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Nico
It was a summer day. It was warm, but not humid, and the scent of strawberries wafted throughout Camp Half-Blood. Nico and Will were stretched out on the beach, lying in the sand, looking up at the clear blue sky, the sound of the ocean lapping against the shore around them.
To Nico, though, the only sound he cared about was Will’s voice. He had been rambling on and on, talking about anything and everything, moving from one subject to another. Nico just listened. He didn’t need to talk. Hearing Will’s voice was enough.
He was talking about love now. Nico didn’t know why. He said he’d never been in a relationship before, but he’d had crushes now and then. Will had this really specific idea of love, one that he yearned for terribly.
“I think pure love is just beautiful, you know?” Will was saying. “I want someone to know my flaws and love me anyway. I don’t want them to love me for my appearance or anything. I want them to look inside of me- see my blood and my bones, and love me anyway. I want the type of love where they listen to my heartbeat when we hug, and they love the sound just because it proves I’m alive. I want the type of love where they kiss the little parts of me like my knuckles or my forehead just because they want to show that they love me. You know?”
Nico knew. And he wanted to cry, because that’s exactly how he felt about Will. He wanted to cry because he knew he was starting to love Will and that was scary but it was also beautiful. Just like how Will described it. No matter how scary falling in love was, its beauty out weighed it, because it was William fucking Solace.
Nico was facing Will, his arms clasped tightly over his stomach as he watched Will talk. Will kept his eyes trained on the sky, as if waiting for a god to descend at any moment. He moved his hands as he talked, waving them in the air, and Nico wasn’t even sure if Will was aware of it. His eyes shone as he spoke. His hair fell into his eyes, and he moved it away a couple times but it kept falling back into place.
Will looked over at Nico once he finished talking, and Nico looked back. He nodded. He felt like crying, because Will was smiling and his teeth were slightly crooked but it was beautiful.
Nico smiled back, and he didn’t know what came over him, but he started talking too. “Love is really interesting to me. I have, like… I think I have a kinda bad history with it. But you make it sound, I don’t know, poetic.”
“It’s the Apollo in me,” Will said, and Nico snorted a laugh. “Seriously, though… I do think love is beautiful. I think you should think that, too.”
Looking at Will, he was really starting to believe it.
***
After their conversation on the beach, Nico started to think. And he came to the conclusion that he was hopelessly, irrevocably in love with Will Solace.
He didn’t know why. He never knew why. He didn’t know why he liked Percy, but this… this felt different. He had thought Percy was the most handsome, perfect person ever. In his head, Percy was a god.
But that wasn’t the case with Will. Sure, he thought Will was beautiful. That was just a fact. Nico looked at him like he’d hung the stars in the sky. But Will wasn’t like Percy. Nico thought that Will was perfect, but not in the way that Percy was perfect.
No. This was different. Nico had admired Percy in the way that Percy was on a completely other level than him. He was completely out of reach, an otherworldly god capable of destroying civilizations. He loved Percy in the way citizens love their King. They love him, but simultaneously, they are terrified of him.
Will wasn’t like that at all. Will was perfect, not because he was some all-mighty god, but because he was so achingly human. He was a healer. He created and saved lives instead of destroying them. He had scars, but not from battle. He had scars from falling off his bike when he was five years old, from cutting his finger open with a knife while helping his mother slice vegetables.
Nico had been scared of Percy, in a way. But he didn’t feel scared of Will at all. Will was like a summer breeze, like a welcome mat outside a house. He felt so irresistibly close to Nico, in the same plane as him, a way he had never felt about Percy. And for some reason, that made loving Will even more risky.
Nico knew nothing would ever come out of liking Percy. He had Annabeth. And Percy was totally out of his league. But Nico actually had a chance with Will. That meant he had no excuse to not voice his feelings. But what if Will didn’t feel the same way? What if he ruined one of the only true friendships he had, something he had worked for so hard and crafted so meticulously?
What then?
***
It was a Friday night when there was a knock on Nico’s door.
He set down his book, leaving it open still so he wouldn’t lose his place. He opened the door, and was surprised to find Will standing there. He looked nice, dressed in khakis and a red collared shirt. He looked like he’d tried to comb his curls down, but they were so unruly they just sprung right back up. Nico suddenly felt self-conscious in his sweatpants and hoodie that served as his pajamas.
“Hey,” Will said, and he sounded slightly breathless. Nico wondered if he’d run here, or something.
“Hi?” Nico replied, somewhat confused by what Will was doing. It was after dinner, and Nico never went to campfire, so there really wasn’t any reason for him to be here. Unless he just wanted to see Nico. Nico’s heart raced at the idea.
“I was wondering,” Will cleared his throat. “Um, did you hear about the party the Hermes cabin is throwing?”
Nico blinked. “The Hermes cabin is throwing a party?”
“Yeah, it’s Connor’s birthday, so they’re throwing a camp-wide party,” Will then frowned. “Well, not totally. Chiron doesn’t know about it. Or the harpies. It’s probably gonna go until after curfew, so… but Mr. D will probably be there. I mean, no one’s telling him about it, but he’d definitely be able to sense a party this close to him-“
“Get on with it, Solace,” Nico said dryly, crossing his arms.
“Sorry,” Will rubbed the back of his neck. “Do you wanna come with me?”
“Come with you… to a party…?” Nico glanced back at his book and bed. Most nights for him consisted of reading into the late hours, then sleeping in. The only parties he’d ever been to were in the Lotus Casino.
But then he looked back to Will, and he looked so eager. He was bouncing, rocking on the balls of his feet. His eyes shone. And Nico founding himself blurting out, “Yeah. Okay. Let me, um, let me get dressed.”
“Okay!” Will shouted. It must’ve come out louder than he expected, because his face flushed, and he cleared his throat, then repeated quieter, “Okay. I’ll wait for you out here.”
Nico flashed Will a quick smile, then gently closed the door. He turned into his cabin, taking a deep breath before walking to his dresser. He riffled through the clothes, muttering under his breath as he looked for something to wear. All his clothes were black, and none of them were nice, per se. He wondered if this was a fancy type of party. Will was dressed sort of casual-fancy. But he looked good. Then again, he looked good in everything.
He settled on a pair of black jeans, a simple black shirt with a skull, and his aviator jacket. In other words, what he wore every day. He slipped on his black Converse, then opened the door to go meet Will.
He was waiting right outside the cabin. His face brightened when he saw Nico, his lips twisting into that achingly beautiful smile, crooked teeth and all. “Hey! Do you mind if we stop by my cabin first? I forgot something.”
“No problem,” Nico said, and Will grinned.
Will’s arms swung by his side as he walked. Nico watched them, and he noticed a blur of red. Will had painted his nails a deep red shade that matched his shirt.
