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Music pulsed through the Aphrodite cabin. Small groups of demigods chatted, joked, and grooved to the beat. Nico was finally getting used to being around more people. He was currently standing next to Reyna, listening to Jason tell them about his plans to recognize the minor Roman gods at Camp Jupiter.
“Everyone!” yelled Drew Tanaka, daughter of Aphrodite. Her eyes glittered. “Let’s play a game!”
“I enjoy a good game,” said Leo, waggling his eyebrows.
Piper narrowed her eyes, as if wondering what Drew was up to, but she didn’t say anything. She stepped forward.
“Jason, will you play?” asked Drew innocently.
Jason looked up from his conversation with Nico and Reyna. “Uhh, sure?”
“You’re agreeing before you even know what it is?” asked Reyna, smacking him on the arm.
“Yeah that’s asking for trouble,” agreed Nico.
Will cleared his throat. “I’ll play.”
Nico glanced toward the son of Apollo, trying not to notice how cute he looked in his flannel shirt.
Drew beamed. “Wonderful! Who else?”
Hazel whispered to Frank, “What did she say we were playing?”
Frank shrugged, but they moved forward.
Leo threw his arms around Percy’s and Rachel’s shoulders. “You guys are gonna play, right?”
Rachel looked suspicious for a second, but then seemed to make up her mind, “Okay. Why not?”
“What’s the worst that could happen?” said Percy. “Wise girl?”
“Whatever we play, I’m going to win,” Annabeth said, her stormy eyes turned fierce. Nico believed the child of Athena.
“Fun! Okay.” Drew made a show of counting everyone playing. “Nico, Reyna, are you sure you don’t want to play?”
Will caught Nico’s eye from across the room and nodded.
Nico said, “Um, yeah I guess.”
“Nah, I’m good,” said Reyna. “I’m pretty sure we don’t like the same kinds of games.”
Drew rolled her eyes. “You’re no fun.”
“Drew, come on,” said Jason.
“Don’t worry about it,” muttered Reyna.
Drew clapped her hands and produced a red solo cup of paper slips seemingly from thin air. It must be an Aphrodite thing. “Everyone pick a number!” She pulled a slip of paper from the cup and read it aloud. “Two!” She passed the cup to Jason.
“Uhh. Three. What does that mean?”
Piper scowled at Drew and snatched the cup. “Five.”
Leo reached over and pulled out a slip of paper. “Four.” He glanced between Jason and Piper. He quickly passed the cup to Percy.
“Ten.”
In the end, the order went: Will, Drew, Jason, Leo, Piper. Then Rachel, Hazel, Frank, Annabeth, Percy, and lastly, Nico.
Drew directed them into a curved line, so everyone could see. She held up a playing card, the King of Clubs, also as if from thin air. She turned the card and held it in front of Will’s face.
“What do I do?” asked Will, brow furrowed.
“It’s called Suck and Blow. You suck, holding the card to your lips, until you pass it to the next person in line, then you blow. The other person sucks, and so on. No hands and you can’t let it fall.”
“What happens if it falls?” asked Frank nervously.
“You gotta kiss.”
“What?” cried Nico at the same time that Reyna said, “I knew I didn’t want to play this stupid game.”
Everyone tried to inconspicuously check who they had ended up next to in line.
Nico’s stomach flip-flopped. He was as far away from Will as possible and only next to Percy. He wanted to disappear.
Percy nudged Annabeth, “Oh no, wouldn’t want the card to fall,” he teased.
Annabeth narrowed her eyes. “You better not mess this up for me, Seaweed Brain.”
Drew cleared her throat to get the attention back on her. “Will?” She pressed the card to his lips.
Nico wanted to smack her hand away.
Will’s face became concentrated. He passed the card back to Drew with his mouth.
Nico didn’t realize how tense he’d been until Drew was turning to Jason, the card still against her face. His shoulders slumped in relief.
The card fluttered to the floor a few inches from Jason’s face.
Piper swore.
Drew said, “oops!” She cupped the back of Jason’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss. It lasted only a few seconds, but Nico could tell Drew tried to stick her tongue in his mouth.
Jason’s face was bright red as he ducked to retrieve the card from the floor. He looked as if he regretted agreeing to play. He stared at the card and frowned as if only just realizing this game wasn’t very hygienic. He placed the card to his mouth, sucking. He leaned toward Leo, who doubled over with laughter.
Jason dropped the card. “Valdez!”
