haha wow i'm so sorry. i've been working on this and original projects and fanfic wips and i was in china for a month and even though it's summer i work all the time T^T i hope you're all still here and will continue showing me such kind patience. 3 remember that every time you comment it helps me write!
The rest of the drive home was safe. Connor let Travis know that they'd made it back. He decided not to tell him they'd been stuck. He could picture Travis's response.
ooOOooh did u make out ;)? Or something along those lines.
His mom was relieved to know he hadn't driven them into a ditch. In exchange for the grey hairs he'd just given her, Connor was drafted to cook and do dishes. Nico volunteered to help with the first part. Connor supposed he couldn't have everything.
Since he'd put the polish on, Connor had grown more conscious of his hands. He'd started thinking about doing things—easy stuff, like picking up silverware or opening drawers. He had never considered them in much depth before. Nico's compliment replayed itself in his head a couple times while they were helping Beatrice with dinner.
"What prompted this?" Beatrice had asked when they'd returned home, studying Connor's fingernails.
"We were stuck and bored."
"It's a nice look for you," she'd said with a laugh. "A little messy though."
Connor had caught Nico's eye and smiled. Nico had smiled back. It had felt really good.
Later, when he had to stash the other shopping bag, he felt less good. It was just another reminder that this wouldn't last forever, that it wasn't real to begin with. It was a shame, considering his mom was really warming up to Nico. She'd got him to talk while they were cooking and he'd been halfway charming. Now he had this stupid stuff he wouldn't use—his well-meaning older brother's stock in the relationship, as it were.
There was that plus the fact that Annabeth had texted him an hour ago to say she and Percy were in town and they wanted to meet up. As soon as he read it, Connor realized he'd forgotten to tell her Nico was his fake date. Shit. Annabeth was one of those morally upright people who didn't approve of large scale deception. (Not even when it was totally necessary.) She was going to flip.
He considered texting her back about it, but he was worried Percy might see her phone. The less people that knew about the scheme, the better. This was why he should've picked a stranger.
"Annabeth and Percy are going to be in town tomorrow," he said while they were getting ready for bed.
Nico's head snapped up. (He'd been resetting the barrier pillow.) He looked like a deer in the headlights. No, not a deer. More like a possum—those were nocturnal.
"Tomorrow?" he echoed.
"The wedding's pretty soon, so they're in town tonight."
"She knows that we're lying, right?"
"Yeah. She's not going to take it well."
"Then… we just have to be extra convincing." He set his jaw and nodded. "I'll be convincing."
"And I'll beg Annabeth not to squeal to Percy," Connor said.
Nico looked like he wanted to say something more, but just climbed into bed and pulled the covers over himself. Connor got in on the other side. He was, once again, regretting the lack of practice they'd had in acting like a real couple. Getting Nico mad at him like today wouldn't fly with Annabeth, who knew the truth.
Connor rolled over once or twice. He couldn't get comfortable. This room and this bed used to be his, but his mom had erased him from the walls and replaced the mattress. His familiar posters were long gone. She'd even repainted the walls. Connor hadn't been upset, since he'd basically given her permission to push him from the nest, but now he was feeling the loss.
After what must have been fifteen minutes, he announced, "I can't sleep."
"Me neither," Nico said, startling him. If Nico couldn't sleep, then something must have been seriously off. There was a creak as Nico shifted. He lay so that he faced Connor, peeking over the barrier pillow. "Maybe we should practice more. Travis was suspicious today."
"That was because I fucked up."
"I'm the one who fucked up. I got mad at you for nothing." Nico's fingers curled into the sheets. The nail polish suited him, too. The color looked good against his skin, even if it was sloppily applied. "I'm a shitty fake boyfriend."
"That's okay. If you were my real boyfriend, it'd be an issue. But you're not, so it's not." Connor smiled warily. "Couples fight. Travis thought we had a tiff is all."
"Couples shouldn't fight over dumb things like we did today. I really need to get a handle on my temper," Nico sighed. "I feel like I've been trying and it's not enough, you know? I think your mom and Travis and Katie all want to believe that you've got a boyfriend, so they do. It'll be different for everyone else."
