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Drumming his fingers on the table, Nico glanced at his cell phone screen. He hated the way 6:29pm changed over to 6:30pm. His boyfriend was supposed to meet him at 6pm sharp for their date, but he was clearly well past fashionably late.
People were staring at him. He tried to pay them no mind, but he could feel their gazes boring holes into his back. The waitress had come by three times now, asking him every visit if he was ready to order. On the third, Nico ordered a green tea, just so he had something to do.
Normally he wouldn’t care if his boyfriend was late to things. He was an intern at a hospital, so of course he’d be called in at the most inconvenient of times. Normally Nico wouldn’t mind. Normally Nico would call him to tell him good night or that leftovers were in the fridge in the apartment they shared. Normally, Nico didn’t care much if his boyfriend had to change plans at last minute.
Today though, was an exception.
Nico cared a fuckton that he was being stood up on Valentine’s Day.
He heard a few whispers, and from the corner of his eye, he could see the other restaurant patrons looking at him. Pitying him. He could almost hear their thoughts of: ‘Poor kid, getting stood up’, but also, ‘Probably couldn’t get a date’, and finally, ‘What a fucking loser’.
It stung, but it wasn’t like he could blame them. He’d laugh at how pathetic he looked too.
When his phone blinked to 7pm, Nico decided he had enough waiting. He might as well just take something to go, and eat at home. As he thought that, his phone vibrated on the table, and a tiny chat bubble icon appeared at the top corner of the screen.
Nico swiped open the message, which read:
[The Boyfriend | 7:00pm]
hey sorry. i wont be able to make it tonight after all bc its a busy shift. might come home tomorrow, might not. ill keep u updated nicky. sorry to do this to u on vday. ill make it up to u later i promise. xoxo
Busy. He was always busy. His internship made it convenient for him to forget several of their date nights. Nico supposed he should be used to it, and shouldn’t have expected anything. His boyfriend was nice and caring, and pretty good in the sack, sure, but he was in a committed relationship to his job, not to his partner. Nico understood a little better why his boyfriend had so many exes now, aside from the mild to malign insensitivity that came with the guy’s saturated optimism.
Guess I better order something to go.
Just as Nico was about to stand up, a stranger slid into the booth seat across from him.
“Sorry I’m late babe,” said the guy. “Traffic sucked.”
Nico stared at him with wide eyes. “Wh—”
Before he could even ask questions, the stranger flagged down the waitress who had come by Nico’s table three times that evening. She grinned widely at them.
“Ready to order now fellas?” she asked, poising her pen over her notepad.
“Yeah,” said the guy. “I’ll have a green tea, and—” he gave a quick glance at the extra menu on the table, “—well I’m pretty hungry tonight, so I’ll get the tempura and sashimi, and an eel roll.”
“That comes with miso soup,” she said, scribbling it down. “That okay, handsome?”
When the guy nodded, the waitress turned to Nico, asking, “And for you, cutie?”
He blinked a few times, still trying to process what was happening. Then he sputtered, “Tem—yeah, the tempura, and a rainbow roll. Do you uh, you guys still have the steam buns?”
“Yep! What kind do you want?”
“Chicken curry, I guess.”
“Your meal also comes with miso soup. Is that fine?”
“Yeah.”
“Alrighty. I’ll come back with the green tea, and your orders will be ready real soon!” She smiled sweetly at them and walked away to the back.
When she was out of earshot, Nico turned to his new dinner companion. “So what’s the deal? Why’re you sitting here?”
The stranger gave him a small smile. “You looked a little lonely, so I came to dine with you.”
“What a good samaritan,” Nico said flatly.
“Er, yeah, sorry.” He scratched the back of his head. “You just looked uncomfortable with so much attention on you. Thought I’d keep you company.”
“And how do I know my company isn’t some serial murderer?”
“You don’t,” the stranger said, his lips quirking up a little at one side. “For all you know, I could be a hitman hired by your nemesis.”
Nico gave a single dry laugh. “No offense, but you look more like you run an animal shelter. And why would I have a nemesis?”
The stranger shrugged. “You tell me.” He leaned back in his seat a bit, and crossed his arms, the amused smile still on his face.
‘Handsome’, as the waitress had called him, didn’t look very threatening. His calm yet cheerful expression reminded Nico a lot of a golden retriever. The guy’s hair was short, blonde and neatly styled. He had a bit of a tan and his eyes were a vibrant blue, almost turquoise. He wasn’t dressed to impress. All he wore were jeans, sneakers, a purple T-shirt, and a blue hoodie sweater. Glasses sat a bit crookedly on his face, and Nico had the urge to reach out and straighten them.
Of course, ‘handsome’ didn’t do him justice. Whoever this guy was, he was incredibly hot: insanely tall; broad shoulders like a quarterback; a strong jaw and facial features; and judging by how snug the sweater looked on him, the dude was probably ripped, not that Nico cared to ask. Staring at him closer, he could almost pass for a young Captain America stunt double.
“Something on my face?” the guy asked, looking innocently curious.
Nico blinked and warmth rose to his cheeks. “No, it’s nothing. Just not used to strangers suddenly sharing my table at a restaurant.”
The guy smiled a bit guilty. He rested his forearms on the table. “Sorry. Was saying ‘babe’ too much?”
“I’m not offended or anything if that’s what you’re asking. Though playing pretend date for some lonely loser’s Valentine’s Day is a bit risky, isn’t it?”
“Are you upset I’m sitting here? I can leave.”
“No, not upset. Just confused, and curious.”
His dining partner smiled a little wider. “Well you can ask away. I have all night.”
“Shouldn’t you be out on a date?”
“Why?”
“I mean, a guy with your looks, and you’re not out with some gorgeous model?”
The stranger laughed. He had a deep, merry laugh that sounded like it might belong more at home with someone who carried the world on his shoulders for far too long and was finally free. When he smiled again, his kind eyes crinkled at the corners.
“Thank you,” he replied quietly, looking a bit bashful. “But no, I don’t have any of that in my life right now. Do you?”
“Stood me up because of work. We were supposed to have dinner here, hence why I’m sitting alone,” Nico huffed out, rolling his eyes as he looked at his phone. “I expect it by now though, so I’m not too disappointed he does this to me on what’s supposed to be the most romantic day of the year.”
“‘He’? Oh, so then you do—” Handsome started, and Nico looked up at him. “Er, guess I was right the first time when I called you ‘babe’. Not that I should’ve assumed in the first place. That was wrong of me.”
“Assuming makes an ass out of you and me, so yeah, just a teeny bit,” Nico replied, pinching his pointer finger and thumb together for emphasis.
Handsome tapped his fingers on the table, glancing at the décor of their booth, before saying, “Sorry. I’ll go. I didn’t mean to bother you. Like I said, you just looked a little lonely and disappointed waiting for your date, so I thought I’d keep you company until he came.” The guy rose from his seat and looked toward the back of the restaurant. “I’ll just tell the waitress I’ve changed my order to go—”
“No wait,” Nico quickly intervened. “You don’t have to leave.” What was he doing? Of course he should let this guy leave. It was always the charming and good-looking ones who ended up being the killer in crime dramas.
Carefully, Handsome sat back down. He looked warily in Nico’s direction, like maybe he thought Nico was the serial murderer between the two of them.
“Sorry, I’m just a little pissed. Not at you, or anything.” Nico picked at his napkin. “My boyfriend prioritizes work over his relationships. It gets to me sometimes.”
“You don’t have to open up or anything,” Handsome said seriously. “I’ll really leave if I’m making you uncomfortable. I’ll pay your half of the bill too, if you want.”
Nico felt like he just kicked a puppy with the way Handsome looked at him, apparently truly apologetic. He didn’t want to be known as Nico ‘Puppy Kicker’ di Angelo. Hey, if some random, kind, friendly, and attractive stranger wanted to keep him company on a rainy day, he wasn’t going to reject him.
