Archive of Our Own ^beta

Last Month

Nico’s eighteenth birthday had passed a few weeks back - as far as anybody knew, anyway - which meant that this upcoming summer at camp was supposed to be his last. Most mortals went off to college at that age, and a lot of campers, too. But Nico wasn’t most people - legally, he didn’t exist. He couldn’t go to college because he didn’t have a real identity, and he wasn’t sure that school was really his thing, anyway. 

Will, though - ever since he’d turned eighteen in November, all he could talk about was the future. It seemed like every week he was changing his plans, but Nico was always happy to listen as he talked through his thought process. 

They were sitting across from each other at the Apollo table in the dining pavilion, long after lunch had ended though they were still picking at a plate of food between them. Nico didn’t have to teach a sword fighting class for another hour, and Will had the afternoon off from the infirmary now that he had enough siblings to actually staff the place. 

Will was rambling about something that Nico was half listening to - mostly because Will went off on so many tangents that, as long as Nico listened to the beginning and the end, he got whatever Will was really trying to say - and he paused just long enough to pop a grape into his mouth before he kept talking. Nico picked up another grape off the plate and threw it at him.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to talk with food in your mouth?” Nico told him, laughing and ducking out of the way when Will tossed a crack back at him. 

Will made a show of chewing more than necessary - with his mouth closed, thank the gods - and then stuck his tongue out when he was finished. “Now you made me lose my train of thought.” 

Nico picked up a grape, though there was something too... squishy about it, so he swapped it out for a different one. “Something about… New Rome’s medical program compared to mortal programs? Or did you move on from that?” He popped the grape into his mouth once he’d finished talking. He’d worked hard on getting his appetite back to normal, but there were still some days when couldn’t make himself eat more than one tiny bite at a time. 

Will hummed, grabbing the squishy grape and making Nico cringe internally as he ate it. After a few seconds, he said, “No, I think I was past that. I dunno, what do you think we should do?” 

Nico shrugged. They’d talked about it a lot, and more frequently as time passed - on dates that took place both inside and outside of camp, late at night whenever Will sneaked into the Hades cabin after lights out, whenever one of them got a new idea that the other just had to hear regardless of the activity they might be in the middle of at that moment - but nothing ever really... stuck. One minute, they both wanted to move straight to New Rome, go to college, and see where the future took them once they got there. Then, suddenly, neither of them wanted anything to do with demigod life ever again - Will would go off to some mortal university, and Nico would find some way to get a job without any experience or education, and they’d figure it out like regular people do. Then, sometimes, rarely, they’d want the exact opposite of what the other had in mind. 

Nico hated it whenever they disagreed to the point where their differing opinions started a fight. The worst part of that was always the fact that neither of them really knew what they wanted. They would fight, and they would take some time to cool down, and then they would come back together and apologize, telling the other that New Rome did sound like the right option, or that they’d thought it through and they should avoid both camps at all costs.

“You know me,” Nico muttered, “I never thought I would live this long.” 

Will grinned. “You mean, to eighteen, or to, like, a hundred?” 

Nico kicked him under the table. “I’m not a hundred yet, asshole.” 

“You love me,” Will reminded him, and Nico’s face erupted in a blush. They’d been telling each other that for years at this point - ever since their narrow escape from Tartarus - but it never failed to make Nico feel warm from his head down to his toes.

“Sometimes I wonder why,” Nico shot back, and when Will tried to kick him, Nico trapped his foot between his ankles. 

“You’re so mean to me,” Will whined, pouting as he propped his chin up on the palm of his hand. Nico picked up a cracker and started breaking it into even smaller pieces, not that he needed smaller pieces to eat, more that he wanted something to do with his hands, until Will reached out and started playing with one of the bracelets on Nico’s wrist. “What do you wanna do, Nico? If you had to choose right now - we get five minutes each to pack a bag and run, where do we go?”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Okay, well, in an emergency scenario like that, we go to New Rome, or we visit my dad until whatever nightmare you’ve conjured up blows over.” 

Will huffed, but it came out more like a laugh. “You know what I meant! Right now, if we were leaving today, what would you want to do? Go to New Rome, go to school with me and keep living the demigod life with everybody we know, or do we go out into the real world and try our best to pretend that none of this ever happened?” 

Nico was torn, just as he knew that Will was. New Rome was obviously the safer bet, physically. There was an army to protect them there, worst case scenario, so they could both focus on school without worrying about fighting for their lives or healing everyone who crossed their path. 

Pretending that demigod life didn’t exist, though - that was tempting. Ever since he found out that he’d been bathed in the Lethe, Nico was terrified of losing his memory, even of forgetting something seemingly small, like an important date, but he didn’t think he would mind forgetting some of his demigod life. Not all of it, of course, because then he would forget Will - but Will had become so intertwined with some of Nico’s worst memories that, at this point, he might as well remember it all. At least he had the comfort of knowing he wasn’t alone. 

“What are my options?” Nico asked. “I mean, what schools did you apply for?” One thing they had decided on was that, if they chose the mortal-life route, Nico wouldn’t be going to school. He kept trying to tell Will that he would follow Will anywhere across the country so that Will could go to the school of his dreams, but Will hadn’t wanted to force him to do anything he wasn’t totally happy with. 

(What Will apparently didn’t understand was that Nico was going to be totally happy no matter what, as long as he was with Will.) 

“Well, I’ve already been accepted into New Rome University, but you already knew that,” Will reminded him, “and you’ve been accepted, too, whether you decide you want to go or not. They can’t exactly turn down the Ambassador of Pluto, hero of two wars.” 

Nico rolled his eyes, but it didn’t change the fact that he blushed again - Will always liked to boast about how important his boyfriend was, even whenever they considered leaving demigod life behind. “What about mortal schools?” Nico asked, steering him back on track.

Will sighed. “NYU, because we won’t have to go far if I get in there. UC Berkeley, just in case something happens, and that way we’re close to New Rome, and UCLA for similar reasons, but that’s a lot farther away. Close to the entrance to the Underworld, though, so we could always sneak down there in an emergency.” 

Nico covered Will’s hand with his own, giving his fingers a squeeze. “You’re still thinking with your demigod brain. You can apply anywhere you want. Where would you go if being close to camp didn’t matter?” 

Will didn’t even have to think about it. “UT Austin,” he answered instantly, “so I can be closer to home.” 

Nico grinned. “I like Texas.” 

“You’ve only ever been there in the winter,” Will said with a scoff. “Christmas in Texas is way different than summer - you’d melt.” 

“Please, like you haven’t acclimated to the New York climate by now,” Nico argued. “Besides, how hot can it get? Houses have air conditioning, don’t they?” 

Will ducked his head, his shoulders shaking as he tried to contain his laughter, “Babe, you have no idea what you’re saying. Texas has state-wide blackouts sometimes because it gets so hot and too many people have their air conditioning on that the power plants get overloaded and shut down.” 

“Sunshine,” Nico said sweetly, “I drank fire. I think I can survive a little heat.” 

“Fair point.” Will lifted Nico’s hand up to his lips, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. It had taken a while for either of them to be comfortable enough to joke about Tartarus, but once they reached that point, they always made sure to give the other a bit of extra affection, just in case the jokes brought back bad memories. “I still think you’re unprepared, just speaking as a person who lived there. But if you want, maybe we can visit sometime, and you can see for yourself.” 

Nico lifted his gaze from their joined hands that were once again resting on the table, and his eyes widened in excitement. “Do you want to?”

Will grinned. “Do I wanna take my boyfriend home with me for a little vacation? Obviously. When do you wanna go?” 

“Well, we should go in the summer, so I can prove that I can withstand the heat, but that’s the busy season here,” Nico thought aloud. “I’ll have more classes to teach, and you’ll probably be needed in the infirmary a little more often. It would have to be before the start of summer, so that doesn’t give us much time.” 

Will’s smile only grew. “We could visit my grandparents’ farm! They always need extra help in the spring, and my mama usually takes some time off to visit, so maybe we could all go together!”

Nico started to shrink, thoughts swirling through his head of how much he was going to mess everything up if he tagged along to the Solace farm, but then there was the look on Will’s face - a look of pure excitement that Nico hadn’t seen since they first decided that they would move out of camp together - and he knew he couldn’t argue. “Am I really gonna be much help on a farm? I mean, you know how I am with plants, and...animals, and...new people--” 

Will released Nico’s hand and quickly reached across the table to take Nico’s face in his hands, holding his cheeks gently as his thumbs brushed across the smooth skin. “You are going to be amazing - the whole thing is going to be amazing! I promise, it’s going to be so much fun - spring is planting season, and-- And all the baby animals! Nico, there’s going to be so many babies, and it’s sheep shearing season, and--” He pressed forward, knocking his forehead against Nico’s lightly. “And I can introduce you to my family, and you can see what it was like for me growing up on a farm… Nico, we have to go! Please?” 

Nico rolled his eyes, trying to act as though it was a difficult decision to make, when in reality, he was itching to go already. “Fine,” he said around a sigh, “I guess we can--”

Will cut him off with a kiss, or two, or three, and then he was pulling back and jumping out of his seat. “Yes! I’m gonna go tell Chiron that we’re gonna be gone-- No, wait, I should call my mom first! Or should I make the infirmary schedule for when I’ll be gone? I should apply for UT Austin!”

