Percy stayed the night. The cake had gone untouched. What would be the point in celebrating something that never happened?
Of course, there had been more tears. Percy had, despite Nico's protests, wanted to see the raw flesh. The ghost king had refused to look at his boyfriend, refused to see the pain in the other boy's eyes as he gazed at the self inflicted gashes. The feeling of Percy's tears splashing onto his arm would be forever seared into Nico's mind.
The worst part was when Percy had leaned down to kiss them. That's what brought on Nico's own tears: Percy's undying love for him. They flowed freely down his face.
After that, the two had curled up on Nico's bed and fallen asleep with their arms wrapped around each other.
Nico awoke the next morning to a banging on his door, "Yo, Nico! Let us in! It's like... 10! You missed breakfast!"
It was Jason. Nico could recognize his voice.
"Come on, Nico!" His girlfriend, Piper, continued, "We're worried about you, Nico!"
Nico groaned and wiggled out of Percy's warm embrace. He trudged to the door and opened it, "Hey, guys."
"Hey, Nico. How ya-" Jason's eyes landed on the unwrapped cuts on his arm. He forgotten to cover them up before answering the door.
"Oh, Nico." Piper reached for his arm but the ghost king jerked away. He crossed his arms, trying to hide the injuries both old and new.
"Neeks... why would you..." Jason furrowed his brow, "Can we come in?"
Nico mouth tightened into a straight line, but he nodded, "Yeah, but keep it down. Percy's still asleep."
"Percy's here?" Piper stepped into the room, taking in the scene. The old cake sat on the dresser, probably no longer edible. Nico's jacket was thrown on the floor as were the bloody bandages. A package of deflated balloons lay at the foot of the bed next to Percy's thin navy blue jacket. The sea prince was snoozing quietly on Nico's bed. After the ghost king had gotten up, Percy had wrapped his limbs around a pillow.
Nico wanted to be that pillow again.
"Nico, why do you do that to yourself?" Jason whispered, sitting on one of the unused beds. Piper remained standing, looking on with worried eyes.
The small boy refused to meet his best friend's eyes, "Jason. There's nothing you can say to make me stop. Percy has already beat you to it."
The son of Jupiter stared at his feet, "I'm... sorry that you feel the need to do that."
Piper took a tentative step forward, "Is this because of the teasing?"
Tears began to form in Nico's eyes. He would not cry in front of Jason's girlfriend. He would not cry just because Piper had guessed right. Not because she was looking at him like some scared injured animal that needed saving.
"Nico?"
The ghost king glanced up when he heard his boyfriend's voice. Percy's eyes were still closed, but his hand was wandering over the bed, searching for Nico. He grunted and pressed his face into the pillow. A muffled "Niiiicccooooo" could be heard.
With a faint laugh, Nico moved towards Percy and slid his hand into the other boy's. Percy played with his fingers for a few moments before looking up at him, "I had a dream about us."
Nico smiled softly, "Percy, Jason and Piper are here."
The sea prince said something incoherent and looked over at the couple, his messy bed hair making him look slightly manic.