“I like your nails,” Nico blurted.
Will stopped swinging his arms, holding up his hand and studying his nails like he’d forgotten he’d painted them. “Oh, thanks, Neeks.”
“It’s really cool that you paint them,” Nico wanted to stop talking, but he found he couldn’t. Will just brought that side out of him. “I used to want to paint my nails all the time when I was little, because Bianca and my Mamma did, but it was the 1930s, so obviously I couldn’t. But I like that you do.”
“You could do it now,” Will suggested. “If you wanted to.”
Nico shrugged, the lapels of his jacket moving with him. “Maybe.”
They were quiet for a minute before Will spoke. “It took me a while. To be comfortable painting my nails.”
“Why?” Nico asked. “Because it’s not ‘manly’, or whatever?”
Will grinned, dropping his eyes to the ground. He kicked a pebble as he walked. “Sort of. I’m trans. So, it gave me a sort of gender dysphoria at first. But then I realized… it’s just paint. It’s not gendered.”
Nico blinked. “You’re trans? I didn’t know that.”
Will was quiet for a moment, and then he brought his gaze to Nico’s, and he looked so fucking scared that it made Nico’s heart hurt. “Is that okay?”
“Of course,” Nico said quickly. “I- I didn’t mean it like that. Just- you pass so well, I didn’t even know. Is that offensive to say? I don’t know-“
Will interrupted him with a laugh. “No, it’s not offensive. Thank you.”
“What’s it like?” Nico asked. Will just looked at him. “Being trans, I mean. Sorry, I- I’ve just never met a trans person before, so-“
“A couple people at camp are trans, actually,” Will said. “But, uh. As for what it’s like? I’m not sure. It’s normal for me, so I don’t really know how to explain it to someone else. It’s sort of… freeing, I guess? I felt like someone else my whole life. Now I finally get to be that someone else. It’s nice.”
Nico thought about it for a moment. “That does sound nice.”
They stopped by the Apollo cabin, and Nico hung in the doorway while Will ducked inside to grab his chapstick. Nico smiled. He wore chapstick. But somehow, his lips were always still chapped. He found that cute.
When Will returned, he was flanked by his siblings Kayla and Austin. Kayla was wearing a white blouse and a green miniskirt, and Austin was wearing a stylish overcoat and sunglasses even though it was nighttime.
“Nico!” Kayla grinned when she saw him. “So glad you’re coming. Will really wanted you to. He was saying-“
Will clamped a hand over Kayla’s mouth. “Nope! That’s enough!”
Nico smirked. “Will was saying what?”
“Will was saying nothing,” Will put in. “Let’s go before Connor spikes the punch.”
As they walked off, Nico smiled to himself. Will had been talking about Nico to his siblings. He had no idea what Will was saying about him, but he was sure it wasn’t anything bad. If it were anyone else, he’d be scared they were talking bad about him, calling him names. But he knew Will wouldn’t do that. He knew Will wasn’t like that.
When they got to the Hermes cabin, Nico wondered how long it would be before Chiron found out about the party. Muffled music could be heard from several feet away, and different colored light reflected in the windows and shone under the door.
When they walked inside, it was even more intense. Light danced around the cabin, and music blared. People were milling about, either dancing or eating or just talking. There was a snack bar with a punch bowl, and Connor was standing suspiciously by it, wearing a party hat that read “Birthday Boy”.
“Where did they get all this stuff?” Nico murmured under his breath.
Will chuckled and leaned closer to Nico to respond, his breath hot on Nico’s ear as he spoke. “It’s the Hermes cabin. What do you think?”
Nico’s lips curled into a smile, something that seemed to only happen around Will. “True.”
“Do you wanna dance?”
“Are you crazy?” Nico raised an eyebrow. “I don’t dance.”
“Who says?”
“I say.”
“Well, I say differently. Come on.”
Will took Nico’s hand, and Nico ignored the burning of his cheeks as Will pulled him into a crowd of people.
Nico accidentally bumped into someone, and when he turned around to apologize, he was met with the face of the Camp Half-Blood oracle.
“Nico!” Rachel said, grinning. Her red, frizzy hair was pulled into a ponytail, a few strands in the front escaping. She pulled him into a hug. She smelled like paint. “I didn’t expect to see you here!”
“Will asked me to come with him,” Nico explained once they pulled apart.
“Oh,” Rachel said. She looked back and forth between Nico and Will, realization slowly dawning on her. Her eyes widened, and her mouth morphed into a smirk. “Oh.” She repeated.
Nico felt his face turning more red than Rachel’s hair. “What?”
“Nothing,” Rachel lied, still smirking. “You two have fun.”
“Okay?” Nico said. Rachel winked at him before turning back around. Nico shook his head and turned to face Will, who was looking at him with a curious expression.
“What was that about?”
“I don’t know,” Nico said. “Rachel’s just weird.”
“I guess that happens when you’re the camp oracle,” Will said, and Nico smiled.
“Probably.”
Will held out his hand, and he looked at Nico with such a puppy-dog look that Nico didn’t even feel any annoyance when he rolled his eyes before accepting Will’s hand.
Will immediately twirled Nico, sending the son of Hades stumbling over his feet. Will laughed, the sound so carefree and magical and louder than the music playing around them. It left Nico’s ears ringing.
When he turned back to face Will, he was still smiling, his crooked teeth and freckles gleaming under the lights. He had a touch of glitter under his eyes, Nico noticed. He was shining.
***
After the party, Will walked Nico back to his cabin. They stood on the porch of the Hades cabin, their knees knocking. They were close enough to kiss. Nico had to look up to see Will. He still had a bit of glitter under his eyes, but most of it had rub off. Nico wanted to place his hands on Will’s cheeks and run his thumbs over the remnants.
“Night,” Will whispered.
“…’Night,” Nico whispered back. He didn’t know why they were speaking so quietly. There was no one around. Maybe as not to alert the patrol harpies? Whatever the reason, Nico didn’t care. Will’s voice was quiet and rough, and his breath hit Nico’s face as he spoke, hot and strawberry-scented.
Will stood there a second longer, teetering on his feet like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to stay or leave. Finally he steadied himself, and placing one hand on the small of Nico’s back, he leaned down and kissed him on the forehead.
Nico stood there, still and wide-eyed, as Will’s lips lingered on his skin a little longer than necessary before he pulled away. Nico immediately missed the feeling of Will’s hand on his back as he began to retreat down the steps, pausing to wave to Nico before sticking his hands in his pocket and walking towards the Apollo cabin.
Still frozen in place, Nico watched him go. His forehead burned where Will kissed him, and his heart yearned for more. He was only able to move again when a harpy screeched above him, and he rushed inside, his heart racing not from the adrenaline of almost being harpy dinner, but from the rush of Will Solace.
