Pernico - Survivor

Ch.35 forever greatful

Percy's P.O.V

The chatter from the demigods as they took their seats made me bounce in anticipation. I heard a few people placing bets on who would win, and smirked when most people were cheering for me. I took a quick glance to my lovely boyfriend and saw the same mask he wore everyday staring back at me, only now that I've really gotten to know him, I could see past it. I could see the little glint in his eyes that showed just how excited he was about this match. I could see the way his lips were turned up ever so slightly, giving away how happy he was to be duelling again. I could see him. And that made me proud. Proud that I had finally done it. I had cracked the code to the dark little demigod. He pushed everyone away to avoid rejection and heartache, when on the inside he was craving the attention he never received as a child. The whole time, everyone was judging him based on appearances, and he just wanted someone to truly see him. I felt a flush of joy run through my veins at the realization. Not only had I figured him out, I had managed to steal his heart.

"Crush him, death boy!" The loud voice of Clarisse rang out from the crowd.

"Planning on it!" Nico called back before turning to smirk at me.

I returned the smirk. "You are, are you? Well, I'll let you in on a little secret, it's not going to happened."

"Sure, I've got you figured out. You use your sassy remarks to buy yourself time to think, but guess what, your time just ran out." Nico replied getting into a fighting stance.

I copied his actions, barely noticing the crowds voice growing quieter. "You really think that's all I can do? Wanna test that theory?"

Nico's eyes flicked to Chiron's before nodding a little. "Stop with the trash talk and fight me, or are you still planning your strategy?"

"I've been ready for ages! I already know exactly how I'm taking you down!" I replied as I pulled Riptide out of my pocket.

Chiron held up his hands, and all of the remaining chatter died down. "Are the final challengers ready?"

"Yes." Nico and I replied at the same time.

"Then let the final match begin!" Chiron blew the horn shortly after finishing his little speech. The change in Nico was instantaneous. As the final note of the horn rang out Nico's mask was ripped from his face, leaving a huge grin in its wake. His eyes lit up like a cigarette as he held up his sword. I felt a grin to match the Cheshire Cat grow on my face. The time to battle was now.

I took a deep breath as I pulled off Riptide's cap. The long sword grew in my hand as Nico took a step towards me. At the last second, riptide finished its transition from pen to sword, and I deflected a slash from Nico aimed at my rib cage. My battle instincts kicked in and before I knew it Riptide was heading towards Nico's ankles. He jumped with ease and avoided the attack. The battle continued like this for some time, each of us blocking before striking. We were locked in our own little paradise, not even aware of the large crowd that gasped at every close call.

I wiped the sweat off my brow. "Getting tired? Isn't it about time for your daily nap, old timer?"

"Who you calling old timer? You're older than me?" Nico replied as he nicked my forearm. A little blood leaked out, but it was nothing compared to the metal battle that was taking place. It felt like I was playing on a minefield, every step had to be carefully calculated. If I reacted too quickly, Nico would read it in my eyes and use it to his advantage. He really was skilled with that sword of his.

I swung low, aiming for his calf. Nico reacted just a second too late and I got in a good hit. The sword cut diagonally, leaving a sizeable gash. Blood poured out, and for a moment, my caring boyfriend side surfaced and I craved to apologize and get him some ambrosia. Then the reality sunk in and I steeled my emotions back into my battle mindset. Right now he was my opponent, we could apologize later. Right now, we had to pretend it didn't hurt a little inside each time we landed a hit. I shifted my gaze to Nico's face and saw the all too familiar look of pain cross his features before he hid it and smirked. He swung out in a wide arc towards me, I barely dodged it. I took a step closer to him and saw him shift his weight to his good leg before slashing at me. He had aimed lower than I first guessed, resulting in a cut on my lower thigh. It wasn't too deep, but it stung like Hades. I grimaced, my thoughts being temporarily directed to the new pain in my leg. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and just barely missed the tip of Nico's sword. If he had been any closer he would have given me a little hair cut. I was almost wishing he had, since my hair had gotten a bit shaggy lately and kept getting in my face. It's not like I could just wear one of Piper's headbands or something, people would surely remember that and use it against me. Although at the moment, I wasn't too sure I cared what they thought, as long as my hair would stop annoying me.

