[Friend of a Friend] PJO x Marvel

[2. Pardon the interruption]

"I don't really have the time to involve myself in any of this, Nico." Percy sighed, he had his hands shoved in his pockets to combat the chilly air of the nighttime. "I need to study so I can actually graduate high school this spring. I can't afford to waste another year because I prioritized camp instead of my education."

Nico frowned, while it was true that whatever was happening at camp could be solved without Percy, he didn't want to risk anything. There wasn't much happening at camp, but he knew the feeling of anticipation when he sensed it. Something bad would probably happen soon and he needed to brace for it.

"I'm bad luck anyways. Remember the last big battle? I got one nose bleed and-"

"I don't think it'll be anything like last time. It's not going to be a war, there aren't any prophecies left about us-"

"That we know of."

"Right, but I think the fates have long extended our golden years of battle and war. It's all gonna be small stuff now."

"Great, so you don't need me." Percy grinned, his smile lopsided as it always had been. Nico once obsessed over that smile. Hated himself for staring at it every chance he got. Times had changed, that was certain.

"That's not what I mean, you of all people should know that. You're one of the strongest demigods alive, we need you."

"Unless there's a known threat, I won't get involved. Everything with Gaea, that was a known threat. That was something I couldn't just ignore. Your bad feeling? That could all just be an upset stomach or something."

Nico wanted to be mad at Percy for this, even if it was just a little bit petty if he was, but he knew that Percy had a lot of struggles. While Nico didn't know the extent of it, he could tell that things hadn't exactly been okay with the son of Poseidon. Jason had told him about how when they were fighting against Kymopoleia, Percy had told him that part of him wished to drown. Tartarus had also been very traumatic, Nico of all people would know. So yeah, Nico understood why Percy didn't want to go back to camp, why he wanted to just focus on school. He wasn't running away from his responsibilities, he was just trying to forget and move on.

Maybe that was also why Nico wanted Percy to be at camp, he didn't want anything bad to happen to Percy because he was dumb enough to stay in New York. Monsters could get him wherever he went, he had to be careful. They couldn't lose anyone else.

  "If anything does happen, just IM me or something. I'll be there as fast as I can." Percy removed one of his hands from his pocket and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he kept his mouth shut. Nico didn't like prying, so he let it all be.

  "Perce, whats-"

  Underneath Percy was a glowing circle with sparks around it, Percy looked down and furrowed his brows. He reached his hand down and touched it, which resulted in him falling through the concrete below him. Nico only stared at the empty space.

——-

  Percy was falling. It wasn't something out of the ordinary, he'd fallen on many occasions. He'd fallen off of the St. Louis Arch, off of a glacier, off of a cliff and into Tartarus... he was basically a pro at falling.

  The thing was, this time he couldn't even figure out why he was falling or where he was falling towards. Everything was pitch black, the only thing he could see was himself. He couldn't even move thanks to gravity pushing him down.

  It took only another minute for him to land, which is when the darkness was lifted and he could see the ground he'd landed on.

  "What the-"