Work Text:
“Hey!” Nico shouted, jogging toward them.
Percy tore his eyes away from Annabeth. His smile was a little crooked, as always. He’d told Nico once that it was what got him detention and an assigned seat in the front row of class. He had a troublemaker’s smile. Nico had never understood that assessment. All he felt when Percy smiled at him was warmth, and maybe a little bit of dread—not because he thought Percy was going to disrupt class or steal something off a shelf, but because he didn’t know how to deal with the warmth. He realized with a start that he didn’t feel that this time. The dread was gone.
“Hey,” Percy answered. “Annabeth just told me some great news. We’re going to do junior and senior year in the city together. Then we’re going to go to college in New Rome...” He trailed off and his smile turned apologetic. “Sorry, I’m just excited.”
He grabbed Annabeth’s hand and squeezed it. His eyes were bright. So were hers. Seeing them like that used to be enough to set Nico off, slipping into the shadows to sulk. Now, he was more happy for them than anything else. They’d been different since Tartarus. Nico wasn’t sure if the others on the Argo II had noticed, but he had. Maybe it was because he’d known them long before the rest of the seven came into their lives. Or maybe it was because he’d been down there as well. He recognized their pain because he felt it too.
They deserved a boring end to high school and peace in New Rome.
“That sounds awesome,” Nico said. “I’m really happy for you guys.”
“Thanks, man,” Percy replied easily, leaning his head onto Annabeth’s shoulder.
She didn’t look as relaxed as Percy. Her eyes, as analyzing and critical as ever, hadn’t left Nico since he walked over to them. He used to hate her for that more than he’d ever hated her for being with Percy. If anyone could have figured out his secret (on their own, without the help of freaking Cupid ), it would have been her.
“Is everything okay, Nico?” she asked.
Percy’s head snapped upright, concern flooding his features. He looked over Nico as if searching for an injury. Nico wished it was that simple. He contemplated faking one, but he knew Will Solace was no more than twenty yards away. That kid was so annoying. He’d probably insist Nico stay in the infirmary for a week instead of three days. Nico hated that the thought of more time with him was a little bit exciting.
“Yeah, I just—“ He nudged the toe of his shoe into the grass. The blades started turning black, crumbling beneath his touch. “There’s something I wanted to tell you guys. It’s really not a big deal, though, so if you’re too busy—“
“‘Course not,” Percy said immediately.
Annabeth nodded in agreement.
Nico’s heart started pounding—too hard, too fast. He sort of felt like he was dying, but he knew he wasn’t. Perks of being prince of the dead.
“I’m gay,” he said, staring down at the wilting grass. The word was a little foreign out loud, heavy. “I know we just fought the earth, and you guys fought a lot of giants, so it’s not that important but I just—“ His hands were shaking so he shoved them into the pockets of his black jeans. “I wanted to tell you guys.”
Percy sprang to his feet. “Dude!”
Nico flinched, but Percy was grinning. He looked almost as happy as he’d looked about moving to New Rome with Annabeth. Nico didn’t really understand it because half the time he wasn’t sure if Percy even liked him. Nico wasn’t always good to him. He’d blamed Percy for Bianca’s death for a year, led him straight into his dad’s prison, pretended he hadn’t recognized him at Camp Jupiter.
But for every moment like that, there were nice moments as well. Percy had rescued him and Bianca after all, he’d invited Nico in through his window on his 15th birthday, sat by him at the bonfire in the weeks following the Battle of Manhattan. He'd always been there for him, or tried to be, even when Nico pushed him away.
Maybe, he’d had a friend all along and had been too caught up in his own head to notice.
“Can I hug you right now?” Percy asked. “I know you’re not into the whole touching thing, but—“
Nico darted forward, wrapping his arms around Percy’s waist. A little oomph sound fell out of Percy’s mouth on impact.
“You’re not as scrawny as you look,” he said.
Nico tried to laugh, but it stuck in his throat. He pulled away, wiping at his eyes.
“Sorry,” he whispered. “I was really nervous.”
Percy’s face softened. He pulled Nico back in for another hug, and then Annabeth was there too, her chin hooked over Nico’s shoulder. It was surprisingly nice. The last person who’d hugged him for this long had been Bianca. He felt just as safe between Percy and Annabeth as he used to in his sister’s arms. He started entertaining the thought of maybe staying just like that forever, when he realized they were still in the middle of the quad—where the whole world could see. Then, he felt like he might die from sheer embarrassment.
