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Chapter Text

When Will had come to muggle America from a wizarding town in Britain, his plan had been simple. 

Enroll in a university. 

Get a major in Biology or some equivalent. 

Learn as much as you can about the American culture because that's where Mama comes from. 

Go back to Britain and get a healer training. 

Hopefully work as an assistant healer to Madam Pomfrey in Hogwarts. 

It's a simple plan. Realistic and attainable. His dad had done the same thing except the last part years ago. Will wants to follow his dad's footsteps because that's what he has always wanted to do since he was a child. 

But it's so bloody hard sometimes. Because in between the plans and checklists, no one told him what to expect in daily life situations. Will doesn't think he'll ever get used to drinking that nasty coffee over Butterbeer, asking for another ballpoint pen instead of an ink bottle when he runs out, and charging his phone every six hours (Why not just charm it to last for at least a week or something?). 

But he knows how much it means to his dad. His dad had come to America with the same set of dreams as Will, with stars in his eyes and a single goal in his mind— become a functioning adult. And it worked pretty well for him too, since he met Mama here.

Will remembers his father's second to last parting message fresh on his mind. "Who knows, if you're lucky enough, you'll find the love of your life there. Just keep an eye for a Hazel-eyed beauty with a cute southern accent and the voice of an angel." 

So far, he's met— 3 Hazel-eyed beauties, 4 southern accents (none of them cute), and 0 voice of an angel. Although he's met someone with a Angel as a last name. Technically Angelo— well di Angelo, but close enough. 

And di Angelo is nothing like an angel. Angels don't fuck off and sleep during classes, or make snarky remarks, or be indifferent to everything almost 90% of the time they're actually awake. 

"You know, maybe he wouldn't be so snarky if you didn't start arguments with him," Lou Ellen says for the second time that day and a millionth time that semester. And he gives the same reply every time. 

"I don't start arguments with him." He doesn't want to explain further. 

"Name one time he's started an argument." 

Will pauses to think of a time Nico has started an argument. He tries really hard, but all Will can remember is him egging Nico on about one stuff or the other. Even so, he'd rather eat the booger-flavoured Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans than admit it to Lou. 

"I don't want him to sleep in class and miss the lectures. I'm just looking out for him." Really, Will should get a medal or something for his selflessness. 

But Lou isn't impressed at the least. "Or you could, you know, let him be and mind your own business like everyone else does every single day and doesn't lose their mind over it." 

"But— but he's gonna fail his classes!" 

"He literally gets better grades than both of us in every test and even if he was failing, it wouldn't still be any of your business," Lou rolls her eyes and then raises her eyebrows. "Are you sure there's no reason other than I don't want him to fail his classes?" 

"What other reason might there be?" 

Lou looks like she wants to beat him up with a broomstick, but their professor enters the class at the same time and puts a hold on their conversation. Will can only hope to Merlin that he'll get through the classes without any major incident.

But Merlin doesn't listen to his prayers, because he was a Slytherin, and he's dead, and he's busy upholding his reputation of being the most famous wizard of all time. 

Also because if he would have, Will wouldn't have ended up being partnered with the very person who annoys him with every fibre of his being. 

It's really not as bad as Will makes it sound, and even he knows that. As Lou never stops reminding him, the flair for dramatics has been so rooted into his genes that it would take at least six more generations to dilute it down to a socially acceptable level. Anyway, the first few times he meets Nico to discuss their presentations, they only butt heads and accomplish practically nothing. But it gets easier with time, teamwork comes more naturally, and they make it work. 

This doesn't stop Will from complaining every single time they meet though (for reference, read the second line of the paragraph above this one). 

"I'm sorry you'd rather spend time with your girlfriend than on this assignment, but guess what, we're stuck here. Don't you think I've got better things to do?" Nico snaps at him one day when Will goes on and on about wanting to get away from there. He momentarily stops taking notes on his notebook and fixes him with a glare. 

