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“I’m not sure if I’ll ever get used to it,” Nico said one morning while he stared in the mirror. Nico was, at a baseline, bad at self care. He frequently forgot to do laundry, inconsistently washed his face, and often fell asleep in the clothes he had been wearing all day because, why did he have to change? So, of course, his hair had become more and more unruly as of late. He was due for a haircut weeks ago, and he was procrastinating doing anything about it. But, Nico had made an effort to really start taking care of himself, and properly doing his hair and making sure it was cut the way he liked it to be cut was an essential part of his to do list.
So, that was how he found himself cutting his hair using a pair of scissors that Valentina had left in his cabin once. His hair was looking better, that was for sure. But, no matter how much Nico looked at his reflection, he couldn’t get used to the new scars across his cheek. It had been a few weeks since Tartarus, and though they were totally healed, they were there, noticeable. The scars weren’t bad, he didn’t mind them, they were just… different. A new addition to his face. He wasn’t used to them yet because his face had changed very little over the past few years, so any change was odd.
Will looked up, eyes narrowed at Nico’s reflection in the mirror. “What?” he asked and Nico sighed. He tapped his cheek with his finger. “Oh, I got you. I can see what we have in the infirmary for scars, if you want,” Will offered from where he sat on Nico’s bed, flipping through a book about the behind the scenes of Star Wars movies. It looked kind of bland in Nico’s opinion, but every so often Will exclaimed, “Nico, you’ve gotta hear this!” and of course, Nico listened. He loved Will, and part of loving Will was listening to his ramblings about Star Wars. It was cute, in Nico’s opinion.
“And trust you as my plastic surgeon? I’ll pass,” Nico replied, rolling his eyes. “Besides, do you think I have to?” The scars weren’t super apparent, and they didn’t look terrible in Nico’s opinion, but if Will wanted him to get rid of them, Nico would. He felt apathetic towards them, so he didn’t really care whether they were there or not.
Nico watched the Will in the reflection of the mirror roll his eyes. “No, I don’t. I think you look really tough and cool. Scary but in a good way, like you could win a few fights,” Will said, shutting his book and rising to his feet. Will walked over to Nico and rested his chin in Nico’s head, draping his arms over his shoulders. “I think you look hot with them.”
Nico felt his face grow hot. “Shut up, Solace. Now you’re laying it on thick,” Nico replied. He assessed his appearance once again. He looked a little different in general since returning from Tartarus. The scars, sure, were a change. But his eyes looked brighter, and the dark circles under his eyes were less pronounced. His hair was now a little shorter thanks to the haircut he just gave himself and he had some color to his skin so he didn’t look so deathly pale. He looked… good. Alive and well.
Will pressed a kiss to the top of Nico’s head and gave him one final squeeze. “Take the compliment, di Angelo. Now hurry up with that haircut of yours. I want to play a round of Mario Kart.”
*
December 18th would always be a day that Nico would never stop dreading. It didn’t matter how many years passed since Bianca’s death date, the day always put him in a terrible mood. He was sure the date would always be incredibly painful to him. Every year, like clockwork, it was like a wound reopened. How could he not think about her on that day?
Nico was not sure how Bianca’s death anniversary would go when it was the weeks leading up to it. Things for him were on the upswing since Tartarus. Though it had only been a handful of weeks since then, Nico had felt overall better about everything. He was worried that the intense hope, the optimism, and the overall good feelings that he felt upon leaving Tartarus were just going to be short lived by products of the overwhelming relief he felt to have survived. Nico was pleasantly surprised, however, that he actually felt good, like really good, even after the initial high of surviving a life or death situation wore off.
Sure, he still had nightmares, and he had moments where he felt terrible, but it was better than it had been before Tartarus, and really could he ask for anything more?
So, he was worried. Worried that one day would throw a wrench in all of his progress, all of his good feelings. Which made Nico feel awful to think. He wanted to properly grieve his sister, he didn’t want to just feel happy all of the time. But, wasn’t that part of the whole Tartarus journey? To accept your past? To let it exist but not suffocate you?
