#Gen's Nicercy Challenge

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Day 24, Making Up Afterwards

Maybe he won’t come.

Maybe Nico will leave him hanging, depressingly alone in their secret spot next to the lake, where they first kissed.

Maybe he will come just to tell Percy to forget about him and their relationship. That he is done with Percy. That he won’t allow Percy to send another letter to him.

Maybe he will send one of the harpies to finish their mission to kill him.

Maybe he is just a paranoid idiot.

These were Percy’s thoughts while he was waiting for Nico’s arrival. He twisted his hands nervously, he couldn’t stop fidgeting. Two weeks had passed since he was a careless idiot who managed to almost strangled by a monster. Two weeks had passed since Nico asked him to leave.

He had bad and awful days in his life, but never as depressing as the two weeks without Nico hugging him, kissing him, talking to him.

“Hello,” he heard a tentative sound behind him. He turned around and offered a shy little smile to Nico. Thank gods, he had come.

There was a tense silence between them. Percy knew he should start first, he should explain himself, but couldn’t manage to open his mouth. Nico looked like he had the same problem as well.

“I missed you,” Percy said finally in a shaky voice. Nico hugged his arms around him and looked at the ground to avoid Percy’s gaze, but didn’t disappear. Something about that defensive motion made his insides clench in sadness. It reminded him of a small, hyperactive young boy who wore the same defensiveness after he heard that his beloved sister died and left him alone in a strange new world.

He looked like he wanted to run, just like he ran those long years ago. He looked like Percy could lose him again, and once again it would be his fault.

Unthinkable.

Percy gathered every courage he couldn’t feel at the moment, he leaned over. He cupped Nico’s face with his hands. The other boy tensed, but didn’t move, didn’t protest, so he released a relieved breath and kissed Nico. It was just a small peck on the lips, but it was full of emotions; an ask for forgiveness, a message of love.

“I can’t lose you. I know I was an idiot, and I’m so, so, so sorry about it. I can’t promise I won’t be reckless anymore, because that’s in my blood, but I will be more careful. Please, come back to me. Be angry at me, shout at me, tell me how reckless I was, but please, don’t shut me out,” Percy whispered. He was so lost in his thoughts that he winced when he felt Nico’s fingers caressing his hands on Nico’s face.

“I love you. I won’t leave you.”

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Day 23, Arguing

„Perseus Jackson!” came a dangerously calm voice from his behind. He froze.

„I can explain!” Percy said, startled, and turned around to look at his boyfriend’s eyes. The eyes, that looked like they are the deepest, coldest cave, where no light can reach. The eyes, that usually are soft and loving, now hard and unforgiving. Percy gulped, but straightened his back. He won’t cover!

“I’d like to see you try.” Nico was obviously not in the best mood, the campers around them were running for their life.

“Can we go to your cabin instead doing it in the open?” Percy asked. His boyfriend gave a sharp nod, and they went there without speaking any word. It was a tense silence, not the usual loving one.

“Why the fuck did you do it?!” Percy took a step back at Nico’s shout. He was not prepared for Nico’s rage. He thought Nico would worry and maybe he would be angry, but this cold fury? This was new and scary.

“I…”

“WHY?!” Nico shouted. “You could have died!”

“I know, but I didn’t!” Percy shouted back.

“I can’t believe you…” whispered the son of Hades. “You could have died, Percy! I know that we live a dangerous life, and that every quest could be our last one, but this?! This was not a dangerous quest at all! You could have killed the hellhound easily, but nooo, you had to daydream for whatever reason!” He ranted, but then suddenly it seemed like he was defeated. He dropped his shoulders, and now his eyes conveyed hurt and disappointment, instead of cold nothing. “I thought you would be more careful. I thought you would be more careful now, that you are not alone anymore. Clearly, I thought it wrong.” His fury was gone, the only emotion that stayed was sadness.

Percy reached for Nico, he wanted to curl his arms around his hurting boyfriend, but Nico shook his head and stepped back.

“Please, go. I want to be alone,” Nico whispered.

Percy lowered his head down. He wanted to stay, he wanted to make everything better, but he obeyed.

He left.

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Day 25, Gazing Each Other’s Eyes

It was ridiculous. Every time Nico and Percy were close to each other, they would just cease to exist in the mortal world, and lose themselves in the other’s eyes. The campers were beyond used to it; they were sick of it. The worst of all was that they were not even realizing it! They spent the time during the counselors’ sessions just gazing at each other’s eyes and sigh pitifully as if the Nico wasn’t just as gone on Percy as it was vice versa. The other counselors were betting when will they finally decide to ask the other out. They were so sure that after getting together, the mutual pinning and disgustingly sweet eye-locking will cease to exist. They were wrong. Oh, boy, they were so wrong! The gazing at each other’s eyes not only stayed, but they completed it with eye fucking. Joy.