“No, I swear, it’s fine. I’m fine,” replied Nico. “It’s pouring out there, and we’re already here, so why the hell not?”
Handsome smiled and sighed a little. “I got scared I really messed up or something this time.”
“‘This time’? Are you telling me you’ve done this shit before?”
“Weird, huh?”
“Yeah, pretty fucking strange.”
Handsome looked down at the table. “Guess I can’t help myself sometimes. Seeing people lonely on holidays like these, whether they’re young or old—I dunno.” He shrugged, and though he smiled, it looked a little solemn. “It’s just nice to have someone to talk to, y’know?”
Nico studied him for a minute, and then replied softly, “Yeah, I do.”
The stranger looked up at him, eyebrows raised slightly in curiosity. Nico tapped his phone screen absentmindedly, though before either of them could say anything, the waitress came back with their tempura and miso soup.
“Here you go boys!” she said cheerily. “The sushi and steamed buns will take a few more minutes.” She set down a cup in front of Handsome and replaced the cold pot of green tea on the table with a new one.
“Thank you,” Nico said. The waitress smiled at him and then walked away.
Handsome unwrapped the chopsticks and rubbed them together off to the side. Nico quirked an eyebrow at him. “What’re you doing?”
“Cleaning these things,” the stranger replied. “Something a friend told me.”
“Huh. So that’s why I constantly splinter my tongue here.”
Handsome laughed, and Nico wondered if he could make him do that a third time. “Um, I’m Nico by the way. Nico di Angelo.”
“That’s a nice name: Nico. Italian?”
“Born in Italy, and raised there until I was about eight. Moved here to the states and lived in California ever since.”
The stranger nodded. He set down his chopsticks and held his hand out across the table. “Jason Grace. It’s nice to meet you, Nico di Angelo.”
Nico shook his hand, and smiled a little. “Yeah, nice to meet you too.”
He and Handsome—er, Jason. He and Jason chatted over their tempura, and by the time the sushi and steamed buns came, they had shared a few chuckles talking about the little things, like how Valentine’s Day was overly commercialized and will eventually lose its meaning like Christmas, or how college had just become a cash cow for the school board since they didn’t seem to give a shit about the financial welfare of the students.
Nico told Jason he was an art major, and that he had a dog named Mrs. O’Leary who he raised since she was a puppy. He mentioned he liked staying inside rainy days, drawing people on the train, baking brownies, laughing at any Halloween Horror Nights he attended, and going to the movies by himself.
He told Jason the bare minimum about his family: his aloof father Hayden owned a law firm and was so savvy with money he never lost anything whenever he bought shares of stocks; his step-mother Penelope was ten years younger than Hayden and was so good at her landscaping business, Persephone’s Greenhouse, that celebrities regularly hired her people; his overzealous step-grandmother Delilah owned a five-star restaurant in Los Angeles, Demeter’s Garden, and she regularly called Nico to make sure he was eating because he was ‘pure skin and bones’; his older sister Bianca he rarely got to see because she lived in New York, working for an organization to stop human trafficking of women of all ages; and finally, he spoke about his younger half-sister Hazel who loved horses and was going to college to become a fashion designer.
“Wow, your family sounds loaded,” Jason said with a slight laugh. “At least the older generation. Your sisters sound cool too.”
Nico shook his head with a smile. “I guess you can say that. My dad lives in West Hollywood, so you can imagine what his house looks like.”
“You don’t live there?” asked Jason as he reached for a piece of sashimi.
“Nope. I want to get by on my own, like Bianca and Hazel.” Nico grabbed a piece of his rainbow roll and dipped it in eel sauce. He ate it before asking, “And you? I’ve been talking for most of the night. What’s your story?”
“Eh, mundane, more or less.”
“I have a feeling it’s not.”
Jason smiled, and then told him that he was going to college but he didn’t know what he wanted to be yet. He was 23, two years older than Nico, and had a pet cat named Sparky because she always got things stuck to her with static electricity. Jason liked going to the movies too. He also liked reading a good novel on rainy days, had a bad habit of buying recipe books from all cuisines of the world because he liked to try and cook them, collected comic books, and liked to keep plants in his apartment.
His family situation wasn’t something Nico would ever feel envious of: his father Julius also owned a law firm and invested in stocks. His pride was bigger than Antarctica and he was rarely satisfied with anyone or anything; his step-mom, Julia, owned an international wedding planning business which cost patrons an arm and a leg. She was manipulative and passive-aggressive, and held disdain for people who didn’t fit perfectly into her idea of a traditional American poster family. Jason had an older brother he didn’t like to talk about, and an older sister, Thalia, who he loved. He didn’t get to see her often though. Coincidentally, she was in the same organization Bianca was in, though Jason had no idea if they knew each other. Thalia hated her old man and the old shrew he married, which was why she left, though she took care of Jason for as long as she could.
“Fun family,” Nico said, hoping Jason understood he was being sarcastic.
Jason smiled a little. “Yeah, with the exception of Thalia, they’re a real pain in the ass.” He ate another piece of sushi, and then said, “Thalia’s seven years older than me. She and I are from an affair Julius had when Julia was off on business.”
Hearing that Jason referred to his father by first name, and not by what he was to him biologically, must’ve meant they were on bad terms. Nico wouldn’t pry though. “And she didn’t leave your dad? Julia, I mean.”
“Nah. I was a baby and Thalia was seven when Julia found out about us. Back then her business was just starting. She needed Julius’s money to keep it going, so she wasn’t going to leave him, even if her own pride took a blow because she was cheated on. My actual mom, Beryl, died in a car accident. She was driving drunk.”
“My condolences.”
Jason shrugged, though he didn’t look up at Nico. He simply played with a bit of fallen rice at the edge of his square plate. “Didn’t really know her. I was a baby, so I don’t feel sad or anything. Thalia said she wasn’t too great of a mom. Always came home drunk or with weird men. Nights like those, Thalia would take me from my crib and had me sleep next to her in her own room. She always locked the door, just in case Beryl went into a drunken rage or her weird dates tried anything funny.”
“Shit,” was all Nico could think to say.
Jason looked up and smiled weakly. “Yeah, it was a load of shit. Thalia got disowned when I was in middle school. She took me with her since she could be my legal guardian and because Julius didn’t care more or less. Lived with her until I was sixteen, which was when she went off to that organization. Then after I graduated high school, I got disowned.”
“What the hell kind of parent is your dad?”
“Not the good kind. Thalia got disowned because she was being too ‘rebellious’, and I got disowned because I didn’t want to go to law school, business, or get into politics, though I’m pretty sure a part of it had to do with me coming out as bisexual.”
“Oh, you’re—oh, that’s nice,” Nico said as awkwardly as his dumb self possibly could. He scrunched his eyes closed, and then said, “Sorry, that’s—I meant to say that differently.”
“It’s okay.” Jason smiled a bit more cheerfully. “Julia flipped her shit when she found out I’ve had a boyfriend. Little does she know, Julius cheated on her a few times with men back in their earlier years. Thalia told me. Well, actually I think Julia knows, but maybe she didn’t want that being public. That’s probably why Julius didn’t care I liked both girls and guys.”
Jason scratched his cheek, glancing away. “Er, I won’t talk about my family anymore. Kinda depressing.”
“It’s not,” replied Nico. “Some families are just terrible. I like listening to the things you have to share. Your life isn’t mundane, but I can’t say I envy you.”
“I wouldn’t envy myself either.”
They talked a little more after that, mostly about their school life, as they shared the eel roll. Nico plopped one of the steam buns on Jason’s plate, who smiled thankfully at him before biting heartily into it. He hummed, commenting that it was warm and delicious. Nico hid a smile by looking down at his own plate and finishing whatever was on there.
When they left the restaurant, walking out into the cold rainy night, they stared at each other under the awning for a few seconds.
Nico rubbed his arm, and then took his small folded umbrella out of his jacket pocket. He pursed his lips as he stared at the wet cement, and then looked up at Jason. “Thanks for keeping me company,” he began. “It was nice getting to know you.”
