#whistling to get someones attention is perfectly okay and because i find it demeaning means im in the wrong cause golden rule doesnt exist | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

jlalafics · 4 years ago

Note

Ok so you just wrote me a gorgeous drabble and here I am wanting more, bc you’re just too good. On my way to the gym this morning I almost crashed my car bc I saw sexy construction workers and was wondering if sometime in the future you would maybe consider ConstructionWorker!Peeta? Maybe Katniss almost crashed her car staring at that ass? Lol sorry for being so needy... 😘

I hope you enjoy @mrspeetamellark, trying to think up a story title and story cover concept right now because I’m liking this Everlark so much.

Thanks for the prompt, doll! <3

_____

“Yes, move that meeting to the afternoon,” Katniss told her sister. “Snow wants to meet about the Gilmore divorce proceedings.”

“Got it,” Prim replied from the speakers of the car. “Where are you?”

“Just turning onto our block,” she informed her. “It looks like they’re finally renovating the building next to the office…”

Katniss’ eyes were suddenly drawn to a figure standing out against the rest of the men gathered at the site. He was leaning against one of the wood slats that surrounded the property, blond and broad wearing a fitted white t-shirt.

Suddenly, his eyes drew up to meet hers.

Azure blue greeted her own steel ones, the man’s mouth widening into a smile, his expression warm and sweet.

Before morphing into panic—

“Holy fuck!”

Katniss swerved just in time to avoid a squirrel crossing the street and just barely maneuvering her car from crashing into a tree. She managed to save face, making the turn into her office’s parking garage and then into her assigned space.

“Are you alright?” Prim called out. “For a moment there, I thought I lost you.”

Katniss turned off the engine, taking in a calming breath.

“I’m fine. I’ll be up in a minute,” she responded before hanging up.

This is what she got for even looking at a man. It was a sign from the gods telling her to focus on work and not on her lack of a social life.

Too bad, though. The man was awfully cute.

++++++

“Peeta!” Turning, Peeta found Finnick—one of the other construction workers and his childhood friend—heading towards him. “Your dad said that we could take our lunches now.”

“Fine with me,” Peeta agreed, pulling off his construction helmet and tucking it under his arm.

The two headed down the street, grabbing some sandwiches from a nearby deli before heading back.

“So,” Finnick began, as they sat down at the tables set-up in front on the construction site. “I saw that your lady almost damn near crashed into a tree this morning.”

“She isn’t my lady,” Peeta muttered, unwrapping his sandwich to avoid his friend’s teasing eyes. “She’s just a beautiful woman who I happen to admire—who would never look at someone like me.”

“She did notice!” his friend exclaimed. “That close call happened because she was looking at you. Maybe you should go over to her office building and introduce yourself, ask if she’s okay—”

“No, no, no…” Peeta shook his head. “She’s high class and I am…me.”

“Peeta—” Finnick looked to him in concern. “You are a good guy. Stop being so hard on yourself. Just because one woman couldn’t look past your circumstances, doesn’t mean they all will.” His friend’s sea-green eyes darted behind him. “In fact, I’m going to help you out—”

Sticking his middle and index fingers into his mouth, Finnick let out a loud whistle.

“What are you doing?” Peeta asked in confusion.

His friend ignored him, looking behind Peeta and pointing at him.

Then, he was being yanked by the forearm from his seat and being slammed against one of the wood slats of their construction site.

Up close, her eyes were smoky and full of fire—because she was pissed.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” she demanded. “I am not the kind of woman who needs to get whistled at to feel like she’s hot. In fact, it’s downright demeaning! If you wanted my attention, all you had to do was introduce yourself like a normal person—”

“Wait!” She stepped back, but her grip on the front of Peeta’s shirt didn’t let up. “I never whistled at you. It was my friend; the idiot with the red hair who is currently trying to skulk back into our construction site, so you won’t manhandle him like you’re doing to me.”

The woman turned just in time to see Finnick guiltily rush into the construction site.

She immediately released her grasp, her olive complexion flushing scarlet.

“Oh. I’m sorry.” The woman let out a nervous laugh. “It’s just been a hell of a day so far. I almost crashed my car this morning—” Her grey eyes widened. “It’s you!”

He held out his hand to her. “Peeta Mellark.”

She took it and Peeta let his thumb brush against her rich skin. “Katniss Everdeen.”

“Now that we’ve officially met,” he started. “Are you okay? It was a close call this morning.”

“I’m fine,” she assured him. “It’s just been so busy with meetings and I have to go grab lunch—”

“Split my sandwich with me,” he offered. Peeta nodded at the still wrapped sandwich on the now empty table. “Or I’m pretty sure there are few birds that would be happy to take your half.”

Katniss flushed. “You sure?”

“I insist.” He led her towards the table, pulling out a chair for her. After sitting, he pulled one of the wrapped pieces out and handed it to her. “Turkey and provolone, no tomatoes.”

“That is my exact order at Sae’s Deli!” Katniss said as she unwrapped her half.

Peeta grinned. “It’s where I got it.”

“So—” She placed her sandwich down and turned to him. Peeta examined her, perfect posture, a heart-shaped face, and smooth shoulder-length waves greeted his appreciative eyes. “—why did your friend whistle at me?”

