Chapter Text
I
Will’s first thoughts when he saw Nico was, “Oh no, he’s hot.” Then it was, “We are all going to die.”
The idea was to spy on the enemy, and that turd face Octavian who was silently waving a banner that read ‘I SHOULD BE KILLED,’ but he didn’t expect to see Nico here. The guy looked just like he did a couple years back, in the battle of Manhattan, except his eyes looked more sunken and hollow. That kid had probably been through more than any other demigod combined.
He was looking at Octavian, with a glint in his eyes. Like a hunter who was pointing his rifle at his prey. Whatever he was planning, it couldn’t have been good.
“Nico?”
He spun around, the tip of his Stygian sword creating a blow of air that rushed past his nose. Why was it always the hot ones that tried to kill him?
“Put that down!” Will hissed, glancing at the wicked gleam of his sword. “What are you doing here?” He should have been with the rest of the demigods, protecting the others, or at least hanging low. Did that kid have a death wish?
“Me?” Nico asked, locking eyes with Will. “What are you doing? Getting yourselves killed?”
He could almost feel himself melting under Nico’s gaze. Will scowled as he felt his chest getting tighter. “Hey, we are scouting the enemy. We took precautions.”
The corners of Nico’s mouth twitched. “You dressed in black,” He noted, “with the sun coming up. You painted yourselves but didn’t cover that mop of blond hair. You might as well be waving a yellow flag.”
Will’s ears reddened. Who did he think he was? “Lou Ellen wrapped some mist around us as, too.”
“Hi,” She said, wriggling her fingers. Was it just his imagination or did she look a little flustered? “You’re Nico, right? I’ve heard a lot about you.” She quickly glanced at Will who turned away, his cheeks going scarlet. “And this is Cecil from Hermes cabin.”
Will had his doubts but he was 72.5% sure that Lou Ellen were paired for life, but neither of them had shown him what their Marks were. It was infuriating, really.
Nico knelt down, inches away from Will who had grown a fascination to the grass. “Did Coach Hedge make it to camp?”
Will elbowed her. “Yeah. Hedge is fine. He made it just in time for the baby’s birth.”
“The baby!” Nico grinned. Butterflies bumped around in Will’s stomach but he hushed them. No, he was not going to gain an attraction for someone who didn’t care about him. “Mellie and the kid are all right?” Ah, screw it. His mark was beginning to tingle.
“Fine. A very cute little satyr boy.” Will shuddered at the memory. “But I delivered it. Have you ever delivered a baby?”
“Um, no,”
“I had to get some fresh air. That’s why I volunteered for this mission. Gods of Olympus, my hands are still shaking. See?”
He took Nico’s hand and the butterflies turned to big giant moths, but he felt the darkness surrounding him like an invisible veil. Nico quickly withdrew, avoiding Will’s eyes. “Whatever,” he snapped. “We don’t have time for chit chat. The Romans are attacking at dawn and I’ve got to-“
Will cut him off. “We know,” Will said. “But if you are planning to shadow travel to that command tent, forget it.”
Nico glared at him. “Excuse me?”
He looked like he was used to people looking away or flinching but he held his ground, determined. “Coach Hedge told me all about your shadow travel. You can’t try that again.”
“I just did try it again, Solace. I’m fine.”
“No you’re not. I’m a healer. I could feel the darkness in your hand as soon as I touched it. Even if you made it to that tent, you’d be in no shape to fight. But you wouldn’t make it. One more slip, and you won’t come back. You are not shadow travelling. Doctor’s orders.”
“The camp is about to be destroyed-“
“And we will stop the Romans,” Will said. “But we will do it our way. Lou Ellen will control the mist. We will sneak around; do as much damage as we can to those onagers. But no shadow travel.”
“But-“
“No.”
He felt Lou Ellen’s and Cecil’s heads swivel back and forth like they were watching a really intense tennis match.
Knowing he had won that one, he lent back on the grass. He could tell Nico was itching to fire back retorts but he stayed quiet, his mop of dark hair shielding his eyes so Will couldn’t read them. As much as he’d hate to admit it, Will had always seen Nico, regardless of whether Nico wanted him to or not. But he had always stood two steps behind Percy and Will knew he couldn’t compete with that.
