Hey everyone, Paradigm of Writing here with a brand new story in the Percy Jackson fandom... *drum roll* Nico Di Angelo's Hopeless Guide to Love, one that I am super stoked about writing... and we've got Nico, Percy, Annabeth, Rachel, Luke, and Thalia all in one huge group of friends... AU of course. Nico and Percy are roommates, almost like a similar kind of set-up from Friends where each person in archetype. This kinda drops itself in the middle of the story, I am going to be telling it kind of backwards... ish. It's hard to explain, but I'm excited as this'll be my first Rated M fanfiction in awhile that I think I'm going to take seriously, like really serious and draw out on many and multiple things. I hope you enjoy Chapter #1: Loose Control, which drops us immediately into some trouble. Enjoy!

Nico Di Angelo and Percy Jackson end up stumbling back to their apartment around two in the morning after the party has died a slow, painful death. Two A.M is practically early on New Year's Eve... or technically New Year's Day, but who gives a fuck. It's late. This is actually kind of pathetic; Nico's not even that tired, but after a miserable shit-show of an evening things just sort of fizzle out. He is at the very least thankful that he got to spend the horrific evening with his best friend.

Also, he might be a little bit drunk. Okay, stupidly drunk. But he's not going to feel too bad about that, because Percy's drunk too—he has to be, because it's the only explanation for why he would ever kiss Nico. Back at the party, the youthful twenty something year-old gets accidentally pinned to the refrigerator by the taller, handsome best friend and before he can speak, Percy has connected his lips against Nico's in a quick, soft kiss, but it is enough to leave Nico's head spinning for the rest of the evening. The drive home had been extremely awkward though.

The taste of it lingers in the back of Nico's throat like the warm tingle of whiskey. He's tried to wash it down, flush it out, but the foreign heat won't leave his lips. He can't help himself, the guy just has to think of the curved line of Percy's jaw, or the ripples underneath his shirt with those sharp emerald eyes and so much more luxuriousness he cannot wait to uncover.

Percy's sliding out of his jacket like he has no idea that Nico's thinking about kissing him again. Of course he has no idea; these aren't the kind of thoughts he just blurts out loud because he likes to hear himself talk. So instead he blurts out something else, because Nico is nothing if not skilled at making things humiliating and awkward: "Why did you kiss me?" Of course, he slaps a hand over his mouth the second he gets, because fuck that really wasn't a good move. He waits, almost on the edge of infinity, for Percy to respond, but instead gets a reaction he sort of did not expect.

Percy lifts an eyebrow, a flawed, yet gorgeous black eyebrow. "'Cause you wouldn't stop whining about getting kissed at midnight," He sort of shrugs, sees that Nico's waiting for him to elaborate. "Did you see any other volunteers?" There's a quiet stirring between them, and Percy decides to not add on the extra statement. You looked beyond pitiful, watching everyone share saliva, so maybe I could've been your superhero.

Nico can't help but feel offended that he was kissed not only under the influence of alcohol, but also as an act of charity. Feels like grade school all over again, with girls that had frolicked pink ribbons in their heads, or with pursed lips that smelled like wine and tobacco. With minimal swaying, he sulks to the kitchen counter and plops down onto a barstool. The carpet looks like it's moving.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Percy says, clapping a hand on Nico's shoulder. "This doesn't mean you're gonna have bad luck dating for the rest of the year." Oh, what the charmer?

"That's what you got from that?" Nico just stares at him. Percy's known to sometimes be pretty dense, as he is of the male species after all, but... really? It feels like the inappropriate thoughts swirling in Nico's head have formed some sort of radioactive barrier around him that's visible from space. Another minute of stilled silence flickers in the apartment, only accompanied by the innocuous ticking of the clock against the wall and the shuffling of feet on the carpet as Percy crosses his arms.

The emerald eyed male narrows his eyes in that way of his when he's thinking really hard. "Wait, did it make you uncomfortable or something? I'm sorry if it did, wasn't my intention."