Peeta let out a breath.

“The first time I came by to examine this construction site, you came to your office,” he explained. “You were wearing a red romper and your hair was in a braid. You were about the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Ever since, I guess I just looked out for you. Finnick just happened to notice and thought he could help things along…”

Peeta waited for her to recoil or grimace. It sounded pathetic, the way he always made sure to look out for her black BMW in the mornings. However, to him, it was just not a good day if he didn’t see her lovely face, even if it was just through her car window.

“Did you want to have dinner?”

He turned to her, his jaw dropping. “What?”

Katniss blushed, her eyes going to her lap.

“I think you’re cute and I almost crashed my car looking at you,” she revealed slowly. “And it seems like a sign that we should look into whatever this is. Also—” Her eyes met his, glowing brightly. “No one has ever called me beautiful.”

“I find that hard to believe,” he said softly. “I would love to have dinner with you. You have to let me pay, though.”

“Is that some sort of manly-man bullshit?” she retorted with a grin.

“No, my mother would kill me if she found out that I didn’t pay on the first date,” Peeta explained. “She’d think that it would be a horrible start to our epic love story.”

“I like your mom already,” Katniss told him. “How’s six sound?”

“Perfect.”

“Katniss!”

They turned to find a pretty blonde and a dark-haired woman with a squared gaze approaching.

“My sister and one of my associates,” Katniss told him. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a small case and taking out a business card. “My cell number is on it—text me when you can, and we can go over details for tonight.”

“Sure,” he replied in a daze.

Taking her sandwich—they both had foregone eating—Katniss stood, but not before pressing a kiss to his cheek and giving him a breathtaking smile.

“I’m looking forward to tonight.”

+++++++

Over texts, Katniss and Peeta decided to meet at an Italian restaurant close to her apartment.

“I can’t believe you asked that guy out!” Johanna, her roommate and one of the other lawyers in the firm, said from her seat on Katniss’ bed. “You, who won’t even agree to coffee when any other man offers, asked a construction worker out to dinner.”

“He’s not just a construction worker,” Katniss protested. “He’s Peeta Mellark, a guy who I think is really nice and easy to talk to—”

“And let’s not forget the ass,” came a shout from Prim, who was searching in Katniss’ walk-in closet. “Don’t act like you weren’t looking at it when he got up to go back to work, Katniss.” Prim stepped into her bedroom, holding a deep-purple dress with a v-neckline and three-quarter sleeves. “I knew you tried to hide my birthday present! Put this on so he can rip it off you.”

Katniss scowled at her. “Who taught you to talk like that?”

“You did,” Prim retorted with a cheeky grin. “Now, go and get ready. I’ll lay out some underthings for you.”

Katniss headed towards her bathroom.

“Prim, I’m not sure how long it’s been since anyone’s been down there,” Johanna quipped. “You might want to pick something that covers that jungle.”

“I’m on it,” her sister replied as Katniss was about to close the door. “Tonight, we’re just emphasizing her boobs.”

“Good luck with that,” her friend retorted.

++++++

Their dinner was going surprisingly well.

Katniss hadn’t been on a date for almost a year and she had worried over the thought as she walked over to the restaurant

That was until she saw him.

Peeta cleaned up nicely, meeting her in a dark green sweater, fitted jeans, and brown oxfords. In his hand was a single pink peony, which he held out to her after kissing her cheek in greeting.

They both settled at their table, ordering quickly (eggplant parmigiana for her and lasagna for him) before falling right into easy conversation.

Peeta’s family owned the construction company that he worked for though, he was the only family member who worked onsite besides his father. Peeta’s mother worked at the home office as the company’s administrator. He had two brothers, one of which owned his own bakery business and ran it with his wife who had been his high school sweetheart.

“I think you’d like Delly,” he told her. “She’s very down-to-earth which works out perfectly because Rye is all sorts of insane. He’s the kind of guy who will wake up in the middle of the night to make the perfect chocolate cake. Luckily enough, Delly is the kind of girl who will stay up and write out everything he’s done because he’s forgotten by morning.”

“And, your other brother?”

“Runs a small hotel upstate. It’s the perfect place for Christmas,” Peeta said. “Andy and his partner Gale turned the place into one of the top hotels to experience wintertime. It does help that they both have a great sense of style.”

“So, your brother is—”

“Gay as the day is long as he would put it.” Peeta grinned. “He and Gale have been together forever. They’re one of the most stable couples I know.” He met her eyes. “How about you?”

“I grew up about an hour out of the city. My parents were high school sweethearts, married right out of high school. Had me about a year after their wedding and four years after me, Prim was born.”

Katniss stopped for a moment, taking a long sip. This part was always the hardest to explain.

“My father passed away when I was six and Prim was two,” she continued. “My mom brought us here to the city to stay with my Uncle Haymitch while she got back on her feet and find a job. We woke up the next day after arriving at his place and she was gone.”

“Oh God, Katniss—” Peeta reached over, covering her hand with his. “—I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t feel sorry for us. It was probably the best thing she could have done for us,” Katniss told him, her voice still a little thick. She gave him a wet smile. “Feel bad for my Uncle—single guy in his prime having to take on two young girls. Did you know when I got my period, he bought five different types of pads? I know, too much information—”

“I like learning about you, Katniss,” he told her. “Every little bit I’ve learned, I like.”

