Nico groaned, small bags under his eyes and a weak headache pounding at his tired brain. He plopped down on his dorm bed, Percy laying there already. Nico's roommate was gone for the weekend, so it was nice that it was just the two of them, especially as Nico recovered from the wild party their friend group had thrown the night before.

Nico looked over at Percy, "Hey..." His tone was quiet and his voice was gruff.

Nico immediately laid on Percy's chest as Percy responded, "Hey, how was your shower?"

"It was okay," he said, hair still a little wet and now dripping on Percy. "I'm so hungover..."

Percy smirked, "You were so fucked up last night."

Nico hummed, "Yeah. I so was.."

Nico closed his eyes, taking in Percy's body heat. He shivered a little, and Percy decided to pull the covers up on them.

"You told me you loved me a lot last night," Percy commented, hoping for a reaction.

Nico squirmed and cringed, hoping he wouldn't bring that up...

"Yeah..." he said in a high-pitched voice. "I guess so, huh? I was really drunk."

Percy swallowed. The two of them had been dating for just over a year now, but Nico struggled with showing (and receiving) affection, at least in times when he wasn't sick or recovering. It was something that bothered Percy, not enough to break up with him but enough to be somewhat upset by it. It's something they never really talked about, though. Nico said he had trauma and they left it at that, but now...

"How come you never say it to me when you're sober?"

Nico froze a bit. He contemplated what to say. He wanted to play it off, but the tone of Percy's voice sounded serious. Maybe this was one of those moments where he could be vulnerable. Being hungover didn't give him much critical thinking skills to change his mind, so he took a deep breath.

"I get scared," he admitted. Suddenly, he felt a brick in his throat. It was such an unsafe feeling to say something like that out loud for him.

"Of what?" Percy asked gently, staring up at the ceiling as they laid still together.

"Of... I don't know," Nico mumbled just loud enough for Percy to follow along. "Of rejection... Of things going wrong... Of you surprising me by hurting me... Of me psyching myself out... I don't know. They all seem likely."

For a moment, there was complete silence. Nico wondered if he'd said something wrong, but Percy piped up just before Nico could ask.

"I understand. I just wish... you could be more lovey dovey with me."

"Lovey dovey?"

"Yeah," Percy exclaimed. "Like... saying that you love me, even if just in private. And holding my hand more. More dates. The romantic things."

Nico bit the inside of his cheek, "Do you need that?"

"I just... I would really like it."

"I don't know if I can, Percy. It takes me... time."

Percy exhaled slowly. He didn't want to sound irritated, but as selfish as it was, he'd already waited over a year for Nico. How much more time was necessary? He was willing to wait, but at least an estimate would be nice.

"I just feel like I need the reassurance sometimes."

Nico could understand where Percy was coming from. He was about to respond, opening his mouth, but he felt a sudden wave of nausea. He whined, pressing his nose into Percy's chest.

"I think I'm gonna throw up..." Nico muttered.

Percy sat him up slowly, "Let's get you to the bathroom."

"We can finish talking later..." Nico reassured, words coming out slow and with groans.

Percy helped Nico to his feet and walked him to the bathroom, leaning over him and holding his hair back as Nico hurled over the toilet seat.

Yeah, Percy thought. I definitely would like some more romance...