Nico got to his feet and ran around the table, pulling Will’s hands out of the air so that he didn’t accidentally smack Nico in the face with the way he was waving them around like crazy. “Call your mom,” Nico told him calmly. “Then, once we find out when we’re going, we’ll tell Chiron, and make schedules, and maybe we can even see about touring UT’s campus while we’re there, if you want.” 

Will beamed. “I love you,” he said, and he pulled Nico in for another kiss. “I really mean it, I love you.”

In Three Years

Nico made time between his Ambassador of Pluto duties to have coffee with Annabeth at least once a month. He’d scheduled time to see all of his friends one-on-one on top of their usual group hangouts, but Nico was trying to take advantage of how close everyone was while it still lasted. There was no saying where anyone might end up after graduation - Annabeth and Percy would probably end up back in New York to be closer to Percy’s mom, and he and Will were only planning on sticking around long enough for Will to get their degree.

He and Annabeth had mostly finished catching up - she complained one final time about a project she’d been assigned in one of her architecture classes, but was overall grateful that it was finally over, while Nico tried to downplay the last “errand” his father had sent him on. (Hades had been taking the Ambassador of Pluto title a little too seriously lately - or maybe he had somehow found out about Nico’s desire to fully leave demigod life behind, and was trying to make the time count.)

Nico’s eye caught on Annabeth’s engagement ring as it glinted in the sun. Her and Percy had been engaged since they both finished undergrad, but they had already discussed that they wouldn’t be getting married until Annabeth was finished with her master’s. It felt like they’d been engaged for a lifetime already, and out of every demigod Nico knew, the two of them felt the most grown up. Nico had helped them move into a new apartment a few weeks back, and compared to his and Will’s studio, their apartment really felt like a home.  

Annabeth must have caught him staring, because she started tapping her fingers against her coffee cup, spurring him to look away and meet her eyes once more. She was grinning almost deviously, so Nico took a sip of his drink in an attempt to keep cool.

“So,” she started casually, “when are you and Will going to get married?” 

Nico choked. “Uh, sorry?” he asked, because maybe pretending he hadn’t heard her would make the question disappear.

“You’ve been together for, what, six years?” She raised her cup to take a drink, as though to let the question hang in the air between them. She knew the answer, just like Nico knew where she was going with it, but he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction.

“Your point?” he shot back. He took a sip of his own coffee as if to say, take that.  

Annabeth rolled her eyes. “You’ve been together for six years, lived together for two of those years, and have been openly admitting that you love him for at least three. If marriage isn’t your thing, I get that, but I have a feeling that it’s probably his thing. So even if you aren’t thinking about it, he probably is.” 

Nico waved her off. “Maybe, but it probably won’t happen until after he graduates, like with you and Percy. He’s got too much on his plate to worry about anything like that.” 

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” She shrugged. “I mean, you two have been making a lot of trips to Texas to see his family. Maybe he’s secretly been looking at houses, or he’s giving you the chance to ask for a blessing, or something cheesy like that.” 

Nico didn’t bother telling her that they already had both of those things, and instead replied, “Don’t you have an exam to proctor?” 

Annabeth’s eyes widened, and she hurried to glance down at her watch. “Shit. This conversation isn’t over, di Angelo,” she told him as she scrambled to grab her back and get to her feet.

He tilted his head in confusion. “Then how come you’re leaving?”

He snickered when she glared at him, and his laughter only increased when she smacked him on the back of the head as she rushed by.

Nico rose from the table as well, cleaning up the few sugar packets that Annabeth had forgotten on the table before he walked away. He took his time walking through the streets of New Rome, wandering out of the business district and toward the residential area, opposite of the way that Annabeth had gone to reach the University’s campus. He tossed his now-empty coffee cup into the trash outside the building he lived in with Will - a tiny place full of paper-thin walls that the Legion paid for in return for Nico’s service as Ambassador. He climbed the stairs and let himself into his apartment, where Will was already inside.

They looked up from their desk at the sound of the door closing behind them, and they grinned at the sight of Nico. “Hey,” they said, then dropped their gaze back to the textbooks spread out on the desk, “how’s Annabeth?” 

Nico shrugged as he made his way to Will, placing his hands on Will’s shoulders and leaning against the back of their chair so that he could peer over Will’s head at their work. “Annoying,” he said with a huff.

Will laughed, tipping back until the top of their head pressed into Nico’s chest. “So, what seemingly impossible task did she ask of you? Guest lecture in the class she’s TAing? Help her grade papers? It’s not like you lack time or interest.” They reached up and patted one of Nico’s hands, their head tilting slightly as they added, “Maybe you should be a teacher.” 

Nico huffed again. “No, she--” He stopped himself. Was he really about to say it out loud? With a sigh, Nico stepped back and spun Will’s chair around to face him, then took a step back and crossed his arms. “She asked when we’re going to get married.”

“Oh.” Will blinked. “Is that all?” 

Nico frowned. “Yes.” 

“Okay.” Will shrugged, like they didn’t see any problem with what was happening. “Well, when do you want to get married? I’m down for whatever, but I kind of expected to have a cuter proposal than this.” 

Nico took another step back, like he was shying away. “Hang on, you were actually thinking about this?” 

Will paused, allowing both of them a second to process what was happening before they slowly stood up. “Come here,” they said gently as they made their way over to the “living room” - one corner of the apartment that had a couch and a TV that was only ever used for their rare movie nights. “I kind of thought we’d already talked about this, but I guess I was wrong.” They patted the space beside them, waiting until Nico sat on the opposite cushion with his legs criss-crossed in front of him before they spoke again. “Nico, I’ve been telling you that I want to grow old with you since we were, like, eighteen. Did you think that I meant I just wanted to be roommates that whole time?”

Nico snorted at just the thought of that, and Will grinned at their little victory, finally reaching out for one of Nico’s hands now that they felt like they had permission.

“I’m, like, really in love with you,” Will continued, smiling in that way that still gave Nico butterflies. “Did I not make that clear?” 

Nico squeezed their hand. “No, no, that was clear. It’s just… I guess I never let myself think that I could get married because… Well, the gay thing, mostly, and obviously we weren’t going to just be roommates forever, but… This is kind of a lot for me all of a sudden.” 

“I know,” Will told him, leaning forward to press a kiss to the back of Nico’s hand. “And I want you to take all the time you need to think about this, but…” They slid off the couch, keeping a hold of Nico’s hand as they shuffled closer on their knees. “Nico di Angelo, love of my life, will you marry me?” 

Nico lifted his free hand to shove at Will’s shoulder. “Why would I have to think about that?” he asked with a roll of his eyes. “I already promised you an eternity, William. Of course I’m going to marry you.” 

Now

Will’s grandparents were kind, though Nico was starting to understand that all of Will’s... everything didn’t come from being a child of Apollo. That was from being a child of Naomi, and by extension, the grandchild of Vernon and Elsie.

They’d all commented on how skinny Nico was, tried to force him to eat, and insisted that a few days out in the fields would put some muscle on his bones. Nico would have felt mortified, if they hadn’t been saying the same things to Will.

“Do they even feed you boys at camp?” Elsie commented as she piled their plates high - too high - with mashed potatoes and corn and potroast on their first night in Texas. 

“Yes, ma’am,” Nico replied quietly. He was starting to feel sick just from looking at how much he would have to eat, but then he felt Will’s hand on his arm, so he pulled his attention away from his plate.

“Just eat what you can,” Will told him softly before digging into his own dinner.

Nico nodded, picking up his fork and taking a small bite of mashed potatoes. 

“You boys are gonna need lots of energy for what your Papa has planned tomorrow,” Elsie said as she started pouring gravy all over her own plate. Nico winced when it even covered her corn. “What did you say you had planned tomorrow, Vern?”

“Sheep need shearin’,” he said simply. “Fields need sowin’.” 

Nico nodded in understanding, though Vernon hadn’t looked up from his plate as he spoke. Nico ate a few kernels of corn, trying not to notice how quickly the rest of them were clearing off their plates.

“Honey,” Elsie said, reaching across the table with her fork and pointing at Nico’s plate, “you oughta eat up before it gets cold. You haven’t even touched your beef!” 

“I slaughtered that cow just for tonight’s supper, you know,” Vernon commented.

“He’s kidding,” Will said quickly at the look of horror that appeared on Nico’s face, which sparked a laugh from Vernon.

“Mama, leave him be,” Naomi told Elsie. “I told you before, he’s got dietary issues - he’ll eat what he can eat. Don’t push him.” 

Nico shot Naomi a grateful smile, and she nodded back before returning to her dinner. Normally, Nico hated the idea that somebody had talked about him without his knowing, but this was one case where he greatly appreciated it. He knew by now that Will’s grandparents were aware of demigod life, but he didn’t know the full extent of their knowledge, so he didn’t want to accidentally over explain anything and reveal just how many times their grandson had narrowly avoided death. 

He was sure that Naomi didn’t have the full picture of why Nico couldn’t eat as much as everyone else, but he was confident that she’d explained it to her parents better than Nico ever could. 

