Just to be clear: I don't like DC, but this superhero is perfect for Percy, so I must make sacrifices. I also don't know a single thing about Aquaman.

Summary: He portrays Aquaman at a theme park, and you're the worker who walks around with him, controlling the picture line.

QOTP: Whose your favorite superhero?

Word Count: 1534

"Morning, Y/N," he says, entering the room in normal clothes, and you're almost not used to it.

"Morning, Aquman," you reply, causing him to grin.

He chuckles. "Well, not yet, anyway."

To sum up, you work at a theme park. Mainly, you clean up around your section - DC Island - get the park ready to open, and help with character dining. A big part of your job, though, is carting around "Aquaman".

Basically, "Aquaman" - a regular guy in a suit - goes out into the park at certain times to take pictures with people that are walking around. You have to get Aquaman to his designated area, control the line, and tell people what times he'll leave and come back.

Of course, multiple people pretend to be Aquaman - one man couldn't do that all day - but there's one guy that stood out the most when he was first hired. And, incidentally, you ended up becoming good friends.

Percy Jackson.

He's the "problem child" out of all the actors, meaning that it's hard to get him to his area because he wants to stop and wave at every child that walks past. Then, he'll want to stay out longer than he's supposed to - "Just one last photo."

Somehow, you manage.

"Two minutes," you say through the door. Percy's on the other side, scrambling into his costume.

You hear a thump and a sigh. "This thing is hard to get on, you know."

Outside, the loudspeakers rumble with a prerecorded message. "Look out, everyone! Black Manta is on the loose in DC Island! Aquaman is here, but he'll need your help! If you see Black Manta, tell Aquaman where he is!"

"That's our cue-" You're cut off when he opens the door. Without another word, you turn and hurry out the door, trusting that he's behind you.

When you make it outside, you glance back at him to make sure he's keeping up, then hurry him along when you see he's stopped to high five some kid.

Finally, you reach your spot - the front of a souvenir store - and wait for people to walk up to talk to Aquaman.

It doesn't take long.

"Hey, man! What's your name?" Percy says to a little boy, no more than six.

"I'm Grover."

"That's a cool name!" Percy replies, giving the kid a high five. He turns "serious", putting his hands on his hips. "You haven't seen Black Manta, have you?" Grover shakes his head, so Percy smiles and continues. "Well, buddy, I think your mom wants a picture, so let's do our best superhero stances, okay?"

This is how it is basically everyday, but it never fails to make you smile.

After a few more interactions like that, a mom walks up carrying a baby boy, her older daughter standing beside her. Percy smiles at the daughter first. "Hey, sweetheart, what's your name?"

"Bianca."

Percy smiles and points to the baby. "Is this your little brother?"

Bianca nods and the mom smiles. "His name is Nico."

"He's going to make a great hero one day, I can tell. I might have to give him my job," Percy says, still smiling. The mom laughs, but Bianca shakes her head.

"No, I'm going to be a superhero," she says. "He can be my sidekick."

Percy laughs, and you can't help but laugh, too. He smiles at Bianca. "How about we all be superheroes, huh? Let's get in those superhero stances so Dad can take the picture!"

A few minutes later, you tell the waiting line that Aquaman will be back in fifteen minutes. Percy says goodbye (stubbornly), claiming he has to go find Black Manta and following you back to the employees' room.

Fifteen minutes later, you come back out with a different Aquaman, and you can't help but notice how different he is compared to Percy.

////

That evening, it's time for character dining with Aquaman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Batgirl. You, like other employees, are organizing it all.

This evening, Percy will be playing Aquaman, and he's pretty excited about it; he gets more time with the kids.

"Well, it's not at all obvious why you chose this job," you joke to him.

He chuckles. "Just imagine being a kid and meeting your favorite superhero. I'd be stoked. And you can tell they are - it's the coolest thing."

You smile at his answer, and at how genuine and sweet he is. "Well, go knock 'em dead, Aquaman."

He grins, and enters the dining room, the other heroes trailing behind him.

////

"Have fun at character dining last night?" you ask him the next morning. You're waiting outside the door while he changes.

"Yeah," he says. There's a pause, then he continues. "This one kid - her name was Hazel - said she named her fish after me. And then this other kid, Frank, said he wanted to be me when he grew up."

You chuckle. "Sounds a lot more enjoyable than what I was doing."

He opens the door, an eyebrow cocked. "And what would that be?"

You sigh deeply. "I had to explain to a woman that her Adventure Land discount card doesn't work in DC Island for at least an hour."

Percy grimaces. "Yeah, that does not sound fun."

You hear the usual message play over the loud speaker, this time with a different villain on the loose, and walk out, heading for the arcade.

A little girl is the first to walk up. She's nervous and she keeps looking at her dad, who's positioned to take the picture. She can't be more than five. Percy crouches down in front of her and speaks in a softer voice. "Hey, sweetheart. I'm Aquaman. What's your name?"

"I'm Piper," the little girl replies, and you almost don't catch it because she's so quiet.

Percy smiles. "That's a pretty name!" His expression turns more earnest. "Piper, I need to ask you an important question." She nods, so he continues. "Are you a superhero?"

She nods again, but she's smiling this time. "Yeah."

Then, she looks at you, then back at Percy. She points to you and says something to him that you can't hear. Percy grins. "Is she a superhero? Yeah, I'd say she is. She helps me out a lot."

"Like a sidekick?"

Percy grins. "I'm more like her sidekick."

The girl leans towards him as if to tell him a secret, and you don't hear what she says, but when she backs away, Percy's blushing intensely. "N-No. But, between you and me, I wish."

The girl smiles and Percy says something about superhero stances, his blush fading. He meets more kids, and you catch some names - Jason, Leo, Will, Luke. The entire time, though, you're wondering what Piper asked him.

////

"So," you start when you're back in the room. He's sitting down, eating blueberries

"What?" he asks.

"What did that little girl ask you?"

He blushes again, but tries to hide it by looking down and "casually" covering his face with his hand. "I-I can't remember."

You raise your eyebrows. "Are you sure you can't remember?"

"Yep."

You sit down across from him and lean forward, resting your elbows on the table. "What could she have possibly asked you that's so bad you can't tell me? She's was, like, five."

He shrugs and eats another blueberry. "I told you, I can't remember." Before you can respond, he continues. "Besides, Aquman's gotta be back out there soon, so..." You sigh when you hear the message play over the loud speaker.

You stand. "This isn't over, Jackson."

////

When you next saw him, it was an hour later. He left no room for discussion, so you couldn't ask. Now, after his lunch break, it's his turn again.

"Are you gonna tell me what she said or not?" you ask through the door, again, with him getting into his costume on the other side.

"I'd prefer to not."

"Why?" you ask, at least wanting to know that.

The door swings open and he brushes past you to sit down, waiting for the recording to play over the loudspeakers. "Because..."

You snort and sit down next to him. "Well, that's reasonable."

He pauses, looking at the table, then back up at you. "Do you really wanna know?"

"Yes."

He sighs, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. "She asked if... you were my girlfriend." You bust out laughing, then remember what his answer was. "N-No. But, between you and me, I wish."

You stop and look over at him. "I wish it were true, too."

His head snaps up and his eyes widen slightly. "Really?" You nod, smiling, and he grins as the loudspeakers crackle to life with the usual message. "Well, uh, I heard Adventure Land is pretty fun, so maybe we can, um, hang out there after work?"

"I'd like that a lot, Aquaman."