***
The next day was terrible.
It was whiplash in comparison to the fun he’d had the previous night, dancing with Will under multi-colored lights, the son of Apollo kissing him goodnight on the forehead.
He’d woken up, and immediately felt terrible, though he couldn’t place why. Then he checked the date, and his heart dropped. It was his Mamma’s birthday. Nico immediately felt like crying. He remembered how he and Bianca would stay up the night before their Mamma’s birthday, baking her a cake and surprising her with it each morning. It was probably terrible, but his Mamma was brought to tears by the gesture each year, gathering the two of them in a hug and kissing the tops of their heads.
But that wouldn’t be happening this year. Because both his Mamma and Bianca were dead.
He started crying. The tears turned into sobs that wracked his whole body, until he couldn’t breathe, and he was clawing at the mattress, trying to find something to ground him because he felt like his soul was slipping away.
He didn’t know how long he cried for. He was surprised he didn’t pass out from suffocation because he was crying so hard, hiccuping so often he choked on his attempts at breathing. It felt like the greif of losing Bianca and his Mamma was crashing over him for the first time again, the pain raw and new all over again.
His vision began to blur. The room was spinning, his eyes were crossing, purple spots dancing behind his shut eyelids. His heart was beating too fast, blood pumping in his ears, roaring over all other sounds. He couldn’t see, he couldn’t breathe, he felt like he was going to die, this was how he was going to die-
“Nico?”
The room stopped spinning.
His heart slowed. The tidal wave of blood in his ears shut off.
He could see again, and it was all because he heard Will’s voice. There was a knock on his cabin door, and Will’s voice called again, “Neeks? You in there? You missed breakfast.”
Nico knew Will hated when he skipped breakfast. But he hadn’t meant to. He didn’t even realize he’d been crying that long. He opened his mouth to respond, but the words stuck in his throat. He wanted to get up, to let Will in, but he couldn’t move.
“I’m coming in,” Will said, and he gently pushed open the door. Nico winced at the harshness of the sun outside in comparison to the darkness of his cabin. Will’s eyes widened when he saw Nico, probably looking pathetic and miserable, sitting on his bed and sobbing. He shut the door and rushed over to Nico, sitting next to him on the bed. The mattress shifted under the weight.
“Nico? Neeks, what’s wrong?” Nico shook his head. “Come on, Nico, talk to me.”
He shook his head again.
“You can’t?” Will asked, and Nico wanted to cry at the look he was giving him. He looked so concerned, his head tilted like a curious puppy. Nico nodded, and Will’s expression softened with something like sympathy. “That’s okay. Can I touch you?”
Nico shook his head furiously.
“Okay,” Will agreed. Didn’t argue. Didn’t try to touch him anyway. “You… you look pretty, Neeks.”
And Nico cried. He cried, because he wouldn’t let Will touch him but Will didn’t care. He just thought Nico was pretty.
Will didn’t say anything. Didn’t do anything. Didn’t ask if he was okay, or why he was crying. Didn’t try to hug him or touch him. And Nico loved him for that.
He couldn’t say anything. The words got stuck in his throat, clogged up with all the emotions he felt and all the tears he hadn’t shed yet. But he wanted to do something, convey something to Will, to thank him. So he smiled. It was small and timid, and probably looked a bit insane with the tears streaming down his face. But Will’s face lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning, and for some reason, that made Nico want to cry even more. Because it was a reminder of how deeply he loved Will, because Will felt like sunshine whenever Nico was stuck in the coldest winter day.
They sat there for a while, and Nico looked at Will. He looked at his hands, how his fingernails were uneven because he had the habit of biting and picking at them. He looked at his lips, which were chapped but Nico wanted to kiss them so badly anyway. He looked at his eyes, which were the most gorgeous shade of blue, and then he couldn’t take it anymore. He needed Will to touch him. Any hatred of physical touch seemed to melt away, and then it was all he wanted, like if he didn’t touch Will right then and there he would crumble.
So he scooted forward. He held out his hand, and his mind shouted at him to stop it, because what if this wasn’t what Will wanted? But his body moved without his brain confirming the action, like his head and his heart were two separate people, making their own decisions. He took two of Will’s fingers in his hand, and Will looked down at it, and Nico felt so dumb. Because why would he only hold two of his fingers, why couldn’t he show affection like a normal person? He was about to pull away, but then Will spoke.
”You’re okay to touch now?” He asked. Nico nodded weakly.
Will looked up at Nico, and then he was wiping Nico’s tears away, and his fingers were so gentle on Nico’s cheeks. And then he was shifting their fingers so they were actually holding hands, and his thumb was rubbing Nico’s knuckles, and it was so soft that it sort of tickled but the motion was so rhythmic and it made Nico feel so loved.
And then he couldn’t help it anymore. He knew he was about to start crying, so he fell forward, leaning against Will and wrapping his arms around his stomach. He buried his face in Will’s neck, nosing the skin there and listening to his pulse, the steady thump, thump, thump. He took a deep, shuttering breath. He inhaled Will’s scent, memorizing it, how his cologne smelled like strawberries and summer. How his shirt sort of smelled like the infirmary, and how Nico had hated that sterile smell at first, but he’d grown so accustomed to it. It smelled like Will. And Will smelled like home.
And he cried. Usually, he hated crying in front of people. He hated being vulnerable. But Will made it so easy. He made it so easy for Nico to feel comfortable, to not feel judged.
He cried until there were no more tears left in his body. He slowly pulled away from Will, and the warmth Will gave him seemed to stick with him, clinging to him like humidity on a summer day. But it wasn’t the bad kind of humidity, that made you feel sticky and gross. It made Nico feel warm and fuzzy.
Nico pawed at his cheeks, wiping the remainder of his tears away. Will reached up and took Nico’s wrist, gently moving his hand away and wiping Nico’s tears away himself.
“Better?” Will asked.
Nico found himself being able to speak again, croaking out, “A little.”
Will’s smile was so gentle, so small but so genuine. And before he could think better of it, Nico found himself asking, “Can I kiss you?”
Will blinked, his lips parting in shock, and Nico’s heart twisted. He’d messed up. He’d ruined the one friendship he’d worked so hard to craft, the one friendship formed outside of a war, the one friendship that was true and genuine and formed just because Will had wanted to be friends with Nico.
“Never mind, forget I said anything-“
“No!” Will yelped, and his voice was an octave higher than usual. He cleared his throat and tried again, “No! Sorry, I- I just didn’t think you liked me that way.”
“Is that okay…?” Nico spoke slowly, dreading the answer.
