wow, long time no speak everyone! i decided to write this after the overwhelming support i received from Percy Jackson, The Olympian and am quite pleased with how it turned out. because i don't really frequent much anymore, please check out my profile for some forwarding addresses :) cheers!
Nico first meets Percy on a Thursday afternoon.
It's raining, even though it's the middle of summer, and the Starbucks is overflowing with people and Nico thinks he's had enough angry customers to last him the rest of the week when he locks eyes with the boy across the counter. He's cute, with sea green eyes and dark, dark hair, and Nico can tell he's not the only person who's noticed. Behind the boy there is a girl who is not-so-subtly trying to get his attention.
"Um, grande toffee mocha with skim milk and light whipped cream for Percy," Nico calls out, placing the drink on the counter. He's already turning towards the espresso machine again when he hears the boy with the bright green eyes say, "Thank-you." Nico turns around again and gets a smile for his efforts, but then the boy is jostled out of the way by someone else picking up a drink from Nico's co-worker Piper and Nico is plunged back into the craziness that is his job.
xx
Nico's not exactly sure how he stays afloat in New York City. Sure, he works full-time at the Starbucks and doesn't go to school, but it doesn't make the rent cost less or his need to eat diminish. He's also pretty sure Piper and her boyfriend Jason help him out quite a bit financially but they never say anything so Nico never asks. The longer he can make this arrangement work, the better.
Which doesn't appear to be very long.
"I think we need another person for the rent," Piper says, settling down at the kitchen table across from where Nico is playing a game of solitaire with the deck of cards from the drawer beside the fridge.
"Yeah?" he asks, arching an eyebrow at her as he flips over another card.
"Yeah," Piper echoes. "I talked to Jason about it and he agrees."
"We only have two bedrooms," Nico points out diplomatically, setting down the draw pile and staring Piper down across the table. She's so clearly in charge of their home even though Jason is pretty much the most leader-like person Nico's ever met and he hates how persuasive she is sometimes.
"Well," Piper begins, twisting a strand of her ever-changing hair between her fingers. Today it is the colour of the coffee they pour for people at Starbucks, but Nico suspects next week it will be a different style and colour. "We were thinking maybe you could sleep on the pull-out bed? We'll put an extra set of drawers in our bedroom for your clothes and you can share the bathroom with the other tenant."
"Right, okay," Nico says, dubious.
"Look, Nico, Jason and I didn't want to tell you but-"
"I know, it's fair considering I pay less rent than you guys," Nico says, picking up the draw pile again and flipping cards. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. Just give me a few days' notice if you find someone."
He knows Piper is looking at him with mixed emotions running across her face, but he doesn't care. It was a long time coming, but Nico always knew his past would catch up with him. If sleeping on the couch means that he can stave off that meeting a little longer, that's fine with him.
"Okay," is all Piper says before she gets up and disappears into her and Jason's bedroom.
xx
Nico is opening the store the next time Percy comes in.
"What can I grab you?" Nico asks, his hand hovering over the different cups.
"A grande toffee mocha with skim milk and extra whipped cream, please," Percy replies. He's got a huge backpack slung across his shoulders and he's trying to fish in his pockets for money and read something on his iPhone at the same time.
"Sure, that'll be four twenty-five," Nico says, scribbling the order onto the cup and then punching it into the computer.
Percy finally pulls a crumpled five dollar bill from his pocket and tosses it at Nico. "Keep the change," he says with a smile, his green eyes flashing in the lights overhead and Nico has to roll his eyes in order to keep himself from doing something stupid. Like swooning.
"Thanks," he says, popping open the till and dropping the change in their tip jar. "Have a great day."
"Thanks, man," Percy replies as his drink slides across the counter from Nico's co-worker. "You too."
xx
"I think we have a new regular," Nico overhears Piper say to Jason when he gets home from a wander around their neighbourhood.
"Yeah?" Jason asks. He's sitting at the kitchen table when Nico kicks off his shoes and walks in. There are books everywhere and Nico's eyes scan the textbook covers and flashcards that Jason's spread out. Apparently pre-law is very stressful.
"His name is Percy. He comes in pretty often," Piper says. She's got her back turned to Nico while she stands at the stove so she misses the way Nico's body spasms with … something at the mention of Percy's name.
"Have you weaseled all his personal information out of him yet?" Jason asks absently. "Like how you manage to do with all your other regulars?"
