Waiting (a pernico fic)

Chapter 4

Percy's POV

Lacing his fingers behind his head, Percy stared at the ceiling of the Hades cabin, grinning like a fool. Before you flip, no, they didn't do the do. Percy was occupying the bed next to Nico's as the latter slept. Nico had been having nightmares and would wake up, crying out Percy's name. After three nights of him sneaking out to comfort Nico, he spent the night instead. Annabeth started fangirling when she found out, along with Rachel, who started selling shirts with "Ghost King and Sea Prince" written on them. The Aphrodite cabin had a field day when they found out, claiming that they knew it would happen and wanted pictures of them together, which Nico refused profusely. No one really had a problem with it, and people were happy that they both were happy, finally.
A light snuffle drew Percy's eyes from the ceiling to his boyfriend, who had turned over in his sleep, facing Percy. He smiled, thinking the pale boy looked cute while he slept, like a boy his age should. He'd gone through far too much at his age than anyone should, even demigods. Not to mention that he was all alone in it. Not anymore. Never again, Percy silently vowed. I'll do everything to make sure he's happy. I swear on the River Styx.

Nico's POV

Nico could barely sleep. He kept waking up, not because of nightmares, but because he couldn't stop replaying the events in the fields in his mind, unable to believe it. He was with Percy Jackson. Percy Jackson had asked him out. Percy Jackson liked him. And that kiss... and every kiss after, stuck in his mind, too good to forget, ever.
However, there was something keeping Nico from being completely happy. Two words: Will. Solace.
The Apollo boy didn't seem to approve of his relationship with Percy. Will had taken care of Nico after the war with Gaea and Nico thought that something was there, but nothing has changed, so Nico gave up. Now, Nico could swear that Will seemed... jealous. He had no proof, but the way Will looked at Percy was the way Nico used to look at Annabeth, when he thought Percy liked her. Could it be that... the blonde really had liked him? And still did? The thought perturbed him, didn't let him enjoy the relationship he'd wanted for so long. And now, it didn't let him sleep. He cracked an eye to see Percy watching him, a content smile on his face. He seemed even happier about this than Nico did, which made butterflies stir in his stomach that he thought were long dead. He wanted to be closer to him, but it required getting up, which Nico didn't want to do. "Percy..." he called out sleepily. The older boy sat up quickly. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, just lonely." Percy smiled at that. "I can fix that." He stood, padded over and climbed in behind Nico, pulling his small frame against his chest. The action made Nico feel at ease, his mind far from Will Solace and the trouble he could cause to his new relationship. Percy wound arms around Nico and held him securely. For the first time in a long time, he felt safe. It made him think of the song he sang the night in the field, how it fit them so perfectly. Every line described their new relationship exactly. And he hoped that, with Percy, he could finally be Safe & Sound.

Will's POV

(Cue evil villain music!!)

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The pencil rapped against the edge of the clipboard, while the sun-haired blonde thought about less-than-sunny things. The most pleasant and prevalent of those being the son of Hades, but it was not so pleasant when every time he saw Nico, that godsdamned puppy Percy was with him. The Hero of Olympus, his ass. Everyone made it seem like Percy had glided through the battle with Gaea like a dream, but Will had tended to Percy. The son of Poseidon had barely made it, with help from the Ghost King. Who, now that he was thinking of it, had been far too stubborn to accept the amount of treatment that his injuries required. Will had thought of taking the small boy and throwing him over his shoulder to bring him back to the clinic. But he knew from bitter experience that Nico was no fan of physical contact. But it's okay for Percy to hang off him like they were conjoined, when Will could barely administer first aid without the threat of physical restraints on the boy.
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Will was as easy going as the most laid back people, but this was gearing him up in ways the battle hadn't. Even though he had ample chances to make a move on Nico, he didn't, fearing harsh rejection. But he still felt that Percy had robbed him of his Death Boy, and that made him angry. The wrong needed to be redressed. Whatever that took.

AN: Dun Dun Duuuuuuun! I warned there would be conflict! Do you think Will should be direct or sneaky about his "justice"? I love hearing from you guys, so a little help is much appreciated. See you next chapter!
~ps16