Stygian (Percico)

Chapter 4

"He looks so much better," Hazel said, rubbing the towel in the dog's fur. Nico and Hazel had given the dog a bath, which went smoother than they thought it would. In fact, the dog seemed to have enjoyed the wash.

"What do you want to name him?" Nico hadn't thought of any names yet. "I don't know. I'll sleep on it." Hazel turned to look at him, "so you are sleeping?" Nico frowned his eyebrows, "of course I am." He lied.

The dog made a noise and walked over to him to put his paw on his knee. "He's very smart," Hazel said. Unlike Nico, she had been noticing everything the dog was doing. He knew where everything was in the apartment, he also seemed to know Nico was struggling with a sad situation. He comforted him any way he could, licking him, laying his head in his lap, nuzzling into his hand. Hazel thought it was adorable.

It also brought some comfort to her. Nico seemed to like having the dog around, for instance, he wasn't spending the whole day on the couch. She decided to try to get him to eat. "So, what do you want for dinner?" she asked. Nico didn't look up, he was petting the dog on the couch. "I'm not hungry. Get what you want."

Hazel sighed, "Nico-"

"I'm not hungry." The dog made a low sound, not a growl, but a grumble. He jumped up, his front paws landing on Nico's thighs and coming nose to nose with him. Nico's eyes connected with the dog's green ones. For a split second, the impossible slipped into his mind. But he quickly turned it down.

He pushed the dog off him, "and feed the dog too."

...

"Hazel, seriously, I can take care of myself." Hazel had gotten an Iris Message from Camp Jupiter. They were having a meeting and she needed to be there. She sat down beside her brother for a serious talk. "Okay, for me to leave, you have to promise you won't go to the underworld. Promise."

Nico sighed, "I know! I won't go to the underworld. I won't summon anything. I won't do anything to get in contact with him. Do we really have to go through this every day?"

"Nico, I know you. You just can't bring anyone back. So promise me you will not do anything."

Nico rolled his eyes, "I promise I won't do it." Hazel didn't feel satisfied, but then the dog moved beside her and nudged her hand. Something about the dog made her feel whole again, like everything will be okay. Everything was fixed in some way.

"I love you, Nico. I'll message you before bed." She kissed Nico's forehead and left. Once Nico heard the door close, he felt empty. He didn't realize how much he really appreciated Hazel being there.

The dog whined and jumped on the couch. Nico pet down his neck to his shoulder, "do you want to eat before bed?" The dog licked his lips before licking Nico's cheek. "Come on, let's find something."

Nico gave the dog a chicken breast, which was again, leftovers from Hazel. The dog didn't seem satisfied, though, he sat on the floor and glared up at Nico. "What?"

The dog pushed his bowl with the chicken in it towards Nico. Nico frowned, "I'm not eating your chicken." The dog looked disappointed, sad even. Nico suddenly felt bad, "I'll get a sandwich."

Nico got a single piece of bread and smothered it with peanut butter, then folded it over. "See?" he waved it in front of the dog, "I'm eating." He walked in the living room with his half sandwich, leaving the dog in the kitchen with his chicken.

...

Nico stood in the doorframe of his bedroom. His eyes were fixed on the bed he hasn't touched in almost a week. He just finished his message with Hazel, who was happy to find out Nico ate something.

He didn't want to sleep in the bed. It wasn't his bed. It was Percy's bed. They shared it, every night after they moved in together. Sleeping in it without him, knowing Percy will never get to again, seemed wrong.

He wouldn't even be thinking about sleeping it if it wasn't for the dog. The dog led him to the bedroom as if he knew it was bedtime. Nico watched as the dog jumped on the bed and laid across it, waiting for him. "You wanna sleep in the bed?" Nico asked. The dog barked.

Nico nodded, "sleep well." He turned to walk out, but he heard a whine. Nico looked at the dog, his green eyes were sad and seemed to be urging him to stay.

Nico couldn't say no to those eyes. It was like... Nico started to cry. The dog's ears flattened, he jumped off the bed to Nico. "I guess we can sleep in here. As long as you sleep with me."

The dog made a 'poof' sound and walked back to the bed with Nico following. Nico didn't even think about it, he just crawled in under the sheets as the dog circled around on the mattress before finally laying beside Nico.

Being in the bed made him tired, and he hadn't exactly slept in days. He felt a tongue on his forehead before slipping into darkness.

Percy laughed, "right, like that will ever happen." Nico cracked a small smile, "it was just a dream I had. I know it sounds weird." The date was going better than Nico originally expected. They were sharing stories, talking about weird experiences, and laughing about them.

Nico remembered the thought he had right at that moment: maybe this could work.

Then Nico was on the grass, Percy beside him smiling as he opened a bag of chips. "Nico," he handed him a potato chip, "would you be my roommate?"

Nico couldn't help but smile, "sure." Percy just asked him to buy an apartment with him, of course, Nico would say yes.

Nico watched the memory in his mind, the talk, the smile, the kiss. But then he heard his own voice scream as the picture of Percy laying lifeless on the ground flashed through his vision.

He opened his eyes, only to see an empty bed. That shook out the last bit of contentness he had left. The bed itself was caked in Percy's natural scent, full of too many good dreams and happy memories. Tears stained the sheets as they fell from Nico's cheeks.

Suddenly, the dog came into view. He licked Nico's face clean and nuzzled his nose in his hair. Nico dug his fingers into the soft, thick fur of the animal, his tears were decreasing.

Nico didn't realize he laid back down, the dog continued to lick Nico's forehead and hair line. It felt so similar to what Percy would do to get Nico to sleep, it calmed him.

Before Nico knew it, he had fallen into a dreamless sleep with the dog curled beside him. 

How was this one? Please tell me, it helps a lot.