Third Person's POV.
Gemini arrived at the Campus Groceries & More, the university's on-campus store where he worked part-time, just as the clock on the wall hit the exact minute his shift was supposed to start. The warm, comforting scents of air freshener was a familiar embrace.
Mrs. Mosby, the store manager, was already pulling on her coat, her keys jingling rhythmically. She looked up, her face instantly brightening with a genuinely cheerful smile.
"Gemini! There you are, dear. Right on time, as always! How have you been? I haven't seen you around the store much lately," she asked, zipping up her jacket.
Gemini chuckled sheepishly, slipping his messenger bag behind the counter. "I'm okay, Mrs. Mosby, thank you! I just took a little time off for midterms. You know how it is. The books weren't going to read themselves, sadly."
"Oh, I know it all too well!" she sympathized with a motherly smile. "Well, I'm glad you survived!" She gathered her purse and turned to leave, but Gemini stopped her with a question.
"Actually, how's Nico doing? It's been a while since I saw the little guy. I hope he's not been keeping you on your toes too much?"
Mrs. Mosby beamed, her pride clear. "Oh, Nico is doing great! He's just discovered dinosaurs, so my house is now a paleontological excavation site," she laughed. "I actually brought him over yesterday evening just to give him a change of scenery. He wouldn't stop yapping about how much fun he had the last time you looked after him while I finished the inventory."
A genuine smile softened Gemini's features. "Aww, that's sweet. I miss the little guy. Make sure you say hi to him for me, okay?"
"I absolutely will. Have a good, easy shift, sweetie!"
"Thank you, Mrs. Mosby. See you tomorrow!"
The next few hours at the store flew by in a blur of shelving items, ringing up orders, and politely explaining to one customer that, no, they couldn't return a used body scrub three weeks later because they suddenly don't like it anymore. The clock was just ticking toward closing time when Gemini's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, a text from Percy: I'm on my way. Be there in about 15.
A sense of relief washed over him. He quickly tidied the register and was locking the main door when Percy's car pulled up to the curb.
"Hey," Gemini said, sliding into the passenger seat.
"Hey," Percy replied, his voice was low. He glanced at Gemini. "Ready to go?"
"Ready to go," Gemini confirmed, buckling his seatbelt.
As usual, the drive to Percy's place was accompanied by a comfortable silence, broken only by the gentle, melodic song playing softly through the car's speakers. It was a familiar, easy rhythm that Gemini had come to cherish—no need for forced conversation, just the quiet presence of his friend.
When they arrived at the elegant building, Percy immediately ordered takeout while Gemini headed upstairs to freshen up. Soon, they were settled at the kitchen island, unpacking containers of Thai food.
Just as Gemini picked up his fork, his phone, resting on the granite countertop, began to ring. A strange pang of recognition hit him as he glanced at the screen: Mark.
The laptop! That was the nagging, forgotten thing scratching at the back of his mind all evening. He quickly picked up.
"Hello?"
"Good news!" Mark's voice boomed cheerfully through the speaker. "I saved your laptop!"
Gemini's jaw dropped slightly. "Really? Thank you so much! You're a lifesaver!" The relief was immense.
Mark chuckled at Gemini's overwhelming enthusiasm. "You're very welcome. It was a close call, but she lives to see another day. So, you live in the dorms right? What's your room number? I can bring it over to you right now," Mark asked.
"I live in the dorm, yes, but I'm not actually at home right now," Gemini explained, mentally debating how to arrange the pickup. "but, I can get it tomorrow, the same place—"
"Oh, no, I can bring it over to where you are! I've got my car and I'm already on this side of campus," Mark cut in quickly.
"Umm...I'm at a friend's place—"
"Which friend? Is it Ohio?" Mark interrupted, his voice edged with a strange curiosity.
"Ahh... no, not Ohio. I'm at...Percy's," Gemini replied, then instantly groaned inwardly at his bluntness. Why did he say that? Like he would know who Percy is. But then he heard Mark's voice, now laced with genuine surprise.
"Percy? Do you mean Perseus Moore?"
It was Gemini's turn to be completely astonished. "You know him?" Gemini asked, looking across the counter at Percy, who was calmly eating his dinner.
Mark's response was immediate and cryptic. "You know what, stay right where you are." And with that, he hung up the phone.
Gemini stared at his phone's screen, a frown furrowing his brow as he tried to process the abrupt end to the conversation. What the heck just happened?
"Is everything okay?" Percy's husky voice drifted over the island, his gaze finally lifting from his food.
"I think so," Gemini replied slowly, shaking off the confusion. "Just…some weird guy." They went back to eating, the odd phone call forgotten for the moment.
They were just clearing their dinner containers from the kitchen island when the apartment doorbell went off.
Percy immediately put his glass down. "I got it." He waved a hand to stop Gemini, who had started to move toward the door.
