The first thing Nico noticed was how quiet the lake was.

Not empty—never empty at Camp Half-Blood—but hushed, like the world itself was holding its breath. The sun was dipping low, turning the water gold and copper, and the breeze carried the smell of pine and salt. Percy sat on the dock with his feet in the water, idly flicking ripples across the surface like he always did when he was thinking too hard.

Nico lingered a few steps behind him, fingers clenched tight around the hem of his jacket.

He had faced monsters. Titans. Gods. This felt worse.

He’d been carrying it for months now—the weight in his chest, the way his gaze always found Percy first, the ache that followed every laugh Percy shared with someone else. Nico had tried to bury it, shove it down into the dark where everything else went. But feelings didn’t stay buried. They clawed. They whispered. They demanded to be seen.

Percy glanced over his shoulder and smiled when he noticed Nico. “Hey,” he said easily. “You gonna stand there all dramatic, or are you joining me?”

Nico swallowed and walked forward, sitting beside him on the dock. Their shoulders brushed—barely—but it sent a jolt through him anyway. He stared out at the lake, at the reflection of the sky breaking apart in the water.

“I needed to tell you something,” Nico said.

Percy’s smile softened. He didn’t joke this time. “Okay.”

The word was gentle. Patient. Percy always was, even when he didn’t realize it.

Silence stretched. Nico’s heart pounded so loudly he was sure Percy could hear it. His powers stirred uneasily, shadows curling at the edges of the dock like they sensed the storm inside him.

“I’m bad at this,” Nico muttered. “Talking. About… things.”

Percy nodded. “Yeah. I know.” Then, quieter: “You don’t have to rush.”

Nico closed his eyes.

I’m bigger than my fear, he told himself. Bigger than this moment.

“I like you,” he said finally, the words tumbling out rough and raw. “Not like—like a friend. I mean, I do, but it’s more than that. And I tried not to. Gods, I really tried. But every time you smile at me, or look at me like I matter, or sit with me when everyone else backs away…” His voice cracked. “I can’t make it stop.”

He braced himself for rejection. For awkwardness. For pity.

What he didn’t expect was Percy going very still.

The water at Percy’s feet stilled too.

Percy didn’t speak right away. He stared at the lake, jaw tight, like he was recalibrating the entire universe. Nico felt sick, already preparing to pull away, already rehearsing apologies—

“Nico,” Percy said, turning fully toward him. His green eyes were serious now, searching Nico’s face. “I thought something was wrong with me.”

Nico blinked. “What?”

Percy let out a breathy laugh, shaking his head. “I kept thinking I was messing things up. That I was supposed to feel this… pull toward Annabeth, because that’s what everyone expected. And I do care about her. I always will.” He hesitated, then said quietly, “But it never felt like this.”

He reached out—slowly, like he was giving Nico time to pull away—and rested his hand over Nico’s clenched fist.

The shadows stilled.

“I like you too,” Percy said. “I just didn’t know if I was allowed to say it.”