Math tells the three saddest love stories.

This was inspired from a post I saw on tumblr and I am so sorry. :'D

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Rick Riordan.

Tangents

By: Coqui's Song

Tangent lines meet once, then part ways forever.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Nico sat up straighter as he noticed Percy log on. He was probably smiling stupidly, but that didn't matter at all. No one could see him if he was locked up in his room, after all. He perked up more hearing the 'ping' of a new message and checked it.

"Hey."

Nico tried to contain his smile to little avail, and instead typed back, "Hey, Percy. How are you?"

The answer popped up on his screen almost instantaneously. "Oh, I'm fine. Just another school day, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it," Nico typed back just as quickly. "But nothing interesting? Today my History teacher made perverted jokes in class."

"Your history teacher always makes perverted jokes in class."

The sixteen-year-old grinned at his screen. "But they're always funny. Anyway, other than that, my day was pretty boring I guess." He bit his lower lip before adding, "Talking to you is the most interesting thing today."

"Damn it, Nico, stop stealing my lines. I'm the flirtatious one here."

"So I'm not allowed to be flirty?"

"No," Percy wrote back. Before Nico could reply, the other boy living all the way in New York City added, "You're supposed to be blushing and stuttering and cute."

"I can't be cute and flirty?" One corner of his mouth was curved up higher than the other in a signature lopsided grin that Percy didn't know about, because they rarely video-called. But that was all right, because they were trying to take it slow. Still, Nico really wanted to meet his boyfriend face-to-face. They met online about a year ago, and it took them until about two months ago for them to realize that they really liked each other. They began internet-dating, or whatever you call it, and Nico had never been happier.

"No, because you're already too perfect," Percy typed, and Nico felt the familiar longing. He didn't want to internet date. He wanted Percy to be here with him, so they could hug, they could kiss, they could hold hands and just be together.

Nico was so lost in his wishes that five minutes passed and he didn't notice until the notification of another message brought him back to reality.

"Nico? Is something wrong? Did I say something?"

"No, you called me perfect."

"Yeah, you usually don't like it, and I figured... you didn't respond, so..."

Nico bit his lower lip and furrowed his eyebrows. "It's fine, Percy."

"Then what's the matter?" Percy asked.

The sixteen-year-old sighed and shook his head before hesitantly typing, "It's stupid."

He waited about a minute before realizing that he didn't want Percy to answer that, so he quickly wrote, "I miss you even though I've never even met you outside of the internet."

"I think about you all the time," Percy admitted after a while. "Seeing someone so far away is difficult."

Nico's heart began to pound loudly in his chest. Was that a break-up line? Before this, he'd never had a significant other, wasn't really interested, wasn't exactly comfortable with himself. Percy was his friend first, and the older boy was a good one. He was kind and helpful, always offering advice and incredibly loyal.

"Oh, God, I didn't mean to type that," said another message before Nico got a chance to reply to Percy's previous one. "I realize that didn't sound right, I'm sorry. What I meant to say was, I really miss you too. I think I might go down to DC soon."

"Really?! You're not kidding?"

Nico could imagine Percy grinning widely.

"I wouldn't kid about this. Spring break is soon and I'm going to use this time to my advantage. It's only about a five hour drive, so I'll be fine."

"I really can't believe this," Nico typed, breaking into a huge smile. "I can't wait to see you now."

"Two weeks, Nico, you're going to have to wait for two weeks. Think you can make it?"

"Absolutely."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Nico's phone buzzed and he looked around anxiously. Percy said to meet at the Washington Memorial, and here he was. But Nico couldn't see Percy anywhere. He took his phone out of his pocket and read the text message.

"Almost there, Nico."

His heart sped up. This was it. He couldn't believe it. He was actually going to meet Percy, and after this, things could get easier. Nico was in his junior year and after next year, he could go up to New York for college -Percy was already going to college there; he was a freshman- and they could get an apartment together. Nico exhaled, wondering if his thoughts were running away with him. After all, what if they found out they weren't right for each other? What if they broke up after this?

But no, he didn't want to think of that. He wanted to think of happy things, not worry about the future. Nico had to live in the now, because worrying about the future did nothing for him.

"Nico."

A semi-familiar voice startled him out of his thoughts, and his chocolate brown gaze snapped upward, meeting those gorgeous green eyes. Percy had always told Nico that he was six-feet tall, and in his mind, Nico imagined it. Many boys in his class were six-feet tall. But he hadn't truly realized how tall that meant Nico would be in comparison, and suddenly Nico felt very, very small.

