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rafyki · 3 months ago

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Goth! Nico/ Surfer! Percy AU Part 10!

New chapter finally!!! I'm so sorry it took me so long, but I hope what happens in this chapter will be worth the wait *wink wink*

Enjoy~

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9

You can also read it on AO3!!

~~~

When Percy arrived, Nico was fidgeting already. Truth be told, he had been doing that out of anticipation for the past few hours, perhaps for the whole day even.

He didn’t even try to suppress the smile growing on his lips when he saw him. God, he was really going to spend the evening with him, talk to him, being on the receiving end of that beautiful smile of his - he was sure he was going to be a huge flustered mess the whole time, and he couldn’t wait.

Percy smiled back and took his usual seat while Nico’s heart danced in his chest. But he really couldn’t be bothered to be cool about this, not when Percy had told him he couldn’t wait to see him and spend time with him, not when he thought he could see his own excitement and anticipation mirrored in the way Percy was looking at him.

“Hi”, Percy greeted him, like they hadn’t been texting up until ten minutes before.

“Hi to you”, Nico said. “You’re a little early, my shift ends in ten minutes”.

Percy winked. “I know”.

Nico chuckled. This was not supposed to be a date, it wasn’t, but he couldn’t help but think that it definitely felt like one. Terrifyingly, amazingly so. If he had to be honest with himself, he could admit that he hadn’t felt like this even on a date for a long time - and he couldn’t help but wonder how a real date with Percy would feel.

Percy waited patiently for the next ten minutes, and Nico could feel his eyes on himself as he served another couple of costumers and then left the kiosk to his colleague who had the night shift.

He turned to look at Percy and met his eyes, already focused on him. “Let’s go?”, he said, and it wasn’t supposed to be a question, but suddenly part of him started doubting that this was really happening, and that maybe Percy would simply get up, say his goodbyes, and go his way.

But no, Percy got up, smiled at him big and happy, and said, “Yeah, let’s go”.

Texting during the day had been easy, Nico had let himself be just that little bit bolder with his words, and Percy had met him halfway and replied in kind. Now though, with Percy right before him, it was difficult to find again that same feeling; his tongue felt heavy in his mouth and he could feel himself starting to blush already as his heart pumped all the blood to his face. He wondered what Percy would think if he knew this was the effect he had on him.

They walked side by side on the beach, and silence stretched on for a while, the kind of silence that wasn’t exactly heavy but still kind of uncomfortable. The kind of silence that felt like both of them were waiting for the other to speak first and break it.

They stood close to each other as they walked; close enough that Nico could feel Percy’s warmth mixing with that of the setting sun, close enough that it would take so little to close the distance and take his hand, yet not close enough to actually touch. It was the ghost of a potential touch, and it was driving Nico just a little bit crazy.

“Where are we going anyway?”, he asked, just to finally break the silence.

“Oh, I know a nice spot, just a little further on this beach”, Percy replied.

“Are you going to make me go in the water again?”

Percy laughed. “Mhh, maybe. Would it be such a bad thing?”

Perhaps it was the sound of Percy’s laughter, or perhaps it was the way Nico’s heart had started jumping around in his chest, or simply the fact that he was too busy drowning in Percy’s company to really think about what he was saying - but, anyway, the next thing that came out of his mouth was:

“Depends- will you hold my hand again?”

The realization of what he had just said dawned on him right after the words had left his mouth, and together with it came the panic. God, flirting through texting was so much easier than doing it in person - his heart was pounding in his chest almost painfully, and Percy was looking at him with his eyes wide and he wasn’t saying anything; and maybe it had only been a handful of short seconds but time was slowing down for Nico, the need of hiding under the sand crawling up on him.

Then all of the thoughts crowding his mind came to a halt as he felt a hand suddenly coming to hold this.

“Like this?”

