Shelter Me From Myself (Percico AU)

Chapter 7

Nico woke up crying, something he was used to, but he wasn't used to the room that he was in. He knew where he was, but the room was so different from what he was used to. Bright colors, blues, whites, light brown, all different from Nico's black and dark brown room.

Percy could feel Nico moving slightly and he tightened his grip on the younger boy. Percy woke up when Nico continued to squirm in his arms. He opened his eyes and looked at the boy. Nico's back was facing Percy.

"Neeks?"

"Hm."

"Are you okay?"

"What a stupid question."

"I-Sorry."

"No, sorry that was rude of me, but I-I'm fine."

"No you aren't." Nico sat up and rubbed his eyes. Percy sat up with him. "What's wrong?"

"Honestly I'm not sure if I'm crying because I'm actually with you or if it's because of my dad." Percy smiled slightly. He rubbed Nico's back.

"It's 10 o'clock, do you want to go back to bed or have breakfast?"

"I-ugh-I'm not hungry-"

"You aren't pulling that shit with me Neeks, I can hear your tummy rumbling." Nico chuckled a little. "C'mon." Percy pulled Nico out of bed and led him to the kitchen. He slightly when he saw his mom drinking coffee at the counter and Nico hid behind him, gripping onto his arm tightly.

"Good morning Per- you had someone over last night?"

"Ugh, morning. Mom this is ugh, this is Nico." Percy grabbed Nico's hand and pulled him gently in front of him. Nico looked down at the ground and mumbled a 'hello Mrs. Jackson.'

"You never told me-"

"Mom, it's a long story that we will explain later. Nico is exhausted and hungry right now."

Nico glanced down at their hands, he was about to let go when he realized how warm Percy's hand was compared to his own, then he gripped his hand tighter. That made Percy smile slightly and he squeezed Nico's hand lightly.

"So, Nico, what time did you get here?"

"Around 5 this morning."

"Really? Wow." Percy let go of Nico's hand and walked to the refrigerator. Nico frowned at the sudden loss of warmth.

"What do you want to eat Nico?"

"Do-ugh-do you have yogurt?" Percy nodded.