landing, my assumptions were correct. Percy stood in the kitchen. Shirtless. Just wearing flannel pajama bottoms and that adorable smile.

Percy piled two pancakes onto a plate next to him and looked at me, "Morning. Sleep well?" He

pushed a cup of coffee towards me and sipped his own. His hair was a mess, as usual, but it looked natural. That wind-swept look.

I smiled and took the cup, taking in the perfection of the scene in front of me. He brought the

plate of pancakes over and sat at the island, tapping the stool next to him. I sat down, careful not to spill the coffee on Percy, and smiled. His bare arm nudged mine playfully and I felt my face get red.

I heard him chuckle, "You're cute when you blush." Percy said sweetly, putting a piece of

pancake in his mouth. "So..." he said, swallowing, "What do you want to do today?"

I swallowed and smiled, "Well, today is my birthday. I vote somewhere fun." At that, He looked

at me, betrayed almost. I felt confused but put pancake in my mouth anyway.

"Nico. It's your birthday! That's im-poor-tent." He said, sounding out each syllable, "We are

definitely going to do something fun today." He wiped his mouth with a napkin, "We are going to go to the county fair and on a walk and then dinner. I can't believe I didn't ask when your birthday was. God dammit."

I smiled, still chewing pancake. After I finished I spoke, "You don't have to do all of that. I was

just thinking the book store and then pizza." I admitted, putting my plate in the dishwasher.

Percy shook his head vigorously, "No. It's your first birthday in America. It's going to be phenomenal." He said, sliding in next to me to wash his plate. His hands replaced mine as he put his plate in the dishwasher, "I'm going to get ready," Percy ran his fingers through his mangled hair and smiled, "Meet me down here when you're ready. I don't want to rush you."

I smiled and pushed my bangs to the side, eyes not leaving his. I hugged his bare torso and

buried my face in his neck, "Thanks Percy."

Percy wrapped his arms around me, "Anything for you, Birthday Boy." He smiled, ruffling my

hair just like the first day we'd met. It brought back one of my best memories and I walked up the stairs, getting ready to take a shower.

After the shower, my soggy bangs stuck to my forehead as I dried off. I heard Percy's music

play in the other room,

"It's three am, I'm outside your window.

Jumped the fence, dad will never know.

Fell in love, with you in my passenger seat."

I grinned and got dressed, shrugging into my aviator jacket, ripped jeans, and blue Converse. I smelled his cologne and turned into the doorway, inhaling his presence. We ran right into each other and he smiled, "Ready?"

I nodded and Percy's fingers were laced through mine as we left the house and got into his car. My dad would've seen this as recalcitrant but I didn't care. Percy was there for me when my own dad wasn't. I don't find that bad at all and I never would.

We pulled up in the fair's parking lot and He paid for the tickets. I looked at him and grinned,

"Candy floss." Percy looked confused and I came to the realization, "Oh. Cotton candy."

Percy laughed and grabbed my hand, running through the fair to the vibrant stand. He got two

and tapped on my shoulder. I turned to see Percy. With a pink candy mustache, "Charming." I remarked and we both laughed.

He led me to the Ferris wheel and we got into the rickety seat. I leaned against his shoulder and put my hand on his thigh. He put his hand on mine and kissed my forehead. A picture perfect moment. The sun was high in the sky and silhouettes of mountains lined the horizon. They seemed so far away but that didn't even begin to effect their beauty.

The ride stopped when we were at the top and I looked around, "This is amazing." I commented, leaning forwards as if I could get closer to the view.

Percy smiled and set his forearms on his knees, leaning forwards, "I'm glad you like it." He said, admiring the view too, "But you know, Nico," He started, not moving, "nothing could even start to look as amazing as you do right now. Just saying." He finished in such a casual way that it didn't even seem to effect me until a couple seconds later.

"T-thank you." I managed, leaning forward to kiss his cheek, "for the best birthday I've had. It's only 10 and today beat every other birthday before it."

