#So Nico calls him his first love and Percy's still oblivious

[doevademe]

A lot of people headcanon Latino Percy with differing levels of proficiency in Spanish and I'm all for it, but I can't help but imagine a very specific situation when it comes to mutual pining percico because hey, romance languages are basically the same, right?

Percy: Oh, Nico doesn't see me that way. He calls me "beloved cousin" all the time.

Meanwhile, Nico, completely unaware: Sei il mio primo amore.

[the-ghost-king]

love seeing ur tags on my posts it means i get to think 🥰🥰 anyway mostly agree but at least to me nico’s constant need to prove himself is a sign of feeling like he’s not worth other people’s time and effort and he has to MAKE himself worth it. he does all he can in the hopes that people will notice him and tell him that he’s good enough because he relies on the approval of people he loves. he thinks love is something conditional for him and that he always has to be earning it because he doesn’t have enough worth to have it just granted to him. again this is more my own interpretation of his character and possibly a bit of projection

(Post)

I will not fail to acknowledge that I might also be projecting somewhat onto Nico, what is media but self reflection? I think there's a couple ways you can see Nico that are canonically "correct"

What I personally think happened with Nico is that he was aware he was worth more than the treatment he was receiving, but because so much rejection occurred he eventually just assumed he was the problem. There's things on this I would rewrite now but it holds up okay in what I'm about to try and explain.

The thing about being rejected is that the first time you argue it's the other person. And the second time you'll argue it's still them. If you're still arguing it's other people the third time, maybe but it's thin ice... But eventually you just have to accept that you're at fault.

I think this is something that really describes Nico. He is never able to nestle himself in the comfort of sameness after a certain point. He is not given authority in his own story in the beginning, he is thrust into solitude, he is told he is a monster already and if not then he has no choice but to become one.

And he takes this blame upon himself, believing that it's him who has to prove himself. He doesn't acknowledge that maybe other people have their own biases against him, he says "I have to prove them wrong," and then does his best.

It's important to note that Nico is definitely grappling with Childhood Emotional Neglect, he's in a broken situation- and he recognizes that nobody wants him around, and that he's just more stress for an already stressed group of people, so he just backs down and starts to figure stuff out for himself. We see him accept some help and friendship from The Stolls in TTC but eventually he stops doing this at some point.

His leave from camp and time with Minos is when he is used:

you unknowingly wear your heart on your sleeve and people will see this and take advantage of your trusting nature and unconditional love and they’ll never really love you they’ll just see you as an easy tool to be manipulated and used how they see fit and you won’t recognize that this is a bad thing because you don’t believe you’re worth anything more than this

This is something I would say is very true about this time period of Nico's life. Minos emotionally exploits Nico, emotional neglect and abuse (possibly physical abuse, who knows) are defining characteristics of their interactions. Nico talks about how Minos will just randomly leave him for extremely long periods with no assistance, and about how when he's around he's always telling Nico to try harder, to do better, do more. Note the time he tells Nico "you have no power over me", he's definitely holding things over Nico's head. I don't think it's wrong to assume comfort is a part of that, Nico is alone all the time at this point, and I'm sure he's starved for touch, and support, and connection- and he will take whatever he can get whether or not it is good or right.

At first he doesn't do anything against this, and it might be because he was so starved for attention that he was willing to endure abuse to receive somewhat a consistent form of it. I also think there's some evidence that points to the idea Nico was getting something from Minos, training and similar stuff, it's possible he was willing to form and upkeep a toxic relationship with him in order to gain experience.

However, I do disagree with "and you won’t recognize that this is a bad thing because you don’t believe you’re worth anything more than this" because Nico does realize eventually that his situation isn't sustainable and that he has to do something- so he takes his narrative back into his own hands:

“Minos laughed. "You have no power over me. I am the god of spirits! The ghost king!" "No." Nico drew his sword. "I am.” (X)

So Nico, if he ever thought he was worth the treatment of being used for someone elses personal gain, he definitely overcomes some of it here, if not all of it. Nico is manipulated and used for Minos's personal gain, but he recognizes that it's not sustainable and makes a stand for himself. And this is the first time in the series where Nico truly is able to take control of his own narrative, everything before this moment is Nico being forced, or Nico with something looming over him, Nico crowning himself is him claiming his story.

So let's consider Hades in all of this, I don't think Hades manipulated Nico to the extent Minos did- but nonetheless, he did manipulate and abuse him, and this hurt Nico more than when Minos did it. Again, in the situation with Hades this is also true, "you unknowingly wear your heart on your sleeve and people will see this and take advantage of your trusting nature and unconditional love and they’ll never really love you they’ll just see you as an easy tool to be manipulated and used how they see fit and you won’t recognize that this is a bad thing". By the time Nico and Hades truly start interacting, we see that Nico's heart hasn't been fully removed from his sleeve, but it may have been lightened.

Here's the thing about the way Nico approached Hades, it's not naïve to trust family. The text in multiple places implies that Hades was around for at least a handful of years when Nico was a kid, it's not unlikely that Nico may have taken naps on his shoulder, held his hand to cross the street, maybe called him "Papa", "Dad", or "Tata" (Italian, English, old Greek). It makes sense that Nico goes to him, what doesn't make sense to Nico at first is that Hades would manipulate him. Unlike many of the other demigods, Nico knows he was a choice, and that at some point he was something wanted, so he expects some level of okay treatment from Hades. Hades loved his mother, and Hades if not wanting of Nico would have wanted Maria's wishes fulfilled, and Nico probably remembers Hades treating him warmly- or at least not harshly. The way Nico went to Hades makes sense, he wasn't expecting open arms surely, but he also wasn't expecting abuse.

Hades emotionally exploits Nico by using information about Maria, what would a little boy want more than the safety of his mother? He's so starved for human contact, who ever held him more than his mother? Who ever loved him more than her? Once Nico delivers Percy to Hades, his father crushes him, not only by harming Percy but by exploiting Nico's trust through Nico's mother- one of the things he's most desperate for.

We see Nico's heart come off his sleeve at this point, maybe not fully, but enough to where a stranger couldn't recognize it at first glance, and in a way where he has the means to hide it from most.

Except we don't see much of this, because the series is narrated by Percy- and Nico can't hide his heart from Percy.

Almost everything Nico does, everything he tries to do, is for Percy. Nico is so desperate for contact that he is pliant, but in Percy's hands Nico actually wants that contact, he's not interested in imitations of love or substitutes- he's looking for the real thing.

And Mr. Oblivious does-Annabeth-like-me Jackson isn't in any headspace to realize that a boy might like him, let alone Nico. This concern that Nico will join Luke, isn't entirely because Percy is misreading signals, but it's definitely part of it. Nico likes Percy so much that at one point he is willing to go to Tartarus if not entirely for him, then partially for him.

If Percy had realized, and rejected Nico- maybe he would have joined Luke, or at least he definitely would have been more likely to. The perception of Nico we get in PJO from Percy is unreliable, because Percy looks at Nico through the lenses of a concerned older brother, and Percy feels guilty in some way for the situation Nico is in. This gives not only a skewed, but slightly falsified narrative of who Nico is.

The original post of mine I linked, although yes, I would like to rewrite aspects of it now it holds up in the sense that Nico is always trying to prove himself, and this is a bit different than being a puppet. Nico is so starved that it is present in everything, @/arabnico gets it right:

nico’s longing is just so raw it consumes him whole and he cannot hide it at all because it reflects in absolutely everything he does and is nico’s just the means of the way for them and he settles for being it because he doesn’t think he can be much better or even deserves to it is sometting so twisted because nico has this innate utalitarian desire to be useful and to do something and to do the right thing but in the game of things he’s reduced to that puppet in the hands of fate and deities millennia older than him that see a wounded wandering soul doomed to be forever alone by a destiny so cruel it keeps him on his knees

Nico, in PJO especially, has little control over his own narrative. His mother is killed in punishment for his father's "wrongs", Nico is forced to endure this. Bianca grows tired of caring for Nico and leaves him behind, this is not Nico's fault but Nico is forced to endure the consequences of her actions. Bianca's fate is decided on a quest Nico isn't even able to go on, he is forced to endure the results. Nico then breaks the cycle, declaring himself The Ghost King, and dethroning Minos. Nico is forced to endure Hades's manipulation only because he did not see it coming, this wasn't an aspect in which Nico didn't have his narrative (he had already taken ownership of his narrative) but a blind spot in his rational.

The place where we vary is why Nico behaves this way, we can agree that it's because he's starving for human connection- but you believe it's because he has no confidence he is willing to submit himself, while I see his submission as an act of desperation.

Personally, I think to argue that Nico is like this as a result of lack of confidence does a disservice to his narrative (obviously it's fine to view him however you wish, and I wish you all the fun in doing so!). To boil this down to starvation and lack of confidence removes some level of Nico's autonomy in his own life, but also strips him of one of his strongest characteristics- those qualities of him which are like Orpheus.

Nico willing to go to the ends of the earth for love is not a weakness but a strength, his ability to carry on beyond the point in which he needs a rest is not a weakness but a sign of strength. His ability to go to the ends of the earth to right wrongs, and to show his love:

"... Cupid struck, slapping Nico sideways into a granite pedestal. Love is no game! It is no flowery softness! It is hard work- a quest that never ends. It demands everything from you- especially the truth. Only then does it yield rewards."

Cupid is explaining Nico's idea of love in this scene, we see Jason say he prefers Piper's idea of love- but Nico only knows love in the way cupid describes, working desperately for a few moments with Bianca, working just to hear any scrap of information about his mother, always trying to prove himself to Percy- to overcome the way he feels about Percy (and boys in general).

Nico has only known love as something you walk to the ends of the Earth for, but he never stops fighting to be loved and acknowledged. Lesser men would give up and lay down, accept they are unworthy, but Nico keeps pushing to be acknowledged and accepted- to be recognized and loved without having to walk to the end of the Earth, but Nico knows he has to walk to that edge and face it before unconditional love will come to him.

To imply that Nico seeks love the way he does because he's unconfident in his ability to receive love ignores the idea that he's had his life forced into this position because of the fates. It loses acknowledgment to the strength it takes to pick yourself up and walk to the end of the Earth time and time again, because if he was unconfident then he would eventually lay down and accept he shouldn't be loved ever again.

I don't think confidence doesn't play into this at all though, it definitely has some impact on Nico, he does view himself as inherently less (he is overly self sacrificial- think Tartarus :/), and he does try to remove himself from others:

You yourself said: you blame yourself for the way people have hurt you, taken advantage of you, and abandoned you. they exploit your love and your naïveté time and time again. you tell yourself, surely, there must be something wrong with you. because—you are convinced—that people are good. “if they hurt me, it is because i am flawed. it is because i am weak. people will always hurt me—even people i love. it’s an inevitable truth for me.” (X)

And this connects to what I said: "The thing about being rejected is that the first time you argue it's the other person. And the second time you'll argue it's still them. If you're still arguing it's other people the third time, maybe but it's thin ice... But eventually you just have to accept that you're at fault."

I do think there's a reason Nico makes himself so "utilitarian", because he hasn't been handed unconditional love since Bianca. But again we disagree on the why, I see Nico's behavior in his utilitarian example of love as caring, the way more people should be in love. Too many people see love as something given without restraint, and yeah, love should be unconditional but in order for love to be unconditional you have to do the work to lay good foundation. To be utilitarian in loving is not an act of weakness, or a symbol of lack of confidence, it is a showcase of more care in love than most have to offer. We care for things, and place value on them determined by how much love and care goes into those things.

I also don't see Nico's self blaming for what happened as flawed, it's logical in his situation, and a common result of CEN. This self blame shows care and kindness, and this coincides with Nico's arcs, "If I am bad, how do I improve? If I have no choice but to be evil, how do I still be good?". Nico is always fighting not to be recognized for good or bad, but to be recognized for what he is.

Trust is not naivety either, the only reason Nico is regarded as naïve is because of the extreme circumstances of his life. People shouldn't have to expect abuse from people who are supposed to love them, people should have to accept abuse in order to receive love. If Nico's life had turned out different, his naivety wouldn't be viewed as a weakness but a strength- a kindness.

We're not actually viewing Nico all that different, there's this space where his character blurs together, and it becomes an individual duty to determine at what point a flaw becomes a strength, and a strength a flaw. Nico's stubbornness is a flaw if we're thinking about grudges, but it's a strength in his work ethic. Nico's ability to stand on his own is a strength in terms of questing, but it's a flaw when it prevents him from experiencing love in fullness.

[depressedacadamia]

How do you passive aggressively say ‘Fuck you’ in flower? Part III

Summary:  New owners, new friendships and new beginnings... but maybe there's a linger of old history there aswell.

A/N:  Helloooo!! It's writers month starting August so I've posted all the prompts and there are also the fandoms you can request. Please send a request, its always fun to interact with the readers and hear what content you want to see!! That said, here is chap 3!! I hope you enjoy and make sure you comment and enjoy!! <3 from phi phi!!

Read on A03              Read part I on Tumblr               Read part II on Tumblr

Will couldn't believe his luck. Of all the things he could have been told, it had to be this.

He held the printed note in between his thumb and forefinger as he grumpily read aloud the note hidden inside the fortune cookie. Calypso looked excited as her hands gripped the side of the table with passion.

“So? What does it say? Are you going to marry skull boy and live happily ever after with a cat?”

Wills scowled. “ No, that’s ridiculous. I hate cats. Maybe a dog. Or a goldfish.”

“Yeah, but goldfish don't live for as long as a cat could,” Calypso pointed out, her pinky finger pointing towards Will. “Now read. I want to hear your fortune.”

“Ugh. You aren’t hesitant to take what you want but sometimes you lack intuition; try and be more intuitive."

Calypso looked at him, with disappointment ranging across her face before shrugging and returning to her food. Will, who was expecting a much larger reaction, was offended.

“Excuse me? You begged to hear my fortune and now you just ignore it? You’re a terrible friend. I bet you wouldn’t run into a fire to save me.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t.”

Will gasped. Calypso continued her sentence, with an overall sense of coolness. “ I’d send the fucking fire patrol, police, moutaion resucuers, heck, I’d send the grandma next door to me if she had even a slim chance of getting you out of there.”

“Awwww, You do love me!”

Calypso grunted. “It’s only because I refuse to let anything other than myself kill you. Now stop hugging me and scram; you’re ruining my course of digestion with how hard your arms are wrapped around my stomach.”

But Will refused to oblige as he wrapped his arms around his best friend's stomach, listening to her complaints and completely ignoring them.

“What do you think it means?” Calypso spoke over a mouthful of food.

“What?”

“The fortune cookie thingy. What do you think it means?”

“It means I should be more intuitive, that's what it said.”

Calypso facepalmed, now understanding why the fortune cookie told her best friend what it told them. Even to the most oblivious person, it was obvoius that what the fortune cookie had told Will was not to simply be more intuitive but instead to -as the author would say- Open your fucking eyes and see what’s in front of you . But, as the author, I can tell you that William Andrew Solace is such an oblivious character that if I were to shout that at him, he would simply stare at whatever was sitting in front of him.

The next Saturday

“Are they coming?” Meg tugged on Will’s sleeve. “ Will, are they going to come today?”

It had seemed that, surprisingly enough, Meg had taken a great liking to Will’s so-called new ‘friends’ and in particular- Nico, which just so happened to be perfect for Will. It was already terrible that Will had to deal with them showing up only once in his beloved shop, let alone the idea that they may come again the next weekend and ruin it entirely for him, like the previous.

“I don’t know Meg, why do you care?” Will asked, his tone slightly agitated, out of all the people who had visited him at the shop, Meg just had to take a liking to these.

“Because that Nico guy is super cool. But don’t tell him I said that- and you guys can’t make out in my shop, no matter how cool he is.”

“This isn’t your shop and it isn't Calypso’s either, Dya know that, right?” Will reminded Meg as she went on about the new customers.

A sharp jab, that Will could now confidently identify to be Calypso’s elbow, hit his side. “Oi, What do you mean it ain't my shop- it basically is. It’s not like the previous owner ever cared about it.”

Will’s ears perked up at the words ‘previous owner’. “What do you mean Previous owner? Do they not own it anymore?”

“Did you not hear?” Calypso stopped braiding the rose into Will’s hair after seeing his surprised expression. “ We have a new owner. They offered the old one loads, and I mean loads of money for this shop. Apparently it’s this young sophisticated woman who just throws money whenever she wants.”

“Why do you sound so happy?”

Calypso’s finger’s in Will’s hair stopped braiding for a second. “What do you mean why do I sound so happy? We have a new rich owner. That means we will get better conditions. Imagine all the better quality wrapping we can get for the bouquets!”

“But if they're the kind of person to just throw money about, will they really take care of what's theirs? Or will they just send their own cronies to keep everything tidy, while paying them the minimum possible? And in this case, those cronies are us!”

“You’re imagining the worst of the new owner.”

“No, I’m not! Why am I the only one who hates the idea of a new owner!” Will yelled, grabbing the rose in his hair and ripping it out, throwing it at the entrance of the door. Will wasn't one to raise his voice but he couldn’t help but feel frustrated- why was everything changing so much!

Maybe it was fate, maybe it was destiny, or maybe Will was just that unlucky, but in that very moment, Nico and his friends all walked in.

It seemed they had all been causally conversing as they walked in.They were quickly silenced by whatever was occurring within the florist; Percy was halfway through grinning and dropping his jaw at Will's sudden outburst. Afterall, the last time he had seen Will this agitated was in middle school when he stole Will’s plastic stethoscope that his father had supposedly gotten him.

“Are we interrupting?'' Frank asked. He may have been on Nico’s side but he figured that perhaps barging in on an argument wasn’t the most respectful thing one could do.

“Trouble in paradise?” Nico smirked as he picked up the ruined rose that Will had thrown to the floor in a rage. He twirled in between his fingers and looked at the shade of pink; he glanced back at Will and decided it greatly complimented his skin tone and the cute blush he’d get whenever he was angry.

He frowned at the ruined rose and placed it on the counter before walking back to Will.

“The trouble only started when you set foot into this shop,” Will retorted, very much unappreciative of his presence at this moment. He still couldn't believe that the shop was getting a new owner! Sure, the old one had barely shown up and basically left Calypso entirely in charge but how could Calypso be so casual about it?

Nico ignored his attempt at a snide comment and walked past him, gesturing with his finger to follow behind him. “I want a flower. The one you threw. What was it, a Rosa Ausrumba?”

Will, slightly surprised that Nico had managed to identify the binomial name for the rose, raised his eyebrow. “Yeah.. how did you know?”

Nico shrugged, not offering an explanation as Will went ahead and fetched him a packaged gentle hermione rose. As he handed it over, he couldn’t help but let his mind wonder who the rose was for. It was a soft pink, the same type of rose that Calypso insisted he wear everytime he worked at the shop. Will knew that pink roses symbolised a lot of things but the question was, what exactly?

Was there anyone Nico knew who he’d give that rose to? It wouldn’t make sense for it to go to Leo, afterall, it wouldn't compliment his hair or skin tones: rather, it could work with someone like Hazel- since she was his sister, it would make sense for Nico to give it to her.

Calypso had always forced Will to wear that species of pink rose because she said that he had the hair for it and his blush and the colour of the rose were indistinguishable but most of all, it was the friendly gesture she had made when he first started working there.

He felt Nico’s fingertips brush against his as he handed the rose and a jolt of electricity sparking between them.

Shit, static shock.

“Ow!” Will jerked back, dropping the rose and rubbing his hand. He was about to ask Nico what the hell before he realised that the rose was on the floor. It wasn’t like the rose was going to be ruined or destroyed now it was on the floor or that it particularly angered Will to see the rose there. It simply saddened Will so much that he felt compelled to pick it up; maybe it was because he was so used to being forced into wearing it everyday or maybe because it was meant to be Nico’s, either way, he bent down to retrieve the flower.

It seemed that Nico had the same idea because their heads collided and Will was sent stumbling backwards onto his butt.

“Ow!” He cried again, rubbing his head. Nico felt his eyes widen at Will’s words and quickly he grabbed the rose and kneeled in the space between Will's legs, with his hand scanning Will’s face of any injury.

“Are you okay?”

Will frowned at the considerate question, wondering if Nico was mocking him or not. “Why do you care?”

That question threw Nico off guard. Why do you care? Why did he care? That was a good question he had yet to ask himself. Why did he care so much about Will? Why did he decide to come back? Every week nonetheless.

“No reason.” Nico shrugged. ” I just wanted to make sure your clumsy ass didn’t break anything.”

“Your head hit mine!”

“Yeah but it was you who decided to go after my flower,” Nico argued, clutching the rose in his hand. He started peeling off the wrapping until he had the rose alone in his hand.

“What the hell are you doing? You haven’t paid for it yet!”

Nico ignored him as he handed Will the rose. Obviously, Will took the rose from Nico’s hand and held it. Why did Nico want him to hold his flower for him?

“What?” Will was confused. “Why am I holding your flower?”

“Because I gave it to you.”

“To do what with?” Will inquired, his eyes oblivious. For someone who slept around, Will was not one who knew much about romantic rituals.

Murmuring something under his breath, Nico tilted his face away and let the loose strands of his black hair fall over his eyes elegantly. Will didn’t know if he had hit his head too hard but he could have sworn that Nico was slightly blushing.

“What? I didn’t catch that.”

“I said,” Nico took a dep breath, “The flower is for you and your stupid hair.”

Will must have looked relatively confused because Nico kept on talking. “Because you wear one whenever you work here? And when you threw a fit, you also threw your rose and it got ruined.”

Will, dumbfounded, simply stared at Nico. It wasn’t like he could braid his hair right here; Was this where Will was meant to thank him?

“Uh… thank you? I mean I could have easily gotten Callie to do my hair again but thanks anyway.”

Will realised that he was still sitting on the floor and immediately got up, still clutching the rose firmly in his hand, like he was afraid that the wind may just carry it off and he may never see it again.

In silence, him and Nico walked back to the counter, where surprisingly enough, everyone was getting on quite well. Percy and Frank were challenging Piper and Hazel about some vague petty thing,while Leo and Annabeth spoke to Calypso and Jason told Meg about Nico.

Annabeth had noticed quite quickly that Calypso had a crush on Leo and it seemed that Leo was aware as well. However, despite that, he didn’t let it get in the way of the conversation or the potential for a very beautiful friendship. He didn't like Calypso in that way. It was true that he had many previous lovers both men and women but Calypso was his friend, nothing more.

Nico noticed that Will was simply holding the rose and not wearing it like he intended him to.

“Why aren't you wearing the rose?”

Will stuttered, his face burning up slightly from embarrassment. “I..uh,well...I can’t really, um, braid my hair.”

Will was waiting for the insult. For a laugh, maybe a jeer. Instead he was surprised by the reaction that met him.

“I do. Give me the rose and sit in that chair.” Nico pointed to the chair behind the counter. Will, oblivious as ever, took a seat. He didn’t expect to feel familiar hands working on his hair. It felt like deja vu, feeling Nico’s fingers weave themselves into his hair, it felt like they were in that storage room all over again, making out on the small couch.

Wondering if Nico was also reminiscing that moment, he turned his head ever so slightly and caught Nico’s eye.

Nico turned Will’s head. “Stay still, I can’t do your hair if you keep on moving.”

Do my hair? He’s going to do my hair?

Will anxiously sat in the chair, fiddling his hands as Nico sectioned his hair into 3 parts and slipped the stem of the rose into one of the sections. He began braiding Will’s hair, slowly softly, dare I even say- Lovingly.

Will almost shivered when he felt Nico’s fingertip graze his scalp. His fingers braided like magic and within a matter of seconds, it felt like he had finished. Nico walked in front of Will to have a look at his handiwork from the front and reached forward. His finger brushed the side of Will’s ear and for a second, Will thought that Nico was going to gently cup his cheek and kiss him.

Instead, he reached and pulled free a small lock of hair from the front of his face so it dangled elegantly and complemented the rose that lay in his hair.

Will gulped. “ How did you learn to do hair?” His voice was extremely hoarse.

Nico’s voice seemed lower when he spoke. “My sister. I used to do her hair sometimes when we were at camp.”

Will nodded absent mindedly and focused on why his heart was beating so fast. The only reasons he knew why his heart would ever beat fast near a person would be if they scared him, forced him to exercise or if he had just slept with them.

Since Nico hadn't made him run, and they weren't sleeping together and Nico didn't make him fear for his life (yet), he was purely confused as to why his heart felt like it was a butterfly fluttering and any second, his ribcage may burst open and let it fly away and with it, his heart.,

He stared at the back of Nico’s head as he walked back to his friends who were now arguing about the difference between a white and an ivory rose.

Will did not not see Nico on Sunday at the flower shop. Nor did he see any of his friends.

Friday, Next week.