And then there was his mark to think about, dark like Nico’s hair, and alluring much like Nico in general. He wanted more.
After their heated discussion, Lou Ellen had pulled Will aside quickly and whispered into his ear, “I don’t have to be a daughter of Aphrodite to know when someone has a crush.” She sang the last part and let go of Will, giggling to herself.
This was not good.
II
Nico and Will were friends, right? So why had he not seen Nico after what happened to Octavian and instead see him talking to Jason Grace like they were best buds. He tried to quell his jealousy as he waved at Nico from the steps of his cabin. He saw Nico glance over and Will pointed to the ground with a stern look on his face, silently saying You. Here. Now.
.
“Where were you?” Will demanded, not even thinking about how he probably sounded like an overly clingy boyfriend.
“What do you mean?” Nico asked, staring at Will with an adorable confused face. No, don’t think about how cute his face is, his brain chided.
“I’ve been stuck in the infirmary for, like, two days. You don’t come by. You don’t offer to help.”
“I… what? Why would you want a son of Hades in the same room with people you’re trying to heal? Why would anyone want that?” Will knew that death followed him around as a shadow but close up Nico wasn’t all he made out to be. He was as intimidating as a puppy dog wearing a raincoat on a sunny day.
“You can’t help out a friend? Maybe cut bandages? Bring me a soda or a snack? Or just a simple ‘how’s it going, Will?’ You don’t think I could stand to see your friendly face?”
“What… my face?”
Nico was about the most oblivious demigod out there, even with his wits. It took all his effort to not smack him on the side of his head and say, “I like you and I think we are soul mates, let’s grab a coffee sometime!” But he couldn’t say that, he’d scare him off.
“You’re so dense,” Will said, rolling his eyes. “I hope you got over that nonsense about you leaving Camp Half-Blood.”
“I- yeah. I did. I mean, I’m staying.” Nico said, his fingers curled subconsciously at the hem of his shirt.
“Good. So you may be dense, but you’re not an idiot.”
“How can you even talk to me like that? Don’t you know I can summon zombies and skeletons and-“
“Right now you couldn’t summon a wishbone without melting into a puddle of darkness, di Angelo.” Will said. “I told you, no more Underworldy stuff, doctor’s orders. You owe me at least three days of rest in the infirmary. Starting now.”
“Three days? I – I suppose that would be okay.” Nico agreed, a light blush dusting his face.
Forget about you being related to Death, Nico, if you don’t kill me beforehand then your face will.
III
As soon as Nico’s head hit the pillow, he fell asleep. And he meant, deep, snoring so loud he would wake up the whole infirmary with that jumbo jet of a noise, kind of sleep.
His face looked peaceful in a slumber, not so tense and alert to dangers. Nico could’ve been in the safest place on earth and still be jumpy.
Without thinking, Will lent over and brushed the hair out of Nico’s face. His eye twitched at the movement but remained fast asleep.
He was too busy staring at Nico’s face to notice that the flap to their ward was lifted open by two demigods. They crept in and only when they were a few inches away from Will’s ear, Lou Ellen whispered, “He’s cute, isn’t he?”
“What the fu-“ Will jumped up, reaching for a weapon but his face relaxed when he saw it was just Cecil and Lou Ellen.
“Language, Will.” Cecil tsked, shoving a cookie in his mouth. God knows where he kept them, but he reached in his pants pocket to pull out another. Cecil offered him it but Will cringed, shaking his head slowly.
“What are you guys doing here?” Will demanded, crossing his arms. “You know the rules, patients and doctors only.”
Lou Ellen laughed. “You act like you’re a real doctor. Besides, we came to see how our bud, Nico, was doing.” The teasing look in her eyes seemed to make a big deal out of the word bud.
“He’s asleep.”
“Oh we know we watched you ogle over his angelic face.” Cecil joined him, bumping his hip with Lou Ellen’s. They giggled as Will blushed, stammering over his words.
“I- He- Just...” He stopped knowing that nothing he could say would change the fact that they both knew that Will liked Nico.
“But is he… you know… it?” Lou Ellen’s voice grew more serious and Will knew exactly what she was referring to.