“It was also about moving on,” Will said to him, when Nico confessed all of that to his boyfriend in hushed whispers, like if he spoke too loudly, all of his worst fears would come true. “Grieving is healthy to an extent, right? You can still honor her, still remember her. But that grief won’t always look the same.” Nico grumbled, knowing that Will had a point, and was trying his best to be supportive. He appreciated it, but it didn’t mean that Nico didn’t worry.
Nico woke up the morning of December 18th, and was surprised to feel that the guilt, the sadness, wasn’t overwhelming. It was there, sure, but it wasn’t suffocating for once.
He assumed it was his newly developing ability to cope, as well as the fact that Will was currently wrapped around Nico, running his hands through Nico’s curls, scratching at his scalp. Nico breathed in Will’s scent and tried his best to relax into Will’s touch. Their limbs were intertwined, so that they were as close as possible, which was Nico’s favorite way to wake up. He wished that he and Will never had to untangle.
“Good morning,” Will said softly and pressed a kiss to Nico’s cheek.
“Hi,” Nico replied, wrapping his arms around Will and squeezing him tightly.
“Did you sleep well?” Will asked. Nico shrugged the best he could in their current position.
“Could have been worse, but honestly, I can’t complain. Had a couple dreams,” Nico responded. He wondered if he should leave it at that, and forgo commenting on what was happening. Nico debated whether he should be completely honest about the situation and how he was feeling. He did his best to let Will in, to let him know what he was thinking and feeling. It still felt strange, like if he told Will what he was really thinking, Will would be sick of him, that he would think that Nico was scary or strange. But, since Will had all but begged him in Tartarus to start letting him in, Nico had made a serious effort, no matter how uncomfortable it was.
“I feel… surprisingly okay today,” Nico finally admitted. Will gave Nico a look like he didn’t believe him, which made Nico roll his eyes back at him in response. “I’m serious. Yeah the weight of today is hanging over me, sure. But I feel like I can breathe, which is more than I can say of previous years.”
Nico thought back to the previous December, when he had basically locked himself in his cabin all day. He had only let Will in to see him at the very end of the day, and only because Will had come knocking on his door once an hour to try and see what was up. Nico had only given in because on top of having a dead sister, he was being a shitty boyfriend, and the guilt and grief and overall horrible feelings were getting unbearable. (He did, though, recognize that once Will was with him, he felt even the tiniest bit better. He didn’t feel lonely, even if he still did feel sad and tired. Will’s presence always made him feel better, when Nico wasn’t being an ass and could admit that maybe isolating himself was a terrible decision that he made time and time again).
“Well that’s good,” Will said brightly, and he pressed a kiss on Nico's temple. “I get it. Kind of. I mean, I can’t imagine it fully because it’s kind of different, losing Lee and Michael and everyone else versus you losing Bianca. I understand a bit.”
“Death still hurts, no matter who you lose,” Nico argued, hating the way that Will minimized the death of his older siblings, when Nico knew it was something that still bothered Will, even years later. “You understand it, and so does everyone else who’s ever lost someone.” Nico sighed, stared at the ceiling. He thought about when he had seen Bianca at the end of their Tartarus trip, and how he got the chance to talk to her one last time, even if it was in a dream. Nico wasn’t sure if it was the closure he needed, or even wanted, but it was something he was grateful for.
“What’s on our agenda for today, Lord of Darkness? Cuddling and sleeping and getting up only to get food?” Will asked. The offer was tempting, and in previous years he would have jumped right on it. But, Nico knew it was one he had to turn down.
Now more than ever, Nico felt confident that Bianca would roll her eyes and drag him out of bed herself if she could see him right now. She was always encouraging him to get up and be productive, and she sure as Hades would not be okay with Nico wasting the day away just because he was sad about her dying. He grinned a little, imagining her scolding him.
When his eyes began welling up with tears, he sat up and pressed a final kiss to the top of Will’s head. “Come on Solace, we’re burning daylight here,” Nico said and he got up out of bed. He wiped the stray tears from his eyes and gave Will a watery smile. “Let’s get breakfast. I’m starving.”