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Day 6, Wearing each other's clothes

Oops, today the theme of the day only appears almost as an afterthought in this story. Oh, well… xD

Percy Jackson was fine.

Really, he was!

It’s just… His stomach has been hurting for some time and he felt more sensitive to smells, lights… to everything. He really didn’t like heats, especially when he didn’t have anybody to help him. Not with sex – just being there with him, offering protection, helping him eating and drinking.

During the last few heats, Nico was near to him, he did everything to make Percy’s five painful days more bearable. Now, that the other omega was away, he felt awful, even more terrible, than it was normal for him. He missed Nico. It was hard that he was nearing to his heat, but he had to survive it without surrounded by Nico. They weren’t together, or anything, but Percy always felt safer when the other omega was near to him, it made his heats, his bad days, even his happy days better. But now the son of Hades had to do something for his father and left the sore son of Poseidon all alone.

It was fine.

Nico didn’t want him that way: Percy was not his type, and anyway, both of them were omegas, of course, Nico would want a protective, strong alpha for himself. Besides, it was really unconventional. Loving another omega, wanting to mate with him. Omegas belonged with alphas, everybody knew it. While alpha-alpha and omega-omega pairings were allowed, they were really uncommon, so Percy often felt he was damaged to think he would be perfectly content with another omega. Well, if the other omega was Nico because both of them were stronger than most alphas, they lived through worse things than anybody else.

It’s just… everything was more bearable with Nico, surrounded by his smell, between his arms. His smell wasn’t like other omegas’. His was wilder and stronger, deadlier. Percy thought it was the best scent he’d ever smelled. Nothing felt, nothing smelled right without him. He placed Nico’s second favorite hoodie under his head, close to his nose, and he pulled on the other omega’s favorite black hoodie to snuggle into it and help him feel close to Nico.

Percy missed him.

It still hasn't felt right. He growled with frustration as tears swelled up in his eyes and let out a pitiful whine. Nothing felt right without Nico, without the other omega's soothing presence. While he was occupied being whiney, a soft whimper sounded from the other side of his cabin door. He was confused because everybody knew when he was like this, he hated strange, foreign scents, so usually nobody bothered him. But when the noise sounded again, he recognized it: Nico.

He gave out an excited mewl, giving the other permission – more like he ordered him – to enter. The door slowly opened and Nico’s black-haired head popped in to make sure he really was allowed to enter. Percy motioned him to move, so the other demigod crawled next to him, where he noticed two of is hoodies and his fluffy pillow. He made a curious sound, which made Percy blush.

“I needed to smell your scent and you weren’t here”, mumbled Percy into the neck of his nest-partner. He started rubbing his nose against Nico’s scent gland and let out a satisfied purr.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t with you. I thought it would be better to let you find an alpha”, said Nico while soothingly petted the green-eyed boy’s hair. Percy let out a hurt little sound and slid further away from Nico.

“What do you mean about that?! I don’t want an alpha, I only need you! I know you don’t like me like that, I’m not your type, but I’m satisfied with being near to you. I’d be delighted if you’d be my boyfriend, my omega, but I’m happy that at least you are my friend”, confessed Percy. When he said ‘my omega’, his voice was full of possessiveness, Nico couldn’t hold back an excited whine, especially when he managed to understand Percy’s words. Percy? The prettiest hero ever – loved him? The omega of his dreams, the only person who he ever loved, wanted him back? It was like a dream came true for the usually gloomy demigod.

Nico pulled Percy closer to him, gently holding Percy’s head with one hand, the other curled around Percy’s scent gland.

“I lied. I wanted to be able to forget you, but I’m in love with you. I have been always in love with you”, said Nico and slowly leaned down to kiss Percy, but giving him enough time to pull away if he wanted to.

He didn’t want to.

Percy gladly leaned up to meet Nico’s lips. They kissed, slowly, gently, lovingly. When they couldn’t breathe anymore, they pulled apart, but only for a few centimeters, foreheads touching, feeling the other’s breath. Percy smiled, purred contently, and dragged Nico closer to him to scent him more and more.

Finally, he was more than fine. He was absolutely satisfied.

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Day 19, In Formal Wear

They have seen each other before.

It’s not like Percy could live together with his best friend, without knowing Annabeth’s bride’s best friend, when Annabeth and Reyna used to FaceTime all the time. For three years they lived in a different place: Annabeth in New York, in an apartment with Percy and Grover, while Reyna in San Francisco, with Jason and Nico. So, even if the two groups of friends didn’t meet before, they have seen the others.

But seeing someone on a small, pixeled screen, with bad internet-connection, and seeing them in real life were two different things. On-screen, Nico was a bundle of black clothes, disheveled black hair, and had perpetually dark circles around his eyes.

In real life?

He was an Italian Stallion. He was tall, dark, and handsome. He was a walking wet dream.