"No!" Nico yells out a little too quickly, his face half blushing, half paling as that is the exact type of response he did not want. "No, no, the kiss was fine," He slides off of the barstool and finds his legs without too much levering. He takes a couple of steps toward his best friend, who's watching him with confused interest. "That's actually what I wanted to—" He stumbles forward into Percy's chest, but the emerald eyed man catches him and holds him upright before Nico ends up with his face in Percy's crotch. Wouldn't that be awkward? Nico is biting his tongue so he does not continue his thought of, It was more than fine, Percy. Euphoric.

The insecure, neurotic part of his brain is passed out drunk right now, so Nico decides he's going to take advantage of this fleeting confidence while it lasts. "I want you to kiss me again." Everything slows down for a second like an insect doused in amber. That sounds bad, but at the same time, Nico Di Angelo is known by all of his friends to sometimes be a hopeless romantic. This has to be one of those times.

Percy stares at him for a moment, his brow furrowed in confusion. It's an expression that Nico is very familiar with; he's seen Percy look at particularly challenging crossword puzzles the same way. Percy's dyslexia messes up the paper a lot, and usually he'll just give up. "Nico, you're drunk." There's nothing hard in Percy's voice, but his eyes seem steely, differing from the usual benevolent and warm glow they exude. Strange.

"You're not wrong, but"—Nico takes a deep breath through his nose—"oh my God, you smell amazing." A strong scent of cologne hits him, and for a split second Nico's floating until the best guy in perhaps all of the world brings him back down to Earth.

Percy gives him a proud, grateful smile. "Thanks! But it's nothing special. Just the same aftershave I always use," Then he frowns, like he's angry at himself for being distracted by the compliment. "Wait, how come you want me to kiss you again?"

"Because I liked it, okay?" he answers a little too defensively. "Because I liked it and it's New Year's Eve and our dates bailed on us and we're alone and you're really attractive and why not?" It comes out in a flood of words that Percy doesn't seem to be following. All there is after Nico blurts perhaps the most pathetic excuse he's ever uttered in his entire life is Percy, eyebrows furrowed, mouth parting open to try and say something, but he's stuck at step two while the smaller roommate is on step twenty-five, which yes does entail both men getting undressed.

There's a long moment of silence where Nico gets to enjoy the echoes of his stupid words as if they haven't just ruined his entire life. Why does he let his brain talk him into things? He's never drinking again. Or smoking. Or probably ever showing his face around New York again, maybe the world.

"Actually, I think it's New Year's Day," Percy says, sounding blankly unmoved by Nico's word-vomit. The green eyed man is unsure exactly how to take all of this. It's new. Too brand new.

He curls his fingers in Percy's shirt, which only draws his attention to the fact that he can see ridges and curves and muscle through the material. Damn it, this is not helping. The rigidness of the Grand Canyon, that breaking smile of pallid teeth, the eyebrows, and once again those soft lips.

"Never mind. I'm an idiot. Forget I said anything. I should've stopped talking five minutes ago," Nico shoves himself away from Percy and starts moving toward the first door he sees. "I'm just—I'm just gonna go to bed now, and we can forget this ever happened and get on with our lives."

He's in the middle of turning the doorknob on the front door when a warm hand eclipses his own. "Your bedroom's that way," Percy reminds him, tipping his head in the opposite direction that Nico's going. The heat is almost causing Nico to erect right then and there, but he has no idea why body heat of all things is getting him stimulated and stirred up. Almost out of a horrible porn video or something.

"I knew that. I was just—" Nico turns his body around, and Percy's right there, watching him with appraising eyes—then he's pushing his mouth over Nico's. Percy Jackson, Percy Fucking Jackson is kissing Nico Di Angelo. For a second time, and definitely not accidental. Oh, gods. Nico sort of gasps around the kiss, making Percy nudge him back against the door, their mouths still latched. Nico feels a surge of panic, because there's definitely something hard against his thigh, and he's fairly sure it's not Percy's wallet. He's trying not to think about that, but through the boozy haze the realization hits him that he's kissing his ridiculously attractive roommate who might just be fully hard. That can just be tacked at the very top of the list he makes about the impossible things before breakfast, like Alice would in Wonderland... except it meant that Percy Jackson would top the entire list.

