101 (Percico/Pernico)

---Chapter Sixteen---

Nico di Angelo sat up from the hard ground, rubbing his sore back and wiped the exhaustion from his eyes. As it was cold the night before, he did not sleep as well as he did with Percy at his side. He shook his head. When was he going to accept the fact that Percy wasn't there anymore and he needed to get used to life without him?

It may have been a mere five days, but it seemed like weeks, and he felt more attached to Percy than he had to others that he encountered throughout his life. Perhaps the feelings he thought he had were just that Percy was one of the first attractive boys that paid him mind. But if that were the case, wouldn't he be accustomed to his absence by now? Emotions were confusing, he thought as he stretched and stood, prepared for the long day of training ahead of him.

Apparently, it was rare for a new recruit such as himself to go on a mission that high in caliber. They were sent to D.C., near the radio station and the Washington Monument frequently, but never really around settlements, such as Rivet City and Tenpenny Tower. He considered himself lucky to have the opportunity, but he wished that he could have seen them before the war. Well, if the war never happened, he never would have met Percy. He probably would have been married and died from something usual, like old age or a sickness. He would have been dead by now, and he was grateful to be able to live.

He began his day with running laps around the Citadel. It was just training that day, and in about a week, he would be stationed in D.C. He hoped he would live for a few days after the fact.

He loved training. It took his mind off the injustices of the world for awhile until he was alone again, and, at the moment, that was just what he needed until he could get over Percy. As he ran, he noted the checkpoints he became acquainted with throughout his short time as a soldier. He thought of his progress. He thought of how strong he would become. Super Mutants were terrifying with their haughty voices and their large stature, and he wanted to be strong enough to be able to kill them effectively. He wouldn't be doing his job if he couldn't.

He finished up his cardio session and moved onto accuracy with his shooting. It was fun, he thought, when more and more of the bullets hit the target each day. But, other than his concentration, his mind would ask questions. Trifling questions, but they made him wonder.

The most reoccurring one was why Burke had a Pip-Boy. Only Vault Dwellers received them. He never put much thought to where the other soldiers came from, or the reason they came to fight. He never bothered to ask, either, in fear of intrusion of privacy, but Burke's reason? It seemed appealing to him, he supposed. Could he have been a Vault Dweller at some point? It would be understandable, as he held such compassion toward Percy, but why did he leave the comforts of a vault to a place like this, he wondered. Perhaps he was forced to leave, or something terrible happened, alike him.

He sighed, shoving his thoughts aside. If he deemed them necessary for his knowledge, he would have told him. It was a trivial subject, and he should have forgotten about it. Some things were not meant for him to know, he thought.

✇ ✇ ✇ ✇ ✇

After a long walk in silence, Theo thought it a good idea to tune into the radio.

"You can listen to the radio on those things, right?" Theo had asked.

"Yeah," Percy shrugged.

Now, they were singing loudly and terribly their own rendition of "A Wonderful Guy," sung by an unknown woman. They didn't care if they caught some creatures' attentions; it was simply a way to pass the time walking tireless miles to the Citadel.