Chapter Text
Leo snapped back to life, shaking his head as he pushed off of the counter.
“Pipes!?” He called, watching his best friend appear from the corner that led to the back of the store.
“Ten fifty-seven.”
Leo jumped, a rather childish yelp escaping their mouth. His eyes dropped to the source of the reply, where Nico di Angelo sat on the floor near the till, phone in hand, his service dog Cerberus curled around him.
“Mother Mary of— You gotta stop doing that, man!” Leo sighed as Piper laughed at him. “How’d you even know what I was gonna ask?”
“Because every day, about three hours into our shift, you always ask Piper what time it is. It’s just repetition, Valdez.” Will Solace flashed a grin at Leo as he passed by, holding a box full of coffee grounds for the machine.
“Man, I don’t know whether to be offended or impressed.” Leo sulked, folding his arms against the counter.
“Both, likely.” Nico said from the floor.
Piper snorted, stepping out into the front. “Man, it’s freaking empty.”
“It’s eleven in the morning on a Wednesday. NRU doesn’t have a class or lecture until noon on Wednesdays.” Nico, again.
“What the fuck, how do you know that?” Leo glanced at the boy on the floor, who just shrugged in return.
Will chuckled, setting a hand on Leo’s shoulder. “I’ve learned not to question, and just accept the fact that he knows a scary amount more than other people.”
Leo just sighed and slumped his shoulders, setting his head in his hands with an exaggerated groan.
“I’m so boreeed!”
“Suck it up, Valdez.”
“Boo, you’re such a party pooper, di Angelo.”
“Party pooper? What are we, five?”
“Hey! Many mature people use the phrase pa—”
Piper interrupted him by smacking him on the head. “Chin up Valdez, people are coming in.”
Leo immediately perked up, grabbing their bandana from the counter and tying it up over their hair.
The time went by as it usually did, the trio of Piper, Will and Leo working either the register, making the coffee, or bringing it to the tables, swapping positions every half hour or so; always careful never to trip over Nico or step on Cerberus’ tail.
Leo’s second turn at the ordering station and register was pretty empty, so he stood on his phone until about two thirty, when the bell above the door made its little chime noise that Leo had no idea how to properly convey with words.
“Hi there, welcome to the Half ‘n Half Cafe! What can I get you?” Leo beamed, resting the heels of his hands on the counter.
“Oh, I— Well, what’s good?”
Leo looked up at the blonde man who stood on the other side of the counter, and smiled. They loved it when people asked that, because when there wasn’t a hold up, and, if neither Leo nor the customer were in a rush, (There was no line, and the guy seemed pretty chill on time,) they liked to suggest a coffee after getting to know exactly what the person likes.
“First time, here then? Well, it depends! What do you usually order?”
“Black coffee, two sugars and some cinnamon.”
Ah. So he was one of those guys. Probably an English major. He looked like a literature major.
“Well, we could just give you that, or you could branch out, try something new?”
“I’d like to try something new. If that’s alright.”
“Hey, it’s your coffee, man.” Leo shrugged. “The number nine is really good, but I might be a bit biased,” He chuckled.
“Biased?” The blonde man adjusted his glasses, a small smile at the side of his mouth. Or at least, Leo thought it was a smile.
“Yeah, it’s my recipe. It’s a spicy chai latte. Cinnamon and apple flavor notes.” Leo snapped, throwing a few finger gun blasts at the man.
“You know what? That doesn’t sound bad—” He glanced down at Leo’s nametag. “—Leo. I’ll take one of those. Medium.”
“Sure thing! Can I get a name for that?”
“Jason.”
Leo nodded, fingers typing away on the register. “What brings you here then, Jason?”
“My old go-to coffee place sort of shut down.”
Leo winced, finishing up the order on the screen.
“Yikes. That’s terrible.”
The man hummed, as Leo opened his mouth, but quickly showed his card. Huh. This guy knew this process. Probably got coffee a lot.
“Card, then. That’ll be four ninety nine.”
“Really? Five dollars for a medium coffee? In this economy?”
“What can I say?” Leo shrugged, flashing their teeth. “We like to keep it affordable around here.”
“That you do. To go, please” The man— Jason, Leo reminded himself, pressed the card down to the reader. He then nodded, and padded away to wait.
Leo smiled, and went to go make the drink. He grabbed a cup, writing JASON in his messy scrawl with a sharpie.
He put a cap on the drink, and slid it down to Piper, who was the one handing out the drinks.
The rest of the shift passed by in a blur of monotony, but in a way that made Leo content. Leo loved the work, and despite it being repetitive, it was just different enough for them to enjoy it— they had a suspicion it was just the environment of the cafe that had even the most boring and tedious tasks bring a smile to their face.
Especially some of their regulars. Damn, Leo loved those guys. Some, he liked more than others. For example, there was Thalia.
So when they came into the shop during Leo’s turn at the register, he could have cheered.
“‘Sup, kid.” Thalia smiled, pulling one of their wired headphones out of their ear, hands buried into the pockets of their leather jacket, black nailed thumbs tucking out.
“Hey, Thalia! How are you doing?”
They shrugged. “Pretty good. Still working on indoctrinating punk rock culture into the high fashion industry, but I fear that’s a project that will take my entire career.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah, well, thus is the life of a fashion major. Doesn’t help that I’ve also been bombarded with a bunch of political shit that I don’t know a lick of. Well, beyond knowing enough to be considered a threat to the law.”
Leo cocked his head.
