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“He hates me.”
Annabeth rolled her eyes, not even raising her head from her book. She was stretched out on the couch, while Percy sat on the floor, his homework strewn around him.
“Don’t be an idiot. Will doesn’t hate anyone.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Percy muttered under his breath, which earned him another eye roll.
“Fine,” She amended. “He hates anyone that messes with the people he cares about, and you haven’t. I’ve never seen him be anything but friendly to you.”
Annabeth was right, which only made the situation more infuriating. Will was nice but distant. He only interacted with Percy when it was necessary, like if he was injured. When they were at social events, he barely spoke more than two words to him. And when Will and Nico came over for dinner at Annabeth’s and Percy’s apartment, he made the appropriate amount of small talk, answered Percy’s questions with short responses, and then immediately turned his attention to Nico and Annabeth.
That was the other frustrating part; Will got on great with Annabeth, asking her questions about school and her architecture internship.
It wasn’t that Percy was jealous that Will liked everyone else but him, he was just confused. He'd been nothing but nice to Will, and supportive when he pursued a relationship with Nico.
Percy suddenly snapped to attention. Nico. That was it. Will only started acting like this around Percy when he got together with Nico. There was no way Nico hadn’t told Will about the crush he used to have on him. Maybe Will was jealous, or worried that Nico still had feelings for Percy.
It was a ridiculous notion. Nico was head-over-heels for Will, though he would never admit it. Still, Percy couldn’t exactly blame Will for feeling jealous. If Annabeth was good friends with someone she used to like, he definitely wouldn’t be as patient as Will was.
Percy smiled to himself. That was it, then. Will and Nico were coming over for dinner in a few days. He’d talk to Will then, and assure him there was nothing happening between him and Nico. Then, the stupid tension between them would vanish, and Percy could stop worrying about it.
Annabeth had apparently noticed his grin and narrowed her eyes.
“What are you planning?”
“Nothing.”
Annabeth glared at him, but Percy just gave her the most innocent expression he could muster. She sighed, shaking her head.
“Whatever it is, it’s probably a stupid idea. Don’t do it.”
Percy just smiled and turned back to his computer. “It’ll be fine, Wise girl. Just trust me.”
A few days later, Percy was setting the table for dinner when a knock came at the door. Taking a deep breath, he opened it to see Nico standing there, hands in his pockets and Will close behind him.
Nico was no longer the sullen teenager he used to be, but he never lost his penchant for black. At least he had the decency to wear his nice black jeans. The one without all the suspicious stains. Along with a black Mother Mother hoodie, and his nails painted to match. There were still smudges of purple under his eyes, but they weren’t anywhere close to how pronounced they used to be, and he’d actually gained some weight. Overall, he looked closer to being alive than dead, which was a win in Percy’s book.
“Hey, Percy.”
“Hey, Neeks.”
“I told you not to call me that,” He grumbled, but accepted the hug Percy offered anyway.
“Annabeth’s finishing up dinner if you want to go say hi.”
Nico nodded and headed towards the kitchen, leaving Percy and Will standing there.
“It’s good to see you, Will.” Percy offered awkwardly as Will took off his shoes.
“You too.” Will smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He immediately turned and followed Nico, barely sparing Percy a second glance.
Percy sighed. It was going to be a long night.
The dinner itself wasn’t too bad. Will was perfectly nice and got into a whole conversation with Annabeth about a movie they’d both seen. Nico told them about some of the work he’d been doing for Hades, and Will talked a little about med school. After they finished eating, Annabeth suggested they watch a movie.
“I’ll help clean up.” Will offered, already taking his plate to the sink.
“Oh, that’s not–”
Percy interrupted Annabeth, “Sounds great. Will and I will clean up. You two go pick out a movie.”
Will stiffened next to him but didn’t argue.
“...Ok,” Annabeth said, shooting Percy a suspicious look. Nico also looked skeptical, but eventually followed Annabeth out to the living room.
Percy grabbed all of the plates from the table and put them in the sink, where Will had already started washing them.
“So, how are things with you and Nico?” Percy asked, casually leaning against the counter. Will eyed him carefully out of the corner of his eye.
“Good.”
Percy nodded, “That’s great. I’m glad it’s going well. Nico deserves to be happy.”
“Yeah. He does.”
Percy drummed his hands on the counter and leaned in, making sure to keep his voice low. “You know, nothing would ever happen between me and Nico. Whatever feelings he had for me are long gone. He loves you.”
Will put a cup into the dishwasher, “I know.”
When he didn’t add anything else, Percy sighed. “I’m just trying to say there’s no reason for you to be jealous.”
Will paused, “You think I’m jealous of you?”
Percy shrugged, “I mean, yeah. Why else would you hate me?”
Percy expected Will to deny it, or get pissed at him. What he did not expect was for Will to start laughing.
The only thing he could do was stare as Will resumed washing, still chuckling under his breath.
“Wow. You are something else, Percy. Anyone ever told you how self-absorbed you are?”
Percy stared at him, aghast. He would be pissed off if he wasn’t so confused.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“The only reason you can think of me hating you is that I’m jealous. Not that you’ve done something to me, or that I simply don’t like you.”
Percy opened his mouth to argue, but Will barreled on.
“Let me tell you something, Percy Jackson; I’m not jealous of you. You may have been Nico’s first love, but I’m the person who will be with him for the rest of eternity. And I don’t need you to tell me that.”
