Positive (a Solangelo AU)

Another Wedding

     Date: June 4, 1981

Nico didn't want to be at another wedding, but here he was, eating a pomegranate while he watched Piper cut up slices of cake for Jason and herself. He sighed and focused on the pomegranate seeds in his hands. He would never have a day like this. He loved his mother and his two sisters, but Nico had never loved a woman romantically.

      He suspected that something was wrong with him and seeing his quasi-friend smiling as he ate cake alongside his new bride did little to improve Nico's mood. Nico wanted to hate Jason, but he was hard to dislike. The two both worked at McDonalds — the latest place Nico had worked at — and Nico hadn't been so close to anyone in years. Jason did things like take the worst shifts for Nico and bring him food when he was sick.

     When Nico had left his home at 18 — six years ago — he had left for good. Nico sometimes visited his mother and sisters, but things were strained between him and his father. Nico's father wanted him to marry an heiress named Lacey, but Nico felt nothing towards her. No matter how hard he tried, he never felt the same way towards women that other men did and that made him feel separate — it made him feel as if he wasn't truly human.

     "Hey Nico!" Jason said, striding over to him.
     
     He had finished his slice of cake and was smiling. Nico wondered why he had come over. Surely Piper wanted to spend time with him?
  
     "I have a friend I want you to meet," Jason said.
  
     Nico wondered if Jason was trying to set him up. Before working at McDonalds, Nico had worked for a shipping company. One of his coworkers, Percy Jackson, was always trying to set Nico up. After Percy married Annabeth, Nico quit.

     "You two have a lot in common," Jason said.
  
      "You mean, she likes talking about funerals and morgues?" Nico asked.
 
      "No, I mean you and him are both are single," Jason said with a wink.

    Nico gaped at Jason. Did he know his secret? He couldn't; could he?

    "I'm sure you'll find much to talk about," Jason said as he led Nico over to a table where one man was sitting.

    He was taller than Nico with blonde hair and tanned skin. He smiled up and Nico noticed tat his teeth were as white as bones. Nico also realized that the man was incredibly handsome even with his hair mussed and a crooked tie around his neck. Nico hoped his cheeks weren't as pink as his hands, stained by the juice of the pomegranate, were. He fixed his best death glare on the man.

     "Will Solace," Jason said. "This is Nico di Angelo. I thought you two might make friends."

     "How does Jason know you?" Nico asked as he sat down.
  
     "I'm a medical student," Will said as Jason returned to his wife. "I work at the hospital. I'm the one who told him Piper was pregnant. That's why the two of them got married."

     "They're a cute couple," Nico said.

      "Yes," Will agreed.
 
       "I can assure you I will leave you alone once Jason isn't looking," Nico said.

      "But I like your company," Will said.

       "Why would you?" Nico asked. "I'm the son of a funeral home owner. I'm—"

    He stopped himself before he revealed his biggest secret. He kept it bottled inside of him. Will might be kind, but if he knew that Nico liked men, then that kindness would be replaced by revulsion. Nico had never told anyone his secret and he definitely was not going to tell this medical student — no matter how cute he was.

    "You're what?" Will said.

    "I'm fascinated with death," Nico said quickly.
   
      Oh gods, Nico thought. What was I thinking? He'll think I'm a creep.
  
    "Well, I want to be a doctor," Will said, "so that makes two of us."

   Nico smiled. He wasn't sure why this medical student was single. He didn't have bad breathe and he was polite. Was he a serial killer? Surely women flocked to him? As Will and Nico talked and even ate cake together, Nico couldn't get the question out of his mind: why was this man single?