I have had this idea in my head for years now but I've only just managed to type the words out. Hopefully, this fic will be updated every Friday. Obviously, I do not own any of the rights to Percy Jackson or any of Rick Riordan works. Enjoy!

It all started when Percy accidentally almost killed Nico.

The sun was shining brightly down on Camp Half-Blood; not too hot but just a perfect summers day. Some Apollo kids were laughing by the trees, a few Aphrodite kids were giggling to each other outside their cabin, a couple of Ares kids were arguing with a couple of Athena kids. All in all, it was a pretty normal day. The sound of metal-on-metal rang through the air as two swords hit against each other. The son of Poseidon and the son of Hades skillfully attacked and counter-attacked each other on the training ground. They had been doing so for almost half an hour now and they were gaining quite an audience.

"Tired yet, Nico?"

"In your dreams, Percy"

The two continued to spar together until almost the entire camp had gathered to watch them. Percy was so focused on not letting Nico hit him that he almost missed the strained look on his friend's face.

"You okay?" Percy asked warily, defending himself from a stab Nico threw at him which Percy suddenly noticed was a lot messier than usual.

"Yeah. I'm fine" Nico said through gritted teeth and continued swinging his sword.

"No you're not, we can stop if you want-"

"Shut up, Percy. I'm fine! Now, are you just going to stand there and defend yourself or are you actually going to train with me?"

Percy rolled his eyes at his friend's stubbornness and continued to defend himself from Nico's attacks. They continued like this for a few more moments before Percy saw an opening in Nico's defence and lunged forward. That was his first big mistake. At the exact same moment Percy lunged, Nico's sword slipped from his hand and he lost balance and fell forward. Instantly, Percy dropped his own sword and haphazardly caught Nico in his arms. But because of the suddenness, the son of Poseidon didn't have time to brace himself which caused him to fall backwards and land on his back with Nico falling on top of him. The first thought racing through Percy's mind was that he had accidentally stabbed Nico but after several moments of panic and looking over his friend's body, there appeared to be no blood. However, Nico was almost unconscious and sweat was pouring off his face. The crowd they had made inched forward slightly but no one moved to get help.

"Someone go and get Chiron" Percy demanded, still no one moved "Now!"

Shouting finally seemed to get people in motion and several campers ran off to try and get help. At the same time, a few Apollo kids step towards Percy and Nico. Percy looked up with grateful eyes as they gave the son of Hades a quick check over and breathed a sigh of relief when they informed him that he had not harmed his friend. The unmistakable sound of Chiron hooves pounded up behind them but Percy didn't move, his focus fixed on the boy on his lap. The only reason he released his arms from around Nico was so that Chiron could get a proper look at the damage. After a few agonisingly long moments of silence, Percy looked up at his mentor to see a grave look on his face.

"He's still alive. He's breathing, but barely. And no, Percy did not stab him" Chiron announced to the crowd. "However, he is in the worst condition possible for his situation. He must be brought to the Big House immediately"

Without another word the centaur quickly turned and left, leaving the group of campers slightly dazed. Percy shook off his shock and before he really knew what he was doing, he picked Nico up in his arms and began walking after Chiron. The sweat dripping off his friend's face combined with how horribly light he was caused Percy's heart beat to quicken. How long had Nico been like this? Had he been hiding this from Percy all this time? What kind of terrible friend was he for not noticing Nico's state sooner?

"It's okay, I've got you now" Percy whispered. He wasn't really sure why he said anything since it was highly unlikely that Nico could actually hear him. But nonetheless, he continued whispering words of comfort until he reached the Big House. He managed to stumble through the door before laying Nico down on the couch in the middle of the room.

"How is he really?" Percy asked cautiously, as he had a feeling Chiron hadn't told them everything yet.

"In truth... he's almost dead" Chiron said quietly. Percy's breath hitched in his throat but he swallowed hard and took a few slow breaths before speaking.

"Will he be okay?" Percy cursed the tremor in his voice but his mentor seemed to understand and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"He will need serious care and attention and the process may take quite some time. But if we start now he should pull through" he said in a softer tone. Percy was so relieved that he would have almost fallen over backwards if he hadn't steadied himself against the couch first.

"Is there anything I can do?" Percy asked, his eyes fixed on Nico's face. He didn't look even vaguely okay but at least the pain seemed to have stopped.

"Not much for now. He'll need plenty of rest and constant watch. And while I would be fully willing to watch over him, I have a feeling that trying to remove you from his side would be a nearly impossible task" Chiron allowed a fond smile to brush over his features as he looked at Percy's surprised yet also slightly relieved expression. The centaur quickly instructed Percy to take Nico to the back of the house and lay him down on a bed before he went back outside. Percy gently lifted up his friend again and slowly carried him through the house until he found the room. It was quite a small room with a double bed against the left wall, a door to a small bathroom, a very old looking TV on the wall and an armchair in the corner. It seemed clean but it looked as though it hadn't be used in a very long time. Just as he set Nico down on the bed, his eyes began to open.

"Percy?" Nico asked weakly, his voice strained. Despite himself, Percy smiled at the sound of his friend's voice.

"Hey there" Percy said softly. A few moments of silence passed between them as Nico adjusted himself into a more comfortable position and Percy pulled the armchair from the corner over to the bed.

"What happened?" Nico finally asked.

"Long story short; you collapsed, everyone thought I stabbed you, turns out I didn't stab you, you're far too skinny and you've worked yourself too hard so now you have to stay here until you get better" Percy told him, raising an eyebrow. Nico looked away, an ashamed look on his face.

"You should have told me" Percy said in a quieter tone, leaning forward and turning Nico's head back to face him.

"I didn't know how to" Nico said barely louder than a whisper, his eyes still not meeting his friend's.

"Well, all that matters now is that you're going to be okay. Chiron said you'll need a lot of rest and you should be watched closely"

"And let me guess, you're going to be doing the watching?" Nico asked teasingly even though Percy guessed he probably already knew the answer as a smile found it's way to his lips. Slowly Percy nodded and Nico's smile grew a little wider.

"You should get some rest" Percy suddenly stood up and pulled the duvet up Nico's body. Nico knew it was kind of odd but he found it almost sweet that Percy wanted to take care of him so badly. So he allowed himself to be tucked in like a child just this once and drifted off into a peaceful sleep with the knowledge that he was safe as long as Percy was watching over him.