Percy could think many more synonyms, but the sentiment was the same: Nico di Angelo looked decidedly edible with his dark, adorable curls, hypnotic eyes, muscled arms; a tall, striking figure in a black tux.

Annabeth organized a beautiful wedding for herself, she was radiant with love and happiness, and Reyna was absolutely stunning, yet Percy had only eyes for the other best man.

Fortunately, it seemed, Nico had the same problem: Perseus Jackson, in a navy blue suit, was a sight to behold.

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Day 16 & Day 17, During Their Morning Ritual(s) & Spooning

Most of the days they woke up at different times. Nico loved the calm before dawn, while Percy was decidedly not a morning person, so he slept till he could. But during weekends, when they had no quests, school or any other reason to get up early, they liked to stay in bed.

While they fall asleep with Percy the big spoon and Nico the little, because Percy liked hugging his boyfriend, usually they woke up the other way: Nico, embracing Percy from behind, protecting his boyfriend from his nightmares.

It’s not like he didn’t get them, but his was about a loved one’s death, so hugging his beloved made him connected to the present, that he is not alone anymore. Percy, on the other hand, dreamt about isolation, and his darkness, about the evil within his soul, so waking up surrounded by Nico’s arm, smell, and love, made the horrors go away.

Nico tended to wake up instantly: one moment he was sleeping, the next fully awake. It was from his time spent running away from the camp, Percy, and his pain, when he was without any helping hand, and friendly face. Percy, on the other hand, when not in a dangerous situation, woke up with difficulties. He was unwilling to move away from Nico, so if he could sleep more, he could stay in his boyfriend's arms longer. His bedhead was a sight to behold, he was soft and cute, nothing like the determined big hero during quests. When he yawned, he was like a little, endearing kitten, with long eyelashes fluttering, his cheeks rosy and soft from sleeping. It was one of Nico’s favorite Percy.

He could never let that sight waste without peppering kisses on his boyfriend’s head, cheeks, and lips. Lazy, Sunday kisses were the best. No hurry, no interruptions, just the two of them being cozy and loving.

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Day 1, Holding Hands

Because I clearly don’t have enough things to do, I decided to try to write every day something from the 30 day OTP challenge. I’m not exactly a persistent person, so it’s almost an experiment for me for how many days I can keep up with something. xD

The first time Nico grabbed Percy’s hand was when they first met with each other. He was just a little boy, shoved into the world of gods and monsters, and the only one who helped him was the cute boy with sea-green eyes and mischievous smile. He was afraid of the monster who attacked them, the glaring, man-hating girls who wanted to steal his sister from him, and the strange god who brought them to the camp.

So, the moment he was close enough to his hero, he grabbed his hand, and no praying could make him let the boy’s hand go.

The second time was when he was the one who saved the boy. He was furious at him because he didn’t help Bianca, but a little part of him wanted to prove Percy that he is not a bad guy, even if he is Hades’ son, that he can be trusted. So, when they were in the labyrinth, for a fleeting moment, he touched Percy’s hand to make sure he follows him. It was a quick touch, not worth to mention, but his palm tingled after it for a long, long time.

The third one was when he pulled Percy out of the River Styx. He was afraid to death that the boy he couldn’t get out of his head would drown in the river, but thankfully the pretty hero survived.

The fourth chance to hold Percy’s hand was in Camp Jupiter when the amnesiac green-eyed beauty grabbed Nico’s hand in excitement. That moment is burnt in Nico’s mind forever because then and there he knew he is fucked. He realized that the other boy feels something for him, but only because he didn’t know who Nico was. So he let Percy’s hand go and left melting into the shadows.

The fifth?

That was after the war against Gaia, after a huge argument between the son of Poseidon and the son of Hades, after throwing all of their hurt and resentment and misunderstandings (and some of their powers) at each other’s head.

After their reconciliation.

The fifth time was the last one Nico managed to count because following the settlement of their fight, they finally realized that they couldn’t live without the other, so there was no reason for Nico to keep counting the times his boyfriend held his hand, touched him, kissed him…

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Day 22, In Battle, Side-by-side

I can’t believe I’m continuing the OTP challenge xD Yeey. It’s not my best work, but after a month of not writing, it was a good starting point.

Percy always knew he was a lucky guy in love.

Well, that’s not exactly true. Before being in a relationship with his Nico, he believed that Aphrodite threatened him when he was just a young kid, thrown into the world of gods and monsters. "His love life will be interesting"? That was a threat. Wasn't it?

Fortunately, it turned out he was blessed by the Goddess of Love – who would have thought? His love life was indeed interesting, but definitely not bad, especially because he got Nico out of it. So, since he got together with Nico, he knew he was a lucky son-of-a-god.

He was so in love with his boyfriend, it sometimes hurt.

Sometimes literally.

He was in love with Nico. He was in love with Nico’s grumpy behavior, his endless love, his soulful eyes, his beautiful curls… he was love with Nico’s everything. Especially with the way he moved.