By which he meant Percy and the rest of the wedding guests. Connor shrugged. "We've been doing okay so far. Look, no one's going to believe we're one of those couples. No pet names, remember?"
"Yeah." Nico closed his eyes. "Tomorrow, I'm going to be better."
Connor got up before Nico again. Nico was an incredibly still sleeper. He hadn't moved since he'd drifted off last night. He still seemed out of it when Connor got out of bed.
Annabeth had texted Connor earlier that morning.
Want to meet up around noon? We could get lunch.
sounds good, Connor wrote back. i know a good diner-style restaurant.
After a few minutes, she replied with, Sounds good. Text me the address and we'll meet you there.
Nico was still asleep when he got out of the shower later. Connor thought about waking him up, then decided against it. He went to the kitchen. Beatrice was at the breakfast table, drinking coffee while she scrolled through the news on her laptop. Connor didn't know what it was, but she seemed older than usual. There had been strands of grey in her hair since he and Travis had been in high school. He wondered what had changed.
"Hey, Mom," he said.
She looked up. Her eyes were tired behind her glasses. (Her sight was getting worse; she used to have twenty-twenty vision.) "Morning, sweetie. Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah. Nico and I are going to get lunch with Annabeth and Percy. Are you busy today?"
"Hmm, probably." Beatrice some loose hair behind her ear. "I have an article due tomorrow morning. I'm trying to get most of my work out of the way before the wedding."
"Okay. We'll stay out of your hair." Connor kissed her on the cheek.
"Tell your friends I said hi. I don't want them to think I don't care about them."
"They'd never think that. You're a cool mom."
Beatrice raised her eyebrows at him and shook her head, returning her attention to her laptop. Connor ate a bowl of cereal by the counter. Nico still hadn't made an appearance. He wondered how long he was going to sleep in for. It wasn't as if they had stayed up super late last night. Maybe all the hours of sleep Nico had missed during exam week had finally caught up with him.
However, when Connor returned to the room, Nico was awake and sitting up. (Well, he was hunched over his knees, but he wasn't lying down anymore.) His hair was matted on one side.
"When are we meeting them?" he asked.
"About noon."
Nico put his fingers in his hair and shook it out violently. "We need to be good. We need to be really, really good."
"It'll be fine," Connor reassured him. "Percy tends to take things as they come."
"I know that. God." Nico swung his legs out of bed. "I'm going to do more of the talking today, if that's alright."
Connor blinked. "Oh. Okay."
The prospect worried him. Nico had shown some real improvisation brilliance when they'd done their spiel for Travis, but he didn't seem entirely comfortable making up stories just yet. Then again, Nico was closer with Percy than Connor was, and fooling him was a different game.
"How did you, uh," Connor said, "how did you sleep?"
"Pretty well actually." Nico stifled a yawn. "I sort of woke up when I realized you got up."
"Sorry for disturbing you."
Nico shook his head. "Nah, it's not that you getting out of bed woke me. It was more like… I kind of got the feeling you weren't there anymore."
As pumped as Connor was to see Percy and Annabeth again, he was aware that he was now competing with them for couple's authenticity. With Travis and Katie, it didn't matter—one half of that equation was his brother. They were too familiar to compare to. Percy and Annabeth were the couple. They had the kind of relationship that other people envied.
Percy and Annabeth had started dating ages ago, and before that they were close friends. They usually made a three-person unit with Grover Underwood, who was currently taking a year off to go hiking around America's state parks. With Grover around, there was a buffer between bystanders and the aggressive "couple energy" that exuded from them. Without him, it was only too easy to get blasted.
Nico once again made an effort to get cleaned up. He kept the aviator's jacket, but his t-shirt had a few spots of color to it. (It was a Panic! At the Disco shirt.) Connor made a similar effort. He wasn't about to lie to Annabeth Chase's face in a dirty sweatshirt.
"Maybe we should…" Nico said as he ran his fingers through his hair. Was he trying to style it? Connor felt a little bad for him. Despite having a lot of it, Nico's hair was tragically thin. It didn't seem interested in doing what Nico wanted.
"Should what?" Connor prompted. They had thirty minutes before they had to head out.
