#NicoBirthdayEvent

[solangelover]

Fight Me

@solangeloweek‘s Nico di Angelo Birthday Event: January 26 – “AU / Canon Divergence”

A/N: AU where Will is a nurse at the hospital Nico is currently at for some sickness, based on a Tumblr story.

Read on AO3 or FF.Net or Wattpad

Nico felt awful.

He was currently in the hospital for some illness he didn’t care to get the name of. It wasn’t life threatening or anything, he only had to stay for three days, two nights. But his head hurt, his bones ached, his nose was sniffly, and he would randomly spike a fever. Honestly, he’d never felt more physically miserable in his life. He guessed that, going most of his life without sickness, the gods felt the need to pack it all into one hellish affliction.

He had a nurse that was constantly monitoring him. Hazel offhandedly said he was cute, but Nico really didn’t care at the moment. He wasn’t present enough to check out his nurse, nor did he really think he looked like much of a catch in his hospital gown.

When the nurse came in a little later and Nico’s headache had calmed down, he caught the nurse’s nametag: Will Solace. There was a little sun sticker next to it, which Nico instinctively scowled at. It was mocking him – being all sunny and happy while he was stuck inside, suffering.

Yeah, sick Nico was not a very happy one.

“Hey there, Nico!” The nurse – Will – said all peppy-like, matching his sticker. “How are you feeling?”

Nico buried himself further under his mound of pillows – he had requested more – and grumbled. It came out all muffled, but Will got the message.

“Well, not to worry, you’ll be out of here before you know it!” Will smiled brightly, practically lighting up the room more than the sunlight streaming in through the blinds did. “I’m just going to check your vitals, okay?”

He moved around some of Nico’s pillows so he could actually find his patient. Nico clearly did not like this, as he basically hissed at Will. “Fight me,” he said as he pulled a pillow back over himself.

Will only laughed, apparently not taking Nico’s threat too seriously. “Maybe later,” was all he said, and then he proceeded to take Nico’s vitals.

Nico glared at his nurse, then found himself just flat out staring. Will was cute. Actually, more like hot. He had a solid build, his muscular arms right in front of Nico’s face as he did his job. His mop of blonde hair glistened in the sun, swaying as Will flipped his hair out of his eyes. His tan skin was covered in freckles, like he spent his days out on the beach instead of cooped up in a hospital. Nico felt like he should fundamentally dislike this guy, but instead, he felt oddly drawn to him. It must’ve been the painkillers.

Then, Nico noticed his eyes. They were a bright blue, not as shocking as his friend Jason’s, but more like the sky on a clear day, the darker edges like the rest of the universe hiding right behind the sky. They sparkled, especially so in the light, but just on their own as well, like the sun glinting off the ocean. Nico felt like he could drown in those eyes.

It was definitely the painkillers.

At that moment, Nico realized that those eyes were staring back at him.

He blinked a few times, pulling himself out of the ocean of Will’s eyes and noticing the small smirk on his lips. Nico instinctively scowled and burrowed back into his pillows, a light blush on his cheeks.

He heard Will chuckle and say, “I’ll be back later,” the door closing seconds later.

Nico let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He glared at his blankets, “I hate being sick.”

--

Sometime later (Nico had no concept of time here), Will came back to check on Nico. He was sitting up in bed, head tipped back and eyes closed as he tried to push back on the hammer pounding on his skull.

“Hi,” Nico winced at the greeting, the sound reverberating in his brain. He picked his head up and glared out at Will, who had pulled up a chair and picked up his clipboard.

Before Will could say anything, Nico bit out, “fight me.” Or he tried to. But then he was choking on spit and coughing, and then the mucus in his chest decided it was a good time to clog his airways and attempt to crawl up his throat, causing worse coughs that wracked his aching body. He vaguely registered Will patting his back and saying something, but Nico couldn’t hear it over his own coughing. When he finally stopped, he had tears in his eyes and his chest was heaving. He probably also had drool around his mouth. Ugh, Nico was grossed out by himself.

He didn’t really want to look at Will, but he was forced to as Will gently grabbed his chin to face him and wiped his mouth with a towel. Nico was too tired to protest. His eyes fell closed, only to be opened in surprise when Will pressed a glass of water into his hands.

“Here, this’ll help.” He smiled, as he always did, and this time, Nico gave the tiniest smile back. He drank the water gratefully, then handed the empty cup back to Will.

Will gazed at him for a moment, making Nico fidget and self-consciously pull at his hair in some attempt to smooth it out. “So…”

Will blinked and straightened up, obviously caught up in his thoughts. “Right, right. Vitals.” Since Nico was actually attentive this time, Will decided to strike up a little conversation. “So, are you a student?”

Nico was almost going to ask how he could tell, but then he remembered that he was Will’s patient and he had all of Nico’s records. “Yeah, about to graduate.”

Will nodded as he scribbled on his clipboard. “Cool, I just graduated last year. Now it’s full time at the hospital.” He glanced up Nico and smiled for the millionth time, though this one felt more personal, if that was a thing a smile could be.

“Do you like it here?” Nico inquired. He normally wasn’t one for conversations with strangers, or in general, but he had nothing better to do. Also, hey, if he wanted to talk to his hot nurse, who would really fault him.

Will’s eyebrow quirked at the question. “Well, it is what I want to do. I like helping people, even in the small things like temporary illnesses.” He glanced up at Nico through his bangs, which Nico definitely did not find attractive. “And I get to meet interesting people.”

“Oh, ‘interesting,’” hm?” Nico smirked. “Well don’t I feel special.” Was he flirting with Will? Nico had no idea what he was trying to do, but he found that he was too sick to care. It was a good excuse to let himself say whatever his brain came up with.

Will seemed to take it well, because he leaned back in his chair and gave Nico his full attention. “Interesting covers the array of people I’ve seen. Crazy people, funny people, rude people, even cute ones.” Did he just wink at Nico?

He didn’t have time to react to that as Will stood up and set the clipboard back on its hook by Nico’s bed. “I’ll be back in the morning. Get some sleep, okay?” It was nighttime? “Oh, and also,” Will paused at the door, “I wouldn’t fight you because I know you’d win.” Nico had no idea what was going on anymore, but then Will was out the door and Nico was alone.

--

The end finally came.

Nico had several more baby conversations with Will, and he probably did some baby flirts here and there, but ultimately, he didn’t think anything would come of it. After all, he was all sick and nasty about 90% of the time. Nico didn’t even like himself.

Nico came back to his room after changing and using the bathroom to grab the rest of his stuff. Hazel had brought him flowers and he had several cards on his bedside table from his friends that visited. When Nico went to gather them up, he noticed a small cup waiting there for him. He could smell the coffee and practically melted. He hadn’t had any for three days, and his body craved it so much. It was warm when he picked it up, so someone had just dropped it off. He wondered who it was for a moment before he noticed something scribbled on the sleeve.

“Fight Me?” was written in slightly sloppy handwriting with a series of numbers underneath it.

It took a second, but when Nico realized what it was, he snorted and laughed into his free hand, careful not to spill the precious coffee.

Apparently, Nico successfully seduced Will Solace with his glares and drool. Must’ve been a nurse thing.

He texted Will immediately upon exiting the building.

[pinkmilkyblue]

NICO BIRTHDAY EVENT DAY 2: AU/Canon Divergence

This is kinda late, but today is Nico’s Birthday yay!! So here’s my Spidersona for Nico. I was inspired by @buoyantsaturn‘s Spiderverse AU post!! His cape hood thing is supposed to be formed out of shadows, and his mask is basically like a skeleton version of the traditional spidey mask. Also, his emblem has the Hades symbol incorporated into it!! I added some yellow for some reason too hehe...

Anyway, I hope y’all like the design I made!! :)

[solange-lol]

You're All I've Ever Wanted

Words: 721

Notes: This is a day late and I mixed up the days it’s fine. Also this is a rewrite of my first ever fic and it’s still a cringefest I’m sorry

Nico di Angelo Birthday Event - Day 2/4

Read on Ao3

Nico hated packing. Or, at least the idea of it. His suitcase had been left open and empty on his cabin bed for an hour or so now, and it didn’t look like he was going to be filling it anytime soon. Just thinking of having to go through his drawers and think about what might happen in the following week, and what it was going to be like without Will.

Will. It was still insane to him that the blonde headed son of Apollo was able to keep a hold of him, even when Will insisted that being with Nico was one of his favorite things. It was hard to believe still that somebody wanted him around.

(Nico wasn’t blind. It was clear that all the Argo II members who didn’t previously know him, and even some that did, wasn’t thrilled to have him traveling with them. It was probably for the best that he went off with Reyna. Obviously, though, things aren't as bad now. When you’re in a war together, there comes a point where you’re able to push aside some differences.)

Speaking of Will, the son of Apollo was the other reason he wasn’t packing. When Will had come to check and see the progress, packing didn’t seem so important anymore.

His caught his breath quickly before Will dove right back down to connect their lips again. He could feel the suitcase lying empty and abandoned on his bed like a warning sign, but it was a sign he chose to ignore. Which, he might add, wasn’t that hard when his boyfriend was this close to him.

Nico’s breath hitched as Will pulled him closer so they were completely pressed against each other. His hands traveled down Nico’s neck and chest to his waist where he wrapped one arm around his torso. Will’s other hand was still cupping his cheek, and Nico couldn’t tell if it was the heat of Will’s hands or his own blush that made his face heat up. He was relying now on the wall of the Hades cabin to keep him standing, otherwise, he might melt into a puddle of gooey emotions.

Nico shivered when the hand on his waist slipped under his shirt, causing him to tangle his fingers deeper into Will’s curls. The son of Apollo let his lips drop to Nico’s neck, then traveled back up to his mouth. He tugged at Nico’s shirt, daring to take it off.

Before they could get any further, a loud knock echoed through the cabin. Nico pulled away, sighing. Another knock. Will let his head drop to Nico’s shoulder where he nuzzled his chin; the son of Hades hands still in his hair.

“Nico! Are you ready?” Nico could see Annabeth fiddling to open the door and immediately slipped out from under Will. In a flash, he was dashing around the cabin throwing miscellaneous clothing items into the bag. (The only benefit of having an all-black wardrobe) He threw a glare towards Will, who was watching bemusedly (and uselessly) from the side.

The door opened, causing him to jump back from the toiletries he had earlier forgotten. Annabeth stepped into the cabin, Percy, and Leo trailing behind her. “Nico, we need to-” she cut off, taking one look at the half-filled suitcase and then to Nico and Will standing next to one another.

“Honestly you two? You were supposed to be packing, not… whatever you were doing,” she huffed at Will’s messy hair and Nico’s wrinkled shirt. It caused them both to blush; Will raked his fingers through his curls and Nico tugged his shirt down. Leo and Percy were already trying to hide their laughter behind her.

“We were- uh, I mean I’m packed,” Nico said as he zipped up his suitcase quickly.

“Whatever you say, di Angelo. Just meet us at the Big House in ten,” Annabeth snorted, then turned to leave the cabin with Percy on her heels. Leo shot them both a wink before following the two out.

As soon as the door shut, Nico flopped back on his bed with a sigh. Will said down carefully next to him; his face was unreadable.

Nico sat up. “So… I guess this is goodbye?”

Will smiled, pecking his cheek.“Actually, I’m coming with you. I’m already packed and everything.”

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[buoyantsaturn]

Memories (1/1)

summary: Will learns about Nico’s past

word count: 939

read on ao3

When Nico returned from New Rome, the first thing he did was look for Will. He’d told his boyfriend when he’d left a few days ago around what time he’d be back, and Nico was surprised that he was only a little bit later than he’d intended.

When he couldn’t find Will in the infirmary, Nico went towards the Apollo cabin next, but still had no luck. At this point, he figured he’d take a nap instead, maybe find Will later, but when he arrived at his cabin, Will was sitting on the steps, flowers in his hair and more in his hands.

The blond stood when Nico approached, wrapping his boyfriend in a hug and placing the flowers - the crown - on his head. “How was New Rome?” he asked.

Instead of answering, Nico stared up at Will, fingering the flowers nestled in his blond hair, and muttered, “My sister used to make flower crowns for us when we were little.”

Will’s bright smile melted away to confusion. “You knew Hazel when you were little?”

That seemed to break whatever spell Nico was in when the smaller boy looked away, shaking his head. He grabbed one of Will’s hands, pulling him into the cabin. Looked like he was going to take that nap after all.

When the two fell asleep, Nico was tucked up against Will’s chest, wrapped in Will’s arms, legs tangled in the sheets. When Will woke up, Nico wasn’t anywhere in sight. Hurriedly, Will scrambled out of bed, turning in circles until he noticed a hunched figure in the darkest corner of the cabin.

Will fell to his knees in front of his boyfriend, pulling Nico’s head up from where they were resting on his arms. Will saw the sadness in the dark eyes before him and pulled Nico into his arms.

“I haven’t dreamed about Bianca in so long,” Nico whispered, choking back a sob.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Will asked quietly, rubbing Nico’s back. When Nico shook his head, Will asked, even quieter, “Can you... tell me who Bianca is?”

Nico shook his head harder and sobbed quietly into Will’s shoulder.

After shadow travelling from New Rome to Long Island and not sleeping for much longer than a few minutes after returning, Nico was exhausted, and Will demanded that he skip out on the sing-a-long that night, doctor’s orders . Nico, of course, hadn’t minded.

Will watched from across the green to make sure Nico had actually gone into his cabin, then waited a few minutes before walking in the other direction, towards Cabin One. He knocked on the door, waiting patiently for Jason to open the door. When the door opened, Will caught a glimpse of what were probably Piper’s legs sticking out from the alcove that Will was pretty sure Jason slept in, since there were no beds in the cabin, before his attention was brought to the tall blond in front of him.

“Hey, Will, what’s up?” Jason asked, adjusting the glasses on his face.

“Will?” Piper’s voice came from the back of the cabin, and her head popped out from the alcove and she waved in Will’s direction. “Hi, Will! Is Nico back?”

Will rubbed his palms on the thighs of his jeans. “Uh, yeah, he got here right after dinner, but, uh, something doesn’t seem right.”

Jason immediately switched into Concerned Mom Mode. “What? What’s wrong?”

“He keeps mentioning his sister, and he keeps getting sad about it.”

“What?” Piper jumped up and rushed over to the doorway. “Is something wrong with Hazel?”

“No, I asked him, and he said it wasn’t Hazel, but I didn’t know he had another sister?” Will replied.

“I don’t think he does,” Jason responded. “I’ve never heard about her, if he does.”

“You should ask Annabeth,” Piper suggested. “She’s known him longer than the rest of us, except maybe Percy, but he’s still at home with his mom, I think.”

“Okay, I’ll try to catch her before the campfire,” Will said, stepping off the porch. “Thanks, guys.”

Will caught Annabeth just as the Athena Cabin was making their way toward the campfire.

“Hey, Will, how’s it going?” she asked when he approached.

“I’m good, but, uh, I gotta ask you something about Nico,” he said, hands stuffed in his pockets. “Something about his sister?”

“Hazel? Is everything okay?”

“No, not Hazel,” Will said quickly, “his, uh, other sister?”

Annabeth froze. “Oh. Bianca.”

“Yes! That’s his sister, Bianca?”

“How much do you know, already?” Annabeth asked quietly, looking around to make sure no one was nearby.

“He... He said his sister made him flower crowns when he was little, and that he has a lot of nightmares about Bianca, but not for a while. But he wouldn’t tell me who Bianca is.”

“Will,” Annabeth started slowly, quietly, “I think you need to talk to him about it. This isn’t for me to share, but he trusts you. I know he does. Don’t push him too hard, but I’m sure if you ask he’ll tell you soon enough.”

The next morning, Nico woke to someone knocking on the door, and rose to discover that it was Will. Nico grabbed his arm without greeting and pulled his boyfriend into the cabin. He released his grip before crawling back into bed, waiting for Will to join him.

Will laid down next to Nico, pulling the smaller boy closer to him and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“G’morning,” Nico mumbled, burrowing closer to Will’s chest.

Will smiled into Nico’s hair before he remembered why he was there. “Nico,” he whispered, “can you tell me about Bianca?”

thanks for reading!!

buy me a coffee | more nico birthday event stuff

[solangeloweek]

Tomorrow is Nico's birthday and the final day of the #nicobirthdayevent! This is a free day, but birthday-related things are highly encouraged!! If you have any works that haven't been reblogged here, please feel free to let one of the mods know which posts you would like us to reblog, or you can @ this blog in your post! (That whole "links make posts not show up in the tag" thing is really awful, huh?) Happy creating everyone, and a happy early birthday to Nico!!!

[claudiafekete]

January, 25: Angst(or, The Bronze Jar)

See what we got here... 2019 Nico di Angelo Birthday Event(thanks @solangeloweek)! Wrote a piece of angst and hope it wasn’t completely trash. Warning: you must realize that someone would never do that in reality, right? (by that I mean... sexual assault.) AO3 version

When they picked him up, they picked him up like a worm in rotten meat. They were gentle. If you want to set a trap, you must make sure that all the springs and iron claws are in good shape. They were not going to kill him. They would not let him die before other half-bloods came to rescue. If other demigods knew the boy had left nothing but his body they would be outraged but, they won’t waste their time saving a corpse before saving the world. He must be alive. He must be breathing. Gaea wanted him alive. The thought disgusted Nico. He wanted to live, he didn’t want to be the bait.

He slipped down the surface of the jar. It’s cold. He kind of welcome it. With fire river burning his taste buds and lava ground slowing his steps, ice wasn’t as intimidating as before. Cold meant being alone, but guess what he had figured out in his short, miserable life? There were company worse than that. Touches more vicious than bites. He could not think he could not-

The giants picked up the jar. His fingers sliced through his own blade, leaving him with another burning cut. He would have cursed if he wasn’t that exhausted already.

Nico thought he was like a hamster, crawling on the cage’s floor. *

He must had fallen asleep without realizing it. Otherwise there was no way he’d be that surprised. Right, he chocked, it’s air of Tartarus. He’d used up all the oxygen, leaving nothing but poison. He had the last resort in his pocket but he would rather not use it. Not until the last second. He felt himself being ripped apart pieces by pieces, bones disconnecting slowly. Maybe it’s exactly what its like stepping into River Styx. He thought of Percy. He had thought that maybe by being the last person Percy saw before setting his feet in the river, he would be that link, the one thing keeping him connected with this world. If he became that one thing, the most important thing sticking Percy in place, then maybe, Percy would grow feelings for him.

Nonsense. He was childish. He was dreaming. The day the second Titan war ended, the day they went back to camp, was the day Percy and Annabeth were thrown into the lake, together, holding hands. It should be me you’re holding I want you to hold me, if I dropped into River Styx it would be you keeping me in the living world. Bianca was gone so there is only, the feeling for whom I deeply resented-

He stuffed the first pomegranate seed into his mouth. *

“Could you hear what I’m saying?”

Nico blinked. It wasn’t that there was anything that could be seen, closing or opening eyelids made no difference. There was nothing to be observed with eyes. He was all alone in a bronze jar, waiting for someone, anyone that could let him out. The sound was faint. It was probably an illusion made by his brain.

“Neeks!” He caught his sister’s anxious voice before falling further into darkness. *

There were hands on him. It couldn’t be real. He remembered taking the second seed. He must be sleeping or said, partly dead. He couldn’t possibly be feeling anything of the outside world. It must be inside his own head, or flashbacks. And it wasn’t a flashback. It couldn’t be.

“Let go of me.” He shoved. The other let out a deep rambling of smirk and grabbed his wrist, hard. Nails broke his skin when he was pinned down on the floor. Human skin on human skin. “Percy, let me go!” He shrieked.

“You didn’t mean it.” Nico felt lips on his, teasing and testing and intruding. Percy was kissing him. Percy never had kissed him. He never knew, never knew that Nico wanted him, wanted him and – loved him. Nico couldn’t hold back his tears. It’s not real but it felt too vivid. Percy’s warmth his breath his nails (not claws) his hand (no fur) his lips soft. It’s wrong, horrible. It’s sweet, intoxicating. It was everything he wished that never happened and things he had been craving for so long. He meant it and he didn’t mean it. He realized until that moment that he wasn’t wearing anything. That was the same time something hard slammed into him.