“My Mark? I have no idea. And I don’t want to have an idea either. Just let him sleep, guys.” Will said, shoving his hands into his pockets so they wouldn’t see they were shaking.
“You can show us you know,” Cecil coaxed with a wide grin on his face.
He shook his head violently. “What if Nico wakes up? What if he’s awake right now? Don’t even get me started with you two; you guys have been dodging the subject since forever.”
Lou Ellen blushed and stepped away from Cecil like he was radioactive. “It isn’t about us right now. This can benefit Nico as well.”
“But he probably isn’t it.” Will hissed viciously, as his eyes started to burn.
Will was a doctor and he knew that the symptoms of a flushed face, racing heartbeat, and weak muscles wasn’t just the indication of the flu. He was desperately, whole heartedly infatuated with Nico di Angelo.
“You know what, just to prove you guys wrong,” Will began to take of his doctor’s shirt and pointed to the back of his shoulder at his Mark. He hadn’t let anyone besides his mother and younger sister, Astrid, see and he didn’t want anyone seeing but he guessed it was time.
“Are you mother-fu-“ Cecil began but Lou Ellen shot him a look of warning.
“What? What is it? You guys can tell me, please.” Will said, looking at each of their faces to see if they were hiding something. Lou Ellen avoided his eyes and Cecil looked nervously at the ground.
Will narrowed his eyes. “You guys do know something!” Will whisper-shouted, to not wake up Nico.
“We can’t tell you!” Lou Ellen said hurriedly. “It’s not our place to say.”
Cecil rolled his eyes like it was the most obvious thing ever. “Are you kidding me, it’s printed in bold dark, raven lines.”
“This is no time for your puns you scrunched up piece of paper.” Will said, pinching the bridge of his nose out of frustration.
“Nice insult,” Lou Ellen said sarcastically.
Will glared at her and slipped his shirt over his head. “Out. Now. Both of you. Leave.” Will said, giving them a little push towards the flap they used as a door.
“Good luck!” Cecil called softly over his shoulder and Will sighed as he heard Lou Ellen snicker.
He looked at Nico, still, thankfully, asleep. “What am I going to do about you?” Will murmured, then lent over his body and softly kissed his forehead.
IV
“So, I was thinking that you are fit to leave tomorrow.”
Will and Nico sat on beanbags in his ward, sipping on hot chocolates. It was a lazy afternoon and drizzle hung around the borders of Camp Half-Blood, threatening to spill over. He had brought in a wheel in television and they huddled around it, watching old reruns of the Brady Brunch.
Nico snorted into his cup. “Don’t worry, doctor, I could have left at any time. Just because you say I shouldn’t shadow travel, doesn’t mean I won’t.”
Will stayed quiet. So why didn’t Nico leave? He was too afraid to ask. Then Nico might actually stay away from Will. His eyes strayed from the screen to Nico who was staring intently at the television. A small smile slipped on to Will’s lips at the sight of Nico peaceful and relaxed. He had been through so much that these moments would be just as important as the rest.
“Hey Doc…” Nico began, turning to look at Will. He quickly turned his head back to the screen so Nico wouldn’t catch him staring at him. That would’ve been hard to explain.
“What is it, Neeks.” The nickname slipped out of his mouth before Will could register what he said. “I mean Death Boy. Nico. Crap. Goddammit.”
Nico breathed out a laugh. “It’s okay. I was just thinking we should join the campfire tonight. I haven’t done that in…” He blinked. “Years wow. I didn’t know I was away for so long…” He elapsed into silence.
Will stared at the pink marshmallow swirling in the frothy chocolate. “You want to? I can sing a song for you. Trust me, I am a brilliant singer.”
“For some reason I think you only gained the healing ability from Apollo. I know how bad you are at archery,” Nico teased lightly.
“We can’t all be perfect as you, darling.” Will drawled, letting his southern California accent seep into his words. He always did that when he was comfortable with someone.
“non sei l'unico con un accento , Solace.”
“You speak Italian?”
Nico nodded. “Born and raised. My sister and I would talk badly about our neighbor in Italian. It turns out, he is also fluent. I mean, duh, we both live there. Of course he could speak the language. But it was fun I guess. I just miss my sister.”
