Work Text:
The first time:
“I think I still have some feelings for Percy.”
Anubis looked over at his travelling-companion. Yeah, that was no surprise. Everyone with eyes could see that Nico had feelings for the dashing son of Poseidon.
“Just found that out, did you?” the god teased, even though he felt a sting at the confession.
Recently, he’d felt increasingly fond of the son of Hades, and increasingly annoyed at how much he absentmindedly spoke of Percy Jackson. It was “Percy is so cool” this, and “Percy just kicked that kid's ass in training yesterday” that. He was honestly getting kind of sick of it. Sure, Percy was a nice guy, and all, but he didn’t need his limited time with Nico, on a quest , to be filled with endless comments about him.
Nico chuckled nervously, “Is it really that obvious?”
Anubis resisted the urge to groan, “Yes.”
It grew silent as they continued their patrol for restless dead in their appointed area. Nico had asked him to join him, complaining that patrolling bored him to death (Anubis had raised an eyebrow at that, getting a slap on the arm in return).
The god cracked his fingers as he walked. Glancing over at Nico, and after seeing him worrying his bottom lip, decided to say something he actually didn’t really mean, or want, “Why don’t you just tell him?”
Nico stopped in his tracks next to him, his mouth open in shock. Then his hands started flailing. “I can’t just tell him, Anubis! Are you crazy?”
What was the big deal? It was just feelings. “I don’t see why that’s such a crazy idea. You like him, and you want to be in a relationship with hi-”
“No!” Nico interrupted. His face then turned serious. “No.” He ran a hand through his hair as he started walking again, “He’s dating Annabeth, and they’re practically made for each other. And I-” His hand started flicking in the air as he thought of what to say. “I care about them both too much to destroy what they have…” As he trailed off, he started twisting the skull-ring on his finger, a habit Anubis had connected to him being conflicted.
Anubis knew that Nico cared deeply for his friends, but sometimes, he seemed to push himself down in order to give others the happiness he wanted. Of course, Anubis understood not wanting to break the couple up, but maybe just getting the truth out in the open would help. He could at least stay by his side, as long as he was wanted.
The god opened his mouth, his mouth suddenly dry, “Nico, I-” He was interrupted by a wailing sound to their left.
They both whirled around to face the potential threat.
Nico groaned loudly at the sight, “Ugh, banshees? C’mon.”
Anubis readied for combat, launching into action as Nico drew his sword.
What was it he had wanted to say? He couldn’t remember now.
The second time:
“How come I’m always attracted to guys who either already are in a relationship, or are interested in someone else?” Nico wondered aloud.
Anubis inwardly groaned at the last part. He could somewhat relate to that at least. He’d given up on denying his evident feelings for the demigod, deciding that even if there were some feelings, it didn’t mean he had to act on them.
They were both seated at the outskirts of the dining pavilion in Camp Half-Blood, and Nico’s comment was obviously directed at Jason Grace, who was walking away, arm around Piper’s waist.
Nico had developed a quite recent crush on the son of Jupiter, casting long glances at him at least five times just that day (and that was after Anubis had arrived at the camp, who knew how many there had actually been).
“I don’t know, Nico,” Anubis drawled. It was rather hot outside, and he wasn’t really feeling up for discussing Nico’s love-life. He leaned back, enjoying the warmth from the sun on his face.
His eyes flew back up, however, when he was rudely pushed out of his seat, effectively falling down on the grass-covered ground. He looked up at Nico’s faux pout.
“What was that for?”
The son of Hades simply scowled at him, “Serves you right. You could at least care about my pathetic excuse of a love life.”
Anubis huffed. It was way too hot to deal with this right now. The grass was surprisingly cool to the touch. He decided to simply lie down right there. If Nico wanted to be annoyed, real or not, he just couldn’t bother to care right now.
He could feel the grass beneath his fingers, a slight breeze caressed his hair. It really was nice in the camp, he could understand why the demigods liked it so much.
The sun was suddenly blocked by something. Anubis opened one eye to scowl at the perpetrator. Nico was leaning over him from his seat on the bench, looking down at him with a puzzled expression.
Anubis closed his eye again, “What?”
Nico took a second to respond, “You’re actually pretty attractive.”
The god felt his heart skip a beat, but he schooled his expression into one of indifference, keeping his eyes closed. “So,” he started. “Just because you can’t get the people you actually want, you decide to turn to me instead? That’s kinda low, even for you.” He was trying to play it nonchalant, even though his heart was thudding hard against his ribs. Curse these feelings!
He heard Nico scoff above him.
“Just be flattered I haven’t fed you to Cerberus yet, the way you usually treat me,” he muttered.
