Nico knew what he was doing. He was here to earn a couple extra dollars, fill up his day in a way that wouldn't involve lying around on his bed for six hours, and stop Jason's neverending pleas to come hang out with him in the coffee shop while he was at it. Jason had already worked here for months now, and with how often he begged Nico to go there to entertain him, Nico practically lived there already. Might as well get paid for sticking around Jason.
So Nico knew what he was doing. He knew why he was here. But...
He had a problem.
His problem was the boy who wandered into the coffee shop every Tuesday and Thursday; just after noon, presumably during some lunch break, and always during Nico's shift. This boy- this awfully cute boy- was Nico's problem. He often found himself 'staring into space' while on the job. He was, of course, not staring into space, but rather staring at a certain space in particular- the space that the boy occupied. It was impossible for Nico to focus when the boy was there.
And of course, Jason noticed. Because Jason, being simultaneously the most and least observant person on the planet, could notice anything, but could never be able to tell what exactly it was that he was noticing. So, now, he knew something was bothering Nico, but could not figure out what it was.
"What's wrong?" Jason asked, cornering Nico by the espresso machine when business was especially slow. There was almost no one in the shop at the moment, maybe three or four customers- but of course, the cute boy was one of them.
Nico cleared his throat. "Nothing."
"Nico. Tell me."
"Nothing!"
Jason fixed up those stupid puppy eyes that Nico could never keep anything from, and Nico crumbled. "Okay, okay, fine. Don't go into mom mode, it's not that big a deal. There's just a cute boy, is all."
Jason followed Nico's gaze to the boy sitting in one of the window seats. "Ahhh," he said, grinning. "I see." He looked like he was already formulating a plan.
"Jason Grace, I swear to god, you say one more word about it and your glasses will be in pieces on the floor."
Jason's hand flew to his glasses offendedly. "Hey! Don't threaten the glasses, man!"
"Then keep quiet."
Jason held up his hands sheepishly, smiling again and promising not to bring it up. But when the boy came back to the counter holding his drink suspiciously, Jason said loudly: "Oh, Nico can help you with that!" He then nudged a glaring Nico to the front of the counter and whisked himself away.
"Sorry about that," Nico began. "He's a little…" His hand waved around in the air as he searched for the right word to describe Jason's actions. "...interesting."
The boy laughed. "I noticed."
Nico's cheeks burned. An incredibly cute boy less than two feet away from him laughing with a voice that sounded like a bunch of bells. Nico was almost speechless. "So!" Nico barked quickly, trying his best to keep his cool. He could feel his hand was curling into a fist within the towel he held. "What can I help you with?"
"I just, uh." The boy suddenly looked uncomfortable. "I don't think there's any vanilla in this?" He handed Nico his cup. Nico glanced at the side quickly- caramel macchiato- before nodding.
"Okay, I'll just make it again," he said.
"Oh, no, you don't have to do that! I didn't mean to cause trouble, I just-"
"No, you paid for your drink done right. Let me just make it again. It won't take long, I promise."
The boy's bright blue eyes softened. "O-okay," he said. He gave Nico a smile, and Nico's knees almost gave out.
Nico cleared his throat, turning and making the drink as quickly as he could without messing it up- keenly aware of the blue eyes trained on the back of his head. Nico ran through each step in his head at least five times, despite having made this drink for months now. Once he was done, he grabbed the sharpie and prepared to write on the cup. "Name?"
"Will," the boy told him. Nico had to bite his lip to keep from smiling.
Will.
.
.
Will smiled at him, now, whenever he entered the little coffee shop.
It made Nico more ecstatic than he admitted, and Jason often had to nudge him to keep working when Nico dropped everything he was doing so he could trade smiles with Will.
Now, all of Nico's friends knew about his little crush (a word which he protested to Jason using, as it made him sound like a fifth grader. Percy, when he heard it, had laughed, patted Nico on the head, and told him that he practically was a fifth grader, so not to worry). They encouraged him in their varying ways to make conversation with Will. Nico assured them that he knew what he was doing, if only to get them to stop harassing him about it.
But really, he had no idea how to do this. One look from Will sent him into a stuttering heap; how on Earth was he ever supposed to work up the courage to ask him out? At least he had the conversation part down. He'd learned that Will went to the same school as Nico and all of his friends, Olympia University, and that Will's dorm was barely a five-minute walk from Nico's. He also learned that Will was on the pre-med track; he wanted to be a pediatrician, he said. Once Nico had asked him how he picked, and Will told him that his mother wanted him to be a surgeon, but he wanted the interpersonal connection of working with someone directly. He liked talking to people, listening to them. And, he said, he'd grown up with four younger siblings and always gravitated towards kids. It just seemed like the best fit.