He was gorgeous in his ferocity, the way he swung his sword to bring down another monster was a sight to behold. Nico was beautiful in his violence; it was always a magnificent sight of how he inflicts devastating damages with a controlled slash of his sword. Every movement was dangerously beautiful and powerful.

It was not a surprise that with this much hotness in front of him, Percy’s mind and eyes sometimes wandered from his fight to ogle his boyfriend’s board shoulders and rippling biceps. And it wasn’t a surprise either that sometimes this distraction caused him a wound or two. Sometimes it was just a small scratch from a hellhound’s claw, but sometimes it needed a trip to Will’s realm, where he was reprimanded and was yelled at that why was he always such a Seaweed Brain.

If anybody asked him, he would have told them that those wounds were worth the sight of his powerful boyfriend killing some monsters – but nobody asked him. Especially not his boyfriend, who never noticed that the only time Percy was hurt badly was when Nico was being his dangerous, seductively powerful self.

And Percy preferred this way, because if his boyfriend knew it? Nico would decide that they shouldn’t go to the same missions, and would rob Percy from the most alluring sights he’d ever seen.

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Day 4, On a Date

I’ve never been to Disney World, but I’d like to. I know Disney is a pretty bad company, but I love the movies, the princesses, the parks... mostly everything. And after day 3′s The Little Mermaid movie watching, the date just had to be in one of the parks.

“I bought you something”, said Nico with a mischievous smile on his face. His hands were tucked behind his back like he was hiding something. Percy was embarrassed because, before this, he didn’t receive this many gifts in his whole life, as he did from Nico that day in the Walt Disney World. He got blue churros, blue waffle, blue caramel apple – blue everything. He got plushies, T-shirts, and jackets. Hades, Nico bought the tickets as well, and he was the one who brought them to the park via shadow-travel!

But before he could object that there is no reason to receive another gift, Nico pulled out two pairs of Mickey ears from his behind. One of them was The Little Mermaid themed, with Triton’s crown instead of a bow, and the ears were blue scaled. The other one was Hades-inspired, with blue flames and a little white skull on a black bow. They were perfect.

“Oh, my gods, Nico!” shouted Percy elated. His boyfriend just smiled with a shy, but delighted smile and he tolerated patiently as Percy put on his head the Hades ears. After that, the excited boy, with a delighted grin, put on his own head the mermaid one. “This is perfect. Thank you, Nico. Not just for the ears, but for the whole day!” Percy felt so content like he had never before. He snuggled into the waiting arms of his boyfriend, where he relaxed and breathed in Nico’s spicy smell.

They went to Disney World, just the two of them without any of their friends or meddling gods.

They ate delicious food – mostly in the blue variety.

They rode the rides, without having to wait in the two-hour-long lines.

They saw the Beauty and the Beast live show and the afternoon parade.

At the moment they were watching the nighttime show in front of the castle with Mickey ears on their head.

The date was so cheesy but so perfect, Percy almost couldn’t contain his bursting emotions. Since he was a child he dreamt about his perfect date, but for the abused little boy, this was more than he could dream of. This was so much better – not only because of all the Disney stuff but because of Nico.

“I love you, you know, right?” mumbled Percy into the neck of his boyfriend.

“I love you, too.” Nico hugged the boy in his arms more tightly and placed a sweet, feather-soft kiss into his hair, cautiously not to knock the ears off of Percy’s head.

The fireworks boomed above them in blue, red, yellow, and other colors. Percy half-way unfolded himself from the embrace and tilted his head towards Nico’s. Time seemed to slow down as his boyfriend leaned down to capture Percy’s lips in a kiss. Even if it wasn’t their first kiss, both felt the other’s heart beating more rapidly, in almost the same rhythm. Nico’s grip tightened on Percy’s waist, while their lips moved in a slow, utterly perfect harmony.

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Day 11 & Day 12, Wearing Kigurumis & Making Out

Yesterday I felt like shit and couldn’t find enough power in me to write, so today I wrote one fic with two themes. Percy liked wearing his skeleton kigurumi. He only bought it because Rachel was in an anime-phase and when she bought one for herself, she made him buy one for himself as well. But after trying out, he fell in love with the black and white onesie. It was comfortable, warm, and soft against his skin. It was big enough to move in it without tripping over his own feet, and he liked to snuggle in it. Also, it reminded him of Nico because of the skeleton print, so that was also a positive aspect of the kigurumi.

He felt cute in it. When he wore it, he didn’t have to be the great hero, the leader of the camp, the protective fighter, or the almost adult, he could be just himself. He had never been just a kid, he didn’t have a real childhood, but in the adult onesie, he could pretend that he was just a normal guy, who had only two problems in his life: trying to find out which university to go and figuring out how to get the boy.