“I feel the same way.”

It was true. Everything she learned about man before her had only compounded the growing feelings inside her. Peeta was breath of fresh air in her staid routine and every bit of time with him made her feel like she was slowly coming back to life.

Peeta squeezed her hand, she didn’t realize their hands were still pressed together—but she didn’t mind it.

“Go on,” he urged with an eager smile. “Tell me more.”

“When I was in sixth grade, my uncle came for a parent-teacher conference and met my teacher, Effie Trinket. A year later, he married her. She’s great, got me through those tough girl years. She and my Uncle are disgustingly in love.” She snorted, taking a long sip of water. “That’s my odd little family.”

“Have you heard from your mom?” Peeta asked curiously.

Katniss shook her head.

“I don’t have a real desire to. I’m not mad at her anymore, but I can’t say I’d be thrilled to see her again. Prim doesn’t even remember her. She calls Uncle Haymitch and Aunt Effie Mom and Dad.” She sat back, giving him an embarrassed smile. “That was more unloading than I intended for a first date.”

“Honestly, I’ve been watching you for a while,” Peeta revealed. “Finnick is sick to death of hearing me talk about the gorgeous brunette next door. That’s why he whistled at you; it was to save his ears from my own insecurities when it came to you.” His face had gone red. “I know you’re some big-time lawyer and I’m just some guy—”

Katniss shook her head. “You’re not just some guy.”

Peeta grinned. “I hope not.”

After he paid for dinner, they decided to walk to her apartment since it was a warm night.

As they strolled down the block, his hand brushed against hers before carefully grasping her fingers. Katniss took the initiative, entwining their fingers together, and Peeta turned to her, lifting her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles.

She felt the heat rise up her body, her center twisting at the feel of his rough lips to her skin. She had to wonder how those lips would feel against the rest of her body, specifically between her thighs.

It had been a long time since she had sex.

“Nice place,” Peeta said as they approached the luxury apartment complex. “I know the company that worked on them, Beetee Latier is a smart guy and I’m willing to bet that this place is very up-to-date when it comes to virtual assistance.”

“I’ve never tried it, but Johanna has said that she can tell the apartment when it’s too cold,” Katniss told him offhandedly. “And it raises the temperature according to what is comfortable.” They stop outside the entrance and she turned to him. “Thanks for dinner and the conversation.”

“Thank you for giving me a chance,” Peeta replied.

His hand reached, cupping her cheek and his thumb brush against the edge of her bottom lip before dropping to his side. Katniss felt every nerve pulsate at his touch and she had desperately fought the urge to take his thumb into her mouth to taste him.

She wanted to ask him to come up, but her need to not seem so desperate dampened her longing.

Reaching into her purse, Katniss took out her keys, giving him a shy smile. She quickly kissed him on the cheek.

“Good night, Peeta.”

His hand reached to a tendril of her hair, caressing it with his fingers as if he were trying to memorize the feel of it between them.

When Peeta met her eyes, her breath caught at the desire in his darkened blues. “Good night, Katniss.”

“Fuck it—”

Katniss snapped, her keys dropping to the ground in a loud clink, as her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled his mouth against hers. Peeta gasped in surprise before catching himself and circling his arms around her waist to pull her close.

He tasted delicious, her tongue surrounding his as she feasted on him. Her hand reached to grasp at his hair and the moan that tumbled from his mouth cause the fire inside her to flare. She had never wanted anything or anyone as much as she wanted the feel of him against her.

His lips slid off hers, pressing to her neck, his tongue sampling her.

“What are you doing to me, Katniss Everdeen?” he asked breathlessly, the intensity of his question sending shivers through her skin.

Katniss met his eyes, her chest heaving as she felt the rapid beat of her heart.

“I’m taking you upstairs.”

So, there’s going to be a 2nd part to this. I’m having too much fun.

Yeah, I’ve been shipping Gale with the eldest brother since TWC.

#mrspeetamellark #request #constructionworker!Peeta #lawyer!Katniss #Everlark #Everlark Fanfiction #Modern AU #Rated MA #Rated E in later part

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peachscribe · 8 years ago

Note

Where Nico is in the army and he comes back after 4 years to finally start college and he is Will's roommate

look at me actually doing another one of my prompts so soon after i did the last one

i gotta admit i thought ths prompt was great but i wasn’t expecting it to get so out of hand. like. it’s so long. normally i post from mobile but here i am actually on a computer to add in a cut beCASUSE IT’S SO UNBELIEVABLY LONG brace yourself

also the last time i tried to add in a cut something weird happened where it wouldn’t show what i had written after the cut so if anything weird like that happens again don’t be afraid to let me know like ya’ll did last time

also before we get started: ((tw)) there’s some kinda graphic nightmares and one of the characters has a panic attack. just a psa for anyone who’s sensitive to that kind of stuff

The reassimilation process was something Nico had not looked forward to. Seeing friends after years of being apart, eating his favorite sugary cereal, taking naps whenever he wanted? Easy. Getting to know what life was like without fear? Probably a bit harder.

Nico had snuck into the army when he should've been a senior in high school. Of course, he was found out a bit later on and forced to complete his studies online.

