Percico/Nico di Angelo One-Shots

Marry [Percico]

I know, I know. I'm a tERRIBLE AUTHOR. BUT I HOPE THIS MAKES UP FOR IT. :')

When Percy is 7 years old, a family moves into the house next to his that had been vacant for years. Percy's mother makes him go outside to greet them with a batch of her homemade blue cookies that Percy may or may not sneak two of into his mouth when he's walking over.

He's still chewing when he knocks on the door and barely swallows them down before a beautiful woman with light olive skin and black hair tied up into a bun answers the door. She looks down at his small form that's gazing up at her in awe of her simple beauty and laughs softly.

The sound breaks Percy out of his small trance, and he blushes lightly, averting his eyes quickly and holding the Tupperware container of cookies up to her.

"Uh, my mom made these for you to welcome you into the neighborhood. We hope you enjoy them. I'm Percy, by the way, Miss..."

"di Angelo. Maria di Angelo. Thank you for you and your mother's gift, Percy. That's very sweet of you," the woman, Maria, says, smiling and taking the container of baked goods from him. The 7 year old notices the hint of an accent in her English, and that somehow endears her to him.

Percy nods and turns to leave, but Maria's voice stops him by saying, "My son, Nico, is inside if you want to come in? My daughter, Bianca, is out with her friends right now. They couldn't possibly finish all these cookies alone. Well, my little boy probably could, but that's not healthy." She smiles softly at the thought.

Percy contemplates for a minute, but he really wants cookies, and he's kind of curious about his new neighbors and possible friends, so he nods. Maria smiles a little wider and opens the door fully for Percy to step inside.

The house's interior is quaint and cozy, but there are a lot of boxes still unpacked and lining the hallway. He almost trips over a small box on his way to the dining room, but he catches himself before he could tumble onto the floor.

If Maria notices his small misstep, she doesn't say anything. The dining room is sparse, but there is a table and chairs as well as some pictures on the wall of who Percy assumes is the di Angelo family.

Maria sets the container of cookies onto the table and gestures to a chair for Percy to sit in. She smiles at him and tells him to wait while she goes to get her children.

Percy has always been a hyperactive child, so as soon as Maria's back is out of view, he hops out of his chair and wanders to stare at the pictures adorning the walls.

The one he stops at seems to be a picture of the whole family; he sees Maria smiling softly at the camera with a hand on a girl's shoulder that looks to be about his age, possibly a year or two older. Percy guesses that this must be Maria's daughter, Bianca. An arm is wrapped around Maria's waist that belongs to a pale looking man, who Percy expects is Maria's husband; his expression is somewhat off putting, but his eyes show love for his family. Finally, Percy focuses his gaze on the last member of the di Angelos: a small boy that must be a few years younger than him with the same olive tone as his mother and messy brown hair. He is smiling shyly at the camera, and his hands are clasped in front of him, clearly Maria's son, Nico.

"That picture was taken a few weeks before we moved," a voice behind him says, startling him to whirl around and meet Maria's twinkling eyes.

Percy blushes a little and looks at the floor, muttering, "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to look around."

Maria smiles and laughs, showing she's not upset. Percy looks up and sees a small hand curled around the bottom of Maria's skirt. He looks a little bit higher and sees a big, dark brown eye peering at him from behind Maria. Their eyes connect and the eye disappears behind Maria's skirt.