“Will, put that beer bottle down!” Calypso yelled, her entire state chaotic. There was flour everywhere and Will couldn’t tell where the kitchen started and where the mess ended.

This is what happened when he offered to babysit.

It was one thing to babysit a teenager or perhaps a 10 years old but a 7 years old? A seven year old and a 5 year old? A combination from hell itself. Overly energetic, disrespectful and disobedient, seven years olds were the worst kind of children to babysit.

It had started a while ago when his mother’s friend who’s name actually was Karen had to leave in a rush for some emergency (although Will had highly doubted it) and left her kids with Will's Mother. Being the wonderful woman she was, Will’s mother held onto them for as long as she could but she had a job, as most people did and unfortunately it was a job that required her to not enjoy her Friday nights.

This had led to her leaving the children with Will. Afterall, he was a responsible adult.

Okay fine, scratch the responsible part. She had left the children with Will because Calypso had promised to be there and in all blatant honesty, it was obvious that without Calypso, Will would be the biggest mess out there.

It seemed, however, that babysitting children was harder than both of them had anticipated.

“Callie, I give up. These kids are the devil's spawn. If they die, then tough luck for them.”

Calypso groaned and slammed her head onto the table before perking up with excitement. She grabbed her phone and dialed a number. Will overheard a vague conversation and simply watched, very confused.

Calypso set her phone down. “Okay so I have figured out how to fix this.” She pointed to the massive mess in their apartment.

“How?”

“You’ll see.”

Will didn’t trust the mischievous smile that came across Calypso’s face.

Nico was chilling on his bed with his phone in his hand, hovering above his face. He did not really have much to do so here he was, scrolling through social media. He was meant to be doing something with Percy or Jason or maybe Hazel- he really couldn’t remember and he couldn’t care less.

That was until he overheard a conversation from Jason that he could only describe as interesting. Only a few minutes later, Percy showed up very begrudgingly muttering I’m only coming because I wanna see where the little fucker lives.

As far as Nico was concerned, there was only one person who Percy called ‘the little fucker’ and why were Jason and Percy paying him a visit?

“Wait-” Nico threw his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up.”-Where are you guys going?”

“Calypso’s place. She needs some help babysitting? Or something like that. Annabeth’s call was kinda vague.”

“You’re going to Calypso’s place because Annabeth told you to?” Nico tilted his head, confusion evident in his voice. Jason took a deep breath before explaining.

“Calypso called Piper who gave the phone to Annabeth who called me to tell us and Hazel to go to Calypso’s place and help her and Will with whatever they needed help with.”

“Why is Will at Calypso’s place?”

Percy quickly interjected. “ They live together.”

That statement alone was enough to make Nico choke on the air he was trying to peacefully breathe.

“They what?” He managed to wheeze from in between the heavy coughs that racked from his chest.

“They live together,” Jason repeated innocently. “ Why?”

“Yeah,” Percy smirked, figuring out the reason behind Nico’s coughing fit. “ Why do you care, Nico?”

“No reason. It’s just a bit out of the blue.”

“So you don’t deny that you care!” Percy yelled excitedly pointing his finger at Nico. Nico grabbed it and twisted it with such ferocity, there was a crack and Percy let out a cry and pulled his finger back pouting, blowing on it like it was a hot dish.

“I twisted your finger, stop blowing on it like it’s a hot potato and let's hurry up and go please,” Nico groaned, rolling his eyes at Percy’s dramatic overreaction.

Percy, under his breath, murmured,” Somebody’s desperate.”

Nico slapped his shoulder.

When Will opened the door to his apartment, he didn't really know what he was expecting. Maybe someone like Thalia Grace or Reyna- a close friend of Calypso.

He certainly was not expecting his arch nemesis and his cronies to show up. He wasn’t in the best state of mind and he felt like any moment now, his feet may fail and he’d be out cold on the floor.

What was worse was the fact that Hazel had already arrived- without Frank as he said he ‘wasn’t the kind who liked children’. So now Will was here having to behave himself as if he were some host and they were his guest

His brain told him that this was exactly what this was.

But another part of Will didn’t agree. It was more, there was some more sinister motive behind why they were here. Sure, Annabeth had told them to come and god forbid someone disobey Annabeth but they clearly came here with their own reasons. Whether all their reasons were the same or not, Will did not know.

“What do you want?” Will deadpanned as he held the door halfway open- just like his eyelids. He was already considering shutting it in their faces. However, it seemed that Nico wasn’t having any of it as he simply pushed his way past Will, into the half cleaned up apartment.

“Oh, Nico! You’re here!” Hazel whisper-called out from the living room . She had the 5 year old’s head resting on her lap as it dozed off and the seven year old lay next to her, their eyes drifting off to sleep.

“Yeah, I’m here. What about it?”

“I thought you might want to cook something? I’m really hungry and I’m pretty sure Calypso’s been running around on an empty stomach trying to keep 2 children and a drunk person under control.”

Nico paused before wrinkling his nose. He walked forward to Will and moved his blonde hair out of his face to get a better view of his eyes.

“You’re drunk?” Nico looked around the kitchen and spotted the beer bottles. “Jesus, are you a lightweight or something? This shit ain’t even strong,” Nico grunted as he grabbed a very much incoordinate Will to the kitchen and sat him down at the counter. He got him a glass of water and rolled his sleeves up before quickly sifting through the fridge and cupboards.

“What happened to him?” Percy asked, walking slightly at the blushing Will sitting at the counter sipping water out of a straw.

“Hehee, Nico has very warm arms.” Some water dribbled out from the side of Will’s mouth as he giggled.

“He’s… wasted?” Jason squinted his eyes. “ I thought people with blue eyes were meant to have the highest tolerance to alcohol.”

“Nooooo,” Will whined. “ That’s not it. Blue eyed people are moree likeleyyy to have a dependency on alcohol. We did this in class-”

He was cut off by his own hiccup.

“Fucking hell,” Nico muttered as he pulled out ingrediants. Hungrily, Jason and Percy eyed the food.

“Whatcha making?” Percy asked, slinging his arm over Nico’s shoulder. Immediately, Will got out of his seat, objecting to this. However, before he could do this, he tripped and fell on his butt and in turn knocked his head into the floor. He was out cold within seconds.

“Did he just pass out?” Percy asked, poking at Will’s body with his foot only for Nico to be outraged and push Percy with such vigour, he ended up splayed onto the floor. He quickly kneeled beside Will and shook him gently, trying to wake him up.

“Flower boy? Hey, wake up. Will? Get up. Get up right now Will.” Nico began shaking him, his voice starting out in small quiet whispers. The alarm in Nico’s voice called over Calypso who batted her hand and laughed.

“Oh you have nothing to worry about. He does this everytime he gets too drunk. He’s a real lightweight, trust me.”

After much chaos and argument, everyone calmed down and Nico got cooking. As someone who was majoring in food tech, Jason and Percy would always make him cook meals for them. While Nico always pretended to be bothered and annoyed by this, he secretly loved it, meaning that he could make his friends smile with something he also loved- food.

Sure, he sometimes skipped meals or didn’t have time to actually eat, but he was constantly surrounded by food and making it was so chaotic but he enjoyed it and he enjoyed the rush of serotonin he’d get when he tasted the final dish.

“Food’s ready!” Nico called from the kitchen. Will had been moved to the sofa because Calypso had been told that under no circumstance was anybody to ever go into Will’s bedroom. Jason came in to the table and started laying it, as their usual routine went. Percy brought cups and Hazel, who normally did not dine with them, was talking to Calypso. They took their seat at the table and waited for the boys to finish laying it and serving food.

Nico glanced at Will who was dozing off on the couch peacefully. “ Is he not going to join us?”

Calypso shook her head. She knew when Will was feeling the way he was today, the only thing he could do was sleep it off. Nico had to admit, he was disappointed; he was hoping to see Will’s reaction when tasting the food. In fact, he had put extra effort into making it perfect just based on the possibility that Will may have been joining them for dinner.

They ate silently, with only the sound of the occasional collision of the fork against the plate echoing into the apartment.

“This is a nice place…” Percy started, trying to ease some of the tense silence away. Calypso gave him a short nod.

“Yes. It’s mine- Will and I share it.”

“Why?” Nico asked, his jealousy overtaking his actions. Was he really at liberty to ask such a question? No. Was he going to anyway? Absolutely.

Calypso raised an eyebrow at the question, while she slowly raised the fork to her mouth. “Does it matter why?”

Nico, staring at his food, paused. “No,” He sighed. “ I guess it doesn’t.”

Hazel, who wasn't allowing this, quickly intercepted. “It doesn't matter but that doesn't mean we wouldn’t like to know? Right guys?”

“Yeah!” Percy agreed a bit too passionately. “Tell us Calypso. How is it that you- someone of your high standards is living with somebody like… Will.”

Percy's abrash statement was rewarded with a hard smack to the back from the Italian boy sitting next time, glaring at him enough daggers for Percy to become Pinhead. Percy, midway swallowing, began coughing frantically which despite the urgency of the situation earned no sympathy from Nico who sat there as Percy choked and Jason gave violent slaps on his back.

“Ugh, well. We’ve known each other…” Calypso stopped. “ Are you sure you’re okay?”

Percy, almost red in the face, nodded frantically and mimed with his hands to keep talking. Jason reached over and poured Percy another glass of water.

“Uh, well… We work together but we’ve known each other for a long time.”

“How long? I don't remember Solace ever mentioning you.”

Calypso smiled slightly. “ If I’m correct, you two weren't and still aren't really on the kinds of terms where you discuss your personal life.”

“Still… I would have thought that… forget it.”

The awkwardly silent dinner continued with the clanking of cutlery against plates. Secret glares were passed along with uncomfortable shivers but all in all, the dinner managed to run smoothly. The guests helped clean up and finally, late into the night, they stood at the door awkwardly, as Calypso dismissed them.

“Are the children… staying?” Hazel innocently inquired, her eyes falling on the small children who lay asleep on the sofa behind Calypso.

Calypso scratched her head- slightly unsure herself. “Uh, I guess. Until they get picked up at least.”

“Oh… I guess I should stay to help out then?”

“No! Please, I don't want you to ruin a good night's sleep over this. I’m sure I can handle this. It wouldn’t be the first time.” Calypso reached for the door. “Get home safely.”

Jason and Percy, who realised that they were no longer welcome, did not hesitate to leave- the same couldn’t be said for Nico.

He didn’t know why he was hesitating- it wasn't as if Calypso and him were friends in any way. However, it seemed that for some odd reason there was a connection between the two that they both strongly cared for a certain blond headed lightweight. But they also both cared for a certain grinning engineer who spoke Spanish.

With his hand shoved in his pockets, he slowly turned his heel as if a magnet from afar was tugging on the metal heartstrings with his heart. His head was bowed towards the floor as he muttered the words under his breath.

“Tell him to call me when he wakes up tomorrow… We should probably talk and get everything out of the way.” Nico’s hair fell in front of his face, his eyes darting anywhere but Calypso’s face as to avoid her seeing his expression.

“Are you dating Leo?”

The abrupt question had Nico’s head snapping upwards so fast that I- the author- feared that he may have broken his neck had he moved any faster. The obvious answer was ‘no’. They had broken up long before Nico had even known someone like William Andrew Solace even existed; however, he didn't know if he could give such an honest answer so freely.

It was clear that Calypso was not just asking Nico this question for the sake of fun. She liked him.

And for some reason, Nico did not like that.

Leo wasn't his. He had his own feelings and decisions to make. But Nico didn't think she could handle the idea of Calypso being able to have both Will and Leo in her life- whether any of the relationships were platonic or not.

He had Leo, she had Will. It was only fair that it should stay that way.

But that said- If, if, he ever dated Will… would he give up Leo for the sake of fairness? Life isn't meant to serve everyone with equality. You get what you get and the rest you must fight for; Life was clearly a capitalist.

“Why does it matter to you?”

“Because,” she paused as if her reasoning was obvious. “If you are, I can’t let you play with Will or Leo like that.”

Nico snarled. “ Who said I was playing with either?”

“Isn't that what it's called? When you date two different people behind their backs?”

“I’m not dating Leo!” He yelled in frustration. Perhaps it was the wine. Or watching Will pass out on the floor and Percy poking him with his foot like an animal. Or maybe it was the fact that Will never tasted the food, but for some reason whether it was unbeknownst or not, Nico snapped. “Happy?”

Calypso smiled. “Very.”

[randomfandomnerd]

Sunshine and Shadows- Chapter 2

Nico woke up to the sound of manic giggling. Groggily, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He slipped out of the bed, moving towards the curtain with the hope of finding food. The blue material was ripped back and, to his surprise, Harley barged in, slapped a smiley-face sticker onto his t-shirt, and left again, still giggling. Nico looked up to see a smirking Cecil at the next bed over, sporting his own smiley sticker.

“Will thought it would be a good idea for him to visit and lift the spirits of everyone. He’s been hovering near for a while, because I told him you should wake up on your own, rather than with his help”

“Hmmph”

Nico responded.

A seemingly amused Will came in with a tray of plates of food, which he proceeded to hand out to the various inhabitants of the infirmary.

“You look so grumpy”,

he chuckled, narrowly avoiding a small Apollo child who seemed to be imitating Kayla by holding a clipboard and marching around on their tiptoes with a small bow strung to their back and the torn leaves of a very green plant on their head.

“Lillie, remember what I told you. No weapons in the infirmary!”

Lillie turned around and proceeded to aggressively skip out of the infirmary, knocking a side table over in the process, and scattering leaves along the floor. Kayla sighed, and put down her clipboard in order to clean up the damage.

“Sorry about that. She really wanted to help”

Will sighed and shook his head, before turning to Nico and setting a plate of food on the table near his bed. Upon closer inspection, the plate had an alarmingly high number of plants. Nico huffed, before selecting an apple and taking a bite from it, mumbling his thanks.

"So what am I meant to do now?"

He asked.

"Well, for a start, breakfast should be more than one apple."

Will replied from where he was putting away a pile of music sheets. Nico felt a pang in his heart, remembering how his mother used to teach him and Bianca to play the piano. Nico could never coordinate his fingers properly, but Bianca played beautifully, and he had liked to sit and watch her, mesmerised by the music. After she died, it was hard for him to listen to music, because it was unfair that music should continue when the people who made him love it were gone. People like Annabeth and Percy could save the world over and over and they still had each other and a billion other friends. Nico had nobody. Not really.

"Nico"

A soft voice broke him from his dreaming, and Nico realised that he was blending in with the shadows. Desperately grasping at the bedframe, Nico drew his gaze up to Will's. The son of Apollo's eyes were blue like his father's, yet less startling. They were more muted in colour, calming and reassuring, just like him. Will tilted his head, and Nico, realising that he was staring, dipped his gaze to fiddle with the apple core in his hands. Will's hands reached out, and took the core, his fingers brushing against Nico's, before withdrawing while the blonde boy apologised gently. Nico waved him off. Everything he touched was destroyed. It was in his nature. He would do all he could to stop that from happening to Will Solace.

Will, it seemed, had other ideas.

“Nico, try sitting down. I’m really sorry. I don’t know what I’m doing. Gods, I’m so stupid, what kind of doctor am I? I should have researched more. How can I help if I haven’t researched? I’m sorry”

The son of Apollo was pacing back and forth and he had a length of bandage which he was wrapping and unwrapping around his wrist. Until he saw him on Half-Blood Hill, Nico hadn’t realised how stubborn Will was. Now, he was beginning to notice that the blonde was constantly self-doubting himself. It was normally less obvious than this, when he would always make jokes about how he was no use in battle because he was ‘just a healer’, but now it was clear that he was insecure about even his healing abilities. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Will was only 15. Sure, Nico was around the same age, but people were constantly calling him "kid", or on one memorable occasion, "young gloomy cupcake" (Coach Hedge had some interesting nicknames), but Will had gone from 2nd-in-line to head counselor in an incredibly short span of time. Nico still felt Bianca's loss as if it were yesterday. He couldn't imagine having to go through that twice.

When he had first arrived at, Camp Half-Blood, he had thought that being a demigod was the coolest thing that had ever happened to him, but now he frequently wished that he could have stayed in the Lotus Casino forever, with Bianca, oblivious to the world outside.

Plato once told a story about a group of people that lived inside a cave, only able to view the world from shadows projected onto the cave wall. One of them decided to leave the cave and found the world outside to be full of joy and wonder. When they returned to tell the others, they couldn't persuade them to leave the cave, because the shadows showed the outlines of terrible monsters and they didn't think it was worth the risk.

Nico had stepped out into the real world, but the joy and wonder was overwhelmed by pain and grief. He wanted to return to the shadows. There, he couldn't be hurt, and he couldn't hurt anyone else. It would be so easy to just slip away, it was so much easier leaving than coming back.

"Nico!"

The worried voice cut into Nico's mind and fractured thoughts. It seemed bizarre that anyone would be worried for him.

"Nico, stay with me"

Will sounded urgent, like he couldn't bear the idea of Nico leaving. Nico recalled their earlier conversation, when Will had said that he wasn't stupid, because he'd decided to stay. Nico looked up into Will's frantic eyes, that somehow calmed him even when the owner was panicking, and decided that he would make an effort to stay, even if it was harder than leaving.

Link to pt 1:

Taglist:

@rainbow-sheepofthefamily @luna0713hunter @percabethfangirl @emava04 @seven-halfbloods

@nightmareghosts (sorry i didn't tag you earlier, your user has changed since you asked me to tag you)

[foreverfallingforthestars]

Playing Santa for the Olympians

🎄Day 7 of 12 Days of PJO Christmas🎄

Percy had enough.

After the last two years of the gods messing up his Christmas breaks, he was ready to mess with them right back.

The only issue, though, was the fact that he couldn’t just go up to the 600th floor of the Empire State Building without a specific invitation, despite being involved in two Great Prophecy and saving the world twice.

But of course, that is why he forgave his father for the last two Christmas ordeals under the deal that he would help him prank the gods.

PSA: These drabbles are canon-compliant till HoO and just acknowledge the existence of Estelle. Also technology use is a thing.

Read on AO3

~~~~~

Percy was sitting on the floor in his cabin, wrapping up presents with a sparkly decorative red and green wrapping paper when Annabeth came into the room. She walked in with a bright ‘hello’ before coming over to stand behind his back. 

“Hey,” he greeted, turning to look at her. It was the first time he’d seen her since breakfast because she’d been busy dealing with supervising the sparring ring, and he’d immediately holed up in his cabin to gather all the presents up and started wrapping them up properly the best he could. 

She looked down at him with a bright smile, and she leaned down to brush her lips against his. He pulled away from her first, sending her a grin in return, and he watched as her eyes moved around the room to take in the roll of wrapping paper and the boxes he was surrounded by. 

“Are you actually still wrapping presents?”

“Yeah, I am,” Percy confirmed, nodding. Annabeth moved to sit on his bed, crossing her legs underneath him. 

“Percy, I know I’ve said that you have a talent to piss off the gods, but this...this is insane,” Annabeth spoke up incredulously. Percy looked up at his girlfriend, and he simply grinned. She rolled her eyes, and he knew she was well aware that there was nothing she could do to talk him out of this.

After the last two years of the gods messing up his Christmas breaks, he was ready to mess with them right back.

The only issue, though, was the fact that he couldn’t just go up to the 600th floor of the Empire State Building without a specific invitation, despite being involved in two Great Prophecy and saving the world twice. 

But of course, that is why he forgave his father for the last two Christmas ordeals under the deal that he would help him prank the gods.

“That’s the plan, babe. Dad’s helping me anyways, so it’s all okay.”

Annabeth sighed. “My mom’s going to kill you.”

Percy scoffed as he wrapped up a Kidz Bop CD, the gift he got for Apollo. Honestly, he wasn’t entirely sure whether or not he’d actually, genuinely enjoy the CD.

“Oh please. I don’t have that big of a death wish. I may want to prank the gods for Christmas at their Winter Solstice meeting, but I don’t want your mother to brutally murder me. At least I know the others would hesitate before killing me long enough for me to convince them not to kill me.”

“So she’s the only one that didn’t get the prank present?”

“Yup,” he responded, holding up a small jewelry box that was next to his ankle. He rested his elbow on his knee and put his chin on his hand as he watched her open up the box. Percy had contemplated what to get his girlfriend’s mother for a really long time, but he remembered that she had liked the necklace that Annabeth had gotten for Christmas senior year of high school, so after a week of searching, he had found the perfect gift.

Once he watched Annabeth let out a soft gasp at the sight of the bracelet, he knew he made the right decision. He had bought a thin silver bracelet with a gold owl charm hanging right in the center of the bracelet. The charm looked a lot like the one on Annabeth’s necklace, and he was hoping that her mother would genuinely like it.

Of course there was a chance that the other gods would be supremely pissed off about the entire situation, but that was something to deal with later. 

“Percy,” she called out with a sly smile. 

“What?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows. He did know she loved him, and he loved her as well, but there was something off with the way she was smiling at him and the way her eyes were shining mischievously. 

“Did you just match the bracelet with my necklace?”

Percy glanced down at his hands, suddenly feeling shy. “Maybe.”

“That’s so cute that you’re trying to impress my mother.”

“Well considering the fact that it’s been four years since we started dating, and she still hates me, I figured it was worth a try to bribe her into liking me.”

“Valiant effort, Perce.”

Percy huffed a laugh but turned back to wrapping the rest of the presents. He heard the bed sheets shuffle as Annabeth moved off the bed, and then she came to sit down next him, their knees brushing. She leaned into him a bit, and he welcomed the warmth she brought with her. He shifted slightly so she could easily lean on him but he could also easily continue wrapping the presents. She settled her chin on his shoulder, and they sat in silence as eventually she picked up one of the boxes and started wrapping it as well, helping him. Percy reined in a smile. He knew that despite her open judgement, she was excited to see the gods freak out at their presents. 

He knew he definitely was, but suddenly a thought came to mind.

“Hey Annabeth?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think I should bring Nico and Jason with us just to make sure my dear uncles don’t murder me?”

“Probably.”

“Good talk.”

~*~

An hour and half later, Percy had managed to wrangle Nico (who wouldn’t come without Will), Jason (who ended up dragging Piper), and Annabeth into coming up to Olympus with him. 

They were in the elevator — the normal elevator music having changed to Jingle Bell Rock —, each person holding a stack of boxes to give to the gods, and Percy couldn’t stop vibrating. He was excited, but there was also that slight tinge of worry he felt that he was going to be immediately struck on down the spot.

If anyone asked him, though, he would immediately deny the worry. 

He was the Savior of Olympus.

He was fine.

“So, what’s the plan?” Jason asked, looking at the stack of presents in his hand. He looked apprehensive, which was fair enough considering it was his and Piper’s first time going up to Olympus. Will hadn’t been up there either, but he didn’t seem all too worried. 

“We go up there and just say that we’re surprising them for Christmas, and then hand out the presents.”

“What happens then?” Piper asked. 

“We hope that Percy isn’t immediately murdered on the spot,” Nico responded dryly.

Percy groaned. “I’ll be fine.”

“Then why am I with you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. 

He had a point there. 

“Because,” Percy responded, stretching out the word slightly, “I needed people to carry the presents up with me.”

Nico blinked at him a few times and sighed. “I can’t believe I liked you once upon a time.”

Annabeth snorted as Piper barked out a laugh. “I heard the story about Percy traveling with Rachel, you and Annabeth. All three of them liked him at the same time, and he was still so oblivious.”

Percy watched as Jason bit his lip in an effort to not laugh, but his shoulders were shaking, and Will simply grinned. 

“How did this turn on me?!” Percy whined, looking between his friends and girlfriend.

“It took me making the first move twice before he asked me out,” Annabeth spoke up, grinning as she bumped her shoulder with his. He swatted her away with his free hand.

“I was more occupied with trying to live past sixteen!”

“And here you are at twenty, still waiting for me to make the first move.”

Percy narrowed his eyes at her and started speaking without thinking, “You certainly didn’t make the first move when we—”

“Okay! We don’t need to hear about your sex life,” Jason groaned. Annabeth blushed, and Percy just laughed. Thankfully, they were almost to the 600th floor, which saved Percy from having to reply fully. 

The elevator doors opened with a ding, and they walked up to Mount Olympus and into the gathering room.

The 12 Olympians and Hades were sitting in their chairs in their ten-feet tall God form, discussing something that Percy wasn’t too inclined to pay attention to. Poseidon had turned  to look at him first, and his father sent him a wide smile, immediately standing up and cutting off whatever Hera was saying. 

“Percy!” his father greeted, walking towards him and changing into his smaller, more human form as he walked closer.

“Hey, dad,” he greeted. He heard the other gods stop talking, now paying attention to them.

“What are you doing here?” Poseidon asked, a wild glint in his eyes. Percy tried not to laugh at the overexaggerated acting.

“We brought Christmas gifts! We knew that everyone would be here for the meeting, so we decided to play Santa and surprise you guys.”

“Oh that’s wonderful!” Aphrodite exclaimed, also walking closer in her human form. Percy tried not to glance at her too much. With the few glances that he took, he realized that she looked like his girlfriend, and he wasn’t going to lie, it was kind of messing with his brain. He was aware, though, that she made her way over to Piper. 

The rest of the gods had slowly made their way over, and they all decided to try to move towards the center of the room. Percy was excited to let the gods open their presents, but he was also appreciating just how open the gods looked at their arrival. Apollo had wrapped Will up in a hug, and Zeus was awkwardly standing by Jason, both of them looking like they’d rather be anywhere else. Nico was talking to Hades, and he looked over at Annabeth smiling softly at her mother. 

“Is everything ready?” his father asked, bringing Percy’s attention back to the matter at hand. Percy grinned. 

“Yup.”

“Alright, then. Everyone, Percy says the presents are ready to be given out,” Poseidon announced. Percy shared a quick glance with Annabeth, and she shrugged as if to say this is it, good luck.

Percy, Jason, Nico, and Will first gave the presents to their respective fathers, and they all returned to their original spots to distribute the rest of the presents as Piper and Annabeth gave the gifts to their respective mothers. 

Within minutes, everyone had their presents, and at first, the gods looked at the Big Three, waiting for them to open them first. Percy bit his lip to prevent any preemptive laughter escaping him as they opened the presents. Poseidon had promised to be fine with whatever present he got as long as it wasn’t good to make sure he wouldn’t get caught as being in on the plan. 

Zeus opened his long, thin wrapped box first, and he paused as he pulled out an incandescent tube light with the words LIGHTNING ROD scribbled over it. 

His father opened his gift only for him to pull out a pack of Korean seaweed, and Hades just paused when he took out an anatomical skeleton with a pack of chocolate pomegranate seeds with a post-it note that read For Persephone. 

“What is the meaning of this, Jackson?” Zeus boomed, and Percy quickly glanced down, trying not to laugh. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his friends also all shaking with the effort to stay quiet and for the first time he was glad that none of them had seen what he had bought because their reactions were absolutely hilarious. 

Noticing that those three gifts were clearly prank gifts, the other gods quickly opened theirs. Hera was given a Ken doll wearing a tux and a Barbie doll wearing a wedding dress, clearly for playing house. Ares was given a stick with a note that explained that it was a weapon, and Percy watched as he immediately just flung it across the room, the stick hitting a wall and falling to the ground. Hermes opened his to find a glitter explosion as he pulled out fake fairy wings with so much glitter that it was flying everywhere. He just grinned, though, laughing at the prank. He winked at Percy, clearly pleased by the idea and the execution. 

Aphrodite gasped in outrage when she opened hers to find a makeup palette for kids with the most boring colors that he could find while Hephaestus groaned in confusion when he opened his to find an Easy Bake Oven.

“Percy Jackson!” screamed out Dionysus as he pulled out a bottle of grape juice with the words WINE scribbled over the original label, and that must’ve been the only time in the last year that he had called Percy by his real name. 

Artemis snorted when she saw that she was holding a Rudolph plush with a small card that read “It’s nice that they made one of your deer hunters a plush,” and Apollo happily pulled out his Kidz Bop CD, rushing to find a speaker to play it with. Finally, Demeter groaned as she opened hers up to find a Costco size package of Wheat Thins. 

They all, except Hermes, Artemis, and Apollo, looked absolutely appalled at their gifts, and Percy had to admit that his father had gotten better at acting. Athena was the only one who hadn’t received her gift yet, and that was only because Percy didn’t want to make it such a big deal at the moment, and he was hoping that the goddess would see the present in his hands and would wait till later to ask about it. 

“Care to explain yourself, Jackson?” Hades hissed just as the Kidz Bop CD started playing a cover of Oops...I Did It Again. That was the breaking point for the demi-gods because Percy and his friends doubled over with laughter, even Nico. Percy couldn’t believe how perfect the prank ended up working, and he sincerely wished that he had a camera to record the entire thing.

“Man, everytime Annabeth said that Percy had a gift for ticking off the gods, I didn’t realize she meant that literally,” Piper gasped, leaning against Will. “Percy, I don’t need anything from you this Christmas. This was enough of a gift.”

“Gods, that was priceless,” Will responded. Percy looked up at the gods again, and most of them had realized that it was kind of funny because their lips were twitching. 

“How dare you,” Zeus complained, moving towards Percy (probably to strangle him), but Poseidon stepped forward.

“Brother, it’s Christmas. Let it go. Besides, your room could use some lighting.”

Zeus growled at Poseidon, but backed off regardless.

“There better not be a next time, Jackson,” Hades warned, and Percy saluted in response, his cheeks hurting from the laughter. The gods started breaking up, speaking to one another and his friends went to talk to them as well, taking the chance to reconnect with their parents. 

Percy and Annabeth made their way over to Athena in the meantime who had simply been standing off to the side, watching.

“I assume my present isn’t a prank?” she asked once they got closer.

“Uh, no,” Percy responded. “I didn’t think it was a good idea.”

“You were scared.” It wasn’t a question, and Percy didn’t feel like responding so he simply handed her the present with Annabeth quietly watching.

She took the present and opened it slowly. 

“It’s a bracelet matching the necklace you got my daughter,” she spoke, lifting it up slowly and looking at the necklace around Annabeth’s neck. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem, Athena.”

“You...are not as bad as I thought.”

Annabeth smiled at Percy, and he beamed, wrapping an arm around her waist.

“Thank you.”

Percy was surprised at how well everything had gone because usually, things didn’t go his way.

Until Apollo cried from across the room.

“How come she got a proper present?!”

“What?” Aphrodite cried.

“Percy!” Poseidon exclaimed. Percy winced; he hadn’t told his father about that part of his plan.

“Woops?”