After the war, he finally had time to figure out himself. He talked to his mother, to Paul, to Annabeth, even to Will, the only gay guy he knew, and came out to them as a pansexual. They were very supportive, Annabeth even offered him her help getting himself a boy- or girlfriend, but he declined. He knew who he wanted, but now he also knew he couldn’t have him without changing who he was. But he wanted Nico. Oh, how much he wanted him!

But alas, even is Nico came out as gay, Percy wasn’t his type, so the only mature thing he could do after that revelation was stealing the Hermes cabin’s secret stash of chocolate ice cream, dressing up in his kigurumi and snuggling into a pillow-fort in the solitude of his cabin. He took the tub in his lap and dug his spoon into it.

If he had to wallow in self-pity because he was dumped before he could confess his love to Nico, the least thing he could do is eating ice cream. Well, it would have been better if it was blue ice cream, or his mother’s blue chocolate chip cookies, but at least it was the good, pricey stuff, so this would do.

He was lost in thought, so he didn’t hear the knock on his door, but when he felt an intruder in his cabin, he immediately picked up Riptide. He took off the cap before he realized that it wasn’t a monster or an irritating god, but the cause of his current state.

“What are you doing here?” Percy asked with a sullen voice and ate another spoonful of ice cream. The son of Hades just stood there like he was rooted there and blinked surprised at the strange sight. It is not an everyday sight that the son of Poseidon huddle in a pillow fort in a black onesie while eating ice cream like no tomorrow. “I asked something!”

At Percy’s second sentence he came out of his stupor and answered. “You weren’t at dinner and you also missed the campfire and I was… I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine, so you can go”, said Percy pouting. “…and be with your type, who is not me”, added almost inaudibly, but not quiet enough for Nico not to hear it.

“What?” asked dumfounded and slowly walked closer to the pillow fort. Percy looked like a deer in headlights – he didn’t want Nico to know how much he hurt him. “What do you mean?” Nico crouched in front of Percy and waited for the answer. He couldn’t let himself to hope, because if Percy didn’t mean that way he thought, he’d be crushed even more. But if he did…

“I said you should be with that type of yours and let me wallow in self-pity alone”, said Percy defiantly. He snuggled more into his kigurumi, the only visible part of him was his sad but sullen green eyes.

“And why are you wallowing?” asked Nico tentatively. It was a bad question to ask. Percy straightened himself and his gaze was like the stormiest ocean.

“Because someone broke my heart before I could confess to him”, his voice was strong and deceptively calm but Nico could feel the threatening water in the air. He should have felt afraid, but the only thing he could feel was relief, hope, and love.

“You… you wanted to confess me? You like me?” asked hopefully, with a small smile on his face. Percy assumed it was because Nico thought the notion was so ridiculous he laughed at him, so he looked away from Nico to hide the tears gathering in his eyes.

“Fuck you”, whispered the son of Poseidon.

“Wait! I wasn’t making fun of you! I promise! I just… I’m happy. I lied before – when I said that you are not my type. You are. You are the only one for me. You were always the one for me”, explained Nico hurriedly. Percy tore his eyes away from the wall and looked at Nico. He shook his head disbelievingly but he could see the truth in the boy’s eyes. He loved Percy.

Percy dropped the long-forgotten spoon from his hand and grabbed Nico’s shirt to pull him close. “You are an idiot!” said with conviction but his actions contradicted his words. Before Nico could say anything, he crushed his lips tightly against Nico’s. The boy’s lips were cold and unmoving, but everything Percy ever wanted. After a few moments of bewilderment, Nico came to the conclusion that yes, his first and only love is kissing him, he closed his eyes and returned the kiss with enthusiasm. “You are lucky that even so, I like you.”

Now it was Nico’s turn pulling Percy closer, one arm wrapping around his waist, the other sliding to his cheek. The kiss was not like the previous one; Percy’s mouth opened under Nico’s as if giving permission to take whatever Nico wanted. Everything was perfect – the way their lips touched, the smell of their combined scents, Nico’s hand in Percy’s hair, his mouth on his jaw, moving down his throat.

At the feeling of Nico’s mouth on his throat, he hummed softly with approval, and when Nico bit the sensitive area, he let out a pleasure-filled moan. Percy brought his hand to Nico’s dark curls and pulled at them to make Nico come up to another passionate kiss. Percy let Nico lead the kiss, his tongue roaming in the green-eyed boy’s mouth and brushing against his teeth. The kiss was hot and wet and dirty. Percy smiled into the kiss, and they broke it to look at each other. Their gaze was filled with love and want – they needed more of the other. So, they closed their eyes again to resume the kiss. Nico wanted all of Percy. He wanted him before, but now that he could taste him and feel his body against his, he wanted more. Every gasp, every hitch of breath, and every moan. He wanted to taste every inch of his skin, to feel the other boy’s naked body pressed against his own.

