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Nico heard the arguing before the door even opened.
He just stood there with a box in his arms, the stars above his only company, while the voices moved closer to his location. A young man opened the door, clearly frustrated with the house’s other occupant. He glared at Nico, picking up his own box that was sitting inside the doorway.
“You can have it all to yourself!” he called over his shoulder. Nico winced at the volume of the man’s voice. “I never liked this house anyway. You can have fun with your dead-end job and your ridiculous attitude. It’s never gonna work, Will.”
The blonde appeared behind his ex in the door frame. Nico gained the slightest bit of comfort seeing his friend. He looked fed up, worn out, and amused, all at once. “No need for you to stand there and be pessimistic, James. I’ve heard plenty of it these past few months.”
“It’s not pessimism. It’s a fact. You’re never gonna get out of that job if you don’t try harder.” For a moment, James’ face turned soft. “We had something good, Will. I know we did.” He pointed a finger at Nico, who continued to quietly stand off to the side, holding a half-dozen books in his cardboard box. “It’s because of him, isn’t it?”
Will’s face remained dark inside the house. He silently stared James down.
“I see now... We were never going to work.”
After an awkward pause, Will said, “I think it’s time you leave.”
James turned down the driveway. “Good luck getting anywhere with that happy-go-lucky image you put on. You can’t be like that forever, Will. At some point, you will have to face the fact that things aren’t always going to be enjoyable in life.”
The man got into his car and drove off with the last of his belongings, disappearing into the night.
Nico slowly turned back to Will. For a moment, he was afraid the 26-year-old was going to break down in tears. Instead, he leaned his head back and took in a deep breath. “Ugh…” He looked at Nico. “So… you wanna come in and have a drink?”
“A… drink drink, or something to drink?”
Will gave a small smile. “I have grape juice.”
Nico took a glass from his friend, staring down into the dark purple liquid. He took a gulp, careful not to spill on Will’s couch.
“So,” Will sat next to him, gesturing at the new box sitting on his coffee table. “What’s all this?”
“Oh,” Nico swallowed a mouthful of juice. “Just stuff Hazel found at the library. ‘How to Improve a Job Resume’, ‘The Best Medical Residencies for Graduates’, ‘The Benefits of Taking Your Time Job Searching’… You know, things we thought might help with-” he waved a hand, indicating Will’s current job situation.
The blonde leaned forward and grabbed a book out of the box. He peered at the back cover. “Nico di Angelo… you are something else.”
Another drink. “In what context?”
“The fact that you’re looking out for me. I mean you didn’t have to drag your sister into this mess, but-”
“Hey, come on, Hazel doesn’t care. It’s the least we can do. Especially after that scene with James.” Will put the book down and sipped his drink, growing silent. “I have to do something,” Nico continued. “I know it’s not a lot, but if I can help in any way, I will do it.”
He stared at Will’s gold locks, their bodies illuminated orange by his lit fireplace. His face was set and hard to read behind his glass. “Look, Will, I know it’s been rough these past few months, but it’s over now… You won’t have to deal with him anymore.” Will remained quiet, his sock-covered feet perched on the couch close to Nico’s. The dark-haired boy looked back down at his own drink. “...Do you want to talk about it?”
Will slowly blinked, lowering his half-empty glass. “It’s a relief. Him being gone for good. He’s moving to Montana near his cousin. He’ll be happier there.”
“Buried in snow during the winters?”
Will’s mouth quirked up. “Yeah… I just… God, he could be so narrow-minded. Everything was only one way or nothing. If he thought something wasn’t fun he’d never give it a shot. He was always so focused on what he thought was the best idea, he never bothered looking at the bigger picture or looking at me.
“Thinking about other people’s needs before his own- it’s like he didn’t have the trait. His negativity and selfishness… he didn’t even like this house! Who does that? Who moves in with someone and then complains about the house?”
Nico wanted to spit his drink out in amusement. “Wh- what do you mean, ‘he didn’t like this house’?”