Shortly after dinner - where Nico had managed to finish about half of his plate, and Will ate half of what was left - they were excused to start getting ready for bed. Nico was confused at first, because never in his life had he eaten such a big meal and then gone straight to bed, but on their way upstairs, Will explained that they had to turn in early in order to wake up early the next day.

Will, being a child of Apollo, had always been able to pass out as soon as he was horizontal - as long as the sun was down, at least - but Nico had less confidence in his own ability to sleep very much that night. The only pros he could think of were that he at least got to share a bed with Will - his family was apparently under no illusions that they hadn’t already shared a bed, which had Nico’s face erupting in flames - and that he’d usually managed just fine on too few hours of sleep.

They settled into bed, and Will was out like a light. Nico, though, stayed up for hours.  

It didn’t take long for Nico to learn that he was not cut out for farm life. He couldn’t go anywhere near the animals, or else they would run off or try to bite him when he came too close. He felt seeds shrivel up and die in his hands when he went to plant them. His mood had gone so far downhill so fast that even the grass he walked on was starting to die on contact with his shoes, and he refused to let even Will touch him in an attempt to comfort, because he couldn’t risk his sour mood lashing out on the person he loved most. 

Eventually, when it seemed like Vernon had gotten sick of Nico’s screwing up, Naomi gently told him to head back to the house to see if Elsie needed help preparing dinner. It wasn’t even lunchtime yet, so Nico figured that meant he wouldn’t be wanted back on the farm for the rest of the day - or week.  

Once he’d made it inside, he found Elsie in the kitchen preparing food. She looked at him in surprise and said, “Oh! Are all y’all headin’ back in already? Dinner won’t be ready for at least ten more minutes.” 

Nico shook his head. “Just me. Um, Naomi asked me to come in and help.”

Elsie smiled back. “Well, get in here, then! It’s been a long time since I had somebody to help me in the kitchen, since everybody’s always out on the farm instead. Get those green beans off the stove for me, would you? Put ‘em in a bowl, and then you can set the table.” 

Nico was feeling better after lunch - dinner - since he’d actually felt useful, especially compared to that morning. In the afternoon, Vernon gave Will the chance to show Nico around the farm, to the handful of places he hadn’t yet seen. 

They went to the horse stables first, which Nico thought he would be okay with - because what’s a horse if not a pegasus without wings? - but there was something even more threatening about them as non-magical beings. They checked the chicken coop for eggs, where Nico had danced around the birds that were seemingly trying to get themselves crushed under his feet with the way kept running up to him. He wasn’t sure at first if they were trying to attack or if they thought he was bringing food, but when Will scooped up one of the chickens and dropped her into Nico’s arms, Nico figured it was the latter. The chicken pecked lightly at his hands and arms, but she cuddled against his chest, too.

When Will tried to take him back to the sheep pen, Nico dragged his feet. He didn’t want to see them cowering in fear of him again, and he didn’t want to risk getting charged by the few rams among the flock. 

Nico insisted on waiting outside the pen as Will climbed inside, wading through the sea of sheep in search of something before he turned and called out to Nico, telling him to come inside. Rather than walking through the flock and likely scaring all of them, Nico walked around the perimeter of the pen until he was closer to Will, then climbed onto the fence. From his vantage point, he could see a spot of black among the white sheep right beside where Will was standing, so Nico hopped down.

Most of the sheep ran from him as soon as he got close, but once Nico reached Will’s side, he recognized the creature beside his boyfriend as a black ram. The animal didn’t move, apparently unafraid of Nico’s deathly aura.

“Papa Vernon told me this morning that he’d just got a black ram at the start of the season,” Will explained, scratching between the ram’s horns. “He said he’d gotten a good deal at the auction, but I don’t remember what else he said about him, because I was too busy trying to remember why black rams are important, but I think I got it! They’re one of your dad’s sacred animals, right?” 

Will was smiling brightly at him, and Nico felt his heart swoop. “That’s right. Is that why it’s not afraid of me?” 

Will shrugged. “Probably. C’mon, pet him! His wool’s so soft right now, and you won’t get another chance like this after we shear him tomorrow.” 

Nico took a hesitant step forward, holding his hand out in front of the ram and giving him a chance to sniff before his hand took the place of Will’s on top of the animal’s head. The curly wool on its head was fluffy and soft, and the way that Nico’s fingers easily got lost in it reminded him of Will’s hair.

“He’s not afraid,” Nico whispered, his voice in awe as he smiled up at Will to find him beaming back. “Thank you, Will.” 

“Of course, darlin’,” Will replied, his eyes turning fond as he stepped forward, placing a hand on Nico’s shoulder as he leaned down for a kiss. “Feeling better?” 

“I am.” Nico lifted his hand from the ram’s head, though the animal only came closer, pressing the side of its body against Nico’s legs, one of its curved horns digging into his chest. Nico tried to take a step back, but the ram pressed up against him once more. “Uh, Will?” 

“He wants to be pet,” Will told him with a laugh. “I think he likes you.” 

Nico began smoothing a hand down the ram’s back, and it nuzzled its head against his stomach. “Alright, but I can’t spend the rest of my life out here petting sheep.” He tried to take another step back, but he nearly tripped over something that had appeared behind him - another sheep, rubbing up against his legs like a cat, who turned to bleat up at him. “Will?”  

“I think they’ve realized that you’re not a threat,” Will explained, suddenly petting two sheep that had appeared on either side of him. It looked as though the entire flock had started swarming around them. “However, I think that if we don’t get out of here soon, we might not be able to. Let’s go.” He reached over and grabbed Nico’s hand, then started wading through the flock once more, tugging Nico along behind him until they could climb the fence and escape.

Nico slipped his hand into Will’s as they started out of the barn, and he brushed their shoulders together. “Thank you, Will.

“You don’t need to thank me,” he replied, giving Nico’s hand a squeeze.

“But I want to.” 

“But seeing you smile like that is all the thanks I need.” 

Nico shoved him away. “Gods, you’re so gross,” he said, but they were both laughing.

He threaded his fingers through Will’s again as they walked out of the barn, and Will went to shut the door behind him, but he paused. “What’s wrong?” Nico asked, following his gaze back to the sheep pen.

“Was that door open when we walked in?” Will asked, pointing across the barn to another large door that had been slid open just wide enough for a person to walk through.

Nico tensed, and slowly moved to grab the knife he kept sheathed in his boot. “I don’t think so.” He pressed it into Will’s hand, then quickly stepped to the other side of the doorway, reaching into the shadow there to summon his sword. He nodded his head into the barn, and Will nodded back. Quickly and quietly, they moved inside. 

They moved in sync across the barn, though they went along opposite walls as they made their way around the sheep pen in the middle. Nico kept his eyes peeled - on the wall to his right, the pen to his left, on the doors both in front of and behind him. He didn’t hear anything aside from the gentle bleating of sheep as he reached the other door, where Will was cautiously poking his head outside. He glanced back at Nico, shaking his head to indicate that there was nothing out of the ordinary on the other side.

That’s when one of the sheep cried out in pain.

Nico and Will whipped toward the pen just in time to see the entire flock rushing to the opposite end of the pen before they cowered in fear at the realization that they were trapped. Nico rushed closer, finding a bloody mess of a sheep that was being feasted on by some form of winged reptile.

“Is that a Texas thing?” Nico asked. “Or a Greek thing?” 

“Definitely Greek,” Will replied, “and we should definitely kill it before it gets any more sheep.” 

“I’ll draw it out,” Nico said as he started climbing over the fence. “Open the gate once I get close, and then lock the barn as soon as I can get that thing outside.” 

Will stopped him with a hand on his ankle as Nico straddled the fence and told him, “Be careful.”

Nico grinned. “You, too.” And he dropped into the pen. 

He walked sideways, keeping his back to the fence and his eyes on the monster - a drakon, if he were to guess, considering how it basically looked like a fat snake with wings - until he reached the point where the fence would open up. The drakon was still distracted by its meal, so Nico crouched down, picked up a few pebbles from the ground, and threw them in the monster’s direction with a shout of, “Hey!”

The drakon lifted its head and shrieked, revealing its razor sharp teeth and causing Nico to flinch. He grabbed another rock, throwing it at the monster, though it bounced harmlessly off the thing’s head.

“Come get me!” Nico yelled, and got his wish. The drakon flapped its wings, rearing back as it hissed, and then lunged forward a few feet, slithering rapidly the rest of the way toward Nico. “Will, open up!”

As the gate disappeared behind his back, Nico slipped into the shadows, knowing that he wouldn’t have the time to outrun the drakon. He reappeared just outside the barn door, where he quickly found another rock, which he lobbed at the creature. “Come on!” 

He ran out into the field as the drakon gave chase, though Nico turned back just in time to see Will pulling the barn door shut between them. Good, Nico thought, now it’s just me and you.  

He assumed a fighting stance as the drakon slithered toward him, blocking its fangs with the blade of his sword when it lunged, and slicing at its body, though the metal scraped harmlessly against the drakon’s scales. 

The drakon flapped its wings again, rearing back and towering over Nico. He slashed at the scales over its belly, though the sword deflected once more. Then, while Nico was distracted, the drakon’s tail wrapped around his legs, pulling him off balance and slamming him into the ground. 