“Your sister… Not Hazel?” Will turned to look at Nico and his heart almost stopped when he saw tears in Nico’s eyes.
“I- I’m sorry. I don’t talk about Bianca anymore.” Nico said, wiping his eyes with the sleeves of his black hoodie.
Will shook his head. “No, it’s okay. It’s okay, I understand. I mean, Michael Yew… he was my best friend and he taught me everything I know and he died and…” Will broke off, a sob building up in his throat. But he couldn’t show weakness, not in front of Nico.
His Mark was starting to burn, and Will knew the eyes of the raven were shining. Ever since the summer it was beginning to do that.
Nico nodded. “I knew him. He was a good guy. I guess we are as bad as each other.” He gave a watery smile that he hid into his mug.
“Will!” A voice shouted from behind them. At the door was Kayla standing in a light blue doctors shirt and jeans. Her blonde hair was messily tied back and it looked like she hadn’t slept in days, like mostly everyone else.
“Kayla? What’s going on?” Will immediately shot up, putting his mug of hot chocolate aside.
“It’s not anything major. Some kid got burnt on the climbing wall. It is pretty bad and we need you to stabilize him.”
Will scowled. “I told everyone not to go on that till everyone is fixed. Gods of Olympus, I wish we were more organized like the Romans. Camp Half-Blood could learn a thing or two about them.” He turned to Nico, who was still staring at the screen. “Sorry Nico, I will talk to you later. Tonight? Campfire?”
Nico waved a hand at him, not even looking up. “Sure, cya Sunshine.”
His lips quirked surprisingly. That was new.
Outside the door on the way to the kids ward Kayla looked at Will with a mischievous smile on her face. “He’s cute, isn’t he?”
Will groaned, the tips of his ears beginning to redden in embarrassment. “I swear to the gods I will murder everyone here if you even mention his name.”
“You are starting to talk like him as well. It must be love.” Her brown eyes shined playfully.
He slugged her on the shoulder. “Shut up.”
V
The campfire felt alive. Its flames burnt a bright blue and it crackled merrily in the night sky, scorching the campers in the front’s marshmallows. Life felt good.
Up on the wooden stage the Hermes cabin was performing a re-enactment of Hercules and Will had got to admit, it was hilarious. Nico, sitting beside him, was snorting into his hand, much to his endearment.
“Trust me, Hercules actually sounds like that. I have met him before.” Nico lent over and whispered in Will’s ears, causing a shiver to run down his spine. Will flushed a bright red and hot.
“He sounds like an awesome guy then. Maybe I should get his autograph.” Will said.
Nico looked up at Will with the faintest trace of a smile on his lips. “Don’t even get me started on that. I promised him unlimited action figures if he could let me go and I still haven’t gave them to him yet. Let’s hope he forgets.”
“You should have scared him off instead. Said you ship him with the Minotaur.”
He looked at Will curiously. “I am guessing you don’t mean boats.”
“Ah sorry, I forgot you were born into a different century.”
Nico rolled his eyes, shoving a marshmallow into his mouth. He cringed, gulping the thing down his mouth. “I don’t like these things. They are too pink and unnatural.”
Will snorted at Nico’s horrified face. “They are marshmallows. They can’t hurt you, Death the Kid. “
He narrowed his eyes at Will. “I don’t really get that nickname but it’s awful, so do not call me that again.”
“Sure thing Death Breath.”
“That is even worse,” Nico complained.
The night was growing darker and colder by the second and it wasn’t doing much in favour of his shorts and a t-shirt. He shivered, even though he was literally the son of the god of the sun. He should have been a warm beacon of light 24/7.
“Hey...” Will murmured. “Can I hold your hand or sit closer to you or something? I am freezing my butt off and you are wearing a hoodie.” He blushed at his choice of words and Nico looked at him incredulously.
“You are... asking me to hold your hand?” Nico said with a look of disbelief.
Will felt sheepish and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Uh... Kinda?” He was mortified.
But Nico fumbled in the darkness for his hand and together they sat, hand in hand on a clear summer’s night. “I guess that would be okay.” Nico mumbled under his breath and Will wanted to kiss him there and then, but he held back, satisfied with just that little bit of touch.
