Morning Ritual

Morning Ritual
Percy/Nico

It's the last week of October and the rain is pelting steadily against his window, a gentle cadence under the sounds of the morning traffic below. The sun isn't up yet and there's a chill in the room as he lays in bed; his feet, peeking out from under the blankets, are getting the brunt of the cold, where the rest of his body is warm, wrapped up as it is with a heavy comforter and the limbs of the other boy in bed with him.

Nico's body is usually so cold, Percy reflects as he watches the younger demigod sleep. It's only in the mornings, after the son of Hades has spent the night curled up against Percy, under blankets, and usually wearing one of Percy's own shirts, that Nico finally seems warm. Nico's breath is hot against Percy's skin as his head is tucked in the crook of the older boy's neck, softly exhaling and sending shivers up Percy's spine. The younger boy is smaller than him, still growing, but for the time being, just the right size to fit perfectly against the son of Poseidon.

Percy's chin rests just over the top of Nico's head, the messy strand of Nico's too-long hair tickling his skin, but he doesn't mind. He only thinks about how lucky he is to have the younger boy in his life. It had taken him long enough to realize that Nico loved him and even longer for him to realize that he loved Nico back. Nico had done so much for Percy, loving him from a distance and doing everything in his power to keep Percy alive, no matter if Percy love him back or not.

Percy had inevitably realized that he loved Nico after the son of Hades started opening up to him, hanging out with him, and beginning to laugh and smile with him. The first time Percy had heard Nico genuinely laugh had shocked the son of Poseidon, for he'd almost thought that Nico was no longer capable of laughing like that. It had reminded Percy of those days long ago, when Nico was that innocent ten-year-old who was happily unaware of the difficulties and dangers of being a half-blood.

That laugh was the first time Percy had realized how much Nico's happiness meant to him. It had made him smile, a warm feeling in his chest making him glad to hear Nico laugh. He'd gone out of his way to hear Nico laugh more, teasing the son of Hades, making jokes with him. The more he got to hear that laugh, see the smile on Nico's face, the more Percy realized that he was falling in love with the younger demigod.

He'd broken up with Annabeth by then, the two of them having grown distant after the war with Gaea, despite the plans they'd made for a future together. She'd gone to Camp Jupiter, eager to learn more about the Romans, now that the two groups had finally made peace, and the last Percy heard, she was getting close to Reyna. There was a betting pool in the Hermes cabin at Camp Half-Blood on whether the two girls were going to start dating – Percy had ten drachma on Reyna and Annabeth coming over and beating the crap out of the Stoll brothers once they heard about the bet.

Percy waited a couple of months after his break up with Annabeth to ask Nico out and, at first, the son of Hades had thought it was a bad joke, getting defensive and asking Percy if he was serious. It took a while to convince Nico that, yes, Percy was serious, but he eventually wrestled a date out of the younger demigod and they'd gone out for pizza and come to Percy's apartment for a movie after. That had been three months ago now and Percy still considered himself lucky that Nico had said yes because, honestly, he'd thought the son of Hades would punch him in the face and tell him no, after making Nico wait months, years, for Percy to like him back.

Nico had all but moved in with Percy now. Sally and Paul were all for the idea, after Percy had told them that he was bisexual and dating Nico, and they'd easily accepted Nico as part of the household. Sally had always liked the younger boy, always asking Percy how Nico was, whether Nico was getting enough to eat and enough sleep. She already considered the son of Hades part of her family and Paul, being a newcomer to the family once, had taken Nico under his wing and welcomed him in his own way.

Nico stirs in his sleep, drawing Percy's thoughts back to the present. The rain outside is getting lighter, the chill still laying siege to Percy's exposed feet, but now he has a bleary-eyed, lethargic son of Hades in his arms, blinking slowly up at him.

“What time is it?”

“5:45,” Percy replies, reaching up and brushing Nico's tangled bangs from his face before pressing his lips against the younger teen's forehead. “You should go back to sleep.”

Nico gives a gentle shake of his head, curling back up to Percy, face once more pressed against the son of Poseidon's neck. His lips brush against Percy's skin as he speaks, “I can't go back to sleep, I just woke up.”

Percy has to suppress the shivers that want to run through his body, choosing instead to hold Nico close and press his lips against the crown of Nico's head. “It's too early to be awake.”

“You're awake,” Nico mumbles against his neck.

“Not the point.”

Nico shifts again, turning in Percy's arms to face him. His eyes are open now, dark brown irises peeking from beneath long lashes. In the light coming in from his window, Percy can just see the faint freckles scattered over the younger demigod's nose, his favorite one laying just beneath the inner corner of Nico's right eye, larger than the others. It's cute, Percy thinks, and he likes to kiss that particular freckle. In fact, he kisses it right then, eliciting a mutter of protest from Nico.

“Stop that, you have morning breath!”

Percy laughs and pulls Nico closer, rolling onto his back so Nico is laying on top of him. “So do you,” he points out teasingly. He presses a kiss to Nico's cheek, then to his nose. “I love you.”

Nico wrinkles his nose at him. “Yeah, okay,” he murmurs. He leans in and presses his lips against Percy's in a long, slow kiss. “Love you, too.”

Percy smiles in triumph, loving it every time he gets Nico to say that. His hands run up Nico's back, slipping under the blue shirt the younger demigod had stolen from him the previous night – the one with the box jellyfish, fittingly; the deadliest jellyfish for the son of the Lord of the Dead. He lets his hands stop right at Nico's shoulder blades, palms flat against still warm skin.

“How did I get so lucky to have you?” he asks.

Nico's lips quirk up in a small smile. “I ask myself the same question a lot.”

However the two of them might have gotten lucky enough to have one another, Nico had Percy and Percy had Nico. That was all that mattered that morning, with the rain pattering against the window, fall chill nipping at exposed limbs, and lips brushing against each other in a morning ritual neither intended to give up any time soon.