[Fic] Olympus University (4)
Part Four of Olympus University, an AU where Nico and Jason are Professors at a university! This is directly after part three, but most of the parts are separate. You can read them alone, or you can read them together. Enjoy! And again, if you guys like the concept, please feel free to send in ideas for professor hijinks!
Parts:Â 1|2|3|4|Smut
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Being on a coffee date would be a lot easier ifâ
 âProfessor di Angelo, umâI went to your office hours and you werenât there.â
 âJason and he werenât interrupted every five seconds.
âOhâsorry about that. What do you need?â Youâre such a liar, Nico thinks and doesnât say.
 âI was wondering if you could tell me if my response to the essay question on the homework met the requirements you listed.â
 âNot a problem.â Nico sets down his cup of coffee. A sleeping Lupa shifts in his lap, yawning softly before she burrows into his hoodie. Nico accepts his studentâs notebook quietly and quickly scans over it. âThis looks fine. Excellent, actually.â
 His student beams.
 âIâm guessing Mister Haddock explained it well, then,â Nico tries to say as casually as possible, âafter he came up here twenty minutes ago?â
 Nico flashes a stern look to a group of students not too from the booth where Jason and he are sitting. They all flinch as they see his gaze, and pretend that they arenât eavesdropping at all.
 The student twitches, grinning nervously, and tips his hat. âUmâheâs not very good atâŚexplaining things. I figured Iâd ask you just in case.â
 âThen you probably shouldnât be sitting next to him in my class either, Mister Hamada.â Jason arches an eyebrow, looking more amused than Nico can conjure. âThen againâas I recall, you and your brother were busy playing paper football this morning.â
 Mister Hamada freezes. His lips curl into a subtle grimace.
 This time, Nico canât hide his amusement. He turns to Jason, breaking his grimace. âPaper football?â
 âOh yeah,â Jason gloats. âI won.â
 Snort.
 âI take it this was one of the classes that I didnât attend?â Nico muses.
 âMe against 150 kids. I couldâve used your help,â Jason jokes. He pushes the glasses up the bridge of his nose and smiles goofily. Nico rolls his eyes.
 âUm,â Mister Hamada asks, âmay I go?â
 âOh. Yeah. Let us know if you have any questions,â Nico says. He wishes he wasnât required by the school to say that. While he doesnât mind helping out his students with whatever they require, Nico canât help getting a little uncomfortable when his students invade on his personal time.
 Itâs not really a date, he reminds himself. Two professors getting coffee hardly qualifies as a date.
 Even if that professorâs dog has made a nest out of your lap.
 âOkay,â Mister Hamada says. He shifts awkwardly before nodding his head towards Nicoâs lap. âUm, cute dog.â
 âThanks,â Jason beams.
 Like that. Like that. Nicoâs face scrunches and he keeps from smacking himself in the forehead.
 Mister Hamadaâs eyes widen, but he says nothing before scurrying back to his friends.
 âNice kid,â Jason says. âDonât you think?â
 Nico snorts. âYou really played paper football with him?â
 âHow could I not?â Jasonâs lips curl into a tiny smile and makes a gesture. âWhen you get a hundred points if you smack Professor Grace between the eyes?â
 âI think youâre too buddy-buddy with your students.â
 âBetter that than the alternative.â A quiet laugh leaves Jasonâs mouth and he shakes his head. âMy stepmom sent me to this prestigious prep school in San Francisco as soon as I learned how to walk. Jupiter Academia. I hated it.â
 âTop of the class, in every club imaginable, and on at least five sports teams.â
 Jason blinks, looking bewildered.
 âYou seem like the type,â Nico remarks simply, like itâs the most obvious thing in the world. He shrugs, and then grimaces, wondering if his words came out more rudely than they sounded in his head.
 âIâm that type, huh?â
 Nico shrugs, but his body is completely tense. He doesnât break eye contact with Jason, but his foot starts tapping nervously under the table.