He

couldn’t

fight

the pain

pleasure

it’s Percy.

His brain must had been ruined by poison of Achlys. There was no other explanation he would let himself be used like this, even in a dream. Humiliation. Weren’t they acquaintance for too long?

Thrust.

Heat.

Explosion.

White light filled his vision.

When he looked up,

Percy was wearing that grin he had before he and Annabeth kissed. Before Nico watched it happened form far, far away.

He couldn’t bear it anymore. *

Blood warm and sticky swirled up into a pool underneath him. How could he bleed so much blood without falling int coma? The feeling was too peaceful. He hadn’t felt so comfortable for a long time. Where was I? What was I doing?

Then it clicked.

“No.” He sat bolt upright, previous atmosphere falling apart. He must be imaging it. There was no way it was real, no way he would see it if he opened his eyes. It was his nerves doing, mounted pressure messing. He should open his eyes now he wouldn’t be seeing-

Nico screamed.

Well, he would have if his voice wasn’t taken away by the horrible scene in front of him. There was that kind of brutality that could cage your breath in your lungs. Distress that clung your throat so tight not a single drop of dust could pass.

Percy Jackson was dead. His throat had been torn apart, flesh turning a color of deep red. He couldn’t be mistaken for sleeping with that expression of utmost terror sticking on his face. His eyes were opened revealing nothing but the back of eyes. Dull. White. Blank. The body he left behind were twisted, limbs fell into impossible angles. Something white stuck out of his left elbow – or in the mess that used to be it.

“No.” Nico couldn’t say it, not even in a vision. He couldn’t risk his own voice. “No.”

“Get out of the way!” A boy ran to the body out of nowhere. Nico remembered that outfit, white bandage with intertwining snakes on it. A medic. The boy wasted no time pouring nector on those nasty wounds. Bobbles formed on the edges as the medic started a chant. He must be a child of Apollo.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered. He couldn’t even hear himself with his voice no louder than the voice of the dead. Up and down, he could only feel his lips and tongue moving up and down. “I’m sorry. I never want to kill him. I never want him dead. I wouldn’t bear to see it. I would rather meet my own end than watch him walks into his. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’M SORRY!” The last few words took air away in his lungs. He couldn’t breathe.

Then the scene changed.

He was on half – blood hill near the strawberry field. With black jeans and aviator jacket on he wasn’t naked anymore. Glancing around, he saw the medic treating Percy earlier walk right up to him. A memory. There was no way withdrawing his hand when Will Solace took it. Breeze brushed through blond curls before his eyes.

Soft. The boy’s touch was gentle.

“Please come to the infirmary. Let us check you up. Trust me.” Solace smiled, his gaze transfixed Nico on the spot. “We won’t hurt you.”

Nico felt a tear roll down his cheeks, and he broke.

The sound faded, light dimmed into darkness and colors vanished, but the clear blue eyes remain. He felt more naked than before in front those eyes. Those eyes offered comfort. They gave out care freely to a stranger. They whispered “safety” in them. Tears rushed down uncontrollably as noise free itself from his throat. He wanted to believe them. He wanted to be taken care of. He wanted a place to sleep soundly. He wanted home.

But he didn’t trust them. He couldn’t. It was like yesterday when Percy showed up at school dance and fought the manticore for him and Bianca. He had so much faith in Percy as to entrust him with his dear sister’s life. It was more precious than his own.

Percy failed him. Minos used him. Hades wished he was the one killed instead of Bianca. At the start of all of events, his big sister abandoned him. They all turned their backs on him. He couldn’t trust Solace. He curved himself up, small as a ball in this empty space. For him, no one could be trusted. No one. He sobbed, his heart hollow. Forever. *

There wasn’t a single seed left when he opened his palm.

[solangelover]

Of Babies and Love

@solangeloweek’s Nico di Angelo Birthday Event: January 25 – ANGST/FLUFF

A/N: Here’s some fluff based on a headcanon on Tumblr

Read on AO3 or FF.Net or Wattpad

It was a beautiful day for a walk in the park.

The sky was blue, with a few fluffy clouds here and there. There were birds chirping, children laughing happily and running around the playground, dogs playing with their owners. It was almost perfect.

Almost. Nico could do without the wailing baby.

He and Will were strolling near the playground, slowly drawing closer to the crying baby noises that could be heard from way farther back. Nico tried to avoid the area, but Will seemed pulled towards the sound. Must’ve been the healer in him. At any rate, Nico’s ears were quite unhappy with the situation. The baby was loud. He didn’t think his aura would be very helpful to the situation either.

As they passed the playground, they saw the source of the cries. An exhausted mother was holding her baby, clearly trying to sooth her but failing miserably. Will guessed she was a single parent, considering the level of distress and fatigue he felt coming off her in waves. Interning at the city hospital, he hadn’t used his powers in a while, but he was desperate to help this young woman.

“Come on,” Will tugged his boyfriend over to the bench where the woman and baby were. He heard Nico groan, but didn’t pay him any mind. Nico understood his need to help by now.

They approached the woman cautiously, but casually. “Excuse me?” Will politely made himself known, as the mother seemed too preoccupied to notice their presence.

She quickly looked up at them, blinking several times before slowly saying, “Can I help you?”

“Well, actually,” Will smiled kindly, “I was hoping I could help you?” He looked meaningfully at the baby, then back at the mother, hoping he was conveying his sincere desire to help rather than seem like some creeper who wanted to steal her baby.

“Um,” she glanced at her crying child, “no, it’s fine, really. She’s just at that restless age. Sorry about the noise.” She smiled sheepishly, clearly unsure of the situation.

Will sat on the bench a couple feet away from the woman so as not to crowd her. Nico sat on his other side at the edge of the bench, watching to see what his boyfriend would do.

After a beat of silence, Will asked, “What’s her name?”

The mother looked up and smiled softly. “Sophia,” she stated fondly. No matter how frazzled she was, Will could see this woman’s unconditional love for her daughter.

“That’s a lovely name.” Will gazed at the baby, who was too fussy to open her eyes and look back. “My name is Will Solace,” he addressed the mom. “Oh, and this is my boyfriend, Nico.” Nico looked over and nodded, giving the baby a tiny smile.

“Sheri,” the woman replied with a small nod. She seemed much less suspicious of Will now, which was good considering what Will was going to ask next.

“Sheri,” Will smiled as he said her name. “I have a bunch of younger siblings and had to take care of them all. They’re crazy,” he rolled his eyes, “but I love them.” Will’s expression turned soft as he remembered his many siblings back at camp, his younger siblings now in charge since he left. He may not have taken care of them as babies, but care is care. Plus, “I’m also an intern at the city hospital. I’ve even helped deliver babies myself.” Well, just the one time with Mellie, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Wow, really?” Sheri looked wide-eyed at Will, impressed since she probably assumed he was much younger than he was. He got that a lot.

Will nodded eagerly. “Yeah! So, what I’m trying to say, is that maybe I can help you with Sophia? You can trust me to hold her. I think you should take a break for a moment.” He wasn’t sure if this was entirely appropriate to ask, but he didn’t think it would hurt much.

Sheri hesitated, looking Will over and glancing at Nico. Nico kept to himself and made it clear that he had no intention of touching the baby. He knew he didn’t look nearly as gentle as Will, but he agreed that she needed a breather. He hoped he at least didn’t look like a threat.

Sheri seemed to have come to a decision, as she took a breath and looked at her baby once more, who was now very red in the face. “Yeah, I think… that’d be really nice. Thank you.” She delicately passed over Sophia, who somehow cried even louder. Will scooped her up, already shushing her and cooing little comforts as he cradled her against his chest. He stood up and started bouncing on the balls of his feet, shifting the baby so she cried onto his shoulder.

Nico watched in awe. The scene looked so natural for Will. He knew just how to hold her, how to move, all of it, and he was smiling the whole time. It was… peaceful. And right. Nico had no idea how he did it, but he felt his heart melt just a bit at the sight.

After about five minutes, Sophia stopped crying. It could’ve been from tiring herself out, but it was more likely the tiny pulses of healing and warmth Will was pushing into her small body. He could feel part of his shirt soaked with tears, but he didn’t mind. He was holding a precious little life and helping out her tired mom – he was pleased.

Sheri sighed in relief, closing her eyes briefly and reveling in the quiet. She slumped back onto the bench, clearly exhausted. “You are a miracle. Thank you.” She looked towards Nico, “How is he so good?”

Nico was caught off-guard at first, but when he met the eyes of his boyfriend, he couldn’t help but smile. “Pure souls speak to one another.” He looked back at Sheri and shrugged, “He probably has some magical powers, too.”

Sheri laughed, not realizing the weight of his words, and Will scoffed softly. As Will came to sit back down, Nico lit up with an idea. “Oh! I saw a coffee shop a little ways back. Want me to get you some tea?”

“Oh no, no need for that. You boys have done enough for me already, I can’t thank you enough.”

“Thank us by letting us finish helping you out,” Will insisted. “I recommend chamomile tea! Very good for stress-relief.” He gave Nico a wink, “I’m a doctor.”

Nico rolled his eyes as Sheri laughed again, sounding lighter each time. “Chamomile sounds great.”

--

After the tea run and a few more minutes of peace, Will handed the now sleeping Sophia back to her mother, who profusely thanked the two boys. “Thank you so much, really, I am so grateful that you came along when you did. You’re, like, a god-send.”

Nico and Will shared a knowing look at that. Will turned to Sheri and said, “I’m just glad we could help.” He reached out and gently stroked Sophia’s hair. “You’re lucky to have her.”

Sheri smiled down at her daughter, “Yeah. I really am.”

They wished each other a good day and went their separate ways.

“Well,” Will grabbed Nico’s hand and swung it between them, “that was nice, huh?”

Nico scoffed, “You were her guardian angel, Will. How are you so good with babies?”

“Probably my ‘magical powers,’” Will wiggled his fingers and laughed as Nico blushed.

After a moment of silence, Will bumped their hips together playfully. “Hey,” he said. “You did good too. See, you didn’t scare anyone away.” Nico glanced away, knowing Will had more to say and waiting for him to continue.

“It’s not impossible, you know,” Will said softly.

“What isn’t?”

Will bit his lip before looking at his boyfriend. “Having a family. Of our own.” He smiled gently, squeezing Nico’s hand when he felt him tense up. “Not soon. It’s a discussion for much later. But, I just want you to know that you are capable of it. Raising children, being a father. You are so much more than you realize, Nico. I need you to know that.”

Nico swallowed the lump in his throat. Will knew his reservations, of course he did, even without having ever talked about this before. Nico leaned up and kissed Will’s cheek. No words needed – there was understanding and gratitude in that one gesture.

And love. So much love.

A/N: NOW THERE’S ART BY @icebaerchen :D

[solange-lol]

More Than This

Summary: Five times Will and Nico acted like they weren’t flirting and one time they stopped pretending

Words: 4,409

Nico di Angelo Birthday Event  - Day 3/4

Read on Ao3

I. 

It was an argument with his father that had Nico approaching a breakfast place called Naomi’s at 8:30 on a Saturday morning.

The argument itself was irrelevant. Something about how Nico needed to get out more. Somehow he found himself a job, despite the fact that his father said “getting out” doesn’t mean “getting a job.” Anyway, it was better than texting Jason Grace for the first time in four months if he wanted to “hang out.”  

As soon as Nico stepped inside the restaurant, he realized he had no clue what he was doing. The overall atmosphere was fine, pretty homey and cozy. But the people. God, where did all of these people even come from? Their town wasn’t even that big. The noise level was so different from the echoing hallways of Nico’s too-big-and-too-empty house (mansion, really, but he never liked that word). It was a little overwhelming, to say the least.

“You can sit wherever,” a boy with the biggest blonde curls Nico has ever seen speed walked past him, two menus and a plate with half-eaten pancakes clutched in his hands.

Nico had no idea how to respond, and when he tried to the only thing that came out was “uhhhh.”

The boy turned back around, grimacing with annoyance for a split second until his eyes met Nico’s. The Italian couldn’t help but to deeply inhale for a second in an attempt to remain calm. Was it even possible for eyes to be that blue? Holy granola, this guy is beautiful. His thoughts were interrupted by the blonde shaking his head like he was trying to clear his mind.

“Oh god, I’m sorry Nico,” he said with a softer smile. How does this kid know his name? “I haven’t had coffee yet. I’m a little out of it. Follow me.”

They walked behind the counter together, passing different areas dedicated to different necessities. Coffee, water, other drinks, and refills for salt and sugar. All while the blonde kid was gesturing wildly, giving brief explanations on the do’s and don’ts and sipping his sock monkey mug of freshly-made coffee. Nico groaned internally, thinking about how he’ll have to learn all these new rules. God knew he had the memory of a packing peanut. It’s so much easier to bullshit your way through life than to spend hours learning all the new ways of the world, but he had a feeling that wasn’t exactly the way it worked in a restaurant.

They approached an older-looking woman who seemed even more exhausted than the blonde. However, her smile was warm and welcoming as they approached closer.

“You must be Nico,” she said, amber eyes twinkling. Nico immediately noted she was probably Naomi. “You came at the perfect time.” The woman glanced out at the crowd of people. “Though, I assume Will still has much to teach you, so don’t let me stop you.” The blonde nodded accordingly. Nico added another mental note that this guy must be Will.

Without another word, Will started walking, Nico on his heels. They walked past the stove area (“Always say excuse me walking past here if a chef is at work. You do not want to make the same mistake I did”), the toast area (“That’s usually my job, but make a good impression and you might get your shot”), and where to get the ice (“The scooper is made of metal, so never leave it in with the ice or you will definitely regret it). He went pretty quickly past the dishwashing area, and explained later that “the dishwasher only speaks Spanish, and she can drive you crazy pretty quickly.” (It took Nico a few minutes to figure out that Will was referring to the woman who washes dishes, not the actual appliance itself).

Will lead him through western-style double doors and walked over to a large wooden cabinet. “This is the bus station,” Will explained. “As long as none of the waitresses need you to get water, or someone needs you to dry silverware, you’ll be spending most of your time back here.” He opened a few drawers, pointing to silverware and napkins and how to arrange them. There were some buckets on the side, which Will explained was where they would put dirty dishes after scraping them. Once it was pretty full, you were supposed to bring it back to be washed. (It was all going in one ear and out the other this point, which was, admittedly, not ideal). Will then opened another drawer for personal belonging for bussers. Nico shrugged off his jacket and stuffed it in.

As Will led them to a door, he talked about some of the other bussers that worked there. Octavian, who wasn’t kind in the slightest; however, he was a pretty good employee when it came to doing his job. He was the one who Nico would probably be working with most often, which was a little scary. The other one was named Kayla, who was a friend of Will’s and secondhand adopted by Naomi. However, she only ever worked Sunday’s, so unless they really needed Nico there, it was unlike he was ever going to meet her.

The door brought them outside. Cold air hit Nico like a wall, and he immediately missed the comfort of his jacket. “Unfortunately this is the only way back here,” Will was visibly shivering as he led them to a back room off of the building. It was lined with shelves, which had boxes of pancake, waffle, and oatmeal, as well as other breakfast food and supplies. There was a refrigerator full of milk and other dairy products, and another for fruits and vegetables.

“Pretty self-explanatory. You’ll only have to go back here if one of the servers or my mother asks you for something.”

Nico cocked his head. “Your mother?”

“Yeah… this is my family’s restaurant,” Will gave him a weird look. “You must be the only kid in the entire junior year who doesn’t know that.”

Now it was Nico’s turn to give him a weird look. Do they…

“Are you telling me you didn’t know we go to the same school?” Nico panicked for a second internally, thinking he had offended Will until laughter bubbled out of him.

“Geez, di Angelo. I heard rumors about you being in English IV as a junior, so I never would have assumed you were so dense,” he said between chuckles.

“I- How did you know I’m in English IV?”

Will shrugged. “Remember when everyone found out Drew was in AP bio in freshman year?” (He did not). “That’s not really a good example since people were surprised Drew even had a brain, though she’s actually pretty cool. Anyway, word gets around, y’know?”

Nico nodded despite the fact that he had no idea what they were talking about anymore. He was pretty fixed the dusting of freckles across Will’s nose. Eventually, his eyes wandered back up to Will’s, who was promptly staring at him. Both boys blushed. Will switched his gaze to a box full of syrup bottles.

“We should probably go help out. I’m sure my mom will find her way back here if we don’t go back soon,” Will said, still not looking at Nico. Before Nico could curse silently at himself for making it awkward, he gave the Italian a smile. “C’mon, I’ll go teach you how to set a table.”

(He already taught him that.) (It’s okay, Nico doesn’t mind learning again.)

II.

It was a few weeks after Nico’s first day. When he walked into Naomi’s that Saturday, it had been a clear morning. Almost warm, if mid-fifties was considered warm. Waitresses and customers were smiling and cheery, glad for the nice day in the midst of their December chill.

However, by the time 2:00 rolled around, the weather had changed drastically. The wind had seriously picked up, and the taps of rain were slowly drilling their way through Nico’s brain. Not to mention Octavian was getting on his nerves. He had an urge to lock him in one of the bathrooms.

Will was the only one keeping his sanity at bay. When Nico wasn’t clearing a table or Will wasn’t under too much toast-induced pressure, he usually found himself leaning against the counter. They tried to make up games to entertain each other without receiving a disapproving stare from Naomi. (Nico wasn’t really sure if she was capable of looking mean, but he trusted Will’s word. Mother-son relationships and all that). None of them lasted very long, but they were able to get a laugh out of it most of the time.

It was bizarre, actually, that this is the only time Nico can remember spending with Will. He doesn’t recall having any classes with him in the past (though the past two years were a blur of anxiety and hazy conversations). They never had colliding friend groups. It was sort of amazing how they were still able to meet through doing something Nico never would have considered doing, not to mention the fact it was prompted by an argument with his father.

Nico was putting up chairs while Will turned off the open signs when Naomi walked over to him with a stack of bills in her hand. “Thank you so much for your hard work today,” she said with that same warm smile. “I’m glad you and Will have been getting along.”

Nico nodded, smiling as well. “Thank you,” was all he said as he took the money. He felt bad taking it; he really didn’t need it. It was clear running a restaurant wasn’t easy, not to mention the other employees she had to pay. It was either have to hire and pay all these people or exhaust yourself trying to do it all. Even this minimum wage salary felt like he was taking a lot from her.

On his way out the door, Will stopped him. “Nico, it is 35 degrees and raining. Where is your jacket.”

Oh. He didn’t bring a jacket since the day started out so nicely. His work shirt was already long sleeve, so he didn’t think about it too much. He should be fine walking home. It wasn’t too far anyway. However, when he told him that, Will wasn’t settled.

“Do you have someone who can pick you up? I really don’t like the idea of you going out in the rain like that.” Nico could feel his cheeks heating up. He hoped he could blame it on the cold air that was seeping under the crack of the door. He’s only truly known Will for a few short weeks (though it’s felt like years), his little-but-growing crush on the teen seemed childish and honestly pathetic, at least to him. So he just shook his head at the question, not sure how to respond.

Will mumbled to himself about giving him a ride but still needing to mop the floors. He turned to Nico, caring eyes studying his face before he shrugged off his own jean jacket, then held it out.

Nico took it, staring confused at Will. “I just don’t watch you to catch a cold,” he said, tucking a curl behind his ear. “Can’t have my best employee dying of a disease.”

“I wouldn’t call getting a cold ‘dying of disease,’” Nico said, rolling his eyes before looking down at the jacket in his hands as he tried to ignore the skeletal butterflies in his stomach.  “But… thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Will said with a grin.

On the walk home, Nico noticed all the little pins on his jacket. Some of them were references he didn’t understand, and others were just cool designs he’s pretty sure he’s seen at Hot Topic. And ah, there was a piece of ribbon safety pinned next to them all that just so happened to be the bi flag. There's no way that can be an accident. They were being handed out in various flag colors at the activities fair at the beginning of the year for their school’s GSA club. (Nico made Hazel grab him an ace one). And now that he knew Will went to their school...

