101 (Percico/Pernico)

---Chapter Nine---

Nico's eyes widened remarkably as he scrambled for words to respond. How did this ghoul know him? Why did she look so familiar? Another wave of astonishment hit him when the robot beside her began to talk to him as well.

"Master Nico! Welcome back, sir!"

"...Codsworth?" his voice was filled with incredulity at the fact this robot still existed.

"Yes, sir. It's been a while."

A thousand questions flooded into Nico's mind. It felt as if his brain was going to explode.

"You know Nico?" Percy asked the two who greeted him, breaking the excruciating silence.

The ghoul nodded, turning her head back to Nico. "You might not be able to recognize me now, but you've known me for a long time."

He looked into the ghoul's obsidian eyes and Nico was reminded of a dark braid, a strong physique, and a sarcastic smile. He was reminded of a teasing demeanor on good days, and a serious one on neutral days.

"Reyna?"

The ghoul's cracked lips curled into a pleased smile. "Yes."

"I thought... I thought you were dead."

"I am."

"No, I mean... dead dead."

"I thought you were dead, too."

Nico told himself that he would not cry. He would not. "I'm alive. I went to the vault."

"It's been so long," she reminisced in her scratchy voice. "You went to the vault? What was it like?"

"Terrible," he said with distaste. "I would prefer it if the bombs never happened."

"You and me both."

"Wait, wait, hold on a sec," Percy interrupted stepping forward to stand with the two reunited friends and the hovering robot. "I'm confused. Who is this?"

"This is Reyna," he told him. "She was my friend before the war."

"And you are?" she asked.

"I'm Percy. I'm Nico's friend."

"Friend, huh?" Reyna teased. "Kind of like Will was your 'friend'?"

Nico flushed red. "Will... He... He was different."

Percy felt something stir within him. Was it curiosity? No, it felt too much like anger. "Who's Will?"

"He was... Well, I don't want to talk about it."

Reyna looked at him with a skeptical expression. "You should probably tell him."

Nico huffed resignedly. "Well, Will and I... He was sort of my... um..."

Reyna rolled her eyes impatiently. "He was his boyfriend."

Nico turned even redder than before. "He was not my boyfriend."

He could not believe this conversation was happening in front of his superior officers.

"Boyfriend?" Percy asked, the strange feeling spreading throughout his abdomen.

"He was not."

"He could've been," Reyna teased. "He liked you, and you liked him. You knew that you did."

"Reyna, please, my Commander is standing right there," he told her as he gestured wildly at the bulky man dressed in heavy power armor.

"Oh, please, continue," Burke responded. "Don't worry about us."