(Which seemed very stupid to Nico at the time. War was happening right in front of everyone's faces, but they were focusing on the meaningless studies of a kid who didn't care too much about stuff like that. And then the war ended and suddenly Nico had no clue what to do with himself. He was glad the Sargent Reyna had forced him to finish high school.)

Without the rigidity of the army and the war providing Nico with some sort of purpose, he found himself enrolling in a quiet university to maybe get a degree in psychology or some other -ology. Tuition was free thanks to his four year service, and nothing was really holding him back, so he just decided to full on commit and live in the dorms.

Maybe communal living would help the assimilation process.

Nico had expected a roommate who talked little to him and minded his own business because Nico could get scary. What he did not expect was a boy the human equivalent of a Labrador retriever who only ceased to be quiet when he slept throwing paper planes at the ceiling and asking about the meaning of shades of the same color in different contexts.

"Blue like the sky during the day time is sort of associated with hope, you know? Because it's bright and lighter," Will was saying, carefully folding another sheet of written-on notebook paper. Nico could only assume that the paper was Will's notes from that day. "But blue like the night sky is darker, and therefore holds a certain heavy weight to it." He threw the paper plane up at the ceiling. It flew up, bounced on the lights, and then crashed nose-first on the carpet. "Do you get what I'm saying?"

Glancing at his watch, Nico looked at the half-finished history paper on his laptop screen, the cursor blinking at him tauntingly. "I'm going to get something to eat," he said, standing up from the small desk and ignoring Will entirely, which was something he had grown quite used to doing after only a couple of weeks of living with him.

Will scrambled up from his lounging position on his bed. "Hey, can I come with you?"

"You've normally already eaten by this time." Nico checked his watch to make sure. 7:32. He was right, of course. Will ate dinner with his friends down in the cafeteria at 6:15 every weekday, and Nico always left the campus to get food at 7:30.

"Well, I've been thinking."

This was probably going in no direction Nico would like.

"And it's been two whole weeks since the semester started, and we haven't really talked, you know?" Nico did know. He was doing it on purpose. "And I just think that we should probably get to know each other better if we're going to be sharing the same living space for a year."

Despite how much he hated the logic of it coming from Will, he knew that he was right. In the army, people had to get to know each other fast to build trust and to make shared life in wartimes easier. If he dragged his feet on actually communicating with Will, there was a chance he'd come to hate this normal life.

So he shrugged. "Okay."

They arrived at Nico's usual dinner place (which might've actually had a real name, but the broken neon sign at the front said only 'EAT' so that's what Nico referred to it as in his mind) at 7:58. Will had been chattering away the entire walk to Eat, and Nico tried his best to pay attention.

He slid into his usual corner booth, and the teenage waitress he had come to recognize walked up without a pen and pad. It seemed she was also starting to recognize Nico and his routine.

"Junior burger with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, French fries and a strawberry milkshake?" she asked, and Nico nodded. She turned to Will. "What about you?"

"Um." He looked around for a menu. He didn't find one. "The adult burger? All the way."

"Fries with that?" the waitress asked, seemingly unbothered by Will's reference to a regular burger as an adult burger, though Nico had to try to muffle an ugly snort.

"Yes, please." Will still looked a bit awkward.

"And what to drink?"

"Do you have orange Fanta?" The waitress nodded. "Then I'll have that."

"It'll be right out," she promised, walking back to the kitchen to relay their order.

"How does she know your order?" Will asked once the waitress was out of sight, leaning in as he did so. As if the question was something scandalous.

"I come here every weekday," Nico said with a shrug, not bothering to keep his voice low or lean in like Will had.

"You really have schedule for yourself, don't you?" Will asked after a moment, looking a little incredulous. "Like, I noticed it after the first week, but you always have these set times you come and go, and now you come to the same place everyday?" He let out a low whistle, shaking his head a little.

Nico didn't understand why Will found this fact so hard to believe, but he nodded a little anyway.

"Anyway," Will said, picking up the salt shaker and fiddling with it in his hands. "You didn't strike me as the strawberry milkshake sort of type."

Again, Nico had no clue as to the significance of such a basic decision. "I just am, I guess. I like sweet stuff," he admitted, watching as Will put the salt shaker down to fiddle with the pepper shaker.

"What's your favorite?"

"Anything really," he answered, tracing the grains of the wood and giving a little shrug. "I wasn't able to have anything sweet for a while, so I've just been picking up where I left of and eating any sweet stuff I can."

They both gave a nod of thanks to the waitress as she set down their drinks before walking off. Nico took a small slurp of his milkshake, relishing the taste of it. Will watched as he did so.

"Why not?" Nico looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, why weren't you able to eat anything sweet?"

Nico shifted uncomfortably, carefully analyzing his options. He could tell Will about his service, but then Will would know for sure that Nico had fought in the war because of how recent it was, and it could change how he interacted with him. Despite how intrusive Will was almost every waking moment of the day, Nico liked that he never treated him like he was fragile or scary. The other option was lying, which would probably not hold for long. And that could risk a future friendship with him.

He stared out of the window to the road, lit up by street lamps. People walked by, immersed in their own conversations, or walking peacefully by themselves.

"I served in the army."

