Nico di Angelo

It's not like I had anything else to do, so I figured I'd hang out with Percy. We finally got the answer that him and Annabeth aren't a thing. They never have been a thing.

They're just really good friends and Annabeth is touchy feely. When asked, they both insisted they weren't dating.

So I guess that gave me some hope? I don't know, it doesn't mean he's gay or bi.

My chances are still slim to none. But I figured why the hell not just talk to him. Patch up old wounds.

So I headed to his cabin, and knocked on the door.

Percy was... Surprised to say the least.

"Nico!" Percy said when he opened the door, and sort of smiled. "Hey..."

He let me in.

"What are you doing here?" He asked me.

That's when I realized I didn't have an excuse for being here. So I shrugged.

"I don't know," I told him as he shut the door behind me. "But I guess I don't have anything else to do. Sometimes you can hang out with Hazel too much. Plus, her, Frank, Jason, and Piper are out on a double date."

If I was out, it might be a triple date. Not with Will. I rejected his ass and said I was straight. But you know, I can still hope for Percy.

"Yeah, I heard." Percy told me and sighed, looking around. "Do you want me show you around? You haven't been here since they redid cabins, right?"

"I was never here before." I confirmed and so he showed me around. The basics first. He only had 3 bedrooms in here. But he uh... We passed a room and he just said it was like a studio.

Curious, I went inside.

It was a fucking art studio. He had like 3 paintings on a canvas wrack, drying. There was a color spectrum thing with a shit ton of  colored pencils. There were a few desks. An easel, and then like a cabinet area that was labeled with a bunch of art stuff.

And then he had like some art and whatever hanging up with his signature. And it was really good.

"You don't have to—" Percy didn't peg me as an art guy.

"You do art?" I asked and he got self conscious about it.

"Yeah..." He hesitantly admitted, looking down at his shoes as I wandered in even further, looking at stuff.

"This is like," I started off, looking at a drawing he had done. "Really good."

"It's not..." Obviously this was his sort of secret.

"No, it is." I insisted, walking back over to him and putting my hands on his shoulder. That had his attention. "Seriously, Percy, you're like amazing. You could make money off of this. Probably not like museum worthy. Not yet, maybe eventually, if that's your goal. But there's people that will pay a lot of money for stuff like this."

For him, though, this was embarrassing.

"Percy," I said again and he looked at me for once. "Don't be embarrassed. It's really cool that you can do this. I get frustrated every time I try to draw and it looks like shit. Who taught you?"

"I uh... I taught myself." The son of Poseidon just blew my mind. "I got bored in class a lot so I started doodling in my notebook. I bought a sketchbook when I was like 11 and started sketching in class. Teachers didn't care. I was always pretty good in art class. Like I wasn't amazing but I put effort into it because I liked it. So I taught myself. Art teachers helped but like... Yeah. It's normally something I don't show others. Mainly because people make fun of me."

"It's so cool, though," I was just really into this whole artsy Percy idea. "You should like, show me a few things you've done that you're proud of."

He showed me a few drawings, a painting, and then like something he did with chalk. And watching him talk about it was amazing because I didn't know anything about it, but he was so passionate and so into it. I fell in love a little bit more.

It's always fun when you learn something new, I think.

He even drew me. It was sweet of him.

"What do you think?" Percy asked when he showed me how it turned out.

"Okay, one, I love it," I told him, because it was so cute and amazing. "Two, I think I like this artsy side of you a lot."

"Really?" He responded, unsure how to take the compliment.

"Percy," I said. "Just take the compliment."

He smiled, kind of biting his lip like he does when he's complimented because he never knows how to take a compliment. It's one of those small things that makes him a lot cuter.

"Hey, Percy."

"Hm?"

"Out of curiosity," I stated, because I might as well ask. Things were going well and I was feeling good. "Just knowing that like you and Annabeth weren't a thing or whatever. It's sort of weird, but like I said, it's just curiosity..."

I paused for a second.

"Are you gay?"

For a second he looked at me like he didn't know what I asked him.

"Am I..." He responded, not expecting that out of me. "well I mean... I uh... Yeah. I am."

It was weird for a few seconds before he added on to that answer.

"Are like... I feel like I know the answer to this," Percy told me. "But are you gay?"

Why did I think he wouldn't ask in return?

"Well, I uh..." I started off, now wanting to like shoot myself. But I think he kind of got it. "you know, we don't talk about it."

"Oh, come on," Percy was aware that he pushed me a bit, but it seemed fair. He came out to me and plus, this whole art studio was his secret. "It's fine, Nico. I won't tell the others as long as you don't tell them about the studio, okay? It'd also be great if you didn't out me."

"I never would," I assured him..

"Thank the gods for that," he responded and sat down next to me. "so who do you like?"

I could feel myself turn red as the blood rushed to my face when he leaned against me.

"You sh—"

Either he didn't hear me say the next word or he knew, and I'm assuming the first.

"Wait, seriously?" Because suddenly he got really excited, and I realized how it sounded. Which I mean, I like him anyways, so it's not wrong. Just not how it was intended. "Oh my gods, I..."

"What?" I responded and that's when I realized what I said and just kind of went out shit. This is doing to be weird.

But that fucking smile.

•••
Percy Jackson

My brain just fucking took off. Because I just found out that Nico likes me.

It was a miracle. He finds the studio, he loves it, and then he's gay, and now he actually likes me. 

Kill me now, I'll die happy.

Don't actually, though. I could be happier. Like, with him.

"Wait," Nico said after a moment. "Who do you...?"

I cupped his face with my hands and moved the hair out of his face, smiling.

"May I?"

I'm not sure whether he realized the intent, but he nodded his head and before you knew it, I was tasting his lips. They were soft

I was real fucking happy right now.

He was into it, though. Thank gods. If he wasn't, I'd be kind of fucked. And not in the good way that could also potentially happen not today.

•••
Nico di Angelo

The others were back by campfire and of course, they're in good moods. Leo pointed out my good mood to them.

"We're gone for two hours and you get a girlfriend." Hazel remarked. "How? Who?"

"I never said..."

"Oh, come on," Frank teased me, "we can go on a triple date the next time!"

"What's going on?" Percy asked as him and Grover showed up.

"Did you hear anything about Nico's girlfriend?" Percy almost had a heart attack when he heard that, and I understand why. Neither of us are out.

"Nico... No?" Percy said, pretending to be surprised. "Nico, what the heck? I thought you hated everyone here."

"I don't have a girlfriend," I insisted.

"Then why are you so happy?" Piper asked. "Because I can feel it, you know. I am the daughter of Aphrodite."

"And I'm the son of Hades," I stated something just as obvious. "I can feel when someone is dying. Just because you can sense something doesn't mean I have a girlfriend."

"It'd be so cute, though," Hazel apparently really wanted me to get a girlfriend. Sorry to be a let down. "I feel like you'd actually be a really good boyfriend."

"Yeah!" I was about to fucking kill Jason. "If you and like your boyfriend or whatever went to the fourth of July thing? That'd be so cute."

"Boyfriend?" Leo questioned, but at least Hazel didn't react. "Eh, I don't know, Jason. I'd have to say that out of any of the guys here that would be gay, it'd be Frank, and he has a girlfriend. So..."

I didn't say anything and just let them debate this themselves.