PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || The Best Pizza in Las Vegas || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO
Title: The Best Pizza in Las Vegas – Finding Love and Food in Vegas
Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus
Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: m/m, mortal AU, fluff, getting together
Main Pairing: Nico/Percy
Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Grover Underwood, Annabeth Chase, Bianca di Angelo
Summary: Percy went to Vegas to celebrate his twenty-first birthday. Hungover and happy, he goes and has pizza in the morning, at a place called Maria's, where he meets a cute chef. The next day, he wakes up even more hungover... and more married. To the cute chef.
The Best Pizza in Las Vegas
Finding Love and Food in Vegas
"I can't believe we're actually here!" Percy squealed to himself in excitement.
Las Vegas. The city of glamour, gambling and the most amazing shows. So many dazzling lights. Seeing it on TV, Percy had always wanted to come here one day. Him and his two best friends, Grover and Annabeth, had saved up for this trip. It was Percy's twenty-first birthday and as the youngest of their group, they were now all of legal drinking age. They wanted to do it right, enjoy it to the fullest, so they'd booked a suite in the coolest new hotel and casino, the Lotus.
"Okay, okay, okay, what are we going to do first?" asked Grover.
"Check into our suite," replied Annabeth.
"Well, duh," Grover rolled his eyes. "I mean, in Vegas. What's first."
"We got tickets for a magic show tonight, thanks to Sally and Paul," Annabeth rummaged through her backpack. "Ah. There it is. I got a city plan, I made a bit of a schedule."
Grover and Percy rolled their eyes fondly. "Of course you did."
For a moment, Annabeth glared at them, before unfolding her plans. She had booked a city tour, had some architecture that she really wanted to check out while here, while also taking Grover and Percy's interests into consideration. Knowing Annabeth, it was the perfect plan for the week to cover all their interests and give them the most out of their stay here.
/break\
It was the first morning in Las Vegas and Percy had some regrets. His head felt like it was about to explode any second now and his stomach felt like he hadn't eaten in days. Much the opposite of Grover, whose hangover included getting familiar with the toilet in their suite. By the time Percy woke up, Annabeth had already gone, leaving behind just a note that she would be visiting some historical site that she knew Grover and Percy weren't dying to see anyway.
So Percy ventured down from their suite that morning all alone. What he really, really needed was some food. He'd considered room-service but Grover's dry-heaving in the bathroom was not exactly the right ambient to enjoy a meal. And the Lotus Hotel & Casino had like four restaurants, so why not hope that one of them was open and offering whatever it was Percy was craving.
Until he stood right in front of one of them though, he had not known what he wanted. But there it was, the mouth-watering scent of pizza. Perfect, yes. Following his nose, Percy entered the restaurant with the large, elegant sign saying Maria's. It was shortly after noon, so the restaurant was bustling with life. A nice lady brought him to a table and handed him a menu.
"I'll take... the prosciutto pizza and a salad with shrimps and the tagliatelle with salmon, please."
Percy offered his most charming smile to the server, because he didn't want to look too greedy but also he felt like he was starving. While waiting for his food, he let his eyes wander. The place was lovely, in a dim, warm light, with high ceilings and paintings on the ceiling like they were in some fancy old building in Rome. Annabeth was going to love this.
The pizza and the pasta were so good, Percy had to try real hard to not moan out loud. That was exactly what he needed right now. Half-way through his meal, someone pulled up the empty chair opposite Percy. An absolutely gorgeous man with olive-skin, dark curls and even darker eyes sat down, offering Percy the most charming smile. Distracted Percy so much he swallowed a shrimp wrong, leading to an embarrassingly long coughing fit.
"I'm sorry?" the handsome stranger offered after a moment. "I don't intend to kill our customers."
"Not dead yet," Percy gasped for breath and reached for his glass.
"Good. Very good," the stranger smiled. "It would be a shame."
Percy's cheeks flushed. Very direct. Flirty. Percy had always easily flustered when being flirted with, it was a huge source of entertainment for Annabeth and Grover. The stranger was gorgeous. Such sharp cheekbones, Percy thought he might cut his hand on them if he tried to cup them.
