Sadly, this is the final chapter of this story. I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it :)

Percy tried to convince himself that it would all be fine and that there was no need to worry. But that still didn't stop his heart from racing as he walked towards the Big House. He even had an entire speech planned out in his head- he knew it would go completely out the window as soon as he stepped into the room, but it's the thought that counts, right?

He was relieved when he walked into the Big House to find no one standing in the main room. Whether that was intentional or pure coincidence Percy couldn't tell, but he was thankful for it regardless. He walked through the building but came to a sudden halt when he reached the door to the room Nico was staying in. Percy opened the door as quietly as he could and peered inside the room to see Nico laying on the bed facing away from the door. Percy called his name but got no reply so he stepped fully into the room, shut the door behind him, and walked towards his friend. He stirred slightly but made no attempt to get up so Percy assumed he was still asleep. He sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed to himself.

"I'm sorry" Percy whispered. He knew his friend couldn't hear him but he also knew that if he didn't say this now, he never would.

"I didn't want things to go this way. I was just so worried about you. You'd let yourself get into such a bad state before and I didn't want that to happen again. I wanted you to trust me; to tell me how you were really feeling, to talk to me if anything was wrong. I know you've never been the type of person who finds it easy to be close to other people, especially me. But, if I can help it, I want that to change. I want you to feel safe with me and to know that you really can tell me anything. I... I want you to know that I care about you, more than I've ever cared about anyone else"

"You really mean that?" Nico whispered hopefully, rolling over to face Percy whose body instantly tensed.

"You were awake the whole time?" Percy partly gasped, his cheeks growing red from embarrassment.

"Yeah" Nico smiled slightly at his friend's startled expression.

"And yes, I did mean all of that" Percy answered a little more confidently.

"I'm sorry too" Nico admitted, his smile growing wider when Percy bent down and pulled him into a hug. Neither of them really wanted to let go but a knock on the door forced them to break apart.

"Come in" Nico called as he reluctantly pulled his arms away from Percy. They both looked up to see Chiron at the door, smiling over at them.

"I just came to check on Nico" he said, rolling his wheelchair closer to them. Percy stood up, if a little hesitantly, to allow Chiron to give Nico a full check over. The knot in his stomach loosened a little when Chiron began to smile.

"You're almost fully recovered" he told Nico, who sighed with relief. Chiron told the two of them that in less than a week, Nico would be completely healed. He would have stayed for longer, but he sensed that he had interrupted something when he had entered. So, he left quickly to leave them to themselves. There had been a brief, awkward silence in the air once the door had closed behind Chiron. But it was broken soon enough when Nico asked about breakfast. The two of them went down to the kitchen together to begin cooking something up, silently cementing their apologies to each other by doing so.

Three more days passed and Nico could feel that he was almost back to normal. Well, his version of normal at least. Chiron had finally allowed him to join back in with the Camp's activities, although he was instructed to stay away from anything too strenuous. He and Percy were also both allowed to return to their own cabins but Nico found he was less happy about this than he thought he would have been. He'd gotten so used to Percy being so close to him, he wasn't sure he wanted that to change. He certainly didn't want things to go back to the way they used to be between them. He wouldn't be able to face himself if that happened.

The rest of his friends were overjoyed with his recovery, many of them travelling over from Camp Jupiter to check up on him. There was also a celebratory dinner. Well, it wasn't strictly speaking a celebration for his recovery but everyone seemed to be paying a lot more attention to him than usual. Nico wasn't quite sure whether he was pleased about that or not. They sat together, eating and catching up with one another. But then suddenly, Nico noticed that someone rather important was missing.

"Hey, has anyone seen Percy?" he asked his friends and every one of them shook their heads. Nico frowned as he looked around and saw no sign of the son of Posiden. He quickly finished his food, said goodbye to his friends, and went in search of Percy. His first thought was Percy's cabin. But when he got there and found no one inside, he decided to try the shore. And sure enough, Nico spotted Percy sat by himself watching the waves lap in and out.

"I thought I'd find you here" Nico called out once he got a little closer. Percy turned around to see Nico walking over to him and he smiled as he sat down beside him.

"Sorry, I was about to come see you" Percy said, though Nico didn't quite believe him.

"It's okay. What were you doing out here anyway?" Nico asked curiously.

"Just thinking, really" Percy sighed to himself, letting an oddly sad smile ghost his lips for a moment.

"It's kind of ironic that now I'm the one surrounded by attention and you're out here by yourself, away from everyone else" Nico laughed a little, trying to lighten the mood between them. It seemed to work as Percy let out a small chuckle, his eyes twinkling as he turned to look at his friend. Nico's breath caught in his throat. Unfortunately, Percy seemed to notice and his smile softened. That only caused Nico to blush and turn his head away. But instead of laughing like Nico had expected, Percy placed his hand under Nico's chin and slowly turned his head back to face him.

"Things don't have to go back to the way they used to be, do they?" Percy asked quietly. His playful cheerfulness had melted away to be replaced with a deep nervousness, yet also a glimmer of hope.

"I never want that" Nico replied, a smile spreading across his lips as relief washed over Percy.

"I have a question" Percy said, a little of the seriousness returning to his face. Nico nodded for him to continue.

"Why did you used to hate me so much?" Percy asked and Nico froze. Silence fell over the two of them as they stared at each other. Eventually, Nico sighed and looked down at his hands.

"I never hated you. Not really" Nico admitted quietly.

"Then why did you...?" Percy tilted his head curiously. A flicker of a smile made its way across Nico's features at how cute Percy looked when he did that.

"What's the opposite of hate, Percy?" Nico almost whispered, not believing that he was finally telling Percy what he had wanted to say for so long.

"Love... oh" Percy gasped, his eyes growing wide with realisation.

"It's okay if you hate me now. I'm used to being hated" Nico sighed. At those words, Percy's heart broke cleanly in two. Unable to speak, Percy gently gripped Nico's shoulders and twisted him around to face him once more. Tentatively, he slipped one of his hands into Nico's.

"Wha-?" Nico tried to say but found that he couldn't get any of his words out.

"I could never hate you" Percy whispered gently, cupping Nico's cheek with his free hand.

"How?" Nico asked, his heart racing in his chest. He still couldn't wrap his head around why Percy had never hated him even after how horrible he had been to him.

"It's very difficult to hate someone you love" Percy smiled softly as Nico's eyes grew wide.

"You mean-?"

"Yes" Percy giggled as the adrenaline rushed through his body. Nico smiled and bit his lip nervously before doing the one thing he never thought he'd be able to do. He leant forwards and pushed his lips to Percy's. He smirked proudly to himself at the squeak of surprise Percy let out before happily sinking into the kiss. Percy was sure there were probably hundreds of metaphors to describe the feeling of that kiss, but he knew not a single one of them would truly do it justice. He felt nothing but happiness and warmth as he smiled against Nico's lips, feeling Nico do the same. Eventually, Percy pulled away even more breathless than before. Neither of them said anything, but as they looked into each other's eyes they knew exactly what the other was thinking. Nico sighed contently, snuggling closer into Percy's side. Percy slipped his hand into Nico's as Nico rested his head on Percy's shoulder. And there they stayed, watching the sun dip below the horizon. One day had ended, but now a whole new adventure awaited them tomorrow.