Work Text:
Nico was lounging in bed, trying to read the book that Kayla had lent him a while ago. Supposedly it was really good, or so she said. Nico would know if he was actually paying attention to the words instead of briefly scanning the lines. He throws the book and hears it land somewhere to the side before rolling on his stomach and sighing into his pillow. It’s been a long week. He’d just gotten back to camp after returning from a mission that Hades sent him on for two weeks and Nico’s energy bar was drained. Even the loud rumble of his stomach wasn’t enough to get him to move an inch. His eyes flutter shut and Nico feels himself drifting off to deep sleep.
Suddenly, a knock at the door kicks on his instincts, and Nico groans as he resurfaces from his pillow.
“Go away!” He yells, hoping whoever is beyond the door would get the hint and buzz off. Nico flops back onto his pillow and tries to close his eyes again.
Instead, Nico hears the nuisance open the door and gently close it. He feels a presence above him so he opens his eyes to find Will Solace staring down at him with a pretty smile on his face.
The anger seeps out of Nico like water down a crack and he reaches an arm out. Will takes it and allows himself to be manhandled onto the bed, curling his warm body around Nico’s lithe frame. It’s nice and Nico lets out a content sigh.
“Sleepy?” Will mutters in a soothing voice.
Nico hums in response, his eyes drooping more and more.
“When did you get back?” Will asks while rubbing circles on Nico’s arm.
“Just now,” Nico mumbles. He turns his body around so he’s snuggling into Will’s chest and breathing in that familiar scent of his—jasmine and citrus. “Missed you.”
Nico hears Will’s quiet snickers and feels his arms wrap tighter around him. Will hums. “I missed you too. Now go to sleep. I’ve got a special surprise waiting when you wake up.”
Nico smiles into Will’s chest and dreams of intertwined hands under the sunshine.
-
When he wakes up some hours later, he’s not sure, Nico feels a dizzying sensation swirling in his head.
“Ugh.” He groans and rubs at his temple with a free hand. There’s shuffling next to him and he glances to the side to find Will blinking at him.
“Hi,” Will says before breaking the moment by yawning. “Whoops, guess we slept for a while, huh.”
Nico smiles and places a hand on his boyfriend’s chest. “Didn’t you say you have a surprise for me?”
Will beams. “Oh yeah! Come on, we have to go now!”
He swings his long legs out of the bed and drags Nico out with him after untangling the son of Hades from the bedsheets. The two of them step out to meet the cool evening air brushing against their faces. Will takes Nico’s hand and leads him toward the Big House.
“I just need to let Chiron know and then we’ll go.” He explains at the look of confusion on Nico’s face.
“Where are we going?”
Will winks. “It’s a surprise.”
Nico shakes his head slightly and waits outside while Will wanders into the Big House. He comes out a few minutes later and flashes a set of thumbs up.
“We’re good! Can you shadow travel?”
Nico rolls his eyes. “Of course, I can. Where are we going?”
Will intertwines their hands together and gives Nico’s hand a slight squeeze. “Prospect Park.”
Nico closes his eyes, focuses on outside the park, and taps into the shadows whispering around him. A moment later, the cool air of camp is replaced by warmth along with the distant noise of people. The shadows warp and they step out onto the rocky trail, underneath the shadow of a tree.
Nico glances up but Will grabs him by the shoulders and pushes him forward before he can get a good look. He pouts and Will snickers, leaning down to press a sweet kiss to his lips, immediately feeling better.
“Come on,” Will urges him, already two steps ahead. Nico groans and speed walks to catch up to the taller boy.
They walk around the park border and get to the gate where a crowd of people is filtering in and out. Nico can see blobs of shining lights in the distance and hear the screams of delight coming from children. They walk inside and the bright lanterns glow like yellow stars.
“Are we at a fair?” Nico asks as Will leads him deeper into the park. The blobs of shining lights turn out to be a giant Ferris wheel, blinking and drawing Nico in like a magnet. Red-and-white striped tents are lining the trail, families, and couples laughing as they carry large stuffed animals or sweet treats. Nico’s stomach growls as he observes.
When he looks to his side, Will is staring down at him, a subtle smile on his face that rivaled the shimmering lights of the fair. His skin glows bronze, dirty-blonde hair like liquid gold, and Nico can’t look away—he’s beautiful.
“You said you’ve never been to one before,” Will says after a long moment. “So I thought we could go to one.”
A seed of warmth blossoms in his chest and blood rushes to his cheeks as Nico ducks his head down to hide a smile. He can’t believe Will remembered something he’d told him so long ago—before they’d even started dating. It was one of the first moments they’d held a conversation longer than a few seconds. They’d been talking about their past and Nico brought up how he’d always wanted to visit the circus with his sister. Now he’s seventeen, years older than Bianca ever was when she was alive, and he’s finally at the closest thing to a circus with Will Solace, his lovely boyfriend of two months but a best friend for way longer.
“Thank you,” Nico mumbles. He takes Will’s hand and squeezes it. Right now he doesn’t have the words to describe how he feels but he’s sure Will understands.
“I’m hungry. Let’s get some snacks,” Will changes the subject and they continue onward.