Will blinked at him, though Nico only knew it because he was looking at Will's reflection in the window rather than his face. "You mean...?"

"Yes, I served in the war."

"Oh." Will sat back, and Nico braced himself for the onslaught of questions.

(Did he serve active duty? Did he ever kill someone? Interesting stories or scars?)

"Wait. How old are you?"

Nico was so surprised by the question that he actually turned to look at Will in the eyes. "What?"

"Like-" Will made a vague gesture with his hands, seeming to search for the right words. "You look so young. Er, well, not really, because the way you hold yourself isn't like a kid and the look in your eyes isn't either, but your physical stature is very..." He trailed off, making another vague gesture, but this time at Nico.

"I don't know if I should be offended."

"No!" Will exclaimed, waving his hands frantically. "That's not what I meant. You're really handsome in an adult sort of way" - Will's face was turning an alarming shade of red - "it's just you're kinda... small."

Nico stared blankly at Will, whose blush was now creeping under the collar of his shirt. He got the feeling that Will didn't say 'small' to be demeaning.

The waitress came by with their food, and Nico watched as Will desperately tried to get a hold of himself. He decided he might as well relieve him a little bit.

"I was a bit young when I joined," Nico said, grabbing the ketchup to squirt a quarter-sized amount of it on his plate.

Will cleared his throat, no doubt glad that the focus was off of his inability to express his words right. "How young?"

Nico thought for a second. "I believe that I had just turned seventeen at the time."

A piece of Will's burger suddenly lodged in his throat, and Nico stared in mild concern as Will coughed violently before taking a large swig of his orange Fanta. "But that would mean you were still in high school!"

The patty on Nico's burger wasn't perfectly aligned with the bun. He fixed it absently. "I snuck in. I did finish my high school course online, though."

Will stared at him, a strange look of awe on his face that Nico didn't quite understand. "That seems a little heroic," he said, and Nico's jaw clenched. "In like a dumb movie protagonist sort of way," Will continued.

Nico let out an ugly snort.

As the weeks passed, Nico slipped into a comfortable routine. His classes weren't as on-schedule as he hoped, but he went to Eat with Will on Monday's, Wednesday's, and Friday's, and on the weekends they made macaroni and cheese for lunch and soup for dinner. Sometimes they'd go hang out with Will's friends, though that was only on Saturday's and Nico didn't think he liked it being part of his routine. He preferred it much better when it was just himself or himself and Will.

He would go jogging in the mornings and ignore the nightmares that woke him up in the middle of the night.

Nico was stretching by a bench, trying to loosen his muscles a little before he jogged back to the dorm. It wasn't too early in the morning, though there was a certain chill in the air that cooled the back of his throat and made his breath come out like puffs of mist. He checked his watch. 7:27. Will was most certainly still asleep.

Just as Nico was about to take off again, his cellphone vibrated in his sweatpants pocket. "Nico," he answered without checking called ID.

"Hey," came a groggy voice through the phone that Nico immediately recognized. "Annabeth just woke me up to remind me that you had started school nearby."

Nico didn't mention that he had been going to school for a little over two months. "Hey, Percy."

"It's been a while, Neeks," he said, and there was some slight shuffling, like he was getting out of bed. "I wanted to meet up with you again sometime soon. That cool?"

"Tell me when and where."

Percy rattled off coordinates and Nico took the phone away from his ear, saving a note with the numbers and promising to look up the destination later. They decided to meet up in a month when both of their schedules would align.

"I'm going to try to get a couple more hours of sleep in," Percy said, and Nico heard him stifle a yawn. "It's always easier to sleep when it's light outside, you know?"

"I know, Perce," Nico said, his voice grim as he reached down to touch his toes. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"The same goes for you," Percy responded. Nico ended the call.

He jogged back to the dorm, listening to the sound of his breathing and the slap of his shoes on the sidewalk.

Nico accidentally woke Will up as he opened the door a little too loudly. Will sat up, letting out a groan and dragging his hands over his face. "Dude. You go to sleep after I do, and then you get up earlier than I do. Do you even sleep?"

Dropping his phone on his pillow, Nico slumped onto his bed, untying his shoes and peeling off his socks. He didn't answer Will's question. Will didn't seem to mind.

"Anyway isn't it a free day for you?" Will asked, grappling for his phone and checking the date. "Why are you up so early?"

"I go jogging," Nico said, voice monotonous as he gave Will a look. This shouldn't be new information.

"Yeah, but we promised we'd take today to relax."

Nico let his mouth quirk up in a little smile. "I am relaxing."

Will flopped back onto his comforter. "You're so strange."

Grabbing a sweat towel draped over his desk chair, Nico wiped down his face and neck, knocking lightly on Will's chest to get his attention. "Breakfast?" he offered, but Will just wrinkled his nose at him.

"You're showering first."

After Nico had gone down to the showers, his hair smelling distinctly like green apples (the shampoo Will had bought for him), he returned to the dorm to find Will asleep again.

He sat on the edge of Will's bed, reaching over him and grabbing the extra pillow Will kept by his side. He took a moment to admire the pretty features of Will's face - the light dusting of freckles, the brush of his eyelashes on his cheeks, the curl of his feather-like bed hair - before smacking him with the pillow.