And it was Nico’s turn to be unable to reply for a long moment; he moved his eyes from Percy and the way he was smiling beautifully at him, to their joined hands. The sight made him want to pinch himself just to make sure it wasn’t a dream. Warmth flooded him as his heart melted and his insides tied around themselves. He could feel his face on fire but it didn’t matter because when he looked up he could see the way Percy's cheeks were tinted red too.

He felt like he was looking at himself from afar, like this couldn’t be happening to him, as he closed his hand around Percy’s.

“Huh… yeah, just like this”.

They kept walking like that, slowly, the orange light of the setting sun showering them, chatting idly about everything and nothing just like they had been doing through text for the whole day. Except that now they were side by side and Nico could look at Percy as he talked, could hear his voice and bask in the sound, could see the way Percy was looking at him; and except that, the whole time, their joined hands kept swinging slightly between them.

Nico looked at their shadows on the sand, looked at the point where they were joined and thought that if this was a dream then it was the best he had ever had.

They reached the place Percy was talking about. It was a nice little spot, far away from the noise of the city, with huge rocks and trees closing from behind; like this, hidden from sight of the world, it felt like it was only them, their space, and no one else’s.

Percy let go of Nico’s hand after a moment, to open his bag and fish out a towel to lay on the sand. He sat on it, looked up at Nico, and patted the spot next to him a couple of times. Nico didn’t wait a second too long to sit next to him. They weren’t holding hands anymore, but they were sitting so close to each other, with their shoulders pressed together, that Nico still felt warm all over. Maybe it was the sun, or maybe it was simply the effect of Percy’s presence.

They were sitting close enough to the ocean that sometimes the waves reached close enough to them to wash against their bare feet. Weirdly enough, Nico didn’t mind.

“I found out something, by the way”, Percy said, suddenly.

“Huh? What?”

He was looking at Nico with a strange smile on his face, one that Nico couldn’t exactly read yet but that seemed to hold delight and disbelief and maybe excitement, even, all at the same time. Nico sat up a little straighter as he looked back at him in anticipation.

“So…”, Percy started, and he looked like he was trying not to laugh. “Apparently one of my friends is your coworker’s sister. She said she knows you”.

Nico stopped, blinked, and replayed those words in his head a few times. His coworker’s… sister?

“What? Seriously!?”

At that point Percy did laugh, like he himself couldn’t believe what he was saying, and Nico kept staring at him, torn between the awe he felt at the sight and the disbelief at what he was learning.

“Jason’s sister, you mean? Thalia?”

It took a few moments for Percy to stop laughing. “Yep, her. I was just as shocked as you are when I found out a couple of days ago”.

Nico thought about it for a minute, about the absurdity of it all, and about how it almost felt like something like fate. Percy was still smiling at him, and now Nico felt himself mirroring that expression. He could allow himself to be just a little sappy with his thoughts, as long as Percy was looking at him like that.

“Isn’t it funny?”, Percy asked. “Maybe we would have met anyway, even if you didn’t work at the kiosk or I didn’t come to this beach”.

Nico’s heart skipped a beat. Fate. Maybe he hadn’t been the only fool to think something ridiculous like that. He couldn’t find the words to reply though, so he just nodded, and pushed his shoulder a little harder against Percy’s. Nico could feel that single point of contact like it was all over his body.

The sun had almost completely set, the dim light casting shadows on Percy’s features; Nico wanted to reach out and touch them, bring his fingers to his skin and see if he could catch them. Percy’s eyes looked darker than usual, weighting on Nico like chains, preventing him from looking away - not that he had any intention to anyway. Percy was a sight to behold, and Nico could spend hours on end just staring at him.

You’re so ridiculous, Nico Di Angelo, he told himself. Yet Percy was staring right back at him, so maybe it wasn’t that ridiculous.

Oh, he wanted to kiss him.

It definitely wasn’t the first time the thought crossed his mind, but right now, with Percy looking at him like that and so close he could actually do it, it hit him with so much force that Nico’s mind stopped altogether for a moment, focused on nothing but that.