Percy reaches out and palms the sides of Nico's face, pulling him forward to deepen the kiss. Nico hums a moan. "This is really good," he murmurs around Percy's mouth, because that's something he has to say out loud. The words make Percy pull away, and Nico has no idea what he did wrong. "And you're stopping. Why are you stopping? Was it because I started talking? 'Cause I can... not do that." This is not helping the situation. ABORT! Abort you stupid fucking idiot.

Percy shrugs in a way that's self-conscious and lost, and it makes Nico's chest hurt. "I didn't think I'd wanna do it again, y'know? It's like I was kissing a woman—"

"I'm going to let that one slide," Nico warns.

"But I was kissin' you, too!" Percy squirms, his gaze flickering back to Nico. "Okay, I liked it a lot, alright? 'Cause it's you, y'know, and that's pretty great, but it's you and that's also sorta weird!" He's gesturing in a way that Nico guesses is supposed to mean something. The flailing of limbs reminds Nico of himself, and he can't help but grin, before catching hold of the words. This 'gay' stuff is getting his best friend, and perhaps his crush, all bugged out and that will not be a fun time for either of them.

"So, what, do you just wanna pretend this never happened, or..." It's a wonder he manages to say that much before his throat swells.

Percy hesitates for what feels like the longest five seconds of Nico's life, his emerald eyes swimming in a sea of confusion and sadness. He can only stare at Nico's befuddled face, the cute jut of the jaw, those eyes, those eyes. Percy swallows before kissing him again, and this time there's a rougher edge to it. Nico shuts up and lets it happen, his mouth occupied in the best way. He raises a hand to tug Percy closer, then he feels Percy's tongue in his mouth, which shorts his brain a little and sends a shiver of confusion up his spine. Oh. Oh. Well, he didn't expect to become a French student that quickly.

Percy eases forward, slides his knee between Nico's legs and he has no idea how he's not supposed to grind into Percy's thigh when it's right is the hottest thing Nico's ever been a part of. The reason behind all of this sexual exploration squirms, shifting his hips, and, oh Gods, the friction feels so good. Percy grunts a little when their hips come together in a mutual nudge that makes Nico's insides clench. Nico is very aware of his own erection right now, even though Percy's is shoved against him like they're in an over-crowded elevator. A really overcrowded elevator that has no air conditioning, where there's only enough room for really one body to fit comfortably, and windows.

Nico sucks in a startled gasp when Percy's fingers shove at the edge of his pants. The man's fingers grab nimbly at the loops of his jeans, but there's trouble as Percy is sort of unsure exactly how to do this. Holyshitholyshitholyshit. Percy Fucking Jackson is undressing him—or trying to. Nico reaches down to help him.

Percy interprets this as resistance and immediately backs away. "Whoa, sorry, sorry, I thought—I thought you were cool with it." A burn fills the man's cheeks, and now he's super embarrassed, and now hopes nothing is too awkward.

Nico wets his lips, realizes that Percy's not kissing them. "I—I am. I was trying to help you." The feeling of evaporated heat lingers on his lips like a phantom, floating up into the hazy halcyon light of the ceiling like wisps of a dying fire with curled tendrils of pallid smoke.

"Oh," Percy looks humiliated for a second before chuckling to himself. "Well, in that case..." He closes the distance between them again and covers Nico's mouth with his own. He thinks his heart might burst free from his chest, like something out of a bad sci-fi movie, because his best friend's fingertips are moving and flexing over his skin in a way that slams right through him. He can still feel the engorged line of Percy's dick. Again, maybe a good thing, maybe not. He reaches down and brushes his hand over it, wrenching a moan out of Nico and making his hips jerk forward.

Nico realizes with a start that Percy wants him to touch his dick. But... that couldn't be possible. Could he really do this without being thrown out the window like some filled bag of garbage? Nico's cheeks burn, he feels like it is civic duty as a best friend that he has to ask, just to make sure, because it's the polite thing to do, and he really wants to hear it from Percy's mouth. Oh, he really wants to hear it out of his mouth. "Is this—this is okay, right?"

