Captain William Laurence (betwixtsea_nsky) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2020-09-28 15:38:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, nico di angelo, william laurence |
Who: Laurence and Nico
What: Nico runs into some trouble at the grocery store
When: Early September
Where: The grocery store
Warnings/Ratings: Squeaky clean
Status: Complete
At some point Nico knew he’d have to start talking to his Father again but right now, everytime the man’s name showed up on his phone he wanted to throw the device across the room he was still that pissed off at him. He’d known his dad had cheated on his mom more than once, Hazel was proof of that if he’d needed any, so that wasn’t what it was. What it was - knowing that Hades had a chance to be involved in Mal’s life and refused? He wasn’t sure how long it would take for him to calm down but he knew right now? He wasn’t there. He’d robbed his kids, all of his kids, of a chance to grow up knowing each other. Forcing them to only happen upon each other as adults. It wasn’t fair. The girls deserved better than what Hades had given them.
Nico looked down at the shopping list in his hand, forcing himself to stay calm as he noticed the letters rearranging, again. He knew they weren’t really, that it was the dyslexia that had crossed over from the dreams. It was still just annoying. “At least I know what the labels for most of these look like so that’ll help.” He muttered to himself. He really didn’t know how Will had managed this for so long. Dyslexia and ADHD were driving him nuts. He turned down the aisle with the pastas on it, trying to picture his pantry in his head to remember what ready made pastas he already had for backup.
***
Laurence generally preferred to do his grocery shopping at the Farmer’s Markets; he preferred the fresh ingredients, being able to speak to those who provided his food, the fresh air and he sunshine, and then generally pleasant atmosphere. Unfortunately for him, however, the kindly couple that normally sold the homemade pastas had not been present at the Farmer’s Market this week, and Laurence had been planning on making a summer bocconcini salad this weekend fo Pidge and himself, with pine nuts and sundried tomatoes, and he was in need of some farfalle.
It didn’t take him long to find the farfalle, and once he grabbed the package, he turned, not realizing until after he collided with him that there was a young man who had been walking behind him. “My deepest apologies,” Laurence said, reaching out a hand to steady the young man. “Are you alright?”
***
Nico hadn’t realized there was someone ahead of him at the pastas until they bumped into him and he almost fell. Thank the gods for good reflexes even as he forced himself to quickly get out of his fight stance. This clearly wasn’t a monster, just a man that was apparently as rattled by their collision as he had been. “I’m fine. I’m sorry. I was looking at my list not at the people around me.” He said, trying to focus on the man in front of him and not on the mess of box labels behind him. Okay. Maybe it was time to tell Will that it was getting worse for him.
***
“No, it was my fault entirely,” Laurence assured the boy, frowning a little at the distracted look in his eye. “Is everything alright?” he asked after a moment, wondering if he was overstepping his place.
***
Nico felt a twinge of embarrassment at that question, realizing he must not have been hiding the difficulty he was having as well as he thought. “I’m just having some trouble with the boxes. I’m dyslexic. Most of the time it’s not an issue. I guess I have more on my mind than normal right now.” He said, Will’s voice in his head reminding him that it was nothing to be ashamed of. It was a medical condition after all - just one that had come over from their Dreams.
***
"Ah, I see," Laurence said, glancing at the boxes. He'd dealt with dyslexic men in the military before, most of whom had tried, in embarrassment, to hide the condition until they couldn't anymore. Laurence hoped he hadn't caused this young man any particular embarrassment.
"Well, if one is experiencing particular difficulty, there is no shame in asking for help. If one needs it," he said, not quite wanting to offer his help directly, in case he were to damage the stranger's pride.
***
Nico reached back to rub his neck awkwardly. “If you wouldn’t mind I could use some help finding the not pot ready lasagna noodles. Last time I bought the wrong ones and I really don’t want to repeat that teasing from my sister.”
***
“I would be happy to help,” Laurence said, scanning the shelf. It didn’t take long for him to alight upon a package of lasagna that looked as though it would suit the young man’s needs, and he plucked it from the shelf. “Is this what you need?” he asked.
***
The letters still weren’t lining up right for him but the box looked right and there wasn’t that extra line of letters. “That’s it exactly. Thank you Mr. - Sorry I didn’t ask for your name.” Madre would kick his ass for not using the manners she’d drilled into his head.
***
“Captain Laurence,” Laurence said, smiling. “Though you may call me Will if you’d prefer. And what is your name?”
***
“Thank you Captain Laurence.” Nico said holding out his hand as he heard his mothers voice in his head prompting him. “Nico di Angelo.” Not for the first time he was glad that he didn’t have his father’s last name. The people who recognized his mother’s maiden name were either very into art or would recognize it from diplomacy circles thanks to his grandfather’s career.
***
Laurence was far less likely to recognize a director’s name than he was an artist or a diplomat, but while di Angelo was an uncommon name, it was not a one-of-a-kind name, and Laurence would not assume any relation unless Nico volunteered that. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. di Angelo,” he said. “I’m in no hurry today if you would like any more assistance,” he added, just in case. He’d never thought of how much reading was involved in grocery shopping, but now that was thinking of it, he realized that the task would be monumentally more difficult if one had trouble with that skill.
***
“Are you sure you wouldn’t mind?” Nico asked him, hope showing in his voice. It would make it easier to get through his list. And less likely to leave them in a situation of Will or Hazel having to run out to pick up something he’d forgotten.
***
“Nothing would make me happier,” Laurence said sincerely. “Here, let me see the list. I’m sure we’ll get you out of here in no time flat.”