Note: This might be 5 chapters instead. I'm still working it out on my mind. 4 or 5 chapters. OTL
This is an adaptation of the movie "Just like Heaven". If you guys have yet to watch the actual movie and happened to read this, then please don't watch the movie yet. /sweatdrops/ If you have, please do not push your expectations high. Please leave a review and let me know of your constructive feedbacks on this story. Thank you!
Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and its characters solely belong to Rick Riordan.
This story can be found on Tumblr, and now, on AO3 as well as my other works.
"You came into my life, and I could never have prepared myself for what change you brought into it."
Winging it was definitely a Sherlock Holmes style, Jason deduced to himself on the first day of their deemed quest on finding Nico's identity. Winging it, however, was not the worst yet the only option that had been available for them to claim.
It was rational that they had started off by questioning the tenants under the same establishment, yet the residents provided none too useful information as none was aware that Nico even had resided previously on the gorgeous apartment. Jason had believed that their chances were high, yet it seemed to be quite the opposite as some claimed that they knew not of a tenant – an Italian male tenant at that – that used to reside in the apartment Jason now occupied.
"Great. It seemed as if I was already a ghost before I was even dead," Nico grumbled to him as they trudged to the next apartment door, Jason knocking firmly onto the door.
"I'm the worst person you could have asked to help you," Jason sighed, running a hand through his dishevelled blond locks. "Are you sure you should even be asking me for help?"
Nico arched one of his brows out of incredulity.
"We have a deal, and it's not like anyone can see or hear me aside from – well – you," Nico casually replied, crossing his arms across his chest as Jason heaved a dejected sigh.
"Look. You have two realities to choose from," Nico started, his serious tone laced with just the barest hint of sarcasm. "First one being, a man has come into your life in a very unconventional way, and he happens to need your help. The second being that you're an insane person and you are standing out on the hallway right now talking to yourself."
Jason cringed at his choice of words, but could not find a fault or a ground which he could possibly debate on. In the eyes of every other individuals, Jason was sure that Nico's claim was true – that he was by himself, talking to an intangible presence like he was fresh from an asylum.
"I think I prefer the first one," Jason murmured to himself, ignoring as much as he was capable of the gloating expression that crossed the Italian male's features.
"Splendid. Let's find out who I am," Nico concluded firmly, closing the discussion just as the maple interior door slowly swung back.
A lithe and gorgeous Asian woman with dark hair in ringlets pulled up in a high ponytail, warm brown eyes and a perfect makeup, adorning a tight orange tank top andshorts greeted them – or at the very least, Jason – with a wide smile. In Nico's perspective, she seemed decently presentable and perhaps sociably better than the rest of the tenants, though he questioned the need to apply makeup if she had the intention to exercise. She was stereotypically ideal – physically speaking – yet Nico was neither enamored nor interested in the least bit with her.
"Hi, can I help you?" the woman inquired, though there was that twinkle in her eyes which induced Nico to narrow his own dark brown eyes.
"Hi. I'm Jason Grace. I'm a new tenant here," Jason briefly introduced himself, offering the most polite smile he could possibly offer.
It might have been a grimace instead, yet the woman simply reached out her hand for a handshake.
"Hi, hon! I'm Drew Tanaka. Nice to meet you. Come on in!" Drew offered, opening the door wide open for the blond male, that mischievous twinkle in her eyes ever so present.
Nico audibly clicked his tongue in displeasure.
"Uh, no. This will just take a second. I have a question," Jason responded, seeming slightly at unease at the blatant disapproval that was etched onto the Italian's features as he scrutinized the woman, seeming to morbidly dissect her with his naked eyes alone. "Did the apartment upstairs belong to a young Italian male?"
Drew did not even seem dejected at the refusal, her body leaning against the frame of the door while casually playing with her hair as she pondered of the blond's words.
"I think there was somebody up there…" the Asian woman breathed out slowly, as if she were still in deep thought. "Oh, but he was like totally anti-social, you know. Kind of like a male version of a cat lady. But without any cats, right?"
That inadvertently induced a small laughter from Jason, which then caused the Asian woman to laugh in return. That predatory gleam in her eyes, coupled with her offhanded comment had Nico noting down in his books that he would surely come into terms of strangling the woman once he had his physical body back.
"I think we're done here. Let's go, Watson," Nico growled, promptly turning away and cutting off Jason's short-lived amusement at that accurate description of Nico.
"Okay, thank you, Drew." Jason was about to follow, but was firmly pulled back by a soft and feminine hand.
"Look," Drew breathed, tugging at his arm firmly, and almost digging her perfectly manicured nails onto his skin with her grip. "This may sound so retro… But I've got a window I can't get to open."