Nico cleared his throat. "Practice more."
And fuck Travis, because Connor's mind instantly flew to the bag under his bathroom sink. He knew what Nico meant, but his stupid brain was going off on weird tangents. He hadn't even suggested they try kissing again. It had been awkward enough cuddling up to each other when Connor knew Nico didn't enjoy it.
"What should we practice?" Connor said. Innocently.
"Just, you know, gross stuff. Being touchy."
That could stand some improvement. So far, Nico had done a good job standing there with Connor's arm around him, but that was it. However, Connor didn't know how far they could push it when Nico had squirmed about holding his hand.
"If you're sure you're cool with it," Connor said, "I could touch you more. Oh, you know what would be good? This place we're going has great milkshakes. We could put two straws into one…"
"Let's go with the 'more touching' idea," Nico said. He closed his eyes, inhaled through his nose, and exhaled through his mouth. "Do you know what you're going to say to Annabeth?"
"No. She probably won't sell us out in front of Percy. I hope."
Nico shuddered. "As long as we can keep her from doing that, we should be good."
He was tense on the drive over. Connor wasn't exactly relaxed either. Annabeth and Percy wouldn't be expecting a guy, let alone Nico. They had known him when he dated Miranda. Annabeth had seen him through numerous summer camp crushes that had been exclusively girls. Connor knew this wasn't a big issue—Percy was not an intolerant person—but he doubted the story's credibility.
Then again, hadn't Travis said something about always suspecting Connor was attracted to men? Okay, maybe Connor had been a little too appreciative of certain guys they knew growing up. And actors. He'd though it was alright to admit another guy was hot without slapping a "no homo" disclaimer on the statement. Apparently the rules were ever shifting.
God, this was getting confusing. Connor shook it off. He couldn't get into this weird headspace again.
"Mierda," Nico said as they pulled into the parking lot. "There's his car. They're already here."
Percy's car was indeed parked nearby. Connor recognized the solitary turtle sticker. He wondered, briefly, if they should just fess up and beg Percy and Annabeth not to give them away. Yet Nico seemed to be setting his jaw in determination.
More touching, Connor thought. He could do that. Would it be too much to hold Nico's hand on top of the table? Was Nico more or less likely to reflexively punch him in the face if Connor rested his hand on his knee?
"This is kind of kitschy," Nico commented as they went inside. A slight tone of disapproval tinged his voice.
Connor couldn't argue. The kitsch was what he liked about the place. A fifties style diner with a real jukebox and vinyl booths was a classic piece of Americana. The décor had been altered a bit for Christmas, with snowmen drawn on the specials board and a miniature fir tree on the counter.
And because the diner was fairly small, Connor could already see where Percy and Annabeth were sitting. They were facing the entrance, which meant Annabeth noticed Connor at about the same time. She waved. Oh God, here we go.
For a second, Nico was frozen to the spot. Connor had to gently shake his arm to get him to move again. They drifted down towards the booth. Connor registered confusion on Annabeth's face. She leaned over to whisper something in Percy's ear. They'd seen Nico.
"Hey," Connor said once they were close enough. Neither he nor Nico sat. Annabeth was staring at him with laser focus. She was putting the pieces together; he just knew it.
"Hi, guys," Percy said. His eyes darted between them a couple times. "You didn't say Nico was coming."
Connor swallowed. "Uh, I forgot. He's…" He couldn't say it. Annabeth's eyes were boring into his skull.
Nico turned bright red and grabbed Connor's hand. "I'm Connor's date to the wedding," he said.
Realization dawned. Connor said nothing. Nico had been quicker on the draw than he had. He felt Nico's fingers frantically mesh with his.
"You two are a thing?" Percy asked. "When did that happen?"
"About a month ago," Nico answered.
Meanwhile, Annabeth's stare shifted from "probing" to "anger." Connor tried to ignore it. His grip on Nico's hand grew tighter.
"We were trying to keep it on the down-low," Connor said before Annabeth could speak. "We're not out yet."
Nico nodded. "I meant to tell you guys. Things happened kind of fast."
"How did you start dating? I mean, I knew you knew each other."