The air was knocked out of his lungs, causing him to wheeze and lash out blindly with his sword. The blade ripped across the drakon’s wing, severing it almost entirely, though that forced the monster to collapse on top of Nico, its other wing not strong enough to keep it upright. As it landed, it bared its fangs and lodged them into Nico’s shoulder. He was still so out of breath that he couldn’t even cry out in pain.

One well-aimed punch to the drakon’s throat was enough to get it to dislodge from his shoulder, and then he managed to kick it loose and crawl away. His lungs burned from lack of air, and his shoulder stung, though from the simple injury or poison, he couldn’t tell. Either way, he had to switch his sword to his right hand - he was always clumsier with his right hand. 

When the drakon lunged, Nico stuck his sword out between them, placing the blade sideways in the monster’s mouth. He kicked at the creature’s body, sending it backward and dislodging the front teeth from its mouth. 

“What’s it going to take for you to die, huh?” Nico growled, giving a swift kick to the underside of the drakon’s jaw when it tried to lunge again. He pushed himself to his feet, slashing and stabbing at the monster, parrying whenever it tried to attack, but he was getting tired. His entire left art was starting to burn, and he was certain by now that the drakon’s bite was poisonous. He wanted to call out for Will, but he knew he had to save his breath - especially when it felt like the poison was seeping into his lungs.

He managed to hold off the drakon for another few moments - seconds or minutes, he wasn’t sure - until he finally heard a familiar voice calling out his name. Still, he couldn’t raise his eyes to see how close Will was, not when the drakon seemed to be moving even faster than before.

“Nico,” he heard Will call out again, sounding much closer than he should’ve been after such a short amount of time. “I need you to start running!”

“Where?” Nico shouted back.

“Anywhere!”

The drakon lunged again, and this time when Nico lodged his sword into its mouth, he dropped the handle, then turned and ran. He heard something following after him, but it wasn’t the drakon - something with legs.

“Give me your hand,” Will said from right behind him, so Nico raised his hand blindly into the air, “and jump!” 

As soon as Nico felt Will’s hand close around his, he used the last of his strength to leap off the ground. The next thing he knew, he had his face pressed against Will’s back as he squeezed onto a saddle behind Will, the horse they rode on galloping in circles around the drakon. 

“How do we kill it?” Will asked, and now that Nico had a second to actually think--

“I think it’s the icthus-- The isthmus--” He tongue felt heavy in his mouth, and his vision was blacking out in the corners, but he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus. “Cadmus killed it - with a rock.” 

“A rock?” Will echoed. “Just, any old rock?” He paused, then asked, “Would a hoof work?” 

He didn’t wait for an answer - he probably knew that Nico couldn’t answer - but Nico felt the horse change directions. Will leaned forward, pulling Nico with him as the horse picked up speed, running in a straight line. After a moment, Will slowed them down, turned the horse around, and had it charge back the way they’d come. “Let’s hope this works!” Will exclaimed, and Nico managed to pry his eyes open just in time to watch the horse trample the drakon into sulfur dust. 

“Thank the gods,” Nico muttered against Will’s shoulder, and then he sagged forward. 

“Nico?” Will said, worry lacing his voice. Nico barely felt Will grab his left hand where Nico had slung it around his waist. “Oh gods, Nico, why is your hand purple? Shit, shit, just hang on, it’ll be okay!”

They leaned forward again as the horse picked up speed, and then Nico could hear Will calling out for his mom before the horse slowed to a stop. He felt himself being lowered off the horse, heard frantic voices shouting though he couldn’t make out any words, and then he was being carried up a set of stairs before he blacked out fully.

In six years

They’d spent years fixing up the house. It would’ve gone quicker if they hadn’t had to keep going back and forth to New Rome so that Will could attend classes and Nico could work just enough to still get paid for the role of Ambassador. Will’s family had certainly been a big help in the process, too, repairing the house’s exterior and the surrounding land so that Nico and Will could focus on the inside of the house - as well as housing Will’s graduation present.

And seriously, Nico thought, who got their child a horse for their college graduation? A magical, flesh-eating horse, at that? Nico was going to have to have a word with Apollo the next time he saw him. What part of leaving demigod life behind did that god not understand?

For the last year or so, Nico had been perfecting his shadow travel techniques in order to help them move their furniture out of New Rome more efficiently. Now, instead of only being able to summon his sword out of the nearest shadow, Nico was able to reach through and pull out anything he could manage to lift on his own. (Their bed had had to come in pieces, and the couch was a bit of a hassle, but everything made it eventually.)

That first night, they’d slept together on a mattress on the floor, and Nico was too exhausted to do anything aside from pass out as soon as his head hit the pillows, but it was the most relaxed he’d felt in years. 

The next day, though, when Will’s family had pulled up in a truck hauling a horse trailer, Nico’s stress returned. He specifically made Will go out to fetch the horse from the trailer, still terrified after all this time that she would take a bite out of Vernon if he wasn’t careful, even though Will insisted that Roxy was harmless. 

As Will led her toward the newly repaired stables, Nico took a moment to admire them - Will looked more in their element, more at peace, than Nico had ever seen them, and he knew from that moment alone that making the move to Texas was the right choice for both of them. 

His attention was drawn back to the rest of the Solaces as another vehicle pulled into the driveway - a small car that looked simultaneously old and brand new, as if it had been bought years ago but was never driven. Nico felt even more confused when Naomi stepped out of the driver’s seat, tossing him the keys and calling out, “Catch!” 

Nico almost flinched, but he managed to do so. “What do you want me to do with these?” 

Naomi grinned as she made her way over to him. “I want you to keep them, honey. Technically, this car was Will’s sixteenth birthday present, but he’s got his... magic horse now, so he won’t really need the car - not that he ever learned to drive, anyway.”

Nico bit his tongue to prevent himself from telling her that he’d never learned how to, either. He’d figure it out, somehow. His friends had all promised to visit at some point, so surely one of them could teach him eventually. “Thank you,” he said instead, cradling the keys in his hand. It was only getting harder and harder to believe that this was really his life - he had a fiance, they had a house, now he had a car, and Nico and Will were both going to start their new jobs on Monday… It really was just like they were...normal people.

“You don’t need to thank me, sweetheart,” Naomi told him, reaching out to give his arm a squeeze. Then, she leaned in with a wink and whispered, “Just think of it as an early wedding present.” 

Nico felt himself flush. Sure, he and Will had been engaged for a few years, but he hadn’t realized that anybody else knew. “Oh, uh--” 

“Hey, what’s my old car doing here?” Will asked suddenly as they seemingly appeared behind Nico, draping an arm over his shoulders casually while their other hand was stuffed into their pocket. “Are those--” He stared down at the set of keys in Nico’s hand, and then shot a look of betrayal up at his mother. “Mama! Did you give my car away?” 

Naomi rolled her eyes. “Honey, please, as if you were ever going to do anything with it besides let it rust away in Papa’s barn. At least someone will be putting it to use now, since Nico can’t expect to shadow travel to and from work every day.”

Will hummed. “I guess that makes sense.” 

Nico’s eyes shot back and forth between Will and Naomi before he exclaimed, “Hang on, are you telling me Will got that trait from you? The constant worrying - that’s not an Apollo thing?”

Naomi laughed, and Nico thought he could even hear Vernon and Elsie chuckling in the background. “Oh, no, honey, that is very much a Solace trait. It’s called tough love,” she told him, patting his arm again, “and you’d better start getting used to it from all of us now.” 

Now

Nico came to on the kitchen table. He was shivering, which he attributed to the fact that his shirt had been halfway torn off in order to access his throbbing shoulder, and probably a bit to the fever that he no doubt had as his body fought off the last of the poison in his system. 

It hurt to turn his head, but he had to look around - the sun was just beginning to set behind the distant hills, and Will was sitting in a chair beside him, holding his left hand (which was much closer to a normal color already).

Will’s eyes flickered up to his as if he could sense that Nico had woken up - and he probably did, through some tiny shift in Nico’s vitals. He smiled softly, tiredly, and Nico knew instantly how much Will had drained himself in order to heal him. “Hi,” Will whispered. “How are you feeling?” 

Nico tried to shrug, but winced when he shifted his shoulder. “Been worse.” Will snickered, so Nico said, “What?”

“Most people say they’ve been better,” Will told him.

“So?” Nico asked. “I’ve been worse.”  

“Yeah,” Will said softly, brushing his thumb across the back of Nico’s hand, “you have. I’m glad you’re okay.” 

Nico gave his hand a squeeze - though it came out more like a gentle wiggle of his fingers. “Me too. Can I get off the table now?”

“If you think you can,” Will replied, and he stood to help Nico sit up, “but you’re laying right back down, wherever we end up.” 

“I was going to regardless,” Nico told him, already feeling dizzy as he moved his legs to hang over the side of the table. 

“Wanna go upstairs so we don’t have to do this all over again later?” Will asked, and Nico shook his head.

“Couch is good,” he answered. “I don’t think I could make it much farther.” 

Will hooked one of Nico’s arms around his shoulder before easing him to his feet. Nico used his boyfriend as a crutch to help him into the next room, where he was carefully lowered onto the cushions. Before he laid down, Nico asked, “Can you get me another shirt?”

