percy jackson · nico di angelo · percy x nico · demigods · riordanverse · ship · healing · trauma bonding · opposites attract · supernatural
The sterile air of the New Rome orphanage hung heavy with the scent of wax and unspoken grief. Sunlight filtered through high windows, illuminating dust motes dancing above rows of framed drawings—testaments to the forgotten. In the waiting room, silence reigned until the door clicked open. Two figures entered: one, a sun-drenched youth in flannel and cargo shorts, his smile bright but eyes guarded; the other, a shadow in an aviator jacket, dark hair tied back, scars marking his cheek like ancient runes. They approached the desk where a woman with glossy black hair and a beauty mark looked up, her gaze piercing through their souls. The atmosphere shifted from mundane to charged, the weight of adoption hanging in the balance as she swiveled her chair, her beady eyes assessing the couple…