The Italian man immediately faced towards her direction, his arms crossing around his chest indignantly as he practically stomped back towards his former position.
"She has got to be kidding."
"Well… have you used a screwdriver to jam it open?" Jason inquired, wincing as she finally released her grip, and in unease of the predatory gleam in her eyes.
It made Jason feel as if he was a piece of A-grade meat in the eyes of a ravenous vulture.
"Oh, I've tried it. Won't budge," Drew heaved an exaggerated sigh, shrugging her shoulders in a sign of mock defeat.
Scratch the idea of coming into terms of strangling her. Nico was fairly certain that he might have done so by then if only he had a physical and tangible form that could enable him to wrap his arms around that slender neck. He did not notice that he had been growling loudly, and that only served to increase Jason's unease at his questionable behavior.
"I'd like to help, but I've got dinner plans tonight," Jason lamely excused himself, taking a good few steps back before she could possibly sink her talons into his arms once more.
Drew did not seem to mind his retreat, though she followed his every movement intently.
"Well, I'd like that dessert," was the flirtatious comment.
"I just threw up in my mouth," Nico dully remarked, an expression of disbelief in his features, which was promptly wiped away as he pointedly looked into electric blue irises. "Let's go, Watson, unless you want me to possess you and make you a fool in front of her."
At the threat, Jason promptly bid his goodbye, trailing after the seething apparition who glanced back occasionally just to ensure that he was following. It was a slightly refreshing sight, compared to that of the usual nonchalance or sarcasm that Nico would throw his way. Those dark brown eyes were fascinating beyond any comparison when they glinted with emotions, and Jason found himself basking in the rare moments that something could provoke an emotion from the Italian.
If Nico had been tangible, the heels of his shoes might have clacked noisily as he marched off atop the stairs, grumbling and uttering strings of curses in Italian which Jason did not understand. But it was fascinating nonetheless, how those words just slipped naturally past those full lips, uttered like a croon despite the vehemence laced with them.
"Well… I guess that's as far as we could possibly be productive for today," Jason offered as they stopped just before the apartment door.
"More for you perhaps," Nico grumbled, his features scrunched up in a grimace as he casually leaned against the wall. "Got yourself a date and a potential bed partner for the night… probably. I guess I could see where you straight guys are coming from, with all those voluptuous appeal of the female population and –"
"Woah," Jason arched one of his brows in disbelief at that statement, before he raised his hands in defense. "Don't know what you're talking about, Sherlock, but if it's about Drew, I am not the least bit interested with her."
"Not the point. I was contesting the preference of straight guys. And she was completely prowling at you. Did you not even find her being all predatory on you?" Nico dismissed his statements with a wave of his hand.
"Some male individuals actually find predatory an appealing trait. And for the record, I don't base attraction by gender," Jason heaved a small sigh, rummaging through his pockets for his keys to the apartment. "I've dated a fair share of the male population before I finally settled down."
Nico blinked at the confession, his expression becoming completely slack in a matter of seconds as he stared in mild disbelief at the preoccupied blond. If Jason had noticed of his momentary loss of composure, Nico could only assume that he had not as he was grumbling to himself while tirelessly searching for his keys.
"… Great. I locked myself out of my apartment."
"There's a spare key underneath the fire extinguisher," Nico murmured quietly.
Only then did Jason notice that Nico was staring intently at him, assessing him – scrutinizing him – as if he were a new specimen or a species that was only recently discovered. Conclusively, it unnerved Jason.
"Why are you looking at me as if you want to dissect me?" Jason voiced out, cautiously taking a few steps back as he reached for the fire extinguisher conveniently placed on a suspended wooden shelf. "Was it because of what I said about dating men before? My bisexuality?"
Silently lifting it up, Jason firmly grasped the spare key and twisted it in his free hand.
"I would be a hypocrite if I were to judge you on that," the Italian huffed, rolling his eyes at his defensive stance.
"Wait, so you're also –"
"I'm not attracted to the female population. At all," was the firm statement. "That much, I know of myself. Funny how the one thing I find degrading to admit to society just happened to be the only fact of myself that I know."
Jason opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off immediately.
"Before you can freak out upon finding out that you are residing in a homosexual Italian apparition's apartment, try not to feed your ego too much by thinking that I would harass you as you sleep. You're not my type," Nico huffed indignantly, looking sideways and blatantly ignoring the blond male.
"You're testing Leo's belief that I could change any guy's mind of that, deemed, debatable matter," Jason offered with a sheepish smile as he unlocked the door to the apartment. "Any chance I could get to change your mind?"