His Mark seemed to tingle and Will couldn’t help but smile. In a world where demigods and soul mates existed, he felt like Nico having any sort of feelings back for him was impossible but this was happening. And it felt amazing.
VI
“Will, I am not singing with you. You are on your own.” Nico shook his head, a pink blush on his cheeks.
“Come on, you can sing back up!”
“No.”
Will pouted but reluctantly agreed, getting up on the stage with Cecil and Lou Ellen. “This one is called Priceless and it is dedicated to someone special.” He winked into the crowd aimlessly even though he knew exactly who it was for.
He heard a whistle go up in the air, from behind Nico’s head and Will saw a mop of blond hair slap him lightly on the back. Jason. Nico’s face went a bright red and he hid it in his hoodie. A spark of jealousy went through him and he squished it down. They were just friends. That was all. And even if they weren’t platonic buddies Will would definitely woo him with his voice.
“She makes me hide the way I want to feel in photographs. Oh... Every picture I'm gonna burn or every smile was a lesson learned.” Will began and the song took over his mind.
All he could think about was Nico and how he wanted to make him smile. Laugh. Blush. He wanted top share all these memories with him but he knew it was pointless. He’d never like someone like Will.
The song finished and Will stumbled off the stage and straight to his cabin where he proceeded to throw himself onto his bunk over dramatically. Whatever. He could afford to feel sad.
Will took of his top and peered over his shoulder at the Mark perched on his left shoulder blade. It still looked the same as ever, a dark as night raven with its wings spread in mid flight. Why couldn’t he of had a word or a name. Why did the fates have to make things so hard? It wasn’t fair. Then again, he was a demigod and life was never fair.
VII
“So...” Jason lent on the porches beam with a sly smile on his face. “I heard you like someone. And I will bet you ten bucks that I know who it is.”
“Jason... Please just go away.” Will was so tired and just wanted to sleep after a night of restless dreams. He didn’t have time for this. This was the fourth demigod to ask him about his love life and he had had enough.
“If you just tell me this... Is it Nico?” Jason asked, his usually blue eyes looked gray and steely.
Will looked down, his heart beating faster. His skin felt hot and clammy. “Uh... Yeah. It is. I uh... Yeah.” He finished lamely.
“Your Mark, I know it’s for him. I saw his and I know it’s meant for you. I am not that wise when it comes to love and soul mates but I know you guys are meant to be.”
“I- really? You can tell? How-“
“That’s all I wanted to hear, Solace. I will let you sleep now. You look like you need it. Oh and, go tell Nico. It will do you good.” Jason smiled then walked off to Piper who stood on the basketball courts, waving to him.
“Gee, thanks.” Will mumbled under his breath.
“Who are you talking to?”
Will whirled around to find Nico standing there with a curious expression on his face. “Uh- um... Jason?” He stammered, pointing to the back of Jason who had started to shoot hoops.
“Um okay... I don’t want to know to be honest. Oh... he wanted me to talk to you. I don’t know what about though.”
“For god’s sake. Um. Uh. Nope. I don’t think there is anything to talk about.”
Nico looked at Will suspiciously. “Are you sure? You are bright red. And your hands are literally melting they are that sweaty.”
He subconsciously wiped his hands down on his shorts. “Well, you see... Well, to be exact. Well...”
“By the gods, stop saying well. If you don’t want to talk about it, sure, I am cool with that. I would be a hypocrite to say ‘you should talk about! It helps I swear!’”
Will laughed nervously looking everywhere but Nico’s dark eyes. And his freckles that were scattered across his face in small smatterings. And his hair which hung over his eyes so Will wanted to push it aside and kiss his forehead.
“Nope, I am good.”
VIII
Nico was ignoring him. It started when they were playing Mythomagic in his cabin and he randomly bolted, leaving Will to pick up the cards. Not that he cared of course, about the cards. Maybe Nico finally decided he hated Will and wanted nothing to do with him. But he saw him again at the dining hall eating a cheeseburger and he knew that he had to speak to Nico.
He walked up to him, sitting beside him on the Hades table. He was alone, thank the gods. He didn’t want to have to explain to Hazel or Jason why he was having this talk with Nico and after the war the camp rules were beginning to get a little lenient. People could sit where they wanted now, but the table names still stuck.