Will shook his head, boggled. “He thought it was haunted.”
“ Haunted? This place isn’t haunted. I would know- every spot my father moved us to had ghosts roaming around.”
“I know.” Will tried for a laugh and rubbed his eyes. “He became such a pain… Don’t get me wrong- he typically meant well. But he could never grasp the idea that life is so much more than just appearances and labels and facts. That’s why he got so upset when he found out I was stuck in my position at work. ‘You’re just going to be an underpaid nursing assistant the rest of your life?’”
Nico could feel his body flood with different emotions. Will deserved so much better than that. He remembered the numerous times he found James overreacting to something Will was doing. It was never a pleasant scene.
“I can move on to bigger and better things, of course,” WIll proceeded his miniature speech. “But right now it’s all I have. I can’t just quit because I’m not getting paid at my proper education level. James… He never thought I tried hard enough to look for different work.”
“Why?” Nico asked before he could stop himself. “Because you didn’t quit work? Because you haven’t picked something else up? Because you’re actually a decent human being who is trying to better people’s lives? That doesn’t seem fair.”
“Life’s never been fair.”
“Well, you’re better off without him. There’s no point in being with someone who doesn’t support you.”
Will hid his face in his glass again, pausing the conversation. He seemed to be thinking of a million things at once.
Nico started feeling guilty for asking Will if he wanted to talk about the breakup. He hated seeing him like this- he was just trying to drop off books to help him find a new job.
He was about to say something apologetic when Will spoke again. “He’s right.”
Nico looked at his friend, confused. “What?”
“James is right. We had something- once- but it didn’t last long.” He leaned further into the couch. “It’s because of you.”
The hair on the back of Nico’s neck stood up, his body freezing. He wanted to respond, gather his scattered thoughts and voice them aloud, but time seemed to be sucked from his existence. He couldn’t even get out a mumble.
Will just shook his head as if he didn’t even believe himself. “I didn’t work out with James, because I fell in love with you.”
It was impossible. Too impossible to even be considered. Nico wouldn’t get his hopes up. Will was going through a lot mentally and emotionally. He probably didn’t even know what he was talking about. “Are you sure we’re drinking grape juice? This isn’t-”
“I made James take all the alcohol. It was always for his parties- not really my thing.” Will emptied his cup and set it on the coffee table next to the box of books. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t put something like this on you so late at night.”
Nico shook his head in disbelief. “You’re drunk, Will.”
“No, I’m not. Nico, I know I sound crazy and I’m probably the last person you want to hear this from, but I love you. I tried to tell myself we were just good friends and you would never feel that way about me, but then I would look at you and…” He rubbed his face with his hands. “The more I grew apart from James, the more I found myself wanting to be around you- as if you were the key to making my troubles go away.
“You’ve always been there for me even though we haven’t always gotten along. You helped me find my happiness on some of those dark days. I don’t know how I would have gotten through that without you.”
Nico was completely numb.
Will Solace had just said that he loved him. Nico didn’t want to believe it- he would only be setting himself up for failure.
Yet, on the chance all this was true- that they really had been drinking juice the whole time and Will actually felt that way about him- he had no idea why he would. “Why me?” It came out so soft, Nico was worried he would have to repeat himself.
Will just gave a light laugh. “Because you care about your friends, even when they annoy you. Because you don’t like hurting other people. And you try to understand everyone’s stories, even if you can’t relate. You’ve been to Hell and back with Bianca’s death and your father’s unbalanced relationship with you. You love Percy and Annabeth’s daughter even though you’ll never admit it. You’ve shown me kindness when I’ve had nowhere else to go...
“We weren’t always like this, true, but you’re definitely someone I would trust my life with. Even though you might not feel the same way about me.”
Nico bit the inside of his lip, trying not to let his emotions get the best of him.
But maybe that’s what he needed to do. Show him his feelings to prove that he trusted Will as much as he trusted him.