"No," Piper says, placing her spoon on the spoon rest and turning around, her hands on her hips. "He's unusually tight lipped. Have you met him, Nico?"
It takes a moment for Nico's brain to catch up with the question. "Um, Percy?" he asks. "Yeah, twice."
Piper nods, as if Nico's said something profound and interesting. "He's been in a few times while I've been at work too. Hasn't mentioned anything about himself."
"Not all people are as friendly as Jason was," Nico points out. Jason and Piper met at the Starbucks and eventually Piper had written her number on his cup and told him to call her. Two years later and now they live in a cozy little Manhattan apartment. With Nico.
"Yeah, well, I'm determined to learn about this boy," Piper says. "No one can resist my charm for that long."
"Amen to that," Jason says and Nico smiles faintly.
xx
The next time Percy comes into Starbucks it is a Saturday and Nico and Piper are both working.
"Oh my gosh, there he is!" Piper whispers furiously, pouring someone's frappacuino into a cup.
Nico glances up from the coffee he's crafting and spots Percy in the lineup of people. His hair looks windswept and he's thumbing at something on his iPhone again, but Nico thinks he still looks pretty great, which is unfair.
"Calm down," he says to Piper, wishing his heart could listen to his advice. He tells himself it's the espresso he drank earlier, but Nico suspects it's something else.
"I need to be on cash like, yesterday," Piper says, elbowing her way through the other baristas to get to the front. Nico watches her charm Leo into switching positions with her before turning back to his drink orders.
"Hey again," a voice says when Nico turns from the blenders to the espresso machines. Percy is glancing at Nico over the top of the counter, smiling in what Nico thinks is a bit of a shy manner.
"Hey," Nico replies, dumping the contents of a steamer into a cup and sliding it across the counter, calling, "One white chocolate mocha for Rachel."
One of their regulars bobs in between Percy and someone else to grab her drink. She waves at Nico before taking off, leaving Nico with just Percy again while the other customers fiddle with their phones.
"You work a lot of hours," Percy points out. "You're literally always here when I am."
Nico shrugs. "Gotta make a living," he says, fiddling with a new drink order.
Percy nods absently, shifting his backpack on his shoulders. "I'm Percy, by the way."
Nico pushes the grande toffee mocha with skim milk and no whipped cream towards Percy pointedly. "I know," he says with a smirk. "I'm Nico."
Percy grabs the drink and plucks a lid out of the holders, snapping it into place. He nods at the name tag pinned to Nico's apron and says, "I know," with a smirk of his own before he turns around and heads out the door.
Nico thinks that maybe he could get used to seeing Percy around.
xx
"We're interviewing potential housemates this afternoon," Jason announces when Nico walks through the door with three coffees from the shop down the street.
"Um, okay?" Nico replies. He hands out the coffees and watches the changing expressions shift across his friends' faces.
"We'll pick up a set of drawers for you tomorrow and you can start moving stuff around and we'll make sure you're totally comfortable before the other tenant moves in," Piper affirms, glancing over the notepad on her lap.
"Okay," Nico says again, sinking down onto the end of the couch – his future bed, he reminds himself. "Should I, like, be here then this afternoon?"
Piper shoots him a frown. "Of course!"
"Dude, you live here too," Jason points out. "You get a say in who else we bring into this tiny little apartment."
Nico can't blame Piper and Jason for wanting someone else to pay their ridiculously high rent, but Jason wasn't kidding when he said the apartment was tiny. Their kitchen is hard enough to navigate as it is; Nico can't imagine having to manoeuvre around a third person too.
Nico chances a glance over at Piper and Jason again and frowns. He knows he's a burden on them but he can't go home and his half-sister Hazel lives out in Vancouver now with a boy Nico's met once, and Bianca's gone …
Nico shakes his head. If staying with Piper and Jason means sleeping on the pullout bed, Nico doesn't really mind. He's had worse places to sleep. "Just tell me when I need to be here," he says absently before scooping up the remote from its spot on the coffee table and flicking on the Discovery Channel.
xx
Naturally, because fate hates Nico or something, their new roommate ends up being the very last person they interview.
"Hi, I'm Annabeth," the girl says. Nico thinks she looks older than him and his friends, judging by the way her blazer actually fits in all the right places and her long blonde hair is tied up in a sophisticated knot that suggests she has a better paying job than a Starbucks barista.