“Huh”, he started, looked away while his heart hammered in his chest, desperately trying to find something to say that could make his mind function again. “Huh, wait… why were you talking with Thalia about me?”

A moment of silence passed.

“Huh, well…”. Percy’s embarrassed tone made Nico turn to him again. The need was still there, his heart was still beating like crazy in his chest, but curiosity was pulling at him.

“Well…?”, he prompted.

Another moment of silence. Nico watched as Percy looked away then back at him, bit his lip a little and passed a hand through his own hair, clearly flustered; Nico looked at him and waited, and drank in all the little details.

“Well maybe I just like talking about you”, Percy said in the end. A mumble that resounded loud and clear in Nico’s ears.

Suddenly, the atmosphere had shifted from just a moment before. Heavier, charged.

“Do you?”, Nico asked, just as quietly.

Percy hummed in response. “Why, don’t you ever talk about me?”

Despite the sound of the ocean all around them, the only sound Nico could hear was that of his own hammering heart. He wondered if Percy could see the blush on his face even in the low light. Swallowing the lump of nervousness in his throat, he tried to not let his mind short circuit, tried to find it in himself to be as brave as he could. Suddenly the point where their shoulders were touching seemed to burn.

“Huh, I… I think my friends are probably tired of listening to me talking about you, at this point”.

It was worth it when Percy seemed to be stunned for an instant and then smiled at him, soft and hopeful and expecting all at once.

“Yeah?”, he chuckled. “That makes it two of us then”.

God, Nico really wanted to kiss him so bad. He couldn’t find a single reason not to do it right now. Just lean in, touch his lips to Percy’s - he couldn’t help but believe that Percy would meet him halfway and kiss back right away.

He bit his lips, the cold feeling of the ring there immediately making him wonder how would Percy’s tongue feel against it.

No no no, don’t go there.

“Nico…”

Were they closer than before? It sure felt like it - so close, not enough.

“Is this a date?”

Percy’s words mixed with the thoughts already crowding Nico’s head, joining the mess and making his mind halt for a moment. If it weren’t for Percy’s expectant eyes locked on him, he would have been sure he had heard it wrong.

“Huh…. you were the one to ask me out, you should tell me”, he replied, so quietly he almost couldn’t hear himself.

“I know”, Percy said. He was still smiling, but there was an edge to his voice. Nervousness, maybe, anticipation, hope. “And… I know I’d very much like this to be a date. Do you?”

Oh, Nico was going to come out of this day absolutely crazy. Was a crush supposed to feel so massive? Nothing he had ever felt could even compare to the way Percy was making him feel.

Date. He couldn’t even remember the last time he even thought about wanting to go on a date with someone. It felt almost too much, like something too big for him to deal with. Yet maybe, as long as it was with Percy it wouldn’t be so scary.

“I… yeah, I’d like that”.

He felt like he had taken a leap into the unknown. He just hoped Percy would be there ready to catch him.

Scary, yes, but Nico found himself unable to suppress the smile growing on his lips. He couldn’t believe he had gone from watching the handsome surfer boy everyday from afar to this, to having him so close to him, on a date with him. Maybe sometimes he really could have nice things after all.

A hand came up to cup his face, big and strong and so warm Nico wanted to drown in the feeling.

“So… since this is a date”, Percy started, then stopped, like trying to decide if he really wanted to say it. Nico watched as he bit his lip, wondering how it would feel to do the same. And maybe Percy’s mind was going along similar lines because what he said next was:

“Can I kiss you?”

Nico felt like perhaps he had been wishing for that so much that he had somehow conjured it into existence; or maybe it was a dream, the best and realest dream he had ever had. Time seemed to stop, the whole world narrowed down to just that moment. Nico couldn’t feel anything but the weight of Percy’s hand on his face, his body so close, the pressure of his eyes on him, and the burning desire of closing the distance separating them.

And so, that’s what he did.