Rather than leaving, Will shed the plaid button-down he’d been wearing over his t-shirt, then helped Nico out of his tattered shirt before sliding the button-down over his arms and buttoning it for him.

“Thanks,” Nico said, and started to flop down, but Will caught him and eased him onto the pillow behind him. “Where is everybody?”

“Finishing up outside,” Will replied as he pulled a blanket off the back of the couch to drape over Nico. “Mama’s helping Papa Vernon get rid of the sheep that the drakon got a hold of, so Mimi Elsie had to put a hold on supper to finish feeding the pigs. I don’t think she was very happy when I turned her dining table into an operating table, but I told her it’s better than getting blood on the couch.” 

Nico turned his head away, glancing toward the wall as guilt washed over him. It was his fault that the drakon had shown up there, he was sure of it. He’d put Will’s entire family in danger - how could he ever think he could live a normal life in the real world, when monsters were always tracking him down and trying to kill him?

“Hey, don’t go gettin’ all doom and gloom on me,” Will said suddenly, brushing his fingers across Nico’s jaw and turning his head to face Will once more. “She’s not mad or anything - everybody was too worried about you to be mad.”

“But I made a huge mess, and I’m too screwed up to clean up after myself,” Nico replied. “I should clean up my own messes - or I shouldn’t be around to make messes like this in the first place. Not--” He sighed, rubbing at his eyes with his right hand. “Not like that, but--”

“I know,” Will cut in gently, lifting Nico’s left hand up to his lips to kiss his knuckles. “I know what you mean, but… That’s not true, and you know it. Besides, this would’ve happened whether you were here or not, and--”

He stopped abruptly when he heard a noise from outside the house, something that sounded distinctly like someone calling his name. He sighed heavily and pressed another kiss to Nico’s hand before he said, “I’m sorry, I told them I was just coming in to check on you. I’ll be back soon, okay? Please try to get some rest, and stop thinking so much.” 

Nico snorted. “Sure, I’ll just stop thinking.”  

“Damn right, you will,” Will replied, darting forward to kiss the tip of Nico’s nose. “Doctor’s orders.” 

“Shut up,” Nico told him with a heavy roll of his eyes, though Will knew he was barely holding back his laughter.

Will hurried back outside to where the sunlight had almost faded away. He could see the lights on inside the barn, and a pair of flashlights moving through the fields a short distance away. He ran toward the barn, finding Elsie inside, fiddling with the latch on the sheep pen. “What’s going on?” Will asked as he approached her.

Elsie looked more anxious than Will had ever seen her. “I had to open the gate so they could carry the sheep out, but I couldn’t get it latched - and I thought I had it, and then-- The next thing I know, there’s sheep wandering all about, and the gate’s wide open! Your Papa thinks the gate might be broken, but he’s out bringing the sheep back. There’s just the one left - they need your help more than I do, honey, go!” 

Will nodded, turning on his heel and running back out into the field. He didn’t have a flashlight, but he didn’t need one, since he could turn into his own miniature sun. He’d burned up a lot of his energy while healing Nico earlier, but maintaining a gentle glow shouldn’t drain him too much. 

He kept his distance from the two flashlights he saw, knowing that they had to cover as much ground as possible. He wasn’t sure how long he was walking, or how far from the house he was when he finally heard the sound of something else walking around in front of him. Will brightened his glow, expecting to see a sheep grazing, and while he was right, that wasn’t all he saw. 

Something almost wolf-like appeared to be stalking the sheep, waiting for the right time to pounce. Without making any sudden moves, Will reached for Nico’s knife, and braced for an attack. He brightened his glow again, giving himself a better view of the battleground, but the light drew the creature’s attention. 

Will had a split second to think oh shit, that’s a coyote, before the animal lunged toward him. 

He tried to jam the blade of the knife into the coyote’s throat, but the metal dissolved uselessly against the animal’s skin. If Will lived through this, he would have to remember that Celestial bronze did not work against wild animals.

He was knocked onto his back, the coyote pinning him down and snapping its jaws near his neck. Will punched it’s throat as hard as he could, calling out for help as the animal cried out in pain, but Will didn’t know where he was - nobody knew where he was - and his glow was fading as his energy drained. He was going to die if he didn’t do something drastic.

Dad, he prayed silently as he continued to hold the coyote back, even as its teeth went for his arm next, I don’t know how this works, so I’m going to need some help here!  

He felt like he was going to throw up from fear - was that something people did? - until he realized that the acidic taste in the back of his mouth was something different. His glow turned from a golden yellow to a putrid green, and he choked as a green fog began to emit from his mouth.

Nico was trying to rest. An old blessing from Hypnos had given him the ability to fall asleep almost instantly whenever he truly needed to, so he was especially drowsy when he felt a painful tug in his stomach - a familiar tug that left a horrible taste in his mouth. 

He ignored the pain in his shoulder as he forced himself upright. He staggered as he took the first few steps, but forced himself forward, foregoing shoes as he bolted out of the house. 

It was dark, but that had never stopped Nico before. The sun had set awfully fast, leaving the farm black aside from the distant flashlight beams that seemed to both be moving in the same direction - the same way that Nico felt himself being pulled.

He took off running, the adrenaline coursing through his veins once more being enough to numb the pain of running barefoot through the fields - and the jostling of his injured shoulder, but he was still pointedly ignoring that. 

“Will!” he called out when he felt he was close, but there was no light for him to see by. Even his better-than-normal night vision wasn’t doing him any good. “Will!”  

There was a flash of something off to his left, and he watched Naomi and Vernon approach with flashlights, both with shotguns strapped over their shoulders. Nico tried not to pay them any mind - he had to focus. He had to find Will.

The tug in his gut led him forward, and he ended up paying more attention to his death sense than to where he was going, to the point where he almost tripped over the first body. 

Over his shoulder, one of the flashlights shone down on the mass of dirty wool beneath him. The sheep looked almost as though it had starved to death, having shriveled up to nearly half the size of every other sheep Nico had seen that day. 

“Oh, god,” Naomi breathed, and Nico lifted his gaze. He followed the light of her flashlight toward the second body - second, he forced himself to think, and not third. The coyote looked like it had met a similar fate to the sheep, and its lifeless body laid over Will’s.

Nico was the first to make it to his side, shoving the coyote off of him and pressing his ear to Will’s chest - forcefully ignoring the blood that was pooling up from an injury on Will’s arm. He heard shallow breathing and a low heartbeat, and he could almost cry.

“He’s alive,” Nico said to the others, though he didn’t lift his gaze from Will’s face. He lightly patted Will’s cheek, calling out to him softly until his anxiety started to get the best of him, and his voice grew in volume.

Will’s eyes shot open after a second, and Nico could feel the sigh of relief that passed through all three of them. Nico held his shoulders down when Will tried to sit up, panic flashing in his eyes as he choked out, “Coyote.”  

“You’re okay,” Nico assured him, “you got it. It’s dead, Will, you’re safe. Are you okay?”

Will started to relax, his rapid breaths evening out as the panic began to fade from his eyes. “I...I think so. It got me-- My arm, I mean, but--”

“Did you hit your head?” Nico asked, and Will shook his head. “Are you sure? You were unconscious. Do you remember what happened?”

Will’s eyes flickered over Nico’s shoulder to his mom and grandpa, and he seemed to hesitate. “No, I-- I mean, I remember, and I know I didn’t hit my head.” 

It only took Nico another second to understand. Being in Tartarus, stuck in a life-or-death situation twenty-four-seven… It brought out a different side of both of them. And that different side of Will, well. Nico was the only one that knew about it.

“Did you…” Nico lowered his voice, leaning in closer so that only Will could hear as he finished, “...do the thing?”  

Will nodded, squeezing his eyes shut and looking like he might cry.

“It’s okay,” Nico assured him quickly. “You’re okay. You’re alive, and that’s what’s important.”

“Will?” Naomi asked hesitantly, and Will flinched.

“I’m okay,” Will told her quickly, though Nico knew that he wasn’t - physically or emotionally. He looked to Nico and asked, “Can I get up now?”

Nico frowned. “Do you think you can?” Any other time he’d had to resort to using so much of his power, he’d barely been able to move for the next few hours - which had been an incredibly dangerous situation for them to be in while they were in the depths of Tartarus. Still, Nico eased up on Will’s shoulders, pulling him into a sitting position as he tried to move.

Will took a few deep breaths, his eyes squeezed shut again, and then he was turning away to vomit into the dirt. 

Nico rubbed his back as he turned to face Naomi and Vernon, telling them, “I’m going to get him back to the house.” He could see the looks of disbelief passing through both of them - because, really, how was Nico going to carry Will all the way back to the house, considering the states they were both in? - but he had more important things to focus on. Once Will had caught his breath, Nico said to him, “Don’t be mad, okay?” Then, he gripped Will’s uninjured arm tightly and pulled him into the nearest shadow.

Nico took extra care to emerge in the bathroom, and while he propped himself against the wall to blink the spots out of his eyes, Will lunged for the toilet to continue emptying his stomach. Apollo kids never really got sick, but whatever this new power of Will’s was, it always seemed to give him a horrible case of the flu, if only for a few hours. And that on top of unexpected shadow travel - Nico was really going to have to make it up to him somehow for making him feel so horrible.

