The Cup Stacker
Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Main Pairing: Percy/Nico
Summary: This month it's the annual Cup Stacking Championships, and Nico di Angelo intends to take the trophy home. But what will happen when his main opponent is a mysterious black-haired boy with the most mesmerising sea green eyes that Nico has ever seen? No demigods, and Percy and Nico are just meeting for the first time. Short and funny Percico Oneshot. Read and Review please!
Disclaimer: All of the characters belong to Rick Riordan. I own only my ideas and all the angsty feels (if there are any).
A/N: Any ignorance about cup stacking is all my own. I just want to dedicate this one to Takara Phoenix, because something she wrote inspired this. Takara, you rock!
Nico's POV
Concentrate. Two, three, four… Beads of sweat broke out on the forehead of one Nico di Angelo as he attempted for about the billionth time to beat the timer. Two, three, four, two, three, four… the buzzer sounded directly next to Nico's ear.
"Shit" Nico spat, pure frustration and strain evident in his voice. Knocking the blue and green plastic cups to the floor with a strong backhand, Nico sighed. If he was going to win, he needed to do this flawlessly. The annual Cup Stacker's Championships were this month... He needed to be bloody ready… Even if it killed him. Yes, cup stacking did matter more to him than that stupid Mythomagic card game. Most people didn't know that about him, actually, only one person. Can anyone take a wild guess who? Yep, that annoying blond (no, not THAT one), he was talking about Jason Grace, his annoying friend. The amount of things that boy knew about him scared Nico. Seriously, Nico just knew that one of these days the Roman was going to tell everyone his secrets. Groaning, Nico buried his face in his hands and fell back onto the sofa, which sent up a shower of dust. It wasn't much, he knew, but he actually liked his ratty little apartment. With black, gothic wallpaper coving most of the walls, and scruffy beige carpeting (which was a real pain to clean when he managed to track all sorts of strange gunk from the Underworld with him under his black combat boots, which was all the time) and dark furniture here and there, yeah, it was safe to say Nico liked the simplicity and tranquillity of it. Coughing and sneezing, Nico got up to open a window. Unlocking it, Nico pulled the window up, sunlight and fresh air streaming in. Nico stood there for a while, just staring out at the city. He could do this. He could do this. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, Nico turned back to his apartment, more determined than ever.
…BREAK…
Nico's POV
Day of the Championships…
To say the least, Nico was nervous. No, beyond nervous. He wasn't used to being around so many people. Sure, the dead numbered a lot in the Underworld, but they paid him no mind as they all trudged to their fate. As he had entered through the revolving doors, he had felt all eyes on him. Yes, the strange looking emo kid with his pale skin and black hair, a small stack of blue and green plastic cups clenched in his hands. Then, taking on a different demeanour completely, For all he cared they could stare. He wouldn't let idiots ruin his confident mood. Walking with as much confidence as he could muster, he made his way to the main hall, where the Cup Stacking Championships were being held.
As he walked in, Nico visibly paled. Oh gods…The main hall was huge, absolutely freaking massive. And all the people… Panic rose and swelled in his small chest as he clutched his cups tighter. Swallowing it down, Nico scanned the large room for the entry booth. A few minutes later, signed in and entered, Nico now stood in the massive crowd, watching the competition.
Two, three, four... Two, three, four… The pattern that was burned into his brain. He was called up several times to compete to get to the finals. Nico, despite his panic, managed to win each and every single match.
Finally, Nico heard his name being called over the loudspeaker for the finals. Gulping audibly, Nico made his way forward to the table. Setting his cups down once again, Nico rehearsed in his head as he waited for his opponent to take their place. He could hear his blood thumping through his veins, obscuring the name that came from the announcers. A few moments later a black-haired boy stepped forward, a stack of cups patterned with varying sizes of sea shells on them. The boy stopped to look at Nico, checking him out from top to bottom. Nico noticed this and looked up, the irritated look on his face quickly melting to one of surprise. The stranger was wearing tight, black skinny jeans, a bright turquoise shirt, and a black leather jacket, completed with dark blue All Stars. The boy was taller than Nico, and he was tanned, like he'd spent a lot of his time at the beach. His black hair was messy and slightly gelled. But none of these things struck Nico more than the boy's eyes. Mesmerising, sea green eyes, framed by long and dark luxurious lashes stared at Nico. If it was actually possible, Nico's heart rate actually sped up. The strange boy with the dazzling eyes seemed to notice Nico's slight discomfort, and smirked at him before turning to his own cups, hands at the ready. Remembering that this was still a competition, Nico tried to clear his head of cobwebs and focus on the task at hand.
"Ready… Set… Go!" The buzzer sounded, and Nico reacted immediately, his movements lightning fast and precise. TwoThreeFourTwoThreeFour. Nico's hands moved like they never had before. The feeling of the adrenaline kicking in was a real rush. Everything became sharper, he temporarily forgot about the beautiful boy as he stacked his final cups. As the last cup slid into place Nico's hand slapped the buzzer, and not a moment too soon because a millisecond later the other buzzer sounded. Nico's heart was about to pound its way up his throat and straight out of his mouth. The feeling was so exhilarating; Nico felt he may explode from happiness. He shouted for joy before turning to his opponent, who seemed to be trying to choke down a laugh, a smirk plastered on his mouth. Nico felt bewildered, the guy just lost, but his smirk and the twinkle in his eye remained. As he took the trophy, the crowd was cheering and hollering, obviously already worked into a frenzy. He got a lot of meaningless congratulations from people he didn't even know. But Nico wasn't all so focused on his victory. Unsurprisingly, his brain seemed to be more preoccupied on watching the beautiful boy as he walked into the crowd, disappearing from sight. Little did Nico know that their paths were destined to cross again someday. And next time, things would go very differently.