Gemini stayed back, stacking the takeout containers, but his ears were tuned to the hall. He heard Percy exchange a few quiet words with someone, and then the sound of footsteps growing louder, indicating the visitor was following Percy into the kitchen. Gemini looked up and froze, plates half-stacked.
"Mark? What are you doing here?" Gemini asked, completely shocked to see the guy from the cafe strolling casually behind Percy into the kitchen.
Percy raised one of his perfectly trimmed eyebrows at Gemini, his lips forming a thin line. "You know him?"
Gemini nodded quickly. "Yeah, he offered to fix my laptop earlier... Wait! How do you two know each other?" Gemini looked back and forth between the two, utterly baffled.
Percy let out a long, exaggerated sigh that was almost a groan. "He's my cousin, unfortunately." He said the last word loud enough for Mark to scoff dramatically.
"Your cousin?!" Gemini exclaimed, his eyes widening in total disbelief.
"Good to know you're still as rude as usual, jerk," Mark said sarcastically, before turning to Gemini with a smooth, charismatic smile. "Yes, I am his cousin. I'm actually quite offended you haven't heard about me. Mark Sinclair at your service." He finished with an exaggerated bow.
"Sinclair?" Gemini asked, still frowning slightly, trying to reconcile the two names.
"He's my cousin from my mother's side," Percy interjected, sensing Gemini's confusion.
"Oh, okay. That makes sense. No wonder you looked familiar," Gemini replied, finally connecting the memory. Percy let out a quiet scoff that indicated he definitely did not appreciate that comment, which made Mark roll his eyes affectionately.
"Wait a minute!" Gemini suddenly exclaimed, his eyes narrowing as he caught their attention. "Mark, did you approach me because I'm friends with your cousin?" He pointed an accusing finger at the older boy, who gave him a funny, amused look.
"I would really like to take credit for this serendipitous, almost-romantic encounter, but nope. I didn't know you were friends with my cousin until you mentioned his name" Mark said, smiling proudly. "Like I said earlier, I just really hate ignoring someone in need. And you were definitely in need."
"Okay… umm, did you bring my laptop?" Gemini quickly decided to change the topic before things got too awkward.
"Oh, yeah! It was difficult to fix, but I managed to get it working," Mark said, reaching into his backpack. He pulled out the laptop before adding, "Though, I'll advise you to get another one soon. This won't hold on for much longer."
Before Gemini could even respond, Percy held up his phone's screen, a picture of a sleek, expensive-looking laptop filling the display.
"Do you like this color?" Percy asked flatly, not waiting for a reply before adding, "Never mind. I'll get you one with the same color as your phone. It's a better match." Percy immediately went back to typing on his phone like he was simply ordering a coffee, while Mark immediately leaned over his cousin's shoulder, offering to help him pick out the best model.
"Whoa, wait just a minute!" Gemini semi-yelled, feeling a sudden rush of panic. "Percy, please don't just get me a new laptop without talking to me about it first! And you," he turned to Mark, "don't encourage him!"
"Why not? You need a new laptop, and he's getting you one. It's a good deal," Mark replied, looking at Gemini like he was being completely illogical for making a fuss.
"Wha… no, please don't do that, Percy. I'm already saving for a new one," Gemini rushed out in one breath, but Percy didn't even blink.
"It doesn't matter anymore. The order already went through," was Percy's simple, unyielding reply.
"Well, cancel it!" Gemini protested.
"I won't. Your new laptop should be here tomorrow," Percy replied, shoving his phone into his pocket before walking over to the sink, leaving Gemini standing there, completely flabbergasted.
"Just roll with it, kid," Mark said, nudging Gemini playfully by the shoulder before walking towards his cousin. "So, Dom. Where's Pen? I haven't seen her since Daphne's party."
"Don't call me that!" Percy glared at his cousin, clearly irked by Mark's insistence on using his shortened middle name. Mark just smiled cheekily.
"What are you going to do, Dom? Are you going to tell your mummy?" Mark asked, imitating a child's voice.
Gemini watched the entire bizarre interaction with a very confused and highly amused expression as Percy turned to his cousin with a very calm and devilish smirk.
"No, I won't tell my mummy. I'll tell yours!"
The color instantly drained from Mark's face. Gemini could've sworn he heard Percy let out a low, satisfied chuckle.
"That's a low blow, man! You know how she gets," Mark mumbled with a visible shiver.
"Exactly. Are you leaving?" Percy replied, raising one eyebrow.
"Hey… can't you be nice to me? I fixed your friend's laptop!" Mark whined.
Percy just dried his wet hands and reached for his phone again. Mark was already running out of the kitchen, yelling, "I'm going to get you back for this!" over his shoulders. Gemini heard what must have been Percy's front door closing with a bang.
Percy let out a long sigh of relief as he calmly put the plates away before silently leading Gemini toward the stairs, leaving the younger boy still reeling from the unexpected turn of events.