“It’s perfect, Neeks,” Will was smiling again, and he placed a gentle hand on the side of Nico’s face, tucking his hair behind his ear. His fingers tickled the sides of Nico’s face, and he almost fucking giggled. “I like you that way too.”
Nico’s whole world felt like it tilted, and not in the bad way like earlier. In the good way, where he felt like he was floating off the ground, and he never wanted to come back down. “You do?”
“Mhm,” Will hummed softly. His gaze dropped down to Nico’s lips, and his eyes were half lidded, and when he met Nico’s eyes again, there was a yearning and a sort of hunger behind them.
So Nico leaned forward. He kissed Will, pressing their lips together. He had never kissed anyone before, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do, so he was hesitant at first. Light. Their lips were barely touching, just grazing each others. Will smiled, and he pressed their bodies closer together, kissing Nico deeper. He began to move their lips together, and with each kiss, Nico felt like he was floating higher and higher.
Will’s hand wrapped around Nico’s waist, pulling him closer still, like he was trying to mend their bodies together. Nico found himself holding the back of Will’s neck, playing with the hair at his nape.
When they pulled apart, they were both gasping slightly, their lips red and wet. Will’s eyes were shining, and his cheeks were flushed pink, and Nico wanted nothing more than to push him down onto the bed and kiss him even more.
But Will reached forward, gently taking Nico’s hand and twining their fingers together. “Thank you for being like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like yourself,” Will said, and Nico felt like crying again. “No one’s ever… no one’s ever kissed me just because they want to. Because they like me.”
“Really?” Nico asked, and his voice was just a whisper.
Will nodded. “So thank you.”
“You know,” Nico said. “I… I like you for who you are. Not for your appearance. I see your blood and your bones, and I love you anyway.”
As he spoke, Nico reached out and took Will’s wrist. He brought it up to his lips, kissing it gently. Then he leaned forward and kissing Will’s forehead, then each side of his lips, where his dimples were. Will’s eyes were shining, and he looked like he wanted to talk but he couldn’t, so Nico continued.
“Thank you, too,” Nico said. “For not touching me when I asked you not to. And for… for just liking me. I never thought I’d be able to have this- to like a boy, and for him to like me back.”
Will’s smile was almost like a smirk as he placed his hand on the side of Nico’s face again. “Well, I believe in miracles.”
Nico felt only love and truth in his words. Nothing more. Nothing less.
And he kissed Will again.
***
Will
It was a summer day. It was warm, but not humid, and the scent of strawberries wafted throughout Camp Half-Blood. Nico and Will were stretched out on the beach, lying in the sand, looking up at the clear blue sky, the sound of the ocean lapping against the shore around them.
Will had been talking non stop. About his childhood pets, the songs his mom sang, things that had happened at camp before Nico got there. Nico didn’t say a word in response, and maybe Will should care about that, but he didn’t. He knew Nico didn’t need to respond. He knew Nico was listening. And that was enough- to be heard.
Will started to talk about love. He didn’t know why. He was talking to Nico. Did that have something to do with it? He’d had crushes before, but nothing ever happened with them. There was Laura back in Texas. Then both Charlie Beckendorf and Silena Beauregard. Then, of course, Percy Jackson, because who didn’t have a crush on Percy once in their lifetime? Now, there was Nico.
He didn’t want Nico to be one of those cases, where he crushed from afar and never confessed and nothing ever came out of it. He wanted Nico to know how he felt about love, and hoped he would feel the same.
“I think pure love is just beautiful, you know?” Will started rambling. “I want someone to know my flaws and love me anyway. I don’t want them to love me for my appearance or anything. I want them to look inside of me- see my blood and my bones, and love me anyway. I want the type of love where they listen to my heartbeat when we hug, and they love the sound just because it proves I’m alive. I want the type of love where they kiss the little parts of me like my knuckles or my forehead just because they want to show that they love me. You know?”
He tilted his head to see Nico’s face, smiling. Nico was already looking at Will. He nodded. His eyes were shining. He smiled back. And that was pretty much all the confirmation Will needed.
“Love is really interesting to me,” Nico started to speak, and it kind of surprised Will. A pleasant surprise, but a surprise nonetheless. “I have, like… I think I have kinda bad history with it. But you make it sound, I don’t know, poetic.”
“It’s the Apollo in me,” Will said, and Nico laughed this sort of laugh that was more like a scoff, but his eyes crinkled and his nose scrunched up and it felt like such a victory to Will. “Seriously, though… I do think love is beautiful. I think you should think that, too.”
Nico didn’t say anything, but Will could almost read his thoughts like he could read emotions and pain through his vitakenisis. Nico was starting to see love the way Will did, starting to see life from Will’s eyes.
And that made Will feel like he’d served his life’s purpose.
***
Will never felt comfortable in his own skin.
He was trans, so that played a big part. Before he transitioned, he always felt so suffocated, like he’d been stuffed into one of those giant mascot costumes. He felt uncomfortable. He felt even more uncomfortable when guys would make weird comments about his body. Because he wasn’t supposed to have that type of body. He was supposed to be a boy, just like them.
So he transitioned. But the things people would say about him, when he had the body of the girl… that stuck with him. He felt like no one would ever truly love him. They would love his body, his appearance, but not him. No one had loved him before. Why should anyone else be different?
Anyone else, like a certain son of Hades…
Nico was different from anyone else Will had meet. Different in a good way. He never said weird things about Will, never made fun of him or objectified him like the people at school did. He made Will feel safe. Feel wanted.
He was so perfect.
So why should he want Will?
***
“You coming to the party tonight?”
Will blinked. He pulled off his stethoscope and sat it on the bedside table next to the empty cot. He’d just discharged Sherman Yang from the infirmary, who’d managed to get a nasty gash on his arm in a fight with his brother.
“What party?”
“You know,” Cecil said, leaning on the desk at the front of the infirmary. Lou Ellen sat in the office chair next to him, spinning in circles. Will felt dizzy just looking at her. “The party in the Hermes cabin. For Connor’s birthday.”
“I haven’t heard about it,” Will said. “Who’s invited?”
“The whole camp,” Cecil shrugged.
Will raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Is the whole camp gonna fit in the Hermes cabin?”
“Listen, man, we have our ways,” Cecil said.
“The Hecate campers enchanted the cabin to make it larger,” Lou Ellen intercepted, and Cecil directed a glare at her, although she couldn’t see it because of how fast she was spinning.
“Are you gonna come or not?” Cecil asked, looking back to Will.
“Maybe,” Will lilted, pulling off his sanitation gloves and beginning to clean up for the day.
“You can take someone with you,” Cecil said, almost in a sing-song tone, with a smirk on his face.
Will raised his eyebrow again. “How is that supposed to convince me?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Cecil drew out his words, dramatically drumming his fingers on the desk, pretending to be in deep thought. “What about a certain son of Hades?”