“Whatever you say, boss,” Will replied, looking a little confused, but overall pleased with how Nico was taking the day, and happy to do whatever he wanted to do.
They got dressed in silence and exited the cabin. It had snowed overnight, and their boots crunched over the fresh blanket. A few campers in the distance who came back to visit while they were on winter break laughed and threw snowballs at each other. It was so normal and peaceful. It felt like any other day, which Nico was glad for.
“Did I ever tell you about the time I got my head stuck in the banister when I was younger? Bianca was so mad,” Nico said finally and Will threw his head back, laughing loudly.
“Of course. Only you would do that. You never mentioned it, but you have to tell me more,” Will replied. The two held hands and walked towards the dining pavilion, Nico animatedly retelling the story, in which he cried and Bianca yelled at him for being so reckless and stupid. Gods, he missed it, and he always would, but it no longer felt soul destroying.
And that was okay.
*
Will sometimes had nightmares. Most demigods did. It was part of life. An unfortunate one, but it was the price for godly powers.
Nico didn’t like to compare him and Will’s experiences, their trials, their differences. He felt like that did more of a disservice to them, to their relationship, to highlight the ways in which they were different rather than focus on the ways that they worked together. But, pre-Tartarus, Nico had way more nightmares than Will, and it was agonizing.
And that was an understatement. Truthfully, Nico could count on one hand the times Will had bolted awake from a nightmare, or days where he met his boyfriend at the dining pavilion and Will had dark circles under his eyes from a poor night’s sleep. Nico assumed it was because his life, as a whole, had been more violent, more painful, more horrific than anything Will had ever experienced. And that was fine. They were completely separate people. It was understandable.
Post-Tartarus, however, Will’s nightmares had amped up, both in quantity and quality. More often than not, at least three or four times a week, Will would sit up suddenly, tears in his eyes, or Nico would be jostled awake by his panicked boyfriend.
Usually, the dreams were Tartarus related. If they were Tartarus dreams, they were sometimes memories, but more often than not a retelling of what happened, except the ending was always more deadly and horrifying than what had actually occurred. Will, a few times, had confessed that his dream about him and Nico and the River Styx was reoccurring, which made Nico wince when he thought about it. He didn’t like the idea that he would act like that to Will, even if it was a nightmare version of himself.
(Nico always knew when Will had that dream though, because he would never wake Nico up after it. If Nico didn’t wake up with Will’s moving around or his shaking Nico awake, Nico would wake up to Will’s back turned towards him, and his light sniffles. On those nights, Nico never really knew how to handle it, whether Will would want his comfort or if Will wanted to be left alone. Usually, Nico just left it alone, but stayed awake the rest of the night, unable to sleep if Will was upset. It was an awful system, but one that Nico didn’t know how to remedy.)
This time, though, Nico woke up because Will was shaking him awake. “What?” Nico said, confused at first, before he realized what was happening. When his vision finally focused and he realized what was happening, he sat up quickly and looked at Will.
Will, who still rarely, if ever, cried in front of Nico, had tears streaming down his cheeks. Ever since Tartarus, Will had become more and more outwardly emotional, and more comfortable with crying in front of others. But, Nico had never seen Will cry that openly or that hard. It made Nico’s stomach drop. Gods, he hated when Will felt sad. This nightmare must have been horrible.
“What’s wrong?” Nico asked, trying to make his voice as soft as possible, and he opened his arms. Will slotted himself in Nico’s arms, laying his head on his chest and wrapping his arms around Nico’s stomach. Nico could feel Will’s tears soaking through his t-shirt, but he didn’t care. Will was endlessly more important than a stupid shirt.
Nico rubbed his hands up and down Will’s spine, in circles, his nails lightly scratching at his back. “It’s okay, you’re fine. I’m fine. Everything is okay,” Nico said every so often, still unsure of why Will was even crying.
Eventually, Will’s sobs slowed and quieted, and finally stopped. Nico didn’t pull away, and instead waited for Will to move from him, waited for Will to say what was happening. With a final sniffle, Will unlooped his arms from around Nico and sat up. It was hard to see in the small sliver of light that was pouring in, but Nico could almost see how red rimmed Will’s eyes were.