At that moment, Connor realized he'd forgotten the story they fed Travis. Luckily, Nico remembered. "There was a fire drill," he said. "We live down the hall from each other."
"We bonded over missing sleep," Connor added. He recalled Nico telling him to let him lead for a while. That suited him just fine. Annabeth was messing with his ability to lie smoothly. Connor let go of Nico's hand and gestured for him to slide into the booth. It was getting awkward standing over them.
"Cool," Percy said. He glanced at Annabeth, who was digging in her purse. "Are you staying at Connor's?"
Nico nodded. "His mom is nice. And we got dinner with Katie and Travis."
Annabeth pulled out a pen and scribbled something on a napkin. She passed it to Connor. It said, unsurprisingly, "What do you think you're doing?" (She had the courtesy to pass him the pen as well.)
Connor wrote a hasty reply. It said, "Can we talk later?"
Annabeth read the napkin. She met his eyes. Connor was dead certain she was about to call him out. But all she did was nod and crumple the napkin in her fist.
Meanwhile, Percy was talking to Nico, unaware of the note passing. "I'm happy for you. Connor's a good guy."
"He is," Nico said with sincerity.
Annabeth shrugged. "He's decent." She grabbed the menu. "So, what are you in the mood for?"
It was only later, when lunch was winding down, that Connor realized he would've rather hashed it out beforehand than saved their discussion for later. Annabeth kept staring at him with such disapproval that he hadn't touched Nico since they'd unlinked their hands.
Christ, it was like being at a middle school dance: no kissing, no hands below the waist, leave room for the Holy Ghost.
Percy had been talking for a while and Connor just couldn't pay attention. Why was Annabeth the only one who could make him feel shame? Connor had known her forever and he loved her, but that meant she wielded an inordinate amount of power over him. She knew some of his darkest secrets. Connor had legitimately cried on her shoulder once. Even though she'd long since given up trying to convince him onto the "Lawful" path, it still felt like hell disappointing her.
"You're being really quiet for once, Connor," Annabeth said.
Connor shrugged. "I'm trying to listen more. How am I doing?"
She frowned. "I get the feeling you're spacing out."
"No, I was hanging on every word." Connor waved a hand. "All this stuff about… um, it's really interesting."
"You were super spaced out," Percy said. He turned to Nico. "Right?"
Nico jumped. "R-right. You were staring into space, Connor." He fiddled with his drink straw, pointedly not looking at anyone else at the table.
"Sorry. I'm not feeling too hot," Connor said. In fact, he was starting to sweat under the intensity of Annabeth's gaze.
"I'm still curious about this whole 'you and Nico' thing," Annabeth said. "It's kind of out of the blue, isn't it?"
Nico looked up and met Connor's nervous glance. Connor wondered if he should defer to Nico in this case. He'd been taking charge today, and it was more likely that Annabeth would let him live if she understood Nico was fully in on the scheme.
"Well…" Connor began.
"I decided to give him a chance and it worked out." Nico shrugged. "It's not that hard to understand."
"How about you, Connor? When did you start crushing on Nico?"
"I wouldn't call it crushing," he said. "I sort of… thought he seemed lonely. Obviously I tried to break the ice, but he wasn't interested. The fire drill changed a lot of things."
"Fellow feeling," Nico murmured. "We were both so pissed about the drill we realized we had something in common."
I don't know why he doesn't think he's good at this; he's amazing. Connor didn't bother holding back a smile as he looked at Nico. "And then I realized he was cute and he realized I wasn't as annoying as he thought."
"He was even more annoying," Nico said.
Connor reached for Nico's hand, prepared to play up the ribbing Nico was sending his way, but Annabeth's heavy stare made him stop. Even the act of holding hands set her on edge. Connor withdrew. Nico glanced at him.
"I like the nail polish," Percy said. "Looks good. On both of you."
Nico ducked his head. He might've been blushing. Suddenly, he pushed his glass aside and started to stand. Connor hastily moved out of his way. When he sat back down, Annabeth had turned her quizzical look on Percy.
"Did I say the wrong thing?" Percy said, sounding genuinely confused. "I wasn't making fun of him or anything. Guys can wear nail polish."