Once Will had stopped hurling, and once Nico could turn his head without getting dizzy, Nico got to work cleaning Will’s arm as best he could - which, without proper supplies, meant wiping away the blood with one of Elsie’s hand towels. (He’d have to apologize for that later, too.)

It wasn’t until the rest of the Solaces returned to the house that Nico and Will were able to get out of the bathroom, seeing as neither of them were strong enough to stand on their own, and they couldn’t exactly use the other as a crutch. Vernon had hauled Will up off the floor and helped him over to the couch, and Naomi did the same with Nico. After they’d both had a bit of ambrosia, Nico was able to properly clean Will’s wound with the first aid kit that was still sitting out on the dining table - that Naomi had fetched for him, because nobody in that house was going to let either boy stand up for the rest of the night. Will insisted on walking Nico through how to clean and bandage the wound, despite the fact that Nico had known how to do so for years at that point - he’d watched over Will’s shoulder more than enough times.

Elsie tried to serve them both dinner - supper - once it was ready, but by that point, Will had already fallen asleep with his head on Nico’s lap, and Nico figured that anything he ate would come right back up again, so he politely declined for the both of them. 

Once they’d finished dinner, the three Solaces joined Nico and Will in the living room, all quietly and nervously watching over Will as he slept. Eventually, Naomi broke the silence by asking, “Do you know what happened?” 

Nico smiled sadly, running his fingers through Will’s hair. “It’s not my place to say. He killed the coyote, and he’s alive, and that’s all that matters.” 

He lifted his gaze from Will’s head and scanned the faces of the others in the room. They all looked so anxious still, and clearly none of them were happy with that answer. Or maybe they weren’t happy with anything that had happened today - the drakon, the coyote, even the fact that Nico was a miserable farmhand. 

Nico dropped his eyes back down to Will, feeling his hands start to shake as his own nerves spiked. “I’m sorry,” he told them all, “for everything. If… If I hadn’t been here, then the drakon wouldn’t have attacked, and nobody would’ve been distracted, so then the sheep wouldn’t have gotten loose, and Will wouldn’t have gotten hurt. It’s all my fault, and I’m sorry. I understand if you want us to leave, and we will, first thing in the morning, as soon as Will’s feeling better.” 

“Nico,” Naomi started, and Nico flinched. He hadn’t been thinking straight - obviously they would want Will to stay. He was their family.  

“Sorry,” Nico corrected himself quickly, “I mean… I’ll go, and… I won’t bother you or your farm again.” 

Naomi was out of her seat in an instant, crouching down in front of Nico and taking one of his hands between both of her own. “Nico, honey, don’t be an idiot,” Naomi said, and Nico almost laughed at her choice of words. “Sorry, you know that’s not what I meant. What I mean to say is… Honey, this happens every time that Will comes home. There’s always some monster to deal with, or some wild animal, and somebody always ends up hurt, but Will always fixes it. He fixed you, and he fixed the coyote problem, and then… You fixed him.”

Nico had mostly stopped listening after the first half of what she said, and replied, “This happens every time?” He was sure the unspoken question was heard just as clearly: this isn’t my fault?  

“Why do you think we were carrying around shotguns to go look for a lost sheep, hm?” Naomi asked and she started to smile. “Farmers are like boy scouts - we’re always prepared.” 

“Will left a knife here once,” Elsie began, and patted Vernon on the arm. “Vern melted it down and figured out a way to make bullet casings from it, and we always carry around a few bronze bullets with the regular ones, just in case - especially when Will comes home.” 

“If it weren’t for you, we might not have found him until morning at the earliest,” Vernon commented. “Naomi and I were off looking in the wrong direction, and who knows if another coyote would’ve gotten to him first. I don’t know how you did it - without any shoes on, no less! Don’t you know there’s rattlers out here?”

“What he means to say,” Naomi said, shooting a glance over her shoulder at her father before looking back up at Nico, “is thank you, honey, for finding him, and for taking such good care of him. I’m always so worried about him when he’s off at camp, but knowing he’s with you… I know he’s safe.” 

Nico felt like his throat was closing up, like the poison had made a surprise return, but when his eyes started to water, he knew he was something different. He managed to choke out a quiet, “Yes, ma’am,” because he knew he wouldn’t be able to say much more.

Naomi reached up and patted his cheek, asking, “Are you alright, honey? You had us all scared after that monster attack earlier.” 

Nico nodded his head quickly. “I’m okay now. Like you said, Will fixed me.” 

She brushed a lock of hair out of his face, then pinched his cheek. “You let us know if you need anything, alright?”

“I will,” he said with another nod. 

Vernon must have gotten uncomfortable with all of the feelings talk, because as Naomi made her way back to her seat, he announced, “Remind me to take these boys out to the gun range one of these days. Clearly Will doesn’t remember anything about wildlife control - not after spending so much time away from the farm. You’d think he would know not to go after a wild animal with a little knife like he had.” 

“You can’t take children to the gun range, honey,” Elsie told him, though Vernon was quick to reply, “They’re both eighteen! What’s the harm?” 

“You could take them out to Grandat’s house instead,” Naomi suggested. “Nothing out there for miles but overgrown fields. Show ‘em how to shoot out there instead, and you can show ‘em the house, too.” 

“That’s a great idea, honey!” Elsie exclaimed. “It’s about time we head back out that way anyway, and make sure the house is still in one piece.”

“I don’t think Will’s seen it since he was a baby, anyway,” Naomi commented. “We oughta show it to ‘em - you always said you wanted to keep it in the family, didn’t you?” 

Vernon huffed, but he looked like he would have a hard time saying no. “Well, any family I pass my old man’s house on to is going to have to help out on the farm during the busy seasons.” He shot Nico a challenging look and asked, “Think you’d be up for that?” 

Nico blinked in surprise. “Me?”

“Well, you’re family now, ain’t you?” 

Nico was frozen. He glanced to Naomi, who was smiling encouragingly, so Nico looked back to Vernon and replied, “I...still have a lot to learn.” 

“Damn right you do,” Vernon said with a hearty laugh, and Nico felt something like a knot loosen in his chest. “But you’ll get there in time. For now, I think we all ought to let you two get your rest - can’t expect you to be back in fighting shape in two day’s time if we don’t let you get your rest now.”

Elsie and Vernon both said their goodnights and left the room, and Naomi soon followed to do the same. She pressed a kiss to Will’s head, then Nico’s, and then she was out of the room.

Nico finally let his tears fall, though he was quick to wipe them away before they dripped into Will’s hair.

In seven years

Nico and Will had jokingly started referring to their house as a god-free zone. They were still trying to cut ties with their former life, but it was proving difficult - not just because everyone and everything they’d ever known was so thoroughly entwined with demigod life, but because, well, their dads were gods. Shortly after Rachel had sent them a hand-painted sign that said, no gods allowed, Apollo showed up as if summoned, plucked the painting off the wall, and then “accidentally” dropped it while he was supposedly admiring it. 

Still, the house sometimes turned into something of a refuge for their friends once word got to the gods that the mighty Ghost King had gone into retirement. Out there in The Middle of Nowhere, Texas, it sometimes felt like the gods couldn’t find them - though they were probably just turning a blind eye. 

Frank and Hazel came to visit when the legion pissed them off. Percy and Annabeth made a weekend trip when Percy started getting suspicious of the way that Estelle seemed a little too friendly with her pet goldfish. Piper introduced them to Shel when they stopped by on a roadtrip, and let it slip that she was actually on the run from her mom, who kept making bridal magazines appear out of thin air. 

Rachel had been the most recent visitor, arriving about a week earlier after a long phone call with Will. Ever since reciting the prophecy that would send Nico and Will into Tartarus, Rachel had been filled with regret over her decision to host the Oracle. She felt responsible for having sent her friends to near-death, and every prophecy since then has given her horrible nightmares - the non-magical kind. She had stopped spending quite so much time at camp, too afraid of getting to know the kids that she would soon foretell the deaths of, and after her last prophecy, Rachel needed an escape. 

Nico and Will had told her that she could stay as long as she wanted, though they hadn’t expected her to get quite so comfortable in their home. She’d practically turned their living room into her own personal art studio. She’d once taken Nico’s car, disappeared for a few hours, and returned with enough paint and canvases to supply an entire school district. It wasn’t that Nico and Will actually minded the invasion of their space - they were mainly happy to see their friend look so at peace for once as she sketched out the view from the front porch. 

Rachel was still there when Nico closed on restaurant space he’d decided to lease. After working in a restaurant for the last few years, Nico had decided that was how he wanted to spend his time, and when he was the owner rather than just some employee, he had the chance to help those in need - giving jobs to those who might not be able to find employment otherwise, or providing food to someone who couldn’t afford to eat. (He knew first hand what it was like to be hungry, and he still remembered the names of the people and the restaurants that had given him food when he’d run away from camp as a kid.) And, while Will and Nico had agreed early on that they were going to avoid using Hades’s money at all costs, they’d made an exception with the lease - it was better to call in what would hopefully be one last favor from his dad than to get a loan from the bank.