There's a shuffle of movement, and then Percy makes a noise in the back of his throat and croaks, "Yeah, of course." They're staring at each other's hands, their foreheads pressed together in this mutual moment of confusion before Nico reaches into Percy's underwear and curves his fingers around his cock. It's weird from this angle, but Nico's a fast learner, stroking slow and easy. Of course, hours of jerking off from adolescence to now helps.

His gaze jumps between the thick jut of Percy's dick and the way his best friend's face is reacting to the shift of his hand. Percy groans through his teeth as Nico's fist closes around him, and the sound travels down his spine and bursts in a hot flare of arousal in his groin. A ripping and roaring flower of nerves that are confused on exactly how to react, but this still feels good and he wishes that maybe it didn't. Only because they're best friends, and that's a line you can sometimes not cross. Or, perhaps... never. He can't remember ever being this close to a sex noise that's made his insides go all twisty and funny.

Percy's rolling his hips into Nico's hand, making cracked little moans in his throat. Amidst his gasps and panted breaths Percy gets his hand around the length of Nico's cock. Both men make a choked noise of arousal, because Percy is touching him and it's good all the way through him, and the emerald eyed man is making the noise because Nico's cry of lust and pleasure is so fucking sweet, like honeysuckle dripping off a stick into a clear jar. "Oh my God—" Nico bites down on his lip, suppressing a groan.

"Do you want me to"—Percy bites his lip and makes a pleading noise when his hips collide with Nico's fist—"I mean, I can touch you, right?"

"Yes, yes, touching is good!" Percy sort of shouts, his voice too high and panicky and already in shambles. "Keep doing the touching." On a normal day he might feel self-conscious about that, but Percy's hand is warm and tight and perfect around him, and this is absolutely not a normal day.

Percy's breathing the filthiest fucking noises into Nico's ear while his hips pound into his fist, rhythm gone out the window; Nico's only ever heard him like this through the bedroom wall before now. His mouth drops open when he realizes that Percy's going to release, and he gets to watch it. That necessarily wasn't on his impossible list during any meal, but now it will never be on there as it is about to happen!

"Are you gonna—"

Percy answers that by shoving himself forward and slotting their bodies together, head hung low, eyes fluttering open and shut at the gorgeousness swamping over his body. Nico doesn't have any words left, just watches Percy's hips push into his hand until it all shakes out of him and Percy's coming in jerky, messy thrusts over Nico's fingers and his body slackens like the bones have been pulled out of him. A steady stream of white bursts forth from his best friend's cock, almost like a blizzard that is filled to the brim with salt and sperm. Everything about Percy in this moment is just perfect and so fucking good.

Nico takes a moment to remember how to inhale properly while Percy's ghosting shuddery breaths against his ear. They slide down the former's spine like slick and wet tears, cracking and spreading out like frigid veins of frost. Nico strokes his fingers over Percy's softening dick, and the latter jerks him hard and fast in appreciation. "Oh Nico gasps out, because everything is hard and wet and he's too close to the edge right now. He can feel his orgasm pressing at the base of his spine, waiting to erupt like a firecracker.

"Go ahead," Percy's voice is low and thick with lust, low and gravely like a construction worker working with too many cigars and tossed back shots of liquor, and Nico doesn't even bother wondering why that turns him on. He moves his hand to cover Percy's and tips his head back against the door. He's whining embarrassing, pleading noises that he hopes Percy won't hold against him later, because all he can do right now is beg and grasp his hands in Percy's shirt for something to hold on to. "C'mon," Percy murmurs with no trace of impatience, his thumb dragging over the swollen head of Nico's dick, and Nico can feel the dizzying pull of orgasm hurtling toward him. "Give it up for me." Something about that, the way Percy almost requests that Nico comes in front of him, the huskiness, and in part the seriousness throws the scrawny male over the edge.

That's when the dam breaks and Nico's coming harder than he ever has in his entire life. White flurries let loose and they go everywhere, a few droplets landing right on Percy's face, some on Nico's drawn up shirt, at his nipples, and even one lying against the speckled crimson and mahogany leather of the couch.