 âI was only on two sports teams.â
 He blinks. Nico watches Jasonâs lips break into a smile, and the other professor looks amused.
âLacrosse and track,â Jason elaborates. He looks up to the sky, then makes three tick marks with his hands. âFencing, too, if that counts as a sport. Iâm pretty good at fencing.â
 That piques Nicoâs interest. He tries to imagine Jason at a fencing tournament or with a swordâbut the silly side of him suddenly dresses Jason up as Luke Skywalker in his head with a light saberâand that makes him smile.
 âWhat?â Jason doesnât question the sudden grin on Nicoâs face. He laughsâa soft, sweet chuckle. âMy stepmom wanted me to be an all-around American Boy, but itâs pretty hard if youâre not that smart.â
 âYouâre plenty smart,â Nico admonishes. He frownsâknowing heâs the last person on earth who should be instilling self confidence in anyoneâbut does so anyway. Nicoâs about to reach out and squeeze Jasonâs hand reassuringly, but pauses. Instead, he plays it off by petting Lupa on the head.
 She wakes up, whines at him, and goes back to sleeping.
 âThanks.â Thereâs some tension in Jasonâs eyes. Itâs then Nico realizes that as friendly as Jason is, Jason isnât as open as Will Solace or Frank or Percy. The you seem like the type comment hurts Jason more than he wants to let onâand Nico feels like an idiot for saying that.
 âI got my GED when I was sixteen,â Nico explains. He keeps from smacking himself. Nico doesnât exactly like making himself the center of attention, either. âHomeschooled for most of my life. You wouldnât believe what kind of shock it is to get out of the house. Itâsâlike stepping out of the Underworld and realizing everything on the other side is different.â
 âThat big of a step for you, huh?â Jason asks, amused.
 Nico shrugs in a nonchalant fashion and sinks back in his seat. And itâs left at that. Two private people awkwardly trying to bond and bumping noses in the process.
 (Bumping noses is a bad metaphor, but whatever.)
 He starts racking his brain, every instinct in his body screaming about how this is a bad idea. Talking to Jason isnât badâbut Nicoâs brain melts to goop when he realizes how scared he is when they run out of things to talk about.
 Fiddling with the paper sleeve on his coffee, Nico tries to think of what else to talk about. He can feel studentsâ eyes from the booth opposite of them, waiting for something. Nico wrinkles his nose when he notices find things to talk about turns into find excuses to leave in his head.
 Maybe heâd be less nervous if he hadnât angrily barged into Jasonâs office earlier or accused him of being married. Ugh.
 âYou play any games with your students?â Jasonâs question makes Nico jump. âLike paper football?â
 Looking up, Nico blinks owlishly. His heart skips a beat when he sees the smile over Jasonâs faceâimmaculate and sweet like the one in the photo heâd gotten a few weeks earlier. Nico chews on the inside of his mouth, not trusting what would come out.
 It hits him how relaxed Jason is. ThatâŚthey could be quiet and relaxed. Jason doesnât seem offended at the lull in conversation, and Nicoâs grateful for the silences.
 âOther than, Guess Who Professor di Angelo is dating?â Nico snorts.
 Jason laughs. âMy students havenât even brought it up.â
 âYouâre the new teacher. Students arenât sure how to react.â Nico shrugs. âI hear neutral things from most of them. They think your workload can be a bit much, but your pacing with the lesson plan is good. They like you.â
 âNot as much as they like you.â Jason chuckles softly under his breath and leans over the table. âSeriouslyâthey rave on and on about your class. Iâve seen the papersâa lot of people pass your class with flying colors, and European History isnât something people can get right away.â
 Nico blinks. He feels his cheeks heating up. He hears a giggleâand shoots glare at Haddock and Hamada. Their group quickly quiets down.
 When Nico looks back, he sees that Jasonâs cheeks are a little red, too. Jason looks embarrassed, at leastâthat way Nico doesnât have to carry this whole notion on his own shoulders.Â
 âDidâŚthis ever happen with your ex-boyfriend?â Jason asks. Nicoâs glad that he sounds reluctant to ask.