Good to know.

III.

On the first Saturday of December, Nico walked in late. About a half hour, which usually was early for him if this was some sort of social event. Unfortunately, work was work, and you were expected to show up on time no matter what. Which explained why everyone was lined up behind the counter, watching him as he walked through. (Even though there were only two people there because who in their right mind gets up early on a Saturday?)

It was probably a coincidence. It was where all the stoves were, and all the waitresses spent free time behind there gossiping anyway. It didn’t make it any less intimidating though. One of the waitresses eyed him warily while the other just gave a sympathetic shrug. Maybe they could see the exhaustion in his face. Or maybe they just pitied him. Probably both.

Naomi was giving off the most mixed emotions of them all. She kept her voice level and usually-warm face clear of emotion when she said hello, but her eyes read like she either wanted to lecture him or hug him.

He took his walk of shame all the way to the bussers station. Immediately, Will stepped through the kitchen’s double doors, travel cups of coffee in each hand. He shoved one of them in Nico’s hands, who gratefully took a sip.

“What kind of coffee is this?” he asked, trying to ignore the fact that he just burned his tongue. It was sweeter compared to Nico’s usual black-with-an-unhealthy-amount-of-sugar cup, however, very enjoyable. “And what’s with the glasses?”

“Vanilla cappuccino. Snatched the last cup out from under Octavian’s nose. And shut up,” Will’s face heated up, reaching up to adjust the frames that rested on the bridge of his nose, and Nico cursed internally. They were flatter on the top, though round at the bottom with the glass exposed. They made him look like a Pinterest model. He was beautiful. “I didn’t have time to put in my contacts this morning.”

Nico just snorted, relieved that he refused to step foot out of the house in the case he was forced to wear his own glasses. He had gotten enough taunting from Jason and Leo that they made him look like an anime character; no way he was going to get Will in on that as well.

“I made you coffee even though you’re late. I don’t deserve this bullying,” Will was still muttering to himself. “Why were you late anyway?” he asked Nico.

Nico sighed. “Argument with my dad. He’s worried about my future or something. Says studying liberal arts won’t get me anywhere in life, which is just typical coming from the businessman in his soul.”

“Let me guess: he wants you to go into business and management so you can take over his company one day?”

“How did you guess?”

Will sighed, leaning on the counter. “My mom is the exact same way. She wants me to inherit this restaurant and keep the family line-thing going, but I don’t have the passion she does. Plus William’s doesn't exactly have the same ring to it.”

“Is there something else you want to do?”

Will smiled bashfully at the question, rubbing the back of his neck.“It’s dumb and I probably won’t get to because medical school is, like, hell or something, but I want to be a pediatric doctor. Or maybe a trauma surgeon, I dunno. I think the only reason she’d let me go for it is because I gave a woman here CPR once.”

“Wait, really?” Nico regarded him with wide eyes.

Will looked surprised at Nico’s sudden interest. “I mean, yeah, it was no big deal. She lived,” he said, cheeks flushing.

“No big deal? That’s way cool. Will, you saved someone’s life. And-” Nico continued hesitantly. “I think that sounds awesome. You would make an amazing doctor.”

Will smiled. “Y’think?”

“I know.”

IV.

“You are doing a terrible job.”

“Well, I’m going faster than you are.”

“At least mine are actually dry. Isn’t that the objective here?”

“Well, you're avoiding my question!”

Will rolled his eyes. “Nico, I am not having an argument with you about what the best One Direction song is.” He finished drying the spoon in his hand, placing it in his side of the carrier. It was a slow Saturday, and Naomi had put the two of them in charge of washing and drying silverware. Every time they seemed to be close to finishing, she would throw more into the bucket.

“It’s not an argument. It’s just…. Friendly debate.” Nico shrugged as he picked up another knife.

“Can you please actually dry this one?”

(Will’s side was looking dryer than Nico’s, but what was the point? By the time they finished, all the silverware would basically be dry anyway).

“I will if you answer my question.”

Will huffed. “Fine. But I only know the first three albums.”

“Great. Those are the only good ones anyway. Plus you can tell me your favorite from each.”

Will stared at the ceiling in thought for a second. “God, let me think. Uh, Up All Night was the first album, right.” Nico nodded. “Well, then it’s gotta be One Thing.”

Nico wrinkled his nose. “Too mainstream. Gotta Be You is the way to go.”

“You do realize that is more mainstream that One Thing.”

“Yeah, well, it’s catchier.”

Will just shook his head in defeat. “Well, then you have to at least admit that Kiss You is the best from their second album.”

Again, Nico contraindicated. “Geez, fake fan. I can name at least three others that are better.”

“Oh really? Go ahead.”

Nico decided to ignore the fact that Will’s face was inching closer to his. He away. willed the heat in his cheeks. “Rock Me, Over Again, and Nobody Compares.”

“Those are all incredibly cheesy.” Their noses nearly brushed, and Nico’s mind was going haywire with Will towering over him like this. He really hoped Naomi didn’t have any more silverware for them, because he really wants to kiss Will right now. (Yes, the timing would be horrible. But Nico wasn’t thinking about that right now. Not with Will’s blue eyes glancing from Nico’s lips back up to his eyes like that.)

“And you’re saying Kiss You isn’t?” He could count Will’s freckles from here.

“I’m just saying-”

But Nico didn’t hear the end of that sentence, because his ears picked up an all-too-familiar voice from the dining area. Immediately, whatever mood was between them was forgotten.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Nico mumbled.

“No, I really-”

“Not you!” Nico waved Will off. His hurt expression made Nico’s heart sink, but he really needed to make sure it wasn’t who he thought it was. The Italian raced through the western-style doors. Immediately, he cringed at the sight.

His father, looking like Death himself, chatting lightly with Naomi at the front of the diner. His face was unreadable like usual; when he caught sight of Nico, he merely blinked. No wave, not even a nod. Typical.

By this point, Will had caught up to Nico; the blonde followed his gaze to the front. “Who-?”

“That,” Nico inhaled deeply. “-Is my father.”

Before Will could respond, Nico walked over to him, now seated by himself at a table meant for four right next to the fireplace. Nico winced at how expensive his father looked compared to the diner. It was sorta embarrassing, and Nico was praying neither of the Solace’s would notice.

“Dad,” Nico started, trying to keep his cool. “What are you doing here?”

His father regarded him with a blank stare. “Supporting local business, I believe. I’ve heard the corned beef hash is amazing here.”

(Nico knew for a fact that his father would never order corned beef hash.)

Before he could contradict, he noticed one of the waitresses walked towards them, and quickly headed back to the busser station

***

“Nico, you’re father left the biggest tip I have ever seen a person leave here,” Will announced, following the Italian through the back door. Naomi had asked him to go grab another box of oatmeal, and he gladly agreed before his father could do something embarrassing. Unfortunately for him, it’s inescapable.

Nico felt his face flush as Will continued. “I mean, it was bigger than his actual meal. That’s insane, and, honestly I don’t even know if that’s legal.”

Nico could feel his ears burning. “God, I’m sorry, he’s so embarrassing,” he said more to the box of oatmeal in his hands rather than Will.

“Sorry? I was going to say thank you!” Will stared at him in bewilderment. “No offense to my mom, obviously, but I don’t even think the food is that good. Like, there are better places-”

“Lets just not talk about it, okay?” Nico cut him off.

Will looked confused. “Uh, okay…. But I do have one other thing to say.”

Nico braced for impact. “What?”

“Now I see where all the ‘edginess’ came from,” Will teased, failing to hide the shit-eating grin that crossed his face.

“Oh, shut up!”

V. 

Nico was taking a much-needed, well-deserved, nice, long lunch break.

Will, however, was not.

Didn’t stop him.

The two sat at the counter. Once again it was a slow Saturday; only a few people sat scattered around the vicinity. After four long, agonizing hours, Nico decided to just suck it up and eat lunch already. (Even if it meant waiting ANOTHER three hours to go home. God, this shift was so long.)

Will, who had long since abandoned prepping coffee filters, rambled aimlessly next to him. Nico had stopped listening to him a while ago. Instead, he counted the freckles on Will’s face. Every time he lost count, he started over.

He felt weird, how much he wanted to be with Will. Like, they were coworkers. But they also saw each other at school. And they were friends? It was all too confusing.

He imagined kissing Will would be like eating a spoonful of sugar. Not saying he tasted like one (he probably did, honestly) but more in a metaphorical way. Amazing in the moment, but consequential later.

Part of him knew Will probably wanted to kiss him too. The way they talked to each other now, it was like they weren’t just coworkers, weren’t just schoolmates, weren’t just friends. And even though they barely knew each other, it felt like Will has been in his life forever, Hell, he wanted Will to be in his life forever, relationship or not.

Maybe that’s what he was afraid of. Losing Will.

“Y’know, have you ever thought about wearing something other than black jeans?” Will asked him, interrupting his thoughts.

Nico swallowed the fry he had been chewing.“What?”

“Like, I know you have the whole all-black ‘I’m emo’ thing going on, but have you ever considered, I dunno, blue jeans? Or khakis?”

Nico snorted. “Aren’t you supposed to be clearing tables.”

Will shrugged; he stole Nico’s Coke and took a sip. The smile he gave Nico melted his heart

***

“I heard somewhere that you aren't supposed to wear black with blue denim.”

Nico’s face flushed. “Shut up, Solace.”

“I mean it! Apparently, it makes you look like a bruise or something,” Will shrugged innocently from where he was filling his water cup.

Nico shoved the extra straws into the back pocket of his jeans. Blue jeans. “Don’t act like this wasn’t your doing,” he glared at Will.

Before he would turn away, he felt something slide out from his behind. When he turned around, Will had stolen one of the straws, which he had already plunged into his drink.

Nico could feel his entire face heat up. “You just killed a turtle,” he informed him, failing to let his voice stay level.

Will just shot him a wink; a light blush was already spilling across his freckled cheeks as he took a sip.

This boy was going to be the death of him.

+I

“This is exactly why I don’t tell people it’s my birthday.” Nico was going to kill Jason for telling Will.

“Technically it’s not your birthday yet. Now just take the gift.”

Will’s arm was still extended, holding out a tiny blue box. It was clearly already used for something, but Will just scribbled out whatever logo was there before and replaced it with “To: Nico” with a Sharpie-smiley face.

Nico huffed, snatching the box. He really did hate when people got him gifts. It was just more unnecessary money spent on him.

Underneath the lid was a simple pin; one of the ones that had noticed was on Will’s jean jacket when he had leant it to him. It was a simple skull surrounded by flowers.

“It was one of my favorites,” Will admitted. “But I think it’s more your style than it is mine.” Before Nico could thank him, he continued. “That actually wasn’t the gift I wanted to get you, though,” he said, immediately flushing.

Before Nico could speak, could move, could react in any way, Will was kissing him. It took him a minute to realize that Will had pulled him in by his shirt and was kissing him.

After that, he melted into it. His hands went up to Will’s hair, tangling his fingers deep into the blonde curls like he’s wanted to do for months. Will’s arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them.

Unfortunately, it ended as soon as it started. The door to the back room where they currently were residing was pulled open, and the two boys jumped apart as Naomi stepped in.

“Oh,” she said, glancing at both of their flushed faces. “I just came to get some milk, but I guess you two can bring it back for me.” Before she could close the door, she turned back around to face Nico. “Oh, and happy birthday Nico. I hope my son is treating you well.” She winked at him, and then she was gone.

Will, who had already made his way back over to Nico, started to giggle. “I’m gonna admit, I totally forgot we were at work.”

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[solangelover]

City Date

@solangeloweek‘s Nico di Angelo Birthday Event: January 27 – “Friendship / Relationship”

A/N: I’ve had this WIP forever, I’m so glad it’s finished! Based on this lovely video :) Will and Nico go on their first date in the big city.

Read on AO3 or FF.Net or Wattpad

As he left camp, Will felt freer than he had in a while. He loved Camp Half-Blood, no doubt, but it became stifling when he was constantly working in the infirmary and taking care of his siblings. Leaving camp for something other than a quest meant freedom from typical responsibilities. He always liked the shocked feeling of what life was like before he went to camp. Everything was so normal (mortal normal, not demigod normal) that it was both disorienting and refreshing at the same time.

Also, he got to leave camp with his boyfriend for the first time. That was definitely a plus.

He and Nico had been going out for a couple months, but they never had a date outside of camp. To Will, it almost felt like their first date. It would be the first time they’re together outside of camp without some sort of impending doom looming over them. Will knew it was a bit more risky to be with a child of the Big Three, but he knew Nico was more than capable of protecting both of them, and Will was confident in his own healing abilities if they were ever needed.

The boys decided to just walk around New York City and window shop. Nico hadn’t explored the city much before, at least not with the goal of enjoying himself. Will had become familiar with the city over the years, so he took it upon himself to act as Nico’s tour guide.

“And on your left, you’ll see the Empire State Building. Fun fact: the 100th floor is Olympus!” Will grinned as he put on his little act for his boyfriend.

Nico rolled his eyes, an amused smile on his face. “No duh, Will, not like I haven’t been before.”

“Well sOrry I wasn’t important enough to go along. Maybe next time?” Will winked.

“Uh, no, I’d rather a major event that requires me to go to Olympus not happen, thank you very much.” Nico looked around as they walked, his cheeks a light pink color. Will figured it was due to the slightly nippy breeze. Nico liked to think so too.

Will exclaims, “There!” as they come up to a coffee shop on the corner. “I used to go coffee shop hopping with my siblings for fun. They were really into the whole aesthetic thing before it was a thing.” Will shrugged and held the door open for Nico, who quietly thanked him as he stepped in.

The place was cute – small, but cozy. Lots of woodwork, fake vines lined the walls, little tables for two with succulents were scattered about. The smell of coffee was strong, but not overwhelming. Nico had never really been into this kind of thing, but maybe that’s because he didn’t have anyone to go with.

Will went up to the counter and ordered two hot chocolates for them as Nico grabbed a table near the back. Will probably would’ve liked to sit by the window, but Nico didn’t like having every passersby’s eyes on him. He was slightly on edge, probably because he kept expecting to be attacked. At least, that’s what Nico kept telling himself.

“Here we are!” Will chirped as he set down their drinks. Nico held his gratefully, the warmth seeping into his cold fingers. “So,” Will sipped his cocoa experimentally, “what do you want to do?”

Nico shrugged. He had no clue what to do in the city, let alone on a date. He didn’t know what he was doing, and that made him a little more anxious than usual. To him, New York City was a place where monsters lurked, where he had to stumble around and survive on his own. His memories of the city were darkened with war and solitude. What did Will expect of him?

Before Nico’s thoughts could spiral, Will cut in. “Well, there’s plenty to show you, but I’d rather not run around the city like tourists.” He smiled, and Nico felt a bit of tension leave his shoulders. “I was thinking,” Will leaned forward over the table. “We could just continue walking the streets and stop in random shops, try on silly things, and run out before we get kicked out.” Will grinned wickedly, and it was so foreign to see such mischief on his face that Nico snorted.

“Wow, the city changes you, Solace. And here I thought you were a goody two-shoes.” Nico smirked over his mug as Will leaned back and laughed.

“Hey, I can be a bad boy.” Will wiggled his eyebrows at Nico, who blushed and looked away. No comment back, Will noted. They’re conversation moved on from there and Will never thought twice on it.

--

As Will said, the boys continued down the busy street, Will pointing out random landmarks or places where he had been before to Nico, who noted everything with vague interest. His eyes kept darting around, tracking every person around them for a second or two before moving to the next person. Will kept telling him not to worry so much, that the monsters wouldn’t do anything crazy right out in the open, but Nico was still on high alert.

Even so, they still stopped at random little stores and looked around. Sometimes, they were genuinely interested in the items. Will picked out a few souvenirs to bring back for his siblings and Nico bought a couple knickknacks for himself. At other stores, they’d try on random hats on the rack and Will would strike silly poses, making Nico giggle. They tried on some sunglasses together and Will snapped some pictures with the digital camera he borrowed from Cecil. They didn’t get kicked out of any stores, much to Will “the bad boy”’s dismay. Will took Nico to a hotdog stand he and his siblings apparently always went to when they took a trip into the city. He didn’t claim it was the best, but it was decent and had good memories for Will, so Nico was content.

The entire time they walked, Will kept trying to hold Nico’s hand. At first, he tried to be subtle, looking away and letting his hand brush Nico’s several times. But Nico didn’t seem to notice, always moving his had to do something else. Then Will tried being more obvious, glancing down at their hands and hooking their pinkies together. But, again, Nico pulled his hand away and would scratch his head or something. Will frowned, starting to wonder if Nico didn’t want to hold his hand. They did it all the time at camp. Granted, it took awhile before Nico did it in view of other campers, but now it was normal. And, right now, he didn’t really think a bunch of strangers seeing them was worse than all of their friends and fellow campers.

After leaving another shop, Will tried again. This time, he directly grabbed Nico’s hand and chatted excitedly, trying to brush over the hand-holding. It worked for a little – then it didn’t.

Nico noticed Will grab his hand instantly, and he felt his heartbeat pick up. He tried to listen to what Will was talking about, but his eyes instinctively glanced around them. Almost no one paid them any mind, too focused on their own tasks, but a few glanced at them. Some of them looked directly at their linked hands. They passed by too quickly, but Nico could imagine the disgusted looks on their faces. He could feel his anxiety growing and subtly disentangled their fingers, moving his hands to adjust his jacket. Nico saw Will give him a side glance as he stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets – his hands were cold.

Something was off, Will knew it. At the next coffee shop they saw, Will pulled Nico into it, telling him that he was cold and wanted something hot to drink. Nico put up no protest, simply nodding his head and walking over to a table in the far corner of the shop, again. Will frowned after him, confirming his suspicion that something was bothering Nico. At this point, Nico was barely making any comments, letting Will carry the conversation. While this was pretty normal, Nico usually cut in with his sarcasm and dry humor every once in a while. Will couldn’t think of what could have gone wrong since their day started out so well, but he would find out.

Will brought their drinks back to the table. He thought about sliding in next to Nico on the bench, but Nico didn’t seem to want that. He took up as much of the bench as he could and sat pointedly across from the chair on the other side of the table. Will sighed as he sat in the chair instead.

“So,” Will started off casually. “Are you enjoying the city?”

Nico shrugged, “It’s cool, I guess.”

Will frowned. “Okay, um, well are you having fun on our date?”

At that, Nico appeared to tense up a little, his eyes darting behind Will’s head before returning to his mug. “Yeah, it’s great.” He took a tentative sip of his latte, but it’s still too hot to drink properly. He scowled at it, but Will thought he was upset at more than the coffee.

“Nico,” he sighed, “what’s wrong?’

Nico blinked up in surprise at the question. “Nothing?”

Will gave him an unconvinced look. “Then why does it feel like you’ve been avoiding me?”

Nico’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, though he was starting to catch on. “What do you mean, I’ve been with you all day.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” Will glanced down at his drink, slightly self-conscious. “You won’t let me hold your hand, or just stand close to you.”

Nico pressed his lips into a line. “You… know I don’t like PDA,” he stated hesitantly.

“But this is more than that. You seem,” Will searched for the word, “… distant.”

Nico looked away towards the front of the coffee shop. He scowled as more people came in the door.

“Are you… I mean, are we… okay?” That brought Nico’s attention back to the blonde boy in front of him. Will looked so worried and unsure that Nico felt guilty.

“What? No, I mean, yes, of course we’re good. Why would you think that?” Nico had given him good enough reason, he knew. He sighed, slumping down in his seat. “It’s just…”

Will waited. “Just…?”

“It’s just… hard, you know?” Nico glanced up before staring back down at his mug. “I see people look at us, and all I can think about is the horrible things they must be thinking. You would think I’d be used to it by now,” he scoffed.