Will shot up, nearly cracking his forehead against Nico's, but Nico moved his head easily, observing the alarm and anger on Will's face as he realized what happened. "Will. Breakfast."

"You do this every time you wake me up," Will grumbled, pushing Nico away (but gently, which is how Nico could tell he wasn't as angry as he pretended to be) and kicking his legs out from under the comforter.

"You wouldn't wake up otherwise," Nico said, moving off of Will's bed to his own, where he watched Will go through the process of ruffling through his drawers and their shared closet to find an outfit.

"There are other methods of waking someone up, you know," Will replied, gesturing for Nico to turn his head as he changed.

"Oh, believe me. I've tried," he said, turning his gaze down at his blankets and only looking at the muscles of Will's back once. "This is the only method that works."

Will scoffed, turning to his dresser and putting on his contacts with ease and wiping his face down with a facial cleanser. "I doubt that." He ran a hand through his hair, fixing it haphazardly in the mirror before turning back to Nico. "So where are we going?"

"That cafe down the street?" Nico suggested, and off they went.

The cafe was quiet, but a dull hum accompanied the indie music playing softly from the speakers. Nico let Will order for them both as he chose a table for them to sit at.

Will came back with Nico's regular breakfast order of a danish and chocolate milk and his own order of a breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee. Also on the tray was a small slice of some dessert that Nico didn't recognize.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing at the mystery desert as Will set down the tray.

"Don't know. It looked nice and the cashier said it was new. I thought you'd like it."

A little twinge of affection nudged at Nico's heart, but he refused to acknowledge it. Just like he'd refused to acknowledge similar feelings of affection he'd began to feel for a couple of weeks.

Nico took a small bite out of the desert, liking the sweet taste of it enough to let himself smile a little. "It's good."

"Can I have a bite?"

"Yeah, sure," he said, offering the sweet to Will. Instead of taking it in his own hands, Will bit into it while it was still in Nico's hands. Once again, Nico felt a surge of affection, but he remained outwardly the same.

Will sat back, wiping his mouth, seemingly unaware of the intimacy of such an innocent act. "Very sweet."

They spent the rest of the day at the dorm, lounging on Will's bed and watching sappy rom-coms on his laptop when they both admitted they weren't up to watching action or horror or sci-fi or whatever else.

Will's body seemed to be much like a furnace in that it exuded a comforting heat, and midway through the third movie, Nico pulled the covers up to his chin and leaned his head on Will's shoulder. Will didn't seem to mind, and Nico found himself curling up almost in Will's lap by the time the sky's colors darkened to a heavy blue that descended the small room into a quiet darkness.

When the end credits rolled, Will paused before exiting out of full screen mode, his finger hovering over the button. "Are you always so cold?" he asked, his voice low.

"Usually."

He seemed to think about this for a moment, and Nico wondered if he was going to push him away on account of Nico's freezing feet pressing into Will's legs or his freezing hands tucked between Will's thighs and his own.

But he just exited out of full screen mode. "Which do you want to watch next?"

Nico was crouching in the bunker, holding his rifle in his left hand, dagger in the right. His eyes were closed and his muscles were tense as he listened for footsteps.

He tried not to think about how most of the men and women he'd made friends with were now laying lifeless all around the grounds outside of the bunker. He tried not to think about leaving his sister, Hazel, behind if he joined his friends. He tried not to think about the feeling of the rage that lead him to the place he was now. On enemy lines. In a bunker that was the enemy's property.

Footsteps. Not quiet. They didn't know he was here.

Nico opened his eyes, looking down at the near nonexistent supply of bullets he had. That was fine.

The footsteps drew closer.

He always liked the dagger better.

Nico was in a prison cell. He heard the laments of the captured around him, but he remained silent. Noise resulted in punishment. He was not fond of punishment.

A guard came by, his tall and wide stature covering the very little light that came from the hallway. He unlocked the cell door.

Sometimes punishment came without a reason.

Nico was strapped to a table. The scent of blood was metallic in his noise, and it tasted like pennies in his mouth.

He didn't know anything, he was just a kid, he didn't know anything, he didn't know anything, he didn't know anything.

Words meant nothing when all he could do was scream.

Nico jolted awake, his throat tight with a scream he only just managed to hold in.

Will snapped awake beside him, his hands going to Nico's, which were pulling fiercely on his own hair in attempt to get his head in order again.

"Breathe," Will was saying, and Nico found himself coherent enough to feel sorry for his roommate because the one time he wakes up for one of his episodes, it just so happens to be one of the worst. "Nico, take my hands," he said, his voice soft and smooth. Nico latched on to the familiarity of his voice, his hands shakily grabbing Will's.

"I'm s-sorry," Nico heaved, his breath coming in short and unsatisfying gasps. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize," Will said, bringing their hands down to their laps. "Take a deep breath with me, okay?" Nico followed Will's breath, though his own broke a couple of times from sobs. He only realized he was crying when Will let go of one of his hands long enough to wipe his eyes. "Do you see me?"

Nico nodded, though the absurdity of the question cut through some of the fog in his head.

"What do you see?"

"Eyes," Nico managed to say, his breath still coming short and uneven.

"What color are they?"

"Blue." He took in another shaky breath. "Sky."

"Good," Will praised, giving Nico's hands a soft squeeze. "What else do you see?"