Rachel had gone with Nico to check out the space a few times, and sometimes when they were free, Will would tag along to help with the cleaning. The place had come furnished, though Rachel had insisted on touching up the furniture with a fresh coat of paint and some new upholstery. She’d even surprised Nico one day with a stack of canvases that she’d loaded up into his trunk, gifting him all of the pieces she’d been working on ever since she arrived in Texas. 

“And even better,” she told him as she shut the trunk and pressed the keys into Nico’s hand, “I’m going to get out of your hair pretty soon.” 

“What?” Nico said, his eyes widening in surprise - even more so than they had when she’d told him the paintings were his to keep. By then, he’d almost gotten used to having her around - it was going to be sad to see her go. “Are you sure?”

Rachel shrugged, leaning against the back of the car. “Yeah, this was a nice little escape, but we all have to get back to the real world eventually, right? Anyway, I loaded one of Will’s tool bags into the backseat, so if you want, we can go put some of these up in your restaurant.”

“Sure,” Nico said with a grin, and he held the keys out to her. “Are you sure you don’t want to drive, though?” 

She sagged in relief. “Oh, thank the gods. You still suck at driving.” 

Rachel drove them into the small town about fifteen minutes from Nico and Will’s house, where she parked right outside the front doors. While Nico went to unlock the doors, Rachel started pulling canvases out of the trunk to bring them inside.

There were a lot of paintings - so many that Nico had a hard time believing she’d made all of them in the two weeks she’d been staying with them. They were leaning against booths, laid out on tables, propped up along the walls, some small and some so big that Nico had a hard time believing they had actually fit in his trunk. He recognized most of them as simple landscapes from his house - the view off the front porch, one overlooking the barn, another at the stables with Roxy front and center. One of the larger paintings caught his eye in particular, though, and he found himself picking it up and holding it in perfect view of the front door.

To anyone else, the painting would probably look like a regular old farm house, though Nico could easily see it for what it truly was. The painting was split down the middle, the bisecting line being one corner of the house. On the left was a dense forest, a volleyball court, and a portion of a house with a wraparound porch. The side door had a red cross painted on it, though the infirmary sign was missing - though Nico remembered that Will had somehow managed to knock it loose once when he was carrying an empty stretcher back inside by himself. Maybe they’d never gotten around to replacing it, or maybe Rachel had left it out as an artistic choice.

The right side of the painting showed a different house altogether, though they had been merged together to appear as one. The porch ended on the far corner of the house, with an old porch swing tucked into the side. The landscape to the side showed a single horse in a pasture, a barn and stables.

“Do you like that one?” Rachel asked as she stepped up beside Nico. “I know you and Will have been trying to move on from the past, but… I kept seeing all these similarities, and even if you don’t want to keep it, I figured I’d let you see it rather than keeping it to myself.” 

“I love it,” Nico told her earnestly. “It’s perfect - like, past and present. Old and new. I wouldn’t have any of this--” he gestured to the right side of the canvas, “--without all of this--” he gestured to the left side, “--so… Thank you, Rachel. This really means a lot to me. Help me put this one up? I want to make sure everyone sees it when they come in.” 

Rachel ruffled his hair. “Sure thing, kid.”

“I’ll cut you,” Nico replied as he ducked away from her hand, though Rachel only laughed.

They lined up where the painting should go, then Nico got to work hammering the nails into the wall. Just when he’d finished with the second nail, he heard the door open behind him, the bell over the door jingling obnoxiously. He made a mental note to find something less annoying to replace it with.

“Sorry, we’re closed,” Rachel said instantly, though Nico could hear the joking tone in her voice even before he turned around to see who had walked in.

“Sorry, ma’am,” Will replied with a grin, “but I’m just a lonesome cowboy lookin’ for a cool drink of water. And I think I just found one.” 

“Ew, don’t call me ma’am,” Rachel said as Will walked past her, wound their arms around Nico’s waist, and pulled him down from the chair he’d been standing on.

“Sorry, Rachel,” Will said absentmindedly before they pressed a kiss to Nico’s cheek. “Hey, darlin’.” 

“Howdy, partner,” Nico teased, causing Will to pout. “What are you doing here?” 

“I could ask you the same thing,” they replied. “Roxy and I were in town doing a home visit, I saw your car in the parking lot, and now here I am. You?” 

Nico grinned. “Rachel gave me her paintings.” He stepped out of Will’s hold, set down the hammer, and quickly lifted the canvas to rest it on the nails. Once it was up, he took a few steps back until he bumped into Will’s chest, and their arms circled around his waist from behind. “What do you think?” 

“It’s--” Will gasped, and their arms tightened around Nico. “Rachel, it’s beautiful. I love it, thank you.” 

“Good. I’m glad,” Rachel replied. “Actually, Will, there’s one more in the car that I was thinking about dropping off at the vet’s office in case you wanted it, but we could look at it now, instead.” 

Will agreed and started following her outside before Nico could say, there’s more?

Nico was the last one outside, and saw Rachel already digging through the backseat of the car before his eyes caught on something else. He grabbed one of Will’s hands, giving it a squeeze as he said, “Will, look over there.” 

He felt Will tense instantly, like their body was snapping to attention. They followed Nico’s gaze across the street, where a trio of kids - no older than fifteen - were walking down the street, each with an overstuffed backpack on their backs. Normally, Nico wouldn’t give kids like that a second look, since they were probably just walking home from school - but it was summer, and a Saturday, no less. 

“Hey, Rachel,” Will said carefully, keeping their voice low enough that it wouldn’t travel across the street, “do those kids look familiar to you?” 

Rachel bumped her head on the roof of the car in her haste to see who they were looking at, and her expression instantly dropped. “Yeah,” she whispered, and she suddenly looked just like she had when she’d arrived at their house two weeks ago. “Yeah, they’re from camp. Their quest shouldn’t be taking this long, though, I don’t--”

“Hang on,” Will cut in, slipping their hand free of Nico’s as they continued, “I’m gonna--”

Nico nodded quickly. “Yeah, go. I’ll grab a first aid kit, and I’ll clear one of the tables inside.” 

Will started across the street at a hurried pace, though they didn’t run at the kids and risk scaring them off. Nico wasn’t sure what they would say to convince the kids that they didn’t mean any harm, but by the time Nico had retrieved his first aid kit from the glove box, the trio was already following Will back across the street, so Nico pulled Rachel inside to help him move some of the paintings. 

As soon as the door opened, one of the girls in the trio called out, “Rachel? Is that you?” 

Rachel winced, though when she turned to face the kids, she put on a smile. “Hi, Stacy. How’s the quest going?” 

“Horrible!” Stacy replied. “Nothing is going as planned, and we even tried calling back to camp, but Harley said--” 

“Harley?” Will echoed, their eyes lighting up. “He’s still at camp?”

The trio all glanced at Will with a mix of surprise and skepticism, which immediately told Nico that Will hadn’t actually stated that they were demigods, too.

“Rachel--” the other girl started, her voice quiet like she was trying to whisper a secret, though Rachel’s smile seemed to cut her off.

“They’re old friends,” Rachel assured the trio. “You can trust them.” 

“We can help you figure out your next steps,” Nico said, but then he got a better idea. “But, uh-- Are any of you hungry? I don’t have much here, yet, but I can probably throw together a few grilled cheeses.” The kids nodded in response, one of them answering with a quiet yes, please. “Alright, I’ll be right back. Rachel can show you where the bathrooms are if you want to wash up, and if any of you are injured, you should let Will know, and they can help you.” 

Nico met Will’s eyes as Rachel started pointing out the bathrooms, and Will grinned. At that moment, Nico knew they were in agreement. This was what they had been missing - this was how Nico was meant to help people, because the gods were never going to stop using their children to fight their battles for them, but at least Nico could do everything he could to make demigod life a little bit better for the kids who were risking their lives.

Now

Nico wasn’t sure how long he sat in the living room, lightly stroking Will’s hair and watching him sleep. He was certain that the other Solaces had gone to bed hours ago, but Nico didn’t have the energy to leave himself, nor the desire to wake Will when he clearly needed the rest. 

Besides, it gave him plenty of time to play the last conversation over and over in his head. He caught himself smiling more than a few times, though he managed not to cry again after the first time. 

Will eventually shifted, flopping onto his back, stretching his feet over the arm of the couch as he blinked up at Nico. “Hi,” he whispered as he reached up with his uninjured arm to rub at one eye. “Time s'it?” 

Nico shrugged, moving the hand that had been playing with Will’s hair down to his chest, his palm resting over Will’s ribs as his thumb stroked across his sternum. “Dunno. Late. Early.”  

Will smiled tiredly. “You been watching me sleep?” he asked teasingly, and Nico flicked him in the chest. “Ow, hey!”

“Quiet,” Nico told him, “everyone’s sleeping.” 

“Oh.” Will covered Nico’s hand with his own, stopping the motion of his thumb. “Did I sleep through supper?” 

“If you mean dinner, then yes,” Nico answered. 

Will pinched the back of his hand. “Dinner, supper. Same thing.” 

“Not according to your family.” 

“Whatever. Did you eat?”

Nico shook his head. “Too nauseous.” 