“You’re welcome, and same here,” replied Jason. “Thanks for not calling the cops or something because a stranger was being weird.”
“If you were that kinda guy, I could take you, I think.” Nico looked him up and down. “I mean, you’re almost a whole foot taller than me, and probably weigh twice as much, but I’d figure something out.”
“Is that right?” asked Jason with a smirk, opening his own umbrella. “Maybe you can. It’s not a good habit to judge a book by its cover, and I don’t plan on making that mistake twice.”
“Glad to hear that.” Nico smiled a little at him, and then looked away. He cleared his throat, and turned his attention back to Jason. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Jason Grace.” He held out his hand.
“It was a pleasure meeting you too, Nico di Angelo.” Jason took his hand and gave it a firm shake. “Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He hoped he would.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Nico.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day to you too, Jason.”
With a nod and a final smile, Jason walked in the opposite direction of the street. Nico stared at his retreating back for a few moments, and took a step forward. He opened his mouth to call out to Jason, maybe asking him for his number—for completely friendly purposes—but decided against it.
Shaking his head, Nico walked to his beat-up used Honda and drove off back to his apartment he shared with his boyfriend. Well, this Valentine’s Day wasn’t a complete flop. Though his boyfriend stood him up (again), at least Nico made a new friend, if only temporarily.
He ignored the weight settling in his heart as he drove away from the sushi restaurant, and the handsome stranger he’d probably never see again.
* * * * *
“You seriously have to leave again?” Nico asked, sitting up in bed. He watched as his boyfriend emerged from the bathroom, fresh from the shower. Water dripped from the ends of his damp curls as he dried himself quickly. He threw on his scrubs that were draped over the desk and hurriedly tied his sneakers.
“An emergency came up,” he replied. “I need to go like, now.”
“So you, what, just come home to take a nap, eat dinner, fuck me, and then it’s ‘Bye Nico see ya later’? Rinse and repeat, at least three times a week?”
There was something degrading about that, having his boyfriend come home hungry for food and sex, and then he’s out the door because duty calls at the hospital. Nico watched as he packed a multi-compartment backpack, the faded blue one he usually took when he knew he’d be staying overnight. He stuffed all the essentials in there, and then walked around the bed to give Nico a kiss.
“Sorry, Tiny Terror,” he said. “I’ll make it up to you later, I promise.”
“Not gonna hold my breath.”
“Are you saying you’re more important than people who come into the emergency room because they got into a bad car accident? Or are having a heart attack? Got stabbed repeatedly?”
“Of course I’m not saying that!” Nico exclaimed. “I’m just—well, you’re staying over more and more at the hospital. Sometimes you don’t even come home for a whole damn week because you’re staying over at a friend’s place, and when you do, it’s like this: sleep, study, eat, sex, and then sleep again. Excuse me for wanting time with my boyfriend that lasts more than a ten minute porking.”
“I told you months ago that I was going to have an internship this year, and you assured me you were okay with this arrangement.”
Nico crossed his arms and looked away. He did say that, but along the way he changed his mind. He really did try to be patient and understanding, truly, as hospitals got new patients almost every day, but Nico had never dated a doctor in-training. He didn’t think the internship would be this intensive.
With a sigh, his boyfriend continued, “I’m gonna stay over at Jake’s apartment for the weekend. It’s a lot closer to the hospital.”
“Your sister lives closer to the hospital too. Why don’t you stay with her?”
“Her husband hates me for some reason, and she has kids. I don’t want to wake them up in the middle of the night because I’m rushing to leave.” He narrowed his eyes when Nico remained silent, staring at the bedsheets.
“You think I’m cheating on you with Jake, don’t you?”
“You did kiss him when I went on vacation with Hazel. Had a one-night stand with him too.”
“I was drunk then; the kiss was a complete accident. I told you as soon as I recovered from my hangover. We went over this before. And I slept with him before I even knew you, Nico!”
“Sorry! Sorry,” he said, holding his hands up in defense. “I’m just a little upset.”
“I know, baby.” He kissed Nico’s cheek. “I have Monday off, so we can go on a date then, okay?”
“Yeah, okay.”
He ruffled Nico’s hair, and then walked to the bedroom door. “I’ll text you this whole weekend when I can. See you Monday, Nicky.”
“Later, Will.”
After Will left, Nico walked to the shower to get the stench of sex off his body. He watched a bit of Netflix late into the night, and checked his emails periodically on his phone from people who ordered commissions from him. In between episodes he played a mobile cat game, and when 2am struck the clock, he went to sleep.
Nico got up around noon the next day. He walked out of the apartment, trudging downstairs and outside to the wall of mailboxes. He lazily turned the key in its socket on the box labeled 304. Casually he flipped though the contents: bills, the new issue of the month from some medical magazine Will was subscribed to, coupons for Subway and El Pollo Loco, more bills, another coupon sheet from Target, credit card companies trying to fool Nico into signing his life away—
“Nico? Nico di Angelo?”
He swore his heart froze in his chest hearing the familiar voice. Slowly, he turned around, staring fish eyes and mouth slightly agape at Jason Grace standing behind him, a bag of groceries in his hand. He looked just as surprised as Nico felt.
“You…” Nico tried to start. “Where did you—how did you—what are you doing here?”
“Um, I live here?” Jason asked, looking confused. “What are you doing here?”
“I live here too—well my boyfriend does, and I live with him so. Yeah, I live in this building.”
Jason stared at him for a moment, and then broke into a smile. “What a funny coincidence. I’ve been living here since I started college, and I’ve never seen you.”
“I stay inside a lot,” Nico said, closing the mailbox and locking it. “What floor are you on?”
“Third, apartment 308.”
“You’re kidding. My boyfriend’s place is 304. You might’ve seen him sometime. A little shorter than you, but also a blue-eyed blonde. Hair is kinda curly. Walks out to work in his scrubs.”
“Oh!” Jason snapped his fingers. “Yeah, I know him. I mean, I’ve never really talked to him before, but he seems nice. Sort of a sunny guy.”
A pause settled between them, and in that moment of silence, Nico realized he must look like the laziest son of a bitch in his worn gym shorts and faded black T-shirt with paint splatter stains all over it. His unruly hair was a mess, just tied carelessly in a short ponytail, and he walked out into the unforgiving summer afternoon in his slippers that had a tear over the left toe.
Jason, meanwhile, looked a lot more presentable in his dark blue shorts and a sleeveless purple top. He wasn’t wearing anything else except brown sandals and his usual glasses. He was as plain as any pedestrian would be, probably got his clothes at a discount store since he was a starving college student, and yet he managed to make his commoner ensemble look like it was some new trend from a high-end fashion magazine in Paris.
Of course, that could just be because he was fucking ripped, just like Nico had thought back when they first met. He wished he could have Jason’s arms, his torso, his calves—hell, he wished he had his body frame.
“Ah yeah,” Jason said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I probably look like a mess. I haven’t done laundry yet and this was all I could find to wear.”
Shit, he noticed Nico had been staring. He tried to tell himself his face growing hotter was because he was standing in direct sunlight. Nico swore he’d spontaneously combust like a vampire any moment now.
“Well I don’t look much better,” replied Nico. “Been lazing around like this all morning.” A lie, since he got up ten minutes ago. Jason didn’t need to know that though.
“Hey, it’s early summer. I’m sure people care more about being comfortable in hot weather than trying to dress to impress.”
“Some people make it work, like Drew on the second floor.”
“Oh, Tanaka. Yeah I’ve talked to her a few times. She’s… pretty bold.”
Nico smiled and walked with Jason back inside the apartment building. “Tried to hit on you too, huh?”
“When I first moved here she kept trying to touch my muscles.” Jason rubbed his bicep with his free hand, looking a little concerned. “I let her just once so she’d leave me alone. Big mistake.”
