Never (A Percico Fanfiction)

Work

At precisely 12:06 pm,  Nico picked up his phone and waited. At precisely 12:07, it rang. Smiling down at the picture of his boyfriend,  Nico pressed the green button displayed on the screen and spoke into the device.

"Hey, Perce," he said.

"Hey, Ghost King. Doing okay?"

"Yup. Everything's perfectly fine."

"Did you eat?"

"Yes, Percy."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Good."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and Nico could hear plastic crinkling in the background.

"Go eat your lunch, Percy."

"But--"

"No buts. I'm doing fine. You've got stuff to do."

Percy paused again, then heaved a sigh.

"Promise you'll call if you need anything?"

"I promise. Now, go eat, okay? I love you. I'll see you later, and don't worry about me."

"I love you too, Ghost King. Don't forget to let me know if you need anything! I'll be home right after--"

"Work. Yeah, I know. Now, you've gotta go. I'll see you when you get back. Bye, now."

"Bye Neeks," Percy said, suppressing a light smile as he hung up the phone. That was Nico for you; never wanting to be the center of attention, or to take somebody else's time. It was cute, really.

He sighed, turning to his ham sandwich. He chomped on it thoughtfully, though his mind was nowhere near the subject of food. Thoughts of Nico floated through his head; stupid little things, like the way his laugh sounded of butterflies and rainy days at the same time, and how his soft dark hair never parted exactly the way it should've. He thought of how it felt to have Nico's skin pressed flush to his as he slept, the boy's soft breathing lulling him into slumber.

He hardly noticed when the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and wasn't even snapped out of his daydreams when Corey Mitchell led the way back into the classroom, the rest of Percy's third period Ancient History class filing in behind him. After five minutes of silence, one girl, Steva Grand, raised her hand sheepishly.

"Uhm... Mr. Jackson?"

Percy jolted.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, Steva?"

"Weren't you gonna finish the lesson on the Aztecs?"

"Yes, yes, of course!"

The class snickered.

Percy sighed.

"Sorry, guys. Me and Neeks have had a lot going on at home, is all."

The whole class was suddenly alert. They all loved hearing about Nico, for some reason. Especially the girls. They called the pair adorable, somehow. Many referred to them as "Percico," which, apparently, was something called a "ship-name."

"What happened? Are you two fighting?" demanded a ginger named Alexis from the back of the room.

"No, no! Nothing like that. Nico, he, uhm... He got hurt. I'm just a little worried."

"What happened?" A boy spoke, this time. Chase Sanders. He wasn't normally one to participate in these sorts of conversations. Percy hesitated. Chase fiddled with the sleeve of his turtleneck, peering up at his teacher expectantly.

"Just... Just an accident, that's all. Nico will be fine." Percy shifted tones, walking toward the electronic whiteboard and pulling up a powerpoint. "Now. Let's get back to those Aztecs, okay? Wait 'til you hear about their lives. They were some wicked cool dudes. Hit the lights, will you, Jess?"

At three thirty-seven that afternoon, Percy walked through the front door of his house, loosening his tie and slipping his suit-jacket onto the back of a kitchen chair.

"I'm home!" he called, making his way toward the bedroom. "Neeks?" he poked his head through the doorway. The bed was empty. So was the bathroom, as he changed into a faded pair of blue jeans and an old Batman t-shirt.

"Neeks?" he called again, entering the living room to find Nico snoring softly on the sofa, a throw blanket across his waist and a 2020 rerun on the TV. Percy smiled down at his peaceful boyfriend, then bent down and kissed him softly. Nico's eyes fluttered open, and a lazy grin crossed his face.

"Hey," he said.

Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. I've said it before, I'll say it again. I'm sorry. I've been busy, but it's no excuse. Had a little bit of a writers' block going on for a while, too. All better now, though. I should update again soon. Thanks for reading, you guys!

Love you all!

~AGreer