~~~~~~~

This is the last of the Christmas with the Gods plotline for the 12 days! I’ve really enjoyed writing these haha

Day 1 || Day 2 || Day 3 || Day 4 || Day 5 || Day 6

[takaraphoenix]

Nicercy + ‘my new romance-obsessed friend asked me who my last date was with and i was too embarrassed to say i’ve never been on a date so i blurted your name and it turns out they know you’ au

Nico grimaced as he watched various expressions play out on Percy Jackson's face. Confusion, surprise, more confusion, an awkward shade of embarrassment, bit more confusion, the most delightful startled blush Nico had ever seen, peaking in flustered... well... confusion.

"I didn't even know you two knew each other! Much less that you're dating! Man, I can't wait to tell Thals. Wait. You haven't told her before me, right, bro?"

"I promise you, I did not tell Thalia that I'm dating Nico." And, when turning away from Jason a little to lean into Nico, Percy added in a snarky whisper. "After all, so far no one has told me that I'm dating Nico."

Nico winced though he felt like Jason's momentarily distraction (calling his sister Thalia, most likely) was a good opportunity to explain this to Percy.

"I didn't know the two of you knew each other. Jason is my... roommate. And he kept pestering me about my love life. You know I hate talking about my feelings so I just... made something up to shut him up."

Percy rased both his eyebrows doubtfully at that. "We went to the same high school. Well. His school was one of the high schools I went to, at least. We've been friends since then. Wait. So Jay is the obnoxiously affectionate over-invested surfer Ken roommate you've been complaining about...?"

 Nico cleared his throat, but he nodded. Him and Percy had been best friends since summer camp as kids and for about as long, Nico had been secretly in love with the older boy. To the point that he had specifically chosen this college just because Percy attended it. And when his roommate started annoying him about dating - having recently entered a new relationship himself - Nico had been too embarrassed to admit he had never been on a date because he had been in love with the same boy since he was 12. So Nico had lied, had allowed himself to live in a fantasy where he was dating the boy of his dreams. How was he supposed to know that Jason knew Percy and would immediately drag Nico to Percy's room...?

"Still don't get why you'd lie though, Nick", noted Percy confused.

"Because I've never been on a date and was embarrassed", hissed Nico with flushed cheeks.

"Wait. Never? At all? What happened to the cute guy you were crushing on in high school...? Some oblivious jock, right? I told you to just tell him and ask him out! What happened to him?"

"He's currently staring at me and being unhelpful!", blurted Nico out in his annoyance.

His eyes widened and he clasped a hand over his mouth as he got to watch all the same expressions dance over Percy's features once more. Only this time they settled in an impish grin.

"So... how about we fix that? And your lie to Jason? And your lack of dating history?"

"...What...?"

"A date. You and me. If... you are still into oblivious jocks? But I'm guessing yes, since you make us fake boyfriends."

Percy grinned disarmingly at Nico and by the time Jason was done yelling at his sister on the phone, the no longer fake boyfriends were already gone, off to their first real date.

[miraclesnail]

Writer’s Month Day 21: Hope

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the olympians

Cont. of this (the fic I made in response to an anon who cried about me breaking up solangelo for willvis)

Also used the prompt ‘don’t stand up yet’ from x 

[Don’t stand up yet]

“Don’t stand up yet,” Will says, kneeling by Travis’s side. He presses Travis back by the shoulders. 

Travis, for what’s it worth, listen with only a soft groan as a complaint but Will is pretty sure that’s because he’s still too dazed to disobey. 

“He’s worse than me,” Nico remarks with a hint of disbelief in his voice, sitting cross-legged on the other side of Travis, like he can’t believe someone could be just as recklessly careless with his health. 

No one is worse than you. Will is about to say, but he bites his cheeks. 

Yeah, Travis tends to get into a whole lot of… mess. It’s normal for him to be overtaken with an impulse to snatch an item from a vendor stand or reach into a purse. It already happened a few times and a consequence of that was running from the cops. But they were all minor offenses. 

Travis is actually getting hurt this time around. Will actually needs to use nectar to treat his wounds when before it’s just little scratches and mild bruising. He’s gonna hit his godly food limit pretty soon if this keeps going. There’s maybe 5 ounces left before there's going to be side effects. 

Will has his powers yeah but they’re kind of like a last resort. If he uses his power, he’ll be out of commission for a few hours depending on the wound and if someone becomes injured again… then… 

It’s not a good scenario. 

Travis groans, rolling onto his side towards him. His eyes flutter open. His stomach tingles when Travis rubs a hand over his eye. He should be angry. Pickpocketing is bad. But how dare Travis be so adorable waking up?

“Will? Nico? What happened?” Travis says, pushing his upper body upright. 

“You tell him,” Nico says and turns away to look over the semi-full parking lot they’re in.

Will has this whole speech prepared but when Travis fix his (admittedly very good looking) blue eyes at him, everything short circuited and all he could think about is how Travis’s eyes are a nice ocean blue. Luckily for him though his mouth works even without his brain. 

“A cyclops hit you in the chest with a mallet.”

“Oh.” Travis touches his chest with his fingertips. “I’m surprised I’m not dead.”

Nico snorts. “Yeah, same here. You need to be more careful.”

Travis blows a raspberry at the son of Hades. “I want to hear that from the world’s best medic.”

And by reflex, Will says, “You need to be more careful.”

Then he process Travis’s words and there’s a warm buzzing in his heart. Best… medic… best… 

He couldn’t dwell on it for long though because Travis whirls to face him with fake hurt on his face. “Will, how could you? You’re supposed to take my side. We were supposed to gang up on Nico like we planned.”

“When did we ever planthat?”

“Back in Rachel’s cave.”

“I don't remember having any conversation about that.”

“Imagine we did then.”

Nico coughs. 

“The mission, guys. We need to focus.”

The mission. 

The darn fucking mansion. 

Will is pretty sure there is no missing pet and this is just Aphrodite having fun watching him suffer. 

See, he has a crush on Travis. 

He doesn’t know when it started. 

Maybe it was when they were both 10 and Travis tried to prank him but they were both caught in it and stay caught for three hours and rather than shame, Travis laughs it off. 

Maybe it was when they were 11 and Travis had a Spongebob phase where all his pranks had to be spongebob related.

Maybe it was when they were 12 and Travis traded his Spongebob phase for Naruto.   

Maybe it was when Luke left but Travis stayed. 

Maybe it was when Travis still held his head high even as Luke cause hell again and again

Maybe it was when Lee died and he fell apart and Travis made him hot chocolate. 

Maybe it was when Michael died and he really fell apart and Travis stole ice cream for him from the Camp store he later paid back. 

All he knows is that he likes Travis. 

And because he’s close knit with his cabin, he told them. And they told him to flirt. So he did. And through the power of observation, he determined Travis does not like him back. 

An unrequited crush. 

The one thing Aphrodite loves most. 

So, no, Will is pretty sure there’s no missing bird and this is Aphrodite just having fun. 

Still, Will played along as Nico led them first to Upper State New York in the Prius Chiron so generously lended. Hephaestus had a mansion up there he uses as a storage unit. They broke in (Travis broke in), did some recon, and found that Hephaestus have three more mansions. One in Oregon. One in Washington. And one in California. All three are on the west coast. 

At that point, Will would have called it quits and tell his companions that this whole quest is a sham but then Travis had to go and said, “Alright! A clue! Let’s go but we have to stop by the Golden Gate bridge first,” with a stupid adorable grin. 

It’s funny how quickly he gave in. 

They took the Prius and drove off. He and Nico switch off being the drivers every second hour or so. It’s them two that stuck to the shotgun seats while Travis remains in the back. Worriedly, Travis slept for most of the ride and only woke up for pit stops. Travis assured them he’s fine. That he gets really sleepy in cars. Which is a big lie judging by the pinching in his stomach, but no matter how much he pestered, Travis did not give them the honest answer. 

After nearly two days of unforgiving driving, they reached Washington. 

Only to discover the pet wasn’t there. 

(Surprise, surprise.)

Then on the way to Oregon, they lost their Prius to a monster and had to hitchhike to the mansion which! Also! Did not! have the bird. 

So now they’re off to California on this pointless trip. (South California to be exact. Why couldn’t it have been North California?)

They hitchhike most of the way there, banking on people’s generosity. Sometimes the hitchridee is super nice. Sometimes they’re super creepy. Sometimes they are cyclops but they’re dealt rather quickly. Sometimes they’re not dealt so quickly. Sometimes things go very, very wrong. Sometimes monsters notice that he’s not really fighting savvy. Sometimes that really screwed him up. 

Sometimes it means he needs to be protected. 

Which is how Travis got hit in the chest with a mallet. 

Guilt gnaws on his heart. It’s always been this way. Lee and Michael used to watch out for him. And after their passing, the responsibility seem to pass to Travis and Connor. It’s annoying to be honest and he’s going to prove himself one of these days that he’s capable.

But back to the mission. He is pretty sure the mission is a dud. 

Nico twirls his dagger in his hand. “We’re almost there. One more hour and we should be in the general vicinity.”  

“Let me hotwire a car,” Travis says with a wide smirk. “It’ll be safer, faster, funner.”

“And who’s going to return the car once we’re done, huh?” Will says exasperated. 

“We just tell a friendly policeman we found the missing car and leave it there,” 

“Travis, that’s a horrible—“

“It’s a great idea. Let’s do it,” Nico interrupts. 

“Nico, what—“

But Nico isn’t having any of it, standing and already heading towards a silver Toyata. He says over his shoulder, “It’s better than risking your life to stay virtuous.”

Travis stands, flashes a triumphant grin, before running after Nico. 

Flash forward, they found a car. The drove it to Los Angeles and after 5 close car crashes because Los Angelean drivers are fucking mean (not that New York drivers are any better…), they ditched the car to walk the rest of the way to the biggest mansion of the three units. 

To where yet again Travis got hurt. This time by a sledgehammer. 

3.5 ounces of nectar left. 

You tell him this time, he mouths to Nico when Travis asks what happened. 

He gives a mini spiel about caution that he knows Travis won’t heed. 

Travis stands and stretches and fuck. Will avert his eyes. Travis is all lean muscles and Will unfortunately have a thing for leanness. He wonders if Travis knows how handsome he is. Maybe he does and does this to torment him. 

Nico heads inside the mansion and Will follows after him with Travis closing the behind. 

Travis is a talker. 

He talks during meetings. He talks during dinner. He talks even during movies much to everyone’s annoyance. But it’s just one of the many endearing traits Travis have. 

So when he isn’t talking then it means three things. Either one, he’s asleep. Two, danger is present. Or three, he’s thinking about stealing.

Will looks over his shoulder to see Travis touring the mansion with this twinkle in his eye. 

He’s definitely thinking about stealing all these antiques.

Normally, he would let it go. All these antiques are humongous. There’s no way for Travis to pocket these. But Will is an opportunist and Will sees a big opportunity right before him. So he banters some, jest a little, before going for the big guns.

"I'm going to hold your hand to make sure you don't steal."

And before Will could convinces him not to do it, he takes Travis’s hands into his and waits. 

No reaction. No tugging of his hand back. No scowling. No grimacing. No awkward chuckle. No blunt, “what are you doing?” 

And Will presses his luck further by lacing their fingers together.

Again no reaction.

Except for Travis quipping he’s ambidextrous which of course he would be. Hermes children always have the handy gifts. 

Travis didn’t say anything about their hands so Will won’t either, instead continuing their conversation before Nico evidently had enough and scolds them to focus

Will untangles his hand from Travis and is careful to watch for any reactions. Sagging shoulders, wringing hands, itching the back of the head, anything to show relief. 

There’s none of that and Will wants to scream into oblivion. He doesn’t reciprocate. He doesn’t pull away. Is he unsure or is he just oblivious?

He’s oblivious, imaginary Connor says in his mind. Just ask him out. You gotta be forward, Will. 

“Travis, watch out!” Nico yells, pulling Travis back by the back of his shirt and saving him from falling into a pit. “You need to keep an eye out.”

“Woah, thanks Nico. This is the sixth time you save my life! I owe you.”

Nico rolls his eyes. “You can repay me by actually paying attention to your surroundings.” 

Affronted, Travis argues, “I do pay attention! I’m just not very good at picking up traps.” 

“Try harder.”

“I am trying my very best.”

The booby traps continue and Travis continues to be nearly killed by them. It wouldn’t be concerning if not for the frequency. Sure, Travis can be a bit careless but not this careless. Never this careless. And after Travis blatantly trigger the door trap even after they said it’s booby trapped, he has to say something (2.5 ounces of nectar left…) and it lead to one of the most unbelievable admission ever.

Travis. Has. A. Crush.

On a real, living person. 

An actual person.

An existent… tangible… person. 

He has a chance.

He has a chance! 

Travis is capable of romantic feelings! 

But as quick as the exhilaration comes, it left.

Travis has a crush.

But no sane person admits they have a crush to the object of said crush.

So Travis has a crush. But it isn’t him. He schools his features to show nothing but happiness for his friend. That is until another realization comes to him. Travis has a crush. But Travis is also remarkably gifted by his father. Enhanced agility… enhanced lie detection… enhanced lockpicking… plus his skill to hotwire any car, to pickpocket in any situation, to practically talk his way out of any punishment… 

They’re quite useful skills to have in life and Will can name dozens of campers who’ll want that at their disposal. 

So he asks, “What's his name? Which cabin? Do I know him? Who is he? How nice is he?"

Travis is taken aback by the questions and Will bites his lips. Cool it, Will. Cool it.

"It doesn't even matter if I tell you,” Travis says hesitantly, “He probably won't reciprocate my feelings."

Will hates himself for burst of relief that floods him. Unreciprocated want is painful. He should know with Travis sitting right there. He forces his face to be sympathetic, but it’s so hard. And when Travis admits his crush has a crush on someone else, the whole idea tickles his innards. He has a crush. Travis has a crush. His crush’s crush have a crush. Everybody has a crush and nobody is getting what they want.

That is, until Travis admits he’d ‘assumed’ his crush has a crush. 

And the hope that blossoms in his chest is grinded to nothing with a steel boot. 

Travis is not the best when it comes to recognizing romantic intentions. Connor said so. Annabeth said so. Even Chiron said so. Everybody that knew Travis since childhood said so. 

And Will had pompously toss aside their statements because come on, how dense can a person be?

He literally asked Travis to be his patient to practice first aid on when he has siblings right there to ask instead. He asked him to help with his medical abbreviations memorization when Athena’s children can probably help him better with that. He even asked for archery lessons even though everybody knows he already took thousands of lessons with Chiron and never got better. 

No reaction. No questions. Just “Wow, you’re incredible Will” or “You’re so studious, Will” or “You’re getting better!” which is a bold faced lie because he definitely did not get better even when he put all his effort into shooting right. 

Travis accepted his every request without a complaint.

And then when Kayla and Austin intervened without his consent and Travis’s continued dismissal of all flirting, it was the confirmation that Will took as a sign for Travis being uninterested in any romantic relationships. 

Gods, he’s such an idiot.

Travis is just an oblivious person.

Travis is an oblivious person. And fuck, Connor’s probably right about everything else too huh? Travis is bad at seeing love. Travis is bad knowing when people are in love. Travis is bad at seeing romance at all, according to Connor. 

Which means there’s a humongous chance Travis’s crush may have a crush on him. 

And Will couldn’t help the crushing wave of despair washing over him. 

Still. 

There’s a chance Travis might have a happy ending so Will sucks it up, straighten his back, and tells Travis to ask his crush out. 

And that’s exactly what happens a few minutes later. 

Except Travis himself didn’t confess but a magical talking bird. 

“Travis! Travis, wait! Don’t run out— and he’s gone.”

Nico comes back from the door exasperated. Will can hear Travis’s sneakers echoing through the mansion until his remarkable agility carry him too far to be heard. 

I love Will. 

“Damn it. This is bad.”

He likes me. 

“Come on, Will, we need to follow after him.”

He likes... me.

“Will?”

He … likes … me?

“Will, come on! We need to get him back.” 

And Nico shakes him by the shoulder. Will snaps back to attention to find Nico in front of him, staring with concern.

“Will, we need to go after him.” 

Right… right… Travis just ran out of here full speed. Hopefully, Travis is smart enough to run where they already set off all the traps but if he didn’t… 

Will doesn’t even want to think about that. 

And he doesn’t because Travis likes him. 

Unless he meant that in a platonic way. He loves Connor like a brother should… He admires Antman as the best superhero… And as far as he knows… cheeseburgers and poptarts aren’t romantic interests of his.

Oh god.

What if this just confirmed it? What if Travis just sees him as a friend? Had he just been friendzoned?

“WILL!” And this time Nico did more than shake him by the shoulder, jabbing him in the stomach lightly.

Will winces. “Ow, that hurts.”

“Stop lying,” Nico says, scowling. “We need to go after him.”

Then Nico runs out of the room and Will follows him. Will listen for the telltale sign of shoes, of Travis’s blabbering, of Ms. Fluffy life-changing chirps, but he hears none of that. And when they retrace their steps back to the entrance, Travis is nowhere to be seen which means he’s somewhere in this booby trapped mansion. 

Oh no. Oh no.

“Let’s split up,” Nico says, hands digging inside his pockets. “I’ll search the east wing. You search the west. You have nectar and drachma on you?” 

“Yeah.”

“Okay, we’ll IM each other if we find him.”

Will snags Nico by his sleeve before he could leave. He needs a second opinion, someone down to Earth and honest. He can’t search with this on his mind. “Nico, do you think Travis only sees me as a friend?”

He never seen Nico look so done. 

“Will, he ran out of here like Mrs O. Leary was chasing him. What does that tell you?”

The bird that changed his life for the better is back to change it some more! He comes across Ms. Fluffy in the west wing in a narrow corridor. She insistently tugs on the strands of his hair and he follows her to a large ballroom with a high ceiling. Ms. Fluffy perches on his shoulder and sort her feathers. 

"Travis?" he calls out hesitantly.

No response. 

"Travis? You here?"

Still no answer. 

Ms. Fluffy coos and Will scowls at her. “Ms. Fluffy, I don't have time for sightseeing. I need to find Travis. Gods probably know he got into a trap or something."

Ms Fluffy’s hackles rise in indignation and she flies to the center of the room with a pitfall. His stomach fell when he sees it’s triggered amongst all the untriggered traps.

He walks to the edge, peers down into the dark pit, and prays to his dad that the dark shape he sees isn’t Travis. 

"Travis? Is that you?"

To his dismay, a voice flits from the bottom. "Will… hey… how you been?"

“Travis hold on. I’m coming.”

Travis is down there. He sounds awful. It’s a 30 feet drop… broken bones are possible if he landed wrong. Shit. Will reach into his backpack to pull out some rope. He ties it a sofa, tests the strength once, before descending down to the pit

Travis is on his right side, elbows propping him up. The position he’s in seems weird and Will finds out why when his eyes zero in the metal spike protruding from his calf. 