“Okay,” he said, squirming until they both let go. “That’s enough of that for three lifetimes.”
Percy laughed. Annabeth ruffled Nico’s hair playfully.
Nico had been unfair to her. She had always been kind to him, probably could have been another friend of his if he’d let her. Maybe they could start now.
“I used to be, um.” He let his eyes dart over to Percy for a moment, before looking back at Annabeth. “I used to be really jealous of you.”
She smiled, following his gaze to Percy, who just looked sort of confused. For all his wisdom on a battlefield, he’d always been frustratingly oblivious about this sort of thing. Nico was pretty sure there had been one summer when he, Annabeth, and Rachel Dare were all practically head over heels for the guy. And he’d just lopped around the Labyrinth without a clue—like an overgrown, two-legged labrador retriever.
“You’ve got good taste, Di Angelo,” Annabeth said.
She held up her hand. Nico hesitated for a moment before high-fiving it.
Percy’s cheeks had turned scarlet. “Um. If you’re saying what I think you’re saying... I’m flattered.”
Annabeth laughed and hit his arm lightly. She leaned in conspiratorially toward Nico, pitching her voice lower. “Or maybe we both have really, really awful taste.”
“Hey!” Percy complained.
Nico bit his lip to stop himself from smiling because it was starting to make his cheeks hurt again.
“And since we have similar taste,” Annabeth continued. “There’s this one guy who I’ve always thought was cute.”
Percy frowned, turning toward her. “Who?”
Annabeth’s eyes focused somewhere over Nico’s shoulder for a moment. “I mean, he’s a little young for me—“
“And you already have an amazing boyfriend who—“
Annabeth covered Percy’s mouth with her hand. “But, he’s super sweet and brave. Tougher than he looks. Saved my life once.”
Percy mumbled something against Annabeth’s hand that sounded like ‘who is this guy?’.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m his type.”
Annabeth took her hand off Percy’s mouth. His nose was scrunched up like he didn’t understand how Annabeth could not be anyone’s type. Then, it seemed to click. He grinned at Annabeth, then at Nico.
Nico shifted uncomfortably. “Who—who is it?”
Annabeth looked over his shoulder again. “Will.”
Percy’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open as he turned to her. “Solace?”
She nodded and a mischievous glint appeared in Percy’s eyes that made Nico sort of understand the troublemaker thing. Then he realized that the same glint was mirrored in Annabeth’s and he understood their dynamic a whole lot better.
“He is cute!” Percy exclaimed. “So cute!”
“And he’s been watching us this whole time,” Annabeth pointed out.
Percy rubbed his hands together. “Has he?”
“Well, maybe not us.” Annabeth’s eyes flicked to Nico. “Maybe just Nico.”
“Guys—“ Nico said. “It’s not like that. He just wants my help in the infirmary.”
“Ooooh,” Percy drew out the word and waggled his eyebrows. “He wants your help in the infirmary.”
Nico’s cheeks felt hot. They were probably as red as Percy’s had been a few minutes before.
“I don’t know what that means,” he muttered.
The two of them exchanged grins—evil grins, that’s what they were.
“So,” Annabeth prompted. “What do you think of him?”
His cheeks felt even hotter somehow. He ducked his head so they wouldn’t see, but it was probably too late.
“I—uh,” he spluttered. “Um.”
The mischievous glints intensified tenfold, the evil grins widened.
Percy glanced at Annabeth. “That means he likes him, right?”
She nodded.
“I’m getting better at this,” he said.
Annabeth shared a knowing look with Nico that said no, he definitely isn’t .
“I think I’m going to talk to him,” Percy said, drifting in that direction.
Nico stared at him in horror. “What? What are you going to say?”
He shrugged. “Just how cool and badass my friend is. You know, reuniting the Roman and Greek camps, battling giants, surviving Tartarus and a jar , wielding that staff of Die—whatever.”
“Diocletian,” Annabeth supplied.
Percy pointed at her. “That’s the one. Yeah, I’m definitely going to talk to him.”
“Percy,” Nico tried. “Don’t.”
He took off without another word, jogging up the hill. Nico followed at his heels, shouting for him to stop. He didn’t really mean it though and based on the way Percy kept grinning over his shoulder, he could tell.
Nico was running into what would probably shape up to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but somehow each step he took felt lighter than the last.