"Hey, no one's telling you to— Wait, girlfriend?" 

Nico doesn't look up from the desk. "Yeah, the purple haired girl. The one who you're always with." 

Oh, he means Lou Ellen. Which Nico is wrong about that on so many levels. "Lou's not my girlfriend," Will says. "She's my ex girlfriend, actually." 

At least that's true. 

"Oh. I didn't know." Will is pretty sure he's imagining the disappointment in Nico's voice. 

"Yeah. We've known each other practically all our lives. I had to break it off because I couldn't let go of her betrayal." That's a bit of a stretch, but whatever. 

Nico finally looks up from the paper he'd been scribbling on, a confused look on his face. "I'm— sorry?" 

"No, don't be. In fact I loved her so much and I knew no woman would ever amount to her that I had to find solace in men and men only." 

Now he waits for Nico to realize. 

"What?" 

Will can't help but laugh at Nico's dumbfounded expression which is only slightly cute. It takes Will a moment to realize that Sweet Gallopin’ gorgons, he just came out to Nico di Angelo. Even if Nico manages to forgive him and they salvage their friendship (partnership? whatever), he'll never let Will live this down. 

But apparently Will isn't done embarrassing himself. "And did I mention we were ten when she became my girlfriend? We had a very loving relationship for a whole two weeks before she stole my secret stash of chocolates." 

Nico purses his lips into a thin line and doesn't find it funny at all. Well, maybe the joke wasn't that funny. But Will likes to think it's the type of joke that you just had to be there for. Or at least that's how he consoles himself to forget the fact that he just came out to Nico in the lamest way possible. 

It is during one of these meetings that Will comes across something suspicious about di Angelo. 

It's their last time meeting before the Christmas holidays, and instead of working on their next assignment, Will has been talking Nico's ear off about his Christmas plans. 

It's not Will's fault he can't contain his excitement. He's missed Mama and her cooking, Dad and his antics, even the monsters of his siblings, and that's saying something. Will is vaguely aware of Nico being bored to death, so he holds back a little and offers his phone when he realizes Nico's phone has been dead for a while. 

Nico calls him different forms of weirdo in different languages at the end of almost every conversation. But it's different when he says it. When Nico calls him weird, Will knows he doesn't mean it (Nico would beg to differ) and there's no malice between the words. It's almost endearing. But with others, Will can practically hear the sneer and judgment in their tones. 

But Nico doesn't let him wallow in loneliness. Despite Will's protests, Nico doesn't leave. And he doesn't tell Will that he's overreacting to things. He doesn't say he understands how Will is feeling, but Will realizes anyway that maybe Nico is just as lonely. And that even with everyone calling them weird, they will at least have each other. 

And maybe that's the reason Will doesn't shy away from admitting his feelings to himself. Admitting his feelings to Nico is easier than expected, and one afternoon when they're working on their last presentation, Will doesn't back down from making his feelings known. 
... 

Hey dad,
Hope you're doing alright. 

I think I have found my someone. He is a Brown-eyed beauty with a cute Italian accent. And he doesn't have a voice of an angel— well, he might but I have never heard him sing. Anyway, his last name is Angel so, close enough, huh? 

Love
W. A. Solace. 

Will reads and rereads the letter several times, looking for something to add. 

P.S. Yes, it's the same guy I partnered with in English and spent my holidays "complaining about him to you guys". Please don't mention that to Kayla and Austin. 

Will is still thinking about the kiss when he gives a treat to Calisto and ties the letter around her leg. While he remembers the whole kiss in a dream-like state, he can't manage to shake off some details from his head. Like how Nico's lips moved against his own, and how he could trace a slight smile on both their lips. Maybe it's something that Dad likes to refer to as love, but Will thinks it is too early to be anything like love. 

Sure, it's been a mere few hours since Will left Nico's place, and he already misses him.  But no, nope. Will isn't in love. 