“If it makes you feel any better, she kept staring at my ass one day as we were both walking up the stairs,” Nico said. “Told me it was pretty cute and started calling me ‘Sweet Cheeks’ after that. But when I mentioned I was gay, she stopped talking to me. Haven’t seen her ever since, though she used to date Will so maybe that’s the real reason. She’ll still smile at me and blow a kiss my way if I do see her, like at the mailbox or something.”
“Well I’m glad she left you alone. Drew keeps trying to ask me out. Guess she doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. I had to fake-date one of my best friends, Piper, in order for her to stop.” He grinned awkwardly. “They don’t get along so well, I eventually found out. Apparently they’re rivals in their cosmetology school or something.”
The two of them walked up the stairway at a steady pace to the third floor. Nico asked Jason about his friend Piper just to keep the conversation going. She was actually the daughter of Tristian McLean, the famous movie star. She didn’t want to depend on her dad’s wealth though, so she worked hard at making her own life. She and Jason tried to real-date early in their friendship, but it felt forced, he said, the two of them trying to keep up this image because a lot of people thought they’d be cute together. On a day that was supposed to be one of their real-dates, they simultaneously just blurted out they didn’t want to see each other anymore. Ever since then, Piper remained one of his best friends.
Jason told Nico about his other best friend, a guy named Leo Valdez. He talked a lot, and pretty fast. He was also a jokester and a prankster. Leo cooked pretty well and could make a meal out of anything lying about in the fridge. He also had a fascination with fire, and because of this, Jason always bought him a fire extinguisher and a two dozen pack of water bottles for his birthdays. Leo was remarkably smart though, and could fix just about any piece of furniture, appliance, or technological device. He was currently attending CalTech and living with his girlfriend Callie, so Jason didn’t get to see him a lot because he was so busy. He did miss him, so whenever Leo wasn’t hard at work in a lab, he’d Skype with Jason.
“Sounds like you really love your friends,” Nico said fondly.
“I do.” Jason stared ahead of him, a gentle smile on his face. “I have another close friend, Reyna, but she’s at Harvard studying to become a lawyer. I haven’t heard from her in a few years though.”
Nico stopped in his tracks. Jason kept walking a few paces, and then looked to his side, only to find Nico wasn’t there. When he noticed, he turned around and asked Nico, “Something I said?”
“Your friend Reyna, her last name wouldn’t happen to be Ramírez-Arellano, would it?”
“It is, actually.”
“Holy shit,” Nico said, shaking his head. “We’re friends with the same person.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Reyna, kinda tall, Puerto Rican, can bench press a car, looks like she can murder you but acts more like a mom than she’d like to let on?”
Jason gave a small laugh. “Yeah, that’s her. She was my first relationship, and my first real friend. Thalia really liked us together, but when she went off to that organization and I couldn’t live with her anymore, things ended between Reyna and myself.”
“I’m sorry,” Nico started. “I remember Reyna telling me a little about her first boyfriend.”
“What did she say?”
He didn’t want to confess any intimate details, like how Reyna had been heartbroken for a while after Jason moved, or that she loved the hospitality Thalia offered whenever she and Jason studied at the apartment. He didn’t know the two by name back then though, as Reyna only called them her ex and his punk rock older sister. Nico met Reyna through Annabeth, one of Bianca’s friends, and the two of them had a close relationship ever since. He’d go as far as to say Reyna was his best friend even. Even though she had history with Jason, she confided her feelings in Nico, and it’d be a breach of her trust to tell anyone about it.
“She didn’t go into detail,” Nico replied. “But she did tell me it wasn’t your choice to end it.”
Jason sighed. “It wasn’t. You remember I had to move back in with my so-called dad right, when I was sixteen?”
“I do, yeah.”
“That’s why things ended with Reyna. I got switched to a private high school, the kind where you wear a well-pressed uniform and the parents’ money mattered more than grades. Julius, in his snobbish way, didn’t care I was with Reyna; he said she was gorgeous, and well-educated for a public high school student: played tennis, was on the debate team and student council with me, all the while getting straight A’s in every subject. But Julia wasn’t as open-minded.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. She cared more about proper breeding or some other bullshit. She kept telling me to break things off with Reyna because she knew a lot of parents who were looking for some rich kid for their daughters. She kept at this for the first month I moved back in. I told her I wouldn’t break it off, and when she found out Reyna and I slept together, well that was when I was forcibly transferred to that private place.”
Julia was a literal nightmare, and Nico hoped he’d never have to see her. Sure, Penelope didn’t really like Nico at first when she started dating Hayden—warming up to Bianca and Hazel much quicker—but eventually she came to care about him as if he were her real son. Julia was like a stark contrast of that, apparently needing things done her way otherwise it was unacceptable to even be within her presence. He was happy that Jason got out of that house as soon as he could, not that he’d tell him that.
“Sorry,” said Jason, snapping Nico out of his thoughts. “Our second meeting, and I’m still unloading all this stuff that should be on a need-to-know-basis.” He gave Nico a sheepish smile.
“It’s fine,” Nico replied. “I mean, we’re not exactly strangers anymore, are we?”
“No, guess not.”
Nico nodded. “Then I don’t mind.”
Jason smiled a little wider at him, and fished through his pocket, pulling out his keys. When they got to apartment 308, Jason said, “Seriously, sorry about talking your ear off.”
“Hey, I was the one who kept blabbering on at the sushi restaurant the first time. You have things to say. I’ll listen.”
“Well you’re a pretty good listener,” replied Jason, unlocking the door. “It’s easy to talk to you, Nico.”
“You really think that?”
“Yeah. You just have this—” Jason raised his hand to his own face and gestured vaguely around at it. “—look, like people can tell you anything in passing, like on a bus or in a train, and you’d listen, even if you don’t have much to say in response.”
“It’d be rude not to listen, honestly, unless they were being obnoxious. Then I’d probably just switch seats.”
Nico wasn’t even trying to be funny; if somebody was too much of a chatterbox he’d just up and leave. It’s why some people had called him rude before on public transportation, but if he had earphones on, that should automatically signal to people ‘don’t talk to me’. If they didn’t get the hint, then he’d physically show them he didn’t want to be bothered.
But listening to Jason wasn’t a bother. He was great company, even if today only marked their second chance meeting. It was curious that he seemed to feel genuinely bad when he talked too much about himself, looking guilty even, but how else was Nico supposed to get to know him?
Hearing Jason’s laugh again at the unintentionally funny response, made Nico’s heart beat just a little faster. He ignored it, and smiled at his new friend instead.
“I could learn from you,” said Jason. “My friends have told me I’m not very good at saying ‘no’.”
“You told Julia ‘no’ that one time, right? And you didn’t major in what your dad wanted too. You’re getting there.”
“That’s true.” He looked at Nico for a silent moment and then said, “Well, guess I can really say I’ll see you later, now that I know we live in the same building.”
“Still weird I’ve never seen you walk these hallways.”
“Well I’m not really an outdoorsy type of person. I like to stay home, unless my friends invite me out someplace.”
Nico would say he was the same, but then again, he didn’t have a lot of friends. Reyna was his only friend, honestly, and she was sort of like a third sister. Rachel counted as a friend too since she and Nico attended the same art school and took most of the same classes. She was one of Will’s ex-girlfriends and his friend, so she was more of an acquaintance. As for Annabeth and her fiancé Percy (an unrequited ex-love Nico finally moved on from two years ago), they were Bianca’s friends and didn’t talk to him unless they needed a favor.
He wasn’t going to tell Jason he really only had one friend though. That’d make his life sound even more pathetic than being stood up by his boyfriend on Valentine’s Day.
“Being home is nice,” responded Nico instead. “So, guess I’ll see you around, neighbor.”
“Yeah, guess you will.” Jason gave him one last smile, and then closed the door.
Nico stared at the chipped green paint of the door, memorizing the bronze numbers over the peep hole. Nodding to himself, he walked to apartment 304 he shared with Will.
When he was halfway down the hallway, Nico ran back to 308 and knocked on the door.