Will’s uncertainty melted into understanding. Of course, of course this was a lot for Nico to handle. It was their first time out of camp together, the first time Nico has really been out in the world having come out to people, and now with a boyfriend. Will felt dumb for not considering his boyfriend’s feelings before.

Will reached for Nico’s hand that wasn’t gripping his mug, and for the first time all day, Nico didn’t pull away. Instead, he flipped his hand over and squeezed Will’s tightly.

“I get it, Nico. I’m so sorry for not thinking of that earlier.” Nico shook his head, but Will kept going. “No, I am sorry. It’s not something you should have to just get used to so quickly. It takes time.” Will smiled softly at Nico. “But I like you, a lot, and that’s what really matters here, not any random stranger on the street’s opinion. I just want to be able to show you off, and shove it in everyone’s face how much I like you.”

Nico chuckled, and Will counted that as a win. “Yeah, I know.”

Will grinned, his smile brightening up Nico’s mood, just a little. How could he be ashamed of who he is with this boy at his side?

“You know I like you, too, right? Like a lot.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Do I have to show it in front of all these people?”

Will squeezed his hand. “I’m just asking for small steps.”

“Those steps aren’t that small.” But Nico still squeezed back.

“I’m sure the Ghost King will manage.” Nico rolled his eyes and Will beamed. “Besides, I’ll be there with you the whole way.”

[solange-lol]

Save You Tonight

Word Count: 965

Nico di Angelo Birthday Event - Day 1/4 

Read on Ao3

Will’s hair is a mess. More of a mess than usual, that is. His room is also a mess, especially the general-desk area. Honestly, there isn’t a part of his life that isn’t a mess.  Any other time, he’s been able to avoid being another zombie that would shuffle around in hoodies and sweatpants with eye bags and dark circles, clutching jumbo coffees. He’s usually more put together than this. But this struck yearly chaos within him.

Midterms.

The only thing keeping him sane by this point was reruns of Gilmore Girls that he and his mom watched together. Oh, and Nico.

Speaking of his boyfriend, Nico was the only one in the school that didn’t seem affected at all on the outside. Considering he already lived in a state of zombieness, everyone assumed that the Italian had just completely given up.

Obviously, however, Nico was suffering much like every other student. In fact, he had texted Will that afternoon that “AP chem is impossible. What is Cheryl even talking about and how did you get her to like you.” Then, “I’ll pay you to tutor me with ice cream.”

After reminding Nico that he didn’t need to ‘be paid’ to spend time with him and how the middle-of-January weather was too cold for frozen desserts, he headed over to Nico’s with the promise of Oreos and hot chocolate awaiting him.

Pulling up to the di Angelo residents, Will Solace realizes he’s never step foot inside of Nico’s house. Sure, he’s seen his boyfriends room over facetime, but that didn’t account for the rest of house. Including how big it was. (Yeah, Will expected his house to be big. Nico told him it was big. He didn’t realize big meant mansion, though).

Cold wind slapped him in the face as soon as he stepped outside his car. It was supposed to rain soon, borderline snow. Will cursed at the January weather. He was definitely going somewhere warmer for college; he couldn’t survive without the sun. Nico had similar opinions, surprisingly. The Italian had something against storms that Will knew was connected to his mother, and while Nico eventually opened up about Bianca, he still hesitates to ask him about Maria di Angelo.

After fighting wind on the walk up to the front porch, Will knocked on the door. He realized he should probably have texted Nico that he was here, but before he could pull out his phone, the door swung open. To his surprise, Hazel was behind it. Somehow she had slipped Will’s mind as Nico’s sister.

“Will!” Hazel smiled, pulling him in for a hug, which he gladly returned. They had always gotten along well, much to both Nico and Will’s delight. “I was expecting you to be pizza, but this is a pleasant alternative.”

Will laughed. “Unfortunately, I bear no pizza. That darling brother of yours is who I’m here for.”

Hazel faked a hurt looked. “Are you saying you didn’t come here for me?” She said as Will followed Hazel inside. The warm air of their house gladly invited him, and he took a second to let his face thaw. He noticed Frank sitting on a couch in a room off of the foyer, surrounded by what could only presume were notes. Will gave him a quick wave before catching up to Hazel, who was already headed into a kitchen

“Someone has to help your brother pass chemistry,” he said once he reached her.

“Really? I could have sworn you two already knew a lot about it,” She winked at him, before handing him two mugs that were sat on the counter. When he gave her a questioning look while ignoring his burning cheeks, she said “They were for me and Frank, but I can easily make more. He’s upstairs, the last door down the hallway right off the top of the steps.” Will thanked her quickly.

(He’ll never admit it, but it took him a few tries to reach Nico’s room. There were a lot of doors, okay?)

When he first stepped into Nico’s room, he thought he had accidentally walked into Hazel’s. Before he could leave though, he noticed Nico at a desk facing away from a door, shuffling Mythomagic cards after clearly abandoning his notes. Nico turned before Will could say a word.

“Oh hey,” he said, getting up from his chair. “I didn’t realize you left right away.” He walked over to where Will was standing, but the blonde was still taking in his surroundings.

“Your room…”

Nico seemed to suddenly be aware of the scene. Heat crept to his cheeks.“Don’t say a word,” he said, but Will chose to ignore him.

“It’s pink.”

He tried to suppress his grin, but Nico’s flushed cheeks (almost the exact color as the walls, he might add) made him laugh out loud.

“Look,” Nico mumbled. “I asked my dad to paint them ‘light red’ when I was young, and we’ve never found time to change them.”

By now, Will ha soaked it all in, though still laughing. He walked over to Nico’s desk and placed both mugs down before turning back to his boyfriend.

“Wipe that stupid smile off your face, it’s not funny,” Nico said, still mumbling. Will just hugged him.

“It’s kind of funny. Kind of adorable, actually.”

That only made Nico blush harder, ears now bright red as he hugged Will back. He could feel Nico’s smile pressed into his shoulder, and he kissed the pink skin next to his ear.

(They sort of forgot about studying after that. Rain hit the window as Will made comments about how he had a pink sweatshirt if Nico ever wanted to borrow it, which earned him a harmless slap and a kiss on those pink lips of his.)

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[solange-lol]

Gotta Be You

Words: 667

Notes: This is a lil oneshit based on the coffee shop AU of my fic called “coming right back (so stay right here)”. You honestly dont have to read it to understand this fic, but if you haven’t,,,, you could. Also happy birthday Nico !!!

Nico di Angelo Birthday Event   - Day 4/4

Read on Ao3

Working at a cafe isn’t at all like in books and movies. There's no crazy drama, nothing worth robbing, and certainly not any love stories. It was a lot more of Will being extremely bored and wasting all of his phone battery.

(Was he supposed to be doing anything non-work related? Technically, no. But it’s not like Apollo is ever around to stop him).

Weekdays were the slowest. People had school and jobs and not much time to sit down and relax in some run-down cafe in the middle of nowhere. Students would come in quickly to grab drinks before class, but that’s about as exciting as it got.

Will sighed, slowly cleaning the same spot on the counter again. His phone was charging in the back, Lou Ellen was out grabbing more coffee filters, Cecil didn’t even bother to show up today, and he was bored out of his mind. Hell, he even ran out of homework to do.

The blonde glanced out at the scene over the counter in front of him. Two girls sat gossiping at a table; they had been there for hours now. Sometimes Will would listen in, but most of it was about people he didn’t know. Another person studied papers at the table next to them, earbuds blasting music that Will didn’t recognize. Someone seemed to be giving an interview or proposing a business deal at one of the tables in the corner, but they talked in hushed tones. When Will did catch what one of them was saying, it wasn’t anything interesting.

He wished he could draw. That would pass time easier. But he really didn’t need Cecil making fun of his stick figures and scribbled trees again

Speaking of art, Will wished Nico was here. Then at least he would have something to focus his attention on rather than that damn stain on the counter that he can’t get out no matter what. Unfortunately, the young artist only ever showed up on Sunday’s. If he was ever there on a weekday, he didn’t stay for long. It disappointed Will more than it should.

After another few hours, the place was nearly deserted, and Lou Ellen and Will were debating whether to close early or not. That’s exactly when the bell on the door rang as it opened, and Nico di Angelo stepped through the door. He probably looked completely ordinary to a bystander, but to Will, he looked like he just stepped out of a magazine.

“Hey, sorry I’m out of breath, I’m in a rush,” he coughed, the slightest bit of amusement in his tone. Will just shook his head with a smile. He already knew Nico’s order before the Italian said it. “Black coffee, hot, and to-go.” (It was the same thing every time, no matter if it was sweltering outside or if Nico planned on staying in the cafe for hours on end).

“Where are you off to in such a rush?” Will asked when he slid the cup over.

“I’m going with my cousin and his girlfriend to visit my sister and our other cousin for my birthday. Said they have something special planned, but honestly we’ll probably end up binging The Bachelor,” he said as he dug around in his bag for money.

“It’s your birthday? Let me give you this coffee on the house. Or at least a cookie or something.”

Nico looked surprised. “A cookie would be nice…”

Will smiled. “Consider it done,” he said, already placing one of their biggest in a bag and handing it over. “Happy birthday, Nico.”

“Thank you, Will.” Both boys blushed a bit at the use of their names. Then, Nico spun on his heel and waved goodbye.

“Lou,” Will breathed as soon as he was out the door. “Did you see that?”

Lou smiled smugly, crossing her arms as she leaned against the counter. “I sure did. Y’know, he said your name, and you don’t even have a name tag on.”

Will nearly fainted.

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[buoyantsaturn]

Amnesia (1/1)

summary: Where was Bianca? If something bad had happened to Nico then what if Bianca was hurt too?

word count: 2261

read on ao3

When Nico opened his eyes, he didn’t know where he was. He sat up on the cot he’d been laying on, ignoring the pounding in his head, and looked around the room he was in. There was only  one wall, the other three just curtains that seemed to be sectioning off a much larger room, if the background noise was anything to go by, and while the “room” he was in was rather small, it was packed with tan, blonde teenagers that Nico didn’t recognize.

One of the teens came forward, a boy at least five years older than him with the bluest eyes Nico had ever seen, and sat on the edge of the cot next to Nico’s legs. He held up a pen light, shining it in Nico’s eyes and telling him to follow the light. Nico did as he was told, but didn’t understand how he could understand the other boy. He obviously wasn’t speaking Italian, so what was it? English? Nico’s mother would never allow him and his sister to learn English, so why could he understand it?

Then he remembered; Bianca. Where was Bianca? If something bad had happened to Nico then what if Bianca was hurt too? He asked the boy, as he was putting away his light, where his sister was, but the boy just looked at him in confusion. Sure, Nico could understand English, only speak Italian, but this boy couldn’t understand him? What was going on ?

The boy turned to another boy on the other side of the room, a dark-skinned boy with his hair braided in rows on the top of his head. “Austin,” the blond boy sitting next to Nico said, “can you get Chiara?”

The dark-skinned boy, Austin, left the room through a gap in the curtains. The blond one turned back to Nico. “Can you tell me your name?”

Nico pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He wasn’t supposed to tell strangers his name, but these people were safe, right? They seemed safe, and maybe they could help him find Bianca, so he answered.

“Good, now can you tell me what year it is?”

Nico shook his head.

“No, of course,” the blond said to himself. “You wouldn’t know what year it is anyway, that’s fine.” He straightened himself before continuing. “Nico, I think I understand what’s happened. Can you understand me alright?” Nico nodded. “Good, so I think you must have hit your head pretty hard, most likely in the language center of your brain, which means that until it heals fully, you might not remember any English, speaking, anyway, clearly you can comprehend it just fine. Right? Did you understand that?”

Nico paused for a moment before slowly shaking his head.

The blond boy huffed. “Alright, then we’ll just wait for Chiara.” He turned to the others in the room. “You guys are good to go, I think, check on everyone else for now. I’ll call you if I need help with anything.”

As the mob of blondes filed out of the room, Austin returned with a girl, that, by the looks of her, was Italian as well. Finally! Maybe she could help him!

As Austin and the blond boy explained to her the problem at hand, the three of them kept glancing over at Nico, making him feel like an exhibit at the zoo. Finally, Chiara came closer to Nico, kneeling by the bed and introducing herself, and Nico didn’t think he’d ever been so happy to hear his mother tongue.

She asked him a couple of questions, like what he remembered last, and relayed them to Austin and the blond boy: “He says he remembers being on a cliff outside of a school when they were attacked, him and his sister and a few other people doesn’t know.”

“Hazel was there with you?” the blond boy asked. Nico looked at him with confusion and shook his head. “But you said--”

“Will,” Chiara stopped him, then turned back to Nico, asking if he recognized her. He shook his head with an apology, so she pointed at Austin and asked again. When he shook his head, Will asked Chiara what she was saying.

Instead of answering, she placed a hand on Will’s shoulder and said in English, “Nico, do you know who this is?”

Nico looked between the two of them, seeing sadness in Chiara’s eyes and fear in Will’s, but still, Nico shook his head. Nico watched as the fear in Will’s eyes flashed to sadness. “ Mi dispiace! Voglio che mia sorella. Dov’e Bianca? ”

Will stood up abruptly, running a hand through his curly hair. When he spoke, his voice was shaky. “Austin, can you get Chiron? I-- I’ve gotta…” He ran out of the room before he could finish.

Nico felt tears welling up in his eyes. He upset Will, but why did that matter? He didn’t know Will! Why wouldn’t anyone tell him where Bianca was? He could feel Chiara wrap him up in a hug, but it barely registered as the tears started to fall. He saw the curtains rustle as Austin reappeared - when had he left? - with a man in a wheelchair.

“Nico,” the man started, and Chiara moved away from him. “My name is Chiron, we’ve met before, though I don’t believe you remember it. Can you try speaking to me in English?”

Nico hesitated, glancing at the others in the room, and felt Chiara place a hand on his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “M-my n-name ees Nico di Angelo. I have a s-seester named Bianca. My age ees …” What was the word? He unwound his arms from around his legs, holding up his hands and spreading his fingers.

Chiron hmm ed. “Now, numbers are hard between the languages, I know, but can you try again?”

Nico shook his hands out toward Chiron, showing his ten fingers. “Dieci.”

“Ten,” Chiara translated. “Nico, you’re saying you are ten years old?” Nico nodded his head furiously. “Nico, no--”

“Where ees Bianca?” he demanded.

“Bianca is unavailable right now,” Chiron said. “You’ll have to be patient. In the meantime, I’m sure you’re hungry.”

Kayla found Will rushing towards Cabin 13, wiping at his cheeks. Kayla ran after him, catching him at the foot of the stairs and stopping him before he could escape into the cabin. Kayla pulled him to a sitting position on the stairs, sitting next to him and resting an arm around his shoulders as he sobbed.

“I thought it was the language center,” Will cried. “I thought he hit his head at the language center but I was wrong . Kayla, I was so wrong , he doesn’t remember me! ”

Kayla rubbed his arms as he cried, trying to comfort him but not knowing how. “Why were you going to his cabin?”

“I-- I have to get m-my stuff,” he hiccuped. “He’s gonna go in there and see all that stuff that isn’t his and he’ll get upset so I have to move it all, I don’t want to make him upset--”

“Shh, Will, okay, I’ll help you, but you’ve gotta calm down, okay?” Will nodded furiously, straightening up and wiping his eyes. “Good?” Kayla asked, and when Will nodded again, the two of them rose and entered the cabin.

During the cleaning, Will had found a shoebox under Nico’s bed, filled to the top with trading cards. They looked rather old, maybe he’d remember them…

Will took the box, after returning each of his things to his own cabin, and went back to the infirmary. He was stopped just outside of Nico’s room by Austin, who simply said, “It’s worse than we thought,” before Will was pushing his way into the room.

He noticed first that Nico was still tucked into the corner on his cot, though now he seemed to be trying to hide his face behind his knees. His cheeks were a soft pink behind his tan, and the look in his eyes--- Well, he used to look at Will like that.

Nico’s gaze was focused on another boy whose back was to Will, and it didn’t seem like either of them had noticed Will’s entrance.

Will cleared his throat and the boy turned around, allowing Will to realize that it was Percy. “Hey, Will!” Percy said, standing up and patting Will on the shoulder. “Whatcha got there?”

“I- uh, thought Nico might want these,” Will said, holding the shoebox out toward Nico. Nico reached an arm out for it, taking it in his hands and popping off the lid.

“My Mythomagic cards!” he exclaimed, pulling a few cards out.

Percy retook his seat next to Nico’s bed and started sifting through cards with him until he found a small, dark figurine. Percy stared sadly down at the figurine until Nico plucked it out of his hand, examining it closely. “Woah, I don’t remember having this one!”

Percy cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah, about that--”

Austin poked his head into the room, saying, “Will, we need to talk to you out here,” before pulling Will back into the hallway.

“What, what is it?” Will asked.

“Chiron talked to him for a little while, but since Percy was the first person he met, we thought he should catch Nico up a little bit,” Austin explained. “Chiron is hoping that it’s just short-term amnesia, and when the injury heals, he should hopefully have all of his memories back.”

Will nodded. “Anything else? Any way to heal his head faster?”

“Chiron’s looking into it,” Austin answered. “But, uh, there’s one more thing.”

“And what’s that?”

“Nico thinks he’s ten again.”

“ GET OUT! ” they heard from Nico’s room, and Percy burst out from between the curtains.

“He, uh,” Percy muttered. “Nico won’t be asking for his sister anymore, I don’t think.”

Will rushed into the room, seeing Nico laying down on his cot, facing the curtain-wall, and the box of trading cards spilled onto the ground. Nico was staring blankly at the dark figurine in his hand.

“Nico?” Will said quietly.

“She’s dead,” Nico mumbled. “Bianca, I-- I know that, now. I remember, I mean. A-and I know that I’m not ten, but I don’t… I don’t know how old I am.”

“Do you want me to tell you?” Will offered, only a little surprised that Nico seemed able to speak fluent English again. “Anything you want to know, I’ll tell you.”

Nico glanced at him out of the corner of his eye before sitting up and dropping the figurine off the side of the cot. He nodded, and Will sat at the foot of the cot.

“What do you want to know?” Will asked.

Nico kept his gaze down at his hands in his lap as he said, “Who are you?” Will’s breath hitched, and Nico hurried to continue. “I-I mean, to me. Who are you to me? I know that you’re Will and-- And I know that. But… I think that’s it.”

Will hesitated, not knowing where to start. You don’t just flat-out say to an amnesiac that you’re their boyfriend, right? That could really mess him up, Will thought. More so. “I-I’m your friend,” Will started slowly. “I wasn’t always, and maybe friend isn't really the right word. Um, I’m the head counselor of the Apollo cabin - you remember all the stuff about the gods, right? I don’t have to go into all of that?” When Nico nodded, Will breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, okay, so I’m head of the cabin, and I’m head healer, and a little more than a year ago, you came back from this long trip with Percy and your sister Hazel and a bunch of other people, and you were… let’s go with injured, so I fixed you up, and you stayed in the infirmary for a few days, and on the last day before you left, you, uh, kissed me?”

Nico’s eyes shot up to meet Will’s. His cheeks were red and his eyes were wide. He quickly looked back at his hands in his lap.

“Um, and we...We’ve been-- I guess we’ve been dating? --since then,” Will continued, “and sometimes I sleep in your cabin with you, and we--” he laughed, looking down at his own lap, “--we tricked Chiron into letting you eat dinner with me, even though it’s against the rules. I’m seventeen, and you’re sixteen, by the way, and I stay year round at camp, and...I love you.”

When he glanced back up, Nico’s face was somehow redder, he looked like he had tears in his eyes, and he had pulled his hands into the sleeves of the sweatshirt he was wearing.

“And that’s my sweatshirt you’re wearing, too,” Will mumbled, smiling brightly at his boyfriend sitting across from him.

Finally, Nico looked up at him as a tear rolled down his cheek. “I don’t remember that,” he whispered, and Will saw his eyes well up.

“That’s okay,” Will said, scooting closer and wiping the tears off of Nico’s cheeks. “It’s okay. Chiron said that when your head heals, your memory should come back, okay? And you know who literally has magic healing fingers?”