Will is maybe, possibly, slightly, a little in love. 

Will Solace is in love with Nico di Angelo. But only a little. He is in love with the way Nico's hair sometimes falls in front of his eyes, leaving Will with a massive urge to tuck the strands behind his ears. He loves how whenever Nico cooks, he insists on cleaning the dishes before eating even though the food gets cold (Will sometimes secretly casts a warming charm on the food and hopes Nico won't notice). Will loves how they have been going out for only two months, but it feels like they've always been like this.

Like idiots in love. 

Most of all, he loves how aware Nico is of the unfairness of the world, and yet he's one of the kindest and the most polite people Will knows (not counting the million bickering and arguments they have had in the last many months). 

There are about a thousand more things about Nico that Will is in love with, and all these things reach into a same conclusion. Will is so, so in love, and he was so, so screwed. 

The more Will thinks about it, the more he understands that the 'love' part has always been there. It's been lying dormant in the depths of his heart and only shows itself when the situation demands it, much like the earphones he'd bought last week from the dollar store that needed to be held at a certain position for them to work on both ears.

The 'realization' part, however, hits him like a trainwreck. Not to be overdramatic, but it's probably more sudden than a trainwreck because with a trainwreck, at least you have a few seconds to process it. 

He's been sitting in the library with Nico for about an hour now. He knows Nico doesn't need to be in the library and probably doesn't want to be in the library, but he still waits patiently for Will to finish. 

"You don't have to be here, you know," Will tries for the fifth time. "I'll see you at yours once I finish with the work." 

Nico looks at him and scoffs. "I know I don't have to be here, but I want to." Liar. 

"You'd rather be here wasting your precious sleeping hours away than going home?" 

"Exactly," Nico grins. "Besides, who's gonna offer you a drive home if I don't, huh?" 

Will feels a little guilty about that, because normally he'd just apparate out of here to Nico's apartment. But here's a weakness he's discovered in himself since he's started dating Nico. He can't seem to say no to this guy. "Remind me again why I'm in love with you," Will smiles, shaking his head. 

"What?"

Will registers a little late what he's just said. Dammit. Maybe if he doesn't look up from the book he's been pretending to read for some time, Nico will let it go? But that doesn't seem likely, so Will has to say something.

"That's not how I planned to say it for the first time," is all he can say. 

To his credit, Nico doesn't look shocked anymore. "How'd you plan on saying it for the first time then?" There's a distinct amusement in his tone, and when Will looks at Nico, he marvels at the soft smile that graces Nico's lips. 

"I don't know. With some dim lights and candles. A simple romantic setup maybe." That's how most muggles do it, isn't it? 

Nico chuckles at that, and kicks Will's legs softly. "Candles and dim lights, huh? Are you trying to confess your love or sacrificing me to a demon?" 

We'd need a lot more things than candles for sacrificial ritual, Will thinks. "Who says I can't do both?" 

The carefree laughter that Nico gives Will is one of the main reasons why he loves Nico. And he knows that even if Nico doesn't say it, he loves Will. 

Will likes to believe he has a pretty open mind when it comes to supernatural beings and magic. Especially in the world where a significant portion of magical beings are still undiscovered. Two decades of living as a wizard will do that to anyone. 

But demigods. Literal children of literal Greek gods. With Roman counterparts too. And that's just the Greek and Roman Pantheon. 

If Will really had an open mind, he wouldn't be racking his brain on his birthday trying to make sense of his boyfriend being a demigod. And a son of Hades, at that. Someone who can raise the inferi (Here we respectfully address them as the dead, Nico had said), and takes himself through places using a form of shadow travel. 

Death is considered as one of the most natural things among wizards. Even magic can't bring the dead back to life, and inferi are the dark creatures born out of evil magic. Will tries to relate it to Nico's magic— no, powers— and wonders if it will change anything between them. But Will also trusts Nico a lot, and he knows his boyfriend is incapable of hurting them or treating anyone, dead or alive, with anything but respect. 