Jason answered, looking confused as he opened it. “Yes? Did you need something?” A fluffy, dark gray cat was rubbing against Jason’s legs, purring. She was probably the Sparky that Jason told him about.
“It’s—well last time—” Nico huffed a bit angrily at himself, and hung his head. He took a breath, and then looked at Jason. “Wanna trade numbers? I mean, since we’re technically friends now.”
“Oh, y-yeah of course.” Jason took his cell phone out of his pocket. He opened his mouth to say something, but Nico quickly snatched it out of his hand and hurriedly typed his number in.
As he handed it back to Jason, he said, “I forgot my phone in the apartment, so just text me and let me know it’s you. I’ll save it.”
Jason blinked, looking stunned. Then he smiled and said, “Alright. I won’t forget, I promise.”
“Okay.” Nico picked at a paint stain on his shirt. “So I’ll see you later, neighbor.”
“Yeah, you probably will.”
Without looking back, Nico power walked to his own place and quickly shut the door. He threw the mail on the table and then flopped down on the couch, burying his warm face in the cool throw cushions.
His phone jingled on the coffee table. Nico lazily swiped the screen and pressed the message button. Sure enough, he had a new text from an unknown number. It said:
[Unknown | 12:30pm]
This is Jason. Hello! :)
He wondered if Jason was smiling just as cutely as the emoji he used. Nico replied back:
[You | 12:31pm]
thnx for texting me bc my dumb ass forgot to bring my phone. it’s nico btw in case u didn’t know.
Nico saved his number and then set his phone down on the couch. He laid there for a good three minutes, feeling a little hot. He should probably turn on the AC. Just as he rose to get up, his phone jingled again as the screen lit up.
[Jason | 12:34pm]
Thanks for giving me your number. I was actually going to ask for it back when we ate sushi, but I was already feeling like a creep just sitting with you out of nowhere, so I didn’t. Last thing I need is a restraining order. ^^;
[Jason | 12:34pm]
Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like I was hitting on you or anything. I’m not, I promise! I just like talking to you and was wondering if you wanted to be friends that day. Don’t want your boyfriend storming to my door and knocking me over. Wish you could edit text messages. :(
Oh, well, that was interesting. Jason wanted to ask for his number too, but he held himself back. A grin slowly spread across Nico’s lips as he replied:
[You | 12:36pm]
tbh i was going to ask you for your number too that day but i didn’t want to look weird, especially bc i was the one who accused you of being a serial murder. nice to know i wasn’t the only one feeling like a weirdo.
[You | 12:36pm]
and don’t worry about my bf situation. he’s almost never here these days. job keeps him busy. he comes home on his days off but otherwise he stays at his friend’s apartment if he has an early morning shift or smth. not that I’d cheat on him tho.
He received a fast reply from Jason:
[Jason | 12:38pm]
I don’t think you’re the type to cheat on someone. I’m sorry if that’s how I sounded.
Smiling, Nico typed:
[You | 12:39pm]
don’t worry, u didn’t. it’s not like you know really know me anyway.
When another message from Jason didn’t come for five more minutes, Nico wondered if he said something wrong. Relief settled in his chest when Jason replied:
[Jason | 12:44pm]
Sorry, I had to feed Sparky. But it’s true; I don’t know you, not really. Maybe we can hang out though sometime? I like making new friends. :)
Did he seriously have to use so many emojis in his messages? God, was this guy ever a dork.
[You | 12:45pm]
well since ur not a stranger anymore, yeah we can hang out. how about tomorrow? i have nothing to do anyway. we could go have pizza or something idk.
Nico broke out into another grin when he opened Jason’s next message:
[Jason | 12:46pm]
Sure, we can do that. What time works for you?
Taking a moment to think, Nico remembered he had some commissions he needed to finish up. None of them were due until two weeks from now, and since his summer was going to be eventless—unless any of the part-time jobs he interviewed at called him back—he could handle spending a day with Jason.
[You | 12:47pm]
noon, probably. work for you?
As he was waiting for Jason’s reply, Nico played around on his phone, making sure to feed his digital cats. It was then the little chat bubble icon appeared on the top bar again.
[Jason | 12:51pm]
That works great. :)
Nico smiled widely as he typed his reply, his palms feeling a little sweaty. He really ought to turn on that damn AC. Why was summer California heat so wretched?
[You | 12:52pm]
pizza at noon it is then.
* * * * *
“Percy, I told you, I can’t take Mrs. O’Leary for another day.” Nico held his cell phone with his left hand as he watered plants with his right. “I’m housesitting for a friend.”
“C’mon Nico. Mom and Paul are away for the weekend, and I’m going on vacation with Annabeth for two weeks and our flight leaves tonight,” came Percy’s whine. “And Mrs. O’Leary misses you!”
“What part of ‘I can’t’ do you not understand?”
Percy sighed into the phone. “Why couldn’t you keep her at your place again? Or your dad’s?”
“Because Will doesn’t want a dog in the apartment, and Cerberus will probably try to mate her or something. I’m not gonna let her go through that.”
“I thought you shared the apartment with Will.”
“Yeah but he lived here before I moved in with him. It’s technically not my place.”
“Nico, you’ve been with him for like, what, seven months or some shit, right? And your building allows pets so long as they’re not a ruckus. You gotta talk to him man.”
On some level, Percy was right, not that Nico would let him know. The apartment building he and Will lived in allowed pets if the owners could assure they wouldn’t cause trouble. Mrs. O’Leary was well-trained and only barked at people she didn’t like, which thankfully were only shady looking guys on the street.
Will wasn’t an animal person though. He did try; the first month Nico lived with him, Mrs. O’Leary came in a packaged deal. Nico made sure she was his responsibility and not Will’s. But after finding dog hair in odd places, he sternly made it a point that if Mrs. O’Leary couldn’t stay with someone else, Nico would have to move back in to his dorm.
Percy loved Mrs. O’Leary, and he didn’t have a problem looking after her since he lived with his mom, Sally, during college anyway. They had an actual house with a yard, which was a lot more comfortable than an apartment for a dog of her size. She wasn’t huge, but she definitely wasn’t a pooch who could sit comfortably on someone’s lap either.
“I’ll bring it up when he gets home,” Nico finally said. “But I seriously can’t take her right now. This housesitting I’m doing for my friend Jason, well he has a cat, and I dunno if she and Mrs. O’Leary would get along. He’s on vacation too, and I don’t wanna bother him.”
“Nico—”
“No, and that’s my final answer.” Nico moved to water the next plant in the living room. Jason wasn’t kidding when he said he loved indoor plants. He had them in the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom, and his bedroom. The only place in the whole apartment void of greenery was the guest room, which didn’t have anything in it except extra blankets and pillows in a plastic storage box.
Jason had been gone for almost a whole week. Thalia was back in the states, but she lived up in San Francisco. She had asked Jason if he’d like to visit since he was on summer break from college. He had mentioned it to Nico, and without thinking, he told Jason he wouldn’t mind housesitting for him and looking after Sparky.
The way his face lit up in relief and gratitude was too much to look at head on. Nico had to hide a smile, and the increasing redness in his face. Jason did that to him a lot, made him embarrassed when any other normal person would be just fine. Will even noticed once, but Nico stopped him mid-conversation before he started assuming things.
“Is Jason your side ho then?” asked Percy.
“My what?” Nico shouted into the phone, simultaneously dropping the watering pitcher which then knocked over the plant from the bookshelf.
He swore he was witnessing the disaster in slow motion, watching every particle of soil float out of the clay pot and into the air, the tiny round cactus rolling out of its brown smelly prison mid-fall. The pot shattered on the floor, getting dirt all over the carpet. Nico tried to catch the cactus with his free hand—which would have been a painful mistake if he actually succeeded—and stepped on it with his shoe instead, squashing it mercilessly.
“Fuck!” he screamed, tossing his phone onto the couch.
