Multifandom Oneshots

percy jackson ~ anxiety (hurt/comfort) ~ percy & nico

A/N : Takes place during chapter 7 of book 3 after Percy gets off the call with his mom. Just want to clarify that this is not a romantic pairing between the two. They are cousins.

Percy had no clue what to do.

Chiron had basically just told him that he was too emotional to go on the mission and his mom had refused to give him any clear answer on what he should do. Grover was upset as well, and Thalia wouldn't talk to him. Both of them were preparing for their quest anyway, so it's not like he could go to them regardless.

He really wanted to go on the quest. Annabeth was in danger (possibly even dead, though he shoved that thought away) and he wanted- No, needed- to find her. She was one of his closest friends and had saved his ass more times than he could count. He really cared about her, so it was deeply upsetting to be told he couldn't go on the quest.

The pain in his chest was sharp, and it took a lot of focus to keep his breathing under control. He heard the cabin door open and flinched slightly, turning to see Nico standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Hey, Nico" Percy said, a slightly shake in his voice as he frantically scrubbed away the few tears that had come to his eyes. "Is now a bad time?" Nico asked, worried that he had just walked in on a personal moment. "No, you're fine" Percy reassured, putting on a brave face for the young boy like others had done for him when he was that age. "What did you need?"

"I uh..." The di Angelo nervously scratched at the back of his neck. "I was just gonna show you some of my cards" A blush of mild embarrassment came over his face. Normally, he had no reservations about showing off his collectibles, but he also could sense that Percy (who already didn't seem to interested in the cards) was in a sort of rough state.

Percy took a deep breath to avoid snapping at the kid. He probably also had ADHD (as half bloods tend to do) and ergo probably would have his RSD triggered if Percy told him to buzz off, and he didn't want him to deal with that at the moment. Titan knows Percy had probably annoyed the living fuck out of his own peers in the past with his more obscure hyperfixations.

"Nico, I just..." Percy took a deep breath. His stress was running far too high to try and focus on reductive mythology cards, but he also didn't want to hurt the young boy's feelings. He didn't need anyone else upset because of him. "I'm really tired right now, but you can show me tomorrow, okay?"

Nico brightened, satisfied with the compromise. "Okay!" He responded cheerily before turning to walk away. However, a small "Nico, wait" stopped him. He turned back to see Percy, who he now realized was shaking slightly. "Yes?"

"Can I uh... Can I have a hug?" Percy seemed embarrassed to ask for something as trivial as that, but Nico didn't mind. He just nodded, hugged the older demigod until a tap on his shoulder cued him to pull away, gave a smile and left.

Percy still felt freaked out, but the brief distraction from Nico allowed him to eventually fall asleep. And Titan knows he needed some ounce of rest.