Work Text:
“He’s back.”
Jason didn’t even bother looking up from his open magazine. “He works here.”
Nico threw himself down out on the cheap folding chair, the plastic squeaking out in surprise. He let out a long, frustrated sigh, “I just don’t understand how this can happen. We’ve worked the same shifts every day for the past two weeks, even when I asked Annabeth to change it up last week.”
Jason sighed and flipped his magazine close. He made this small act to be a grand gesture and he rolled his eyes before leaning in. “Alright, I’ll bite. What’s the big deal about working the same shift as blondie? It’s not like you even talk to him, all you do is stare - somewhat creepily - at him for hours on end. If anyone was going to have a problem with this, you’d think it would be him.”
Nico huffed air into his bangs, “That’s the point, Jason.” He gestured loosely towards the open window of the shack, “How the hell am I supposed to work with such distraction?”
Jason snorted and flicked his sunglasses down from where they sat in his damp hair. “Just go talk to him. Will’s a cool guy.”
“Of course you think that. You’ve got your whole-” Nico cut himself off to gesture at Jason’s bright orange swimming trunks and off-duty tank top, “Lifeguard bond thing. You’re practically, like, bound for life.”
Jason clicked his tongue, “I told you I could get you a lifeguard job if you ever decided you wanted to leave this shaggy little hut.”
“It’s a shack.” Nico defended, “And I like my shack. It has wifi and air conditioning and in here I can’t get a sunburn from simply going to work.”
“And,” Jason added, nodding over to the open window, “you’ve got a great view.”
“Ughhh.” Nico groaned, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. “How am I expected to work under such conditions. He’s- He’s shirtless! And glistening! And he probably saves helpless children from drowning all day!”
“Nico, your only job is to rent out surfboards and sell candy bars.” Jason inspected his nails, “if you get a little distracted by staring at lover boy, I think you’ll be fine.
Nico sighed dramatically and flung his arm over his eyes. It didn't last very long - around fifteen seconds, Jason counted - before he was peeking out from under his arm to catch a glimpse of the other boy.
Jason laughed and swiped Nico’s water bottle to take a long drink, exposing his tan collarbones, and the strong line of his throat. Nico briefly wondered why he couldn’t be attracted to Jason instead. It certainly would be a lot easier. Piper, Jason’s girlfriend, probably wouldn’t even care that much.
Jason, like the asshole he was, drained the rest of the bottle and threw it at him so it bounced off Nico’s shoulder. “Just ask him out.” Jason told him, “Or hook up with him, I really don't care. Just get it out of your system.” Jason wrinkled his nose after a second, “And try to keep it off the counters, I eat here like, every day.”
Nico flipped him off and before he could snap back with some snappy remark, he was interrupted. “Grace!” The voice barked out. One of the swim coaches poked his head around the corner, a scowl in place. “Your break’s over! Get back out here or you’re scrubbing hot tubs!”
Jason rolled his eyes, “Looks like Hedge is back from his honeymoon. Great. I’ll see you at lunch, when’s our break?”
“Sometime around noon,” Nico answered him, a bit vague, and flipped open Jason’s abandoned magazine. He waved a goodbye at Jason’s retreating figure and tried not to stare too hard at tall, freckled, and handsome on the other end of the pool.
“Hey, di Angelo?” Leo, one of the older kids who helped fix broken equipment, peeked his head around the corner, “Throw me a soda, would ya?”
Nico nodded and tossed him one, the last can in the cooler. Leo gave him a thumbs up before sprinting off, carefully avoiding Nico's annoyed mood.
Nico sighed, throwing his head back and squeezing his eyes shut - actually doing his job was so inconvenient sometimes. He bend down and crawled under the counter to began pulling the cardboard cases of water forward, cursing every moment that lead him to actually having a job in the first place. It wasn’t like he needed it, Hades was only too-happy to fund his few adventures, and his past summers were spent joyfully curled with a blanket and binge-watching Game of Thrones.
That is, until he remembered how quickly the joy of being alone wore off, and how even the Stark house fighting it out couldn’t fill the empty space beside him on his most lonely days. That’s how he found himself here, he supposes, because as much as he loves his warm darkness and fictional characters, being with people who actually wanted him around always felt better.
