Take A Risk

Part 2

He felt a bit comforted as he inhaled the salty air and heard the spray of water. The tide was relentless, crashing down on the sand with fury. It was as if the sea had aligned itself to his current mood. The beach was all black and white, with the full moon shining against the sand, illuminating the person who was standing ankle-deep in the surf. Percy felt irritated and angry at the intruder, and was about to shout at the person to get away when he saw who it was. Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades, apparently had the same idea as Percy. The moon shone on his gaunt, pale face, his raven hair stuck up in tufts, his hazelnut eyes were sunken and framed by long dark lashes. As always, he wore a black shirt inside his black aviator jacket. He wore black jeans, which hung from his painfully thin frame. His Stygian sword hung at his side from a chain belt, black as a nightmare. Nico was shaking all over, though he did not seem to be crying. He appeared to be muttering something, and as Percy got closer, he could make out a few words such as "Stupid Love god" "Stupid confession" "Stupid son of Jupiter" "Stupid, clueless son of the sea god" each sentence delivered with a throw of a pebble. Percy didn't want to startle an angry son of Hades, especially when the said demigod seemed to be angry at him. So Percy approached him, not too close, and cleared his throat. "Hey."

Nico's POV

Nico gasped and dropped the pebble he was about to throw. He felt annoyed that he'd let his guard down. In a flash, he drew his Stygian sword and pointed it at the newcomer, whose hands were raised in a gesture of surrender. "Whoa, Zombie Dude. Mind putting that sword away from my throat?" the person said. Nico squinted at the speaker, obviously a guy, and was surprised to see who it was.

 "P-Percy?" the newcomer smiled "Who else?" Nico relaxed and lowered his sword. "What in Tartarus were you thinking? I could've impaled you, idiot!" he growled. "Sorry about that." said Percy as he flopped down on the sand. Nico noticed that Percy's eyes were red and bloodshot. Had he been crying? None of your business, Nico, he chided himself. He turned around to go away, but a hand caught his wrist. "Oh no, you don't. Get back here, di Angelo." "Don't. Touch. Me." said Nico with a look that could've sent the dead scurrying. "No." Percy said firmly as he pulled Nico down beside him. "We need to talk."

Percy's POV

The kid seriously needs to eat once in a while, Percy thought. I mean, look at him! He looks like one of the skeletal ghosts himself.  "What, Percy?" asked Nico. Percy dropped his gaze, embarrassed. He didn't realize he'd been staring. "Uh, nothing. I noticed you and Jason have been acting, I dunno, weird, since you came back from Croatia. I was worried. What happened back there?" he asked. Nico paled and stared at the sea. "Nothing." He answered. "Yeah, right. I may be stupid and clueless, but I wasn't born yesterday, Nico." snorted Percy. Nico paled even more and asked "What did you hear?" Percy shrugged "Not much. You insulting Cupid and Jason." Nico exhaled, a bit of colour returning to his face. "Good." "Come on, Nico. I know you confessed something to Cupid. I'm not that stupid. So, who's the girl?" Percy asked. "W-What girl? There's no one! I swear!" said Nico too quickly. "That girl sure is lucky, having you to care for her." Percy said. Wait, what did he just say? He mentally scolded himself. Anyway, he meant that in a brotherly way, right?

Nico's POV

Wait, what did he just say? No, Nico, he chided himself. He meant that in a brotherly way. Obviously. Percy leaned back on the sand, his hands supporting him. He looked distracted and sad as he gazed at the stars above. "Look, there's Zoë's constellation." He pointed at the Huntress above. Nico nodded. They were both silent for a minute when Nico plucked up the courage to ask "What happened to you?" Percy took a shaky breath and grabbed a fistful of sand. Nico thought he was going to shout at him, but all he did was release the sand particles in the wind and watch them scatter. "She-she dumped me. Annabeth. Said we weren't meant to be." "Oh." was all Nico could say. There was a stirring in his chest-was that Hope? But he quickly shook it off. He should be comforting him, not enjoying his sadness! "I'm sorry" Nico said. "S'okay" Percy replied.

 He hated himself for doing this, but what did he have to lose? His dignity? Long gone. Left in Croatia. Nico took a deep breath, and began "Percy... when we encountered Cupid, I-I had to make some sort of confession. You were right." Percy looked at him. What am I doing?! He just went through A BREAKUP. Idiot. He mentally scolded himself. Too late to turn back now. How would I say it? What would I say? A million sappy possibilities ran through his head. Instead, he said "Percy, I like you." Silence. Percy stared at him, confused. "I thought you hated me. It was my fault that Bianca-"Percy was cut off by a derisive laugh. "HATE you?! Then why in Hades did I promise to lead the seven to Epirus? Why would I rush back to the Labyrinth to save you when Minos told me you were in danger? Why would I do all those for someone I hate?" Nico screamed at him. "Well, I guess am stupid and clueless, aren't I?"Percy managed a weak smile. Nico just stared at him. "Why aren't you disgusted?"he asked. "Why would I be? You're my friend." Nico scanned the other boy's face for any signs of disgust, pity, sympathy. There was none, only a slight flush in his cheeks. He had expected a more negative reaction. Confused, Nico ran away from the beach, too dazed to shadow travel. He didn't get far before an arm hooked around his waist and dragged him back. "PERCY! Let go of me you idiot!" Nico muttered a few more unflattering Ancient Greek curses as he and Percy wrestled on the ground. When they had finally untangled themselves, they both stood up. Nico delivered a punch to Percy's shoulder, which caused to other boy to wince in pain. "Ow." "You stupid, idiotic son of a sea god!" Nico growled, frustrated. "I wanted to make sure you were okay! You, who saved my life more than once! I was worried, Nico! Gods, did you expect me to be disgusted at you? Did you really think I'd stoop that low?"exclaimed Percy in a hurt voice. He started walking back towards the beach, leaving a fuming son of Hades behind. Without thinking, Nico marched right up to the sea god's son, grabbed his shirt collar, and pulled the Percy's face down on his. Percy stiffened in surprise, but his lips were as soft as velvet. He didn't try to push Nico away, and neither did he kiss him back. Nico pulled away after a second, his face as flushed as if he'd been running a marathon. Percy was wide-eyed, shocked at what had just happened. Nico was so dazed he almost couldn't shadow travel away, but he did, just as Percy reached for his arm, he melted into the darkness.

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