Chapter Text
Jason stared at the text message on his phone. It was from Piper, sent over half an hour ago.
Happy anniversary baby!!! I’ll be at your place in an hour or so. x
Jason smiled nervously, his face growing paler and paler by the minute. That was today? How long had he spent in the studio? He didn't even have a gift ready! He ran a hand through his hair and bounced on his toes like an uneasy child, sifting and sorting through several last minute gift ideas. An important project at the University had clogged up most of his thoughts for the past month or so, so Piper had honestly been the last thing on his mind. What a douchebag. He was guessing telling Piper he’d forgotten would upset her, and he wasn't in the mood to see her disappointed today, not when he was working on such a good, happy piece, so he decided flowers, chocolate, and a speech about how much he loved her would make up for it. Yeah, that could work. And they’d eat at a fancy restaurant.
It wasn't long before he was racing down the sidewalk, shoelaces untied and only one of his sleeves pushed up, hands smeared with blues and reds from the oil pastels he'd been using earlier. He could tell he probably looked desperate, a manic gleam in his eye as he followed his GPS to the local flower shop downtown, but Piper would be visiting in twenty minutes, and he still had to shower and dress in something presentable for her. A small bell dung as he quickly walked into the store. A guy dressed in all black with a pink apron that looked very out of place stood, and turned around from where he'd been tending to a bouquet of primroses and bluebells. His eyes widened in surprise and dark eyebrows raised.
“Hi,” wheezed Jason, out of breath, and rested his hands on his knees, “I’ll take some roses.”
Roses, thankfully the most popular flower, were Piper’s favorite.
“Sold out, sorry,” The employee said bluntly, turning back around, and Jason stood up straight, heart dropping into his stomach.
“What?”
“You heard me. We’re all out."
“What? How?” Jason could feel him rolling his eyes.
“Valentine’s Day was a few days ago. Our next shipment of roses comes in on Saturday.”
He deflated, and apparently the guy must’ve noticed the room’s usually sunny aura turn one thousand times darker, because before long Jason was staring into deep brown eyes, a smidge of concern in them.
“Uh, hey dude? We have other flowers, if you want to take a look…”
“Roses are her favorite…” He replied glumly, and crashed down on a stool near the checkout counter like a middle aged man at the bar. “It’s our two year anniversary today, and I forgot. She’s going to be at my apartment in ten minutes and I've got nothing done. What am I gonna do…” Jason looked at the employee’s name tag. “Nico?”
Nico raised his eyebrows, and rested his chin on his hands, elbows on the counter. He was giving Jason a frown and a look that said, “I don't know but if you’re not buying get the hell out of my store.” It was a few good minutes before he sighed and spoke, apparently giving up on being polite because his words were drier than the Saharan desert.
“Take a shower, for one. No offense but your hair looks like a chalky mess.”
“Wha-?” Jason took out his phone and felt his mood dampen further when he saw pastel colors staining his fair hair. “Christ, this is gonna take days to wash out properly.” He felt like crawling under the counter and living there as a hermit until he died. Maybe this guy could slip him crackers or something.
Ten minutes passed, then an hour, and it wasn't long before Jason found himself staring at the employee, who had given up on trying to get Jason off of his stool and was aimlessly doodling mustaches on a magazine he’d found in the back. The guy could actually call the police because Jason was loitering, but he seemed to not want to make Jason’s day worse, so he left him there.
“Not to sound pushy,” said Nico finally, who had now made it his goal to put goth makeup on the models with a marker, “but are you gonna leave your girlfriend hanging like that?”
“I don’t want her to see me like this,” groaned Jason, who’d turned his phone off when Piper had sent the first “where are you?” text. His hair felt dry and clumpy.
“Well…we have a big sink in the back. I don't have shampoo but there’s a bar of soap with your name on it.”
“It’s only going to make my hair drier. Unless you somehow have conditioner but not shampoo.”
“I’ve got lotion,” Nico said sheepishly.
“Oh my god.”
***
Soon enough Jason was propped up against a metal sink in the back room, a medium sized hand towel wrapped around his neck. It felt weird, looking up at a stranger who was running their fingers through his hair, but Nico had mumbled, “I’ve got nothing better to do so if you need help…” Jason tried to pretend he was at a hair salon, which was hard considering Nico was pulling his hair every which way.
“Ow,” he hissed, not for the first time.
“Uh, sorry. The- they were pastels, right? The pastels are really stuck to your hair.” Nico inched closer to focus on a particularly large clump where a red piece had tangled itself in. Jason closed his eyes when he smelt the flowers on Nico’s clothes, then, realizing he was being a creep, cringed away. “Jeez, how did you even get it this bad?”
“I was working on an art piece and my supplies are so used that they wore down to little nubs. They probably got stuck on my fingers and I didn't notice.”
They were quiet a while more until Jason heard a growl coming from next to his head. His eyes trailed up and found Nico flushing in embarrassment.
“You’re hungry?”
“Yeah. I’ve usually eaten by this time.”
“Oh man, did I take up your break time? Sorry…”
“Actually,” said Nico, “I was supposed to close up shop an hour ago.”
“Sorry, what?” asked Jason, even though he heard damn well. “You didn't have to keep the shop open because I was moping!”
“Calm down, I already locked the doors and put the metal shutters into place while you were waiting for me in here. Not that anyone would rob a flower shop.”
“Wouldn’t you rather be at home?”
“Not really. I have an essay for English I haven't started and I'm not in the mood to do it tonight, so if I come home late enough my dad won’t make me.”
“You’re a high school freshman? And you’re voluntarily washing a stranger’s hair at night by yourself?”
“Don’t be so full of yourself. You might be a Caucasian Hulk but just because I'm short doesn't mean I'm not a senior that can kick your ass, so don't get any ideas.”
“My muscles aren't that big…”
“No, they're not, but its fun seeing the look on your face when I tell you they are.”
“Meanie.”
“Are we in kindergarten?” Nico mused, but he was smiling.
It was another half hour or so when Nico announced that the color wouldn't leave Jason’s hair but he’d gotten all of the chalk out, and Jason reluctantly let him use the lotion after googling if it would damage it. It wouldn’t, but it made Jason feel weird nonetheless. His pale locks were now a faded lavender color, due to the copious amounts of red and blue that had mixed in the water, but Nico had scrubbed Jason’s scalp so raw he’d gotten most of the intense pigment to wash away.
“Okay, I looked it up and it says it’ll come out eventually. It also says something about bleach but I wouldn't use that if I were you, unless you're also like, a secret hairdresser. But hey,” Nico rocked back and forward on his feet as Jason patted his hair dry, “at least you have an excuse for your girlfriend now. And you're also four hours late. Good luck.” He hurried Jason out of the side exit into the alleyway, grabbing his backpack and locking the door behind the two of them.
“W-wait.” Jason protested, and Nico stopped from where he was about to walk into the street. “My name is Jason Grace,” he said, and stuck out his hand, a proper greeting. Nico looked as if he were going to laugh at Jason’s dorkiness.
“Nico di Angelo. Nice meeting you, Jason.” He turned to leave again.
“Nico!”
“Jesus, what?” Nico looked over his shoulder.
“Can I get your number?”