For a moment Will considers writing to his dad to ask if he knows about demigods. But that would also raise unnecessary questions, and since Will can't hide things from his father, he'd have to tell about his boyfriend being a demigod. Which would not only be breaking Nico's trust, Will would also have to worry about Dad's reaction. 

Maybe he could ask some teachers at Hogwarts. Will's favourite had always been Madam Pomfrey, who would let him assist her in the hospital wing and always praise his healing magic. But since she isn't exactly a professor, Will doubts she would know. Professor Flitwick would probably know something about demigods, considering he's like a hundred years old. 

"— Hello, is someone in there?" Will is shaken from his stupor with Nico knocking into his head repeatedly. 

Will rubs his head where Nico had been knocking and turns to face him. His complaints are cut off prematurely as Nico presses a swift kiss and smiles. "Happy birthday, sunshine." 

Will melts completely into the kiss and forgets all sense of time and space for a moment. 

"Thank you. Sleep well?" Will asks, even though he can guess the answer judging by the dark circles and droopy eyes. 

"Not at all. I don't know if I'm still delirious or that I actually saw an owl knock into the kitchen window like, two minutes ago."

"Was it an Eagle owl? Smaller than Calisto, dark grey feathers?" 

"Well I don't know what an Eagle owl looks like, but it did look grey— ish." 

Will walks to the kitchen window where the owl is still knocking and scratching the window, with a parcel tied on her legs. Yep, it's Cecilia, Lou Ellen's owl. He lets Cecilia in and endures her pecking violently on his hands for making her wait for so long. He's pretty sure Lou trained her to do that just to torture him. Will then unites the scroll and the parcel, gives her some of Calisto's treats, and sends her away. 

Will notices Nico staring at the window thinking god knows what. 

"That was Cecilia, Lou Ellen's owl," he clarifies, looking at the window where Cecilia just flew by. "She sent me a birthday present I think, which is so unnecessary since I'm gonna see her in college anyway." 

Nico narrows his eyes in confusion for a moment, until he gains some understanding. "I didn't know Lou Ellen was a wizard too." 

"Witch. And yeah. I'm pretty sure I mentioned that yesterday." 

"No you didn't. But since you guys have been friends since childhood and all, I should have figured." Nico comes closer to inspect the parcel. "Come to think of it, she makes a more believable witch than you do." 

"Hey! I take offense to that. I can make a pretty believable wizard." And just because he can, Will moves his fingers and performs wandless magic to open the scroll. He hears a cough that distinctly sounds like showoff from Nico. 

Will then takes the scroll to see the letter that Lou sent, which again, so unnecessary. He would have been happy with a text message. He's halfway into reading the letter when he looks at Nico who's staring at the letter with mild fascination. 

"Wow, you guys really do this, huh?" he says. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Writing with quills, using scrolls and all. I thought you were exaggerating or something." 

That's when Will realizes that as much confused he is with the demigod world, Nico is equally confused with the wizarding world. The Greek demigod world may be, as Nico put it, basically an interwoven mess of poison ivy, but the wizarding world is no picnic either. 

But that's okay, it's new for both of them. They have lots of time to learn each other at their own pace.

One of the most notable perks of dating a demigod for Will is that it opens a whole new world of nicknames for Nico. Will's nicknames for Nico have been limited to Grumpy asshole (before they started dating), Diluted emo man, Neeks, The Zombie lord, and when he is feeling particularly creative and annoying, Neeksterdoodle. 

But now that Will knows Nico is the son of Hades who's the god of death (That's Thanatos; Hades is the god of the dead, idiot, Nico has told him many times), nicknames like emo man and The Zombie lord have gained a whole new meaning. 

"Death boy." 

"..." 

"Lord of darkness." 

"..." 

"Prince of underworld. Oh my god you're literally the Prince of underworld." 