The barbs are laced with poison of course. Of course it has to be. There’s no way the universe couldn’t let it be a simple fix. The poison seems to be taking effect already. Travis face is red and he’s panting, with the very barest of shivers running up and down his back.  

Will kneels by the wound and shines a flashlight on it. 

It’s bad. Really bad. Probably worth the rest of nectar in Travis’s godly food allowance. 

His fingers accidentally graze the thigh too roughly and he winces when Travis whimpers in pain.

This is going to hurt big time. 

None of this is better by Ms Fluffy perching on his shoulder and revealing what he loves. 

Steak. Studying. Those mean nothing. But blue? Brown? Antman? 

As long as Ms. fluffy don’t start sprouting “I love blue because it’s the color of Travis’s eyes” or “I love brown because Travis’s hair is brown” or god forbid, “I love Antman because I originally look the man up to see what kind of person Travis likes and ended up actually liking the character because of his striking resemblance to the object of my crush.” As long as Ms. Fluffy doesn’t say any of that, there won’t be a problem. 

(Be forward, Will. You gotta be forward) 

But of course the bird don’t listen. Of course the world likes kicking him in the gut. First with his poor assumption that Travis isn’t interested and now by ruining the confession he has planned. 

Because as soon as Will took back the bottle of nectar (emptied), as soon as Will manage to stop Travis’s blabbering about his new career as a street magician, as soon as Will just barely finish explaining his motives, as soon as he did all that the bird said it. 

The fucking bird said it. 

"I love Travis."

“GO GET, NICO!” Will roars, dropping Travis’s face to wave at the bird still perched on his head. 

Ms. Fluffy takes off immediately without backtalk. 

Good. 

He wouldn’t know what he would have done if Ms. Fluffy stayed to sprout some more secrets. 

Will looks back to Travis, face still infuriatingly devoid of emotion. 

Until the slightest furrow of eyebrows and oh god. Will steels himself for being friendzoned. But Travis only whisper, “What?”

Is that shock? Disgust? The false realization that they mutually see each as ‘friends’ and only friends? 

“Ha… haha… did I hear that right? Did Ms. Fluffy said you … you like me?”

No, not shock. Not disgust. Just confusion. Will takes a deep breath and with Connor talking in his mind (“be forward. Just be forward and stop assuming”), he holds Travis’s hand with both of his and squeezes once. “Yeah. I like you. Like, like-like you. Like, ‘I-want-to-go-out-with-you’ like you.” 

Red creeps along his cheeks and climbs to his ears and Will thinks that’s a great sign. But then he takes a closer look and crap. 

He can see it. In the eyes. The skin. The beginning of nectar overdose.

Glazed focus, feverish skin, a soon to come uncontrollable trembling, and a warmth that’ll feel like it’s burning him away from the inside. 

Shit. 

Will was sure of Travis’s maximum intake. Did he consume some ambrosia or nectar before this? Damn it. He should have asked first. He should have checked before saying to drink it all. Shit. He messed up like he always does. They need to find a bathtub right away and fill it with lukewarm water. Ah, he’ll IM Nico to do that for him.

Will drops his hands but Travis snuck his back in and blurts, “Really? You’re not pulling my leg? You’re not lying to me? You’re not feeling sorry for me? You’re not saying that to make me feel better? You’re not kidding? You’re not—” Travis swallows, and Will can see anxiety in those blue eyes. “You’re not… disgusted?”

Will wrinkles his nose at the way Travis said it. “Disgusted? Why would I be disgusted?”

There isn’t even a second pause. “Because I’m a thief. I like to steal. I like to break into stores. I’m dishonest. I lie without a reason to. I’m not a good person. You deserve so much better than someone like me.” 

Will didn’t hesitate in saying, “You’re wrong.” 

“But it’s true,” Travis pouts, “You’re literally like Jesus and I’m just a lowly—”

“You’re wrong,” Will says again, fist clenching. “You’re wrong and I’m going to need you to stop putting yourself down like this because it’s not like you.”

Travis shakes his head. “I—”

And because Will is bossy. He’s bullminded. He’s a touchy-touchy kind of person, he cups Travis’s face in his hands (noting worriedly how warm it feels), tilts it up and squeeze them lightly. “I. Like. You. You’re funny. You’re sweet. You’re talented. Sure, you have bad qualities. Everybody has them. I have them too. I can be incredibly insensitive. I don’t understand personal bubbles. But people change. People can become better.” 

Travis’s head lowers and his shoulders shake, and oh boy, Will braces himself for crying but no, when Will places his hand on the back the skin feels burning hot even through the shirt. 

Oh, that’s right. The nectar overdose. 

“We will continue this conversation when you’re not in pain. Can you stand?”

Travis only slinks forward and Will catches him across the chest.

Ok. Alright. Stay calm, Will. You trained for this. Don’t panic. 

First things first, lower the fever. Will chants a hymn to cool the burning. It won’t be enough to cool it entirely, but it’s enough till Will can find the nearest bathtub. He slides Travis onto his back, wincing at the unbearable heat bearing down on him. He stands and groans at the weight before collapsing back down to the ground. He can’t carry Travis by himself. 

Wiping out his water bottle, he showers the air with water and toss his drachma into the rainbow. 

“Let me talk to Nico di Angelo in this building, please, Iris.” 

And as he waits for the connection to go through, he prays to his dad for everything to turn out okay.

Don’t combust into flames, Travis. Connor will kill me.

[summerbummin]

PJO Equestrian Au

-Just imagine it

-They all go to a barn called SPQR Equestrian Center or maybe something like Neptune Stables

-Chiron is the head coach

-Silena is the assistant coach who is fresh out of college and always spoils the horses rotten with mints and sugar cubes from her dad's candy shop

-Her boyfriend Charles Beckonford works as a Farrier (makes horse shoe's and puts them on horses' hooves) and swings by the barn a lot, even if he isn't needed

-Then he bought a horse named Festus as an excuse to see Silena more (and because he loves horses)

-His apprentice/assistant Leo, tags along and Beckonford lets him ride his horse

-To be honest Leo rides that horse more often then Beckonford does and gives Festus loads of baby carrots so now he's basically Leo's horse

-Festus is toats in love with Silena too but I mean who isn't?

-Percy has the record for most falls off a horse, but it's not Blackjack's fault, it's because Percy does stupid shit

-"Hey Annabeth! Look! No hands- AHHH!"

-Blackjack will come over to his fallen rider and give his face a big lick and Annabeth will roll her eyes, trying to hide her smile

-Blackjack is also known as donut because once there was a box of shipley's donuts on a tack chest and Blackjack grabbed it and tried to eat the donuts, box and all

-Cue 4 riders simultaneously freaking out and trying to get the box out of Blackjack's mouth because that can't be healthy for a horse's stomach

-Percy is laughing and crying as he throws away the box of crushed and horse slobber coated donuts

-Tyson pats his shoulder, it was probably meant as a comforting gesture but Tyson is so big he nearly makes Percy eat dirt

-Tyson doesn't compete in shows like Percy because he gets way too nervous, but he loves riding his Clydesdale, Rainbow

-Grover is a stable hand and basically the guy you ask if you need help

-Percy wouldn't have survived his first month at the barn without Grover's help because "What the hell is a martingale? Do you think this is too loose? Which way do you wrap polos again?"

-(Percy was to embarrassed to ask Miss Perfect Annabeth for help)

-Annabeth has a horse named Yankee as a play on "Yankee Doodle came to town riding on a pony" (also her Yankees invisibility cap cause I'm so clever)

-Annabeth is the most experienced rider at the barn

-She's been riding since she was 7

-Yankee was an anonymous gift she got on her 12th birthday and Annabeth believes it was from her mother who mysteriously disappeared after she was a year old

-She's never told anyone this belief but her best friend Thalia who's house she practically lives at given her not so good relationship with her stepmother

-People often mistake her for Jason's sister and she loves it telling Thalia she'll trade her half brothers for Jason

-Thalia then hooks her arm around Jason and pinches his cheek saying "I wouldn't trade this guy for the world" and Jason is blushing like Thalia stahp

-Jason is a pretty skilled rider himself, competing in shows and earning ribbons with his horse Tempest who has an awful attitude around everyone, but loves his girlfriend piper who comes to hang out and watch him

-Jason glasses keep falling off when he goes over jumps, so he ends up having to tape them onto his ears

-Piper finds this very amusing

-Piper is at the barn just as much as the others and they forget that she doesn't even go there

-what Piper doesn't say is that she likes being there because it's better than her empty mansion

-Her dad once asked her if she wanted to start horseback riding but Piper has what she calls a cautious perspective of horses and prefers to just go on trail rides

-she steals... I mean "borrows" Tempest

-Hazel is the barn's best barrel racer and she adores her horse Arion who the others swear she trained to be an attack dog or something because if anyone tries to touch him but Hazel he freaks out and starts bucking and kicking and foaming at the mouth

-But then Hazel comes up and suddenly Happy Ears! He'll sweetly nuzzle her pocket, searching for treats and Hazel will hold up a horse cookie saying "give me a kiss first"

-and the others think he's gonna bite her but he just lips at her cheek then she gives him the cookie and a neck rub while he munches on his treat, cooing about what a good boy he is and the others are shook

-Nico comes to the barn to support his sister and absolutely does not look at Percy in those tight riding pants

-then one day a vet trainee comes by because a horse got sick and Nico is down like oh man he's got it bad

-the cute blonde is telling Chiron about the horses boo-boo's and scrunches up his face when he thinks hard about what they should do so Porkpie can get better

-Hazel notices Nico's not so secret crush and asks Will to take a look at her horse and oh by the way this is my brother Nico

-Nico ain't sure whether he wants to hug or strangle Hazel but he feels something because his stomach seems to have gone into his throat and gah!

-Frank is new to the barn and still kinda finding his way around

-He's given the tour by Percy then he sees Hazel riding Arion and looking fan-freaking-tastic

-And Frank is like whO iS thAT

-He has a total crush on her but Hazel is oblivious

-Percy ships it

-Frank has a huge draft horse he calls Gray

-Gray used to be his mom's army calvary horse and Frank got into riding as a way to be closer to his dead mother

-But Frank is terrified of that horse because he's ginormous and is prone to "moods"

-Reyna is the best rider in the barn and she knows it. Her and Scipio are always in perfect sync and look amazing

-Reyna really scored with Scipio because he's a total sweetheart and every one else is in love with him

-He was nicknamed skippy by Jason and it stuck

-No one calls him Scipio

-it's Skippy

-Reyna always shows up to practice early and goes up to the barn every day to check on skippy even if she doesn't have a lesson

-She's freaking dedicated okay

-to be honest the barn is basically the teens second home

A/N: I ride horses so I basically spit up a million head canons Sorry! Feel free to ask me about this au because I've fallen in love with it already. This is au is all that's gonna be on my board for the next month. You have been warned.

[aerobicide]

Dandelions

Solangelo Week 2k18: Aged Up/Ten Years Later

Description: It happened ten years ago and Will’s Heart was still aching

A/N: I’m sorry (not really)

Read it on Ao3!

Will walked into The Flower Patch, it was a cute store right across the street from his apartment. The yellow paint and overall cheer of the place was unfitting seeing why he came, it was a shame he wouldn’t enjoy this trip.

He walked to the counter, “How much would a bouquet of Dandelions be?”

Of course he chose dandelions, they were always Nico’s favourite.

The womam at the counter smiled, Will noted that it looked genuine, “Is this for a special someone perhaps?”

He guessed that you could say that. He nodded, not trusting his voice to hide what they were really for. She grinned and walked into the back of the store. They were for a special occasion, 10 years ago on this day he and Nico had had their first kiss. They sat in the shade underneath Thalia’s tree, Will wondered why Nico had looked so nervous that day. He was too oblivious to guess why. Nico turned to him, a red flush spreading across his face, He was about to ask if he was okay when he kissed him.

The kiss was sloppy and awkward, it was obvious that they had been eachother’s first kisses, though it didn’t matter in that moment. Will didn’t even think, all he could think of was the sunlight beaming down on them and Nico’s soft lips on his. He pulled away.

Nico’s faced paled (if that was even possible), “I-I, I’m so, so sorry I don’t know what that was I wasn’t thinking I—“ He rose to leave.

He put his hand on Nico’s arm, “Nico it’s fine I didnt mind, I— actually liked it.” It was Will’s turn to blush.

Nico looked taken aback, “You really mean that?”

“Yeah.”

A shy smile spread across his face.

They had gotten together a week later, the camp went wild, Percy would not stop making jokes. They had a perfect month together until the accident. Will shuddered, he refused to think of that, he knew if he did he would end up crying in the flower shop and he refused to do that. He blinked back the tears threatening to spill over.

‘I’m fine’, he told himself. Though it was a lie, because he would never be fine.

The cashier lady startled him from his thoughts, “Your order is ready.” She said with a smile. What was it with her and smiles? Could she sense his pain, was it some sick mockery?

“That will be $39.99.”

He placed the money on the counter, he picked up his bouquet and made his way out the store.

The woman called out from behind the counter, “Have a nice day!”

He nodded and gestured in her direction signaling, ‘You too!’ He couldn’t bring himself to say the words.

He made one last stop on the way, ChocoHolics. The name was cheesy but Nico loved the chocolate. He picked up the Rasberry ones, they were Nico’s favourite. And there he walked along the street to the nearby graveyard in New Rome. He crouched by the tombstone marked, ‘Nico Di Angelo, born January 28th, 2004, died September, 13th 2018. Then Will let himself remember.

He let himself remember that ten years ago he had his first kiss with Nico Di Angelo.

That he had his first relationship with Nico Di Angelo.

That Nico Di Angelo died ten years ago on that stupid quest.

And even though it was ten years ago, Will’s Heart still ached.

[m-an-u]

The six (part 2)

Guys, a three- shot. Second part of it. Would love it if you left a review.

Nico was actually enjoying something for once when it happened. He had been walking down New Rome with Will, whom he had managed to convince to visit Camp Jupiter. Only problem: Nico hadn't known that there would be a war, another one, at Camp Jupiter. So, completely oblivious he had been discussing the very intriguing topic of different ways one can scale the lava wall at Camp Half-Blood without falling to one's death(in context). Will, who he could now proudly call his boyfriend, had argued that using only the arms would strain them but then while descending the legs could take maximum weight. Nico had said that he could simply climb without a strategy and hope Will would catch him.

It took him by surprise. All of a sudden there was this sinking, devastating, soul-crushing feeling in his gut. The feeling that he usually associated with death. Not just any death, but the death of someone he knew. Sometimes he felt like punching the life force out of Hades. He may be a demigod but his powers weren't gifts, they were curses. There was nothing even remotely comforting about knowing when someone he cares about dies. He didn't even want to think about how he could feel their essence being assessed in front of the three judges. This spirit was currently being let into Elysium. No matter how much of a paradise Elysium may be it can't be compared to being alive. He refused to know who the spirit was and instead counted on his fingers. Not Hazel, Nico had just seen her and Frank discussing battle strategies. Plus, he knew what Hazel's spirit would feel like, and this one was not exactly young, wise and guilt-ridden. There was one trait both spirits seemed to share, though - respect. He moved on to the next person. Frank- unlikely. Percy- nope. Annabeth, Piper, Jason and Leo. Immediately he knew he was right. Nico couldn't deny it. Jason.

Will was almost crouching in front of him when Nico came back to reality.

"Hey, you okay? Gaia to Nico, okay bad joke. N I C O!" He saw Will wave his hands around and lightly tap his cheeks. The son of Hades slowly looked up. Jason. He tried to convey that one-word message to Will. It didn't work.

"What's wrong, man?" Will still didn't seem to understand. Nico wanted to hold him by the neck and shake him until he got it. Then probably cry. Jason had been the first person he'd ever told and he had done the weirdest thing. Jason hadn't seemed to care if Nico was gay. He hadn't seemed to change his perspective about Nico based on that. No. Jason had done the unexpected. Where once, had he still been alive in the 40's, Nico would have been condemned by society, Jason had accepted him. He didn't have to but Nico was glad he had. Jason, the son of lightning, had accepted him for who he was. And after coming back to camp, after Nico had told everyone, Jason had promised to kick out anyone who didn't take in Nico as one of their own. No one had argued.

So Nico couldn't stop the tears. He wasn't one for crying but he couldn't help it now. Will stopped asking him what was wrong and sensed the change in atmosphere. Before he knew it Will had his arms wrapped around him while whispering reassurances. Nico just stood there. Another friend, another death, another soul. That was what Jason would be to his father. But to him, the first person he ever confided into, a person he looked up to, the way Jason could balance being respectful and maintaining efficiency while having fun. He may have only been a year or so older than Nico himself but Jason acted well beyond his years while Nico still seemed to be stuck in his stupid teenage emo stage. No, Nico was not just sad. Or angry. He was furious. He knew he couldn't get Jason a second chance up here, though. Hades had told him that he won't be accepting any return offers or exchanges. So he did the only thing he could. He pushed away Will and stormed off till he found a boulder of sorts to sit on. He wasn't sure if anyone else knew but Nico didn't have the heart to break the news. He could sense Will trying to follow him and Nico walked even faster. Taking a seat, he buried his face in his hands and tried to comprehend everything.

That was when he noticed someone coming his way. Thinking it was his boyfriend he called. "Go away, Will. I promise I'll tell you what happened later, just.. not now."

"Nico? You alright?" It wasn't Will but a voice he knew almost as well. Nico let his arms fall into his hands and looked up. Percy was staring at him and gulped, closed his eyes, opened them after a while and generally looked like someone had taken his heart through a meat grinder. Nico wiped away the last of the tears and stared back. It got awkward after a few seconds so he looked down again. Percy started forward and sat alongside Nico their shoulders almost touching. Nico shifted away a little being uncomfortable with all that attention and the fact that the guy he used to have a crush on wanted to talk to him.

"So you heard, huh?" Nico said, his voice full of unshed tears.

"Yeah, I.. thought that I'd inform you but I guess that was stupid. You'd obviously know about it first." Percy sounded a little disappointed though Nico had no idea why. They sat like that for a while each staring at the ground in front of them. A few minutes passed.

"You know, you can leave now. I'll be fine,"

"You sure? I mean, of course you are but still are you,"

"Shut up before you make a fool of yourself."

"Right. You sure you are gonna be fine though?"

"Yes, now leave unless you want Steve the skeleton to be sent after you."

"Gods, no! I'll, I'll leave. Just, if there's anything, anything at all.."

"Nope, nothing. Go, Percy"

"Of course. See you around." Percy finally left though he seemed a bit unsure. Nico was glad that was over to be honest. If he had let Percy go on there would have been a speech on how to cope with death. Nico didn't have time for TED Talks anyway. He has had enough of death. Once Percy left, he stared into oblivion hoping someday Jason would get to enter the Isles of the Blest. Nico wasn't religious but he swore to leave something at Hades' shrine if it meant three-time paradise for his former friend. Jason may not be alive in spirit but he was going to live on in each of their memories. Cheesy, but true.

Frank was cleaning the stables with Hazel. Yes, you heard that right. Even Praetors have jobs no matter how trivial. He had swept the floor and was now getting out the washcloth when Percy came walking into the stables. His shoulders were drooping and his eyes downcast. Frank could only wonder what bad news there was going to be this time. No one he knew had been seriously happy in the past few days since the attacks had started. They had won but lost a lot of lives, good ones along the way. In Frank's mind, that wasn't a victory.

"Hazel, Frank, can I come in?" Percy's words were normal but his tone made him look like he had been crying.

"Yes, of course." Hazel gestured for him to come in.

"Nice job with the stables," Percy commented.

"Thanks, though I don't think that's why you came here."

"No, no that's not it." Percy started rubbing his neck looking down sheepishly but Frank didn't think Percy had any reason to feel ashamed.

"Well, what happened?" Frank asked, motioning for him to sit down. Hazel joined Frank and Percy on the floor and both of them bored their eyes onto Percy's face. He still didn't look up.

"I, I don't know how to, well, this is.." Hazel put a hand on Percy's arm and squeezed. Percy, if possible, seemed to deflate even more.

"Guys, Jason's.. he's.. dead," Frank couldn't believe he had just heard those very words exit his friend's mouth. So he asked what was on his mind.

"What?"

"Jason's gone, Frank. He's dead."

"Are you sure?"

"Frank, Nico confirmed it. He's actually, really gone."

"Oh,"

"Yeah,"

Frank didn't know how he was supposed to feel. He hadn't known Jason that well but he had been able to call him his friend. More than a friend though, to Frank Jason had always seemed like more of an ally. A person he looked up to, more or less. After all they had been on the Argo || for about three weeks. In those three weeks Frank had been given a field promotion to praetor by none other than Jason Grace himself. He turned to look at Hazel who was still staring at Percy in shock. Denial. Their leader, their friend had just died and Frank didn't know what to do about that. So he remained silent for he couldn't think of nothing to say. But Hazel could.

"Well, what now?" Hazel's voice sounded tiny and scared but determined. Frank wished he could think. Found out he couldn't. Except for the tiny detail that involved them once being the SEVEN.

[xthis-rebelle]

Don’t Let Go.

So I entered the PJO Secret Santa 2017 ( @pjosecretsanta2k17) and here’s my piece for my giftee; @basic-volk ((if you have an ao3, please give me your username so that i can gift it to you there, thanks))

Hope you enjoy it! Special thanks to @rosyredlipstick for beta’ing this for me.

title; don’t let go.

pairing(s); solangelo (Nico di Angelo//Will Solace), jasiper (Jason Grace//Piper McClean); percabeth (Percy Jackson//Annabeth Chase); reynabeth (Reyna Arellano//Annabeth Chase).

rating; general//teen.

notes; you didn’t ask for anything specific and this was gonna be a series, but I didn’t have the time to write it, so here’s 4.8 k words of solangelo angst and fluff instead :) also, nico calls will ‘amore’ (love) and things are implied, but not shown. This also set in a mortal a/u. Read it on the AO3.

Will Solace knows when his boyfriend is keeping a secret. For all the years they’d been together, (eight years, they’d gotten together when they were seventeen, exactly two months after Nico and him went on their first date: an annual Christmas fair that Nico knew Will badly wanted to go to) Nico has kept a secret exactly three times.

The first time, when he was nineteen, he told Will he was fine. In fact, he wasn’t. It had been his first Christmas since his mother and sister died. They were out shopping, and a drunk driver lost control of his vehicle, ran a red light and slammed into the car they were using, and they both, along with the di Angelo’s driver, Jules Albert, didn’t make it. Nico didn’t tell Will that it was eating him up inside. That he felt guilty, because he constantly questioned himself: how could he enjoy himself with his boyfriend and his mother and Bianca weren’t there anymore?

Another time, when he was twenty-one, he kept the fact that their close friends, Percy (who Nico liked at one point) and Annabeth had broken up and Annabeth was now together with Reyna, someone who Nico considered a second sister.

And finally, when he was twenty-three, he hid from Will the fact that he’d quit his job after graduating from college and was going to start to work at the DA’s office. The DA’s office had approved his application as soon as they saw he’d graduated at the top of his law class. Will, a medical prodigy, was going to start residency soon. Nico felt as if that would take a toll on them both and their already tight finances and so he wanted to be able to pick up whenever they fell short. They barely had any funds left for themselves after they paid rent, bills and bought monthly necessities, such as groceries. The drastic increase in salary for Nico would be able to comfortably cover it all, plus there would be enough left over for them to actually start saving properly, instead of depositing some money at random times only to have to withdraw it for some financial emergency, like the time when their rent had raised unexpectedly and they had to dip into the savings pool.

So Will knows when Nico is keeping a secret. He sees the signs. Nico is even more quiet than usual and he avoids looking Will in the eyes. In the aforementioned instances, Nico eventually caved and told Will everything. After talking through them, after letting Nico know that he could trust Will and he shouldn’t hide anything because effective communication was the key to a healthy relationship, all was good again.

But this time, Nico isn’t only keeping a secret, he’s lying. Even though Will gets a bit ticked off when Nico has his secrets, he respects Nico’s privacy, so he doesn’t push it, but something rubs him the wrong way when he knows Nico is lying and keeping secrets.

It’s almost seven o'clock when Will sits on the couch, thinking about all these things, waiting for Nico to come home. He has the night off for the first time this week. His week so far has been really hectic; working in the E.R. is no child’s play; all doctors were always busier during Christmas time, and honestly? He just wants to relax with his boyfriend.

His exhausting fifteen hour shift yesterday also adds to his exhaustion, doing nothing but giving him baggy eyes, a lethargic, sluggish feeling and dull, but normally brilliant blue eyes.

Outside is snowing and the couch is so warm and he has his favourite blanket wrapped around him. The news broadcast plays softly in front of him and the fire in the fireplace blazes bright.

He doesn’t know when he falls asleep.