The only obstacle was that damned onesie. He grunted disappointed when he couldn’t disrobe Percy, who tore away from Nico laughing.

“Hold your horses, we have all the time in the world”, said Percy to the pouting son of Hades with mirth in his eyes.

“I can’t help it. You are so irresistible and now that you are mine, I can’t get enough of you.” At Nico’s words, Percy’s face reddened but looked very, very pleased. He felt the same way, so he leaned to steal another kiss – not the last time that night.

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Day 20 & Day 21, Dancing & Cooking/Baking

(Ooops, another day with two themes...)

“Hey, are you okay?” asked Nico when he arrived home. Percy was pouting – it was his 'I-hate-my-stepmother-and-her-spoiled-son' pout. Percy spent his afternoon with them because his father had a last-minute call and couldn’t stay with them, so it was a pretty bad day for him. Even with his father gone, he had to be there for the whole afternoon as he promised his father, who didn't care that the two families of Poseidon Jackson hated each other. Or more like his wife and his son despised his bastard of a son and Percy, in turn, resented them.

So, when he arrived at his apartment where he lived with his fiancé, he did the only thing he could do to relax without Nico’s help: baked. He was a stress-baker - he learned it from his mother -, so since he went home from the afternoon-from-hell, he baked two batches of blue chocolate chip cookies, one blue velvet cake, and at the time, he was stirring the eggs into his cheesecake batter.

“Perfectly okay”, answered Percy, but his aggressive movements said otherwise. His fiancé shook his head, smiled, and went to the kitchen to grab Percy’s hand, stopping him from painting the counter blue with the spilling batter. He pulled his beloved from the counter, towards himself. Percy tensed but allowed it.

“Come on”, Nico encouraged the other man, and pulled him closer, until they were chest to chest, pressed tightly against each other. Nico curled one of his arms around Percy’s waist, the other helped Percy to move his hand onto his shoulders.

“What are you doing?” asked Percy with a hint of a smile dancing around his mouth.

“Helping you relax”, Nico answered, and started to shift himself back and forth, his hips bumping into Percy until the other one decided to follow him. Percy pressed his face into the crook of Nico’s neck, and smiled helplessly. He was completely gone on his fiancé. “Dance with me”, Nico whispered seducingly into Percy’s ear, full of the promise of their future activity in their bedroom. (Or on the kitchen table.)

Percy tangled his fingers into Nico’s dark curls and relaxed in the arms of his fiancé. They swayed slowly, without any music, on the rhythm of their own. They forgot everything, just the two of them mattered – until they leaned against the counter and pushed down the bowl full of blue cheesecake batter.

“You clean up!” snickered Percy and run into the safety of the bathroom to escape from his blue-painted grumpy of a fiancé. It was clearly Nico��s fault, he wanted to dance in the kitchen!

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Day 7, Cosplaying

Yes. I am sure that Percy would totally cosplay Harry Potter. You can’t change my mind.

„Pleeeeeaseee! For me!” Percy begged to his boyfriend. “Pretty pretty please with a cherry on top!” He wasn’t shy using his ultimate weapon, his baby seal eyes either. But the said boyfriend was unmovable. He just crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked the begging son of Poseidon with contempt. He could say ‘no’ to the bright bluish-green, wide eyes, full of tears. He could say ‘no’ to the phantom images of bent down puppy ears and fluffy tail wagging. 

“No.” There was no doubt in his voice. He won’t crave, he won’t do it. He is strong.

“Just this one day. We are finally here, and you know how much I love Harry Potter! Please, dress up with me! I want to ride a broomstick and learn how to cast spells in a Harry Potter costume! And you’d be amazing Draco Malfoy!”

Right. The cause of his disdain: the blond wig.

He would NOT wear a blonde wig.

---

He wore it.

Of course, he craved for his boyfriend’s begging. He dares you to try to resist those eyes!

He wore the blonde wig, the silver and green tie, the cloak, and the wand. He looked weird but with his (in and out of costume) black-haired, green-eyed hero of a boyfriend they were the perfect Drarry duo in the Warner Bros. Studios.

They traveled on the Hogwarts Express, took photos, and let others take photos of them. It was actually a pretty great day even for Nico, they were having so much fun.

Even if it meant that Nico had to wear a blonde wig on his head for the whole day.

He will never hear the end of the teasing if… no, when Thalia, Hazel, Will, Jason, and the others see the pictures.

But at least he made his boyfriend happy, and that’s what counts.

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Day 18, Doing Something Together

Even with his eyes closed, Nico could feel somebody staring at him. It was not a rare occurrence, he was often stared at because of his good looks, because of his choice of clothes or because of fear, but right now, all he wanted to do, was sunbathing. He was not often in the fresh air, it was even rare for him to want to get a suntan, but when he had the time for it, he liked to go to the beach and pretend he was in Italy, not in the USA.