Will’s cheeks flushed. “I- what does that mean?”
“Come on, Will, it’s obvious you like him,” Lou Ellen said, stopping her spinning just to look Will dead in the eyes.
“So, what’s it gonna be? Invite your crush to a party, or waste your life away in the infirmary?” Cecil said.
Will sighed loudly. “Let me get changed.”
***
“I look ridiculous.”
Will stood in the middle of the Apollo cabin, Kayla and Austin next to him. Austin stood with his hand on his chin, studying Will in deep contemplation. Kayla was giggling behind him.
“You look great!” She insisted.
“Then why are you laughing?”
“Because Nico’s gonna think you look cute.”
“I-“
“She’s right,” Austin interrupted, moving his hands to his hips. “The red really compliments your undertones.”
“Thank you?”
Austin nodded curtly.
“Will, can I paint your nails?” Kayla asked. “I have a shade of red that would match your shirt so well!”
Will’s stomach twisted. For a long time, the idea of nail polish, or anything remotely feminine, would be enough to make him feel sick. But now, all it did was make his heart skip a beat. He was trying to convince himself that nail polish and, other slightly feminine items like makeup, weren’t prohibited for him to use. He could still use them. It wouldn’t make him a girl.
“Sure,” Will said, and Kayla squealed before dragging him to the bathroom.
She patted the bathroom counter, and Will pulled himself up onto it. Kayla began busying herself with painting Will’s nails, and Austin took a brush and tried to comb down Will’s hair, though the curls just sprang right back up.
“What do you think?” Kayla asked when she was finished with Will’s nails, stepping back.
Will held up his fingers to study them. They were painted a deep red. The color glistened and shined as he turned his hands. “It’s really pretty. Thank you.”
Kayla nodded appreciatively. “Now-“ She reached into a drawer, bringing out a container of face glitter. “What do we think?”
Will flushed. “Kayla, no. I am not wearing glitter-“
“Too late!” Kayla dipped two fingers into the container and began to smear it across Will’s cheekbones. Will tried to shove her away, but Kayla somehow managed to continue her work.
She stepped back just as Will grabbed the face glitter from her, but she was already finished. Will turned to survey his appearance in the mirror, and he groaned at what he saw.
“Nico’s gonna think I look like a clown!”
“Nico’s gonna think you look stunning,” Kayla corrected.
Will brought his fingers up to his cheekbones, gently tracing the path of glitter. It reflected in the mirror, dancing off the bathroom lights. Maybe it wasn’t so bad.
“I… I really like him,” Will whispered. “I hope he feels the same.”
“He does,” Kayla said matter-of-factly.
“What if he doesn’t want to come with me?” Will fretted. His palms began to sweat anxiously. “What if he doesn’t want to go?”
”He’ll want to go. But you’ll never get to hear him say it himself if you don’t go get him!” She practically pulled Will off the bathroom counter. “Don’t want to leave your date leaving, do you?”
Her and Austin had to practically shove Will out of the cabin, and he was sent stumbling towards the Hades cabin. He wiped his sweaty palms on his cargo shorts before raising his fist to knock on the door.
He waited for only a second before Nico opened the door. His hair was a bit messy, tufts sticking up, and he was wearing a black hoodie and black sweatpants. Will swallowed, his face turning as red as his shirt.
“Hey,” Will said, and he mentally winced at how breathless he sounded, like he’d run all the way here. In reality, seeing Nico just took his breath away.
“Hi?” Nico replied. He looked adorably confused, looking up at Will like a lost puppy.
“I was wondering,” Will’s voice suddenly felt very dry, and he cleared his throat. “Um, did you hear about the party the Hermes cabin is throwing?”
Nico blinked. “The Hermes cabin is throwing a party?”
“Yeah, it’s Connor’s birthday, so they’re throwing a camp-wide party,” Will then frowned. “Well, not totally. Chiron doesn’t know about it. Or the harpies. It’s probably gonna go until after curfew, so… but Mr. D will probably be there. I mean, no one’s telling him about it, but he’d definitely be able to sense a party this close to him-“
“Get on with it, Solace,” Nico interrupted, crossing his arms.
“Sorry,” Will’s face burned. Whenever he was around Nico, he was either rendered speechless, or he couldn’t stop talking, rambling like an idiot. “Do you wanna come with me?”
“Come with you… to a party…?” Nico looked back into his cabin. Will’s heart raced as he waited for a response. Did he not want to go? Would he rather stay inside tonight?
Will started anxiously rocking back and forth as he waited. Nico turned back to him, and his expression widened, like he was caught off guard, before it softened. “Yeah. Okay. Let me, um, let me get dressed.”
“Okay!” Will blurted, and his voice sounded loud even to himself. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Okay.” That was better. Although Nico was looking at him with this bemused sort of look that made Will want to run away and hide in the infirmary. “I’ll wait for you out here.”
Nico gave Will a quick smile that made Will’s heart race. Then he stepped inside the cabin and shut the door. Will leaned against the cabin wall, waiting. He swept a tongue across his bottom lip. It was chapped terribly. He winced, suddenly feeling the need for chapstick.
Soon after, Nico stepped outside. Will smiled upon seeing him. He was wearing a black shirt with a skull, his aviator jacket, black jeans, and black converse. It was all very on brand for him. “Hey! Do you mind if we stop by my cabin first? I forgot something.”
“No problem,” Nico said, and Will smiled again.
“I like your nails,” Nico said as they started walking.
Will looked at his nails again. He imagined seeing them from Nico’s perspective. Was he just saying it to be nice, or did he genuinely like them? Did he think it was weird for Will to have them painted? “Oh, thanks, Neeks.”
“It’s really cool that you paint them,” Nico said, and Will’s heart skipped a beat. He almost tripped in rhythm with his faulty pulse. “I used to want to paint my nails all the time when I was little, because Bianca and my Mamma did, but it was the 1930s, so obviously I couldn’t. But I like that you do.”
“You could do it now,” Will said. He imagined himself in the bathroom of the Apollo cabin, painting Nico’s nails a nice black color. “If you wanted to.”
Nico shrugged. His jacket moved with him. It was a bit big on him. Will found that adorable. “Maybe.”
Will wanted to respond. Tell Nico about him being trans. How he felt about it. But it took a minute to gain the courage to speak. What would Nico think? What it change the way he saw him? He debated not saying anything at all, but before he could think about it too much, he was already speaking. “It took me a while. To be comfortable painting my nails.”
“Why?” Nico asked. “Because it’s not ‘manly’, or whatever?”