So he guesses work isn’t that bad, in exchange, especially because his own setup was so much sweeter than just standing around getting burnt and sun sick.
The small bell on the counter dinged sharply, and Nico had to physically retrain himself from rolling his eyes. The bell had been a joke - usually just pressed frantically by Percy or Jason to annoy him, or by a few clueless tourists who actually managed to spot it hiding in the corner of the counter.
“What can I get you from the Surf Shack?” Nico questioned, turning with a clipboard in his hands. He added up the inventory quickly and punched some numbers in the register. He didn't look up the customer just yet, instead focusing on not screwing up the numbers.
“Hey, uh, could I get a bottle of water?” Nico glanced up and froze almost immediately. There, in all his tan, shirtless glory, was lover boy, aka blondie, aka Will the lifeguard, who was grinning at Nico. Nico swallowed, and he could see his own gaping reflection in the other boy’s dark lensed sunglasses.
Of course this wasn’t Will’s first time visiting the surf shack, but each time there was Jason or Percy or Reyna or someone to block Nico from full-on, fumbling, terrifying conversation.
“Uh. Yeah. Sure.” Nico told him, but didn’t make any movement to retrieve the bottle from the cooler behind him.
Will leaned into the window so the shadows could dip over him. “Water?” he questioned playfully, grinning widely at the other boy. His tank top was tucked into the side of his swim trucks and he reached for it to wipe the sweat out of his eyes.
“Yeah.” Nico agreed, “Oh!” Nico snapped out of it, turning quickly so he hide his reddened cheeks. If he was lucky, he could somehow blame it on the sun, despite the shade that blessed his little shack. He opened the cooler and enjoyed how the iced air cooled his burning cheeks, even just for a moment.
He stood there for a moment, fumbling with the slick water bottles, and working up his courage to turn. He swallowed and bit the end of his tongue. "Here." Nico passed along the icy bottle, careful not to brush the other boy's fingers.
Will grinned in thanks before taking a long, long drink. After almost draining the entire bottle in a single drink, he leaned forward again, "Nico, right?"
Nico swallowed, unprepared for the continuation of his interaction with the other boy. "Yeah. That's me. Nico."
"I'm Will." He took another swing of his water, "I'm a lifeguard." He told Nico obviously.
Nico resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This one, like most of the surf crew, seemed to be more beauty than brains.
“You're Jason's friend, right?” Will took another sip of the water, and Nico was distracted by a bead of sweat racing down the line of his throat. Nico nodded, not trusting his suddenly dry throat his choke out any words.
Will nodded, “Jason talks about you a lot. You guys good friends?”
“Best friends.” Nico corrected him, his voice dry. “He got me my job here.”
Will nodded, tipping his cherry red sunglasses into his hair so his eyes - blue as the summer sky - could be revealed. There was a slight tan line across nose, and the freckles splashed across his cheeks were darker than anywhere, and the small gap in between his top two teeth was exposed when he grinned, but he looked perfect.
“Can I get you anything else?” Nico busied himself with the stack of receipts on the counter, his nervous hands dancing across the papers quickly.
“Nah.” Will took another sip of water before grinning. “I only came for the view.”
Nico smiled, gesturing towards the busy beach area. “I do have the best view of random strangers gathering around picnic tables”
Will glanced over his shoulder for only a second, seeming bemused. “As lustworthy that sight is, I wasn’t talking about that one.” Will only too obviously ran his eyes over Nico, giving the other bo an appreciative look.
It clicked, and Nico’s cheeks burned. “Oh. Um. Okay.”
Will leaned in, “Now, what are you doing hiding your pretty little face under this little shack?” Will grinned, low and a little flirtatious, “A face like that shouldn’t be hidden behind rows of soda and candy bars.”
“What...my face?” he sputtered out, more confusion and startled emotion than anything.
“‘Course your face.” Will grinned sharply before flipping down his cherry sunglasses and standing straight. “And while I would love to make that nice red flush across your cheeks once again, I’ve gotta go.” He grinned, taking a napkin off the counter and a pen from the cup beside the register. “Call me sometime, alright? I’ll be eagerly awaiting.”
Nico’s throat was dry and his eyes were wide, but he managed to numbly wave the other boy gone and clench the paper to his chest.
What the hell just happened?