"Nice to meet you," Piper says with an astonishing amount of enthusiasm considering all the deadbeats that had come in before this girl. "I'm Piper and this is my boyfriend Jason and our friend and other roommate, Nico."
Annabeth nods at each of them in turn before sitting down on the kitchen chair stationed opposite the couch. Her grey eyes scan them each, careful and calculating, which makes Nico shiver a little. Selfishly, he hopes that she'll be a bust just like the others but as the interview goes on, Nico can tell that she's the one.
"What do you do?"
"I'm currently a student at Columbia, fourth year geography student hoping to get a master's in architecture. I'm interning down at the mayor's office for urban planning at the moment though."
"Are you okay with the occasional party we throw here?"
"Only if you don't mind if I do the same."
"Nico and I sometimes have to get up extremely early to go to work. Is that alright with you?"
"I like to go for runs in the morning anyway. It'll motivate me to get out of bed."
"We don't have a 'no pets allowed' policy, but you have to check with us before you bring a furry critter in the house. Capiche?"
"Capiche."
"Then it's settled," Piper says decidedly. She drops her stack of papers on the table and extends her hand out to Annabeth. "Mi casa es su casa."
Annabeth shakes Piper's hand again but Nico doesn't miss her raised eyebrow. "You're not going to consult with your roommates first?"
Piper shakes her head. "I'm pretty sure that you were the best candidate we saw today. No arguments, right boys?"
"Right," Nico and Jason echo meekly. They each shake Annabeth's hand and when Nico gets his turn he finds himself being stared down by their new tenant.
"You look … familiar," she says to him, cocking her head to the side.
"Maybe you bought a coffee from me," Nico offers with a shrug. He can't be bothered to remember every customer that comes into the store fleetingly and it's possible that Annabeth could have come in.
She's still staring at him though and after a moment Nico sees her expression with realization. "Yeah, maybe," she says, though Nico doesn't believe her for a minute.
xx
Nico is working cash again the next time Percy comes in.
"Hi, Nico," Percy says, sidling up to the counter. Nico tries his best to not get lost in Percy's sea green eyes as he mumbles his own hello in return. Behind him he can feel Piper examining their exchange carefully while mixing someone's fruity lemonade thing. Nico has no idea how she manages to do both at the same time because he always spills a drink or burns himself or something when he tries to multitask and then their boss, Coach Hedge (it's a long story) yells at him.
"Percy," Nico replies curtly, grabbing for a grande sized cup and scribbling Percy's name on it. "What can I grab for you today?"
"Toffee mocha with skim milk and an extra shot of espresso," Percy recites. He watches Nico scribble down the order and send the cup spinning down the counter to Leo before he adds, "And a grande extra hot Americano as well, please."
Nico raises his eyebrow as he scribbles down the next order. "Do you want the same name on the cup?"
Percy's mouth turns up at the corners and Nico can't help but feel his heart flutter slightly. "Nah. Put 'Wise Girl' on it for me, will you?"
Nico dutifully writes the name down on the cup and adds it to the queue before taking Percy's Starbucks card and swiping it through the system. His heart, having previously been floating in the middle of his rib cage, now feels heavy with dread. Wise Girl. Of course Percy would have a girlfriend. "Have a great day," he says, handing the card back dejectedly.
The smile on Percy's face vanishes. "Um, thanks," he says, stuffing the card into his pocket and glancing at Nico carefully. "You too, yeah?"
Nico nods, his face schooled carefully into a look of nonchalance and does not watch Percy out of the corner of his eye while he takes the next order.
xx
Annabeth doesn't really have a lot of things to move into the apartment, which surprises Nico a little. He was a little under the assumption that all girls had as much stuff as Piper did, but Annabeth comes with one suitcase, one duffle bag, and a laundry basket full of knickknacks and stacks of paper.
"That's it?" Jason asks, clearly as befuddled as Nico feels.
"That's it," Annabeth confirms. Jason hurries to grab the duffle bag from her and Nico politely picks up the laundry basket before they shuffle down the hallway to what used to be Nico's room. If Annabeth notices the lack of beds-to-people, she doesn't say anything.
"You don't mind if I have a friend over tomorrow, do you?" she asks as she hauls her suitcase onto the bed and begins unzipping it.
"Not at all," Jason says. "I'll be at school and Nico has work I think, so it'll just be Piper at home and she won't care."
Annabeth bobs her head and Nico takes that as his cue to leave. He tugs on Jason's shirt and the two backtrack out of the room, leaving Annabeth to settle into the apartment.
xx
Percy doesn't show up once that week.