“Oh, my girlfriend, Reyna, is a political science major.”
“Wow. I knew you were dating someone, but a political science major? I pray for you. I thought I had it bad enough with Will reciting medical terms while he’s making fuckin’ coffee.”
“Yeah, it’s not that bad. I like her voice, so I don’t mind listening when she rants.”
Leo sighed, draping his hand over his forehead in his classic, dramatic fashion. “Yeah, yeah, rub it in, Thals, you’re in a happy and loving relationship, and I’m just a single bastard.”
“Mh, yeah I thought that’s what this interaction was?” Even without looking, Leo knew they were smirking.
“Anyways, do you want your usual?”
“Yeah. Extra caffeine, though. I’ve got an exam on Friday.”
“But… It’s not exam season, right? It’s freaking early October…”
“My professor is just an ass. Not even sure it’s legal to do exams at this point in the semester, but fuck if I know.”
“Damn. Coming right up, then.”
Chatting and small talk with the customers was common when Leo was at the register. What could he say? He was a chatty person. But it’s part of why he loved this job so much. Getting to meet and know new people without the stress and awkwardness of actually having to know them.
Leo slumped against the counter when Will flipped the sign on the door from Open, Come On In! to Closed! See You Tomorrow!.
“Hey, I’d say today was pretty successful!” Piper grinned, eyes bright as she hopped up onto the counter.
As much as Leo loved the actual work, (Huh, that statement seemed to be getting repetitive in his mind,) this was one of his favorite parts of the day. Chatting with his friends about the shift, passing on gossip that they’d heard from the customers, or just complaining about their lives.
“Did you guys know Thalia’s girlfriend is a freaking political science major?” Leo chimed, looking around.
“Yeah. Reyna Ramirez-Arellano. She’s very passionate.” Nico hummed, as Will sat down next to him.
“Wait, you’ve met Thalia’s girlfriend?” Piper asked, cocking her head.
Nico nodded. “I’ve known her for a while, since before she got with Thalia. She helped me through a rough patch in life.”
“Damn.” Was the only reaction, coming from both Leo and Piper simultaneously.
Leo crouched down as Cerberus padded over to him, and scratched behind the dog’s ears.
“Oh, did you guys hear, Annabeth is back from her study abroad!” Piper said, pulling out her phone, showing them a picture of Annabeth boarding a plane.
“That’s great! Grover said Percy’s been a mess since she’s been gone.” Will rolled his eyes fondly.
“I’m still mad that I’m somehow the only one who hasn’t met the other half of this friend group.” Leo shook his head with a huff as Cerberus lapped at his face.
“I don’t know if they’re really part of the friend group, more like Will and I knew them beforehand, and Piper happened to meet Annabeth somehow, and clicked with her.” Nico responded, calling the dog back.
“Hey! The one freaking time Cerbie chooses to show me attention, you pull him away.” Leo put a pout on their face. All they got in return was a shrug, which elicited a laugh from Will and Piper.
It was a cozy atmosphere, same as it always was after a shift, and it made Leo warm inside. He loved his friends. So fucking much.
Leo and Piper were the last to leave the shop, locking up behind them. They padded through the streets, in a comfortable silence. With her, Leo never felt like the silence needed to be filled.
Leo tapped Piper’s shoulder as they entered their building, shouting “Tag!”, before running, and bounding up the stairs two at a time.
“Hey! You little shit!” Piper yelled, before taking off after him.
By the time they got up to their floor, they were out of breath, and practically sobbing with laughter.
“You’re an asshole! Why—” Wheeze. “— did I run up ten floors worth of stairs after you?!” Piper glared at him, though the effect was lost due to the way her face was bright red, the way her eyes sparkled with mirth, and the fact she was grinning ear to ear .
“Fuck if I know!” He laughed, helping her to her feet.
They laughed as they walked to their apartment, and almost collapsed with laughter again two minutes later when Piper tried to open the door, then said “oh. this is the key to the cafe.” with complete seriousness.
When they finally made it inside, Leo drank three glasses of water in an attempt to get his breathing back to normal.
They stumbled into their room, changing into a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, before back into the living room, dropping onto the couch and waiting for Piper.
It was hardly tradition anymore, it was more just a nightly ritual they had, at this point.
After work, they’d have dinner (unless they ate at the cafe,) while watching cop shows.
Sometimes it was Law & Order, but recently, they’d started watching and loving CBS’s FBI show. It was only because the plot was good, and it was a great show, it had nothing to do with how much Piper was into Maggie, or how much Leo adored OA. The fact that the show leads were attractive was just a… neat bonus.
“Chicken or beef?” Piper called from the kitchen.
“Fuck you, original.” Leo shouted back, earning a sharp laugh from Piper.
She came into the room a minute or so later, holding two instant ramen noodle cups in her hands, two pairs of chopsticks between her teeth. She set them down on the coffee table, and flopped onto the couch next to Leo.
Leo tossed their arm around her, and reached for the remote.
“Hey, so that guy today was cute, huh?” Piper smiled at Leo.
“Hm? What guy?” Leo hummed, glancing at her.
She rolled her eyes. “Came in during your turn at the register. Tall, blonde, glasses, with a blue sweater vest that would make anyone else look like a fucking nerd?”
“Oh! The dude who looked like an English major!”
“Yeah, him!”
“Uh, I guess so? Not really my type.”
“He was your type enough for you to blush while taking his order!~”
“Shut the fuck up, no I did not!”