He placed his glass next to Will’s and took a shaky breath. God, he was 26 and he still got nervous in front of Will. The thought gave him comfort.
“I’ve loved you since that day, freshman year at the University, when you ran into me and our books flew out of our arms and our papers covered the floor… I was so pissed at you.” He smiled. “I thought you were the clumsiest person in the world who was oblivious to everyone and everything around him.”
Will grinned, folding his arms on his knees, facing Nico. “You hated me.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say hate. I wanted to, dead honest.” Will laughed. “But I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Your damn blue eyes.”
“Never seen blue eyes before?”
Nico swatted Will’s leg. He shifted to the same position as him, making their faces that much closer together. “Will, if only you knew…” Nico stared into his deep cerulean pools. They were dangerously mesmerizing- he could feel all his muscles losing their tension and relaxing.
“I think I might know,” Will said. “At least a bit.”
“Your stupid medical terms for everything and your determination to be happy all the time and make everyone around you happy… I wanted to know what it was like. And you…” His face was so close. Nico could smell the fruit juice on Will’s breath. Or maybe it was his own. All he knew was that faint freckles dotted Will’s nose bridge. And he really wanted to touch them. “You actually made me happy. You made me want to go out and experience what it was like to live. And even now, you still make me smile and laugh and have fun.
“And you kept pushing on even when James seemed to bring you down so low. You’re strong, Solace. So much stronger than you look.” Will’s eyes seemed to droop. Yes- they were half-lidded. Nico definitely wasn’t imagining it. His own eyes started subconsciously closing. “I tried to pretend I didn’t love you, but…”
Will reached forward and captured his lips.
Nico wrapped an arm around Will’s neck, pulling him closer. He tasted grape juice. Colors dance behind his eyelids. His relaxed muscles started gaining energy, as if Will himself was life, and he was giving Nico a piece of his existence.
Will pulled away and sucked in a breath. Nico’s brain was clouded, though his body buzzed with newfound essence.
“You made me drink that juice on purpose, didn’t you?” Nico asked.
Will laughed. “No.”
“Will, I’m pretty sure you just wanted to make sure I didn’t have bad breath.”
“Nico.” Will kissed him again. Nico tried not to melt into the shadows of the night. “I still would have kissed you, even if you had bad breath.”
Nico just sat there grinning. “No, I’m pretty sure this was a setup.”
“Well, if you’re looking for another kiss you’re gonna have t-” Nico didn’t let him finish his statement. He never thought the day would actually come. Where he’d have this moment. Just him and Will with no one else around to worry about.
Well, maybe one person.
Nico reluctantly pulled away from Will. “Alright, Hazel’s gonna be expecting me back soon.”
Will raised an eyebrow. “What? Are you a modern fairytale now- with a bedtime?”
“Just a little sister.”
“Who’s an adult.”
“Will, as much as I’d love to stay with you, I don’t want to see people trading bet money just yet.” He stood up to go.
“Bet money?” Will followed his actions.
“I may have told Hazel and Reyna that I had feelings for you. And my excitable sister may have told Frank and Leo, who told Percy and Annabeth, and Jason and-”
“So our friends made bets on us?”
“Yes.” Nico stopped before opening the door. “Anyway…” Nico traced Will’s cheek before giving him another long kiss, savoring his last taste of grape juice. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Nico opened the door.
“Wait,” Will laughed. “Tomorrow?”
Nico smiled at his newfound boyfriend. “Yeah. Stop by so that we can surprise Hazel. If you want- you don’t have to, of course-”
“No, no- it sounds fun. I’ll see you.”
Nico stepped outside. “Okay.”
They stood there for another moment, taking in the other’s company. Nico’s brain was still trying to recover from the first kiss.
He shot Will one last grin. “Goodnight, Will.”
“‘Night, Nico.”
After watching Nico drive off, Will closed his door and sunk to the floor, his face holding the biggest smile it had in a very, very long time.