But Nico simply clicked his tongue at that, and Jason could not figure if he had offended the young man as he had his head turned away from his sight.
"Dream on, Grace. Grab a jacket or a coat. It's too early to turn in and call it a day. Let's walk around town and see if anything could possibly jog my memory, Watson," Nico demanded, walking back the way he came from as he descended the stairs and headed towards the front door of the establishment.
For a while, Jason just gazed after the retreating figure, wondering if he had uttered something wrong that might or might not have offended the Italian. Yet, seeing as Nico was uncooperative as he was capable of in forbidding Jason from getting a firm grasp of his mood and personal boundaries, Jason was left to make the assumptions himself.
Making a quick grab of his jacket, Jason rushed after the apparition. For a while, he wondered ever so briefly though… When Nico had turned away, was it just a trick of the eye or was the Italian's expression actually flushed for a second?
"What do you exactly hope to accomplish by wandering out here with no specific destination in mind, Nico?"
"I'm Sherlock in this quest, and you are Watson. Do not question my position in this matter," Nico responded with a frown as they walked side-by-side along the sidewalk under the glaring sunlight.
New York had always been crowded, that much Jason was certain of when he decided to move into the state; strategically. True, it placed a distance between him and his deceased wife's family and inched him close to where most of his acquaintances resided, but in the hustle-and-bustle that was of New York's streets, it was fairly easy to distance himself, however he deemed as convenient.
That was applicable to that moment as he weaved through the growing crowd with the apparition, as none seemed to pay mind to him despite that he might be speaking in a loud voice to an intangible presence. In the midst of all the noise, his voice seemed to be partially drowned out.
Jason and Nico had been weaving through the streets for at least an hour by then, once stopping at a dry cleaning service where Nico partially remembered visiting on a weekly basis. Entering the establishment might not have been the best idea either had so far, as Jason had to constrict – in a way – and calm the Italian male down when the attendant at the counter mentioned of having donated to the homeless Nico's Armani pants. If Jason was sure of one thing, it was that that brand was extremely expensive, and Nico was certain of that as well. Hell, Jason had been inches from trying to prevent him from strangling the clueless attendant, though the restriction might be unnecessary as the Italian was intangible to everything.
"Jason, stop."
The sudden demand had the blond glancing up from the pavement, stripping his mind off of his personal musings, as he lifted his electric blue eyes at the sign of the classy restaurant they found themselves standing in front of. Demeter, the sign read. Jason dared not to glance unnecessarily at the interior decors, knowing that the place – by the elegant vibe that it radiated off – that a simple dinner there was highly expensive.
"I recognize this place. I love this restaurant," Nico breathed, passing through the closed double doors of the restaurant and seeming unfazed of it.
With a slight tilt of his head, Jason followed shortly thereafter, minding just a second of how inappropriate his attire was.
The interior was nothing short of being luxurious and elegant, as Jason had assumed it was. The interior décor that was themed after Olympus, the dwelling of the Greek gods and goddesses, was lovely and utterly flawless, and probably too much for Jason's liking.
"I wanted to eat here. I remember wanting to eat here once. I never did get to do so," Nico voiced out as he glanced around the restaurant, taking in every single detail that there was of the rich environment.
"What? You can afford an expensive apartment and clothing from Armani, but you can't eat here? Is the payment here solid gold bars?" Jason wondered out loud, suddenly feeling that he indeed did not belong in such a classy environment.
"No… I just never got to do so. I can't remember why. I remember that I was always too busy to do so," Nico murmured, more so to himself, before promptly turning around and heading for the exit as a waiter approached his companion, seeming disdainful as he judged his unbefitting appearance.
"Come on, let's go."
A loud clatter from behind had them pause as Jason reached a hand out to the door, and they chanced a glance back just as a couple of civilians crowded over an unconscious man sprawled out on the maroon carpeted floor. By the looks of it, and judging from the panicked expressions that dawned upon the crowd's features, the man seemed to be not breathing at all.
Despite the situation not being of his concern, Nico found himself staring intently at the scene. There was a faint buzzing on his head, and there was something that wanted to slip from his tongue which he could not fathom what of.
"Someone call an ambulance! Wait, is there a doctor in here?" A woman voiced out in a loud, yet shaky tone, glancing frantically about the sea of faces that surrounded the unconscious man. "We need a doctor in here now!"
"Feel his chest," Nico blurted all of a sudden, his eyes fixated onto the unconscious man on the maroon carpeted floor.
He was unsure of why he was suddenly sprouting such nonsense, but he had never been certain of anything in the past few days than what he was trying to accomplish at that moment.