He tried not to concentrate on the burning feeling of somebody’s gaze, but it was getting more and more uncomfortable, so he rolled onto his side and opened his eyes to deal with that creep who stared at him.

Well, it turned out, the creep was a beautiful young man, maybe one or two years older than Nico, with windblown, black hair, delicious tanned skin, and the greenest eyes Nico has ever seen. The man lowered his eyes, embarrassed when he saw Nico noticing him, but it wasn’t for long – the green-eyed beauty couldn’t take his eyes off the sunbathing Italian.

“See anything you like?” Nico asked with a smirk. The other man blushed, but instead of walking away, he uncertainly stepped closer to Nico.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you”, he said. “It’s just… you looked so relaxed and handsome resting there.” It was bolder than Nico would have thought the other man would be, but he was flattered. He smiled a half-smile and scooted to the other side of his towel.

“You can’t complain about your looks either. Sit”, said Nico. The man smiled brightly, so sunnily, he could make the Sun jealous of it. It made Nico’s heart stutter a bit, and when the other sat down next to him, he couldn’t help but blush. It was a long time ago when he was this comfortable flirting with somebody.

“I’m Percy”, introduced himself to the newcomer, and Nico also told his name. They were close to each other, almost touching with their hands and outstretched legs. Maybe it was inappropriate being this close to another, unknown man, but none of them was sorry.

“What are you doing here?” asked Nico, searching for a good conversation topic. It was not his best, but at least not a total silence.

“I like the beach, and the sea”, answered Percy, and a mischievous glint entered in his eyes. “Also, my boyfriend wanted to re-experience our first meeting as our fifth-anniversary present.”

“Oh, really?” grinned Nico, and with that, he pulled Percy on himself to kiss him senseless.

“That wasn’t part of our meeting”, pouted the other grinning man, but he didn’t let Nico say anything else, and leaned back to another kiss.

Even after five years of dating, they couldn't get bored of each other. They felt just like when they saw each other for the first time.

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Day 2, Cuddling Somewhere

Content warning: self-harm, depression, mentions of abuse

Percy acknowledged it wasn’t a healthy coping mechanism, but there was no strength left in him to care about it. He started it when he was living with Gabe. It was not a good time for him: he was abused by the man he thought his mother loved, he didn’t have friends, he was bullied in school, he accepted Gabe’s words that he was a waste of space...

After forced into the world of immature gods, lethal quests, and caring frenemies, he stopped doing it. He had things to do, other types of pain to feel. If he wanted to feel alive, he just asked Clarisse to spar with him, and she gladly beat him into a pile of vaguely Percy-shaped broken bones. The small price he had to pay for it, was that the water and nectar combo did an effective work and quickly healed him.

But after Tartarus, after the war against Gaia, after breaking up with the also shattered Annabeth, he started again.

It wasn’t like anybody cared about him… Everybody had someone to care for, so he didn’t want to be selfish with his problems and tear them away from each other. His problems were not worth to mention, he would be fine. Sometime. In the future. Maybe.

He almost believed that he could be fine without anybody.

Almost, until Nico.

He was spiraling down in his depression and self-harming, he couldn’t get out of his bed when the fed-up son of Hades stormed into his cabin. Percy didn’t have the energy to protest when Nico helped him into the bathroom, under the shower. Not even when he started to undress him from the clothes he had on him since his last shower he took some time the previous week.

The thing that made Percy break down was when Nico gently, so caringly stroked his wrist above his scars. He folded down and cried. He didn't know when was the last time he could cry when he could let everything go from his heart and soul.

Nico was there instantly to hold the shattered boy in his arms. He pulled him closer, whispering sweet nothings in soft tones to his ears. Percy didn’t know how long it took, but slowly his tears got dried out, his painful emptiness lessened a bit. He had enough strength in him to finish showering, but going back in his bed was impassible without Nico’s help. Percy thought the other boy would leave, now that he knew how much a failure he was, but Nico stayed.

Not only stayed, but after making sure Percy didn’t mind, he slid under the blanket, and pulled Percy close to himself, hugging him tightly.

“I care”, whispered Nico in Percy’s ear. The two words Percy was waiting for to someone say to him. He closed his eyes, and relaxed in Nico’s protective, strong arms and managed to fall asleep. His nightmares were no-shows that night, the cuddly son of Hades kept them away.

It didn’t miraculously cure him. There is no such thing – but Nico was helping. Percy had better and worse days, fortunately, the better days dominated. It was not his dreamed happy ending, but it was real, and he’d never change it to anything else.

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Day 3, Gaming/Watching a Movie

Because I love Disney

“You haven’t seen a Disney movie yet?” Percy asked dumbfounded, with an offended gasp.

“Maybe in the Hotel, but otherwise when I would have had the time and opportunity to see one?” scoffed Nico. Percy thought about it and had to concede – there really hadn’t been enough time for it.