"Freckles."

"How many are there?"

Nico started to count, and though his mind tripped over some numbers, he still found comfort in the routine of counting. His breathing started to slow. He didn't bother telling Will how many freckles he had (he felt better by the 137th one), instead hanging his head a little. "Thank you," he said, voice weak. "I'm sorry."

Will rubbed his thumbs over Nico's hands. "Don't apologize." He let Nico lean his forehead on his collar bone, and he continued tracing circles on his hands. "Do you want to talk?" he asked softly after a couple of minutes.

Nico squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on the soft feeling of the pads of Will's thumbs on his hands. "It's dark," he whispered, and Will seemed to understand what he meant.

"Turn on the lights or wait until morning?"

"Lights."

"I'll be right back, okay?" he asked, giving Nico's hands a light squeeze. Nico nodded.

Will let go and left the bed for perhaps five seconds, but Nico already missed his heat and comfort. The lights flicked on.

Suddenly Nico was very aware of where he was and what had just happened. A rush of emotions overwhelmed him, and he couldn't look Will in the eye when he sat down on the bed again.

"Do you want to talk?" he asked again, and Nico found that familiar surge affection travel through him with everything else at the realization that Will would let Nico back out if he wanted to.

Nico pulled at a loose thread on Will's comforter. "No," he admitted, "but you deserve an explanation."

He glanced up at Will's expression long enough to see him break before Will pulled him into a crushing hug that made Nico breathless for a lot of different reasons. "Nico, I don't deserve anything if you're not willing to give it to me."

Tears welled in Nico's eyes, and he found himself hugging Will back.

"I have nightmares," he said softly, but Will still managed to hear him, pulling away a little bit so that he could look him in the eye. "I was just a kid, Will," he said, and one of Will's hands went up to cradle his face. Nico leaned into his touch. "I've done bad things, seen bad things, have had bad things been done to me."

When Will spoke, his voice was rough, as if he was the one about to cry. "Tell me."

So Nico did.

Percy Jackson was a man who hated wars. He fought in one before Nico, and he fought in the one with Nico. There was still a shock of gray in his hair from when he had been captured and tortured. Nico met him at one of the camps. They had been friends ever since.

Now, Percy was engaged to his longtime best friend who just so happened to be the woman who had rescued them from the camp and brought them back. Her name was Annabeth Chase, and apparently she was out with the girls to pick out a wedding dress.

Nico walked into the restaurant that him and Percy had agreed to meet up fifteen minutes early, and was not unsurprised to find Percy already there. Percy was making himself comfortable, one hand on a glass of water, the other draped over the back of the booth.

His bright green eyes stood out even from a distance, and as he scanned the restaurant, he caught sight of Nico. An easy smile lit up his face.

"Hey," he greeted as Nico slid in the booth. "How're you doing?"

"I'm managing," Nico said with a shrug, thinking about his comfortable life at the university with Will. "How's the engagement?"

"Pretty good," Percy said, taking a sip of his water through the bendy straw. "Annabeth is stressing about the planning of it, but I know it'll be okay. And it's pretty nice to know that soon we'll be a full on sappy married couple."

Nico let out a little laugh. "I don't know about sappy," he said, thinking of Annabeth's knack for punching Percy when he said dumb stuff and only using the pet name (if you could even call it that) seaweed brain.

"Are you kidding? We'll be the sappiest." Percy's eyes were soft and warm, though a little tired, and Nico couldn't help but think that maybe Percy was right.

"I'm happy for you."

Percy looked down at the ring on his left hand, smiling a little. "Thanks, man."

The conversation halted a little as a waiter came by to take their order, and Nico again wasn't surprised when Percy ordered something that almost seemed too large for one person to eat.

"What about you?" Percy asked when the waiter had left.

"What about me?" Nico repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I mean, I know it hasn't been too long since you started university, but someone must've caught your eye by now."

Nico's face burned.

"Oh, I was right."

Nico covered his face with his hands, shaking his head. "It's not going to happen, if that's what you're wondering," he said instead of explaining.

"I'd like to know the details before you try to tell me something like that."

Finally managing to get his blush under control, Nico removed his hands, fiddling with his water glass. "His name is Will and he's my roommate."

Percy hummed. "Freshman?"

"Yeah, but he said he went to a community college before university, so we're about the same age."

"Is he hot?"

Nico thought for a second of Will's soft lines and golden-boy look. "I would say pretty. Or maybe beautiful?"

"You've got it bad, I think," Percy said, smiling a little. Then his expression turned serious. He leaned in. "Does he know everything?"

Looking down at the table, Nico nodded. "I had a bad panic attack after a nightmare a while back. He calmed me down, and asked if I wanted to talk to him about it. So I did." Nico thought about his life after that, and his heart warmed. "Since then, he's told me that I should wake him up any time I have a nightmare, which pretty much means I wake him up every night, but he doesn't seem to mind."

He didn't mention that they had both learned that Nico slept better when he was next to Will and now they slept in the same bed.

Percy thought for a moment. "Why're you so convinced it won't happen?" he asked, tracing his finger on his sweating glass. "He seems to care about you a lot."

