When Nico woke up the next morning, he made sure to wear some actually decent looking clothes. Now, he didn't want Percy to see him in his sloppy state, so he put on black skinny jeans and a grey button-up shirt. As he walked out of his bedroom he spotted Percy in the kitchen. He approached him silently and stood next to him, looking down at the french toast he was making.
"More of my favorites?" Nico inquired, leaning against the counter next to Percy. The other man smiled,
"Guess so. What other food do you like?" he asked, looking over at him. His hair was messy as he obviously hadn't brushed it that morning, and his shirt had dried drool on it, causing Nico to have to hold back a slight gag.
"Uh, chicken nuggets. Strawberries, lots of stuff, I guess." Nico tried, having to put in an effort to just reach forward and pat his fluffy hair down.
"Well, I'm taking you to the store later and blowing money on you," he smirked, "Pick whatever food you want, as long as it's not crap-tons of candy." he said, nudging him in the side.
Nico smiled, "Okay. Make sure not to spend too much. I do need rent money from you at the end of the month." he laughed, "Your shirt has drool on it," he added as he turned and walked out of the kitchen.
Percy squealed and Nico heard the water running as he sat down on the couch, feeling slightly victorious. After another five minutes, Percy sat down next to him and handed him a plate of french toast, taking a bite of his own. Nico thanked him and looked at the food for a moment before taking a bite. Once again, he was in awe of Percy's cooking, but he didn't say anything this time. He grabbed the remote and turned the television on, glancing over at Percy.
"Hey, Percy?" he asked, flipping through the channels.
"Hmm?" the green-eyed boy asked, looking up from his food.
"What type of stuff do you like doing?" Nico asked, turning on the couch to look at him. He was genuinely interested in what Percy would do on his free time, so he might be able to entertain him on days they didn't work.
Percy pursed his lips, "I like swimming. A lot. Anything that has to do with me being around water-,"
"Ah, I'll just make you wash all the dishes."
He glowered at him, "I like board games, but video games are stupid and I just don't understand," his voice turned to whine. Nico giggled and leaned back against the couch, setting down his empty plate and looking over at Percy.
Percy grinned back at him and sat his plate down as well, "Shall we go see if there are any public pools nearby?"
"Don't you have work today?" Nico asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Yep. Do you have a laptop I can use google maps on?" Percy said innocently.
"You need to go to work!" he gaped.
Percy frowned, "I don't think I do. I think Annie's got my shift covered." he said, grabbing their dishes and standing up. "Whenever I don't show up, she always forgives me and covers for me. She's a good friend, even though we had a really brutal break up." he sat the dishes in the sink.
"Can I hear the story?" Nico asked, resting his chin on the back of the couch to watch him. Percy was smiling as he nodded, coming back to sit next to him.
"So, it was bad because we'd been best friends since we were twelve, and dating since we were sixteen. Our anniversary was my birthday, which I didn't think'd be a burden, but it mostly definitely was when we broke up. My birthday wasn't a very happy day," he pouted, "Anyways, we broke up when I came out to her as gay. Honestly, she was so upset about it but like, two days later she said she called it and forgave me. But we'd been dating for four years before I realized that I totally wasn't romantically interested in her anymore and stuff. I might not even be gay but I definitely haven't had feelings for a girl since we broke up." Percy bit his lip, "It's weird honestly, because sometimes we just talk about what we could have had, even though it was years ago that we broke up."
Nico was staring at him, "That must have sucked for her. I've never been through a breakup but my boyfriend isn't my boyfriend anymore." he said, a small smile on his lips. Percy was watching him carefully, "He died in a car accident last year. He was that one person, you know? But I mean, when someone dies they die, I know that better than anyone." he looked up at the ceiling, "I just find it weird how the best people die in the worst ways. Like, I get a car accident isn't really a painful death because in his case you die pretty immediately. I just think being able to tell everyone you love them and getting to say a real goodbye is what everyone deserves."
Percy smiled slightly, "I wish I didn't know all the loss I did. I could put so many names out there, because I remember them all." he hummed, hands resting in his lap. "Life is pretty terrible until you realize how much it meant to people that don't have it anymore. I used to be suicidal, but I hurt so many people in the process because they had family who'd died and they just couldn't believe I'd want to take my own life. That I'd purposely hurt them. I think the thing that people don't understand there, though, is that suicidal people are the ones who think their deaths won't hurt anyone. That hurting people seems impossible, and that if they were gone, they'd stop hurting people. If they just got it over with, people wouldn't be in pain. They just don't understand the proposition of them killing themselves is what causes them pain."
Nico glanced over at him,"Are you crying?"
"I don't know."
Nico just scooted closer to him and pressed his forehead into his shoulder, letting out a breath when he felt Percy's warm head on top of his. "You still owe me a date, Jackson." he said softly, looking up at him slightly.
"Lunch. I'll take you to Subway, and we can shove the subs into my man purse, sneaking it into the movie theater." Percy whispered, "We can break the rules of bringing our own food, and eat our subs while watching the movie. Then, we can walk back, because cars are overrated in New York, but we'd take the back way so I can just be alone with you for longer, outside and in the fresh space. I can kiss you in front of the water, because it's sappy and cliche, and just hope you'll kiss me back because I'm me," he let out a breathy laugh, before picking his head up and looking down at Nico. "I don't think you understand how damn beautiful you are," he breathed.
Nico surged forward and connected their lips, his hands on either side of Percy's face.