"It's probably Nico being Nico," Annabeth said. "You know how he is. Don't you, Connor?"
Connor envied Nico's easy retreat. He needed a break from this. As he got up, he mumbled something about going to check on Nico. He said he'd be better today. Is this really not working? Connor thought he'd seen Nico leave in the direction of the restrooms. He hoped Nico hadn't just needed to use the bathroom, otherwise he'd look like a moron for being so concerned.
The diner bathroom had only a couple stalls. Nico wasn't using either one of them, because he was leaning on the sink, staring at himself in the mirror. He turned when he heard Connor come in.
"I'm not upset," he said, a little too quickly.
"Are you feeling okay? Do you think… should we just tell them…?"
"No!" Nico put a hand over his mouth. He apparently hadn't meant to say it so loudly. "We don't have to do that. I think Percy believes us."
"Annabeth hasn't said anything yet, but I don't know how to buy her silence."
"What were you passing notes about earlier?"
"I said I'd talk to her later and she seemed okay with it. Maybe I can get her to hold off until after the wedding's over. And not tell Travis."
"She can't tell Percy either. Ever."
"Why?"
Nico rocked from foot to foot. "It's embarrassing, okay? Pretending to be someone's date. I don't want him to know I got involved in something so pathetic."
Nico seemed to put a lot of stock in what Percy thought of him. Connor could understand that. Percy was the boy everyone wanted to be: reasonably clever, handsome, athletic, just enough of a bad boy to be interesting. Someone like Nico, who lived on the fringes of the "in crowd" probably looked up to him.
"Even if he believes us," Nico went on, "we're not selling it."
"You don't think?"
"I said we had to be good," Nico whispered, "but you're acting like I'm diseased. I thought we agreed that some touching is fine, for the illusion."
"I know. I'm sorry. It's Annabeth. She's been giving me the death glare the entire time."
Nico groaned. "Annabeth gives you stage fright?"
"Look, you know how she is. She's been making me feel dirty for even looking at you." Connor thought he heard the bathroom door open but it was just his imagination. He relaxed. "You could always initiate something. Show her that I'm not taking advantage of you."
Nico went a little pink. "H-how? I held your hand. I said you were my boyfriend; what else am I supposed to do?"
"You could kiss me."
"No. Not in front of them."
"It doesn't have to be on the mouth. You were the one who said no one would believe my boyfriend doesn't kiss me. Just find an opportunity and take it."
"I did, but…" Nico bit his lip. "That was when no one could see us. This is really public, Con."
Connor put his hands on Nico's shoulders. "Hey. It's okay. No one knows who you are and no one's going to say anything. If they do, they can shove it up their ass."
Nico let out a choked laugh.
"This is practice for the wedding. If you can do it in front of this many people, you can do it in front of the extended family," Connor went on. "And I'm here, okay? You're not alone. We're in this together, remember? Promise I'll stand up for you." He made the three fingered Boy Scouts salute.
Nico released a shaky breath. After a few beats, he met Connor's eyes and said, "That was really gay."
Connor laughed so hard he snorted.
They returned to their table, disregarding how it looked for them to come back from the bathroom at the same time. (Connor thought it actually added to the performance, but he wasn't sure how Nico felt about it.) Annabeth and Percy didn't show much of a reaction.
"I think we're about ready for the check," Annabeth said. "Unless you want something else?"
Connor turned to Nico. "Do you want a sundae?"
"It's freezing outside."
"Yeah, but there's a warm brownie at the bottom."
"I'm good." Nico reached into his pocket for his wallet.
Connor stopped him. "I got you."
Nico hesitated, then withdrew his hand. "Aw, thanks, caro." And then he leaned over and planted a kiss on Connor's cheek. He was blushing when he pulled back, but he'd done it.
Connor grinned. Annabeth's brow was furrowed. He didn't care as much anymore. They were going to talk soon. She'd understand once he explained. Now that Nico had shown less reserve about the physical aspects of the scam, she'd have less to complain about.
While Annabeth and Percy were messing with their coats, Connor whispered, "I thought you didn't like pet names."
"I said you weren't allowed to call me pet names. You're fair game."
