Never (A Percico Fanfiction)

Saturday

A few hours later, Percy Jackson and Nico di Angelo sat on the couch in their living room, watching The Notebook for what must have been the hundredth time, always by the larger's request. His arm was draped around the child of death, who was curled into his side, snoring like a kitten. How cute, Percy thought with a giggle, tugging the big soft blanket higher up around them.

Saturday was the one day of the week when neither of the pair were busy, so it was always a cherished time. They'd spent the day just lazing around the house, relaxing, cleaning up a bit toward lunch time (at Nico's demand, of course), and, in Percy's case, eating. The sea child was always hungry. It was a honestly little ridiculous.

When the credits started rolling, Percy glanced at the clock. It was six-thirty-seven, and his stomach grumbled. He decided it was as good a time as any for dinner. Easing out from under Nico, he carefully lay his head on the couch, pulling the blanket over him, and scurrying into the kitchen to start cooking, an idea slowly forming in his mind.

·····   

Nico woke up to someone shaking his shoulder gently.    

"Nico," Percy said. "C'mon, dinner time."   

"Not hungry," the sleepy one mumbled habitually, waving the other away.   

"But, babe. I made it special," Percy pouted.

Nico felt himself redden at the sound of the stupid nickname and sighed, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, which his boyfriend promptly covered.

"Why are you...?" he questioned, letting Percy lead him into the kitchen.

"Patience, young one. Patience."

"Aren't I older than you, if you think about it? 1930's, Percy. Remember?"

"Shhhhhh," the larger cooed into his ear, uncovering his eyes.

"Oh, Percy..." Nico said, looking down at the candlelit table, covered in a white cloth and topped with an array of fancy blue foods. Why?" he asked, as his chair was pulled out for him. He sat down and felt Percy scoot it forward before he moved to sit in his own.

"Why not?" he shrugged, smiling. "Treat my Ghost King like royalty once in a while."

Nico blushed again.

"Shall we?"

He nodded, spooning small amounts of food onto his plate. Percy frowned down at the portion sizes. He'd taken a great interest in the smaller boy's eating habits, ever since learning of the anorexia he was recovering from. Nico frowned down at it as well, wondering if he'd be able to finish it. It looked delicious, but it was just so much...

Percy piled up his own plate, a monstrosity compared to Nico's, and they both dug in.

"This is great, Perce," Nico told him.

"Thanks," he replied, mouth impossibly full.

Even with the differences in their plates, Percy was the first to finish the meal. Nico picked at the food left on his plate, embarrassed at not being able to finish even such a small amount. He'd almost come to the conclusion that he would just have to finish it and deal with the consequences later when he felt a light hand over his own.

"Full?" Percy asked gently.

Nico nodded, sitting down his fork. Standing up, Percy cleared the plate from in front of him, leaning in and pecking him on the cheek as he did it. As Percy cleaned up, Nico stood, running a hand through his hair. "I think I'm gonna run upstairs and take a hot shower," he said.