Nico shook his head.

“I do.” Will leaned forward and kissed the tip of Nico’s nose. He moved his hands from Nico’s cheeks, resting his palms over Nico’s temples and leaned their foreheads together. “You’ll remember everything in no time, sunshine,” Will grinned, his eyes sliding shut as he began trying to heal his boyfriend.

Nico smiled. “I remember you calling me that.”

thanks for reading!!

buy me a coffee | more nico birthday event stuff here

[buoyantsaturn]

I’m in Hell (2/?)

summary: Nico and Will get closer as Christmas nears. Then there’s angst. And then it’s Nico’s birthday!

word count: 16,413 (31,375 current total)

read on ao3 | read part one

Will hardly ever texted Nico more than once without a response, so when Nico received three texts from him in a row, he was already concerned.

FROM: Will; Hey

FROM: Will; I have a weird question for you FROM: Will; Have you had the chickenpox vaccine?

TO: Will; why

FROM: Will; I need you to pick up some calamine lotion and bring it over

TO: Will; i’ll be there in half an hour

Nico rolled out of bed, having yet to leave his room that morning, and threw on whatever clothes he could find before heading out with a shout of, “I’m going to Will’s,” to Hazel before he left. He drove to the nearest drugstore to pick up the calamine lotion before heading to Will’s, using his key on the locked door once he arrived.

“Hello?” he called into the house as he kicked off his shoes by the door.

“In here,” Will’s voice came from somewhere else, but before Nico could go in to find him, Will continued, “Wait! You never told me if you had the vaccine!”

“I didn’t,” Nico replied, stepping around the corner toward the living room, where he guessed Will to be. “I had chickenpox when I was four.” He held up the grocery bag when he saw Will and Bianca sitting on the couch. “You asked for calamine?”

“Nico,” Bianca started, voice whiny as she reached out toward him with a mitten-covered hand, “can you get rid of my chickenpox?”

Nico took the bottle of lotion out of the bag and walked over to the couch to hand it over to Will as he said, “Sorry, Princess, you gotta let it run its course.” He looked up when Will took the lotion from his hand and Nico spotted red marks along his arm, mixed in amongst his freckles. “You...have the chickenpox.”

Will frowned up at him. “Yes?”

“You--” Nico snorted, and covered his mouth with his hand as he started to laugh. “A grown man. I’ve never seen an adult who has chickenpox.”

Will’s frown turned to a pout. “It’s not like I planned it. Bi got it from someone at school, and apparently the vaccine only works ninety-five percent of the time.”

“Aren’t you special, then,” Nico said, and sat down on the couch in between the two Solaces. He turned to Bianca and suggested, “Bi, why don’t you go put on some shorts and short sleeves, and then you can put on the calamine lotion to help with the itching.”

“But then I’ll be cold,” Bianca complained.

“It’ll help.”

“How?”

Nico paused. “Well, when my nephew had the chickenpox, he said that he felt better when his clothes weren’t rubbing on him and making him itchier. And the lotion might make your clothes stick to you and make it worse, if you’re wearing long pants and long sleeves.”

Bianca sighed. “Okay.” She hopped off the couch and went into her bedroom to change, shutting the door behind herself.

“You can take the mittens off to change, but don’t scratch or you’ll scar!” Will called after her.

Nico had to stop himself from jumping, having somehow forgotten that Will was there beside him. He wasn’t used to being around Will for longer than it took him to run out the door to go to work. He definitely wasn’t used to sitting and talking with him when Bianca wasn’t in the room, and now that she wasn’t hogging half of the couch, Nico suddenly felt much too close to Will.

“I, uh, I didn’t know you had a nephew,” Will said.

“There’s a lot of things we don’t know about each other,” Nico replied, and he felt the corner of his mouth quirk up. Wait a second, was he flirting? He shouldn’t be flirting, what if Will caught on? What if he somehow found out about that dream that Nico had of the two of them in bed together? Woah, Nico thought. Slow down.

“Was that true?” Will asked, and Nico’s mind went blank as he tried to remember the last thing he’d said. Had he been thinking out loud? Oh no, did he mention the dream? “About how the clothes rubbing on your nephew’s chickenpox made the itching worse?”

Nico’s racing heart suddenly stopped, and he felt his tension flood away from him. “Well, I wasn’t about to tell Bianca that he was only a year and a half old and preferred to run around in just his diaper most of the time, but yeah, it helped as far as I could tell.”

“I’m surprised you don’t have your own inside tips,” Nico said. “You know, being a doctor and all. I’d think you would know all the secrets.”

Will grinned. “Maybe for other things, but it’s not like I’m a pediatrician. I’ve clearly never interacted with somebody who has the chickenpox if I haven’t contracted them until now.”

Nico’s smile grew until it was almost as bright as Will’s. “I still think that’s hilarious. You: an adult with a child, just now catching the chickenpox, a baby’s disease.”

Will rolled his eyes and looked away, but Nico could still see that he was smiling. “Ha ha, sure, laugh at the man suffering from that baby’s disease.”

“I would hardly call it suffering, you seem fine!” Nico argued with a laugh. “I haven’t even seen you pretend to scratch this whole time. If I had to guess, I’d say you’re faking it.”

Of course, as soon as Nico said that, a spark of realization shone in Will’s eyes, and he reached up to scratch as his cheek before pulling his hand away just as quick. “I guess you distracted me just enough to keep my mind off of it.”

Before Nico could think of a response - but after he’d started to realize that he was staring straight into Will’s sky-like eyes - Bianca returned from her room and plopped herself right down in Nico’s lap, ignoring the open couch cushion next to him.

“I’m ready!” she announced, and with that, whatever was happening between Nico and Will seemed to break, and all attention was on Bianca once more.

Once both Solaces were coated in calamine lotion, Bianca insisted that Nico stay to watch a movie with them, which led to them watching the movie’s sequel. By the time the second movie was over, it was close enough to dinner time that they were all getting hungry, and Nico offered to make dinner. It wasn’t until Will was putting Bianca to bed that Nico started to head out, but Will called after him quietly and stopped him in the kitchen.

“Thanks again for stopping by,” Will told him. “I couldn’t exactly go out in public since I’m still contagious, and I can’t go back to work until next week because of this--”

“Oh. Okay, so you don’t need me,” Nico said, hoping that he didn’t let his disappointment show. “I guess just let me know--”

“You could still come over,” Will cut in hurriedly, and started to backtrack just as fast. “I mean, if you wanted to. You don’t have to, but, uh, I’m sure Bianca would appreciate it. But I know you probably have your own stuff to do, so, uh--”

“Sure, just...text me. If you want. Or call, or...whatever.” He stepped toward the door, throwing a thumb over his shoulder as he said, “I’m gonna go home now. I’ll see you--”

“Yeah, I’ll let you know.”

“Cool,” Nico said, and walked out the door.

He banged his head against his steering wheel a few times before driving home.

As soon as the Solaces were officially no longer contagious, Bianca returned to school and Will went back to work, which meant that Nico was at the Solace household almost every hour of the day once again - though he still tried to sleep in his own bed most of the time, because he was certain that couch was trying to kill him.

There was one morning - afternoon to Will, but still morning to Nico - that Will woke Nico up with a call, as usual.

“Hey, Nico,” Will greeted, and Nico made some kind of noise in response. “I have an overnight shift this week, from Tuesday into Wednesday, so I’ll need you to stay over Tuesday night to take Bi to school in the morning, but I’ll be home to pick her up. And then I’ll need you all day on Thursday, and--”

“Wait, Thursday?” Nico cut in. “Solace, that’s Thanksgiving. I’ll be in the Upper East Side all day.”

“It’s...oh. Right, of course it’s Thanksgiving. Okay, never mind about Thursday. I’ll, um. See you Tuesday.”

“Sure,” Nico said, seconds before Will ended the call.

Thursday morning, at what seemed like the crack of dawn to Nico but was really about nine-thirty, he and Hazel drove to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. They climbed the stairs to the third floor walk-up that Nico had lived in just a year earlier, and the door opened to reveal the smiling faces of Paul and Estelle Blofis.

Nico was immediately torn between taking the baby from her father’s arms and heading to the kitchen to help Sally with the cooking, so he walked into the living room to find Percy and Annabeth and their son Luke instead. It wasn’t until he’d made his rounds and said hello and gave too many hugs that he made his way into the kitchen.

Sally was the only one in the room, and Nico said a quick hello before he started peeling potatoes. Annabeth must have followed him into the kitchen, because she was suddenly at his side with her arms crossed over her chest.

“You haven’t called,” she told him.

“He hasn’t called me in a while either,” Sally chimed in.

Nico rolled his eyes. “I’ve been busy.”

“Oh, of course,” Annabeth teased. “With Will. How’s that going?”

Nico shrugged. “Fine, I guess, I dunno.”

“Will is the doctor, right?” Sally asked.

“Yes--”

“With the daughter that you’ve been taking care of,” Annabeth continued.

“Uh huh.”

“If you start talking, then we’ll stop asking questions.”

Nico sighed. “Alright, fine. Uh, the kid’s cute, it’s nice to have a reason to get out of my apartment every day. It actually is helping with my classes too, like, I’ve been getting new ideas all the time, and I finally have the motivation to do my homework. And Will’s great, too, he’s--” Nico stopped himself before he said something that could be used against him, and cleared his throat awkwardly. “Um. He’s...around, sometimes.”

“And this Will,” Annabeth said in a voice that put Nico on edge. “He wouldn’t happen to be the same guy you have a middle school crush on, would he?”

Sally turned toward them with an eyebrow raised and an amused smile. “What was that?”

“Oh, you haven’t seen the video?” Annabeth pulled out her phone with a devious grin.

Nico dropped the potato he was peeling on the counter alongside the peeler and lunged for Annabeth’s phone. “Annabeth, no!”

She played the video and forced the phone into Sally’s hands, holding Nico back as he fought to take the phone.

“No fighting in the kitchen, you two,” Sally told them, laughing as she handed the phone back to Annabeth. “And I think that’s cute, Nico.”

“I’m not cute,” Nico grumbled, and stomped out of the kitchen.

Frank had been given a two-day leave from West Point which allowed him to make it to Sally’s just in time for dinner. However, Frank’s arrival also meant that he and Hazel would be sharing the pull-out couch that night, which put Nico on the living room floor while the Jackson-Chases were crammed into the guest room-slash-Estelle’s room.

Nico was used to not being able to sleep, especially when everyone else was heading to bad much earlier than he usually did himself, so he wasn’t surprised when he tossed and turned half of the night until he finally fell asleep at what he guessed was around three. He also wasn’t surprised - irritated, but not surprised - when his phone started ringing, waking him up so that he could hear everyone else already awake and in the kitchen.

“Hello?” Nico grumbled as he sat up off the floor.

“Good morning!” Will said cheerily on the other end of the call. “Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?”

Nico made a noncommittal noise in response as he stood up and started toward the kitchen. He was pretty sure he smelled coffee, and he desperately needed some of that.

Will laughed. “Alright, I get that. Did you make it home yet? I have to go into work this afternoon, so I need you to come over.”

Nico pulled a mug down from one of the cabinets before pouring himself a cup of coffee. He tried to ignore the eyes he could feel on his back and how quiet the room around him had become. “I stayed the night up here, but I can be home in a couple of hours. What time do you need me?”

“Can you be here by one?”

Nico pulled the phone away from his face to read the time: 9:20am. He held back a groan; he should not be awake this early. “Yeah, I can do that.”

“Great! Thanks, Nico. I’ll see you later!”

“Bye,” Nico said, and ended the call.

“Aw, Neeks, you’re so whipped!” Percy called out to him with a giant smile, and Nico made sure that Luke and Estelle weren’t looking his way when he flipped Percy off while taking a sip of his coffee.

Annabeth shoved at Percy’s shoulder before telling Nico, “You two should come over for dinner sometime after you get together. No! All three of you. I bet Will’s daughter and Luke will get along great!”

“You can’t just assume that all kids are gonna get along, Annabeth.” Nico rolled his eyes and sat down at the table next to his sister. “Hazel, I need to leave soon. Are you coming with me, or are you going with Frank?”

Instead of answering, Hazel turned to Frank and gave him a look. Frank said to Nico, “I’ll drive her home.”

“I hope you’re not thinking of leaving before breakfast,” Sally said as she set down a plate of blue pancakes in front of him. “Paul made plenty so you had better eat your fair share.”

Nico didn’t argue. He didn’t know what Paul put in his pancakes, but Nico could never make his own taste quite as good.

After he finished eating, he said his goodbyes and started toward the door, but Annabeth stopped him before he could step out.

“You should call more often, you know,” Annabeth told him, forcing a hug on him, though he only pretended to hate it. “Maybe I can give you some tips on raising your kid.”

“She’s not my kid,” Nico reminded her, pulling out of the hug. “I’m not raising her, either, just...looking after her sometimes.”

Annabeth winked. “Maybe one day.”

Nico rolled his eyes so hard that his head tipped back with the force of it, and he walked out the door.

Will would never tell anyone - especially not Lou Ellen - how much he loved calling Nico every morning. No matter how terrible his morning could be, hearing Nico’s sleepy voice always put a smile on his face.

One particular morning had been pretty terrible, full of a cranky Bianca who didn’t want to go to school and angry patients who refused to cooperate, and Will knew there was only one thing that could make his day better.

He called Nico.

And somebody else picked up the phone.

“Hello?” came a perky female voice through the speaker.

Will was so taken aback that he forgot to answer until the voice said another, slightly more confused hello? “Oh, uh, hi! I’m sorry, I must have the wrong number...somehow.”

“Wait, no! You’re Will, right?” she asked. “Nico’s told me a lot about you.”

Will wanted to feel flattered but he was too confused to know what he should be feeling. “Um. Yes, I’m Will. Is he, um. Is Nico there? Can I talk to him?”

There was a short hesitation before, “Nico’s a little...under the weather. I don’t think he’s really up for talking to anyone right now.”

“Is he okay?” Will felt his confusion vanish as worry filled him like ice through his veins. “I’m a doctor, I could come check him out--over, I could come check him over--” He took a breath and said, quieter this time, “Is he okay?”

“No, no, don’t trouble yourself with him,” she said with a gentle laugh. “This is just his annual thing. You know how it is, right? He’ll be back to his normal self soon enough.”

Will wasn’t really sure he understood, but he still said, “Yeah, I...get it. Um. Do you think he’ll be okay by tomorrow? I was kind of hoping he could pick my daughter up from school today, but I can figure something out.”

“Give me just a second and I’ll go see how he’s feeling, okay?”

Hazel set Nico’s phone down on the coffee table where he’d left it a few days earlier and went to his room, knocking before she entered. Nico was laying on his side, facing the wall, but somehow Hazel knew that he wasn’t asleep. She sat on the edge of his mattress and placed a hand on his arm comfortingly.

She had tried speaking to him many times in the past few days, asking if he was hungry, or if he was feeling any better, but she never got any response from him. She’d barely even gotten him to drink any water.

“Nico,” she said softly, “Will called.” He shifted under her hand - the most reaction he’s shown in days. “He wants to know if you’ll be okay tomorrow for Bianca.” He flinched at the mention of her name, though Hazel knew it was a different Bianca he was thinking of. “He’ll understand if you can’t be there, but he does need an answer soon, okay?”

She waited a moment, giving him an opportunity to respond like she always did, but stood up when he said nothing. She made it to the door before she was stopped by the sound of her brother’s voice.

“I’ll be there,” Nico croaked.

Hazel walked back over to him and pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “I’ll let him know.”

She left the room, shutting the door behind herself, and returned to the living room where Will was still waiting for his answer. “Nico said he’ll be there,” she told him.

“Are you sure he’s okay?” Will asked one final time, and Hazel could hear the sincere worry in Will’s tone.

She thought back to the video she had saved on her phone of Nico practically confessing his love for the other man, and smiled to herself. Maybe Hazel couldn’t do much to help her brother, but if anyone could, she was sure it was Will. “He’ll be just fine.”

Will couldn’t get that woman’s voice out of his head for the rest of the day. He tried to continue about his day after venting to a very interested Lou Ellen during lunch, and he had to sneak out for a little over half an hour to pick Bianca up from school and bring her back to the hospital. He really hoped the hospital’s daycare was open to kids over the age of five, otherwise he might have to hide Bianca away in Lou’s room until his shift was over.

When he walked into the school’s front office and found Bianca waiting amongst a small crowd of other children, Will saw this his daughter looked confused.

“Where’s Nico?” she asked without greeting.

“He’s...sick,” Will answered, and led her out to the car where he buckled her into her carseat and returned to the driver’s seat.

“He didn’t catch my chickenpox, did he?”

“No, he doesn’t have chickenpox. You can only get those once, and he had them when he was your age.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, Bi.”

“Do you think he’s sad?”

Will met his daughter’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Why do you think he would be sad?”

“Nico told me that his sister started living on the moon in December,” Bianca said. “It’s December right now. Do you think he misses his sister?”

Will thought back to the story Bianca had told him of Nico’s sister, remembering how he’d doubted any truth in the story, but realizing now that there might have been one very real part of it. He felt himself filling with dread at the thought of Nico being so sad that he couldn’t even leave his own house. Will was a doctor - he knew exactly what to prescribe to fix just about any physical ailment that he came across, but sadness? How could Will fix that?

“You might be right, Bianca,” he said after a short pause. “But the only thing that can make sadness better is time.”

“And cookies!” Bianca exclaimed. “We should make cookies for him. Cookies make everybody happy.”

Will smiled. “Okay, sure. We’ll make cookies for him tomorrow morning before I have to go to work.”

Thankfully, when they got to the hospital, Bianca was accepted happily into the daycare so that Will could return to work. Even more thankfully, there were no severe emergencies that couldn’t be handled by the surgical interns and emergency room nurses, which meant that Will and Bianca were able to leave, swing through a fast food drive-through, stop by the store for cookie ingredients, and arrive home just in time for Bianca to get ready for bed.

Will felt ready to collapse in his own bed, but knew that he needed clean clothes for the next day and a shower wouldn’t kill him, plus there was a sink full of dishes that he knew Nico would normally wash but Will felt bad intentionally leaving them for him when Nico wasn’t in the healthiest state.

Of course, unfortunately for Will, all the mindless activities gave him time to think, to remember the perky voice he’d heard through the phone and overthink everything about her. Who was she? Why was she in Nico’s apartment? Why would she answer Nico’s phone? Was she Nico’s girlfriend? Why would she say that she’d heard so much about him in such a knowing tone?

Will tried to force those thoughts out of his head as he finally laid down in bed that night, but the thought of that woman being in Nico’s apartment when Will was in his own home so far away drove Will to pulling out his phone and sending a quick text to Nico before he shut his eyes and tried to fall asleep.

TO: Nico; Call me if you need anything. And I really do mean anything.

When he woke up the next morning, there was no response and no missed calls.

Nico was assaulted by the smell of chocolate when he walked into the Solace house. He didn’t call out a hello as he usually did, just kicked his shoes off by the door and walked into the kitchen where he found a heaping plate of chocolate chip cookies sitting on the island.

“Oh,” came a voice to his left, and Nico turned to see Will standing in the hallway. He smiled brightly at Nico as he unfroze himself and continued into the kitchen. “I wasn’t sure if you were still coming.”

“Do you...not need me?” Nico asked quietly, voice hoarse from disuse, and he cleared his throat after speaking to ward off the cough he felt coming.

“No, I do! I just--” Will scratched the back of his head awkwardly, “--wasn’t sure if you were...up for it.”

“Did Hazel say something to you?” Nico asked.

Before Will could answer, Bianca came running down the hall shouting Nico’s name, and attached herself to his side. “Nico, I missed you!”

Nico pulled her away from him so that he could crouch down and hug her properly. “I missed you too, Princess,” he whispered, hoping his voice didn’t shake as much as it felt like it had. When he pulled away, he could barely look at her - she looked so much like his Bianca, it was almost too much to bear. He stood back up and averted his eyes, blinking furiously to keep any tears from spilling.

