When I Don't Remember You (Percico)

Chapter Six: Felt Like Home

Percy Jackson

The fact that Nico didn't make me feel like a dumbass while showing me how to make homemade tortellini (which isn't hard in concept, but making sure the insides didn't fall out was hard) was a whole miracle in it of itself.

It was the nicest I've felt in at least a week, if not longer.

Once the food was ready, though, we sat down together on the couch, almost cuddling as Nico was definitely laying back on my side.

Just, you know, closer than friends usually sit.

I was a little surprised that he leaned back since Nico always seems so repulsed by touch, but it wasn't a bad surprise because it both felt like an honor that he initiated it, and also I just really like physical contact.

"Is there anything you want to watch?" I asked Nico, earning his full attention.

"Uh... Anything?" He guessed. "I haven't watched TV since I was a kid in the like 1930s."

And maybe it was a dumb thing to say.

"Oh!" Because I always forget that he was born a super long time ago. "Well uh... Film is shot in color now."

And I definitely deserve the eye roll.

"I know that videos are in color," Nico reminded me. "i haven't watched TV, but I did have to watch the gods awful orientation video. Plus, the ads on times square are like... On screens. Or some are at least."

"I always forget there's an orientation video thing," I tried to excuse myself. "I never watched it so... It's not my fault you're old."

"You're older than me!"

"You were born before me!"

"Okay and?" Nico asked. "You're still older than I am like, biologically speaking. I spent like 80 years or whatever in the Lotus and aged like... Not a ton, so..."

His voice trailed off for a minute, thinking to himself.

"Were you ever in the Lotus?" My crush started off. "Sorry, that's probably a stupid question but..."

"I was, actually!" I tried to reassure him. "It's not stupid, please don't call yourself stupid. Grover, Annabeth, and I were there for like, a few days or so my first summer, which was... A year a half before you came to camp. Why? Did you see us?"

Thinking to himself, Nico slowly nodded his head.

"I for sure saw you and Grover because I remember making a remark to Bianca about how he walked and she definitely slapped me for it because it was rude and she tried to make me track down Grover to apologize even though I never said it to him, I just asked her why he walked like that, and then we never found you guys so... I've always been curious, but I'm convinced that Annabeth doesn't like me because she knows about my being gay and all so I've never asked."

"Annabeth—" but after seeing how she was to Rachel, I couldn't, in good heart, defend Annabeth. "I mean she's never mentioned anything to me, but... With how she's treated Rachel, I guess I wouldn't be surprised. Sorry if she's ever been like, shitty to you."

"Percy, don't apologize, it wasn't you that did it," Nico insisted as he put his bowl down on the coffee table, now empty. "she has been mean to me before, but I didn't just take it, I called her on it. She's just really possessive of you, which I could understand if you were dating but..."

I rolled my eyes, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

"Yeah, no, that will never happen," I responded, placing my also empty bowl next to his, feeling a little better with actual homemade food in my stomach now. "I'm much more interested in somebody else right now. Oh— and there's also the fact that I'm gay."