Percy’s voice was faint; Nico couldn’t hear him as he was scrambling to get the water pitcher upright so it wouldn’t make an even bigger mess on the floor. He grabbed his phone where Percy was still talking.
“—happened Nico?! You okay?”
“Remind me to never tell you about new friends I make,” Nico growled. “Look I’ll call you back later. I have to clean some shit up.” He ended the call before Percy could say anything more.
It was a messy but quick job to get the carpet cleaned up. A vague brown stain was on it. Didn’t Jason know not to buy any kind of white furniture unless he wanted to slave around cleaning everything five times a day in his own damn home?
The smashed cactus was now in the trash along with the shards from its clay pedestal. Nico had to replace it. There was no way Jason wouldn’t notice. But he didn’t even know what kind of cactus it was. It was small, bulbous, and had a pink flower on it. The little white thorns were still on it.
All these observations he typed into his phone, searching Google for any reference on what the cactus could be. When he discovered the name, he searched for any store nearby that had them.
The nearest store that had the particular breed was three miles away, but they were out of stock. Of course.
Jason would be home tomorrow. How was Nico supposed to explain his blunder? ‘I murdered your plant and cleaned up the evidence by just moving the couch a little more to the right’? His first housesitting for anyone ever, and he already fucked up. Well, at least he killed a plant and not Sparky.
There was one other option, but Nico didn’t want to call her. She was the plant expert of his family however, and desperate times called for desperate measures.
Swiping through his contacts, Nico called Penelope. It rung a few times before she finally answered.
“Yes, this is Penelope di Angelo of Persephone’s Greenhouse. Who’s calling?” came her business tone.
“It’s Nico.”
She gasped a little, and he could almost hear her smile through the phone. “Nico! Hi! How are you? Still with that doctor boyfriend? Are you eating? You know your grandma—”
“Fine, yes, another yes, and don’t tell her about my eating habits. I actually called for a favor. I know that probably sounds insensitive, but time is a factor.”
Penelope paused momentarily, and then she said, “Well, what is it?”
“Do you happen to know a good store that sells a variety of cacti?”
“Oh, I do actually! Mine!” she replied cheerily. “How soon do you need it?”
“Tomorrow, before three.”
“Yes, I do have some pretty healthy cacti. But you can’t have any unless you come down and get them.”
“Los Angeles isn’t around the block.”
“Then I guess you’ll have to wait until they come in the mail.”
Nico rolled his eyes, even if Penelope couldn’t see. “Fine, I’ll go get them.”
“Great! I’ll have them lined up for you by the time you get here. What kind of cacti are you looking for?”
“It’s small, round, and has a pink flower on it.”
“Oh Nico.” Penelope sighed. “I’ll see you when you get here. Goodbye, buttercup.”
He tried not to cringe at the name. “Bye. And thank you.”
After he hung up, he grabbed Jason’s house keys. Sparky walked into the living room and jumped up on the couch to lay down. Turning to her, Nico said, “I’ll be back in a while. Behave.” She only yawned in response, and then began to lick her leg. Nico was out the door a second later, and hurried to his car to get to Persephone’s Greenhouse.
It took a while to get to Los Angeles, longer still to avoid taking a personal tour with Penelope once he did get there, and he didn’t get to go home until his car was filled with a bunch of different plants and flowers of various sizes he never asked for. Telling Penelope he was housesitting for Jason the Flower Prince was a huge mistake.
When he finally did get to leave, it was evening. Nico glared at the new cacti sitting innocently on his dashboard. The passenger seat had several of its relatives planted in an array of colorful clay pots. He gently poked at the flower of the dashboard cactus.
“This is all your fault.”
Driving was a little difficult. Visibility through the rear-view mirror was limited because of some of the taller plants in his small car. He managed to make it back to the apartment building, though he needed to take several trips up and down the fucking patronizing staircase. He wasn’t exercising for the rest of the year after today.
His last trip up, he ran into Will in the hallway who was coming out of their apartment. He gave an amused smile at the bundle in Nico’s arms. “Building a greenhouse?”
Nico was carrying a cardboard box of the tiny infernal cacti. They were more durable than the majority of all the other plants and flowers, so he saved them for last. Just staring at them made him angry from all the trouble he went through to fix his mistake.
“They’re for Jason,” replied Nico. “As I was housesitting for him, I accidentally killed one of his cacti and so I spent all day looking for a replacement. Long story short: Penelope.”
“Ah. Got it.”
Walking to 308, Nico opened the door again. Will followed him, taking a glance around. He chuckled under his breath at all the plants placed randomly in the kitchen and in the living room.
“So how much longer are you watching this place?” Will asked.
“Jason comes home tomorrow.” Nico put down the cacti box on a kitchen chair. Sparky walked out of her cat tower and jumped onto the floor. She meowed as she stared at Nico. He picked her up and stroked her soft fur.
“Oh, is this the cat you told me about?” Will asked.
“Yeah, Sparky. She’s the main reason why I’ve been housesitting.” Nico sat down on the couch, and Sparky settled on his lap. She closed her eyes as she purred. “Speaking of pets, I wanted to talk to you about Mrs. O’Leary.”
“Whatever it is, the answer’s no.” Will crossed his arms. “We went over this. She’s too big to keep in the apartment.”
“Other people who live here have dogs her size. Why can’t I keep her here? She’s not Percy’s responsibility. She’s mine.”
“I’m the one who pays the rent, remember?”
“But I thought it was our apartment.”
“It is, but until you find a job to pay some of the bills, it’s mostly mine. You don’t get commissions all the time Nico.”
He narrowed his eyes at Will. “I use that money to buy our groceries every week and to pay for the laundromat.”
“Which I really appreciate, don’t get me wrong. But the bills are at least three times as much as that. Have any jobs called you back yet?”
“No.” Nico scratched Sparky behind the ears. “I’m starting to think they never will.”
“You’ll find something.”
He kept petting Sparky as silence drifted into the room. What Percy said made a lot of sense. If Nico and Will were supposed to be living together, shouldn’t they both accommodate the other? Nico made sure to leave his easels and paints in the art locker at school so he wouldn’t make an inevitable mess on the furniture. He left Mrs. O’Leary at Percy’s, and he paid his own phone bill so Will wouldn’t have too much to do on his own.
The sad thing was, Nico couldn’t remember any instance where Will tried to be flexible with him, aside from the first month with Mrs. O’Leary.
“You can at least do this one little thing for me,” Nico mumbled.
“Hmm?”
“My dog, Mrs. O’Leary.” Nico looked up at him. “I want her in the apartment.”
“No, Nico.”
“Is it that bad I want company because my own boyfriend can’t give that to me more than a couple of hours a week?” he asked back in a harsh tone.
Will rolled his eyes and sighed. He rubbed his forehead. “Not this again. You gave me your word you’d be cool with this arrangement.”
“People change their minds.”
“People don’t have to be so needy either.”
Nico set Sparky down gently, and then walked over to Will. He glowered a bit at him and said, “I’ll remember that next time you want to shove your dick up my ass. ‘Don’t be so needy, Will’.”
His boyfriend glared in return. “You don’t have to live with me. Go back to your dorm if you want.”
“No more room. Was filled as soon as I left.”
“Go live with your dad then. He has a huge-ass mansion anyway. Ask him for a weekly allowance of like a thousand bucks or something since you can’t seem to get a job and he’s loaded.”
Nico huffed out a bitter laugh. “Maybe I will move back. Then I can have Mrs. O’Leary with me all the time.”
“Fine by me.”
That stopped Nico for a good few seconds. “You’re serious?”
Will pursed his lips and glanced to the floor. Then he looked at Nico, saying, “Yeah, I am. I don’t want a dog in my apartment, and my job is important to me. You always wanting my time is getting a little annoying.”
“We haven’t been on a date since the end of February. That was months ago; it’s the middle of June now. All we do when you get home is either go to sleep, or have sex.”
“I wish you could understand,” Will said, walking around the living room. “I’m doing really well at my internship—”
“And I’m happy for you. This is what you’ve wanted to be, a doctor.”