He licks his lips and drops his head down, his entire body broken and weary. His muscles are loose and shuddery-good. Everything's pretty good right now, if he's honest. He wants to do this all the time. He takes a moment to focus on how Percy's breathing wetly over the curve of his neck. It feels nice, like something he could get used to.

"So, uh, so that was a thing that—that happened," Nico manages to say, still blissed out from his orgasm.

"Yeah, that happened," Percy agrees in a way that tells Nico nothing. There's a long moment of silence in which they retract their hands from each other's dicks and adjust their pants. This isn't even the most awkward post-sex experience Nico's had. Not that he necessarily has anytime to muse over them in his head while the two men occasionally throw glances at each other, but it is enough to have his heart flare out of surprise, and maybe guilt and selfishness. But he doesn't want this to end on a "let's pretend this never happened" note. That can't happen!

He's about to say something stupid when Percy looks down, frowns, and draws his shirt over his head. Nico blushes deeply as he sees that his seed, his seed is all over Percy's shirt... maybe ruined by the smell of musk, penis, and other sex odors; he might just be the luckiest man alive today. He can't help but gape in awe at how Percy just curls out of his clothes; Nico barely manages to keep his tongue in the vicinity of his mouth.

Percy slings the shirt over his shoulder before walking into the kitchen. His entire body, though not entirely ripped like a professional wrestler or man in the military, it has enough form to have protruding shoulders and shoulder blades, a fine set of abs... and it is enough to make Nico's mouth water as if his best friend is a damn piece of meat. Well... part of him is. "Damn, I'm thirsty," he says in a way that doesn't sound like uncomfortable silence-filler. He opens the fridge and pulls out a carton of orange juice. Nico's gaze is still snagged on the tense muscles of Percy's stomach and the naked slope of his chest. Percy takes a long swig from the carton, letting out a satisfying gasp that mirrors one of love and that almost returns Nico on again. Percy turns to him and asks, "Want some?"

Nico's almost certainly going to get hard again if he keeps ogling him. He manages to shake his head in response and tear his gaze away from Percy's body. "I should, uh, I should go—get a shower," he says, fleeing down the hallway. "I mean, it's late. Long day tomorrow, y'know. Some of us work for a living."

Percy doesn't say anything for a moment, then: "Nico, you don't work tomorrow!"

Nico shuts the bathroom door.

To set it straight, Nico Di Angelo and Percy Jackson were roommates who had a few mutual friends from work and other things such as that. In a way that almost seemed like a miracle, there was a group of six formed, a coalition so to speak where it consisted of Nico Di Angelo, Percy Jackson, and four great friends by the names of Annabeth Chase, Luke Castellan, Thalia Grace, and Rachel Dare. Each one had their own quirks, and they all loved one another. Nico accidentally spills coffee all over Percy's new suit one afternoon at a Starbucks, buys a new suit with a brand new check, and all of a sudden they are best friends. Percy introduces Nico to Annabeth, a gorgeous and striking blonde who has the affinity for intellectual dealings, but cause a quick hurting to a man in his nether regions. Down the line they go. Punk artist Thalia. Painter and visionary Rachel. History professor and sometimes a daredevil Luke Castellan. Hearty band of six.

Later that morning, after the whole... handjob predicament, Nico's sprawled out dramatically on the couch at Annabeth and Thalia's. The two girls roommates as well, who decided it'd be cute to all be together in a way like that across the hall. Luke and Rachel had apartments somewhere upstairs and downstairs in the building too, though Nico has never decided to learn their room number. Nico shifts one hand to rest behind his head, still wondering what it all means. Percy's still sleeping back at their apartment, probably hung over from last night. No, Percy's definitely hung over, because there's no way he would have touched Nico's dick without every cell in his body soaked in alcohol.

"How come you're not hung over like the rest of the guys?" Annabeth asks him from the kitchen table. Her blonde hair is curly this morning, her delicate sapphire eyes rising up in question as she smirks. There's always a way to get something out of Nico if you prod him hard enough.