They walk around for nearly half an hour until their hands are full of snacks and they find a picnic table to sit down at. The table is covered with paper, colorful containers, and more food than Nico could ever eat in a week. He doesn’t even know where to start.
Will notices and laughs. “Here try this.”
He hands Nico a long, brown sugary stick wrapped in a napkin.
“What’s this?” Nico asks, bringing it up to his nose. It smells like cinnamon. His stomach growls again.
Will’s eyes are glittering like stars. “It’s a churro. It’s just fried dough covered in sugar. You’ll like it, trust me.”
Nico trusts him so he takes a nibble out of the pastry. It burns his tongue a bit and he licks the sugar off of his lips as he savors the sweet taste. Underneath the table, Nico nudges the blonde’s feet with his own.
Will laughs and rests his chin on a hand leaning on the table. “Good, huh?”
Nico nods and takes another bite before handing it over to Will. He picks up another pastry that’s twisted in a weird knotlike shape. He knows this one—a pretzel. It smells salty and sweet so he bites a large portion of it off then repeats the process—placing it aside and moving on to the next treat. Will only shakes his head as he watches with what Nico hopes is a fond expression on his face.
They sit and eat while talking about Nico’s quest for Hades until Nico’s stomach is about to explode from overconsumption.
He finishes the last of the cotton candy—what he thinks is a weird excuse for a candy (it tastes like nothing and he hates the texture, mind you)—and groans.
“Can we get up and walk? I ate too much.”
Will agrees. They clean up and explore the rest of the fair. Will forces him to stop at a few of the tents and they play ridiculous games to kill time.
“This is rigged, you know that, right?” Nico shakes his head as he watches Will struggling to pop balloons stuck to a wall with a dart. “Also, you have terrible aim for an Apollo kid so what makes you think you’d be good at this?”
Will stops for a brief second to glare at him without much heat behind it. “You’re not helping here. Why don’t you do it then, if you’re so good?”
Nico rolls his eyes and shoos his boyfriend away with a flick of his hand. “Watch and learn.”
He grabs the dart out of Will’s grip and analyzes the board. After making sure the dart is comfortable in his grip, he positions it, waits for the perfect timing, and flicks his wrist. Nico smirks smugly when the balloon explodes with a pop. He grabs another dart on the table and throws it again. Another pop.
It’s smooth sailing until they run out of time and the person behind the counter asks him what prize he wants. Nico looks at the options and smiles when he sees the one. When he turns around, Will is waiting for him at the side with a smile on his face even though Nico beat him.
“What did you get?” He asks, eyeing the toy that Nico’s holding behind his back.
“I got this for you,” Nico bites the inside of his cheek to keep from grinning as he shoves the stuffed toy into Will’s arms.
Will looks at the stuffed ghost plushie and breaks into a dazzling smile. His eyes curve upward into crescents as he admires the toy before squeezing it in a hug.
“I love it.” He breathes out.
Nico can’t help but let the smile spread on his face, Will’s excitement too contagious not to, and he links his arms with Will’s, leading them away from the tent.
“Let’s go on the Ferris wheel!” Nico exclaims and kicks his feet into the air. Will laughs and kisses the top of his head.
After they get strapped into the booth, the wheel starts slowly moving until they’re at the very top overlooking Prospect Park. The fairy lights from the booths below blink up at them like the bulbs of fireflies. Everything looks so tiny from up here, and Nico stares at his boots before bumping them with Will’s sneakers.
Will shifts the ghost plushie to his other hand and grabs Nico’s hands, bringing them up to his lips to press a kiss on the knuckles.
Nico smiles and leans his head on Will’s shoulder, letting out a hum of contentment.
“I had fun. Thank you for taking me here.” He whispers in the quiet of the night.
“Of course,” Will’s reply comes fast.
“Can I tell you something?” Nico looks up at Will, who looks down at him.
When Will doesn’t answer, Nico continues.
“I feel like I’m in a lavender haze.”
Confusion flickers on Will’s face and he scrunches his eyebrows together. “What does that mean?”
Nico faintly smiles and rubs his cheeks against the soft fabric of Will’s sweater. “It’s a thing that we used to say back in the day. I remember hearing my classmates use it when they were in relationships with their crushes.”
Will’s eyebrow raises just the slightest but a small smile creeps onto his face as he nudges the side of Nico’s arm with a finger. “So…you’re saying…”
“I love you, Will,” Nico says before Will can finish his sentence.
He hears Will’s breath catch in his throat before the blonde is letting out a shaky sigh. “I love you. So much.”
“And I want to stay in this love glow forever,” Nico disturbs the quiet to say once more, “You’ve captured me like a moon to a planet so believe me when I say you mean the world to me.”
Will cups the side of his cheek with a hand, gently stroking it with a finger. There’s a slight sheen to his eyes and his voice trembles when he speaks up.
“Nico di Angelo, since when did you learn poetry to woo me?”
Nico laughs, carefully wrapping an arm around Will’s neck to pull their faces together until their foreheads touch.
“I love you, dork.” He repeats because it’s the only thing that’s on his mind right now.
At the very top of the wheel, overlooking all the other irrelevant people because the only one that mattered was sitting next to Nico, the kiss they share is warm enough to power the entire city.
In the lavender haze forevermore.