Percy looked at me as the ride lowered back to the ground, "I think that's because you have

someone that cares. Someone who would take a bullet for you."

I met his blue-green gaze and hesitated, getting lost in the swirling sea of his eyes, "Someone like you."

Percy-

After we got back into the car, I pulled back into the house's driveway. Nico got out and I grabbed his hand, "Follow me." I said, leading him around to the backyard.

We reached a large hedge, growing in between the neighbors house and ours. I pushed on it and it gave way a little. I crawled through the opening and Nico followed, pushing it back into place. I opened up into a large botanical garden. There was a koi pond in the far corner and trees that had cherries and apples and pears. The grass was a bright green, despite the harsh temperatures of Autumn. I grabbed a couple cherries, deciding to harvest them later, and gave them to Nico. The hedges blocked the view to the outside world and stood at least 7 feet tall. It looked like the front of a book. Birds flew around, hummingbirds visited occasionally, and reddish-brown leaves scattered the green space. I led Nico to the old oak bench next to the pond and we sat down, watching the fish maneuver through the water.

He touched the water, oh so lightly, and it sent slow ripples traveling through the pond. He looked at me and leaned against my shoulder, "This is beautiful. Really. This is...I mean...wow." Nico admired.

I wrapped my arm around his waist and leaned against his head, "Happy Birthday Nico."

His arms wrapped around my torso and we rested like that for a while. Watching the sun slowly move across the sky and asked some pretty scientific questions, most of which he asked and I answered... not very scientifically. "Who paints the sunset, Percy?"

I chuckled and ran my fingers through his hair, "Every night, a chariot rider gathers only the most beautiful colors and pours the colors into a bucket in his chariot. When the horses fly across the sky, he lets the colors go free and they dance together on the horizon. They mix and blend until they find their spot. Where they belong. They stay there until the sun goes down and then they get ready to dance in the morning." I said softly, admiring the pinks and oranges of the sunset.

Nico nodded and stood up, grabbing my hand. I stood up too and he led me out of the garden, into car and sat in the driver's side. "W-Where are we going?" I asked, curious.

He smiled and drove down the street, "Dinner."

At the restaurant, it was lit with purple and blue lights, subtle. Nico led me to the table and it was lit with candles and next to one of those beautiful inside waterfalls. He ordered the Salmon and I ordered the steak, meeting his dark, grey gaze. "Had you already planned this?" I asked, not breaking my stare. He smiled that cute smile that inched its way into my heart every time he did so. Nico held my hand over the table and I smiled back, searching for an explanation in those sad eyes of his. Protect him ran through my mind until our food came. This had to be a five-star restaurant and Nico didn't let me see the bill. He just paid and gave it to the waiter, not even letting me care about the price.

I drove back to our house and we sat on the sofa, cuddled together, watching The Titanic. I had seen the movie many times but Nico had yet to see it. When Jack saved Rose but risked his life for his love, I saw tears prick in Nico's eyes. "Come on, Nico." I offered, "It's okay."

He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and watched the screen, his gaze intense. I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and he leaned into my chest, hiding half of his face in my shirt.

The movie ended and our eyes met, knowing what was coming next. Our hands were tangled in each other's hair and we were intertwined. Our lips didn't meet, but we were close. I felt Nico's breath on my nose and looked into his eyes, "Nico, I'll protect you."

At that, our torsos pressed together and out lips met. Our tongues fought for dominance, mine winning. He surrendered and my tongue ran across his lips and teeth. It swirled around his tongue and mapped out the important terrain. His tongue darted into my mouth and duplicated my moves, eventually we both pulled back and caught our breaths.

He brought his mouth to my ear and whispered in a soft, vulnerable voice, "Promise?"

I looked at Nico and smiled, pecking him on the cheek, "I promise."

Percy-

1:30 am. A gunshot rings through the air.