A.N.: idea from blackparadesoldier286.

Nico boarded the plane with his camera in one hand and his phone in the other. Taking his seat, he filmed a little before turning it off, allowing himself to drop the smile and lean back in his seat, his real emotions setting in. He had started this Youtube thing as a joke, but it had blown up. Now, he was stuck trying to please his fans and unable to smile for real.

The plane landed in New York, somewhere he never thought he would go. His father lived there, yes, but had never even met him, having grown up in Italy. So during the days that he was there, he would be staying at another youtuber's apartment: Percy Jackson.

Percy was the one that invited him to New York, asking if they could do a collab video together with a few others. Nico had said yes because he had no ideas for videos, leaving him in the spot he was in now.

He walked through the airport, circling a few times as he looked for Percy. Eventually, he sat on a bench and took his camera out, starting to film.

"Hey, everyone." he put on his fake smile, waving to the camera. "This is me stuck at an airport in a strange country because I'm pretty sure Percy forgot about me."

He rolled his eyes, showing the camera his duffel bag at his feet and the area around him. "Already lost and I haven't even been here for an hour."

He got up, starting to walk again as his camera taped. He finally got, on his camera, Percy running in the doors late with his car keys in his hand. Nico walked up to him, finally turning the camera off, letting his smile drop.

"Nico, I'm sorry." Percy apologized, leading him out. "Annabeth and I were talking and I lost track of time."

"It's fine." Nico followed him, finally getting in the passenger seat of the car, letting Percy start to drive as he watched out the window.

"Warning, my mom loves anybody that walks through her doors." Percy joked as they headed downtown.

"It's fine." Nico told him again, not really paying attention to him.

"What's your mom like?" Percy asked conversationally.

"Dead." Nico answered bluntly, not removing his eyes from the world outside. They passed Ground Zero, making Nico's face drop more than it already had.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry." Percy apologized, taken aback. "I didn't know."

Nico shrugged, not looking at him. "It's fine."

Percy glanced over at him nervously, finally getting to his apartment. Nico followed behind Percy, which consisted of stairs to the third floor.

"Why aren't you using the elevator?" Nico asked. "This is a little much."

"I don't use elevators anymore." Percy told him. "Just in case something happens. You'll get trapped."

"Anymore?" Nico stopped for a second, catching his breath.

"What'd you say?" Percy turned to look at him apologetically. "Your accent…I couldn't understand."

"You said 'anymore'." Nico answered more clearly, starting to walk up again. "So you used to go on elevators."

Percy winced, shrugging. "You really pay attention to words."

Nico nodded. "Are you going to tell me or no?"

"My dad died in 9/11." Percy told him, exiting the staircase. "Got trapped in an elevator and then the building fell."

Nico nodded, following him to his door. "So you were young."

Percy nodded. "A toddler. I don't remember him. I've got a step father now."

He opened the door, allowing Nico in and locking it behind him. He led him to the living room, where a woman and a man sat talking as they looked through magazines.

"Mom, Paul, this is Nico." Percy introduced them. "Nico di Angelo."

"Nice to meet you." his mother smiled up at him. "Let me know if you need anything."

Nico nodded. "Thank you, Mrs. Jackson."

"Just Sally is fine." she told him. "Percy, I put an air mattress in your room."

"Thanks," Percy led Nico to his room, closing the door behind him and sitting on the bed.

"You have a taste for blue." Nico commented, looking around the room and setting his duffel bag on the floor.

"It was my dad's favorite color." Percy explained. "You can sit down, you know."

"I know." Nico sat in the desk chair uncomfortably, bringing his knees to his chest. "Who are the others?"

"Leo Valdez, Piper Mclean, Jason Grace, Annabeth Chase, Frank Zhang, Hazel Levesque, and me." Percy explained.

"So the famous seven demigods." Nico concluded, commenting on what their fan base had called them.

Percy shrugged. "You caught me. We're actually supposed to meet them for lunch. That okay with you?"

He started to text on his phone, talking to Annabeth, no doubt. Ever since they had started dating, they had been inseparable.

"Percy!" his mom called. "Come here for a second!"

Percy sighed, sitting his phone on the bed. "I'll be right back."

He left Nico there, going to see what his mother wanted. Nico took this opportunity, going and picking up Percy's phone.

P: Hey, Annie, I've got Nico.

A: Good, we still meeting for lunch? How is he?

P: Yeah, we're coming. But he's different from his videos. Just a heads up.

Nico froze at this text, realizing what Percy had meant. So he had noticed, after all, that he wasn't the happy person in front of the camera.

Annabeth's next text came in when the phone was still in his hands, but he head Percy coming so he threw it on the bed and sat back where he had been.

"Sorry." Percy apologized, picking up his phone and responding to Annabeth before putting it his pocket. "You ready?"

Nico nodded mutely, standing up and following him out of the apartment and down the flights of stairs again, finally getting back in Percy's car and starting to drive. The whole time, he wondered what Percy had texted back.