**CryingWillows, you were right, I totally died (stress from exams, who woulda guessed?!) and I am the ghost of TJ who is publishing this, the final chapter of Nico, Interrupted. I left a full note for y'all at the end.

Enjoy :)**

God, could this hellhole be any more irritating? Nico silently demanded as he rolled around on the overstuffed-but-still-too-soft mattress and tried to find a position where the blanket didn't feel like sandpaper.

'Urgh, I give up!' He said to no one, and kicked the blanket onto the floor. The teen swung his slender legs over the side of the bed, not minding the slap of cool cement on his toes. He rubbed his face with one hand while the other rested on his thigh, a habit he'd picked up from his mum when she was thinking.

It was only the first night at this crazily crappy crazy house, and Nico was already uncomfortable. It wasn't just the mattress, though. Nico knew he wasn't going to fit in, and surely make enemies without even trying here. Delegating his head into both hands, Nico took a few deep breaths, hearing the sound echo slightly. On the floor was the wadded up piece of paper that notified him on the appointment with Doctor Valdez tomorrow. With a scowl, he kicked it across the room.

After running a hand through his hair, Nico didn't really know what to do. His mind fluttered idly, but when Nico's attention finally returned, he noticed he was rubbing his wrists. Nico looked down, and watched at his seemingly possessed hands.

With a sigh, he put his hands behind him and lay back down on the "bed". Stupid habit. Nico had always thought himself above such petty mind needs, but it looked like his affair with razorblades was not dead yet, at least, to his wrists.

Think of something else Nico, come on… What are you going to tell Mama about the first day?

Ah, safe topic. Well, mum, I was kicked off to a sanatorium, got a cryptic message, met the sender of the message and discovered they're equally as mysterious, found out the proper crazies are legitimate psychopaths, and received the hide of a boar for a quilt.

Something told Nico that wouldn't exactly fly.

Well, mum, I met these two guys, and they remind me a bit of those ginger twins from… What movie was it again? I don't know… They're pretty cool. One's Frank, he's a little crazier than most, because he has MPD, but it seems he's got a handle on it. The other's Percy. Percy was the one who sent me the weird-ass message, but I got a free book out of it, so, yeah. He seems really nice. He was pretty excited to show me the ropes and who not to piss off, and stuff. I wonder if that'll carry on and we might be friends. I'm guessing he's a good guy to have as a friend around here.

~ O ~

'Nico!'

Nico jumped in his seat, fully expecting their car — Maria's car, but it'd been handed down to them — to be about to smash into an eight-wheeler. Nico was flattered that even in their dying moments, Percy was trying to protect him.

'Jesus Christ woman! I mean, I love you, but am I really that boring?!' Percy exclaimed. Giggling and blushing slightly, Nico apologised and asked Percy to repeat what he'd said.

'I said, what's got you smiling like that?' Percy shot Nico a smile from the driver's seat, to show he wasn't really mad, then looked back to the road. Nico sighed contentedly.

'I was… Could you sleep, well, I mean, on your first night at Lake's Meeting?'

'Uh, yeah…?' Nico had been watching Percy's face while he answered, and chose not to question the hesitation.

'Well, I couldn't. And, uh…' Nico knew Percy could feel the embarrassment in his words, and decided to just suck it up. They were in a legit relationship, after all.

'It was thinking about you that put me to sleep.' He confessed, the blush on his cheeks growing. It was a while before Percy answered.

'So I really am that boring, huh?' He teased with another cheeky grin, to which Nico responded with a light punch to his shoulder.

'Okay, okay,' Percy conceded, 'I believe you… I knew it couldn't be our impromptu trip that had you smiling like an idiot.'

Percy was right at that. It would take a very strange alternate universe for Nico to be excited about visiting the remains of Lake's Meeting Home for the Mentally Insane.

Still, Percy believed there was some sentimental value to be honoured, and everyone had ganged up on Nico to go with Percy. Nico knew it was so they could make up a birthday "surprise" for him, but he didn't really mind. Their effort was quite cute, really, and Nico had learned to be grateful for having people who not only look out for him, but care for him so much.

'Okay, now you're really smiling like an idiot, what's up?' Percy demanded from the driver's seat, twisting around to give Nico a glare. Nico chuckled again.

'I'm just thinking of how much effort everyone's going to to get me out of the house today.' It took a moment for it to click for Percy.

'You know?!' He cried. Nico was glad the road was pretty barren, he would've hated for Percy to actually have to concentrate while having his plans destroyed.

'Well… Maybe a little.' Nico ceded, but Percy just pouted. 'Oh, not the sad-baby-seal-face, Perce!' Of course, the comment only turned Percy's pout into a slightly more smug pout.

'Okay, fine, you want to be cheered up? Did I tell you about Frank?' That certainly got Percy's attention.

'No, the last I heard was he'd been taken to the cops after confessing. What happened?' Nico knew it was tough for any of them to talk about what had happened those few weeks ago, but Nico knew it was important news.

'Totally acquitted. My dad. Is a badass.' Percy spared his boyfriend an incredulous look, to which Nico returned his own smug smile.

'Are you kidding me? No way!'

'You sound kinda disappointed, Perce.'

'Wh-what? No, of course not, I just can't believe it!'

'Me neither, really. I asked how he managed it, and he just said he "knows people".' There was a moment of silence, and Nico could practically hear the wheels in Percy's head turning.

'I guess your mum can finally be honest about those Mafia connections now, huh?' Was all Percy had to say, and because it made both of them laugh, it was all that needed to be said.

fin

**Well guys, looks like we did it. This story started out as a drabble, but because of YOU, turned into the longest story I've ever written, and is probably the story I'm most proud of. It's definitely not my best, but I always care too much about shit. So, in an exercise of not giving a fuck, I just want to say this has been a great writing project, I've learned a lot, you guys enjoyed it (I hope!) and I enjoyed it.

Me love you guys long time, :*

— TJ

P.S., look on my profile for a synopsis/possible description of my next Percico fic coming out (after YCLTD)!

P.P.S., Seriously, I love you guys. Please comment and let me know what you liked, and what can be improved on :3**