Aloha everybody! 'Tis I, Laxy Gage, back with yet another Solangelo AU. Will they ever stop? The world may never know.
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the Coca-Cola Company.
"I bet you ten bucks they don't have Annabeth," Percy said as they walked into the store. Annabeth rolled her eyes. "They do have Annabeth, Seaweed Brain, but sure. It it makes you happy," she said.
Nico smiled. He had known Annabeth for only 3 years, about half as many as Percy had, but he still understood that you never bet against Annabeth. Percy didn't seem to care. He smiled and ran over to where the store kept the "soda" (it was called pop, not soda, but nobody seemed to care).
Percy, Annabeth, and Nico rummaged around the Cokes, searching for their names. Nico was the first to find his, grabbing the bottle with a triumphant "Yes!". Percy was next, getting his with a smug smile on his face. After about a minute of waiting for Annabeth to get hers, Nico began to doubt there was a bottle with her name on it. Percy was thinking the same, and was opening his mouth to speak when Annabeth emerged with her bottle. "Found it!" she said, holding it up. Sure enough, Share a Coke with Annabeth was neatly printed on the side.
Percy sighed and handed her a ten dollar bill. She smiled smugly as she took it, and walked ahead of them to the counter. "Don't feel bad," Nico said to him. "Nobody wins against Annabeth." Percy nodded. "I know," he said. "But a man can dream."
Nico laughed and they joined Annabeth at the counter. He was fishing for his money to pay for his soda, so he didn't notice the literal god at the cash register.
He looked like a surfer dude, but a hot surfer dude. His golden blond hair stopped right before his bright blue eyes. He wasn't very muscly, but he looked like he could pick Nico up with his pinky. The white name tag on his shirt read Will.
He blushed as he made eye contact with him. He awkwardly set his Coke on the counter and held his two dollars in his hand. "Alright, your total will be three twenty-five. Would you like a bag?" Will said.
They shook their heads no, and handed over their money. They grabbed their respective bottles and headed out. "Have a nice day," Will said. Percy and Annabeth smiled at him, and Nico did the same. "You too," he said quietly, and walked out.
"Of course they have Reyna," she argued. Nico rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure they do," he said sarcastically. Reyna huffed. "If they have Annabeth, they have Reyna," Annabeth said in her defense. "Thank you, Annabeth," she said, smiling at her. "Don't flirt in front of me," Nico complained. They laughed as they pushed open to door to the store.
Will was still working the register. It was only a day after, and he was a complete stranger, but it made Nico feel better. They walked to the Cokes and began looking for their names.
Once again, Nico was first to get his name. Instead of waiting for the others, he quietly walked over to the register. "Hi," Nico said awkwardly. Will smiled at him. "Hi!" he said cheerfully. "Big group," he noted, gesturing to the others. Nico nodded. "Uh, yeah, I guess. Just some friends," he said. "Just some?" Will asked. Nico blushed. "Yeah. There's still some people missing," he said. 'Like you,' he thought. He smiled at him again, and took his attention away from Nico as the rest of the group approached the register.
He got out his two dollars and set his Coke on the counter. Will scanned them quickly and put them back on the counter in front of them. "Alright, your total will be four twenty-five. Would you like a bag?" he asked. Again, they shook their heads and accepted their change. "Have a nice day," he said as they walked out. "You too," Nico said, this time loud enough to be heard. He saw Will smile in the corner of his eye, and it brought a smile to his face, too.
They had to take turns searching for their names with Frank and Hazel.
Nico had practically shoved away everybody else to get his first and get some more time to talk to Will. He walked to the counter and greeted him. "Hello again," Will said. "How's it going?" Nico asked. Will shrugged. "Not much. I just run the register, you know," he replied. Nico smiled. "I'm sure something interesting has happened here," he said. Will thought for a second. "Well," he said, stretching the 'l'. "I did meet a cute boy," he said, looking at him.
Nico blushed. "You think I'm cute?" he blurted stupidly. Will grinned. "Of course. Have you ever looked a yourself?" he joked. Nico blushed more, but just then the others came to save him. Unknowingly, but they still did.
He scanned their sodas, reading their total off the register screen. He didn't bother asking for a bag this time. They paid, and this time Nico was the one to say "Have a nice day."
"You have a lot of friends," Will informed him. He wasn't wrong. The store was small; all eight of them took up a fourth of it. "Yeah," he agreed. "And it's not even all of them." Will raised an eyebrow. "That is way too many friends," he said. Nico blushed. "Really? You look like the guy to have a lot of friends," he said. Will chuckled. A small silence came upon them.
"It's di Angelo," he said out of nowhere. Will jumped. "What?" he asked. "My last name. It's di Angelo," he explained, blushing. Will's mouth formed an O shape. "Nico di Angelo," he said. He nodded. "Mine is Solace," he said. "Will Solace," Nico said, mimicking Will. He grinned. "That's me," he joked.
"You guys are so cute."