“I’m sorry,” Will finally said, rubbing his eyes. “I shouldn’t have woken you up. I’m sorry- I know how tired you were tonight. I shouldn’t have woken you up. It was dumb.” Nico felt his heart shatter.
“Will, come on. I never mind you waking me up. Especially when you are like this. What happened?” Nico asked gently, reaching out to hold Will’s hand.
“It was a dumb dream. I’m fine,” Will insisted. Nico gave Will a look, hoping that it conveyed just how ridiculous Nico thought Will was acting. “Okay, fine. I had a dream that you died, alright. Don’t give me that look.”
Nico frowned. “You’ve had those before. Why did this one make you so upset?” Nico said and Will gave a shudder in response. Nico bit his lip, annoyed at himself for clearly saying the wrong thing. He might have been nonchalant about his death, but Will wasn’t. “What made this one different?”
“It was my fault,” Will explained. “We had a fight, and I took off. I can’t even remember what the fight was about. But you went chasing after me and were yelling at me to stop and I didn’t and then you screamed and I-”
“Hey, Will. It’s okay,” Nico said, cutting Will off, because he had begun shaking. “I’m here. Look.” Nico grabbed Will’s hand that he was not holding and held it up to his chest. “See? I’m here, and safe. I’m alive, and you’re alive. Everything is okay.”
“I never want to hurt you,” Will said suddenly. “It’s part of being in a relationship, and I know we won’t ever not get on each other’s nerves or fight. But I’m so scared to lose you Nico. I can’t lose you.”
“I’m scared to lose you too,” Nico said. Will looked shocked that Nico said that (like there was any fucking doubt that Nico was head over heels, madly in love with Will, gods Will was so obtuse sometimes), and so Nico wrapped his arms around Will and pulled him back in to a hug.
Nico laid down with Will still wrapped in his arms. “I love you, Will. And I always will. I promise, everything is okay, and we are here and safe and we will always be fine.”
Will sighed. “I know, I know. Thank you. I’m sorry for being such a wuss. It just really freaked me out. I feel so… unsettled.”
“Those are the worst kinds of nightmares,” Nico replied, knowing very well how much those dreams sucked. “They feel too real, like they’re actually happening.”
“It’s sick and twisted,” Will replied. “I appreciate you. A lot. Thank you.” Will pressed a light kiss to Nico’s jaw, before snuggling in close. “Maybe I’ll have bad dreams more often if it means you hold me like this.”
“First of all, you can always ask to be held like this,” Nico replied, rolling his eyes. “Second of all, when are we not holding each other? I think people would be surprised if we were further than a foot apart from each other at all times. The universe would explode if we went too far apart. Glad to see you got your sense of humor back though.”
“I love you too,” Will replied with a teasing tone. Nico pressed a kiss to the top of Will’s head and squeezed him tightly. He wished that Will never had to have nightmares, but he knew he would always be there for Will, whenever he needed it. Will was always worth it.
*
“Okay, try it again,” Nico said, even though he was incredibly kind of bored. Normally, he had no problem sitting for hours watching Will do everything and anything (the long hours he spent in the infirmary watching Will do paperwork and stitch up campers were a testament to that). But, it was hot outside, and it had been hours since Will started his newest endeavor. Nico didn’t want to tell Will to give up, didn’t want to tell him to give it a rest and discourage him. But, Nico privately thought that if Will gave himself a break, he might be able to achieve his desired results. Learning to harness new powers was difficult and tiring.
Will scrunched up his face for a few seconds, his complexion going a little red. Finally, he opened his eyes expectantly at Nico and frowned at what he saw. “Hades, I thought I had it,” Will said, his lips tugging down into a frown. “I wanted to make you get a rash.”
“Wow, thanks Will,” Nico said, scratching his arm even though clearly Will had not given him a rash. His arm was just itchy because now he was thinking about having a rash.
“Hey, you gave me the okay to practice my powers on you,” Will replied, sitting down next to Nico on the bench he was perched on. “I figured a rash was better than like a cold or the flu or pneumonia.”