"I don't..." Nico trailed off, his shoulders sinking a little. "I don't know if he wants to deal with someone like me." He paused, a terrible thought occurring to him. "Or if he could even love me after what I told him that night."

The waiter brought their food. Percy gave him a light thanks before turning back to Nico.

"Listen, Neeks," Percy started, making Nico look up at him. "It was hard for Annabeth and me after we came home. We didn't know how to help each other at first, and it was hell on the both of us. But then we learned to let each other know when we had nightmares or when we had panic attacks, and things got easier." He paused, running a hand through his hair. "We changed after the wars, Nico. But what happened to us or what we did - that doesn't change who we are. Will knows how to help you. I'm sure he also knows that you aren't what you've done in the past."

Nico looked down at his plate of food, willing himself not to cry in public. "It really is good to see you again, Percy. Thank you."

They spent the rest of the day fooling around in town, and they met up with Annabeth and the girls as well as some of the guys for dinner. By the time Nico got back to the dorms, it was late and he was exhausted but happy. It was nice to see all his old friends again and talk to Hazel in person instead of by phone for once.

Will was sitting on his bed studying when Nico got there. "Did you have fun?" he asked, pushing up his glasses.

Nico checked the time. 1:43. "Aren't you normally in bed by now?"

He gave a little shrug, closing his textbook and stretching. "When you called saying you'd be home late, I thought I might as well do a little studying while I waited for you."

"Idiot," Nico said, though he smiling a little, "that call was supposed tell you that you didn't have to wait up for me."

"Oh, well," Will said, watching as Nico kicked off his shoes and flopped onto the bed beside him. "You look happy."

"I am," Nico said, closing his eyes and tucking his hands beneath his head. "I liked meeting up with my friends again."

Will yawned, rubbing at his eyes under his glasses and putting a light hand on Nico's head. "You'll have to tell me all about it. And maybe let me meet them, since you've been telling me about them for weeks."

"Sure," Nico said, his chest feeling warm and fuzzy as Will ran his fingers through his hair. "But you're about to pass out. Staying up late doesn't suit you."

Will hummed in response, his hand trailing down from Nico's hair to run his knuckles over his cheek. "I like this," he said after a moment, and Nico opened his eyes, his heart skipping a beat.

"Like what?"

"Seeing you like this. It's nice."

"Oh."

For a moment, Will looked like he was going to say something else, but he kept it to himself. "Go change so that we can sleep, okay?"

"You're going to fall asleep before I finish changing," Nico teased, getting up from the bed and grabbing his sleep clothes.

"Will not."

"Will too."

Sure enough, when Nico looked back at Will when he was done changing, Will was laying back on the bed, already in a deep sleep. Nico climbed under the covers next to him, falling asleep with a smile on his face.

The year went on, and Nico thought that maybe the reassimilation process wasn't as bad as he thought. He got used to his routine at school, and his routine with Will, and he quite liked the normal life he was living. He also got used to the growing feelings he felt for Will.

"I was thinking," Will started.

Nico wondered if he'd like the direction this was going.

"And I want to get my own apartment when this year finishes. Because that has always been my plan, you know? To live in a dorm the first year, then move out the next year. But I like living with you because you're nice company, and I've gotten used to you always being around, which is a good thing-"

"Will," Nico interrupted. "You're rambling."

"Right," Will said, running a hand through his hair. "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to maybe rent an apartment? With me. If you'd want to rent an apartment with me."

Nico thought about his options. He could say no to save himself from his unrequited love and deal with the heartbreak of being apart from Will. Or he could say yes to be by his side for a little longer and hang on to the hope that Will maybe loved him back (which is something that Percy, Annabeth, Hazel, and all his other friends said when they met Will and heard Nico's stories about him but Nico refused to believe).

"Yeah, okay."

"Really?"

"Really."

Will let out a breath, a smile of relief making his face light up. "Cool."

Nico was watching Will cook them both breakfast in their new apartment, his heart light and warm.

Moving in had been a process, but now every box was unpacked, and although they still didn't have matching chairs for the dining table, Nico liked the home that they had made. His nightmares had calmed down a little, and when he got them, Will was always there. He felt comfortable with the life he was living.

"Nico?" Will called, his eyes focused on the pan of eggs in front of him. His voice was a little hesitant.

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm in love with you." Nico blinked. "No," Will continued, still not looking at him, "that's not right. I know I'm in love with you."

Nico checked his surroundings to see if what he was experiencing was real life. He looked out the window. The morning sky was a brilliant and light blue.

"I know I'm in love with you, too."

Will finally looked over at him, his eyes wide. "You are?"

"Yes."

"Oh." He pulled the pan of eggs off the burner, grabbing the plates of toast he had set aside and scraping some of the eggs onto the plates. Nico got up to pour them both some orange juice.

When they were seated at their small dining table, Will paused before taking a bite of his breakfast. "Do you want to go out with me?"

"Yes."

It was only after they had finished their breakfast and were cuddled together on the couch to watch whatever on Will's laptop that it finally sunk in.

"Are you sure?" Nico asked, looking up at Will. "I mean, about dating me. Loving me."

Will found his hand, which was tucked between his thighs, and held it tight. "Absolutely sure." He pressed a kiss to Nico's forehead. "What about you?"

He pressed a kiss to Will's lips. "I'm sure."

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