Will finished putting away the dishes in the dishwasher and straightened to look Percy in the eye.
“The reason I don’t like you is because you choked a twelve-year-old when you were fifteen.”
Percy froze, feeling the blood drain from his face.
“Nico told you about that?”
“Only after a nightmare where he re-lived it.”
Percy flinched, feeling the sudden urge to vomit. Will’s eyes flashed with anger, but his voice was almost casual. “Now, I’m not one to hold grudges, but I have a hard time forgiving someone who hurt the man I love. Especially when he’s never even apologized for it.”
“Will-”
“Nico may have forgiven you, but I won’t.” Will interrupted. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to get between you and Nico, but we will never be friends. And believe me,” Will leaned in close. “I don’t care how powerful of a demigod you are, if you ever think about hurting Nico again, I will kill you. And it won’t be quick.”
Will’s blue eyes were stormy and full of hatred. Percy knew, without a doubt, that he wasn’t bluffing. For the first time, he felt afraid of Will Solace.
Will’s expression abruptly smoothed back into peaceful serenity. “Good talk.” He clapped his hands together. “I wonder what movie we’re going to watch.” Will brushed past Percy, humming softly.
Percy stood there for a few moments, fists clenched. A wave of guilt threatened to swallow him whole. It was so long ago, he’d almost forgotten it. Nico had never brought the incident up again, so Percy just assumed it was fine. That things were cool with them.
His stomach twisted painfully. Nico had a nightmare. About Percy choking him. Years after the fact. How was it possible he had never apologized to Nico? It didn’t matter that he thought Nico had tricked him, it didn’t justify Percy attacking him.
The rest of the night passed uneventfully. They watched a horror movie Nico picked out, but Percy could barely pay attention. He kept sneaking glances at Nico, who was curled up next to Will, one of Will’s arms around him.
He caught Will’s eye one time, and all Percy saw was cold neutrality and a curved smile.
Can we talk?
Percy’s thumb hovered over the blue send button.
“C’mon, dude. No chickening out.” He whispered, and then pressed the button.
Nico was still inherently suspicious of modern technology, but he’d mostly gotten the hang of it. Still, it might be a few days before he would see the text.
Percy sighed and shoved his phone back into his pocket. There was no use staring at it for the next few hours, waiting for a response.
He flopped onto the couch, closed his eyes, and mentally started to go through all of the homework he had due for his classes. Paper in Greek, presentation for Oceanography class, paper for his ethics class–
“Percy.”
He cracked open one eye to see Nico sitting a foot away from him.
Percy immediately sat up, “What the fuck, Nico!”
“You said you wanted to talk.”
“I sent that text two minutes ago!”
Nico shrugged, “I didn’t have anything better to do.”
“You could have texted me back instead of scaring the shit out of me.”
Nico’s eyes sparkled with amusement, though his expression remained blank. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“Yeah, well. Just wait until I tell your boyfriend you’ve been shadow-traveling again.” Percy grumbled.
“I haven’t had a problem with shadow traveling in years, so feel free.” Nico ran a hand through his hair. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
Percy winced, “Yeah. About that.” He stood up and started pacing. “Do you remember what happened when you took me to the underworld?” A part of him hoped Nico had forgotten it, but a shadow crossed over his face.
“Yeah. I remember.”
“Did I ever apologize to you? For, y’know…”
“Trying to kill me?” Nico asked drily. “No. You didn’t.”
Percy flinched. “I’m sorry. For not apologizing. And for doing it in the first place.”
Nico nodded, “Thanks.”
He stared at Nico. “That’s it?”
“....Is there something else you want me to say?”
“I don’t know!” Percy ran a hand through his hair, agitated.
“Percy,” Nico sighed. “It was eight years ago. I’m not exactly burning with rage anymore. And you’ve saved my life several times over since then. It was a shitty thing to do, and I'm glad you finally apologized, but there’s not much else to do about it now.” Then he narrowed his eyes, “Why are you apologizing? Did something happen? You're not dying, right?”
"What? No. I just, uh, wanted to make amends.”
Nico raised an eyebrow. “You’re a shitty liar, Jackson.”
Percy sighed, “Look, Will may have mentioned it to me and strongly suggested I apologize to you–”
“He threatened you.”
“Yep.”
Nico’s face softened into a smile. “That’s awful.”
“Yeah, you look really broken up about it.”
Nico just shrugged, “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. He won’t actually hurt you unless you try and kill me. In which case, I would kill you first, and then resurrect you so he could kill you again.”
Percy stared at him. “Have you had conversations about this?”
“Maybe.” Seeing Percy’s horrified face, he cracked another grin. “Kidding. Mostly.”
Percy just shook his head, “I don’t want to know.”
Nico stood up and dusted off his pants, “I should get going. I promised Will I’d be back by dinner.”
Percy watched him carefully and then held out a fistbump “We good?”
Nico eyed the fistbump with distaste, but eventually rolled his eyes and returned it. “We’re good.”
“Do you think Will’s gonna stop hating me now?”
Nico cocked his head, thinking. “Probably not. But he won’t be a dick about it.”
Percy sighed, “Well, that’s something I guess.”
Nico grinned, “Cheer up. You’ll have an opportunity to win him over when you plan our bachelor parties.”
“Bachelor parties?”
“Nico! What bachelor parties?!”
He sent Percy a lazy wave as the darkness enveloped him, “You’ll see.”
“Nico!”