"What?" Jason questioned, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Check his chest and feel if it's bloated," Nico insisted, giving his companion a meaningful stare before walking forward, slipping past the bodies that crowded over the civilian.
"Excuse me. Pardon me, I need to… feel his chest," Jason spoke in a slightly louder volume as he pushed his way past through the crowd, almost stumbling to the ground next to the Italian male and the passed out man.
"Can you feel his ribs?" Nico inquired.
"No, but I can if I press down," Jason murmured in a low voice, cautiously pressing his hands all over the civilian.
Jason inwardly mused if his actions were to be considered as a form of public harassment, and if he were to somehow be charged on court of inappropriate bodily contact.
"Tell them you need a sharp paring knife and a bottle of vodka," was the instruction.
Scanning through the crowd, he glanced pointedly at whom he assumed to be the owner of the establishment, who was hunched over with that concerned and panicky expression written all over her features.
"I need a sharp paring knife… and a bottle of vodka," Jason requested, hesitating towards the end yet actually managed to blurt it out.
One of the waitresses headed off with a nod, pushing carefully past the crowd as she made her way towards the kitchen area.
"What's wrong with him?" the woman inquired, and Jason briefly made out her name on the golden nametag pinned onto her pristine clothing. Katie Gardner.
"It's a tension pneumothorax," Nico answered, as if the woman was directly addressing to him.
"I think it's a tension nemotaxer," Jason stumbled upon the tongue-twister that was of the medical term, fighting off the urge to hide his face in his arms out of embarrassment.
"Pneumothorax," Nico grunted.
"Pneumotaxer."
"Pneumothorax!"
"Pneumothorman!"
"Nevermind," Nico growled, dismissing Jason's mistakes with a quick wave of his hand, as if the gesture could possibly erase the latter's momentary session of self-induced embarrassment.
"What is it?" Katie inquired with a subtle frown, seeming to lean further towards the unconscious man, checking to see if he was still breathing.
"The air is escaping out of his lungs, into his chest." Nico explained, keeping those sharp brown eyes onto the civilian while Jason provided the explanation word per word as Nico had said them.
"Open his shirt," Nico instructed to Jason, and the latter did so, though with the slightest hint of hesitance.
"There's a valve at the opening of the lungs. If it doesn't close, it constricts the lungs and compresses the rest of the organs. Now, I want you to feel for his ribs again. A little bit lower." Nico fixed Jason's prying hands onto the body, pointing his hand at a spot slightly bit lower than where Jason's had been wandering. "Spot between two ribs, do you feel that?"
"Yes," Jason breathed out in a low voice, and he sounded almost breathless.
Nico belatedly noted how he seemed to be paling by the minute, but dismissed it at the moment.
"Okay. Splash some vodka on it and get the knife."
The blood completely drained from Jason's features at the last instruction. Swallowing the lump on his throat – which might as well have been bile – he spoke out once more in a loud voice, grateful that it sounded quite professional and not as shaky as his insides seemed to be at that moment.
"Can everybody please stand a little further? Just please give us more space for the patient to be able to breathe. Thank you."
Yet, Nico was not buying any of which. The Italian was close to his side, far too close to be able to hear his shaky intake of breath, and feel that dragged release of a shaky sigh fanning against the skin of his right cheek.
"What on earth am I going to do with the knife?" Jason almost hissed from beside of him, doing what Nico had first instructed him to carry out and splashing a certain amount of vodka against the spot.
"You're going to make an incision," Nico stated, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"No. No, I'm not going to do this," Jason hissed, resisting the urge to whimper his refusal out as he almost pulled back under the scrutiny of the crowd and Nico's gaze boring solely onto him with fierce determination in his eyes.
"Jason, this is a life or death situation. Are you going to let this man die when you know that there is the possibility of helping him? You're just going to make a small hole so that the air could be allowed to escape. So put the knife on that spot," Nico growled out that last sentence.
"How do you know this?" Jason inquired, clasping firmly at the paring knife that his knuckles had turned white.
"I don't know, just do it!"
Jason begrudgingly punctured a small hole onto the man's skin, his electric blue eyes looking away once the blade had made contact with the skin. As quick as he had sunk the blade onto the skin, he pulled it out cautiously, worrying that he might be making the situation worst at that moment with his interference.
"Okay, put the pour of the vodka bottle in the hole that you made. It will keep the wound open so that the air can escape."
When Jason did so, Nico could only watch in stunned fascination as the man's chest slowly began to rise once more, moving in that even rhythm of breathing that he was ever so familiar with.
"He's breathing…" Nico whispered, more so to himself.
