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There was a tender lull in conversation as they watched people pass their table, occasionally they commented on someone’s outfit or repeated a line from a fleeting conversation. The son of Hades was in his own world as he watched an older male walk by, dark hair and bright green eyes reflecting his phone screen. Will and Nico had been a couple for sometime now and it wasn’t as if your attraction to other people stopped when you started dating someone. In fact, it could be argued that this was a tale as old as time, especially when considering Helen going with Paris.
Of course, Nico would never leave Will for some stranger who made eye contact and gave him a half-assed peace sign before moving on. That being said though it wasn’t as if the blond didn’t notice the brush of ego, the small smile his boyfriend gave back, or the way dark eyes stared until the stranger was out of sight. He was, admittedly, good looking with his tall stature and fit frame but it wasn’t like Nico actually knew anything about him. The dreamy look on his face boiled something inside of Will until he gently yet aggressively kicked his boyfriend’s foot with his. “You’ll catch flies if you don’t shut your mouth.”
“Shut up.” Nico suddenly stood, gathering his worn jacket in his arms and gathering his dishes from the table. “We should head back anyway; your shift will be starting soon.”
Will followed his example, clasping their hands with a reassuring squeeze and stepped into a shadow. It had been hard to travel this way before but now it was preferred and how could the blond say no when he realized how good for the environment and their wallets it was. There was no danger in it since it was much more controlled than in the past; plus, Nico had worked so hard to learn the skill in the first place he didn’t want him to lose it.
They still had about an hour before his shift started so they sat on the Hades’ cabin patio, allowing for laziness to slip over them until, like some sort of idiot, Will said, “That guy kind of looked like Percy, didn’t he?”
If looks could kill, the blond would be a pile of dust from the harshest glare directed towards him. Nico inhaled sharply through his nose as he closed his eyes and leaned forward to place his head in his hands. “I love you, but you are so gods damn stupid. Do you want to take it back now or do you need to sit with it for a while?”
“Am I wrong?” Will poorly defended himself, so far from understanding the point that a map couldn’t help him.
“I think you should go,” Nico snapped, standing up for the second time today to end the conversation; there was force behind it. “Your shift will be starting soon anyway.”
“Neeks, c’mon, we’d both be damned fools if we didn’t admit to ourselves he looked like Percy and that you were totally checking him out!”
“Oh, I’m a fool now, am I?”
“When you don’t admi--”
“Is this really how you want to steer this conversation?”
Will was exasperated, slapping his hands against his thighs in defeat, and with one final huff muttered, “Fine, but, for the record, I don’t mind you looked at him. I was just saying it was weird how he--”
“Gods, just shut up and come inside,” Nico snapped with real warning behind his voice this time. It was best to drop it, even the blond could understand that, and silently followed into the cool air of the Hades’ cabin. The exit never seemed as welcoming as it did in times of trouble; he stayed in place though as his boyfriend shuffled to a bowl of fruit, squeezing some clementines to test their ripeness before dropping one into a brown bag. “Take your lunch and don’t be late,” he sneered, “I’ll just be here, thinking about how in love with Percy I still am. Oh, and I just put that instant coffee you like in your desk so you don’t have to keep running back and forth for it.”
“Thanks, I’ll be back tonight.” Will sighed and leaned down for a chaste kiss. “If you’re tired, try to walk around for a little bit before lying down; you’ve been getting too much sleep lately.”
“Yeah, yeah, go to work so I can write this sonnet about my love of dark hair and green eyes.” Then just like that Will was being shoved out the door aggressively enough to let him know he was definitely in trouble, even though he still thought he was right. The man did have dark hair and green eyes like Percy and it wasn’t like those features suddenly became unattractive just because they didn’t work out with Nico’s dark hair and brown eyes.
Perhaps it was better to just say he was wrong--which he wasn’t--and apologize to get through this argument faster? It wouldn’t be the first time he did something he didn’t want to for a subject change. Nico would see through that undoubtedly (he knew sincerity when he saw it) and this would be half-assed if he didn’t exactly figure out what was wrong. The thoughts were swirling around in his head as he wrapped burnt fingers, took temperatures, and listened to the gentle pounding of another’s heart.