Despite himself, Will grinned. He looked at the ground, not being able to look at Nico as he spoke. To look at how Nico was everything Will wanted to be. How his jaw was more pronounced than Will’s, and how his Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed. Will ached to be like Nico, and he ached to be with Nico.
“Sort of. I’m trans. So, it gave me a sort of gender dysphoria at first. But then I realized… it’s just paint. It’s not gendered.” It felt good to get it off his chest. To tell Nico this big part of his life. He was sort disappointed he didn’t see the look on Nico’s face when he said it.
“You’re trans? I didn’t know that.”
Will felt his heart drop. He didn’t respond for a while again. He couldn’t tell the tone of Nico’s voice. Was he just surprised? Disgusted? It took everything in Will to finally tear his gaze away from the pebble he was kicking and look Nico in the eyes. “Is that okay?”
“Of course,” Nico said, and Will felt like he could finally breathe again. “I- I didn’t mean it like that. Just- you pass so well, I didn’t even know. Is that offensive to say? I don’t know-“
Will burst into laughter. He felt so giddy, so light that he thought if someone were to push him, he’d float away. “No, it’s not offensive. Thank you.”
“What’s it like?” Nico asked. Will cocked his head at him, waiting for him to elaborate. “Being trans, I mean. Sorry, I- I’ve just never met a trans person before, so-“
“A couple people at camp are trans, actually,” Will said, thinking about his own friend, Cecil, in particular. Will wondered how many trans people Nico had met and not known they were trans. “But, uh. As for what it’s like? I’m not sure. It’s normal for me, so I don’t really know how to explain it to someone else. It’s sort of… freeing, I guess? I felt like someone else my whole life. Now I finally get to be that someone else. It’s nice.”
That was the best way he could describe it. When Will transitioned, he felt like there was this huge weight off his chest.
But at the same time, another brick of burden was added to his already large house of thoughts. When he was perceived as a girl, Will had thought no one would truly love him because of his gender. He thought men would only see him as an object, only love him for his body and nothing else. But when he transitioned, he thought no one would truly love him because they’d think he wasn’t truly a boy. He was both a girl and boy, neither a boy nor a girl. He was everything and nothing. How could anyone love someone like that?
But Nico, blunt, taciturn Nico, was able to wrap up all his thoughts into just four words. “That does sound nice.”
When they got to the Apollo cabin, Nico hung in the doorway while Will went in to grab his chapstick.
Kayla popped her head out of the bathroom when she heard Will. She was wearing a white shirt and green miniskirt, holding a tube of lipgloss in her hand. “Back so soon? Did you get rejected?”
“Ha-ha, very funny,” Will demanded, slipping his chapstick into his pocket. “He’s waiting in the doorway.”
“Let’s walk with you guys!” Austin said, peaking out from behind Kayla. He was wearing sunglasses, even though he was indoors and it wasn’t even sunny outside.
Kayla squealed as she grabbed Will by the shoulder and pulled him towards the doorway, Austin following close behind.
“Nico!” Kayla grinned when she saw him, still lingering in the doorway. “So glad you’re coming. Will really wanted you to. He was saying-“
Will clamped a hand over Kayla’s mouth, remembering what he’d said in the bathroom about hoping Nico liked him back. “Nope! That’s enough!”
Nico smirked, and Will’s face heated up. Why did he have to be so attractive, with his long, dark, eyelashes and those big, sharp brown eyes, and that stupidly smug smirk? “Will was saying what?”
“Will was saying nothing,” Will said. He was talking in third person. That was the effect Nico had on him. “Let’s go before Connor spikes the punch.”
The four of them made their way to the Hermes cabin. Music and lights could be heard and seen from halfway across the cabin grounds.
They stepped inside, and the party transformed into a true Hermes cabin party, with lights, music, and a snack bar. Will wasn’t even surprised when he saw Connor lingering suspiciously by the punch bowl.
“Where did they get all this stuff?” Nico said under his breath. It was so quiet Will almost couldn’t hear him, and he had to lean down to respond. He chose to ignore how close they were, how Will was practically whispering into Nico’s ear. “It’s the Hermes cabin. What do you think?”
Will watched as Nico smiled softly. How could such a small gesture make Will’s heart ache so much? “True.”
Will surveyed the cabin, taking note of the couples who were dancing together, spinning each other and laughing as they fell over one another. He turned back to Nico. “Do you wanna dance?”
“Are you crazy?” Nico asked, raising his eyebrow. “I don’t dance.”
“Who says?”
“I say.”
“Well, I say differently. Come on.”
Will took Nico’s hand and lead him into the crowd of dancers. He thought he noticed a pink tint to Nico’s cheeks, then decided to blame it on the harsh disco lights filling the cabin.
Nico must’ve accidentally bumped into someone, because he turned around, apologizing. Will didn’t pay much attention to the person before he heard a familiar voice say: “Nico!”
Will looked up to see Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the camp oracle, wearing paint splattered overalls, her hair pulled into a ponytail. She wrapped Nico in a hug, and Will felt a spike of jealously. “I didn’t expect to see you here!”
“Will asked me to come with him,” Nico said, disentangling himself from Rachel’s embrace.
“Oh,” Rachel said. Her gaze cut to Will, and Will grinned at her. She then looked back down to Nico. Then back to Will. Her eyes widened with some sort of realization, and she smirked. “Oh.”
“What?” Nico asked. Will was equally as confused.
“Nothing,” Rachel said, clearly lying. “You two have fun.”
“Okay?” Nico said, but it was more like a question. Rachel winked before turning back around. Nico shook his head, his black curls bouncing around his head as he turned back to Will.
“What was that about?” Will asked.
“I don’t know,” Nico said. “Rachel’s just weird.”
“I guess that happens when you’re the camp oracle,” Will guessed, and Nico smiled.
“Probably.”
Will held out his hand, and Nico rolled his eyes as he accepted it, but Will sensed no malice behind the gesture. Mostly because he was smiling, and his fingers tightened around Will’s as soon as their hands touched.
Will twirled Nico, and he tripped as he stumbled over his own feet, managing to also step on Will’s foot in the process.
He steadied himself on Will’s arms, looking up at him with the most adorable expression. His eyes were wide, and his lips were parted, and Will wanted nothing more than to kiss him.
But the music was too loud, and the lighting was too harsh, and there were too many people. So he refrained. He continued to just dance with Nico, wishing he had the courage to do what he so badly wished he could, and could speak the words he so badly wished to portray.
***
They continued to dance the rest of the night, only stopping to get something to drink (not from the punch bowl). When the party ended, Will walked Nico back to his cabin. As they walked, their hands brushed. Will wanted to hold Nico’s. As they stood on the porch of the Hades cabin, their knees touched.
Will still wanted to kiss Nico.