“We made you cookies!” Bianca exclaimed and pointed to the plate on the island. “Cookies make everybody happy, so if you eat a lot of cookies then you won’t be sad anymore!”

“What makes you think I’m sad?” Nico asked.

“Well, aren’t you?”

That’s fair, Nico thought to himself. Instead, he said, “Thank you, Princess.”

“Hugs help too!” Bianca said, and wrapped her arms around Nico again. “Daddy gives really good hugs, they make me feel not sad anymore all the time, so you should hug him, too!”

Bianca released him once again, only to run over to Will and drag him closer until the two men were within hugging distance of each other. Will’s smile had turned a little uncomfortable, but Nico had his eyes locked on his shoulder so that he wouldn’t have to meet Will’s eyes. The blue of his scrubs were dull compared to his eyes; it was easier to look at and not feel quite so ashamed of his overwhelming sadness.

Will’s arms closed around him, and Nico was surrounded by warmth - a pleasant, living warmth, so unlike the uncomfortable heat of his blanket cocoon of depression that he’d been living in all weekend. He pressed his face into Will’s shoulder - was he really an entire head shorter than Will? He’d never noticed - and carefully wrapped his own arms around Will’s back, like he was afraid that too quick of a movement would scare him away.

“I’m sorry about your sister,” Will whispered, and Nico felt himself stiffen, one of his hands balling into a fist around the fabric of Will’s shirt. “You don’t have to stay. You can take another day if you need it. Take as much time as you need.”

Nico shook his head and pulled himself away. He hated the feeling of leaving Will’s warmth, of feeling the cool air surround him, only wishing he could press himself up against Will until he forgot all about ever being sad.

“I’m fine,” he lied.

“Are you sure?” Will asked. “I can try to bribe the daycare at the hospital to watch Bianca for another day, but I do need to leave, like, now.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Nico said, cracking the tiniest of smiles. It probably wasn’t even noticeable, but he could feel it.

Will stepped away from Nico and knelt down to kiss the top of Bianca’s head with a goodbye, I love you.

“Thanks for the cookies,” Nico said, eyes flickering up just long enough to catch Will’s brilliant smile.

“Please don’t let Bianca eat all of them.” He walked around Nico to put on his shoes and grab his coat and his keys. “I’ll see you later, and I’ll text you when I’m on my way home.”

When Will turned back around to face him, Nico held the plate of cookies out toward him. “Take one. Or three, it’s not like I’ll be able to eat them all.”

Will took a single cookie and bit into it, letting out an appreciative noise at the taste of chocolate. He swallowed the bite before saying, “Bye, Nico,” and started out the door.

“Bye, Sunshine.”

FROM: Kayla; Hey Will! It’s me, your favorite half-sister! I just remembered that you live in New York now, so I wanted to invite you to my Christmas party on Friday! It’ll be pretty small and you probably won’t know anyone besides me and Austin, but we would love to get to know you better, so you should come!!! And YES you should wear your ugliest sweater!

TO: Kayla; I’ll have to make sure I have someone to watch my daughter, but that sounds great! Also: who’s Austin?

FROM: Kayla; Our brother??

TO: Kayla; We have a brother???

Nico was still fragile after the anniversary of his sister’s death, and all Will wanted was to wrap Nico in his arms and hold him until his smile returned, but Will knew that the touch wouldn’t be welcomed. Nico flinched even when Bianca hugged him, and it broke Will’s heart to see him in such a state.

It made him feel even worse when he had to ask Nico to stay late on Friday just so that Will could go to a party. Nico told him continuously not to worry about it, and Will kept saying that he would try not to be out late and promised that he would finish the guest room soon.

Will changed into a pair of jeans and his only Christmas sweater before requesting an Uber and leaving for Kayla’s apartment - he didn’t want to drive himself in case he decided to have a few drinks. He realized that he’d made the right choice when Kayla insisted on doing a shot with him as soon as Will arrived, and then pushed a cup of spiked eggnog into his hands.

After just an hour into the party, Will was already well past tispy.

Nico never slept well in December, and had already been planning on leaving once Will came home so that he could try to sleep in his own bed. Then it was after two in the morning, and Nico heard a kind of faint scratching coming from the direction of the front door, like someone struggling to get a key into a lock.

Nico felt a surge of anger flow through him, and tensed when he finally heard the door open. “Honey, I’m home!” Will’s voice came from the kitchen, followed by drunken giggles and the sound of keys being dropped on the counter.

Nico rose from the couch and stood at the end of the hallway, stopping Will before he could leave the kitchen. “Bianca’s sleeping,” he said in a harsh whisper. “You should keep your voice down.”

Will was smiling brightly down at Nico, but he quickly melted into a childish pout. “Are you mad at me?”

Nico huffed, crossing his arms and glancing to the side. “No, I’m not mad, but you’re going to wake Bianca--”

“I don’t want you to be mad, at me or ever,” Will cut in, stepping forward. “I don’t want you to be sad anymore, either. I want you to be happy. Can I help you be happy?” Will came even closer until his hands were resting on Nico’s arms and he was leaning in, sky-blue eyes flickering from Nico’s eyes to his lips and back.

Nico felt frozen under Will’s hands, under his gaze, feeling Will press even closer until Nico could smell the alcohol on Will’s breath, and pushed him away. “Don’t touch me!” Nico exclaimed, stumbling backwards.

When he looked back up, Will was pouting again, looking like a puppy that Nico had just kicked away. Nico pointed down to the other end of the hall where Will’s room was located, and said, “Go sleep this off.”

“Come with me,” Will said, stopping directly in front of Nico once again.

“No,” Nico told him sternly and shoved Will toward his room. “Go to sleep. I’m going to get you some water.”

He waited until he heard Will’s door opening before he looked up again, and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Nico started back toward Will’s room when he heard a loud thud, concerned at first before he heard laughter, loud and bubbly, and when Nico pushed open the door he saw Will sitting upright on the floor with his legs out in front of him.

“I tried to take my shoes off and I fell over!” Will cackled.

Nico walked past him and set the glass down on Will’s nightstand before he tugged off Will’s shoes and pulled him back to his feet. Will immediately dropped down onto the edge of his bed and pulled Nico in until he was standing between Will’s knees.

“Stop,” Nico said, shaking off Will’s grip and walking across the room to leave. “You’re going to overheat if you sleep in that sweater.”

“Why don’t you come over here and take it off of me?”

Nico froze, one hand on the doorknob. Why is this happening to me? he thought to himself. Since moving to New York, Nico had been relying on meaningless hookups to distract himself from the pain he felt, most frequently around that time of the year, when he was at his lowest. He’d been better since he’d started looking after Bianca - having another person to look after had proved to be a much better distraction than sex - but Nico had been starting to crave another person’s touch more than usual. Not just anyone, either, but Will’s touch specifically.

Why would Will only start to show interest in him when he was too drunk to take off his own shoes? Why did it have to be now, when Nico’s head was clouded by so many other thoughts and feelings that were normally exactly what he would want to be distracted from? Why wasn’t Nico jumping into bed with Will right now, when both of them so clearly wanted it?

Nico’s hand tightened around the doorknob, turning it and opening the door. “Goodnight, Will.”

He closed the door behind himself as he walked out, and flopped down on to the couch. Nico took out his phone and started to write out a text.

TO: RARA; are you awake? i need someone to talk to

Will felt like he’d just walked through Hell. His head was pounding and he felt like any movement would cause him to vomit. His ass hurt for some reason, so he assumed he must have slipped and fallen on some ice outside at some point. He couldn’t even remember how he’d gotten home the night before, but at least he knew he hadn’t had his own car.

Will crawled out of bed and left his room, making a pit stop in the bathroom and waiting there for the nausea to pass before he went out to the living room.

“Daddy!” Bianca exclaimed as soon as she saw him, and Will winced at the high pitch of her voice. She jumped up off the couch and ran toward him, wrapping her arms around him, and said, “You were asleep for so long! You never sleep longer than me!”

“I guess I was just really tired,” Will told her. He glanced back toward the couch where Nico’s eyes were fixed on the TV, and Will felt himself flood with some kind of guilt, but for what he wasn’t sure. “Why don’t you go watch some more TV, Bi?”

“Okay!” Bianca replied, and returned to the couch.

Will stood in the hall awkwardly for another moment before saying, “Um, Nico? Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Nico didn’t look at him as he stood up and walked into the kitchen. By the time Will met him there, Nico was already sitting at the table, so Will sat down across from him. Nico kept his eyes trained on the table.

Will didn’t know what to say, so he tried, “Are you mad at me?” Nico flinched, and Will tensed at the sight. “I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to drink that much, or--” He rested his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands. “I don’t even know what time I got here, but it was probably really late, and I’m sorry if I woke you up when I got back.” Will groaned into his hands. “I bet I made a fool of myself in front of my brother. So much for first impressions, right?”

When a few moments passed where Nico didn’t respond, Will peeked at him over his fingers to see Nico staring back in disbelief. “You...don’t remember anything?”

Will tried to think past the pounding in his head, but couldn’t remember much after Kayla had called him a Lyft the night before. He shook his head.

Nico glared down at his hands as they curled tightly into fists on the table. When he spoke, it was through gritted teeth. “And you...drove in that condition?”

“No!” Will exclaimed, and winced when the volume of his own voice caused a surge of pain through his skull. “No, I would never drive drunk, of course not! My sister sent me home in a Lyft, but that’s as far as I can remember. I know I got in a car, and then I woke up here.”

Nico sighed and visibly relaxed, his hands flattening out on the table, though he still didn’t look up. “Good.” He stood up slowly. “Don’t worry about last night.”

“Wait, please,” Will said, reaching out and covering one of Nico’s hands on the table before he could walk away. “Tell me what happened.”

Nico pulled his hand out from under Will’s in a flash, like he’d been burnt by the touch. He sat back down, this time keeping his hands on his lap to avoid any unwanted contact. “Bianca told you about my sister, right?”

“The one who lives on the moon,” Will recalled.

“She was killed by a drunk driver when I was fifteen.” Will felt the air leave his lungs like he’d been hit in the stomach. “We were walking in the woods behind my dad’s house, and I wanted to go inside but she didn’t, so I left her out there, all alone. I had a bad feeling, so I waited for her to come back before I went to bed, and… I think I fell asleep on the couch because the next thing I knew, somebody was pounding on the front door, so I went to open it--”

He took a deep breath to steady himself, and Will saw one of his hands tightening around his other forearm, squeezing at it like he was trying to keep his emotions under control. “This guy was standing there, and Bia was in his arms, and I knew she was already dead, but that asshole with alcohol on his breath kept shouting at me for a phone he could use. Said she came out of nowhere, ran right into his car, like it was her fault--”

“I’m so sorry,” Will whispered.

“I called the police, and he was arrested,” Nico continued, like Will hadn’t said a word. “The EMTs said that her spine was broken, and that if that drunk hadn’t touched her then maybe she wouldn’t have died.” Finally, Nico looked up again and met Will’s eyes, but Will shied away from the emptiness in his gaze. “So, you didn’t drive drunk, and you didn’t kill anybody. Don’t worry about anything else that happened.”

“Did I do something to upset you?” Will tried again. “I was drunk. Whatever I did or said, it didn’t mean anything, I promise.”

“I know it didn’t,” Nico said softly, and to Will his words sounded hollow - it was like Nico had turned into a complete shell of himself. He stood up again, but didn’t allow himself to get close enough for Will to stop him. He started toward the door, put on his shoes and coat, leaving Will frozen at the table. Finally, he turned back to Will and said, “You asked me to go to bed with you.”

He walked out the door before Will could make a sound.

Will stopped calling Nico during his lunch break, instead opting to only send him a text with a time, a place, a please, a thank you. He figured Nico didn’t have any interest in talking to him.

Will would text him when he was leaving work, whether it was at five in the afternoon or three in the morning, and every time Nico would leave as soon as Will walked through the door. Will hated the distance that was between them so suddenly - he felt like they were getting close, like they could soon be friends instead of whatever they were, or maybe they could even be more - but he ruined everything in one night. One night that he didn’t even remember.

He wanted to make it all better, but he didn’t know how. He would have to regain Nico’s trust, little by little, but he felt like he needed to do something for Nico to show him how truly sorry he was for the things he said and did while he was drunk.

He decided that it was finally time to finish the guest room.

During his lunch breaks, Will sat with Lou Ellen to pick out furniture, sheets, curtains, a mattress, and ordered everything online. With rush-order shipping, everything was delivered to his house by Christmas. He’d gotten the day off, watched as Bianca opened her presents - and opened one from Bianca, which she said Nico helped her to pick out - called his mom, and had a two-hour-long internal debate on whether or not to send Nico a merry Christmas text.

In the end, he only sent a merry Christmas in the same text asking Nico to come over the next day, but he figured it was better than nothing, and just polite nonetheless. Then, he spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up the guest room and assembling the new furniture.

The next afternoon, when Nico returned - the bags under his eyes looking a little lighter than before - Bianca led him straight to the guest room to show it off. Nico had smiled, just barely, and even looked Will in the eyes when he thanked him.

That night, Will had a shift starting at midnight, so while Nico was there to watch Bianca, Will was in his room, trying to rest before he had to leave for work. Nico had started feeling a little more like his usual self, but interacting with others still exhausted him. So when he helped Bianca get settled in to sleep that night, Nico felt ready to fall asleep himself.

Instead, Nico went into the guest room - his room, as Will had said when Nico first stepped through the doorway - and called Annabeth.

“Hey, Nico, how are you feeling?” Annabeth greeted.

Nico hesitated. “I don’t know,” he finally decided to say. “Do you have time to talk?”

“I’m always happy when you decide to talk to someone.”

“Is that a yes?”

He could practically hear the eye roll on the other end of the line. “Yes.”

“I...think I messed something up,” Nico started, but couldn’t find it in himself to elaborate.

“Okay,” Annabeth said after a moment. “What makes you think that?”

“I don’t know. I don’t feel like it’s my fault, but I don’t know who else I should blame. Maybe it really is my fault, or maybe it’s Will’s or maybe even Bianca’s.” He shook his head, though he knew that Annabeth couldn’t see him. “No, no, of course not, it couldn’t be Bianca’s fault. That drunk asshole, maybe, but never Bianca.”

He paused, waiting for Annabeth to start trying to fill in the blanks, but a full minute of silence passed between them instead.

“My head has been all messed up the last two weeks. I was barely speaking to anyone, and then-- Will got drunk. And he...said some stuff, and I really wanted to-- But he was so drunk that he couldn’t even remember anything in the morning. I got pissed at him because I thought he drove home while he was drunk, and then I told him about Bianca. And then I...left. And it’s been weird between us since then. I don’t know what to do, and I don’t want it to be like this anymore. I want to...fix this, but I don’t know how.”

For a moment, there was silence between them once again, before Nico heard Annabeth sigh, and he knew she had finished processing everything he said. “First of all, let go of your arm.”

“What? I--” He looked down and realized that one of his hands had wrapped itself around his other arm, his fingernails digging in until there were crescent-shaped indents in his arm. Thankfully, he had yet to draw blood. He picked up a pillow and hugged it to his chest instead.

“I know you, Nico,” Annabeth said. “Now, for the rest of that. Let’s see… You were mad because you’re uncomfortable around drunk people, even when said drunk person is someone you care about. Remember when you came over to celebrate Percy’s twenty-first birthday with us? You couldn’t even be in the same room with him. You care about Will, and you care about his daughter, and you were probably afraid that something bad might happen to them because you associate alcohol with what happened to Bianca. You need to understand that that is so incredibly unlikely to ever happen again. So you need to let go of whatever this is that you’re feeling, because Will is fine, and his daughter is fine. You’re just scared, and you’re allowed to be scared.”

“Thank you, Annabeth,” Nico said softly. “I think I...need to go to sleep now to think some things through. Did I tell you that Will was fixing up the guest room in his house so that I wouldn’t have to sleep on the couch anymore?”

When Annabeth replied, Nico could hear the smile in her voice. “You two are perfect for each other. Goodnight, Nico.”

“Goodnight.”

He hung up the phone, squeezing the pillow tighter to his chest for a second before rising off the bed. Nico changed into his pajamas and grabbed his toothbrush from his backpack before heading to the bathroom.

The door opened when he walked up to it, and he was momentarily blinded by the bright light that poured over him. He blinked a few times, his eyes finally adjusting enough that he could make out the shape of a person standing in the doorway, practically glowing in the light behind him. Nico saw Will standing in front of him, his hair damp like he’s just gotten out of the shower, water dripping down his tan and freckled chest, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

Nico was frozen to the spot, his brain overloading at the sight in front of him, and he didn’t even register the embarrassed look that was growing on Will’s face.

Will ran a hand through his hair, shaking more water droplets onto his chest and shoulders as a blush rose up his neck. “Uh, sorry.”

He stepped around Nico and hurried into his own room. Nico stood stuck to the floor for a few more seconds before he could manage the couple of steps into the bathroom and finally allow himself to breathe.

Will had to be at the hospital at midnight for the start of his shift, but there weren’t any incoming emergencies so he was able to rest in one of the on-call rooms. Except that he couldn’t clear his head enough to fall asleep - the image of Nico staring up at him with wide eyes when Will got out of the shower kept popping into his head, and Will couldn’t think of anything else for the rest of his shift.

It left him tired and cranky by the time his shift was supposed to end, and so he was even more frustrated when he was told to stay for another eight-hour shift.

By the time is second shift was coming to an end, Will felt ready to drop, but he was paged to the emergency room about twenty minutes before he was free to leave. He dragged his feet all the way to the front desk and leaned heavily against it when he asked why he had been paged. The nurse behind the desk simply handed him a patient chart with a bed number on it.

Will heaved a sigh and walked toward the bed, going past an empty bed and momentarily debating whether he should climb in and take a nap instead of doing his job, but he continued forward instead.

He was already introducing himself before even looking at the person sitting on the bed, but when he finally did, he recognized Nico immediately through the tears pouring over his cheeks. Nico was curled up with his knees pulled close to his chest, his arms hidden from view by his legs, and to Will he looked so small and vulnerable.

Will cut off his own introduction and said, “Nico? What happened? Where’s Bianca?”

Nico’s head tipped forward until his forehead hit his knees, and he shook his head repeatedly. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I checked the allergy list, I swear I did! I’m so sorry!”

Will felt a shot of ice run up his spine that turned him stiff for half a second before he took a deep breath. “Nico, you wouldn’t be in your own bed if something weren’t wrong with you, so please tell me what happened.”

“I’m so sorry,” Nico said again.

“Forget about Bianca for a second and tell me what’s wrong,” Will tried again in his most soothing voice.

Nico seemed to curl in tighter on himself, almost like he was trying to hide something that was held close to his chest, and he continued to apologize though his voice had faded to a whisper.

“Nico, show me your hands, please.”

He didn’t budge.

Will set his hands on Nico’s arms, just beneath his shoulders, and Nico seemed to flinch away from the touch. Will pressed Nico’s shoulders back until his hands were no longer hidden from view. He looked down to see Nico’s hands and forearms splattered with blood, almost up to the elbow, and Will gasped at the sight.

He took one of Nico’s arms in his hand, gripping it tightly despite how Nico tried to pull away from him, and examined him for injury. There appeared to be tiny gouges taken out of his skin, most crescent-shaped though a few seemed to have been torn to a larger size.

Will examined Nico’s other arm next, though most of the blood stopped at his wrist and was more concentrated around the tips of his fingers - as if Nico had clawed open his own skin until he drew blood.

Nico continued to apologize.

“Stop apologizing,” Will snapped, his patience having been drained away after hours of working with no rest in between. Nico’s jaw snapped shut with so much force that Will heard his teeth click.

In silence, Will wiped the blood from Nico’s arms and hands, and noticed a series of similar crescent-shaped marks along his arms.

“What are these?” Will asked. Nico didn’t respond, but tried to pull his arm from Will’s grasp once again. “Nico. Why do you have scars on your arm?”