"Well, I, uh, I didn't really have time to drink that much. I sort of... hooked up with someone after the party."

Annabeth frowns. "Oh God, honey, tell me it wasn't who I think it was..." her voice trails off dangerously. Annabeth Chase, brilliant extraordinaire, is referring to one particular girlfriend of Nico's from an unbearable time's past... the one and only Silena Beauregard. Silena Beauregard is a gorgeous woman with dark hair just like Nico, sweet as a strawberry, but poor Silena had confidence issues and broke up with Nico one evening after sex because she felt she had not performed well enough for him, when in actuality it had been Nico who did not show up at the bedroom frame, let alone the door.

"No, it wasn't Silena," Nico groans. He really wishes people would let him live that whole relationship down, but he knows it's never going to happen. So he came too early one day and it embarrassed her? Let it end already. Let it die. "It was good, but... I don't know what to say now."

"What did you say when it was over?"

"There was a lot of standing around awkwardly, stilted good nights, and I might have taken refuge in the shower until they left." He's not proud of any of this.

Annabeth snorts a laugh. "Only you, Nico." And she's one hundred percent right in this.

"So just tell her it was a one-time thing and let her down easy," Thalia says. The girl in question appears from behind the refrigerator, a César salad in a bowl clutched in her left hand. Thalia's usually spiky black hair is down, running rampant with highlights of vibrant navy and almost amaranthine like streaks. This is one girl who can look straight into a person's soul and tell exactly what and how they're feeling as that is who she is. Nico doesn't mind it... except probably right about now because it's Percy he's thinking about... with sex. She studies his distressed expression for a moment. "You've never been on the other side of this conversation before, have you?"

Nico sort of squirms under her stare. "That's the thing, though. I don't exactly...mind that it happened. I really want it to happen again." Yep, Thalia Grace totally fucking went there.

"And you don't know if she wants it to happen again?"

"Exactly!" Nico sits up and tucks his legs underneath him. Although his fear has risen only slightly because Thalia seems dangerously close to getting the pronoun game right, it is exactly what he's thinking. "Okay, so imagine you're at a party and this guy kisses you," Thalia sits on the arm of the couch, puts on her best 'I'm listening' face. Truth be told, it just is one hand pressed underneath her chin, eyes staring straight dead at the person she's listening to. "You end up going back to his place and kissing some more, then one thing leads to another but it's not like 'sex' sex, you just sorta fool around and there's an orgasm or two in there. It seems like they're focused on making you feel good, making sure you're okay with it, y'know, but you had no idea this guy even knew you existed. Then they act sorta casual when it's over, like it wasn't even a thing. Would you think the guy was into you or not?"

"Not if he hid in the shower," Annabeth says when Nico's finished. Again, the brainiac.

Nico glares at her over the top of the couch before he has a lightbulb moment in his head. Did he fail so hard that he gave Percy the absolute worst impression? Gods, he hopes not. That would be an all time low. Not only could he never please a woman, even a man thinks he's failing. Gods, should he become asexual? Would that work? Because that sounds exactly like something he would do. Knowing his luck, Percy might've been into him but gotten scared off because Nico has the interpersonal skills of a swamp creature.

"Oh my God," he realizes. "I'm an idiot!" His lips pale somewhat, his complexion already nearly translucent in the sunlight which is open from all the blinds being open in the apartment.

"They're always the last to know," Annabeth says to Thalia. The two girls share a giggle, but Nico's up and hugging them, smiling like a fucking banshee. Annabeth raises an eyebrow, but she chooses to not say anything to him. Sometimes, when Nico is in the mood to have him hugging, it can lead to other questions and answers that she wishes to not delve into.

Nico rushes out of the apartment and goes across the hall. He needs to tell Percy that he's just a social disaster before Percy assumes Nico flat-out doesn't like him. Because the truth is absolutely the opposite of that, and it's kind of absurd how bad Nico is at life. Okay, okay, he's lying. He's only a half failure at life. He had dates, he has best friends.