"Yes Will. Are you done yet?"

"Nope. I'm still thinking." 

"..." 

"Ohh I know I know! Shadow boy. It could be your superhero alias. This one's my favourite yet." 

"I hate you so much right now." 

"Shut up, you love me. Your underworldly highness." 

"I could kill you so easily right now, you know—" 

"— Oh my god, Ghost king. How could I forget that my boyfriend is unironically an actual Ghost King!" 

"Solace, I swear to gods—" 

"—Ooh, is the Ghost king angry with me? Forgive me, your Royal Ghostly highness." 

"You know, maybe I should start calling you smartass. Since you're from the smart house and all." 

"Actually, Ravenclaw isn't known for being the smart house. It's more about wits and beyond, and more importantly how you use it. You might score Dreadful or Troll in your exam papers, but you could still be the wittiest person in the room. It's all about testing your limits and going beyond it, experimenting over and over until you find something that works for you. It's about not taking a stubborn stand for something that you think is right, but questioning your beliefs beyond measure."

"Alright, smarty-pants, you just proved my point. That's exactly what a smartass would say."

"The hell, I just said it's not only about being smart—" 

"—Shut up, Know-it-all peasant!" 

The perks aren't just limited to the nicknames and finding more ways to be annoying. Will feels like ever since they knew about each other's identity, they have gotten even closer. Will doesn't have to filter his words and anecdotes to make it muggle-friendly, worry about his magic getting out of control, and now he doesn't have to make up white lies that always make him guilty. 

He is sure Nico senses this too, since Nico has become more open in his experiences about his life. Nico tells him about his pet dog Mrs. O'Leary who's a hellhound from the literal depths of hell! He also talks about the time when he accidentally shadow travelled to China, or the millions of times he passed out from exhausting his powers. 

And here's one more thing Will hadn't realized— the extent of how cute Nico could be each time he learnt new stuff. 

Sure, he's not cute in a conventional way (Will thinks he is, but Nico would reap his soul if he ever admitted it). But he'll never forget the excited squeal Nico had made when he'd found out how wizarding photographs and newspapers work. 

"They should do that in mortal photographs too. I can't believe technology has allowed people to walk on the moon, but they still don't do moving photographs," Nico had said. 

"They do. It's called a gif." 

"That's totally a different thing. And I know  what a gif is!" 

Will thinks of that incident when he sees Nico practice some spells with Will's wand. Will has tired himself out by telling Nico that a) Wands are only supposed to channel the magic, not create it and b) The wand chooses the wizard, so even if Nico were able to create magic, Will's wand wouldn't be too useful. But of course Nico doesn't listen, 'cause he's stubborn as rocks. 

Had it been literally anyone else— wizard or muggle (or demigod)— Will wouldn't have let them touch his wand, let alone play with it like a toy. Wands to a wizard are an extension of their hands, not something to take lightly. But Will can see a twinkle on Nico's eyes that he doesn't get to see often, and there's nothing he can do about it. 

He has one of the feathers shed by Calisto in front of him, trying to levitate it off the floor. Will is reminded of his first day of school in Hogwarts, and wonders how fast time has flown by. Nico holds the wand like one would hold a pencil, and points at the feather. He then tries the spell Wingardium Leviosa and sighs in disappointment as the feather remains unmoved. Really, what had he expected?

Will watches Nico try out for a couple of times before deciding to intervene. "That's not how you do it," he tries to be helpful. 

"Shut up, I got this," Nico dismisses him with a wave and returns back to the wand. This time, he holds it like a sword. "Alright, what do I do next?" 

You give it up and return my wand to me. "Just make a hand motion. Swish, and flick. Like so." Will makes the motion with his hand. 

His wand holding technique is a little better than before, but it's still bad enough to give Professor Flitwick an aneurysm. "Wingardium Laviosa." The feather still doesn't move. Of course it doesn't, Will has been trying to tell Nico that for hours. 