“This means,” Percy made a drumming-like sound, “we are watching The Little Mermaid!” Nico didn’t dignify it with an answer, he knew it very well that if his boyfriend for two years wanted to do something, he was going to do that. So, he sighed and sat down on the couch, while his significant other was moving back and forth between the kitchen and the living room, getting ready the DVD player, and making popcorn. It seemed like an eternity when Percy finally plopped down next to his resigned partner and crawled into his arms.

“Movie time!” declared the son of Poseidon and pressed the play button. He hummed along with the Disney theme song, and while he wanted to stay quiet to let his boyfriend enjoy watching the movie for the first time in his life, he couldn’t help but sing along the songs. He was always this invested in this particular movie, but at that moment he had a personal reason to have tears in his eyes.

“I’d give up the sea for you”, Percy declared looking into the eyes of his boyfriend. It was not just an empty declaration, he really meant it: he had declined his father’s offer of godhood before, and he’d do it without a second thought to be with Nico.

“Fortunately for you, you don’t have to”, said the aforementioned. “I asked your father, and he is okay with us being together.”

Percy looked shocked. Not because of his father – out of the three sons of Kronos, Poseidon was the most laidback -, but because of what Nico did. “What? Nico!”

“What? I needed to do this alone to make sure your father respects me. And you know as well as I do that my father wants me to be his left hand, and that your father always wanted to make you a god. So, when it comes to it, we can stay together and our fathers will have shared custody on us as father and Aunt Demeter have on Phone. Half a year in the ocean, half a year in the Underworld”, answered Nico. Percy sat absolutely floored, but when he understood Nico’s words, the son of Hades’ lap was immediately full of his boyfriend.

“You. Are. Amazing!” said Percy and started peppering his boyfriend’s face with loving kisses. When he pictured his perfect happy ending, he always thought himself as Ariel, but without her idiotic choices: having the perfect prince as a husband, but also staying in the ocean as a mermaid. And now, if they will be really gods in the future, he will get what he always wanted. His Ghost King, a happy family, and a merman tail.

[justonemorechapternicercy]

Day 8, Shopping

Okay, so, I wrote that incorrect quote before I realized that today’s OTP challenge is shopping - and now I’m cheating and reuse my previous post. (Is it cheating when there is no one to check what the hell I am doing? xD)

“Maybe I should go instead”, fretted Nico. He was in the kitchen, preparing for the bi-weekly party. They kept in touch with the others during the weekdays, but with everybody so busy with their lives, it was easier holding a party every two weeks when every one of them could meet the others. Thankfully all of their friends lived more-or-less close to each other so they could easily make a schedule to decide which pair holds the get-together.

Their house was the next.

Percy wasn’t much of a cook, Nico, on the other hand, liked to make Italian dishes, so he was cutting the vegetables, marinating the meat and preparing four different types of desserts. Unfortunately, they were out of some ingredients, but because he couldn’t leave the kitchen, he needed Percy to go to the grocery.

“What? You don’t trust me?” gasped with fake outrage the green-eyed man. Nico looked at him, lifted one of his eyebrows – that look told everything, no explanation needed. “I’m offended”, Percy dramatically clasped his chest.

“I love you, but you know as well as I do that you can be easily distracted by shiny things”, retorted Nico. Percy just grinned and sent a cheeky kiss to his husband. Husband… they were married for four years, but the happiness of that word didn’t lessen.

“So, what do you need?”

“We need milk, sugar, a dozen eggs – not a dozen cases! – and maybe you could bring flour also.” Nico made a quick inventory, but nothing else was missing. “Maybe you should write it down, it is more than two items, you may forget some.”

“You are evil, and I don’t deserve this treatment. I’m not writing down because I will remember them and I will prove you wrong”, huffed Percy and left the house. As he walked down the street to the shop nearby, he saw something in the corner of his eyes he just had to check out. It was two vicious hellhounds attacking a defenseless, baby manticore. That poor monster was bleeding from several wounds, Percy had to save him. So, what if it will grow into a huge, demigod-killing monster? It was just a baby – a lethal, scary baby, but a baby, nonetheless. He pulled out Riptide and slew the hellhounds before they could attack him instead of the little one. The battle is an easy one, but the manticore is so hurt, Percy had no other option but to bring him to a veterinarian and hope the baby monster won’t kill anybody. He was in luck, the little one was too tired to oppose to the treatment.

He went home happily with his new pet, where he was welcomed by an angry-worried Nico in the kitchen.

“Oh, shit. I didn’t bring anything from the grocery, did I?” hit Percy his head. “But look! I brought us a manticore. Isn’t he the cutest?” His grin was blinding, but his husband was mostly used to those bright eyes and adorable smiles, he continued to look at Percy like he wanted to kill him. No, that’s excessive – he’d just maim him.

“Please, dear, remind me again why did we got married?”