“So generous,” Nico responded, sarcasm dripping into his tone. Will didn’t immediately reply, didn’t banter back, didn’t tell Nico to shut up, which was odd. Nico gave Will a side glance, frowning. “Hey. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Will replied, sounded far too dejected for nothing to be wrong. Nico gave Will a look that said get real, which made Will sigh in defeat. “Listen. I just… I really want to do this. When I gave Nyx hay fever, I felt so powerful. I know that it was kind of lame in retrospect because it was hay fever, but I had no idea I could do that! I want to channel that energy again, but do more with it. I know I can do it, it’s just hard.”
Nico felt his heart twinge when he noticed Will’s frown getting deeper and deeper the more and more he spoke. “I hear you. And I know you can do it. You’re so close, Will. I’m sure of it.”
“How do you know?” Will said, sounding a little argumentative. Nico took a deep breath, knowing that Will was not trying to argue with him, but rather was just annoyed at himself. Will’s not mad at you, he’s mad at himself, so get a hold of yourself, di Angelo, Nico thought as Will continued on. “I’ve only been able to do that once. And it was during an extreme set of circumstances. What if I can’t ever do it again? Because, I sure as shit am not going back to Tartarus just to access my powers.”
“You’ve done it once, you can do it again,” Nico said, trying to sound as positive and full of conviction as possible. “I believe in you.” Will muttered something that sounded suspiciously like you shouldn’t, but Nico chose to not comment on it.
They were silent for a few moments, the only noise being the sounds of the few campers that had stayed behind after winter break had ended two months ago, laughing in the distance. Nico knew that Will had more to stay, but didn’t want to push it, so he stayed quiet, giving Will his space. Will would talk when he was ready.
“I just want to be able to protect you,” Will finally admitted. “This can help. I want to save you always. I know we’re safe now, but what about the future? What then? What if something happens?”
Nico reached out and grabbed Will’s hand, squeezing it. “Will. We are safe. Why worry about the future?”
“We thought we were safe last year after the war with Gaea, and then look at what happened,” Will said, the panic in his voice increasing with every word he said. “We’re demigods, we’re never safe. It’s short sighted if we aren’t prepared, and I-”
Nico cut Will off with a kiss. Will made a small noise of protest, before reciprocating the kiss. When they finally pulled apart, Nico kept his hands on both sides of Will’s face. “Will. I hear you. These are concerns, sure. But, right now? We are safe. We are happy. And I have no intentions of running off on some quest or another any time soon.”
Will sighed. “I know you’re right, but-”
“But nothing. You’re allowed to be worried and allowed to want to arm yourself. But, there’s no rush, no timeline. Using powers is draining, and they are hard to learn and control. I know, trust me,” Nico said, hoping he sounded gentle, but firm. “Don’t beat yourself up over this.”
Will paused, and then rolled his eyes. “I hate when you have a point.”
“Hey, you’re the one always telling me to be more careful with my powers,” Nico replied, smirking, knowing that he had won the battle for now.
“Yeah. But no one ever said I wasn’t a hypocrite,” Will said. “I’m allowed to worry about your health and safety. You’re reckless and impulsive.”
“And you’re a worrier who’s prone to working yourself to exhaustion.”
“Okay, so maybe we both have issues. What about it?” Will replied and Nico laughed.
“You’re right, but I love you and I think now it’s time to relax. “ I’m just happy that we have a future, when a few months ago I was sure we wouldn’t have one. Let’s enjoy this.” Nico stood up and pressed a kiss to Will’s cheek. “Besides, it’s almost time for dinner, so we should get going.” Will looked reluctant as he rose to his feet, but he still followed Nico towards the dining pavilion. He took that as a win, and decided to distract Will as they walked, discussing the new campers and how abysmal they were in their sword fighting classes. It worked, because Will quickly seemed to go back to his usual self. It made Nico happy, because Will had no reason to stress.
They had all the time in the world to practice and train and what not. So, why rush it?
*
Nico and Will didn’t always see eye to eye. They agreed on a fair amount of things, but also disagreed on just as many. They fought and argued and Nico (immaturely) thought that maybe, Tartarus would have helped them to get along better.