Nico utters a frustrated sigh, and Will tries to help. "Actually, it's pronounced like Wingardium Lavi-O-sa, not Lavios-A. C'mon, try it." 

"Forget it, what's that summoning spell again?" 

"Accio." 

"Right, thanks." Nico raises his wand and makes some wand motions. Will restrains his hands from pointing out the dozens of things wrong with the motion. Nico has his eyes closed, a deep furrow on his eyebrows, and when he opens his eyes, he says the spell. "Accio skeleton."  

A skeleton of a small cat— maybe a kitten, appears from the floor and walks towards Nico. It stops at his ankles and rubs its skull against his feet.

The shine of pride in Nico's eyes is in contrast to the smirk on his face. "Guess I can do your summoning wizard magic after all, huh." 

"Not without cheating, it seems," Will huffs, and tries to hide the absolute glee that comes when Nico does silly things like this. 

"You're just jealous 'cause I can do a better summoning spell than you." 

"Yeah sure, that must be it. Now, can I have my wand back?" Nico tosses the wand to him, and Will feels a little better. The wand has always been a comforting presence after all these years. Nico goes back to petting the skeleton kitten, making cooing sounds that he'll no doubt deny later. 

"That's a cute kitten," Will says as he joins Nico in the petting. "I think I'll name it Calliope. She'll make a perfect chew toy for to Callisto, don't you think?" 

"Back the fuck off, you monster!" 

Nico and Will decide to celebrate their one year anniversary in the peace and quiet of Will's apartment. Apparently they have a different definition of peace and quiet than normal people, because with Calisto's infrequent screeching and the portrait of a Medieval witch that's always trying to flirt with him and the singing mirror that Kayla and Austin had gifted him as a joke, there is not a single moment of peace and quiet at Will's apartment. 

But since Will prefers spending time alone with Nico and Nico outright does not like other people, they make it work. Nico decides to cook Risotto Alla Milanese for him, and Will is in charge of the groceries. 

Will reaches his apartment and knocks on the door. Nico opens the door just enough to peek his head, blocking Will from entering his apartment. "Hey, Will. You're here early." 

"Yeah, it took less time than I anticipated. Are you gonna let me in?" 

"Uh no." Nico closes the door even more, leaving only a part of his face visible to Will. "Are you sure you didn't forget anything?"

Will can't understand why Nico is being weird. Will's gotten used to the weirdness from Nico after a year of being together, but this is something new. Still, he humours Nico and tallies the groceries with the list one more time. 

"Umm, nope. I've got everything," he says once he's done checking. "Now, can I please come in? I'm carrying some heavy stuff." 

Nico doesn't budge from his position, neither does he loosen his hold on the door. "You can't come in." 

"May I ask why?" 

"No, you may not." 

"Nico, let me in. What's going on?" 

"You can't come in, 'cause I'm— uhh, I'm cheating on you?" Will can note a hint of desperation on Nico's voice. 

"Are you asking me or telling me?" 

"Telling you obviously, I've got a dude over— ahh fuck it. C'mon in," Nico opens the door for him and lets him in. Finally. Will can't help but let a chuckle escape his lips from his boyfriend's antics. Nico doesn't seem to appreciate it, and hits him on the arm. "Just so you know, if I were cheating on you, you wouldn't be so chirpy about it," he says with a pout.  

"I knew you weren't cheating on me, I trust you so much." Will lets out another chuckle and kisses softly right on the pout, feeling Nico return the kiss with much more heat. "Anyway, if you were, you'd have to be reeeaaalyyy stupid to be using my apartment instead of yours." 

Nico tries to protest but Will cuts him off. He's got other things in his mind. Will starts walking towards the kitchen to store the groceries. "Once I'm done with the groceries, you're gonna tell me why you wouldn't let me enter my own apartment. Honestly Neeks, if you wanted me out of the house, you could have just given me a longer list so I could— Oh dear Merlin! Wow." 