"I would ask if you're enjoying your food, but it's... very evident that you do."
Oh. So Percy hadn't entirely been able to hold back the moans? His blush darkened even more and Percy slipped down lower on his chair. It prompted the stranger to chuckle amused.
"I mean it's delicious," Percy ducked his head. "This is like the best pizza I ever had."
"Thanks," the stranger smirked, looking very pleased. "I made that."
"You..." Percy looked between his pizza and the man. "Wait, really?"
"I'm Nico, one of the chefs at this restaurant."
He offered a hand for Percy to shake. A cook. Someone who made pizza this good? Damn.
"It's really good," was all Percy could say. "I mean, so good."
"Thanks," Nico smirked pleased. "And you are...?"
"Oh. Right. Percy. I'm Percy. Just a guest at the hotel. Tourist."
"Percy," Nico repeated the name – and Percy liked the way it sounded. "I love when people enjoy my food and you seem to enjoy it quite a bit."
The smirk was flirtatious. Percy hadn't been flirted with in a long while. How nice. And such a handsome guy at that! Percy offered a broad grin in return, pleased with that.
"I..." Percy took a deep breath. "Okay look I usually don't do that, so quickly, but since I'll only be here for a week, I could try my look so here goes: Would you like to go out with me?"
That was so not Percy and Percy was tempted to blame the left-over alcohol in his system on it. Maybe his promise to himself that this year of his life would be different, he would be more daring! Maybe it was the handsome stranger who baked the best pizza ever, sitting there and flirting with him. Maybe it was because Annabeth, aka his impulse-control, wasn't here.
"Yes," Nico blinked repeatedly, seeming surprised by the boldness too. "I'd love to."
"Okay," Percy offered a blinding smile. "I will see you tonight then. When do you get off?"
"Why, I think you're getting ahead of us there, I don't put out after the first date," Nico smirked, teasing, making Percy blush. "But my shift today ends at five."
Once Percy had control over his red cheeks again, he cleared his throat. "Great. I will be here at five and pick you up. I'll leave the planning to you though, I don't know my way around Vegas."
"That... is perfectly fine with me," Nico smiled, softer this time. "I'll see you tonight."
/break\
"I can't believe you finally have a date!" Bianca tugged on Nico's shirt, opening the top button. "There, better. You want to leave a good impression, right? A second date would be nice."
"You are more fussy than our mother," Nico heaved a sigh and swatted at her hands. "Stop it."
Which was true. Nico's older sister was far too nosy. Though she was right. Ever since his high school love had ended, he'd thrown himself into his work. His dream, to become a chef and to work at his mother's restaurant in his father's casino. He'd achieved that by now, but love had left him lonely so far. He flirted, occasionally had hook-ups, but never a relationship. This too wasn't going to be a relationship. After all, pretty Percy was only a tourist.
"Enough now," Nico dodged his sister. "I'm gonna be late."
"Aw, you're so cute when you're fussing," Bianca cooed teasingly.
She nudged him one last time before he escaped her. Big sisters were such a hassle. Nico heaved a sigh and checked himself one last time in the mirror before heading out of the backroom of the restaurant. Just outside the restaurant stood Percy, waiting already.
"Hey there, handsome," Percy grinned and waved at him.
Nico smiled, feeling warm. "Hello back to you, gorgeous."
"So, the two suspicious people back there are my friends, Grover and Annabeth, who are very much camp 'this has to be a serial killer'. Meaning I had to show them your face before we go anywhere."
Nico turned to look at the blonde woman and the brunette man, waving at them. "Hello. I'm Nico. A chef, not a serial killer. Which, I gather, real serial killers would deny too."
"You will bring Percy back by ten PM, otherwise I am calling the police."
"Annabeth!" Percy groaned and covered his face.
"Just, you know, make sure you're being... save," Grover flushed and motioned vaguely.
Again, Percy groaned. "Okay, enough humiliation for one day. Let's go, Nico."
