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When the unusual friendship between Nico and Leo had first started, it was definitely a shock to everyone in camp.
Their differences in personality where something that people just assumed would repel the two from each other. But instead, after the war and Leo’s return (plus Calypso leaving him to become a Huntress), they had almost instantly found common ground amongst their equally concerning mental instability.
And, although a part of Nico knew that he probably shouldn’t hang out with the flaming son of Hephaestus as much as he did due Leo not being an inherently good influence on the Italian, not even the power of the Gods was going to stop him from befriending the mechanic.
And imagine Leo’s surprise when Nico was the one to initiate their friendship.
But now they were sleepover buddies – or more accurately a gay and a bisexual that both suffer from equally horrific insomnia - and also annoyingly inseparable.
Nico had realised quite early on in his childhood that his own lack of sleep tends to leave him in an embarrassingly drunk like state, and if you add Leo’s inhumanly bad ADHD to the mix, the only outcome could be chaos.
And so, after spending an entire night with Leo Valdez, giggling and gushing over the unfairness that is hot men, their presence in Dining Pavilion the next morning was obvious.
The pair were seated at the Hades table, Nico with Sally Jackson style blue pancakes (Percy is entirely to blame for his obsession) and Leo with an apple and black coffee.
“You know, drinking coffee after pulling an all-nighter isn’t healthy for you.” Jason grumbled as he sat across from us.
“Gods, you sound like Solace-”
“Yeah, you would know what he sounds like Nico. What with all that time you spend drooling over him.” Nico clipped Leo round the back of his head from that comment, although the blush on his cheeks did little to defend himself from the truth behind Leo’s worlds.
“Shut up, Valdez.”
“Guys,” Jason broke the two boys staring match “said Sunshine Boy has entered the building.”
Both Nico and Leo’s eyes widened comically before panic took over. Leo began laughing as Nico looked around for an escape, both of them knowing that the Italian was not in the right state of mind to be around his crush in that moment.
It was then that Nico’s eyes landed on Leo’s apple and he stilled, Leo’s laughter settling down as he realised what his friend was thinking and began smiling mischievously. Meanwhile Jason just looked back and forth between the pair, his concern and confusion clear.
“Leo,”
“Nico?”
Nico slowly reached over and grabbled the green apple before holding it up between his and Leo’s heads whilst smiling menacingly.
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away, right?”
Leo’s smile grew to match Nico’s, and Jason quickly began to reach over to grab the boys before they could do anything drastic in their sleep deprived states of mind.
“An apple a day keeps anyone away if you throw it hard enough, Di Angelou.”
“I like that chance.”
Nico pulled his arm back and took aim, the apple being released just as Jason jumped over the table to catch it.
Nico saw Jason and immediately pushed Leo back into the blonde as to protect himself, leaving the two on a pile at his feet as he smiled in victory.
That was until gasps echoed from behind him.
Turning back around, Nico was met with the sight of Will Solace with an apple in his hand, inches away from his face. Will’s hair was unbrushed, and his eyes were wide in surprise.
“Damn…” He looked hot, and holy Hades did Nico know it.
The son of Apollo let his eyes drift over the crowd of surrounding Demigods, all of whom were joining him in tracing back to where the apple came from, before his gaze met Nico’s and he smiled.
Nico broke their staring match when Will started to walk towards him, once again looking around for an escape, before he froze at the sight of everyone else’s shocked eyes on him as well.
The Italian immediately began to wrack his brain as a way of figuring out why exactly this was such a big deal. People threw thing at each other all the time in camp; in fact, Annabeth threw a knife at Percy the other day, and nobody even blinked. Why was this any different?
“Did you just…?” Will was in front of him now. And Nico was panicking.
“Nico,” The blonde’s smile widened upon taking in Nico’s confused and slightly terrified facial expressions, “do you even know what you just did?”
Then it hit him.
“Oh my Gods-” He’d proposed. “OH MY GODS.” He’d just proposed to his crush. By accident.
Nico was sure that his face was bright red by now, and even Will’s cheeks were flushed a light pink.
The son of Hades wasn’t quite sure what he had expected Will to do in retaliation, but he wasn’t going to complain when the blonde laughed and grabbed his hips, before leaning down and kissing him.
Will’s lips were warm and soft in comparison to Nico’s which were chapped and rough from his habit of biting them, but the son of Apollo didn’t seem to mind. As Will began to pull away after sensing Nico’s surprise, the ravenette quickly wrapped his hands around the back of Will’s neck and tugged at the ends of his hair in order to pull him back down.
Nico closed his eyes, content in allowing his other sense take over.
One hand remained behind Will’s head, his fingers intertwined with the blonde’s golden waves, whilst the other drifted towards Will’s cheek, cupping it and gently caressing the scar he had given Will himself after the boy had tried to teach him how to shoot an arrow.
Nico could hear Leo’s laughter and Jason’s supportive cheers. Both of which seemed to be echoed by all the other campers that were still in the Pavilion.
The son of Hades focused on the smell of gauze and fresh surgical tape from Will’s time in the Infirmary. Allowing himself to melt against the blonde as he was pulled even closer forward by the hands now gripping his hips.
Nico’s breath caught in his throat as they both pulled apart for air, resting their foreheads against each other with their eyes closed.
“Be my boyfriend, Nico?” Will whispered against the boy’s lips and Nico could feel the ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, “Maybe we can work our way up to marriage from there, yes?”
“Shut up and kiss me again.”
“So demanding. I’ll take that as a yes.”
And then Will leaned in to kiss Nico again, this one just as passionate as the last.