When he wakes up, he groans and stretches his hand, grabbing his phone from the night stand next to his bed. Blurred numbers meet his eyes for a few seconds as he turns it on, but he gasps when his vision clears. It’s almost nine in the morning. Then, he realizes that he’s in his bed. The other side smells of Nico and the sheets are wrinkled. Nico was there, and it seems as though he’s already left for work.

Will starts to panic when work crosses his mind, and quickly checks the hospital roster he keeps on his wall. He doesn’t have a shift today, thank God, but he does have a twelve hour tomorrow morning at eight.  

He goes to the kitchen, sleepily pushing his blonde hair away from his forehead and makes a cup of coffee, black, just the way he likes it. After, he pours some Frosted Flakes into a bowl. He sits and has breakfast alone on a small dining table meant for two, his heart sinking in further into his chest.

He misses Nico so damn much.

They knew it was going to be hard when Will started residency and when Nico started working. They promised each other to face their obstacles together and to talk to each other if it was becoming too much for them to handle. But now, they were doing the exact opposite, and it feels like Nico is slowly drifting away. The distance and lack of communication between him and his boyfriend is slowly taking its toll on him. He can’t help the wobbling in his lower lip. One of the things he was always afraid of was watching their relationship slowly crumble, and Will feels like that’s exactly what he’s doing. He doesn’t have the emotional energy to deal with this so he goes back to bed after, and cries softly into his pillow.

His phone vibrates and there’s a tiny hope that it’s Nico.

Instead, it’s his best friend and fellow resident, Jason Grace.

Hey Will, I’ll drop by in half an hour with Piper to pick up the stuff for the annual hospital children’s Christmas party.

Will drags himself out of bed again, does his usual morning routine of brushing his teeth again after breakfast, showering, then changing into his at-home favourites: a plain, round-neck t-shirt and black sweats (it was too cold for his usual cargo shorts), and then brushing back his unruly hair, only for it to fall over his forehead again.

Finally, he puts on his happy face, smiling at himself in the mirror. The smile looks believable, so he leaves his bedroom.

Will knows outside is still cold and snowing, so he starts to prepare some hot chocolate for Jason and Piper to warm them up when they get to his apartment.

Then, he sits on the couch, picks up the novel he’d begun to read a week ago from the small table next to him, opens it to the bookmarked page and lets himself be taken into a different world for a while.

True to his word, Jason arrives within half an hour after the text within half an hour of the text being sent, Piper at his side.

“Hey Jase,” he greets them both with a hug, “Pipes.”

Will ushers them inside, since Piper is shivering in Jason’s arms.

“Do you guys want some hot chocolate? I just made it, so it’ll warm you up,” Will offered.

Piper gratefully accepts the offer. Will goes into the kitchen while they hang their coats and settle in and he comes back with two tall, steaming mugs of hot chocolate, which he places on the center table for them.

“How are Annabeth and Reyna?” Will asks.

Piper is close with the couple. They hang out every other week, even though Annabeth and Reyna married two years ago. Will never found out the whole story, but from what Nico told him, the whole thing between Percy, Annabeth and Reyna was really, really messy and they didn’t want anybody involved, so it was kept secret. Nico and Piper were the only ones who knew the actual story because they were the closest to the three.

Although Will should have been mad at Nico for keeping the secret (he was, for a few days, until he found out Piper hadn’t told Jason anything either), he let it go because he knew when not to pry. And that was a no-go zone. Whatever happened was so bad, Percy and Annabeth don’t even talk anymore.

“They’re fine. They’re actually starting to consider adoption,” Piper says to Will, a large smile gracing her lips as her eyes sparkle, excitedly.

“Wow, that’s a pretty big step,” Will’s eyes widen.

“It is,” Piper coos, sipping her chocolate, “They think they’re ready to start a family. I might be an aunt this time next year!”

“That’s really good, I’m happy for them,” Will says, with a small smile, “They’ll be really great parents.”

“And what about you? And Nico?” Jason asks innocently, unaware of the couple’s inner turmoil, or rather, Nico’s obliviousness to Will’s inner turmoil and insecurity.

Will sighs, his smile leaving his lips, “We’re fine.”

Jason narrows his eyes in suspicion. Will isn’t acting like his normally bright, bubbly self. He gets the feeling that Will isn’t telling him something, but he feels as though it isn’t his place to point out his observations. They make more small talk while Piper and Jason are finishing their hot chocolate, and the couple doesn’t stay too long after.

Will’s left all alone again when they leave.

He receives a text from another co-worker, Kayla, shortly after. The words makes his heart drop.

Hey Will, don’t mean to alarm you, but I wanted to let you know that I saw Nico walking past the hospital with a dark-haired, surfer-type of looking dude.

Will’s breath catches in his throat.

Dark hair, huh?

Percy.

Although he tries not to think about it, there’s a tiny voice in the back of his head that keeps nagging at him, keeps asking the one question that he’s trying to avoid.

Was Nico cheating on him? Was Nico finally bored of him, like he’d worried?

No. He wouldn’t, Will thinks firmly, silencing the voice in his head, Nico wouldn’t lie to Will without a good reason for doing so. And he definitely wouldn’t cheat. He’s a good person.

Against his better judgement, Will lets it go, picking up his novel again.

He doesn’t know Throne of Glass could be so interesting. Or distracting.

It’s about six o'clock when Nico gets home. Will is in the kitchen, preparing dinner.

“Will?” Will hears his voice call as the apartment door opens.

“In the kitchen!” Will replies.

Will sees Nico walking into the kitchen. He hugs Will from behind, pressing his lips to Will’s cheek as Will cuts carrots on the island. He’s making stir-fried vegetables and, not to toot his own horn, it smells heavenly.

“Percy stopped by, wanna come say hi before he goes home?” Nico asks, burying his face in the curve between Will’s neck and shoulder, arm still around his waist.

Will shoves away the unpleasant, green eyed monster that threatens to unleash itself when Nico lets him go. He turns off the stove and turns in the direction of the living room to tell Percy hi. What kind of person would he be if there’s a guest in his home and he doesn’t say hello?

Percy leaves after saying goodbye to them both and Will goes back into the kitchen to resume making dinner.

Nico follows Will into the kitchen, noticing his cold and detached attitude. It’s not the type of attitude he usually has, and they both know this.

“You’re mad at me, aren’t you?” he asks Will, frowning, “What did I do?”

“What?” Will’s eyebrows knit together, “Look, can you please let me enjoy my day off and make dinner? I don’t have the mental capability to get into this right now.”

“Will,” Will can see the hurt in Nico’s eyes as he says this, “You’ve been acting strange all week. Just talk to me, please.”

“Okay, fine!” Will finally raises his voice a tiny bit, not full-on shouting, but just enough to allow some of the frustration he’s been bottling up free, “You wanna talk, Nico? Let’s talk!”

Will’s phone rings, startling both him and Nico, and they jump in shock. Will looks at the caller I.D.

It’s the hospital. He answers the call.

“Will Solace,” he says.

“Oh thank God,” Will recognizes the voice of his supervisor, Dr. Chiron Brunner, “Will, I need you down at the E.R. stat. We need all hands on deck right now.”

“Is everything alright?” Will asks, keeping his own tone calm, despite the underlying hint of panic in Dr. Brunner’s voice.

“I have the other residents busy with a patient who suffered a stroke and caught a seizure when he was rushed in and victims of a four way crash on an intersection due to a driver skidding on some ice. The ambulance just went for a pick up and we need the help,” Dr. Brunner says in a rush.

“Dr. Brunner, it’s my day off. I’ve been pulling over twelve-hour long shifts all week,” Will responds, while rubbing his forehead, his frustration at it’s maximum point, “Plus I have some personal issues right now that I really have to work out. I don’t think I’m fit to be working at the moment.”

“I understand, Will I really do, but we really need you here. Our hands are really full. Even Jason and Kayla are here,” Dr. Brunner says.

“Dr. Brunner,” Will starts, but he’s cut off.

“Please,” Will can hear the desperation in his superior’s voice.

Will feels upset and agitated, because there are lives that are at stake here and saving them is supposed to be his priority as a future doctor. But at the same time, he needs to talk to Nico, he needs to deal with his own issues, their issues. Will realizes that he has to make the choice he knew he had to make eventually, but was dreading to make.

It’s either his job or his relationship.

“Okay, I’ll be on my way,” Will says and disconnects the call.

Dinner is forgotten as he explains the situation to Nico while grabbing his phone, wallet, keys, hospital I.D. and coat. It’s a good thing he lives almost five minutes away from the hospital.

“We’ll talk as soon as I get home, okay? I promise,” Will says to Nico before he rushes out of their shared apartment.

He doesn’t kiss Nico on the cheek this time. Nor does he tell him he loves him.

The hospital lights shine brightly above him, in the dark December night. Inside the hospital smells of bleach and disinfectant.

He catches his breath, tired from running. He dusts the bits of snow off his hair and clothes. The weather had thankfully held up until he’d gotten to the hospital; it was lightly snowing, unlike this morning. He hurriedly puts on his scrubs in the residents’ office and goes into the main E.R., where, he meets Dr. Brunner. Together, they wait for the ambulance to arrive as Jason and Kayla and two others try to save another patient.

Will is functioning purely on caffeine now. Ten hours have passed since he came to the hospital and he’s on his fifth cup of hospital brewed coffee. It’s cheap coffee and it tastes horrible. Dr. Brunner takes Will into his office after everything settles and asks him if he’s okay. Will mentally adds that to the list of questions he doesn’t know how to answer, ut laughs Dr. Brunner’s question off, telling him he’s okay.

Within those ten hours, however, they’ve saved multiple lives.

The man who had caught a stroke and had the seizure, a teenaged boy, which was the one the ambulance went to pick up, and so far, two of the persons involved in the accident.

Dr. Brunner sends him to talk to the boy, since no one else seems to have any luck.

The boy’s name is Brandon, he notices, glancing at the chart in his hand, and he’s reminded of Nico. Brandon has black hair and blue eyes whereas Nico’s was brown, and whatever they were lacking in height, they more than made up for in attitude. Will looks at the chart in his hand.

He’s reminded of his boyfriend again, of how they’d met. Nico had been hospitalized at fifteen, too, for the same reasons as Brandon. Will’s dad was his doctor and he brought Will to see Nico, to keep him company, so that he wouldn’t be as lonely and he’d have someone his age to talk to. They went to the same school and Will made sure Nico was up to date with all of his work. While they talked, they discovered they  both had lots of things in common and a friendship was born. Will had even been there when Nico’s dad had broken down at the thought of losing any of his family (completely unaware of the tragedy that would later befall the di Angelo’s) and even though he never fully accepted it, which was the reason why Nico had ended up in the hospital in the first place, he tried to come to terms with Nico’s sexual orientation.

Two years later, after being close friends and lots of mutual pining, Nico asked Will out, and soon after, they got together. Nico’s dad was still trying his best to accept it, but he was genuinely happy for both his son and Will.

The world beneath Will’s feet spins uncomfortably. He presses his fingers to his temple and finishes Brandon’s chart. He gets the hell out of the room right after.

He’s sitting in the waiting area, eating a pack of potato chips when Jason finds him.

“Are you alright?” He asks Will, biting his lip worriedly.

“I’m fine,” Will smiles, the lie slipping easily.

Will knows he’s not. God, he must look like a hot mess. He’s too exhausted, he hasn’t had a proper meal for the past day, and his brain feels like it’s being fried inside his head.

Half an hour later, he passes out in the residents’ office.

The rest of the night is a blur. He’s vaguely aware of Nico’s voice arguing with Dr. Brunner. Someone helps him to Nico’s car and then he’s in their apartment.

When he comes to, for good this time, he can hear Jason and Nico talking. It takes him a moment to gain his bearings. He’s in his bed, in his room.

“— Hasn’t been taking care of himself. Something, and my instincts tell me it’s related to you two, is off. So you better man up and talk to him,” Will hears Jason say seriously, “It’s been bothering him all week.”

“I knew it,” Nico sounds frustrated with himself, “I knew that something was bugging him. We were going to talk before he was called to work.”

Will doesn’t want to get out of the bed. He rolls onto his side, yawning. He feels like he’s been hit by a train.

“Dr. Brunner cancelled all his shifts for the next week,” Jason says, after a heavy pause.

“Oh. I’ll let him know,” he hears Nico reply, and then a door closes.

Nico comes into their room. Will see his mess of black hair first, followed by his lithe, small body. Will turns, facing Nico as he lies next to Will, on his side, and runs his fingers through Will’s soft curls.

“How’re you feeling, babe?” Nico asks, pressing his lips against Will’s forehead.

“You want the honest answer or an answer?” Will responds, relishing the small touch.

“Honest answer, always,” Nico answers, furrowing his eyebrows, pursing his full, rosy red lips, “Are you implying something?”

“Do you think I’m implying something?” Will whispers.

“Damn it, Will,” Nico says, “If you have something to say, just say it—“

“Are you cheating on me?” Will blurts, looking him dead in the eye.

Nico looks taken aback, as though that’s the most ridiculous thing Will has ever said.

“What?” Nico still looks shocked as he stares at Will.

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” Will feels like he’s about to cry.

“No, Will. Babe, why would I do that?” Nico asks, grabbing Will’s hand, not breaking eye contact, not even once.

“You’re keeping something from me. You’re hanging out with Percy all the time and you’re lying to me,” Will mumbles, letting a few tears escape his eye, “And I know how you felt about him. So I..I don’t know. I just thought.”

Nico reaches out, hesitantly, and wipes the tears away from Will’s cheek, his pale hand standing out nicely against Will’s evenly tanned skin. Nico’s touches are warm and comforting, and Will wants to do nothing but lean into them, but he resists the urge to do so.

“Amore, what I felt for Percy is nothing compared to what I feel for you. Percy was nothing but a stupid crush,” he tells Will, still maintaining eye contact.

Will feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulder. His heart is not as heavy. He lets out a broken sob, nodding in relief and Nico just shakes his head before he wraps Will in his strong embrace. Will buries his head in Nico’s chest and inhales deeply, taking comfort in his familiar, earthy scent. Just like that, Will is grounded. He’s home.

Don’t let go, he silently pleads.

Instead, Nico holds on to him as he cries, the ugly, loud gasping, hiccupping, snotty type of crying, finally snapping and letting go of all the pain and frustration. Nico runs his hands through the taller man’s hair, rubbing soothing circles into the small of his back. His touches silently reassure Will; I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you. Let it out, babe. I’ve got you.

They stay like this until nightfall, Will safe and tucked away from the world in Nico’s arms, until Will hears his stomach growl loudly, breaking the tension in the room. His face heats in embarrassment and Nico lets go of him with a small smile, gently pulling Will up to a sitting position with him.

“Wh-What are you doing?” Will realizes that throat is sore from all the gasping and sobbing as he asks this.

“Come to the kitchen, I made us lunch. But I guess it’s dinner now,” Nico tells him, furrowing his brows, “We’ll talk more over a proper meal. The only reason you got to come home was because your supervisor pulled some strings. I never realized how badly this was affecting you, amore.”

Will realizes he only remembers bits and pieces of that night as he allows Nico to lead him to the kitchen. He doesn’t care about what he remembers and doesn’t remember anyways, all that matters right now is food. His stomach lightly growls again as he inhales the aroma of whatever Nico cooked.

Nico tells to him not to sit yet, and Will watches curiously as he shuffles around in the kitchen, definitely out of his element, running his hands through his hair and swearing in frustration in soft Italian.

He places a tablecloth on top of their small dining table. Then, he adds silverware, and he places a small candle in the middle of the table.

Will’s curiosity doesn’t diminish as Nico pulls the chair out and motions for him to sit. He does so, and Nico pushes the chair in.

Then, he brings around a plate of what looked like fettuccine alfredo with chicken and places it in front of him.

Will’s favourite Italian dish.

“I, uh, meant to do this on Christmas morning, but that’s, like, two days away,” Nico rubs the back of his neck, “And it seems that now would be the more appropriate time.”

“To do what?” Will asks, totally confused as he takes a bite of the alfredo, but Nico ignores him, going into their room.

He comes back with something in his hand.

“What’s that?” Will questions, looking at Nico, who looks a bit paler than usual.

Nico doesn’t answer, but sits opposite him and sets the small velvet box in front of Will.

Will gasps, his heart beating faster. The tips of his ear tinge red. Oh God. Did Nico get him some kind of jewelry? He never did like jewelry–

“It’s custom made,” Nico explained, “This is what I’ve been keeping from you. Percy was with me when I went to pick it up. And he was helping me come up with a special way to give it to you.”

“Wh-what?” Will gasps.

“So no, I wasn’t cheating on you. In fact, I wanted to ask you if you would give me the honour of calling you my husband,” Nico says, his voice calm. He gets out of his chair and goes down on one knee in front of Will and his hand shakes ever so slightly as he opens the box.

Inside it is a silver band, inlaid with garnet, sapphire and amethyst patterns. A line of amethysts ran in a circle on the outside of the ring, sapphires below the amethysts and garnets above them. It took Will a moment to realize the meaning behind the stones. It was their birth stones; January, Nico’s month, were the garnets and September, Will’s month, were the sapphires, and month they’d gotten together, February, were the amethysts.

“See, I love you, and I’m sure now that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Only you. You’ve seen me at my worst and you’ve seen me at my best and you’ve always accepted me for who I am. You’ve been there for me at my lowest, and you’ve helped me overcome some of the biggest challenges in my life; especially when my mother and Bianca died. You helped me with my depression and my insomnia. You helped me overcome my insecurities, but I wasn’t there to help you with yours. I wasn’t there to reassure you that were my sun and my stars and I wasn’t there to make sure you were taking care of yourself. I wasn’t a good boyfriend over the past few weeks and I’m so, so sorry for that. But I promise, I’ll do better, because I don’t plan on letting go of us, of you, anytime soon. So will you make my year?” Nico asks, softly, “Will Solace, will you marry me?”

Will is in awe. Of all the things he expected, this was not one of them. He put his hand over his open mouth, tears of pure joy running down his face this time. He nods. Nico takes his hand and slips the ring onto his finger, almost reverently, tears of joy streaking his own face.

Perfect fit.

Will looks at it in the candlelight. It’s beautiful. A warm feeling blossoms inside Will’s chest as he looks at his boy—no,  fiancé. The love of his life. The man he was going to marry.

“I’m sorry,” he says softly, getting up from his chair, going down to Nico’s level (he’s still on the ground) and throwing his arms around the smaller man, “I knew you wouldn’t cheat on me but seeing you with Percy so often just made me think about all of these.. possibilities and everything just… kind of spiraled out of control.”

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry,” Nico tells him, tightening his hold on Will’s waist, “You were putting yourself under unnecessary stress because of me. Will, you don’t know how frightened I was when I got the call from the hospital. I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I was part of the reason as to why something happened to you, mio amore.”

“You’re forgiven, darlin’. I love you, so much, Nico di Angelo,” Will sniffs and although his words are muffled into Nico’s shirt, he knows that Nico hears him use the pet name he loves.

“I love you too. You are my universe,” Nico gently pulls Will from the hug and kisses him on the lips, softly, sweetly and passionately, despite the stickiness left on his face from happy tears, “My sun, my stars, my entire galaxy. Merry early Christmas, Will Solace, soon to be di Angelo.”

Despite the cold December, the couple spends the night on the couch in their apartment, their love keeping their souls burning bright and warm, warmer than their fireplace ever could, wrapped up in each other’s loving embrace. There are no barriers between them; everything is out in the open. There are no more secrets, only a sense of love, understanding and blissfulness.

And Will Solace would not trade it for the world.

[the-ghost-king]

time for me to share a good™️ headcanon: will and nico love to steal each other’s clothes but their massive size difference makes it so obvious that they’re doing it. nico’s shirts are almost croptops on will and will’s sweaters are practically a dress on nico bc will is like 6’2 and nico’s like 5’5

Anon! Anon! Yes, you. You get it.

I don’t really know what you wanted as a response to this but I felt inspired for the first time in some 10 months so I gifted you a one shot below the “read more”. I’ll also upload it to Ao3 with a link in the notes...

Anyhow Anon, I hope you enjoy it! I got a little off topic but reflective fluff is always good!

If you would have asked Will what he wanted out of life as a kid you probably would have gotten an answer that was something like “a chance to actually go and live life as it was meant to be” or maybe “to be happy, pretty, and stupid”. 

He didn’t dare to hope for more, demigods didn’t live long lives, and being involved in a major battle at thirteen didn’t do wonders in regards to establishing confidence in your survival. As for the “pretty and stupid” part of his answer, it wasn’t that Will had ever hated being smart, he just hated the disconnect different intelligence levels caused in peer groups and society; being smart was hard, sure for school purposes it was nice, but that intelligence means you’re constantly thinking and so often so much of the world seems so dull and petty. Will had been lucky enough to be blessed with decent looks, moving through the world was made easy in at least that regard, but he wished he could live without thinking so much because so often he could only see so much awful in the world. 

Thirteen year old Will wouldn’t have dared hope for anything more, he wouldn’t have dared hope for anything else more than a decade or so of normal life beyond camp and a chance at an easy life for those few years. When fourteen year old Will got a depression diagnosis he wouldn’t say he was surprised, he would have been annoyed but he hadn’t really felt much of anything in years. (”Atypical depression” The doctor had said, “likely clinical”)  A few different types of anti-depressants and a few months of therapy things started feeling okay, better at least. Fifteen came and went, he tried to go off the pills and didn’t quite get there, but his dose got lowered which Will supposed was nice. 

In the months of early 16, Nico di Angelo stumbles into his life; exhausted and melting under the pressure of the universe, he makes friends with death. It isn’t much, but Will remembers him from when they were kids back before any major fights. He remembers hearing about Nico running off and he felt bad for not having made a continued effort to get to know him. He felt bad when he left after the Battle of Manhattan too, they’d prepped bodies for their departure together and Will had gotten hung up in the infirmary (he had been one of the last Apollo campers and he was the only one with medical training). In some ways, Will supposed he was making up for those lost years when he didn’t have time to befriend Nico as he would have liked, it made him feel like he was at least trying.

In the beginning things were undeniably rocky, Nico was constantly hooked to machines just so Will could guarantee he wouldn’t die overnight. Even on Nico’s first night in the infirmary he had struggles with sleep, the bed wasn’t comfortable enough and after trying a large variety of options Will had hauled Nico and all of his equipment out to the porch on the back of the infirmary and they slept there for those three days (which turned into two weeks), wrapped up in jackets and in a pile of blankets beneath camp’s fall skies.

Within a few months, they fell in love. 

Okay listen, people can call Will ridiculous all they want- but love at first sight is real and he experienced it. He didn’t know it but the day he met Nico and looked into the dark browns of his eyes, he thought something about how his eyes looked like ash from the fireplace at Mama’s house, or how they looked like the soil that his windowsill plants grew from. If you would have asked Will what he thought of Nico the very first time they’d met, he would have told you something about how his eyes were “big, dark, and round like a baby cow”. What Will really meant is that Nico reminded him of the family ranch house he grew up in, he meant he looked like home. 

At the time Will just hadn’t known that was what love felt like, but when he figured it out one day teaching Nico how to play Hold ‘em on the back porch of the infirmary with a light breeze and setting sun as they settles down for bed; he knew one thing, he didn’t want anything more than to make Nico happy and he hoped that he could be a part of that more than anything.

It took a little longer for Nico to come around, he had his own demons to battle. Internalized homophobia, even in small doses, is a real downer to say the least, let alone when you’re fighting demons you’ve manifested for some 15 years. The biggest struggle however, was probably in all honesty the fact that Nico was so goddamned oblivious. After spending years alone with limited human contact at best, and having spent so many years desperately wanting Percy to notice him, and being met with negative reactions, Nico didn’t know what love looked like anymore. How had he been supposed to know he was in love with Will?

There was a lot of subtle back and forth, would the other even be interested in a guy? It ended one day with an unplanned kiss followed by a declaration. Will called it the best mistake he ever made, neither of them really thought it was a mistake.

It was days like today that only proved that.

Will had woken up to Nico’s face on a pillow next to him. He’d fallen asleep with his hair pulled back in a ponytail, and some of his smaller hairs had fallen loose in the night and now framed his peaceful face. The first rays of golden sunlight fell through accidentally left open curtains, and Will reached out to brush a stray piece of dark hair and place it behind Nico’s ear. 

He woke up to a morning more beautiful than he would have ever hoped for at 13, and he would always be glad for that. He would always be grateful for how far he had come in not quite a decade. At just twenty-two he was 4 years into medical school, and three years married to Nico and he truly believed he was one of the happiest men in the world simply because he made Nico happy.

In time, Nico too would wake up. 

First with a huff, and then a grumbling noise of annoyance as he rubbed his face with his arm as though trying to block out light before half-asleep Nico seemed to accept his fate and wake up fully. 