It didn’t. Sure, it brought them together on many levels, but it didn’t erase the fact that though they were madly in love, things would never be perfect for them, things would never be completely smooth sailing. But, Nico wondered, was every relationship always perfect? Probably not, and he and Will were not an exception to that rule.
Their most recent fight started off innocuous enough. Will had made some innocent comment about how nice it was to see new campers and how everyone was so welcoming towards them. It had then somehow evolved into an argument about Will not being perceptive enough about how Nico was feeling and the fact that when Nico himself was a new camper, it didn’t go well.
Nico knew that he was being difficult. Will was, at his heart, not trying to say that the reason new campers were always accepted and that Nico wasn’t, was that Nico was a mess of terrible, awful things. Nico thought he was weird, and cold, hard to love, and annoying, scary, and boring. Obviously, when he was a new camper no one wanted him around.
Over the years, Will had done a pretty amazing job of reinforcing the idea that Nico’s self perception was, at best, a shitty caricature of himself. Will had time and time again shown Nico that he loved him, and thought he was amazing. Hades, Will proved that he would go to Tartarus and back to make sure that Nico wasn’t alone, to make sure that he was safe and loved during one of his darkest times.
And yet, Nico knew on some level that he would always have problems, and that he would always have kind of a hard time believing Will, no matter how many times he said good things about Nico. Which was why they were in their current predicament.
“You’ll never understand,” Nico yelled to Will, who seemed like he was on the verge of tears.
Will took a deep breath. He opened his mouth like he was going to argue, but then closed it. “Help me get it then,” Will said, sounding defeated. “I can’t read your mind, and I want to know what you mean and how you’re feeling. I want to understand you, Nico. Just please, help me out.”
Nico, who was on edge, immediately felt himself relax at Will’s words. Which was surprising to him. Months ago, before Nico had gotten used to being open and honest with Will, before Will had gotten used to asking what Nico needed and how he felt, this would have been a fight that would have lasted for hours and ended in a tearful reunion without any real conclusion, any real solutions. And here Will was, asking for Nico to help him understand, begging him to talk it through with him.
That was new.
Nico knew that he and Will had both made more of an effort to listen to each other, and support each other. It’s something that they talked about, both in and out of Tartarus, and Nico knew that, even if Will said things that came out sounding bad, and even if Nico himself was stubborn and liked to make problems out of nothing, at least they were both trying. It had to count for something.
Nico sighed and sat down on the grass, beckoning Will to come join him. Will sat down immediately, and Nico began to speak.
They walked back to Hades Cabin later that night, hand in hand, laughing about something Kayla had called Will earlier in the day to talk about. Nico felt full in the best way possible, and even though he felt tired, he didn’t want to go to sleep. He wanted to keep talking to Will, even if he was yawning every few minutes or so.
“Let’s get this guy in bed,” Will announced when they walked into the cabin. “He is sleepy!”
“I am not even tired,” Nico protested. Then, he yawned without meaning to.
Will laughed. “Likely story. Come on, Ghost King,” Will said, picking up the pajamas Nico had discarded on the floor earlier that day while getting dressed and tossing them to Nico. “Get your jammies on and then we’ll be off to sleepy time junction.”
“Ugh,” Nico complained, but got his pajamas on anyway. He and Will took turns getting ready for bed, and climbed in together. Will slung his arm around Nico, and pulled him in close. Nico nuzzled into Will’s chest.
Nico wanted to sleep, but he had something to say first. “I just wanted to say, thanks. For earlier, I mean,” Nico said, wanting to make sure he said it and that Will realized how much he meant to Nico. “I know we have been trying to be more communicative as of late. And I’m still kind of shit at it at times. And I just want to say I appreciate it that you, you know, helped me through that. I was jumping the gun a bit.”
“Dude, don’t sweat it,” Will said, squeezing Nico tightly. “We all have our moments. I hate making you upset. I don’t try to make you feel misunderstood or sad or anything. I need to work on it, so I’m glad we could talk it through so I know what not to do.”