Leo wiped at his eyes. “Oh gods. Sorry. Oh man!” He was still laughing. He cleared his throat. “Alright, pucker up Lightning Boy.”
Jason flushed again.
Despite his distaste for the game, Nico leaned forward slightly to get a better look.
Jason leaned forward in a rush, but Leo put a palm against his chest, stopping him. “Woah. Easy there. No need to take out my eye,” said Leo.
If it was possible, Jason turned even redder.
Leo’s hand moved up to Jason’s jaw and tugged him forward more slowly, more precisely. He pressed the briefest kiss to Jason’s mouth, but Jason stared at him, bug-eyed, as if Leo had tried what Drew had.
Seemingly unphased, Leo retrieved the card, put it to his mouth and moved to pass it to Piper, who took it easily. He said, “Yeah. It’s what I thought. Pipes and I just make a better team, Jase.”
“What!” cried Jason.
Nico snorted.
Piper’s brow was cinched, focused, as she brought it to Rachel. She got it to Rachel’s mouth, but it slipped at the last second and their mouths met. Seeming to forget the game entirely, Rachel’s hands went to Piper’s hair. They kissed for a few seconds before breaking apart. Rachel stared, her face aflame.
“Umm—“ said Piper. “That was—“
“Yeah—“
Nico found himself smirking.
A little breathless, Rachel resumed the game, passing the card to Hazel. She almost fumbled it, but tilted her head back at the last moment so as not to drop the card.
Hazel passed the card to Frank, who looked disappointed when she didn’t drop it. Nico figured Frank wouldn’t intentionally drop it if Hazel hadn’t. He was that kind of guy.
Frank turned to Annabeth with the card. Their eyes met, both intensely focused on the task. “Frank, you got this,” said Annabeth. And without turning, she said, “I swear to Gods Percy if you intentionally lose—“
Frank pressed the card to her mouth. Then, she brought the card to Percy’s lips with a glare.
Nico knew Percy wasn’t going to risk it. He’d been so busy watching everyone else that he hadn’t realized it was finally his turn. It was his turn! Hades!
Percy turned to him, finally acknowledging Nico was his other game partner. There was a determined gleam in his eye that Nico was familiar with, having been observing the other boy for years.
Percy held Nico’s gaze as he moved forward. Gods, gods, gods. Nico’s heart was pounding. Percy tilted down and to the side as if he were going to actually kiss Nico.
Nico swallowed sharply. Gods, was the room spinning? All he could see was Percy’s face getting closer and closer. Suddenly Percy’s mouth was pressing against Nico’s through the card.
He hadn’t realized how intimate it would feel. Had everyone else felt this overwhelmed? Some of the others had looked calm or even indifferent as though this was the same level of intimacy as passing a frisbee.
Nico’s brain was short-circuiting, and when Percy let go, he forgot to suck. Nico fumbled to catch the card as it fell. Hades help him.
Percy raised an eyebrow. He huffed a laugh. “DiAngelo, you’re supposed to suck.”
Nico flushed. For some reason, his eyes drifted to Will. The other boy’s expression was impossible to read.
“Whoops,” said Nico. He bent over to pick up the card.
“No way! You guys gotta kiss,” said Drew.
“Hey, wait—“ started Jason, looking concerned. Nico felt a surge of gratitude for his friend.
Percy tugged at the collar of his Camp Half-Blood shirt. “I’m trying not to feel insulted here.”
Nico sent a desperate prayer for his father to summon him to the underworld so he could escape this cursed game.
No such luck.
He rolled his eyes and before he could lose his nerve, he pulled Percy forward by the shirt. “Well?” he snapped. If he had to kiss Percy, he wanted Percy to do it.
Percy shrugged. He lifted his hand to Nico’s face and tugged him forward until he was a breath away. “You sure?” asked Percy.
Nico leaned forward and kissed him. Percy kissed back, pulled nearly away, and pressed forward again. He broke the kiss and nodded at Nico as if that was an everyday occurrence between them, entirely inconsequential. As if he hadn’t just set Nico on fire.
Over Percy or not, Nico hadn’t minded Percy kissing him.
Nico started to walk away from the group, but Drew called, “uh uh uh! It’s still your turn!”
“What?” Nico imagined being required to send the card back in the other direction. He would actually implode if he had to be that close to Percy’s face again.
“Yeah. You have to close the loop.”
Will met Nico’s gaze, expression curious.
Percy was waving the card in front of Nico’s face. When had he picked it up? He pressed the card to Nico’s mouth.