“Night,” Will whispered. He didn’t want to leave. Nico was looking up at him through those gorgeous dark eyelashes, with those gorgeous dark eyes, and the moon was shining on him, lighting up his pale skin.
“…’Night,” Nico whispered back. Will almost smiled, because they had no reason to be whispering, but they were. The whole camp was empty, and it was like they were the only two people in the world, but they were whispering. They were close enough to kiss, and they were whispering.
Will really didn’t want to leave. He was somewhere in between rushing back to his own cabin and entering Nico’s own. He transferred his weight from one foot to another, imagining his feet were his different options, before he grounded himself.
He swallowed, looking down at Nico as he planted one hand on Nico’s back. He leaned down and kissed Nico’s forehead. He heard the son of Hades inhale, and felt his body tense in surprise.
Will almost pulled away, but that was the last thing he wanted, so he let himself linger a bit longer, not really kissing Nico anymore, but his lips just grazing Nico’s skin. He finally forced himself to pull away, and he smiled at the look on Nico’s face: his wide eyes, parted lips, and flushed cheeks.
Will didn’t say anything. Just stuck his hands in his pockets and jogged down the steps. He wasn’t sure what he could say. If any words would suffice and match the severity of what he had just done. He could only wave to Nico before turning and walking to the Apollo cabin.
Will jogged up the steps of the Apollo cabin. He reached for the doorknob, and almost jumped out of his skin when a voice somewhere next to him said: “What was that?”
Rachel was sitting on one of the rocking chairs on the porch of the Apollo cabin, her legs crossed and her hands resting on her knees meticulously.
“What was what?” Will asked.
“Kissing Nico and then running off.”
“I- I did not run off! I was saying goodnight! It- it was a goodnight kiss!” Will raised his hands defensively. “Wait, how did you even see that?”
“Mhm,” Rachel said skeptically, pointedly choosing to ignore Will’s question. She nodded to the rocking chair next to her. “Sit.”
Will reluctantly did so.
“So, your crush on Nico?” She prodded.
Will inched away, feeling like he was at the worlds strangest therapy session. “W-what do you mean?”
“Oh, come on, it’s obvious, even without my prophetic powers,” Rachel rolled her eyes.
“Right,” Will said, rubbing his hands on his pants. “Well, can you use those prophetic powers to see if we’ll ever end up together?”
Rachel leaned forward and flicked Will on the forehead. Will leaned away with an, “Ow.”
“No, I can’t see that,” Rachel responded. “But I can help you.”
“How?”
“Talk to me about him. What’s stopping you from asking him out?” Rachel prompted.
“What if he doesn’t like me back?”
“Do you see the way he looks at you?” Rachel pointed a finger at him, almost accusingly. “He likes you. There’s something else, isn’t there?”
“I…” Will sighed in defeat. “You know I’m trans, right?”
“Yeah, I think you told me,” Rachel nodded.
“Well, I just… I mean, I told him I was trans today, but… what if he doesn’t like me because of it?” Will asked. The concern weighed him down like he was Atlas holding the weight of the sky.
He expected Rachel to hug him, to comfort him. What he didn’t expect her to do was laugh. “Oh, come on? Do you really think something like that would change how Nico feels about you? Dude, that boy is smitten.”
Will cracked a smile. “He is?”
The way Rachel nodded reminded Will of Kayla, how she was always so sure of herself, especially when it came to Nico and Will’s feelings about each other. “Very.”
“I don’t know, I just…” Will sighed. “I never felt like anyone could love me, when I was seen as a girl, and when I transitioned. Back at school, when I wasn’t at Camp Half-Blood year round… people were weird, Rach. There was one time…”
And suddenly Will was fourteen years old again, under the bleachers at a high school football game. There was a boy kissing him. Will asked the boy if he liked him. And the boy, he straight up laughed in Will’s face. He told him no. And then he left, leaving Will crying and alone under the bleachers, the trace of a boy’s lips who didn’t like him lingering on his mouth.
“Would Nico ever actually like me? Would he kiss me just to kiss me, because he liked me, and not for any other reasons?” Will’s voice was too rough as he spoke, his stomach too empty.
He had been staring off into space as he spoke, but he looked over to Rachel when she placed her hand on top of his. “He would.”
“He would?”
Rachel nodded. “He would.”
Maybe he would.
***
The next morning, Will didn’t see Nico at breakfast.
At one point, this wouldn’t have been unusual. Nico used to not show up for breakfast (or any other camp activities, for that matter) regularly, but his presence was becoming more common. Especially after Will told Nico he didn’t like when he skipped meals, because it wasn’t healthy. After that, Nico showed up to every meal.
Except breakfast today. Afterwards, Will checked all the usual places Nico might be. The training arena, the infirmary. He wondered if Nico might still be asleep, so he decided to check the Hades cabin.
As he walked up the steps, he was reminded of the previous night when he kissed Nico’s forehead, and his face burned.
A new thought crossed Will’s mind. Was Nico avoiding Will? Was he disgusted by him, by the kiss? Will almost wanted to turn around and walk away, but he forced himself to knock on the cabin door. He needed to make sure Nico was alright.
“Nico?”
He waited a moment, but there was no response. “Neeks? You in there? You missed breakfast.”
Still no response. He wasn’t even sure if Nico was in the cabin, but he still felt the need to warn Nico he was coming in before pushing the door open.
Sure enough, Nico was sitting on his bed, his legs tucked to his chest, his arms wrapped around his body. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, and he was taking shuttering, hiccupy breaths. Will’s eyes widened, and he moved on autopilot as he shut the door and beelined towards Nico. He sat on the bed next to him, the mattress creaking under him.
“Nico? Neeks, what’s wrong?” Will asked. Nico just shook his head. Will’s heart hurt. His head swam. He needed to know if Nico was okay, why he was crying, who or what had made him cry. If someone had hurt him, Will swore to the gods he would kill whoever it was. “Come on, Nico, talk to me.”
Nico only shook his head again. He looked like he wanted to talk, but he wasn’t, so Will wondered… “You can’t?”
Nico nodded, and Will wanted to crumble. He was crying so hard he couldn’t even speak. “That’s okay.” But it wasn’t. And he wanted nothing more than to make it okay for Nico. He wanted to wrap him in a hug and wipe away his tears. “Can I touch you?”
Nico didn’t respond, just shook his head quickly. It was almost as if he was frantic, scared, his head shaking like a bobblehead, like he was terrified Will might touch him anyway.
“Okay,” Will said, because he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t touch Nico if he didn’t want to be touched. He knew Nico had a hard time with physical touch, and the fact that Nico would let Will touch him even just sometimes was enough.
Will studied Nico. His eyes were shining, big and dark and full of tears. His eyelashes were clumped together, and they were dark and heavy, like he was wearing mascara. Will thought he looked angelic. So he told him so. “You look pretty, Neeks.”