“My dad used to yell at me, and...and hit me,” Nico said cautiously, like he was afraid that saying the words would cause his father to appear out of nowhere and do exactly that. “When I kept my mouth shut, I didn’t get hit as often. This was the only way to shut myself up.”

Will saw his hand closing into a tight fist and quickly pried it open, wrapping the palm in a few layers of gauze before Nico’s fingernails could break his skin. He tried to be quick about bandaging up Nico’s arm, though some of the larger tears needed a couple of stitches each. Once Will had finished up, Nico’s panicked breathing had returned to normal, so Will deemed it a safe time to ask about his daughter once again.

“She wanted to make brownies,” Nico told him. “She wanted to taste the batter but I told her not to because of the raw eggs, but I turned my back for a second, and she just have tasted it anyway because then she was choking but I couldn’t figure out why. So I took the...the pen from the drawer, the epi pen that you keep in the kitchen, and I used that and then called an ambulance, but I-- They separated us because I was panicking so I didn’t see where she went, but I’m so sorry--”

“I told you to stop apologizing.” He gathered up the supplies he’d used to dispose of them and stood to leave. “Wait here,” he said to Nico, and closed the curtain around his bed as he left.

His shift had officially ended about ten minutes ago, but he knew he would be staying much longer than that already. Will returned to the front desk to ask where Bianca had been taken, then tracked her down in her own bed with a single doctor standing over her.

“Bianca!” Will exclaimed upon seeing her, and rushed forward to press a kiss to her forehead. “I was so worried when Nico didn’t know where you were. How are you feeling, Bi?”

“I’m okay, Daddy,” Bianca replied, her voice slightly raspy.

Will looked up to the doctor who appeared to be checking the readings on the machines around them - he recognized the other man immediately. “Cecil, how is she?”

“Like she said, she’s okay,” Cecil replied. “That babysitter did everything right; perfect use of the epi pen, got her here in good time. It really freaked him out, though, huh?”

“Is Nico okay?” Bianca asked suddenly, looking around Will to see if Nico was hiding behind him somewhere. “Where is he?”

Will felt a little hurt, a small part of him feeling like Nico was almost starting to replace him as Bianca’s dad - wasn’t he good enough for his own daughter?

“Nico got hurt when the ambulance was bringing you here,” Will explained, trying to leave out as many details as possible. “I helped him out, though, so he’s just fine now.”

“You’re such a good doctor, Daddy,” Bianca told him. “Can Nico come over here?”

Will tried not to outwardly frown. “Of course he can. I’ll be right back.”

Before he could step away, Cecil caught Will’s attention by saying, “I’m going to get her discharge paperwork started. Should I grab you an extra for the babysitter?”

“Yeah, thanks, Cecil,” Will replied, and went back to where he’d left Nico.

He’d curled up on himself again, picking absently at the edges of his bandages, but he seemed to have stopped crying for the time being. Will approached him, told him that Bianca wanted to see him, and started walking away again. He didn’t want to deal with Nico, he just wanted to take his daughter home and fall asleep on the couch while they watched a movie together. He didn’t want to be replaced by Nico as Bianca’s father, no matter how stupid the thought made him feel - of course he couldn’t be replaced, but was he not providing enough for her on his own?

He needed to sleep, most of all. That would reset his brain and make him stop thinking such stupid, selfish thoughts. Could it really be that he was unable to stop thinking about Nico just hours beforehand?

Nico had started crying again by the time they walked up to Bianca’s bed, and Will had to stop himself from rolling his eyes - what was wrong with him today?

“Nico, why are you crying?” Bianca asked.

“I was worried about you,” he replied, reaching out and wrapping one of his hands around hers.

“Don’t worry about me! I’m okay!” Bianca told him with a bright smile. She turned her focus to Will and asked, “If I’m okay, that means we can go home now, right? I want Nico to make mac and cheese for dinner.”

“We’ll be home soon,” Will replied, and planned to end the thought there, but something pushed out of him, “I’ll make mac and cheese for you when we get home. I think Nico needs to go to his own home and take a break.”

Nico stared back at him with shock clear on his face. “No, I’m fine, it was just an accident, Solace.”

Before Will could argue, Cecil returned with two clipboards, one of which he handed to Will, and the other was given to Nico. Will checked a few boxes and signed on a couple of the lines before offering the clipboard back and scooping his daughter up in his arms.

“Let’s go home, Bi,” Will said, and started walking toward the doors.

Nico hadn’t even picked up his pen, instead watching them leave with an expression mixed with shock and sadness. “It was one mistake.”

The last time Nico spoke was two days ago when he left Annabeth a voicemail that said, “I think I might’ve been fired,” and then proceeded to ignore any call or text he got afterwards that wasn’t from Will - there hadn’t been any from Will.

He didn’t sleep, or he was pretty sure that he didn’t sleep, just stared blankly at the wall and checked his phone every time it buzzed on the mattress beside his head. He never checked in on his online classes, never did any of the work, never ate or drank unless Hazel forced it upon him.

Nico would have missed his own New Year’s party if Percy hadn’t gone into his room and physically carried him out to the couch to socialize with Annabeth and Hazel, and Luke who took up residence on Nico’s lap for a majority of the night, playing video games on Percy’s phone.

Percy tried to talk to him a few times, though nothing he said managed to get through to him. Hazel had most likely gotten fed up with Nico’s mood swings, if her blatant ignoring of him was any clue. Annabeth, however, had sat down next to Nico and started reminding him of the conversation they’d had a few nights before, and coaxed Nico into explaining what had happened that brought him to the state he was in now.

“If it was an accident, then there’s no reason for him to fire you,” Annabeth assured him. “You’re worrying for nothing again, just give him some time to calm down.”

Nico nodded slowly. “Thank you.”

“There’s nothing else you’re upset about, is there? Nothing about your sister?”

He shook his head. No, just Will. Everything was about Will nowadays, wasn’t it?

After the Jackson-Chases had left and Hazel had gone to bed, Nico made his way into the kitchen for the first time in days. He drank a few glasses of water, ate some of the raw vegetables that had been on some veggie tray Annabeth had brought over and left there, and then started baking cookies until the early hours of the morning. That night, he finally managed to sleep.

He was woken up by the feeling of something landing on his legs.

Nico sat up with a groan, rubbing at his eyes before looking to see what had fallen on him, and saw Bianca sitting on his shins. “Bianca?” Nico asked, taking a quick glance around to make sure he was in his own room. He was, so how did she get there?

“You’re awake!” Bianca exclaimed with a bright smile. “Hazel told me to wake you up.” She hopped off the bed and started pulling at Nico’s arm until he rose from the bed as well. He was dizzy when he stood, and he desperately needed a glass of water. “Come on! Daddy wants to talk to you!”

Nico wouldn’t have been able to move if Bianca hadn’t been tugging him out the door.

“Daddy! Hazel! I woke up Nico!” Bianca called as she walked Nico into the living room where Will and Hazel were sitting on the couch.

“That’s great, Bianca,” Hazel said, getting up and walking toward them. She took Bianca’s free hand and said, “Let’s go to the kitchen and give your dad and Nico some time to talk. Nico stayed up really late last night making cookies, and I bet he made them just for you.”

She glanced up at Nico with a raised eyebrow, silently asking if it was okay to leave him alone, or maybe asking if it was okay for them to eat the cookies. Nico mentally scanned Bianca’s allergy list that he’d memorized months before - though he still wasn’t sure what had caused her reaction a few days prior - and nodded once. Yes, they could leave, and yes, the cookies were safe for Bianca to eat.

He watched them leave the room, and when he turned back, Will had risen to his feet, staring right back at Nico with a completely neutral expression on his face. Nico felt himself shrinking under Will’s gaze, his arms crossing over his stomach, one hand absentmindedly starting to scratch at his arm - he’d taken the bandages off already, though the cuts were still pretty fresh.

Nico was waiting for Will to speak first, but when he didn’t, Nico blurted out, “Are you going to fire me?”

Will’s neutral expression broke in surprise. “What? No, you thought I came all the way over here just to fire you? I wanted to make sure you’re okay.” He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. “I tried calling you, but Hazel answered and said she didn’t know what was wrong because you weren’t talking to her. She gave me your address so I could come check on you myself.”

“Oh.” Nico’s hand tightened around his arm, his gaze dropping to the floor. “You...didn’t have to do that.”

Suddenly, Will’s shoes were in Nico’s line of sight, and Will’s hands were wrapping around Nico’s wrists and pulling his hands apart. Nico’s immediate reaction was to try to tug his hands from Will’s grasp, but Will didn’t let go. “Stop--” Will started sternly, but caught himself and continued in a much more relaxed voice, his grip on Nico’s wrists loosening but still not letting go. “Stop hurting yourself. Stop beating yourself up over this. It’s not your fault that Bianca had a reaction, and I’m sorry for snapping at you. I was tired and worried, and I know that’s not an excuse for how I acted, but...I’m sorry.”

Nico’s eyes flickered up to meet Will’s, and for the first time in days, Nico saw the sky.

“I never should have said that you couldn’t come home with us,” Will continued. “You were just as worried about Bianca as I was, and you should’ve been at home with us that night so that you could’ve known she was okay. And… And so we could’ve known that you were okay. She-- I--” Will sighed. “We both miss you. Please come back?”

Nico felt his chest swell up when Will looked at him. Like his lungs were filling with water, or panic was rising up in him. Or maybe it was something else.

“Okay.”

Nico had been back for about a week. He still seemed cautious about what to cook for Bianca, but he’d started to let loose a little. He’d started spending the night more and more often, cooking breakfast and driving Bianca to school almost every morning, and still sometimes falling asleep on the couch with his laptop on his lap.

They were almost back to where they were before Christmas. Where that was exactly, Will wasn’t sure. Something closer to friends than boss-and-employee, but with hints of something more.

Which left Will feeling jealous.

It took him a while to come to that conclusion, but he couldn’t find any other words to describe how he was feeling. How he wanted to change the topic whenever Nico mentioned Hazel, or how angry Will felt whenever he even thought of her. She was quite possibly the sweetest person Will had ever met, and she obviously made Nico very happy, and Will wanted Nico to be happy, right?

No. Will wanted Nico to be happy with him. Not Hazel.

So. Will was jealous.

And then, just days after Will had made this revelation, Nico’s car had broken down. Nico’s shiny, expensive, never-had-a-problem, high-school-graduation-present car had broken down.

Nico didn’t bother telling this to Will until he arrived a few minutes late one day with Hazel trailing into the house behind him.

“Hey,” Nico called into the house, and Will rushed around the corner, smiling brightly until he saw her. “Sorry I’m late, my car broke down. Hazel had to drive me.”

Will tried to smile back at Hazel, greeting her politely, but he just wanted her out of his house.

“Thanks for driving me,” Nico said to Hazel, leaning in to kiss her cheek, and Will felt his blood boil. “I’ll let you know if I need you to pick me up.”

“I can take you home,” Will cut in. “Uh. Probably.”

Nico smiled. God, Will had missed that smile. “Sure, we’ll see.” He stepped to the side, opening the door for Hazel to leave, and said, “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Will,” Hazel said to him with a quick wave. “It was nice to see you again! And bye, Nico, I love you!”

“Love you, too,” Nico said, shutting the door after Hazel walked out. He turned back to Will and rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling.

Will needed to get out of there before he did something stupid.

“I’ll text you when I’m on my way home,” Will forced out, stepping into his shoes and grabbing his coat.

“Sounds good,” Nico replied, already walking away. He turned back just for a second and smiled. “Bye, Sunshine.”

God, Will had missed that, too.

Will could barely get through his shift with the jealousy rooted so deeply in his bones. He kept hearing Hazel’s voice in his head, telling him things like how she’d met Nico, or what they’d done for their first anniversary. Will had had to scream into a pillow in a locked on-call room for about a minute before he could get back to work. He desperately wanted his shift to end so that he could go home and have dinner with Nico and Bianca. And after Bianca went to bed, Will would have Nico all to himself, even if it was just platonically.

When Will got home - hours after his shift was supposed to end, and too late for his platonic fantasy dinner-and-a-movie plan - the only thing he could hear was the TV playing in the living room. It was unusual, since it was past Bianca’s bedtime and Nico tended not to watch TV on his own, and so for a second Will feared that Hazel had returned.

However, when Will rounded the corner, he saw only Nico sitting on the couch. He was slouching, staring just to the right of the TV as he chewed on his thumbnail, his knee bouncing as his foot tapped to an unheard beat. He looked nervous. Will had never seen him like that before.

“Nico?” Will asked quietly as he walked further into the room, and Nico jumped, head snapping toward Will. He really must’ve been distracted. “Are you alright?”

Nico shrugged, looking down at his hands.

“Nico,” Will tried again, sitting next to him on the couch. “Tell me what’s wrong. Please.”

Nico took a deep breath. “Bianca asked if I had a girlfriend,” he rushed out.

Now Will was even more confused. “Okay. And?”

Nico groaned, grinding the palms of his hands into his forehead, leaning forward with so much force that he almost tipped right off the couch.. “No, not okay! It’s not, because I don’t-- I’m not--”

Will felt a spark of hope. I don’t...have a girlfriend? I’m not...straight? Will held his breath.

“I’m gay and I didn’t know if you were okay with that, so I didn’t tell Bianca anything, because I didn’t want to teach her something that you weren’t okay with.”

Will forgot to breathe. For a little while. He figured by now his face was pretty red, but from blushing or lack of oxygen, he didn’t know. When Nico realized he wasn’t talking, he looked up at him, finally pulling his hands away from his face. “Solace?”

“I’m okay with it!” he said, probably a little bit too loud. “I’m okay with it because I am, too. I’m-- I mean, I’m bi, and she knows, and I think she understands it, but yeah, anyway. Yes, I’m okay with it, you can tell her. If you want.”

Nico’s eyes were wide - and Will’s probably were, too, but he was still trying to catch his breath and couldn’t really control what the rest of his body was doing right then. He was pretty sure he was smiling like a maniac, but he couldn’t help it. Nico’s gay! And not dating Hazel! Will might actually have a chance with him!

“You’re...” Nico started. “Okay. Okay.” He stood up and grabbed his backpack off the ground next to him. “I have to go home.” Nico rushed out of the living room, and made it all the way to the front door before Will remembered that Nico didn’t have a car. Frankly, he probably remembered before Nico did.

Will shot up, running after him and catching him before it seemed like he was about to start walking home. “Nico! Hang on, it’s like, zero degrees out, what are you doing? Come back inside, I’ll drive you home in the morning.”

Nico was already visibly shivering when he turned back around. “Okay. Okay.” He brushed past Will on his way back inside.

Will hated storms. He hated the rain, and he hated being stuck inside the house, and he hated thunder that shook a house’s foundation. Bianca hated the flashes of lightning that made a room as bright as day for just a second before the thunder boomed around her. Nico hated storms for a completely different reason.

There was a snowstorm coming down from the north, bringing with it at least an inch of snowfall and a high chance of thunder and lightning. Will had already gotten an email from Bianca’s school that announced the building’s closure in anticipation for the storm, and Will started to worry that he wouldn’t be able to make it to work in the morning.

He had hurried home after work that evening, partly because of the forecast, and partly because he’d gotten a text from Nico saying, text me if youll be home by 6 and ill make enough dinner for the 3 of us. Will, loyal fan of Nico’s cooking that he was, would have traded shifts with someone if he had to be at the hospital later than six that night. He would not miss out on Nico’s cooking.

So he made it home just as the snow was starting to pick up. When he walked in the door, Nico was putting the finishing touches on the meal, and Bianca had her face pressed into a window, watching the giant snowflakes fall. She’d never seen snow like that in Nashville.

Will stomped the snow off his boots, untying them and leaving them by the door, then hung up his jacket and scarf. After living in Nashville for most of his life, Will still wasn’t used to the negative temperatures that hit New York.

“Please tell me dinner will warm me up,” Will said, rubbing his hands together.

Nico rolled his eyes (he’d gotten used to the cold weather, unlike somebody) and pointed to each pot and pan, naming off each food and giving a brief description before Will could ask (because he knew Will would ask).

Will helped Bianca set places at the table as Nico brought the food over, and as soon as they all sat down to eat, Nico’s phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket as Will and Bianca looked at him in confusion. Nico’s phone had never once rang in front of them in all of the time that Nico had spent at the house. He never got a call, he never got a text, he never so much as got a twitter notification. They watched him press end call and set the phone down next to his plate.

When Nico noticed them watching him, he gestured to the food. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

Will scooped some food onto Bianca’s plate, not exactly sure what he was giving her, just making sure it was small portions in case she didn’t like something, and then gave himself slightly larger servings of everything.

He saw that Nico had just taken a bite of something when his phone went off again, only this time what sounded like a call was really just a large amount of texts coming in all at once.

“I’m sorry,” Nico said as he picked up the phone to stop it from vibrating the entire table. “I had my phone turned off today for this exact reason, I don’t really know why I turned it back on now.”

“It’s fine,” Will said, though he was worried that something was wrong. “Is it something important?”

“No.” Nico took another bite and his phone started buzzing again in his hand. He looked at the screen and winced. “I’m sorry. I have to take this.”

He stood up and headed toward the guest room, answering the call when he was only halfway through the living room. “Hello, Father, does this have to happen right now?” There was a pause, and then, “I was trying to enjoy a nice dinner--” and then the door shut, and Will could hear no more.

Him and Bianca picked at their food for a little while in silence. Will still had no idea what he was eating, but it was good. Some kind of pasta with vegetables, though not with any kind of sauce that Will recognized. Normally, he would have been concerned about Bianca’s allergies, but he trusted Nico not to cook something that she couldn’t eat.

“Is something wrong with Nico?” Bianca asked, and Will noticed she was just pushing most of the food around on her plate.

“I don’t know, Bi,” Will answered honestly. It was shaping up to be a strange evening, and Nico sure was taking a while with that phone call. “I just hope he doesn’t have to leave,” he said as he looked out the window. “I don’t think there’s any getting through that snow, no matter how long you’ve lived in New York.”

The two went back to eating, not speaking, and hearing only the increasingly powerful gusts of wind, the sounds of forks scraping across plates, and the occasional muffled noise coming from the guest room whenever Nico raised his voice.

Will wanted to go check on him, but thought it might be an invasion of his privacy.

The thunder started not long after. Will hadn’t noticed any lightning mixed in with the snow, but the deep rumbles that shook the house were unmistakable. It made him wish he’d bought a house with a basement, someplace that he wouldn’t feel the ground shake under his feet.

Bianca had finished eating, and Will was starting to feel full, but Nico’s plate remained full and almost untouched. Will’s worry grew.

He didn’t know how long he poked around at the small amount of food left on his plate before he couldn’t see it anymore. He looked up, looked around, but he couldn’t see anything anymore, except the now-present lightning that gave him flashes of his own home.

And that’s when he finally heard a door opening.

“Thank god,” he heard Nico say from the direction of the guest room, but he still couldn’t see him. “The cell towers must be out.”

Will heard his footsteps stop as he entered the kitchen.

“So much for a nice warm meal,” Nico muttered, and suddenly the flashlight on his phone lit up.

“Nico are you okay?” Bianca asked, and Will could see just enough to spot the confused look that Nico gave her.

“Yeah, Princess, of course I’m okay. Why would you think I’m not okay?”

“You were on the phone for a really long time and I heard you shouting.”

Nico winced before starting to clear the table. “I’m sorry. I never should have turned my phone on today.”

“If it was your father, then I’m sure it was important,” Will said stood to help. “Bi, can you help clear the table please?”

Bianca took her plate to the sink as Nico huffed. “It wasn’t. Nothing he couldn’t have said in a text. A two word text, instead of--” he looked at the time on his phone “--a thirty six minute phone call. God, I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for,” Will told him. “It’s not like this was supposed to be some special family dinner or something.”

But suddenly, Will got the feeling like it was supposed to be something exactly like that.

“Right,” Nico muttered, then louder said, “Do you have any candles anywhere?”

Will packed up the leftovers while Nico ate a little bit more of his now-cold food, but he quickly lost his appetite at the taste. It wasn’t the same when it wasn’t warm anymore.