“Good morning”

“How long have you been up?”

“Awhile”

Nico made a knowledgeable humming sound, perhaps he was just acknowledging Will’s response or perhaps he was saying ‘of course’. 

A few kisses, a short conversation, and a couple of “I love you”’s later, they got out of bed.

Nico's was wearing Will's high school hoodie that was a bit too short on Will anymore like it was a dress on him. The hoodie went down to Nico’s knees, he's got his own black shorts on because Will's just fall off unless he ties them really really tight. He's got black socks pulled up almost to his knees, there’s a little gap between the end of Nico’s shorts and the start of his socks. The hoodie goes down an inch or two past his short pockets, and he goes outside to grab the mail with a pair of unlaced combat boots on his feet. He's got his skull ring on his middle finger of his right hand, and his left hand holds a simple wedding band which glint in the light as he opens the front door. His hair is pulled up into a messy ponytail, some of it is up some of it is down, there's tons of flyaway hairs which frame his face since he hasn’t fixed it sense getting out of bed.

Call it a cliché, but Nico looks like Heaven personified without even trying. 

Sure, everyone looks nice in a suit or a dress, but how many people can roll out of bed without doing their hair wearing a decade old hoodie and look like they belong in a magazine spread?

Will is wearing one of Nico's looser shirts, on Nico it comes down past his hips and a little onto his thighs, on Will is he so much as lifts his arms a centimeter it reveals his hip bones. He doesn’t really mind, he kind of likes it to be entirely honest. Will can remember being just a few inches shorter than he is now and fitting fairly comfortably in Nico’s clothes at the time, they had never worried whose clothes they grabbed back then. Nico had finished his growth spirt and Will had thought he was done only two inches taller, it didn’t matter whose clothes were whose because everything fit well enough.

That wasn't quite the case now, Nico had stayed at his casual 5"5 while Will had shot up and extra six inches to 6"2 and ruined his own chances of sharing clothes. Such as right now he was sure he was wearing his own sweats, because he had specifically had to get a pair last night despite Nico's having been more accessible. Anytime he's actually managed to get a pair of Nico's pants comfortably on in the last few years, result in him wearing pants that are more like compression shorts or capris than pants.

Will was just happy he could wear some of Nico's larger shirts and hoodies still, the fact that Nico preferred to sleep in lots of clothes and typically baggy clothes meant Will had some options when it came to wearing his husbands stuff.

Will has also managed to steal a pair of Nico's socks, they're a taller pair on Nico (he buys winter wear so often because he's cold always) but on Will they gather a little awkwardly around his ankle. Will doesn't usually wear socks but they had gone to bed without the heat on and apparently the cold had set in over night and you could definitely feel it on their apartment floors.

The clothes would be a bit stretched out from him, it was something Will can remember being worried about after his second growth spurt, but Nico doesn't mind, He's assured Will of this time and time again, he says something about "aesthetic" and "alternative". Will doesn't really know, he's never cared much for fashion but he'll take Nico's word on it. 

The truth, although it's something Nico would only admit in their bed late at night when it was so dark you could barely see his face, and arguably a little drunk as well, was that he actually enjoyed the way the clothes fit better after Will wore them. He found some sort of comfort in the way the shoulders of his shirts would be just a little too wide on him, it was one of those small acts of love, it wasn't one Will entirely understood but both of them got their own sort of enjoyment out of Will stretching out Nico's sleeping clothes some so they went with it.

Will turns his attention from Nico walking out the door to the coffee pot on the countertop.

Will doesn't like coffee much, he likes the social aspect of getting a cup more. Nico had introduced him to it, he’d been drinking it for years by the time they’d left camp. It reminded him of home and he grew to like it for such reasons, and although Nico would consume just about anything with enough caffeine in it Will needed creamer to enjoy coffee to any amount. 

They were both honestly probably more tea people, but they never seemed to remember to buy any. Will will try to remember to write it down on the grocery list later, but Nico has walked back into the kitchen, climbed up on the counter next to Will and now he is looking at him; and Nico is always a distraction that's worthy of taking, Will will definitely forget to write down tea for their grocery list and the week will start over with more coffee in the house and no tea.

Nico’s fingers grip the countertop and he swings his legs a little bit back and forth from where he sits on the black granite, his white gold rings set against the counter in contrast. Will's worn out blue hoodie looks grey with age, the little printed letters are cracked and peeling on the back of it, his last name can still be read in white though. 

Will knows the cliché about your lover wearing your name is often unhealthy and overly possessive, but he likes seeing Nico with his name because it feels like a gift. It’s like he’s given Nico a part of himself and Nico accepted it with pride, and Will loves that, he loves him and Nico being little pieces of each other.

Nico is smiling at him, and leans just so, Will turns in acknowledgment of the gesture, and moves so he’s standing to the left of Nico. Nico crosses his legs at the ankle and leans towards Will laying his head against Will where his neck and shoulder meet. Will leans forward and buries his face into Nico’s hair, comfortable and a little sleepy still.

"Coffee?"

"Mhmm."

"Good."

Will isn't the best cook, for fucks sake he's not even someone who could be considered a good cook, but he can handle this. Nico taught him the basics when they were still living at camp, Will failed every time, he ended up going home for a short period for Christmas break and begging his mom "teach me how to make eggs" he left off the bit about impressing Nico but he knows she knew. When he came back Nico had just smiled at him, "you practiced huh?"

Will hadn't gotten better at making much else, some eggs, toast, coffee and he could boil water now too! He had burnt lots of stuff over the years, plastic containers in the microwave, a plastic ladle they had on the stove top, at least 100 failed attempts at grilled cheese. Will was honestly just happy he hadn’t blown up any microwaves since he was a kid... 

Nico had come home to many of Will's failed attempts at making him various things, sometimes the food was underdone other times it was bits of inedible char. Will did try, he really did, but the heat was always too high or he would end up distracted, or he would use sugar on accident instead of salt. Will did actually try, but his best attempts still often left something to be desired, so he often was the one doing dishes.

Most notably one time Nico had come home to him attempting to pan-frying some fish.

It had been supposed to be a surprise, it was Nico's birthday, and Will had had the day off of class even though Nico hadn't. He figured he would have surprised him; it had been back in their first apartment, not quite as nice as this one. A cheap tiled cream counter top that Nico had literally cringed at when seeing it the first time, the cabinets had somehow been cheaper than a set from IKEA and it had become an inside joke to them.

He had walked in the apartment to see smoke coming off the pan with a bit of flame still coming off it, and a large piece of charred fish stuck to the bottom of one of their frying pans.

"Hey dumbass, what did you do in here?" 

People thought they were an odd couple, Will could see that. The whole parallel people drew between light and dark and optimism and pessimism and such between them, none of those people were really correct though. Will and Nico were more similar than they were different. At the end of the day it didn’t really matter what people said, Will liked Nico, he loved him in all honesty- he'd never heard the word "dumbass" said with so much affection.

Nico was hard for most people to read, years along had left him struggling emotionally in some manner; he did his best to hide most of his emotions, cloak them so heavily that sometimes they were even unrecognizable to Nico himself. 

The most obvious example of this in regards to Nico was how "shut up" often meant "I love you", "idiot" was synonymous with "darling" in some ways. Don't get Will wrong, Nico could be very affectionate, but pet names came with hesitation for him in the early days; Should he use Venetian, Italian, or English? Masculine words that were romantic had been hard for him to say as well... But everyday he grew and got better, and Will was proud of him every time he called Will “dear” and didn’t hesitate before or after. 

Nico had started masking his emotions at some point during his time at Westover, whatever he had done there hadn’t been much more than how much the average person masked their feelings, but when he started training with Minos Nico had doubled down on keeping his emotions secretive. Minos hadn’t been kind or safe in any sense of the word, emotions were what he used to manipulate Nico all that time, it was no wonder Nico developed such a strong sense of apathy towards anything overtime. 

Nico could be affectionate, he could be the most loving person to ever exist. Nico’s emotions were sort of like secrets, if you stayed awake late enough into the night you would only come to know him then, such was the nature of him. He often whispered so quietly his wants and needs into the dark, there was some sense of fear tied to Nico’s vulnerability and he handed off his worries each night to the stars soft glow. Nico often refused to talk openly during the day, but at night apologies and truth always came, he had known what he had wanted earlier he had simply been to afraid of the rejection to acknowledge it, Will is glad that with the years the worst of such things is over; it is unlikely to be something Nico will ever fully grow out of, such is the nature of humanity, but progress is a virtue.

Such times not only resulted in Nico’s acknowledgement of his wants and faults, but also garnered the most affection from Nico. Nico couldn’t always communicate in an effective manner verbally, which was still a process they were working on, but he did his best. Nico’s act of love was like that of a small bird, he gave you small things that seemed insignificant until you realized he had only ever told you such things. Will fell in love with him for it, it wasn’t just about the way he would describe the wallpaper in his childhood bedroom, it was the fact that nobody knew anything else about Nico’s childhood bedroom. 

Will had never truly understood the concept of “touch starved” until he met Nico, he had known the definition sure, but he had never truly witnessed it. Nico never asked for touch, but it was the way he leaned into it, the way he sought it out; pressing up against Will’s hand like a cat stretching trying to get a little more contact somehow, trying to make the touch last just a bit longer so he could savor it properly. It was literally starving in some manner, starving for contact that wasn’t a goodbye or a hit, just for wordless contact. When he grew comfortable he gave affection fully, there was a joy in holding Nico’s hand, knowing that he felt safe enough not to worry about the effect a few extra seconds of prepping for a fight that holding hands would add.

Nico didn’t show affection in big ways, and that was more than okay with Will; they were laid back in comparison to most, he’d have sought the comfort of placing soap bubbles on each others head in the tub a hundred times over a night on the town. Nico’s affection was something quiet and almost secretive, unknown to anyone it wasn’t directed at; it was the way he would lead Will out of a room to kiss him, or the quiet way he whispered “I love you” into Will’s ear when in public.  

Will supposes in the early days “shut up” became “I love you” in order to avoid being seen as weak in some manner, in order to avoid acknowledging what he really wanted to say and having Will not respond in kind. Will didn't mind, they weren't an overly affectionate pairing- banter was common, almost everything they did was turned into some sort of game, the term "boys will be boys" definitely applied to their relationship of 3am pillow fights, late night discussions about what order the Christmas ornaments had to go up on the tree in, and whenever they wrote thesis papers for living room debates over the best Disney villain.

Will honestly preferred it that way, he preferred having the little moments reserved for solely them. He preferred the aversion to sappy clichés, the way a lover could say your name with exasperation and a smile that meant the whole world. He had seen what some other couples had, quick kisses in lines at cafes, holding hands across the table, and calling each other pet names they’d made up that were somehow ten times worse than the original- and Will didn’t want that. 

It wasn’t that what those couples had wasn’t love, it just wasn’t love in a way Will could understand, it wasn’t love Will felt from those sort of exchanges. He didn’t understand the idea of “butterflies in your stomach”, love wasn’t nerves, love was like coming home after a long day, love was the way someone could say your name like it was divine, love was the way someone would smirk at you when you were missing the point, love was not being afraid to cry in front of them,  it was knowing you could show up to them with any problem and instead of leaving you they would research the ins and outs of it in all their entirety. 

The coffee maker makes a sound, Nico lifts his head of off Will’s body and the deep browns of his eyes are like the freshly turned dirt of fields in planting season, and Will feels like there’s a garden growing in his chest that Nico feeds. Nico sits straight on the counter and pulls his legs up and sits cross legged on the counter as he pulls out his hairband, and runs his fingers through his hair before pulling it back up without all the flyaways. 

Will moves towards the coffee machine, pours it into two cups, and sets one on the counter beside Nico before making his way to the fridge to grab creamer. Nico’s watching him right now, but there’s no need for talking; there will be talking in a minute. Talking about Will’s schedule for the week, talk of whatever project Nico is working on right now, talk of what they should do for dinner the rest of the week, little sweet nothings, and eventually they’ll make their way to the couch to watch some tv and maybe later in the day they’ll play some sort of game or something as well.

So yeah, maybe "light" and "dark" were polar opposites and some people would have walked out on the word dumbass rather than immediately loving it, but Will liked it- everyday was a game of sorts, a new adventure, all with Nico who he loved. Coming home from work wasn’t necessarily about the place Will lived but knowing Nico would be there for him to see was the point  of going home, home was wherever Nico was and some small part of Will hoped eternity was real in some manner.

Will remembered when Michael had died thinking nothing could possibly get worse, and in some ways he was kind of right; he had ended up with some sort of demigod style fairy tale ending with the man he loved, and that was ten times better than anything fifteen year old Will would have hoped for.

[so-langelo]

Sweet Moments

baCK AT IT AGAIN WITH ANOTHER SOLANGELO FIC

Summary: Moments between Nico and Will told from Chiron’s eyes....

Hope you guys like it!! *notes at the end of the fic* Ari xxx

Throughout the centuries, Chiron has trained countless heroes. 

He’s cared for each one of them, and looked over them as if they were his own. He’s seen them go through so many hardships and obstacles; some were fortunate, others weren’t so lucky.  

If Chiron knows a demigod who deserves to be happy, it was Nico di Angelo.

The boy’s life was filled with too much grief and sorrow. He was certainly up there on his list of the demigods who have been through the worst of it all.

However, after the war with the Earth Mother, he saw something change in Nico. Chiron wasn’t sure, but he knew it had to do something Will Solace.

i.

It was a couple weeks after the war and the camp was still getting back on its feet. Everyone helped with everything; the chores, the building of shrines, and the infirmary. 

Not many people were surprised when Nico started to help WIll as his assistant. They’ve been connected to the hip since the war, and it was only a matter of time. 

Chiron was riding in with a child of Hebe who opened up his stitches during archery, when he spotted the two on an empty bed, in the middle of a card game. 

“I’ve been practicing and I think I can beat you.” 

“Is that a challenge, Solace?”

“Only if you want it to be, Deathboy.”

“I told you not to call m-”

As much as Chiron hated to interrupt, he had a demigod on his back that would bleed out if his stiches weren’t healed. 

He cleared his throat. “Will, Daniel needs to be stitched up again. Hope you two can work on that.”

“Y-yeah, Chiron. I’ll be on it.” Will nodded at him, and turned to Nico. “Can you get me my needle, Neeks?”

Nico quickly got it, and gave them to Will. The smile that lit up Will’s face was as dazzling as if Nico handed him the world. 

Chiron has never seen Nico look so fond at someone. 

Chiron left the infirmary to continue his archery practice, thinking that maybe Nico was finally going to catch a break after all these years. 

ii.

Now, Chiron practically raised Achilles, the all mighty hero that turned into a lovesick puddle whenever Patroclus was in the room. 

The way Will looked at Nico, as if he would give Nico all the stars in the sky, reminded him of that. 

Chiron watched over the campfire after dinner, making sure that nothing too crazy happens, when he spotted the two. 

The two sat together during the campfire, weeks after the infirmary scene. They were in their own bubble, ignoring all the comotion that was happening around them. 

Will only had eyes for Nico, who was taling animatedly with his hands. It was as if he was his ten year old self again. 

Will nodded along, occasionally saying somethng and making Nico smile or laugh. 

The look on Will’s face when he made Nico laugh, it was just completely undescribable. 

The pair talked the night away, and maybe it was just his old age, but as the campers went to their cabins, he saw Will intertwine his hand with Nico’s and the son of Hades didn’t let go. 

iii.

Something was wrong.

Chiron felt it, just before someone told him there was a fight between Taylor, a son of Ares, and Nico. 

Chiron galloped to the greens near the climbing wall, where they were said to be fighting. 

When he got there, Chiron was taken aback by Nico’s expression. Chiron has seen Nico in battle, but right now he looked murderous. He’s summoned two skeletons at his sides, both holding deadly sharp swords made of bones. Nico held his own Stygian iron sword, and advaced toward the son of Ares. 

Taylor taunted, “You need skeletons to help you win? Grow some balls and fight me on your own.”

But Chiron saw fear in his eyes. 

“Take back what you said and maybe I won’t let you rot in Tartarus!”, Nico growled. 

“What? That Will Solace is a useless, good for nothing demigod? The dude can’t even fight. His little boyfriend has to fight his battles. It’s a miracle he survived two wars.”, Taylor smirked. 

Chiron felt anger course through his veins, but he knew what he felt was nothing compared to what Nico felt. The boy was about to charge, but Chiron galloped over and picked up Taylor by the shirt collar. 

“None of that language, Mr. Armbruster. Will has been more of a help to this camp than you will ever be.”

Nico stood in front of Chiron, with eyes blazing with rage. “Chiron! Put him down! I had hi-”

“NICO! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT YOUR USING YOUR UNDERWORDLY MAGIC! I leave you alone for an hour and you get into a fight!” Will came and put a hand on Nico’s shoulder. 

Nico calmed down, but only a little bit. “I was defending your honor.”

Will rolled his eyes. “Thank you, honestly. You’re my knight in shining armor, but like I said don’t do any underwordly magic unless for emergencies.”

“Okay. Chiron make sure that dickwad gets what he deserves, please.” He looks up with Chiron with a dangerous smile that reminded Chiron too much of his father, Hades. 

Chiron nodded and watched the two walked away, Will’s arm around Nico’s waist and Nico staring at Will with tender eyes. 

He gave Taylor two months of scooping the pegasus stables.

iv. 

Throughout all of this, Chiron was convinced that the two were already dating. Imagine his surprise when he asked Will about it and the boy turned bright red and said they weren’t. 

Excuse his language, but ‘just friends’ his horse ass. 

And Chiron thought Percy and Annabeth were oblivious. (Well, Percy was the oblivious one.) 

It was an autumn night. Just a couple days passed since he saked Will if they were dating. Chiron walked around the courtyard between the cabins, making sure if someone did try to sneak out, the harpies wouldn’t eat too much. 

He heard something. At first, he chalked it up to a rustle in the leaves, but it kept coming back. Whispers. 

He continues to walk, following the soft voices. As he got closer, to the source, he noticed that the voices were coming from above. Whoever was out pst curfew was on a cabin. 

He was about to go expose the rule breakers, when he recognized the voices. 

Nico di Angelo and WIll Solace. 

Chiron stopped. From the continued hushed discussion, they haven’t noticed him. 

“This isn’t easy for me... to say. I’ve never... Not like this. But... You matter to me. A lot.” Nico’s whisper shook with nerovusness. 

There was a pause. A pause that even made Chiron’s heart clench. 

“I care about you too. I really really really like you, Nico.” Chiron didn’t need to see Will’s face to know he was smiling. 

“You made me nervous there, Solace. My gods, don’t do that.” Nico sounded relieved. 

Will’s soft laugh filled the quite night. It was abruptly cut off. Chiron wasn’t sure if it was it was interupted by Nico’s hand or his lips. 

But by the gentle ‘wow’ that escaped Will’s mouth, Chiron was pretty sure which one it was. 

Chiron turned to leave, not wanting to intrude even furhter. He let them go, knowing they won’t do anything too bad. He let them off the hook. It was the least they deserve. 

Chiron has seen many heroes go through so many tribulations for love. 

But only few obtain it in the end. 

Chiron smiled knowingly at the two when they finally came to breakfast the next morning. 

Will’s smile was bright enough to power New York City and Nico staring lovingly at Will as if he hung the moon and the stars. 

It was the kind of love people wrote myths about. The kind of love that lasts for centuries. 

Super sappy I know, but you guys know me. I love sappy stuff. 

Super late, but thank you for the 600. You guuys are truly the best. 

Comments are the things that keep me going and want me to keep writing, so thank you to all that comment!! 

I’m going back to school bleh i know, so I won’t be able to post as much as I want to, but I will try very very hard to post at a couple times a week, or at least once. Thank you so so so so much you lovely human beings. 

Ari xxx

[imgonnabeyourbubblegumwitch]

I Love You, You Pay My Rent: Chapter Five

First Chapter (Prologue)

Previous Chapter (Chapter Four)

Nico had been living with Will for one month. Strangely living with Will as Will’s pretend boyfriend was no different from living with Will as random acquaintances thrown together because they both knew Percy. Will still spent most of the time out, Nico still got a dull ache in his chest whenever he saw him, and they still spent the rare times they were in the apartment together watching films, playing video games and occasionally engaging in a mythomagic duel.

Still despite the fact that not much had changed, Nico still began to think he was stupid to agree to the situation. He tried to dampen it down but knowing he was Will’s fake boyfriend gave him false hope, like fake boyfriend would translate into real boyfriend and they’d fall in love and live happily ever after. He felt light, his chest all a flutter whenever he thought about the possibility and he knew sooner or later he was going to get hurt.

But he couldn’t call off the pretending or fake break up without giving Will an explanation, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to do that either. There wasn’t anything he could conceivably say that would explain his sudden change of heart other than the truth. And he’d rather anything - walking over hot coals, seeing his dad again, hell even telling Percy the truth about how he had once felt - than admit he might have anything resembling feelings for Will.

He came home from a stupidly long shift and with the hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach he got whenever he thought of Percy and his engagement, or about how alone he was. Reyna had noticed and offered to come back with him but Nico had declined. It wasn't that he was the kind of person who liked to wallow in his own misery, but he did kind of want to wallow in his own misery for a bit.

There was a stack of books on the table. The orange post it stuck to the top of the stack blended in with the front cover but Nico eventually noticed and plucked it off.

Don't give up. I didn't.

He frowned, then realised that the stack were history textbooks. One very generic others more specific. He picked one up and flicked through it in a shocked daze. Each book was new. He shuddered to think how much they must have cost altogether.

When Will got back, Nico was curled up on the sofa with a cup of coffee, reading about the fall of the Roman Empire.

The more cynical side of Nico, the side that wasn't used to people presenting him with thoughtful gifts wanted to berate Will for spending all the money on him. The side that was crushing heavily on Will freaking Solace overruled.

"Thanks for the books," he said instead.

Will shrugged it off like it was nothing, but then Nico supposed the probably insane amount of money they had cost probably was insignificant to Will.

"I was in the store anyway and I saw them. They're on the reading list for one of the history classes Lou-Ellen takes. She likes History. She's weird like that."

"Will-" Nico began but whatever he was going to say died in his throat. To his horror his eyes felt hot.

"You go to college?" he said instead.

Will laughed at the obvious disbelief in Nico's voice.

"Obviously," Will said. "What did you think I do?"

"I don't know? Spent money? Invented new cocktails? Let your friends punch you in the face at parties?"

"That's how I know Percy? We go to the same place?" Will sounded incredibly confused.

"Oh shut up," Nico said, but he was smiling.

Since Nico spent most of his time at work, or trying deseperately not to fall too deeply in love with Will, the moments when he actually had time to relax all he wanted to do was watch whatever channel Will had left the tv on (since the remote had a habit of vanishing into thin air). What he didn't want to do was party-plan an engagement thing for his first love and his first love's fiance. Percy had been so excited Nico couldn't exactly say no to helping, but he had kind of hoped his complete lack of enthusiasm and interest would have cued Percy into realising that Nico really didn't want to take part. Percy was completely oblivious and  it only took three phone calls about fancy finger food, two different shades of aquamarine and whether it was skinny ties or fat ties that were in at the moment for Nico to want to throw his phone into the nearest body of water.

If it wasn't Percy calling then it was Jason who of course knew about Percy's engagement but also knew about Nico having a slight thing for Percy and so not only did Jason call with stag do questions, information and chat, but he also called to make sure Nico was okay. And Nico would insist he was okay, however untrue that was, because insisting he was okay was a better option than telling Jason that actually he had somehow agreed to  being the fake boyfriend of his sort-of land lord who was beautiful and funny and might make Nico's heart feel funny.

All in all Nico, was really beginning to dread the sound of a ringtone.

Will had spent more time out in the last week and Nico had deduced from Will's stress levels and the number of books that had suddenly appeared on many of the surfaces around the apartment, that Will was studying for some kind of test. The last he'd seen of Will he'd been sleep walking towards a textbook, mumbling about proteins. Nico had steered him back towards his bed and forced him to sleep. It was a strange divergence from Will's usual laid-back nature and apparent lack of interest in studying to the point where Nico had been unaware Will even attended college, and Nico kind of had to wonder what prompted the change.

He was surprised when Will came through the door looking more cheerful than he'd been in a little while, and surmised whatever Will had been prepping for must be over.

"I'm ordering food," Nico said. "You want?"

Will took a moment to process the question.

"Let's go out," he replied.

Nico stared at him, heart thudding, and wondered if too much studying had somehow made Will lose his mind.

"We are," he pointed out a little shakily. “Right?”

Will blinked at him.

"To eat. Let's go out to eat. There's this place I want to try."