"H-hi," he stuttered out. "Percy. Hi, Percy."

"That's my name, don't wear it out," Percy teased, because he used old cheesy jokes that stopped being funny in the 1980s. "So this is it."

"Yeah," Nico agreed around the lump in his throat. The computer screen didn't do Percy's beauty any justice. "So, do we, uh, do we hug or something?"

Percy's dark eyebrows furrowed as he analyzed Nico's body language. "Would you be comfortable with it? Maybe if we just start by holding hands, would that be fine with you?"

Nico gazed down and slowly reached out to take Percy's hand in his own. He felt his cheeks flush with color, but he didn't care. He had wanted this for so long, and now he had it. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe Percy was a real, actual person with a real, actual voice and real, actual physical body. He'd spent too much time looking at pixels and believing that those words were Percy. This was a thousand times better than typing on the computer. There were too many emotions rolling around Nico's stomach and he couldn't make sense of any of them, so he just grinned.

Percy was staring at their entwined fingers as though he couldn't believe it either. They stood like this for about two minutes before the college student cleared his throat and smiled almost shyly down at his boyfriend. "So, do you know any good places to eat here?"

"Street food is always best," Nico muttered. "If you don't mind."

"Us city boys have to stick together," Percy said, nodding. "Street food is always best, but I'm kind of in the mood for McDonald's."

That stopped Nico short, because he didn't remember when exactly he'd told Percy about his absolute adoration of McDonald's, but somehow the older teen knew about it anyway. "Come on."

They spent their lunch date holding hands and wiping off ketchup and mustard stains off of the other. Nico might have laughed aloud once or twice.

"Is there anything else you want to do?" Percy asked.

"You're here for a full week, right?" Nico checked, and his boyfriend nodded.

The younger teen raised his head and gave him a smirk. "I'm sure I can think of some things to do."

"Oh? Like what?" Percy wondered, smile spreading slowly. His green eyes glittered with happiness.

Nico shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe we can watch a movie together, or go to the museums -the Smithsonian is free, you know. A lot of tourists are always shocked that most of the museums are free here. Other than like, the Newseum or the Spy Museum or something."

"I wouldn't mind having to pay," Percy replied.

"You already came all this way for me," Nico said quickly. "It wouldn't be right if I made you pay for everything. Besides, you know my family is well off. My maternal grandfather was the Italian ambassador for a long time. "

"I never got why your mother moved back to DC. I would have loved staying in Italy," the college student murmured thoughtfully.

Nico laughed. "She almost did. We lived in Italy and moved here when I was nine."

"Which is why you have your accent," Percy put in almost dreamily, and the younger Italian boy flushed.

"Anyway, she wanted to come back here, because this was where she met my papà, and we've gone to Italy to visit family, but we've stayed here since."

Percy nodded. "So she was nostalgic."

"I'm glad. If we hadn't moved, I wouldn't have met you," Nico said, biting his lower lip anxiously, but this was his boyfriend that he was talking to, and Percy just squeezed his hand and bent his head down to kiss the sixteen-year-old's cheek.

"Funny how those things work, isn't it?"

Nico never knew this, but if he and his family hadn't moved from Italy, maybe he and Percy wouldn't have only met once. Maybe their lives wouldn't have touched the other's at all. Maybe their lives would have touched an infinite amount of times.

We'll never know.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Percy and Nico went to watch a movie, but they hardly paid it any attention because they were too busy staring at one another, not still not quite believing the other was real. They held hands and their gazes would meet for the longest time before they looked back to the screen. They didn't kiss, though. Maybe once Percy invited Nico into his hotel room, they would.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Percy said as he looked at his watch and started, seeing that it was 9:40 at night. "Do you want me to drive you home?"

"I have a car, Percy," Nico replied, smiling gently. "And you don't know the area well."

The older teen (almost twenty-year-old; Nico should probably stop thinking of Percy as a teen, huh?) grinned sheepishly back and nodded. He leaned over and they shared their first real kiss.

It was Nico's first kiss ever.

He never imagined it would feel so great. He couldn't even really put words to all those intense emotions surging within him. Nico just knew that this was more than he'd ever imagined, Percy was better than he ever could have imagined, and he loved him, he loved him, he loved him.