Now it was Anubis’ turn to scoff, “Right. As if that dog doesn’t roll on the floor to get belly rubs every time I show up.”
The third time:
Anubis grabbed Nico’s arm to keep him from walking into a tree.
The son of Hades had been too engrossed in his conversation with one Leo Valdez to notice where he was going.
Nico glanced up at him, a slight blush crossing over his cheeks at his actions (Anubis pushed down the urge to trace the redness with his hand).
“Thanks,” Nico said, sheepishly.
Anubis simply raised an accusatory eyebrow at his antics, receiving an exaggerated eye-roll in return.
“Not so observant, huh?” sounded the teasing voice of Leo beside them.
Nico shrugged off Anubis’ hold. The god tried not to think about how cold his hand suddenly felt.
“Says the one that fell on his face the first time he tried to play baseball,” Nico retorted, falling into step beside the son of Hephaestus.
Anubis waited for a moment, watching them walk. Nico scratched the back of his neck, the way he did when he was nervous. The god couldn’t ignore the way his eyes shone when he looked at Leo. The adoration was obvious to anyone with eyes, and Anubis felt his heart twinge.
Nico stopped, turning to look at him. “You coming?”
Anubis felt his mouth twitch into a somewhat forced smile as he walked towards them.
The fourth time:
“I’m gonna ask Will out.”
Anubis almost choked on his drink. He started sputtering, his drink dripping onto his shirt.
“Whoa! You don’t have to freak out about it!” Nico said indignantly, patting the god’s back.
“No-” Anubis started. “Sorry. I’m not freaking out. It’s just sudden.”
He sat up, wiping his mouth. Nico sat back in his seat, running a hand through his hair.
A moment of silence fell over them.
Anubis cleared his throat, might as well get the conversation over with. “Why did you decide now? You haven’t known him that long, right?”
Nico huffed, a smile crossing his face. “I know. I just-” He shrugged. “I just like him. And I’m tired of wasting time not saying anything, and having to watch them be with someone else instead.”
Anubis felt his chest constrict around his heart. He knew all too well how that felt. He always felt that way when he was around Nico.
“That’s great. I think he likes you, too,” he said, no real heart in his words.
Nico must have picked up on that, because his sheepish smile slowly disappeared. “Is there anything wrong, Anubis?”
The god resisted the urge to tell him what was actually on his mind. That he wanted anything but Nico asking Will out. That he desperately wanted to be the reason Nico blushed and awkwardly scratched his neck. That it killed him to see him look at others with adoration and affection. He wanted it only for him. He wanted to be selfish, and say that he didn’t like Will, and thought it was a bad idea for Nico to get romantically involved with him. But, he cared too much about Nico’s happiness to say any of that. So, he bit the inside of his cheek before plastering on his best fake smile, “No, nothing wrong. Just think I may have inhaled some of my drink.”
Nico didn’t look especially convinced. He was opening his mouth, probably wanting to say something, but Anubis interrupted him.
“Just go tell him, okay?” he said, getting up. He just couldn’t be around Nico right now, too caught up in thinking about what Nico and Will might be getting up to later. “I’ll be waiting to hear how it went.”
Not waiting for the demigod’s answer, he stepped into a portal to the duat.
+ One time:
Anubis was miserable.
His head was filled with ideas about what Nico and Will were doing. He couldn’t even enjoy the lovely sunset he was witnessing.
He had decided to seek refuge from Nico in a graveyard in New Zealand. He figured the time-difference would deter him at least a little.
He spent the time practicing his jar making, although he didn’t really need to practice, having been the one to invent his type of jars. He grasped a flower, encasing it in a jar. He placed it down alongside the twenty others he had made.
He took a moment to sigh and look wistfully towards the setting sun.
It was better this way. He would get over his feelings (hopefully), and Nico would be happy with Will.
“You’re one hard god to find, when you don’t want to be found.”
Anubis froze, slowly turning around to face Nico.
The demigod was hunched over, looking like he had run a few miles.
“What happened to you?” he asked.
Nico flopped down next to him on the grass, shedding his jacket. “Well, you try shadow-travelling to ten different locations and tell me how you feel about it after.”
Anubis looked down at his hands, itching to keep them occupied. He grabbed a tiny alder cone. Concentrating, he managed to form a jar around it. He resisted the urge to react when he noticed that the jar bore the likeness of Nico’s face on it.
He felt Nico’s presence close to his shoulder before he heard him speak. “That one kinda looks like me.”
“I guess,” Anubis muttered.
A beat of silence passed.
The god sighed, “So, how’d it go.”
Nico leaned back to lie on the grass, “Terribly.”