Will hummed. “I’ll give you a pass.” 

“You’re too kind,” Nico replied with a gentle grin.

A short moment of silence passed between them before Will asked, “Did they ask about…?” 

“They did,” Nico answered. “I didn’t tell them what happened. They let it slide, thank the gods, but… I dunno, they might bring it up again. There’s actually, um, a lot of stuff that we talked about while you were out that might get brought up again.” 

“Oh?” Will asked, his eyebrows shooting up in curiosity. “What kind of stuff?”

Nico shrugged, and he lifted his free hand off the arm of the couch to start playing with Will’s hair again, just to give him something to do with his hands - to relieve some of the nervous energy. “Vernon’s pissed that you went one-on-one against a coyote with a knife. He said he’s going to have to get you trained on a gun again - which I’d certainly like to see. I didn’t know you were ever trained on a gun before.”

Will rolled his eyes. “Yeah, when I was like, ten. It’s just to, you know…” He glanced away, a light blush dusting his cheeks as he said, “keep wild animals off the property.” 

“Like coyotes?” Nico asked. “So, you do know better than to try to fight a coyote with a knife?” 

“I thought it was another monster!” Will complained, throwing his hands into the air in exasperation. “Let’s move on. Papa Vernon’s pissed, but what else? You said there was a lot of stuff.” 

Nico tipped his head back as he thought. How much should he say? And how much could he say without risking more tears? “He said he’s going to take us somewhere else to teach us how to shoot - some house you haven’t been to since you were a baby, I think your mom said.”

Will’s eyes widened. “Grandat’s house?” 

Nico nodded. “I think so. They said…” Gods, he could feel himself getting worked up already, just thinking about it. “They all said something about how...the house should stay in the family, and… And as long as we promise to help out on the farm, then--” He choked on his next words, tears welling up in his eyes, causing Will to spring up from his position in Nico’s lap to pull him into his own.

He wrapped his arms around Nico’s shoulders and pressed a kiss into his hair. After a second, he jolted back, taking Nico by the shoulders to stare into his eyes, his own blown wide with shock. “Wait, they’re...giving us Grandat’s house?” 

Nico nodded quickly. “I think so.” 

“Holy shit,” Will breathed, tipping his head down to rest his forehead against Nico’s. “That’s… That’s insane. It’s… I mean, that’s a lot further in the future than I think either of us were planning, but… How do you feel about this?” 

Nico fisted a hand in the front of Will’s t-shirt, then moved to tuck his head beneath Will’s chin. “I don’t know, it’s all-- It’s a lot. I’m still worried about… I know it’s not my fault that that drakon showed up here, but what if the next time, it is my fault? And Vernon said we’ll have to help out on the farm, but… I still don’t know if I’m cut out for that. I… I want to, with every fiber of my being, I want to live out here with you and forget that gods and monsters and any of that ever existed, but… I just don’t know if it’s a realistic want. And I don’t want to get my hopes up.” 

Will hummed, rubbing a hand up and down Nico’s back. “Yeah, I could see myself growing old with you on a farm somewhere.” 

Nico dug his fingers into Will’s side, burrowing his face further into Will’s neck so that he wouldn’t have the chance to see Nico’s blush. 

Will flinched and laughed, swatting Nico’s hand away as he pressed another kiss to his head. “Alright, so, it’s not like we’ll be able to move out here any time soon anyway, so we have time to think about it. Maybe...since the chances of us moving closer to my family just shot up exponentially, then...maybe we shouldn’t bother touring UT Austin. Let’s just...not worry about finding an apartment or dealing with student loans, and we’ll just go to New Rome, and then move out here. And if we decide the farm life isn’t for us, then we’ll find something new.”

Nico nodded. “I like that idea. But… I still don’t think I’m going to go to college. I might just keep up the Ambassador of Pluto stuff until you graduate, so then you won’t have to worry about getting a job on top of your classes.” 

“Are you sure?” Will asked. “I know you wanted to find something you could do so that you wouldn’t have to live off your dad’s wealth. You don’t have to, of course, because I’ll support you as much as I can, but I don’t want you to be bored, either.”

“No, I know. I just...don’t know how to figure out what I want to do, and I don’t think going to college is going to give me the answers I’m looking for.” Nico sighed. “I don’t know. I want to be able to help people, but I don’t know how. I just feel like… I’ve been through - and caused - so much hurt in this life, and it would be nice if I could...balance it out somehow. I mean, I know where I’m going when I die, but it would be nice to feel like I’ve earned it, you know?”

Will leaned back and drew Nico out from under his chin. With a hand on Nico’s cheek, Will guided him into a kiss, their noses brushing together as he said, “You have already earned a thousand lifetimes in Elysium.” He kissed the tip of Nico’s nose and said, “But I’d love to help you earn one more, however I can. As long as you can promise me a spot with you,” he added teasingly, and Nico snorted. 

“Please,” he whispered, “you’re not getting rid of me that easily.” 

“I hope I won’t be getting rid of you at all,” Will shot back.

Nico tugged him into another kiss, and when he pulled back, he felt absolutely drained. The physical and emotional stress of the day was finally starting to wear on him, and he yawned right in Will’s face.

“Am I boring you?” Will teased, and Nico shook his head as he tucked himself underneath Will’s chin once more.

“Just tired,” Nico replied. “We should go to bed. You have cowboying to do tomorrow, so you should get some more rest.” 

“Says you,” Will scoffed. “I can feel the exhaustion rolling off of you in waves. When was the last time you got any real rest?” 

“I could be resting right now if you would shut up and take me upstairs.” 

“If you think I have the energy to carry you right now, then you’re sorely mistaken.”

Nico hummed. “Shame. Guess we’ll just have to sleep here, then.” 

“Nope.” Will scooped Nico into his arms and dumped him onto the couch cushion beside him before jumping to his feet, though he swayed for a moment before he could stand up straight. 

“You idiot, you’re going to pass out again,” Nico told him, scrambling up after Will, though as soon as he was upright, black spots danced in his eyes.

“Says you,” Will said again, laughing lightly even as he draped an arm over Nico’s shoulders for support. 

Nico wound an arm around Will’s waist and started pulling him toward the stairs. “C’mon, cowboy, let’s get you to bed.”

In eight years

Nico was exhausted, just as he was most days, but he’d take the kind of exhaustion that came after a long day of cooking over the kind that came from power strain any day. His restaurant, Hestia’s Hearth, was going to be celebrating its one year anniversary in a few weeks, and some of Nico and Will’s friends were going to make a trip out to join in on the celebration. Over that year, Rachel had successfully gotten the word out to both camps that any questers or runaways were welcome to stop by the restaurant for a hot meal and a place to rest before continuing on their way, and Nico had been able to help almost twenty kids that year alone.

Now, he stood at the fence behind his house, watching their red sun cows graze while he waited for Will to come home, his chin resting on his arms where they were crossed over the fence. He wasn’t sure when he had started humming a tune, but it wasn’t long after that that one of the cows - Mrs. Cowie for now, because he and Will hadn’t decided on names yet - started making her way towards the fence, towards Nico. She mooed up at him when he got close, and Nico grinned. 

“You like that?” he asked, and he reached through the fence to start petting her head, his humming turning into singing, the words of an old Italian lullaby coming to mind seconds before they flew past Nico’s lips. 

He’d sung two verses before he heard footsteps behind him, and the smile on his face grew. Years ago, any sound of movement that was out of his field of vision would have had him jumping into a fighting stance, but now he always knew exactly who was approaching even before their arms slipped around his waist from behind.

“Hello, my beautiful husband,” Will whispered into his ear before pressing a kiss to his cheek, the corner of his jaw, the side of his neck, over his clothed shoulder. Even after a week of marriage, Nico still got butterflies whenever Will referred to him as husband. He hoped the feeling never went away. 

“Hello, my loving partner,” Nico replied, reaching back over his shoulder to run his fingers through Will’s hair, though his other hand didn’t stray from Mrs. Cowie’s head. 

Will hummed, sound almost... dissatisfied, so Nico pulled away just far enough that he could meet Will’s eyes over his shoulder. “What?” Nico asked, and he felt Will shrug.

“Nothing, I just…” They pouted. “I think I changed my mind. Partner is just… It’s a good word, don’t get me wrong, but… It’s the word you use to pick on my accent. And I love when you do that, I promise, but… Husband just sounds so much more… I dunno. More, I guess.” 

“Are you sure?” Nico asked. “You’d prefer that, even though it’s a gendered term?” 

“Hey, I’m still gendered sometimes,” Will reminded him with a teasing smile, “but… Yeah, I’d prefer it. All the time, not just… Not alternated, you know?”

“Okay,” Nico said, and he finally turned around in Will’s arms, placing one hand on Will’s shoulder while the other brushed across their cheek. “Then, welcome home, my loving husband.” 

He pulled Will into a kiss, and felt more than heard Will’s contented hum as it rumbled through their chest. After a moment, Mrs. Cowie mooed for attention behind Nico, and Will broke the kiss to tell her, “Mrs. Cowie, your husband is over there.” They raised one hand from Nico’s back to gesture across the pasture, and then tugged Nico impossible closer, resting their foreheads together as they continued, “This one’s all mine.”