The dining area is laden with different flowers, adorning the table and the surrounding areas. Will can recognize only some of them, like the bunch of sunflowers, different varieties of lily, and there's lavender, but most of them he doesn't remember ever seeing. The flowers give off their signature scent, which mixes together but not overwhelmingly so. 

Will hears Nico's footsteps follow him to the kitchen. "Shut up," Nico mutters. He looks a little red on his face. "I'm not done yet, it— it's not supposed to look like this in the end. It's going to look nice once it's completed, and there—." 

"— Hey, you shut up," Will cuts him off. "Nico that's— it's beautiful." Will tries to put as much emotion as he can in his words, just to show how much it means to him. 

Nico still looks a little nervous, but Will can see the beginning of a smile. "I asked for a favour from my stepmother. You know, Persephone." 

Persephone. The Queen of the underworld and the Goddess of springtime. Of course. And his boyfriend's step mother. 

"Then give your step mother a huge thank you from me, will you?" 

"Yeah well, don't expect it to be a regular thing. She doesn't like me very much."

Will ditches the groceries on the floor— with extreme care because he doesn't want to break the bottle of white wine— and takes Nico by his waist to kiss him. They part when they run out of air, but Will takes in deep breaths one, two, three, and pulls Nico into another kiss. He doesn't think he ever wants to let go. 

Nico pulls back just far enough to look him in the eyes with a smile. "So I'm guessing you liked the surprise?" 

"Are you kidding me? I love it. That's the cheesiest thing anyone has ever done to me."

Nico chuckles and takes him by the hand towards the flowers. "Most of these flowers are Persephone's sacred plants, you know. Here's Lily, Daisy, Lavender, this one's Crocus, uh, Lily of the Valley, Violet, Iris. She wanted me to tell you that this is her way of blessing us."

Will can see a softness in Nico's eyes, which turn into annoyance as he eyes the yellow flowers before him. 

"Dandelions."

"Yeah," Nico says with a fake smile. "It's kind of an inside joke between Persephone and me. Only she finds it funny, I don't." Nico's eyes are far off into an unknown distance and Will wonders what might have happened between Nico and Persephone and dandelions.

"You're not gonna tell me the joke, are you?" 

"Nope," Nico says, popping the 'p'. Some nervousness is back into Nico's face. He then takes out a single red rose from the back and pushes it towards Will. "And uhh, here's a rose for you. My step mother basically forced me to give you this. And she told me to tell you about the story behind the red rose. Have you heard of it?"

Will knows the story of Aphrodite and Adonis, and how Aphrodite stained the white roses with her blood when rushing towards her lover as he lay dying. One of his best friends at Hogwarts, Lacy, had told him about it. He's always found the story and the symbolism fascinating ever since. 

"No, I don't think I have heard it before." 

"Oh, I'll tell you later then." Nico gives him a quick kiss on his cheek and goes back to the dining table. "Okay, I've got so much work to do," he says while arranging the flowers, "You need to get out of here and not come back until I tell you to."

"Are you kicking me out of my own apartment?" 

"Yes exactly, now get going. You'll only be a hindrance if you stay here." 

This is probably a testament of how gone Will is in love, that apparently he can't listen to Nico calling him a hindrance without thinking adorable. 

"Aw, but I wanna stay and help prepare the food. Magic will make it so much easier and faster." 

Nico stops arranging the flowers and comes up to him with a sickeningly sweet smile on his face. "Will, sunshine, I love you, I really do. But please don't make me dump you on our anniversary." With that, Nico does a mock impression of Magic will make it so much easier and walks away with a scoff. 

Even though his boyfriend of one year just kicked him out of his apartment, threatened to dump him, did a mean impression that sounded nothing like Will, and made fun of his magic, there's only one thing on Will's mind as he walks out of the apartment. 

Adorable.