That was surprising. Anubis turned to look at his companion, “What? Why?”
Nico scratched his cheek, “Well, he wasn’t really that opposed to it. But he said that we shouldn’t date when I was clearly already in love with someone else.”
The jar in Anubis’ grip shattered, startling them.
Nico sat up, grabbing at his hands, “Whoa, hey! Are your hands okay?”
Anubis felt heat rise on his cheeks at the touch of Nico’s hands in his. He swallowed, “What do you mean in love with someone else?”
Having inspected his hands, Nico raised a hand to scratch the back of his neck. He was nervous, Anubis noted.
“He- he said that I was obviously in love with you,” the son of Hades mumbled, a blush creeping up his neck.
More jars shattered to their left as Anubis gripped Nico’s hand tightly.
“What?” he squeaked.
Nico nodded mutely.
“Well,” Anubis said, swallowing. His mouth was dry, and his heart was trying to beat out of his chest. “Are- are you?”
Nico audibly swallowed. He licked his lips (Anubis was definitely not staring at that action). “I- I don’t really know.”
Anubis felt his heart sink in his chest. Of course.
He started to pull his hand out of the other’s, but was stopped by Nico grabbing it harder.
Anubis looked up at him, seeing his beet red face. Nico licked his lips again as he ran a hand through his hair.
“I-” the son of Hades chewed his lip. “Will said that I can’t shut up about you. He said that he feels like a third wheel when we’re together, and that you stare daggers into his back when he gets physically close to me.”
Will was more observant than he looked, Anubis noted. He kept his mouth shut, worried that he would ruin a hopeful situation.
Nico licked his lips again, “I think… I think he was kinda right.”
The god felt his hand twitch in Nico’s grip. He felt like his eyes were trying to bulge out of his head. His heart was beating harder than he could remember it ever beating.
Nico looked up at him, his eyes shining under his lashes. Wow, was the demigod beautiful.
His hand made its way up to trace the younger’s cheek, feeling how warm it was to the touch.
Nico twitched slightly, his eyes showing his nervousness.
Anubis lifted his other hand to cradle the demigod’s face. The other’s eyebrows were scrunched up in something akin to anguish, but he didn’t pull away.
The god felt like his throat was drying up. He swallowed, “Would you permit me to kiss you? And then you can reject me if it feels wrong.”
Nico’s hand trembled as cupped Anubis’ hand on his cheek. He said nothing, but closed his eyes, tilting his face slightly upwards.
Anubis felt a shiver run down his spine as he closed the distance between their mouths, pressing their lips softly together.
Nico let out a tiny whimper when he pulled back, effectively almost stopping Anubis’ heart. His eyes fluttered open, gazing upon what Anubis’ was sure was a shade of red he’d never seen before.
Nico swallowed, “Um, I can’t be sure from just that one…”
The god felt his heart soar. He closed the distance again, tilting his head to fit their lips tightly together. Nico let out a huff through his nose. His mouth moved experimentally against Anubis’, his fingers twitching on the god’s hand.
Anubis wanted nothing more than to lose himself in the feel of Nico’s pliant lips pressed against his own, but he needed to know what the other felt, so he reluctantly pulled back. He resisted the urge to resume the kiss as he saw Nico lean forward to chase him. He placed a hand on the demigod’s chest, gently pushing him back.
“As much as I would like to continue, I need to know what you feel.”
Nico’s face was flushed, his eyes slightly glazed over, and Anubis had never found him more beautiful.
The demigod swallowed, licking his lips, “Um, I- I think I might like you a bit more than I thought.”
“So…?”
“I… I’d like to give us a try.”
Anubis chuckled, “What an eloquent way of saying it.”
Nico blushed harder, slapping his arm, “Hey, I just had my world flipped upside down, okay.”
The god grasped his hand, pulling it up to place a chaste kiss on the back. “Took you long enough.”
Wasting no more time not getting what he wanted, Anubis leaned forward to rejoin their lips again, relishing in the surprised squeak the other let out. Nico tilted his head and Anubis could feel his arms snake around his neck to pull him closer. He smiled into the kiss as he let his hands slip around the younger’s waist. He felt the other’s tongue trace his bottom lip, making goosebumps rise on his arm. He opened his mouth to properly taste Nico. He gently slipped his tongue past the demigod’s lips and nearly jolted as it touched the other’s.
Nico whimpered against his lips, his hands finding their way into the god’s hair. Anubis pulled him closer, urging him to sit on his lap. The demigod all but gracefully clambered into his lap.
Anubis chuckled.
“Shut up,” Nico grumbled against his lips, all too busy trying to map out the entirety of his mouth.