That made more sense but it didn't stop the heavy feeling in his chest. Still maybe it would do him good to get out. And being on a legitimate fake-date/food-quest/dinner-with-the-guys thing with Will was a valid excuse to ignore his phone.

"Sure," Nico said, trying not to sigh too much.

Taking a taxi was a strange novelty, but Will didn't seem to think too much of it. He was oddly quiet and distant as they moved through the city, curiously detached from the crowds of people on the pavements. Nico was starting to worry in a general nonspecific way about the not-date and more specifically about the fact Will looked reasonably presentably in a dress shirt and Nico looked nothing of the sort in an old tshirt. What if Nico didn't like the food? He'd have to remember not to order spaghetti because although reasonably confident in his ability to twirl it round his fork in private, it was the very last thing he wanted to attempt doing in front of Will Solace. He'd have to -

He'd have to remember it wasn't actually a date. He wasn't entirely sure what it was: he was pretty sure Will hadn't thought about it at all and that he himself was now completely overthinking it but -

But Will was reasonably famous. He wasn't Kim Kardashian, or that singer guy or anyone of the other famous people that were very much in the public conscious, but he was recognisable enough that in a crowded restaurant at least one person was going to recognise him. And then they'd seen him with Nico and -

And the fact he was fake dating Will suddenly seemed real in a way it really hadn't seemed real when they'd only ever interacted in the apartment. He glanced over at Will but he was still distracted, lips moving soundlessly. He suddenly became away Nico was watching him and gave a self-deprecating smile.

"I think I messed up question six," he said by way of explanation and then sighed.

"Sorry. I'll stop thinking about it. I know I must have been pretty annoying this last week."

Nico shrugged.

"I didn't really see a difference between that and your usual level of annoyingness," he said.

Will smiled and it was a real smile this time and it made Nico's tummy do the thing, and his heart feel all funny, and his head scream at him that he was a moron who was in completely over his head.

"Do you mind if we walk the rest of the way?" Will asked. "I think I need some fresh air."

He did look pale and wan. Nico assumed it was all the late nights studying and/or partying (there had briefly been a bottle of Jack Daniels in the fridge which had then disappeared by the next day) that had taken their toll.

He nodded and vowed not to make Will's unhealthy habits his business because Will wasn't really his boyfriend and he didn't need to get involved.

Will yawned as he paid, apologising to Nico and the driver.

"We could have stayed in," Nico pointed out, as Will stifled a second yawn.

"You looked like you needed a break," Will answered with a shrug. "You kept staring at your phone like it was an unexploded weapon of mass destruction and I thought maybe you'd like the distraction."

"And the reason we've driven halfway across the city, instead of just ordering take out and watching one of those films like we always do?"

"Vitamin D?"

"It's dark."

"You can actually get vitamin D through streetlamps it's this new science thing, latest research-"

"You're an idiot Solace."

"You love me," Will said, obviously very automatically but it didn't stop Nico's heart stopping, restarting at tens times it's normal rate and then juddering to a stop again.

"I don't," he lied. "Not in the slightest."

"Well as your fake boyfriend I'm kind of offended," Will replied easily. "And as your friend I'm also kind of offended. As the person who is letting you stay in my house rent free, whatever I guess."

"We're friends?" Nico asked with some surprise, realising half a second too late that it was a potentially offensive and generally quite clueless thing to say.

"Aren't we?" Will asked, suddenly looking worried in that kicked puppy dog way he sometimes had.

"Yeah," Nico said hurriedly. "Yeah I guess we are."

Will still looked a little taken aback by Nico's response and Nico was too busy trying to play catch up with the conversation because the painful spot in his heart was still caught up on the careless use of the word love.

Luckily, they'd reached the restaurant which forced a change in subject. Will's good humour seemed to have returned, even if he still looked more like Nico's sun-deprived, sleep-deprived self, than his usual glowing model-like picture of health.

The waitress showed them to a table. There was a candle and a single rose in a vase. It brought back the nerves and when he took a menu he hand was shaking. He was sure the waitress noticed, though luckily Will was checking his phone and so was oblivious. The waitress gave Nico a smile and a secret thumbs up and then disappeared leaving the two of them alone.

"Cecil asked after you," Will commented.

"And you told him -"

"I told him it was none of his business, yeah. He's still angling to meet you again but I've been making excuses. You've had two family emergencies and a dental appointment this week alone."

"Wow my life sure does suck."

"My sincerest sympathies in this troubled time."

"Your support is truly appreciated, I don't know what I'd do without -"

"Wine menu?" the waitress asked, having magically appeared back at their table.

"Please," Will said.

"No that's alright," Nico said.

Their waitress looked between them, proffering the menu with an uncertain expression like she thought their date might be about to collapse. Will noticed and sent Nico a quick smirk. Nico had to try and stop himself giggling. He gestured that Will take the menu.

"You're not drinking?" Will asked as he flicked it open.

"I'm not drinking wine."

"Can I order for you?"

Nico thought that on balance getting drunk on a pretend date with someone who he was majorly crushing on might not be the best of ideas. He also wasn't sure he liked the way Will's eyes were shining. Well actually that was a lie, he really did like the way Will's eyes were shining and that was probably the reason he ended up saying yes.

He was pretty sure Will ordered him some kind of incredibly potent cocktail, but the name wasn't familiar which, since he worked in a bar, was kind of worrying.

"If you have to carry me home it will be entirely your fault," he warned.

"I won't carry you home," Will answered. "I'll leave you here."

"I don't think there's a universe that exists in which you'd be able to bring yourself to do that. You're too much of a mom."

"A mom?"

"Yeah. I bet you're the mom friend. You're totally the mom friend."

"I'm friends with Cecil. Anyone would end up the mom friend. It's a survival tactic."

"Sure thing Solace."

Will was a paragon of maturity and so absolutely didn't stick his tongue out over the top of the menu as their drinks arrived.  Nico's was, as he'd suspected, huge and brightly coloured and had several straws, a ridiculous paper umbrella, lots of fruit and a plastic pirate sword and pretend parrot.

"What is this?" Nico asked with some suspicion as it was handed to him. Will, who was on half a glass of wine like a civilised person completely cracked up and tried to steal a strawberry. Nico slapped his hand away.

"You don't eat fruit," Will protested.

"I do when it's imbued with alcohol."

"Remind me to address your eating habits."

"I will definitely not."

Will smirked but he suddenly seemed distracted. Nico followed his line of sight and saw a reasonably attractive guy with dark hair, and a pretty girl who was uncomfortably reminiscent of Annabeth sitting down at a table nearby. It was uncomfortable in a vague way as he was reminded of the fact Percy was engaged, but he couldn't quite work out what was bothering Will.

"An ex?" he asked.

Will laughed quietly. "No."

"Ex-one night stand."

"No, shut up."

"Well if you feel threatened we are a million times cuter than they are, and we're not even really a thing."

Will really did laugh then.

"The girl kind of reminded me of my sister. A blonde version. I guess she's not actually that similar but - never mind. You're right. We're cuter."

"Exactly. And the waitress is pretty into us. I bet we could score free desert."

Will finally looked away from the other couple with a grin.

"Alright," he said. "Honey."

Nico sometimes wondered why he didn't seem to have a working filter that could block ideas like trying to score free desert by taking his already stressful not-date to a whole new level. He blamed the cocktail.

"You really don't have to drink all that," Will said watching him with some amusement but also traces of concern. "You don't have anything to prove, I just wanted to see if it really would come with a parrot."

"It did," Nico said flicking at the plastic thing. "And besides this is surprisingly good. You want?"

Will raised an eyebrow but he leant forward to catch the spare straw. He was close enough for Nico to count every freckle, see distinctly every golden eyelash, see the flecks of darker blue in his irises. His breath caught.  

"You're right actually," Will said, grinning around the straw. Nico smiled back automatically. It made his cheek muscles hurt.

"If you ordered my drink, I get to order your meal."

Will shrugged, eyes dancing.

"Sure thing love."

"You're not allergic to anything are you?" Nico asked, as he picked up a menu.

"I'm allergic to you being a douche with my meal options."

"I'm not sure I believe you. You'll have to show me a doctor’s note."

"Surprisingly I don't carry one around with me."

"Pity," Nico said. "Guess I'll take my chances and hope I don't kill you.

"If I collapse you could try mouth to mouth," Will suggested with a way too mischievous grin. Nico nearly choked on his drink.

Nico ordered Will some kind of rice three with five little drawings of peppers by it in revenge, and himself a carbonara because he panicked and forgot the spaghetti rule. The waitress twinkled as Nico spoke both of them, and promised it wouldn't be long as though she was prepared to personally threaten the chef to make it happen.

"She's totally in love with us," Will said.

"We're acing it," Nico said. "Look at your not-sister and not-Percy. They're way behind."

Will's grin was like a thousand candles.

If Nico's heart hadn't been racing so hard he could almost have forgotten that they were faking a date. Being with Will was so easy. The conversation never faltered and even the silences were comfortable as long as Nico didn't forget himself and start getting lost in the cerulean colour of Will's eyes. Even then he could just pretend he thought they were losing sight of their free desert and that he was upping their game, so it wasn't as concerning as it could have been.

Will was doing surprisingly well with the spicy rice and insisted it wasn't hot at all. Nico was convinced that was just because he didn't want to give Nico the satisfaction, because his cheeks were beginning to redden. He looked impossibly beautiful in the flickering light and Nico found himself smiling more than he had in a long time.

"So," the waitress said as took Nico's plate.

"How long have you two been going out?"

"Oh, not long," Will said.

"This is our first official date," Nico confirmed.

"Aww," the waitress said. "That's so cute. You two are so brave."

"I don't need to be brave. Will gives me all the strength I need."

Will was out of the waitress’s line of sight which was lucky because he was trying not to crack up and was indicating with his eyebrows that Nico might be laying it on a bit thick.

"I'm so lucky to have met Nico," Will said smoothly as the waitress turned to collect his plate. He was impressively straight faced.

"I don't believe in love at first sight but he just kind of captured me you know?"

"We met on the street, just kind of bumped into each other. Will was a moron in face paint. But he was an endearing moron."

"Aww babe, you're too kind."

"You two are just the sweetest. Tell you what, since it's a special occasion how about desert? On the house."

Will gushed his thanks and made eyes at Nico. Nico didn't have to act like he was a) thrilled about free desert or b) melting under Will's gaze and the waitress, obviously believing their lie that the attraction was two sided wandered off to fetch a desert menu.

Nico chose a chocolate gateau and Will opted for some fancy tart thing. Nico insisted his free desert was way better and Will told him he was incredibly wrong so they ended up sharing in an attempt to try and find an ultimate winner. Nico was half convinced their accidental cuteness during desert would be enough to get their whole meal for free, but Will insisted on paying anyway.

Out in the cold air, Nico found he couldn’t walk in a straight line, and kept bumping into Will. Eventually Will looped his arm through Nico’s. Nico turned to him in surprise.

“I’m slightly concerned you’re going to wander into traffic,” Will said in explanation.

Nico thought about protesting that he was just fine and not drunk at all, thank you very much, he only had one and if he was drunk (which he wasn’t) it would be Will’s fault for ordering such a huge cocktail. But he didn’t, because he liked being close to Will.

“Let’s go dancing,” Nico said.

Will burst out laughing.

“You really are drunk!” he said.

“And you really are the mom friend,” Nico told him accusingly.

“I thought you’d hate dancing,” Will said musingly.

“Oh I absolutely do,” Nico said, managing to suppress but I don’t really want this fake night to end which just proved he wasn’t too drunk after all.

Will was still laughing.

“Then maybe we should go home,” he said.

“You’re boring.”

“We can try and figure out how to make that cocktail that’s got you feeling like you want groove.”

“Less boring.”

“I bet you have fancy drink making skills you can show off.”

“I don’t work at some five star restaurant, Will,” he said. But cocktails sounded nice so he allowed Will to take them home.

As he was stumbling walking through the front door, he saw a blue envelope thing on the matt under his feet. He picked it up, squinting at the writing but the words were blurring so he shoved it in Will’s direction.

“That cocktail must have been really lethal,” Will commented but he took the proffered note.

“It’s from Percy. He says he wanted to give it to you in person but guesses you weren’t in or were avoiding him in revenge for all the calls. I think it’s an invitation to the engagement party.”

Nico’s mouth suddenly turned sour and the pleasant, floaty, tipsy feeling vanished leaving behind the feeling he was being pulled down by the weight of the world. Suddenly he was unreasonably angry, at Percy for ruining his perfect not-date, at Percy for getting engaged, at himself for not being able to just move on. Will was looking at him with concern in his eyes and Nico felt a rush of affection nearly choking him.

“If I’m your fake boyfriend then you have to be mine.”

“I mean yeah – I think that’s how it works?”

“No, I mean you have to be mine. Come to Percy’s engagement with me.”

Will raised an eyebrow. He still looked concerned but he nodded.

“Yeah,” he said. "Okay, sure.”

Next Chapter

[jflashandclash]

Attrition of Peace

Sixteen: Annabeth

We Have an Inappropriately Timed Dance Party; Monsters Included

 Everything about the club made Annabeth feel uncomfortable. There were too many areas for ambush, too many shadowed spots, and too many monsters she and Percy had previously sent back to Tartarus. This was the closest she’d felt to being the warden that ended up on the wrong side of the bars since… well, Tartarus.

The lighting was dim, with blinking swirls dipping down from an expansive ceiling. Dark shapes glided across the top, suggesting creatures existed beyond her sight. The entire dome faded to nothingness, like Morpheus himself had added little touches to make it shimmer and shift like an aurora.

There was a two story bar on one side, where two Gegenees—six-armed giants—were bartending with more efficiency than all the Time Square’s Starbucks baristas during morning rush. The stools along the bar could rotate out for stools of various other heights, some short enough for one of the Kabeiri—dwarf deities and sons of Hephaestus—to sit on, while another stretched tall enough for a ten foot frost giant to flirt with a winged woman on a second story patio above the bar.

The bar continued to curve opposite the entrance and ran alongside a small pool, where telekhines, merfolk, and icthyocentaurs were cheering on a particularly small telekhine. “Jump! Jump! Jump!” they shouted until the telekhine did a trick flip off a ledge. They cheered and clanked their glasses of ambrosia together. One particularly excited fishperson dove into the water to throw an arm around the telekhine, “I love this guy! You’re a real, class-act fish, you know that?”

           Most horrifying: there were some humans or—Annabeth assumed—older demigods. They sat on a small stage opposite the bar, laughing and shoving at each other. There was a giant cage above that stage, and the slightest hint of a disco ball tucked into the cage. Annabeth guessed it was appropriate. How else were you going to get people to disco anymore?

There was a dance floor in the center, with scattered tables and chairs. Several monsters and a half-blood were helping to pull the tables to the sides of the room, like they were preparing for a major event.

           There was music, but it was too quiet for what Annabeth assumed a club should have. It was some kind of mix between swing and electronic.

           When their group of eight entered, no one paid them mind. Nearby monsters seemed to intentionally ignore them, though they picked up their heads to sniff a few times. Annabeth found this particularly disturbing. Monsters did not ignore half-bloods.

           Without another word, their group split. This was not where she wanted to split up, but they would all be within sight of each other. Hazel and Frank took a step to the side of the entrance, to keep track of the flow in and out and to assure they didn’t scare off Axel and Pax. Nico and Will walked towards the bar, where a group of ghosts had clustered. An inebriated looking ghoul made a whistle through a partially rotted mouth at Nico. It made Annabeth wonder if the undead could get drunk, or if they just died that way, then she remembered Odysseus’ palace and shuddered.

           From the corner of her eye, she could see Will’s hand slip into his jacket, likely to make an unpleasant rebuttal at the ghoul, but Nico—thankfully—stopped him.

           Piper and Jason walked towards the stage.

           “It’s not very often I get to take you clubbing,” Percy said, offering her his arm. “Now, would you rather I pull two clubs out of the back so we can start bashing monster heads or actually dance?”

           Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Shut up Seaweed Brain,” she said and led him past the dance floor. Now was not the time. She remembered the first time they went to a dance together, with Thalia and Grover when they were looking for new demigods that turned out to be Bianca and Nico. Percy had been so flustered and cute. They'd had school dances since, ones where Annabeth had to ward off several members of the swim team, since Percy was too oblivious to realize they were flirting.

           A relaxing time like that was well overdue.

           Annabeth shook her head and forced herself to stop swaying to the beat of the music. She was surprised—she didn't even like this style of music, but something about the atmosphere was contagious.

She and Percy, naturally, went towards the telekhines doing water tricks. When Percy squeezed her hand to lead them towards the pool, she could tell he was humming along and bobbing his head.

They were close enough to the pool for a telekhine to snort at them when Annabeth caught sight of Merry.

Annabeth wondered if Axel had Misted Merry’s presence before. She seemed in such an obvious spot and they must have walked past her. The Indian girl sat cross-legged on top of a table on the dance floor that was pushed further towards the stage. Her burgundy parka looked black in the dim lighting. Her watch kept catching and reflecting tiny gleams from the ceiling. There were a few monsters nodding their heads to the music beside her, like this was a casual monster-demigod occurrence.

On the table around her, there were at least two dozen cans of Diet Coke.

Merry looked completely at ease for being amongst monsters and within six feet of Jason Grace.

Piper was talking to two older demigods that were sitting on the far side of the stage. She was swaying to the beat of the music, unaware Jason had caught sight of one of their fugitives.

Merry waved at him. That might have been the call for a peace treaty, but it could just have easily been a trap. Annabeth hoped Frank and Hazel would be comfortable ignoring their orders from Ares long enough for them to have a conversation.

Annabeth grabbed Percy's arm and motioned towards Merry. Percy nodded in understanding. Before they got more than a few feet, a hoard of telekhines—part seal, part dog monsters—hopped out of the pool and flooded them.

"Percy Jackson!" one cried. Annabeth went to draw her dragonbone sword.

"I heard he withstood a volcano."

"My brother was there—he saw it!"

"Will you take a selfie with us, Mr. Jackson?" another held out a waterproof encased iPhone, snickering. None of them made a move to attack, but all of them brandish iPhones at them with their webbed paws with the same ferocity as you would a weapon.

"Sorry, I don't usually pose for the paparazzi," he said. Annabeth could tell Percy was thinking about knocking them back into the pool with one quick wave of water. But the commotion of the telekhines caught the attention of a giant at the bar, the ghouls that were talking to Nico, and several winged lizard people on the second story balcony.

If Annabeth was ever going to get into a barfight with a hoard of monsters, these were the friends she would want as backup. They'd been through worse fights. A fight wouldn't do them any good though. All that would do is make a great cover for any escapes and destroy any chance to parley.

Then Merry's voice carried across the club. "You know, I love this song. No matter how upset I am, it can always cheer me up," she said. "What makes you happy? The smile of a lover? The yummy relaxation after a fierce fight or chase? Your favorite dessert?"

From what Annabeth could see, there was no microphone on Merry. That girl could project.

Although Annabeth should have kept focus on their current circumstance, her mind wandered to the image of Percy smiling. She could feel Percy's gaze fall onto her and a giddy sensation told her he was thinking the same thing.    

Focus, she scolded herself. Although she had ADHD like the rest of the half-bloods, her thoughts didn't tend to wander during a potential fight; they usually hyper-focused.

The telekhine had gone silent. They were still in between them and Jason, but were now staring at Jason and Merry. Although everyone else in the club kept to their separate conversations, Annabeth had the distinct feeling those two were in the spotlight.

Jason Grace hesitantly took a few steps closer to Merry. As Annabeth was hoping, he didn't raise any weapons. Just his empty hands. "'Hey, we just want to talk—"

"So do we, but a little encounter in New Rome gave some of our members the heebie-jeebies, so we'd rather do it after we've regrouped, listened to some therapeutic music, and aren't being chased by a group of seven scary half-bloods."

For a moment, Annabeth thought Merry had miscounted and didn't realize there were eight of them.

Merry shrugged. "Will doesn't count as a scary half-blood. He's too much of a cutiepie."

There was no verbal protest from Will at the bar. When Annabeth risked a glance over, she saw the blond medic frowning, with his arms crossed. The fact that his head kept bobbing to the music didn't make him any scarier. Nico patted his shoulder. "She's right," said the son of Hades.

"Until then," Merry's voice brought Annabeth's attention back over. "Have you heard of that old 2010's song, Party Rock Anthem?  

On cue, the music blended from the electronic jazz into someone shouting, "Party rock!" and a round of the chorus. The volume increased, until the synthesizers felt like they were shaking Annabeth's bones.

"Merry—" Jason started to say. Piper took a careful step closer to them, away from the stage.

"Clap," Merry said with the song, closed her eyes, and bobbed her head.

Jason and Piper both clapped. From the corner of her eye, she could see Will clap as well. He glanced down at his hands in confusion, a derpy smile touching his lips. The monsters nearby laughed and started to clap along to the chorus:

Everybody just have a good time.

And we gon' make you lose your mind.

We just want to see you...

Merry grinned and hopped off the table. She opened her eyes, and sang, "Shake that," with the music.

What happened next was the last thing Annabeth expected.

Jason pounded his fists in the air to the beat and kicked his feet about in a wild, mad dance.

Piper burst into hysterical giggles. She looked like she was trying to mouth the word, "stop," but the music completely drowned out her voice. Will began to disco beside a baffled Nico, in a way that would probably make his father quite proud.

Within a few beats, Jason danced his way over to Piper, and took her in his arms. Then the two were twirling in delirious glee.

The daughter of Dionysus snapped her fingers, and the monsters around them joined in their crazed revelry.

This was a trap.

Annabeth tried to ignore the way her limbs shook. Her mind kept fluttering to happy memories—kissing Percy in the lake, her early acceptance letter to New Rome, being awarded the architect of Olympus. A giddiness threatened to break her mind. The energy from the party felt contagious in a way she hadn't felt since the sirens tried to drown her.

She could feel Percy sway at her side. The telkhines were hopping on their fins, like a tiny mosh pit of puppies. She tried to step through them, towards Jason and Piper, but was pushed backwards, into Percy.

“Hey! Watch it!” Percy snapped, helping her stay up.

When she stumbled, Annabeth made eye contact with Frank. He and Hazel were far away from Merry, still by the exit. They were seemingly unaffected. Their jaws had dropped in shock at seeing their former praetor and friend break into the electric slide next to a Scythian dracaena.

Two human figures split from the monsters near the entrance. Annabeth's eyes widened as Axel and Ajax Pax crept out of the darkness.

Annabeth tried to shout a warning over the music, but it was too late.

Axel had already politely tapped Frank's shoulder; Ajax, Hazel's.

When the Romans turned to them, the Pax brothers somersaulted towards the dance floor, instead of the exit like Annabeth would have expected. The acrobats sprang to their feet outside the forming crowd. Axel gave them a taunting wave. Ajax winked and blew Frank a kiss. They danced backwards into the mass of monsters, engulfed by the crowd.  

Hazel and Frank raced after them, disappearing into the throng.

Percy made the motion to laugh.

Annabeth slapped him. "FOCUS!" she shouted, but knew he couldn't hear her. "THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" she mouthed at him. "THIS IS A TRAP."

Percy shook his head, like he was trying to clear it. Percy pointed to where Will was using a monster’s tail as a fake microphone. His message was clear: he disagreed that this wasn’t funny. Nico rolled his eyes, grabbed Will, and dragged him towards Annabeth and Percy.

“We need to get over there!” Annabeth said. She drew her dragonbone sword. The smallest telekhines in the group flooded towards her, giving her puppy dog eyes and pouts. One even curled up on her leg, like her dog used to when she was little.

Despite knowing they were monsters, Annabeth struggled to bring her sword down, especially when they showed no signs of attacking.

           Annabeth scanned the room to account for everyone and was horrified to find that she’d lost track of the Pax brothers and that they’d lost two more to the throbbing bass. Frank’s lumbering figure could be seen leading Hazel in a French gavotte dance. Both of them had the same maniac grins as the others. A giant cackled and patted Frank’s back as he went by. The Canadian almost flopped onto his face, making Hazel burst into crazed giggles.  

           Annabeth strained to concentrate despite the intense urge to let herself fold into the music and relax—a well earned relaxation after worrying so much over getting Percy to explore New Rome, over studying for midterms, over helping Jason erect the latest statue to the goddess Cloacina at camp—

Annabeth grabbed her hand. She’d dropped her sword. The limb had started to sway on its own accord. They needed to do something fast. Annabeth had only ever seen Pollux use his powers once. It was to make the Stoll brothers lose their minds, after a horrendous grape prank gone wrong, so she didn’t know much about how the children of Dionysus could fight. But, she could guess this whole party atmosphere must have been straining Merry. If they could just interrupt the party for a few seconds, Annabeth doubted Merry could start it up again.