Nico felt his heart twist. “You’re too good for me,” Nico replied, voicing his thoughts. “I don’t get why you’re with me, but thank you.”
“You’re ridiculous. If Tartarus didn’t scare me off, a normal teenage fight definitely won’t,” Will said. “I love you, Nico. And I always will.”
“I love you too,” Nico whispered, feeling a lump start to form in his throat. Will pressed a kiss to the top of Nico’s forehead and Nico fell asleep shortly after that, a smile on his face. Things were good, better than they had been in years for Nico, and he never wanted things to go back to the way they were before.
+1
The end of May brought around the arrival of campers, old and new alike. They trickled in slowly as schools began letting out for the summer and by mid June, the camp was more bustling than ever before. Nico relished in it. He was excited to meet new people, he was given a fancy new title (Beginner Sword fighting Instructor), and he could not wait to catch up with old friends. He was, for the first time in years, truly happy.
It was a nice reunion when all of his old friends came back. Nico felt like it was going well, felt like things were going smoothly until about a week after Lou Ellen and Cecil had returned to camp.
He and Will were engaged in a argument debate about the right way to lay their blankets when they went to bed. Lou, innocently, asked how they had slept the previous night. Will immediately launched into a tirade about Nico the Blanket Thief, who liked to sleep with their blankets short ways rather than long ways, so that it was longer horizontally rather than vertically.
“Listen, all I’m saying is I’m tall, Nico. I need the blanket to go long ways when we go to bed,” Will said, crossing his arms, the slightest hint of a smile on his lips. Nico, as usual, knew Will was trying to purposefully get on Nico’s nerves. And, Nico knew that he was, as he always did, falling for it. Because part of what made silly debates with Will fun was that at the end of the day, when they were fighting over trivial shit, it did not matter. It was all an act, part of their schtick. It was as important and integral to their relationship as times when they acted like a couple that was madly in love.
“Well jeeze. Sorry I’m short. Thank my genetics and years of malnourishment,” Nico replied, rolling his eyes. “All I’m saying is it doesn’t matter if the blanket goes long ways or short ways. If it’s short, we can fully wrap ourselves around with it.”
“But then my feet are cold! And also-”
Cecil sighed so loudly that it made Nico and Will stop bickering immediately. “You two have been to the worst place imaginable. You beat the odds and came back stronger, both individually and as a pair. And yet you still bicker like a married couple that’s been together for decades. Nothing’s changed. Gods, can you please give it a rest?”
“Why? Are you jealous?” Will asked, a full blown grin on his face.
“To be fair to them, they’ve been dating for over a year and a half,” Lou Ellen chimed in, “which in demigod years is like… a million. Maybe they’ve earned the right to bicker like that.”
“Okay, but do they have to be so godsdamn loud about it?” Cecil whined. “We are just trying to have a normal day and these two are arguing like their lives depend on it.”
“Would you prefer the bickering or this?” Nico asked as he threw an arm around Will’s shoulder. He grabbed the side of Will’s face and titled it towards his own, before pressing a kiss to Will’s mouth.
“Oh gods, my eyes. Please go back to the bickering,” Cecil responded. “How can you handle this whiplash? One second you’re at each other’s necks and the next you’re kissing like nothing ever happened. It’s maddening. I did not miss this while I was gone.”
“It’s part of being in love. You wouldn’t get it,” Will said, wrapping his arms around Nico’s waist and pulling him in closer towards him.
“Oh yes, because the two of you are the only ones capable of having an epic love story full of highs and lows and burning passion. Get a grip,” Cecil said, his voice lacking malice. His teasing was just as much a part of being his friend as bickering was part of Nico and Will’s relationship. “You guys are delusional.”
“Maybe, but there’s no one else I would rather be delusional with,” Nico said, truthfully, and then he pressed a kiss to Will’s cheek. His life was infinitely better with Will in it, and it was nice to know that some things would never change. Nico would choose Will again and again if given the chance, and nothing could stop him from loving Will.
Even Cecil’s complaining. He would have to try much harder than that if he ever wanted them to stop. Nico laughed and pressed another kiss to Will’s cheek. Gods, he was happy.