Personal Space, Dam It! (Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Chapter Seven: Make or Break

A/N: I'm sorry about the last chapter. I know it isn't like me to write something like that. Well, at least I know I'm not. Also, I'm sorry for keeping you guys waiting in the shadows. My laptop broke and I was only able to make a third of this chapter. Anyways, it's  fixed now so, yeah, I'll try to update earlier. No promises though. And I have other plots in mind so this fanfic won't last long. The end is near. Really, really, really near. I think.

Song: Hey Baby, Here's That Song You Wanted by Blessthefall

Personal Space, Dam It!: Part Seven

No one's POV

It's been three days since Nico and Anubis started hanging out. Every single day, the son of Poseidon would only greet the son of Hades before he went off to Anubis' apartment. Knowing that Nico has developed a better friendship –or relationship– with the god of funerals, it triggered a lever in the sea prince's emotions. Percy wakes up early in the morning just to catch up with Nico before he shadow travels to the other's apartment. Mind you, the son of the sea god dislikes the departure of the ghost king. He fears that whenever Nico left, he might not come back.

But he always pushes the thought away. Nico wouldn't do that. Would he? He ran away once. Or, regarding from what Jason said, he ran away lots of times. How Percy did not notice that is beyond his ken. But a wave of relief always washes over him when he sees the younger demigod back from his visit.

The lever of emotions triggering inside the sea prince only starts to crank up whenever it has something to do with the younger demigod.

The lever in Percy's emotions has different stages. The first is when he looks at Nico. It sends a spark of excitement? Anxiety? Joy? Whatever it was, the sea prince is thrilled to be in Nico's presence. The second stage is when he found out Nico has been having a closer relationship with Anubis and/or Jason. Percy feels like there's a boundary between them. An unknown boundary that separates him from Nico but he couldn't tell what it is. It makes him feel out-of-reach for the younger demigod.

The third one must have been imaginary. The almost more-than-friendly remarks and the intimate but not so intimate touches Nico and Anubis have been engaging in. Percy knows that Nico can barely tolerate physical contact. Only when he hugs Hazel or when he lets Percy hug him. Most of the time, to say the least. Probably even Jason but Percy has no clue if Nico would let the son of Jupiter even hug him. The last time he saw Anubis and Nico physically contact each other, it had been that morning in the woods.

It almost violated him, in some way. Nico's hugs were rare and when he let someone touch him, normally, he's not expected to touch back. Seeing Nico hug Anubis struck something in the older teen. He wouldn't admit it out loud but he thought of Nico's limit to physical contact special. That's why when he saw him hugging the Egyptian god, he felt like the hugs he gives him meant nothing. Not that he's complaining but the way they look so close just burned him.

It's not a valid excuse to feel that way and Percy knows that. Sometimes it triggers too when he thinks about it too much. Nico can't be gay. Is he? Anubis said he harbors an interest in one guy specifically so Percy disregarded the thought of Nico being straight. Bisexual, maybe.

That's three stages of the lever of emotions jammed into Percy's brain. The others are yet to be discovered. During those three days, Percy tried to contact the son of Jupiter. He knew Jason knew something. Probably even knew who Nico's love interest is but he wouldn't budge.

Jason disconnected any iris-messages from the son of the sea god. This was frustrating him somehow. He felt the need to convince Nico that loving the same gender isn't wrong and that he can offer his help in the situation. Rethinking the idea, Percy smiled as he imagined the grinning face of Nico di Angelo once he finally stops hiding. And maybe even get together with his 'love interest'.