"You know they're doing work on the subway station down the block," Piper says as she and Nico tag team on drink making ("Crafting beverages!" Coach Hedge insists). "Maybe that's his stop."
"Yeah, probably," Nico says in what he hopes is a nonchalant manner. "By the way, were you home when Annabeth had her friend over?"
Piper shakes her head and twirls around him neatly in order to get to the espresso machine. "My sister, Silena, surprised me by coming up from D.C. so I went out. They weren't there when I got back, either."
Nico bobs his head and pushes Clarisse's drink across the counter towards her.
"Scared of Annabeth's older, cooler friends?" Piper teases, but Nico's smart enough to know that Piper is probably more scared than he is, so he shrugs.
"Just curious, is all," he says, and Piper nods before a fresh wave of orders come in and they're scrambling away to keep up.
xx
Nico does end up meeting Annabeth's older, cooler friends.
It happens one day after work, a shift that has Nico stumbling through the door, grumbling about ungrateful customers and lousy tips. He's just kicking his shoes off when he looks up and sees Annabeth and her friend staring at him, the corners of their mouths turned up in amusement.
And then Nico realizes that said friend is actually Percy and so he promptly trips over his kicked-off shoes.
"Hi, Nico," Annabeth says casually, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. "I take it work wasn't that great today?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Nico mumbles, avoiding Percy's eye and ducking into Piper and Jason's bedroom where his new set of drawers lives.
"Oh, the glamorous life of a Starbucks barista," he hears Annabeth crow from the kitchen.
"Whatever," Nico calls back and then ducks into the bathroom in the hopes of washing his embarrassment down the drain. Maybe, if he stays in there long enough, Percy will be gone when he comes out.
xx
Percy is not, in fact, gone when Nico gets out of the shower.
To make matters worse, both Piper and Jason have come home in the time Nico was steadfastly ignoring Annabeth's guest and now they're all gathered in the sitting room with various mugs of hot drinks.
"I've wanted to meet you for such a long time," Piper gushes at Percy, who, to his credit, doesn't look too fazed by the level of creepiness to Piper's comment.
"She takes a keen interest in her regulars," Jason adds as Nico grabs a glass of water from the kitchen and hesitantly joins the others in the sitting room. There's only one spot left, and it's next to Percy, so Nico sinks into the seat and tries to pretend he can turn invisible at will.
Unfortunately, his powers don't seem to materialize. "You didn't tell me you were friends with Annabeth," Percy comments once Nico's set his glass on the side table next to him.
Nico shrugs. He could say that he's not exactly friends with Annabeth yet because she just moved in, like, a week ago. Or he could say how he's usually pretty busy when Percy stops by anyway so there's not a lot of time to talk. Or about how Percy hasn't been into Starbucks in a week and a half. Instead, all he says is, "It's not like I knew you knew Annabeth too."
The comment catches Percy off-guard and for a moment Nico gets the pleasure of seeing Percy flush slightly. On his other side, Annabeth snorts into her drink and the sound seems to kickstart Percy again. Nico's dismayed to see the blush disappear from Percy's cheeks as he flashes everyone an embarrassed smile. "Fair enough," he says. "Say, Jason, what did you say you were studying again?"
xx
Nico learns that Percy is a third-year student studying the classics.
"Classic what?" Jason asks, tilting his head in a manner that reminds Nico of a puppy.
"Like, Greek and Roman mythology," Percy says with a laugh. "It's not an especially useful degree, I suppose, but I'm mostly at Columbia on a swimming scholarship."
"What are you studying again, Annabeth?" Piper asks.
"Geography," Annabeth replies. "And then a masters in architecture, I hope."
"Ah, grad school dreams," Jason says, almost dreamily, and Nico scoffs. Annabeth's head swivels in his direction, her eyes narrowing.
"And what about you, hotshot?" she asks. "Do you do anything besides work at Starbucks?"
Nico feels as if his blood has turned to ice and he grabs for his water, noting the way his hands are shaking. Piper must too and takes pity on him. "Nico's pretty smart," she says slowly, glancing warily at him. "Good with numbers."
"Oh yeah, he goes over all our tax returns and stuff," Jason adds. "And don't you-"
"I mostly just work at Starbucks," Nico blurts out in a rush, cutting Jason off. He leans around Percy and stares Annabeth down at the other end of the couch.