“Nico, what’s up I didn’t see you at all today?” There was a moment of silence. "You better not be ignoring me. If so, I'm really sorry at whatever I did wrong. Even though I don't know what I did wrong. I'd like to know. Help me out here, Neeks."
He looked up at Will with a vicious glare on his face. “Don’t call me that.” He said coldly.
Will flinched, a pang of hurt running through his chest. "I'm sorry..."
His expression softened at the hurt look on Will’s face. "I’m sick. You should probably go now before you catch it." Nico says, adding a fake cough into it.
Who did he think he was fooling? "Don't bullshit. My dad is literally the god of healing. I think I would know if you were sick or not." Will quipped. "You have been avoiding me and you are not sick."
"Yes. Yes I am avoiding you now can you please just go?" Nico buried his head in his hands in utter mortification.
Now that hurt. He felt like he had been run through by a sword, and trust me, he knew how that felt. "Hey," Will said, and his voice is several degrees higher in alarm. He wrapped his hand around Nico’s slender wrist, so he couldn’t shadow-travel. That little cutie had a look in his heavy eyes that made Will think he really was going to. "Would you just tell me what's going on? I can't fix it if I don't know."
Nico shook his head. "You can't fix it. No one is able to. I just need to go..."
"Was it something I did wrong? I'm sorry if I said the wrong thing or hurt you, just please let me know!" Will sounded desperate and he knew it but it hurt to see Nico like this.
"No! Nothing of the sort." He can’t see Nico’s face but his body is slightly shaking and since it is 28 degrees outside Will knew it wasn’t from the cold. "I... I need to show you something."
Will blinked at him and then narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "And you promise you're not going to bolt if I let you go?"
Nico tried for a laugh. "I wouldn’t make it ten feet without you tackling me to the ground."
Will hesitated for a moment longer, but whether it's Nico's words or his dead serious expression he eventually stepped back, reluctantly releasing his wrist. He still was sure Nico was going to shadow travel to the next continent over.
He followed behind Nico to the Hades cabin, which he had no idea what they were doing there. Green flamed torches hung on the black walls outside it, casting an eerie shadow. They flickered violently, as if detecting that someone was there.
Once inside the cabin, Nico gestures to his bed. “You can have a seat on the bed.” He says awkwardly.
Will shuffled to it, taking in a minute to actually check this place out. It looked like Dracula’s summer home. The walls were dark and the beds were probably made for vampires with its mahogany frame and blood red sheets. But he sits down anyway, a little scared he might actually turn into a vampire. Who was he kidding, this was Nico’s bed. Nico slept in it. Now Will was a little bit more nervous.
Nico took in a deep breath and shut his eyes for a moment before plopping down beside Will on the bed and it’s so silent he can hear this own heartbeat beating furiously in his chest. Because let’s face it, Will was terrified.
"Well, you know about Marks and everything?" Nico began, his voice washing over Will. It’s ragged and Nico is breathing too hard. Why did Nico want to talk about their Marks? He stiffened, imagining his own and how he mostly thought of Nico when he saw it.
"Yeah... but what has this got to do with you?" Will asked, almost breathlessly. He feels almost lightheaded he’s so nervous.
"Have you ever seen mine?" Nico asked which made Will blink furiously. What?
"Of course not," he said. "Why would I - that would be beyond rude to snoop on someone's Mark like that without asking."
And then Nico began to slip his shirt off.
Oh my god Will chants over and over in his head, and he jerks back, his whole body going red. "What are you doing?" Will says helplessly looking at Nico’s pale and slender body. No, no, he should not be ogling Nico but this is too much.
As Nico tossed his shirt to the side he turned around and Will caught his first look at his Mark. And holy hell it was beautiful. It was perfect and amazing and it was Will. He didn’t have to be the god of Love to know that that Mark was made for him.
"It's the sun-" Will began but closes his mouth.
"Please don't run away now that you've seen this." Nico pleaded."I just sort of guessed that you and the sun have a kind of obvious connection and I really, seriously like you and I think I might've died if I hadn't of told you now, so, there I guess. You've seen it. Can I go now? I'd understand if you hated me-mmph!"