Nico blinked, and then he was crying, his unshed tears spilling down his already tear-stained cheeks. Will wanted to wipe away his tears, but he didn’t. He stayed sitting in front of Nico, just watching him. He wondered if that was the right thing to do- just watch Nico while he was crying like that right in front of him. But Nico managed a weak smile at him, and an arrow struck through Will’s heart, and he could tell how grateful Nico was just through that small gesture.
Will returned the smile, and they sat there for a while in silence, the only sounds coming from Nico occasionally sniffling and the gentle whir of the fan in the corner of the room.
Nico swallowed, and then he shuffled closer to Will. He reached out a slow hand, cautious, like he was approaching a wild animal, and took two of Will’s fingers in his hand.
Will looked down at their hands- Nico’s fist wrapped around Will’s index and middle finger- and he blinked. “You’re okay to touch now?”
He nodded. There were a few tears still on his cheek, so Will reached up and brushed them away. He tried to be as gentle as he could against Nico’s skin, which was sticky from crying but so, so soft.
He adjusted his other hand so it was properly holding Nico’s, sliding their fingers together. He rubbed his thumb against Nico’s knuckles, and Nico stared down at their hands, watching the motion with wide eyes. Then he fell against Will, letting go of his hand so he could wrap his arms around Will’s waist, digging his face into the crook of Will’s neck. And then he was crying again, his tears rushing out of his eyes and landing on Will’s neck, sliding down Will’s arm and soaking the fabric of his shirt.
Someone else’s tears on Will’s skin was such a strangely human feeling. He had only ever felt his own tears before, and someone else’s tears on his neck felt so different but also so right. He was feeling someone else’s sorrow. They were letting him feel it. And he wanted to cry too, because Nico was letting him feel it. He was letting Will see him in the most vulnerable state. He was asking Will not to touch him and trusted Will enough to comply.
This was trust.
This was love.
Will would’ve held Nico for as long as he needed to, for hours, for the rest of the day, for the rest of their lives if that’s what Nico needed. But he pulled away after a moment, gently disentangling their limbs.
Nico wiped at his tears, but Will couldn’t bear to see him cry anymore and not do anything about it. He gently took Nico’s wrist and moved it away from his face, reaching up to wipe away Nico’s tears himself.
“Better?” He asked.
“A little,” Nico responded. His voice was rough and scratchy, but he could talk again, and even that small victory was enough to make Will smile.
He barley even registered the words when Nico asked, “Can I kiss you?”. And for a second, all Will could do was stare at Nico, because he wondered if he’d heard him wrong. Here was Nico, sobbing his eyeballs out, and he was asking if he could kiss Will?
“Never mind, forget I said anything-“
“No!” Will yelped, and he knew his voice was high and shrill but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Because he’d almost just missed maybe the only chance he had with Nico, and he wasn’t about to let that happen. He cleared his throat and tried again, “No! Sorry, I- I just didn’t think you liked me that way.”
It was true. Even after countless people- Kayla, Austin, Cecil, Lou Ellen, Rachel- told him Nico liked him, Will couldn’t seem to bring himself to agree. He needed to hear Nico say it himself. And maybe he was about to.
“Is that okay…?” Nico’s voice trailed off.
“It’s perfect, Neeks,” Will smiled, and now he was the one who felt like crying as he placed his hand on the side of Nico’s face, tucking his hair behind his ear. Nico’s breath hitched, and he looked like he wanted to laugh, and that made Will want to laugh too. Because it wasn’t in the way the boy had laughed at him under the bleachers. No, it was laughing in the way that they were both so ridiculous to not realize their feelings for each other. “I like you that way too.”
“You do?” Nico sounded almost breathless, and Will wanted to kiss whatever breath he had left out of him.
“Mhm,” Will murmured. His let his gaze drop down to Nico’s lips the way it had hundreds of times before, but this time it was different, because maybe he could actually kiss Nico this time. But he didn’t. Not yet. He looked back to Nico, looking for some kind of confirmation, some kind of sign than Nico wanted to kiss him, too. That Nico wanted to kiss him just to kiss him, to kiss him because he liked him.
And Nico did. He leaned forward, pressing their lips together. It was slow, soft, hesitant. But they were fucking kissing, and this was all Will wanted, and it was perfect. Will smiled into the kiss, and he positioned himself so they were sitting closer together, and then he was kissing Nico deeper, moving their lips together.
Will wrapped his arm around Nico’s waist, grabbing the fabric of Nico’s hoodie in his fist as he pulled him even closer. Nico’s hand moved to the back of Will’s neck, and Will hummed into Nico’s mouth as he began to play with the hair at his nape.
Will only pulled apart to breathe, and his heart lurched when his eyes fell upon Nico. His lips were parted, red and wet, and he was gasping slightly. He looked so wonder-stuck, so in awe, and no one had ever looked at Will like that before, like he was the fucking sun.
So Will reached forward, and he gently took Nico’s hand in his own, hoping he could convey all that he felt as he squeezed Nico’s hand. “Thank you for being like that.”
“Like what?” Nico asked, and he looked so adorably curious, like he was hanging on Will’s every word. Like he was a child and Will was telling him a bedtime story that had captured his full attention.
“Like yourself,” Will said, and Nico’s expression softened even further. “No one’s ever… no one’s ever kissed me just because they want to. Because they like me.”
“Really?” Nico asked, and he was whispering again, even though it was just them in the middle of a dark cabin.
Will nodded. “So thank you.”
“You know,” Nico said, reaching out to take Will’s wrist. He brought it up to his lips, kissing it. “I… I like you for who you are. Not for your appearance. I see your blood and your bones, and I love you anyway.”
Nico leaned forward and kissed Will’s forehead, then the corners of his mouth, and Will wanted to cry when he realized he was kissing his dimples. Will wanted to say something, to thank Nico, to kiss him back, anything. But he was speechless. All he could do was watch Nico with wide eyes as he continued talking.
“Thank you, too,” He said. “For not touching me when I asked you not to. And for… for just liking me. I never thought I’d be able to have this- to like a boy, and for him to like me back.”
Will wasn’t sure he could speak again, and his choice of words felt a little dumb as he smiled, placed his hands on either side of Nico’s face, and said, “Well, I believe in miracles.”
Nico smiled back, and Will almost cried, because all his life he had felt unloveable. He never thought someone would truly love him, would kiss him just to kiss him, would kiss the little parts of him, like his wrist, the way Nico had, just because they liked Will. But here was Nico, this son of Hades, who seemed hell-bent on changing Will’s outlook on everything.
And as if Nico wanted to continue to prove that point, he leaned forward and kissed Will again.