The three of them each carried a flashlight, and Nico had gone around lighting candles in the kitchen, living room, and bathroom, though the faint light in the house only made the flashes of lightning outside so much more prominent. Will noticed that with each lightning strike, both Nico and Bianca flinched. Will made sure to close the curtains in the living room to help block out the lightning, and moved the candles from the kitchen into the living room as they all settled down there. The candlelight made Will’s hair look golden, but only succeeded in making Nico look tired.

The three of them sat on the floor in the living room playing Go Fish in the candlelight, until Bianca got too tired to play anymore.

“It’s dark and scary and I don’t wanna sleep in my room by myself,” Bianca complained when Will decided it was time for her to go to bed.

“What if we all sleep out here?” Nico suggested. “We can all bring out a bunch of pillows and blankets, then it’ll be like a sleepover.”

“Okay!” Bianca said, and she jumped up and ran to her room, clicking on her flashlight as she went. She came back quickly with her arms loaded full of pillows and blankets, and dropped them all on the floor in a heap. She plopped down on top of the heap and curled up like she was going to fall asleep right then.

“Just because it’s a sleepover doesn’t mean you don’t have to brush your teeth, Bi,” Will said in a very dad voice. “And put on some warm pajamas, too.”

When Bianca complained, Will stood and ushered her toward her bedroom to make sure he had warm enough pajamas. Nico cleaned up the cards before heading off to the guest room to change into his own pajamas. Thankfully, he’d been keeping some of his clothes in the dresser, since it was easier than bringing a change of clothes every time he came over. He changed into sweatpants and a long sleeve t-shirt, grabbing his backpack, a pillow, and the comforter and a pillow off the bed before heading back to the living room.

Bianca and Will were both in the bathroom brushing their teeth when he walked past the open door, Bianca in footie pajamas, and Will still in his scrubs.

Nico set his things down next to the couch. He went to brush his teeth when he noticed that both Will and Bianca were out of the bathroom, and when he came back to the living room, Bianca looked ready to fall asleep, and Will was nowhere to be seen.

The coffee table had been moved away from the couch so that there was more room for them all to spread out, which must’ve been Will’s doing. Nico sat on the ground, leaning back against the couch, and pulled out his phone. He might as well read all those texts he’d gotten earlier.

As soon as he’d opened up the messaging app, Will came into the room with a pile of blankets in his arms, and plopped them down next to Nico, revealing his blue flannel pajama pants and luminescent orange sweatshirt with the name of some college across the front.

“You’re practically glowing in the dark,” Nico commented, putting his phone off to the side.

“It’s going to get pretty cold with the heater not working,” Will said with a shrug, stuffing his hands in the pocket of his hoodie. “Gotta keep warm.”

The two of them were quiet as they situated themselves, and in a couple of minutes, they were both wrapped up in blankets and listening to the quiet snores coming from the six year old across the room.

“I figured she’d be out pretty quick,” Will said, smiling at his daughter.

Nico hummed, eyes flickering down toward his phone, when he heard Will speak again.

“So, I’m sorry if this is kind of intrusive, but I have to ask,” he started, “you seemed...angry, with your dad. Is everything alright? I mean, I know you said that he wasn’t the greatest, so I kind of assumed you wouldn’t keep in touch with him anymore.”

Nico sighed and seemed to consider his words carefully. “He’s my dad, you know? He’s the only dad I’ve ever had, and he’s trying to be better, but I wish he wouldn’t just done it years ago, when it mattered.”

“I get that,” Will said. “My dad was pretty awful when I was a kid, too, but he never ended up trying to do anything to change it. He tricked my mom into believing that he loved her, and they got married for about two months, which was enough time for him to cheat on her. I didn’t find out until I was around ten that the reason my dad wasn’t around was because he had another family. Or, well, a lot of other families. Turns out I had at least four siblings I’d never met.”

“Four?” Nico asked incredulously.

Will nodded, and started counting them off on his fingers. “There was Lee - the oldest - and Michael came next, both with different moms, and both of them joined the military. I don’t remember which branches, but I don’t think they ever met. They were both killed in action, so I never actually got to meet them, just heard about them. And then there’s Kayla, the one who had the...the, um, Christmas party.” Nico hid a grin. Will sounded embarrassed. “A-and Austin. I just met him at Kayla’s, but he lives in Manhattan, so I’m hoping I can get to know him better. He’s a musician, goes to Juilliard. He can play anything, like when I first asked him about it, he just listed off all the instruments he can play, which was a ton. And he’s just like, ‘Right now I’m learning the violin, but strings are kind of hard for me, so we’ll see how it goes.’”

Nico smiled down at his lap and let Will’s words hang in the air between them for a moment before he said, “A few months after Bianca died, I found out I had another sister,” The air flew out of Will’s lungs. “Turns out that my dad had gone on a business trip to New Orleans once, and met some fortune teller and had a fling. Child services called our house once, and I answered the phone. This lady just kept saying something about how Marie somebody died and since my father was financially stable enough to support another child, they were flying his daughter to California to live with us. I got really mad at my dad about that, like he’d planned to have another kid to replace Bia, or something stupid like that. After I got over the shock, the first thought I had was, I can’t believe he married a Maria and had another kid with a Marie.”

“So Maria is your mother?” Will asked.

“Was,” Nico corrected. “She died when I was four. It was a car accident during a thunderstorm.” Coincidentally, thunder shook the house right at that moment, and Will saw Nico trying to repress a flinch. “My father had remarried a little while after that, to a woman named Persephone. When she found out about Hazel, she got super pissed at my father and didn’t talk to him for a couple of days, even though that ‘business trip’ had happened in between wives.”

Will gasped. “Hazel’s your sister?”

Nico turned to look at Will. “Yeah. Why, who did you think she was?”

Will shrugged and looked away, thankful for the dim lighting that hid his blush. “A friend, I guess. You don’t exactly look alike.”

“Yeah, but we’re still family. She’s been living with me for a few months until her boyfriend graduates from West Point. I have a feeling they’re going to get married pretty soon, especially if he ends up in the army, which is bound to happen sooner or later.”

“I considered joining up for a little while,” Will said, eyes on Bianca. “Go in as a doctor, they’d pay off my student loans, but then Bi came along, and I couldn’t just leave her alone at my mom’s or someplace for so long that she wouldn’t know me when I came back.”

In the faint light, Will noticed Nico shiver and wrap the comforter tighter around himself.

“Are you cold?” Will asked. “Let me go get you a sweatshirt.” He was up and out of the room before Nico could reply. Truthfully, Will was thankful for the break in the conversation. He wasn’t sure that he was ready to tell Nico about how he’d come to be the sole caretaker for Bianca. He returned quickly, a light grey sweatshirt in his hands, which he tossed to Nico before sitting back down.

“Thanks,” Nico said, once the sweatshirt was pulled over his head. “I hope you don’t mind me staying here tonight.”

“Are you kidding? I could barely get home from work, there’s no way someone could’ve driven you home! I would have insisted you stay, even if you did have your big, fancy car.”

Nico rolled his eyes; Will could see that even in the dark. “It’s not fancy.”

“Nico, that car cost more than my mom’s house,” Will insisted. “I still can’t believe that it was a high school graduation present.”

“Fine, it’s not that expensive for my family.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means...” Nico tucked his hands into the sleeves of the sweatshirt and looked down at his lap. “My father owns a recording studio in LA, so we’ve never exactly been tight on money. And my mother’s father was an Italian ambassador, who left trust funds for Bianca and me. And then when Bia died, her trust was merged with mine. And my mother’s insurance money paid for my college classes and the private schools I went to when I was younger.”

“You’re loaded?” Will asked, voice loud in shock and jaw left hanging open.

Nico’s head snapped up towards his, hands coming out of the sleeves as he held a finger up to his lips, the other hand pointing toward the still-sleeping Bianca.

Their faces were close. Nico could’ve counted Will’s freckles. Will could’ve finally seen the separation of iris and pupil in Nico’s eyes if the lighting had been better. Instead, Will’s eyes dropped to the finger over Nico’s lips. His eyes lingered there for longer than he’d intended them to, and he snapped his jaw shut when he managed to focus his eyes back on Nico’s.

“I can’t believe you’re rich,” Will whispered, finally pulling his eyes away from Nico’s face. Nico had returned his hands to his sleeves relaxing back against the couch again. He looked so small in Will’s oversized sweatshirt, head tilted down sheepishly. “I can’t believe you’re rich and I’ve been sneaking extra money into your paychecks to help you fix your car!”

Nico laughed lightly. “You have?”

“And you didn’t even notice! Do you even look at your paychecks?”

“Not really,” Nico admitted.

“Alright, you owe me now,” Will decided.

“What, you want me to pay you back the money you didn’t have to give me?”

“No, no, keep the money, whatever,” Will said, waving a hand at Nico. “You owe me one answer to any question I ask you.”

“Can I veto something I’m not comfortable answering?”

Will thought about it for a second. “I guess so. But only one!”

“Okay, go ahead, then.”

Will didn’t even hesitate. “What were all the texts and calls about earlier?”

Nico sighed, glancing off to the side where his phone was sitting on the ground. “Well, to be fair, I haven’t actually looked at the texts.” He picked up the phone, turning on the screen and holding it in a way that Will could see just as well as he could. The messaging app was still open, and Nico tapped on the first thread at the top.

FROM: Frank; Happy Birthday, Nico! :)

FROM: Hazel; happy birthday!!! i love u!!!

FROM: Annabeth; Happy Birthday!

FROM: Sally; Happy birthday, Nico. I hope you have a great day!

FROM: Percy; Happy birthday man

FROM: Percy; hppy birhtday unkle nico

FROM: Percy; That last one was from Luke

FROM: ra-ra; Happy birthday, it’s your turn to visit.

FROM: Leo; happy old day bro

FROM: Jason; Happy birthday son

FROM: Piper; Happy birthday!

FROM: Thalia; happy birthday

“It’s your birthday?” Will asked.

Nico shrugged, eyes locked on his phone.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve taken the day off or something! You didn’t have to come here today, you could’ve-- I don’t know, hung out with your friends, or something!”

“My friends all have jobs, Solace,” Nico responded. “They all had to work today, and I’d much rather be here than sitting by myself in my room all day.”

Will was hit with a realization. Punched in the gut with this realization. “It was supposed to be some kind of special family dinner, wasn’t it?”

Nico shrugged again, putting his phone down in his lap. He seemed almost uncomfortable. “I guess. I made a bunch of my favorite foods, there were cannoli for dessert, too, but we didn’t exactly get to that. My father only called because he was trying to make up for never calling me on my birthday, and I couldn’t get him to shut up. And then he put Seph on the phone.” He sighed again, tossing his head back to rest against the couch cushions. “I just wanted to have a nice dinner for once.”

“If it makes you feel any better, it was a nice dinner,” Will offered, bumping his shoulder against Nico’s. “Would’ve been better with you there, but the food was good.”

Nico’s head lolled to the side so we could look at Will. He had the tiniest smile on his face, and Will wanted to keep it there.

“Tell me about your friends,” Will blurted.

Nico picked up his head. “Why?”

“I--” Will didn’t know. “How do you know all of them?”

Nico paused for a second, staring at Will as if to try to find some kind of ulterior motive. He clicked his phone screen back on and read down the list of names.

“Okay, well. I told you about Frank already, he’s Hazel’s boyfriend,” Nico started. “Hazel, of course, is my sister. Percy and Annabeth are married, and Luke is their son. I actually, uh, really hated them in high school. I was closeted and had a crush on Percy, so I hated him for that, and I hated Annabeth because she was dating him, but I got over my crush and learned to like them both. Oh, and, uh, Sally is Percy’s mom. I lived with her for about a year when I first moved out to New York.

“Ra-Ra is my best friend Reyna. She lives in San Francisco, so I haven’t seen her in a little over a year. We also met in high school, but she was a senior when I was a sophomore, so we only met because we were partnered for a class project. Next is Leo, he’s my cousin Jason’s best friend, and he’s accidentally set himself on fire more than a few times.”

“Accidentally?” Will asked.

Nico shrugged. “It’s a gift, or so he claims. Anyway, uh. Jason, my cousin. He calls me son sometimes because I once gave him a Father’s Day card as a joke but he took it to heart. Piper is Jason’s fiancee. I introduced her to Jason after we met at one of our fathers’ business meetings or whatever. And last is Thalia, Jason’s older sister. Her and Bia used to have a No Boys club when we were kids because they thought me and Jason were annoying.”

Nico closed out of the messaging app and pulled up his photo gallery. “I think I have pictures of everyone, hang on.”

He leaned against Will’s side and held his phone out as he scrolled through a few albums, showing Will pictures of Frank and Hazel; Percy and Annabeth; himself and Luke when he’d been asked to babysit once; Leo that one time he accidentally set his jacket on fire and didn’t notice for over a minute. At some point, Nico’s head fell onto Will’s shoulder as they scrolled through pictures. Piper surfing and Jason falling into the water. Hazel and him scrunching up their noses at the camera. Thalia somewhere in South America doing some wildlife preservation something. Reyna sitting outside a cafe drinking a latte and glaring at people that passed by on the street.

Nico’s eyes were starting to fall closed when he finally put his phone away, having exhausted his gallery of all pictures of his friends. Will had started talking, something about a couple of the friends he’d had in high school, and Nico had tried to listen, he really had, but his eyes had slipped closed and he’d fallen asleep.

He woke up on the floor, pillow under his head and comforter off the guest bed wrapped around him, and he had no recollection of how he’d gotten there.

The floor around him was littered with pillows and blankets, and there were burnt out candles on the tables and TV stand. He sat up and blinked a few times, and then Will and Bianca were there in front of him. He rubbed at his eyes and looked at them again, their smiles unmistakably real.

“Happy birthday!” Bianca shouted at him, and held out a small plate with one of the cannoli he’d made yesterday.

Will was beaming at him, obviously proud of himself, and Nico couldn’t help but grin back.

The snowstorm kept schools closed for the next two days, which meant that Nico stayed over night after night. The power had returned the morning after Nico’s birthday, and while Will had taken the opportunity to shower after their quick birthday celebration, Nico had taken advantage of the newly recovered cell signal to call Hazel. He had her pick him up and take him to get his car, which he’d been planning on picking up the night before, until the snow hit.

When he got his car, Nico returned to his own home, showered, changed his clothes, and grabbed some more clean clothes to keep at Will’s.

He went back to the Solace household and was immediately greeted with Bianca telling him that her school had already been closed for the next day. Good thing he’d grabbed more clothes.

Bianca had insisted on playing video games, and then got angry at Will whenever he walked in front of the screen. He was trying to get ready for work, running back and forth between the kitchen and living room and his bedroom, and by the fourth or fifth time, Bianca had had enough, and gave up on the game.

When Will came over to say goodbye, he suggested, “Why don’t you do the homework you were supposed to do last night, so you don’t have to worry about it later?”

Bianca, still upset, huffed and crossed her arms. Nico just said, “Bye, Solace,” and kept playing the game that Bianca had abandoned.

Will rolled his eyes and muttered something about having two children, and Nico shouted, “I heard that!” before Will walked out the door.

When he returned later that night, Will noticed first the tray of brownies cooling on the counter. Bianca’s bag was where it had been when he left, and a quick look around the corner showed that Nico and Bianca were still sitting on the floor playing video games, right where he’d left them.

Will walked up and stood in front of the TV, arms crossed and with what he hoped was a stern look on his face. “Did you even do your homework like I said to?” he demanded.

Nico paused the game and looked up at him with the biggest shit-eating grin Will had ever seen and said, “Yeah, it’s in her backpack, all ready to go when school starts back up. You wanna check everything over, make sure it’s all right?”

They stared each other down for a little while. Will felt something swell up in his chest. Maybe his lung were filling with fluid and he was dying. Maybe it was something else that had to do with Nico smiling up at him like that.

Will rolled his eyes and turned back toward the kitchen, hearing Nico snicker before starting up the game again.

“The brownies are probably cool by now if you want one,” Nico called to him.

Will sighed in frustration, but went over to the counter and cut himself a brownie. Dammit if it wasn’t the best thing he’d eaten in days. Well, except maybe that cannoli he’d split with Nico the day before. But the brownie had chocolate.

thanks for reading!!

buy me a coffee | other nico birthday event stuff

[buoyantsaturn]

absolute nonsense (1/6)

summary: it’s nico/apollo and YES nico is 18

word count: 531 (3428 total over 6 chapters)

read on ao3 (each individual chapter will not be posted on tumblr, but they are all on ao3!!)

nico didn't quite remember how it all happened or how he got quite so lucky, but there he was, waking up in the hades cabin because the sun was shining right in his eyes. When he opened them, however, he realized his back was to the window and that there was a different sun in front of him.

His boyfriend, kneeling by the bed and resting his chin on the mattress near nicos head, watched as the other woke up slowly, a small smile on his face.

when nicos eyes finally opened, the first thing he said was “take off your sunglasses its darker than hades in here already”

Apollos smile grew. “Sorry sweetheart force of habit” he leaned forward and kissed the tip of nicos nose. he took off his sunglasses and placed them on the nightstand next to him. “are you feeling any better yet?”

“ill be better when you finally get over here” nico muttered , scooting away from the edge of the bed slightly and waiting for apollo to crawl into the bed next to him

apollo wrapped his boyfriend up in his arms, pressing one hand to the bandage just above nicos hip. the poison, so toxic that even apollo couldn't heal it immediately, was taking longer than he expected to heal, which greatly concerned the god of healing. nico sighed and curled closer to apollo as he felt the calming itch of healing.

“days are getting shorter “ apollo whispered “ill have to start leaving earlier and earlier. not that I want to, of course” he smiled down at the dark haired boy in his arms, noticing the sun - the actual sun - shining in his eyes and quickly bent the light away from his face.

apollo could tell that Nico had almost fallen back asleep, and thats when a thought struck in. “you know, you're not exactly in the right shape to be running away from me right now,” he felt Nico tense, and hurried to correct himself “shh, im sorry, that came out wrong.” he cleared his throat before speaking again, very clearly, but still quiet as if to preserve the calm of the room. “ the son of hades / your blushing is adorable / i love you so much ”

he could feel nicos face heating up even through the tshirt covering his chest. “the second line was too long”

Apollo frowned before recovering. “Just, ah, keeping you on your toes, sweetheart.”

“uh huh” nico replied before yawning into apollos chest.

“Rest up, sweetheart, a few more days and you'll be good as new, I promise.” he moved his hand from nicos waist, moving to rub up and down nicos back as Apollo hummed quietly to him.

it wasn't much later that apollo glanced out the window, knowing that it was time for the sun to stretch further across the sky.

he kissed nicos forehead before slipping out of the bed. “Ill be back tomorrow, sweetheart,” he whispered. “I love you”

he grabbed his sunglasses and turned to leave when he heard “ ‘ove you sunshine”

apollo grinned and the room became bright and warm and then he was gone.

[claudiafekete]

(a super late) January, 27: Relationship

on AO3

The reason is that I got caught up in “La sombra del Viento”, but really, there’s no excuse for being this late. I’m sorry. You should check out others’ works in @solangeloweek . Everyone else has finished decades ago. And you know what? The title doesn’t really matter here. I just want to write something featuring Bianca and Nico. She might have died soon after appearance in “The Titan’s Curse", but she spent 10 years with Nico before. Why didn’t we pay more attention on her? 

[claudiafekete]

(a suppper late) January, 27: Relationship

on AO3 I finally finished these, guys! The second and the last chapter feature solangelo! Thanks @olxmpxs for beta reading! Excerpt:

“Promise me you will not let anyone know what I’m going to say. Until I’m ready.”

“I swear on river Styx.”

“You don’t have to.” He smiled a little, dark eyes cast on the wall behind me.

“I didn’t really start dating Will until Jason’s funeral was over.”

“…what?” I couldn’t believe what I’d heard. “I thought you had been together by the time Meg and Apollo showed up at Camp!”

“You were believing what everyone else is believing.” He shrugged.