Nico had to smile at that, but he gladly accepted Percy's arm to walk away with him.
/break\
"You know, my biggest fear was that he'd turn out to be a serial killer," Annabeth nudged Percy not so gently. "Oi. Wake up. Wake up and tell me your husband's last name."
Percy groaned and rolled over, grabbing the pillow to hide under. Why was she screaming? His head felt like there was an orchestra going on inside. Annabeth nudged him again, more pointedly.
"Wait..." Percy poked out confused. "...Husband?"
Finally, he sat up, staring at his best friend like she'd grown another head. Her gaze went to his hand and he noticed a ring on it. Also noticed the handsome pizza baker next to him in the bed.
"What," Percy made a shrill little noise.
"No—o, quiet, headache," Nico groaned and rolled over to face him.
"The two of you," Grover sounded far too amused. "Got wasted, won a lot of chips at the poker table and decided to celebrate that by getting married. According to the wedding pictures, it was officiated by... Batman. That's... a beautiful photo to one day show the grandkids."
Grover waved Percy's phone in front of Percy, who stared at it in utter disbelief. He was wearing a white wedding dress and Nico was wearing a tux and there indeed was Batman. Or, well, a person dressed as Batman. Sitting up, Percy looked at himself. Still wearing the wedding dress.
"Huh," Percy stared at his hand and the expensive looking ring. "Nico. Nico, wake up."
With another groan did Nico sit up. "What... happened last night?"
"Your first date turned into quite the adventure," Grover showed Nico Percy's phone, this time with a picture of Nico and Percy in front of a poker table. "Congratulations, Mister Jackson."
"What?" Nico blinked, a blank expression on his face.
"That, uh, that's my name," offered Percy after a moment. "Percy Jackson."
Now it was Nico's turn to look at his own hand, noticing the ring on it. A curious noise followed.
"Huh," Nico seemed a little lost. "Uhm..."
Percy turned to look at Nico – his husband. "Yeah, same."
Annabeth heaved an exasperated sigh. "Go. Shower and get changed."
Nico and Percy exchanged a look and shrugged. That sounded like a good plan.
/break\
Percy knew they had done things very out of order. First date, getting married, and then getting to know each other. Was it very weird that he only got to know his husband after? And also trying to remember their wedding night. Bits and pieces of it returned to them both, remembering little moments, but never the full night. They'd gone to Maria's to celebrate, eating pizza and announced their marriage. Which was what made things awkward.
"I can't just... backtrack on that," Nico heaved a sigh and rested his head in his hands. "I understand that you would probably prefer to just undo the whole thing, but... my family now knows and they were always so... worried about me. Mamma is a good catholic, she would be devastated by this nonsense. Can't we just... I don't know..."
"Stay married," concluded Percy. "I mean, I don't... mind?"
Nico's head snapped up at that. "Wait, what? Seriously?"
Percy shrugged at that. "I mean, at least for now? We could just... We could say we drifted apart and then get a divorce after a while. I do get that 'we were drunk and got married' sounds messed up and I'm kind of embarrassed to tell my mom that too."
"Okay," Nico nodded, slowly. "So... what... do we tell people?"
"Tha—at..." Percy drawled the word out, trying to buy himself some time to think. "Mh, that we've been dating long-distance for like months, and I came here for the wedding?"
"And how have we met?" Nico frowned. "Where are you from?"
Percy tapped his fingers against his knee. "New York."
"Oh. Oh, that works. I was actually on a vacation with my best friend in New York eight months ago, we could say that we met there and fell in love."
"That's good!" Percy pointed at Nico and nodded wildly. "Okay, see. So we say we've been waiting for this and we just... we wait a couple months before getting divorced or whatever. Okay?"
"Okay, that sounds good," Nico looked relieved. "We should... exchange numbers for this."
/break\
And that was how Percy accidentally started a long-distance relationship with his husband. Exchanging numbers was what had brought this upon Percy. Brought love upon Percy. Sure, he didn't remember their first date, but every single conversation they had, every text message from Nico... They got to know each other. Nico quickly became the first person Percy would text, because he loved the dry-witted and sarcastic comments. They had battles of snark and wit.