He gets the door open to see Percy in the kitchen pouring himself a bowl of cereal, like he's not hung over and nothing out of the ordinary happened last night. This is what Percy usually does after a night of orgasmic experience, where he'll act as content as anyone would, but holds back even further. And for some reason, this time it seems to be directed almost angrily at the other party. Nico swallows thickly, his throat suddenly dry as his courage drops out of him. Well, that was an empowering five seconds.

"Hey, Nico," Percy says around a spoonful of Cap'n Crunch. His eyes brighten to a much happier shade of green when his eyes land on his best friend.

Nico manages a 'hey.' Perhaps the worst response he could've given in the whole world. This whole unattainable crush thing was so much easier when Percy didn't have his hand in Nico's pants about nine hours ago. Or the cum stained shirt, the panting, the kissing, the hickey that Nico found on his chest while showering... If Percy remembers those little details, he doesn't seem to care. Nico wonders what life must be like when you're not constantly worrying about something. It must be nice.

"Great party last night, huh?"

Nico thinks Percy's just making fun of him now. "Yeah, actually, about that..." Percy stares at him, waiting for elaboration and shoveling in spoonfuls of cereal. "I, um, I really, uh..." Nico feels his heartbeat pounding in his throat. "I really enjoyed last night." Crunch. Crunch. "And, uh, if you wanted it to happen again sometime, I would be—I would be okay with that."

Percy gives him the weirdest look. Was he speaking Chinese? "The party? Well, yeah, it was fun, but I don't think it's gonna happen again for a while. You can't have two New Years' in one year!"

Nico drops his gaze to the countertop and says, "No, I—I mean the afterparty." The handjobs, the intense kissing against closed and locked doors... other amorous actions that may be considered unhealthy for best friends to exactly do...

Percy lifts his eyebrows in realization, then he's putting on his seductive face. "Oh, yeah, that. Yeah, that was great too."

He called it great—that's gotta count for something, Nico figures. "So, you wouldn't mind doing it again sometime?"

Percy smiles and carries his bowl to the couch, clapping Nico on the shoulder as he passes by. "Yeah, that'd be nice." The one receiving the touch jumps and shudders. Percy's hands on his dick is just a feeling he cannot stop thinking about. He'll never, ever get it out of his head, will he?

And now it's been downgraded to nice in record time. Nico's getting worse at this somehow.

"Okay, great, 'cause, y'know, we gotta live together, so let's get this out in the open and make sure nothing's weird." He's pretty sure jerking off your roommate counts as weird, but, whatever, he's just going to go with it.

"You're making it weird, Nico," Percy says with his mouth full. "Just relax."

"Relax?" Nico enunciates, gesturing wildly to the benefit of no one, since Percy's seated in the armchair not looking at him. "I don't know what that word means!"

Percy looks back at him in surprise. "Really? That's a shame, even I know that one. I mean, hell... didn't we do that last night when we got back?"

Nico just groans, although there is the creep of bright, burning red blush on his neck and searches the kitchen for suitable breakfast food. Looks like he shall be eating breakfast over at Annabeth and Thalia's. After all, he smelled cinnamon rolls being made. And those were just as good as Percy perhaps jerking him off. Almost as good.

Okay, not even close.

Well here I am at 6k... something I did not expect to reach for my first chapter. Wow, second longest opening chapter of a story I've ever written. *fans self* Where did all the time go? In all seriousness, that was the first chapter of Nico Di Angelo's Hopeless Guide to Love, which is long and cute and I love it. I'll probably be updating twice a week, maybe more if I can handle the time it takes to edit these and all that jazz as I've got a few other projects I'm planning and getting ready to write, but we'll be there someday, right? Nico and Percy certainly jump into it rather quickly huh? This is only a taste of what is to come (bad pun is bad, but I digress). There's a lot to get through, and we'll be seeing more and more of our six manned crew. I literally had finished watching a Friends episode before I wanted to sit down and write an idea like that... thanks PJO crew. Thank you all for reading, and maybe leave a review! I'd love to hear what you thought. Have a great day! Bye! Love you all!

~ Paradigm