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Nico thinks--for a moment, in this moment with Will’s head in his lap and the sun making his blue eyes gleam-- that maybe Eros was wrong about love not being a flowery softness. He had said that love was pain, hard work. Maybe at one time, it had been for Nico. Love had been pain and shame and resentment.
Now, this is love. Will Solace with his watery blue eyes and his curly blonde hair and his tan and his freckles that Nico wants to trace with his lips like constellations in the night sky. Will Solace with his dumb jokes and his stupid Star Wars references and the way he knows how to weave flower crowns without even looking.
Nico has had something to tell Will for a long time, maybe weeks, maybe months. Nico is not a boy.
Nico remembers Will talking to a young camper when they had first gotten together. He had told the kid that his partner would be mad if they found out he was hiding candy from them .
After this, Nico began practicing this in their head, that their name is Nico, and they use they/he pronouns, and they have a boyfriend who loves them, and they are non-binary. And now, they are trying to figure out the best time to tell him.
Nico drops their crown onto Will’s shirt and frowns. Will has finished three by now, and Nico has barely gotten halfway through their first one.
The son of Apollo lets his project fall to the grass beside him with a chuckle. “It’s okay, Nico,” he mumbles, running his hand through Nico’s black hair and resting it against the latter’s cheek.
Nico turns his head a little to kiss Will’s palm and scrunches his nose up. “I’m not very good at this,” they say with a chuckle.
“It’s all in the rhythm. Like bracelets.”
“Will, I’m not good at bracelets,” Nico adds, and Will laughs through his nose.
They fall into a comfortable silence. Will must be tired. He is falling asleep in Nico’s lap, breathing deeply and rhythmically, his body going almost completely limp. He can’t fall asleep. Nico needs to tell him something really important and--
Nico runs his hands through Will’s hair, gazing at his face, lit up by the sun.
“You know, that’s kinda gay,” Will mumbles when Nico pressed a gentle kiss to the back of his hand.
Nico rolls their eyes. “That’s it. I’ve had enough. You’re single now.”
Will lifts his head up from Nico’s knees and blows a curl that has fallen in his eyes out of the way.
“Come on, Neeks,” he says, wiggling closer until he can feel nico’s chest with his shoulder. “Give your favorite boyfriend a kiss.”
Nico shakes his head and gives a defiant smirk. “You’re not my boyfriend anymore.”
“Yeah I am.” Will leans forward and presses a kiss to the corner of Nico’s mouth.
“Nope.”
“ Nico ,” Will groans. “My love, my soulmate, the only guy for me.”
Nico tries not to cringe at the guy comment, but Will must take it as disgust from his cheesiness.
“Fine,” Nico relents, pressing a kiss to their boyfriend’s shoulder. “I’ll take you back.”
“Hallelujah,” Will says. “I was really worried there.”
Nico huffs and crosses their legs when Will moves to sit next to them. The two of them stay quiet for a long time, the only sound is Will humming some kind of punk song he‘s been playing on repeat for weeks.
“Hey, Will?” Nico mumbles.
“Yes?”
“I’ve been thinking,” Nico starts, “and there was this time a few weeks ago where you were talking to a little kid, and you called me your partner.”
“Did I make you uncomfortable?” he asks. “Sorry, I just didn’t want to have to explain the gay thing again and-- “
“Will,” they whisper, flicking his elbow. “Stop talking.”
“Sorry,” he says back in the same tone.
“So, it’s the exact opposite of what you thought, actually. I kind of really liked it. And I didn’t know why, so I did some research, and I found this term that I really like and--“ They inhale deeply. “Will, I’m non-binary.”
Will gives them an adoring smile.
“Okay.” He takes a deep breath. “So, first of all, I want to say that I’m so proud of you for telling me. I know that can be hard, and the fact that you just did it is incredible.
“Second, I want you to tell me what that means for the language I use when referring to you. You want me to call you my partner rather than my boyfriend, right?”
Nico nods vigorously.
Will chuckles affectionately. “Okay. Were you thinking of a pronoun change, and if you are, do you want me to use them in front of people or wait for you to come out to everyone at camp?”
“Uh.. .” Nico thinks for a moment and then looks at his lap. “Use he/him around camp. Those work. And if anyone asks about the partner thing, just launch into some rant about gender inclusivity and heteronormativity or whatever.”
“Sounds good, di Angelo,” he mumbles around a wide grin. “So, just he/him? And was there a name change you had in mind?”
“Actually, I want to use they/them as, like, my main set, but also he/him sprinkled around here and there,” they explain and smile when Will scoops their hand up and squeezes it gently. “And no name change. Nico fits me, I think.”
“Couldn’t agree more,” Will muses, turning to face Nico and knocking their chin up so they lock eyes. “I’m really proud of you, Ghosty. Thank you for trusting me with this. I love you.”
Nico kisses Will’s lips chastely and rolls their eyes when he begins humming his favorite song against their lips.
“You’re so weird,” Nico groans.
“And you date me anyway,” Will reminds. “And you love me. And you told me you’re non-binary, and I arguably love you more now because you trusted me with that.”
Nico rolls their eyes and picks their flower crown back up, resting their head against Will’s shoulder. He carefully guides their hands step-by-step, and Nico feels at home with Will, especially when he presses a kiss to the back of their neck and whispers a cheesy song lyric against their spine.
Nico knows the ending of the chorus, they know Will’s favorite lines, and they know which ones can make him cry. They know that Will knows the song better than they do, and Will doesn’t screw up lyrics unless he wants to convey a message (maybe he does take after Apollo afterall).
“You messed up the lyrics,” Nico notes when Will makes a mistake, and Will presses his mouth against the point where their neck meets their shoulder.
“I show my thoughts through other people’s lyrics,” Will reminds him, “and those are the ones I want you to hear.”
Nico wrinkles their nose and sinks against Will. “You’re disgusting.”
“Then get off of me.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, Solace.”
Will chuckles and winds his arms around Nico’s waist. “You should come with a handler’s manual. Warning: They will get aggressively grumpy and then not let you leave.”
“Summed me up perfectly,” Nico remarks, ignoring how happy Will saying they has made them.
Will kisses the corner of their mouth and buries his head in their shoulder. “Glad I know my partner.”
“Yeah,” Nico mumbles.
“I love you,” Will murmurs into their shirt. “Even though I told you, like, ten minutes ago, and it’s totally gross.”
“Yeah, you’re disgusting,” they say with no real heat behind their words. “But I love you too.”