 âOur students rarely crossed,â Nico explains. âAnd we kept the relationshipâŚunder wraps.â
 He did, at least.
 âAnd Iâm very private about my personal life,â he continues. He rubs his temples and shakes his head. âAt least beforeâŚthis.â
 âI can deny it in my next lecture.â Jason shrugs. âAnd we canâŚsee each other less. I guess dropping by your classes so often does sound weird.â
 Cheeks heating up, Nico notices Jason fails to mention that Nico started it. Heâd popped into Jasonâs class on the first day of school out of amusementâsome stupid once-a-month need to satisfy his funny bone. Nico has his moments where he feels the need to size someone upâespecially if that someone was doing the same thing to him.
 (He makes a mental note to stop hanging out with their department head, Jackson.)
 âI donât really mind,â Nico blurts out admits his thoughts. He plays with the paper sleeve again. âI like having your company there. ItâsâŚrefreshing.â
 When he looks up, he sees Jason smiling at him so brightly that the other professor could light up a whole town. âI like your company, too.â
 Nico fidgets. A smile curls against his lips, and he tries to hide it under a hand. He shakes his head, unsure of what to sayâbut in a good kind of way.
 âListen,â Jason says a moment later, his voice shy. âI know thatâŚour students thinking of us being a couple is weird, but would you ever want toââ
 âHey, Nico.â
 Nico flinches at the new voice intrusion, and cocks his head to the side. Once he realizes who it is, he stands to his feet and tries not to grimace. âWill.â
 Willâs dressed in the same fashion he always isâa scrubs top, blue jeans, and a pair of flipflopsâtwo out of three of which that Nicoâs certain arenât allowed in surgery. His blond hair is loose, eyes still shining with mischief, and his stupid smile on his face. He turns to Jason and extends a hand. âProfessor Solace. Professor Grace, right? Iâve heard good things about you.â
 Jason blinks at the hand in front of him and chuckles softly. âI canât be the only professor to mistake a room, can I?â
 âNah. Most of your hard time comes from being the new guy.â Will snickers. âAnd you crossed this guyââ Will gestures to Nico and Nico grimaces. ââwhoâs well-liked by most of the students. I was the last new guyâtransferred in the middle of a semester a few years back. Likeâtada! Here I am.â
 âGood to know.â Jason arches an eyebrow, looking nothing less than polite, and shakes Willâs hand.
 Itâs then that Nico realizes something is tucked in Willâs arm. Will catches him staringâand that stupid sunshine smile gets redirected towards him. âItâs getting cold, so I figured youâd want this back. Some of your stuff is still at my apartment.â
 âThanks.â Nico hastily takes it backârealizes itâs his aviatorâs jacket, and blinks. âOh. Thank you.â
 âYeah, you still have some of your stuff at my place,â Will says with ease. His voice is smooth, like heâs singing a melody without having to try. Nicoâd bet that all Will has to do is walk outside and the rain would stop. âSwing by some time and pick it up, okay? Or we can grab coffee or somethingâwe havenât had time for each other in a while.â
 âThatâs kind of the point when you stop dating people,â Nico retorts flatly. He rolls his eyes. âBut youâre right. Iâd like my stuff back.â
 âCool.â Will beams at him. He looks back and forth between Jason and Nicoâand blithely continues, âWednesday work for you?â
 âActually, Wednesdayâsââ
 âPlease. You can put a hold on your comic book store adventures on hold to get your jackets back. Or if youâd likeâjust cancel class and pretend youâre sick.â Will pats Jason on the shoulder and grins. âYou know he cancels class when theyâre ahead on the lesson plan just to go buy video games?â
 âDo not,â Nico grumbles.
 âAnywayââ Will turns to Jason again. âWatch this one. He eats a grape and calls that breakfast, lunch, and dinner.â
 Immediately, Jason cocks his head towards Nico and flashes a look of concern. Nico waves his hand dismissively.