It was tough to be Will.
When it was time to take his lunch break, he shut his office door for some peace and pulled out the clementine, along with other items. He peeled back its bitter layer, tossing it out the window so it could decompose, and broke apart the edible parts of the fruit. It was juicy, perfectly ripe, which was no surprise when it was picked with loving, experienced hands. To Will it seemed like all other clementines, he was no good at picking them apart, always forgot how they should feel in your hand, and just knew it was best to let Nico decide for him.
Even after lunch he could smell citrus on his fingers and remembered how it felt to dig his nails into its skin to expose something better. He even found himself wishing he had another one the more he thought about it. There was something about the way the taste lingered when he thought of Nico that made him want to go home. His eyes made acquaintance with his wristwatch that afternoon until, much to his delight, another Apollo camper offered to take the rest of his shift.
It wasn’t too late, barely past sundown, but he knew Nico would probably be lying in bed to decompress from their day. Emotions were overwhelming; depression and exhaustion were blurred when you suffered from bipolar2; when on a downward mood it was hard to find energy for more than one part of the day and even then that could be asking a lot. There was no begging for understanding though and while Will did comprehend from a medical and caring standpoint, he would never truly be able to relate in that way. It was not helpful to pretend he did.
He would tell his boyfriend what he loved about him often, but didn’t force him to believe it; when Nico was ready he would accept the compliment. It was not a personal attack to someone when your compliment wasn’t fully accepted, afterall. It could take a few days for the truth to dissolve into someone’s heart; they had all the time in the world.
Right now though, the Italian was lying in bed, sitting up when Will came in, and grumbled, “You’re home early.” His hair was flattened on one side from his pillow which he tried to fluff back to its original glory with his fingers.
“Yeah, I know,” Will agreed as he kicked off his worn down shoes. “Someone agreed to cover the rest of my shift… The fruit you picked was good; I liked it.”
“I know you did,” Nico replied, stretching his toes and back. It was time for dinner but they usually waited until most people cleared out to go. They were much older now and Will was placing some responsibility onto the next camper in line to be leader of the Apollo cabin (thankful to finally see someone have real guidance).
“Yeah, yeah… move over, my feet are killing me.” He was already halfway lying down by that point and in a blink of an eye was wrapping his arms around Nico’s waist.
“Do you think I don’t know what you like?” He shoved Will’s arm off him so he could scoot further down the bed and prop his head up with his hand; he wanted to face those blue eyes when they talked. Will was completely on his back, exposing his stomach to the other and folded his lips in a shy, nervous way. They stared at each other with tender understanding. They knew they needed to talk about what happened earlier.
“You smell like a clementine.” Will noted.
“I just had one a little bit ago.” Nico licked his lips at the memory; it really was just moments ago and he was sure if they kissed Will would benefit from the vitamins too.
“You’re good at picking them.” The son of Apollo mumbled as he closed his eyes. “They always look the same to me.”
There was a lull between them until Nico placed his hand on his boyfriend’s sun kissed skin. His narrow fingers tenderly held his face and pressed against soft lips; Will could smell the citrus. “You have to hold them to know the difference, tesoro.”
“Ah, I see…” Will sighed through his nose before continuing on with the realization, “You were always good at spotting the difference.”
“I can teach you how,” Nico muttered, pressing his thumb against the blond’s lower lip. He smiled when he felt the way the skin under him expanded when corners turned upward at the offer. Without opening his eyes, his boyfriend reached up to run his fingers through black hair and rubbed at the nape of his neck. Neither were sure how long they stayed like that, their bodies were so comfortable like that it was as if their hearts were always beating at the same time. Then, suddenly and at nothing at all, Will laughed and so did Nico, because it is a well known fact that if you place two violins in the same room and play a chord on one then the other will play the exact same note.
Their heads tilted until their foreheads touched and the blond whispered, “I only want to hold you.” And then, like he was in a fruit bowl, Nico gently squeezed the side of Will’s face, pushed their mouths together when all the bitterness was peeled away until at last there was only clementine.