Nico

He had knocked himself into a coma. So he wasn't dead.

But then again, he wasn't alive. Percy was hanging on by a fucking thread that he was ready to cut.

After that night, I just left camp. I wasn't going to hear the end of this from Jason. I didn't want to deal with it. I visited him. Kind of rambled for a while.

Ended up running into Sally walking back to my little alley after about four days. I had visited Percy every day. Same time. Working myself up to telling him just in case he could really hear me. Grover was the only one I told about leaving. I've been keeping him updated on Percy and he tries to tone down my scent.

Apparently he knew a long time ago. Grover knew that I was gay. I guess it was a satyr thing. And according to him, this just kind of confirmed what he had thought for years.

It was nice. He didn't care about it. Hell, he told me that it was kind of obvious when I was younger that I liked Percy. I didn't know how to hide it. He still gets a kick out of me asking if Annabeth had been his girlfriend, too. Which seemed like a million years ago.

But either way, I ran into Sally.

"Oh, sorry, I—" and then Sally cut herself and we realized who each other had been after a moment. "Oh my gods, Nico! You're in the city still! The doctor told me you had been visiting Percy. Which is sweet considering Grover has been the only other person to send anything. He wrote to us. Explained that he wasn't allowed to leave Camp yet, but he was hoping."

"Uh, yeah..." I said as I carried my cheap McDonalds bag. I'm living off of what would be quest money from a long time ago. That and the allowance my dad gave me once. It was a $20. "I've been around. Away from camp. I've been keeping Grover updated."

"That's good to hear!" Sometimes I forget how nice his parents could be even in a tragedy like this. "Where are you staying? With your mom, I assume. But where is that?"

"Oh, um..." I kind of motioned to the alley behind us. "There."

Somehow, she didn't even have to ask. From that she just got that my mom was dead and I don't have any other family.

She invited me over for dinner.

"No, you don't have to." I insisted right away, not wanting them to waste food on me when I had a perfectly good McDonald's meal. It was a waste. "Really, I already got myself some food. It'll have me set until tomorrow or the day after. It's fine."

It was not fine.

She basically forced me to go over for dinner. Which turned into her coaxing me to watch a movie.

I hadn't slept in two days. I fell asleep during the movie. Which, if I'm right, was her plan from the start.

It's Sally, after all. She can't watch somebody go through that.

She went as far as to have me wake up to a custodial parent code and application. Having both of their names on it. Sally had been off to work by then, but Paul was still home.

I kind of cried. Because I've gone to foster homes before. I stayed at one from.lkke two months. There was few of them.

I always had been last pick. With the other kids, with the staff, and with the fostering parents.

When Paul left for work at 7, I called Grover. I was still crying, but it was a good sort of crying.

"Hey, Nico!" He's always been excited for my calls, which was also nice. "What's up? Anything new on Percy or no? You normally visit him later in the day."

"No, I'll visit later." I assured the satyr. "But I ran into Sally last night. Oh my way back from the hospital. She invited me over for dinner, coaxed me into watching a movie just so I could fall asleep. And uh... Sally and Paul want to foster me."

"Wait," Grover said in response to that after realizing what I actually said. "Dude! Are you serious? That's fucking great! And I'm not being sarcastic, either. Oh my gods."

"Dead serious," I insisted, no pun intended, though. "I have to sign some paperwork, and then I'll go visit Percy."

Grover hang up, and I signed what was needed to sign before heading to the hospital. Where they told me he had just woken up.

He has amnesia, though. He has full strength, but he doesn't remember anything. So he could go home (I'm pretty sure they thought I was his brother), but be careful.

When I walked into his room, Percy looked at me and he seemed really confused.

"Hey," I said, trying to stay casual. This meant a new start. That could get really bad or really good. "How are you feeling?"

"Me?" He asked, pointing at himself and I nodded my head. "Oh. Good. I mean, I can't remember shit. But I'm good. Who are you?"

"I'm Nico," I introduced myself to again for the third time. He's had amnesia before, but this wasn't caused by a god. "Nico di Angelo. A... Friend, more of less."

He slowly nodded his head, trying to remember me. But he couldn't.

"Is there anything I should know about you?" Percy asked me. "Sorry. You're my first visitor since I woke up because I guess my parents are at work. Which is fine. They have to make sure to get along even when I'm here."

I smiled.

"Yeah," I agreed and he returned the smile. "Um, I'm a little younger than you. I'm 16, you're 17. Um... I'm gay. Yeah. Your parents are in the process of fostering me."

"Oh my gods!" He barely even reacted to what I told him. "That's so cool! We can live together!"

And then he stopped for a second and looked at me. Confused again.

"Wait," he said, trying to figure something out. "We're you my boyfriend?"

I could've taken it. Annabeth broke up with him over text while he was in the hospital. So he's single.

But I didn't. Because I like him and even though I'm gay, doesn't mean he likes guys at all. Sure, he might be bi. But I don't know that. And when he gets his memory back, he'll probably be super pissed off if I lie like that.

"Uh, no..." I answered his question, a little embarrassed now. "We weren't together. You had a girlfriend, but you guys broke up. She lives in California."

"Oh, okay." He said and he sort of swayed side to side a few times. "You're sure you weren't my boyfriend?"

"Yeah."

"Damn."

"Why?" I asked, now being the confused one as I helped him get ready to go. He uh... Was in one of those hospital dress things. So he had to change. And he didn't care about using the bathroom to change.

Thank gods he had underwear.

His chest was fucking worth it though. I could feel myself get hard when he took his shirt off. It wasn't too bad. I was hoping that it wasn't noticable.

"Because," the demigod told me as he got really close to me. I was going to hand him his shirt, but he hadn't let go of my hand yet. My heart was freaking out. "You're kind of cute. I don't know why I wouldn't make you my boyfriend."

Now it was noticable. Even more so, being I was wearing skinny jeans.

"We uh..." I was just trembling a little. Not expecting this to happen. "We didn't always get along. That's probably why. I also never had the nerve to tell you I was gay."

"Oh," he said, and I could probably melt in his hands right now. "Well if that's the case," he got a lot closer to me, "we can change it, if you'd like."

He made me into putty and I just kind of smiled.

"I'll take that as a yes," Percy told me, and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "We can go out after I'm changed, right? The hospital is letting me go?"

"What? Yeah!" I was really fucking nervous, but also really happy. "They are."

I stepped out into the Hall, and called Grover. This was important.

"What's new, my dude?" Grover asked when he answered the phone, expecting it to be the same as it had been the past few days. He's asleep, not getting worse or better.

"He woke up," I told the satyr. "And I mean, he has amnesia. He doesn't remember much of anything. But I mean, because he doesn't remember it, he isn't depressed! I also told him that I was gay and he, very smoothly, asked me out. So like... It's been a morning."

Grover kind of laughed.

"Sounds like it," he responded. "Go get em, tiger."