They'd only known each other for slightly over a year, and not even in real life -only online, but with Percy's fingers tangled in his dark hair and Nico's hands caressing Percy's cheek, the younger teen knew that this was where he belonged, and that this was love.

Percy was the one to break the kiss, but it didn't matter. Nico was getting out of breath anyway.

Was it too early to say 'I love you?' Nico didn't know, and he realized that he hardly cared either. Percy made him feel comfortable, made him feel like he could open up and say anything.

So when their eyes met; startling sea-green and dark chocolate-brown, Nico whispered the words like a prayer.

"I love you, Percy."

The older boy blinked at him as if assessing the information, shocked and pleased all at once. Then, he smiled wider than Nico had ever seen. "I love you, too."

Maybe if they hadn't loved each other, they wouldn't have only met once.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The night before Percy would leave, the older boy finally invited Nico over to his apartment. Honestly, they didn't do anything. They talked and they kissed and they dreamed together about the future, but that was it.

Nico fell asleep holding onto Percy's arm like a teddy bear, and Percy was curled around the small teen, murmuring loving words in his ear.

When Nico woke up to Percy smiling gently down at him, he wondered aloud, "When do you think you'll come back?"

"Summer," Percy promised. "All summer."

Percy would never keep his promise.

That wasn't his fault, though.

He was a tangent line, only destined to meet his love once.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Text me as soon as you get home," Nico ordered, still hovering around Percy even though he knew that it was time to go. Nico had school next week, and he'd done no homework in favor of keeping Percy company.

(Which was a good decision, after all, it's not every day your long-distance boyfriend comes to visit.)

"Yes, Mother," Percy teased, but he was grinning in a way that told Nico, I will text you the second I unlock the door to my apartment.

"A-and drive carefully. Be safe," the younger teen worried.

Percy nodded and pulled him into a kiss. "I love you."

Nico's grip on Percy's wrist cut off circulation, but the nineteen-year-old didn't mind. Nico stared up into his eyes for what felt like eternity. He said, as if stating an absolute truth, "I love you, too."

He would always love Percy.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Honey, I'm home! Oh, I forgot. I'm not married," came Percy's text message, and Nico had to laugh.

"One day?" he asked hopefully, heart pounding in his chest.

"One day."

Another promise Percy wouldn't keep.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Nico got antsy when Percy didn't answer his text one day in mid-May. Percy was going to come next week, and they were supposed to be making plans.

Why wasn't he texting back?

He was probably busy at the moment, so Nico let it slide.

Then two days passed and there was no word from his boyfriend. Nico had never called Percy on his phone before; there were video-calls on the Internet, or Skype, or texting, but never phone-calls. Nico, feeling sick to his stomach with worry, called.

"Who is this?" an unfamiliar voice answered, and Nico shrunk back in his seat, although no one was around.

"Hello, m-my name is Nico?" it came out as a question. "Where's Percy?"

"Percy? Percy Jackson?" the voice inquired, her tone wavering slightly.

"Yeah," Nico replied, bracing himself. He felt as though a storm was coming.

The person on the other end of the phone sniffed and Nico could hear a crack in her voice. "He got into a car crash. He-he didn't make it."

And what had Percy been doing in the car?

He'd been on his way to buy a gift for his boyfriend.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Nico would move on,eventually, but Percy was his first love. And the moment he found out, he murmured, "Thank you," to the woman, hung up, and crumpled to the floor, choking and weeping hysterically.

He felt as though the weight of the sky was pinning him to the ground, making it impossible to breathe. Impossible to feel anything other than pure agony. His head pounded with the emotional toll of crying, and his heart -he didn't know where his heart was. Possibly with Percy, possibly it had been torn out of his chest without his noticing.

When Nico was finally spent, he lay on the floor, trembling and imagining Percy's arm around him again and again. He heard his voice, his laugh. Nico could swear he heard, not in his mind, but in his ears, Percy say loud and clear, "I love you."

And that soothed him enough that he could crawl in bed and fall asleep.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Percy and Nico were tangents, but at least they met once.

Other lives are not so lucky.

The voice was probably Annabeth or Sally, I don't know. You can choose. :'D

So, this isn't done yet. It'll have two more chapters; unrelated, of course. Next up is asymptotes.

i honestly have no idea what to do for asymptotes but i'll try and get it done quick

~Coqui's Song