So basically, nothing like Nico. Nico wouldn't be caught dead in a job that required that much human interaction; he shuddered at the thought of it. And he'd always been the baby of the family, before Hazel popped up. Almost everything that Will said, about anything, not just school, absolutely baffled Nico. Will, on the whole, made no sense.
So why was Nico so drawn to him?
Nico mulled all of this over, curled up with a cup of ramen and a cheesy rom-com movie that happened to be playing. It was raining outside, and just starting to get cold as the first cracks of winter broke. His friends were right. He had to make a move of some kind. But he had no idea how to even start.
He didn't, that was, until he saw the climaxing scene of the movie he was watching. It wasn't looking too good for the couple, as the woman was about to board an airplane, but while she was pulling her suitcase through the airport, she noticed something. On her coffee cup, the man had scrawled out a note- the usual things; I love you, I should have told you earlier, blah blah blah. Cheese that Nico had learned to tune out. But looking at the cup on the screen- the coffee cup, with something written on it…
Nico smacked himself in the forehead for not thinking of it earlier.
.
.
The next Tuesday, Nico was a jittery mess. Counting down the hours, minutes, seconds until Will walked through the door was torture. Jason noticed Nico's agitation, but let it pass with nothing more than a raised eyebrow.
When Will finally walked through the door, Nico took a deep breath. He pushed in front of Jason, ignoring whose turn it was to work what, and smiled at Will as he approached the counter. "Hey," Nico said, as cool as possible.
"Hey. You know what I want," Will replied with a smile. Nico nodded, glancing away before he could see that perfect grin and lose his nerve completely. He turned to make the drink, going so fast that he messed up three steps and had to redo them. Will waited patiently, and Nico silently counted his blessings that it wasn't a busy day.
Finally, Nico got the drink done. He leaned over, seizing one of the sharpies form the cup that rested on the counter. Will laughed and said: "I can just take it-" but a glare from Nico cut him off.
Nico scribbled onto the cup quickly, praying that it would be legible. He slipped on a heat cover before Will could see what he'd written and pushed the cup into Will's hands, not looking him in the eyes. Will stood at the counter for a moment in silence.
"Are you… okay?" He asked tentatively. "You seem upset."
"I'm fine," Nico mumbled back. "Enjoy your coffee." With that, he whisked himself away into the back room, mouthing a sorry to Jason on his way.
Nico hid, crouched in the back room, for almost twenty minutes, waiting for his heart rate to dip back down to what he considered normal. Then, remembering that he was not on break and Jason could only cover for him so far, he stepped back out. Maybe if he was lucky, he thought, Will would already have left, and he wouldn't have to-
He bumped into Will, literally, before he even got to the register. Nico stopped, keenly aware of how close they were to each other, and tried not to flinch as Will's eyes scanned his face. Will held up the cup.
"Um…" he said, making some unknown gesture with his hands. "Yes."
"Yes?" Nico raised his eyebrows.
"Y-Yes, I want to go on a, um, lunch date with you." Now it was Will's turn to avoid eye contact. Something about the way he was fidgeting made Nico smile. It seemed like Will was just as nervous as Nico was.
Nico glanced at the cup. 'Lunch date? Saturday?' was sprawled in his own cramped handwriting.
"Were you trying to hide from me?" Will asked when Nico didn't say anything.
"Um, kind of," Nico admitted. "I was sorta hoping you'd leave, and it wouldn't have to be so awkward."
Will laughed. "Well, how would I have accepted, then?" he asked. "I don't even have your number!"
"Oh. Right." Nico accepted Will's phone, which he was offering to enter a contact. Their hands brushed, and the blush that covered both of their cheeks made Will give a nervous smile.
"Saturday, then?" Will asked when Nico handed the phone back.
"Saturday," Nico echoed.
"Great." Will was moving backwards now, edging towards the door while keeping his eyes locked on Nico. "I'll- um- I'll text you."
"Right."
Nico's eyes locked on Will's as Will back away, some cheesy remark about how beautiful he was filling his head- one that he should have learned by now to turn his ears away from. And sure, Will tumbled over backwards and knocked over five chairs on his way out, but whatever. Nico thought he looked cute cluelessly sprawled out on the floor.