 âSee you Wednesday, Neeks.â Will reaches over, pecks Nico on the cheek, and trots off elsewhere.
 Thereâs a collective gasp behind them.
 âLove triangle,â one student whispers, âthe plot thickens.â
 Nico grinds his teeth. Itâs the only thing he can do to ward off an incoming headache.
 Eventually, Jason clears his throatâwhich forces them back in their seats. âSoâŚboyfriend?â
 âI think you can see why we broke up,â Nico says. He sighs and wipes the wet spot on his face.
 âWas that the guy thatâŚ?â Jason makes a gesture with his shouldersâwhich apparently is supposed to mean, you were almost engaged to?
 Nico makes another face. One that he usually makes before telling his class to stop discussing his personal life. âYou can tell in the way he smiles that he has great taste in men.â
 A smile quirks against Jasonâs lips. Heâs probably trying not to ask how someone as happy as Will can be with someone as grouchy as Nico. âI meanâŚI think youâre great.â
 The other professor bites the inside of his mouth and hopes he isnât as red as he feels. âYou were saying something? BeforeâŚahem. That?â
 âDonât worry about it.â Jasonâs smile becomes tightâbut he says nothing else. Instead, he stands to his feet again. âItâs getting late, though. My afternoon class is starting soon.â
 âOh.â
 âWalk you back to your office?â What? âI meanâif you donât mind the company?â
 âI donât see why not.â
 Jason beams, way too satisfied with that answer than Nico can understand why.
 The walk back to their offices is a silent oneâbut itâs a nice silent and Nico realizes he appreciates the small gaps in their conversations.
 (Something that Will never did.)
 They get to Nicoâs office doorâwhich is at the other end of the hall, and Nico fidgets in place.
 âWell,â Jason says awkwardly. âThanks for the company.â
 âYou too.â Nico tucks his hands in his pocketsâand remembers that his aviatorâs jacket is heavy in his arm.
 Lupa stares at him enthusiastically, tongue out and tail wagging. She barks.
 âYou too, Lupa.â A smile curls against Nicoâs lips and he bends over to pet her on the head.
 âShe likes you a lot.â Jason grinsâlooking especially satisfied. âAnd thatâs hard.â
 I know that feeling, Nico thinks. âI could watch her, if youâd like.â
 âReally?â
 âJust until class is over.â He shrugs. âOtherwise sheâs going to be alone in your office, right?â
 âYeah.â Jasonâs eyebrows furrow with worry. He looks down to Lupaâwho in turn wags her tail at him, oblivious. âI meanâif you think youâre okay with it.â
 âTotally okay with it.â
 âOkay. Thanksâa lot, Nico.â
 âNo problem.â Nico bites the inside of his mouth, trying not to smile and desperately failing.
 âBye, girl.â Jason leans overâand looks awfully big as he scoops Lupa up and lets her lick his face. He grinsâand Nico wrinkles his nose. âTake care of him, okay?â
 Another five minutes pass, with Jason blubbering to the dog and until Lupa looks like the one seeing Jason off like a proud owner. Nico rolls his eyes as Jason finally hands him the leash and leavesâafter cheerily saying another thanks. Â
 *
 A few minutes later, a student comes in. âProfessor Di Angelo, Iâd like to discuss the grade that I got on the lastâŚâ
 Nico stares at the girl as her eyes fall to Lupa. He tries his best not to glare at herâand fails. âNot a word about the dog.â
 She squeaksâand whatever she planned to say quickly flies out the window. âUm, okay.â
 Even though she redirects the subject back to their last homework assignment, Nico can see her eyes drifting back to the dogâwith the occasional question of Whereâs Professor Grace?
 He sighs when she finally leaves, and Lupa settles under the desk on top of Nicoâs feet.
 âYou like me, right?â Nico muses.
  Lupa looks up to him curiously, wags her tail, and chews on one of his shoelaces.
 Another sigh leaves his lips. âI wish that answer was as clear with your owner.âÂ