Annabeth grabbed Percy’s hand and desperately resisted the urge to pull it around her. Instead, she motioned towards the pool.

Percy cracked a smile, knowing what to do.

He lifted one hand. The water surged up, twisted in a tunnel around she, Percy, Will, and Nico, and blasted the other partygoers like a fire hose.

There were complaints and shouts. Monsters slid onto the ground. Half-bloods were knocked over. The music paused, though Annabeth hoped Percy had fried the circuits at the DJ booth, wherever it was.

Hazel and Frank stumbled to their feet, looking dazed. Piper and Jason were still grinning at each other stupidly on the ground. Several monsters shook out their coats.

The party sensation seemed dead.

Then the distinct British accent of Calex Rupin McKenzie shouted, “Pool party, mates!” from the second story patio.

Pax crawled out from under a giant and jumped up, hopping from one foot to another. “You heard him! Gentlemen, please remove your shirts and deposit them on the floor!” To provide an example, he pulled off his shirt and swung it over his head.

To her horror, several ghouls and clothed beasts followed suit.

A hand shot out of the pile of downed monsters and Merry dragged herself back up to be beside the table. She pressed something on her jacket, and Annabeth could feel the hum of an amp, like there were still functional electronics all around them. Annabeth couldn’t tell if the glistening on Merry’s forehead was sweat or water. She looked weak and pale, but had a psychotic grin plastered on her face.

Nico, beside them, just looked annoyed. He was struggling to keep Will from taking off his shirt. “What’s the plan?” he asked.

Annabeth’s mind spun. There was still a happy haze fogging her thoughts, but she knew she needed to concentrate. She thought about something she hated thinking about—all of her struggles in Tartarus, the pain, and the terror of failure. It sharpened her focus, rocking her out of the partying mood. She wondered if that’s how Nico was so unaffected.

Percy was barely holding it together. He kept bobbing his head, and swaying side to side, despite the lack of audible beat.

“I think we need to go after Merry,” Annabeth said. “But it looks like we’re more prone to her the closer we get.”

This part was delicate. The strange energy of the party felt like an effervescence about to be uncorked and Annabeth, Percy, and Nico needed to get their friends away from Merry before—

Merry righted herself, and shouted, “Every day I’m shuffling!”

The music thundered back into the club. If anything, the atmosphere shifted to be more manic. Axel and a few monsters picked up Frank and then Jason to crowd surf them towards the stage, the boys laughing along the way. Everyone jumped in excitement to the beat.

“Peter Johnson!” Merry sang and gave them a wave. “You’rrrrre next!”

Annabeth and Percy exchanged a glance. She knew he hated that name. Percy went to raise his hands again, ready to give them more than a single dousing of water. The liquid on the floor rippled back towards them. Another blast should be enough. Merry couldn’t start this mania up again. And if Percy could capture Axel and Pax with the pool water…

He took a step forward, and Annabeth thought she could see him say, “Sorry guys, but its past demigod curfew.”

Annabeth flinched, furious at herself for assuming all six of their fugitives were in the dance crowd. She’d only seen three.

Merry winked and waved at someone on the second story patio.

Annabeth turned and saw something that made her insides freeze. The music turned into a din as her vision tunneled.

Calex Rupin McKenzie stood on the edge of the patio, his bow drawn. A dazzling arrow of sputtering light was notched on his string. His bow was aimed right at them. Even at this distance, she could swear he mouthed the words, I’m sorry, Percy, before firing.

Instinct took over.

Annabeth shoved Percy out of the way.

The arrow pierced into her back.  

 Thanks for reading! I’ve been feverish the last few days, and honestly couldn’t remember the name of this book when I went to post this chapter (seems appropriate for the chapter though). So! I hope my edits aren’t too terrible and you’re able to enjoy!

[i-write-shakespeare-not-disney]

Warm Me Up pt. 20

Songs I listened to: Water Under the Bridge, Love in the Dark- Adele; Six Degrees of Separation- The Script; Echoes of Love- Jesse and Joy; Purest of Pain- Son by Four

Click Here for Ch. 1

Click Here for pt. 19

Sometimes, being in a small campus wasn’t such a great thing.

There was no way to escape the people you saw every day. There was nowhere to hide. And every day, it was the same people at the same spot doing the same things.

Nico wondered how he had ever gone through a day without seeing Will before. It seemed that wherever he went, he had to be on high alert to be sure he didn’t run into him. Seeing him was the last thing Nico wanted.

The first few days had been the worst. His friends, especially Leo and Percy, kept trying to get to the bottom of the break up. They refused to believe Nico had simply stopped wanting to be with Will. They constantly reminded of how head over he heels he had been and how much they both cared for each other, and on and on and on and on.

Many times, Nico had to escape them by going to the dirt road or simply leaving and going to smoke somewhere isolated.

As if he needed the reminders.

As if he didn’t feel the pain of being without Will every night he slept alone, every morning he tried to reach for a face or a hand that wasn’t there, every time he stepped outside and realized how empty his hand was. As if he didn’t hate himself for causing the pained expression on his sweet, happy face.

As if it wasn’t hard enough already.

He walked to the printing room that was in the same building as the café and the dining hall to print an assignment, letting his eyes flit to different things every two seconds. He didn’t want to see Will if he was there.

Still, he couldn’t help but lightly scan the groups of people for his blond waves or his resplendent blue eyes. He wasn’t there.

Ignoring the mixture of disappointment and relief, Nico walked into the printing room and got the assignment he needed, stuffing it haphazardly into his backpack. He walked to the restroom across the hall. As he washed his hands, he heard a familiar chuckle just on the other side of the door which made him freeze.

The door opened and Nico ducked into a stall, just barely managing to keep it from slamming. He shut his eyes and tried not to make a sound.

“Hey, Mom. Yeah, I just had to get away from my friends.” His voice was so near. So familiar. It was both painful and wonderful to hear. “Break?” he asked, with only the slightest tremor in his voice. I’m so sorry…. “Uh, yeah, I think it’s still a go. If the hospital doesn’t need any emergency shifts or something.” A pause. “Yeah, I know-” The door opened again and Will cut off for a split second. Then, “I know it’s not my actual job, Mom. But I like doing it. Um, hey I have to go, but I’ll call you tonight.” Another pause. “Yeah,” he murmured softly. “I’ll tell him hello for you.” Nico heard him huff and then his footsteps.

But then another set of footsteps squeaked against the tile as Will’s steps halted. “I told you.” Nico’s blood turned to ice. Rage made him begin to shake. What the hell did Lucas want now?

“Excuse me?” Will answered, his voice cold and sharp.

“I told you he’d ruin you. He ruins everyone.”

The rage collapsed as the truth in those words overwhelmed Nico. He grimaced and bit his lip. Surprisingly, he heard Will laugh. It wasn’t a real laugh. It wasn’t even close. But it made a point. “He didn’t ruin me,” he answered, his voice as cold as it had been before. “Unlike you, I’m not pathetic enough to base all of my worth on one guy’s affection. I am nowhere near ruined.”

Nico heard Will’s footsteps as the door opened and closed again. A few seconds later, he heard the shuffle of Lucas’ as he left too.

Nico let out a breath and shook his head. A smile played on his lips as he recalled Will’s comeback. It was a bit of a relief to hear. He was glad he hadn’t broken Will. He was happy Will knew better. Maybe it was thanks to his friends, or maybe he was just that well established, but Nico was happy to hear that Will didn’t feel ruined.

He finally left the stall and looked at himself in the mirror.

He looked like he always had. And yet, so much had changed when he thought back to September. In some ways it was the same reflection, but in so many others it wasn’t. The one he was looking at now had felt love. Had felt hope. Had felt affection. Protected and protective.

And now, heartbroken.

He scowled at himself and left the restroom. He didn’t have time to pity himself.

On his walk back to his dorm, he ran into Percy. “I was looking for you,” he greeted.

“You found me. What’s up?”

“There’s a party tonight at Jason’s. Celebrating the arrival of Spring break. You want to come?”

Nico eyed him suspiciously. “You didn’t invite Freckles, did you?” Percy narrowed his eyes, but he didn’t snap at Nico the way he tended to do whenever Nico overplayed the “I don’t care about what’s-his-face” act. He shook his head and looked at Nico expectantly. “Okay, then I’m in. Get me a bottle of vodka, I’ll pay you back.”

“You hate vodka,” he protested as Nico walked away.

“What are you talking about? I love vodka,” he called back. He winked and continued to his dorm.

For a moment, he stared at the backpack he’d thrown on his desk. Then, after two seconds of deliberation, he chose to fall asleep until someone came knocking to take him to the party.

Nico found himself sleeping a lot lately. He either slept or spent his time drinking and smoking at the dirt track with his bike. At that point he didn’t even bother asking for a ride back. He just tried to return to campus before he got drunk and finished whatever he had in his room. He was hungover for most of his classes if he didn’t skip them altogether.

It was back to the way it used to be; Nico deteriorating in his room or out alone while his friends remained oblivious to the destruction. That’s how he preferred it though.

He knew that if anyone knew what he was doing, they would make him tell Will or tell him themselves. Nico had not steeled himself to say so many horrible things for nothing.

He’d broken up with Will, and it was for the best. At least for Will. Now nobody would hold him back. Nobody would make him worry so often, nobody would make him stressed, nobody would argue and fight. He was better off now.

When he woke up it was because someone was shaking him. “Dude, come on, you’re not even dressed yet,” Percy chided.

“How the hell did you get in?”

“You left the door unlocked.” Nico frowned and Percy hauled him off the bed. “Are you going or not?”

“Yes! Jeez, just give me a minute to wake up.” He snatched away from him and turned to the sink so he could splash his face and wake himself up. Then he turned to his wardrobe and grabbed a different shirt and tugged on his shoes. “Alright, happy?”

Percy rolled his eyes and nudged him out of the room. They drove to Jason’s apartment and Nico was surprised to see so many people already there, stuffed into the small space of the living room. Four people were playing beer pong by the door, a group of people were taking shots together at the kitchen table, and others were dancing along to the music or sitting and singing.

Immediately, Nico looked for his bottle of vodka. He grabbed it before anyone else could and took a big gulp, wincing as it burned its way down his throat. “Cheers,” he muttered. He turned away and sat down beside a couple that was making out. The sight made Nico nauseous and he continued his haphazard way of drinking.

Within fifteen minutes, Nico became dizzy. He drank too quickly and it was hitting him all at once. He set the bottle aside and stumbled to the bathroom, chiding himself for getting tipsy so fast. He sighed and again he stared at his reflection. It was wrong. There was something very wrong with it.

Agitated, he turned away and returned to the party, but instead of sitting he joined in the dancing. The bass reverberated through the room and Nico moved along to it, not even caring when someone slinked nearer to him and began dancing against him.

He wanted to forget. He wanted to forget everything, but he couldn’t seem to be able to.

When the song was over, he took another shot of vodka and turned to the table to follow it up with one of whiskey or tequila or whatever the hell he could get his hands on.

Ten minutes later and memories began slipping. He couldn’t remember what time he’d gotten there. He couldn’t remember what songs he’d danced to. He couldn’t remember why he’d bothered coming. He couldn’t remember how many shots he’d taken or where he’d left his vodka.

But he remembered Will’s laugh. He remembered his smile. The freckles, and how they darkened in the sun, how his hair glinted while he sat by the café window. He could remember his voice, soothing, soft, husky on those days he was comforting Nico or the days they woke up together. He remembered his touch, soft and warm.

Suddenly he couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t see anything in front of him, and everything was swaying or blurring or tilting.

He stumbled his way to where he thought the door was and stepped out to a quieter place, filled only by the laughter of strangers and the smell of weed.

“Whoa, hey,” someone said. Nico looked for the source of the voice and saw a boy with black hair swept to one side. “Everything okay?” Nico nodded. “You’re crying,” he noted.

“Oh.” He rubbed his eyes, surprised when his hand came away wet. “Oops,” he muttered. “Are you high?”

“Yeah,” the boy answered with a laugh. “Hey, aren’t you the guy that was dating that b-”

Before he could finish, Nico leaned forward and kissed him. He’d done it before; he’d made out with strangers at a party for the hell of it. He’d kissed people he barely knew because he was bored and it was fun and he was drunk anyway.

The guy pulled away laughing and shook his head. “Dude, I’m not gay. But wow, you’re a good kisser.” He patted Nico’s shoulder. “Here, I have a friend here, he’s pretty fucking gay. Isaac!”

Nico looked over to see a guy in a jean jacket walking over. He was taller. He had wavy hair. But his was brown. His eyes were green.

He couldn’t remember what happened next, but before he knew it, he was on a bed, kissing this boy vigorously, trying to get one stupid name out of his head. Strange lips were at his neck, unfamiliar hands under his shirt, uncomfortable weight on him.

He didn’t like it. He didn’t like kissing someone else. But he still did it. He could taste the weed’s aftertaste in his mouth, which made him cringe. He reeked of it. In the back of his head, Nico wondered about his vodka bottle. Where was it? Could he get another sip before he had to go back?

A door opened, but Nico was barely aware of it. “Oh my God,” someone muttered. “Percy?” Nico frowned. Percy wasn’t here.

Suddenly, he was being ushered out of the room. “Man, get the hell out of here!” Nico thought they were talking to him, but when he tried to move, a hand gripped him tightly and an angry voice snapped, “Not you!” Nico stumbled back and suddenly he was on the floor, dazed and confused. “Jesus Christ, Nico!”

He was picked up and managed to recognize Percy in front of him with an angry expression. “Hey,” he greeted.

“You’re done. I’m taking you back to your dorm.”

Nico snatched away and pushed him. “You’re not my boyfriend!” he shouted. “I don’t have to listen to you!”

“Why are you crying?” Percy asked. Nico wiped his eyes and scowled at the tears that streaked his hand. “Nico, come on. Let me take you back.”

He resisted, but Percy was already getting him out of the door and down the sidewalk with Annabeth on the other side. Nico wasn’t too sure where she had come from. But he thought her blonde hair was pretty.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been walking before he found himself on all fours, retching, vomiting right there on the sidewalk. He heard someone curse behind him, but he didn’t have the mental capacity to care.

He felt sore, tired, and slightly sober by the time he was done. Percy and Annabeth helped him up again and led him to the car. Annabeth gave him a plastic bag. “In case you feel sick again, okay?”

He nodded and kept his eyes on her hair. “You have really pretty hair,” he whispered. She smiled and ruffled his hair. As they drove, he furrowed his eyebrows. “What did I do?” he asked. “I was… doing something. Where did I leave my vodka?”

“Go to sleep,” Percy answered. Nico shook his head then fell asleep.

He was nudged awake when they were back at the campus. Annabeth was at his door ready to help him. “I’m fine now,” he muttered. “Just a little dizzy. I can get to my dorm. I’m sorry for the trouble.”

“You’re sure you’re okay?” Percy asked, frowning. Nico nodded and waved as he turned away.

He had hoped they would drive away when he started walking, but Percy’s car remained parked outside the building until Nico had made it to the door. When Nico was sure they were gone, he left his building and started walking. He was dizzy, and he had already forgotten most of the night. Memories kept slipping.

Throughout all of it, one thing remained. One thought, one memory, all night.

Will Solace.

Nico was in front of his dorm, led more by the habit than by conscious thought. He stood in front of the door, staring at the name on the door beside Cecil’s. He gripped the doorframe and tried to figure out why he was there. What did he want? Did he want to knock? If he did what would he say?

He checked his phone, slightly surprised he still had it in the first place. It was nearly four thirty in the morning. Will wasn’t awake.

He touched the door with a shaking hand and sighed. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I am so, so sorry.” He leaned his forehead against the door and shut his eyes. “I miss you,” he continued. “I can’t get you out of my head. No matter how much I try. You’re always there.” He bit his lip and clenched his fist against the doorframe. “But I’m too much of a mess for you to worry about. You deserve more…. Dammit.” He stepped away and ran his hand through his hair, angry with himself for being there, angry that he didn’t have the balls to knock, angry that he’d let go of the one good thing that had happened to him, angry that he knew he shouldn’t try to get him back.

He walked away briskly, his mouth parched with a disgusting aftertaste, and a steady throbbing above his eye. He returned to his own dorm and threw himself onto his bed, completely out of energy to do anything else.

***

The hangover the next day was no small thing. It wasn’t the worst one he’d had, but it definitely could have been better. Nico woke up feeling shaky and short of breath. He threw up again, the burn of the vodka just as bad coming up as it had felt going down. He was thirsty and he had a dull headache with a fuzzy stuffy sensation in his brain.

After taking a shower and getting dressed, he went down to the café to get a sandwich and a mineral water, and hopefully an ibuprofen. While he was down there, someone went up to him, seeming oddly excited. “Hey! I didn’t catch your name last night,” he said.

“I’m sorry, what?” he questioned. The cocky smile faltered.

“Uh, I’m Isaac.” Nico stared at him, clueless, and frankly not really caring about who this guy was. “Wow, okay, never mind.” The boy walked away and Nico rolled his eyes before paying for his food and drink.

Before he could walk out, someone cleared their throat, and the sound alone made him freeze. He was afraid to turn around.

“Nico?” He took a breath and turned, making sure to keep his face blank. Will was in front of him, looking nervous and troubled. “Uh, here. This is… yours.”

Nico was surprised to see one of his sweaters in his hand and somehow the gesture broke whatever part of him still hadn’t fallen apart. “Oh. Um. Thanks.”

“Yeah, I was just… cleaning out my car and I found that.” He cleared his throat and stepped away as Nico took the jacket. Nico took a breath and tried to look for something to say if only to hear him talk a little more. But when he met his eyes again, they seemed a lot less bright than they had been two seconds ago. His cheeks were tinged pink, and when he spoke, his voice was barely a whisper. “You know, you should probably cover those. People will think you got hurt.”

“What?” he asked in confusion. Will gestured to his own neck, and Nico pulled his phone out to check his reflection. When he saw the dark purple hickeys on his neck, he felt a wave of embarrassment and guilt sweep over him. “Oh my God, I’m sorry.”

Will’s eyebrows furrowed. “For what? We’re not dating anymore. You can do whatever- or I guess whoever you want now. Right?” Nico didn’t answer. Will turned away and started walking back to Cecil, Paolo, and another boy Nico didn’t know.

“Will?” he called out before he could stop himself. His ex-boyfriend turned and arched an eyebrow. Nico realized he didn’t really have anything to say that wouldn’t give him away. So he racked his brain before stuttering, “S-So… um, y-you’re okay? You’re doing okay?”

There was a small twitch of his eyebrows that showed his confusion. “Yes,” he answered. Nico nodded and, for the sake of his sanity and embarrassment, he turned away and retreated to his dorm.

Not even ten minutes after he was safe in the confines of his room, someone was knocking on his door. He opened it and saw Percy and Leo standing there, waiting to be let in.

“Dude, did you make out with a vampire last night?” Leo snorted.

“Wouldn’t be surprised, I mean I really don’t remember anything. Uh come in, I guess.” He stepped away from the door and got onto his bed, eating as he laid down, which probably wasn’t healthy, but hey, neither was smoking or drinking an entire bottle of vodka and he still did those things. “Was I a lot of trouble?” he asked Percy.

“Let’s see, you disappeared in the first ten minutes, then I saw you dancing, I figured, okay he’s fine. The next thing I know, Jason’s calling me to get you and some dude out of his room so he can let one of his other friends sleep in there. You reeked of alcohol and weed.”

“I smoked?” he exclaimed.

“I don’t know! But you smelled like it!” he snapped. “Then you wouldn’t let me get you away from the party and you kept crying. Annabeth figured we should get you home safe and so here we are trying to get you walk two steps straight when suddenly you just pitch forward and throw up.” Nico winced and Leo shuddered. “So yes, you were a lot of trouble. But,” he allowed. “I’ll forgive you if you’re honest with me.” Nico raised an eyebrow. “What’s the real reason you broke up with Will?”

Every part of Nico felt alerted and anxious. “This again?” he scowled. “I told you! I didn’t like him anymore, I’m not a dating type of guy. Get off my fucking dick about it and-”

Almost as if they’d planned it, Leo and Percy both rolled him off his bed and onto the floor, causing him to yelp in pain. Before he could yell at them more, Leo pulled him up. “Don’t give me that bullshit story again,” Percy snapped. Then in a softer voice, “Remember when you used to spend the night? Do you remember everything you said about him, about the way he made you feel?”

“The way you kept panicking over Valentine’s day. And meeting his parents,” Leo added, sitting on Nico’s bed.

“Or how worried you were when you thought you’d cheated on him on New Year’s?” Nico couldn’t speak past the knot in his throat, so he just shrugged. Percy sighed and crossed his arms. “Last night when I told you to stop drinking, you told me I wasn’t Will. And in the car, you told Annabeth she had pretty hair. That it looked like Will’s.” Nico furrowed his eyebrows together in concentration, determined not to admit to that, but unable to refute it with such a blurred memory.

“And when Will told me about the break up… Neeks, none of it made sense,” Leo said.

“Don’t call me that,” he whispered, keeping his eyes on the bed cover.

Leo sighed and rephrased. “It didn’t make sense, Nico. The way you talked to him. How sudden it was. I mean… Nico, the song you wrote for him-”

“What do you want me to say?” he finally shouted, turning away. Tears started falling down his cheeks incessantly, but he couldn’t stop them. “That I realized how horribly selfish I was being by keeping him in a relationship with me? I’m not good for him! I’m not good for anyone, I’m too fucked up, is that what you want to hear? It tore me apart to see how he’d get when he couldn’t help me even if it wasn’t his fault. He didn’t need that. He didn’t need to deal with me. And maybe he couldn’t see that, but you think his parents wouldn’t either? You think they wouldn’t see how shitty I am? Everyone else could!” He covered his mouth and felt everything in him collapse as his friends looked at him in surprise.

He sighed and wiped his face, no longer trying to stop the crying. “No, I didn’t want to break up with him. I…. It was the hardest thing I’ve had to do.” He looked at them feeling broken and empty. “But I had to do it. I was tired of pulling him down with me. I was tired of hurting him.”

“So instead of telling him that, you decided to tell him everything that would hurt him and break up with him?” Leo asked.

Nico glared at him. “You know how Will is. You think he would let me get away with that? He’d tell me I’m not dragging him down, he’d tell me I’m good, he’d tell me everything opposite of what I just said. I had to tell him those things. And neither of you can tell anyone what I just said. Don’t tell Annabeth, don’t tell Jason or Piper, and definitely do not tell Will!”

“But Nico-”

“No!” he shouted. “No, you don’t get to tell him. Not after all of this has already happened.” He looked at them waiting for them to agree. “Please. Please. Don’t…. Please.”

“Fine,” Leo finally agreed, much to both Percy and Nico’s shock. “Just because Will is finally doing better.” Nico furrowed his eyebrows.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean he’s stopped working himself to the bone just to keep himself from thinking. He goes out with his friends. At least that’s what Cecil told me.”

“Well there you go,” he choked in a broken voice. “His life is already better.” He rubbed his neck and sniffed. “Could you guys… go? Please?”

Both of them shuffled out a bit awkwardly, and Nico stared at his bed. He’d lost his appetite. He tossed the sandwich on his desk and put the mineral water into his mini fridge. He climbed onto the bed and saw his sweater. He grabbed it, surprised with how much it smelled like Will after being in his car for so long.

Though he was also grateful for it. Because when he tugged it on and closed his eyes, he could almost fool himself into thinking Will was there. That he was sitting nearby working on anatomy while Nico slept. It comforted him and let him fall asleep.

When he woke up the next day, he found himself searching for the warmth of the body that was supposed to be next to him. The familiar scent confused him and when his brain caught up, he stopped and instead curled further into himself. He checked his phone, surprised to see that it was incredibly early. But then, he’d fallen asleep around three in the afternoon. It made sense that he was already awake.

He sat up and groaned, frustrated with how messed up he was. This was exactly what he didn’t want. He didn’t want to depend on Will. He didn’t want to need him the way he did. He didn’t want to love him.

For a few hours, he tried to get homework done. Eventually he resorted to mindlessly plucking his guitar. Soon, he found himself playing a slower version of the song he’d sung for Will. He could remember that day so well.

He remembered the light in his eyes, the red blush that filled his cheeks as he realized Nico was singing to him, the smile that never faltered and made Nico’s heart stutter. He remembered getting off the stage and kissing him, showing everyone who was there that Will was his. His to kiss and hold and no one else’s. Because no one would appreciate him as much as Nico did.

He kept thinking about the expression on his face as Nico broke up with him. The shock, the pain. Will had no idea that the second he was safe in his room, he’d broken down. That Nico hated having to say the things he said.

But Nico wasn’t worth the trouble. He wasn’t worth loving, so he had to stop before Will started loving him. For all Nico knew, Will never would.

Click here for Ch. 21