"What about your family?" Percy asks, leaning into Nico's field of vision again, making him recoil slightly.
"What about them?"
"Don't you work for them still?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Nico says.
Percy's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "You are Nico di Angelo, aren't you?" he asks, and Nico feels as if all the air has been sucked out of the room. Across from him, Jason and Piper sit frozen, surprise etched into their faces. For a moment, only the sound of breathing fills the room until Annabeth speaks.
"di Angelo?" she asks, her own eyebrows turning in. "As in, the di Angelos of Angel Corp Mining?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Nico replies sharply. He stands, abruptly enough that he surprises Jason into spilling his coffee across the table.
"Jason!" Piper exclaims, jumping to her feet and rushing to get towels from the kitchen. In all the commotion, Nico finds it easy to blend into the hustle and bustle and slip out the door.
xx
Percy catches up to Nico at the Staten Island ferry terminal. Nico's never been on the ferry but he comes and sits in the terminal and watches the boats on the river. Piper must have told Percy where he'd be.
"Hey," Percy says, sitting down in the empty seat next to Nico. "Sorry about earlier."
Nico shrugs. "Don't be," he says. "I was the one that was keeping the secret from you." Not that Nico was obliged to tell Percy or anything. They're not friends, after all.
The corners of Percy's mouth turn down in a frown. "Annabeth figured it out," he says slowly. "She saw your name on the contract Piper had her sign and she did some research. She's smart, Annabeth. I guess she just didn't understand why you were slaving away in a Starbucks when you're set to inherit an entire mining company from your father."
It takes Nico a moment to realize that he's balled his hands into fists. "I don't want the company," he says as calmly as he can. "My sister, Hazel, can have it."
"Is it because of-?"
"Yes."
Nico can still remember the day, what he was doing and where he was going. He can remember his ringtone and how the sound of Bangkok's bustling streets had completely tuned out when he'd received the news. Everything about that day is etched into Nico's mind, even as the sound of Bianca's laughter fades from it.
Unlike many other people Nico has discussed Bianca's death to, Percy does not try to tell him that he would be foolish to not take Angel Corp Mining from his father because of it. Instead, he loops an arm over Nico's shoulder and starts babbling about his step-brother Tyson, who's playing basketball for Oklahoma or something. Nico lets the sound of Percy's voice wash over him and imagines, just for a moment, that everything's alright.
xx
Percy starts spending a lot of time in their Little Apartment That Could, though no one is ever really sure who invites him all the time. He's just there, and no one complains, and so he stays.
They get hilariously drunk one night on two bottles of wine between the five of them. Piper and Jason disappear pretty quickly, giggling into each other and grasping at each other's hands like they're lifelines. Annabeth rolls her eyes and quickly excuses herself to use the washroom, and when everyone is gone, Percy leans over and kisses Nico.
It's nothing special, Nico decides. Percy's mouth is soft and wet and gives easily under the pressure of Nico's, but there's no tongue and it barely lasts for five seconds before Percy is pulling away again, a smile stretching wide across his face.
"Okay?" he asks in what Nico suspects is supposed to be a whisper.
"Okay," he replies, just as Annabeth comes back.
xx
The thing is, Percy doesn't stop.
He kisses Nico in the apartment, when everyone scatters off to do their own thing. Or he kisses Nico when he meets him for lunch on Thursdays. And when New Year's Eve rolls around Percy kisses Nico at midnight, in front of all their friends.
"Get a room, you too," Piper hollers at them, as if she didn't just have her tongue buried halfway down Jason's throat a moment ago.
"Don't mind if we do," Percy says, fisting his hands in the front of Nico's shirt. He throws their friends a wink before turning back to Nico, grinning sunnily. "Shall we?" Percy asks.
The thing is, Nico's never been one about being emotional and flaunting about the people he's got an interest in. But here's Percy, right in front of him, showing off for all their friends. It's new and exciting, and a feeling something like hope unfurls itself in Nico's belly.
"Sure," Nico replies, allowing a small smile to creep onto his face. He untangles Percy's hands from his shirt and drags him towards the door, shoving shoes onto his feet and throwing a coat over his shoulders.
The night air is frigid, a far cry from the sweltering heat that had ushered in the summer when Nico had first met Percy. They laugh as they stumble down the street towards the subway through crowds of people celebrating the new year, and Nico thinks that maybe, it really will be something worth celebrating.