WHISPERS • A PERCICO AU

• Epilogue •

"I can't believe we're here already."

Percy smiled at his lover.

He savored every second of hearing Nico's voice like it was the last, and even after these heavenly months spent together, he never got tired of him.

Each day was something new.

Each day they learned something new about each other, and each day their love only grew stronger.

"I can't believe I'm here. With you." The green-eyed boy kissed his pale hand with feather light pecks. "When did I get so lucky?" he murmured under his breath.

Nico blushed a nice shade of rosy pink, which only made Percy laugh. He had already lost count of how many times he had been able to trigger that reaction from his partner, but in all honestly, he didn't care, because just beholding the presence of the brown-eyed boy wiped everything clean off his mind.

Here they were at their hotel, with a nice nighttime view of Paris's horizons. The glinting lights of each building and each vehicle, the murmurs and calls of each citizen and tourist, everything just set the scene more perfectly than they could ever which. The Eiffel Tower stood proudly in the midst of this organised mess, and both of them couldn't help but smile as they slowly came to realise this was where they would spent the next three weeks, engulfed in each other's warmth and company.

Putting down his luggage, Nico gazed around his surroundings. "Wow," he whispered softly, the word so inaudible Percy wasn't even sure he had heard him. 

As soon as they had settled everything down, the two of them had begun walking around their rooms. But Percy had noticed something. "Nico?" he called out, his voice wavering in the slightest.

From the other side of the room —probably the bathroom— the black-haired boy was scanning with fascinated eyes all over the place. "Percy, you have to check this out, it's awesome!" he replied back without putting much thought to why his boyfriend had called his name in the first place, too busy poking at the auto-warming towels on the restroom's west wall.

"Later, I— uh... come here, will you?" the green-eyed boy stammered, finding Nico insanely adorable at the moment. With curious eyes, Nico slid out of the bathroom, looking at Percy quietly and expectantly. Thrillingly so, Percy realised that despite having accustomed to regaining his voice, Nico still had kept some of his old habits, like standing silently in the shadows, yet not in an eerie way. He was still quiet, and he smiled thinking about it.

"Why are you smiling?" he asked, his brown eyes following around the room as Percy strolled around the place. "Nothing," he lied, knowing how flustered Nico would get if he said the truth. He looked at him in the eyes, and for the brief moment their gazes interlocked, Percy spoke up.

"Are you... you know— c-comfortable with sleeping with m-me on the s-same bed?" he spluttered, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously.

Nico's response was the one he expected the least. He started to giggle and laugh softly, chuckling at almost nothing in particular. That kind of scared Percy.

"W-what are you laughing about?" he stammered, trying to make eye contact with the brown-eyed boy, but he had closed his eyes in the process of laughing out loud.

"Dude, we literally cuddled together on the same bed when we were just friends, and now that we're actually dating, you have a problem with it?" Nico snickered, still refusing to meet Percy's eyes.

The green-eyed boy scowled, blushing. "Hey, first of all, don't call me dude, I'm literally your boyfriend. Secondly, I was just asking for consent, okay?" he sputtered, grinning against his will. Listening to Nico talk comfortably and openly actually just made his heart tap-dance in his chest.

Nico rolled his eyes halfheartedly. "You love it, Jackson."

Percy snaked his arms around his lover's waist. "Yeah, I do."

The brown-eyed boy threw his hands behind the black-haired teenager's neck, smiling like a dork as their foreheads touched.

"I love you."

Percy didn't need to be told twice: he drew the boy closer until their lips connected, Nico's breath tingling against his skin. They were never getting tired of kissing each other, each contact loved to the last second like it was their last. It was enticing, just how easily they could lose themselves in each other's eyes.

Like enthralled, Nico pulled Percy closer, slithering his nimble fingers in the boy's obsidian black hair. "I love you as well," mumbled the green-eyed boy against his lips, which made him melt in his embrace.

As they disconnected, falling onto the bed, Percy grinned, smiling down at Nico. The boy's beautiful tufts of raven black hair fell around his face, framing his beauty perfectly. He couldn't help it: he leaned down, holding his jaw in one hand and tucking a strand of hair back with the other, as he pressed a light kiss on Nico's forehead.

The black-haired boy blushed uncontrollably, his gorgeous brown eyes glinting like gemstones in the dim lighting of the room.

A soft laugh escaped Percy's lips against his will, and he tumbled next to Nico on the bed, gathering him up in his arms, tracing circles against his back absentmindedly.

They stayed together like this for a while, enjoying each other's company while murmuring sweet nothings and often sharing small kisses, smiling and humming contently. As amiable as they both were, sometimes stolen moments like this mattered most.

Something so simple blew them both away, but it didn't really matter, because what they both liked about each other was how easy it was hang out and just love each other.

Nico smiled as Percy's thumb flicked over his full bottom lip, and he gently stroked his face as they gazed into each other's eyes, nothing mattering more than the presence of the other.

And slowly, with time, both of their eyes fluttered shut, their soft breaths the only thing they were able to hear, lulling them gently to rest.

Because like Nico's mother once told him, the best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart.

FIN

∆    ∆    ∆

i hope you liked this final and last chapter, and this book in general!

i don't even know how much time i've spent on this, tracing each detail carefully and pondering each word with passion...

i really hoped you had a good day, and that you feel fine and is safe at home!

my A/N is coming soon, and i hope with it you realise how much you mean to me!!

i'll miss u guys, cuz i'm probably taking a small break with writing after this!

:)

-drakonator