"He's breathing!" Jason gasped out, sitting back onto his heels as he gazed back and forth from the body and towards the crowd, a stunned expression on his pale features.
The man was alive. He had actually just saved a life. He knew of the medical procedure, and how to address the situation.
"I'm a doctor," Nico realized with a small gasp, looking at Jason expectantly as if expecting the latter to come into the same conclusion as he had.
Yet, Jason was still partially stupefied, copying his words as if they were still the medical procedures which Nico had been instructing just a few moments ago.
"I'm a doctor," Jason breathed out in a shaky tone.
"I know. Thank god. The ambulance will be here right away," Katie heaved a shaky intake of breath that was a mixture of relief and lingering distraught.
"Ask her where the nearest hospital is," Nico insisted, his expression scrunched up with an unfathomable expression, his frame unconsciously leaning towards the female as he anticipated of her response. Jason could simply word out his question, slowly coming out of his dazed state as he soon regained his usual cool composure.
Nico was beyond certain that the woman's response might be the solution to his predicament, and he waited impatiently for her response with bated breath.
"Just a few blocks from here. Apollo's Medical Center," the woman supplied with a smile.
The woman might have mentioned more of the medical center, but Nico was inattentive by then as he wordlessly arose from his kneeling position, deep in thought as he strode out of the restaurant and out into the open. Bidding his goodbye, Jason followed after in his slightly unsteady feet, maneuvering past the gratuitous crowd and headed to where Nico was leaning against a streetlamp.
There was a wide and natural grin stretching those full thin lips, and those usually cold dark brown eyes brimmed with an uncharacteristic, yet welcomed jubilance that Jason found himself unintentionally admiring.
"Apollo's Medical Center! Jason, I know I worked in that hospital. It sounded so familiar, I just know it!" Nico voiced out.
His hands were moving in wild and exaggerated gestures that Jason had come to begrudgingly adore since their first meeting, and he was leaning towards the blond male in what Nico would usually deem as too close of a proximity.
Yet, as much as Jason wished he could express that same happiness as the Italian male did, the fresh experience of saving the life of a dying individual plagued his mind still, and it was obvious in how his hands still shook with the lingering adrenaline from what occurred.
"I've never saved a life before…" Jason shakily exhaled, placing a hand against the streetlamp as he swayed just a tad bit.
"It's the most amazing feeling in the entire world! When you are looking at these monitors, and everyone thinks it's almost game over, but you bring them back and –"
"Woah."
And Nico would have babbled on if Jason had not completely slumped against the streetlamp, and slowly edged to sit on the hot, concrete pavement. Nico was alert in an instant, hovering over the blond male, and scrutinizing his entirety – from his unusually pale complexion, down to the incessant trembles that wracked his frame.
"Jason, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Just… wow. It was nerve-wracking," Jason answered with due honestly, releasing a shaky sigh once more as he leaned his head back against the streetlamp, cautious not to voice his thoughts out loud with the knowledge that he was alone in the eyes of others.
"For what it's worth, you did well out there despite getting the name of the condition wrong for several times," the Italian praised with a small yet natural smile as he extended a hand down towards Jason, hesitantly retracting a mere few seconds later as he processed the fact that he was not tangible to the older male.
Jason was gratuitous of the attempt to aid him up, yet his voice failed him on voicing it out as he was still drawn on that alluring smile that stretched those full yet thin lips. With Nico hovering above him, the gleaming sunlight casting down upon his disheveled silky locks, Jason could not help but think of how Nico seemed surreal at that moment.
"You look better when you smile." Jason had not realized that he had said it out loud, blurting those words unintentionally. Yet, when he did regain his senses, Jason could swear that he was valiantly and fruitlessly fighting the faint dusting of red across his cheeks out of his own embarrassment.
Nico had flushed visibly at that comment, his lips parting a couple of times for a few seconds before firmly pressing shut. Regardless of the bright blush that unintentionally crept its way onto his cheeks, Nico wordlessly turned around, bringing a hand up to cover his lips – or at least that was what Jason assumed considering the fact that he could not properly see the young man's features.
"Come on, Watson, we still have a job to do. We have a strong lead now. Let's finally find out who I am," Nico offered before walking ahead in slow and hesitant steps.
For a brief moment, Jason found himself actually smiling for whatever reason that he could not place a name upon. Shaking his head to fight off the flush on his cheeks as well as to regain his composure, Jason immediately rushed ahead to where the Italian male was looking at him inquisitively, ignoring the faint fluttering of butterfly wings against his stomach and the possible implications of the sudden quick palpitations of his heart.
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Continua