Nico jumped at the sound of Piper's voice. He turned to look at her. She was leaning on one of the shelves, watching them with amused eyes. He blushed as she looked at him. She walked over to set her soda down on the counter next to Nico's. "Piper McLean," she said. "I expect to be in the front row at your wedding," she teased. They both blushed and Nico nearly choked.
"Why is my brother choking?" Hazel asked, walking up to them. "No reason!" Piper chirped. "This is Will, by the way. Will, this is Hazel. She will also be in the front row at your wedding."
Hazel looked confused but nodded. Nico groaned. "Oh my god," he said. "We are not getting married," he said. Will feigned hurt. "Am I not cute enough for you?" he asked, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. Nico's eyes widened. "N-no! You're perfectly cute! I-I just..." he said awkwardly, blushing bright red. Thankfully, the rest of the group came up to save him from further embarrassing himself.
He scanned their bottles and read their total off the screen. They paid and took their change, then headed back out.
"Have a nice day!" Nico and Will chorused together. They both laughed. After a minute of walking silently at the back of the group, Piper fell into step beside him. "I'm thinking you could have a fall wedding," she mused thoughtfully. He shoved her, sending her into hysterics.
Okay, so maybe Rachel is an easier name to find than Nico. But he couldn't stop the jealousy he felt when he saw Rachel Dare talking excitedly with Will. He cursed at himself for it. Will was just a cute stranger.
That mindset was hard to keep when Will didn't even glance at him when he approached the counter.
They were talking about art. Rachel was blabbering on about Van Gogh and Will was listening; he obviously loved Van Gogh as much as Rachel, because as soon as she stopped, he started. He watched the way his eyes lit up when he talked about art, his bright blue eyes shining, lips curled in a small smile. He was adorable, and even more so when he was talking about something he really loved.
'I want him to look like that when he talks about me,' Nico thought. He blinked. Where had that come from? He didn't exactly have time to think about it, because in that moment, Will decided to notice him.
"...And it was totally unfair that he only got recognition once he was dead, you know? He was truly an amazing art-oh, hey Nico!" Will said, grinning at him. Nico smiled at him. "I was hoping you would notice me," he joked. Will blushed. "Yeah. Sorry," he said sheepishly.
Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Hope I didn't cause trouble in paradise," she said, looking back and forth between the two. Nico choked, and Piper's voice rang out from behind him. "Don't worry," she said, standing beside him. "It'll take much more to break them up," she said, smiling at her. Rachel smiled back. Piper motioned Reyna over. "Be right back," she said, and dragged Reyna to the opposite end of the door. They whispered, not-so-subtly staring and pointing at him and Will.
Reyna walked over to Will, Piper trailing close behind and stifling giggles. Nico's eyes widened. She was not...oh my god, she was. She started inspecting him, glancing at his crooked name tag. He quickly fixed it and smiled at her, trying to cover up the fact that he was scared out of his mind. She looked at his mop of curls, lanky arms and long legs. She glared at him, but otherwise didn't do anything. She tuned back to Nico.
"Seal of approval," she said seriously, and five seconds later, her and Piper were on the floor laughing. Their sodas rolled off, abandoned.
Nico sighed and looked at Will. "Sorry," he mouthed. Will grinned, and Nico's heart did the flippy-over thing.
Nico read the name of the store before walking in. Apollo's Heaven. He didn't quite know what that meant, but he didn't exactly care, to be honest. He took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders, then opened the door to the store.
The store was empty, only with Will lazily drawing on himself at the register. He perked up when the bell jingled, signaling that someone entered. He was confused when only a soft pair of cat-like feet were heard. Usually there was a lot of shuffling and laughing, talking. Now Nico di Angelo walked quietly and alone into the store.
He headed straight to the Cokes. It took him only a second to find Will's name, and he searched a bit more for his. He closed the door, holding Will's so that his name didn't show, and walked over to the counter. He set down his coke. "Hi," he said, blushing. "Hello. No friends today," Will noted. "Um, no, I guess not," he said, tugging at the sleeves of his sweater. "But, um, I got you this," he said sheepishly, lifting up the bottle of Coke for him to see.
Share a Coke with Will.
He grinned and put his hand over Nico's. Nico's heart fluttered. "Thank you," he said sincerely. Nico grinned at him. "Anytime, Solace. Speaking of time, when does your shift end?" he asked innocently, looking up at him.
Will leaned forward. Their noses were centimeters apart. "I expect you here at three," he said, his breath minty and warm on Nico's lips. "Don't let me down."
Nico blushed and nodded. Will grinned again. "Alright! Your total for the soda with be one twenty-five. Would you like a bag?" he asked. Nico shook his head and handed him he money. He pocketed his change and grabbed his bottle.
"Three o' clock," he said. "I'll be here," he promised. "You better be here," Will said. Nico grinned. "Have a nice day!" he said, walking out of the store.
'Well,' he thought to himself. 'I've got two hours to get ready.'
Sorry it was shit, it's literally 12:35 AM. I really need to sleep, but sleep is for the weak. I will survive.
P.S.: Did anybody catch that phan reference? Kudos if you did.