“Well it sure doesn’t sound like you are. I’ve worked too damn hard to give up my dream for someone.”
“What are you saying?”
Sparky climbed up her cat tower as Will avoided Nico’s gaze. He didn’t want to assume the inevitable was coming, but he could feel it in the air. It was bound to happen eventually with the long hours Will worked, aside from the flame having died down in their relationship.
“I’m saying…” started Will. He rested one hand on his hip as the other ran through his blonde curls. “I’m saying that if we keep at it like this, arguing about the same damn things, then this won’t work. I’ve had this problem with all my exes. They all say they don’t mind dating a doctor, that they can handle me being away at random times of the week even if we’re in the middle of a date. In the end, it falls apart for the same reason. You’re no different.”
“That’s not all my fault, or theirs,” Nico said sternly. “Relationships are a two-way street. I thought I could handle it, and you thought you’d be able to make time for your social relationships. You’re just repeating your mistakes.”
“I’m sorry I’m not that guy you wanted, Nico,” Will said gently. “But this is important to me. I love what I do, and nobody, including you, is going to make me feel bad for the life I chose.”
“Believe me, I like that you’re so passionate about your future, and I’m not trying to make you feel bad,” replied Nico.
“Well that’s how I’m feeling.”
“Then I guess we can’t be boyfriends anymore.”
“Huh?”
Nico didn’t want it to happen, but since they were on the brink of it, he wasn’t going to give Will the satisfaction of being the one to end things. It was childish in a way, wanting to beat him to the punch of breaking up. But Nico needed to walk away from this without his confidence shattering like in his first relationship, which was his only other one besides Will.
Getting together with Octavian in his senior year of high school was the worst mistake Nico ever made. He should’ve counted Mrs. O’Leary barking at Octavian constantly as a red flag. Will wasn’t a mistake, but Nico definitely didn’t feel as cherished as Will promised he’d be. The sex was great of course, and in the beginning the romance was alive and well. Though Octavian occasionally bothered during unexpected (and unwanted) visits to Will’s apartment—since they were regrettably cousins—Nico couldn’t count getting together with Will as something he wished never happened.
It was life experience, and all experiences ended at some point. Maybe now was the end of yet another one.
“We can’t be boyfriends anymore,” repeated Nico. “If we’re going to break up, I’d rather do it sooner than later. I don’t want to pretend I’m fine with the way things are.”
“Nico—”
“We’re over,” he intervened quickly. Nico swallowed thickly as he watched Will’s expression fall a little. “You’re married to your work, even this early in your adult life.” Okay, well Will was 24, so he’d been an adult for a while. The fact remained that even though he wasn’t officially a doctor yet, he was already swamped with a busy schedule. “I don’t want to be annoying in asking you for things you can’t give me, so I won’t.”
“You’re not annoying. Just a little frustrating.” Will huffed out a breath. “I’m sorry things eventually came to this.”
Nico shrugged. “Things happen. I think it was better when we were still friends.”
“Are you saying we can’t be friends anymore?”
“We can, just… not right now.”
Will looked at him sadly. “I’m sorry, Nico.”
“Me too.” He stood up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen. “I’ll start packing my things early tomorrow morning.”
“You don’t have to leave right away—”
“I want to.” Nico didn’t turn around, but he could feel Will staring at his back. “I promise I’ll be quick about it.”
He sorted through the plants on the chair, taking out the mini cacti from the cardboard box. Will walked up behind him, and said, “Okay, if that’s what you want. I can’t say I’m not hurt though.”
“I’m not exactly jumping for joy either.”
“Yeah….” Will leaned down and kissed his cheek. “Good bye, Nico.”
“Bye, Will.”
With a pat on the shoulder, Will walked out of Jason’s apartment, closing the door softly. Nico just kept sorting through the plants, arranging them neatly wherever they’d fit. Sparky rubbed against his legs a couple of times, though he didn’t pay much attention to her.
Eventually he sat down on Jason’s couch, staring at nothing in particular. He wasn’t so sad that he’d cry over his breakup, but he definitely didn’t feel like celebrating either. Jason had told Nico he could watch TV in his apartment if he felt inclined, so that’s exactly what he did for the next several hours, trying not to let his usual pessimism get the better of him.
He didn’t go back to his own—to Will’s apartment until around 11pm. Nico slept on the couch as he didn’t want to wake up Will, who he knew had an early morning shift. He needed to be at the hospital by 6am, and Nico didn’t want to be the reason why Will fell asleep at the wheel.
When morning finally came and Will was gone, Nico made himself some coffee and then got to packing. On one of his breaks, he got a call from a place that he interviewed at, saying he got the job. Lovely. Getting a job the day after his breakup with his boyfriend when money was one of the things they had argued about.
Nico needed to look at the positives. He could get his own place now, because he seriously didn’t want to live in his father’s mansion. How was he supposed to learn to be a proper adult if he relied on handouts? Nico didn’t want that life. He wanted to follow in Bianca’s footsteps, making her own future.
Hayden hadn’t been too pleased when Nico first told him he wanted to major in the arts. Nico was sure his father wanted him to be something reputable, like a lawyer or a doctor. Neither of those things sounded enjoyable to Nico, and he wasn’t going to have someone else dictate how he should live his life.
As Nico was finishing his packing, a knock sounded from the door. He answered it, and was surprised to find Jason standing there.
“Jason? You’re back early.”
“Wanted to come home sooner than I thought. I felt bad leaving you with housesitting work for a whole week.” He looked apologetic as he smiled.
“It’s fine, honestly. I was happy to do it.”
“Obviously, considering my apartment looks like a jungle now.”
Nico scrunched his eyes closed, and sighed. He forgot about the overgrowth of an enthusiastic step-mother in his neighbor’s living space. “I can explain.”
An amused smile played upon Jason’s lips. “I’m not angry or anything. Just curious about why.” Something caught his attention, for he looked past Nico’s shoulder. Nico followed Jason’s stare to where the boxes were stacked at the end of the entranceway.
“Yeah,” he began slowly, not looking at Jason. “I’m moving out.”
“Mind if I ask why?”
Nico turned to him and said, “Broke up with Will yesterday.”
“I’m sorry,” said Jason softly, his eyebrows furrowed sympathetically.
Shrugging, Nico turned back to the boxes, grabbing one of them. “It’s okay. Thanks though. I wanna leave before he gets back from work. Do you mind helping me load this stuff into my car?”
“No, of course not.” Jason grabbed two of the biggest boxes—because of course he could, considering he had muscles like a stallion—and then followed Nico down the hallway.
They walked in silence as they descended the staircase. When they got to the second floor, Jason said, “Um, do you have someplace to go?”
“My dad’s, but I really don’t want to. He’ll just give me the ‘I told you so’ speech about art not being a stable income, in that disapproving fatherly way. Soon I’ll be working part-time at a bookstore, so maybe I can find somewhere to live.”
“If you want, you can live with me.”
Nico froze on one of the steps, and slowly turned around. “What?”
Jason wasn’t smiling this time. He actually looked a little embarrassed. “We could be roommates, if you have nowhere else to go. I was actually going to post an ad at my school to see if anyone would wanna take the guest room. It’ll make the cost of rent a lot easier.”
“Oh….” Nico looked down at the box in his hands labeled ‘Sketchbooks’. He could room with Jason. He sort of knew his way around anyhow after housesitting. But Nico really wanted Mrs. O’Leary with him, and he doubted Jason wanted another animal in his place.
“I—that’s really kind of you,” he began. “But I want to live somewhere that accepts dogs so Mrs. O’Leary can be with me. Not that I don’t want to room with you—well this was one of the problems I had with Will, and part of the reason for our argument yesterday. And you have a cat, so I wouldn’t want Sparky to feel uncomfortable.”
“Mrs. O’Leary can stay too.”
Nico’s eyes widened a little. “You mean it?”