He moved, and Percy did meet him halfway.

Chaste, lips against lips in the softest of touches that made Nico melt, Percy’s hand the only thing keeping him upright in that moment. It didn’t feel real, it felt like everything would disappear into thin air any moment now, like he would open his eyes and find himself alone, with the only company of the ocean and the sand. Unconsciously, his hand came up to grab at Percy’s arm to keep him there.

Percy moved back, just a little, still so close that Nico could feel his breath on his lips. When Nico opened his eyes, he was still there, smiling and with awe on his lips that probably mirrored Nico’s own. He was still there, his hand still cupping Nico’s cheek, still real, and definitely not a dream.

This time, when they closed the distance, it wasn’t just the soft ghost of a kiss, it was lips moving languidly against each other, exploring and tasting unhurriedly yet eager, the culmination of months of looking from afar, wanting and daydreaming.

No, definitely not a dream, Nico thought as he opened up, allowing Percy in, their lips fitting together so perfectly it felt like they had been made just for this, carved together and then separated just so they could meet again and again and again.

It was when Percy’s tongue moved deliberately against the ring on Nico’s lower lip, the feeling sending a shiver down his spine and making him sigh in the kiss that they moved apart, foreheads leaning against each other, breathing the same air.

He wasn’t afraid to open his eyes now, knew that Percy would still be there when he would do it and that he wouldn’t wake up from the best dream he had ever had; yet he stayed there for a little longer, basking in the feeling and the taste still on his tongue. He leaned into the touch of Percy’s hand, and thought that he would gladly just stay like this for the whole night.

A crush probably wasn’t supposed to feel so huge and life-changing, but he didn’t want to think about that now; the thinking could wait, right now he just wanted to stay there. Just him, Percy, the ocean, and the realization of feelings that perhaps had been mutual all along.

“You’re smiling”, Percy said after a handful of moments.

Nico opened his eyes, found Percy looking at him. That was a sight he knew would be engraved in his memory for a long time - the sight of Percy, still so close to him, eyes focused on nothing but him like they were staring right into his soul, lips parted and freshly kissed.

He hadn’t even realized he was smiling, but now found that he couldn’t stop even if he had wanted to. He was just happy, unbelievably so; it made him want to laugh and scream and push everything aside, forget everything else just to kiss Percy again.

“You too”, he replied, and it was the truth. Percy was smiling just as Nico was, sweet and happy like he couldn’t help it.

“I know”, Percy said, and a soft laugh escaped his lips. “I’m happy”.

God, Nico had no idea how his heart was even still able to function after everything Percy was putting it through. It felt like it could stop any moment now and at the same time keep pounding nonstop like that for the rest of his days.

Instead of replying, Nico leaned in again for another kiss, long and sweet. And maybe Percy felt just like he did, like he couldn’t get enough, because they stayed like that, kissing over and over again for what felt like a lifetime, only moving apart when both of them were out of breath.

“It’s getting late”, Percy said after a while, and all together Nico’s heart sank.

He really didn’t want this to end, not now, not ever. He held onto Percy a little tighter.

“Do you wanna go get something to eat?”, he asked, before Percy could say anything else.

Percy smiled. “I was about to say the same thing”.

And Nico felt just a little stupid for his previous panic. Percy was there, real, not a dream, he reminded himself. And even after this date, they would see each other again.

“Let’s go, then”.

He got up, reached out a hand towards Percy, who took it without a second delay and didn’t let go.

A final peck, smiling lips pressed against each other.

Just two men caught in each other’s orbit and happy to stay there.

#percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #heroes of olympus #nico di angelo #percico #nicercy #pernico #percy x nico #my fics #goth/surfer percico #finallyyyyyy #ill be honest im not so sure about this chapter i was debating til the very end if i really wanted them to kiss now or no #but in the end i couldnt help it #like literally why wouldnt they kiss sdaldghaf #anyway I HOPE YOU LIKE IT

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