Nico sucked in a breath, holding the card to his lips. Gods, did he have to cross the room? Why hadn’t they formed an actual circle if Drew was going to make them complete the loop?
Will moved closer, but Drew tugged him back. “Not so fast. It’s Nico’s move.”
Nico met Will’s gaze as he moved closer. Gods, gods, gods. His heart was going to punch a hole through his chest. He wanted to kiss Will, but not here. Not in front of everyone.
Like his life depended upon it, Nico sucked on the playing card. He managed to make it across the room without dropping it. He managed to move into Will’s personal space without dropping it. He managed to press it against Will’s lips without dropping it. He knew they weren’t supposed to use their hands, but he pinched Will’s arm lightly. He hoped Will would get it.
Will sucked in a breath and Nico breathed out. He pulled away, ducking his head, avoiding Will’s gaze.
“Aw, no fun!” said Drew.
“Wait, so who won?” asked Annabeth, sounding as if she would either demand another round or argue why she should be counted the winner.
Drew scoffed. “It’s not that kind of game, Chase.”
Percy slung his arm around Annabeth’s shoulders. “You’re a winner to me, Wise Girl.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
Even a month ago, Nico would’ve felt heartbroken watching them, but now they seemed sweet.
Everyone dispersed again.
Percy pulled Annabeth’s arms around his neck and encouraged her to dance with him. Feigning exasperation, she gave in. Leo, Reyna, Hazel, and Rachel started a game of Twister. Frank spun their turns, calling out “left hand red.” Piper was talking to Jason in the corner. He frowned thoughtfully. Drew checked her phone, changing the music to a more dance-friendly playlist.
She must’ve been texting people too, because suddenly there was a knock at the door and Drew went to let in a whole bunch more demigods.
Someone tapped on Nico’s shoulder and he jumped. He whirled around. It was Will. He blushed, but thankfully it was darker now that Drew or someone had turned down the lights.
“That was…interesting,” said Will.
Nico laughed nervously. “Yeah, Drew was way too into that game. It almost seemed like she wanted us—people—to kiss.”
“Yeah. Crazy.”
Nico frowned. What? Will thought it would be crazy to kiss him?
Will was smiling. He poked Nico’s cheek. “Nico, that was a joke.”
What did that mean?
Will continued, “It wouldn’t be crazy to kiss you. Not crazy at all.”
Nico’s eyes went wide.
“But I didn’t think you wanted that, so—“
“I—“
“I would’ve assumed you were just shy, but you kissed Percy.” He sounded annoyed.
Nico gaped at him.
“Is he a good kisser?”
Nico wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly, but Will kept talking.
“I’ve always wondered.”
Nico’s eyes widened further. “I wasn’t trying to kiss Percy.”
“Right.”
“Will, I swear.”
Will nodded.
“I didn’t want to kiss you as part of a stupid, humiliating game.”
Will’s eyes widened. “Oh!”
Nico’s heart hammered in his ears. What had he just done? What if he’d said too much? What if he was being too much?
“We’re not playing that game anymore. Can I kiss you now?”
“What?”
Will looked suddenly nervous. “Can I kiss you?” His voice was softer.
Nico nodded vigorously.
Will’s face broke into a grin. He leaned in, brushed his nose against Nico’s, and pressed their mouths together. It was better than kissing Percy.
Will kissed Nico like he was delighted to be kissing him. He took a breath, then pulled Nico back to him.
Nico gripped at Will’s forearms as they kissed.
“Oooo,” called a voice in the dark.
They jumped apart. Whispers. Snickering.
Will stepped in front of the son of Hades. Nico’s insides went warm and fuzzy at Will being protective.
A cluster of demigods stared at them. Nico’s stomach tied itself into knots.
“I knew it!” said someone.
“You owe me ten bucks!” said another.
“HEY!” shouted a different voice. One he knew well. “Who wants to play a new game?”
People turned toward Percy, who was beckoning them over. Percy caught Nico’s eye and winked.
Nico shoved Will toward the door, and hissed, “Go. Let’s go!” They crept out of the cabin, laughing and gasping for breath when they were out of earshot.
Will smiled sweetly at him.
“Wanna go for a walk?” Nico felt shy, out here alone in the quiet, under the stars with Will.
Will beamed. “Yeah. I’d love that.”
Nico had a minor existential crisis, and then with a deep breath he held out his hand.
Will reached for it, lacing their fingers together.
Nico smiled. He thought everything might be alright after all.