Roommate Bonding Time

A/N: Yeah I'm so behind but I'm gonna do it!! As I wrote this, That One Post™ came to mind.

"Jason, no."

"Nico, come on! You need to get out more, meet new people."

"Yeah, no that doesn't sound like me." Jason was trying to set Nico up on a blind date because Nico 'didn't socialize enough to meet his future husband.' Nico though Jason was being ridiculous and over-exaggerating the situation. He went out occasionally, he just hated talking to strangers and avoided them as much as possible.

Jason wouldn't give up, though. "Nico, I promise you won't regret it as much as that one time you drank vodka at a party."

"That's a pretty low bar there," Nico replied dryly. He hated vodka.

"Yeah, well," Jason shrugged. "Percy said he has someone in mind, so it'll at least be a friend of his."

Nico groaned. "You AND Percy are in on this? This sounds more and more like a disaster."

Jason wagged his finger in Nico's face. "Buuut Piper apparently also knows the guy Percy is thinking of and approves."

Nico narrowed his eyes. "That only makes it slightly better." He knew Piper had good instincts about these kinds of things.

"Then it's settled! 7 PM, Friday, meet at the campus coffee shop. It'll be super chill, and we can be nearby if you want." Jason looked entirely too pleased with himself.

"No," Nico said firmly. "I most definitely do not want any of you near me that night. Not that I'm going."

"Well, it's too late! Percy already told the other dude and it would be rude to stand him up when he doesn't even know your name." Jason already started going back to his homework, not leaving any space for Nico to object.

"I hate all of you." Nico rolled his eyes. It couldn't be that bad, Nico thinks, if the stranger is also feeling awkward about the whole thing. "So, I don't even get to know his name?"

"Nope."

—

Friday came and Nico was officially nervous. He hadn't gone on a date since high school and now he had to go in without knowing anything. Nico was currently waiting at the coffee shop, anxiously bouncing his knee.

Jason and Percy had apparently designated a table for them so Nico and his stranger would know where their date was. They marked it with a single red rose laid on the table. Nico wanted to chuck it away so badly.

When the door chimed, Nico's head immediately snapped up. He first noticed the mop of blonde hair. The tall boy that walked in was wearing a red flannel over a white T-shirt and jeans. He couldn't see his face as the stranger was looking away. Nico recognized him the moment he turned his way - it was his roommate, Will Solace. Nico's shoulders relaxed when he realized it wasn't his date. He didn't talk much with Will and they hadn't been roommates for more than a month, but he gave no real sign that he was interested in Nico. Nico guesses he didn't give any signs either, he wasn't really trying to impress anybody. But Nico did know that Will was a really handsome medical student who studied constantly and didn't go out too much.

As Nico thought this, Will turned and locked eyes with Nico. His eyes widened in recognition, his mouth twitching up into a smile, and he seemed like he was about to say a greeting when he stopped short and fixed on something to Nico's left. Confused, Nico looked towards where Will was staring. And then it hit him. He whipped his head back towards Will, who was still frozen in place. Yup, his eyes were definitely trained on the rose on the table.

Nico was now just as confused and shocked as Will. He instinctively grabbed the rose and started fiddling with it, which seemed to break Will out of his daze. A deep blush spread over Will's face as he made his way toward the table. Nico managed to pluck a couple petals off the flower before Will slowly sat down across from him.

"Soooo..." Will began and oh God this was awkward.

"Yeah..." Nico agreed.

"You... you're my... blind date?"

Nico set the rose down and mustered up his courage. He looked Will straight in the eye. "Yes, I apparently am." He gazed at Will and asked, "So, you're into guys?"

Will shrugged, still clearly nervous based on his tense posture. "I'm bi, so yeah." He ran a hand through his hair and breathed out audibly. "Okay, let's just start over a bit. Hi, I'm Will Solace, I'm bi and was set up on this blind date. I'm also your roommate." He stuck his hand out.

Nico shook his hand. "Nico, gay, have horrible friends that insist on socializing and butting into my love life. Also your roommate."

Laughter bubbled up in Nico's throat and soon both boys were laughing and wiping tears from their eyes. The whole situation was ridiculous.

After they got a hold of themselves, Will spoke up. "So, I mean since we do kind of know each other, I guess if you don't want to go through with this date, then it's okay. Our friends did set us up."

"No, no..." Then a realization hit Nico. "Wait, you're friends with Percy?"

Will shrugged. "Yeah, kind of? I mean I knew him since childhood, but we weren't really close..."

"But Piper said she also knew you... which means... those little shits, they totally knew we were roommates. I knew I couldn't trust Piper."

Will's mouthed formed an 'O' as he realized what Nico was saying. "Did you say Piper? What did you tell her?"

Nico glanced at Will and decided to tell the truth. "I may have mentioned something about having a hot and smart roommate who was unfairly straight and unavailable."

"HA!" Will couldn't contain his burst of laughter at that statement, though he didn't miss being called hot and smart. "Well I also know Piper and may have also told her something about my hot straight roommate who probably thought I was some uncool nerd."

Nico snorted. "Well, I mean only the straight part is untrue."

"Hey!" Will acted offended and playfully smacked Nico from across the table. They both shared another laugh.

"So, now we know Piper was the real mastermind here," Will stated.

"I knew Jason and Percy weren't smart enough for this," Nico grumbled. But the smiles on both boys' faces proved that they didn't really mind the set up. It was good 'roommate bonding time', as they would later say.