I returned his high blow with a stab at his sword arm, just missing his index finger. I glanced up to see a smirk on Nico's face and it wasn't until it was too late that I realized what I had done. Over the last couple minutes, I had unintentionally gotten closer and closer to him. He slipped the tip of his sword between my hand and Riptide, and before I knew it, Riptide was clattering on the ground. A look of shock emerged on my face. I had lost.

"Not to cocky now are we?" Nico laughed as he shifted almost all of his weight to his good leg.

I let a smile find its way to my face. Yes, I lost, but as the winner's boyfriend, I think I'm allowed to be proud. "Congratulations Nico. That was an epic fight."

Nico's sly smile changed into a look of confusion. "Thanks, but where's all the cries claiming I cheated or something?"

"What? Can't I be happy for my boyfriend?" I teased as I picked up Riptide and replaced the cap, before putting the pen back in my pocket.

Nico grinned. "Aren't you just full of surprises."

"I guess I am." I grinned back, stepping up closer to him.

Nico wrapped his arms around me and my senses went into overdrive. I felt his arms tug me into his body. I heard his deep inhale and he took in my scent. I saw a few stray hairs flap around wildly before landing. I smelled the deep scent of Vanilla shampoo that seemed to flow off him like a lava lamp. How had I gone from barely noticing the small boy in my peripheral vision, to not being able to notice anything but him?

Nico hadn't just let me see past his mask, he had let me into his heart, and for that, I will be forever grateful.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS! :) Here's your gift from me! Haha

The end is so close I can taste it's bittersweet flavour on my tongue. I'm happy to be completing my first ever fanfic, but at the same time, I'm sad to see the characters go. I feel like I've gone through everything with them, watched them grow up and find themselves, and now I'm setting them free to live their lives. In short, I feel like a proud parent, watching her child drive off to college.

Enough of the sappy stuff, I want to hear about your thoughts!
How did you like the final duel?
Were you surprised at its outcome?
If I was to write something else, would you read it?
Are there any ways you think I can improve my writing?

You guys really have given me the strength to keep going when I was at a standstill with the plot. You gave me the hope and courage to fight through writers block and find ways to continue the story. Expect a super cheesy note at the end of the fanfic sure to give you the feels!

So, there's at most a few more chapters, possibly less, but in spite off that, I want to try to keep things fairly normal. So, if you read Blood of Olympus and were immediately driven to search up Solangelo stuff, I have something you might like. If you go to my profile and look under my works, you'll notice that I have a solangelo fanfic up and running. It's called Eclipse, and I like to think that my writing is better in it. So if you like my writing, or if you simply like solangelo, go check it out!

In other news, I finally got a kik to interact with my readers, so if you have kik, add me or whatever it is you do. My username is Tianne789, just like my wattpad account. :) (Send me a message saying survivor so I know your not just some random person haha)

Question: if you had to trade bodies with one of the seven (Plus Nico + Reyna) for one day, who would you choose?

My answer: I would choose Nico, just so I could get a better look at his character. I would hate to realize that I'd been writing his opinions and thoughts wrong this whole time!

Bonus question: coffee or tea?

I just want to remind you that if you're going through a tough time, it will get better. Sometimes all you need is a change of perspective. That's part of the reason why I write these fanfics. I get to look at life through their eyes, and it makes me realize just how lucky I am to be normal. If you are really going through some stuff and ever need someone to vent to or just listen, my Instagram is @dam._.nico . No problem is too small so even if you think it doesn't matter, or that I won't listen, I'm here to guarantee that I'll be here for you. Let me be your crutch, use me until you can walk on your own.

Remember to smile! (Or at least do it mentally) -Tianne :]