Snowfall ~ A Percico Story

Yes, Absolutely.

"It's been a while since snowfall, huh?"

Nico smiled at me over his shoulder. I walked to his side on the lakeshore, pulling my coat tighter around my body. The full moon shone on the snow, bathing everything in an ivory, ghostly light.

"Why aren't you bundled up," I asked him. The son of Hades was sitting in a small patch of dry sand, wearing a black t-shirt. His combat boots were crossed under his dark jeans.

"I like the cold." Nico reached out a hand, and a gust of wind brought the snowflakes dancing past his fingers. "I feel at home when the snow finally falls. It's finally Christmas time."

I chuckled, sitting down next to him. The ground was even more freezing than the air. "It's hard for me to like Christmas music, I feel like most of the songs are cringey."

"Mm." Nico closed his dark eyes as the wind ruffled his hair. I wanted to reach out and brush it out of his face. "I like playing them on my guitar. Then I don't have to listen to the fucking words."

I laughed, my breath steaming in the freezing air. Nico smiled at the sound, snowflakes catching in his hair. "Hey, uh, I have a weird question."

I shivered under my coat. How the hell was Nico bearing this? "Yeah?"

"Are you still going to go to college? Even after. . ."

The words hung in the air. I imagined them catching snowflakes. Annabeth had broken up with me at New Rome, and I had returned to Camp to. . .sort myself out. Which had mainly involved sleeping with anyone willing, male, female, and nonbinary alike. Of course, not a lot of people knew that; I had asked for their silence.

The Camp just knew I whored myself out to the girls.

I nodded. "Not New Rome. A college close to here, so I can visit often." At least, that's what I hoped could happen.

Nico clicked his tongue. "Sounds boring."

I smiled into the snow storm. "After everything we've been through, I can handle boring."

Nico studied his reddening fingers. I thought of cuddling closer to him to warm him up, then pushed the thought out of my mind. "Do you remember our first winter together, Percy?"

I furrowed my brow. "After. . .Bianca?"

"Yeah. Long after, when you told me 'it's okay to still be a kid sometimes'." Nico smiled, and my stomach melted onto the ground, steaming in the cold. "I don't know, I'm just sentimental."

A beat of silence. The words I've been wanting to say were on the tip of my tongue.

"I'm sorry," I said.

Nico arched an eyebrow at me. "For what?"

I swallowed the snowball in my throat. "I never really. . .apologized for unknowingly flaunting Annabeth around you. I'm so, so sorry for the pain I caused you."

The only sound was the wind whipping over the lake. Nico turned to me, eyes as soft as the winter flurry. "Percy, I've already forgiven you for all that. I caused you a lot of pain as well. I've long put it behind me. You can let that pain go now."

My eyes were suddenly blurry. I turned away as a hot tear pierced my freezing cheek. Nico didn't reach for me, didn't try to comfort me; I was glad for that.

"Can I ask a hard question?"

I turned back, laughing past the tightness in my chest. "You're quite the interrogator, aren't you?"

Nico gave me a smile as bitter as the cold. He brushed some of the snow off the top of my coat. He was worried about me being cold. "Why do you think you flit from partner to partner so much here? Why can't you just. . .settle down?"