And there it was, Jason’s gentle smile. “Yeah, I do. Thalia used to have a dog, and she’d bring him over whenever she visited me before. Sparky didn’t mind.”
“Only if you’re sure.”
“I am, so long as Mrs. O’Leary doesn’t try to eat her or something.”
“She won’t. She leaves other pets alone.”
“Is that a yes?” asked Jason, his smile growing a little wider.
Nico huffed and gave a slight smirk. “Considering both of us will pay half a rent than if we lived alone, I’d say it’s a good deal.”
“Great! Um.” Jason cleared his throat, his cheeks turning a little pink. “Let’s get these boxes upstairs then.”
As they walked back to the third floor, Nico said, “I’m glad you offered the roommate thing to me before we got all the boxes to my car. I would’ve slapped you on the arm otherwise.”
“Violence already against your new roomie?” asked Jason, a grin tugging at the corner of his lips. “Wow, it only took a few minutes for you to get annoyed by me. Leo and Piper are gonna love that one.”
Nico chuckled softly under his breath. “I think I can handle living with a dork.”
“Do I really give off that impression?”
“Since the day I met you, yeah.”
Jason smiled at him, and opened the door to apartment 308.
* * * * *
“Mm…” Nico groaned, turning over to his right. He opened his eyes and found Jason smiling tenderly at him, caressing his cheek. Nico leaned into his touch, and Jason kissed his bare shoulder.
“Morning, Neeks” he said.
“Morning, Jace.” Nico snuggled into his arms, closing his eyes again. “What time is it?”
“Almost eight.”
“You wake me up on a Sunday, at eight. Aren’t you tired?”
Jason chuckled, and stroked Nico’s hair. “Why would I be tired?”
“We had sex three times last night, almost back to back.” Nico leaned away from him a bit, and rested his head properly on the pillow. “Or are you telling me, that you, Jason Grace, can go more than three rounds in less than an hour?”
“I don’t know.” He looked pensive as he glanced to a corner, his lips in a tight line and his eyebrows furrowed together. “You’re actually the only person I’ve had this much sex with.”
“You serious?”
“Yeah.” Jason looked back at Nico and kissed his nose. “Since we got together, months ago—” He kissed the crook of Nico’s neck. “—it’s been a challenge keeping my hands to myself when I’m around you.”
Nico leaned up on his right arm. “Am I really that attractive?” he asked, a little surprised. Jason was the attractive one, something Nico told him the first time his new blond boyfriend had called him ‘cute’.
“Gorgeous.” Jason cupped his face, rubbing his cheeks with his thumb. “I always thought so, ever since the first day we talked.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.” He kissed Nico chastely on the lips. “I was so nervous asking you out that first time. I honestly thought you’d reject me.”
Nico kissed him back, a bit deeper. He let himself melt into it as his lips slid against Jason’s. “I didn’t though, and I’m glad for that.”
“Me too.”
He remembered it clearly. They were eating Thai takeout for dinner at home one warm late August night, watching TV. Mrs. O’Leary was laying on her large doggy bed, Sparky curled up on top of her. He didn’t expect it, for Jason to ask him out so suddenly during a commercial.
Nico couldn’t stop the rapid beating of his heart that night, and he was just as awkward sputtering out that he’d love to go on a date with Jason sometime before the guy could even finish what he had to say.
It had been one of the most embarrassing nights of his life, noodles hanging out of his mouth and dripping unceremoniously onto his lap. Jason had laughed, and wiped away the sauce on Nico’s face with a napkin. His heart had fluttered, and without thinking, had leaned in to kiss Jason for the first time.
They became official boyfriends in mid-September, and had been happy ever since. Nico had been nervous the first time they slept together, but he sure as hell didn’t regret it. ‘Amazing sex with Jason’ was a criminal understatement. He made Nico see stars that night, and every other time after that.
He wanted to call it ‘making love’ because if that ever had a feeling, it was most likely whatever Jason was doing to Nico with his hips. But Nico always got embarrassed thinking about it, and chickened out bringing it up whenever he did.
“This is gonna sound weird, or lame or cheesy, or whatever,” Nico began. He bit his lip gently, and traced the contour of Jason’s muscles. “but when I’m with you, like last night, and the nights before—no, uh, nothing. Never mind.”
“What is it Nico?” asked Jason gently. “You can tell me.”
Nico paused, and then said, “When we’re together like that, you inside me, I wonder if that’s what it’s like, to make love I mean.” He shook his head, feeling a blush rise to his cheeks. “Yeah, saying it out loud sounds stupid, like some teenager with an idealistic view of romance. Sorry.”
Jason ran his hand through Nico’s hair, and held the back of his head. “It’s not stupid at all.”
“It’s not?”
“No.” Jason smiled affectionately. “That’s how I feel too, but—well I also thought I’d sound dumb telling you that, so I just kept it to myself. Maybe I was reading too much into it or something. I didn’t want to scare you away if what I felt wasn’t exactly what you did.”
“You didn’t scare me,” replied Nico. He traced the small scar above Jason’s upper lip. “I’m happy that you feel that way too.” He traced Jason’s lips with his fingers, and then kissed him.
Mid-way through the kiss, Jason flipped them on the bed so Nico was lying underneath him, Jason’s forearms on either side of his shoulders. Nico hummed and parted his lips when he felt Jason’s tongue slide in between them. He tugged a little at Jason’s hair as their kiss turned feverish, and he bit down softly on Jason’s bottom lip.
They made love again, and while Nico knew his ass was going to be sore later, he didn’t really care. He gave himself to Jason, arching his back whenever his boyfriend hit that sweet spot inside, moaning his name as he raked his nails down Jason’s broad, muscled back. Jason whispered how wonderful he thought Nico was as he kissed down his neck, and Nico cried out again and again and again until they were both sweaty and spent when they finished.
It was 10am by the time they both managed to get out of bed. Jason cooked them breakfast as Nico took Mrs. O’Leary outside to do her morning business. When he came back in, he walked around the apartment in one of Jason’s shirts, since it was long enough on him to reach mid-thigh. The collar slipped off one shoulder, which Nico had minded in the beginning.
The first time Jason had seen him wearing his clothes, he wouldn’t stop hugging Nico or peppering kisses around his face. He looked adorable, is what Jason had told him. Not that Nico would complain. Jason’s shirts were comfy, and if he was a-okay with them being worn by his ‘tiny, amazing boyfriend’, then Nico wasn’t going to rain on his parade, regardless of the fact that he didn’t like to be reminded he was short.
Jason made their pancakes into a heart shape. Nico raised an eyebrow and looked up at him, a smile on his lips. That’s right, it wasn’t just a regular Sunday at this time of the year.
“What?” asked Jason innocently.
“Heart-shaped pancakes. You’re such a dork.” Nico straightened out Jason’s glasses, and then wrapped his arms around his middle. “Today marks one year since we’ve known each other.”
“You remembered,” Jason said with a smile. He leaned down to hug Nico properly. “What do you want to do today?” he mumbled into Nico’s hair.
“How about sushi for dinner?”
He smiled when Jason laughed into his shoulder. “Think we can still get a reservation this late?”
“Way ahead of you. Made them in the middle of January.”
Jason cupped his face and kissed him again. “You’re the best.”
“I’m glad you think so.” Nico wrapped his arms around Jason’s neck, and returned the kiss. Jason slipped his hands underneath the shirt, and trailed them down Nico’s back. They came to rest on his ass, giving his cheeks a light squeeze.
Jason pulled away, looking down at Nico a bit astonished. “You’re not wearing underwear?”
“If you can walk around here without a top so early in the morning, I can walk around in just your shirt.”
“Being shirtless is different than not wearing underwear,” came Jason’s light reply. “But I’m not gonna complain.”
“Good.” Nico patted his bare chest. “Let’s eat before the food gets cold.”
“Okay.” Jason kissed him again, and Nico was positive he’d never grow tired of their lips mingling together. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Nico.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Jason.”