Will could have cried of happiness. Without thinking or even knowing what he was doing, he leant over and kissed Nico. Will Solace was kissing Nico di Angelo and oh by the gods it was amazing.
He had always been an old fashioned romantic, waiting for his first kiss to be with his soul mate and Nico was it. NICO DI ANGELO. He was sure he’d wake up to find it was all a dream. Just like it started, it ended. Short and sweet.
“What was that?" Nico demanded.
“Thank you.” Will mumbled, looking at Nico with a soft smile on his face. “I probably would never have the guts to do that. You made my life a whole lot easier.”
“What are you talking about?” Nico said helplessly. He reached up and touched his lips and that caused an eruption of butterflies in his stomach.
“Stop freaking out for a moment. And when I begin to do this don’t shadow travel to the underworld so I never see you again.”
“Can you please stop talking in an encrypted language?” Nico said with wide eyes.
Will’s marks feels electric and he pulls his shirt over his head, the cool air against his skin making him feel more alive. “Look at this...” Will said and turned around a little bit to let Nico look at the Mark on his back.
“It’s-“
“Yeah.” Will finished for him, more awkwardly than nervous.
He can see Nico through the corner of his eyes to know that Nico is staring in awe at his Mark. It was Nico. It had to of been. Depictions of ravens were shown to be of a cold, merciless creature that fed on the dead but it was anything but. It was the symbol of mind, thought, and wisdom. In Greek mythology his own father used to make connections with a wise raven. Will and Nico. Apollo and raven. Light and Dark. Soulmates.
“When-“
“Last week.” Will cut him off again. He knew what Nico was going to say since it was the fi
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I know how you feel about this all. And you weren't doing anything! You still looked scary! Besides I gave you so many clues how could you not get it?! I called you cute for god’s sake.” Will said, his voice trailing off at the end.
“I thought you were just saying that. I’m not exactly the definition of 'cute'."
"What are you talking about? You are unbelievably cute, especially when you are asleep. You seem more innocent and less 'I will stab you if you burst my personal bubble." Will laughed, flicking Nico's nose. He felt more at ease now. Like he could take on the world. Bring on another war, now he had Nico ultimately and definitely be his side.
"Don't do that." Nico frowned. "Well, I guess you can now, since we are...-" He stopped himself but Will knew exactly what he meant. Soul mates. They were soul mates. It was so cheesy but this was their reality and he couldn’t have been more happier.
“I guess we are... Who would've thought we were perfect for each other, let alone you liked me back... So it is totally and definitely okay to kiss you right now?” Will asks with a wide smile. What? He couldn’t help himself. Those moments felt like bliss when their lips connected.
“I guess that could be arranged... But can I put my shirt back on before that happens? It's seriously cold.” Nico says, reaching for his shirt.
Will laughed, and said in a teasing matter, “Are you sure? You look so cute sitting on your bed shirtless and flustered.”
Nico slapped his arm but smiled shyly all the same. “This is so awkward.” Nico muttered and slipped his cold fingers around Will’s neck, pressing his lips to Will’s. He never wanted this moment to end.
IX
They sat on the edge of the pier, their legs and fingers interlocked as they watched the water lap making low sounds by the shore. Curious naiads poked their heads up, giggling when they saw the pair leaning so close to one another.
“We could give them a show.” Will whispered in Nico’s ear, nipping it gently.
Nico scowled pushing Will away slightly. “We are not making out in front of the water spirits, Will,” He scolded.
“Too bad, we are doing it anyway.” Will said laughing and he bent down to give Nico a kiss.
One of the water naiads squirted a stream of water onto Will’s lap and they giggled, little pockets of air bubbles reaching the surface. “Hey!” Will yelled, looking at the stain near his crotch which, unfortunately, looked like something else.
“You deserved it, idiot.” Nico laughed at Will’s horrified expression.
“Do you want me to push you in?” Will threatened, not meaning a word he said.
“Oh no, I am quaking in fear.” Nico said, sarcastically.
Will grinned. “That’s what I thought, Death the Kid.” He kissed Nico again, and inwardly sighed. Life was amazing. It was better than amazing – it was perfect.