"Okay, so I don't want you to freak out about it too much."
"Too much?" Percy raised his eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He could hear Nico groan on the other side of the line. "I'm moving to New York."
It took a couple moments for Percy to catch on with that. "Say that again."
"I'm... moving to New York," Nico sighed. "It's... mamma thinks it is a shame that I am living in a different city than my husband. And apparently she wanted to expand anyway, wanted me to run another location. This just... settled the where."
Well now, what was Percy supposed to do with that? The distance was one of the things they had on their 'reasons our marriage didn't work out' list. Heaving a sigh, Percy collapsed back on his bed. At this point, he was aware that his husband was kind of rich; his father owned the Lotus, among other things. So just buying another restaurant wasn't even a major expense for Hades di Angelo.
/break\
Nico had always, in the back of his mind, imagined leading his own restaurant. Never had he imagined the circumstances, or to live in New York. But here he was. He loved his restaurant, his staff had grown on him like family, and he was in love with his husband. Which was problematic because they were going to get divorced. Because their marriage was fake.
The texts and phone-calls had already caused a major crush to fester in his heart. Moving to New York though? Opening a restaurant just around the corner of Percy's place. They met, so, so often. Because they were getting along, they were friends. But then... there was a physical distance between them. That was now gone. And every Friday, Percy came to eat dinner at Nico's.
The more time Nico spent with Percy, the more he fell in love – and the more he dreaded their divorce. But how could he possibly tell Percy that? It sounded irrational.
"I bring you cake and coffee."
A small smile spread over Nico's lips as he looked up. There he was, his beautiful husband, carrying Nico's favorite cake and a coffee the way Nico liked. Because Percy had already memorized how Nico liked his coffee. All day, Nico would feel wound up and stressed from work. And then he'd get to see Percy and it was like something inside him just... relaxed.
"Thank you, best husband in the world."
At first they had done that in jest. Calling each other hubby and husband and dear. Nowadays, Nico found himself saying it with pride and affection. Swallowing hard, Nico accepted the coffee.
"How were classes?" asked Nico.
"Good. I mean, urgh, still hate that one history prof, but for the most part... good."
Percy was studying to become a teacher. Nico found that admirable. And ever since he'd met Percy's younger brother Tyson and seen Percy interact with kids, he could really picture it. Teacher Percy, with the little ones flocking around him like baby ducklings. So cute.
"So..." Percy cleared his throat. "Luke's best friend is a lawyer. And... You know... the... the time for our... divorce is coming up... The one we agreed on back then."
"Right," Nico nodded slowly. "Right..."
Both turned away from each other at that and an awkward silence spread over the room. They sipped their drinks in silence, both thinking about their pending divorce and how much they didn't want it. Nico had to think back to their first meeting. He'd been the one to walk up to Percy, to take the first step. And Percy had then asked him out. Bold, but blushing. Was it his turn now?"
"I want to take you out. On a real date. Before we get divorced, I want to... I want to take you on a real, proper date. With no alcohol, so we'll actually remember it. I don't want... I like the friendship we've built in the past year, but I actually think we could be more. If we tried."
Wide, sea-green eyes stared at him in surprise. But there was also that blush, that very charming blush. It gave Nico hope that maybe, he wasn't the only one who'd developed feelings.
"I..." Percy smiled, soft and beautiful. "I would love that, I think."
Relief filled Nico's chest. Reaching out, Nico cupped Percy's cheek and leaned in. They'd never kissed, not that they'd remembered at least. Percy smiled and closed his eyes, accepting the kiss. All this time of pretense toward his family, he'd been talking about Percy as his partner, like he was the love of Nico's life. Yet here he was, genuinely thinking that Percy might be the love of his life, because he made Nico's days brighter.
~*~ The End ~*~
Author's note: I felt like writing something sweet, dorky and Nicercy. It feels like it's been a while since I last wrote them. And fake marriage is always fun ;D